:: Moonlit Dream ::

When what you want is just not the same as the next person

2010-02-25T01:31:00.005+08:00

It's really great when you know your purpose in life. And really great when you find others who are going in the same direction as you are. But it's not so great when you find out one day that, their commitment to what you wish to do is just not the same. I mean, your priorities will never be the same as the next person. And just because it's not the same, it doesn't mean you expect them to rearrange it so it's the same as yours. Not all of us have the same important things.

I've always remembered this story about Mary and Martha. Martha was the sister who was distracted with preparations to receive Jesus into their home while Mary was the one who sought his teachings. Because of this, Martha asked Jesus why had he not told Mary to help her in the kitchen. But Jesus said that Mary had chosen the better thing and that will not be taken away from her.

I remembered a lot of teachings from this story. The first was the more obvious. Isn't it more crucial to learn everything you can from Jesus while he was still in flesh and blood on earth? Or in today's world, isn't it more important to spend time learning and getting to know Jesus rather than be worries and flustered about your day-to-day life? Because, Jesus teaches you about life and more importantly, eternal life. (For instance, he teaches us not to worry. Is not life more important than food and the body more important than clothes?)

The second less obvious teaching was, who are you compared to the two sisters? Are you Martha the worry-wart? Or are you Mary, the one who knows what's truly important to her? Even so, what Jesus said meant that while Mary had chosen the better thing, Martha has her place as well. To Martha, preparing food and comfort for her guests is important. To Mary, it was learning everything she can from Jesus. So, while Mary chose the better thing, it doesn't mean Martha hasn't chosen the right thing. I can't find the passage right now but I know that in a later event, Martha was still serving guests but this time she had not bugged Mary to help her. It really means that, you have your gifts and in the same event, you might not be doing the same thing as the next person.

Everyone has their important thing and you don't go telling someone else to do your important thing.

While it's great for those who knows what are their important things, there are still many of us who are still looking for it. We're comfortable to a certain extent with how we live but there's always that nagging feeling that there's more to it. Sometimes we just need to reach out and grab it. Or just take a bold step in a direction to find out if that's really important to us. Or take a step back to realize that maybe what we're currently doing isn't meant for us.

Sometimes I truly understand how someone else gets upset when they're stood up or when no one turns up for a meeting they plan or a practice they've scheduled. I really get it if you're annoyed that someone made a commitment and failed to fulfill it.

But what I don't get is the unfair comments they say after everything you've done. Really makes you realize that, it's not the many good things you've done but the one time you mess up that matters to everyone else.

How Not To Spend V-day cum CNY

2010-02-15T00:24:00.006+08:00

Spending V-day without that special someone is somewhat depressing if you're a festive person. (Which thankfully, I'm not.) But spending V-day with your brother? In two different shopping malls in less than two hours? Oh-em-gee.

I had expected pyramid and subang parade to be... well, quite dead on cny but I hadn't expected sooo many shops to be closed! There goes the bag shopping plan. Now I have no backpack to use. (I guess I could sew it up a bit more so it wouldn't break within the next... I don't know... one week?)

In view of my present boredom, I have decided to report on my daily activities. (Oh, it's a given I'd be spending time with darling given that he's back from Aussie until the end of February, so this won't be included in my report. ;P)

If I'm not doing labwork, I'm writing labwork.
If I'm doing non-labwork related activities, I'm on facebook.
If I'm not on facebook, I'm reading and responding to emails.
If I'm not dealing with emails, I'm dealing with MUPA-related events.

It's quite routine actually. I would add reading manga to this list but I've run out of manga I'd like to read. Recommendations anyone?

Current facebook apps:
+ Zoo World +
+ Mafia Wars +
+ Cafe World +
+ Restaurant City +
+ Bejeweled Blitz +

Recent Links
+ MUPA: a sub-division of the Monash Student Council +
+ MUPA Intranet: A site for all Monash Masters, PhD & Hons students +
+ Land of Acardia: A role playing site at deviantart +

Keeping Up With:
+ Ashita no Ou-sama (recently completed) +
+ Bloody Monday Season 2 +
+ Detective Conan +
+ Fairy Tail +
+ Full Metal Alchemist +
+ Goong +
+ Hajime no Ippo +
+ History's Strongest Disciple Kenichi +
+ K-On! +
+ Kekkaishi +
+ Naruto +
+ Skip Beat +
+ The One +
+ One Piece +
+ Xxxholic +

Spending time with family is important to many people. 
I on the other hand, try my best to spend as little time with them. 
I wonder why.

What I Miss

2010-01-25T02:07:00.007+08:00

Honours year is so short. Research is fun. People... not so much. In fact, am so fed up with having to put up with lousy attitudes that I've become so cynical and mean. Although, having people with an attitude around made me realize that there are also those who understands and are truly awesome. Thanks everyone for being supportive (if you know me, you know what I'm talking about.)

Putting people aside, research has been going on smoothly. I've taken up a presidency post with the Monash Postgraduate Association at the Sunway Campus. It's a lot of work. Sat for my first student council meeting on Saturday and found out it was five hours long. Was definitely not prepared.

Meetings, research, and avoiding ignorant snubs have taken up too much of my time.

I miss having time to sit down, relax with a cuppa, and do nothing work related.
I miss my piano.
I miss being able to sleep at ten and wake up at ten.

I just miss being me.

Joined a group with Joo at deviantart. Am apparently supposed to proofread.
Will explain more later.

We Don't Date N00bs, We Pwn Them!

2009-10-20T00:48:00.002+08:00

That sentence is just awesome! Check out n00b boyfriend by college humour:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JVfVqfIN8_c

By the way,

Carolyn has great friends! :D

My car broke down today (thankfully within Sunway College so we weren't on the road). The water pump wasn't working and I think a safety device was stopping the engine from running to prevent it from over-heating. My brother was with me so that was a good thing. He went to get the mechanic and paid for everything. When a frustrated message was posted on fb and msn, I was thankful for two friends who offered to fetch me from the train station! (No car = public transport.)

See, Carolyn isn't used to getting help without having to ask because Carolyn usually just asks for them beforehand. So when Carolyn's friends offer their help, she's really very happy and grateful.

Thank you for making my day!

Thinking and Waiting

2009-09-22T12:19:00.004+08:00

September.22.2009:Tuesday
+ Happy Raya (Day 2) +
+ watching The Ugly Truth with chian and voon +
+ waiting for plates to grow +
+ thinking if I should start the susceptibility test tomorrow +
+ should've told God my worries sooner +

Paradox

2009-09-19T22:26:00.000+08:00

I am the perfect example that being a Christian does not mean you're perfect.

Graduation 2009

2009-09-07T20:53:00.004+08:00

Nine hours,
Seven blisters,
Six great friends,
One certificate.

Fun times!

That's what I brought back with me on the 5th of September, 2009 (Saturday). I've always thought that graduation would be a very boring ceremony. There was the fear of speeches and the long waiting.

Surprisingly though, I was very wrong! (Okay, so maybe not surprising.)

The graduation ceremony itself was generally painless. They gave us a light-hearted demonstration on what to do on stage. There was the academic procession where the academic council and educators (i.e. lecturers) walked in with their full academic gown. I learned what it meant to doff your hat (without taking it off). It seems that in an academic ceremony, doffing is how you show that you're acknowledging another person's presence. There was only one true long speech in the whole event. Other than that, it was really, truly a ceremony.

Graduating candidates went up on stage to be told one by one "ancora imparo" by the councillor. To be wished well for the future by our pro vice chancellor before walking down the stage. To be told to pick up our pictures after the event. (Haha!) The (now) graduates will then follow the academic procession out of the hall at the end.

The afternoon was spent running around the university, taking as many pictures as possible. The evening was spent meeting up friends and wishing each other well. Taking photos, remembering the occasion, catching up, and mostly... doing one's best to not think of pain. (One should always remember to wear comfortable shoes no matter what...)

Rather than the actual event, what made me happy or what made this event most memorable was my friends. One dropped by before I left to give me a bouquet of flowers. (That really teared me up, thanks lots!) Two others showed up for the graduation when I didn't think they would (since they've already graduated ages ago). And three great friends just made the day splendid! (You know who you all are!)

I don't have our pictures now but once they're here, I'll put them up on facebook or picasa. (Thanks D-Way for "immortalizing" that day!) I really had a great time. Like what Ming said, that day, graduating must have been a secondary purpose for me too. I left that hall thinking: I've still got so much to do! Graduation, it really isn't an end at all. Especially not when you're still going back to the university to finish off your honours year!

Thank you so much!

Roses are pink, roses are cream...

They're very pretty!

Before the graduation... I actually had make up on. Nona was saying, better put to make sure photos turn out better. (Haha!)

After the graduation... A pic with the photographer for the day. Thanks lots!

More to come...

Christian Book Fair

2009-08-30T21:19:00.004+08:00

Just got back from the book fair at Menara PGRM (oh dear, I don't even know what it's called or where it was... I know the way there though).

Funny thing is, I did not hear about it until today (the last day of the book fair). If it wasn't for Miss Beh who needed someone to show her the way there, I wouldn't have gone either. Can't say I regret going now. (How could I? I was surrounded by books! It was splendid!)

Found out a friend, who happened to be at that fair, was working for Canaanland (a Christian bookstore); from which I bought these lovelies: "What the Bible says about" series on worship and emotions; and a book on relationships in life.

So yesh, Carolyn has books to read for the next week or so! I got bored of anime/manga so to speak and having books to read is great. Can't wait for the Five Greatest Warriors by Matthew Reilly to come out soon!

Today's verse (from the Gideons):
so is my word that goes out from my mouth:
It will not return to me empty,
but will accomplish what I desire
and achieve the purpose for which I sent it.
(Isaiah 55:11)

That's what I thought it should be

2009-08-15T00:20:00.002+08:00

Logical reasoning, emotional response, and then faith. Never in any other order... because it's impossible to say you believe in something unless you have a reason and a good emotional response towards it. You believe in logic because it feels right. It makes you feel at peace.

Right?

Without deeds, it is nothing

2009-08-14T23:21:00.006+08:00

I hurt you a lot.

Yet, I want to be the only one by your side.

It hurts to be the one in a relationship who loves the other more.

Love can never be sweet and happy unless you put your dearest before your self.

What have you ever done to make your beloved happy?

I shudder as I remember the words of James...

Faith and Deeds

(:14) What good is it, my brothers, if a man claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save him? (:15) Suppose a brother or sister is without clothes and daily food. (:16) If one of you says to him, "Go, I wish you well; keep warm and well fed," but does nothing about his physical needs, what good is it? (:17) In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.

(:18) But someone will say, "You have faith; I have deeds."
Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by what I do.

(:19) You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that—and shudder.

(:20) You foolish man, do you want evidence that faith without deeds is useless? (:21) Was not our ancestor Abraham considered righteous for what he did when he offered his son Isaac on the altar? (By the way, if you read Genesis 15, his son was not sacrificed in the end.) (:22) You see that his faith and his actions were working together, and his faith was made complete by what he did. (:23) And the scripture was fulfilled that says, "Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness," and he was called God's friend. (:24) You see that a person is justified by what he does and not by faith alone.

(:25) In the same way, was not even Rahab the prostitute considered righteous for what she did when she gave lodging to the spies and sent them off in a different direction? (:26) As the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without deeds is dead.

Honours Year

2009-08-04T15:31:00.003+08:00

It starts today!

Just attended a short honours briefing and realized how behind time I might actually be even with all the "preparation" I went through for the last few weeks.

Ish very much excited!

Sunburns

2009-07-28T14:06:00.007+08:00

They're not exactly the best thing to look forward to on a day at the beach. It turns red and stays red and itches and... well, if you've had a sunburn, you know what it's like.

July.25.2009:Saturday
For the five of us who went to PD last Saturday, it was fun! It felt like we were kids again. We played in the sea, flew a kite, build what looked like a fort (or tomb) instead of a sandcastle (which we demolished to make other less demanding structures). We even got to chase a beachball down the beach. It wouldn't stop rolling because of the wind. It wouldn't get thrown where we threw it (unless of course the wind favours that direction). I think all of us just got too tired to even try playing with it after that. Haha. (It's probably good to consider investing in a volleyball for beach outings. It's heavier than a blown-up-beach-ball, it floats, and it's probably easier to throw against the wind.)

I know I wouldn't be able to experience that in awhile. Being able to play like a little kid with no worries. We even saw a plane fly by real, real low while playing in the sea! (Well, considering we took the Sepang way, we saw quite a lot of airplanes throughout the day.)

