and then...


Woo hoo! Finally after what seemed like a long and tedious process, I have received my eCOE from Uni Melb! :-D
Yes, the initial plan was to pursue my masters at RMIT, but a few weeks later I received an offer from Uni Melb.. And although the RMIT deposit had already been paid by then, the offer was undeniably hard to resist!
So now instead of one and a half years, I will be in Melbourne for two years! Yippeee!

Me and Mama went to Melbourne last month for a week to look for an apartment to stay.. Hehe yes, kata eager beaver! And luckily enough for us, we found one! If we hadn't, I would've felt really bad... It was a good trip and since this time around we didn't have a *ehem* tourguide, we had to put our navigation skills to the test. 'Twas not bad hey.. I kneww the many trips to Melbourne last year would come in handy one day :-P
Although I must admit I was kinda sad when I read Mama's text to Papa that read "This time no Johann so we have to pandai2 lah.." Boo.

Okayyyy, moving onnnnnnn..

Let's check out pictures of Concept Blue, shall we? It's a very nice apartment on La Trobe Street and within walking distance to RMIT, Melbourne Central and the State Library.. If I had chosen RMIT, I could just walk to class... Cool rite? But oh well, the ever so optimistic Mama thinks I'm probably destined to meet someone at Uni Melb! Hahahaha macam-macam lah.. :-P


The main door on the left, and the kitchen.


Check out the view!

PS: Pictures shown are to give a rough idea what the apartment looks like, and are not of the actual unit ;-)

Niceee right? Heheh it's very modern with lotsa glass.. And the best part is, the two bedrooms have a connecting door! Sound familiar? Yupp, just like at home! ;-) hee.

So yes, the part I'm most excited about now is moving into our new apartment! Choosing furniture, kitchen appliances, pretty plates, bowls, mugs, and colourful cushions too! :-D :-D
Tak sabar nyaaa!

Okay, enough updates for now..

Toodles!

xx
Zz

Hey, remember me?

The girl who loves making lists for everything? Be it to-do lists, wish lists, guest lists, things to buy lists, things to bring list, places to eat lists, I had a weird enthusiasm for it all :-P

A funny thing has happened though, I hardly ever compile lists anymore.. I can't recall when this started happening. It's like all of a sudden I just stopped doing it. And right now, I can't decide whether I miss doing it, or whether I am relieved to know that I've made it this far without a list for everything. (Nope, still no Ultimate Melbourne list!)

Another thing I stopped doing is updating my iCal thingy.. You know, the calendar/planner application on my MacBook.
I used to record every single occurrence, from lunch dates to night outs, to threading and hair salon visits, car service appointments and even the odd dentist visit.. It was such a fun thing to do, with all the colourful labels for different categories. Then I would compare my calendar entries by weeks and months... Such a loser, I know :-P
But from the end of August, nothing has been updated. I don't know, I just lost my interest in recording day-to-day incidents I guess..

I think I've reached the point where I'm getting tired of keeping a record of every single part of my life. And yes, this can also be seen in the declining frequency of my blog updates :-P

I've decided to rely more on my memory now. After all, I'm still young and my memory isn't that bad....
When you think about it, is every single part of the present and past relevant in the future? Probably not, right?

As of now, I wanna look at it this way: The things I remember are the things I'm meant to remember and if I don't remember, then it probably wasn't worth remembering in the first place :-)

So yeah. Let's see how it goes...

To those of you who have yet to get me a birthday present and are intending to, this post is specially dedicated to you! :-D awwwwww...

If you're still scratching your head, figuring out what to get me for my birthday then you have certainly come to the right place.

I now present to you.... My dream BlackBerry covers!




Seriously, I can't decide between these two colours.. There are a lotttt more available, but these are the shortlisted ones.
Soooo very pretty kan? :-D
Either one will do actually, but if you wanna get both you are very much welcome also... Hee.

If you're interested in getting me this, just private message me and I shall give you the details okay? Hahahaha

Thankie youuu in advance! :-D


(I don't usually write syok sendiri posts like this, mind you... Hehe but I really x22 want thisss! So yes.)


*kish kish*
Zizi



 

I'm sure by now you all know that I'll be going to Melbourne next year..
Upon receiving the great news, I was overwhelmed with happiness.. Like, obviously! This is what I've been wanting for god knows how long..
But now that the idea has sunk in a little, I can't help but feel a tug-of-war of emotions going on inside me..

