Another Milestone

I can finally say this -- I did it! I got out of school!

Well technically, I finished school last July, as I spent my last semester in the internship programme.
The convocation was supposed to be just a ceremony -- I left school half a year ago, I already bid my goodbye before I left for my hometown, it was just a ceremony, I shouldn't be able to feel a thing... But it is not just a ceremony.

It is a turning point, it is an official farewell, it is everything.

The fact that I won't be seeing all those familiar faces everyday anymore still saddens me, especially people that know me better than I know myself, as well as friends that I've grown close to.

We've been though so much together, sometimes we see each other more than 12 hours a day. They've become my second family, and a staple of my life.

Of course we're still friends, and I know they will always be there for me as I will for them. But deep down we know something yet we refuse to say it out loud: Everything's changed, and it will never be the same anymore.

That devastated me.

None of us wanted to acknowledge that. But in the end, on the night we gathered after the ceremony, we hugged and we cried before saying goodbye to each other. 

Someday in the future, when I thought of this day, I'd remember me standing on the stage, marching toward the chancellor; my classmate/partner/friend, presenting her valedictorian speech and how proud I was of her; flowers, cameras...... And most importantly, all those familiar faces that I grew very fond of, and how much our friendships meant to me.

Till we meet again.

Stepping into the first day of August, I can't help but feel sad.

So our internship will be starting soon and after that we'll be a bunch of official graduates. That means hello boring and tiring 9 to 5 working life. Can't believe my tertiary studies are coming to an end. No more chit-chatting and fooling around in a classroom with 14 girls and a guy. No more lecture, or assignment, or lab work. No more seeing familiar faces every day.
Our biggest concern for the past decade used to be merely examinations, grades, boys etc. But saying goodbye to study life is like welcoming adulthood - a stage that is all about independence and taking responsibility of your own life, which I'm sure I'm not entirely ready yet.

Goodbye the first half of 2014, goodbye university life. Goodbye my fellow classmates.
Au revoir, at least for now. 

100th post - Hiatus no more!

Sup guys.

I know I've been gone for awhile, but with good reason - My undergraduate dissertation and thesis presentation - Done and done! Boy am glad that's over! Phew!

If you really wanna know how I lived in the past 3 weeks... It's not glorious. Instant noodles. Bed. Laptop. Shit. Soft drinks. I kid you not. Didn't even leave the house. And constantly inhaling something sweet (soft drinks, what are you thinking?) whenever my brain needed more glucose.

I spent days and nights in front of my laptop, writing a dissertation that contained at least 16,000 words. It wasn't easy at all. The words came out from my mind into my Word document like constipation - As described by my classmate. Which is a very accurate way to describe this painful process. I felt like my brain was squeezed dry at the end of the day.

I'd gone crazy if I had to be like that for another 3 weeks. However when my dissertation came into life (or... came into prints to be exact), I felt like I just went through labour. (Metaphorically speaking of course, giving birth is much much much more painful.) So I guess it's all worth it. But let's hope the grade will be good too. Bah! That's behind me now! So glad that I am finally able to flip through this chapter of my life. 

So since I have submitted my dissertation, I reckon I'll let you know what I've been researching for the past 14 weeks. My partner and I were developing a vegan soy ice cream and we studied the characteristics yadda yadda, you see the pattern, boring product development stuff.

This research project has been tough, as anything, I repeat - Anything, can go unexpectedly wrong even when you have everything perfectly planned 1 week prior. Equipment broke down or under maintenance, ran out of chemicals, apparatus were taken up by the other researchers... But you just have to improvise with what you get and be flexible, you know what I mean? And positivity is what that matters as your mood will definitely affect your productivity and efficiency. I guess this can be applied on our daily lives as well as you'll never know what is going to happen next. And you need to keep swimming (Finding Nemo's reference, eh? Eh?) eventually even when shit hits the fan.

So what have I done for the past few days after clearing off every deadline and task? Nothing, absolutely nothing. Except lying on my bed like a sloth and watch The Mindy Project, which is awesome! It is my favourite comedy right now and I feel that Mindy basically represents my life. Except that she gets more laid than me. And all her exes are hot. Tommy Dewey, BJ Novak, Glenn Howerton... And so many eye candies around her! James Franco, seriously? I know it's just a drama, but hey a girl can always dream, all thanks to Mindy.

Other than that I have also been watching romance film as influenced by Mindy. Currently watching Pretty Woman. I have to admit, shamefully, that I'm more familiar of the song than the film. But the movie is actually pretty good even though I'm not a big fan of neither Julia Roberts nor Richard Gere (no offense but he's like a father figure to me so it's kinda weird to watch him making love to Julia Roberts). And also I've been playing Pokemon. I was bored, okay?

Anyway back to the main point. So now that I'm free I will be following the regular pre-hiatus schedule which is every Monday, Wednesday and Friday even though I'll be on a short trip next week. But we'll see. I'll try my best.

