Ramblings 20151025

Hey everyone. S'been a while since I last posted.=_= Sorry about that. Have been busy planning my trip this year and have not had time to write anything.

Anyhow, had my visa interview last week, it was horrible. I slept 3 hrs the night before as we had to pick our mom up from the airport -- She was returning from her trip to Vietnam. I had to wake up early that morning as traffic is super bad. It took me 1hr+ to get there. Anyway, all of my papers were in order. But for some reason, they wouldn't release my passport unless I procured this other paper they were asking me for. Apparently they are allowed to ask for extra proof of they deemed it necessary. I have been traveling to the EU for the past 4 years, why now?:O Anyway it is too much hassle.=_=

Will explain when I do get my visa.-_-

Cappuccino Thins

Because I loved the Ginger thins so much, I bought this to try.





Was surprised these actually tasted quite plain though. And did not taste like cappuccino at all.



I much prefer the ginger thins and its super fragrant cookie -- of cinammon, cloves, and ginger. Those, exactly.

...

On a different note,

The reason behind my not being able to post lately -- is because I decided to terminate my ISP subscription. It has served me well for some years but since last year it has just been terrible. The service too. I hate having to call every single minute/hour because they keep cutting off my connectivity. Yep, everytime I download, everytime I open a page. And everytime I call they stall and ask the same fucked up questions (very impertinent) that doesn't fix the problem. Service is super terrible and since the month end was coming I decided I didn't want it anymore.

Problem is I can't live without the internet....T_T

I'm leeching off my neighbour's wifi during the weekends.. but on the weekdays I have to borrow from my sis.x_X Her connection is quite slow.. but I know I shouldn't be complaining. Haha. :P (My 1 download should be finished by now but this one would need 2h15 more.T_T

Have also sacrificed playing KnS on my mobile. :O I've been addicted to this game for months but without internet anytime it's impossible to advance and get the bonuses. I'm Lv.80 (which is the cap for now), but equip still needs upgrades.

I haven't decided which provider to subscribe to for now.

Buys from the past weeks.

Things bought over the past couple of weeks.



Coloured tapes. :3






Cute box from Daiso.





Goodies were gifts.



Empty Box.







Cute key rings.



And a key holder.





Schneider coloured pens.





They write so well, I think I'll use them for postcrossing.:3



Until then! x

First letter from Korea

Yesterday, I received my first mail from Korea. XD A blogger friend is currently doing postgraduate studies in Seoul. :3 Thank you Sam!



It arrived in a cute envelope, with a souvenir card (with some hanggeul words.:D).

I will write her this weekend and hopefully mail it in time before she leaves Seoul.

Visa got

Soz I haven't been on here in a while. Have been busy with stuff and am too exhausted to write a post in the evening.:3


At one of the buildings in the Central Business District, where the German Embassy is located.

So.. in August, I read some travel books and some forums, deciding on which cities we will be visiting this year. ^_^ Indeed, with the long list of places we want to visit it is not too difficult. But there are many things to consider.
1.) the embassy we are applying at -- I have to stay in that country the longest.
2.) the transportation to and from the next city. (Some transfers are just too impossible to realize and with only 12 days max., time is everything. XD)
3.) the round trip tickets. Coming from Southeast asia the airline choices are limited. So not every city we plan to go to are easily reachable. Or--- the city of our last destination does not fly to the country I live in.
4.) the accomodation. Depending on the embassy we're appling our visa at; the German Embassy requires accomodation to be paid for at the time of application. And finding a good place to stay requires time.:D -- location, rooms, and service are important, in that order. (I do not wish to relive the accomodation in Florence. (It spooked me out-- that's for another post!)

In September, retrieving legal documents from here and there. Writing deatiled itinerary. Provision of plane / train/ bus transfers in between day trips and cities. After completion, calling up the application hotline for details and interview schedule.

In October, the actual interview. This year, there was a (new) younger girl at the German embassy doing the questioning and she was very very rude. You don't have to be so rude to everyone?! I have never seen such attitude elsewhere (the Spanish embassy was ok, the German embassy in the previous years was also courteous). What surprises me is that her German superiors just walk right past ignoring her rudeness towards the applicants. She literally barks and SHOUTS at every applicant. I cannot believe it. And I cannot stand it. =_= [Puh-leez]
Luckily the lady at the other window reviewed my application. She did not smile all throughout and asked straightforward questions. She was in authority, yes. There's a difference between being in authority and being rude. And the consul who reviewed my application was not rude. She was the typical officer who would ask you questions about your travel and means.

I so wish there was a comment box there for me to write about it.

--

This year, the German Embassy was just as efficient having sent my approved visa within a week.
:3 I can officially finalize my reservations and buy my tickets. Next Friday the train schedules and sale for the winter months will be up.:3 So I will be busy again.^_^

This past week, I have printed maps of some of the smaller cities we'll be visiting.^_^ Nothing compares to having a physical map. Mobile map is too much hassle. Haha. But, I have downloaded some on my phone just in case.XD Do you prefer mobile maps or old school maps? :D

Coming down with a Cold

Hello~~

I've just recovered from a bad cold. Well, I still sound very awful but I feel so much better than the first two days.

