". . .sometimes one feels freer speaking to a stranger than to people one knows. Why is that?"
“Probably because a stranger sees us the way we are, not as he wishes to think we are."

/The Shadow of Wind, Carlos Ruiz Zafón

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Ok hello. Dont worry, I'm not gng to talk about the moon (though it was very pwweetty last night too). I'm gng to talk about nail polish, lip balm and eyeliner. HAHA

Okay so.
I bought a set of nail polish from Claire's (it was on sale you see) two days ago. Well, it's not very good. Yes, the colours are pretty. But I applied like three coats before I got THE colour. Plus, it takes ages to dry. Being a klutz I am, the paint keeps getting ruined, so much so that I've to redo it for like three times. And even after that, I still have to do a few damage control here and there. AND. Their special brush for nail art is just.. really not for nail art. Graahh. I shld have just stick to my usual BarryM. BarryM nail polish is very good. Pretty colours, dries fast, and you dont have to apply so many times to get the colour you're supposed to get ! I'm not sure where you can get from in Singapore.. but well, uhm they sell it at Topshop here.

Lip balm.
I know people in Singapore probably wont face a serious problem of cracked lips but if you happen to be one of those unlucky ones, Carmex is really good ! I dont know if they sell it in Singapore though. But a good alternative is Nivea's (:

Eyeliner.
More specifically, liquid eyeliner. A good one wld be New Look's ! I know there's a New Look now at Singapore's Orchard Ion, but I'm not sure if they have their makeup range there.. do tell me if you know (: Anyhows, mine finished a while back, so I thought I'll just try the one at BarryM's (I mean, since their nail polish is qte good, their eyeliner cant be that bad right). I've been using it since I came back from my trip, and I'm still not used to it. Its brush is more like a pencil.. just that you dont have to sharpen it haha. But I feel like I'm poking my eye sometimes haa. And when that happens, I'll blink and zomgg smudge ! But okay, I'm getting the hang of it already. Though I still prefer New Look's..

Okay I think you might be thinking uhmm. I thought you werent supposed to be shoppinggg as part of your nyresolution ? So I'm gng to be more specific in two of my nyresolutions (for accountability's sake haha):

# No more shopping till at least Summer 2010
# And thereafter, strictly no more than one item per month

| Summer 2010= June 2010; meaning, I can start shopping from July onwards !

| Things I need doesnt count. And things I need includes things to keep me warm from winter (eg. Socks [those over-the-knee ones]), things I need to counter the effects of winter (eg. moisturiser blahblah)..

| Okay so. I bought a set of nail polish. But I'd to reward myself after my crit right ? Okay fine. The nyresolution has been extended to July k. So shopping starts in August.

| CNY doesnt count. I mean, who doesnt get new clothes for CNY ? And yeah I know I wont be visiting any relatives, so there's no occasion to get new clothes.. but I also wont be getting angbaos, I wont get to eat bak kwa, I wont get to have pineapple tarts/ love letters/ any other CNY goodies, I wont be getting any public holidays; so are you trying to take away the last of my right to celebrate CNY just because I'm overseas ?!!!

| And dont worry, I've set a budget for CNY. 50pounds, which includes transport/ food and whatnots expenses for the day. See, I even set a day to go shopping. ONE day only mmkay.

If you're still trying to be anal about it, I survived on 100pounds for January k. Feel free to feel shock haha, so yes, I think I do deserve to be cut some slack (:

FULL MOON

DID YOU GUYS SEE THE MOON LAST NIGHT ?!
It's supposed to be the biggest and brightest full moon of 2010, coolzxzxz. I was talking to Fei when I noticed this really huge bright circle. I initially thought it was the reflection of a lamp post or something. But after a second look, thats the moon !! I'm not sure if it's only in the UK or what, but I hope you saw it, cos it's really breathtaking ! Well, to me at least. I cldnt contain my amazement and just kept gng ahhhh so pwweetty hahaha

I took a picture !
But sadly, my lousy camera can only capture 1% of its real beauty.



