“It’s better to have loved and lost, rather then to have never loved at all”

I got the idea to write such a thing from Melissa who had done hers earlier on.. Mine took so long because I was trying to make it reach a hundred.. (which I did!!)
Initially I was even planning to put pictures up with the posts, but there is a hundred memories here, so I couldn’t be bothered, and besides I have blogged about all this before..

So if you are interested in learning of my memories, then take a look..

Unforgettable memories of 2006 – 2007, the good and the bad

**The time before April 2006, has either been gone with the wind, or nothing much worth mentioning happened during that time.. Anyway if there was anything to start with, neither you nor I would have missed it, as it would have been definitely blogged bout..**

-April 2006-
1. Participating for the first time in a debate.. (Ahh the horror of it all…) Discovered how some people can be real asses, and self centred and was left wondering how do this people live when they don’t have even an ounce of decency in them to work together…

2. Participating and winning a moot court on vicarious liability and meeting and getting to know some juniors who are of the same age. (We all love anime!!)

3. Being part of the Law Society, Mooting Society, and Class Council (Whatever that was called) and organising all it’s events (though I tried to, and somewhat failed to purposely take on roles with hopefully the least work)

-June 2006-
4. Celebrating my birthday, with a small, last minute put together party –I love that lemon cheese cake, and the Japanese buffet the day after..

5. Depression started to get noticeably worse… (Could be because my close friends had left, or could be due to my leaving (this I seriously doubt), or could be the exams.. so many probabilities, but I’m not sure which is which, I never dwelled on it, to start with…)

6. Had my heart sort of broken, i think. (Well I was already depressed, so that incident sort of set me off, i guess..but then again, i'm not sure what made me tear that time, cause eventhough i saw him, i was still fine, so maybe it wasn't him.. but other stuff??)

-July 2006-
7. Reaping what I sowed due to my laziness (that's what you get for not studying? haha)

8. Missing out on scouting activities that I would have loved to go to =.='

9. Losing friends to the education system of the United States of America (well and lost too…)

-September 2006-
10. Preparing to fly off to the United Kingdom in about 10 days – rushing my visa, buying clothes and necessities, packing, farewells- Hats off to my dad…

11. Having a boisterous farewell by the Scouter Council; a board game courtesy of Aun Wei that I will never forget (I still remember it was on the 16th of September 2006, the first time I got drunk in Malaysia with people other than family…)

12. Flying alone for the first time, when I was leaving for the UK. My 3rd uncle and family came to see me off.. My aunt now claims that I am the really calm and composed type.. Hmm~ I won’t reject a compliment.. When it comes to travel I am independent haha.. (Guess I only panic in matters of the heart and exams?)

-October 2006-
13. Arriving in Reading, and on to the hall, first friend I made at bridges hall was Anastasia.

14. My very own room, to do as I wish, and decorate as I wish

15. Discovered that living with bare necessities was quite fulfilling.. Because it means less clutter!! :p

16. Fell in love with the United Kingdom weather –umbrellas are useless over there, get a waterproof coat..-

17. Discovered that it was actually very wonderful to wear a coat. –I actually miss wearing a coat- (and secretly I actually had always wanted to wear one.. could be the shows or Canada..)

18. Realised that sometimes a change in scenery does good for depression.. Was somewhat cured for the time being… (or maybe I was too busy, and I had to look after other people, so I had to put aside my own problems first.. but I had support from Leeds, Prague and Malaysia so I managed..)

19. Learning to control my finances –thank goodness I’m not really a spend drift-

20. Having to be independent – doing my own laundry, cooking and cleaning for myself, well it wasn’t my first time so it wasn’t hard at all, thanks to my parents.. But I became such a neat freak..- (That now, I can’t really stand the dust here, I’m constantly sneezing =.=’)

21. Bath [8th October 2006] my first time travelling in the UK with friends; met some new friends, and juniors. And learnt some interesting things about the Roman baths.. (Yes!! Culture!!)

22. Learnt about the inhabitants of the White knights lake from Rory the old man from the swan society [20th October 2006]

23. Finally setting foot in a Tesco [25th October 2006] –I know, I know, it’s laughable.. But I don’t really go grocery shopping back home..-

24. Seeing frost again [27th October 2006] -I’ve seen it in other places when I was touring e.g. china, but this was Reading :p -

25. Seeing one of the wonders of the world.. And going to a place that my mom had been… The Stonehenge & Salisbury [28th October 2006]

26. Cooking dinner for at least 8 people [29th October 2006] a real experience to cook like that.. It was like for a big family.. (I usually cook for no more than 5- and that’s helping out, or with help)

27. Participated in Halloween for the first time.. Dressed as a devil girl [31st October 2006] (and looks like the last? =.= I hope not..)

-November 2006-
28. A place I always wanted to go to… --> Oxford [11th November 2006]

29. Losing a friendship, which could actually have been a more meaningful friendship.. But guess it’s written in the stars, that we’re only just somewhat “friends”. No one’s fault.

30. Realising what are real friends..

31. Having to deal with gossips and childish people (nothing new here, I had my fair share in high school, but this time it was harder, cause I didn’t have the support and protection I used to have in high school, and to think that people in university will do things like that, guess people don’t change no matter how old they are)

-December 2006-
32. Casablanca night [1st December 2006] My first time clubbing in the UK, couldn’t dance for nuts.. (Happily to say though, that I got a hang of dancing now, and I love it haha.. but I don’t like Malaysian clubs, and no trusted friends to go with.. sigh..)

33. London [6th December 2006] with xian ai and jian lun, first time in London in 17 years and I took a picture with Queen Elizabeth :p keke

34. Was scandalized by the size of clothing there. I had to resort to children’s clothing. –I had to look for clothes meant for 12-13 years olds.. Or go to the £5 pound shop.. – (In a sense I think it’s good, cause then I’m refrained from spending money on clothes..)

