What 21 Has Taught Me

2013, the year I reached the big 21, where the phrase 'not a girl, but not yet a woman' applies. This is because the fact that I am no longer a tenager but neither a fully grown matured woman. This is the phase of life which is supposed to be the most adventurous, where mistakes are supposed to be made and where heartbreaks are inevitable. It is also a phase where we truly learn about life and learn to be mature in making important decisions and be mature when it comes to matters of the heart. 

2013 has taught me a lot indeed. Being loved, broken, let down and also to not be selfish in many ways. I learned that no matter how hard you fall, always get back up and must bear in mind that there are many other who are in way worse situations than me. 

The most important lesson I learned is that when it comes to love, there is never an easy answer. You may fall in love with a someone who never love you  back and vice versa. But when it does happen, it teaches you to never be selfish. Don't hold on to that person because then you'll only be lying to yourself. If that person is the one, he/she will come back to you one day. All you can do is pray to the All Mighty and ask for forgiveness and to show you the one meant for you.  

I made a point and promise to myself that I will not open my heart randomly to poeple, that I will try my best not to fall in love or at least not to try to show the love. My heart has been through too much and for now, it needs some rest. That's why I decide to build a wall around it, to protect and guard it. Because I do not want to lose hope in love and in men. I am afraid that it my heart is broken once again, that will be my final straw and I can never trust both love and men. 

So for now, I make a point to live the best out of my life. From now onwards, I will try to live my life properly, go out for mew adventures, see the world and grow up to be a mature and sophisticated woman. I want to live for myself and do the things I want to. 

Hopefully, the years to come will bring bliss  and success InsyaAllah.

Easter 2013

Easter break is almost over. There is nothing much going on in that three weeks anyway. Last year, I remembered that the moment the holidays started, I locked myself up in my room and started studying for finals. 6 hours a day minimum. Some of my friends said I went A wall on them cause they never saw or heard from me during the whole holiday. 

This year, I realised that I am a bit chilled. Well, probably last year was my first time sitting for exams overseas and plus I had and still do need to maintain a very high mark to maintain my scholarship. Well, the first week went by with me home alone researching for my 6000 word essay.Both my housemates were in Amsterdam and Brussels. But still, I only did the research, not studying for the other 3 modules. Second week was a bit hectic since I went to London twice. Fist is because I was asked to judge The Orators Debate Championship 2013. Well, to be honest, I was quite nervous because I never judged in a proper competition before. I was always on the other side of the room debating. But I felt honoured to  be asked to judge alongside some of the best debaters from Malaysia like Danial Rahman and Julius, both had represented Malaysia for worlds. So we had two representative from Cardiff. I was one of the adjudicator and Evan, debated. His team was in finals. However, I had to miss the show because I left early to grab dinner.

Me and Evan, the Cardiff peeps

So after judging, I went straight back to Cardiff. Since the bus was delayed, we arrived around 3ish in the morning. So, that was on Wednesday. On Saturday, I head back to London for the Careers Fair. Some people wondered why I bothered to even go there when I wasn't even applying for internship since I am already bonded with CIMB. Well, the truth is I felt obliged to go there and show my support to the company that sponsors me here. Plus, the person who interviewed me at my final stage was there and she remembered me. I figured since all Maybank scholars were required to be there at the booth and help out, I should at least show face and encourage people to apply to CIMB. 

After one tiring day.

Me and Qiqi waiting for our food.

So I went there with a bunch of crazy whackos. We stayed at different houses. Don't even ask why. When we arrived, the first thing we did was to head down to this restaurant which is famous for their roast duck. I never ate duck in my life so I decided to try one and my God, it is DELICIOUS! I would definitely go there again.

Vin Lum, me, Nad and Fazrul

For the first time, all three housemates are in London

After eating the duck, we decided to put or stuff first at home before heading back to Central to chill out. My friend's house is located in Zone 2, right after the last station in Zone 1. Well, I have got to be honest, its really in the outskirts. It is a total different sight from central. When I first arrived there, I was shocked and quite scared to be honest. Luckily the house was not that far form the station. I walked as fast as I could and head up to the fifth floor of the flat. The flats was alright I guess since I cannot compare to my house here in Cardiff. I understand that students in London want to save their money and hence the location and the condition of the house is not as good or safe. But well, we are students after all. No need a lavish lifestyle. So after putting our stuff, we head back to central. Our friends told us that there was a sort of 'mamak/msian night' at one of the cafes near Bayswater called Berdees. When I arrived there, there were Malaysian flags everywhere and everyone there were Malaysians! I even met with a lot of my friends who study in London like Adrien, Nawal and Ammar. But I don't know why they would call it a Msian/mamak night since its nothing out of the ordinary there. All we did was hang out in an open area, shisha and that's about all. And the shisha was not even that good! The one in Cardiff where I always hang out tastes better and way cheaper. But, since I never shisha in London before, I just bear it.

