Should I work in my Final Year in uni?

IF you're a final year or a second/first year student, this post would probably be perfect for you...

Many times I've heard people discussing and pondering over working while being in university. Most of us get concerned with deadlines, time management and commitments. My personal opinion is, YES! You should work, or at least try to. Doesn't matter if you can afford everything you want or you're privileged enough to have parents who give you monthly pocket money etc. 

Working is great for you! (Also probably because apparently I am a bit of a low-key workaholic). 

You get a break, a therapeutic break. 

The jobs I had involved waitressing at a restaurant and serving sandwiches. Some people think they could spend the whole day in the library studying and if they had jobs, that such would not be possible. But the reality is, how many of us spends all day everyday in the library studying with only 30 minutes break as intervals? And okay, if you are nearing your deadlines or exams, you can always ask for leave - noting that you work a part time and not a full time job, so you are entitled to ask for leave.

With regards to having breaks, per say you've spent atleast 5 solid hours working on your assignment in the library, you could then leave for work and take it as a break! And when you come back from work, get yourself all freshen up and you can proceed again on your work.... 

And the best part is, when you're at work, you get engrossed with your job so much that the 4-5 hour shift (or even 8 hour shift) is for you to take a pause from your work and get back to it! I found it really productive for me to come back to studies after taking a break and I'm pretty sure like most of us, we do end up taking hours of breaks.... so why not make money out of it at the same time? If you're lucky, the people at your workplace might even end up being your closest friends and its like spending time with your friends whilst getting paid at the same time! How amazing is that?! 

You save time and money.

Okay, so both jobs I worked were "Food and Beverages" and it was such a blessing! I didn't have to spend time or money to grocery shop as often anymore, neither did I have to spend hours every day to cook and wash the dishes in the kitchen. I constantly had food from each job and by the time I get home from work, all I needed to do was to have a quick shower, a quick nap (if I'm too tired) and straight away get back to studying

You learn time management.

You don't leave things to the last minute. Because you know how busy you'll get within time, you'll start everything earlier and not because you can, but because you have to. And its amazing how having jobs affected my progress in assignments. Most of the time I've already gone through finishing half of my assignment just 2 weeks after they were released....

You educate yourself on the value of money

Seriously, there is nothing more I have to say for this part but only when you start working would you value money, A LOT !

Humility, independent - and character building!

When you're working part time jobs, there will be many incidents when you will do something wrong and you wouldn't get the usual "Everything will be okay" that you get from your parents when things go wrong. It's about admitting to yourself that you've done something wrong and you're liable for it. Having to say sorry to people because customer service is always important even if you're not wrong but your colleague is. Per say when I made a 6-inch subway sandwich wrong, I had to answer directly to the customers and not even have anyone else to back me up for it.... only to realise that these little things actually build up your character. In a way making you more independent.

It's also the many times I had to leave my friends or not attend the many times they hung out, those were the small decisions I had to make - which I feel has contributed to me being more independent. Having to commit to your responsibilities in life while making sacrifices.

Humility comes when you have to work with others, who might not come from the same usual background as most of the people you hang out with, your circle of friends etc. When you have to scrub the floor or clean the tables after someone else. And those are the times you tend to realise your own habits that might be bad but no one ever told you it was wrong. I remembered having to mop the floor and having some ignorant customers coming in, stepping on the wet floor..... URGH. Then it got me thinking, have I ever unintendedly do this to other workers even maybe? Oh especially those who play with their phones endlessly while ordering food, not having to bother looking at the person serving them.... gah the list just goes on, but I became more conscious of my self-being and how I treat others around me

And,
You'll get out of your comfort zone and learn so much more... the list is endless! If it helps, before you make a final decision on deciding not to work a part time job, write a pros and cons list, and weight it out yourself :)


If you're updated with my previous post, I had 3 part time jobs in my final year and alhamdulillah, graduated with a 2:1; the same grade as most of my friends (who did not have any part time jobs). In fact, there are so many other graduates out there who's graduated with a First Class and had jobs throughout university, yet having their own time and time for friends.

If they could do it, why can't you?


(Note: This is obviously based on my personal experience, observation and advice so please don't rely on it completely but please do make a pros & cons list before you make this decision!)

Food Sharing in Basel, Switzerland

With so much food to waste, I'm pretty glad that one of the friends I've made during my stay here in Basel is Josi. She's a mother of two kids working full time, yet she still makes her time to play an important role in helping others as much as she could, especially when it comes to reducing waste.

I've always come across videos on how society have been more conscious on their waste, specifically on decreasing food waste. Never have I thought once I would be able to experience and witness the process of 'food sharing' itself.

