Wednesday, April 25, 2007

warning

anyone who lives far far away from the home, please refrain yourself from listening to Michael Buble - Home, this song should come with a warning "Severe homesickness may be experienced, effects varies from midnight messages and phone calls to family and best friends (who would just verify you as 'manja' [thanks, mr best friend! ;p]), temporary panic and anxiety attacks and feeling of utter loneliness and hopelessness, do not listen while having a major coursework due the next day" suffice to say, im deleting that song from my mp3 playlist to avoid accidentally play, at least until im more emotionally stable (^_^)

an another happier note, ive submitted one coursework an hour ago, so only two more to go, one, is funnily enough entitled "It Takes Two to Tango" (never let it said that Proffesors in Logistics do not have a sense of humor!)

okay, back to work!

the simple things in life

you know what i really really miss about being back at home? of course i miss my family and my frends and the food and my life there, that goes without saying... but what i really really miss is the luxury of going to the salon, whenever i want..sigh..

my usual saturday morning activity back at home is to grab the latest Glamour magazine of the month and head out to my favourite salon a mere 10 minutes drive away, send my car to the car wash and wax which is conveniently located next door to the salon, and treat myself to some TLC of manicure and pedicure and a thorough hair wash and treatment etc etc, while i indulge myself in the latest hot gossip or fashion of the month of my beloved Glamour (fyi, Glamour US version is waaaayyyy better than the UK version, here i only get the UK version sigh).. two or three hours later, i will emerge, hair all nice and shiny, nails all pretty and my car in tip top condition, a perfect wonderful saturday morning well spent :) and the best part is that this usually doesnt cost much at all (or was it because i was working and earning enough money hehe)

here in the uk, what with the modest amount of stipend we are receiving, and the mind blogging cost of the salons here, im acutely deprived of my much needed TLC therapy..

but there is one good thing about living here tho, the fact that all branded hair products like John Frieda and Tress'essme and those high ends Loreals and gazillions other expensive and unobtainable products in Malaysia; is quite affordable here in the UK! so at least i can indulge myself in DIY hair therapy at home, the masques and the hot oil treatment and vitamin E and D and C, all at below £15 only (^_^)

but still, i miss going to the salon with the girls, and have a girls only pampering session... or is it that i actually miss my friends and not the act as o much? :p

Sunday, April 22, 2007

world on fire

i was suppose to write about my recent trip to three amazing countries (a trip successfully being done in just one week! thanks to the marvel of modern transportation and gratitude to small European countries with no cross country bureaucracy :p) but events that started to unfold itself upon my return from the holidays was enough to keep me from writing further about the trip, and tho it was just last week, it seems like months ago..

the end of the term started with a bang, a knock on the head, a slap on the face and a kiss on the cheek..sound dramatic? well, it is, and for once, im not exaggerating (well, at least slightly less than usual hehehe)

my studies here in the great uk have almost come to an ending, with just a couple more courseworks to go, what's left is just the 4 months of the thesis to write and at the end of that, i have to make my way home and continue with my work, having been bonded for the next two years..the question is, do i really have to go home? offers are not exactly pouring in for me to continue work here in foreign land, but i have received enough and it is attractive enough for me to consider staying on, a thought that have never really occurred before but something im definetely considering right now...i recently wrote to my boss and also to the head of HR of my company to inquire of their plans upon my return, and received the reply a couple of days ago and sadly (but not surprisingly) they were unable to provide me with a satisfactory answer..and i most certainly do not want to return to the company doing what i did before, it'll be just a waste..

sometimes i wish i could be one of those people that are quite happy to do whatever job that is given to them and work in an environment where the work is mundane and hardly challenging, but as long the money is allright, they are quite content to stay where they are... i have never been one of those person, and i hope i never will be, i have respect for those people who can, but i know i would just be utterly miserable and might lead to drastic actions of quiting and becoming a conductor for a mini bus instead, just for the sake of some excitement in my life huhu

so here i am again, in a position where i have to think what i want to do in my life..and since i dont have the luxury of time in my hands, i really really have to decide on something soon...

further happenings of the week...

a dear dear friend had just completed his Phd and is now officially a Dr, my heartiest congrats to him :) and altho we are very happy for him, we are ( well, i at least am) pretty sad as well as this means that he will be leaving us and going home soon...sigh..kurang lagi sorang malaysian kat plymouth nie, dah lah memang sikit huhu and i would lose a very valuable friend..i know i know its not that he's moving to Timbuktu or anything, still, he will be very away and i will miss him very much..

upon my return from the spring trip i receive an unpleasant news with regards to one of my best friend..i was pretty shocked and certainly didnt expect it as to me they seemed like almost the perfect couple..but these things happens sometimes without reason and the only thing to do is pray and hope for the best..to my dear darling frend, im really sorry i couldnt be there for you, and there is nothing i wish more than flying home right now just to give you a hug, but i shall leave you with a quote that our dear friend once gave and hope you will get through this stronger than ever..

