Information Is Not Knowledge

Hey everyone! I know it's been so long since I've been here *gasps*.  I finally decided to update this space before I forget or procrastinate again. 

I have been working on a few things recently and it really took almost all my free time away. The first one would be looking for a place to study. I think I'm considered as a 'drop-out' (or not haha), because I just decided to stop after much contemplation. It's a really long story on how I came to that decision on just stopping my studies altogether, but I hope it was the right choice and even if it wasn't, it was the best option available.

So I stopped because mainly I wanted to resume my studies overseas. I wanted to gain experience not only in Malaysia but elsewhere as well, be it New Zealand, US or actually anywhere at all. The problem was, education in those places are expensive and if I chose to continue the semester which I dropped, chances are I wont have the opportunity to further my studies elsewhere. 

I know some may ask why not just complete your studies in Malaysia, but it has always been my lifelong dream to step out of my comfort zone, into the wild and gain new experiences. Haha now I sound like an animal from the show Madagascar trying to escape the zoo.

My mum was talking to me the other day about my education, future and my plans. Then she started talking about knowledge and this quote she read by Einstein.

To say I was left in awe by this quote would be an understatement.

I was awestruck. Dumbfounded. Mind blown. 

The words kept playing in my head again and again. I always thought information was something to do with knowledge. Like whatever we read or heard, I always thought it was of some value close to knowledge. But now I realise, all these little bits and pieces of information we obtain from others are nothing without experience.

There's only so much a teacher can teach and a student can absorb. And now it finally makes sense why many of us feel that half the things we study for exams cannot be applied after that. 

Heck, some of us can't even remember what we studied after our exams because everything we have been focusing on was... gathering information. We were so focused in trying to accumulate all these information in our brain we forgot to pay attention on how to apply it. We get so caught up with memorising stuff that most of the time when a question which we know the answer to is twisted in another way, we become stunned in shock, not knowing how to respond.

I guess I really want to experience places as they are, and not just gather blank information on all of them thinking I know what is out there, when in actual fact I don't. This is why I have been yearning to further my studies overseas. At the end of the day, it's experience that counts.

I just thought this was something really interesting to share. Hopefully you were as mind boggled as me hearing about this quote.

Just some photos I took while I was away.

 Went to Anselm's hou- *cough* mansion *cough*, for a small bbq party.

 We celebrated Gillian and Anthony's birthday there as well.

We didn't get to swim because it rained and according to Anselm, the water wasn't that clean.

It was a nice place to take pictures though.

Besides that, I have been helping some of my friends from IACT for their assignments. 

I have a feeling that they have alot of assignments right now because my friends asked me to help be a 'model' for them.

And no one would ask me to model for them unless their condition is critical LOL.

I can't model gaisss. For nuts.

I mean I'd like to think I can, but the actual fact which will always remain a fact is that I just don't look that good in the camera.

For some reason Blogger makes my photos a little more yellow than it is.

 My sister says I look scary here haha.

I couldn't really smile because otherwise there was a chance my braces would be peeping, and I know most photographers/ people who looks at photographs do not like braces, so I didn't dare take the risk.

Therefore all I did was try to contain the metal in my mouth. 

Sigh, brace face problems.

Yeap that's pretty much what I have been doing, looking for universities, going for gatherings, helping fellow friends in their assignments, serving the youth ministry in church and oh, I started dancing again! 

Going back to Urban Groove for classes but right now it's pretty hard to juggle as the biggest event of the year for my Youth Ministry - The Youth Rally, is in 3 weeks. There's so much to prepare, and so much things that need to be done in this 3 weeks and I'm freaking out. We are having practices like 4 times a week now and next week I think we will be having everyday practices. Not to mention it's time for a spring cleaning around the house now that Christmas is coming.

I will try to update soon, as I will be off to camp for this weekend! :D So excited. I just hope I don't get fat when I come back with their 6-meals-a-day plan -.-"

Did I mention I bought a new phone too HAHA. So much to update. Till the next post! Will talk about my new phone then.

