Back in the +44

Been really crazy since I came back to London, second year is no joke man! This week is even busier with 4 rehearsals and concert on Saturday but I did want to pen down some thoughts before I forget everything.

Anyway, I came back on London on Monday morning on the 22nd. C came to fetch me from the station (thank goodness!) and then I spent the morning just lazing around in the new house. I really like our house hehe. Couldn't unpack on the first day cause my room was still serving as the storeroom. I went out in the afternoon to Oxford Street and Regent Street (I HAD to check out Brandy Melville) and met Alice and Anna who were shopping. Then E and T came back the very next day and we had pizza for dinner. And the rest of the first week was spent settling in, buying stuff for the house, unpacking and such. I can't even remember what happened already because it feels like it's been so long and it's already the end of week 4. School life is passing by too quickly. :(

In terms of classes and all I'm rather enjoying my timetable this year - 3.5 days of the long weekend! It never actually feels sufficient though and I always seem to be rushing my French homework the night before classes. My Mondays and Tuesdays are also intensively packed - like literally all of my tutorials have been put together in 2 days alone. I don't have complaints though except that the school is huge and it's been a tiring (but healthy) workout running from one school building to another. And cheers for Free Fridays with Car - so far we've been exploring and walking around London and cycling (last week) but unfortunately I've got rehearsal tomorrow so I don't think I'll go out during the day.

In other news I've also been heavily involved in Music Soc this year. Made a crazy last minute decision to sign up for auditions for the Symphony Orch and got thrown into a fit of panic since I didn't have any suitable pieces in mind and I had to learn whatever it was within 2 days. Very grateful to Evan who took the time out to practise with me on the piano omg ... and by a stroke of pure luck I made it. It was quite a surprise because I honestly knew the parts which I screwed up in and also made a lot of stupid mistakes which I normally don't make ... but well say hi to 5 concerts this term, which is like one every weekend after reading week. And that's also how I ended up with 4 rehearsals this week alone. X_X I don't regret it though, sym orch's been pretty challenging so far and I've missed those type of grilling rehearsals for some reason. I also feel it's a good balance with strings cause there's more variety to the pieces this year. I will manage this, yes.

However work-wise I really think I need to work a lot harder this year. I've been doing my assignments and stuff and generally paying more attention in lectures but it still feels like my brain is not absorbing anything. Really regret not studying more last year because my foundation is really weak now so it's not helping much. Also I feel like I'm approaching quarter-life crisis and not knowing what I'm going to do in future when everyone around seems so sure and determined of their life path and I'm just trying to wake up on time every morning and catching up with work that's due the next day and stuff. Like trying to pull up my grades and get my shit tgt when everyone's applying for internships and summer placements and all. Idk I don't like thinking about it and I don't really know what to think either. Sometimes I also think I've been given so many chances and all but all I do is to ruin things for myself every single time. I don't know really.

Off day tomorrow so let's hope I get some proper work done. I wish time would slow down actually I really don't want school life to end that quickly.

Skating

I spent the last week at the Rink's LTS Holiday Ice Camp at JCube, which is basically a condensed version of their usual weekly lessons. It was not bad since I didn't really know the basics even though I could move about on the ice but I couldn't stop or skate backwards. Initially I thought I'd be taking lessons with kids but thankfully there was a group for older people like young adults and adults so at least that wasn't too awkward. We learnt the basics like falling, one foot glide, swizzles etc and I passed core 2 so that was good. Learnt a bit of core 3 stuff too but I'm still very bad with anything that relies on only one foot ...

Here's my daily summary for the past week or so:

80/01: Skating / food-hunting / disappointed in ridiculous expensive and disgusting cafe food so went to hawker centre instead / watched sis' ice skating comp

81/02: Brunch at Commonwealth / found my chocolate bear biscuits!!! / collected my rainbow dress / skating / Chinatown to run errands / Tim's house for housemates dinner

82/03: Vivo / movie / marche / didn't skate

83/04: Lunch at NUS with Sun and JH and WT / chilling at UTown watching everyone study

84/05: Bukit Timah / I Hall dinz at Sun with Moon

85/06: Brunch at Turf City with CW / 6th avenue

86/07: Ion / Bowling

87/08: Skating lesson / lunch with Yumo at EWF / Marche fruit cake

88/09: Skating lesson / Jurong / Ion / Clementi / West Coast

89/10: Skating lesson / KFC lunch

90/11: Skating lesson / The Missing Pan with Yumo / went back HC / farewell at the bus stop :'(

91/12: Lunch with Steph at Watami / skating / Ion

92/13: Ion / cycled to Steph's house

93/14: Home

94/15: Dental / Ion / skating

95/16: Skating

Can't believe it's down to my last 5 days of summer :( Been spending quite a bit of time at the rink hahaha but don't know if I'll be continuing this back in London. Also haven't started packing actually hehe but I don't think I'll be bringing over much except for my Brandy Melville stuff! Quite happy I've managed to clear quite a bit of my wardrobe recently but I've been buying at the same time too argh ...

Eat all day err' day

Been eating way too much for my own good in the past week hahaha it's not a nice feeling being constantly BLOATED. I would say my appetite is actually quite small and I don't like eating meat ... But anyway it's been a whole week of eating (not that I'm complaining) but my face is evidently ballooning up hahaha shuckssss.

Here's my daily summary for the past week or so:

71/23: GOOD SATURDAY.

72/24: GOOD SUNDAY.

