Arriving & Departing

Don't you just miss the song on my blog? (It's called At The Beginning)

HEYYYOOOO!!!

So, I've been missing in action for about 8 days, but it definitely does not feel anywhere as long. I have a lot of things to blog about, so I'm going to follow the timeline :)

The posts that are to follow might be more interesting, cause I actually went places after this :P

I had a bad arrival, and a worse departure.

At KLIA I must have spent at least 20 minutes checking-in, not including the 30 minute queue. Not only did my family agent forget to book my window seat, causing me to be seperated from my Mummy, but we were 22kg overweight. They were only going to charge us for 12kg, which my parents were pretty satisfied with, but I wasn't, so finally after I realised nothing was going to get past that brainless smile, I asked for the supervisor.

Errr...supervisor ah?
Uhuh
Oh...but really cannot give more la! Ok la, just take. Enough right?
Yeah, can I just talk to him?
*very unhappy* ok ok * taps guy behind her* Ini orang ah *whispers*

So that guy behind her turned out to be the supervisor, and after I glared him down he said to charge us for 7kg : RM450, which my mom said was pretty cheap for an overweight person.

So OK la! Pretty bad departure, what with my Ipod vanishing shortly before.

The flight itself was far better than I expected. I met an old school friend Nigel in the departure hall, and inflight entertainment has really improved from the last time I flew MAS to Australia. It was slightly bumpy, and we had to take a longer route to avoid a typhoon above Perth, but we only arrived a minute late. I even managed a quick slumber – I've never been able to sleep on a plane before. I also visited Steph who was very comfy in her BUCKET BED SEATS in Business class. Also, as soon as we got on, this man saw my mom and I seperating, and offered to switch seats with me! So we were able to sit together after all.

My cousin aunt N picked us up at the Melbourne airport. She had to wait ages for us, because of baggage problems. I was with Steph, who always flies Business, and so was boasting that her bags would come WAY before mine. Suddenly, when the carousel started, the first 3 bags out were mine “=.=

So, 1 more to go, and no where to be seen. About 20 minutes later Steph left, but my last bag still had not arrived. The carousel stopped, and they announced that another batch of bags were coming in from the plane. An HOUR later, I finally got my last bag – one of the last to come out!

N dropped us off at the hotel with a care package filled with yummy goodies, chocolates and milk, and maps of Melbourne. She also bought us DELICIOUS hot chocolate. It was like drinking melted chocolate! And that was the end of my first (half) day in Melbourne :)

The hotel room! :

Greetings from Down Under

heyya guys! Thanks for all the wishes, the well timed out calls, and the support :)

I am doing as fine as I can in this space of time, and almost everything I needed to set up has been set up.


One piece of news is that someone pilfered my Ipod from my bag. What happened was, my sister had borrowed it the night before and forgot to return it. So 5 minutes on the way to the airport, I realised it, and we turned back to get it. Since it couldn't be packed in, I dumped it into one of the paper bags my mom had placed my sweater in.

The line was massively long at the airport checkin, so when my mom sent me up front to check if we were in the right line. When I got back I realised it wasn't there! My dad went back to the car to check it out, and my sis back to the place where we got down, but it was no where to be found.

My dad wanted to buy one at the airport, or give me the money to get one in Aussy, but I decided to wait. I don't know what I'm waiting for, but I'll wait! My mom has also told my maid to search the entire car, so we'll see how it goes.

But I really do think the Indonesian guy who was staring at us unloading our 6 bags took it!

But anyway, the hotel room is quite good! I also viewed my apartment today : slightly smaller than the hotel room, and a bit darker since it overlooks the pool instead of the sunny roadside view of the hotel. But it's okay la I guess.

I wouldn't describe what I'm feeling as lonely, but...I just don't feel like myself. I'm not going around beaming like usual, but sometimes I just sit on my bed and stare into space without realising it. I guess it's partly because I don't know anyone in my apartments, and I hope it'll get better once I start classes.

Oh, I met Ching Ching at the bank, and later at the mobile shop our moms exchanged numbers. Oh yeah...I have a new phone.

Usually I would go describing the features and stuff, but...yeah la, maybe later. Seok! I don't know your number! Anyway, if anyone wants mine, check Facebook or email me :)

OH OH...ok la, a bit happier now since we're going on the tram! The last 5 digits of my number is my birthday! 27789 (27 july '89!)...hahaha...the guy who sold it to me has the same birthday, and is from Johor "=.=

But he's 6 years my senior la. Anyway, leaving now! TALK TO YOU SOOOONNN!

