Future Pending

One precious week left 'til I bundle off to further pursue my studies.

My only honest wish besides coping well with my academics? To find a good bunch of mates like my best friend has. They're just as nice as she's painted them to be.

Went for enrollment today, with my father. He was unusually late. And now I'm starting to realise that his driving is scary. And most uneconomical. He collects speed furiously, leaves brakes to the last two heartbeats, swerves and overtakes like a road demon. And all these years I was the princess enjoying the sway of the car, looking out with laughing eyes from the backseat at alll the other slowpokes. I used to aspire to drive just like him. Now we can all say Omg. And I've had my second thought, aye. After all, I'm not the one who's driven seven hours without stopping, on the regular. Now I only want half of his expertise. LoL.

Bumped into a mate he'd known since 7. With the same surname as us! Hehe. Apparently, he was there for his son's parent-teachers meeting. Anyway, after I'd settled the signatures and accepted the freebies... I felt great. *Not because of the freebies!* I just felt that I'd chosen the right place, after all those scattered moments of doubt and anxiety.





O pretty woman, where art thou? I'm still unsuccessfully looking for a
simple,
non-voluminous
knee-length skirt;
preferably light and dainty.

The stretch waistband double-layer chiffon skirts offered on blogshops now really appeal to me, except for their length. Or rather, lack of it.



Last but not least... I baked my first cake! And I only used my birthday handheld mixer when I realised I'd never be able to whip all that yellow, buttery sludge into something "light and fluffy" as instructed. Heck, my right arm was already tingling into numbness at that stage. And so my first cake was born. It wasn't inedible; isn't that marvellous? XD

Only thing is... my oven is much too hot compared to others, so I despaired and saved it too early, reasoning that I'd rather have a too-moist cake than a burnt, you-just-wasted-two-or-three-hours-on-this cake.

So my chocolate pound cake wasn't pound-ish at all - not dense enough. I dedicated it to Jaf (to make up for nothing from Jonker Street) and promptly encased the first slice in a container for him. And then found out he was vacationing in Langkawi. How sweet. - -' I wasn't up for making extra deliveries either, so my mom and I ate most of it.

Next up, a passion fruit sponge cake? *Drool*

Eight + Ten = Me

Holy cow. About the photography contest I entered for Yann, over 200 entries have been eliminated over 4 rounds; barely 200 are left, leaving another 4 rounds of nail-biting anxiety to go. But hey, we've made it this far to the half-mark; perhaps we'll see ourselves at the very last stage where voting is open to the public! =D

And now, for the highlight of the week... my birthday. =)

As far as loved ones go, I got to share bits of that special day with them all. I was majorly disappointed when Najjua confirmed her absence at my party, but made up by blowing balloons for me - albeit at her own crib.


*Note to readers : I do KNOW how to blow balloons. But I just can't tie 'em.*
Drove home with the backseat packed with balloons and in case you're wondering;
Yes, at least one of them exploded while I was inside. @.@
*P.s. No, my balloons didn't look as gorgeous as above; they weren't filled with helium... though I wish they were!*


Throwing the party was quite a hasty affair, but we ex-SMKTTDIans needed a reunion; so why not now?

It saw me scurrying around on my off day (Wed, 13th)
buying last minute supplies,
lugging 10kg of ice from 7-Eleven to my car in the friggin' faraway parking lot under a blazing sun,
and I nearly - God forbid - forgot to order my own birthday cake.

This is what comes of having to undertake such a project with no family for assistance. My part-time maid stayed overnight and took a load off my hands by cleaning up, though.



To add to the flurry, I was determined to bake a batch of brownies to serve up that night.
And I did it in record time.

This was the first time I didn't taste the results, as they disappeared steadily in two's and three's.
Good enough for sale?
Guess I'll just have to take their word for it. =P



Two ice-breakers were played; both of my own concoction.



JuLaLa . Nikki . 'nett

What we represent :
The lala . Intellectual dreamers . Everything short and sweet



Sean, Sanoj, Resh, Jaf, me, 'tej and Su.
Maybe... just maybe,
I've never felt so short in my life.

Thanks a lot, guys. XD



TTDI girls with my cake, the Mocha Royal.
Err, I think Kok Loong's hand was shaking. Lol.



