Love, and Hate…

Love:

The beautiful buildings in the city that make up Universitas

The generally crisp cold climate

The fantastic academics that make up my faculty

My subject choices and content of the syllabus

The spiffy lecture theatres and mock courts that make up my hallowed halls of learning

The oh-so-preppy environment

The fact that am in one of the best universities in the world ( I still have to pinch myself once in a while)

My coursemates have all been really friendly and pleasant to talk to, and really, REALLY good at what they do… A tad intimidating actually…

Hate:

The fact that my residence is a shared house (I really don’t care how shallow and spoilt this makes me sound and how you may have bloody lived in one and found it to be fantastic…) I like having my own space

Having to share a single bathroom with 5 other people

Having to trudge 45 mins every day to make the journey from house to faculty

The lack of ATMs in the vicinity

The residence I am in is untraditional and very, very new…

However much I may dislike those things though, I am still very happy to be here. I’ve made lots of new friends, who are all very nice people, none of whom seem like sociopaths (yet). The academics are the best at what they do, and the courses I have chosen fit my interests, and at the end of the day, it’s the course that actually matters most of all. This will be the one time I am going to gripe and bitch about the above-mentioned things, and I will do my best to make the most of my time here.

Oh, and also load up on as much preppy fashion as I possibly can…

xoxo,

gildedyouth

Back…

I cannot believe that I didn’t blog throughout most of my holidays, even though that’s when I had the most free time ever…

Now, summer has come and gone, and I have flown back to London, loving the rapidly cooling weather that is autumn. I’m currently at La Canadienne’s apartment, packing up my immense luggage, while she snoozes, catching up on desperately needed shut-eye.

I honestly hate moving. The hassle that is involved in schlepping my crap from one part of the country to another, and the excruciating torture of actually packing makes travel absolutely annoying at times. I swear, the next year when I go back home, I’m going to make sure I just bring back a medium sized suitcase, and a sensibly sized piece of hand luggage.  I don’t think my back can take it any more…

Anyway, today, I finally move to UK1, my dream university to commence my LL.M course. As usual with the beginning of any new experience, the excitement is always tempered by trepidation. But I guess I’m just going to have to bite the bullet and go forth. It’s a good thing I have a few familiar faces to look forward to when I get there.

I’m really excited to get to UK1 since the last time I’ve been there was for my sister’s M.Phil graduation in 1994/5. I wonder how much has changed since then.

Until I get settled into my new accommodation, ciao!

xoxo,

gildedyouth

Back Home…

I think it’s ironic that now that I have all this free time during the summer hols, I find myself neglecting this blog… I think that it’s probably because back when I was in my own studio, I wasn’t harangued by three little children under the age of 5 constantly wanting their uncle’s attention…

I do think when it comes to family, for the most part, absence does make the heart grow fonder. I love my family to death, but I cannot imagine living in such close proximity to them anymore…

On the other hand though, my brother and I have gotten closer over the years, I think in part because of the fact that I’ve moved overseas. Along with my sis-in-law, we’ve gone out for more meals in the past two weeks than I think we usually did when I was still living at home. I think the fact that am only back for two months cements the necessity of spending as much as time having fun as possible while we can.

Apart from the ferkakte heat, I’m enjoying myself being back home. Sitting on the patio by the pool, sipping an iced drink, before meeting up with old friends for brunch, lunch, coffee and dinner, seems like a pretty excellent way of whiling away my lazy summer days until I go back to the UK for the LL.M.

Most of all though, I get to spend time with my adored Bebe, cuddling him, stroking him, feeding him and cooing baby-talk at him while all he does is either give me a look of superior disdain despite his continued purring, or, when he’s feeling more generous, a quiet mew and some nuzzling with his cold nose… Hehe…

Oh, and I got myself the 8GB 3G iPhone in black the other day as a graduation present to myself, with the academic prize money. I was kind of hoping to get the iPhone 3G S in white with a 16GB capacity, but I just can’t afford it. It was kind of annoying to have to cut down my music collection in half so that it’d fit the new phone.

