Sakura Festival

Happy Sunday, people! How was your day? I spent my day at the Ojima Komatsugawa Park attending my first ever Cherry Blossom (Sakura) Festival! So according to this forecast, the best viewing time for Sakuras in Tokyo is from March 30th - April 7th. My sister and I went to the park last Friday and we saw the posters about the festival which will be held on the 3rd of April (today) and decided to give it a go. The Ojima Komatsugawa Park is a huge park which is around 5-minutes walk from where I stay. The festival started from 10am till 3pm; we planned to go around 11am Japan time but I woke up late. There's just something about sleeping in 15 degrees Celsius weather that makes you never want to get up every morning, or it might just be the fact that I sleep at almost 4am every morning, +/- an hour. I put alarms to wake me up every morning but I tend to just wake up and off them.

Anyway, we left the house at 1pm and went to nearby combinis (convenience stores) to get some snacks and drinks for the "party". I also had to get some plasters for that nasty cut I got from breaking in my new shoes. *cries in pain* When we arrived at the park, we were welcomed by the smell of delicious barbecued meat coming from the barbecue pit nearby. The park was divided into two areas, connected by a big bridge with a river flowing underneath it. Both areas were filled with people sitting on their mats, walking their dogs, playing with their kids, etc.

We made our way across the bridge and to the busier side of the park. There were food trucks and stalls selling food and Japanese beer, a small petting zoo, a stage for performances, even a mini ranch for horseback riding! We found a spot in the field and sat on the grass with our plastic bags as memories of GBS came flashing by (fellow GBS people would understand this). We talked while enjoying our snacks and the peaceful serenity the park gave; as sounds of laughter filled the air. It was forecasted to rain today, but thank God it didn't; the weather was perfect, not too cold and not too windy. The scenery was breathtaking! All the trees bloomed with different shades of pink and white Cherry Blossoms, they were so so beautiful! I thoroughly enjoyed all the dogs in the park and OMG THERE WERE SO MANY DOGGIES!!! I LOVEEEE DOGS LIKE I CAN'T EVEN. If you didn't already know, I am a crazy dog fan. I wanted to hug and pet every single dog I saw today, they were all so adorable! I only got to pet two dogs today though :( I think some of the owners were frightened by my pervy looks on their dogs or even my stalker-ness? Idk man, I ain't no bad person, I just love your pups so much *cries*. I miss my puppies back in Malaysia, can't wait to get back to them. Oh btw, I got to pet a Shiba Inu today, or also known as the Hachiko dog! Its fur was so soft and fluffy and he was so adorable omg.

Look at that doggie! Wasn't the one I pet though

Okay, let's leave the dog topic aside coz I can talk about it all day long. We took a stroll around the park and joined the crowd infront of the food stalls and trucks lined along the street. Some of the stuff sold included fries, tacos, popcorn, cotton candy, Mochi, fried chicken wings and so on. There were also a firetruck and an ambulance parked at the side, for kids to experience and take photos. Three adorable horses was in the ranch with kids on their backs, two of them had braided tails. So adorbs! One decided to take a shit halfway though, and dayumm that was some big shit.

Inside the petting zoo were a parrot, some rabbits, guinea pigs, a chimp, a ferret and two sheep! I touched the wool on the sheep's back and it was sooo soft. Poor older sheep was getting terrorised by the kids pushing the cage against him and sticking straw into his wool. I fear Japanese kids man. The performances on stage include Japanese drums, singing, lots of Hawaiian dances and some sort of tribe dance. The kids were so amazing and the coordination was on point! I enjoyed the Hawaiian and tribe dances the most.

We walked around some more and took some photos / Polaroids / Snapchats then I decided to quit school and become a Mochi maker. :p The Mochi store was letting people tryout how to make Mochis by letting them beat the sticky rice dough with the big hammer-like wooden stick. It isn't as easy as it seams because the hammer was already very heavy and you would need a lot of strength to beat the dough; this was when they already switched the hammer to a smaller one for girls. Here's a video of me struggling. The crowd was so nice though!! :) They were shouting words of motivation for me haha.

Sorry there aren't many photos guys. :( My Polaroid ran out, my iPhone camera is currently at war with me and I didn't bring my DSLR! Sigh. If you would like to see more of my everyday adventures here, follow me up on Snapchat @missmaverrr 

This was taken last Friday when I first visited the park

During the Sakura Festival

The street outside the park filled with Sakuras!

Eating @ Makuhari (Part 1)

Last year, Malaysia opened it's first Mitsui Outlet Park at KLIA. It is bigger than JPO and said to be the largest factory outlet shopping mall in Southeast Asia. Not bad huh, Malaysia? I've been there a couple of times and every time I would return empty handed but with a longing for something while my boyfriend returns with stuff from Club 21. Yeah, if you think I love to shop you haven't met Ryan yet. :p

Mitsui Outlet Park KLIA is a Japanese Premium Outlet and originated from the one in Chiba, Japan; which is called Mitsui Outlet Park Makuhari. It is a little far from the city and is a large full-scale outlet mall; it's sooo big it puts the outlet malls in Malaysia to shame. I've been here two times; during my previous trip in December and last week when my mom and other sister were here.


How To Get There
Mitsui Outlet Park Makuhari is located just opposite of the Kaihin-Makuhari railway station. Once you get out form the South Exit of the station, it is a one-minute walking distance.

Firstly, you take the subway from your respective accommodations to Tokyo Station, where you'll then take the JR Keiyo Line to Kaihin-Makuhari Station. The journey will take about 30 minutes and costs 550 yen (RM19)/one-way. There are other routes to get there but this would be the most generic one.


The outlet store feature many branded goods such as Kate Spade, Michael Kors, Coach, Adidas and etc. Sometimes the deals would be great and sometimes, well, it's just same as the price you would get elsewhere I suppose. It consists of two buildings connected by a bridge; with restaurants included as well.

