Little imperfections~

Tapping those fingertips against the wooden table whilst listening to Yiruma’s soothing melody...faded memories came rushing by…as if it was just yesterday…everything filled with laughter, joy, warmth and there’s only one word to describe --- perfect. This reminds me, nothing is perfect in this world but it’s the little imperfections that made it perfect.

Be grateful with what you have now, appreciate life which was given to you, appreciate everything that u have now, dare to take risks, take action on the impossible perhaps? Let there be no regrets in life and allow bringing satisfaction to one self. Give ya self a chance to prove what is hidden deep inside of you~~ and always have faith in everything you do! Life is unpredictable; anything could just happen in a glimpse, vanish from your sight without even you realizing… … cherish those who you love and let them know. =)

Have Faith, Hope and Love~ ^^

Shiennee~

fiReWoRks!!!

Me with the breathtaking fireworks!~ ^^

Another long day in Glasgow...nothing much was really 'happening' in the city up till the first Thursday in November. And to many of us, 5th of Nov isn't any special day unless it's your own birth date right?? Haha... But not in Glasgow! or any other part of UK!

It's quite a huge event and many people approx. 18 thousand people attended it. Many would walk to designated areas ( ours located at Glasgow Green )just to watch the fireworks. Anyway, this event/ day is called Guy Fawkes Night, a.k.a Bonfire Night and there's a story behind it...a weird and funny one I would say hehe...so if u're interested just Google it!

We set out at 5.00pm ( like 8pm in m'sia ..so yea..its dark) and at the same time enjoyed the night view of cars, shops and buildings..=.= ( nothing to do ma)

Ready to go! But wait, one group pic before we leave JBC~

* The clock tower *

Standing between these 2 policemen made me so TINY!
One of them even let me wear his hat!! How cool is he!

It was slightly different from what i thought it would be..there were some small 'funzone' for kids obviously ..a tiny amusement park and also some food stalls just for us to fill our tummies with before the event starts.

The Kid's Zone XD

And FOOD!!!

Munching all the way~

Noodle Bar prices ranging from 4-7 pounds

I love this picture the most! Gave me a very warm feeling ^^

Me strangling Kelvin due to boredom XD

Failed to do what he intended and ended up getting his butt burnt!

Not long after... and EXACTLY at 7.30pm sharp, the beautiful, scenic, exquisite..and other words u can find exploded in the dark sky! Loud music bombing in the air with synchronizes with the fireworks was really amazing indeed...speechless, also laughter, cheers can be heard from every single angle as well. Mostly all of us were like zombies at the first few minutes, admiring the lovely fireworks with our mouths opened. ( I still think that Malaysia have nicer and more style/design of fireworks )

Lots of people!!!

The Fireworks begins!

And after 20 minutes, the event ended and tat was it! Everyone started walking back and the most surprising part is that they closed up the roads so that we could walk on actual roads back to ...wherever we came from. It was a great experience..as if the city had just been bombed and everyone had to walk on the streets filled with people and no cars! OK...better stop here~~

Zombies walking at night

Signing off with a group picture with Martin (who speaks mandarin) right outside Glasgow Green!

~Shiennee~

Miss my Coco so much!

Guessing who Coco is? U'll find out soon enough who she is~

Its a quarter to 1am now and out of a sudden...i miss her so much! It was like just yesterday i brought her back from the shop. How time really flies ..sigh.

She was my 10th year birthday gift from dad and also, my first own dog..of coz, i had many other dogs before Coco back home but she's the only one that was really mine! How i remembered the first day i brought her home, she was so just so tiny and confused!

By the way, she's a Miniature Pincher. That very day we put her in a big cage and just so happened it also rained heavily that night. Middle of the night i heard howling noises and so i quickly went to check what was wrong.. My poor doggy!..she was shivering from top to bottom! ( well..left to right for a dog ) I quickly took it out and hugged it. I could still rmb how it clutched to me sooo tightly - a sign of feeling insecure and scared? Ouww..i just couldnt leave her there alone tat night so i accompanied it until she fell asleep.. After that i was forced to put her back and head up to bed. She continued to bark and howl for the next few days and i had to accompanied it but after awhile..she gotten used to the place and everything went well. =)

(Not Coco's real pics. Dun hav any soft copies of her. But she did look somewhat like that except that she has a dark brown coat instead of black and a red collar around her neck! )

She may not be as cute as other puppies with fluffy hairs but she's 100% a happy go lucky dog! She has a very unique way of saying hi or when she''s curious or wanting something...she'll tilt her head slightly either to the left or right and stick her tongue out as if she's really smiling! Miss her smiles!!!! Whenever we come back home, she'll always be there waiting for u behind the gate no matter rain nor shine and great you warmly as if trying to say " welcome home!" with her loud sharp barks. How i miss it!!! No matter how many times i've scolded her but at the end, she'll still search for me and jump up onto my lap whenever i'm around! And oh...she had very itchy teeth and she loves to chew!!

