Saturday, December 28, 2013

Boxing Day

I don't like crowds. So I don't know why Boxing Day would be a good idea. But nevertheless, I wanted to experience an Oxford Street Boxing Day.

Started the day off as early as 6:30 am. Girl, I don't even wake up that early for class so it says a lot about me and my love for shopping. Anyway, we were at Marble Arch close to 9 and as soon as the infamous Selfridges clock rung, the crowds started to go a bit mental and started switching on their full beast mode. Hanis, Marissa and I made a mad dash past Selfridges because dying from a shopping stampede doesn't sound like a nice way to go. So we went to get breakfast first to fuel ourselves for retail war.

Headed to Selfridges first. MasyaAllah, the people!





So semangat, man! I don't know if I have it in me though. To wait in line and to battle through the massive crowds. We took our own sweet time and waltzed in Selfridges half past nine with no line but overwhelmed by the amount of people inside. Pening. It was very suffocating because the first part of the store we entered was the perfume section. Ok, strong fumes of eau de parfums and sweaty security guards (i assume they were sweaty...) don't go well and it was way too early in the morning for that! Wanted to find a Kenzo sweatshirt but so disappointed to see the itty bitty Kenzo section. I managed to get accessories that were on sale so I'm quite chuffed with that. We basically worked our way from Marble Arch to Oxford Circus. Stopped by several shops but mlehhhhh the pushing and massive lines were more than enough to deter me from buying anything. I don't have patience when it comes to shopping! My last stop before lunch was Topshop. Mannnn that place is already crazy packed on any normal day so boxing day was even more teruk. I did manage to get an electric blue coat which was sick because it went down from £58 to £25! Steal. I also managed to get myself a summery dress........... which I realise is quite impractical because I'm not going to wear it anytime soon! But it was too pretty and there was only one piece left and girlfriend, when the last piece is in your size you KNOW it's fated for you to get it. It was on sale also so my purchase was justified....... I hope.




Overall, Boxing Day was overwhelming. Too many people on one street!

I still love you, Oxford Street. You and your lights are amazing.

x

Wednesday, December 25, 2013

Iguanas

Reached London city at 10 am today. And I love this place but my God, what a horrible first day! Super mahal cab fare and it was the crappiest weather - wind and rain all up my face! And the Londoners can be quite harsh and not as polite as the Bristolians. Walked around Waterloo and found a place to eat late lunch - Las Iguanas in which of course the boys had to comment "Huh makan iguanas ke??"

Um k.

Anyway, we met up with Olan, Tariq and Zain there and we scouted for churros. I don't usually like churros (because I make painful comparisons with cakoi) but this one was exceptionally sedap! I might just try my luck and go buy it next time!









We had dinner at Khan's and of course bombarded with good food and with a table of 20, it was very meriah to say the least. Seeking warmth indoors and eating the chicken jalfrezi (which is ACE but VERY pedas so please have your cold drinks at the ready) made me sweat! Which is always good in the country. 

So I was talking talking talking with my friends when these 2 lovely girls came up to me saying that they read my blog and that they liked reading my KY posts and it has made them believe that KY is not such a bad place after all! Hahahahah I was SO terharu that my face started to go panas and red! They were saying how they liked my blog and thanks so much for making my day!! So sorry if I sounded so frazzled! I was just very very taken aback and terharu! SO nice and super sweet of you to say hi!! Bless you girls!

___


Day 2 of London consists of me staying in and finishing some work I have to do by January. And since Christmas day means no shops open, London is like a ghost town. A cold and windy ghost town. 

Can't wait for tomorrow. But quite scared that I'll go quite cray........

.... well here's hoping everyone stays safe and shop safe! 


