Tales of a Gniy Nah.....

the lil boy

2011-02-06T07:39:00.000-08:00

This post will be dedicated the the little boy with the many faces (as u will see below).. Really wished I could be home for his birthday..which kinda coincides with cny.. not that he is of age yet to go online and see himself in my dusty, almost dying blog.. but i do love these pics :)
i see two chipmunks in this photo

Yi Wei and his new favourite toy (replaced his poor mimi cat, mwahahah)
Yi Wei: Jie, Jie.. I know what I am calling this penguin
Me: Wat?
Yi Wei: Flippy
Me: (impressed) Where did you get that name from?
Yi Wei: Nah, says here.. seee.. (shows me the words on the penguin's scarf)
It says: Phillip Islands (in Aus, where i bought Flippy) Phillip, Flippy.. whats the difference?
Superman in Petaling Street dress him up in funny silly costumes while he is too young to notice!!

I see 2 rabbits here

Yamness
No, I didnt eat your rice ball..

Weeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee

He and his new best friend

My favourite pic of all...............this is priceless.. look at his face >_<
I miss all of them at home! Wonder if I can buy doraemon on ebay and use his pintu suka hati..

Awkward...

2010-12-17T00:57:00.000-08:00

As I arrived late for a neurology clinical meeting, I spotted an empty space in the corner of the room between 2 consultants, stumbled past the other consultants and rested in that spot.
One of the consultants on my right shuffled in his seat to make room large enough for a hamster, looked at me and patted that part of the seat, offering me that miniscule amount of space to sit on..
With only a few seconds to respond, a long train of thought rushed through my head " Aww.. thats nice of him..should I sit? but the space is so small.. would it be impolite to refuse? but it would be weird..."
Without finishing my thought process, I thanked him and sat down.. He said to me " just don't get up in a hurry, I might topple over ^_^" teeheehee

Only after I sat down did I realise.... that I am sharing a chair with a consultant -_- back to back... my legs were tired having to support my weight.. the next few minutes I was distracted and couldnt concentrate on the case presentation as I tried to decide if I should continue to uncomfortably share the seat with the consultant or stand back up..
Alas, I turned to him and told him " I'm gonna stand up now"...and gave him back his seat..
It was the smartest thing I did that day, because a few minutes later, he voiced out his opinion about the case and I realised all heads turned to look at him.. imagine what it would be like if I was sharing his seat at that time...

Awkward.

Crossing Mount Doom

2010-11-14T21:11:00.000-08:00

In the spirit of being in New Zealand, the setting of many LOTR scenes, Chee Mei and I sat through LOTR 1,2, and 3 in 3 days before our adventure in the weekend..

We had a rocky start.. Went to the Jucy car rentals to get our car and discovered we were not going to be rented a car if the driving license is not translated (Grrr) So off we went with our backpacks, with directions to the translator. the road was hilly, and we sweated and grumbled our way through.
With that done, we went back to the car rentals and discovered there were no more gps available!! just rely on maps instead.. Adventure!

Our first target: The Tongariro Alpine Crossing
Distance: 19.4 km(follow the red line)
Something I know i am totally unfit and unprepared for, but it was voted one of the most beautiful, must-do walks in nz.. or the world?I huffed and puffed my way up.. the diagram above depicts the changes in my mood and energy as I go the distance.. notice how the dying faces are at very steep gradients... but the view at the end uplifts my spirits and gave me strength to go on.. afterall, there was no point turning back...
Cant imagine the happiness I felt when I reached the end of the trek :D Relief.
Mount Ngauruhoe.. the supposed mount Doom in LOTR......
Surreal. (or as we malaysians say: Waaa.. Dam fake laaaa)We did not only trek through loose rocks and sandy terrain, but also through snow!
Still cant believe I managed to trek for 8 hours @_@.. How did a tofu like me do it??

White Water rafting: Kaituna River

2010-11-14T01:17:00.000-08:00

Kaituna river basically has 3 waterfalls: at 2m, 1m and 7 m respectfully.. 7m!! I have rafted before in Sabah.. but never have I gone down vertically from a 7m waterfall.
Before we started our adventure our guide gave us a few pointers about safety issues. "There are 3 possibilities that could happen when we go down the fall," he said.
"1. The raft falls and lands beautifully, we hold our paddles up and celebrate!
2. The raft overturns and lands upsidedown.. just hold on to the rope and swim out of the overturned raft..
3. The raft falls and lands beautifully, and when we hold out our paddles, we notice one is missing. If you fall out of the raft down the 7m drop, curl into a ball, count to 5 and go to your happy place."

Only when he mentioned the 3rd possibility did i get nervous.

eek.. but we survived and it was amazing fun!!! Some pictures to give you an idea..
Survived and conquered Kaituna! Weee..

Awesome weekend in Rotorua/ Tongariro

2010-11-14T01:09:00.000-08:00

In a nutshell, here was what I did in 4 days:
walked/climbed/dragged myself 19.4 km across the Tongariro Crossing, dropped by Lake Taupo, rode the vertical 7 m drop when white water rafting on the Kaituna river, saw and smelled the geothermal area Rotorua is so famous for, learned the culture of the Maori people and ate their food, hot spring bath in the Polynesian spa overlooking Lake Rotorua, Zorbed down the hill like a hamster in a hamsterball (plus water), and felt like hobbit when I visited the Hobbiton shire...
Productive. :)
More, when I get my photos up ;)

Fear me, i have a weapon.

2010-07-16T07:35:00.000-07:00

A new weapon have been acquired to extinguish the enemies in my room..
Its the Amazing flygun! kills flies, but does not squish!
even comes with some handy info about the enemy...

Armed and ready to face the enemy...Approaching target....

Target acquired, and locked in:

B A N G !

hello

2010-07-16T07:18:00.000-07:00

I get a day off my anaesthesia posting and here I am lying in bed doing nothing.. bliss :) and safe from the horrible scottish weather..
i would like to say i'm wiping off the dust of my long forgotten blog today, but I'm afraid of committing to constantly updating my blog to boring details of my life.. and how do I find the time to blog about uninteresting stuff when i'm in the hospital everyday 8-5 and have to study.. yaya.. whine whine whine..
oh well, its my blog.. I can write anything whenever I want..
Forming sentences kinda give me a false impression that i'm actually doing something with my intellect.. definitely more of a mind work that staring at the screen watching tv dramas

Currently, I am typing this post with background buzzing from the wings of flies hitting against my room window.. they.. yes, they (more than 1 :'( ) mysteriously appear despite my windows and door tightly shut.. nope, there is no sign of rotting flesh/food in my room, although I am afraid of looking into the corners of my room to find a bunch of crawling mag- >_<

I want my holidays back! no use dwelling in the past.. now to look forward to home in october and electives in auckland and melbourne in nov-jan.. have to get past surgery and paeds first..

Goal: get motivated to get back into the wards and study, once I get rid of these flies! (feel so far away from that stage )

Wassaaabi!

2010-05-10T05:19:00.001-07:00

Learn Chinese in 5 minutes

2010-05-08T15:32:00.000-07:00

Why some do not eat prawns...

2010-03-22T16:45:00.000-07:00

"Wh-whats going on?? where am I?? Papa.. where are you?? I'm scared... :("

"I....I... don't wanna get eaten... I'm too young to die!!! Pleaseee.."

"Baby... papa is here.. don't be scared...I'm begging you... please let him go.. he's just a little prawn.."

"I beg of you....!!"

" Please Please Please let me go"

"Noo... don't come any nearer"

"No no no... please have mercy on me..."
"Please.... :'( "

*Slurp*

Blindside

2010-03-02T09:53:00.000-08:00

I've been looking for movies to watch.. being away from the movie/cinema world so long, and not seeing movie trailers, its hard to know wats good and whats not. heard about this movie from my aunt..

If there is an inspiring uplifting feel good movie to watch- it has to be 'The Blind side'
Not wanting to spoil this movie, I 'borrowed' a better written synopsis from fandango.com..

A homeless black teenager, Michael Oher (Quinton Aaron) has drifted in and out of the school system for years. Then Leigh Anne Tuohy (Sandra Bullock) and her husband, Sean (Tim McGraw), take him in, transforming Michael's life and theirs. With help from his new-found family, tutors and coaches, he realizes his potential as a student and football player.

Kept me glued to the tv, got me wondering in awe about the kindness and generosity humans are capable of and how an act like that can change a life. Watch it ;)

Food diaries 1

2010-02-12T19:04:00.000-08:00

I'm writing from Penang, where it is so much hotter than kl *sweating as i am typing this*
Its only the first day here and we've eaten as if we've not eaten in days..
we had lunch in New World Park which my auntie referred to as * waste of space in our stomachs *
Even then, we were full and everyone retired to rattan chairs and beds for a nap...
To compensate for that, my aunt and uncle wanted to take us to amazing assam laksa.. so.. woke my bro up from the rattan chair, and off we went for 2nd round.. it was around 4 pm..
This is in Farlim... It used to be in a stall beside a shell station, hence the name...
y is it so special?
its run by kakak-kakak dari indon! of course, under the supervision of The BoSS... thru CCTV! (notice the round camera on top)
the queues were long.. we had to wait almost 45 mins for the famous assam laksa... boy, was the wait worth it... *drooool*... Can fight with the kek lok si temple wan..
We left for home, feeling drowsy and sleepy.. when we reached home after a detour and an ice cream in Tesco, it was almost 7... Bro couldnt help taking a nap.. so have to wake him up again at 8 for dinner.. I need not tell u how not-hungry we were...

