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Quote of the day: "Stop acting like the Les Misérables" - Turkish

We had so much fun shopping at Himki's today.

I need a new winter jacket, a real down because we might be going to Murmansk next year! We just scouted some but I need some time to get over the fashion part and solely purchase one for the feathers. Not fashion. Feathers. Okay. We walked into every sports shop there is, leaving me heartbroken and torn. I only need to be patient now. Dawn of the new month is here, pocket will be soon reloaded, all is well in due time *grins*.

Seriously.. which "F" should I go for?

It was out first time scouting for stuff at IKEA together! It was freaking funny that I wanted to buy everything on display. I really wouldn't mind if my furniture are all from this joint. Hehehee not to say it's a bad thing because others can only tell if they spot a familiar mass-manufactured dining set or bed covers or kitchen utensils or deco stuff ;)

Turkish and I had late lunch at the Cafe, which reminded me very much of those days when my groupmates and I went there to eat too.. then grocery-shopping in Ashan. OMG. Feels like so long time ago.

What perverts out there! Can't even leave the cow's pants alone!

Nyaaaa-hahahahaa! I get a kick out of doing this :P

Then we noticed from which country the bowls were made..
Black- Thailand, Blue and Light Green- Romania and White- Turkey!
So guess which colour we bought in the end LOL

Turkish made me pose like a hobo! LOL
Imagine I go on the streets begging while seating :P

After we paid for our stuff, we went to Food Section and bought other stuff. Then we had hotdogs by the bar until we heard an announcement over the PA system. It sounded serious and IKEA is usually very quiet. We listened halfway which went..

"... something, something.. Jin Juu... blah blah blah"

Turkish and I looked at each others, laughed at the similarity of the Russian word and my name. But I figured something was wrong. I have never heard any word which sounds like my name. Hahahahahaa it WAS my name! I left my jacket somewhere and it was at the Lost&Found. And because my handphone was inside the pocket, the lady called the last numbers from the Log and found out my name!

Now how smart is that!

She was talking to Amanda when I walked over to the counter. I found out Alex was the first person she called, and he gave her my name. Hehehehee thank God she didn't like call Malaysia or something. You know, the last dialled number from the Log was actually Turkish. I bet she didn't trust that name, so she resorted to calling others LOL Kind samaritans who saved my jacket! Didn't steal my phone somemore!

This was the nice lady you spoke to, Amanda! Thanks! ;)

Free Freedom

"Bayramınız Mübarek Olsun!"


This is how to greet Selamat Hari Raya in Turkish. Malaysians offially celebrate tomorrow though. What? Russians? Hahahahaa no such holiday. My boyfriend is not too into the festival anyways, he was just glad that he has a day off so that we could go shopping! We went to Himki's MEGA/IKEA after I was done with the hospital ;)

Oohhh yes, to those who asked. My boyfriend's name is Tolga (in his native language, it means the warrior's helmet/old name for the Altai Mountains). It's just that old habits die hard and I've been calling him Turkish since Day 1. Even his number on my phone book is saved under that name :P And yes, he is Muslim but he doesn't like to be strictly regarded as one due to zero religious practice and his country has no official religion or whatsoever unlike Malaysia.

Example, if one day I do marry Turkish.. don't react what most Malaysians would because I don't have to convert. Or for a man, his dick will get cut off. As much as I am dying to be a Fatimah or Tatasusila, I won't get that chance *sniff, sniff* and I don't have cover myself from head to toe and then feed under that black piece of veil. They have what you call secular democracy or liberal Muslims. It's just like that. Simple :)

Proper Terms

Quote of the day : "I was exactly YOUR age when I started my future here" - Prof.Kochergin

Apek Patient was admitted with lesions on his hairy abdomen. He complained that these red "marks" started to show 2 months ago. He being a smarty-pants took a dip in his jacuzzi filled with soda and salt (no idea why he would do such a thing) and then they spreaded to his back. I felt he was lying with the details for some reasons. Yes, being doctors.. you gotta have Sherlock Holmes instincts too!

Bah!

