november

it's been exactly a week since i submitted my 20k-word thesis. 8 months of slaving over journal articles and doing readings after readings, the stress and effort of planning, researching, interviewing fashion bloggers/readers and analyzing the barrage of collected data, finally bore fruit. when my course coordinator asked me how i felt as i handed to him 4 printed copies of my thesis, each consisting of 125 pages of the labour of passion, stress and late nights, i let go a huge sigh of relief and merely replied "i am...very relieved", and i smiled the widest smile, ever. he said i would probably be notified of the result somewhere in january next year, and everyday since last week i have been hoping for the best.

having barely slept the past month trying to get my shit together and to make this thesis work, for the past 6 days i slept whenever i have the time to, which is the entire day! my routine was: wake up for lunch, go online, play with the cats, watch some dramas/series, sleep until it's time for dinner, and then watch more dramas until it's again time for bed. 

will be diligently editing photos from november. although i have been on a "thesis-lockdown" the entire month, november was still an eventful month; his graduation, the malacca trip with his family, and other miscellaneous happenings, like finding the most amazing pork burger at ninja joe and photographing (before devouring) a whole box of macarons he got me from levain. these pictures are a preview of what will come in future posts, if i dont procrastinate any longer.

his graduation ceremony on the 3rd of november.

one of the landmarks of malacca, the christ church.

this is the big boss.

macarons from levain boulangerie and patisserie. 

i took tons of photos (like these) of every individual macaron. i think they are the most photogenic of desserts.

i shall leave you with a self-portrait of a very hagard-looking me taken on the day before i submitted my thesis. amazing backlight in the honours room, and i was waiting for about 250pages of paper to print, so, anything goes. and just because i have not updated this space for so many days. just because.

let there be light

having a tough time getting rid of 10k words from my thesis, getting really mentally and physically exhausted, wondering if all these late nights will actually pay off. today's weather was superb though, blue skies, fluffy clouds. i just had to stop and stare. in 6 days, all will be over, months of slaving on articles over articles, analyzing interviews and fashion blogs. i cross my fingers hoping it will all be worth it in the end. 

oh, hello

met my supervisor today and got quite positive feedback for the first draft of my thesis. not completed (at all!) yet, but at least i'm in the right place, and that puts my heart and mind at ease. will have to finish everything by tomorrow night/friday morning - (1) cut out about 10k words, (2) rearrange sections and add some stuff in if i can do (1) - and send it back to him. and the rest will kinda be history. his "with some editing this is actually worthy of getting published" comment makes me wanna do cartwheels the entire way back from uni, so if you see a girl with messy hair and a big grin on her face walking along sunway, yep you've spotted yours truly.

here's to another week of sleepless nights, beautiful pictures taken while i was drifting off into the land of no-thesis. 

2 - that's a bird's eye view alright.

3 - "whatchalookinat? never seen someone just hangin' 'round?!" 

4 - meet peep the singing owl, he's singaporean

5,6 -10days ago, with his family - we chartered a bus, there were about 25 of us - at malacca.

waiting for the train to take me home

having completed 2 of the 3 main chapters of my thesis and submitted them for feedback from my supervisor, i decided that i deserve some down time after working non-stop for the past 10days. i am now leeching off the starbucks wifi, i guess this is a down time meant to be, cuz when i was purchasing my usual mocha praline frappe, i was told i m the lucky customer of the day, and that there will be a complimentary tall beverage waiting for me within the next 14 days. nothing is more awesome than free drinks.

new favourite cross bracelet from autumn ripple, been wearing them all the time since i got them. and notice the cat prints laptop sleeve auntie su made for me peeking out there. love it so much, thanks auntie su, if you are reading this :)

sitting at the train station waiting for my 2pm train to get back home. and am seriously loving how the pictures that i took a few days ago turn up, while i was up all night and was able to catch a glimpse of the first rays of sunlight at 7am. and also feeling all warm inside seeing pigeon couples enjoying each other's company in the early morning hours. makes me realize that despite all the stress i put on myself for this thesis, there is still magic around me. i guess creativity translates itself best during times when one is at peace with oneself. 

trying to take baby steps this weekend, and also aiming to finish the last main chapter of the thesis by next friday. hopefully i can fit in the conclusion by then too. keeping my fingers crossed and heart calm.

bare legs

1.2.3.7//4//5.6//8//9.