73/25: Roadhouse / Ion / Ippudo / Ben and Jerry's (mega full day)

74/26: OG dinz @ 126 Sims Ave

75/27: Kiseki buffet lunch (I don't do well at buffets HAHAHA lesson learnt ...)

76/28: Antoinette (finally!!)

77/29: Dental / ice skating

78/30: Daily Scoop / MAF @ HC

79/31: Brunch at Roadhouse (again but their patty is so good I swear) / Durian ice cream / Mooncake tasting / tried the new Starbucks fizz drink!!

On Monday we had Roadhouse for lunch with Y. Haven't had it for almost a year and the closest substitute I found was this place called Red Squirrel in Edinburgh, but it's quite unrealistic to travel all the way to Scotland just for a meal. I think their menu changed this time because they didn't have the classic burgers anymore, but you can choose to "build your own burger" (B.Y.O.B.) for only $22 for the weekday lunch set which comes with a starter or a dessert. So we all got the custom burgers which were pretty good, along with this fried potato starter snack (I forgot the name), sticky date pudding with ice cream and brownie with ice cream. 

Sticky date pudding which doesn't look that good but was amazing

Brownie. Still prefer my pudding!

After lunch we went over to Ion and shopped a bit, then met M and C for dinner at Ippudo. I think that was my 3rd or 4th time eating Ippudo this summer but oh well :) Afterwards we went back to Dempsey for dessert. Initially we wanted to try P.S. Cafe but it was too full so we went to B&J's instead and got this merlion(??) waffle cone with 5 scoops.

Tuesday was OG dinz at 126 Sims Avenue. We intended to go to Red Star at first but it didn't open on Tuesdays :( I still prefer Swee Choon over 126! They don't serve liushabao so I literally had nothing to eat haha. Then Wednesday I met S for lunch at Kiseki. Their buffet lunch is from 11.30-3 and we really stayed for the whole duration haha. I gave up on the mains cause the meats were really too filling and it was probably a bad move to start with sushi and the rice rolls. The desserts were okay, I quite like the mochi but they only had 2 flavours which were strawberry and matcha, and the matcha was quite strong. There was also a selection of cakes which were a bit dry for my liking and ice cream so I spent the remaining time fully dedicating myself to the desserts HAHA.

This is round 1 which I gave up pretty shortly after HAHA.

Thursday was Antoinette! I love their pavlova and tea. Tried the Organic Charming Meadows instead of my usual chamomile this time and I think I still prefer chamomile because this one tasted quite ... herbal. The pavlova was amazing. I think the sorbet in the middle is banana/mango sorbet but I don't seem to be able to find it elsewhere.

(The lighting was bad)

On Friday I went for dental and I still don't think I'll be taking my wisdom teeth out so hoping hard that they won't give me any problems haha. Went skating for 3 hours with the sis after that and came back with a terrible headache. I guess it was due to the cold. And yesterday was MAF! Didn't actually mean to stay that long as I thought I'd just drop by but ended up staying all the way until the end. Spent a lot of time in the hall eating mooncakes and we went to visit the CSC teachers too. It was good seeing so many familiar faces again though it was a pity there wasn't much time to properly catch up with everyone. It's quite sad when you think about it sometimes because these are the people you've known for more than 6 years but now everyone's going their separate ways and we hardly have anything in common to talk about anymore. I wish I could keep in contact with a lot of people but everyone's busy with their own stuff and things like friendship only work if both parties put in the effort.

Anyway, went back to Dempsey again this morning. I keep wanting to try P.S. Cafe but it's forever full and there's always a queue outside and I was too hungry to bother waiting (as usual). Went back to Roadhouse for brunch hehe. I got the eggs benedict cause I didn't think I'd be able to finish a burget set.

Went to Orchard after brunch. There was a mooncake sale at Taka so we went in to try the different flavours hahaha omg TWG has this blue snowskin mooncake which was super nice. I love snowskin mooncakes hehe. Also shared a cup of durian ice cream with Carissa! It looked really tempting and was only $3, but of course the mooncake version was a lot nicer it really tasted more like the fruit rather than a mooncake filling.

Dropped by Starbucks before leaving town and saw that they had this new series of fizz drinks. I got the yogurt fizz with mango jelly. It tasted like sparkling yakult haha but the jelly was nice. This is like my first or second Starbucks since coming back haha don't really drink Starbucks anymore these days.

And I just realised August is over. :( It's 1AM now but I'm gonna change the time of this post haha. About 20 more days until I go back, I wish my break was longer hahaha kind of regret working for so long oh well. Here's to an amazing September ahead xx

Good Weekend

Simple but fun weekend hehe been feeling quite unwell lately so I didn't really feel like going to town or anywhere crowded. Idk what is happening but I assume it's probably the accumulated fatigue from work. Recently I've been feeling terribly hungry all the time and then once I eat I get gastric and indigestion so honestly I don't know whether I should eat or not (so I just eat lol) but the hunger doesn't seem to go away x_x I've been eating 1.5-2 times as much as what I normally eat and it's still not making me full because I get hungry again after an hour. I just hope this is another growth spurt and not that I'm becoming fat!!! That would be a nightmare. Also the dizziness and lightheaded-ness is coming back so I've been taking my blood pressure more frequently. It's still around the 100/50s and I suppose that's what's making me weak hahaha I don't deny that I am weak ... Hoping I can recuperate fast now that work is over I honestly just want to sleep at home all day every day.

Finally visited Steph today and got to see her dogs!! They're rather hyperactive and started barking loudly when I first went. They calmed down pretty fast though and Steph says I have a way with dogs yay ^_^v But the dogs are very well-trained too though they like to jump about a lot. I'm okay with licks but I would never let them lick my face haha. So super cute I love dogs but the 'rents will never agree hahaha aish.

