The Girls

Yesterday was spent at Pavilion with my beautiful Amanian girls Steph and Arisha. We decided to venture beyond the world of One Utama hence, the date at Pavilion instead.

I've known Rish since form 1 and i've known steph since our KT-days but we've only been friends since form2/3 and then all three of us were classmates in form4 and boy was THAT a year huh? :))

I've made it through some pretty crap times with these angels by my side and truly, they are the epitome of girlfriends. Arisha is the girl i call in the midst of crying or laughing or just plain boredom while Steph is the girl i bug day or night whenever i'm bored and she's there... they are always there.

So the plan was to watch New Moon and chill at the Fish Spa. Rish was squealing wayy too much and Steph couldn't bare the tickles of the fishes so it was more like ME at the Fish Spa while the both of them looked on and listened to me rant. :P There are always things i can't talk about to just anyone, it has to be them.

I didn't like New Moon. In between the 100 slow motion scenes and the soulful staring of the 2 main characters i was just about ready to fall asleep but decided to disturb Arisha and Steph. Steph was equally as bored while Rish was mesmerized eventhough she already watched it in Bangkok!

We went shopping after the movie which was by far my favourite part! :)) Left for the monorail station shortly after and made it back to the Paramount station safely and on time :)) It was pretty exciting to switch trains and everything, i just didn't like walking outside breathing in car fumes and cigarette smoke... that was horrible.

Next year we won't be in the college anymore let alone the same continents... sigh. Here's hoping time doesn't pass us by too fast yeah?

x

Christmas shopping in Department stores

You know it's Christmas when you are blinded by the neon lights in broad daylight, you start singing "Joy to world" because you hear it every time you step into a shop ANY kind of shop, and you read tweets about people "setting up" their "gorgeous, loved and traditional" Christmas tree =.=

I love Christmas because that's when the competition is heated between retail stores and the consumers benefit right, from all the sales? :)) Because i am a girl who is constantly shopping, sales is like the White Christmas i never had! Quite honestly, it is the Christmas Sales that is the most worth it because it's also at the end of the year, where the shops are looking to clear up old stock so yeah, it's pretty much a win-win for both sides.

Besides, Christmas is the only holiday which requires you to wrap up presents and i don't know why but i love the feel of a nicely wrapped present in my hand :))

But all happiness aside, i hate doing my Christmas shopping in Department Stores. Be it Parkson or Metrojaya.... i just HATE it! I've had REALLY bad experiences shopping in department stores and being the impatient person that i am, slow workers in a multi-leveled retail store DO NOT make my day.

There's something annoying about the way Malaysian department stores are set up isn't there? Could be the fact that they display fragile glassware RIGHT at the entrance, making you feel nervous that one of the many sugar-high kids from the couple behind you might just knock something down and you have to bear witness to a potentially dramatic situation. Or it could be the elusive way that escalators are built causing you to walk numerous rounds before you ACTUALLY get to the escalator you want to ride on. Their excuse? so that customers can "enjoy/look at their magnificent display of bed sheets, glass ware, lingerie and toys"

Department stores are suppose to be convenient that's why practically everything is under one roof but at the same time that's exactly why i hate them. WHY must everything be under one roof? It's depressing to walk around looking at different things but you're walking on the same hideous tiles, soaking up a depressing ambience and listening to same horrible music. Service is equally as bad! have you noticed how terribly depressing the attitudes of department store workers are? they're either just standing around looking dejected or they're no where to be found.

I hate department stores on normal days and i hate them even more during the holidays. If it wasn't for my mother who insists on dragging me along with her to buy presents for cousins and relatives i wouldn't bother entering but since i'm such a "good" daughter i accompany her and then whine and complain about how depressing the department store is so she speeds up her shopping but still, we end up spending 3-4 hours walking around and around finding "perfect" gifts for everyone. GRR. In between all that, of course there are the incompetent cashiers, MIA supervisors, equally as incompetent store managers, impatient customers (i.e; me) and kia su aunties who elbow their way to the front of the "redemption" counter line no matter how long or short the queue is.

