Live A Different Life

Excited! Going to Wellington this weekend! Can't wait!

I'm very excited that wellington is going to I...I mean I am going to Wellington. So excited that I can't form a complete sentence. For one, I haven't seen May for 3 months and secondly, I love Wellington. Well, I have only been there once but really love the whole atmosphere :) Not so excited that we have to read a 40-page book on Maori culture, answer questions and do assignment. I know 40 pages is not a lot but..but...I'm not a student anymore.

Photos from Wellington (on the way to Napier from Dunedin/Christchurch)

For those of you who are not familiar with Napier (which I guess is everyone), it is famously known as the Art Deco City. The reason behind this is that there was an earthquake in 1930s which destroyed many buildings in Napier and new buildings built around that time has a distinct touch of art deco - the trend of 1930s. To celebrate Napier and Art Deco period, Napier city hosts an Art Deco week every year in February.

My first Art Deco Weekend in Napier :)

Gong Xi Fa Chai (Guess what follows next =P) Happy New Year to my family and friends, all of whom I miss dearly.

Missing in action for the past month, I have been busy (not busy sleeping)! Celebrated my 20th birthday, drove from Christchurch to Napier officially started work, collecting my first paycheck as an intern, drove to Gisborne to visit Fiona and just worked from 9 to 5 on a Saturday.

Too lazy to write so let the photos do the talking














Finally, my favourite photo

Been in Napier from last Tuesday until today. I totally felt like an adult, doing things which I never imagined I will do before I reach 20: buying fridge and washing machine, arrange meetings with potential landlords, invited over for dinner with auntie and uncle. Still to do: buy bed, lounge suite, dining table etc etc. Feeling overwhelmed but excited as well.

To sum up my first week in Napier:
Day 1: Reach Napier at around 9pm. Couldn't find a trolley(!) and for the first time see an airport with no baggage carousel. Reach backpackers to a room with no window at all. Interesting~

Day 2: 6 appointments with various landlords and agents. The first three houses: scary and ugly. Really thankful that the rest of the houses looked quite nice. Spent the whole day walking around Napier (from 10.30am to 5.30pm). Tired -_-

Day 3: Finally no more walking. Alex rented a car so we drove around, checking out houses not within walking distance. Beautiful areas like West Shore, Ahuriri, Bluff Hill etc. The whole Napier is along the coast. Beautiful!

Day 4: Finally decided on a house. Signed contract, bought fridge and washing machine. Drove around to check out beds, lounge suites etc etc. Parked the car by the beach for sunset and had dinner there. *Love*

Day 5: Drove around Napier trying to find sandy beach (along the main roads of Napier is rocky beach, heard people say you can find sandy beach if you drive further away from town). Drove to Cape Kidnappers only to find out that if you want to see the gannets, you will have to walk 4 hours round trip *eeks* Not suitable for a lazy person like me. Had dinner at an auntie's place. Delicious dinner and close-up observation of Napier lifestyle. One comment I heard most often during the time I spent in Napier: You will love this place. I can't imagine living anywhere else. Can't wait~

Day 6: Bus from Napier to Auckland. 7 and a half hour, just 2 hours short of a plane trip back to Malaysia. Had porridge for dinner. I miss Auckland's food. Michelle, May and everyone, if you need anything from Auckland, just let me know~

Even though I have only left Dunedin for a week, I missed it very much! The people, the scenery, the church, the food. Missed them so much that we drove back to Dunedin for a 2 day stay.


Been in Dunedin for 4 years and have never been to Moeraki Boulders. Shame on me! For those of you who don't know, Moeraki Boulders is famous for stones. HUGE STONES!


Michelle has been playing for The Full Monty for the past three weeks. An amazing show if you look past the dodgy parts. Funny actors, funny conversations and funny songs.


LightHouse Fellowship + Dinner @ 5 = Good food, fun and smiles :)

St Clair!!!!!!!!! My favourite beach of all times

I am finally, officially a pharmacy graduate. Thank you, thank you
*Smiling and waving*


Our results came out today and I managed to pass all the papers! No more studying, no more assignment-induced stress, no more burning midnight oil. Really thank God for seeing me through these four years in uni.