Tomorrow I have assessment test with Prof.Kochergin! Fortunately, I will study for it LOL And then, Turkish and I will go jalan-jalan. Turkey (the country) celebrates their Eid/Hari Raya/Ramadhan holiday on 30th September. In Malaysia, it's on 1st October :)

Second Opinion

Quote of the day : "Just started my career, cannot get married yet" - Eugene Chong

Big, big sign along Bolshaya Nikitskaya Street

You know what! Contemporary art is really not bad! I never had the taste for their works but our visit to Art4.ru gave me a whole different feeling. I felt good, I felt happy! It was incredible how every piece which hung on the white walls of the gallery started to move me. Not to say all of themlahhhh because some pieces made me frown from disapproval. Some pictures are soooooo cute! I had a very strong urge to steal create them LOL

The hall of Konstantin Zvezdochetov
His artwork on Soviet caricature-comics is classical

Still, the ideas implemented on the artworks are different from many contemporary art exhibitions I have been to. At least Art4.ru doesn't derive too far from humanity or a normal person's psychological state of mind. Or mine, most importantly. We should have dropped by this place long time back! I was actually attracted to paintings solely created from monochrome tones. Good thing is, their presentation isn't as radical or mind-boggling.

The Embroideress by Dennis Egelsky
This is one beautiful painting.. I went around it 2-3x

The Fall of New Babylon by Dimitri Plavinsky
I recognised the newspaper cuttings on 9/11 attacks

Soviet Union's great emblem!
Hammer for industrialisation and sickle for agriculture
But what's with the mustard-coloured coat, man? LOL

The setting of Art4.ru is comfortable, brightly lit and I liked that the main hall is carpeted with artificial grass. Artificial grass! Shall I do that to my apartment floor! Thumbs up that their description labels include English too, so at least you won't feel so clueless if confronted with a senseless painting LOL Oooohhh, I love Moscow. You can find anything, everything on art (of every form) in the city. Plus I have a boyfriend who shares my interests with passion.

Oleg Vsilev's World of Darkness (I find them mysterious)
Clockwise: Tropics, High Water, Night Road and Tishina

Hahahahaa the washroom walls looks filthy
They even provide marker pens for you to scribble

Yes. My alter-ego is Peeping Jenny LOL

What else, what else. The current exhibition they are holding are sketches from Aleksei Sundukov. Guess what, we saw him in action! In the exhibition hall, we noticed a pony-tailed guy getting his groove on the canvas with a mechanical pencil. He was working on a huge piece. We stood around to obeserve him but after looking at the hundredth sketches on display.. we couldn't look at them no more. The fine, pencil line drawn to perfection made me woozie. They have samples of the project on their website.

More of the stuff I found interesting!

Man's basic needs LOL
Food, sex, toilet. Repeat. No offence.

Aleksei Sundukov himself! :)

Before I close this post, there is a video clip. I'd like to dedicate this to my friends who miss Moscow or do reminisce about the life here. I know Pisa, you're gonna love this one. The city, Kremlin, security guards, boobs and nightlife. How to say no to feng-tau music LOL

DJ Smash - Moscow Never Sleeps

Supernatural

It's so nice to laze around on a Saturday, actually.

I don't remember a weekend when we domestically stayed home. Turkish and I always went out, there was always something up in the city or outside the city. Today I simply suggested we don't go out because I wanted to watch Supernatural!

Yes. We started on the cult series from Season 1. Last time, I watched quite a number of Supernatural episodes but by myself because Pisa wasn't fond of the horror genre.. or was it because we were busy digging Dexter, 4400 and the sorts. Aaahhh.. sweet were the days when we lied together-gether to watch TV ;)

I want to declare that Supernatural ROCKS!

Dean and Sam Winchester *yummy!*

Their lines are witty, clever and convincing. Acting's good, the American urban folklores about spirits, ghosts, paranormal events.. they are totally my cup of tea. I think the series should be running on Season 4 soon that means we need to double our time to catch up! So far, I haven't gotten any nightmares since we watch them before bedtime. Good stuff! ;)

Flea Market

Quote of the day : "It's very old, verrrrrrrrrrrrrry old" - Anonymous flea marketeer

I seriously think there is something wrong with the Russians. Or their comprehension of foreign words. Turkish and I went to the so-called flea market, only to find it's more like an antique-gathering convention. Key word: antique. Antique comes with two numbers, its age and the price. So how can it be a flea market?

