the End... and the Beginning :)

So last night was New Year's Eve,

Gel, Phil, GH and I

last-minutely decided to go down to the city

just to watch the fireworks :D

The decorations in the city were still up

We were there a bit early,

so we just waited around...

took pictures of stuff a bit

took pictures of ourselves a bit...

took pictures of others a bit...

 

heehee :D

We walked to Castle Road

where we wanted to watch the fireworks initially

(it was rumoured to have the best view)

but there was no one gathering there

so we thought we may have been mistaken

So we headed over to Market Square

where there seemed to be people gathering, instead.

Waited around somemore...

It. Was. Freezing. Cold.

Check out Philip's expression! haha :D

actually I think he was going "whoo! so cold!"

... or something along those lines :p

and Gel's iPhone camera was pointing at me

and this is what she took:

like that also syok?

Yeap then we berpose-pose

since (look at the clock behind) its not midnight yet :p

the crowd gathered was quite big!

although not as insane as the one back in Malaysia

summore Malaysia so hot =.=

so many sweaty bodies pressed against yours. yech.

There was no "countdown" per se

everyone just stood there staring at the clock

so potong steam =.=

But when the clock struck midnight,

there were champagne bottles being popped

and crackers and confetti going off!

no snow spray lah -you'd look like an idiot with that here, haha! :D

Then the fireworks came on!

But we should have stayed at Castle Rd

the view there would probably have been better

coz the fireworks wouldnt have been obscured by buildings :(

Oh well, here goes!

yeap, didn't get a lot of good pics

coz the guy next to me kept knocking into my elbow

so a lot of them were blur -.-

After the fireworks show,

we walked back to wait for the bus,

taking some pics along the way :D

When at the bus stop,

we saw the bus was only coming at 1:15am

it was now only 12:20am.

Had a long, long wait...

Then we got bored,

so we camwhored summore lor! :D

There was actually a funny video of us

dancing around trying to keep ourselves warm

but I'm too lazy to post it up, haha! :D

There were also random people

who were more drunk than not,

yelling Happy New Year at us

and giving us random hugs, lol.

Quite scary >.<

Finally, we were on the bus!

Sien.

Camwhore summore! :D

She aiming fail.

My young padawan, you have a lot to learn! HAHAHA.

For now,

ada photographer :D

Yeap so that was my New Year's Eve :)

Great night, with great company.

As the year renews itself

some may think -it is just another night

the crossing over to a new day, a new month, a new year, a new decade -so what?

Have it this way if you will,

but perhaps just for psychological reasons,

people indulge in the concept of a big celebration.

The making of New Year's resolutions,

the turning over of a new leaf,

the bidding of farewell to the past.

Just an idea of new hope and new determination.

Just a thought that the new year may hold something great for us.

Just an act to keep us sane and going.

Personally,

I think it's a time of reflection.

How have you grown over the past year?

Who have you met, or lost, over the last year?

Some of us had good memories -to be kept and cherished

Some of us had unpleasant ones -to be learnt from, and then buried.

Keep your loved ones close to your heart

be they family, friends or your spouse.

Let them know they are appreciated, cherished and missed.

Material things can be taken away from you

but Love, Friendship and Faith in your Creator

these are things that no one can take away -except yourself.

I hope you all had an fantastic new year celebration,

and an awesome year ahead :)

Happy New Year, with lots of love xxx.

Oh it's nothing, just a hole in my heart :p

Okay I know this is super

ultimately absolutely ridiculously random,

but

I LURRRRRVE DIS BOI :) :) :)

Kthxbai :p

London in Pictures ;)

Okay because I have no time to write lengthy explanations

(since I'm already procrastinating from my revision by doing this :p)

So the entire London post will just be in pictures

and some captions along the way :)

It was a 4D4N trip with

Stephanie, WenQi and MQ

who were all brilliant company :)

Sorry!

(and hope you enjoy the pictures!)

this is only a small proportion :p

more can be found here.

Okay, here goes:

Went for Hillsong London

coincidentally, they were having their Christmas Special

Visited Chinatown in Soho (Gerrard St)

 

Had lunch with the London girls :)

love them babes

revisited Oxford Street (my fav haunt!)

