These streets will make you feel brand new

Okay.. Where do I begin..

I'm sorry I haven't blogged in a while. Rome was fantastic, but I'll probably blog about it some other time. Wifi has been a little hard to get. And I've finally managed to set up the internet in my room, so here I am!

Anyway, I'm extremely tired. Spent the day out with Elaina. Met a new friend from UCLA, a couple of my other flatmates, and a few others from the neighbouring flat.

So far, my flatmates are pretty lovely. There's Molly and Ben, native Mancunians. Nora, a Norwegian. And Dan, who's from England too, though I'm not too sure which part.

They're all rather nice.

Anyway, as I sit in my room, I can't help but feel quite homesick. I think it just hit me that I'll be on my own for the next year. No mummy or daddy to turn to.

I know that I've been complaining about them, but in the end, I do miss them a lot...

Hopefully I'll feel better after a bit...

I want to break free-

I’m typing this down on Microsoft Word and then posting this on another day because my hotel’s wi-fi has decided to act up and not work.

Anyway, I’m horribly tired. My parents and I decided to catch the evening show of ‘We will rock you’ and I’ve just arrived back at the hotel. I’m also a little pissed off cuz’ dad was so ‘kiasu’, he just HAD to leave right after the musical had ended. And apparently, the audience started shouting for an encore, and I heard ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’ playing as I left the theatre… and I swear, my heart literally broke then.

Overall, it was a good day. But as usual, my parents always manage to damper it with all their nonsense. No bloody surprise there, really. I’m already getting sick of being the ‘control’ in their little ‘tug-of-war’. I feel like if I have to tolerate more of this, I’m gonna just beg to move into my dorm MUCH earlier.

One example of the little ‘games’ they play: My mum tends to walk really fast. And my dad isn’t what you’d describe as the fittest. And I’m ALWAYS fucking stuck in the middle, making sure my mum doesn’t wander off too far and my dad can keep up. Like the bloody fucking parent.

Also, my mum tends to act like an auntie. Also, no big deal. And then my dad complains about her, then my mum complains about him, and then, my dad complains about EVERYTHING. And I just think ‘okay. Only a week left.’

Don’t get me wrong. I love my parents more than life itself; can’t imagine a life without either of them… But when it comes to family time, I ALWAYS stick to one favourite phrase of mine: ‘Quality before Quantity’.

And we’ve had TOO much quantity thus far. And I’m about to ‘quantity’ their asses back to Singapore before I completely forget reasons why I should miss them.

Alright. That’s pretty much been my day. Beside the whole tourist-going-sight-seeing thing and all that.

Right. And also. We went to Madame Tussauds’ today. And I realize that I will never ever ever ever EVER ever be okay with going through haunted houses. Because it seems too real and I have too much of an imagination. And most importantly, I’m too much of a coward. Okay?

Lots of love! <3

It was dark, and I was over.

I love free wireless in hotel rooms. Well, I love technology in general cuz' it's only then that I can keep track of all my friends at home AND update them on my happenings.

Today, the folks and I made our way to London! We took the train from Manchester to the London Euston station.

Our London hotel is right next to King's Cross Station! I really did have half a mind to grab a trolley and ram it into the pillar between platforms 9 and 10.

We took the tube down to Liverpool street and walked through Petticoat Lane, a flea market. Saw many brilliant things, couldn't buy much cuz' of luggage space (THE BLOODY BANE OF THIS HOLIDAY, I SWEAR.) but I *did* get a new leather jacket! It's really bulky and thick though which inevitably means LESS shopping. :'(

Then we walked to Covent Garden from Holborn Station. It's this quaint little piazza area where they sell the odd thing here and there. The street theatre is REALLY great! I really do wish that my mac could read my camera and I could show you all the wonderful pictures that I've taken. There are magicians, sword-jugglers, stunt people doing really dangerous stuff..

After that, we walked around West End! It being Sunday though, all the theatres were closed. Which didn't bode well for me since I REALLY wanted to catch a musical. Or play. OR ANYTHING. I can't even decide what to watch first! Wicked? We will rock you? Les Mis? I went crazy just STARING at the posters longingly. (I swear, *little* drool came out.)