We had dinner there on both our trips as it is quite far away from my place and usually after a whole day of shopping, it would be preferable to just take a seat and grab a bite to eat somewhere near before travelling back home. So, I'm going to talk about the food I've eaten there! :)


Ikinari Steak
I used to dislike beef coz I've heard people say that red meat gives our body toxins and stuff so I tried to stay away from it. It was also due to the fact that I didn't know the degree of doneness that would suit my taste. After I started dating my dear chef, he recommended that my steak doneness be medium. I've loved steaks ever since! I usually don't like raw or bloody food and also for it to be too hard, so medium was just perfect.

Anyway, my dad brought us there coz he has been there multiple times already and said it's delicious. I've read reviews online as well that said they serve one of the best steaks ever, so why not give it a try. The concept of this restaurant was rather different as the guests had to stand while eating and there were no chairs in sight. Being used to sitting down and relaxing while having a meal, it was a rather unpleasant yet eye-opening experience I would say.

Once we entered the restaurant, the waiter showed us to our table and gave us all a paper bib to tie around our necks to prevent the steak juices from spattering all over our clothes. Then, we proceeded to order our meat cuts, weight and doneness; as well as any side dishes and drinks. Cold water was provided for free.

After that, we were handed a order receipt and had to pass it to the counter. The restaurant adopted the open kitchen concept, with only a glass window in between the customer and the chefs. We could watch and examine our meats sliced in front of our eyes and also cooked.

When the steaks arrived, we were all starving and couldn't wait to sink our teeth into those delicious-looking meat. It was served on a hot plate and it sizzled for awhile and if you decided to add some sauce, it will most likely get onto your clothes; hence the bib.

The steak was magnifique, excellent, any good words you can think of. The knife sunk into the tender flesh like butter, it was succulent and juicy, and just melted in my mouth! The cut had the perfect amount of fats to meat ratio. It was served with garlic chips, corn and onions.

Ikinari Steak did not disappoint and did live up to the hype. Although I didn't quite enjoy the standing up while eating coz I felt like I had to finish it as fast as I can. Don't ask me why, I still have no idea; but there are other branches that provide seats.

If you ever come to Japan, this is a must try! :) I'm getting hungry just writing about this ugh. *drools* I think this post is already long enough so I've separated it to two parts. The next one will be about a Japanese food restaurant.

Just look at that beauty!

To my dearest who is busy working right now, 
yet still finds the time to read my blog, 
thank you for all your support and love. 
Just wanted to let you know that I'm thinking of you 
and how much I miss you. 

Happy 27 Months!

I love you
♥

Pre-flight Shenanigans

Hello people! I knowww, I've really gotta stop starting every post with "Sorry I haven't been posting for awhile", gotta get that laziness in check and actually start writing some stuff! Until today, I sort of forgotten that I had a blog? Lol yesss what's wrong with you Mav! Anyway, I'm blogging all the way from JAPAN! Tokyo to be more specific. :D

You may wonder why am I in Japan, or why am I here again so soon when I've only just been here in the middle of December 2015. Well, as I would say; if the weather in Malaysia is too hot, fly to Japan! But seriously guys, being in Malaysia right now is like being in a hot oven, roasting me to crispy perfection. I would choose the 10+ degrees of Japan over and over again with no regrets. 

As you may know, it's currently the start of Spring here and I think that everybody knows what this means in Japan — SAKURAS aka Cherry Blossoms! It has always been a dream of mine to experience this season as I've heard it's beautiful. Since I'm taking my gap months, I've decided why not come to Japan? Aaaand here I am! 

It's has been exactly one month since my touchdown at Haneda International Airport. I remember waiting at the crowded immigration for my turn, while trying to connect to the airport wifi to no avail. If there's two things I don't like about Japan the most, it would be the difficulty to find wifi outside of your place of stay and also to find a Japanese that can actually speak understandable English. These two reasons prove to be quite a challenge but luckily my sister speaks Japanese so yeah she's the translator. 

I will write about my adventures in Tokyo post by post, so follow my blog if you're interested! :) 

5th May - Saturday

My flight was in the afternoon so I spent the morning packing my things. My mom and I went up to KL the night before so it was only an hour by car to the airport. So when I finished packing + chilling + Skyping with my boyfriend, I bid Ryan goodbye and good luck with his work trial and went on my way. The parking in KLIA2 was full and we had to take a few turns before we finally found one on the roof, under the sun. By the time I got out of the car, a pang of nausea hit me; I felt dizzy but I figured it's just the car ride. If you knew me, you would know that I get dizzy with basically any means of transportation. So that was normal. 

The nausea stayed even until I entered the cold air-conditioned building. Once we reached the departure hall, there were sooooo many people omg! It wasn't a holiday so I thought it would be rather empty but boy was I wrong. I was flying alone for the first time that day, so the fear of that + "people mountain people sea" (I don't like crowded places) + the car ride; caused me to feel lightheaded and I almost fainted. I was like shivering, having cold sweats and couldn't feel my legs while lining up to check-in my baggage. My vision was fading as I remembered I had strong mints in my handbag so I quickly took it out and popped two into my mouth and it got better, so I kept popping mints until the nausea was controlled. 

[Tips: Mentos Air Action is my holy grail mint! I've tried almost every mint before, it's like my hobby. It's the strongest one for now, it helps with basically anything. *Disclaimer, it might be too strong for some people; my friend Justin said I deliberately tried to kill him by giving him that mint haha.] 

After that, my mom brought me to The Loaf to get some bread then to Starbucks for hot chocolate to calm my nerves and pump sugar into my blood. Then it was time to board! A young man was sitting on my left side while an older woman on my right. She was a punk ass chick at heart, with leather jackets, acid washed jeans, sparkly bag and the fact that I saw her purple lacey thong ride up when she put her bags on the overhead compartment. Haha I will never forget that. I wasn't like stalking or anything okay guysss I'm just really observant. :3 

The flight was BORING. I'm not the kind of person that sleeps alot (ahem Ryan) :p and there were no games on my phone, sooooo I spent my time staring at the ceiling of the plane and eating my Froot Loops hehe. After those excruciatingly boring 7 hours, the plane finally landed! You have no idea how happy I was to get out of there. Went through immigration, got my baggage; my dad was waiting for me downstairs and my sister was waiting for me at home. It was already close to 12am when I reached home so that's it for today! 

