Footsteps

Yummy food I've cooked [3rd + 4th Month in the UK]

2012-01-27T17:38:00.001Z

Enjoy.

Obviously contains only the food which I cooked which I think is yummy enough to be showcased.

French toast. Woke up a little earlier to bath half of loaf of bread into oil, eggs and sugar just so I could walk to church with food in my hands.

Looks like shit but I assure you tastes nothing like shit. Unless shit tastes like this. In which case we would all want shit. Yucks.

Tuna + Mozzarella awesomeness. Even the fork and spoon beside it also looks hungry.

Making ABC soup for the zillionth time.

Making Tom Yam for the 10th time. Because it is so easy to make tom yam and not to mention cheap too.

Kidding.

You should've seen the look on your face though.

Cheese baked pasta tuna (which is easy to make actually). Eating that while torturing myself by scrolling through old pictures.

Bacon strips over rice.

With mozzarella and cheddar on top, obviously.

Insert rainbow spewing kid meme here.

I am a genius.

This is a half pass half fail.

Half edible too.

Forgot why I made this or how or when. Might not even be mine. Meh

Spam + Onions + Eggs. So simple to make yet tastes like awesomeness.

Actually it wasn't that easy to make. Don't consider frying an omellette anything if you have shitty super-sticky pans like us.

Korean Kimchi pancakes. Epic fail because there isn't any shape.

This is why when doing anything with flour it is best to follow the strict recipe measurements.

oh my.

Surprisingly cutting up chicken slices, tossing them into a aluminium foil jacket and then dumping in some hot peri-peri marinade will turn the chicken into awesome juicy meat with soupy peri peri to add.

Life can be so simple sometimes!

om nom nom nom

Epic fail.

Note to self in future: do not use fresh mushrooms when adding it into tomato in scrambled egg soup. Only can use canned mushrooms. If you want to use fresh mushrooms, then don't use cheap ASDA Smartprice mushrooms.

It will make the soup taste funky. And McGonagall will not be pleased.

Om nom nom.

I kid once again. I didn't make this.

Now, before you go all out and say "Y U NO EAT VEGGIE" I am going to rebut by saying that I am total kimchi freak. Total as in total enough to buy a tub home to eat on a regular basis. And kimchi is a good veggie source I believe.

Oh yeah!

Kimchi-ed!

*facepalm*

Things I realised today

2012-01-26T01:56:00.000Z

1. My postcards are not going to mail themselves back to Malaysia.

2. I have two pints of milk left in the fridge which expires in two days.

3. I miss the Christmas holidays.

4. I have quite a few regrets in life.

5. Flatmate No. 8 is probably going to come back only in February.

6. I have four lemons in the fridge and not a clue on what to do with them.

7. I can do it.

Galations 6:9 (taken slightly out of context but it speaks nonetheless)
Let us not become weary... for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.

Making our own 'Yee Sang'

2012-01-26T01:08:00.000Z

It all began on Sunday after church, when we thought about bringing something Chinese to celebrate Chinese New Year at our Life Group the coming Wednesday at Tim & Dani's. Yee Sang was the nominated choice, being authentically Malaysian, however we couldn't find any prepacked ones. So we decided to make our own one to spread the cina culture love.

This is how it turned out - without the nuts and crackers. Please try not to laugh too loudly lest you wake your neighbour (only Malaysians/Singaporeans will get this).

Well... at least the oranges we brought were sweet.

Things I have forgotten today

2012-01-25T03:50:00.002Z

1. To clean my room.

2. That I will graduate in July and that I still don't know what I'm going to do next.

3. To remind myself that the dreams and nightmares that I have when I sleep are not reality.

4. I am out of nuggets and cookies.

5. That sleeping doesn't really change anything.

6. That this is probably the best it will ever get.

7. I am blessed.

Chinese New Year in the UK (Video)

2012-01-24T15:39:00.003Z

As much as I'm missing home, I gotta admit, the food here ain't too bad either.

*********
Pics stolen from fb.

Picture from the dinner two days before CNY:

£15 which is RM75 dinner.

CNY Eve dinner:

Cod fish awesomeness.

Bread Pudding awesomness

1st day of CNY:

Yee Sang

**************
Next Friday, our Chinese class is going to perform for the Vice Chancellor of the University + the mayor of Reading I think in a Chinese Festival celebration event. We're going to sing. I'm playing the guitar. The song - 对不起,我的中文不好。A little nervous. At least performers don't have to pay the £5 entry fee. I hope there's food.

This Sunday, there's that Projek Amanat Negara thing going on by the UKEC at London. I'm looking forward more to Hillsong London + meeting up with Jeremy after that actually. But I heard there's food. TEH TARIK + Muruku :D Still don't get why going to London from such a short distance takes minimum £11 which is RM55.

Hungry. Kitchen. kthxbye!

Chinese New Year in the UK

2012-01-23T00:44:00.002Z

So today we had a Chinese New Year celebration in our flat between us flatmates and some friends. And we each contributed a dish. I cooked the Tomato in Scrambled Egg Soup (with lots of mushrooms and carrots added in) which is one my favourite dishes that I learned from my mom back home in Malaysia.

There was also Cod Fish which was about £4.00 for what would be worth RM50-ish back home - Yao, awesome Spam - HJ, Taugeh something haha - HJ, Bread Crumble Custard Pie or something (really really awesome) - XQ, Nuggets - Mel, Oranges - MZ, Milk Ice Cream - MZ and Coke/Sprite for the floats - Lucas. There wasn't any Yee Sang to lou and of course it can't beat yesterday's Malaysian Society CNY dinner at China Palace lah but for home cooked I thought it was pretty good.

Laughed throughout the night reminiscing about crap like the SPM days and stories like 'The Pearl', 'Phantom', awesome 'Konserto Terakhir', etc etc. Talking about our old days basically in school and all the fun in Science and why are we all currently in Law. Haha. Talked about a whole lotta other random stuff too, random stuff that you normally chat with your cousins when over a long dinner I guess.

I had a good time.

But boy, do I sure miss my family back home. Above picture is the cousins celebrating CNY and also my youngest cousin's 6th birthday.

*****************
Early during the time when everybody was simultaneously preparing our dishes, the flatmates began talking about a certain CNY party being held the next day and whether they were going to go or not and what should they bring. Eventually the conversation turned over to me and...

-------
ZZ the flatmate asks, "Joel, are you going for the YY's dinner tomorrow?"

I pause for a while, then I continue stirring our soup. Slowly, I answer.

"Ermmm, I guess I wasn't invited... since I don't know about it."

I don't peel my eyes off the soup, but I feel panic vibes floating through the air.

We don't talk for a while.

ZZ counters, "Well, you can take my place if you like, I don't really think I'm going..."

I laugh.

"Imagine," I say, "If..."

Me: Hi

Host: What the crap are you doing here?!

Host: I didn't invite you, you (insert preferred word)!

Me: Erm, ZZ said I could stand in proxy and be here.

Host: Oh, kk.

