What A Year.

2007 is almost over.
finally.
what an emotional rollercoaster.

i have to say, this is *definitely*
the year in which i grew up the most.
here it is from my point of view.

it started with getting my AS results
and then the frenzy of studying massive
amounts of pointless information for A2 exams.
the whole period of wakingupat3am to cram
PLUS the continuous nagging doubt on
whether studying Psychology was right
and then debating on studying Medicine,
then finally putting EXTRA pressure to
get the results i needed for QUB to consider me.

*phew*

i never really told anyone this,
but i guess the magical moment was during
my excruciatingly terrible CNY when
i had a huge row with my dad which
ultimately ended in him not allowing me
to go to the Muse concert FOR FREE >:(
and i love love love Muse okay.

anyways we were driving out of KLCC
and i was watching a lot of Scrubs at that time
i just somehow knew that Medicine was
somehow right and i turned to look out
the window and the fireworks suddenly
exploded in the night sky which i sorta
imagined to be an affirmation from God.
(don't laugh!)

so i became a recluse for the next 4 months,
which i guess made a lot of people unhappy
but hey, i really needed that time.

i guess what made it worse was that
my very emo 'i want to be all alone' phase
lasted well through my exams.

but during those few months
i really got used to being alone and
doing everything by myself which has
really been extremely handy in Belfast
because i'm alone 90% of the time.

and then came ResultsTime when i was in HK,
but when i called Taylors the next day
i burst out in hysterical uncontrollable tears.
yeah, you may say 'isn't that enough?!'
but when you've stayed in the library everyday
just to do maths for 3 hours and then
doing every sum in both textbooks twiceover
AND still didn't get an A, would you cry?

but luckily exactly one week later
i got the call telling me that i've been accepted.

then came The Visa Controversy.
due to the late acceptance letter,
i could only get it done 2-3 weeks before
i was supposed to leave.

but then those stupid idiots read the
bank statement wrongly and rejected me
on the basis that i don't have enough
money to see me through med school.
so that was my MerdekaDay and
MORE crying ensued ):

after lots of string pulling,
many many calls to EvilSpawn,
and i think almost 24 hours of waiting
in that depressing visa place,
i finally got it and my parents booked my
flight for 3 days later which explained
why i didn't get to say goodbye to anyone,
and that everything was really abrupt.

and on that last day i spent it with
the best of people (:
ho+joey came over to watch Will&Grace
and eat my favorite noodles EVER,
and at that time, 6 hours before the flight
i was still packing and trying to fit
my clothes into that measly 30kg limit.

then came the teary goodbye at KLIA
which i must thank you all for coming (:
a 13hour flight, 7hour transit and
another 1hour flight later,
i reached my home for the next 5
(or more) years, Belfast.

i've never even heard of the place before
i looked for late medschool alternatives,
and it really shows 'cause i'm the only
international student that chose Belfast
in medicine cause everyone else is fr. JPA.

(oh yeah, and the only international people
are from Malaysia, everyone else is from
neighbouring towns and schools so
everyone kinda knows one another already.
this explains the lack of friends.)

it wasn't as hard as everyone says it would be
and i wasn't actually homesick but it
did take a lot of getting used to all the
crazy walking to anywhere i wanted to,
the freakishly thick accent of Belfast ppl
(Londoners tell me that if i can understand
anyone from Belfast, i can understand everyone),
the super biting cold, always being the only Asian,
and of course, multiplying everything by 7.

i guess Belfast was totally different from
what i expected and i do wish that there
were more Msians here but then again,
we would all probably get into a group
and never talk to the Irish people at all,
which defeats the purpose of coming here.

i've lowered my expectations a lot since
i've been here and i think i'm a lot happier.
sometimes i have days where i don't get
to talk to anyone at all and spend the whole
day alone just wandering about and exploring,
which has moulded me into a more secure,
more aware, and independent person
who can (i hope) make the right decisions.

i'm glad to say that i have no regrets this year.
i have had excellent friends who understood
that i really needed time alone all year,
but yet was still there whenever i needed.
and i really cherish the crazy things we did
(driving round and round to get GC tickets,
roadtrips, Singapore shopping, Sunday lunches,
Friday afternoon movies after college etc etc).

let's hope the next year brings about
happier times, less doubt,
and definitely more maturity.

so thanks to you who made a great impact
on my life in 2007, youknowwhoyouare.

so my NewYear's resolution is
to try to be happy in everything i do and
always keep low expectations.

here's to an excellent New Year to you.
(:

After Reading Everyone's Blogs...

about how my nearest and dearest went to
my house (even when i'm NOT there! grr.)
to bake batches of Impending Doom cookies,
spent our traditional ChristmasDay afternoon
at EvilSpawn's house opening presents,
and seeing all the *amazing* pictures uploaded,


i maybekindawanna fly home for next Christmas,
since i'm not coming home in summer.

can?