Art Project "THE FLEA MARKET" Exhibition-Fair

Flea markets are functions where people sell random items, could be old/new, just about anything imaginable, usable or useless stuff at cheap prices. Like in UK, easy 1pounders for adorable things. Maybe it's the currency exchange or the stall rentals at this T-Modul shopping center. At least they chould hold this 4 days at the beginning of the month when I have fresh load of money. Now it's already hitting the end, what more is left in my pocket :P

So in the end, we returned empty handed with aching eyes*.

*too many things to see

But, they really do have good stuff there. The decorative pieces, porcelains, junks from the 19th centuries (they cost a bomb) and of course, they sell newly manifactured goods as well. I don't know where they are found/made/stolen, it is really, most definitely unnecessary to be that expensive. The dolls and toys made today meant look like ancient fashion. Thus, the price is senseless. They are all very pretty and desirable though. OMG. Poor people like me cannot afford anything at all!! *sniff, sniff*

Puppets, muppets and more!

Stuff you can find in the malls also..

Now THESE are historical, look at the bunnies and the piggy!!

And hahahaha the blue pram must be damn stylo for its time ;)

Fooooshhh.. this elegant key is worth my 2 month pocket money

There was a cute key chain with a lacquered teddy, some dangling stones which I really liked. I asked the lady how much was it. She said with a smirk, "4". I confirmed with her, "400pyb?". She looked at me with the Are-You-Kidding? kind of look and said, "4000pyb" (US$160). I nodded, looked at it a bit more and bade the bear goodbye.

Thank God I am not an idiot*.

*I can control myself not to simple spend money

My camera ran out of batteries, I couldn't even take pictures for memory sake. Good thing because I might have a heartache (oohhh.. it rhymes LOL). For a 100pyb entrance fee, it was quite an experience because apart from getting cheated that this is a flea market, we got to see countless lovely items. The vendors are okay, no problem with us snapping pictures and we could touch everything we want. If these things are so expensive now, what are their numbers in the future?

Shades from the 60's.. so damn cute! ;)

Hobby Alive

My first painting after years!

Didn't take me more than an hour to come up with this! Not bad right! Since it's Aquarelle pencils, not my usual choice of elements.. still, I must say I am quite satisfied with myself ;) I didn't really know how to begin. I thought of nature so I outlined the main object on the paper, which is the tree and then lightly painted the sky. I added the two figures much later.

Hahahahaha I feel like an amateur!

The brush I used is made out of nanny-goat hair

Hahahahahaa I think it should be me and Turkish. But their body language looks somewhat sad, or maybe relieved to be in others' arms.. I'm not sure. At first I just drew the black figure, standing alone against the tree which was a lot worse! I was working on this piece, I was tuned to a Spanish Salsa radio station, I should have painted something more energetic.

Next time, next time. I'm sure I can do better than this. I was only eager to get my hands dirty. After I returned home, I chucked my bag aside immediately :P But soon, I'm going to have to take my bag out again because Turkish and I are going to check out the Flea Market at M.Belorusskaya! Who knows what we might stumble upon. Flea markets always have interesting stuff! ;)

Click on the link above if you're interested in this article!

Enjoy your weekend, folks!

Art Tools

Quote of the day : "You don't look like someone who studies hard" - Ong Xin Xian

I was really inspired to start painting again after reading my best friend's Wake Up post. I used to paint in High School, I loved those days! I was the only student in full Science stream who took Arts as an extra paper for SPM (O'Levels). I scored an A1 for it ;) I think I should have gone to study Arts, Design or something of that sort. But then again, a hobby is a hobby. Why change it to a career? :)

Turkish brought me to an art shop called 3 Color this evening. It's located around the corner at M.Chistyie Prudy, on the side streets of Gusyatnikov Pereulok. I should have brought my Buncho, brushes and artblocks from Malaysia. Unfortunately, my luggages were overweight with them. The colour tubs are pretty heavy. I had to leave them behind *sniffles*. These art materials are available in Moscow, of course.. only more costly than back home.

3 Color - Shop for designers, artists and architects

The shop is surprisingly small. The colours, palettes, brushes, papers etc are displayed behind the counters so the negative point is, you don't get to touch or feel them as you like. Can't exactly make a connection with every item before purchase. Around the shop, there are showcases with VERY expensive and branded art pencils, acrylics, oil pastels. It's like Versace for clothes. I'm not sure about the market price here since they are always exaggerated.

