Poison

There aren't many people i know who can handle my sarcasm and straightforwardness. My dad says i have that gift for one-liners which, when well executed, often stuns people to a dumbfounded (and probably slightly angered) silence. Not the greatest trade to make friends but certainly, “You’d make a great lawyer”, he told me once.

But no, i didn't take that path. I chose to become a doctor instead.

(And what a big fat mistake that was!!)

I mean look at me. I was never meant to be a doctor! I was never meant to save the world or heal tortured souls. In fact, i probably do the exact opposite most of the time. Patients cringe under my care, they shrivel up like dried prunes and die. 

Because you see, My touch is poison...

......and so are my words.

-Izyan-

p/s: what u said yesterday was very hurtful (even in jest).

Kingkillers!

"There are three things all wise men fear: the sea in storm, a night with no moon, and the anger of a gentle man."

An escalating rivalry with a powerful member of the nobility forces Kvothe to leave the University and seek his fortune abroad. Adrift, penniless, and alone, he travels to Vintas, where he quickly becomes entangled in the politics of courtly society. While attempting to curry favor with a powerful noble, Kvothe discovers an assassination attempt, comes into conflict with a rival arcanist, and leads a group of mercenaries into the wild, in an attempt to solve the mystery of who (or what) is waylaying travelers on the King's road.

All the while, Kvothe searches for answers, attempting to uncover the truth about the mysterious Amyr, the Chandrian, and the death of his parents. Along the way, Kvothe is put on trial by the legendary Adem mercenaries, forced to reclaim the honor of the Edema Ruh, and travels into the Fae realm. There he meets Felurian, the faerie woman no man can resist, and who no man has ever survived. Under her tutelage, Kvothe learns much about true magic and the ways of women.

In The Wise Man's Fear Kvothe takes his first steps on the path of the hero and learns how difficult life can be when a man becomes a legend in his own time.

Now that, people, is how u start a story! Full of Awesome-pawsomeness! After 2++ long years of waiting... finally! Just a mere 1 week to go till it's release on bookshelves wordwide (the missing L was a typo, but it looked and sounded cool so i decided to leave it).

Man, I can't wait!

p/s: Balong, what great timing huh? This would make a great present for my birthday (u know, the present u were never 'forced' into giving me but decided to give anyway because your sister is so cute and sweet and kind and all things nice~~~) 

The guy

As much as i wanted to speak to him, i couldn't. It was a potent mix of awkwardness, my fear that my mouth (which is way quicker than my brain) will blurt out something stupid, and most importantly, the inherent taboo of a girl approaching a guy first.

So i kept my cool. Pretended not to notice. Appearing not to care.

But with an open book in front of me as cover, I stole secret glances his way. His hair fell over his eyes in just the right way, his forehead creased in deep concentration as he wrote furiously in his notepad. He wasn't even trying yet every little thing he did was super adorable.

And then, he shifted in his seat, and i quickly pretended to read again.

Was i caught? Did he see me ogling?

I was lucky as he was already focused on his studying again. Phew~ I took a quick glance at my watch. 5 minutes till my next class, i noted to myself. If i forgo going to my locker to get books, i'd have just enough time to decide whether to go up to him and say hello... or something.

Suddenly, an influx of people started coming in (fresh out of a class probably) and filling out the empty seats that separated us. In truth, the gap between me and him was marginal at best, but with every new person in between us, it felt as if we were sitting at the opposite corners of the world from each other.

Even more annoying was that I could no longer see him from my spot.

And then I realized, a little too late, that I had been staring at the same page (or person) for over an hour without really absorbing anything useful  (other than the fact that he was uber cute!).

So i got up and left, totally disappointed with myself.


p/s: And that, ladies and gentleman, just in case u're wondering, is why i do not (or could not!) study in the library.

Without Us

I think a book would make a wonderfully lovely present for someone. It's relatively inexpensive yet if chosen correctly gives a wealth of knowledge, wisdom, and entertainment. Of course i'm only saying this because i want such a present for myself. Oh how wonderful it is to flip through the pages of a book someone had thoughfully picked out for you. How lovely it is to feel the weight of it in your hands. And if by chance you happen to like the content, all the better!

Anyhoo, today is Anie's birthday.

"Happy birthday Anie!!!" 

And for her 25th, we decided to make a survival guide book (from scratch) for her. Y'know, just in case she feels lonely without us next year. The process took us all over the town of Galway, and from room to room at home just so Anie won't walk in on us while we were busy scissor-ing, stapling, glue-ing and writing our survival guide.

