IELTS: check!
I got my IELTS English exam results back yesterday, and I got an average of 8.5 out of 9.0, which is plenty enough to finally completely secure my place in med-school in Liverpool!!! The results are sent by post, and in the UK postmen work on Saturdays as well. The exam centre sent out the results last Friday, so I was expecting it to arrive on Saturday, seeing that domestic city post should take maximum a day. I was nervous throughout Friday night, and wriggled around the bed (which the BF was not happy about). Saturday morning we went out for speed-walking session, but when we returned I was soooo disappointed to not see any letters in front of our door! This meant I would have to wait until Tuesday, because no one works on Sundays, and Monday is a so-called bank holiday (there are bank holidays regularly throughout the year, and I suspect it's just an excuse for people to be lazy). However, yesterday, after breakfast and a few episodes of Friends (I've started watching Friends now, and I'm addicted! And no, I'm not behind!), my results letter popped down the mail slit on the door. I was shocked, but pleased, and I tore it open, and glanced at my results and started jumping! Bingo! :D
People kept on telling me, while I was revising and waiting for the results of the exam that shouldn't have a problem getting a 7.0 for med-school admission, because after all, I am fluent in English, and I am quite good at it. I know that too, but the IELTS is not only a test of your English knowledge, but also of exam techniques. There's the time limit, which is especially hard in the writing section, because you must write two short essays within one hour. I was mostly concerned about the writing section as I like to take my time when I write properly and formally as they require. When I rush through, it makes me feel like my sentences are silly and informal. Besides, they also require you to write a certain number of words, and if you don't, you get penalized, so you have to literally count your words. The topics you get are not necessarily topics you have much opinion on either, but you still need to squeeze out the required number of words. Also, you must follow the instructions given, and write exactly about what they ask you to. If you don't do all this, you will get your score deducted, even though you're a writing genius.
Anyway, to celebrate, the BF and I went to a small Chinese place yesterday evening and had the most expensive (he paid, so it was alright :P) but yummy authentic food from a province called Sichuan (known for hot fiery spicey stuff). Halfway through the meal, the BF had consumed about a big bowl of rice and multiple glasses of tap water to relieve the burn in his tongue from the hotness. I enjoyed the meal more than him, it was the best thing I've eaten for aaages. Then I ate half a tub of Ben and Jerry's Fairly Nuts (while watching Friends, of course). Oh My God, I nearly died, the ice-cream was heavenly!
Liverpool University, here I come for real!
People kept on telling me, while I was revising and waiting for the results of the exam that shouldn't have a problem getting a 7.0 for med-school admission, because after all, I am fluent in English, and I am quite good at it. I know that too, but the IELTS is not only a test of your English knowledge, but also of exam techniques. There's the time limit, which is especially hard in the writing section, because you must write two short essays within one hour. I was mostly concerned about the writing section as I like to take my time when I write properly and formally as they require. When I rush through, it makes me feel like my sentences are silly and informal. Besides, they also require you to write a certain number of words, and if you don't, you get penalized, so you have to literally count your words. The topics you get are not necessarily topics you have much opinion on either, but you still need to squeeze out the required number of words. Also, you must follow the instructions given, and write exactly about what they ask you to. If you don't do all this, you will get your score deducted, even though you're a writing genius.
Anyway, to celebrate, the BF and I went to a small Chinese place yesterday evening and had the most expensive (he paid, so it was alright :P) but yummy authentic food from a province called Sichuan (known for hot fiery spicey stuff). Halfway through the meal, the BF had consumed about a big bowl of rice and multiple glasses of tap water to relieve the burn in his tongue from the hotness. I enjoyed the meal more than him, it was the best thing I've eaten for aaages. Then I ate half a tub of Ben and Jerry's Fairly Nuts (while watching Friends, of course). Oh My God, I nearly died, the ice-cream was heavenly!
Liverpool University, here I come for real!
Bye bye!
Today I'm a bit sad, cause my sister is moving away from Sweden. She's undergoing a training programme for her position as an engineer-developer or whatever her job title is (I never remember it, and I never understoood what she actually does). She's moving from the teeny town Ludvika in Sweden to big Quebec in Canada! Quite a change eh.
I'm really excited for her, but also worried and scared for her. I know she will be fine, cause she's a smart, kind and social person. But that doesn't eliminate the risk of her being mugged by an evil robber, or being hurt by a bad person, cause immoral people don't care who they mug and hurt. Ok, I shall shut up now, that will not, not, nooot happen, Canada is not America!
