last blog for the year~

ahem....i know i had been missing in action for half a month....hahhaha! i was sick....sore throat, fever and followed by flu....but i am fully recovered now...i guess....hahhahha! it was weird that i am still waiting for 2009 while all my friends in malaysia had celebrated it....kinda felt like i am 'outdated' or in the history~ hahhaha! as mentioned by allysa....

my coursemates asked me out for celebration...clubbing....but i dont feel like going....it's so crowded....not to mention it was -2 degree this afternoon with sun shining! imagine the nite time...(which is now...currently 9.50pm with a temperature of -4 and foggy)...argh! no fun at all....i am still thinking of excuse to reject....kinda hard eh? hm....i noticed a lot of my friends in malaysia ended up online instead of going out for celebration....hahha! where i ended chatting with them through the year~ hahhahha! my eldest sis ended up chatting with me and wishing each other a great year ahead~

i chatted with one of my childhood friend too...of 16 years.....by the end of 2009, it'll be 17 years...and still counting...i am proud to announce it~ and she is not the only one, of course...since i travel in pack~ hahhahha! five of us....still keeping in touch although a few of us hadn't met each other for 10 years....haha! i wondered how it'll turn out to be when we gathered... and another guy friend of mine...also 16 years of friendship, always in the same class...(you know who you are~) hhahahha! and another guy, whom had been in the same school eversince i started reading (that's right, kindergarten) hahhahha! i am proud to have all these friends painting my memories, filling them with colours.....

not to forget, some true friends i made...i may not known them for decades..(gosh, i sounded like an old lady)...but the friendships they offered are more than enough to last in my memories for a lifetime...kazak, annie aka hippo, ngoh-ngoh, jojo aka xiao an, geetha, ahwong (and the gang), yhann, my summer groupmates, chin, anny, yong, kc, song, yyee...sorry for those i did not mention, but you'll still be in my heart, as a part of my wonderful memories....(i sounded like i won an oscar~) hahha!

last but not least, my family~ yup...you guys!!! 2008 is definitely a great year!! i might be spending most of my time in liverpool (2008 & the coming 09), but you guys never fail to be a part of my memories....hhaha! i love you ALL~ (definitely not ashamed to declare my love & devotion to my family)

my resolution made for you guys : may the pursuit of health, love, luck, wealth, successes, achievements, dreams, wishes, hopes, & happyness, all ended up within your grasps...

p/s: notice that it is only ONE resolution~ the second resolution?

second resolution: making all the first resolution come true~

muahahhahha! who can beat my resolution? not greedy, only 2 resolution, and it MUST come true~ ngek!ngek!ngek!

resolution for myself: Quit Chocolate...sound impossible? that is why it is only a RESOLUTION....tailor-made for myself...muahhaha!

how i spent the 1st day of my holiday...

hmm...let's start off with the time i woke up...11.27am.....hohoho! i don't know how i managed to sleep that much~ anyway, i took bath, breakfast, dressed up and even watch ugly betty before going out...

my plan for the day is to settle my tuition fee as well as my rental for the next 4 months....yup, i paid in cash...which means i was carrying a hell lot of money while wondering on the street...after paying the fees and rental, i got my accesscard replaced and it costs me 10 pounds....shesshh! i'll show you guys how the 10-pound-card looked like and you tell me if it's worth 10 pounds...okay, after settling these stuffs, i went shopping....i bought some clay mask (the skin on my face is peeling off, possibly due to dry weather) and a buffer sponge...(don't really know i am going to use it since i am so lazy)....then, i bought some kebabs (eat while loitering around the mall)....then i walked all the way to chinatown and bought some ingredients to make 'muaci' and 'loh mai chee' (a chinese pastry -filled with peanuts and covered with glutinous flour)....i planned to make cheesecake...but since i missed chinese food, i might as well make chinese pastry...i even planned to stuff the fillings with red bean paste (but i'll have to buy red bean and make it into a paste myself)...anyway, i'll get some red bean soon...

i shopped from 1pm till 5.30pm non-stop...i even bought something called eccles...it's filled with raisins (yuck)...i just took a bite and left it in da kitchen...i hate raisins... i even bought 'penguin' milk chocolate biscuits..yum-yum....and strawberries, belgian chocolate muffins, tomatoes, onions, cabbage, chicken strips and a dozen yoghurt pots....hehe! it was torturing to carry all those stuffs.....i regret instantly after buying them....

after all those wondering around the whole liverpool, i still cant manage to get a boot...damn!

bad news: i bumped into those guys from the lab prac....damn! i didn't notice them cause i was too occupied with shopping thoughts and suddenly, i felt a bunch of static people staring at me....so i just smiled and hurried away....

