Sunday, December 30, 2018

Friends and OGS

2 days 'til Christmas, man what even was this year! 

Yesterday was eventful, went to Muar to see one of my bestest friends get married. She had been so nervous leading up to the wedding so I'm glad it's now all done and dusted with and she's happily married! I've only known her less than 2 years but she's honestly the kind of friend that's made my life just so much more colourful. And I get to see her everyday. And we text literally everyday. I'm just so happy she's so happy! 

(Edit: Right, so this was abandoned for a week and this is only going out on the 30th of December '18, Anis got married on the 22nd). 

Anis' kampung was so serene and quite lovely with the small roads roofed by tall trees. It was so pretty. As was the bride herself.




The week leading to her wedding up 'til the New Year, Anis has taken off so I won't see her 'til work reopens on the second and already I can't wait to hear how married life's like. She said after her nikah she ate without even thinking of her husband because she forgot she's now married hahaha

Came back from the wedding and left to celebrate Diy's birthday at an Airbnb she got. Earlier in the week she texted me asking for a favour

"Nadia, you're my big sister right, can you do something please because I know you're good at it. Can you tell people to shut up if it gets too noisy??"

to which I said, "Ofc"

but guess who was also screaming and laughing way too much?

...

But it was really very fun and I've realised that house parties like theses make up for a better time than at restaurants. We played games and had good potluck food and then screamed for more games and sang to a lot of 'thank u, next' which I absolutely loved hahaha




Love you Diy, knew it from the time I first met you. xxx

Not related to Diy's birthday but this is from Hanna's little get together at her place. It was a potluck situation so Tania made her roti jala and I... ate it. Hahaha! Glad that everyone liked it because it really is very good! Thanks Hanna for inviting us over, we love you and all the best for your upcoming papers!!! You can do this eyes closed!! xx

This was at Publika for Zain's birthday. He's ONLY turned 25, guys!!!! And I'm 26 in a few weeks! Bye. (Also, still the eldest one here)

___

Also I'm enjoying football more than ever now that Ole Gunnar Solksjaer's the new manager. Albeit just temporary but man, what a change! I always try to refrain from speaking too much about football because I hate to look like I live eat breathe the sport because I don't. Atleast not yet! But I have been watching most of United's games since I started with club football and I get it why other United fans are so fed up with Mourinho and the team. So when it was announced that he was fired and that Ole was taking his place, I was just as excited. I've heard of Ole since my dad told me about the arguably most important goal for United - the 1999 Champions League final at Camp Nou, Barcelona. I've watched the treble-winning goal and I've been so blown away by the sheer madness of how late the goal was and how important it was for the club. And it was Ole who won it for them so you can imagine how excited everyone was at his appointment. Well, at least I was. We've accepted that Manchester United won't win the league this time around but it's a consensus amongst fans that it's just so much more rewarding to see that Ole's steered the ship in the right direction. It's insane to see how we've been on a losing streak and then Ole takes charge and it's a 5-1 win! It's been fun watching and not as frustrating! I get it now. How fans get emotional and how they feverishly look forward to match day. I totally get it now. I'm in for the long haul! Ole Ole Ole!






xx

Tuesday, November 27, 2018

His Majesty, Queen

So I've watched Bohemian Rhapsody and it's safe to say it's my favourite movie of the year. No question about it - it's an absolute stunner of a film and I'm a well converted fan of the band.

I went in not really knowing much about Queen. I knew *of* them but nothing more. Didn't even know the other members' name aside from Freddie Mercury. 

The movie is such an experience, it's an injustice to watch it online. You have to go and watch it on the big screen. I can't say enough good things about the movie. I was just so blown away by it - the friendship, the love, the fights, the music and the legendary band. I came home and do what I always do when I love something new - research the living lights out of it! The countless times I've watched documentaries and searched them up on Google and listened to their songs. My sister now calls me the walking Queen Wikipedia page. I take great pride in that. Hahahaha I just love them so much now!!!! And I know some people are going to be all, "Only now you like them? I've liked them for eons now!" to which I won't be arsed to reply because it's a dumb thing to entertain. I have a new found love for the band and I'm so sad that we won't be able to see them perform ever again as a complete 4 member band. 