I know how lonely one can feel when moving away from home to a completely foreign place, seeing that I've done it a few times now. I really don't want her to feel sad or lonely, I want her to be happy. I really, really hope Quebec will feel like home to her in a veeery short while, and that she will meet people she gets along with. My BF said that maybe she'll even meet a new guy there. I would be really happy for her if she did, but on the other hand, that might mean she might stay in Quebec and get married, and settle down, and all that grown-up stuff - she'll be so far away from me and my parents :( Regardless of what happens, I hope she'll be happy. Right now, she's on the plane, she'll be landing in New York (so cool, I wanna go there too, especially today cause there's a Ben and Jerry's truck driving around giving New Yorkers free ice-cream!!) in a few hours, and then transferring.
Quebec, you better treat my sister very well, or I shall not be pleased with you!
I'm really excited for her, but also worried and scared for her. I know she will be fine, cause she's a smart, kind and social person. But that doesn't eliminate the risk of her being mugged by an evil robber, or being hurt by a bad person, cause immoral people don't care who they mug and hurt. Ok, I shall shut up now, that will not, not, nooot happen, Canada is not America!
I know how lonely one can feel when moving away from home to a completely foreign place, seeing that I've done it a few times now. I really don't want her to feel sad or lonely, I want her to be happy. I really, really hope Quebec will feel like home to her in a veeery short while, and that she will meet people she gets along with. My BF said that maybe she'll even meet a new guy there. I would be really happy for her if she did, but on the other hand, that might mean she might stay in Quebec and get married, and settle down, and all that grown-up stuff - she'll be so far away from me and my parents :( Regardless of what happens, I hope she'll be happy. Right now, she's on the plane, she'll be landing in New York (so cool, I wanna go there too, especially today cause there's a Ben and Jerry's truck driving around giving New Yorkers free ice-cream!!) in a few hours, and then transferring.
Quebec, you better treat my sister very well, or I shall not be pleased with you!
Random thoughts about food
Ever since I sat my English exam (which I do not know the result of yet, and it's killing me!), I've had some more time on my hands. I have devoted this time to FOOD. No, I haven't been binge eating humongous amounts, but I have been baking and cooking new food! I made my own hummus the other day, and it turned out better than Tesco bought ones! I've also made smoothies and different salads (I don't understand why I haven't made Greek salad before, they are sooo yum!). Yesterday morning I also made my first ever bread. I was soooo upset when it got goddamn burnt when I took it out of the oven! I just wanted to bake it a few more minutes because the inside still seemed a little bit gooey, but after the few minutes the surface turned into black! I attempted to rescue it by dusting the burnt surface off with tissue paper, but to no avail, and the tissue paper got stuck on the bread :( I'm comforting my failure by convincing myself that it is ok to burn bread on my first try. Today I shall bake heavenly bread!
Recently, I discovered something regarding food, cooking and taste. There really is a big difference in the taste of raw products and the subsequent taste depending on the quality of ingredients you use. I used to buy the cheapest available alternative of a product, but now I have stopped looking at the prices, and just buy as good quality as possible. Ok, it's hard to not look at the price as a poor working person like me, but when things get expensive, I convince myself that it's worth the taste to sacrifice money! For instance, I now buy our bread at the market where they bake it from scratch with good ingredients. It is not inexpensive, in fact I could never imagine spending so much on bread from our food budget, but it really makes me wonder while chewing the yummy piece how I ever lived with conventional store bought, factory produced, yucky, chemically loaded no taste bread.
I never knew food could be so enjoyable and cooking could be so much fun. I was so effing proud of myself while my bread was baking in the oven last morning (a sensation that evaporated very quickly when the bread came out black though). Cooking gives a satisfied sensation with oneself, like you've successfully created something enjoyable from scratch. I see why my people aspire to be chefs now!
Welcome to my life feta cheese, olives, anchovies, and all lovely ingredients! Look at my first bread attempt:
P.S. The last few days, London has been on fever, cause the temperature soared into nearly 30C! The weather has been absolutely flawless, and I've never seen such blue sky and counted such few clouds and done such intensive ice-cream consumption. But now it's turned white and yucky and cold again.
Recently, I discovered something regarding food, cooking and taste. There really is a big difference in the taste of raw products and the subsequent taste depending on the quality of ingredients you use. I used to buy the cheapest available alternative of a product, but now I have stopped looking at the prices, and just buy as good quality as possible. Ok, it's hard to not look at the price as a poor working person like me, but when things get expensive, I convince myself that it's worth the taste to sacrifice money! For instance, I now buy our bread at the market where they bake it from scratch with good ingredients. It is not inexpensive, in fact I could never imagine spending so much on bread from our food budget, but it really makes me wonder while chewing the yummy piece how I ever lived with conventional store bought, factory produced, yucky, chemically loaded no taste bread.