Thank you cute Starbucks guy for the smiley face! :) 

You definitely made my day slightly better

THE DOOR

Hi guys! I know I haven't posted something in awhile, but to be fair, I am in Year 12 *sighs*. While studying for my trials which start on Monday, I reminisced about the time when I used to write so easily, when the ideas just pop up in my mind and how I would let my imagination take me wherever it wanted me to go. Sadly, I haven't been reading nor have I been writing for the past two years. I am deeply saddened by this fact and I promise to myself that I will start doing all that again after my HSCs. For now, I would just like to post this short story I wrote when I was 17. :) It was one of my proudest works of that year as I challenged myself and took a different style of writing than what I was usually used to. Feel free to drop me any comments on my writing or ways I can improve myself. It is an original piece by myself and copying/stealing is prohibited. Hope you enjoy! 

THE DOOR

        I looked around me. It was pitch black. “Hello? Is anybody there?” There was no reply. What am I doing here? Fear swept over me. Suddenly the sound of a light switching on was heard. I turned around and saw a light shining dimly above a door in the other end of the room. I slowly walked towards it. The door was brown and old. Cracks could be seen and it had a lock on it. I reached out and held the lock in my hand, the coldness of the rusted metal could be felt by my shivering fingers. Suddenly I felt something in my left hand. I opened it and saw an old key with the ancient patterns like in the olden days. Since when did it get there? I put the key in the keyhole and it was a perfect fit. Thoughts were swirling in my head. Should I or should I not open the door? A sudden fear gripped me. It seemed like a bad idea to open it, but I was curious. They said curiosity killed the cat. But then, who could resist the sweetness of temptation? It took the better of me and I gave in. I gently turned the key towards the right, and it clicked.

*****

        The door creaked open, but nothing could be seen for it was still filled with darkness. I braved myself and took a step forward. Suddenly, I felt the loss of gravity and realised I was falling. “Argghhhhhhh!” I landed on the floor with a loud thud. Ouch! That hurt. I stood up and massaged my bottom when I heard some noises. I looked up and found myself in a street. I walked around. The buildings seemed kind of old and with a vintage taste to it, like in the 1980’s. I turned into a corner and stopped right in front of a coffee shop named ‘Ben’s Breakfast Parlor”. I looked through the clear glass window and saw people drinking tea and chit-chatting inside. My stomach grumbled so I decided to grab something to fill it. I took a seat at a tiny table in the corner and ordered a blueberry cheese pie along with a cup of freshly brewed Twining’s English Breakfast Tea. When it arrived, I gobbled it down, regardless of the looks I’m getting. I didn’t know I was so hungry. Mmmm. This pie tastes delicious. I briefly made a mental reminder to come back for some more pie in the near future.

        Suddenly a loud noise of something broken was heard. I was startled and almost jumped out of my seat. Around the counter area, a waitress could be seen apologizing profusely to a man for accidentally pouring a pot of piping hot coffee on him. She took some napkins and started dabbing on the tall man’s shirt. From the looks of it, he was probably in his early 20’s. He wore a smart suit; he was tall and slim and looked extremely handsome. I heard the girl muttering something about offering to pay for the dry cleaning. A smile formed on the man’s face, exposing his perfect rows of sparkling white teeth. He was not even a tad bit angry. He put both his hands on the waitress’s shoulders and told her that it was really okay and she need not worry about a thing. Her cheeks turned scarlet and whispered thank you. The waitress was a beautiful young woman; with auburn long hair, big blue eyes, gentle red lips and the fairest skin I have ever seen. I could see the look on the man’s face when he looked into her eyes and told her that it was fine. “That’s something right there.” I smiled at the thought as I finished my last bite of pie. I paid and walked out of the diner, and I lost my balance once again.

*****

        Splashhhhhh! I accidentally swallowed a mouthful of seawater. It tasted extremely salty. That was when I realized I have landed in the middle of the ocean. I saw a shore nearby and began swimming as fast as I could to it. I thank God the ocean was calm and they were no storms. I was out of breath and panting wildly when I reached ashore. Every part of my body was aching and I was so exhausted, so exhausted. I dragged myself a little upwards then dropped onto the soft white sand and soon I was fast asleep.

*****

        I was jolted awake by the sound of laughter. It sounded lovely. I have not heard that kind of laughter in a long time, it was like I could almost hear the love and joy in that sweet sound. I tried to search where that sound was coming from but it was a challenge since it was already night time and the beach was covered in sheer darkness, except for the faint lights that came from the stars above. Far to my right, I vaguely saw the shadows of a guy and a girl. She was running and laughing. The laugh belonged to her. Oh how I loved her laughter. He was chasing after her, laughing too. Soon he caught up and pulled her into his arms for a full and warm embrace. Something warm stirred up inside me and my heart just melted. They seemed so carefree, so young and so happy, worriless about everything else in the world. They were in their seventh heaven. There was a picnic cloth laid open on the sandy ground, they walked towards it, hand in hand then lay down; her head resting on his chest and his arm around her. The guy kissed her hair and pointed towards the sky. I, too, lifted my head up and saw that the sky was blanketed with a gazillion tiny stars, shining brightly down on earth. The picturesque view was breathtaking, almost like a piece of fine art drawn by a skillful artist. I lay down with my arms behind my head and enjoyed the view as well. Ahhhh, love is in the air. I love seeing couples together like this. I wasn’t able to hide the grin on my face. I closed my eyes and let out a soft sigh of contentment. In the next moment, I felt like I was falling again.

*****

        I landed with a loud thud this time. A grassy green field was my landing. Westlife’s “Beautiful in White” was playing on the stereo. It was my favourite song. I hummed along with the lyrics of the song “So as long as I live I’ll love you, will have and hold you, you look so beautiful in white…” as I slowly drank in my surroundings. The sun was shining but the weather wasn’t hot. The flowers were blooming magnificently for it was spring time. The wind was blowing humbly and the atmosphere was just perfect. “The wedding ceremony is about to commence so if everybody could please kindly grab a seat…”, the emcee’s voice blared loudly through the microphone. Hmm, so I’m in a wedding. I followed the crowd as we found our seats and sat down.

