Study Sundays

Can't get used to mugging on Sundays
And I never want to get used to doing that.

xxx

Kind of jailed in school this weekend (again) because finals have not ended yet...
I got 2 more papers actually - sighpie. Missing home a lot now - all the homecooked food, my soft comfortable bed (hall bed is really not too good..), the fridge snacks, my parents and my annoying brother.

Dad has been calling frequently just to check on me, like whether I have been sleeping and eating well and telling me lame jokes to distress. Haha sometimes I think I have a pretty cool dad, actually all the time. Thanks dad, love you. But all these just snowballs into the missing-home-situation, and to be honest I have this urge to cry every time my dad calls because I really miss them :(

It's okay finals are going to be over soon!! 3 more days!!!!!
All the best!!

xxx

"A flower does not think of competing to the flower next to it. It just blooms."

The Height Revelation

Yes I am short :(

xxx

Crazy scribbling and intense flipping for 2.5 hours in the freezing examination hall and I'm proud to say we are done with the AC2401 - Accounting Information Systems. YAYYY!! But on the other hand, no more Monday classes with veggie fritters for Joan and blueberry cereal for PeiYun :(
Really thankful to have these swaggies for my project mates for this module (probably the first and last module together sigh) with our maggie party that we almost died from being so bloated with cheese cocktail sausages and our really long htht session.

If you're thinking about stuff like, university students still have htht sessions? Yea duhh. I mean, maybe it can be named as something like.. chill talk? Catching up? (But yeap, I think you get the point).  Thanks giraffes for which sticking by me through Year 2 Sem 1~

3 more papers to go but first, let me take a #swagananaz.

xxx

"Self love is not vanity. It is sanity."

Friday Blues?

Top to ankles in blue today!
(because I didn't bring a lot of footwear into hall.. actually I only brought one pair..)

xxx

Got slayed by Accounting II paper today, so I decided to binge eat. Hahaha

But it's true. I like to binge eat, even though I know all the consequences associated with binge eating.. but it makes me feel better... so I just do it anyways. We (Audrey and I) hopped to Can B to flagoff my eating therapy. Started off with the mixed vegetables stall because they were selling eggplant!!! (Super love eggplants, there was once Jeremy bought one whole plate of eggplant for me :D) The food was not very satisfying since I am on my food therapy, so I moved on to the prata stall~

Sadly, they do not have dosai. I really really wanted to eat that. There was like this wave of disappointment (okay exaggerate much) and I settled for egg prata instead, which totally killed my binge eating because it wasn't the hot steamy prata that is just made.. Sigh. It was like cold doughy prata because the uncle cooked and left it there for a while already :(

The cold prata concluded my binge because I lost the mood to eat..
Food that are supposed to be warm. Should be warm!

xxx

"The journey of a thousand miles, Begins with a single step in the right direction."

CHEEESEEEBURGERR

Just having some happy food to bring myself pass midweek~
(featuring my no fringe look, hahah yes I intentionally cropped out my bare forehead)

xxx

As many or my friends have known, I haven't been eating Macdonalds for quite a while -- approximately 7 months -- I do not get tempted by all the new menus, shaker fries, etc etc, they just don't attract me (all the marketing gimmicks~) . UNTIL. My friends told me to try the McDouble.

As you can see... (sorry for the not so aesthetically pleasing picture of my half eaten bun, I tried other ways to capture the "yumminess" of my burger but I guess this is the best one I can manage yet) here's a cross section of my McDouble!!

It's actually beef patties inside if you haven't tried it before -- I just tried mine today after 20 years of my life (true story) -- and sandwiched in between the patties is a piece of cheeeeesee. They added pickles and some sauce (non-spicy and reddish so my guess would be tomato ketchup). As I sank my mouth into the bread and took my first bite. I fell in love~ Just kidding, but the taste of the burger is just right. I have no idea what recipe did Macdonalds use but the taste of the burger just felt right -- the right combination of ingredients. Yummy!!

