Shanghai Diary: cafe

I'm in love!! I'm also speechless!! I've no idea how to describe where I'm in now.

I'm in a modern yet old city. haha! that's what I love about Shanghai!

Let me try to explain more. I'm in a little cafe. It's modern yet quaint, it's full of interesting books, odd cushions and couches, specialty teas, cacti, little lamps, postcard pictures, china sets. GAH AMAZING! A perfect place to relax and study.

If I could, I would use my digital camera to take some pictures. Unfortunately it's almost to its grave and occasionally falls into a seizure (so unreliable!) leaving me with blurry pictures of ghost like figures. What I have with me is just Fitzgerald, g & I's film camera, making it a little bit more inconvenient to just upload pictures whenever I like. However I'l try my utmost to take pictures and post it up :)

I'm too full of wonder and happiness and plans to get friends to come here that I can't think clearly. haha. love it!

love shanghai :)

Good friend? Thoughts

There's always a few gossip topics us girls would have about our friends/siblings who have/had boyfriends. We always 'discuss' how they neglect their close-friendship group/family for their current boyfriend/s by not creating enough meet-ups, shopping sprees, etc. We would also complain of how touchy the new couple would be within the group/family; totally insensitive to the other singles. Furthermore, we would take our 'disapproval' to another level by saying we'd never be like them. 

Yeaaaa.. Come one, don't deny you've never been like this.

Cos I've said the same thing over and over again before: "Yea, I'm not gonna be like so and so.. always holding hands, whispering into each other's ears... etc." (lol, I'm exaggerating a lil) and let's be honest-  I've fallen short of my pre-relationship decision *sheepish smile*.

As a result, I'mma work harder to maintain my close friendships. This is my resolution for the rest of MY LIFE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

.   .   .   . 

Yea, that will probably not happen as easily said/written/typed *sheepish smile*. However, I'm not saying I won't be working on it. So, stay tune to updates of hang-outs, chit chats, op-shopping adventures and all in the near future :D WOOHOO!

done done done

Exams are finally over :D
It feels odd going on youtube or exploring blogs and such without feeling guilty.
The day has finally come when I'm free to do whatever I wish to do! Here's my list of winter things to do in no particular order:

1. sew more
2. work on BTF (born to fly) program
3. finish LOTR - I started this book last year before I left for vietnam and still have not finished it.
4. re-colour my hair
5. tie-dye? - don't know how successful this will be cos of the weather un-sunny weather
6. work work work work, save save save - note the 4 'work'se and 3 'save'se ? :D I can't obviously save all and in reality not spend some.. hence the less number of 'save'se.
7. chillin with the besties
8. exercise & eat better - especially after exam and winter binging
9. Sydney OH YEAH - I have my own list of things to do in Sydney :D

• Hillsong conference
• opshop hunting & market exploring
• chilling with besties that will be going to sydney as wells!

Wish me luck :)

I like them fried :D

My eating pattern this week is really weird.. I've just been eating more than usual. There are a few possible reasons why but none I'm sure of :D i.e. 1) winter is here and the cold's making me wanna binge- eat 2) I'm pms-ing 3) I've been doing too many things and not eating, then when I do eat I'm super hungry and eat ALOOOOT.

A few nights ago, I had an additional 5 pieces of toasts with my already quite big dinner -.-" That same night I was craving for fried oreos even though I had not tried fried oreos in my life. I was truly wondering where this craving was coming from. Because only till recently, I've never ever ever ever thought or wished of eating/making fried oreos cos of its huge calorie content -.-" Anyway! googled how to make fried oreos and made some tonight :D I deep fried it in the house which prompted an earful from the parents -.-" such an anti-climax.

Steps are simple:
1) freeze oreos for 1+ hours
2) mix self raising flour, water and milk to make a thick batter
3) coat and deep fry in already very hot oil

Here are some pictures

favourite playlist

A few years back I came across Yuna when I accidentally found Zee Avi. They are both female, Malaysia which is SUPER AWESOME! Yuna's from Kedah, hmm kedah pride ;D ! Anyway, they are both independent singer-songwriter but are signed to a company now. Hmm don't know how that works.. but I know they sound awesome! Anyway, found a playlist on youtube. check it!

Yuna Top Track

A pretty awesome week so far

** meant to be studying but, let's blog!!! hehe, I think Kim-anh agrees with me, but it's always during intense studying periods that we blog the most haha! <3 it! ABSOLUTELY <3 it!

