Nuff lazyness, Cathy is back (for now)

It's been a while since I've blogged (well maybe just a LIL longer than a while, few months to be exact?), but I've finally decided to and mustered up the energy/spirit to blog.

So many different types of events, good and bad, has happened these past few months that I have no idea where to begin or what to even include in this blog entry. In saying this, let us just use photos to depict the events of my life in the last couple of weeks =]




This "60's inspired look" was for my friend Helen's portfolio as she does a makeup course at Cut above, looks pretty funky right?

Just a bit of background information on the fashion side of the 60's era, one of the major influences of this time was the model 'Twiggy'. Her trademark look was her short cropped hair, androgenous looks and not to mention, the exaggerated eyelashes she wore.



Helen did a pretty good job of replicating the styles of the 60's didn't she?


A couple of weeks ago, my mum, her friend and I went to check out some christmas lights down a road in Ponsonby which also happened to be the road my mum works at (lucky mummy!).
Here are just some photos of my favourite houses during the night.


This one was just amazing, the whole house was practically covered in lights and it seemed like one of the favourites amongst curious onlookers hoping to catch a glimpse of the marvelous creation.


Although this house wasn't completely decorated or anywhere near as extravagent as some of the other houses, what drew me to really take notice, was this seal-like light sculpture of some sort, maybe because it was unique and different.


Now...this is my favourite house of the night, it wasn't the most decorated one, the most colourful one or the most popular but something about it just makes me <3 it. Sometimes words cannot explain how much you <3 something or how it triggers your emotions and feelings.

I have a lot more photos I can put up and write about however, if I did that I would be up all night with panda eyes by tomorrow morning. So instead, I'll call it a night and hopefully I will update real soon with something more inspirational =]

Friends, what would we do without them?

Sometimes, it takes something pretty drastic happening to you in your life to remind you of how important friends are.

“Truly great friends are hard to find, difficult to leave, and impossible to forget.”
-Anonymous

It's not as if I never treasured my friends or forgot to cherish their friendship. It's more like I am once again reminded of how important they are and how much each and every one of them mean to me.
In those times of heartache, when everything seems to be falling to pieces, the hand that reaches out to hold onto you reveals the light at the end of the dim tunnel.

This entry is dedicated to all my friends, although we may not keep in contact every week like we used to or see each other everyday, doesn't mean I don't care anymore. To those friends who I see every now and again (eg. every day, every week etc), thank you for being there for me when I needed it the most, if it were not for those words of encouragement, your ears to listen to me babble to, I don't know how long it would take for me to get over my obstacles.

"True happiness consists not in the multitude of friends, but in their worth and choice."
- Samuel Johnston

No I will not give up now.

To what I'm directing the title to...I dunno really... probably anything and everything.
Tests, people, my blog -.-

I feel as if I am getting a bit lazy, it's taken ahold of me once again. It's meant to be semester break, 2 weeks of rest and relaxation (NOT) but time has won the race as usual. It's already the middle of the second week and I'm not done with revision and play, when is two weeks ever enough?

First week of the break went past like a whirlwind, camp from Wednesday-Friday, the rest was pretty unproductive. Oh and the best thing is I got the flu!!
Commenced on: 1st September- doesn't look like it's going away anytime soon. Does anybody know a way to fight the flu? (I've tried antibiotics, honey lemon tea, the works).

After getting sick (one of the worst sicknesses I've ever gotten, honest) I've learnt to appreciate health and being healthy. Taking health science for two years didn't even do the trick so you can get a good idea of how much this flu must suck right now. I'm appreciative in terms of being able to get a good nights sleep without waking up numerous times in the night just to clear my airways, having taste buds to enjoy delish food and drinking water because I want to and not because I have to.

So everybody, be healthy, stay healthy and most of all, enjoy being healthy =]

I don't have a suitable photo to put up so here's one of the cutest puppy ever, Lucky!

Patience, Humility and Gentleness.

