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Red

2012-01-11T15:04:00.000Z

I've never worn all red like this before, nor even an all-red top or skirt. I've wore pink, but not red. I think I subconsciously thought that red was such a powerful or superior colour that I wouldn't manage to pull it off. It might relate to my level of self-confidence, or I actually secretly believed that I needed to reach a certain age or gain a particular life experience before I could handle it. Or I was just waiting for the right time, like some sort of enlightening moment. As I mentioned, it was a subconscious reaction to a subconscious thought.

That day, it was the first time I wore so red. University wasn't officially finished while I was still preparing to do my Masters, but I was done with attending regular lectures and tutorials in the department. It wasn't any special moment that I suddenly decided that I could wear red. It just happened; but somehow coincided with my excitement to moving forward to my next chapter, instead of the relief that I was finally graduating. There was a difference, although it was the same moment. One to welcome the adventure and one to celebrate what happened.

ASOS red dress | Zara trench coat | FCUK heels

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Happy New Year by the way!

Hot in Pompeii

2011-12-05T16:31:00.000Z

We went on a day trip to Pompeii from Naples. Alex was very excited to go there. Me too(supposedly). Pompeii was a town covered in volcanic ash nearly two thousand years ago when Mt Vesuvius erupted and the ruins was discovered about two and half centuries ago. The city remains were still well preserved under the ashes and this is the place where historians were able to learn a lot about ancient Roman life.

From Alex's briefing, I imagined the city to be almost exactly with what it used to be, but it wasn't the case. The layout of the city was preserved, and the stretch of horse carts marks could be clearly seen on the cobbled streets. The murals, too, that lasted nearly two thousand years. From my imagination, I expected the furniture and roofs to stay there too, but that was clearly over-imagination. What I didn't expect was, however a few bodies who were buried alive during the eruption. Their last postures, in attempting to escape or hide, and their scared emotions were preserved. (and cast in plaster for tourists to gawk at).

The buried Roman town-city was anyhow very hot and very dusty. No trees to be seen for miles around except for a few in the courtyards of ancient Roman villas. There weren't much shade and I wore a hat that could not cover my face.

Alex said Herculaneum, another city nearby which shared the same fate, is far better preserved but also much smaller. Not having much time, Alex said we could either make another day trip to Herculaneum, or to Capri. Easy choice!!

Familiar, but different

2011-11-29T02:53:00.001Z

Kuala Lumpur has seemed to change so much, or perhaps my memory of this place has became much fainter or outdated. This is my second homecoming in the four years and two months that I was abroad. Upon the first week of my arrival back home (two years ago) I had a strange feeling with things around me. Everything was so familiar yet different. I felt as if I was put into a time capsule during the time when I wasn't here.

This second time back home was after another two years and two months, and the familiar time-capsule feeling has resurfaced with an even stronger detachment to this place. I've also came back feeling intimidated. I'll explain why.

Back then before I left, I met a new friend who has been staying overseas for many years and only came back a few times. When she has just returned to Malaysia, she wasn't familiar with many things around the city. I wondered, how could that be, for a place called home? So what I expected others to remember of this place, Malaysia, would probably be the same of what others would expect of me now.

I'll be trying to fit into this place again but on my past memories and experiences. Many things in the city and home have changed subtly without their realising. The sad truth is my memory of this place has also faded. What I remembered of the place is not the same as what it is now, but at the same time I am also reluctant to act like a tourist in the place I grew up in.

I am excited to be at home again, and the first thing I realised when I touched down was that the LRT system has grown longer! It was my first time taking KLIA express and LRT from the airport.

I am home

2011-11-24T01:42:00.001Z

It's midnight here in Malaysia yet I'm still feeling wide awake despite the long flight with only a few hours of sleep. The clock appeared as 1700 twenty four hours ago but now, I'm writing this while listening to the sound of midnight silence.

Glasgow's real summer

2011-10-30T02:18:00.000Z

These photos might be of my last real summer in Glasgow (for the next few years at least). The summer was described to be real because good weather like this do not normally last long in Scotland. British weather is well-known for its gloominess. Coming from a tropical country, I remember vividly how I didn't notice it during my first year here. It is much wetter in Malaysia but at least I had a car, there wasn't any strong chilly wind and the rain did not just drizzle for the whole day; except for the heavy traffic congestion and flash floods!

It was when I went to continental Europe one April that I realised the summer over there was much more enjoyable. The sunny days lasted for long spells without rain. During our entire 19 days in Italy this summer, there was a total of 30 minutes of rain. Flying from Italy back to Scotland in October, we seem to have lost our autumn.

With better weather to compare, I had slowly developed the tendency to be ungrateful/ complain about the UK weather. But, when I'm back in Malaysia, I will perhaps miss this gloomy weather (or not). During winter I will always miss the hot sun and under the Malaysia's blazing sun and sticky humidity, I will probably think that winter, rain and wind in the UK is not that bad after all.

MNG checkered blouse | Zara shorts | Urban Outfitters wedges | Pretaportobello bracelet | UO [BLNQ] sunglasses

Perseverance?

2011-10-25T02:56:00.000+01:00

I wasn't really satisfied with my previous post. It was a travel summary post that could have been avoided if I had updated my blog regularly. Anyway, my schedule in the past year did not allow the possibility of avoidance. When I thought about the post, it forced me to contemplate on a habit which I've noticed in myself but have never taken the initiative to acknowledge.

I have a habit to get things finished or continued just because I've started it. The positive people call it perseverance. On the other hand, this habit often puts me in a situation where I lose the spirit or meaning of a work, and finish it merely for the sake of finishing it. The end result is nearly always a half-hearted work. Accumulated influences from Alex's Virgo perfectionist characteristic forced me to look into this attitude thoroughly.

When I started the blog nearly four years ago, I wanted to keep memories of all my travels and life abroad. The travel summary post mentioned earlier was a filler post. The one or two photos and a few sentences of each trip hardly conveyed any of my memories or impressions. In truth, it was written half-heartedly. The good outcome was I could continue filling the void in my blog and keep blogging. Of course, this incident is only one of many examples in my life that I feel reluctant to list here.

Most of my university assignments shared the same sentiment, but at the end of the day, I'm glad that the half-hearted perseverance has allowed me to graduate in November.

To summarise

2011-09-17T12:37:00.001+01:00

I've not written any serious travel blog posts since about a year ago. The last travel post, if not mistaken, was about Alex's and my anniversary trip to Bordeaux in June a year ago. Few years back, I was determined to write about my travel experiences (with a lot of pictures) even if it took me a long time. Now…

After Bordeaux in France, Alex and I continued to travel during the last summer (just in case we would be going home for good next year, and also with the excuse to widen our “architectural knowledge”).

In September, as we were not going back to Malaysia, we used the money for the flight tickets to visit Budapest in Hungary, Vienna in Austria, Bratislava in Slovakia, Manchester in the UK and Venice in Italy.

Budapest

Vienna

Bratislava

Venice

In December, we went to Switzerland with my sister and cousin who were in their first year of studies in the UK.

Switzerland

In February, we headed down to London for a weekend (one night in hotel and one night in the train station for the earliest and cheapest train) to meet one of Alex's good friends who was visiting. I was having a fever and I swore never to do any overnights in train stations again!

In March, I went on the the Uncertainty Road Trip organised by the Architecture Department. We paid the expenses, packed our bags, and hopped on mini buses not knowing where we were heading to each day. It turned out we went to Orkney, far in the north of Scotland, where there were hardly any trees for long stretches of flat land.

In April, we flew to Copenhagen in Denmark, saying that as I was in the Urban Design unit, I would like to experience the city with great urban space planning and design.

Copenhagen

Malmo

In June, my Malaysian classmates and me went to the Western Isles in Scotland for our graduation trip, although most of us were still to complete our extended 3 months Masters course.

So that's the summary of my travel posts! I shall write more about each trip IF I'm inspired! My 'travel' blog posts are actually one of the worst that people could stumble upon, as it is very very unlikely that I will write about any travel tips, food guides or to-do information.

A post about my happy food

2011-08-28T13:27:00.001+01:00

'Happy Food' is the term I use with Alex to refer for food that cheers me up. Mamee Monster snacks are one of them. I liked it when I was a kid and also now, because it's a less greasy than other similar snack. Also because it reminds me of my childhood…

Starting from a few weeks ago, Alex started to surprise me with occasional packets of Mamee Monster like magic (it’s impossible to find any in UK), when I curled myself under the duvet, feeling emotional or finding excuses not to work on my Masters project. Although it was just his cheap trick to cheer me up or to coax me to stay focused on my work, it actually worked; I was instantly happy. It didn't matter how he got them or where they are hidden, all I needed was to put on a sad face and he would bring out a few more to cheer me up.

Last Sunday Alex went down to London to replace his passport that he dropped on his 10 minute walk to the University. Not knowing how many days he would be in London, he left me with five packets of 'Happy Food' while I waited for his return, and also to make sure that I was not playing Yahoo Dominoes 24/7 when he was away!

I need a bag

2011-08-12T02:34:00.001+01:00

I stumbled across a structured white leather handbag on a fashion blog. I assumed that it would be very pricey for its design, but it is now only a small fraction of its original price!

Alex, now sitting behind me at his desk, would definitely give me a sound reminder of what I should be currently saving for, but who can resist a favourite bag on its 70% discount?! Plus, I'm a sucker for any kind of structured patterns or shapes....

I dreamed of motorways

2011-08-11T03:00:00.001+01:00

Yay! My first day of site visit....

This is the most difficult site that I have ever encountered throughout my years in architecture (not like it was very long). This is one of our selected sites and is underneath a motorway, is located in an industrial area and on different topographical levels, has two rail tracks above ground and a third one underground. My final project is so challenging!

And site photos used as my blog photos!

Better late than never

2011-08-09T04:25:00.001+01:00

I've just uploaded some photos on Facebook and would like to reuse them here to keep this blog alive! I have more to share but am not done yet with colour and tone adjustment, cropping and some photoshop surgery eg. liquifying my flabby arms (just joking!). I am really inefficient in choosing and editing photos nowadays, sometimes I'm even two seasons behind. Inspirations to do that do not always come...(I really mean that, it's not an excuse).

The perfect weather

Any trees in sight?

It felt like flying when I jumped

One month left

2011-08-06T23:17:00.001+01:00

Alex and I are now working together on our last university project. Ironically, he was the last person I worked with together when I was graduating college. The difference is we were not a couple then; instead we had a lot of disagreements, and the only thing we had in common was we both like KFC Zinger Burgers! Ha ha.

Anyway, exactly one more month to go!, so I can foresee the lack of updates till then.

MNG top | ASOS shorts | FCUK heels | ASOS bag | UO [BLNQ] sunglasses

More sunny days please!

2011-07-28T23:21:00.001+01:00

Here comes the short summer in Glasgow finally!

And this is my favourite geometric-patterned dress worn as a top with a pink mini skirt!