Dinner is at another place worth telling about.. Air Itam...mainly serving seafood.. imagine 6 of us, 8 huge dishes.. that was how much we ate..its amazing how much our stomachs can distend..

My aunt and uncle also told us a story of the almost mystical Anson Road Char Koay Teow Apek who only appears whenever he wants to selling Legendary Char Koay Teow.. If u manage to find his stall set up, u should be soo lucky.. how good is it?
Example 1- My aunt had just finished an 8 course dinner and my uncle had eaten rm 19 worth of bak kut teh (supposed to be for 2).. They were driving by and there was the apek... even though they were full to the brim, they shared a packet.. and had no regrets..

Example 2- My doctor aunt drove by and saw the apek and tapau-ed 10 packets >_<... to be frozen and microwaved whenever she wanted, and claimed that despite that tastes as good....

And here it is.. a CNY surprise... my aunt found him right before he disappeared for his CNY break... tadaaaa.. the famous Anson road apek char koay teow...

But is it really as good as they say it is....? Let my bro find out... Hmm... and the verdict......... Hehe.. need i say more.. (its not a look of horror :P)

YESSSSSS

2010-02-05T00:30:00.000-08:00

yeesssssssss.... No more psychiatry!!! from now on its "You are crazee, refer to the psychiatrist". Muaahaha..
Soo looking forward to coming home to hot sweaty malaysia, and leaving behind the most horrible MCQ paper I've ever sat for. ever. Its like i never studied and have to guess, tembak, tikam my way through the paper.

there were 200 questions mcq and T/F to be completed in 1 and half hour..No time to think, just shoot and leave those questions behind..During the paper I was like:
- "Hmmm.. That doesn't sound very right.. I think its B.. or is it C..
maybe i'll go with A *please let it be A, please let it be A*
- "what the....."
- "How many people get prescribed antidepressants in UK..erm.." tikam
- "Oh great.. another psychology question with big words i dun understand" ..shoot
- "mosaicism, translocations, dysjunctions blabla *reads it over 5 times*??" tembak
- "How many increase in percent of risk of schizo if parent is schizophrenic.. erm.. i onli know its increased la.." stab
I was sighing throughout the whole paper, nearly pulling my hair out with frustration with every question i come to..
I looked up to the examination hall.. not the only one.. could see the stress/confusion/frustration filling the room..
Came out of the exam hall stunned..Everyone had the *Wth was that* expression on their face..
Couldnt remember most questions asked and couldnt remember what answers I put cos i was guessing (A or C? A or C? aaaaa.. dunnoooo..A la.. maybe C better... aaaaaaaaa --> like that how to remember wat answer i put?)
sigh. Wish i was a lucky person and got all my tikam-ed answers right.. but no.. I have to be the unlucky one.. even when it comes down to 2 answers to choose i have to choose the wrong one.. sigh.
Viva was better tho, and the end of exams cheered me up alot..
Faster Saturday 4pm! then can fly home!

:P

2010-01-24T08:46:00.001-08:00

For your viewing pleasures (when u got some time to waste, which u probably have since u are here reading this :S)

leekophobia

2010-01-13T19:07:00.000-08:00

leekophobia: definition- fear of leeks

I've acquired leekophobic recently. I thought it was a good idea to try it out for the first time.. only 69p for 7 stalks.. What a bargain!.. Boy, was I wrong..

Day 1: excited about trying a new vegeStir-fried leek, carrot and mushroom with salmon

Day 2: Still not too bad
Stir-fried leek, carrots and mushrooms with salmon.. Nope, this not a repetetive error, I did eat this 2 days in a row to finish the salmon..

Day 3: Ok, excitement dying down a bit
A boring leek-chicken-mushroom soup and rice.. laziness took over..

Day 4: Hmm.. leek again?Roast drumsticks and (surprise, surprise) leek, carrot, mushroom.. As u have probably guessed already, it was mainly an effort to finish the leek, carrot and mushrooms in my fridge.. this was quite good tho :P

Day 5: No more leek pleeease!Fried spaghetti with chicken, mushrooms, and l e e k.. (i had finished my carrots! yay!)

Day 6: I said no more! >(
Instant korean noodles with l e e k . . ..

Day 7: ENOUGH!!
Last stalk of leek goes into the bin...

Thinking back, it was a bleek leek for me til i finished the weeks.. I mean bleak week for me til I finised the leeks..
No. more. leek.

Ok.. this will be the last few posts (or last, depending how i feel:P) before the dust-collecting begins..

Snow!!!

2010-01-08T11:31:00.000-08:00

While everyone is rambling and complaining away about the horrible weather, I nodded in agreement bout how terrible snow (car troubles, traffic jams) is but deeeeep down, I still love it ( I don't have a car, and i don't drive)!

Fort St. Patrick :P at the door of my flat. The snowman was appointed guardian of 27 St. Patrick Square

Wee... I love snow...

This will be the last post before i go home for cny!! weee.. with another 3 weeks before exams and coooold weather, I shall allow another period of dust collecting for my poor blog..

Special xmas

2010-01-03T17:20:00.000-08:00

What's better than spending christmas eve in rome, when there is mass given by The Pope himself?
Playing cards+drinking soap flavoured lemon alcohol in the hostel in company of friends.
Ah, but some regret of not being in the vatican city at that time, the whole time we were having our own fun in the hostel, something happened...

Poor pope...
and to think we were there!
well.. not there, there... but.. so close
'at the scene of the crime (2 days later :P )'

Random Videos

2009-11-29T14:48:00.000-08:00

You drive me crazeeee...

2009-11-09T11:39:00.000-08:00

Going into my 4th week of psychiatry, after having seen many depressive, bipolar, and schizophrenic patients, I've realised that mental health problems are REAL. They are severely debilitating, and destructive. Many were previously successful, well educated, outgoing... Its like something inside snapped and suddenly everything changes..
Maybe only 2 or 3 in every batch of medical students might consider psychiatry as a speciality.. but in fact, these patients need the most help.. What's the use of a healthy body when the mind is messed up?
Imagine living with a constant voice in your head..
"Look at Old John, getting up to brush his teeth.. boy, does he walk slow..." "now pouring a cup of coffee like he always does" "He is worthless, no wonder he has no friends"
"Cut your wrist, end it all now"

Or with scary thoughts which you belief strongly to be true
"I must avoid all bright lights or the government will get me" "If i don't burn the house, they will kill me" 0_O "The lamp post is on, this means they are watching me"
Imagine living with this for yearssss....
It is also scary that there is only a fine line between a delusion and certain spiritual belief and it is the psychiatrists who will judge whether you are crazy or not.. so many movies potray the psychiatrist as the bad guy.. tsk tsk.. (watch the move: the changeling.. really good)

When I was in Dumfries, I saw loads of drug and alcohol abusers. I've always had a bad impression of them, associating them with crimes, thinking that it was their choice and their fault they lives are a mess now..But the main enemy is the substance itself. Some of them are quite nice people, and you would think they are so normal, until u start taking a drug or alcohol history.. Don't get me wrong, I still am quite afraid of substance abusers, but my heart really goes out to those who really, truly wants to start over and cleanse their life free of these substances..

Next time you want to laugh at some crazy mad guy talking to himself, think again... Just calling them mad is just mean.. these are real diseases..

P.s. this doesnt mean I want to be psychiatrist.. hehe

Prof Tee in Edin!

2009-11-07T01:59:00.000-08:00

This seems like a long time ago @_@ ... just some of my fav pics :)

Zzzz
Rawr!!

An 'Amazing Race' end to our Dublin trip

2009-10-24T06:02:00.000-07:00

We had time to spare when we reached the airport despite the delays in the bus ride to the airport. I spotted a couple who looked upset when they reached the airport cos (i assumed) they were very late or had missed their flight. I thought to myself ,
"Phew, thank goodness I don't have to run like mad in the airport to reach the gates before they close"
We walked by the check in counters and I looked up to find the right counters..
Prof Tee: no need wan, we check in online d..
Me: Really? u sure?? it ways counter 6
Prof Tee: sure wan... just go straight to the gate..

and so we did.. went past security, leisurely walked and shopped at the duty free shops.. just killing time..

We finally got to line up to enter the gates. Come our turn, the uniformed dude gave me a look...
*Uh oh.. got a bad feeling about this*
" OK..listen carefully.. you need to get this chopped and verified (for non EU flyers).. you've got 20 minutes, run like the wind to the check in counters and back here.."
*Oh shit*
"Can we leave our (super heavy) bags here?"
"I'm afraid not, due to security reasons"
*Oh crappity crap*
So off we ran, as fast as our legs could carry us (and the super heavy bags)

Allow me to use my wonderful artistic skills to illustrate what we been thru...
Challenge: Run from the Gates, past the shops, along the path, back thru the bag security check to the check in counters to get the CHOP, and BACK to the gates before the gates close.
Allocated time: <20 minutes
Go team ping pong!
So we ran, and brisk walked, and ran and brisk walked... wondering y on earth the walkalators only work in one direction, and y the person at the bag check didnt say anything when we showed our boarding pass, and y on earth are we running like lunatics in the airport.. I bet the other ppl were thinking "phew, good thing we're not in their shoes.."

Well.. We made it in the end! we won the challenge 2 minutes before the gates were closed!!! Muahahahaahhaa

Ended our trip with an Adrenaline Rush....
*sigh of relief*

Dublin

2009-10-24T05:40:00.000-07:00

Ok.. starting to get lazy d.. so.. i'm just gonna post up pics.. for viewing pleasure of my family and anyone bored enough to read this :P
Tadaa...