35. Snowball [7th December 2006] bought my own first dress to attend such a function, it was the day I met Vinyee too ☺ and discovered that Paul can be a gentlemen hehe

36. Went to Prague to see my sister again after 2 years plus of separation... ahh an emotional time for me..[4th till 8th of December 2006] and got seriously drunk for the first time.. On nothing else but absinthe (it’s 70% alcohol..)

37. Visited a place I wanted to always go since I was young…Edinburgh Scotland (well Scotland actually not necessarily Edinburgh) [8th till 10th December 2006] It was super cold then… realised that I like the cold.. but not that cold

38. Realised how strict other airports are especially with all the terrorist attacks [13th
December 2006] coming back home for the holiday.. Heathrow airport, arghh I was lucky I didn’t pop a vein.

-January 2007-
39. Seeing snow again after 17 years hurray, was so happy hehe.. 24th January 2007

40. Discovered Facebook thanks to my neighbour at bridges hall; Vinyee 28th January 2007 –and got addicted to it haha-

-February 2007-
41. Playing with snow [8th February 2007] it snowed enough to be played with; not like last time. –Was really fun.. Made a giant muffin with sze chun hehe-

42. The place that literature freaks (well I was sort of one in my younger days..) dream of visiting.. Stratford upon Avon, Shakespeare’s birthplace [10th February 2007]

43. Participated in the Reading University’s Malaysian night [23rd February 2007] it was fun learning all the dances. I learnt how to joget.. :p

44. Celebrated valentines day by going out clubbing with friends [14th February 2007] looks like the first and hopefully not the last time I celebrate it..

45. Went to a circus.. I grew up on Enid Blyton and always wanted to go to one..[15th February 2007]

46. Visited Bristol [25th February 2007] At first i couldn't recall, but know i have recalled that Bristol was memorable because i had Scones English style for the first time, heated scones on the oven with cream/strawberry jam.. ooh yum.. even Savoy's couldn't beat their scones.. haha (oh wait i should have made a memory for Savoy's, but that would make it 101 if i did.. eek...)

-March 2007-
47. Experienced what was called Latin night [2nd March 2007] tried to salsa.. And failed, good experience though :p

48. Explored Reading University..[6th March 2007] really beautiful, a walk in the woods; my dream come true. What a Enid Blyton fan that I was…

49. Celebrating Chinese New Year in a foreign land, with friends and family (2nd maternal aunt) and had my first crispy crème; why doesn’t Malaysia have it?

50. Learning how to use the London underground and falling in love with it’s system (but not its trains.. our trains are better if only they would spare me the screeching sounds..) –but it felt so classic, listening to the sounds of the train running on railway tracks..-

51. A place I always wanted to go too.. Besides Oxford was Cambridge [10th March 2007] the British SPR labs are actually located there, too bad I didn’t get to visit it.. sigh..

52. Played Futsall for the first time, and last time? [11th March 2007] –I wasn’t feeling well then, and I honestly felt kind of out of place..-

53. Attended a musical by the Reading Drama Society with my hall mates [22nd March 2007] I think this was my first musical. –Queen’s We Will Rock You-

54. The land of leprechauns.. Dublin!! [29th till 2nd of April 2007] –Visited a medical University, Cool. Also had a Celtic experience. Another wish come true-

-April 2007-
55. Exploring London by myself – its not that scary at all [4th April 2007] –there was sort of a phobia there. Cause we all know how KL is like.. But heck.. I go around KL by myself anyway.. So it was fun going round London. At least everything was in English, and the people were nice, heard a string quartet for the first time live at the National Art Gallery, and managed to take wonderful pictures at St James Park, the lighting was just at the right angle..-

56. Discovered the wonders of the zebra crossing in the UK.. (People in Malaysia don’t give a damn about zebra crossings..)

57. Living in Prague during Easter break [6th till 21st April 2007] experienced living in another country besides the UK. A real great experience!! Plus it was with my sister haha.. It was fun.. Not to mention she tried to get me drunk again haha..

58. Living with my sister again. It was nice being able to go nuts anytime I wish. And running around.. ermm.. ehem haha.. :p

59. Attended a Romanian wedding, a real eye opener to their traditions.. –Breaking plates anyone??-

60. Discovered how scary UK beetles were [29th April 2007] –So I’m a drama queen, sue me.. keke-

61. Watched another musical called the Lion King, my first official proper musical. It was nice, but there were better ones out there. Or it just wasn’t really to my taste, (des loved it though..) Discovered how wonderful violins were. (ahh I want to learn how to play one..)

62. Discovered how music can actually really move you to tears

-May 2007-
63. Stressing out during exams and being calmed down by Mel. I actually took to crouching in a corner to breath (it really was that bad, even my sleep was disrupted, I guess I was traumatised due to my company test last year..)

64. Doing something insane right after exams like travelling to Portsmouth [19th till 21st of May 2007] –I haven’t even cleaned my room of the books and notes..- But I had a fun time..

65. Amsterdam, sex museums anyone? Haha [30th May till 2nd June 2007] –it was a real eye opener since sex trade in Malaysia is illegal after all- (i actually knew of the mistake, but was too lazy to edit, but since i was editing the bristol memory, i thought oh what the heck...)