It so does not look like this k. Haha, but it just goes to show how bright it really was. It's totally understandable if you mistook it for a lamp post (like I did). I went to google and found a 2093583209460x better image:



YES. This was seriously how it looked. No joke ! Unbelievable huh. Plain Jane Moon has finally bloomed. Hahaha okay, I'm so full of nonsense.

Anyhooha, apparently I was supposed to be able to see a reddish star-like object to the left of it (Mars), but I was too distracted by the moon I think. Haaa

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Oh yum. I just had waffles for breaaakkkfassstt :D Ah, the simple pleasures in life. And gosh, I'm so sleepy now. I was taking this Personality Quiz of 200+ questions and dozed off quite a number of times; I gave up ! I'm still deciding whether or not to go college lik, now. To do more work before my crit. Or lik, heck it yknow. Cos I'm so tired now. I think I'll fall asleep while knitting, you think ?

I'm totally gng home to sleep after crit man. And then, ASSA. Hehehe.

I saw this just now:



LOL. Totally made my morning.

I'LL FOLLOW YOU INTO THE DARK

THIS IS A RANT

Before I start, I would like to apologise for my use of language.

I found out today that when shit happens, it happens all at one time. In one day. In fact, it can all happen in a matter of a few minutes.
And just when I think everything's gng well, my knitting machine likes to prove me wrong.
And my seemingly nice threads too. Esp when I'm on my second/third row. Or when I'm about to cast off.
And wow, I can actually just keep knitting two rows, restart. Two rows, restart. Two rows, restart. For hours.
And the tutors/technicians are usually somewhere else, when you need them desperately. Just like how when you're gna be late, there's always a traffic jam.
And hankwinding can actually be such a bitch.
And wool does not like to be untangled, and be a bitch too.
And I can actually frown for hours. Work those eyebrows babeh.
And explicit words can actually be muttered repeatedly so many times in so little time. (i'm only human, dont judge me)
And 99% of the class goes home before I am even done with one sample. No, it's actually before I even START on one.
And yarns like to play hide-and-seek with me.
And my knitting comb.
And transfer tools.
And the moment I fail to check. It screws up.
And even when I check, it screws up.
And this is one thing that is actually more potent than the weaving machine.
And it certainly does not help when I'm doing it for the 2395834096th time and am seriously lacking in patience already.
And even casting on can be problematic.



But then again.
Okay. At least I found my yarns. And finished one sample. FINALLY. It seems to know that I've reached my limit, and it finally stopped giving me problems. Until I was about to cast off. But thank God for Rodney or I'd have jump out the window. I think my patience has up one level. And my r/s with the knitting machine has been brought to a whole new level. Yes yes. It's a love-hate relationship. Oh how I love it. But it's seriously driving me crazy. I guess it's the same with people..

OHWELL.

OK. I feel much better. And thats good. Cos it's not yet 12AM. I dont want to be angry for one whole day. Thats damn sad. Wish me luck tmr. Three more samples to go. I want to make five more if possible, though. And I dont want to make just any kind of sample yknowww. I'm prepared for any shit that might happen. C'MONNNNNNNN.

GOD'S MASTERPIECE

& THIS IS FOR THE REST OF US

"But how did we get here?" asked Milo, who was still a bit puzzled by being there at all.

"You jumped, of course," explained Canby. That's the way most everyone gets here. It's really quite simple: every time you decide something without having a good reason, you jump to Conclusions whether you like it or not. It's such an easy trip to make that I've been here hundreds of times."

"But this is such an unpleasant-looking place," Milo remarked.

"Yes, that's true," admitted Canby; "it does look much better from a distance."

/The Phantom Tollbooth, Norton Juster

-

I've posted this before.
But I think that sometimes, we need a reminder now and then.

Back to Up in the Air..
This is the quote I was talking about.



"kids love athletes, because they followed their dreams."

But not exactly too. He said many things after that which I liked but it's super long and I cant find it on the Internet ! But anyhows, it brings to mind what Derrick wrote about being the 'hero' of one's own 10 years old self. Nice.

Oh and watch this :D



Awesome. Southwest Airlines.
Would love to be on the same plane as him !

cereal, no more

For instance, on the planet Earth, man had always assumed that he was more intelligent than dolphins because he had achieved so much - the wheel, New York, wars and so on - whilst all the dolphins had ever done was muck about in the water having a good time. But conversely, the dolphins had always believed that they were far more intelligent than man - for precisely the same reasons.

