Life, stripped naked

My father is always walking ahead. My mother is a slow walker.

My father likes to try new things. My mother isn’t too adventurous.

My father likes to buy things. My mother likes to save money.

I am in the middle of it all.

I am stressed on a holiday.

And the tour hasn’t even begun.

T_T

Lately I’ve been thinking about something I shouldn’t be thinking about.

I’m not even doing it on purpose because it doesn’t even feel good. Unfortunately, it’s one of those things that just creeps up outta nowhere and before you know it, you’re trying really hard to get rid of it. It’s a stubborn  little thing.

Sometimes my heart decides to dream and my brain tries to rationalize to make my heart’s desires seem reachable.

Too bad we don’t live in dreams.

I want to never think of it again, yet as I’m typing it’s still running in my mind.

Maybe I’ll sleep it off.

Pa and Ma are here!

Damn suspense la picking them up at the airport!

Among the first few comments I got were, “Waa you gain weight already arr? Face so round!”

Aihhh why am I not surprised.. I’ve gotten that alot lately.

As for my parents, dare I say they look a teeny bit older? Well, I couldn’t have expected them to look exactly the same right? A whole year of worrying about their little princess in Glasgow has taken a toll on them.

Didn’t do much today since the Glaswegian weather wasn’t very welcoming. Took them for a little walk to Sainsbury’s and Buchanan Galleries. Pa had a craving for fried food so we stopped by the local kebab shop for some pakoras and chips. The kebab shop dudes were sO friendly! They were Turkish. Had a little chat with them and man were they surprised and extra friendly when I said we were from Malaysia, “Turkish and Malaysians good friends yea?” Hahaha so cute!

Joyce and I cooked them a real nice dinner (as usual we overdid it). A whole roasted chicken, stuffed chicken wings, roasted spuds, stuffed mushrooms and salad. Man were they proud of us! Quote, “Our girls have really grown up” =) =)

****

Graduation’s on Monday. Many of our Malaysian dudes are going in a full kilt! And doing it the right way too.. as a TRUE SCOTSMAN I hear they’ve decided to leave their jewels bare! Talk about cool! Hahaha.. Looking forward to Monday and a whole lot of pics!

XOXO

(omg been watching too much Gossip Girl =P)

I’m going to see my parents in 36 hours!

OH. MY. GOD

I have to admit, it all feels kinda weird. Yeah so I do Skype with them pretty often so I didn’t forget how they look (I should be run over by multiple busses if I ever did). Honestly, I don’t really miss the physical contact all that much. Furthermore, living alone hasn’t been all that bad. In fact, it’s been among the best things I’ve ever done. All I’m saying is that It’s gonna take some adjusting when I get back home.

“Where are you going?”

“Who are you going with?”

“What time will you be back?”

“What did you buy this time?”

Don’t get me wrong, I’m given LOADS of freedom but it still sucks to have to answer these questions. As long as I know someone is waiting for me at home, I won’t feel truly free. I LOVE it here. I love the life that I’ve been living for the past 12 months (and even more in the past few weeks).

There is NOTHING I CANNOT DO.

There is NO ONE TO ASK QUESTIONS.

There is NO ONE TO STOP ME.

I can cook shite in the kitchen and no one would hover over my shoulder. I can screamM, “FUCK FUCKEDY FUCK FUCK FUCK” while running around the house in a towel or an indecent pair of shorts and no one cares!! I can go out till wee hours in the morning and no one would check up on me. Hell, I don’t even have to freaking come home if I didn’t want to!

THAT is what I’m going to miss. I’m going to miss saying “hey, see you downstairs in 10 minutes”. And I sure am gonna miss being stupid with other stupid people (sorry housies).

I despise people who take advantage of others. Especially if they’re people I care about.

If I say you can have 10 kilos of my luggage space, don’t you dare give me a 12 kilo box.

You know what, you should try your mighty best to keep it well under 10 simply because I offered and you shouldn’t be so muka tembok.

You know what? I should charge your silly ass for making me deal with your pesky 12 kilo box.

I think there’s a need for a little update on what I’ve been up to since I haven’t been in touch with most of my lovelys back home being that they’re busy with exams and such.

