trip to willowbank wildlife reserve

 i am glad for this blog. i have to think and think before i post anything on facebook. i am much more relaxed here (: anyway the normal photos are on fb, so i shall tell a story here (: a true story we saw today!! so funny


about this naughty lemur

and this super pretty bird. omgosh if there was a miss bird universe, i would vote this bird!!!!

 naughty lemur saw pretty bird outside his enclosure

 he looked around and saw no one looking!, then he stuck his hand out and pulled pretty bird's tail!

pretty bird jumps around and glares at naughty lemur.

naughty lemur pretends to play with grass

lemur continues playing with grass while pretty bird clucks at naughty lemur. 

as soon as pretty bird turns and walks away, naughty lemur stops playing with grass and looks at pretty bird. 

HAHAHAH. SO CUTE RIGHT :D im not making this up!!!!!!! it happened in front of us!!! so funny!! such a cute and smart lemur!!!



and shall post cute animal photos to end off :D

so bored that i started on my essay which is due 2 months from now. haha

i wish i had this kind of time in singapore haha, singapore is a mad rush, nz is super boring for me. hahaha, i guess humans are never satisfied!!!

i work on a strange clock here. i eat my breakfast at about 12pm, lunch at 4pm, and dinner at 9 or 10. haha

am taking a break from my essay now!
 
had lots of time to slowly watch dance videos and think about my dancing. its very scary to watch your own videos. usually its horrifying to watch yourself dance. but its necessary ):

the fastest way to deprove is to be contented with where we are, the only way to improve is to constantly work till we think its perfect, and then, after we think its perfect, pick at it and find new flaws to work on, either from other's advice, or through observation of better dancers.


and when im very free i look at dance costumes, they're my motivation to work hard. hahah

Lake Tekapo trip (:

 was a really exciting trip! and this is my ultimate favourite photo of the trip

how cute can these trees get??? :D and the sky is gorgeous! this is not photoshopped!!! haha in fact, maybe the only untouched photo of the whole album :D hahaha

so we headed out early in the morning to catch the bus to tekapo

reached there at lunch time!

 had this bacon and egg quiche. looked pretty, but was nothing special actually, prefer the pies that i can get in school for the same price

 but the scenery was really gorgeous! i think that scenery needs to be seen with the eye to really be enjoyed haha, but it was really pretty to see the southern alps capped with snow against a really clear blue sky.


we then went to check in at our accomodation! haha it was a lovely place (:

shared living room with free hot choc, tea, coffee etc

 nice vintage pictures on the wall

 haha there was a big room and a small room. but the guys were paiseh to let us girls take the small room, so we got the BIG one :D hahaha


we wanted to go catch the southern lights and the night sky there. its famous and supposedly the most beautiful night sky in the world

well, there was a tour for 105 dollars per person that would take us up a mountain to see the stars. but well, the tour was fully booked, and also even if it was not, it was quite expensive.

so we decided to climb up there ourselves lol.

up and up we go, quite steep actually

 and in many places, there was a lot of snow and ice on the ground... slippery.

but yes! we did make it to a nice spot on the hill! not all the way up, we climbed for maybe an hour or so only. there was a nice bench. so we decided to stay there (:

 us girls kept eating cookies and choc to pass time whilst waiting for the sky to set

 all of took pictures with the backdrop! it's gorgeous!!! looks like a fairytale winter dream or something!!


then we started to get scared as the sky got dark... cos it would be pitch dark when we get off the hill, and its slippery with ice n snow. plus we have no idea about the dangers of wildlife or sudden storms. and we're a good hour plus away from the nearest human beings. haha, we also didn't inform anyone where we were, and we were getting cold... haha so we decided to call some friends and tell them where we were, in case we didn't get back they'd know to get ppl to look for us.