/The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy

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Need to go to Waitrose to get more Kelloggs Special K Red Berries.
Need to avoid Waitrose's cereal section. And do some proper grocery shopping.
Need to finish and clear food in fridge.


I feel like drinking coke.

THIS IS FOR YOU

Heard about the guy who fell off a skyscraper? On his way down past each floor, he kept saying to reassure himself: So far so good… so far so good… so far so good. How you fall doesn’t matter. It’s how you land!
/ La haine (film)

-

Bigger Font= Satisfied Readers (ie. Shiming)

Why does nobody in Singapore has Paypal ?! Or rather, my friends in Singapore ! Haha, I think everyone shld get Paypal. Sure, the set-up is abit long and complicated (but you cant blame them, it's for security purposes). But you shld set up now before it comes a time when you really need it !

And I was waiting for my friend outside Four Seasons two days ago. I never knew it's a tourist-sy place. Almost all the tourists who walked pass it, took their camera out and took a picture of/with it ! I dont think it's exterior is very nice. And it's not like they patronised it. So why the picture ? Hmm. Oh and I watched Up In The Air. I like it, it's kind of different. I dint expect the ending. & There's this funny quote:

Why do kids love athletes ? Cause they screw supermodels ? No that's why men love athletes.

Actually, what he (Ryan Bingham aka George Clooney) said after that was quite inspiring but I cant rmb the exact words lah, haha. Anyhows, There are a number of movies I want to watch now-





And other movies that I dint manage to catch, but I still want to watch:

JIGSAW PIECES

"Because, in the end, I believe that everything happens for a reason. I believe that people change so that we learn to let go, things go wrong so we turn to the only one who can make things right again and sometimes good things fall apart so that better things can fall together. Despite everything, we had a wonderful run and I know now that there are some things that are beyond my reach where God has His own plans. He has brought me full circle and showed me that his wisdom is immeasurable and I am in good hands."

/wednesdayelegy.blogspot



Huimin was telling me about this analogy.

This is why we are not squares. We are jigsaw puzzles.
Giving our hearts away does not take away a part of us. We give away parts of our hearts we need to, so that we become who we were meant to be.

We've to be crippled to be strengthened; to surrender to overcome; to sacrifice to gain.

& HAPPY 21ST NSM

I'm sorry this is late.
I cldnt find the folder which saved the picture.
Then I realised I dint have a soft copy of it cos it was given to me by YaoJue hahaha



&hearts

It had to be this picture, cos it's my favourite one (even though we both look like toots. & I know it's supp to be a post dedicated to you but still, it's my blog hahahaha) ! Which reminds me, your brother still has my red glasses..

Okay, I wont write any mushy stuff here cos I dont exactly practice PDA. But I'm glad you had a superwickedawesome celebration. You had Lionel, Sara Wee, 53A and even had make up on (unless your pictures were photoshopped ? haha), so I know you were very happy. But hello, whats happiness without your dear Easter Bunny ? Not to worry, I'll send my love to you with floral prints and laces, via boxes filled with hugs and kisses xx

WHY STILL SINGLISH

"Don’t try to make life a mathematics problem with yourself in the center and everything coming out equal. When you’re good, bad things can still happen. And if you’re bad, you can still be lucky."
/Barbara Kingsolver

-

Ok. I was so tired last night, I was sleeping by 8pm. But now I'm awake, and it's 2am. Six hours. Dammmnnnn. I thought I was gng to wake up at 3, or even later. Why, cos I was so tired I overslept and missed my bus stop for the FIRST time ystd ! But hey, if I keep this up, you know what. I'm nv gna be late for sch anymore hehehe.

I realised one thing bad about having painted nails.
While I was in my semi-awake state, I looked at my fingernails (palm-facing) and I thought I had like clumps of dirt in them :O But after a better look, because the underside of the nails is dark (due to the paint), and after wear and tear, the edges of the paint' eroded, so now it seriously looks like clumps of dirt. Time for a makeover, nails.