"kadang-kadang Allah sembunyikan matahari, Dia datangkan petir dan kilat, Kita menangis dan tertanya-tanya, ke mana hilang nya sinar? Rupa-rupanya Allah nak hadiahkan kita Pelangi"


as ending to my really really long blog ( i really do have a lot write!) there is two more things that happened that i need to let out of my system..

the first is that i have totally given up trying to maintain a friendship with someone..she is just not the kind of person i want to be friends with, and i have tried and tried and tried and im just too tired to try anymore, i forfeit..she has done and said way to many things that are just too hurtful and insensitive, silliness and childishness i can tolerate, hypocrisy is something i cant, and since she is unwilling to even try to step down from the i-am-the-victim-and-the-world-owes-me-favors pedestal she has put herself on, there is really nothing much i can do but step away and let her be in her own world.. its just amazing that i have tolerated her this long anyway, i have enough friends, and i certainly do not need another one, at least not of this kind..

and on to better news, my courseworks for the term have just been received and i am happy to report that i have managed to maintain a good average :) this term have been really really dificult and i am thoroughly emotionally and brain-ly drained :p but it was well worth it.. receiving the marks via emails, posts and personal handing over by lecturers did put some butterfly nerves in my stomach, wished they could all just be printed on a piece of paper instead of scattered all over the place huhu

so that's the end of this blog..its been a fairly melancholy blog hasn't it? well, i am in a melancholy mood, too many things to think about and too many emotions being felt at the same time, next time i'll write about something more cheerful :) but for now, i will you with something i found through my readings..

Thinking is another attribute of the soul; and here I discover what properly belongs to myself. This alone is inseparable from me. I am -- I exist: this is certain; but how often? As often as I think; for perhaps it would even happen, if I should wholly cease to think, that I should at the same time altogether cease to be. I now admit nothing that is not necessarily true: I am therefore, precisely speaking, only a thinking thing, that is, a mind, understanding, or reason, -- terms whose signification was before unknown to me. I am, however, a real thing, and really existent; but what thing? The answer was, a thinking thing. The question now arises, am I aught besides? I will stimulate my imagination with a view to discover whether I am not still something more than a thinking being. Now it is plain I am not the assemblage of members called the human body; I am not a thin and penetrating air diffused through all these members, or wind, or flame, or vapour, or breath, or any of all the things I can imagine; for I supposed that all these were not, and, without changing the supposition, I find that I still feel assured of my existence.

-Rene Descartes, "The Nature of the Human Mind" from 'Meditations on First Philosophy', 1641



Tuesday, April 17, 2007

im back!

after 2 hours on a bus from frankfurt city to frankfurt hahn airport, 3 hours wait at the airport waiting for my flight (and mastering the arts of "chotaichi" betul ke nie fairuz? :p), 1 1/2 hours flight journey to london stansted, 5 hours wait for my train at paddington and finally 6 hours train ride back to plymouth, im home sweet home (^_^)

dats a total of 17 1/2 hours of journey just to get home..... who says vacation is relaxing?? :p

but it sure was worth the entire body aching, lack of sleep and total exhaustion experience :p

you know how when you went on a long trip, especially to a different country (or countries in this case) and you experience so much and you see so much, and it sorts of altered your outlook on life (albeit temporarily sometimes :p) and more often than not you make your journey home with a sort of a different way of thinking and you have all these ideas and thoughts and pictures in your head and you half expected that whatever that is in your head to be translated to your life before you went....

and then you arrived home, and everything is exactly the same before you left... and you are half disappointed and half relief..any idea of what im talking about? no? yes? maybe? hehehe my sentiments exactly :p

well anyway, im compiling the stuff from the journey that im going to write in my blog..i bet there will be various versions of this journey from my trip mates so i will probably focus only on those that is most memorable to me (^_^)

to alden, fairuz, aeni and zack, twas a top-notch trip! you guys are some of the wackiest and funniest people i know and fantastic travel mates! Greece is A definite for summer (^_^)

to my lil' bro, thanks for the german hospitality and for introducing The Best Pizza In The World (^_^)

Saturday, April 07, 2007

Scotland! Germany! Austria!

a whirlwind of packing to do! im now 6 hours away from the time i have to catch my train to London, then take the underground to Stansted Airport to catch my flight to Glasgow, to begin my spring vacation!

the rough itinerary..

Day 1 - Yrs truly arriving in Glasgow and meeting the Chev peeps!

Day 2 - Glasgow tour! (and Edinburgh perhaps? *hint*hrc*hint*hrc*)

Day 3 - Flight to Dusseldorf, Germany and straight away tour to Cologne

Day 4 - Rented a car and driving up to Munich, made dinner plans at uncle's Thai Restaurant

Day 5 - Drive to Salz burg, Austria, city of Sound of Music!

Day 7 - Drive to Vienna and soak up the culture

Day 8 - Drive to Frankfurt, Germany and tour tour tour !

Day 9 - In Frankfurt still, celebrating bro's birthday!

Day 10 - Flight back to London and train back to good ol' Plymouth

right, now back to packing packing packing :p wonder where i put my passport, yikes!

c ya guys when i get back!

trip to sidmouth







a bunch of us took a quick trip to check out the Napoli container ship that went aground (almost?) couple of months back at Sidmouth..looks like some work is still being done to the ship..its too far to take pictures so we decided to take picture of ourselves instead hehehe..always ever ready to pose, here are some pictures of the breathtaking view of the south west coastline at its best (^_^)

Medway House BBQ Party (^_^)







warm weathers have hit plymouth! so what do a bunch of wackos in the medway house of nuts do when given that the school's out, term's over and a perfectly lovely backyard, and just the right temperature of weather? have a BBQ of course! the above are the picture of the BBQ, this time its just the housemates and the landlord and his adorable doggy! (han darl, you would love this dog, soooooo cute and dengar kata kaayyy hehe)

note : i now have craving of those feta cheese tomatoes....huhuhu