the form six days

Was looking through some really old photos from Boon Jin and Gabriel’s collection and just as much as I hate to admit and acknowledge it, I really do miss the form six days… life was full with many ups and downs throughout the two years with many good memories to reminisce, some regrets I still cry over at times as well as a major decision I have made to follow Christ… all in all, those two years were indeed the best I have ever had! decided to compile these limited photos I have taken from Gab into a little slideshow. Each of them brings a smile on my face.

I guess I just miss having friends around me 24/7, okay, not exactly 24/7 but almost. Be it during school hours – all the crazy things and talks we had during classes or breaks as well as the seriousness and silence when exams approaching, the after school club activities that never seems to end, prefects meetings, tuitions and more tuitions, yumcha at mamak or hanging out during weekends. I miss the people so much, now that I realized yes, I meant you, from all the super smart classmates of USS1 and good friends who sat behind me – Jit-Vern, Gabriel, Boon Jin, Ian and Yee Weng to the prefects gang who are serious and fun@crazy at the right time- Wai Tien, Yian, Cheryl, Kian, Matt, Kah Hon, Yee Hui, Jill, Jo, Mei Yin, Anand, Guan Sing, Thean Seng, Su Lyn, Wern Liang to other lovely friends – Lay Nga, Xung-I and buaya king, Jason Ling, haha ;p

I am blessed to have known these people. It’s even better to still have them around me ^_^ Treasuring every moment and appreciating each one of them.

Manchester – Sight Seeing

*** MANCHESTER EYE ***

I think my photography skill is improving

nice right?

me and the beautiful background ^_^

*** MANCHESTER ARNDALE & TRIANGLE ***

*** MANCHESTER CATHEDRAL ***

I think this one is rather creepy…

… me and the Cross …

… one of my favourites …

*** MANCHESTER TOWNHALL **

… inside of the hall …

… the interesting sculpture

and me …

… John Dalton …
the eminent Manchester scientist

… James Prescott Joule …
the man who established Joule’s Law

*** OTHER RANDOM SHOTS TAKEN ***

some prestigious music school in Manchester

Royal Exchange Theatre

the statue of Barbara Pearson, Messenger of Peace

Manchester Art Gallery
(was pretty disappointed to find it closes on Monday)

in front of the Manchester Art Gallery

Manchester – Urbis, The Exhibition

*** MANGA EXHIBITION ***

I was very lucky indeed when I went to Urbis as they are having this Manga Exhibition. I had fun More photos coming up…

… Studio Ghibli collection …
I like its production especially Spirited Away

… William Shakespeare’s Collection …

Romeo & Juliet

A Midsummer’s Night Dream

don’t remember what this is

… Manga Bible …

… some of the displays …

The exhibition is basically divided into five different groups.

CUTE

ACTION

EROTIC/ADULT

EDUCATIONAL/COMMERCIAL

FASHION

*** THE FAMOUS MATTHEW WILLIAMSON FASHION EXHIBITION ***

… some of his great designs …

i like this dress ^_^

Manchester – Urbis, The Introduction

Text taken from Urbis City Centre website – http://www.urbis.org.uk

Designed by the local firm Ian Simpson Architects and built in 2002, Urbis is located at the heart of Manchester’s redeveloped Millennium Quarter. Replacing a carpark in an area devastated by the 1996 IRA bomb, it is now one of Manchester’s most recognised buildings.

Manchester City Council held an international competition to design a building for the site. One of the key reasons why Ian Simpson’s design won, was that it left room for the surrounding gardens. All other submissions placed buildings in the middle of the space.

Urbis is a visually striking building from whichever way you approach it. Immediately eye-catching is the unique glass façade which consists of over 2,000 panes of glass. The roof is made of pre-aged copper tiling. As copper changes to emerald with age, these tiles are already old – fitting in well with the colour of the glass.

The shape of the building intends to reflect the historic surroundings. The South end tapers in width but rises to 35 m, to meet the busy intersection of Corporation Street and Withy Grove. The curved front reflects other buildings at this intersection, including the Corn Exchange and the Printworks. The angled spire at the top reaches 42m and directs the eye to Manchester city centre.

Urbis reflects the city, not only in its design but also in its content, featuring exhibitions on Manchester’s popular culture, world cities and the wider aspects of city life.