I never knew food could be so enjoyable and cooking could be so much fun. I was so effing proud of myself while my bread was baking in the oven last morning (a sensation that evaporated very quickly when the bread came out black though). Cooking gives a satisfied sensation with oneself, like you've successfully created something enjoyable from scratch. I see why my people aspire to be chefs now!
Welcome to my life feta cheese, olives, anchovies, and all lovely ingredients! Look at my first bread attempt:
P.S. The last few days, London has been on fever, cause the temperature soared into nearly 30C! The weather has been absolutely flawless, and I've never seen such blue sky and counted such few clouds and done such intensive ice-cream consumption. But now it's turned white and yucky and cold again.
In London again
Ok, so I'm back in London again. Yeah, it was a quick trip to Sweden. I spent two nights with my sister in her flat in a teeny weeny city called Ludvika where the company she works in is based. The only thing that was impressive with the city was the breathtaking nature - the lakes and trees. Otherwise, the city was boring and I found the people in there to be rude and quite bland (except for my sister of course!).
It was really nice to spend time with my sister. We played on her Wii and apparently my Wii fitness age is 60. Hmph! Stupid Wii, I will prove my fitness age is 20 next time! The remaining two nights, I spent in Stockholm with my parents. That was lovely too, but I was quite unused to having people do things for me. I should have enjoyed the luxury of having someone cook, and do laundry and stuff for me!
Yesterday, I had to work, so I had to fly back in the morning before my afternoon shift. A really interesting thing happened on the coach to the airport in Sweden though. I sat beside this woman who after a few minutes started talking to me. She asked me if I took the flight from London on Tuesday, and I said yeah. She said we sat together, and that she recognised the earrings I wore (I wore strawberry earrings both days). So we started talking, and it was really nice to have a companion to talk to on the coach. We even had breakfast together, although that proved to almost be a fatal mistake. We almost missed our plane because none of us paid any attention to the time! We were too busy discussing marriage and musicals and films, and it wasn't until I said I needed to go to the toilet that she asked what time it was. We both looked down at our watches, and realised it was 9.30 (our flight was supposed to take off at 9.40), so we both sprinted like mad ostriches to the security gate, and dumped all our things in the boxes. The guards just ushered us to hurry, they didn't check my liquids, I could have SO smuggled a bomb onto the plane had I been a terrorist. Somehow we managed to catch the plane. Wow, 10 minutes, talk about panic.
Anyway, I'm back in a very warm and sunny London. I'm sweating and it's 10 o'clock, and it's stuffy. I consider this early practice for my trip back to China in late June.
It was really nice to spend time with my sister. We played on her Wii and apparently my Wii fitness age is 60. Hmph! Stupid Wii, I will prove my fitness age is 20 next time! The remaining two nights, I spent in Stockholm with my parents. That was lovely too, but I was quite unused to having people do things for me. I should have enjoyed the luxury of having someone cook, and do laundry and stuff for me!
Yesterday, I had to work, so I had to fly back in the morning before my afternoon shift. A really interesting thing happened on the coach to the airport in Sweden though. I sat beside this woman who after a few minutes started talking to me. She asked me if I took the flight from London on Tuesday, and I said yeah. She said we sat together, and that she recognised the earrings I wore (I wore strawberry earrings both days). So we started talking, and it was really nice to have a companion to talk to on the coach. We even had breakfast together, although that proved to almost be a fatal mistake. We almost missed our plane because none of us paid any attention to the time! We were too busy discussing marriage and musicals and films, and it wasn't until I said I needed to go to the toilet that she asked what time it was. We both looked down at our watches, and realised it was 9.30 (our flight was supposed to take off at 9.40), so we both sprinted like mad ostriches to the security gate, and dumped all our things in the boxes. The guards just ushered us to hurry, they didn't check my liquids, I could have SO smuggled a bomb onto the plane had I been a terrorist. Somehow we managed to catch the plane. Wow, 10 minutes, talk about panic.
Anyway, I'm back in a very warm and sunny London. I'm sweating and it's 10 o'clock, and it's stuffy. I consider this early practice for my trip back to China in late June.
Back in Sweden
I'm currently back in Sweden, in my parents' home. It's so freaking weird to be back in Sweden, and I feel like a person who has a defected voicebox and cannot speak, cause I have seriously forgotten all my Swedish. Or at least I seem to have lost my ability to speak without stammering every word. So I suppose it is fortunate that I will only stay a few days until early Saturday morning. The reason I came back at all is because my sister is flying to Canada at the end of this month and she'll be staying there for half a year. I wanted to come back and see her before she leaves in a week or two.
