diary of a girl who lives big

Raging hormones

2008-10-22T01:27:00.000-07:00

Yesterday midnight, I had the peak of my raging-hormones days in which my emotions where all unexplainable. Suddenly, I missed Wai Meng very much. It ws so bad that I was tossing and turning during bedtime. At 1am, I was still unable to sleep. I tried to reach him on the mobile, but was told that he's still in the hospital. Like I said, I've changed and became more appreciative since our last b.i.g. arguement. And so, I was ok with it. No fuss. No anger. No frustration. Just my brain telling myself to go to bed.

Unfortunately, it wasn't easy to fall asleep. My head was filled with all our memories together. Thanks to my W910i (sayang sangat.. mwah!), I was singing Cao-Geh and Lee-Hom's songs. Good thing Daddie was sound asleep. Or else he'll think that our new home is haunted by a totally-can't-falsetto (Lee Hom) and totally-can't-rubato (Cao Geh) ghost: me.

Surprisingly, Wai Meng called me when I was feeling shitty over my totally-failed-falsetto while singing Lee-Hom's song. He was back from the hospital. So we went on skype. When I saw him, my tears streamed (!!!!!!). I couldn't explain it! It scared him for a while, but he became convinced as I explained it to be one of my dunno-why cries. When he tried to comfort me, my tears poured (???!!!). He patiently asked me to stop. After some time of talking we paused for a while, and my tears-pipeline leaked again (.....).

Although I blamed it on my raging hormones, but I guess I subconsciously felt that it's not easy to maintian a long-distance relationship. It's difficult to not being able to be physically there for each other, and it's even more difficult to not being able to receive immediate reply due to our 7hours difference.

Dear has been really supportive in comforting me until his housemate reminded him about their muscle-pumping mission. Guess what, he chose MUSCLES over me! Muscles!! Muscles!!! Looking at the bright side, all the sniffing and the nose-clearing worn me out enough to put me straight to bed after.

Dear, we shall survive through this together.

HKL medical checkup in 2hours

2008-10-15T07:59:00.000-07:00

I'd actually finished the entire required process of both submitting X2 urine samples and taking chest x-ray within 2 hours in Hospital Kuala Lumpur (HKL). Amazing huh??!!

Well prepared, all in a bag: 1.5bottle (in case of dehydration); CLEO magazine (expected to last 2 hours); Last Empress (expected to last 1 hour, since almost finishing); The Kite Runner (backup in case have exhausted all light reading material); MP3; apple; Jacob's biscuit (in case kiasu-ism kicks in during lunch time); Polo mint.

I had expected for the worst when it comes to imagining how this day will turn out to be. That's because I was already equipped with all the bad impression about turning to ANY government hospitals for their services. But hey, I can't be blamed for this stereotypical impression, right? Not only I heard of this from other friends who were subjected to 4-5hours of waiting for a full set of body check up, but I was suggested this date (14th Oct) to do my check up when I called the hospital 5 weeks ago. Yes... 5 weeks. But surprisingly, the whole process was accomplished rather quickly: only 2 hours! I didn't even manage to finish my biscuit, nor to touch my mp3 at all! Not to mention not being able to touch both my novels at all, since I barely was able to flip through CLEO.

I started my day at 7am, and left the house at 7.15am. Afraid of the possibility of overcrowding, I aimed to reach HKL at 7.45am. However, the usual morning rush hour jam made me reach at 8.15am. With my ZERO knowledge of the directions in HKL, i walked from the infamous pink gynae block to the main block. Lucky for me, my doubts led me into the information department en route to the main block. The friendly lady-staff made my jaws dropped as she advised me to proceed to the orange building (Wisma Kayu) BEHIND the pink gynae block. i.e. I had to go back to where I started!!!! Without much concern in upholding my c.h.a.r.m... I said "huhhhhh!!!"

Well, look at the bright side, at least I'm now going to the right place. To my surprise, I was the 3rd patient at the Medical check-up department in Wisma Kayu. When I was done filling in all forms, it took another 5 minutes-waiting for my turn. I mean, I didn't even manage to flip open my CLEO!

Inside the room, there was a male officer waiting for me. As if I was the little-worm in his brain, he expected me to know that he was going to measure my height and weight. (!!!!) Feeling dumb, I went on. And again, as if I was living inside his brain, he expected me to know that he was going to test my eye side. (Come on man, communicate!) Conducted highly unprofessionally, he told me that it's time to change my contact lenses. OUCH!! When it came to testing my eyesight for colour blindness, he flipped the pages so fast that it was too soon for me to comprehend the alphabets! sigh... Glad I passed. Imagine if tiba-tiba he go say I'm "b.u.t.a. w.a.r.n.a.",how how how??

After that, the officer told me to prepare two urine samples: One for submission at the Medical check-up dep; while Another for submision back at the Main Block. (!!!!!!!!!) That was definitely another "HUUUUU!!" of the day. But, Thank god the chest x-ray was to be conducted in the Main Block too.

Oh yeah... I was THIS close to being naked, infront of 5 male and 1 female radiologists . *depression* The guys was comfortably standing in the radiographing-area when I came out of the dressing room in the white robe. From his body language, he was seriously clueless about my awkward-self! As if it's so difficult to guess la!

I'm just glad that I've got this done now. PHEW! In return, I rewarded myself with Connaught McD drivethru's ice cream!! Finished that before I reached home. *mmmmmmm* *burp!* YAY! (this close to being buta warna, and was told to change contact lenses)

Blessed birthdays (continued)

2008-10-11T08:07:00.000-07:00

22nd Sept midnight: Tonnes of calls and messages poured in. Thanks ppl. MWAHHHHH.

23rd Sept (actual day): Birthday celebration #4: Meeting up with Hazel and Angeline.

Thanks Hazel: She gave me a really cute birthday-bear. Thanks gal. *hugz*

I had early dinner (supposed to be tea, actually) with Hazel. She was so sweet to have came from BoonX2's (Hazel's honey) place in Klang to wish my birthday. I had no plans on that day as everyone pre-celebrated with me. In fact, I was supposed to leave for Muar on my birthday night, as there will be a prayers ceremony on the following day to commemorate the 100th day since Grandma's passing away. So I went on with the plan . Minus the part that I waited for her for 1.5 hours reading my Last Empress of China, the meeting was fun la. Later, Angeline even joined us for a short chit chat.

From left: Hazel, Me, Angeline.

30th Sept: Birthday celebration #5: 5* Fine-dining experience in Baan Rim Pa restaurant, Phuket.

We enjoyed the most authentic Thai food overlooking Patong Beach as the restaurant was located above the cliff. LyeKhuan, PeiShan, WenYan and Chris were so sweet to have suggested a sunset-dining as my belated birthday celebration (but was on dutch ... larhhh.....) Well it LyeKhuan's idea initially as she stumbled upon a website that highly recommended sunset-dining in Phuket. It was supposed to be another restaurant that carries the white-theme. But dunno what happened larh..... we couldn't reach the restaurant despite countless calling-attempts. Thanks to Miss Thidarat of Deevana Patong Resort & Spa, we were suggested to make a reservation at this restaurant instead.

Check this out!

Before sunset: We were chauffer-driven to the restaurant. The waitress sort of gave up on asking us for drinks orders after being turned down several times as we were busy cam-whoring.

Baan Rim Pa lived up to its name of "home of the cliff" as the restaurant took the setting of the previous holiday-home of its American owner. That night, we simply enjoyed the Patong beach's calming breeze and romantic candle lights. It was a classical example of great food & good company (albeit the extremely small serving). Price was also pure-classic: What do you expect from a restaurant who charges small soup-bowl-sized of green curry for 320Baht; while fried noodle for 250Baht; and mineral water for 45Baht??????? What were were thinking la since most of the clients there were mat-salehs????

Chris's 3rd shot on the 2sec-timer: Thanks chris =)

Ultimate Cam-whore skills: Lye Khuan looks like fish from this angle.....

Alcohol taking-effect: From left, WenYan (ooo.... you face looks so small!), Pei Shan (thinks she released her pouty-lips), Me (after my strawberry margarita), and LyeKhuan (who... really... is usually not like this. And yet she claims that her pinna colada has ZERO alcohol!)

Thanks everyone for giving me such a special 23rd bday celebrations. I love ya all lotssss!!! *mwahhhhh* Just when I thought I'm the luckiest girl around, Dear dear's bday card which took-4weeks-to-arrive has finally arrived!! It was 4pm when I saw the card in my post box. Just when I was reading it, his call came. I mean.. what are the odds??????!!! I spent the rest of day/night grinning at the card. Thanks dear. Although this is the first year that I'm spending birthday without your physical presence, but you'll always have a place in my heart.

Virtual presence: Really lovely birthday card from Dear dear. that's two super-fat elephant couple with a....... M.O.U.S.E.?? (Yeah... I screamed to him)

Birthday messages that kept me grinning all night long.... (mom shook her head; dad was speechless)

I'm really lucky to have such sweet family, friends and partner. God bless ya all.