Rmbed how my mum got so angry at her for chewing all our slipers around the patio... What can we do...dogs what. Funny thing is that she'd also hide her food somewhere in the garden! I even spied on her once! hahahah..how funny! I rmbed giving her a piece of bread and she took it graciously in her mouth and ran off to find a spot to bury that piece of bread. It was just so funny...! She would dig a whole deep enough to cover the bread and close up that hole so that no one would find it. I was very horrid that time ..after she tot she had kept her treasure safey, i purposely just went close to her treasure site to see wat her reaction was...and guess wat??? She quickly ran and dug it out and speed away with it! Soon later..u'll see her walking around,searching for another spot to bury her food after knowing that u're not in sight. ( obviously i was hiding somewhere to know tat XD) Those were the days of having Coco around... hmm...

Best part was tat since she's so tiny, she fitted just perfectly into my basket attached to my bicycle and i would cycle around the neighborhood with her whenever i felt like it. ( Was so afraid that it might jump out of the basket out of a sudden ...had to keep a VERY CLOSE eye on her ) It was just so fun back then... too young at that time too, no driving license to bring it around in the car except to the vet clinic hehe... I'd also bring her to the pet shop nearby and buy her treats and dog collars... just so fascinating and enjoyable..!

Unfortunately i took her for granted..I really did...and i tot that all dogs would live a very long life but..not for Coco. *cries* She died when i was 15. But am glad that i had those 5 years to play, love, know and have her. No dog could ever take her place for she's irreplaceable! I was told that all dogs go to heaven and i believe that she's now living happily and safe there. I wish she will always remember me and know tat she will always be deep in my heart!

Love u Coco and i hope u know that!!!
Be happy and bark always! ^^

p/s : the toad that killed my precious Coco died the same night as she did... revenge? No comment.

~Shiennee~

Life in Glasgow...~

Hi all, been blogging mostly about my trips and journeys...guess i should share v u about the life in glasgow for me yeh? Just recently, a friend asked how life was going in glasgow..and that made me stop for a second a think..hmm..good question haha. I never really thought about that question...maybe i did, just didn't really sit down and seriously think about it.... So now i'm sitting down, ready to think!

Ok, let me start....!

Arrived here since the 19th of Sept and until this day, it has been like what, 19 days? Near to 3 weeks and i realized that i've done quite a lot of diff things and went to see a few places as if I'm on a long holiday. Was it becoz i've been lazing around at home and practically did nothing except eat, sleep, drive, shop...etc since 12th of Aug? Can't blame myself for that ma.. coz it was my semester break!!! Who wouldn't want to do that?? No need to study, no need to worry about wat to eat in Vista, dun need to worry about transportation...No worries at all back at hometown! Was like heaven to me ^^ (well, except for my results n visa) I even get to pick what i want to eat with my parents! I feel being loved ..gosh.. =) Dang... now i really miss home!!! T.T and its so far far away......

Hmmm...

Ok, anyway i'll leave my tears for later. Basically what i'm been doing a lot here is WALK. Those who want to get fat also have no chance to do that ( except for me ) coz everyday about 80% of ur time outside is just using ur legs to walk around. Walking to Tesco for groceries ( about 30 mins ), walking to the city ( about 15 mins ), walking to other places to buy groceries...some takes up more than just 30 minutes. So its not so easy to gain weight here but if u keep lots of food in room and eat them every single day of coz yes laaa. I feel like a hamster..seriously. i keep lots of food in my room..as if i'm preparing to hibernate. Well..winter IS coming! an excuse for myself..tat's why i'm nvr to stay fit. Got to change my habit!!! Haha... Anyway, it was really tiring lo..hav to walk so much and so long... but once i've gotten used to it. It seemed okay.