I also have to obviously be very grateful for this movie because I left the cinema hall so excited about Queen and their history and music. I mean, the casting director couldn't possibly have done a better job with the movie. Rami Malek, Gwilym Lee, Joe Mazzello and Ben Hardy were spot on and performed like no other as actors and as Queen. They were incredible and played a huge role in making me a new Queen fan. I didn't expect to be so moved watching this movie - I cried more than I care to admit. The movie exceeded my pretty high expectations, so much so that I've watched it twice in the span of three days. I love it, I love it, I love it. Can't get over it. My movie of the year! Though I haven't watched Mary Poppins which I'm giddy out of my mind for but Bohemian Rhapsody is a movie I'll watch again and again and I am so thankful for it because it's opened a treasure trove of fucking good music which I completely regret not knowing much earlier. Also, can we just discuss what style icons these 4 cool cats are. IN AWE!!!

Just putting it out there, my favourite Queen song is Another One Bites The Dust and it has a lot to do with the fact that John Deacon came up with it and the bass line throughout the song is unbelievably cool.

Have you guys watched it?? Go if you haven't already and thank me later for the most entertaining 2 hours you would have had in a long while.

Ok so now enjoy a bunch of photos of the most epic band that has ever existed! I'm so obsessed!!!!!

xx









Monday, November 26, 2018

A trip to Singapore and to the hospital

It's a Monday and I'm still at home on my MC. It's been a good 2 weeks now that I haven't been to work. 

So on the 5th of November, Iman and I made a trip to Singapore but we took a flight to Johor instead cause we were staying there instead to save money. The whole point of the trip was to catch Khalid at concert and yes, for the umpteenth time, I KNOW he was here in KL but we bought tickets as soon as we found out he was going to perform at Singapore. And I mean, we got a trip out of it so all's good! 

We landed in Johor and checked ourselves in a fancy hotel. Wish we stayed there the entirety of our trip but on the 2nd night, we thought it would be best to get a hotel in Singapore because concerts can go on for ages and we didn't fancy the idea of getting on a late night bus/train back to Johor.





We took a bus to Singapore on our first day in Johor and that's because we didn't get train tickets in time, they were all sold out for the day. The buses were fine, just that it's a longgggg process. You get on the bus, ride for 5 minutes before reaching the Singapore immigration which stole the majority of our time. After that, we hop on another bus (after asking locals because we had no clue where to stand/wait) and that bus then brings you to wherever. We didn't know where it was headed to be honest but it stopped at a bus stop very close by to the hotel I stayed during a work trip once and so I knew the area pretty well. The bus trip, however, took SO long. Didn't realise how far it was but all's good.

We immediately went to go find California Pizza Kitchen - it's our favourite Italian place. Unfortunately, it's no longer in KL but who wants to start a petition to bring it back! Who needs Ben's anyway?? We went to the Forum to find CPK but it was no longer there and though Iman won't admit it, I swear I saw tears well up in her eyes. We've looked forward to CPK perhaps 1% more than we were to watch Khalid. But we got a quick bit of WiFi and Iman googled CPK in Singapore and saw that it has moved just across the street. We were *elated*. Got our usuals and downed them in no time. We even got vouchers but never got around to use it. 



It was so good, I highly recommend anyone to get their Italian fix at CPK if ever you're in Singapore!

Then we walked around but we got tired pretty quick because we had such an early start to the day. So we decided to get the bus back to Johor. We did and it took some time for us to get back to the hotel. Made a quick detour to a McDonalds and had some really good burgers back in the hotel room. 

Day 2 started pretty early too because we got train tickets for 10am so we checked out and got ourselves on the train. Train is relatively a lot easier though I won't say it's any quicker. We still had to get on a bus from the train station to get to where we wanted to go. Got to talking with an elderly Malay couple on the bus and they were really, really sweet. Was so odd though that they referred to Malaysians as 'orang sana'. But super nice and made the bus ride tolerable. 

