Last days of 2016

Second last day of 2016. Tomorrow is NYE! This year has gone by crazily fast. But I've realised that the older I get the faster time seems to pass. Childhood felt like it was so long. Maybe it's because we're more occupied as (semi-)adults (haha). I have not been very productive in SXB ... brought all my notes but barely did anything except for French omg really need to do econ. K introduced to me this chess game called "Backgammon" a few days ago and I've been addicted to it lol. It's been really foggy here in SXB and the temperature's gone below zero so haven't been out much and basically just staying indoors and watched a lot of movies haha.

28 Dec Wednesday:

Woke up even later than usual, I think I attempted to read a bit of econ?? Was super foggy so didn't go out except to Rivetoile to get some groceries, and that was super late like before it closed. K cooked dinner for me!! Super good. Started playing Backgammon and hence began the game addiction lol.

29 Dec Thursday:

Woke up late, super cold and had cramps the whole day so didn't leave the house at all. Attempted reading Finance again, but ended up playing Backgammon (again). I finally made my soupe forestiere! Favourite soup of all time and I couldn't find it in London so defo gonna have to stock up before I leave + pomme poire too!!! I can't leave Europe ah how else am I supposed to buy all my French food ... Anyway watched The BFG, The Holiday and City Island. Been wanting to watch the BFG since summer but it came out in July and I was busy with internship back then so didn't have the time until yesterday. The Holiday was really nice but didn't really like City Island as much I felt that the beginning was too long and they took ages to get to the climax of the movie. 

30 Dec Friday:

A.k.a. today. Woke up early but basically went back to sleep until about 11 then stayed in bed to play Backgammon LOL. Facetimed the fam back in SG then went out to centre-ville because I really wanted to go to that bookstore at Place Broglie and I didn't know if they were going to be open tomorrow. And I'm so glad I went!! Got 3 colouring books (the only books I'm obsessed with now lol) for €12 and one of them is this coloriage calle Merveilles Sous Les Mers which I've been eyeing since maybe April?? It was also the last one so super glad I went today! The other two I got were the colouring postcards but they only had 2 versions and I even went to the other store at Place Kleber to check but they didn't have the others in the series. Nonetheless am super happy with my purchases! Walked about a lot and took different routes back and discovered a lot of streets that I've never seen and also revisited a lot of familiar places. Then it got too cold so I quickly went to Simply to buy some stuff and came back. Was really bored after coming back so went out again to HCo at Rivetoile to try on the shirts so that I could order my size online LOL. Couldn't decide between XS or S but decided to go with the bigger one so that I can wear it more as an outerwear. Then went to Leclerc to get more food and stuff and came back. Ordered my HCo stuff online and basically been procrastinating since then ... and I haven't even had dinner yet. I will read at least half of my Finance notes tonight sigh. I was supposed to have finished revising 2 econ mods by this week! T_T

Christmas in Strasbourg

I've been back in Strasbourg for about a week now (10 days to be exact) and I can really say that nowhere else feels more at home than here. It's weird, but I'm just so used to living here in SXB and the city and the places and everything. Post-Erasmus blues is real, and I'm not sure when I will get over it.

Anyway going to post brief updates about my life so far! I really want to remember things because today K was just recounting to me how we ate at Le Tarbouche once but I have absolutely no recollection of that at all. Like at all. It's so weird because he recounted the whole incident and I can imagine myself saying the same stuff but I just can't remember the actual incident happening?? And what's weirder is that normally I keep track of my spendings and take photos of my meals etc but I can't find anything about it. The only time I remember going there to eat was with V and that was back in December 2015 ... so weird. But anyway point is I wanna be able to remember what happens in my life!!

Okay so week 10 of term 1 was quite crazy. I started working at HCo and wasn't scheduled for any shifts that week since I just got registered onto the system on Monday (12/12), but managed to pick up 3 shifts from my colleagues to cover so was pretty cool. I really like working in the store haha. I worked on Monday until closing, then bought stuff with my associate card for K and the housemates for Christmas hehehe. Tuesday had a full day of classes until 6 and went to C and MH's place for curry dinner! Worked again on Wednesday from 12 since I only had classes until 10 - was actually planning to dimsum lunch with S and K but couldn't in the end so I just went to work early and worked until closing again. Was supposed to do until 6 but manager asked me to extend cause they needed people for closing I guess. Super tired. Thursday I had class in the morning, lunched at Farmer's Market with C and XP then went to Westfield to shop / return stuff. Came back in time for Finance tutorial and French, but went to Regent St again after class to buy stuff from HCo lol. Then Friday was quite crazy - had class from 1 to 4, went to work at 4.30, worked until closing, bought a Subway dinner and went to M's place to chill - literally didn't get to see him for the entire term until last day of term LOL. Then I went back about 11 cause P was waiting for me to watch the penultimate episode of The Apprentice together since we both didn't have time to catch it the night before. By the time we finished it was about 1, then I had to pack my luggage for France while P just played Fifa downstairs until like 4 or something. I was organising all my notes and everything and time just passed so quickly - didn't even realise it was already 6am and I had to leave at 7 to catch my bus at Victoria. So quickly shoved the rest of the things into my luggage, ate my last avocado from the fridge and left. Was freezing and foggy when I left the house and I think I missed the bus I was intending to catch by 2 minutes. So had to wait super long for the next bus and I was calculating I would have about 5 min to spare when I reached the coach station. The bus was quite slow and I was literally watching the minutes and dashed off when I reached my stop. Dragged my luggage and ran towards the coach station and actually made it with indeed 5 minutes to spare but what a close shave!! I started to regret not having bought the Eurostar ticket.

Fell asleep when the bus started moving and woke up about an hour later - we had already reached Folkestone but there was a massive jam to get to the Eurotunnel. We were delayed about an hour or so then when we finally reached the check in for Eurotunnel the bus driver told us we were already delayed by an hour. Thank goodness I planned for 3 hours of transit time in Paris, but messaged YM to tell her that I most probably wouldn't be able to meet her for dinner in Paris that night. Wait more on the bus and finally the bus started moving and we got onto the Eurostar shuttle fairly quickly. The bus driver then told us somehow we managed to get onto an earlier shuttle which was great news. Slept on and off after that, arrived in France then realised my bus was taking another route via Lille instead of going directly to Paris. Checked the bus timetable and calculated we were about 1.5 hours behind. Weather was really awful - it was foggy and rainy and cold. Finally arrived in Paris and even then there were a lot of traffic jams. Arrived at Bercy at 6.30pm and there was no way I could make it for dinner. Took the metro for free to Paris Est - they were encouraging people to take public transport because of the air pollution in Paris so public transport had been free for Friday and Saturday, which was great for me as I didn't have cash so didn't have to buy a ticket. Travelling with luggage definitely takes more time than usual, so I only arrived at Paris Est at 7.15 and had to wait an hour for my train. Bought a French Meal Deal from Casino (the supermarket chain lol) then sat and waited. Spoke to a lady who turned out to be going to Strasbourg as well and had quite a nice chat with her. Finally the train arrived and boarded and slept on and off again on the train cause I was so tired. Arrived in Strasbourg at a quarter past 10 and K was already at the tram station waiting for me! So happy to finally be back aha. 

