So you brought out the best of me, a part of me I've never seen.

Recess week was over and it is back to hell. Sighs. Had my second midterm today, and my brain is officially burnt after the paper. Geeez, I think this is the hardest I have ever studied already, but the psychology exams never fail to make me stunt. T.T

I give up.

(Chocolate banana bingsoo)

Met Huiqi the other day for Dingtaifung yesh! Overpriced food but I am a slave to their xiaolongbaos LOL. Decided to save some money by bringing her to the $8.80 bingsoo for supper. I forgot the name of the shop, but it was located at JCube. The customer service was really, really bad. I just patronised because it was cheaper, and money > attitude. LOLOL.

Had a great time ranting to her about life and school and friends, and feeling very contented after letting out the steam. Hahahaha! But really, I think secondary school friends are the best. Low-maintenance but the friendship never ends, and everything still stay the same even though I only meet them for like less than ten times a year??? Really stroked to be able to travel with my secondary school friends this summer! Yay!

(Chocolate mousse for Valentine's)

With my current obsession with cakes, I decided to get this chocolate mousse from The Cheesecake Factory to err celebrate Valentine's. Hahahaha! And the verdict? Their cheesecake over chocolate mousse anytime. And shit, someone please stop me from eating more cakes. I think I have eaten enough cakes to last a lifetime omg.

(Ho Jiak)

Finally met Vivian P after so long omg. It is funny how we are both taking the same module this semester but did not see each other at all during the entire semester (okay, for precision purposes, I did see her during the first lecture).

Travelled all the way to Tanjong Pajar for this restaurant called Ho Jiak. I thought it was a restaurant selling Chinese food (since the name is in Hokkien dialect) until I went to google for the address, and realised they serve Japanese food instead. LOL?

It was situated at a weird place, in the midst of big company buildings. The best part? There were no queues, and they were very efficient in their service. And I feel that they are very sincere as well! The food is mediocre but $8.90 for a beef shabu shabu with Japanese curry I think is still reasonable. Yes, I pay for service HAHA.

And I realised Vivian P is really excellent in finding all those exotic eating places, and I cannot wait to explore with her. Wew!

And in my dreams, I meet the ghosts of
all the people who have come and gone.
Memories, they seem to show up so quick
but they leave you far too soon.
Naive, I was just staring at the barrel of a gun.
And I do believe that, yeah.

All of us get lost in the darkness, dreamers learn to steer by the stars.

National Museum with Amanda :D We actually headed there because we had an assignment to do, but we ended up exploring all the other exhibitions since we were already there! And they were so good omg. (Y)

(With this little one)

First stop:

Growing Up/ Modern Colony galleries

On level 2 of the museum, there were four galleries that portray Singapore's past. Growing Up is on childhood memories of those who lived in the kampongs, whilst Modern Colony depicts the change in the progress of women over the years. We didn't really pay attention to the other two (because they were not required for assignment LOL), but I know one of them is on the Japanese occupation, and it looks quite interesting as well!

Second stop:

Glass Rotunda: Story of the Forest and Singapore, very old tree.

This is really pretty! Amanda said it resembles the Future World exhibition @ the Art Science Museum, except that this is free and less crowded. LOLOL! :D I don't know because haven't been there yet T.T

(My phone camera sucks ah)

(Damn cute?! The bambi, not the human HAHAHA)

Third stop:

What is visible is not invisible

Unfortunately, this exhibition is over. Thankfully we managed to catch it hehehes :D This was the highlight of our trip, and we were so stroked because we unintentionally stumbled upon it and we realised this was an instaworthy place.

(Little girl in the complex world)

(The cute vibes)

(The superstar vibes)

So cool rights! Same person with the same background but they give off a different feel. I attribute this to the skills of the photographer, which is yours truly. :D

(Starblazed)

(This feels more like a playground than an artwork to me)

(Is it 见不得人 LOL)

Hahaha, I was actually glad that GES made us go on a trip to the museum. It is actually a fun way to spend time with your family and friends without spending money (provided that you are a Singapore citizen). Hahahaha! And I like these interactive museums because they let me take good photos. :DDD

For lunch, we decided to try this new eating place, Patbingsoo, at Plaza Singapura. The prices are slightly cheaper than the other average Korean restaurants, but the food also quite mediocre. LOL.

(Lighting sucks, overexposure LOL)

(Greentea flavored bingsoo)

We got ourselves bingsoo (I figured that will be the speciality of the restaurant because of its name?), as well as cheese kimchi fried rice for me and beef bibimbap for Amanda. But nah, I won't patronise the shop again because (1) simply too far from my house (2) no incentive to eat their food because it is quite mediocre.

