i think ive already started to think of valencia as home.. after 2 mths.. the familiarity of the surroundings.. (i still hate that i get random pple saying nihao and chinois when they see me) im malay and proud of it man! sigh. i hate looking munjen.

i almost dont want to leave on friday to barcelona.. I hope its a fun trip.
a heavy heart befalls me.. perhaps.. i should stop pre-conceived ideas.

and so I've been to my very first la liga match. Valencia vs Sevilla. final outcome 1-2. valencia seriously played quite badly.. the defense was awful and sevilla intercepted all passes to villa.. so sad! but for 10 euros oh well.. good enough.. its a good thing the mestalla isnt so big.. u get decent views from the lowest price hahaa.. yest was many days of first.

1. the first time ive seen fireworks in the day on the beach

2. the first time i ate chocolate con churros

3. the first time i watched la liga live

4. the first time i ate kebab here

5. the first time ive seen so many people partying on the streets till like 5am (godknows what time pple did get off since i slept at 5am)

6. the first time I felt I was ina warzone because idiots kept throwing these 'drunkard' petardas (firecrackers) into crowds.

7. the first time ive seen fireworks so big, it was so incredibly amazing.

8. the first time at a spanish mini concert in the streets.

oooh!! fabulous.. ive always loved the ad by emirates: when was the last time u did sth for the first time?

The burning begins!

Spring is here! Trees are starting to grow leaves.. the weather is starting to get warm. I still maintain my fav temp is around 20 degrees. With just enough sunshine, its perfect! This week is proving to be really fun! we went to blacknote on monday night and listened to really good music. the best thing was that if you could play, you're more thna welcomed to go on stage and play the guitar/drums/keyboard or sing. improv to the max! good thing robertas bday celebration there convinced methat I should go to the club, o/w ill never get my sorry ass there. now, i thnk ill be more than happy to make it a weekly haunt! n roberta turns 21! gah. i feel rather old sometimes here. esp since im taking y2 mods here and all the spnaiards in our class are only turning 20 this year. gah! such an old fart haha..

yesterday we went to a mini crema.. It was freaking crazy! as u can see from the video here: http://picasaweb.google.com/ilihazwani/Valencia/photo#5176992483643403106 the real thing is supposed to be at least 3 times bigger.. :S nuts! Carlos, our Spanish classmate was laughing at us cos we all ran away when the fire got really big (just abt the time i finished the video to start running away) but crappy stuff were dropping on us!!! cos they had fireworks at the same time! very cool! but very scary!!!

because no words can truly express this moment.. here's the man who is only 20 has overshadowed the likes of maldini and kaka.

and this one just sums it all up

i don't think i'll ever be able to forget this night! (unless of course i get to watch a real match live where fabregas scores another screamer) pasi n i spent the ENTIRE first half cycling the ENTIRE of valencia finding a freaking pub that showed the arsenal-milan match. We seriously nearly got killed a couple of times by oncoming traffic and were blown away by the horrendous wind!!! N got lost a couple of times before we asked around.. n settled on St. Patricks where we were surrounded by Arsenal fans (who speak english hee) and I think I could lose my voice from screaming! sigh. as if I needed more reason to love fabregas.

halal red meat is a mere hundred metres away!

today I decided to walk through the streets after siesta and found a true blue local spanish retail shop. which wasnt too bad.. a tad far east-y but some pretty nice jeans and bags. maybe ill do retail therapy there just before going home, o/w i'll really spend alot! ANDDD the find of the day is probably the indian shop that sells.. wait for it.. HALAL MEAT! and the butcher even speaks english. i told him ill come by more often now i know theres such a thing.. even better, they have chilli!! (in the right size) and lingam chilli! the very same bottle i brought from home! and.. koka noodles..and oyster sauce! & soya sauce! (yes! i can eat my raw salmon and make kicap chilli right!) its even complete with the lim kum kee brand.. since jayne says heinz branded soya sauce from carrefour doesnt cut it. and whats an indian shop without all the spices and.... indian movies hahaha. complete with indian music in teh background... for some reason, there are probably 3 nationalities unavoidable in every nook n cranny of the world. go figure :)

1 of them annoyed me like HELL today. rar!

The Bravery - Believe

The faces all around me - they don't smile, they just crack.
Waiting for our ship to come, but our ship's not coming back.
We do our time like pennies in a jar, but what are we saving for?
What are we saving for?

There’s a smell of stale fear, and it's reeking from our skins.
The drinking never stops because the drinks absolve our sins.
We sit and grow our roots into the floor, but what are we waiting for?
What are we waiting for?

So give me something to believe
'Cause I am living just to breathe.
And I need something more
To keep on breathing for,
So give me something to believe.

Something’s always coming - you can hear it in the ground.
It swells into the air with the rising, rising sound
And never comes but shakes the boards and rattles all the doors.
What are we waiting for?
What are we waiting for?

So give me something to believe
'Cause I am living just to breathe.
And I need something more
To keep on breathing for,
So give me something to believe.

I am hiding from some beast, but the beast was always here.
Watching without eyes because the beast is just my fear
That I am just nothing - that's just what I’ve become.
What am I waiting for?
It’s already done.

So give me something to believe
'Cause I am living just to breathe.
And I need something more
To keep on breathing for,
So give me something to believe.
And I need something more
To keep on breathing for,
So give me something to believe.

so ok. I don't know much about cycling. but andrzej gave me a crash course today. I have positively forgotten all the names.. but essentially, today was the last of the spanish leg of pro cycling. its SO pro its actually the same league (albeit being in lesser points) of the tour de france. mainly sprint cycling for today! Andrzej was a v happy boy because he managed to take pictures with many many of the top cyclists! including the one on the most left - 2007 tour de france winner: alberto contador! and todays overall winner: alessandro petacchi! and Milram were the overall team winner. little did i know that i took a picture of the very team who won, having their technical pep talk before their race (top) so while we waited 2.5hrs for the cyclists to come back from cycling outside valencia, we had a picnic lunch by the ciudad de las artes y ciencias. very 'healthy' indeed haha.

pretty peenk skies - view from my window!

March is here.

You know March is in valencia when you see people hanging lights in the middle of the streets and think oh! its like christmas time back home. This is the view from my window. I'm pretty certain that there is at least ONE of these banner of lights in every street. so pretty! there was even a mini fireworks but I'm sure greater things will come in the near future! Speaking of near future, The ciudad de las artes is VERY happening this week. Gonna watch a cycling race tomorrow and then the cure on wed night! all within walking distance of my apartment. Not to mention the firecrackers that supposedly go off at 2pm everyday starting from tomorrow! March should prove to be exciting! :D