The exciting part of the day was actually being able to drive Mei Lin's Gen 2. Lol! We were supposed to go in two cars because there would be 6 of us but one of us decided not to come. (I wonder who... you missed a nice relaxing day out! xD) Anyway, since there were only five, we picked the Gen 2 over the Kembara considering we have to travel for one hour and 30 minutes at least.

That day, when I got home (about 40 minutes before having to go prepare for 100% worship), I got another surprise waiting for me!

My acceptance letter arrived~

Carolyn's starting honours this August!

Voon, Peng and Mei!
I told you the picture would like clear because of the sun XD

Mei posing for me xD. That's the beach we were going to. It was nice, and peaceful, and nice. (Thanks Voon!) We had just got out of the ladies waiting for the rest to get ready for the beach. We even had a reason for that.
"Girls always need the ladies before going out."

The scene from behind the fence. We were still waiting ;)

All of us at the beach!

Putting on sunblock.
(Here's when you ask your friends to help you with your back because... that's where you do not want sunburns!)

That's all I've got from my handphone. We should never get delicate equipment wet. Especially not with salt water. ;)

~~Will upload pictures from Yi Mei once I'm at home~~ Uploaded pictures to the photo album!

Low Yat Visit

2009-07-07T20:57:00.004+08:00

Once again I find myself in this building of wonderful offers. Only, this time, I wasn't there to buy anything for myself.

Today, my job was to help YM and YP choose laptops for themselves. They're leaving overseas to do masters and are therefore looking for PCs to use. I love computers in general and was pleased to be able to go window shopping with them (since I can't buy one for myself...) By the way, thanks for the lunch! It was an awesome lunch at First Cup (some cafe I saw for the first time at Sungei Wang).

Anyway, we pretty much ruled out Toshiba and HP and Acer from our list of brands to consider. I mean, come on... Acer's just cheap and really cheap (in price and... well, no offence, but in quality as well). HP and Toshiba's just too expensive for something you can find in other more reliable brands.

Thus, we were left with two brands of choice: Asus and Dell. (There are two of them, and they each insist on getting two different brands. Oh well.) =P

It's fun walking around low yat looking at different laptops at different shops. And it's nicer still when someone else has to deal with talking to the shop owners/sales persons. (Less stress haha...) Oh, I managed to come home with Cyber Clean for my keyboard and a laptop keyboard skin to make it easier to clean dust off it! No more painstaking effort spent on getting dust out from under the keys! (Came back happy, definitely!)

ASUS K40 (AB/IJ)
It's amazing how many different offers were made for this particular model. It was within budget initially (under RM2500). I knew nothing about this brand beforehand so all I could do was listen and check the specs.

The Good
+ lots of free gifts were offered +
+ price range is acceptable +
+ cheaper warranty than Dell +
+ durable +
+ offers other than Intel processors +
+ uses its own technology (apparently) +

The Bad
+ usually comes without OS (freedos) +
+ does not come with original Office (costs more if it does) +
+ no bluetooth (not a problem, free USB offered) +
+ does not come with system CDs (costs more if it does) +

Dell Studio 14
I have always been a Dell fan so I've actually looked this up before looking for it today. In fact, the first thing I did when I came home was to come up with a detailed specs list and end price offered for this model.

The Good
+ stylish, more colours to choose from +
+ cheaper than Asus (all things considered) +
+ reliable tech support and great after sales service +
+ durable +
+ price includes original OS and Office programmes +

The Bad
+ no free gifts (lol!) +
+ expensive warranty +
+ doesn't have its own technology (but it has the best combination IMO) +

I feel like upgrading my own beloved lappie after looking at Dell Studio 14 (my precious bao bei); it's a Dell Vostro 1400 by the way. Get better RAM, better graphics card, and maybe a larger HDD space. But, I'm not sure if I can trust what it can be upgraded to... Hmm... Besides, I have no problems with it at the moment.

I still love my bao bei the way it is!

After Exams Paintball!

2009-07-03T02:26:00.002+08:00

July.02.2009:Thursday
+ movie marathon: Transformers 2 & Ice Age 3 +
+ the movies were awesome! +
+ bought Mansfield Park and Little Women +
+ tried out Krispy Kreme in Malaysia +
+ can't say it's any different from Aussie's +
+ probably only much smaller +
+ had a great time! +

July.01.2009:Wednesday
+ suffering from muscle aches +
+ can't go through standing or sitting without pain +
+ never dreaded the stairs more +
+ really want endurance training! +

June.30.2009:Tuesday
+ paintball at Tanamera (Sungai Buloh) +
+ largest paintball park in South East Asia +
+ check out their facebook group +
+ 8.30am to 11.59am: getting there and settling down +
+ 12pm to 3pm: Paintball! (6 rounds: 5 last man standing & 1 zombie) +
+ lunch was in between +
+ came back with no bruises (^_^)V +
+ friend's post on our paintball outing +

June.29.2009:Monday
+ final, final exam over and done with! +
+ lunch at Agefuku, Taipan +
+ bought The Other Boleyn Girl by Phillipa Gregory +
+ finished reading it the next night +
+ heard that it was way different from the movie +

Children See, Children Do

2009-06-28T21:32:00.002+08:00

What are we doing for our future generation?
What have we learned from our parents?
What are our children going to be?
What will you be?

Your choice...

"These commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates." [Deuteronomy 6:6-9]

Youth Ministry: Q-Time

2009-06-27T22:18:00.003+08:00

"If we would talk less and pray more about them, things would be better than they are in the world: at least, we should be better enabled to bear them."— John Owen

Coming home to see what daily quotes has for me, the very first quote really sums up what the speaker was trying to say to us tonight.

1 Peter 2:23
"When they hurled their insults at him, he did not retaliate; when he suffered, he made no threats. Instead, he entrusted himself to him who judges justly."

When the speaker spoke of Q-time, he was glad it was not titled "quiet" time but rather it can be taken as "quality" time; or has he so prefers to call: personal devotional life. The foundation that makes us who we are. What we are really says of how much time we spend with God. This particular verse was one of the points the speaker brought up. What we face everyday is what Jesus faced before. He came to earth to show us how to face these things. When the boss seemingly hates us or our friends turn their backs upon us or when things just seem worrisome (like an upcoming exam...) we should just tell it to God and tell it again until we find peace. For:

"Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus."
(Phillipians 4:6-7)

YM 1% challenge.
Give God 15 minutes of your time each day.
Just 1% of your time a day.

Weekends

2009-06-22T22:04:00.004+08:00

July 21st, 2009:Sunday
+ mentally and emotionally drained +
+ saving this story for another blog post +
+ but it wasn't from frustration +
+ rather, accepting what I couldn't accept before +
+ it feels good to be freed of an emotional burden +

July 14th, 2009:Sunday
+ final day for the MPH book fair +
+ went with Nona +
+ bought two books: the Chronicles of Narnia & sketching +
+ would have loved music books +
+ or art books +
+ but there were none +
+ should probably have gone in the first few days +
+ I want to have more books +

Chiangmai Cadillac

2009-06-19T18:58:00.005+08:00

Jetstar Photography Competition - Chiangmai Cadillac

A friend of mine entered this photo competition. If you like his photo, please vote for him. He really is a great photographer! (Lemme find his links again and post them up.)

Now I'll let you decide for yourself ;)
+ photo gallery at pbase +
+ my likes: [x][x][x][x][x] +
+ this is Chiann btw, my shepherd :) +

Silence and Libraries

2009-06-19T11:04:00.002+08:00

Silence in Australian uni's are such that you're afraid to break it.

Silence in Malaysian universities?

Non-existant!

PHA3801

2009-06-19T01:24:00.003+08:00

+ first final paper today! +
+ wishing friends all the best +
+ I can't sleep XD +
+ I want to learn javascript now! +
+ procrastination is deadly +

For Those who Love to Save

2009-06-18T20:35:00.002+08:00

Digi came up with a new advertising scheme:

"You Click, We Donate" - for those who love to save!

They are trying to raise RM150,000 in 30 days and all we have to do is click on the charity we wish to support and they will donate RM5 to that charity. So what we have to do is just click.

Check out what you can support through this site:
http://www.lovetosave.com.my/

Home 2009

2009-06-18T16:33:00.005+08:00

If you can ignore the poor science and take home the important message that our lives are in our hands (literally), I would highly recommend this video. It's about an hour and a half long but it's well worth it.

On You Tube

Main Site

Teasers:

PS: If you want the pictures without my meddling signature, let me know. ;)

Up On My High Horse

2009-06-17T18:36:00.008+08:00

I've been listening to various "negative comments" from various "people" about how "other" people behave, speak or write from up their high horses; but when some of these "people" start complaining about my grammar... boy, oh boy... it's MY turn to sit on MY high horse!

Their insufficient exposure to literature pisses me off! (If they've read more than me - my record is probably easily topped - then they really learn nothing.)

Seriously, if one cannot read in context, one really needs to hold back their tongue! I don't go around fixing everyone's grammar (not anymore anyway since it's annoying and it really shows how much you actually know; which may simply be nothing) so don't start with me! Grammar meddling should be kept within academic settings and everything else just frowned upon if upsetting but not meddled with unless asked.

I am this close (i.e. just a click away) to replying that absurd email from the-one-who-tried-to-fix-my-grammar with my own absurd smug email.

Dear the-one-who-tried-to-fix-my-grammar,
There are two if's for a reason. There's also a comma for a reason. The sentence itself is pretty straightforward. "If you are interested, contact us. If you know someone (for your benefit, I meant someone-else-who-is) capable, forward the email." I would rather have a team of people who are capable than just one person. If you can't understand, I can't help you.

[I can't and won't send this because that will just start off a stupid war of nonsense.]

So don't worry. I rant here and I reply here. I know how rude it sounds.
To anyone reading this, keep it to yourself. Spouting nonsense brings you nowhere. ;P

It really seems like a silly reason to be ticked off now.

+ first paper this Friday afternoon +
+ studied in uni today +
+ feeling stressed at home +
+ in an extremely angsty mood +
+ please pray for me +

Otto von Bismarck

2009-06-16T16:10:00.003+08:00

"When a man says he approves of something in principle, it means he hasn't the slightest intention of putting it into practice."

Probably the only reason why I had not believed what my parents say.
Probably the reason why I will not believe the first thing people say.
Probably the reason why I will not make claims I cannot follow through.
Probably...

By the way...
"Always and never are two words you should always remember never to use." - Wendell Johnson

Outcome

2009-06-04T22:50:00.002+08:00

Right, so we had the meeting. It was a peaceful one. Thank you all for your prayers.

They are now able to tell me how the keyboard was purchased and on what grounds: budget and brand and portability. I pointed out that there is more than just budget brand and portability. There is also style; there is also accountability; and there is also transparency.

They've agreed that they have overlooked this whole thing. That there was more to purchasing a keyboard. A set of procedures need to be established. I hope to see this in the future.

They've agreed that the buying of the keyboard could be different. That there could have been more communication. A proper discussion should have been there. That the young need to be trained and there should be continuous training in this ministry.

The keyboard is staying but they will be bringing back the old digital piano until I can get used to it. The after part of buying the keyboard will have to be put up with but the fact that, in the future, they must look through the buying of instruments properly before actually purchasing it.

There. That should be the gist of it. My mom was there to take care of all the extra conversations. She threw me off beat at the end and it was a bit annoying. Meh. At least the meeting was peaceful. At least we got to see where we are coming from and where we are headed.

Thomas A. Edison

2009-06-04T17:49:00.002+08:00

"I have not failed. I've just found 10,000 ways that won't work."

I am so going to use this to reply the next person who asks: "Why do you do research when you fail to get results all the time?"

PS: One should look up on the aphorisms of Stanislaw Jerzy Lec. Very enlightening. They're just great for conversations or a good laugh at humanity.

1 Chronicles 29:11

2009-06-04T15:39:00.003+08:00

“Yours, O LORD, is the greatness and the power and the glory and the majesty and the splendor, for everything in heaven and earth is yours. Yours, O LORD, is the kingdom; you are exalted as head over all.”

Father in heaven, I pray that you will help me remember that in all things, we are aiming to glorify your name and that in all things, you are the center of everything. I pray for your blessings and that you will remember me for what I am doing not so for my own selfish ambition but that our church would be a blessing unto your name and not a hindrance to our faith in you. Give your children understanding, patience, grace, and most of all be in our midst as we work things out. I pray that whatever the outcome of this meeting, we will remember that it is your will and not ours that we seek. Let your will be done and if it is so, give us peace in recognizing this. I ask for your presence to be with us during this meeting and let us not be taken over by emotion or selfish pride. In Jesus Name, I pray, Amen.