Blessed birthday(S)

2008-10-01T09:04:00.000-07:00

Warning: Super long post.

Thanks to all my beloved family and friends, I had X5 days of celebrations for my 23rd bday.

Celebration #1: 19th Sept, Friday: IMU gang.

Had Nando's for lunch on Friday. Guess what, Ming (expected), XinYin (pushing it larh that gal!), SuAnn (!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!) had extra hot peri peri!! Wat dah... and there was once in Glasgow where SuAnn said (dengan offended-nya)

Su Ann: "huh! How can you compare my threshold to Ah Fhern's??!!"

So ouch!! Luckily i had Kah Yee there. So Kah Yee (my gang) + sore throat= Lemon and Herb. As for me, I regained my dignity by, at least, uplifting myself to Mild Peri-peri.

Sweet surprise: Our birthday celebration was made sweeter by our gifted Su Ann's handmade clay-cupcakes =)

After lunch, I told everyone that I felt like eating Baskin Robbins. So the rest was like... "ohhh!". After we left Nando's, XinYin pretended to be on the phone, followed by excusing herself to go meet her friends for a while. Since Kah Yee and SuAnn were left with me and Ming, they guided the way. But they conveniently bypassed Baskin Robbins. HEY!!!! As if me and Ming aren't MidValley experts larh!!!

We went straight to the cinema floor, where they again, conveniently marched towards La Manila.

Cake-cutting at La Manila: Thanks darlings! Really touched by the hang-out. =)

Plan blew #1: XinYin was caught ordering cakes in La Manila.

- so I wanted to go tease Xinyin by asking if her friend works La Manila. Kah Yee (taekwando black-belt) pulled me back.

Plan blew #2: When we were seated at the table, a frail, spoiler Malay waitress came and said "u want the cake now?"

Have to act surprised: Thanks to miss. spoiler-waitress.

So there you go. Our not-so-surprising-yet-still-heart-warming bday celebration by Xinyin, Suann and Kahyee. Thanks dears!

Celebration #2: 20th Sept, Saturday: Family and relatives.
I celebrated with parents, relatives and cousins. Mom bought me a Black Forest cake from Nikko Hotel. Thanks to my cousin who works as a banquet manager there, we get all Nikko cakes at staff price! *evil grin* We had a simply dinner with relatives from mom's side, like our usual saturday outings for dinner followed by coffee-sessions at my place. Friends who know my family well will understand the indisputable relationship between us & coffee. After that, we had a simply cake-cutting session.

I'm sooooo greedy: I was wishing KUAT KUAT during cake-cutting, so much so that family lost patience and said "faster blow the candle larh!"

One big happy family (minus bro): Thanks daddy mommy!

All the girls in one pic! From left: Samantha (cousin); mommy; Yee Mah (mom's sister); Kao Mou; me; & poh poh.

Celebration #3: 21st Sept: Dear dear's parents.
I celebrated birthday with dear dear’s parents. Coincidently, his father’s birthday is on the 22^nd Sept, just one day before mine. For the past years, we’ve been combining both celebrations. But this is the first year with dear’s absence. It felt comfortable, until Aunty gave me my bday pressie: TAh DAHHHHHH!!

What a big surprise: Not only it's pink, but it also has a PINK SHINNY RIBBON on its ear! Apparently the giftshop-uncle encouraged her to get a bearbear for a 23 year old.... hhhhhhhhm..... Nevertheless, it's really comfy... geh....

We had seafood for dinner: Alaskan king crab, mantis prawn and soon-hock fish. After that, both me and uncle shared a Nikko's strawberry cheesecake as our birthday cake. We skyped with dear dear for about 1 hour, followed by L.I.V.E. cake-cutting session with his virtual-presence.

(to be continued.....)

I'm such a KL girl... shopping!!!

2008-09-21T21:00:00.000-07:00

Ladies-crowd: Risked my reputation as shopping-girl in order to snap this pic!

"Isetan... Isetan... SALE! Isetan... Isetannn.... SALE!!!" I went to Isetan midvalley's presale on previous friday (19th Sept). After one year being absent to no-life-and-cold-cold Glasgow, I've almost forgotten those days where me and aunt will wait infront of Isetan KLCC at 9.45am on presale day. FIY Isetan opens at 10am. So I did it again. But, because it's my first time in Isetan Midvalley, I've reached at 9.55am instead. Although the door was not opened yet, but the ladies-crowd were already Q-ing up outside.

OK I admit... I faked the enthusiasm. In fact, I've stopped having the enthusiasm for shopping ever since returning from Glasgow. I've tried very hard. At Pavillion, I've tried the OOHHHHH AAAARHHHH!! At KLCC, I've also tried the OOHHHHH ARRRHHHH. The more I shop here, the more I realised that KL-shopping is expensive and fugly!

Sigh I really missed those days where I used to get some clothes at 1 pound. Yupp... 1 pound! That happens when stores are desperately trying to clear summer dresses and tops during the winter. Wakakakak!

Looks like if I continue my mentality, I'll need to turn to banana trees for their leaves!

thrown aback

2008-09-14T20:04:00.000-07:00

Ok I admit to be one of those people who takes things for granted. And in my case, all my friends who knew me well would definitely agree that I'm a thrash when it comes to taking Wai Meng for granted.

Now that he's back in Dundee, I realized how much I missed those days where I can easily be in contact with him:-

Back then, I won't even care if we spent enough time catching up on our day. Really! Yeah I know.. RUBBISH right?

Back then, I'll think that it's only natural that he calls/sms back almost immediately unless he's on call in the hospital. Since the on-call days are relatively rare, I tend to watch my beloved YouTube and Crunchyroll and then later send him a message to say "dear, how are you there?" See the lack of gratitude there? Yeah I know.... Super RUBBISH right?

Back then, Alicia would alarm me when Wai Meng calls on me on the phone when we were watching Britain's Got Talent's George Sampson. *me exclaiming: oooooo... wahhhh.... wow!!! go tiger!! ROAR! the world is yours!!! * Obviously back then, my reaction towards Wai Meng's call was "oh... it's ok la! I'll call him back later." I mean... How can anyone not watch this??! So, I, literally, ran away from the call. Yeah I know... Super RUBBISH right?

Back then, I'll only talk to Wai Meng when it was convenient to me. Like.. I'll call or message him only whenever I'm in the room; or after I've came back from the freezing Argyll street; or after I've taken my aunty-stroll to Aldi; Yet he was always there for me.

Imagine, I've even scolded during his departure back to UK when he calls me at intervals of 30minutes since his arrival in the airport until the official departure. His departure night coincidently clashed with my girls' sleepover night with Pei Shan, Lye Khuan, and Yi Wen. So I didn't send him off. R.U.B.B.I.S.H. right? My justification is that, both being important persons in my life, Wai Meng is leaving back to UK on Friday night while Yi Wen is leaving back to Aussie on Saturday night. So since I've accompanied Wai Meng for the past few weeks, religiously, it only makes sense that I bid propert farewell to my friend whom I wasn't able to spend much time with during her short trip back to Malaysia. A sleepover is the best answer. But if i sent Wai Meng off, I won't be allowed to go home because his parents thinks that it's too late and dangerous for a girl to drive back from Selayang to Cheras. So, I chose Yi Wen.

Parting with him from his home was very difficult. It was more difficult than I'd imagined. The strangest feelings overcame me. It was those type of sadness where even at a glance of him sores my heart. It didn't take a second for my tears to start streaming down. I don't remember such feelings when he sent me off to Glasgow during 5th June of last year. Perhaps I knew that he'll be joining me there soon. Perhaps I had the support of so many friends. I don't know for sure, but I know I'm facing this separation all by myself. He responded to my tears by his own stream of tears too. Wai Meng? Stream of tears? Last I remembered, he's those who will laugh about everything: from the happy moments of eating Kit Kat during the freezing winter; to the funny clips on YouTube; and even to the poor uncle who got his leg amputated in due to diabetes complications. I used to pinch him so hard when he starts laughing about pitiful people. But seeing his tears on that night sored my heart more. I remember jumping out from the car even when my engine is all ready to go and his parents are ready to open the auto-gate after my car has left their porch. I didn't care. Finally, I gathered all my might and left him. I drove away with my vision constantly blurred. I called him when I was about X3 streets away, and broke down. Good thing I kind of lost my way after, and that gave me the chance to focus on the road again. But when I was on the main road again, tears streamed uncontrollably.

Woooo: I didn't realize my W910i catches such good quality pic even upon uploading onto the comp! Wah... puffy eyes =) Wah.. details!
Wah.. sparkling eyes like those in anime!

I wasn't really myself during the sleepover, as evidenced by lack of directions for chaos when my friends were all here in my place. I was feeling tired from all emotional torment. This didn't last long, especially after a series of informal-encouragement from my parents and friends.

blankly "Dad and Mom: Haiyah!!! Small thing la!! 1 year only mah!! got skype marh!!"
blankly "Friends: Haiyah!!!!!! You both have been together for so long! What's the problem larh!"

