An inch of time is an inch of gold. But you can’t buy that inch of time with an inch of gold

This time last year, I was all getting ready for my summer exchange to Yonsei, slogging half my holidays working to save as much as I could. Now that was a year ago, it just reminds me how time flies and unbelievingly also, we're almost halfway through 2013.

 

I am enjoying a Sunday like this, with homemade bazhangs and apple for lunch, and custard bread for teabreak. Annoyingly how unhealthy these are (except my apples), I gobbled down because I was too lazy to head out plus the weather is insanely humid. 

 

I am seeing smoggy skies outside but I think I should really head out for a long run later before dinner :| Lethargic is definitely my sign of lack of exerising and I need to sweat it out.

 

this is random but I thought it was a nice read:

http://www.mindbodygreen.com/0-9917/15-reasons-to-forgive-every-day.html 

 

Spot my pretty grandma in Korea above ;) till then..

Moments of 2012

Wow, it's the last Sunday of 2012 and another great year is coming to an end. This year was nothing short of amazing and I'm thankful for every single thing I'm blessed with and for over the months :)

Like last year, I looked through entries of this journey and decided to pen my favourite moments through the year. Something that happened months ago just feels like yesterday! Growing up too quickly!

January - May - Jan to May's just some.. nothing very interesting moments of the life except I remembering chionging overnight in school with my teammates for AA and whatnots haha. Other than that, it's just snippets of new food places I've explored!

Drips with boyf, and my hair, so long!

My favourite ice-cream parlour!! Tom's Palette :)

Ardent with girlfriends after Year 3 papers!

I remembered I spent most of my time and weekends working away, saving for Tioman and exchange hehe

June - Tioman - 3 days at Paya Resort, a beach getaway without much connection with the world. Perfect chillax place. We did snorkeling too!! :)

You're my star :')

July/August - Then came late June, I left Singapore for Korea for 8 weeks. Studying in Yonsei University is definitely a cool and unforgettable experience, not forgetting that our school looks and feels like Hogwarts haha. The daily mountain climbing to our classroom...... & our apartment, we lived so near dongdaemon I missed there!! :(

At the airport

Gyeongbokgung Palace

Petite France

Haeundae beach at Busan 

Road Trip at Jeju

This short experience has take up so much of my hard earned money but still, I wouldn't have trade it for anything else! :) 

“We live in a wonderful world that is full of beauty, charm and adventure. There is no end to the adventures we can have if only we seek them with our eyes open.”

 September - Came back to all the friends I've missed :)

The big group of most important people in my life :)

October - Back to school life for the last semester of my university. I had so much time weekly and we found time to bake. yummz!

November - blessed :')

December - The particularly happiest month :)

- Finished my exams, got my results and officially graduated from SMU!

- Got a job and started working after a 3 weeks well-deserved break! :) Just started on my first project

- Applied for BTO last month and... we secured a unit already. ahaha. Lucky number 8 :D

Really couldn't have asked for anything else better than all these :')
Can't wait for the upcoming year in less than 4 hours time. A new year to start of real working adulthood.
May you also have the best end to this year have a great start for the next!

Till then.. :) Have a happy new year!

Be kind to yourself

After some time, or rather a long time, I decide to diagnose myself with final year/semester syndrome after seeing signals of some repetitive symptoms on myself lol. Our lives seems to be moving at a frightening pace. When I think back or see something, it's either months or years ago....and in less than 2 months time, I'll officially be a graduate.

It was something I used to be looking forward to, but it seems otherwise now :/ I'm.. starting to appreciate my free and easy schedule for the past 23 years but I guess it's time to slowly put all these behind, start typing and mass send my resumes and get ready for the next game. In other words, building a new future :)

It's interesting to read and learn about others and take time to realize about ourselves. We usually don't sit close and listen to our heart but let each precious day and moments past. So in late recent, here's what I found myself liking or wanting to do:

1. Have a cuppa of coffee with favourite book/magazine
Sometimes when I am free, I'll head to my favourite coffee cafe, get a cup of my favourite coffee and pick up magazines to read but I guess with more work and school these days, it's just coffee and textbooks haha.

2. Cook - I drooled seeing striking salads on some blogs and went to the supermarket to get groceries to make grilled salmon salad hehe tastes so good! And with figs, which feels like softer and sweeter version of dragon food. I want to be eating more healthily!

3. Relax
I haven't really had the time to. I've either been working or tuition-ing too much. But I won't complain since I had 2 staycations at Robertson Quay and MBS recently! :) But when I have the time, I watch shows and to be honest, I have been watching quite abit. The new normal and new girl are definitely my new favorites on top of the last season on himym

4. Exercise
I don't deny! It's just something that makes you feel good. I enjoy running, I try to do it once a week and get some fresh air! It just makes me feel better and happier :) especially when you have a bad day... (or carbo overloaded day hahaha) but secretly, I still hope I can do yoga in the future. I really love Tara Stiles!

5. Switch off
Completely. I guess this is the hardest hardest for me.. I can't leave without my phone! :/ It's something I want to try doing

6. Shopping
This came across my mind because receiving parcels from mailbox is one of the happiest things to do! Wearing is also another. Girls are always girls. Window shopping makes me happy too! :D

7. Travel
Who doesn't love? It gives an opportunity for us to be disconnected from our regular life, increases our knowledge and perspective and more importantly, create memories! I'm looking to what's coming in 90 days yahoo!

