au revoir!

how the days just soar by. i'll be leaving in a coupla hours, there is no time to use fancy metaphors so, goodbye cute lil penang. i'll miss hokkien and food and rojak english. and to everyone who've somehow been there throughout my "leaving" period, whether through parties, wishes, get togethers, packing... i'm gonna miss you guys. goodbye til november.

with all my love,
denise


ps: next chapter- christchurch meets denise

i have a ton of things to talk to you about but you're not here.
i have got lots of things to say to you but the time is always not right.
in some aspects, you could compare me to a kid
because i'm crying out for you to pay attention to me.
because i really want to talk to you.
i want your time, i want your attention
to listen to my things and nothings

please?

wanna play?

when the weather's bad, when you've had just enough of everything, when you're just so emotionally exhausted... what do you do?

well, i usually play silly computer games to get my mind off things.

click me to find out what crap denise is playing now.

(try to beat my score :P )

or me to play whatever waste of time game she plays too!

hallo

i shall not complain of being home all day
i shall not grumble about being bored
i shall not whine about everyone being too busy to accompany me around

because working is infinately worse.


i should really do something productive. oh oh... i know! i'll bake tomorrow. and i guess i should really get to finalizing my packing *sigh*. part of why i loathe packing (other than being the usual slothy me) is that it brings the reality of leaving so much more ... real. it's like the luggage bag's smirking at me "you're leaving! HAHAH! *sucker punch*". but i suppose i must stop procrastinating soon. real soon. otherwise i might end up packing on the flight to nz.


i'll let you in on a secret: i'm having cold feet. as departure begins to draw near, i'm having all these thoughts of "what ifs", and well, sadly a lot of them are less than positive. scared la. lol. funny. since not going was never an option, not that i was forced to go, no nothing like that. but because i just knew that one day i'd be going overseas. i am thankful, but you know, like the groom who sits in the toilet in cold sweat right before the wedding... i know like him, i'll be glad i had the courage to take this huge step. lol, anyway, it's just going overseas right? no biggie.


and i have this outrageously oversized card from the wonderful people of ignite to send me off. so sweet of them really. because i never in my life expected that! and it was really a wonderful surprise.


it's lovely to be loved and to love. i'm a big big fan of love.

Faith the Dog

a little something to brighten up a darker day.

i think i need extra luggage weight. 20kilos is just not gonna suffice. boo.

and might i add, woolly jumpers are just so unflattering.

as i.m brushing away the glitter of december off my back, oh hello sobering january! the weight of real life comes again to weigh on my shoulders. things that i've tried to push to the back of my mind, i have to deal with now. yeah... like getting things in order, and saying goodbye. nothing too depressing and yet, important.

anyhoo... let me take a minute to grieve with the families of those boys (and teacher) who drowned in the dragonboat fiasco. how fast a bright flame is extinguished. these boys had bright futures, great ambitions to carve their niche in the world. and yet. life, oh life... how fleeting thou art. when we think we've got everything down pat, everything changes.

get off your butt denise! get out of your comfort zone!

i'm sensing a sudden depressing turn to this so change of subject. sooooo... here are some pictures of where i will be very soon. just so you have an idea of the place. and don't worry, it's very beautiful i assure you. honestly, part of new zealand's appeal is how people keep mentioning how beautiful it is.

concerned individual: so where will you be going to?

me: new zealand

c.i: oh really? beautiful place, so quiet.

me: mm... yea

i tell you, if i had 50sen to everytime this conversation happened, i'd be well... not rich, but at least i could but a mcvalue meal with it. but it is. beautiful i mean. ah can't be helped i guess... so go on, say it... i'll be able to bear it. i think?

anyway, feast your eyes.

looking at it, ok i admit, it is a rather measely feast. but still... more when i get there.

so eat up!

trip a lil trip

23 more days to cold christchurch.

i feel so unsettled just coming back from a holiday and starting to pack for another long-haul trip again. ok, well, not a trip exactly...

it's like, i can't see myself past "leaving for nz". everything in my vision of the near future stops and ends at "when i leave". i mean, i know life goes on and it's what i've always wanted, but as i cross of the days on my planner, i'm loathing to leave penang more and more. it's hard saying goodbye to your comfort zone and hear about your friends doing things you used to do. boo.

but wouldn't life be just boring without new experiences? besides, it's a real blessing that i was given the chance to go.

anyway...

bangkok was wicked!

if i could sum it all up in one word, i guess it'd be shopping. cos that's what we and a whole lot of tourists did the whole 4 days we were there. shopped til the very last minute we absolutely had to leave for the airport. i'm not really a shopping person, so after a day or two i started to get a bit sick of acquiring stuff. but we stayed in the middle of the shopping district so haha, what else is there to do?

but let's start at the beginning shall we? i have to admit, bangkok totally surpassed all of my expectations. i imagined a grime-filled, crime ladden congested city, but my first impressions were of how modern and organised the city actually is. they have this absolutely cool escalators at the airport which i wish i could ride again. hehe. and a lot of their malls are interlinked by walkways just under the LRT (whatever it's called there), so you don't have to risk getting knocked down by scary motorists while crossing the road.