Interestingly, as I was writing the above paragraph, I got a fb notification about that particular event on our class page inviting everyone. Life is funny. That, and church this morning was awesome. But I digress.

***********
I was reading a friend's (who's also studying in the UK) blog and was quite captivated by a paragraph and since SOPA sucks I'm going to reproduce it here:

Today is the eve of Chinese New Year. It's my first away from home. It's quite a feeling seeing on Facebook my other friends currently at other parts of the world or even in the UK itself saying how they miss home, their families, the food and everything else the celebration brings. I still feel at awe at the fact that we're at this stage of life, just being away from home to further our studies with our future uncertain! And how we understand the pains of growing up.

As for me, I'm dealing with stuff that's not really related to missing home and the likes. In fact, when my sibling asked me if I was homesick, I answered in the negative more quickly than I expected myself to. I do feel something, but I'm sure it's not the feeling of homesickness. Whatever it is, it's not the main thing that my mind's been occupying with lately. But just like my other friends, my mind is occupied with these thoughts of growing up and the pains of just...moving on in life.

The word Athazagoraphobia was written at the end of the post. I googled what it meant and thought, boy, how apt. And it reminded me of the un-nonchalantish song Joash and May covered back home recently.

The Awesome Poland Adventure (Part 3/3)

2012-01-21T02:41:00.002Z

Note: Written on 11 January 2011, the third day of our Poland trip. Part 1 can be found here and Part 2 here.

****************
Hello folks, the cool cats are all napping right now so here I am telling stories about us being in Poland at the moment. Kinda tired so I'm not really gonna make an effort to be entertaining.

Continuing off from yesterday, if you read my tweets overnight, then you would've known that we stayed up a bit to play poker, blackjack and cho tai ti by using mini pretzels as chips. Delicious pretzels that tempted us to eat our own chips. A bit disgusting actually to use slightly oily biscuits as chips to put on the table but we did it anyway.

We added the element of a shot of vodka for all who bankrupted at any particular round and that made the rounds a bit more 'chi qek'. The first few rounds were unceremoniously lost by Yao whom I quote him - 'took the shots like a man'. Throughout the games we were mixing juices with the vodka as well. All in all it was good moderated fun.

This morning we woke up a little earlier and headed off straight to the largest Nazi concentration camp ever at Auschwitz. According to the site, over 1.1 million Jews and others were sent there during the Holocaust and about 90% perished there by gas chambers and executions and so on. It was so shit scary. Walking through the grounds where medical experiments and so much more was done (like sterilization tests on patients) was super morbid.

I can't say I had a good time there (I wonder which human would) but I can say that it was very mind blasting mind opening. I've read about all this kinds of torture before out of interest with the Kempeitai Japanese camps and the Auschwitz one too but to actually see it for yourself, chills man.

I shudder to think about it.

After that harrowing experience, we headed off in yet another long van ride to the oldest salt mine in the world, Wielicza Salt Mine.

By then it was about 3pm and so we had lunch in a quaint affable little cottage opposite the mine. The decorations were impeccable and it suited the outdated yet still lovable Christmas theme. The food? Out of the world; our driver had recommended the best to us. I had Turkey fillet with Polish Mushrooms and the Peasant Potato and both still hold a warm fuzzy feeling.

Now the Salt Mine. Little did I know that the one we were going to was so significant within the history of mankind. The kind that makes you want to lie down on the floor with your mouth open and just silenced to the awesomeness of the place. Just so you know, it was among the first 10 or so sites registered under the UNESCO World Heritage Sites and had over 2200 rooms and 300km around.

In my mind I had always pictured mines to be very long never ending routes which never had a ceiling any higher than slightly above an average sized person.

But boy was I mistaken. The first place was a chapel and it was immaculately carved and decorated by the miners themselves during that time. I tell you, mostly throughout visiting the chambers, I had to consciously tell myself to close my open mouth at the wondrous architecture of the miners and the high ceilings. They even had horses living in the mines because it was so huge! And the funny thing was that these horses tended to live longer than the ones above ground simply because the air quality was therapeutic. Talk about kuda di bawah tempurung!

The biggest chamber and most glorious one was none other than the huge cathedral. Immensely gorgeous with chandeliers that hanged from ceilings that pained our necks to look at, the walls were also carved out of rock salt with pictures of the nativity and even the Last Supper all in almost 3D like form across the walls.

It was so breathtaking.

I repeat. Breathtaking.

I could have been there all day.

When the guide mentioned that the acoustics in the cathedral were good, she backed it up with evidence and played music that emanated throughout the halls and rang beautifully in our ears. The lights (including chandeliers) were following along rhythmically by dimming and brightening according to the various dynamics of the orchestra playing in the background as well.

The guide said that people get married there, my friends.

And I don't see why not, considering how it really was. Many famous people have trodded it's paths since its opening as well. Lord Baden Powell, founder of the very awesome Scouts, composer Chopin, Pope John Paul II and even President Clinton are all no strangers to the mine.

On Chopin, there is even a whole room-cave dedicated to him where they play a piece of his to the ripples of the water.

Spectular.

Darn, I'm running out of adjectives to describe the grandieur of the location. But anyway, don't take my word for it. Do your own research on the location and then come up with your own adjectives. Heck, I heard there's even an award winning film made about it!

I was in such a drunken stupor.

I guess I'm just so grateful at this moment that I get to experience all this right now. And with adequate company as well. I absolutely cannot complain.

Anyhoo, after all that awesomeness, we travelled back to the hotel and then we walked to our favourite Ikea once more. Over there, we experienced dancing on the clouds again with the hot dogs and ice cream that is unique to the location. Some of you might say we lack variety, and I don't disagree, but who's complaining if we're happy? :)

But yeah. Here I am now, typing this.

And guess what am I going to do to right now? Immerse myself in the Fizzy Bathtub (using the Fizzy Ball ball with a diameter of 4cm that I bought from the salt mine).

Oh yeah!

********
The final day involved visiting the Royal Church, St Mary's Basilica and eating more good food. Eventually we had to board the plane as night fell. And then we reached home after midnight.

Reality.

Of white sheets in Poland

2012-01-21T02:13:00.001Z

I still remember my first experience with real snow on 10 January 2012 in Poland, waking up to a friend letting me know it's snowing outside. Although the three of us guys were above 20, we couldn't help but gawk in excitement at the fact that the roads outside our hotel was not asphalt grey but white instead. The texture of it was soft to touch and it flattened in our hands when pressured, just like ice kacang. I say it was difficult not to smile.

Video:

A Cheesy Escape

2012-01-21T02:00:00.001Z

Lately my meals have been rather awesomely cheese filled. Whenever I can't think of anything to eat and want something to get my mind off things like the fact that I'm in my final year of law and am supposed to be nerding my ass off instead of 9gagging and k-popping away, I cook some pasta, slap on some sort of tuna/meat and then bath it in cheddar and mozzarella cheese for the oven at 180 degrees. Always works :)

This is off topic, but 9gag really hits home sometimes. haha

The Rotten Bag and The Missing Wallet

2012-01-16T18:50:00.001Z

The task of choosing a product, let alone a bag, can be so daunting sometimes.

