blek

Sometimes you get lucky

2011-04-25T16:36:00.002+01:00

In sales, is it more on skill or is it luck? Sometimes we get a few visitors, sometimes none (yeah, bad Wednesdays). Sometimes we are so busy attending customers, we forget to eat or drink or pee or whatever. Sometimes, we sit and wait till 'Cai Shen Yeah' comes along and awards you with a RM2976 sale in a single receipt. Oh joy! Today's my lucky day!

Is it just all about luck? It feels very insecure to depend on luck. What about rainy days? Yup, maybe luck is all you have. Or perhaps you can have faith by praying for the rain to stop soon. Or is it skill? Sometimes we have to admit, the more rubbish you talk, the higher your sales amount gets. But first, you gotta open your mouth (and make sure it smells nice, too).

What makes great sales people succeed is actually a skill called 'charm'. People love to be charmed, complimented and agreed to. When we talk about a product, the way it is presented should capture attention, relate to the buyer and allow it to compliment the user. Selection takes up about 50% of the effort. If you don't get to a decision on what you wanna buy, you don't end up buying anything. Unless you decide it's gonna be randomly something you probably do not need (umm.. like an obsolete iPod perhaps, when it's on sale?).

So when your potential buyer struggles to decide, it's where the 'charm' takes effect. People love genuine compliments, so do not try to agree on everything, i.e. ooo that looks great on you, but this one also does, and this other one is so unique! The buyer gets confused. If everything looks great and amazing (according to you), they will need someone else to give them better opinions to reach a decision.

This is something I still need practice on. Because I seldom give compliments to people in real life, so they do not always sound very genuine. I really gotta pick up this skill for the long run. Some notable compliments I have received by my customers: "Your watch is absolutely gorgeous!"; "Your necklace really relates to what you do! (referring to my wayfarer necklace from Forever21)"; and the one that made me blush stupidly was from a Hong Kong guy: "lei zhi mm zhi lei hou leng?" (in Cantonese for "you're so pretty")

Compliments make people feel good about themselves. In order to have lasting customer relationships, it is essential to first break the ice or barrier by making them feel great. People want to have a good experience, and the retail experience is the best avenue to give them the "feel good" feeling. You don't have to memorize lyrics by Bruno Mars to be an effective compliment giver, the key is what's genuine and sounds sincere. But of course, this sets apart the difference between an optimist and a pessimist. An optimist will find any sign to compliment, whereas a pessimist pin-points and provides negative feedback.

Optimist: "I think blue colour really compliments your skin tone and complexion. It stands out!"

Pessimist: "I don't think you could match many clothes with blue colour. Perhaps you should stick to neutrals."

Optimistic comments make people smile and feel good. Whereas the opposite create frowns and wrinkles. If I were a buyer, I wanna be happy with something I've bought. This indirectly creates a positive impression on the product. The special or additional features of the product are like 'add-on's to make it more value for money and worth paying for.

Unless the buyer is very picky and demand strict requirements or complete specifications on what is being bought. Like multi-focals. Most people who are already progressive wearers should expect how much they would spend on a pair of lenses. Prices can range from $200 to $2000, depending on whether it's the low-end conventional type or the high-end premium internationally-branded type. When a buyer pays that much money on lenses that could expire in a couple of years (due to prescription changes or wear-and-tear), often it takes extra effort to convince him/her that the product is worth every dollar.

This is where 'charm' comes in again.

Customer: Why should I pay $2000 when I can get my lenses done for $200? It also serves the same purpose.

Me: Firstly, you would be interested in a better product that I'm about to introduce.

Customer: Well, everyone claims their product is the better product, so what's your take?

Me: Have you heard of HD technology? High-definition. State of the art technology. Right now, you are able to experience high-definition vision like never before.

Customer: Interesting... tell me more. (Attention obtained)

Me: (insert product details features yada yada but make it sound interesting)

Me: Now you have a choice, you're not obliged to buy this one if pricing is something you need to consider, but in terms of what you need, this product would meet all your requirements. Comfort, clarity, excellent adaptability.

Use more of those positive adjectives to describe the product. Tackle what the buyer needs and elaborate from there. Give detailed explanation without too many scientific jargons that might confuse the buyer. Avoid stuff like "compacted addition power, wider/narrower corridor lengths, fitting heights" that would only relate to the optician's job. Make the talk as easy to understand as possible. Maintain eye contact, and pause to ask if the buyer understands, and explain until the buyer does.

As a rule of thumb, products are meant to be sold. KNOW the product well before you are able to SELL it. And when you sell, do it with CONFIDENCE. Did I also mention, confidence is also a 'charm'?

The Optics Project

2010-01-27T14:45:00.002Z

As part of the specialist function in optical dispensing by my current flagship - eSaver Optical, I have decided to start a project called The Optics Project.

This project is basically a research study conducted for the benefit of eSaver Optical, with the help of various academic resources such as optics journals, references, published articles and context of modern optics.

I take great pleasure to be conducting such a research study, not only to enlighten myself with the knowledge and understanding of optics, but also to share with fellow associates in the trade of my research findings.

eSaver Optical is a newly established optical retail concept, and it still needs the confidence of the public as a trusted eye care provider. One of the missions of this project is to demonstrate the professional ability of our opticians and the understanding of ophthalmic dispensing.

Among the topics in this research are: Ophthalmic Lenses, Polarization, Thin Film and Multilayer Coatings, Vision Science and Applications, Medical Optics, Optical Instrumentation, etc. The second part of the research will cover: Professional Conduct & Practice in Ophthalmic Dispensing, Assessment & Management of Refractive Errors, the Visual System, Spectacle Dispensing, etc.

My aims of this project is to be able to reach the end result of a published academic text. My proposed schedule for completion of this research analysis is February 2011.

eSaver Optical

2009-12-29T07:51:00.004Z

Since year end is near, it's time to unveil what I have been working on for the past 4 months.

eSaver Optical

Ever since my return from the UK, I have been involved in the birth of a new company - eSaver Optical. The first eSaver outlet is now open at Prangin Mall.

To celebrate and welcome the new year, the second eSaver outlet will be opening in January at Upper Penang Road, the most strategic location because it is right at the heart of Georgetown's tourist belt, F&B, entertainment, events and night life.

What better place to organize events, roadshows, fashion shows and exclusive designer showcases? At 6-storeys tall, eSaver Optical is set to become Penang's largest optical store, offering the best quality products at factory direct prices.

eSaver Optical has its own online presence - www.esaver.com.my

Take a look at the wide variety of optical frames, the latest trend of photochromic lenses, polycarbonate safety lenses and the current RM99.00 promotion for PC lenses and photochromic lenses.

I take great pleasure to introduce my company to you, and extend an Invitation to you to come to the Grand Opening event at Upper Penang Road.

Further details will be announced after we have confirmed all the necessary preparations for the event.

Meanwhile, visit eSaver Optical at www.esaver.com.my and stay updated through our Facebook page.

shufong.tumblr.com

2009-12-03T04:24:00.002Z

no longer updating here.

i have shufong.tumblr.com if you are that bored.

but if you really do care, call me out for a drink.

i will be waiting.

Training: Finance for Non-Finance Executives / Managers

2009-10-15T04:36:00.005+01:00

For the past 2 days - 13th and 14th October 2006, I had undergone a 2-day training organized by SMIDEC at PSDC. SMIDEC, or Small and Medium Industries Development Corporation is a government agency that supports SMEs by providing infrastructural facilities, financial assistance, market access, etc.

The company that I am part of had designated me to take part in the training provided because my attendance is required to obtain approval for a government grant that we have applied for - Grant for Product and Process Improvement.

The training was called Finance for Non-Finance Executives/Managers conducted by training provider Mr Aaron Ooi. I have learned some important issues in the management of a business - financial accounting, budgeting, costing, and decision making. Most of the principles are defined in formulae, and needed a lot of calculation such as credit sales, depreciation, break-even points and target profit.

As a person with only academic legal knowledge, even the basics of finance and accounting was something new to me. I learnt how to compute basic accounts such as balance statements, profit and loss, etc. Overall, it was a great experience for me.

Well, even though I'm not exactly complaining... I just heard from Mei that I have to attend a 3 day 2 night CAMP organized by NCIA (Northern Corridor Implementation Authority) next month.

*ROAR*

updates

2009-10-05T07:31:00.005+01:00

Okay. It's been a month since I'm back in Penang.

Been working for a month.

Already gone on a business trip to Singapore (1st and 2nd Oct).

Went to Genting Highlands. Visited the casinos.

Gambled and lost money for the first time in my life.

Started CLP lectures, but 0% motivation to study.

Reason: Freaked out by the failure rate.

Started going for workout at the gym.

Aim to visit the gym at least once a week.

Cut my hair back to my school girl bob.

(Me at the office today. I haz flu.)

Last but not least...

Having the best time of my life with my Dann dear.

Happy birthday baby.

I Love You.

Update from Penang

2009-09-12T05:18:00.003+01:00

Greetings from the tropical island paradise in equatorial South east Asia, surrounded by the sea, sandy beaches and blue skies...

Penang. A place where I call 'home'.

Apart from the 37 degree heat, daily pouring rain, traffic jams, smelly drains and Sungai Pinang (strategically located just next to my work place), the warm and friendly townsfolk in surgical masks-covered faces... it's always good to be home.

The hawker food. My lovely family (and additions to the family - PUPPIES!). My beloved Dann dear. My FRIENDS. So many reasons why it's so good to be here.

Just barely a week after my touchdown on Malaysian soil, I am officially employed, thank God. As what? I have no idea. I'm sitting in my dad's office surfing the internet, doing my own thing, occasionally called into meetings, and reading pages and pages of company agreements.

And when I'm bored, I go to sleep. (not in the office, of course!)

What a wonderful life! =D

Lucky

2009-08-23T01:19:00.002+01:00

Do you hear me,

I'm talking to you
Across the water across the deep blue ocean
Under the open sky, oh my, baby I'm trying

Boy I hear you in my dreams
I feel your whisper across the sea
I keep you with me in my heart
You make it easier when life gets hard

I'm lucky I'm in love with my best friend
Lucky to have been where I have been
Lucky to be coming home again
Ooohh ooooh oooh oooh ooh ooh ooh ooh

They don't know how long it takes
Waiting for a love like this
Every time we say goodbye
I wish we had one more kiss
I'll wait for you I promise you, I will

I'm lucky I'm in love with my best friend
Lucky to have been where I have been
Lucky to be coming home again
Lucky we're in love every way
Lucky to have stayed where we have stayed
Lucky to be coming home someday

And so I'm sailing through the sea
To an island where we'll meet
You'll hear the music fill the air
I'll put a flower in your hair
Though the breezes through trees
Move so pretty you're all I see
As the world keeps spinning round
You hold me right here right now

I'm lucky I'm in love with my best friend
Lucky to have been where I have been
Lucky to be coming home again
I'm lucky we're in love every way
Lucky to have stayed where we have stayed
Lucky to be coming home someday.

=)

9 more days.

Label of the day: WAREHOUSE

2009-08-19T19:55:00.004+01:00

I've been going on a shopping therapy during these past few days. Shopping really does make a woman happy. This I can completely agree. I'm sticking within my budget and only buying what I can afford. My recent purchases are all by warehouse. Clothes under this label are not cheap in Msia and so far I've only found Parkson's at KL Pavilion and KLCC that stock them.

