Week 27: Boring

Nothing special happened in the past week. I just spent most of my time watching TV shows and films online. Occasionally I would go for a walk. I also finished reading To Kill A Mockingbird. I wanted to read either Fountainhead or The Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy but the library didn't have them.

Anyway, back to my slacking ways. Bye.

Week 26: ONEREPUBLIC!!!!!

This week has been a pretty good start to the Easter holidays.

I played badminton on Monday with a few Malaysians who are still sticking around on campus. After that, I had lunch with Joseph and Nicole (future housemates!!) and hung out with them for a while. We were supposed to go to Stratford-upon-Avon but we postponed it.

Tuesday was OneRepublic day!! I pretty much wasted the morning in anticipation of the concert. Left for Birmingham around 3pm and reached there around 4pm. Walked around Bullring drinking a smoothie and eating pretzels. Went straight to the O2 Academy at 6pm and waited in line. the concert was really good. I loved it so much. Mikky Ekko opened for OneRepublic and he was amazing. That voice! Then OneRepublic came on. I really have no words to describe how awesome it was to be at that concert. It was a dream come true. Yes, there were a few moments which felt a bit underwhelming, like when they opted to do the remixed version of "If I Lose Myself" and omitted the bridge but all in all, a brilliant night. And I got a OneRepublic T-Shirt!

Went to Stratford-upon-Avon on Wednesday. Shakespeare's birthplace. We reached the place quite late so we only had time to visit Shakespeare's house but it was pretty fun. It was a really nice place. Something like Leamington Spa but more oldie timey. I'm coming to like all these English rural places.

Brought Jane to the hospital on Thursday. She fractured her hand when she fell down before the OneRepublic concert. Totally sucks. She was supposed to go to Germany but couldn't. I cooked lunch for her and she liked it. Hope she gets well soon.

Friday, Saturday and today were pretty dull since a lot of my friends are gone for a week or two. It was still rather enjoyable considering that I haven't had the chance to just chill on my own for quite a while. The last few weeks of term were so hectic. It's nice to have some down time.

YiJiun

Week 25: Last Week of Term 2

The final week of the Spring Term has finally passed. It's been a busy week.

I had a Management Accounting class test on Monday which I think went okay (hopefully it will reflect in the results).

I spent the whole of Tuesday studying for the Financial Management test on Wednesday which went surprisingly well even if I didn't get a first. Considering how little I actually studied for it, my results were actually well above expectations.

Spent the rest of Wednesday rushing to finish the Business Planning assignment with my group mates. I only managed to finish my part at 3am in the morning while my other group mate who was compiling the whole business plan stayed up till 5am. I'm so glad that is finally out of the way.

I went to the Glee social at Cosmo on Thursday. Had a huge dinner. I was so full after that.

Got my Business Law results back on Friday. Wasn't too bad. I do wish it was higher but it's still a first, which is pretty good. Spent some time with my flatmates watching weird videos and pulling pranks on each other.

Saturday was Warwick Malaysian Games. I spent the day as a volunteer. I was ushering for like an hour. Then I was dragged over to help with football. After that, I helped out with swimming as a timekeeper. Someone who has been actively avoiding me actually sort of talked to me but he clearly still doesn't want anything to do with me.

Sunday was a pretty good day in terms of socializing. I talked to my family through Skype in the morning. I went out for lunch with some of my band mates (and got some juicy gossip!). Went for a picnic with my flatmates and some people from another block. Spent the night at the MNight social eating and playing Mafia.

Can't wait for the OneRepublic concert on Tuesday!!

Signing off,
YiJiun

P.S. I won 2 tickets to go see OneRepublic!!! But I already bought my ticket, so now I'm trying to sell them off to recoup what I spent on my own ticket. Still no takers though. D:

Week 24: BOTB Semis and MNight

The 2 main events of the week.

BOTB Semi-Finals: There were aspects of it which were certainly disappointing. First, a guitar pedal went MIA. I was trying to find it halfway through the intro of a song but to no avail. Then, I turned to the keyboard and realised that it had no power. We had to stop the song and solve the problems which were thankfully solvable. We went on to kill the 8 minute song. Ah, that reminds me. We didn't realise that the song was 8 minutes long till a few hours before the event. So, we were trying to come up with various solutions. In the end, we decided to forego our opening song for a killer ending. Unfortunately, we clearly didn't impress one of the judges because he gave us only 11 out of 25 marks. It didn't help that apparently the levels were wrong and we clearly couldn't hear it on stage because the monitors were really loud. But, all in all, it was a great experience playing BOTB. We already exceeded expectations by reaching the semi-finals.