Private take for Yann 'cause she didn't join the call for either Guys or Girls.
IT's a SHE, okay!? XD



We lost touch along the way,
And where we'll go, it's hard to say;
But right here in this moment...
We look so undivided.



A love that started when we were 9.



My much-anticipated midnight cake.
Finally, I get to blow a candle at the stroke of midnight greeting May 14th!
A little pet dream of mine, come true.



My mom and I.



Ashley and Kok Loong.
But if you ever meet him, I'd intro him as Daniel. It's easier that way, hahah.



Was choosing my wish rather carefully.
*Must think first wan*



And there we go.

Turned eighteen,
once again as the only birthday girl without a speck of makeup on her face.
Completely slipped my mind; but why not revel in radiant youth, and all its minor flaws and imperfections?



I know I'm learning every day, and this appreciation grows with time.

I know there are people out there I'm destined to meet, God-willing; to impact and be impacted in turn.

I know, too, that I'm loved.

Even though - sometimes - I forget it.



Xoxo <3>

Stuckened

Revisited Taylor's at Sri Hartamas on Wednesday, just to pick up the June intake subject combinations for A-levels. Of course, I spoke to a counselor as well, and was disappointed to find that any which way, it was not possible to take both Psychology and Law. Such is the arrangement of subject combos. =(
And to my distaste, Economics was in every single combo. Gahh. It happens to be the one sub I really consider not signing up for.

The dilemma can be said to have three components :

>>>> Location.
A toss between Help and Taylor's. Help is a reasonably short distance from home, but Taylor's (Sri Hartamas campus) trumps it in terms of convenience, despite guzzling toll money and parking fees.
Taking Psychology as a sub would make Taylor's my absolute choice, as Help does not offer it in A-levels. I've always been fascinated in exploring the thoughts and motives behind a person's actions; this is where I can find more answers to those questions.

>>>> 3 or 4 Subjects?
Oh man. If I answered candidly, it would be 3, of course. Why heap on the workload? But since I'm taking my future seriously... *as I should be*... 4 is obviously the safer choice. Note that I don't say "wiser". Because won't I be able to focus better and therefore excel with one less subject? Ughh.

*After giving the above question some thought*

>>>> Which Subjects?
Mathematics is quite a prerequisite for me, otherwise I wouldn't be able to take Business if I want it next time. So then we move on to the subs which appeal to me, and which I seriously consider taking :
# Psychology (top of the list, as always)
# Literature in English (they say there's lots of reading to be done, but that's what I love!)

and

# Law (Didn't think about it 'til my father mentioned how much he loved it. Since I'm a lot like him, I thought I might like it too. But I don't know much about it, because I've never studied anything like it before. The same goes for plenty of other tertiary level subs.)

And then there is the annoyingly practical option of Accounts, sitting squarely in the table, stolidly saying "Why not take me? I could give you a secure job and you could probably live with me, without being in love with me..." It's almost as bad as choosing which boy you'd want to upgrade to 'boyfriend'.

I'm praying for a sign from God. Seriously.

Anyway, I bumped into plenty of people during my brief visit. First there was Athirah; she was just going for her SAM test with Farah Diyana. Descending on the escalator, I spotted Marsha. And on the ground floor there were Fion, Kah Fai, Hadi and Jia Min. And last of all, I recognised a mate of Lynette's, whose name I'm afraid I'd spell wrong and that's why I'm referring to her in this ultra longwinded manner. XD



Got my hair trimmed on Thursday morning and stepped into work to find my usual place usurped by some old newcomer. A boy one year my senior, who has apparantly worked at Kumon previously, but seems to know less than me. Oh, my list of abilities at work have expanded to :
1. Marking worksheets (was basically hired for this)
2. Listening to recitations of the multiplication tables, stopwatch in hand
3. Guiding students who come up to ask questions
and as of Friday...
4. Preparing specified worksheets for students to do in class
5. Writing down 'teacher stuff' in students' record books.