The only problem with this burger, is that it's too small! But of course, you pay for what you get right? This yummy McDouble is only $2!! The part I like about McDouble is actually the beef. Well, it's definite that Macdonalds will not serve you high grade beef or anywhere near that (I mean, it's a fast food chain afterall, we can't be too idealistic even if their advertisements tells us otherwise), however, the sole reason why I don't really consume a lot of beef is because of the strong "beefy taste" that some beef contains. And I really don't like that taste, it makes me.. nausea. And to my amazement, the beef patties in the McDouble is completely free from that taste. Of course, I do not know what my patty had gone through, and how it's made, so I cannot tell you that it is super fresh meats from the cow..

All I can say is: I really enjoyed my burger(:

Back to being healthy again though! Slow foods tend to be healthier and since it's exam period and I won't be exercising much (plus I am already a bum during normal days~) I try to eat a little healthier with more vegetables and fruits.

Might decide to eat clean again after finals!

xxx

"The secret to success, is to eat what you want, and let the food fight it out inside."

Banana Trouble

Banana trouble with #swagananaz
(we are on Instagram too! Just search the hashtags(: )

xxx

Most cheesy couple award for this two lovebirds and brightest award for the light bulb (also known as me~).

Studying with them for these few weeks and it has been relatively productive! Other than the random times where I move out to somewhere else to study because the Free Access Lab (FAL) got a little chattery and loud at times. Please don't mistaken, I am not saying that you cannot talk in the FAL.. Freedom of speech(: So I guess it's alright to talk, but perhaps lower the volumes of your conversations because I don't think the entire room is interested in what you have to say about your toilet experiences or what not, neither is the people sitting near you..

Perhaps if everyone is just a little more considerate, then we can all study productively in an air conditioned room and power sockets!(:

Nevertheless, it was an enjoyable time studying there with the couple. We have sufficient breaks where we just give ourselves a break -- have some bananas, or snacks, take some selfies and snapchats. "All work no play makes Jack a dull boy", not sure if I used it correctly, but do remember to section out some time for breaks as they are really important!!(:

All the best to everyone for finals!

xxx

"Everybody is a genius. But if you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree, it will live its whole life believing that it is stupid."

Sashimi Cake

Banana trouble with #swagananaz
(we are on Instagram too! Just search the hashtags(: )

xxx

Most cheesy couple award for this two lovebirds and brightest award for the light bulb (also known as me~).

Studying with them for these few weeks and it has been relatively productive! Other than the random times where I move out to somewhere else to study because the Free Access Lab (FAL) got a little chattery and loud at times. Please don't mistaken, I am not saying that you cannot talk in the FAL.. Freedom of speech(: So I guess it's alright to talk, but perhaps lower the volumes of your conversations because I don't think the entire room is interested in what you have to say about your toilet experiences or what not, neither is the people sitting near you..

Perhaps if everyone is just a little more considerate, then we can all study productively in an air conditioned room and power sockets!(:

Nevertheless, it was an enjoyable time studying there with the couple. We have sufficient breaks where we just give ourselves a break -- have some bananas, or snacks, take some selfies and snapchats. "All work no play makes Jack a dull boy", not sure if I used it correctly, but do remember to section out some time for breaks as they are really important!!(:

All the best to everyone for finals!

xxx

"Everybody is a genius. But if you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree, it will live its whole life believing that it is stupid."

Happy Birthday PeiYun!

Happy happy birthday cloudpudding!(:

Proud to have organised a mini celebration for this girl today and hope she likes it!

xxx

I have totally no experience at planning real surprises -- real in the sense of really surprising the intended party because my friends are all too smart in this area.. except for this one~ (P.S. Her GPA is really high. She just didn't expect me to do those stuff).

I really enjoyed Plain Vanilla's cupcakes the last time I tasted it and was craving for more.. so I headed out of school in the morning at around 10am and reached Holland Village at 11am. The "bakery" is a short walk from the MRT station, pretty near I would say. And to my disappointment.. the place only opens at 12nn on Sundays. An extra reminder to self that I would google for shops' opening hours in future.