Checked in the hotel and went out for lunch at Overeasy - a burger place we found on Orchard Road. It had really cool 80s decor, complete with a game machine by the entrance. The burgers were really good too! Went back to the hotel and took a nap before heading to the concert venue. Met up with Zaf, and we took a Grab to Zepp Box. The line was ridiculous and I felt like the oldest one there! Everyone else was Iman's age and you can DEFINITELY DEFINITELY tell. I felt so out of place and have never in my life felt so old! Concert went great, Iman especially loved it loads and was singing to every song! I knew a bit and sang as much as I could but was enjoying seeing Iman so hyped about Khalid more than anything! 




Our last day in Singapore was short but sweet - we had lunch at a Korean chicken place just down the street from our hotel. Packed and left for Johor because we were taking the flight back from Senai Airport. It felt like a very short trip because of all the time spent on buses and trains. No Singapore for me for a while! Haha 

Came home, worked and was sent home early on Friday because I was coughing so much at work. And I started to slowly lose my voice which I was bit confused at because I didn't scream or sing too much at the concert. Figured it was the cough so I brushed it off.

That weekend I fell really sick. And I know when I'm sick because no amount of water is enough to hydrate me and no amount of food or sleep could make me feel any better! Went to a doctor on Sunday and he said it was high fever and prescribed me antibiotics which I diligently took. Wasn't feeling any better and wasn't eating/sleeping much because my cough was ridiculous all night. On Wednesday, I went to another doctor and got prescribed some boring meds that weren't addressing my fever at all which I was bit annoyed at but was too tired to argue. Got an MC til Friday because I knew I wasn't going to feel any better the next couple of days. 

On Friday, I went to ANOTHER doctor and it was an hour wait (she's incredibly popular in my neighbourhood and we've been going to her since we were kids - she's now semi retired so she's not always in the clinic which is why I didn't go to her earlier on) and during the wait I just told my mum, "Can't I just go to the hospital? I've been sick for a whole week now." The doctor then referred me to a hospital and came home to pack whatever I could get my hands on and left for DSH (now KPJ Damansara).

That was around Friday prayers and I only got to my room at Maghrib! They did blood test, did an x-ray and I had to be on an IV drip for an hour. This was my first time being admitted to a hospital so I was a bit nervous and scared. My lovely Mama stayed with me the night but don't think she got any sleep because I didn't sleep at all! I was up all night coughing my lungs out and so I was incredibly tired the next morning. My temperature was the highest that night. Mum left for work the next day and I actually cried hahahaha just because I hated being sick and I hated being sick in the hospital!! The bed was alright but meh, I wanted to be home. The nurses made up for it though - they were really nice to me throughout my time there. Had hospital meals which were... ick so my mum came by a lot to bring me food. 



Doctor said from my x-ray, it was pneumonia so I had to stay put for the next few days to be on antibiotics and on my drip. I got used to it but the tube made it difficult to shower and basically do anything with my right hand. But it was alright, I had my laptop and WiFi was great so I did a lot of Korean variety show watching. Nurses would come in in the middle of the night and ask, "Tak tidur lagi?" hahaha

Was discharged on Tuesday which was a public holiday. My first meal out was thai food because I had been craving for it since I got sick and I wanted to eat something hot and spicy. My appetite wasn't 100% back yet so I didn't enjoy it as much as I had thought. In fact, it took a bit of time to want to eat - I've only just gotten it back.

But that was that. I'm all better now alhamdulillah! Can eat and sleep like normal. Just have the occasional coughing but all's good.

Take your vitamins! Drink water and stay away from cold showers at night (my grandparents have warned me against this for so long now and said I'd get pneumonia if I'm not careful. Well whaddya know).

xx

Sunday, October 14, 2018

Sarah gets engaged!

