Famous Amos makes awesome cookies, despite being a commercial chain of stores. My tummy has a soft-spot for them. I hardly ever buy them for myself, not just because I’m mostly broke but because they’re well, special happy comfort food for me. They mean much more when someone lovely buys me a bag.

Rare treats. Makes them more special.

I’ve 200g of happy cookies to last me through the month when Pinkie won’t be around. I tend to ration food that I like – can’t believe he noticed that. Haha. He’s going back to London for his graduation and to attend his brother’s wedding. Really really wish I could be there too…

Mmm, I also got a pedicure and a bunch of bread from my favourite bakery, Provence at Holland V today. (Yes, that branch in particular) All courtesy of my awesome boyfriend.

He’s leaving on Monday.

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And yes, the title of the song is Jolene. *faints*

For the past couple of weeks, every time Pinkie and I made plans to go swimming, it’d rain! Happened again today, complete with thunder. Sighhhhhh.

4am walks…

Before I even got to London, I already knew that getting used to the sun rising at 4am and setting at 9pm would make my brain want to explode! It’s just one of those ridiculous things in life that make my brain want to explode from not being able to comprehend it, and at the same time makes Pinkie laugh his head off at the uncomfortable and confused look on my face.

Within the first week of being in London, we happened to stay up late one night watching shows and I suddenly looked out the window and this sight greeted me at around 3.45am. It was quite breathtaking, for about 3 seconds – I started squealing in excitement after that. Haha!

I got out my LX3 and got a few shots in, when Pinkie suddenly asked if I’d like to go for a walk! Much to my delight, of course, because he’s not much of a spontaneous crazy person like I am. Hee hee.

We put on jackets and sped out of the house after that. The streets were empty, the weather was cool and it was a whole different experience watching the sun rise over London, and seeing the ones who head home late, and the ones who rose early.

Out of the whole 6 weeks in UK, that night/morning is still one of my favourites

—
http://project52.rumpledoodles.com/

Do check out the other photos by the people joining me on Project 52!
Zhan
Daniel
Pris
Hansel
Alex
Winnie

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If you didn’t know, I’m using the iPhone 3G so the camera is nothing to shout about. It was quite a pain in the ass editing them because they were grainy as hell! Hahaha. But I thought it’d be interesting to dedicate a post of photos shot purely on my iPhone during my trip.

Looking through the random snapshot moments as I edited the photos made me relive the various moments and days, and I suppose that’s one of the many reasons why I love photography.

So here goes.. my UK trip through the eyes of my iPhone!

it started off with Clara sending me off at the airport! oh, how i hate the off-focus hahaha.
i love love love that photo though! <3

we entertained ourselves with her new Ixus camera and it’s in-built fisheye function. amusing as hell!

it was my first time flying alone! and first time on such a long flight too. it was pretty okay going there.. flying back was a nightmare!

PINKIE!!!!!! first photo together after about 10 months! <3
this was taken in the cab on the way back to his place from the airport! hee hee.

a lot of our days were spent lazy about at home, taking our time to do whatever we wanted whenever we wanted. AWESOME! of course, it was the world cup season so we streamed matches too

while out one day we saw a group of ladies walking around with hot pink boas! haha so cute!

don’t know the name of this building but it’s a really nice hotel!
i love the old buildings all over london.. so gorgeous!

ketchup dispenser at GBK, a burger joint. yummy food, with awesome student discounts! hahaha

my burger from GBK! it had pesto in it, which of course made me happy

REALLY REALLY YUMMY. we snacked sooo much!

pre-prepared food from Marks & Spencer’s food hall. i miss their food hall SO MUCH. all sorts of ready-to-eat meals which are really nice too.

real and fake ray bans! heh heh heh

pinkie brought me to Maze, one of Gordon Ramsey’s restaurants in london for our belated valentine’s day dinner! i had a really nice steak

APPLE STORE!!!!! it’s huge inside.

i made a beeline to check out the iPhone 4! screen is gorgeous – i nearly melted there

LAVENDER! they smelt AMAZING when you pluck one and rub the flowers in your hands. really really really nice.. i kept sniffing my fingers!

some days were spent at my granduncle’s place in Northampton, which is the countryside. i loved the days there because it’s so different from city life. those days felt like i was living in an Enid Blyton story!

my granduncle’s flat was really new inside, but the exterior was a gorgeous old hospital!

we visited my granduncle’s friend’s place and they had a super cool ladder leading up to an attic!!!! LOVE!

it was horrifying climbing back down though!

waiting at one of the tube stations to head back home.. i love the tube even though it’s non-air conditioned (they don’t need it in most seasons anyway) and there’s absolutely no reception on your phone when it’s underground – train OR station. but despite that, i love the tube! super convenient.