H&M dress | FCUK heels | ASOS bag | Skirt from Korea online shop

Haircut(s)

2011-07-18T01:55:00.001+01:00

I've always been quite reluctant to pay a lot for haircuts. My aunt cut my hair when I was young, and when I was in college, a cousin (both hairdressers). It was more convenient because I was more than comfortable to say exactly how I wanted it.

Leaving Malaysia meant that I had to pay for haircuts, and the service industry here is generally not cheap. The first haircut abroad I got was in Belgium. I went for the junior stylist. She started cutting. My hair started getting shorter and shorter. And shorter. She left me looking like a mushroom.

A year later, I went to a more reliable salon for my next haircut, and this time it wasn't bad. It was relatively expensive, but then again I only cut my hair once a year.

Recently I've got a haircut and highlights. It was the most expensive thing that I've ever done to my hair. After agonising over it, I decided to go for it since I would be wearing the hairstyle everyday. It was definitely more worth it compared to paying for clothes and shoes! A hairstyle is just as wearable, and as important as getting a nice handbag or a pair of shoes. I also asked for highlights to spice up the look and add texture. It was also a little congratulations to myself for getting through uni. (almost...)

The last time I coloured my hair, I just left high school. I bleached it and had some different (odd) colours for highlights. Those days...... Anyway, this current hairstyle gives me what I hope is a more sophisticated look :)

Time for serious blogging?

2011-07-07T02:36:00.001+01:00

Blogging is hard, perhaps because I'm now doing it for different reasons. I used to blog as updates for family and friends around, but with Facebook, MSN and Facetime, those options are faster and more convenient.

To write a blog post now is like having to write a report. I sit in front of the computer, looking at the blank page for a very long time, feel frustrated and decide to skip it. This habit is exactly like how I procrastinated when dealing with the Uni assignments that I was not interested in. It's pathetic to feel this way, but on the other side, perhaps I'm more grown up that writing a blog post like how I burnt my fries in the oven 3.5 years ago is not interesting. It is time for more serious blogging.

Just so that it doesn't seem like I'm trying too hard to justify myself, here’s an outfit photo..

Yesstyle dress | FCUK heels | Vintage belt | Primark bangles

I am back

2011-06-27T23:45:00.001+01:00

It had been eventful past few months, so much so that I didn’t know where to start blogging. There were many things in my mind, I don't know where to start writing. I didn’t want to start with 'it has been a long long time since I last blogged' but this type of introduction seems necessary for me to revive my blog, over and over again. Nevertheless, I don’t feel guilty for neglecting my blog in the past months because one of the biggest events ever in my life was to complete the final project of my final year in uni. I’m now officially a Part II architectural graduate but am not officially done with Uni. Alex and I are fortunate to be able to continue an extended 3 months course to graduate with masters. Saying that, it is a self directed thesis so we need not to go to Uni often.

Zara cardigan | Yesstyle dress| Vintage bag

Is writing an art form?

2011-03-24T23:19:00.001Z

Architecture people do not write often; I shall make effort to write at least one paragraph each ~~day~~, week. The most writing I have ever done was my last year’s 8000 words dissertation plus a bunch of essays (very proud!).

Blazer – Yesstyle; Top – Topshop; Skirt – Sgwang when I was 17!; Lace ankle socks – Urban Outfitters; Bag + Shoe – Vintage

[Left] Blazer – Yesstyle; Dress + Bag – Vintage; Belt – Urban Outfitters; Hat – H&M, Tights – Topshop; Shoes – Accessorize
[Right] Blazer – Yesstyle; Top – Zara; Bag – Primark; Skirt – Urban Outfitters; Shoes – Vintage

Aspect ratio 1:1

2011-03-02T13:44:00.001Z

Square format is just so amazing with its capability to highlight and frame the subject. It doesn't distract with its vertical/horizontal emphasis but focuses on the objects in the foreground. There are a wide range of digital cameras in the market where image aspect ratio can be adjusted, but I wonder if there is any that can be set to aspect ratio 1:1 (and affordable!).

Vienna Sacher Torte

Alex’s travel essentials

Frozen movement by Alex

Loneliness in blogosphere

2011-02-27T16:02:00.001Z

It is very lonely to blog nowadays. Most of my friends who used to blog have stopped because they are either too busy with their career or have shifted to microblogging - facebook / twitter. Or they are busy meeting new people, or feel uncomfortable to reveal too much (in the ‘old’ age?!). Those left in the blogosphere are mostly still studying, whom are generally a few years younger than me or courses that seem to be endless, like architecture or medicine. At any rate they have also seemed to slowed down. It feels as if everyone has moved on or have found something more exciting in their life while I'm still stuck at this ancient online medium.

p.s. even Alex who inspired me to start this blog has stopped writing!

Top, Cardigan, Bag – Primark; Shoes – Adidas

Outer jacket – Primark; Inner jacket – H&M; Dress – GAP; Hat – H&M

Bordeaux Old School version

2011-02-19T15:10:00.001Z

The photos vibrancy of film cameras can never be replaced with any digital cameras nowadays. We bought two cheap disposable 35mm cameras to the trip in Bordeaux. Both of us had one each to snap photos of each other.

And we have finally got them developed last week (yes after more than half a year!). It reminds us of the joy of anticipation. No photoshops or test and try. It cost a lot more and probably many were either overexposed or too dark (and the grains), but that was the true captured moment.

(all unedited photos)

The peaceful midnight

2011-02-01T03:20:00.001Z

Written on Jan 24, 2011:

The review for last semester's work is finally over. My sleeping time, as usual, had been very irregular, especially for the last two weeks. For instance, I went to bed in the morning or noon, and woke up in the evening. My daytime was literally gone because the sun rises at 8am and sets at 4.30pm.

Waking up at 1.30am (because I accidentally fell asleep on the couch right after I arrived home from studio), has finally given me some time to write and blog, reply some emails and continue uploading some photos on Facebook. To keep this post short, I shall break this post into a few filler posts for the foreseen super hectic period. :)

photos from Venice

The perfect Scottish weather

2011-01-31T22:49:00.000Z

Top- H&M; Hat- H&M; Necklace- Primark; Tights – Baci; Shoes – Adidas

The blue outfit

2011-01-20T16:02:00.001Z

Top – New Look (Pussycatlondon); Skirt – Urban Outfitters (BDG); Jacket – H&M;
Bag – Vintage shop; Leggings – Miss Selfridge; Shoes – Accessorize

Vienna is a beautiful city

2011-01-19T04:33:00.001Z

My memory of Vienna is vague, because I have left it too long to jot it down. Too many things have been occupying my mind and time, but procrastination was definitely one of the main reasons!

I have quite a number of beautiful photos of Vienna, simply because the city is just so beautiful. It is a different kind of beauty; unlike Prague or Budapest where their castles are located on the hills and from there, you get a nice view of the other side of the city with the main river and mountains. It is also not like the Parisian or Venetian beauty. Vienna city centre does not sit on a very beautiful landscape nor it has a very attractive riverside. To me, the beauty lies in its cultural atmosphere. Art and culture (including classical music, fine arts, opera and theater) has a special tradition in this city. There are so many musuems and opera houses which we, of course, couldn't visit all! Rich and grand buildings facade are everywhere, a remnant of its glorious period during the 18th-19th century. And not to forget, it is also the place for the finest cakes and desserts. No doubt, it deserves to be in the list of top 10 most livable cities in the world.

So, the many outcomes from the trip, ~~mostly forced by Alex~~: A discovery of the Secessionists, a chance to see the many works of Brueghel (a painter whose work I find inspiring, recommended by a mentor) and lots of impressionist works - as what I remember with my goldfish memory.

Two zero one one

2011-01-01T22:34:00.001Z

Why do we celebrate new years?

To embrace the past or to hope for a better year ahead? (or maybe just a reason to party?)

Anyway, HAPPY 2-0-11 everyone!! Let’s wish for a more colourful year…

Last Glasgow winter

2010-12-27T17:07:00.001Z

Written 20 days ago:

Three years ago, a friend told me, ''Nah, it barely snowed in the UK. Probably just for a few days throughout the whole winter.'' The temperature in Glasgow when I arrived three years ago was not lower than -4 in January, the coldest month of the year.

Only in November of this year, it started snowing few days continuously. November is not even considered as winter! Last year was bad, but this year is worse. I've never seen the city centre with so much snow. While experiencing snow was such a wonderful experience for me who grew up in a tropical country, it was still not fun during the after snow moments. By the end of snowing period, most pavements were very slippery as if walking on ice rinks. The architecture department of my university is located on the hill, and it was tremendously difficult to walk up. I took the lift.

One Sunday, Alex and his groupmates travelled to a place not too far from Glasgow to film some videos for an assignment. He described that the snow knee-high in that area. The university was closed for few days (The best moment!). Some classmates who went to the university before it was closed, were stucked in the motorways for 6-10 hours on their way home. Some were snowed in. Many buses and trains stopped their services. Some took hours and hours to reach home. UK, as usual was just not prepared for this snow, especially for such an early white winter.

So, that was the 'amazing' December winter experience for my last winter here. It was just like the scene in movie, ''The Day After Tomorrow''. The city in white was much quieter.

Budapest, Hungary

2010-11-29T02:12:00.001Z

In September, Alex and I decided to go on a trip to visit a few Eastern and Central European cities instead of going home to Malaysia. So there goes all our ''hard-earned?'' wages from summer jobs!

Our first destination was Budapest. We spent three nights there.

A little fact that fascinated me. Budapest, the capital of Hungary is divided into two parts by River Danube. Buda is where the castle and old city is located and Pest is where the new shopping and commercial districts are (the more happening area). Thus, together they're Budapest! Prague, the capital of Czech Republic has a similar geography where it's also divided into two by a river, but they aren't called Pra and Gue. =.=''

We spent the first two days wandering around in Pest and then the third full day in Buda. However, the day we were in Buda was tremendously horrible because it rained heavily the whole day! Wet feet is the worst feeling...

Buda is where the castle is located and it's where to go to get the view overlooking the river and Pest. The castle complex is like a small lovely town within a city, on a hill. It should be very nice to walk around if it wasn't because of the rain! And located under this small lovely town is an underground hospital used intermittently in the last few decades and then converted into a nuclear fallout shelter. The 1-hour tour was interesting.

Hungary was part of the Iron Curtain and a former communist country, but one of the first to break away. Visiting Budapest was a totally different experience and gave a different perspective to Europe.

The possible best shot of Pest and river in the rain

So gloomy

Hungary’s famous paprika = dried chillies

The underground hospital

Is it appropriate to include this photo? Budapest is famous for its thermal baths too.

Starter served cold: Hungarian Sour Cherry Soup. Tasted like cherry yogurt?

p.s. Yes! I made time for this post. Next is Vienna.

Rhythm rhythm

2010-11-19T01:41:00.001Z

I have not been updating my blog for a very very very verrrrrrrrrrrrrrryyyyyy long time. Yes! It was my plan to keep up with my newest resolution!