Right outside the MRT station, there's this party supplies shop, which looks a little like the old mama shop. Their helium balloons caught my attention as there were so many different kinds out on display -- other shops probably and most likely have those designs too but I guess I am more attracted to seeing the physical thing compared to the printed images in the catalogs (cheapthrill). Had a really hard time deciding which to get because they were all so cute really!! And finally I settled for the pink reflective happy birthday star for the birthday girl, after a really draggy 15 minutes whatsapp conversation with her boyfriend to ask the type of balloons she would prefer. 

Yeap, that's the pink one on the right. So where did I get those 2 plain coloured ones?

As I honestly feel that the balloons in that shop were a little overpriced -- poor university student -- I decided to look for better deals elsewhere. Googled with my phone and realised that all such shops are near Bugis. (If you have time and require helium balloons, I would strongly recommend you head there because the price is way way lower that those I got)

I hopped off the train at Boon Lay and went in search of more balloons, which eventually I found at Artbox in B1 of Jurong Point. They cost slightly lower that the pink one, but the price difference is not that large so I guess Bugis is still the best!

Surprised the girl when she was studying!

Oh, not to forget, I got her a rainbow cake from the Icing Room and surprisingly it doesn't taste too bad despite the reviews I heard from my friends. The cake was pretty soft and the cream was smooth. And most importantly it's rainbow!!! :D Icing Room also sells self decorated cakes and I guess it would have been more exciting to do it. Only if you have the time. As I was rushing, hoping to catch the birthday girl before she disappears for lunch, I just asked for the rainbow slice. After spending on quite a bit of stuffs the week before and being too lazy to withdraw more cash, I wanted to pay with nets. AND the staff told me that I have to purchase more than $10 to pay by nets. I was like omg and I told her to give me 5 minutes, which she really did. She smiled really sweetly and was super patient with my requests of a tiny spoon and a candle. Thanks!(:

The surprise was a success! Look at the smile on PeiYun(:

Happy 22nd girl!

xxx

"Don't dull the sparkle in your eyes"

Rewind

xxx

School has been rather stressful with all the returning of tests and consultation classes. As usual, I am struggling to stay afloat amid all the studying, or should I say rapid cramming of knowledge.

Was talking to PeiYun on our long night stroll back to hall after studying, and we started thinking what if our whole life was a lie, a dream, or just some daydream... And then we started to throwback to all the times when we wished we could like "restart" a portion of our life because of certain regrets, just like in video games, one can just choose to suicide or restart the game.

Before you starting judging us as bimbos or blondes, we were just thinking about it. I mean, who doesn't know that there's no rewind buttons or restarts? Just our wishful thinking I guess. Yup, so try to live life with no regrets everyone! No amount of 'what-if's will rewind time and no amount of regrets can restart. No matter what problems you face, the Earth still spins, the Sun still rises, life goes on (yes, the truth hurts).

So, pick yourself up if you've fallen, continue at your steady pace if you're cruising smoothly and never give up. Even a slight thought of it may manifest your mind, so keep them out. Also, don't forget the friends and families that are supporting you. They will never let go.

All the best~

xxx

"The only person worth changing for, Is yourself."

Far Far Away

So this boy bought me pizza for lunch today...

A collage with Jeremy when we are both having yummy pizzas together, even though we are 3000km apart. Thanks for feeding me even though you're not in Singapore(:

xxx

Haven't seen the boyfriend for a really long time as he is currently on exchange now, in Taiwan National Sun Yat-Sen University, which marks out first semester apart. To be honest, it wasn't easy, and it still isn't of course, and I am really glad that we are still holding on. We really faced many challenges, really. It was like a crazy roller coaster ride -- those with maximum shock ratings (no joke) -- and we were just like going through all the highs, lows, plunges and all.

And after close to three months, I guess the only advice I can give, is that: the key to long-distance relationships, is just lots and lots of COMMUNICATION. It's like, I cannot seem stress or emphasize this word enough (which explains my capital letters) because really, everything stems from communication. 

Firstly, I feel that paranoia is inevitable, especially if two people haven't got together for really long yet. I mean, it's not that we don't trust each other, perhaps it's because we can't physically see each other, we cannot detect their moods in a way. So we tend to not filter what we want to tell each other, which makes it worse when both of us just wants to bombard whatever happened today to one another. With all the mindless bombarding of happenings, sometimes we kind of let down our sensitivity filter, in a way that the opposite party starts getting a little sour with your interactions with the opposite gender.

