And your point is...?

Cupboard raiding!

2012-02-12T20:17:00.000+01:00

Kitchen staples, (beside the normal egg, flour, salt, sugar...) are things you just can't do without.
Here are my top 10 must-haves!

1. Cous-cous- for lazy days-- cooks in minutes, ..like 5. Miraculous stuff.

2. Potatoes- so versatile: mashed, fried, baked, boiled....and the result is always: heaven!

3. Tomato puree- That extra tang in every thing- curries, tomyum, or any gravy! Because of the lack of tamarind, tomato is probably my best bet to getting the 'sour' element of my dish right.
(and the next best thing is probably lemon: best with fried food, salads and even for teas)

4. Whole black pepper- coming from the land of peppers, I simply cannot live without this seasoning! (well, actually all forms of spice excites me.) Truly from the pepper clan~

Peppers ftw!

5. Mushrooms- packed with flavors to give you that umami rush when you run out of meat in the fridge.

6. Onions- sauteed to sweet perfection, these little buggers can lift up any dish to a whole new level.

7. Milk- fancy being cereal guy? Milk is definitely a must-have, especially for any girls-- no, you don't want to get treated for osteoporosis at 40, trust me. It is also an obligatory ingredient for any moist cake!

8. Butter- I would hoard butter whenever there is a sale. Butter + bread? I dig that stuff. Top the toasted bread with sugar.....even better!

9. Stock cubes- don't give me that judgemental eyes...even top chefs use these, okay?

10. Soy- I just can't bear to disappoint my ancestors. Sweet soy, light soy, dark soy--all are soys but serve different purposes.

__________

Boring...I know, I know. I am not in the mood for outdoor adventures *stares out at the blanket of snow*.

I should stop wallowing in the misery of not having an exciting lifestyle for your entertainment and instead, spend the whole holiday napping (because I can). Or perhaps I should start documenting my dreams in this blog to compensate for my lack of -there is no better word- life.

Yes, welcome to my world.

PEiIM

2012-02-10T19:30:00.000+01:00

Physical Examination in Internal Medicine- The very long name of the subject that finally exposes us aspiring doctors to the actual scenario in the hospital.

After months of grueling, intensive and at some point, fun practice, we students have to sit for a final exam that consisted of two parts: written and oral. It was my very last exam that could make or break me, sort of. I just felt so sick of the month-long studies that I wanted so badly to just get it done with.

Feeling the need to work hard for this final bout, I went for extra practice sessions with my colleagues and Doctor Koblizek. And to prepare for the written part, we were required to read this book:

It's probably the best summarized book for Internal meds since it was written by doctors of our Faculty Hospital. Yes, our.

So there I was, feeling all set up and ready to battle after reading the whole book once. First attempt at the written part: unsuccessful. First ever failure of the year omg. But I was not defeated. In fact, I felt like it was all a deja vu thing. Ask the people around me, it happens all the time. :P

Paulo Coelho: 'Defeat exists but not suffering. A true warrior knows that when he loses a battle, he is improving the skill...'

Blah blah blah..just words bitter losers say.
So like a ~~sir~~ lady, let me enlighten you on this exam.

It is a powerpoint-based exam, where one question is allocated around 10-15 seconds (before the prof goes to the next question) and there are a total of 30 questions. And here comes the shittiest part: There are four options (1,2,3,4) and there can be a combination of answers or only 1. You decide. (No A.1 and 2 only that kinda shit)

Thing is, if you have an abstract mind *coughmecough*, you would second guess yourself at every question and end up putting the answer that is not the teacher's answer. Note that I said the teacher's answer, not the right answer. As controversial as this may sound, I do believe the teacher is right, to some extend.

Take example, Question 1:

What does blockage of portal vein causes?
1 prehepatic portal hypertension
2 posthepatic portal hypertension
3 jaundice
4 hepatic post-sinusoid portal hypertension

Option 1 is definitely the answer. 2 and 4 are out. And le wild option appears: jaundice. According to the book, which is where the answers are mostly based:

I could predict that the only answer is 1. But then within the tight time limit, I gave it a good thought: portal hypertension-> liver decompensation-> jaundice

No? Lets read some articles: here and here. This obviously depends on the severity of the disease but hey, a possible outcome is still an outcome. There is no handbook that can tell you what might happen IRL because if there is, then it's called the doctor's bible.

This is not the only question. I would spend all day blogging about this but as a kwai lui (good girl), I surrendered to my apartment and began rereading all the stuffs.

Second time around, I read it word by word. Zue was my best companion to discuss the whole damn thing, and we made sure we would ace the exam. 3 days later (because I was impatient), I went to the hospital at 7.45am and waited for the prof to arrive. I thought it went okay, and sure enough he came and told me I've passed and may proceed to the practical part.

I was on cloud nine!

We (students who passed) were brought to the oncology department where we were assigned a patient each and an hour to examine them thoroughly. This includes personal info, history (anamnesis) and physical findings.

So I randomly got an old man who looks very bright and mobile. Great.

I started to introduce myself.

"Jmenuju se Estella. Jsem z Malajsie.."

He went;

"Huh??"

His face in confusion.

Oh, just great.

The start wasn't great, but you know what they say about making a path for yourself if there isn't any way out. I made mine.

I found a heart murmur (one of my favs) despite him denying having one. Like Doctor Koblizek said, I did a thorough search and pretended that I was Sherlock Holmes. It impressed the doctor, and he finally signed my credit while congratulating me for the excellent findings.

Then, he told me about my written part being.....not very excellent. My throat spasm in protest but all I did was shook his hand in gratitude, feeling super relieved that the whole ordeal is finally over.

2 months, 5 exams and 1 kg later, I found myself finally in a spot where I can slack all I want. But at the end of the day, a true warrior does not celebrate excessively in victory as he knows the agony of defeat.

ear-cleansing

2012-02-09T17:17:00.000+01:00

Music Playlist at MixPod.com

Just some chillout BGMs from some old games, rpgs and Studio Ghibli's OST collection for you to enjoy while I dig deep for some better scoops.
(Mostly related to water, sea, forests or chimes....garh)

Playlist:

Ragnarok - Pools Of Water
Ragnarok - Watery Grave
Maplestory- Water Way
Granado Espada OST - Purple Snow
Maple Story Music - Forgotten Path of Time part 1
MapleStory - Minar Forest
Chrono Trigger OST - Secret of the Forest
TalesWeaver- Reminiscence
Tales Weaver - bloody bloody silent night <--okay, not exactly chillout dis
Crash Bandicoot: Wrath Of Cortex - Sea Shell Shenanigans Music
Chrono Trigger - Morning Sunlight
Howl's moving castle soundtrack - Sky stroll
Howl's Moving Castle Soundtrack - Flower Garden
Mononoke Hime - Joe Hisaishi (Music Box Collection) Ghibli's movies

Enjoy.

p/s the skin is a tribute to Momo (my pet doggy) lol

p/s/s just put it on play, it's a playlist with about 14 soundtracks.

chillax?

2012-02-02T13:34:00.003+01:00

That awkward moment when people tell you to 'chill' when it is already freezing cold here in the Czech Republic...

Thing is, there is no snow fights or snowman this year, strangely, but there is a sudden cold spell. It all happened suddenly last week, when I had an exam and opted to wear a skirt. I nearly couldn't make it. It was due to my poor judgement because it looked quite sunny outside.