I had the thoughts to abandon this blog, because it just seems there is nothing else that I think is interesting to write. The effect for being in architecture after 6 years. It's the 7th year now!!!!!! The long journey is reaching its end, yet it also means that the beginning of the next phase is coming soon too!!

Or maybe it's because my blog has reached its expiry date. Blogs do have expiry dates! Otherwise, where are my friends' blog updates? Yes, everyone has a life now so they don't have the time to blog. But, I also remember some friends told me that they haven’t been blogging because they didn't have a 'life' that they could blog about. How contradicting.

Anyway, in the first place, this blog wasn't only a cyber space to share my stuff or jot down my thoughts. It was also supposed to be a practice to help organise my fragmented thoughts so that I could then articulate my ideas better. Just like how a computer disk should always be defragmented so the system could then perform better.

Hope this post brings my writing and blogging rhythm back! On a short note, it's really freezing now in the UK and everyone is expecting for a worse coming winter. >.<

Some photos from Budapest. I’ll blog about the trip IF I have time… hmm..

BIG - Bjarke Ingels Group exhibition

2010-10-22T15:47:00.001+01:00

Architects are like the professional version of the artist. They look cool ('architects are sexiest' is the top searched keyword in google when you type 'architects are.. ') but 'poorest' among all professionals. Not to mention, the average age for an architect to become really famous and succesful is 50!

However, the recent rise of Danish architect Bjarke Ingels in his mid-30s, has given hope to young architects that they don't need to wait until 50 to realise their dreams to be famous, run an architectural practice involved with big international projects and masterplans, as well as winning reputable architectural awards.

His practice, BIG Architects, have since won many international architectural competitions, is involved with Zira island masterplanning in Abu Dhabi and designed the Danish pavillion in Shanghai expo (the same pavillion that shipped the mermaid from Denmark to Shanghai).

The ignorant me didn't know about this architect until Alex bought the BIG "archicomic" and my classmates showed me videos of the office's presentation and models. Unlike most architectural practice who publish their work as coffee table books or giant monographs, with flashy images and sometimes lots of text, BIG showed their projects in comic form. Quite interesting to read even for those not involved in architecture in any way. The presentation videos are also very impressive with their use of animation; good for learning how to sell ideas (even for non-architectural projects).

I was fascinated with their models (especially the one built with Legos) and the way they approach the development of their projects, and I never thought I would have the chance to see their work (the models not the buildings) in reality. But their travelling exhibition "YES IS MORE" were coincidentally in Bordeaux the same dates we were - lucky us.

The exhibition featured many of the projects in their "archicomic", and up close we could see that their models were not absolutely perfect in terms of craftsmanship, but this did not stop the projects form being interesting all the same. Something to learn!

Count the cars

2010-10-07T21:55:00.001+01:00

I woke up very early this morning, went to one of the main roads in our chosen site and counted cars for an hour! It reminds me of a similar exercise I did in Geography subject when I was 14. This one is much easier because the one I did in high school, I had to categorise the vehicles as well. The fuss of counting and recording at the same time.

My team and I will have to do the same thing again!!!! tomorrow, at 8am. There are 11 spots, each has to be recorded both directions and all traffic flow need to be done at three different periods. That makes it 66 times of cars counting. Thankfully, we realised that we should have done it for 15 minutes each instead of an hour each!

Water mirror

2010-09-04T00:59:00.001+01:00

Water mirror is one of the tourist attractions in Bordeaux city.

It's basically just a public square with a slight indentation a few mm deep, filled with water and where mist would shoot out from at specific intervals. The depth of the water also changes at different times, mirroring the surrounding landscapes with varied effects. A very simple move in urban planning, but a huge success in attracting people, including the locals to visit and relax.

Bordeaux wine tour

2010-08-31T01:18:00.001+01:00

I swear, I wrote a post and saved it last week. But! I can't find it now. Did I not save it?!!

It'll not be the same to write it again. Moreover, I don't really remember what I have written!

The post was about the wine tour we joined in Bordeaux. The city reminds most people of its fine wine, as in "a bottle of Bordeaux”. The weather was perfect - not like in Scotland (too windy and too much rain) or like in Malaysia (too hot!) The day trip bought us to two chateaus with guided tours and wine tasting. Yes! Enough wine to make people with low alcohol tolerance (me) tipsy.

took this photo with coloured filter

2-0-1-0’s new resolution

2010-08-19T01:58:00.001+01:00

It's mid August! and I've decided to change my resolution that I have made for the past two New Years. (Resolutions should be amended from time to time.) My new resolution is I will blog lesser. And by that, I'm sure that I'll be able to keep my resolution from now onwards!

After not writing for such a long period (the last post was written about a month ago and I actually delayed to post it!), my writing skill is ~~deproving~~ deteriorising (see! there is no such words as 'deproving', Alex corrected me). The combined total of words from this year's dissertation, articles and project reports that I had to write did not help in keeping the writing rhythm.

Although there might not be many people who bother to read my long posts, the main point is that I like to write. Same for when there's probably no one to listen (not hear), and I still speak anyway.

p.s. I've decided to share a netbook with Alex so I can blog more often during my trips and more conveniently when inspiration strikes. So, let's see if my new resolution will succeed or fail. :P

last photo from Alex

Movie Day!

2010-08-16T01:09:00.001+01:00

coat – Jane Norman, dress – vintage Dahlia, bag – vintage, flats – Asos, earrings – Miss Selfridge,

This was the outfit when me and Alex went to the cinema to watch Inception. No doubt it's a great movie! It was only our second time to the cinema in the UK. Why does the 15 minutes walk to the nearest cinema seems to be further than driving to KLCC, Mid Valley or even 1Utama when I was in KL? (Blame the UK weather.)

Anyway, this movie reminds me of one of my dreams when I was 13 that changed my beliefs in God. I have always wanted to write about it since two years ago, but procrastination is the reason I haven't done it.

The sunny day in Bordeaux

2010-08-11T00:38:00.001+01:00

On our second day in Bordeaux, we left the hotel quite early to the city centre. We bought some pastries for breakfast in a local pastry shop on our way to the tram station. Small and local bakeries like this are very common in France as it is one of the government policies to retain the "neighbourhood" environment.

We bought a carnet of 10 tram tickets because it was cheaper. While waiting for the tram to arrive, we nearly missed the tram that stopped at the opposite stand because it was also the terminus (and thus trams leave from both stands). Alex should have realised it because of his one semester of French class during our third year.

Our first destination was the tourist information. We got a map and asked information about vineyard tours. We wanted to join the tour on that day because the weather seemed nice, but it was full. So we made reservations for the next day. A little expensive but what's a Bordeaux trip without visiting the famed vineyards?

The lady at the tourist information centre showed us the city's attraction, but this time we decided to NOT walk around looking at buildings as we normally do. We decided to just wander around the city centre and walk along the riverside, paying attention to the small details of locals and streets.

We started with the main shopping street, also supposedly the longest pedestrianised shopping street in Europe. Shops in Bordeaux opens from 11am till 7pm, so not all stores were open when we reached there. 11-7 store opening hours seem better than 10-6 in other European countries as I figure people hardly shop at 10am, but nothing beats the store opening hours in Asian countries.

Right: Richard Roger’s mushroom building

We slowly walked to the biggest church in Bordeaux but it only opens after 2pm. It was expected because most museums and churches and some stores are usually closed on Monday in some European countries.

Imperfection is Perfection

2010-08-06T23:32:00.001+01:00

None of the above is mine!!

With the recent antenna issues on the new launched iPhone 4, one of Steve Jobs' words in a recent press conference was "We're not perfect. Phones are not perfect. We all know that. But we want to make our users happy."

No one is perfect to comment on such imperfection. Being imperfect is perfection.

Random video in Bordeaux 1

2010-07-25T18:47:00.001+01:00

As the title says so, my first random video in Bordeaux. Will upload more silly videos soon.

Yes! The joy of holiday.

To Bordeaux

2010-07-23T01:49:00.001+01:00

We usually decide our travel destinations based on whatever cheap tickets we can get from Ryanair. So, here we go, this time to... Bordeaux, city of wine for our second dating anniversary and short summer trip.

We left our house in the afternoon and reached Edinburgh airport after about one and half hour journey of train and bus. The airport was rather crowded as expected for summer.

We arrived at Bordeaux airport at 10pm (an hour ahead UK time) and luckily the sky wasn't completely dark yet. We paid a little extra for the taxi to save an hour by bus and walking. Plus, Ryanair, probably the cheapest European budget airline tends to fly to and fro airports in outskirts at odd times!!

Our hotel is located out of the city centre, but! we managed to get it 50% normal rate. (After the discount, the price was about the same as getting a hostel room in city centre). So, we figured it was worth the tram and 10 minutes walk to the city center to get a nice and clean room in a four star hotel.

my name on the welcome screen

alex in the frame

Alex’s travel essentials

Architecture Degree Show

2010-07-04T12:37:00.000+01:00

In the beginning of every summer, there are always exhibitions of students work (also known as Degree Shows) orgsanised by most, if not all UK architecture schools. In early June, Charlie and Pei Ling came down from Aberdeen to look at Glasgow & Edinburgh's combined four architecture schools' degree shows.

On the first day of their arrival, we checked out Edinburgh Architecture School's exhibition and then spent the rest of the day shopping.

Edinburgh University exhibition

The next day was the launch of our very own Strathclyde University's degree show. I was quite impressed with everything that was put up and didn't expect so many outsiders to come.

Classmates’ model of the EIchstatt

Photos from Tris’ blog photoshopped. I couldn’t find mine!!

The day after, Charlie and Alex went to Glasgow School of Art's degree show without me, but Alex went there again with me and Kum Tak a few days later.

Glasgow School of Art exhibition

Winning award scheme

Visiting exhibitions and looking at other people's work can be motivating or intimidating.

Special inspection day

2010-07-02T12:24:00.000+01:00

Most of the time, our flat is neither very messy nor very tidy. If we have expected/unexpected guests, we could tidy it up to a presentable state with minimal effort (as long as you don’t look inside the storeroom).

However, with my parents’ arrival it was a different matter altogether! Especially when we had to face my mum’s eagle-eyed inspection. Everything had to be cleaned and tidied thoroughly. No sweeping the mess under the sofa or dumping the stack of clothes into the wardrobe.

And a note from my dad too, all camera batteries had to be fully charged.

Long queues for the legendary iPhone 4

2010-07-01T12:22:00.001+01:00

Never never in my life that I thought I would wake up early in the morning and join a long queue to buy an item. On 24th June, I did that to get the iPhone 4 for my sister! I reached the store at 7.45am (the store was to open at 8am) and look at the queue!!!

queue into Apple store

zoomed in

I joined the queue anyway. 15 minutes later, I was told that even if I reached inside the store I might not be able to get the phone on that day. So, I left and walked around the city centre, and took more photos of queues. I know waking up at 7am was probably not that early and I should have just waited in front of the store in the midnight before, but I don't think I would ever have the patience to do that, unless it's a limited item that I'm dying to get. So far, I have yet to meet such an item.