Cikgu Nicole. > <'

And yesterday, it was breakfast with Amirah at Village Park - very mamak-ish but still not classified as mamak. I got to drive her Hyundai back. =] Extremely light steering, weii.
Then I packed my oven into my car boot and my load of baking equipment in the backseat, and spent 4 hours in church preparing Mother's Day cookies. Supposed to be only 2, but then my great idea of making the packaging more 'festive' created a huge delay. > <' That's me; always wanting to "make things special", according to Jules. Mother's Day was pretty fine this year. There was scrumptious strawberry jelly served after service; it's texture a sort of very watered down Konnyaku type. Superb. I left without eating anything else, to take my mom out for lunch! Feels good to say that. =D We had Swensen's and then I dinner-ed with my father (seems like a huge chunk of my afternoon went missing aight, hahah) after which I laid out my Help and Taylor's papers for what I hoped would be The Talk That Would Decide It All. Only, it wasn't. Which is what prompted this post in the first place. Oh man.

Do A One-Eighty

Finally, time enough to get back to baking. Tried out a recipe for brownies today, from my adopted mentor. She's a friend of my father's, and stays in Kelana Jaya too. The cool thing is, she sent the recipe together with a sample of the result. I loved it. Actually, I seldom eat brownies 'cause they always seem like such short farts compared to other cakes; so I don't really know what a brownie should taste like. Ahaha.

It went pretty well; I was excited that the raw mixtures themselves tasted good already. Then I caught a whiff of that familiar burnt smell, and was so disappointed. But maybe I took it out in the nick of time, 'cause it was still edible! My oven is so hot, I can never follow the recipes' cooking times. All on my own intuition. Woman's intuition. =)


Then I just had to check the papers and see what movies I was missing; and apparently there were TOO many. So I called Yann on the double and we went to catch The International. Our official first 18SG ticket! Hehehe. She tried to get a student discount by using our old tuition student card. Dude, being 18 means we don't have tuition anymore! Lol lah.
It was nice being on time for the movie, sitting through all the trailers and ads again. And savouring the saltiness of my corn in cup while she ploughed through her box of caramel popcorn. I've disliked caramel for ages, but perhaps there's hope, 'cause I stole more than usual today.

The International was a fast-paced, complex story of espionage and assasination. My favourite topics, but the sheer number of male characters had me perplexed.
*Where did this guy come from? Hey, he looks familiar...*-kind-of-thing. Gah.
It was also full of shooting and squirmish scenes with blood spurting out of holes in men's bodies. Gushing and nearly spraying out, lol. The most hilarious part was the beginning; funny in a twisted way. Keep your eyes peeled for that.


And by the way, with the football craze back in season, I have made my choice.
Supporter of Liverpool, that's me; since two nights ago!
They kicked ass last night, with a whopping 5-0. Oyea.


This morning, I received news that Giovana's father had undergone the operation safely and that things were fine. But when I came out from the movies, I got a completely different message that brought me to an actual halt. I remember freezing in front of the Voir Gallery, right there. He had just been diagnosed with nose cancer. And the lump in his neck? Cancer cells that had spread. In fact, most of his body has already been infected. This is my closest encounter with a reputed terminal illness, and I am afraid. I know nuts about cancer.




How much calamity can God throw in your pathway? One after another, it seems. There's the sunshine, far overhead. So far.

Infant Clouds With Apple Cheeks

Driving is becoming fun again. Teehee. On Sunday morning, I had green lights all the way to church - a record-breaking first! And I'm getting better at one-handed turning of the wheel. Also in progress, left foot training on the pedals. What's the point of such idiocy, you ask? Well, I once hurt my right ankle bad enough that I couldn't use it to drive, so luckily at that time I'd already had some experience using the left one. That's how I came to appreciate that particular skill. =)

Odds & Ends :

The first loaf of bread I'd made.
The floury bottom made it feel oh-so professional, like those breads sold in Italian bakeries. =)

The first slice, chef's delight or consumer's disaster.



The punnet of strawberries that escaped the scorching heat of the oven.
Yes, I cut them in halves and arranged them by hand.
And it has everything to do with my Beckham's disorder, aye.



Britney's fragrance, a gift from my Cousin Qyreenia who was visiting from Canada.
The box was fascinating.



Behold,
Curious.



Pretty charms, for that feminine touch.



On the last evening of February, my message counter hit 999.
Oh, I reset the counter every month, so this was a rather mean feat for me.


Guess who's the lucky person who hit the jackpot?



