When Life Gives You Lemons....

....you don't have to make lemonade like others do. You can get some flour and eggs and bake a lemon cake!

t.h.e.k.i.t.c.h.n

One year, three houses and nine countries later, it is time to pack the bag and move again. This time, I'm not going to lie in bed and stare at the ceiling like I used to on the night before leaving anywhere, feeling gloomy for having to leave my comfort zone behind and nervous about the unknown road ahead. In fact, I'm actually very excited and it has nothing to do with either Denmark or Hungary. Denmark has been wonderful and no wonder it is the world's happiest country. The people are so warm and welcoming, and their culture is something I would bring home. Hungary is a hidden gem, a beautiful, old country. I imagine the feeling is like meeting the wise, silent grandfather after being acquainted with the vibrant, popular grandchildren; France and England (Denmark would be the father in this metaphor). The thing is, I'm getting weary of having to make and lose new friends and pack and unpack the faded suitcase. I appreciate the journey and understand routines are not that fun anyway but right now I feel like I want to stay and work on something for a little more than six months and next semester which happens to be my final semester of lectures, shall bring me closer to that.

We've been having so much fun and freedom as a couple that it almost feels like we're both still bachelor and bachelorette dating and goofing around. I will definitely miss that when we have to finally settle down somewhere (yes, we still don't know where we're going to be not only after the program but even this January!) and perhaps with our bundle of joy (we won't name him / her any of those modern, long / meaningless names). And then it will be the perfect time for us. We would've had our own time together (you know that travelling together is the best way to know one's true colours and I love his!) before taking the plunge to be adults and responsible for another human being for the rest of our lives.

It is a blessing in disguise, going abroad independently. One of the main purposes of pursuing your study overseas is to experience a new way of life and learn things that you couldn't in your hometown, basically to broaden your horizon. And how can you embrace those elements if you keep hanging out with the same group of people, eat the same food, read the same materials and do everything else just the same as you would back home? I'd say we have been making a lot of exploration on our own and I'm so proud of us.

I guess what I'm trying to get across is, I am thankful for this atypical path God gives us. Having a great husband helps too!

Sportsfest

t.h.a.i.l.a.n.d f.r.i.e.n.d.s

I played boule (or also known as petanque) for the first time in my life last Friday and I had to play against two teams from other companies. It was the annual Sportsfest where a group of companies participate in various games and sports. Too bad I didn't have a camera with me because I didn't know I was going to play until just right before lunch. Thank goodness a friend had a boule set ready in his car so we practised over lunch with another guy who later formed a complete group of three; a gleeful Malaysian (that's me), a sportive Danish and a soft-spoken Canadian. It was fun and I honestly loved the game. There were free drinks and fruits and a lot of muscles, ha-hah! We lost the first game to a really skilled one but I got us 1 point! The second game was in our favour but sadly we didn't get enough points to get to the next round. It was the World Cup system so if you happened to go against two weak teams then good for you. Otherwise, there were free drinks and fruits! The day ended with a nice dinner for all participants. I hurt myself in the first game which was quite silly because boule is generally a game for the posh or the retired and somehow I cut my middle finger really bad. Yikes!

The Best Way to My Heart

I'm in no mood for writing. The holy month of Ramadan is making me miss home even more. Friends posting happy photos of them breaking fast with a colourful variety of food day-to-day, urgh! Hands down, Malaysian dishes are simply the best in the world.

s.p.a.c.i.o.u.s p.l.a.n.e.t

e.x.t.r.a.m.s.g

c.h.o.w.t.i.m.e.s

s.e.a.s.a.l.t.w.i.t.h.f.o.o.d 

Aaaargh!

Guilt

After four years, I still find myself crying buckets over the late Smigel. She felt and understood me, like how she would start jumping all around me when I was feeling joyous or how she would come and lie down next to me when I was sick. She would keep me company when I got scared watching a horror movie in the middle of the night.

But I failed her.

She tried to communicate her pain but I took it for granted, thinking that she would be fine the next day. That night still haunts me. I opened the door to check on her before going to bed and there she was, lying breathless exactly right at that door as if she had struggled through her last breath to call me, to tell me that she was leaving forever. I still can't forgive myself. If I had been more attentive, she would probably still be alive and kicking. After that night, I've taken a number of wounded stray cats to the vet and sometimes into my home to be taken care of. It's my way of saying sorry to her. There's no price I wouldn't pay to have her back. I miss her so much. And no matter what I do, I can't shake the feeling that I let her down. I might as well have jabbed a knife into her beating heart.