Basically if anyone asks, you can tell them that I’m waiting for my parents to come (OMG that’s like in 4 days!) and for graduation (in 7 days!!!). After being back from a siew ngap (roast duck)/siew yok (crispy pork)/ char siew (roast pork) eating spree in chinatown London, I’ve been looking around for an outfit for graduation. I’ve spent 34 pounds renting the all-important graduation gown and hood and unless I plan to wear that on top of my unflattering birthday suit, I’d better get something fast.

*****

WARNING: Lots of random babbling below…

LALALALALEELEEELULUBABBLEBABBLE#1: Have you seen MDG Hanis’s blog? That girl is looking absolutely stunning!! The dudette really stands out! If I didn’t know her, I’d think that she was already an accomplished model.

BLABLABLARANDOMBABBLE#2: I finally tried the much-talked-about Krispy Kreme doughnuts at Harrods when I was in London. ‘Chocolate Dreamcake’, ‘Maple Glazed’ & ‘Cinnamon Apple’ cost me GBP3.90 damnit! BEH I tell youuuuu BEHHHHHHH~!! Talk about overrated! Personally, Big Apple donuts could beat them FLAT. And dad just told me a piece costs RM2.30. GEEEEZ THINGS ARE EXPENSIVE.

I’MBOREDSOMEONECOMEHOMEROARRR#3: The apartment has been relatively quiet. HuiMei was the first to meet her parents followed by SuMay and Diana. That leaves us three pathetic souls. *sigH* And now that Joyce is at work, Daphne out for dinner and the other dude in Aberdeen.. I am home alone T_T

Ahh well I might as well show you around…

I’m still bored.

I was in London.

And ohmygod you would NOT believe what we stumbled upon.

The PREMIER of HANCOCK at Leicester Square!!

YESYES!! The REAL red carpet thing!

It was a long wait with many other very BIG TALL people. I bet you can just imagine me, a tiny docile Asian creature among giant Brits pushing and shoving to get as near as the barricades as possible just for a glimpse of the dude himself. So pardon me if I don’t have the best paparazzi pics =)

First came the cast of Gladiators in costume….

…. then came co-stars Charlize Theron & Jason Bateman….

…. and finally the freaking loud screams “WIIIIIIIIIILLL WIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIILLLLL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!” brought him to closer to where I was!!

Will Smith people!! WILL SMITH in flesh and bone!! The fella looks awesome!! Just like he does on TV!! His hair is super black and curly =P =P LOL

The girl in front of me who was by the barricades got a picture with him! I took a pic of her pic.. LUCKY BITCH!!

All the guests were so nicely dressed, I didn’t know who was famous and who wasn’t! The last famous dude I managed to snap is Lemar..

Never have I been SO CLOSE to so many A-list Hollywood superstars! What a trip! What a trip!!!!

It was Father’s Day yesterday.

And although my initial intention was to update you about the ongoings of my own life, I’ve decided to tell you a little about Pa instead.

I am a little ashamed that I had not sent home a card like I did for every birthday that I missed since being in Glasgow as well as Mother’s Day. What makes it worse is that I had no excuse of being “busy with exams or assignments”. I was simply lazy and was too preoccupied with enjoying my new found freedom that I could not even sit down for an hour or two to write a few words for daddy dearest. And for all of that I can’t help but feel a sense of guilt.

As soon as I woke up in the morning, I made it a point to call home.

“HELLO! Happy Father’s Day!”

“HellooOo Puu! Thank you!”

“What are you doing??”

“Ohh.. repairing the windows lor. Taking the whole thing out and relacquering them. Have to do Ko’s room, mine and your room.”

That’s Pa. Hanging out on the blazing hot roof of our home on a Sunday afternoon repairing windows. I wasn’t surprised. He does it every year. My dad is the #1 handyman. He is a mechanic, carpenter, electrician, plumber, inventer and cook although his manegerial job puts the bread on the table. 

He puts up a new awning for the house whenever a thunderstorm rips the old one apart. He single handedly built the wooden fence that still protects our home after over 20 years. Without any help, he installed the sound system into his car, which involves taking out the seats and the carpets as well as the housing of the car doors in order to get the wires connected to the right places. He personally designed the home that we’re living in now – from where each piece of furniture would go to where each electrical socket should be installed into the walls.