As celebration for surviving uni, I finally gathered together my lazy bones and went outside. The sky is so blue. The weather is so sunny. The gardens are so beautiful. It seems like the world has changed quite a bit since the last time I came out of my turtle shell. Went to Christchurch Art Gallery. Only one word to describe the place: beautiful. Looking through the paintings, some of them look so real that I thought they were photographs. Such attention to detail, it was awesome. As we were leaving the place, we saw some kids getting ready for a show. Apparently it is an initiative to integrate cultural studies into school curriculum.


Random pictures taken throughout the year :)

Missing people seems to be the highlight of my day these days: Michelle & Raymond, Janice & Greg, Jocelyn, May, Sharon T, Chyi Mei, Fiona, the Lighthouse Fellowship.

Last minute packing is seriously unhealthy for you, speaking from an experienced last-minute-packer's point of view. Barely enjoyed my Unicol bed for the last time before leaving :(
Pack, unpack and repack everything. It wasn't fun at all. Thank you Michelle for all your help, Sharon & Tao for looking after our luggage and Unicol's trolleys for being there for us!

Supposed to reach the airport at least half an hour before the flight departs but we only arrives 15 minutes before the flight to a super duper long QUEUE. Even worse, I realised that I forgot to bring my bag with all the travel documents ie our tickets etc! Thanks Alex for saving the day by calming me down and thought of using his credit card to check in. So glad that the flight didn't leave without us. Turned out that we weren't the only late-comers and the flight had ended out depart late. Had a interesting talk with the girl sitting next to us and found that we have quite a lot in common: she is a pharmacy student-to-be, she is a christian, she knows Sarah Stewart, she works in the pharmacy where Sylvia and Esther will be workin as intern. What a small world, or rather, what a small country.

Big thanks to Amy and Rob for bringing my bag up. Big thanks to Michelle for the wonderful sermon notes *hugs*

What I have been up to these few days:


As Fiona is considering driving her car from Dunedin to Gisborne (congratulations for finding your dream job *hooray*), I have been researching the time and costs and we have come up with a plan (being super organised and all). We will be driving from Dunedin-Christchurch-Picton-Wellington-Napier- Gisborne. Before you ask, yes, it'll be a long drive but it'll be fun too. A wonderful opportunity to check out NZ and see what it's made of (literally).

First time writing a blog, first time looking for a full time job (and found one), first time being to a camp where I did not spend a minute regretting the decision, first time being able to be myself and be appreciated, first time being in a cellgroup where I can really connect with God, first time worshipping with eyes closed. My time in Dunedin have marked a lot of first-times in my life and here is another first-time: my FIRST real sleepover!

Random text on Thursday: You guys keen to do a sleepover this Saturday? Food...fun...sleep :) I was so keen that I texted back asap (a rare thing for me as I often forget to reply mass texts) only to know that I was the only one who replied. NO.... With exams coming up, I think I might be the only one who still scream out "More fun, more fun, more fun; less study, less study, less study!"

A few quick texts later, we are all set up for sleepover~ Michelle, Janice, Sharon T, May, Jocelyn and I. Having exams in mind, we had a study-orientated sleepover. Had heaps of fun studying, playing choh dai di, eating best mi goreng ever, talking about things (including guys) and praying together. Waking up only a few hours later to Sleepover Part II: Shopping.

Waking up at 8.30ish on a Saturday morning, something that I have not done in a long long long long time. I always thought that I am really strong willed in the sense that it's really hard to wake me up but my 'dream' to become the hardest person to wake up in the world is shattered when I meet *drumroll* Mrs Grape aka Mama axolotl. I must say it was really fun cos I am always the last to wake up and now I can finally enjoy the fun of waking someone up *evil laughter*

Most productive Saturday ever: going to Otago Farmers Market, Countdown, study, playing with Izzie (cute poodle), lunch, study, choh dai di, study, dinner, choh dai di.

Thanks Michelle for inviting us over for sleepover. Thanks Raymond for lending us your wife, you living room, good food etc. Thanks Janice, Sharon T, May and Jocelyn for being the bestest sleepover mates. I must say this is the best sleepover I have ever been to!

Nice food, good fun and beautiful scenery are pretty much what Monday cellgroup was all about!

Having heard really good comments about Auntie Tong Siew's cooking (eg Raymond saying: Auntie Tong Siew's cooking is PROBABLY as good as mine), I really looked forward to the trip to Auntie's Tong Siew's house at Waverley, beautiful scenery, good food and awesome company :)