This ain't the problem actually. The real problem arises, when that party swallows the emotions. So either one keeps swallowing his/her emotions (which is bound to erupt I promise) and perhaps just trying to settle the paranoia on his/her side and eventually the emotion will get so overwhelming that it engulfs you (I told you so). And you just break down, start all the mindless arguments over the nitty gritty things, gets irritated easily, and all these things starts pulling the distance further. WHICH IS REALLY BAD. 

Yeap, All I can say is, communicate how you feel. Feeling jealous? Speak your mind. Feeling annoyed? Let him/her know. Need some assurances? Ask for them subtly (although sometimes my blockhead doesn't get the hint either). And at times, just leave it out of your head. The more you think about it, the more unhappy you feel, the more annoyed you get and then the more it hurts your relationship.

And the last thing. Ask genuine questions, like things you really want to know. Remember important dates. Engage in a conversation/ Start one only when you're free; multitasking by talking to your friends, whatsapping your partner, having a meal, etc etc is NOT going to work. Trust me. Not only will you not enjoy your meal, you will be so confused with the conversations, your replies are going to sound like crap, and they all won't work well, so why not just do one thing at a time?

Teehee. That's all I've got for now and yes we are happily attached(:

xxx

"It means being separated and nothing changes."

IT2 Presentation Down!!

Our swag faces after completing the most agonising 15 minutes of this semester -- IT2 Presentation.

xxx

Because we wanted to bribe the professor but had no budget..

Just kidding, we bought bananas because we finished XianDa's bunch the night before when we had our first physical practice presentation meeting.

And here's a mandatory photo with the professor! Many thanks to her guidance along the way. Please give us A Prof Boh.

xxx

"Failure is an event, Not a person."

Snail Mail

Look what came in the mail today~
Some love all the way from Taiwan \o/

xxx

There's always a difference, when a message is conveyed through Whatsapp, Short Mulitimedia Messages (SMS), E-mails and not forgetting snail mail. Living in a fast-paced society has left us impatient and we value speed. "Time is money." More often that not, we are usually seen to be rushing, from home to work, running errands, submitting assignments/reports, etc. As such, we demand everything in the shortest time possible - which sort of explains the pop outs of fast-foods, convenience stalls, express queues, communication tools and many more.

Technological advancements as well as demands of the population has resulted in the phenomenon of receiving a handwritten snail mail letter is as something unique and exciting (in a way).

Of course, I do not deny the fact that technology has definitely improved our lives by a huge leap - emailing the professors in times of doubt is made so convenient, availability to purchase all sorts of goods in the comforts of your home, almost instantaneous spread of messages globally, etcera. Speaking of which, will be the overused emails which enabled communications from all parts of the world. However, this results in another problem: the lost of uniqueness. Since the key idea of speeding up processes is more or less standardization, all the emails look very much the same (excluding the contents), and that kind of personal touch is usually lost along the way.

With that, it brings me to my point of the tiny burst of happiness which tingles in your heart a little longer when receiving a letter mailed the traditional way, with scribbles of a familiar handwriting.
Of course, it is definitely more of a hassle compared to electronically delivered items, but it really shows how much you matter to that someone, who made the extra effort to hand write their message and head down to a post office or a posting box, just to get that it delivered to your doorstep.

I am not implying that people don't send snail mails anymore, they do. Just not so often anymore.

How many handwritten seasonal cards or letters will you receive this Christmas?

xxx

"The Pen is Mightier" -The Wall Street Journal

Enjoy A Slice of Life

Pizza Hut

Enjoying a slice of life with my freshies today!
Thankful to have every single one of them, always so supportive when I summon them to lunch in our NTU Tees~

xxx

Recently, NTU underwent some crazy stalls demolishing process, and the damage so far is no more Palette Cafe, no more Starbucks (there goes my daily coffee dosage), no more Old Chang Kee (all my fried food cravings going unsatisfied) and no more Canadian Pizza. It was pretty sad because I really loved Starbucks and Old Chang Kee... Subway and Food Connection (Canteen A) went under renovation as well, so the whole school was like food deprived for a while -- indulge in McDonalds.

