sOleiLian

又是春节了。 And that means family reunions, yummy food, new clothes, and for us unmarried singles and kids ~ ang pows! Chinese New Year is a big festival for ethnic Chinese the world over, and even Google and Yahoo! join in the celebration with us by donning a cute and auspicious Year of the Ox theme.

Each year, relatives will visit us and have lunch at our place since both my paternal grandparents are living with us. It’s that one time of the year that one can hear sounds of laughter and joy reverberate throughout our humble dwelling.

As usual, steamboat is a must for our family reunion. This time around, we had 2 versions ~ a vegetarian one with vegetables, mushrooms, and mock meat; and the usual one with the various meat stuff. I used to dislike steamboats for unknown reasons. It’s funny that I fell in love with this hearty dish only after I became a vegetarian, sans the big juicy prawns, squids, and fish fillets. I know this sounds ridiculous. Haha!

I didn’t even buy new clothes this year because I didn’t see the need for it. Mum knew about this and she bought me 2 tees without me knowing it. How sweet of her! :) Yet I was only clad in my lame ol’ secondary school’s Chinese Society tee and a pair of Hawaiian print shorts while visitors to our house were all dressed in their finest. Now that’s the most preposterous thing I’ve ever done on the 1st day of Chinese New Year.

And instead of splurging on clothes and accessories (I’ve never liked shopping anyway), I opted for The Beyoncé Experience: Live concert DVD. Beat that!

To all my friends who are celebrating this festival,

HAPPY CHINESE NEW YEAR

新春愉快

c a t e g o r y | yummylicious
f l u f f e r p u f f | chinese . festivals . food

29 sOleiLians

I’m home! At last. It’s been a helluva busy month. Assignments after assignments. My goodness. Just submitted my 1st studio project on Monday and I could finally let out a sigh of relief. But this won’t last long. We were given a short brief on our 2nd project immediately on that morning and there’ll be a study trip to Perak on February 1st. Speaking of trips, I still have some overdue ones to cover on my blog. Gosh… Guess I’d never have the time to write about ‘em in the coming months.

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Last Saturday, all the 2nd-year students of my faculty attended a seminar conducted by Malaysia’s Construction Industry Development Board (CIDB). The talk was divided into 2 sessions ~ morning and afternoon. We were required to attend both sessions in order to qualify for the completion of the course. And the reward? A CIDB Green Card and a hard hat. With the Green Card in hand, we’re now allowed to enter construction sites which are usually off-limits to the public. Accidents and deaths will also get covered by a special insurance scheme.

But you know what? Fatalities on construction sites will only get a compensation of RM21,000 while RM500 will be given for funeral services. Man, this is so cheapskate! I can’t believe our lives are only worth that much! =.=”

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The school held a very small awards ceremony on Monday afternoon for all the Dean’s List achievers of the last 2 semesters. Out of the 220+ 2nd-year students of my faculty, only 16 of them were awarded the coveted prize. I was surprised to learn that I was 1 of the 3 2nd-year architecture students to make it to the list. :)

Oh ya, I bought some books! Bad habit. I realize that I love buying books more than I have the time to read ‘em. And I’m still eyeing a few interesting ones. Gracious!

So many Taipei 101s, huh? This skyscraper will cease to be the tallest building in the world upon the completion of the 818m-tall Burj Dubai come this September. Thanks Ting for these lovely postcards from Taiwan!

c a t e g o r y | juz bloggin' . life as a student
f l u f f e r p u f f | books . ramblings . university life

20 sOleiLians

On Christmas Eve, I was workin’ on a group project at my studio. No countdown to Christmas for me.

On New Year’s Eve, I was stuck in my dorm, wondering how the hell I’m gonna churn out a workable design concept, plans, and elevation drawings within 24 hours for Friday’s class. Procrastination has taken its toll on me, so no countdown to New Year’s Day for me either. *sigh*

Then I decided to chill out a lil’ and here’s what I ended up with…

A newly-learnt Photoshop skill! This photo was taken in July’07 while I was boarding a ferry from Butterworth to Penang Island. It’s amazing that the dash of colours somehow manage to draw your attention to the boat amidst a monotonous B&W background. Need I say more… I’m lovin’ it!

c a t e g o r y | juz bloggin' . life as a student
f l u f f e r p u f f | ramblings . university life

32 sOleiLians