5月29日~~

Did my 1st 10km today

1.00.42

a bit shocked by the results

because I've never trained outdoors in the UK 

other than that ONE TIME in first year 

well 

it's true, running outdoors is much much much more interesting 

than running on a treadmill 

that feeling when you just zone out, 

and autopilot your feet ♥ 

and you just pay more attention to the surroundings 

i felt like I was sightseeing rather than running

since I took this race a bit easier than I should :3 

but oh well, never had a PB, this would be my first PB then HAHAHA

I was smiling like an idiot at every km checkpoint

but what's NOT to smile when the spectators (especially the younger ones) are holding their hands out waiting to high 5 you, cheering for you, and holding ridiculously cute banners

I remember seeing
"Look here sexy! [your name]"
"motivational banner"  

"Just keep swimming running"
"Smiling helps you to run!"

and a lot more 

oh ya, I also saw an advertisement on a bus "Be the CEO your parents want you to marry, and then choose who you want to marry" WOW strong phrase mou ? 

there was also a veteran who was participating the marathon with one leg

a LOT of respect for him :) 

there are people wearing tutus 

a guy wearing a snowwhite dress etc 

and need I mention, the entertainment along the way was just WOW

So different from my last run, which was 2 years ago @ jog for hope 

there are people playing drums, singing, dancing and MC-ing(?)
it was fun .. like really fun :D 

didn't know I have the stamina in me to do this.. YT a few years back would be like "u crazy, girl?"

I used to do 800m mostly because , this is a super awkward distance

I wrote an article about the 800m race before, it was published on like some student magazine? 

my cousin printed it out and distributed it to her students,
but  the truth is I didn't use a lot of "strong" words or phrases, I just got super metaphorical relating life to running at that point lol 

opting to go for a half marathon with zhi ling or anyone else who jios 

it feels as if I can still keep going though :) 

and i'm willing to challenge that limit 

thanks for the jio yi lian :) 

PS. Made dad's birthday card yesterday, (because there is no time for me to learn his favourite song and play on my guitar :( )
PPS. Tomorrow we start to "change the world" hopefully it's not as bad as what the senior puts it to be .. lel 

Lisbon + Sintra, Portugal (4D3N)

葡萄牙
曾经马六甲王朝成为了它的殖民地

也就表示
葡萄牙的一切
让我想起了我的家乡 - 昔加末
也有些马六甲的味道

只是他们把厕所的瓷砖黏在建筑物外面的墙壁而已
a bit weird but it's okay

虽然葡萄牙有很多 football club

"214 clubs are registered in the Football/Soccer Association of Lisbon."

但竟然没有一个人想去参观任何一个stadium
后来弟弟叫我看Christiano Ronaldo 的 museum 我才知道为什么

实在有点难度

哈哈哈

很快速带过去了的地方


第一天 (5 月 22日)
去Luton 的路程实在远，前一天晚上8点就逼着自己睡觉，
毕竟第二天3点半就要离开accommodation

1. Ocenaria de Lisboa ,
也就是欧洲最大的水族馆, 水赖超可爱der，
不知道什么时候开始victor 开始叫我dragon (到现在我都不太清楚为什么)
所以到了 sea dragon 的 exhibition 一直叫我认亲
ryan 还一直讲 "Isn't sea dragon the loch ness monster or something"
stupid :'D
2. Landeau Chocolate 
因为airbnb的host 迟到了，所以就没的去 walking tour ( :( )
坐了一个小时的车程去吃一个所谓"the best chocolate cake"
我个人觉得其实很不错啦，但身边有味觉的人都觉得有点失望
3. Fado Music
到了葡萄牙就是要听听当地的音乐啦

Fado is a music genre originated in Portugal, derived from the Latin word “fatum” – destiny

不懂她唱了什么，但他们唱到很入神，弹12条弦的 portugese guitar 也弹到津津有味
不管是emo song 还是folk song 都挺不赖的说~



第二天 （5月23日）
去一个小时以外的地方 （belem）买了Pasteis de Nata (我觉得，这是我学会的唯一一个葡萄牙词汇，又称- 蛋挞) 据说，全世界第一粒蛋挞就是在这里做的 - Pasteis de Belem

之后要买车票去sintra的时候，眼睁睁看着火车走，也无可奈何，毕竟我们才刚到买票的 machine ._.

