clean linen

In one school year, there are 2 semesters, which is further split into 3 terms. I am now in the last week of the 2nd term of the 2nd semester of my 3rd year in Nottingham - how time has flown by! Anyway, before I start to update on random stuff, I've an announcement to make... I'M GOING BACK TO SINGAPORE THIS FRIDAY! WHOO!:) Initially, I thought I would keep it as low-profile as possible and not announce it to everyone I see online, but I realised that when I go to church on Sunday, everyone would see me eventually. I would also probably have to explain over and over again why I am back in Singapore for 3 weeks. So, let me put the reason here for the few LSBC people who read this blog:- I am going home because... I just want to go home. No good/valid/very important reason. My trip back will be a 'working holiday', because I want and/or need to finish both my essays when I'm back in Singapore. I also want to spend time with my family. And, I think I will be happier ...

I'm now studying for my Japanese listening exam, which begins at 3pm today. (Note, if you are in Singapore, the time difference is no longer 8 hours, but 7 hours. Singapore is 7 hours ahead of the UK) Here are some Japanese vocabulary for you to learn with me:) 1) くつした (kutsu shita) = socks (Literal translation: "shoes underneath") 2) しょくよくがない (shoku yoku ga nai) = no appetite 4) はなみずがでる (hana mizu ga deru) = runny nose (I like the literal translation, which is "nose water coming out") 6) のどがいたい (nodo ga itai) = sore throat 7) ねつがある (netsu ga aru) = have a fever And I was just finding out how to say "cousin" in Japanese when I came across this example, which I found it to be quite amusing: "従姉妹にはね、もの凄いボインボインな子がいるんだよ？ Among my cousins, you know, there's a girl with the most enormous breasts." What kind of example is this?? haha

I had my last Trusts law tutorial at 3pm today, and the end of this tutorial marked the end of my last ever tutorial as a law undergraduate here in Nottingham. It's really hard to believe that, save for 2 more seminars and a few more Japanese lessons, life as a student in Nottingham has pretty much come to an end. Not counting exams, I will no longer need to go to school for lectures, tutorials, seminars, and basically, classes. Time is passing too quickly!

I'm reading for Thursday's Mental Health seminar on 'Leaving Hospital', and I have 48 more pages of the textbook to go. God help me. Anyway, Friday, I tried making risotto, but, it was quite a failure in that the risotto was too hard! It definitely looked nicer than it tasted... Hz and I finished it all up anyway, paired with potato salad from Sainsbury's, which tasted much better than I expected! The dinner ended off nicely with really nice and sweet grapes that hz bought from the weekend mini market in Beeston. So, although the risotto wasn't well done, I still thought it was a nice dinner. One day, I must try making risotto again! On Saturday, John came over for dinner and we got takeout from Hong Kong House. We ate and talked, ate and talked, then started playing cards. John left at 1:30am. It was a really fun night. But on Sunday, I woke up at my usual 7:30am, and attempted to read. Went to church, had leaders' training, went home, took a panadol to try...

Yesterday, we had a simple small group meeting. We were missing a few people, but there was still a very decent number of 12 people present. Kenrick led worship, and I led Word, focusing on Psalm 139. It wasn't a discussion, but more like me sharing my thoughts on Psalm 139, followed by 20 minutes of personal time with God. I also prepared cards and envelops for the members to write a 'love letter' to God in that 20 minutes. Basically, I just wanted to provide the opportunity for each and every person to just spend time with God, in silence, in writing. Because I know that, on our own, we can get caught up with so many things that can affect the amount of time we actually set aside to meditate on God's Word, to listen out for Him in complete, distraction-less silence. I was quite stressed out about this 'teaching' of Psalm 139. And when the meeting began, I actually suddenly felt weary, very negative. Thankfully, Kenrick led worship, and during worship, as the s...

Besides amusing, I find this video quite smart as well... Good, positive way to start off the day:)

This is one interesting module. But, the readings for each seminar is tremendous. Each chapter of the textbook is remarkably long as well. So, it may be hard to understand/believe, but while it is interesting, it still has the effect of making me fall asleep as I read it - same with any other Law textbook. Anyway, I just read this passage in the textbook that I am going to label my "discovery of the day": "The condition known as 'tardive dyskinesia' may develop after prolonged use of antipsychotics and, very rarely, after a small number of doses - or even just one. The symptoms of tardive dyskinesia are, ironically, those perhaps most closely associated in the popular mind with the symptoms of madness: 'hyperkinetic involuntary movements which are most frequently limited to the face, lips, tongue, jaw and neck, but which can involve the trunk, arms and hands.' The 'mad person', rocking ceaselessly, puckering cheeks, and engaging in other compulsiv...

On Friday, I stayed at home the entire day, struggling with my readings. Tzen and Trang met that afternoon to bake cheesecake together, and although they had asked me to go along, I declined and decided I'd better stay home and try to read more. At about 4:30pm, Tzen stopped by with a huge slice of raspberry cheesecake they had just baked at Trang's house. It looked, and tasted, great. I sliced it into two and had a slice for dessert after a really good dinner. I'm keeping the other slice for hz:) As for dinner, I randomly discovered this sushi take out place via Facebook. And I decided to give it a try. And, guess what, I think my Yoshinoya craving has been satisfied a little, or if not completely (for now)! I ordered a Teriyaki Chicken rice bowl, tamago nigiri and eel nigiri. The sushi wasn't fantastic, but the rice bowl was really good. It reminded me quite a bit of Yoshinoya. The price wasn't that crazy either. All together, this meal cost £10.44 - yes, still a ...

Last Saturday morning, Janice left Nottingham to return to London, and subsequently to Hong Kong. While packing away the duvet and pillow, I discovered that the furnace had burnt my duvet! On Saturday, besides starting on a new book as part of my research for my legal research paper, we also opened the pack of bak kwa Janice brought over! OH BAK KWA YOU ARE WONDERFUL. On Sunday, I had dimsum lunch with John, Jon Cheong and Johnston at New Ocean City. But they were out of egg tarts, which was a big disappointment. So, after lunch, we walked over to China China, another Cantonese restaurant, and got THEIR egg tarts instead! I brought them home and had them as part of my dinner:) This week so far has been absolutely uneventful, which is mostly good, a little bit bad (sad). Although today, my feelings were cheated left, right, up, down and center when I rushed to Portland Building for my mental health law seminar, only to find that class was cancelled because my teacher was ill. They had a...

Last night, John passed me a link to this website that shows the 'wonders' of girls wearing make up... I found it quite freaky actually! Read it here :)

To those who don't know or have forgotten, Janice was studying law with me here in Nottingham. We were supposed to graduate at the same time, i.e. July 2010, but in Year 2, she applied for, and got selected to go on, an exchange to Hong Kong. So she is now doing Year 3 in Hong Kong University. Next year, she will return to Nottingham to complete her final year before she graduates. I stayed in the same flat as her last year, and she was my next door neighbour, with whom I did grocery-shopping, occasionally walked to and from school/classes, and had weekly take-outs with her. Every time I have takeout now, I always think of her and how we always used to get takeout together! Anyway, she is now in the UK for a week of holiday, and she made a short trip to Nottingham to visit us! She arrived Thursday night, just in time for Angie's birthday dinner, stayed two nights in our living room, then left early this morning to return to London. From London she'll fly back to Hong Kong t...