It even feels weird to be back in my parents' home, or well, my home too. The bathroom seems so unfamiliar, and when I open the bathroom cupboard, it confuses me, because I expect to find my toiletries, but end up staring at my mum's anti-wrinkle creams and my dad's shaving stuff. Not to mention, the toilet seat is also strange, my buttocks are not used to the shape of it! I miss my London toilet seat! It's odd and quite unfortunate that I feel more at home in London than in this home that I grew up in.
There's one thing here I can't complain about though, and that's the weather. When did it become summer here? It seems like the last time I spoke to my parents, they said there was still snow around! It's even warmer here than back in London, freaking unbelieveable! Everything is so much more beautiful here though, the sky is clearer, the grass greener, the air fresher. While I was on the airport shuttle bus, I was overwhelmed by the nature, the forests and rocks and meadows and flowers. I've really missed it all.
I'm going off to bed in a minute, because I'm exhausted, so good night for now!
It even feels weird to be back in my parents' home, or well, my home too. The bathroom seems so unfamiliar, and when I open the bathroom cupboard, it confuses me, because I expect to find my toiletries, but end up staring at my mum's anti-wrinkle creams and my dad's shaving stuff. Not to mention, the toilet seat is also strange, my buttocks are not used to the shape of it! I miss my London toilet seat! It's odd and quite unfortunate that I feel more at home in London than in this home that I grew up in.
There's one thing here I can't complain about though, and that's the weather. When did it become summer here? It seems like the last time I spoke to my parents, they said there was still snow around! It's even warmer here than back in London, freaking unbelieveable! Everything is so much more beautiful here though, the sky is clearer, the grass greener, the air fresher. While I was on the airport shuttle bus, I was overwhelmed by the nature, the forests and rocks and meadows and flowers. I've really missed it all.
I'm going off to bed in a minute, because I'm exhausted, so good night for now!
DONE
I haven't been kidnapped or myteriously disappeared from the face of earth the past few days, I have simply been busy preparing and actually sitting the English Exam I need for my med-school offer. I need a score of 7.0 in each component to keep my offer, and I suppose I did well enough yesterday to get those scores. I keep recalling little details of the test and then get utterly terrified that I chose the wrong multiple choice answers, or that I didn't write enough words for the two essays. So now I'm trying to keep my mind as far away from the exam as possible, and just hope for the best.
I had to get up at 6:30am in the morning for the exam, which started at 10am. The start was so delayed, and I was annoyed that I could've slept for another half hour! I didn't sleep very well the previous night. I don't think it was because I was too nervous. I'm not sure if I was nervous, but somehow I couldn't drift into sleep. I remember waking up, and consequently waking my BF up. In the end, I think he got so fed up that he locked me down with his arms to keep me from turning around all the time, and eventually I fell asleep in his arms until 6:30.
The exam was held in the University of Westminster, a university located in central London, right where the most busy shopping street is. I got there and then had the YUMMIEST breakfast in an Italian restaurant (but it wasn't cheap, the quantity of food was very little for the price!!). Then a few hours later, after all the registration proecdure, the exam started. The listening comprehesion section screwed up a bit, because they played a CD for us to listen to, but the CD started to jump. The invigilator had to restart the CD player and he took aaaages to find the track we were listening to (old people can't handle modern technology!). Besides that, the remaining sections of the exam went quite smoothly. Oh, I wrote my essays in the wrong places, I wrote Task 1 where Task 2 should have been and vice versa. I totally freaked out, but the invigilator reassured me that it was alright, as long as I indicate clearly which one is which task. I asked him like 3 times if he was sure, and he said yeah, so I hope it's alright!
Aaaanyway, enough about the exam, the most important thing is that it is done, and I shall attempt to not think about it. The scores are available 13 days later, so I will worry about it 13 days later if that should be necessary. Now I shall go and enjoy my freeeeedom by going to Camden Market and purchasing a million things that I will later regret, and become broke!
I had to get up at 6:30am in the morning for the exam, which started at 10am. The start was so delayed, and I was annoyed that I could've slept for another half hour! I didn't sleep very well the previous night. I don't think it was because I was too nervous. I'm not sure if I was nervous, but somehow I couldn't drift into sleep. I remember waking up, and consequently waking my BF up. In the end, I think he got so fed up that he locked me down with his arms to keep me from turning around all the time, and eventually I fell asleep in his arms until 6:30.
The exam was held in the University of Westminster, a university located in central London, right where the most busy shopping street is. I got there and then had the YUMMIEST breakfast in an Italian restaurant (but it wasn't cheap, the quantity of food was very little for the price!!). Then a few hours later, after all the registration proecdure, the exam started. The listening comprehesion section screwed up a bit, because they played a CD for us to listen to, but the CD started to jump. The invigilator had to restart the CD player and he took aaaages to find the track we were listening to (old people can't handle modern technology!). Besides that, the remaining sections of the exam went quite smoothly. Oh, I wrote my essays in the wrong places, I wrote Task 1 where Task 2 should have been and vice versa. I totally freaked out, but the invigilator reassured me that it was alright, as long as I indicate clearly which one is which task. I asked him like 3 times if he was sure, and he said yeah, so I hope it's alright!