and the malls... the Malls. think kl's pavillion and klcc, only flashier and much bigger. since we did much shopping there, i shall mention some of the places that we visited.

view from our hotel

Paragon was obviously the most high end of the lot. i mean, audi, lamborghini(i hope this is how you spell it?), lotus, porsche, bmw, and masseratti all have showrooms there. so you can imagine. but i liked it even if all we could do was salivate at the shop displays. very classy and posh, y'know? oh, and thumbs up for their gourmet market. lotsa fine imported food on display and sampling.



we frequented Central like a Lot. cos it was directly opposite our hotel so... haha yeah you get the picture. it's this really really ginormous shopping place with the biggest forever 21 i've ever seen. yes, that alone is worth a visit. this mall really reminded me of pavillion, similarities of shops inside i guess.



and on the other side of the scale, there's Platinum. i won't even call it a mall, it's more of rows and rows and more rows of shops selling clothes, bags , shoes, accessories mostly at wholesale prices. the only downside (or upside?) is that you have to purchase at least 3 pieces to be eligible for wholesale price. and most of the stuff looked like things you'd see on blogshops for a fraction of what it originally cost. my sis went absolutely crazy here needless to say.



and the funnest place was the chatuchak weekend market! the sheer size of it is scary. i don't think you'd be able to finish looking at everything there in a day. but definately worth a visit because they sell everything and anything from clothes to craft items to puppies there. i adore the craft section but too bad most of the things go in bulk, so couldn't buy much. it makes you want to start your own business just so you can buy them all back. yes it really does!

look how adorable they are! little fuzzballs...

things things things everywhere...

but, i was right on a few accounts; that bangkok is really a congested place. both with people and cars. still makes me exhausted to think of it. and the sky is grey on default. depressing really, all this pollution.

last day in bangkok. goodbye pollution!

tee-hee! some of the stuff we bought.

any title will do

sometimes... it's really the little things that count. someone who holds the door for you, a friendly greeting, the chicken rice guy who always always decorates extra cucumbers on my rice. might not mean a lot to the person who does it but i find that whenever someone does something nice for me, or i see someone doing it for other; it just makes my day a lil bit brighter. i might have just quarreled with my boyfriend, but to have a total stranger or a friend go just a little bit extra to do something for me is well, touching. no words can really describe it but i know we all feel it.


watching how my colleagues treat a rather elderly customer who just came in has really touched me. and brought back my faith in humankind. amidst all the stress and busyness, sadness and sicknesses; it's heartening to see that people still care to be nice. altruism may be surpressed by the fear of being manipulated by people, but i can see now that it's not dead, only dormant. we are capable of being better people. i know we are.


things have been a bit rocky lately. i rollercoaster up and down my mood swings every moment and generally haven't been really good company, angry sullen company maybe (haha). but who knew? one little gesture would motivate me to get out of the slump i find myself in and think of others for a change. to everyone who has touched my life one way or another, i really thank you. for without you people, i wouldn't be inspired to follow likewise.

the movies

had a movie outing last night with the girls. fun-est!
everyone who's ever been to the movies knows that the experience is so much more than just watching the movie. right? right? and people! there's just so much to see there. my usual cinematic experience encompasses

the talker- the one who talks throughtout the whole movie. omg i have sat beside a girl once who kept asking her bf a whole litany of silly obvious questions about the movie. girl, if you want to know why the hero is crying, then watch the movie like everyone else!

the director- the one who tells you the whole storyline while you're watching the movie itself.

the kicker- ooh don't you get soooo annoyed when the person behind you kicks your chair and goes on kicking and kicking and just won't stop? hello... this is not your home mister!

the one who texts while the show's on- enough said.

the pda couple- this i've never encountered but my bf told me about this couple who just couldn't keep their hands and lips to themselves. lol. get a room.

the one who spills popcorn all over the floor - that used to be me back when i was umm... clumsier *grins*

and yesterday, i added a few more to my observation book.

the hong kong foot - omgosh! can die k! especially if the guy sits just right behind you with his odourous kiam hoo feet just inches from your head. ugh! people with sneakers, please don't ever take your shoes off in small places with bad ventilation... he totally spoilt the movie for me.

the sleeper - cute people who stay awake long enough to see the start of the story, fall asleep during the climax and wake up just in time to see the credits. oh they even snore. hehe. see, aren't they just the cutest?


ok enough. goodbye.

to

the one who makes funny faces together with me

the one who knows my mood swings

the one who makes me laugh and cry

the one i lean on for support

the one, my sparring partner,

my cushy pillow

the one who is my best friend and my gossip buddy

the one whom i'm going to miss terribly when we're miles and hours apart.

from the one who exasperates you frequently

the one who nags you to eat healthily and tighten your seat belt

the one who makes you drive almost all the time

the one, your movie-going buddy,

your ever-willing listener

the one who likes late night phone calls from you

the one who wants to let you know that she loves you.