What I should have done was to just press f4 on my mac for dashboard and look at the the damn widget.

Unfortunately, I did not.

I recalled in 2010, we once had a huge snow storm when we came back from Italy and the temperature dropped to a -20 degrees. This year, however the lowest temperature so far is -19, which makes it worse because usually when it snows, it feels less cold (some physics thing) and we tend to dress warmer with waterproof coats, etc.

According to the BBC News, it has been reported that "Europe's deadly cold spell continues for days". In fact, every time I have to go out, I did die a little on the inside..

Okay, I am talking about the weather...which officially makes me the most boring person on earth atm. Just keeping you updated on mundane stuffs as always.

Bye. Next post in a week.

exams galore

2012-01-28T20:16:00.000+01:00

I'm sure I have said it a million times before, but I'll just say it again. When it comes to exams, our uni does it better than everywhere else. Oral, written, MCQ, essay, slides....you name it, we have it.

So the horror begins when you plan poorly. *sigh* In December, I was super relaxed after the whole winter semester. Our class negotiated with the professors to move some classes forward so that we will have a longer uninterrupted ~~holiday~~ study period.

Eventually, the holiday which was supposed to be 23rd-4th was prolonged a little. Since we have replaced the lessons, we were free all the way till 9th January. Smart eyy..

During the last lab of Microb, I went to our doctor and asked her if I could book an exam date with her. I don't know what got into me that day...I booked the 6th, which was just two weeks away and I have not started a single chapter at that point.

Nvmlah...can do it one. 130 divided by 14 days= 1 day just have to do about 10Qs. My, my, my.. Was I wrong!

1. After a long semester, we just want to have a short break.
2. With Christmas, birthdays and the new year on the way, it is f**kin impossible to concentrate.
3. Plus emo level escalates once we realized we have another 5 exams impending. Meaning, no slack time, no travelling, no CNY! Fffuuu...

By 2nd January, I realized it was impossible to be able to score well in Microb. I needed time to reread the whole thing to be able to remember the slightest details--like the individual shape (and draw all of them!), oxidase/catalase positivity, special stains--tellurite, Hektoen, etc... I mean...who cares right? But I am rajin like that..I must to cover ALL the things.

So all of you people who skip stuffs and luckily got through the exam, SCREW YOU AND YOUR LUCK!!!

Ya, me jelly. :(

What I did was I emailed her to postpone my exam since a few people are also taking the exam the week after, on the 13th. I was the only one on the 6th so paiseh she has to get there and prepare for me alone...*excuses*

Then I noticed there is Pathoanat slide tests on Wednesday the 11th. Mai guan ying niang niang!! How to slot in an exam between my Microb studies??!

So you think that is bad? I found out we still have one last lecture on Toxicology and it includes a credit test---the next day after pathoanat. I was like...

"for real?"

To summarize things, I have had these exams; 11th: Pathoanat, 12th: Toxico, 13th: Microb.

Ultimately, I have to make the impossible possible.

I went from denial- negotiation- anger- depression- acceptance. (yeah, learnt it in psycho)

Chatting occasionally with my family helped. And I loaded myself with lots of good food. Ya..our tesco points reach 700 dy. No comments on how it happened...

When it was finally the 11th, I put on my battle armor and marched to the hospital for the exam. I was not super ready or anything, so I had a rerun of my notes. I looked at Zue and Zue looked at me. And she was like..."take it already la.."

Then at some point I realized it is do or die. I raised my hand and the doctor gave me two slides that he picked at random. At scanning magnification I was like 'wtf?' because the slides looked nothing like the ones we used to have in our boxes.

Okaylah, honestly I was SUPER LUCKY to get 'Atrophy of the Skeletal Muscle' but the second one was strange:

I heard people failed at this slide (after the exam)... Not boasting or anything, but I was lucky to have noticed some columnar epithelium at one end of the slide. I reviewed everything I saw and concluded that it was an Ovarian Teratoma.

There were no huge cyst/ Rokitansky nodule like the ones we saw previously. My notes were relatively concise so the doctor wu liao asked me to ID a few structures like thyroid glands and whether it is benign/malignant.

My fingers were so numb I couldn't draw properly... :P

I felt elated it went well..probably my luckiest slide test eveerrr tbh. Before this I always get CNS, ANS, strange parts of GIT...First year still noob ma. I like how we can now look at a slide and say for sure if is a kidney or a liver. Feel so pro..

And then it struck me that the celebration must be put to a halt. I had 0 knowledge about Toxico yet. Like Joana said, "Zilch! Nadda!" Haha..

Thursday the 12th was not a bad day for me. I somehow managed to pull through and the super kind Professor Stocklasova (my previous Biochem lecturer) said we all passed. Let me quote her exactly, "You are all smart people. The lowest score is 70%!" I don't know how we did that. O_o

Then she was like.."pass me your index and let me sign it.."

Speaking of indexes, I was so vain in 2nd year I changed my photo that I hated so much. lol! Thus I never once cared if anyone would snatch my index because my photo is not that crap. Hehe..

I never come across a photo studio that photoshops people's passport photos without being instructed! My skin look eerily perfect. Oh, and I had virgin hair (un-dyed) that resembled hantu cina. omg..

I looked so different then!! Maybe medschool is like an aging programme or something... O_o

Heaving a sigh of relief, I can't help but wonder how much I can cover for Microb that night. The lecture ended at around 5pm so when we stepped out of the uni, the sky was already dark. I ate dinner and then had a discussion with Agnes on the questions just to ensure we had everything we need to know in our heads.

It definitely helps to have a discussion when you get a brain block. Discuss it out loud because then you would know the right things to say during the exam.

Then D-day arrived. Just like that, we went to the Microb building that morning and I sat at the lobby to wait for my turn as mine was scheduled later. I kept my notes moments later and braced myself. On the first floor, I dialed the doctor's number on the phone and got her to pick me up at the department's door.

She was so nice!! She told me to leave my coat and was smiley and all but I was nervous as hell when she asked me to pick up a set of questions from her hand. I tried to be confident and told her anything would do.

The moment when everything in the world went silent is when I flipped the paper and read what's printed on top. It went a bit like this..

1. Cultivation..blah blah blah blah...(very specific Q with lotsa lab procedure) MYCOBACTERIUM--my ultimate crush!!!

2. Malaria. (OMG. At this point I was like...okay, pass oredy lar....but must still be careful.)

3. Picorna viruses. (okay, can try to remember this one..)

I put my bag down and took out my color pencils. The teacher was like WHOA, you wanna draw? And I was like HELL YEAH. So I reproduced this from inside my head:

But mine was chio-er with shadings. Lol!

I was preparing in another room where the Czechs are having their written test and after the test, they were like chatting loudly about it. Hello girls, I still have my exam okay?? I flashed them the dirty look but it didn't work..Damn pissed because I was trying hard to recall certain species.

Alas, I gave up and went back to the doctor's room but the door was closed and Agnes was still having her exam. 2 Czech assistants looked at me like strange at the hallway (muka budak terbiar..) and then suddenly, Agnes emerged and obviously had passed the exam. :)

My favourite kind of exam is when the teacher sits next to you and listen to what you have to say. Best still, he/she appreciates your notes and admire your drawings wtf.. but yeah. Doctor Cermakova is awesome like that!