Wasting Time

2009-06-04T13:22:00.003+08:00

+ found out that Sony Ericsson has a great support site +
+ started another facebook game: barn buddy +
+ barn buddy's boring so far... +
+ started a photo blog: see if you can find it ;) +

On a more stressful note, the persons in charge of the worship service instruments has decided to meet up tonight. The odd part is that it won't be a formal meeting because said person decided to meet at a Old Town White Coffee at AEON Bukit Tinggi. I'm not sure if he really understand the purpose of this meeting or how serious this whole thing is. Either way, I'll make sure that this meeting is recorded on paper and made known so that in the future, dodgy procedures won't be carried out behind our backs.

Finally Here

2009-06-04T03:39:00.004+08:00

The final finals is here. Will I do alright? I can't quite be bothered with undergraduate studies anymore but a recent mid term result tells me I need to worry and worry much!

Proverbs 16:3
"Commit to the LORD whatever you do, and your plans will succeed."

For us success is but a simple truth: to bring glory to God. Committing our works and plans to Him means surrendering them to His will and trusting that His name will be glorified. How easy it is to forget that God longs to bless us and empower us for our eternal good and His glory; and definitely not for our own selfish ambition.
- Paraphrased from Heartlight

Restaurant City on Facebook

2009-05-31T20:29:00.008+08:00

Dear says I'm addicted to this game. I don't think I am hahaha... Besides, it's the type of game that levels up on its own. You'll just have to strategize for it to maximize its own ability to level up. (Is that a sign of addiction?)

This picture is the latest picture I took of my restaurant. I'm collecting money and gourmet points for it to reach a nice size in order to start beautifying it. As you can see, it's not very 'beautiful' right now. Just extremely practical. XD

How I maintain a 50.0 popularity:
+ The distance between the cook and each table must be such that the waiter walks a minimal distance. This is to reduce the amount of time the customer waits and reduce the possibility of a customer leaving from waiting too long. +
+ There must be a greater distance from the door to the actual tables where the customer sits. This gives the waiters more time to clear the tables and more time for cook to prepare the next meal. Again, this reduces the number of customers leaving from waiting too long. However, the distance cannot be too great because this actually increases the number of customers leaving from waiting for a table too long. +
+ There must be enough toilets so that your customers won't leave without giving you a thumbs up for the good meal. +
+ Place waiting chairs between the route from the door to the tables. This increases the waiting time each customer is willing to tolerate. So, more customers will actually go to your table rather than leave without eating. This also decreases the number of customers who gives a thumbs down for having no chairs to sit on at all. +
+ Everything else you place in your restaurant will be an extra or is for decoration purposes only. It will not add to your gourmet points or popularity. +

For some reason the review became a strategy guide. Haha! Anyway, I believe that as long as you can see an average of 6 plates set for your tables, you'll definitely reach 50.0 popularity points. Gourmet points are best reached if you have level 10 dishes but that's not entirely necessary.

Otherwise, the game is enjoyable and rather flexible.

Side-note: My brother just called me pathetic for blogging about a game on facebook ;_;

Growing up...

2009-05-29T20:21:00.003+08:00

... yet again.

Really, God is really great. He knows when and where and what should happen before your eyes can open, your ears can hear and your mind can comprehend.

These two weeks were more than a handful but I'm growing. God is showing me great things...

Frustrated...

2009-05-16T19:26:00.003+08:00

This week must be a special week. A very special week indeed. I meet all kinds of people that I cannot comprehend.

Today, I arrived at praise and worship practice 5 minutes late and found a new keyboard waiting on stage. (I should be shouting for joy? Not quite.)

I really need to know who bought that thing. And ask why. It's a 66-key keyboard with functions that do not allow immediate change while "performing" and its sound is not controlled by touch. Unlike an upright or an acoustic piano, the sounds are so detached! I can't play strings properly, I can't play PIANO properly, and I can't PLAY properly.

It's frustrating.

The most important point is the 66-keys. It's so short! Everytime I play for the kindergarten I always think "thank goodness I don't have to play this keyboard for praise and worship because it's so short I can't play the bass keys properly."

Now?

I have an e***** 66-key keyboard for Sunday service.

They were supposed to buy the keyboard with both me and the other pianist present, or at least I was told so. That was to prevent BLOG POSTS LIKE THIS!

Save, Save, Save

2009-05-16T15:52:00.004+08:00

Saving the world...

...through recycling, reusing, and reducing.

The recycling awareness campaign at Monash University Sunway by the Leo Club ends today. A whole tonne of papers, plastics, and other recyclables were sorted this morning in my absence. (Sorry, I overslept...)

Saving the community...

...through raising awareness and screening for diseases.

Saving up!

This week marks the... xth week I've been doing my best to save on expenses. (I can't remember how long... probably the whole semester though!) I bring my own lunch to uni, bring my own bottle of water... really saved a lot! And~~~ I go out much less so I don't spend as much on movies/expensive food/shopping :D

This should have been a photo post! lol!! But my mobile does not have anything for this =( Darn!

Bag That Awareness!

2009-05-16T14:00:00.013+08:00

Calling all designers at heart!

Gin & Jacqie are sponsoring a Breast Cancer Awareness contest from...

May 15th to July 31st, 2009!

Details:

===

Your challenge is to create a design that will inspire thousands to become breast cancer aware.

How you go about achieving this is up to you. Your design could for example:

* inspire others to support the fight against breast cancer
* encourage people to raise funds for breast cancer research
* communicate what breast cancer awareness means to you
* signify the hope that research gives and the importance of being breast aware

MORE INFO HERE: http://www.emmagem.com/bagprintdesign

===

Check out that site and see how you can join in this Breast Cancer Awareness Campaign. You may submit online or drop off at the locations listed.

===

Submission example:

Prizes:

Spread the word:

In support of BCWA.

For the Lack of...

2009-05-06T22:41:00.003+08:00

Since there has been a lack of posts, I have decided to spam my own blog with multiple posts per day! That should keep you guys occupied for the next week or so...

Here are my updates:
06.May.2009:Wednesday
+ joined a Japanese avatar site +
+ played restaurant city on facebook +
+ finished one report late and one report early +
+ went shopping at boutiques instead +
+ did minor online shopping +
+ hyped up about Golden Key Sunway Monash again! +

Snowflakes @ SS1

2009-05-06T21:07:00.004+08:00

The Good:

Cheap
Huge portions
Self-service
Has cute devices that beeps when your order is ready

The Bad:

You have to climb one flight of stairs to reach the place.

The testimony: happy customers!

Teasers:

What's out there?

2009-05-06T19:44:00.005+08:00

This whole semester has been equated to one word. A dreadful word I no longer wish would exist. Although, the very existence of that word means that I am fully enjoying freedom and have time in my hands.

BOREDOM.

Yes, I am bored. Apparently not bored enough to blog but bored all the same. Assignments coming in doesn't really take away boredom.

Dear friends, if you love me, call me out or invite me for lunch or a day out. I'll take you to boutiques, cinemas, shopping malls, eating outlets, or just about any place that would seem fit to spend time in.

I need to leave my house ;_;

On a side-note, I got a haircut:

After going missing from the blogosphere... I began looking up my list of posts to see what sort of authorship I had before. I find that I keep changing the way I think many times over and go back to certain ways sooner than I thought I would. And... I found so many drafts left undone!

It seems I have a habit of not finishing what I started...

Reminds me of that personality test I took during the worship camp. It told me that I "think" through what I am supposed to do, then I have to "feel" right about it, before I can actually "do" what I am supposed to do.

That long process must really be the reason why I cannot finish things I start a lot of times. [Insert laughter here.]

Proverbs 13:4

2009-03-30T21:41:00.003+08:00

"The sluggard craves and gets nothing, but the desires of the diligent are fully satisfied."

Oh Lord that I may remember that life is nothing but a passing phase and that life in heaven is everlasting. May I live my life on earth fully toward your purpose and not fall back into the temptation of laziness.

+ the PTPTN website was not made to love Malaysians +
+ slow semester this time round... +
+ taking things one step at a time +
+ struggling to be proactive +
+ began applications for honours +
+ chocolate place at One U has really, really good food! +
+ and good chocolate of course... +
+ watch toradora! it's worth your time +

Effort...

2009-03-17T09:51:00.001+08:00

Why is everything taking up so much effort? >_<

Two More To Go!

2009-03-03T11:08:00.004+08:00

That's right! Two more subby's and Carolyn's good to go! I'm so excited!

My brother's studying in the same university this time. A new experience! Hmm... what else is new this semester?

+ taking only two (2) subjects +
+ joining CF for the first time +
+ graduating at the end of this semester +
+ considering honours +
+ starting a prayer group +
+ first YM camp +

Oh yes, I will be playing for another wedding on March 14th. This is very exciting. Hmm. I've been thinking about this for awhile but it might be time to finally visit MIF; see their praise and worship, find out about how they practice, etc. Our worship ministry has always mentioned that there is a lack of "coaches" or resources for pianists. We've always been looking for them ourselves but I don't know about our younger pianists. I'm wondering if I should consider finding resources for us. Like get a teacher or find out a way to teach how to play for a worship team.

Meh. I'm overly excited today but that's probably just because it's the first week of the semester. I'll sober down soon enough. ;D

Four hours a day

2009-02-16T00:07:00.005+08:00

Ever wondered if your day has been spent to its utmost? Whether, you have accomplished what you could for today and will not have to worry about it tomorrow?

Guess not... most of the time.

Today was dear's sister's birthday party. I promised Ah Ming (the person who takes care of his house) to help make sandwiches and I did! Apparently the kids love it too. It was the only thing they finished. (Yes, Carolyn is happy!)

Js wanted to watch "The Unit" while I was busy in the kitchen so when I went upstairs after I was done, he was still watching and annoyed over the noise the kids were making from downstairs. (He was using headphones before but changed to speakers for me. :D) Anyway, I didn't want to watch with him because: 1. I don't understand the show; 2. I was sleepy. Off I went to nap a bit in his room.

I woke up... four hours later.

Apparently I couldn't wake up despite Js' numerous attempts to wake me up. He claimed I woke four separate times but all that escapes my memory. I only remembered waking up because he decided to sit beside me and watch his drama from the laptop while waiting for me to wake up. I thought I was dreaming when I heard it =(

For the last week, every time my brother drops me off at his place at 7, I take a four hour nap without fail. (It's just too early to be awake on a holiday...) Considering that Js will be going back to Aussie on the 28th, I really should be appreciating every moment I have with him. And yet, I've been taking four hour naps over at his place. :( So not happy...

Is there a way to keep from being sleepy? Besides drinking coffee? (On that note, we discovered Belgium Chocolate from Coffee Bean tastes great with an extra shot of espresso!)

Anime/Drama Update!
Watching: SDK, Gem of Life, Toradora, Clannad (After Story)
Completed: Catch Me Now

By the way...

WELCOME BACK TO KL PUI MING!!!!

Thomas Sowell

2009-02-09T01:31:00.006+08:00

"There are only two ways of telling the complete truth--anonymously and posthumously."

Posthumously means "after death" by the way.

11.February.2009:Wednesday
+ getting new specs tomorrow +
+ been playing wii for 3 days straight +
+ arms hurt lots x.x +
+ hoping changing a new layout would help get me in the mood to start blogging again... +
+ shopping online is fun +
+ writing fiction again: rpg this time :D +
+ hasn't blog-hopped in ages: where did some of you go??? +

Hebrews 11:6

2008-11-06T20:33:00.001+08:00

And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.

+ been slumping +
+ going through exams +
+ three more papers... +
+ wrote a new story! +
+ joo said she can't believe I wrote gore +
+ it wasn't all that gory! +

"I'm Alive"... huh...

2008-10-29T01:39:00.004+08:00

Ranting dead ahead. Do not read unless you want to read meaningless garble.

