Goodbye 2012~ The Ups

It's now time for the ups and highlights of 2012~!!! :D

1. Though the accidents were both horrible, from them I got to see the beauty in people too. How my family members (extended) helped me made me realised how grateful and thankful I am to have them. They provided me the support and assisted me in so many things. <3 them all, especially my parents. 

2. I'm thankful that no one was hurt in both accidents! Thank God!

3. Another thing to be grateful for are friends. They're always so nice to listen to me about my problems and give just the right advice. I'm thankful that they're just there to make me happy and smile. We'd go for food or retail therapy every now and then and those really helped me relieve my stress. I think this year I've made more friends while bonds with old friends have strengthened. :D

Then there were so many gatherings in 2012 with different group of friends- dance mates/ colleagues/ course mates/etc. It's nice that I got to catch up with them~

With ex-colleagues from my industrial training time.

Ex-dance mates

4. As for my project, what I'm working on now is what I came up with. So there's a lot of questions and blocks here and there. I'm still learning and trying my best. Hopefully, things will eventually work out for the best. :)

5. I think I've been dancing more this year compared to the last <3. Last year, I really didn't dance much and was absent for months at some point. This year, I did several performances with different groups and it was interesting to see how different people work together. Some of the more memorable ones include performances in the indoor stadium with CDL for the badminton open, perfume launch with UA, commercial ad shot (CLICK ME~!!!) and the performance at KLCC, where I did back-up for the first time (and forgot the choreo~ ahaha!!!). So glad that I got more time for dance this year.

Starting with CNY student perf

Dressing up the dance instructors

For the badminton open

With CDL

With some new peeps that I've never danced with

A fully hip-hop perf

Perfume launch

6. Finally had the opportunity to attend a conference this year- both local and international. Since it was a first for me in both cases, I felt like a lost sheep. argh~ I could've done so much more. Oh, did I mention that my heels broke at both the conferences?? Different heels but both were rarely used. hahaha....but the experiences were good and I bagged 2 awards~! :D

7. I joined a japanese speech contest! It was super last minute. From the time that I decided to join, the main competition was only 2 weeks way. Since I joined last, I missed the first prep class and only attended the second, I was sooo nervous.....I was rehearsing my speech over and over again in my head!! I think I didn't  paid much attention to what was going on around me. Ok, this reminded me that I had not made a post about the contest. 

Yes, but it was a great experience. I think my speech was the most "off" or different one from the others but at least, I managed to get a few laughs out of the audience. Though I didn't win (which I want to because of the free trip to Japan!! hehe...), I'm still really happy for my classmate -Ash who won!!! It will be his first trip to Japan!! Speech contest makes dream come true~~ :D I feel like if you love something very much, it will eventually love you back!

8. Lab is a lot livelier this year with a lot more people coming in and we even got to do some activities together. Haaha, I think that if we grow at this rate, the lab will be full before the end of 2013. But it's great as with more people, you can do more things. Also, this year we have an intern from French -Camille. Spent so much time with her that I think I will miss her badly when she returns to France, boohooo~~ :( All our explorations of the city.....and then there's the epic J.Lo concert~

Then there's J, Dr.A's intern from UK who baked some really delicious red velvet cupcakes for us.

9. Finally managed to go on a trip together with the girls after so many years. It was a fun and short trip. I can't wait for the next one~ This year has been great for us too as we've been meeting up quite often. :)

10. Then I also attend my first ever J-group fan gathering and what's more, it's a Kisumai one! An interesting event where I knew no one, except for the organizer whom I've chatted with on fb. But it was a nice event where everyone shared their love for the same music. Then there was a cake to commemorate Kisumai's 1st debut anniversary and personalised free gifts~ Yay!! Since I'm a Taipi fan, I got a Taipi badge and a pink boot keychain~

11. I wonder if this final one should even be considered as an up and not a down. I got awarded the scholarship of my dream but the irony is that I cannot accept it. Imagine how depressed I felt when I had to scan my acceptance offer and email it back to tell them that I had to reject it due to various reasons. Ok, that was definitely the worst event the entire year, now that I think about it. 

