10 Things I wish knew or did before 25

This is finally an official post from me in 2015. Yes, almost a quarter of the year 2015 gone by!  This month also marks my 6th month in Nottingham, United Kingdom. These few months I felt less accomplished ever not because I did not work hard or so, is just that life has begun to give a huge toll on me recently.  Yes, I have passed the 25-year-old line. This means I am a young adult in Europe countries and more significantly I am reached another stage of life. My friends have been sharing some post on 25 things we should do/ know before 25. It is very intriguing to see what other 25-year-old going through. And, here is my version of top 10: 

1. You are bound to be hurt no matter how good are you! 

This is extremely true. Some people like you and some people just despise for no apparent reason. Even though you are at your very best personally and professionally, some PEOPLE just like to torture you with their own agenda. Oh yes, so my advice is "don't give a f*** what they think, just be yourself and keep on kicking a**. We control our emotion, not others!

2. Friends come and go, family and true friends stay

We just need a small group of genuine friends. They will be there whenever you need moral support. My advice is don't friend with others just because you are lonely. You should give time to those who really want to connect with you. Because by the age of 25, your so-called big group friend will just dissolve anyway. So, give time to true friends and family! We are actually on the way to be parted from our family as they can't be at our side forever. Treasure the time talking with your family and pets. 

3. Travel more when you are young

So far, I am lucky to be able to travel in different countries. Don't join the typical tour! Plan your own trip even though it will be hard and frustrating sometimes. I have more concrete memory of my own trip instead of those agency tour. 

4. Don't worry! No matter how experience/ old you are, you will still be cheated!

From my personal experience, people will tend to hide some important facts. I have met people who told you everything is well-arranged. But, the situation is not what it seems. Then, those people will just keep on pretending those promises were not made. Oh well, take this as a lesson! This is the process of growing up and moulding to be part of society. People lie, that's it!

5. Don't compare yourself to your peers

There will only be one Steve Jobs, Bill Gates in that era. There will only be one Mark Zuckerberg in new era. Yes, just be happy ! The criteria to be successful is never clear. As long as you are contented and happy, that counts!

6. Education is not everything. To be successful, you need more than grades

Kindergarten, Primary school, Secondary school and University are just a phase in life. They constitute major part of our lives, but not everything. We can excel in University, but, we can still be left behind in life if we are not improving. Darn, I am still in my Ph.D course (contradicting statement). You can have a perfect score in every exam. But this will not bring you far if you lack of those essential social skills. What I believe (friend please don't kill me for this) is that usually the most successful bunch of friends are those whose academic results are just average (2nd upper, 2nd lower). You can score 100 marks in math, but you can't solve an actual engineering question. What is the use? 

7. Everybody fails something

I failed my additional math before this! I failed my Chinese essay examination. Excruciating as they seemed, I pull it through! Failure makes one stronger!

8. Save money,  invest as early as possible and learn those financial part

If I knew (if ) that Kuala Lumpur housing would rise 200% in 2015 as compared to 2009, I would have told my dad to buy as many properties as possible. But we can't predict our future. What we can do is to save up and one day when it is affordable, we would readily pay for the downpayment. Another point is that invest ASAP from public mutual to stocks. What we earn will never to able to follow the rise of living cost. That's why we must learn to save and invest the money wisely. When I am talking about financial, I mean your income, tax and expenditure. We just have to keep balance of those in life! 

9. Find time to consider you like and realise it

I thought I like one thing. But, after some time, I find that it was just a misconception from public/ friends/ family. You will never know unless you try it. But, never ever rush into things even though we have a lifetime to amend our mistakes!!!!!!!!! I wish that I took my language classes seriously, if not, I will be fluent in Japanese and Spanish now. 

10. Life will always be a learning curve

24 years ago, I learnt to talk and walk

20 years ago, I learnt to write

15 years ago, I learnt to make friends and be silly

10 years ago, I learnt to memorise for my test

8 years ago, I learnt to make my own decision in education

3 years ago, I learnt to earn for a living 

1 year ago, I learn to adapt a brand new environment  

If you ever come across my blog, these 10 things are some personal experiences from me! If you are in your 20, treasure every day and every moment because I just lost my 6 years of youth in a flash! hahahaha, I just can't believe it because it was like a couple months ago when Kelly Clarkson won American Idol 13 years ago! 

Life is a journey, so simple, yet so complicated. Along the way, people come and go. We can't always have everything we want in life. But, it is no harm trying!  One last note: be yourself and happy because life is too short!