It was 9AM when I met with Josi and a few other volunteers at a bakery which had about 3 boxes of bread to waste. And a year ago, they had almost 8 boxes ! Great progress for sure but can you imagine that much is wasted from just one bakery within a few days ?! And that's just one bakery, imagine the many others....... ACCUMULATED!

Anyways, the volunteers were allowed to take as much as they want but with this bakery. The agreement signed with Food Sharing is to have all their food to be taken away and none is to be left behind to waste.

So after the volunteers left, I stayed back with Josi, curious on how she'll handle the excess bread. Oh, oh, I forgot to mention, she's one of the leaders of the Food Sharing group here in Basel. And so apparently just in the town itself, about 30-35 cooperation have joined food sharing and they have about 2-3 sessions every day. The cooperation includes independent grocery stores, bakeries, small supermarkets, restaurants etc; any organization that Food Sharing's capability to handle. So as if for now, the big grocery stores hasn't fully signed up for Food Sharing (i.e. Migros, Coop etc) but some are.

Actually, there was this one time, Josi came with her kids to the playground nearby and gave me some freshly pressed juice which tasted amazing and I asked her where did she get it from, she said it was part of her Food Sharing session the previous night receiving food from a restaurant serving vegetarian buffet!

Anyways, different shop has different agreements. Some would allow you to pick as much as you want, and some like the bakery we went to, requests that you take all the food away with you. If
there's excess food that volunteers choose not to take from the stores, they would bring them to the Food Sharing fridge!

It was about 10-15 minutes walk from the bakery and there were some stuff donated to the Food Sharing fridge from nearby homes or cooperation. Most of the food in the storage would be gone whenever she comes to visit it within a few days. She shares that those who come by for the food are usually pensioners or the ones in need.

There are also some basic (without fridges) Food Sharing storage you can find in some neighbourhood areas but they're usually requested by the residents nearby and is approved by the Health Department. 

To Josi, it was spending only an hour of her Saturday morning to help reduce waste and ultimately providing food to those in need. To me, it was life-changing. It was just an hour but she has no idea how much difference and impact she has made to the world in that one hour. It might have seemed so little, but within that one hour, she (and the team of volunteers) prevented 3 boxes of delicious breads from being wasted, and a starving person finds comfort in the cold with food.

There's still a lot more I wanna find out about this movement but for now.... 

PRETTY AMAZING RIIGHT?!

How I Ended Up with 3 Part Time Jobs

I WAS AT ROCK BOTTOM.

When I lost my scholarship 2 years ago, everything, I mean EVERYTHING changed. I couldn't travel much anymore, couldn't buy my favourite chocolate cereal at Tesco's and a Nutella spread seemed more expensive than I remembered it to be. While my friends could afford the convenience of buying food at our usual "Happy Days"; fast food on campus, I insisted to open a jar of pasta sauce and cook my own food.

(The reason as to why I lost my scholarship has nothing to do with me failing my grades or misbehaving etc. To simplify it, I would probably just say I was a victim of the bad economy)

I cried almost everyday for 2 weeks in my room while my parents fight their way out of me losing my scholarship. Feeling too disappointed and frustrated with myself, I couldn't even bear asking them for money more than I had to. Luckily my dad left me with an emergency credit card just for me to afford my groceries but other than that, I had to find money on my own.

I remember sleeping at 12 AM cooking nasi lemak and waking up at 5AM frying the chicken to be packaged & sold off to my other uni mates. Baking cookies at 1AM in the kitchen because it was convenient to bake then since no one would be awake to use any of the ovens so I had access to all the ovens in the flat. 

Back then in 2nd year, my parents paid for my accommodation still as I lost my scholarship too close to the datelines of my assignments to find a job, adapt to it etc. 

Every time I swiped the credit card to buy groceries of 20-30 pounds, my heart broke. Just converting it and thinking how much I've spent in a month just on groceries, multiplying it by the months etc, swiping the credit card was never a "guilt free" moment for me; even when so many people have convinced me its my parents' responsibility to provide, I just couldn't....

Then, I was determined that on my 3rd year, I wanted to be financially independent. 

Came back for 3rd year and the first thing I did on my first week of arrival was throwing my CVs to all restaurants nearby, applying for jobs online with the SU, Tesco was nearby too so that was an option of job I applied for as well even when the only position they offered was to arrange groceries after 12 midnight. All I could think of was the relief I'd feel just being financially stable again.

First job I got was a Student Ambassador which paid me pretty decent but the hours were not persistent so there could even be a week where I wouldn't get a job with them. Then after bugging Subway twice, I finally got hired as a part timer as a Sandwich Artist (wohooo, here begins my journey of making sandwiches for drunk customers and mixing tonnes of mayonnaise with tuna using gloves that were really impractical).