Randomly Pal looks across the table and says, "Joel, I think you need a new bag."

Pause.

"Is it because my bag is worn out?"

Pal looks once more at Joel, shakes his head.

"Not really. But you have been mentioning a lot about it lately."

Pause.

"That pathetic huh?"

*nods*

**********

Today, after my Chinese class (in which I realised I have rusted beyond reasonableness), I decided that I needed some groceries. Asian groceries in particular. So I headed off to Seoul Plaza, our campus Asian grocery store because I'm Asian. And boy are there a heck load of Asians there. WHY SO RACIST? (???)

There, I spent a good 15 minutes fighting a battle with myself. Particularly, it was between my brain, mouth and stomach. If my eyes steered its way towards a product that looked interesting, my brain would probably say 'yes', but the mouth 'no' and stomach undecided. If it was some nasty looking seafood, perhaps my brain would say 'no', my mouth 'yes and my stomach 'no'. Like perhaps instant noodles, my brain 'noooo got MSG wth', my mouth 'heck yeah!!' and stomach 'kurang peduli'.

Err, what am I even getting at?

Anyway, I ended up buying a truckload of groceries because I just came back from Poland and also my stock on Kimchi was running low and Kimchi cannot run out because then the risk of me being fantastically unproductive would rise undramatically.

After that, I began the arduous task of queuing my ass off. And boy, did I queue! The queue took so long my hair grew and reached the floor when I reached the counter. Ok, I exaggerate, but you get the point.

ANYWAYYY, when it was finally my turn, I searched for my wallet and viola. It was nowhere to be found. Like it was playing hide and seek with me. So my core temperature began to rise exponentially. My face began turning redder and in no time I was one shade shy of a tomato. My desperate eyes began desperately darting in all directions for a friend, not a rich one but ok ok one preferably so won't be so kiam siap.

But of course if I did find one then this story wouldn't be one worth writing home about. So......... I apologised to the accommodating cashier, and walked out of the store as calmly as possible, promising to return when I found my wallet.

Once out of the store, waves of annoyance flooded me. I began to scold myself. HOW COULD YOU BE SUCH AN IDIOT. Then I laughed. Then I sighed. Then I did a cartwheel. Kidding. I can't do cartwheels to save my sorry butt. I tried once last year while at camp into the pool but still failed pathetically. I still wish I could do somersaults, back flips and all that shit!

Anyway, so I walked back home, found it in my laptop bag and walked back, totaling a good 25 minutes in arctic weather. I had Kyle Landry, Josh Chiu, James Lee, Joash Chan, May Wong and Sherry Kim accompanying me throughout. They had to tag along with their guitars, pianos and singing along for me. How nice hor.

Then I paid the for the groceries, said my kamsahabnidas and walked to collect my mail.

LOL THE STORY HAS ENDED AND IT'S STILL SO BORING. Weird, when I pictured it in my head, I was laughing to myself at the ridiculous events of the day. Sad, Joel. Sad. You're writing so cheap sounding already. Not even funny let alone coherent. Go do your law essay lah, gnirob yob! K, don't talk anymore.

The Awesome Poland Adventure (Part 2/3)

2012-01-10T20:24:00.003Z

Hello world. I think need to stress that the 'kill me' part mentioned in the previous post was just figurative. Of course it is not literally, or at least I hope not. Haha I kid, mom.

Anyway, today was rather interesting as well. After the debacle with the snow and throwing my very first snowball at an unappreciative friend, we headed off to IKEA once more, this time for the meatballs. At 6 Zl for 10 pieces (1 pound or so) it was like eating with King Solomon for breakfast. The 6 inch German sausage at about 3.50 zl (60p) was also a total steal!

Then, since the aforementioned unappreciative friend said we were already 'kesempitan masa' (verbatim; correct word should be kesuntukan masa), we took the taxi to town centre.

When we reached town, our watches glared at us. Yes, our watches can glare don't argue with me. It was 11.25am. So our feet had to 100m dash to St Mary's Cathedral at where which we found a nice young man who had a sign precariously held vertically high on a stick. The sign said 'FREE TOUR, JOIN US'. Yes, you guessed it. It was our predestined destiny indeed.

The tour was a tour of the Jewish culture in Krakov. And about a few things I am certain from the 5km 3 hour tour around town:-

1. The guide's name was Piotr (pronounced Peter). He is a student of Law, funny and a good informative guide.
2. Krakov vs Warsaw the capital; Krakov wins. Warsaw apparently has ugly buildings.
3. We must all watch the movie by Steven Spielberg - Schlinder's List and also Enemy At The Gates because not seeing it is quite a travesty.
4. There are 293 steps on the cathedral to the top.
5. Apparently to pass the crazy test to be a guide you need a year of studies and then this crazy test which even asks you how many steps are there on the cathedral (!!!!).
6. Nobody passed that test in the previous half year (!!!!!111!!).
7. Peter said we could kick him if he was a bad guide. Verbatim: "But I do have a stick!"

K, at this point, I realise that this is all kind of boring so for the sake of brevity I'll just say that the tour was very mind opening about Poland, Krakov and it's actual awesomeness and the history of it which actually is quite intertwined with Germany and the Jewish. Apparently 80% of the Jewish in the world might have Polish roots or something? K wait don't take my word for it. Sometimes my ears get a little wonky.

Anywayyy, at the end, we as a group tipped a fifty to the guide and said broken 'Chjingkuyas' and then bade farewell.

Awesomeness.

Then we visited a grand castle and took pictures. One of our pals actually termasuked the Royal tombs and freaked the poo out of everyone by running out wailing hands in the air. But it was rather funny in retrospect. K, perhaps I exaggerated a bit. Meh. Still was funny.

Ate at some restaurant Peter recommended us for dinner then headed home :)

There's something interesting Poland which I feel like rapping about now. It's the fact that so little people actually know English! I can't wrap my head around the fact that some of the menus in some restaurants look like Greek to us. Communicating with Taxi drivers sometimes involved mad gestures being tossed into the sky, I KID YOU NOT. It's so funny how we rap in English yet the answer in Polish expecting us reply in Polish.

We rap more in English. They rap more in Polish. Soon we realise we don't get each other. Then the gestures come in.

So far, the only people who speak English are the reception people and waiters in the restaurants. And they are mostly gorgeously good looking. Pretty and handsome people with dashing eyes of various shades. I think perhaps among the better looking set of caucasians. But I digress. So few know English! (P/s: To type this sentence I had to ask the 5 pals whether to use 'few' or 'little' for people because I was still not sure of which one is for the ones that you can count even though my mom gets annoyed and corrects me all the time about this wahahahahaha)

But yeah, it is still such a lovely country. With awesome cheap Ikea meatballs and hotdogs.

And now I want to keep crapping but the cards, vodka 40% and juices (to mix) we bought are not going to play and drink itself so helpful me will have to come to the rescue. (P/s: It's just good fun dad! We're in fact only betting mini pretzel biscuits we just bought from the Shell station next door hahahahaha. I'm with good company :))

Well, that, and everyone is yelling for me to get off the computer.

kthxbye!

