we said goodbye to the miserable winter and hello to a beautiful spring...

winter has officially scared you for life because 12 degree celsius suddenly feels awfully warm...


bt a nice walk down by the river (where you can find half the town) is nice...
especially when you've forgotten the nice warm feeling of having the sun warming the tip of your nose...


and a nice HUGE CHEESEBURGER to keep your tummy happy too...

sigh...
i miss the joyous atmosphere you feel on festive seasons...
with your closest friends and family visiting you galore...

i miss seeing red...
on the walls, on almost every child and adult
and on that lil rectangular packet that comes with money...

i miss the overplayed chinese new year songs...
yup...
even the chinese new year jingles that i used to find so irritating,

i miss all d cny goodies n the never ending big reunion dinners...
stupid me for throwing a hissy-fit
just for putting on the extra weight last year...

i miss them all...
and i think i'm losing my identity...
chinese new year is the only time a banana like me feels more chinese than ever.

this year has been far too quiet for me.
just a bowl of mee sua...
to keep me happy...

it tasted sooo much like home though
and with the warmth of the soup and great company for the night
it was enough to keep us warm during a cold winter night.

(yoko ono exhibition in Baltic Contemporary Art Musuem... a wall dedicated to mums
with me sticking my masterpiece...)

(my masterpiece... and of course i love daddy too)

i guess it took me 6517.95 air miles
for me to realise that...
chinese new year isnt bout the amount of money you receive in a red packet...
or the new clothes your wearing
or even all the glorious food
it's about being with your family...

oh boy...
i miss them lots.

i've been extremely busy since posting my last entry...
i had eva over frm the 17th-21st in between a packed timetable with an assignment due on the 23rd...
and in true phyllis fashion, i managed it all bein an accident prone like i always do..

like knockin off my glass n spilling water onto my books,
tripping n almost breaking my ankle (thank god no one saw dat!),
lost 1 pound found it n lost it again,
wasted 3 cds burning the wrong data,
burning myself wif an iron while ironing *alamak...

am pretty sure dat'll scar me 4 life...

and almost popped a blood vessel trying to blow eva's mattress up!
i hate being clumsy... i really do!
sigh...

p/s: btw the length of my hair now is just above the shoulders... the ah lian dye is gone... all gone...
oh n totally random... eva thinks i'm vain... pfft! wad is dat?

oh and...

happy chinese new year!
(my first cny away frm home... sobsssss)

there's a reason why i've been missing in action all christmas.

i was down in the countryside in Ireland WITH no internet access and where there are more cows than cars.
my very first christmas away from home.

i know... amazing isnt it...
spending Christmas in Ireland... the land of Ronan Keating... mr. Irish man whom i fancy back in the days when puberty first hit me.
sad to say, Mr. Keating has now been replaced by one Eric Bana... who is smoking hot!

Same old christmas for the past 22 years of my life... little did i know, Christmas this year would be so different.
a standout from the crowd is that, it's d first time i'm celebrating christmas with a crowd so different from me... frm the colour of the skin to the hair...

here are my Christmas 08 highlights....

i) being able to force myself to swallow every pea and carrot (that i so despise) every meal for 8 days...

ii) the excitement in the children's eyes and their screams of joy that still reverberates in my ears on Christmas morning...

iii) My pressies.... i love all the presents i got...
frm the sweater to the pajama, the beautiful pen to the book of sudoku puzzles and the lovely bracelet to the warm scarf and gloves... i love them all!

iv) the beautiful scenery that greets me everyday.

v) the many frens i made...

vi) the poker game that won me 30 euros.... ;)
yup... uhuh... Phyllis won a poker game...
my god... until today am still amazed... talk about beginner's luck!

vii) the ability to be a child again... where nothing is too tedious and playing will forever be sacrosanct.
viii) the opportunity to meet Bob and Roxy... two lovely four-legged pooches that helped heal my 'dog-fur deprive'...
ix) the Guinness Factory... that i visited

and the two times i had to guzzle down guinness out of respect cause the Irish sure love their Guinness!!!!

x) the splendid Christmas that made me one happy girl!
Guess i was a good girl the whole year to deserve this...
Thank u Santa ;) best christmas gift ever!

