Thursday, June 25, 2015

Taemin x Naeun

Warning : This whole post is about me talking about why I can't stop crying over a Korean reality show and how it's made me believe in love again.

So if you've not already exited my blog from reading the warning above, I would assume you are a fan of Korean reality shows/variety shows/music/drama/everything. And if you are still reading and not a Korean fan, then thanks, I appreciate it.

So background before I dive in.

The show I've been watching is called We Got Married. As the title would have it, it's about marriage.
It's a show where about 3/4 couple (at any point of time) are "married". And when I say "married", they're not really legally wed. They're just playing pretend husband and wife. They're both celebrities of some kind; singers, actors and actresses, comedians, etc. So they meet for the first time and it can be really awkward to watch because they're both very awkward themselves and it's basically a blind date; only that they're both considered already "married".

So ok.

I've watched several episodes before but of different couples. The couple that I've just finished watching is Lee Taemin and Son Na Eun. Taemin is a member of the boy group SHINee and Na Eun is from the girl group APink. So they meet for the first time and are very awkward and very new. They're both young which makes it even awkward because they're meeting and are acquainted for the first time and in front of cameras. It can be quite cringy at times.

So why do I say this show has made me believe in love again (and has gotten me ridiculously emotional) ?

Because, I just realised. This show is the first time I've seen a boy and a girl meet for the first time, get acquainted with each other, slowly be comfortable with each other and doing things together only to find themselves falling in love. Look, you can tell me it's scripted or it's fake or it's all TV, but when you watch an episode or two of this couple, you would definitely definitely doubt that. They must be Oscar winning actors to pull off this all just for a "reality show". It's not the same when your friends get in a relationship because most of the time, you're only seeing 10% of what really goes on. And it's different with fictional drama/movie because well... it's fictional. This show is just very different. And in a good way.

I'm getting way too emotional but really.

I found it extremely heart-warming to see this couple grow from being mere acquaintances working in the same industry to being each other's first loves. Granted, it's only a 20 minute show but man, the way Taemin looks at Naeun is the way you want to be looked at by your partner. The way he treats her, is the way you want to be treated. The way he takes care of her is the way you would want to be taken care of. It feels and looks very very genuine and for anyone suspicious of their relationship, after watching the show, they will find it very difficult to say otherwise. For me, it's the first time I've seen the love between 2 people really really blossom and see how they feel for each other. It was incredibly touching and moving to see that. During the show, there'll also be personal interviews and man, the love and care they have for each other is just really touching and incredibly moving.

It was something about this show that has completely changed the game for me. Like, now, I look at couples and I just feel very mushy and happy for them because if it was anything like how Taemin and Naeun felt like and how they looked at each other, then it must really feel beautiful to be in love.



Long way to go

As years pass, we see an increasing amount of students leaving Malaysia to study abroad.

Now, if every Malaysian students were to come back to Malaysia with the habits they've learned from the Westerners, I really strongly believe this country can improve itself.

It's the Malaysians that are ruining Malaysia lah. Why are we so rude and so inconsiderate. We are very selfish in nature and it's sad to see.

Our customer service in shops, for example, is a cry for help. I was in Forever 21 (OU branch just to let you know) just now and as I was at the cash counter, the cashier was playing her phone.

...

In what parallel universe is it ever okay to have your phone out during working hours while a customer is in front of you? I had to let out a small cough and say, "Excuse me?" before she looked up and proceeded in oh idk actually doing her job?!?!? Honestly. How rude. If I hadn't said, "Thank you and selamat berbuka!", she would have just passed me my things without smiling nor a 'Thanks!' and go on playing her phone. I mean, really. How hard is it to forego your phone during your working hours. What does that say about the management and staff. I've not worked in retail but I'm pretty sure, playing with your phone during work is not something your manager would be okay with.

