Mosaic

The general clutter that is my room. And if you look closely you can tell that I'm on Facebook. Now you know what governs my life here.

That's my wall of fame..can you spot yourself on it? =p

Wenz, do you recognize anyone? Oliver named him Wen Wen. Lol.

My pretty maids all in a row...

Don't you just love this quote? But if I made it my motto I probably wouldn't be able to fit through the door.

Cadbury World!!! I swear you can smell cooking chocolate even before you get to the entrance! Heavenly!!!

Doesn't that look like a chocolate river? I'm in Willy Wonka's factory!

Okay, I'm actually on a kiddie ride. But I was, quite literally, a kid in a candy store. So sue me.

Chocolate shoes!! Tannie this is made for you!

Birmingham's German market! Omg, this place is amazing. The food, the handicrafts, the sweets...yum yum. I wanna go back!

*drools*

I couldn't wait till I got home to go shisha-ing again so I found a Rasta's over here.'Cept it's called Aqua. And I dragged my friends for shisha on my birthday. Yay!

Mids and Tara. Dimps was there too, only she refuses to get in front of the camera. One day I'll get a picture of her...

Conversation that day had more than the regular dosage of sexual connotation, most of which involved the words 'pipe', 'suck' and 'blow'. Lol.

And Ash, who seems to feature in a lot of my pics. Oh, guess what flavour shisha we had? Yup, apple mint for old time's sake. =)

Tara spent the whole time trying to blow out smoke and failing miserably. I think this is the only picture in which there is a slight wisp of it. So this is for you, Tara.

And me an old pro, puffing away. Hehe. All that practice really paid off. =)

Pic Post

Coz Wenz insisted.

So this one's all for you dear. Enjoy!!!

First and foremost, welcome to the home of the Bard!

Naturally. This was during orientation week when we were taken to Stratford-upon-Avon to visit with good ole Billy Boy.

That's Mids and her school friend Mai clowning around in front of Shakespeare's home.

It's a bit odd, if you ask me...there's this old rickety 16th century house sitting right smack in the middle of a high street with cafes and stores right opposite. But a comforting and satisfying amalgamation of the 16th and 21st centuries, I think.

I can die in peace now. Sigh.

I love this pic! The churches here are sooo beautiful!!!

Me, Olz and Mids - the Malaysians! (yes, Mids too. She's as good as. =p)

Kaki botol!!! Wannabe. ;-p Oh, by the way, that's my kitchen we're sitting in. And no, that is not the only purpose for which I use the kitchen. I made fried rice!! All on my own! Hehe.

This was taken at the beginning of the night. Imagine what we were like by the end of it. Lol.

L-R: Jenny, moi, (err, forgot her name), Tara (my Law study-buddy) and Heng Yoong (?). Oopth.

Aahh!! I love that couch. Can you tell? =p

L-R: Mids, your's truly, Aishani, Tara, Dimple.

These pics were taken at Heat. Every other Friday night the student union plays Bollywood and Bhangra music. And all the Indians come out to play. Lol. In fact, there's almost always some event or other every night, the best being Top B Mondays. Why? Cheap Booze!!!! Woohoo!!

Suffice to say 9am Tuesday classes are always a miss. =p

Now who wants to come to Warwick? ;-)

Me and Ash!!

Olz, Mids and Ash.

Oooh, did I mention Jay Sean came to Warwick last week!!!! And Amerie before that!! Warwick rawks!!! (Somehow, I can't even pull that off in writing. =S)

Hahaha.

Okay, I haven't shown you my room or what the campus looks like. In my defence, I don't have a camera. *All pictures are courtesy of Mariyam Midhfa Naeem*

There always has to be some element of suspense right? ;-)

Ta ta darlings!! *muacks*

Innisfree

The Lake Isle of Innisfree

I WILL arise and go now, and go to Innisfree,

And a small cabin build there, of clay and wattles made:

Nine bean-rows will I have there, a hive for the honey-bee,

And live alone in the bee-loud glade.

And I shall have some peace there, for peace comes dropping slow,

Dropping from the veils of the morning to where the cricket sings;

There midnight's all a glimmer, and noon a purple glow,

And evening full of the linnet's wings.