Congratulations, Phuah Kok Loong! Yours was the 1oooth message to reach me, before I switched to my new W595.
Now now, hidung kembang? Hahahhaaha. You're so weird that way.


Odds and ends aside, I'm busy this week. Music practices galore for the weekend, and lots of errands during the weekdays. Important occasion on Friday. *Wink wink*

A Fool For You

Drove to Taman Megah first thing in the morning, to stock up at the bake shop. I'm a regular customer at Chang Thung Sdn. Bhd. =] After a few more minor delays (like picking up milk and jam from my fridge), I finally parked in Naj's front porch and hauled my stuff in. Her smile wiped out my irritation of being late. =) Okay, cut it out. Ahahahah.

Aaaaanyway, first things first. She graciously cut me a slice of her latest bake (she's rather new to it still) - a slim-looking square iced in bright pink. A cake made without baking. *Oh wow, I've never had one of those...*
So I took a bite. It tasted pretty good.
And then she asked me to guess what type of cake it was.

Nicole : Err, gelatin cake?
(Since the icing was made of gelatin)


Najjua : No, cheese cake.


*Cake drops onto the plate*
*Silence ensues*


Her eyes searched my face and *click!* she suddenly remembered how much
I.don't.eat.cheesecake.

Probably her mind went like "Oh, crap. Now she's gonna spit it out."




But I didn't! I'd already eaten half the slice, anway. And I'm proud to announce that, after all these years of hating cheesecakes...
(the way they smell, taste and fEEl)
Today I ate one.
The whole one slice.
For you, babe.


Okay, not so drama la. Probably it was 'cause it didn't taste like cheesecake in the first place. Ahahaha.
So you can consider it a succesful failure!
Or a failed success. Whichever rocks your boat.
*Naj would rather throw rocks at my head*

Then we yakked. After saving her butt from being stained by cat pee on her bench, we settled down in her room. I think it's the best place to spend quality time in her house 'cause downstairs, her maid is always calling or something else happens. *Grunts*

When lunch was over, we discovered I'd forgotten to bring butter. So we readied ourselves to buy some from the shops. Just down the road, anyway.
There was a car blocking my car and I didn't feel like bothering it again. So, knowing me, I persuaded her to take a walk. (The first thing I should've said No to.)
And I also let her little brother come along with us. (The second thing I should've said No to.)

He traipsed ahead of us, fooling around with the umbrella we'd brought along; a little lad with a head as large as a boulder (and just as hard; he wouldn't need a helmet on a construction site), and long limbs like sticks, making him look like some queer, alien-ish cutie. For his features are indeed rather handsome. He's gonna grow up to be a playboy, this one.

Halfway down the road, the car that was previously blocking MINE, had the nerve to draw up and offer us a lift to the shops. The NERVE of you!! But of course we accepted. =P

There weren't any blocks of butter on sale. So we bought the one remaining pack of little packaged butter; the ones they serve with hot rolls in restaurants. Exxxpensive. Worse still, a shower was well underway when we exited.
The good news : I didn't say No to Naj bringing an umbrella.
Was that the only smart thing I did today? =S

So I folded my long pants up to my knees like a jakun and we crowded beneath the umbrella. With the way she held it, I think only my head stayed dry. Oh, and to make sure M.amad (the lil bro) didn't get run over by a car, she told him to "Hold Aunty Igor's hand. Aunty Igor, over there! *points at me* "

I still wonder how Kakak Nicole became Aunty Igor.

You watch out, Aunty Igor gonna launch a missile and cause mass destruction to your tiny lil new iPod. Oh wait, it's not even yours. You wish! Muahahaha.


The rain must change the way our neurones interact, because after crossing just one road, I looked down to check on my little Nephew M.amad. I should've thought to check on my hand as well, 'cause he'd brought it to his face and was smiling at it. Much too closely. As he looked up and I saw the flash of his dark eyes, I noticed the string of drool issuing from behind his white teeth. And the string joined to my hand. YucK?!! He'd been rubbing his teeth onto the back of my hand! Or something equally gross. But we quickly became intoxicated with laughter and I let the raindrops wash the slime away. Not that I had a choice. I'm telling you, only my head stayed dry. =P

Since we were walking up the wrong road and the wrong road happened to be Yann's road, we stopped by hoping for a ride home. (C'mon, it was only one street away!) But that evil woman only gave us two more umbrellas and a cheeky grin. - -'''
Two umbrellas, probably 'cause she was feeling kind.
And a cheeky grin, possibly 'cause she'd caught me in my moment of jakun-ness. Arghh, Yaaannnnnn!!