I’ve always been a loyal Blackberry user, and I still love my Blackberry Curve. But I realised that when I start working, I’ll have to use a Blackberry for emails, data etc, and will probably get one from the firm, so I might as well get a pretty phone that gives me the functions that I really want, namely an iPod with phone capabilities and swish touch-phone functions…

Anyways, am off for a morning dip in the pool… Ciao!

xoxo,

gildedyouth

Graduating…

It’s finally here! I will be graduating from University this afternoon, and I can barely contain my excitement. My tutors and some of my friends were quite puzzled to see how much I was looking forward to the actual ceremony. N said, “You’d think it was your wedding day tomorrow…”

Heh, in a way, it does feel as exciting as your wedding day… With two older siblings 7 years apart each, every time one of them graduates, I kept asking, when is it going to be my turn? The robes, the degree certificate, the pomp and circumstance (hopefully…) all add to my excitement. My family makes a big deal about each graduation, I think more so because my parents never experienced tertiary education. Which makes them even prouder that they’ve managed to send each of their kids to top universities.

I still have to clean up my apartment first this morning, since we’re leaving University to a storage facility near UK1 early tomorrow morning, before making our way back to Londres, but the bespoke silk-cashmere suit, treasured Pucci tie and crisp white shirt have all been laid out… I’m still deciding on footwear though, whether to go for the Gucci monkstraps or the Prada boots.  I’m leaning towards the monkstraps though, they seem more classic than the uber-trendy boots…

Speak soon!

xoxo,

gildedyouth

Sweltering Summer…

Sweet mother of all that is Prada, why the FUCK is the weather so bleeding hot?!

I’m currently holed up in La Canadienne’s apartment, waiting to pick the parental units up from Heathrow later this afternoon, and, like a repeat of last summer, the ferkakte heat is getting to me…

But this time, the heatwave’s back with a vengeance. I know my friends call me a polar bear, but even this is ridiculously hot for any human standards… When I was on sitting on the tube, en-route to Kensington from St Pancras, the entire row of passengers were fanning themselves in some insane kabuki style fashion. Choreographed fanning… That’d be a first on the Piccadilly line…

But what was worse, was when this man, of indeterminate origin, he could have been Indian, Italian, Persian… (Whatever… he was hirsute alright) got on the tube, and sat directly opposite me. He was sitting with his freakin’ shirt open, with his sweaty, rather Rubenesque (I am in NO position to judge that…) figure on display for all to see…

I am however, in the position to judge the fact that u don’t sit on public transport nearly half naked… It’s an enclosed space you fuckwit, keep your shirt on…

It took all my efforts to make sure I looked in every possible direction apart from directly at him…

Inner Monologue:

“Okay, stare at the rosé poster… Now, the London Underground Poem… Okay, you’ve stared at it far too long… No one takes that long to read a fucking four line poem on a train… Shit, what else can I do… In the name of all that is holy, is he getting off anytime soon?”

I ended up staring at my iPod, doing my best to pretend to look busy, hitting the clicker again and again, hoping that the music would somehow drown out the visual assault.

But anyways, he got off after a few more stops, and there was a silent sigh of relief from all in the carriage, you could see the gratitude in their eyes…

Anyways, the parental units will be arriving in a few hours’ time, and am making sure I have the entire route planned out during their two week stay, culminating in my graduation. I’ll be bringing my laptop with me during the entire road trip, so it should make for some interesting material…

P.S. Also, am going to the Madonna concert on Sunday at the O2 with Lil’ J, courtesy of LaCanadienne’s free tickets! Psyched!

Until then…

xoxo,

gildedyouth

Results…

Well, the results are in…

I am now Gilded Youth – LL.B (Hons) – First Class, ranking 7th in the graduating class of 2009, of the School of Law. Alhamdulillah, thanks be to Allah for his infinite blessings. I’m also getting two prizes at graduation! UK1, here I come!

The hard work over the past few months have definitely been worth it, and I am very much looking forward to graduation!

Anticipatory Stress…

Results are less than a week away… Eep!