MNight: Weeks of sacrificing my social life for dikir barat finally came to an end yesterday. I woke up with a fever and a sore throat. Bad news considering that I had to perform and also sing. But I manage to pull through and gave the performance my all. I made a few mistakes which, thank god, weren't that noticeable. I watched the video and it was a really good performance. The whole dikir team really came a long way. The musical was also amazing. Really good acting with amazing singing by the lead actress.

Now, it's back to work. I have a test tomorrow and another one 2 days later. I am far from being prepared for them. It doesn't help that the group project is due on Thursday. Got to be super productive now that I have no more distractions.

Signing off,

YiJiun

Week 23: Laziness Strikes Again!

So, this is another one of those weeks where I prepare for another busy week. 2 big events coming up next: BOTB Semi-Finals and Malaysian Night. In addition to that, I'm busy finishing the group project which is due the week after and also preparing for 2 tests in the same week. Busy busy busy.......but did that keep me from slacking off this week? NOPE.

That is a bad thing, by the way. It started off pretty well on Monday. I was doing the EQL modules for Management Accounting and reading up for Financial Management. Then everything just started going downhill after that. I constantly napped which didn't help. I became a zombie. I was constantly tired and didn't manage to do much work. It didn't help that there was dikir practice nearly every night.

Anyway, I need to catch up on my work tonight. Sunday night. As usual. Procrastination is not good, people. It really isn't. Back to work now. Bye.

YiJiun

Week 22: BOTB

Thursday was the most amazing day of the year so far for me. The band I'm in - The Victor's Jig managed to place second in our heat in Battle of the Bands! I didn't expect it at all, especially after seeing the other bands play. The band which went on right after us was pretty good. I was expecting them to place ahead of us. When I heard my band's name announced, I was so shocked. We were all so happy and excited. No one saw it coming. It was amazing.

So, more about the night itself. The first band to go on was playing ambient music which sounded pretty nice. I don't really know much about it but apparently they lost control at the end. I didn't notice it until the guy said sorry. We were the second band to play on the night. Everything went amazingly smooth. No mess ups on anybody's part and the crowd response was pretty good. Bad News Everyone went on after us and they pretty awesome. They had great songs and at that point, I was thinking that they would at least place second. After their performance, basically both our bands started raving about each other and a person from BNE came up with the idea of playing a joint gig in Leam. I hope it happens because it would be so fun.

4th band to go on was an indie/alt-rock band which should have been pretty good if the vocals weren't drowned out by everything else. A solo act went on next. He had pretty cool songs. I liked the meaning of the songs he played but apparently he played the same songs last year. The last band was a metal band. They were very good. I can't say much about the songs but technically they were really, really good. It wasn't a big surprise that they won this heat.

I like my band. Toby (lead singer and guitarist) is a really good songwriter. He wrote all the songs we played. Becky (2nd lead singer) is a really fun person to be with. Victor (lead guitar and inspiration for band name) is really quirky and amazing on guitar. Brian (bass), Eli (mandolin) and Eric (drums) are all fun people. To be honest, I don't really know much about them personally but the time we've spent together so far has been great. We should really hangout properly one day. I really think that we could be good friends - not that we aren't now, but we could be even closer than we are now.

Signing off,

YiJiun :)

Week 21: Meh

This whole week was basically the filled with preparations for next week. The upper level pitch is tomorrow. Business Law Class Test on Wednesday. Battle of the Bands on Thursday. Add in band practice and dikir practice and I have a ridiculously busy week ahead.

Dikir practice has been quite intense this past week. I definitely don't want to be a choreographer next year. Speaking of next year, I am thinking of trying to get an exec post in Glee next year. No idea whether I'll be able to get it but I do want to try. I really like Glee and I want to be a slightly bigger part of it. And also, I have never been a proper part of the exec of any club or society, so it'll be a nice experience. Should start asking around and decide which post I want to run for when elections come around.

Got 2 essays back this week. I did ridiculously well in the non-assessed one but only did okay in the assessed one. I always do this. Excelling when it doesn't count. Hopefully though, this would translate into better marks in the exams during the summer term.

I really want to get a guitar here. My mum still hasn't said yes or no. Hopefully she says yes. Then I would have so much fun with it. Haha. And it would be easier to write songs.

Signing off for now,
YiJiun

Week 20: Okayyyy

Relatively uneventful week save for the time I got drunk and went to 2 clubs for a friend's birthday. I have no idea how I got so drunk. I didn't even drink that much. Vodka. BAD. I spent so much money this week. I swear I'm gonna stop my alcohol consumption for at least 2 weeks.

