Gong xi, gong xi, gong xi ni..

GONG XI FA CAI!!!!

Yes, it's finally here.. it's Chinese New Year! And not just any Chinese New Year, it's the year of the dog!! :) So to all who celebrate this joyous occasion, Happy New Year!!! Xin Nian Kuai Le, Wan Shi Ru Yi! May the year of the dog bring you and all around you joy, happiness and of course, prosperity!!!

I spent this weekend in London, with a good friend of mine, PY.. and we really had a fantabulastic time! I haven't had sooo much fun in such a long time! I went down cos' I haven't seen her in awhile so thought it'd be a good idea to go visit her, but also cos' it could get quite boring for CNY in Nottingham. I was all geared up for a very 'yit lao' celebration and the last thing I wanted was a low-key one! :)

PY and me enjoying our yoghurt in Leicester Square

Anyway, the main celebration took place in Leicester Square and Trafalgar Square.. (It's not my first time there so granted, I wasn't too crazily thrilled..) Nevertheless, it was certainly great to be immersed into the highly energized and happy Chinese crowd out there celebrating this special time of the year.. I certainly felt in-touch with my Chinese roots, alright!

See the crowd? It was fantastic!

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Somehow, as we were walking around Chinatown, we stumbled upon a heavily-human-congested area and before we even realised it, we were actually standing right next to the Lion Dance! It was so exciting - over the past 2 CNYs celebrated in London, I've never been so close to the lion in Chinatown before!

Anyway, it was really fun.. and we got to eat lots of yummy Chinese food, hear lots of fun CNY songs (which was quite nostalgic..), see lots of Chinese people and just generally have such a great time!

Having said that, it was actually a really really great weekend for me.. Like I've said, I haven't had so much fun in such a long time and it was a truly relaxing to let loose and enjoy myself fully. PY was a fantastic host, but more importantly, she was fabulous company, so I guess that kinda added up to the whole enjoying-myself thing.. It was really nice, sometimes we had stupid laughs, sometimes we had deep talks.. It was good to catch up with an old friend.. So anyway, here are the highlights of my trip:


Look! It's Platform 9 and three-quarters.. at King's Cross! For those of you non-Harry Potter fans out there, Platform 9 and three quarters is where the Hogwarts Express stands. It's the platform that all students of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry need to be to be able to board the train that brings them to Hogwarts! Haha.. I was so thrilled to see it! (And yes, I did disappear behind the barrier.. it truly was amazing! ;) )

Being an avid fan of musicals, I also made it a point to catch one, since I was, after all in the capital of musicals. I initially wanted to catch Chicago, but since PY had watched it, and the tickets were exorbitantly priced, we settled for Saturday Night Fever instead. But absolutely no regrets.. the show was sensational! The dancing.. oh, the dancing... it was phenomenal! Absolutely phenomenal! And it's not just 70's hippie-kind.. no no, it was a really good mix between disco dancing, latin and ballroom dancing, ballet and just well, dancing! Gosh, I was thoroughly impressed and incredibly happy! And the cutest thing was, they were kind enough to give us an encore performance, of which they got the whole theatre audience to stand up and sort of dance along! It was sooo fun, I rode an adrenaline wave all the way out of the theatre!! (By the way, I absolutely love dancing, hence, the crazee enthusiasm.. I've done ballet, latin and ballroom, hip hop, traditional/cultural etc and I have always dreamed of being a professional dancer...) Anyway, it was certainly a great musical and I'm so glad that we caught it before it officially closes in London in 3 weeks!

Ooh, guess who I bumped into, walking along the streets of Chinatown?

It was LN and R!!

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I couldn't believe it either, but it was certainly a lovely surprise! Apparently, they had come down to spend CNY together with our old KMYS friends. So we went over on Saturday night to chit-chat, hang out and just basically, catch up! Oh, it was so good to catch up with them after so long.. haven't seen them in ages!! 'twas a mini-reunion alright!

This is what years of training at KMYS makes you - professional subjects in photos!! (Sitting fr L to R - CK, LN, A, DL, me; Standing fr L-R - JT, R, K, SN)

The rest of the weekend was spent walking around London, visiting pish-posh shops and oogling at things we couldn't afford.. It doesn't sound fun, but it truly was.. the experience was certainly one of a kind! And thankfully, I had a local Londoner to bring me around! ;)

This is the food hall at Fortnum & Masons, a posh departmental store in Central London. (Think Harrods!) All the food looked absolutely yummy and packaged oh-so-beautifully! And look at how elegantly decorated the actual hall is, with its glistening chandeliers and delicately-carved wooden finishing!

