malaysian political saga...
i'd say it's more like a soap opera then anything else.
sadly.. (fearfully), it's not.

blown up model, 2008 elections, disgraceful acts, sinful accusations, swearing on the Al-Quran, refusal to swear on the Al-Quran, Permatang Pauh, new member in the Cabinet, ACA, "what's gonna happen to Gerakan?", that trip to Taiwan, whisky and puer tea analogies, "squatters", refusal to apologise, UMNO's big foot down, ISA, blogger's dillema.... and the "latest"... September 16

i can't wait to read tmrw's papers... NOT

the end of an era

let's state the obvious - my blog has been sleeping for the longest time ever. in fact, until today, it was in a comatose stage, almost dead to the world.

naturally, after more then 2 months, you can expect alot to happen. and i'm not just talking about myself.. oh, of course, i'm talking about myself. after going around Europe for 5 weeks, i've graduated from the Bar. i've uprooted myself from London. i've spent quality time with loved ones. i'm STILL spending quality time with loved ones. i've enrolled for driving lessons. i've applied for jobs in KL law firms. i've recieved calls for interviews. i'm home... i'm finally Home.

it almost feels like i'm starting a new chapter once again.

a new beginning.

as if a new era is dawning.

and i can't wait for it to start.

all set!

i'm going for a backpacking trip!!

us 4 - Deepa, Deepak, AhSoo and i have been planning this for the longest of time. and tmrw - 10.50 a.m. - off we fly to Norway.

10 countries, 30 days - it's a mission, a pilgrimage.

here's our so called "well -researched" itenary we came up with:

Oslo - 14th June
Stockholm - 16th June
Copenhagen - 19th June
Berlin - 22nd June
Prague - 25th June
Munich - 27th June
Vienna - 29th June
Budapest - 2nd July
Zagreb and the Split - 4th July
Dubrovnik - 6th July
Italy - 8th July
Greece - 18th July

but here's the joke of the moment -
me being ME, failed to realise i had shortage of funds in my account to last me the whole trip. so badly shortaged, that if i went with what i had, i wouldn't be able to eat at all thru not till only yesterday. (greatness in the making, eh. 2 days before flight!) had to make urgent/tearful/pleading call to mum to ask for more money. so much for being independant and responsible.

so off we go tmrw - to our soul searching, tolerance testing euro trip. i'm predicting i'll know new sides of my 3 friends after this one month adventure. the bad and the ugly.. the shocking and freaky.. the hairy and scary.. (yikes.. scratch that).. [that sounded wrong too..]

anyways, i'm thinking of making a whole blog on the month's adventure. that way, i don't have to update everyday on my on goings.. doubt there'll be so much time to spen in the internet cafe.. but then again, blogging in the super past tense.. would be kinda.. texting. the bulk! so constant updates would be better.. hmm... so how ar?

for now - yayyyyyy!!!

eastern europe, here i come!

bloomsville

walking home from the tube one day,
with the camera in hand and the sun in my eye;
i spotted a pretty yellow flower,
growing steadily in a hedge nearby.


"that's a weird lil flower",
i heard myself say,
(no wider then 2 inches);
no wonder i didn't see it yesterday.


crossed a narrow road,
walked pass that friendly grocer;
behind him i noticed;
was an interesting looking creeper.

is a rose a flower or a weed?
if grown so wild, so carefree;
i dare not imagine its fate,
if someone plans to clear that gate.


now, what else do i see?
not very far away from me;
tiny purplish pretties,
popping everywhere like daisies.


i must have gone overboard,
taking so many pictures that day;
a strange act in my little neighbourhood,
for a passerby asked whether i was "OK".


almost reaching home,
walking pass my neighbour's garden;
i stole another shot or two;
of her tiny little Eden.


too bad i don't know their names,
of these beautiful flowers;
well, i could start googling them,
but alas, that would take hours.

wheee... it's wii!

i've found my fav past time, when i finally got my hands on Wii.
for all the non geeks, Wii's not a Korean/Chinese dude.. i'm talking about the world's best toy, in my book..

it's soooo smart!

i played tennis like a real pro (with actual racket movement - you can even feel the "racket" vibrate when it hits the virtual ball), swim laps, and run.. with your hands.

so, so, so cool.

and Ruey's even more cool to have bought it a day before his birthday party, and let us ceremoniously de-virginized his numchuks and console. hahaha...

oh, i love you, wii!

everyone tells me it's much cheaper back home. i need more confirmation, because i want oone tooo!

FYI, playing wii, olympic games, for hours that day caused ALL of us sore arms... talk about a good work out, eh ;)

i'm freeeeeeee!!!!

no more classes, no more lectures, no more books..

shite.. i'm jinxing myself. results out in July... what a wait..

no, no.. no bad thoughts.

for now, partays, shoppings, lepaking sessions, movies, hullo hours and hours of TV, many nights of novel galore- FINALLY!!

i love The Killers. the killers are sooo cool.

how random.. but tht is it. i'm random, now.