18 Dec Sunday:

Woke up quite late at 11, but K cooked brunch! I washed my hair then went out to meet LJ and friends who were just there for one day. Went to Cafe Atlantico (the boat by the quay!!) for drinks and cheesecake, then Sushido for dinner. The sushi was amazing I'd been craving it for about 3 months now lol. Then we went to take photos at the Christmas Market entrance and somehow my instax wouldn't work and there was this other girl who asked us to help take photos with her instax and her instax also stopped working. So weird but after I went back I realised the counter was actually wrong and I'd in fact finished the films. But still we managed to take 1 instax of all 3 of us together and I gave LJ and W the ones with them. I haven't used my instax ever since and I can't use my Christmas films anymore now that Christmas is over ...

19 Dec Monday:

Woke up at 7am to collect the key from I, then went back to sleep again and only woke up again at like 1pm so only moved in in the afternoon. K helped me with my stuff, then we went out to lunch. Wanted to eat at Franky's but it was closed so we went back to Rivetoile and had Buffalo Burger. Then went to HCo since it was right opposite Buffalo Burger and I discovered the amazing thing that I can use my associate card in France!!! So bought some stuff hehe and now I'm waiting for the new triple A's hopefully coming soon in Jan?? Shopped around a bit but not much to buy, then went to Leclerc to get groceries. Then came back and did work caused had prep to do but nothing much exciting. I ate a really French dinner of baguette and pate that I bought from Leclerc - hadn't had it for ages like maybe since March lol when LJ first introduced me to it but soooooo good.

20 Dec Tuesday:

Woke up quite late again but had a nice French breakfast of croissants and tea hehe I love croissants. Went to Rivetoile again with K but went to other shops this time like Bershka. I saw this super cute pink knit jumper in Bershka so am just waiting for it to go on sale. Also found the Mom Jeans that I tried on in Westfield that day but the queue was too long to try. Then we went to the Christmas Markets!!! Finally!!! I got a new Christmas Market cup without the vin chaud and some tea from Maison Bourgeon - it's called Delice Detox and it smells absolutely amazing, probably because of the melon inside. Apparently they only have a physical store in Provence but they sell their stuff at the Christmas Markets every year. Also bought some Alsatian cookies from Fortwenger and a baguette (so French lol) and we came back to try the tea with mille feuille and cakes that I got the day before. Then K had to go for work and I ate Nongshim for dinner that night lol basically just eating it everyday. Was quite unproductive and didn't do much work but still went to sleep really late argh.

21 Dec Wednesday:

Woke up late (as usual), had some brunch and went out. K and I found the Danish butter cookies in Simply but we couldn't find it in Leclerc strangely. Went to Rivetoile (again because there's not much places to go LOL), went to HCo and I tried on a couple of shirts which turned out not too bad but I think I'll order them online when I go back. Then we had froyo at Smooy which I've always wanted to try!! It's almost exactly like llaollao and I'm pretty sure it's from Spain/Portugal as well ... But it was really filling and basically settled dinner for me lol. Went back and I literally spent the whole night going through the entire HCo playlist trying to find this song which I heard but no success.

22 Dec Thursday:

Woke up late but did some French this time before going out. Went to Rivetoile (again I know) with K and had KFC for lunch lol. Went to Place Kleber but it was raining so we took the tram but it got delayed at Homme de Fer. Managed to get off after about 10 minutes of delay and went to Uniqlo then K went for dinner and I went to explore the Christmas Markets by myself. Took a lot of pictures and found the bracelet shop from last year but they sold out of the nice colours and the owner was just meh about it so was quite disappointed. Also saw Stand La Bonumeur in the same spot as last year and the realisation hit me that these things will always be there but the times have changed ... Like the Christmas Market stalls will be the same but the feelings and memories from last year won't ever come back. Felt really moody and nostalgic plus it was raining. Bought 2 postcards - one for M and one for me to keep. Was tempted to get a vin chaud but I knew I couldn't finish one by myself and didn't want to get too woozy on the way home, so I got a Sushido takeaway for dinner instead. Came back and listened to music and did French so at least I did some work.

23 Dec Friday:

Went to post office and sent out M's postcard! Weather was really foggy again and the cathedral looked like the top half disappeared. Went to Place Kleber with K and it was super crowded since it was the second last day of the Christmas Markets. I finally found a belt that fits me in Mango so bought that. There were a lot of street musicians and generally a lot of people. Went to Galeries Lafayette and found this amazing Topshop Velvet Embroidered Jacket but it was like €98 and apparently sold out on the UK website. Then went to Place Broglie in search of spatzle!! Bought a vin chaud on the way with a very pretty rainbow cup - it's the small one but I didn't mind cause I didn't see that design on a big cup. The vin chaud was amazing haha then went to find the spatzle store and it was in the same spot as last year - I still remember visiting the Christmas Market there with V and O and we all bought food and crepes ... but they changed the spatzle by adding cabbage this year and K didn't like it. Walked to Les Halles afterwards and went to a Persian grocery store. K got some stuff and I found some amazing pastry things (I think they are called swissi or something I need to ask again) then went to Paris Store which actually sells Asian groceries lol. Then went to Simply and took the tram back because it was raining. K cooked the long Persian rice and this Persian veg thing from a can for dinner then we had some nice wine called Monbazillac that we found the other day which is apparently one of the sweetest white wines.

I also found my post from last year on the Christmas Markets here:

http://lesarcsenciel.blogspot.fr/2015/12/first-time-at-strasbourgs-christmas.html

24 Dec Saturday:

Christmas Eve! K and I went to Parc du Heyritz because I've been wanting to visit the park ever since seeing it on Instagram lol. It was really quiet and peaceful and I'd never been to that part of SXB before. We found a playground and spent some time just chilling on the seesaws and stuff. I wanted to go see the Christmas Market at Petite France since it was the last day. Bought another cup of vin chaud with the verre to keep and found another stall selling spatzle but without the cabbage so got K to try that which changed his mind about spatzle lol. Took more pictures of the Christmas decorations and lights then came back and K cooked Christmas Eve dinner! Nothing fancy just a simple meal of rice and chicken and the veg from the day before but very nice and satisfying.