Other phone stores sold the ‘legendary’ iPhone 4 exclusively to their contract customers only

guess Carphone Warehouse didn’t pay enough for the first batch of stock.

Blog posts are just like fashion

2010-06-26T00:24:00.001+01:00

Remember that I mentioned sometimes I felt like I was holding back from blogging because I like to jot down the events and thoughts inspired behind in sequence? To be honest, blog posts are just like fashion. Vintage when you read them in archive, but ugly and old-fashioned when you read them in draft.

To start fresh, I need to move on from the unpublished drafts, but I am reluctant to remove all my favourite unpublished "outfits".

And honestly, I don't feel secure to post a lot of photos of me in my blog; not because I think it's vain, but because I think I have changed to become a reserved person, not sure if that's good or bad. Anyway, a blog occasionally seems to be more interesting with many images, but I think it will also give extra points if there are photos of the writer. Well, that's how it works for me. It might be nosy or busybody, but it feels more personal and intimate to read.

p.s. i luv my photographer!”

When the sun is out

2010-06-25T16:31:00.001+01:00

When the sun comes out brightly (especially in the beginning of spring/summer), parks will get rather crowded, weekdays or weekends. With the brilliant invention of the disposable BBQ pit and pre-marinated meat in supermarkets, it is always so convenient to organise a last minute BBQ. Even sometimes the lovely couple next door will have a quick BBQ on the terrace.

Colours in life

2010-06-23T22:28:00.000+01:00

One day in March, Hann had a birthday party. The theme was to dress up in something bright and colourful. I looked into my wardrobe and it was the moment I realised I actually didn't have a lot of bright and colourful clothes. So, it was the 'life-changing' moment that I decided the next time I do my shopping, it will be more colours that I should be looking for. Life-changing because I also realised wearing more colours brightens up my day and makes me feel happier. Needless to say, happiness attracts positive energy.

The only really colourful piece in my wardrobe was this suede skirt which I picked up from a vintage shop. It looks too colourful as a piece itself, but it seemed to match well with other basic pieces.

And then, the post colour-revolution outfit. Do I look happier?

Little differences

2010-06-22T23:59:00.000+01:00

A few days ago I blogged about wanting to work differently because working harder didn't seem to work. Architecture involves many personal emotions in designing and is also often about attitude, so I figured I should start with adopting a new attitude in life. I figured a small change or choice will perhaps make a small difference in life and eventually a lot of small differences will lead to a big difference.

So, sometimes I start to have these small thoughts in my mind when I have to make little choices. When I have to choose an item or a colour, I choose the opposite of what I would normally choose.

In relation to that, here's a little story. One late afternoon, I was wandering around on the shopping streets alone waiting for Alex. I randomly walked into a coffee shop. I didn't order a hot chocolate which I would normally do, but instead took a bottle of fruit juice from the fridge. It was a brand that I have never tried. I took it because - 1. I wanted a change and 2. I was fascinated with their advertisement that I just saw - there was a car going around in the city, wrapped in artificial grass and with posters of their latest organic drink on the windows. Not only that, I chose the kiwi-apple flavour over the normal mango flavour that I would go for, as if the little things will change something in my life. Yes, silly and probably sounds ridiculous, but true!

Blog revival

2010-06-21T23:59:00.000+01:00

Enough of resting (procrastinating) to blog. There was a moment where I felt unmotivated to blog because I have lost the interest to share the little details in my life. (especially when, parents are reading! and the possibilities of getting nagged.) Not that I have an interesting life with loads of Uni work, but I also didn't really have the time to think / reflect about the ongoing things in life and then put them into words. Some readers might not be so interested with what I think and do, but obviously I should care more about those who cares. Anyway, it was blogging (and Alex) that improved my writing skills and helped me to survive through the last Uni year which required a lot of writings. Here's a tip - I always started all my writing assignments by getting into the writing rhythm first with Windows Live Writer.

Some photos from a study trip that I managed to recover from a reformatted SD card! Precious.

p.s. i'm on my holiday now when this is posted. Keeping my resolution of updating the blog.

Exquisite bubble

2010-06-20T15:00:00.000+01:00

Two years might be a short or long period depending on different people and different events. Today marks the second dating anniversary between me and Alex. Two years sounds like a short dating period to me, but it seems like both of us have been together for a very very long time. Perhaps it's because we have been seeing each other almost 24/7 since we started to be together or we have already known each other for about 6 years! Or maybe more accurately, we have gone through quite a lot together - joyful times, stressful periods, sleepless nights! Our relationship is perhaps more memorable with the typical story where two people dislike each other in the beginning but then got together in the end. Ironic but true.

So, to celebrate this small event, we will be spending half the day on train and airplane to Bordeaux for a 4 days 3 nights trip. We decided to fly today mainly because of my job and the cheap tickets. A little complaint here - It's supposed to be a surprise trip by Alex, but I ended up doing all the bookings! No more surprise... He better memorise all the information from the travel book he just bought and plan the rest of the itinerary... It's a short trip, and the celebration is actually just an excuse to travel. I need a break!

Wonderful photos from Felicia, with a bit of photoshop

My dad

2010-06-19T22:16:00.001+01:00

When I was young, I was told that my dad once had the choice to go for a business venture with his friends. Instead, he chose to stay with his current job. His friends' business went on to do well and they made quite some money. My opinions on it might be shallow but this is what I saw. When me and my sisters were young, we chatted and thought that if our dad had decided to join the business partnership, we might be able to afford to have many toys, stationeries and maybe a luxurious life. However, although we were young, we at the same time also understood that if that was the path he chose to take, we might not be able to see him so frequently, to have the chance to see him every night and for him to chauffeur us back and forth between school and tuition classes.

As I grew up, I began to understand his decision as a sacrifice, as it is really not easy to stay dedicated to a job for more than 30 years. And all he wanted to give us was his time; which would be spent on work otherwise. We might not be able to afford a luxurious life now, but I'm glad that he was always there for us. In fact, it seems like now that his daughters are growing up and getting busier with the own friends. :)

For all that, I really appreciate his sacrifice and I would like to thank you for everything especially for making me to be able to come so far in my studies. Finally,

Happy Father's Day and I love you...

The sneak preview of Scotland..

Towards which direction

2010-06-19T00:51:00.001+01:00

Yes, it's summer now, and my result was out two weeks ago. It wasn't great.

I've always been an average student, getting only average results. But something happened to me this year, and I decided to work harder and make more effort to do well. I ended up getting lower grades compared to my normal average. It came to a point where I had to look deep inside and ask myself about what went wrong. In the beginning, I was bitter and resentful. It was only later that I managed to move on to thinking positively and treading the fine line between developing positive thoughts and being in denial.

Often in life, there are many things such as career, studies and relationships that might not go well, even though extraordinary effort had been put into it. In this post, I will be telling myself (or anyone out there) that there shouldn't be any time to feel too late to start fresh. If working harder doesn't work, I will work differently. At this confused state of mind, it probably doesn't matter which direction to head to, as neither of them is right nor wrong.

One of the shopping streets in Glasgow

Alex’s bicycle. And it’s his photo obviously.

Something to fill it in

2010-06-10T23:06:00.001+01:00

It’s a boring June without any sales on the streets.

Top – Urban Outfitters ; Blouse – FCUK; Bag – Primark; Bangles – Primark; Shoes – Vintage; Trousers + Hairband + Necklace – I forgot!

3rd oversea Chinese New Year

2010-06-06T20:24:00.004+01:00

Reunion dinner:

photos by Felicia and PeiFun

After dinner:

Something before my final

2010-06-02T20:17:00.004+01:00

I tend not to post my writings immediately, but sometimes I wonder if anyone cares?

Uni is finally over, at least for now. Life's like a paradise except for the 15-20 hours part time work at the cafe. Otherwise, I am basically chilling and enjoying every moment of it, maybe except for the cleaning the flat part.

Without much description, it is common sense that architecture students need a lot of sleepless nights to survive the course. But, my last week before my final submission was stressful beyond my expectation with fever and sickness. To begin with, I had a fever on the day I had to rush for an application submission due the following day, which was also a few days before my final. Fortunately, I felt better on the next day with a little more rest but not much work done. But, all thanks to the dehydration, lack of nutrition and rest, the fever was followed by a huge mouth ulcer. This huge ulcer was on the front side of my tongue and hit my gums whenever my mouth was closed. Yes, a lot of pain! Not to mention, I had difficulties to eat because of it. Slow recovery to the body.

Despite everything, I still survived my last few days, running up and down the hill to Uni and getting every last minute stuff done. It was my first straight 43 hours without any nap and sleep at all until the moment everything was done completely and lunch with the classmates after. And what I have learned was the unusual super long no sleep hours could really cause hallucinations, and not just the usual stoned feeling. I was dead asleep for the next 18 hours on my bed, and it would have been even longer sleep if I didn't have to go to the Uni again on the next day. I slept again in the same evening.

It was a really tough training in the journey to be an architect or at least to reach the finishing of the course. The tough year 4 is finally over now and the sunshine comes out perfectly in time, just for a few days! UK weather!

The Cambridge libraries day trip

2010-05-27T01:41:00.001+01:00

In February, our tutors organised a day trip down to Cambridge. It was a 14 hours bus journey back and forth, and I survived! with the power of travel sickness pills. They are magic pills.

It was my third time to the town, but this educational tour was different. The weather was terrible, but the visit to the libraries was nice. The serene and calm atmosphere in the town is a perfect place for scholars.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ The beret that conceals my ugliness in glasses.

How to write

2010-05-24T02:36:00.001+01:00

I guess I haven't blogged for so long that it's rather hard for me to pick my writing rhythm again...

After this week:

2010-05-16T20:22:00.001+01:00

I am falling sick and blogging makes me feel better (and happier).

