wimbledon chills

loksze and i decided to spend the day in wimbledon on monday whilst the school kids were still locked in school, and the streets were relatively quiet before everyone hurried to do their christmas shopping.

we tried looking for some presents but rather ended up putting on silly masks and battling each other with lightsabers.

after that tired us out, the healthier side of us told us to get a massive mcdonald's brunch.

loklok went to order and came back with a wrap, a deli meal, two medium fries, a hot chocolate, a coke, a cheeseburger and a pack of cheese dippers.

we went to walk it all off after, then bought a packet of crisps, an energy drink and a litre of apple juice to chill on the sofas in odeon.

a healthy day of peaceful relaxation i'd say.

lit up in london

i woke up sunday morning with a buzz in me. i'm heading into london during christmas!! 

the lights in southampton are a bit of a disappointment and boy was i glad to be back to see the bulbs of london.

walking to church

not only was i excited to see the london lights of course, i was also excited to be back at my home church and see all my fellow church family! travelling has become a large expense for me since i've upgraded to adult fares so on this fine rainy morning, i walked to church from waterloo station.

cute restaurant lit up with colourful lanterns

after church, etain and i headed to this restaurant in soho called bistro 1 where they offered two courses for only £9.90! we had mussels, calamari, pork chops and sea bream fillet with mash - a doubtless satisfying meal. we then proceeded for a splash of window shopping in regent street and oxford street.

'cucumber' tree in trafalgar sq.

after returning and chilling at church for a bit to catch up with my friends doing 'general knowledge qs', loksze and i went about to walk around london. he had just came down from warwick on saturday  and so we got an opportunity to go round and explore the festivities together.

leicester sq was filled with a mini christmas market smelling of sweet candy floss. i have yet to visit winter wonderland this year!

lights filled every corner of the streets. it was good to be reunited with loksze once again after a whole month and know we have more than a weekend with each other this time.

attempting to take a selfie with the lights but ending up with a large patch of the pavement instead

a long distance relationship will forever feel like a constant countdown for me. we countdown to the days we see each other, and when we are together, its a countdown to the days we have left till we have to part.

we had such a relaxing time walking the streets of london, turning every corner to more lights, and catching up with each other in real life. it was almost as if the lights were welcoming us back.

i'm totally lit up by everyone and everything in london.

as my first ever semester draws to a close.....

currently i'm perched on my bed with two boxes, a suitcase and a rucksack on the floor, and am waiting upon the arrival of my dad to pick me up for the christmas break. 

yes, you heard me, its christmas already!

these 3 months have gone by like a whirlwind, and on the financial side, i've gobbled up £4,500 of my school fees already. hm.

i've been surprised in many ways, both by myself and God. this is a post dedicated to examine how far in life i've come...

firstly, food.

i wouldn't say i'm a bad cook before i came to uni, but i've definitely excelled in terms of my chinese chef-fery. in these 3 months i'm sure i've caught freshers flu at least 4 times, but it was just my luck to also have a temperature. normally mum would be babying me, but this time i had to look after myself and after craving for congee (chinese porridge) all morning, i learnt to cook my own through youtube.

and wow, cooking meat was a whole new level for me before uni. but i couldn't possibly convert to becoming a vegetarian just cos i was afraid of food poisoning myself! kyall and i spontaneously grabbed a rack of ribs from tesco the other night and decided to have our own student budget version of tgi fridays!

the many personalities and people i've met in the course of just these 3 months has been well beyond my expectations. 

cyryll, named cereal by me, is my flat mate who i remember vividly meeting when i first moved in and truly believed was completely different to me. he has weirdly become my kitchen buddy who i also enjoy playing many rounds of cards against (enjoy because i always win ;)), and is the closest i've gotten to making a chinese friend.

nikki i met one night when she was drunk and obstructed my way on the stairs. we've become law buds and the closest girl friends in the block. night outs are always special with her and we have also weirdly discovered many mutual friends beyond uni (creepy) - we were just meant to be.

kyall on the right guarantees i get home safely every night after going out. we do our laundry together, attend lectures that the rest of our group decides to bunk, and share tutorial work when we can't be bothered to complete it. oh, and he cooked me a meal one time at 5am pictured below.

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zaki is a character with a hard outer shell but the softest and mushiest heart you will find. he has become a bro i've never had, and the other night we went to discover his first ever chinese meal in his 18 years of life. an awesome milestone eh? zaki is also the most brainiest person i know, and perhaps the best fifa playing person i would come to know too.

this is divyam. when we went out the other night. drunk obviously. he is a close law buddy of mine too and happens to live in my flat. i really didn't expect we would become such close friends, as being an international student, he has a very strong indian culture. but seriously, he is the most wackiest and craziest person - from dancing bhangra at the club to falling asleep in the bushes.

big screen fifa. i went for the free popcorn.

uni life is beyond interesting with fifa tournaments to keep my bros (and me) company...

plays in which my friend starred in as the lead role in footloose...

and starbucks at which i could catch up with my close friends jan and lottie from sixth form.

and lastly, this long distance relationship shenanigan really was not something i had expected. no doubt it would be hard, but i recently discovered i had more sensitivity and feelings than i thought to my sarcasm and jokes.

this past month has been a bit of a roller coaster for the both of us and also the longest time we haven't seen each other for. thankful for FaceTime and whatsapp, but damn i can't wait to see loksze in real life.

wow, uni life really has exceeded beyond my expectations. reading back on the first post i wrote when i first moved in to start my new life in southampton and looking at where i am now, i see growth in character, skills and maturity (though i question the latter a little).

thanks God and thanks to my family for sticking by me as i settled in. coming home this time had never felt so good and christmas feels different this year with the extra sense of reunion with my family after leaving home for so long.

i won't doubt the fact that i'll miss uni and all its craziness though. never.

lately.

brunch all day everyday

sainsbury's having lots to offer

fruit and books

lectures with zaki bro

when zaki bro offers to cook dinner for me. grateful for everything; even burnt burgers and one chip

luxury of domino's before revision

yellow chairs

night time shenanigans

the main reason i wanted to move into halls when i applied for uni was to expect the unexpected. it's no surprise that uni life is crazy, and these night time shenanigans define that fact.

getting locked out of my room at 2am by these two and zaki, to which they also took advantage of my unlocked phone sitting on my desk. did i mention they hid an egg under my pillow too?

most loved fridge in the block

gcse art on jayleigh's door just before room inspections the next morning

midnight pizza

art attack

henna art attack

embracing my cultured side

not sure if that's a fire alarm on the wall or not

cyryll lovin his cough med