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I have been craving and craving for Japanese food ever since I got back to UK so I made darn sure that I ate lots and lots to my heart's content! We ate at Misato's on the first night and had a variety of food - sushi, sashimi, tempura, chicken katsu and calpico! Hehe.. Then on Saturday, PY brought me to the Japan Centre on Piccadilly Street and we picked out loads of sushi (it was really cheap!) and other little Japanese titbits/snacks to munch on.. Yum!

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We also stumbled upon Minamoto's Kitchen, a pretty little shop which sold purely Japanese sweets and desserts. I personally have never seen any Jap sweets before and it was certainly interesting to be there. Bought a few things so can't wait to try them! Ooh, this further convinces me that my next (well, not next next but future next) stop for travelling is gonna be Japan!!!

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Of course, a trip to London is never complete without stopping by my favourite doughnut store.. Krispy Kreme!!!! We took a special trip to Harrods' for some good ol' old-fashioned glazed and that really made the fat girl in me happy! Ok, so it also made the happy girl in me fat, but oh well.. live a little!

Would ya just look at those hot yummy doughnuts rolling past you?

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(L) Yumm.. look at the rows and rows of yummy-looking doughnuts! How can you possibly resist?

(R) My favourite.. old-fashioned glazed all for myself!!! Haha... (To be fair, I gave some away to PY, brought some for my old friends and brought a couple back for my housemates!)

Well, that's all from me this time.. I've got loads more pics so if you're interested, do let meknow! Hehe.. Anyway, have a very joyous New Year everyone and 'year year got fish'!

Ooh, almost forgot, it should be a time for double celebrations for i passed my driving test on Friday!!!!!!!!!!!!!

A woman obsessed..

Ever since I hit puberty, I have been described by many people as boy-crazy.. I completely disagree! I, like every other female on this planet, know how to appreciate the positive qualities of the opposite sex. But the thing that makes me different is the fact that I am much more highly expressive about these feelings and thoughts than most people..

Understatement, that is! Haha.. Actually, I'm one of the few people I know who can outrightly say things like "Ooh, that's guy's butt is cuuute!" or "That guy's fiiinnee.. yum!". (At this point, I'd like to thank my girlfriends like V and VL who are always keen to join me on oogling and drooling on boy-hunting bonanzas!) I am also one of the few people who will stare a guy in his face and tell him, "You know, you're actually quite good-looking.." I honestly do not know if this is a good thing or a bad thing, cos' as much as I practice all this, what I don't practice is trying to go around picking up guys. (Not because of my lack of self-confidence or whatever, but I just think, I'm not pretty enough to succeed, so I don't try. Ok, that's low self-confidence in some aspects but I'm right, aren't I?)

I digress. Where was I? Cute guys. Right. Yes, I guess I'm always up for looking out for cute guys (I call it my Cute Guy Radar which flashes up with Cute Guy Alerts!) and drooling over them.. cos' honestly, if you yourself don't create fun in your life, who will?

My Cute Guy Radar has been flashing loads ever since I started my clinicals last year.. You have no idea how many cute doctors are out there!!! It's amazing!! I'm so privileged to be in this profession.. Yumm.. But anyway, along the way, undoubtedly, I have found so many of my senior doctors ridiculously attractive and soooo good-looking and this definitely helps me get through a long day..

Anyway, on this attachment, I have fallen head over heels for this absolutely lovely consultant. (For discretion purposes, I shall not name names and certainly not put initials!) Anyway, he's a really nice guy - charming, charismatic and very easy-going - in fact, everyone really likes him! I find him incredibly attractive and the thing that really draws me to him is his persona.. Don't get me wrong, he's quite cute too, with really big dimples that flash up everytime he smiles and laughs. (And he always smiles and laughs.. kinda likes joking around with his colleagues and stuff.)

But as I was saying, somehow, it's his charm, his personality, his charisma that just oozes confidence - all of which is incredibly appealing to me.. I love going into hospital just to be around him and watch him.. Sighh.. I've even been daydreaming and dreaming what it'd be like to err, date him! Haha.. (I am not a bad girl, he does not have a ring on the fourth finger of his left hand! What do you think the hospital's policy is on consultant-student relationships? Hmm..)

Again, getting a little distracted there.. hehe.. Anyway, my driving instructor gave me a suggestion today. Valentine's Day is around the corner and he suggested I sent him a Valentine's Card.. anonymously, of course! I was initially shocked but come to think of it, I think it's a really good idea and might actually consider doing it! In this respect, I need your help and opinions.. Do you think,

1) I should send him a Valentine's card?
2) I should sign it with my name or do it anonymously?
3) I should write stuff in it, and if so, what?

