Devillish-ly Lovable

In his room - where it used to be.

When I was packing for Melbourne, the black picture frame was one of the things that I knew I had to bring with me. It was heavy and bulky, but I managed to find a snug fit for it in my hand luggage, which weighed a ton by the way! The picture in the frame was one that we took last year during one random late night at Bisou just because I was craving for cupcakes. I didn’t develop the picture until this year, when I compiled a big stack of really good photos taken the past year and decided to give them their well-deserved spot of limelight. So we displayed a few carefully selected pictures of the both of us in photo frames we picked up (at Ikea, where else) and kept the rest in an album. Jwan bought a huge white one with five panels while I instinctively reached out for a chunky black frame. Our deal at that time was to put up the pictures in our respective rooms. But in the end, I left the black frame in his place with the excuse that it was too much trouble to bring home and promised that I’ll take it with me if I do leave the country. Now, months later, the frame sits on the bedhead in my room miles away from where it used to be.

During one of our shopping sprees not too long ago, we sat down in the cafe in Tangs for a quick pitstop to recharge and also ‘cos we were entitled to complimentary coffee (for spending too much). In between sips of hot mocha, I crossed off items on a list that I made of the things I had to shop for and bring to Melbourne. I had all the things that I want to buy categorized in separate pages with different headings like ‘Stationery’, ‘Clothes’ and ‘Face & Body’. But before I knew it, the boyfriend very rudely grabbed the list off me and proceeded to laugh at my very organized ways (!!). Then he took my pen and started scribbling on an empty page. What he wrote next surprised and tickled me to no end:

Even though the only kind of affection my boyfriend is capable of showing are calling me names (his favourites include ’stupid’, ’silly’ and ‘fatty’) and groping my ass in public, I find myself missing all these quirky bits about him. Sigh. All the times he made funny faces when we eat. All the times he ran around like a five year old. All the times he helped himself to my fingernail and use it as a ear wax cleaner (ugh). But in my heart I will always believe that this distance and all the other things in between will make the relationship just that little bit more rewarding, more fulfilling than it was in the beginning.

So, to a little devil who is also extremely lovable…

…Happy One-More-Year-Before-Hitting-The-Big-Three-O, love! Have a fabtastic (fabulously fantastic, in the way you always use it right?) birthday! But admit it, you know you will always be a kid forever. :P

 4:17 AM     Permalink     7 Comments

Multiple Mini Blog Entries

It’s been pretty dry and uninspiring lately. I’ve been trying all week to put my thoughts in words but all I managed to do is compartmentalize everything I want to say into single paragraphs:

Chasing After A Moving Tram
It happened on a couple of mornings this week, me being late for my 10a.m. classes. I hastily hop down each step of the stairs from the apartment’s entrance to the sidewalk and my heart silently leaped for joy as I see a tram approaching. But my feet are never quick enough to be able to catch the tram at its stop a couple of feet away from where I stay. So I end up running carelessly and gamble my life with the oncoming cars as I make my way across to the tram stop. It really is quite a gamble, because I almost got wedged between traffic and the tram and had the “ding-ding” alert sounded at me by the tram driver one morning. Sigh, the hazards of commuting on public transport! This is when I have to sprint back to the pavement, watch the tram go by without a wave of pity and solemnly wait for the next one to come. All in the cold.

This is where I wait for the tram every morning. My apartment is on the right.

Battling With An Addiction
I have unknowingly fallen into an addiction that is becoming more indestructible by the day. It’s like an itch I cannot shake off, and I get tempted over and over again by its sweet-smelling name. This obsession has turned out to be my favourite past times for the last couple of weeks and it’s none other than grocery shopping! Heh. Here’s a little trivia: I go to the supermarket at least three times a week (twice today!). Even then this is a marked dilution of the initial enthusiasm; walking down supermarket aisles was a almost-daily ritual when I first arrived here. It’s still a novelty for me to put myself in charge of the groceries and household needs, which is something I don’t do back home. I take pride in preparing an extensive grocery list for each week but I always end up buying beyond what’s on the list when I make my second or third visit within the week. My kitchen cabinet is as well-equipped as a minimart!