        It was a garden wedding in mid spring. The aisle was surrounded by bouquets of white and pink roses while the petals of red roses were scattered on the white carpet, the breathtaking sunset scenery that filled the sky with a mixture of different shades of orange and purple colours. God’s creations are great. A young lady started playing Canon in D Major with a harp at the side, everyone turned to the back to look at the bride. It was the same girl I saw at the breakfast parlor and at the beach, but she looked a little older here. No words can even start to describe how absolutely stunning she looks in that wedding dress. It was a long white, off-shoulder dress, designed with lace, beads and sequins that flattered her petite body shape. She looked like an angel, fallen from heaven above. She was holding a bouquet of beautiful red roses. Her roses and her dark red lipstick stood out because it was a contrast to everything else. I will never be able to get that image of her out of my mind. Her hand was linked in her dad’s as he walked her down the aisle, showing the proudness every dad would be of his precious little girl.

        At the other end of the aisle was the same man I saw her with. He was wearing a black tuxedo that also shows off his fit and muscular body shape. His copper hair was combed back neatly and his cute little bow tie hanged around his neck. He looked so handsome. They were like two peas in a pod, perfect for each other. Their eyes met and I could sense the electricity between them. It was like the whole world didn’t matter anymore except for the both of them. She has him and he has her, that’s all that really matters. They reached the end of the aisle; her dad kissed her on the cheek and handed her over to his son-in-law. They smiled sweetly at each other as they turned towards the minister. “My friends, we are gathered here today to celebrate one of life's greatest moments, to give recognition to the worth and beauty of committed marital love, and to add our best wishes to the words which shall unite James Kavanagh and Claire Love in marriage.” “I believe you have prepared your vows?” They both nodded and turned to face each other.

“I, James Kavanagh, solemnly vow that I will safeguard and hold dear and deep in my heart our union and you, Claire Love. I promise to love you faithfully, forsaking all others, through the good times and the bad, in sickness and in health, regardless of where life takes us. I will protect you, trust you, and respect you. I will share in your joys and sorrows and comfort you in times of need. I promise to cherish you and uphold your hopes and dreams and keep you safe at my side. All that is mine is now yours. I give you my hand, my heart, and my love from this moment on for as long as we both shall live.”

“I, Claire Love, give you, James Kavanagh, my solemn vow to be your faithful partner in sickness and in health, to stand by your side in good times and in bad, to share your joy as well as your sorrow. I promise to love you unconditionally, to support you in your goals and dreams, to honor and respect you, to laugh with you and cry with you, to share my hopes and dreams with you, and bring you solace in times of need, and to cherish you for as long as we both shall live. My world begins and ends with you. You are my love and my life.”

        They slipped on the platinum wedding bands unto their partner’s finger and kissed. “I now pronounce you husband and wife!” My eyes were brimming with tears. James and Claire looked so happy together, they stared into each other’s eyes with such love and bliss, and it was like they couldn’t see anyone else except for each other. It was like a fairytale come true. I closed my eyes to blink away the tears but I found myself transported into another time and place.

*****

        “Who the hell is she and why is she on our bed?!”, Claire shouted through her lungs. “You,” she pointed towards the naked woman in the sheets of her bed, “Get the hell out of my house!” The woman grabbed her clothes in a hurry and bolted out the door. “Do you not remember your wedding vows to me?” Claire was crying now. “Have you forgotten what you said to me?” “Oh stop with that drama and the crying already! That was the past. I don’t love you anymore, okay? I got bored of you after a while. You’re just not good enough for me. You’re so annoying; I wish you would just leave me alone, for God’s sake!” he got out of bed and took his car keys and wallet. “Oh, and the divorce papers are on the table, sign it and leave. I’ve had enough of you.” With that, he stormed out of the house.

        Oh no. I whispered to myself. Why is this happening? They were so in love. What happened? Claire dropped to her knees and sobbed her eyes and heart out. I felt so sad and sorry for her. I wanted to reach out and hold her but I couldn’t. She could neither see nor feel me. Oh I’m so sorry, Claire. I felt helpless. James is such an ass! I was overwhelmed with a sudden anger.

        I ran downstairs and caught up to him and followed him. I got into his car with him as he drove. I was full with fury. I wanted to kill him; I wanted to hurt him so badly just to let him know how he made Claire feel. I wanted to stab his heart again and again until nothing’s left but holes everywhere. I wanted him to die. My body was trembling with anger, but I couldn’t do anything. I couldn’t do anything… 

        “HONKKKKKK!” Suddenly I was thrown forward from my seat. James’s car had collided with a big truck. I could hear the screams of the people at the side of the street. “Call 911! Call 911!” I stood beside him. I heard the sirens of the ambulance. I saw him lying unconsciously on the floor. I saw the paramedics try to save him. I saw his him lose a large amount of blood. I heard his heartbeat weakening. I rode in the ambulance with him as they brought him to the hospital to be saved.

        After hours and hours in the emergency room and many doctors, James’s condition was finally stabilized. He was moved to another room where he lay alone, quietly. He was in the state of a coma. The soft beeping sound of the heart monitor was the only noise that came from the room and remained the only noise for a few weeks after that. Nobody came to visit him. He had no friends and family and pushed away the only person he had that loved him - his wife. I sit beside his bed every day. I hear the faint “Beep, beep” sound that came from the machine. I see the nurse coming in and out every few hours or so to check on him and to change his IV packs. 