He’d always have mini projects running in his head. It’s not uncommon to see him sketching and scribbling on my old buku latihan. Then the next weekend he’d be stuck in the workshop behind my house banging away. Using scrap pieces of metal, wood, plastic, as well as a motor and wheels he dismantled from some other electrical item, he made a remote control gadget that could carry his golf bag. It was hilarious and utterly amusing looking at his golf bag rolling from one end of the garden to the other, with the remote control in his hand. I think it isn’t hard to imagine the expression on his face – a little boy with a cool new toy.

My mother is amazing at sewing. She bought satin and lace, pieced it together and sew her own wedding gown. Many years ago, Pa made Ma a special table to house her sewing machine. It had 3 drawers, shelves as well as a colapsable countertop on one end. The coolest part was that it had wheels on all 4 edges so Ma could watch her favourite TVB series and sew during advertisements then store it away when she was done.

Pa makes the BEST beef lasagna in the whole wide world. I’ve never ordered lasagna in a restaurant since tasting his.

Remember how when you were a kid, you dad would hold your hand while crossing the road? Well, he still holds my hand. Everywhere we go – tapau char kuay teow lunch at the nearby coffee shop, grocery shopping in Giant, shopping in Pyramid. I’ve never been ashamed or shy. I’m still his little girl, and I will always be. Till the day I get married and have kids, if Pa wants to hold my hand, I will hold his.

I talk to Pa so casually, I often appear rude in the eyes of an outsider. We were in Guardian one day when the sales assistent overheard us talking. She walked up to me and said, “how can you talk to your father that way?! So rude!!”. We laughed it off in the car on the way home and concluded that no one would ever understand the kind of relationship we have. =)

On my 21st birthday, you gave me a saw to cut my cake. I love you!

Orang orang that I miss dearly sekalian….

I’m SORRY that I’ve been such a bum since returning from Ireland. Having too much free time makes a person lazy!! And I have nothing to avoid doing.. so partly no reason to blog. Stupid excuse lah I know I know.. I should be ashamed of myself!! To make up for it, here are the pics…

Clickie the peekcha…

Okay so I haven’t been totally free. I’ve been packing. Packing up 12 months worth of memories in my room at James Blyth Court. And now the walls are empty. Free from all the emo phrases that I’ve put up. Free from everything that made J10-1 Milocup’s room. I’ve grown to love this room, this flat and the people I live with. I wish things didn’t have to change! But I’ve somewhat come to accept that I’ve got to walk past this phase of life, and move on to a more exciting one. Tomorrrow I will be moving out of JBC and into Birkbeck court, a smaller 6 room flat with HuiMei, Joyce, SuMay, Daphne and Diana.

Oh and recently I’ve got some interesting comments from ‘iknowher’ on my previous posts ‘I want to be cool too’ and ‘The Aftermath’ regarding who else but the infamous SPoh. It surprised me that absolute strangers can relate to my little life stories! Thanks for sharing your experiences hahaha! I know many would agree with you. Personally the SamPoh ’sampah’ saga has become rather boring. Malas to menyampuk about her edi. There are so many interesting things going on in my OWN life that makes her a itty-bitty  insignificant speck of dirt.

For starters, I’m graduating with a MERIT in Masters of Pharmacy!!!! Ok so it’s not a distinction (never expected one anyway) but I’m more than happy and thankful that I’ve finally achieved the most important resolution that I’ve set for myself this year. Did I wish for a distinction instead of a merit? Hell I can wish for chocolate chips to fall as rain but that ain’t gonna happen. I know what I’m capable of and to be real, this is the most I could expect. I’m not disappointed with myself. I’m proud. Proud knowing that I’ve put in as much time and energy as I could under the circumstances and achieved my own goals. Proud that I’m not bothered to compare and be envious of the others.

No more assignments. No more exams. No more worries. Two more precious months in Glasgow.

IT’S TIME TO ENJOYYYYY!!

Rough idea of what’s in store for me in June…

Life’s been good. Weather’s been kind. Spectacular friends to share it with.

I’m content.