The aftermath of my supermarket fetish - instant noodles that I don’t even eat, canned tuna in every flavour, and TEN blocks of Cadburies!

A Personal Mission
This is a goal I’ve just set out for myself: To try a new variant of Arnott’s biscuits every week. The sheer amount of Arnott’s products that occupy the shelves in the supermarket fascinates me to the very bone. There’s actually SO much more to plain ol’ Tim Tams! o.O

Navigating Through Melbourne Uni
I just realized I haven’t really mention anything about my university at all. I think I know why, because ohmygawd, it is the most intimidating place I have ever set foot in! It’s the start of the fourth academic week and I regret to say that I still fumble my way into every lecture and class just because I have no idea where, say, the ‘David Caro-Laby Theatre’ is! So fine, I finally found my way into the lecture hall and it’s another culture shock altogether. Everyone in the class was so self-assured, they all had fresh, crisp sheets of notes printed out before them, they all had pens in their hands and they were all furiously jotting notes down as the lecturer blabbered on. And here I am, still flustered from having lost my way while searching for the venue. I felt like an alien. This is a far cry from the study atmosphere I was in just a few months ago, doing my first year in an institution in KL (that everybody makes fun of). Back then, I’d only go for the classes that I could wake up for, strut in late as usual, plop myself into one of the comfy plush red seats and proceed to exchange notes with Caroline. Now, I’m forced to do my homework every week like everyone else.

The sprawling campus in winter.

My favourite place on campus - the old quarters in all its rustic glory!

 11:52 AM     Permalink     8 Comments

Of Chocolates And A Cat

I’m sitting in my room snacking on confectionery again. It’s Cadbury’s Old Jamaica this time which is actually Rum and Raisin-flavoured dark chocolate. It is so. damn. good. that I think I can eat this for dinner tonight, tomorrow and for breakfast everyday. There’s also a box of Krispy Kremes that I bought yesterday night on a whim but it’s sitting on the table next to the window of Sam’s apartment. I hope nobody steals my donuts from the box!

Truth to be told, my initial diet plan here was to cook my own meals and be a vegan until I finally overcome the phobia of handling raw meat. One of the things that I was really excited about coming to Melbourne was the fact that living away from home would inadvertently mean that I have to prepare meals on my own and that I finally get a chance to put all those recipes that I’ve been collecting into good use. So far, apart from making tuna sandwiches and Nutella on multigrain bread, I’ve been satiating the hunger pangs by reaching out to biscuits and chocolates - it’s quick, delicious, and soul-satisfying. Much to the dismay of the boyfriend though. He’s having panic attacks at the thought of a plus-sized me when I go home in the summer because he very cleverly presume that I would definitely put on weight if I don’t stop eating junk. Yeah, he is very shallow like that.

Before heading home after classes earlier, I walked to Coles Central to get some greens and dressing with the intention of making salad tonight. But I end up putting all the ingredients back into the fridge after being harassed by the cat to the point that I find it quite impossible to work in the kitchen without having to shoo him away every two seconds. Oh, I have to say something about the cat in the apartment. Some will know that I’m not keen on pets and I get frightened easily by anything with fur (yes, that includes soft toys), so the biggest challenge of moving into this apartment was learning to live with a kitten that’s potentially the most playful thing in the world. It belongs to one of our housemates and trust me when I say that it is so needy of human attention that it follows everyone and anyone around all the time. Each time I leave my room is a quest in itself; I have to step out slowly and locate the cat before shutting the door quickly behind me lest it dashes into the room like it had so many times before. In the mornings, it’ll tail me around the kitchen when I make breakfast. It’ll either rest on the kitchen counter or curl up in the sink and stare at me with its piercing hazel eyes.

Sigh, this is why I miss the convenience that I have back home. I’ve got no cat to avoid and no laundry to do. I don’t even have to worry about meals. On a slightly cheery note, Joyie and I have settled into the apartment during the weekend. My room is the only consolation of having the cat around and is a good place to hide myself from it. There’s a double bed, L-shaped corner desk and a full-mirrored wardrobe in the room. Oops, gotta run, it’s time to go out for dinner! I give up on making my own.

 5:37 PM     Permalink     9 Comments