But then on the bright side, I didn't know I could get so far. I only know that I WANT it sooo badly. Had to go through several screenings, application, exam and interview. To even be considered for it....is definitely an "up". I must admit that it is sad to see everyone go off....around this time, everyone would have gotten their confirmation and planning when to depart. Well, gives all the more reason to work hard. My time will come and I WILL COME FOR YOU!!! Just wait for me!!!

haha, I still remember telling Panda earlier this year that my 'free trip' will definitely come as we are fated that way. In a way....it did came, just that the timing was not right for me. Well, my next trip is a paid one, but my many more free ones will come one day!!!

12. Thankful that I passed my conversion exam. Though I didn't do so well on the Q n A, I'm glad that everything worked out in the end. Time to brush up on those skills~ Fighting!!! O~! *throws fist in the air*

Typing this year end post made me realised that there were a lot more blog post about my activities that I could've shared which I'm usually too lazy to. hohoho~but I think I will work on that just to wrap up 2012 nicely. Now that I've looked at it properly....2012 was a good year!

I'm looking forward to another great year in 2013 and I'm going to spend my time watching Kouhaku Uta Gassen tonight as I wait for 2013 to arrive!! 

HAPPY NEW YEAR~!!!!

Goodbye 2012~ The Downs

I have just finished reading Taipi's Kisulog entry, which is the last one for this year. It's great that he wrote the last one and I got to read about his feelings towards the things that he has experienced this year. Omedetou~ that Shinikare finally got a slot on normal TV. I can't wait to watch it again in HD too.

Well, there's only 3 more days left for 2012. I can't wait for the new year actually because I have the feeling that things are going to get a lot better in the new year. Not to say that 2012 is sooo horrible that I want it to end quickly, but a lot has happened this year and there were a lot of tear shedding moments. At some point it feels like no matter how hard I work, nothing seems to work well for me. It's like I was binded by some invisible strings and I was struggling to get out of them.

1. First I got into 2 car accidents and I never had any before. One time I was driving my parents and the second when I was alone. 

For the first, the guy was a student driving his friend's car and insisted that he will not go to the police station.!! I was driving on the fast lane and he was on the middle lane (I guess)...as I was passing his car and the car in front of him, he suddenly swerved his car into my lane...guess he was trying to overtake the car in front. So naturally he knocked onto my car which I lost control of, but luckily Dad quickly held onto my steering wheel to prevent my car from hitting the divider. 

I admit I was angry when I got out of my car as the first thing I said was, "How did you drive your car?". I must've been shouting because he replied, "How do you like it if you hit someone's car and the person shouted at you". In my heart, I was thinking that he deserved more from me for the reckless way he was driving, but I kept quiet. When I went  to check on the damage, he told me that it was not his fault and that there was a car on the other side that caused him to swerve. I asked him, "Where is the car now?" and he answered, "I don't know". Right.....

Since he can't go to the police station, we settled on some cash instead which he too did not have and we had to go to the bank to wait for his friend to bank it into his account and it was not the full amount that we had initially agreed upon on.

The second was near my place when I was making a u-turn, a girl driving her sister's car came from the left lane into the right lane which I am turning into at high speed. I think it was a bad night for the both of us because her phone just got cut because she forgot to pay her phone bills. So I borrowed her my phone to make some calls and we moved our cars to pyramid so that she can make her phone payment.

We both agreed to go to the police station but as my car could not move, I called AAM for assistance which sent me this stupid tow-truck guy who kept telling the other party how to make her report so that her damages will be paid by my insurance. This happened because she was a student nearby and she called for help from a friend nearby who is of the same skin-colour as my tow-truck guy.  

