The final hurdle

Finally took some time off my revision to pen in a few lines... for the past month or so...i've been indulging myself in medical books and medical books only! can't say that i'm sick of it... i'm actually enjoying it but there's just insufficient time to complete my reading. This semester ends with 4 exams...Surgery, Pediatrics, Psychiatry and Therapy...i have already completed 3/4 papers in a space of 5 days and i'm having the final one tmrw! after that, i'll be flying home the very next day!!! i can't tell how excited i am to be finally leaving back for malaysia... c ya'll back home.


It's been a fantastic year for me over here in Ukraine and a 2 months break back home will do me some good... don't know what i'll be up to though... hope to catch up with my old friends back home.. that's for sure...=)

Its been a while

Finally logged into blogspot to write another entry for my blog after a week's absence. Just got back from the hostel where we were celebrating my housemate's 24th birthday. Beer supply appeared endless to me:) had a few cups but was still able to stand steady unlike another one of my chinese friend who was as red as a tomato=P bday was smudged all over with cake again and again ..haha. funny like mad. slowly made my escape back to my apartment soon after as i had to cook ler.. i actually manage cook without a glitch despite bein' a lil tipsy...

so let's see, what has been happening in the past few days... they had some elections today for the Malaysian Student association... to me it's all a big joke... two individuals who probably have nothing else better to do. attempting to unite everyone in this uni? *achoo*... it sure ain't gonna happen in a million years... so obviously i stayed away from the elections.. moreover i had my housemate's bday party to attend:)

I've only got another month of so in this god-forsaken land before i board the freedom flight back to my beloved country... as ive mentioned before.... i'm freaking feeling home sick ler... malaysia... i'll be back home k.:)

Went to this mountaineous area last saturday for a bbq bday party... it went on very well... my housemate, matt n i even managed to get ourselves lost when we were heading down from the mountain peak... thank god we found our way back... unfortunately, there was no camera with us, otherwise i can let the picture do all the talking. the view from up there was magnificient. it was worth every single drop of sweat on our body. best of all, matt n i didn't have anything on us, we climbed n climbed as though we owned the place n feared for nothing in the world. fantastic climb matt ;)

meanwhile, exams are nearing and i'm panicking as usual... gotta start !!!
yARGH!!!

compilation

Since the term is drawing to a close... i figured i should post up random pics of everything that happened during my 4th year in Ukraine. So here goes...


A pic taken in my room in Ukraine... guy on the left... Sara, i take my hats off for him for his 110% dedication in love.. guy came all the way from Msia to visit his girl. Which girl wouldn't want a guy like him? Been a long time since the 3 of us took a pic... i think the last one was back in 2000. Hope you had a great time here Sara:)




The Silat Master and the Kung Fu Sifu... Ee and I backstage preparing for the cultural show... this is a pic taken out of pure boredom.


Victory day celebrations in Sevastopol. Did i mention that the locals are really friendly in that part of Ukraine? see for yourself. And this is only one of many similar pics with other locals on that day...


Prom 2006. "Retro Fever". My first time on stage doing a sketch... Unforgettable crew... i had a lot of fun just coming up with the entire thing. For those who watched it, hope you people liked it.


Still Prom 2006, all posing for a quick pic before the crowd fills up the venue. Check out the retro styles...


Winter holidays in London. Posing at the gates of Buckingham Palace. is that thing made out of pure gold??



London Chinatown... it sure brought me some sense of familiarity when i stepped foot here. I even saw Durians being sold... but it costs something like 8-9 UK pounds...per KG!!!



Medical quiz team. Pic taken right after we emerged as runners-up in the inaugural competition.




A pic taken during the pub crawl over in Berlin. met this bunch of fabulous guys at the hostel earlier ... thanks for the drinks guys;)

So there you have it, my 2nd semester in a series of pictures:)

Rojak of news

Been trying to rest as much as i could during the past one week, it's sort of a ritual of mine before i start my 'intensive' revision for exams. This time exams are starting mid of June and in my case ending on the 20th of June... i've already circled that date on my calender.

My futsal team was involved in some events just a few days back. A *suppose to be just another regular game* turned out to be a disgusting showdown of physical power. The russians were having a go at our feet instead of the ball... referees did not do their job... for heaven's sake.. they did not even have a FREAKING whistle to begin with. Match was suppose to end at 3-3 but it was 3-2 in their favor... there was more commotion after the match which i think didn't end too well... heard from certain sources that both teams might be disqualified. It only serves to drill in the message that asians are simply the minority here and the ukrainians organising this whole tournament simply don't want to see us advancing further. what racism? happens everywhere...there's nothing much we can do about it. As for me, i just felt the whole commotion could've been avoided if only the referees had brains and brought their whistle along or simply postpone the game till' they finally get hold of a whistle la... stupid dungus!!!