while i was loitering around today, i noticed that a lot of people looked at me...maybe because i am chinese? but there are lots of chinese around...weird...i thought there is something on my face and i simply entered the nearest cosmetic shop and look for a mirror...(yea, i know, a girl is supposed to have a mirror in her bag...i am an exception aka special..erm.. okay, i admit, a failure...hahha! who cares! ) but i didn't notice anything wrong with my face...perhaps i am over sensitive? we'll see if it happens again....

the 10-pound-card (front view)

the 10-pound-card (back view)

the buffer and clay mask i bought

the eccles

my muaci & loh mai chee ingredients

my xmas + end of semester gathering

ahem...today, i had my last presentation for this semester...yay~ hooray.... so, i went to celebrate the end of first semester with a few of my coursemates...yea, only the chosen ones...hhahahha! kidding....umm...maybe i should put it this way..'for those who clicked'.....there's no point forcing yourselves to eat with those you cant even hold a conversation for 1 minute, right? if we are going, we have to go to a halal restaurant...which means all those fancy italian, japanese or even McD and KFC will be banished...(anyway, i am not going to KFC or McD) hahhaha!

so, we went to a japanese restaurant named 'wagamama'.....it was great....and i can definitely feel myself putting on weight...damn! i had a chocolate fudge cake for dessert...and the weird thing about the cake is that the chocolate syrup is made of wasabi....yea...but it was really really nice....i think it tastes more like peppermint though..ahhahha! and the other dessert is white-chocolate-ginger-cheesecake....weird huh? but it tastes AWESOME....i will be visiting that restaurant some time soon...hehe! i'll gather a troop and attack the restaurant...i ordered a fruit juice (orange, apple and passionfruit blended)...it was a perfect match with the dessert and the main course...wuu~ i even ordered an extra green tea..hhaha! we ate for 2++ hours...hhaha! and i went shopping after that....i bought a lot of stuffs...but i am kinda lazy to mention about it...nothing special...i am just thinking about another dinner tomorrow...i feel like rejecting it since i had enough of fancy food these few days....i wanted to go plain for a few days...we'll see how it turns out tomorrow...

and a friend of mine arrived london today and has been calling me eversince...i am not sure if he will be coming to liverpool to pay me a visit...i hope not...since i am kinda busy...argh...headache...

BAD NEWS: i lost my accesscard today....i have to pay 10pounds for a replacement...damn! stoopid card...and clumsy me! argh!

chocolate fudge cake with wasabi and chocolate fudge filling ~ with dark chocolate wasabi sauce and vanilla pod ice-cream...yum yum^^

white chocolate and stem ginger cheesecake with chilli toffee ginger sauce^^ (weird ingredients but superb taste)

my passionfruit+apple+orange fresh juice....looked ugly, but tastes GREAT^^

chicken katsu curry...yum yum...(tastes great & healthy too)

where i shopped...

santa clausessss....

yesterday (sunday) my flatmates joined an event called 'santa dash'....they forced me to take part in the race, but i am so lazy, i ended up being the supporter...hahhahha! hey, only 3 of them joined the race, okie? hhaha! at least i woke up early to support them~~ after tagging along for 5km (i guess), i went off shopping~ i haven't got my boots yet...(size 5 is too common and is always the one out of stock)....

then, we had a christmas dinner....i keep on declining to join....however, they said 'hey, we bought your share, so you must be back for the dinner, kay? see ya later~"

so, i ended up joining the dinner...when i reached the residence hall, i knew why i must attend the dinner....the guy (from next door), is the one doing the cooking (in my flat).....but i must admit, his cooking is GREAT~

he prepared: roast turkey, stuffing balls, roast potatoes, salad (broccoli, carrots, corn, cabbage), gammon with honey glaze, mashed potatoes and he even prepared the gravy himself...scary huh? as for the dessert, he bought triple chocolate indulgence gateau...there are also red & white wines (which i didn't even take a sip)...too bad, i didn't take any pictures...i was busy eating...hhahah! after dinner, he moved his plasma tv to our living hall and asked us to watch a few movies...(i have a presentation the next morning, but i feel bad to just eat and clean without having a proper conversation)...so i ended up watching movie till 1am with all of them....

bad news: i ate too much, i cant sleep until it was 5am....i keep declining, he keep giving me second helping, third helping....argh...

the worst thing is: characters in da movie named : connie and the other is his name...though i know what it means, but i pretend not to realise it...which is a smart thing....yay~ and i got away with playing dumb.... muahhahah!

the best thing: i finally get to see snow....(there was once i was caught in hail, it wasn't a good one..it was painful)...

Snow accumulated on the car~

below are the pictures of santa dash and my shopping reward:

5-stories-tall-real-xmas-tree

Liverpool One...the largest shopping complex in liverpool...really nice..