Also spent the weekend updating stuff to sell / attempting to fold my clothes (but failed). It's becoming very difficult to find stuff to wear LOL. I swear my room is starting to resemble more like a warehouse rather than a bedroom. Lots of impulse purchases which I now regret and I really wanna clear space and at least get back what I paid for them sigh.

- - -

I'm enjoying the good times yet I can't help but to think of the fact that this is only short-lived. You always ask what I'm thinking of when I gaze at you, the truth is I'm just thinking, how lucky I am.

Post-Work

Last day of work today, realised how quickly time passes when you're busy (haha) but nonetheless I am grateful for the experience and I am even more grateful that my summer break has finally started proper - i.e. I am going to be nua-ing around at home and sleeping for more than half the day HAHA.

My Kanken was there waiting to greet me when I came back! I have never doubted the Royal Mail's efficiency when it comes to delivering international mail, as opposed to Singpost. I haven't opened it yet and will probably be too lazy to do so until much later ...

Anyway, continuing with my daily summaries:

46/29: Work / bought my Brandy Melville sunflower Jada dress hehe

47/30: Work / Topshop sales!! @ Vivo / rushed for OC meeting

48/31: Work / payday / spending money T_T

49/01: Camp day 1

50/02: Camp day 2

51/03: Camp day 3

52/04: Work / bad sunburn / bought aloe vera gel HAHA

53/05: Work / skating because the rink opened on a Tuesday night for once

54/06: Work / OG dinz @ Ippudo / stupid clubbing haha zzz

55/07: Work.

56/08: Work / dinz with YM / dessert + shopping

57/09: Shopping at Ion with Carissa / ND celebrations at Tim's place

58/10: Annie Leibovitz exhibition @ MBS with YM / daily scoop with Steph

59/11: Work / met YM at Clementi Mall while waiting for post office / I Hall dinz @ Holland V because Minhong was in SG

60/12: Work.

61/13: Work / payday / spending more $$$

62/14: Work / Korean food dinz with Av / skating and met Christie and Jiaying there!

63/15: Work.

64/16: Cycling / running errands / Artisan Boulangerie Co. with MZ / Killiney 118 HAHA

65/17: STAY HOME SUNDAY WOOHOO I LIKE

66/18: Work.

67/19: Work / Din Tai Fung with S6F girls @ JEM

68/20: Work / collected my BM stuff yay!

69/21: Work.

70/22: LAST DAY OF WORK / very bad cramps so I came home instead to rest :'(

Haven't been going out much after work because I've been really tired and not at all well-rested recently :( Was also pretty bummed because the rink was closed in the evenings this week so I couldn't skate on Monday and Thursday :( Meant to go today but terrible cramps it was so bad I contemplated cabbing back at 4+ but it was last day and I didn't want to like end it on a bad note so H went with me to the sick bay and I slept for half an hour there. Felt a lot better after I woke up, at least I could walk properly without feeling dizzy. I actually took 2 panadol tabs but they didn't work at all when normally just one would take effect within 20 min ... And I forgot to bring my other meds esp motilium so the nausea was pretty bad. Came home and took my blood pressure and discovered it was 105/56 which is pretty low but not as bad as last year's hahaha. Sianzzz.

Dad just brought home ice cream flavoured pocky I never knew such things exist!!!

Brandy Melville Review #1

I'd just collected my latest Brandy Melville order yesterday and was really pleased with everything that I got. Also wore my Alena dress in burgundy to work for the first time and got lots of compliments so I thought I'd do a review on the BM stuff I own here HAHA. I did a quick check and found that I've bought 19 items from BM so far, but I'm still waiting for about 7 to arrive.

There are a few styles which I'm absolutely obsessed with - Jada dress, Vodi shorts, Alena dress, Chiyo top. I don't own that many tops from BM but I really wanna get one of the Nadine tops / graphic tanks! Don't think I'll get any of the halters though but they're pretty cute too, just that I'll never have an occasion to wear them in cold and dreary London haha.

Anyway, the stuff that I got yesterday included one Jada dress, a pair of Vodi shorts and a Caleigh Top. 

I meant to get the one on the right at first but it was sold out at the time of ordering and they kind of replaced it with the left, so I went for it anyway. Really wanted the right one but I think it's still sold out now :( But the ombre Jada is really pretty! Would've totally bought the other one if it's in stock. I find the length to be relatively decent (surprisingly) but the only problem is that the front tends to be a bit low (or maybe it's just me being tall). Hence the need for a crop inside (Chiyo!!).

This pair of floral Vodi shorts are still available online and I'm surprised they're not sold out yet. There are a few types of Vodi shorts - rayon, chiffon and cotton and these were the cotton ones. I am super in love with the material, it's honestly the softest pair of cotton shorts I've ever owned. The material is so soft it looks like it's furring but I checked again and yup, it's just the material. And they're not sheer, unlike the rayon and chiffon ones (which I kind of regret getting because they can't really be worn out). Definitely need to get more of these in other colours.

Took a chance with this but I must say it didn't disappoint either! The material is equally soft as the Vodi shorts so yes I'm completely obsessed with the two ... the cutting is rather flattering too. I would like one of these in dark grey hahaha.

And here's my Alena dress! It got restocked online hehe. I'm waiting for them to restock the black floral and the navy ones. I really want the navy hahaha. The length is perfect and the material is quite heavy so the dress drapes and hangs down very nicely and gives it a proper swing. I thought the armholes might be a bit big at first but they turned out fine so all's good.