On the way back to central

At Berdees

The next day, we had to wake up early and head to the hotel as the event started at 8 in the morning. We went to hear some talks including the one given by CIMB. Then head down to the booths. My friends got busy applying for internships and summer placements. I wondered off booth by booth to see what was interesting and collect all the freebies. It was crowded and so we had to push our way through. I also met a lot of other friends who cam from all over UK. Its good to be able to catch up on little things.

Me and the Cardiff Girls

My loco friends

After that, we decided to try out the new sensation in London, the Burger & Lobster restaurants. A lot of my  friends who went there absolutely recommended us to go there. My friend made a reservation since we may need to wait for almost 2 hours to get a table without making prior reservation. There is only 3 items on the menu; Burger, a whole lobster (grilled or boiled) and lobster patty and everything was 20 quid. All 10 of us ordered grilled whole lobster. The service was quick. The lobsters arrived about 10 minutes after we ordered them and God, it was HUGE!!  It is served with fries, salad and garlic butter sauce. Without further a due, we dug into it. I gotta tell you, it tastes AMAZING!!!! The best lobster I have ever tasted. It was so fresh and juicy. Plus, with just that, I was full. 20 quid well spent! Now I would personally recommend to everyone who have not tried it. I might have the feeling that I will go there again....Might! 

Mouth watering

My happy face 

So after filling our tummies with lobsters, we head down to Soho and just wonder around and just before heading back home, we head to this mamak restaurant and had naan. The next day we went to the must place to be in London, the Oxford Street and did a little bit of shopping before catching our bus back to Cardiff in the evening

Oxford Street

Bubblelogy, Vin Lum wanted to satisfy her crave for bubble tea

So after that, I basically stayed home and start writing my essay. I admit that I am very worried and disappointed that I did not get much done this break. Well, gotta focus on my essay and exams now. Toodles!

Survived 2012, Hello 2013!!

Last year, I spent New Year's Eve alone in my room... looking at the beautiful fireworks display from my window. I know it sounds pathetic but I didn't really care. This year, I went out to meet up a friend with my housemate. We went out to town and have a nice dinner at TGI Fridays. I was fasting that day and I only had a sip of water for iftar. We had to wait half and hour just to be seated and another half and hour for the food to arrive. The restaurant was quite full as most of the shops were closed. When my food arrived, it was the best feeling ever! hahaha...

Vin Lum and Fauziah

Fauziah snapped me texting.. -,-'

This is better.. haha

                                                                   

3 in 1

                                   

After dinner, I'm a happy girl!

Along the way, I bumped into a friend of mine who is going back to Malaysia for good this January. So she invited me to spend the New Year's Eve with her and I agreed. So I went back, got ready appropriately and ready to roll. Its my first time going to that particular club. The club was not like the normal clubs I go to. The music is different and so as the types of people there. The club was alright but I do prefer the clubs i usually go to.

Ready to partyy!

Oh yeah.. she's drunk alright... haha

                                             

Lastly, HAPPY NEW YEAR from me! 

Meeting People from Across The World

Christmas break has arrived and I am on holiday for a month and a half! Pheewww... Sounds like a long time. Hehe... So the other day, my housemates and I welcomed 5 guests, Mia (Aberystwyth), Damia (Exeter), Faizah (Dublin), Amalina (Philadelphia) and Nana (Nashvile) to our home. Mia is my friend's girlfriend whom I never met before. I told my friend that she could come down to Cardiff an spend her holidays here. So her coming her was my first time meeting her. The other four are my housemate's school friends whom she has not met for so long. My housemates and I were quite worried at first because we were afraid that they cannot blend in with each other.

So on Thursday, my housemate went to fetch her friends from London and I went to get Mia at Cardiff station. That night, my house accommodated 8 people from all over the place, some just meeting for the first time. We were happy cause all of us were able to get along so well. The guests were super friendly!! That night we decided to make our Christmas meal. We had grilled chicken with olio spaghetti, vegetables, mash potatoes and mushroom soup. I baked my vanilla cake for dessert. They all loved the food especially my cake! So that night we chilled and just chatted.

