MooPig & The Babe

A new course is starting soon. A new environment, a different course, new friends, a brand new lifestyle. Everyone I talked to tells me the course is difficult. Sure, there were words of encouragement, but my level of confidence is getting lower and lower. I've been thinking if I've made the right choice.

Mom asked me about my plans after Masters.

Frankly speaking, I'm not sure.

I told her I want to work in the UK for 2 years then I'll go back for good. She doesn't sound pleased.

I'm not sure if I want to do a professional course after that. Even if I want to do it, will I be accepted? Even if I'm accepted, will I be able to cope?

I don't see myself working, yet. I told Mom I might want to study Linguistic after Masters. Call it escapism. I fear the working world. I'm afraid to be in a rat race. Mom told me to abandon the idea.

Mom was talking to Dad over the phone one night. He said I should start working after Masters.

It's scary. How will the real world be like?

Where do I want to settle down? UK or home? For now, Mom wants me to work over here. So does Dad. Is it because of the money? Is it because of the experience? Both, I believe.

Now the question is... what do I really want?

I guess I need more time to think about it.

I'm getting weaker and weaker. Not physically, but mentally.

and you know what.. I absolutely hate intruders.




blame the rainy day...

Posted by MooPig at 13:34 | Permalink | Comments

Pictures tell everything... except the horrible smell in the farm. No prizes for guessing what they used as fertilizers. Wales is full of sheeps and cows.

Mom and I went berries picking this morning. She enjoyed it very much (so did I :P)




Tayberries


broadbeans


Mom picking blackcurrants. So sour!!!




Strawberries. The sweetest I've ever eaten!


End product... £3.97 only!

More pics after the 28th

Posted by MooPig at 13:35 | Permalink | Comments

I'm running out of time. Leaving for London this afternoon and Amsterdam tomorrow. Will blog when I'm back. They say pictures say a thousand words. Enjoy the pictures! :)


In the robbing room. Feeling awkward in the rob


Mom and I


Fellow Malaysians... friends and families


Malaysians. Just the 5 of us graduated this year (3 undergrads, 1 MA, 1 Phd)


Little Atirah & I


The Malaysians and a Chinese

More to come...

Posted by MooPig at 00:42 | Permalink | Comments

I saw this coming. I knew it. It was like a bomb, ready to explode anytime. Finally, it exploded, right in the city centre.

It all started with Mommy nagging me about the stuffs I have. She complains I have way too many stuffs and they're not packed properly. This is not the first time. She always nags at me about the amount of stuffs I have. On the way back from the pier, for the 19273074th time, she told me to clean up the house before I leave, pack everything up before I leave and yada yada yada. Seriously, I'm fed up of listening. For goodness sake, I'm turning 22 this year. Does she still think I'm a 2 year old girl who doesn't know manners? I showed her my infamous sour face. She got angry and nagged even more! She said that I'm shaken because everyone's telling me Law and Accounting is hard. I'm pressured. Law is indeed difficult. I take it as a challege. Mom said I shouldn't pressure myself but I have to study real hard from the start of the course. She's right. She's always right. I raised my voice at her, telling her that I feel the pressure everytime. She said she has never pressured me. I argued that the pressure is always there, from day 1 I entered university. She's expecting me to get a first class honour but I only managed to do once. She denied she expected me to get one. Every weekend I called, I talked to Daddy, Mommy and Brother for 20 minutes. Every weekend, she asked 'How's study? If cannot catch up, see your lecturer you know. Anything else? ok lah. bye bye' I blew up everything today. She always reminds me, try to get a first class. I know, I want a first class too but I just can't. I'm no longer a first class material. If she can tell me that, of course she expects me to do so. Some how, the pressure is there, indirectly.

Both of us raising our voice. Finally we kept quiet and continued walking. I was fighting the tears but I failed to do so. In the shop, I saw Mommy crying and I felt really bad. In a way, it was a good thing because I told her everything I've been wanting to tell her. Anyway, we talked nicely to each other and everything was back to normal after that.

Oh well, it happens from time to time. Let's see when's the next fight.

Off to Dublin tomorrow for a day trip!

Posted by MooPig at 22:36 | Permalink | Comments

In 10.5 hour's time, I'll be in the Hall, attending my graduation ceremony. I've been waiting for this day for a long, long time. It's a dream come true for me.

