University is Finally Over!

The results came out at 11am just now and I'm so relieved to see it. I got exactly what I wanted and it's so easy to just slip and get nothing. I made life difficult for myself by doing badly earlier in my course and I have to struggle to bring my CAP back up. From my first semester till now, I managed to pull up by 0.4 which is just enough to make my degree look better haha. My CAP is the worse in the first semester in Year 1 and the best in the second semester Year 4. So I can say that I'm very happy with that, considering that I always study last minute just before papers and has never studied in the library throughout the 4 years. Guess what, I always study either in fast food outlets or cafes haha, so that I can stray and jalan jalan later after studying :P Anyway, I'm glad with my final results and I'm also happy to hear that many of my friends did well this time as well and they got what they wanted.

Had a long day yesterday. Met up with a female Pharmacy classmate and her sister. They came over from mainland Penang via the ferry at noon and I fetched them. After that, we spent the whole afternoon in Gurney Plaza and managed to catch Madagascar. RM7 for the ticket is waaaay much cheaper than ticket prices in Singapore haha... considering that ticket prices in Singapore has just gone up recently. Weekend tickets can cost as much as $9.50 now! Madagascar is quite a good show but it's a far cry from animations by rival Pixar. Okay, those by Dreamworks might appeal more to kids but Pixar ones have better storylines. So far, my favourite animation is The Incredibles with Finding Nemo coming in next. Haha...it's obvious that I should like Nemo...if not it won't be my avatar in MSN and iChat :P

After the show, we walked around and my friend's sister managed to get a pair of shoes for herself. They said that shoes in Penang is still cheaper than the ones in Singapore. Vin Cci has outlets in Penang as well as Singapore... and this name reminds me of another Pharmacy classmate by the same name hahaha... After shopping around, I sent them to the jetty to take a ferry back to Butterworth so that their dad can fetch them on the way back from work. Great day haha...too bad another female classmate from Bukit Mertajam couldn't join us because she went to Kelantan with her parents during the weekend and might not come back in time.

Later at night, my cousin came to fetch me for supper at Craven Cafe, Tanjung Bungah. Mind you, this mamak place has all round free wireless access. They have Apple's Airport Base stations with eMacs for customers. Pretty impressive I must say for a mamak place. My cousin had not taken his dinner and wow, he was really hungry. One huge place of Nasi Kandar was gone in a few minutes ahha... His friend and colleague from CG Computers also joined us for supper. She is working together with my cousin in CG which is Apple's Authorised Reseller in Penang. From what he has been telling me, it looks like he is earning quite a lot selling Apple products haha...so well, supper is on him then hahaha...

Nothing much happened during last weekend though. My uncle won Toto, so treated us to Coffee Bean on Saturday night. Chatted there until about 11.30pm haha. I bumped into a friend who also went to Coffee Bean with her family. She's a former student of my dad's and she's studying Chemical Engineering in NUS. She will be starting work in July but has to go back early to Singapore because she has to settle her accomodation. No more hall stay for her because she has graduated this semester. This friend of mine is very pretty and seems to attract a lot of stares from guys...and I think she knows about it haha...too bad she already has a Penang boyfriend...

Will be back in Singapore on Thursday morning. Lots of things to settle. Lots of things to apply...PR, EP, SPB etc... and have to do massive cleaning of the house before my landlord comes for the aircon maintenance on Friday haha...Till then...

I want laksa! Sob sob...

It's been a while since I last blogged haha... These days, somehow I can't get the wireless connection when I feel like blogging. I usually blog at night but sometimes, no wireless networks can be found haha... In fact, I'm now writing in Coffee Bean Gurney Plaza. I'm sitting at the al fresco area ourside Coffee Bean but I'm using Segafredo's network haha... Luckily the weather is cool...windy.