Judgement day

Judgement is defined by the dictionary as the act or process of judging; the formation of an opinion after consideration or deliberation or an assertion of something believed. (Actually, the dictionary gave quite a few definitions, I just chose the ones most appropriate in this context.)

I for one, am an incredibly judgemental person. In fact, I believe that everyone is judgemental, just that at the end of the day, it's the degree of which they are that differs from person to person. So I would say, in the population, I'd be on the 80th percentile and above. (Huh???) Don't blame me, blame the hours and hours spent with my girlfriends during our high school days passing judgement on any living thing that crossed our paths. (Yes, we judged frogs too..) Anyway, as I was saying, somehow or rather, I've evolved into an immensely judgemental person and unlike some, I actually admit it.

Ok, so why am I bringing this up? Of late, I am becoming increasingly aware of the err, how shall I put this nicely, sheer stupidity of some of my friends around me.. To be fair, as judgemental a person as I am, I tend to reserve most of it for my not-so-close friends, acquaintances and of course, total strangers. When it comes to friends, especially my girl friends, I adopt a kind-of protective attitude and honestly don't tend to judge nor blame them for their mistakes. (After all, no one's perfect, not even I! Muahahaha..)

I digress. As much as I love my girl friends and try my best to be supportive and helpful and just a good friend really, I can no longer adopt a 'see no evil, hear no evil' attitude. I have heard so many things from so many people around me about the absolutely sitoopid things that they do and it's time for me to say something.

Ok, perhaps I do sound a little harsh, and perhaps you can say, this is all my own opinion, but do let me explain before YOU jump to conclusions and start passing judgement. (hehe!)

My biggest issue with my girlfriends have always been a matter of choosing boyfriends. I personally think that more often than not, they make the absolute wrong decision of choosing complete scumbags (sometimes, even choosing them over good dudes!) to spend their day with and 'pat toh'. Majority of these relationships have bitten the dust and it takes the mightiest of restraints to stop myself from teling them "I told you so!".

Now, don't get me wrong, I'm not saying that I'm any kind of male-expert and that I am far more superior to them in choosing men. That's not what I'm saying and certainly not what I'm trying to get across. My biggest concern is this: most of these girls are amazing, incredible girls. They're smart, sexy, beautiful, talented, kind-hearted and overall, absolutely fabulous girls! They don't deserve to date scum and certainly do not deserve to be treated any less than like Goddesses. They're my good friends and I want the best for them. Therefore, they do not deserve anyone that isn't great, and most of all, do not deserve anyone who doesn't fully appreciate them for who they are. Ok, so men like that are hard to find, but they're certainly not extinct. So why oh why, do they always end up choosing assholes??!!! (Incidentally, WS once said that I don't think anyone is good enough for my girlfriends but that's not really the point, is it?)

(Ooh, I also have something totally against guys who are so irresponsible and seem (operative word here: seem) to go towards the other extreme and end up splurging their parents' hard-earned money (and not their own hard-earned money) on their girlfriends' trivial gifts.. Come on girls, you have more self-respect than that!!! It's the twenty-first century for crying out loud, don't disgrace the rest of us or we'll end up being the antithesis of 'Equality for Women' and revert back to the dark ages where men rule and girls (err, drool?) don't again! I digress, again. That's a story for another day!)

As a good friend, I feel that it's my duty to look out for them and express my opinion because that's certainly what I would want and expect from them. After all, that's what friends are for. Unfortunately, my good intention isn't always appreciated (yes, I've tried oh-so-many times to tell them and what happens in the end? I become a b**ch and they stop talking/telling me stuff!) so instead of trying to do what I can to help these girls, I have to hold my silence and just hope that they don't get too hurt. All I can do is to make sure that I'm there for them when that time does inevitably, come.

Ok, there is a major flaw in my argument, as you would point out. How do I know that these guys are dirtbags? It's only a matter of judgement and without properly knowing them, how can I be sure that these guys aren't right for my girls? Well, that's where the part where I admit I'm tremendously judmental comes in.

Having said that, there's one thing I know for sure. There are true slimeballs out there. And I mean real slimeballs. Now, over the past few years, I have realised that a lot of my friends are in sexually active relationships. Although this came as an initial shock (I attribute that to my conservative upbringing..haha!), we're all adults now and capable of making our own decisions. (I'm going into my mid-twenties soon!! Gasp!!! Oops, digressing and in this case, obssessing..)

