Today I hate PPK-ers

Well in cantonese, PPK is FFK or Fong Fei Kei. So today was suppose to be the mock presentation. Out of 5, only Julia and I turned up. Had a run through with Julia so it wasn't that bad, but I wish the others could be present. Somehow, most of them are out of town so =S, no practise for today

Sometimes you just wanna cry

*Editors note, all those who are referred to here are altered by name. The author does not blame them nor is he talking behind their back. He understands that each people have their personality, thoughts and objectives and thus knows that its only in human that we do mistake. Please do not be offended by anything written in this post. It is from MY point of view and from my thoughts.*

Sometimes in my life I just want to break down and cry. Standing loosely on the earth with the shadowy clouds above my head, where the moon shines gently on me, understanding my pain. Wouldn't that be lovely even when life is againts you?

Sadly, honeymoon period is over in Uni. Even when I was meeting deadlines and submitting my assignment and getting excellent reports back, its beginning to fumble now.

It started with group presentation where everyone was panicking as the deadline was tomorrow, and not two weeks later which everyone in the cohort assumed. Note that I used the word assumed as our Academic Tutor did ask us to double check the dates. Sadly none of us did. =S

I was fine with the deadlines, nothing is the matter with it as my slides are ready and I just need them to have a mock practise and scrub ourselves from there. But to my horror, this situation appeared.

****************** STARTING OF STORY, PART ONE*****

Me: The presentation is tomorrow, can we have our mock practise session tonight?
A : Sorry I have an important date tonight, I can't attend.
B : I have to go to the gym later and I will be tired so I won't be able to come.

*Okay, its an important date and well if they are not willing to sacrifice such things for our presentation, what can I do about it eh? Mind you, the presentation is 45% of my module mark. FOURTY FIVE PERCENT! Thats a whole lot!!!*

Me: Okay fine, when are you free then?
A : We can have a practise session tomorrow at 8am, before lectures starts.
Me: Okay, I'm fine with that. Everyone else okay with it?
C : Sorry I can't come. I need to eat breakfast and my hall serves it at 7.45am.

*Faints*

****************** END OF PART ONE******************************************

Seriously, I can deal with dates if they want. But Breakfast because your hall serves you at that time? Can't you get a sandwich or something, heck I could even cook for you if you want so! But in the end, the presentation got postpone. Got a heck of scolding from Pedro because of it but as a Student Rep, that is what I am expected of I guess. But later then when I ask can we have our practise session, everyone was saying.....

"Its due in two weeks time, We'll do it next week."

Gosh! Procastination is what got 1/2 of the cohort in this mess in the first place, and now we want to procastinate again? =S

***** STARTING OF STORY, PART TWO*****

Business and Application Design. Had a 40 minutes pointless discussion where only the last 5 minutes matter.

ME: I've set up the buttons and layout. Is there anything you want to change, for example the button's name cause I just named it and will change it later.

*Have a 35 minutes argument of what suppose to be the buttons/link where they wanted 'that' and not what I put, when I told them its fine cause 'this' is just a dummy. Clearly they didn't understand that so it when on and on and on........*

Thursday, was dead tired and wanted to sleep after QUANTS. X called me and ask are we doing the website or not? I was almost at my door so I turned back, walked my way to the MBS computer cluster. Only to find X leaving us guys behind 15 minutes later cause she has to go to work for at 2pm, and mind you it was 10am at that time and she left just because I didn't bring my hard drive. =S I live 2 minutes to that building and you can't wait 2 minutes just to do the job you CALLED me too? =X Sorry but in my humble opinion, I think that sucks.

So later on Friday I asked X to do a UML Diagram for the presentation. We had a guest French lecturer where no one was paying attention *Well some might, including me*, and I personally requested Nikolay to repeat that lesson when he came back. And guess whats the answer I received,

X : Sorry but I have no idea how to do it.
ME : Erm, learn how to do it? We had two lectures on it, one by the french lecturer and one by Nikolay this week.
X : Ah, the French lecturer *giggles*. But still I don't know how to do it and I will be away this weekend.
ME : Just do it, please?