        I looked at him with disgust and anger; still not subsiding even though it has been weeks since the divorce. “You idiot! You let her go! You damn fool! You had such a beautiful woman who loved you more than anyone ever could and would sacrifice everything for you but you let her go. You let her go! Now you’re all alone. You have no one to blame but yourself. You know what? You deserve this. You deserve this accident. You deserve to die. You hurt the only woman who could ever love you. You shattered her heart into a million pieces. I didn’t like seeing her cry. I loved her laugh and her gorgeous smile. I loved it when she was happy. I hope she moves on and finds someone that could provide her with the true love she deserves. Oh poor Claire. You took her for granted. You took her love for granted. I hate you! I hate you!” I buried my head between my hands and cried.

*****

        “It’s time to go.” The angel of death stood beside me. He was all dressed in black; his face was hidden under the hood of his cloak. In his hand he held a sharp scythe. He held his cold, bony hand out to me. I took it willingly, and together, we walked into the black abyss.

*****

        They say that before you die, your entire life will enfold before your eyes. You will be taken on a journey to relive your memories one last time. I pray and I hope you will do well in your life, be the best person you can be, so that when you flashback, you get to see all the good things you’ve done and you can leave the world with no regrets.

*****

        “Lub-dub. Lub-dub.” And his heart beat stopped entirely. The machine stopped beeping and a perfect straight line was formed on it.

*****

I was that man.

© MAVERLYN TAN

I feel like I'm losing myself, trying to become someone else.

Sayonara, Year 11!

Heeeeeyyyyy guys! I know I've been MIA for like around half a year already? (Omg THAT long huh) Always wanted to blog but then the laziness kicked in. I promise to TRY to blog more nowadays! One of my goals before 2014 ends: To be an active blogger.

Anyways, life has been uhhh, a series of ups and downs I guess. I'll try to update you guys about what has happened in my life as much as I can. I'll only mention some general things, if I feel that it requires to be more detailed, I'll just blog about it in another post later on when I'm free or feeling like it. :P

Firstly, I had a simple yet meaningful 18th birthday this year. YES, I'M FINALLY LEGAL (Or in this case, have been for the past 6 months, paiseh hahah). Secondly, I attended the World Scholars Cup regional round in Tunku Kurshiah College and the global round in Singapore with the AISM Scholaroos Team! Soooooo many people from all over the world came. I got my lovely pink alpaca, Baby and I love him to the end of fluffy world. ♥ Also received the smaller sized alpacas but hehe I still love Baby more. :) He sleeps with me every night. Perfect bolster and companion. Oh and have I mentioned the Scholars Ball was held in Zouk, Singapore?! Yeah, 'twas a wild night in deed. My team (Tze Yin, Seo and I) was among the Top 100 teams that qualified for the Tournament of the Champions that will be held in Yale University, USA this November! Okaaay, WSC deserves its own blog post. Stay tuned. ;) I've also got accepted to be on the MUNITY Press Team as a reporter for the THIMUN (The Hague International Model United Nations) Conference in Singapore this November! :D What's with never-ending Singapore huh? 

Moving on, right after that I visited the boyfriend in JB and stayed there for around a week. We went Universal Studios (yay) along with Justin and Adeline. My 3rd time there and 2nd time that week itself! I can practically memorise the map by now. Ryan and I got matching Shrek - Princess Fiona headbands and walked around the whole day with it. Hehehe. So cuteeeee right? :) We went Puteri Harbour as well and he cooked one of the nights. Mmmmhmm I can still remember the mouth-watering dish. *drools* Chef boyfriend for the win. Haha. Baby got the job he wanted in Singapore yaaaayy! Sad ending for the trip though because that meant it was the start of our long distance relationship. :( #ryerlynldr

A week after that baby surprised me by coming to Malacca and appeared in church on a Sunday. During his trip, there were hang outs, getting lost :P *ahem*, driving, visiting the beach, steamboat supper with Roderick and gang :), and etc. Another sad goodbye because that meant the LDR is officially starting. Actually hor, we've always been in a long distance relationship weyh haha. With him being in Johor and me in Malacca. Only this year we were both in KL for around 5 months. Now he's in Singapore which makes him further away than he was already. I miss him every single day. :( Our relationship is as stronger as ever. I love him to bits and pieces. ♥

As for the Southern District Committee, I've been to 3 of the 4 official visitations we've done so far! Missed out on JB Wesley due to my finals. :/ It's a pleasure working with the great committee and such lovely youths from the Southern District. I've learnt a lot throughout this process and I've grown closer to God as well. We've been told that we've been doing great so far and being the only active district council for now. Awwwwww. Hahaha. Stress ok! No joke. All glory goes to God for always guiding and leading us throughout the way.

By the way, have I told you guys that I won an iPad? :P Dayumm was that a pleasant surprise and a good start to the month of August! Got called up to stage during assembly to receive my prize. I totally didn't expect it to happen. It was an essay competition held by Monash University and we had to write about the 4D Dimensional Immersive Technology and how it would impact on the current education methods. I was the school champion. :D Praise The Lord! I am still shocked to this day. The champions from the schools involved in the competition each won iPads but the best essay from Malaysia gets to win a MacBook Air. I wonder who won that though? Hmm.

School and assignments were hectic. All the deadlines were together and let's just say I didn't have time to study for my finals because I was trying real hard to finish all my assignments. Me no likey assignments. :( On a positive note, Line keeps giving me free McD Sundae Cones. :D I've gotten like two already so far, a Chatime free drink and a McD RM10 voucher! Thank you, Line! Imma' happy girl.

Okay, now for exams. This was the final exam for Year 11. It was around 1 week long, but the subjects were divided among two weeks. As I said, I didn't have time to study for anything at all beforehand due to assignments. I just studied as much as I could in that short amount of time the day before every paper. I regret profusely for not starting earlier as always, I'm the major procrastinator man. Here are the subjects and how they were:

1st Day: Mathematics and Music 1 

I died in both. But managed to finish them. That's a good thing right? *trying hard to be positive*

2nd Day: English ESL 1

Didn't have enough time because of a mistake made by the supervising teacher for writing the wrong amount of time on the board. Sighs. Which reminds me, I still need to pass up my overdue assignment. :X

3rd Day: Economics and English ESL 2

Both also not enough time to finish. I always not enough time to finish writing papers wan lah. I can't stop talking that's why. The next day was a holiday! Happy Malaysia Day to all my fellow Malaysians out there. 