还有，因为是我带路，当然也是要不小心提早下错车站，弄到全部人要多走30分钟。
burden like crap man ...

1. Quinta de Regaleira

"It is classified as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO within the "Cultural Landscape of Sintra". 

安排行程时，我和andrea就一人选了一栋城堡 参观 :3 ..
这就是 andrea的城堡
里面有很多小小的密道
整个城堡让人感觉就像princess 一样 ♥
我一直叫人家摸头发扮princess 我觉得他们快被我烦死了 @@ paiseh :3

PS. 其实没有注意到自己的头发其实很长了

2. Moorish Castle

简直就是万里长程的味道

还一直讲没有、很不一样 ._. 

but anyway, 我们也在这里的一个许愿池投币许愿

 “let me pass second year” 这种不争气的愿望还敢许。。 :'D
oh well ~ (pun mou?)

Ps : Chris 讲这张是super awkward flat photo . 

我跟victor 讲这是个manly castle, 所以是他的castle 

3. Pena Palace

又称 我的palace

after I've officially named myself princess of Pena palace :3

这地方大到恐怖，

大家也走到累垮了，

只cover不到四分之一就放弃坐下来等时间过，等palace关门lel

其实这座城堡很漂亮，但它真的是大到我拍不出它的美，

所以有兴趣者请直接google 谢谢合作 :3 

PS.. 这座城堡很有Gaudi的设计风格 +  Princess Jasmine 城堡的味道

PPS.. 我在拍照的时候，nicholas 叫我不要看镜头才美，用了一个很客气的方式来告诉我，我的脸不是我的best feature HHAHAHAHAH

第三天 （5月24日）

前一天 晚上，被 locked IN the airbnb, 不是 locked out 哦，是locked IN

next level mou? 因为airbnb的锁有点年龄了，所以大力一点，就直接拔不出来了

所以这天早上忙着肚子饿，和玩一个很智障但很过瘾的card game - exploding kittens

下午，host带着lock smith 来，换个锁，就已经3点多了

把计划全都打乱 :') 

1. Santa Justa Elevator

The Elevador de Santa Justa (Santa Justa Lift) is a beautifully crafted elevator that transports passengers from the Baixa district up to the ruins of the Igreja do Carmo church.

也就是说，这个elevator是个交通工具

所以我们从另一个elevator下来的时候，有点Paranoid 以为坐这里的电梯都要给钱

突然觉得能 monopoly这里的 roof tiles production 其实很不错

这个季节到处都是这些紫色的花，树上一片叶子都没有
如果没有记错的话，初中生物应该有提过，一棵树若要长花，就须让一些叶子 凋零

好个浪漫主义

google一下才知道这是 Jacaranda tree

在这里，没有做很多productive 的东西，我投一下postcards 就走了，弄到其他人一直问我，是不是为了找信箱才带他们坐电梯过来lol

2. Costa Da Caprica 

用料足足3个小时，什么transport都坐了，还是要走个4公里才能到的沙滩

到最后也只是在那里随便走走，看夕阳，吃晚餐

决定撕票做个30分钟的uber回家 （一个人只付了5 euro）

足以证明。。

其实public transport 不是很好

PS.. Victor 讲，如果我打算放我们两个人的任何一张合照，记得要caption "Who is the most dynamic duo?"

PPS .. 他觉得我给的答案 “Mickey and Minnie” 让他彻底失望

第四天 （5月25日）

这天我们对交通工具绝望了，直接做uber到belem, 只买了去车站和去飞机场的车票

1. Torre de Belem 

As a protector of Portuguese individuality and universality, the tower saw its role confirmed in 1983 when it was classified by UNESCO as "Cultural Heritage of Humanity".