In the end, she asked me 3 more additional topics out of the blue. I was caught off guard, but I recomposed myself and told her what I knew, how it is related to the news/ my country and stuff. Impressed, she gave me my grade and congratulated me. I was over the moon!!!

3 days of hell was over.

I slept for the longest time and spent my weekend recharging.

On Mondays, I would go for my hospital practice and by the 24th, I started preparing for my Psychology exam (because 23rd was CNY and I gave up studying..). Oh, and my dear friend from Norway gave me this:

Its a she la. Haha. She just came back from her home. What kind of person gives you Mega Bar of Daim???!! Summore it's the no play play Daim. Its the version collab with Freia, a Norwegian brand.

Food orgasm.

Back to the story, I had 2 days to finish reading 30 topics on Psychology. I studied while skyping with my family and that took the heat off. Tip number one! Whenever you feel too stressed, call home.

My exam was at 12.30pm so I had some time in hand to restudy all the stuffs plus do a bit of research on the medical journals. Speaking of last minute...

Fast forward to the exam, I was sitting on a single couch facing the Professor in the pretty building (talked about it here). Loved his command of English! The thing is, he loves people to be very precise with answers so goreng-ing was not an option. The discussion went well as we did share a few laughs and talked about examples and stuff. You know you are in a good spot when the atmosphere is lightened. :)

That was 2 days ago. Now, I am preparing for my last exam in February. Crazy how time flies!! I hope it will go well and my February will be filled with nothing but naps and snacks!

Can't wait to be free.

so far....

2012-01-24T09:41:00.000+01:00

.....so good.

23 days into 2012, I found myself thinking less and doing more. It is no longer all about myself but everything around me. Why must I feel sad when there are people out there feeling worse?

I was in the hospital on the first day of the lunar new year and I can absolutely see why I should not feel so down after all. It was like a mini lesson in life that not everyone can experience! As early as 8 something am, I braved the snow to reach the pulmonary department in the faculty hospital. Our dearest doctor was a little late but he was enthusiastic as ever.

We went around the Cardiology and Urology departments to practice on our physical examination in internal medicine. Some patients had kidney transplants- some with good prognosis but usually the new kidney can only last around 10-15 years before the chronic reactions begin. There were also patients who have to undergo dialysis all their life and hence have AV shunts/ fistulas (what you see as bumps) on their arms. Do I deserve to whine then? *covers face in embarrassment*

I'll make do with whatever I have and dwell on how blessed I am in comparison. :)

(Though obviously I can't give up whining when I am stressed, I will always be conscious of the fact that someone else out there haz more FML moments.)

________

Well, my cny eve was celebrated with my housemate, Agnes. We did not want to make a huge fuss about it since it has already been 3 years since we celebrated cny with our families. We did cook a small dinner just for the two of us.

My mise en place done~

FInger-smacking good chicken, courtesy of Agnes.

Not too shabby, right?

Pineapple rice with fried chicken and vege side.

The pineapples are fresh one okay...not canned!

After the blissful meal, some friends crashed over for a small party. We had cakes (the brownies I made earlier), ice creams, drinks and oranges (courtesy of Faiz lol).

At the same time, we played cards. Since I bought a box of two decks, we get to play "cheat" (or bluff, whatever you call it) and also Big Two (cho tai ti). It was so addictive~

My luck was not that bad but no money was involved~ Boohoo~~

I was glad we get to catch up as everyone is busy with their own exams. Hopefully I will be done with mine by next week. Wish me luck!

tong tong tong chiang!

2012-01-22T14:36:00.001+01:00

I was skyping with my family earlier today (which was already 5pm in Malaysia) and not surprisingly, everyone assembled at my granny's for the new year's dinner. Honestly, I find it easier to handle the homesickness as time goes by. Probably it is just something you have to get use to if you want to aim higher in life.. *wink wink*

Begrudgingly though, I have to sit through minutes of mockery from my dearest sister in her attempt to make me feel worse than what I am feeling right now (which is actually not bad at all). Ely you troll.

It is interesting how people try to soothe your aching heart and at the same time rub it in your face that they were eating steamboat, yee sang, yadda yadda yadda. People. (with hand gesture)

On to the fun part.

I have actually decided to make my first brownies-- because chocolate have this magical thing about it that helps cure all unhappiness.

This is one of the rare moments when I actually follow a recipe, roughly...

I did not dump things unceremoniously this time so as to achieve a fantabulous cake.

Just look at that rich, velvety texture!! And yes, I did eat what's left in the mixing bowl and that alone is good enough. :D

25 minutes in the oven and out.

My baby transformed into this crusty brownie with fudgy centre. XD

Just peek into the cracks and you would see why I had to have a taste of it immediately when it has cooled down a bit.

I have no patience whatsoever in following recipes, fluffing up eggs or quinelling creams but the outcome was surprising. When chocolate brownies married citrus yoghurt ice cream, the earth split open and all the devils were released. Hells yeah, it was sensational!

It delivered a rich chocolate-y taste that lingered, and that was when I decided that this very cake is probably one of my best cakes. I am not exaggerating when I said the kitchen smelt like Famous Amos- it really does!

I would have hoped for the centre to be fudgy-er but I am not complaining. 5 minutes less in the oven would have made it a perfect brownie. Note to self: Next time- double the choc, 5 minutes less.

Just look at my baby~

If there is ever a name I would call this cake, it would be Fudge U!™

(name courtesy of Ely)

The bits left behind was too much to waste. Agnes suggested I make another cake out of it, which I did.

This time I made a normal chocolate sponge with nut toppings. And of course, I did not use a recipe lol.

The crushed peanuts and hazelnuts was a great addition to the sponge, giving it extra crunch and taste.

I'd call this cake Are U Nuts?™

Someone please sponsor my very own cake house NAO.

Although I am not a great baker, I find baking as important as cooking. After all, a meal is not complete without a dessert!

I am absolutely thrilled for tonight's mini makan-makan.

I hope everyone celebrating cny would enjoy a great dinner, be it with their family or friends.

Brutus and I would like to wish you a prosperous and awesome year ahead!

(card by Fikri from Poland! Thank you^^)

~恭喜发财~

scoops

2012-01-18T21:02:00.000+01:00

If you don't already know, I am a big fan of Tesco due to the limited supermarkets available here..(no competition de..) and because I can literally golek over to Tesco from my house.

I have news for you, people of Praha...Tesco is going to make you grow horizontally, inch by inch..
Dun dun dun...

You are welcome.

I know its considered stale news as this is dated the 5th of January but only recently did I receive an email that meant to inform about the launching of itesco.cz.

No kidding, when I got this in my mailbox that day, I was kinda thrilled and then the next moment you could hear mirrors crack in the background. Duhh...HK so kampung that Tesco also refuse to implement this system here.

Ohh and F&F is also connected to the site.

The brand had recently reached the shores of Malaysia..

On second thoughts, I might as well rejoice to the fact that it is not available here (not being a sour grape, okay..) as shopping is the only form of exercise I have right now.

------end-------

sale, sale, sale~

2012-01-17T18:33:00.001+01:00

Its the mid season sales!!

