Only started getting active on Spotify this year, so I was pretty psyched when there was an offer available; RM 2.00 for a 3-month premium membership! I pondered for a while whether or not I should get this offer, and I finally went with it. Try it here: SPOTIFY

The pros for being a premium member are definitely the endless skips and no more annoying ads!

The con for it is most probably that it's only for 3 months.

The offer expires on 31st December, so hurry up and upgrade while you can!

Offline listening available for Premium members!

Genius Team [Scorpion]

Scorpion is a show by CBS. An eccentric genius, Walter O'Brien, forms an international network of super-geniuses to act as the last line of defense against the complicated threats of the modern world. The geniuses consist of Walter himself, Toby Curtis, Happy Quinn, Sylvester Dodd, Agent Cabe Gallo and the 'glue', Paige Dineen.

Semester break is finally here and I'm back in my hometown, Ipoh for the month! Most of my time is mostly spent at home since most of my friends are either still in college or working part time. However, I do spend some time wandering around Ipoh with my brother when he's not too busy with his friends. This time, we went to Kong Heng Square in Ipoh Old Town for lunch. Decided to have our lunch at Burps & Giggle. This was my second time there, first with my friend and now with my brother. But the last time I was there, we only sat down for tea after our food endeavors at Plan B.

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Bro with his half salvaged salad

Greeko Burger

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#1 Family
I'm thankful for my family, not only for their love and care but also their constant support and trust in me. Without them, I wouldn't be who I am today, without them I can never achieve what I have now. Thank you for your constant support, for believing in me and for loving me unconditionally.

#2 Friends
Thank you for putting up with my mood swings and nagging. Be it college friends or high school friends, thank you. Thank you for being there for me, when I'm at my most vulnerable moment. Moments with you guys are never dull and often a constant surprise.

#3 Music
Without music, I would probably not be here today. With all the stress building up, music has helped me a lot from intense studying to emotional tension. Especially grateful for wonderful playlists in Spotify!

#4 Food
Now that I'm in college, I rarely get to enjoy home cooked meals as often. But thankfully for my food adventures with friends and family (sister), I'm able to enjoy an abundant of good food. What's there more to ask when you have good company and good food.

#5 TV Shows
I am grateful for the team behind those fantastic TV Shows, which can either bring me to tears or put a smile on my face. Some of them includes Modern Family, Castle, Bones, NCIS, We Bare Bears and so on.

#6 Korean/Hallyu Wave
Variety shows and K-Pop has helped me grow throughout this years and they have helped me through my toughest times.

There are many more but writing it here would mean having a post so long that it will become endless scrolling, This post might be a bit too late since Thanksgiving is already over and it's already December (yay Christmas!) To be honest, whenever you're feeling down, just remember that there is always something to be grateful for.

Finally the end of third semester of college. I was seriously so overjoyed by this, since I won't have to face assignments, face annoying group members and face messy desktop anymore. Cleared all my college assignment bookmarks and also saved files on desktop. Now I just have to face my finals paper. Which I guess is kind of easier this time round since I only have to sit for 4 papers. 

Calvin and Hobbes to remind us all.

Taking some time off from all the horrendous assignment loads to talk about how we should be grateful for what we have at the moment. These past few months have been tiring and stressful and all I did was complain about how I wish I wasn't here anymore. However, yesterday, I learned that one of my senior from college, acquaintance from high school was met with an accident that has left her hospitalized and her parents were rushed to ICU.  And last month, my uncle from mother's side passed away from a car accident as well.

Rather than complaining about how my life is't how it is supposed to be, I should actually be grateful for what I have. I'm still alive and healthy, I can still walk, talk and see. That's all I've got to say for now. Peace out, enjoy life and live the adventure.

It seems like every thing I'm doing now isn't producing anything good. It's like being stuck in a maze and walking in an endless circle.It's not that I'm not trying my best, but.. it just happens. The worst part is, I have no one to talk to about since the people that I can actually talk to is either interning or working at the moment. All I can do is keeping it bottled up inside and hope for it to go away after some time.

Basically, any thing I touch or say is bringing disaster to myself and slowly killing me inside. What's wrong with me? Even on social media, I can't express my thoughts freely without being hated or talked about by anyone. I just need some alone time with myself. Not to cry, but to repent on what I did. In my head, it is mainly my fault. So yeahh..