Having doubts in X, I asked another colegue of mine to do it. He told me he didn't know how to do it but when I said it was in the slides, he said he will take a look and try to do it.

Less 'excuses' and more trying to do. I like this. Seriously if you don't know how to, learn how to. If you missed it, try to learn it some other way. I don't want to be seem pushy but sometimes, people just don't get it. Since you are the expert, you are expected to do everything. Once again this Website + Presentation is a whole 40% (FOURTY PERCENT) of my module mark. I would love to spilt the job to everyone but somehow they just pushed it back to me =(.

***** END OF PART TWO*****

Okay, so I am worried that I might not be able to achieve my 60% afterall with this kind of team. =X I want a First and not just a 2nd upper but it seems hard with everyone trying to get just a PASS. No spirit or hardwork cause they just want a pass. For Freak sake, if I don't get 60% I'll get send back to Malaysia!

****** STARTING OF STORY, PART THREE*****
Londoners were coming to Manchester. Great! I said to myself, one weekend which I could enjoy. Sadly after a busy day I came back with a question asked to me on skype.

'Blackpool this Saturday with the Londoners, are you coming?'

I mean, its not that Blackpool Pleasure Beach ain't fun, its just that Hariz and I already have something planned for the Londoners which includes, Rusholme, Old Trafford MU tour, Trafford Center, Christmas Market, Piccadilly and Piccadilly Garden.

So basically Blackpool kinda screw those plans off. But its okay, if they are fine with it then why not. So I replied "Yeah, sure. Who's buying the ticket?". Guess what I got for reply?

S :I bought the tickets online already.
ME: Did you buy mine?
S : No I didn't. I tried to ask you earlier on skype but since you didn't reply, I thought you weren't coming.
ME: ..........

I later on bought the tickets before realizing that I have AGM on that day. Bought Dee's as well so thats £20 wasted on the drain. =S Its freaking RM100++ man!

Nevermind, Chill.... it's just money. Its your mistake for not remembring that there is AGM.

But then came Saturday. Slept at Dee's common room at 3am because of Mike's birthday. (Happy Birthday again Mike!) Woke up at half past eight and went to the station with Hariz to pick Farhanah, Belle and Mai. Went back to sleep later and woke up at 12.30pm before I prepare myself and go to Sackville Building for the AGM. To cut short, I wasted 3 hours there and a possible trip to Blackpool because it was cancelled and postpone due to some miscommunication. Can't blame them but this just adds to my discomfort.

At night, S text me and said that they are going Rusholme. I asked:

ME: Aren't we suppose to go to Christmas Market? Didn't you just go to Rusholme yesterday?
S : Some just arrive today and I think they should go and eat at the restaurant at Rusholme.
ME: *Feeling pretty pissed* Well IF you want to follow the ORIGINAL PLAN and go to the Christmas Market, then text me when you guys arrived. Otherwise, good night. Cause Rusholme is open till 3am and Christmas Market is open till 10pm.

S decided to go to the Christmas Market. I went to pick up Dee cause I had her buzzer thingy. When I texted S where she was, she replied Market Street and she will text us the exact location when we arrive at Market Street. So there we were at Market Street and all we got was ' At the Santa Claus in front of the Christmas Tree'. Great! Since when there is a Christmas Tree in Market Street.

So Dee and I search for it, up till a point we gave up. We tried texting S cause non of us could call but no reply. 1 and a half hour later we got a phone call. We asked them where they were and S replied at the Christmas Tree. I asked which Christmas Tree cause at the end of Market Street, there are roads to the left or to the right. Then S just said Christmas Tree. I asked her again whether it is at Market Street or Piccadilly Gardens. Then suddenly A said on the other end of the phone, S we are at Albert Square, not Market Street.