And for your (and my) viewing pleasure, pictures.. weee~~:

Pinky pinky~~

Inside the gift box

Front Cover

Page 1: What to do when u're lonely?

Page 2(a): How to snap pictures w'out us

Page 2(b): Tadaaaa!~

Page 3: Best way to spend your day

Page 4(a): Stress after work?

Page 4(b): Voila!~

Page 5(a): Where to eat in Galway

Page 5(b): Addresses

Page 6: How to eat with style, y'all~~

Page 7(a): Carbry's Secret Recipes

Page 7(b): Biskut karipap

Page 7(c): Sushi sedap & Marble Cheesecake

Page 8: During Holidays

Page 9(a): How to spend your free time

Page 9(b): Inside the envelope

Page 10: Private note from Haz

Page 11: private note from Emy

Page 12: Private note from Izyan

Page 13: Private note from Te'ah (on the way)

Page 14: Important dates

Back Cover

So that's all folks. 

p/s: I know it looks childish and immature, but it was fun to make and i'm pretty sure Anie liked it. At least i hope so. =)

Back to the future

(I found this old thing in my collection of unpublished drafts, written in 2008)

Life has been pretty hectic lately. I was kinda expecting this going into the new semester, but it still hits me pretty hard. I'm not used to lack of sleep, mostly cos sleep is my favorite pastime. And since it's human necessity, i do occasionally take a wink or two in between perusing my well-worn notes and textbooks. But nowadays i fall asleep dreaming about the clinical presentation of COPD, and the causes of back pains, and the names of different parasites and the list of different antimicrobials and etc etc.. you get the drift. I need all the studying time i can get mostly cos i'm not as naturally-clever as the rest of the med student population.

Academically-driven sleeps are never restful. Trust me, i know. I always wake up with a start, panicking that i'd slept too long when i had barely taken a 20 minute nap. It's a vicious cycle, and i'm exhausted. I really don't understand how my friends do it. I know they get more or less as little sleep as me, but they always look prim and proper and pretty the next day while i look like a drug addict trying to get her next fix. I'm sure i can scare little kids away if they see me in my current sleep-deprived state.

When they told me doing medicine was tough, i always laughed at their faces. Well, who's laughing now, huh? Which reminds me, i need to call my sister.. i need to tell her to get out of this mess before it's too late!

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(fast forward a couple of years to 2011)

This is my final year of college, my final semester of med school.

Life isn't too bad.

I go to school in the morning, halfheartedly do whatever needs doing (but only to the barest minimum), occasionally (more like regularly) get told off by my teachers for not knowing half the things i should know by now (of course I don't really care as much as I used to), then head home, eat and sleep. In between that I always manage to squeeze in a movie or two, and a TV show if i'm lucky (i mean, going to school is stressful enough, why should I be studying at home when i could unwind instead??).

So studying has taken a backseat lately, while self-soothing pleasures like online shopping and movie watching has become an unbreakable pattern.

Yes yes, I know i should be worried. I  know I should be working my a$$ off right now, but I just don't have the motivation anymore. And at the rate I'm going, I think I might just fail my finals. Yet somehow or other, I'm beyond caring.

"Am I burned out?"

Oh man, I'm seriously screwed.

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p/s: I can't believe i was so hardworking back then. This explains my steady academic decline in recent years.  (Ahh!! i need to work harder. Yosh Izyan!)

Barriers

It was an awkward dinner.

I tried hard not to stare while he danced his vision ever so slightly trying to catch my stolen ogling. He smiled a knowing smile, and i lowered my gaze and blushed at the idea of being caught red-handed.

"Can i ask you a question," he asked suddenly.

"ye...yes?" i stammered, taken completely off guard. His eyes bore deep into my conscience, his expression both delightfully quizzical and deadly serious at the same time.

I didn't want to keep my hopes up, lest he'll tear it down with unintentional cruelty. But i couldn't help holding my breath, silently wishing he'd say them - those secret words I've dreamt of hearing.

Instead, he curled his lips into a half smile, hung his head down slightly and sighed. "Nevermind," he breathed. "It's not important."

NOOO! I wanted to scream and kick and shout.
NOO! Keep going. You were doing fine! I wanted to reassure him.
Just say it, silly! I can't say Yes unless you ask!! I sounded almost desperate in my head.

And while my mind was waging this horrible war of what to say, my lips said 'Okay' instead. The word smoothly glided over my tongue before i could stop it from coming.

With that, the moment was discarded into the bin like an unwanted gift.

The rest of the night was a painful blur of idle chitchat and sweet desserts. And then, it was over. He sent me home like any gentleman should, and i said my thanks, like any lady would.

In the end, we were both fools who never made it pass those barriers.