I would rather enter 10 different stores than spend hours on end in department stores because I am a restless and impatient and being in the presence of inefficient workers and the same depressing ambience is just well, it's depressing.

I loved Harrods and Debenhams in the UK because in Harrods there were departments that were decorated thematically and everything was "WOW" worthy... even the bathrooms! In Debenhams things were genuinely cheaper than shops outside and in house designers made awesome looking clothes unlike here... O.o
the only thing i like about OUR department stores is the cosmetic counters (surprise, surprise :) ) LOL, it's the only floor that smells good and looks good! it's the only floor where sales assistants are competent because they sell cosmetics and therefore you almost never hear any of them going "huh? what's a kabuki brush?"

My mum says i'm the only Department Store hater because who doesn't like convenience? well, convenience does not necessarily apply to everyone because it sure as heck does not apply to me in this situation.

here's wishing you better luck in doing your Christmas shopping.

x

assumptions and expectations

We expect too much from life, from others and from ourselves and i hate that. I hate how people expect things of me, how i expect things from others and when it doesn't happen, it disappoints and everyone knows how crappy disappointment can get.

We assume our expectations will be met because we were taught to be optimistic and perky about life. The thing is, life isn't a Disney movie and being optimistic doesn't always guarantee "happy outcomes". They say "you are what you attract" must suck if you were one of those unfortunate people who attract accidents and bad things, what does that mean? that you're a bad person? And people who are successful and lucky are... happy and perky all the time?

These things and these people that try to decipher life's inner workings frustrate me because hell, no one wants to hear bad news about the future and about ourselves right?

We all assume the best, expect the best and expect the best to happen.

My sister thinks i'm a cynic and so angsty about life. The thing is, the angst came from the unstable hormones between the age of 13 and 16, the cynicism i picked up along the way when i stopped getting what i wanted from life. I don't even know what exactly it is i want from life, i just know these are not the things i imagined and dreamed about.

I would rather be cynical about things than be optimistic because disappointment is painful and you can only be disappointed so many times in ONE life time. Why be disappointed when you can be realistic about things, and when it falls apart you can say "oh right, happens all the time" instead of being dramatic and feeling hopeless.

I don't know what brought on this dose of unhappiness but here's hoping you have a good Sunday eh? :)

x

City of entertainment

Genting was brilliant! 

I loved hanging out with Zheng, Fen and Lyn! :)) Did a lot of crazy things, the weather was beautiful so thoroughly maximized our time at the Theme park!

We stayed at the Theme Park Hotel which was comfortable and so pretty!! I think they recently refurbished it because it looked so much better than the last time that i stayed there. :)) The fact that it was right next to the Theme Park saved us on walking time and didn't exhaust us further.

Called Wen Ying and Soon Wei just for kicks. They were very sporting about it :)) hahaha poor things... 


Dinner was at First World and then we "entertained" ourselves before going to Starbucks for free Wi-Fi. :))

Bought maggi mee for supper and then went back to our room watching Idol re-runs and eating Maggi Mee! :)) yumz... LOL i haven't had maggi mee in a while! Went to sleep a little after 1am which Lyn deemed early but we were pretty tired out from the Theme Park and walking around First world. :P

Waking up was hard since i barely slept...i can never sleep soundly in a hotel... sigh. The view of the Hotel park was gorgeous and all misty in the morning... i dreaded leaving for KL because i knew it wouldn't be as chilly as it was up there :(

We ate an over-priced brunch and walked to the Skyway station . Along the way, we picked up something for Ying since she was suppose to come with us but couldn't in the end :(

The skyway station was jammed packed with people since today is a Public Holiday. So thankful that we had arrived a day earlier :)) The bus ride down was pretty crazy because was it me? or was he going faster than ALL the other buses? that, and the fact that he kept honking which made me jump because i was trying to sleep! argh.

needless to say, we reached One Utama safe and sound :)) I'm so glad we took this trip, sure the company differed from the original but hey, surprises are good eh? This may be the last time that i see Fen, Lyn and Zheng and i couldn't think of a better way to create more memories with them :))

Love you guys! Pictures will be up on fb soon

x

Lots of empty days.