8. Eat
Some food just makes your day. I have a love relationship with food and chocolates. I like to snack in between days hahah. I want to do it moderately!

9. Sleep
Something I am deeply deprived of. I sleep pretty late and little and I think it is caused by this weird system in my body call the automation! Okay, late is cause by myself though, I'll try to sleep in earlier!

There's quite a handful of my self-conscious now so let's hope I follow my own advice to be a better person xx

Happy Sunday! :)
images 1,2,4 credit to: Inspired by this feeling

p/s: typing this at work in a sleepy mode.

Bitter or better?

i kinda watched this over and over again. i think Nick Vujicic is a really strong man. i wondered, if i'm ever born this way, could i live to date? i guess many a times, all of us take things for granted... Our families, what we have, our friends, the luxuries to have a home, a nice chair to sit in, an university to study in, to have hands and feet to eat, move, hold things, walk, run, work, swim properly. we make a fuss out of small things, we get angry for nothing, we want this, we want that. we kinda.. expect too much from life, and people. of course not saying we can't have any needs, but i guess comparing too much may not help resolve any issues. if we want something, make it happen ourselves.

"the human spirit can handle much more than we realize". true. if you think about it, there are actually many things that you think you can't do it but in reality, you have already got it over and done with.. or it's in progress. maybe it's our process of learning and growing we often forget to look back and think 'hey, that was an achievement i've made' but only grumble on what we don't have or can't have. i am and still is satisfied with life but it'll be good to have a constant reminder that i should be contented. like Nick mentioned, we gotta be thankful for what we have. not bitter of what we don't have. i guess it's always easier to get through days with positive and healthy mindset. 

these day, it seems like a sign that i should know something, kinda bummed into many reality hits that makes me think so much. came across this article that struck my thoughts too.

and this..

來信 - it's a video about this old man visiting his kids and grandchildren before passing away. it's soooooo sad :( shouldn't make it a point to forget our parents are growing old while we're too..... just got reminded that my grandfather had a fell 2 weeks ago and i haven't make time to visit him. guilt stricken.

If I had my life to live over

So the reason why I have been staying over in school is because of this... Laptops and LAN cables for sales haha. AA is finally over. The past few days has been spent running and waiting for load tests in the middle of the night, reaching home at 7-8am, and up at 10-11am to school again. Very damaging to the body I know.

right before and after the presentation

my tired soul perks up when I received a postcard from Rome! Thank you Kay :D some friends in school are really lovely. Thank god for 3G, whatsapp I get to talk to my long distance friends all around the world frequently (:

Dinner at Waterloo (again!) with Vivian and some ice-cream fix at Tom Palette's yesterday evening after class. Totally need some of this. Ice-cream never fails to amaze me

OTD: Megagamie's Asymmetrical Boyfriend blouse in sky

and today, I slept for 10 hours since Sunday. Feels so good, except I'm feeling a little sore here and there haha. Made some hearty breakfast. Sometimes, food don't have to be too good nor expensive to make you happy. At least that's what I feel.

Yesterday in class, Prof mentioned something about "If I had my life to live over", we should (make more mistakes, relax, limber up, take fewer things seriously, take more trips, climb more mountain and swim more river, eat ice-cream instead of beans....) 

Every time I hear something like this, it makes me think a lot, I guess there are really some things we can go out of our way to do it. We live life once, no point fretting over things that makes your life miserable or are no longer in your life. This week I see, know and learnt so much. Thank You.

So nexttttt, making my decision about summer exchange. hehe.

Miss the boyf and girlfriends so much.

after typing this long entry, I'm feeling sleepy again zzZz.

Black&white

what do you think will happen if there's no colors in our world? what if everything's painted in black and white? would we be less happier than now? would we see things in a different perspective? would we eat our food with less joy? would we not appreciate our beautiful cities and buildings more than today?

I think the world is amazing. The people are amazing. It's because of some of these people we get to live in a wonderful environment, a world which we often take granted for. We always think we are only happy when we are young but is it because we give ourselves too much pressure to be better than others? Comparison is good, sure it does helps us to improve ourself. But, too much....? I don't like it

I always wonder about what I want to do or should do. Today. Later. Tomorrow. Next Week. The unforeseeable future. It seems like I don't know.. or maybe I'm not a risk-taker (yet, i hope) I always thought it's right to study to the highest level, go get a good job, get promotion and that's life. But then.. life is short. we only live life once. So how?

I often question how people find their passion, how people seems to excel in everything. How do they take their first step to do what they want to do. Would I be able to do that in the near future? I'm still in search for this little thing. I see and think about random stuff day and night but at the end of day, for now, I'm content with living simple.

Thursday in pictures

Be Happy Where You Are

For a long time it had seemed to me that life was about to begin - real life. But there was always some obstacle in the way, something to be got through first, some unfinished business, time still to be served, a debt to be paid. These obstacles are life. There is no way to happiness. Happiness is the way. 

~Richard Carlson