Would you believe I woke up with a very sore throat on my birthday?! Haha!! Talk about coincidence.X_x

Anyway, I can't wait until the weekend (tomorrow). I have so much to do and to post.

Besides photographing my haul from the last two weeks, a friend of mine asked me to translate a document. It isn't much but I don't mind earning some extra.XD Actually I said I'd do it for free anyway since I'd do anything to save me from boredom. :P

Highschool homecoming is this coming sunday. I can't believe it's been 10years. I'm both anxious and excited but not anymore because I have decided not to attend. (I am feeling very anti-social right now but I've never been so social to start with.) I have responded to the invitation and said I couldn't because I had work on saturday. And then someone replied and said it was on a Sunday!! OMG. I seriously thought it was on a saturday. (My reason for not going -- a lot of people aren't attending, none of my "friends" are going... and there isn't anyone in particular I want to see...So. That is that.)

Anyway, found a few photos from 2012 on my "TO POST" folder...




.. I don't do throwback but what the heck. XD

~*~

Until my next post! :X

Sunday Shopping Spree

What I love about weekends: late nights watching my favourite series, waking up past noon, coffee (for a year now I've been cutting back on coffee and drink it only on weekends. There are reasons for this -- my previous daily coffee consumption caused the following things: frequently waking up between sleep, sleeping 8hours but wake up feeling like I've slept only 6hrs, frequent headaches when I miss / have my coffee at a later time, neck pain -- which went away months after I cut down on caffeine, and (my sudden) low bone density when I randomly had it checked once. Even though I love milk and take calcium supplements.), and blah.
Today I went shopping. X3 I don't shop often, only once in a while. Lately it has become more frequent. :O

Will post my haul sometime next week when I have time to photograph them.:3

Here's the beautiful afternoon sky today.



The weather has been good today after a week of gloomy/rainy weather. :D
It's past 12 and today's officially my birthday. Not too enthusiastic about turning twenty something and my birthday doesn't change the fact that I still have to go to work tomorrow. x_x

---

Also I've joined Sam's Giveaway [click here]. She has recently acquired her own domain [ www.COLORCRRUSH.com].

Items included in the giveaway are the following:





(photo credits: www.COLORCRRUSH.com)



The sumikkogurashi stickers are simply adorable (looks like a cross between Purin and Monokuroboo)!! But so are the other samples which I haven't tried! When I went to Taiwan to study before they used to give free samples outside shops and along some shopping streets. Here they don't give samples for free, you usually get them after buying some products from a store. XD But anyway I've always wanted to try some of these products.

If you'd like to join, it's never too late. [Sam's accepting entries until 31st July! :3)

Lengthy update

I've been putting off blogging for weeks now.

I don't know. There's so much I want to write.. but after work, in the evening, I just feel too tired to do anything. o_O Usually I just watch a few episodes of something then it's time for bed. Then the same thing repeats itself the next day..and the next.. =_=

Some 10 things I have been up to of late:

[1] Finished reading Agent Six by Tom Rob Smith. I have loved his books since Child 44 -- Seriously the best book I've read in a very long time. But his third book was a disappointment. I read it through to the end, after reading I can't believe how I managed to finish it. It went around in circles and dragged on about the character's addiction to opium. He just pretty much killed his main character in the third book..

[2] I started knitting a beret -- but!! Halfway through I realized my mistakes and it is such a waste to frog and pointless to continue. So I just left it as it is. XD When I find some err, inspiration to continue then I will. But for now.... I want to work on a different project! (haha, I have to be more patient.. XP)

[3] I am still playing the guitar (on weekends only -- for about an hour). Remember when I decided to learn the song 'Asturias' by Isaac Albeniz same time last year? Well, I haven't progressed much but I think I have improved on some of the difficult parts. It is such a beautiful song to play, I really love the sound of the strings. It is still too difficult for me. But I am learning at my own pace. I can play the intro wonderfully *A* but I am determined to at least try to play the whole song.X3

[4] I have put El Secreto de Puente Viejo on hold -- and started watching some other series -- Gavilanes - dropped, Bienvenidos al Lolita - dropped, El Principe - still watching, Sherlock - Season 3 UK - have just started watching and I still love this series. I am about to start watching some other UK series after it -- Lightfields, Shetland, Vera, and Orphan Black.XD I am such a tvseries junkie. :P

[5] Also watched some japanese dramas, one that I finished two weeks ago was Itazura na Kiss ~ Love in Tokyo. I read the manga, watched the anime, and now the drama! It is so nice. :) I downloaded the drama a long time ago. I attempted to watch it a few time but found it too corny, or the main guy too annoying -- the main guy not so much my type. BUT! It has been sitting on my comp for far too long and I decided to give it a go again. And surprisingly I didn't find it so bad this time.:P

[6] I have also been putting off sorting photos for a long time. (Ah, I procrastinate more than I should!) So far I managed to sort 1-day worth of Munich photos, some Paris photos (I know, these were so 2011 but there were just too many photos! :O).
*note to self: japan, paris, rome, madrid, munich, vienna, florence -- have yet to be sorted*
(by the way I also went through some China photos from 2010 -- I'm posting one next week on my photoblog -- snapperoni.blogspot.com. :3 Click and drop a comment!*A*)

[7] I started reading A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini. The Kite Runner was such a beautiful book -- and so moving. I have read good reviews about this one and I am sure it will not disappoint. I bought the book a long time ago but the weird thing is I have been saving it for later.XD When it comes to a favourite book, I start it when I know I have a lot of quiet time by myself to read it and appreciate it. I hate being distracted and talked to when I start reading something I like. In my case the best time to read is when everyone else is asleep. Bad habit? =_=

[8] Watching Pékin Express (French)- Season 10! I didn't like the participants at first but now I have my favourites! Actually there's only one team that I don't like this season.

