There is no place like home

We're all coming home!!!!

Be happy people. You shall be graced by our presence once more.

:D

People = Darren? :O


Yeah I don't come back until the 25th of June, and then I run off to Singapore on 2nd of July.


Rub it in guys, just keep rubbing it in. At least I'll think of you when I traipse around in Oxford? I guess. -dies-


But yeah. HIIIIII.

HAHA! YES! WE'RE COMING HOME! :) WY, you have 5 days in Penang. And you're in S'pore not on another continent! I'm just glad we're all coming home... perhaps for the last time in the next 4 years...? *Slinks back to the natural habitat of an SLC student: The library*

People = Darren + Priya (if you're counting this way)

Might I suggest that each of us post something of interest from our cities? I'd vote food, but I suppose there's more to life than food. :) Anywayssss... Lemme start!!!!

NYC Restaurant Week!!!!!

MALAYSIAN RESTAURANT WEEK!

http://www.malaysiakitchennyc.com/index.html

http://www.nycgo.com/restaurantweek

Because I don't have pictures for those two.....

Behold, the BEST BEEF Satay I've ever tasted, right in Bronxville.

It looks like loh-bak :P

Australasia

Greetings my fellow uh . . . former Uplanders.

Supp?

So uh uh . . . okayyy. . . I don't know what to say!

Oh oh!

HELLO!!

I am still alive! In the land down under. And uh . . .

"Goodnight", says Su Yin at 9.49 pm.

What If...

I've started watching Desperate Housewives again recently (don't judge me!!!) and I just finished an episode called 'If' where they all start to wonder about the decisions they'd made in their lives and what if... just what if... they had chosen differently. 

And it got me thinking about that fork in the road where my friends and I once stood not too long ago. Some times I imagine myself back there; at the crossroads of my life, about to make a life changing decision trying to see as far down the roads as possible. I took the road towards Oxford, a little town of aging stone work, worn cobblestone streets and grandiose ceilings. And here I am now, sitting on my bench at midnight looking out the window at the drizzle falling gently over dreaming spires. And as I stare at the rain falling through the night, I can't help but wonder "What if..." 

What if I'd gone to London... and instead of sitting in my dorm, I'm in a cab in the middle of the city. And when I look out the window, it isn't quiet and sleepy but bustling with nightlife and neon lights and noise. Girls will be running around in skirts and heels and leggings but wrapped up in winter coars because its just that kind of weather. And there could be a hurricane outside but these Brits will queue up for entry no matter what. I'd be squished up with WY, Varoot and Jasamine after catching some musical/ movie, heading to one of many London nightclubs to dance the night away with copious amounts of cider.

What if I'd gone to Melbourne U where right now its 11.00 a.m. and I could be staring listlessly out a lecture theatre window at people dressed in jeans and t-shirts, enjoying the sunshine. And I'm in here tapping my pen listening to the lecturer drone on in an Australian drawl waiting desperately for my elective class to end so I can go meet up with SY or Sarah or Kylie or Cait or maybe all of them for lunch. And we'd chat up a storm about our week, friends in other places and everything under the sun... over much craved for Asian food. We'd go shopping and attempt to curb Sarah's shopaholic tendencies and calm SY's horror at the exchange rate. 

Or what if I'd gone to America... Sarah Lawrence, Princeton, Smith... and its 8.00 p.m. and I'm looking out a dorm room window at the snow falling down (because for some reason in that strange country they're still getting snow days when here its all but melted into spring.) And I'm inside wondering what kind of snowman to make later, cooking up some random shizz with Prudy and Alli, drinking hot chocolate (extra chocolate bars please) with Sara or fighting over marshmallows and watching random Youtube videos with KS. And I'd tell them about my day when I almost got run over because cars drive on the wrong side of the road over there. And no matter which of them I'm with they'd all still laugh and shake their heads and say "Oh Jas..."

Or what if I hadn't gone anywhere at all but just decided to stay in Penang and go to USM just 5 minutes down the road. Right now it'd be 8.00 a.m. and I'd be waking up in my own bed, pulling the curtains away from the sliding glass doors. I'd go downstairs for breakfast and then get into my little black car to drive the 5 minutes to campus because that's how we roll. And when class is over, I'd get lunch at that little cafe I've been going too for over 15 years, meet up with Darren and hand him some ban chiang kuih, pick my brother up from school where all the teachers will ask how I'm doing and random people will hug me. Then I'll drive down Batu Ferringhi road in the sunshine listening to Taylor Swift and my brother snoring in the back...

And all those hundreds of images that fill my head - dancing the night away in a London nightclub, laughing over badly shaped sushi (so I've been told) in an Australian Japanese restaurant, sticking one of my friend's shirts on an American snowman, cursing at rude Penang drivers... all of that just whirls and swirls and condenses abruptly into one me. The me who is sitting here, in front of this window living this life in this place. See in life... no matter how many choices we face... in the end we can only choose one and we can only choose once. We can sit and dream but in the end it all boils down to the here and now. 