we considered getting off the mountain for safety reasons, but we were also very reluctant, and so we agreed to stay until a certain time only, and discussed the plan to get down afterwards, in pitch darkness with only 2 flashlights, one of which being my lousy 50 cent one. lol

and then there we stayed, 4 of us sitting on the bench, as the sky got darker and darker and the temperature dropped below 0. haha, we were freezing! the two of us girls kept EATING. my friend ate 5 pieces of bread! lol! i had 2 muffins, and a lot of cookies !


but the sky was really amazing!!!!! there were literally millions of stars in the nightsky, forming the dust band of the milky way. it was a very clear night, so we saw plenty of amazing things.

im convinced i saw the green flash of the Aurora Australis, but it didn't happend again after that ):


we set a time to force ourselves to get off the mountain, before it's really too late. and we were reallyyy frozen when we tried to get off the bench. toes were painful lol. we couldnt see anything. only me and another guy had flashlights, so we had to split into pairs and slowly inch our way off the mountain. really quite scary considering the narrow steep slopes. on some parts of ice, we crawled on our fours. haha

we agreed to be more serious as we got off the mountain, and really worked very slowly down the hill. at one point, i called the pair in front to stop to wait up for us. then suddenly my friend shouted ' OMG!, what am i seeing!!! UFO!'

and we all looked up to see three balls of light streak across the starry starry sky!!!!! it was amazing!!! (we googled it afterwards and we conclude that it was probably meteoroids) was so cool to see three fly across in unison!!!

 we did get off safely , and we went into town to get dinner (:

super super yummy japanese food (: plus we were so hungry and cold, it was like the best food ever!



was in conclusion an amazing night and adventure (: will never forget that sky, like diamonds glittering in the night

 

next day! we had american food. haha a really good burger and fries (:

 

 went to walk around the church of good shepherd for some touristy pictures

 met a cute cat who is probably wild! but very furry and fluffy and followed us for a while (:






then took a bus home to christchurch!

 container malls being built after the earthquake damaged the real malls

Vietnamese food for dinner (:


and that's the end of our lake tekapo adventure! (:

 dinner outing with the singaporean friends again today (: went to eat tandoori indian food! was really awesome but super ex :/

i paid 20 dollars for a small bowl of butter chicken and rice!

but well, it's nice (:

and we're playing a game!!

the game is about cookine!

we all draw lots to pick a country, and then we drew lots again to pick whether we would cook a 'main', 'appetiser' or 'dessert'



so we are having

- Japanese Main
-Italian Main
- American Main
-Chinese Appetiser
-French Dessert


haha, of course we put in more 'main's in the lot selection, so we'd be full (:


and we are going to have a mini competition based on presentation and taste

haha, i am cooking the American Main :D


i am quite excited! brainstorming!!!!!!


America is quite a fusion country as well, so i might just cook what i feel like eating hahaha, which is potato skins!!! hey could turn out well okay! :D


going to lake tekapo for the next two days! its holidays!

all my hopes and dreams for the future.


starting with this dress.

"Men often become what they believe themselves to be. If I believe I cannot do something, it makes me incapable of doing it. But when I believe I can, then I acquire the ability to do it, even if I didn't have it in the beginning". - Mahatma Gandhi




omgoshh been waiting for this parcel for so longgg

kinda cool cos i could track its location as it flew (: haha was so excited when it came to Auckland, cos then it came overnight to christchurch (:

tuna and cheese bread after dance, really tired this week

i havent gone to school in 5 days. haha almost self declare holiday here.

submitted 3 huge assignments (a total of 125 percent), got them printed today, submitting tomorrow, and im free as a little bird until term restarts in 3 weeks (:

 tried frying a piece of crumbed dory fish. i mangled it, well it still tasted good, but looks atrocious with all the skin and flesh all separated lol

 and broccoli :D there's rice below, but it got covered with the veges on top (:
 really yummy just veges (:

I LOVE THIS CHIP

its my new fav chip here. its seriously deliciousss!!!


deliberated for a long whether to try cooking cream sauce pasta or stick with tomato sauce. but the diff is that cream sauce is 11 g of fat, whereas tomato is 0.3g!