I’M GOING TO HOGWARTS!!!!!

we also took a short trip to Edinburgh. this was the castle there! main tourist attraction, but still really lovely.

that’s belly, pip and skip!!!

huge pizza! was pretty cheap.. at a student eat place. i didn’t like it much though..
the domino’s there is really yummy though!!

i cooked brekkie for pinkie one day when i woke up early and he was still snoring away! HEE HEE

LES MISERABLES! it was a mighty big surprise when we collected our tickets and discovered we got front row seats! the seating plan online was uhm, of not much help haha. i really enjoyed myself that night

dinner at Koya, a japanese chain of udon restaurants, before the musical. food was really good!
i loved my cold udon with sesame dipping sauce!

the very nicely done egg at Koya! slurrrrrp!!

LES MIS! <3

ceiling of the Les Mis theatre. i love how each musical in West End stays in their own theatre, leased for a year or so, i think?

super yummy noodles i fried for dinner one day!!! now i wanna eat them again…

skip watching Les Mis performance videos on youtube with me

LOBSTER NOODLES!!!!!!!!! at bayswater. SO DAMN GOOD

and this, my friends, is london bridge -_-

CHURROS! we were introduced to a small and what seems to be family-run Spanish cafe by pinkie’s brother. loved the all-day brekkie and churros! i miss the food there OMG

paella! this was at borough market, which is basically a market full of food stalls – very fun to walk around! most of the food there is awesomeeee

giant meringue i got from borough market, supposedly famous. i could see why – it just crumbled and melted in your mouth! it was too big for me to finish though..

in a london cab! hahahahahaha

my broom to bring to hogwarts

i miss being able to wear leggings without wanting to melt and die. oh and those were my new shoes! they’re guys shoes haha.

lying on bed at my granduncle’s place just before we left to head to heathrow airport.. sniff..

Photos from my other cameras…… up another day. I can’t say soon. HAHA.

I MISS LONDON :((

It was one of those dreamy days when you’re caught off-guard by what the day brings, making it even more delicious to savour. I don’t have photos to remember today by; I only have words, so here goes.

My mum and Dad (they took turns), my brother and his friend, and Pinkie played mahjong til about 330am. It was a last minute spontaneous round of mad laughter – the kind I adore most. I wasn’t involved in the game directly (mostly because I am horrid at it) and thus wasn’t exactly in the midst of the mad laughter than erupted every now and then. I was either on the bed, or in my room, glued to my DS playing Pokemon because I was trying not to fall asleep, but I enjoyed knowing that Pinkie was around with my family. It was a quiet kind of enjoyment, the type that I like once in awhile.

He took a nap while I read a book until it was early enough for us to get out of my place to get breakfast and then head over to his place. He was too zonked for me to head to the market near his place to hunt for the fried beehoon breakfast I was craving for, so he picked up McGriddles at a drive-thru and I thought I’d just cook some instant noodles.

When we got to his place, I discovered (much to my shrieking delight) that there was a stall selling fried beehoon at the coffeeshop next to his block. Awesome stuff! I don’t think the auntie expected someone to approach her stall on a public holiday at 6 in the morning with an excited shriek of “OMG YES!!!!!”

The day passed lazily and comfortably.. we got lunch at an eatery in IMM which I’ve been craving for – that certainly made me happy The last time I was there was last year when he was back. That was when we discovered the place.

The Daiso outlet at IMM remains my favourite simply for its sheer size and what they stock, which is a lot more than the others. There’s going to be one opening at ION! You wouldn’t think it, but Daiso happens to be a (cheap) treasure throve for us with regards to school work. Heh.

I’m not sure what it is about today, but somehow it just felt different, like something’s changed.

I realised on the way home that since we met, every National Day would be an awesome day. On the first year we went to the zoo! The past two years, I got tickets to the NDP (much to his dismay, but he always had an unexpectedly good day anyway haha) and today was a really good lazy day.