Anyway, these are my buys. *loves*

Beautiful purple halter-neck style top

Mauve and cream wrap-around
Black and white lace evening top
Purple sparkly sleeveless top
I'm looking at vintage style at the moment such as pencil dresses, high-waist skirts, pleated skirts and boleros.

SHOES!

2009-08-15T12:29:00.003+01:00

One of those days again. Shu is drooling over shoes.

Yes, shoes that I won't ever afford. Not until I start earning a five-figure income. =P

Well, some saving up should be sufficient, but I'm not a good saver. =(

(Shopping: http://www.saksfifthavenue.com, http://www.neimanmarcus.com, http://www.net-a-porter.com/Shop/Shoes)

muller rice

2009-08-13T17:28:00.003+01:00

My all-time favourite rice pudding!

Muller rice! *yummy*

(More info: http://www.mullerdairy.co.uk)

Aspers

2009-08-12T23:57:00.002+01:00

I spent more than an hour inside Aspers and succeeded to control all my temptations!

I did not bet a single time.

I did not win.

I did not lose.

Because in the first place, I don't have money to bet.

Lol. I was tempted.

The cash machine was just at the corner.

I could have missed an opportunity to win big.

But I might get myself hooked to gambling.

So I resisted.

And I won!

U see. Gambling is fun for the thrills.

It has its odds of making you happy or sting.

Keeping your money neither does anything.

But yes, I don't see lucky stars around me. It was right to make a move.

Out of the CASINO!

12:34:56 7/8/9

2009-08-07T18:36:00.003+01:00

A moment of a lifetime. And that was an occurence never to happen again until the next millenium.

It was exactly at 12:34 and 56 seconds on the 7th of August 2009 which equates to this very exact sequence of

12:34:56 7/8/9

A similar case of this sequence had happened 20 years ago at the moment when it was 01:23:45 on 6/7/89.

I find this simple fact rather awesome. But little did I realise its significance until time just passed by.

So how was it for you?

Men Men Men

2009-08-02T01:11:00.002+01:00

Men men men

They want it now, they want it where, they want it when?
You don't want it
Men men men
They try it once then go to sleep just when you want to go again

In many ways, you know my friend, all they all are lousy shits
You got them where you want them if they simply see your tits
If you are young and you are female and your body's not too bad
Then you've got men, men men
And you can keep them!
Men men men

I say I say I say
What's that useless piece of skin at the end of a penis for?

A man!

Men men men
They want it now, they want it where, they want it when?
You don't want it
Men men men
They try it once and go to sleep just when you want to go again

In many ways, you know my friend, all they all are lousy shits
You got them where you want them if they simply see your tits
If you are young and you are female and your body's not too bad
Then you've got men, men men
And you can keep them!
Men men men

(Credits: Eric Idle)

Recycled Handbags

2009-07-29T21:38:00.004+01:00

It is always cool to be eco-friendly. Recycle stuff and use recycled products to help the environment. It saves our natural resources by a slight bit, if you compare to the the mass production of consumer products daily.

And it is time for us to adopt this eco-friendly and animal-safe kind of lifestyle by reusing whatever we have used. Well, not at the cost of health and personal hygiene, of course. I'm not asking you to reuse that piece of toilet paper, or the water from your fish tank.

But most people are not too keen on re-using things. It is the common attitude especially for Malaysians that second-hand goods are nothing but useless junk. People will just throw away their old, unwanted things and get new ones.

For example, if you are shopping for your latest fashionable wardrobe, you will go to boutiques and shopping malls, or even online nowadays. But will you stop to think whether there's something you might fancy if you go to thrift shops or charities?

Many will think that it's very second-classed or degrading, having to fit into other people's old shoes. That's because people have a higher standard of living and can afford new things. People develop negative ideas about using second-hand goods, and it's always because of their self-pride.

But they'll jump at every opportunity to grab something vaguely new, even though it's been made of trash. I'm talking about handbags that go up for sale at big prices. It's got the appeal because it's eco-friendly and people love that.

Take for example, this super attractive metalic shimmering bag..

All that bling... And this handbag was made with re-claimed rings from aluminium soda cans.

There's this one which looks like a classy evening bag. These quilted ones are really hot and in season.

Who could have known that it was made with re-claimed snack packets. The greasy ones you dump after finishing those potato chips.

And we've got a nice-looking documents bag here that could have been made of expensive leather.

But the words on it gave its look away. Yes, that's made of the rubber from your car tyres.

I could have mistaken this next classy designer red bag for something along the lines of Hermès, Mulberry, Marc Jacobs or Jimmy Choo's.

But surprise, surprise! It's actually a fire hose! Now isn't that remarkable how consumer products such as handbags can be so eco-friendly. And with their price tags, you'd expect to purchase them as new. "New" is just in your head.

Something to think about.

(Pictures: http://plumethical.com/index.html)

Happy Days! XD

2009-07-13T18:07:00.012+01:00

#1. It's probably not something new by now, but I have developed this new hobby of collecting a particular type of vintage collectible - My Little Pony! And without burning a hole in my pocket (yet).

I've managed to get a whole bundle of ponies on eBay for less than £1 each, which included postage and packaging. Now I have 10 ponies on display in my room and 8 more still in the 'bath and grooming' stage.

There's actually one more pony which is a plush toy on my bed. And she is very soft and cuddly! Each of my ponies are given a bath, shampoo-ed, hair conditioning, then styled into curls before leaving their hair to dry and set. I *heart* ponies! Happy days! XD

#2. Another thing I'm happy about is my sweet dear. We were involved in some arguments lately but it's all fine now. Sweet, happy, loving days. XD He even stayed home to accompany me today instead of going for badminton after work.

And we watched a movie together - A Moment to Remember. I think it's quite similar to another movie, A Walk To Remember because the love story is along the lines of someone sick and dying. Happy days! XD

#3. I also found out that the iPhone is the BEST phone in the world. But that is MY opinion so don't flame me. It's got GREAT apps that don't cost a penny and I'm actually hooked to it for all the essentials like Facebook, Twitter, eBuddy, eBay, Skype, Flixter Movies, Google Audio/Voice Search, Photobucket uploads, and the list goes on.

One more useful app is an iTunes Remote Control, that actually allows me to select any song in my Music Library to play out of my computer's loud speakers without even clicking on iTunes.

Others that I use frequently are the Spendometer (which calculates my weekly spendings), 8 Glasses a Day (of water), Girl's Menstrual Cycle Calendar & Record (that even calculates the probability of pregnancy!), and loads of other photo touch-up and camera apps. Cool beans!

The games I installed are great as well - the addictive ones like Lemonade Tycoon, Vampire Wars: BloodLust (YES the Zynga one on Facebook), Tap Tap Revenge (like Dance Dance Revolution, O2Jam, SuperDancer Online X), Solitaire (MY #1 GAME TO FALL ASLEEP ON), and even console games like Assassin's Creed, Rockstars, Fast & Furious, Brothers in Arms, Cooking Mama, etc.

Now who can get bored when boredom strikes and you've got an iPhone in your palm? Happy days! XD

#4. Besides receiving 2 parcels filled with ponies today, I also received my order from ASOS.com. I bought a denim skirt, a buttoned shirt (in hot pink!) and black trousers. Part of a new wardrobe for my future work attire.

I also got myself a new belt which is elasticated at the back for comfort. And finally, the item that I'm in luv with right now is a pair of new oversized sunglasses!

It's in the style of Victoria Beckham, apparently. Not that I'm a fan of her style, but I simply love the pentagon/hexagon/octagon-like shape of it. I think it's ASOS's own label but it certainly does not look like some cheapo sunshades that you get from tourist stalls. You get what I mean.

However, the weather looks like it just can't make up its mind. One moment there's sunshine and baked-up kind of heatwave, and 10 minutes later it'll be pissing it down. AND the ceiling will be leaking! Happy days!

Err.. Not quite.

But still, it's England... so, HAPPY DAYS!!! XD

P/S. Jamie Oliver's new baby girl was named after a My Little Pony! Her name is Petal Blossom Rainbow!! Now that's either pretty amusing or disturbing. =_="

My Little Ponies!

2009-07-02T23:31:00.006+01:00

One of my favourite cartoons when I was a child was My Little Pony. Pink hearts, rainbows, cute creatures on 4 legs! Yeah, please bear with me while I unleash my girly girl side. Lol. I've loved MLP since young and had almost all the episodes of the cartoon series on video tape. I even drew and coloured lots of ponies and actually improved my artistic skills from there. But I was not lucky enough to own the toy figurines because they were only sold in Toys 'R Us and there was no store in Penang then. That was during the early '90s. Hasbro only released the 1st Generation ponies and they probably didn't manage to attract me enough.

And then Toys 'R Us finally arrived in Gurney Plaza, but I was already too old to be playing with toys. I sort of grown out of it and had other likes and interests. But just recently, something sparked me back to my childhood memories. Daph went to Sunday market at Tynemouth and bought some Polly Pocket toys and a boxed My Little Pony. I was so excited when she showed me and begged her to sell it to me almost immediately, but she said it was for Eric's niece.

I had a sudden impulse about owning my very own My Little Pony. So it's off to my favourite store to get them - eBay. I found a couple of listings and placed my bids. Just £0.99 for the starting price. And I won them! I was so glad about it and waited eagerly for my ponies to arrive to their new home. Naomi passed me the packages and I was so delighted to meet them!

As their new owner, I gave each of them some TLC - a nice bath, shampoo and conditioner, set their beautiful locks of curls (mane and tail), and now left to dry. I have never collected ponies before and decided to find out their names. Luckily I found an informative website and successfully ID-ed each of them.

Let's meet my new family...

This is Sunny Daze! She is a cheerful white pony with a symbol of a smiling sun on her body.

This is Bumbleberry! She is a purple pony and she has a pink strawberry with green swirls on her body.

This is Strawberry Swirl! A very sweet pony with dark pink mane and tail with pearly tinsel.

This is Royal Bouquet. She is a yellow pony with a beautiful flower on her body and has pink-coloured mane and tail.

And finally...

Meet Pinkie Pie! She's all in pink, with 3 balloons on her body.

I believe they are very happy in their new home now, so am I! *loves* ©

Touch-screen Phones

2009-05-26T01:54:00.005+01:00

Right on top on my Wanted / Wish List is now a brand new mobile phone. I'm now using the 1st Generation iPhone, and although it hasn't caused too much problems for me at the moment, I feel that it's already outdated with so many new touch-screen models out in the market. The reason why I wanted an iPhone is because it was the first touch-screen phone with WiFi and built-in iPod/music player.

But now, there are so many choices with much better specifications. I am so undecided. At first, I was very eager to get the Nokia 5800 XpressMusic because even though it has all the functions like the iPhone, it wins iPhone in so many ways. It's camera is 3.2 megapixels, it's main feature is the music player and it has video recording!

Nokia 5800 XpressMusic
So I've been eyeing on this phone on eBay and decided to place my bids hoping to grab a bargain. My budget is around £120, which is pretty damn amazing to get such a good phone at a third of what iPhone costed.

And while I was on Facebook taking care of my RestaurantCity, I saw this advertisement by Orange featuring this cool little gadget with this catch phrase - TOUCH EVERYTHING. Oooh.. how I wanna touch and feel it in my palm. This one's got even better specs. Its camera resolution is 5.0 megapixels, extra microSD memory, mp3, video and even TV display output.

This baby is called LG Arena KM900
Very nice indeed. I checked the prices and it's about £250.00, so still kindda expensive since it was only released recently.