-June 2007-
66. Experienced what it is like to be in amazing race.. We went from Amsterdam to Switzerland [2nd till 7th June 2007] 5 states, 5 days… Geneva, Lucerne – Mt. Titlis; running round on a snow mountain in naught but shorts (an experience of a life time), Rhine Falls (not as great as Niagara Falls but the water.. woah.. so clear..), Interlaken (mounted a bike after so many years, really enjoyed myself, and touching the cold, clear refreshing water of the alps, cycling in the woods..) overall it was like amazing race, running to catch the trains from state to state :p

67. From Switzerland to Berlin [7th till 12th June 2007] experienced déjà vu at the breakfast room.. Had a barbeque European style, played with a sprinkler, went kayaking for the first time, had a German home stay and obtained “foster” parents.. Unforgettable indeed..

68. Getting to know other course mates and realising what nice people they actually are, making great new friends. Had a blasting good time with them.. (Haven’t felt that way around friends for a long time..)

69. Again having to deal with childish and insensitive people and issues -disappointing-

70. I was totally insane, after Amsterdam, Switzerland and Germany, I headed of to Paris [14th till 18th June 2007] –well it was one of my dream destinations to go too… so though I was tired as hell, I loved it.. Pity we couldn’t have gone with more friends, the more the merrier..- ahh Tour de Eiffel…

71. Getting hurt by a friend… (still trying to recover from this…)

72. Celebrated my birthday with the best present ever? Being my results.. “I will graduate.” And well also with all my friends [19th June 2007] and getting blindfolded along the way for dinner haha..

73. Ever partied on a boat? I have, in a Latin boat party [24th June 2007] learnt how to Salsa
properly, and had a great dance partner i.e. Aansan.. And spent the night laughing about my cursed silver shoes.. (I’m a known klutz when I’m in heels.. haha) –got a very bad leg cramp after that due to the cold, thanks Aansan for looking after me..-

74. Leaving Bridges hall and my friends. [30th June 2007], tears were shed, but there are no regrets, I treasure every moment there, I detested the noisy, cloggy, place but I also managed to meet the great people there; that I treasure.. that’s where I learnt, it’s better to have loved and lost, rather to have never loved at all..

-July 2007-
75. London [1st till 8th July 2007] the feeling of having a family again, (sadly minus my brother) and dad’s home cooked food.. Spicy Malaysian food again..YUM!1

76. Went to a place I wanted to go, yet again haha.. Windsor castle [2nd July 2007] Though truth be told, I was already sort of jaded of castles, and the château de Versailles and the palace in Potsdam were much more nicer..

77. Cambridge with family [3rd July 2007] it was in some ways, more enjoyable this round, I didn’t have to pay entrance fees, and got to see more. And I showed my parents the apple tree in which Newton sat under, when the apple fell.. Saw it in winter and summer haha..

78. Watched phantom of the opera with my family [5th July 2007] absurdly wonderful!! –I had always wanted to watch it since I was 14 years old-

79. Graduated 070707 – purposely left the date like that haha.. The stress and freaking out paid off!! And also recieved my VERY first Bouquet of flowers from my sister, during graduation.. They were so pretty, but it's a pity i couldn't bring them back with me...

80. Backpacking Eastern Europe – a true experience to treasure.. [14th till the 25th of July 2007], Bratislava, Slovakia (cheap food? Cheaper than UK at least)- Budapest, Hungary (houses of parliament was beautiful)- Zagreb, Croatia-(most beautiful falls I’ve ever seen, discovered that advertisements need not always be right.. – 10 minute walk anyone?), Ljubljana Slovenia (went to the orchestra for the first time, and fell in love with it, and had a horse burger) – Vienna, Austria (a musician’s dream come true)- Salzburg, Austria (biggest ice cave in the world – a real experience)

81. Repaired somewhat broken ties a little. But as I said it’s written in the stars

82. Realised that people do change.. Too late..

83. Heard the Buckingham’s palace band and watched the changing of the guards after 17 years.. And also visited Baden Powell’s and other famous people’s grave in the Westminster abbey [27thJuly 2007], seeing Yee Sin after so long. Ran into him and his parents the day before, when I was out with Des & Mel

-August 2007-
84. Watched wicked the musical [1st August 2007] a wonderful musical, my last musical before leaving Europe, that’s why it’s memorable

85. Sherlock Holmes museum [6th August 2007] a fan of Sherlock Holmes’s it’s a must!!

86. Leeds [8th till 10th of August 2007] nice spending time with and old friend and being pampered again after so long.

87. Baden Powell’s house and the British national museum [13th August 2007] BP house was kind of a scam maybe, but all the same as a scout (well I admit I’m a not-so-scout enthusiast anymore) But I guess it’s a dream to go there

88. Learnt that even in the UK, Malaysians are still Malaysians, as was proven by the Malaysian shipping company.. Well I guess you get what you pay for… (Poor students like me, can’t afford expensive & punctual shipping companies..)

89. Touching down on Malaysian soil and getting a rude slap by the humidity, haven’t felt that in a while [16th August 2007]

90. Learning the guitar, now at least I can roughly play two instruments

91. Learnt more about relationships and how to distinct friendly intentions and motivated intentions.. (Am no longer that blur, and learnt how to handle situations better)

-October 2007-
92. Went to the hot springs for the first time [2nd October 2007] though it was in Sungkai, which is near Ipoh and I nearly passed out due to the heat. But it was my first time non-the-less

93. Went clubbing in Malaysia [5th October 2007] I profess, it was my first time, and not really my first time.. –And learnt more about relationships after that..-

-September 2007-
94. Attended my cousin’s wedding in Perth, first time going for a holiday without my parents and with my nucleus family [10th till 23rd of September 2007] it was fun, it was like a cross country thing, travelling from one state to another, staying in cottages.. Having a fireplace.. Absolutely wonderful..