25 Dec Sunday:

Christmas Day, plus Sunday so everything is closed and super quiet outside. Watched movies the whole day and didn't study LOL but it's Christmas!! Had noodles for dinner hehe.

26 Dec Monday:

Boxing Day but unlike the rest of France it's still a holiday in Alsace. But unlike the UK there are no sales sadly and I spent the day trying to get into the LUSH website in vain - I was like the 100kth+ person in the queue which is ridiculous. But S managed to get a Snow Fairy shower gel for me in London!! Very thankful. Ordered some stuff from Miss Selfridge including a velvet embroidered jacket but I think it's slightly nicer than the one in Topshop also it was cheaper!!! K and I actually went out but not much was open except a few restaurants in Place Kleber. I bought a baguette on the way back and some Turkish Delight from a Turkish grocery store that was open. K cooked dinner (chicken with veg and rice) then went to work and I spent the night watching Mickey's Christmas Carol and Finding Dory LOL been wanting to watch it since June before I left SXB!!! It was so cute hahaha. Still no work done but I'm consoling myself with the fact that Boxing Day is a holiday ...

27 Dec Tuesday:

Woke up late as usual, went out because nice and sunny weather!! And finally the shops are open and business as usual. Went to Bershka at Rivetoile and I am actually tempted to get the pink knit jumper but I don't actually NEED it and I am almost sure it would go on sale. Wanted to try on trousers from Stradivarius that I saw online but didn't find them in store. K and I went to Place Kleber and it was really crowded. Went to Galeries Lafayette because I got the email that their sales started today and indeed ... and that Topshop velvet jacket went on sale for 50% off!!! But it's still €49 even after the discount and I can't bear to spend like €50 on a jacket I would hardly wear ... plus I already ordered one from Miss Selfridge (no idea if that will fit because they sold out of 6 online so I had to order an 8). Also another Topshop denim jacket was on sale for also 50% off so €26 but I'm pretty sure I already have one in that colour. Also it was a bit small. Ah I need to stop buying stuff!! So I didn't buy anything. We went to 7eme art for dinner then FNAC. Wanted to go to the bookstore but it closed at 7. Craving chocolate after having one after dinner so went to Simply and got a huge bar of Milka and some limonade to make diabolo. K walked me back and went to work and I've been writing this post but finally done!!

Can't believe I've already been here for 10 days and it's already half of my winter break :( :( Time always flies when I'm in SXB and I should really do some work - want to at least finish writing my French notes before the new year lol. Time is passing way too quickly :( I also have some way overdue posts on the 4 Brandy sales I went this year and have no idea when I will ever post them ...

Term 1 Week 7

Yet another week has passed. 3 more weeks until end of term! Time is passing by too quickly.

Currently rather pissed at myself for forgetting to prolong my French number. It was supposed to expire on 28 Nov but didn't realise Free was just going to terminate my line at 28/11 midnight. Oh gosh. I can't believe I've been so busy the past 2 months I completely forgot about it. Now I will have no French number for the whole of Christmas ugh.

Nothing much happened last week except for Black Friday sales. Had classes everyday and went skating on Wednesday. I wish I could say I learnt more tricks but no HAHA. Can't do a forward lunge literally because I'm not even flexible enough to do it on ground haha sigh need to practice off-ice stuff too.

I went for the Brandy Black Friday sale at Covent Garden!! 50% off everything but of course they kept away the new stuff omg I wanted the Kenzo jeans. But still managed to get sooooo much good stuff need to do a hauls post soon hahaha. Met C for dinner at Chinatown - it was completely dark because there was a power cut in Soho and Chinatown. Most of the restaurants were closed so we went to Wong Kei which was still open but they could only serve like 4 dishes. Made C go with me back to Brandy after dinner for round 2 HAHAHA. I need to stop buying clothes omg .........

Spent the whole weekend at home. Slept a lot, did work, finally did my accounts, even booked my return tickets and still can't believe I completely forgot about my French number argh. But yeah the weekend is over now and I feel like no amount of sleep can ever cure my fatigue in winter. It's almost half one, I should go to sleep now.

Half a year later

It's been such a long time since I last posted!! Almost half a year, considering we're now in late November. Can't believe time passed by so quickly, and so much has happened since May.

Brief summary of my life since May: Spain trip, London trip, Hamburg trip, last days in Strasbourg, internship, Strasbourg for K's birthday, Paris to visit YM, back to Strasbourg, second Brandy garage sale this summer in London, Workaway on French farm, back to uni, back to Strasbourg in October, reading week, more work and now we're coming to week 7 of Term 1. Crazy days! I've had so much work I didn't even travel during reading week. Also didn't have time for orch this term but I've started figure skating. Can't decide what to do for next term yet because I would really love to go back to orch but want to continue skating as well. More decisions sigh. But yes basically been swamped with work and nothing much interesting. I don't even shop as much anymore (because poor) and also no time. What is life at this point ......... Also have had no time to pack my room or do my colouring books even though I'm so stressed I actually should relax. Ah I don't know. House is settling in quite well, days are getting colder and I'm still contemplating getting a portable heater. O and P have also been reminiscing Strasbourg times with me, I'm glad I took photos of literally everything and everyday back in Strasbourg. I think that was just the highlight of my degree / life and now everything is going downhill from now onwards. I don't know I'm just really tired. I just wish to go back to the moment when I first arrived in Strasbourg and relive my whole year abroad again. Really.

Easter Weekend

Having a long Easter weekend this weekend but it's already Sunday! I always feel like I don't do anything but time passes so fast omg.

Gonna do a basic summary of my week so that I don't forget what I've been up to!

19/03 Saturday: Can't remember what I did in the morning but think I managed to see K before orch, then kinda lazed around until 1pm then went to Rivetoile to get the Adidas shirt for Anthea. Came back and lazed a bit more before finally dragging my ass to the library LOL but not before making a detour to Simply to buy some gummies first. Texted LJ to ask what she was doing in the evening then she invited me to dinner with her other friend, so I basically spent like less than 3 hours in the library since I only got there at 3pm and had to leave by 5.30pm ... But yeah was rather productive I guess, arrived back punctually to leave at 5.45pm then we went to meet her friend at Observatoire. Took the tram to Homme de Fer and decided to make a reservation at Brasserie Max for 7.30pm, leaving us about an hour to shop! We went to Galeries Lafayette and Stradivarius and Sephora, and LJ and I both bought stuff from Stradivarius lol. I bought another pair of Mom jeans in an indigo shade of denim but now thinking that I might return them cause spring is coming ain't nobody got time for long pants! But seriously the weather is looking so good for the next week like almost 20 deg and I can't wait to wear my skirts and dresses!