Super upset that Brandy's having a warehouse sale in LA this weekend and I'm not there T_T

Familiarity

I kind of miss London upon seeing this.

Lazy Weekend

I cycled 13km yesterday morning so I was pretty darn proud of myself. Had to run a couple of errands and the weather looked pretty good and I haven't cycled for ages so I guess I needed the exercise hehe. The route I took was from home to Clementi Mall, then I took a shortcut (by chance lol I guessed the direction) to KAP, then back home via the park connector. I swear the road along SIM/Ngee Ann Poly was hell-ish haha because there were so many slopes and the roads were uneven. Much to my horror there was also construction works going on at the bus stop outside SIM so pedestrians have to take a detour hahaha shucks. Took the other side of the road when I came back and it was slightly better except for a particular stretch which had trees right in the middle of the pathway almost every 2 metres so I had to get off the bike. It was also drizzling very slightly by then so I was trying to cycle away from the rain lol. But the good thing is that the roads were pretty empty.

Visited Artisan Boulangerie Co. at Killiney Road with MZ in the evening hehe. Rarely visit cafes because I don't really drink coffee but it was not bad I guess. I didn't order coffee though, went for English Breakfast Tea instead hehehe London has trained me well :> 

We got the New York cheesecake, raspberry lava cake and mixed berries tart. We were choosing between the fruit tart and the berries tart and the counter and the person kept recommending the mixed berries tart and it was the last one so why note HAHA. The crust tasted like cookies! I like.

Didn't go out at all today cause I was lazy. Lazy Sundays are good hehehe. Last week of work next week!! But no work means no $$$ HAHAHA. Been buying a lot of Brandy Melville stuff recently. I need to compile and keep track of my wishlist soon hahaha.

Payday Shopping

I think my shopping issues have gotten really bad, but anyway today was payday so it was a good day (sort of). This is going to be my last payday until the mid of next month and honestly I don't think it can last me until then lollol.

Anyway, I got 2 pairs of Brandy Melville Vodi Shorts, Lazy Oaf Strawberry Shortcake shorts and a Kanken. Was pretty lucky because I'd been eyeing the Vodi shorts from a reseller but the one I wanted badly was pending until last night but the deal fell through in the end so lucky me hehe :> Then the strawberry ones I've been meaning to get them since buying the watermelon shorts and they are so comfy and cute though the sizing is weird haha. I got a size S for the watermelon ones and they fitted alright everywhere except for the waist but I don't think I can ever squeeze into an XS HAHA. Anyway Nasty Gal was having a sale last night and I was literally in misery cause there weren't any sprees around and I don't have $150USD worth of things to buy and they were left with only ONE piece in S. But R was ordering from Nasty Gal today and she asked me and they were still in stock so woohoo!! Very very grateful for fellow shopaholic friends hehe ^_^ Was also browsing for some UNIF/AA-style crop tops but can't figure out if it's legit so I guess I'll wait a bit ...

Here's my kanken!! Been trying to find a new backpack for school cause my Baggu is wearing out :( And also it can't fit A4 so that has always been a problem. I spent a long time choosing between the blues and pink (thank goodness other colours were out of stock so that eliminates some choices) and finally decided on this because there are 2 colours and I am greedy HAHAHAHA. But yeah backpacks for life because my shoulders are slanted (stupid shoulder bag carrying secondary school days) and also because they're way more comfy to carry ... 

Oh yes also got my CHVRCHES tix today ^_^ This is actually the first real life concert I'm going to attend in my life because YOLO. Nah live concerts aren't really my thing but since they'll be touring and it's pretty cheap so why not. Excitesssssss.

And HOLYYYY KANKEN IS FAST it's been barely 20 minutes and they've dispatched my bag alr!!!!!

-

Actually really annoyed that I have work because there are so many things I want to do and so many places I want to go

Autumn in London

From last autumn / looking forward to these when I go back :>

Visuals / no filter heh

The night life ain't for me

Butter fac today, got back around 2am and very thankful for friends who drive ... I conclude after yet another experience that the night life is not for me. Seriously don't get how people can stand jumping about in the noisy and cramped space ... I think I was horrified at the crowds and the behaviour HAHA. Also the club was too loud for me, I get the same feeling like during CNY when the lion dance comes and they have the big drums and it makes me so uncomfortable like I want to throw up ... And alcohol burns my throat. Ha ha ha. Came back and mom was still awake and waiting for me, apparently she woke up in the middle of the night thinking that I was home and asleep then she realised I wasn't in my bed LOL. Complained to my mom about my terrible experiences with clubbing HAHAHA I am a weird kid. It was still a pretty good night though, very glad to have a chill OG even though I honestly don't know if everyone hates me for being so chill (in fact lazy) but well. Was also very shocked at a piece of news but very very happy for someone :> If it's not alright, it's not the end. 

Really really tired now and still contemplating if I should go skating tomorrow. I know it's national day this weekend but I really just want to catch up on my sleep. Also half regretting my summer plans because I wish I had a more challenging job instead really really regret not applying for the stuff that I really wanted and I don't know if it's too late next year. I'm still trying to figure out if it is really necessary to do an internship at all because being practical I have to work for my summer allowance and I know there's no way I could survive on an intern's pay ... What is the difference between a job and an internship anyway? What if I just wrote my report and reflections like what an intern does? I don't know man.