"£$%%^&* All this time they were at the Christmas Market while we were freezing at Market Street looking for them for 1.5 hours. Believe me, the rain didn't help either. But its okay, it is norm for human to make mistakes. So A asked me do I want to join them for dinner at Aghan's at Rusholme. I said okay and asked what time are you going to? He said now, so off Dee and I went to Rusholme.

We reached there at 9.30pm but they only arrived an hour later. Bus delayed due to the Eid celebration. The celebration is weird here but futher comments on that. A text would be greatly appreciated if there were any but there was none. Dee and I just sat there, waiting for them to come.

They came an hour later and we had a fantastic dinner. But Dee and I felt like we wasted a lot of time just wasting by waiting. Dee could have been doing uni work or watching a movie with Mike, Tom and the rest while I could be at Laura's celebrating both Michelle's and Latrisha's combined birthday party. Not to mention assignments to worry about. But I couldn't blame them. Bus were not coming according to schedule and there was the traffic.
****************** END OF PART THREE******************************************

So everything combined together just makes me feel like bursting out, crying down. I would be great to have a shoulder to cry on but for me, I can only cry alone. Its sad but true.

I know human makes mistakes and we are all here to improve. But sometimes its just too much for me to take. I breakdown and I collapse, thats me.

And for that, I cry for the first time in the last 6 months.

A day with the Missionaries

Firstly I would like to apologize for not yet posting those updates that I promised. Soon! Just after I'm done with all my deadlines and assignments!

Today was great. Did my first task as a ward missionary which is to assist the missionaries! The initial plan was to visit two person to have lessons with them.

After picking me up, we drove towards the first person. But somehow we missed a few roads and could not get there in time =X. Manchester is a city pretty much like KL where some turns have no U-Turns. Therefore we have to drive all the way along Deansgate just to turn back. We had to reschedule the lesson though. =S Time constraint.

Next was apparently a person name Naomi. =) We were there a bit early so Elder Larson and Elder Hasting tried to find people to spread the word and have lessons which. Some were really open about it and listen but most of the time it was rejections. I find it hard to try preach someone about the church when most of them are already Christians. Initially I just walked with them, observing them.

As time goes by, maybe led by the spirit... confidence crept into me. I began speaking alongside with the Elders. Although I wasn't the one looking for people to approach, this was a start! at 4.15pm we went over Naomi but apparently she wasn't at home. =( So we left leaving behind a note.

I went back and cook maggi cause I didn't do my grocery shopping yet and had to throw away the chicken breast meat that I bought earlier cause it was looking dodgy.

Went to Stretford Ward for the Ward Missionaries meeting. My first meeting ^^. Interesting enough a guy pop inside the meeting. We reckon he was a bit 'nuts' cause he was babbling and making weird statements. No offence but seriously, he wasn't making any senses.

Later on I joined the Elders to go to Sam's place where they gave him a lesson. It was on the law of chastity, tithing and order preparations for baptism. =)

Tomorrow is the Institute... Friday the Londoners are coming to Manchester, and we are finalizing the slides for Business and Management Presentation. Saturday AGM for MSSM and I have to work on my web and database assignment! Woah! Busy weekend ahead!

Updates

Sorry guys, been sick and very busy lately. Reading week didn't help that much as I was in bed most of the time.

Upcoming updates

1. Trip to Lake District

2. Movie Mania

3. Life so far...

OF 1 Lady, 2 girls and a guy. =D

Okay so I probably be killed for writing the title that way but let the mystery begins.. Which one of you is the lady? =D Figure that out yourself!

Okay so the story began. Aileen, Nichelle, YY, Hariz, Adina and I were suppose to go to Blackpool. I sign up for it but the rest didn't do so immediately so by the time they wanted to register, there weren't anymore vacancies. Therefore I had and almost went alone! =(

It was during the MUJS (Manchester University Japanese Society) screening night that Nichelle (who was on the reserve list) got a place and then later on, YY as well =P. Yippee! I don't have to go alone!