Liverpool One ( a small part of it)

santasss

Santa Dash....

so many santasssss......

yea, i tried the kangaroo & wild boar...muahhahahha! (i went twice on separate days)

three pound for a burger...hahha~

muahhahaha! i only managed to get myself scarves (reason: no sizes required..muahhahah)....the red one belonged to my sister..she gave it to me before i came here...

i must get a pair of boots ASAP...

my housemate's bday..

one of my housemates turn 20 yesterday and i am forced to celebrate with them...i planned to reject their invitation....i had to go for practical in the morning and i don't want to go clubbing or drinking...i just want to rest well and prepare for my battle with some of the lazy group members....argh...anyway, since i bought her gift, i might as well join the celebration and leave early...i didn't go clubbing, just went for a few drinks...and it was really really nice...i love that drink...it's called fruili...

next wednesday, i am going to try chocolate alcohol and honey beer...my friend invited me to try it out...so i might be going if i am free....hehe!

i will be having 2 presentations next week ( monday and tuesday)...again...argh....and i'll be having a christmas dinner with my coursemates probably on monday night...so, it'll be a busy week for me...i am kinda worried bout the presentations...the lecturers are putting too much pressure on me...they keep telling others to take me as their role model...and i had been receiving lots of sarcastic comments eversince...sigh...i'll learn to ignore them...

this is me with my drink...(i drank 3 pints of fruilis)

after 3 pints, i turned red...(and even got rashes on my hands & back)

finally....free from responsibilities...

Hooraayyy! I am free....at last.....i managed to get through the week...ermm...not really a good one...two of my group mates didn't turn up during the last day of the practical....i didn't tell the lecturers about it and i think other group mates are kinda mad about it...it's really not my style to report stuffs like this to the lecturers...but they should have emailed, texted or even call to inform me that they are not coming...sigh... whatever....i won't help them when it comes to writing a lab report....since they are the ones who didn't turn up, i guess i should let them learn a lesson....hahaha!

Dr. H is very pleased with the results we obtained! He said that it was the best ever...the seniors failed to produce it last year and we did it~ yay! i am so happy...maybe i am a good leader after all...hohoho! (kidding...it's my GOOD LUCK) muahahhaha!

below are a few photos taken during the last day of the practical...

this is the proof of methylenomycin A, B and Actinorhodin production..muahahha!

2 groupmates missing, but we can still work efficiently (multitasking too! taking pics & calculating stuff)

some coursemates from production team...i think we looked like we are preparing to go for scuba diving...i hate the goggles...looked weird and it's really heavy....

i love this pic..

Four gossipers...

i am back...

today is the first day i attend my one-week-laboratory work....where i have to produce antibiotics..... the class is divided into two groups....one is purification and the other is response-something group...(obviously, i am spacing out during the lecture...so i didn't know it)...hahhaha!

then, the lecturer said he wanted a leader in each group...one of the guys volunteered to be the leader for purification group....suddenly, this lecturer called out my name..(as told by my friends coz i was spacing out....)

'connie, do you mind becoming the leader?'......and i was still spacing out at that moment, so i didn't reply.... so, he continued.."connie, you looked shocked"......and suddenly, i heard my name and i looked at him with lotsa question marks on my face...my fren beside me told me to nod my head....since i do not know anything so i followed what she said...

Glyn looked pleased and said 'that's settled it..you'll be the leader for this group'

so, i am now the group leader which i don't even know what's the name of the group...darn! and throughout this whole day, i heard them saying 'you are the leader now'....for like a thousand times......and it was often not in a good intonation...anyway...i think i am getting used to it.... my 3 other close pals told me that it was really lucky that i am appointed as the leader as our class rep (one of the indians) wanted to volunteer herself....they do not want her as the leader anymore since she did nothing but throwing questions at us.....

and hell, yea, i am the one doing project for her as well as selecting genes, primers, & restriction enzymes for her! i am the one to taught her how to use RASMOL software, writing lab report, extract info from bioinformatics....and she still want to become a leader? gosh! i am not saying i am better than her.....but....i cant be that bad, can i?

hmm...maybe Glyn think that i talked a lot, so i should keep on talking? hhaha!

anyway, i'll definitely try be a good leader...and i proved myself today...sigh...and we had a 2 hours break...and supposed to be back by 2pm.....3 people from my group were late for 15 minutes..(including the one who wanted to volunteer herself to be the leader)....and i ended up calling each of them to ask them to rush here ASAP...argh....the supervisor told me to make sure my groupmates won't be late for tomorrow's practical...argh...i think 3 of them did it on purpose....i had reminded them a few times before the break....and they were still late for 15 minutes?......i never wanted to be a leader, coz i rather be slacking off without responsibility over others....

....whatever....hopefully everything will be fine for this whole week...