**************

For Part 3: http://joelryanlee.blogspot.com/2012/01/awesome-poland-adventure-part-33.html

The Awesome Poland Adventure (Part 1/3)

2012-01-10T08:41:00.002Z

Good morning tuan-tuan dan puan-puan. I know I haven't been blogging in ages and some of you want to kill me. Rest assured, I'm alive and well, and the sky here is equally as blue if not more than the one back home.

ANYHOO, I am in Poland now! So I'm going to tell a few stories since we got here yesterday.

First of all, we left for Polski (Polish way of calling their own country, cool bo?) at about 3am from MacKinder Hall. Btw, I also learned the way of saying thank you in Polish and it is something like Chjingkuya, almost like the word friend in Korean so it's easy to remember. But wait I'm getting ahead of my story.

So as we were leaving, two jokers submitted and paid for their Bar applications just a good 10 minutes before we boarded the taxi, but no stress of course hah! Then we reached London Stendon airport and then boarded our plane to Poland!

(I realise this is all very boring and I seem to have lost the ability to write entertainingly so I'll just skip to the good parts lah k which is the rest haha).

The plane ride was good. Saw a sunrise so sexy it made Beyonce blush. Reached our hotel. We were supposed to get three rooms with two people each. But there are 3 boys and 3 girls. So to prevent any penguin awkwardness, I suggested asking for two 3 people rooms. And guess what?

WE GOT KICKASS APARTMENTS!

And it is beyond awesome considering there are only 8 of them in the 4 star hotel. The toilet is golden marble plated and is BIGGER than any of the rooms in the halls in Reading and there's even an exercise machine, not to mention 2 TVs and a computer!

Ah joy.

Then we went to the Musuem to bore the shit out of ourselves. I'm sorry underground Musuem, but that was possibly the most boring audio guide I've ever listened to. And I love listening to audio-guides! Pls go to Bath, UK and listen to the their version! Got background music playing also okay!!

I forgot about talking about lunch. How could I? Not especially when the food and drinks were mind blowing! (no exaggeration while writing all these btw) I had some penne something and so did the rest and some had hot chocolate (which was melted chocolate) while I had a shake. Yeah. Paid in Zolte, the national currency, which is slightly weaker than the Malaysian Ringgit when converted to.

Night time we went for dinner at Ikea (walking distance from the hotel). It absolutely felt like home! The layout and everything was the same, even the food! But of course it had to rain on our parade and the store for the main meatballs were closed. So we went down to the snack bar and BOY OH BOY did we get better!

1 zl for a hot dog
4.5 zl for some long baguette with cheese and mushrooms
1 zl for ice cream!

Converting that back to pounds it is like less than 20p for the hot dog! (we bought our currency for 1 GBP = 5.4 ZL). Even after converting back to RM it's only like RM0.90.

So what do you think we did? We bought by the bulk! HAHA. 2 hotdogs, 1 baguette, 1 ice cream etc etc (Boon had 3 hotdogs plus baguette and drink haha). Eat like crazy. The worst part was that it was so sinfully delicious. In no time we were all walking advertisements of the food. The hot dogs were just so succulent (pork) and the mustard (which I don't even like) was mind empowering. The baguette okay and the ice cream exactly like Haagen's Cookie Dough!

After that experience we went back, bought a little booze (keyword: little. Just a little, mom!) and played that hilarious game twice of drawing-writing charades for about an hour plus. Laughed our asses off and when we get back I'll scan all the copies for the world to see. The most epic was when one of our fellow pals saw the word hunter and drew an elephant. AN ELEPHANT WHO HELD A GUN. Would you not roll on the floor? Free broom sweeping the floor had.

A good bath then (p/s: I also bought bubble bath tabs to use for about 7zl) and then sleep on a bed unparelled with awesomeness.

And guess what I woke up to 30 minutes ago?

Snow.

Yep, you heard right. Snow.

:)

************

For Part 2: http://joelryanlee.blogspot.com/2012/01/awesome-poland-adventure-part-2.html

We tried!

2011-12-27T09:31:00.000Z

For a certain Kenneth Chaw in a certain Malaysia.

Some text messages from the past

2011-12-21T07:37:00.001Z

I think I've done this before somewhere but anywho I thought it'll be pretty interesting to just post some more of the randomer text messages that I've gotten on the iPhone 3G (2009 to early 2010). They have been randomized and in some cases, identities protected =)

Andrew C! My Chem lab partner during SAM. Did a lot of stupid things throughout the year together. Was supposed to go to med school with him and the lot of friends in our class but I changed my mind about being a doctor in Malaysia after spending money, applying for IMU and getting an offer and all that poop. In the conversation above we're obviously debating about which classes to go to HAHA. In our defence, it was the classes nearing the final exams and they were not actually classes but more like consultation/revision classes which weren't compulsory.

Here's Joseph who's a friend from Jitve and Joanna's ENGINEERING class I got to know from all those study (???) time at the Taylor's ADP library till 10pm. He's now doing medicine. Haha.

And yes, the concert was amazing.

Hui Jin, my moot partner in Year 1 of Law. This is a series of texts from the night before the actual moot.

If I'm not mistaken that year the scouts had the Usaha Camp in August instead of normal November because the school didn't allow it or something. Anywho, here's a senior and friend asking if I had some camping materials for her solo camp. I don't know why I said don't use carbide lamp. I guess it's because digging a hole would be too memafankan to do and it would be just easier to change the batteries of a headlight.

Scouting. Those were the days.

Very obviously not Khristy. Very obviously Hari (he phonejacks Khris a lot).

I thought this was a rather interesting conversation. Marked the first of many many many in discussion about the juniors and their activities (Scouts).

Year 1 Law Examinations, if I'm not mistaken

The above three messages are by my very dedicated class representative in during the SAM days. I think he's one of the most responsible and efficient and 'true' people I know (single-handedly organized our Pangkor trip too!).

The Penang Trip. It definitely made 2009 such a memorable year for me. It was a magnetic highlight. I remember taking over 1000+++ pictures during the trip and you know what's the funny thing? I haven't gotten around to editing and posting it up yet. And nobody who went for the trip bothered to edit and post theirs either. It is almost 2012. Hah!

Ben being nonchalant about going to the hospital haha

I think May 25 was the last CF for Joash and Sean before they graduate - the last time I ever saw Joash alive. I still can't believe I only ever knew him for exactly three months, from March 17 to June 17, because when he left I certainly didn't feel that way.

Somehow thinking about it all now reminds me of this song, Shout Unto God:

"The enemy has been defeated, death couldn't hold You down, we're gonna lift our voice in victory, we're gonna make Your praises loud."

The days after SAM. Somehow, I preferred the days during SAM to the days after it.

Joshua describing Tiffany - "A small girl". HAHAHAHA

haha Josh being temperamental

SMKSUCF! Right before the last CF of Taylor's Subang. Aduh, I miss that too.