Ok 2 weeks difference between my last post and today's. Not half bad.

So! Exciting news. Sarah is engaged!!!! Sarah's my friend from college and she's the sweetest person. Really, like she is so nice!! The kind of person you can NEVER think of anything bad to say. Not that you should but you can't say anything negative about this girl even if you really really tried. So happy for her. This was also the first time I've been to an engagement! Didn't really know what the procedure was or how it was supposed to be. Like what do you say?? What happens after the ring is given to the blushing bride-to-be? Does everyone just sit around feeling awkward? No? Just me?

The night before the engagement day, Sarah texted Fatin and I to come over and help her out with things. It ended really more of a gossip session while trying to figure out how to balance fruits on a dulang hantaran and arranging flowers. It was really fun. Tryna rid Sarah of all her nerves and worries!



We were supposed to be early the next morning but I slept so late so I was slightly late. In time to see her getting ready and stressing about her tudung. I didn't know they were technicalities to getting the tudung right! She looked so pretty as she always does. Got to meet her family and friends also which was really nice! I actually low key love making new friends. I know I always say that I like being a homebody but it's always very, very nice to meet new people. Sarah's friends were so nice and friendly so it was a great time meeting the dulang girls hehe.

Graceful as always... this girl was so impatient! The guests had only came in and she was itching to go downstairs to see what was going on.

UGH SO PRETTY!

Marissa stressing out that I asked her to do my eyeliner. So I asked someone else to do it hahaha

Emotional. We're so big already!!!

Sarah is now officially engaged! Can't wait for her big day! Also, you can't tell but she's actually stressing about her tudung and veil.

The theme was lilac if you can't already tell so I actually had mine made for the occasion. Extra, I know. But atleast now I have something lilac in my closet for future lilac-themed engagements. 

All together now!

Before ending the blog, real quick. I was about to go meet my friends for dinner at Dolly Dim Sum and out of all days I decide to be economical and took the train. I was running late and as I was making the switch from the MRT to the LRT, my shoe strap came off. A wave of panic came over me. Shit. HOW THE HELL AM I SUPPOSED TO WALK. It's the kind of shoe that had one thin strap to support the weight of my walks so once that gave in, it was rendered completely useless. As I was trying to figure out what the f*ck was I gonna do, a group of girls (and their sassy guy friend) came over to me and was like,

"Do you need glu gajah?" 
"Huh?"
"Glu gajah. We saw you just now and felt so kesian!"

TBH I was more 'Huh?' because like? Who carries glu gajah around??? And why am I not doing the same???

"Yes please!!!!!"

and they helped me glue the strap back into its place and even asked if I'd like them to stay 'til the glue dries. The whole time I was in awe because I mean how nice were they to come over and help me out. They said it's happened to them plenty of times so they understood how it felt. Bless them I love you guys thank you for being my life saviours!!!! I hope good things come back for all of you!!

But friends, night got worst. I didn't wait for the glue to dry because what am I if not impatient and hungry. So I walked to the trains very slowly and carefully. But still very panicky because well... I got on the wrong train. Next thing you know I was at KL Sentral - going the opposite direction. So as I hopped off KL Sentral, my strap came undone. Again. If I had just been cool, calm and collected and gotten on the wrong train, this wouldn't have happened and even if it did atleast I was already at KLCC!!!!! FML. Struggled to walk - went over to a telecom booth and asked if they had cellophane tape and they were very dismissive. How can you not have cellophane tape or glue anywhere around??? You're a business??? Whatever - gave them a mental middle finger and limped my way back to the right train. Obviously missing it because I was walking too slow. 

I was texting my group of friends explaining the situation and they laughed and that made me laugh so that was good. Had to ask them to get me a pair of whatever sandals because I needed it. Got off the train and Amal was there to the rescue with my bright pink (I appreciate the thought) pool sliders.

Crying. They're easily repairable but now I'll have a longtime trauma and these are my favourite no-brainer silver heels!

And my new pool sliders. It went well with my outfit so there's that.