Sometimes when I think about it, I get super excited about all the new things I'm gonna get to experience: moving into my own apartment, living in a city I absolutely love, starting a new chapter in my life...

But then there are times when I tend to get all emo about it.. The thought of being far, far away from my family and friends, being homesick, the fear of not being able to adapt to the changes... It just scares me.

I guess it's pretty normal to feel this way, yes? However, it's a good thing that right now the good points outweigh the negativity in me.. But still.
I'm pretty sure by now you know I'm the kind of person who likes being in her comfort zone and is skeptical about change.. So this is definitely one biggg step for me.

As of right now, I'm still figuring out how I should feel about this whole thing.. And yes Linny, that's why I'm not as excited about winter wear as Shasha is :-P

Just a lil teaser on what you can expect to see in Kish on the Chic's upcoming collection...







The colours turned out sooo pretty I think I can just dieee! Hahahah
Yes, yes.. I am super excited bout releasing the next collection.. Can you tell? :-D
Okay, just thought I'd share my excitement witchu all.. Heehee

Til next time!


xx
Zizizizizi


 

Alhamdulillah...
An offer letter from RMIT came in today!!!
OMGGG was literally jumping out of bed to tell Sha the good news.. Heehee
So yes, I will be doing my Masters in Environment and Planning in Melbourne next March!
Omgggg this feels surreal and my head is still spinning....


But I'm sooo happy and exciteddd! Heeeee
:-D



xx
Zeeeeeee


 

Okay, here I am at the point of my life where I'm at a crossroads.
I don't think I've ever really been at one, coz I am (was?) the type who knows what she wants, and works towards getting it.
For as far as I can remember, I've always had a certain plan. I am not used to all this "go with the flow", "we'll cross the bridge when we come to it" kinda thing that guys infamously implement on you.
I need certainty, I need security.

So here's the story.
After SPM when everyone was struggling to decide what they wanted to do in life, I already knew. The post-SPM trip to Melbourne in December 2004 resulted in me falling in love with the city and had me determined that I would one day go there to further my studies.
Due to some circumstances, I did not get to do my degree there. But no worries, I told myself. I would do some post-graduate course over there, as soon as I was done with my degree. Back then, I was aiming for the Advanced Diploma in Retail Design course offered at Swinburne.
Boy was I disappointed when they suddenly decided to discontinue that course late last year.
But sokay, I said. I have time to consider other options. I still had one more year to complete my degree anyways..

Fast forward to the day I completed my degree.
At this point, I was extremely exhausted and worn out from the final year workload. You could prolly say the final year of my degree scarred me to the point where I didn't want to do anything involving interior architecture and design. I had enough. Just the thought of it totally put me off. I know I may be exaggerating and stuff, but yeah.

However, the desire to further my studies in Melbourne remained. In fact, it was stronger than ever.
When my passion for interior design dwindled, my interest in sustainability and environmental issues concerning the built environment heightened. And that's why I decided I would pursue a Masters Degree in Environment and Planning.

But to this very day, I stillll have not heard from any of the universities I applied to, and I am getting more and more anxious about it.
I don't know what to do about this. I think I've bugged my agent enough already. Mama Papa have suggested I consider other options, but I don't think anything else interests me.. You can't simply do your Masters in something you're not interested in right? There won't be a driving force to complete it.

Actually I wouldn't mind if I didn't pursue a Masters Degree and instead take up something like culinary arts, specialising in patisserie or even a course in jewellery design.. Thing is, Papa wouldn't be too happy about it and I would have to live with the guilt of not living up to his expectations and letting him down.. It's just the pressure of being the first child and stuff.
I know there's this part of me that would be content doing things like setting up my own jewellery line (expanding Kish on the Chic, perhaps?) or even running my own little pastry cafe.. I know I can be happy doing that.
But then, there's this other part of me that tells me I am capable of much more than that. I want to promote sustainable development. I want to contribute to the community and make a difference.

I could apply for other universities in Australia that offer courses similar to Environment and Planning, but the problem now is that it has to be Melbourne! Not Adelaide, not Sydney, not Perth. This is coz Sha has already received an offer letter from RMIT and going to another state would just defeat the whole purpose of persuading her to continue her studies in Australia kan?