-November 2007-
95. Went to Malaysia’s philharmonic orchestra (MPO) for the first time [4th November 2007] –felt that Slovenia’s was better, but then again.. I missed the all-important Rachmaninoff piano concerto. Sigh.-

96. Celebrated my mom’s birthday, parent’s birthdays are important after all, if they weren’t born I wouldn’t be here [16th November 2007]

-December 2007-
97. Celebrated my dad’s birthday, as a person who treasure family ties, I think it’s nice to celebrate family birthdays [17th December 2007] –well friend’s birthdays too-

98. Meeting my brother’s Japanese girlfriend, [22nd December 2007] I like Japan’s culture, so it was nice to be able to meet a Japanese and learn some new things from her, and experience not to be forgotten, and I learnt how to make Japanese pizza (okonomiyaki)

99. December seemed to be the month to meet old friends, had a SMKTS 03 gathering; meeting old friends was wonderful, and surprisingly, the people that you didn’t talk to last time can get really talkative with you [27th December 2007] –From this experience I realised I wasn’t really as social a butterfly as I claim, or well maybe now; I could have been in the past..-

100.Celebrated the coming of a new year, the first time I managed to celebrate it till the end (I get sick in huge crowds, lack of oxygen perhaps), and had loads of fun doing it, karaoke anyone? :p (hanging out with my brother and his friends) [31st December 2007]

I think I became more cultured since coming back, either than the MPO (i.e. my ignited love for classical music), I have been going to a lot of Japanese related things as well, like the Okinawa dance festival, the Japanese charity bazaar..

Overall, doing this post, I realised that I had my ups and downs.. And I chose to dwell on the good things…(the.. I quote from my dad “ over-optimist” in me??) I mean I did have more positive things happening to me. I visited places I could only dream of travelling to. It was very tiring to travel so much in one year, but I totally enjoyed myself, and I have no regrets. I made new friends, and really broadened my horizons..

As a person who loves culture, Europe was very attractive to me, as it is also rich in culture (especially music), though I still do prefer oriental culture more (but I sort of prefer western classical music slightly more, maybe it’s because I play the piano), as it is closer to my ethnicity but it was refreshing to learn other new things. The only regret I garnered from my one-year stay in Europe was that I had to leave the friends I made.

But life has to move on, I can always make new refreshing memories.. I am still young, and I hope that one day, I will get to study abroad again, preferably the UK again, because I find them richer in culture. (I’ve been to Australia at least 3 times, and what can I say? Europe is more exciting, and I heard New Zealand is only good for the fresh air..) And also, I limit myself to these countries because of the weather conditions and my line of study.. :p I love their weather there.. Though Scotland would be fine, or Wales..(But England is more convenient furthermore I am familiar with that place and have friends there.. )

Or maybe Japan.. haha but in my line, what can I study in Japan? I would actually love a year’s home stay there actually. But it doesn’t look possible. So I shall look at what is possible.. :p

Now when I watch shows, animes or read books, I can associate myself to the places that they mentioned.. It brings me both happiness and sadness, but at least I had lived it to the fullest.. And I have something I can reminisces about.. That I assure you, is the most precious of them all.. Memories..

-Oracl3-

“My heart breaks to leave you, but the memories that I’ve made, will surely be treasured forever in my heart; waiting for the days where I sit back to remember and laugh and cry..”

NOTE: Edited

“Only a person who has faith in himself is able to be faithful to others” –Erich Fromm-

千年女優 : Millenium Actress


i got the DVD from my sister last spring when i was in Prague but never got around to watching it.. so since i was looking for someothing to watch i decided to give it a try.. the DVD was kind of faulty, so i had to use VLC to play it instead.. sigh... thank goodness for VLC haha.. on to the review..

A 2001 movie about a women chasing her love.. definitely not for kids, not due to language or violence etc.., but cause kids won't understand it..

and if you didn't understand the show called.. hero.. a chinese show with jet li, tony leung, and maggie cheung, then i doubt you will understand this either.. they are somewhat similiar...

the story covers, a young girl who helps a government rebel, and falls in love with him, but he is forced to flee.. thus the storie follows her attempts to find him...

it starts off with her being an actress, and blending her movies (acting) with her reality..

the story seemed to have started from the feudal era, where she was cursed not to find her love, and follows her through the ages till modern space travel, making it seemed like she had searched for her love for a thousand years...

the ending is bittersweet... chasing after a shadow all these years, she is (hopefully) finally reunited with her love..

was watching this show as i felt it was too early to sleep, though my medication is making me drowsy already now..

what medication? hmm well today.. or more like make it yesterday since it's already 1am.. i went for a minor surgery to extract my wisdom tooth.. once that is healed i will have to extract the last one.. and good riddance to it all...

yup so due to that, i was given medication.. antibiotics etc.. but it's the painkillers that is making me drowsy.. so signing off...

if you think you can understand Sennen joyuu then give the movie a try... it touches you emotionally...

-Oracl3-

“Be miserable or motivate yourself. Whatever has to be done, it is always your choice” –Wayne Dyer-

Otori monogatari..
i got the idea to name this post based on genji monogatari.. well.. in this case, this post means tales of the otori.. though i think i would like to read tales of Genji someday..

this is just a short post to record my euphoria of finally finding the book that i wanted to read (though i do not possess the time to read it now..)

i had posted about the tales of otori before and had stated that i was looking for its trilogy, and i finally found it, and at an unbeatable price as well.. haha RM 39.90 for 3 books.. usually you would be obly able to obtain only a single book with that price, but i got all three for that price.. so now my search is over.. so i guess good things come to good people? cause on the day i bought the book, i had helped an blind man on the train...

class ended early for us on sunday as the lecturer had finished the sylabbus, so we decided to make a stop at the "cheap" bookshop to browse around.. and i'm happy we did, as now i can read the book when i'm free haha... at least i dn't have to search for it anymore...

so that's all for now... recently i've been updating my list of mangas, animes and shows, and i sure seem to have quite a lot.. but oh well haha... next time when i'm free it will be to update my book list.. sigh i have a tutorial today at the ungodly hours of 6-9pm.. erghh stupid brickfield's timetable

~~

on another note.. Huey is leaving for New Zealand tomorrow ie the 20th of febuary, on the 9 pm flight, wishing her all the best, a safe journey and to take care.. for the links for manga and anime.. take a look at my favourites links section ahha.. it's all there :p

Take Care Huey!! *hugz* muaxz

-Oracl3-

"Enjoy your childhood, enjoy your school life, don't try to grow up too fast lest, you regret.."