Nottingham Castle Journey

“I think it’s very healthy to spend time alone. You need to know how to be alone and not be defined by another person.” by Oscar Wilde, Irish writer and poet. 

Almost every city in UK, there will be a castle and cathedral. Owing to UK unique history, the places I visited so far has this kind of city structure. York, Nottingham, Lincoln, and more to come have their lovely church and castle even though most of them are smaller in size. 

Nottingham Castle is situated very near to the city, especially the Broadmarsh Shopping Mall. In normal days, the admission to Nottingham Castle is about  £5.50 (include museum, but exclude the underground tour). However, if there is any special event, maybe you can enter for free.  Basically, castles in UK are usually built in highlands, sames goes to Nottingham Castle. This gives an amazing panoramic view in the castle. 

The are two museums in Nottingham Castle, one is on hillside, another one is at the lowland just besides the Ye Olde Trip To Jerusalem pub (famous pub). The entrance to both museums is included in the £5.50. However, as stated earlier, the underground tour cost me another £4, which was guided by a speaker explaining the origin and development of the castle. 

Nottingham is also famous of Robin Hood, being one of the most recognisable characters around the world. Oh yes, I didn't know that. So, whenever you are here, it is more than common to snap a photo with Robin Hood. Yup, bow and arrow is like his signature !!! 

United Kingdom Adventure: Nottingham

Oh Oh Oh!!!!! In a flash, I have been in the United Kingdom for 3 months! 9 more months before I return to my lovely home country, Malaysia! Hahahaha, anyhow, here is it! The houses in Nottingham look as above - red bricks with chimney!!!!!! So far, this area is quite peaceful and very near with University Park of Nottingham. 

To the city, I can see that the city council of Nottingham actually seems to be quite like a mini white house of USA. The architecture in UK definitely is an eye-opening to me because it is very hard to find such buildings in Malaysia. This seem-to-be peaceful old market square often hosts different events! Now, it houses the Wonderland of Christmas Market which I might be covering in the future, hopefully!!!!

Oh yes, looking the cars here in UK! I was so lucky to bump into a wedding at the city council! The black car for the bride and the red bus for the guests! Such a beautiful event !

Yup, this is the city of Nottingham with nice food and beautiful buildings! In the next post, I will be covering the Nottingham Castle! Oh yes, there are too many castle in Nottingham. Till then, tata (^^)

My First UK Blog Post - A View from My Window

This year was crazy - 2014. The workload was okay but the uncertainties were definitely high. So, after years of dreaming to study in overseas and all, I finally had my wish came true as a Ph.D student. Hahahaha, kinda old to keep on studying, but gonna keep going on!

It is of course a great opportunity, since I am running off to United Kingdom (UK) for a year. So far, everything treats me okay, except for the weather - reasons >>>the temperature difference between morning and evening can be > 10 DegC. Yes, for this reason, I have suddenly suffer from minor migraine - which in my entire life, this is not an issue. I can't stay up late in UK, can't boil midnight oil>>> maximum drop-sleep time is 1145pm. @@

Anyhow, the groceries here and food here (I mean from supermarket) are quite affordable in the sense that it won't kill off your wallet at the end of the month. No car for me, good for diet! Hahahaha, people here are quite polite until it is frightening at one point. And, at Nottingham here, I feel quite cosy. It is a city with nice buildings and architectures and great food. 

As for the utility bill, it is still quite a weird arrangement. For water bill, we prepaid an estimated water usage for 6 months @@. As for electricity bill, we need to submit our own tariff reading, else they will calculate based on past record. This is a whole culture shock to me (^^).

This sums up my current life. I have been so busy with research etc. At one point, I was so phobia of writing even a single word. It actually took me a lot of determination to write this post and select the fine pictures above. 

Never thought that this post is actually 9 months apart. Great that my posts productivity declined greatly, because I am living a real life or Am I? By the way, my bloglink also changes over here to xjion89.blogspot.co.uk . Guess because I am in UK. Hahahahaha. Keep in touch and keep supporting my blogs. 

Cheeeeers, 

xjion a.k.a Jay  

Libra Star Cruise Adventure Part 2

"A little nonsense now and then is cherished by the wisest men", 

by Roald Dahl, British novelist, author of Charlie and The Chocolate Factory

As inspired by the quote, the adventure continues on the Libra Cruise so as the exploration. We further wondered around the outdoor. The pool and the Jacuzzi looked so inviting. There was even a short-distance jogging track here. Go for night joggers (^^) 

Apart from exploring the cruise's compound, there were even shows available from Hokkien singers, English singers, etc. For the children, I bet the most attractive show in the cruise would be the MAGIC show! It was combination of humour and tricks (^^) Perhaps not much youngsters there, the disco was totally empty!!! For the adults, you will find a lot CASINOs in the cruise!!!!!

