10 Reasons Why I Don't Drink :)

Hi there !

So here's a post, on why I personally don't drink (and maybe some valid reasons for those out there who drink, intending to stop anyways )

1. It can be unattractive
- I've seen my friends lying on the floor suddenly in the kitchen at 5AM, throwing themselves around guys, throwing up at the toilet bowl, and yeah if you intend to look good, getting drunk is definitely not one of the ways. Some guys even find it a turn off to look at a girl who's to drunk. Anyhow, you can let loose of yourself and have a good time still, just with limits, which is definitely assured if you're sober !

2. You can't remember the things you did when you were too drunk
- You might do things you'll regret. Even my British friends say that to me. Definitely a way to get yourself out of trouble.

3. Save money !
- Yes, you get to save a lot of money by not splurging on alcohol ! A bottle of vodka would cost an average of 10 pounds and with 10 pounds you can buy at least 3-4 tubs of Ben&Jerry's ! Which to me personally, is worth more spending on than some drinks that would only last a night.

4. The picture says it all !

5. A burden

- Sometimes , you can actually burden someone else with your drinking habits. For instance, when you're drunk or even tipsy, you would throw yourself to guys and your friends would feel the courtesy to take care of you.

6. For a real good time !

- Nobody says 'if you don't drink, you're not gonna have a good time' . If you intend to go clubbing or to pubs, just let loose, enjoy the music and have fun ! Doesn't necessarily have to come with the idea of being drunk or tipsy :) 

7. A healthy lifestyle

- Drinking has more bad side effects than good side effects (only if you don't include in medical reasoning). And most of the time, hung overs restrain you from having an early fresh jump start the next day !

8. Mentally Challenge Yourself

- To actually not drink in a crowd of people who drink can be a peer pressure to people sometimes. So if you could actually not drink when everyone is drinking (and have a good time at the same time), congratulations ! You have managed to prove yourself that you have a strong will and mind!

9. It's not the solution to your problems

- When you come across problems, you tend to want to forget all of it by just drinking. But that's not the way. You can put things aside for awhile by going for a run, watching comedies or games, go out with your friends, or even gaming. Drinking is only one of the many not-so-suggested ways. Sometimes you might even get hooked to it to an extent where you become an alcoholic and BOOM, there goes another trouble to worry about in your life !

Last but not least,

 As a muslim, if you drink, for 40 days your blood will somehow-rather-be contaminated
- I psychologically tell myself that if I ever drink, for 40 days, my prayers will not be accepted (in a way) as my body is contaminated. And in that 40 days, anything can happen. For instance, my mum could've passed away within that 40 days and my prayers wouldn't even mean a thing for her.

Do's and Don'ts in a Relationship

Hey guys ! Frankly speaking, Im not an expert in relationships. I've only been in one serious relationship my whole life (that lasted for only 5 years) , but I can sorta kinda figure how relationships work really. Its pretty simple, I think.  It just gets complicated when you ponder too much about the unnecessary stuff.

I usually go by the quote that ,

' IF ONE LOVES ANOTHER, ONE SHOULD KNOW HOW TO TREAT THE OTHER'

But anyways, 

Here's my perspective on the Do's and Don'ts in a relationship ! 

DO ! 

1) Give each other space 

Girls : Give your guys space; like gaming or bro times . They really just wanna chill with their bros once in awhile. Its not like they're flirting with other girls at that moment. So, just chill :)

Guys : Give your girls space a little, but generally most girls don't quite enjoy too much space. But if you don't give them space that they need ( not like they want it ) , they're gonna be too dependent on you and in the long run, that ain't good . Do show you care guys !

Both Girls & Guys : Space is necessary for a healthy relationship ! For both of you to grow 

2) Trust 

Girls : Trust your guys, but not a 100%. Just trust them enough not to appear clingy or bother them with infinity questions on every girl they talk to. If he cheats on you, that's his lost. Don't try to work things out with a guy who doesn't know how to treat you right. 

Guys : Trust your girls ? Hahaha I really don't know much about this. Most girls like it when guys get a little jealous but too much can be nuisance I guess. Show like you care atleast, no matter who she goes out with .

3) Talk with each other, Communicate ! 

