Forget Cinderella's Glass Shoes

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I'm a low key Adidas sneakerhead. I like sneakers, and I like Adidas the most. Might have something to do with my dad's influence and I used to ban Nike back then and sorta can't bring myself to like it. Plus Nike and Adidas is kinda like big rivals, and I'm a loyal chick man. Adidas all the way. I do indulge in Puma or Converse once in a while though. I had an interest in the classic Vans but never really went as far as buying them.

Anyway last weekend I was trying to get my maksu to try my NMD's and she introduced me to this guy's instagram page - supposedly is a far away family member (can't remember which side) but he's a sneakerhead, lives in UK, super rich so he gets access to these exclusive kicks pretty easily. So I was lying in bed and scrolling through his feed and came across the Primeknit 'Datamosh' NMD R1. Price MYR2100. None my size though.

Okay, I was totally interested in this pair when they first announced but then it was one of those collaborative pair and totally exclusive and I dunno maybe it's the nerd in me when I read that the inspiration was datamoshing — a process of manipulating the data of media files in order to achieve visual or auditory effects when the files are decoded - I was totally sold. I WANTED IT.

BUT

I am a realistic person. I admit I get a thrill in acquiring things that are 'exclusives' or 'limited editions'. No it's not for showing off. I get this satisfaction. When I tell people this, usually they just scoff but whatever man - I like what I like and you can shove your opinions somewhere else.

Nway, I gave up on it soon after because:

1) It's a collab pair
2) It's exclusive as heck
3) Only released at certain stores over the world
4) With limited quantities
5) Resell price will reach 4 digits in MYR fo sho.

It's beautiful guise

But why of all of Adidas's models, I'm hooked on the NMD's? Why not Ultra Boosts, SuperStar, Campus, Stan Smiths or Tubulars?

Well, Ultra Boosts look very sporty. Mom has one and I wore them from time to time- comfy as heck, felt like walking on clouds but I can't really feel appropriately dressed sometimes. I do like Campus, Super Stars and Stan Smiths but they will be around for a while so there's no urgency to get them when they're out. I had a Stan Smith and a Super Star when they first introduced it and lasted me for all of 5 years until it broke. Since I used it pretty much everyday. Tubulars - I do dig - just haven't had that bamm-gotta-have-it moment like I do when I see NMDs. Oh oh, how about Yeezys? Same reasons as to why I gave up on the 'Datamosh' NMDs. Design wise - Yeezys are pretty dope and I am probably on the hype bandwagon but so far the only color ways I like is the BREDs and the new Beluga 2.0. The other's are pretty much meh color ways. Another thing is the amount of fakes out there. Bleargh. I'd still join the online raffles though hehe. I mean if I can resell them for double the price, why not? NMDs are like, just nice. Match with many things. TEEHEE.

SNEAKERS LAST LONG PEOPLE. FOR YEARS. My sandals all after a month rosak dy and need to buy one. Okla bohong, maybe a few months. But the amount of moolahs I spend for 5 years for sandals is more than I use for sneaks. SO
Imagine all the sneaks I can buy.
But I still need sandals. For girly days and work days and days I wanna feel tall.

HEHE.

Nway I will not shop this month!
It's my mantra everytime I see things I want.

(I do have this blouse I want from Poplook tho XD)

HEHEHEHEHEHEHE. 

Of Eid and Taking Care of a Sick Cat

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Eid was pretty much a non-event for me this year. I couldn't feel excited at all, for some reason. Maybe because my Ramadhan wasn't utilized properly, hence I didn't feel deserving of the celebration that is Eid. Maybe cuz I was just looking forward to a relaxing holiday but then the first few days of Eid is always hectic. Maybe I've grown out of it. Maybe I'm just sick of it. For once I didn't even crave the food - which is a surprise even for me. All I keep wanting is coffee.

Gawd I sure sound like a jaded old lady.

