snowy nye!!

my arrival in london was greeted by a negative 7 temp, icy road and a pristine white blanket of fluffy snow everywhere!

went to clarks village today!

will update with pictures later kay!

searching for a decent melody...

republish..

last nite i was browsing through my mp3 list, cleaning it up and updating it..cant believe some of the ‘junk’ that i have in my mp3, songs that have no business mixing together, like sm salim (downloaded these when we were looking for songs for my boss for the company’s annual dinner, yikes, delete, delete!), ace of base (wadda?? where did this one come from?) and horror of all horrors, the last and worst of the backstreet boys album (downloaded these when i was compiling a mix cd as a besday prez for my 18 year old cousin, really! honestly!)

its amazing how certain songs just brings back a fresh load of memories that hits you right smack in the face and made you sit back and think back of who you were and who you were with and the things that you have done.. some of the songs that i have not heard for quite awhile now, specially dedicated to loadylot, my uni roomate for 5 years, you would appreciate this list more than anyone :)

1. my kind of scene - powderfingers

2. walking after you - foo fighters

3. question everything - s stops seven

4. view from the other side - duncan sheik

5. if you could only see - tonic

6. shimmer - fuel

7. stuck in a moment - u2

8. time of your life - greenday

9. drops of jupiter - train

10. hopelessly - train

11. halo - orleander

and all the songs from the american pie 2 album, remember pheobe cates - fenix tx, and fat lip - sum 41 and allll the songs ever played by our fav DJ Kevin :p (wonder wat happened to him..)

i think of all the songs that i remember the most, would be those songs that we listened to in my car, my previous car that is, a dark green 20 year old proton saga, with excellent handling, fantastic pick up and always, always the best songs collection playing from its old tape player (these were the days when we couldnt even think of getting a cd player for the car), sigh, we went everywhere in that car…

woah, im digressing, sides’ the ‘car’ deserves an entry of its own, i bet each and everyone of my seven best friends can provide their own personal entry on that car, such was its impact on our lives :)

so anyway, after all being listened and judged and went through extreme and ruthless scanning process, and some panic ‘accidentally delete’ attack, im left with a much more manageable compilation of songs that signifies every important and memorable events throughout my life, i like to think of it as my own personal soundtrack :p even tho some of the songs are a little bit too painful to listened to, i still keep them, u have to keep both the good ones and the bad ones, just to remind you of how far you have been :p

but im happy to know the list will grow longer and longer, as i go through life, borrowing the lines from the ever wise Bono, continuing my search for a decent melody...

Niagara Falls

one of the places we knew we must must must go on this new york trip is Niagara Falls. its not that near actually, about 9 hours drive but of course only an hour plus by plane. in view of the short time we have, we decided to take a flight there via Jet Blue (US equivalent to Air Asia but so so so much better!). the flight and hotel costs us about USD120 per person, not bad right?

ive been trying to get the pictures in the correct order but it kept disappearing and i had to upload it again! so i gave up :p but the order is in no way would deprive you of the pleasure of seeing the gorgeous beautiful pictures of one of the seven wonders of the world :)

the boat that we will be using, its called Maid of the Mist - about USD 14 per person (i think, cant remember, go google for exact price ok) the boat does not run every day throughout the year, in fact, the week we were there was the last week it will run for the year, it ends in late october, guess then it will be too freezing cold or too windy..

we were each given a blue rain coveralls, its so funny when we were all wearing it, we couldnt find each other, everyone looks the same! like a big blue bear hehe :p

its freezing cold there! and be prepared to get wet, despite the rain coats, and for those who wears a scarf, bring an extra, mine got thoroughly soaked!

the boat!

we look comel kan kan kan :p :p

gambar berterabur! this is actually the first picture i took, at the jetty while waiting for the boat :)

the first glimpse of the magnificent falls!

after the boat trip which takes about 20 minutes, we took picture around the park as the late evening sun descent...

the gorgeous view of the falls will really really takes your breath away. for a while i was literally speechless of the wonderness of it all and it makes you think, makes you humble and makes you feel small and insignificant but happy and great at the same time. its a weird feeling, your heart just kinda of overwhelmed with the beauty and greatness of the it all.

seriously, dont just read my words for it, go there.

