A fond adieu

Since there are only 2 days until the new year kicks in, I thought I'd do a little recap of my 2014. I won't go over every single thing that has happened this year because that would take far too long, and let's be honest - I'm lazy and a crappy writer/blogger. So here are the, uh... I guess you could call them historically significant moments from the past year.

MASA2014 was unlike the previous year's. The 2013/2014 MASCA Tas crew and I flew to Melbourne with high hopes for the event, as we had worked pretty hard to get MASA Awards in good shape. I suppose attending MASA as a teeny tiny part of the organising committee made all the difference this time around. Last year, I attended MASA as a participant, so I had little to no idea of just how much work went on behind the scenes. This year, things were different. All of us MASCA kids from all the states around Australia worked our butts off for the whole week we were in Melbourne. Surviving on only a few hours of sleep each night, attending meetings that went on and on and on, dealing with miscommunication issues, ensuring that each component of the event flowed smoothly - we were so worn out by the end of it. But you know what? Despite all the sleep deprivation and hard work, I got to meet the most lovely bunch of Malaysians from all around Australia, some of whom are friends I know I'll have for life. Also, can I quickly and shamelessly award 5 life points to myself for doing a decent job of socialising and making new friends during MASA? For a hermit, this is a pretty big achievement. 

I wore the hijab for the first time everrrrr! Despite a few friends telling me I looked "extra sepet" with the hijab on, I though it was quite nice, really.

Got elected as the vice chairperson of the MASCA Tas 2014/2015 committee. I look forward to working with the new team, especially with a few new faces on board - even if it means disagreeing with each other from time to time.

Spent a weekend in Singapore with my sister. Hurray for long overdue sister time! We don't see each other nearly often enough. I got an epic beer belly from those 4 days with her, because I drank beer almost every day that I was there, but hey. You gotta live a little (and enjoy good alcohol within reason).

Reenacted an old photo with some old friends, which you can read in my previous blog post :) I love you girls dearly. I am so thankful for all three of you, truly. 

No longer forever 21. Please don't blast that song by Taylor Swift because it's overplayed and almost everyone born in 1992 has quoted that song on their birthday this year. -_- I feel a lot older than 22, but I think that's how most people feel - older than they actually are. Perhaps it's because of all the baggage we carry with us.

Spent some quality time with my grandparents when I was home in November. I don't have a photo with grandpa, but it's him I worry about the most. Being so far away from home has its pros and cons, but worrying about my parents' and grandparents' health sometimes makes me want to come back and forget about my studies. It's not an entirely rational way of thinking, but the more you realise your folks are getting older just like you are, the more you tend to worry. I'm sorry, mum, dad, grandma, and grandpa. I'll try to come home as often as I can.

Graduated after 4 gruelling years at UTAS! My failures and laziness added one year to my undergraduate education, so while most of my friends graduated last year and in August this year, I was still churning out one assignment after the other. But I made it! Fiiiiiiinally! 

La familia came over for the graduation ceremony, too! Spent a great but tiring week with them, during which we ate a lot of seafood and drank a fair amount of wine.

I wish I could say that I had a long list of resolutions for 2015, but I don't. I don't really know what's going to happen next year as I'm still waiting on some news that could change whether I can stay here in Tasmania or not, so I guess everything depends on that. That being said, I do have a couple of things I would like to accomplish next year, such as being less pessimistic, being more patient, and reading/writing more. They may seem like your standard run-of-the-mill goals that magazines like Cosmopolitan will churn out, but I really do feel like I need to make these personal changes.

Here's to a better, brighter year ahead.

Reunion

I've been missing for the bulk of the year. Oops. I guess that's what final year does to you, or maybe I'm just fishing around for any excuse. I recently came back to Malaysia for a month before my graduation, and in the time I've been here, I've been lucky to spend lots of time with my family, catch up with a few friends, and eat my way into a food coma about ten times or so. That's not to say I haven't had a few petty disagreements with my parents - that part is inevitable. But for the most part, things have been going really well. I guess being away from home for so long kind of makes you love certain quirks more than usual, even though you thought they were annoying before.