Both Guys & Girls : Seriously people, you guys just have to stop fighting too much in relationships ! Negotiate, talk about things. There is no necessity to ask for a break up after every single fight. Discuss what you guys want , likes and dislikes , and try to work things out from there. Pretty sure you guys can work things out together. Don't just expect one to understand another without even telling each other what's wrong.

4) Respect 

There's just really not much to say about this. I dont find the necessity for anyone to be taught on why they should respect each other. Hahaha. 

5) Apologize

Apologize to each other for every small mistake. But then again, don't apologize too much cause it can seriously get annoying. 

DON'Ts !

1) Have a third person in a relationship

Both Guys & Girls : A relationship is between just the 2 of you. You don't need another person to be in between trying to solve any problems you guys are facing. Just try your best to stick to just the both of you 

2) Throw yourself in the relationship too much 

Girls : Most of my girlfriends tend to throw themselves into the relationships too much and end up regretting it. Save yourself some dignity cause there is no assurance that the guy you're currently dating is your 'happily ever after' 

3) Expect it to be one sided

Girls & Guys : The thing that somehow sucks about relationships is that you have to negotiate. That's why some people enjoy being single more ! But yeah, negotiate with one another. Give and take :)

4) It's not a Disney Channel Movie or a Romance Movie

Girls : Seriously do not expect a freaking happily ever after like the disney movies. Real relationships are just not like that. Stop day dreaming on the Prince Charming and get back to reality. 

5) Expect too much from each other

Girls & Guys : Expecting too much from each other can hurt one another. It can also make your head pretty bothered thinking about each other's expectation so frequently. Just hope the best for each other, and really, stop giving indirect messages or indirect expectations

6) Fight on social media

DON'T . Just don't ! 

7) Give up trying

Never give up trying to work things out together. But if ever tonnes of trials, and it doesn't work out, I guess it's just not meant to be then .

Nevertheless, if you're single now, enjoy it !

You'd get to spend more time to work on yourself rather than a relationship or each other :)

When the time comes, the time comes. 

Put your head back, chill and get high on life !

The Lazy Cooks Buttermilk Chicken !

Hey guys ! So a couple of my friends have been asking me for recipes,
And how I cook as a student,
So, here's one of the many (hopefully) posts I'll be writing,
On how to cook when you're lazy // also student cookings !

The original recipe is a bit too sweet for me and I quite like cooking spontaneously (with love) , so here's the edited version :

Ingredients :

1) about 3 sticks of curry leaves

2) 2 Chilies ( preferably cili padi )

3) About 1/2 stick of SCS Butter

4) Slightly less than 1/2 tin of Condensed Milk

5) Oats or Corn Flour

So, its really simple. 

1) Pour a little oil into the hot pan and a pinch of salt (to reduce the 'hot' effects of adding chili into hot oil)

2) Fry the curry leaves and cili !

3) Add butter till it melts completely ( add as much or as little as you wish)

4) Add condensed milk and let it boil ( it will combine with the butter) 

* I add my condensed milk little by little. I stop pouring in the condensed milk once the sauce looks like of the perfect ratio. But its usually slightly less than the butter as it could cause excess sweetness*

5) Add a little bit of just oats or cornflour (diluted with water) into the sauce to slightly thicken the sauce 

and there you go ! The buttermilk sauce :)

Note : Its better to fry the chicken first before adding the sauce into it. BUT , if you're lazy like me, I usually would buy frozen chicken popcorns and fry for 3 minutes only. Ill pour the sauce on it after and it still tastes as good as frying your own chicken !

The recipe doesn't have to be exact but its roughly there. I usually don't follow exact measurements. Try to estimate the condensed milk measurement by adding it in slowly once it starts boiling .

All the best ! 

The Weekend Gamble ; From Colchester to London to Oxford

HI !
Frankly , I've never been to the UK so this is kinda my first time to travel around this part of the world and I'm so pumped to travel and post more about travelling around here more often !

Anyways,
Selamat Hari Raya Aidil Adha :)
And,
Here's my post on my Weekend Gamble to Oxford !