STEWPIG COMP!

):
after lugging it all the way to England
one week later cannot connect to internet.
eeesh!

anyways sales was FREAKING MAD yday
but yay for me, i managed to get through
the whole day without getting anything!
(except beautiful shower+bath stuff
so i smell like a pretty flower but that's essential!)
i guess the 'clothes strewn everywhere with
mad people grabbing everything their size'
situation isn't exactly very shopping inducive.

on another note, my very cool aunt brought
me to a casino yesterday because she wanted
to use their superclean toilet >.<
need to show passport and take photo one!

but all my glamorous images of casinos
after watching too much Las Vegas were shattered
'cause everyone inside looked like loan sharks
and were shouting into their handphones
on how much they lost and everything.
what happened to Josh Duhamel-lookalike
security managers walking around?!

i've met everyone i wanted to meet so far
(except for John Terry and Jamie Oliver)
and exams are in 10 days' time so
no more wandering around aimlessly
looking at clothes that are too expensive anymore!

must.


study.

MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE!

even though it's technically not
Christmas anymore in Msia but
i hope you all had a great one (:

i was walking around in Bond Street
after all the shops were closed yesterday
and then i saw all the freaking signs
screaming the amazing price cuts
for tomorrow's Boxing Day Sales
so i'm going shopping tomorrow again!!
whee (:

on a very sad note i think
i gained 10 kgs since i came to London ):

... and a HAPPY NEW YEAR!!

hands down, worst one of my life.

so yeah, happy birthday to me.
it's weird looking at the numbers,
'cause i still feel like i'm 16 and in high school.

so i spent today working and shopping
but some stuff happened that
got my mood really down forawhile.
then i thought to myself:

'HELLO you stupid ungrateful girl,
you're spending your birthday SHOPPING
in London and then earning all the money
back in a job where you do what you like!'
(pouring drinks and washing plates..
which i strangely enjoy a lot)

but anyways, thanks everyone for everything.

*you* for the supersaccharine post,
*you* for the 'buy anything you want' licence,
*you* for calling even though it was
'right after the nonpeak period',

and you know who you all are
for everything else (:

and urrrrgh now i feel like
i'm over my expiration date.

you know everyone has ALREADY
been telling me to get a bf NOW
if not i'll never get married?!!!
>.<

so i traveled to Central London yday+today,
i love about half an hour away from there
so i randomly took a few trains and luckily
i was on the right ones (:

and i met....


Gabe+Wens+MunWai yesterday.

MunWai's presence was supposed
to be a surprise which failed
but i was really happy nonetheless.


and Ems today!

she was really happy at the time cause
we found 100 Plus in China Town (:


i really don't know why we're all crouching.

so on the first day we went sightseeing,
all the usual Big Ben, London Eye etc etc
of which pictures i will put up on Facebook (:


Harrod's in Knightsbridge.

so cool you know there were fake snow
drifting down along the whole Harrod's.
i got so excited at first cause i thought
it was really really snowing but no ):


I'm sure you've seen this in movies n all!

so we just walked around and saw the
pretty sights of London with our
faces frozen off 'cause it was SO cold yday.
the London accent is AMAZING!
i love walking and just listening to them talk.



supergiant sweets!!

and then today I FINALLY MET UP WITH EMS.
we've been talking about this day for
weeks over the phone and MSN
so it felt really surreal (:

we went to the major shopping parts
and basically walked for the whole day,
so my legs are half dead now.




and then she brought me to Chinatown,
where i saw the above picture.
i never thought i'd shriek at the sight
of yaucharkwais and hanging roast pork
but when you live in a place where
there are hardly any Asians
you get really excited over small things like these.