During my time in highschool, digital cameras, were not as widely affordable as now, but we still had our fair share of photos, especially in our final year, to capture the memories down in film and to help us remember as we reminicise in later years...

here are some pictures that i had scanned from those days.. and i have here only a few, for the rest, head for the facebook link at the bottom of this post...

we had our prom night at renaissance hotel.. i still recall that there were a lot of glitches in its planning, and my class was actually thinking of taking over the prom's organising committee.. but we didn't haha.. it was still an enjoyable night though.. here we have the four people who were always hanging out with each other.. (we still do today.. well somewhat.. since we are already scattered around the globe..)

from the left we have, gene, huey, me and meng..

there are the people who were sitting at my table.. i sort of set the rule that, if you don't have a date it's fine, we will just be the single's people table haha.. who needs a date for stuff like this when you have friends?? :) we still had fun (this method only applies if the majority of your friends are single though ahha.. WARNING: do not attempt if your friends are mostly taken :p )

anyway introducing the people who were sitting at my table.. from the left, we have nicholas leong, his date pei min, xin yin, me, huey, ccy, meng, nicholas seoh, gene and william from CHS.. (he's from another highschool, but came for ulterior motives haha.. )

overall, prom was a fun night.. i somewhat enjoyed myself..

~~

here are some pictures we took for our school magazine.. the fund days haha

here sitting we have me (no i wasn't a prefect, i was just wearing the tie for fun.. :p), joanna, chai kun, elane and jennifer.. standing behind me we have thomas, rowan, meng and gene..

meng looking evil there haha...

the "Cheong" Family potrait.. though it's not the full family haha.. from the right, we have me.. acting as the head of the family.. hoc mun.. who was "my father??".. haha.. gene.. ermm .. one of my husbands?? haha and standing behind me..from the right, is jeniffer.. my "granddaugther" joanna my "daughter in law" rowan "my son" (see rowan - roscoe.. ro & ro haha)
thomas "my grandson" and lee ming his "wife" haha.. fun times. just simply playing around.. how this family came to be.. even i cannot recall haha :p


taken outside my class..i still recall the mosquitoes... haha..

5 Petunia's Class Picture 2003... class teacher was Pn Tang Mee Mee, who also taught Biology to the Pure Science classes...

*http://rdg.facebook.com/album.php?aid=19048&l=35361&id=511511700*

-Oracl3-

"Childish innocence..."

"When it is dark enough you can see the Stars"

Roscoe and his Shirts!!
-No specific date but between december 07 and january 08-

during last december, i bought my little precious a shirt.. but as it seems that my baby has grown (or they have made the shirts smaller), the shirt did not fit my precious as well as expected and i had to get it exchanged.. so a green T-shirt was exchanged for a pink...

initially i was not very happy with the pink, because brown and pink clashes... but after a while i got used to it.. and now am fine with him and his pink shirt...

not long after that, my brother's girlfriend junko san.. seeing how much we loved my little precious... and i guess it's her small little way of thanking me?? (for being her tourguide and photographer during her holidays here) bought another shirt for him, a yellow shirt.. as can be seen below..
My precious posing with his shirts.. and well his collars... hehe.. チョ可愛い：P


SAM G1 gathering at Sakae Sushi, Sunway Pyramid
二十五日一月二０零八年
On the 25th of January 2008, Michelle and i organised a small little gathering for our SAM G1 classmates.. although not all could make it, at least one fourth of our class was there, and we had an enjoyable time catching up with each other...

The group of us, the thorn among the roses?? haha.. we have the from left row, arvid, siew kim, nicole, linda, from the right row, yi ching, wey woon, me and michelle..

during the time of this gathering, it so happened that my brother and his japanese girlfriend were in malaysia for a holiday, and i happened to talk about natto (Japanese fermented beans) with junko san...

Natto handroll... i shared this with my friend, wey woon as i was unsure if i would finish it by myself.. i have heard of its reputation....

Verdict: by itself it tastes totally horrid (well the 1st bite was horrible, not to mention that it's totally slimey too) the second bite, taken with the rice, tastes not bad.. so when junko san said that my brother likes natto... i was...

(信じられない、兄ちゃんはそのナットが大好き？？うそ。。[shinjirarenai,niichan ha, sono natto ga daisuki?? uso...]) -i can't believe my brother likes natto.. it's a lie..-
(=.=')

*http://rdg.facebook.com/album.php?aid=28133&l=dfda3&id=511511700*

Bentong Trip
十二日十一月二０零七年　ー　十五日十一月二０零七年
On The 121107-151107 i made a trip back to bentong...

Well why blog about it now? when i've always been going back to bentong? Well because this is the first time that i've brought a friend back with me...

For some years i had already been suggesting this to some close friends, but never had the oppurtunity due to the timing factor, but this round i managed to bring a friend with me, namely xian ai..

well there isn't anything much to do in my hometown exccept to eat, sleep, and watch television ahaha.. there really isn't a place to go there, so maybe that's why so many have declined ahha.. but it was an average trip...

Having dinner, and showing off our beer...