Aaaanyway, enough about the exam, the most important thing is that it is done, and I shall attempt to not think about it. The scores are available 13 days later, so I will worry about it 13 days later if that should be necessary. Now I shall go and enjoy my freeeeedom by going to Camden Market and purchasing a million things that I will later regret, and become broke!
Last few days
I have some more nice photos to display!
Camden Market in northern London sells a lot of cool stuff. Besides a pair of awesome plastic ice-cream earrings, I also got this candle for BF (the earrings were for me though, not BF). It's painted on top, and when you burn the candle, the paint actually stays. Somehow the layer of paint doesn't blend in with the underlying layer of wax, super cool! The candle has been burning for an hour in the photo. That monkey doesn't represent me, only what its saying...!
BF is about to sit his physics exams (urgh, the horror, I don't know how he survives pure physics). Well, actually, he barely survives the revision. Yesterday, I caught him lying on his stomach revising, and I asked him what the hell he was lying on the floor for out of all positions and places he could revise. And he said the hard floor kept him awake. Hahaha, I felt so sorry for him.
And just a last little salad mustache, ehehe :D
Camden Market in northern London sells a lot of cool stuff. Besides a pair of awesome plastic ice-cream earrings, I also got this candle for BF (the earrings were for me though, not BF). It's painted on top, and when you burn the candle, the paint actually stays. Somehow the layer of paint doesn't blend in with the underlying layer of wax, super cool! The candle has been burning for an hour in the photo. That monkey doesn't represent me, only what its saying...!
BF is about to sit his physics exams (urgh, the horror, I don't know how he survives pure physics). Well, actually, he barely survives the revision. Yesterday, I caught him lying on his stomach revising, and I asked him what the hell he was lying on the floor for out of all positions and places he could revise. And he said the hard floor kept him awake. Hahaha, I felt so sorry for him.
And just a last little salad mustache, ehehe :D
Quotes of the Day #7
More lovely quotes!
I wouldn’t want you to leave this world prematurely because our present circumstances never predict our future.
- Someone said that to some suicidal person
Acceptance and appreciation is the only way forward, because feeling sorry for yourself will take you nowhere.
- Found this on another person's blog, wise words.
You crossed the finish line.
Won the race but lost your mind.
Was it worth it after all?
This one is my new favourite, hehehe:
If you're lonely when you're alone, you're in bad company.
P.S. I found the most lovely residential place in London last week, in Notting Hill! I LOVE the colours, I want my future house to be either yellow, pinkish red or green, like the shades in the photo, but much brighter!
I wouldn’t want you to leave this world prematurely because our present circumstances never predict our future.
- Someone said that to some suicidal person
Acceptance and appreciation is the only way forward, because feeling sorry for yourself will take you nowhere.
- Found this on another person's blog, wise words.
You crossed the finish line.
Won the race but lost your mind.
Was it worth it after all?
This one is my new favourite, hehehe:
If you're lonely when you're alone, you're in bad company.
P.S. I found the most lovely residential place in London last week, in Notting Hill! I LOVE the colours, I want my future house to be either yellow, pinkish red or green, like the shades in the photo, but much brighter!
Cemetries of London
I don't ever walk in cemeteries, but yesterday I had a sudden urge to do so, so I set off for Brompton Cemetery situated rather close to where I live. It was during the day, with plenty of daylight, so I wasn't scared of ghosts and zombies pursuing me. I don't know how often an average person wanders around in a cemetery, but I think it should be done regularly by everyone. Most of us don't encounter or experience death firsthand or secondhand on a daily basis. We know of death and are aware of it, but it feels so far away, like it doesn't apply to us, especially because we are so young.
When I walked in the cemetery yesterday, I was reminded that death is real, death happens to everyone - to the young woman aged 24 whose life had barely begun; to the soldier aged 20 who died during a battle; to the grandad aged 78 who is lovingly missed by his children and grandchildren. The graves belonged to people from all walks of life and all ages, not just the elderly - there were too many people who died far too young. It kind of triggered a feeling of shame inside me: I am not living life as happily as I possibly can, or as appreciately and grateful as I can.
Some of the graves were from centuries ago, like the 1800s. They were mostly overgrown by weeds and looked like no one had tended or visited them for a loooong time. That made me feel a bit sad for the dead - have they been forgotten? Has the remaining family all died as well? Where were the descendants? On the other hand, there were also graves that had a bunch of colorful fresh flowers by it, which made me feel hopeful and happy.
