Christmas!

Ta da~~!!! Thanks so much for the cards, you guys! It was such a suprise when I received it (I don't get a lot of mail, only from the bank and phone and insurance companies) and even more suprising when I noticed it came from Malaysia and then even MORE suprising when a card appeared! Plus it arrived more than a week ago... It's going up on my wall today :)

Wanted to send one to each of you guys too but then realized I don't have your addresses! Which is absolutely ridiculous... Leave your addresses in the comments please :)

Where I got to know almost all of you... The alien in the smarties' class. Miss you guys!

Was cold last week...

Snow turned to slush...

And I'm going to Italy tomorrow!

Merry Christmas to all of you, dong zhi kuai le and Happy New Year!

Take care and have fun...

:)

Sony Ericsson Hazel?!?!

People! Did you know that Sony is releasing a new phone called 'Hazel' in December??

Omg they named a phone after me!!

=D

DONE!

FIRST SEMESTER FINALS DONE! :DD

and I passed my mechanics course that was a huge pain in the *tut* and the bane of my existence for 3 months. Yes! Yeahh... it's been about trying to pass courses now A's are a distant past. "I just need 8 more points to pass this class." "I just need 30 marks on this test and I'll pass the class" Haha most people were counting to the very last bits of points towards the finals.

I wished I had taken photos over finals weeks though. The misery all around was quite a sight (when you're no longer in it). People looking like they literally walked out of their beds to the exam halls, pjs all around, make up replaced with bruised red eyes, energy drinks flying off shelves, people catching up on sleep in the hallways or spending the night on couches in the study rooms...

That's all over now though. Looking forward to the holidays! woohoo

Singapore In Pictures

Just last weekend, I was in Singapore to participate in the Singapore Debate Open, my first international tournament. Our bus left at 7.30 a.m. in the morning on Friday morning and we didn't arrive in Singapore 'til around 12.30 p.m. The tournament didn't start 'til Saturday, so we still had half a day to spend as tourists as opposed to debaters.

First things first, we gotta find a place that sells halal food for lunch after a strenuous Friday morning bus journey...

Brother Latiff (our head trainer - on the left) knows this place in Little India that sells Bangladeshi food.

They serve really good mutton.

It was pretty good. According to Brother Latiff, it's ALMOST like the food from back home. (He's from Bangladesh. Go figure.)

Afterwards, we got back to our hotel to refresh and prepare ourselves for our afternoon tour of the city. Camwhore!

That's me and Asyraf. He was my team captain for the Royal Intervarsity Debate Competition held the week before.

Me and Arinah, someone I consider as the big sister of the group. She was the one who took the picture of me and Asyraf.

Once we had enough of our break, it's time to hit the streets!

Some of them have really weird names. For instance:

Me, Habib, Khadijah & Arinah.

But the fun part was the bazaar on Bugis Street. Super crowded, hectic and chock full of knick knacks. Didn't buy anything though (not very surprising considering the exchange rate).

Asyraf with Tasneem, a senior debater. She'll be going to the World Debate Competition in Turkey at the end of this year. Rock on!

Super-cute T-shirts. Would probably find cheaper versions in KL. Anyone know where to find 'em here?

Notice how that sign is right above Habib's head.

Look! Something we'd never find in a Malaysian bazaar!!!

So we went inside. Us girls got freaked out by the *ahem* 'sizeable' expectations (interpret that however you will) they had on sale and quickly went out.

After scoping out Bugis Street, we decided to continue on with our journey.

This time, Arinah's cousin, Adila - in the middle - who was in S'pore too, decided to join us.

A view of the mosque at Arab Street. Arinah's the model, Asyraf's the photographer.

Me & Tasneem.

Really cool triangular building. Lily, do you know it's name?

The view from behind the Fullerton Hotel. Unfortunately, I didn't take any shots of the Fullerton Hotel, which is an absolutely beautiful building by the way.

Another view from behind the Fullerton Hotel.