We went back to the restaurant pretty early cause most shops were closing at 7pm. Had a really great 3-course dinner - food was amazing - followed by a Monaco and we had so much fun talking about languages and dialects and stuff. Then after dinner we didn't really want to go back yet so we went to another bar called Meme dans les Orties or something. The last time I went there was with the English gang and that was like the week before our very first term break so all the way back in October?!? Crazy how fast time has gone. We sat there for a while and got another round of drinks and left about 12. LJ and I walked her friend back home first then we went back to PA together.

And here's the crazy part LOL. I went back to my room thinking I was gonna shower and quickly sleep then as I was opening my door my neighbour R and his friend M opened his door and they asked me if I wanted to go to Kehl. LOL. I had absolutely no intention of going out again but when did I ever turn down a night out anyway HAHA. So I asked them how much time we've got and they told me 10 min so I quickly got changed and packed my stuff then we went to catch the bus. Felt so weird going to Kehl again cause the last time I went was like December with the English gang again right before everyone left for Christmas break! But I hadn't drank much just 2 Monacos so was very sober. Got into Gold then met all the Brazilians there and we had not a bad time but was so tired I couldn't wait for the 4am bus back LOL. Got the bus back with O and A and this other girl and we all went back to PA tgt and finally I could sleep LOL.

20/03 Sunday: Managed to wake up early at 9am nonetheless (barely slept like 5 hours?!), saw that K was awake so went over then watched videos and stuff. Was so hungover and tired lol but I was supposed to go to I's place for afternoon tea so I eventually left at 5pm. Got there and they were all waiting for me felt so bad! But we had a nice time and had tea and biscuits and also Turkish coffee reading by I which was really cool. The other 2 girls had to leave early after that but I stayed back with I until about 7pm then her friends were coming and I was supposed to meet P and G at this bar called What The Fox for dinner at 8pm. Was rather punctual and we had a nice dinner and finally tried the Printemps drink which was supposed to be pamplemousse but couldn't taste too much of it! But yeh was a nice way to end the week.

21/03 Monday: Woke up feeling sick and tired so missed Syntaxe and was planning to go for the classes in the afternoon. I went for Rhetorique et Stylistique at noon because it was the class class before the exam but felt so awful and dizzy outside thankfully the class was only one hour. Came back and just crashed without even eating lunch omg. Then slept the whole afternoon even though I was meaning to go for Histoire at 5pm but completely overslept until 6pm. Texted LJ then she invited me over for dinner so I went downstairs. She'd made pasta with avocado and even baked a cake which was amazing omg so I offered to do the dishes but her dishcloth was dirty so I went upstairs to get mine. Met one of my neighbours on the stairs who told me someone was looking for me and I guessed it was K lol and I was right but went to bring the dishcloth down first and dos the dishes before coming up again. Managed to talk a bit before leaving for work then I went back to LJ's place again and we had cake for dessert and watched Big Bang Theory! Left around 10pm cause we were both tired and also had 8am class the next day.

22/03 Tuesday: Actually woke up for the 8am class LOL such a struggle every week (even last term I had 8am on Tuesdays!). After class LJ and I went to Simply first cause I hadn't had breakfast so was craving some cakes. Bought some food then came back to PA and neither of us wanted to go to the library for the 3h break so I just stayed in my room and ate breakfast slowly then packed A's adidas shirt for postage. Went for Morpho at noon then had Lexicographie after where we got back our exam scripts. Was happy that I did relatively okay for it. After class Kathrin and I went to get some food then we went to the library together cause she was waiting for a film meet in the evening while I had to study for the Phonologir exam the next day. Stayed in the library until closing time at 7pm then walked tgt and met Henrietta and her friend that I met once at FLE at the crossing. Came back home and showered early and was supposed to study more for Phonologie but I'm so bad with studying at home it just didn't happen ugh. Ended up sleeping early instead and decided to wake up earlier to study.

23/03 Wednesday: Waking up early to study is a myth LOL. Woke up but couldn't absorb anything then went to class but luckily the stuff were similar. Didn't go for lunch but spent the one hour in the library with LJ and YS then we went to take the exam. Was so tired after the exam I came back and just ... Slept the whole afternoon. Was actually intending to head to the library again but was honestly so tired I slept with my shoes on lol and woke up at 5.30pm barely in time for Italian! Went for Italian at 6pm and after class YS and I went for our usual post-Italian dinner but this time wth another Vietnamese girl from our class and LJ said she'll come along too. Ate in the Resto U and had a nice dinner but I left early and managed to catch K before work so we walked over tgt.

24/03 Thursday: Didn't manage to wake up for FLE LOL but had this weird dream where I was messaging my groupmate that I can't make it and didn't actually send the message?! Woke up quite late then ate some stuff for lunch then texted LJ if she wanted to go to the library and she'd in fact just gotten back LOL impeccable timing. We went to the library at Patio but it was too nice weather to study so we both got pretty restless then decided to go to Macs LOL. Went to Macs for an afternoon snack sort of meal but she had work at 6pm so we decided to just go to centre ville. Took the tram to Homme de Fer then went to some shops then she had to leave before 6 while I went to Galeries Lafayette to try on some jeans from Topshop. There wasn't much to do so slowly strolled back and stopped by at Simply to grab some groceries before the long weekend since shops were going to be closed. Ate dinner and didn't do anything else seriously I get so bored in the evenings lol.

25/03 Friday: Good Friday! Video called parents in the morning, I woke up at freaking 7am the only day that I didn't have to wake up early LOL. Then had to meet the English gang for crepes at noon. We went to La Crêpe Gourmande which was not too bad and I had this crêpe that was on fire!! Walked back tgt with P and G and actually wanted to check out a museum but it was closed for the férié. Came home then went to find K a while before he had to go out then saw that I had 2 emails regarding the internship so talked to Gee a bit about it. And had another extremely boring evening again I was so bored that I wanted to go for a morning jog the next morning and catch the sunrise LOL so slept really early at 11pm.

26/03 Saturday: The morning jog never happened LOL. I actually did wake up at 6am and texted LJ but think she wasn't wake so I went back to sleep and only woke up again 5 hours later LOL. So I slept a full 12 hours in fact. Saw that LJ had texted me at 7 saying she overslept too so oh well! Ate some peanut butter sandwiches for lunch then went to find K about 2pm. The bad news was that Zootopia didnt have the English version anymore so we decided to go see Batman vs Superman at 5pm. Turned out to be a good decision cause there weren't that many people so we got the best seats then when it ended there were so many people queueing for the next show! It was not too bad haha though I didn't understand a lot of the film. But it was 3 hours so long I thought it'd be only 2 hours or something! I like Wonder Woman HAHAHA. After the movie we went to Franky's for dinner and saw they had all the new exercise stuff near Rivetoile super cool! We went to spin around on the spinning things I don't even know what they're called LOL. Came back to PA and had a game of billiard!! My first time playing HAHAHA. Also wanted to see Man of Steel afterwards but was too sleepy and too late by then.