Still pretty annoyed that almost half or maybe even more than half of my summer break is over and I've not even started on any of my planned projects. I hope I can at least get somewhere with them before I go back to London. But right now I don't really want to think of anything else except the Brandy Melville things on my wish list. I was very annoyed that my ombré dress came back in stock right after I ordered a similar one last week. Notice how I used "my" instead of "the". I secretly want both actually, or maybe not so secretly but they're so similar. So annoyed at myself sometimes. But yes, these are the things that go through my mind.

Really need to sleep soon but I have to mention that this peeling gel thing works wonders so I kind of peeled the peeling layer off my nose HAHAHA. It feels somewhat raw but hopefully it'll be better in the morning.

I should skate tomorrow. And read some books. And study French.

Sales sales sales

Just got back from last camp meeting and so super tired. It ended around 11 so am very grateful to Alicia's parents for giving us a lift back!!

I thought I'd make it a point to blog more because time is passing by too quickly and I wanna keep track of stuff but life has been pretty boring but hectic recently. The highlight of today was that Topshop was having 20% off sale items so obviously I suddenly found the need to add some rather essential items to my already bursting wardrobe. Initially I was set on getting a pair of flats that got reduced to $19, the basic cami in cream and this super cute fluffy crop sweater in cream but all 3 were either not available or sold out in SG so :( Bought this heart print co-ord and a pair of shorts in the end!! Wasn't intending on getting the co-ord at first cause they only had UK6 left which the top was rather snug though the bottom fitted perfectly but it was too cute and comfy to pass x_x Don't even know when I'd ever wear it HAHA. The shorts were the high-waist single button MOTO shorts which I really love and they came in burgundy!! Been meaning to get a pair of basic HWS since forever and I really regret not getting them in medium and dark denim and now they're sold out :( The burgundy looked pretty okay and good as a basic plus it was only $23 after the discount which was practically a steal. So in all I didn't exactly spend that much and I'm rather satisfied with my purchases HAHA.

Was also delighted that my jada dress in brown rose print came today! 2nd jada in a week and still counting because I intend to place an order for Brandy Melville tmr after I get my pay HAHAHA. The first one that I got was the sunflower print one in cream which is super nice, I really love the material and the best thing was that the length was actually not too bad. I was slightly skeptical at first because it said 30" length down on the website but thankfully the straps are adjustable so it fits pretty decently. Buying one more next week off a reseller sigh this is where all my pay goes ......... So much for trying to clear my closet HAHAHA I think my rate of purchasing exceeds my rate of selling way too much and it ain't working hahaha what a joke.

Last day of work for the week tomorrow! Then camp haha shucks regretting not taking one extra day of leave but it's training week plus I actually need the $$$ LOL I can buy like a new dress or 2 pairs of shorts with one day's pay. I seriously wouldn't mind if any of my employers in future choose to pay me in clothes instead because that's basically where most of my money goes to anyway .........

Module Selections

Just got an email from the departmental tutor informing us of our module selections for the upcoming academic year and I'm pretty happy to see that I got my first choice :) We had to submit our selections in mid-June and I literally spent 2 hours researching and deciding before finally going for 19th century French literature. So much effort lol considering that I was basically choosing which century of French lit to study but it was the only module that I get to choose so of course it was important. Felt pretty silly after that I completely missed out on the ELCS modules which really look interesting but noooooo I don't have enough units T_T

Anyway, the module I picked was FREN2106 on 19th century French literature. There were quite a few reasons as to why I picked that over the rest - the texts, the assessment mode and as well as the tutor. I'd done a presentation on 19th-20th French literature before and also read a few of the texts (though I've forgotten them by now) so some of the titles were pretty familiar. Also considered the fact that I would rather one less examination in term 3 so doing 2 assessed essays might be slightly better ... though experience tells me examination essays tend to score better but oh well :( They could've just been extra lenient this year! Lastly, I attended a few lectures by the same tutor last year which I thought were pretty interesting and I do like his style of lecturing so hopefully it'd be the same or better for this module!

The other module that I was considering was FREN2107 - also French lit but on the contemporary period. suppose I gave it a pass in the end because the two-hour examination on ALL aspects sounded too scary hahaha. I also briefly looked through summaries of the texts and found that they were slightly too dark for my liking so well it's back to the 19th century I guess.

I stupidly only discovered that we could actually choose ELCS modules as well only just now so I guess it might be a bit late for me to make any amendments ... Looked through the list of modules for term 1 (because term 2 will probably be too hectic so I would rather take more modules in term 1 first) and thankfully there wasn't anything that I would be particularly keen on. I did locate 2 very interesting modules that were only taught in term 2 - ELCS6009 and ELCS6028 - both linguistics modules and aspects in which I've always wanted to explore more. It might have been a good chance for me to get out of my comfort zone but then again even though I may like it (or I may not) I wasn't too sure about doing well in it academically, so... And anyway it's in term 2. Note to self to attempt some of the readings during my free time hahaha. This is the thing about only having interest but no skill in a subject hahahaha I guess I would prefer studying it in my own time and it reduces the stress of having to absorb so much stuff within a limited period of time.

Anyway to conclude I feel that UCL offers way too many interesting modules but way too little academic units so I really really wish we could get to learn more stuff hahaha okay I know the lack of time is a big problem but still. Could we maybe just take modules for fun I feel like I learn much more (and more willingly) during then LOLLOL.