Futurum (Farewell Part 2)

I want to take time out to say somethings to the minimal amount of friends who deserve much more than to be included in the list. All the names on that list have impacted me positively in some way, but these few have brought something diferrent to the table.

I say minimal, because I have to leave soon, and actually only wanted to put one name, but decided it would be unfair!



Mun Yee, thanks for everything! From homework to advice, to just plain fun talk. And for being able to relate to how I felt closer to today, and for all the help you gave me then, and before, and now!

Yee Ping, for being such a great friend and confidant. For genuinely caring for me, and for being so nice and generous! April yeah?!

Rezza, thanks for tech-help and crapping when I was bored. And all those DVD's. My gosh. And the loads of cash you ever so willingly pull out everytime I say "are you belanja-ing us?".

Seok, for being a ear, shoulder and any other body part imaginable. It's so surprising how you are one of my closer friends eventhough we never shared a single class!

Settedici for the wondeful times, laughter, circles, blondes, movies, and homemade hours. But just to clear the air, I do not make you eat expensive food!

Boon for laughs, advice on toppling She Who Must Not Be Named, and for the help with preparing for Aussy. Angeline for being an easy tease and for all the MSN games. Go AAA! You've to take over RR for a bit!

Yar Sze and Tchen Terk (Darren), for making our non-romance long distance relationships work! And Gregory, for all those quirky things in high school like contenging my books, and making my projects nicer, and returning missed calls when I was bored. Sharifah for making Malaysian long distance work too, and being so free to meet me and transport me all over when I needed it! And Manpreet for helping me bash people who deserved it, and for all the help with my studies and wonderful conversations!

Thank's to you all!

OK OK, realllyyy have to go! So I'll see you, my avid blog readers, once I get my internet set up in Aussy!

Ad occursum futurum!

Minutes to 7am : Edited

This post was edited since it was first posted up, and 2 new posts have been added below it, so do read :)

Changed my playlist!

Today will be my last day in Malaysia.

Every person's life is made up of a series of events which are often thought about in isolation, but when looked at from a distance, present a picture of ordered development seemingly composed by an unseen hand.

These events are more than simply results of decisions taken by a person to solve particular problems at particular times; they are more than isolated happenings: they are a reflection of that person's inherent nature, the attitude of his family members, the environment in which he lives, and the influence borne on him by those with whom he is in immediate contact.

One of the most important decisions that I have ever made to date was the decision to do A-Levels, and to do it at HELP. I feel that because of this decision, later in life I will not only reflect my innate nature but also the positive effects of what others (my friends, family, and many people I've crossed paths with over time) have done for me. I grew mentally and matured greatly over the "short" period of those 18 months. I have many to thank for that.

By and large my life has been (in spite of a few unfortunate happenings) a smooth and even one. This is probably because of the strength and character I acquired through my childhood, adolescence and the period of college where I gained the character and strength to face the rest of my life.


FIRSTLY :

As genetic traits implicitly (if not openly) affect the course of one's life, the first group I would like to thank is my family.

(Though I hope they don't read my blog.)

They've given me everything, and they have are sacrificing so much. My dad gives his all without saying a word, and my mom pushes aside her own needs and wants for her children. Their character, morals, and selflessness has made me a better person than I could ever be. And if I followed them even more precisely, I could be so much more. They know what I'm capable of and so pushed me to the maximum, and I'm finally thankful to them for that. My sister has always been supportive and remains so even though she didn't have the opportunity of being sent overseas like I have.

I am so happy that I have grown up in an almost perfect family environment. I don't want to call it perfect because then people will just think I'm exaggerating. Now I see and understand the rules I had to follow and the lessons I was taught. I now see how important it was that I had a stable and loving family environment, and that is the main reason I am who I am today.

In his autobiography, my great grandfather said, "When decisions do not work out, it can cause a certain degree of doubt and unsettlement in the individual. The only safe guard against such unsettlement is a sold foundation of steady sober and judiciously flexible upbringing."

I thank God I had them.


Secondly,

The one I thank the most is God. Thank you for giving me such a wonderful caring family, and such great friends and confidence and faith to weather the rare storms of sunny life. Thank you for always watching over me and being there for me and surrounding me with beaming individuals who love me. And I feel peace knowing you still will.