We went to a bunch of other places after that - like the church where we had an old lady try to convert us to the way of Jesus; we wanted to go to a synagogue as well but ran out of time - but by then my camera got a bit schizophrenic so I temporarily stopped taking pictures for the day. When I get some more pictures, I'll be sure to share them here.

Come competition day, I was too preoccupied to keep taking pictures. But I did take this one. Lily? Are you reading this? You might find this one particularly interesting...

The one on the left is Kamal. The one on the right is Zuhri. Yes, I know Zuhri looks weird here. It ain't my fault that he decided to pull a face when I took this shot! He has better pics, I promise you. Those lucky ducks got selected for the international comptetition in Turkey. If only Kamal didn't rank higher than me, then I would be the one flying off to Turkey next week. Haih.

Needless to say, my partner, Shafiq and I didn't manage to break into the quarter-finals. We had a good run though. However, team Tasneem and Ervina (another trainer) managed to qualify. It was an open debate, so even trainers could participate. They even managed to get into the finals! Sadly in the end, they lost out to NUS's Ashok and Sathya (I hope I spelled his name right) even though many people thought Tasneem and Ervina should've won, I kid you not.

Here are the motions:

(Prelims)
Round 1: THW ban singles from becoming parents
Round 2: THW punish poachers and traders of endangered species in the same way as murderers
Round 3: THW cap executive compensation for all publicly listed companies
Round 4: THBT the United States should support and recognise a unilateral declaration of independence by the Palestinian Authority

Quarters: THW establish a quota for parliamentary elections for candidates under the age of 35
Semis: THBT the Western world should intervene in support of the student-led protests in Iran
Finals: THW ban parents from indoctrinating their children with their religion

THW = This House Would
THBT = This House Believes That

Anyway! I'm getting ahead of myself here. The quarters, semis and finals didn't happen 'til Sunday. On Saturday night, Ervina, Asyraf, Arinah and myself decided to celebrate Ervina's break in to quarters by feasting on chilli crabs! (We also wanted to make it up to her for not having dinner at Maxwell Street food court the night before - too much pork served there)

Introducing the Chilli Crabs from a restaurant at Geylang!

Sedap. Sangat sedap.

Are you drooling yet?

(Pay no attention to my antics in this second video.)

Yes, the crab did not die in vain at all.

Oh, yes. It was fun.

Alas, our trip ended on Sunday evening with the announcement of the champions and promised Facebook invitations. As a closing to this short but memorable escapade, we took a stroll along Orchard Road - with our suitcases in tow. What to do?! We already checked out of the hotel in the morning!!!

Yes, I know it's blurry.

'Til my next post, bye all! :)

Spin, world, spin!

Hahahahaha I've just finished a theory class at the uni! Everyone brought a little food to share around cos we're sort of celebrating Christmas with the class today and someone brought 3 bottles of Glühwein too! It's a sort of red wine mix cinnamon mix orange mix lime.... 10% alcohol! My goodness first time I drank so much with only friends and no family and halfway through the class my head started spinning! Actually not a lot lah only two cups! Which is 400ml! Hahahaha Nick I had my first taste of drunkenness without you! Aww I'm so sorry let's go to Langkawi ok! Duty free! Hahahaha omg the world is really spinning... Don't know how I got down the flight of stairs! Probably stumbled and tumbled down! And now I still have to watch a drums concert! Omg world, please stop spinning! Oh and hahaha our class ended 45 minutes late cos we were the last class and everyone just stayed back to drink and chat and eat and we only left when the last drop of wine was gone and a guy was staring forlornly at his cup! Hehehehe and everyone's face was just red and then the dizzy goofy laughter started and then everyone started laughing at nothing and omg hahahaha today is such a good day!

:)

(no title)

Just some photos! Collections from the relatively recent past...

***

1. [July 2009] People hanging on to each other for dear life trying to keep upright longer than the other group. Played this with our small youth group in church.