*http://rdg.facebook.com/album.php?aid=28134&l=04e45&id=511511700*

Taman SEA 03 Gathering At Sky Cafe
二十七日十二月二０零七年

On the 27th Of December 2007, i had organised a little gathering, upon the request of a friend, for my schoolmates who graduated from the same year as i, ie the year 2003.

it was a slightly bumpy road on the way to the organising, as i was still sort of reluctant to organise everything (due to past experiences..) but it all went well, there was a change in venue.. but either than that it turned out fine, we had at least 25 people there, who were eating there and chatting, while others just popped in to say hi, before leaving..

There were more people then this actually.. but my connection prevents me from uploading too many pictures... check facebook for the rest of the pictures.. well i admit, i just plain lazy... *http://rdg.facebook.com/album.php?aid=23993&l=8c088&id=511511700*


お父さんの誕生日
十七日十二月二零零七年

On the 17th of December 2007, it was my dad's birthday (as it is every year), in the household, excluding the dog, there is only me, and my parents (as it has been for the past few years).

As is the usual with Birthdays in the family, we celebrated it by going out for dinner (at places we don't really frequent ie expensive places... or whatever the birthday person is craving for)

It happened that for this birthday, we went to Chili's at One Utama. it had been quite some while since i last had western food.. (includuing my trip to perth..) that was about almost 2 and a half months of no western food..

If you are going to indulge your self in western food, then one might as well go to a place where it taste nice.. so there we were..

This was actually quite a lot for the 3 of us to manage.. but we did in the end.. it ended with a brownie, given to us on the house, because we were celebrating my Dad's Birthday there...

*http://rdg.facebook.com/album.php?aid=28137&l=df649&id=511511700*

~~
Yes, i admit i have been playing with the blink code again.. but that's all for this post.. i'm almost done catching up with my posts.. only the ones left below... it's still quite a lot as there are sub posts to those posts...(=.=')

100907-230907 Perth trip and wedding. (kind of a lot here...=.=')
221207-30108 my multiple outings with 兄ちゃんと純子さん (also quite alot, this will be broken up to subsections..)
-- some europe pictures... (random shots?? i think i still might have a few lurking somewhere in my hard drive..)

~~
currently have been busy as i have been watching some TVB shows.. currently watching with my mom is a show called Face to fate.. it's set like a kung fu show from the olden days.. as there are no subtitles, and due to the usage and sayings of old Chinese, i have some difficulties.. but either than that.. i can basically guess what they are saying haha.. if not.. just watch only la haha..

-Oracl3-

"If you don't hear opportunity knocking, Find another door"

"There has been worse...."

I had worse days, but today was bad. it's been quite sometime since i had a bad day.. i tend not to remember them anyway....

What went wrong? well, let's see, to renew my sibling's touch and go card, they said that they had to do it in person, and since they are overseas, they need to send a letter, with their signature on it... it's so troublesome... (my dad and i, as we left the office said at the same time "so mafan..")

(but that's not so bad... technology now is so advanced.. besides there are ways....)

After that, it was actually fine, class even ended an hour and a half earlier today, so i was happy that i could get home early... my friends sort of MIA-ed on me... and all i heard before they went MIA was KL Central, so i thought, i would just make it there then, but then, i found out they were actually in the loo... (i was too tired to think where they actually were.. my only thoughts were to get home) no biggie, i will just grab the train first to my long awaited dinner haha....

BUT.....

The train was delayed.... and there was i quote "a technical error, the train will stop longer at each station" (at least i think that's what i heard, i was in the train, and couldn't hear it clearly...their english is so superb....) arghh... instead of taking the usual 20 minutes to get home, it took me double the amount.. close to an hour to get home...this was my pet peeve...

To top it off, i had to stand the whole time, while i was squeezed like a tinned sardin. for a normal healthy person, that's no problem.. the problem was my anaemia...

In crowded places, it means less oxygen for me... so no matter how much people stared at me, and no matter how much they thought i was rude.. i wouldn't budge from my position near the door... i needed the air.. or i could throw up.. or worse faint.. it wasn't that bad.. cause about 2 stops away from mine i got a seat... better than nothing... at least my nausea didn't worsen...

Upon reaching, my stop, i called my mom....

Numerous times.... that wasn't so bad, if you don't count the annoying, house phone and my mobile... the idiotic telephone service installed a voice mail for my home phone, so i kept getting directed there, which means my money goes flying, and when i want to actually redail my home number i ended up dailing the sms notification on my balance.. at least 3 times..

blasted phone is such a sloth.. so slow moving arghhh....

It wouldn't be that bad, since no one was answering the phone, i don't live that far from the station.. but the heavens were against me, as it was raining.... but i was actually annoyed enough to walk.. when lo and behold.. my mother finally answers the phone, and insists that she picks me up...

So it wasn't that bad... i didn't get drenched.. and though hunger added to my annoyance, i am now waiting for one of my favourite dishes being cooked by my mom...

Also with her not answering the phone so soon, i managed to run an errand.. that's why i said there were worse days, (or worse to come... as i dread next thursday...) or maybe it's just the optimist in me, looking for that silver lining.. as my dad says.. and i quote yet again.. "you are an over-optimist" well if that existed.. but i think due to current and not so current circumstances i have been downgraded to just an optimist..

not that bad right? at least i am still an optimist??

~~

on another note, maxis is being a tad weird... but the connection isn't much to complain much of late.. although it is irritating to have my downloads interupted, but at least the connection is much more stable of late...

~~

i seem to have random spots on me.. pimples or insect bites? i m not sure.. all i know is that it swells and it's red, and it either itches or hurts.. maybe both....

