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Speak of the devil, I have been for about 6 weeks already. Heck, I even came back from a trip to Indonesia. Everything is happening in a blink of an eye with no time to stop and stare. I have not found time to blog about my Eurotrip at all nor sit down in peace for more than a day.

Long story short, I've landed myself a job and am relocating to the capital. For most of the part, I am a bit reluctant to step into the adult world where tons of burden looms. Reminiscing the good times now.

In my absence

Haven't been writing for the past 3 months. Been to busy to write about what happened in my life. But right now, I have all the time in the world to do it. Here goes...

In July,

I totally forgot what took place. I guess basically (all that I could muster at this very moment to remember) I was stuck in the lab most of the days rushing against time to complete my experiments. Dateline was drawing nearer to hand in my dissertation. Time was running out. But I managed to pull through it. Everything ended on a sweet note on the last day of July and I could not be happier as I could finally concentrate on writing up my dissertation.

August,

August was exciting and excruciating at the same time. Exciting was because my bf came to visit for 2 months :D Excruciating because I wrote and wrote and wrote and wrote my dissertation and didn't have much time for anything. But I managed to squeeze sometime to catch Olympics football at Old Trafford. It was Japan vs Egypt. The match was just so so...but the crowd was great. August came to closure when I finally submitted my dissertation on the final day of August. I was finally over and done with my masters.

September,

 This can be said to be one of the best times I had in my Masters studies. Went to Rome (again) and Barcelona and London. Rome was good and sunny. Went to Vatican, Colloseum, St Peter's Church and had tonnes of Italian wine, pizza and pasta and not forgetting gelato! Even  had a taste of buying a luxury brand bag for the first time in my life despite the bag doesn't belong to me.

 But I loved Barcelona. Food was good and so are the wines and sangria. The place was colorful - people, food, weather. La Rambla was really lively and filled with colors and people. Ate plenty of tapas and paella and drank a lot of sangria. The Gothic architectures are superb. Anthony Gaudi is a master of his own class. La Sagrada Familia was great for the sight but I love Casa Battlo. The interior designs and the details were just really well given thought. And SHOPPING! Zara and Mango was @__@ I couldn't help but to buy a few stuff as well.

London is well, London. Did all the touristy stuff. But it was so cold and rainy.. well, that's to be expected of the English weather. The only thing that was different this time was I had the chance to see the changing of guards at Buckingham and went to Camden for the first time.


But all good things come to an end. After 12 days of walking 12 hours a day, we finally came back to Sheffield, living in a new place till I finally leave the UK.

Half of 2012

A week has come and gone since I sat for my last exam in my entire life (unless I decide to continue studying). Reality hit me in the head: 1. Half of 2012 is gone. 2. I'm 70% done with my Masters. 3. Questions that bugged me a year ago is coming back to haunt. Just this time, I have no choice but to get job but landing myself a job is easier said than done. 

As of now, I have decided to enjoy the last few months of my time here while I can, but I have been enjoying my time here since I arrived :x . The rest, I shall let it run by itself. 

Back to Basics

About a month ago, I went on a Biochar Workshop in Swansea. Where? Swansea, South of Wales. It was one heck of a long ride down from Sheffield.. a good 6 long hours.

The workshop was run by an organic farmer who doesn't believe in fertilisers and the conventional fuel. He designed some cooking stove that could produce fire, capture the heat and produce biochar at the end. Nothing is left unused; which is a good thing for the Earth but there are sceptics.

But leaning a side, Swansea is well known for its beaches. So of course I went, but at 6am with a bunch of 20 year old kids. The weather was so cold and we took a long way there because we were lost. I was walking in the cold with an empty stomach which wasn't too great but the view and the peace at the beach at 7am was worth it.

 This was the meal that I had at the farm. Everything is organic and cooked with the wood stove. The black rock is actually baked potatoes covered in soot. Simple but so delicious

Two of the horses at the farm. We practically slept next to the horses.