I know it has been going on for quite awhile but many people are not aware of this fact because of the exams. So excuse me if this would cost you your precious time, but I thought I should inform you that everywhere is raining sales!~

Some online shops like Bershka, Topshop, Trucco, etc are having a clearance of up to 70%! And the nice thing is that some of the clothes are so chic and still in trend (not the orchipalang ones like Malaysian sales lar..).

Most online stores are having their sales till end of January or early of February. It is better to buy from UK/Europe stores because there is no "delay of shipping due to CNY". I also love the fact that they use priority/ registered mails. :D

If you are not a fan of online shopping, then drop by some shopping centre nearby. C&A, Promod, Zara, etc are having crazy sales as well! Of course the downside is that you might end up wearing things that are the same as the people who are super eng (free) to browse through the shops.

On to food..

I have gained 1kg over the past week ~~because I can~~ due to the many delicious things I had~~ No lah, tbh I gained 1kg because everyone is saying I'm underweight, asthenic..blah blah. (I know girls would love to kill me now but this is serious...I hate being the frail and skinny girl ..FML!!)

So I stuffed myself with good food (and some artery-clogging ones) just to be able to portray myself to the society in a better way...

On to the topics of healthy food..

Do you know that persimmon is called Kaki here?

Pfft!! "Ko mau makan kaki?" Lesson learnt. Do not mix 2 languages that are distinctly different.

Oh yes,..

and can someone please try this squid thing and review it?

I don't want to risk my tummy for 3 ringgit squid.

A better post coming up!! *pinky promise*

Sudah puas meng-anak tirikan my blog for the past few days..

emo?

2012-01-08T17:40:00.000+01:00

Happy chinese new year to myself in advance... T____T

I'll just leave the pictures to speak for itself.

Warning: emo talk ensues. Scram before it's too late!

Honest to god I would have flown home had I started studying earlier but the pressure was too tremendous I had to abandon the mission altogether.

Well, it is impossible to have all the exams done by the 22nd (for tuan yuen fan you see..) as the earliest date for Internal Med practical itself is on the 23rd. Not to mention, flight home usually takes 2 days..urgh.

This is the 3rd year without my favourite celebration. I grew up helping my mum clean and decorate the house, bake cookies and cakes, watch the amazing very-typical-of-Kuching fireworks, talk to relatives and guests, receive angpows and enjoy the sumptous food--- without fail, every single year until I was 19.

After 19, it is a nerdy and sedentary lifestyle. I never felt so #foreveralone before. Of course at this point we start having doubts if the sacrifice is worth it. It's not just CNY, I will also have to miss everyone's birthday, my precious time with my family especially with Ah Ma T__T, raya, etc..

If a patient starts having doubts about me giving my very best for him/her, I'll punch his/her face and let them go to another doctor. It's like I have traded my social life away during the whole transition from teenage life to adulthood just to learn how to diagnose and cure people. Therefore, an ungrateful patient is the last thing I want to face in my life.

As much as I want to try to be optimistic-- telling myself that I'm a lucky biotch for getting a scholarship to study in the wonderful Europe, there are bound to be rainy days like today. I just need to get it out of my chest.

I am 101% sure all the students here feel this way (if you don't, you are an android..stop pretending to be human). Just look at all the whining and complains on the social networks. Lol.

I should get back to my books and pretend like everything will be okay, because one of the key to success here includes self-hypnosis.

20 to the 12

2011-12-31T18:15:00.003+01:00

First of all, Happy Birthday to dearest dearest Aunt Jessie, and my one and only beruk liar, Ely!!~

Honestly 2011 has been really nice to me, despite a few small disappointments.

I wish everyone the best for the next 366 days (leap year yo!) and may some of my friends *ehem* finally find their other half. Me? I rather...

Difficult...but not impossibru!!

Happy 2012 y'all~

365 days

2011-12-30T13:49:00.000+01:00

As a tradition of ~~old~~ long-term bloggers, there should always be a post that summarizes their year. This post describes how I spent the last 12 months of 2011 and showcases never-before-published (in this blog) photos plus a few ~~stolen~~ from my friends. :)

January

Just recovered from the thrills and frills of Paris.

Celebrated new year's eve with Malaysian friends here (+ snow fight!!).

Witness the amazing fireworks at the old town's square.

February

Biology finals

Had our very own CNY dinner at home with Agnes and Kevin.
No shark fins soup or yee sang but still pretty yummy :D

Spent a weekend (of CNY) in Slovakia.
It wasn't fabulous but it's better than rotting at home :P

March

Did a lot of baking, shopping and whatnot.
Discovered the fun of Gmarket. :P

April

Welcomed the season of spring.
Highlighted some of the markets here in the Czech Republic.
Visited several wonderful places in Belgium- Antwerp, Ghent, Brugges and Brussels.

The weather was sooooooooo fine, it was the best weather everrr (for travelling).
There is also no delay for our return flight. Score!

Cutest group pic ever!

There were so much chocolates, frittes, waffles and beers. Pure indulgence!

May

Attended the graduation night.
Organized the class barbeque party.

Had so much fun with quizzes and team games.
It actually started the craze for class gatherings since there are only 20+ of us left in our batch.

Not all are in the photo but its the one with most of us!

June
Tonnes of examss!!

July
Back in Malaysia for summer holidays.
Did a couple of food reviews (had so much good food!!).

Reunited with my pet doggie momo T^T

August
Jet to Hong Kong with sis and mum!

Fat dude behind..photobombing like a boss. urghhh!

Blurr pic (in Disneyland HK) from mum's cam.

Quite like my outfit that day but there is a flare due to the flash. fml T_T

Also went to Macau on turbojet.

In the Venetian Macao with sis.

Spent the last days of my holidays with more good food. P:

Also celebrated raya with my dearest friends.

Our annual convoy was a success all thanks to them for organizing it although it was the first day!

besties forever? :')

September
Jet back to Czech for 1 more last exam in 2nd Year of Meds.

Went for summer practice in the hospital.

Did lots of patient care work with my coursemates: Arifah, Ipatheleng and Hannah.

Officially in 3rd year after enrollment!!

Road trip to Berlin with Yeling and Yuxin!

October

Beginning of 3rd year!
Went on a rail ride to Pardubice and Kutna Hora with JJ and Agnes.

The weather starts to get cold as autumn approaches.

November

Lotsa weekly exams!
Passed Immunology.

Bowling event for the class~

December

Went ice skating here for the very first time!

Batch party in Prague.

Class' year-end party.

JPA-students dinner & welcoming the new officer.

_________________________

2011 felt soooo long!! There were so many happenings- the transition from the relaxing 2nd year to the 3rd, the many great parties and food... I wonder what 2012 will bring.

Thank you for reading my blog and may 2012 be a prosperous and blessed year for everyone!

Credits (photos) to Syafiq, Marie, Eizzati ;)

week 51, 2011

2011-12-25T06:30:00.000+01:00

The JPA students in HK welcomed our new JPA officer, Puan Aida Baizura together with the Malaysian ambassador in the Republic of Czech, with a warm reception last week at the Okresni Dum restaurant.

We students always know it is good when our sponsors decide to pay us a visit-- free meal!~ *ehem* And of course, an opportunity to have a face-to-face talk with the officer.