(Take 2!)

After which, I dragged Amanda to watch the movie Take 2! with me after B and my sister claimed that it was freaking hilarious. And I didn't regret my decision. Jack Neo's still the best Singaporean movie director. (Y)

It was a very interesting day indeed :D

Today is a winding road,
that's taking me to places
that I didn't want to go.
Today in the blink of an eye,
I'm holding onto something
and I do not know why I tried.

The best things in life are free. I'm dreaming up a world with you.

(Ripped from chibird.tumblr.com)

How true.

Sometimes when we are too focused on the pursuit of material goods and we wallowed in self-pity when we are met with dreadful setbacks, we tend to forget that the best things in life are free.

How long has it been since you last gave a hug to someone dear to you? How long has it been since you last laugh heartily and it comes right from your true heart and not under a false pretence? How long has it been since you last have 8 hours of sleep per day?

Why do people have the tendency to forget these small little things that are free yet make us happy? Because we are too blinded by material pursuit, because we are too caught up by our hunger for more, that we continue living at such fast pace of life and we forgot to stop and enjoy the process of it.

So slow down and breathe. Look around you. Enjoy your life. Live in the moment.

Walking on a tightrope wire,
dropping poison pills of fire.
Hynoptised. Euphoria will be here soon.
Turn the lights down, let the answers fill the room.

Life is never a bed of roses.

Start of hell weeks.

It was quite a crazy insane Week 6 at school with so many things going on, and so little time! On top of tutorials, I had a 10 page report and two forum posts to write, two quizzes and one midterm to study for. Geeez, cognitive overload currently. Been sleeping at odd hours like 2am/3am/4am, it is no wonder that I have feeling so sick these days. T.T

(But it doesn't stop me from eating curry and fried food)

Hahahas, Yew Tee Point recently have new shops opening, which got me very excited LOLOL. I tried Encik Tan for dinner the other day and the food was quite good. To my dismay, the interior of the shop is quite big hahahaha. I think the other branches are quite small one though.

Anyways, back to the topic of school. I was so glad to be over and done with NM2212 Midterm today because it was honestly very draining. I'm looking forward to the recess week because it means that there will be a break from NM2212 LOL. Finally no more blinking of notifications at every other time of the day T.T But yeahs, I think I'm quite screwed for the midterm. Am I the only one who find it hard. Shit this. I don't want to die so badly please.

P.S. I am really, really very happy to find this group of friends over at NUS. Even though we only meet once a week during lecture, but you guys never fail me to make me laugh till I get fits. It has been so long since I really laugh until no image. ♥ No words can express how grateful I am.

(Japanese with Manda)

Throwback to dinner before event meeting two weeks back. Found this gem at the Raffles Xchange, and we can finally can stop eating subway everytime before event meeting/event. LOLOLOL! I guess it is worth the price (S$10) because it comes in a set, but the side dishes are very tiny. I'm not kidding.

Sometimes, we let our bodies become
Breeding grounds for sadness.
We do not see all the beauty trying
To grow within us, around us.

I grow up with the smell of the lake and the feeling of the woods.

Chinese New Year

初三

(Crowded)

Yes, so we decided to visit the Zoo and the River Safari on the third day of New Year because it has been quite some years since we visited the zoo. LOL, and not to our surprise, the zoo was filled with kids running around T.T

(Competition)

Before we headed right in, we chanced upon this competition board. We are supposed to take pictures of that two birds (Year of the Rooster), show the staff the pictures, and we would walk away with some attractive prizes. Apparently, I joined the competition and the prizes not very attractive ah LOL. It was some lanyard. And the lady even gave me this activity book about some dinosaurs (to my horror, I flipped over and it wrote ages 7-10). I gave it as a gift to my tuition kiddo instead. Hahahaha! 

(Baboon with their red butt)

Isn't this the perfect shot? Hahahaha, they were facing me directly with their butt. LOL! But nah, I'm not interested in primates. Had a bad encounter with monkeys during my MacRitchie hike before T.T

(I saw a joey)

Okay insane. It was raining heavily, so all the kangaroos come hopping towards the shelter. And yesh! I managed to see this cute little thing! (:

(During an animal show)

(Look at that stunning peacock)

Animal shows that are not interesting at all. All they do it introduce the animals and there are no animal tricks. Is it the animals all old already and they cannot be trained?