27/03 Sunday: Woke up at 10am but didn't realise that the clocks had changed to BST so actually I woke up at 9am hehe :D But fell back asleep again until 1pm LOL. Had brunch and watched Man of Steel with K omg can't wait for the rest of the movies to come out LOL think the next one is coming out in August ... Then K wanted to go prac but couldn't get the room so came back up but had to leave again at 7. Felt so weird now that the sun only sets at like 8pm LOL but hooray for longer days!! And I'm going for a morning jog tmr with LJ but just washed my hair tonight argh HAHA. But tmr is férié again so glad for one more day of holiday and this has been a really nice weekend so far besides me rotting in boredom almost every night I need to find things to do what did I even do last term?! Missing V and O hahaha they were always up for stuff all the time hahaha.

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Had an equally good day today even though once again I failed to present myself at the library but OH WELL. Was v happy cause I actually woke up early like at 8am (I am becoming more light-sensitive but that's a good thing hooray for longer days!) then saw a text from K who then came over so we spent the morning tgt and had a nice breakfast. I fell asleep again in the afternoon and barely woke up just in time for the atelier at 4pm which I'd signed up for! Went for the 2 ateliers then decided to stay for the 3rd one since it was in the same classroom and was glad that I did cause it turned out to be really fun and interesting! Met Sofia in class so we walked back tgt then I went to Simply to buy some fruits and drinks while she went to the bus stop. Came back and ate a (solo) dinner at the resto'u but so convenient now that it's open in the evenings as well since the one at Esplanade is undergoing construction. But all in all it was a really nice day! I haven't decided if I will go for more ateliers tomorrow but gonna need to go to the library realised I have so much work this weekend :( All the classes this week were really hard for some reason omg and first exam starts next Wed sigh what is year abroad???

Happy Chinese New Year!

It's CNY again ayeee but I'm spending CNY eve alone and in the midst of cooking instant noodles like damn sad please?!?! It's always during CNY that I wish I could be home and this is already my third CNY that I've spent abroad :'( And I wanna eat all the CNY food!! LJ and I are thinking of going out for dinner tomorrow after class, I have 7 hours of class tomorrow which is absolutely dreadful and we only end at 6pm. But we haven't decided on where to eat yet so shall see HAHA.

Anyway been so busy after coming back from Italy that I haven't posted since Milan! I came back on the 10th Sunday afternoon and K came to pick me up from the gare. Then had classes starting from 11th and was so intense because at the beginning it was still choosing modules so I basically just went for everything and was so tired. Stayed in SXB that weekend, but the following weekend I went to London from 21-24 Jan. Spent 21st Thursday running errands on Oxford Street, 22nd Friday at Bicester and 23rd Saturday with Car then prinks at night with the Wasabi gang. Took the 1am bus to Stansted because my flight was at 7am, then got back to Basel and SXB at about noon. Went for classes then left SXB again for Paris on 28th Thursday for Car's birthday weekend, and J came to join us on Friday. Was good but so rainy the whole time! Also managed to see YX before I left and managed to meet Elles and Evan for brunch on Sunday right before my train so was a nice weekend! I left my towel at YX's place though hahaha gah. Arrived back in SXB in the afternoon. Then went for another 3 days of classes and took a blablacar to Brussels to see V!! Had a mini ESPS reunion in Brussels with A and Vicky and then I took a day trip to Antwerp on Friday because my blablacar got cancelled so I booked another one which leaves in the evening/ Got back on Friday night quite late and went library a bit on Saturday and today has just been packing and sorting out stuff :D

And I've also just had instant noodles for chuxi dinner hahaha fml. K has just woken up so shall see if we can go out for some proper food (I'm still quite hungry) ...

Sunday

So I'm stuck in Strasbourg while the Brandy Carnaby is having a garage sale today :( I have absolutely awful timing basically the only one I've ever been to is the first one ... And also realise my blog views are mostly for the Brandy sale post that I did back in June HAHA. Guess people are doing their research :P

Anyway, last night was a good night :) I woke up miraculously at 4.30am this morning to use the toilet, then I couldn't fall back asleep -.- Got up at 6.30am finally, made breakfast - milo and what was supposed to be a hardboiled egg turned out to be a soft boiled egg instead but all the better LOL. Then I actually went for a run by the canal!! :D Well it's my first time running in ages so didn't run too much only did 20 min but I was so tired LOL. Came back and had a fruit yoghurt and showered and it's only 10am. Normally I would only just wake up at this time, so feeling rather productive today and hoping this productivity will last LOL. And amazing gradient sunrise this morning I swear it's the only motivation for me to wake up early HAHAHA.

Okay but I have friends going for the Brandy sale for me so hopefully there'll be nice stuff OMG.

05122015

HAHA cool date today it's anagrammable!!

Okay but I've finished the syntax exam on Thursday then we all went to l'Epicerie again for dinner then Christmas market where I got another nutella crepe. I came back early and did some work :D Then Friday (yesterday) was a quite productive day, went for an atelier for FLE in the morning, stayed there for another 2 hours and got some work done, then went for lunch with Viivi in the uni resto before going for the methodo revision class. Went back to the library after the class to do some work before dinner, came back and cooked a really lazy soup for dinner, and went back again before the library closed at 10 so I would say that was a really productive day! But I didn't do anything after I came back ahaha. Slept a solid 10 hours so feeling well rested and talked to quite a number of friends it feels so nice to catch up with people after so long! And heard good news too so very happy for one of them :D And very excited to be meeting people in Dec when I go back :D Good day so far even though it's 4pm and I've not done anything for today but I've just showered and gonna do some work now woop woop!

November

Omg can't believe it's been one whole month since I got back from Milan. THE WHOLE NOVEMBER. And it's already 1 Dec today last month of the year omg seriously 2015 is passing by way too quickly ...