6 weeks into summer

It's a public holiday today so I finally have some time to rest at home. And if you're reading this, HI AV!! Hahaha. Been terribly busy for the past 4 weeks since work started but at least I've survived half of work so yay :> Also been busy meeting up with everyone before they fly off again omg so many things and so little time. Camp is this coming Friday so that'll be one weekend and I think after that I should finally be able to take a breather hahahaha or not. Anyway, I'm going to continue with my daily summaries as a mental note for myself. I stopped previously at day 15 / 28 Jun so will continue from there! And I'm proud to say that I am still keeping track of my accounts which turned out to be a rather useful thing seeing the amounts I spend :(

16/29: Home / cannot remember what I did but it was the day before work started!

17/30: First day of work x_x / I Hall BBQ @ Chuanling's before she flew off

18/01: Work.

19/02: Work / dinner with Wanting before she left for summer school / cheap but decent pasta at BTP

20/03: Work.

21/04: Work / FRIDAY so tired went home to rest x_x

22/05: OC meeting / went town after that bought stuff + collected stuff / SKATING pretty impromptu but woohoo 'rents kindly sponsored a pass hehe

23/06: Stay-home Sunday

24/07: Work + skating

25/08: Work.

26/09: Work.

27/10: Work + skating

28/11: Work / FRIDAY / dinner with Steph and Esther at this Jap place at Ion / pretty good ramen / Topshop shoes + F21 / bus ride back with Steph

29/12: Dim Sum with FY and GY!! / Awfully Chocolate / catching up at Star Vista hahaha

30/13: Zherms came over for lunch / TBM flea with Zherms and Kailin / short meet up with Annabelle and Jiamin over Starbucks

31/14: Work + skating with Steph!!!

32/15: Work.

33/16: Work / Dinner with Sun!!

34/17: Work / Last meet up with Annabelle and Jiamin before Annabelle flew back / super good ramen at Holland V

35/18: Half day off to run my errands / Swee Choon + Butter Studio with the ANZ girls / ate until we were so full and had food coma HAHA

36/19: OGL camp / got sunburnt super badly T_T

37/20: Dinner with HCSE (HK/Penang Trip gang hehe) @ NUS / so good to see everyone again :)

38/21: Work / forgot why I didn't go skating but I didn't :(

39/22: Work.

40/23: Work / went back to HC to visit Dr Tan and HCSE / met Jocelyn hehe! Took bus back tgt :>

41/24: Work / went skating and FELL but it wasn't my fault someone crashed into me while skating backwards then I couldn't stop and the next thing I knew I was on the ice T_T But to be honest the rink was way too crowded that day!! I always get nervous when there're a lot of people argh

42/25: Work / TGIF went home to sleep so tired

43/26: Chinatown / pre-dep talk / May's birthday surprise / 3-Inch Sin

44/27: Dinner with the NYSE girls / finally tried Concetto / super good tiramisu

45/28: Breakfast with Av at Yakun / super wow-ed by her instant photo printer which I thought was a portable charger at first / good catching up session hehe :> Also note to self to bring back 2-3 jars of kaya to London HAHA

Omg so many days of work looking up the list haha sigh but only 3 days this week because of camp on Friday. Actually it's not that tiring but just the time and sitting in the office ... okay I would choose aircon over the blazing afternoon heat in sg any day still hahaha. And almost half of my summer has passed this is terrible time is passing by way too quickly ...

On work

You only really start to appreciate things when they're gone. I realised how true it is this week while working, and that I really kind of miss working in ANZ. Sure it was crazy stressful, but I miss the high level of activity, the flexible hours, and most of all the people. Have been reminiscing the good old times with L, M and HX recently and we all still remember our V+ codes! Hahaha. Also the phones at my current office happen to be the same as those back in ANZ and the ringtones are also exactly the same so it's like everytime the phone rings I feel like I'm still back there. Really can't believe it's been more than a year already, time really flew when I was in London and now that I'm back it hardly feels like I've left at all. I think time is passing too fast but sometimes I really just wish for everything to be slower or even stop because I don't want to grow up so quickly ...

Hauls from LOVE Sample Sale

Posted this on my instagram last week but I thought I would do a post on them! I was lucky to have caught both their sample sales in May despite having exams and all. Their sample sales usually last 2 days and their showroom is on Great Portland Street which is relatively close to school and all, so it was quite convenient for me to get there. Everything costs either £5 or £10, which is a super good deal because most of their stuff retails at £30+ on their site or Topshop. Sample pieces which are one-off and some of the newer pieces are usually priced at £10, but the rest including their past season or even some current pieces if you're lucky go at £5!

The first one was the morning right before and the actual day of my French lit paper (last paper), so I went on both days. Bought the lime skorts, the keyhole double layer chiffon dress in lemon and a tartan skirt on the first day. The lime skorts came from a separate rack and had no size tagged on them so I suppose it was a sample. All the sample pieces don't have size tags, but I asked and the size is a S/UK10. It fitted alright except the waist was too big, but it was really unique and I've always liked neon / yellow so I decided to get it.

LOVE White Tartan Pleated Skirt

I thought the tartan skirt was a good basic 'cause it always comes back in trend in winter. I have quite a few tartan skirts already so that's one more to add to the collection!

I still remember how C and I rushed over on the second day, because our papers ended at 4 and it was at the same location so we decided to rush and see if we could still make it. We reached past 5 and turned out that they were still running the sale and seemed to have no intention of closing at 5 as stated so lucky us! I spotted this other shopper holding a gorgeous rainbow dress so I went to check the rack and thank goodness there was one last piece! It was a size XS and I was initially afraid that it would be too small, but it fitted perfectly. There's a cross back design and it comes with a back zip. Didn't buy anything else except this slit sleeve top, which I initially wanted to pair with my Zara pleated shorts but I returned it in the end so I haven't thought of how else to match it yet. The only thing I didn't like so much about the top was that it's really sheer and the chiffon seems to tear quite easily, but it was the last piece so I decided to just get it (and then they restocked it in the next sample sale and I regretted buying ugh).