A few weeks after the new semester started, KFC opened in place of Palette Cafe and Subway was done with renovation too. The queue for KFC was really crazy -- it just felt as if the people there haven't eaten KFC before. Of course, I joined the queue and tried their really yummy rice bucket which got me hooked for a while..

Situated right next to KFC is Pizza Hut! To be honest I haven't eaten Pizza Hut for quite some time now because I didn't like how thick their bread crust is, as well as how little ingredients they used to put long long time ago. I am not sure if it's still the same outside, but I can promise that the one in NTU, is really different. We queued to get 2 full 16" pizzas, costing $21 each, as well as some honey wings. For clarification purposes, I did not ask the staff to pack my pizzas individually -- they ran out of the really big paper boxes :/ so the staff kindly helped us pack them. Service wasn't very fast due to the mass of crowd during lunch hour but the staffs were friendly though, always with a smile(:

Meat Galore and BBQ Chicken pizzas for us!(: I used to reject all beef, but recently decided to stop missing out in life. So I took my first bite into the meat galore pizza and it was amazing! Additionally, our pizzas were brimming with toppings, and their crusts were just nice -- not too thick, yet chewy. A good surprise after avoiding pizzas from Pizza Hut for so long~

On a side note, heard that llao llao is coming to NTU and Starbucks would be back! Can't wait!!

xxx

"A curve is a smile that sets everything straight."

Matchy-Matchy Tuesday

Daffy duck cropped top from Cotton On and a black maxi skirt for me today~

This is my ex-tablemate, ex-roommate, and my forever bestie, Audrey. Took a photo together today instead of her helping me take photos and yes we are very different, but no that does not change anything. Yay to our duck matchy-matchy(:

xxx

Because true friends are hard to come by..

This girl tolerated my nonsense all the way back in our secondary school days, went through my wrath in our roommate days, and helping me with my ridiculous photo requests every single day. Thanks bestie!!

xxx

"Laugh a little louder, smile a little brighter"

Scrapbooking

Preparing some love to bring over to Taiwan later in December.. This is definitely not a perfect piece, but it's the effort put in that makes the difference(: Will be uploading more as I create my masterpieces with perfect flaws~

xxx

I have always loved the intimacy of cards. If you know me personally, I like to request for hand drawn or handwritten cards on my birthday. It just feels so personal and sincere. But before you scream in my face in disagreement, let me explain myself. No, I am not implying that the act of getting a physical gift of perhaps soft toys or gadgets or anything is not sincere or personal. Of course, who wouldn't mind a nicely wrapped surprise on their birthdays/ special occasions? However, setting aside all those lavish gifts, sometimes, a more personal touch to your gift would be something.. handwritten.

Well, you may argue that 'hey, not everyone is gifted in such fields'. I am not asking for a perfect card -- like those bought in stores or done up by professionals -- cards or notes do not have to be perfect, and as cliche as this may come across: ultimately, it's the thought that counts. A personal note thanking that special someone, a simple birthday wish or a thanksgiving note to someone who helped you along your life, it does not have to be perfect. It's the contents inside that would matter a lot.

I remember passing my supervisor a small note scribbled on a scrap piece of paper to thank her one week before I had to return to school, and she actually displayed the note nicely on her noticeboard. Also, I used to make really simple cards for my friends for their birthdays, and most of them still kept them. I felt pretty touched actually, not the drama mama kind of emotion, just the warm feeling in my heart. For me, I keep all the notes, letters and cards, nicely packed in this box and carefully tucked away -- easily retrievable on days when I want to revisit memory lane. All these made me realise how much everyone actually treasures these handmade beauties filled with love and sincerity and just makes me want to create more of such beauties to spread the love~

I started scrapbooking several years back, and have never stopped ever since...

How do you let your memories live on?

xxx

"We didn't realise we were making memories, we just knew we were having fun."

Artists Unite!