And then, while I laid on my bed (still looking at my fingernails..), I started to rmb all my dreams. Sounds so surreal right HA. Ok but anyhows, the first one I rmbed was about knitting (oh yea, it's consuming my life). I dreamt about the holding position of machine-knitting, which I need to master it todayyy (epic fail ystd). And then it was about the OC people, in particular White's face lmao. And in that dream, I dreamt that I dreamt of them before. HAHA. And the third one I recalled, had Rae and Jiayi in them. Um, we were looking for a good snack in this rly big but cramp Chinese confectionery shop. I must be rly hungry. And I AM. Ok crap. I forgot what the fourth one was about. And now it's bugging me. What was it mannnn. I hate when that happens.

Ok I know I'm supp to blog about my life here in London, not a revelation I have of nail paint and illusions, and my recalling of weird dreams.. so right. There are a few people whom I've talked to who says, hey you're still using Singlish !. The reason is, well um, you speak Singlish and I can, so why not. And so yeahh, I do speak in that slang when speaking to Brits in my college. I'm still on my way to perfecting it. It's so farneh I tell you. It's lik, halfway while speaking to them, I receive a call from say Kellie, and I'll go harlowww, yah yah what lah, and after putting down, it's back to Brit mode. Not that I want to. But I dont wna spend more than half the conversation with them trying to decipher what I'm saying. I dont wna keep repeating myself; some things lose its essence when said more than once (ie. jokes).

Obviously I cant use words like walau. So I try- really frustrating, so annoying, what a bother, horrible, crap ? I dont know if they're typically English, but they seem to work just fine (: Though none of them aptly express what I'm feeling. Especially when it comes to sian. 'I'm soo dreading it'. Just halfway through that five syllable sentence, and I am feeling more sian than I already was. Let me try and reduce it to a syllable.. It's such a dread. What a dread ! Oh dread. Dread (CMI) ! OH did I tell you, I was trying to teach some of them how to say and use shiok HAHA. I'm trying to infiltrate the environment and slowly spread the Singlish mann. RIGHT.

But it's the whole environment you see. Cos in church, when I'm speaking to the angmohs, I dont really have the accent. Cos I'm with Singaporeans too. I just dont. I just naturally omit all the lahs lors mehs (unless I'm overwhelmed by Singaporeans). So yeah, Sorry I'm a Chameleon like that :(

OBSESSED MUCH ?

"You're a different human being to everybody you meet."
/Chuck Palahniuk

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I really like Chuck Palahniuk. I wna read Fight Club soon !
And can the person hogging the Animal Farm book from CSM Southampton Row Library return the book already ?! And I'm abit annoyed that Hai Pai Tian Xin is having some meteor garden thing gng on right now. Grah. CANT WAIT FOR EPI 13. Anyway, I think I'm tumbling way too much. I can even forget to check my email. Or facebook inbox. Or the weather forecast. Or whtever website I usually go to. Or supposed to go to. Or wanted to go to.

P.S. There's a small square to the right of the picture. And that small square links to my tumblr post of the picture. And in that post, you can find the source of the picture. And when you hover your mouse over it, it even says 'credits!' (which I realised doesnt work for Google Chrome, but you can always right-click it and click 'Inspect Element'). Cute, no ? But you got to admit, I'm smart right ! HAHA. Okay, feel free to follow me ! Or, if you have a tumblr, tell me ! (:

TUMBLR LOVE

As you look back at your life, there are just a million different things that have happened, just in the right way, to allow you to make your dreams come true. And you know, someone has all that under control.
/Michael P. Anderson

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Aahh I've to get up in like four hours time, and I cant fall asleep I dont know whyyy. I've more or less done everyth for the day already whattttt. Haiyer. Tmr's a long day too.. I so do not want to fall asleep during alpha. A good reason to buy a cup of starbucks ? (: HAHA okay.

On a side note, I created a new tumblr to keep track of all my pictures :D Tumblr's really good at that ! I was amazed, and so I think I went abit crazy and then I got a notice saying that I've used 100% of my daily photo uploads, and I can post more tmr.. but it's already tmr ! Hmm. But anyhows.. there'll be a link with/beside/below/above my future pictures (i've not decide on the placing of the link yet heheh) which upon clicking, will lead to all the credits or information blahblah. Am I smart or what hahaha

Geez. I really dont feel tired.