I enjoyed looking at the different tombs the graves had, and the engravings on the stones. Most of the tombs were crosses, and some were angel statues. A lot of them were engraved with the phrase "In loving memory...", although a few had a more personal engraving, like "Name Surname fell alseep on the ##th of ####. Is greatly missed by family." Reading the engravings also made me feel happy and made me smile.
Cementeries are generally a place of great sorrow, but it's really quite refreshing to walk through all the tombs and be reminded of life. Just be sure to do it during daytime!
When I walked in the cemetery yesterday, I was reminded that death is real, death happens to everyone - to the young woman aged 24 whose life had barely begun; to the soldier aged 20 who died during a battle; to the grandad aged 78 who is lovingly missed by his children and grandchildren. The graves belonged to people from all walks of life and all ages, not just the elderly - there were too many people who died far too young. It kind of triggered a feeling of shame inside me: I am not living life as happily as I possibly can, or as appreciately and grateful as I can.
Some of the graves were from centuries ago, like the 1800s. They were mostly overgrown by weeds and looked like no one had tended or visited them for a loooong time. That made me feel a bit sad for the dead - have they been forgotten? Has the remaining family all died as well? Where were the descendants? On the other hand, there were also graves that had a bunch of colorful fresh flowers by it, which made me feel hopeful and happy.
I enjoyed looking at the different tombs the graves had, and the engravings on the stones. Most of the tombs were crosses, and some were angel statues. A lot of them were engraved with the phrase "In loving memory...", although a few had a more personal engraving, like "Name Surname fell alseep on the ##th of ####. Is greatly missed by family." Reading the engravings also made me feel happy and made me smile.
Cementeries are generally a place of great sorrow, but it's really quite refreshing to walk through all the tombs and be reminded of life. Just be sure to do it during daytime!
Magnum Gold?!
Ok, I don't ever do food testing and reporting on my blog, but I have do one for an ice-cream I just had, because Magnum Gold is the shit! There are advertisements of this new golden creation everywhere at the moment, and I have been meaning to try it since aaaages ago, but haven't gotten around until a few hours ago. Which is such a shame, because it is yuuummy.
I heard that the ice-cream is actually gold, which I didn't quite believe until I opened the wrapper today. It is not as gold as a golden necklace, but darn gold enough for an ice-cream. The outer gold layer is the best, because not only can you play with that gold colour for ages, but the chocolate actually tastes really good! The interior is very vanilla and creamy, yumyumyum!
I was overjoyed by my golden lips, hihihi!
Hmm, in retrospect, I do write a fair amount about ice-cream on my blog, don't I? I always go on about having ice-cream out in the sunshine. Maybe I should consider specialising my blog in ice-cream consumption. What do you guys think? :P
I heard that the ice-cream is actually gold, which I didn't quite believe until I opened the wrapper today. It is not as gold as a golden necklace, but darn gold enough for an ice-cream. The outer gold layer is the best, because not only can you play with that gold colour for ages, but the chocolate actually tastes really good! The interior is very vanilla and creamy, yumyumyum!
I was overjoyed by my golden lips, hihihi!
Hmm, in retrospect, I do write a fair amount about ice-cream on my blog, don't I? I always go on about having ice-cream out in the sunshine. Maybe I should consider specialising my blog in ice-cream consumption. What do you guys think? :P
More random photos
Just a few photos from the past few days!
Squirrels are apprently very attracted to BF. When we were walking in a park, the squirrels practically stalked him, and were crawling all over his leg, hmph! I wanted to yell: He is MY BF, leave his leg alone, grr.
And the other day, while in Camden celebrating a friend's birthday, I saw this sign with a pointing arrow that read "Liverpool 302 miles". Hahaha, so effing random. Who the heck would be in Camden, and suddenly wonder about the number of miles away from Liverpool they were at that moment?!
In London, when walking around randomly, it's quite common to encounter a round metal sign with the inscription: "Mr/Mrs Someone, poet/artist/scientist/whatever-tist lived here 1800-1900" or something similar. It's quite cool to know that you're walking where a famous historic person walked. However, usually I have no clue who they are or what their achievements are, but the other day I finally saw a sign of someone that I know of! Sir Alexander Fleming! On a hospital building's wall, the sign said "Sir Alexander Fleming, 1881-1955, discovered PENICILLIN in the second storey room above this plaque." How awesome is that!
Squirrels are apprently very attracted to BF. When we were walking in a park, the squirrels practically stalked him, and were crawling all over his leg, hmph! I wanted to yell: He is MY BF, leave his leg alone, grr.