Normally you don't hear or see these three words jumping out at you on billboards or ads, as you walk through the city or when you turn the TV on. But during the last three days of my life when I went to church camp, these words were somewhat carved into my head and initiator of the many thoughts I have at this moment in time.

I gotta be honest.. I don't think I fulfill any of the three qualities listed. When I think of Patience, I think of threading a piece of wool through a tiny hole on a knitting needle. When I think of Humility, I think of either Mother Teresa or Nelson Mandela. And when I think of Gentleness, what comes to mind is the soft splashing of waves along the edges of the seashore.

I tend to epitomize from time to time, at the end of the day, I'm probably just like any other 20 year old in New Zealand. Patience can be mastered, Humility can be nurtured and Gentleness, well, gentleness can probably be mastered as well ;)

Enjoy, don't endure.

Wow, time passes fast. Before you know it, winter's almost over, assignments are nearly due, another year is quickly passing by. As time goes by, every minute, every second becomes all the more important.

What I'm trying to say is, sometimes we live everyday as if it's just any old day. Maybe it is, but what if it were our last? I'm not trying to jinx anyone or freak people out. A thought came to me this week out of the blue, 'Why should we have to endure life as if it is a job or a duty when we can learn to enjoy every moment as if it were our very last?'

It's actually pretty funny coming from me because normally I am one of those people who wants to just live life on a flat playing field, no ups, no downs = Cathy is happy. But what's the fun in that?

Some photos taken today:



Taken as I was walking down my road to bus stop, the morning air is so nice!



Makes me want to live in an apartment >,<



<3 Hanging out with Sarah, at restaurant eating lots of yummy food =]



My delicious kimchi fried rice, it was so spicy!

Reminisce

Just these past few days I've been flipping through a stack of old high school photographs and reminiscing those days where my friends and I frolicked around in our skirts, up to no good. Now and again I think we should all be reminded about what we possess at this moment in time and be grateful for it. Apart from those things, we should also treasure the memories, moments and friendships we made throughout our journey into adulthood, even though they may not be around us like they used to be.




The person whom we are now cannot possibly have been derived on our own. Without those distant memories and friends, we would not be the person we are today. In saying that, I've learnt to appreciate that even through the bad times, sad times and times I'd rather forget about, I'm glad I did not go through it alone. Although I am still not perfect and will never be, I am content.



Live everyday as if it were your last, sounds cliche but hey, life is cliche.

L.O.V.E

LOVE,爱，사랑。。。 What is it?

Every now and again I think about this word and the meanings behind it. I'm sure everyone thinks about love once in a while. Whether we are already intertwined in some sort of relationship or otherwise, this word never fails to appear our minds.



This was just a random picture I found on google, the meaning is simple but it says so much in very few words. I believe that's what love should be like. Simple but meaningful.

I should be studying.

The name of the title clearly explains what I've been telling myself through and throughout this entire week so far. Yet, nothing has worked.

The second half of the semester has officially started SINCE LAST WEEK and still, my body is lagging behind, probably stuck somewhere in the midst of the first semester. Can somebody rescue me before I turn into an anxiety-filled, stressed maniac by the end of the semester when you know what's coming up, that's right, EXAMS! GG -.-.

Its funny though, I have the motivation to blog and rant but none to open my books and sort through my notes/lecture slides/things to memorise. I try to keep my blog entries nice and motivating but it's kinda hard to when you're not feeling that motivated yourself. Hope this feeling won't last too long, cannot afford to!!

Alrighty, nothing much more to say..have a good weekend =]

Friendship contemplation (just another rant)

Lately I've begun to think about friendship and what it really means and why we need friends. To be honest, I probably think about these types of things too much, if you know me well you'd probably say I'm over-analysing situations and people or whatnot. Maybe I am and maybe I tend to, but that is only because I truly value my friends and not because I want to be analytical.

