Unable to breathe...

I kinda had a fright of my life...

First time ever, i had difficulty in breathing... Even now, my heart is still beating fast... Am trying hard to relax and calm down...

Was just doing some exercises while waiting for my eggs to boil, and the next thing i know, I was desperately holding onto my chest, gasping for air... I tried to pull myself together and rushed to open up all windows and doors, while breathing in as hard as I could...

L and dad both called me when I was still breathing heavily... Talking with them kinda calm me down... But there is still a pang felt in my chest, and my heart is still beating fast...

Felicia, take a deep breath....


breathe in... breathe out....

It's definitely worth it ;)

Today was a day of surprises... Both pleasant and unfortunate...

From a planned buffet lunch at Skycity's Fortuna (they are having a promotion of only $10 for lunch buffet till the 30th of April!!! But our reservation got declined cause it was fully-booked!!!), we ended up in a chinese restaurant...yi tiao long (trans: a dragon).

With a name like that, one would expect grand chinese cuisine prepared at its finest... Oh well, never judge a book by its cover @_@

First of all, the waiter literally slam our table when giving us our tea... He was so aggresive that Connelly nearly shitted in his pants... nah... Lol... We ordered our food that comes with bombastic names... Gossiped... Then I decided to make a trip to the toilet...

The shop lady took us on an 'adventure'. as we had to climb a flight of stairs and walked into an alley to use the toilet. She stuck her key in, the door flung open, and I went in. Sze wei who was accompanying me stayed outside waiting for me...

Aha, if you think a toilet trip would be boring for ms. Lulu aka me, you're so wrong!

I was emptying the fluid in my bladder when i heard someone trying to open the toilet door... Next thing I know, the door was slightly ajar and my pants were still down... I got such a shock and shouted out "Excuse me!!!" Then the door was slammed shut again... In my heart I was thinking wasn't Sze Wei outside guarding me??? How could this ever happen?????

Apparently, Sze Wei was slightly distracted by the bulletins nearby, and she 'went away from her post'..lol.. and out came this girl from a nearby shop with a key to the toilet... So... yeah.... hahahaha....

We went back to the restaurant, told Con and Wira about the incident, had a good laugh, and decided to take some pictures so I could blog about it later.

Then, the food came...

Looking at the food, we don't even know they were what we ordered... -.-'''

Tell me does this look like deep-fried pork and scramble eggs with rice?

the bakchoy looks pathetic...

Or how about this wanton delight with pork belly on rice?

I don't even know why it turn out good in pictures... trust me, it was NOT impressive at all on sight...


We were so disappointed with the food yet the company was great... Never a dull moment when we get to bitch about some juicy scandals or just goof around ;)

Then it was time for Sze Wei and I to go for our mentoring session in Manurewa. Personally, I was uncertain and praying hard that my mentees will turn up. Something happened between my mentees which I shall not disclose too much information, and might trigger them both to not appear for the session. Well, Darlene is my main mentee whom I'm closer to but she comes from a very unstable family, and Sharmayne is a mentee I'm gonna take over hence I haven't exactly form a bond with her..

Working with at-risk students in this mentoring program is definitely a challenge. Many a times we have our students fail to even attend classes, needless to say a mentoring session for 2 hours after school (3.15-5.15pm), and we have to make many trips to their homes, talk with their erratic parents, and deal with disappointments...

The most difficult part is actually to form constant communication with them as most of them come from families with financial problems, and only have one shared mobile phone in the whole household (most of the time in the hands of the parents of course). So, whatever text messages we sent to our mentees might not even reach them as their parents (who have moods) might just discard the message or not bothered to pass it on...

I breathed a sigh of relief when I saw Darlene, my darling. As usual, she hid herself in the library hoping to give me a fright, then came out giggling... No sign of Sharmayne and Darlene said she did not see Sharmayne in school. Our lovely Program Coordinator, Ann Dunphy asked me to just go ahead and focus on my original mentee, and we shall sort out the issues regarding Sharmayne later. Just delighted to see Darlene, we started off our session... and it went on so well~

Darlene just had their school term break for 2 weeks.

Before her break, we agreed to exchange at least 2 letters.. she wrote me 5~

She even gave me a picture of her and her sister for me to keep us remembrance... How sweet is that =)



Look at her lovely letters


That darling even sorted out her letters with themes.. The letter started off with "Hello", followed by "So Sorry" - Regarding a past incident, "Holidays", "I L Y" that stands for I Love You..awww..., and the last one, "Hi, Looking Forward 2 C U"...

To be honest, I was teary when I read through her letters..

All the heartache, patience, and perseverance seemed to all make sense now... This form of fulfilment is indescribable~


To top off the day, Sharmayne texted me around 7pm to apologize for not making it to the mentoring session today and she gave her reasons. Then we exchanged a few more texts and she promised me that she will definitely come next week, sounding all positive and excited~

I believe I have found my calling, and I'm on the right track...