However, the enraging and definitely, saddening thing is the number of people out theree who are practising unprotected sex. Not just random people, my friends!!! The reasons? Allow me to quote, "It doesn't feel the same for the guy!" being the most popular argument and the equally famous response to that, "So, I don't want him to do anything he's not comfortable with!". Whatever the reasons, these girls should know better.. This is, to me, completely unacceptable, at this age, in this day and age. Absolutely unacceptable!!!

I'm currently doing my Obstetrics and Gynaecology attachment and that includes Genitourinary Medicine which basically looks at diseases of the external genitalia i.e. dicks and pussies. Almost all of these diseases are Sexually Transmitted Diseases (STD) and it's really really sad (and disgusting) to know what could happen to you and the implications of these diseases to your life.

An even bigger problem are those ding-dong friends of mine who are not only having unprotected sex, but also happily and ignorantly are not on any form of contraception. I am appalled. Horrified. Shocked. Dumbfounded. Absolutely taken aback by their actions. What is this world becoming of? These are smart, modern and most of all, E-D-U-C-A-T-E-D women who are all aware of the risks of pregnancy and STDs. Again, you girls have more dignity than that!! You deserve so much more respect than that!!

Anyway, this is my penning for the week. I'm sure I would have offended some people along the way, but hey, the harsh truth is never nice to the ear, or in this case, eyes. This is really a case of 'Siapa makan cili, dia rasa pedas' - and oldage Malay saying. Translated, it literally means, 'Who eats the chilli will taste it spiceness' so hopefully, that clears it up. I've been meaning to voice out for such a long time now, it's good to finally get it out.. Now all I need to do is find a way to tell them..

Photo memorabilia - Part 2

It's 3 degrees Celcius outside and yes, that means that I'm back in the UK.. back in the freezing cold, back doing crazy hours again, back having no money to pay for heating, back with having to do everything for myself without the luxury of help. Yes, b-a-c-k, back.

I had a wonderful holiday at home this time around (as you have probably already guessed..) and can't believe that 2 weeks have just flown by... I spent most, and I do mean MOST of my time with my family (of course!) and with WS (of course!), either at home or out really. I even managed to save time by combining the two together! Sort of 'killing two birds with one stone'.. hehe.. Thank goodness my family adore him as much as they do!

I also got to spend some time with my good friends.. I was glad to see and catch up with one of my best friends, MY and we had a lovely time chatting. It was great seeing and hanging out with my old friends from high school, they're a fun bunch! Also got to catch up with a few friends from YS, from college and all around really.. so all in all, a good time indeed!

So here are some pics from my trip this round. It's really nothing much, cos' most of them were taken at home.. but I just couldn't resist showing you all the cutesie pics of my little brothers! :)


I arrived home on Christmas Eve actually.. (after a gruelling labour week, as you may have recalled) It was really nice to be home and we actually celebrated Christmas with a great big Christmas dinner. (Well, not big as in big-party big, but big as in lots-and-lots-of-food-to-eat big! If that makes sense..) It was just my family members (all 10 of them!) plus WS and 2 of my sis' friends.. We had loads of yummy food - a huge turkey with stuffing and cranberry sauce, mashed potatoes, salmon sashimi, fried party food and loads of dessert! Here are some pictures of the food here, but unfortunately, due to extreme hunger and greed, I forgot to take a picture of the huge turkey! :(

My cutesie-pies in their cutesie Santa hats.. check out the load of presents under our tiny tree!

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We celebrated Daddy's birthday with dinner at one of the Chinese restaurants down in PJ. (One of my dad's favourite hobbies is hunting around and frequenting good food joints..) We had a 10-course dinner and yet again, I forgot to take pictures of most of the dishes. Sorry.. was busy devouring the yummy food... again! Ah well.. never mind, just look at our happy faces and you'll know we had a good time!

Family pic!

Aren't my little boys just the sweetest things? They were originally meant to be shot kissing both my ee-ee's cheeks in this one. Guess they got shy!

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WS and I celebrated our anniversary the other day.. We went to a lovely and very very good Japanese restaurant around my area - Rakuzen. (Always thought WS hated Jap food, but apparently, after all these years of 'training', he's learned to love it now! hehe.. thanks to my papa!) It was quite pricey, I admit, but nevertheless, the food was scrumptious and worth every sen! WS also bought me a beautiful anniversary present, so that's always nice! Hehe.. he purposely came over and brought me out shopping just to look for it! Isn't that sweet? Hehe..

:)

This lovely salmon sashimi was the first dish, that's why I remembered to take a photo of it! Hehe.. all the rest, err, down in our tummies!