Visited Winter Wonderland

(the German Christmas market in Hyde Park)

Had Spanish Churros for the first time :)

Drooled over bratwurst sausages...

... decided to have some for dinner...

... and so did everyone else, hah!

Doughnuts for.. dessert?

 

Bought tickets for Wicked ;)

Visited the British Museum...

Amused ourselves :D

 

Watched Wicked (which was really, really awesome)

Went to Camden Market in the Camden Town area

reminds me somewhat of Petaling St, honestly

Took some fairytale-ish pictures

The Stables Market in the same area (like a flea market)

Had a yummy Yau Char Kway :)

 Had some awesome Malaysian food <3 <3

full collection of London food pictures here.

Visited Harrods in the Knightsbridge area

Nearly died of shock looking at the prices

Met a guy with an 8-pack ;)

Found evidence proving the gwailos think all Asians are the same =.=

Had snow in my hair for the first time :) :) :)

Studied in Starbucks sipping on my warm eggnog latte

while waiting for the others to finish shopping

and it was snowing heavily outside! :(

Spotted a hot guy in the Tube station :) :) :)

*drools*

and met Ems for the last time at St Pancras

(for all of 30 seconds)

before I made a mad dash for the train

which was leaving in like, 2 mins :p

yeap, so that was a frantic picture gallop of my London trip :)

SORRYLAH!

i really got no time to ber-cheonghei-ly relate the details of my trip!

Okay back to Nutrition now :(

SIGH.

Random assortment :p

I just realised

that I have things fondly known as

Bearbear boots (my Bearpaw boots)

Moomoo pants (my pyjama pants with cow imprints)

Froggy boxers (yeap, my boxers with little frog imprints)

Ducky jackets (my Peacocks and Zara down jackets)

and Dinosaurs in my drawer (letters and cards from the bf).

erm, do I sound nuts? :D

Putting those calf muscles to use

Walked to the clinic today

to take another blood test.

Fantastic weather,

Sunny skies and there's just

a bit of leftover snow on the ground

from earlier this morning.

But it was really cold

and my ears hurt from the wind :(

should remember to bring a hat next time.

On another note,

when I started walking my playlist was on

I Don't Wanna Be by Gavin DeGraw

and

the last song I heard before I reached home

was Irreplaceable by Beyonce.

Considering that the clinic is halfway across campus,

it's either I'm getting really good at this walking thing

or my playlist has an astounding number of songs

that start with the letter "I".

Okay back to studying now.

Might pop by for another post when I finish :)

The Awake All-Night Essential Kit®

This week, Gel and I involved ourselves

in a study of effect of sleep-deprivation on brain function.

(we did it for the money, really.

after all, what's a night without sleep

in exchange for £60 right? :D)

And because I can't cheat 

because they make me wear an Actiwatch

Because I'm so honest and don't want to screw with people's PhD project,

I introduce to you,

The Awake All-Night Essential Kit®

#1. A really close assignment deadline :p

 

#2. Plenty of uninteresting books to read up on

... and e-journals as well.

#3. A good midnight (as in, middle of the night) pizza

Preferably in the Cheesy Ham and Mushroom flavour,

with extra ham, mushrooms and cheese :D

#4. A stash of yummy, sinful snacks

use in adjunct with #5.

makes you feel better about yourself at the end of the day,

knowing you did not JUST gorge on unhealthy snacks :D

5. A well-filled bowl of fresh fruits 

for when the lethargy from the calorie-filled pizza kicks in :p

or guilt from #4, whichever sets in first.

HAHAHA :D

6. Some distractions for when you're feeling a bit fed up

WARNING: CAN BE ADDICTIVE.