Last night, my grandma called my grandaunt and chatted for 1/2 an hour. It seems that my grandma wants to make her famous laksa for me on Saturday before I go back to Singapore but unfortunately, my grandaunt won't be around as she needs to attend a wedding dinner. So...since this Saturday will be my last Saturday before returning to tanah bencana, no more laksa for me!! My grandma asked me when I'll be back in Penang again and I told her September...arghh...dun think can also because it will only be a short trip to attend my cousin's wedding. Sigh...I really miss my grandma's cooking. When I was small, I grew up with my grandma in a squatter house in a village. Wah, those times were great I tell you. Staying in a kampung, I get to play marbles, sepak raga, kampung badminton, hide and seek haha... Kids these days are quite deprived I must say hehe... Oh yeah, my grandma makes good 'bak chien cheese' also hahaha :P

My youngest cousin will be getting married in September. She's my father's brother's youngest daughter to be precise haha. She's currently working in KL but she'll be back for the marriage. Hence, I'll also be back in Penang in September. Hope I can get a few days leave. My brother will be back as well.

A pharmacy classmate of mine has been thinking of going to SDU after graduation and I've been asked along. Seems that SDU does provide a good opportunity for people like us to get to meet girls who have the same intention of getting attached haha. I really do agree with him that most of our friends are unattached. For my side, most of my friends have never been attached before except for the friend who recently broke up with the popular girl i mentioned a few posts earlier. Birds of the same feathers do flock together haha...

I'll be going back to tanah bencana on the 1st of June. Sigh, after this, I won't have long breaks anymore as I'll be working starting 7th June. When you work, getting long leaves will be a problem. So, I'll have to plan my leaves properly. More days have to be allocated for the CNY break next year haha...

Teck Hua proposed that a few close friends make a holiday trip together to Japan in March 2007. Whoa, good idea really. I've never been anywhere other than Singapore and Malaysia. And I didn't go anywhere for my post graduation tour. Most of my other classmates went to places like Taiwan, HK, Thailand and one even went to France and Switzerland! Gosh, I need to go somewhere too haha... Will save up for this proposed trip hehe...

Alrighty then, I shall go back to my condo and take a nap...Dunno why I'm always so sleepy in the afternoon :P

Extremely Disappointed

Just received an email from Shin Shin to say that not everyone gets to go to the Medical Centennial Dinner in July for free. Earlier, it was said that every new graduate from Pharmacy will get to attend it for free but now it seems that they have backtracked on their words. I can't help but feel that the decision is a biased one. All those who will do their pre-reg in hospitals will get 100% sponsorship from NHG and Singhealth but those in Guardian and Unity will be left out. It is even more hilarious to learn that Guardian will only be 'buying' a table for the dinner. Imagine it's a big event with MM and Dr M attending. It looks like there's nothing much we can do for now. If we want to go, jolly well pay $148 for it. How unfair...oh well, this may just be my personal opinion. NUS could have at least pay for the new grads and not rely on the respective institutions to pay...Sigh

Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith

Yey! Finally got to watch Star Wars Episode 3 late last night. It's been a long wait but it's well worth it. By far, it's the best of the prequels. The first 2 episodes were quite slow with a lot of distractions but Episode 3 really links up the whole story on how Anakin is seduced by the dark side and reborn as Darth Vader. I find the show emotionally moving especially when Padme found out that Anakin has fallen to the dark side and when Obi Wan won the lightsaber duel against Anakin. Both Padme and Obi Wan were very sad and disappointed with Anakin's defection as he has become exactly what he swore to destroy as a Jedi. Obi Wan felt that he failed as a Master to Anakin and is obviously a broken man when he left Anakin with both his legs severed. All in all, it's a very good end to the Star Wars Prequels and I intend to watch Episodes IV, V and VI again as the last time I watched them was in the late 80s haha...

Oh yes, and yesterday I got a glimpse of Cyndi Wang who came to Gurney Plaza Penang to sign autographs, courtesy of Red Box Karaoke. There were a lot of ppl surrounding the stage and I can barely make my way to go into the mall. Luckily I wasn't late for my show haha... Seems like there are a lot of teenage guys who went to get her autographs hmm...And i overheard one of them saying in Hokkien, "Aiya, lu ai knhua ee, lu khee beh ee ae poster lah! Tiau tua pang keng, knhua ka lau nua" Hahaha...literally translated as "If you want to see her, go and get her poster lah. Hang in your room, see until your saliva drop" Hehe...it's really nice to be back in Penang :P

It's going to be another Formula 1 weekend... This time it's in Monte Carlo, Monaco GP. This is undoubtedly the most exciting and glamorous race of the calender. Will not miss it on Sunday haha...but I'm just hoping that Ferrari can do better this time. Anyway, they were off the pace in Thursday's practice sessions. Schumi could only manage 11th fastest time and was complaining about vibrations in the handling. Hope they can sort it out for the battle in Monaco!