other bits and pieces of this place;
1. we took the flight to Buffalo International Airport, there is a shuttle bus that goes to the falls directly about 6-7 times a day, and it will return to the airport as well. the timing is available if you google buffalo airport. the cost is about USD3 dollars only return (very cheap!) and it takes about 45 minutes
2. a day trip to the falls is sufficient if you do not want to stay overnight in Buffalo, about half day in the falls is more than sufficient
3. Buffalo city itself is not much, we went around a little bit but there's no major attraction to do
4. if you are like us, who had a day to spare, go and checkout the Niagara Falls Fashion Outlet, its like Woodbury Factory Outlet but its in a really large building instead of a large village. to get there, use the same shuttle bus from the airport and it will make a stop at the outlet, same way to return. note; some shops like Coach, Kate Spade, Michael Kors - are BIGGER and BETTER than woodbury outlet, so if you have plans to go there, its worth the time.
5. if u can, time the boat ride to be in the late afternoon, because there are less people, so the boat is not so crowded, otherwise there will be a push to get the best spot to take pictures.
6. there is a food court in a nearby building and there's is one indian shop that has halal food. otherwise, there's always pizza and such.

so that the Niagara Falls Trip! i only have Washington DC to upload, better do it before the yr ends hehehe :p

wishlist a.k.a hint*hint*hint* :p :p

the happiest baby in the world!

my little niece was recently admitted into the hospital because of a lump on her neck. she was naturally a really happy baby, loves to dance, she could walk before she could crawl, laughs when she falls instead of crying, really, easily amused (just like her aunty hehe), always grinning or smiling when she sees her favourite peeps (me, of course!) so when she was admitted, i thought i wud get her balloons to cheer her up, im sure she's be crying and sad and moody (i know i wud be!)

these are her pictures two hours after her surgery, see, so happy! she really is the happiest baby in the world! (^_^)

Oprah's Guide To Men

i posted this in my other blog a while back, its a good reminder :)

If a man wants you, nothing can keep him away.

If he doesn’t want you, nothing can make him stay.

Stop making excuses for a man and his behavior.

Allow your intuition (or spirit) to save you from heartache.

Stop trying to change yourself for a relationship that’s not meant to be.

Slower is better.

Never live your life for a man before you find what makes you truly happy.

If a relationship ends because the man was not treating you as you deserve then heck no, you can’t "be friends".

A friend wouldn’t mistreat a friend.

Don’t settle.

If you feel like he is stringing you along, then he probably is.

The only person you can control in a relationship is you.

Always have your own set of friends separate from his.

Maintain boundaries in how a guy treats you.

If something bothers you, speak up.

Never let a man know everything.

He will use it against you later.

You cannot change a man’s behavior.

Change comes from within.

Don’t EVER make him feel he is more important than you are… even if he has more education or in a better job.

Do not make him into a quasi-god.

He is a man, nothing more nothing less.

Never let a man define who you are.

Never borrow someone else’s man.

A man will only treat you the way you ALLOW him to treat you.

You need time to heal between relationships…there is nothing cute about baggage… deal with your issues before pursuing a new relationship.

You should never look for someone to COMPLETE you…a relationship consists of two WHOLE individuals…look for someone complimentary…not supplementary.

Dating is fun…even if he doesn’t turn out to be Mr. Right.

Make him miss you sometimes…when a man always know where you are, and you’re always readily available to him - he takes it for granted.

tudung pink kegemaran saya :)

i have this pink tudung (scarf) that i wear all the time, like really, ALL THE TIME.

especially when i travel :p

my bf hates it to the point he even threatened to burn it or throw it away BUT cos he loves me too much he has learn to accept it hehe :p :p

its not cheapo scarf okeyy, its a classic from Tie Rack and its really really expensive, and because its made from such good quality material, even after several years of wear and wash, the color still looks as good as new! ive have it for like um, 5 years plus, and many scarfs has come and gone since but this is still my favourite :)

why is it my favourite?

1. no ironing needed so perfect for travelling coz not everywhere you have access to iron right?

2. it will sit and form the exactly how i want it everytime i wear it

3. its a nice shade of pink and light beige goes well with my complexion (ahaks :p)

4. whenever i wear it i think it makes me feel that maybe i dont look that bad and maybe a little bit pretty even :p

5. you know how everyone must have that one little outfit or something u wear on feel-fat days to make you feel better? this scarf is it for me :p

so to a show you how much i really wear this scarf, here are some snapshots of where its been!

