24

tr: so how old are you this year?

me: err... the same as you?!

tr: how old are we again?

me: 24!

tr: oh. damn.

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24. geez. it seems like yesterday when i turned 21 and had that amazing night out with my IMU friends whom i love to bits. it's now been three years and although we've all embarked on different paths, we are still very closely in touch. and boy do i miss all of them.
three years down the road and here i am living a new life, with a whole new bunch of friends whom i cannot imagine going through my last years of med school without. what would manchester be like without all these people? i dare not think about it.
so thank you everyone for possibly one of the best nights i've had since coming here. and as sad as this may sound, it'll probably be the one and only birthday i can celebrate with all of them - last year we had exams in the way, this time next year i will be back in malaysia for electives (and celebrating my 25th at home!), and the years after we'll almost certainly be in different parts of the UK, or even the world, after graduation. so really, i'm very glad i could at least have one memorable birthday here in manchester.



all of us at Vermilion & Cinnabar, which is an impressive venue for lavish dining.



food was a fusion of thai and japanese which we complemented with good quality chilean cabernet savignon and australian shiraz. and when the restaurant heard that it was my birthday, they presented me with a chocolate souffle that came with a mango sorbet and strawberry ice-cream, which were ALL VERY GOOD and most importantly on the house! :D


pei hua - what would i do without you here? thank you for everything.



girls! vanessa, louisa, peihua, rong, me, eleanor, and massywassy ♥



boys! kheng (who looked very smart that night :p), teongrhen and daniel



after-dinner drinks at Cinnabar, which was on the floor above the Vermilion restaurant. really gorgeous and chic interior with good but rather expensive drinks (my cosmo was lovely!). oh and thanks Van for belanja-ing the cosmo hehe



the rest left after dinner to catch the second half of the man utd - barcelona match. we (+ kheng), on the other hand, could not care less.

:)







i've lived 24 good years with wonderful people around me, and i can only pray that the next decades of my life will be just as good or even better.

FOBby dad

sometimes my dad really amuses me when we chat online.

dad: hi SL... doing what?

me: hi, just came back from buying groceries

dad: didnt go hospital meh?

me: today is dunno what holiday

dad: agong's birthday....

me: what agong's bday

dad: good nite.

me: huh?

lol. doesn't make sense.

pamper

(the point of this picture was supposed to be the bubbles in the tub but unfortunately they couldn't be captured against a white background :/)

i have a penchant for luxury bath products (crabtree & evelyn, l'occitane, the body shop...) and soaking myself in the tub, and although it is so rare to actually find time to enjoy my baths, i still make it a point to pamper myself once in awhile especially on days when i come back feeling SO frustrated and pissed off. i mean, why not? no prior appointments needed, i have the liberty of playing my own music in the background (putumayo/the gipsy kings/french cafe songs/norah jones on shuffle), and best of all, it costs me virtually nothing. i do indulge in spa treatments whenever i feel rich (which is very, VERY seldom), but at home, a relaxing bubble bath is my soul soother.

so when i find that i'm in dire need of self-indulgence, i will tell TR to empty his bladder and then bugger off or hold it in for an hour or so, draw up my bubble bath with my favourite bath salts/gel, dim the light, light up a candle, have my laptop and iTunes ready on the toilet seat (don't judge me, my toilet seat is anytime cleaner than your bed), immerse myself in the warm, soapy, scented water, and let my stresses and problems fade away. at least for awhile.

and i highly recommend it provided you don't share a bathtub with disgusting people. :)