And the other day, while in Camden celebrating a friend's birthday, I saw this sign with a pointing arrow that read "Liverpool 302 miles". Hahaha, so effing random. Who the heck would be in Camden, and suddenly wonder about the number of miles away from Liverpool they were at that moment?!
In London, when walking around randomly, it's quite common to encounter a round metal sign with the inscription: "Mr/Mrs Someone, poet/artist/scientist/whatever-tist lived here 1800-1900" or something similar. It's quite cool to know that you're walking where a famous historic person walked. However, usually I have no clue who they are or what their achievements are, but the other day I finally saw a sign of someone that I know of! Sir Alexander Fleming! On a hospital building's wall, the sign said "Sir Alexander Fleming, 1881-1955, discovered PENICILLIN in the second storey room above this plaque." How awesome is that!
Society
The other day I wrote this in my diary:
2010-05-01 21:45
It was pouring outside. When I peeked out the window, I could see frequent droplets of water illuminated by the organge glow of the street lights. The pavements were empty, I did not see a single person in the rain, only the heavy splattering of the falling droplets. At that moment, I longed to go outside and stand in the rain. It would have been so refreshing and pleasant to become entirely soaked, when was the last time I was properly soaked (besides deliberately soaking myself under the shower head)? I also longed to run through the streets blindly, and to laugh at my crazy action. I want to defy what is considered normal and acceptable by society with my behaviour. As people would look at me with expressions of what-the-heck-is-this-mental-girl-doing, I would stare back and sneer at them. They are the ones that have conformed to the suffocating demands of society in order to fit in.
This is something that's been on my mind for a while now, conforming to society's laws and rules whether written or unwritten. I don't really know how all this started in my mind, but I suppose it stems from the fact that I am in all honesty a little bit tired of the city life and the stiffness of it. London as a city is wonderful, and it is no doubt one of my favourite cities. If I think London is stiff, then there is probably no city in the world that would be unstiff.
I've just been tired of it all: the constant flow of traffic congesting the roads and the neverending rumbling of vehicles; the deafening and utterly annoying motorcycles that cause me to curse and encourage my evil side as I pray that they will crash (ok, not really crash, but that would be the most efficient way to make them shut the F up). The city and its inhabitants are also very predictable: when the sun is out, everyone gathers in the park. When it's raining, everyone complains and stays indoor. Everyone buys coffee from Starbucks (and it's not even good coffee) etc.
Why doesn't anyone do anything differently? When it's raining, why not rush out and run and sing in the rain? (I've done the running part now, and it feels soooo liberating, I have yet to challenge the singing part). When it's sunny, why not refuge to a more distant and open green space? Hyde Park is not even that pretty.
Argh, I don't know what I am getting at. It's hard to articulate what I mean. Has anyone ever felt the same way?
2010-05-01 21:45
It was pouring outside. When I peeked out the window, I could see frequent droplets of water illuminated by the organge glow of the street lights. The pavements were empty, I did not see a single person in the rain, only the heavy splattering of the falling droplets. At that moment, I longed to go outside and stand in the rain. It would have been so refreshing and pleasant to become entirely soaked, when was the last time I was properly soaked (besides deliberately soaking myself under the shower head)? I also longed to run through the streets blindly, and to laugh at my crazy action. I want to defy what is considered normal and acceptable by society with my behaviour. As people would look at me with expressions of what-the-heck-is-this-mental-girl-doing, I would stare back and sneer at them. They are the ones that have conformed to the suffocating demands of society in order to fit in.
This is something that's been on my mind for a while now, conforming to society's laws and rules whether written or unwritten. I don't really know how all this started in my mind, but I suppose it stems from the fact that I am in all honesty a little bit tired of the city life and the stiffness of it. London as a city is wonderful, and it is no doubt one of my favourite cities. If I think London is stiff, then there is probably no city in the world that would be unstiff.
I've just been tired of it all: the constant flow of traffic congesting the roads and the neverending rumbling of vehicles; the deafening and utterly annoying motorcycles that cause me to curse and encourage my evil side as I pray that they will crash (ok, not really crash, but that would be the most efficient way to make them shut the F up). The city and its inhabitants are also very predictable: when the sun is out, everyone gathers in the park. When it's raining, everyone complains and stays indoor. Everyone buys coffee from Starbucks (and it's not even good coffee) etc.
Why doesn't anyone do anything differently? When it's raining, why not rush out and run and sing in the rain? (I've done the running part now, and it feels soooo liberating, I have yet to challenge the singing part). When it's sunny, why not refuge to a more distant and open green space? Hyde Park is not even that pretty.
Argh, I don't know what I am getting at. It's hard to articulate what I mean. Has anyone ever felt the same way?