Just needed to document this on my blog because I have to remember the girls at the train station who came to my rescue and were so gracious about my incident and then the girls at the restaurant waiting for me too who made my night a lot better.

I don't always do but damn, I love people.

xx

Sunday, September 30, 2018

Been a while!

It's already October tomorrow. Is it still appropriate to say/tweet "Wake me up when September ends" or did that joke die in 2008? 

So glad to be blogging again! I've been meaning to write in an entry for a bit now but never got around doing it because workload spiked in recent weeks so I'm always quite drained. And the drive back home is really what kills it. I hate traffic jam. It's the worst. You kinda just wanna be home literally right after work but even thinking about going through shit traffic kills your vibe!! I much prefer getting on the train to and fro. 

I don't have major news to update but I'll blog about what I've done in recent weeks.

So weddings! We'll start with weddings first. I love myself a wedding. I have personal reservations on weddings but it's a night out with friends in really pretty clothing so I love it anyhow.

So cool how as you grow older you realise the world is just really very tiny. Aina (middle) is my friend from when I was 9 and she went to high school with Sherry (on your left). And Sherry went to KY with me. Best part is we all live literally 4 minutes within one another. And I have NEVER met them anywhere around my place. Like not even at the local mart or at McD or at a petrol station.

With the bridesmaids. Also very loud and kecoh group of girls. So, so, so fun regardless!


This one's at Rongge's wedding. Really beautiful set-up and all of his friends were seated at the back of the hall... for very good reason. We were too loud and definitely not as calm and collected as all the adults in the room haha. Was really cool seeing everyone dress up for this.



Finally got to wear my lace kebaya. Lace is from Jakarta and this is wholly inspired by Bunga Citra Lestari's red get-up for Yuna's wedding.

With my Bristolian bebe.


So before I got into Taman Tun, I was in a high school that was walking distance from my place. I was only there for a year before moving to Taman Tun but I had the BEST company there. It was so fun because the girls that I spent my days with were so so so so so so funny and so sweet and they really made my whole year there. We lost contact after I got into a new school because they too went on to different schools. One of the girls I got really close to (she lives few roads down from me so we used to study together all the time too!) was Fatimah. People call her Mia but I'm old school and am probably the few who call her that. Anyway, she got married to her longtime boyfriend and she invited me to her wedding which was so so sweet given that we've not spoken/met in AGES! She glowed and my heart's so full for her. She's really incredibly lovely and I ask for nothing but happy days for her and her new husband. 

_____

Spent our Malaysia Day weekend at Riuh! This would be my second time in a row spending it at Riuh. Last year I was helping out with Nelissa's booth but this time was solely spent with my sister. It was Riuh's first time at a brand new location, a depot at Sentul West. It was SO much more spacious, making way for a lot more vendors and food stalls. And plenty for a good OOTD. It was a pretty gloomy day but didn't rain so much so the weather was perfect. The problem with the last location was that it was just ridiculous hot everywhere you go. 



With our RM0.01 ice-cream Malaysia. You didn't read that wrong. It was actually seriously 1 cent each.

This lady was super friendly and incredibly talented. I actually stayed on at Riuh just to get our portraits done. Don't know if you can see it from this photo but bless her, she drew my forehead so wide that it looked really funny hahaha but swear she's so cool!

Iman and her Chinese takeout. You best believe she got it mostly cause of the takeout box.



_____


... so this happened. I finally went for Tulus!!!!! I really, really, really wanted to see him live but he wasn't on the list of performers for this year's Java Jazz Fest in Jakarta so you can imagine how ecstatic I was upon learning he was coming to KL for his first concert in Malaysia.

I mean, I'm such a sucker for Indonesian voices and I love their music so much. Tulus is my favourite Indonesian gem and so you can imagine just how much fun I had at his intimate concert. His voice is extraordinary and was unreal. Echoed so beautifully around the hall. And the live band was fantastic and I just loved all of it! There were so many times during the concert that I went, "oh wow this is Tulus I'm seeing live!!!". It was held at Istana Budaya so it was really nice also in terms of how chilled the whole show was - no phones, no cameras, no screaming excessively. Ok fine there were excessive screaming... by me. It was really fun lah ok best concert I've been ever! Yes!! Even beats Beyoncé! 