Suddenly recalled those late night closing shifts where we had to carry trash from the whole day into big dumpsters, mop the floor only to annoyingly have other ignorant customers to cross the lines we put up and step on them, and ugh, the worst was cleaning the toilets.....

Two weeks later, while I was still struggling trying to wrap sandwiches, the manager of the Vietnamese Restaurant came in and said they were just about to call me to offer me a job as a waitress at their workplace. Not being able to deny the opportunity, I went there and tried out for the job. Having to tell them my situation of Visa having a maximum of 20 hours limit etc, they still insisted me to work with them but we had to find a way to work around the system...

Next thing I knew, there were Saturdays where I woke up for work at 6.30 AM and got home late at 12 AM. I remember having only 30 minutes break in between jobs just because of the journey from one job to another took some time. And since the restaurant was nearer to Subway, there were days that I quickly changed and ran for my shift at the restaurant after an 8 hour shift of serving sandwiches. Also, I got myself a 10 pounds bike from a carboot sale to get me from one job to the other quicker! 

Alhamdulillah within time, I could afford to pay my own accommodation and had money aside to enjoy the little luxuries in a student life, like ordering take outs, going out for movies and having my trips to London again. Also, finally got enough money to get Ben & Jerry's in my hands again !

While many people asked me what inspired or motivated me, as much as I wish the answer to that is Steve Jobs or Jack Ma or Vivy Yusof etc, the simplest answer I provided to almost everyone was

"I WAS BROKE"

I know I know, you might say you could have always asked money from your parents or depended on them, but I just couldn't.

I didn't have much time for my friends neither did I have much time for myself. My meals were repetitive too,

"Tuna Subway Sandwich, Tuna Subway Salad, Vegetable Pho, Aubergine fried with Rice, Rice with Vegetable Curry" and as much as I would like to tell you there's more to the list, there isn't. Probably the only thing that is different is the salad/sauce I choose to put in my sandwich or the bread, and sometimes egg fried rice was an option for me at the Vietnamese Restaurant I worked at.

(Incase you were wondering, I didn't turn my diet to be a vegetarian diet... just that the places I worked at weren't serving Halal food so those were the only options left for me)

I reminisced that one day after a 16 hour shift, I got a call from my mum emphasizing how important my studies were and assured me that money is not an issue, that they as parents would be able to provide, and the hours I worked were unnecessary if it affects my degree. Little did they know, after the phone call on my journey back home from work, I poured waterfalls. I knew I put myself up for a challenge. I went through tonnes of coffees; stayed in computer labs, blasted piano pieces in my room while reading notes and catching up with datelines. The constant companion I had with me throughout 3rd year was the adrenaline rush just submitting my assignments and waiting for the results to be released.

Alhamdulillah (praise to Him; the best of planners), my parents and part of my family made their way all the way to the UK to witness my graduation day,

But when I look back today, everything I went through, was hella fun. And everything was worth it. Nevertheless, couldn't have done it without my parents, family and friends support. Everything was, worth it.

Though I'm not so sure today if I wanna go through all of that again..... it was definitely an experience.

Outdoor Cinema Experience in Basel !

It's the last weekend for the Outdoor Cinema Experience in Basel by Allianz and tickets were sold out online.....but we could try to buy tickets still at the door at 7PM and so I queued a pretty long line and was told that I most likely wouldn't be able to get the ticket since there were only 200 tickets left,
But I was thinking,

I'm getting a ticket for one, so what are the chances?!
Got to the ticket booth with adrenaline rush telling myself not to get disappointed and try again tomorrow, and I got it !! There were only 13 tickets left after me, what luck !

And they asked me, "Student ticket? 5CHF"
I was like....."Err yea yea, student ticket!" But we all know I've graduated with my student ID card expired but hey it would've been 10CHF so why not !

It felt like I received treasure after waiting in line for 30 minutes !

(and check out the Ben & Jerry's free ice cream voucher, amazing !!!)

They didn't tear the voucher away from my movie ticket and at the ice cream booth it stated,

"All you can eat" 

So thinking that I could eat more than 1 Ben and Jerry's for free...... how awesome is that?!

got myself another one right after the movie ended wohooooo! But they started collecting the vouchers after so maybe it wasn't meant to be "All you can eat".... oh wells, I've got nothing to complain with getting 2 free B&J's ice cream !