Anyway we had Eid back in Kedah this year - me and bro took a flight while the others drove. It was just a one-hour flight and I just slept the whole time. Was there for around 4 days, but I can't even remember much, but it feels more like I didn't want to remember. I dunno, I don't wanna say anything but if I had a Pensieve , I'd let you guys see. Hehe. I remembered my last day though. Le parents, Aisyah and Hamzah went back home already and it was just me and bro staying one extra day in Kedah. I had absolutely nothing to do. In the end, I borrowed a car from one of my aunties and rode out to town with Suhail for some street photography. We took separate lanes and I stumbled onto this dope cafe nestled between old shophouses and had a yogurt smoothie to myself. I felt, ahh, this is the life - I love exploring and trying new things, but at the same time chilling in a cafe and people watching is something I enjoy doing when I'm alone too. Conversations over drinks are always fun and unpredictable. We went to Menara Alor Star too - there wasn't much to see though. I asked the concierge guy if there was anything new up there and he smilingly said no. Oh wells, it costs just RM9 anyway, so we just went up for the heck of it. Suhail seemed like he enjoyed himself a bit so it was all good. Kid loves photography a lot and his dad gives him good gear, so it's all good. Me however, still can't decide if I should go for a more compact camera or upgrade my Canon body.

Fujifilm XT-10 seemed good but then I saw my instacrush using Leica D'Lux 109 and was so tempted to try it out. Tbh upgrading my Canon body hurts my wallet a lot more because I need new lens too. All of them hurts my wallet tons, but the Canon part takes the cake.

Nway reached home on the 3rd Syawal and boy am I happy to be back. Picked up my cat from the boarding house and no bad news, thankfully. I burdened the doc a bit I think, but he was all okay about it and I am just so grateful. Tama (the cat) seems to not like me much since then tho. The doc probably was able to take care of his needs properly - like pooping and peeing. I still can't make him pee much and he totally hates me cleaning his butt now even. Both my hands are full of scratches and bites. Much as I'm feeling sad looking at my own hands and all, I feel sadder thinking about him and his inability to control his intestines and bladder. He must hate it too having to stay in the cage for a long time. It's just until the skin on his tail where it's cut off all grows back tho. I plan to let him be a free cat once the skin grows back.

I found him at work - in the morning he was just sitting by the water pool looking at the water wistfully and looking miserable. There were a few cats around the buildings and they know where to get food and water and I assumed this new one will adapt soon. I couldn't really get a container anywhere and fill up some water for him so I thought if by the time I go back he's still there, I'll bring him back. At the time I didn't know his condition.  Evening came and I went back and saw him resting by the building where I work, all weak. I suspect he didn't even had a drink. I nudged him to follow me and he walked with up all the way up to the parking. Getting him in the car was another issue but once he's calmed down, we went home. Only after inspecting him I got to know his he's got a broken tail (which was filled with maggots - EW - meaning the tail died) and a huge holey wound under his butt so off to the doc he goes the next day. Doc says tail needs to be cut off and I'm like okay, go on. All in all he costed me tons but I'm just glad he's feeling better.

Get well soon big boy

Cleaning up part of my room and unboxed an old box full of memories during my adolescence and I'm hit with waves of nostalgia. BAM!

I always bobbing between utmost depression and normal at the randomest times and it's is NOT fun. September feels so much longer - I have another trip lined up and wondering if I can fit another one by end of the year. Passport expires by 2021 so I can try to fill it up a lil' bit before having to renew it. Only three country stamps for this year, still loads more space for others! How I wish I have loads more holidays.

Two Nights in Osaka

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We landed at KIX (Kansai International Airport) around 6.30 AM and straight away found the prayer room for us to pray. Prayer room at KIX was lit - omg I am put to shame with the shabby room they provided us with at KLIA. KIX was way smaller than KLIA but their facilities was at a different level. A higher level, mind you. Just a few moments of stepping onto Nippon land and I am already awed out. As usual, navigation was on me. I had this app called Halal Gourmet Japan and turns out KIX had a few halal food joints. We went to the one that looks street foodish - my choice of course and had a classic udon and various selection of tempura on the side.