Anyway to cut the story short, the next day we travel around and hour and a half to go to the Pleasure Beach located at Blackpool. I actually thought that there will be beaches so we (Okay fine, me alone Y_Y) brought our beach attire.

It was fun since I haven't been on the roller coaster for a long time , Nichelle never been on one (this water fish is too scared), YY's been on a lot so its good for her and lastly Fion, a second year student at Manchester Metropolitan University (MMU or ManMet for short) who is studying Accounting and Finance.

First we went around the park, warm up with some less demanding rides which is this Wild Mouse. However as my friend Greg would later put it so, the ride is a rough one. =)

Wander into the kiddies area, Beaver park and saw these adorable figures playing at the window.

This is the ride known as the Bling! It basically just turn around and around while at the same time turning you 360 degrees round and round. Quite a dizzy ride to be honest. But if you enjoy yourself being fling around (Note: Fling NOT Bling, or perhaps it should be bling around =D), then get on this ride

Had a light lunch. I mean me! Can't have a heavy one with all the turning upside down and fast rides right?

This is the BIG ONE, which basically covers around 70% of the theme park I guess. Was terrified to go on it at first cause it is really really really high up! Not to mention I hate it when the ride is going down cause you have these feeling that you are gonna be flung out of your seat. End up going on it twice, one in the morning and another at night when all the lights are flashy.

Nichelle and I

Yes there is a parking lot reserve for Doctor Who's TARDIS!

YY, Fion and Me at the entrance to the Ghost Train.

The girls and ladies. YY, Fion and Nichelle

This was before we got on the IRN revolution ride. The ride basically shoots you forward doing a 360 lane and then in reverse mode when you can only see whats in front of you and it is going backwards.

Overall it was a good day. Departed at 8.30am and return at 9pm at night. A fun day ^^

Manchester

And so it came to pass, I've gotten myself settled down in Manchester. =P The scenery is pretty awesome. Those fable tales of the street being clean is so wrong (Well its not too bad, just that you can see a bit of rubbish around, still better than Malaysia). Haha, probably that was a lie to make ourself much more clean.

This is a cathedral down Oxford Road, it is situated near the Whitworth Park where we did our registration. Mind you, it took quite a while as there was a really really long queue.

And this is Whitworth Hall. No, Dee, Hariz and Umyra is not staying here... in fact they are further down the road.

The Student Union Building where societies do their gathering and event tickets are for sale.

And today as of 25th September, there was a few booth at the Grosvenor Park (I have no idea what the real name is but I shall call it a Park, well it does look like one, minus the bench)

Here is THE rodeo ride. The record was set at 64 or 67. I think someone got himself 67 seconds after I left but I am not really sure. Zack lasted 43 seconds while I lasted a mere 21 seconds. Yeah , I am ashamed of myself but nevertheless I did gave it a try. After much persuasion from Zack and Terry.

Oh ya, you guys don't know who the are yet. Well they are my hall mates. We live at Bowden Court Flat 17. I live in the first room and it is situated on the ground floor so just give my window a knock. Its the left one from the door.

Gladiator Fight? Terry is on the blue platform while Zack is on the red one. Terry was being squashed by Zack as he kept felling off. I told him that it wasn't really his fault, the platform was wobbly. After several people tried to bring Zack down (In which they failed horribly), one guy did.

Round Two was Terry on the Red Platform and Zack on the Blue platform. Zack still give Terry quite a fight (His skills and stability in unquestionable) but Terry manage to bring him down a couple of times.

Overall its my 5th day here in Manchester. Great place so far albeit that the mall close at 6pm and some at 8pm.

Sorry for the absence

Well after result day on the 10th of August, I didn't really want to write down how frustrated, shock, depress, baffled, or *insert emotion here*.