We needed to assign people to where they need to sleep since this house only has 3 bedrooms. So Damia, Nana and Amalina slept in Aiman's bedroom downstairs, Faizah slept in the couch in the living room, Mia slept with me while Aiman slept in Vin Lum's room. It was a full house and we had to share 1 bathroom. The next day we took them out to see Cardiff before most of them leave for Paris.

Eating brunch before sightseeing Cardiff (From left: Nana, Damia, Aiman,  Amalina, Mia, me and Vin Lum)

Dinner at Shake n Grill

She is my new girlfriend, Mia

Us at the Bay

We had so much fun together. These girls are really sweet and friendly. Eventhough we encountered a minor problem with Mia's ipad's screen cracked out of the blue we still managed to enjoy the day. The next morning, Damia left and went back to Exeter. Since her train was so early in the morning and everyone was fast asleep, only Aiman sent her to the train station. That afternoon, me and Mia sent Nana, Amalina and Faizah at the bus stop since they are leaving for London. 

Nana, Faizah, and Amalina before they left for London

Me, Mia and Vin Lum decided to head to Bristol for Boxing Day since too many people went to London and since we have never been to Bristol. Our bus left at 9 and was scheduled to arrive at 10. While we were on the way to the bus stop around 8 in the morning, we could see people leaving town with huge shopping bags since most stores open as early as 6 am! When we reached Bristol, we were quite shocked to see that the town was almost deserted. I called up my old pal from UiTM who was my mooting team back then as he is currently studying Law in Bristol to tell him we're here. He was kind enough to accompany is to shop and show us around Bristol. And the winner of the most spent goes to Mia who successfully spent more than 300 quid! I only managed to spend about 50 quid. Hehe                              

Me and Ariff, friends since UiTM

Tired faces after a whole day of shopping

 The next day, I had to send Mia off as she heads back to Aberystwyth. We've became close after just a few days spending time together.

I am so glad that I told Azraf to tell Mia to come to Cardiff. We are now close friends and I enjoyed her company. It was a fun week. I was so happy to be able to meet and make new friends. They are just amazing people. Hope that we can meet up again soon!!

Nottingham 2012!

This year, I went to the Nottingham Games again. And good Lord we were told to assemble at 3.30am like last year. Last year I didn't sleep at all and I was so sleepy that I literally slept at the side of the basketball court when Cardiff was playing! hahaha

So, this year I decided not to repeat my mistake again. I went to bed at 7 and woke up at 2 and showered. Damn I was shivering after showering! Put on my red sweater since we were told to wear red to represent Cardiff. I got ready and my housemate and I walked to the Students Union where we were supposed to assemble. Last year, the bus was on time but this year they were almost half an hour late! We had to wait in the cold ad rain for those 4 buses to come. Finally, some time before 4 we left Cardiff. We were given nasi lemak to eat on the bus.

New friends I make!!!!

We arrived in Nottingham University about a quarter to 8. There were just a sea of Malaysians at the assemble point. Me, Raisa and Ain just went ahead since they need to put on makeup first. haha... Then, we met Lisa, Yasmine and Aina on our way to the Food Fiesta. We arrived at Portland where the Food Fiesta was and my, there was already a long queue! We had to wait for like another half an hour! When we finally got in, to my disappointment, there were only 3 stalls. So I took the best one which is Nasi Lemak. But I only ate like half of it since the sambal did not really have any taste and since I already ate during the journey.

Me, Adrien and Lisa

Then, we went to the Power League where the football matches were. I was outside of the campus so we had to take the bus. After waiting for nearly an hour, we rushed into the bus before it got full sitting on the top level to enjoy the view better. We arrived at Power League and I went to see my friend Ekhwan who was playing. There were lots of pitches and I can't find him. Luckily I saw Ferdaus and we walked together to see Ekhwan. Anyway, Ekhwan is my friend since primary school and we're close since or mothers are friends as well. All of us hanged out there for awhile... till about 3.

Chilling at the Pub

By then, I was hungry again and wanted to catch the bus back to the campus to get food! But there were so many people waiting in line for the bus. Me, Yasmin, Lisa and Aina decided to take a cab back to the campus. When we reached there, to my disappointment, there was no food left! I was literally crying because I am so hungry! Luckily Raisa told me to go to the pub at the Students Union since they have food there. We rushed down and I was finally able to eat.... Macaroni and Cheese.. Yummy!!!