Here’s what I have already been imagining myself doing during my summer holiday:

~~Spring~~ Summer clean – Can’t wait to kill all the bacteria and germs in my flat! This house makes me sick. I imagine me (and Alex) doing a makeover for the flat like what they did in the reality program - Extreme Makeover: Home Edition, except for the house demolition with tractor part.
Eat healthily – That’s probably why I’m falling sick now. My body immune system struggles to fight against the evil. Drink more water and get enough rest.
Write and blog – I, strangely enough, am actually feeling guilty to leave my blog not updated for quite some time.
Read! – I think I should finish all the half-way read books. But, if the books are not interesting enough to make me stay until the last page, maybe I should give up? I just have the hope that something nice and inspiring might appear in the last few pages of the books.
Movies and TV series – one of the best things to do in front of the monitor whole day is to enjoy all these programmes without worrying about assignment datelines. This always comes across my mind every time I start procrastinating and shift my attention from my serious work to internet browsing. But, if I don’t have any assignments to deal with during my holidays, maybe I should just take a break away from it. Maybe pack the whole pc set in the storage for a couple of months? It sounds quite ridiculous for an internet addict like me.
Sleep – I actually think I have been already sleeping way too much as an architecture student. The only difference is that I go to bed when the sun rises and wake up in late afternoon. Well, 7-8 hours sleep a day – perfect sleeping hours. Some say the beauty sleep hours is between 10pm – 2am (something like that). Does it make any differences?
Join Alex for his badminton (maybe) – Am definitely not an athletic person.
Clean out wardrobe clutter and organise closet space – Am feeling excited for this. I read it somewhere that it’s easier to remember our outfits by sorting them in colour order. And I need more closet space.
Let go my unnecessary stuff.
And then buy more unnecessary stuff.
Dinners and outings? - I need a life.
Visit museums and galleries - I can’t believe that I have only visited one art gallery in Glasgow so far, and that was only once. I have probably visited more museums and galleries in each cities / towns that I have travelled around.
Do some day / short trips around Scotland and North England – By train or bus. Alex fancies some bike tours around. If so, he really needs to work hard to get himself (and me) those bicycles and equipments.
Work more for my travel fund.
Learn how to sew and improve my cooking skill – My mum is very good at them, and me, the total opposite. I will probably know how to sew a button, but it will then fall off a couple of days later.
Enjoy the sunshine!! (and the wind + rain) UK weather unfortunately - It’s mid spring yet it’s still so cold. Is it Glasgow or UK weather?

Sunshine + strong wind

2010-04-22T01:24:00.001+01:00

It's spring yet it's still so cold, mainly because of the strong wind. Poor heater that we still have to keep operated (although much lesser).

We have just received our electricity bill yesterday, and it was so expensive!!! In the UK, we pay our bill either monthly or quarterly. We chose to pay quarterly. The previous bill was cheap and we felt extremely glad. But, what we didn't realise was the amount we paid at that time was actually the minimum estimated. The statement reminded us to update our meter reading with the company if we had to pay extra, and obviously we didn't because we didn't read it properly. Thus, this time we have to pay for electricity used in the last approximately 5 months. It's more painful to pay the money in a lump sum....!!

Photos from the steamboat dinner in February. Just perfect for winter. It was also a farewell dinner for Daemus and Angel. Glasgow is so different without both of you.

Last photo of girls only…

Halloween 2-o-o-9

2010-04-19T05:33:00.000+01:00

my prop - books, apple, ruler, Alex

Winter memories

2010-04-19T05:32:00.000+01:00

Spring is here. We survived winter with assignments and also some dinners and parties!

2-o-o-9 Birthday

2010-04-13T23:06:00.001+01:00

I had a great birthday last year, and it’s probably not too late to blog about it now. (My birthday falls on Christmas Day.) All thanks to Alex Tee for making it so great. He organised such a good cocktail party and took so much effort in coordinating with everyone, getting the drinks , snacks and cake.

I am very glad that most friends turned up and took the effort to dress up according to the dress code. Thanks for the gift card too ;) I spent it on some clothes on Boxing Day.

The party started at 9.30pm and ended at 4.30am. After all the chilling and lazing around, we went to bed at 6.30am and woke up at 3.30pm. The sun sets completely at 4.30pm. Although it seemed like I didn’t get much daylight during my birthday, yes, I had great one! It might seem wasteful to spend so much time in my dreamland on the day, but it was great to wake up without an alarm clock and not to think about assignments or work at least for a day. Perhaps nothing is more wonderful than getting the choice to do what is liked.

photos by Felicia, Nicholas & Janice

Freeze

2010-04-12T03:18:00.001+01:00

We were there again last week with some European friends who were visiting. There were more greens and browns than just mostly whites. Nonetheless, these photos are from the one-day winter road trip, in the coldest period of the year!

photo by Justin

photo by Justin

Nothing to blog about. Not in the mood to write so much. Period.

What does not kill me, makes me stronger

2010-03-28T22:05:00.001+01:00

I have been not writing for a while because I had the phobia of writing after the D submission. I realised this is a year without any break. Look at how each assignment period overlap with another, even during the Christmas break. It's exhausting yet challenging! Less than two months to final crit and then summer break! No holiday plans yet because I’m broke…
++

The cocktail dress for Architecture Ceilidh party..

Loch Lomond in Winter

2010-03-10T17:10:00.001Z

This post was written yesterday:

Let's begin with a random analysis of my recent sleeping pattern. I don't remember specific days, but I remember, I sometimes went to bed at 3am, 5am, 7am, 11am, 4pm, 8pm, and woke up at 8am, 2pm, 4pm, 11pm respectively, or slept for a couple of hours or even without sleeping at all throughout the whole night. Well, in the field of architecture, this sleeping pattern is normal, and it's abnormal to go to bed at 10am and follow regular sleeping pattern, except for super efficient and smart people. Unfortunately, I'm not one of them.

I have been feeling rather emo recently, and I like to curl up into a ball at the couch or bed when that happens. So, although I woke up at 4pm today, I took a nap at the couch from 8pm-11pm. Despite the dissertation being due next Tuesday, this is not the stress I should probably be feeling! Perhaps this is what people call, PMS!!!

Nonetheless, Alex surprised me with McDonald's after his uni yesterday (he usually refuses to eat takeaway). And it made my day - McDonald's and ice cream never fail to make me feel better. =)

And today, I felt even more emo when I looked at the mismatched leftover ingredients to use for tonight's dinner, a slice of fish fillet and some random vegetables. It was my turn to cook, but I didn't know how to prepare them. In the end, Alex cooked along so I wouldn't feel lonely preparing alone, and one of the dishes I prepared was fish fillet with spinach, which tasted better than it sounded =)

I spent some time selecting and editing some photos from the trip to Loch Lomond during winter. There are more but these are what I have for now...

Writing vs Drawing

2010-03-03T00:00:00.001Z

It's perhaps not to late to realise that it's easier to write my dissertation on notepad, the media which I usually write my blog entries. Exactly two more weeks to go, and we shall be free from ‘words’. Dissertation makes me appreciate design studio more..

one day i dreamed about words, one day i dreamed about lines….

Work + no play now

2010-02-24T20:48:00.001Z

Mies Van De Rohe said, 'Less is more.'

Robert Venturi said, 'Less is a bore.'

At this stage, I would say, 'More is a bore.'

I was feeling quite moody last week, because I felt like I didn't even have the time to feel my emotions. I was quite immune to the feeling of being happy or sad, but I knew how it was to feel sleepy and tired.

This post is not to ramble like this is my first day in architecture, or as if I have never expected what it is going to be like to study postgraduate architecture, but I just need a space to moan!

Once, I mentioned that I wanted to combine all the photos of the gatherings, dinners, parties, etc that happened since I came back to Uni and make a brief introduction to my readers about the new friends I met. Forget about the combination post because I think I will never have the time, because I prefer wasting my time surfing away on chrome. And because of that post, I feel like it holds me back from writing about other stuff because I prefer to keep things in sequence if possible.

Considering that most blog posts nowadays will probably be about how stressed I feel or how 'boring' my life is, and all of them sound negative, I will just insert those photos randomly at the end of every "moan post". So, here's how it's going to work = moan + dinner/party photos! It's something you guys have to bear with but I will reward you with some photos at the end.. This is what I call, balance in my life =D

Year 2009 part i …

photo credit: Felicia
Mooncake festival celebration : wasn’t very close with the new Malaysian classmates yet. it was our first time to their penthouse!! =.=

photo credit: Felicia

Singaporean Society dinner at Korean restaurant: in fact, we had more Malaysians at the dinner. first time meeting the other two Singaporean siblings.

photo credit: Felicia

Amily’s Bday + BBQ : the penthouse again! this is the kitchen only!!! dining area not included.

Guys Fawkes Night : the one we took photos of fireworks

Karaoke dinner at a Chinese restaurant : the guys sang until they ‘sweat’.. =.=””

photo credit: Nicholas
Munich trip after Eichstatt : restaurant at the basement..

Architecture night at O’ Couture : to celebrate the end of first studio project. stold this photo from their Bebo page.

Skip class = guilt

2010-02-23T03:55:00.001Z

It's hard to get back to bed at 9.14am, although I am actually still feeling extremely tired and sleepy. The lecture has started and I am now lying on the coach typing this on my phone. I just skipped a Monday lecture at 9am.

Frankly, I belong to the kind of person that will drag myself to class/ work even if I am very sick. But no matter how positive I would like to stay, I still hate Mondays!!! Because on these days, I will have to be at Uni by 10.30am to get my drawings ready for class at 11am and then attend tutorial session that ends at 5pm, but by the time I leave Uni and reach home, it's already 6pm!!

I know it actually doesn't sound that bad, but it always seem like a looooooong day when it's hard for me to go to bed early and wake up early the next day to follow this routine.

The house is also always messy (messier) after weekends. And on every Sunday night, I would always tell myself to start new healthy habit because it's going to be the start of another week. I didn’t make it a habit to make this weekly resolution (and not keep it) but it somehow just came across my mind in the beginning of every week!! Nonetheless after many weeks of thinking like that, I begin realise as I feel familiar every time I make the weekly resolution. Its like Deja vu.

Anyway, to make myself feel better, I just assume that I am now sick so I need rest...

(as mentioned, I wrote this in the morning.)

On the other hand, I didn't manage to produce much work that should be relevant to this week's detailed development for today's tutorial. So, my tutor didn't seem happy. But, for what I felt for today's tiring day, to go to Uni is already a little effort, as the studio is already quieter today due to the dissertation dateline soon. To show something (although not much) is a bit extra little effort. (I still had my drawings, site photos, model, but just not the huge 1:10/1:20 model!) Although at the same time I understand the tutor's frustration, all I hoped for was a little bit of guidance to look at other part of my design instead of chilling at home.

Then I spent my early evening, tidying the house - what a productive day to make my other days more productive!

p.s. Alex made a big deal about me making a big deal about skipping class. ;P

3 little things

2010-02-20T21:43:00.001Z

Three amazing things happened to me today. They weren't something BIG!! but they made my day.

The first amazing thing..
Today a man carrying a toddler walked into the store I work at. While I was waiting for him to place his order, I smiled and waved at the baby he was carrying. To my surprise, the baby reacted like she wants to come into my arms. The man let her down on the floor and she immediately crawled towards me who was standing at the side of the bar counter. The first thought that came straight across my mind was, Asian parents would never let their children crawl on that dirty floor. (On a second thought, I rephrase, not all Asian Chinese parents.) Nonetheless, she crawled towards me and tried to stand, wanting me to carry her. I carried the cute baby in her red bubble jacket and was amazed how light she was, like a bag of feathers. Then, I realised that it was perhaps because it had been a long time since I really carried a baby in my arms. The last time was perhaps more than two years ago. I have seen a lot of cute babies especially in the store where I worked at last year, where many mums like to have their morning tea with their babies in prams. The babies were so cute but I never had the chance to really play with them of course. It was my first time carrying a Caucasian baby.