The doors opened at 7PM, and there were other stalls selling alcohol, pizza, drinks and so much more! Getting a bottle of water was 5CHF which I thought was expensive...but they gave us a token that if we recycled at the end of the movie we'd receive 2CHF back, gotta love the recycling culture here :)

"Hidden Figures" was such a good movie though !! Definitely a 10/10, and going to the cinema alone meant that I can sit anywhere with a good seat cause I didn't have to accommodate with anyone else having to sit next to me.... and I got myself the front row seats with those beach-y chairs (dammit, should've taken a picture but you can imagine it)

Also, check out the subtitles... it was in French and German since Basel speaks kinda both though mostly German, which I found to be soooooo cooooooooooool

It was definitely a great experience and would do it all again, Basel has so many things to offer so glad I'm calling this place "home" for the next few months :)

Be careful when you "share" or "post" !

Okay maybe its better for me to rephrase the title,

STOP COMPLAINING UNPROFESSIONALLY OR UNREASONABLY!

If you were in a restaurant and the food that turned out wasn't as good as what you expected or the service was bad, would you stand up and shout to everyone in the restaurant that,

THE FOOD IS SO BAD! NOT WORTH IT!

No, if you are most people (courteous and respects others), you'd call the waiter/waitress or the manager and explain to what you are unhappy about. Which most restaurants and service companies actually do appreciate, it gives them the room to improve. We do appreciate good and bad feedbacks but its never okay to us when people aggressively intend to give feedbacks just to express their rights of emotions or point of view.

Nowadays, often on instagram or facebook, people express how unsatisfied they are about certain brands or services. But little do they realise, its the same impact as if you are submitting your complain through shouting in a room full of customers (i.e. the restaurant full of people and you shout your reasons for not being satisfied with the restaurant).

Look at it this way, if the restaurant is a person's main income to support the family, do you know how much your comment which took you only 30 seconds to write has impacted the person's whole life? A person could have lost their main source of income ! No, I'm not asking you to give pity and let it slide. I'm implying that there is a way to give feedbacks and reviews, and it would be great if you could talk to the owner or the manager themselves. One bad comment might lead to a domino effect and it wouldn't be okay for the business.

(bak kata melayu, jangan aibkan orang) - but because expressing your views and opinions have been made easy and accessible nowadays, people don't realise their implications behind every bad comment or review they give ! So please, if you want to give feedback be careful about it. Your intention should be good every time, even when you want to submit a complain it should be for the better of the company.

And if you want to spread awareness, go ahead. But only when its reasonable to do so. For instance when you've complained to the manager a lot and nothing's been done. OR when something really life-threatening has happened to you for instance the food you had made your child get food poisnoning for days. You get what I mean? IF you wanna say something bad, just make sure it's worth it. Know the consequences of everything you do. And just, don't write light bad feedbacks or commenting on photos replying to your friends' comments when they are not much good things to say. (They say, "If you have nothing good to say, then better say nothing at all")

Personally, me and my mum do like getting reviews. Whether they're bad or good, we know our strengths and weaknesses from there, and what we can improve to give a better experience to our customers.

Even if its just to reply to a friend's comment or pretty much anything; whatever you choose to do when you want to give an opinion or review on a service or restaurant, I beg you, please think twice before you click that "share" or "post" button. Put yourself in the other person's shoes before you do anything, know the consequences. Just think, is it really worth it? Is this the best way or are there better alternatives?

"Saya tak boleh kerja dengan Bangla"

We hired a new worker with us yesterday and today he told us that he didn't want to work anymore because,

"Saya tak boleh kerja dengan Bangla"

Ya Allah, so maluuuuuu and sedih. It felt like a knife went straight to my heart when I heard that. Why would anyone ever think that way?! Especially as a Muslim, you are NEVER to degrade anyone based on their religion or race - Islam teaches us love, and being discriminative is highly frowned upon.This mentality is just not acceptable!

These people from Bangladesh are the people I have mad respect for. Most of them are being disrespected and mistreated but they still preserver anyways.They have 2-3 jobs, stay far away from home just to collect enough money for their home. That's true love there.

We've had other problems with other part timers but nothing hurts me more than this. How inhumane can someone get ? And to have the guts to type that out? What did you think we were gonna say, "Its okay, we understand?!" This isn't something new to most Malaysians - deep inside most of us we have the difficulty of accepting "changes" or "differences" - but you have to tackle that within yourself ! I hope that throughout the growth of this business, we are able to bridge this gap - to tackle this issue of 'discrimination'

Dear (ex) part-timer, it is absolutely frustrating that there are still people among us that are as discriminative as you. But I am glad that you left, because people with your mentality aren't the kind of 'good vibes' I wish to promote in my working environment.

I wish you all the best - I genuinely hope that one day, you'll sort that discriminative mind set of yours and spread love to every single human being you meet

The Tiffany

Almost every girl has their secret obssession on something (well, guys do too, either shoes or tech or even just expensive restaurants), 

But its that one thing that you secretly smirk a smile and leaves your heart smiling,

You know what I mean, you know that feeling ;)

But, mine has always been Tiffany ! 

