new years eve.

here comes 2010

are you ready for it? because i don't think i am. i hope you're all indulging in some well-deserved celebrations and festivities.

year.

i would like to take a moment to be completely awestruck by the fact that tomorrow is the very last day of 2009. it has been a decade since the start of the new millennium, the Y2K craze, yada yada yada.

looking back to New Years Eve 1999 (being in 5th grade), i can so perfectly remember spending it in my best friend's apartment; making confetti to throw around at midnight and shaking Coke and Sprite cans to pretend we're having champagne only to realize we shook it too much with no shooting liquid in the end. has it really already been a decade since then? the days of Buffy the Vampire Slayer & Angel, memorable American teen movies, Baby-G watches, Hit Me Baby One More Time & Genie in a Bottle - occurring more or less ten years ago?! they all seem so - insignificant now. as will today ten years down the line. i'm sometimes scared to blink in case i find myself ten years ahead. twenty-one years and i still haven't become accustomed to the passage of time and my dearest friend - change.

minus my constant anxiety attacks and life in denial, with tomorrow comes yet another New Years Eve. the passage of time is inevitable. it must be, change is after all the only constant in this world.

x

don't you forget about me.

i ♥ The Breakfast Club. one of the iconic films of the 80's

it's love, not santa clause.

it's official, i'm in love with Summer. i love her smile. i love her hair. i love her knees. i love how she licks her lips before she talks. i love her heart-shaped birth mark on her neck. i love it when she sleeps.

i just watched 500 Days of Summer; one of the cutest Indie flicks i have watched in a while. what distinguishes Indie romantic comedies from the mainstream ones? a slightly more realistic dose of false hope and Hollywood-only moments. most of all, they seem more real. anyways, it wasn't anything spectacular but i enjoyed the simplicity and felt the casting was spot on! besides, im getting a little tired of the monotonous work Jennifer Anniston does with her romantic comedies. this one was definitely something fresh and quirky.

Tom, i know you think she was the one, but i don't. next time you look back, i think you should look again.

x

always mine.

dashing through the snow.

this is way (a couple days) overdue, but wishing you all a very Merry Christmas. mine was pretty low key with a simple Italian family dinner outing. i hope you all enjoyed the festivities with loved ones and those special and dear in your lives. not to mention gorging on fattening food and alcohol; all part of the Christmas cheer.

it's been a whirlwind of events lately; several outings, meetings and party-ings with old friends whilst enjoying the warm weather i have missed so very much. it's strange to return to the life you once had - though still fresh and vivid in my memory but now permanently regarded as a thing of the past. coming back to it feels like i had never left, everything fitting back together so perfectly; it's effortless and simple.

what was once my entire world, is now just an escape from the real world which i must continuously return to at the end of each holiday. funnily enough, i don't really mind returning to the real world anymore. it seems to have uncovered a glimmer of hope. knowing my luck and my history, i'm probably just hanging on to false hope as always. it's quite hard and frustrating being cynical and a dreamer all in one.

the beautiful KL skyline from my balcony. oh majestic buildings and blinding lights, i have missed you so.

one of the most beautiful buildings in the world; the Petronas Twin Towers and a little glimpse of Zouk.

Christmas decorations at Pavilion. who says Malaysia is a Muslim country?

real.

take a dirty picture.

first Rachel Bilson and now Mila Kunis; both in extremely stunning, high-fashion editorials. i love it. and i love all her outfits in the shoot; one can never go wrong in black. (can someone do my make-up like her's? please?). i have always thought Mila had this exotic allure, captured perfectly in this editorial.

help me to carry the fire.

we can never go home
we no longer have one
i'll help you carry the load
i'll carry you in my arms
the kiss of the snow
the crescent moon above us
our blood is cold
and we're alone
but i'm alone with you

help me to carry the fire
we will keep it alight together
help me to carry the fire
it will light our way forever

if i say shut your eyes
if i say look away
bury your face in my shoulder
think of a birthday
the things you put in your head
they will stay here forever
our blood is cold
and we're alone, love
but i'm alone with you

help me to carry the fire
we will keep it alight together
help me to carry the fire
it will light our way forever

help me to carry the fire
we will keep it alight together
now help me to carry the fire
it will light up our way forever

if i say shut your eyes
if i say shut your eyes
bury me in suprise
where i say shut your eyes

help me to carry the fire
we will keep it alight together
help me carry the fire
it will light our way forever

no sound but the wind - editors

you are perfect.