Immediate recovery: Happy sleepover night= fab girls (From left: LK, YW, PS, and me!) + Midnight maggie mee + Midnight McD delivery + fast fast slurping up the melting-cornetto-sundae + gossips + mahjong (Yiwen's idea) + truth or dare over the mahjong game + suckers (Yi Wen) who look for excuses for not telling juicy bits even after losing in the game + Pei Shan choosing to konk out at 3pm + 4 person squeezing on my bed + everyone complaining that my room is like a fridge.

So THESE plus a few more calls from Wai Meng, I soon recovered from the torment after 2 hours. So much so that I snapped off at him when he called me X3 times from the aircraft before it board. During the final call, I said "heyyy why u call me so many times la!! I don't know what to say already!" I'm such an ultimate T.H.R.A.S.H.

After he's gone, I realized how much I missed him. I was already missing him on the final day where I decided to make him a handmade scrapbook to accompany him throughout the flight. It was a book about his short 6-weeks trip back to Singapore and Malaysia. Within these short time, although having to attend to his elective attachments to both NUH (National Univeristy Hospital, Singapore) and Hospital Selayang, we still managed to gain so many memories together. As I was compiling that book, I reminisced about the memories, but it hit me real hard when I see his suitcase gaining content as Wai Meng frantically tried to pack 1-day before leaving.

In fact, I've been in denial about the possibility of the arrival of this day since the day he announced that Dundee University has accepted his application, about 3 years ago. So the reality hit me like a lightning that sounds "haha sucker!! Time to wake up! Who ask you to keep running away from this and didn't appreciated Wai Meng as if there's no tomorrow?" My lifestyle changed entirely after his leaving back to the UK, which later gave me an indigestion problem probably due to lack of sleep and sudden change in meal times. It's only been 1 week, and yet I could feel myself stretching in order to accommodate to him. I wake up at 6am (his 11pm) to say good night to him. After the chat, I'll be fully awake and start rotting around the house. I would then wait for him at my 2pm (his 7am) to say good morning to him. Subsequently, I'll loiter around or help mom to boil soup or to do some gardening. Since I'm not a nap-person, I started to feel like a zombie at the beginning of 3rd day. My mind and body was tired, but I couldn't sleep. Later, I lost my appetite. I would be gearing up til midnight (his 5pm) when he's just got back from the hospital. When we finished talking at about 1am, I'll sleep and wake up at 6am again.

Me? Gardening? : so to lengthen my mom's orchid's lifespan, I took the effort to check online on how to repot orchids the right now. you wanna know how?? Check this out!

My wait didn't turn as fruitful as it was before especially when his schedule started to pick up. So I remember myself showing tantrum on friday, and latest was yesterday. The main topic of our arguement was "I don't want to wait!!!". So bad that I didn't want to hear his concern and also didn't want to wake up at 6am in the morning anymore. The reason being that he's suck at organizing time, hence making me the last priority of his to-do list. Such arrangement would mean that I'll only be given attention at times past midnight. Guess we need more time to adjust.
Sorry dear I was being irrational yesterday. I know you have loads of work to do, and to prepare. I guess when I start working, my schedule will help to fill my mind too.

wah lao eh... singaporian-culture shock!

2008-08-14T20:25:00.000-07:00

I'm in Singapore now. Despite the infamous kiasu-nature of the entire nation, this trip allowed me to see Singapore from a student/ citizen point of view. Because I stay in the nation's uni's campus marh....

Singapore: IT'S SO SAFE HERE!! I know dad and mom will say that there are still bad hats everywhere.... But let's so a direct comparison here... If crime rates in Malaysia is 10/10; the UK is 5/10; then Singapore will be that of 2/10! First when I arrived, I was a little bit paranoid especially after being taught well by dad about what to be watchful of. But I started to see the campus girls LEAVING their bags on the seats of the canteen just for the sake of convenience. When a girl eats lunch at the stools, she'll leave the bag lying on the stool NEXT to her. When a guy wants to get another drinks from the stalls, he'll leave his laptop on the table while he casually leaves his belonging behind.

Malaysia: I won't even DARE to bring out my laptop in the canteen larh! Not to mention my bags will be the next closest fabric to me after my clothes.

Singapore: Apparently, jogging in the middle of the night is a norm here. So, me and WM jogged at 11pm. Haha... yepp! And then, we even went for supper at the PGP's snacks bar at 12.30am. That brought me back to the days in IMU, only more accessible and convenient.

Malaysia: I won't even DARE to drive so lately, quit dreaming about walking/jogging (jogging???!!!) at night! So we can cut the crap and comfortably justify my laziness when the daylight goes off (shit larh.. that's since 7pm!)

That's in the campus.. a little bit too idealistic larh. But yesterday night we had a night out with Kah Yat, WM's childhood buddy and Grace, Kah Yat's girlfriend, who are students at the NUS. They brought us out to Holland Village, the Bangsar-equivalent in Singapore. After some alcohol, we went to their "mamak" to have supper. He offered me to put my bag in a stool standing in the way of the passer-bys.

Malaysia: BYE BYE bag!!

I'm starting to get used to the culture here. But in the beginning, we (me and WM) kept exclaiming that we feel soooo darn cheated by, similarly by IMU, then me by University of Strathclyde, him by Univeristy of Dundee. I'm not surprised that the campus is so huge, as it's the best of the nation. But the good thing is that the university actually provided students with free shuttle services. Not sure about in UM in Malaysia though....

Another thing is the nation's English proficiency loh.... Yes larh it's very Singlish/Manglish larh, but even the aunty selling Katong Laksa can speak English to us. Similarly if I were to speak Manglish to the aunty selling char kuey teow in Taman Midah, I guess she'll decide not to sell me the noodles. Right Ming?

Still, I think i'm more "high-class" in Malaysia due to the ability to drive. I also appreciate the fact that the nation's complexity is directly proportional to the size. Ok loh.. (forcefully nodding) different rulers have different styles loh..... I can't say much for now because I'm counting on a good posting by the government. Malaysia, truly Asia!! I love you Malaysia!!

Dundee's evening serenity

2008-07-09T13:52:00.000-07:00

I've promised Wai Meng to support him through the most difficult period of his course: which is now. So here I am, in Dundee, having cooking as my F.A.V.O.U.R.I.T.E. past time, watching countless Jap animes (Hui Ming nods) and Jap drama series (Xin Hui nods), sleeping for 10hours daily (Bao bao nods), eating the amount double of what I take in Glasgow(Pei Ling nods), and watching rabbits hopping around too!

I took this picture yesterday after dinner, when Wai meng was studying for his exams. I couldn't stand the dramas anymore.

*Korean drama* Stairway to Heaven: Wanna die, die larh! Why run away from the guy and yet still peep peep on him like a stalker? Haiyoh!

*Jap drama* Dream Again: Wanna die, die larh! Why beat around the bushes to let the girl rediscover your existence? Haiyoh!!

*American bimbotic reality* America's next top model: Wanna be a model, go straight to modeling agencies larh! Why let Tyra Banks manipulate you? Haiyoh!!!

*British reality* How to look good naked: What good can posing-nude-infront-of-London-Debenhams do to your confidence? Haiyohh!!!!

So I decided to take an after-dinner walk around the residential area. Knowing the type of gravity that each of my step creates, I zoomed X15 in order to capture this picture. Didn't want to disturb the bunny's family-time. *geeee hehe*

(On the left) Dear's house. The white door below separates their kitchen from the courtyard. (On the right) Bunny's happy-family nest.

I walked across that wee(small)-bridge: the route that Dear uses every morning to Ninewells Hospital.

Down the wee (small) hill.

Off I went to Ninewells Hospital, which is about 10minutes fast-walk beyond this point.

There you go, my life in Dundee. But I'm not complaining, because Dear dear can seriously use some intense support now.

Dad, Mom, Boy I miss you!

2008-06-27T08:51:00.000-07:00

Can't wait can't wait can't wait!!

I can't wait to see you all again tomorrow in Heathrow. Mwah mwah mwah.

I don't have a good picture of my family larh!! Some how it was difficult to find one where ALL four of us look nice in it. Don't believe?

Reject!!: CNY 2007: I look like I'm wearing a wig in this picture.

Reject!!: Ah Boy closed his single eyelid "petite" eyes, which he claimed that it's more prone to appearing "closed" at any point of a time.

Perhaps my X1 blink is equivalent to his 1.5 blinks. I'm evil! I'm evil!

Reject!!: Some random pic larh! It looks as if Me and Daddie have peed across the stairs

For this reason, we shall take lots and lotssss of pictures in London, Edinburgh and Glasgow. Kaka. Can't wait can't wait! I'll take lots of POLO mint along too. Wanna smell fresh after the 10hr megabus trip. *dopamine receptor already responding at the thought of the journey*

And the good news is that I won't need to put eye make-up. Tonight I'll be going out with juniors to any bars around. So sure will have naturally smoky and puffy eyes. Who needs M.A.C. and Bodyshop and Lancome and Dior? hmp! I'm such an extreme Panglossian. brrrrrrr.....