Gosh it sounds like I'm such a 'high-maintenance' girl but honestly I'm not. I've been in the UK for 3 years and have had 5 pairs of shoes average, I own only 3 pairs of heels (black, black and nude), I have only 4 make up products (eyeliner, primer, foundation,  powder) and okay I really don't have to explain/defend myself but really I'm not that 'high-maintenance' - average makes sense kot but most of the time I spend using my own money, I've been shopping with my own money most of the time (my parents, siblings, friends and cousins still do belanja me once in a while) since I was 18 when I first got my first ever pay roll from my first part time job, Starbucks  :) 

SO anyways, back to my love for Tiffany,

I got my first Tiffany when I was turning 16. Sat for my PMR exam and got 8A's, then my parents asked me what I wanted for my results, I told them I couldn't really think of anything and that I was already happy as I am - yes, I totally was a nerd and still am. A few weeks after the results came out, my parents left for Dubai and Abu Dhabi. I suddenly got a call from my mum,

"Eisha, you want Tiffany bracelet tak?"

"Ma, its okay, its so expensive ! And I'm too young to get one, I don't deserve it! Its okay ma"

"Okay, but if mama insists on getting you Tiffany, would you be okay with it or would you prefer Thomas Saboo etc?"

"Okay, yea ma, sure"

Then I thought she'd end up not getting me anything, which I'm totally cool with. But when they came back from their trip, my mum told me she's got a surprise, and it came a beautiful blue box, 

The bracelet in the picture isn't the one that looks like mine, my mum customized my first Tiffany bracelet by choosing her own locket which was 'limited edition' in Dubai and bought it with a Tiffany silver bracelet, the pendant/locket had the word "Love" on it, and I love it to bits till today :)

It was a Tiffany bracelet ! (I know it's not much of a surprise anymore but I never thought I'd ever have one) - but I fell inlove completely 

I wore it everyday - and since I couldn't wear it to school, I remember I came back everyday (or when I got to boarding school, time outing) putting on the bracelet first after taking my uniform off.

Coming to College, I was initially in Taylors ss15 doing SAM, but I scored a scholarship to pursue Law in the UK (JPA scholarship) - and  my mum told me she wants to reward me,

I told her its fine, I was already happy as I was. But she insisted if I should get a Tiffany necklace,

And I thought it does sounds like a good idea :)

Ever since I got my Tiffany bracelet, I never bought any other bracelets. And even if I had to go for a really formal event or had to dress up for, I wouldn't even take it off. Even for sports and futsal times! I realised that I was one of those people who doesn't change accessories once I've got one good sentimental one - quite a sentimental person kan? I never thought I am too ! 

We went to Pavilion, and when I took my first step into the Tiffany shop that day my eyes were lit up by the beautiful Tiffany blue colour of the shop, and after spending hours there, we settled on a beautiful necklace, and we got this one.... 

 

Moving on to today, I never took my Tiffany necklace off ! Whether I'm swimming or travelling or  hiking, I will always wear it. Even in my sleep :) and as I am writing this post ofcourse 

My Tiffanys' have been with me through everything,

My first solo trip to Macedonia,

My brother's graduation, 

and so many more lah !

But its been years since I got my last Tiffany, and my heart started to ponder on the possibility to get one soon again, thinking what the next achievement in life that I might be able to get a Tiffany,

And I told myself that since I'm graduating this year and will be turning 23, I thought that the perfect gift for myself would be to is being completely 'Financially Independent'. I do have a business and have part time jobs, most of the time I spend using the money I earn but when it comes to travelling with the family and going out to eat, my parents still pay for me. and they wouldn't let me 'treat them' unless I started working, so yes,

Tiffany Earrings it is <3

Also cause my ears get irritated by non-silver products at times so I thought it'd be a great investment :) I'd wear it till I get old and wrinkly, the same with my other Tiffany accessories (the necklace and bracelet) - the only reason I find excitement in growing old besides having a family haha

Okay so I suddenly came across this, and the first thing I had in mind was, that this would be the ring I'll wear the moment I find my "other half", the love of my life :)

And as cheesy as it was, I instantly thought of engraving it either with our names, coordinates of where we met, our favourite quote or goals in life or pretty much something that means so much to the both of us !


Writing this blog post is a huge step for me,
If you ever see me owning those Tiffany earrings, it means that I'm 100% financially independent,
and if you see me with those Tiffany rings,
You'd know that I've settled and fell completely inlove with my one and only! - hopefully soon hehehee


Till then :)

Papa, my (secret) Movie buddy

Though most of the time he usually invites my brother to watch action movies, sometimes he'll invite me too *totally feel special then* hehehehe but really we have the same taste in movies !