Look, what I'm getting to is that as someone who has been fortunate enough to further their studies abroad, I feel like it's almost my responsibility to bring some things that I've learned from there to this country. Bayangkan if all the Malaysian students studying abroad brought back a good habit like smiling and tanya khabar and berterima kasih, this country would benefit lots and lots from people like that. It's a shame how when someone does one nice thing to us, we are shocked and surprised. It should be a norm. A norm so much so that being treated nicely by other people shouldn't be news anymore. It should be a norm. You should be grateful, yes but it should be something that occurs so often, it wouldn't faze you anymore.

From smiling to another person out of just common courtesy to saying, "Thank you, have a nice day!" to the cashier or sales assistant in the shop or anyone lah for that matter. And holding the doors for people, helping people out with small favours or just being plain ol' friendly. We lack this and if we don't correct it soon enough, this country might go to shits, to be very honest.

Was in Tesco's the other day and there were trolleys everywhere blocking the vacant parking spaces. I grouped them together and pushed them to the allocated trolley keeping space. My mum signalled me saying "tak payah!", saying I shouldn't do it (my mum is an incredibly beautiful person both inside and out so don't get me wrong because she wasn't saying I shouldn't push the trolley carts back to where they belonged but she signalled me to show that she had enough space to park and I didn't have to push the carts anymore) and when she got out of the car, I just told her,

"Mum, if I want to see a change in this country, I should at least start somewhere and if that somewhere is by pushing the trolley carts to the proper allocated space as oppose to blocking people from parking properly, then that's perfectly fine."

Be the change you want to see, my friends! If you want to see the culture of holding doors for people be a permanent thing, you just have to start by doing it yourself. You can't expect this country to change if you yourself are unwilling to change.

xx

Thursday, June 18, 2015

Ramadhan '15 Day 1

I should really start making a category of posts of just me blabbering away at 4-5 am.

I've just finished Sahur, which was just nasi goreng. And?!?!?! I had only like a small portion of ONE SERVING ??!?!?!? Do you not understand how major that is in my world?!? I'm no stranger to being shameless and leaving the table again and again to get more and more rice so this was big for me.

After being told countlessly how round I've become (it only shows in my face lah ok people WHY so kecoh!!), I've decided to be better with my eating proportions this Ramadhan (because I know that ain't happening in Syawal let's be honest) and to not overbinge when eating. I always do this and it was my biggest mistake when in Bristol (I'd skip breakfast and lunch but go all out for dinner... eep). So I've decided to take hold of my eating habits and try and restart my metabolism. So by Syawal, I won't look so bulat for Raya photos hahahah

But of course, if you all know me, you would know that I have a rather small frame and I've never been """fat""" all my life because lucky me, I've been quite blessed with a speedy metabolism system and I can get away with eating a lot a lot a lot of food and still not put on major weight. So naturally, I'm not really moved with any comments about my weight because according to BMI, I'm 'normal' so I'm not going to do anything stupid like not eat and all that just 'cause of a few comments. I'm just trying to approach what everyone would call a 'diet' and be more healthy over this Summer. I was an absolute bum in the UK so I'm trying to be better in terms of my body and health overall (I'm still gon' eat all the nasi daun pisang in the world c'mon y'all know me).

So!

Salam Ramadhan, everyone reading this!! May you have a blessed and beautiful Ramadhan, let it be here in Malaysia or elsewhere in the world, whether you are celebrating the first day of Ramadhan bersahur and berbuka seseorang diri or with a whole bunch of your family!

Ramadhan is a month to do good and be good so I hope everyone is doing that! Let's try to be the best version of ourselves this month for the sake of Allah and for the sake of ourselves. May this Ramadhan be the start of an eternity of doing good and being good.

Just 'cause you're hungry, don't mean you get to be moody, ok!

And to anyone reading this, I'd like to take a sincere timeout and ask for forgiveness for any and every wrongdoing I've done as it wasn't my intention to do so, really!! I'd like to think I'm a nice person and that I do the best I can to be nice to a lot of people but I am human and so I'm not excused from perhaps doing something that mightve couldve wouldve hurt someone so I'd like to say sorry and i don't mean it!

Wishing everyone a lot of light and love this Ramadhan! 여러분 화이팅!

xx

Wednesday, June 17, 2015

Room Makeover!