Malaysia has this stupid system where only certain police station accepts accident report and those involved have to actually go there themselves. How am I supposed to get there when my car couldn't even start? That's why I called AAM which provided a horrible service and I'm not talking about the tow truck guy. At the police station, we were supposed to type in the reports ourselves. Since the form was in BM, we requested if it could be done in English. After that we were called for questioning in some small back room where the police officer was trying to tell me that it's my fault. Suddenly the tow-truck guy walked in through the side-door.......... I'm surprised that a normal citizen can have that much access in a police station. They must know each other well as he must've delivered many cars to the station and know the policemen well enough to have made some pact among themselves. Soon after, we left to the accident scene. 

In the meantime when all this was happening, the tow-truck guy was trying to tow my car back into his workshop when my family members back in the station tried to stop him. He insisted that I had signed the documents but I did not, my cousin who's a lawyer read it before I signed anything. It was only for him to tow my car to the police station and that I will have my own service workshop to fix my car. My family members asked the police to stop him but they just ignored.

When I got back to the station, my car was already gone. This was already almost 3 hours after the accident.  Soon after we were called for another round of questioning. This time the guy was much nicer to me than the first round and he even printed the police report for me which he refused to during the first round of questioning. He told me that I had to come back the next morning to have it printed. He even asked me for the tow-truck's number and called the guy to send my car back to the station. So I was wondering what is with the sudden change of attitude.....

Turns out that the change was all thanks to a special phone call. hmph~this made me lost some faith and respect in the system that this country has.

As we no longer trust the policemen, we tried to move my car but since the engine was damaged, we only managed it to a nearby petrol station before the tow-truck from my service workshop could pick it up the next day.

What happened next made me lost all the hope that I have for a better country!!! When we went to pay my fines at the police station, the lady at the counter was giving suggestive signs for a special service. It's the first time I ever had to queue in a police station to pay an accident fine, so I was shocked that there was such a thing. I knew you could bribe a policemen right after you made an offend before they give you a fine but I didn't know that they provide services like these sooo openly in a police station. So much for all the campaign for a corruption free country. All the respect and hope I had were completely lost. I dare not imagine how things will be in the future. We are seriously in need of a change for the better.

2. The other big blow for me this year was the downs in my research journey. There were so many downs that I sorta lost count at some point. First, my project was left hanging for months because of some problems from the other side and then after more than half a year, I have been told to change project. It feels like being pushed off a tall building, to let go of everything you've worked hard for. 

3. Then there were friendship problems too. I was going through a pretty rough year and had shared a lot with a close friend. However at some point when she was mentioning how she pitied a guy she had just met who made his ex-gf pregnant and how life was so unfair for him. I just sort of exploded at her at that moment as I did not feel the same way for a guy. Things have been awkward ever since.

I guess those were the downs for me this year. But when I think about it, I have a lot more things to be grateful for~

Moreover, I've learnt from these downs too. Must learn not make the same mistakes again and to not take things for granted.

St. Paul's Church and Dutch Graveyard

Back to our Malacca trip~

Walk-walk-walk~ 

Climbed a lot of stairs that day! Thank goodness the way down was not the same as the way up.....otherwise, I won't be able to come down!! Ok, maybe only for me. But yea, when I was climbing up the stairs, I thought that there was no way that I could climb down those uneven and high steps that had no railing or what-so-ever for support....

Well, at least you get a nice view from the top.

At the top of the hill is the Saint Paul's Church, which was used by the Dutch into a burial ground for their noble dead.

There were so many people up here which seemed to be from the same group. Since they spoke in Japanese, I presumed that they must be student's from some university, visiting Malacca to learn about the history??

That's the thing about being the camera person, they are always missing from the group picture. hahaha....

Shy love birds behind the umbrella. *ahem* I wonder what were they doing.......

On the way down, we passed by the Dutch graveyard. 

Oh.....and this way down actually had proper stairs with railings to hold on to! Phew~

Art shop in malacca

After our tour of the jonker street as we tracked further away into one of the small alleys, we passed by this very artistic looking wall.