Ever since high school, possibly from fourth form onwards I guess you can say that I lost my naivety and innocence (in a friends-related sort of sense). Back in the days before then, I was the sort of girl who thought that I should try to be friends with everyone no matter if we got on or not. Obviously it's not as easy and simple as that, coming from my experience. If it were, then the whole world would be friends and everyone would get along but that's not reality. Reality is we vary in personalities, habits, wants, needs and so on. Friends somewhat fulfil or supplement those things. That is why we often see people who are very different butt heads in ideas or simply do not get along.
I just want say...that's normal!

Previously, I would of thought to myself something along the lines of 'Why can't I just be friends with them, why don't they like me? What's wrong with me?'
I now understand that is just a part of life, no one is perfect. We cannot force ourselves to like someone just like we can't force ourselves to hate another. Let's just cherish the friends we have at the moment, remember the wonderful memories we've had with previous friends and hope for success in our friendsips to come :D

Rewind and retell

Wow...it's been more than a month since my last post, I'm ashamed. Sorry to any readers I've been letting down, I guess it's true what they say, time passes fast when you're having so much fun=]

Time has officially escaped from my grasp this past month as a result of the excess free time I've gotten due to term break. But now, it's that time again, the start of a whole new semester. New papers, new classmates, new books (ugh)...I don't know whether to be happy or sad. I'm happy because I can stop wasting time and actually start using my brain juice again but I'm also sad because the holidays ended near such a highlight of this year. That is, my trip to Sunshine Coast, Brisbane and Gold Coast, Australia. To sum it up in one word, it was AMAZING. I guess it's also to do with who you go on the trips with, going with my best friend and her family made the trip extra special. Its trips like those that remind me how much I love to travel and experience the freshness of an entirely unfamiliar territory, the feeling is exhilarating in itself.

If you ever get the chance to travel to Australia, I do recommend those three places, not one let me down. Each has its own flavour and feel, whether it's more to do with nature or buzzing with city craze, a mix of both made it more exciting. Sunshine Coast lives up to its name, though not at its peak sunshine, was still enough to be warmer than chilly Auckland. One word that comes to mind when I think back to Brisbane is NIGHTLIFE. That is, not clubs and stuff like that but think Queen Street but ten times more lights, sounds, people and stores. It was to the extent that we could compare it to Asia nightlife (Really fun for people who like to shop at dusk). Last but not least...GOLD COAST. What can I say? I'm sure many people have already heard numerous stories of this well known tourist location so I won't elaborate. However, I will say that I absolutely loved Gold Coast, probably more than the other two places. It had everything you could possibly want when on holiday, shopping, great food, great sites, nature, theme parks, concerts, the list goes on.

That's just a short summary of my holiday experience because I think the best way to explain my holiday is through my photos and not my words =P [Check FB]
Anywho, new start, time to add oil and work through this semester like there's no tomorrow! Most of all, don't stress just do your best =]

The Element of Surprise minus(-) the Pessimism

This entry is actually dedicated to one of my wonderful readers...Lucius!!!
Thank you for bringing me such a positive surprise and review of my blog, I really appreciate the support :D

To be honest, when I first started out blogging just a while ago, I didn't think anyone would read it. Well, anyone apart from the people I beg and bribe of course. But like they say, miracles do happen. Miracle or not, it's a pleasant surprise and boost in confidence.

Sometimes it's surprises like these that make each day worthwhile even if you've been through the toughest exam, or just had the worst winter's day experience. It could be something so insignificant or just a mere comment that can open your eyes to a whole new side of picture laid out in front of you. Each new day we may be faced with trials and obstacles to overcome, we can either choose to look at them simply as trials and obstacles, or we can change our outlook and think of them as surprises in our life that's meant to be enjoyed and not endured.

It true what they say, it's easier said than done. Sure. But if we always think that way, how are we ever going to get anywhere? Pessimism gets hold of everyone, even the most optimistic of people. As hard as changing our outlook can be, in the end it's up to choice and sacrifice. It's as simple as that. I can say from experience that through changing how I think about situations and looking towards the brighter side of things, positive surprises are not so hard to find anymore. Maybe you just havn't been looking hard enough ;)

Find the Spark.