(Thick-skinned creatures)

Okay so I spot elephants. Not very fascinated by them but some day I hope that I can ride one. LOL.

(My Little Pony)

When I was young, why didn't my parents allow me to ride a pony?? Omg, regrets. Now they pose age restrictions.

(Looks a little like Trump?)

(Fruit bats)

(Bird)

(Lee Kwang Soo)

Apparently the giraffes are not gigantic enough because my sister actually came and ask me where are they when she is facing the enclosure directly. Are the giraffes too small or are they too good at camouflage? The giraffe is not visually salient here.

(Zebras)

Reminds me of the time when I wore a striped romper out to meet Vivian and she kept calling me a zebra the entire night T.T

(They are actually quite huge in size)

(They scream: "I'm so sick of life!)

(Woo white tiger)

(This weird-looking boar)

This concluded our trip to the zoo. They have a dinosaur exhibition ongoing as well, but the queue was too long and we still have River Safari to go to, so we gave it a miss! (But sounds interesting horhs? LOL).

(Look at those teeth on this 'piranha')

(I have no idea what these manatees are doing, it just looks wrong)

(My favourite pandas)

Hahahas, pandas always remind me of a certain someone from the past. We were so young that time, LOL. We gave each other nicknames, which is panda and dolphin. Omg damn childish now that I think of it. But still, memories. ♥

(Red Panda)

They are so cute. That day Licheng sent a picture of red panda in the whatsapp group, and I melted omg. Look at these flurry bears!

(This has got to be the deal)

LOLOL, my greatest achievement in the entire trip. LOL, wtf. I cannot believe I managed to capture such a shot. Hahaha, it is the polar bear in case you are wondering. She is quite old already, so I think that it is my luck to see her 'walking around'. Yay!

Some day I'll wish upon a star and 
Wake up where the clouds are far behind me,
Where laughters falls like lemon drops,
Away above the the chimney tops.
That's where you'll find me.

And I think to myself, what a wonderful world.

Chinese New Year

初二

Drumrolls please. Hahahas, I'm so excited about this! LOL, having a small extended family means you finished all the house visitings on the first day of new year, so we were racking our brains on where to go for the second day.

And viola, Istana! :D

It was my second time there. My first time was when I was still a small kid and I absolutely have no recollection of it. Oops.

(Vast green)

(which makes it ideal for a jumpshot)

It was very crowded really! We queued for approximately 1.5h before we were allowed in. And there were also security checks which resembles the airport's security measures. Speaking of this, how come there were no security checks when I visited the official residence of the Cambodian king during my trip last year? LOL.

(Trying to take a nice solo picture but it was impossible with the crowds)

NUS Utown's green field is nothing compared to this. Hahaha! Then we continued to walk (the place is huge seriously)... 

(There were performances but I see no shit because I am short)

As we were strolling everywhere, suddenly we see mad crowds chasing after a 'car'. And so, being typical Singaporeans, you run as well. LOL!

(Guess who we saw!)

President Tony Tan with his wife. Ahhhh! My mother was still nagging throughout the entire day because I woke up late, and reached Istana only around 3pm plus (which means long queues and lesser time to explore). But hey, even President wakes up late? Hahahaha, if we had gone there earlier, we might not have seen Mr President.

(And in case you don't understand the situation)

I risked my life trying to snap good shots of Mr President. LOL, seriously. I think I can forget about exploring the career option of being a reporter, because apparently one criteria that you should possess is being big-sized so you can block off everyone and get good shots yourself T.T They pushed, they shouted, they stepped on your shoes and it was so painful, and even stood up on the chairs.

(Some school band performing)

Life was better when Mr President was seated listening to this school band playing some new year songs. Omg so cute lehs the kids! Their instruments even bigger than them. Ahhh, I missed performing and being on stage T.T

(财神爷)

After Mr President left, we came across 财神爷. Because we thought he looked very sad and lonely, so we decided to take pictures with him. HAHAHA. And also, I hope that since I touched the giantic gold, may my family and I be blessed with fortune. I need money to go travelling LOL!

(Dinner at Nandos)

Went Plaza Sing for dinner, and was feeling a little sad because Kopitiam was closed. T.T We conveniently forgot that there were other food shops in the basement, so we just settled for Nandos, which is so expensive x.x

(To celebrate the year of the Rooster)

(Mango lime flavoured)

Okay, at least they came up with a new flavour since the last time I patronized the restaurant. But still, it is so not worth it.

You know when the sun forgets to shine,
I'll be there to hold you through the night.