Nottingham/London trip

After a long, long time abroad, my sister is finally back home now! But that was not after we went to Nottingham for her graduation ceremony (and well.. I just had to see Oxford Street with all the Christmas decoration, so off I went to London afterwards - which might have been a bad idea. Maybe.)

Nottingham, a city known for its University, for Robin Hood and the oldest pub in England (right? 'Ye Olde Trip to Jerusalem' - which I did not visit as I was visiting with my parents, but hey, I'll save it for next time.) After all the skype sessions with my sister I didn't really know what to expect ("I'm. Bored. To. Death." Her words.) but I actually had a really good time there, perhaps because I was only there for two days.

All dressed and suited up for the graduation ceremony, we headed to the University Sports Park after checking out from our hotels and jumping into a cab driven by a dutchie! Apparently our cab driver had lived in the Netherlands for quite a while before moving to Nottingham to marry his wife and start a family.. Fortunately I didn't criticise his driving skills in Dutch or he would've thrown me out :(
The ceremony started at 11 and lasted for about 2 hours - which were the most inspiring 2 hours of the year for me. The Vice-Chancellor opened the ceremony with a speech, stating that this would be a memorable day for not only students, but family accompanying them as well. He was right, and his speech certainly motivated me to study hard and be up on one of those stages as well in a couple of years! (That motivation only lasted for a couple of hours as it was long gone when I saw the Christmas lights on Oxford Street. Woops.)
After lunch, it was time for us to say goodbye to my sister who stayed a bit longer (and apparently won two prizes?! Woohoo!) and head back to London where we visited my aunt's Fish 'n Chips shop - which sells the yummiest Fish 'n Chips in the whole area, okay? :D - and got stuck at the underground station. Oh yeah. Minus 2 degrees, late at night, and no underground. Oh happy days! Luckily, my uncle was able to drive us to the nearest train station to catch the train back to the city centre where I said goodbye to my parents, as they headed towards their hotel and I met up with Janna - an old colleague who has now moved to London in order to chase her dreams: dance, dance, dance!

The two days that followed were amazing, despite us being tired and busy (well, she was - working, dancing, being a hostess: multitasking like a boss!). We strolled up and down Oxford street, walked by Leicester Square on the day of the Hobbit premiere and shopped till we dropped, but it was the super cozy hours afterwards that we spent at her apartment talking over a cuppa tea that were the most memorable as there was so much catching up to do! I'm so jealous of her taking this step and grr, I want to move to London as well!

And the prize for most amazing toy store I have seen so far goes to.... *drumroll*... Hamleys on Oxford Street! Oh well, the Disney store is pretty cool as well. But Hamleys was amazing! Pretty sure I acted like a 5 year old inside.. my sincere apologies.

Now how could this have been a bad idea? Well.. Even though I took my history book with me on the trip and had all my notes with me as well, I think I only read two pages when I was bored in the hotelroom in Nottingham and that it. With two exams coming up (tomorrow (oh wait, today!) and Wednesday) and so so sooo much studying still left (I overestimate myself. I'm not a typical Asian student. Why can't I be a typical Asian student? Why don't I get A's?!) I'm pretty sure I'm screwed. We'll find out tomorrow - as my sister is calling me now to place an online order on the Brandy Melville website. Procrastination time, me gusta!