Anyway, I have a whole row of exams coming up so gonna make this a quick post because I just wanted to update the stuff in November before I forget. So yep, got back from Milan to Strasbourg on the 2nd early morning I think, then had the Methodologie exam on the 5th. Didn't go anywhere on that weekend because Car came to visit me on the 9th!! I had classes on the 10th so we just explored Strasbourg, ate a LOT HAHAHA then 11th was Armistice Day in France so we did a day trip to Basel since everywhere in Strasbourg was closed. Basel was cool but it was my 2nd time there so nothing new, dragged Car to the Brandy as always and got quite a few items from the last chance rack at 50% off. We also managed to get free tickets to the Natural History museum because they close at 5pm and they give free entry from 4pm onwards. Unfortunately everything was in German so couldn't understand anything ... Then on the same week on Friday made the impromptu decision to go to Zurich because Charles and Han were there on a society trip so another excuse to travel. But I stupidly missed my 5am bus HAHA so got a blablacar instead and finally made it to Zurich at 3pm!! First stop as always is the Brandy so now I can proudly say I've been to all the Brandy stores in Switzerland which is a small but still an accomplishment. :D Got the bus back on Sunday and I was seriously so tired the whole week. Nothing much went on that week but we went to check out Academie de la Biere which was not bad, then Charlie came to visit Viivi that weekend so we all went out. I fell sick and lost my voice on Saturday, didn't even realise until I was calling my mom then I realised I couldn't talk!! So it was quite shitty. Had the synchronique exam on the 24th (last Tuesday), went to all my classes despite being sick and all. Met one of my neighbours on Thursday and he gave me soup and tea and a lemon after seeing that I was sick omg seriously people here are so nice!! Then on the same night I took the overnight bus to Cologne to visit Xichen cause that was something that we planned ages ago! 

Didn't sleep much on the bus and arrived at 6am but ended up sleeping until like 12 noon LOL ... Went to the university for lunch, then we went to the city centre where we climbed the Kolner Dom! A million spiral steps later we finally arrived at 157m up. I think it's like the first cathedral I climbed? Can't remember if I climbed any others before ... then we went to the bridge and caught the sunset and visited a Lindt chocolate factory :D Also went to like 4 Christmas markets, German Christmas markets are absolutely amazing! I think the Strasbourg ones also opened during the weekend so gonna have to check it out sometime ... Then on Saturday we were supposed to go to Aachen, but ended up sleeping in until 2pm LOL. We still went in the end but missed the daylight hours but we went to the Christmas market and cathedral in Aachen and they were really good!! Also bought a lot of Printens (this local chocolate and ginger biscuit thing which is absolutely amazing) and had champignons. Then we went to the Carolus Thermal Bath and spent 2.5 hours there HAHAHA new activity to do in Germany. Got back to Cologne quite late but we cooked dinner! I haven't properly cooked in ages. The next day we were supposed to go to Amsterdam, so thank goodness we woke up in time but barely just caught the train :P Met Petros at the central station, then we went to the Van Gogh museum. Xichen had a concert to watch after that so Petros and I just went to walk around and yes Brandy again LOL but they didn't have much stuff so I only bought the new grid print Kaitlee skirt. Met Xichen again at 6pm then we went for the Heineken Experience! We were the last batch but the staff were all really nice and chill so it was a nice experience :D Got back to Cologne quite late again and had so much difficulty waking up in the morning cause I had to catch a bus back but I made it and got back in the evening!

Then today was the phonetics exam which was quite hard and I have 2 more exams tomorrow and Thursday so gonna stop this post now but omg busy days!!

Sick again

Brief update. So I'm sick again, for like the second time since coming to France :( Also lost my voice again and it's absolutely awful. Had the exam for linguistics this morning, 9 more exams to go + 1 dossier to submit before Christmas break. Been spending lots of time in the library. Also spending lots of money on food. Horrified that my waist has expanded 2 inches since August. It's been freezing these days but no snow so it doesn't really justify the cold. It also gets dark really early and I feel like a plant sometimes wanting more sunlight. I think winter is making me sad and miserable. :(

Days are getting cold

It's actually quite late and I really should be sleeping but so many of my friends who are on their year abroad right now have been posting links to their year abroad blogs which look really cool so I felt this sudden obligation to update this space! It's been what, 3 weeks since I last posted? Life is going on at full pace and I've been meaning to update for a while but never got round to it and I want to kind of quickly record things down before I start to forget what happened!!

So, I stopped at 27 August. Mid-Autumn Festival!! My craving for Chinese food got satisfied that day because right after I posted V and B and I decided to go for lunch at this Chinese buffet place. Actually, it's the only Chinese restaurant I know of here in Strasbourg. V introduced it to us and it's called Le Grand Shanghai and it's located near Homme de Fer tram stop. And did I mention this already but the best part is that it's a buffet! A BUFFET! I don't fare well at buffets in general but I love desserts ahaha. Their lunch costs €12,80 and dinner is €16,80 I believe, and they also do takeaways which is great. The takeaway boxes come in 3 sizes but I've yet to try so I have no idea how big the boxes are. Anyway, the food was amazing. I tried one piece of every single type of meat before I couldn't eat anymore. And the fried rice!!! Omg I missed rice so much omg. And they also have SUSHI. It was AMAZING. I am getting all hungry again just thinking about the food. But I have pictures!!

So basically, I had 2 rounds of mains and 3 rounds of dessert! One can never have too much dessert. And of course every French meal comes with wine. I had rosé instead of vin blanc for a change.

ALL IN ALL I NEED TO GO BACK AGAIN. Probably this weekend ahahaha.

Anyway back to Sunday. So there was the amazing lunch (probably the best I've had in Strasbourg so far legit crying), then in the evening we went to the Irish Bar for the Sunday pub quiz! And proud to say that we didn't come in last or close to last this time, in fact we were 6th from the bottom which was a massive improvement from the last time :D Then the rest of the week passed by pretty quickly, finally got a French SIM card, went out on Wednesday night (bad idea LOL), was so tired on Thursday and then V and I had to rush to catch our flight back to London!! We'd booked the same flights for Thursday and to return on Monday. So the weekend was spent in London, which I think I'll do a separate post on sometime because it was such a hectic weekend I was just out the whole time and didn't even have time to meet everyone I wanted to meet :'( But yeah, going back for the weekend made me realise how much I'd missed London, and also how much I didn't miss the weather LOL. It was drizzling on Monday when I left, so I was actually glad to be going back to SXB though the weather here that evening wasn't much better tbh HAHAHA. But it's less dry here than London I think? Like my skin doesn't dry as much here as it does in London. Oh and I brought back like 12kg of clothes or something HAHAHA. Didn't actually weigh it but I'd bought a new duffel bag which was bigger than my other one so it was freaking heavy my arms were totes aching the whole week.

