A lovely surprise!

Was planning to go to Naomi's today for dinner and a catch-up session with the Uni of Glasgow people. It was supposed to be a potluck with us pharmacy-ians in charge of making coleslaw.

Chopped the cabbage and carrots with Lydia in the afternoon and watched Jeannie, Jacinta et al baking Carolyn's birthday cake - some sort of Japanese cheesecake. Thought to myself how nice they are, and then how that won't happen to me, since I made it clear to Lydia that all I wanted for my birthday was cold hard cash. LOL. But still, it would be nice to have lotsa people putting in a lot of effort.

Then I went back to my room to catch up on my One Tree Hill. Yi Lyn and Karen came back and started to bake a cake. And I was like "why are you baking a cake?" Apparently it was for Hui Yen's halloween party that night. Hmm... wouldn't they want to go out and celebrate Halloween instead? And why would they want a cake? I was suspicious, but then again, dismissed the suspicion, since we were supposed to go over to Naomi's that night. And that my birthday was supposed to be on Monday.

Continued to watch my anime and read my fanfiction and heard a lot of ruckus from the kitchen. Was amazed that both Karen and Yi Lyn (and occasionally Lydia too) would spend so long in the kitchen. They were now frying fried rice. Wah, so semangat la they all.

Went to mix up the coleslaw at 6.30pm. Was supposed to leave at 7. Went outside to wait for Shu Yin and Kelvin since we were walking together.

Waited and waited and waited..... and waited. And still Kelvin and Shu Yin did not arrive. Lydia began talking about inconsequential stuff like the stars or the windows in the opposite block or the drunk people wandering around. While I was wondering where is Kelvin and Shu Yin and suggested to wait inside... I was getting cold.

Then suddenly Shu Yin rang... Lydia sounded quite... pissed off. Then she told me why. Apparently Alfred canceled at the last minute. I was suitably ready to call him and was planning his horrific demise. But Lydia told me to go in first. So I went in. She went to the bathroom. Apparently she was quite desperate to use the toilet. She told me to put the coleslaw (what were we supposed to do with such a huge container of coleslaw?) into the fridge. I was wondering if we could join Hui Yen's party since eating coleslaw alone for dinner would be quite a sad affair.

I went into my room and turned on my computer. Well, at least there's one good thing - I get to spend more time with my beloved com. And then remembered about the coleslaw. Ah well.

Took it to the kitchen. Saw Karen's door was opened but she was not in. Hmm.. The kitchen was dark. I switched on the light and went towards the fridge. Passed some sad looking pancakes on the way and was laughing at them when suddenly...

SURPRISE!

Wow! Apparently it was all a ruse and that they planned this right from the start. And I didn't even suspect a thing!

It was a great dinner - with curry fried rice, kampung fried rice, chicken, eggs, fries, coleslaw and chocolate pancakes. Wow! (And the pancakes are deceiving, they may not be aesthetically pleasing but they sure taste nice). I was very touched at all the effort they put in. Indeed, they are really great pals - look at Yi Lyn and Karen, spending their whole afternoon cooking in the kitchen. Jeannie, Jacinta, Shu Yin and Pui Leng, cooking the chicken, Kelvin and Chris for being there and of course Lydia, for being such a good actress. LOL.

And then, as we were hanging out, my phone rang. I went out of the kitchen to answer it but there was no one on the line. Weird. Went to comment on this strange occurence to Lydia (who was still in the living room) and suddenly the lights went out.

The strains of Happy Birthday rang through the living room as the rest emerged with my cake (a lovely homemade cheesecake) with a candle.

Duped twice (I'm so gullible)!

Really, I salute all those who put in so much effort to make this my night. I'm so very touched. You guys are the best!

Thank you, thank you and THANK YOU! :)

Bleach At The Beach

I'm on a Bleach-y roll here!

Here's another rec from me - an omake chapter of Bleach at the Beach.