My heart aches, my hands quiver, and my voice fails me. What is this feeling inside of me so dull and so huge that I cannot scream, move, or do anything but wait patiently ridiculously frustrated and in pain? Tears that fell so easily immersed in a fairy tale, could not make an appearance to relieve in reality. Probably because, in reality, I understand it all too well that it helps nothing. *In need of an exceptionally sad tear-jerker*

Why do I always push away important things before grabbing hold of it? It's so silly. Knowing how important it is to a person and yet loathing it in a confrontation. If loathing is another way of loving, why does it hurt? If loving hurts why love? Always knowing answers but having no way of understanding how to act it out hurts the most. It is as frustrating as listening to an explanation without a conclusion. The difference between head knowledge, heart felt emotions, wanting to do something, being able to do that something, and doing that something... wait, was there a difference or do they all come together?

I'm Alive (BECCA, Kuro Shitsuji OST)

I was exceptionally touched by this song. It pulled the strings in my heart in such a way that it resonated so beautifully in harmony. I still cannot believe that I find this song the highlight of Kuro Shitsuji. Does that mean I don't like Kuro Shitsuji?

Nothing I say comes out right,
I can’t love without a fight,
No one ever knows my name,
When I pray for sun, it rains.
I’m so sick of wasting time,
But nothing’s moving in my mind,
Inspiration can’t be found,
I get up and fall but,

I’m Alive, I’m Alive, oh yeah
Between the good and bad is where you’ll find me,
Reaching for heaven.
I will fight, and I’ll sleep when I die,
I’ll live my life, I’m Alive!

Every lover breaks my heart,
And I know it from the start,
Still I end up in a mess,
Every time I second guess.
All my friends just run away,
When I’m having a bad day,
I would rather stay in bed, but I know there’s a reason.

I’m Alive, I’m Alive, oh yeah
Between the good and bad is where you’ll find me,
Reaching for heaven.
I will fight, and I’ll sleep when I die,
I’ll live my life, I’m Alive!

When I’m bored to death at home,
When he won’t pick up the phone,
When I’m stuck in second place,
Those regrets I can’t erase.
Only I can change the end,
Of the movie in my head,
There’s no time for misery,
I won’t feel sorry for me.

I’m Alive, I’m Alive, oh yeah
Between the good and bad is where you’ll find me,
Reaching for heaven.
I will fight, and I’ll sleep when I die,
I’ll live my life, ohhhh!

I’m Alive, I’m Alive, oh yeah
Between the good and bad is where you’ll find me,
Reaching for heaven.
I will fight, and I’ll sleep when I die,
I’ll live my hard life,
I’ll live my life,
I’m Alive!

Taken from: atashi@wordpress through gendou.com/amusic

Best Gift Ever!

2008-10-23T23:21:00.001+08:00

I've decided.

The best gift anyone can ever give me... is a holiday!

Not just a holiday to spend at home but a holiday to travel somewhere other than my country!

Exam starts tomorrow ;_;

Walkaton 2008

2008-10-14T11:38:00.003+08:00

Oh gosh. The muscle aches haven't disappeared. Yours truly lacks too much in the exercise department.

+ currently at work +
+ not planning a big update +
+ will do so in the near future +
+ has pictures to blog about, but will save for later +
+ check out facebook for walkaton 2009 by leo monash +
+ have not blogged about walkaton 2009 at leomusc +
+ wants to download Death Fantasy I and II by Monty Oum +

Mid-sem Holidays Are No Fun!

2008-09-29T22:28:00.002+08:00

It never is!

We always get tons of assignment piled up during this time because "there aren't any lectures or labs hindering you"!!!

That sucks!

Still... I guess the no-labs-no-lectures part works.

No, wait, that isn't right. The only reason why we've got this two tests after the mid-sem break and assignments etc. are because of one thing.

Darn clashes with Malaysian public holidays!

Lecture clashes are bad enough =\ I had to sit for a test an hour early this semester because of that. (That meant arranging for the time and having to even think of sorting it out even though it took only an email or two.)

But when public holidays come (and we all know how many Malaysia has... if we can count them...) all official activities cease. Lectures get delayed. Experiments get carried forward. Report due dates get pushed back... until they all pile up at the 13th week of the semester! (That's the last one ever.)

We're supposed to be following an Australian calendar with no Malaysian holidays!

It's no fun when you can't go on a real holiday and see stuff and play when everything's left for this week to do.

Huh? You're saying it's my fault I didn't do it earlier, aren't you!?

I can't blame you for that.
=(

It occurred to me how I actually managed to pull it all off all these years. I actually prepared early. I wrote half my experiments in my reports before they get carried out and then write everything else on the last minute (which only takes a couple of hours because I've finished everything else). This semester was definitely different. I got so laid back I literally did everything the morning I had something due. Ugh.

Behind The Mirror...

2008-09-21T15:03:00.004+08:00

Lately, I have often felt as though the path I seem to be heading is filled with bright, clear signs telling me that I've gone the wrong way. But in every other direction I turn, I only see one path that is ahead of me... filled with bright, clear signs that says it's the wrong way. Darkness fills the space behind me and on my sides. I turn with wary steps, to see if there's a path, but the darkness pulls at me in every other direction. Confused and lost, my cries for help left unheard.

Or... because no one expected to hear it, they thought it could not be me...

I see others walking in the darkness on paths that I could not see. I call out to them but they could not hear me. Yet, when I am silent, they turn to me with happy smiles and expect a mirrored image of their happiness. So I give it to them, and they turn away satisfied.

Is it okay to cry for help when you are expected to be the one hearing the cries of others and helping them?

Is it okay to be lost when others are looking to you for the right way?

It is okay to point them to the right way because they can see it but not go there yourself because you can't see it?

Perhaps there was a voice I hoped to hear but could not just because it had become so soft that it became as silent as my cries...

Monash Ball 2008 -belated post-

2008-09-17T14:23:00.000+08:00

It's the one and only time in my whole uni life where I would turn up in a nice dress, styled my hair in a salon, wearing make up and nail polish! Seriously! Can you imagine all the trouble we have to go through to attend an event that lasted only 3 hours?!? (Okay, so that's very long... and I'm not counting the after party.)

Still... I'm glad I went. It was great fun with friends I know... going around snapping photos, complaining about how long before it was time for us to eat, looking at and commenting on everyone's costumes...

Speaking of costumes, the girls were very pretty that day! (Most turned up in formal wear as the boys so I shall not comment too much on that.) Yi Voon wore a black halter dress which was very nice. Mei Lin wore and pretty purple/pink dress that fit the colourful theme for mardi gras. Pui Ming was so 'yeng'! She dressed up in nice black slacks, white shirt with frilled collars and a black vest! Mei Lin and Pui Ming had their make up done by professionals and they did look very good. (Photos are all available on facebook... thus will not be posted up here).

Entertainment wise... I would say... I was rather disappointed with the ball. It wasn't formal and it wasn't fun (unless you were on stage...). The highlight of that night was our buffet dinner. Can you imagine? The dances were great and the fashion show was interesting. But the Miss and Mr Monash "event" (don't know what else to call it) was... obscene! I didn't come to a ball to watch a girl try to seduce a guy or a girl give a rose to another guy and french him! They had good events lined up but the way they presented them were awful!

This is an annual ball! It's supposed to be formal! For crying out loud, the vice pro vice chancellor was there! (It's a good think the PVC was not there instead.)

Sigh.

Anyway... I was immensely thankful for my friends who were there. At least they were around to make it fun.

There you have it, my belated post on the Monash Ball... lolz... the excitement probably died down by now so I guess it's not that big a deal anymore. Just had to post it up because of my lack of events post. Haha.

H2

2008-09-11T22:30:00.003+08:00

A baseball manga that was completed quite awhile ago (both the ori-Jap one and the scanlations) that I've only recently read. It was good. Just as good as everyone claimed it was. It was especially good for me because I didn't read anything about it before (except that it was about baseball). There wasn't anything cliche about it. The plot, the story, the way it was presented, etc. was all very original. Half the time, the pictures did the telling and that was that was the best part. It didn't need so many words and at the same time, it felt as though it was the manga-ka who was there with you while you read. It felt refreshing, like a good conversation with an old friend.

What really made me realize how good it was though, was in chapter 281 onwards. I won't tell you what happened here because it was completely unexpected the way the story went. The manga-ka had outwitted the readers in every sub plot that, just when you think something's going to happen, something entirely different happens instead! This chapter was especially good because the manga-ka made me think "yea right, that won't happen". I read the next few pages and was still thinking "that can't happen... right? It's impossible." and after the next few pages... I still couldn't accept what happened until the main character did in the end. Really! It was like going through the exact same emotions the main character did! It was a well thought out story.

Thus ends my personal/impersonal thought on a manga I've been following. Heh. I'm supposed to do an assignment due tomorrow. Why am I not doing it? (Sorry dear, I know I promised to too...) Sigh... I'm doing it... it's just that, unless I can figure this part out, I'm not going anywhere. And thinking about it for a full day hasn't brought me anywhere.

Well, here's me going back to reading and hopefully coming up with something.

By the way, I *heart* this summary by One Manga.

Summary:
Hiro has two loves: baseball and porn. But due to an elbow injury he gives up baseball choosing a school with no baseball team. His childhood friend Hikari attends a different school with baseball ace Hideo and the two wish Hiro had not given up baseball. Hiro joins the soccer team but meets Haruka, a very clumsy girl, who is manager of the unofficial baseball club. When the soccer team challenges the baseball club to a game, with hopes of humiliating them, the baseball club nearly loses until Hiro, disgusted by the soccer team's arrogance, switches to the baseball club.

Keeping a PCR machine in your freezer?

2008-08-25T20:54:00.005+08:00

I have always found science interesting and something I could pursue with a passion. So, when I saw the headlines on CNN - "DNA testing uncovers suspect sushi" - you can imagine just how curious I was about it. Firstly, because DNA testing was fun. Secondly, because I love sushi.

Anyway, my concern with this article was not in the main point - which was what fish was used for sushi - but rather on these paragraphs:

He said the process [PCR/DNA sequencing] could become as common as GPS.

"Many people are working on miniaturizing it, bring the cost down and the speed to process up," he said.

"Sequencing is a chemical process. There is no reason why we can't check the food on our plate [and] send the signal out to a database electronically. GPS used to be as big as refrigerators and only used by the government. Now it's a common application in a phone."

The students worked under Jesse H. Asusubel of Rockefeller University, a champion of DNA bar coding.

They say the project wasn't work. "It didn't feel like a chore. It wasn't time-consuming at all," Stoeckle said. "I'm hoping to get more public interest so it can become cheaper and more common."

Okay... so they want to check the food on their plate and send the signal out to a database electronically... whatever for? While finding out what I eat may be nice but honestly, would I really want to know everything that goes into my mouth?

I might end up not eating at all.

Learning microbiology and genetics have really made me force myself to eat everything with one eye closed because the knowledge of what I'm eating and might possibly be eating... really isn't very appetizing.

And they want to find out what they eat in their plate and send out the information?

Let's look at it another way... what they're trying to say is that it is possible to put a PCR machine in everyone's homes and have everyone use it to do DNA analysis.

The way PCR works is such that you will need a starting material that is able to bind to your DNA sample in order for that DNA sample to be amplified to an amount that is significant enough to study. And even then, only a short segment of the DNA can be amplified. So, you will be looking for specific marker genes that will tell you what exactly are you amplifying. Then, with that DNA sample, you will want to sequence it in order to find out what it is in the first place. You can most definitely do this with PCR as well. But it still is a very separate process. Not only that, the preparation of the DNA sample is also a different process which may require a number of other reagents (besides those you need to use for the PCR) and possibly a centrifuge.

Right, so they want them to make it common and put it in people's homes just to get it cheaper.

Suppose all that was possible and suppose everyone had a PCR in their homes. What if it was used on a blood sample? It can be done easily, surely. What if that DNA obtained from that sample was purposely placed all over the place? In a crime scene for instance?

Human nature isn't very easy to predict and it's very easy to be skeptical. It's also just as easy to be naive and want to believe in an ideal world where everyone's nice and kind.

Still... if it were to be made common, let it be made common in all health care industries and perhaps food industries and obviously in the scientific communities and academic institutions. At least, let it be made common for people who know what they're doing and are expected to be the most ethical and the most ideal; even if they may not entirely be.

Apologies for That-Which-Was-Lacking

2008-08-23T00:02:00.003+08:00

It seems that many have been waiting for my updates and I haven't been able to give any. My apologies.

I didn't get to blog about the birthdays of Yi Voon, Pui Ming, Yi Peng and Yi Mei, and I didn't get to blog about Malacca, and I didn't get to blog about Rami's visit, Famine-30...

Lol!

Looks like I haven't been updating for far too long! (But I am updating at our LEO club's blog... go check it out!) I've actually bloged about Famine 30 and other LEO club related events there (duh... it's LEO club's blog...)