Films
Film #1
Friday night, I saw the film Kick-Ass in the cinema. The film was surprisingly good considering it has such an unattractive and stupid name and trailer. It's about a boy who dreams of becoming a superhero, and actually tries, but then he gets into a mess with bad guys and other superheroes out there. All the loose strings of superheroes and events were quite nicely tied together in the end. It was also funny! Watch it!
Film #2
When I was in the last year of high school, I did this really random thing. I randomly selected a locker, without any clue who it belonged to, and wrote a letter titled "to a complete stranger". The stranger never responded, but as I was quite desperate to get an answer I tried several different lockers. Finally, on my like third attempt, I received an answer, and we started writing to each other! It was quite cool, and it definitely gave me something that actually made me look forward to school. It also meant I never concentrated during lectures, because I was busy producing a letter (my physics knowledge suffered complete non-comprehension, as the teacher provided the perfect opportunity to for me to write letters, going on and on and on without paying attention to what the students occupied themselves with). Eventually, we met up, and although he was slightly different to how I had imagined him, it was nontheless a special experience.
Yesterday, I watched a film called Mary and Max which is an Australian animated film about two penpals that randomly started to write to each other. It was hiliarious, their letters are so freaking nice, like: "I have also invented some new words. "Confuzzled", which is being confused and puzzled at the same time, "snirt", which is a cross between snow and dirt, and "smushables", which are squashed groceries you find at the bottom of the bag. I have sent a letter to the Oxford Dictionary people asking them to include my words but I have not heard back".
Anyway, the film has triggered my random-penpal-writing-urge, and I'm thinking of starting again. But I have no idea who to write to. Shall I just randomly select a person from London residential phonebook? Or does any random person who reads my blog happen want to write to me??
Film #3
Ok, another film I saw quite recently is called Everybody's Fine. It hasn't received much attention, just like Mary and Max, but it is woooorth watching. It's about a widower who lost his wife and has a few four grown-up children. He never succeeded in communicating with them entirely while his wife was alive, because his wife did all the parent communication thingy. So now, after retiring and losing his wife, he tries to take on that task of communicating and making sure his children are doing alright. Anyway, his journey is really interesting, and the film touches on issues like parenting and parent-pressure and of course communication. Ok, I just realised I suck at writing synopses. Despite my unattractive synopses of these films, do give them a chance, you will thank me and won't regret it!
Friday night, I saw the film Kick-Ass in the cinema. The film was surprisingly good considering it has such an unattractive and stupid name and trailer. It's about a boy who dreams of becoming a superhero, and actually tries, but then he gets into a mess with bad guys and other superheroes out there. All the loose strings of superheroes and events were quite nicely tied together in the end. It was also funny! Watch it!
Film #2
When I was in the last year of high school, I did this really random thing. I randomly selected a locker, without any clue who it belonged to, and wrote a letter titled "to a complete stranger". The stranger never responded, but as I was quite desperate to get an answer I tried several different lockers. Finally, on my like third attempt, I received an answer, and we started writing to each other! It was quite cool, and it definitely gave me something that actually made me look forward to school. It also meant I never concentrated during lectures, because I was busy producing a letter (my physics knowledge suffered complete non-comprehension, as the teacher provided the perfect opportunity to for me to write letters, going on and on and on without paying attention to what the students occupied themselves with). Eventually, we met up, and although he was slightly different to how I had imagined him, it was nontheless a special experience.
Yesterday, I watched a film called Mary and Max which is an Australian animated film about two penpals that randomly started to write to each other. It was hiliarious, their letters are so freaking nice, like: "I have also invented some new words. "Confuzzled", which is being confused and puzzled at the same time, "snirt", which is a cross between snow and dirt, and "smushables", which are squashed groceries you find at the bottom of the bag. I have sent a letter to the Oxford Dictionary people asking them to include my words but I have not heard back".
Anyway, the film has triggered my random-penpal-writing-urge, and I'm thinking of starting again. But I have no idea who to write to. Shall I just randomly select a person from London residential phonebook? Or does any random person who reads my blog happen want to write to me??
Film #3
Ok, another film I saw quite recently is called Everybody's Fine. It hasn't received much attention, just like Mary and Max, but it is woooorth watching. It's about a widower who lost his wife and has a few four grown-up children. He never succeeded in communicating with them entirely while his wife was alive, because his wife did all the parent communication thingy. So now, after retiring and losing his wife, he tries to take on that task of communicating and making sure his children are doing alright. Anyway, his journey is really interesting, and the film touches on issues like parenting and parent-pressure and of course communication. Ok, I just realised I suck at writing synopses. Despite my unattractive synopses of these films, do give them a chance, you will thank me and won't regret it!