As you can see the outdoor facilities, there were many sport facilities! Yup, totally suitable for sport junkie!!!!! Basket ball court, sprint track, etc were quite favourable! A final walk around the decks of the cruise statisfied our curiosity before heading to bed.

Without realising that the cruise had docked, it was another beautiful morning! The breakfast was another complimentary buffet! Yup, again, it was a variety of food! What another amazing meal (^^) 

We climbed to the highest deck again to have an overview, it was truly beautiful(^^)!!!! And, surprisingly, there was photoshot going on near the pool area with sexy bikini girls (@@).. Another exploration indeed....

After leaving the cruise, we set on a short trip around Penang. What a pleasant town with nice food! My mom was totally craving for the cendol ice there. So happen, I knew the location of the stalls. A nice bowl of cendol ice ended our journey in Penang prior heading home to Ipoh (^^) 

Overall a chill trip with no hassle was simply enjoyable and relaxing (^^) 

Lost World, Another Adventure!

 After the Kellie Castle trip, we headed straight to Lost World Tambun. As local Perakian, it was the first time for all of us to visit this hidden location. The entrance wasn't that cheap and you also require to prepare extra cash for the renting the "pelampung". We were so not prepared financially at all, have to "korek" from our pockets.

The interior was well-design despite it was still considered to be quite small compared to other theme parks. From street food to greenery mountain to mini-zoo, the concept was quite astonishing to fully utilise the nature in this area. Another interesting part of the theme park was hotspring integration. But, let me reassure that not every day is suitable for hot spring bath in Perak. The weather was blazing hot to an extend that we were boiled in the hotspring - double jeopardy@@ Recommendation: Check weather to ensure it is not too hot.

You can even spot some swans there ! Both black and white!!!!!!

How do you don't love the nature in Perak. However, recently on my way back to Ipoh, I can see a lot of hills being exploded and exploited for the granite/ lime stone. My guess was due to the virtual high demand of housing properties in Malaysia, more concrete materials are required.....Hopefully, government can properly control and ensure over-exploitation is preventable. 

Oh Kellie, A Castle For You

"The Key to finding a happy balance in modern lives is simplicity" by Sogyal Rinpoche.

This is definitely another overdue post. Kellie Castle, a magnificent heritage in Batu Gajah, long existed in 1915. However, the completion was hindered after the death of Kellie. Until today, it still stands on the ground of Perak.

From the architecture viewpoint, the design of the mansion/ castle is more to European/ Western style since Kellie was a Scottish. There are numerous of spacious rooms being constructed in the castle. The structure and arc built is definitely not an easy task, with cumbersome design and implementation.

  The yellow building is said to be the dinner/ feast hall if it was ever completed. The structure found in the Castle is often designed as round arc and onion-like shape; perhaps, an integration of local style into castle was applied.

Here are some of the little details in Kellie Castle. Door and Key. Entrance Arc. Square building. Onion-like windows. Clover-leaf-like air ways.....

The entrance fee was about RM4 per person. When my gang was there, the castle was undergoing some renovation. Still, it was worth our time! And, we spotted wedding photoshoot here too!!!! It is interesting to see and read some of the descriptions given in the mansion. It is assumed what was supposed to be though. Give yourself some imaginations when you are there (^^)

Turning Point of Life

As in my previous post, life is getting uncertain ever since joining the Ph.D. life. Perhaps, I need to be inspired at this moment. Can I have a pool of ideas which are like unpolished diamond, kinda greedy?! But, my brain is so dried up now. Hopefully, I can see beyond the windows. 

The Non-Eternity of Cyberworld - Good Bye Wretch.cc (无名小站， 永别）

Wretch.cc was one of the most promising blogger platforms 5 years ago. I was introduced to this site through my senior. I still remembered the naive and persistence of mine to continue blogging in this platform until recent years, it was truly completely abandoned. 

It gave me great memory to know a lot of talented people. I definitely had my ups (selected No.1 Random Blogger) as  and downs (the unshare-able dilemma)  there. Looking back my younger days, I definitely have a lot laughters (^^).