Whether its a 3 hour documentary to Mahatma Gandhi, 2 hours of "WarCraft", the Mission Impossibles, 007 Bond, Star Wars, Captain America, all the action movies...you name it! We're always down for it - and somehow I'd like to prioritise watching it with my dad rather than anyone else cause little did he realise, it was secretly "our thing" to me :)

OKAAAAAY, the secret is out now cause he probably would be reading this blog post since its got his 'name' as part of my blog post title. 

There were times we went to MBO Subang Parade at midnight to watch the movies, with my mum too ofcourse. My mum doesn't mind watching action movies. Maybe she does it out of love to spend time with the fam or she does secretly enjoys the movies too, but my dad will always check out the movie tickets and sometimes even books for us ! Okay to think of it, most of the time when we watch action movies at our basement mama usually ends up sleeping so....you figure it out haha

Upon arriving at the cinema, he'll be the first to queue for the tickets, and the others would queue for the popcorn. Once the movie's done, he'll always have a 101 things to criticize the movie......which he ends up telling us (also himself defo) that it was all for a movie, to keep things more exciting :) Sometimes the conversation drags till our journey home ! Totally depends though, if my brother tags along with us especially, gosh they will talk about the possibilities of the story lines and plot twists for ages !

He's watching Fast and Furious 8 tonight with my mum in KL and honestly kinda makes me miss watching late night movies with my fam :)

6 months of "Tuna oh Tuna!"

Its coming to 6 months since I first started working at Subway and the Subway I work at is not Halal so the only options I have been having is either just the Veggie Sub, Tuna Sub or Veggie Pattie Sub !

For the first few shifts I had wanders and slight drools during shifts looking at the delicious Steak and Cheese subs I was serving customers, and recently.... they introduced this,

BBQ BEEF BURNT ENDS !!!

Just look at that delicious Sub ! That tender beef cooked for 10 hours..... gosh I was so tempted that I kept pushing one of my colleagues to taste it to tell me how it tastes like !

Well, she told me it was just 'okay' and another colleague told me it looks like dog food.... great team work guys, makes it easier for me to resist my temptations :) 

It does look good, like most other food served in those 5 star restaurants etc, but the idea of consuming it just disgusts me. Also, I've been so disgusted thinking of ways how the many ways they could kill the animals before selling it into stores. They could have made the animals freeze to death, or shoot them allowing them to slowly die, or electrocute them allowing them to feel ultimate pain before dying ! and the blood that stays in them when its not halal though.... err, no way I'm consuming that ! Gosh, there's so much more reasons why I would rather eat Halal then not to !

Funny thing is yea,

I've been working there for months and I have lost complete temptation of trying to eat the non-halal food there, I got used to it ! And eating Tuna is alright to me ! Though meatball does seems tempting but I rather have it cooked my own way and served with pasta and cheese and herbs and imagine every bite of meatball with fresh tomato sauce rather than marinara sauce that's commercialized.... 

But 6 months of working there means I've been eating so much Tuna ! I have 3 shifts a week on average with Subway and it could mean that I have been eating..... 

THIS MUCH TUNA !!! 

Okay maybe just one big fish or probably half of it.... but it only makes sense !

When I go back to KL I think I wouldn't eat Tuna for years until I have to again next time ! 

But yea, I realised that if you put your temptations infront of you so often, you tend to get so immune to it that it doesn't matter anymore ! 

So,  (alhamdulillah), here's to 3 years of eating Halal meat abroad no matter what the circumstances are :) 

*celebrate all the little things in life that matters*

Lawyer or Entrepreneur?

Last weekend I went to my first Career Fair with 15 copies of CV in hand, looking for companies I would have interest in, and the moment I was there my friends that I haven't seen for long were asking me questions like,

"What are you doing here? Shouldn't you be doing business full time?"
"If your passion is doing business and you have an income from it, why are you applying jobs for any of these companies?"
"You could try a few years working at one of these companies, but do you really want to?"
"I wouldn't apply for other jobs if I have a business that is growing and is sustainable, why are you applying for jobs?"

After wandering around, I only started submitting my CVs having to tell myself on the 3rd round of walking around the fair,

"Come on, you came all the way to London wearing your 3-inches heels carrying an overnight bag, you have to give this a try, you wouldn't even know if you suddenly would enjoy working for one of the companies here"

And so I did, went around asking if they are employing anyone with legal background,

and submitted my CV to TNB, UEM and a few other firms I felt that I could relate my interests with. Also a few banks as I kinda like Econs and ofcourse, anything in relation to learning the art of money!