x



BUM

Dude


  • My bum hurts because last night after showering, I slipped down the stairs and fell and landed hard on my ass. I had pains all over my body but even after a nights sleep and a day out, my butt still hurts from the fall. Standing up is horror and sitting down takes time. I'm kind of like an old grandma. 
  • "So be the girl you loved" is a line from a James Blake song, 'Retrograde'. And it might be one of my favourite lyrics of all time although it's a given I don't listen to much songs so if you have a song with great lyrics, tell me. But back to James Blake; that line is gorgeous. A lot of girls I think are sacrificing their identity to be the next Tumblr girl. Some girls abandon their own self for the sake of friends and/or boys and it's unfortunate because the world would be pretty kick-ass if girls did not put an act for someone or for something. Also, James Blake, you and your music I mean c'mon dude srsly where what omg pls i can listen to you singing to my lecture notes and i'd pay good money for that
  • After my last blog post, I went out to get a neon pink beanie. 
  • Bought tickets to a Beyoncé concert. Tickets were out at 10 am and I rushed home from Zati's place and opened the website only to be put on hold for what seemed forever. All the while, I had Kaveetha on the other end of my Whatsapp and we were updating each other with the whole ticket situation. She managed to get a seat and bought me one first too but it was separate seats which sucks because this is Beyoncé and no one dances alone to Beyoncé. Ok boleh je actually but you know what I mean. So I opened Twitter to see that due to the massive number of people buying her tickets, Beyoncé and Co. added extra dates and so I went and tried my luck for the latest London concert and guys............ I ACTUALLY GOT TICKETS. So I bought 2 without having second thoughts (also because there was a darn timer so I had no time to be fickle minded) and called up Kaveetha and we were both screaming and laughing at the same time. I'M BLOODY EXCITED GUYS FINALLY A BEYONCE CONCERT OMG i can't even deal
  • I Facetime-d my siblings the other night, all separately. And I laughed so much with them and at them. Still forever and ever my favourite comedians. No one can beat. They say I laugh too much but I can't help it; they're genuinely very very funny and the things they say are so ridic. I miss them. I can't wait to go Christmas shopping for them.
  • Mun came over to Bristol for a sleepover!!!! SUCHA sweetheart, she is. Missed her so much and her and her dance moves made my day. Over dinner, I whipped up spaghetti and we watched Beyoncé's concert together and danced and sang all the words and went a bit cray with harmonising and ad libs. It was great fun and ugh I love her. We share a favourite song, 'Love on Top' and when we were in Costa, the song was on and we just looked at each other and went "Girl, what the hell this is fate" and then continued singing to the words while sipping our lattes (hers) and ice blended juice (mine).
  • It takes me forever to go shower. And it takes me forever to get out of the shower. 
  • My opinion on people who go "Wishing people Merry Christmas is perkara haram" : Seriously? Niat tu bukan ke penting. I feel that WHEN (and not if) I wish people Merry Christmas, I wish them out of sincerity and more of a "Have a great time celebrating at home with your family and I hope you get great presents and I hope you all have an amazing Christmas feast with your loved ones" than a "Merry Christmas yeah I'm totes acknowledging the birth of Christ". When I wish them a Merry Christmas, my niat and my intention is to be nice and to genuinely wish that they have a good time with their family and friends. I'm not saying Merry Christmas because I believe in Jesus Christ. At the end of the day, I'm still praying to Allah SWT so it really just depends on YOUR niat. We were ALL put on this earth to respect each other and to be kind and good to people despite race, colour or religion. It's funny how we can't wish Merry Christmas but taking touristy photos in front of churches in a foreign country is totally okay. If your niat to wish people Merry Christmas is to be nice and to be kind, then I don't think there's anything wrong. We have to be more accepting as a human kind. You're a human being. You wish another human being a Merry Christmas and it would not make you any less Muslim than you are. But it would make you a better person. 
  • I went grocery shopping the other day on an empty stomach. Silap besar, bro. 
  • The wind in Bristol is intense. I get home with damped and frizzy hair and it looks like a train wreck. I look like a train wreck after a day out.


Life and its funny ways. 

Tuesday, December 17, 2013

My Messy Bun

It's already December and I'm already done with my first term in university. And so far, I've been loving it. And if there's one thing I absolutely love, it's the people here.

And how they don't give a damn.

See, when I got here I was culture shocked to say the least. Like a fish out of water almost. But I was absorbing everything and taking everything in slowly. Bombarded by students in campus and going on the bus and doing everything alone is a lot to deal with for the first few weeks. And I noticed that everyone didn't care about other people. And not in the rude way at all. If you've been in the UK, you would know that it is their second nature to ask "You alright?" to anyone. It's something I would love to be a norm back home. I've read somewhere that said the Brits are very cold people but so far, alhamdulillah, I've not come across a single person. It's quite lovely.  

They don't care about people as in they don't mind at all about what you wear or how your hair looks like or how many tattoos you have or the make-up you put on. They just don't mind anything of the sort! Everyone minds their own business and everyone embraces diversity and differences.

Something we don't really do at home.