I'll see you in Terminal 3!!

This is my bro:

Miss you Bro: This is my bro in one of his many retarded acts.

Perhaps I'll be smarter if only I had Soke Teng or Chuey Ee growing up with me? Whatever it is, I love him lots! I miss being a complete retard with him larh... Faster come faster come. Anyways, sorry Bro for spoiling your "market" like this. mwahhhh (hypocracy to the max)

Such sweet picture of Daddie and Mommie.

Till we meet again tomorrow, at 9pm! I love you all lots!

What was i THINKING?

2008-06-22T10:30:00.000-07:00

Yeah I know I'm a pharmacy graduate and has gracefully (I know I know...) upheld the Law family-name and expectations; Yeah I know I've been succesfully striking a balance (I know I know...) between playing-aimlessly and studying high technical pharmacy-related syllabus; Yeah I know I've been brought up to be kind (I know!) and modest (I also know); And I too know that I'm active in sports and at the same time is not nerdy;

Oh I'm such a wonder person..

How can a person described as above, actually did what I did yesterday night? I guess it's bad enough that if this was to be in Malaysia or during the ancient-China days, I would be executed for protrayal to the general public. This will be the time where the auntie and uncles tell their daughters to not repeat after me.

Yes yes... I brought a stranger guy home for the night.

Wait wait wait!! It was as bad as it seemed. This guy was someone whom I met during our part-time work in Hampden, Glasgow's national stadium, the place where the Jon Bon Jovi concert was held. It was thanks to him that I managed to come home at 1am instead of the expected-3am. At the end of the concert, we left together with the dispersed crowd who formed the 1.5km-long queue to the train station. HELL! THERE WAS NO WAY I'M GOING TO WAIT THERE WITH THE GLASGOW RAIN AND WIND!

It so happened that he claims that he attends the college around that area, which has an exit that connects directly to the train station. i.e. he suggested that we take that route that cuts through the college in order to skip the queue. I went along with that suggestion.

So this was what happpened:-

#1: We casually went passed the 1.5km queue.

#2: We came to a dark alley.

Ain't real copy: This is the closest google-image that I can come up with to illustrate the scene.

#3: I slowed down with hesitance.

#4: He, who was holding my umbrella back then, saw my disbelief at the sight of the dark alley.

He then said: "Whoa whoa whoa... I'm not like what you think.. Not me Not me! Don't worry". So the truth was that nothing happened, and we happily cut the 3hr queue.

In the train, he mentioned that he'll be spending the night in the open as the earliest train back to his place is at 6am. So I said, "perhaps..... I...... can do something about it." He immediately looked up as if there was a ray of hope. How could I possible turn him down?

So there you go. I knew it was only Li Ping in the birbeck flat yesterday night, and I brought him there just for a few hours of shelter. I even brought him to Tesco Metro so that he can buy something to eat before bedtime.

Indeed he was a nice guy. But can you imagine if something really were to happen? I think I would be the headlines of THE STAR:

"Brilliant, gorgeous, kind, articulate, outstanding pharmacy-graduate in Glasgow, Scotland was so stupid to have allowed a stranger to lead her into through a dark-alley followed by the invitation into her flat. It is such a pity that she studied so much yet is so naive and stupid. Might as well donate the money to charity or to buy a property, right?"

And if you've noticed, I've been using "him" all the while, as I only knew his name when we were in Tesco Metro. His name is Phillip. Here's a representation of him:- I'm using Hugh Grant as my "standard" since they're both from the same continent: UK.

Yeah larh I know might as well don't use that picture at all right?? Yeah larh what was I thinking? Kononnya smart and beautiful (that one add my self one larh).

LIPING am here to the rescue!

2008-06-22T04:06:00.000-07:00

As promised, I told LiPing that I'm going to help to advertise her new bloggie at www.pingpogz.wordpress.com instead of the usual blogspot.com

Poor girl, some cis belaka hacker made her old bloggie to a viagra-advertisement site larh.

p/s: it's quite entertaining though

5th day: ah mah's burial

2008-06-21T04:23:00.000-07:00

Sorry larh I know I've been really EMO these days. Little that I knew that even my Bodyshop makeup kits couldn't mask my mixed-emotions for Ah Mah, as shown by the pictures during our graduation ball, about 4 days ago.

(celaka punya Wai Meng)
Wai Meng: Dear, yea you look pretty in the red dress. But I can see that you look like you're very sad and tired, and you look like something is missing as compared to your other friends oh...

Phuay Fhern: Yeah larh, WHAT YOU EXPECT FROM ME?? My Ah Mah passed away one day before Graduation Ball ok???!!! Haiyah I should have just cut and paste my whole face.

Today is her burial day, and should be my last vegetarian day. I dare not call home as I should be expecting lots of break-downs on hearing my voice. So, I choose to call only on tomorrow, where the reality would have sunk in by then. By tomorrow, Ah Mah would be physically gone from our family, for good. By tomorrow, our Muar house will never feel the same again.

On a typical morning when we're back in Muar, our morning would be awaken by the aroma of both the brewed local-coffee (Aik Seng) and Ah Mah's fried rice, which permeates the entire house. Ah Mah will then nag me for using the tap-water as if my dad owns Indah-Water.

Ah Mah (in hokkien): Haiyoh, close the tap larh when you're brushing teeth. Open the tap later only later when you need it.

Ah Mah would also religiously patronise an old family bakery behind our house which produces good, soft and THICK (ask Gardenia to fly-kite larh!) white-loafs. I remember Daddie claiming that no one does fried-rice like Ah Mah, which will routinely be followed by a glaring stare by Mommie. As for me, no one does meals like Ah Mah. Family times in Muar is always heart-warming. I was so into our family warmth that I asked Ah Mah which brand of rice she used, such that I tend to eat so much whenever I'm back in Muar. Yet even when my family uses the same brand of rice in Kuala Lumpur, there was something missing in the taste of our dinners. Could it be the water? Could it be the smaller rice-cooker that we're using?

I finally found the answer. It was the family kinship that is exceptionally strong especially everyone is back for gathering in Muar.

I miss you Ah Mah. I really Do. You should be already buried beside Ah Gong now. I'm still praying for you. Today, I'll let go of my mourning for you as I know you're now in a better place, and I continue praying for your safe journey.

I love you, always.

3rd Day: Granny I miss u

2008-06-19T11:48:00.000-07:00

Today is the 3rd day of my vegetarian-fulfillment to bring me closer to God, so that he answers to my prayers for Ah Mah's journey to heaven.

Yeah I know. I used to have the image of being a highly-adaptable omnivore because I eat practically everything edible (except frogs in which the Chinese people adores... and internal organs larh) in V.O.L.U.M.E!! Let's see, this is me below:-

Since I wasn't able to attend Ah Mah's funeral, I figured that this was the least I could do judging from how non-religious I am. I'm the type of budak-celaka who only prays to God when I last-minutely finished flipping through my module notes only 2 hours before exams. That's the time I'll start to communicate with Him. Sometime I doubt he hears me.

Phuay Fhern: Dear God Dear God. Please hear my prayers. Please let me sail through the questions in BioPharm/ CPP/ FMT/ PharmCare/ Advanved Drug Discovery/Drug Delivery system/ VIVA interview bla bla bla. I'll promise to be good to my parents, family, Wai Meng, and all my loved ones. I'll promise to change my temper. I'll promise to eat less. I'll be a good person. I'll even pity the beggars on the street. Thank you god.

(on good Days) God: Ok larh. I'll grant your wish.

That's when I get surprisingly flying colours in exams where my brother will say that I'm such a lucky as*h**e. Hey I had that for 70% of the semesters in the entire course ok? No cheating one!

(on normal Days when God realised that I'm a lousy-follower) God: ............ (he dun wan to peduli me!)

That's when I get what I truly deserved for being such last-minute student.

But God, I'm now sincerely praying to you here to guide my Ah Mah's journey to heaven.

Phuay Fhern: Dear God. Please hear my most sincere prayers for my beloved deceased Ah Mah. I'm not able to be with her during the most unbearable moments of her live. I will understand that it was Your mercy which relieved her from the pain and complications due to her septicaemia. All I ask from you, is to make her journey to heaven and reunion with my grandfather, as easy as possible. God, please lead her for she's new to Your place. God, please let her have the peace of mind to stay with you and my Grandpa. God, please bless my Ah Mah's afterlife so that she stays painless and happy. I hope you hear my prayers. Thank you.

This is all I can do as I'm not familiar with any rituals at all, and added by the fact that I'm thousands of miles away from the prayers ceremony in Muar, Johor. As such, I'll continue being a vegetarian and praying to You til the day of her burial on Saturday.

I love you, Ah Mah. Rest in peace.

Ah mah, rest in peace.

2008-06-18T10:00:00.000-07:00

3 weeks ago, I received the news that my grandma, whom I call "ah Mah", suffered from septicaemia was admitted to ICU. I broke down, knowing her chances.