Friends =)

Heang-Lee's very wise quotes. I remember during the 2008-2010 period I used to distribute random quotes to random friends. And somehow it became a trend. Some would send back quotes and some would forward the quotes. Some, like HL, found their own quotes and distributed them as well.

Then somehow somewhere along the line, everyone and everything just stopped. I wonder.

I think I was asking which part of the cinema

"I insist." haha

Toast! It's 2011.

Hahahahahahahahahaha

I invited a friend to CF. And that was the conversation that ensued.

Unfortunately I didn't have the credit to send back the msg lol

A genuine heartfelt message from a person you would least expect to receive this kind of message from. And it was so out of the blue considering we had not communicated since time immemorial when I got that message. Regrettably, we haven't communicated since then either.

I think that right now, we'd both like a proper friendship, but we don't know where to start, considering how much we've changed in our own ways since then (the secondary school days). I could be wrong, of course. He is quite an individual.

A very random text, but carries some significance. It was the day of producing the Taylor's Subang CF album - audio sermon from the camp. I did the album jacket cover! Memories.

I was quite the Chemistry freak. Hah!

**********

In more recent times....

A Skype call with Sarah in Malaysia on Sat. Had another one with Joseph yesterday too but didn't take a picture of that one. Talked about koko crunch. Speaking of which, I'd like some now =)

Oh yeah, and Sherlock Holmes is a good watch. Saw it after the last class of the Autumn term on Friday! I actually missed having some or any form of subtitles on the movie screenings. Haha

Malaysia.

"But don't you forget that cheese"

2011-12-16T11:22:00.002Z

Dear Sun Lovers

2011-12-15T19:19:00.001Z

Lol. I've been sunburned way too many times then I can ever begin to count.

Erm, not very funny.

Gulp.

Flippin' Cool

2011-12-14T17:48:00.001Z

Jon, this is awesome!!

To Each His Own

2011-12-14T16:42:00.004Z

Some random FB conversations

Truthfully, it seems like everybody else is going back to Malaysia for Christmas. But for me, I think I'd be awfully ridiculous to go back so soon when I'm only here for a year. Plus, it feels like I just got here. In fact every night when I dream, it's always on in the UK. And when I wake up I need a good 30 seconds to realise that 'oh k, i'm a law student studying IN the UK now. aweshum'

So yeahhhhhhhhhhh. And plus celebrating New Year fireworks in London =)

My mom even told me that after graduation in July (in which the family comes to the UK for it), I could (should) probably just stay on, and like probably work until September for the the next term (if I do masters). HAHA

I just might, maybe. Funny though how she's the one who implanted the idea!

A private video because the people in it are grossly shy. But it's really funny =) Our juniors are the best! Wish they'd put it up on youtube though, easier to share and locate haha. Can also put as 'unlisted' or private mahhh if so shy!

Sounds like the holidays will be fun =)

Here's Joash doing a cover of one of my favourite songs By Your Side. I thought it was really good! I think nobody commented because it was about 6pm when I posted it = 2am Malaysian time. So when everybody wakes up in the morning, newer posts of crazy people who post at like 7am would like eat up the news feed already.

or maybe... my profile just doesn't come up on the news feed as often because people block! hahahahaha. I'd choose to believe that than think that the song wasn't nice enough to listen to because I thought it was!

Here's another video which they tagged us UK seniors of them singing Dare You To Move. Joseph, where were you ahhhh haha. Anywho, I thought it was youtube quality but obviously they didn't -.- sighhhhhh. ah welll

Was really touched though when I saw the video (aside from the lame-ish Lion King starting). Good stuff, folks!

Seeing all these reminds me of Taylor's Lakeside CF. good days!

**********

Sidenote: I can't believe this is the last term of the Autumn term! It has already been 10 weeks of classes here. Crazy.

YOUTUBE STUFF:

Here's a version of Katy Perry's The One That Got Away in Acoustic style which Jo shared on FB

I thought it was really good! That's how she should have released it lah IMO, she might have set the new worldwide record and got 6 Billboard #1s already. I still think she's going to though =)

Still can't beat this version though, which made me pay attention to the song in the first place =) If i were an artist, I think I would pay boyceavenue to cover my songs just so it would inflate in popularity, although people would say it's better than the original haha. P/s: lately everybody on youtube seems to be releasing covers of this song too, so I think the popularity of the original song will menaik. Also, I think that boyceavenue's version is the best so far!

And then there's also Sungha Jung, which I follow quite well on youtube. He did a collaboration with Megan Lee, which exposed me to her. AND BOY IS SHE GOOD.

I already liked this song previously already since Narsha (original artist) is blazing awesome (cue Invincible Youth awesomeness and hilarity - sometimes I laugh so loud my flatmates go -.- and complain to me afterwards)

And then I saw this cover of IU's Good Day by Megan

I thought she really nailed the song, except for the 'three octave high notes' - (which is actually only in chromatic progression but we'll save that for another day). But yeah, her voice her voice is like honey stolen from the bushes (????).

Anyhoo, here's where I fanboy over IU. If you follow kpop, then I guess you'll agree with what everybody else (and I) say that you just can't hate on IU. She's like the Taylor Swift of Korea. And although some guys might allude that T-Swizzle sucks, they are the ones who probably like her the most. It's just the way the world works. It's like boyceavenue or Jayesslee, I haven't heard of anyone who dislikes them. But I digress.

IU writes her own songs too. She doesn't really dance much, but her dancers sure do. HAHA.

K I shall stop yapping about music. People are going to think I'm crazy. haha

A Story : Left Behind

2011-12-13T23:00:00.002Z

Disclaimer: The usual stuff. The author is not me and (one of my frequent contributors) goes by the pen name of well, the author hasn't told me what pen name yet -.- So anyhoo enjoy!

This is a tale of a girl named Ashley who feels like she being left behind by her high and mighty best friend.

******************************

I bite my lower lip. So this is it. I've imagined this day too many times and finally it's here. My heart beats faster by the second and yet my exterior is surprisingly relaxed and calm. She looks happy. And why shouldn't she? Her future is wide ahead of her and her dreams are coming true. She catches me looking at her from across the room and she excuses herself from the person she was talking to. I blush a little in embarrassment.

"Hi, Ashley!"
"HAAAAAAAIIIIIII!!!!!" I force myself. "Congrats."
"Thanks! Gosh! I can't believe this is happening! It happened all so quickly"
"Mm-hmm," I replied.

"You got that right," I think to myself.

All it took was one phone call for my world to come crashing down on me. I remember I was rummaging through my closet looking for that dress that would match my shoes for some cousin's grandma's birthday party when the phone rang. Already out of breath, I jumped at my phone only to be greeted by one of Tanya's screams.

"I GOT THE JOB!"

Boy, did that 4 words change everything from that day onwards. I remember her filling me on the details of how the email came and her going on and on about how insanely awesome this is and this is going to be the best thing in her life evaaaaaaaaarrrrrrrrr!!! I remember saying all the things that I should and eventually telling her that I would love to know more but couldn't because I needed to prepare for my cousin's grandma's birthday party. I lied.

