this was supposed to be my last post of 2009...

..but bad weather caused the delay!

hahaha or NOT. Geezers the procrastination in every aspect of my life has to STOP because its 2010!

yes, just because. :)

on wednesday, yipei and I took the super early bus to LEEDS to visit Angela!

Ange is our lovely coursemate whose hometown is in Leeds, and we've been wanting to visit her for awhile now.. but never seem to get to it! The snowstorm above was what we experienced on the bus on the way there.. haha it was MADness.

waited for Ange to come pick us up in this lovely cafe we found.. selling yummy sandwiches, apparently the BEST in Leeds! ( its called 'pickles and potter if any of you guys want to check it out)

yes the unique thing about this cafe is that their hens are happy..

.. and their sandwiches superbly yummy! (OMG it rhymes hahaha :) )


we walked around in Victoria Junction afterwards.. the christmas decorations are still up and was breathtakingly beautiful! very similar to the pictures I've seen of shops in Milan :)
..went back to Ange's house for a Vietnamese special noodles soup lunch made by Ange's mum afterwards.

Then we visited 'home' in the UK.. TROPICAL world! Hahah with temperatures reaching 28degrees celcius in the 'man-made jungle'.. it felt like heaven to be out of the BITING cold!
and we found our National flower :) hahaha. we looked abit out of place though with thick winter jackets sweaters and scarfs in the 'rainforest'

.. I'm so gutted we didnt get to see any MEERKATS! :( ange says theyre the highlight of the place *boohoo* :(


after that we stepped back to England, with the superbly freeezing temperatures and icy snow.

haha the background looks like some scene from a horror movie doesnt it??


Last but not least, the HIGHLIGHT of our day!

no this is not just any chinese takeaway food, its special food from Ange's DAD's takeaway.. cooked by her dad himself with LOVE! :)

Thank you Ange, uncle and aunty for making our trip to Leeds so special! :)



wow 3am now. bed time! argh the HUGE steamboat we had for dinner earlier is still undigested. TOO MUCH FOOD. seriously.

1 JANUARY 2010! Time, please stop FLYING.

no more christmas :(

With my 2 guests leaving Manchester today, and the post-christmas boxing day sale hype all slowly dying down...

.... it is finally sinking into me that my favourite time of the year is over.

No more christmas in the UK. ( if I graduate on time)


*sobs*


It is time to focus on what's important for now. My audittttttttttt :(

christmas lunch at 1 banff road

Christmas eve this year for me was spent in the kitchen preparing food for our big christmas lunch today at 1 banff road :)

I've never 'worked' so hard in the kitchen ever before, with such a long list of food to prepare for over 20 people!

The menu:

1. 4 roast chickens with roast vegetables
2. double baked potatoes with stuffing
3. crackers with smoked salmon and guacamole
4. christmas peppers on skewers
5. toasted bacon and cheese mini sandwiches
6. Pasta bake

and for desert,

1. mum's special recipe banana cake with chocolate toppings ( picture above)
2. longan jelly ( agar-agar)

starters, guacamole and smoked salmon on crackers :)

and yes, the delightful spread of foood at last :)

QBert helping to carve the chicken to serve

...and happy people eating the food!

I don't have a picture of everyone! so sadd :( i seriously NEED a new camera

Merry Christmas again, everyone. :)

Dear Baby Jesus,

It'll soon be the 5th Christmas that I'm celebrating in this foreign land.

Every year when the clock strikes midnight on the 25th of December, I think about the days when I used to go to church with my family, all of us dressed in new clothes, singing Christmas carols whilst enjoying the festive mood.

I used to look forward to opening the presents under the christmas tree after mass, and the hugs and kisses we used to give each other, wishing everyone a very happy Christmas that comes with hope for peace and joy with Your coming.


I miss Christmas back home. I miss it every single year that I'm away. I miss the company of my family, the togetherness that You have blessed us with, the love that You have so generously gave us all.

