Besties ;)

Weirdest 2 days straight that I can remember O.O On the last day of finals, just as I was starting on the first question in the paper, a piece of my spectacles fell onto the table. Knowing that I had no time to panic over it, I calmly continued with the rest of the questions. After exams, had a nice photo session with some coursemates :)

From left: Shi Yun, Hoay Ying, Aivee, Kirba and me :)

Then bestie Jia En came to fetch me for our day out together. We managed to get our purple evil minions from McDonalds! But didn't manage to get the yellow one, which threw a damper no our moods. Both of us being more than a little bad with our sense of direction, and with a faulty GPS, things didn't go any better as we got sidetracked several times after taking several wrong turnings. Finally made it to the cinema to catch Despicable Me 2, which was the second highlight of the day, the first being finals over. The movie cheered us up tremendously and we had a great time after the movie shooting hoops at the arcade.

with bestie Lim Jia En :)

Then came another unexpected blight on the whole day - our car's engine started to stutter and make noises like a helicopter when we were on our way home around 9pm, which made us panic so that we immediately veered right to the side of the road to stop and inspect the engine and almost got run over by a lorry and a motorcycle in the process. After numerous failed attempts to get the hood open and calling for distress help from her parents, we both realized an important thing that night: that we had to boost up our knowledge of handling minor car issues; eg: burst tyre, engine overheat, stuff like that. But at least we faced it together. It seemed like some higher being wanted the both of us to catch up on a range of emotions since we had not meet each other for such a long time. Anyhow, we got to spend time together, and that's what matters most.

Finally made it to Foo's place at 11pm after taking the LRT near Jia En's place. Stayed up the whole night with another 2 besties Fong and Foo. Had a great time sharing and catching up with each other. Foo also made French toast and green bean soup for the first time! Fong played with the 'minions' I had collected from McDonalds and did crazy hairstyles for the evil one. In the end only managed to sleep an hour or so before getting up to 'sahur' but was lazy to rise from the bed so in the end only drank water and went back to sleep.

spending time with besties Foo and Fong :)

Woke up and went to Wisma MCA with Fong so she could do her VISA. Walked to KLCC and slept a little at Galery Petronas after admiring the new collection. Was particularly impressed with two huge wood carvings of 'keris' hilts. Beautifully carved. Spent the rest of the day window shopping with Fong and her classmate, Yan Kai. Bought 'kurma' and popcorn for Xiao Yin but misplaced them. My fault really. Shouldn't have left them here and there knowing what a forgetful person I am. Learnt a good lesson of keeping an eye on personal belongings as I had to fork out double the money to pay for the same two items.

Me and mah dinosaur!!! <3

After the past two days, I really needed some cheering up and a really good day of fun and no bad incidents happening. Went up Genting Highlands with cousin Ching Ching and her gang of friends: Yanyan Oon, Xiao Yin Han and Poh Yee, joined by Wen Xin there. The cool mountain breeze reminded me of my home and the fact that I was going home soon cheered me up. Had a great day at the outdoor theme park as we got to try almost all the rides except for those under maintenance. It was surprisingly quiet for a Saturday morning but the crowd expanded after lunch. Still when the mist blew in and the rain began to fall, only Yanyan was crazy enough to brave the cold and mist and rain to run to the Dinosaur Park so that I could get a picture with the dinosaur and continue playing several outdoor games. That girl made me realize this was the real start of a really great and hopefully lasting friendship.

After a hot shower, went for dinner and after that, entered the casino for the first time after reaching my 21st birthday. Was particularly gleeful as I was not stopped by security to confirm my age. Upon entering the casino, I was greeted by the sight of rows upon rows of bright flashing lights emitted from slot machines where people could be seen pressing buttons on the console non-stop, eyes glued to the screen, lost in a little world of their own. Saw some people feverishly putting more and more money into the slot machines, their greed for more money unmistakable upon their features. There were also those who yelled in frustration when they lost and those who kept calm and played on despite losing huge sums of money. I was able to see the real face of greed for the first time.