While surfing around for other models, there was this one phone that fulfilled everything I wanted. A perfect touch screen phone, with a great camera, wifi web browsing, music, video, GPS, and all the main features of a phone. And this is it.

Samsung i8910 / Omnia HD
A mind-blowing 8.0 megapixel camera with autofocus, face detection and flash! 720p HD video capture, video calling, 8GB + MicroSD up to 16GB (equals 24 GB!), brilliant high definition display. It became my DREAM PHONE. Even though I've never used any Samsung phones before in my life, with all these specs, I'm sure I'll be loving it long time. Till something better comes up. Like the Nokia N97 perhaps?
Nokia N97
Impressive flip mechanism of the QWERTY keyboard, 5.0-megapixel camera with DVD-quality video capture, up to 32GB memory, and continuous music playback time of up to 1.5 days.

I am going to get one of you darlings. Yes, come to mommy. =)

Newcastle GG...

2009-05-24T21:42:00.002+01:00

Newcastle United was relegated from the Premier League.

Sigh.

Poor Alan Shearer. And all the players who can't defend well or score goals. =_=

Now you can sit there and laugh at me cos I supported Newcastle. =(

Wonder Baby

2009-05-20T08:53:00.002+01:00

I WANT A BABY GIRL!

SO CUTE! >.< Her moves are so hot!

on hiatus

2009-05-09T18:52:00.002+01:00

... due to emotional breakdown;

withdrawal symptoms...

stress;

swollen eyes...

amongst others.

... thank you for visiting.

i'll be back soon.

p/s. i abso-f***ing-terribly-lutely miss you.

Newcastle v Arsenal

2009-03-22T01:04:00.003Z

Today is my first time watching a live football match in the stadium. I was lucky to be able to still get a ticket for the Newcastle v Arsenal match just 1 day before.

That's my ticket. My seat was at the corner of the stadium, and I had a great view of the entire match.

This was taken at about 30 minutes before the match. Some staff were around the field, making necessary preparations before the match begun. As for me, it was cam-whoring time.

*snaps* I was wearing my NUFC shirt for the first time in Newcastle, and it is of course, the team I support, well, eventually because I've been living here for a while. After introducing the players, the whistle went off and the match started.

GO GEORDIES! TOON TOON TOON! I could hear all the fans cheering and shouting. The feeling of being in the stadium is unlike any other experience, it is as if I was part of the game itself.

Well, Arsenal played well and scored 3 goals, while our home team ended with a disappointing defeat of 1-3. The exciting part was, there were 4 goals in 10 minutes! I was so disappointed that my hero, Michael Owen, was like a sotong running around in the field and hardly touching the ball.

It was a good game though. Arsenal fans, which only made up 10% of the audience, were singing their cheer songs, but the rest of the stadium was silent. Not a very good day for the black and whites, I guess.

A nice day out

2009-03-20T22:01:00.005Z

Today was a bright and sunny day indeed, till I had to take off my jacket while walking on the streets. I insisted on having a day out to get some sunshine on my face, breathe some fresh air and do some sightseeing as well. I've been ill with cough and flu for about a week and I'm glad there's some recovery now.

Nao suggested a place called Saltwell Park, it's in Gateshead. I decided to visit it since it's accessible by public bus. Took the NorthEast bus 54 from Grainger Street, about 15 mins journey to the park.

And I was greeted with warm sunshine, green grass, clear blue skies and a lovely summer feeling (even though it's just in March).

Like most parks, there is a lake with flocks of swans, ducks and birds roaming freely at the area.

Caught a picture of myself with the lake as a souvenir.

I know I look weird because I had my glasses on. And it was really warm, I had to keep my jacket in my bag.

Took a walk around the park and saw a very familiar sight..

This looks something like our Waterfall Botanical Gardens in Penang. It was a nice outing at the park with the lovely weather. The next stop was MetroCentre for lunch.

And here I am cam-whoring in Chiquitos. Did some shopping after a very long while, I think since Christmas sales or near CNY season. Bought 3 shirts and a new jacket - it's cream in colour, and I can't wait to go out in it. ;)

By the way, I know my dear is gonna be so jealous about this. I bought a ticket to the Newcastle v Arsenal Barclays Premier League match tomorrow. It's going to be the first time after so long in the UK to watch a live match in the stadium.

That's my ticket and seat number that I bought online. I'll be collecting the ticket at the Box Office tomorrow before the match. Finally, I get to wear my NUFC football shirt!!! LOL!

Busy day at uni

2009-02-26T01:42:00.002Z

It's been a long day at uni today. I woke up at 7am to get ready for class. Reached uni at 9am, only to find out that my timetable has been changed to 10am. So I walked back home sheepishly, hoping to get a bit more sleep. Didn't manage to sleep though. Had to leave home again for the 10am class.

It was my first session on advocacy. I finally get to learn the practical skills of being a lawyer, even though I do not intend to be one. After that, I went home again for lunch, and had to rush back to uni at 1pm for WTO Law lecture. Then I walked back home again and rested for a short while. Then at 4pm, I walked to uni again to attend my second advocacy session. And finally, I walked back home.

I love the comfort of my room that I'd rather walk home than hang around in uni during breaks. LOL.

A new look

2009-02-24T03:06:00.003Z

This section of my post is totally unrelated to my life. Unless you know me by my ign.

I'm actually getting bored of the Niu Zai hat d... Summore chinese new year season has passed, even valentine's is over. Can't wait to change to a new look. I've already put the clothes I want in my wish list. And I'm determined to get that look. Don't tell you how it's gonna look like yet. =x

But it's very dolly, very pink, very cute. Very not me. Oh well, I probably got bored of blue and start liking pink now. You'll find out in 1 month's time, I hope. Anyway, here's just a sneak preview of my pirate fashion ideas.

---

This section relates to my life. Haha.

Today is my 3rd groceries delivery from Tesco's. They are so convenient. I don't even have to walk along every aisle in the supermarket to pick what I need. I just have to select the products, put in my online shopping cart, pay by credit card and they are delivered to my fridge and kitchen cupboard. Literally.

Shu's supermarket choice: www.tesco.com

I have advocacy this wednesday. I am sooooo nervous/panic/excited about it. Lol.

Clannad

2009-02-12T01:11:00.004Z

Movie of the day: Clannad

Okay, it's actually an anime. Very, very nice and touching. I love this movie.

Freedom!

2009-02-10T02:42:00.006Z

Finally I can rest and not worry about courseworks anymore! Just submitted my 3 courseworks today and it is a really big relief for me. I didn't chat with my mom for the entire Chinese New Year because she was afraid that she would disturb me. Sob. I want to talk to her soon.

Even though I was busy, I still managed to go to the Chinese New Year 2009 celebrations at Chinatown, Newcastle. I went with my flatmates, Daphne and Eric, and BVC friends Junnie, Jeff and Sujin. The whole Stowell Street was filled with people. There was firecrackers, lion dance and dragon dance. I only watched the lion dance performance because we arrived a little later.

Dong Dong Chiang!
Dong Dong Chiang!

I was surprised to see the lion dance troupe consisting of ang mo. Anyway, it's England and there were more locals there than Chinese. It's a very nice street celebration organised by the city council. I had lunch at Palace Garden but the service there was very poor due to the number of tables booked in.

Jamie Saves Our Bacon

2009-02-05T22:30:00.005Z

No offence to any Muslim readers here.

Please watch the TV programme Jamie Saves Our Bacon, for people who love to eat pork or eat any type of pork meat such as ham, sausages, bacon, luncheon meat, etc.

This programme takes you through the journey of pigs' lives, right from their birth, to the point where you are feasting the fat, juicy meat on your plates.

I cried after watching this, and felt very distressed over the situation of factory farmed pigs. At first, I thought I would stop buying pork but that would make pig farmers go bankrupt if everyone stops consuming. Pork forms part of our balanced diet, so I will try to buy only meat that passes the British welfare standards. Just know which type of meat you are buying, and always choose Free Range.

This is the link: http://www.channel4.com/video/brandless-catchup.jsp?vodBrand=jamie-saves-our-bacon

This programme was watched by over 2 million viewers when it was aired on Channel 4 on January 29, 2009.

Snow day

2009-02-02T16:52:00.003Z

Ichh... washh... schh-schhh-schh-nooowwingg all day.

BRRRRRRRR......

My window cannot shut, and the mad winds kept blowing all the snow flurries (which look more like little snow stones AKA hail) all over my duvet!!!!

I had to put a towel over the duvet so I could sleep!

DAMN COLD WTF.

Angel of the North, Newcastle-Gateshead.

Snow at Cumbria, very near here.

Read more news of the British snowfall.

Online-shop-aholic

2009-01-28T21:16:00.002Z

The deadly thing about me is computer procrastination. I know that I've stopped myself from gaming, I even deleted the MapleStory icon on my desktop. But I have to open my Internet browser to search for stuff.

And I always end up looking at ebay.co.uk, asos.com, vogue.com, style.com, whowhatwear.com, and the list goes on. My debit card was not spared within these few days. I recently purchased 2 tops from H&M, because I had to buy my Chinese New Year clothes (well, that's just an excuse).

Bought other stuff on ebay to fill my lovely new gold cosmetic bag/clutch which was a present from my sweet dear. It's time to replace/throw out all the old and probably expired make-up that have been with me for years. The oldest eyeshadow quad I bought was in 1998. And it's now 2009!

1. M.A.C Volume+Length+Curl Waterproof Mascara

2. Prestige Eye Shadow Quad Naturals

3. Clinique Full Potential Lips Plump & Shine Duo in Play-full & SugarPlump

4. Clinique Perfectly Real Compact Makeup.

I'm not trying to be vain and paint my face like a doll each time I go out. In fact, 95% of the time I'm without make up. It's because of work, I have to make myself look presentable, and not like a zombie out of bed.

I also bought a nice black cocktail dress, which is still on its way in the post. The style is one-shoulder and somewhere below knee length. I'll get a picture of it once it arrives.

I've been eyeing on a few bags lately. Just a day ago, I was obsessed about Louis Vuitton and was so determined to invest on a Speedy 30 if it's within my budget (I saw many bags in the Champs Elysees boutique at around £300) But after looking at the price, my hopes were dismissed. The Monogram canvas is still okay, it retails at about £400, but the one that I like is the Murakami Multicolore in white.Guess what the price is? £1255.00
Sadded. Almost triple the price of the monogram canvas. I've given up hope, for now. Plus, 99% of the LV bags out there are fakes. What a shame.

I think I'll probably end up at Primark or Next and pick up a faux leather bag.

Back to work.

Happy Chinese New Year!

2009-01-25T13:48:00.002Z

I feel so goddamn homesick. I was crying after I talked to my dad on the phone. I never missed home this much, especially during reunion night. Thinking about everyone at home, and me in a far away ang mo land.

Just had a fight with someone. Damn emo now. Some people rather take care of their pockets than people's feelings.

Haizz... how am I celebrating CNY this year?

With courseworks. =_= Even more 'keng' than fireworks.

Tuts my barreh

2009-01-24T21:20:00.003Z

I wonder if this has gained enough celebrity status yet. But behold..

THE NEXT BEST THING ON YOUTUBE

SINCE KENLEE!!!

KARAOKE FAIL.

And thanks to Daphne for sharing this on her MSN status quote. =x

GONG XI FA CAI! WAN SHI RU YI! HAPPY CHINESE NEW YEAR TO ALL MY FELLOW FRIENDS AND READERS!