Delay...

Yesterday and today were uneventful. I got to know that those in Guardian will only start on the 7th of June, one day later than those in TTSH. The delay is because of the late release of our last exam results which will be on the 31st of May. Hence, we have to start work later in order to get all the paperwork done. Sigh, this means a delay in getting our first pay as well hahaha... Because of this, I should be delaying my trip back to Singapore by a few days. In a way, I will get to spend more time back in Penang! Perhaps I'll go back on 1st or 2nd June as I still have the Singapore Pharmacy Board and PR application to be processed. And of course, I hope that we can get our employment pass soon...

Watched American Idol yesterday and today. Finally, it's only down to two contestants, Bo Bice and Carrie Underwood. I did not follow American Idol until I came back to Penang haha...but my parents have been faithfully following it. I must say that the top 4 contestants were good singers. My favourite has to be Bo... I think he has the character and charm as a superstar. Carrie is not bad, but I think Bo can sing better than her. In my opinion, her popularity depends a lot on her looks... She is a very cute girl with reasonably good vocals. The finals will be held in Kodak Theatre next week...and I would want Bo to win but I have this feeling that Carrie might just be crowned the 4th American Idol haha.... This remains to be seen :P

The pain in my left leg is still there sigh... Think I will need a lot of rest before it can heal completely. Better not exert myself too much for now.

The weather is getting hot again...hmm, hot cold hot cold... not a nice weather to have haha...Anyway, I'm looking forward to Star Wars Episode III tomorrow night! The seats in Premiere Class cinema will be nice I'm sure hahaha

Feeling better

Finally the pain in my left leg has subsided after taking Norgesic. If not, I can barely walk straight haha...I just hope that the pain won't get worse in the coming days.

I'm still wondering when I should go back to tanah bencana. I'll start work on the 1st but before that, I have to apply for my training with the Singapore Pharmacy Board. As I need my final results, I can only apply after 11am 31 May. The SPB ppl told us to go there and apply after the release of the results. Besides, I also need to apply for my PR and I can only do that 3 days before starting work... So by calculations, I should go back during the 28/29 May weekend. Sigh, working life is going to be very different from studying, but I'm glad that my whole bunch of friends are together with me in Guardian except for Andrew who will be in TTSH. At first, those in TTSH will start work earlier on 30th May but because of the late release of the results, they will only start on the 6th of June - meaning longer holidays for them! Arghh...

My grandaunt made herbal chicken for me today haha...her cooking is marvelous. I always look forward to her cooking haha. Lemme see, she will be making 'pie tee' for me tomorrow night and maybe some other things later in the week haha...

Will be watching Star Wars on Friday night. I've bought the tickets but my cousin suddenly said that he can't make it...so I'll be going with another friend to watch. Premiere Class tickets costing me RM15 per seat haha... Looking forward to it!

Muscle Strain

For the past few days, I've been enduring with very bad muscle pain at the back of my left thigh and lower left leg. I don't know the reason but the pain is quite unbearable since I came back to Penang. I had some pain since about March but it wasn't that bad then. After thinking through, it might be due to my jogging routine earlier...maybe I didn't warm up enough before starting to jog. Went to visit pharmacist today and was given Norgesic which is a combi of paracetamol and orphenadrine citrate...

It's been raining almost everyday in Penang...as well as Singapore I heard haha. Went to visit my cousin today who's working at Applecentre in Hardwicke Mansion. This is the second Applecentre in Penang after the one in Gurney Plaza. There's an Applecorner in Prangin Mall though. The one in Harwicke is quite nicely done up as it is the main one doing corporate sales as well. And ahem, no wonder my cousin enjoys working there. The 2 girls working there are very very pretty...serious. Unfortunately one is a Malay but she's very pretty nonetheless...like the Siti Nurhaliza quality haha

Arghh...walking is quite painful these days...hope it will get well soon...sigh

Good Looking People

I came across an interesting article in the newspaper yesterday and how relevant can it be haha. Here it is...


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There are two things that average-looking people like to say about good-looking people.

First, they're probably dumb.

It's pure injustice that they got more attention from parents and teachers when they were kids, and grew up to have more friends, landed better jobs, got promoted faster and married other good-looking people.