so after standing there for 15 minutes, i decided to stick with tomato for this week. maybe when im really craving cream then i'll try cream pasta!




actually i find that celebrities who claim to eat normally or even unhealthily are more depressing than those like kate moss who say that 'nothing tastes as good as skinny feels'.

because. i was watching this interview with miss America who claimed that she ate unhealthily, and ate cookies all the time, whatever she wants. and i realised that i was sub consciously reallyyyy jealous. yea she was talking abt the importance of looking healthy n having flesh n curves blah blah blah. but most women in the world have curves in the wrong places and none where they are 'supposed to'. and she just made me feel quite abnormal, because i totally know if i ate cookies everyday i would be roly poly in no time n still have no womanly curves.

 and celebs like Marilyn Monroe who say they ate hot fudge ice cream sundaes everyday. even though i don't for one minute believe this naturally healthy image they're trying to construct for themselves, its makes me think like, omgosh. how come they can do this and look like that, and what is wrong with me.

whereas, in contrast to kate moss or other celebs who are known to go on strict exercise n diet regimens, like the victoria secret angels, i feel like they worked crazy hard to achieve that, and thus its acceptable that they look crazy hot. whereas normal people dont have the money n time or incentive to do that, and thus it is acceptable for us to look normal.

although i should probably qualify that there is a line drawn between celebs who are strict with diet n exercise and those who dip into eating disorders.


oops and i ate so much grain wave chips while typing this! but that's what normal people do i guess (;

have the courage to walk alone

The woman who follows the crowd will usually go no further than the crowd. The woman who walks alone is likely to find herself in places no one has ever been before. ~ Albert Einstein

tea time with myself

tea time! (:

potato pancakes, with a creamy tomato and cheese omelette and toast, and hot chocolate to top it off :D

yummy (:


i have a super long weekend cos i self declared national day holiday yesterday and didn't go to school.
today's my break, and then it's the week end (:


finished all the assignments that i have to complete next week, so just left with final edits, and printing before submission (:

pretty awesome (:

so was reading thought catalogue, and came upon a really interesting article called : FAQs for figuring yourself out in your 20s.


and it said something like this:

 "There is no right one. Eventually there may be one who causes you to realize that, and then what’s left is compromise. Maybe you haven’t found the right one because you’re unwilling to compromise."

full article: http://thoughtcatalog.com/2012/faqs-for-figuring-yourself-out-in-your-20s/


i guess as we grow older, we are more aware of that. each person is so complex, they aren't even just made up of traits that we can classify. haha, and relationships are really a lot of work, but i guess they're worth it at the end of the day. they make us really think about who we are.




the past few days have been interesting too. In approaching people to help eldon vote for his pageant photos, i was really pleasantly surprised that i still have many people that i feel comfortable enough to ask for a small favour from. people i still keep in touch with once in a while, whom i've done similar favors for in the past etc.

also led to a good many convos with old friends, and its good to know that we can still connect (:

also love my close gfs a lot, and i can count on them for anything from rship advice to beauty talk, to fashion, to dance, to openly talking about our insecurities or flaws,and also appreciating and affirming each other, from idle chit chat to talking about our dreams n hopes for the future.it would be very lonely without them

 vietnamese food today with the singaporeans (: love going out with them, is always a great time of chit chat and talking nonsense. it's so tired to do small talk all the time, its nice to just let loose and talk, without some funny accent or talking about the weather and what im studying all the time.

fried rice! was super delicious, and the portion was huge! the picture does it no justice haha


and HAPPY NATIONAL DAY :D

I know you know who I am
but don't you think I know who I am?

Oh we’re the battle scarred and ugly

Warring till the fields turn red

Our blood gushes from wounds all over

Now we’re exhausted, wounded.