home.

i am home.

i got in this past humid Monday night. the heat was almost suffocating compared to the deathly chill i faced in London over the weekend; but comforting nonetheless. familiar sights, sounds and smells greeted me along with much missed tall buildings and larger than life roads! i'm so happy to be back though there are some things i'm missing very dearly right now.

it's apparently been snowing in the UK these last couple of days which makes me wish it had started snowing while i was still there; i would've caught a tiny glimpse of a white Christmas as i've never ever had one. watching the snow fall snuggled under covers with some hot chocolate (white hot chocolate actually which i got a taste of at the Christmas Market in Embankment! simply divine!) and a couple Friends DVDs. pure bliss.

here's to the very last month of 2009 and a beyond wonderful 2010.

x

winter wonderland.

my last weekend before leaving for Xmas Break was spent in beautiful London in all its Christmas glory! Christmas Markets, crepes with bananas and Nutella, mulled wine and endless sightseeing (in a freezing 5 degree weather!); a delightful end to this year in the UK.

the perfect day for a quick lunch followed by a trip to the British Museum

The British Museum

i fell in love with the ceiling

and let thy feet millenniums hence be set in midst of knowledge

Christmas Market on Embankment

The London Eye

the infamous street performers on Embankment

a beautiful view of the Big Ben and Houses of Parliament at sunset on Embankment

view of the Houses of Parliament on the Thames River Cruise

a view of the city on the London Eye

Salmon Teriyaki and Chicken in Black Bean sauce at Hare & Tortoise

Winter Wonderland at Hyde Park

the Christmas Market inside the Winter Wonderland at Hyde Park

Haribos and other gummy treats

two.

TWO days till freedom

some last remnants of this Winter Wonderland and British Christmas spirit; then hello month-long Sunshine and Sushi! i am very very happy at the moment in case you didn't notice. now if only this Advertising Strategy presentation would do itself. but whatever, i'm not complaining.

x

young enough.

december.

well hello there December! the first week of the last month of the year went by without much notice. i was so consumed (as I have incessantly been these past few weeks) by my usual assignment and presentation demands, that i don't think i realised the start of a new month. November seems pretty non-existent right now. however, i officially have just one more presentation to get through (taking place this coming Friday) before i am off to London and ultimately on the plane to my warm and sunny Asia; Malaysia Truly Asia. one week to go! it still feels like this semester only just started though. i feel like i haven't properly incorporated myself into my Final Year, much less the fact that i am graduating University in approximately six months!

on a completely random note, i had some amazing Bento for dinner last night at this Japanese restaurant i've passed by several times in the Bullring; Mount Fuji, but never found the opportunity to go explore. mmm i will be feasting on Sushi in a week.

i've lately been obsessed with Rihanna's new album, Rated R and the New Moon Sountrack; i highly recommend! i have them both on replay on my iPod. i desperately need some Indie back in my life. it's so nice being serenaded by Death Cab late into the night after a day of advertising strategies, campaign designs and marketing objectives.

wishing you all a warm and prosperous December dipped in love and affection from friends and family.

x

everything ends.

meet me on the Equinox
meet me half way
when the sun is perched at its highest peak
in the middle of the day

let me give my love to you
let me take your hand
as we walk in the dimming light
oh darling understand

that everything, everything ends
that everything, everything ends

meet me on your best behavior
meet me at your worst
for there will be no stone unturned
or bubble left to burst

let me lay beside you, Darling
let me be your man
and let our bodies intertwine
but always understand

that everything, everything ends
that everything, everything ends
that everything, everything, everything ends

a window
an opened tomb
the sun crawls
across your bedroom
a halo
a waning moon
your last breaths
moving through you

as everything, everything ends
as everything, everything ends
as everything, everything, everything
everything, everything, everything ends

meet me on the Equinox
meet me half way
when the sun is perched at its highest peak
in the middle of the day

let me give my love to you
let me take your hand
as we walk in the dimming light
oh darling understand

everything, everything ends

Death Cab for Cutie makes my heart stir

all work and no play.