1 more paper in the end of July and I'll be done with my 5th semester... And then it's time for my internship programme. Dum dum dum. So not looking forward to it. D:

Week #16: Blissful

1. Flat white and French vanilla latte @ Cosans Coffee, SS15. Hot beverage on a rainy day, hmm. Bliss.

2. Know the feeling how you're so tired you don't wanna move your ass? Reluctant to get lunch even when you're starving just because your legs won't listen to your brain? Yeah. So the girls cooked sweet potato porridge. Thanks to everyone who contributed. ♡

3. Chewy Caramel & Double Coat Tim Tam, all the way from Australia, brought by coursemate. ♡

4. Miam Miam spaghetti (RM26.80), lobster bisque pasta (RM29.80) and Riz Noir (RM28.80) @ Miam Miam, 1 Utama. I somehow prefer the branch at Penang. Service,ambience and food quality wise. Just saying. Or maybe I'm just biased.

5. Gerai Makanan Japanese BBQ (大众烧肉) @ Taman Desa. A very fine place to chill, especially after a rainy day. The pork is awesome, beef not so. And damn, Genghis Khan is a must. (You: 'What?') I'm not making any sense but go there and you'll see.

6. Restoran 2008 Snow Beer @ Cheras. First snow beer I ever tried and it was gooooooooooood. And the salted pork! Pooooooork. So good. 

7. Happy Easter everybody! Gotta say I did pretty well in Lent, for giving up some stuff that I've promised Him a month ago. *proceed to pat self on the head* Jesus must be very proud of me. Thanks man. Brofist, big J.

Week #13: And so it begins

1. Chamomile tea & mango yoghurt smoothie @ Cosans Coffee, SS15. Felt so good to be able to hang out with my friends for the entire week, given the fact that by 3 months we won't be able to see each other so frequently, as in on a daily basis.
2, 3. Brilliant decoration using umbrellas @ Empire City, Perdana Damansara.
4. Graffiti art @ Bangsar. I miss you, banana leaf.
5. The last semester of my degree studies have officially begun. Final year project is definitely not a piece of cake, especially when we only have approximately 2 months to finish our labwork. But again, this too shall pass. This phrase is in my mind every time I wake up from sleep with mind full of works or when I'm about to make a not-so-easy and critical decision. Perhaps I should tattoo it on my arm... Just kidding.
6. Parents came to KL over the weekend for the Qingming festival. Felt good to be pampered again, even if it was only for 3 days.

The official end of my semester 4.

I guess the burial of lecture notes underneath my study desk helped – saying goodbye and that we will not meet ever again assured my heart that I will pass this semester.

Results were released on Monday right before I got really sick and slept for 2 days consecutively. I got 2 friggin A- (& 1 A for Korean, my elective), 1st time in 2 years of studies. I was really really happy, but asked myself not to be cocky or too self-confidence and be sure to work extra hard for the coming semester at the same time.

Bummed that I have to go through the episode for 2 more semesters (but then studying is still better than working full time no matter how... according to some friends). The final exam was really hard for me. I did not do well for my midterms (and the only person I can blame is me) so I had to push myself real hard so that I wouldn’t embarrass myself further. Yes pride is my weakness (or the opposite) and it can either helps you or kills you. Bear in mind that I am really not a study person – Making it extra hard to memorise all those shits especially when they didn't even make much sense to me. I wanted to give up, hide in a corner to sulk and pretend I don’t care but I can’t. I can’t forget the humiliating moment when I found out that I got the lowest mark of a subject midterm paper out of my class. I broke down cuz I couldn’t deal with the pressure anymore, I couldn’t sleep, I was angry at myself and the universe, I cried in my boyfriend’s arm… But I’m glad in the end it’s all worth it. Thanks to my friends and my boyfriend for supporting/motivating me endlessly and also the universe/god for answering my prayers, or law of attraction, don’t care it’s the same to me… I do believe religion exists for a reason no matter you believe in it or not, perhaps we’ll talk about it the other time.

Nobody said it was easy

This is what I chose.
It’s not that I have regretted,
It’s just that it’s not easy to leave home, even after so many times;
I thought I will get used to it but no, you can never get used to parting,
and it’s not easy at all.

I forgot, it's Sunday.

Roaster lamb rack by yours truly △ plan b big breakfast △

We cooked lamb and risotto for our 2nd assessment in kitchen operation class. Will be doing salmon this week. Lunch @ Plan b again, 2 days in a roll. Breakfast platter is huge. Appreciate the Earl Grey though. Met up with my long lost bestfriend David today. His Yamashita is wonderful.

Polka dots, floral, pastel and crochet.

Had Uncle Jang (again) this afternoon, and we proceeded to Topshop sales. Love all the tops I bought today especially the Dorothy Perkins’ pink polka, no thanks to all my friends that are good in persuading people. And the Zara grey pants only costs me RM99.90. I’ve also finally bought a black and white tank tops due to the increasing amount of crochet tops in my wardrobe. I found out recently that my tops are mainly polka dots, floral, pink or crochet. Dinner @ Betty’s Midwest Kitchen. Was going to have lunch/dinner with my brother at there this weekend but  oh well. Jessie xx