Tai Tai Weekend

Genius lil me went to bed early and got woken up by my dad asking if I took the sambal kicap -___-' So now Im bloody wide awake (because this incident happened at 9.30PM) and well, considering I do owe this blog a couple few posts, might as well get to it. 

Let's start from the last "Dear Diary" posts (which if you click on the tag, will show you all the posts that documents the complete day rather than my rambles). 

___________________________________6 August 2016__________________________________

After the eventful Jun-July I had, I was very excited for the trip to PD. It all started with a random message to Shrimpy & Banana (as they both just recently resigned from their audit work), 

Me: We can finally go on our trip!!!
(because let's face it, auditors have no life. Consultants know the meaning of work hard, play hard)

Shrimpy: YES! Lets go to Maldives!!
(I think she said Maldives, but basically it was somewhere far and foreign)

Since we don't really have much time to pre-planned, and this was our first trip together (can you believe it? After 2 years of graduating -__-) so we all agreed to PD.

So that Saturday morning (this was right after Zayana and I discovered the joy of Flycycle), Pisang picked me up all bright and early and we went to Flycycle. We initially planned on showering, but after that class we decided that showering is too much of a hassle (cause we have to dig for our shampoos and what not) can wait and we'd just dry off and change.. We picked up Shrimpy right after that and bought necessities (snacks, tissues, medication, water, T&G top-up and blahblahblah) and off we went for our road trip!

On the way we were hungry considering both Pisang & I didn't get to have breakfast so we agreed to stop by McDonald's at Sg. Besi. But smart ol' me directed Zayana wrongly and we missed the entrance... 

Pisang: Turn here right?

Me: No no, its further ahead. 

Pisang: Ohh okay.. Wait.. That's the McD sign!! AISYA!!!! Why, why did I listen to you? Useless!

Me: Hehehe... Chill, there's a KFC right in front. This one I'm very sure!

Pisang: There better be a KFC in front or you're getting out of the car!

(There was a KFC in front... Phew - guys, this is why you don't sleep in the car when you balik kampung okay!)

Sampai hari nih I can't pass by the McDonald's without hearing Zayana's scream in my head... 

Anyways about 1.5 hours later and zero wrong turns (thanks Waze!) we made it in one piece to Avillion! 

After checking in, showering and settling down, we decided to go for lunch. On the way to lunch we decided to pop by the spa and made reservation. Thankfully it wasn't fully booked so we managed tog get a slot at 4PM - giving us plenty of time to have lunch and chill. 

The view from the spa

During lunch, Zayana (who had food poisoning a couple of days before the trip) wasn't feeling too great.. Shrimpy basically went full on mother mode on Zayana ensuring she'd eat something so her stomach wouldn't masuk angin. She still felt nauseated, so I suggested her to take water with lemon slices to calm her stomach. Of course after the McDonald's fiasco that morning she'd think twice before trusting me again.. 

Pisang: Isn't it acidic? Wouldn't it make my stomach worse? 

Me: Nooooo, it's alkali once consumed.. 

Pisang: I don't believe you..

Me: Google if you, I'd bet my finger on this.

After budak degil tuh read some Google article she agreed to take my advice and throughout the entire trip, that's all she drank.. Honestly, what would she do without me? (Not eat McDonalds - I can hear her saying that at the back of my head..)

I forgot what massage we had but I remember it included a scrub. After our session we felt uber clean (and not in the weird Hammam way - where they scrub you everywhere). Also, after our session they allowed us to chill in this private area with amazing view!

 Us before the treatment - fabulous lunch ladies!

(& yes that's my parking receipts for my claims - it's so I remember to do my claims, which clearly didn't work too well lol) 

 Us after the treatment - fabulous tai tais!

After further cleaning ourselves - because let's face it, you're always oily after a spa session, we were too lazy to move so we decided to order in for dinner and watch movies instead, just like the good ol' uni days! 

Zayana who was basically still out of it were curled up on the floor apologising to God for every single mean thing she has ever said to anyone about period/ stomach pains. It was very hilarious!! 

Pisang: Aisya! I'm sorry for every mean thing I've said to you - can you just please stop cursing meeeeeee... 

Drama is she.

She had a fruit platter for dinner while Raema and I had a surprisingly good pizza while watching Legally Blonde. We almost watched Gone Girl (because Shrimpy thought Legally Blonde was too sissy and we know she'd enjoy Gone Girl) but I forgot I've deleted the movie from my laptop..  (I guess sometimes I really am useless, lol)

Since we couldn't agree on another movie to watch (can you believe it that they don't want to watch the bollywood movies that I have in my laptop?!), we watched an episode of Empire (cause Raema was curious about the show) and continued with Beauty & the Beast. We also straightened Zayana's hair just because. Lol

___________________________________7 August 2016__________________________________

Of course I was the last to wake up and I woke up to Zayana bitching about someone/ something I can't remember anymore. 

Me: Well... I see someone is no longer in pain.... 

Them: You're awake!!!