~~

besides that, i was told that i was low class, by my own relative... it's nothing much, if saving money makes me low class.. ermm what does that make all those who save regardless of social stature? different people have different views..

so i guess rich people just like to waste??

even if i were rich, i don't think that i would be so wasteful...

this attitude of not wasting apparently gave rise to a misunderstanding, but it is all in the past.. so i couldn't be bothered much, but just thought that it was interesting to note down for my own future self reference, that no matter how careful you are, one man's tea is another man's poison...

and just when you think that not wasting is good.. it can actually sometimes work to your detriment..

~~
You are what you write..

somehow the conversation of being able to tell a person's personality from his/her blog, became a topic first with huey then with ccy as well (and seemingly a few others..)... and i was asked to anaylse a person(s) personality based on his/her blog.. the way you write, how frequent you write the designs you chose, all speak mountains against you.. it's also a bonus if i know you in person..

But this, i realise may not be very accurate, because as in my case, my blog was designed by ccy, though i did give him an idea of what i wanted, but the colour schemes and all were choosen by him.. so if you were to judge me, based on my blog.. you will have to look beyond the colour scheme used...

another thing that i was reminded of was, not everyone analyses other people.. they don't think to anaylse.. like that time when i was in Reading.. whenever i analysed people, i was accused of being over analytic.. but there are things that i see that other's don't (i'm not talking about unhuman things... haven't seen those in a while ahha)

it got me thinking, maybe i should have been a psychologist? haha.. but i think such skills will come in handy when i start working...

but sometimes i do wonder, why do i anaylse so much.. maybe that could account for the white hairs sprouting on my head...

~~

lately i have been receiving comments that my English used on this blog is horrendous, my grammar, my spellings...

proof read my blog? i used to do that, then i got lazy about a year or more ago..(who wouldn't with posts this long and frequent..) but at least i now type full words instead of sms spellings.. (as far as possible that is... there are times when i blog in a rush, or without a totally sound mind)

as for the typos.. half the time i type faster than words appear. and i type while i am on the bed, so i couldn't really be bothered.. sometimes my left hand types faster than my right hand.. hence all the errors.. and i'm too lazy to proof read... so there you have it all the errors glaring straight back at you...

one thing i noticed was that.. i have a tendency to be sort of melodramatic.. maybe i've read to many of certain types of books, that i remembered that once a friend of mind commented that my style of writing was simliar to that of JRR Tolkien..

My,my such an honour.. but that could also mean, that my writings are as dry as a history book, and has a tendency to be melodramatic.. about it being dry, i am absolutely unsure, as some people it seems, take joy in reading what i wrote..

but the melodramatic part of my blog, i admit it's true, for i myself have noticed that my method of writing, can follow how stories are sometimes written... i feel that i sound too british too sometimes... but that is my manner of writing... as a reader you have a choice not to read...

~~

one of my close cousins, namely Ben, has just recently flew to australia, and as he has already contacted me, and as he is currently online, i know that he is safe and sound, and he will soon be enjoying himself in a foreign land as i had, once upon a time...

due to the reason of his leaving, and to aid another cousin in the usage of her english, we decided to open and co-author a new blog called.. Generation L to know more about it, click on the link..

i had asked ccy to help with the blog layout, but as he is busy with tests and all.. i did not pursue it.. when ever he is free it's fine by me...

~~

Watching TV or shows are educational, if you aren't the type who merely just watches for entertainment..

i have a tendency to sometimes google things that i watched.. like the recently le chevalier d'eon and The king of yesterday and today...

watching these shows.. i tend to look up related things to it.. for example, with the aforementioned shows.. i had looked up the history of King Louis XIV and also Emperor Yong Jing and the Qing dynasty, as well as France in the 16th century.. whether i actually memorised(or properly read through) what i looked up, is debatable. but i can assure you that i do remember part of what i had looked up...

my recent MSN nick Fais ce que tu veux means "do what you will" in french. originally i was using fay ce que vouldras.. look it up if you will. especially if you have already watched le chevalier, then also look up novus ordo seclorum (latin for new order of the ages)

unrelated somewhat, but i came across it while reading information online is ubique sub terra (everywhere underground)

it's interesting what you can learn... from searching about things i watched on le chevalier, i learnt that the chracters in the anime D Gray Man are actually based on real life people...

so some people are right when they say that Television is educational. but it depends on the person watching it... it can increase your General Knowledge...

~~

“Holding on to anger is like grasping a hot coal with the intent of throwing it at someone else; you are the one getting burnt”

the title says it all..
since when has it ever been? accept 5 years ago i guess...

anyway the only game i gamble in is in mahjong...

and i think it says a lot when you've played four games of mahjong and you've lost every single penny in each game...

thus is my luck when i gamble.. when no money is involved my cards tend to be better.. imagine waiting to game for like eons and not gaming.. my card NEVER comes..!! arghhh....

sigh, at least if there were wins and losses i wouldn't feel that bad...

but that's how my chinese new year is so far... this year it seems kind of quite. curiously i am not into eating or drinking that much this year.. i wonder why.. one year of not doing stuff like that?? hmmm

anyway.. CNY this year, seems to be moving quite slowly this year.. it's a drowsy and sleepy CNY even the Lion dance troop is no where in sight till this day..

but that's all for now.. signing off from my sleepy home town...

-Oracl3-

"Eat, drink and be merry, for it is the season of celebration"

五日二月二零零八年：木曜日

Okonomiyaki (Hope i got it right, it could have been okonomomiyaki.... but i digress)

Chinese New Year is around the corner, (heck the reunion dinner is tomorrow night...) i am sure most of us are busy preparing for the celebrations, i definitely, as usual, will be unavailable for comment during this period. But this is the season of mahjong for me, can't wait to get my hands on the game and to play away with my cousins.

maybe while i am in my hometown i can even take the time to complete the post which i've been meaning to post. ie my year 2006-2007. i would say that, that year was the most eventful year for me in all my life, because i was somewhere new, being independant and doing my own things, and i travelled really extensively. so that is a cause to post.. (compared to my past years..) but as i have to sort through my mountain of pictures, my progress is extremely slow. not to mention that i have many other things to take care off..