January 2009

2009-01-10T17:04:00.003Z

Dear all,

My apologies for the lack of updates. Christmas 2008 silently went by, and New Year dawned. And there were many mornings, afternoons, evenings and nights that passed so quickly. Here I am, the same person in a brand new year, going to face new challenges of life. But am I ready for all this?

It's almost mid-January. The main priority now is the completion of my three 3,500-word courseworks due by the end of this month. I need to get back on my feet and get started as soon as possible.

But I've lost my heart to do anything now.

*EMO*

Rainy Saturday

2008-12-13T12:13:00.003Z

It's cold, windy and wet outside. I really don't feel like going out. But I have to because I'm working tonight. I'll be leaving my house in a couple of hours time. My work clothes are still in the dryer. The dryer doesn't seem to work well these days. The dishwasher is down. The dish-washing liquid by the sink ran out for about a week until I finally bought a new bottle yesterday.

It has been a busy week. My last week of lectures. I really can't believe it. It's the last of my lectures this year. Not that I'm happy about it. I'm not. I haven't even got halfway through the subjects and there will be no more lectures. Self-study seems harder than it sounds.

I should make a trip to the library during the holidays to do something productive. Like complete my previous workshop questions and practice essays. I got my results for my first coursework. 60 marks. It was bad and I don't feel happy that I passed either. Oh well, what can I expect? Just blame myself.

Somehow, when it all seems wrong, like getting wet under the rain, there will always be a familiar tune to cheer things up..

I'm singing in the rain
Just singing in the rain
What a glorious feelin'
I'm happy again

=)

P.S. OMG I sound so schizo.

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

2008-12-03T23:55:00.002Z

I came across an upcoming movie which I found very interesting. It's amazing how movies can do anything at all, and amazing how writers could come up with such unbelievable ideas. And this Christmas, an interesting movie will be released called The Curious Case of Benjamin Button.

I went to read up about this movie online and found it even more worth the watch. The story is about a person born in the most unusual circumstances - his appearance as a very old man who gradually grows younger by time. It's like going through life backwards. When everyone else around him ages and gets older, he becomes younger and younger.

The movie's cast is star-studded as well with Brad Pitt and Cate Blanchett as the leading roles. You can watch the high quality trailer at Apple trailers if you've got a fast internet connection. Otherwise, just check it out on YouTube.

Do check out the official website as well. I'm sure you will also find it amazing.

White December

2008-12-02T14:29:00.003Z

It's winter, at last. It's everywhere. Heavy snow showers last night caused everything to be covered with snow, a welcoming white December. Today was chilly, but it really feels like winter.

The sight from my room window.

And Christmas is approaching in approximately 3 weeks. *excited*

Such is life...

2008-11-30T00:57:00.006Z

Naomi asks: How's work?
Shu replies: Tired. And it's freezing outside, -3°C but it feels like -6°C.

I'm so tired out each day. Lack of sleep. My eyes are swollen. My muscles are aching. My body is stressed out.

And all I ever want right now is you...

OSIM iSqueeze *xmas present hint hint*

By the way, I've earned about £290 this month which is a great achievement for me because I've never earned this much all my life just doing a part-time job. I used to get like RM250 a month back in my dad's factory. Now that amount is almost RM1600 after conversion. All the hard work pays off.

Miss No Good

2008-11-27T17:45:00.006Z

I have never been a fan of Taiwan TV drama series, or rather TV series in general because I can never keep up with the episodes and storyline. However, after watching a number of episodes of the popular drama "Fated to Love You" when Daphne plays it on her laptop, I'm starting to enjoy watching these dramas.

I started watching one series called "Miss No Good - 不良笑花" which stars Pan Wei Bo (Will) and Yang Chen Ling (Rainie). I decided to watch the first episode as a taster and found it quite hilarious and entertaining. And here's my review after watching 2 episodes of this cute drama.

Miss No Good (coincidentally abbrieviated as MNG) is a comedy and romance story about a stupid, annoying girl called Ah Hua (literally translated as flower) played by Rainie, who has a funny taste in clothes because she dresses up like a Christmas Tree and has ridiculously outrageous curly hair.

Her rich and handsome primary school friend comes back from Japan and decides to date her. After realising that she requires a makeover to match him as an upper-classy type of lady, she begs TV stylist Tang Men (Pan Wei Bo) to help her change her looks. However, he is very mean in his words and insults Ah Hua a lot, and that creates a grudge between the two. And so the story goes on as both of them slowly develops some feelings after the quarrels.

In my opinion, Rainie portrays a chibi anime character very well. Will tries to act cool, but in the end he gets all his script gibberish. This drama is still on-going in Taiwan on CTS Sundays since 7 Sep 2008. Personally, I'm not a big fan of Rainie, but I know that someone is. *jealous*

The beautiful ending theme: 带我走 (Take Me Away) by Rainie Yang

Enjoy!~

A nice cup of tea

2008-11-22T18:55:00.005Z

It was snowing this morning. I woke up to a beautiful view of snow-covered streets, roofs, grass and the chilling air of the morning. The temperature maintained at 0°C throughout the day. The BBC weather centre forecast says that it'll be -2°C at midnight and snowfall is predicted at about 3am till sunrise. Further news about this snowfall in November was reported in the Daily Mail: Brrr-itain braced for arctic blizzards as it shivers in temperatures colder than Moscow. Brrrrr...

*edit*
*The view outside my room from my window*

Nevertheless, I braved myself in the chilling autumn winds, (although it feels like winter is already here) and made my way to town to do some secret agendas. Hahaha.. Why secret? Because if I told you now, it would spoil the surprise.

I was at Eldon Square and went to look at some speciality teas at Whittard of Chelsea. When I think of tea, or whenever I'm sipping a nice hot cup of tea, I always remember my dad. My dad would brew a cup of tea for me every evening before he goes to bed. Most of the time it's peppermint tea, and he says it aids digestion and reduces bad breath. And so it has became a routine for me. A cup of tea beside my desktop while I'm busy concentrating on gaming, online surfing, chatting, etc.

I have to admit that sometimes I just fail to appreciate the little things that people do for me. Just like the cup of tea I use to have every night. Sometimes I just forget to drink it and pour it away the next day. And now, when I make my cup of tea, I'll always remember the goodness in tea. Its warmth, its soothing aroma, its health benefits, and most of all, the person who brewed the cup of tea for me. Thanks dad.

Alright, back to my shopping today. Oops, did I just say shopping? Well, I bought myself a box of tea. Not just any ordinary tea. It's THE tea that I love and THE tea that I've been looking for.

Genmaicha.

Or also known as wheat tea. When I first said wheat tea, mrBen thought I was doing grass, i.e. weed tea. LOL. Well, it's the tea I always get to drink when I go to a Korean or Japanese restaurant. Less common in Japanese restaurants because they'll serve you free green tea instead.

I took the box off the shelf and paid for it without a second thought. Hahaha.. It was like happiness in a box. Came back home and boiled water, shook the chill off my skin, sat right in front of the heater, and welcomed myself home to a nice hot cup of tea.

Yes, that's where you have the simple pleasures of life.

Shopping at ASOS

2008-11-20T02:18:00.004Z

One of the benefits of online shopping is that you get to have this feelings of anticipation once you've purchased something and awaiting its arrival. I decided to tick two items off my wishlist and bought myself a new bag and a waistcoat.

Just 2 days after the order, the package finally arrived at my door in a black ASOS shopping bag.

I opened it straight away.. well, immediately after taking the photo above. And the first item that I pulled out was the bag.

It's a lovely tartan holdall by ASOS. The size is just perfect, because I finally have a bag which is big enough to hold my most important things when I'm on the go. And that includes my wallet, mobile phone, card holder, packet of tissue, house keys, scarf, gloves, water bottle, umbrella, stationery case, lip balm, etc. It's also big enough to hold my file and notes, a small book and a lunchbox. And that's great. I feel so happy because all the handbags I ever had are too small.

The other item that I bought was a waistcoat, or vest. I never had one and was actually looking for one in stores. And I instantly loved this one when I saw it on ASOS.

It's got a cross back style and that's the reason why I decided to get it. Other vests that I've found are the normal ones. This is how it'll probably look like, as worn by Sarah Jessica Parker.

Nice isn't it? At least I'll have a good idea on how to layer my clothes instead of wearing a spaghetti tank top and a blouse/shirt all the time.

It's Day 2 on my Japan diet, and I feel happy and satisfied with my meals because I get to eat what I like.

Steamed salmon teriyaki with carrots, broccoli, cucumber and rice. Very simple to prepare, I just put everything except the cucumber in the microwave steamer and cooked rice with the rice cooker.

The Japan Diet

2008-11-18T20:30:00.004Z

I just read a book last night and got a few tips stored in my mind. I'm starting my diet plan today. Hopefully I'm able to maintain this healthy cooking diet for at least one month.

The book that I read is called "The Japan Diet" by Naomi Moriyama, the same author of "Japanese Women Don't Get Old or Fat".

It is a very useful book with lots of tips for healthy eating and meal development. Instead of eating nonsense, I thought it would be a great idea to start eating healthy instead.

My doctor advised me on the 5-a-day principle, and it would guarantee I would be healthy. But I never stuck to that principle even though I try. But after reading about various meal ideas, it is actually quite easy to achieve the 5-a-day portions of vegetables and fruits.

I thought I'd give it a go. It started with breakfast. I had a cinnamon muffin with blueberries and orange juice. So far so good. Then came lunch: steamed rice, cod fish, steamed carrots, spinach and cucumber slices. Grapes for dessert. I was full after lunch till about 4-5pm and I started to go hungry again. I had 5 pieces of cream crackers and low-fat Philadelphia cheese.

Dinner was some sort of a repetition of lunch. Except I had sausages instead of cod fish and pak choi instead of spinach. Go see my food blog for more details. Dinner was fulfilling, but I'm saving dessert for later, maybe supper time. And it will be either grapes, banana or blueberry.

Have I turned into a health freak now? No, I've always been a health freak. =P

Adorable to bits!!

2008-11-08T17:03:00.006Z

WARNING! THIS IS A CUTE POST!!!

I cannot believe that they are finally here!

And they are.

All the way from the USA.

Dispatched on 1 Nov 2008.

Arrived on 8 Nov 2008.

And they are so F***ING CUTE!!!!!!!!!!!!

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Please meet Kiki, the white kitty.

Isn't she the cutest plushie in the world?

She's handbag-sized so she can be carried with me to anywhere I go.

Oh wait. There IS THE CUTEST PLUSHIE IN THE WORLD.

Please meet Gwee, the green baby dragon.

Rawr! Whoever made dragons so utterly cute!!!

*dies*

Saved by a Kit Kat

2008-11-05T00:38:00.004Z

At a time of endurance and hardship, I was overwhelmed by a glimmer of hope.
When I was down, and oh, my soul so weary,
When troubles come, and my heart burdened be,
Then, I am still and wait here in the silence,
Until you come and consumed you shall be.

...you raise me up.

Notice what the sub-heading on my contract law textbook is discussing about.
Countdown: 59 hours till deadline.
Progress: 37.8% complete

coursework blues...

2008-11-03T02:03:00.003Z

Hahaha.. it's the time again for courseworks. And when I thought that it will be the end of it forever (after completing my LLB), I'm sitting here again in front of my laptop wasting large amounts of my time surfing what not and watching TVB series instead of working on the coursework.

And constantly clicking my MSN Live Messenger window to update my status for every couple of words I key in. Well, at least there IS some productivity. Some... is still better than nothing.