Last week this time, we were sitting for Accounting paper. It's been a week since College has been out and everyday, I spend my time playing Plants V. Zombies i know it's childish and juvenile but there's something about passing each level twice and earning money to buy more "tree food" that keeps me happy.

There are nights where i am awake wondering if i'm wasting my life away, but then i re-call the 11 months of torture and it makes me feel good that i'm "relaxing". :P Unlike the hard working sections of the 18 year old community i am not working, the thought of interning at a firm, at a company etc....makes me sick to my stomach. Although i know that if i wanted, opportunity is a phone call away....i am a sloth and would rather be an 18 year old playing a kiddy game of killing zombies with plants instead of an 18 year old interning.

My father just had a long talk with me, guess what i was doing? :P So he was going on and on about my future in the legal field, i STILL am not remotely interested so i continue playing my game while making unintelligent grunts just so he thinks i'm actually paying attention.

All i can hear is "law" blablabla "Taylor's" blablabla "apartment" -this is where i looked up and went "OOOH i get my own apartment??" (but he ignored me) blablabla "legal field is good" blablabla "look at your sister now" blablabla (because of him i didn't get to kill the MJ zombie in time and got attacked) UGH! blablabla "do you want to say anything?" so i looked up shook my head and he said "okay then...i think we're done".

I felt like Kat from 10 things i hate about you when she was convincing her father to send her to Sarah Lawrence, i wanted so badly to say something painfully sarcastic but my father is not a fan of sarcasm so i roll my eyes and go back to my game.

But now i have lost interest in passing the "Zombies in Fog" survival level and i thought i'd bore you with bits on my lifeless life.

sigh. What has my life come to? I'm kind of sick and tired of listening to my parents rant at me at random times of the day. How they wish i could be like my sister, have my mind made up instead of crawling back into a shell of childhood dreams that do not fit anymore. Yes well, 2 people cannot be entirely identical no matter how much similarities we share.

If it were up to me, i wouldn't have done SAM. I would already be pursuing a career faster than any of my peers i would have earned twice the amount in less than the time needed. But you please one parent and you lose the opportunity to please yourself. My mother was SO adamant on putting me in SAM it was annoying and horrible. Despite meeting some really fab people, i could have definitely done without the pain.

So now that i've wasted 11 months in a course that is suppose to launch me into corporate wellness i sit and ponder. When you're a parent, do you ACTUALLY know what's best for your child or do you measure your child against yourself and all those dreams you didn't get to pursue? do you brain wash them to pursue it on your behalf?

Do you look at your child and say "do whatever makes you happy" because it's expected of you or do you actually mean it? Conventions dictate us to say things we don't mean like how your aunt asks you "how's life?" she hasn't seen you since you were 15, do you actually think she cares? Do you ACTUALLY launch into this "history of my life" thing with her? No, more often than not we smile, say something conventional like "it's good" and then just fill up the empty spaces with fake smiles and family news nobody really cares about.

Well, life is depressing that way i guess. I shall stay in my little bubble for as long as i can because it has fun little things for me to do like play mindless video games, read The Age Of Innocence and plan my outfits for Genting. :)) Oh and Shop, yes where would i be without retail? sigh.

Speaking of Genting, only 2 more days before we leave to the City of Entertainment! with the persistent rain fall it's okay if we don't get to go to the themepark, we could always just stand by our window and take pictures OF it since we'll be staying at the Theme Park Hotel, a step-up from First world...obviously!