4th Day: Business

Really not enough time lor I wanna cry. Only had one paper yesterday so I went to practice my performance piece in the music room for today. Practiced for three hours straight man the same song again and agaaaaain. 

5th and FINAL Day (Today): Legal Studies and Music 2

I'm certain my legal marks would be very bad due to some conditions I had today. I had the stupid monthly lady cramps today, since morning it was already painful. It got better, but once the exam started, the pain was excruciatingly and unbearably painful. *cries* Legal is a super long writing test and I already don't have time for other papers right. It was only given 2 hours some more. I was so in pain that I literally couldn't do anything. I was holding my stomach and trying not to cry sitting in the super cold air conditioned auditorium. I wasted half an hour just holding my stomach, unable to write a single thing. I even contemplated on running downstairs to the school nurse right away to get the pink Panadol but I didn't think I would be allowed to do that in the middle of an exam. So once I felt a little better, I wrote as fast as I could but still couldn't finish everything. That sucked so much man. :( You have no idea. I spend all the time I had yesterday for Legal that I didn't do my Music 2 presentation and analysis. But Legal was still so bad. 

Anyway, I had two hours after the exam to do my music and I did it. Whew. My turn was after Joao. He played the electric guitar along with the backing track for Eye of the Tiger from the movie Rocky. His skills were whoaaaa. :O I decided to perform first before doing my Viva Voce. We were supposed to pick a film and analyse the musical themes. I picked the Batman franchise, which includes The Dark Knight Trilogy, Batman, Batman TV Series, Batman Video Games, etc. Anything that has to do with Batman! We had to compose a full song for the movie in Sibelius and we sent that in before exams. 

So, I chose to perform this super sad and emo song from Batman Begins on the piano, called Corynorhinus, or also known as Why Do We Fall. The song was when Bruce failed to saved Gotham City but Alfred never gave up on him. I find this song kinda inspiring, I dunno, it just speaks to me if that even makes sense. Slow, sad, full of emotions and a little depressed songs have always been my kind of thing. Hahah. I started learning and mastered it in 2 days man. Art of procrastination: you get to learn how to do things fast. Here is the original song. I changed a little bit of mine though.

Finished my exam and went MERDEKAAAA! Year 11 is finally over. :) That was kinda fast, although I used to complain it being too slow haha. I'm going to be a Year 12 student after two weeks. Oh yeah, received a paper yesterday telling me I won an award and the prize giving ceremony is tomorrow. Aaaand I've already made plans to sleep/ponteng/go back Malacca man coz I honestly didn't thought I would be getting an award. Don't know what's it for though. AISM, Y U create suspense? Y U NO just tell us? I'll probably just skip school and go during lunchtime ahahaha. Daddy is coming back from Japan tomorrow and mommy and sister coming up to attend the ceremony. Let's hope it's something good aye. :X

I CAN'T WAIT FOR THE TWO WEEKS LONG (SHORT) HOLIDAYS AFTER TOMORROW! Finallyyyyyy man. That took long enough. I desperately need a break. Still have lots of sleep and TV series and reading to catch up on! Okay, I guess that's it for now. Six months long of events cramped in a single blogpost. Till next time! 

"I wanted to save Gotham. I failed."

"Why do we fall sir? So that we can learn to pick ourselves up."

"You still haven't given up on me?"

"Never."

Touring Malacca with Ryan

Hello to my lovely readers! How's your week going so far? I've been spending my two weeks of holidays doing nothing but watching the famous TV series House M.D. (and NOT doing my homework). The series is so interesting that I've learnt some medical terms and actually feel like being a doctor. Hmmm. Other than that, I've been eating non stop and gaining weight that is, *cries* and sleeping. I can't seem to get up in the morning. I'm so gonna miss sleep when this is over. Which reminds me, MY HOLIDAYS ARE ENDING SOON! NOOOOO! I don't wanna go to schooooool. *sobs loudly* I've gotten so used to the holidays relaxing life that I've forgotten how to be a student again. 

Anyways, to update you guys on what interesting thing happened recently, you guys have probably read from my previous post that Ryan was coming to Malacca. He did, and spent the last weekend here. Yay! :D So... Any of you curious as to what we did, where we went, etc when he was here? I know some of you do. Let the story begin! 

It all started a long time ago when I kept asking him to come Malacca so I can bring him around, he agreed but we didn't know when. One day we were talking and I think we stumbled upon the topic of Easter Sunday. So I told him how the Easter weekend works in Malacca Wesley; Good Friday night service, the collection of flowers and the building of the cross on Saturday, Easter Sunrise service at 6.30am on Easter Sunday with the pretty cross involved and candlelights to light up the darkness of the early morning as the service would be held outside in the garden as we watch the sky slowly light up. It is just a marvellous sight. Since he has never experienced this, so I figured it would be nice for him to try it out. :) Oh and not to forget the recent wonderful experience for Malaccans as trees everywhere bloomed with beautiful flowers and covered the streets of Malacca with purple, white, pink, etc flowers making it seem like we're in Japan.


Here are some of the pictures:

Easter Cross 2012

Easter Sunrise 2012

Candles given to everyone to light up till it burns out

Easter Sunrise 2013

Pretty fowers in Malacca.

They look like cherry blossoms (sakura), no? 

It all went well until some problems arose. Well, what is a trip without any complications eh? The flowers only lasted for a week, and most were all gone before my term break even started so both of us didn't get to see it. D: The pretty cross as well. My church decided to not do the flowers this year because there wasn't enough people to help out. :(( And no more candles because they are some lights hanging in between the trees and above the seating area. The original plan was me driving him around right? But well yeah, I've only received my P license like a few weeks ago and according to mom, my driving isn't stable yet so I wasn't allowed to drive alone. It is kinda dangerous, so... :X I took a day to do some research as to the places we could go and etc, but Ryan wanted "spontaneous" so I threw everything coz #YOLO. :P

Friday 18-4-2014 

After work, Ryan took the 9pm bus and reached Malacca at around 11pm. We have agreed to start on Saturday so he went out with his friends that night for supper and boys night I guess. I don't know anything paiseh. Hahah. 