On the other side is actually a shop selling t-shirts with prints designed by a local artist (I think). No pictures allowed so I didn't take any, but they have some really cool t-shirts. Great for souvenirs.

Here are some pictures. Interesting huh?

Birthday at the zoo??

keke...nope, but we do have some weird creatures attending this party!

This is a surprise celebration for ze' seawitch and ze' mutate sheep at Plan B, with cakes from their favourite shop-Alexis!!!

Though the staffs insisted that we get cakes from them, T-cell managed to 'force' them into allowing us to bring cakes from outside.

Ze' seawitch and ze' mutate sheep thought it was a gathering organized by YL, so they were completely dumbfounded when the waiters brought out the cakes. I think they were wondering why is their fav. cakes being served there~ hahaha....

First time trying their burgers...this here is there fisherman's catch if I remembered correctly. The fish fillet was tough and kinda dry, so I don't think I'll order this again....but the four colour chips were lovely.

I think they were 3 different kinds of potatoes and yam. Sad~ that the portion was so small :(

This spicy chili crab pasta is yummylicious. Though it's good, it's best to share it as the portion is kinda huge and no matter how good the food is...when you had too much of it, you'd get bored with the taste?

Mushroom pasta was ok, nothing to shout about. But we did notice that it was cooked with a LOT of olive oil~

Tried this Asian style soft shell crab pasta once before with seawitch who said it tasted like "kam heong" and thus didn't really like it. I didn't really enjoy this dish that night too as it was too salty. 

However, there is one dish that always deliver - Mushroom soup. Every single time we order it, it tastes great! Thick and filled with loads of mushrooms! Yummy~~ :D

I'm guessing that this is the ceasar salad. Not sure about how it taste as I did not try this but it looks kinda sad from the picture. 

But alas, no matter how good the meal is....the most important is still the company. Here we have the '09 UBMC peeps. We reminisce the old times, chatted about our peers and spoke about our 'near' future~

Hopefully, 10 years down the road, we will still be able to have a nice gathering such as this.....maybe with the additional spouses/ children/ erm.....pets? hahaha.....

Just look at this picture! I think it speaks for itself.

Merry Christmas~!!!

Christmas this year is really happening. Supposed to have 3 gift exchange party, attended 2 so far, 1 more to go this afternoon but I won't be going for this last one as Dad is back.

Here are some very nice polaroid shots by Wayne, of us posing with the gifts that we've received.

One group photo to remember this gathering by...

Though I wasn't feeling well that day, I'm glad that I went to that gathering as it always feels nice to keep in touch with old friends.

Plus I really like all these shots taken  by Max with his pro camera.....all are of super HD and the shots make everyone look so nice!!

Merry X'mas 2013 everyone!!! :D

Asian Water Sport

Weeks ago, groupon was having this deal for Asian Water Sport in Puchong and since Camille went there before, she suggested that it would be fun for us to go together.

So we went for the deal with her friend Laura, who came from Thailand.

Stupid me forgot to charge my phone and hence was unable to operate the gps. I had to rely on the google map from JM's phone....which I'm not very good at and so we ended up in some small kampung far away from the water sports area.

keke....luckily, we met some nice people on the way and they were nice enough to show us the way our from that kampung, back onto the main road and to the water sports area.

As expected, we were late and missed the boat ride.....but we were lucky once again because they sent another boat just for us with no extra charge.

Once on the island, we immediately queued for the water sport and this here is my first time on this....whatever you call it.

Smart me just had to be on the wrong side and get flung out!! haaha...that's me trying to climb back onto the float.

Here are the other 3 ladies on the ride a second time!!

Then this is the banana boat ride I chicken out of because I don't think I want to drink any more water that I did. 

Besides the water sport, you can also do some kayaking or canoeing.

Overall it was fun, but if only there were more things to do there....it would be so much better.