_____

Spent last Sunday with Marissa who just recently got back from Dublin! This time for good! Did our nails at the prettiest manicure place at Great Eastern Mall. Overpriced but a nice splurge once in a while I suppose?? So fancy for my toes!






Caught up with Marissa for a good 4 hours on a bowl of salad (her) and pavlova (me), so good to have her back. I've a million and one places I've wanted to go but never had the right person to go with and Marissa's the right person so I can't wait to start ticking off my list with her.

____


Our Merdeka night spent at Bob's place for an intense game night. Intense like... screaming unnecessarily and emotionally. Was pretty disappointed that there wasn't a *decent* fireworks display at KLCC. Bob's place has a fantastic view of the KL skyline so we could see KLCC and the KL Tower just fine but... nothing! That was fine - we were back to our games a minute after the clock struck midnight. The theme was supposed to be the Jalur Gemilang colours but.... underwhelming. My friends never understood what a themed get together ever meant. 

_____

Papa hits the big 5-9! For his birthday, Mama planned a breakfast do at home. My dad's really really big on breakfasts and swears it's the most important meal of the day and well, he's had a tough time having the table full for breakfast because we're i) sleepyheads ii) don't appreciate breakfast as much as he does. But we woke up really early to accommodate to his time and had breakfast with him. Albeit rushed but it was really nice, regardless. I love the old man <3 nbsp="" p="">





This was the day after when he asked for dim sum for lunch. He doesn't usually like dim sum so this was an odd choice but we weren't complaining cause we love us some dim sum any day anytime.

_____

With my play dates (get it?), Ewa and Hanna.


Supported my dear friend, Nabil at his most recent work at Istana Budaya. It was in conjunction with Malaysia Day and it was a story about a Chinese family finding their footing in Malaysia. Falling in love with a esteemed Malay boy and the mess that comes from that. So happy for him! Need to see him on the main bill very soon - talent bigger than the stage, this boy!

_____


Had some really kick-ass Indian food with these two ladies which was so sedap btw! It's called Flour and it's at Bukit Damansara. Sedap, you should go! It's tad bit pricey but it was really tasty. We had some odd desert that Sarah swore was really good. Took a bit to acquire the taste hahaha. Then we moved to Huckleberry After Dark for desert. Mind you this was on a Sunday and we stayed right 'til closing. Loved this night out so much just cause it was a lot of catching up and de-stressing. We don't see each other as much as we'd like because of work and family so when we do, we've got enough material to cover for the whole day and a half basically haha 


Coffee time with the boys. I say 'coffee time' but I don't drink coffee. I ordered some off tasting tea that I just had to endure because of how mahal it is. Never really got why tea is so expensive in these coffee shops. 

_____

Last but not least! My mum's really into baking these days, guys. Her farewell present from her former school was an oven and let's just say she's put it to real good use. She's chilled a bit from the baking but I swear she used to do a cake (or two) every single day for the first two weeks she got it. If it wasn't a cake, it was lasagna or pie or something that was OVEN BAKE-ABLE. I joke that she's found something to do during her retirement years. But I kinda think she'll do something about it. Stay tuned to Liza's Baking hahaha

My mum and her bread butter pudding. She's real cute.

_____

Work tomorrow! Back to it. I hope to not stretch on too long 'til my next post. I'm feeling out of the loop lately because I'm not on Instagram anymore and I must say, it's so refreshing. I'm usually the first person to know about something so now when people ask me, "Have you heard...?" "Have you seen her Story??" I'm like nope please enlighten me what is this Instagram you speak of. 

I recommend it, being off Instagram I mean. it's really nice to regroup your focus on things other than what people are having for lunch.

xx