Tanya is someone really special to me. We saw each other grow up, soothe each other's scraped knees in elementary school and heartaches in high school. We rejoiced when we were both accepted by the universities of our choice and that they were not too far away from each other. She saw me through the death of my brother and I supported her when she fought leukemia. 20 years of friendship and I never thought that we'll be apart. But after the phone call, I began to worry. Eventually though, (like 2 nights later) I consoled myself that it wasn't going to change anything.

How wrong I was.

Fast-forward 4 months from that day comes the eve of her departure to New York and my heart is filled with so much ache. Suddenly she was this high-flying career woman trying to get things done. She became too busy for our Wednesday catch ups but somehow found the time to find a boyfriend who incidentally was my ex. She never even talked to me about it. She began to be all sophisticated in her speech and dressing and not once have I seen her in her usual sweatpants that she's worn since forever from the day of her announcement. When she did finally find the time to meet up with me, she didn't want to talk about the latest Desperate Housewife episode like we always do but was instead more concerned about selling me life insurance policy from the insurance company that she will be working with.

As I sip my glass of champagne at her farewell, I realise that the last memory I have of the Tanya I know was that ecstatic screams on my cousin's grandma's birthday.

"Ashley! Ashley!"
"Huh? What?" I suddenly snap. What happened?
"You're day-dreaming! Again!"
"Oh......was I?"
"So anyway, like I was saying, my company will be having a launching of this new insurance scheme that I think would totally be right for you and it comes with........"
I pretend to look interested. Man, I hope she doesn't ask me a question. I'm not even listening. I'm sorry, I have a wounded heart I need to attend to.

I know it could be irrational but somehow it seems so rational for her to be moving on in life without me. That's just the way she always was. I mean, don't get me wrong. She's an awesome friend, but moving on swiftly and cleanly was how she rolled for as long as I can remember. Her stuffed toys were always thrown out when newer ones came. Don't get me started about her boyfriends that lined up for her at her doorstep.

Likewise, it's like I am only a part of a chapter of her life and now that she's had her fun with me, it's time to dust off whatever we have and for her move on to her bright and shining future while I'm here to collect the pieces. As I walk home from the party, I realise that I didn't talk to her about how I felt and hence unfair for me to jump to such conclusions, but still, I can't help but feel that if she has decided how this relationship is going to be, how much shallower it's going to get, then who am I to ask for more? It takes two to tango and I feel like I've beginning to dance alone these days. Irrational and stupid, I know. Maybe I simply misunderstood her but somehow, I can't ignore this nagging feeling that I'm right.

I open the door of my house and say no when my parents asked me if I'd like to join them for supper as they've been waiting for me to get back. I locked myself in my room and opened up my treasured trove, a shoebox of memories. As I look at the photographs of Tanya and I, I close my eyes as tight as I can and force myself to stiffle a sniff. Grow up, Ashley!

But I can't deny the fact that it hurt. Bad.

Of course it hurt. But I knew that it's because I love her that it can hurt me like this, hurt me so bad. So essentially, it's my fault?

But I can only wish her the very best in whatever she's going to do. I wish her happiness with Trevor, my ex. I wish her all the good things that life has to offer and I hope she'll be successful at her work. I hope she'll find someone to remind her that she looks better when she parts her hair to the right then she does to the left and that white clothes cannot be washed in the washing machine with her coloured clothes. I hope her bosses and colleagues are nice to her and gives her fat pay checks and even fatter bonuses. I hope she goes for all her dreams and never gives up in whatever she does. I pray that she'll always have faith. I hope she remembers that her car needs servicing in another 3 months.

I exhaled, as if to accept what was happening and begin to slowly nod to myself. And most of all, I hope she remembers that if, and I say if, she remembers me, that I'll be here, in this Virginian neighbourhood, forever ready to welcome her back and to be there if she needs me.

Tanya, thanks for the memories. Although I wish you would let me have a part of your life as a friend rather than just a prospective client even as you move on, I respect that it's your decision to make. Thank you for letting me in at least those earlier chapters of your life. I don't know what the future holds for us, but if it ends here, let's just shake hands and let me thank you for your friendship. I will miss you terribly and I hope you know that I love you very, very much.

As for me, I'll be fine. I will be. I will be. I will be.

************************

K, this is rather unrelated, but remember when Katy Perry released 'The One That Got Away'? Well, when she did, I was a bit 'mehh' because the tune was a bit too arpeggios-y for me. And then suddenly, Boyceavenue sexifies it with their own version and suddenly I find myself abusing the replay button.

It. is. good.

What we did in Chinese class just now

2011-12-12T18:36:00.002Z

We did a buncha things, like learn new words (我们学习） like how to say sorry - 对不起。 and others.

And we learned two new songs too, one of them was - 对不起，我的中文不好。

And we laughed too while constructing sessions. Like what our 老师 said, I too wished I had recorded the moments then. Every class we laugh, sometimes because of spastic translations and sometimes just because of what we talk.

My group's sentence construction on ordering coffee:

Waiter: 你们好。你们要喝什么？
YF: 你好。我要喝咖啡。你呢？
C: 我要喝茶。
Waiter:　什么？！你不要喝咖啡？
C: 。。。。　好，我要喝咖啡。
YF: 很好。我们都要喝咖啡。

Hahahahahahhahaha. K fine, it doesn't sound that funny now but in class it was lah k. Then there were others too.

This is one class I'll definitely miss when it's over. 谢谢李老师！

我是雷丁大学的学生！　认识你很高兴。heh haha

Gems Rediscovered

2011-12-11T15:54:00.002Z

I want to attend a wedding with this song being played at. And the arrangement is almost if not entirely identical to the one in this video. And there will be doves flying over, singing birds chirping in the corner with the orchestra poised to serenade. People will be crying in all corners because of the warmth, men and women alike. And I will be taking a picture/video of the moment, immortalizing it in memory.

And life will be good.

A gem rediscovered. Gabe looks so much younger (and a little slimmer too haha). I wished he sang though! Cathy is gorgeous as usual :) I don't know the other two. They're good though.

Two among my favourite singers singing a heartfelt song.

******************
And now, we have a portion of the blog dedicated to a recent excerpt of a friend's blog. He didn't expressly say I could copy and paste it here. But he didn't say I couldn't either haha. Anyhoo, the blog is public too. To protect his identity (due to the nature of the excerpt) though, the most information I'll provide about him is that he was once a Christian Fellowship President, and my friend :)

(p/s: if you want me to take it down do tell me!)

*******

Another one, leaving before his time.

This is the year I have seen the most deaths in my life. All of them went off way to soon.

Thinking back on the words of the song ‘If I Die Young’. To be honest, that thought is constantly on my mind. What if I’m gone suddenly? What would happen to my Facebook, Twitter. What would happen to my phone and all my SMS-es. What would happen to the family pictures I keep in my computer, which my parents don’t know the password to? Should I tell them now, just in case, or should I prepare a will? With whom will I entrust the will to? Will my parents know exactly how much I love them, will my friends know, will the girl currently on my mind know how important she is to me? What will happen to the skeletons in my closet? What will people say at my funeral? What songs will they play? Should I start planning it all out now?