very into showing some leg currently, so my poor jeans/maxi skirts/trousers have been quite neglected. on some days when you want to go casual but want to give that pair of worn shorts a pass, the sweater-skirt look would be an updated alternative to the "lazy day uniform". but wait, that's a pair of leather shorts in #6.

and also, i believe the stress on getting the thesis finished has set in, but it has also pushed me to pull all-nighters trying to get at least a chapter done in 2-3 days. cant wait to be back on normal sleeping hours.

oh, and happy second-last month of 2012!

in battle

posting up some pictures from my phone and camera to prove that i am still alive, and eating and kicking. and grasping a little for air along the way 'cuz everyday is filled with writing and writing to get that 15k words out there. and in the process, pray for a first class at the end of this journey. meanwhile, last week back at penang,

this quiche from delicious is just, delicious!

gracie the cat-with-numerous-homes decides to sit pensively on the pastel coloured floor mat in our kitchen

then moves to sit around some more in our living room

back here at dread-land sunway,

i finally made grilled cheese sandwich! filled with tuna and capsicum and cherry tomato slices. a little burnt but still a success considering it's my first try :)

oh well, back to being digitally anti-social and also to continue ransacking my brains, i m sure my intelligence is hiding somewhere under its many folds of skin/nerve/brain cells. need them badly to write up this damn thesis. deadline in 16 days.

12

HAPPY ANNIVERSARY :)

a 12-photo collage to commemorate this year's anniversary, just cuz i think pictures speak a thousand words and are able to convey a certain kind of atmosphere and mood more than paragraphs of texts can. and as much as i love to put everything into writing, i find that when it comes to celebrating past memories, photographs are able to do just that. 

iwantitalloveragain

just had the most relaxing weekend ever, although part of me is still stressed out for my thesis, but at least i got to hang out with my family and loved ones for the past 3 days. mum, dad sis and him came over to attend the scholarship and award ceremony and we all stayed over at kl plaza, chilled and did some shopping. the ceremony was really quick and painless and we headed off to lunch after lounging around in the honours office for quite a while. it was mum's, dad's and his first - and probably the last - time in monash after so many years so a family picture was definitely necessary.

posing before the school of arts and social sciences pillar with mon and andrea with our certs. was wearing mum's mango blazer and shoes are gift from friends from agape boutique

also, we finally set foot at the new h&m store at lot10, it was packed! we all had so much fun (and hauls!) but it would be a much better experience if the place was better organized, seeing the shoes all strewn around the shoe wall and people trampling all over the sandals and wedges, i lost appetite. but the clothes were amazing, mum bought me a jade green lace dress that i absolutely love!

okay, back to organizing my thesis now, reluctantly. the plan at the moment, is to pull an all-nighter on getting the 3000+ words of this chapter done.

a little detour

on our way back to penang from sunway last friday we took a few detours around ipoh and gopeng. we stopped by kellies castle amidst his busy schedule checking up on their company's breeding farms (i have never been in the company of so many chicks in my entire life, let alone photograph them! so it was a real treat!)

the amazing kellies castle with a very mysterious history. let's just say i kinda have a hair-raising moment in one of its many rooms. literally.

the infamous "mysterious corridors", which is more supernaturally beautiful than mysteriously supernatural.

the intricate wall carvings in william smith's son's room. 

on another thesis-work related note, analyzing and categorizing blogs and blogposts for an academic purpose can be far more taxing than imagined.

hybridity

been cooped up in my little room for the past few days marathoning on documentaries on serial killers and trying to do some uni work. currently having to prepare a class presentation and my thesis write-up outline before tuesday and another 2.5k essay on either "culture" or "gender and sexuality" due the monday after. i have to start early on the essay this time cuz i'm making a short trip to singapore mid next week. the fight begins have begun.

and how can one proclaim to be a procrastinator if one does not sidetrack in the process of actually getting work done?

dinner: italian rocket salad with a boiled egg, a quarter of an apple and a handful of raisins tossed into it. with a mix of balsamic and roasted sesame dressing. taking Marshall Sahlin's words out of its original context, "hybridity is everyone"

unhealthy obsession: topshop 'trouble' mesh hi-top trainers that just wont stay out of my dreams. tried them on the other day and fell in love despite not being one for sneakers. i might just casually check out its price in singapore

hair inspiration: alexa chung's shoulder length i'm-too-cool-for-my-comb look. and the colour, perfect!