Memories

Given the rare opportunity to be able to travel constantly nowadays, I have tried to think of a method to preserve these memories in a special way. Apart from my interest in photography, I have recently fallen in love with collecting postcards from different places (from all over the world, hopefully). 

Decorating the plain walls with these colourful postcards allows me to improve the aesthetic beauty of the room, and at the same time, to refresh my memory of these places that I have gone to. Considering that I spend most of the time in my room recently, looking at these postcards really helps to make me feel calmer, achieving inner peace (sounds familiar?). So far, I could still remember the origins of each postcard. I hope I will still be able to retain these memories in the future. I am pretty sure the feeling will be very surreal and magical. Oh memories.

Sneeze

The change of weather might be too sudden as yours truly has been down with flu since Thursday. Being a fan of cold weather, this has once again proved that I am indeed a polar bear subconsciously. The weather has been really hot these few days. Being outdoor proves to be a sweaty affair and being indoor feels like being trapped in an oven. At the same time, the lack of air circulation is definitely not helping the situation at all. Let's not remind me of the absence of fan and air-conditioning system.

I have been locking myself in room for the past few days, mainly to revise for the upcoming examination and also hopefully to speed up my recovery process. The teary eyes and runny nose are definitely frustrating. On the contrary, the locals are definitely enjoying every second of the weather as they can be found sunbathing (clad in only bikinis) and partying outside. Despite not liking the hot weather, I wish the examination will be over as soon as possible as I would like to get a taste of chilling at the park (to assimilate myself into the culture and to train myself to welcome the sun with open arms). Till then, back to books and more books. 

Summertime?

I was attempting to update the weather forecast application on my phone when I was greeted this. Sunny days for today and the upcoming 4 days?

Holy cow!

It has been a long time since I saw a forecast like this. I seriously have no idea when was the last time the temperature actually exceeded 20 degrees Celsius (probably never since I stepped into this piece of foreign land). I'm quite a fan of cold weather, but the last few weeks had proved to be quite rainy as well. The change in the current weather for this week is definitely a refreshing one. Summer should be arriving pretty soon.

The view from my room

Currently, there's a barbeque party going on downstairs, with loud mainstream music blasting through the speakers. Meanwhile, the situation in my room is pretty sad, with books and notes piling up all over my table. I'm seriously envious of those undergraduates who are done with their exam and currently enjoying their summer break. On the other hand, I'm having a mixed feeling though. I want to have my summer break too but I don't want exam to come just yet. I have so much more to cover and possibly, with the limited amount of time left, I'm going to push myself harder as days passed. I just need to end this with a positive outcome! It's mandatory. 

Exam Fever

In less than 1 month's time, I'll be facing the final challenge for my current journey - the mighty final examination. Sitting for 3 papers simultaneously in one term for a professional qualification proves to be a difficult affair to juggle with. Hence, I have been reminding myself constantly for the past few weeks to begin flipping my thick textbooks to avoid myself from stepping into a point of no return. I desperately need to put a dot to my current journey, before beginning a new journey in autumn. 

View from Level 2 - Bright blue sky at 8.30 p.m.

Library is probably where I can be found recently. My progress was horrible initially but I'm glad that it is  beginning to take a positive twist this week. I have to admit that it is still a tad too slow but I can see some works done. The weather has been really drastic as well recently, but the good thing is the sun sets really late at night and this has indirectly helped to motivate me further. It creates the illusion that I have more time to spend each day and avoid myself from feeling gloomy (due to the depressing atmosphere at night).

Since the library is sort of my 2nd home now, naturally, I have to bring some food or drinks to rejuvenate my lazy self. A good cup of hot Milo is definitely the best choice for tea time due to restrictions of food/drinks that we are allowed to sneak into the library. At the same time, I have been cooking my lunch diligently these few days. To increase the economies of scale (sorry for being a little to technical), I have resorted to reserve another portion of my lunch to be consumed as dinner in the library.

Starbucks outside, Milo inside

Homemade Dinner Box

Honestly, I am sort of freaking out at this point of time, considering the mass amount of things that I have to do by the end of this month. I have to get things done right the first time and there is definitely no room for mistakes/errors. I just need to seize every single moment and pour in 101% of effort everything I do. I definitely would like to have a good memory of this place, when I'm walking down the memory lane 10 years later.

Crossroads

After weeks of anticipation, I've finally got all the decisions from the respective institutions. Little did I know that I will end up reaching a crossroad again. Two roads diverged in the yellow wood and yours truly have no idea which to choose. Both paths are so different, which undoubtedly will have impact on my future career progression. At this point of time, making the wrong decisions seems to come with a hefty price tag. 

Advices have poured in, with each asking me to choose the one which is of my interest. However, I am unable to decide the one that I favour the most as both seem to be equally attractive. Deciding in terms of rankings seem to be a shallow thing to do at this point of time. I do not want to make this decision myself. I am too fickle minded and unprepared mentally. I think I am suffering from decidophobia. Things happen for a reason but which is the decision that is supposed to be happening?

Temptations

As the exam week gets closer, my appetite for snacks expands drastically as well. I have always had this big appetite for snacks and junk food whenever I am required to face the bunch of books and notes. I just unable to stop stuffing myself with food and withdrawing myself from these temptations.

Ben & Jerry's Dough-ble Whammy & Haagen-Daz's Cookies & Cream

I'm proud to say that my inventory is pretty well organised now - with potato crisps, ice creams, cereals and waffles readily available whenever the cravings emerge. My latest addition has got to be Ben & Jerry's Dough-ble Whammy. It's definitely a love at first "taste" as the rich chocolatey texture is simply appealing. The ice cream blends extremely well with the chocolate fudge - neutralising the sweet taste, creating an indescribable texture. Apparently, the half price promotion strategy by Tesco proves to be a successful strategy, as it has managed to attract (and possibly to retain) a new customer who is yearning for more Ben & Jerry's! Talk about marketing.

Time to fill up the entire fridge with more ice creams in preparation for the big day!

Peek-a-boo!

It has been ages since the last time I scribbled something on my dusty blog. As usual, there are so many things for me to write about yet, the lack of inspiration can be such a nuisance at times. With less than 6 weeks to the ultimate final examination, stress level will be piling up in no time at all. How I wish a time travel machine is readily available in my drawer, at least I am able to go travel back to the beginning of 2012. 

The Europe trip last month was a major success. Despite having such a short period to plan, I am extremely glad that the schedule went well and I have definitely learned so much from it! In addition to that, I've also met some of the nicest people ever. I seriously hope I'll be able to churn out some time to blog about this - hopefully, the tonnes of pictures I've captured will ever see the daylight. This will be a long weekend for me due to the Bank Holiday on Monday. Seriously, this is like the first Bank Holiday ever that does not fall on a weekend/non-lecture day since I landed on this piece of foreign land. I couldn't have been more excited. At least, I'll have more days to catch up on my syllabus.

On the other hand, the application process has been going smoothly as well. IELTS is awesome (extremely grateful for the whole experience) and the interview session went well (fingers and toes crossed). Now, I'm hoping for a favourable reply from the university and another thing will be completed from my to-do list. Sounds easy, but it ain't that simple, trust me. It's torturing me mentally and emotionally with anticipation, every single day. Imagine checking my email every half an hour, from 9 a.m. to 5.30 p.m. on working weekdays! 

Meanwhile, I think I should be camping in the library more often now - since it's the only place where my motivation shows up. At the same time, I hope I will be able to survive in the sea of notes and textbooks! Till then, toodles!