After that, our scones turned out pretty well for all that effort. And her father forgot to leave his carkeys behind for me to move it, so I couldn't leave 'cause his car was blocking. What is this; Block-My-Car Day? Ish. Got home at 7.30 p.m.. What a day.

You Want Bread? I'll GIVE You Bread!

Myyyy goodness. Right now I'm selecting the pictures I want printed out, and as I read them in my head, they're starting to sound like historical dates.

This picture... yes, definitely. (1564)

This one... no.

How bout this? Yup. (1419)

When I said there were thousands of pics taken, I wasn't lying. And now I'm paying for it, hahaha.

Today I baked chocolate pecan fingers. Bought the instant coffee powder for it yesterday at Giant. I was actually at a loss for buying coffe 'cause, well, I know nothing about it. I don't drink it, and there seemed to be countless types of coffee. Lucky I had Yann, huh. Uh huh.

Then my father called and I proudly announced my latest achievement. And all he said was

" *...* Make bread lah."

=O T.T

Fine. I'm getting to it, just be patient! I know he loves bread; and so do I. But I'm only less than 3 months old in the baking arena; 24 hours ago I didn't even know how to melt cooking chocolate!

*Mutter*
*Grumble*

You want bread?
I'll giVE you bread!


~Nic~

Butter Me Up

Been waking up at 7 a.m. since I returned. Puhtooey. 7 a.m. here is like, 12 p.m. in NZ. It's strange to think that I'm not likely to wake up late again; as though some divine intervention has broken that bad habit by sending me on a long vacation 5 time zones ahead. Brilliant.

Like my 10-year-old self, I suddenly had conditions for going out with friends. First, finish sorting the vacation pics - which I still haven't, but shhhh! Second, bake a something. Anything.

Immediately I knew it would be scones, 'cause scones seemed the simplest.

Sugar, butter,
Cream them together
Add milk and flour
To the baking powder
Fresh outta the oven
Get a taste of heaven XD

To be eaten with only the best; St. Dalfour Wild Blueberry jam.

Lip-smacking goodness, to the last berry!

Pile it on, baby

Clotted with jam, the way it should be

Makes a satisfactory breakfast =)

In return, I got to go out with 'nett - my first hangout since arrival! Shocked her with my new appearance. She looks very sweet nowadays herself. Since she became a college girl, actually. Ahaha. We picked up our reservation for Bride Wars and debated dropping by to see Ju. But I declined; was not ready to let her see me yet. It's just a feeling I had.

Spotted lots of friends working in OU. First I went to look for Machines, 'cause I didn't know what the heck that was and Fritz works there. Apparently, I already knew it, but only as the 'Apple store'. Lol. I've always envied their beatiful, sleek keyboards. So chic.
Then we had Aiman Zubair tearing our tix at the GSC entrance, with Zuhdi and Amir (who looks so much better, by the way; like he cleaned up his look or something).
Bride Wars is a very nice movie. Highly watchable; it even made me cry! Which hasn't happened in a kazillion years. It's good to see a flick that embodies the spirit of friendship this well. They even got the part where a man canNOT replace a bff (best friend forever). Aww.
Lastly, we went to look for Jafri in MPH. I wasn't even sure if he was in OU punye MPH. But I caught hold of Aida, and she got Jaf for me. Shah and Kiki were also in service there. And for reasons known to Jaf&'nett, I may soon be joining their ranks... XD Chatted with Jaf for more than half an hour, thus saving him from the task of mindlessly peeling stickers off the books, which was his job in the back room at that moment. Loads of laughter seemed to be the order of the day, and perhaps we both miss Sean just as much. Sean, the college boy who still owes us lunch. Hmph.

Being with my babe was just brill. We caught up over churros (spanish doughnuts) and hot chocolate at Molten Lava. Next, I need to get my evasive soulmate into my grasp. She came back from Malacca yesterday, and is still holding my souvenirs from last year! Gosh, talent for being outdated? Nyeknyek.