It’s really a very simple song.. “complete with bird sounds and wind effect”

This was the first full song that I learnt to play! I don’t think of myself as a great singer at all.. but I do enjoy it and I guess for the most part, I don’t care how I sound. Which is why.. this video.. is here….

The grass was SO GREEN I wanted to EAT IT. Sometimes I get really tempted and put a few blades near my mouth. But mostly I just put my face really close to the grass and smell it. It’s so good. I love grass!

The scarf I’m sitting on is vintage.

MY WEEKEND

I spent the weekend getting super messy (read: messed up) at the London Holi One Colour Festival. It was a giant heap of FUN. At one point, my entire face/neck was blue and people called me an alien. Or Oompa Loompa.

Besides that, I’ve been enjoying the company of my friends and ‘doing nothing’. Reena introduced me to this new Netflix series called ‘Orange is the New Black‘, which is about a mid-thirties woman who surrenders herself to jail for a decade-old crime she committed with a a drug-dealing lesbian lover. I’m hooked! It’s been MONTHS since I sat in front of a screen and watched something that’s not YouTube.

NEED MORE HOURS

If I had more hours to spend in a day, I’d be finished with other shows I started (but never had the time to complete) – Revenge, 2 Broke Girls, Modern Family, etc. Maybe even play some GAMES! I used to enjoy my Nintendo DS (sorry baby I haven’t the time now) and Little Big Planet or Guitar Hero (I LOVE THIS) on the PS3.

When I was at uni, there was a period when I’d get through a few hours a week playing fun computer/pc games with my male flatmates. If you click the link you’ll be able to see what’s new these days.. There’s gonna be a new Sims coming soon! Back then I played with stuff like ‘World of Warcraft’ or ‘Counter Strike’.. totally geeky (and kinda embarrassing). A friend recently told me that he’s been hooked on some new title called ‘Darksiders 2’. I googled it and all I saw were pics of an angry-looking horse..

Though.. if I REALLY did have extra hours in a day.. I reckon I’d be a pro at electric guitar, have learnt a new language proficiently, and will have properly manicured nails (not these horrible chipped things I currently have growing wild on my fingertips). The most likely scenario though, I hope, would be that I’d have so much more time to dwell and plot and plan that I’d be travelling even more frequently.

Hmm, y’know what, I loved Orange is the New Black so much that I think I’m gonna have to MAKE TIME to watch it. I’m also gonna try out some games from the app store (iPhone). Hello less sleep and puffy eyes!

Please do tell if you have any recommendations for TV shows or games n stuff. Other than Spongebob. Cos I already have that (obviously).

The post Hyde Park Singin’ appeared first on SMALLCRAZY.

Anyway, I’ve come back to London with a brand new Macbook Pro (thank you daddy) so I’m testing out this thing called MarsEdit, a blog-editing tool for the Mac. So far it’s erm.. alright. I’ll find out once I’m done typing this piece of crap.

This year I’m telling myself to:

• eat more healthy food (less oil and less junk / cook more – EXCEPT when on holiday)
• watch TV (I’ve been addicted to Modern Family)
• send real post to friends – not just emails!
• start work earlier (I aim for 10am)
• do less shopping / save some money
• write more
• actually learn to play my guitar and ukulele well
• think about what I REALLY want to do
• take up tap-dancing (yes, I’ve just recently seen The Artist)

Just a few things that come to mind for the moment!

It’s been freezing cold here. When I first got back last week, I think I nearly forgot how to dress for winter. The first two times I stepped out, I forgot my hat, scarf, AND gloves. After being in tropical warmth for so many weeks, I think I developed a sort of overconfident/estranged-from-winter subconscious that told me ‘hmm it can’t be THAT COLD.. my body feels warm NOW..’
Ten minutes later, I was complaining about my back hurting from all the shivering I had to do!

BUT, over the recent weekend, it snowed. I LOVE SNOW. I know, I love the sunshine in an obsessive and excessive way, but I also love it immensely when it snows. To me, it makes the cold WORTH IT. I can stare at snow falling for ages and laugh maniacally to myself in glee.

SNOW IS MY DRUG.

So when I heard that snow was forecasted, I knew i had to find someplace nice to play and indulge in it.. somewhere much BETTER than central London! I was so excited I booked into a b&b/hotel at a remote hole somewhere charming/tiny little village called Peaslake for the weekend and had the most fantastical time snow-spotting and snow-everything-ing.

I played till I fell down and ended up with golfball-sized swollen knees. It’s great!!

I’ll leave you with (one of) my favourite picture(s) from my trip to New Zealand, taken atop Mt Ruapehu in December. It’s me in my Lion kigurumi 😀

Now I’ll click publish and let’s hope this comes out right.

PS – if you’re in Instagram, add me! My username is smallcrazy 🙂

The post Happy 2012 and a Photo appeared first on SMALLCRAZY.

When I was in primary school I used to wonder what it would be like if the world ever got to the year 2000

”2000 is SO SO FAR AWAY, I bet we will never get there and if we do I would be SO OLD BY THEN I can’t even IMAGINE!”

Today, it is 11 years since ‘the year that would never come’
I’m much older – but I always remind myself that age is only a number that tells you how many years you’ve been on Earth.
But still.. it’s really crazy that ELEVEN YEARS have passed since.