Manchester – The Salford Quays

The Salford Quays is an area in Greater Manchester, near the end of Manchester Ship Canal – it is one of the first and largest urban regeneration projects in the UK following the closure of dockyards in year 1982. I like it here, it is very relaxing and soothing to just stroll down the road while enjoying the surroundings.

I LOVE this photo ^_^

winter sonata??

Victoria Harbour Building

Dock cranes at the head of Ontario Basin

Manchester – The Old Trafford

Okay, first of all, I did NOT go into the all-seater stadium because it was raining =( but… I guess this is already good enough for me ;p

… with pretty yeelyn …

… me and all the posters …

and what is his name again?? hehe

… in the Man U store …

*** Manchester United ***

I was freezing cold that time, wet and windy!!

Manchester – The Food and Shopping

Spent the last weekend over in Manchester! ^_^ Went to meet up with Chee Lim (thank you so much for taking time off to be with me, girl) and Yee Lyn (it’s so sweet of her to come over from Leeds to meet up with me and I haven’t like seen her for years). Feel so refreshed from the short trip, not to mention all the catching up and gossips we had They are so comfortable to be with and I am really glad I decided to visit afterall. I am missing them already…

Some snapshots of food we had :

*** The traditional English Sunday Roast at Sam’s Chop House ***

can’t remember what this is called but it tasted awful so changed it into mussels later on (it will be nice if this kind of system applies in Ipoh, I mean at least I can change my meal if I don’t like how it tastes or turns out to be)

*** the very special mango “hor fun” dessert in Chinatown ***

(the “hor fun” is actually some coconut milk jelly)

… with Yee Lyn …

… with Chee Lim …

*** Spanish food for dinner ***

(we had a eat-all-you-can tapas for £10)

Why do I look drunk when I haven’t even started drinking? ;p Anyway the sangria (mixture of red wine, fruit juice, soda water, spices and fruit slices) is good, I like it…

*** Millie’s Cookies ***

(I’ve never liked sweet stuff, in fact I rarely eat them – I guess it explains my low blood pressure? but I just got sugar cravings since coming here)

*** Hong Kong Dimsum in Chinatown ***

‘yau char kwai’ wrapped in’chee cheong fun’

’siew mai’

those were the first two that arrived, we were so hungry that we stopped taking pictures and indulged ourselves with all the very originally Hong Kong dimsum that taste way much better than the ones we have in Ipoh ;p

*** another heavy dinner at Thomas Chop House ***

… starter – forgot what soup is that but it’s delicious, very creamy and have a hint of curry spices …

… main course – roasted lamb …

… dessert – sticky toffee pudding …

*** drink at this really posh bar, Cloud 23, Hilton ***

… the beautiful night view from the Cloud 23 …
(would look much better if I have better photography skills)

hmmm… this shot… nice or scary?

*** s.h.o.p.p.i.n.g ***

Bought more of my Dermalogica skincare here. Much cheaper than I got them in Ipoh!!

only £25 for all following, that’s like average RM30 per piece ^_^ I mean where can I get a pretty satin top like that and a pair of skinny jeans for rm30 in Ipoh ;p

I have never felt so stupid and useless in my life before. Maybe because I am no expert in this particular subject or maybe I am not working hard enough or maybe I am just being too much of a perfectionist or just maybe, blame it on my uni syllabus.

Lord, I ask very much for wisdom in areas of which I am lacking.

the delayed food pics

there you go, tuxin, specially for you

*** THE PIE ***

the failed strawberry pie =( base too thick, too little filling and the crust just doesn’t taste as good as it is supposed to be… i will attempt again!