Whenever we go for a movie or just simply watching a show on the TV, the only people we will remember are the casts and sometimes the director. How about the people behind the scenes? What about the Director of Photography? The scriptwriters? The editors? There are many more, however, they're just being treated as the behind-the-scenes people and nothing more. Same goes for novels, book etc. All people will remember are the authors but not the editor. Without them, will we even have any worthwhile entertainment?

Although I'm not exactly involved in the entertainment business yet, the same thing goes for college situations. My situation might not be as severe as other people around me, but I feel it. The pressure, the loneliness and the feeling of not being acknowledged. To be honest, even if I tried to fight it, it doesn't really work out well. It's like being in a caste but this time in college. You can never change your status. Once an underdog, forever an underdog. Depressing? Yes. But sometimes it will work out well for you.

For instance, I'm always the one reminding people about assignment deadlines, sending them assignment guidelines (only for people who attended the class but unable to take down all the notes) etc. For my course, I have to take a subject that requires us to direct, create and produce a content. Somehow, the position of the director went to me although I don't feel like holding onto the position. Despite all the efforts I put in, some people don't seem to appreciate my efforts. Moreover, they tend to change my efforts into theirs to outshine themselves in front of the lecturer. Sigh. Nothing I can do here. Maybe we should all just learn our mistakes and don't overdo ourselves.

To everyone out there who are underdogs, please know that you're important. Please know that you matter. Please know that no matter what happens, being an underdog isn't the end of the world and maybe one day, maybe, you can change your status for the better. We can always be like Bill Gates, Steve Jobs, Mark Zuckerberg, Mahatma Gandhi etc. All these leaders were once a nobody but they became a somebody.

Peace out, enjoy life and live the adventure.

Time passes by so fast when you're so busy getting this semester over with. It has been a total disastrous roller coaster ride for this third semester. Learned about group assignments the hard way this time. Assignment deadlines are every week and I don't even have time for food, sleep or chores. All my schedules are messed up. Just when I thought I'm done with the assignment, another one pops up. I guess that's how college life really is. It's not all about drama, parties and late night road trips. More like, late night assignment rush, sleep deprivation and panic attacks. Well, just a few more semesters to go? I bet the working life will be even more stressful. Heh.

Throughout the first year of college, I've learned so much. More than what I intended to, but I'm still grateful for it. I'm more interested in photography. I've learned how to lead people although I'm still lacking in this aspect. I've learned that I should trust and lean on people some times. I get too stressful when I handle everything all on my own.

Here's to a greater month, though I expect a lot of hair pulling moments. I shall be grateful for everything for now and learn from my mistakes.

And, Penang has been great to me this past year. From the scenery to the food and friends. Every angle, every corner is worthy of aesthetic photos. Shall discover more of Penang together with my friends and family.

p/s: I know this post is all over the place for the moment, I'm just too disorientated from all the assignment loads and loss of sleep.

Apartment view facing Butterworth right after the rain.

The Daily Dose Cafe Wine Bar interior.

Air cond ventilated seating area.

The view right next to the counter.

Street art just after a right turn in Love Lane.

Scenic beach view at Tanjung Tokong.

Lunch at Wheeler's Coffee at Love Lane.

View from my seat.

Bicycle themed decor.

Just some cute expression cups!

It's been a year since I started college and all I can say is that, it is never easy doing assignments. Especially GROUP ASSIGNMENTS. I have to deal with doing assignments with a bunch of people and it can be so hard when some of your group members don't do much of their work. Even after constant pestering, most of them would still do last minute work and expect you to correct their work for them. Basically, telling you to do all the work and they will just blindly receive all the marks you've worked hard on. Sometimes we struggle to find time to do the assignment together so that we can correct our mistakes. So I'll share with you guys my know-hows in handling assignments, both group and individual.

1. Online Storage
I often use online sharing storage like Google Drive/Google Docs to do my group assignments. It's actually sort of convenient since we can see real-time editing from other members that you've invited to view/edit the document. However, if the file is big, it can sometimes become laggy.

2. Friends don't make use of friends
No matter if your group members are your friends, you should just treat them like you don't know them. Once you see them as your friends, even if they don't do their work, you'll still forgive them which is a bad thing. If they are really your friends, they won't make use of you. Friends like that are not worth it.

3. No last minute work
Please, please, PLEASE, don't do last minute work. I mean, even now, I have group members who decides to do their work a few hours before the deadline. NO! Plan all your assignment routes, finish it a few days before so that you can actually show your lecturers the drafts before handing it in.