That aside, it's now time to get down to the reason for the title. It reads as okonomiyaki.. お好み焼き　(did i get it right?) For the Japanese enthusiasts or those who are Japanese, we all know what this is, but to the laymen, let's just say, this is the Japanese version of their pizza.

According to 純子さん(junko san) my brother's girlfriend, okonomiyaki in english is called Japanese Pizza so we will stick to that. if you are still scratching your head, then please look at the picture below to see what is an okonomiyaki :p



Sayaka's very own Okonomiyaki with a cup of tea

there it is, though the shape is kind of off, (and well ya, this is homemade, so it doesn't look that nice :p) it's supposed to be rounder, but well lazy humans like me, who thinks that food all ends up the same didn't really bother.. (well when i was making it, i was making it on an empty stomach, as i had just woken up)

so where did i learn how to make this?

well, when my brother came back with his girlfriend, she made it for the little family gathering. (which i have yet to post about due to lack of time). i didn't actually lift a finger to help out, i merely enquired what the ingredients were, and the method. and after a glance at how to fry it, i already knew how to make it. preparations and all are fairly simple, it's the cooking process that takes time. cause there is a lot.. with the batter i made i could have very well have made 11-12 pieces of this. (But being the lazy 'ol me, i'm sure we can all guess how many i made haha) but overall i took about an hour and a half to prepare and cook everything...

why did i decide to cook this out of the blue?? hmm~ well when my brother and his girlfriend made it, there were still some left over ingredients left, like the sauce, and bonito etc.. so i decided to make use of it.. it was tasty anyway haha.. my parents enjoyed it too, it was a nice lunch :) (thought we ended up being really Malaysianised by eating it with our very own Maggi Chilli sauce :p)

~~

some of you may be noticing that the words under the picture is blinking haha.. this is due to the fact that i learnt some new HTML codes today. My mom wanted to send some E-Cards to friends, and was having difficulties and so i thought that i would help. Reading the "tips" section, i learnt a new thing or two about HTML and am thus playing around with it here haha..

For anything urgent during the Chinese New Year period, and if you cannot catch me online, then try calling my mobile, i should be answering, but don't mind the sounds that will be in the background and my sudden interuptions to say things like "pong" "chi" "sik wu" etc (all these are mahjong terminologies) :p

before i sign off, i would like to wish, all family, friends, aliens, and things that read my blog.. a

HAPPY CHINESE NEW YEAR!!

(yes i am having fun with the new html codes that i learnt, just be thankful the whole post isn't blinking haha)

Enjoy your Chinese New Year Everyone

-Oracl3-

"We live only once, so hell man.. i will eat all i want" -Sayaka's frequently used quote in the UK at Bridges Hall's meal time-

"If people are willing to give you their attention, you don't have to seek it, it comes naturally..."

三日二月二零零八年：日曜日

Today after class, i went to the MPO's chamber concert. Since both my parents haven't been there before, and since the tickets this round was cheap, (oni 10 bucks) i thought to ask them along, and they agreed.

melissa decided to join along for the chamber concert, it ended up with the four of us watching the chamber concert.

By the way, you are actually not allowed to take pictures in the hall, i got this picture from the internt..

so what did we listen to?

first we had the Franz Shubert's (1797-1828) Violin Sonata in D (D384). It was a Piano duet with the violin. this piece felt graceful and soothing. the piano player Kelly chung looked really young!! and the violin player yuki kawami was good too.. and she had a nice dress haha.. this piece had three movements in all.
*Allegro Molto
*Andante
*Allegro Vivace

Second perfromance was a piece from Johanne Brhams (1833-1897). it was a piano duet with a clarinet. the clarinet player phillip arkinstall was really amusing to watch, as he expressed himself, while playing.. it was cute haha... this piece had three movements as well
*Allegro Amabile
*Allegro Appassionato
*Andante con moto - Allegro

and the final performance was from a hungarian born composer, (Bartok's classmate apparently..) well now the place he is born is called lubjana, slovenia.. i think.. can't remember what i read on wikipedia... anyway i had never heard of this composer before..
Erno Dohnanyi's Serenade for String Trio in C (Op.10) there were five movements..
*Marcia (Allegro)
*Romanza (Adagio non Troppo)
*Scherzo (Vivace)
*Tema con varaizoni (Andante con Moto)
*Rondo

without huey this time.. i guess i really need to learn my music terms... but i roughly understood.. all the tunes were lively. so it was nice. the string trio (for the non music people, string trio means there is a violin, a viola and a cello.. 3 intruments)

outside while collecting our bag from the counter (bags either than hand bags are not allowed in the hall) i met yoong xiong... had a little chat, as melissa was tired, she left for home first, and my dad and i accompanied my mom to shop around for some clothes, came home empty handed to a heavy downpour, so we had dinner near the train station while waiting for the rain to abate.

in the end my conclusion is that i still prefer a full orchestra, but this chamber concert was and eye opener for me, to see how it was like, and the players weren't bad.. but next up on my list is the performance on the 23-24 of febuary where one of the composers that will be played will be holst's the planets.. :) i will see if i can make it.

actually on the 17th they have this sort of session to teach you how to appreciate the music that you like better.. hmm but i m wondering, how am i going to attend it... oh well.. we will play by ear...

and that's all for this post, i don't have much mood, maybe cause i am super tired. i had a long day out. morning classes than chamber concert, then shopping.. soooo tired...

that's all for now.. till another time...

-Oracl3-

"Be original when seeking what you want, don't step on other's toes"