I left campus on the 62 bus to North Station in Colchester about 1PM , from University of Essex, took roughly about 20 minutes to arrive roughly. Oh, and was travelling alone to London btw ! Haha. For those who might go to London through the North Station, there's an interval of roughly every 15 minutes of train so it's not that long of a wait :) and the ticket was about 30 pounds for an open return without a railway card. Try to get a railway card if possible for discounts btw. 

Arrived at the Liverpool Street and met with the travel buddy for the weekend, Azam !

IMPORTANT ! If you're about to travel around London, do get yourself the Oyster Card at the train station. You could use it around tubes and buses, basically almost all public transports in London as far as I know off.

Got on the train heading to Marble Arch, crossed the street towards Hyde Park and waited for the X90 or OXFORD TUBE bus for a couple of minutes. If I'm not mistaken, about 20 minutes of intervals for the buses. X90 cost me 11 Pounds return ticket, Oxford Tube would probably cost about 13 Pounds, but its more of a comfortable coach.

This is all like a gamble to me honestly, to come down to London in the first week of settling in the UK and heading to Oxford over the weekends ! 

So we made it to Oxford Brookes University after an hour and a half, (felt like it was shorter), and met our subang friend, Ridhwan !

Arrived quite late though, about 6PM. We couldn't do much though, so stayed in and cooked Buttermilk Chicken. Yes, there's a tesco that sells Halal Chicken here in Oxford as well !

OMG sedap gila kays dapat makan ayam, its been a week long since I last had chicken kays !

Slept over one of the nicest girl I've ever met's house, Teekay ; for the night :)

Since it was a Raya Haji weekend, the Kumpulan UMNO Oxford made a gathering on the sunny Sunday. Woke up around 10am the next day,

got a cab to Oxford Uni and joined the KUMNOX gathering. They served the best malay food ever. Alhamdulillah, malaysian food ! 

Met a lot of great intellectual & interesting people here, definitely. And the event was really fun ! 

But it was getting a little late around 2PM so we headed to the famous Oxford City Centre.

Walked along Queen Street for a couple of hours, passed by Radcliffe Square which was B-E-A-UTIFUL ! 

Definitely one of the must visit places in Oxford. Me and Azam were actually walking to a nearby mosque at Bath Street (took us 15-20 mins of walk to get there), when we passed by this square and a couple of other tourist-y spots .

That's the Riverside Terrace, for those who come hoping for some romantic paddle in Oxford .

Note : The buildings and architecture in Oxford are mostly old and castle looking. They're so beautiful !

And here's the mosque at Bath Street, 

Around 6PM, we headed back to Oxford Brookes and decided to eat at Atomic Burger. It was superbly delicious ! Note that it comes with making a hole in your pocket too. An average of 8 Pounds per burger so I shared with Azam one burger. Lols. The vegetarian burger here tasted as good as beef burger though ! And it's a really cool concept Burger Shop. 

That's Evon btw, she was kinda like our tour guide for the day in Oxford. A good friend of Azam's .

And that's the Vegetarian Burger and Fried Sweet Potatoes. Yummmms .

        

Initially , I was suppose to head back to uni on Sunday night but it got too late. We were still chilling in Oxford at about 7.30 PM. So we decided that I should stay in London for one night, it was either that or to head back to Essex at about 11 PM which was quite dangerous. Arrived at London around 10 PM, said my goodbyes to Azam and chilled with my good friend staying near Hyde Park, Aqil.

Part of the gamble was that I had to crash over my friend's place in London last minute, Fauzan ! *phew, nasib baik ada member/relative kat London ; Queen's Mary *.  Gotta admit though, got a bit of an adrenaline with all the spontaneous plannings but overall, it was definitely a fun and adventurous weekend ! Left early about 8AM and headed to the Mile End station, 

Got back to Uni the next day, Monday, around 10AM and still had a couple of hours to get ready for the first class of my first year, Contract Law, which was only for an hour. Could've spent more time in London though. Haha .Oh wells. No rush, will be here for the next 3 years anyways ! 

Alhamdulillah and thanks everyone for such an awesome weekend , God Bless :) 

Special thanks to Azam for making it all possible, just a day before the trip ! It was all unplanned, kinda I guess is one of the fun part of the trip !

Kays, gotta get back to my books. Would definitely write about travelling soon, hopefully !