Germany - cant remember exact location hehe :p

Kulai Johor Bharu, Malaysia

Plymouth, UK

Sidmouth, UK

Munich, Germany

Colloseum, Rome, Italy

Niagara Falls Park, Buffalo USA

Ha Long Bay Vietnam

Swindon, UK

Rome, Italy

Barcelona, Spain

Dungun, Terengganu

see, i told this scarf has been everywhere! hehe

facebook is crazy!!

so ok, i dont know how or when it happened but i just realised that somehow, some of my friends in my facebook list are suddenly being deleted or blocked without me knowing it!

this is not the first time it happen sadly, last time it did, i nearly had a huge fight with a friend who thought i did it deliberately because it just so happens we kinda had a disagreement a few days before, such a coincidence right??!! and then another time, a friend wanted to send me his wedding card but found that im not in his friend list, called me up and was all sad about me deleting him in my friend list (such an emo guy but ok2 my bad hehe) but it turns out, i didnt, it just got deleted somehow!

today, i wanted to wish a cousin of mine a belated happy birthday wish, was wondering why facebook didnt do the usual notification, actually got it from friendster instead, but i soon found that she's not even in my frends list!!

ok, ok there is of course the possibility that she deleted me which then i cannot say anything lah hehehe but i will give her and myself, the benefit of the doubt because of the damn facebook huhu

methinks, it will get deleted or blocked if there's more than a few months of non communication or activities between friends, so facebook just shuts it down..my theory la haha i dunno :p

i opened my friendster today, walawei, cant believe how boring it is compared to facebook :p was contemplating to shut it down but i loved my blog in there, anyone know if we can transport it into blogger here?

talkin' bout shoes!

Although I am never particulary very much into fashion, always believed that the best i could do is make sure everything matches and pants look like pants and skirts look like skirts, not half-skirt-half-handbag-but-can-double-as-a-hat as well kinda do, im allright..

Occasionally under the influence of my best friend (whose life’s is simply devoted to them, but since she’s an amazingly cool person, i wont hold it against her :p) i would venture out of my usual norm and actually browse through the higher end of fashion world and get one really really really really good item and spend the rest of the month eating maggie for breakfast, lunch and dinner..

But shoes, shoes are totally different story..shoes and handbags..ask any of my friends, and they tell you how much i spend on shoes and handbags..and i have them all, all types and all designs for every occasion ever..actually, i dont think any of my friends actually know how many handbags and how many shoes i actually have, simply because even i cant keep track of them, i still have shoes and handbags that i have never used and still in their respective boxes and carrier bags, not to mention stuff that i bought on my trip to Indonesia, the bags and leather sandals i bought in Bangkok (all 4 times that ive been there) and oh, this gorgeous beaded bag i bought in Cambodia (wonder where i put it, hmm) and the lovely and pretty shoes that i got from various parts of the world that is arranged color coordinated in a big shoe box in my room at home next to a big bag box filled with my gorgeous bags.. (oh how i miss my shoes and my bags (sigh))

anyway, here are something for those who loves shoes and handbags as much as i do (adapted from Ms Keyes novel);

How to justify buying as many shoes as you want in five easy-to-follow steps :

1. The economy is slowing down, so we’ve got to keep spending in order to avoid a recession.

2. As my mother always says, if you’re doing a job, do it properly. If you’ve gone to the trouble of going out shopping, make it worth your while - never take the lazy way out by buying just one pair.

3. Your current ones might be stolen by a rabid inner-city fox, so it’s vital to have a back-up pair. Several, actually.

4. Everyone needs a hobby.

5. You need to match your new bag. You cant go out in last season’s ones. Honestly, do they want you to be a public laughing-stock?

And, AS IF you ever need a reason, here are my top five reasons to buy even more handbags;

1. You need to match your new shoes. You cant go out in last season’s ones. Honestly, do they want you to be a public laughing-stock?