Eversince the old lady came down from the second floor to make noise at my place... we were supposedly talking 'over the limit' ... what in the world does that mean? things between us and our landlord has took a turn for the worse. They brought like 3 russian people to come take a look at the apartment a few days back... we were like... HARLOW?? we're still renting the place now we think? have some decency and respect for ukraine's sake!!! worse of all, only my housemate Matthew was around and when they screamed at him... he couldn't understand a single word... poor matt..
So the rate things are going, we'll have to relocate by the end of this semester and we have to do IT fast!! again, old lady... racist!! i'm not making accusations for no reason here... another old man who lives in the same building says that we are quiet people... and that the old lady is extra sensitive... only complains. when she hears some language apart from russian spoken because it would be us... and if other russian speaking people scream ... she wouldn't say a thing...!! now be the judge... i'm gonna go kill her dog one day... so busy busy month ahead...

and did anyone read on BBC about the 4 year old boy who can run 65km non stop. He's a so-called marathon runner... has a personal coach and all... but the government finally had the senses to ban him from running after the medical research team found some his heart to be overloaded and that his protein metabolism is way too high for his age?? 4 years old people!!! give him a break will ya. On the other hand... isn't he like dem talented and all? at that tender age... imagine when he is at his peak?? hmmm.

and oh yea... heard bout that MP from Jasin that made a fool out of himself back home... embarassing to say the least... will be very interesting to see what the Prime Minister will do though... and oh yea... don't forget 2020 is coming yar... no excuse for it not to work!!! so malaysian... NATO

besides that, im broke !!

Victory Day Celebrations

The participants: (from Left to Right) : Praveen, Vike and Yours truly.

Victory Day... what is this?
According to Wikipedia.

Victory Day marks the capitulation of Nazi forces to the Allies (the Soviet Union, the United Kingdom, the United States and other principal Allied nations) in Berlin on May 8, 1945. It is celebrated in the successor states to the Soviet Union on May 9, because when the German Instrument of Surrender was signed (in the midnight), it was already May 9 in the USSR and Eastern Europe. The US, UK and most western European countries mark Victory in Europe Day on May 8.

Victory day is celebrated in Ukraine on the 9th of May annually. This year, a few of us decided to join in the celebrations over at the port city "Sevastopol" which actually means "Magnificient" when translated from it's greek roots.

The 3 of us gathered at my place the night before. Suppose to head to bed earlier to get some rest but ended up sleeping only at 4 a.m. Vike dragged us all up at 5-plus. We were rushing as we were trying to catch the first train out at 6 a.m. Left the apartment only at 5.50... thank god it's just around the corner... but we still ran. Arrived a few minutes earlier just to find that the train is only coming at 7.14 a.m. How sad... wasted all that energy running but still a very good morning exercise. Walked to Mc'Ds for breakfast and later decided to take a bus down instead of waiting for the train.

Picture Description: Such an honor to be standing next to a world war veteran bestowed with dozens of medal of bravery. (mind the picture quality, fella holding camera probably was nervous to take the veteran's pic)

Journey there took about an hour. Found ourselves to be one of the early birds at the parade ground. Familiarized ourselves with the parade route and chose a lovely spot for ourselves. Not before long, the whole place was being filled up. Parade started at 10 a.m. sharp. It was basically a parade of all the war veterans. It was lovely to see all the appreciation by the crowd. Praveen and I certainly did not miss out on all the cheering.


( This has got to be the picture that make people go " Awwwww". My guess is that they are two veterans that ended up marrying each other)

Parade ended before we could really soak in the entire atmosphere... from there, we started our tour around the lovely sevastopol town. local people here are so warm and helpful, a HUGE difference to Simferopol, the town i'm studying in. Local People in Simferopol, if u are reading this... PLEASE learn a thing or two!!!
Walking next to the seaside definitely brought this sense of calmness over me... i'm sure everyone would agree with me.:)


Picture : Sailors from dunno which battalion marching by us.

It was not my first time in this city, therefore there the whole sightseeing experience wasn't something new though it's really good to be back after 2 years. Every trip i made to this city has only brought me wonderful memories ;)

Boarded the train back to Simferopol bout 5-ish in the evening. Super duper tired now...

getting to know Ukraine a lil' better

After giving some thought on the future... i realized that i needed to know Ukraine a lil' better... and moreover, it's a good opportunity to show the others living outside this place what this country is all about... of course i'm not going to feature everything in one go... ill start off with one of the more tasty dishes around.