What a week! The first week of June and it has hit me like a rocket on fire. There's nothing much to pinpoint exactly so I won't bore you with the minor details and happenings :D I will however, mention something small I picked up just a few days ago from a photo outing with a few friends.

Call it an epiphany or contemplation, either way, it made me think.
When you and I go through our busy everyday lives, has it ever occurred in any instance, how others live their lives? When I sat down at that bench in the middle of Queen Street amongst all the hustle and bustle of street pedestrians minding their own businesses, I realised something I never gave much thought to. Snapping their movements with the Rebel Xti, every individual portrayed a personal, unique story to tell. What fascinated me was that no matter where I pointed my camera, I would catch a random person in the midst of whatever they were doing, as if they were completely unaware of how special they are in this world. In that moment of blur, people mirrored other people in their similar style of walk or pose. Even so, not one person gave me the exact same feeling as another.

Each and every one of us may find moments in our lives that bore us, seem pointless, or lack that little spark. If we stop and look around, maybe just maybe, our eyes can be opened wider to the greater world around us. Our day may have been just a routine Saturday but if you look thoroughly enough, there will always be something to pick up that makes each and every single day extraordinary in its own.

Life's too short to cry over spilt milk.

Like the title suggests... Life's too short, it really is. No matter which way I look at it these days, time seems to get the most of me. Catches me offhand every now and then and before you know it, it's 11:01pm and you've only just managed to sit down and blog.

What I actually want to say is I'm tired of stressing over little miniscule mishappenings and bits and pieces out of place. If I could count all of the minutes I spend worrying over friendship issues, study-related problems and self-conflicting thoughts, I could have most likely finished a few dramas I've wanted to watch by now. Now that is an incentive to cut out all that negative thinking!

With all these exams coming up for uni students, all I need is positivity right now. Don't we all? I'm just glad I found it in time :D For the rest of y'all: It's never too late, especially in relation to exams. Keep trying, and don't give up! Try your best and no matter the outcome, at least you know you tried your hardest~ What has helped me the most is being grateful. When you take some time to clearly think about what you appreciate in your life and all that you have, no matter how small, everything becomes much clearer and all those things you always used to worry about now seems almost irrelevant.

Guess I'm finally getting what 'Man Up' really means huh..

Awaiting June.

It's nearing the end of the month of May and I can actually say ..wow this has been one of the longest months ever. It's like reliving almost everyday twice but in slow mode.

They say 'Time flies when you're having fun', I beg to differ. Sure, everyday feels similar but it's those little things that happen in life that make it all worthwhile :D If it were not for those miniscule events, I'd probably wouldn't be so understanding.

Anyways, a little update of the month that's about to pass.

1. Gained * KGs (Not proud, hence the *)
2. Got my first A in an essay! (Feel proud about this one :D)
3. Finally got around to recording some songs (whoop whoop)
4. Lost my phone, dropped my phone.Dropped my camera. FAIL.
5. Got a haircut! Bye Bye split ends.

A lot can happen within a month as you can see..

I can foresee June already, study study study, exam exam exam and there goes the month. If anyone can give me any good study tips, feel free! The reason is, I feel as if though I still havn't managed to grasp my full potential in terms of study and technique. Hmmm. I believe I'll find it one day.


I'll finish off this entry with the famous words by Ralph Waldo Emerson: 'All life is an experiment.'

KKKubick Baby

Yeah. That's right.
I, Cathy Zhang, finally made my way to the notorious, food-laden, well-loved restaurant KUBICK! Thanks to Sarah dear, you made my day.

Ok. Firstly, I must admit I had pretty high expectations after hearing from numerous people about how great the place and their food were. Needless to say, I was rather impressed. For a small and dainty eatout, it sure beats the uni foodcourt back at the quad!

Ordering the 'Cream Sauce' meal, I was inexplicitly warned that it would be waaaay too creamy for anyone's likes. Whilst Sarah's yummy-looking (though not-my-style type) Japanese curry arrived at our table, I was nervously awaiting my fate. It arrived not soon after.