National Day has lost its meaning for me (even though I love going for the NDP haha) and what makes it even sadder is that I don’t really care that it has. I’m grateful for Singapore, but that’s about the extent of my feelings for this country.

Someone tweeted that being overseas has made him realise how much he needs and misses Singapore, and it got me thinking – when I was overseas in UK for 6 weeks (not very long, but the longest that I have been abroad in any case) it made me realise how much I dislike Singapore, and would love to get away from here =/
What’s that supposed to mean?

This country is home, only because I was brought up here and because of (very) few people and hardly because I love it or that I feel for it. Sad, huh? I’m not sure why, but I think I am expected to feel sad about it, but all I feel is obligated and trapped.

O, how did this turn to become about Singapore? Happy birthday, anyway.

& just like a dream, the lovely day turned right around when I got home to news that Russell has carried on moping from yesterday, only he is much worse. He has been hiding in the store room the entire day, refusing to come out or to eat. He usually says Hi to me at the gate whenever I get home, but not today.. I opened the door of the storeroom to say Hi but he merely lifted his eyes to look at me. No wagging, no lifting of his head. Just a really miserable looking dog..

I’m really afraid that it’s time for him to go, and I’m so so scared.. He’s 13 this year, and I know his time will come one day, even if this is just a scare, but even so I’m still really scared for when that happens.

Over the past year, I’ve kept wanting another pet – and had phases where I had a terrapin and some fish but they died – and I kept wanting to get a hamster. I never got one because my mum doesn’t want me to have one at home. Sigh.

I think I kept wanting one because at the back of my head, I’ve been scared about Russell’s passing for a really long time.

I wish dogs went to heaven…

I haven’t had a goodnight phonecall in awhile

i don’t particularly want to head back to a place that is too damn hot for me, is filled with tons of things that annoy me and too many ugly tall concrete buildings.

*deep sigh*

this trip has been amazing and completely different from anything else. it was my first time in a country so far away from home and for such a long time too. but surprisingly, I was never homesick. haha.

i think aside from the old charm that England has, I loved feeling disconnected from everything back home, much like I was trapped in my own happy bubble without having to worry or account to anyone.

once I reach Singapore, the new school year will begin in just two days. what’s comforting me right now is the loot from my shopping trips here that I’d get to use, each piece a little reminder of this holiday I was blessed enough to enjoy.

pinkie is done with university (finally) so he is flying back with me. I don’t think that has sunk in yet – no more long distance relationship, yo!

I guess it isn’t sinking in because our entire relationship was long distance and I’m not sure what to expect. hahaha.

he will be coming back to England in September, though – for his convocation and his brother’s wedding. maybe that’s why I don’t entirely feel like he’s coming back for good with me! haha.

this trip also opened up thoughts about things I never dared think about before, and I’m not sure how that will pan out in the future.

the past six weeks have been lovely, with days feeling like they were straight out of an enid blyton storybook.

goodbye england.. I’ll be back

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It’s been a wonderful past 4 weeks though – most of which is evident if you follow my Twitter account, but even that is seeing a lot less updates than is normal for me. Haha.

We’ve been spending the past week running around, trying to finish up all the sightseeing and plans we’d made before we have to leave London because being the lazy bears we are, we left them all to the last minute. Haha.

To put it briefly…

Tower of London was boring as hell. Edingburgh Castle was a lot more interesting.
Westminster Abbey is absolutely gorgeous, and when I got there I understood its charm despite being such a tourist attraction.
St Paul’s Cathedral was just like that, albeit in different ways. Also gorgeous, despite being a tourist site.

The various markets I managed to drag Pinkie too were awesome and a lot of fun, except Spitafields, which I didn’t like. I haven’t been to Borough Market yet, but so far my favourite is Brick Lane Market. A lot of buzz, food, fun and a bunch of young designers selling their stuff!

Oh yes, and having a squirrel walk alongside me has got to be one of the most magical experiences I’ve ever had. <3

Right now, we’re busy trying to get ourselves to clean up the apartment because we’ve to move out by Monday, returning it in its original state or they’ll charge us. Meh. The limescale in the water leaves stupid stains on taps and sinks and is annoying to clean up. BLEH.. and we all know how much I loathe packing.