Next is cooking...i wonder whether my cooking skills have improved not. I dun cook much back in vista so...the only time i can really show out my skills is here! As i hav said before, 3 dishes plus rice for every dinner...so we took turns to cook every of em. ( soup, vege and meat ) So far...i've only burnt my veg once Haha... Overall..i'd say its still alright hehe. Do ask my guinea pigs haha. XD And oh yea...talking about rice... we bought 20kgs at one go and had to walked back with it from the chinese shop!!! ( cheapest we could find , 14pounds for 20kgs, not too bad ) It was the CRAZIEST thing! Friends and i bought two big bags of rice so 40kgs all together but we asked them to put into 8 bags so that each only weigh 5kgs and we took 1 bag each. But..some guys ended up with more as they helped the girls and 1of them even carried 15kgs of rice back to our hostel!!! Bravo!!! We had to stop everywhere coz too many things ( plus other groceries ) and it took us more than 1 hour to reach back. Ok...we saved on taxi though haha. But still insane. =p

Everyone was so worn out, shoulders and back were all aching the next morning! What to do...students what. But it was something memorable XD.

Anyway, my daily routine would be waking up in the morning, eat toast ( we eat it every single morning) ...*poof * and our breadS would just disappear like tat and had to be replenished every two days! Ok, then...go to class...walk back again for lunch ( microwavable lunch ) then back to class...bla bla and soon time to prepare dinner so and so on. It's quite predictable i guess haha.

And as for the weather here...first few days when i arrived it was kinda sunny! But not so much now.....is it because autumn just started? Dont really know..maybe this is how their weather is like. I've been told so many times tat Glasgow is a dull , grey and gloomy place...numbed by those words and thoughts + my own imagination. But...to my surprise...its not soooo soooo bad after all just that it drizzles most of the time...hate to bring umbrella out. So heavy n taking up space in my bag. Ahh..not to forget about the wind~!!! Burrr..... hate it so much!! Would be just perfect if there's no wind! Also, people here are quite friendly as well and I've also seen a few drunk ones... @@They scared the hell out of me!

Last but not least... is the famous scottish accent. Its still alright here. A scottish classmate of mine told me that their accent grows stronger and stronger further up in the north of Scotland which i believe it is true kua... coz 90% of what they say i could still understand. But the 10% of it i had to ask somebody to "translate" it back to me hehe. And again, as for the Scottish food- Haggis and rice pudding is still on my list... Tried Mark and Spencer's Scottish Steak Pie, was not bad too =)

Hmm...nothing more to add so i'll end it here!

~Smile Always =)

p/s: i found my Kit Kat Mint flavour! Yippee...i rmb they had it in M'sia for just a short period of time. Anyway, still hoping that one day there's Dark Chocolate with Mint ! ^^

p/s 2 : Piggy...miss u too ! =) Study hard o future doctor ^^ Add oil...~

p/s 3 : Thanks for ur photoframe! XOXO~

~Shiennee~

Day trip to Culzean Castle~

Surprised? Another blog is out, and you're reading it! Anyway, we went on to another trip on 3rd of Oct and this time its to ---> Culzean Castle !

A slight intro to this place before i start, just to give u guys some understanding. Culzean castle is a castle near Maybole, Carrick, on the Ayrshire coast of Scotland. It is the former home of the Marquess of Ailsa but is now owned by the National Trust of Scotland.

Again, this is another batch trip, however there were less people as the seats were very limited and closing date was kinda unexpected. Anyway, those who were weill informed managed to register on the last day so...yay...seats for us! This time, we had to get up even earlier than the previous week...9.15am at Geroge Square! Tat means waking up at 7am to get ready and prepare lunch since lunch wasn't provided. >.<

We arrived at the meeting place earlier than we thought as we were afraid that we might miss the coach. We waited and waited...and yet 9.30am it still hasn't arrived! Our patiences were wearing thinner and thinner and suddenly, it started to drizzle and not long after, the evil strong wind tagged along!

It was so damn cold and so we tried to squeeze around to keep ourselves warm but tat didnt helped much =.= coz the wind was penetrating our jackets and peircing our skin! After a couple more minutes of waiting, the coach finally came and everyone went up couldnt wait to get in there for shelter.

Our Coach! " Ann's Coaches "

It took us about 1 hour and 20 minutes to reach Culzean Castle and Country Park. Anyway, we went around exploring the places before heading to the castle for a tour scheduled at 2pm. Firstly, we entered the home farm ( originally a farm b4 they changed it into shops and restaurants ) and behind it was the ocean ! From here, we could peep through and see the castle which was facing the ocean as well. How nice! The strong waves were crushing and smashing against the rocks...it was just so beautiful! Imagine what would happen if u just accidentally fall into the water! I think I'll freeze to death first before I could even die of drowning! * Pictures are all in fb *

First group picture in front of the Home Farm

A clearer view of Home Farm without us blocking it

We had to take more 5 times of this picture coz our hair was like flying everywhere and covering our faces each shot we take!

Woohoo! We're HERE!

