Tuesday, January 30 | 12:12 am

we fetched mars dear at the airport midnight-sunday morning. happy happy. :]

i've been really shagged these days. much to do and much to tend to. and my blog went comatose. i'm still tired, yet i insist on being here. can't stand it, my blog's looked the same for like over a week. here, have some photos.

maybe when i find time, i'll update for real. that might be around may though. :[

popeye's for dinner.

ladieees. let's go.

skytrain!

touchdown! i've missed my marsiepoo.

my girls. :]

in search of supper.

good ol' singaporean food.

tired.

i'm so weak at sleepovers. rozzie, elly, nydia and i slept over at mars' place (not our idea, i swear.) and like sya's sleepover, i was one of the first to conk out. grr. and i used to be so good at staying up to talk.

my camera's been taking lots of bad shots lately. i think that's its way of telling me it feels abandoned. haven't taken photos in almost a week, and when i did take photos during dinner&tcc with isk&fad last friday, i used hatta's ultra 12.9. perhaps ixus50 is jealous.

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Saturday, January 20 | 1:18 am

yesterday, when i was in the mrt on the way home, this guy from across the aisle got up from his seat and sat next to me. (about one stop after his friends got off, i think) "can i offer you some tissue?" he says. (for i had been sniffling and trying to breathe through my blocked nose) at first i declined, because well my nose was blocked, not runny. and it would be really gross to blow my nose like a trumpet on the train. but he insisted, and was already handing me his packet of tissues. and after that, we started talking.

it was a really pleasant conversation, because for the first time in my life, the guy spoke perfect english! i swear. let me make it clear that he was malay. and because he was speaking so well, plus he was really well-mannered and polite, i enjoyed the conversation. usually its like - sekolah mana? poly eh? -__-

if i remember correctly, it went somewhat like this -
(i was reading lecture material before he approached me)
so you're from school is it?
yeahh.
how's school?
uhh, tiringg..
(laughs, i think) and which school are you from?
nus.
oh, which fac would that be?
life science. are you from nus too?
oh no no.. why, do i look like i'm from nus?
i dunno.. you sound like you knew what you were talking about.

and so on. i can't remember the rest. turns out, he's two years younger than i am. and working somewhere. adidas, i think. haha. i don't remember much, except! (this is my favourite part.) we were approaching tampines and i was packing up. he goes "it was nice talking to you. hope to bump into you again, take care.. bye (: " he didn't ask for my number! how refreshing! it felt like a real sincere conversation between two strangers, and i appreciate that. [:

anyway, yesterday i had strip-date with fadilah! my maiden visit. ;P and it was a satisfying one. the lady i got was really good. (:

after that, the two of us just hung around and talked and talked, until isk came and it was time to go home. yeah well, that's how best to get to know someone better right? i truly enjoyed our conversations. [:

to a lasting friendship (:

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Friday, January 19 | 10:16 pm

[Jan 16th]

v tea room @ esplanade!

leather-bound, parchment menu. no kidding.

the tea was superb. esp since i was having flu.
we had the sthg-sthg bourbon vanilla (has orange blossom in it) and a swiss herbs one (has berries, woolflower, a handful other stuff. the description is along the lines of "Alpine freshness!"). can't remember the names! haha.
$8 for a cuppa, +$4 for a pot for two. hot water refill (free) and you get another pot. good if you're lounging around for a while. i recommend! [:

sheesh, i was terribly sick and still insisted on hanging out. swollen nose, puffy eyes. =S
hatta said we could cancel if i was too sick. but meeting this pair (isk&fad) is always a riot, how to refuse! [;

their most dignified tea-drinking poses.

we also had some mango cheese melted cake. apparently their specialty. this i do not recommend.
looks like puke, tastes mediocre and costs a bomb, i.e. total ripoff.

question: how many engineers does it take to pour a cup of tea?

decor! giant book! reminds me of the big books teachers used to prop up on the old black chalkboard, and read to us, pointing at the words in the book using the huge long wooden ruler, back in primary school.
and oh, those lilies are fresh!

the book is bigger than my torso.

[Jan 13th]

had lunch with shalynn and christine @ ramenten.
sort of a small farewell, cause shalynn is going on exchange! this one's off to hongkong. (:

she's already there now. have a blast love!
i got her a compact pocket travel book to the streets of hongkong. came with a street map.
i remember amelia (exchange mate) telling me that that was her most useful farewell gift, the london version of course. it really helped her see most of london, and it was a breeze to go on walking tours and getting around on foot. i hope it serves the same purpose for shalynn. [:

me and my best friend. :)
after which, sya and i went crazy at bugis market. omg. between us we bought 12 tops i think. not counting the 3 i bought earlier that week, also from bugis market. i actually offered to show her the shops i got those 3 tops from, but i too went crazy. again.
it was nice, just spending time with her. just us two. i've missed that. [:

[Jan 12th]

date with isk&fad.
boys are so lame. they challenged us to everything in the arcade. oklah we know you need confirmation of your superiority or what, while we obviously don't. so it wasn't a big deal.
not to mention the boys whipped us at everything. ;p
wait! except this really cute racing game, at which fadila and i both beat isk!

fadila says hatta muker policeman!

gelare yums.
isk complains that he cannot share desserts with hatta. hatta eats too fast, and isk gets left behind. rugi!

she's not feeding him.
ten bucks if you can guess what she's doing.

cheesy?

cheesy. (;
sweet too, i say. :]

ooh, somebody got a new phone!
this one was taken using his new samsung ultra edition 12.9.

this one was night mode, in the cinema.
school for scoundrels. i fell asleep. haha.

[Jan 5th]

met for lunch @ vivo, and then over to sya's for sleepover!
it was pizza (three cheeses, canadian pizza - my new favourite!), asian horror movie (i fell asleep.) and hair colour! girlfriends are love! [:

we managed to sneak in a couple of birthday surprises! (:
albeit, beyond belated. ;P

we got farah a jean perry bag - 21st birthday!

and rozzie a ritzenhoff bowl.
ritzenhoff has a cool concept, but i'm not sure how practical. nevertheless, the art is pretty.

this is why i need a lifestyle change.
i seem to have forgotten about school. it's been so much meeting up, going out and having fun. i haven't touched readings from week 1! we are now approaching week 3. tsk.

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Sunday, January 14 | 11:13 pm

for a long while, i preferred to keep these memories to myself. sharing photos and anecdotes with only those who had experienced it with me. i didn't feel safe telling others; they were outsiders. i didn't want to ruin it by piercing a hole in my perfect bubble in order to let someone else have a whiff of it.

now that it is entrenched in my memory, here it is:
(the photo montages turned out rather small; click to enlarge!)

here we go!
soekarno hatta international airport, jakarta.

kampung.
desa jungsemi, kendal, semarang.

landscape of green and dirt;
of labour and livelihood.

qurban aidiladha.
left: my daddy doing the deed.
top right: gotong-royong, true kampung style.
bottom right: my nyayi's kambing! so prettyy right. she's gonna be riding that baby to syurga, Insya'allah.

menyambut aidiladha.
my favourite: oil-lights in Coke cans.

a hugely eventful day. ;)
taman kyai langgeng, semarang.

glorious.
masjid agung semarang.

modes of transportation in the kampung.

what a pretty foal!
our horse-carriage horse (from above photo) had actually just given birth two to three months ago. oooh.

reading in the dark.
on one of the many occasions; whenever we exceeded the power wattage allocated for each house.

cooking dinner.
got enough firewood?

missing my babies.

parting shots.
left: part of my family's land.
sadly, crops aren't growing! :\

teary goodbye.
jumpa lagi ya kak.

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