Monday, June 15, 2009

My 5-day break

Today is my first day at work after a 5-day off (2 weekends + 3 days leave). It feels really good after a long break since I hadn't had one in a lo~ng time. So it feels really good~ Although I must admit it was quite a tiring break..but fun at the same time. Plus, I got to settle quite a lot of things that I had postponed for quite some time.

So, what did I do during my 5-day break?

Thursday - Had brunch at home (my mom made fried rice). Went to the bank to settle some things at about noon. Then headed to the office to take some documents to submit to JPA, but later realized that I left a document at home. Postponed it to Monday. Then headed straight to my bf's late-grandmother's place in Rembau. Bought some smoked fish to bring Rembau (in addition to a plastic bag full of rambutan picked from a tree at my house). Reached Rembau, helped here and there, ate dinner, helped around (again), then went to bed at around 1am.

Friday - Woke up early--very early--at about 430am. Accompanied my bf to pick his brother up from Seremban (he took a night bus from penang). The journey took 45 minutes one way! I was planning on sleeping on the way back, but since my bf was too sleepy, I had to stay awake to make sure he didn't fall asleep behind the wheel! Reached Rembau at 6am, my bf went back to sleep but I didn't, and took a shower instead (not fair! >.<). I mean, how could I go to sleep when my bf's mother was wide awake and busy preparing breakfast, right? So after shower I helped around before preparing to go to the town for the big event (my bf's eldest sister was getting married). I was able to watch the whole ceremony (videos and photos later). Then came back to the house and helped around with the preparation for the next-day reception. But ended up not helping a whole lot due to headache and fatigue. So, I rested a lot instead. Like my bf said, "You've already helped a lot..although you slept 40-50% of the time." huhuhu. Later in the day, I found out that it's that time of the month already, so that explained the fatigue. After helping with the goodie bag, my bf forced me to go to bed at 1230am, although I later found out the next day that other people went to bed at 3am+, and some at 5am. They must have been mad at me for going to bed early. Haha.

Saturday - The reception day--the busiest day. After taking a shower at around 7am, I helped around with the cooking and other preparations. By 11am, I was sweating a lot and decided to take a shower again before dressing up for the event, which started at 12pm. My fatigue was still there, so most of the time during the event, I was inside the house, resting and waiting for my parents to come. The groom arrived at about 130pm. I got to see the whole ceremony done the Negeri Sembilan way. It was my first time seeing it, and I was excited. I filmed part of the ceremony (will post later). Not too long after that, my parents arrived, and my bf and I ate our lunch with them. Got to introduce my parents to my bf's moms and relatives (yeay!). After my parents left, our friends arrived, and they left just before the event ended at 3pm. After the event, everyone was just sitting around and chatting while listening to whoever was brave enough to sing at the open-mic. My bf and his cousin sang a Negeri Sembilan song, and I filmed it (of course!). Although it's very temping to post the video here, I was already warned not to post it. Huhu. Anyway, the house was a disaster after the event. Trash and dirty dishes was everywhere. So we started cleaning at about 5pm+. I helped with the dishes, but after that I was too tired to do anything else. We managed to get most of the cleaning done by dinner, so that's good. And since everyone didn't get enough sleep the night before, the house was already quite by 10pm. However, me, my bf, and some of his cousins were watching the tv till 12am before going to bed.

Sunday - Woke up at 6am, but ended up falling asleep again on the couch until 7am. Took shower, packed, had breakfast, sat around and left home at about 1pm. Had lunch at 315pm and went back home before going out again to send my bf's brother to KL central (he had to go back to Penang). After sending him off, we went to the cinema to watch Night at the Museum 2, using the free tickets that I got for my birthday. It was a funny movie, but I guess I was too tired that I almost fall asleep when watching it. Huhu. After the movie, we headed straight home since it's already 1030pm.

Monday - Day off! Whee~! Woke up pretty late at around 9am. Left the house at around 11am. Change the engine oil on the way to Putrajaya. Had lunch at Alamanda while waiting for the office to open at 215pm. Since Alamanda is a mall, I ended up buying a hand cream for my bf (he didn't want it, of course, but I knew he needed one) and an eye cream for me (hopefully it works!). Handed in the documents to JPA, but ended up having to write letters to ask for permission to postpone the contract (Haish, lagi baik buat bodo. Skrg dah banyak keje). Then headed for Shah Alam to get my bf's watch and ring that he left at Rembau from his cousin. After that we headed to Gombak, before I decided to bring my sick kitten to see the vet. Drove around to find a vet and failed. After doing some search on the internet we found one which was cheap and quite close. So we headed there after bringing the kitten along. The kitten had to get an injection which costs me rm25 and he needed another one in 2 weeks time (owh duitku~). After dropping the kitten off at the house, we went to Jusco Setiawangsa for dinner, but the restaurant was closed. We tried a new restaurant instead and watched a real-life 'drama' of a couple. The girl didn't even look at the guy and they ended up not eating anything! I bet the guy had done something really bad. Hohoho. Anyway, after dinner we got something from the supermarket--insect repellent for the car, rat trap for my bf's place, hair gel for my bf, and a hot-patch (salonpas) for my bf's stiffed shoulders. Then we had a nice talk at our favorite eating place near our home before he sent me home..

Anyway, I feel really good that I was able to settle most of the things that I wanted to settle. I don't know why but I feel like wanting to take care of all the things that I kinda neglected all this while--my cats, the cars.. And now that I have settled most of the things on my list, I feel good~ (mcm motto ntv7 tak? hehe).