Later on, we continued our journey to other places such as the deer park. Deers were there obviously and so were the sheeps hehe.. Baaa... Anyway, we then say good bye to the deer and walked all the way to a secret garden! Ok, its not so secretly at all, i just said it so that it sounded more special and magical. XD

It is named Walled Garden,
i guess the reason why they called it that is because the garden is surrounded by high walls..probably to aviod ppl from plucking all their lovely flowers? ^^ According to the guide who gave us a tour around the castle, these flowers are usually taken during weddings held in the castle. There are also 6 hotel rooms in the castle available! But we didn't get to see it, not even a peep! =( Only hotel guests are allowed.

Ok, back to the gardens...12.30pm -lunch time! Guess where we had our packed lunch? In the green house! Haha.. Somewhere to enjoy our meal in the warm and cozzy house. After taking more pictures and playing around, we headed back to the castle just in time for the tour. So many things to look at...but unfortunately no cameras were allowed in there so... i took pictures with my eyes and saved it in my head hehe! Chik chak!

Entrance to Walled Garden

Beautiful isn't it!?

Different flowers with unique colours everywhere~ How could anyone resist taking pictures here?

MUFY students of year 2007 say :
M for Monash, U for University, F for Foundation and..Y for Year!!!

Full of baby "oranges" on the ground.
( dunno what those were..but it looked like oranges in tiny version to me hehe ^^ )

Me and one of the flowers I chose.

~Culzean Castle~
( pls ignore my fat face there, just wanted to give u a better view of the castle..been eating too much, time to exercise! )

Another one with the garden, didnt have time to go down there >.<

Anyway, that's about all i guess...oh wait..after the tour ,still had a some time so we went to the beach near by. There was a strong smell..and yes indeed..the smell of sea water and seaweeds... Hmm...missed the ocean/ sea wat eva back in M'sia...my hometown Penang..T.T... the seawater back there was so warm but erm..dirty.. but here...so cold and not so clean anyway..

Posers we were!

To conclude..... we again had a great trip!

CHEERS~

Next : My life in Glasgow...

~Shiennee~

Trip to Loch Lomond~

Its our first batch trip together ( well most of us ) to Loch Lomond! Was actually a last minute decision as the night before the trip, Shirley got hold of a piece of paper - A Walk in the Countryside, which was only for international students with a charge of just 5 Pounds! From there, we started informing everyone and was a success as many of them turned up in the morning for the trip!

Picture! Picture!

We then met up with other international students who where at George Square at 10am. Jamie, the tour guide then took us all to the ticket office at Glasgow Queen Street Station (just near by) to purchase our train tickets to Balloch. It took us about half an hour -more or less to reach the destination.

Those who were going as well - walking towards Queen Street station.

Return tickets from Glasgow Cen/QST to Balloch Central

Yippee~ Got and ticket and cant wait to get on the train!

The girls again...
...and the guys~

Oh, forgot to tell u is that it started to drizzle when we on our way to Balloch...although we did wish that it didnt rain but it still did anyway...would have been better if it was sunny...sigh. However, that did not stop us from enjoying our day! Soon enough we arrived at Balloch. It was really different from Glasgow City central ya, it's a more home-y and peaceful place as there were houses and gardens everywhere, people walking their pet dogs, etc.. compared to the city.

We walked in Balloch Castle Country Park and appreciated what nature hav for us. Funny part was that Kelvin got smacked by a leaf right on this cheek and was stunned for a minute there. Couldnt believe that nature was against him?? Lol!

Lots of trees....and leaves falling/flying everywhere
( when the wind paid another visit )

Oo...r we here yet?
Balloch Castle

Nice view eh?? All greens and greens...

After taking pics and stuff...we continued another few kilometers and reached here...

Another breathtaking view... nice breeze at the lake

Here's the end of our trip around to the park...and oh, we had to walk alot..! Saw lots and lots of beautiful ducks and a few elegant swans around as well. ( help yourselves v more pics in fb )

Time to rest? Take a break? NO !!!!! More walking for us!! It was an endless walk for all of us...good exercise at the same time n seriously tiring but for Loch Lomond..its all worth it.

Loch Lomond
One of Scotland's biggest lochs... ( slightly misty due to the rain )

To just reach George Square ---> Get on the train to Balloch ---> Walk around Balloch Castle Country Park ---> To Loch Lomond ---> back to Glasgow Central.... it took us half a day, from 10am to 6pm. With all the walking...its still worth it as i get to know how the countryside looks and feels like. =)

Taking a short break while waiting for the rest...

That is all for now~

~Shiennee~