I really need to get my shit together. The upper level pitch for my Business Planning Module is due in a week or so. Business Law class test a couple days later. Battle of the Bands right after. And, of course, dikir. Busy, busy, busy. I really cannot wait for dikir to be over. It's taking up so much time. It doesn't help that my time management is shit, regardless of what I say in interviews. Let's be honest, interviews are not the time to be honest. Although, I may have made that mistake one too many times.

I may have started to swear quite a bit since that drunken night. No idea why but it just happens. I've been trying to cut it down a bit though. I really try not to swear but sometimes, swearing can get the message over quite effectively.

I haven't been especially sociable this past week. Probably thanks to that drunken night out. I've become a bit of a hermit. I should try to step up my game a bit this week.

Chinese New Year celebrations will end this Friday. Chap Goh Mei actually coincides with Valentine's Day this year. Interesting. But nothing special. For me anyway.

Till next time.
YiJiun

Week 19: CNY!!!

After a series of late posts, I guess it's time for an early post and also to avoid something spoiling the good mood I am in now.

I just came back from Chinese New Year's Eve dinner with 2 really awesome people. Everything was basically organised yesterday and it turned out really good. What I learnt today is that the most important thing during special days is the people.

Just a few days ago, I thought that I would be spending Chinese New Year's Eve alone and trust me, I wasn't too happy about it. But then, if people don't want to spend time with me, who am I to impose myself on them? So I managed to get together with a couple of friends who I haven't seen and talked to in a while. The end result was a great night with good food and better company (also special thanks to lychee juice which replaced the longan dessert).

Every day is what you make it to be. Today was great. Better than I ever thought it would be. A night without alcohol and partying. Just food and people. Mainly the people.

Happy Chinese New Year everybody! No matter how great or badly you've treated me, I wish you a good year ahead of you. Chinese New Year just isn't the same here as back home but with the right company, you can make it feel just like home.

Cheers,
YiJiun

Week 18: Meh...

I keep forgetting to update my blog on time. I really should put it on my calendar.

Anyway, last week was an uneventful week. I passed up my 2 essays and went to a club on Friday. Went to a gig at Kasbah on Saturday. Watched The Blackout who were quite good. The opening acts were decent too.

Very uninteresting week in my opinion. Still no idea what to do for Chu Xi. Hmmm....

Week 17: OH DAMN

So......

Things didn't go exactly as planned for the past week. You know how I was supposed to finish my essays by Friday? Yeah. That didn't happen. I only ended up starting the essay on Friday and finishing + finalising both essays on Sunday. I didn't go to Skool Dayz and ended up wasting my ticket because I was too indecisive, so I didn't have time to sell off my ticket. Oh well, there's still the next one.

Anyway, very uneventful week full of procrastination. Although, I did manage to squeeze in time to watch Monsters University with my flatmates (procrastination!!!). But I am now very free with the next deadline coming in February. So, it's slowing down a bit.

Two performances on the same day coming up for One World Week. One with Dikir and one with Glee. Hope both go well. Battle of the Bands start next week and still haven't attended band practice due to essays. The draw for the preliminaries is on the coming Wednesday and I really hope that we're drawn to perform in the later weeks, preferably the last one so we have time to sort out the originals.

Hopefully my next post will be on time. I only forgot to update because I was so preoccupied by my essays. Here's to less busy days.

Cheers,
YiJiun

Week 16: Hello

So, lectures have started again. Seminars start tomorrow and I still haven't done any work. I did manage to finish one essay which is good. Now, I just have one more to go.

This week was pretty uneventful other than my first visit to Kasbah. I was busy trying to finish off the UOB essay which I basically finished. Need to work on the intro and conclusion though. But Kasbah was nice. Crazy stuff went down in there. Haha. I danced with at least 6 strangers and I think 2 of them had me in a headlock. I like the alternative bar better than the main dance floor but there were so few people there that I went back to the main dance floor. Quite a few of my flatmates got drunk and they acted real funny when we got back. I was pretty much sober (only had a cider and a Jaegerbomb), although I act a bit drunk when I don't have enough sleep.

I'm going to work hard the following week so I can enjoy myself during Skool Dayz. Yay!

Week 15: Oops

Totally forgot to update my blog. I'm so busy trying to finish up 2 essays (currently only partway through one :s).

Anyway, it's a new year and it's been good so far. All my flatmates have come back, I think. Haha. But anyway, it's not so dead here now and I have people to talk to. Classes start today. Will be getting busy again with all the clubs and the 2 essays and lectures and seminars and work.