At that time, I was traumatized mostly due to my knowledge in this condition. If I was told about this before my finals, all I knew about septicaemia was that you'll need gentamicin followed by the requirement for gentamicin-monitoring. But this was after my finals, (which proves that I studied!) ....... All I could wish for was that the facts that I studied on the textbook have much room for exceptions.

At that time, I wished that Ah Mah could prove my knowledge wrong. At that time, I hoped that Ah Mah could beat the odds and laugh about this incident when she's recovered. At that time, I hoped that my knowledge was a consequence of exaggeration in Western-medicine.

She fought her way through, proven by her 3weeks unconcious-state in the ICU. Finally she woke up for 1 day, and passed away on the following day. On the day of awakening, she responded to all her children and grandchildren. When she saw the number of supporting machines attached to her frail body and the distressed-states her children were in, she shed tears. She was crying as she knew this had been a heavy burden to all her loved ones, both physically and emotionally. She was crying because she, as well, is clueless about the journey of the battle. She was crying because she was feeling weak and helpless.

She was fighting all the way to her last moments, as she still vomited blood before her passing away. It was Malaysian time 1am, when I was out celebrating Xinyin's birthday at UK time 6pm. When I received my brother's offline message for me at my time 10pm, I broke down and only 2 things were in my mind:-

#1: she didn't wait for me.
#2: I didn't manage to see her for the last time.

When I called dad, he was still very composed. The first thing that I said to him was:-
"Dad, I'm very sorry for not being able to accompany her through the battle"

Daddie was silent, and I could feel him holding back. I wished I was there to comfort him or just to give him my presence. He's always been the support of the family. I assured my parents that I would understand if they cannot make it to my graduation, but daddie insisted that he wants to strike a balance between his love for his mother and daughter. Thanks daddie.

Finally ah mah has decided to go back to the arms of my grandpa whom I call Ah Gong, and God. She has led a good life as compared to Ah Gong. But, if only she was given another 5 years.....

She has always been the reason behind the strong family bond that we all shared. Whenever she comes to KL from Muar, 8 huge families will gather together for both days of the weekend. We'll update each other on our lifes, do catching ups, cook together, eat and laugh, sometimes Uncle Kenneth would randomly contribute his whisky collection and that would be followed by us going CUCKOO.. while Ah Mah will always be sitting there gazing and laughing at our silly acts when we were drunk/high.... These are typical activities in Law family gatherings, which takes place about 6-7 times yearly.

I remember every year's 2nd-day of CNY, where ah mah celebrates her birthday. On normal occasions, all aunts and nieces would start to get ready, together at 3pm and we'll set off to the restaurant for dinner at 7.30pm. Since 5 years ago, Ah mah had been joining our "barbie-doll sessions" too! She asked for her brows to be plucked, and finger nails to be buffed. Haha. In year 2006, we decided to cook in instead. It was quite a hassle, but nevertheless, had been one of her memorable birthdays. Dad was in charged of the steamed fish; aunt lydia's was the gula-melaka prawn; aunt jasmine's was the 8-treasure duck; ah goh's was the fried vegetables; mom's was the fried mee hoon; aunt jessica's was the braised sea cucumber, etc etc etc.

Official family pic.

Unofficial family pic.

She's always considerate and thoughtful. How folly of us to be feeling annoyed by her advices, which at that time seemed like nagging to us. How silly of us to be disagreeing with her mentality? How naive of us to be coming up our own "scientific" arguement to ignore her caring reminders?

They say, "when you can't beat them, join them". Coming from a fun family, my conservative ah mah was often being dragged into chaotic scenes. I remember back from our family trip to Kukub, a small fishing village in Johor in year 2006. Poor ah mah.. hehe.

We shop, she also shops....

After the sinful barbeque dinner, the ladies all suggested to walk walk around. So, we ended up walking around the whole village and even syok-syok sendiri with the tripod to take our night-pics.... kononnya we'll look slimmer this way~~ So we S.S. (syok sendiri), ah mah also S.S.

We go crazy, ah mah also go crazy. Kaka. She must be wondering: "did I produce these off springs? Or did I ter-kutip them from the hospital?"

I'll always remember you Ah mah. I love you very much. You'll always be in my mind. You were a part of me, and always will. Bye. I trust you should be with ah gong right now.

In memory: my Ah Mah.

2008-05-26T09:10:00.001-07:00

Turning over a new blog-leaf

2008-05-26T07:20:00.000-07:00

Ok I get it... and I totally understand the long-held image of

Phuayfhern's blog= kulat/
mushroom/
dong-koo/
fungus/
spider web/
mouldy bread

Haiyah I've heard soooo many versions of it larh!

Well at least now i've accomplished Mission-1: that's to create the list of links to my friends' blogs. Wakakakakakka. Creating the list was so what like going to Mars to me ok???

Today I have finally been able to go through the blogs by all my friends by just a quick browsieee.... until I arrived at CHUA HUI MING's blog. She posted a sweet birthday message for Ah Pei... but who would have thought that the sweet sweet pictures and MemoryLane-ish wishings will end with a blarrrrrdy RODENT???????? OMG!!

(Mickey mouse) Rodent!! What do you expect to see in my blog? of course the Cartoon-version larh!!

These were the sequence to my reactions:

#1: I gasped
#2: I frowned
#3: I closed my eyes and turned my head away
#4: I immediately wanted to leave a comment to "thank" Chua Hui Ming for that careful thought.

Unfortunately, my internet connection went off at the point when I clicked on the "comments" icon, which was so near the rodent-pic! So as you could have imagined, the entire page froze, leaving me and mr.rodent with the most remarkable eye-contact ever. I could literally feel it crawling up my spine larh!

So there you go, what a terrific way of reliving my blogging-life!

Happy burfday Labbie Yeaw, Tze Peiling, Hazel, MinTien (& Adam)

2008-05-01T06:12:00.000-07:00

There you go.. all the exam-month babies in ONE GO!!

HAPPY 23RD BIRTHDAY VyeAW!!

Happy burfday Labbie WeeYeaw: this is his not-so-surprising midnight-surprise on the eve of his birthday *panting*

(and the remaining 3+1 birthday babies) Happy birthday MinTien, Hazel, Tze!!

Heart warming birthday blessings =)

Ok I've at least accomplished my *forcefully* decent side by showing the proper side of the celebrations. *nod* In a way, the celebration was definitely more sober than those we had in Vista during IMU days. Labbie's cake was definitely made by KahYee (Strawberry cake), Hazels' was by Qristine (Chocolate cake), PeiLing's was by me (Oreo cheesecake), and MinTien's was by SuMiin/HeeSiong/KahYee (Carrot cake).

Happy Birthday Hazel: Ooooo.... artistically decorated by Qristine.

Happy birthday Peiling: Am so-not-destined-to-own-a-bakery.

fyi: Me and Alicia actually tried to do some damage control. See larh Min Tien's cake... Even SuMiin's piped-heart shape looks better then my MILO-heart. Gahhhh... I'll just open a store in Pasar malam in the future! yishhhhh.

Happy Birthday MinTien. Can you believe this was done by 2 guys? It was seriously good!

Labbie's cake: Made by KahYee with lots of lots of over-flowing love!

Happy Birthday Adam (MIA).

So there you go. They were absolutely clueless about this. As shown by Hazel and PeiLing's outfit where they wore to Yeaw's surprise birthday party the night before. *Evil grin* PeiLing was even complaining about her F.L.A.T. hair. And knowing Hazel well, she would have dressed up like a peacock had she known that the celebration was meant for her. That girl shed some tears of joy too. Awwwwww hugzzzzz. GOOD JOB EVERYONE!!

ByeBye Spring/Summer 08

2008-03-03T01:26:00.001-08:00

Just when I thought the Winter blues are all coming to an end, Glasgow greeted me with a snowy and chilly morning! Bye bye sun bathing. There goes all my fantasy of sun bathing beside a gorgeous tan-skinned macho man....

I'll see you much much later ok?

Hello Winter... my old friend.. yish yish yish!

What are you doing here larh!! yish yish yish!

ZERO appreciation for modern art...

2008-03-02T13:21:00.001-08:00

Ok... ok ... I admit! I'm just not a modern art girl! But see whether you agree with me larh! Before I start, better say sorry to Glasgow's Gallery of Modern Art.. I remember most of us were doing the "ooohhhh.. Arhhhhh!!" at the sight of this gallery since arrival in Glasgow. Guess what... it's FREE!!!

Glasgow's famous Gallery of Modern Art at the Royal Exchange Square (night)

Perhaps I should just appreciate the outside and stop visiting the entrance of this gallery.

I still can accept this: Yeah... Modern art.....(cracked face)

Monkey, alone : you'll find it in any Malaysian Zoo for RM10
Handcrafted Photo frame, alone: you'll find it in Lovely Lace for RM49.90

Monkey plus handcrafted photo frame: Modern art. Priceless...

Cactus, alone : You'll find it in Sungai Buloh nurseries for RM5 for 3.
Socks, alone : You'll find it in soxworld for RM10 per pair or pasar malam for RM10 for 3

Cactus plus socks: Modern art. Priceless...