The said rainbow dress: LOVE Pastel Print Cross Back Dress

LOVE Ivory Flute Sleeve Tie Back Top

Total no. of items bought: 5

Total damage: £30 (= £6!!! per piece on average)

The second sample sale happened apparently because it was back by popular demand, but oh well all the better for us! It was during the first week of my summer school, and I went on both days (again). The first day (Thursday) I went during lunch break with Steph. Bought 2 chiffon dresses and this pale blue dress which I'd seen the last time but the price went down so I got it. It's also a sample piece and features a wrap front in this super pretty shade of powder blue. It also has adjustable straps which was good because it was too big on me, but I figured I could probably get it altered. The other 2 pieces were the keyhole double layer chiffon dress again but in navy, as well as a drape open back dress in oxblood. The navy dress was a M/L but I have it in lemon already and the cutting is really nice so I bought it anyway. I don't think the two sizes differ very much and anyway it's supposed to be a loose fitting swing dress! The drape back dress came terribly big but there's many layers so it's not sheer at all. The quality feels pretty good too.

LOVE Navy Key Hole Double Layer Shift Dress

LOVE Ox Blood Drape Back Dress

On the second day (Friday) I went back again by myself after summer school. Was pleased to see that they restocked the drape back dress in other colours and they had more of the S/M ones (it only came in S/M and M/L). Ended up buying it in 3 more colours haha. Really wanted to get it in cerise but there was only M/L left and it was way too big :( But I bought like every colour available except this dusty raspberry pink cause I've worn stuff in that colour before and it looks terrible on me. Initially I only intended on buying the black and the blush because the mint looked a bit funny on me, but the store owner convinced me that it was definitely in at the moment and that I should got it so I did ... Hahaha. Also chatted a bit and he said there were other Singaporeans who came in the morning (LOL I know who) and that he wasn't actually the owner but an old friend of the boss. Satisfied with my purchases and went home to discover that all 3 colours are still on the website selling for £32. Score!

LOVE Black Drape Back Dress

LOVE Blush Drape Back Sleeveless Dress

LOVE Mint Sleeveless Drape Back Dress

So in all I bought 11 items from their 2 sample sales. Only brought back 10 as I left the tartan skirt in London, but the chiffon was really heavy and I think the whole bag weighed about 5kg (it was my heaviest bag of clothes haha). Really pleased with my purchases and can't wait to wear them soon!

First 2 weeks in Singapore

Been a really hectic 2 weeks since I came back 15 days ago! Went out almost everyday + met up with people + shopping and selling my stuff + randomly meeting people in town LOL. I swear Singapore is so small haha I literally meet at least one person by coincidence every single time I go out. Like today when I rushed to Vivo thinking I'd just spend 5 min to check if they had my dress there I met Sherman with his friend LOL. Got caught in the act shopping when I wasn't even supposed to be out today D;

Anyway a short summary of the past 2 weeks by day/date because I'm meticulous like that (more for my own reference so that I can keep records of my spendings and whatever) :

1/14: Stayed at home

2/15: Met up with Pan at JEM / checked out Westgate / met Chuanling there LOL

3/16: Met up with the bro PJ for lunch / IKEA meatballs / library (need to remember to return my books, or actually start reading them)

4/17: Met up with Sun!! Orchard Gateway / shopping along Orchard

5/18: Met up with Ellis at Vivo / bought Topshop jellies woohoo / saw Rachel there hahaha

6/19: Stayed at home to unpack and attempted sorting out my clothes (unsuccessfully)

7/20: Home day again I think! Went out with fam in the evening to buy my portable chargers etc and binged on KFC for dinner / first time eating KFC in about a year or so HAHA I really hated the oil it was literally dripping ugh ...

8/21: OC meeting in morning / met Pan again at Orchard hehe went to get the tote bag from Topshop!

9/22: Home!! Dk what I did but I probably slept the morning away so that's half the day gone

10/23: Interview in the morning / met up with Carissa in town hehe / shopped Cotton On and after she left met Chuanling again LOL we planned neither time HAHA

11/24: Lunch with JT at NUS / walked around the medical centre / went town

12/25: Cycling in the morning along the canal / lunch with Elissa at Bugis / Bugis street didn't buy anything / shameless ootd-taking HAHAHA I only had 4 though :P

13/26: Cycling again / napped in the afternoon cause I was SO TIRED from the cycling / dinner with Jiamin and Annabelle at Ippudo / Sephora + walked around until everywhere was closed

14/27: Cycling at ECP with the IHall gang (3rd consecutive day of cycling LOL my poor legs) / Kallang Wave Mall for F21's new store opening and we all bought stuff (hehe they gave earphones!!) / Jap food late lunch at 313 with FREE FLOW RICE (my favz) and Jun Sean treated us all to Koi yay / more F21 shopping after they left / hunted EVERYWHERE for that dress which I regretted not buying earlier seriously so annoyed why do I hesitate. Found it in the end at 313 but only in size L but still bought it in the end since I figured I could get it altered ... omg I bought 6 items in all LOLLOL

15/28: Slept in until lunch cause I was so tired HAHA / Vivo to check if they had the dress but no luck / went back to Ion and literally bought the LAST size S for my pink rose crop / also realised it was the exact piece I tried on ytd haha but OMG SO LUCKY it was still there cause they didn't have it at the other store / pink sunset nice sky colour woohoo

- - -

AFTER 2 HOURS I HAVE FINALLY SORTED OUT MY ACCOUNTS FOR THE PAST 2 WEEKS. I think London has made me somewhat OCD about my finances. BUT ALL IS GOOD NOW. 