2. What else are you going to carry your stuff in?

3. A second hobby is always nice..

4. That rabid inner-city fox could strike again and it mightn’t be shoes this time..

5. Beautiful bags are works of art. Its culture, innit?

So there you go, happy shopping!

let it snow, let it snow, let it snow! (^_^)

exactly 4 years ago today, i wrote this entry in my big yellow taxi blog (twas in friendster, those were the good ol days hehe)..

and for the two years i was there, it didnt snow once!

but info from the trusted weather man confirms that the chances are very high that it will be white christmas in plymouth this year! wuhooo!

am i excited? damn right i am!!

here are the entry, republish! (my style of writing was so different 4 yrs ago kan?)

1st Dec 2006

there are a few things that i expected to see or experience when i come to uk to study, first, i expected to meet david beckham when i visited the old trafford stadium in manchester (but i didnt, someone kindly pointed out that he’s in real madrid now, like watever, he’s still british aint he? he shud be standing guard in front of the stadium, waiting for me to come and sign my autgraph and take a picture with me huhu, i know i know, ovverrrrr!) and i have to see the queen (perhaps by some weird miracle that she actually wanna have tea, scones with cream and strawberry jam (which is my latest english craze) with me, and discussing the british weather, actually had a dream about this once, altho it was not d queen, it was prince william, of course! hehe) and another main thing ive always wanted to experience, is to have a snowy winter.

i soooooooooo wished that it would snow here in plymouth but unfortunately (or fortunately, i cant decide) i have picked the warmest part of the uk to live in. here in plymouth so far, the lowest that it ever went to is -1 celcius, and let me tell you now, -1, its not really really really that cold, sure its freezing and all and but not as cold as i imagined it would be, i define my coldness based on how many layers of clothing i have to wear, at -1, its just a thsirt, a sweater and jacket, and u need gloves and scarfs. for it to be really really cold by my definition will be actually wearing the long johns i brought from home, 2 tshirts, a sweater, and a jacket. and according to those who have lived in plymouth, the lowest it ever gets here is -2!!

so some of the people here in plymouth tells me that it is unlikely that it’ll be a white winter this year, but winter aint over yet, so im holding my breath and keep on wishing desperately that it will snow :p

on another note,

i am now officially on my 3 weeks christmas break, next term only starting on the 8th january next year, so from now till then, i have 3 full weeks of doing absolutely..nothing!! maybe i shud go out and find a part time job or sumting, and i do have some work to do as we are required to submit a couple pages of our dissertation the first week we got back, and i havent even make a dent on my reading list…but for now im just enjoying the novelty of being on a break! so here’s a list of things that i plan to do in 3 weeks;

1. visit the plymouth national aquarium, apparently its one of the best ones in uk, and seing the pictures that my friends has, i think its worth to dedicate a whole day to it hehe - never did this yet! two yrs i was there never went once haha

2. visit the national and art history museums in plymouth, the building itself is a gorgeous work of art and of historical significant! - stepped inside for like 10 mins to get out from the hail, im so uncultured :p

3. explore the tiny exquisite shops around the barbican, who knows i might find something really interesting or a cool bargain plus sister dearest wants me to buy the bone china plate set, so need to look for that! - this i did! knew all shops by heart! and bought my sis and me mom the plates too! shopping la, it figures i wud! :p

4. take a bus and go to exeter for the day, never been there yet, its another city about an hour away from plymouth - we rented a car there instead, they have the best briyani ever! we went every chance we got actually hehe

5. go down to the barbican and check out the fish market and the shipping area there, my lecturer has been urging us to try to find a part time job closer to wat we are studying, so working in a shipping company might be fun! (and educational of course of course :p) - fish market, check! part time job in a shipping company? err, i ended up at royal mail instead haha

6. go to london on christmas day with the motley crews from plymouth, and will wait for the boxing day shopping in london, huhu there goes my savings :p - went! but didnt buy anything :( so cant wait for this next one :p

7. go up to leeds to dear aunt and uncle’s place for raya haji and new year, where there will be lots and lots of delicious food and my fav cousins around for entertainment, and my brother who will be down from germany too, yay! - went! and had a super lovely time! :)

and then in between the sight seeings;

1. finished unpacking my stuff in my new room

2. settle all the change of address correspondences

3. set up the direct debit account with hsbc

4. finish at least 10 of the things to read on my reading list

5. complete the 5 pages of dissertation proposal

hmm, looking at my list, looks like i need more than 3 weeks break! hehehe but i think i can manage it

so keep reading my blog, while i keep you updated after each of the above is completed, till then, merry christmas and have a good holiday everyone!