Classes again for the week (this was last week btw), I managed to wake up for the 8am class on Tuesday despite only reaching back at 11 the night before which was a great accomplishment, but I was SO tired the whole day haha. Went to Topshop after classes and managed to buy the last piece of the indigo denim jacket that I was searching for in London in my size!! But I've still not worn it yet the days are too cold ... V and I went to O's place for dinner on Wednesday. Carbonara! But they did all the cooking I am absolutely useless in the kitchen ... then on Thursday night I was bored and made a last-minute decision to go to Basel on Friday for a day trip. The tickets were €24 with the SNCF carte jeune, and the timings weren't that bad for off peak, except that the Friday evening off peak starts later and I was actually really tired in the evening but had to wait an extra hour to take the next train back. Once again, I'll do a separate post on Basel with lots of nice pictures aha but that'll be another time. But Basel was amazing! I love Switzerland but everything is so expensive there :( Anyway after I got back from Basel on Friday night we went out again but I was so gone it was horrible omg and I was such a burden I felt so bad T_T Was hungover the whole weekend can't believe it's taking me so long to recover aha. So I literally spent the rest of the weekend including Monday in my room. But I did lots of work, so that was a good thing. And I was doing my own laundry by freaking handwashing my clothes even my jeans and shoes!! The thing is that the laundry here costs €4 per wash and when I went to check out the machines they didn't look very ... desirable for me to put my clothes in. And most of my clothes can't be machine dried and I really don't want to ruin anything. It's good now though because they've turned on the heating now so I could just dry my stuff near the heater. I also finally cleaned my New Balance shoes after one year!! It was amazing watching the laces turn from grey to white again lol. But I left my shoes on the heater overnight and I think the sides touching the heater got scorched ... Fml this is the type of thing that always happen to me ugh. But yes, my shoes are clean. I don't know how to get rid of the scorch marks though!!

Then this week was the 17 intensive hours of classes again, and I have 2 exams next week before Vacances Toussaint!It was freezing this week like 2 deg when I woke up for my Tuesday 8AM. Went out on Wednesday night (bad idea again never gonna do that again) then couldn't fall asleep and I had another 8AM on Thursday (which is today/yesterday) so I've literally been up for like 36 hours maybe?! But I had a nap over lunch. Classes were okay though, I'm really liking the stuff especially linguistics because it's actually really practical for grammar. And it's cool that I have a chance to finally take linguistics, because I still slightly regret not taking ELL over physics in JC it would've been a lot more fun and would've spared me the torturous hours of toiling over physics which I never understand ... But yeah. Also I did a French oral presentation today in FLE, and my tutor just confirmed the suspicion that I've had for so many years that I speak French with a Chinese accent. But what she said actually was that it was a melangé de chinois et anglosaxon (??) because I have the tendency of cutting my words instead of letting them flow like how the French speak. But it's so hard since I'm trying to concentrate on the pronunciation ... and also how I focus on chaque mot like in English instead of a phrase. So there was this sentence which she separated into basically just 2 phrases and it felt so long! No wonder I always feel the French speak too fast for me sometimes, I've been getting it all wrong ... But yes, useful things to know!

I have no classes tomorrow, but I need to sleep now anyway hahaha need to do my London and Basel posts soon but probably over the weekend. I've posted about my spacious flights though :D And need to studyyyyyy. Then it's London again + my 10 day backpacking trip!!! So hyped :D

74 days of summer

Can't believe my summer is coming to an end :'( School starts for me in a week while everyone at UCL wouldn't be going back until like end Sep or Oct ... such is life. I've spent this summer mainly working, and it still feels really short despite having worked for almost 2 months but I guess time flies when you're having fun. Also I have accumulated way too much clothes but I didn't manage to finish selling all the stuff I don't wear so hopefully they'll be sold before I come back next year. Really going to impose a NO BUY ban on myself for real. There're no shops in Strasbourg anyway. I just have to resist checking the Topshop website for stuff. There's also no Brandy stores. And I have no idea how my timetable will be like but I'm hoping for long weekends since one semester is now 15 weeks instead of 10 weeks. But I'm pretty hyped for France and I can't wait!

Summer

I should really be sleeping now argh I have work tomorrow and it's the eve of a public holiday :( But so much have been going on LOL I feel like I need to record down everything before I forget them!!

Really unexpected good news this morning haha just as I was almost giving up hope ... Hoping for the best sigh I really want this to go well. Also went to submit my passport today for the visa so hopefully everything should be sorted soon. I had off days yesterday and today, and spent some quality time with my sis (HAHA). Went skating today and I had much better balance than Saturday omg Idk what was wrong with me that day I kept tripping over the toe picks!! But today I could (almost) do proper crossovers. Still need to improve and I cannot do them on the other side LOLLOL like I can never lift up my right foot Idk why. Am working the rest of the week (for 4 consecutive days) so I don't think I'll have time to skate anymore this week :(

Anyway I've been buying so much stuff from TS LOL it's really damn bad but I'm loving all my buys!!! Finally got a denim jacket thanks to Clare hahaha been thinking about getting one since London and now they have this new one in black washed denim so I gave in ... I haven't tried the light denim yet but I feel like that one would match better with clothes??? Idk I think I'll try tmr LOL omg my $$$. And I bought 2 pairs of black pants hahaha at first I only wanted one but then I tried on the other one by mistake and omg it was so nice. Anyway they'll be useful. And I'm still waiting for my Brandy DE orders to arrive omg sian what happened to no buy this summer .........

Okay anyway here's my daily summary:
22 / 3 Fri: Off day / Visa enquiry / Raffles City shopping bought stuff from Topshop!! / town / too tired and came home early / phone int
23 / 4 Sat: Off day again / skate sesh with sis
24 / 5 Sun: Work day 6
25 / 6 Mon: Off day again / phone int / shiok maki with Annabelle and Jiamin
26 / 7 Tues: Work day 7
27 / 8 Wed: No work / dinz with the HCSE girls
28 / 9 Thurs: Work day 8
29 / 10 Fri: Brunch + shopping with Anthea before work / work day 9
30 / 11 Sat: No work / skate sesh
31 / 12 Sun: Work day 10 / Carissa came to visit
32 / 13 Mon: Work day 11 / lunch with Gen / Clare and Esther came to visit
33 / 14 Tues: Off day / dental with sis + shopping / met Mo in town for a bit after
34 / 15 Wed: Off day / visa passport submission / skate sesh in afternoon

Okay no wonder it feels like I've worked so short it's only been 11 days LOL but I'm clocking 4 more consecutive days this week ahaha okay work is fun clothes are nice!!! But sometimes Idk if I should be doing more for my summer .........

Home

Finally back home for summer so I've slightly more time now. Been back for slightly over a week now, haven't done much tbh ... Feeling really lazy this summer, plus my summer break is really short so I wasn't intending on working or interning this time. Anyway I landed last Friday evening, so came back and had a really nice home-cooked dinner (finally) T_T Honestly missed my mom's cooking so much. Then I spent the rest of the evening lying on the sofa HAHAHA and feeling weird about being back. It feels like I haven't left yet so many things have changed so much.