The Good Batch @ Damansara Utama

I wounded up at Damansara Utama a few weeks ago for a meet up with my friends because one of them recently came back from Monfort and ever since he left, we never saw him for half a year.

If you don't know what Monfort is, it's something like boarding school because you will have to stay there and they discipline you. That's just a vague explanation.

Back to where I was, I haven't been around this part of Damansara in ages. And it's lovely to see so many new budding restaurants here! Minus the jam of course. And the lack of parking.

The Good Batch was just one of the many cafes here which people actually talk about.

Credits to Jiaqieats from Google.

I didn't get to snap a picture of their front because it was really dark and there were a few people hanging around outside the restaurant who were staring at us lol. 

Gillian said this place was highly recommended by many.

And indeed, the people kept pouring in like bees attracted to honey non-stop even at 9pm.

People often come here more for their breakfast, brunch or lunch, as you can see the list of choices from their menu.

Most of their mains were breakfast food.

 The "Ang Moh"

RM 25.90

Scrambled organic eggs, beef bacon, grilled chicken sausage, cherry tomatoes, portabello mushroom, pan fried potatoes, baked beans and toasted bread.

This was ordered by friend and I can't say much about it because I only took a bite.

Portion wise, it can be quite unsatisfying if you're looking for a filling dinner after a long day of work.

Everything here tasted average though.

 Portobello Road.

RM 19.90

Breaded portobello mushrooms served with spinach and tomatoes, topped with poached eggs and homemade Hollandaise, supposedly with toasted bread.

But we didn't notice it that night because we were starving and after beating around the jam, were too hungry to care.

The mushrooms were breaded but still flavourful and juicy, making it perfect as a combination with the rest of the ingredients.

Hangover Mess.

RM 20.90

Corned beef mixed with pan fried potatoes and diced capsicums complete with two sunny side ups and drizzled with their herb-infused Hollandaise.

Honestly, it was the name that attracted me to order this.

And it's price.

One thing about this place is that, they do not have pictures in their menu so you wouldn't know how you dish would turn out.

In my head, I was picturing something really messy and wholesome.

So when it arrived, I felt a little cheated and disappointed.

The yolks burst beautifully at the touch of a fork, and the rest was just a blur.

All that was stained in my mind was the memory of the many fried potatoes under the blanket of eggs.

The existence of corned beef was barely noticeable.

Portion was small too, and it left me still hungry.

Price

Quite pricey considering it's nothing fancy, just another cafe concept restaurant built for the curious.

Service

Service was one thing that shone at this place. Really awesome waiters and waitresses here, smiling all the way, providing help when needed.

Taste

Rather average from what we ordered.
But the drinks may differ as we didn't try it, seeing how it can get really crowded in the night.

Parking

Difficult. But they've built a parking lot right opposite this row of shops, which will make parking during the day alot better. 

Would I return?

No. As a student I can't afford to spend RM 30 on food that can't fill me up or at least leave me amazed :/ 

Say hi to Anselm.

I look like an auntie here thanks to all the makeup for one of my friend's assignments hahah.

Mauricia, Gillian, Anselm and I.

The Good Batch

53, SS21/1A, Damansara Uptown, Petaling Jaya

+603 - 7733 2303

Tues-Thurs, 10am-10pm; 

Fri-Sun & public holidays, 10am-1am

It's the same row as Wondermilk and Fat Spoon Cafe.

Halloween - Night At The Asylum

Can you take me home?

It's November already! How did the rest of the 10 months go by so quickly?? :O I ask myself that question every year LOL. Anyway Happy November everyone! :)

Halloween was 3 days ago and this was the first time I decided to go all out in dressing up! I've never been one in collecting wigs or costumes, because I always thought it was a waste of money to buy stuff you can only use once. So I decided to go in something that I've always had but never wore anymore! 

Initially I had a tough time deciding what I wanted to be. There were an abundance of tutorial videos on Youtube, which made it even more difficult for me to make up my mind.

I wanted to be a mermaid, because the makeup looked relatively fun to do! Plus it looked really pretty on the makeup artist herself. It was so tempting till I realised I had no idea what to wear if I was indeed going to go as a mermaid.