Dublin City (to me) ranks 2nd below Edinburgh as one of the nicest cities I've been to (hehe). Typical like many cities in the Europe, bridges joins the 2 parts split by a river. Dotted in between the modern buildings are traditional churches, older buildings, even a castle..
Dublin at a glance

One of my favourite places in Dublin is Trinity College.. I think it would be a dream to study in a place as beautiful as this (kinda envious of the students walking in and out of there, staring at us tourists marvelling at the beauty of the place they are so priveleged to study in)
Hmph.. lucky spider.. stays in Trinity College compound:P

We had enough time to venture abit outside Dublin as well to the more outskirt-y parts.. Kinda reminds of of Isle of Skye with the hills, and beautiful lakes, but one of the more exciting things we saw there was an old monastery/graveyard with stories about how they lived during and after the viking times :) ooooo
Don't miss the opportunity to visit the Guinness Stout Brewery if u have time.. It is here that Guinness was found and started:) Was never a beer fan, and still isnt even after the visit :P but oh well.. all for the experience..
Last but not least..Our favourite traditional irish lamb stooooooooooo (stew)

Sunset in Dublin :)

Next stop... Belfast!

2009-10-15T10:03:00.000-07:00

Me n Prof Tee decided to go early to the airport... and when i say early i mean like.. 8 hours early:P
aka.. A Night in the Airport...
She's done it loads of times, but this is my first..

And we have to share our floor with many others!
Seeing so many ppl lying flat on the floor somehow reminds me of a scene in "Flash Forward" when everyone start plopping onto the floor..

At Belfast......
Caryn came to meet us after her exams! so nice to see her after wat seems like ages! She is a great tour guide :P and she and "shiau saaaa" seemed like old buddies since the first time they met! I'll let the pics do the talking:PSlumber party!! so fun:P (me and the 2 kids)celebrated Shiau Sang's bday!At beautiful Queen's Uni

Off we go on the Tour on the PaddyWagon~

First stop.... the scaaaary rope bridge! the strong wind blow blow blowww us away!

Next.. my favourite-est... Giant Causeway! Where naturally shaped octogonal rocks make the ground u trod on...Beautiful.

Then, a little walled town called Derry (not sure how it is spelt)
Belfast city hall
Thank you Caryn for being such a hospitable host!!! muacks! come to Edin!!!! must must!

Padang Topi

2009-10-13T15:27:00.000-07:00

From Margate, I made my way to a weird place called Hatfield.. where the only attraction there was a creature called "Meng Chyi".
Spent most of our time watching America's Next Top Model and Edward Scissorhand (cool) and taking silly pics!
It was so nice to spend time together.. like old times.. tho it is kinda weird and surreal that we are here, in the uk together...

MC so happy to see food! :DMC! come to Edin!! or elseee............. >:)

Flash Forward

2009-10-06T04:54:00.000-07:00

The latest series to be hooked on. I'm hooked :P
Sorta gives u the heroes-lost kinda vibe.. hope the twist is good!

FREE!

2009-10-05T01:48:00.000-07:00

No more Obs &Gynae/Hematology/Oncology/Palliative care/Breast disease/Renal/Urology!!
Yay! no med books for 2 weeks! this exam apparently is the craziest among the rest.. hope everyone did ok !!
Now typing from my bro's place in Margate, about 2 hours away from London... Hopped on the 6 something am bus to london (5 hours) and in the same day, after walking around london abit, another 2 hour train ride to margate.. (phew)

Its raining outside now but i dun care..
Cos i woke up this morning with a feeling i haven't had in ages... FREE.. there is nothing to rush for... no need for studying (for now :( )
I have a plan today, while my bro is at work...
1. wake up late
2. play wii til i get dizzy
3. sleep til dizziness disappears
4.watch tv /play wii

I so want a wii!! I will get it one day!!!!! my bro bought 18 games from home... I will get 20! muahahha..

Baaaaa

2009-09-19T12:55:00.001-07:00

OMG..... dam cuuuute!!!! cannot tahan! Sheep chess set.. not just sheep, but cute-dumb looking sheep... :D :D

look at this silly looking fellow! haha!

I saw this set in Lake District.. selling for 30 pounds and was sooo tempted to buy it.. but it was already reduced price cos the board was shaky -_-.. my parents pullet the "We'll-come-tomorrow-and-see" trick on me... and i thought that was the last time i was gonna see the silly sheeps..

Hurray for Ebay!

Should I buy?
Hmmm....

TAO, samurai drummers...

2009-08-23T13:25:00.000-07:00

Its the Edinburgh Fringe Festival!!! the annual festival that draws thousands and thousands of visitors, clogging up the cobbled streets of Edinburgh, every corner and venue hosting performances, from comedy, musicals, dance, theatre...........

Went to watch TAO, samurai drummers! It was amazing! partly because of goodlooking,cute , muscular japanese guys (aaaaaa, ok,.. maybe mostly instead of partly), and partly cos of their amazing drumming skills (no wonder they are so muscular)..
Naomi... I wish u were there to droooool with me!

3rd from the left is mine.. guy on far right is fish's.. haha

not just guys, got jap gal too...

Who says only scottish guys wear skirts?

o_O so cool ar.......
They apparently are really famous and touring the world... and here they are... in Edinburgh... ^_^ I wanna run into them on the streets ^_^ weeeee...

Rasa Malaysia

2009-07-31T14:11:00.000-07:00

We cooked NASI LEMAK!!! drooool

Rendang PORK! Sambal udang! ikan bilis! and telur goreng! Feel like Malaysia :D
I wish i could say we cooked everything ourselves... but it would not be possible without our instant packet sauce ;) If u can't have the real thing u gotta just make do...

Greetings from my new room!

2009-07-31T13:38:00.000-07:00

Alright alright.... its been 3 weeks since we moved into our new flat aka my bro's old flat... I've been busy :P but more of lazy :P ... but anyway... introducing my new messy room!

My messy door :P cute corner 1 :P
Snack corner!
Monkey on my bed! With my laptop strategically located at the foot of my bed..
Cute corner 2!
Forgot to take picture of my malfunctioned wardrobe that wont close properly... but otherwise... the room, i like :)

Hols over...

2009-07-12T17:05:00.000-07:00

I am too lazy to put up a post about my vacation with my family in Spain and Lake district... there's just far too many pictures (thanks to my bro)... I kinda dumped most of it on facebook :P

Conclusion:
I love Barcelona!
I now am a fan of Pablo Picasso (i visited museo d' picasso)... His eccentric variety of techniques, especially his distortion of Velazquez's Las Meninas, thanks to the cubism technique he suddenly became obsessed with (which is kinda my favourite painting for some unknown reason)..
Have a wee look ;) ......

The original Las meninas by Velazquez (which means the maids of honour in spanish)
Here u see a little girl, Infanta Margarita, surrounded by her entourage of maids of honour, chaperone, bodyguard, two dwarfs and a dog. Just behind them, Velázquez portrays himself working at a large canvas. Note all these characters.....!
Here's wat the princess Infanta Margarita looks like thanks to Picasso... (no one dared to say: erm...pablo... her eyes are not the same size ... :P)
Here is Picasso's other version (there's alot!)... i just love his versions of the Dog :P

wait.. there's more...the dog is just hilarious~~~~!!!

and wait... more...Looks like wat my little cousin can draw... :DLook at the dog!!!!! heehee... and the Princess' small head!

For once, I actually enjoyed art museums :P Picasso really has varied styles... and some of his sketches and paintings are just weird... which is why i am now a fan!

Well.. its back to classes for me... starting to like obs and gynae :)

Ho chiak! continued...

2009-06-19T08:38:00.001-07:00

I cant believe i'm flying back to Edinburgh so soon (tmr!)0_O ... hols flew by tooo fast.... though, i am looking forward to my Spain trip with my family:D

So.. here's just a recap of my Food-getaway back home ;P

aaaa... my mummy's bak chang will always remain my favourite food of all!!! muacks!
And my kakak's nasi lemak is AMAZING... forgot to take pic~ later have to wipe the drool of your keyboards... heehee... missed home-cooked food :D

Great Indian Lunch with Dr. JPJ! Or should i say Prof. jpj :)
Meeting old frens and eating good food... perks of holidays :P below... jap food with Wai Ken.. droooll

Sigh.. i really missed the old times... very thankful that i get to meet up with my buddies, though its only for a short while :)
Below: Hokkien mee with TKS, Pan mee with Mei Ann, Jue Jing and Wai Ken, ikan bakar with Rachel!miss u guys!

And I got to shop/eat with my goooood fren Meng Chyi!!! Shopped til we dropped! ate til we sleep... haha... Its been a year since we went to Bubba Gump... I absolutely LOVE the place.. and will recommend it to anyone at all :D the foood is amazing.. the theme and deco is soo cute!
there is a room upstairs which is a replica of Forrest Gump's house... so adorable.. and to put those homey touches, they have pictures of little gump on the walls :)
We ate something Barramundi and Baked seafood rice! definitely will recommended!! Must try!