Everyone back home seems to be so kepoh with what everyone wears or how our hair is like and the make-up we have on. I had my hair in a bun once because it was blazing hot and my hair was getting in the way so I decided to twist my hair and it coiled up in a neat bun. But of course, I had a friend say

"Nadia, you look like an Indon maid"

and here, everyone has their hair in a bun and I don't see anyone giving her death stares because no one cares. At the end of the day, it IS my hair and it IS my life. 

Or how if one wears too heavy of make-up, someone would go 

"So fake!" 

Again, what someone puts on her face is her own decision and on her own grounds. Let her do whatever she wants to do. At the end of the day, she is the one who takes the effort to remove her make up and she is the one who puts in on again the next morning. It is on her own time and on her own effort (and her money because make up is mahal). If it doesn't affect you, let it be. Move on and let it be.

Here, everyone dresses differently (I have a lecturer who wears a fanny pack) and wears their hair differently (dreadlocks and the infamous British messy bun and all sorts of different coloured hair) and for the 4 months I've been here, I've only seen a handful of women who've carried a designer bag. Most of them were above 40. 

And in Malaysia, if you wear a feather hair piece, you can be called a bird or Pocahontas. If you wear bright coloured anything, someone would comment on it saying it's so bright it's hurting their eyes. Or if you wear make-up, they'd say

"Nak pergi mana ni, Datin?" or they'd say loads of mean things about being plastic.

It just hinders our creativity, I feel. Because I always want to dress nicely but I'm always second-guessing myself about what I wear and how I look because of the way people look at you up and down and side to side. And you have it all planned out only to then change back to your old pair of worn jeans and a blouse. OOTD's suffer because of that! We should learn to walk past someone without giving two hoots about that persons appearances.

And we are so consumed with materialism and our constant and endless desire to be drenched in designer brands. Even willing to acquire a VERY obvious fake version of it. It's so annoying that people look at what bag you wear to determine it you're 'in' or not. It's ridiculous lah. If you can afford the bag then fine. Wear it. It looks hella good. But if you can't afford it, then it's not a big deal. At all. That Vuitton can wait. Y'know what? It ain't even that pretty. I've only seen, like I said, a handful of people who carry designer. I can even tell you what they were; a Prada, a Celine, and a few Chanels here and there (mostly adorned by fellow Asians). Whuuuuuuut. You can find everyone in KLCC and Pavilion toting a Chanel. It's because the locals here don't care! Your Chanel is as good as a Primark bag. No one cares.

I've grown to be a bit more confident in my dressing and in general thanks to the people here. And insyaAllah, after my 3 year stay here in England, I'll adapt this British habit and not care and put more effort into doing what I like and what I want because at the end of the day, my decision is mine. And your decision is yours. So if you want to wear that neon yellow beanie, you wear that neon yellow beanie! If you want to have your hair cropped short, you go for it! If you like that bag, then go get that damn bag and carry it whenever and wherever you want and show it off. They are your decisions and no one else's. Take it and walk the walk. We should care less about what other people think and care more about what you want. This is ofcourse, from an individual's perspective. But as a society, I think we should learn to be more accepting and embrace diversity. We're way too harsh on what and how everyone present themselves that more often that not, they're doing things for the sole purposes of pleasing society.

I don't know guys, I just felt like writing this after seeing a couple walking hand in hand in dreadlocks and torn and loud-printed baggy clothes and fanny packs with sandals and socks.

And no one looked twice.

Sunday, December 8, 2013

JT was right

Pretty swamped with work now that term is ending (HOORAH!). I cannot wait for my London trip for Christmas with my mates!!! This time last year I was with my family in London and now I'm with my friends omg dude srsly time flies. It's already December and I'll be turning 21 next month how the heck did we get here I swear March was 3 minutes ago

JT was right to sing about mirrors; because I love 'em. So here are my mirror selfies......... HOW BORING IS THIS BLOG OMG i swear i'll update when term ends and when I'm not too boring.




Saw phone cover in Topshop and it reminded me too much of a mermaids tail that I had to get it! Sick. 


And here I am with my favourite Little Mermaid pullover. Primark had a a Little Mermaid tshirt and I HAD to have it. Lolz at least I'll know what to wear if I go to Disneyland! 


Zati slept over my place the other night and we both wore printed pyjamas because they're so darn comfortable. My top actually has matching bottoms so I really don't know why I chose to not wear them that night. Tak berani pakai print on print in the day so pyjamas pun jadi lah 



With my new fav mustard yellow scarf because everything else I wear looks miserable and depressing.

I still can't believe it's December already!! My God. Where did the year go?