Modest sets of 9ml and 18ml acrylic tubes for starters

Own a sexy set of colour pencils that costs 32,480pyb (US$1295)..

IMPOSSIBLE for your art to look like shit! Everything WILL look good!

The brush section..
Fox fur, dog fur, wild boar hair, squirrel's, synthetic, you name it

Turkish is always supportive in everything I do. He has been trying to get me start back with simple stuff to get the old wheels running. My hands are prolly so rusty, I don't need brown colour. Just shed them off my fingers! *lame joke*. So we spent almost an hour in the shop, figuring what to buy. Nothing pricy but not so cheap until the colours don't show, brushes fall apart or papers tear. In the end, we grabbed a box of pencil-Aquarelle with basic colours, a packet of 3 brushes and a block of A4-sized hot pressed papers ;)

I know it doesn't look professional at all LOL
Damn bunny on my brush pack looks like a joke!

And with these, I'm sooooooo ready to carry out my hobby again! :)

Legalise Me

Yes! My status as an illegal immigrant in Moscow is finally dropped.

I am registered ;)

Damn I was freaking relieved to see loose queue at the 11th Floor corridor at the Dean's office. I knew my timing was right. Just like the newly imposed rule, delayed registration for more than 3 days will be fined. Fine by me, fine me. As long as I don't need to get caught in the middle of a brawl, sandwiched between Masala armpits, seeing bitches crying or getting squashed LOL

Actually the 2 Visa/registration ladies are nice. I mean, I can understand how stressful they are. Hundreds of foreign students come like bees, forcing their way in to register and how many can they possibly handle. Some show up wth incomplete documents, no photolahh, no immigration cardlahh, no this or no that. I think they're really good at what they do after observing them for a while.

These 2 ladies are born to do their job.

Hahahahahaa crowded by Junior pests students

Look how much paperworks surround them.. it's horrible
How many passports and visas lying around under their watch

And it's just once a year, maximum twice having to fight with them. But there really is no point to hate them. It's the number of students we fight with. More like fighting amongst ourselves for their attention. They both attended to me with grace and warmth today especially Emma who let me cut queue eve! I'm the kind of person you'd hate when you have waited for hours only to catch a glimpse of her face :P

Verdi's Requiem

It turned out that this isn't my first time watching an orchestra performance. I recalled the humble concert I attended with my groupmates last year :P But still, Verdi's Requiem was my first experience with Turkish who was all dressed smartly for it.

We got to Tchaikovsky Concert Hall 45minutes early to check out the building. It was already crowded with people of all ages (mostly old folks) and international patrons. I heard groups prattling in Italian, some in Spanish and a bunch of teenagers in English. We snapped some pictures here and there, seemingly the only ones doing so (kinda weird, right). The old ladies looked at the both of us in disapproval expressions LOL

Turkish and I *giggles*

Who else but the statue of Tchaikovksy himself

Souvenirs for sale! I get it it's a music thing but need or not..

The amphitheatre is huge. Its interior is pristine white! The chair cushions are bright blue and that's about it. The stage has those organ pipes as backdrop, I think the hall can accommodate more than 1000 spectators. Definitely. Our seats were good. We were near the stage and we could see the musicians' faces clearly. After the 3rd bell rang, the entrance doors were shut and lights shone on the stage.

The setting of the stage

The seating of the spectators

White-bearded men in black suits and age-range between 50-70 years old women in white tops walked along the sidelines and positioned themselves on the stage. They were the Choir group for the orchestra. I counted at least 120 of them. Then came the quartet of singers, consisting of a soprano, mezzo-soprano, tenor and bass. The sexy mezzo-soprano lady and her dazzling dress caused quite a stir amongst the crowd ;) The conductor was the last to appear and he looked like a sweet old man.

Aaaahhhh! When it all began..

Familiar faces of old ladies who knocked you over in the Metro? LOL

A woman in a suit, singing with the men! Strong/manly voice?

They played, they sang and so, they performed. It was that beautiful that I nearly pee-ed in my pants (skirt rather). I looked around at the other audiences, everyone gave their full attention. I don't think it is possible to fall asleep when there's so much going on. The violinists cue finished, then the trombone guys started to blow away.. then out of no where, sneaky tunes ran from left to right and the trumpets hailed from the side. It was simply grrrrrreat to watch!