We were so full, thanks to the huuuuge portion and the creaminess! I really felt like bursting! but I did manage to finish most of it... after much struggle and playing with food, I manage to gobble it down... it didnt feel very good after that -__-
Even after that, we managed to enjoy Ikea ice cream when we met Leong and Diana...
Plus, by the time we reached home it was dinner time! more food o_O butter sotong was superb, though :)

Us at pyramid... and also stuffing our face silly with jap food at shogun! heehee...yum
For the durian lovers out there :D something to look forward to when u go home.. I'm not really a durian fan, but being away from home so long, u can't help to welcome this thorny fleshy fruit..I will miss u Malaysia, the family, friends, food, shopping!!!!! (but maybe not the hot hot humid weather :P)
(the torture of seeing pics of food on facebook tagged as u is almost over ;) heehee.. ur turns to go home and eat ur hearts out :D... enjoy!)

Sharing is Caring

2009-06-14T09:21:00.000-07:00

With the lil boy cousin splashing around in the swimming pool in the background, I was fixed on an article from Reader's digest:
Why Kindness Matters

"The term Humanity is one synonym for the word kindness. Kindness is essentially a recognition of the fact that we're all human"

I think i am speaking for everyone when i say kindness and consideration is exactly what is lacking in the world today. *imagine the song 'Where is the love' by black eyed peas playing in the background*

Despite all the mess and tough world we live in, just a small, random act of kindness from a stranger makes it a little bit easier:
Do you remember how good it feels when a stranger holds the door open for you even if he has wait for you, or time where you are short of RM 2 to pay for your meal, and out of nowhere, a stranger just offers it without expectations of personal gain? or when you are merging into traffic and someone lets you in....it makes you feel good....showing a little bit of kindness to people recognises that everyone around you is just like yourself... why can't we give this feeling to others? why can't we be just a bit selfless? When was the last time we donated money to the needy, or helped someone struggling with big bags and luggages.. Maybe we get caught up in the race to achieve success or riches that we forget to be human.

There was a movie called "Pay it Forward", about a schoolboy who decided to repay acts of kindness towards him by performing 3 good deeds for others to make to world a better place. eg. If the person wants to 'repay u', let them know that you would really like them to pay it forward, and pass the good deed on the another stranger, or friend. Such a good concept :D

Yes, it all sounds like Pendidikan Moral all over again but how many people's actions actually speak louder than words?

Kindness, just a feel-good feeling?
Research shows that kindness :
1.can make us happier. A small act may make you feel like a good person but a big act of kindness helps you forge a better relationship.
2. is good for your health. Kindness can help regulate emotions, which can impact positively on our health, for both the helper and the helpee..

-source: Reader's Digest March 2009-

This article made me feel like doing a good deed, so I thought i'd put this post up and share it... who knows... hopefully will spread the kind, fuzzy loving feeling in us humans, be it by blogs or what not... maybe by reminding ourselves once in a while, we will help to spread it around.. or, pay it forward. It is a choice, an attitude that we can change.... and if by doing small selfless acts for others, we can make it a better place, why not?

Spread the love ppl!!!

Swiimming :D

2009-06-14T07:23:00.000-07:00

My lil boy cousin Yi Wei grown up d! limbs are lankier but still is as cheeky :P and he is now learning how to swim... still at the blowing bubbles stage but is progressing fast.. a new shark-to-be? ;)swimming under the hot sun every sunday.. no wonder he is so dark already...

Ho chiak!

2009-06-08T09:00:00.000-07:00

Just one day after i landed in the hot sweaty land of Malaysia, I am off to penang to meet my relatives and of course, FOOD!

First stop, Char kuay teow!

Look at ah kong's happy face and u'll know that the char kuay teow is ho chiak! look at the humangous prawns! happy :D

Dinner at Sunshine Bay aka Sin Eng Huat at Tanjung Bunga for seafood. *droools*
1. Tom Yum Prawns in coconut 2.mixed vege 3. Chilli prawn in bamboo 4. Guiness stout chicken 5. Crabby noodles! 6. Lala mee suah

:Lunch at Ocean Green: the cheese crabs were amazing!

Had lots of hawker food too! :D but in my hurry to gobble them down i forgot to take pics of the yummy char kuay teow and lok lok of rat island (pulau tikus)..

In the morning b4 we left, we headed off to Nagore Road for The famous Super Hokkien Mee.. so famous that we had to wait 45 minutes for it b4 we are allowed to bug the cook for our bowls of hokkien meee... so.. while waiting for that, we ordered lum mee and loh mee and char kuay teow (again!)Weeee... happiness comes in little islands :D

For food guide in Penang.. go to www.penangtuapui.com

Coming home:)

2009-06-01T03:01:00.000-07:00

I can't believe 8 months just passed like that.. I'm going home!! WEEEEEEE

To do list:
EAT - 1. Penang food (all of them: char kuay teow, assam laksa, prawn mee) 2. Seafood 3. Japanese food 4. Bubba gump 5. Dim Sum 6. Poh piah 7. BAK CHANG 8. nasi lemak 9. home cooked food :) 10. Delicious Brownie's!!!!

SHOP- 1. Clothes 2. shoes 3. bags ( midvalley, sunway pyramid, 1u, Sungei Wang)

DVDs!!!

Play with my dog, Think about electives, Read non-medical books

bye bye kincaid's court, will miss u, will miss the crazy guys... its been fun.

Furry Jungle

2009-05-29T01:20:00.000-07:00

This was taken quite some time ago.. When khek decided to clean out the fridge..

This container was sitting in the fridge for who-knows-how long.. I was afraid to think wat it looks like then.. Here's a glimpse of the kinda kitchen i live in..
Behold, the little forest that was cultured in our fridge

Believe it or not: I think it was once noodles.. or rice... can't tell now...
Don't want to imagine the spores that may be flying around..Specimen no.2: was once curry, is now home of white furry lil guys... Khek's expression says it all

Yuck.

Easter Break

2009-05-28T17:33:00.000-07:00

Yes, yes... very out-dated i know :P
It was a Scotland roadtrip with lotsa picture taking (of course:D) From Edin-Loch Lomond- Forst William-Isle of Skye-Lochness-Aberdeen-Edin

Isle of Skye is breathtaking, with views of mountains and hills, sheeps munching grass, the sea... Would've been more amazing if the sky wasnt so gloomy -_- I'll let the pictures do the talking :P its been a long time d since the trip anyway haha.. (click on the images to enlarge :P)

EDIN..... City

EDIN... Arthurs Seat

On the ROAD TRIP... Along the way:PThe beautiful.... ISLE OF SKYE :)

INVERNESS & LOCH NESS... We saw Nessie!!! proof in the picture ;)
On the Road side :P
ABERDEEN....
My favourite pics! Yellow flowers all around :D was discovered by chance; by driving towards a yellow hill we saw from afar....
END

Weeeeee..FREEE

2009-05-28T17:26:00.003-07:00

Weeeks of studying for 2 days of nerve-wrecking exams... it meant no shopping, no sports, no blogging ( which explains the dust and cobwebs on my blog for months :P)

And i am coming home soon :) weeee... Cant wait to see my family! my dog! my friends! and of course, fooood and shopppping!!! heheheh

Will be updating some of the past events :)

2009-05-28T17:26:00.001-07:00

Para para sakura!

2009-04-26T15:10:00.001-07:00

I loooove spring! :D

St. Andrews

2009-03-31T02:11:00.000-07:00

Chee Mei, fishy, Calvin, Sarah and i headed off to St Andrews for a day as a post-exam holiday!
Its just less as an hour away to pretty blue sea, sand, hilly golf course.. Definitely a recommended getaway for a day :)

Ice cream at Jannetta! 52 different flavours.. yummy :)
Came home refreshed.. and ready for Cardio! (or not...)

Bye Bye Locomotor!

2009-03-20T17:55:00.000-07:00

Locomotor exams are OVER! Time to revive my almost dead blog...
After being cooped up in my room with my books and duvet for so long, I am finally able to enjoy some sun. The weather was beautiful this whole week!! seeing clear blue sky and sun rays made me happy, but watching it from inside my room was depressing, and yes, I might have been deprived of vitamin D these few days. I know i'm painting a picture of kinda a sad life, but that is how locomotor is for me -_-... I was not so lucky in my orthopedics sessions- Lack of teachings and guidances, my tutor did not help motivate me... Fractures #### of the limbs, spine, and pelvis*so boring :'( * ...we had to digest a whole Appleys (which i felt like tearing up every time i set my eyes on it), and what came out for the exam...? one puny question about fracture of 5th metacarpal -_- which i did not read..
One thing for sure.. Orthopedics is not for me..

Oh well, just gonna enjoy my short weekend before starting Cardio, which i am looking forward to.. will try to bask in the sun to make up for the last few days!

Weather Report in Edinburgh

2009-03-08T03:58:00.000-07:00

Yesterday: With the wind blowing, you'd wish you worn a thicker jacket.. without the wind, you sweat under ur jacket, hoping to take it off, but then, another gust of wind blows at you.

Today: This morning, I could've sworn it was sunny (to the point your eyes can be blinded by the glare) and my room was warm cos of the transfer of 'haba melalui sinaran' into my room. the next minute i looked up, it was SNOWING like crazy! wind blowing like wild, with snow flakes floating haphazardly.. and.. as i am typing this sentence, I see that everything is dying down.... and.... yup...now looks as if nothing had ever happened..

That's Scotland weather for you..

Snooow!!

2009-02-07T00:55:00.001-08:00

White fat flakes floating freely down, settling one by one on the ground... time goes by and it builds up inch by inch, setting the site for snowmans and snowball fights.... weeeeeeeeeeeee.... for the first time!!!

Played with snow for the second time that day at the base of arthur's seat! (where the snow is thicker)

although its just for one day, it was AMAZING:)

Roadtrip: Leeds and Manchester... Weeee!