So it's 6:43 am and I'm still up...

I slept for a bit at 1 and woke up at 5:30. Hmm, not really doing well with this jet lag of mine.

So I'm currently waiting for my Korean show to fully stream and whilst doing that, I'm dancing to Big Bang's Bang Bang Bang (I, myself don't know why I like this but it's so catchy and addictive... and that GD though...), looking at shops online and waiting for Kakak to bring back nasi lemak from the makcik selling down the road (I had 2 packets yesterday).

SO happy to be home!!! Over the moon kinda happy. This country can frustrate and upset me in more ways than one but man, it's where the heart is. This is why I feel like I can never pack up and move elsewhere, I'd be too homesick 4 months in.

When I came home, I saw that my grandfather redid his room here in my house and it has a nice pretty bathroom and a bigger bedroom so I felt like it's about time I change things up in here also. I'm going to repaint the walls, buy new furniture and change the curtains and lights and hang new things in place of the horribly cringe-worthy things I have up on my wall now.

I'll do a before and after photo and some in-progress photos. Quite excited! I'm actually already going to go to Ikea tomorrow to get some things and buy paint also.

On an another note, Ramadhan is coming!!!! How fast did that go by, right? Looking forward to berbuka puasa with family and friends in the near future and hoping to have the loveliest and most wonderful Ramadhan this year.

xx

Tuesday, June 16, 2015

Four Cities and A Concert

I always INTEND to blog but never really coming about to actually do it.
And this is alllll because

i) Internet problems
ii) After a whole day out, I'm pretty much just crawling when I come home. So tiring!!! Ever since my family came, I've been out every single day which is a huge stark contrast to what I usually am used to - an outing once a week if I'm feeling up for it. I can go days just lazing around at home so coming to London has been tiring! The past week, we went to Manchester, Lake District and then to Liverpool and making a pit stop to Stoke on Trent to visit Zaim's uni (which was btw so much nicer than mine!!!!)

InsyaAllah, I'll be kissing the grounds of Malaysia (just kidding, that shit ain't hygenic) in just a few days!! So excited and so happy to be heading home. Obviously, I am very very happy to be studying in the UK and I've prayed for this for as long as I've remembered so I'm very grateful for every minute I'm here. But I mean, home is where the heart is. I love Malaysia despite everything it has/is gone/going through. It's still the place I grew up with and I can't wait to be back home where everything is so familiar. Won't be too happy about the heat for the first few days but hey, at least sun sets AT AN APPROPRIATE TIME!!!

So ok, let me just fill you on on what has happened since I last wrote :

1 Ariana Grande concert

Ok, critics please. This girl can sing her little tiny body off. She is amazing live, just as I thought she'd be. SUCH an amazing singer and everytime she sang a high note or did an impressive run, Tania and I would just be in absolute awe because WE COULDN'T BELIEVE WE'RE WATCHING HER LIVE. I, obviously, was jivin' and singin' through every lyrics and every note of almost all of her songs. She's the one of the only singers whose album I've bought on iTunes (others being Beyoncé and JT) because her last album was ace throughout, mate.

My favourite was when she sang My Everything and Be My Baby because those were my 2 favourite songs off her album. But every song lah I was just so into! SO brilliant.

Don't have any decent photos of the concert because Tania and I sat pretty far so I just kinda gave up on taking pictures and enjoyed her singing and screaming til my throat burned!!!





2 Manchester

So it was a pretty last minute trip (like... confirming-our-accommodation-in-the-car-en-route-to-Manchester-kinda-last-minute) but everything went smoothly alhamdulillah. We settled in this place very nearby the city and it was a cute little place Tania found on airbnb (perhaps the best website for accommodation ever. Hotels whuuuuut?).

Stayed there for 2 nights but we arrived quite late in the evening so we just went to Al-Jazeera for dinner, of course. How can you not go to Al-Jazeera when in Manchester?!?!?!

The men had an early start to their day as they went to play golf i don't even know where. So it was just Mum, Iman, Tania and I and we just walked to the city and just went around. I've been to Manchester a few times now so I was somewhat familiar with the city. I love Manchester, I've said that before and I'll say it again! Such a lively city.