Dear Lord Jesus,

There is so much I would love to ask from you. ( at first I wrote this as my 'Dear Santa' list.. but I decided its better to write to you :) )

1. Please bless my family and keep them safe, healthy and happy.

2. Please help me to pass my finals on time! I need to graduateee * fingers crosssed*

3. Please help me to become a better person each day, may I grow to be able to love others unselfishly, be generous, kind, and compassionate.

4. Please bless my dearest friends, especially those in the UK.. they are and have been my family here, people I cherish and love very much.

5. Please bless Karina's dad, and her family. Help her dear Lord through this difficult time, to continue trusting in Your grace.

6. Please bless the children in Cambodia, dear Lord, especially those in Kampung Speu. Help them to fight the miseries of poverty, with strength and perseverance.

7. Please may I find the patience and strength to deal with adversities that come my way, that I may never lose sight of living my life the way You taught us to.

Thank You, Lord for blessing me with all the good things life can offer.



Happy birthday, baby Jesus.

prechristmas joys

thank you, ahngu and londoners for the delightful prechristmas spread! :)

4days in London with my buddies, was well spent :)

Too lazy to even picasa-kan the many pictures I have, so yes the ones your eyes are feasting on right now are the BEST few :)

Winter Wonderland, Hyde Park was so colourful and vibrant.

Another highlight, watching 'Wicked' with PP n Noreen! I *heart* musicals :)

It is going to be a white christmas here in Manchester :) been snowing more than its ever snowed for the 4plus years I'm here.. very pretty! Snow is a nuisance sometimes though.. makes the roads extremely slippery.. I slipped and fell the other day on my bum! Hahaha now the bruise size is as big as a plate :S


Merry christmas, everyone! :) May the coming of our Lord fill you with joy and peace, and renew you with hope for a blessed new year.

Today I saw a very dear friend's eyes well up with tears as she spoke of her lost friend.

The friend she lost becoz of neglect whilst battling her own battles, her own problems, her own worries.

The friend who thinks she doesnt matter to her.

The friend who doesn't try to understand or forgive her absentmindedness whilst fighting her own battle with a dad who's on the verge of death.

The friend who now gives her the cold shoulder, and distant look whilst she struggles to reach within her heart, and regain her friendship.


Why do we try so hard sometimes?

Within myself I struggle to understand the bitterness of the human heart, the pride that consumes a person which leaves no space for forgiveness and understanding.

Within myself there is a constant battle to not shout out in frustration whenever this friend talks about her with contempt.


Within myself, there are no answers.

24years is just a number. Nothing to indicate my increased understanding of the human heart or behaviour.

But 24 years does make a difference in my acceptance, or ignorance ( either or) of LIFE.

If the two huge amalgam filling I'm putting in for Ian tomorrow isn't perfect, and ledge-free subgingivally, I'm doomed.

Doomed to MORE comprehensive treatment, and less time to finish it.


Argh seriously this race to the end is madness. I hope I keep my sanity by the end of it all.



The stresses that this course puts on you, is so overwhelming at times.


*sighss*

Happy Birthday, YiPei! :)

Its only 2hours 30minutes into YiPei's birthday (UK time) but we started her special day with a wonderful laughter-filled celebration :) complete with home made pan mee and 2 cakes! ( a pretty fruit cake and a chocolate tart )

I am SO HAPPY the chocolate tart turned out yumms! :) yipei is the BIGGEST fan of chocolate I know, so the choice of tart/birthday cake for her this year was a TRIPLE chocolate mousse tart.. we specially made for her!


The after dinner/cake sugar rush resulted in bouts of uncontrollable laughter.. all thanks to our mascot DAVIS! :)

pretty boy, no?? :)

yes all the fun was in 1 Banff Road tonight :) thanks to our beloved friend YP!