Well, I'll let you in on what I have upcoming for the rest of this month =)

Tomorrow, I will be working for L&CSC for the morning to get extra pocket money. Hehe. (It's actually nice earning money and once you do, taking money from my parents felt weird and disloyal... lol...) Oh! After that, Chian (and maybe Voon) will take me to a salon to finally get a good hair cut! All in preparation for August 30th.

The Monash Ball. It's going to be interesting. The theme is Mardi Gras and there's an after party at Euphoria. We're holding it in Sunway Resort Hotel and Spa's Grand Ballroom this year. My dress arrived today too~! (Of course I won't show it to you now!) =P

I'm leading edification again tomorrow. I really pray that what I say doesn't lead people astray x.x I'm only currently regaining bit by bit the passion I had before and right now, I'm really enjoying doing things for God. I'm still trying very hard to talk to my good friends about my faith in Him who is above all things. (If you think I'm talking about you, hehe... I also don't know what to say...) But... being a Christian is something I'm happy about... and most of the time, I don't know how to truly express my feelings. I think, my friends just pick it up without me having to say much... something I'm actually grateful for. =X

On Sunday, the new worship team recruits are going to meet up at my worship leader's home to finish up our training module. It's been implemented awhile back to ensure that every new recruit knows what we're getting ourselves into. (Our church really takes our ministries seriously... maybe that's why I always find it difficult to accept when I encouter people who doesn't know when to be serious. Because, I get that there are times when jokes are appropriate and when fun and games are important but... if it's put into a serious situation, I really find it difficult to accept.)

I'll be buying nasi lemak for all of them to eat. Hehe.

On Tuesday I have an oral presentation on a specific surgical wound infection that was identified in one of our lab sessions as being caused by Staphylococcus aureus. I'm too lazy to explain what is it but I might put up the presentation on slideshare.com after the presentation for fun. Haha.

There will also be a physiology test on Wednesday... guess at what time? It's at 2pm when I will be in immunology lab. Does that sound familiar? Class clashes are really annoying. They're inconvenient to everyone and inappropriate too. The only thing I could do was to email our lecturer and set up and appointment to fix this. Looks like I'll be studying ahead of everyone (which... isn't entirely a bad thing.)

Hmm... looks like I've made another lengthy wordy post with literally no pictures at all. Should I promise a picture post next? Nah...

Elephant in the Lab!

2008-08-18T21:36:00.002+08:00

Ever wondered what would students do in laboratories? Here's an example of that-which-had-happened when students attend a three hour lab but have 2.5 hours of incubation time...

Elephant in Lab! Click to see more!

Today...

2008-08-07T16:35:00.005+08:00

August.08.2008:Friday
+ added link to Links Out +
+ slept from 4pm till 8pm +
+ couldn't wake up even when parents called +
+ has so much to do but no will to do it +
+ I need help o.o +

August.07.2008:Thursday
+ returned Rami her envelope +
+ looked out of the Westin from the 13th floor +
+ found out the Pavillion looks like it was half done +
+ was stuck in uni because of rain +
+ realized I haven't updated on a lot of recent events +
+ is busy yet free yet not in the mood to blog +

August.06.2008:Wednesday
+ today's Yi Peng and Yi Mei's birthday! (celebrated Sunday evening) +
+ hung out with Rami at medan and One U +
+ haven't seen Rami in 3 years! +

A. W. Tozer

2008-07-25T10:00:00.002+08:00

"I think a new world will arise out of the religious mists when we approach our Bible with the idea that it is not only a book which was once spoken, but a book which is now speaking."

- Taken from Defending Contending on Quotes.

Just Noticed

2008-07-24T15:45:00.004+08:00

It's been awhile since I put up photos. It may be time to put up somemore pictures soon. Yi Voon's and Pui Ming's birthday had just passed (Voon's was a month ago and Pui Ming's was just yesterday). For Yi Voon's b'day, the only reason why there was no photos was because the waiter didn't let me take photos of food in shogun =( Made me lose interest in taking any more. (Sounded like a good excuse at that time...)

My phone is currently getting overcharged on top of my dear brother's CPU. Sigh. Forgot about it after rushing out of my room to switch off the very loud alarm at 6 AM. It was a good thing everyone else continued (or pretended to continue) sleeping. (Oh, and at that time, I was pleased to see my character leveled up and not dead in WLO. This is the only game you can play sleeping, that is, if you just want to get a high leveled character without effort and enjoying the other parts of the game.)

Okay, now that that was over, I have a nice video to share with you. It's called "Lifehouse's Everything Skit". It was a skit I saw some of my teenage youth members practice for a sunday school event a while ago and it was a skit my shepherd in Aussie said she was going to do.

It was also a skit that made me cry...

Now don't you think that was an awesome story? We were first friends with God who showed us everything in this world and even though the pleasures (or pains) of this world drew us away further, and further from Him, He has never forsaken us. Even when we're at the lowest points of our lives or when we feel confused and lost to the point where we don't know what is what anymore, He is still there, calling out to us and saving us when we're overpowered by what we cannot handle. Our only saving grace and our only salvation.

Is it not great to know a God who is our friend and father?

Changed Something

2008-07-22T23:28:00.003+08:00

Okay... I thought the white was good... after being told it's difficult to read... I started finding it difficult to read too...

Since when did I become easily influenced!?

Anyway =P

I'm trying out different font colours for the time being to see if it's nice. I even made the font larger for easier reading since smaller means more squinting. Yours truly squints too much as is. Especially in dark lecture halls...

Enjoy for the time being =)

Not Too Proud

2008-07-21T08:38:00.004+08:00

<.<

There are times when I don't feel very proud of myself to the point of frustration and disbelief. In those times, I often believe that things turned out that way because it was my own fault. I should listen to that other voice that tells me "to be prepared and careful" instead of the other voice that says "saving time and effort is always better".

I got into a car accident last Friday evening. Until now I didn't feel like talking about it. It happened at the flyover in Klang town where traffic was extremely slow moving. (It doesn't matter that it was so slow I got bored.) Upon reaching that place, I was overcome by sleepiness that crept up from goodness knows where. (Sleepy drivers are on my list of 'people who should not drive'. I should not drive when sleepy.)

I took into consideration that I had a long day. I had been awake since 5.40AM that day and had to wait for classes to start at 11AM after arriving in uni at 7.30AM. (It's the same everyday, I arrive in uni at around 7.30AM because my brother starts at 8 each day and I have no other choice but to follow.) But in spite of all that, I still couldn't forgive myself for falling asleep that day. (It was a rather minor accident considering the fact that only bumpers [of the other car] and kangaroo bars [my car] were damaged.) The other driver was, well (after a long period of negotiations and considerations and phone calls and thanking God for friends who can help), extremely considerate (and I'm not trying to be sarcastic).

Until Sunday came.

I had to be there early on Sunday since it was my praise and worship team's duty that day. I was also supposed to play the hymns for the first service since someone else always play for the second service only.

At that time, especially because it was Sunday and I was in church, I get to hear my peers pray or encourage each other in preparation for worship; listen to the songs and really meditating on it; listen to the sermon about persecuted Christians in other countries that really made me realize how self-centered I was. Even later during the training for P&W probationers, learning again and reminding myself what worship means really helped me get over my frustrations. (As to how... eheh... like I said in my previous post: things that should be kept in the heart, should stay in the heart. Haha... Some of my thoughts are just too personal.)

The main thing was, remembering again that there is a bigger picture and that God would never forsake me. He is my God, my Father, my Friend, my Comforter, my Shepherd, my Healer, my Light, and my Guide. In times of trouble and in times of need, He will always be there.

Pink Flowery XML

2008-07-20T19:52:00.004+08:00

Heh. I changed my layout.

This is actually much more manageable. I was actually trying out a different one but it had too many extra elements to deal with (top nav bar, search box, super big cute fonts that I liked). I settled for this one since format-wise, I actually like it.

Hmm... come to think of it, it has been many years since I've started blogging (since 2005?) At first, it had been for the sake of learning html. I used geocities back then since it's very basic and would require me to type in the html codes etc. It led me to start a song request site where any songs I had acquired through my own requests and hunting in non-English websites. (That is, Japanese songs from Japanese websites; or OSTs from anime =3) It was fun.

Then I decided to make a personal blog.

It led me to blogspot where my posts became more personal instead of short snippets of what has been happening to the site. I even included what happened to me. (Haha.)

Anywho... today was my first P&W session with my new P&W team. Although I'm still on probation (meaning I don't perform on stage) it still felt good knowing that soon I can serve God again with more than just living each day. I lost my passion awhile back but I'm slowly gaining it back; slowly realizing that it had never been lost from the start.

insensate
"lacking sensation or awareness"

Randomness that did not deserve its own post =3
Someone once asked if what I've shared on this blog is share-a-ble with other people. I remembered answering "Yea, since whatever I put up here is no secret. Things that should be kept in the heart should be kept in the heart." Said person paused before saying, "you are very brave."

The many uses of vodka huh...

2008-07-16T10:22:00.004+08:00

As much as I know alcohol is more than just for drinking, I'd never think of using it for all these purposes. Do you drink vodka? Or have someone given you vodka and you didn't know what to do with it? =P

The Many Uses of Vodka

This is a very interesting read. I'm even putting a copy of it here. It's authored by Dahlia Rideout.

The Many Uses of Vodka

By: Dahlia Rideout

Aside from being a fantastic drink, vodka has many uses which you may not have known about. Since vodka is one of the world's most popular drinks, many of us have a bottle handy in the home. And since its typically filtered and pure, it makes a handy liquid to have around.

Here are a few uses:

To remove a bandage painlessly, saturate the bandage with vodka. The solvent dissolves adhesive.
To clean the caulking around bathtubs and showers, fill a trigger-spray bottle with vodka, spray the caulking, let set five minutes and wash clean. The alcohol in the vodka kills mold and mildew.
Clean jewelry. Soak the jewelry in vodka for five minutes, then rinse, and dry.
Clean lipstick from clothing. Rub the stain with vodka, then throw into your regular wash.
Remove the glue left behind by a bumper sticker. Rub the glue with a soft, clean cloth soaked with vodka.
Prolong the life of razors by filling a cup with vodka and letting your safety razor blade soak in the alcohol after shaving. The vodka disinfects the blade and prevents rusting.
Spray vodka on vomit stains, scrub with a brush, then blot dry.
Using a cotton ball, apply vodka to your face as an astringent to cleanse the skin and tighten pores.
Add a jigger of vodka to a 12-ounce bottle of shampoo. The alcohol cleanses the scalp, removes toxins from hair, and stimulates the growth of healthy hair.
Fill a sixteen-ounce trigger-spray bottle and spray bees or wasps to kill them.
Pour one-half cup vodka and one-half cup water in a Ziplock freezer bag and freeze for a slushy, refreshable ice pack for aches, pain or black eyes.
Fill a clean, used mayonnaise jar with freshly packed lavender flowers, fill the jar with vodka, seal the lid tightly and set in the sun for three days. Strain liquid through a coffee filter, then apply the tincture to aches and pains.
To relieve a fever, use a washcloth to rub vodka on your chest and back as a liniment.
To cure foot odor, wash your feet with vodka.
vodka will disinfect and alleviate a jellyfish sting.
Pour vodka over an area affected with poison ivy to remove the urushiol oil from your skin.
Swish a shot of vodka over an aching tooth. Allow your gums to absorb some of the alcohol to numb the pain.
Soothe a sore throat. Add a tablespoon of vodka to glass of warm water and gargle. The alcohol helps numb the sore throat.
Eliminate swimer's ear. If you don't have rubbing alcohol, fill an eardropper with vodka, and squeeze it into the affected ear, then let it drain out.

Article source: Miss Charming.com. Photo courtesy of Kaishin on Flickr (via Creative Commons).
First published March 2008

Huh, it was taken from somewhere too. Lol.

Mark Twain

2008-07-15T13:24:00.002+08:00

"The human race has one really effective weapon, and that is laughter."

That quote is pretty cool. Lol. To think of laughter as a weapon is not entirely what I would do but to think of laughter as something everyone should genuinely have is.

Random Thoughts
There are some points in life where things may result in great frustration or depression and many times it's difficult to get over. But you know, you'll just have to look at it in a different perspective and simply choose to get over it. Many of us do not have the strength or will to overcome our own weaknesses or trauma but there is one who knows us more than we do ourselves, one who will take control if we would let him, the one who can give us the strength.

