Step into the daylight and let it go.

Sunday, May 31, 2015

#4.30 Style (Part 2)

"The fifth month of the year was continued in style with more laughter, tears, coffee, food and unexpected hours of walking and hiking. =P "



Sadly, May was actually the last month that all of us could spend some good quality time with one another as by this time next month, every one of us would be pretty much separated and have different things to deal and get busy with. As usual after exam, we continued our lepak habit in the city of Nottingham and most Smurfies decided to have lunch together at Zizzi.

One conversation led to another and someone did cry very hard during lunch. While I did my best to hold back my tears as seeing others cry could easily provoke my overactive tear glands, I listened to the words of console by every one to the Smurf who got all teared up. 

Sometimes I wondered whether the other Smurfies were actually consoling themselves deep down at the same time when they were trying to utter any soothing words as every one of us was experiencing the very same thing. I figured that saying goodbye would never be easy no matter how many times one practiced it.

Pizzas at Zizzi.
All of the loves of my life.

Strangely, it hailed unexpectedly when we were trying to leave the restaurant but the sun continued to shine again soon afterwards. I guessed the rapidly changing UK weather could still manage to surprise me after all these while. In the afternoon, we had a short chat in 200 Degrees before we ended the day with Sing-K session. I would leave out the details of the night as a secret but for what's worth, it was indeed one of the most beautiful and bittersweet nights that I had ever had in my life.

Cute mini Boost!
Short coffee time in the afternoon.
Karen Mok Night.

With the limiting time that we were left with, we could only grab as much opportunity as possible to spend time with one another. One of the many things that I was so going to seriously miss was the home-cooked food made by my fellow Smurfies. I could only say that my Smurfies took very good care of me in these past few years when I was away from my family and they did a fantastic job at it. 

To be frank, I could hardly remember any time that I had ever contributed anything into Smurf Village but these bunch of people were still willing to be my pillar of strength and asked for absolutely nothing in return. The only regret that I had was that I wished that I had been more "matured", "useful" and less "selfish" to my Smurfies.

Breakfast.
One of the usual Chow Mien of 89 City Road. 
The usual Penne.
Fried rice when we're too lazy to cook.
Blissful evening with good Smurfy food.
Portugal tart time with Smurfies.

When HJ suggested that we had one last Smurfy trip to Peak District, a few of us signed up for it after giving it some thought. We departed early in the morning in front of QMC and then took another bus from Derby before beginning our few hours of walking along the countryside roads in order to reach our destination. 

Our path to Castleton seemed endless and we kept lying to ourselves repeatedly that the destination was just around the corner so that we would not throw in the towel halfway through. However, the truth was that there wasn't any option left except to march on forward, as we're literally in the middle of nowhere. 

Even though the entire road journey was long and tiring, I was really thankful that the weather on that day was surprisingly perfect, and that the view along the way was absolutely refreshing and stunning, except for the one equally funny and disturbing scene of a dead chicken/ bird/ whatever animal with feathers that I stumbled upon. It made me scream out loud and I really wished that I could just click the "unseen" button to get it out of my head. 

The amazing countryside view. 
Sheep everywhere.
Cows and horse along the way.
No where to go except to head forward.
Baby lamb and her Mummy.
Keeping ourselves entertained.
One of the many ladders along the way.
Such beautiful creatures they were.

Although we reached Castleton village in the end (oh God finally yes we did), it was the view along the journey that actually counted. I would not believe myself for saying this but it was certainly one of the most special and memorable day trips that I had with my Smurfies. 

The experience of the day was the complete opposite of what I had expected. I did not exactly know how to put it into words but the day was very unique in its own way that although we were met with a series of "unfortunate" events, we still somehow managed to be in a surprisingly good mood and have so much more laughter compared to days where everything went smoothly.

The funny/ less fortunate events such as the "photo spot" situation that got us all venturing into a valley, the river of hope, the castle of 化肥工厂, the 为什么没有巴士可以到可是有巴士可以回 situation, the fish and chips dinner with rude waitress, the huddling together in a small bus stop seeking shelter from the cold rain and wind and many others would surely be hard to forget in a long time.