I had a good time today looking at the old photos of the time during our good old school days that Zac posted on facebook. Sweet, priceless memories of LTC. And how noob we used to look. Some people have changed a bit in their appearances, some expanded, some got better haircuts. Some have gone off to different parts of the land for studies and work. But friendship remains forever, no doubt.

Ahh.. the blues. With a splash of sentimental piano jazz music to set the mood.. and I'm off to continue my battle.

JIA YOU!!!

new layout

2008-11-01T17:13:00.002Z

This blog has been active since the dawn of time. And its layout has stayed the same since it's creation. And finally today, after some inspiration from bbbun, I decided to change my blog layout!

It's simple in white, and some splashes of pink here and there. Very girly, in my opinion, but I like it cos it's simple. And no, I did not code this template myself. Credits are at the bottom on the left sidebar.

Today's great because I received 4 parcels in the post today. One box of lovely goodies and presents from dear, and the other 3 from eBay. XD

eeeesshhh

2008-10-28T01:06:00.008Z

The blardeee internet connection is acting up!!!

can't access almost anything other than google, msn and blogger. even google search results returns nothing. shu is not feeling happy at the moment. *curses* and it's 1°C now tmd so cold?!?!

less surfing means more time to concentrate on other important stuff, such as...

i am hungreee...

*meow*

FOB's Misheard Lyrics

2008-10-27T15:26:00.002Z

OMFG THIS IS HILARIOUS!!! Fall Out Boy rocks! And I can't believe I've been singing to their songs not realising how misheard it sounds.

And another cool, but older song.

Need help

2008-10-27T03:27:00.002Z

Does anyone know how to open .MDF files? Or how to convert it to .ISO format, if that is of any help at all. I tried looking up on Daemon tools to find any hint on mounting the file, but I'm totally unfamiliar with this stuff. If you have any knowledge about this, your help is needed!

Please contact me on MSN. Thanks!

lonely..... i am so lonely T___T

2008-10-23T11:52:00.002+01:00

Wah.. today is Thursday. And my flat seems so empty. My flatmates Daphne and Eric and Renee have all gone to London. Left me alone in the flat. Sob sob. My dear has also gone to Bali for 5 days. Aiyooo.. so lonely.

And the weather is so depressing. Dark clouds, cold winds, drizzling some more. Haiz. I feel so down. And I feel so sad nobody wants to hire me part time even though I have already applied numerous jobs. My dad doesn't have enough money to fund my fees, and I'm on a very, very tight budget here.

Sad nia... wanna go out and eat something nice oso cannot. And nobody teman me. Aaaahhh!!! T____T

Yay!

2008-10-16T22:12:00.002+01:00

I am officially connected to my Be 24Mbps broadband! The speed of downloads? Ludicrous. Well, not ridiculous, but total satisfaction. And I received a parcel today from Amazon.co.uk and it is a brand new Microsoft wireless desktop keyboard and mouse!! *hugs dear* Thank you for buying me the keyboard!

*smiles* =)

New Stuff!

2008-10-13T20:37:00.003+01:00

I made a new notice board because I felt that my wall looks too blank and boring. Got a piece of cardboard from the book cupboard packaging from Ikea, cut it to the size I wanted and pasted bits of random paper on to it.

I like how it looks now. Sort of added some colour to my room wall.

I bought a new desk lamp today. It uses LED bulbs and doesn't produce a very bright light. I think I might need to get an extra light because my room only has an orange light on the ceiling lamp.

<3

my god damn wishlist

2008-10-11T18:25:00.003+01:00

You know there are times you really wanna get some stuff and you secretly wish someone else could get it for you, but almost 99% of the time, you would never ever get it unless you buy it for yourself. Well, it varies really. Some people keep getting stuff they do not want in the first place and rather give them away, save showing at least some appreciation at all.

A person like me, unfortunately, do not and will not ever get to strike out any item in my list as being given to me as a gift, unless expressly begging for it, which in most cases, is rather pretentious and demanding. Why do I deserve anything in the first place? I clearly know that I deserve to fall and hurt myself, deserve to be unemployed, deserve to be cheated and deserve to be USED.

Well, to tell you the truth, I am a very short tempered person. I am trying to manage it but these petty things really do annoy me. Blame it on PMS if you please. And in case you even bother to find out what my wishlist contains, as for now, here it is.

#1. A GODDAMN JOB
#2. A new keyboard and mouse (please refer to the bottom post on why I need them)
#3. Money. For my TEXTBOOKS!
#4. Money. For a new BRA. (don't look at me like that. I had to wear the same bra for 1 week because that's all I could fit in to)
#5. A Me To You teddy bear for god's sake!! ~~(I've bought at least 4-5 bears FOR other people when all I really wanted was IT)~~ Ok forget that. I don't want it anymore. I want a..
#6. Gwee plushie. Yes. Period.
#7. A new handphone. Seriously. I hate iPhone and Apple and those money sucking companies who only market products FOR THEIR OWN POCKETS.
#8. Help. I need help. I'm just sick of life.

Have a nice day.

so clumsy

2008-10-05T00:18:00.004+01:00

Sigh. Why am I so clumsy? Only less than a week ago, I was doing a good deed by sweeping and mopping the kitchen floor. But I ended up tripping over the chair and fell to the floor, resulting to bruises on both my knee caps and an awful stinging pain on the head. I had hit my head on the table. And it really hurts a damn lot.

All right, after a few days have passed and me trying to be more careful, another unfortunate thing happened to me again. I was walking out of my flat, carrying my laptop downstairs and it was raining. So I walked all the way back up to my room again to get the umbrella. Because earlier this afternoon, I got soaked wet in the bloody rain and I do not want to walk in the rain again. As I was happily walking towards Pandon building, thanks to not having any Internet access in my flat, my shoes got wet.

I walked 2 steps down to Pandon basement and slipped. I fell halfway down the stairs, with my laptop, my iPhone, my keyboard and my mouse with it. And guess what? My keyboard broke and my mouse is not clicking. Thank god the laptop still works and the glass on my iPhone did not break. But why should I even thank god for the horrendous pain I felt in my butt? I was indecisive whether to start crying or scream "FUCK IT!"

I'm Yours

2008-09-08T09:29:00.007+01:00

This song has been repeatedly playing in my head continuously like MAD!!!
Im Yours - Jason Mraz

Anyway, today has been quite busy for me. Went to bank to do foreign TT and collected my Emirates flight ticket. Met Ning at Gurney for lunch at Kim Gary, changed my bra size, bought mooncakes and just got back home. I'm gonna continue my packing soon. Looking forward to tonight, meeting the gang for dinner and maybe go try the fish spa at New World Park. =)

Loved, love, loved, love, LOVED...

KL trip

2008-08-31T15:04:00.008+01:00

Ahhh.. I am so lazy when it comes to blogging. It has been a week since I came back from KL. Well, the reason I was there was to submit documents for my UK visa application. And good news is, my visa is now ready for collection. Which means, I might have to go down to KL again to collect it or maybe ask my dad to pick it up for me when he's there for his business trip. Sigh. So troublesome, just because I forgot to include the RM20.00 for courier fees in the bank draft.

Okay, on to the usual stuff I always blog about. I arrived at KL by bus on Thursday night. Travelled with Plusliner, and had Joyce accompanying me throughout the very slow bus ride. Had dinner at SS2...

Curry Chee Cheong Fun!! But the portion was a bit small for me. Hehehe.. I still prefer the Curry Chee Cheong Fun at St Xavier's school canteen. That one is probably the best I ever had.

The next morning, I wasted quite a lot of time waiting at the Visa office at Wisma MCA, only to find out that I had submitted the wrong application form. So, I had to hang around at KLCC until the business centre opened. Was hungry, so I went to Dome for breakfast since that was the nearest cafe I spotted having free WiFi.

Ordered 2 poached eggs Hollandaise and my favourite Vanilla Latte. Although it was an expensive breakfast, at least it managed to calm me down a little after a morning of pek-chek-ness with my visa submission. After that, I went to MidValley Megamall for lunch and window shopping with Joyce and CK. Spent the rest of the day there and also had dinner there as well.

Kimchi fried rice at Food Junction. I crave for Korean food. Well, at least it seems more appetising than Burger King. Haha.

On Saturday, I had breakfast at a small shop near 1U. I forgot what this noodle is called. Lols.. Bbbun, is this Konlo Mien?
But it tasted good. Just a little bit salty for me.

Went to 1 Utama to do some window shopping again. Had lunch at Italianies. The portion was super duper huge. Don't try to go there alone or you end up stuffing yourself to death. But of course, you can always tapao if you can't finish. Watched Don't Mess With the Zohan at GSC after that. Very funny movie.

Later, we headed to The Curve for dinner. And where else to have dinner at the Curve if it is not at Marche's?

Ordered Cheesy Potato Rostti, a mixed grill and apple juice made with 6 green apples! Delicious. The dessert was great as well. Banana pie.

So tempting. The next day, I went to KLCC again because I wanted to eat pasta with alfredo sauce that I once tasted at Signatures. But unfortunately I couldn't find the stall that prepared it. Had pasta anyway. Craving.

Spaghetti with seafood olio and cream sauce.

Went to Pavillion later on and had pancakes for tea time.
It was quite normal. I still prefer Paddington's House of Pancakes.

I didn't take pictures of what I had for dinner on Sunday. Well, it was just some Japanese food at Sakae Sushi. So, that wraps it up. ^^

E&O Sarkies Buffet Dinner

2008-08-10T16:32:00.006+01:00

Had a grand buffet dinner at Sarkies' Restaurant in Eastern & Oriental Hotel last night. It was Eddy's birthday! By the way, his birthday was on 8th August 2008, which was an auspicious day - 08/08/08.

Happy belated birthday Eddy. Oh yeah, back to the dinner. All I can say is.. the food is definitely world class. For the price, inclusive of the free flow of wine all night long, it was one of the greatest food experiences I have ever savoured and indulged.

First I headed to the salad table to get my starters. Took the greek salad immediately when I saw it because I love stuffed olives and feta cheese. There were many others like egg salad, tuna salad, even Thai prawn salad. Then I had my second plate of starters themed from the land of Japan.

This is basically seafood. The oysters and scallops were so fresh. And the sashimi as well. After having this, of course, I had to take the soup. It was carrot and orange soup which tasted just so good. Then I went for meat.

There was a variety of meats at the roast counter, including roast duck, roast beef, roast lamb, roast pork, roast chicken.. you name it. And at least 6 types of sauces to go with them. Then I went over to the oriental/local table for more dishes like seafood, potatoes, mushrooms, rice, curry, etc.

I already felt a bit full after eating all that. But I cannot pass on the lobsters. Had lobsters and went on to the dessert corner. There was a very lovely chocolate fondue fountain which I sparingly covered the marshmallows and grapes in the rich chocolate. Took some fruits and some pudding and some sweets, chocolates, etc.

After dinner, we headed over to SoHo for some drinks and dancing. Nice selection of R&B songs there. The dance floor was a bit small but not everyone dances, so we ruled the floor. :P

Besides that, here are some pics of other stuff that I ordered in the past few days.

Seafood and unagi cheese baked rice at Kim Gary Restaurant, Gurney Plaza.

Korean dish, Bibimbap at Gurney Plaza's food court. I miss this one very much that I even tried to cook it when I was in UK.