I don't think anyone in Malaysia walks around with shells on their chest, even on Halloween night.

So I flipped through my closet and found this white dress lying in it, which was for Chinese New Year a few years back, and was never worn again.

The dress looked really lacy and doll-like, which was all the rage at one point of time, if you still can remember haha. It was the time where all the Japanese magazines like Vivi featured all their girls wearing the bohemian look, which soon after became a trend here as well. 

Staring at the dress, I came up with an idea. Why not dress as a doll this year?

Tada!

The end result of my amateur skills.

 I had to do a little shopping because I realised I didn't have enough fake eyelashes to pull of this look. I also had to buy a white eye pencil to line my eyes, giving it an illusion of big doll-like eyes.

So I went to Daiso and bought two boxes of lashes there, since their lashes were the cheapest I could find in such a short amount of time. I was looking around and stumbled upon a box which had two pairs of falsies in it, which meant it was just a mere RM 2.50 for a pair!

Obviously I went for it thinking, wow what a bargain. I got excited so I bought that and another box which only had a single pair.

Let me just say one thing. NEVER BUY THE ONE WITH TWO PAIRS IN A BOX FROM DAISO.

It was pretty darn uncomfortable to wear because the lash base was so stiff. And what more, I actually layered the lashes for a more dramatic look. So you can imagine how stiff the falsies became together and the entire night I felt like something was poking my eye.

Now I know why it costs what it costed LOL. Lesson learned.

This was my first time slapping tons of eyeshadow on my lids and slathering this much of foundation on my face. One of the problems I had while doing this makeup was the shine on my face. I have combination skin so my skin usually becomes shiny after awhile for some reason.

My face doesn't feel oily or anything, and in fact if I do touch my face, it just feels dry and smooth but the shine will be there. Anyone have this weird problem like me? :/ If you do, please do share with me how you combat the shine.

 So I had to bombard my face with loads of baby powder. I couldn't use the normal compact powder my mum had because I needed to match the foundation I used which was two shades lighter than my skin tone.

Overall I guess I was happy with the outcome because I managed to scare everyone haha. All my friends said I looked super scary hehehe.

What made my night was when one of the admins actually told me that I could've won the title Best Costume! Unfortunately I arrived pretty late, thanks to my phone where I had to u-turn to get which I left at Shu Faye's place, and also thanks to the massive jam which happened at the whole stretch of road outside Sunway. So boohoo :'( better luck next time. #BadLuckHons

But I was still happy to know that my makeup wasn't that bad after all hehe.

On a another note, some people actually thought I was Annabelle LOLLL. And I had to explain I wasn't. And that I was just a regular doll. 

I brought Smurf along. 

P.S. I didn't name him after the blue smurfs because I've never heard of them before till few years back when the first movie came out.

Coming to think of it, I don't know why I actually named him Smurf though. 

Somehow, I figured my doll had a backstory... 

She wasn't always a doll. She was a normal little girl who loved soft toys and played with dolls. 

But one day, something bad happened to her and her family. She and her family died a violent death.

When she died, her soul never left earth and instead she possessed a life-like puppet doll, determined to find her murderer.

This explains why she holds a teddy bear although she is a doll.

 Doll just wants to party tonight.

My sister went as the lovely Morticia Addams.

Hui Min was the cute Minnie Mouse.

Eva went as Catwoman! 

The sexier version ;)

She was so funny, I asked her why she didn't take off her mask. She said because she wanted to look mysterious. Hahahahahhaha.

I'm coming to get you. 

(look at those humans running away)

I'm everywhere...

Smile.

Shu Faye and I.

She dressed up as the female version of Joker!

I love love love her brows.

So that was my Halloween night in total! How was yours? :D

Regardless, I hope everyone had a fun time dressing up and putting makeup on.

Just a fun fact I heard: In the US, they spent an astonishing amount of 7 billion, all just for this one day - Halloween.

Hope you guys liked my outfit! Do tell me what you think about it :D 

Now I just can't wait for next year. Maybe I can finally be a mermaid then.

*p.s. yes my food post is still coming haha*