First time to see cattles with such special stripes.
Finishing our Pringles while knowing that we're not far away.
Felt like I was on top of the world.
Phey Jie resting after climbing uphill. 
The typical post he loved.
The view overlooking the village of Castleton.
So happy that the trekking part was over. 
Walking around Castleton village.
Into the valley we went.
Meditating in the valley.
The place where we decided to stop and turn back to avoid the upcoming rain.
The very "charming" river of hope!
Our "合体照" beside the famous Castle of 化肥工厂.

If only time could freeze like photographs, and everything would stay the same and all of us could live next door to one another like the past four years, it would be the perfect world to live in. While everything in this real world would be changing day by day beyond any doubt, hopefully the memories that we all created together and our smurfyship could stand the test of time and last as long as we lived.

Goodbye, May. You, too, would be missed terribly.


Goodbye, for now.



Photograph - Ed Sheeran

Tuesday, May 12, 2015

#4.29 Style (Part 1)

"Despite all the chaos, we stepped into and out of May in style. "



The fifth month of the year had finally arrived. Attending the Prom event organised by PharmSoc was the first exciting thing that we did in this new month.

There was a bit of chaos and confusion on the selection of outfit that I should wear to Prom but luckily a few of my Smurfies (you knew who you were) helped me out when everyone else was busy dressing up and they even sewed the loose buttons on my coat or else it would definitely be a night of disaster for me. For that, I was really touched and owed them big time. So, a very, very, very, very big thank you for those who were in the room that night. =)

A night to remember. 
The Smurfy table. 
The pumpkin rice starter that I liked very much!
Main course of the night.
Dessert.

Everything was a bit blurry and alcoholy (not sure if it was even a word) after dessert but we did have a super duper good time. To my surprise, the night was a lot more fun than I expected it to be. I did not know and could not tell the exact reason for it but it just felt right. 

It might be the amount of wine, the music, the company or the fact that it was our last prom together. For what's worth, after that night I really wished that there would be a time in the future when all of us could come together, dress up and have a good night out for no other reason but to be in one another's company again.

There were just too many embarrassing photos on my phone that could not be unseen but thanks to Vivian, we still had lots of great photos for that night. After the party, we went home by taxi at midnight and slept like a baby after showering (except for the one person who was so drunk and slept on my bed straight away).

Champagne before the night began. 
Lining up for the photo booth.
My last 清醒 photo. 
So in style even when we're drunk.
Both of us with the flowers.
Alcohol and vomiting night.
Doing the best faces that we could.
We're so happy indeed.
Holding tight onto my P balloon for the whole night.
The Queen and I. 
Waiting to go back home to sleep. 
Favourite photo of the night.

A week later, we went to watch the a cappella/cancer charity performance and it was an evening of mixed feelings. There were times when we tried not to burst into laughter when a girl sang confidently and passionately on stage, but there were also times when we're deeply moved and brought to tears by either the lyrics, the words or the performance itself. These moments from that night were priceless and I honestly loved the selection of songs by the singing group.

Cordially Invited.
Flowers for CH.
Funny faces of our group photo!

Also, Smurfies decided to have a buffet night out since Cosmo offered a two-for-one promotion. Finally, there was no need to travel all the way up to Derby but the types of food that were available at the Nottingham branch were not quite the same. 

Out of everything, I particularly enjoyed the Coffee ice cream that came together with the coffee beans that truly gave the ice cream's sweet flavour an extra good boost of bitterness. After dinner, we ended the night with a bowling session that was needless to say, filled with lots of laughter and friendly competition.

Hats that would never go out of "style".
The highlight of the night!
All of us from that night~

Of course, the most exhilarating part of the month was certainly when I finally handed in my copies of dissertation paper after so many hours of editing, printing, writing, researching and most importantly shameless dose of stress eating of unhealthy snacks.


Finally holding my "new born babies" after so much of 煎熬. =P

Even though dissertation writing was hard, at least it was something that I could take control of and that I was surrounded by all of my bestest friends whenever I faced any difficulties. What I feared most was the coming few months when I had to do everything alone on my own. Come what may (no pun intended!), I truly needed lots of lots of courage to make myself emotionally prepared for whatever shit that was coming my way.

Until next time then. XOXO. =)



 Play - Jolin Tsai