Graduation!!!

Hey guys!!! 

I'm finally touching on the super last entry which will sum up/round up/give a closure to the whole study duration I had, in Bangkok!

A.k.a MY GRADUATION CEREMONY! 

I value this diploma ceremony so much more than the one back in Singapore - I was supposed to receive my Business related diploma in Singapore sometime in Oct'13, but of course, as I wasn't in town, all I remembered was "whatever! It's not important to me yo!"

In any case, I already got the original certificate. That was just the ceremony, plus all of my classmates has long graduated way before me, I'll be all alone sitting for hours while waiting for my name to be called.

Anyway!!

First up first! Right before the ceremony, Ben and myself headed down to Terminal 21 at Sukhumvit so that I can get dolled up! I left my Bare Minerals Make up products back home, so the next best thing was to go to some beauty booth and get them to doll me up while I spend money on their products.

This was done by MAC's Make up artist!

I looked really natural with smooth skin in photos, but in reality, I feel like the make up is really a little too thick - like those typical Thai ladies who dress up all the time type.

In any case, I resisted the urge to remove my make up and just go for it! Look pretty in graduation photos is way more important!

Here's a picture of me and my lovely mummy in school! We all had to change into our uniforms for the last time before the ceremony. Mum and my brothers flew down to Bangkok just for me! :D

A picture of us both, with the LCB's signature teddy bear! So cute and flurry!! 

Lovely Jane and 85% of my face! 

The sisters! I'm obviously the oldest, followed by Mew, and the youngest of us all, Charmaine! Chef Aum kept commenting that we were like sisters! 

Team Awesome!! Charmaine, Tip, Mew, Framm and myself!! I miss you guys!!! 

A blurry shot of SP (B) and SP (D) and SP (A)!

And finally,  tadah!!!!!

I've obtained my "dodin bouffant" a.k.a chef toque, certificate and of course, my medal!! 

A picture from Ben's point of view!

All of us had a glass of champagne for toasting! Here's Char, myself, Poon and Jane! 

So much emotions going through my mind at that point of time! Excited, happy, sad, relived, determined, etc. It was like a rollercoaster of feelings! Looking forward to what life have to offer, excited to begin, yet sad because all good things come to an end.

I am grateful that I have the support of my family members, my husband and basically every kind soul I've been in contact; they'll always offer their best wishes to me, give me support and encouragement, allowing me to feel confident in myself and in my skills...

Without my family, I won't be able to venture this far.

After the whole giving out of medals and certification ceremony, it was time for buffet and also, photo taking session!

Here's Sabeel with Mew and myself. We all promised to stay in contact, but this fellow disappeared from the moment he left for Malaysia! Yes, he's a malaysian! If you know him, please send me his contact details or something to my email please! He has no Facebook though, and our old clique is always asking about him.

Prapone and I! With a smiling Sine at the back! He's a teacher by nature, so everyone calls him "teacher" as a form of respect. But not me, sorry! It's been a pleasure to have met you during my study period, and I'm glad we Facebook to keep in touch! He's a avid photographer and his Facebook feed is always full of yummilicious looking desserts, cakes, of nature and animals.

The usual suspects with Way. 

Chef Aum with the "famous" sisters! Charmaine got graduation flowers from her lovely relatives! :D 

More photos! 

My world and I. 

And with that, marks the end of my culinary journey at one of the world's best schools!

It's been a journey filled with tears and joy, and happiness! The time I spent there will never be forgotten, the skills I've learned will always be with me until the day I stopped baking/practising.

With a heavy heart, I packed up and cleared my lovely apartment, ready to head back on a plane to Singapore. This was all that I have, to bring back home nearly 10months of memories. I'll miss waking up to chirpy birds, taking the motorcycle ride to the MRT Station...having a hot cappuccino and wolfing down plain cream cheese bagel before a morning demo class.

I'll miss listening to Chef Fabrice/Willy/Marc talk about cakes, technique or hygiene...showing us how impossible is possible, baking, working together with my friends, having that minced pork basil mushroom rice right next to school for lunch.

Miss heading to the malls after school just to take a walk, catch a movie, visit the Robinsons and Central's kitchen section to hunt for new pastry related tools...or travel all the way down to One Stop Bakery to buy equipments and tools to bring home.

I'll also miss the food we can get from the daily hawkers along the road, except for Sundays; they seemed to take a day off on Sundays - the chicken rice, the curry noodles, the braised pig trotter's rice and the endless stalls of local delights.

But one have to always move on.

It's never easy; sometimes at the end of the journey, we will wonder, what's there left for us.

Sometimes I feel lost all over again; like there's no goal in life anymore. But that's not true! We have to always keep challenging ourselves to make full use of the time we have,build new dreams, create new goals. After my studies, I naturally thought that I would try to start working in a well-established company where I get to bake/assemble and do pretty much what I was taught in school to do.

I didn't want to lose the skills and knowledge which I have; but I soon fell into disrepair when Paul didn't work out for me. I was afraid that my creativity will soon die off, and so many other things.

Plus...it could be because of the erratic working hours, my body couldn't cope and went into shock - I was later diagnosed with  Hypothyroidism where I am now required to take medication for life. I was initially pretty upset at all the possible aftermath of having this condition, furthermore I was gaining weight faster than a bullet train. I had most of the symptoms , but have always thought I was just too tired because of the midnight shift, my body isn't coping very well etc. It broke me deep down to find that I had this condition just out of the blue, like that. 

I'm fine now! Under the doctor's care and daily intake of medication, my hormones level is now back to normal, and I feel less fatigue now as compared to before too! 

I also have a new goal in life! I have a upcoming job where I'm a pastry chef working alongside with a nice lady boss (Head pastry chef) and our goals and visions are almost the same! I can't wait to get started, and I hope that this new career change can finally revive the "me" when I was in Bangkok more than half a year ago.

Time waits for no one, and I always knew that.

I'm due to start sometime end of this month, and while the beginning is always the toughest, I hope that all will work out in time to come, and I hope to share more/blog more!

In the meantime, stay tuned for a few more entries where I will share a few of my own works during my short hiatus!

Till then!!