A few issues were raised during the session. Most of them concern our seniors of the 6th year of study. As they are approaching the end of their academic journey, there were many doubts that need to be cleared such as the transition to their working life, graduation and etcetera.

My main concern was about this email we received from the student's dept:

Bad news. We just lost our safety net half-way through our studies. Like it or not, there shall be no more idle days, no more mistakes and if we are meant to encounter an unlucky day, we just have to dig deeper and 'deal with it'.

As you have already known (if you were following my blog), the studies here are very different from other medical universities. As Charles uni emphasizes on the quality of its graduates, we are forced to push harder and know our theory as naturally as breathing. A misstep would easily earn us a grade 4 and twice more would mean the end of our studies here. What a fine line to walk on!

Then again, why are we constantly being pessimists when all we have to do is be complete nerds and bury our heads in the mountain of books, right? I am obviously grateful for this scholarship but (there is always a 'but') not everyone is a constant fighter. Someone is bound to trip somewhere along the journey so is a second chance too much to ask?

I'll just end this lamentation prematurely and hope for the best. After all, 3rd year is the killer year.

(I do apologize if I just spoilt your holidays but this is how JPA says "Merry Xmas!" to us this year..)

On the brighter side of things, we are finally approaching Christmas again! As usual, the Christmas markets (or Vanocni trhy) sprung up like mushrooms after the rain. People flock the place for a bite of the traditional food, mostly.

The familiar scent of oaky mulled wine, sweetness of the trdelnik and mouth-watering aroma of roast meat filled the air...

Dream-catcher spotted! How random..

There were also many crafts made by locals.

The old uncle was so eager for me to try the hot home-brewed honey wine...

Sorry ah uncle, I just need photos..

And a very oriental/ pasar malam-ish stall out of nowhere!

So many things to try...

An open pit for roasting~

:Q___

As a tradition of Christmas, the Czechs also buy and kill carps to cook during the feast. The scales are then supposed to be dried out and kept in their wallets as a talisman of luck!

No kidding, those are live carps!

Freakin humongous too!

I have zero recipes in my head for carps, so I had decided to ditch my adventurous mindset and opt for some mince meat to instead... :(

I guess I'll just make myself easy meals and spend more time studying instead... This year I will have to skip Christmas, New Year and the Chinese New year altogether. FML.

Happy Birthday Mamiaw!~

2011-12-23T00:00:00.000+01:00

To the one and only Mamiaw...

(heart skipped abit didn cha?~)

The mamiaw who can't really take photos without squinting/closing her eyes unless it is candid.. XD

The mamiaw who loveeeeeesss flowers to bits that she adorned the yard with all sorts of exotic flowers.....

I have no idea how you managed to raise 3 kids with such small age gaps and different frenzy minds. We were really really (~~strange?~~) active kids with our own ideas and we got involved with many wonderful art events all thanks to you being so supportive!

Sometimes we fight so much it drives you nuts...

and at times when we got so frustrated with the house chores you assigned, we play pranks like this:

(mum's pjs on her bolster!! kekekeke~~)

You became ~~(kinda)~~ patient as we grew up. You became sort of like a sister to us-- which I believe is your favourite compliment. Hehehe..

Because of that, I could tag along to the saloon, market, malls....things that dad wouldn't possibly do for us.

It also helped so much that you are there because most of the hairdressers sucked at English.. :P

I was glad you travelled with us to Hong Kong--that I finally fulfilled my childhood dream of shopping there with you one day. It was too short, rushed and the weather worn us down so much we couldn't enjoy the trip to the max...so maybe Japan/Taiwan next time??

Chio onot?

Unedited photo I found in my lappy.

(unfortunately most of our pics are in my old lappy/ in kuching)

Anyways,

Happy Birthday Mum!!! ♡

I know we all hate to grow old but I can't stay a kid forever.

I wanna earn lots and bring you travelling lar..

party people~

2011-12-21T21:00:00.002+01:00

And so we planned and executed another dinner party~ This time, we crashed a pretty quaint restaurant in the old town called U Ceske Kurony.

The event was scheduled to start at 5.30pm. But alas, not everybody's clock was tuned the same. :P

The presence of jelly beans was well-received, although unopened until towards the end.

No one really knew what was going on (even without the effect of alcohol), but we had a great time nonetheless. Just being away from the stash of books (which are eager for our attention approaching winter finals), gives us different personas we never knew we had.

Some danced. Some sang. Some just talked. Alot.

The place was fraught with fashionistas.

6.30pm- all our orders were finally taken. The games began.

We had charades, pass-box-with-instructions game, etc..

I had a character stuck on my forehead and I was supposed to guess it. Aad, who was standing next to me, had Brad Pitt. He asked if Brad Pitt's wive was among us players and my dear innocent batchmates gave it out by their over-reactions. I answered that I had "Angelina Jolie" and won it. :P

We got to see some shy boys (or so we thought), sing. :D

Photographer of the night!~ Thanks Eiz for some of the photos in this post.

The games went on paused mode as the food were served.

I was like, holy moley, there is quail on the menu! I learnt that one good way to judge the quality of the food in a restaurant is by having their bird.

Honestly, I would have enjoyed it better;

- had it been cooked to be slightly pink than overdone

- with less balsamic in the sauce...too sour imo

- if served earlier! -because it is a warm starter NOT a main..fml

I could have slammed the plate like Gordon Ramsay and shouted, "Not good enough!!" but in reality I'm just meek and too weak to retaliate... I did enjoy my steak pommes though. Had been craving for weeks!

Maybe some other guys had better luck with their food.

Chicken with a bed of vege.

Chicken steak that looks pretty much like the previous plate. O_o Herb crusted fish (probably salmon?)

That said, the waiter understood some English so the service wasn't all that bad.

With a full belly, we proceeded with more games. We had more of the paper-stuck-to-forehead guessing game and this time I got Adele. Yay~

But I found that it was not easy for everyone as we come from different parts of the world and have different exposure to the media. Probably we should have stuck to what we know best: Medic. :P

Everyone spilling out clues of their peer's characters as the game drags on.

The point is, we had so much laughter and we got to know so many new things about each other. Most fun comes unplanned, doesn't it? We learnt also how much Ilektra loves sup-and-ping, a pretty much pointless game which requires a high level of focus.

By 9pm, most of our energy was well-depleted.

A shot of Eizzati and I (yes, again!) as we found a mirror and we just had to~

In between the chaos and settling our bills, we managed a few group shots like this:

I was glad to have good company and a plate of pommes all to myself. Aaah...satisfaction on all counts.

of bubble teas, ice skates & friends

2011-12-18T21:21:00.006+01:00

Just when you thought holding a cup of bubble tea while skyping with me will induce some form of envy, we have it here too!! :P

I do miss the bubble tea in Malaysia because they taste much richer and wayy better (especially in the hot weather) but I'll make do with what Tea One has to offer.

They have like 14 toppings (above) but all were unlabeled. I asked like 2 of them and randomly agreed on Marakuja (like whaddaheckistat right?)--turns out to be passion fruit. -__-

The place is strategically located where most Malaysian students can see- in between our two favorite money exchangers!

It can accommodate probably 20 at most. Small cups are priced at 59kc, medium 69kc and large 79kc. Since everything has to be imported, I have no complains.