I like them - they don't jump on me forcing me to wake up (*cough cough take a hint Min & Zoe!! cough cough*) and they just wait til I actually wake up naturally to start the day. By the time I woke up they all had showered/ changed and were about to have breakfast. 

We brought our own choice of cereals and milk so we had breakfast in the room #budgettravel

After breakfast we decided to go for a swim. 

This was the view of the pool, so serene! 

We decided to lounge by the pool after swimming with our books/ e-books. Basically the whole day was pool day, even after lunch we came back to the pool and lazed around. 

We also had an incident where there was a big lizard around and Zayana & I didn't dare to move while Shrimpy was so intrigued by it, she followed it -.- We also watched other people by the pool (adults on floats are a funny thing to watch, then there was an elderly couple who swam 21 laps and then said to each other "7 more right?" and I felt like such a loser after hearing that, also a pair of friends who selfie-ed around the pool - every possible angle they can get, and people catching Pokemons/ Squirtle - because it was the first day the game launched). 

After our second round of swimming we decided to go back and chill in the room instead - thank God cause I ran out of things to read. Note: Always pack an extra book. 

That night we chilled in the room with the Haadgen Dazs we bought post-swimming. 

___________________________________8 August 2016__________________________________

The day we returned back to reality. 

We ended up in Bangsar once we were both back in town for brunch and got quick errands done before I dropped Pisang off for her interview (seriously, what would she do without me?)

Energy Burst

When we were in Uni, Zayana would go to the gym 3 out of 7 days a week, so that's like every other day. I used to think she's crazy, so I'd just sit at home and laze around waiting for her to come back to we can continue our #DiorellyandChanelaadventures. 

Being a girl, you can't run from those days of "I feel fat", especially when it's that time of the month. But, I know that I am very blessed with having a relatively okay metabolism. I don't gain fast (nor do I lose fast), and somehow or rather a breakup is just around the corner and I'd be back to losing more weight than whatever that I gained.. I always say to God, "Dear God, I wanna lose weight, but can we skip the heartbreak or any diseases and just let me miraculously just lose weight?" teehee!

Also, thanks to my cheerleading days, I know how skinny I can get if I work out a lot and as nice as having toned legs and arms, I know I don't look good being that skinny, in fact I look rather sickly. So I try to keep my body normal. 

As I age I realise this is getting harder and harder to do, but I was not named Potato for nothing :P #thankGodforgoodmetabolism

Earlier this year I took up Pilates in an act of "Let's try something new!". I have always wanted to try Pilates and I loved it immediately. Not only it helps with me keeping in shape (to this date I still have a love-hate relationship with my trainer which I've nicknamed "The Torturer") but it really did help me with my self-diagnosed depression (think Elle Woods' "Happy people just don't kill their husbands"). 

Then the Flycycle craze hit town. I think about 5 years ago I went for my first RPM class in my gym back then - I swore to never go back because my legs just couldn't take it!! Lesson learned: Never swear on "never". 

I ended up loving Flycycle, the sweat, the soreness, the I-feel-good-about-myself feeling and the burst of energy you get after!! I just keep coming back!

Never in a million years I thought I'd be a person who'd willingly workout (all I have to do is just look at my jiggly arms and I'd make an appointment with Fred and drag my sorry ass to class :p) but honestly, for anyone who is looking for something "fresh", try working out! My body just feels much better for the week with all the workouts slotted in for me afterwork. 

p/s: If you think this post was written after one of my workout sessions, you are right! #energyburstatmidnight... 

I know it's mid-week, but still, have a good week everybody!! 

xx, A. 

My Country

I love my country, I really do. 

Its shameful that people try to create a racial divide amongst Malaysians (and the rest of world actually..) whereas what made us unique to the world is the fact that we have so many different cultural backgrounds all blending in so well with one another. 

I am born with 1/2 Chinese and 1/2 Javanese/ Malay blood and I always add on that I am Indian by choice - considering all the Bollywood movies I watched, I might as well y'know, otherwise how am I gonna integrate a Bollywood Dance Party into my wedding?! What excuse am I going to give to my grandmother?

I love my country, with all its little quirks - the night market every weekend, the fact that you can get hot & warm roti canai no matter what time of the day it is, the halal yong tau fu and dimsums, pisang goreng for tea, all the colourful traditional wear that comes out during festive seasons and many many other things. 

Sure, like any other country in the world, there is always a room for improvement - because we are all humans anyways. But Malaysia is tanah tumpahnya darahku you know?

Plus, Malaysia blends my name in so well... 

That's right ;) Thanks Manda!

I don't think I said this yet - but Happy 59th year of independence Malaysia!!! And Happy 53rd birthday to the Federation of Malaysia.

May Malaysia be prosper and free for the rest of its life.

xx, A. 

Faith

I am an avid reader of Proudduck - eventhough my discovery of it was a bit late (back in 2011/2012?). Today, while reading Vivy's latest post, the last paragraph really hit me. 

In my many years of living, alhamdulillah, I don't think I've been tested that severely. That being said, it's only because I view my tests as so small compared to what I see and hear about others' test. I have cousins who are around my age or younger going through things you can't possibly imagine would happen to an average Joe.. So if you ask me, my rejection from my 1st Uni of choice, my troubled relationship, those are very, very, very light compared to what they had/ have to go through. 