Thomas decided to join in the 'fun' , awwwh arent they pretty :)

Gosh I am exhausted. 3hours of kneeding dough to make the pan mee from scratch is no joke! Hahaha halfway thru we had to call for HELP :) fingers were aching and arms were sore from all the kneading!
But the effort was all worthwhile seeing the happy laughter and continuous smiles from the birthday girl :)


Happy Birthday, my dearest friend.

May your day be blessed with lots of good things, for you so deserve every bit of it. :)

Another book.. twilight!!! :)

which came as a total surprise :)

Thank you, again!

Since my camera officially decided to KO on me.. there will be no visual illustration for this post!

*sobbs*


Anyways, I just wanted to say a big THANK YOU to a certain Mr Santa who so kindly posted the story book I've been wanting and waiting to read to me!

YES I AM THE OFFICIAL PROUD OWNER OF A BRAND NEW, CRISP PAGES and NEW PAPER smelling book 'NEW MOON' from the TWILIGHT saga!

I know plenty of twilight NONfans out there will cringe when they hear of this... BUT I SHALL NOT FALL INTO THE PITS of their hate for this love story, neither will I be influenced.

Can't wait to begin this journey of vampires and dramatic love story, with my book.
And of course, decide MYSELF afterwards whether I like it or hate it.


Terima kasih, Santa Claus! :)

Thank you, for the early surprise Christmas cheer! :)
(now my room feels so christmassy its great :) )

It has been a VERY eventful weekend, house party Fri night, with too much booze and too much drama and SO MUCH FUN! :).. massive cleanup session on Saturday ending with a yummilicious homemade pan mee curtesy of my housemate's friend, and Sunday, a wonderful day spent with a childhood friend whom I havent met in 8 years.. Shu Ying! :)

As you can tell, I am getting lazier.. and lazier. I don't bother taking any photos ( coz my camera is almost nonfunctional.. Dear Santa, I've been GOOD this year, can I have a new Canon IXUS pleaseeeeeeeeeeeee pretty pleasee :) )

... and I'm not bothered to even write.

Blogging is begining to become such a chore.. one that I want to do to keep log of all my current thoughts and happenings.. but SIGH SO LAAAAZAY!


Anyways. I have a mini weekend starting tomoro.. but I NEED TO DO MY AUDIT >.< style="font-weight: bold;">STOP BEING SUCH A PIG.

Arrrrgggghhhhhh.

... and today the PAINS and STRESSES of dentistry arrived..

*sobs* why can't my happiness last :(

The joys of dentistry :)

... in Ashton!

Today was my last day in restorative dentistry with Mr Legg ( hahaha he's the tutor I've been going on and on about :) )

Mr Legg is an amazing dentist, always very caring to his patients, good with his hands and the most thoughtful and encouraging tutor I've ever met.

When you screw up, he doesn't look at you with the 'You're so ridiculously hopeless' eyes. Instead he says 'well these things happen', and praises you on the things that you did right, rather than agonize on your failures.

Every Wednesday I look forward to working in the nice and clean community clinic outside Manchester. And never once did I come home feeling like a crap dentist, or wishing that the world would just swallow me up.

Thank you, Mr Legg for letting me experience the joys of doing good dentistry, and for helping me to slowly grow and learn and hopefully achieve it one day.

Thank you also, for the very thoughtfully wrapped christmas gift and card! :)

I hope my marginal ridge amalgam carvings will stay 'magnificent' :) You make me want to perform better every time!



Farah, Sureil, Caroline and I got our dear tutor a set of toothbrush cufflinks as a 'thank you' gift! :)

And here's US with the tutor we all love :)

Undoubtedly I'm sad that this experience has to come to an end so soon..

but look on the bright side, pei! You're going back to Ashton in January for paediatric dentistry! :) No more Mr Legg as my tutor though :(


It was a good day :) lest i forget, and when things go extremely wrong, I hope to remember that there IS joy in dentistry. :)