It's funny, it's hilarious, it's filled with all the characters we love, and it's wonderfully Bleach-y.

Also love the sibling love between Byakuya and Rukia. LOLZ.

The ending is also cool - with a cameo by everyone's favourite Hitsugaya!

It's just something to brighten up my day. :)

Hitsugaya Toushiro's Roots

Hehe. I found out that Bleach Wikia actually exists! Cool rite? The info there is also pretty accurate except the fact that they said that Senna was more popular than Rukia. WTH. Riiiiiite. Then, pray tell why Senna only merits a page in fanfiction.net whereas Rukia has 142 pages?

But I digress. In reading about Hitsugaya, I found something super cool. I found a chapter (by Tite Kubo himself) on Shiro-chan's roots, i.e. how he found his sword, why he became a Shinigami even though he told Hinamori that he's not interested (in the flashback episodes when she first joined the Academy), the first time he met Matsumoto...

Read bout it here.

It's pretty nice and well done (though the movie kinda suck - see my short review on Diamond Dust Rebellion here). Should be a treat to all those Hitsugaya fans.

And here's something I didn't know bout Hitsugaya (courtesy of Bleach Wiki)

Back in his childhood in West Rukongai, he was so skilled with spinning tops that he became the local undefeated champion. He works very hard, but his motive seems to be that if he finishes quickly, he can return to his afternoon nap. He believes in the saying "a child who sleeps will grow up", and hopes to grow quickly, a wish shared by his subordinates. Naturally, they do not voice this fact in front of him.

LOL. He likes sleeping??! Hard to believe that, as he's always chastising Matsumoto for sleeping on the job. And the part where he wants to grow up quickly, that's just too funny for words.

Now, I'm crossing my fingers on a nice piece on Rukia in anticipation of Fade to Black. LOLZ.

Naruto Sites

Here's a list of where I watch Naruto episodes, both Naruto and Shippuuden.

I recommend DigNaruto, the quality is fine and it loads relatively quickly.

However, there are several episodes which cannot load, so here's an alternative. Eatlime.com. Quite similar to DigNaruto, just found it coz there's an error in DigNaruto's episode 60 (Byakugan vs Shadow Clone Jutsu).

So.... enjoy. Hehe. This is what I do when I don't have class.

Another Post on Perpaduan

Here's another something from Afiq Says It As It Is. (I recommend his blog, it's interesting and occasionally hilarious as he is not afraid to showcase his opinions - even on subjects considered taboo by many. Definitely a breath of fresh air)

Another heartwarming, Petronas advert-like piece on unity.

This truly illustrates the fact that children are indeed the best, they do not discriminate, they have no inborn prejudice, they are truly the innocents in the world.

Too bad now we don't see that so often due to "brainwashing" at earlier and earlier ages.

But anyway, just enjoy the piece.

And happy deepavali to everyone. :)

AstraZeneca and Me

Hehe. Just found out that I am nominated for the AstraZeneca prize for FMT2 last semester. Yong Pei is nominated for FMT1.

What's the prize? A 50 pound book voucher.

Smiles.

Thank you God.

Calcium Is Driving Me Nuts

They say that calcium is good for your bones, important in cell functions etc etc..

One thing they forgot to mention, it's VERY BAD for your sanity and well being, especially when it's part of your Final Year Project.

Gosh, I hate HATE HATE calcium especially calcium-ATPase proteins in the sarcoplastic reticulum.

Why does it have to be so complicated?

BST & GMT

Forgot to set back my clock an hour earlier.

Weird, but my computer does that automatically.

Went by my computer clock until it was almost time to go to church (according to the watch which was not set back an hour earlier).

So nearly had a heart attack about being late to church today.

This almost tops the time when I forgot to get my scroll from the Chancellor during IMU graduation.

And people ask me what's my secret in seeming to be always "in control". If only they knew.

Just another normal occurence to happen in the life of The Person With The Wandering Brain (coz sometimes I wonder where it wanders off to).