2. [July/August 2008] Law Olympiad! Good experience cos both teams came 4th and 5th... And a little class-skipping added to the fun too!


3. [December 2008] Sunway Lagoon with close friends! Miss you peopleeeeee~~~


4. [January/February 2009] Flood in Lawas! Mom's hometown. It was Chinese New Year and suddenly the floods came and the water supply was cut everywhere so everyone ate out and so my grandfather's restaurant was full until they also ran out of food and water and had to close shop. =D


5. [June 2008] Sad kitten in pet shop. Cats are all beautiful lah. And I mean ALL. All so elegant! Not like puppies... They all look so goofy with their tongues hanging out.


6. [May 2008] Chicken rice balls in Melaka. Ignore the ads about them! The normal rice tastes way better than the balls.


7. [May 2008] Laksamana Cheng Ho's boat? Also in Melaka.


8. [August 2009] Komura! Japanese buffet... It's somewhere in KL in a hotel which I think is called Corus or Coral or something. Food is not bad! And you get to sit cross-legged on the floor.


9. [June 2009] Cologne Hochschule fuer Musik! Where I failed the entrance exams. XD

10. [March 2009] The one day where lots of people switched off all their lights and lit candles instead. My house! Looks quite homey in this photo...


11. [March 2009] This kid! We were lining up behind him at the cashier's at Giant... He refused to get up from his apparently very comfortable seat while his mom had to pay for the watermelons... Hence the hand on butt. Mom told me off for taking pictures of other people without their permission... Says I'll get sued or beaten up one day.


12. [January 2009] There was a cooking competition at my cousins' church in Lawas... My group's dish! All we had was tofu... Looks yummy but tastes very very bland.


13. [31st December 2008] Fireworks in the sky to celebrate the new year! Whole family watched this from 1Utama.


14. [November 2008] Stephen Tong rally for kids! Turnout was not bad... It was held in a stadium.


15. [October 2008] Bunch of voodoo dolls I gave to a bunch of friends when I came back from Fukuoka, Japan. Hope yours are all still intact! Mine has a skirt... It's turned grey and keeps falling off.


***

Hazel

Spotted in New York

:D

New View

It snowed! :D

Hate Mail

Dear Lecturer,

I understand that lately, you've been under a lot of pressure, and that this is probably the reason why you often snap at me or shoot sarky retorts at my questions in class. However, I'd highly recommend that you pop a bunch of pills and pull that stick out of your you-know-where before I lose it and shove my fist so far down your throat I'd be holding your liver.

Granted, my snide remarks about your inability to get a girlfriend (or is it boyfriend?) may have jilted you initially, but understand that as a student, I'm prone to mistakes. You on the other hand, you 28-year-old jackass, ought to snap out of it - especially since I've been trying extra hard to be nice to you these past weeks.

And before you go off about how "some people are being fake because I have to write your testimonial", I'd like to point out that as a mature individual (which is more than I can say for you), I have no need to kiss up. I'm pretty damn secure in my university placement, thank you very much. If it's so hard to sign a piece of paper indicating I do all your work -which I do, unlike some of your faved students- then don't. I'll get someone else to then. Because if you think I spent all this while kissing up to solely you, you are sadly mistaken.

Have a great holiday!

XOXO,
Nickolai

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

Ok, I didn't actually hit 'Send' on that email and throw my fists up in the air triumphantly after; I decided that the fictional audience of this blog would enjoy my ranting more. (Don't lie..) Somehow, the urge to tell said lecturer off was overshadowed by the fear of being expelled. I'll admit it, it's cowardly. And if being assertive is beyond me, I'll just have to settle for being bitchy.

A 6km Cab Ride Does Not Cost RM15!

Exams are over! Guess who got an A in math *winks*. Sadly, it's probably the only A I'm getting this semester. I should learn from this experience and grow, but I'd rather just whine about it for a bit. Don't agree? Well, too bad, this is my rant and there's nothing you can do about it!