And finally, Mee Goreng!! At Subaidah, a famous mamak restaurant in Tanjung Tokong.

i'm coming home

2008-07-24T23:34:00.003+01:00

Blogging here using my iPhone at the Dubai airport. Been travelling since 1.40pm since departing Newcastle. I'm now resting on a reclining chair while waiting in transit for 9 hours. People walking past me, the announcement of boarding flights constantly making me restless, because everytime I hear the flight to London Heathrow, my heart would start to feel heavy. I can't believe I've already left the UK.

I just had a plate of pasta, some cheesy onion, tomato and olive fajitas, and some onion rings. I feel like a pig right now. My appetite has been pretty good since during my flight here, maybe because I need to transform my depression elsewhere. Food usually makes me happy. Many people are sleeping on the chairs and floor, well it's 2.45am anyway.

Starting to miss my Knoll Court room. Not looking forward to my old room though. I'm starting to miss the good old 'insane' English weather although summer goes missing at times. The weather here is so hot, I feel like wearing nothing. I'm so not gonna get used to Penang weather.

Other than that, after going through my travel expeditions and great new encounters, I'm coming home. Yes, the place I have to call home.

Shots marathon

2008-07-05T17:56:00.006+01:00

Well, since my baby left me, I found a new place to dwell.
It's down at the end of lonely street at heartbreak hotel.
You make me so lonely baby, I get so lonely,
I get so lonely I could die...

Had a girls' night out with chick and bbrene last night. We went to T.G.I Friday's at The Gate for dinner. For a warm up, I had lemonade with JD whisky. Angel had her Oreo Bailey's while Rene ordered a Margherita. After dinner, we headed to Bijoux along Mosley Street for our marathon of shots. And they had 'Buy 1 Free 1' offer last night. 2 shots per round and here it goes.

Round 1 - White Sambuca and Tequila:
Sambuca was warming. Then I forgot the steps, salt then lemon, or lemon then salt?
Bonus round - Complimentary shots by the bartender, his own creation. Something mixed with Baileys.
Tasted quite sweet. So, we decided on more Baileys...
Round 2 - B-52's, as prepared by 2 different bartenders.

This round was nice. Kahlua, Bailey's, and Grand Marnier on top
Round 3 - Bacardi and Jack Daniel's whisky
Pretty warm, but still not enough to make a drunk chick
Round 4 (aka Final Round) - Vodka (Honey) and Vodka (Passionfruit)
Tasted nice. The chick hailed the white flag!
CLOSING ROUND - Shu vs Rene: 2 shots of Sambuca.

Okay, we now have 3 drunk chicks crossing the road. =P

french cuisine

2008-07-03T20:06:00.003+01:00

I've recently been craving for French cuisine, especially croissants! Had dinner at a very nice traditional French restaurant called Le Normand two times this week. Just thought I'd upload some photos of the food we had.

Escargots!!! Also known as snails in French.
Frog legs. Taste just like chicken.
Confit leg of duck. Heavenly...
Seafood stew - salmon, prawns and mussels
Very nice indeed...

Hello graduates

2008-07-01T21:34:00.005+01:00

The latest headlines of the day:

Congratulations to all my friends who made it through!!! See you all at the Academic congregations graduation ceremony! And in case you are all wondering... yes, I passed. But second lower nia, not so pro yet.

Dinner was great. We had 2 kilos of king prawns. Well, I only had a modest helping of 6 prawns though. Small stomach. Heheh.

Yummy ah!

Fun at Jungfrau

2008-06-26T23:43:00.002+01:00

I was uploading photos today on Facebook again, and recalled my first time actually playing in thick snow. Thick, white, ais kacang kind of snow.

Oh yes, I plan to go back to Switzerland again one day. ;)

Europe trip photos

2008-06-25T20:33:00.005+01:00

I've uploaded most of the photos taken with my iPhone during the Europe trip on Facebook. And it took me quite a while to tag each of them. Anyway, here they are...

Europe Trip '08 - Part 1: Holland/Amsterdam, Austria/Innsbruck
Europe Trip '08 - Part 2: Italy - Verona, Florence, Venice, Vatican City, Rome
Europe Trip '08 - Part 3: Italy continued... Rome, Pisa, etc.

Not all the photos are up. Please have patience. I was planning to blog more about the trip but I can't write all the details. This is just a brief recap of where we've been.

Day 1 - Dover, Calais (France), lunch on SeaFrance, Belgium for chocolates, campsite at Uitdam, near Marken (Netherlands)

Day 2 - Volendam, Amsterdam, Van Gogh museum, canal cruise, sex musem, red light district (window shopping/prostitutes display behind windows and ganja/cannabis)

Day 3 - Germany - Rhein valley, Koblenz, Frankfurt, sausage and beer

Day 4 - Ulm, Neushwanstein castle, then headed to Austria

Day 5 - Innsbruck, Tirol (famous for Swarovski crystals and apple struddles), Austria. Reached Italy - Trentino (vineyards), stopped by at Verona (Romeo & Juliet), campsite at Fusina

Day 6 - Venice (San Marco, famous for Murano glass, lace, Venitian masks and Gondola ride through the canals), pizza & pasta

Day 7 - Florence, statue of David (and his signature penis), Ponte Vechio (and the very expensive Italian gelato). Reached campsite at Rome

Day 8 - Visited Vatican City (St. Peter's basilica, Vatican museum, Sistine Chapel, marvelled at the works of Michaelangelo), Roman Colloseum, Trevi Fountain, Spanish Steps, Hard Rock Cafe

Day 9 - Pisa (the famous leaning tower) and cheap sunglasses

Day 10 - Journey to Switzerland, passed St. Gotthard, Brienezersee, arrived at Lauterbrunnen

Day 11 - Tram ride from Lauterbrunnen - Kleine Scheidegg - Jungfraujoch. Played with snow. Bought Swiss army knife, but no money to buy Swiss watch (Rolex, Tissot, Cartier, Tagheuer)

Day 12 - Stopped at Interlaken for cappucino (apparently the best in Europe), passed Wankdorf, Bern, Le Locle. Arrived at France.

Day 13 - PARIS!!! Perfume at Fragonard, visited Notre Dame cathedral, didn't make it to the Louvre, visited Arc de Triumpe, Avenue de Champs Elysees, the Eiffel tower, Moulin Rouge and ate crepes.

Day 14 - Disneyland Paris!!! Roller coasters, rides, the usual exciting stuff. Damn I am so jealous Bubu and FeiBub get to take photos with Prince Caspian!! But I went on Aerosmith (360 degrees roller coaster), Tower of Terror (something like Solero Shot in Genting), and Big Thunder Mountain. Yeah!

Day 15 - Calais to Dover, back to London.

There you have it. Lovely trip. Really enjoyed it!!!

back from europe

2008-06-24T18:16:00.002+01:00

I'm back in Newcastle from my Europe trip, in case anyone was wondering where I've disappeared to. Thanks to everyone who wished me for my birthday. I enjoyed my trip, but right now, I've fallen ill. Cough and flu. Sigh..

Photos, photos, I want the Europe photos! The ones in my iPhone have been transfered into a pendrive, so message me when you want them.

no mood to fight

2008-05-30T16:32:00.003+01:00

I'm scheduled to complete my Company law revision within 3 days, otherwise I will not be able to sit for the paper on Tuesday. It's either I DO it, or I DON'T.. there's no such thing as trying to. Anyway, I haven't been good. I've been lazy. All the hours spent in the library was going well, till I felt exhausted and kept sleeping and sleeping. My precious time flew out of the window.

It's almost 10pm and the sky is still bright. It looks like evening now. Today is supposed to be the longest day in summer - 18 hours of daylight. But that's not helping my mood. I just had a nice chinese dinner with Angel and I'm feeling so lazy now. Maybe I could use a short nap. =x

Oh yea.. thanks to prem for informing me that I was spotted on the blog of one of Malaysia's most famous bloggers. It's a surprise that the CEO of Nuffnang still remembers me. :)

Love in dreams

2008-05-18T02:13:00.005+01:00

4.00pm ~
I walked around town today. Just the usual trip down town to pick up some groceries and browse around the local shops. On the way back, I passed the Laing Art Gallery. Outside the entrance was an exhibit, or so I thought.. of panels covered with flowers. White and red flowers. At first I thought it was probably some work of art, but as I walked closer, I noticed that each flower bears a handwritten note about love. Quotes about love. Interpreted and written by any passerby. I just found it sweet.

Earlier...
I had a dream. I saw so many familiar faces. Almost everyone I knew. And I saw him, in the Arsenal football shirt. There was some sort of wedding dinner event. It was odd...

Later...
I took a nap and dreamt again. I dreamt I walked into a room with a lot of mirrors. There was a message drawn on each mirror. Sweet messages. Then he walked up to me from behind. He handed me a greeting card, To the one I love. I hugged him. And he kissed my forehead.

After I awoke, I started to question myself... was I in love with the guy in my dreams? Or the person that I see in real life? And then I realised that I have made too many mistakes in my life, especially in love life. Thus, I have a confession to make today. I fall for the people I see in my dreams. And that has nothing to do with what's really going on.

It has always been my mistake.

Expensive Gourmet Date

2008-05-17T01:08:00.005+01:00

Time: 8.00pm on Thursday, 15th May 2008.
Venue: The Silk Room Champagne Bar & Restaurant

I went on a lovely date with mr wildman doug ©. We wanted to try something different. And we found a place that actually serves pretty high quality (and expensive) gourmet dishes. This place is called Silk Room and it's located near the Law Courts on Newcastle Quayside.

We were greeted warmly and led to our table for two by the window. We already knew what we wanted to order, so we asked the waiter's recommendation of wines to accompany our main dishes. A red for me, and a white for him.

Presenting... Mr Douglas J. Ghani, my date who's acting a little cool towards the camera here
We had a very rich tomato and basil soup for a starter, and ordered onion rings as a side dish in addition to chunky fries. After a short while, the mains that we ordered were finally served...

Crocodile Tail Fillet Steak
These large aquatic reptiles live throughout the tropics congregating in fresh water habitats and are one of only a few species to have changed little since the time of the dinosaurs. Living on average around 70 years crocodile tail fillet is high in nutritional value & a recognised delicacy enjoyed around the world from Australia to the United States. At Silk Room this delicately flavoured white meat is freshly seasoned with cracked black pepper & sea salt and served on a bed of sliced juicy mango. It is drizzled with a basil, garlic & parsley jus served with a red onion marmalade confit & homemade chunky fries
The mango wasn't ripe, so they served a citrus salad instead. Crocodile meat... the first time tasting anything like it in my life. A reptile, yet it's the toughest white meat I ever chewed on. The other dish was...

Kangaroo Fillet Steak, Caramelised Pear & Red Currant Jus
Kangaroo meat forms an important part of the traditional Australian Aboriginal diet & is called Kere Aherre by the natives of Central Australia. The kangaroo was first discovered by Europeans in 1770 by Captain James Cook on the banks of the Endeavour River when he was exploring Australia & still to this day is the only large animal in the world to use hopping as a means of locomotion. Kangaroo is a red meat high in protein, low in fat and rich in iron giving it a dark appearance similar to roast beef. It is best cooked medium rare. At Silk Room the Kangaroo fillet is cut into medallions & cooked with onions & bacon then finished with a port, red currant & butter jus with caramelised pears.

I like this one, but I try not to think of the poor kangaroo when eating it. It looks like beef but the meat seems slightly tougher. Loved the sweet sauce and pears, too.

After dinner, it was desserts time. But we were too full, so we decided to have liqoured coffee instead. And the flavour we chose was...... Amaretto. Mmmmm....

Taking my first sip of the coffee...