:D

Decided to share the good news !

$310m building plan for City Harvest
Large complex in 'central south' district will also house shops, restaurants.
[Click to read the rest of the article]

HAHA. FINALLYYYYY.
Will know in March, exactly where it'll be ! I cant wait, seriously hehehe. I went to google 'Central South Singapore' and the first result I got was:

Waraku Japanese Restaurant (The Central)
maps.google.co.uk
6 Eu Tong Sen Street
#03-89/97/98 The Central @ Clarke Quay, Singapore
6327 8860

Clarke Quay, it is ? Hahahahaha.
Hope it's towards Dhoby Ghaut that side, so I dont have to change lines next time ! I think it's either on the purple or green line though ? haha but anyhows !! This is just amazing laahh.

"Last Saturday night, Dr Kong posted a message on his Twitter service that proclaimed: 'Told them the great news. People were laughing, crying, clapping. A new day for City Harvest Church.'"

(:

GENESIS 32

Helplessness.
I kept telling myself 'I can do it, I can do it'.
But the truth was, I couldnt.
Not by myself. Not with my own strength. No, I couldnt.

-

[...]

"Jacob had a high motivation to cry out to God to help him as his brother Esau and 400 men waited on the other side of the river Jabbok and the last thing he had heard Esau say was, "I'm going to kill Jacob." In facing Esau he was in desperation and feared for his very life so he got alone with God and got honest with Him about his sin. When The Man asked him his name and he replied, "Jacob," it was a confession of what his name and nature had always been - a schemer and grabber trying to make life work in his own steam. Then the Lord touched his thigh and put it out of joint (a picture of breaking his natural strength) and Jacob clung to Him even more strongly (a picture of bold faith) in his now realized weakness and said in so many words: "please bless me and help me, I really need you God." That is when God changed his name and his nature from Jacob, the schemer, to Israel, one who has struggled with God and man and prevailed - in the strength of God. Brokenness does not mean will-less resignation to God's will but willingly yielding our will to His will. This is pictured in Jacob clinging to God to receive His strength to do His will. "He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak (to do His will). Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall; but those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint." (Isa. 40:29-31)

God leads us to brokenness even as the horse trainer breaks the wild stallion so it can be useful to its master. A broken stallion is not powerless but its power is now under the control of its master."

C&R

“Fairy Tales are more than true; not because they tell us that dragons exist, but because they tell us that dragons can be beaten.”
/G.K.Chesterton

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And so today we decided to try somewhere new instead of gng back to same old same old Wongkei or MalaysiaKopitiam. Bye Benny and company ! :( On a happier note, the food at C&R is amazing ! Initial apprehension was uncalled for hehe. Here are some of the notable dishes they have that you shld try cos I've tried them and they've got my approval :B

Nasi Lemak



Although it's not your usual Nasi Lemak, it's definitely worth it ! Firstly cos of the big portion (as you can see); and yes I know, the chicken wing and egg are not fried, but at least there's still chicken wing and egg ! Haha, plus, the curry sauce that goes with them is simply delectable, esp with the rice ! Though Jiayi and I dont think it's spicy at all, according to Rae and Kenchew, it is ! So be warned !

Hor Fun



Im more of a Hokkien Mee (the Malaysia's brown sauce one) than a Hor Fun person, but this one wld actually make me think twice if I wna order Hokkien Mee there. Once agn, the portion is big. And there's quite alot of 料 (which means Ingredients in English, which just doesnt sound as right as if I use 料 ?), like eggs and their yolks haha. And the sauce is the correct sauce. Not that gooey or liquidish- just nice. Though the fishcakes are alil chewy, the rest of it totally makes up for it. Tried by Natwee and Alex; I think the empty plates speak for themselves.

Singapore Laksa



Okay. This one- awesome. Just awesome. Tried by Yours truly. I love it, even with the beehoon noodles ! Correct soup- check. Lots of fishcakes- check. Prawns- check. Taupok- check. There's even chicken ?! Haha, all that is missing is a hard-boiled egg or two (: