Is it going to snow?

Hi y'all!!

I was just thinking, is it going to snow when I go to London next week? I hope it does, cause that's one of the reasons why I wanted to go to London next week, for the SNOW.

Some people might ask me: "Audrey, why are you so obsessed with snow?" Well, let me give you an answer to that: "It's because in Malaysia, we never get to see real SNOW. We like on like the freaking equator when it's summer all year round. The only seasons we have are summer and rainy season (if that's even considered as one...). So you can't blame someone for wanting to see snow at least once in their life, okay?"

Okay, maybe that was a little over exaggerating, but the point is up until now, in my 18 years of living, I haven't even seen snow in a country, like a lot of snow. If you're talking about snow up in the mountains in China, then yes, been there, experienced that. But seeing and feeling snow in a whole country is totally different.

Hopefully it'll snow in London when I get there. *Crossing fingers*



XOXO,
Audrey Leow

Everything has a first

Everyone has definitely got to experience some firsts during the course of their life, whether they're forced to or they want to.

Recently, I myself have experienced many so-called 'firsts' this year. And since 2012 is coming, I decided to think back and recount all my first experiences 2011 made me experience...

1. First time attended college since finishing secondary school
2. First time decided to join rock-climbing at Camp 5
3. First time finally decided to go London, UK with a friend in early 2012 (planning was still done in 2011)
4. First time sat for Cambridge A-levels AS exams
5. First time went to Chiang Mai, Chiang Rai, Thailand
6. First time rode an elephant with my family (although I rode the elephant with my brother)
7. First time watched Captain America on an airplane (some more cannot finish...)
8. First time family decided to drive to the airport instead of taking the taxi
9. First time experience when father's car battery died in the airport the day when we were supposed to drive back home after coming back form hols
10. First time saw a jump start of a car (Can yo believe it?)
11. First time having me room massively renovated after 18 years of living in it
12. First time going to Ipoh to visit grandma on Christmas Day
13. Etc...

As you can see, 2011 made me experience many firsts, but it also made me a better human being. Thanks so much 2011, for all the firsts, all the experiences and all the memories you have given me. Hopefully 2012 will be a much better year for me, and for everyone else! 

XOXO,

Audrey Leow

The Road Less Travelled With Unoi & Dung

When I came back from Chiang Mai just last week, the first thing I wanted to blog about is Maesa Elephant Camp. Riding an elephant was a real first for me, and I really enjoyed it!

If you all want to know, my elephant's name was Unoi. Such a cute name right?! I absolutely loved it. <3

Riding an elephant was very different from riding a normal vehicle. Considering it was the first ANIMAL I rode, that was such an interesting and fun experience!! Absolutely loved it! I also realised how small I was compared to Unoi. The ratio was like so huge I can even do the Math. But he (Unoi) was just so kind and gentle that I loved to pet him.

Btw, my parents also rode an elephant of their own. Their elephant's name is Mae Khum Mee. She (Mae) was also very gentle, probably because they were already tamed and trained to do this. But I think this kind of elephant camps are good around the world as they provide elephants with a good place to stay and safety instead of being hunted around by hunters for their ivory. THOSE PEOPLE SHOULD BE PROSECUTED, ANIMAL CRUELTY PEOPLE!

Conclusion: ELEPHANT RIDE WAS AWESOME! HOPE TO RIDE SOME MORE ANIMALS! :) I LOVE UNOI, YOU'RE MY MAN (for now...) <3

XOXO,
Audrey Leow
             

London trip

Hi all! Sorry for the late update. Exams are just over for me and now I actually have the time to do the things I wanted to do. Some of the things are like trying out rock-climbing, hitting the gym, planning my trip to Japan and London...

Speaking of London, tonight I'm going for dinner with my mum, bro and Yi's family. I don't really know how the dinner will come out, but I think I'm just going to be myself and try to enjoy the dinner to its fullest. My mum and bro are currently in the gym, so it's me home alone at home. So I thought I'd write here to vent some of my feelings.

I know that our (Yi and I) parents are actually very worried about us going to London alone. Even though this was supposed to be a trip for us, I think today only I realised that Great Britain is actually a very foreign place, especially for this country-bumpkin who hasn't step foot in the continent before. We only read about it in books and on the Internet, but until we have been there and seen it for ourselves, I don't think we'll ever realise how dangerous this trip is. However, I believe that reading some books and researching on the Internet will help us out with better understanding the place when we get there. Of course there will be some "ooh..." and "ahh...", but at least we're more prepared.

Apparently some guy will be following us on the first couple of days. Aunty Kim said his name was Wai Hong from SMKDJ, but somehow it doesn't ring a bell. Maybe it'll only ring a bell when we (I) meet him there. This is to ensure that we don't get lost and to protect us.

At the end, I believe that after this trip, I will become a stronger, more street-wise and a better planner in life. I'm just so excited for this trip! :)

XOXO,
Audrey Leow

P/S: I also really want to play with snow and get away from the rainy season! :P

UK Education Services

Haiz, I'm so confused right now.

Just now. E West Education Services contacted me. They asked me if I'm still interested in applying to the UK. They even scheduled a meeting after my AS exams. However, after that conversation was over, I thought about it again, and thought: Oh god! What happens if everything goes wrong? Is this a gamble I'm willing to take?

I mean, Taylor's College itself already helps me with my UCAS application, and I'm almost done with mine except for the personal statement. Do I really want to take the risk and start over with an education service?

So right now I'm in a dilemma, whether to follow my original path of following the college, or change and follow education services. Maybe I should discuss with my parents first, but they might be better off not knowing this. Maybe I should just reject the offer given by E West and follow my path.

Ya, maybe I should do just that. I mean, I'm already almost done with my own UCAS application, so why take the risk? What happens if something goes wrong? Yup, I'll just tell them that we do not need your services, and then only I'll have to worry - about my personal statement.

Talking about personal statements, I haven't even started writing mine yet, and the deadline is next Thursday (24/11). What should I do? Maybe I should start drafting it ASAP. OMG, Audrey! All of a sudden you have so many things to do in 2 weeks! Maybe you should have planned your time better...

Anyway, now that writing this post has helped me make up my mind. It's back to studying and thinking about my personal statement. See ya!

XOXO,
Audrey Leow

Studying

According to this quote I just picked from the Internet... never mind, I'm just too lazy to find one now.

Anyway, back to the matter of studying. Next 2 weeks will be the last weeks for my AS exams. However, right now I seem to be studying only half-heartedly. Is this bad, or good in a way? Hmmm, never know.

Today I was supposed to study half Chemistry Paper 2 and half Physics Paper 2, but I think I'll only be studying Chem today. Then I'll only study Physics tomorrow. What am I doing, you ask? Well, my mind is always distracted doing other things such as reading manga, watching anime, playing Sims Social, HAVING to help my mum do the house chores... Haiz, maybe it's all my fault that I'm studying half-heartedly.

Never mind, these few days will be the final push for me!! Gambateh, Audrey!! :)

XOXO,
Audrey Leow

London

Hi guys! Guess what? I'm going to London!! :)

Yup! It's confirmed already, I have even paid the air tickets. This is just so exciting. I'm going with my good friend, Yean Yi. Actually this idea was kind of unexpected, as in I never expect her to agree and follow me to this cool trip. Even if she agreed, I never expect for our parents to approve of us going there by ourselves!! SO for all of this to be happening, this is just so exciting!

Anyway, after my AS exams, she's going to come and sleepover at my place. Now that itself is another thing to be excited over, as we never sleepover and each other's houses before, so this will be a first for us.

So far, air ticket = settled. Accommodation = settled. Now all that's left is the budget, transport and attractions. Can't wait to plan for the trip right after my exams. Bye!

XOXO,
Audrey Leow

Yean Yi

Dear Yean Yi,

~MY GOOD FRIEND~

You were and are still one of my good friends. I love you for who you are, although I'm not sure whether you have changed over the past year or not... I don't mind. :)

I remember when we were still just ordinary secondary school prefects. Although we weren't in the popular gang, we still managed to get our job done and have many friends. This showed that we remain who we are throughout the school years. Awesome!!

And then comes those times when we all went out and hung out at Yi May's house. As I remember, we even had a sleepover there once. Those were good times. Too bad Yi May is now in Australia, and you and I are in different campuses. But I believe our good friend relationship won't be affected just because we do not see each other that often anymore...

Do you remember that sometime last year you said that you wanted to give me a bikini for my 18th birthday? Well, I'm already 18, and I'm still wondering whether you will remember and give me that bikini you said you will. I'm waiting.

Anyway, I'm both nervous and excited that we are going to meet tomorrow. On one hand, I'm excited that we finally get to hang out; however, on the other hand, I'm nervous as to what to do and what to say when I'm around you. I don't want it to turn out to be a very boring and awkward conversation.

Wait till I meet you tomorrow first... Remember to come ah? :P

XOXO,
Audrey Leow

Outing with Allimalar & Leannza

Hi. Went out with my friends, Allimalar and Leannza today. We had such a GOOD time. Thanks guys!!

XOXO,
Audrey Leow

The Three Musketeers

Hi. Watched The Three Musketeers today with Intan. The show was not bad, I think I would rate it 8/10.

I found it weird that the movie was called 'The Three Musketeers', but at the end there were 4 musketeers instead. Doesn't matter, 'cause they are all hot and strong (buff)...

Good luck to all Cambridge A Levels students who are taking their exams, including me! :)

XOXO,
Audrey Leow

Happy birthday!! :)

Happy birthday, Audrey!!

Happy birthday, Caren!!

It's just so cool that we both have our birthdays on the same day. Hopefully you'll have a great day the same way I'm gonna have a great day.

Dear family,

Remember that we are going to celebrate it tonight through dinner at 1 Utama. Don't forget ya!!

To everyone who remembered and wished me,

Thank you very much! I'm just glad that you all remembered my birthday and hope that we all can still remain friends in the future (whether through facebook or twitter or through handphone and through mail).

XOXO.
Audrey Leow

Apple

Finally updated my ipod touch to the new iOS 5 and updated my iTunes at the same time to the new iTunes 10.5.

Quite cool actually, especially all the new features. Still in the exploring stage though, so excited exploring it...

However, this is the only Apple product I have, not so rich to afford iPad, iPhone 4S and so forth. Haiz, just be grateful with all my blessings enough already.

Thanks Steve Jobs for introducing Apple to our lives. R.I.P.

XOXO,

Audrey Leow

Real Steel

This movie, you guys, is definitely a movie worth watching!

The robots and actors acting are good. The storyline is good and best of all, the music is good.

THIS MOVIE IS DEFINITELY ONE WORTH WATCHING!! WATCH IT GUYS!! :)

XOXO,

Audrey Leow

Friends...

A friend is one who knows you and loves you just the same.

~ Elbert Hubbard~

Hi. Hmmmm... I just realised that I have started a lot of my blog posts with 'Hi!". Sorry, will try to change that next time I write/type.

Anyway, I have just reconnected with my secondary school friends. We are actually going to meet up and catch up on life.

To Ke Li,

Too bad I didn't get to catch up with you. I hope we do get to meet up and catch up with each other lives. I can't wait to meet you. :)

To Leannza, Allimalar (Huey May) and Yean Yi,

I just can't wait for the reunion with you guys! Although it's on 2 separate days, I'm still glad we get to meet with each other. Really can't wait. Must be pretty... Must be pretty... LOL. :P

At the end, the other important thing other than family, I think, is friends. Since I didn't really had that many friends in primary school, I actually made an effort to learn to socialise and made some awesome friends during my secondary school days which I still treasure now even when we are not studying together anymore. I really miss you guys and can't wait to see you all and hug you all!

Love y'all!

XOXO,

Audrey Leow

HTC Sensation XL?

Hey, just saw that the HTC Sensation XL was just released. I just wonder, why are all the HTC phones start with HTC Sensation? HTC Sensation, HTC Sensation XE, and now HTC Sensation XL..

After reading the specs, I still think HTC Sensation XE is better. I sort of like black and red compared to white and red. And even if it is slightly thinner, I think the longer battery life is better for me. Sorry! :P

Anyway, here are the specs for HTC Sensation XL:

CPU Processing Speed

1.5 GHz

Memory

Total storage:

16 GB

Available storage:

up to 12.64 GB

RAM:

768 MB

(The available storage you can use will be lesser, since the phone’s software occupies some storage.)

Connectivity

• 3.5 mm stereo audio jack
• Bluetooth® 3.0 with A2DP for wireless stereo headsets and PBAP for phonebook access from the car kit
• Wi-Fi®: IEEE 802.11 b/g/n
• DLNA for wirelessly streaming media from the phone to a compatible TV or computer
• Standard micro-USB (5-pin micro-USB 2.0)

Sensors

• Gyro sensor
• G-Sensor
• Digital compass
• Proximity sensor
• Ambient light sensor

Multimedia

Audio supported formats:

• Playback: .m4a, .mp3, .mid, .ogg, .wav, .wma (Windows Media Audio 9)

Video supported formats:

• Playback: .3gp, .3g2, .mp4, .m4v, .wmv (Windows Media Video 9 and VC-1)
• Recording: .mp4, .3gp

Platform

Android™ with HTC Sense™

Camera

• 8 megapixel camera with F2.2 lens, dual LED flash, and BSI sensor (for better low-light captures)
• 720p HD video recording
• 1.3 megapixel front camera

Location

• Internal GPS antenna

Power & Battery

Battery type:

Rechargeable Lithium-ion battery

Capacity:

1600 mAh

Talk time:

• WCDMA: Up to 410 minutes
• GSM: Up to 710 minutes

Standby time³:

• WCDMA: Up to 460 hours
• GSM: Up to 360 hours

(The above are subject to network and phone usage.)

Network

HSPA/WCDMA:

• Europe/Asia: 850/900/2100 MHz

Quad-band GSM/GPRS/EDGE:

• 850/900/1800/1900 MHz

XOXO,

Audrey Leow

Exams coming!

Hi y'all!

My exams are starting tomorrow. Can't wait to get it over with and go along with the holidays!

I just read reviews or rather hands-on about my current favourite handphone - HTC Sensation XE. It's not bad, of course better than the normal HTC Sensation.

Apparently it appeared in Malaysia early, or at least it appeared in 1 Utama early. I just read that it was supposed to be released at Malaysia this week, but I already saw it at Gadget Republic last Saturday. Man, does 1 Utama rock!!

Hope that I'll get the handphone *fingers crossed*...

Well, better continue studying for my exams. See you guys soon!

XOXO,

Audrey Leow

Finally saw my dream phone!!

Hi! Today at 1 Utama, I finally saw my dream phone! It's a ....

HTC Sensation Xe!!!

I can't wait to get one of those phones myself! It's just so solid and so beautiful and so cool! Because it has 'Beats' audio, even the headphones are so cool!

Here's the specs:

CPU Processing Speed

1.5 GHz, dual core

Storage¹

Total storage:

4 GB

Available storage:

up to 1 GB

RAM:

768 MB

Connectors

• 3.5 mm stereo audio jack
• micro-USB 2.0 (5-pin) port with mobile high-definition video link (MHL) for USB or HDMI connection

(Special cable required for HDMI connection.)

Sensors

• Gyro sensor
• G-Sensor
• Digital compass
• Proximity sensor
• Ambient light sensor

Multimedia

• Gallery, Music, and FM Radio
• Beats Audio™
• DLNA for wirelessly streaming media from the phone to your TV or computer

Audio supported formats:

• Playback: .aac, .amr, .ogg, .m4a, .mid, .mp3, .wav, .wma (Windows Media Audio 9)
• Recording: .amr

Video supported formats:

• Playback: .3gp, .3g2, .mp4, .wmv (Windows Media Video 9), .avi (MP4 ASP and MP3), .xvid (MP4 ASP and MP3)
• Recording: .3gp

Power & Battery²

Battery type:

Rechargeable Lithium-ion battery

Capacity:

1730 mAh

Talk time:

• WCDMA: Up to 445 minutes
• GSM: Up to 550 minutes

Standby time³:

• WCDMA: Up to 540 hours
• GSM: Up to 310 hours

Network⁴

HSPA/WCDMA:

• Europe/Asia: 900/AWS/2100 MHz

Quad-band GSM/GPRS/EDGE:

• 850/900/1800/1900 MHz

Platform

Android™ with HTC Sense™

Camera

8 megapixel color camera:

• Auto focus and dual LED flash

Front camera:

• VGA fixed focus color camera

HD video recording:

• 1080p HD video recording

Internet⁵

3G:

• Up to 14.4 Mbps download speed
• Up to 5.76 Mbps upload speed

GPRS:

• Up to 80 kbps downloading

EDGE:

• Up to 236.8 kbps downloading

Wi-Fi®:

• IEEE 802.11 b/g/n

Bluetooth®

• Bluetooth® 3.0
• A2DP for wireless stereo headsets
• FTP and OPP (object push) for file transfer
• PBAP for phonebook access from the car kit
• Other supported profiles: AVRCP, GAP, GOEP, HFP, HID, HSP, MAP, SPP, SDAP

Social Networking

• Facebook® and Twitter™ for HTC Sense
• Friend Stream
• Share photos/videos on Facebook®, Flickr®, Twitter™, or YouTube™

Location

• Internal GPS antenna
• With Locations, explore maps with zero wait, zero dead spots, and zero data roaming fees

Tethering

• USB and Wi-Fi® tethering

Recommended Windows System Requirements

• Windows® 7, Windows Vista®, or Windows® XP
• HTC Sync

1. Note: Specifications are subject to change without prior notice.

I just LOVE this phone! Hopefully I get it as my birthday present this year!!

Please make that happen...

Thanks mum and dad!

XOXO,

Audrey Leow