I will arise and go now, for always night and day

I hear lake water lapping with low sounds by the shore;

While I stand on the roadway, or on the pavements grey,

I hear it in the deep heart's core.

Swimming lessons just weren't enough

I have so much to say, but don't know how to say it. Fragments of thoughts, snippets of forgotten ideas, dredges of overwhelming emotion all bottled up, fighting for a way out yet incapable of escape.

How do I put in words - in all honesty and frankness - the never-ending battle that surges all day? Of belonging and longing, of happiness and homesickness, of competence and insecurity, of being and believing.

I am washed out to sea. Treading unfamiliar water with the determination of a survivor and the hopelessness of a coward.

Waves of nostalgia, longing, missing, wanting hurl their solid walls at my body with incessant and spiteful regularity.

I splutter to the surface, to be pulled under once again.

How lucky am I?

You know how everyone says the people you meet in uni will be the people you take with you for the rest of your life?
I find myself searching for them everywhere I go. Doing double-takes to make sure I haven't just missed them.

Well I can't find them.

They're not here.

Because I realise I've left them back home.

Most people come to uni in search of those life-long friends or at least hoping to find them.

I've already found them. I have them in you guys. Now how lucky am I?

War-wick mali

Dilemma of the day: How do you cut a pizza without a pizza-cutter?

And these are the people who get into uni.

Fyi, it wasn't me! (Though I am guilty of my fair share stupidity, I'll admit)

Property Law (yes, you read that correctly)

What do you know of England if you only England know?

Think about it.

That, among other things, is what my property law lecturer spoke of today, managing to keep a class of 300-strong in stitches and wonder in equal measures. When a lecturer can make something as dry and impossible to grasp as Property Law enjoyable....well, need I say more?

Gotta read, gotta read, Read, READ, READ!!!

Do you know how much reading I have to do??? It's insane!!!! I mean it's law, of course there's a lot of reading. I expected it, this is no surprise, but it doesn't make it any easier to bear.

I have 8 lectures a week, 2 per module and I have to read up on the week's lectures beforehand. Then of course I have to come back, go through it and make out my notes for each lecture.
And then, I have four separate seminars to read up for each week.
And that's not even including additional reading and the like.

Thank God, I had a whole week of partying during orientation because by the looks of it I might not leave my room or the library till Christmas. And even that's doubtful seeing as they've scheduled deadlines for 3 assignments plus a test the week after we return from Christmas break.

Can you say C-R-U-E-L!!!

And I sit here coolly complaining as my workload mounts. Sigh.

I remember??!!

How much is 3 billion 755 million 998 thousand 251 multiplied by 5 billion 162 million 303 thousand 508?

That makes 19 quintillion 390 quadrillion 2 trillion 844 billion 219 million 164 thousand 508.

I can't even begin to fathom how I retained that in my head all these months. I was lying in bed thinking about it and suddenly the numbers just popped into my head as if I'd only just watched Balqis and Su Yin spout them in rehearsals.

Insane!!!

Wishlist

scratch that

NEED list

1. Concealer
2. Pressed powder, perhaps (hey, that alliterates)
3. Mascara, maybe (now I'm trying too hard)
4. Sunnies
5. Big roomy bag for all my books
6. Winter coat
7. Boots (Yay! I'll finally be able to wear boots)
8. A covered pair of shoes for heaven's sake (all I have are open slippers and sandals. My poor tootsies are gonna freeze off)
9. A funky ornamental belt
10. More sweaters and turtlenecks (surely you can't have too many of those)

I made this list figuring out what I'm gonna do with my hard-earned NST and tutoring money. But looking at it I think I'm gonna have to work for another month to buy it all. Hahaha! And as usual, the list will get ever longer with time.

Hush!

Isn't it odd how the things you want most in life are the self same that you daren't voice out loud? How quickly and effortlessly you hush the yearnings and pleadings of your heart while succumbing to the temptations of the flesh with nary thought. How loudly you bemoan the shallowness of your parents never-ending pockets and whinge about the sparseness of your overflowing wardrobe for all to hear yet guard with jealousy that which you covet above all else.