i have had a delightfully productive (and equally exhausting) weekend and am so proud of myself for getting things done; five Graduate applications, the completion of the Caribbean4Life project, a first draft of my Retail Marketing assignment and almost half of my Advertising Strategy presentation (including four campaigns for print, press and outdoor media)! i am all smiles and so relieved, especially after the numerous mental breakdowns i have suffered this past week.there are exactly two weeks till i am home.

as a personal treat for my immense productiveness this weekend, here are some backstage shots from this year's Victoria's Secret Fashion Show held in NYC. i don't know how they manage to make the event even more extravagant from the year before. a whole lot of glitter, glamour and sexy-ness. cannot wait to watch it once it airs!

someone like you.

deadlines.

is it already the very last week of November? didn't it only just begin? insane! five days till the end of November and one more month till the end of this year. where did the year go? i'm desperately trying to distinguish one month from another but find myself amid a blur of distant images. it is starting to get super cold; my hands went numb on my way to grocery shopping today! damn you winter. the only part i love about not being in Asia during this time of the year is all the Christmas cheer and festivities. Christmas time in this part of the world makes me feel like i'm living in a postcard or in those scenes you'd see in Hollywood movies. with Christmas carols on full blast in shops, decorations adorning the streets and markets selling mulled wine and cinnamon cookies; it's all so Christmassy!

but in the midst of Christmas cheer, these are all i must get through over the next 2 weeks:

Nov 26: Marketing Consultancy Project client meeting
Dec 2: Caribbean4Life client presentation
Dec 4: Brand & Corporate Identity assignment 3
Dec 11: Retail Marketing assignment 1 & 2
Dec 11: Advertising Strategy presentation
Dec 13: Flight out of London

and i've got several job application deadlines scattered throughout. i just want to be home already!

x

sunsets and carcrashes.

and in case you were wondering, you are like a sunset to me
and in case you were wondering, you are everything to me

twenty one.

i am officially twenty one. i had a fabulous weekend in both Birmingham and London with lots of good food, good outings and great company (along with British rain and chill; winter is here!). it was overall, very very special. i missed some very important people in my life but had others to make it all seem worth it. it was a weekend of reflection, of epiphanies and future goals. i feel that each passing year of my life defines more concrete wants and needs. thus, is age just a number?

i am home in three weeks for my warm Christmas with two assignments and two presentations to go!

x

definition of love.

i think it still applies though i'm no longer a teen, right?

gray sky morning.

it has been an odd Monday. i was woken up around 7 am from the sound of heavy rainfall against my window with the sun barely rising. annoyingly enough there is a slight crack under the ledge protruding from my window and during heavy rain the ledge at the bottom gets drenched from the leak, not to mention the million wires i've got running under. so i had to get myself out of bed to place a towel on the ledge incase my window started to leak again! not the best way to start a Monday!

nonetheless, when i woke up again around 11 am, the sun was out shining bright and cheerful. the rest of my day consisted of lectures, grocery shopping and finally returning home around 5 pm. i hate how soon the sun sets these days! ah, winter is upon us. and so are a number of assignments that i must get through before the start of my birthday celebrations this weekend. as unenthusiastic as i am about turning twenty-one, i am looking forward to the weekend. and home in 4 weeks.

hope you all have a sunny, celebratory week.

x

you and me could write a bad romance.

love her or hate her, the woman is a genius!

never enough.

flaunt.

i haven't seen her in a while; Rachel Bilson in Flaunt Magazine. i love the third shot! she will forever be Summer Roberts to me. back in the days when the whole world was obsessed with The OC. it reminds me so much of high school and the initiation of my love for Indie music. strange how life happens in phases; things go in and out of style.

x