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The other pics below are just those taken horsing around at home really.. I think the most important thing about these photographs are that they are here to serve as a reminder of how great my family is and also to curb my loneliness on those days when I miss them the most...

Playing a fool around with JT1.. He can be so adorable and lovable!It's so hard to believe he's all grown up now.. 10 years old! I was with him when he was 1 day old! Gosh, do I feel old.. He's so sweet, naive and most of all, sincere so when he tells you that he sayangs you and is gonna miss you, you know they're all true! :)

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Lounging around at home in our house clothes.. (it would have been better if we spent more time at home with each other, but we seemed quite preoccupied with going out to shop and catch movies!) Anyway, it's good to know we accept each other no matter how ah-ma or ah-pek we look! Hahaha..

Anyway, that's it for now.. Nothing too much for the brain to handle, I hope? Hehe..

New Year, New Purpose?

First of all... to everyone..


HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


:) It's 9 o'clock on January 1st, 2006 and I'm up and all ready to usher in the new year!! Hah! Actually, I'm lying.. I'm still very sleepy and am only up because I had to send WS off. What? New Year's Day and already lying??? (excuse my craziness, it's due to severe lack of sleep..)

Anyway, yes, WS slept over in my house last night, excuse being it'll be too late for him to drive home after counting down to the brand new year.. but of course, the truth was that we really wanted to spend some quality time together. :) Our New Year celebrations this year was actually quite simple to be honest. All we did was drive out to a hilly spot around my housing area and watched the splendid fireworks from afar at the stroke of midnight. Boring you say? Well, the truth was we really weren't in the mood to go and be squashed in a big crowd, partying the night away and would much rather spend some quiet time talking, bonding and enjoying each other's company.

So we ended up having a quiet night. It was pretty good too, cos' that meant that I could be home by 12.15 and spend some time with my family. So that was good.. And at least I got to hang out with my friends earlier in the night, so that too was good.. And I had dinner with my family and wonderful little brothers, so that was good. And I managed to go 'yum cha' with BH, so got to do lots of catching up with him, so that too was good.. (Gosh, I really miss his company.. his wisdom, thoughtfulness and of course, sarcasm!) And I got to go to the temple in the morning and do some dana and listen to a Dhamma talk, so that was good.. (Yes, it's been a crazy and busy New Year's Eve indeed!!)

Anyway, the most important thing about New Year's is of course, everyone's New Year Resolution! To be quite honest, I haven't really put that much thought into it and usually, I don't really bother to come up with one. (Mainly because I never fulfil my resolution anyway so I've stopped trying! ;) ) But this year, I've decided that I shall.

As you know, my parents were up visiting me for my graduation and stayed with me for a week. They came about 2 months before that as well, as my dad was on some conference trip and mum decided to come. On both trips, I was constantly reminded by them of how much I've changed and not in a good way really. My mum kept saying that I wasn't a nice girl anymore and I don't see how that is, considering how I was never nice to begin with. They also said that having lived alone for so long, I'm now a very self-centred person with a small heart and most important of all, that I've become a very bitter person.

Of course, my parents didn't say this in a vindictive or ill-mannered way at all. They meant me well and was only trying to serve to remind me that I should try practising a more Buddhist way of life - with lots of loving-kindness, compassion, generosity and of course, wisdom (to say the least!). I was initially quite pissed off with them for being so, well, parent-like, but when I went home, I guess going to the temple and being around my family again, I'm reminded of how much I've strayed.

I guess it's quite easy to get sidetracked, especially when you're far away from home. My biggest problem was that I needed constant reminders and guidance to live the life I ideally want to lead and there are so little around me. I admit that I'm not a saint and that as much as I try, not a lot of good comes from within me, innately. I'm good at keeping my sila i.e. my precepts i.e. good discipline but that's it really. I'm not like WS who innately is such a good person that he doesn't need any guidance to be good.

So, (as you can probably guess) my 2006 New Year's Resolution is going to be this: I'm going to try my best to practice my religion on a daily basis. I'm going to try to be a better person as it will not only benefit the people around me, it'll directly help me.

(Of course there's going to be a little loophole in this 'clause' of my life - I might not be able to maintain this all the time. I did say I wasn't a saint right? So I'll choose when I want to practice being a better person! haha... Doesn't sound like much of a resolution? Oh trust me, it is.. If you know me, I don't normally intentionally try to be good!)

(Oh, and by the way, in case you're wondering, I'm actually at home now.. safe and warm, far away from the bitter cold and north wind. It's nice to actually live life without having to worry about money or financial issues on a day-to-day basis. Oh, how I've missed home! :) )