Sunday: I won my first tennis match!! WOOHOO! It was a singles game and we were versing girls from North Balwyn Tennis Club. Score was 7-5, 3-6, 6-3. Sigh, at the end of the first set I was already hoping for the game to end just cos it was a pretty slow and long game that consisted of TONNES of deuces! One game we reached approximately 6 deuces -.-" THATS TOO MUCH! By the time we reached the first half of the second set all the other teams finished their matches and my opponent and I were pretty much screaming for the match to end -.-" Unfortunately, she resisted the urge to end early and we moved on to the 3rd set. By that time, I was thinking 'let's get this over and done with.. just play percentage shots' i.e. shots that were consistent and would get within the lines: no fancy pants! I also pretty much prayed every time one of us started serving (that I would serve in and that I would return well) it was the whole works,, like full on interceding and speaking in tongues hehe. I just truly wanted to go home! :D TEEHEE So, that's what I did, and we finally finished that set. WOOHOO! I was so happy, so relieved and so drained. THANK YOU GOD FOR HELPING ME WIN! :D

Monday: Mondays always start off with carpooling into uni, starting/finishing off my chinese assignments, sprinting around campus to get my cover sheets printed and finally sprinting up 4 flights of stairs before the clock strikes 12:30pm to hand in the assignment :D HEHE it's always awesome to get the exercise :D

This past monday was slightly different because while starting off my assignment at Wholefoods, a random asian chick came to say 'hi'! Well, not exactly.. the first thing she said was 'hey i like the way your did your hair... is it ombre? How much did you get it done for?' (at least something along those lines) HEHE I love it how random people stop me on the streets to ask me about my hair and how I got it done, etc. Anyway, being my presumptuous self, I proceeded to explain how I dyed it by myself and what I did when she stopped me short saying that she just liked how it looked on me but wouldn't dye her hair the same way. To be honest, I was really surprised! haha, cos usually people would come up to me and asked me how I got it down, where did I get the bleach, etc.. but she didn't! which surprised me!! Anyway, I invited her to take a sit and we chatted for almost 50 minutes on our courses, monash clubs, Hokkien, you know the usuals..? haha ;D

I really thank God for giving me the opportunity to talk to someone as interesting as her :D Such, little surprises really brighten one's day!

Music: My playlist for this week is One Eskimo. A pretty awesome friend introduced the band to me and since then I've been hooked! Out of the songs I've heard, 'Balloon' is my top favourite for the moment :D

I also miss the sisters that were in the same house with me :(

Obsession confession

A: I think I'm obsessed with my weight.

B: Yeah, you are. (silence)

A: Hmm, give me evidence to support. You can't just agree.

B: You have to enjoy like what you eat. You can't just survive on drinking fibre and stuff.

A: But I do eat and enjoy eating! It's not like I do not eat, I only do that fibre thing when I'm in a hurry. It's just that my weighing scales are ALWAYS in front of me; in my bathroom. I've been weighing myself every day which is bad.

B: Yeah that's bad. Then just move the scales.

A: Yeah, I know.. but still. 

One way I learnt how to get rid of an obsession, to reduce and (eventually) eliminate temptation is to run from it; to head towards the opposite direction. In my life there has/have been a lot of temptations. One of which is my weight. My weight has/have been a huge issue in my life. Nearly every time I go back to Malaysia there will be relos buzzing around saying how I've 'gone fatter', 'slimmed down', etc. Man, I really do not like it when they do that -.-".. I used to be really really affected by it when I was younger. Once in Malaysia, at the hotel breakfast, I started crying and ran up to my hotel room just because a member of the family started demanding why I got myself "fat". like DUH, of course I'd be affected by it! How can an adult demand/accuse a growing child/teen of being fat?! -.-" Anyway because of such influences, a weight obsession grew in my life. I would weigh myself and if I saw that I didn't lose weight, remained the same weight or put on weight I would be SOOOOOO depressed. I would change my daily routine to try to lose weight.. I would be super self-conscious, timid, obsessed, etc. Obviously this was not a healthy lifestyle and I knew it was a super unhealthy lifestyle. I hated how weight controlled my life, so I decided to run away from it. Like running away from a temptation whenever it appears in front of me,.. As a "symbolic" yet practical way of getting rid of my obsession, I hid my weighing scale or put it in a far corner of the house where I would rarely pass. Instead of focussing on my weight, I would focus on eating healthy and exercising regularly. It was hard though.. like at the gym, there would be a weighing scale and whenever I pass it there would be a thought/temptation to go and weigh myself. Of course in reality it is all right to weigh oneself, but I just felt that if I did step onto a weighing scale.. my obsession would bloom. So, I just cut myself off.

1 Corinthians 10:13
The temptations in your life are no different from what others experience. And God is faithful. He will not allow the temptation to be more than you can stand. When you are tempted, he will show you a way out so that you can endure.

I guess the way God showed me how to get out of my "temptation" to weigh myself was to run from it. Anyway, it's time to hide the weighing scales again.