 

After having our breakfast, we headed out to find our way to the hotel. Made a short stop at the Tourist Info Center to buy our 2-day Osaka Amazing Pass for 3000yen. There is a train station right next to KIX which interconnects to everything and everywhere. You know those self-operating ticket machines you always see in anime and dramas? Yeah don't even try to operate any of those if you don't know any Japanese. Thankfully enough there is a ticket office right next to these machines and they have an English counter for us gaijins. Bought 3 tickets to Osaka Station (as our hotel is a few hundred metres from the station) and we're on our way. Dropped our baggage at the hotel and boom we're on our way.

Morning hustle at Osaka Station

First stop, Umeda Sky Building! I've been stalking this place for a while and so so so wanted to ride on the overhanging escalator between level 49 and 51. First you gotta take the glass escalator up to level 49, then only you will need to show your Osaka Amazing Pass for a free entry to the observatory and take the heart dropping escalator ride to level 51. Truth be told I'm scared of heights but the heart wants what it wants man. My knees went weak as jelly but the experience priceless. 

Next stop was the second largest aquarium in Japan - Osaka Kaiyukan. The entrance fee costs around 2,300 yen - which is around RM90++. The first thing they make you do is to go to the topmost level of the building, in which you will make your way down in spirals around a large tank where the huge fishes like whale sharks, gigantic manta-rays and sharks dwells. This giant tank is on your right as you walk down 7 levels down and on your left will be various other smaller tanks with tons of different species of water creatures. One tank as just full of squids and wow I never thought that squids can look so pretty. They had sea otters, penguins and white seals omg the white seals are the cutest ever and I loved their jelly fish area it was soooo extraterrestrial. There were a few of those tunnels you have to go through with fish swimming around you and it was just so wonderful. I felt like I was in a different world. When I think of it, I stopped by almost each tank and was like 'woah' and 'WOAH' and 'woaahhhh' XD I'm scared of water creatures to be honest but I love aquariums. It's like my love-hate relationship with beef ( like how I eat meat if it doesn't look like meat i.e, burgers ).

It was just amazing. Outside the aquarium there were small street shows and there was a large shopping area (Tempozan Market Place) next to eat and a HUGE ferris wheel (Tempozan Ferris Wheel) which nobody wanted to take with him so we ended up not taking it. AND THERE WAS A SUPER NICE SOFT ICECREAM SHOP RIGHT OUTSIDE 

It was 6 degrees out but who cares, we want icecream

Had dindins at a nearby Indian place and headed back home. For a first day and right after landing - it was such a tiring day. We went to two major places but these two were quite far from each other and there was a lot of walking involved. Of course there were a lot of things to see and explore around these areas. A stone throw's away from the Umeda Sky Building is the Grand Front Osaka - an area for people watching, dining and shopping. There's a Pokemon Center too inside Osaka Station, but I didn't get to go. Osaka Station itself is full of wonders, tbh. I want to make another trip in the future and to explore Osaka Station is one of it. Seriously peeps. Seriously. There was a rooftop observatory that I didn't dare to go up cuz you need to take another hanging escalator. I had enough of weak knees in one day from Umeda Sky Building thank you. 

2nd day in Osaka was rainy but we plodged on. First thing on the hit list - Osaka Castle. We planned for some sakura viewing here but seeing the rain, we didn't hope much. Got on the train, stopped by Lawson on the way for some konbini breakfast (onigiri, coffee, bananas, and bought some umbrellas and raincoat) and walked and walked until we reached the castle. It was a superior looking structure looming over a hill over us, and surrounding it was a river - sorta. We first had to go through this huge gate-door like thing which looks old as heck into a garden. A garden of cherry blossom and peach blossoms. It would've been much much prettier with the flowers blooming but it was raining and the flowers looked a bit gloomy. Anyway I was more in awe over the castle more than anything. Leading to the castle from the pathway is a huge old bridge made up of wood as big as me - imagine this lone bridge holding on for all these centuries and I'm like woah - an from there we had to climb a hill up to the castle. Trust me, in the rain the temperature was dropping low, my feet were frozen over but if he emperor wants to see you, you gotta make the journey yaw.