3 Lake District

Um pretty damn beautiful?!?!?!?! I was feeling a bit nauseous after being in the back seat for several hours throughout the car ride to Lake District so I wasn't feeling up for the boat ride to Bowness but figured I should since I was already there, right. SO glad I did because it was SUCH a beautiful day and it'd be a waste to not have gone and seen Bowness. So so so so so lovely. It was so sunny and probably the best day to have gone to Lake District. Beautiful! Can't imagine going during winter though so I'm glad I held the trip off 'til my family came.








4 Liverpool

After spending a good portion of the day in Lake District, we proceeded our journey to Liverpool where we stayed the night. Zaim booked the accommodation this time and I was very impressed with the place. It looked dodgy from the outside and the reception was in a completely different place.

But the place we stayed in was SO beaut! It was a two floor situation and it was just very big and spacious. Kinda wished we stayed there longer! To be honest, I was quite reluctant to go and stay in Liverpool but the city took me by surprise! So pretty! The shopping center was SO besar and spacious and very very cool. And of course, the docks were also very beautiful! We had our lunch by Albert Dock at this cool circus themed restaurant and the food was also really good!! I don't know lah, Liverpool was just very very pretty and took me by surprise. Would love to go there again to see more of it.









5 Stoke on Trent

Went to drop off Zaim because he went to go pack up his things to move out of his current accommodation. We were only there for a little while before we continued our journey to London. Zaim brought us to Keele Hall and masyaAllah so beautiful!! So jealous his university is so much prettier than mine. Mine is a little more modern than his but with that, also less picturesque haha

That was pretty much my whole week summed up in a post. Tiring from all the traveling but I loved every bit of it (maybe not so much the whole sitting in the back seat throughout the whole trip!) because I got to see a little bit more of the UK and it was spent with my lovely family. No shortages of laughing.






It was a really really good trip with my family and I loved every bit of it! 

x


Monday, June 1, 2015

AG

My days have been pretty occupied these days because my family is here!!! Anyone who knows me knows that I'm pretty big on families so obviously, I'm ecstatic that mine is here in the same city and time zone as I am!!

Tania just arrived this evening (she came a week later because of her exams) so the whole family is here!! So very happy.




Such lies London, where are the flowers!!! These were the only flowers I've seen 'round London.


I'm suuuuper excited for tomorrow for two things!

1) I AM FINALLY GOING TO CUT MY HAIR! 

My mum, when she saw me, "Nadia, your hair is so long already!" and guys, I've not had my hair cut in about 9-10 months??? THAT IS RIDICULOUS?!?!?!????? I've never gone that long without going to a hair salon to at least have a hair trim. I've been very doubtful about salons here because I feel like the mat salleh can never be up to par to Asian hair dressers. Of course that's me being very oblivious but I don't know, my hair is soooo darling to me so I'm quite picky. After reading a fellow blogger's post on a hair salon here in London, I decided to just go for it and called them up for a haircut appointment.

... and yes, guys, it's a Korean hair salon. Was that predictable? You saw that coming, didn't you? Haih.

ANYWAY, I'm super stoked and I'll probably skip and hum to my favourite Korean tunes on the way there. So happy to have my hair pampered and played around with, it has been a long long long LONG while. If you've seen my hair as of late you would know it's gross and coarse and dry and I have split ends more than I have healthy strands.

2) I AM GOING TO THE LONG AWAITED ARIANA GRANDE CONCERT!!!

I don't remember when I bought the tickets but I do remember waiting for the tickets to be released and clicking refresh every 5 seconds to buy it. I did get it for cheap through the official agent without having to scour through resellers which was awesome! Going with Tania and you bet we're wearing our cat ear headbands. Ugh can't wait to sing to all her songs all out!! My favourite song off her latest album is obviously My Everything and Be My Baby so I can't wait to have her perform those two songs!

Ok I'm going to brush up on my Hangeul a little bit more before sleeping.

Have a great week, guys!

xx