Slot machines at Genting casino

The smell of cigarette smoke and the blinding lights made my head spin literally and I couldn't wait to get out but my friend restrained me and said I should at least give it a try before leaving. I walked to the nearest slot machine and started playing, and with every click of the button I lost about RM2. When I saw that I had only RM30 left I asked if we could leave as I couldn't take the smoke, lights and the sense of depression slowly crawling onto me as the numbers dwindled. My friend said to try one last time as there was still RM30 left and didn't I come into the casino just to see how much I could win or lose? Exhaustion rising over me, I headed to another machine, with Egyptian motifs and started playing. By the third click of the button, I hit jackpot, and suddenly I felt revitalized, the sound of coins clinking and piling kept me spellbounded, riveted to the screen as I saw the figures multiply, and suddenly, when the clinking ended, I stared at the screen as if I were in a dream: I had won back all that I had lost and gained 3 bucks extra! I felt as if I was floating on air, and in a dreamlike state asked my friend to help me withdraw as I was already happy enough as it is and would like to leave now. She had a look of shock on her face as she said: "You're on a winning streak now, don't you want to continue?" Still floating, I went to another machine and continued playing, but lost about RM30 and this time firmly said that I wanted to go back to the hotel room.

rows and rows of slot machines

Then the six of us continued with a crazy night of games, Asahi beer and laughter. I will never forget all that laughter, our voices echoing down the hall, probably waking everyone nearby within a 10 room radius. As our laughter and chatter finally died down due to exhaustion and drowsiness induced by alcohol, it was time to turn in for the night at 5am. Can you imagine 6 people fitting onto 2 single beds? That was what we did. What with the effects of alcohol, and being in such close proximity to warm bodies, it did not feel cold that night. Was feeling extra loved at the fact that at least two or more waited for me to 'sahur' before going to sleep. I vaguely remember hitting my head against the lamp affixed to the wall near the bed and two pairs of warm hands rubbing the area where it throbbed while pulling me down to snuggle in under the bedsheets and promptly fall into a dreamless sleep.

The next morning saw me waking up at the crack of dawn, with an extremely full bladder after all that beer and water consumed. Couldn't move much as I didn't want to disturb anyone, and one of my friend's head was resting so comfortably on my shoulder that I did not have the heart to wake her. After she adjusted her postition, I crepted as silently as possible to the toilet so as not to disturb the others from their slumber, I came back to find them all snuggled in so tight that it would have been criminal to wake them up by crawling back. So I made myself comfortable in a chair and dozed off. After everyone finally woke up properly around 11am, I went for a second round at the casino which gained me a nice RM80, good enough for a treat on the Flying Coaster. Then it was a smooth trip back to KL.

First collage successfully made in memory of my Indian hostelmates :) <3

Before going out for dinner, they dropped me at my hostel to get some belongings, and I had a small farewell with my Indian housemates. Many people have asked me, how can you stand staying with them? They smell (due to the oils and scents that they prefer) and there is always a small problem in terms of communication sometimes, but the only reason why I have never thought of leaving my hostel in search of other places to stay was because I loved my Indian housemates so much. They joked with me, talked with me, brought me out for dinner and activities with them, and treated me as if I was one of their own, so much so that they feel so at ease with my presence that they can jabber on in their native tongue even expecting me to understand and reply them as well. Kartini, Nivea, Vino, Kavita, Rubaa, Loges, I'm gonna miss you all very much :'(

Left hostel feeling as if I'd left a small part of me behind, my Indian self, and memories that I will cherish forever. But was soon cheered up with the company of my other friends, who had planned for dinner but was waiting patiently for me to break fast at 7.30pm so that we could eat together. Dinner at Purple Cane was a simple and homely affair with good food, great company, and really good tea. Went home feeling tired but happy and really very much loved.

LOVE :) <3
from left: cousin Gabe, Poh Yee, Yanyan Oon and yours truly :)

These few days have shown me that there will be rainbows after the rain, and that sad and happy moments are intermingled so that a person may experience the sad moments enough to appreciate the happy moments received. To have friends such as these, driving me around, cooking for me, running by my side, encouraging me, caring for me, giving me a hug when I am down, and laughing in my face when I deserve it so that everyone can laugh and join in the good cheer. I am so thankful, to have these people in my life, and so grateful, to have at least shared precious memories with them. Cheers guys, thank you for being here for me.