UCL Global Citizenship Summer School and Bulgarian

Now that I've been back for a while it's time to sort out my posts! Busied myself with UCL's Global Citizenship Summer School in my last 2 weeks in London which included some very basic Bulgarian lessons. I have to admit that it was the language component which attracted me to sign up for it in the first place because I have some sort of obsession with European languages in general.

We started off last Monday with an introduction session and an un-conference (not UN conference) where we had to discuss aspects - basically characteristics and skills that a global citizen ought to have. I was in the same group as some people whom I already knew but anyway most of them were linguists, so we were very meticulous with the words used - for instance "tolerate" had a negative connotation so it was almost the very first word to be taken out. All the groups submitted their word lists afterwards and they made a really cool word cloud with it!

What my group came up with!

We also got a really cool map :D

After that we went for our first language sessions! I didn't specify any preferred language as I thought all of them sounded really cool and exotic - they offered German, Slovakian, Hungarian, Serbian, Romanian and Bulgarian - and I was allocated to Bulgarian, which was a good thing because I think I would've been exasperated at not knowing how to speak a single word in Romania the week before had I been allocated to Romanian. Also I've not been to Bulgaria yet, so there's a higher possibility of me visiting there in the near future as opposed to Hungary and Romania! So yes, I was happy with what I'd been given :D And everyone from my Bulgarian class were really nice and friendly! Even the tutors hehe. In our first lesson we learnt the Bulgarian alphabet which was the Cyrillic alphabet. I was glad that I finally got pushed to learn it properly because I'd been meaning to learn Russian since years ago but was always put off by the alphabet. It's quite difficult to remember because there are more letters than the latin alphabet, but generally easier to pronounce as it's a phonetic alphabet. We also did some simple greetings and phrases, and that was about it for the short one-hour class.

The rest of the days followed a schedule somewhat like this: lecture in the morning (10-11), academic tutorial / discussion on the lecture (11-12), lunch (12-1), skills lecture (1-2), language class (2.15-3.15) and project tutorial (3.30-4.30). For the project we basically had to come up with 2 "outputs" - a poster and a film. I really enjoyed all of the lectures because they covered aspects such as geography, anthropology, linguistics, politics, international relations and even the economy in relation to the Danube river. Prior to this the only thing I knew about the Danube was the Blue Danube Waltz lol :( And my favourite lecture was the one by the Hungarian lecturer Adam Nadasdy on language along the Danube! It was really inspiring and I was so tempted to study linguistics hahaha. Also went for a talk on Bulgarian writers in London in the same week and that was interesting too!

Stuff we learnt about during the lecture

Conjugaison in Bulgarian class, much to my delight (HAHA)

 

Bulgarian snacks that our tutor kindly brought for us!! - Bulgarian delight that was rose-flavoured (similar to Turkish delight) and this peanut biscuit sandwich. I love the Bulgarian delight because it leaves a burst of rose aroma as an aftertaste. :)

On Monday this week we also had a story-telling session by people who came from the region close to the Danube, followed by a food-tasting session! The only food I could recognise was the Hungarian noodles (only because I had those in Budapest).

Not a very good photo due to poor lighting and no filter, but photos won't do justice to the food!

Bulgarian class :D The only photo where everyone's face was inside haha

The rest of this week we worked mainly on our projects. Had to submit the poster by Wednesday so we stayed back on Tuesday to finish up! Really thankful for such a cooperative and efficient group ^_^ And here's the QR code for the Bulgarian quiz we made: (I never knew that coloured QR codes work too!!)

Couldn't attend on Thursday and Friday because my flight was on Thursday :( There was supposed to a be a guest lecture on Thursday but I had last minute things to settle so I had to give it a miss :( And Friday was the exhibition and party! Really sad that I missed the fun part but apparently our group won for the poster so well done to us!! It turned out really great:

Photo sent by Evangeline! It's quite pixelated because whatsapp reduced the quality :( But it looks good! We played with the words смел (pronounced as "smell" and means brave in Bulgarian) and "smell" because Bulgaria is famous for their rose oils! Rose petals from my bouquet hehehe they dried up but they still had some scent left I guess and glad they came in somewhat useful ... and incidentally also remembered that my favourite mask was Bulgarian Rose too hehe. But yeah I missed all the excitement, back here and sweating in this humid and sweltering weather :(

Anyway to conclude I felt that it was a well-spent two weeks! It was really intense though as compared to my usual school hours because in my last term I only had 10 hours of classes each week, but summer school was about 5 hours each day like 10-4. The lectures were very interesting and you can really tell that a lot of effort was put into the preparations for this, judging from all the materials we had and the people they invited just to speak to us. We're really lucky to have had the chance to attend everything and without having to pay :O And I'm so determined to continue with Bulgarian so that I can at least attempt to speak it when I visit Bulgaria! Would highly recommend this to all juniors, though I can't comment on the other schools hahaha. The only regret I had was that I couldn't commit to it as much as I had wanted to since my flight was on Thursday and I was busy with house-moving stuff so I missed quite a few sessions :( Nonetheless it was a still a great experience and I'm really glad to have met my fellow Bulgarian classmates and it was a good conclusion to my 9 months in London :)

Danube on Thames website: http://danubeonthames.wordpress.com/

Our group's Bulgarian documentary: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PODoEDYwMY4