Wait, I'm Coming!

Not many people love their job, do they? Or like it in the slightest. I think it’s sad, because you’ll be working for at least 30 years (God willing). I’d hate it too if I was still doing the same exact thing as I did five years ago. Say if I were a lawyer. Surely I’d always work on legal cases, that’s a given. But I’d want to tackle bigger cases like corrupted politicians…no wait, that’s a norm…alright, a murderous politician! Though I think it’s getting common too but at least it’s more significant than trying to sue a neighbour whose dog keeps barking at night under some act that I’m apparently not aware of. It’s obvious I know little about law but you get my drift.

I’ve been so lucky, I’ve always liked my work. Most of my colleagues were (and are) nice people whom I don’t mind working with again and again. I'm in a stimulating line of work that excites me on most days (come on, nothing’s perfect!). Still, there’s this nagging voice inside my head screaming “I want to taste the world!”. There are so many things I want to experience. In my previous post, it didn’t take a rocket scientist to sense my jealousy towards those who go on expeditions and worse, actually doing it for a living. *pulling my hair out*

Among others, I want to sail across the Arctic ocean and study the polar ecosystem.

i.c.e s.t.o.r.i.e.s

I want to camp in the African outback and do research on the wild habitat.

v.a.g.a.b.o.n.d q.u.e.s.t

I want to trek the Amazon and gather significant data or discover new species.

s.o.d.a.h.e.a.d

I want to climb the Alps and scream my lungs out from Mont Blanc just for fun.

d.a.n.i.e.l a.r.n.d.t

And lots more!

That’s the kind of guts I want my kids to have. Explore their potential outside the box in this tiny but magnificent God’s creation. I realize there’s a paradox there but that’s how I see the world. I see it as a small globe in my two hands, I can just pinpoint anywhere I want to go and do whatever I want to (well, provided I have the money of course) but the abundance of knowledge is overwhelming. The whole week I was seriously considering the National Geographic's Young Explorers grant but I still couldn’t work out the right proposal. Most, if not all expeditions are bloody expensive which is understandable but it still frustrates me. I wonder why those millionaires spend their money partying. What a stupid waste. To each his own eh?

Maybe my time is yet to come. Maybe I still have more things to learn before embarking upon such huge feats. Maybe if I took my chance so early in my life, I would be killed in a freak encounter with some rhinos or frozen to death underneath a giant iceberg trying to chase a bearded seal. God has a reason for everything.

But I know one thing for sure.

All the little steps I’m taking lead me towards it and I will never lose sight of that big picture.

Expedition please!

e.a.w.a.g

d.i.v.e e.x.p.e.d.i.t.i.o.n

A Swiss research institute, Eawag, which happens to be one of the world's leading aquatic research institutes, is having a few positions for PhD students this year and they're most likely to go on expeditions for their research. *grumble*

Confessions

You know how our neighbourhood is relatively safe so there's no lock and we always let the window open because it's summer? Last night around 1am I heard something like someone walking in the garden so naturally I couldn't sleep until the crack of dawn. I was half expecting a pair of red eyes lurking behind the window blind. Being a good wifey, I didn't wake hubby up (thought I held his hand all night) just in case I was imagining things because well, sometimes I'm weird that way. Turned out there was a plastic bag in the garden. Yup, the joke was on me. I got spooked by a mere plastic bag.

Anyway, I have some confessions to make just for fun.

b.u.z.z.l.e c.o.m

• I don’t like pink, shopping, make-up, jewellery, handbag and all that jazz. I don’t mind people who like them though, I’m just not interested. So whenever some girls excitedly tell me there are sales somewhere or ask me out to a warehouse sale, I always ask where and then forget it immediately because well, I don’t care.
• I think high-heel is another means of torture, a long-term one. I don’t like buying shoes, it takes too much time. I have a really nice pair of leather boots and that was a birthday gift from the husband. Then we have the rugged hiking boots which hubby had to talk me into getting them for weeks. I did buy a cute pair of Crocs sandals on my own initiative but that was really because of the massive buildup. I honestly don’t get why something looks like rubber can be so expensive.
• I don’t really fancy coffee but it sounds so grown-up so I always have only a quarter of coffee with a lot of milk but now that I'm basically allergic to coffee, I'm starting to drink only milk with my coffee cup at work. 

There, it feels good!

Oh, my elderflower juice was a success and it tasted like summer. No other way to describe it, will post photos on my Facebook soon...after some canoeing and eagle-hunting tomorrow. *wink*