看到照片里面的队伍没有？很恐怖长

这座tower 有93 steps 

比russell square 的 171 个steps 少了 一点点 :3 

PS. 看到背景里那个貌似golden gate bridge 的那道桥吗？

The Vasco da Gama Bridge over the Tagus River is the longest bridge in Europe – 17, 2 km (10.7 miles) long.

2. Mosteiro dos Jeronimos 

里面有一个其实个人觉得蛮好的 summary of world history + history of portugal 

看到历史课本以前背到傻酱的facts

就觉得蛮开心的，不懂为什么。。

可能是因为以前学的东西没有完全还给老师吧？

去飞机场之前

和chris一起买了20粒蛋挞，immigration officer 照我的旅行袋的时候一直淫笑

我很莫名其妙的时候，才想起，我bag 里面还真的有 20 粒我要sneak 回london 的20粒蛋挞 

(Don't Judge :> )

虽然飞机delay 了

但奇迹在我们land的时候发生了，从下飞机到巴士站，历时仅20分钟

I guess .. the company was what made this trip that much more awesome :) 

T - 3 days to "How to Change the world" aka... the beginning of my 3rd year

5月26日~~

快乐越来越简单

简单来。满足

- 考完试

- 把duvet cover, fitted sheet 折整齐

- spring clean 房间 

- 因为有时间慢慢烫衣服(nandayo?!)而快乐

- 慢慢整理receipt
- 出去买菜
- 读完一本小说
- 听音乐煮饭、坐tube
etc 

曾经觉得很显的家务
曾经不喜欢的空虚感

曾经很害怕的孤单

其实很therapeutic
hahahaha

偶尔出去找找朋友

偶尔给自己买花

偶然爱上曾经不喜欢的音乐

偶尔做做自己喜欢的事情

一切的一切。

简单的幸福。

======= 

成长的路程比想象中长了一点

途中有形形色色的人上下车

有些人买了长程票，却提早按铃下车

还有些人坐上了霸王车，死赖着不走

-- 

victor 整个portugal trip 都在 advice 我绝对不要为了任何人放弃事业与梦想

但梦想与事业不能并谈 :o 

--

Victor: Are you the same person you were 5 years ago?
Me: No
Victor: Then you should never expect anyone to be the same, to love you the same and all those. Make sure you're always financially independent. Don't quit. Because anyone that holds your money, will hold power over you. 

还真的是会让我再思考我的人生多几下酱~

取舍的艺术，还真的有点难捉摸 

PS. Just finished "Tuesdays with Morrie" I think I really need to own this book, and make it my "bible"

5月12日~~

So I was buying a snack @ KFC around 10 something pm , so ready to power through the night

I went against my intuition when I saw a bunch of teens inside,
swearing and making a fuss at the collection table 

and went inside anyways 

mainly because there were so many other people 

how wrong could things get?

and I was wrong 

should have trusted my gut feeling but I didn't 

so I was standing in a small corner, which I usually do 

when one of the teens bumped into a drunk dude

the drunk dude was so pissed, took off his blazer and all 

they were shouting at each other man 

one of the person in between was ngam ngam on the phone

damn geng, he was STILL on the phone

 while he reach out his other hand to stop them from fighting 

I thought it was over when the bunch of teens exited 

but it was a very uneasy feeling 

I started texting people
(mostly because I have the smallest guts on earth)

of course, my flatmates were the first ones to respond

they asked me to leave but like .. my order was almost up
or so I thought
(btw, slowest order ever)

Anyway

the bunch of teens didn't let it go

ran inside to push the drunk man down 

it was a fight that lasted for a few seconds and i'm less than 1m away 

freaking 

scary

the people nearby all tried to stop them and shit 

the drunk man wanted to go out to .. idk 挑衅 ? 

people were asking him not to go out 

but he left eventually 

i don't know what happened to him 

but I needed to breathe man 

I have to stop being scared 

but it gave me another good reason as to 

why it sucks to be alone

and why it sucks to go out at night 

and today I've learnt a new word

Nyctophobia

^ Something I'll never be as much as I try

PS: googling nyctophobia leads to images that would scare the shit out of me .. so I went with the opposite of that term HAHA