First thing up is "PLOV"... one of the first dish here that i consider tasty enough, and able to compete to a certain level to some mediocre ciplak msian hawker food of course.

Here's some short history...

Palov (Russian: 'плов') is the national dish of Uzbekistan. It is a rice dish consisting of carrots, onions, spices (cumin, salt, pepper, paprika, and Barbaris), lamb, cottonseed oil, and medium grain rice. It is traditionally cooked in a deep, metal dish known as a "qozon". Plov can be made either at home or over an open fire. Several different types of simple salads are served with Palov. The most common of these is a mix of very thinly sliced tomatoes and onions which are then mixed with salt and pepper.

Preparations and recipes can vary from region to region, however the contents of the dish will always be based on the above carrot/onion/lamb/rice mix. (called "sabzi" in Uzbek) Ingredients such as whole heads of garlic, garbanzo beans, chilis and quinces can be added while cooking. A special "wedding palov" will include saffron in its preparation.

The origins of Palov are somewhat lost over the course of history. However, stories abound of it having been served to Alexander the Great upon his capture of Maraqanda. (modern Samarqand)

Palov is from the same family of Turkic rice-based dishes as Afghan "Pulao", Turkmen "Osh", Tajik "Palov" (see also Pilaf). One can also find variations of Palov (Pılaw in Tatar) in the Tatar regions of Tatarstan, Russia and the Crimea, Ukraine.

During the years of the Soviet Union, the dish spread throughout the other Soviet republics, becoming a favorite in such diverse places as Russia, Ukraine and Azerbaijan.

Gotta post up some pictures of plov eating sessions so that you can see the happiness in our faces. Meanwhile, we'll make do with just the plov without anyone around it.

Basically, it taste like good ol' nasi goreng with beef pieces scattered all over. All i'm saying is... i'm missing Msian Food la! I miss wantan mee,curry mee,pan mee,roti tisu,roti dunno what what la... and i miss malaysia and my friends la! Will be back by the end of JUNE... can't wait:)

LaZzZZzZzzy marathon

Picture Description: Varma and Vithiya, the only couple in the competition , matthew with the PS2 controller and yours truly not being able to resist the temptation to pose.

Starting from last night, 7 people with completely different background converged upon an old style ukrainian apartment to partake in the Lazy Marathon 2006. Held officially for the very first time with one aim and one aim only, who is the laziest of them all?

First night report

Met at the Lenin Boulevard around dinner time, participant Vithiya prepared a scrumptious meal made of chicken meat and some unknown vegetables. Meanwhile the guys channeled their fullest energy towards the PS2 machine.

Picture Description: Praveen and Varma choosing their respective teams while matthew simply loves to pose :)

Praveen and I made it to two consecutive finals (night and morning session) but i lost both!!! nevertheless, good game prav!

We spent the rest of the night planning for a BBQ outing at a nearby beach named "saki" but after much discussion we decided to cancel/postpone it cause' it was way too late to get anything confirmed.

By the time everyone settled down and finished posin' for the camera... it was already like 4 a.m. Oh, not to forget my 2nd floor neighbour... a 110 years old grumpy lady(age is purely fictional) came knocking the door and started pressing on the doorbell like a lunatic... (not her first time!!!) at around 3 a.m. As soon as i opened the door, it was like opening the door on the lion's cage... well, that's another story but it was hilarious... the whole episode lasted about 15 secs. Unfortunately i didn't have enough time to take a pic of her face... next time folks! ;)

While the rest of the participants nicely settled into bed, Praveen and i figured that we could still squeeze in one movie before we head to bed... so off i went and insert a CD. It was "win a date with tad hamilton"... after 5 mins, i dozed off. Woke up somewhere like 10 mins later and found my movie partner snoring off. Switched it off and the next phase of the competition started... aptly called who can sleep the longest competition.

Next day Report

Almost all the participants woke up from deep slumber at around 12 p.m. We gobbled up some yummy food like the chocolate cake matthew baked last night, some leftover Mc'D chocolate sundaes, and we even had Chic Kut Teh!!! once again thanks to Vithiya. Enjoyed this whole competition thoroughly. A few of them will challenge themselves further for another night... the winner shall be announced soon. :)

I'm all out for more Lazy marathon to be organised in the future... of course after the finals lar bugger!! ish..