Hmm.. Amaretto tastes like...
ALMONDS!!! Sweeeeeeet...
And the best thing at the end was... we had 2 complimentary shots of Sambuca. Nice and... hot.

my point of view

2008-05-06T01:20:00.004+01:00

Edit: Published content has been taken down to avoid controversy

My words remain within me, I'll wake up tomorrow to a new day.

how come i'm yo daddy?

2008-04-27T21:19:00.003+01:00

cos i did this to yo mama...

i am sooooooooooo addicted to superfly~~~~
LMAO!!!

feeling bad for myself

2008-04-26T19:24:00.003+01:00

Self-motivating Questionaire:

Your Consumer Law supervised coursework is on 19th May. Family Law exam on 23 May. Company Law exam on 3 June. Are you prepared?
-_-" no.

If your answer is no, do you realise that there is a very serious problem?
hmm... what kind of problem?

How much time do you have left?
Approximately 3 weeks... omg...

And you must realise that you were given more than 2 months break for revision. What have you been doing with your time?
Sobs. I don't know. It's gone. GONE.

And what are you doing now?
still slacking.

Don't you feel bad for yourself?
hell yeah. i feel horrible.

So, aren't you gonna do anything about this situation?
yes, i'll start doing my revision, ok?

How confident are you?
erm.. my dad keeps pushing me to study. my mom thinks i'm a smart girl. I just wanna pass and get my degree.

YOU GO GIRL!!! JIAYOU JIAYOU!!!

幸福的風

2008-03-03T23:38:00.003Z

I was just browsing some music videos on youtube and found a very talented and exceptional new singer, Aska Yang. Later only did I realize that dominique had been featuring a song by him on his blog.

I intended to feature that song 洋蔥 in this post but since you could hear it at his blog, here's another nice song that I wish to share. The lyrics are beautiful. Enjoy!

backstreet photography

2008-03-03T17:52:00.002Z

I recently found myself fascinated with backstreets, back lanes. They create a sense of mystery, like the urge to walk down that lane, yet there's something holding you back. They draw you into them, at the same time make you afraid of what lies ahead. Presenting my mini-series of backstreet photography.

Edinburgh, Feb 2008

Edinburgh, Feb 2008

Alnwick, Sep 2007

Some photography

2008-02-25T22:21:00.005Z

I'm feeling so lazy to blog recently. Went to Edinburgh for a couple of days, and now I'm back. I intended to post the photos of my London trip but again, I'm lazy to sort them out. Anyway, here are just a few of the sights I've managed to capture.

Stained glass window at Westminster Abbey

Eye of London

City view from the Eye of London

St James's Park

View of Westminster after sunset

Please click to view a larger image.

memories of survival horror

2008-02-16T14:22:00.002Z

Never realised how much I've missed PS2 and all the haunting memories that went with it. After watching a few trailers, it made me miss the good old video games I used to play. I was a gamer. And I still am. Enjoy the following trailers.

Kuon:

Typical japanese-style.

Akaichou 2 - Crimson Butterfly:

This is my favourite.

Silent Hill 4 - The Room:

One of the best out there so far.

Forbidden Siren:

Too bad i never managed to complete it.

Caution: Not suitable for the faint-hearted.

back in my room

2008-02-15T12:10:00.003Z

I'm back from London, but I'm feeling too lazy to blog for now. For more juicy updates about the London trip, please proceed to Drawde Chan's blog.

Just like to share a video clip with you. This short advert by Petronas left me in tears. Why? Because I could not go home for Chinese New Year.

off to london

2008-02-09T00:18:00.000Z

I'll be away for 4 days on a holiday trip to London. Don't miss me too much.

Happy Chinese New Year!!!

Cloverfield

2008-02-01T23:53:00.000Z

DO NOT, I REPEAT, DO NOT WATCH CLOVERFIELD...

...unless you decide that it is freaking fun to throw up everything you had eaten before the movie.

WTF.

THIS IS THE FIRST MOVIE THAT MADE ME FEEL SO FCKING SICK.

I don't care what everyone might have said about how good this movie is. It is filmed entirely on video cam mode. Felt so sick and prayed so hard for the movie to end. After the movie, I couldn't even stand up. I vomited out my £2 worth of chocolate icecream and my £4 worth of Burger King.

Think you can handle it? Watch it in a packed cinema without any air-conditioning, and with a full stomach.

why we had to each be lonely

2008-02-01T17:44:00.001Z

It's been some time since I featured songs on my blog. The song I wish to share today is Shoot the Moon by Norah Jones. It's not one of her hit songs, just a random pick off her album - Come Away With Me. Felt very relaxed when I listened to it. And it's been snowing all day since I woke up. It was calming to watch the light snow floating with the wind, and the tiny snowflakes that stuck on my window.

Have a nice day. Enjoy!~

Manchester - Day 1

2008-02-01T01:02:00.000Z

My apologies for backlogged posts. I intended to write about my trip to Manchester last weekend but haven't really found the time to get the photos ready for upload. Due to popular demand, I'll only be posting photos just to make everyone feel hungry. Like drawde says, "your blog always makes me hungry".

I know I am evil. Muahahaha... OK, me and Angel travelled to Manchester last Friday, and we were greeted at Piccadilly train station by Ly Ning. We went to a dim sum restaurant called Tai Wu for lunch. I must say, I MISS DIM SUM LIKE SIAO! The last time I ever had dim sum was when I was back in Penang, when we used to go yum cha in the mornings at Anson Road. While waiting for the food, we decided to take a photo... Free promotion for Tai Wu restaurant.

Angel looks so cute here. The napkin looks like an Ang Pao, it feels so CNY-like. The first dish arrived. Introducing... Chee Cheong Fun with big shrimp inside!

Okay, you can't see the big shrimp. But they're wrapped inside. Next, my bowl of Pei Dan Chuk arrived!

Mmm.. yummy! I miss Century Egg Porridge. After that, the Sam Siew Fan arrived.

Sam Siew means 3 Roast. It's got three types of roast meat. Sio bak, char siew and chicken/duck. Not so sure which one. The best part was when the dim sum finally came.

Fuiyoh! Look at the Har Gao, the Char Siew Pao, Lin Yong Bao, and the Chai Kueh!!

Heavenly! Can't wait to put them into our mouths. But we had to take photos first. And here's my favourite Lo Mai Gai!! I love it!

Wrapped with lotus leaf. Yum yum!

After lunch, as you could have expected, we went shopping.

No, no. Not in LV! My dad will surely kill me if I bought anything from there. We went around the city. Took some photos, went into a few shops.

Bought some clothes. Then after a couple of hours, the sky turned dark and it was time for dinner. We went to Wasabi! Japanese restaurant. Yet another cuisine that I have not had for a long time. We ordered the Sushi buffet set. Costed £7.50 per person, and the set includes a main dish and 4 plates of sushi off the kaiten belt.

I ordered Chicken Katsu Curry rice. Didn't manage to finish it because the portion was big. In addition to the 4 plates of sushi I had, the sushi rice ended up as leftovers.

Ning ordered a Ramen. Looks good, should taste good.

And our good friend here, ordered Spicy Tempura Udon. She ate all her udon and didn't realise the tempura was meant to be dipped in her soup.

Oh yeah. Look at her expression. Happiness. Joy of eating.

So that's how our 1st day went.

To be continued...

Shopping spree

2008-01-28T22:21:00.000Z

I ripped this idea off Joyce's blog. Here's my showcase of clothes I bought during my recent shopping spree at Manchester. I've labelled the clothes in the photo with numbers, and written a description of each item corresponding to the numbers.
The casual wear:

1. Black and white striped tank top - atmosphere
2. Black denim jeans - Morgan de Toi
3. Maroon top - Morgan de Toi
4. Printed pattern top - Jane Norman
5. Dark teal blue spaghetti strap top - Morgan de Toi
6. 3 x Basic buttoned shirts - atmosphere
7. Green organic cotton shirt - atmosphere
8. Multi-coloured stripped tee - atmosphere
9. Baby blue stripped tank - Ocean Pacific
10. Beige skirt - Voodoo Dolls
11. Hot pink dress - QUIZ
12. White slacks - atmosphere

There were 3 more items I bought during the trip that are not pictured here - a black buttoned blouse by QUIZ, navy denim jeans by atmosphere, and a new bronze colour belt by Dorothy Perkins. Nice??

The following are football club-related apparel that I have bought so far:

1. Red Champions Manchester United tee - Nike
2. Manchester United football (H) shirt - Nike
3. Newcastle United training shirt - Adidas
4. Newcastle United football (H) shirt - Adidas
5. Arsenal football (A) shirt - Nike
6. England football (2007) shirt - Umbro
7. Manchester United red tee - Nike

Now I have this feeling that my spending has gone out of control. Scary. I'm going down to Leeds this Chinese New Year holiday and then to Edinburgh on 20th February. I wonder how much more I'll be spending.

100th post

2008-01-23T07:27:00.000Z

Cheers to all because blek has just had its 100th post.

Anything special I wish to blog about? Hmm.. I woke up at 5.30am with a strange feeling. And I couldn't go back to sleep. I lay down on my bed for more than an hour with my eyes wide open. I couldn't take it any longer, I got up and now I'm sitting in front of my laptop. It's 7.30am.

May today be a lovely day. Cheers again!

touched

2008-01-21T23:24:00.000Z

Today I cried with my happy tears. I was touched when I opened the parcel I received today. In it was a box of puzzle, a phone charm, a card and a letter. And it included all your love. Thank you so much for everything. Shu is so happy! Shu is so in love!~

Her partner is waiting for her return.

To the most wonderful person in the world
From the luckiest person in the world

I'll post the picture of the puzzle once I complete assembling it. ^^

I'm sure everyone already knows who the sender is. Dear, I love you!!!

wth

2008-01-20T17:45:00.000Z

I never knew eating a cone of (heavenly rainbow sherbet) Baskin Robbins icecream out doors at 5 degrees C could make me nosebleed.

pffffft..

it's finally over

2008-01-18T12:51:00.000Z

yes.

frustrated

2008-01-17T17:39:00.000Z

The clock ticks away. I am doomed this time.

Out of randomness, I want to look at a garden full of roses.

It's just business

2008-01-13T20:21:00.000Z

I know I should be concentrating on my coursework but I can't help it but to focus my interest and curiousity on the scandal we watched last Friday, The Smartest Guys in the Room, about the Enron Corporation which led to one of the most biggest and most complex bankruptcies in US history. Every time I get to watch such documentaries, I find myself getting more and more interested in corporate culture.

Before its bankruptcy, Enron employed around 22,000 people and was one of the world's leading electricity, natural gas, pulp and paper, and communications companies, with claimed revenues of $111 billion in 2000. Enron traded in more than 30 different products including petrochemicals, plastics, power, pulp and paper, steel, weather risk management, oil, broadband, principal investments, risk management for commodities, shipping/freight, streaming media, water & wastewater, and computer chips.

I went researching for information on the trial of the financial scandal. And it was then I realised the downfall of one of the Big 5 international accountancy and professional auditing firms in the world, Arthur Andersen, after they were indicted for obstruction of justice for shredding documents relating to the audit in the 2001 Enron scandal. I went to identify the remaining top 4 auditors by their mergers - PricewaterhouseCoopers, Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu, Ernst & Young, and KPMG.

This done, I got back to the subject and read about the charges convicted against the persons responsible for the scandal. There are so many types of financial crimes, including accounting fraud, bank fraud, making false statements to banks and auditors, securities fraud, wire fraud, money laundering, conspiracy and insider trading.