Saturday 19-4-2014

We decided to meet at 10am, but someone *ahem* reached at around 11.15am. :P It was okay though. I walked around Dataran and Hatten, going in to random stores, looking around, studying people. Ooh I went to Toys "R" Us too coz I'm sucha "grown up". In the end, I settled down with just sitting down near the kids playland and watching the little kids driving around in their tiny little cars and motorcycles. Gahh they were sho adorable I can't even. Some kids were natural born posers when I took their pictures for Snapchat. Look out for the strange jie jie taking your pictures, kids! Haven't your parents ever taught you not to talk to strangers? Hahaha. Wanted to take selfies too but shy. *hides blushing face* I did manage to take one though. 

Snapchat selfie while waiting for Mr. Boey to arrive

I met up with him downstairs when he arrived. I smiled when I saw him walking towards me. I guess I'll always automatically smile whenever I see him. :) You light up my whole world, RB. ♥ We walked and talked on the way to Jonker. We didn't know where we wanted to go but that was the point of spontaneous right? We reached the super famous Chung Wah chicken rice shop and lots of people were already lining up for the chicken rice balls. We walked around Jonker and I found some of the shops I researched for. Yeah yeah I'm a tourist too haha. I don't go out often okay. :3 #macamyes ! Ryan got hooked on this slang word coz apparently lots of Malaccans use it haha and I got hooked on this after him. Macam yes-ing the whole weekend then laughing afterwards. Ryan was hungry already so we went back to the chicken rice shop and woah the line was like two times longer already, it reached till the end of Hard Rock Cafe. We went to line up anyway, but he decided to go to The Baboon House after awhile coz the line wasn't moving. The night before, I dunno who ah, told me he would be willing to line up for good food in Malacca *coughs*. :P

So next stop: The Baboon House for their burgers! Apparently they have the best burgers in town, so-they-say. There wasn't a long line but we had to wait outside to be seated. Then there was this cat who came along. It went to rub herself all over Ryan then tried to attack me! I HATE CATS I DESPISE THEM I CAN'T STAND THEM! It kept coming near me and I kept shouting and running away and Ryan kept laughing. Ish him. I think the cat enjoyed scaring me away or something and kept on doing that or it was trying to protect it's property (which was Ryan) and not want me to go near him. Ryan can take video of the cat scaring me and me running some more lor! *lions eyes* After that, he did help a bit lah. By pushing the cat away from me with his leg while I was hiding behind him the whole time. I think the cat seriously had problems with me, trying to find any chance and hole it can to come to me. It was then our turn to be seated. We were given a nice small table just for two beside the greenery. The place had a vintage-y taste to it and a calming yet relaxing ambiance. Photos aren't allowed in there but #badassontherun ;) 

My cutie ♥

Egg and bacon cheese burger 

Beef burger 

They had a golden retriever in there but I didn't get to see it. Sad me iz sad. :( It looked so fluffy and adorable in the pictures of it hanging around the walls! The burgers were well prepared and yummy. I love the bacon coz it was salty hahaha. I was so full I couldn't finish mine and Ryan had to do it because he lost a round of scissors paper stone to me. :P But for one small portion only hor! The burgers are definitely worth a try if you're ever in Malacca!

The Baboon House 

No. 89, Heeren Street, Malacca Town, Malaysia.

Business Hours: 

Weekdays: 10am - 5pm

Weekend: 10am - 7pm 

Closed on Tuesdays

Telephone Number : 06-2831635

After that, we wanted to go to Jonker 88 for their cendol, but the problem was both of us didn't know where it was. Searched online, got the address and keyed it into maps. Let's just say we circled the whole Jonker around 3 times, passing the same place again and again. The scorching hot sun burned holes into my skin and I was sure I was gonna be sunburnt after that (and I was right). The tan I got from Langkawi a few weeks back plus the tan from Malacca, I'm super duper dark right now, with uneven tan lines haha. All the different shades of brown, some dark, some lighter, made up of the bikinis and singlets tan lines. Anyway, back to the topic. Sorry I kinda digress a lot. Suddenly, Ryan spotted the store! Woots. And as usual, it was full of people and you had to line up. The line was super long from the back of the inside of the store. Outside isn't as scary as the inside though. The crowd was... *gulps* haha. So after lining up for awhile, we decided to leave, again. We walked back to Dataran Pahlawan and I brought him to see DP's new building, where it's huge and upgraded now and full of shops. 

Then we walked to Mahkota Parade for the yet again, popular Nadeje crepe cake for tea break! The line was long, again. Tip: If you wanna beat the crowd, and if you have time, I suggest you come to Malacca on weekdays! Shops would be less packed and sometimes, kinda empty. You won't have to bear the unbearable heat to line up and be pressured to leave faster for the waiting line is long. So, I brought my DSLR that day and ugh was it heavy. Didn't take much photos though. :( Ryan so shy don't wanna let me take haha. Tsk tsk. I was taking a glass pic of us while lining up, I didn't realise the guy inside was staring at me. So once I took the shot, he like smiled (I think he actually looked shy and blushed!) then poked his elbow at his other guy friend to indicate him that I'm taking a picture of him or something. I was like "uhhhh" then quickly hid behind Ryan. He's my human shield for anything. :) Luckily the line moved forward and the guy couldn't see us anymore. Pheww. *wipes sweat* When it came to our turn, the guy asked if we could sit outside because it would take a longer time if we wanted to sit inside so we said okay. They gave us the menus and we ordered.

Nadeje's new Mojito

Crepe cake flavour: Original

Crepe cake flavour: Melaka (which also stands for gula Melaka)

The cakes here are nice for their textures and also the cream that doesn't make your tongue go "blegh" like some cakes do. They are super soft and they melt in your mouth. Personally, I would suggest if you call maybe one piece per flavour times how many people  you're with and share among yourselves. Some people tend to get sick of it after awhile and might not be able to finish the whole piece. The cake is kinda filling, and not to forget overrated. But once in awhile, it doesn't hurt to catch up with friends over some cake and coffee. You should give it a try especially if you've never been there before. :) 

Nadeje Mahkota Parade

G-23B, EG 4 & EG 5, Ground Floor, Mahkota Parade, 75200 Melaka.