A knife runs through his heart

An arrow finds its mark through hers

We’re wearily waiting

To see if these scars heal again

Or to hear the final bell toll

Not a drop of strength left

Nor a streak of beauty

Oh, we’re battle scarred and ugly.

 made potato pancakes and a cheese omelette for lunch (:

 my lecture theatres for russian history

 winterscape, looks pretty bleak doesn't it? :/

 went to christian union meeting today! (: they served burgers and fries today for dinner! yum!!!

i did the stupid thing of forgetting to bring my shoes in the house as was the culture here, so i had cold feet, literally hahaha. but the nice dog came by and sat on my feet! warmed my toes up all toasty ! (:

“One day many years ago a man walked along and stood in the sound of the ocean on a cold sunless shore and said, "We need a voice to call across the water, to warn ships; I'll make one. I'll make a voice like all of time and all of the fog that ever was; I'll make a voice that is like an empty bed beside you all night long, and like an empty house when you open the door, and like trees in autumn with no leaves. A sound like the birds flying south, crying, and a sound like November wind and the sea on the hard, cold shore. I'll make a sound that's so alone that no one can miss it, that whoever hears it will weep in their souls, and hearths will seem warmer, and being inside will seem better to all who hear it in the distant towns. I'll make me a sound and an apparatus and they'll call it a Fog Horn and whoever hears it will know the sadness of eternity and the briefness of life."

The Fog Horn blew.”
― Ray Bradbury, The Fog Horn

yummm spaghetti made with colourful pasta and chicken (:


dance is always fulfilling, even when school is boring.

when i'm happy, i dance, when im sad, i also dance.

did samba today, was pretty awesome, kinda understand how the samba rolls work. and they're the samba figure that i've always wanted to learn ever since i started latin (:

also can do batucadas fast and reasonably well already (:

 today was a really nice day where us singaporeans went to Mihyang Korean Restaurant to eat dinner together after a really long time of not seeing each other!

 they served us a free pancake!!! it was superrrr yummy (: filled with chives and stuff. omgosh so good i missed good asian food so much. kept smiling to myself haha

 all the side dishes that came free as well!!! seaweed, beansprouts, kimchi, fish cake, and potato!

 and this is my spicy tofu stew with rice (: so spicy and asiany and delicious! i love korean food!

and went to countdown to stock up groceries. we bought this choco-ade biscuit. it's pretty cool, cos apparently, they discontinued producing this biscuit that many of the kiwis used to eat as a childhood snack. then someone started a facebook page for it, and there were so many likes for it that the company decided to start producing it again! haha

so cool, so of course have to try it. (:

If you want to have what others have, you first have to know what they did to get there; it may or may not have been a good method but at least you will know what was done or sacrificed along the way.

"I’m not fascinated by people who smile all the time. What I find interesting is the way people look when they are lost in thought, when their face becomes angry or serious, when they bite their lip, the way they glance, the way they look down when they walk, when they are alone and smoking a cigarette, when they smirk, the way they half smile, the way they try and hold back tears, the way when their face says they want to say something but can’t, the way they look at someone they want or love… I love the way people look when they do these things. It’s beautiful."

 more yummy food, i burnt my rice a bit this time, its a littleeee hard! haha but it's okay! (: finished my tim tams too )); oh no ):

and yes camwhored today! started off experimenting with eye shadows! ended up deciding to take photos, which then led to instagram-ing them, and yea well hahah

was seeing if i could smile with my mouth closed too.


 working on my essay now! on female genital cosmetic surgery! although i think that sounds really extremely painful! but well i guess for everything, some people are willing to go through the pain if they feel its worth it :/

but still. ouchhh 

 so i went to bake pavlova (some kiwi cake) and help out with a pie today (:

 beaten egg whitesss with 4 huge cups of sugar. fattening max

 chopping carrots for the pie

pie ready to be baked!


(:

and my friend's mum was an olympic hockey player! WOW!

such a common statement, but yea it's so true.

it's hard though. only if we surrender it all the God.

that's also what someone shared in church this week (:



it really makes sense though