After the final paper (Econs, and oh hawt damn did I mess that one up big time), I took a cab down to Pavillion in KL to meet up with a friend for her birthday. Only, it wasn't Pavillion we were supposed to meet at but instead The Curve. Blissfully unaware of this fact, I wandered the entire mall looking for Italianies where we were supposed to meet. While walking however, I did manage to accomplish a few things; behold my powers of multitasking/observation!

1. Bought a gift for a friend's birthday party on Saturday.

2. Noticed that the entire gay population of Malaysia must've been at Pavillion that day. Everywhere, and I'm not just talking about the cosmetic stores, but EVERYWHERE there were men with handbags, fluorescent mesh tops and hair styles that would make Marilyn Manson blush.

3. Found out that there really is no Italianies at Pavillion.

4. Called up Sarah. She's still living in debate euphoria with back-to-back tournaments. (Sigh.. at least some of us are living it up.)

5. Worked off at least 2kg. My jeans have never been more loose than they are today! There's always a silver lining.. =D

Since I inevitably had to accept that Pavillion did not have an Italianies (thank God or I'd have been waiting there like a douche) I called up Bel to see if I had got the restaurant all screwed and nearly had a stroke when she told me they were in Damansara.

(On that note, I'd probably never see her again, [I hope] but I'd like to apologise to the mother who glared at me as I mouthed off over the phone. Yes, I dropped the big one, the F _ _ _ word in front of toddlers. Not my brightest moment, but you have done it too if it were you! Ironically, Lily's post could not have been better timed. Look below as for why I had to either cuss or start ripping heads off. Really, I chose the lesser of the two evils.)

In any case, I found myself minutes later sitting in the backseat of a cab heading back to Damansara. Total cab fees for the night..*drumroll*.. RM64. Apparently, taxi drivers here aren't big on the 'gaji halal' concept and decided ripping poor me off was perfectly fine. Honestly, I don't care what time it was, a 6km cab ride does not cost RM15!

(For the benefit of my non-existent non-Malay speaking readers, gaji halal translates to earnest earnings)

Arriving The Curve, I made a beeline for Italianies and ignoring the 'there there' look half the table was giving me, ordered a Pina Colada. Normally, I wouldn't condone drinking on an empty stomach, but heck, after that ordeal I deserve a little R&R! Fellow dinner mates were smart enough not to say anything. After all, I did mention the head ripping notions I had..

Sidebar: I've never been to The Curve before and the atmosphere was pretty awesome. We must hang out there sometime!

In any case, I'm about to pass out from exhaustion. Exams are over and the party's just beginning! But I've learnt an important lesson today though.

I just wish I hadn't had those shots tequila so I could remember it..

Cheers!

Miss you people! I wanna hang outttttt...!!!!!! xo

#%$@!!!

I wonder why people love to curse when something goes wrong or not to what they expected or when they’re really damn angry or when they’re simply ecstatic.

It just comes out naturally without any hesitation or second thoughts only for you to realize opps... you’ve actually muttered it out in front of your parents, teachers, aunties, uncles, respected elderly people and they’ll give you this flabbergasted look, snap out of it & reprimand you not to say ‘that’ word ever again.

But I take it that these words we frequently use which are clearly classified as profanity is just a form of expressing ourselves. And yes, to a certain extent, it helps release stress.

Picture this - getting backstabbed by someone you trusted or badmouthed by someone you knew or cheated by someone you loved and you’re not able to utter a single insult about that person ... how horrific that would be. Isn’t it a relief to be able to string a couple of not-so-nice-to-hear words together while venting your anger? To a certain extent, it makes you feel like you’ve gotten your revenge, leaving you satisfied if not happier.

Nevertheless, certain words should not be mentioned to people & at places where it shouldn’t be heard but I guess it won’t hurt to blurt out these words in a nicer way.

Defecation! (Bio book taught us that)

Nincompoop! (sounds rather cute)

Queen of the universe! (quite majestic, eh...)

Hell should be alright I guess, after all it’s written all over in the book of revelation.