4. Pay attention
You should actually pay attention when the lecturer is explaining the guideline for assignment. Once you miss a thing, you will most probably fuck up your assignments and you'll have to redo it. Take down notes whenever the lecturer is explaining. Ask questions if you are not clear about it.

5. It's okay to pester them
Ensure that your group members don't delay your group assignment. Pester them to finish up the assignment on time. Sooner or later, they'll find out that it's for their own good.

6. Relax
Whenever you're stuck in between the assignments and feel pressured, take some time off to chill and relax. Or else, you'll stress even more about it and it'll disrupt your eating and sleeping schedule. Currently, that's happening to me.

There's so much more to it but it's basically common sense to be honest. Happy GROUP ASSIGNMENT-ing!

Alright guys, since I have nothing to talk about, I will post some of the things I do when there's haze, which is frequently happening in Malaysia right now. Apparently, tertiary education doesn't get to have a day off when the haze is at an unhealthy level, for Penang, it's constantly around the 150+ mark. They think a we age, our lungs are more superior? PSHHHH. The reasons they say that we need to go for classes are because classes are conducted in air conditioned rooms. That doesn't really make sense to students who take public buses?? For instance, I have to take two public bus rides to reach college and two more again to reach back to my apartment. My exposure to the surrounding environment is too damn high!  So, "thanks" to college, I have to take several precautions every day:

#1 Face mask

1. Always wear a face mask when you're outside.
According to my extensive research on Google and certified websites, the white side should be attached to our face when we have the flu (color side facing outwards). So, when there's haze, the white side should face out in order to protect micro-organism from environment to come in contact with us!

#2 My water bottle :)

2. Drink a lot of water/liquid!
Due to the haze, the weather is constantly dry and duty, so drink a lot of water than usual! I would usually bring a 500ml water bottle and refill it at a nearby water filter when I'm done drinking. If you don't like drinking plain water, you can add in a few slices of lemon a day before and store it into the fridge.

3. Take in lots of vitamins!
If you're feeling  bit down from all the haze, slice some fruits and have it as a snack. Your intake of vitamins during the haze is very very important, to prevent yourself from falling ill, or to make you feel better if you're already ill.

#4 Spend more time indoors!

4. Stay indoors as much as possible
Avoid the haze as much as possible either by being in your own home or inside a building that's ventilated. I rarely go out or I straight away come back home after classes to avoid the haze.

5. No more fried food :(
I am eating a lot less fried food thanks to the haze. With the haze, my throat is easily irritated so I would avoid eating fried food. It's been a few months since I last had McDonald's. On the plus side, I feel healthier?

Before the haze~

After the haze~

So that's a few of my precautions during haze season. Make sure you're always prepared by bringing a few face masks out and a water bottle by your side 24/7. Here's to hoping that the haze season will end soon :)

When you're so busy with your college classes and the heap of assignments, a day on in the weekdays is a total bliss. I would usually spend my Tuesday doing the house chores, finishing up assignments and relax, if I actually have the time. This is a list of what I usually do on my weekdays:

Baby succulents from Cameron Highlands.

I always find time to care and tend to my baby succulents! Since I'm living in an apartment and having cats/dogs are not allowed, I chose to look after these babies. On Tuesdays,  I'll water them and change their positions for optimum/suitable sunlight. The midde one is growing strong as ever, budding out more babies!

Face maintenance.

Just bought this face wash from Watsons a few days ago. This product is made in USA, and the price was only RM15+ after discount. So I thought, why not try a new product since mine was already finished. Shall give some reviews on it after I start using it. Heard some great reviews about it from my sister who is also using this brand. I would sometimes apply face mask or take care of my body hygiene on Tuesdays. So yeah..

Cookbook research.

Since I started working as a kitchen helper in a cafe back in Ipoh last time, I've become more interested in cooking. Although I rarely cook here in Penang, I'm a food adventurer here, so I actually get to try out tonnes of food available. I would sometimes spend my Tuesdays looking through recipe books and finding more online, for both the aesthetic and to find out more about various food.

Book club alone.

Besides that, I would grab a book from my shelf and make myself a cup of green tea to enjoy some light reading. I barely have time to read nowadays since I'm always buried under assignment workloads and being tired from classes on Mondays. So, being able to read a book on my day offs are so rare.

I will be making reviews about the face wash soon and also going to start talking/blogging about my every day discoveries.