Finished our little tour of London's downtown with Piccadilly Circus and Ripley's Believe it or not! We didn't actually go for the museum tour. I wanted to, but tickets are a little pricey and I do rather go with my friends. So I told my parents that I'd just go on my own.

Honestly, today was a pretty good day! The only thing that kinda spoilt it (as it had for the past few days) was the constant bickering between dear ol' ma and pa.

I love them. I do. But they tend to say stupid, stupid things that make me go 'Fuck. It's gonna start.' And of course, it does.

It makes me pissed off that they can't shut it up for two weeks. And that they don't realise that they won't be seeing me for a year and I wouldn't want my last physical memory of them to be them fighting over the hotel room states, or food, or anything else.

I mean, SERIOUSLY.

Anyway, I'll still dearly miss them. Let's just pray that they'll realise how much more they need each other than they think they actually do.

We're going to Madame Tussauds' tomorrow! Hopefully, it'll be fun and I won't freak out too much in the horror section like I did when I was 6. (I may have even cried then..)

Till then, loves! Tah tah!

But if I tell the world, I'll never say enough

Gosh. It's so annoying how my parents and I are still under the spell known as 'Jet lag'.

We're already back at the apartment cuz' all of us are too tired to do anything else.

I get really hungry at 6/7am (about 1/2pm SG time) and 12/1pm (about 7/8pm SG time) and by 3/4pm, I'm already dying of tiredness.

So we all decided to just nua at home.

Completely in love with the shopping choices here though. I have my eye set on some choices at M&S, Dorothy Perkins and Next. Of course, because we're going to Rome and London, I can't exactly buy anything yet. Of course, it hasn't stopped me from buying a little bit here and there.. I blame my chronic shoppaholic disease.

Anyway, it's always nice to just chill at home.

Until next time! X)

Today this could be the greatest day of our lives

Yesterday marked the second day of my life in Europe.

And I'm glad to say, I'm starting to fall in love with the city of Manchester. I just love the tall, cobbled buildings that are scattered all around, the nice people we met in different places, the shopping, and food, and- You get the drift.

We visited my hall yesterday, and it was actually pretty awesome. It does take about 10-15 mins to reach the law building (which is next to the main building of the campus.) but the security is good, the amenities are great, and my dorm advisor is this really lovely lady called 'Ged'.

And my room is just next to the kitchen, so that's pretty awesome!

After that, the family and I went to Old Trafford to visit the home of Man Utd.

To see the huge-ass stadium that most only get to see on TV is so amazing. We didn't get to see any players (it wasn't match day) though, but it was still a wonderful experience.

Anyway, I unfortunately can't post any pictures right now. My camera can't connect to my mac, only to my HP which is packed-up, so I can only upload all my photos when I get settled in my dorm.

It's currently 750 in the morning on Saturday. I'll probably be doing more exploring and sight-seeing today.

See you folks later!

Can you imagine no love, pride, deep-fried chicken?

Okay. I'm extremely tired and jet-lagged, but I'll see what I can do..

I'll be honest. The flight completely tuckered me out. And when we reached Manchester, we found out that our apartment wasn't ready until at least 1pm. (And it was only 9am when we had arrived.)

So we had to WALK to the bank and then go to the University to get my registration done and pay the school fees.

Which, in my dead-tired state, was nothing short of ARE-YOU-FREAKING-KIDDING-ME?!?

And so, truth to be told, I started to get homesick not ONE hour after we had arrived. For a bit, I felt so lost in the kinda-big city and it just seemed like everyone KNEW we were tourists since we don't exactly look like we come from England. And I was grabbing my bag really tightly since my mother had given me quite a bit of money to deposit.

Yup, I started regretting my decision to study here. Even to the point where I started wondering what my parents would say if I told them NOW that I wanted to take a gap year.

Somehow though, the city grew on me a little. Met a couple of nice people here and there, and WOW.. I saw the Catholic Church. It's AMAZING. It looks so ancient and wonderfully built, with its cobble-stoned walls, towering roofs, and stained-glass windows.

Even though I AM still horribly tired, I still wanna say that I really am looking forward to studying here. And hopefully, when I'm not as jet-lagged and better-rested tomorrow, I'll start to love the city more.

Will update more soon! <3