So we average-lookers like to spite them by hitting where it hurts. We say they're stupid. We give them names like bimbo, air-head or muscle-brain.

After all, anyone so well-endowed in one department must be deficient in another. It's Nature's way of balancing things out.

Deep inside, though, we know not all beautiful people are dumb. As hard as it is to stomach, some people do sickeningly possess both brawn and brain.

But it's okay.

We average-lookers have one other grenade to lob against good-lookers, which brings me to point No.2.

They make lousy partners.

I first heard it when my Mum warned me many years ago to stay away from good-looking boys. They're trouble.

Last week, her sentiment was echoed by a friend's mother, who also cautioned him against dating pretty girls. They're trouble.

Mothers know things. They've been around longer than we have, so there must be some hard-earned truths behind their caution.

It makes sense, too. Good-looking people will always attract attention from the opposite sex, even right up to a ripe old age.

When relationships grow stale or hit a bump, as they always do, they are likely to bail, given the tempting spread of hassle-free options outside.

Good-looking people are also likely to have had many prior relationships than average lookers.

Chances are, you'd have to grapple with the ghosts of their many ex's past, possible entanglements with unresolved break-ups, even blows to your self-esteem, when comparisons are made.

Used to being lavished with attention from previous partners, they could also be egotistical, high-maintenance and difficult to please. In other words, you're the slave to their king or queen.

Of course, such behaviour is not the sole domain of good-looking people. Plain-lookers can also be masters of cheating, lying and all manner of despicable behaviour.

But the thing is, good-lookers are more likely to be lousy partners because they have more of what it takes to become one.

Sure, they're great to look at and could make you the envy of your friends. But they're probably not long-term material.

Guys seem to find it harder to resist good looks than girls.

My friend with the anti-pretty-girl mother tells me that all guys, without exception, go for looks.

He says: “We're made that way. A girl may have a good heart, but if she looks like a sack of potatoes, forget it.”

But we girls are different. Call it innate wisdom or just the biological need to propagate the species, we go for guys who can provide and will stick around. Looks aren't that big a deal.

I consoled him that, in Singapore at least, good-looking women far outnumber good-looking men. So there are many well-adjusted, level-headed women out there who offer both looks and quality.

Good-looking Singaporean men? They're hard to come by. So by sheer rarity in species, they are most likely to prove all mothers right.

I posed the good-looks-equals-lousy-partner theory to another friend, who disagreed vehemently.

“Sometimes, ugly people are even more susceptible to straying because they're not used to getting attention. So every time they get it, their heads swell and they'll pursue it,” he says.

Interesting thought.

I guess good looks are no barometer on whether a person will make a good or bad partner.

The real barometer is character.

Traits like honesty, trustworthiness and loyalty will keep a good-looking person decent, and make an average-looking person attractive.

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Haha....how true I thought. I've a friend who had a pretty girlfriend who is very popular among her friends. Guys would always try to get her attention and go after her. Eventually, due to her popularity, she left my friend and he felt so sad, even up till today. Oh well...good looking people have all the fun eh? Haha

I've sent in the Pharmaceutica Year 4 design to the Publications Head of NUSPS, Eric today. Too bad I can't manage to fill in all the blanks in the class list, so a few ppl will have some data unavailable haha... Overall, the design is ok but I think it's just so so haha...

Exam results will be out on the 31st of May. Sigh, hope I get the results I hope for...my last hope liao :)

Kingdom of Heaven

Managed to watch Kingdom of Heaven yesterday. It's nice to see Orlando Bloom finally being able to get the top role after several movies playing second fiddle to other actors like in Troy. The epic is rather exciting especially when the forces of Salahudin came attacking Jerusalem. All in all, thumbs up for the movie haha..