Finally,

Next up is the list :) My friends. Thank you so much for letting me be me. There are so many different shades of Ruwan - I'm a different person with every person I interact with, but I finally realise, I'm all of them and more. My friends stuck with me through thick and thin, made me a better person, taught me to live to the fullest and appreciate life, and the value of trust and openness.

From every different person I've had the greatest honour to meet, I've learnt something. And so I want to thank not only my closest friends, but also all the friends who I unfortunately do not have the opportunity to interact with all the time. In order of when I met them :

Ro Wern
Nicole
Boon Choon Ean
Kamen Liew
Christopher Loh
Ng Guak Bee
Jeremy Lim
Aina Fairus
Tengku Iqbal
Manpreet Kaur
Christine Hia
Nadia Tan
Ruth Chiah
Dush Ganeson
Azra Azizi
Sara Azadeh
Liew Ai Vyn
Gregory Tan
Harvey Wong
Lim Yar Sze
Putra Rezza
Stephanie Lim
Lim Ju-En
Sharifah Fadilah
Amalina Abdul Alim
Wong Tchen Terk
Azlin Ibrahim
Raymond See
Jonathan Wong
Lim Chin Siong
Chong Ian


Charmaine Goh
Koh Siew See
Brigitte Leong
Chua Ching Ching
Wong Mun Yee
Ang Yee Ping
Choo Jia Hui
Emy Mun
Nick Wong
Rachel Chin
Lim Seok Mei
Koo Ray Mun
Liew Shing Yun
Aaron Tang
Pearly Tan
Liew Lixia
Hannah Low
Divya Chandran
Boon Ian Sann
Yan Mei Chan
Chang Min Yang
Angeline Ang

Thank you for making my life so wonderful, and making me anticipate each coming day with such enthusiasm and joy. Thank you for putting up with my quirks, and for forgiving my mistakes.

I'm not dying, but I'm going to be 6400 miles away. I'll see some of you twice a year. Connections will be lost, friendships will be forgotten, memories will dull...but not on my end.

I'll always preserve, cherish and remember every single minute detail of my years here. Thank you all for helping me come into my own.

Don't forget to remember me.

When you look back on times we had I hope you smile
And know that through the good and through the bad
I was on your side when nobody could hold us down
We claimed the brightest star

Whenever you remember times gone by
Remember how we held our heads so high
When all this world was there for us
And we believe that we could touch the sky

Whenever you remember, I’ll be there
Remember how we reached that dream together
Whenever you remember

Talk to you when I'm over there :) Keep in touch. And I'll always be there for all of you :)

Goodbye....for now.

Luggage.

I wonder if SHE is ever overweight.




The empty bags themselves must weigh a tonne "=.=

The Final Outing.

So on Friday night I went out with friends for the last time. Sorry for cancelling lunch Ju!

At 5.30 I had to go to the dermatologist (the last in the line up of fancy doctor names : orthodontist, prosthodontist, cardiologist, dentist...I can't remember if I went to anymore), so I ended up arriving 15 minutes late. No, I am not always late! But I hear that rumour has been going around!!!

It was only fitting that the last people I would meet up with would be Settedici, and so we headed to the Curve. 2 are in the UK, 1 I met up with before since she had exams coming, and the other didn't make it. So Emy, Jia Hui, Angeline and I met up at Royale Bintang.

Angeline : Where to meet up?
Me : errr...the hotel la
Angeline : HOTEL?! YOU SAID CURVE!

Me : "=.=

Emy & Jia Hui : Eh, where to meet?
Me : errr...hotel
Emy : Hotel? what hotel?!

Me : "=.=


Anyway, we made use of the cushy leather chairs, wiling away our time chatting. At around 7 we decided it was time to move our asses, and the others very kindly stood talking while I met up with Ju for 5 minutes, since we weren't going to be able to meet up before I left. We initially decided to go to some Tony's Pizza, but I changed my mind once I saw it and ended up going to The Apartment.


We were excited and pumped up over the expanded menu, but I decided to stick to my usual. DON'T GET TOSSED PASTA! From the last time I had it, it has shrunk to 1/4 the size! I was the first to finish my meal, and waited the rest of the dinner glaring enviously at everyone elses dishes. But Angeline donated a quarter of her dinner to me so thanks :)

Me : Your servings have gotten smaller!
Waiter : *long long talk about how some pastas are bigger, some are for 1 person, and other stuff I couldn't understand...All I learned is that I should have ordered the Prawn Pasta.*


After that we headed to Winter Warmers. I ordered Lavender Cheesecake, Lavender cookies and scones. Hahaha :) I told you I ate a lot! No la, I was sharing with Angeline la! Hahaha! But I guess that's saying I ordered the whole thing for myself right? We all had teas, sat there laughing and listening to stories.