2009-02-02T13:30:00.000-08:00

This weekend we headed of to Leeds and Manchester, with a car, a gps and maps.
Driver: Calvin
Navigator: Fish
Backseaters: HY, Poh Peng, Khek Tjian

Leeds: Lotsa photo-taking... small simple place :)

Leeds uni:

at a nice chinese restaurant :)
Sunday: The thing I look forward to in Manchester is the half-price DIM SUM!!! Unfortunately, because its CNY (sigh...) there is no half price :( but we ate dim sum anyway... muahaha

somehow.. dimsum brings out the feminine side of guys... ^_^

And.... Old Trafford --- the famous manchester stadium

This is some mall in manchester tt has a midvalley-pyramid feel.. brings back memories :)In the snow just b4 leaving leeds...
Had a great time! dun worry yau, we'll be back... :D

Ceilidh

2009-01-29T18:17:00.001-08:00

There was a Halfway ball for the medics in my year, and out of a spontaneous decision, we decided to go for the after party, as there were ceilidh and dance. Ceilidh is a scottish folkdance with alot of jumping and twirling about. :D

After meeting up with my uncle and auntie for dinner, I rushed to get ready.. I think it took me about 15 minutes (cos i avoided make up :P)
It was cool, cos so many ppl from my year were there, and guys were wearing quilts :D It was also very different from balls at home, cos over here, u see drunk ppl falling down and couples making out..

After all the jumping, I came home limping with a blister on my poor little toe, but the whole experience was worth it :D

Auntie and Uncle from Penang is here!

2009-01-29T17:16:00.000-08:00

My auntie and uncle came to London for a conference, and dropped by Edinburgh just to see us!! so Happy! They come bearing food and gifts as well... weeeeeeee

We went for a short sightseeing at the Royal Mile, and took them to this nice beautiful restaurant called the Outsider...

Thank you so much for coming all the way here.. It really felt good to see family :D

Gong Xi Fa Cai!!

2009-01-29T09:32:00.000-08:00

Its my first CNY away from home... miss my family so much.. and the foood *drool*

The most we can do here, is gather with friends, our family away from home... and eat chinese food !! yum yum :P''

and, with Yau around, our CNY got merrier :D
We actually skipped classes to bring yau around.. hehe.. good friends leh :P

We went to saigon saigon! Great chinese food here :) Just being able to sit down with friends and enjoy a wonderful meal together made it seem like CNY..

The after party.... Bridge time! ehhehe...

This pic couldn't describe yau any better :P

so.. CNY wasn't too bad, at least my bro is here :)
Gong Xi Fa Cai ppl!
Missing my family alot, wish they were here, or I was home.

Newcastle !

2009-01-27T15:03:00.000-08:00

Destination: NewCastle!

A dramatic start to the trip, Sarah missed the 7 am train but managed to hop on the 7.30 one because Khek tjian was down with a bug..
Stayed in calvin's aunt's place :) very nice, plus got cute doggy!!

Went to see the Angel of the North ( patung besar yang sangat hodoh...)
-just a man with the wings of a plane -_-

chinatown!

The pretty multi colored bridge!

Before we knew it was time to split ways with yau and go home... but after teasing yau n inviting him playfully to burn his ticket n come to edinburgh to celebrate CNY, he succumbed to peer pressure! muahaahaa

:D

2009-01-22T05:23:00.001-08:00

Now that i've learnt how to upload youtube videos, allow me to share with you my favourite commercial :)

Tan Hong Ming

2 chinese boys(who has nothing better to do): this is a long time ago, but, they are hilarious!

One of my favourites.. hehe

Teh Tarik!

2009-01-22T01:58:00.000-08:00

I was looking through my pictures one day, and out of nowhere, i suddenly thought of the U mobile teh tarik commercial...

and.. something my cousins did sometime ago :)
.

Final stop: Budapest

2009-01-22T01:56:00.000-08:00

BUDAPEST, Hungary

The most memorable thing about Budapest, is the extreme, piercing, numbing cold (-7 to -10 degrees brrr). I remember wearing 6 layers, wrapped up so my eyes are the only exposed part..
Budapest is soo beautiful, so many places to visit, i wished we had more time there :)
Below u can see the one of the bridges that connect Buda and Pest (pronounced Pescht)

Taken at Buda Castle, Heroes Square, Parlament, hill on the way to monument of Liberty (something like that)

The Fisherman's Bastion, the architecture is amazing :')

one of my favourite pics.. haha.. reminds me of Pokemon when Jesse and James appear.. Team Rocket blast out at the speed of light, Surrender now or prepare to Fight!!!

this is the Parlament

Above: white frosty trees! so surreal :')

Food! Visit this restaurant if you have a chance because the food is excellent and the service is even better ;) worth the price..

New Years Day : Our boat sightseeing trip n new year countdown in the city with our devil
horns >:)

It snowed heavily the last day we were there in -10 degrees!

Salzburg

2009-01-21T23:52:00.000-08:00

Ok.. i am sooo lazy now... just gonna post pics :)

Untersburg mountain

Tried to make snow man! then realised got one snowman on Chwen Bin's head!the little gal in the pic dammm cute... played with me in the bus somemore!

Sound of Music Tour!! MUST GO!!

Pretzels!!! huge ande yummy!

Vienna

2009-01-20T10:53:00.000-08:00

Oh, Vienna! I love vienna :) city of culture and music, beautiful architecture..

This is my favourite building, the Vienna State Opera house, where different operas are shown every single night!

Museum of natural history - that houses the famous 25000 yr old lil statue Venus von Willendorf.. or something like that.. its the weird booby statue (2nd down fr the left)

Karsplatz.. beautiful paintings on the ceilings.. amazing :)

Schonbrunn palace.. it is huuuge, was the Summer residence of the Habsburgs, houses the oldest zoo in the world as well.. and a couple of musuems, a huge beautiful garden :) and it snowed on that day!!
Amazing quartet concert in the oldest concert hall in vienna, mozarthaus...
Getting lazy.....

First Stop: Prague

2009-01-05T00:50:00.000-08:00

Click on the pics to enlarge :)

People say that Prague is beautiful in the winter time, but i feel that it looks about the same (maybe because it didnt snow?), and maybe gloomier cos of the gloomy clouds that hang over the sky. but on Christmas, the sky cleared up, and it looked like a whole different Prague. :)

here are somethings TO DO and NOT DO in Prague:

Do:
1. look out for a shirt that says "czech me out" and "czechmate" - absolutely adorable
2. Lepak in the Christmas Market and enjoy the huge beautiful christmas tree and eat the Trdelnik (a cylindrical hollow crunchy sugary bread) it is sooo good..
3. watch the chiming of the Astronomical clock that goes every hour
4. Visit St Vitus Church in Prague Castle - absolutely beautifulSt. Vitus church.................Prague castle : take a look at the guard with the furry hat.. that poor guy was the centre of tourist attraction.. like a 'mascot', poor thing ;)

5. Eat hotdogs at the stalls, they are huuuuge for the amount u pay

6. Eat traditional Czech food (forgot what its called -_-, lotsa pork, i remember, and beef stew, and fruit dumplings.. fish broth (the soup below) is an absolute must-eat!!)
7. Go for a boat trip on the river, good fun
8. Take a slow stroll across the Charles Bridge, enjoy the scenery and dont forget to touch the dog and back of the lady beneath the statue of St John of Nepomuk for good luck!
9. If u are a drinker, don't miss the beer in Prague. Some friends say there is nothing like czech beer.
10. Take a lot of pictures!!!!
Don't:
1. Order plain water when u eat out. Czechs really drink beer like they drink water. Beers are 2 times cheaper than water -_-
2. forget to research on budget cafes to eat at - we tend to end up in these high class restaurants somehow
3. Get discouraged by a certain group of sellers at souvenir shops and restaurants who are rude and disrespectful.. for there are many nice ppl in Prague too :)

Eurotrip!

2009-01-05T00:16:00.000-08:00

I went on my first ever eurotrip (woohoo!) with 6 of my buddies:
Naomi, Yam Yau, Ching Li, Lieo Jiun, Stephanie and Chwen Bin.

Destinations: Headed off to Prague for Christmas, for culture and music in Vienna, sing to the songs of Sound of Music in Salzburg and countdown to 2009 in Budapest!

Number of days: 10
Pictures taken: 900 ++

Leave with nothing but a guidebook and map in ur hand and a bunch of crazy friends. Nothing can go wrong.. or everything, but it doesnt matter ;P

More later ;) muacks.

rosslyn chapel

2008-12-21T16:33:00.000-08:00

Holidays are officially here!! and it started with a shopping trip to livingston on Saturday!!

and on Rosslyn Chapel on Sun (familiar? check out Dan Brown's da vinci code). It was a beautiful warm (10 degrees) sunday morning, but the wind was crazeeee... i could almost feel my feet lift off the ground...weee

Cant see much from the outside because of the metal thingy's that are protecting the chapel as an effort of maintaining the chapel.

too bad no pics allowed inside the chapel. The most beautiful thing about the chapel, is the carvings all over, on the pillar and walls that are absolutely intricate and detailed. There were stories and meaning behind every carving. Here's one for u :)

There is one stunning piece of carving known as the 'Apprentice Pillar". Legend has it that. the Master Mason having received from the Founder a model of a pillar of exquisite workmanship and design, hesitated to carry it out until he had gone to Rome or some other foreign part to see the original. He went abroad and and in his absence an apprentice, having dreamt that he had finished the pillar, at once set to work and carried out the design as it now stands, a perfect marvel of workmanship.