Oh oh, bumped into Yik Chuen after buying my cinema ticket. He's with his girlfriend haha...I've been wanting to see his girlfriend after Andrew told me that he has one...Finally haha...Congrats to him haha :P

I'm 23 now, going 24 soon but still unattached...some ppl say that I'm young lah, still have chance when I start work. But err, kinda feel empty now though hehe. I'm just wondering...do you keep going after a girl after she rejected you earlier? Let's just say that you have not really gone after her theoretically but you just give her a present. Then she sends you an e-card, saying that she only wants to be friends. Is that a total no no to go on? Haha...anyone with any idea? It could be that she's not ready or she's not interested at all haha...hmm

You could say that yesterday is more 'happening' but today is a total flop. Slept a lot again haha. I was so happy when i saw thick black clouds hovering in the sky this morning...but in the end, a few drops of rain, then the wind blew those clouds away. Arghhh....weather has been hot and it makes me sleepy. Good also in a sense that I've nothing much to do anyway haha

Just helped my friend to reinstall Windoze in this Dell. He claimed that lightning might have spoilt his notebook because after the lightning, his notebook shut off immediately and when he turned it on again, the USB ports and modem fail to function anymore. In fact, no more sound as well. The Dell ppl say that his motherboard is probably finished and may need a replacement. All in all, it will cost RM1300!! Tried to reinstall his comp but it seems that the USB and modem is really dead. Even the sound card is dead. Not much choice I guess...

Sleepy

Today is quite amazing. I slept almost the whole day...9-12pm after breakfast, then 2.30 to 6.30 after lunch haha...I think I must be lacking of sleep because I wake up early for breakfast with my parents.

These days, I do hear a lot of rumours going around among two of my classmates. And there are always two sides that I hear. I think no one knows whether they are still together and their relationship seems complicated enough. From one side, I hear that the guy is not possible to be with the girl. Then from the other side, there's a high possibility that they are together. Haha...relationships can be very confusing!

Needless to say, I'm one of the unfortunate ones in this relationship thingy haha. Most of my close friends are unattached anyway. What could be wrong ah haha...not that we didn't try but we just dun have the luck perhaps...or we're not good looking haha...Like what Father Andrew always say (what he heard) : 'Men not bad, girls won't like'....err. Throughout my uni life, I tried twice but failed twice also haha...

Alrighty, have to get some sleep already. If not, tomorrow I'll be sleeping the whole day also haha...goodnight!

Freaky Weather

The weather these days is quite strange don't you think? I woke up today and I found the reason why I'm still so sleepy. It's raining heavily outside and I can barely see a thing outside the window haha....no wonder lah...so cozy. Then later in the evening, the sun is shining again...

Had hokkien mee for breakfast. Oh my... haha, it tastes good. My friends who came to Penang for hols the last time can testify to this. I really miss Penang food :P

Other that the food, it's a rather boring day haha...I slept for the whole afternoon. Dunno why I always feel sleepy when I'm back in Penang. Maybe it's because of the weather. These days, I seem to find a lot of wireless networks in Penang. In my condo in Gurney Drive, I can find 4 wireless networks around my unit. Penang is not that backwards in this after all huh? Haha... Imagine the shock today when I can find another open network in the second bedroom of my house in Island Park. Haha...winning a lottery is even harder :P

My grandaunt made her trademark jelly today. Always so delicious. She will be making my favourite glutinous rice balls soon haha... I love these without anything inside. Just plain with syrup haha...drooling liao...keke

Hmm, think I should be sleeping soon. Always wake up early in Penang because my parents wanna have breakfast haha...

Mother's Day Celebrations

Just came back from my grandaunt's place. Since the 1990s, my family has been going to my grandaunt's place everynight after dinner just to watch TV together haha...and it's like that even up till today.

Just now we had a good dinner in Eden Hutton Lane. My dad told me that this place has been there for 30 odd years! Can't imagine that because it still looks nice and cozy. It seems that the condition was like that since it started...so it must have been really well kept! The place is still very posh by Penang standards...but it seems that I was right. The ppl who frequent this particular Eden is of the older generation ahhahaha. My mum frequented this place when she was still schooling. I had lamb chop, my mum had shish kebab lamb while my dad had fried chicken indonesian style. The taste is superb as usual...haha. This Eden is a good place to drop by if any of you should come down to Penang for a holiday :)

After that, I watched the Spanish GP. As expected, Ferrari is gone again. Pointless. Michael should have gotten at least a podium but with those 2 consecutive punctures, he had to retire from the race. What a shame when he was very fast after the first pit stop. Seems like Ferrari is wrong in staying with Bridgestone after so many top teams chose Michelin instead. Sigh...

It's still hot in Penang...and it's making me feel sticky all the time....time for a bath! Haha :p

Back in Penang!