Sock monkey: you'll find this in the Gallery's souvenir shop. 3 pounds.

See how ironic modern art can be? I still prefer knowing these objects in their own un-fused forms. Does that make me such a spoiler? Who cares?! Well, perhaps it's better that I resort to my binge eating of cornflakes and chocolates infront of Desperate Housewives.

Can biopharm please speak in English?

2008-02-14T04:05:00.000-08:00

I don't like don't like don't like!!

Is there anything wrong with simplifying a process using "normal-chemical-names" instead of the lengthy and bombastic-lookalike (when it's actually NOT) terms?

Anyways, "sluggish" is already my first name. Been zoning out everyday.

official kick-start of zone-outS:
Actually spent 20minutes searching for the animations that best describes back-to-work. But I found this instead: looks like I'm the dinosaur with the cake on the left!
FIY: this pic is already permanently on my desktop!

Let's see, these are what I've done as I was zoning out:

1) Finally answered to my erupting urge to blog (been surpressing myself since beginning of CNY by justifying with myself that the seemed-to-be most appropriate thing to do is to STUDY)

2) Finally, too, joined FaceBook. What a good diversion: if you can't blog, FaceBook then! Ohhhh... I didn't realise how much i've been missing for not joining FaceBook earlier! When Leah asked if Alicia had a FaceBook, she answered in the almost-offended tone: "of coz larh!! you think i'm Phuay Fhern mehhhh.....". Should I start putting more FATs into the dinners starting now? Maybe I should also bake more cheesecake, chocolate drizzled shortbread, puddings? People who know Alicia well will understand my intention.....

3) browsed various foodie-blogs are made Woh-Tip (Pot-stickers) using dumpling-dough made by MYSELF! (what's wrong with me?)

4) compared (time consuming) between recipes and came up with a "perfect breakfast muffin" recipe.

5) went to ebay (again, time consuming) to bid for Dear dear's valentine's gift.

6) In the mean time, searched through Ralph Lauren website to see the authenticity of the item that I was bidding for. (needless to say, SUPER time consuming)

7) started browsing through website to "PAT" potential-mother's-day pressie for mommy. (oh my gosh... it's only February now!)

8) went to BBC. uk's weather page to fulfill my initial intention of checking on Glasgow's weather in this coming 5 days. What seemed to be easily-accomplished within 2 minutes was made complicated, as I went on to check on weathers of Dundee (what has it got to do with me?); Kuala Lumpur (as if it's going to differ much?! as if it's going to affect me?!); Johor (Don't ask!); Muara, Brunei Darussalam (typed "muar" initially becoz that's dad's kampung, but Muara came out instead); heck, I even searched on Maldives!

9) Imeem.com: superb free-streaming of musics!

10) checked BodyShop online because of the e-newsletter that they sent me.

11) checked on online-flowers booking.... was I thinking of sending a bouquet to myself when I bunuh diri for failing Pharmacy?

12) Youtube Iron-Chef, really crappy as the show is biased to the max! Regardless of how good the challenger is, the Iron Chefs (konon larh) still win! Nevertheless, I've covered these in half-day: Battle Pears and Chocolate; Battle Eggs; Battle Noodles; Battle aubergine (check this out as is the one of the RARE ones where the challenger won); Battle Foie Gras (yewwwww, before this I was pronouncing it as it is, but from the show I learned to pronounce it as Fuah Grah.... *blink blink*... erm... my distractions are .. educational??!! *Nod* *justified!*); Battle Jumbo Mushrooms; Battle Sushi...... etc etc

13) --------------------------------------i think 100)-ish?

ARGGHHHHH!!!!

Oh, did I mention that I'm currently at the irreversible, irreparable daily rates of at least 3 series of desperate housewives; 2 series of crunchyrolls (dun care whether it's cantonese; korean; japanese; or tagalog!); and lots of iron chefs!

perhaps I shouldn't list the tv-craze out, because ... isn't it normal?? ;P

HAPPY CNY!!

2008-02-14T03:31:00.001-08:00

As I was telling Voon earlier, "looks like we've redefined the impression of studying-overseas". Perhaps not dad and mom since they know the degree of syok-syok-sendiri-ness that we are having here, but aunties and uncles actually thought we're going to eat maggie mee for the rest of CNY!! KAKA! puuhhhh leeeaasseee!! Maggie mee is supper larhhh!!

I'm just going to put a summary (OOO... am so organized) here so that I'll know which pictures I should be hunting to upload them later after our BK-Fusion V-Date later.....

On CNY reunion night, we had a 9-course dinner, and 1 of them had 4 dishes in it (4 seasons)!! Oh yes, we've also got super-small-eaters on board: LeeYin, Ally, Christine, Fionna & SuAnn. Can i conveniently include Ming as well? (she's so going to kill me) We were so full that we actually walked to George Square in shorts, flip-flops, and a Genting-ish jacket (Note: we're in Scottish winter night). When we got back, there was another session to stuff (all food has lost its taste) ourselves with XinHui's bday cake. *burp!*

On first day of CNY, we had a CNY dinner party for the whole batch with our ang-moh lecturers and batchmates.

On 2nd day of CNY, we went out to celebrate XinHui's belated birthday at Ichiban japanese noodle cafe at Queens Street.

On 3rd day of CNY, we had our bahagia steamboat followed by Bailey's. Ohhh... will definitely post pictures of this as SuAnn was sooo flushed! Eng mama is definitely going to ask her to stay away from this bunch of friends! bye bye klang seafood....

Seems like there's no difference between CNY in glasgow and malaysia! haha.

Fhern to Ming's rescue!!

2008-02-14T03:19:00.000-08:00

This was supposed to be a "short" comment in Ming's blog in my attempt to clarify her "straight" preference for jantanSSS. Haha.

But it turned out to be so freaking long for a comment that I'd rather transfer it here to be a post! Ming, you can start thinking where to belanja me dy!! Heh Heh!

-cut and paste-

HAPPY V DAY DARLLINGGGGGGG!!!!!!! muackssssssssssssss!!!

Ah Fhern to the rescue to clear ming's reputation... people, she's straight gilerrrrrr... trust me.

As I was still blur and lost after our kayu-lecturer's workshop (ghee, i forgot what workshop we went thru... kaka sorry daddie mommy for wasting your money!), ming's "radar" got alerted, mata-buka-besar-besar-ed, & SUDDENLY dragged me to FOLLOW so closely behind a mat-saleh with cute ass (coz I've only managed to see the behind) I think it was in the Royal College?

Oh well, it was only for a glance that the guy was classified by Ming as "love of my life" & "Leng Chai! Leng Chai!" & "oooooooooo......". Immediately, people around us stared (perhaps with symphathy: Asian gals never see guys before) as we almost traced the guy RIGHT into his lab.

1 hour away to our V-Date! Happy valentine's day DARLING!!!

Gals night out- Mussel Inn

2008-01-26T09:30:00.000-08:00

Finally, this is the first time that the 4 of us of the ever-close-and-intimate Tzes-Lambs-kembar relationships managed to do a girl's hang out since arrival in Glasgow, which was June 2007. Although it was rainy and windy here, as usual, but our night out can't be any better: we've got the freshest mussels; MOST (see i'm describing in terms of "quantities"?) fresh-baguettes; and the best company by both my tzes (Kah Yee and Pei Ling) and my kembar (Voon)!!

We went to Mussel Inn on Hope Street. (thanks to Hansel and Amir's discovery, which now semi-directly brought us here: "semi-direct" is because Hansel brought Voon here for normal-friend (I'm so lying here... pls forgive me) lunch. Then, Voon decided almost instantly to bring her gal pals here coz it's soooooooo good!)

Mussel Inn, Glasgow: We sat upstairs. It was really lucky of us that we still managed to get a table despite our walk-in on a friday night! *lucky!*

This is US before our official revealing of how-much-asian-gals-can-eat in front of the mat saleh. Our appetite actually attracted the attention of the whole celtic orchestral band who were dining just behind us. They're currently on a tour and happened to be performing in the Royal Concert Hall, which is the one near Buchanan Gallery. What a small world huh? And we thought the Roman-fat fat uncle was trying to con us into believing that the figure playing the clarinet in the brochure was him. Well, guess what, It IS really him!

1/2 Kilo pot of mussels: we had 3!! Each cooked in different flavours: Moroccan; blue cheese; Shallots. *bliss*

Here comes the shocking part which set the whole floor (good thing it's a small area) staring at us!

See this basket of baguettes? We had FOUR of them! Yupp!!

Me and Tze (kah yee) went to their washroom, only to realize that even the toilet is blue!! -tze's favourite colour- We picked up the restaurant's pics postcard and brochure on our way back. The restaurant were praising the goodness of shellfish (mussels, scallops, prawns bla bla bla), and dedicated one whole paragraph to mussels being able to stimulate the male's fertility! What da.... No wonder Tze pei ling said the Roman fat fat uncle (clarinet guy) was checking out the waitress' butt larh!!! And he was looking at Ah voon summore... erm.....