Not Going to be Bitter

2008-07-14T09:08:00.003+08:00

They couldn't do anything about it. Nothing at all. My clashes stay.

Sigh.

Looks like it's more self discipline for me and listening to online lectures from Down Under. Hopefully, I'll find out if there are others who will be doing the same subject and hopefully, I can get them to take down notes or at least record the lectures for me... Or at least tell me of any announcements I need to listen to.

Otherwise.

It's a whole new semester beginning today! Most of my friends will be doing different subjects. Our breaks aren't exactly on the same days either. So not fun. But it's okay. It means new friends. (If I'm friendly enough. Haha.)

Not Happy

2008-07-09T09:04:00.002+08:00

How could they?!

For all my 5 semesters with Monash, of course I would have encountered lecture clashes in at least one out of those semesters (it was a total of 3 semesters with clashes). They were always minimal. One lecture with another lecture. I understood it can't be helped. And I was okay with it, even for some subjects that did not provide online lectures. (If Monash Malaysia was consistent with Monash Australia in terms of lectures, then it wouldn't have been a problem at all.)

But this semester is truly a first. Not one, not two, but THREE freaking slots clashed! And it's not just 3 lectures. Oh no, it wasn't all that bad. It's ONLY two lectures and ONE LAB. How can I not complain?!

I typed out an email in an instant and have gotten two replies at present. The first was a forward to another staff. The second was asking me to reply not using my gmail. Well, excuse me if I used my monash account through gmail and excuse me if the webmail is "actually so easy to use". Well, it is easy. Except it holds no more than 40MB and is a pain to maintain with all the extra redundant steps and pop ups.

Not happy and I'm being stubborn about it >(

It hurts

2008-07-08T10:33:00.004+08:00

I once told a friend that I often feel as though I'm being carried away by the strong currents of a river. There was nothing to hold on to but a rope and that rope was the only thing keeping me from drowning or being swept away.

I did not have the strength to pull myself to shore nor did I want to try. The sense of security given by that rope was just enough for me to hang on to dear life. It did not matter that the river was splashing water into my face or threatening to keep me below its surface because the rope was there. It was enough.

When I closed my eyes thinking I was alright, I opened them and found myself strangely on the riverbank. The sounds of rushing water caught my ears and all I could do was stare into the water and hug my knees for I was cold. So very cold and very alone. The dark forest was behind me and there was not a sound of anything else. Just the sound of water flowing right before me. I was alone and afraid, more so than I was in the river.

I almost wanted to jump right back in just so I could feel safe hanging on to something. But I knew that if I did, I will just be swept away and be lost forever.

So I would stand up and start walking.

At least then, I might find a path.

Wonderland Online

2008-07-07T00:17:00.003+08:00

Yes, another MMORPG. I've gotten myself a lvl 20 chara there. A magical based fire character. (Oh, and a lvl 10 wind chara I'm not using atm.)

This game is another free for life mass multiplayer online RP game from IGG.com (http://wl.igg.com). It's where Tales of Pirates came from too.

The first thing that got me playing this game was... the fact that I missed playing the Sims. (Lol! Well, not exactly... but...) This game lets you build your own house! The idea is very interesting... I'll relate what I remember from the first point of the game.

Based on the story, you get to choose a number of characters that are passengers of a cruise ship (there are even secret characters you can switch to on the ship). Each of the characters can be of either fire, water, wind or earth element. This influences the type of attacks you will get. Then, you get to choose your main stat (either str, con, int, wis or agi). At first, I thought you add the stats based on the skills you want to get, but, having con for def is a lot of help...

Anyway, the cruise ship you were on is shipwrecked and you're stranded on an island. A man named Robinson (thanks tas >.>) saves you and tells you that he has been trying to get out of this place for 28 years and failed! You then begin your journey of trying to survive in that island. You get a tent (that can be moved wherever you go... haha...) and you meet villagers, complete quests, hunt or collect materials to make your house or equipments. You get to compound weapons, armours and other materials even! Very versatile compared to most MMORPG games. It's enjoyable definitely.

Oh! I even have a cool guild: The WWarriors(or The Wonderland Warriors)! Haha... See you there if you feel like playing!

Crab Football

2008-07-05T19:42:00.003+08:00

Have you ever heard of such a game? It is one that applies the rules of football with a little twist.

Players have to walk like crabs.

It's really simple actually. You sit yourself on the floor, lean back, and use arms and legs to walk. Then, you use your foot to play football. Of course the "field" is much smaller. Each game lasts 15 minutes. (Honestly, who can walk like a crab for any longer and play football at the same time?)

Our cell group (well, both cell groups) decided to play this game instead of the usual captainball for this month's inter-CG activity. It was really fun. That is, it was a game full of laughs. You have no idea how competitive we can all be until you put us all in a team sports game. Crawling around on your bum and all fours was interesting. Especially since you can't move very fast. It was funny when we had to chase after the rolling ball that was about to get out of bounds. But hey, they all gave up halfway when they realized no one's going to catch up. Haha.

As short and non-informative this post may be, I have to stop typing. It hurts too much. Why? Aha... if you must know...

We all went home with blistered hands.

Aldous Huxley

2008-06-26T13:53:00.002+08:00

"An intellectual is a person who has discovered something more interesting than sex."

A quote from work. Lol. Read this while browsing through my emails. (Gmail is fun!)

Oh yea! Immediately after exams ended I started work again at SyUC. Hehe. Gonna work until the next semester starts and then go back to working once a week. =)

The Great Office War

2008-06-23T20:55:00.002+08:00

You should watch this. Really! You don't want to miss this.

Got it from the kylelandry forums. (Yes, I'm supposed to be studying...)

Last day tomorrow!!!!

Eastin Hotel

2008-06-13T21:54:00.003+08:00

Two papers down and two more to go! It's so nice to be halfway through but the really tough subjects start now. At least I have enough time to prepare.

What am I doing here blogging?

Well, my cousins visited. And took us out for dinner at a chinese restaurant. (Yes, in Eastin Hotel!) I just had to blog about it!

Chinese Restaurant @ Eastin Hotel (Album link)

The jam just before entering the hotel. Can you believe how jammed it was? It took us 30 minutes just to reach the parking entrance.

The Star building I think. It was one of the buildings within the corporate or office building area. I had time to take pictures of the lamppost etc. too... but I'm not gonna post them up here. =P

Finally inside! We parked in the corporate building because I told my brother to turn in one lane too fast. (It was the next lane that led to the hotel parking. Please don't make this same mistake!)

As untidy as I am, I really love seeing things that are neatly arranged! So I'm glad to be welcomed by the sight of neatly arranged cutlery on my table. Haha.

The flower arrangement. They took it away of course before the food came.

This was for my dad. He can't take tea or anything with cafe until after he's completely recovered. His surgery's scheduled for next week (submitting himself to the hospital on Monday and going through the surgery on Wednesday).

Hehe... I love these little plates of peanuts. Except, they weren't peanuts. Sesame covered snacks that tasted lovely! I couldn't stop myself from reaching with my chopsticks every... err... minute.

Our first dish~! Do you know peking duck? This was the roast pork version of it! You take an egg-based skin and wrap the pork skin inside with spring onions and sweet sauce. Oh it was delicious! I had many helpings. (See, too many to count.) Also, the pork was not wasted. They made a dish with it later. Hehe.

I skipped a few dishes. Hehe. They were delicious but I forgot to take pictures >_<
This fish was delicious! It was soft, tasty, tasty, and definitely tasty! Actually, all the dishes I had tonight were great! The portion may be small but that's because the waiter divides them for you and you really get first class service. They remove your dirty plates in between dishes, made sure you had enough tea, change your chopsticks etc. But only in between meals so that they don't disturb you while you're talking or eating or halfway enjoying!

Overall, I really enjoyed this meal in terms of food. We had this "chawanmushi" sort of dish made in a tall glass but it has shark fins lining the surface and mushrooms cooked inside. There was a dish with dry noodles covered in sauce and really huge prawns. We had soup, chicken and vegie, that I really liked. We also had green jelly for dessert and ginger tong yuen (the tong yuen was huge with black sesame filling I think. I liked it.). A lot of the dishes were served by the waiter so we didn't have to get up and get them ourselves. Some, like the pork and the noodles were left to ourselves to get them. We had dishes after dishes for 2 hours. Not sure how many altogether because I just ate and ate. Haha. Oh, we didn't have rice.

There was one more but I think I won't put them up here. (Sorry!) I was there with 10 other people. My immediate and extended family. My cousins just came back after being away for close to 6 years. So it was a happy occassion. I stayed with them when I was in Aussie so it's good to see them again. They're going back tomorrow after being here for a week.

Sigh... why must they come when I have exams~! (;___;)

New Links~

2008-06-09T21:53:00.003+08:00

In case most of you haven't noticed... =P

I've added new links to the "anime, manga, songs" section. They're links to more song sites where I have been downloading piano sheets again recently (was hooked to this guy's playing on youtube: kylelandry).

I've been practicing Eternal Harvest ever since and am now studying very hard for tomorrow's exam!

T_____T

EDIT: It sounded like I didn't study at all last week. Well... I did! So there. =P

Ethical Or Not

2008-06-02T19:36:00.003+08:00

I'm often reminded everyday why it is so important to know who God is and what following him means.

This may be a little irrevelant to what I just said but while studying, I came accross several slides on ethics in science. Everytime they asked the question "is this ethical?" or "is this immoral?" or "is this right?" They would refer to the vaticans, the muslims, the protestants, the jewish, etc. Or should I just sum it up and say 'the religious'?

Science if often thought of as a body of knowledge or a society that is apart from religion. Simply because science is not governed by doctrine but by discovery (in a very loose sense). Yet, every time they need to make a decision on "is this right or wrong?" they refer to religious views.

Shouldn't we, as Christians, always be ready to give them answers as God says in the Bible? Shouldn't we always be prepared such that God's views are always at the tip of our tongues? Shouldn't we always be able to say what the Bible says?

It's already June!

2008-06-02T16:03:00.002+08:00

It's already June!

Exam starts on the 10th!

I'm panicking!

My brother found a private Maple Story server and it's pretty distracting!

I started and stopped Tales of Pirates again too!

Why am I shouting?!

Blood Donation 2008

2008-05-31T21:08:00.006+08:00

Remember that event I mentioned where I found out about my "health problems"? Well, I've finally remembered to post the pictures! Hehe.

It was an event I organized on behalf of the Omega Leo Club of Monash University on April the 21st and 22nd. We invited the National Blood Bank over for two days and we also got the National Kidney Foundation to drop by with their health screening bus (it's a huge long bus set up like a clinic).

Anyway, here are the pics. The photos were taken with my 2.0MP Sony Ericsson k530i. Didn't bring my better camera with me since my mom was using it. (All photos in my blog will, from now on, be clickable thumbnails. The previous food post reminded me of why I've always put up clickable thumbnails.)

Blood Donation, 21 - 22 April 2008

Registration first. Here's where leo members are stationed to explain to blood donors as to what are they supposed to do. There are certain forms to fill for first timers and certain criteria to be made clear as not everyone can donate (like me).

Here, they check for blood type and weight. If you can make out the table just to the left of the one in front, that's where they check your blood pressure and finalize whether you're truly fit to donate blood. Here, I found out I had low blood pressure and that I am not fit to donate blood. Boo!

9-10 AM when they were first setting up.

Our first few donors. It seems that people take to blood donation very readily. A lot wanted to donate and most were extremely disappointed when they found out they couldn't. A total of 191 registered and 149 were eligible to donate. The rest found out they couldn't donate before they could register.

Donors were given bread, milo, cookies and even zinc pills. These are especially for those who might become anemic after losing blood.

As you can see, we were in open space. The concourse area to be exact. This is where almost all students had to pass through in the uni so it was pretty strategic.

Lots of people came and the NBB team were almost always busy. They told me on the second day that they'd prefered it if I invited them over for longer as it would lessen their work and they could get more response.

Health Screening, 21 April 2008

Actually, not only students were interested in donating blood but staff members too! I couldn't tell them apart at the registration counter at first but I recognized some of them here at the health screening bus. They're all waiting for their turn to board the bus and beginning their check up. (It's priced at RM2 per health check. But I found out later that there were others who gave more.)

Waiting in between stations. They have seats inside the bus as well. There are about 6 stations altogether. You get your initial blood pressure checked at the first, BMI at the second, waist circumference at the third, urine analysis at the fourth, blood glucose and cholesterol at the fifth, and counseling at the sixth. Yes, you get counselled.