The Master Mason on his return, seeing the pillar completed, instead of being delighted at the success of his pupil, was so stung with envy that he asked who dared to do it in his absence. On being told that it was his apprentice, he was so inflamed with rage and passion that he struck him with a mallet, killed him onthe spot and paid the penalty for his rash and cruel act.

This is the apprentice.. If u look closely, you can see a lil scar on his forehead (where the mallet struck him)

Below is the master mason, who sits opposite the apprentice head, his eyes open, eternally staring at the direction of the apprentice pillar.

Such a humour, these carvers have, dont they? :)

-_-"

2008-12-21T16:13:00.000-08:00

-_-''
No idea who he is...

I ter-left my camera in the common room few days ago.. only realised this sesat fella in my camera today.. -_- sweat, indeed...

Edinburgh Castle

2008-12-07T15:25:00.000-08:00

Every year.. on st andrew's day.. entrance fee into the castle is... FREEE... obviously.. we waited til that day ;)

Chee Mei's bday

2008-12-07T15:09:00.000-08:00

Mussels and Steak....

Thats where we ate.. and no surprise.... lots of mussels :D

After that, we went for ice cream in Vittoria!!

Chee Mei's present! sooo adorable!

Durham Durham

2008-12-07T13:03:00.000-08:00

Over the weekend, Crystal and I had represented Edin Uni in a female BUCS (dunno wat it stands for) table tennis tournament.

Durham is a quaint, beautiful little town... with a river running through it..shops are smaller, streets are narrower :)
Ice coated the grounds, setting a trap for careless victims (not me! muahaha.. but nearly slipped countless times). looks pretty... but it wont feel pretty when u slide and fall :P

Even the tennis court was coated with ice!

The pic below shows part of Durham Uni campus where we played...

At night we walked to the city for dinner.. christmas deco there is not bad! had a delicious meal in the pub 'Market Tavern'The best thing about Durham is it houses the Cathedral which was filmed in Harry Potter.. thats right.. Its very own HOGWARTS!!! It was AMAZING inside! too bad we weren't allowed to take pictures.. it was absolutely beautiful :') and best of all... FREEEEEE

Looks familiar doesn't it? like one of the corridors filmed in HP

After, we went to the christmas market just outside the cathedral.. soo many things are being sold there.. sorta like a 'pasar malam' :P

My pork pie!

It was really worth the trip, and we didnt do too bad in the tourney as well.. we managed to qualify as the top 2 teams! weeee....

2008-11-29T15:29:00.000-08:00

Mr. Rowan W. Parks

Mr. Andrew de Beaux

Writers of Davidson's principle of surgery, and.... my tutors for GI module!
Its cool having the writer's of Davidsons (quite a number are in Edin), but on the downside they are pretty busy... get to join them for surgeries and clinics tho :)

Snow Snow Snow

2008-11-23T04:29:00.000-08:00

23 nov, 2.30 am, it snowed.

Weee... My first snow experience in Edinburgh! thanks to the fire alarm again... everyone was standing in the cold, some in pyjamas, under the pretty pretty snow :)

hello Glasgow!!

2008-11-16T15:36:00.000-08:00

After my exams (that didnt go so well) on Fri, Chee Mei and I rushed off to Glasgow, land of shopping!! I was absolutely excited to see my Naomi ;) and Sree again.. though i just saw them one week ago in Nottingham..
When i was there, only did i realised how much i missed hanging out with Naomi and bullying Sree.. Brings back good ol memories, staying over at Naomi's place (which is in need of more heating!), just chatting and listening to her ramble bout guys... hehe.. I Miss u Naomiiii!
Naomi is becoming an excellent cook! Her Tom Yum is Amazing!! and i happened to crave tom yum for such a long time... Thank You Naomi!!Sree was so sweet accompanying Naomi and I shopping.. like a walking clothes rack, he held my jackets and bag while i happily shopped! He also made us pancakes! and Thank you Sree for the Gizmo shirt :D Sree also bought me my first (and LAST) jawbreaker.. it was the size of a large ping pong ball (they sold one a size of a baseball).. that THING was in my mouth for wat seemed like forever!!. -_- Sreee.. what did i ever do to u to deserve punishment like this.... i couldn't talk, I had to take it out of my mouth again and again cos my mouth was soo sore from holding that ball in.. :P Hmph.. I'll never forget this sree.... >:P
Act cute! Sree had to try this hat i wanted to buy.. cos my hand was dirty holding the jawbreaker and Naomi didn't want to mess up her hair:P

Eating and Shopping: the two things that make me contented :D and thats all i did in Glasgow.. no museums, no art galleries, no cathedrals... cos shopping just drains all my energy.. in a good way :D

Beautiful view of Glasgow.. (just on the way to and around the shopping area :P)
This is Buchanan Street, where all the shopping happens :D

Check out the funky slippers... i got the gorilla :P cos homer simpson was too expensive!Homer Simpson gobbling up sree's feet

The Food we ate the first night i was there

Ate in Rumours the first day, and had just suddenly remembered how much i missed Malaysian food..yum yum..And had fish and chips immediately after!
Deep Fried Pizza... absolutely Fattening.. It tastes just like pizza but oilier.. gotta try it at least once, right :P

I'm sure if u read Naomi's blog you would know that I almost didnt make it back to Edinburgh.. We left Naomi's place at 4, and my bus was at 4.45... so we walked.. and we talked and talked.. and then i looked at my watch --- 4.30... and a long way to go!!Panic was seeping in... So we RAN (Sree just walked, advantages of having long legs).. So scary to almost have missed the bus.. never again will i go through this.. phew..

It was really really great to see my old buddies again :') bunking in with Naomi and crapping with Sree, just like the good ol' days :D

Thank you so much to Naomi, Sree, Li Ying, Jiun, Stephanie, Lily, Yew Wen, Alfred (hope i didnt miss anyone out) for your hospitality!! Muacks!
I'm glad i'm just an hour away from my best buddy and shopping! means i can go over anytime ;)
MUACKS!

Malaysia in UK

2008-11-08T17:30:00.000-08:00

Nottingham games!
An event where all Malaysians all over uk get together to compete against each other in sports..
A place where Malaysians can reunite! and meet long lost friends :')

It was quite a long tiring journey (6 hours in a bus with hard upright seats) but it was worth it to be able to see familiar faces, and speak Manglish again ( aah, the familiar sounds of -lahs and -mahs)..

Look at the sea of Malaysians :D

Met soo many people..
even met my bro's friend seng jian
met old school friends - bernard and hong ping
met ping pong buddies - shiau sang, pei yee, heng kai and ben
Pics!

Nottingham campus is soo pretty :) so many nice trees :D

Malaysian food is sold there too! Nasi lemak.. yum yum... its price is like in Malaysia.. just a different currency... nasi lemak 3 pounds... karipap 3 for 1 pound... hehe
All in all, it was a great experience.. got a bronze medal :D, met up with my buddies, feasted on nasi lemak.. definitely worth the 12 hours of travelling.....

Guy Fawkes and Bonfire Night

2008-11-05T16:54:00.001-08:00

A group of ppl conspired to 'gunpowder' the parliament in the 18th century... the plan was foiled in the early hours of 5th november and this guy called Guy Fawkes was caught and tortured..

On the very night that the Gunpowder Plot was foiled, on November 5th, 1605, bonfires were set alight to celebrate the safety of the King. Since then, November 5th has become known as Bonfire Night. The event is commemorated every year with fireworks and burning effigies of Guy Fawkes on a bonfire.

There is a rhyme for it.. and i've heard the first line of it!

Remember, remember the fifth of November, --> i remember this line! Gunpowder treason and plot. We see no reason Why gunpowder treason Should ever be forgot! Guy Fawkes, guy, t'was his intent To blow up king and parliament. Three score barrels were laid below To prove old England's overthrow. By god's mercy he was catch'd With a darkened lantern and burning match. So, holler boys, holler boys, Let the bells ring. Holler boys, holler boys, God save the king. And what shall we do with him? Burn him!

So, when it involves fireworks, its gotta be the guys of flat 4/6!
fireworks!!! weeeee...

We went up to Carton's hill at night.. it was our firework stage :D beautiful night view of carton's hill below... and the team planning the fireworks :P

Here are some fireworks :D

The quite potong- steam-firework

This is the best one... the Finale.... the guys were trying to blow up a melon and pierced the melon with the firework...
note the little shadows of people running away...

This is theo eating THE melon that was meant to explode but did not...

Alarm....

2008-11-05T04:22:00.000-08:00

I was woken up by a loud ringing. i realised it was the fire alarm.. I looked at my watch.. 3.50 am.. a bit too early for fire drills (they have it every wednesday afternoon).

I went outside my room, and asked my flatmate if it was for real.. but i saw other people going down the stairs to the courtyard, so we just followed them..

We all stood in the courtyard in our pyjamas, and i saw Theo, "Ok Theo, what did you do this time? :P" Theo and Max looked pretty anxious for some reason ( I think Max was smoking in his room)

"uh oh.. i really hope 4/6 wasnt the cause for this"

The crowd cheered at the arrival of the fire brigade. they went up the flats to find the source of the trigger.
"Not Flat 4/6, not Flat 4/6"

We waited anxiously as the man announced " Who is from flat 4/...."
"not 6, please not 6"

".......2"

"phew...."

Random gal: Hoho! 4/2, you are in deep shit!!

Everyone cheered, and went back to their respective flats and back to sleep...