After an audience with the Emperor, we moved to explore the center of hustle bustle of Osaka - Dotonbori. Took the train there, headed to this place called Ganko for some authentic Japanese lunchies and took to the streets. Where mom found her fabric heaven and I sat at the Burger King next door eating fries (fried in vege oil and not mixed with any meat) and some strawberry sundae- cuz mom and her fabric stuff will take an hour atleast. Dotonbori area is that bomb peeps. It's a mixture of old and new - you can find street brands shops and japanese market stuff in this area and just next to it is Shinsaibashi, a 2 kilometers long street shopping mall. Right before it is the Glico man, and Pablo cafe XD 

Later that night we did explore a bit of Osaka Station, right before they close. I just had to get a new pair of sneaks because my Puma platforms were freezing up and squeezing my foot and hurt like hell. Decided to splurge at Adidas and that was when I fell in love with the NMD. We hung around drinking coffee at the overhanging artificial garden between Osaka Station and LUCCA shopping mall, watching the night life. It was just wonderful end to the two nights in Osaka. 

Kyoto for the next two nights - in another post. 

There's really a lot more things to see and do in Osaka but we just didn't have enough time. I'm planning another trip in the future to see all the other things I couldn't. There were a lot of shrines and stuff too and of course food huntingggggg. 

XD

My other post on expenses while in Japan 

Breaking Down The Yens

Trauma of Cats

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I think after Owen's death, I was too heartbroken. I've gotten a bit scared about having another cat of my own. Nowadays it's just the neighborhood cats coming in and out, making the place their own. They are a healing, but it's just not the same. I still miss him from time to time. 

Silly maybe, but it's just how it is.

First day of puasa went okay. Food cooked was a tad bland and the jelly on my trifle was on the tough side. Still yummy though. I think I slept through the day a lot, day dreamt and thought about stuffs. Wondering about the past, wondering about the future. I had this thought that - people who had gone through a lot more hardships tend to be kinder than others -  as I was thinking about the people around me. I should learn from them a thing or two on being kind. Forgiving others and not get mad so easily. There's always this different vibe in the air during Ramadhan and probably mostly because the devils are being chained.

Finally got rid of the broken Mac but feeling kinda weird not having a laptop around. Went shopping a bit with JJ yday and he mentioned it's much cheaper to buy parts of desktop and assemble it - customize your own desktop - simply put, and it won't cost me as much, he said. I have been considering a desktop ya know, just haven't had the time to actually do proper research on it. Getting a laptop was the no brainer decision. Just pick one that is within my budget and with the kind of specs I felt sufficient, and it's settled. Buying desktop parts sounds cool too, plus I'm not the kind that brings her laptop around. Needs wise- I'll mostly use it for editing photos. God I miss editing. Taking pics with the DSLR feels pointless sometimes when I can't even process them properly. Now I'm mostly using VSCO butttttt it doesn't beat Lightroom. Yes, VSCO on the phone. Thank god iPhone 7+ takes good pics but still.

I miss you Lightroom. 

Mengade kan. Hahahahhaha.

I dunno, it's been a shitty week at work to be honest, and we're all a lot of fed up with some things. I'm trying not to think too much into it but work takes up 5 outta 7 days of the week.

Bottomline is;

Do good, be kind, love more and open up your heart. 

Be grateful. 

I wish September would come soon. Don't you? 