The first, third and fourth stations. The second station was behind me and the picture didn't turn out well at all. (Not that the pictures here are perfect...) But as you can see, they're really just small tables where you sit across the health screening team and they tell you your results on the spot.

The blood test station... how can my cholesterol level be high when my blood pressure is low???!!

The counselling station... I was told NOT to eat loads of stuff. Others were told to cut down on everything I was forbidden to eat! Then again, they didn't have high cholesterol like me...

Outside again, the waiting area. That guy standing there made sure that everyone had a registration form and that they entered the bus in turn.

The bus was pretty long so they took awhile to actually park where they parked. It's at the foyer, a stone's throw away from the blood donation area.

That's it for the event post. I haven't planned an event like this since... high school! Lol! And this was a dual event too. So many people to communicate. I had forgotten about that part. The part where you have to talk to people and make sure everyone's happy with what you have decided. The making sure they were happy part was... tough. I'm glad I had the help I had.

Special Countdown, Noble Restaurant

2008-05-27T11:51:00.008+08:00

Today marks the day when I have to really start studying. It's not only the time when I have to study but the time when I really have to study.

(That did not make sense.)

Exams begin on June the 10th and ends on the second last day of the final examinations, June 24th. I'm thankful for having only four papers to worry about rather than six or so like last year.

That's why I have to start studying!

Before that, a funny story from last saturday. Haha. My brother and I were blessed with a good friend who would fetch us for dinner with the rest of the cell group (we usually drive ourselves). So, my brother went out first with the friend (they have lots to talk about) and I followed after getting all my things and making sure the lights were all off etc. After locking the doors, and getting into the car, my brother turned around, "did you take the house keys?"

We were locked out of the house! And mom wasn't going to come back until much later that night! Our dinner was set at 6.30pm and we finished by about 8pm (at a very nice chinese restaurant). Very early. We were stranded for almost two hours with nowhere to go. At least our friend was kind enough to let us hang out at his place. Even though he had to study for his exams! (So sorry! And thank you lots!)

Noble Restaurant, Klang (Town area)
This was the place where we had our chinese dinner. I must apologize for the lack of photos. We only had time to take pictures of the first dish. The rest came in a blur because, not only were we too busy eating, we ate so fast and the dishes came twice as fast! Having 12 persons at a table is certainly something else. Haha. It was good though. I have nothing to complain of in terms of taste and service. They cleaned up our plates after the second dish as our plates were already full of bits and pieces that couldn't be eaten. Like prawn skin and the such. It was a very good and pleasant experience.

The first dish was really amazing. I took a lot of photos of this dish. The fish that we see is actually made of yam. You know the usual yam basket we get as a first dish for chinese dinners especially? That's what it is. It's filled with the usual yam basket contents and it's entirely made up of yam. Then we have the tofu pouch, fried balls with prawns in them (ate it and got allergies), cold slices of meat, and a selection of scallops and vegetables.

When this dish came out, I thought to myself, I have to snap a photo of this. Well, I wasn't the only one who thought so because everyone else started snapping with their camera phones. Haha. One of our elder members mentioned that kids these days all use camera phones while we still carry digital cameras around (our age difference is about 3 years so... they're not like uncles or aunties).

At first all we could do was stare and wait for everyone to snap photos. But finally we decided we had to eat.

They finally turned the lazy-susan around to serve the individual portions.

This presentation was meant for ten persons. We had 12. So the extra ones get special plates with all the extra bits. Haha. There's only one fish though.

Those who didn't get the extra plates had to, of course, arrange our portions nicely on our plates and bowls. Hehe. This was my plate.

May 2008 Update

2008-05-08T21:28:00.009+08:00

May.20.05:Tuesday
+ lab test ended at 10.43am today +
+ had to demonstrate gel loading technique +
+ laptop crashed last week +
+ was without laptop since... last Monday +
+ I think I did not install the drivers correctly when reinstalling windows +
+ now... blue screen appears spontaneously +

May.19.05:Monday
+ InterCG Life Monopoly with cell group members +
+ set up a life size monopoly board at church +
+ board version had to do with 'offering' +
+ was interesting and fun +
+ had lunch at McD +

May.17.05:Saturday
+ reformatted laptop +
+ reinstalling drivers is a pain +
+ lost my corel painter CD +

May.16.05:Friday
+ dad's blood test came out +
+ Praise God! He's cleared of infection +
+ doctors want to continue the full treatment to be 100% sure he is bacteria-free +
+ open heart surgery to correct damaged valve still required +

May.15.05:Thursday
+ finished first project: web-design +
+ will probably have to fix it through +

May.08.05:Thursday
+ started part-time job at SyUC +
+ working as a student helper +
+ given four projects to complete +
+ dad got a haircut +

Food~ Glorious Food~

2008-04-27T21:16:00.015+08:00

Everytime I think about food, Ice Age 2's OST comes to mind. I'm still not sure if I should be happy about that or worried.

Anyway, last week, I've been visiting Dad everyday. Weekends have been reserved for visitors so I've decided not to tire Dad out.

Also, last week had been pretty eventful. I found out I had high cholesterol and that I have low blood pressure (from an event I organized, but I'll blog about that in another post). Instead of worrying about it, I pretty much started food-hunting! In this post, I'll show you the food places I've been to just last week.

Yogur Berry @ Sunway Pyramid
First of all, here are some photos of the place itself. Yogur Berry is found in the lowest floor in Sunway Pyramid 2. They've offered a 30% discount to students in Monash Sunway who picked up this certain free MYC magazine so, my friends and I have taken a magazine each and we're all set for good yoghurt until June. Heh. (I'm including pictures from two occassions since I've been there twice thus far.)

They had a nice heart made of roses hanging on one wall. Mirrors were well employed to make the place seem bigger. The shop's theme was pretty much red, pink, white, and... sparkles o.o

A little table for kids.

Yogur Berry balloons.

Yvonne, Mei Lin, and Pui Ming. It's very rare for Mei Lin to join us so it's worth remarking her presence. =P

The food itself. They have two types of yoghurt base: snowy and frozen. The snowy yoghurt base is smoother. You get to choose 56 different toppings and a selection of syrups to place over your yoghurt. Fruit toppings taste better with the yoghurt, I might add. They have nice cakes with red bean pastes as well.

Pumpkin cake. Didn't dare taste it but Mei Lin ordered it on both occassions, so it should be good.

Pui Ming had hers with loads of fruits. Red bean seems to be a good choice too.

This is why I have high cholesterol. There wasn't a single fruit in my yoghurt. =X

More yoghurts. I was smarter this second round. My choccie yoghurt did not taste good at all! Fruits definitely tasted better with the yoghurt.

An attraction of yogur berry. They offer games of all sorts to play. This was us playing Jenga while waiting for our order. Mei Lin was pointing to the spoon saying that's her face in the pic. (Everyone else was hiding!)

For every RM10 extra you spend, you get a chance to shoot at that board and get free food!

They only serve a handful of cakes and two types of coffee: Kacip Fatimah and Tongkat Ali coffee. Hmm. The chocolate cake wasn't too appetizing. I was quite sick of it by the last bite.

My chocolate cake and coffee.

Yi Mei and Yi Peng were also with us on both trips. They're twins =P

Uno.

The Anpan that took so long to appear but did not have any red bean in them! They made another one for us immediately and gave us a complementary yoghurt.

Playing memory, for the lack of games to think of.

Yong Tau Foo / Cheong Fan @ SS17, PJ
I'm still craving for more!

Pui Ming waiting for our order.

Testing the sweet sauce.

Cheong Fan.

I just thought this picture was cool so I added it here.

Wendy's @ Sunway Pyramid
It was okay. I don't know much about the food her but it's pretty much like a fast food store with a great variety of burgers.

My grilled chicken set.

The chicken was so juicy!

J-Co @ Sunway Pyramid
Myself did not have any doughnuts but Pui Ming and Yvonne shared half a dozen themselves. I had coffee.

The place.

My cappucino.

Chow Yang Market @ SS2, PJ
We came here after our yong tau fu at SS17. Walking around did good for digestion. I had to park so far too. The stalls were literally set up around the block.

Latest Recipe @ KL Hilton (Le Meridian)
Uncle came to visit from Aussie. We were therefore invited for a nice free buffet dinner at KL Hilton where he was staying. (Edit: you know... there were little stirrers on the table that said Le Meridian as well but I was super confused when I got to the lobby and saw KL Hilton... and now I came across the Le Meridian website and the address was right but it's still just Le Meridian. So, I may be wrong about where Latest Recipe was.)

I didn't get to take good photos since, I was too busy eating! I only remembered I wanted photos after my tastebuds were satisfied. Hah. This dish has a funny story. My brother followed me to the Jap stall, next to the teppanyaki, to get lovely sashimi. We took lots of salmon and tuna; and my brother got himself tako as well. Well, he got slightly confused when I walked straight back to my table with all those raw fish. His words: "Jie (older sis), aren't we going to cook the fish?" I just took one good look at him and ate my salmon whole. He promptly gave me his plate and walked off to get cooked food. (Score!)

Dessert.

More dessert! =D I love bread, cake, pastries... well, any type of dessert!

My brother getting fondue.

How can anyone resist fondue =X (The dark chocolate sucks by the way. Milk choccie and white tasted glorious though.)

Marshmellows and cakes for the fondue.

Such a long post. Lol. Maybe I should've split them up... nah...

Not in the mood...

2008-04-23T21:20:00.004+08:00

Recent Anime:
+ Katekyou Hitman Reborn +
+ Vampire Knight +
+ Kyou Kara Maoh +
+ Bus Gamers +
+ Shugo Chara +
+ Soukou no Strain +

Is there any newly completed anime around? I want to watch something without having to stop and wait for the ending. For some reason I feel like just wasting time away by watching anime without doing anything. Sigh, no mood to read a book either.

Just finished six asssignments two weeks in a row. A few more coming up. More club meetings and more event plannings too. I think I would like to retire from clubs next sem. I don't regret spending so much time on clubs this sem since, it made me face reality and made me realize that I'm really and seriously the studying type. Activities and etc tire me out. Planning events were fine when I was a teenager but now, I think I've had enough of event planning.

Will update photos next. Haven't had time to sit down and look at photos and sort them out. Will do so in the next post.

On another note: I slept for twelve hours after handing in my last assignment. *Happy!*

Dad's Condition

2008-04-16T21:16:00.006+08:00

April.23.2008:Wednesday
+ didn't get to see dad yesterday or today +
+ stupid brother didn't ask and just drives home +
+ guess it's my fault for being not alert and sleepy in the car +
+ dad had fever last night... wanted to see him to know if he's okay +
+ apparently &#*$&*# nurses didn't change the tube and got dad sick! +
+ can't do anything but pray nothing else will happen +

April.18.2008:Friday
+ dad got his new needle to last by weeks instead of days +
+ he's eating more now +
+ hoping he'll be able to finish a whole meal soon +
+ uncle visited from australia +
+ had dinner buffet at KL hilton's Latest Recipe +
+ will show dad pictures tomorrow +

April.17.2008:Thursday
+ dad seems better +
+ dad's pulse rate finally dropped +
+ doctor confirms bacterial endocarditis caused by streptococci +
+ moved to normal ward +
+ realized the big difference in treatment from nurses +
+ now dad has TV to watch again +
+ still trying to get dad to eat +

April.16.2008:Wednesday
+ dad's condition is still the same +
+ heart still beating super fast +
+ doctor suspects bacterial endocarditis at the aortic valve +
+ some symptoms are still unaccounted for +
+ treatment has started +
+ will be hospitalized for a month +

Not Knowing

2008-04-15T23:50:00.002+08:00

It's been that way for the past two days. Waiting in the hospital room with nothing but a TV, some newspapers, the Bible, and perhaps an elderly neighbour. Feeling dizzy and nauseous for almost three weeks, food does not seem appetizing at all. My dad hasn't eaten solid food since Friday afternoon. In fact, he was admitted on Monday afternoon into the hospital, as recommended by our GP, once they suspected something was amiss from his blood test.

Two days of testing and being in the hospital resulted in nothing more than getting negative test results or otherwise "normal" results. They took an MRI, an X-ray, at least 2 blood tests. No indicative results have returned. Nothing definite. Only hints of an infection, probably heart or liver problems but nothing definite.

It's disheartening.