I'm excited and i don't even know why since i've been to Genting so many times i know that place like the back of my hand....must be the company i'm going with :P

After lots of changes and lots of confusion, i'll be relieved when we're finally ON the bus kay?
Meanwhile, i'll just keep my fingers crossed for nothing else to change and continue to amuse myself with childish games and my awesome new phone! :))

x

I wouldn't right my wrongs

I spent 5 years in high school but11 months in the SAM program and even though it was only 11 months, i got to know them and they got to know me at the same level that my friends from high school know me.

It's weird because i would never have guessed that the girls sitting to my left and right and directly behind me would end up being my best friends in college. We have been through so much together, we paired up and grouped up with one another every time there was a presentation, we stayed back just to spend more time together, we were the only ones who would dare to drive to Sunway and Parade for lunches.... but most of all i always felt that they were there for me. Come rain or shine,  i would have these amazing people i call my Seven by my side.

Some days were long and hard, others were fun-filled, sunny and we would find things to amuse ourselves with. Leaning over the railings and laughing over jokes i don't even remember anymore...we knew it would end one day. We just didn't expect it to be this soon and me, i thought it was just a myth that SAM would EVER end...i mean from the work-load you would have never guessed that November was just around the corner. I remember staring at my calendar and asking myself if November was EVER coming...it did... eventually.

 

 We spent our last days of college, stuck like glue to each other we were so reluctant to let go and why wouldn't we be? In Kel and Jo i had found 2 persons that shared my neurotic passion for clothes, vanity and all things girly, in Lyn, Fen and Ying i had found crazy funny friends that would help me whenever i asked, that would teach me Mandarin and at the same time laugh at my made up pronunciations. LOL. In Andrew i found an extra gossip partner, a friend that was smart in every way, a guy to bully, to carry my books and laugh at his lame-ness. 

Some things are meant to be unexpected i suppose and surprises are mostly pleasant, so it's okay. Yet expectations are hardly ever meant and the most treasured gifts come in the hardest packages... quite simply, it was a tough journey to endure. There were days where i felt so left-out and behind but they would always always try their best to pick me up and dust me off. Thank you dolls, i love you 

It's been a hard, long, exhausting journey and yesterday we finally crossed the finish line. Thank God for that because i was losing my sanity with the exams, long breaks and tiresome waits. 
As I got ready for prom, it finally hit me that SAM was drawing to an end and we'd all be stars at this grand finale pulled together by the unsung heroes--the SAM Prom committee. To us it's known as Corroboree but to others its known as Prom but whatever name that it's called....it's a perfect excuse for us to say goodbye in style :)

 

Words cannot be used to fully extend my gratitude to these lovely, beautiful, big-hearted people. I only have good words for them and the best wishes for their success. Kelly the youngest one among us all is the strongest, silliest but i'm sure she'll be successful someday after all it took us all one extra year to reach here but it took her one less. That's gotta say something :))

To my beloved High School comrades who walked beside me as i pursued this somewhat horrific course, thank you. Steph and Gush our Thursday lunches were scarce but they meant a lot to me, thank you darlings! We signed up with Taylor's together, spend orientation together and finished this course together just like High School, this to has come to an end. It is somewhat of a relief huh? :)

My father and his sister (my aunt) completed their education from primary to secondary in Australia, my sisters did SAM and completed it with flying colours and me? now the fate of my education rests in the hands of the SACE board but whatever i get (im hoping i pass...duh) at least it's been fun. At least i made a few good friends and i'll let the results haunt me come December....worrying is pointless now.

Seeing everybody at prom yesterday was touching. It was past memories that filled my heart as i hugged my friends hello and then goodbye, took pictures with them, joked and laughed....Our jokes are the ones only we can understand, the teasing is only tolerated if its from each other and gossiping knows no boundaries.

Andrew and Jia Wei you guys are hilarious and the fact that i can tease you so easily makes everything all the more memorable :P It was hard to recognize the boys who were usually in t-shirt, jeans and sneakers all in dress shirts, ties, bow ties and leather shoes. You guys clean up well! Your mothers would be proud :)) lol 

Thank you for putting up with me all the time! Andrew especially :)) LOL i know my jokes are mean but you're a good sport and hey, i can never tease you for being shorter than me.