Edge of Love

Finally watched Edge of Love online after hankering to watch it for a month or two.

"First love's alright as far as it goes, but last love, that's what I'm interested in."
-William Killick

Nicely put.

Other than that, the movie fell rather flat. No strong characters to pull at your heartstrings or have you sympathize with, not much of a plot, and definitely incomparable to last year's Atonement.

Too bad, coz Keira Knightly is my favourite actress too. And Cillian Murphy is quite easy on the eyes (when he's not looking deranged) and his voice is just angst-y and tormented enough. LOL.
Cillian Murphy is definitely waaaaay handsomer than Matthew Rhys... Why should Keira's character even like Matthew's is a question I can't answer.

It saddens me sometimes that you have such little faith in our character.

What are we? I thought we were always more than mere sunshine pals.

Sigh.

Halloween

Hmm... What to be for the coming Halloween? Initially I wanted to cosplay as Kuchiki Rukia from Bleach, but scrapped the idea when it became too complicated to procure a black shikakusho here in Glasgow. There's also the matter of constructing Sode no Shirayuki so... the idea was scrapped. Then I thought about cosplaying as Tenten from Naruto as her outfit seems simple enough. Cheongsam top, hair in two buns (I'll look like a moron but for art's sake...) and a large scroll. However, most people won't even know who I am dressing up as (I don't care if they think I'm trying to be Chun-Li from Street Fighter, as long as they don't think all Chinese dress like this), I don't want to look too China-ish and there's also the matter of racialism in Glasgow. Heard that some areas are not very 'welcoming' to China Chinese, and dressing like that is liable to get me beaten up. Sigh. Guess cosplay is out of the picture then. Maybe I'll go as Grim Reaper (black robes, a white mask and a long scythe). Or something that would be good for a laugh. Any suggestions? And no, Mustaqim, I'm not going as a witch. Too bad. LOL.

First Love

First love is innocence, naivety and often leads to heartbreak.

That was what Ps Mike preached today, and I can't help but marvel at the truth in such a statement.

Indeed, who has never closed their eyes (and minds) to reason when they were in love? (especially as they were only youths burning with idealistic passion that the world could end but everything would right itself as long as the two people in love had each other).

How wrong they are to put their hope into each other, men, who are infallible, fallen and prone to disappoint?

How wrong I was to put all my idealism, my heart and soul into the one person whom I will never ever in this life time end up with?

But yet, before anyone accuses me of becoming jaded or cynical or anything, know that I will never ever regret it.

All the messages that used to enchant me before I sleep.
All the affection poured out enough to make my knees weak like jelly.
The fact that I know that there's always this someone for me.
The calls that I look forward to all the time.

Do I miss those? Well, I used to but as I grow older, this things, once capable of making me almost hyperventilate with joy, now seems more like a teenage phenomenon.

Give me a love that starts slowly, grows steadily and proves itself with time.

"Love is patient, love is kind, and is not jealous; love does not brag and is not arrogant, does not act unbecomingly; it does not seek its own, is not provoked, does not take into account a wrong suffered, does not rejoice in unrighteousness, but rejoices with the truth; bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things."
1st Corinthians 13:4-7.

And that is the love I want. I may never achieve it this lifetime, but I can always hope. :)

Gosh, I sound so jiwang I don't actually sound like myself anymore. :P

As an aside, J asked me today, "Do you like boys? Please say yes."
LOL.
That was after I said I wish I was born a guy. Maybe he thought I was lesbian?
:P

Oh Gosh!

Looks like I got myself a leech.

Someone who keeps sticking to me (or trying to) all the time.

Oh woe is me!

HELP!!!!

It doesn't help that that someone also looks (and acts) demented occasionally...

Why do I keep attracting guys like that?

Sigh.

Denial

I'm not.

I'm not.

I'M NOT.

Am I?

Oh gosh, I need a new brain. Stop.... stop.... thinking....