At one point in my life, I was fully convinced that I would die young. I thought about it so much that I was mentally prepared for the possible event of leaving this earth early. No I did not have a death wish, or went through depression or anything of the sort, I just didn’t see myself ever as an adult. Maybe not depression, maybe it was pessimism. The daily toss of the coin to know whether or not you wake up in the morning, life was so much of luck and chance to me back then. You walk down the street one day and a tree branch falls on you and splat! Your life has come to nothing.

I was mentally prepared, yeah if that branch should fall, the last thought in my mind would be ‘oh well, that’s fate!’ Which is quite sad really. It left me with a defeatist, all-things-left-to-chance attitude which was like ‘if it happens, it happens’. I stopped trying. I stopped wanting. To me, the frailty of life, as something you can’t hold on to no matter how hard you try, how good you’ve been, how rich you are, simply meant that there’s really nothing worth living for. From dust you were made, to dust you were return.

I would love to say that I was instantly changed inside out when I deepened into Christianity but unfortunately there was no ‘aha’ moment for me, where I suddenly decided that there’s something in life worth living for after all. I can’t pinpoint exactly where my mentality to life and death changed. Maybe because it didn’t change that much.

Oh gosh. I suddenly have a brain freeze here and don’t know what to write haha. SO EMBARASSING THAT YOU HAVE TO READ THIS. So many things swirling in my mind, I don’t know how to articulate it. Goshh. I would condemn this post to the drafts folder, but it’s really such a pity after writing all the above. And today, it’s something weighing really heavily on my heart, not just something small and random.

Maybe where I don’t have opinions, or views, or answers, I can just leave it as questions.

I don’t like saying it’s God’s will like a good little Christian boy, because sometimes I really see no purpose in a person dying before his or her time. I don’t like saying that God must have loved the person more, because in the grand scheme of an eternity, God will still have plenty of time to spend with the person when he/she dies naturally. I don’t like the ever-present question of ‘Was the person a Christian’?

I just want the opportunity to grieve properly. To question why things happened the way they did. To lash out at the unfairness of life. To scream out against death. To wish some people back to life.

I used to think that death is inevitable, so why bother running away from it. Well it is true. But I resolve to live a life where even Death can’t take away what I have. Death can take away life, money, possessions. But there’s more to Life than life itself. There’s more to legacy than having your name going down the annals of history. I don’t find much pleasure in knowing that my name is in a history textbook long after I’m gone. It’s enough to know that somewhere years, centuries or even millennia down the road, someone is affected by something I said or did.

Fuck you Death. You’re not having me.

****************************

Life in the UK [The 2nd Month]

2011-12-09T19:02:00.004Z

Heya folks. Today marks day 73 since I've landed in the UK. I'm a bit late but s'okay somebadeh said better late than never so yeah.

Life here has been.... interesting. Yeah. I don't know why but words don't seem to flow freely anymore now ever since I've started making videos in my free time. Yeah.

K pictures!

I went to visit Bath sometime last month and here are a few of my pictures :)

This one is of the main building in Bath. Well, not the actual Roman bath itself but it sure looks grand so I guess calling it 'main' wouldn't be too sinful an act.

I don't know why but I like this picture very much. I feel like printing it and framing it up.

The Royal Crescent. I think the field is more interesting than the Crescent actually because of the amount of people gathered on it to view the Crescent.

I like this picture much too. It was an issue of looking around, finding a rocket in the sky and then positioning the camera in what I think frames it the best and taking a go at the shutter button.

If there's one thing I've realised here is that the sun sets really low. It hangs low throughout-ish actually. I expected it already but didn't know it would feel the way it did (lol). I like it. Because it makes the pictures turn out really sexy. And also it feels like it is a delayed sunset.

In Malaysia the sun sets way too fast. Before you know it you're struggling to see your fingers in front of you.

3.2 Eat. I don't know if I've talked about this before. If I have then too bad lah. Haha basically what we did was we all brought a dish and ate together (Taylor's bunch). Good food.

The Mackers here taste just like the one at home. Or nicer. Whatever. I think all McDs around the world are nice. Plus the NUS card lets me get a free McFlurry/Cheeseburger if I like. And yes, I like.

Haven't been to town since October though so I can vaguely remember what it tastes like (I have very strong willpower in this area and also my bed has been extra comfortable lately).

S'okay, I can cook awesomer. HAHAHAHAHAHAHAH buay paiseh. just kidding folks. NOO ONE can cook above McDs! (don't give me lame bird poop about how Burger King better all ok I mean normal humans like you and me)

OH YA, the coffee cup has hot chocolate inside!

sexy clouds. I honestly thought Mufasa was going to pop out and say hello halfway through.

Remember this?

I HEART LION KING.

I still remember the day I saw this card on our table. I didn't give much thought to it other than the fact that the card sat under 8 pieces of chocolate.

Later, realization took place. And it was beautiful. The flatmates threw a mini party in our own honour because we were awesome enough to be crowned 'REAL RECYCLERS'.

We're tulen people. REAL. Apparently there are fake recyclers out there.

I think I was too eager to eat the ABC Soup I had just cooked. One of the better attempts, I gotta say. I surprise myself sometimes.

At this point, I'd like to make a note that I've actually not been filming since October I think. It's been a long time. I don't think I need to anyway (i.e. Cooking with Joel). The purpose of doing that was so that I would remember how to cook it in the UK and not that I'm in the UK already it doesn't really make sense to do it.

I've been recording everywhere I travel too... and I've got a huge backlog of videos it's actually really annoying.

I actually have a few still in Malaysia that I haven't edited yet.

Nobody watches anyway, and sometimes that's demotivating. Hahahaha. Which is why I want to get rid of all the video backlog asap and then move on to something new.

I want to do some more music covers :)

Hopefully of more listenable quality.

Took this picture after student lunch at Reading Family Church. I don't drink tea often and even if I do it is often 1 part tea 1 part milk so I don't really know what good tea tastes like.

But let's just say when I tried this packet of tea, it was like the puzzles finally fit. Like I didn't have to chase a broken kite that didn't want to fly anymore. Like that flower outside didn't have to wilt when the winter came/terrible boy plucked it for his loved one. Like that tree which did the salsa at 4am in the morning when a distasteful gust swept through Reading.

LIKE WORLD PEACE HAD BEEN ACHIEVED.

I think I had a glimpse of the hard dry sun, soaking into a poor African boy's skin as he toils into the land, hoping for Honeybushes to appear.

Ah, imagination.

On the way out we saw a Gen-2, and everybody but Ian did a flip. We had to explain it to our poor Caucasian friend why seeing a Malaysian made car, let alone Proton was a sight to behold!

yes.

And now, reminiscing into the past.......

The last CF before leaving to UK (20 Sept 2011)

With Lyon, the most caring CF president you'll ever find. Many people will allude that he is 'the sweetest thing'. I'd hardly doubt it if we found a secret honey bush hiding in his backpack.

I think the fact that he's bending down in this picture to match my height (while making it virtually indistinguishable) is testament to it.