I thought it was something interesting to share or jot down in my blog, so I started drafting this post in my mind while working. A moment later, when I was restocking some items in front of the bar counter, the baby somehow was near my leg again. This time, she held my leg to stand up and again wanted me to carry her. A woman was supervising her. I carried her, and when the woman wanted to get her back, the baby sulked. She was reluctant to go over to her arms and held me tightly. For a moment, we had a stunned look on our faces. It felt as if there was a special connection with her. And she was just so cute!! In the end I passed her back to her dad.

The second amazing thing that happened today...
A man randomly walked into the store and gave me and my colleague a £10 note as reward for working so hard! He said that he won some money today, so I guess he wanted to share his happiness around? It was totally random! So that makes £5 each since there were only two of us during that shift. It was a busy Saturday indeed, so he was right.. we worked really hard today!

Third amazing thing that happened today was also the reason I feel motivated to write this post today during these busy weekends. An anonymous person has written a positive comment on my blog. I am not sure if it was a spam message because it was commented on that post that always received spammed comments. I guess it doesn't really matter as long as it made my day and motivated me to blog more anyhow!

I believe that there are always little things that makes everyone's day everyday, and it really depends on whether we choose to look at the glass half full or half empty...

Cambridge, here I come..

2010-02-17T17:33:00.002Z

I have been to Cambridge twice, but the next one will be different because I will probably not get the chance to visit the libraries in Cambridge again. But, this is probably just an excuse to make me feel better for going, all because I have paid for the bus trip organised by a student and didn't want to waste it. This also happened because of an email sent by the studio convenor convincing everyone to fill up the bus and tempting us with this rare chance!

I, on the other hand, actually rather earn a whole 24 hours if I stayed at home finishing another chapter of my dissertation. Looking at the bright side, I suppose this visit will surely inspire my library design project this semester. The tutors said that the trip will be very beneficial, so I believe that it will.

14 hours return bus trip, here I come!!! T_______T

++

Some photos from the studio. It was a 2-days workshop to design a shelter for the refugees…

this was when almost everyone was not concentrating..

Alex said, ‘’Stay focused!!’’

do work..

Puisan’s random creation..

The confirmationss

2010-02-16T20:36:00.001Z

I am again distracted, but blogging at least helps to pick up my writing rhythm before I start my dissertation. (excuse!)

Anyhow, I received an email from the Uni confirming our graduation ceremony date. It'll be on the 7th of July. So, my parents might be coming, only if I am not going back to Malaysia this summer.

Few hours later, Audrey forwarded me a copy of her travel itinerary. Her Europe invasion trip with Wai Sun is also finally confirmed!

I can't wait for both my parents and two of my best friends to visit, but thinking of the submission deadlines, I wish time doesn’t fly fast.

Random FOTD..

Double redness

2010-02-14T17:43:00.001Z

Happy Chinese New Year!!! It’s the time to reconcile and let go all grudges, and sincerely wish peace and happiness for everyone… =D

It’s my 3rd CNY away from home but 4th CNY not celebrating with relatives in my parents’ hometown. Me and my sister went to Shanghai with my dad during my last CNY before I came over to UK. I remember when we reached home on the 5th/6th day of CNY, I had a mild fever, so I didn’t manage to go back to my grandparents’ and join my mum and other two sisters. I spent my days and nights with my classmates at the studio, rushing for the site analysis presentation on the following week.

So now, again, I am celebrating my CNY with studio work!!! Detailed drawing pinned up tutorial + Studio pinned up review tomorrow.. yay yay!

Here’s two videos to share from last night’s reunion dinner

(credit to Pei Fun for uploading them on Youtube):

The ‘tiger’ with six legs dance..

Superstar Lady Gaga Alistair Peacock..

And a Valentine’s Love for everyone..

The architecture exhibition

2010-02-05T00:08:00.001Z

I am too busy until I don’t have the time to moan on my blog. This is a short post. I am sorry! If

you guys notice, I added a twitter gadget at the side toolbar. I wasn't into Twitter, because I

thought I wouldn't be interested to tweet every hour to update about my life. Who in the world

would be interested to know what I do everyday? And I usually post short updates in

Facebook; it feels nicer when friends can actually comment on it easily.

But now, I think it's probably quite nice to share some thoughts in a quicker way. Twitter is a

form of microblogging after all.

Also, just to let you know that my blog is not dead yet! Neither I gave up blogging nor

reached the stage to think that blogging was once my hobby.

Just bear with me for a while. It's annoying when I actually have a few saved drafts and with a

bit of refinement and photos, I could actually post them.

Some photos from the exhibition. It sounds cool when we said we had to hand in our work to the curators.. ;)

And here’s what we did..

don’t you think the guy who came out with the idea presenting the site analysis in this way is brilliant? sorry, i didn’t really have the time to adjust the image size.

Enjoy because I am not sure when’s the next time I will blog. Tomorrow, maybe.. =D

Stay focused

2010-01-22T04:11:00.001Z

I have a huge problem with staying focus in doing my assignments! Well, I have problems staying focus in anything thou. It is a very bad habit that I occasionally click on the Chrome icon on my taskbar and then start clicking randomly on other websites. The infinite web sphere is just so amazing yet distracting!

I am not sure if I could set wallpaper on Google Chrome homepage, so I uploaded this image to my blog and link the jpeg URL as my homepage. Smart enough to spend time producing the image, write, blog and procrastinate again!

And also because it’s much faster to launch Chrome. And it closes faster too, without any options to save the opened webpages.

Back to work 2!

Family and friends and fun

2010-01-20T00:39:00.001Z

I was watching the farewell dinner videos that Yee Ming posted on Facebook, and I thought, maybe I shall go back again this year! Hmm…

mi. re. fa. do

1- This is the sister who is

now attending her National Service. Time flies and I am quite amazed that the programme still exists until now.
2 – Sad me… :’(

Just because of that few minutes videos, I ended up with more than an hour with this post.
Back to work!

Eichstätt

2010-01-15T01:57:00.001Z

I mentioned this in my few previous posts. In the end of last November, the university organised a field trip to Eichstätt, a small town in the Bavarian region of Germany.

I like Eichstätt. It’s a town with a lot of tiny surprises, especially for architecture students. We spent our first two days walking randomly around town and discovering interesting building details

around us.

It almost seems like a prop town or a cinema studio because of a number of fake facades to keep the whole town looking aesthetically uniform. But it’s nice. Recent buildings were all designed

to be quite sensitive to the context.

Unfortunately, during the next few days we began to feel stressed over looking for a potential site for our next design project. I called it ‘site shopping’. This semester, we are going to design a

library, a small one about approx 800 sqm floor area – we’ll have fun with the lots of details!

Eichstätt, the beautiful small town.
[special note to someone special: I didn’t do much Photoshop on this, probably just cropping and it does make a difference between both cameras..]

The Eichstätt group! It was only probably slightly more than half of the class. The others had their trip to St Andrews in Scotland. [photo credit: nicholas]

the view from the tower .

the only brick building in the town .
wounded facade within facade [notice the visible steel beam above the reddish brown door?]

experience architecture . the photo on the right was kinda creepy. Four of us had the opportunity to climb up the disused stairs leading to the top of the tower above the city hall.

A bit of Glasgow

2010-01-07T05:04:00.001Z

I started my year with sore throat and cough after all the shouting and screaming at the Hogmanay (Scottish new year celebration).

During the week before New Year, Adrian, a close friend of Alex back in college and Justin, a friend of my primary school, visited us in Glasgow.

While I have been in Glasgow for quite some time, I have not really been to the West End, where the stately Glasgow University resides. So we brought Adrian there by subway, explored Kelvingrove Park in white (the park, not us), walked on the slippery icy pathway and nearly slipped a few times.

Then, we walked to Byres Road for lunch. Amazingly, we found a number of retro and vintage shops, where there are hidden gems... But winter is really not a good time to go around, and I shall be back there one day in Spring, even if just to visit the Kelvingrove museum and art gallery (if anyone else visits. ;p)

on the pathway or the grass?

the mural on the wall. they even did it on the pole.. amazing!

the huge mobile and calculator.. they are electrical boxes.

told you that it was almost all white!

the remaining brown and green in the white park..

that’s adrian!

beautiful winter river..

I hope you guys like the photos! ;)

In the airport

2010-01-06T16:12:00.001Z

I am just wondering where are the rest of the photos…

one two three plus one more in the mirror reflection, holding the camera

me- already the tannest plus tanner from the beach trip :( + i’m not exactly the shortest :p
mum in the middle.. duh!

missing one..

chee + tee

the UK group invaders plus one ‘sesat’ in pink

Welcome 2010!

2010-01-01T21:25:00.001Z

It seems to be a great start when I blog on the very first day of the year. Happy New Year everyone!

I woke up in the noon, so I suppose I had enough rest for a start. I spent some time organising my photo albums and uploaded a few from the Germany field trip on Facebook. I have 60 folders for LAST year, so let’s hope it’ll be more or at least equally interesting THIS year (although the number of photos doesn’t really denote the interestingness).

To blog about resolutions and hopes is probably one of the most common subject during New Year. Although it might sound too common or boring, it’s meaningful and special for each of us. But I figured the habit of breaking my resolutions almost every year is the part that spoils the fun part of making them. Thus, this year, I wish to make mine more exciting. I shall decide that if I don’t manage to keep my 2010’s resolution, I shall never make any for the other New Year’s.

So, what’s my resolution(s) for the year of 2010? I want to be happy! I am not sure if it sounds right, but it’s my resolution. It doesn't sound concrete, but the meaning of being 'happy' in mine encompasses many aspects. As I realise that there might be different choices to be happy in life – whether I want to do it selflessly or selfishly – I suppose the best for mine is to live wisely and have no guilt/regrets in life.

p.s. have fun in NS, my sister… take care! It’ll be a good 2010 start for you… ;)

More exciting years ahead!

2009-12-31T13:12:00.001Z

This is gonna be my last post in the year of 2009. And believe that the place in these two photos is real!
The most surreal visited place of the year..

At this point, I suppose my resolution of the year is to update my blog more frequently. I feel extremely guilty to my readers especially my family ;P

Have a great new year everyone!

Great night!

2009-12-14T21:38:00.001Z

A waste if i don't wipe the dust off this long-hidden post and publish it.

The occasion for the night was a simple farewell + gathering dinner, somewhere really near my house.

‘the one that Audrey didn’t want to let me go’
my super cool high school besties / the photo that audrey tried to kill me and also wai yuen =.=

no fighting over the food… (it’s my favourite shot among all!)

and the guys..

It’s amazingly quick that it has been almost a quarter of a year since I came back and was loaded with university work.