*** THE CAKE ***

this one is easy and yummy yummy!! my very successful apple strudel cake ^_^ so satisfying…

the recipe, must-try

Cake
250g flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda (I didn’t add this)
1/2 tsp salt
115g butter at room temperature
200g white sugar
2 eggs at room temperature
1 1/4 vanilla essence
190g – 250g chopped apples (depends on your preference)
milk (I added this to make it more creamy)

Cinnamon Topping
75g brown sugar or 60g white sugar
1 tbsp flour
1/8 tsp cinnamon (depending on your preference)
15g butter at room temperature

Method
1. Preheat oven at 190 degrees.
2. Mix flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Sieve them and set aside.
3. In separate bowl, beat together butter, sugar and egg until smooth. Mix in vanilla essence and stir in chopped apples. Gradually blend in the flour mixture and pour everything into a cake form.
4. In another small bowl, mix brown/white sugar, flour, cinnamon and butter using hand. Mix them until coarse crumb texture and sprinkle them on top of cake form.
5. Bake for 35 – 40 minutes.

and you will get the freshly baked apple strudel cake…

*** THE FOOD ***

The beef roll…

*** The self invented donburi ***
consisting of fish fillet, bacons, onions and eggs simmered together and over rice with shoyu and black pepper as seasoning. love it!!

=)

=)

God has been really good. In the midst of stress and much confusion, He just sent me an angel, a French exchange student to work with me on the same project. Not that I could work less, but more in fact because this French student is really smart and has more experience than me. It’s just that I can learn and benefit even more from him now, and have the burden of the project shared.  Of course, not to mention he is sooOooo cute, haha there’s a little language barrier though as he doesn’t speak and understand much english but he did mentioned that one of the purposes of him being here is to improve that. Looking forward to work together with him. I must add more oil!! must prove that Malaysian students pun ada standard

Two Words by Lea Salonga

stumbled upon this beautiful song a few days ago… the perfect wedding song… at least that’s what I think… I would definitely love this being played or sang in my wedding in the future ^_^

written for and sang by Lea Salonga on her wedding day

a piano version of Two Words

For the past one month here, I have came to truly understand what it means by God blesses you so that you in return can bless others. Whatever the Lord has provided and taught you, use them to provide for others. I am not sure though whether there are exact bible verses about it.

God places us in so many different situations, allowing trials of many kinds and temptations into our lives not just merely to mold, shape, and bring us to maturity but also to use what He has blessed us through these experiences to bless, to understand and help others. I’ve always asked why must I go through this and that but by the end of the day, I realized that if I didn’t go through certain issues and trials myself, how can I then be compassionate enough and understand what others are experiencing?

No doubt, there are many detours in life but all will end up in the same destination where God has intended us to be. These detours have helped me to truly understand how others feel over a situation, over a fall, over a secret sin and how I could relate to them so closely. It then acts as a reminder of God’s grace that has brought me through all that and wanted me to do what I could, share what I have experienced to those who need to hear them, to those who need true, sincere encouragement and prayer rather than texbook answers and advice. As I am writing this, I couldn’t help but have tears because I finally understand that I don’t need to do super great things, to be very gifted to serve God for I just need to continue walking with Him and allow Him to use me to bless others in just small little ways.

Thank You, Lord.

made my day

Feeling discouraged, unmotivated and so so so tired these few days. Kind of left me feeling moodless.

But a sentence changes it all. Was chatting with a friend over msn and halfway through, he said “I’m soooo proud of you!”. I don’t know, THAT just somehow, lights up my day. Thank you, loopy

yumcha with profs and engineers??

We will never get this in Malaysia education system! Somehow today’s meeting gave me a totally different view of engineering once more. I felt pretty awkward in the beginning as my supervisor invited me to sit in to have a piece of cake and tea while discussing about the project. I mean to sit in with all these super smart, experienced and knowledgeable people sounds intimidating to me :p But it turns out great. Got so much input and useful information for my turntable project. And these people are so helpful and I really thank them for tolerating with my silly ideas and suggestions sometimes I feel so free and not being belittled to express my thoughts and ideas I have regarding the project – and I love how close the lecturers and students can get along, we can just drop by anytime to ask questions… don’t think that’s very malaysian.

The project is getting more interesting but I really have to put in much more effort and time as I have not learnt or known any of those required information. Think it will help me alot for my next sem back in UniMAP, dealing with bearings, motors, sensors, machine design and my favourite so far – learning the SolidWorks software and thank God too for giving me such a cool supervisor, you can talk to him about anything, academic or social stuff, also a very good motivator.

From today onwards, I have to bear and get accustomed with 70 hours a week of work, excluding the 3 hours Norsk classes 3 times a week. This is the price to pay due to 2 weeks travel plans in May *tsk tsk*

jeg håpe jeg vil overleve

…….

…….

project + studies + deadlines + migraine = bad combination