Through my experience at ZulRafique I realised that I grew interests in the corporate side of law as I spent the whole month plus of my internship in it, so I knew that I wouldn't mind working anything in relation to it.

Visited Lincoln's Inn in my first year and I don't remember much memory of the place or the event today so it could possibly mean that I genuinely had no interest in being a lawyer that goes to courts ("practicing law") or maybe it was too early in to figure out, so I should probably give it another try?

But then a year into law school, I started venturing myself into the world of business. Having to go through growing my business as I was doing my internship, I didn't know what I was doing. I was working to grow the brand after I was interning my 9-5. And I did not complain, only having my mum knocking on my door for subuh and suddenly hugging me saying,

"I haven't seen you the past 24 hours. I want to spend time with you, you're going back to UK after this"

I will always remember that morning, hehehehe it was cute Ma.

But people have been asking me recently, how is it that I do work with my final year and balancing it all out? Never thought that "If you love something, you wouldn't think of it as a job but as a passion" would apply to me, but I felt as if that statement was the one that I could relate to most. 

I loved how there was a profit out of every idea I executed ! I love how Entrepreneurs have to walk the talk in order to achieve the goals for their business, meeting new people with their own success story have never been more exciting ! I like how my creativity and energy can be fully utilised for something that I could see growing and the art behind entrepreneurship have never been more interesting. I even reading books on successful entrepreneurs and prominent business figures. Beyond all that, I love how people love our cookies :) (There's just so much more to love about doing business la easy to say...)

I never complained that there was too many tasks to do for The Skinny Bakers (but I didn't complain much either while I was interning in the law firm), and I figured that I love the art of learning !

I think I loved learning so much that I became adaptive and I look forward to everything I do in life! 

Okay, getting out of bed can be a struggle in the morning still sometimes, I'm not that pumped/excited everyday.... BUT it means its harder for me to decide what my passion is ! Knowing what I feel would be worth working for everyday cause I love learning from everything I do. 

Here's the BIG question I've been getting from almost everyone recently,

ARE YOU GOING TO BE A LAWYER OR AN ENTREPRENEUR OR ARE YOU EVEN CONSIDERING BOTH?

And as curious they are with the answer is as curious I am to find out myself !
So don't be surprised if there's no exact answer to it, cause I'm still figuring it out :)

I've been praying that He would guide me through and to the right path, but have been working hard on every opportunity given to me now, whether its excelling as a law student or working on growing my business.

But ofcourse I am only a month plus away from graduating so I'll spend more time on getting my law degree, you get my point tho riight ;)

I've got plans here in Europe and UK till end of this year before I can return to Malaysia to find out which path I'll take on,

And I guess,
Only time can tell :)


Any thoughts?

How I had a (Minor) High Functioning Anxiety

Hey guys, 

So this is a bit personal but I never thought I would go through this (minor) high functioning anxiety (or depression etc) till I started crying alone in the train on the way to London. My family and close friends who know me really well would know that I'm not the kind who cries in front of others. I know crying is normal and it only shows that you are human but I am one of those who are pretty much succumbed to the idea that "crying makes people see you weak" although I wish I wasn't. So crying in front of others hasn't been easy for me, and it has always been easier to just cry in bed for a couple of minutes, wash your face and just get over it.

But it was weird when I found myself crying alone within an hour train to London. I was just listening to The 1975 songs and trust me, its not that emotional, but I ended up crying still, seating next to a stranger (to think of it its kinda funny now, bet the stranger must be thinking, "What is going on with this girl ?! Why is she seating next to me?! Should I talk to her eventhough I don't want to?!"). Anyways, I just couldn't stop crying ! I usually sleep throughout my journeys whenever I travel but keeping my eyes opened in the train seemed to be the only way that I could stop making myself cry.

So, I went down to London to see my childhood friend (and his mum) whom I haven't seen for months ! I asked my aunt,

"Do you mind me asking, but what do parents really want or expect from their children?"

and next thing I knew, before she gave me an answer, I started bursting into tears.... And my aunt was just having breakfast (Lols kesiannya I bet she didn't see it coming) 

We sat down and talked for almost an hour. I told her that the last thing I want to do especially at 23 is to be a disappointment to my parents. I want to make them proud and happy. Especially the fact that my whole family coming to UK for me to graduate and I wouldn't wanna be a disappointment to them if I didn't achieve the grades we all want. Also the fact that I have told her about the many things in life I feel pressured or wanting to achieve. To summarize, she told me that in the end of the day, your parents just want you to be "successful and happy" but if you meet bumps along the way, its okay, as long as you've given it your best shot.