[9] Addicted to D&CO (French show on M6) - Amazing what they turn run-down houses into. Watching ti makes me want to redecorate my room (but not the complicated parts like taking walls down) -- just the "out with the old, in with the new" concept.

[10] Also watched: The Hobbit - The Desolation of Smaug - cliffhanger but good nonetheless. The Bookthief - Beautiful, moving. But it also made me want to cry happy-sad tears. It was that kind of movie. Realistic and I highly recommend. It was depressing but undeniably good at the same time. The Lunchbox (Hindi film) - I haven't seen any Indian films in a while and this was nice. The story was simple and light. It revolved around India's lunchbox concept and the story develops from there. It focused a lot on the characters' relationships - the feeling of loss, finding some again, rejection, self-realization, friendship, and how these relationships can change someone. It may portray more than that but the was how I found it. Also recommended.;D

***

Haha, maybe I should start writing reviews!




~*~

(Tomorrow I shall write some long overdue posts. XD

Sneak Peek:)



These photos may have shown up on your feed at some point if you follow me on Instagram. X3

Á plouche!

...

2014/05/18 - Sketch - View from the Nihonbashi in the old days. [click here to read]

2014/05/10 - Food Review :: Almon Marina Sandwich Bar & Deli [click here to read]

2014/05/04 - Beautiful Weekend Sunset [click here to read]

2014/04/27 - Food Review :: Seattle's Best Coffee [click here to read]

2014/04/26 - Food Review :: Almon Marina Sandwich Bar & Deli [click here to read]

My narcissistic side

Photos taken yesterday.



The lighting was really too good to pass up.XD

I have just cut my hair a week ago,



I cut it in layers like I always do. :3 Also trimmed my fringe but it looks a little chunky. n_n;



I think I did a good job with the layering though. :P

..



Oddly I look like I have a wig on in that last photo. Haha.XD

This shade of green is my least favourite colour (I use this as sleepwear), but somehow it looks nice in this photo... surprisingly.


~*~

Anyway, also changed my twitter header and avatar a few days ago, (be warned: Still NODAME-themed! XD)



Twitter: @miyuupepper
Instagram: @xxpepperonixx

xx

Random moon shots from my phone

The moon was so beautiful this evening -- but I didn't have my camera with me so I used my phone.



It looks pathetic. XD But really, with the clouds hovering about it, it made the perfect photo.



It was hanging so low, and peeking out of these tall buildings.



I have a fascination with the moon.XD

..

Anyway, until my next post!

ABC+K

Met with my friends from univ. today and luckily the train wasn't so crowded like it usually is.:3

First met with A at the bookstore and went to Cibo for lunch.XD A while later K arrived and we had yummy food! XD

When we were almost finished B arrived and we headed out for some quick photos.XD



[L] A 'grammin her food.XD [R] K and B in the middle of a serious+funny conversation.



[L] Modern bonding = 'gramming; Looks like A got a considerable amount of likes! XD [R] Exchanging photos. Haha.

-

The mall looking quite empty.



Taking photos by these steps.



The following photos taken with K's cherry... who would've thought it could actually take decent photos!! X3



A asked someone to take our photo and she took it so nicely.



Bluetooth-ing. Doesn't however work with apple (A's iphone)...=_= So I don't have some of the other photos we took.:/



That is K's cherry (phone) in the photo above (left).
Looks and feels like a Samsung!


I was playing around with my phone and did this. =_=



K had to go home early that day so the rest of us spent the afternoon having some sweets at one of the stores nearby. ;D


It's been way too long since my friends and I last got together like this and we spent the rest of the afternoon looking back to our univ days and talking about grown-up stuff. Lol, how much our preferences have changed. One said - one with a broader mind; Another - weird and scary; Me - the truth is I couldn't say.. because I haven't given it much thought... BUT, it got me thinking, and now I have a few things in mind - (1) one who respects me and will not turn back on me. (2) weird in ways only we can comprehend. (3) a common interest and a few different ones so we can learn from each other. (4) someone who will not put me down because they think they're smarter than me. (5) Someone who can let me be selfish sometimes. (6) And one who will put me first before anything else. :3

Finding someone like this is near impossible. :P (Others' and my experience(s) tell me so). Omi-ai's are full of false pretenses and it's such a waste of time. My friends share the same sentiment.

But wait, why am I talking about this? XD

(Sorry this has gotten so off-topic! I wrote some of these captions 2014/01/14)