Business Hours:

Daily: 11am - 10pm

Telephone Number: 06-2843469

Moving on, we were super full and our stomachs were gonna burst. So we went to the place where I was in the morning. We sat down and watched the little kids drive. Some are deadly drivers and some are careful, good drivers. They were all adorable though. Hahah. Then we went to the field. When Ryan came to Malacca in June 2013, which was also our 3rd time meeting each other, we hung out and after walking in the morning, we found a spot, sat there and just talked about anything and everything. Good memories huh, b? :)) So yeah, we went back to our special spot but the sun was blazing and my ass was on fire sitting there. TMI I KNOW LOL. We then changed to one of the benches there that had a tree that was blocking the sun, sorta. We laughed, we talked and we took pictures. I love talking to him, knowing more things about him. I'll never get tired doing that, ever. :) We also looked around, studied people. Saw many people selfie-ing at the field, doing many different and funny poses. A few groups even used the selfie stick thingy that was viral on the internet? I think. They were hilarious hahaha. Then there were some boys who wanted to race or something, so we decided to head back into the building and watch a night movie. 

Dat dimple tho

Credits to Ryan. I love how my hair looks here.

We went to see what movie was showing. The soonest one would be Transcendence starring Johnny Depp. It was our first movie together. Yeah yeah, I know couples usually start dating by watching movies or something haha but we're different and that's special yo. ;) Cheers to our many firsts! ♥

Transcendence 

The movie was a scientific movie and it was kinda hard to understand at first due to all it's scientific terms. But it gets better after awhile and you'll understand the true meaning of the movie. It was basically a love story between two scientists, that ended with both of them dying. It was sad, but at least they died together, warm in each other's arms. Oops spoiler alert!

When the movie finished, it was already around 9.30pm. We walked to Jonker Walk again and searched for food. We had some sausages then laksa for dinner. Around 10.30pm, I went home while Ryan went out with the boys for satay celup supper. According to him, that was the best thing he ate here. :P


Ban Lee Siang Satay Celup

45E, Jalan Ong Kim Wee, Melaka

Business Hours:
Daily: 5.30pm - 12.30am
Closed on Tuesdays

Telephone Number: 06-2841935

Sunday 20-4-2014

Easter Sunrise church service was held at 6.30am. Super early right? I know. *panda eyes* Didn't have time to fully get ready in the morning so I missed a lot of things, for example: lipstick, shawl, etc. I didn't even have time to dry my wet hair so yeah I went to church service with water dripping from my hair. No biggie. Ryan drove to church that morning. He woke up like 4.30am, even earlier than me weyh! Fuyohh somebody. :P Macam yes sia. HAHA. I thought he was still sleeping when he called me in the morning coz he had that sexy sleepy voice of his and it was super cute! Mana tau he arrived already man. *two thumbs up* The service went well. We had some refreshments, took some pictures then left church. Ryan went back to his friend's place to continue sleeping while I went out with my grandma, family and aunt's family for some family bonding time. We did some shopping and had lunch. Our plan was to meet again around afternoon for coconut shake. The drink he had been craving for awhile now. Sometimes when I'm in Malacca, I would drink it then take videos and pics of the drink and send to him, tempting him, you know? Heh. 

Easter Sunrise 2014

I know you don't usually wake up so early, moreover, it was the weekends which means off days from your work and time for rest. 

Thank you for coming and waking up early everyday for me.

It was great to have spent an awesome weekend with you and 

thank you so much for everything, darling. 

I hope you enjoyed yourself as well. 

I love you. ♥

Around late afternoon, I asked him when we should meet, he told me I didn't have to go coz he didn't want to trouble me. -.- It isn't every week that my boyfriend comes to Malacca okay! And what trouble huh, I'm on term break. *points gun* I did some persuading... and I got to go again yay! :D We met at Klebang Original Coconut Shake. He was already there with his friends when I arrived. Ryan introduced me to them and them to me. There was Roderick who looked like Lee Hom and Yin Zhang who was slightly related to Ryan. My drink came super slow because the place was packed like sardines. The other already finished their drinks and food before I arrived, I was so stressed that once my drink arrived I finished as fast as I could so they wouldn't have to wait for me anymore hahah. Brain freeze. 

Klebang Original Coconut Shake

Jalan Klebang Besar, 75200 Melaka (next to the Caltex Petrol Station) 

Business Hours:

Daily: 12.30pm - 6.30pm 

Fridays: 2pm - 6.30pm 

Telephone Number: 013-3994061

Roderick then dropped us at Malacca Sentral and we bid our goodbyes as I followed Ryan in to send him off. :( He didn't buy a return ticket before that day, and as expected, they were all sold out for the entire day! We asked every counter and each and every one of them were sold out. In the end, he bought a ticket for 6.30am in the morning on Monday and made a call to his friend to change to a later shift at work, and called Roderick to turn back. They knew he couldn't get a ticket as well at this time so they were ready for this hahaha. All is well in the end. Except that meant he had to wake up early yet again the next day to travel. Talked and joked a little outside till his ride came, we bid farewell and I drove back afterwards. 

PS. I just realised something. I've been wearing black on Easter Sunday for three years straight! Woah, mind blown fact. I never planned it. Oh well. 

THE END.

T-minus 2 weeks till the next time I see you :( 

I've gotten so used to always having you around that I've forgotten how it feels like to be far apart from each other. 

I really can't imagine how I'm going to cope with things when you finish your internship this June and go back to JB and work in Singapore. 

Since I'm in KL now, that means I'll be further away from you than I was in Malacca. 

Long distance relationships are hard.

But I know we will survive through this distance.

Because, we have done it before,

and because,

 with love, we can survive through anything.