You suppress and oppress for fear a syllable of sound may shatter the fragile crystal-spun whisper and in its stead offer a multitude of alternatives - coarse and hard - to be flung from mouth to mouth in the careless abandon of conversation. How protective that your deepest desires remain untainted, unsullied by the commonness of talk.

And so you stand guard before the crevices of your heart where they lay hidden from prying eyes.

And in years to come as your feeble heart continues to pound out its slow-dying beat will you dust off the jealously guarded secret and gaze longingly into its depths, glad that it has been kept safe, sound, untouched, unblemished, protected ?

You may well ask what frail whisper I hide that brought on this tirade...

Hush!

Bored-ness!!

Dum dum dee dum...

I am, once again, blogging from the bloody office.

And I AM SOOOOO BORED!!!

Seriously! Just bloody sitting around waiting for 2 o'clock when I have to go out on assignment.

So.........jeez, I have nothing to say. This was exactly what I DIDN'T want my blog to be about. You know, those blogs that go:
"Haihz so hot today larr....need to study coz got exam tomolo but i so bored....sigh...summore so hot i cannot think...wah my brain fry redi k....hehe....ok must study must study....haihz....neway nothing got 2 say....ok...bye...c u...."

Yes I am a snob. An English snob! At least I've amused myself over that, now what?

But omg! There are people here who are just as bad! Now, I'm not saying I'm any good at this. God knows I'm barely staying afloat and I've swallowed quite a few mouthfuls of water in the past 2 weeks but....

I, being the kepoh thought I'd look at all the submitted stories for yesterday, getting tomorrow's news today, so to speak. When I chanced across this story on a charity run. It started out, "Mountain climbing no more fun now raise fund."

Oh my fricking god!!! The other intern, Cheryl and I just fell over each other laughing like maniacs! Seriously, we laughed for ages, non-stop, we were practically hysterical. Haha, I have found another fellow English snob. And then the other reporters who are about our age came over and thought all the pressure's finally gotten to us.

It still gives me the giggles just thinking about it.

Yay! I feel better. Now I better close this page before all the people walking up and down notice I am blogging at work.

The j word

No longer menganggur, but still destitute.

Hahaha! That's right people! Lazy, slovenly, nocturnal moi now has a legitimate J-O-B!

Okay, I don't know about legitimate but... at least I can now give the oven a break and let the TV cool down for a bit.

Guess where I'm blogging from. Go on, guess. Haha.
Serious (-ly overinflated) hard-hitting journalist reporting (not exactly) live from the NST Newsdesk.

I can hear what you're thinking. Yes you, Miss Tan Wen Ni. She can't blog at home but she can blog from work?

Teehee. I HAVE been working. Really! I've crammed three weeks of procrastinating, dawdling, doodling and groaning (think A-Voice) into one day. And OMG getting people to talk to you is absolute HELL!

Today's story was about a proposal on fare liberalisation of express buses and... yada yada yada blah blah blah.....snore.... Well the story's done and submitted and I wait with bated breath for it to clear. It's like being back at school and waiting anxiously for exam results. Will I fail? Have I managed the A? Am I going to get a shelling from the teacher and then another one at home?

It's not just plonking your ass down in front a computer okay! You have to actually go out and LOOK for the story. It ain't gonna fall all wrapped and pretty in your lap. I actually had to foot it to dodgy icky Puduraya to interview people and get shots of them. Okay, so we didn't foot it, we (the other intern, Cheryl and I) took the LRT.

But God it was so tiring and my vain streak had me wearing stilettos today of ALL days!! What an idiot I am. Now my poor feet are swollen and blistered and aching and I don't know how I'm going to manage the walk to the lrt station.

Aah, the life of a working woman.

I'm not complaining. Well, yes I am. But only on a superficial level. I actually like work, despite feeling like a complete moron nearly all of the time. Really.

I'm looking forward to June the 15th when I finish my internship but at the same time I'm enjoying the days I have left.

Let me go home already!!!!

When...