I'm writing tonight out of love. Feel free to interpret that however you wish. I met up with three girls a few days ago. I've known them for a decade now, and it's actually insane how much has changed (I'm not exaggerating here). Despite that, many things have stayed the same. We've amassed 15 books containing our teenage angst and drama over the years, and poring over them during lunch was amazing in all sorts of ways. Many facepalm moments were had, mostly from embarrassment at our former selves. I would probably slap my 15-year old self if I met her now. In hindsight, we must have been a weird bunch of girls, always writing in those books and hastily passing them around. So exclusive and honestly, so damn angsty. What were we thinking back then? Were we not aware of the bigger things in life? I guess as young teenagers, our worlds revolved around ourselves and everything was a big deal. I'm glad we can see past that now and laugh at our mistakes.

At one point, we modelled ourselves after The Sisterhood of the Travelling Pants (a brilliant novel by Ann Brashares, by the way) and I think we were even intent on finding a garment that would fit all of us magically. That never happened, of course. We've had a fair amount of spats between ourselves, sometimes revolving around recurrent subjects, and occasionally not even speaking to each other for an extended period of time (we're talking months here). Yet somehow we always made our way back to each other, through various means over the years. I am especially grateful for that. Through them, I have learned that friendship doesn't mean talking to each other all the time and knowing what's going on in each other's lives. I've also learned that showing love takes shape in various forms, be it postcards or random but thoughtful Whatsapp messages. I suppose now, as young adults, we have formed our own version of The Sisterhood. Going over the books we wrote helped us go back to our roots and see how far we've come from our days in high school. Forgive me if I sound like a sentimental old hag, but I kind of do feel that way. Who knows where we'll be in the next ten years! I'm so excited to find out.

MH17

There are no words. Truly.

To do, part two.

So I've been abandoning this blog for a few months. I didn't mean to. I got back to Tassie, and everything just... piled up. From MASCA to 'regular' uni things like assignments, fourth year uni is just mental. I'll admit, most of my time is occupied by MASCA stuff. Things have gotten a little intense and there's been friction from time to time - but what else would you expect from a whole lotta group work? And honestly, I feel like at the end of it all, I'll be happy that I got this involved. Things are especially hectic because MASA2014 is coming up. In a few weeks, come to think of it! It'll be a tough week in Melbourne, and I anticipate severe sleep deprivation, but I'm excited to meet the friends I made during DUC again and a few of my high school mates from SSI will be there, too!

Before MASA2014, though I'll be at Bruny Island next weekend for a geography field trip. The main thing I'm worried about is the weather! My previous experience with field trips and weather have not been great (eg hail and rain during the Fortescue Bay field trip, torrential downpour at Maria Island etc), so I really hope that this time, the weather will hold up. Though, realistically, now that autumn is finally sinking in, it'll probably be a very wet weekend on the beautiful island.

Glancing at my previous post, I haven't accomplished many of the things on the to do list. I haven't printed out photos for my room yet, now that I'm so busy with MASCA I can easily forget about getting a job, and I only just started exercising properly. BUT. The big but(t), ha. I haven't had Maccas since I've been back in Tassie, I've been dressing better (most days, anyway. I still have my occasional hobo day), I've been Tumblring less, and I've been spending most of my 'free' days (aka days without class) at uni. Yay me! Small achievements!

I'm so exhausted. I sat for a pretty bad test today and my brain feels rather mushy. Time for a hot shower, a few mugs of tea, and an early night, I think.

To do.

I have a few things in mind regarding things I'd like to do once I get back to Hobart.

1. Decorate my room in college nicely this year. Last year, I stuck a bunch of photos on my wall, and about two dozen postcards on my wardrobe. Both surfaces looked and stayed unfinished for the whole year... Yeah, it wasn't all that great. So, this year: more photos to cover my ugly wall, more postcards to cover my otherwise plain wardrobe, fresh flowers every now and then.
2. Look for a job? Ha ha... Ha. I'm serious.
3. Run more, at least 3 times a week.
4. Eat better - less Maccas (although this depends on stress levels etc), more cooking healthy/balanced food.
5. Dress better... Sometimes. Most of the time, I go to uni in a hoodie and jeans. Might switch that up a little bit. I'm still hopeless at makeup though, but I'm not terribly fussed about that.
6. Go on Tumblr less. It doesn't only eat up a lot of internet data, but it also wastes a lot of time.
7. Spend more time at the library - the sight of studious people will pressure me into getting work done. Plus, free wifi.

Until now.