Skinny Pizza and Basking Robins

Always adore catch up sessions with friends, from junior college, secondary school and even primary school (although most of time I guess you don't really keep in contact with your primary school friends unless they are in the same secondary school and on). It has been 3 years since I last met this bunch. And yes, we are the graduating batch of O level Art students for 2010.

xxx

"Time flies." (what's with me and all these cliche phrases?) I cannot agree more, despite how cliche it might sound.. It feels like yesterday when I am still with these friends, mugging for our art theory papers (for mid terms because our teacher wanted everyone to try out how theory paper was like.. which of course I didn't pass with flying colours. It was more like a sub pass for me because I just cannot memorise all the details..), preparing our coursework in that really lonely art gallery located at the top floor of the Design & Technology Building. I am not sure if the name has changed, but in my graduating year, they were building lifts, which means, we didn't get to enjoy the convenience that the lift brought. (sighpie) Speaking of which is the transporting of materials up the building, four levels is pretty tiring I must confess: please don't get the wrong idea that I am a couch potato that slog my life away. I think I haven't deteriorated to that state yet -- I do have my regular runs -- but that flight of stairs was no laughing affair.

We were in Skinny Pizza located at Level 1 of Westgate, just feeling nostalgic and throwing back to the good times. Finally relieving our heads of all the unsaid thoughts and jokes that we kept since four years back. It was truly amazing how everyone has changed, in one way or another, and it is definitely heartwarming to know that we are still friends~

Skinny Pizza never fails to satisfy my tummy and cravings, used to frequent this place whenever I had group gatherings or catch up sessions. Why? I guess it's because they can accommodate up to a larger number of people and who doesn't like pizza right? Additionally, the only thing I dislike about traditional pizzas will be the breaded crust -- really thick and pretty tasteless. So, I guess the pizzas here just resonates my taste buds! Plus, the serving size is rather large for an average person, so everyone can just order a few and share!! Woohoo many variety, lower price -- needs of an average university student.

I was craving for chicken and some traditional taste when I chanced upon their Chicken Satay Pizza in their menu. My friends got the Little Tokyo Pizza as well as the Bacon Aglio Olio (not sure what's the exact name actually). We didn't wait very long for the food, probably because we were there at totally non-peak hours, like 2.30pm. I guess there isn't really a lunch crowd over at Westgate...

If you were wondering, yes I finished the whole Chicken Satay Spizza on my own *flips hair* I have a really huge appetite for a girl if you haven't already deduced.. And I am proud of it(: The pizza was really satisfying with the thin crispy base, with the satay sauce added in generous amounts. Chicken pieces were really yummy and they had a balance of greens so I guess it's not that sinful? Only thing I can think of, is MORE CHICKEN PIECES!! Haha but of course, I guess it's the profitability issues but taste wise was really satisfying. The Little Tokyo Spizza on the other hand, (directly quoted from my friend) was a little bland in flavour. It's thin crust was topped with corn and bacon pieces and generously sprinkled with fish flakes and greens. I cannot deny that it is a healthier choice.. but in my defense, I had a craving to satisfy~ As for the pasta, to be honest I am not a huge fan of pastas but my friend seemed like she enjoyed her food, so I guess it should be satisfying recipe(:

Next, we headed to Basking Robins for some desserts! I am lactose intolerant, but I do have ice cream cravings too (I am only human). Basking Robins have many unique flavours of ice cream and we were spoilt for choice.The staffs were really nice and patient, catering to everyone's request of ice cream tasting and we finally settled down with four choices -- Popcorn, Chocolate Mint, Raspberry Cheese and Tiramisu. The raspberry cheese flavour (sorry I didn't take note of the exact name again) has a really strong yoghurt taste, so if you're a yoghurt lover this is for you! Tiramisu was pretty normal, I would prefer the Udders one over this. Popcorn flavour was a really interesting mix of caramel and an acquired taste. I cannot really describe what it taste like, but I would say it's definitely worth a try. Chocolate mint is a classic flavour so I guess I wouldn't say much.. But all in all, ice cream cravings checked.

xxx

"It takes a long time to grow an old friend."