My choice of passion fruit tea isn't that bad.. I would love to try their Coconut Taro milk tea next time. Hibiscus tea sounds so odd...

I realized I was not visiting anywhere else in Prague anymore. Wesceslas Square (or Vaclavske Namesti) is right smack in the middle of the shopping district and conveniently located just minutes away from Paladium, Hlavni Nadrazi and The Old Town Square.

So off I went to the Christmas Markets after having a short tea time with my friends.

As usual, there are food stalls everywhere!! It seems like they are the crowd favorite.

You can find all the typical Christmas delicacies (or rather traditional Czech) like Trdelnik (a donut roll), Langose (deep fried pastry with ketchup & cheese), Svarene Vino (mulled wine) or even an assortment of wursts.

As usual, the horses are there for the tourists' ~~pockets~~.

Got this shot while Faiz was busy getting a Langose for himself.

The weather was gloomy and windy. I dreaded the rain but in the end the inevitable drops just kept pouring. Luckily, that lasted for only about 10 minutes or so.

By then, we have found our way to the skating ring near Karolinum. Since the entrance is free, we only have to rent the skates for 50kc (RM10) per hour. I saw a few kids falling and replayed the many discouraging reviews on ice skating in my mind.

Surely it can't be that bad. But the moment I strapped on the skates, my insides were trembling. I imagine all sorts of accidents- mostly involving breaking my nerdy glasses and getting a couple of bruises.

It was super windy but I was determined to skate without holding onto the side rails every few seconds.

Ten minutes into it, I got the hang of walking on ice. Another ten, I was skidding pathetically while kids zoomed across me like annoying flies. You just have more hyaline than me damn kids!

We were soon joined by Zuhair and Razi (who are apparently good at skating). Geez I envy the boys for their fearlessness.

bluehh...unhappily removing hair from my face..it was damn windy!!

With many near-falls, I managed a semi-slide around without holding to anything. (Amazingly, I escaped the ordeal unscathed.) Still, it was embarrassing to be skating in open air with parents watching. "Lousy asian, dunno how to skate oso wanna come"..lol

Screw skating. I might as well keep watch for cute kids/ hot dudes and a snowman.

Wuut??! *cerealguy.jpg*

They had this campaign on anti-smoking. A Czech version of "Katakan Tak Nak!". Pretty awesome.

Without much success in skating, I retired to shopping (definitely my forte here) and more shopping.I bought a cozy sweater and my long dreamed-of winter boots (more of this later) in a span of half and hour. *pats self*

Later, I met up with Eizzati at Marks and Spencer to pick up a few things for the party.

We arrived just in time at Ian's (+ Kianjoo's, Hong Yih's and Krisyanth's just for the record) for the Makan Makan event. Honestly, they have some of the most yummy food ever tasted throughout my study here.

I got to meet some of the Mara girls I've never talked to. :)

There was a birthday girl who just turned 19 (and boy, was her cake delicious!).

There were also some games played after everyone started experiencing cramps from all the good food. It was totally like a Malaysian games centre!

I busied myself to educating some of my new-made friends with blackjack and later cheating them in a few rounds with my successive wins. (No money was involved in the process :( )

Anywho, I did;

#bueypaiseh.

A big shoutout to Ye Ling, Yu Xin, Adeline, Wan Thing, Siew Har, Evon, Phyllis, Eizzati, Agnes, Ian, Kian Joo, Kevin, Krisyanth and Hong Yih for the waayyyyyy early birthday present!

I do feel grateful for it because I won't feel that old when the time comes.

Nobody should remind me when it comes to my birthday. *sternface*

I did write about a wishlist earlier this year and guess what they got me?

A Diana F+ lomo cam!!!

I was like F+ larrr!!!

They have just encouraged me further with my camwhoring. Kekekeke...

It looks so vintage and is really light!

I read through the manuals and found that it is actually simpler than it looks.

More lomo shots in the future for sho~

And just a vid to demo the results of lomo-ing.

Terharu to the max okay... I didn't expect such an awesome gift. T^T

But here's the gift I bought for myself..

a fuzzy pair winter boots!

It was such a steal!

Even the cheapest ones in a random market is RM50 but I got this for only RM40 (originally priced at RM70).

And it's a snug fit too. Thank goodness I can fit into H&M KIDS.

Muahaha~

Yes, it was indeed a fun weekend.

psycho~

2011-12-14T10:02:00.000+01:00

I went to the psychology lecture for the very first time as I missed the one before (due to the overwhelming load of exams). It was an extremely cold day. But turns out it was quite a good idea.

The place looks super modern. Impressed already by the setting, the man-in-charge then passed me a mini remote. It reminds me of the 'audience lifeline' in Who Wants to Be a Millionaire- I was instantly sold.

It's not about the technology. It is about how interactive a lecture could be to keep overly easy-to-bore med students like us awake all the time. At one point, the prof saw that 1 of my fellow classmates had not chosen an option and he quipped, "Is anyone sleeping already?"

I can't say who enjoyed the mini trivias/survey more, but I suspect it was me.

Notice the "?" button? I was kinda itching to punch it.

Prof Libiger, who is this man,:

has his unique ways of describing things.

And yes, he gives adequate eye contact to keep you engaged.

(I hope to god he doesn't find me stalking him on google... O_o)

Not many actually attended..

Statistically, girls ruled.

Well, we learnt a few new things and processes. Some of the stuffs I wouldn't even bother to search out for. It's always nice to have someone lay out the facts and make things simpler for us.

Exhaustion eats into us as the holiday season approaches.

It gets difficult to focus and carry on with the intensive revision for the upcoming exams. That's true for me, at least.

Here are some photos from the net (of the department):

Wouldn't it be great if it's summer?

And I now know that turquoise sofas are not hard to come by!

*contemplates on hiring a van*

It definitely looks so much different with the lights on.

If you haven't already known, it is one of the most modernized and prestigious hospitals in Czech Republic, or even in Europe. I certainly feel privileged to be studying here.

health stuffs

2011-12-09T15:35:00.001+01:00

This week, we had an assignment to introduce medicine boxes in Czech.

I was lucky to have gotten Strepsils, because all the stuffs are already written on the package. :P

To spice things up, I brought it's Malaysian equivalent and compared both prices and contents.

How did it fare?

The Czech one:

-108kc/ RM21

- 24 lozenges

-Contains sacharose & colorings in addition to the normal ingredients

-Origin: UK

- Available only in pharmacies and drugstores

The Malaysian one:

-39kc/ RM7.80

- 24 lozenges

-Contains only medical ingredients (extra strong)

-Origin: Thailand

-Available almost everywhere, including kedai runcits

It's ridiculous to pay almost triple the price for the same thing! Even the lecturer agrees and he explained that the tax and import fees were the reason behind overpriced goods.

That's not all, even the vitamins are mostly made in Germany. I absolutely agree to what my classmate Aad said, the descriptions/ instructions are available in all language but English!!

If you think fruits here are cheap, you're wrong!

It's almost the opposite of Malaysia. The tropical/exotic fruits are wayyy overpriced while the berries and seasonal fruits are priced...well, according to the season.

In summer, we often encounter melons and berries (strawberries, blueberries, etc.).

A packet of strawberries would cost less than RM6- which is of course, much cheaper than those in Malaysia.