7. Some hobbies to while away the time when you're done with #1

and lastly (and most importantly)

8. A wonderful boyfriend that keeps you company on Skype :)

hehe :)

Sunny skies :)

The sky was quite un-gloomy today, for a change

or rather, it was... UK's weather has serious mood swings

it's now actually quite gloomy again :/

but I managed to catch some pics while the sun was out!

mmm :) nice blue sky...

and EVERYONE knows sunny skies

creates happy kimmyberrys :)

heehee :D

oh and sick kimmyberry has become recovering kimmyberry

because she managed to charmingly persuade ask the doctor

to give her the much needed antibiotics

(although the doctor doubts it will work

and thinks something is seriously wrong with me)

AND, due to my ingenious labelling system,

I ensure I do not miss a dose

and so I am coughing a lot less and am well on the road to recovery :)

on a completely unrelated note,

DUCKIES!

 

Actually, I was by the lakeside for a public choir performance

(a pre-performance before the actual concert on Wednesday!)

but that is a post in itself for another day :)

According to Bob,

some of them are actually (Canadian) geese.

which have migrated here due to the changing weather

and decided to stay.... or something like that.

my attention wandered :p sorry Bob!

Yeap,

back to social policies for me :(

SIGH.

A crazily spontaneous day :D

rushed out early to uni

to print out my Pharmacology lab report

(thank God it's done!)

and then wandering around Med School

trying to navigate my way back

to the lecture theatre...

only to find that after sitting there

for over half an hour,

the lecturer never showed up :(

kena ffk siut.

so then as Gel and I were making our way back

supposedly, back home,

we were just walking down the stairs on the QMC bridge

when Gel said "I feel like going to Beeston"

"Beeston? might as well go to M&S :p"

She looked back at me,

and we held each other's stare for a full three seconds

both of our minds whirring while we went "Hmmmmm...."

and so off to M&S we went,

(where we just went to last Wednesday,

and totally overspent on ready-meals and bakery items)

and we, again, repeated history,

and ended up with 7 pies, 2 pizzas, 3 pasty packs,

and a whole load of bakery items.

oops.

and then carrying armloads of M&S bags,

our initial plan of having a look around the Christmas market

had to be cancelled,

since the stuff we were carrying were way too heavy

and it was also drizzling just a bit at that time.

walking from the bus stop back home,

there was a slight drizzle,

but nothing we weren't already used to,

being here for about 2 months now.

and then ALL OF A SUDDEN,

it started raining cats and dogs.

so Gel and I tried to sprint our way back

arms aflinging with M&S bags,

but WHOOSH,

a strong gush of wind was threatening

to blow us off our feet!

I seriously felt like we were running in the same spot, dammit.

So by the time we got into our block,

(amidst hysterical laughter)

we were TOTALLY DRENCHED.

lolhalol.

with a pack of muffins, a bag of rolls,

a pack of croissants, and a tub of brownie bites / oatberry clusters

plus my existing stash of food and a lot of bananas,

I now have more food than books on my study table.

So after lunch,

we decided to take the bus back to Med School for class,

since we already used our bus pass to go down to the city anyway

(a bus pass is available for unlimited number of rides in a day).

the sky looked rather gloomy,

but appeared pretty clear based on our standards :)

On the bus, there was no place on the lower deck

so we sat on the upper one instead.

At our stop, Gel was first to go down the steps.

I was about the follow,

when I suddenly heard a "BISH-BA-BOOM"

I thought to myself

"don't tell me this girl fell down..."

I glanced down the steps -

and there was Gel sprawled across the banisters.

"I always tell you not to walk when the bus is moving..."

"The bus wasn't moving! I slipped!"

HAHAHA.

Just at the main entrance of QMC,

Gel just looked behind for one moment

and the moment she turned her head back

"FWWAPPP!"

some white guy's shoulder just hit Gel across the jaw!

the impact was so hard she flew back a couple of steps

and would have fell if I had not caught her.

Again, we ended up laughing like idiots.

This was JUST NOT OUR DAY.

so after a (thankfully) uneventful 2 hours of Nutrition,

I checked with Gel

"so, we're taking the bus back right..?"

"er, wanna go city again? :D"

"HAHAHA. can also?"

and so we ended up making one more trip to the city!

This time,

it was purely to sightsee and visit the Christmas fair,

which we have wanted to go to for ages

but never had the chance to.