Finally I'm back in Penang after a few months in tanah bencana. The last time I was back in Penang was during the CNY hols haha... Will be in Penang until late May when I have to get back to prepare for work.

Ah, the bus stopped at the new bus terminal in Sungai Nibong...and it's so much further for my parents to fetch me haha...we are staying in Gurney Drive. That place is a much better place as a bus terminal but it can be a little far because it's located much towards the south.

Anyway, it's good to be back in Penang after so long hehe... It's still pretty much the same here. Good food...great place hahaha. I've been very sleepy since I came back and have been sleeping a lot keke... I've also been trying to help design the Pharmaceutica year 4 pages...not that easy though, because a lot are mainly photos and class list. Other than that, pretty much boring back here haha...

Edmond is moving out from PGP today and will be moving to his sister's place in Clementi. Looks like we can take the same bus back from city next time haha... As for me, I'll be staying back in Buttock Hill for another year or so...it's a nice place actually...only if the landlady can nag less hahaha... 'Eh, the washing machine must be closed up with the cloth hor. If not, the colour of the machine might run' haha...I can hear that almost all the time when she calls...

Very sleepy...might just sleep the whole afternoon away... dunno whether will be catching the Spanish GP later...Schumi seems off the pace sigh...

Dear 'ol TJC

Just came back from NUS after having tried the size of the academic gown and the mortar board. The sky is getting darker by the minute and I can hardly see anything in my room hehe...but that's just what I like...cozy and the feeling of laziness hahaha

Went out the whole day yesterday. Woke up early just to meet Edmond so that we can go back to visit our dear 'ol TJC. The journey took us an hour. The feeling of dejavu is so nice. TJ has changed a lot since I left in 2000. New blocks, new rooms. Even the staff rooms are now card accessed! Good to see a lot of improvements haha...

Met up with most of my JC teachers...Mrs Poon, Mrs Kitty Tan, Ms Yee, Mrs Ng and Miss Rita Wong. Had a nice chat with all of them and Ms Wong even brought us around the school to show us the changes haha...so nice of her! Met up with Chee Wei and we had lunch in the cafeteria. The malay auntie selling malay food there still remembers us haha...and she 'forced' us to eat there haha...but there are no complaints...the meal is only $1.50! Haha...

After that, went to the US Embassy because Edmond wanted to collect his visa. Too bad they didn't allow me to go in...no business inside konon. So I cannot have a look at the inside. Hmm...

Dinner was with Teck Hua and Andrew in Long John's Cineleisure. After that we proceeded to TCC Peranakan Place for a drink. It's a very cozy place and the drink there is great! It's been a long time since we had such a nice conversation. Talked about everything, including our sad bachelorhood haha...Andrew has been encouraging me to go for the someone I'm interested to know about...ah well...haha, not much confidence though :P

Teck Hua has left for Kuching at noon. Yiu Cheong and me will be leaving tomorrow for our hometowns. It won't be a long one as we'll be back in 3 week's time to apply for our PR...sigh

Making the jump

Finally after so many years, I've decided to start my own blog. Rather late isn't it? Haha...anyway better late than never rite?

The starting of this blog also marks the end of my undergraduate days. In fact, my final exams ended on the 30th of April 2005. I've been a Pharmacy undergrad in NUS for the past 4 years since I ended my A-Levels in Temasek Junior College way back in 2000. Those were the days when I first left my family in Penang to study in Singapore haha...

Anyway, my undergraduate days in NUS had been great! Had loads of fun, knowing more new friends along the way, in addition to my ASEAN scholar buddies Edmond, Boon King and Chee Wei. The pharmacy course was a tough one but it's also quite fulfilling in a sense that it secures me a stable well paid job. As the pharmacy community is small, most of us know each other and we should be keeping in touch even after graduation. All of us will be going for our pre-registration training soon for about 9 months in hospitals and retail pharmacies. As for me, I'll be in Guardian for the 9 month period... but with the bond that comes with it (due to higher pay hehe), I'll be there for and extra one and a half years!

Will be starting work on the 1st of June and it marks the start of another phase of my life. As they say, life as a student is more protected...can't agree more. Hope that there are no politics in Guardian haha...

Oh well, blogging can be interesting really haha... good to just make an account of my life journey :)