Because I have a trip lined up. Hehe. 

x

Only Assholes Feel Sorry For Themselves

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First week back to work after the trip was EFFING slow. I'm not saying there wasn't much work, it's just my brain gears haven't settled into it yet. Second week in, kinda better, but yesterday was Monday and you know how Monday goes. I kinda spent the weekend thoughtlessly, mostly on my bed or sofa reading the new books I got. I still have around 20 books I haven't read from last year's BBW and still in 10% into Midnight Lady (by Cassandra Clare) but dood how can I go to Kino and NOT buy anything? So I kept my purchase minimum. Bought two books. Wabi-Sabi and Me Before You. Well, I watched Me Before You on the flight to Osaka and was...not as moved as people claim to be when they watched the movie. The hopeless romantic inside me felt like, WTF MAN. So I bought the book. Wabi-Sabi was written by a Spanish author apparently and translated into English - which I only realised after I searched the book up on Goodreads and explained the simple English in there. Maybe not too simple, but I felt like the author was trying to mimic Murakami but failing. It's just my view as someone who enjoys Murakami occasionally, and seeing someone else trying to do in such a plain way kinda irks me. So they threw this unsuspecting character, Daniel, to Kyoto after his girlfriend dumps him, where he goes on to find a nameless bar and ended up meeting a weird old man and his niece, who is a suicidal modern geiko, hailing from Cali, and ended up as a fling. Ok the plot itself was fine, but it was as if he didn't make proper research on Kyoto whatsoever, and just flung in some facts on some shrines over there just to make it as if this character went all over Japan.

AND THERE WASN'T MUCH ON WABI-SABI EITHER.

Eh wait. Wabi-sabi is the beauty of imperfection.

Okay I need to rethink this.

Anyway, had my appraisal at work yesterday. Not so much of an appraisal, more like a chit-chat with my tech lead since the appraisal period is already over and I saw my grade already. I met expectation, and well, I expected that I met expectations only too. Ha. Okay anyway, chit-chat. He just wanted to know how I'm doing, and what I'm struggling at currently and why I wanted training ( cuz I wrote in my comments that I wanted to go to training if possible ) and the future. I wondered if I had spoken out too much. I dunno, the span of one hour was punctuated often by silence and me being me I have not much to say. Even so, I wondered if I've said too much of what I shouldn't. Time went by quite fast here, I told him, that its already a year plus but I felt like I haven't learned much. He said, it's okay I'm doing fine, and even he didn't realise it but it's already 5 years plus for him too.

There are a few other things but I don't think I should write them down, I guess.

I have a lot of worries now that I think of it.

8.45AM. I guess I should be getting ready to work already.

Noys came over and brought baby Nawfal and mom and dad look really delighted. It kinda made me think, maybe they'd like it if I get married soon and they have grandchildren. Hmmmm. Ntahlah. After my lil' fiasco I felt like taking time off but seeing mom and dad in a different kind of happy was weird. In a good way of course.

We'll see. Go with the flow Roro. Go with the flow.

Breaking Down The Yens

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Since I came back from Japan, a few friends have been asking me about expenses, but I realised I didn't really keep track of my expenses. I brought 40,000 yen and limited myself to 10,000 yen per day for transportation, entry fees and food expenses. Activated my credit card too, which helped a lot during emergency situations i.e. when your mom spent like cray at a fabric store and forgot her own credit card. I mean we have enough cash but the credit card were for unplanned shopping, mostly.

Flight tics are dependent on what airline and the time of travel. Mom paid for the accommodation because she wanted to and I let her do all the bookings herself cuz from my experience as a child of an architect, they are a bit particular about living spaces - even while on vacation. So I let her manage it.

To break it down, but note that this is not particularly precise either -

Accommodation

We took 1 room for 3 adults and as Japan can be quite strict on their regulations, we played safe and mentioned there will be 3 adults and needed an extra bed. Service was good, beds were comfy, no problems with the bathroom and amenities were provided as per usual. Room may be a bit small but then again we spent the whole day outside and came back only to sleep. So who needs too much hotel luxuries? I highly recommend one stays nearer to a subway or train station as it is so so so much easier to get around. TAXIS ARE DAMN EXPENSIVE. A mere 5km ride costs almost 3000yen. Dayum. Oh yeah, made this booking through Booking.com and Agoda.com as there was a promotion price and free cancellation. IMO, Agoda have the cheaper prices most times.  Very helpful help desk too as mom accidentally cancelled the reservation and they helped us to reinstate it - a bit of an issue cuz the booking for Kyoto was a no-cancellation one. Opted for no hotel breakfast as we have to find halal food anyway.