Izaredza, Lisa, me and  Ammar

So we hanged out there, waiting for the football finals. We went to the Sports Center. Ekhwan was playing and he managed to get 3rd place. I met my Kussesian friend,  Danial who is in Southampton and also my old friend from SAS, Shahir whom I haven't met and spoken for years!

My old friend, Shahir Yasin

Kusess mate, Danial!!

 After the game, I met my friends and chitchat for a while. I wanted to go to the closing ceremony to see Ekhwan take the prize but my bus leaving for Cardiff was leaving soon. So I had to say goodbye and rush to the assemble place. Later around 7.30 we were on the bus and went back to Cardiff, arriving around 11.

Me and Ekhwan before I left

All and all I was happy to be able to meet my friends and make so many new friends. However, I must say that I was a bit disappointed by this year's organisation and management. I preferred last year since the food was cheaper, the buses were on time and there were a lot more participants!

BonFire Night!

Hye people!!

So, today we celebrated the Bonfire celebration which we usually celebrate on the 5th of November every year. But this year, they held it earlier since the 5th is on the weekdays. 

Basically, this was held in remembrance of a guy named 'Guy Fawkes' back in 1605. The story was that this guy was planning to assassinate King James I and restore the Catholic monarch. So he and his seven accomplices tried to burn down or to explode the House of Lords or the Westminster. Guy Fawkes was in charge of the gunpowder they placed beneath the building. However, he got caught and was brought to trial together with his 7 accomplices. All of them were subjected to death by hanging. But immediately before he got hanged, he jumped from the scaffold and broke his neck. Since then, the people of England has celebrated his death with a bonfire accompanied by fireworks. the movie 'V For Vendetta' was made based on the story of Guy Fawkes.

Tonight, me and my friends, Raisa, Anyz, Shilla and Adam went to the Bute park to see the fireworks. It was amazing! The fireworks lasted for half an hour and they were massive! It was raining before it started but the rain stopped right when the fireworks were about to start. We did not go to the celebration as we were all so lazy to pay 10 pounds just to be near the bonfire and enjoy some side celebrations. We stood near the park but we were still able to see all the fireworks. There were lots of others there with us; families, students, couples, etc. I have lots of pictures but I'll just show some here. It is amazing that no matter how old you grow, you can never get bored of watching fireworks! 

Celebrating Eid Adha in Cardiff

So, this is my first year celebrating Eid here in Cardiff. Thought I've been here since last year, this is my first time celebrating it. I have no idea why I did not celebrate it last year. Probably because I did not have a clue when was it.

So, this year's Eid was on Friday. Me and my housemate, Aiman went for Eid prayer at the local community centre. There were loads of people especially postgrads, Malaysian families who have resided here in Cardiff and a few undergrads. It started with the takbir, the prayer then a bit of khutbah. Later, something which is a must to ALL MALAYSIANS......FOOD!!! hahahaha. Yes, we Malaysians are known to love food, especially when they are free! Booyeah!! However, I only stayed for awhile since I have tutorials at noon.

Later  that day, my friend Fauziah, a Bruneian asked me to cook rendang for her. At first I was a bit reluctant due to laziness to cook! haha...But then, I decided to cook. I was nervous since this is my first time cooking it. Plus, there are a couple of  ingredients that cannot be found here in Cardiff. But anyhow... this is the result!! tadaaa!!

My First Ever Rendang Daging!

So kire jadilah.... since all of my friends who tried it said its delicious! haha.... pphheeww!

On Saturday, I was invited to a couple of open houses. But I only managed to go to Zu's open house due to timing issue. No regrets for going since the food is amazing!!! Nasi minyak with ayam masak merah! My absolute favourite!!!! (tambah 2 kali kowt..x malu kan!) hahaha... and they have plenty of mouthwatering desserts!! 

Told ya the food was amazing!! Plus there was Shepperds Pie!! Another of my favourite!! 

And these are the some of the new people I got to know during the open house. I just know them now since they don't really hang out with other Malaysians in the society. 

Me and my housemate Vin Lum

On Sunday, there is a big kenduri held by Cardiff Keluarga, the Malaysian postgrads society. But everyone was invited. Who doesn't wanna go when you have free food! Plenty of food and they are all delicious!!

So, after the kenduri, a few of my friends came home to have some rendang and chill out, have a good laugh...

So, that was how I celebrated Eid in Cardiff for the first time!! The Malaysian Society is gonna hold another massive kenduri this weekend so will post an update later. It is acceptable to put on weight this time of year right?? hahaha. Till the next time. Tada!!