I went out for lunch with a bunch of my college friends during our 2 hour lunch break last Friday. We couldn't decide where to go, so we went to one of our friend's friend's restaurant, Eld's 22 Pasta & Grill located at Gurney Paragon. The place was nice and cozy with great services. The waiters and waitresses were attending to all our needs. The price was reasonable for the food they are serving. I went with the Grilled Chicken with Creamy Mushroom Sauce. I ordered it in the 4 course lunch set which comes with a drink, soup of the day, main course and ice cream with homemade chocolate fudge at only RM 15.

Soup of the day

Fruit punch

Grilled Chicken with Creamy Mushroom Sauce

Creamy Mashed Potatoes

The main course!

There's always room for desserts! :)

Today, I feel like introducing a movie which can help people around. No matter how powerful and strong you are, you can have flaws and weaknesses. Even King George VI had one, he stammers when he gives speeches. Yes, you heard me. THE FREAKING KING. In this movie, The King's Speech, it will tell you the true story about how the King faced his problem with the help of his wife, the Queen and speech therapist/friend, Lionel Logue. The movie taught me to trust your loved ones and make some effort to fix your weaknesses. Even if I give my presentations in class, I seldom stammer as much as I did back in high school and primary.

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Colin Firth as Prince Albert/King George VI

Bertie and Lionel

King George VI who, to cope with a stammer, sees Lionel Logue, an Australian speech and language therapist, introduced by his wife, Elizabeth. The men become friends as they work together, and after his brother abdicates the throne, the new king relies on Logue to help him make his first wartime radio broadcast on Britain's declaration of war on Germany, to millions of people in 1939.

Since I was a wee little girl, I always dreamed about travelling around the world. All I wanted to do was to absorb the culture, enjoy the environment and learn everything about the country. But that dream was crushed long time ago when I found out that travelling costs a lot and it would be a lot of burden on my family since I'm still a college student. I'm always Malaysia bound because I've never traveled overseas before, hence no passport.  I'm constantly juggling with assignments and exams with my college course, so it's actually quite impossible for me to get a part time job. Even when I'm on my semester break which is at most, 3 weeks, people wouldn't hire me cause of the short duration. All I could think of is asking people to fund me or selling my artwork which is not really a good idea, since I'm not at that level of selling art yet. And the other bad news is, GoFundMe is not available in Malaysia... So I'm left with nothing in the end. 

photo credits: ybkim1002@tumblr

Since I'm using Samsung, I'm a member of Samsung Galaxy Life. I saw an offer whereby we can get 2 cans of Eureka Popcorn for RM 10. And since I was going to watch a movie with my sister, it was a really good offer. So we got two, one Tomato flavored and another Kim-chi flavored. All I got to say is, both of them were delicious! Nice to snack on during movies, or writing a blog post. The packaging was pretty, like those potato chip cans. The popcorn was up to the brim so it was worth the price.

Exterior of the popcorn.

Exactly like potato chips.

Tomato flavored popcorn.

All popcorn gone now.

Eureka outlet I went to was Gurney Plaza. The staffs were friendly. They gave us samples before buying so that we know which one to get. next tim, maybe I'll try the caramel and cheese. Drop by to get some popcorn goodness! Located at Gurney Plaza Lower Ground Floor. 

Had an advanced birthday celebration for my friend at Chicago Rib House in Gurney Plaza yesterday. We went there after our morning classes and we took the public bus there. The place was homey and some of the staffs were friendly.

Interior of the rib house.

My view from the seat.

Beer Battered Fried Pork Chop with Coleslaw and  Beer Battered Fries.

Thick juicy pork chop!

Soup of the day for starters.

The starter was soup of the day. I think it was a vegetable soup? Cause there were a lot of veges and there was soup. But the amount of seasoning in this soup is crazy lot. Maybe lessen the amount of seasoning and more veges for taste. After the starters, we had our main dish later. I ordered Beer Battered Fried Pork Chop which was sort of the recommended dish there. The chop was big enough for one person (bear in mind, I have a big appetite). The chop was thick and juicy, could have been a bit more tender if you ask me. You can change your side dishes to anyone you liked. I changed mine to coleslaw and beer battered fries. The fries was big and crispy meanwhile the coleslaw was perfect after all the fried food. After finishing off my food, had bread pudding as dessert. I was already quite full after the main dish, so it was quite hard to finish off the desert. Nonetheless, t was baked perfectly, crispy golden brown on top and mushy on the inside. The whole lunch set was only for RM 16.90 (tax not included).  The tax was so so high! If not mistaken it was 16%? Like what's up with that?

All in all, it was a nice place to be celebrating an occasion. If I were to spend my lunchtime here every time, I'd go broke. Hah. Just for special occasions.