In conclusion, I find myself so ignorant about the things that happen around me. That said, I believe I should be getting back to reading Nozick. But philosophy bores me. *starts digging articles on corporate governance*

Note: Corporate governance is the set of processes, customs, policies, laws and institutions affecting the way a corporation is directed, administered or controlled.

more "untamed" girl talk

2008-01-12T21:32:00.000Z

We were laughing our asses off about that topic in my previous post about the kam juice yesterday. And then I heard something utterly wrong again today.

Bong ee ay tiao siang tua tiao

My eyes widened. And I just can't help it. ROFL. The woman never fails to amaze me with such impressive language. The story behind this is about the packet of sausages we bought from Morrisons today. We normally bought the one labelled Bettabuy which is Morrisons' budget brand, but we couldn't find that in stock today. So we bought the Morrisons brand sausages.

But Snowie insisted that it's not the same like the same hotdog we always had. Then Angel said she touched its size and it feels the same. =____=

"kam" juice

2008-01-11T23:33:00.000Z

Omg something is so utterly wrong about that word.

We were having our daily girl talk in the kitchen this evening and Angel announced she was drinking "kam" juice.

I can't help it but to burst in laughter.

She was looking at me in that as-a-matter-of-fact way, saying that it is vocabularily correct. Despite not being oranges, we had kam (clementines) for our dessert. I was drinking my apple juice. And she was drinking the juice she squeezed from the kam. Hence the term kam juice was originated.

headache and pekchek-ness

2008-01-10T17:13:00.000Z

ROAR. Go away.

I need chocolate.

I need sayang.

I need a break.

So I'm relaxing for a few minutes and blogging here.

Showered with kisses~ =)

the season is back!!

2008-01-05T10:55:00.000Z

YEAH! As you know it, expect more blog posts from me as a result of my procrastination. Sitting in front of the laptop again, looking at the sky and still wondering what is the tension between the expression of human interdependence and the expression of individualism.

All the best. Let's DO IT!

As long as you love me so...

2008-01-03T14:39:00.001Z

Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow!!~

Woke up today with a pleasant surprise! Yes, it's snowing in Newcastle!! I touched falling snow for the very first time today. I tasted the snowflakes on my tongue.

Don't ask me why it looks so big and round. It's so cute!
The weather forecast didn't say it would snow today. But it is still snowing!! White white dots floating down from the sky. It's absolutely lovely!

Took a couple of videos when it was snowing.

Wish you were here...

wishing everyone...

2007-12-31T15:47:00.000Z

Happy New Year 2008!!!

And also, special birthday wishes to my Daphne!! Happy Birthday my dear gurl! It was fun last night. *hugs*

So, what have I achieved this year? I feel that being where I am now is an achievement. To experience life as a student in the UK. To learn how to live independently and take care of myself. To learn how to cook, clean, do laundry, amongst others. Not much of an achievement though.

But in this new year, I hope that everything will go smoothly. For the better. 2008 will be the year I finally graduate with a law degree. That will be my main aim this year. To get LLB with 2:2 or 2:1, it depends really. I don't want to set high hopes.

Other new year resolutions? I think the main thing I want to achieve for myself is self-discipline. I need to stop procrastinating. I need to make sure that every minute in my life is spent wisely. And I need to manage my finance better. Been over-spending especially over Christmas and during boxing day sales.

I wish that everyone will have good health, good luck, good times, and a good life. Have a positive attitude to everything.

Happy New Year!

i wanna go home...

2007-12-26T19:11:00.000Z

Maybe surrounded by
A million people, I
Still feel all alone
I just wanna go home
Oh, I miss you, you know

Sometimes I really hate to have this feeling of wanting to be somewhere other than here. Either way, I feel I'm not in the place I want to be. It's where I have to be. My apologies that today's entry is a rather emo post, people can cry sometimes.

My father decided for me to continue my Masters and BVC here after completing my degree. That will add 2 years to the period I'm away from home. I don't want to. I don't want to spend another 2 years of my life here alone.

Maybe things could have been a little easier if I had nothing bound to my heart. But I'm more and more convinced to have courage to go through the hardest obstacles. But it's so hard...

*sobs*

(It shatters my heart into a million pieces)

Christmas dinner

2007-12-25T16:35:00.000Z

So what if we're in the UK now? So what if there was no turkey? So what? There's rice. There's tomyam. There's deep fried wanton. There's ginger chicken. There's curry chicken. There's fried egg with sausages. There's vegetables. And the bottomline is... we LURVE Mummy Yun's cooking!!!

The best Christmas dinner.
Hohoho!~ It was a great evening. We spent Christmas Eve playing Drawde koko's drinking game. And the guys really very lose la... drinking juice/lemonade/plain water instead of alcohol??

I mean, with the exception for Mr. Khoo who was allergic to alcohol, drinking games are not so fun till someone gets drunk. =P Okay, maybe not so drunk till you end up doing something unimaginable. Oh yeah, bbyun got a lovely Christmas present from James.

It was very impressive for an ang mo kau to write those Chinese words.
Aiseh.. bbyun got present. We don't have neh!! (making my yeong suay face)

We had Christmas fruit cake at midnight. The night ended nicely. We enjoyed ourselves a lot! Merry Christmas!!!

Christmas shopping spree

2007-12-24T16:33:00.000Z

Yes, I shopped till I dropped on Christmas Eve! And then I realised I bought too many presents. I thought I was supposed to get each of my flatmates a present, so that would be 4 presents in total to be exchanged. Later on they told me that we're only going to buy 1 present to exchange among each other.

So, I guess I'll be Miss Santa Claus today. Because everyone is going to receive a present from me! But the best feeling is not just giving presents, it's to see the smiles on everyone's faces.

Oh yeah, to all my blog readers.. don't come after me demanding for your present if you live further than 100 metres away from me and don't even know what colour of the dress I'm wearing tonight. =x

Happy Christmas everyone! Joy to the world! Have a wonderful holiday! Spread the cheer. Spread the love. Make love. Do whatever you want but make sure you don't end up in the police station.

MUACKS!~

pain pain

2007-12-21T19:34:00.001Z

Sobs. My whole body is aching. Went ice skating yesterday. It was really fun but I fell down twice. Quite hard. Hit my knee during the fall. And it's now swollen like this...

Sobs. What an ugly sight.

Angel is coming over later to tooi for me with the Thai massage oil her mom brought. OMG. T___T

Metrocentre again

2007-12-17T20:43:00.000Z

I felt like a small girl walking in every toy shop by shop. So many gift shops. So many plushies. And as I drown in the cuteness, my eyes have been gleaming like this: @.@

But I controlled myself not to buy. Haha. I bought a pair of blue snuggle socks. My Nescafe supply. Two cheap £2 tops. And indulged in a delicious plate of Penne Carbonara at Est... Italian restaurant. And enjoyed the Gingerbread Latte from Starbucks. (prefer not to calculate how much I spent today) Had a great time but I'm tired now. Going for a nap after publishing this entry.

Here's one of the reasons why I go for cheap mobile phones. *hearts my Nokia 6111*

Spotted this beauty at the Newcastle Central Station

And we also went to the Millenium Bridge last night. Here are more random shots with my cheap mobile phone camera.

Wokmania

2007-12-16T00:01:00.000Z

I wanted to have buffet today. So, I had buffet at Wokmania, The Gate. And how was the buffet? Pictures say a thousand words.

On my plate
On Angel's plate
My plate, my soup and my Sprite
Ywen modelling for the orange cheesecake
Modelling again for the ice cream
Cheese cake and ice cream
Fried junk food
Jelly and fruits cocktail
And finally, my chocolate indulgence topped with vanilla ice cream.
Heavenly!

Aftermath of cw submission

2007-12-14T20:12:00.001Z

Stayed up all night and had only 2 hours of sleep. Dark eye circles. Lethargic. Sleepless. Heaty. Finally stepped out of my flat after an entire week of staying in my room. Saw the first frost of my life with my own eyes. Frosty white snow on the ground. Headed to uni and submitted the (cpcb) coursework, and...

Oh yeah baby, Friday's finally here! Finally get to do what I always do when I got nothing to do.

Rot.

But who cares? It's Christmas holiday!!! And I am so, so craving to eat out. A grand chinese buffet, or a warm English lunch. Time to pamper ourselves (my idea of pampering is by eating) and have fun.

working under pressure

2007-12-11T11:17:00.000Z

As I gently taste its flavour under the frothy foam,
my senses are slightly relived.
As I drown myself in the endless sea of reality,
I hardly breathe.
As I lie in my resthouse away from the world,
I drift into a dream.
As I can't convince myself that my troubles will leave me soon,
I just wanna scream.

Caffeine doesn't wanna help me now. I'm feeling sleepy.

(Hey I wanna be a rockstar)

A Must-watch

2007-12-09T13:29:00.000Z

This film just struck me. It's been 2 days and I've still got my thoughts leading towards the issues addressed in this particular film. It's a superb film, a documentary, a real-life account of how the vast amount of corporations that form part of our society since the dawn of the industrial revolution; are so destructive, disastrous and manipulating our very essence of life. The film has formed a tag cloud across my mind. Words like business, corporations, economy, 'legal' persons, limited liability, outsourcing, environment, fraud, stock market; all these words seem too familiar, yet they are all issues that affect our lives.

Some excerpts from the film worth noting:
Michael Moore: I believe the mistake that a lot of people make when they think about corporations, is they think you know, corporations are like us. They think they have feelings, they have politics, they have belief systems, they really only have one thing, the bottom line - how to make as much money as they can in any given quarter.

Robert Monks: To whom do these companies owe loyalty? What does loyalty mean? Well, it turns out that that was a rather naïve concept anyways as corporations are always owed obligation to themselves to get large and to get profitable. In doing this, it tends to be more profitable to the extent that it can make other people pay the bills for its impact on society. There's a terrible word that economists use for this called 'externalities'.

Michael Walker: Let's look at from the point of view of the people of Bangladesh who are starving to death. The people in China who are starving to death, and the only thing that they have to offer to anybody that is worth anything is their low cost labour. And, in effect, what they're saying to the world is they have this big flag that says, 'Come over and hire us. We will work for $0.10 an hour. Because $0.10 an hour will buy us the rice that we need not to starve. And come and rescue us from our circumstance.' And so when Nike comes in they are regarded by everybody in the community as an enormous godsend.

Charles Kernaghan: Nike assigns a timeframe to each operation. They don't talk about minutes. They break the timeframe into ten thousandths of a second. You get to the bottom of all 22 operations; they give the workers 6.6 minutes to make the shirt. It's $0.70 an hour in the Dominican Republic. 6.6 minutes equals $0.08. These are Nike's documents. That means the wages come to three tenths of one percent of the retail price. This is the reality. It's the science of exploitation.

Michael Moore: The fact that most of these companies white rich men, means that they are out of touch with what the majority of the world is. Because the majority of this planet are not a bunch of rich white guys. They are people of other colours, they are the majority. Women are the majority, the poor, and working poor make up the majority of this planet. So the decisions they make come from not the reality that exists throughout the world.

Oscar Olivera: Small battles are being won around the world, but, I think people are losing. I do see the present and the future of our children as very dark. But I trust the people's capacity for reflection, rage and rebellion.

More commentaries can be found at IMDb. Okay, I'm going to watch this film again during my Christmas holiday.

I am so craving coffee now!~ *sipping my hot Nescafe Vanilla Latte*