Righto! Not a whole lot has happened so far (I mean, it is still January), but a whole lot actually has. Now, that might not make a tonne of sense to you, so let me rephrase: in terms of events and seeing people, I haven't been super busy. But in terms of how much these few meetups and activities mean to me, well, I'd say they're priceless. Last weekend, a few Tassie mates and I signed up as volunteers for a pre-departure camp organised by MASCA. This camp, also known as Down Under Camp 2014, was the first of its kind as it catered not only to sponsored students, but also privately funded students. It was held at UKM Bangi, which is about a 45 minute drive from where I live in Seremban. The night before leaving home for the camp, I doubted my choice in volunteering for the camp, mostly because I wouldn't know anyone except a handful of people. I actually said "Mummmmmmmm why did I even sign up for this I WILL BE SURROUNDED BY STRANGERS AND THAT MAKES ME NERVOUS AND I HAVEN'T EVEN LEFT HOME YET. IS IT TOO LATE TO CANCEL ON THEM!??!?!?!!" And of course, my mum replied with, "Who asked you to be so kepoh and sign up?" Kepoh means nosy in Hokkien. -__- Thanks for the support, mum! Anyway, I packed up my things for camp and arrived at UKM on Friday evening, along with other volunteers who had traveled interstate. Checking into my room, which I shared with a lovely girl called Syafiqah, was a bit of a shock because my standards for on-campus accommodation were warped (if you will) as a result of staying at one of UTAS's residential colleges. That being said, it was cosy and quite cooling - and my roommate was great!

Dinner with the Tassie boys on Friday at the UKM cafeteria! I couldn't stop giggling when they arrived because it felt like I hadn't seen them in ages. Amir even told me that I'd been cooped up in my house for too long with insufficient social interaction... Thanks ah. -_-

Honestly, getting to know the other volunteers wasn't as tough as I thought it would be. I'm not saying it wasn't terrifying at first, especially when most of the other volunteers' response to my "Hi, I'm Rae from Tassie!" was "Oh, so you're Rae!" I mean, seriously. My brain went into overdrive and I was dying to ask them what they knew about me and where they got their information from. Ack. On the plus side, I got to see a few familiar faces from MASA2013. 

On Saturday, the camp was officiated by Dato' Seri Idris Jusoh. It was a slightly fancy event and most, if not all of the volunteers were pretty tuckered out by the end of the day. The camp participants had the opportunity to ask questions about life in Australia, and Mathu and Ridhuan (part of the organising committee) briefed the participants on important steps to take before leaving Malaysia and upon arriving in Australia. Personally, I wish I'd known all that info before I first left home for Tassie back in 2010. I was so lost when I arrived in Australia! :\

So. One more day of camp to go! The last and final event for DUC was the DUC open day, during which the DUC volunteers and participants organised a carnival of sorts for kids from charity organisations. Among the booths that we set up were a photo booth (which my friend, Jason, and I handled), a tie-dye booth, a bouncing castle (we all laughed when it deflated), a sand art booth, and a refreshments booth. Oh, and there was free ice cream, too! The kiddies were all SO small! Jason and I were a bit overwhelmed by the little ones tugging at our elbows demanding for photos. All we heard for those few hours was, "Akak/abang... Nak amik gambar!!" Most importantly, though, the kiddies were happy. They were slightly unruly as all kids at that age are, but I got the warm and fuzzies from seeing them laugh and run around. :)

Besh fwennnnn konon! :) Akif Rezal, who's like a cheerful little brother to me.

New friends!! Yuh-Lin and Alice.

Now, this girl, Rehanna, is something special. Visit her blog to find out more :)

Grabbed this shot from Anas! Unfortunately, most of the participants had left by the time this photo was taken. Camp ended on a bittersweet note - I experienced withdrawal symptoms shortly after coming home, and it felt a little weird not being surrounded by a group of people. I'm so glad I went, though. I made a bunch of new friends and I did not isolate myself from the masses!