It may be tough, scary at times, and deprives us off our energy and inner strength...BUT...

It's definitely worth it ;)

Insanity struck!

Phew... Feels kinda whack since we're pretty much done with our assignments... for now... The relief felt was really beyond words...*shrugs off the thoughts of yesterday..brrrrrrr...*

Yesterday was insane, frustrating and somewhat suffocating... BUT... I survived, and that my friend, calls for a celebration!


To start off, my flatmate moved out on Saturday, and I was supposed to move into her room (since its bigger and nicer and only 6 dollars more expensive than my current room)...

BUT... My stupid landlord didn't come to inspect her room hence I couldn't move my stuff in... the best part was, not till I texted him, he didn't even bother to tell us that he could only come the next day!

He wasted my day, coz not only I had my stuff all packed with no where to go (I actually had to dig through my bags for my moisturizer and stuff), I had an online assignment due that midnight! Well, I'm not that much of a procrastinator and I kinda expect some sort of stupidity from my landlord, therefore I was so glad that I had my assignment sorted earlier...

The real drama started the next day!

My landlord - James texted me saying he will meet my ex-flatmate in my apartment at 11am to inspect the room, clear the bond, and terminate the contract.

Guess what, from 11 it became 12.

That's not all...

After settling everything with lil Jenny aka ex-flatmate, he turned to me and told me 'jokingly' that a girl is moving into my room at 2pm!

i was like wth! He didn't even have any successful tenants from the few visits he made and he just dropped the bombshell that some (quote: young, but slightly older than me taiwanese girl) is moving in... and at 2pm! leaving me less than 2 hours to move my stuffs and clean my freaking room!

I wasn't gonna let him step over me... I fought back... I told him it is ridiculous to ask me to evacuate and provide tip top cleaning service in 2 hours since I was promised a whole aka yesterday to move my stuff.. Him sensing my displeasure, told me that the girl would be considerate and wouldn't mind waiting for me to finish my business... In my mind I was thinking, if I'm that poor girl who just arrived from christchurch and wanted to move into my new place, all I want is a clean and vacant room where I can dump all my things in, take a shower and rest... ain't not gonna stand there looking at the ex-tenant scrubing and vacumming away~

Anyway, I chose to suck it up and just do what I could... Talking to L definitely helps to cheer me up... Before I know, I actually finished everything before 2pm, and later took my time decorating my room while waiting for James and the newbie to show up...

Guess what, they showed up at 3.30pm! All the rush for _______ ??? Arghhhhhh....

Before that, i cooked something simple for lunch... Haven't eaten anything since morning and was dying to have some proper food~

Then.. surprise surprise... James appeared with a young lady who was just holding a handbag??? *hmmm... I thought she is supposed to move in?*

She went ooh and ahh at how new and clean the place is *duh... I cleaned it*, how simple is it just to live with another person in a 2-bedroom apartment *duh...again*, how super strategic the location is *dduhhhhhh*, then how it is out of her budget... huh???

Doesn't that quite feel like the elimination round in America's Next Top Model when Tyra will just praise someone on and on before announcing that "I'm sorry, you are not in the run of becoming America's Next Top Model"?????

James then proceeded to show her the laundry room while trying to persuade her to 'follow the initial deal' and take the room. He told me he will come back to talk about the broken towel heater rack in my new room, but he never did. Poof... That irresponsible jerk left, without notice without any text.. surprise surprise...

After all the unnecessary drama and hardwork... I had to tidy up and edit this other assignment due the next day.. It was just such a long day... BUT... It's over now...

On a lighter note, I shall present the transformation of my humble abode to the eyes of all...rather, just to amuse myself really..hahahaha...

From a room with 1 single bed, 1 set of desk and chair...

I moved into a room with 2 beds (bunk) and 1 long desk with 2 chairs.. not to forget.. bigger space too ;)

After a few touch of magic here and there...

before


After


Before


After


Before


After



...

And my simple yet satisfying energy booster~

... and that's a wrap!

Sinfully-delicious thoughts

Ironically, after putting up a brave front and posting up an entry on *clears throat* healthy eating... I find myself craving for certain delicacies, found only in good ol' Malaysia...

Damn... Blame it on the "waiting-for-clothes-in-the-dryer-to-be-dried-and-the-mouth-becomes-gatal-then-starts-thinking-about-food" moment...

Although I have better things to do like editting my 2 assignments, packing my stuff, cleaning my abode as a preparation to move to a new room tomorrow -.-''' My mind decided to play tricks with me by flicking through images of................................

*mind wanders off to heaven*

.......

...........

.....................