Basically last week was quite uneventful. I didn't do anything for New Year's Eve but I did make my own Char Siew which turned out better than expected.

A really short post. Till next time. :)

2013: The World Is Still Alive And Kicking

New Year's Eve is tomorrow. Time passes by so quickly. It only seems like yesterday when I was in college mugging for my A Levels. Now, here I am, in university, far away from home. This year seems like 2 years crammed into one. So much has happened.

The first milestone of the year was finishing my A Levels. A Levels was the first time that I actually took my studies really seriously. I worked my butt off even when my parents don't seem to see it. I am really satisfied with my results even if my parents aren't. I have learned that I'm not living my life for anyone. To me, happiness should be accessible and not that elusive thing people pursue. Everything can bring you happiness, you just need to know where to look.

Second milestone of the year, I got my first job. An internship at a local bank. People were great. Job wasn't too hard. But to be honest, I wasn't happy with my job. This experience showed me that no matter how hard I tried, I just couldn't work for the money, not that I was paid a lot. In any case, it was invaluable experience even if it wasn't what I wanted. I do admire people who can work for the money. I can't. But I do appreciate the money I got from it.

Third milestone of the year? Flying off to a place I have never been to before and staying there for the rest of the year. I am not going to lie, this may be the start of the best years of my life. I may not be studying a course that I really want to, but it's been good. So far in university, I have been able to do so much stuff that I would not do if I was back in Malaysia. I guess that's the benefit of not having my parents watching my back every step of the way. I joined the Glee club and no one judged me. I formed a band with some random people I met at a social and played my first gig. I got drunk, puked and no one laughed. I have non-Asian friends. I found that partying is my best stress-reliever. I learned to cook. I saw a fox. I have learned to be myself in front of strangers. I do think that university has brought out a lot in me. Learn to take the leap, you never know where you'll end up.

Milestones aside, it's time to reflect on other aspects of life. Future career-wise? I am definitely much closer if I decide to get a normal job involving banks or accounting (thanks to the internship). In terms of what I really want to do, there's progress but not as much as I would like. Have to work on it. I really admire the people around who are so motivated to get internships and stuff. They know what they want and are working towards it everyday while I am here juggling preparations for 2 different career paths at once. Still no luck in the love department, but I have managed to open up more to people. Maybe next year will my lucky year?

I still do miss home and the people back home. I don't feel like I'm talking to them as much as I should. I feel so distant (literally). I do want to go home. But there is still so much I haven't done yet.

New Year resolutions:
1. Get better at piano. Don't let my bandmates down,
2. Get an acoustic guitar (with my own money) and get my arse down to learning it properly.
3.Apply and get a spring internship or get an internship in a record company.
4. Talk more to people. (I have made progress this year but it could be better.)
5. Ace my first year.
6. Be happy.

Have a happy new year everybody!

YiJiun

Week 14: LATE!!

1. Sorry for the late post. I am writing this on the Monday of Week 15. I only remembered that I haven't updated this blog when I was just about to fall asleep last night. So, here it is.

2. I spent most of the past week in London. (LONDON!!!) Met up with my cousin and a few high school friends. I arrived on Monday just before noon. I was actually supposed to be the last one to arrive on that morning but someone decided to walk all the way from his bus station to my cousin's place, got lost and took 2 hours. So, I wasn't the last to arrive. Anyway, Monday was a terrible day in terms of weather. It was windy and rainy. AND, the wind was so strong that day. The rubbish bins along the roads were filled with broken umbrellas, courtesy of Mr Wind that day.

The highlight of going to London was Boxing Day. For once, I became a shopping enthusiast. I bought a turtleneck shirt thingy, a scarf, a sweater, a pair of pants (from ZARA!), a bag and almost got a Bershka jacket (Why weren't there any smaller sizes?????). Well, there goes my shopping budget for the rest of the year. I also got a care package sent from home (lap cheong!!). I have another care package sitting with my friend in Warwick (yay!).

3. On the way back from London, my train got delayed because of "crew arriving late". When the train was finally ready for boarding, there were tons of people running towards the platform because the previous train for that destination was cancelled. Anyway, I managed to get a seat and fell asleep nearly right away. When I woke up, the train was on its way. Then, the train just stopped at a station and stopped moving. Apparently, another train hit something near the station we were at and all trains were stopped to allow investigation to be carried out. In the end, it was found out that it was a deer which was hit (Poor deer.). That resulted in me only arriving in Coventry 40 minutes past midnight. More than 2 hours late. Sigh. Had to take a cab back to campus.

Signing off,
YiJiun