"so come on, oh come on, oh come on.... Oh OOh OuHHH!!"

(to those still with exams... last lap, baby! go go go! worth the effort, really..)

"i'm coming outta my cage, and i've been doing just fine..."

YayyyYYYyYYyYYY!!!

dandy-lions - yes, i'm alive

it hasn't been the most exciting thing to talk about, my life - and to go on blogging about something so drab and blue would be a big taboo...

until, we saw the sun that day. 18 degrees was the most welcoming thing. so wat i did, 9 am in the morning, was to dig up my flip flop from the box i haven't bothered opening since my arrival 7 months ago (gosh, has it been that long?), and did some gardening...




yes, the sun makes u do crazy things...






it brought out the child in me in a way. forgot how fascninating dandelions can be.. and seeing the feathered seed disperse itself from the pod, into the windy breeze brings a happy feel.

u can imagine, i'm sure

look what we saw outside our windows

it snowed!

just for abit.

light feathery, flakey, snow!

when all hope was lost - snow fell in Spring, a day after easter.

what a pleasant surprise

weather post-caste

in relation to yesterday's post (22nd march) on my episode in experiencing what i thought of was a hailstorm. it seemed to be, the supposed "freak weather" was not what i thought it was at all.

we got to learn that what we unexpectedly had yesterday was known as sleet. The Americans would call it ice pellets, apparently.

As Wikipedia (ahem..) properly defined it, sleet is "a term used in a variety of ways to describe precipitation that is intermediate between rain and snow but distinct from hail stones." too technical?

Basically, what we saw yesterday was as extrordinary as i initially thot it was. (we had hail in Malaysia, i remember - THAT was a freak in nature, so thinking it was JUST hail in the end was kinda disappointing). what we had weren't ordinary Hailstones, but part snow, part rain! The fact that it was too warm yestersday (note the sudden sunshine after the short shower), snow essentially, got "deformed" on its way to the ground. But, due to the fact that the climate was not too warm enough to make it turn to rain... snow became sleet! ;)

so, there.. that's a known fact for ya!
who knew my blog would be so informative.. heh~

cheerios

hail-le-lu-jah!

i was going craaaaazy.. being cooped up in my room for so long, trying to remember everything on Criminal Litigation. the Big day is only but on the 28th..

was about to screeeeaaaaam senseless from going thru this long, tiring, non stop ordeal.. when suddenly..


i HEARD it

went to the window.. and screeeeeaaaamed... "SNOooOooOOOWW!!""

of all the little things i knew about snow, i somehow knew this wasn't right. it isn't suppose to sound like that, is it? nor am i suppose to actually hear it, am i?


is snow suppose to look like that? they felt like someone crushed ice and sprinkled them from the sky..



ok, so if you've seen snow before, you would've figured out by now, that this is most definitely NOT snow. but i've NEVER seen snow, and to see crystal like tiny particles falling from the sky on a less then 4 degree celcius day was so fascinating!

i made myself believe it was snow..

but "snow" lasted less then 10 min.


then half an hour later it showered again..

the... hailstorm (may as well call it right), came hailing down mixed in a light drizzle of rain.
All that and the cold temperature didn't stop us from going outdoors.

all the commotion lasted for, again, another less then 10 min.

then.. like "hope" during my desperate moment, the sun came peeking out from the sky. a burst of sunshine warmed up the streets, poured in its goodness into the room.

so beautiful!

changed my mood a 360°...

krrrriiiingg....

last day of Term 2..

this is my Large Group a.k.a Lecture

the beginning of easter "holiday", the beginning of assesment month.

Miss Catherine Hill is telling us about points we should bare in mind when we carry out conference with our clients... and i hear "buzzbuzzzbuzzz... pet peeves..buzzbuzz.. in 25 minutes.. buzzbuzz..." nothing's going in my head. and i should stop before i start typing out what she says verbatim here on this entry. but hey, why not?? no, i shouldn't.. i can't keep up. she speaks as fast as the tapping that girl in front is doing with her pen.. annoying. stop it! the girl, i mean.. not catherine.. catherine's funny.. she wore jeans to the lecture that day, and apologized everyone, cos she actually forgot she had class... yea.. catherine's cool.