Love ya gals lots!! *hugz* Glad we did this! Muacks muakcss!!

p/s: chua ah ming protesting for forgetting her. We better do something about that!

NO MORE LABS!!

2008-01-23T02:57:00.000-08:00

Finally... after the gruelling 14+1 (last day for me to prepare NMR tubes out of my "novel" anti-TB drug) days, I'm now FREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE from lab coats which now stinks like longkang, blue gloves, scuba-diving-lookalike goggles, steel spatula, weighing boats, weighing that counts up to 0.0001 decimal place (tell me about it), water bath at 75C, cooking my silky hands above steam for holding my reaction flask for the entire day above the water bath, waiting for crystallization to happen, collecting the crystals, drying them, desperately scrapping products out with the intention to obtain maximum yield (oh yield yield yield yield!!) to the extent of damaging all the filter papers ETC ETC ETC ETC!!! Ghee i might as well submit my blog post as the draft of my experimental methods?! kaka.

Anyhow, I'm just super glad! Not only the lab sessions were intensely grueling, but my anhydride compound which we were suppose to perform esterification with....STINKSSS!! Oh my gosh... you cannot imagine the stench! Both suannS (khoo and eng) in my group have got their's smelling like intense strong acid; Hansel has got his smelling like cat-shit/ cat-corpse; while Geok Ying has got hers smelling like INTENSE puke! It was so bad that she began to stink like intense puke by just shoving her arms into the fume cupboard to label her materials! yewwwww!! While me and Voon yuen's are just a compilation of all the smells... wanna smell?

So bla bla bla and all the yew yew yew.... finally.... we've got our "supposedly" novel anti-TB compound! Original, yet to be found in literature, super potent, ZERO toxicity compound anti-TB drug molecule!! Mine happens to be a pivalic ester, and it actually crystallized!! great, now i'm going to sound like i'm speaking Greek to those who ain't my group members.... sorry sorry.. OK tuning back to english!

*a picture speaks a thousand words.. what more.. I have lots of it!*

Shall keep this in my "treasure box" and will present to WHO when the world has gone to absolute-resistance towards current TB drugs.
Phuay Fhern: the Nobel prize winner~~~~~~~~~ *proud*

My creation: Pivalic ester that mimics the claimed-characteristics of thiolactomycin, TLM, a potent anti-TB drug.

In lay man terms: that means i'm trying to produce adidas sneakers at pasar malam price! Erm.. suddenly my work doesn't sound that great anymore...........*depressed*

Happy 4th anniversary, dear dear. Oban in our hearts...

2008-01-20T14:41:00.000-08:00

I remember very clearly that dear first proposed to me on 20th January 2004, outside the Marie Curie lab of HELP college, just 3hours before our Physics paper.... (good thing we didn't fail.. or else i would have punched him ! =P)

It was since that moment that dear has been showering and pampering me with unconditional love. So much of pili pala in between... and now... we're celebrating our 4th anniversary in one of the most picturesque places in Scotland: Oban!! Lucky lucky lucky us! When Dad and mom were our age, they only celebrated their anniversary by jogging in Taman Titiwangsa after work, and adjourned to Pudu roadside Fook Keen chao (Hokkien fried noodle) !

Oban is really a nice place. From the postcard that dear mailed to me shortly after his arrival, I thought the place is only "as nice" during summer. But witnessing its scenery with my own eyes had convinced me that Oban is nice ALL YEAR ROUND... even during the gloomy winter!

This is the Oban town.
It looks exactly like the scene in the postcard. There were swans "dating" each other just along the shores. We took picture here because this is where we boarded on the Caledonian McBryanae ferry that brings us from Oban to Craignure of the Isle of Mull. (oh i actually remember!! *proud*)

Scenes from ferry

The ferry leaving Oban harbour. It was a 40mins ride.

However, I really didn't expect myself to feel so sick at the end of the 40mins ride in the near-hotel-interior furnished ferry. I remember seeing a restaurant cafe, bar & lounge, game room, souvenir shop, indoor and outdoor viewing deck in the fully-carpeted ferry! Initially the word "ferry" was more suggestive of pangkor or penang's ferry that were made out of rotting wood planks =P... but it turned out that this ferry looks like a cruise!

We've finally reached Craignure in the Isle of Mull after the dreadful 40mins ferry ride. I was literally "floating" for the first 10mins as I attempted to walk on still ground....No way I'm going to pose with a sweet sweet smile for the ferry. hmph!!

I recovered after that. Craignure is another place to die for..... It's serene, quaint (believe me, the hotels are still using charcoals and wood to operate the stove that heats the building and water!!), and resembles everything that a small town has to offer: great scenery and friendly villagers.

Dear dear brought me to the Torosay castle. Although it's now privately owned by some Lord... but the garden is still opened to public.

I will never forget this place. It gave me the feeling as if I'm in some old victorian British garden!

Looks like the scene in Pans Labyrinth dy.... er.....

This is how Torosay Castle looks like during winter. I can imagine how breathtaking it is during the summer!!

We were extremely near to the ambassadors of Scotland too: the Sheeps and the yak!

Everything went so well until when we made our way back to the Craignure harbour at 1.15pm.... only to realize that the ticket counter auntie has conned us into believing that the 1pm Ferry is bound to be late by 30mins behind schedule: when in fact, it left the Island at 1pm sharp! Great! Now we're stranded as the next and LAST ferry of the day is at 5pm! *numb* We killed time by reading books on Scottish whisky, Scottish favourite meat recipes, Scottish etc etc etc in the Scottish tourist info kiosk. Dear dear became hungry and so we char-siewed on Pringles: ultimate comfort food!

When we arrived back in Oban, it was dinner time!! To strike a balance between celebrating 4th anniversary in Scotland and being 2 frugal Asian students, we'd decided to make our own 3 course dinner! All at the cost of around 12pounds for 2 person! However, if we had decided on eating out in a fancy restaurant.... a 3-course dinner will easily cost each of us 17.80pounds!

Simple setting, but definitely not simple dinner (knowing our appetites...)

Entree : Bruschetta Salvatore (dear's favourite aubergine topped with bruschetta) x4 pieces each!
Main course : (to suit waimeng...)Rump steak with roasted potatoes smothered with brown
shallot sauce. (then, to suit me) garlic and herbs stir-fried prawns. And we happily ate what was meant for 4person's portion!
Dessert : Haagen Daaz Bailey's ice cream!!!! *bliss* *bliss* *bliss*

With self-control in place, the lifespan of the our 500mL tub was delayed up to 12hours: we finished 3 quaters of the tub after our dinner, and the remaining quarter after breakfast of the following morning. *proud of self-control!*

The following day, is the actual day of our anniversary: 20th Jan! But, since i'm going back to Glasgow on the evening bus, we've brought our celebration forward instead. On the actual day, we woke up later since no shops are opened early on Sundays, and walked out to enjoy the scene at the Oban Harbour. Dear dear was disappointed initially due to the cloudy weather. But to me, the world always seems brighter with him by my side.

For lunch, we went to one of the only 2 restaurants in the whole of Oban that overlooks the Atlantic ocean and the harbour, Piazza. Of course, the magnificient view comes with a price too. So.... being frugal Asian students again, we shared a salmon pizza called swah swah swah (forgot the Italian name). And we ordered tap water too: nice nice nice! *cultural experience at minimum cost*

This is the typical scene of the Oban Harbour. Behind us: Caledonian McBryanae ferry docked beside Piazza restaurant, the place where we had our 4th Anniversary lunch of swah swah swah (some salmon pizza in Italian name)

Come to think of it, the pizza could have cost so much cheaper, had they named it in english... right? The same goes to one of another pizza's name "romantica",which was simply tomatoes, ham and mushroom. Just call larhhh ham and mushroom pizza! okok sorry dear, I shouldn't be condemning the restaurant too much. Yeah.. it's nice...

Oban, Argyll, Scotland: where we celebrated our 4th Anniversary (18-20th Jan 2008)

Dear, I had a great time with you. Thanks. I'm sure we will remember every moment shared in this beautiful place. Happy 4th Anniversary. I love you!

p/s: this is by far my longest post! I belief this post has successfully cleared my blog off the "accumulated"-moulds/fungi/bacteria/dust/spider webs.... =)

Paris In winter 2007

2008-01-20T14:20:00.000-08:00

Here's a sweet video of our Paris trip during December 2007, compiled by dear dear. He did it using his free time in Oban and only showed it to me during our 4th anniversary celebration.

Instead of visiting my online album at http://www.picasaweb.google.com/phuayfhern/ParisInWinter,
now it's more convenient to browse through this video. Hehe. Thanks dear! Watching the video really made me feel like it was just yesterday that we visited Paris. I'll sure remember every part of it 4eva! hugs

Thanks Daddie Mommie

2008-01-14T12:02:00.000-08:00

Nothing can cheer a final-year-pharmacy-student-dealing-with-aspirin-synthesis-9to5-daily up better than a parcel from her dearestttttt, sweetestttt and most loving parents from Malaysia. Thanks daddie mommie. *hugz* Thanks Pei Yuen too for receiving the parcel on my behalf, or else i would have been forced to go through the trouble with Parcel Force to retrieve my "boxful of happiness"!