Been pretty busy lately. You know, planning, phone calls, continue being a sloth and etc. After Doomsday struck and luckily I manage to survive, thanks to the support shown by friends and of course you, Feng =).

A few notetable people who are Maalini, Jolene, Faye, Aliza, Kok Din, Daniel, Ibrahim , Amirul, Isa, Ken, Chee Kit, Mel, Chong Li Li, Audrey and Boon Seong. Sorry if I missed out any names. =) There's a whole list but just to let you know, I appreciate that.

So I had appealed, to LSE and Warwick but after several emailing sessions the answer they gave me was please wait until the 20th where the results would be released in the UK. Heck I even have to mailed then my Results (But that was expected , wasn't it?)

So the 20th came and I went to college with Farhanah. Meet some friends, juniors, super juniors (?). Apparently no one resides at my room yet so yeah. It still belongs to me! Say Mrs. B and got my component grades. Missed A for Computing by a slight grade and I still don't understand how I got a B for Psychology with AB grade. Yeah if the B was at paper 1 which carries 2/3 of the total mark, sure I'll understand. But I got a B at paper 2 which carries 1/3 of the total mark!

Albeit that, Maths grade was horrible. Shocking and speechless but enough said. There is nothing I can do except to move on and strive to do better next time. I had it easy since the beginning of my education life so I guess this is where I fall and is reminded not to take things for granted.

At the end of the day, got back home at 6pm - ish. Check my UCAS, 2 rejections. Sadness engulfs me for a sec but it did not stay long. There are things to be done. I emailed Manchester regarding the 2 Accounting course available for clearing, Accounting (AAA) and Accounting, Management and Information System (AAB). Decided not to go for Management (Accounting and Finance) as the course structure is more towards Management. And then I called the universities, both Warwick and Manchester for Clearing. When I phoned Manchester, i asked about the Accounting course. Much to my dismay, they said it wasn't in their clearing list.

Shocked but I think I am getting used to it now so I called Warwick instead. Mine you, getting the line busy for a few hours and your mum starring at you isn't something pleasing. Manage my way through and ask them for the Management course. After 1/2 of complex stuff (Apparently my subjects had a minor problem, no science subject but later found out that Computing was a Science subject), they said that they will call me back.

And so the wait continues. The next day I got an email from Gay Matryniuk, Senior Undergraduate Admissions Administrator.

Dear Adrian

Further to your clearing enquiry yesterday, we cannot make you an offer for the BSc Accounting programme but may be able to offer you a place on the BA Accounting, Management and Information Systems programme. I would however, need to verify your IELTS certificate before I could confirm this. Please therefore scan and email your IELTS certificate to me as a matter of urgency.

So okay there is hope, I got a place! A bit paranoid about the bold may be but it went well later.

Fast forwarding the story they confirmed that I will have a place there. Now I'll just have to wait for UCAS and oh my didn't I wait and waited.

21 August till the 27th August and finally they change my Clearing status. This whole month has been full of empty days, non productive due to the word waiting. This has truly tested my patience

Another thing was with Sime Darby. I've called them to tell them that I got a place at Manchester.

Day 1: No one was there in the department.

Day 2: Kak Zerizan was away but Kak Intan was there. She reffered me to Kak Muja (email her as she was in Hong Kong at the moment). Wrote and emailed the letter.(I'm getting pretty good at this =D). Went back to sleep and when I woke up, a reply was already there. Kak Muja seems to be very efficient in replying emails. Thank God for that ^^.

Yes Adrian, you may proceed.

Best news I had. So everything is settled, with Sime Darby and with the University.

For now I have to wait again for my Visa letter to come.

Wish me luck~

P.S: Didn't i mention how I grow to hate the word 'wait'? And thanks Li li for the nice phone call. Really enlighten me to the life style in Manchester. =) I'll probably stay at that hall the following year. I think it might be a bit late to apply now.