Shortly after DUC, I met up with two of my favourite guys in the world. Seriously. I love them to bits. I hadn't seen Darsh since the last time he was in Hobart, which was after a frisbee match or something. And I hadn't seen Haziem since he came down to Hobart for the Hari Raya meet and greet with EMA! Man. We had chili pan mee for lunch and ended up with our butts on fire (sorry, TMI), and the few hours we spent together were laughter-filled. I don't mean just "hee hee" coquettish giggling but actual "HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA" unglam laughing, with seal-like clapping. But isn't the latter the best sort of laughter? :D 

These guys. <3

Aaaaaaaaand today, I met up with someone I've known for more than half of my life: May Qin! We started hanging out when we were 9 or 10, I think, and we've been friends ever since - even throughout high school and uni! However, the two of us did not make up the complete trio as our dear Vivien was down with the flu. :( Nevertheless, we had fun fangirling over BigBang and Sherlock and pushing our way through the crowd at the IT fair at Mid Valley. Hahah!

This was a sushi shot for Vien because the three of us always eat Japanese food when we meet up, but because MQ and I had Korean food, we took this photo to make up for it. Hee! This would have been a nice photo if it weren't for my badly-timed blink. =_=

Much better. :)

So I've written about 3 events in this one post. Not heaps, like I said. But hopefully you can see why I'm so happy. :)

Anyhoo, I'm going for a medical checkup tomorrow for my new student visa, so yay, chest x-rays and urine tests! Not. :P I'm heading back to Tassie in exactly 3 weeks. It's slightly daunting, really. Final year of undergrad and all that. Plus 'work' commitments with MASCA Tas, but the whole team just feels like one big family and I'm sure we'll accomplish many things this year!

Seeya, 2013!

Okay, since it's already the first day of 2014 and I didn't prepare any poignant post yesterday, I shall hastily put together a 2013 recap! :)

The year started off really well, with Swedish House Mafia making their way to KL for their One Last Tour. Using my birthday money to pay for my ticket was worth it, because believe me, it was an incredible night. It rained for a little while, but it was so worth it. The best part of the night was when Ingrosso, Axwell, and Angello did this:

Again, an incredible night. My first rave and hopefully not my last (although this depends on my financial status... hmm). Then there was the annual 3IG meetup! Been friends with these girls for over a decade hahahaha wowwwwwwww I feel old now. -_-

As you can see, we're good at taking selfies... No, not really.

Eventually, summer break ended, and it was time to head back to the island I call my second home! Back to clear, blue skies, PMSey weather, and fresh air.

 This year was also the year I was fortunate enough to be the treasurer for the Malaysian Students' Society. We organised a couple of events throughout the year, and I'm glad to have worked with the rest of the committee. I don't think we did a shabby job overall, to be honest. :)

 During Easter break, I spent 5 nights away from Hobart... On Maria Island! A pristine island somewhere off the east coast of Tassie, my research project group and I carried out an experiment on zooplankton and the variation in their distribution based on several factors. I got distracted by the island's beauty, though. Proof:

In July, a bunch of Malaysians in Tassie (self included) flew to Sydney for MASA 2013. It was actually one of the highlights of the year for me, because I got to meet a bunch of lovely people whom I can now call friends for life. I had a lot of fun with them and it was nice to be in a big city for a short period of time.

In August, someone I've known since first year graduated. We got him a Wonder Woman apron and oven mitten set because... I'm not sure, really. Later that night, we went out to town and drank a lot. As you'd expect.

Sem 2 brought with it a fun little experiment: a behavioural and evolutionary ecology research project on hermit crabs. It turned out to be reeeeeally fun, but we were all a bit devastated when all the crabs started dying off towards the end of the experiment. Nonetheless, we all did pretty well for that unit! :D

After uni ended, I had an early 21st celebration thingamajig at the Metz. A bunch of friends came along for a few drinks and noms and it was quite cosy and lovely. :) I think I could have done a better job as a host, but well, I guess you live and learn.

On my actual birthday, I had two big meals: lunch at the Burger Haus with Michael, Fred, and Hannah, followed by dinner at Orizuru with Michael and his parents. I had a serious food baby by the end of the day. T__T But it was a day well spent!

I think the last big event of my year was going to Seoul with my sister. It was our first trip abroad together with just the two of us (no parents, bwahahahahahaaaaaa). The food was amazing, the people were friendly, and it was mighty cold.  We even went up to the DMZ and stepped on North Korean soil! That was pretty trippy.

All in all, 2013's been a LOT better than I'd expected it to be. Seriously! Obviously there have been some bumps and bruises (both literally and figuratively), but what's life without a few of those? So here's to an even bigger and better 2014. I hope everyone will have a great year ahead.