Catch-up with life with me

What's up with life? Life is back! Long-post is back!

Jigsaw puzzle

End of the year means jigsaw time. Still remains my favourite hobby. Finally get to try Ravensburger from Germany. The puzzle is "The Bizarre Bookshop 2", I have another 500-piece puzzle by the same artist titled "The Pantry" which is equally whimsical.

The Stone Cage

Been eyeing this out-of-print book since I read it three years ago, but the price offered on the internet is ridiculous (ranging from $250 to $290, is that not crazy or what?). This proves that this is indeed a rare book. I always dream that my uni library would one day present me the book when it is not wanted anymore, since I am the only one who would borrow it every year when I am here and keep it for the entire year (no joke). How much do I like this book? I even started to scan my library copy 'cause I thought I would never get my hands on the book (unless kena toto).

But I still had my hopes up. I subscribed for notifications of this book at eBay, and finally saw it offered at the starting price of $14. That is like what, 20 times cheaper than its usual secondhand price. It felt like the one and only chance I could get hold of it. What's best, the item was in Australia. Initially I hesitated as the shipping was not free but it's reasonable (postage here is rather expensive). I decided to close my eyes and bade on the book for $16. Luckily the first bidder couldn't care to compete with me, so I won my first bid on eBay. Hooraaah! The book smells ancient xD. It is just a strike of luck when I picked it up from the library three years ago, after I saw a silhouette of a cat on the book's spine. Lol. I will be missing my library a lot.

Bonus: Chapter 1

The smartphone

My old but very trusty friend Nokia 6600 died because it was drowned in water overnight. I was a careless fool. So I was without a phone for 3 months since August. It didn't make a difference in my life except that I could not call home. I hope not many people tried to call me. I lost all contact numbers and could only remember my family's. I remember telling myself I'd use my phone for at least 5 years before changing to a new phone. 2014 is the fifth year. :S

So I started to hunt for a new phone. I want it small, not pricey, don't care about brands as long as the specs are sufficient. I landed myself this. It turns out to be bigger than what I wanted, but for the price of $330 you get 2GB RAM, 16GB internal memory, 5MP front camera and 13MP primary camera. I like the design too (don't like it when the camera lens is in the upper middle position of the phone).

The in-between: of honeymoon and reality (suck-ish level depends on what country you are in)

So far I spend most of my life studying (count from 6 years old), I was thinking when my student life ends I really am not that young anymore. It feels like...wt hell. Do I feel I wasted my time? I only feel that because I am not passionate about what I am studying. I feel alright about it, sometimes I like it, but I do think from time to time it does not hold significant meaning in my life. But I am at the end of the journey, so I just need to suck it up. Or, I should give myself more credits. I tend to downplay my effort in everything I do.

I have been trying to play down negative thoughts in my mind recently. To be honest, once you throw away negativity in life, you will realise there are so many things you can do apart from being frustrated by things you don't have direct control. I am angry from time to time by the political and social situations in the country which makes me despise the country more and more. But, that's not good. It's so easy to give in to negativity, when in fact I can be much more than that. I distant myself from news as the medias do love to propagate negative news nowadays, and voila life is so much better. Get off the internet is the best way to realise you are free to enjoy life. First-world problem. It's not that I try to run away from the reality (we know too much to be ignorant), but one needs to be positive in the first place and then show them what stupid fools they are.

The game

November and December have always been my favourite months. I am just in a constant pleasant mood throughout. Also, it means another Mystery Case File game. Woohoo. A fan since secondary school. 

Still loving my escape-the-room games and hidden object games. I am quite a surprisingly loyal person (lol).

The music
Still liking Flower.

♫ ❀ ♫ ✿ ♫ ❀
Hatsukoi


Let go again


One last thing

I still have one last thing to do and my life as a university student will finally come to an end. I will be missing it I am sure, and this city in which I spend 1/5 of my life. It's a great city, a place where your life can be productive as you are not bound by unnecessary frustration and discrimination. People are educated, unlike my countrymen who spit out stupid things all the time. Sigh, too bad my nostalgia and responsibility get the better of me (a good thing in some ways I suppose). But what holds for the future no one knows.

Note of the day
Just got the feedback for my essay (tutor is as efficient as ever). Due to time constraint and me being too distracted by other uni subject, I could not produce an essay which I was confident to hand in, but I handed in on time anyway. When I handed it in I felt like I wanted to bury my head somewhere. Just thinking about the essay somehow made me embarassed, as I didn't think I was succesful in delivering a coherent and solid analysis. In my head, the worst case scenario is to re-submit. When I saw the feedback e-mail today my heart skipped a beat. Didn't want to read it but needed to read it.

There goes the biggest surprise of November. The feedback is surprisingly very positive. I began to worry if that was a mistake the moment I read it. Like, are you sure about this my tutor? You SURE? My pessimistic nature. I hope it isn't a mistake, please. Yeah, I should credit myself more for the effort I put in, I think. I did do a lot of research, after all.

Pleasant Friday.