Chinatown is such an amazing place!
durians, 100 plus, and summore got...

CHAR YIP DAN!
my ultimate favourite eggs!



then we went back to Covent Garden
to look at the above shop, David&Goliath
which is about my favourite shop ever
cause they sell these really cute shirts
but for super expensive ):


what a weird sign.

i kept hoping i'd bump into one of the SpiceGirls
so that they'll give me free tickets to the concert
or anyone famous but no ):

after all that walking my aunt and i
just went for a midnight Tesco run
which was pretty fun cause their supermarkets
here are 10 times the ones in Belfast.
so now my legs and arms are numb edi.


WICKED!!!!!!!
i swear i must must must watch this.

then in Tesco i saw my dream bday cake.
it was a cake with JohnTerry's face on it!
i'm going to buy that for my birthday
and preserve the icing (:

anyways i'm super tired right now
what with all the walking and carrying
and it's almost 4 am, so forgive me
if my post wasn't coherent or made much sense.

more on London when i'm awake!
(:

*whoosh*

i'm so tired >.<
i just worked 5 hours with my aunt
in the restaurant she manages,
pouring drinks, loading dishwashers etc etc.

i broke two wine glasses already though.

but it was so nice looking
at the chefs cook these lovely amazing food
and then see the English people
attempt to eat it using their chopsticks.

this boy got so frustrated that in the end
he used his fingers to eat his noodles.
hahaha!
quite gross la hor actually.

but the highlight of my day was when
i got to eat charsiew and wantans!
if you know my well,
you'd know that i dont TOUCH
charsiew at all, but it was so yummy la!
since there's no chilli sauce in Belfast
i slathered everything with chilli sauce
and chilli oil so i ended up crying
and now my stomach is on fire!

mmm chilli (:

i am going to eat one of my favouritest
foods ever ever tomorrow - DIMSUM!

i want to MOVE TO LONDON
and turn morbidly obese!

*btw can someone please dl Rhydian's
(from X Factor's) version of O Holy Night
for me please thanks (:

I.
AM.
HERE!!!

finally la can die.
(:

YOU WILL NEVER BELIEVE WHAT HAPPENED TO ME!!


i was doing ushering for Winter Graduation right
and then the two people who were supposed
to be staff bearers didn't turn up so
they asked me to lead the academic procession
and carry the university staff!

freaking cool wei.

they told me 5 minutes before so
it was really rushed and everything,
and it was really appropriate that it was
graduation for the School of Med+Dentistry
so the people in the academic procession
were all made up of my lecturers (:

i got to wear a black gown and carry the staff,
and led the procession to the graduation hall
which was super exciting (:

the whole thing was filmed
and it's going to be online tonight!

and as i type this,

I JUST FINISHED MY FIRST SEMESTER!
yaaaaaaaay!

i'll be leaving for London tomorrow
and i'm really very hyper right now.
my mood swings are terrible ):

I Feel So..

BLEAAAARGH.

you know when you sit down at home,
then you just feel like doing nothing
and feel so numb and generally crappish?

just bleargh over everything and
nothing in particular, if i'm making any sense.

*urgh*

Since I'm Waiting For My Rice To Cook...

1) Do this tag and answer all the questions in your own blog.

2) Delete question 20 and add one of your own questions instead.

3) Tag 8 other people.

Questions

1) What was your dream when you were a kid?

famous.
doesn't matter how,
i just wanted to be famous!

2) What was the happiest moment in your whole life?

no outstanding defining happy moment,
but the most recent would be at CHEER
when the guys won (:

or when we went to SG.

or when they told me i got accepted
into med school!! (:

3) What do you wish to have right now?

a photographic memory.

all my Friends DVDs, Will&Grace DVDs,
EverybodyLovesRaymond + That'70sShow discs.

money to shop! (:

a fresh siewpau from that ss2 stall.

4) When was the last time you horse laughed?

the last time i Skyped with the other two.

5) What did you realize recently?

maybe i have too much food
in the fridge after all,
all of which i have to finish before Saturday!

6) Which bad habit in you is the most unacceptable?

nothing! haha.
er probably my unrealistically high
expectations of everything in life.

7) When you are unhappy, what will you do?

watch something funny.
(which is why i need my DVDs now!)

