A brand new decade!

I've no time to do a 2010 wrap-up post, sorry to disappoint :( I'm having an extremely crowded New Year's at my house right now with my whole family, brother-in-law, Ava, my aunt, my cousin, her husband and their two kids.

Just wanted to come and wish you guys...

I think I'm already getting stupider in the year 2011. This morning around 2 am I was chatting with Callistus and I said something along the lines of "Oh you know what, tomorrow's gonna be 1/1/11!!!" then he started laughing and had to point out to me that DUH it was ALREADY 1st January -___-"

I've had an extremely eventful and momentous 2010, most of it documented right here on my blog. May 2011 be good to everybody, especially the people I love.

2011 looks like it's gonna be a very interesting year for me!

Scrapbook start to 2010!

This is gonna be a whopper of a post, enjoy it!

Take a look at your calendar baby, it's January 1st 2010! A brand new year :O

So how did you ring in the new year?

I was pretty down in the dumps about New Year's and not excited at all, until the clock struck 12 and the fireworks started going off at Queensbay, and I had great MSN convos with Jia Yee, Ya Wen and Shar which totally perked me up and got me in the New Year mood!

What is New Year's without fireworks? And oh boy, I got some gorgeous fireworks photos! My digital camera's "fireworks" setting is pure awesomesauce. Totally didn't have to edit any of the photos.

Check it out! \m/

These huge, bright starburst ones are my favourite! They went off on the road outside my house. So pretty, I'm totally gonna use it as a wallpaper.

The road and roundabout outside my house were freaking packed! Half of Penang must've been jammed into the Queensbay area because of the countdown concert, it was crazy!

For comparison, this is how it usually looks. Took the photo once the crowd had cleared at around 2.30 am.

Both photos taken with the long exposure "night scenery" setting and equally as impressive as the "fireworks" setting. My camera actually is good for something after all!

Decided to do a special "digital scrapbook" style post with photos of myself chronicling every month of 2009 to (temporarily) satisfy my fascination with digital scrapbooking.

Maybe I should've posted this yesterday but... *shakes head* Nope, nvm, I know I wanted all the scrapbook-style things grouped together in one post.

Warning: People not fond of my vanity AND not interested in digital scrapbooking/pretty things should more or less turn away... now.

You have been warned! Don't whine/complain/criticize afterwards.

January - McDonald's with Munibah and Duan. February - National Day performance.

I didn't have any nice February photos so I bo pian forced to use the tudung one D:

March - Gelato with Sharlyn, Ashley and Manda. April - My house with Munibah.

Didn't include any wedding photos for March, reason being that I'm saving that for the wedding anniversary next... I mean, this year.

May - Charlene's house with her, Alisa and Jong Yi. June - Sports Day/Excapade with Ya Wen, Sharlyn and Manda.

July - Munibah's house. August - My car with Munibah.

September - Rizqun with Jia Yee and Maria/Swensen's with Jan, Jia Yee and Lennard. October - Trying on my dad's ties in the bathroom.

November - Jia Yee's birthday party at her house/Mall with Sharlyn, Manda and Ya Wen. December - My house in Penang, before and after getting my hair done.

The reason it's so vain and all me was because I honestly didn't want to include any photos that are of me with friends, because I didn't want any excluded (sensitive and close) friends to possibly feel left out. This way, it's fair.

All the beautiful digital scrapbooking materials are courtesy of Shabby Princess.

I think in this generation, digital scrapbooking is a great alternative to conventional (paper, scissors and glue) scrapbooking. Everybody uses digital cameras and you won't have to go through the hassle of printing photos to use for scrapbooking.

Digital scrapbook pages can be printed out too if you like. Digital scrapbooking lets you tap into your creative side just as much as conventional scrapbooking, and is faster and mess-free.

Best of all, it can be free of charge thanks to wonderful digital scrapbook material designers like Shabby Princess. Most of the time, it's the steep cost and limited choice or availability of scrapbooking materials that deter people from taking up the activity even though they may be interested in it.

Honestly, I think digital scrapbooking is a win-win situation. It took me three days altogether to make all the digital scrapbook pages for this post, but it was a project that was so much fun to do!