Etmoni's giving me the look.

ok, pay attention to Catherine Hill.

five min.. and i'm staring blankly at my juice. i carelessly left my water bottle at home today. so i had to fork out unnecessary money at Starbucks for this lil bottle...

hmm.. interesting bottle..

the lime juice was good, tho..

yes, it is the last day of term 2.. term 3 starts in April.. and then there'll be May.. and then i'm done. wow!

i'm going to miss my Large Group.. term 3 starts of with a new tutorial of 12 blokes and new Large Groups Lectures.. will be getting to know everyone all over again. well, not EVERYONE... cos i learnt that i know 4 future classmates already. and thanks to the popular choice of subjects, all 4 of em are Malaysian buddies... weeeeehpeeee... (hey, everbody is click-ish, k. i have a right to rejoice)

i must apologise for my long absentism. it has been busy busy busy... and monotonous at the same time. busy monotonous.. hmmm...

i know some of ya'll will beg to differ if you've seen my recent facebook pictures..damn tagging! but, mind you, that was last night and it was after sooooo long.

i still dont have a life.

edit: this entry was written partly in class on the 27th of Feb..

more to come, i hope... back to the books!

will think of more stuff to write about. will entertain questions.. cheers to all!

poTAYto, poTAHto

right.

it has been 5 months now.
i still don't speak with a british accent.. *clap*clap*clap*. ok, 5 months is probably still too short of a time, especially when you live with malaysians and hang out with malaysians

(as a matter of fact, even one year's too short! - to all those that come back with tht haughty accent even after a 9 month stay.. i am refering to you.. and i'm going "hahahahaha"..*laugh and point*)

but there have been SOME cultural education.. certain words u'll have to learn the British dont say or say differently.. and you'd have to adapt and change.. or they won't know what you're talking about.
it is, after all, THEIR language.

just a couple of examples i have at the tip of my fingers now...
- toilets are appropriately loos. it does sound more polite/less "vulgar".. but we all know that already
- eggplants/ "terung" are aubergines. try using the word in public. instant britain-fied!
- Leicester square is NOT "Lay-ches-ter Square".. but "Lester Square" -_- tell me about it. i felt so daft.
- ATM machines?

"Oouuh.. you mean the Cash Point, luv?"
-_-.. yessss...

british don't vacuum their carpets.. they HOOVER...
and if a person is a Joker, chances are he's just "all about the banter" ;)

a friend pointed out i have been using lots of "fantastics".. "excellent".. "amazing"s lately.. tho i must say i think i have been using the last two even before. don't i? dunno..

anyways, our brit friends think us malaysians speak a whole different language when we talk amongst ourselves. its so easy to confuse them. just throw in a couple of "la's", speak in a manglish pace.. and walaah! they'll have no clue what u just said.

but what transpired me to write this entry - yes, i have not got to my point - is how come "vain pot" is not an acceptable english term. it wasn't until a couple of hours ago did i realise, for the first time, that calling someone a vain pot, is typically malaysian. i didn't know that!

i might be wrong... or the internet english & urban dictionary is just not updated enough.. i'm not sure
so is it or is it not an acceptable english term?

the reason why i loved Ten Things i Hate About You..
the reason why i watched it over and over again

made me laugh in Brothers Grimm

was so beautiful in Casanova

i thought it was a joke when they told me what was on the front page of the Londoner today..

a distasteful joke, i thought... until i read it for myself.

i was shocked.. so shocked..

to one of my favourite actors

Heath Ledger

4 April 1979 - 22 January 2008

oh, boy

if you're wondering whether this is a scene from one of the zombie movies (think: Shawn of the Dead) - you're wrong. but i won't blame you...

it was 10.30 p.m., at Waterloo. there were HUNDREDS walking in one direction, for kilometres, heading towards

the mothership.

It was New Year's Eve. and london's fireworks were apparently the BEST way to usher in the new year (if you don't have - a family to celebrate with/enough cash and time and energy to spend in a club/ invitation to a really cool and hip in house party...) ok, so it's not really the BEST way to usher in the new year.. But, how can u possibly explain the CROWD.

this really beat boxing day hands down. we practically crawled our way thru - blindly - the very moment we stepped out of the tube station. just followed the loud "new year music" in the distance.. to find ourselves getting sandwhiched even more in the crowd. everyone was just standing around waiting for the countdown in front of the London Eye. apparently the Thames riverbank was jam packed with people as well. whole of london is obviously awake.. i have never ever seen so many people in my life.

then it started -

London Eye Exploded with a spectacular display of fireworks...

believe it or not, we were on the "wrong side" of the river.. there wasn't a proper countdown.. the next thing we knew, the Big Ben started striking twelve, and simultaneously, fireworks erupted. caught off guard

what an experience, tho!

u can only imagine what happened after the fireworks ended. we crawled our way thru back to the nearest tube - duh.. that took, say, about an hour?

london eye bursting in flames... whoever took this was smart enough to be on the right side of the Thames, got there real early, and had a really handy cam corder (just to state the obvious). oh, he was smart to post it on you tube so quickly too...

Happy 2008, everyone!
luck in keeping them resolutions this time...