HAPPY BELATED CHRISTMAS EVERYONE!

yeah baby!
phyl's one happy child this week.
snow greeting me in the morning and Christmas Market shopping by night.
did i ever mention i love Newcastle...

German Hotdog stall greeting us at the mouth of the market.
no pics of the hotdog bt i tell u it's HUGE.
prolly s big s brad pitt's ding dong...
nt dat i've seen it bt it has been mentioned in several magazines dat his johnson is as good as 8 inches long.
talk bout 'mouth-full'.

cool stall selling bonsai trees and dreamcatchers...

traditional dutch pancakes...

macaroons...
yummy...
well mayb due to my undeniable love for coconut too...

cool transylvanian art...
very pretty... very pricey!

smelled no different frm d rubbish chute at my apartment
arghh...
CHEESE
fermented cheese!!!
bleuk!

stall frm finland selling winter wear and cute husky dolls...
bet shell would love one...
speaking of which... shell if u fancy one... leave a COMMENT!
will post it 2 u...

olives!
bet u'll nvr c dem display in dis manner back home...
europeans r crazy about olives... i dunno y!
my spanish hsmate eats his bread wif olive oil n salt...
0.o
apparently it's VERY 'normal' in spain!
tried it... didnt like it... i'll pass...
shocking 4 such an obsessed bread lover lk moi 2 pass on bread... even i'm shocked!

unique way of selling waffles too...
in boxes...

talk about a whole different culture and an eye opening experience...
first time walkin in2 a market that was neither hot nor stuffy...
i was not fanning myself for once... and instead of short shorts n a tank top...
i was in my bulky attire of thick winter coat n a puffy scarf...
bt i still miss the pasar malam back home tho...
satay, keropok lekur, ayam panggang.... omg...
*wipes saliva off keyboard*

sigh...
i mean belacan sting-ray sure beats eating macaroon any day man!

last saturday i was in Nottingham for the annual Nottingham Malaysian Games!


two buses carried 92 northumbria students from newcastle to nottingham...
apparently the less-athletic students were there to cheer for their fellow university mates that represented their university in friendly games of football, netball, tennis and badminton!

bt i had other ideas... i did not pay fcking 14 pounds to tie my hair in ponytails and carry stringy pom-poms around... i was there to explore the COUNTY!

and with only 11 hours to explore the county... i was determine to visit the two places that nottingham was rumoured to be famous for...

i) nottingham is the county where robin hood originated...
coolness
so i was there taking pics with the famous Robin Hood statue...

bt could hide the shock face when i spotted the chastity belt!
(LoL!)

white tank tops and orange short shorts as the official uniform for its waitresses...

and according to some, the only restaurant that offers the 5Bs...

(Beer and Babes with Big Boobs and Butts)

Beer....

Babes with Big B**bs and Bu**s...
(ok you can omit me out of the pic if u like...)

the all important 5Bs to any normal guy....

yes... am talkin bout HOOTERS....

the restaurant, that every guy who has a fascination with huge lady humps (like one emeric teo i know) dreams off.

bt i'm nt every guy...
i dun need the 5Bs...
so thankfully the cheesy hot chili fries i ordered was very good....

there are four places (and maybe more) in the world you have to visit for eye-catching breathtaking sceneries.
New Zealand, Canada, Switzerland and Scotland.

and with my weekend gateway (with isla) to Scotland... Switzerland becomes the sole country on that list that i'm yet to visit.

6.25 in the morning... train ride from newcastle to scotland

'scotland' taken from the train

here's isla's grandma who is truly an inspiring lady.
60 years ago she traveled all the way to Scotland from Germany alone... without knowing a word of English and picking up the language later only by reading comic books thrown by a 7 year old who lived nearby.

the marble cake she baked was delicious...

we helped by cleaning up the 'mess'....

the miserable cold walk to isla's aunty anita's plc...

isla's favourite aunty anita...

the view from aunty anita's plc.

wind blowing the tree

chillin'

staying warm by the fireplace

isla's nephew Kieran, who broke his leg

signing the cast.

i've finally tasted cock-a-leekie soup.

Scotland was freezing but it was a much needed gateway...
and now i'm back in newcastle with two layers of jacket on.
It has been a very cold last week of october and we're expecting snow tonight.

oh n btw... i'm officially 8 hours behind you guys back in malaysia...
the cold miserable winter is coming... FAST... as we speak....