I shall do a brief introduction about the new friends here in my next (next) (next) post… =D

Counting my days to holiday

2009-12-12T01:23:00.001Z

The one week trip in Germany results the holiday mood and procrastination in me to continue my abandoned dissertation. I wish I could still chill around in my house, after days of slowly tidying the house and doing laundry for the whole week. I should deserve a break after weeks of struggling in my design studio project and all the hectic schedule. The days walking around the town looking for sites in cold wasn’t counted as holidays. Staying in hostel was not relaxing at all. The only full day in Munich was rainy and cold. After all, the weather in Glasgow doesn’t seem so bad besides the strong wind.

It seems like there is no days that I will be free of assignments until May. In fact, there is actually none. Christmas break will be the period we have to prepare our design scheme for the next project and complete the dissertation as much as we can.

And now it seems like I am regretting for not trying to start my dissertation writing rhythm earlier. But, inspiration, as always, only comes on the last few days before submission. ;p

The choices of Photoshop

2009-12-10T03:27:00.001Z

I enjoyed working part time as a promoter in camera shops or events during my college days. Not only because I was very fascinated with anything related to photography, but for the satisfaction of sharing my product knowledge with beginners, especially parents in their middle age, clueless about the latest technology but hoping for a convenient gadget, at a reasonable price, that would capture the memories in their families.

One of the most asked questions was if the camera could take sharp photos with rich colours.

Among the millions of photos uploaded to the web nowadays, I see various photography styles. Honestly, I am tempted to explore Photoshop effects such as desaturating the colours or adding noise, as if my photos would be a lot more interesting after these effects.

But then, I remembered my first few basic preresquisites when getting the camera. Like most consumers, I questioned which camera could produce the best and richest colour among its range. So, what was the meaning of the integration between the brilliant sensor and lenses, if the rich colours was then nearly all rubbed away with Photoshop?

I am confused. I suppose to question whether photos should be photoshopped is like to ask whether a woman is more attractive with or without makeup. In fact, both are similar as they are meant to enhance certain features and to conceal flaws. But the difference is that the photo should serve its purpose to show a meaning of place.

Eichstätt

Christkindlmarkt

2009-12-09T03:00:00.001Z

I have always wanted to experience a real German Christmas market. Alex and Xenia in Germany have invited us over to their house to join them for Christmas, but the flight tickets are really too expensive. So, we had to cancel the plan.

But, I am glad that the field trip in Eichstatt was organised in the end of November and then we had the chance to drop by Munich for a couple of days and visit a real German Christmas market.

They have more stalls in the city centre and more varieties of Christmas decor and most importantly real German sausages! Those in the UK have really got to work hard to be compared to the ones in Germany.

Changes are permanent

2009-12-07T16:08:00.001Z

It has been quite some time that I have not been blogging and this is already not the first time I have said so. But, after reflecting deeply, I wonder if it is merely due of the hectic schedule.

To me, a blog is a space where the hidden side of our personalities are exposed. Our blogging style defines our attitude. I have not been blogging for quite some time - is it because I am now at the point where I feel uncertain of who I am or who I should be? I am searching for my own blogging style, which means I am searching for my inner self too. Some might advise to live on, to not to think so much, and that’s life. But I think it’s necessary that we have to continuously progress slowly, reflect and redefine our directions in life.

Our personalities - to be more precise, whether we are self-centred or selfless, is partly defined by those who are around us. When the changes in everyone around me are becoming more pronounced day by day, I think it’s essential to reflect who I am now in between all these people around me. I don’t deny changes because changes are the only permanent phenomenon in life, and I am too slow or egostical to adapt to these changes.

--

On the other hand, I just returned from the Uni field

trip in

Eichstatt, Germany. I like that it was a small town, but had so much for us to discover.

how the new integrates with the old

how the new embraces the old. this is a toilet cubicle inserted into a room not intended to have a toilet. The cubicle has a glass ceiling looking at the original plaster ceiling - a link between old and new.

to discover how the fake tries to fit into the surrounding

or how the fake tries to imitate the original. spot it!

this is a modern library integrated into a courtyard of two old buildings, with a new roof slapped over it. look how the spiral stairs become the perfect intermediate element between the old facade and the new stacks.

Password retrieved

2009-11-20T11:33:00.001Z

Microsoft Customer Support rocks!

I’m now wondering if I should just stick to my old account which I have used since I was 13 or the new one that kinda signifies a changing point in my life. It was really a coincidence that I was considering from being too active in social networking and move on probably to another chapter of my life, and my account was hacked then!!!!

Right after I realised that my account was hacked, I sent out messages via my blog or facebook to warn my friends about it. To use the new account now is perhaps the time to reflect the changes and divergence of the routes between me and my friends…..

MSN hacked

2009-11-20T01:52:00.001Z

As stated in the title, my ‘jinglega'l’ msn account is hacked.. So if anyone receives any messages from that account thru messenger or email, please ignore it until I get things sorted out.. fingers crossed. :(

It happened on the last day I need to get my presentation panel printed. hmm…. Maybe it’s a sign for me to stay focused..

Fireworks tells the tale

2009-11-11T12:34:00.002Z

There was a fireworks display at Glasgow Green last Thursday, celebrating Guy Fawkes Night. It was again time to stand in the middle of the wide green field with a huge crowd of other people and freeze! It sounded contradictory.

I have never really visited Glasgow Green (during the daytime) since I came to the UK. But, the first time I have been there was also for the same occasion, two years ago. It was dark at night.

Taking fireworks photos is unlike taking other photos where there is always chances to explore, try and test shoot. So, here’s the first batch of the fireworks photos taken in my life with a D-SLR. They might not be the best..

I like the mystical effect of this photo…. The darkness of the immediate surroundings gives it a sense of an ancient, long-forgotten period, the fireworks right out of a wizard’s wand…(and it’s Alex favourite)

The photo i am going to use as my blog banner to replace the void and blankness of my blog all the while.

A sparkle in between.

Asymmetrical

The group

The photos tell the tale.

How should my school look like?

2009-11-08T03:28:00.001Z

To make myself feel less guilty for not doing much work for my design studio this week, I made myself believe that I have been spending my whole week visualising and dreaming about my building…

This is something irrelevant but it has a few elements of my dream house…

Photo credit: Details magazine

Where is the sunshine?

2009-11-07T02:24:00.001Z

The weather has been colder this week. The temperature dropped a few degree Cels

ius and it seems to make a lot of difference.

Looking through some of the holiday photos taken back in Malaysia makes me miss the sunshine and heat a lot..

Gloomy + windy weather in Scotland sucks! It has been raining the whole week and the whole day today..

Children are not easy to handle

2009-10-19T17:33:00.001+01:00

We have to design a primary school this semester, on a small corner site, adjacent to a really busy street, and another side facing residential areas.

We have already produced a floor plan, model and site plan to scale and a perspective for an exhibition on our second week of class. So, we actually now have ‘more’ time to explore and unify all the design elements and considerations before the final crit in week 9, as compared to the time that I used to spend weeks on site analysis, concept, forms, layout etc and then wish I had a few more weeks for the details at the last few weeks before the final presentation.

Oh yah.. photos on the exhibition..
exhibition 1

exhibition 2

exhibition 3

My blog was on holiday too..

2009-10-16T17:03:00.001+01:00

Such a joyful 2 months holiday back in Malaysia that resulted in lack of updates in my blog. Life was just too relaxing back home that I was in a too laid back mood to update. Anyway, posting will be as usual, hopefully, for I have been tremendously super very busy since the day I arrived in Glasgow.

The view from the plane on the journey back to Glasgow.
I think I was above somewhere around Iraq.

Friendship Forever

2009-09-21T18:31:00.001+01:00

Till we meet again, my dear friends….. take care.. XX

I will upload the rest of the photos once I get my internet connection in my new house and settle down.. ;) By the way, we had exactly 200 photos in just a night!

I love my holiday!

2009-08-24T06:02:00.001+01:00

I have not been updating my blog for a very very very loooong time. I know! But who am I updating for when I am now in Kuala Lumpur? Life has been quite relaxing since I came back – basically just sleep and eat and sleep and eat! I either stayed at home doing non-productive things or went out with Alex hanging out around the shopping malls. But, we ‘’occasionally’’ did some sports too – swimming and playing badminton (actually for once only). Most of my friends have already graduated and are working, so I usually have too much free time during the weekdays. Weekends were supposed to be spent at home but those days were also the days which my friends always have their happy hours. But since I came back, at least I still managed to distribute my weekends equally between family and friends. I only went clubbing once every fortnight. So wasn’t it fair enough?

I just changed my return flight date. Supposed to fly back on the 5th Oct, I am now going back two weeks earlier. I am not sure of the next time I will be coming back to Malaysia.

me and my sistersss!

First blog post in Malaysia

2009-08-03T14:44:00.001+01:00

I am back in KL and I feel extremely reluctant to blog, even though I actually have much time at home doing nothing! (i assume facebooking and blog stalking doesn’t count.)

So, I suppose photos blogging with some descriptions should be good for an update too.

Me and a few high school friends went for steamboat in Kepong to celebrate Yee Ming’s birthday on the next day I arrived. They weren’t very bothered if I was infected with H1N1. We had Doctor Wong after all. Audrey couldn’t join us for dinner, so we fetched her later and went ‘’mamak’’ at Kuchai Lama. I ordered my first Milo Ais. ;P

the most remembered bukit antarabangsa + pisa tower birthday cake. cheese cakes melt when they were not kept in the fridge!

On Monday evening, I met up with Priscilla. We went for a drink at Somo in Mont Kiara. Had a great time catching up with her.

On the next day, I drove and picked up Alex at Leisure Mall. I was glad that I still remember the way to get there. We argued along our way to find the fastest way to the city centre.

What a madness to drive in KL! Malaysian drivers seemed to be more ganas x 3 since the last time I drove in KL.

Our first sushi meal in Sakae Sushi during our first visit to Pavillion where we also watched movie for the first time in the past two years.

First time joining Alex’s family dinner. We had a delicious Korean dinner at Taipan USJ.

Had a drink with Wai Sun and Audrey at The Apartment cafe at KLCC last Wednesday. Alex came along to meet my friends. No pic. Cozy apartment like interior but with ugly exposed ducting system.

Went to Zouk with them last Friday night. Super high heels hurt my feet!

15 July to 24 July

2009-07-23T23:31:00.001+01:00

I had a very hectic schedule in the past two weeks before I left UK. I didn't have the time to write and also didn't have Internet connection at my new house. So, here is a brief update when I managed to write.

15th-20th July (Wednesday-Monday) Work

20th July (Monday) Finished work at 2pm, took the train to Glasgow in the evening.

21st July (Tuesday) signed new lease for flat and did some errands. Bad weather.

22nd July (Wednesday) Went to uni to settle some stuff. Took the train back in the afternoon, reached London in the evening.

23rd July (Thursday) Worked double shift from 7.30am till 6.30pm. Farewell dinner at 7pm. Went to a club till 1am. Ashley and Mark walked me home and I chatted with them in front of the entrance till 1.30am. Went to bed at 2am.