On the other hand, am enjoying the relatively lazy days during this intermediate period… Finally watched Bride Wars last night, which was pretty alright. It reminded me of how much I need to start saving if I want to have a proper wedding before I turn 30. Considering that I’ll only be starting work when am 26, there’s not a lot of time…

It’s only sensible that I start saving as soon as possible. The moment the right girl comes along, at least everything will be mapped out, well at least for my reception. But between future mortgages, loan repayments, car payments etc, am gonna have to be very disciplined in spending, especially during the first few years of working life. Especially since I want a big wedding…

Yes, I like weddings, shoot me! When I’m bored, I like to plan things in advance, or at least set out a course which gives me guidance for the eventualities. C and S know how I love talking about future stuff, be it weddings, apartment decor, cars etc…

Anyways, I’ve got some errands to run, and I need to get more ingredients to get on with more baking… As the days get ever closer to results day, am going to have to do a heckuva lotta baking to cope…

xoxo,

gildedyouth

Cupcakes!

It’s a dark and dreary morning, with the faint tap-tap of the English rain on my window. It’s definitely not a day to be prancing about outdoors, and therefore, what can one do?

Bake vanilla cupcakes of course! After making my breakfast, I decided that I hadn’t baked in such a long while, since I was last obsessed with baking muffins, and for once, instead of coping with exam-related stress by baking, I had cooped myself in the library so that I didn’t have anything (somewhat) to stress me out about.

I found my Anthony Worrall Thompson silicone muffin tray gathering dust, and I was suddenly inspired to do some morning baking. After rummaging through my kitchen and finding whatever baking supplies I had on hand, I went through various websites looking for a project that was feasible with what I had in the cupboards and refrigerator.

I found my answer on The Joy of Baking website. Vanilla cupcakes! I’ve always wanted to make cupcakes, but I couldn’t be arsed because of the need for ruddy paper cups et al. Seemed like a whole lotta fuss. But of course, not with the silicone tray.

The only thing is that I don’t have the ingredients nor the implements necessary to make the buttercream frosting, so for now, I’m making plain vanilla cupcakes. If it turns out well, I’ll try making proper frosted buttercream cupcakes.

My apartment is now awash with the delicious smell of freshly baking cakes, which is soo comforting on a cold rainy day…

xoxo,

gildedyouth

Freedom sprinkled with torture…

It’s a Friday morning, the darkness of my room interrupted by shafts of sunlight determined to make its way through the cobalt blue curtains, and shining directly over my eyelids, forcing me to hide my head under one of my pillows. Exams were finally over, culminating in my Principles of Corporate Insolvency paper on Wednesday from 9-11 am, and I was adamant that during these rare occasions, I’d be allowed to have a lie-in. After 9 months of waking up at between 5.30 to 6.30 in the morning like clockwork, I was entitled to be lazy and snooze in bed like many of my other friends, whose idea of an early start to the day was getting up before noon. 

Eventually I got up at 10, thoroughly rested and satisfied that I’d been able to indulge in a late awakening. I’m still nestled within my duvet and pillows, laptop resting, aptly on my lap, typing away. 

In all honesty, I still cannot believe I am done with my undergraduate degree. Three years has certainly passed by quickly, and they’ve been filled with both joyful and sorrowful memories. And I wouldn’t have it any other way. But enough about that… I’ll probably be banging out another EMO-type entry closer or post-graduation when it’s probably more appropriate. 

While my friends have been celebrating the end of exams, I on the other hand, seem intent on self-flagellation, thinking about the 17th of June when results are released at 2.30pm. The university has invited us to a reception at 2 with drinks and cakes, to help with the wait and by way of celebration. I can totally see myself in a corner with a few of my friends, compulsively scarfing down a cream cake, hoping against hope that somehow it would dampen the anxiety of the agonising wait. I hate the fact that the results are announced in the afternoon, unlike in first and second years, where we got our results first thing in the morning, the day after final year results are released. Granted, we get them later than the finalists, but at least it’s in the morning. You wake up, you have a shower, have some semblance of breakfast before making your way to the university, anxiously waiting for reception to open so that you can get your brown envelope containing those results. 

Instead, I have no idea what I’m going to be doing on that Wednesday from 9 in the morning all the way till 2. Probably doping myself up with Xanax…

Lazy…

It’s a Sunday morning. Am bundled up in bed, and I don’t want to get up, because this means am going to have to clean up my desk, and do some revision… 

Weekends in the run-up to exams (3 weeks away!) suck. Maybe if I hide under the duvet, it will all go away…