Ok, I'm back! So... I shall start sharing about food that I love, food would love to get a taste of it right this moment, and food that I would definitely recommend others to try ~

Well, ain't good things ought to be shared ;)

foodie cravie no.1

cendol

one may wonder what the heck is that? some green slimy worms swimming in my bowl!!! Well.. before you go all balistic demanding for the manager (in a small coffee shop or stall)... have a try of it... and you will find yourself in paradise... (close enough..lol)

foodie cravie no.2

satay kajang

Gorgeously marinated chunks of meat strung together, grilled over charcoals with juice dripping all over...
Then dipped into thick, smacking delicious peanut gravy........
ahhhhhhhh........

foodie cravie no.3

char koey teow

We can find decent char koey teow in NZ... But nothing beats those produced by the sifus from dear homeland~

foodie cravie no.4

grandma's special laksa!!!

This isn't exactly the picture of my nana's laksa... coz hers is like 5 times better than the picture! Drooling at the thought of it...

foodie cravie no.5

nasi lemak

Nothing too fancy like those in restaurants, but the old school RM1 nasi lemak wrapped in banana leaves... Those 'turn me on'...lol...

foodie cravie no.6

deep fried butter prawns

Just by looking at the picture, don't think much elaboration is needed ;)

foodie cravie no. 7

asam prawns

The ideal food that gives you the reason to suck your fingers from your thumb to your pinky... You wouldn't wanna waste any drop of that asam sauce... ooh lala...

foodie cravie no.8

char siew pau

Yum cha places in NZ are pretty good, but their cahr siew paus are just no where near to satisfying my cravings of it... Maybe its the familiarity of growing up with the char siew pau in Pokok Assam, Taiping... ... ... ...

... ... ... ahhhh.... that fragrance, that softness of the bun, the thick bbq sauce gravy, the juicy pork filling............................ ahhhhh.............

foodie cravie no.9

lok lok

eating lok lok is fun... Used to be our special activity with great grandma when she was still alive... and i always aim for the quail eggs... yum...

foodie cravie no.10

durians!!!!!!!!!!!!!! omg omg omg

I could never understand why durians are used in Fear Factor???!!! Hello, they are just the awesomest creation on earth... I want durians so baddddddddddddd........

foodie cravie no.11

good ol' Ramly burgers

forget about burger fuel, wendy's or burger king... Ramly burgers rock!

foodie cravie no.12

not just any kfc fried chicken... but Malaysian's hot 'n' spicy fried chicken!!!

KFC in NZ suck so bad... their chickens are so tiny they look like they have been tortured and deprived of food (in actual fact, they are supposed to be healthier as they are not been injected as much hormones as our chickens in Malaysia..), their chickens are so soggy that you would start questioning whether it has been deep-fried, and they only have the 'original' taste. Furthermore, they don;t even give you sauces... You get charged 80cents for 1 packet of ketchup!

I would only declare Malaysia's KFC as finger-licking good!

foodie cravie no.13

century egg congee with yau char kwai...

+

= Perfect Combination

ok... the list could go on and on... but my alarm rang, and it's time to get my clothes from the laundry~ (i thought it was my stomach's drumming that created the noice... though i doubt that my stomach has the talent to churn and turn while producing the beats for 'Right Round') hmmmmmm....

arghhhhhhh.... these pictures aren't exactly helping aye...


*looks back at previous post*

sighhhhhhhhhh.....................

In hopes of smoothing the bumpy patches...

I'm not gonna deny... I have been struggling with acne... for quite some time...

The weird thing is, I don't necessarily get big, red pimples, scattered all over the sacred ground of my face; nor pits and peepholes here and there to make my face a replica of the moon...

BUT, I have these tiny miny moey acne calling my face home! They can be easily covered under heavy foundation, but a close look at me, one would feel like squeezing my blackheads or poke around those irritating mini bumps.

Besides, what I realised was: big, obvious pimples are actually easier to be treated, and I could easily get rid of them (if they pops out) within weeks... yet these tiny miny moey ones just wouldn't part from me!!! *arghhhhhhhhh*

The best part of it all, when I started noticing my facial complexion getting better, my ignorant, annoying Aunt Mary just have to pay me a visit... And guess what, she brought more friends to join my tiny miny moey clan -.-

This process has been going on for years...

So, I think it's time not to just rely on chemicals, and start getting my diet right! To be honest, I haven't been eating really healthily as tim tams and instant noodles will become my staple food during 'crazy times'... (I guess most students will feel me... lol)

Ok... A few clicks here and there... I have finally decided on 5 diet tips which I hope I could persistently hold on to, in hopes of bidding farewell to the unmissable tenants of my body... (maybe the family of 'fat' could join the migration too...hehehe)


And behold...

1. Avoid Milk!

This is going to be hard as New Zealand milk is relatively one of the best... sob...

Well, apparently milk contains certain hormone that could trigger acne breakouts... Coffee with cream or milk, or a bowl of cereal every now and then wouldn't do your skin any harm. But don't drink more than a glass of milk a day.