A few of us taking a picture by the vending machines. The one in green is a little wacky.

The lamest bunch of people I had came across in the past 2 months before leaving to UK. I thoroughly enjoyed their company and if I had a list of reasons why I don't want to go to UK, they would also be a part of it.

A pretty girl, and a boy with a paddle pop in his mouth. The view of the lake from her room is a breathtaking.

Two friends; one terribly affably lovable, and the other unfortunately an acquired taste.

A random one shot success.

With the cousins. Influenced by the young one.

How can any living thing be so explosively cute?

I can't not smile looking at this picture.

The cake was good.

they're nice people. haha

aaaaaaaaaaaand yeah, that's about it.

i need to snuggle in my extra comfortable blanket bed and pillows now.

Why PERSISTENCE is worth a shot

2011-12-02T01:05:00.005Z

Dear readers, below are a few excerpts from an e-mail conversation of mine. I think it reminds me most that 'Fortuna audaces iuvat' - Fortune favours the bold. If I want something, I should persist and persist (not to the point of annoyance) and try at least a second time. I shouldn't allow myself to shortchange myself. Might not always work, but it's worth a shot.

Disclaimer: Non-essential details have been changed for privacy reasons.

*********

22 Nov 2011, 9pm

Dear All Final Year Students,

I am emailing you all in relation to the upcoming 'How to make Yummy Eggs Workshop' being held next week. The Programme consists of three workshops, two being held at the university and the last one being held at *Mars* in the new year. I shall be providing transport to this final workshop.

The Programme is designed to help you ....

Students completing all three workshops will be awarded a certificate in ... The certificate is very useful for ...

The Programme was a huge success last year, with many people finding it both useful and engaging. I have attached some more information about the workshops to this email and you can also view a video here ...

PLEASE BE AWARE THAT SPACES ARE LIMITED FOR THESE WORKSHOPS. ONLY 60 PLACES ARE AVAILABLE, WHICH WILL BE ALLOCATED ON A FIRST COME, FIRST SERVE BASIS.

APPLICATIONS WILL BE RECEIVED AFTER NOON TOMORROW.

if you would like to apply for a place on these workshops then please email your FULL NAME, STUDENT ID NUMBER and EMAIL ADDRESS to ... after noon tomorrow.

If you have any other queries, please do not hesitate to contact me.

Kind Regards,

Christopher Robin

****************

24 Nov 2011, 1pm

Dear all students.

Firstly, I would like to thank you all for applying to the 'How to make Yummy Eggs Workshop'. The event was very over subscribed and places were limited and thus sold out very quickly.

For those that were unable to gain a place on this occasion, I am currently in talks with ... to possibly hold another workshop again later in the year, I shall let you know of the outcome. Alternatively, the workshops are held annually, so there is still an opportunity to gain a place next year.

For those that were able to gain a place, many congratulations. I have attached to this email a list of those students that were able to gain a place on this occasion. I have also attached some more information regarding the content of the workshops themselves. To clarify, the details of the event are as follows:

...

I look forward to seeing you all there on Monday.

Kind Regards,

Christopher Robin

************

24 Nov 2011, 6pm

Hi Mr Christopher Robin,

I'm disappointed that I did not obtain a place to participate in this programme because I had not applied soon enough. I understand that the spaces are limited. However, if there happens to be anyone who drops out or cannot make it due to any reason please let me know as I am very very interested to participate in this programme. I am currently a final year law student and there would be no more opportunities for me otherwise.

Thank you for your time,

Joel

*******************

25 Nov 2011, 5pm

Dear Joel,

I recently got your email regarding the Workshops and was very sorry to hear you weren't quick enough. However, someone has dropped out of the workshops and so there is 1 place still available.

As you are a final year law student I am giving you the first opportunity to take this final place. Would you like me to book this place for you?

kind regards,

Christopher Robin

*****************

25 Nov 2011, 9pm

Dear Chris,

Definitely, YES! Thanks, I appreciate it a lot!

Regards,

Joel

****************

25 Nov 2011, 11pm

Dear Joel,

You are on the list. Congratulations. I hope that you find it as engaging and useful as I did.

See you on monday.

Kind regards,

Chris.

**************

30 Nov 2011, 8pm

Dear Chris,

Once again, thank you for the opportunity. I had went for the first session on Monday and found it to be indeed insightful.

Regards,

Joel

**************

1 Dec 2011, 1am

Dear Joel,

Im so glad that you found the session engaging and useful. I really found it valuable last year when making those all important ...

I look forward to seeing you on the third and final workshop, at which you shall receive the certificate for the programme.

Kind regards,

Chris.

**********

DAEBAK - 대박 ! =)

Snippets of Life at UK [Director's Commentary]

2011-11-30T20:14:00.003Z

I've been in the UK for about 2 months now (64 days) and throughout the time I had been taking little snippets of videos of memorable-ish moments (if convenient and if I remember). Then when I'm editing I select the more interesting ones that I'd like to remember in the future as well. So although it might be something as lame as picking an apple off the ground, it's carries a different gravity to me, because you don't know that I like apples (juice) very much, do you now?

Beautiful Things - Snippets [Episode 1]

I was once a K-pop Superstar - Snippets [Episode 2]

So in the 1st episode it really shows the first few weeks at Reading and the initial reaction of seeing places like Wyclife church, ASDA supermarket, embracing the weather, Fresher's Fayre, going to church with the Christian Union's Church Hunt and then it ends with going for Reading Family Church's 10th Anniversary celebration at the Town Centre.

In the 2nd episode it starts with the fire alarm test at the halls of residence (hearing it even on YouTube actually gets me very worked up for some reason; we hear it almost every Wednesday), then Cheryl's 1st birthday party (we had another one too), Reading Family Church in the morning, some aunty singing Close To You at Reading's Town Centre, me telling myself in the camera not to buy a certain ice cream because it came in a ridiculous block with no other packaging, RFC at the night service, my first RUMBSA meeting, some crapping with the flatmates, Christian Union, Halloween Party (I went as a k-pop superstar hence the title) and lastly, the event of us Taylorians - 3.2 EAT or EAT at flat 3.2

So... what to comment on it? Err errr. Well basically I'm glad I did it, because now at 64 days, things are so different. It's like you already tahu the place so it doesn't have that same feel as you did have when you first went. It's like how when I rewatch this episode of excerpts (of the last day at Malaysia and the first day at UK),

I feel a certain feeling of familiarity. It's kinda indescribable. I guess the best I can say is that I'm glad I didn't miss those moments because life is too darn short to let it go by.

Truth be told

2011-11-29T22:41:00.004Z

IU - You & I (music video)

It's embarrassing to say this but it actually took me a few watches to get the actual story line behind this music video. I think it's one of the best music videos I've seen with a story line in a while. It's like it warps the viewer into the story; feels like what you get after watching a thought-provoking movie.

I'd like very much to be involved in a project like that one day.

Unlikely, though. Law student + film doesn't really spell reality for an Asian from Southeast Asia, let alone a Malaysian.