landed

hello from manchester/preston. i'm in no mood to blog (and take pictures- that's really something isn't it?), so this is just an obligatory post to say that i am here, alive, but with my left arm still a little sore from the meningitis C vaccination i received two days ago. my manchester uni campus is so pretty, i love it. but i was severely jet-lagged when i went there for my health checkup that i didn't get to explore much. oh well, there's like 3 years to do that :p

preston is where i'm based. it's this little city 40mins from manchester. it's alright but lacks the hustle and bustle of what we call a CITY (why it has been bestowed a city status is really a mystery). it's more like the suburbs actually. the houses are cute and most have nice gardens. i can't imagine a better house location with mine being directly opposite the hospital and literally 20 seconds from the bus stop, and another 30 seconds away is a supermarket with a quaint tea room, a dry cleaner's, a magazine/convenience store, a pharmacy and a hair salon.

ASDA (hypermarket) is about 5mins bus ride away and the city centre and train station (which trains i take to go to manchester) are about 20mins away.

can't ask for more, really.

the city centre has this high street with decent shopping outlets and restaurants. the Marks and Spencers and Debenhams here are pretty big, and there's Argos and all that... so i'd be lying if i said i won't be able to survive here. but of course i have the liberty to go down to Manchester whenever i want/need to (which i WILL, probably every other weekend or so).

so. yup. that's about it. can you believe i haven't taken out my camera from my bag since i left malaysia? wow england is really changing me.

but i'll be in Manchester tomorrow until the weekend to do all that touristy stuff, so i'll definitely take some pics.

:)

go, going, gone

a very melancholic greeting from klia as i await to board my singapore-bound flight, a 2-hour transit and to manchester thereafter.

i left my home with my heart at the bottom of my feet. who knew saying goodbye to my dogs was just about the most difficult thing i had to do? sorry sorry sorry was all i said to them. because they don't understand why i have to leave them behind and they never will. and that is the worst part.

bidding farewell to my dad at the airport was harsh. i don't even want to think about mum leaving next sunday (she's here with me). but they are only a plane ride away and they can come whenever they want. AND they understand why i have to do this. so i don't feel that bad.

6 months back home and i don't regret one single day. i thank God for giving me the best time of my life, for letting me have a much needed rest and the chance to recharge my energy for the next phase of my life, for my wonderful family, dogs and friends, for the bonds that we've forged and for the temporarily broken bonds that were reconciled over the past months.

i also thank You for the opportunity to further my studies to where i've always wanted to study at (although right now i don't know why i so badly wanted to go over, but thank You anyway).

people say they're worried for me, that i will find it difficult to get back on track and start studying once more. i say why worry about me when you have wayyyyyyy more things to worry about. if i have to struggle for awhile, so be it. if i am able to give my now very rusty brain a fresh new coat of paint to ease myself into clinicals, all the better. this is my life and i choose how to live it.

i am generally happy. really.

just very sad to leave my comfort zone.

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some last minute memo for my lovely ipoh friends:

jiangmun: feel free to bring your brother to play with my doggies while i'm away. they'll really like that. i've already told my kakak, "kawan saya jiangmun yang ada buntut besar itu mungkin akan datang tengok si ginger dan si kiki. kalau dia ada datang tolong buka pintu!" :)

phuiwhye: thank you for teman-ing me the whole year. hehe looks like you're going to have to look for another movie buddy.

eli: my mum said whenever you're back for the weekends, call her to arrange playdates for potato and ginger!

pris: you'll be alright in seremban!

zhi: just saying hi to you and your 5 unborn children.

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and i will say hello again in approx. 18 hours.

goodnight malaysia.

reminders

quit picking fights with the mother on purpose.

buy socks.

count blessings.

one more week

just received my term calendar.

2 weeks of winter vacation and 1 for spring.

i am not liking it.

stupid

today i received a letter in the mail which did NOT make my day.

Dear Swee Leen,

Congratulations! You are among the first 100 all-correct entries for the GSC Harry Potter & The Half-Blood Prince contest. You have won yourself one (1) Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince tattoo!

Again, congratulations and thank you for participating in our contest.

Yours sincerely,
Golden Screen Cinemas.



actually there are 6 tattoos: one with the wordings Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, others with the Hogwarts emblem, the Gryffindor & Slytherin emblems (why so unfair no Ravenclaw & Hufflepuff?), and Ron Weasley and Harry Potter Quidditch badges.

as much as i am a huge harry potter fan, i will not be caught dead wearing fake harry potter tattoos.

(actually i was aiming for the harry potter bag/t-shirt/tea cup. ok la and also the notebook. and the square buttons. but then they gave me tattoo pulak. go die la.)

p/s: i know i said i'm not going to waste time blogging for now but apparently i do have quite a lot of time anyway.

hello goodbye

today i went to mcdonald's and bought 6-piece nuggets and found that they gave me 7.

that really made my day.

i've decided that i'm not going to waste time blogging for now. i need to continue to relish all the simple pleasures of my current life before i start anew.

less than 3 weeks, people! wait a minute, isn't it still march?

ohmygod

it's august.

shoot me.