I celebrated the arrival of 2000 with my parents and a few close family friends. My sister was only four then – I cannot recall if she came with us or not! This is bad! We spent the night out in the city where I grew up (Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia), hoping to catch the fireworks. When the clock struck 12 I remember laying on the damp grass at the park below the magnificent-looking twin towers with one of my funniest friends till now, Bongo (an old nickname). We laid there with our limbs sprawled out, probably sweating in the tropical night-time heat. And we were laughing and giggling so much my stomach hurt, all while the fireworks explode in the sky above. I think we were also sharing a bar of my favourite candy at the time – Airheads. I love recollecting this moment.

At the end of 2001, my mom hired a feng-shui master/fortune teller who visited us at our new house. He cradled my palms in his, gazed down, and told a skeptical me what he thought the future might hold.

”You’re not the kind of person who prefers to settle down. You will go many places or travel to many parts of the world, but I cannot tell where you’ll be in x number of years, or where you will live”

Although my first thought was “how absurd/that’s stupid”, I wished it were true.
Growing up in a country like Malaysia where opportunity to travel was something only wealthy people had (at that time), it just seemed ridiculous and difficult to achieve. Besides neighbouring Thailand and Singapore, I had only ever travelled out of the country to Egypt and Japan. I definitely could not fathom doing all the things that I’ve now done.

Today, it is 10 years since.
I have spent 4.5 years in Australia and now just over 3.5 years in London
I’ve gone to places I never even DREAMED I would have the chance to set foot in

Now, I’ve paraglided down the Austrian alps and climbed an ice cave, gone mountain-biking in Switzerland (just like in one of those Salem/Mild Seven ads from when I was little!), taken a mud bath, went crazy white-water rafting and seen wild turtles in Turkey, eaten horse meat and driven around Lake Como in Italy, gone skiing in Norway, visited my first Disneyland in Paris, cycled across the Golden Gate Bridge and danced at the Golden Gate Park in San Francisco, gone on a desert safari alone in Dubai, enjoyed the most breathtaking view of Copenhagen atop a magical ride at Tivoli amusement park, sailed, swum, and ate my way down the French and Italian coast with Joyce, driven around the whole island of Majorca, …the list goes on.

When I reflect upon these experiences I feel so LUCKY and GRATEFUL
These memories keep me afloat through days when I am not so happy and fuels my determination and desire to travel MORE – as much as I can afford anyway..

Work or career wise, I’m not at a place I’d like to be.
Although I have to remember that it was a sacrifice I made in order to be in London and do the things/go to the places I want, I am now more decided on what I DON’T want to do, where I want to live, and am more at liberty to change my situation. This is my biggest hope/wish/goal for 2011.

Of course, I think about what would’ve been if I never made the spontaneous decision to relocate to London. I think about my friends who’ve chosen to give more focus to their careers. They have high-powered jobs, are paying off their first house and car, are getting married, etc. Then I think of all the experiences and friends I’ve gained in place of NOT having those things, and I realise I would never, ever trade it for any of the conventional success milestones.
I’m not sure why I’m writing all this down.

I guess I wanted to verbalise (some of) my thoughts in a private blog – but reading back I think it’s ok to share even though it’s a bit messy…

Writing it down helps me appreciate what I have
And realise that the ‘bad things’ in my life are maybe not so bad after all..

I enjoyed the most wonderful 2010 filled with the best friends, holidays, food, and festivals.
And I’ll be honest, it all went downhill once winter arrived – I was put in a few challenging situations (such as being sick – I’m not a person who gets sick often) – but I must believe this is all fleeting. It is only temporary and this year will be an AMAZING year. It HAS to be.

Sometimes, the biggest and most important thing you need to be is positive

The post The Year That Was SO FAR AWAY appeared first on SMALLCRAZY.

It’s the first time I’m in London for it
The last three years’ birthdays were spent abroad (on holiday, of course!)

[pic from weheartit]

Last night at midnight
I celebrated my birthday with my parents and sister through Skype
My daddy put on his best shirt
My mama made up her beautiful face
And my sister got up in her pajamas (a big feat considering she’s on school holidays).. all at 7 in the morning

They brought out a cake complete with candles all lit up for the camera
I counted to three and told my sister to blow out the candles while I blew at.. nothing (haha)
It completely made my night, to see all their faces and hear voices again
There’s nothing like having family around on a special occasion

But guess what the biggest surprise is?
My little sister is flying to London to spend 2.5 weeks with me this weekend!!!!!!!
I’m so excited I might pee myself!

ALSO
My boyfriend gave me an electric guitar
I’m now one step closer to my dream HEY
Yes it’s always been my big dream – to be in an indie rock band..
Whatever. I just wanna be in a band!
I love playing musical instruments, I feel like I can pick up anything!
I love teaching myself.. hopefully with time I’ll be able to play some of my favourite songs

So after fiddling with it at 2am last night
I fell asleep.. it was an amazing sleep filled with the most vivid and CRAZY dreams
I dreamt I was being hunted by a pack of strawberry tarts that could come alive and shapeshift in Copenhagen, amongst other things
It was so good that I couldn’t bring myself to wake up until 2pm!!!

In the evening we went bowling with my close friends (it’s definitely NOT one of my talents.. ugh)
And then had dinner + drinks after, nothing fancy
I feel like I’ve done so much this summer that I don’t need to celebrate my birthday in any ‘big’ way
But I’d say my first birthday in London is so far a great one 🙂

And thank you to the couple of you who emailed to wish me, it was very sweet!

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