Then I had lunch with my childhood friend and he suddenly said to me, "I've known you for 23 years, and eventhough I have not been part of each bit of it, I'm pretty sure this is the hardest you've worked ever in your life." No joke, I had a double shift over the weekend (on Saturday I worked from 10AM - 11.30PM and on Sunday I worked from 12PM - 10PM). It was not mainly the fact that I needed money but both places I worked at were short on staff, since its Spring Break, I thought "Why not earn the extra income?". Then I had a talk with mum about my studies which I honestly like my parents reminding me about what's important in life just cause I constantly miss them, which I thought was the peak of my 'tsunami of tears' that happened to me on my journey. 

Okay so coming back to the High Functioning Anxiety thing going on yea, I wouldn't say its a huge deal honestly. The 3 terms used to describe a situation can be more dramatic than how it seems to be. I could just be going through stress or was going through a stressful situation,had too many thoughts in mind or self-inflicted pressure like I often do. By any term you want to call it, I would just say "I went through something la, it wasn't suicidal but I knew I wasn't in content or happy". But yes I do recently have developed unnecessary nail biting (no I don't bite hard but I just happen to put my nail grinding my teeth so my nails are still beautiful) and have recently got rid of touching my hair when I'm anxious just because it was getting oily from being touched too often. It sounds disgusting but am pretty sure I can get rid of the habits easily since its only been recent and I do realize when I do it, just a couple of seconds later (or maybe minutes). I laugh a lot too but I wouldn't describe it to be "nervous laughter" that is worrying, so its cool. I do still think that I'm way far behind achieving any goals I have in life, and that "I haven't been the best of a child, of a friend,  of a community-responsible human by giving through charity, of a student etc" 

If you expect me to be a person who boasts about myself or is completely confident in what I am doing, you are wrong - I am a person who is confident that what I am doing is something that I have to do and what I want to do - whether it would make me a better of a person or a more successful person, that I am not sure of - but I am ready to fail, cry and breakdown a little, and get myself back up again.

Yes I might still be going through what people claim to be as "High Functioning Anxiety" as my friends keep on telling me to give myself a break, not to beat myself up too much, and to reward myself for things I don't understand why I should. I still have a problem when people say to give it your best, I feel like no matter what I do it would never be the best, that I am capable of doing better every time. But, I am taking it as a motivation, to always be better, to constantly be an achiever and have goals. And this time, I wouldn't beat myself too bad this time, take deep breaths and believe that every decision made along the way has its own reasons and was made through thinking rationally.

Honestly though, I feel as if the things I have on my plate at the moment (final year, part time jobs and the business) is not that overwhelming cause I know no matter what, I would have to priotize my degree and everything else is along the way but having to graduate in a few months time is. Having to go through job applications, deciding if I wanna do CLP or pursue with Masters, to travel for a few months or continue working my part time jobs here in the UK till my Visa expires, or to go back and pursue my business full time is overwhelming. But I'll only be able to make my decisions along the way and only time can tell if the decisions I've made are the right ones. I'm pretty sure I'm definitely not the only one going through this - for those who have graduated from uni, this is when you can say "been there, done that". Its okay, I've got this - and I'll have to make sure that I constantly pray to Him that the decisions I make along the way are the right ones; and if they aren't, they would be decisions made with valuable lessons to learn from it. This is life.

Results, Results, Results

Some of us go through 'depression' when we get bad results from our exams - some of us get suicidal thoughts while some of some actually end up really committing suicide when we feel like we've tried our best but it doesn't seem to show on paper - And most of us feel as if the world is coming to an end, as if there is no future ahead of us especially since the "successful uni drop out icons" might not apply to us since we feel like we've only got one shot, and that is through university

I honestly felt that way - the last bit (don't worry, not suicidal thoughts or depression I feel like) - But the truth is, in the end of the day, those papers you've sat, the nights you've spent awake trying to perfect your assignments, they can only determine your future to a certain extent - in the end of the day, what really matters is your "life survival skills"

For most of us, we can't even recall what exact grades we've gotten for our UPSR, PMR, SPM etc. And after those major exams, we just move on to another - and it feels as if getting a degree is the last 'qualification' - but there's more to that. I am not implying that I will (or should you) take your degree/exams lightly - it is important; to make the best of what you've got right now. In fact, its crucial to make what you have now the best as you can cause you don't know what you've got laid down for you in the future. But, if you've tried your best and things don't work out, just know that there's so much that lays ahead of you - don't let those digits on a paper limit on how much you feel like you deserve in the future. That's just it, you try the best as you can but if things don't work out, you never give up ! That's the beauty of life, that you're given so many opportunities to thrive no matter what - we're all given the luxury to learn from our failures and mistakes - so long as you keep moving forward! (Also, if you are a believer, believe that He always has his own plans for you :) )

*life is too short to be upset for too long - so turn the frown upside down !*