I decided to ask Gel to help take more pics of me

because ada orang komplen that I haven't had any pictures of myself :D

The picture's blur because she was holding the cam with one hand

the other hand busy holding Gregg's Festive Bake pasty :D

The much-awaited Christmas fair! :)))

The malls are decorated too!

Camwhoring with my mouth full of yummy Festive Bake, haha :D

Alright, on with the fair!

First, there was this stall,

with the huge sign

"Waffles in a bag, 10 waffles for £3.50"

Waffles? those don't look like waffles!

Gel and I spent about 3 minutes discussing if we should try it

not knowing what it really was...

we finally summed up the courage to ask,

since it was getting rather awkward with the guy staring at us

(probably wondering if these Asians are gonna stop whispering and start ordering)

and he told us it was marshmallow inside.

Marshmallow? Mmm... sounds good! :)

It was 50p for one (the waffles were referring to something else)

and so we decided to just have one each.

Gel had rum grape nut...

while I had honey almond...

... and it was not marshmallow inside!

oh well, maybe it was,

but it was a super-yummy-fluffy-melt-in-your-mouth-marshmallow

like when u make smores!

It was really, really good :)))

Then, as it never fails for Christmas,

there was a chocolate and candy stall...

and the guy was even nice enough to smile for me! :)

Then there was this stall selling all sorts of sausages and salamis...

and one selling various types of pretzels...

and then next one selling something that looked like doughnuts...

Ooh and there was one selling sort of knicks and knacks,

and some little toys...

and the City Hall was nicely lit up with flashing lights...

and there was a big tree up in Market Square...

oh and just next to that,

there was a stall, all by itself,

selling sausages.

Like, really, really big sausages.

So since Gel and I

were in a jalan-jalan cari makan mood,

we thought we'd share one among us and give it a go -

Gel penuh konsentrasi putting on the sauces, lol.

see... so nice, got pattern summore :)

a happy me with The Best Sausage I've Had In My Life.

it was crispy on the outside -you can just hear the crackle when you bite-

and the inside was juicy and moist and bursting with meaty goodness...

oooh, if there was one thing I'd definitely buy again,

THIS WAS IT!

Continuing our tour...

Yeap, lotsa goodies!

We looked so very the jakun there,

ooh-ing and aah-ing at everything

and going snap-happy with our cameras :p

But who cares,

and we are so definitely,

most absolutely,

going to make another trip there! :)

Time come and gone...

so it's the same old same old...

lectures all day everyday,

plus work piling up -plenty of lab reports to do!

autumn has made its gracious arrival,

all the trees are yellowing

and some are even bare

Nottingham Games had come and gone

for a whole day,

the University looked like we're back in Malaysia

We even had our fill of nasi lemak at the Malaysian Food Festival

and then I fell sick

and according to my Grandma's advice,

I had ginger water and apple water...

O.D.ed together in one night

Indeed that was not part of her instruction,

(I think she meant me to have it either/or, or at least one at a time)

but I impatiently wanted to get better faster

so I went to bed feeling like a water balloon,

and spent much of the night making trips to the toilet,

but hey, I recovered within 2 days! :)

Then we had our second round of BKT...

This time preparation was much more efficient

"pro" already, konon :)

and because I joined the christmas choir,
I had to buy a new dress for the performance
as the uniform was "black and elegant"

Christmas decors are up in town,

but somehow I don't feel the Christmas spirit

They even have a Christmas fair-flea-market-thingy

which has all sorts of little trinkets and funny things

and a CRAZY amount of food

and items to fill your sugar quota for a year.

Takes a lot of willpower

to walk past those stalls

glance past pretzels, doughnuts, sweets and candies

yummy pastries, chocolates,

hot dogs and schnitzels... oh I could go on forever!

but I DID IT

and I haven't bought anything from there... (yet). :p

So yeah,

busy for the next couple of weeks.

3 report deadlines one after another

so I have to really rush those things

no time to breathe!

Shall leave you with a view

from my room at sunrise...

Til next time :)

~Rain~

~Michael Buble -Lost~

Its raining again,
been raining every hour of the day for the past 3 weeks,

sound of the raindrops seem to never stop here,
followed by the cold breeze that never seems to go away,
Drip... Drip... Drip... Drop