Halloween!

2008-10-30T15:03:00.001-07:00

Its the 31st of October.. Its Halloween!!Chee Mei and I got 'dragged' into a Ghost Tour by Johnny :P we initially didnt have any plans, so we thought.. what the heck.. just go for it...We kinda expected SCARYYY stuff, or at least something to jump up and scare you, but it was mainly story telling, some gruesome, some historical, a few ghostly... not what i expected, but it was alright i guess...After that, went back to my flat to lepak.. Khek tjian was there too, apparently, not studying :PWe were kinda in a restless mood so not in a mood to study or sleep :P
Here's some pics and videos to show wat was happening in flat 4/6 on Halloween...

Buzz Lightyear and Woody!Duck in disguise?! haha.. more like a 'walking box' -according to Chee Mei

Duck in Disguise' s pants is falling... khek tjian helping him hold the box up...A bunch of multicolored grapes?

Supposedly the tin man from Wizard of Oz..Watch the dancing tinman!

This is called beer pong.. where beer is poured into a funnel into the drinkers mouth.. notice the lion and the tinman in the background..

We played ping pong on the dining table and used used glasses as the net! played for a few hours i think @_@

Khek, Louise (Theo's French friend), and me!

Food! (more)

2008-10-27T04:15:00.000-07:00

So proud of this... Sheppard's pie.. doesnt it look yummy.. thats because it is!! muahaha... so golden brown :') our first time was a success!

Tau yu pork with potatos... the potatoes were so yummy! i wanted it to be blacker... chee mei likes it light.. so we took the middle route, and it looks brown..

My fried rice! with lamb cutlets at the side... not bad :P.. pic a bit blur -_-

We had a flat dinner sometime ago..
some of us actually sat down together that sunday and shared our meals :D there was salmon too.. and our tau yu pork....

More food coming soon! ;) (getting lazier and lazier to cook though... :P)

Wind instruments..

2008-10-27T04:14:00.000-07:00

My flat is notorious for noisy blowing instruments... come weekend nights, suddenly the loud horn can be heard across Kincaid's Court.. and it came from my flat.. :P

so.. we've got a horn.. one loud horn...
and if thats not enough.. these smart ppl know how to improvise... see the pipe thingy on the floor.. thats right.. Instrument no. 2

Meet the latest addition to the family... a... not sure wat u call it.. tribal blowing instrument thingy.. emits a low pitch farting sound... It was Jack's present from flat 4/6 guysalso... u see a bottle... they see.. another musical instrument... blow the top of the bottle to produce a single note...

Together... they make weird music... really amusing to watch the 'band' play... too bad i didnt catch it on camera.. ;)

Happy bday Wong Cyn Er

2008-10-27T04:13:00.000-07:00

It is 27 October 2008... it is Wong Cyn Er's bday!!! my lil cousin is turning 11! (11 rite? :P)
Everyone is probably picnicing in FRIM.. with yummy foood.... in the company of loved ones with beautiful trees in the background...
Envy... Wish i could be there to celebrate tooo.. at least bro is there :D eating on my behalf :D
Happy bday! Big girl d;) muacks....

Fall...

2008-10-27T04:11:00.000-07:00

This was taken early autumn.. when trees were still green, and it was still sunny :D

Its mid autumn.... you see beautiful red/peach/orange trees, leaves turning golden, carpeting the whole ground... the nice crunchy sound you hear when u step on the carpet of leaves... yes.. you see me.. smiling happily in that picture with beautiful autumn trees in the background...

What you don't see is the STRONG cold wind (can blow khek tjian away), freezing and wet wet wet weather.... brrrr.... temperatures are definitely dropping.. time to wear more layers!
well.. at least i havent noticed any hailstorm in edin, unlike in glasgow..described by Naomi as "raining sago"

Kafe Batu Keras

2008-10-18T18:19:00.000-07:00

Bro was chosen for a presentation of a clinical case (it was a competition) and he won! so 'geng'...
and as an excuse to celebrate, he belanja-ed me makan in

HardRock Cafe !!!!! my first time :D

It was absolutely crowded and we were told to wait for 40 minutes, which we agreed to spend that time taking pics!

Me with the guitar from Incubus!

The food was AMAZING! the portion was huuuge! Bro ordered this burger with pork, bacon, ham, and cheese in bbq sauce -totally overflowing with Meat!!! Muauauhahahahha.... yum yum
I had BBQ ribs N Chicken!
After all that, i really thought i would burst from being too full... It wasnt cheap, but soo good to eat good western food once in a while :)

a one of a kind souvenir from hardrock cafe! Such a cool pin! limited edition... soo nice....

Ivy's Bday!

2008-10-18T18:10:00.001-07:00

We celebrated at Biblo's after an evening of shopping!
Just drop some pics lah!

Flat 4 / 6 ... can see the hand gestures? ehhe
cool effect of the moving bus!

Tennis days

2008-10-18T17:59:00.000-07:00

Just to show you where we play tennis:

Walk through the beautiful Meadows: (i think it will look absolutely lovely in its autumn-y red look)
Beautiful green field with sooo many trees, on sundays u can see lil kids training up their football, and even little gal's teams are there too... so cool..
It is a MASSIVE place with about more than 10 tennis courts in that area.. We t r y to make it a point to place every week ;P

Things we do in flat 4/6:

2008-10-18T17:36:00.000-07:00

1. Rear goldfish (not allowed)

meet anne frank and himmler (hitler's right hand man)

2. Bring outside furniture into the common room (apparently a fire hazard)

3.Play ping pong on dining tables using beer cans as net (they come up with weird rules so we call it six pong, named after our flat)

4.Play football tennis
rule: the ball can only bounce once on the side of ur court/floor

5. Aim/throw little yellow plastic pellets into glass cups from 2 m... i won 2 pounds cos Theo bet i couldn't do it!

6. do crosswords and sudoku together (so random)

I'm growing up?

2008-10-12T05:23:00.001-07:00

On some days, I feel like i'm turning into one of those independent ladies, doing things i never do at home:

1. I've been cooking and grocery shopping

2. I've been hand washing my clothes (muscles aching from squatting for long periods and lugging heavy buckets of water @_@)

3.I've been sewing! (hole in bro's sock, bro's torn ties)

Well... that's actually all i can think about..

And becoming more active too:

1. I'm in the ping pong team (got matches everyweek against old men and training too.. hopefully i'll start winning -_-)

2.I'm playing the violin more than i do at home, whenever i'm in my room and not studying.. Joining the uni orchestra too, if i can cope :)

3.Occasionally play tennis and use the gym, when i'm not lazy

In conclusion, Without Television and dramas and a kakak, i'm living a healthier, more active and independent life!

Bag Bag

2008-10-10T04:57:00.000-07:00

Handbag Planet is almost here. To celebrate the October 15, 2008 launch, we are giving away a free handbag every hour for 24 hours on the day of the launch. Our high fashion, trendy handbags are inspired by popular designer brands and priced between $30 and $80.After signing-up in one easy step below, you can select the handbag you would like to win. There's absolutely no catch - this means no shipping/handling fees or credit card required. Yes, it's really that simple!

Click here!

Cool gal

2008-10-04T18:03:00.000-07:00

When i came back from my potluck with my seniors, with the leftover cakes in a tray, i entered the 'party' common room in my flat (its max's bday) and offered some to my flatmates and party ppl..
and something weird happened..

Max and Theo said to me:
"Ying, we want to tell you something. You are the coolest girl we've ever met" hehe..
at first made me go "huh? y?" cos its out of the blue.. they said, "u just are"

Too many beers maybe? they do seem very happy :P Might be the brownie and apple crumble (tt we baked!) we fed them:P

Anyway.. made me happy.. muahahaha

Coolest gal? me?? hehehe

Potluck with Seniors!!!

2008-10-04T17:41:00.000-07:00

Food we prepared for our seniors!

Bro made the brownie on the right! yummy yummy!
More pics of food... muahahhaa

Me with the sushi i rolled! muahaha

My bro caught khek tjian eating sarah's yummy banofee cake like a piggy in 4 separate shots with me in the background :D

And we played some games...pairs of number from 1 to 8 (depending on no. of persons) will be given out and the person with the King card will decide on a number, and wat the 2 ppl with that number will do..

Just some of it:
1. ben giving timothy a piggy back ride
2. caterpillar
3. caterpillar backwards
4. hold one leg in a line and hop forward
got more.. like kiss ear (geli), kiss hand, point nose to forehead... :D

Supercalifragisticexpialidocious!

2008-10-04T17:35:00.000-07:00

I went to my First Ever theatre experience.. and it was THE BEST ever!!
Mary Poppins Rocks! The casts were amazing, dance and songs were so entertaining, the props and setting changes and effects can only be described in one word:
Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious!

Makes u wanna dance and sing along!
Definitely worth my bro's 15 pounds :P Definitely... Looking forward to more theatre performances :D

Surprise furnitures

2008-10-04T17:29:00.000-07:00

My flatmates are always full of surprises... walk into the flat, and u'll be amazed by the different ways they can mess the kitchen.. but one interesting thing is their ability to decorate and furnish flat 4/6 with furniture without spending a penny..

the blue one on the left came first.... then a few days later, came the graffiti laden beige couch...today, there is a new addition...

i was walking by, and saw a white sofa on its sides, beside a big dustbin, and i thought to myself : my flatmates will definitely grab hold of it if they set eyes on it.. true enough, here it is :D

Johnny's Bday

2008-09-29T14:39:00.000-07:00

The guys here are soo cute.. look at what they got johnny for his bday... and the way they gave it :)
This was how it started.. tom was blowing the horn as if announcing the arrival of something royal, and theo held this long thing wrapped nicely in a scotland flag :P

Watch the video!
We went to pizza hut to makan...