Good things are meant to be shared. Here are the treasures in Daddie and Mommie's box:

Dried goods: mushrooms "Tong Koo", Black fungus "Mok Yee" (obediently stacked below the "tong Koo"; Dried scallops "kong yee chee", Chinese herbs "kei zhee"

Kuantan-bought dried shrimps "har mai"

What can be more Malaysian than this if it's not the familiar, comforting and the enriching cocoa aroma of MILO which mom used to make for us every morning before school. Missing you already Mommie. Of course as we grew up and became more picky (yim chim), we started making our own KAOOOO-version of the drink: 5tablespoonful (considering the serving suggestion being about 5 teaspoons) of MILO powder in a normal 200mL mug. *bliss*

Not to forget the Watson's dried guava which I crazily binge on in front of HBO and Wah Lai Toi programmes. Then, mom will start to shout: "See larh eat so much of those... chemicals arh!!" Of course, during those days, I would innocently nod and finish the entire packet within 1 hour.

Dad took the trouble of hunting for my favourite brand of grilled marinated meat slices "long yoke". Thanks to my parent's influence, all of us only take the hardest textured sliced-meat version; while some other enjoys the softer, melting texture of the minced-version.

This shall be one of the dishes in the 4-seasons platter during CNY later. That's 6th and 7th February. Maybe that explains why daddie sent so many of these goodies?

Oh.... this is a very good substitute to the Chinese waxed meat too. Tried that during my previous attempt in making our own "chicken glutinous rice" (loh mai kai) for the Winter Auspice dinner with my housemates and flatemates. . Yumm yummMM!

These happened to be Daddie's favourite dishes for porridge on a typical Saturday afternoon, or Sunday dinner. Just open these canned goodies and other dishes offered to him will only be "additional bonuses" to him. Dad is one very encouraging person whenever we intend to attempt any new recipes or cooking methods. Daddie criticizes, but will never condemn home-cooked food. In fact, my "never reject" attitude in eating came from Daddie! mmmm... now that explains...

Unfortunately, dad will have to start to cut down on fatty and salty food owing to his health conditions. It's ok daddie. I'll be supporting you all the way. You can do it!!

A1 Instant chicken curry sauce: they never go wrong!! These are exactly what we need here in UK since obtaining fresh ingredients is rather troublesome..... Just mix one of these packets into a pot of chicken and potatoes and LOTS of thinly-sliced onions followed by a gentle simmer for 30mins, and you'll be swept back to Malaysia.... and even closer to mom's cooking!

Mom used to love A1 for giving her the convenience she needs after a gruelling 2hours traffic jam during the typical KL rush hour. Again, perhaps we won't be using these much anymore for Daddie's own good. There used to be a time where Brother said "no" to curry chicken, claiming that it's fattening! And me being the sister happily took over his portion... Less man more share marhh..... better still! *wink*

thanks daddie mommie, again. I see my facial cleanser and moisturizers too. I'm missing all of you already. Love ya lots! Hugzzzzzz!!

Law Phuay Fhern: a series of RANDOM events

2007-12-10T00:34:00.000-08:00

Well, at least the "a series of unfortunate events" written by Lemon Snickets was about other people. But the "a series of RANDOM events" experienced by myself is really testing my patience...

1) Slept at almost 1am because of some RANDOM phone conversation with dear, when the next day is supposed to be the very first day of my research lab session.
2) All 6 of six from the same research group had agreed to gather outside JBC at 8.45am because my RANDOM supervisor (ah Geoff-ie) failed to give us a reply on the time and venue of our lab session.
3) my RANDOM appetite told me that i needed to make a good impression in first lab session: so i happily took in nescafe-kao, double dose breakfast, and finished off with an apple to compensate the guilt-factors.
4) while experiencing palpitations from the coffee-kao, i opened NEMO to check for "possible replies " from my supervisor, only to realize an email sent at 7.30am this morning to change our lab session to 2pm, in lab 355. R.A.N.D.O.M!!!
5) oh well, since it's already impossible to fall back to sleep, i started highlighting my never-been-touched drug delivery notes. In the middle of it, Wen Yan sent me a RANDOM message asking for my home address. Isn't it normal for me to assume that she's asking for my JBC address so that she can send xmas cards or postcards over or something? So i (dengan sakit hati) sent my JBC address to her: RM1.50 gone.
6) Little that i knew that both my best friends were not interested in sending me anything in Glasgow, but they were roaming around my housing area in KL! Hushhhh... R.A.N.D.O.M.!! So since it was my KL home address that they were asking, i (dengan sakit hati) again sent another reply to her: Another RM1.50 gone.
7) after all the hassle, Wen Yan RANDOMly replied "no need larh, Yi Wen lazy already".

R.A.N.D.O.M!!!!!!! All these on an early Monday morning?? No wonder people are at higher risk of Myocardial Infaraction on mondays.

My baking/sinful Attempts

2007-11-17T01:38:00.000-08:00

As a result of not being able to execute my previous days habits of dropping-by-Secret-Recipe as wished, the only way to cure my itch/urge/nafsu is to.. Make it myself!!!

SHEPHERD'S PIE (LAMB): accompanied by Ally's healthy salad and Fionna's lovely tiramisu!
This "feast" was during dear's stay in Glasgow in around end of Oct. Oh, not to forget M&S Irish Coffee which everyone adored to the max, but sadly not me.

Opinion: seriously think that the super-kao milk chocolate could have tasted better w/o the liquor. Or is it because we did not add ice into it?

GUILTFREE DARK CHOC CAKE topped with DARK CHOC GLAZING
Dear dear and SorEng were there baking with me, and so they can be my witness: there's only 3 tablespoons of butter in the entire cake. Erm... dark choc is .... slimming!!
Dark choc is..... less fattening than milk choc!!
Dark choc is..... just cocoa powder!!
Hope the cake gave dear dear and housemates enough endorphine to last through the chilly night in Dundee =)

CHEESE CAKE for Pao Pao (my beloved friend/neighbour)'s 23rd Bday!!!

Me and ally had to secretly (literally) beat the cheese and crush the digestives at 7am in the morning! Afraid of Pao Pao trespassing our side of the kitchen, we did it in such a hurry. In the end, the cheese was under-sweet while the crust is under-buttered. Can I convince myself that this is another guiltfree-factor? OK! Well-convinced!! and then when the baking of the crust gave out such aromatic smell, we had to lie to Pao that the baking belongs to Leah (me and ally's housemate too). Pao Pao actually believed it! *proud*

Paris-Amsterdam-London

2007-11-15T05:22:00.000-08:00

From what meant to be the year-end/christmas trip has now officially became the year-end/christmas/new-year trip!

This was decided on my way back from Dundee yesterday night. How impulsive huh? So, instead of returning to Glasgow for New year, I'm now going to welcome 2008 in London. Can someone please tell me that I'm not char-siew??

So here comes my year end 2weeks trip: First, I'll be leaving for Paris exactly 2days after our (Crap.. i have to look at the text book to get the name. Can't imagine I'm going to sit for an exam on this module??) Drug-delivery Class test. 5Days later, we'll be leaving for Amsterdam in the Thalys train and staying with my beloved cousin Terrance. 7Days later, we'll be in London welcoming the New year and only returning back to Glasgow on the 2nd jan.

Part of me is extremely looking forward to this potentially-unforgettable trip with WaiMeng, yet another part of me wants to spend the new year with my friendssss.... It was still causing me slight worries til Ally called to suggest that we may be able to meet in London. Weeeee... I hope this is true!

Weeee.. my 1st blog!

2007-11-11T00:45:00.000-08:00

(at least officially) Yupp.. indeed!! Seriously, I'll really really try my very best to maintain this attempt!

Friends... if you see me lagging or getting lazy, do SLAP it into me and make sure i'm on the blogging-path again! Strong evidence shown by my friendster's blog.. kaka. It has been lying untouched there since 5months ago, and dust should be accumulating like the cream cheese layer of Fionna's tiramisu cake dy!! (i wouldn't mind though hehe)

It is now autumn here, and i've kissed goodbye to the long-gone 20-ish or 10-ish temperature. The pic up there is the exact view that greets me everyday. Perhaps i'll quickly go snap a few more autumn shots around the campus before winter comes... Neway, HOPE this is a fresh start in my diary of "keeping my blog going".

Waimeng dropped by Glasgow on the previous weekend and both of us ended up bleeding in our pockets:- (in the pic) On HIM is a 95pounds River Island winter coat while on ME is a 69pounds ZARA practical winter coat... Now i feel better (It feels good to make comparisons). Neverthelss, thanks for the great weekend dear!

p/s: Miss all my pals who are all so scattered around the world and some has even embarked on their working career (whether paid menially or unpaid) currently. Wish you all luck!!