Funny thing was, whenever there was a break in between the pieces, coughing and clearing-throat sounds were heard. I guess people were afraid they might suddenly have an exacerbation and disturb the atmosphere. Psychologically, I ahheeekkkkk my own too. 1 1/2 hours of full performance without break. My conclusion is such :

1. Moscow Philharmonic Orchestra is excellent

2. The old folks from the Choir Group have strong legs

3. The music conductor has beautiful, fine and silky hair

4. And he looked like he was having anaphylactic shock but he wasn't

5. I enjoyed myself

L-R: Veronica Dgioeva (soprano), Elena Maksimova (mezzo-soprano),
Alexander Dimitriev (conductor), Ahmed Agadi (tenor)
and Nikolai Didenko (bass)

Alexander in action! Check out his hand gestures ;)

Hahahahahaa on a funny note, there was once a hoax in Hong Kong. I feel lucky that I attended the genuine one :P And pardon me if I wrote something disrespectful to the music community. I don't have great knowledge in this field, you see. I like what I hear but sometimes I may not know how to listen.

He's Blood

I am the eldest in my family, with a younger brother whom I affectionately nicknamed, Fats. Most of his years in Primary School, he was overloaded with it. After my parents sent him off to Singapore, not only did he excel academically, he shed those extra weights and made a name from running. Cross-country, marathons, charity runs etc. He was always in the top places.

Today I gave a thought about Fats and I realised how much I miss him. In our childhood, I have never loved him. I bullied him, did a lot of nasty things until we were older (before we went abroad for our education). The same time I came to Russia, he left for Singapore. Every summer when I returned for holidays, we only managed to spend a few days together. 7 years have passed. Our relationship is stronger than ever. I am so proud of him.

He ain't heavy, he's my brother :)

Fats was only 12, he attended Assumption High School and his hostel was at Boys' Town Home (next to the school). At this tender age, my brother had to learn to be independent, fend himself from the other boys, cope with his studies and at the same time, follow strict rules imposed. I think Fats should write an autobiography. From carrying a box for donation drive (for Boys' Town Home) to taking part in annual Science Fair (winning 1st/2nd places) for school.

Right now, Fats is studying in the National University of Singapore. He is in his 1st Year of Bio-Medical Engineering course. It was damn flattering when Fats received an honourary letter from Nanyang Technological University, inviting him to study in their institution. Fats rejected their offer though. He also rejected the government's call for citizenship. He was one of the two students who received the offer. My brother is a genius. He has more than enough trophies in his room to cause an avalanche and certificates to start a bushfire (I'm morbid, I know LOL).

Our characters were always quite the opposite. I'm the spoilt child, he's disciplined even with minimal teachings. I'm the big spender, he's thrifty. I'm illuminated, he's modest. I'm loud, he's not. Even when my brother has appeared in headlines on newspapers, TV and such, he keeps a low profile about it. It's funny how different we could be. Yet, we are very much the same. The love we have for our parents, the respect we have for each other, the support we give each other and our humour, is perhaps one of the few traits we share :)

He turned 19 yesterday. Tears well up my eyes to see my brother grow into a fine, young man. I wish him success and smooth sailing in his studies. He makes my folks proud as parents and me as a sister. I remember my friend tagged him as "The ideal teenager". All his life, he has only received compliments especially from those aunties, "Aiyooo.. your son is so clever", "Waahhhh.. how can my son be like your son?" or "Mrs.Tan! Your raising child method is very good!".

Then she gets, "Hehehe your daughter is very naughty" LOL.

Yearbook Yourself

Hehehehee I've been noticing this Yearbook thing on Facebook and Kris gave me the website. It's so much fun. Just upload a picture of your face and there will be templates of hairdo/style from the 60s up till year 2000. It's just hilarious. There's nothing nostalgic about it. It's more of an ad/fun link to clothes stores in US.

Visit www.yearbookyourself.com now!

Aaahhh.. I look so innocent in 1976! Oriental too :)

If I had a hairstyle like that in 1982.. I'd 100% kill myself!

Or maybe not! I'd be SO in love with Turkish's afro that year LOL

1986's most happening Black-Chinese girl in town! :P

Beverly Hills 90210 in 1994 kind of style.. crazy hair!

I will never, ever be a blondie! I look hideous LOL

I used this picture for the yearbook..
I must say this one here looks the most human LOL