Khek tjian and i shared a LARGE pizza.. full, too full....the guy in red doing in peace sign is Michael.. we played chor tai tee with him..hehe

This was the piece of cake i got.. looks like a sperm :P.. i think it originally was supposed to look like a balloon.

These Boots are Made for Walking!

2008-09-29T14:18:00.000-07:00

We went walking in princes street the whole day, only to find that boots are not really cheap here... for decent ones, its a minimum of 40 pounds @_@

until i came across... Boots for girls! (children) hehe.. yup.. i got children's size feet :)

and its 25 pounds! Weee
my first pair of boots :) still reluctant to use it.. heheh

And Chee Mei and I fulfilled our mission for the day: to try Haggis and fried Mars Bars!!
*there goes our exercise for the past 2 days haggis jumbo and fries... probably not something i'll eat again.. but i guess have to try it at least once :)Fried mars bars, recipe for FATness and sore throat, but very yummy :P

Dinner at Biblo's (loong time ago)

2008-09-28T03:24:00.000-07:00

It was when we first reached Edin... and all the seniors are to meet the juniors at this restaurant called biblo's.. its tradition, i think? the seniors belanja-ed us juniors ^_^

the portion is huuuuuge! and as a student, u get to buy 2 meals for the price of 1! (buy one free one!!) woohoo!

Thats all of us who went!

Potlucking!

2008-09-28T02:37:00.000-07:00

We havent eaten dinner together in a looong time, so we decided to have a pot luck, at poh peng's place :P
We had Prasad's yummy minced pork curry, fried rice, potato salad, apple crumble, broccoli and mushroom, sandwhich, vege, red bean soup :) yummy full dinner :)
after an entire day of exercise! ( tennis in the morning, a bit of jogging on the treadmill, a tiny game of badminton, and 2 hrs of ping pong! weee)

Then i came back to flat 6 to bathe, i heard this loooud scottish song playing, and out of curiousity i poked my head into the common room to see wat was happening..
Theo, Tom, Jonny and Max where jumping about doing the scottish jig (arm in arm, twirling around)! haha.. i got dragged into the twirling.. hehe... :D
funny ppl...

Have a seat, on Arthur's Seat!

2008-09-24T07:54:00.000-07:00

Its been a tradition for the seniors to bring the juniors up to arthur's seat.. And as a result this is my bro's 3rd time up.. Its no comparison to mount kinabalu, but for an inactive person (like me) its can be tiring..brings back more flashbacks of mount kinabalu @_@ it just makes me sad, to learn bout my depressingly low stamina level.. its not a surprise, but still, very sad.. But over all, definitely worth the climb :)

on the way to arthur's seat

peekaboo!!

there's a nice lake on the way to the Seat

the tiring climb up.......

Finally up Arthur's seat! berjaya! Malaysiaeven dogs can climb, so sure can we!

We thought it would be fun to roll down the hill :P

this sign shows u the right way to get down from Arthur's Seat...

We end our day, traditionally, at kebabish.. for oily fried chicken and fries! what can be better that that? :D

Construction in my flat?!

2008-09-23T14:38:00.001-07:00

I came home one day to find....

This familiar sign i saw on the road... hmmm

and...this huge railing thing that comes with the sign.. i think its a huge towel rack now.. hehe

and ...

a cone? outside my door... hehe.. so cute.. its like "Do not enter"

Cheeky boys..

More cooking!

2008-09-22T14:52:00.000-07:00

The Yummy food we cooked!!

Chee Mei's chinese meatball stew...

Sushi night!
Theo and Max gave a go at rolling sushi...
back row: theo, chee mei, me
Front L-R: patrick, David, Todd, Max, Sarah, Ivy, Khek

Black sauce pork+potatoes... i cooked! muahahha

with mixed vege + eggs :D
Chee Mei and I (noobie) even taught Jordan and Tom how to fry noodles..
Turned out to be yummy! good job :P

Shopping in Livingston

2008-09-20T16:49:00.000-07:00

3 scoops of ice cream (breakfast) + 2 hrs tennis - lunch = hypoglycemia

it was a torturous ride from edin to livingston cos of the nausea.. and tiredness from not having eaten lunch after a day of energy-burning activities.
.. felt weak.. and tired.. but after makan, i was OK.. like immediately... in time for SHOPPING

this is one of the malls in livingston...

Livingston is reallly huge, and has mostly outlet stores, so stuffs here more cheap... i like :) A Cadbury factory outlet!! yummmm

a 5kg, huuuuge chocolate bar!

timothy, bro, me, chee mei!

My room!

2008-09-19T08:58:00.000-07:00

Just to show u how my room looks like...

BEFORE..........

a bit of progress... i think....

AFTER........

Not too shabby, eh :P..................

the hospital

2008-09-17T15:30:00.001-07:00

the royal infirmary of Edinburgh.. the place where i spend most of my time here..

(^_^)

2008-09-17T15:30:00.000-07:00

The night we were cooking curry, we told Theo (from my flat) that curry is not complete without santan (coconut milk) and we couldnt find it here in edin..

Khek tjian: u cant find coconut trees in scotland, can u?

Taadaa ! a present from him! Ah moy Coconut Milk..

The guys here are very considerate too.. asks us if they are too loud or disturbing us, that we can just tell them..

"because u're the onli gal here u get to be special " theo said.. Thank u thank u!!

So, ppl, no need to worry.. they dun bully me.. after all, khek tjian can fight them off... muahaha..

Staying in an all guy flat isnt as bad as it seems.. Fish and i were comparing an all guy and all gal flat..or in other words, her flat and mine...

Fish: the girls very possesive of cabinet space.. Fish actually 'booked' a cabinet by putting her aluminium and food wrap she bought, and a while later, she found the cabinet occupied by someone else's stuffs and her stuff pushed back to the behind of the cabinet... everything they own is labelled..

Ying: Most of our cabinets are quite empty.. the irish guy's parents were so kind to buy pillows and flowers to decorate the common room, and got can openers, ladles, etc so it could be shared among the flat ppl :) the guys also set up a Common Cabinet, with herbs, sauce and watever stuff that can be used by anyone in the flat :)

Fish: each gal has their own shelves in the fridge, and everything is labelled..

Ying: we don't have our own shelves in the fridge, everything is stuffed wherever there is space.. and basically, u may share the stuff if u wan to.. so chillin..

The downside is, guys are messier :P as u can see in the pics, not that i'm a very neat person... and usually the all guy flat is the site for partying (no surprise, they are freshers).. so i can actually eavedrop on their conversations if i wanted too or siing along to the songs in the common room.. hehe..

but give and take the good and bad points.. it really isnt bad :)

Food!

2008-09-16T16:42:00.001-07:00

So far, here's wat my fren's and i cooked together :) Fried spaghetti..

Pita bread!

Fried mee... that guy there is theo, the friendly joker of the flat.. the only one, other than the m'sian buddies who is able to call me Han Ying.. tries to speak mandarin too :P

Mixed vege and curry!!

More to come ;) hopefully...

My new number!! mine!!

2008-09-16T16:35:00.000-07:00

this is my new number.. the previous one was my bro's

07838715171

My new Skype phone!

Hi, I'm Mr. Han Yang

2008-09-16T15:16:00.000-07:00

I'm in flat 6 room 10 of kincaids court flats.. Its a 12 persons flat.. And all my flatmates are guys.. Its weird because they were telling me there were floors where they were all gals.. And also all guys... (same gender flats)

Then ivy brought up a brilliant explanation, that somehow did not even cross my mind for a second..

Previously, the uni had misspelled my name, and mistaken my gender as well @_@ i was frustrated at this, but i had no idea it would lead to this.. hehe!

tak hairan la if Mr. Han Yang stays with 11 guys rite?? :P

so here i am.. With 11 guys.. 10 ang mohs and a khek tjian.. living here has apparently made me known by many in kincaids as 'Ying, the only girl in the all-guy flat'

I can imagine it as a starter of conversations :

"did u know there's a chinese girl in our all guy flat?"

"omg, really? poor thing..."

"yeah, anyway.......bla bla bla"

Here's what happens to the kitchen with 11 guys...

Kitchen before: (example fr calvin's flat)

Kitchen after:

Mummy.. Dun worry, they are nice ppl :) and they do clear up the kitchen...eventually... :)
so far, there are guys from US, England, Edin, Poland and Ireland in my flat.. Most of them are really friendly and quite funny..

One guy even said "dun worry bout living with us guys, we'll take care of u :D"
Haha.. so sweet..
and all of them are probably younger than me cos they are mainly freshers (1st yr students).

Everynight there is a party at each flats.. Pretty happening, with all of them trying to fit into the limited kitchen space, common room and also the corridor :) wonder if they ever get tired...

look at the amount they drink! good news for glass and tin can recyclers, tho :)

Edin day 2!

2008-09-16T09:55:00.000-07:00

we had a short climb up this hill called Carlton hill :) at the first steps, i was having scary flashbacks of climbing mount kinabalu.. but barely 2 minutes of climbing, we conquered the hill!

then we explored princess street.. its the shopping place of edinburgh :D
Pretty expensive, but i'm waiting for the sales!! drooooools

Support street theatre!!! he's a robot who dances everytime i throw some tips into the box :P