But still, that does not mean I do not think that my story is not worthy to tell - afterall it is my blog you are reading

--

I can't remember if I wrote it here, but my first Uni of choice was Liverpool. I already had a classmate (from college) who was going to Liverpool and I thought, "Wonderful! We can apply for the same accommodation", Daddy's favourite team is Liverpool, he can visit me and we can go to the games together and all other things planned out. But when my A-Levels results came out, I missed the grades by 3 points - and with that 3 points, Liverpool slipped out of my hands. In 18 years of living, I can honestly say that this was the biggest blow (then) to me. You see, I was a good student in school, not amazing, but everybody knew I would score. I scored in all my major papers from UPSR up to SPM and I thought I would score A-Levels too. Alas, God brought me back down to Earth and I remember just crying for days because going to UK was a life-long dream.. 

But of course, God listens, and God is the best planner - God sent me to Sheffield. A place that I literally had to do research about and couldn't even begin to imagine how it looked like because I've literally never had any interest in it.. But it turned out to be a place where I left a piece of me and a place that is special to my heart. I cannot look at Tescos now without thinking about my random Tesco trips. I cannot have fried rice now wihtout thinking of Yummy's Fried Rice. As for friends that I was so scared about not being able to make any - well, not only that some of my highschool mates eventually made their way to Sheffield too, but I also made friends there than so happens to live within 5-20 minutes radius from me in KL.. God is the best planner, He listens to your every doa - even the silly ones like "Dear God, please grant me a Malaysian friend so Mummy would be at ease". 

My second greatest test in life (so far) I would say is about my turbulent relationship. Just like my studies, with relationships I have always been the one to leave it unscathed. Not to say that I was completely unfazed by it, but more like the sadness wouldn't have put me in a state of depression. 

After 5 years long of a relationship, when it ended early this year, nobody at work knew about the break up, until I had to gradually "announced" it because people were asking "Aren't you going out with him tonight? It's the weekend!", that kind of thing - and this was about a month afterwards because I was finally able to talk about it. They never knew about my silent cries at work - about how I'd cry alone in the surau while praying and immediately try to wipe it or stop it when someone else walks in to pray, about how I faked "my eyes are itchy" to explain why I'm "yawning a lot to wet my eyes". 

None of my friends (besides Zayana and Zoe) fully know what happened (some even til today perhaps) because all they got from me was "I don't want to talk about it". The most they got was "We broke up - please don't ask me anymore about him".

It took me all the way up to May to finally be done with it and close the book. And even then it literally took my dignity away because at one point I was at the stage of begging for mercy and it was never given and simply taken away from me. I had my mother not knowing what to do with me anymore and had to text Zayana, "Can you please talk to her? Aunty tak tahu nak cakap apa to her anymore". 

So you can imagine the amount of anger/ pain I was carrying with me all the way to Mekah. During my first few days there I remember praying to God telling Him about how hurt I was and begging for my pain to be lifted up. 

And of course, God listens, He protects you.. Remember about my incident with the grapes and the kids in Masjidil Haram? There was more to that story.. After berbuka, while performing Maghrib prayers, the boys actually prayed next to me (with their sister next to them). And for some reason, their innocence just got to me and the next thing I knew tears were falling down my cheeks and suddenly my heart felt light (and touched by the kids' innocence). That very moment, in prayers, I knew - whatever pain, hatred and anger that I felt and was holding on to, it was "lifted up". Weirdly also I remember having this conversation with God, "God, I want children of my own - children who are innocent, who appreciates the smallest kindness that people show them. I want to build a family with someone that You have written for me, and I know I can't find that happiness unless I let go of this pain". 

SubhanAllah and Alhamdulillah, I was able to complete my umrah and returned to Malaysia 10000x happier than when I left. Of course the sadness was there, it is only natural to be sad about something that has been with you for years, but I was no longer depressed. I no longer had the "I don't feel like doing anything" and spend waking moments with a constant pain in my heart. I was able to go places that brought back memories and I was just, content. 

--

God is great. He is the best planner. He listens and He knows just what you need and when you need it. 

I have learned to not put your trust in humans, but instead put your trust in God. Because God can change a human's heart in a beat (whether in your favour or not).. But believe that whatever happens, it is always the best for you.

Sheffield was the best for me because it let me to find another best friend and gave me my degree and a job I very much like. 

The break up was the best for me because it allowed me to feel God's grace, warmth, greatness and so much more!

And I know of course as I age, there will be more tests for me.. (Hopefully God take it easy still on me cause urm as you read, I really was tested lightly.. But God never put you through something He knows you wouldn't be able to handle) but I believe, insyaAllah I will be alright (at least on Earth..). 

Put your faith in no other but Allah S.W.T - and without faith, you'd go crazy. 

Monkey Business

I know how when you just got back from a long day at work, you just want something to make you laugh... 

Did it work? :D 

Happy long weekend everybody!

xx, A.