8) What are you afraid of losing?

my way.

9) Within 5 years, which target is the most realistic?

GRADUATE FROM MED SCHOOL!!!!

10) When you meet someone you like, will you hide or profess your feelings?

hide la duh!

11) List out 3 kinds of people you cannot stand.

people who ask stupid questions
people who are unpunctual
people who don't like me (:

12) Define loneliness.

it's when you realise that there won't be anyone
tell something exciting that happened to you
that day or there's no one who gets you
or when you're feeling left out in a crowded room.

13) Are you satisfied with your life now?

less than i should be.

14) When was the most recent time you felt touched?

when C called this morning when Skype failed
just to listen to me complain (:

15) Where is the most beautiful place that you have visited?

MY MIRROR!!!
hahhahahahahhahhaa (:

um i think the most beautiful would
be when i'm in the airplane looking out.

16) A song that has been playing in your mind recently.

Toxic by Britney Spears.

i feel like dying >.<

17) If you could have a wish come true, what would it be?

too many (:

18) Do you have anything to be worried or scared about lately?

Sem 1 exams!
cannot. fail.

19) If the world is going to end, what will you do?

eat finish that pint of Ben&Jerry's in the freezer!

20) What do you feel like doing right now?

eating rice+watching Friends.

I tag:

anyone who's doing nothing too!

Stupid Tuesday >:(

I woke up in shock 'cause i sensed
something was wrong so i locked
at the clock, and it was HALF EIGHT!
class was at nine and one mile away

so i literally jumped out of bed
debated on whether to go class anot
but decided i have to go in the end
'cause he was giving really good hints for exams.

so i multi-tasked to the best of my abilities.
i brushed my teeth, got dressed, checked emails,
printed out my assignment that was due today,
and stuffed everything into my bag.
i couldn't find socks so i wore mismatched ones
and ran off to class with a banana in one hand
and a bagel in the other.

i half-ran to class while eating
(which is really very difficult)
and managed to walk one mile in
SEVEN MINUTES! (:

rushed into class flushed and sweating
(at 0 degrees, it's quite a feat),
sat and waited for lectures to start.

waited....

and waited...


AND THE LECTURER
DIDN'T SHOW UP!!!!
>:(
>:(
>:(

stupid man la.
i ran one mile for you okay!

summore after that someone told me
that my essay was printed out wrongly
just cause i didn't put in double spacing
so i had to use those stupid library comps
which are on freaking confusing Windows Vista
and i couldn't even use Word!

blerrrrrgh.

now my room is flooded and
cause the tap keeps turning on by itself
and it smells like those ancient
Chinese women's bound feet.


rawr!

lately my lovely friends have been complaining
to me how 'cold' it is back in Msia.
don't exaggerate okay!

>:(
>:(
>:(

but really, biting bitter cold over
sweltering heat any day (:

Dear Guy Next Door,

PLEASE SHUT UP.

stop asking your friends over at midnight
to talk at the top of your lungs
and blast annoying rap music that
you change every 5 seconds
and smoke in your room! >.<

if you haven't noticed,
THE WALLS ARE THIN!
so i can basically hear everything,
only slightly muffled ):

now the whole hallway smells acrid-y
and the smell is coming into my room!
):

love (well not so much),
sammie.

p/s when you cook your meat
on the George Foreman right,
clean it la okay!
i don't want to eat toast that has
leftover chicken oil on it.
don't contaminate my peanut butter!

>.<
think 5 more days.

In A Weeks' Time,

i'll be 1/10th through med school.

yay i booked my second flight to London!
so i'm leaving for London this saturday,
spend 3 weeks there and come back for exams
and then leave right after exams (:

from the lack of posts you can see that
i'm working super hard now but
there's too many things to memorize.
all these little details about various reactions
in the body and which enzyme for what la,
which drug blocks which hormone la...

TOO MANY OKAY!!!

so all i want for Christmas is a
photographic memory,
thankyouverymuch.

I wake up bright and early.

I wash my hair and then embark on
the Sammietan Tried & Tested Method
of Getting Perfect Hair,
which involves an intricate process of
continual drying, combing, and timing.

I check my hair every so often to
ensure that every step is done *just* right.

Finally, I am ready to face the world.

I dress and apply lip balm.