Unfortunately, fruits that are harder to come by such as this honeydew, costs almost RM15 for about 10 slices! Satisfying cravings definitely comes with holes in the pocket.

The saddest part is that my top 3 fav fruits: honeydew, persimmon and blueberries, are all the expensive sort here in the Czech republic. I wish I have more love for apples or oranges.. T__T

I love ready-to-eat fruits!~

I was lucky to pick up a small box of blueberries for only 30kc today~~♡

These gorgeous babies are probably the richest in antioxidants and noted as one of the brain foods. And they are super yummy too!!

On pancakes, yoghurt or just plain, blueberries make me happy. :D

Oh, and on a separate note, I was surprised to learn that The King of fruits- Durian- is probably the least popular king ever.

I can't blame the people (non Asians) for not knowing durians because these gems are rare. Even if they do import durians, I doubt people would give it a try given the nature of it's shell.

Well, since it's winter, people would most likely load themselves with fatty food and rich stuffs.

I would recommend more fruits and supplements instead, to combat the cold!

Take care and stay healthy. ;)

in pathology....

2011-12-05T10:44:00.000+01:00

....everyone can draw!

Just when you think patho is all about morphology, histological slides came back to bite you in your as$!

Here's a few new terms for mum and non-science-freaks;

Morphology: the branch of biology that concerns form and structure of organisms
Pathology: A study of diseases and diagnosis- Greek: πάθος (pathos) feeling, suffering; -λογία (-logia) study of.

Yeah, no sweat. We just have to view slides under microscopes for 2.5 hours, identify and explain over 80 slides for the next exam.

Everyone is always sketching in the labs to get those minute details right because minute here means microns and that is something we can't identify under our naked eyes.

My standard notes...just love my Luna color pencils.

Zue's adorable notes. So simple and easy to read! Eizzati's typewriter-like notes are so damn neat! Jealous~

It's always best to sit in the VIP seat where everything around you is visible- on the second step up the lecture room, right in the centre, facing the board and lecturer.

I got that spot. Got 50% of the teacher's eye contact and that is really unnerving at times. T____T *plasters on 'the faham face'*

To get through the 2 hours of squinting, we definitely need our comrades! Opposite to me sits Eizzati, behind me Anne and then Joanna, and next to my right is Zue.

Okay, Satay, cukuplah camwhore tuu...siap ambik gamba slides gak. Jo and her detailed explanations (with elaborate hand gestures!). :D

Smiley Zue, whom I always torment with random facts and questions.

Seen behind are Gape and Nancy.

I know right..? The lab is super small and sempit because the original Pathology Lab (named Fingerland department) is demolished to be reconstructed... I call our current lab The Setor.

Geez, I'm going to be doing the credit slide test in a month. Time flies!! *quivers*

Soon I will have to change some things on my board.

prosinec

2011-12-02T02:00:00.000+01:00

Oh look! It's my colorful timetable again:

The number of colored slots is directly proportional to the level of misery I will experience.

I'm SO NOT cut out for this. Earlier this sem, I vowed to devote myself more to the books and as a result foolishly submitted my name for all the 3rd year electives- which so happen to all fall in the afternoon slot that ends at 5pm or later. What have I gotten myself into?? *isolates dispirited self to a corner to whimper*

Which translates-- no skyping between Wednesdays to Fridays, high probability to suffer from indigestion due to rushed lunch, relying on pastries to keep the energy well replenished, not enough daylight to enjoy and etcetera...

But on the bright side, it is finally December~ (kinda like the end of the winter semester) So,..

Happy December peeps!

Enjoy the final moments of the year~

It did felt like a long year to me because I have not really adapted to the 'winter-summer semesters' concept here. It's like stuffing 2 academic years in 365 days but actually only half of each.

Oooh, and I forgot to mention, I HAVE PASSED MY IMMUNOLOGY!! Channeling my inner Sue Sylvester here and rubbing it onto the faces of those who have not done it yet. :P

I'm not gloating. (lies) I'm just relieved.

For the life of me, I cannot divert my eyes off the computer screen. I know, I know. I'm getting geek-ier by the day....At this rate, I might even need a new pair of glasses. T__T

I watch stuffs most of the time. Mostly thrillers, fiction and gore...and sometimes comedy. Speaking of which, Wikipedia actually labelled Desperate Housewives as comedy-drama. Hmm...fruit for thought.

Just needed those hours of relaxation because it always felt like I can finally extricate myself from the complexities of life. Yeah, watching people act out the scripts of their parallel lives does.

Geez, I should move around more often. This sedentary lifestyle will get to me soon if I don't.

Forever21.com haul!

2011-11-30T10:30:00.000+01:00

Here's the story:

The other day I received an email (well, actually it's ages ago..)

It just look too obscenely luminous to not click.

Before I realize it, I was already throwing things into the cart.
And you know the thing about assembling a perfect list of items.....
It's too atrocious to not "proceed to payment"!!--my biggest undoing.

________

As F21 uses DPD express mail, my order arrived within several days. Like! *thumbs*

(but it does come with a price....of £6 for shipping)

The box was so tiny I was suspicious if the skinnys I ordered was inside..

I heaved a sigh of relieve seeing my pair of skinnys once I opened the box.

But that was the least of my worries. 2 items were canceled without earlier notification... They were out of stock and an email landed in my spam a few days later. I had this anticipation for a pretty porcelain necklace and stuff.

Now the shipping just went a little....un-worth-it. :(

Thank goodness the quality of the items were superb.

I'm totally in love with my Emma bangles set.

With flash

Under natural light

This goes so well with anything! I am looking forward to the next party/event. XD

Next up is this Filigree Lace Bracelet. It's not something you'd find in your average accessory shop. It is like those things you see on your RPG chara. TwT (too happy..)

Love the scalloped edges to bits~
Mad chio right? Makes your finger look super long. :D

With flash ♡

Can't stop camwhoring with it.

The gold clasps adds a touch of elegance to it. Look expensive, and feels expensive too.

I was excited to see how the earring actually look and yes, it is exactly like what I wanted it to be!

Tadaa!!!

So perfect for casual outfits~

I actually worn this out already (by the time this post is published).

It feels pretty light :)

Finally...

my black petite denim~

That's why I adore skinnys! They do not make you look like you are carrying extra weight around. :')

Final camho shot~ Kekekeke be very jealous :P

And it's pretty cheap too for this quality! Jeans here usually cost about/ more than RM100.

Thank goodness I had bought f21 jeans before, so I know my exact size.

That's it for this haul~

I can't wait to buy myself more pressies for the next sales.

atm...

Must.Practice.Self.Control.

AI?

2011-11-26T15:24:00.001+01:00

AI is artificial intelligence.

Learnt this term from Ragnarok when I was 12-- Because I'm cool like that.

Well, I stumbled upon this waaaayyy back...

So go entertain yourself while I prepare for my final exams.

Sorry~~ No proper blog post till I pass. :(

And PLEASEEE no reposting on FB. That shit pisses people off.

Cau~

black friday

2011-11-23T19:47:00.001+01:00

Nooo..this is not about Rebecca Black, nor her song 'Friday'.

Like in the UK where there is Boxing Day (26 Dec), there is Black Friday in the US (the day after Thanksgiving day). Many retailers would open their doors to customers wayyy earlier than they normally would and offer many promotional items to mark the beginning of the Christmas sales frenzy.