And gave me a HUGE backache too T__T

Farewell 2009.

Happy New Year's Eve!

Well here it is, my last blog post of the year.

Christmas is over, resolutions have been made and it's time to hail in the new year. What better way to do that than with a spanking new blog layout?

2009 has taught me so many things...

• To have faith because wishes do come true... sometimes;
• Your life can change forever for good or bad in just a few seconds based on one single decision, a decision you may celebrate, or regret;
• Love is hard and messy and maybe I'll wait;
• There's always a first time, again, good or bad;
• I don't have to do my best and things will still be alright;
• Making new friends can be so worth it;
• Being nice pays off;
• I can be so committed and go to the ends of the earth when I want something;
• I'm selfish and jealous, please understand that it's just my nature;
• Good and bad things happen when you least expect them to;
• Not everything goes your way and you just have to accept it and know when to let go, regrets are useless;
• Being a powerless bystander in your own life and seeing, knowing, that somebody else calls the shots, sucks plain and simple;
• Friendships should always be treasured;
• If you see an opportunity, take it and think later, because chances go by so so fast;
• I like wanting what I can't have, even if I'm too scared to follow through when the time comes;
• I'm growing up fast and leaving childhood behind and maybe, just maybe, I'm ready for the transition. I may even be looking forward to the future and a change of view. Maybe I have changed. Or maybe I've just peeled away the outer layers to reveal what's been inside all along.

Okay, I'm sure there's more but I can't be arsed to crack my head and think.

2009 has been a good year, and a bad year. One that passed way too fast. Lost chances and broken friendships, sacrifices, secrets, regret and tears, mixed with forbidden love, newfound and rediscovered friends, hobbies and passions found, and a lot of great times along the way.

So many unexpected things came knocking, and I had some of the best, and worst times of my life. To say it was a pivotal and defining year would be an understatement. It was... an adventure. I think, in the end, I finally let myself be me. I'm finally free.

When the clock strikes 12 tonight, watch the fireworks in the sky and the year will be over. Say your last goodbyes to 2009. It'll be a whole new year. Square your shoulders and face it head on. Decide that it will be a good year, better than the last.

2010. What do you have in store for me? Who will I meet? Who will I gain, and who will I lose? What will I do? What challenges will I face? What decisions will I have to make? Will there be more laughs, or more tears?

Only time will tell. Life is tough, but I think I'm tougher. Bring it on, 2010 (I think?).

Two thousand and nine.

TWO THOUSAND AND NINE.

HAPPY NEW YEAR 2009 EVERYBODY!!!

Cheers to a great year to come! I've never been this excited about new year's before. But then again, I've never had to say goodbye to the best effin' year of my life before. Thank you, 2008!

And hello 2009! It was so cool, I could see five different fireworks shows going on from my window. I felt like leaning out and shouting happy new year... but my dad threatened to throw me out for making a racket. So yeah. Lulz.



In the spirit of the new year, I also have a new blogskin and a new song. :)

Me and the family had New Year's eve dinner last night and also New Year's dinner tonight at Dragon-I in Queensbay Mall. Chinese food. Yum.



The very early Chinese New Year decorations in Queensbay Mall.


Plates and stuff.


Fried la mian with seafood.


Pan-fried crispy la mian with seafood.


A light fixture.
And I went in search of more nail polish! Like I said I would. I bought the dark blue one, of course. And I also bought a cute white cropped jacket out of desperation for one. A cropped jacket, I mean.





Woohoo, more hair clips!
I still had some money left over, so I thought I'd go for a vest. And then I figured, y'know, that might be too drastic a style change for me.
So, on a total whim, I bought the most gorgeous pair of sunglasses at Nichii. For only RM20. Drool nao! xDD



I took this picture randomly last night. Better photos to come soon, hopefully.
It's getting late and I'm getting more tired by the minute. I'm flying back to Brunei tomorrow. I sorta have mixed feelings about that, but y'know, I'll get over it. Life has to go back to normal sooner or later, I guess.

But in the meantime, some random photos! Lulz.



My brand new S/T going into my CD drive for the first time.


A cat in the condominium parking lot. xD


Kad kahwin wangi - 8 sen(?!)