Osaka
Hotel Hearton Nishiumeda - 200 metres from Osaka Train Station
Cost for 2 nights : 43,875 Yen

Kyoto
Hotel New Hankyu Kyoto - right in front of Kyoto Train Station
Cost for 2 nights : RM1547.00

Yeah I know what you're thinking - PRICEY. But there are always other options and there is also Airbnb - which in my opinion had some good choices but as I said, my mom was in charge of this one since it's on her. No complaints on my part tho hehe.

Entry fees and transportation

Osaka
- Osaka Amazing Pass - 3000 Yen for 2 days - free access to all subways and busses and city trams and free entry to most tourist attractions (which covers almost everywhere and everything you wanna see in two days) like Osaka Castle, Umeda Sky Building, Tempozan Ferris Wheel. Seriously saved a lot from this one, esp with the entry fees.
- Osaka Aquarium Kaiyukan - 2,300Yen
-Universal Studios Osaka - 7000yen - didn't go though

Bought an umbrella for 500Yen cuz it was raining like heck on the second day

Kyoto
-Kyoto City Pass - 2000Yen -  free access to all subways and busses and city trams. To be honest, you ride a lot more busses in Kyoto cuz the subways are not all interconnected as in Osaka and you may need to buy tickets again when you wanna get on other lines. So, I'd recommend this if your route of sightseeing is mostly accessible by busses.
-JR Line to go to Fushimi Inari (no subway there) - 300 Yen return
-Entry fee to Kiyomizu Dera temple - 400Yen

There's a LOT of walking involved though (wear comfy comfy comfy shoes, like, oh I dunno, your NMD? HAHA) It's not like you get off the train station/bus stop and the place you wanna go is right in front. NOPE. A lot of walking involved, but there's a lot to see too so you kinda don't realise a bit the distance. Google Maps helped tons. Do you know that they even have step by step instructions how to get to places? They will detail out which train to take, or where to change stops, or what bus to take, and what path to take to take exactly to where you wanna go. They have this notification that informs you if the place you're heading is closed or open by your eta. SUPER helpful.

Download Google Translate too. You can take pictures using Google Translate and highlight the words you wanna translate - and they will help. Was super helpful in helping me determine if this and that food is edible or not, as in, no pork/lard/alcohol.

Another things is to rent a mobile wifi. I rented mine at http://visondata.com.my. You gotta make a reservation online first and they will call you to confirm your reservation and pickup time/place. Mind was at KLIA. Costed around RM160 for 5 days. Unlimited data at RM20/day and the RM60 is for insurance just in case anything happens to the device. You can opt to not take the insurance, but I took it anyway just in case. Better safe than sorry.

Food

1. Konbini food
Onigiri - 150yen - 200yen (bought like 3 of these in one day)
500 ml Meiji milk - 172yen (super gooood)
Coffee/Matcha Latte - 200-300yen
Banana - 3 pieces for 265yen

Matcha icecream - 300yen/cone
If you saw my IG you'd know I eat one per day so, yeah

Lunch and Dindins
1st Day - Za- Udon - udon and tempura - 800yen
             - SagaMartha Indian/Nepalese food - Potato Naan + Spicy Vege Curry - 1300yen
2nd Day - Ganko - Nanban Tori Set - 900yen
3rd Day - Ayam-Ya - Spicy Miso Ramen + Egg + Karaage - 1150yen
4th Day - Yoshiya - Tori Bento Set - 1400yen
              - Ayam-Ya - Mazemen + Egg - 860yen

Kinda kept it at one big meal per day and have konbini food and the stuff we brought from home, like Maggi, biscuits and breakfast bars. Lunch and Dinner we went to halal/muslim friendly food joints so it's always a bit pricey. How do I know they are halal? There's this app I use, Halal Gourmet Japan. Superrrrr helpful cuz they even help find one in your area range.