We’re moving to Oxford for a couple of days on Monday and then heading to Northampton to spend the last few days in England with my granduncle (in his absolutely awesome flat!!!!).

Boohoo, I don’t wanna say bye to England

I’ve been in London for 5 days now (or 4 and a half, as the Pink Bear behind me says) and I suppose I should come say Hi! Hehe.

Sorry, no photos because I haven’t been taking much, and also I’m incredibly lazy to transfer them and edit them on his Windows laptop. Which, by the way, is driving me nuts. And the keyboard also gets so hot!!! Crazy. So I’m typing this in a rush before it realises people are around and wants to burn them.

Anyways, the past few days have been awesome Super tiring though, cos somehow we always end up walking a lot. Haha. The weather is warm in the day (sometimes too damn warm, seriously..) but not as humid as back home, of course. It’s lovely in the evenings and at night cos it gets cooler and slightly windy. Heh.

Amazingly enough, we haven’t done ANY sightseeing this past few days. Hahaha. Mostly we just go out, and explore the random places around where he usually goes anyway. Heh.

I like Covent Garden a lot! Hate Oxford.. Bah. Too crowded, and people there are so grouchy. Oh but the hugeass Topshop and H&M kiiiinda make it worth it. Maybe.

Oh, he says I haven’t been to the hugeass H&M yet. THERE’S MORE?!?!?! WTH.

The Topshop spans 5 floors! :O
And each floor is huge la!!!!!! Walaoeh. Hahaha!

Covent Garden has a nice little coffee place called Monmouth, which serves DAMN GOOD COFFEE. OMG. I don’t drink coffee much, but I chose to have coffee over ice cream after lunch the other day. Yes, you may die of shock now.

Pinkie cooked fried rice the other day for lunch! :D Yummy! I want more, please, bear who is reading this off your TV screen. Hahaha.

We met Malcolm for dinner tonight, and then walked along River Thames and up to Big Ben (which is pretty, but they both couldn’t tell me why Big Ben is so significant and such a big deal anyway..)

Dinner was at this little place called Anchor and Hope. Their menu changes daily, according to what’s fresh or in season. We shared a starter of whole crab with mayonaise. The mayo tasted homemade, and went damn well with the cold, steamed crab which was really sweet and fresh.

I shared a main of onglet, which is actually hanger steak with Pinkie – damn awesome!!!!! Muahaha. Dinner wasn’t cheap but I think the beef was worth it.

The sun sets at about 9+ every bloody night, which means the sky is not dark til 10+…. this drives me insane cos my brain can’t seem to process it -_-

The sun rises at about 3+ or so in the morning, and the other day we happened to be awake so I opened the window to take some photos. Damn cool! We went for a walk at 4am just because it was getting bright! Hahaha, that was super fun! Cos the streets were quiet and gently getting brighter.. and it was nice and cooling! Hee.

How’s everyone doing?

I’m already dreading going back to Sillypore…..

hello sir…

My brother commissioned as an officer from OCS on Saturday, and I attended the parade with my parents. It was pretty cool, and it felt like a mini NDP. HAHA.

I’m so proud of my brother! He’s all grown up now, and was more apparent to me (and I think my parents) when we saw him in the full uniform!

(Never thought I was the sort of girl who loves uniforms, but OMG. Quiteeee nice ah.. HAHAHA)

I know it’s been a tough past year for him, and I’m glad he made it through! Hehe.

It was insane trying to take photos at the parade because at the time when they were all running around snapping shots with all their friends, the sun was setting and the light was nuts. I don’t have an external flash so I tried to last as long as I could without using the damned external flash.

Times like this made me appreciate RAW, because OMG it will save your ass. Haha!

I pushed my trip back so that I could attend his commissioning parade, and I’m glad I was there; it really did look like it meant a lot to him so yea..

And with that, I’m off for my longest trip ever. It still feels unreal, and I’m not quite sure what to expect, except that I get to hug Pinkie! HAHA.

By the time this gets posted, I’m probably at the airport, checking in and hoping about in anticipation. Heehee.

—
http://project52.rumpledoodles.com/

Do check out the other photos by the people joining me on Project 52!
Zhan
Daniel
Pris
Hansel
Alex
Winnie