First bite. Me: Ohhh Delicious!
Sarah: Just wait till you eat more.. (Something along the lines)
Me: mmmummaaammm yemmasss
Sarah: LOL
5 minutes later...
Me: Now that was delicious stuff.
Sarah: Wow, you ate it all and so fast O.O

Ok that was just a short, fast-forwarded summary of what actually happened but hey, you get the idea :D
Did I mention, apart from the oh-so-creamy and delectable noodles were side complements of Rice, Chicken Katsu, Miso soup, Salad and pickles!
It's 12:06am and I'm still full from lunch at 2pm. Let's just say that we could of probably eaten for 4. Thanks for taking me to Kubick Sarah, now I know where to go to fill all my belly's hopes and desires!


Yo Sarah: Gym tomorrow? ;)

Rain rain go away, come again another day~

It seems like a gazillion years since it has rained like the way it has for the past week. I still blame the reason being on my choice to listen to ‘雨下一整晚’by 周杰伦 on replay for the past few days. Jinxed for sure.

Usually I like the rain and wintery days like these but lately, dunno what has come over me. It's like I long for warmth 24/7, cold days just arn't my thing anymore.

Spring+Autumn FTW! I Cannot wait till the feeling of summer in Aussie in July. Even though it's supposedly Winter, it sure will not feel like it .

Speaking of summer in July, don't we all feel like we need a break right now, a holiday of some sort? For me, that's exactly what I feel I need. For once, I just want to be able to sit down and watch the minutes on the clock tick by and not feel bad about it. Or do something I do not usually do. Lately, days feel like a routine, wake up, eat, wash, go to uni, study, come home, eat, wash, study. Yeah you can say rountines are good and they keep your life in order however, they get boring. But you know what they say, that's life ;) Life is how you make it.

Alright. There's not much to say actually, just felt like blogging some random thoughts as usual.

Here's the song lyrics to ‘雨下一整晚' [It rained the whole entire night]

街灯下的橱窗 有一种落寞的温暖

图贴在玻璃上 画者你的模样

开着车漫无目的地转弯不知要去那个地方

凉卻的电视 墙到底有谁在看

白杨木影子被拉長像我对你的思念總不完

原来我従未习惯 你已不在我身旁

街道的铁门被拉上只剩转角霓虹灯还在闪

着城市 的小巷 雨下一整晚

Missing pieces

You know that saying everyone says when you've lost something, 'You don't know what you've got until it's gone'.

It's so true. I think it applies to all walks of life, whether it's your belongings, friends, memories...

I guess life is all about lessons, you learn something new everyday. For me, today has been the day I've learnt to realise just how much my phone really means to me. Without it, it almost feels like a limb has been severed off my torso, a body without legs. Suddenly there is this ambiguity, a disconnection from the world, or maybe it's just me?

Either way, phone #4 has left my grasp, stolen? lost? The possibilities are endless...

.

.

.

Onto happier things! Because, life goes on right? I get a new phone for one, and it will be scratchless too!

Karaoke was fun today, I cannot imagine life without music and singing. I reckon music would be placed along with food as one of my neccesities, without it I'd starve.

Speaking of food, I should really start sleeping early again. These late nighters make me soooo hungry and you know what they say about eating after 8pm ><

Fresh start starts now

I'm not sure if many people know this but I've been meaning to keep up a blog for the longest time now. Was it procrastination or the lack the motivation that has kept me from doing it?

Don't know. Don't care. Either way, I've done it now and there is no turning back.

Personally I think it has been all the blogs I've been reading lately, whether it's the fashion memoirs or day to day excerpts, they inspire me! You bloggers out there inspired me to do this!

This being my first entry I should have made it at least a little bit exciting though sadly, it is 1:13am in the morning and I'm knackered. Completely, utterly, knackered. If you knew me well enough you would know that Cathy Zhang usually sleeps before 11pm, in saying this, me being up this late is an unusually unfamiliar territory to say the least.

Alright, I'll end with a picture. That'll spice things up a bit hopefully ;)