This is a wild garlic leaf. Tastes exactly like garlic!

Peaceful beach

Sunrise

The trip was a good reminder that sometimes, the simple things in life are the best. I did not even think of work or stressed any deadlines during the trip. Getting exposed to people from different places and courses also have their perks. 

Another year

Last year, this time of the year, I was busy writing up my final year dissertation and blew off 23 candles on my cake. Fast forward a year, I blew off 24 candles last week and am still stuck with assignments. Seems like nothing much changed but a lot has indeed taken place over the course of a year. I am a year older (hopefully a year wiser) and far, far, far away from home. I've come to the final 3 months of my postgraduate studies and again about to meet another crossroad in my life. Looking back, I've never felt like I grew since I was 20. Maybe it's just me  in denial but time went by so fast that it felt like it didn't move at all.

Compared to last year, I had a very much toned down birthday affair. Just a nice small dinner with my flatmates and friend and a nice birthday cake to go with it.

Well, here's to wishing myself a very happy 24th. May I grow up well, strong and mature with a bright future.

Travels

Since I arrived in the UK, I didn't do any blog on my travels.

The first pit stop I did was Paris with my dear friend who flew all the way here for a month's holiday with me.Paris is beautiful as every tour book tells you and lives up to all the pictures I've seen on tv, brochures etc etc. We did everything touristy and took loads of pictures.

For me, my favourite place in Paris would be Versailes. The palace was just gorgeous and grand. Best part was, because I am a student in the EU, I got to get in for free, saving €14.

The 5days 4 nights trip was walk walk walk, take pics, walk walk, more pics and dinner + a bottle of wine every night. Yes, wine is so cheap; cheaper than a bottle of Evian. We stayed in an apartment in Trocadero, one of the high end residential areas in Paris without even knowing about it when we book. Although the room was rather small, it was sufficient as a place to camp for the night after a long day out.

However, the downside of Paris is the price and the weather was really cold when we were there. On pictures, it might seem warm and nice, but in reality it was about 2 degrees everyday and we have to walk 10-12 hours a day out in the cold. Everything in Paris was relatively expensive. Trains, food, entrance fees and accommodations too. And talking about trains and metro, they are old and poorly maintained although punctual and efficient. Gets you where ever you want.

There are 2 themes park at Disneyland. We booked our tickets online for a bargain price. Disney never fails to amaze me but it was toooo cold + wind + rain...making it a not so fun day. Queue for most of the rides were really long and took up to an hour or two which made it really difficult to bear in the cold. But Disney is Disney none the less <3

The trademark of Paris... Eiffel Tower. We went up the tower the previous night and came back for a photo the next day. As with all attractions in Paris, queue is always long, unless you choose to walk up to the observation deck which did not have any queue. But it was an experience being up in the tower. Great view of the entire city. The Sein River just right below the tower. Everything looked like it was from the 50s when blended together.

This is escargot. I love it! One of the best entrees I have had. We loved it so much that we had it 2 nights in a row.

We went to a lot more places but I'm just too lazy to post pictures. Arc de Triumphe, Champs Elysee, Notre Damn, Sacre Couer, Montmartre and Louvre. The architectures are awesome especially Notre Dame and Sacre Couer.

A side note, entrance to churches are free i.e. Notre Dame and Sacre Couer but Sacre Couer doesn't allow anyone to take pictures because they sell photo books of the place as an income to maintain the church. If you watched the Disney movie, Hunchback of Notre Dame, you might remember the bridge above the church. That you have to stand in a queue 100m long and pay €8 to go up; which of course we didn't go.

On a different note, I now understand why it's called the most romantic city in the world and where the word french kiss got its origins. The french are surely romantics and kiss a real passionate kiss where ever they are... you'll understand when you step foot in Paris some day ;)

Number 365 and counting...

One year ago today a question was asked and it changed many things in my life. 365 days later and counting.. the question still puzzles me