I walk out the front door, and
immediately a huge whorl of wind
blasts me in my face full on.

And i mean whorl because the wind
was blowing in every direction possible,
leaving me with my hair stuck on the lip balm
and looking like I just ran out of a hurricane.

I try to minimise the damage done
but nervously flattening it and running
my fingers through my once-perfect hair.

Ten minutes later the Wind is joined
by his good friend, the Rain.

Their joint actions reverse all my efforts.
Next time, I wear a hat.

I Was Filling A Form In...



(: very cool huh!
i've somehow lived in three continents,
even if i dont remember the first one.

two more to go!

YAAAAAAAY!!!

Jho got his mic!
loving this (:

@!%&@#$^&!!!!

i'm trying to cram everything i've learnt
so far into my already saturated brain
for the next ten days so that i won't
have to study so much over Christmas.

and so far, i am failing miserably.
who says first years have it easy?!

and it doesn't help that i've added
another new TV show, Gossip Girl
to my already maxed-out list of shows
so now i watch a grand total of 12 a week.

well at least Heroes has ended.
(the ending almost killed me la)

i do prioritize my time pretty well,
and i've been studying consistently
but somehow i feel like i've traveled
through time at some point in the day
because the hours are just flying by.

and my never ending hunger pangs
are back ):

how la you tell me?!!!

my eyes are bleary.
i've been going to bed for the
past two nights thinking and thinking.
i've learnt more about codes, anagrams,
palindromes, math symbols, and rules of mahjong
in the last 2 days than ever.
i've never felt so stupid in my life.

Tim Tang, you're killing me!

anyway, i havent written something about
the little cultural differences in a bit,
so here's a few weird things about the Irish.

1. They've never eaten Oreos.
i was eating one the other day and
when i offered it to them they went
'oh, i've never ever had one of those before..'
and i just went WHAAAAAAT?!!!

but... it's Oreos!
seriously.

2. urine is eu-rhine, poor is per, diet is ded.
i had the hardest time trying
to figure out what my group members
were discussing in tutorials >.<

3. when they say they have food at some event,
they actually mean they have sweets/chocs,
not FOOD food.
and sweets mandatory at ANY
gathering of people at all times.
so weird right, NO one back home will serve
ONLY sweets when they have people over!
or mean sweets when they say food.
we expect a catered meal with the works (:

4. everytime you have a 5 minute break,
everyone rushes out to buy chocolate.
and even in library everytime you turn
there's SURE to be someone munching
on a chocolate bar (:

chocolate is the staple food here.

5. if they're too bored, they walk out of class.
seriously, people just get up and leave
in the middle of class sometimes!
and if it's a 2 hour lecture,
half the class packs up their bags and
just walks off during the break.

and if you ask why they didn't come to
a particular class/lecture one day,
90% you will hear 'oh, i couldn't be bothered'.

yeah, they're med students (:

6. every town has its own accent,
even though they're 10 minutes apart.
and when you talk, people know IMMEDIATELY
where you're from and they always seem to
know someone from somewhere, so the bulk
of the conversation ends up a discussion
about the various people they know.
(and then i stand there and look interested)

and they can tell if you're Catholic/Protestant
by the way you speak as well, so that's why
the kids get bullied a lot if they're from
the opposite religion 'cause of The Troubles.

and also, if you go to a dodgy place at night,
or a place known as a 'catholic/protestant' place,
they'll ask you to recite the alphabet
to determine your religion before they whack you up.
so funny.

'HANDS UP! Recite the alphabet!'

7. tea is tea, yet tea is dinner.

8. no one drives an automatic car.
they think manuals are so much easier.

your head la >.<
and there are NO big cars at all!
all the cars are the size of a Myvi.
i have no idea how they transport big families!

9. they are MAD for british soaps like
hollyoaks/eastenders/emmerville and
somehow neighbours as well.
and right, the quality of the show is horrendous!
i dont know la, the shooting and everything
compared to american tv shows....
it's so bad, it's like watching reality tv,
you know how the quality is different?
like everyone has oily faces.

10. everytime they end a text
they MUST end with multiple x's.
like 'hahaha xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx'
urgh so ugly!

(x stands for hugs/kisses?)

okay my head is going to explode
from all the thinking ):
80 more levels to go!!