my new year resolutions would be to:

1. earn more money so that i can travel a bit more.

i know that in future, i wouldn't be able to travel so much so i want to see as much as i can for as long as i can before i can't anymore. simple as that.

2. be more giving

i know in particular, my friends have been nothing but kind to me, especially may. she always comes back from overseas with gifts for me and is willing to fetch me to places. so this year, i think i would focus more on being kind towards those who really deserve it. and also to pk and my cousins who buys me things so often when i was broke. i haven't forgotten!

3. save more money!

i really spend too much money on food daily, and all these could have gone to my travel expenses and stuff. perhaps  i should start writing posts about my lunch box everyday xp maybe that would motivate me to eat more healthily and spend money less extravagantly

4. take better care of my body

i should practise cleaner hygiene, and take better care of my skin. wash, tone, moisturize!!! i always buy facial products on a whim and don't use them. this in turn, reflects quite badly on my sensitive skin. also, to be more fit. i think my weight can lose 1/2 kgs. basically i'm not fat, but i would really like to be fit again.

today was a tiring, exhausting, loving, warm and happy day. even though i've been slightly disillusioned by academia that is Monash, there is no denying that a huge part of me grew up through uni throughout these four years. if it wasn't for uni, i would still be the shy, nerdy kid i was in college and before.

I wouldn't have met the best friends I know and love.

I wouldn't have met the love of my life.

so these are more personal reasons to mark this significant milestone in my life, more so than simply obtaining a double degree in wtv course.

It is also, an excuse to dress up and take pictures with friends and family!! And it was extra special having czeeyong graduate by my side.

And to take silly pictures like these, which will stick in my mind more than posey ones :p

doing the 'y u no guy' pose

glaring at czeeyong :p

receiving flowers from him ^^ -more like exchanging bouquets.

being superman

gaining a new set of proud parents- note the 'i'm so proud of u' hand of approval on my shoulder

and last but not least, badly taken photos.

XD

Kidding Kidding. Here's the remake

just got back from my first ever...business trip. I was down to JB mainly as an organizer, or representative for my company who is hosting focus groups with our client, a huge retailer in the country.

I'm just glad I made it out alive.

And with my shaky mandarin - I think I called my boyfriend and friend half a dozen times asking them for translations. czeeyong very kindly helped me translate every single sentence in the questionaire to ask a consumer we were going to follow for an accompanying shopping trip.

at one point, while waiting for the consumer to arrive- a very kind housewife with two young kids in tow, i was shaking with fear, out of nervousness that i would not do a very good job for my client. they were super demanding and I was afraid that I'd let my bosses down.

Thankfully, the lady was very chatty and talked without needing much prompting.

I was sick when I landed in JB too, and passed out in my bed on the first day there, my head was killing me but I had to sit through an entire day of focus groups, one of which got me into a lot of trouble because I could not answer a lot of questions which was asked by the client. It was not my fault anyway, I had zero idea and I had not been briefed earlier about the situation but still- not a very nice situation to face.

the lady was concerned about my inexperience and to that i have this to say

"try working in dna lab bitch."

everyone has got to start somewhere, and i'd like to see you get your hands dirty in a science laboratory.

i was glad to go home :>

and yesterday, czeeyong surprised me with a huge huge bouquet of sunflowers

I think it's the first real surprise i have gotten from him so i was more happy with that than I was about getting the sunflowers XD- he's a sweet guy most of the time, but not a very good surprise planner =p he ends up telling me his plans most of the time.

it's been difficult on my part, dealing with work and juggling time. what used to be nearly every day seeing each other has been down to twice or three times a week. and with the both of us changing so much, i do get scared sometimes whether we will still be on the same path a few years down the road, but hopefully it's all going to a better place.

today we visited three places - a quaint, and quiet little bakery cum cafe cum florist, a homey, cosy cafe called The Bee, and a comforting korean food restaurant.

i had no idea any of these places existed- primarily because i have been a MallGoer all my life- and you  know what you find in malls- commercial, 90th branch in malaysia, restaurants with a lot of backed up financial power. Which translates into cookie cutter food.

the florist and bakery place, which is called Little Collins, reminded me a lot of May. She told us once that she wanted to open a florist, and then a little bookstore and cafe beside it, and this was something like that. I mentioned to czeeyong that it seemed as if someone had put so much thought into the details of the cafe. Every little corner was really interesting, and minute stuff, like the floors, to the wallpaper, was as if it was carefully planned.

they used the own bread that they bake for their sandwiches, and breakfast sets. The bread was really good! But the other bits need some work. My smoked salmon sandwich with omelette tasted like a smoked salmon sandwich with fried eggs on top. The eggs were too done. It was the same with czeeyong's as well.

One thing that I always admire about him is that he unabashedly goes about taking photos. And he has this HUGE camera, with a flash and other really very obvious things and he doesn't care what people think. I can't do that. So... my photos are not that nice. Ha ha ha. Because I tend to be a bit more discrete. The nicer ones are in czeeyong's camera, but you should see them up really soon on GoWhereEat.

I'm glad we have this website though- it gives me a chance to explore more of KL and find out hidden spots in the region.

:>

every sunday, czeeyong brings his dogs over so that we can bring them to the park in the evening for a run. since he is working mondays to fridays, he hardly has time for them and they get really bored at home. so it is kind of a treat to bring them out every week.

desa park city is a great place for dogs compared to other parks which are relatively not so dog-friendly. in fact, most community parks have a no-dog policy which is quite sad, and yet another stupid rule that we have to bear with in this country.

one rule that desa park city enforces, to keep a compromise with its Muslim visitors is that dogs are not allowed to be off leash on the sidewalks. But it's every dog for himself on the grass! I think that this is a pretty great rule. Dogs get to exercise, and people who can't touch them can be at peace on the sidewalk.

As usual though, after a bath, and a great hairdrying process, Xiao Bai took approximately twenty minutes to return to her usual dirty self -_-

I think she had fun though playing fetch...

as you can probably tell from the smile on her face and the wind in her hair. And yup, she just had a shower the day before. Xiaomei is in the background, always following XiaoBai whenever possible.

And here she is, catching up. "Xiaobai! Wait for me!" And uh, a really sweaty guy in the background.

Strangers can't really tell the two of them apart. But most people would say that Xiaobai is cuter, her fur is slightly poofier, and she is shorter, and fatter, and therefore, by default, being a furry animal, cuter, than Xiaomei, who is longer and thinner.

However, you can also tell them apart by the way they run.

XiaoMei runs daintily, and elegantly, almost trotting, like a little princess.

And Xiaobai runs like a rabbit on weed, putting every bit of energy into each step with wild carefree abandon.

Don't believe me?

This is Xiaobai, jumping over a pebble river

Here is Xiaobai, galloping after her ball.

Here is Xiaobai, flying.

And here is XiaoMei through out the entire period when Xiaobai was playing. Waiting for her sister to be done with this parade of nonsense.

Sigh, this will take a while...

Oh no I'm not done yet.

There's just too much to see and do, Xiaomei! Like fetch balls. Round balls. Round rubbery balls.

*sigh* seriously...

Okay, maybe I am a little bit tired.

They made friends too! With a Boston terrier named Chester.

And with an overeager golden retriever.

But in the end, they were back to playing with each other...

Having fun, prancing about...

"Urgh your hair is in my face =.="