2. Cut down on sugar consumption!

Although it still haven't been scientifically proven, excessive sugar consumption can make acne worse! So, I would have to cut down on chocolates (bye whitaker, cadbury, tim tam, m&m's...sob), lollies, and soft drinks @_@

this is really heart-breaking... sob...

3. Increase Fish oil consumption.

Omega 3 fats found in fish are essential for healthy skin and acne prevention. Seems like I have to add salmon, cod and tuna onto my menu~

wouldn't really mind eating this for the rest of my life.... but.... 'ka-ching'....

4. Eat vitamins!

Some vitamins are essential for acne diet such as Vitamin B5 and Vitamin A. Although a good multivitamin pill a day would also do the trick but one shouldn't forget the old school way of eating fresh fruits and vegetables!

Hmm... tough choice...

5. Say... Zink Zink zink!

Zink can reduce acne! Include eggs, whole grains and mushroom into the regular diet as they are a good source of zink. The reason it can help is because is busts your immune system, helping your body cure acne naturally. That's definitely killing two birds with one stone ;)

doesn't look bad at all~

Mental note to self: Felicia, it's time to face reality and toughen up. let's try this for 2 weeks... if it doesn't work.... just google around for other remedies....Lol...

Granting a 'wish'...

Early this morning, around 10.30 am (NZ time), which is 6.30 am (Malaysian time), the catchy and addictive beat of Dead and Gone blared from my phone... It's daddy!

Of all things to say to his darling daughter, he made the most unexpected comment...

Dad: Girl, you created a new blog ah?

Me: Ya lor.. so long only you realised...

Dad: *chuckles*

Me: That's why i wondered how come it took you so long to know about Susan
Boyle.. Must be you didn't read my blog...

Dad: *chuckles*... ahh... your blog ah, should include the transformation of a very important person you know...

Me: You mean you ah? hahahaha... Yea hor... That would be really funny...

Dad: Hehehe... when i was young i very leng cai k...

Me: Yea, and it took you only a while to become fat...*laughing mercilessly*

Dad: ahuh.. you laugh la... in 30 years time... we will see...*chuckling away*

Me: Dowannnnn........ Anyway, you want me to write an entry about you or not?

Dad: Eh... Mai la... Paiseh la...

Me: Aiyo... You asked for it just now ma... I can just put your photos from your wedding till now... Wahhh.... 'peh kim hock's metamorphosis'!

Dad: Dowan dowan... *laughs* Okay la... want to go liao... Say good morning to your mom...

and mom took over the phone... we greeted each other and after mummy said 'love you' and 'take care', we ended the phone conversation, and I was gleeing in delight...

p.s.: I only speak Manglish with my dad, who is also an English teacher... I guess in a way it's our little way of humouring ourselves since he can't really speak Manglish in his teaching environment, while I'm trying to correct my English in an English speaking country.


Long story short, I just finished editting my assignment due tomorrow, and am prepared to have some mischief of my own ;)

So... I shall present to you...

The metamorphosis of Felicia's Daddy!

There was once a handsome young lad, who claimed that his charms were unstoppable... *clears throat*... He got married to a lovely young lady after much pursuit...

Then the young lady got pregnant with their 1st child aka me~ Delighted he was, that he took good care of his wife, entertained her cravings, and ate with her...

After 9 months... The baby came out from her womb... But he had accumulated a lot of 'input'... and no significant 'output'...

The process continued for years... after 3 kids... my dad still looks like he's pregnant... *i'm so gonna get it big from him... lol*

although daddy kept growing 'horizontally'... he is still pretty much fit and active... especially when it comes to training his Civil Defense Cadets...

He led his team to many wins and recognition... He could easily put many young hot blood into shame...


I know he's not gonna let me go off easily... But I want him to know that I love him dearly, and I am always proud of him ;)

I've got a cuddly dad! Beat that!

metamorphosis of 'the happy one'...

This is the product of the aftermath of assignments...

It gave me a good laugh, looking at my changes... lol

baby me~

-uncensored version-

then.. my growth sprang..


and i maintained my tomboy image till i was 16~


after my parents figured out that i'm mature enough to keep and maintain long hair... swt... my hair was allowed to grow beyond my shoulders... *claps and cheers*

... after some really slow 'maturation', vanity kicks in~ hahahaha...

with better make up skills, sense of fashion, and crazy hair makeovers... I'm still constantly evolving...

Instead of having Nicole Kidman's nose, Angelina Jolie's lips, and Jessica Alba's figure, I have mummy's round nose and plumpy fingers, daddy's pointy jaw and slightly brown eyes, which tells me that I'm part of them, beautifully made in the eyes of God =)

I wouldn't trade those traits for anything in the world ;)


but i do have to get rid of those black heads... LOL....