Saturday was spent trying to unpack, and I listed a bunch of stuff for sale. Went out with the family to JCube in the evening for dinner then my sis went to skate. I was really looking forward to skating except that my ankle still hasn't recovered and it's been over a month already. This is the first time I've sprained my ankle so I don't really know what to expect argh. Stayed at home on Monday, then went to town with my dad on Tuesday, stayed at home on Wednesday again, went to town to collect some stuff on Thursday and met Steph on Friday! We had lunch at the same Jap restaurant that has FREE FLOW RICE (HEHE) and then went to the shops. Didn't buy anything and anyway I'm on a no-buy this summer because I have way too much stuff and I need to save $$$. And then my results came out on the bus home with Steph ... Sigh I also dk what to do, I guess I could've studied much earlier but tbh I really did do a lot more studying this year and I'd been doing consistent work throughout the year so I really dk what's the problem. I wish I could say that studying pays off, but no it doesn't it's almost as if studying has the opposite effect because I got higher for the mods I don't study for. I'm just hoping that these haven't been moderated yet and that hopefully they are going to moderate, but Idk. On the bright side I've improved by an entire grade band for both Use of French and French Oral, so I guess that's pretty good though I still have no idea how I did so badly last year ugh. SIGH. It actually feels a bit like JC all over again, like how I switched from Econs to Physics at the last minute and regretted and now this just makes me wonder if I should've stayed with IR in the first place. Consequences of decisions s i g h .

Don't really want to do anything don't really know what to do but still feels like I have so many things to do argh. Am gonna post about the Brandy garage sale soon been wanting to do that for ages so probably tomorrow!! And I really wish my ankle will recover soon it's so inconvenient to do anything gah.

March

It's been an overwhelming week, with end of term, B going back, spring week, opera, and LKY's passing at the beginning of the week. I've officially completed my classes for my second year at UCL, completed the spring week that I'd been looking forward to, had the last concert with string orchestra 2 weeks ago, and tonight is the last show for the opera and also my last performance with the symphony orchestra. Now that everything has / is coming to an end I actually feel a bit empty inside, but I guess it must be good if time passed so quickly it must meant that I thoroughly enjoyed everything while they lasted.

Meeting Sabrina and Hue for a quick dinner before the show later, gonna squeeze in some time to practise as well. Next week will be relatively easier and I really need to catch up on my sleep and also sort out my stuff. Will probably update more in detail then. x

School

I've been MIA for so long because I've been so super busy with everything. Supposed to do French now but I think my brain just stops working after midnight but I can't wake up in the morning so I have to finish it now omg .........

Anyway, happy CNY! Not much happening over here. I wish I was back in sg hahaha and I haven't even had time to watch the CNY countdown yet T_T It's a thing which I need to do lol I'll probably replay it this week and like speed through the boring stuff. I am also craving mandarin oranges which they don't sell here so clementines will have to suffice.

Life has been super hectic and packed but exciting! I went to Norway a week ago and spent a week there. Managed to see the aurora borealis twice, and also visited the Brandy Melville store in Oslo and got a ton of stuff - 4 Donilyn tanks + 1 Nadine + 1 Chiyo + 1 Ellie + 1 Genevie + 1 Bobbie and a Nana dress, which is basically the long sleeve version of the Alena dress. Too bad it only comes in black for now :( I was there on Thursday and they had a whole bunch and I hesitated cause it was 330NOK which is like 30GBP/$60?! Then I went back the following Wednesday and it was THE LAST PIECE on the last chance rack and I just couldn't bear to leave it behind LOL. So yeah. I also caved in and finally bought the American Apparel Tennis Skirt in white and am intending to get it in more colours ... New clothes hooray!! Brandy just had a warehouse sale ytd in Cali. I wish I was in Cali.

In other news strings concert and opera are coming up in less than a month, making it 5 more performances this term since the opera runs 4 shows. I'm slightly dreading the thought of having to play for 3 hours non-stop (okay there are breaks in between the acts but still) but it's my first time being involved in something that's not purely orchestral so it's very exciting! We just had the first rehearsal today with the chorus and some of the soloists and they were really good. In addition I've also finally reached the end of SW applications and have spent the past few weeks on apps and interviews. But I'm pretty happy to have came out with 2 offers, so Easter's looking very very busy. Exciting days ahead!!!

And I'm going to quickly finish up my French and sleep asap.

Oversleeping

Wasted my morning oversleeping when I could've gone for French. This sleeping thing is going too far because I can't even wake up to like the fire drill alarm clock now. And I just fall back asleep even if I do wake up on time and then I actually have strange dreams and don't wake up until hours later. So super annoyed with myself these days argh.

Back to School

It's barely been 3 days in and I'm already overwhelmed with so many things to do. I'm glad that a lot of things have been settled quickly but there's still a lot of last minute surprises (or rather shocks) popping up and lots of uncertainty. Of course the topmost priority now is my essay which is due on Monday but I am still less than halfway done. I really need to stop doing this!!!

Also been sleeping very late and taking naps in the afternoon (why is London so cold) but at least the days are getting longer. Having afternoon classes in December was just completely depressing because you walk into your tutorial at 3pm and it's still relatively bright and by the time you come out one hour later it's completely dark. I miss summer days and wearing skirts and shorts.

In other news I have also discovered the wonders of Topshop Joni jeans. They're high waisted so I don't have to bother with belts and stuff and the jeans with their new material are super stretchy like leggings. They also go well with crop tops which is why I am still wearing crop tops and cropped jumpers in winter. I currently own 3 pairs but I really need to get a pair in black even though I don't wear black in general.

This is actually quite a pointless post but I'm trying to record my days so that I can look back next time and know what I was actually doing lol. Today was actually a pretty smooth day, I managed to wake up on time and prepped myself for school without being in a rush. This waking up in the morning thing is really getting to me because I just don't have the energy to do anything if I wake up too late but yet I just can't wake up earlier. Tim's alarm clock Christmas present has been pretty effective the past few days (yes I got an alarm clock for Christmas!! Cheers for practical gifts) but I'm still waiting to see how long it can last before I get immune to it again. Anyway, the micro lecture was pretty good, I paid attention throughout the entire lecture and took notes and all, then I came home and on the way back I met my French tutor and we said hi. It's quite coincidental that she actually lives really near me and I've never seen her around the area before. Then I had lunch and lazed around but didn't fall asleep which is a good thing, did a bit of work and then left early to prep for rehearsal. Reh was pretty good as well and then I came back and lazed around some more (I really need to stop) and now I am going to shower and finally get started on work.

3 due dates tomorrow please let me survive them all.

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.