I don't know why there are so many obstacles getting in the way of me studying in Melbourne. From the very start, they begin to appear one by one. But now, I've reached the point where I don't care what happens, I am definitely going to Melbourne next year. This one is an absolute must. I just don't know what I'll end up doing there :-/

Ya Allah, please help me....


xx
Zuliana



 

..why October is my favourite month of the year :-D



Nenek and Baby Sara's birthday..



MY birthday..


Hari Raya openhouse..



And the arrival of Baby Ahmad Izlan!



Yupp, it's the time of the year when I feel truly, truly blessed :')


xx
Zizi


 
 

Okay so if you've been wondering what I've been so occupied with over the past few weeks, to the point of abandoning my blog.. Here's the answer:


Remember back in July I started rediscovering my interest for making jewellery in attempts of finding the "Ambitious Zizi"? 
Well yeah, Sha and my three other college mates (now biznezz partners) did the same and ta-daaaa Kish on the Chic was born! :-D
I must admit, it took a long time to start up coz we faced a few issues along the way.. Figuring out a name was the hardest part of all! Hahah being design school graduates, the designing part was a breeze though..

I could go on about Kish on the Chic, but I think it's best if you head on to the Kish on the Chic website for further information.. There's a reason we made it so nice and pretty! ;-)




So yes, a huge thanks and a biggg 'Kish on the Chic' goes to everyone who supported us along the way, giving suggestions, encouragement and also sponsorship (Daddy!).. Hahah :-D
We're hoping the support doesn't end there, if you know what I mean...



xx
Zuliana
Founder, Designer
Kish on the Chic


 

Okay here goes.. I have a confession to make.

I am guilty for abandoning and cheating on my blog.

Yes, I admit I'm having a side dish. And things are starting to get pretty serious.

But I swear soon all of this will make sense... And my blog will forgive me for doing it.
Believe me when I say I promise I have a good reason for going astray ;-)

Hahah owh man, I sound like an ass.


 

Woo hoo! I have graduated yo! :-D




 

So not too long ago I got myself a BlackBerry.. My previous phone kept acting up and although I told myself I'd wait til next year, an opportunity came up where Papa offered all of us new phones.. So why let it pass, rite? :-)
I was contemplating between an iPhone 3Gs and a BlackBerry Curve.. And boy did I have a hard time deciding...
I wish I could somehow have both, but I didn't wanna push my luck of course ;-P

So I decided to get a BlackBerry mainly coz of its BlackBerry Messenger feature.. Like so cool rite can message all BlackBerry users for freee? :-D
I've never had a super canggih phone before coz usually I'd choose form over function (you know, pretty pink phones....) so this time I was pretty exciteddd!

The thing I like about it is how I'm alwaysss connected! It's nice knowing I won't miss out on anything.. Heheh coz no matter where I am, I can always receive e-mails, Facebook notifications and update my Twitter (yes, to those of you who didn't know.. I succumbed. T___T).
Got MSN Messenger also! I remember last time when Jo first got his BB, we were chatting on MSN one night while I was doing my assignments.. Talking, talking, talking.. Then the next thing you know he asked me to go down and open the door coz he was outside.. Thinking he was at home all this while, I was like, "Don't lieee! Where can??"
Obviously I didn't believe him! Turns out he WAS outsidee so I panicked coz I was wearing my pyjamas and looking rather masam.. Hahahah but I can't deny I was happy to see him :-D teehee.

So that's the good stuff about it..

But always being connected also means that if your phone is quiet... Nothing is going on.
It means no one is calling you.
It means you're not receiving any texts.
It means no one is sending you e-mails.
It means no one sent you a Facebook message or wrote on your Wall.
It means no one is messaging you on BB Messenger.

And when that happens, you can't help but feel... Sad.

You can't think he didn't text you coz he might've ran outta credit..
Or go "Maybe he sent me an e-mail but I haven't checked it yet.."
Or think that he wrote something cute on your Wall but you have yet to log into Facebook..

Yes my friends, having a BlackBerry leaves no room for doubt.
And realizing that is pretty darn scary.
:-/



 

 
Was gonna blog..
A nice longgg post...
But I've lost my mood all of a sudden.
Tomorrow perhaps?


 

Hello!
Yes, yes, I know I haven't been updating..
Internet was down..
Same shiet year after year!
Annoys.

Anyways, I promise to update really really really soon! :-)

xx
Zizi



 

Sunday evening treats by Yaya and Shasha..
Very pretty rite?
If they weren't edible I would like to keep them in my room as a decoration piece..
It matches my walls :-)