I could tell you not to wonder about what you can't have. But what's the point? We all wonder... all of us... every day... don't we? Don't we all wonder about how our lives could've gone "if only"? Its not a dissatisfaction with the lives we lead now, its just curiosity. Humans are a curious, contemplative bunch and we like to wonder about our choices. And I like it that way. I like wondering.

And all those hundreds of images I have swirling in my head on days when I should really be finishing my tutorial work... those are only possible because of the stories my friends tell me. I can't live out all those different lives myself but through my friends... I get a little glimpse of another life. They are the links to lives I could've led and through them I see the world.

Don't be strangers guys =)

P.S. Sorry if this was a little long... it started really short. HONEST! But then I started wondering and wondering and well... I may have got just a little carried away. Sorry if its a little inaccurate. Like I know Prudy doesn't actually have a kitchen but we'll just pretend if I'm with her I'll have one. Its called creative liberties people!!

So long, farewell, Auf Wiedersehen, goodnight

Sarah, Kylie, Su Yin, Panit,

'Ladies and gentlemen,

Flight MH 113 to Melbourne is now ready for boarding.

Passengers please proceed to gate C12, gate C12 for immediate boarding, thank you.

Please be advised that passports and national identification is required prior to boarding the aircraft.'

'Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls.

Welcome to flight MH 113, enroute to Melbourne, Australia.

Please be reminded to keep your seat upright, seatbelt fastened and tray table stowed for taxi and take off.

Please keep your bags in the overhead compartment or under your seat.

Light refreshments will be served after take off.

The flight will take approximately 8 hours and we will arrive at Melbourne International Airport at 7:00am.....

Have a pleasant flight.'

'Ladies and gentlemen,

we will now begin our final descent into Melbourne International Airport.

Please keep your seat upright, fastened your seatbelt and that your tray table is stowed.'

'Ladies and gentlemen,

Welcome to Melbourne International Airport.

The local time is now 7:03am, and the temperature is approximately 30 degrees Celsius.

To all visitors, welcome to Australia. To all Australians, welcome home.'

After today, the final change will take place. These will no longer dominate your sights.

Try to find the mistake here!! :)

But you will be embarking on a new journey (oh so corny!). Which will formally induct you into UNIVERSITY!!!! (screams of terror and joy)

So long, farewell, and till we meet again.

Welcome, to your new city,

MELBOURNE.

Trinity College's Bulpadock! (PSsttt.. It has a bull somewhere there!) Which I hope is no longer dug up. :)

Wishing all of you the best, and have a blast! One day we will unleash American, Australian and British humour onto each other.

This is not meant to depress you. Though I apologise if it did. But, on the plus side,

HAPPY CHINESE NEW YEAR

and don't forget this blog. Or us. OR I will bombard you with pictures of food. I SWEAR!

Pictures are worth a thousand words. Pictures of food are worth a million stares. And hopes. And wishes.

DO I NEED ANYTHING ELSE TO CATCH YOUR ATTENTION? I HOPE THIS DID! IF NOT, THERE'S MORE WHERE THAT CAME FROM! (From Chowrasta Market)

Char Koay Kak

Char Koay Teow

Revives dead blog.

"Stand clear!"

*bzzzt*

*beep beep beep beep beeeeeeeeeeeeeeep*

Unsuccessful.

:(

oops wrong colour

Thank goodness you're not doing Medicine :P

All I do is party. HAH HAH HAH HAH.

YAY PEOPLE ARE COMING BACK YAY

Sara can't wait to come homeeee!
Chocolates and Christmas presents!, anyone? :P
I MISS YOU GUYS.
18 days
[:

NEWS ALERTS!!

News Alert #1 (Relevant to candy lovers)
from The Wall Street Journal

Kraft Foods launched a hostile bid for the U.K.'s Cadbury PLC valuing the company at 9.8 billion pounds($16.28 billion), setting in motion a tussle for control of the British confectioner.

By making its offer official, Kraft is appealing directly to Cadbury shareholders to accept a merger proposal that Cadbury's executives and directors have steadfastly rejected. Kraft, facing lackluster sales and upward pressure on its raw-material costs, wants to absorb Cadbury to boost its exposure to developing markets and growth prospects.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704402404574524952121366382.html?mod=djemalertNEWS

News Alert #2 (perhaps not so relevant)

from The Wall Street Journal

In a tight vote, the House passed its sweeping health bill late Saturday, marking the biggest victory yet for Democrats in their drive to create near-universal health insurance.

The bill passed by a 220-215 margin. It came after House leaders made a surprise last-minute concession that blocks abortion from the new government insurance plan in order to win over wavering Democrats.

?

Forgive the urgency but hurry up and wait.

GOODBYE JAS!!!

All the best at one of the best universities in the world. WOOO as Amy said, "Kick ass, both literally and figuratively."

Yeaaaa and everyone else who's away, do keep us posted please :]