The experience, the memories, sights and sounds.... we raised above the challenges, overcame the obstacles and held our heads high as best as we could. I couldn't have asked for better people to share in this mind-blowing experience with me.

We made our share of mistakes, had our share of falls but really the only memories i have are good ones and i have ALL of you from the class of L1, 2009 to thank. You guys are brilliant, i'm so lucky my experience at Taylor's was not short-changed i come away not only stuffed with knowledge, but with greater bonds of friendship, maturity and i feel loved, so loved when im with you all

it was worth it. 

x

The Finish line

When i was in high school, all i ever wanted to do was go out with my friends. We were such mall rats it was crazy! We'd go to OU over and OVER again and we'd never get sick of it. Whenever my mum objected i'd get really upset even though i've been to OU so many times i could probably walk around it in a blindfold, even though i saw my friends every day, i would still sulk.

When i came to college, i thought it'd be the same thing. Have my mum breathing down my neck repeating over and over again "Never study some more want to go out. *in hokkien* Very free la you, go earn money instead of spending it so much". But as soon as i enrolled for classes at Taylor's, my ears were at peace. I didn't have to beg and plead to go to the mall, most of the time i didn't even have to ask.

I guess what i'm trying to say is that College (or Pre-U to be exact) brought with it a lot of things for me but the one thing that was truly precious to me was freedom. I was not only free from the chains of petty high school rules but i was also free to the extent that i spent practically every 2 hour break i had at Sunway Pyramid and Subang Parade eating mad expensive food and shopping with my mates.

I know it's stupid but for me, it gave me a sense of maturity. I could make my own decisions, i could live with them and i couldn't rewind time but i could bounce back from mistakes. Freedom was granted, it was used, sometimes i abused it but as i crossed the threshold from teenager to adult, i realized that it was better than anything else and because i had to wait so long to get it, i appreciated it so much more.

I failed common tests, spaced out in class, hated on my lecturers, hated on the stress but all in all i really appreciated the lessons it taught me. I hate SAM but i would vouch for its effectiveness in waking up a person academically because it did that for me. 11 months ago my eldest sister told me that SAM would be hard but i would meet the greatest people and i would rise above the challenges at the end of the day. 11 months ago, i didn't believe that it would be as hard as it was and i sure didn't believe her when she told me that the acquaintances i had made would be the most awesome.

What i didn't know then, i know now. I regret not knowing these things but i wouldn't have done anything differently. I wouldn't have corrected my falls or re-program my stumbles because every little wrong led up to this big right.

I thought high school was the grandest thing i would ever go through but like my parents tell me all the time, nothing in life gets easier. My math tutor would say it's an uphill battle all the way and it was. It was uphill and exhausting but when it was time to go downhill...like NOW, you appreciated it better, you breathe a sigh of relief and feel proud that you had battled everything to get where you are.

I couldn't have asked for a better academic experience, i couldn't have wished for greater friends. Wei Fen, Wen Ying, Joanne, Kelly, Lyn and Andrew have known me for a brief 11 months but within these months they've gotten to know me, i've gotten to know them and even now it surprises me how we can fill in the blanks in each others sentences, the simplest facial expression and we burst out in giggles and then it becomes our inside joke. 

It's been a wild ride and i've never been on a safari but im sure this is just as close :)

It's going to be weird not leaving my house at 7.15am reaching class and being met by Wei Fen, Wen Ying, Annie and Andrew. It's going to be weird not eating the same familiar SS15 food, picking the cheapest, running late to class, moaning about how boring Math is, "sun bathing" because the classes are always SO cold...i'll miss it but i wouldn't re-do it you know? :) It's a once in a lifetime thing, not to be done again....

I wouldn't want to re-do my Investigative Study, Civic Participation Task and all the other sub projects we had to sweat over....those were not good memories but i guess we can all laugh about it now because it's over.

The South Australian Matriculation is OVER!!! The next time i open another SAM book it'll be to laugh at my brother and his misery but chances are he's not even going to be doing SAM... lol.