Yet, I don't feel excited.

I don't know why. Right now, I don't feel the excitement. To me, It's just another night. I think Mom is more excited than me.

How should I feel? I don't know.

I think the ceremony is about one and a half to two hours, followed by a lunch buffet. No, nothing is free. I have to pay for everything, from renting the robe to the tickets to the lunch buffet. I'm pretty sure the ceremony is going to be damn boring. Just pray that I don't fall asleep in the hall. :P At the rate I'm going, I'm quite capable of dozing off in the hall. Oh, and I pray that the person sitting next to me is my friend, not some people who I don't know.

Well, if you're bored and have nothing to do, feel free to go to http://www.bangor.ac.uk/gradstream to watch the graduation ceremony. This, my friends, is free. :P I hope you don't see me tripping off on the stage in my 3 inches high heels. :P

I'll upload the pics asap. :)

Posted by MooPig at 00:30 | Permalink | Comments

I've been to London a few times. Normally, I spent a night or a couple in central London, doing the 'touristy' stuffs or shopping. This time, I stayed in London for 9 days, the longest by far. No regrets. :) I think I've started to like London.

After 9 days, I think London is not that bad after all. I shouldn't have any problems adapting to the city life. Fingers crossed. If I can't adapt, I'll force myself to like it. After all, I'll be there for 12 months only. Time flies.

After 9 days, I still can't get used to the horrible London water. It tastes horrible. I wonder how long will it take for me to get used to the horrible-tasting water. Trust me, Welsh water tastes 100 times (or more) better!

The day my Mom and Grand Aunty arrived, I cooked dinner for them. The next day, I cooked lunch for them. I did what I'm best at- beef/chicken stew. A simple dish and it doesn't take long to prepare. On the second night, Mom started cooking. I think she can't stand my cooking. :P Since then, I've been eating home cooked Malaysian food. We had soto ayam, tom yam, nga-pow fan, chicken curry and lots more! I'm not complaining that I have good food to eat... I'm just worried that my weight will increase! The only exercise I do is shopping. :P

My Mom brought a luggage full of food stuffs and My Grand Aunty brought 7.5kg Milo and about 10 packets of Kopiko sweets for her daughter! Finally, after 10 months, I'm having proper food for every meal!

We went to Cotswald Village on 9th and Cambridge on the 10th. I am so in love with Cotswald Village!!

We had dim-sum at Royal China on Sunday, followed by shopping at Harrods. My Mom and I shopped till it was closed. We weren't satisfied and continued the shopping spree the next day. Mom rather goes shopping than going to the British Museum, London Eye, Tate, Westminster Abbey. She thinks it's boring.

We nearly had a fight in Cambridge because she doesn't like to see churches and cathedrals and museums. She likes a free and easy trip while I try to do as many things as possible in one day. Her style of travelling is visit a place or two, sit down for coffee, then continue again whereas I'm the total opposite. I walk and walk and walk until I'm tired then I get a rest. Well, I'll make her happy. Every now and then, I ask her 'You want coffee, Mommy?' ;) It's not that hard. :)

Mom's still not used to the pounds yet. She converts everytime she buys something, including groceries. She never fails to say 'So expensive!' everytime we go grocery shopping. Everytime, she asks me 'Jie, how much is £1.75?' I'll do the calculation and tell her the amount in ringgit and she'll decide if we should buy. I've been doing lots of £X.XX * 7= RM X.XX I have to tell her to stop converting but I guess it takes time. It's her 9th day here. Hopefully she'll stop as soon as possible. :P

Pics will be up shortly. I'm lazy to resize them. Gotta help Mom with her cooking.

Posted by MooPig at 16:49 | Permalink | Comments

First thing first:

I am still alive. Thank God!!

Thank you very much for your concern. Mom and I are safe and sound.

The reason for not updating was because I was internet-less for the past 9 days or so. It was bad not having internet but I guess the retail therapy sessions and the idiot box made up.

I swear this happened to me on the 6th July. I was shopping alone in central London. While walking along Bond Street, I was looking at the buses and the I kept on thinking of the scenes from The Interpreter. The scene where the bus exploded lingered on my mind for quite some time. I freaked out when I watched the news the next day.