And I didn't know how how to cut my scone, so Angeline decided to make a step by step photoshoot.

Step 1 : Make an incision


Step 2 : Cut the scone


Step 3 : Press down on one side of the scone to seperate it




Thanks for the outing guys :)

Editing

My farewell post has been taken down for a while because I want to add pictures, and blog about one last outing before I post it up. So

Patience is a Virtue,
Virtue is a Grace,
and yes...Grace is a little girl who didn't wash her face!

2 more days.

Sheeeeeeet.

Wednesday 3

Don't ask ;)

I left the Gardens at around 6, arrived at HELP at 6.20, left HELP at 6.23, and reached the Gardens at 6.40.

I DROVE Briggite's car! And parked in a mall for the first time! Hehehe!

We met Min Yang and Yee Ping at MPH, and after a short stop at Swatch, headed to the Comic Book store next to ToyCity, because I had to buy my cousin a birthday present.

We then headed right to Tony Roma's! We took ages to decide what to order, and in the end all picked the same thing. So when the waiter came over, he told us to reconsider what we wanted, so that we could share dishes.

We took ages to re-order, and then ages to replace all the existing side orders into ones we wanted more, and then Siew See went out for a while, so we waited ages for her to come back.

I think we know how to waste a lot of time la...But the food was worth the wait, and so was the surprise I got when Siew See handed me a present - she had gone to buy it. Thanks Christmas Tree :)


Siew See's Pan Grilled Cod :


Min Yang & I each had Rosemary Chicken with some special Garlic Sauce


Yee Ping had Chicken Tenderloin

And Brigitte had one of the Chicken Burger variety.






Thanks for taking time out of your day :)

V-D

The song change today is to a song which the Rolling Stone considers the best love song ever : This will be our year, by the Zombies. It's really good, but I thought some of you might appreciate a slower one, so I added Vanessa Williams to the playlist, and one of my personal favourites, 25 minutes.


Happy Valentines Day :)


Hope all of you with partners had a wonderful time and managed to muster some degree of romanticism to show your girls (or guys) how much they mean to you!


And I hope all you single people had a wonderful time wooing your inner selfs, and celebrating the freedom from the many complexities of V-Day :)

Wednesday 2 (a.k.a Shopping with a Ponniah)

I think I scared the living (and dead) daylights out of Li Hong. After CIMB, we were lazy to walk back up to HELP, and so I thought it would be good to cross the BUSY NON-STOP TRAFFIC highway to Peninsular Hotel to catch a cab there.

So, we waited for the traffic lights way way up the road to turn red, resulting in slower traffic. 5 minutes later we got our chance and sprinted to the middle of the highway.

After a while I realised that the traffic on the other side of the road would not diminish, because there were no traffic lights! So we were stuck on the thin barrier in the middle of the 6 lane highway, with cars zooming all around us, and finally, 6 mins later, we were able to cross back to where we started.

And then, I realised there was a staircase crossing over to the other side "=.=

Nevermind, we got a cab to stop at the bus station, and headed to MV. At the entrance to the Gardens, I happened to mention to Li Hong that I've always wanted to be jakun and take pics sitting on those armchairs.

So she made me!




So for the next hour or so, we went to :

Coach

Ted Baker




The Hour Glass (This is no ordinary Hour Glass. No NORMAL watches.)


Armani Exchange



Citihara (This is where I learnt Li Hong didn't know the difference between men and women watches!)





Piko



Tough



Fossil








Grafitee (Where the shop keepers posed when they thought I was taking a pic of them when I was snapping the sign "=.=. They even called me back from the escalator to take one of them)




We even stepped into Lacoste, where we had a good laugh at everything and left a minute later



To mull over the decisions, we went to Starbucks, where Li Hong introduced me to Green Tea Fruppacino. Yum.




We also went exploring in Isetan for a bit, where we saw "2x It" underwear. They make your ding dong 2x as big!

We settled on this watch at Fossil, and then headed back to HELP via taxi.



Guess what?

I got down from the taxi, walked into Brigitte's car, and headed back to the Gardens. Hahahah!

That's up next!

Thanks for inviting me out Li! Really nice seeing you after 2 years! Take care, and hope Jie Xing likes his present!