Anyway if you're a non-muslim, I think the food is much much cheaper, esp with all the street foods. There's the Pablo Cafe in Dotonbori which is solo hyped but I think it's truly nice la, tho unfortunately it's probably non-halal so i didn't go try so yeah, try to adjust your budget accordingly. In my opinion it's always good to bring extra. Anyway my budget of 10,000 yen per day ends up with some of extra at the end of the day.

If anything, Japan is not a cheap country for travel esp with parents, so bear in mind not to skimp too much if you can afford it. I spent a bit I guess, but I enjoyed it immensely. I mean might as well go all out now that I'm here, if you get what I mean.

Shopping is up to you. I kinda just swiped my credit card for most shopping but I didn't shop much. I bought a pair of NMD though. TEEHEE. It's kinda addicting though, once you wear one, you kinda keep wanting more. I have dropped my small hobby of sneaker collecting since after uni days as I don't wear them as much but I've started again - sorta. I still followed trends even though I didn't buy anything, but now....itchy hands. I want to travel more though. Need to save money still. I started using my 50mm and enjoying photography again. I dunno. Lots of wants, temptations and stuff.

Prioritise guys.

I kinda want to go again to Osaka Kyoto because there's till tons to do and see there. Maybe next year. I didn't even get to see the Ninja show at Kyoto and go geisha hunting.

Sooner or Later

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I bought new shoes! It's the PUMA Exotic Basketball Platform. My feet looks like I'll have shiny reptile skin all over but it's okay cuz it's dopeee. In the beginning I wanted to buy the Adidas EQT but the design I wanted was not in Malaysia and the ones available looked took sporty-ish. Though it's trendy these days to wear sneaks (which I have been doing since I was 10 years old pffft *flipstudung*) My first pair that I remembered was a Wimbledon sneaks. White with pink detailing. Wore it till it wore out and my next pair were was a pair or Reeboks, then a Puma. Then my Adidas obsession started - and being loyal to Adidas I never bought a pair of Nikes cuz it's blasphemy. Nowadays the Adidas NMD is in but I feel like my feet will look weird if I wore it. Tempted to buy a pair just for the heck of it but I'm gonna see if I can get something rare in Japan. Well rare to be found here in Malaysia but normal in Japan. Either that or a pair of EQT with the design I wanted.

I don't pride myself as an avid collector of things. I just love what I love.

I need new clothes though, but being a chunky girl it's a bit hard. I CANNOT WAIT FOR THIS TRIP TO JAPAN AND JOGJA. GAWD. But I've decided to wear my Boosts in Yogja. There's gonna be trips into water and stuff. Loads of walking. Terrain wise, I wouldn't wear my beloved new Puma to Jogja.

Life's okay. I saw Aleea yesterday, we had lunch, watched a movie and caught up. It's always good to see her, my soul sister. Without Noys though, cuz Noys' is in Taiping for a wedding. No offence or anything but I'm the type when my friends have married I find it hard to reach out to them for anything. Out of respect for their new responsibilities, I don't want to make it a burden for them to keep up with our friendship - we understand that about each other I guess. At the age of 27,  I still don't feel like settling down, or maybe cuz I haven't met the one yet.  I think at this point I am too wary of men, as I ended up being disappointed by them too much. I thought I the guys I met who were dedicated to their wives were such admirable men, but in the end I heard stories about them which caused me to be even more wary. How even a guy who claims to be madly in love with girl A would temporarily forgets all about it when girl B strips off her clothing and asks him to fuck him and he gladly obliges. What happens to girl A though? She doesn't know. As a third party I can only hate the guy, and feels sad for girl A. But they are married now, and happy. Who am I to feel anything or say anything when I'm just an observer in everyone's lives? It does led me to become more wary of men and their motives. If anything, I feel scared to trust.

Maybe that's why I'm okay being single like this. My heart feels like it's still closed off to anyone, and I'm okay with it. I'm healing, I tell myself. I'm not ready to jump into something again.

Work has been meh lately. I'm starting to feel tired again, but for the different reasons. Anyway my plan is to keep up for 2 years at least. Learn as much as I can while I'm at it.

I should sleep soon. It's almost 1.