Now, these are the things that are still on the list:
1) make a new mykad
2) buy conditioner (I have been depending on hair-oil for quite some time now. huhu)
3) change Kancil's engine oil (Hopefully it's not dried up yet!)
4) Kancil needs a bath and a good polish!
5) bring my other cats to the vet too

Not so important:
1) buy new make up sample from lovingminerals. com (ade sape2 nak blanje? :D)

Can't wait for my next paycheck! >.<

Wednesday, June 3, 2009

too much in a day

It is only 1204pm and I have already discovered two '18sx' materials.

1) Fucking, Austria


2) Korean Penis Fish

Monday, June 1, 2009

Davis, my second home

I have been in Malaysia for almost 11 months now. Wow, I did not notice it at all.

It has been almost a year, but I still miss my second home, Davis, a small town in North California.

official logo of Davis (wikipedia)

Maybe for those who are used to living in the city would not like Davis the first time they go there. No malls, no tall buildings, lots of bicycles and not that many cars..the smell of cows..is that a nightmare or what?

cows eating

lembu-lembu kepanasan?

But no, Davis is actually a paradise. Or like I used to describe it--a fantasy town. A perfect world of their own, secluded from the brutal world outside. You know, kinda like Disneyland, but less extreme.

Davis is known to be as an environmental-friendly town, with recycle bins scattered everywhere, people use their bikes as the main transportation, and not that many street lights so that people can enjoy star-gazing at night. And during the spring time, there will be Whole Earth Festival on campus (open for the public, of course), which is fully environmental friendly. Electricity is generated by solar panels, and no plastics/non-biodegradable items are used.

You can find this everywhere
We used to have this in our apartment

This is located on campus

Crafts sold during Whole Earth Festival

Buy your food, pay deposit for the plates/cutleries/cups, and get it back after returning the dishes

Solar panel

A sign during the Whole Earth Festival. Notice the number of bikes

Being a university town, Davis is populated with mostly educated people from different walks of life. A small town full of educated people is really a very welcoming experience. We can express our opinion about sensitive topics and people are open about that. No one is a majority and everyone is so friendly. People at the grocery stores will ask us if we need help getting the stuffs to our car. The lady at the Asian Market asks about the scarfs that we wear. Once, a stranger on campus said hello to me even though I did not know him.

Also being a university town, UC Davis will organize Picnic Day during spring every year. It is like a open day for the university. Picnic Day is the largest event held on campus, and "is believed to be the largest student-run event in the US" (wikipedia). There will be parade, exhibitions, demonstrations, competitions, booths, and performances on this day. I would say it is the most-waited event every year. Students might also see their professors cow-milking on this day.

Parade on Picnic Day

Dog race (?) on Picnic Day

People always think that a small town usually has nothing. But think again. In Davis, we can plan on eating Thai food for dinner and change the plan at the very last minute to sushi buffet, since the restaurants are just 2-3 minutes apart by foot. Thai food, Chinese food, Mediterranean food, Italian food, Korean food, Japanese food--you name it, Davis has it (although I wish they have Malaysian and Indonesian restaurants in town). And do not worry about entertainment. There are three cinemas and a paintball field in this small town. There are also a bowling alley, and a game archade on campus. And we also have a large theatre hall called Mondavi Center. When there is a need for shopping, there is a GAP store and a Gottschalk about 5 minutes away by bike from the campus. And if you feel like browsing through a larger variety, Vacaville factory outlets is only 30 minutes away by car and Sacramento city is only 20 minutes away by car. No car? Not to worry. Buses are always there to serve you.

Fuji Chef - the most popular sushi buffet in town

University Mall

I used to stop here on my way back to my apartment

Owh, almost forgot about the Farmer's market. A market selling local products. Those cheeses, juicy oranges, strawberries.. And your visit to the Farmer's market on a Saturday morning will usually be welcomed by some live music. Such a peaceful and lively atmosphere.

Farmers Market..love the free samples. hehe

musicians performing at Farmers Market

Ahh~ I do not care what other people say. I just love Davis.

Owh, did I mention UCD still use those red double-decker buses from London? Yup, with the driver seat on the right.

Red double decker Unitrans bus. This is on campus

Owh, and did I mention about the Arboretum and the ducks? A LOT of ducks..

The main entrance to the UCD Arboretum

Part of Arboretum. (Arboretum is a long lake..this is the middle part of it)

Ducks at the arboretum, although sometimes they fly to the downtown area. Wait for the spring to come. You could see 'duck rape' almost everywhere. haha

Ahh..~ how I wish I could go back to Davis with my bf and walk the Arboretum with him...

(Most of the pictures are taken from DavisWiki. The logo is from Wikipedia)

Grad school application - APPROVED!

I got a text from a colleague this evening telling me to check my grad school application status online. So, I checked it right away, and it was approved. Yeay! Finally.

So I will be starting off my new life as a student again this July. July 3, 2009 to be exact. I will be doing Master of Science (Environmental Biotechnology) with thesis program under the Faculty of Biotechnology and Biomolecular Sciences for 1-3 years.

Hmm..what do I need to do before the semester started? Register, pay the tuition fee (RM1600, urgh), and register for classes I suppose? I should better confirm about that soon.

Anyway, I am excited. Finally I have something to do. But when I think about the messy lab..I guess I am not that excited anymore. Huhuhu.

We seriously need a Lab Assistant, urgent.