The retail therapy session on 6th did not satisfy me as I hadn't found my graduation clothes. I told my aunt that night I would leave home at 0930 so I could shop the whole day on 7th. That morning, I woke up at 8.30 and switched on the tele, took my own sweet time to get ready to go out. Before I left home, I heard the news about 'power surge'. I thought it would not affect me because I wasn't going to that area. 1000, I left home. As I was walking towards the tube station, I realised something wasn't right. There were lots of people at the bus stop, which was unusual. My phone rang as I was about to cross the street. It was my aunt. She sounded worried and told me not to go to central as there were more explosions.

I walked back home, relieved. But that day was chaotic. My aunt was on stand-by at the hospital and she could not go to the airport to pick up her mom and my mom. Phone lines were down and I could not make any phone call. The last phone call I made was to Yu Jen and after that, I could hardly make or receive any phone calls. However, text messages flooded in. Friends from Malaysia, Germany and UK texted to find out if I was alright. Thank you so much for your concern. I was so touched.

I had to take a cab to Heathrow airport to pick up Mom and Grandaunty that evening. It took me more than an hour to get to Heathrow. Taxi drivers overcharged due to the condition. Traffic was horrible. The only way to get in and out of Heathrow was by car.

I arrived at Heathrow later than expected so I did not have to wait long before I met Mom and Grandaunty whom I haven't met for 10 months. They heard about the blasts on the aeroplane so they weren't shocked when I broke the news to them.

Anyway, Mom and I are back in Bangor now. Graduation is on 15th July. Will blog when Mom's asleep again! ;)

Posted by MooPig at 23:03 | Permalink | Comments

It's been a while since I last posted.

I've moved into the new place. Everything is still in boxes as I'm only here for about 5 weeks. The first day I moved in, I was alone for the whole weekend because the housemate went off to work. The whole house was mine. I could blast the music, walk to the bathroom naked, talk on the phone on the stairs, in the living room, in my room, in the kitchen. Basically, I could do whatever I like as long as I don't disturb the neighbours. The moment the housemate came back, I felt uneasy. I feel as if there's a pair of watchful eyes and a pair of ears which are spying on me. I highly doubt the housemate is doing so. She's probably busy with her movies and I don't think she's that type of person who kepo about other people. At least, she doesn't look like one. Oh well, paranoid is my middle name.

I'm off to London in another 12 hours. Packing is half done. I've been busy re-planning the schedule and booking the tickets. I just called Mommy and she said she wants to go to Switz or France. Gosh... she's arriving in a few day's time and now she's telling me she wants to get out of UK. Geez... There goes at least another £500 from my piggy bank. :( On top of that, I'll have to plan the journey. So many things to do, so little time! I have too many things to bring to London and I want to squeeze everything into the bagpack. Fingers crossed they all fit.

I'll be seeing Mommy whom I haven't met for 10 months. While I am excited to see her, I'm worried at the same time. I'm worried that we'll have arguments. I've been away from home for 5 years. I'm used to staying without them and I'm used to do everything at my own pace. The thing I'm worried about is the conflict of ideas. She may not like the idea of me doing things my way and I may not like her idea. I'm used to spending my 1000 free minutes yakking on the phone with Yu Jen and other friends. She's against it. I can imagine her saying- Aiyo.. why you spend so much time on the phone? Wahh.. then exam time how ah? Don't tell me you talk like that? How come you got so many things to talk wan? I'm used to not eating proper food at the right time- She eats at the right time and 3 meals a day. She's a home-minister. Of course she can cook 3 meals a day. I don't have the time and effort to do that. She's a neat freak whilst I am definitely not one. I just keep my room tidy but to Mommy, everything has to be dust-free, spick and span. When she nags, she'll say- Why you so lam nua one? Can't you be like A-mei? Her things are so neat. Why you so this.. why you so that?

I'm worried we'll end up arguing like my ex-housemate and her Mom. I don't want that to happen. I want her to be happy throughout her 3 weeks here. I want her to enjoy her trip... but at the same time... does that mean I have to follow her instructions, do things her way and I end up unhappy?

Sigh....

So yeah.. I'm off to London tomorrow. I'll be suffering from Internet withdrawal symptom for sure. Just like Yu Jen. ;) Aunty's house doesn't have internet. Oh No!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I'm so tempted to bring my laptop over there.

Well.. I'll blog when I get to blog again!

Posted by MooPig at 02:00 | Permalink | Comments