When you are awake most of the night and asleep through much of the day


When the highlight of your day is pick-up duty


When you've memorised the time slots of all your favourite programmes
and never miss them


When you watch repeats of Oprah


When your pigsty of a room is now neat as a pin


When you've baked 3 batches of cupcakes in 1 week
and find yourself flipping through cookbooks for more recipes


When you spend the afternoon lying flat on your back on the nice cool floor


When you fantasise about being in class
or hold 3-way conversations with yourself in your head


When you actually have the urge to blog but have nothing to say about your day






When reading can no longer hold your fancy for more than an hour

YOU ARE IN DIRE NEED OF A JOB

Kia Ora

(That's Maori for Welcome)

Here are the long overdue New Zealand pics. Or at least what few Blogger will let me upload. Enjoy!!

Sunset crossing from North to South Island. Breathtaking, no?

Meet Taki the Sperm whale.

Did you know sperm whale have like 10 tonnes of fat in their heads? It acts as a really cool mechanism that helps them dive underwater and stay afloat. And they're called sperm whales because the Japanese mistook the blubber for sperm. Now I could say a whole lot about their declining birth rate and their mistaking fat for sperm...but I'm not racist. So I'll just think it. And now so will you. =p


Dolphins!! Pretty pretty dolphins. After we saw the whales, we went to this little cove and there were hundreds of dolphins jumping, diving, swimming...Oh my God it was sooo amazing!!! And they came so close - i leaned over the side of the boat and I could see them swimming belly up just below the surface. That was one of the most incredible sights I have ever seen.


I think this was taken at sunrise, just before our whale watching trip in Kaikoura. Yes I said sunrise! But the sights more than made up for it. And the seasickness. Yup, I was horribly seasick about halfway through. Hated the stupid boat. I would so do it again though!

A rainbow over the Kaikoura whale-watch centre. Pretty pretty.

I forget what this river's called. I can't even remember where it is. See this is what comes of blogging about a trip after a month! But the raging water is amazing isn't it? And so BLUE!! GORGEOUS!!

Wine tasting! Can you make out my satisfied grin? (hmm, not so obvious here...) haha!! I had a blast sampling all the different types of white wine (Coz NZ is known for its white wine rather than red). You're actually supposed to spit out the wine after tasting it, but why waste good wine right? After visiting a few wineries I was pretty sure I could detect the subtle hint of honey or traces of apple or pear. But then again it might have been the fact that they had cards describing each wine. Lol!!

You can't go to New Zealand and not watch the Hakka. This was spellbinding- the woman's high-pitched singing interspersed with sudden shouts from the men had my heart pounding.

And I even got to join in and learn a traditional dance. You might not be able to see it but we're holding rubber balls attached to rope which is a traditional Maori weapon.

The guy on the left is actually quite cute, even when he's in fearsome warrior mode. (Notice I'm leaning ever so subtly towards him? Hehe!)

Two things i wanted to do but didn't get to was get a traditional Maori tattoo (yes, the one's done with bamboo) and learn Maori. Sigh. Guess I'll just have to go back there again. =)

See those people on the path? That's us. ('Us' meaning my mum, dad, bro, sis, tag-along cousin who lives in nz and yours truly, of course).

Mount Cook looms in the distance. Pity it was so cloudy but even then standing in the shadow of something so thretening and majestic all at once was ...incredible.

It was a 45-minute hike to get to this lookout point. That's my mum and sister by the way, tired from the walk. And as we were walking back, we saw this group of people hiking up a mountain that looked like it was nearly 90 degrees. *shudder*

That's me about to dive headlong 43 metres into the Kawarau Gorge. Woohoo!! That was the biggest adrenaline rush EVER!!

That's me, doing what I do best.

I love this shot. I think this was in a park in Wellington. My brother, sister, cousin and I were chilling under the tree on the other side. So incredibly peaceful.

My sister and I. That's Kawarau Gorge behind us.

The Auckland skyline by dusk.

The cousins turned alkees! Strawberry bellini is yummy! (My sister got upgraded to wine).

Clockwise from left: my sis, Din (my cousin), moi, Neshan (the one who came with us) and his Siamese twin-my brother.

And my fave pic of the lot - the whole family (mine and my cousins')

from left: Din, his mom (she was the cause of my bloating up like a balloon during our stay), my mom, dad, uncle, moi, sister and Neshan.