Obviously we don't see this in Malaysia because we have our own Raya, CNY and Deepavali sales throughout the year, not to mention my favourite Mega Sales. I just wish I am studying in the US because everything is on sale this Friday, including the online stores!

Things are seriously overpriced in the Europe. Most of the branded items are made in China or Cambodia and marked up just because there aren't many options here. A decent scarf would cost around RM60 at least meanwhile a pretty pair of winter boots will make you poorer by RM200.

Where ~~the fic~~k is our clothing allowance??

Even the cheapest boots in Zara is 800kc (around RM160) and is made in China. The design might be nice, but you can feel the terrains as you are walking and the material is as hard as plastic. Sometimes I feel like I can be successful if I do some wholesale here.

For all you know, I can get rich by just selling balloons and present papers. A few balloons costs up to RM10 and a roll of fancy wrappers can fetch up to RM6.

I do regret not filling up my luggage to its limit but I did not haul while I was in Malaysia because the thought of carrying the huge load all the way here makes me quiver. Even the thought of coming back here every time poses some degree mental stress.

Well, we still have to keep ourselves warm in the winter no matter how much that might cost. I am all geared up for the winter. Are you?

Stay warm! xoxo

i ♡ h&m

2011-11-20T11:07:00.000+01:00

Saturday means two things: movies & sleep, or shop & eat.

I chose the later.

It was yet another trip to my second home here, Prague.

First stop, I tried this Sutlac thingi (actual spelling: Sütlaç) and found it very similar to those rice pudding sold in Tesco. Difficult to reproduce this dish? Challenge accepted.

I personally prefer savory dishes, so it wasn't my best meal. :/

The winter collections hit the shelves earlier this month.

The whole day I was having constant mental battles!!

And we all know the Mango here is not cheap.

I still see alot of black, mustard and dark blue.

I wanted some magenta, bold orange or brick brown!!! *trolls*

Further down the street was H&M.

And as I stepped into the store, my eyes instantly locked onto...

.....................

wait for it.....

.....................

VERSACE FOR H&M.

The leftovers/ surviving pieces from the launch day.

OH-EM-GEE.

While most of the pieces flew off the racks on 17/11 (read about it here), I was surprised to see most of the dresses still on sell.

Probably the Czechs weren't too keen about the purple dresses or some other pieces.

I did not see any jackets left (the hot items) or any of those cute bling-ed items.

After I've puked rainbows, I couldn't bother less about anything else, grabbed the two pieces I liked and headed straight for the fitting room~~

Hot like a chilli! Tssszzz!!!~~

Priced at 3999kc (approx RM750), it is indeed enough feed me for a month.

I was just stoked to try it because I thought it would make a head-turner especially during the Chinese New Year.

DESCRIPTION

Versace. Short, figure-fit silk dress with crochet lace inserts, an asymmetric cut at the top with large gold-coloured buttons and support panels in the sides. Concealed zip at the side. Chiffon lining.

-h&m.com

Body-hugging, flattering and sizzling enough to up the style stakes in the next dinner party (provided no one is wearing the same dress-- but then again you'll just have to wear it better).

Up close:

I can assure you the material is luv. The inner is fully-lined in skin color.

Erm...people, please buy this for my next birthday and gift me in advance? *puppy eyes*

Right down to the hanger, you could spot minute details that make these pieces must-haves.

Obviously, if I am in some other flagship stores in famous cities like London, I won't get to try on the clothes so leisurely lol

Why can't you dresses be cheaper??!! *gonk*

This purple dress is also 3999kc.

DESCRIPTION

Versace. Knee-length dress in crêped silk chiffon with satin details. Figure-fit bodice section with a unique cut at the top and hook-and-eye fastening at the neck. Zip at the side. Flared skirt section. Satin lined bodice and chiffon lined skirt section.

-h&m.com

The pieces I initially wanted were:

But I did not see them anywhere....

Cannot be too vain as a student. T_T

Next time I will buy designer. Next time!!! *stern face*

~~Disappointed for not being rich enough,~~ I retired to my pastry heaven, Paul patisserie, for a quick teatime before resuming with more clothing-hunting.

Very French indeed.

Cafe au lait, brioche and croissant.

Perfect as a picture.

I will definitely return!!

I know they have a few branches in Dubai and Paris as I have seen them.

Maybe I should try the macaroons the next time.

It's officially winter (judging by the temp--and clothes collections).

I bet it will snow next week.

One word: Urgh.

Beers

2011-11-17T17:32:00.000+01:00

Now,...on to an interesting topic of Beers.

I swear this is pure coincidence, but only after I have composed this that I found out that it is the Alcohol Awareness Week! The timing couldn't be better~ Read this article.

_________________

"Czech Republic has the highest beer consumption per capita in the world."

That statement alone says a lot. It means that people are drinking beer like juice and many are suffering from alcoholic liver diseases. I'm not saying that it's all bad. The beer industry has provided so many jobs to the people and contributed tremendously to the country's economy.

What they say about beer being cheaper than drinks in Czech is true.

Take mineral water for example. A 0.5l bottle would cost about 13kc (RM2.60) but beers would only cost 7.9kc (RM1.58). I know...holy crappp right??

They say:

It's like their religion.

It is therefore not uncommon to encounter several veterans stocking up a basket with beers, or a person who smells like alcohol. Probably drinking is like smoking to them-- though both are equally heavy here amongst the Czech population. I have seen patients in the pulmonary department and trust me, 90% of them have been smoking- some even from as young as the age of 12!! Goodness! I was only studying for UPSR then!

Back to beers...

You can almost see people ordering beers at any time of the day. If you are not convinced, google about Czech beers and you would stumble across the Czech beer museum, beer tours, brewers, tshirts, souvenirs...etc etc...It's like a beer heaven to the alcoholics!

I do casual drinking, sometimes, after exams or during a small gathering.(Mum, Dad, don't worry I will never get myself drunk..) I have to say some beer tastes really good, but I can assure you most of the alcohol content is so low it can never get you drunk with just a pint. ~~Or probably I just have lotsa alcohol dehydrogenases in my system.~~ But really, some beer has like only...4.2%.

~Czech beers~

I have tried most of the local beers and I especially love the home-brewed ones. They probably take months to ferment. Some had this vanilla aftertaste to them, abit of oaky-ness and even a hint of honey (Medovina?)! Recently, the brewers have gotten more creative and tried to push out more new products.

Staropramen lemon is one of the lighter beers that tastes like Heineken+7up, just the way I love it. Pilsner is a little too bitter for my liking. Gambrinus is milder. Okay, enough of my unprofessional reviews but remember that beer I drank in Belgium? That was the best one I ever had!!

De Konnick ftw!

Sorry Czech..

Beers have their pros and cons. I personally have to say they are not so great on the bladder. It is, well, a diuretic. .Do check out the health benefits here and you'll be surprised.

My point is, beers can be enjoyed by practicing self-control. Drink it right, and you get to keep your liver intact.

Cheers!

or the Czech way: Na zdravi!

p/s I am NOT encouraging people to drink. I know breaking a bad habit (like smoking) is difficult. The best way is to start by learning about the harms, and slowly cut down on your consumption.