24th July (Friday) Woke up at 6.30am and started work at 7am. Last day at work till 3pm. Walked around in the town centre with Alex after work to look for souvenirs. Didn't get anything but met a regular customer in the cafe at Debenhams. Chatted with her for a while. Went groceries dating after that. Packed until midnight.

25th July (Saturday) Woke up quite early. Went to London Design Museum for the exhibition - remembering Jan Kaplicky. The architect passed away in January. Went to Spitalfield Market and Oxford Street after that. Reached home at 9pm. Had dinner and packed again.

26th July (Sunday) Packed and cleaned the house for whole day. Dropped by the cafe at 5pm. Stayed there for about one and an half hour and Helped with closing the store. Last time seeing Yeliz. Bought McD takeaway and continued packing again! Slept at 2am. It was the first time we managed to sleep on the day before a moving.

20th July (Monday) Woke up at 7:30am. Started bringing the boxes down at 8

:00am. Glad that Mark came to help. Finished everything at 9am. Went to the cafe for the last time. Felt so sad leaving. 8 hours on the road with the mover. Reached Glasgow exactly at 6pm. Finished moving every thing up to new flat at 7.30pn. Good job Alex for carrying most of the stuff. Went out for mcd again, unpack, and slept at 12pm.

21th July (Tuesday) Finally managed to get good rest. Woke up at 10am. Cleaned the house and continue to unpack. Left the house at 1.30pm. Went to uni to collect the visa letter. Waited for more than an hour but didn't manage to get it again. Continue to unpack and unpack and unpack again. Smart Alex fixed a table in the bedroom and it couldn't go thru the door to the living room. Wrote this draft on mobile.

22nd July (Wednesday) Continued to unpack and cleaned the house again. Went to the uni again to settle some stuff.. Checked flight details in uni. No Internet access at home. Met tris, boris and Charlie to celebrate Tris' birthday one day earlier. Tidied the house and packed for Malaysia after Tris and Boris left. Went to bed at 2am.

23rd July (Thursday) woke up early. Went to bank to verify bank statement. Happy with 30kg check in luggage allowance but still didn't seem enough. Too much junk as usual. Spent first 7 hours in plane watching movies, playing games with Alex, listening to the music, didn't sleep at all. Spent some time reminiscing the time before and after I left Malaysia. 4 hours transit in Dubai, and another 7 hours journey back to KL.

24 July (Friday) In KL!

Oh Glasgow

2009-07-18T00:44:00.001+01:00

Sometimes I wondered if I will be bored with the lifestyle in Glasgow when London is no longer a 30 minute train ride away. But unexpectedly, I actually felt quite excited to be back in this city of gorgeous Victorian buildings, as soon as I stepped outside from Glasgow Central train station.

It has been 11 months since I left Glasgow to take on another challenge and to explore the other side of the UK. During this period I am glad to have the opportunity to visit a few other parts of UK (and spent all my savings in the process). But Glasgow is indeed one of my favourite cities when compared to others like Birmingham, Bath, Bristol, Manchester, Belfast etc. (London is not included because London is so special and unique.)

While the food in Glasgow seems to be 10 times more oily and greasier (I will really need to watch my diet carefully), I found most Glaswegians and Scots in general tend to be friendlier than their English counterparts. And less shops shouldn't be an issue because I am supposed to start saving! (fingers crossed).

However, It was such a shame that I actually didn't really explore Glasgow when I first arrived. Hopefully after all the time spent in UK, I will be more familiar with the local culture and transport system, and I will definitely go around Glasgow more (in a budget way). The only drawback will be the super freezing cold winter, the super windy spring and autumn plus rainy summer that always makes me choose to stay inside my cosy room.

trench coat during summer.. argh!

. glasgow city hall
the first place we had our dinner when we just arrived Glasgow about 2 years ago

the main reason why i chose this flat – big mirror and nice wardrobe. small kitchen? who cares.. lol

Early morning blog

2009-07-15T22:49:00.001+01:00

I have the opportunity to write now while Alex is still sleeping soundly. In fact, last night before we went to bed, I told him that I wanted to wake up not earlier than 10am because I wanted a good night's sleep. Perhaps it's because of summer, when it's bright by 5am or because of our habit to wake up early nowadays, but I find it hard to have good sleep after 6am. I woke up at 6.20am today in Glasgow.

In the past few days I have had quite a hectic schedule. So, I insisted to bring my laptop with me even though we were already bringing two large suitcases, a smaller suitcase and a large paper bag containing all my handbags from my shopping spree. We've hired a mover for our move next week, but thought it would be more prudent to bring some stuff with us now.

I was actually hoping that I could blog about our trip in Paris during the four and a half hours train journey from London to Glasgow (hence my insistence on bringing the laptop), but it turned out that the free onboard wifi wasn't free anymore. No matter, I could start by writing it offline. Only I couldn't, because I was suffering from terrible motion sickness throughout the 125-miles-per-hour journey. I've never experienced travel sickness on a train before, but I guess my vestibular system was acting up to the point where I easily feel dizzy when travelling by car or train.

Later at 3pm, we will be signing our new rental lease for six months. Everything was actually only confirmed yesterday morning. I had to come along for the six-hour journey (including connecting trips) because the lettings agency insisted on it.

Anyway, my elbows are now feeling numb for typing on the bed and I think it's time to wake Alex up for a Scottish breakfast.

p.s wrote this post two days ago, but couldn’t connect to the internet to post it.. =.=

Back soon

2009-07-11T23:24:00.001+01:00

This blog was created a few months before I came to the UK, but I only started to update it regularly two months after I arrived. At that moment, I signed up for the account for the sake of having one.

However, it eventually became a journal where I jotted down my life and experiences here. (Even at that time when Alex and I were not together yet, he was the one who influenced me to start blogging. So, I guess it's quite an achievement for him to see the growth of this blog.) But, the reason that I managed to keep the blog updated (quite) regularly was mainly because I know that my family and friends are following it.

A few days ago, I looked back through the archives after Tristyn mentioned about it (the archives). Changes are absolutely inevitable, and reflecting and introspecting the past through the blog really made me see how I changed to grow and adapt to this foreign culture. It felt so distant to see "me", two years ago. Not only were there changes in the way I think and write, but also in my photos, lifestyle, fashion style and relationship. I am not sure if I have grown a lot more mature or stronger or better, but definitely in many ways.

Another web 2.0 platform that has played an important part in capturing my memories is Facebook. It was also about the same time when I started social networking actively. I have created 68 photo albums and I know the amount seems to be ridiculous. Perhaps I was influenced from my father to like looking thru photos many times, editing and posting them onto web albums. He has also uploaded many photos of my family when I was not in Malaysia and spent a lot of time digging out the old photos and scanned them in to add into the collection. Therefore it was one of the best ways to keep me and my family updated about each other.

I have 13 more days before flying back to Malaysia. There are still many more posts that I would like to complete. But, once again, it seems hopeless because I am procrastinating too much nowadays and busy packing our stuff to move back to Glasgow soon (and also shopping!). I guess the post about our trip to Paris will be forgotten.

Meeting old friend

2009-07-09T21:33:00.001+01:00

Yesterday I met up with Nagore, one of my closests friend when I was enrolled in the student exchange program in Belgium. She will be here for about 3 weeks for her English summer course, but yesterday was the only day where I had some free time. I was wondering if we would have nothing much to talk about after not seeing each other for about a year, but we ended up chatting non-stop.

It was great to meet up with a friend whom I have not seen for just a year. So, I suppose it'll be even more exciting to see my friends in Malaysia. I'm coming home soon!

Hello lovely day

2009-07-06T00:13:00.001+01:00

Yesterday was the first time I wore a skirt without leggings ever since I came to the UK. It was the suede skirt that looks too colourful as a piece itself.

while leaving the flat
while waiting for the train
oxford circus topshop

It was really hard not to spend too much during the sale season. But, sometimes I think the amount of money I would be spending on entertainment if I have many friends here would not be any lesser than the amount of money I spent on clothes.

Anyhow, the weather forecast for this week is rainy. So would that be the only time I could dress like that?

Posts about fashion are better than posts about Alex

2009-07-03T23:34:00.001+01:00

Tristyn, this post is specially dedicated for you..

In the past few Saturdays, me and Alex went to explore other parts of London that we have not been before. I mentioned to you that I bought two skirts in the Spitalfields markets and also a suede skirt in Portobello Market. I got all of them from vintage stores. Honestly, I think that the vintage skirts are much better than the high street brands; although that only applies to the skirts. I can't really fit into the vintage blouses or dresses or coats, probably because the English women have broader shoulders.

Besides that, the vintage skirts are cheaper and somehow fit me better.

You know I seldom take photos of my shopping items. But, here you go..

this is the suede skirt that I insisted to buy, although I’m still wondering how to clean it later. the best way is perhaps to bring it the dry cleaners.

left: i wore the blue checkered skirt to Portobello market..
right: the gray skirt isn’t vintage. I stopped wearing skirts after I turned 13 and didn't buy any until when I finished high school 5 years later. But, that was only my second time wearing it (because I couldn't fit into it after going to NS). My mum sent some stuff to me and included the skirt by mistake.

Birmingham in May

2009-06-30T23:39:00.001+01:00

Before May, I hardly had any weekends off. That was because the cafe was understaffed. But in May my manager started to hire more staff to replace me and another outgoing co-worker, that we each had lesser working hours. My manager then allowed me to have two consecutive weekends off so I would not moan over my working hours.

On the first weekend we went to Birmingham and stayed with Alex's friend, Eunice. She shared a house with two Malay girls and a Chinese. It felt awkward when I had to converse in Malay. I had to pause often, even in simple conversations. And so I realised that it had been a very long time since I spoken Malay.

I remember when I received a letter from the Malaysian embassy in Belgium in response to visa queries. I contemplated if I should reply, because if I did, it would have to be in Malay. So, there goes all my Malay lessons back to the teachers.
Eunice me Alex

Back to our trip in Birmingham. We reached there super early before the shops opened. We had an unhealthy English breakfast (ham, fried eggs, sausages, bacons, hash browns, mushroom - all the fried stuff) in a pub while waiting for Eunice. During the trip, we hung out mostly at the shops rather than spending more time visiting any touristy places. That was how our habit of dropping by a shopping area every time we travel started.
biggest English breakfast . most Malaysian lunch

Birmingham shopping centre

nostalgic art gallery cafe

outstanding Birmingham Selfridges Building

At night, we walked along the hip and happening quarter of Bridley Place Canals and Broad Street. The night scene was not much different compared to Kuala Lumpur, where everyone dressed up glamorously and headed out for a night of fun. The more posh bars and clubs required a dress code, so we had some drinks in a more casual bar.

It was only a two-day trip, but it was enough to get a quick picture of life in Birmingham city.

K Krispy Kreme – I personally think it was too sweet….