PPS: writing this to calm myself down

5月3日~~

Just a few noteworthy things that happened to me over the short few days

Summer plan:
1. Accepted internship opportunity with EY - Advisory (Risk)
2. InternHero programme at night / weekends

internhero前几天发现我的email (我其实很久以前send了)，是个我拒绝一间startup的interview offer的email. 本来我还在想，挺可惜的，其实他们的programme蛮不错，早上去start up 做工，晚上和不同的人startup founder / startup enthusiast networking。

结果！原来，我还是有机会参加这些programme :D .. 他只是提醒我回国之前记得问他们programme是怎样的，因为他们还没有排好。


which also means:
1. I have to reject a signed contract with Swiftcow E Commerce Summer internship programme
    - Parents somehow didn't really like the idea of me going into startups

2. Apologize and thank Lina for helping me link up with Maxis
    - She was my Senior Manager back in UEM who transferred from Maxis, last summer she promised me that she would try her best to link me up with Maxis so I can learn more about Product Design (you have no idea how excited I was about this, 终于找到一个和creativity 与engineering有关系的部门) 她真的是forward我的cv给他们的hr, 还提醒我记得自我介绍。
    - I didn't introduce myself in the end because I've received an acceptance letter from EY


这也代表我的new year resolution "Keep Summer Fruitful"应该也成了吧？
和很多朋友约好了要见面，毕竟去年的我犯忌，不常和朋友见面，呵呵~


Anyways,
Yi Lian cooked lunch for me and Andrea today :')

I told her, at this rate she is going, I'm going to carve "Owe Yi Lian Food" on my tombstone
People are so nice these days .. I just feel so ... blessed ... :)



2 papers down .. 4 more to go

PS. Very into blackbear, acoustic album these days, idk why
PPS. Bad news, we need to find another new flat

5月1日~~

# RANDOM MEMORIES #

劳动节快乐 ！

2 more days to 2nd Paper in my 2nd year
yet my brain is on auto throwback mode after Grace replied my instagram comment so we can hangout after our exams

---

damn
Major throwback to last summer,
when we were so damn close (because she interned at PwC and I interned at UEM, everything is at KL central) and we had multiple lunch breaks to discuss on MPPC marketing
(She was the Marketing Director for MPPC)

I remember how relief I was that 他们没有嫌弃我 ~
Because I know how annoying I can be when all the ideas just flow
and I sound more stubborn with my suggestions when I'm giddy with excitement

The team legit put up with all my nonsense
when I ask them to do a 街上采访陌生人on "Workplace" with me
and a lot of other nonsense

and we shared a lot of personal conversations
and I haven't thanked her enough for listening to me :)

but anyway
the BIGGEST thing I've done with grace I remember

was the day we went for BFM interview

-----

 we were obviously thrilled when Grace told me about this
i mean .. how often do first year undergraduates get interviewed by Business and Finance FM right?

we had a lot of meetings with seniors, EXCOs and other people on how we should do the interview

I remember how I was so damn stubborn and persistent that Grace is the perfect person to do this
and her answers during the interview really just bring a warm fuzzy "hygge" feeling to me

Thank you :')
for seeing things through lenses like that :')

既无私又用心的人，其实一直都在。
She is so humble, talented and determined in anything she's doing
that it's just ....

inspiring

anyway ..
那天 interview 完了之后，我们在烈日当中走了将近30分钟才到one utama
只为了rock climbing

----

记得前一天晚上，我还问她“since we're taking the whole day off from work tomorrow, and the interview is only 20 minutes, do you want to do something together”

她回答我 "I want to do something different"

#yolo

----

When MPPC was over with, she even bought me these kit-kats and wrote a really sweet note to me.. (and she was sick that time!) ... and it struck on me that ... 长大不一定要outgrow最真诚的友谊..



PS.. She is an amazing baker
PPS.. She is a regular volunteer