I know chances of them reading this is close to nothing but....

Thank You Mrs. Lim for having the patience to give me extra tutoring for math. You're not a bad teacher, im just a horrible math student! You always say the kindest things about me to my mum and thank you for acknowledging all my hard work at passing math. Thank you for being the mentor to my beloved L1, thank you for everything teacher! :))


Mr. Munin, you were Krys' teacher and when my mum approached you to help me with math you didn't have to say 'yes' but you did anyway! Thank You for always trying to teach Kel and I the shortest, quickest possible way to solve a math problem, for listening to us ramble and grumble, for just talking to us because some days were just so long and the fact that you understood how tired we were, were the days i appreciated the most. Thank you for making us come EVERY SINGLE DAY during study break from 7-10am so you could tutor us, thank you for being so accommodating!

Mr. David my legal studies teacher who gives me this LOOK every time i correct him on a fact. LOL by a mile, you were the most fun to poke fun at no offense but you display your emotions very freely. As much as you probably still think i'm a brat who doesn't know her limits when it comes to mouthing-off, i am so thankful i got such a cool, PUSHY legal studies teacher because without you hovering over me asking me to write essays and what nots, i wouldn't have bothered. Because of your awesome coaching, my parents are convinced that i will be a great lawyer! sigh. I'm SORRY for all the sarcasm and the spacing out i did in your classes but you always said "you know your stuff so in class, i don't bother to call on you" and i appreciated that! Moot court was definitely an experience, thank you for putting Horng Chern and I in charge, for all the encouraging remarks on my essays and work, for replying my emails when i conducted an interview for CPT via e-mail..! :))

Thank you Mr. D! You're pretty cool :)

Miss Julianne! you are the coolest ESL lecturer EVER! The time where we watched Juno, Russell Peters, Rowan Atkinson and how you recommended Chasers Wars on everything for us to watch, those times were not only FUN but it was solid proof that lessons didn't have to be boring! Thank you for always being encouraging, thank you for always being supportive of us and for always letting us have free time whenever we needed to cram for a CT or finish up a project. I'm SORRY i skipped class that ONE time... ;) You were the only teacher that made us write confessional letters about our experience and everything, it was refreshing to have a lecturer care on such a personal level. Thank you.

Thank you Mr. Lim for being super patient no matter the time, class and situation. You get the Most Patient Teacher of the year award, hands down! No one can beat you! Even during MYOB when we asked you to repeat every single computing step, you actually did! It was amazing! I'm sorry i wasn't a better student but for some reason you like calling on me :/ Anyway, you're pretty darn cool too! :))

Mrs. GOH! The ONLY teacher on campus that recognized me as Krystal's sister! I know my sister was a WAYY better economics student than i was and like so many other teachers you loved her because she was such a geek ;P Im sorry i couldn't fill her shoes, but i tried my best and you saw that! Thank you teacher for always being super cool and somewhat funny! You were the only teacher to call us out one by one to "talk" to us and that was really touching. You always have such faith in us to do well and i think it's because you're a mother to an eighteen year old yourself because you're one of them that always understood the stress we were under. Sorry for all those times i forgot to bring your worksheets but i REALLY did complete them! :)) You're really scary when you come around to check our work but it motivated us if not forced us, to do the work. Thank you!!


Words do not do my teachers justice. I want to say thank you to every single one of them that helped me, pushed me and picked me up (as i struggled and screamed for them not too... nah, just kidding) no matter what. They were there...not at every turn but at most turns.

My peers and i completed a year 12 South Australian Syllabus within 11 months and like me, most of them didn't have prior knowledge about Economics, Legal studies and some even accounting but doesn't that make you feel so SMART. We finished a complete syllabus in 11 months! (or less)...LOL it was worth losing my sanity over but now i'm ready to win it back.

Before i end....

CONGRATULATIONS CLASS OF 2009, L1 !! 

i'll see you at prom! :))

x