Like any other websites, it seems like nothing is long-lasting. Do you still remember ICQ? MSN? Windows Live Space? Friendster? Just wondering, when will Facebook or Blogger or Twitter being abandoned/ forgotten? 

Anyway, Happy Malaysia Day!!!! Hahahahahaah^^

Nestle Photo Contest Consolation Win (^^)

It had been a while since I won anything. I was so pre-occupied with other stuffs (life, work, etc.). Anyway, I just tried my luck with an online competition with Nestle (Not promo or adver post; how I wish to do ad post (><) ).  Surprisingly, my post on the sunrise theme hit the minor jackpot as the winner of the consolation prize (^^). Yuppie! I can sense my luck is coming back to papa.!!! Hahaha!!~ Anyhow, I uploaded the photo of sunrise scenery with the caption "At the Mount KK with a Cup of Nestum".  

Those were items won for my entry! Two (2) packs of weird flavoured-Nestum-3-in-1 drinks - Ginseng and Dong Gui!!! (@@) Yup, you tell me about it! I was reluctant to try at 1st. But, it was quite okay! Especially for those who really need the energy-boost! I felt the aroma and the taste was well-blend with the oats and definitely healthy to drink it (^^)

Nestle representative even couriered me the little photo frames! How sensitive they were! Hahahaa! It was a boost to my self-esteem that my Lumix FS6, despite being a weak compact camera, can still shot some nice photos. Anyhow, it was so saddening that just yesterday my FS6 died upon me (><) after the adventurous Gua Tempurung trip. Don't feel like spending a fortune to fix it ~~ Haizzzzzzzzzzzzzz

Denso Youth for Earth Action 2011 Memory Edition 1

Up to date, 2011 was my favourite year of all time as it was the year of freedom and chasing dream. Hahaha, perhaps, it was the year when I was still a dreamer youngster (^^). Anyway, it was summer 2011 when we received an email from our lecturer about the Denso Youth for Earth Action (DYEA). It is a programme  that truly embeds environmental awareness into the youths of today! You can find more information and even participate if you are interested at (here)!  However, I think this year is already closed. So, for those who are interested, you can prepare for next year (^^) For the winners, you can even join a foreign programme too, in JAPAN  !!!!! Despite I wasn't a winner that year, I really gained a lot of precious experience and enthusiasm in environmental conservation!

In day one, it was all about ice-breaking with the other 19 participants. They were all unique and special individual who were truly "green-minded". The 1st session was at the Denso Company, Bangi to introduce and educate us on environment preservation and conservation. After that, we moved into the Equatorial Hotel, Bangi!!!!! Yes, it was quite a nice hotel (^^).!!!!

In day 2, we were arranged to visit Denso plants itself. The operation and management was simply impressive with the detail of work involved. Below shows the microphone devices used while touring the plant (^^). Of course, the adventure didn't stop there. In the later part of the day, we went on another meeting/ visit to Department of Environmental (DOE), Putrajaya!

Two years ago, I was still not that familiar with Putrajaya. But, that time visit, it was an eye-opener tour because the architecture was simply astonishingly-designed. The meeting with DOE's director and personnel was quite fruitful too. The debate and discussion on environmental issues were quite a lesson to everybody involved!

I am so proud to be a part of DYEA 2011

Clan Dim Sum Restaurant 大家城點心茶樓 @ Sri Petaling

This scheduled post is intended for those who wake up early in the morning and feel hungry! Why?! Because it is dim sum time. Unexpectedly, I am covering KL/ PJ dim sum instead of the ultra famous Ipoh dim sum; however, don't expect less (^^)

Clan Dim Sum Restaurant OR 大家城點心茶樓 is located at Sri Petaling. 

Like typical any other dim sum, they also have the almost the identical choices. For example, you can definitely find xiao mai, egg tart, fried yum, fishballs etc as follow: (To me, the taste is just typical; but, I compliment the egg tart, worth to try also)

Of course, as a foodie blogger for quite some year, I am definitely looking for that special dish in this restaurant~ Can you give a guess??!!! Hahahaha, the answer is the famous 鸡窝包 (Gai Wo Bao ) or direct translation Chicken Hive Bun??? Pardon my translation. Well, what is this dish about?! It is like a combination of very slight char siew taste, nuo mi gai (glutinous rice chicken) and typical bun ----- Wala, this combination created 鸡窝包.

Have a good try! And, the address is as follow: 

140, Jalan Radin Anum 1,
Taman Seri Petaling,
Sri Petaling,
57000 Kuala Lumpur