Tonight, they moved my dad to the critical care unit only to monitor him closely. Sure, his blood pressure is high, pulse rate too high, and what else? The doctor said he was not happy and was worried if my dad's heart might tire itself out and cause daddy to collapse. I'm worried. At least the doctor has finally decided to do the blood culture to look for infections. (They should've done that last week!)

I can only hope they are able to tell what's wrong.

I want my dad to be okay. To be home with us. To be okay.

Tagged (by su lyn)

2008-04-12T22:07:00.005+08:00

Okay, so I've finally decided to put this up. Lol. I'm not exactly bored but I'm most definitely unwilling to start/finish my reports due on Monday. I've already lost Thursday's night sleep and going through monthly pains isn't helping. So why am I here again? Internet connection isn't working fast enough for me to get a dose of manga/anime ;_____; So not cool!

Instructions: Remove one question from below, add in one of your own(personal), to make a total of 20. Tag 10 people in your list in the end of this post. Notify them.

1. At what age do you wish to be married? Married by 28 at least. I believe a certain sense of maturity is required if you're going to be married and commit to a lifelong relationship. Of course, if my darling proposes and I accept... that might be a different thing altogether xD

2. If you were to be stranded on a deserted island, who are the 3 blog buddies you'd take and why? Probably... joo, kenny, and chian. Why arr... Coz they're good friends and they seem to be the type who'd think of how to get out of the island and actually get all of us out? XD

3. Where is the place that you want to go the most? Japan!

4. If you can have 1 dream to come true, what would it be? To be able to travel around the world and live in places I've dreamed of as a kid.

5. Do you believe you can survive without money? I wish there was a way I don't have to be bound by money .____.;;; So, unfortunately, the answer is no. I would still need it to survive.

6. What are you afraid to lose the most? People I care about.

7. If you win $ 1 Million, what would you do? Build my dream computer... then my dream home... then my dream laboratory... then my dream library... bwahaha! (This is probably the reason why I would never win $$$!)

8. If you meet someone that you love, would you confess to him/her? Yes... but I'm a girlish at heart. I'd love it if he confesses first.

9. List out 3 good points of the person who tagged you. She's fun, quiet, and smart. Why are they good points? Because, it's why I admire her. XD

10. What requirement you wish from your other half? Wish from arr... If got nothing to wish for then how leh? I love him the way he is already... =X

11. What kind of person you hate the most? Inconsiderate ones...

12. If you are given the chance to go back to the past and make a difference, will you? Nope. I believe that everything you are today is because of what happened to you in your past. If you change something, you might not be who you are today. It'll be as though you've lost your identity.

13. What is your most embarrasing moment in your entire life? I don't want to share this... there's too many to consider... >.< lot ="(">

14. What do you think is the most important thing in your life? God.

15. If there's ever a war(or things that are similar) happening in your place, are you going to move to a safer place, or fight? Move. I'm all for peace and peaceful surroundings. If there's war, I'll run.

16. If you have the chance, which part of your character you would like to change? Sometimes I think I'm too self-absorbed to the point where I don't think about anyone but me. I'm trying very hard to change this aspect!

17. Who is the person that you can share all your problems with? Jesus.

18. What's your weakest point? Inability to express myself properly. I get misunderstood a lot. And I don't know how to explain that what they're thinking wasn't what I intended to say. Sigh...

19. If you can choose to be talented in one field, what would it be? Playing the piano. Well, I can play the piano just... I don't think I'm very good at it. I'd like to be able to play it and be able to perform.

20. If you were given a chance to live in your own Utopia (ideal world), would you take it? Probably not. My ideal world's kinda boring. xD

There. Finally. Lol.

I tag: chianli, chris, elisha, eugene, kenny, kyu, ming choi, xinn.

Random Blogs I've Visited Recently

2008-04-06T20:05:00.007+08:00

Recently, after joining the innit community at nuffnang, I've been blog hopping a lot. I found out a lot about Malaysian bloggers in that they are certainly a very interesting bunch of people. Most of them made me think of how society respond to many things and how secluded I've been in my own world. However, there are many too that gave me valuable insights and made me glad I was blog hopping.

One of the blogs I found was Joie de Vivre. It's a christian blog by a born again christian that challenges christians and their faith. By challenge, I mean that reading the blog made me realize how imporant it is for Christians to step up and not only defend our faith but step out of our comfort zone and obey the command to make disciples of all nations. You should give it a read! It's definitely worthwhile.

April.07.2008:Monday
+ should have added this blog as well +
+ not sure if it's true +
+ but what if it turns out to be true? +
+ better help and be fooled than not help and be scorned +
+ The Journey of the Homeless: click for an interesting read +

Random thoughts

Reading other local bloggers made me really think that the reason why there are many who do not know that christianity is not a religion but a relationship is because there are so few of us making this clear to them. Many times we are just stating "religious" comments like "Christians should do this" and "Christians should do that" but we never ever say "Jesus said this" or "Jesus said that". Is our faith truly just knowing we'll go to heaven and that's it? Doing good work is just the first level of faith and if we do not know how to move on, honestly, why are we Christians? What truly makes us different? That we carry the message of love? NO!

I believe in eternal life and I believe that there is only one true God. I believe that believing in Jesus is the only way to heaven and that I am a sinner from birth. I believe that hell is real and I believe that Jesus died so that my sins are washed away and I'm saved from eternal damnation. I want to live a life worthy of Jesus in that I want to live every day knowing God's word and knowing that saving souls is more important than the next assignment due. I've been stumbling for too long in the dark not knowing if my sins are forgiven but today, I know that they are and I know that as long as I stand for Christ he will strengthen me.

Being a Christian is easy. It's true! I became a Christian at the age of 3 by just asking to be one. But the life I've lived since I was a Christian has been filled with such challenges that I've never truly wanted to share with anyone because of how personal it is and how difficult it was. Carrying the cross every day is real. The hardest part about being a Christian for me is accepting that all we can do is plant the seed and gather the harvest. As to whether the seed grows into a mature plant or if any seed grows at all, is up to God.

That Which Is New

2008-03-31T20:06:00.010+08:00

I realized I haven't blogged about my new Sony Ericsson k530i (yes! my first camera phone!) and so I'm here... blogging about it! (If you can't tell, I'm in a good mood. Why? The reason is simple. I finished that 2500 word essay in 3 nights without losing sleep! - The quality of the essay is a different matter altogether so... I'll not think about it >.<)

I took these pictures using my sony cybershot (sony biased person). I like this picture the best. Thanks to the bright fluorescent lights just in front of me, most of my pictures had too much reflection... especially with flash .___.;;; Anyway, this one turned out best! I actually like the contrast that the gold band offered.

Haha! All my new things are black. My laptop, mouse, mic, headphones, external HDD, pouch, bag... omigosh! I just realized everything I bought after July 2007 is black! (Excluding clothes.)

What you see on the surface of the phone is just dust! Honest! They're not eraser debris or whatever else you think it looks like. Just dust. (If you can't see it, thank you for not trying.)

I've been using a nokia 6610 since Alevels until this year. That's, at least 3 years I think. I haven't used anything other than nokia since I got my first phone in Form 3 (besides that motorola flip phone 'inherited' from my cousin). Hmm...

Anyway! I've got my Sony Ericsson k530i =D Bought from clareen at forum.lowyat.net. I was pretty desperate for a new phone because my nokia was dying (flickering screen, suddenly hangs so that you can't turn it on or off or use it at all, malfunctioning keypads... it was pretty serious...) and I wanted it cheap and fast! My first choice was this slide phone but I decided against it since it wasn't released in Malaysia and I don't have the budget for it. (Parents refused to pay .___.)

So, with a budget of less than 1,000rm and requirements including: mp3 player, voice recorder, minimum 2.0 mega pixels camera (regretted, should've gotten 3.2), GPS-enabled (I tend to get lost), and 3G; I looked up every sony ericsson website I could find and ended up with the k530. Hah. I'm actually quite proud of it after using it for about 2 weeks. No regrets after all!

It can take photos through a microscope!

My Future

2008-03-28T19:03:00.005+08:00

Got this from munk's and sulyn's blogs. Lol... I had to try different combinations as entering different names results in different "futures".

Here are my results if you're interested in seeing the weird things that turn up.

Sorry sulyn, haven't answered the questions you tagged me with =P

March.30.2008:Sunday
+ found a list of web-based image editing application +

Procrastinating (yet again)

2008-03-28T17:37:00.002+08:00

It took me three weeks to finish a 1500 word essay. Now, I'm left with 3 days to finish a 2500 word essay. Where's the logic in that?

I can't blame anyone for this though. After finally finishing that 1500 essay, I found myself procrastinating every single minute of the day. Look at me now! I'd rather blog than write that essay! I kept giving myself excuses saying I would do it once it's night since that's when I find the mood to work. (Which is truly a load of nonsense!)

Funny how it's so much easier putting things aside than doing them. When I feel stressed, I'd rather put the source of that stress at the back of my mind rather than fixing it so that I could free myself from stress. If only I could remember more often that dealing with it sooner will make myself feel free. And I won't feel so guilty anymore!

My bible reading has been falling back yet again. It felt so good too whenever I managed to catch up. I kept telling myself there's a time for everything and I should really do my best and keep up. Not just with reading the bible too. I've recently been reminded again how important it is to pray. Prayer is our only tool of communication with God. What is a relationship without conversation? There was one week where our cell group material shared about prayer and I found it extremely true. True to prayer and its role in our relationship with God.

If I feel like it I'll put it up in this blog. For the time-being, I'll be using the courage, strength and peace of God to stop procrastinating!

Pendrive Lost ;_____; (EDIT: And found)

2008-03-18T21:54:00.006+08:00

March.19.2008:Wednesday
The librarian found it.

^____________^

March.18.2008:Tuesday
It's.. my turn ;____;

I lost my pendrive...

My green and white 1GB Kingston pendrive with a keychain that says "I love Jesus"

My pendrive with my newly written assignments ;_____;

Xerophagy

2008-03-18T08:42:00.002+08:00

"The eating of dry food, especially food that's cooked without oil."

November.4.2007:Sunday
To think that even eating had different forms. Lol.

Feeling Sick (March.18.2008:Tuesday)
Is it even possible to like the feeling of being sick? When you eliminate pain and the need to treat yourself with medicine, you're left with that light feeling of muddled thought. It's that pleasurable feeling that makes you feel like lying down, closing your eyes, and letting your mind drift to the land of floating clouds. It's indescribable really. It's left me feeling pleasantly happy, without any lingering thought of unhappiness or depression. Just the feeling of being lightheaded, awake, dreamy, and... alive.

Silly, isn't it?

How do you show that you care?

2008-03-16T21:44:00.005+08:00

Would it be excuse enough to say that I don't know how? 
Or would no excuse be allowed?
How do you grasp a concept that is so immaterial?
One can only try. 

It leaves me lost to not know. 
What can I do?
I don't want to give up. 
Keeping silent seems safe. 
But it wasn't what was needed. 
Yet, what, then, is needed?

Am I simply an idiot not to know?

Work?

2008-03-14T08:47:00.012+08:00

Assignments, events, societies, clubs... what made me decide to take up all this at once? In the first semester of my third year too! I couldn't have chosen a worse time to be actively participating in extra curricular activities.

Maybe it was because I felt as though I've wasted my first and second years in university. Maybe it was the craving for being more involved in student life and not just the academic. Maybe I just didn't want to feel so left out anymore.

That still doesn't explain anything.

Assignments due:
+ genetics essay +
+ genetics laboratory report +
+ genetics paper analysis +
+ microbiology essay (completed without editing) +
+ molecular biology laboratory report (submitted) +
+ molecular biology essay +
+ sci2010 oral presentation +
+ sci2010 literature review +

Through Science

2008-03-13T10:27:00.005+08:00

As a 22 year old, I realize I've grown up mostly in a Christian home (I spent the first three years of my life watching my parents worship their ancestors before they decided to accept Jesus into their lives). Therefore, a lot of teachings I've received are from the Bible. About how to live my life, about how to approach things, about how to deal with issues. So you could say I learn a lot on Sunday from Sunday School teachers and MIF talks. I'm pretty thankful for all this.

One of the things I'm most thankful of is my love for science. Today, I was listening to a lecture by Peter Doherty and he said something that reminded me why I loved science so much. "Everything in science can be questioned. Everything is open to reanalysis and reinterpretation." Just as it is with the Bible. Sure, everything God says is definite and everything God says is law. But anything and everything anyone says about God is questionable. Jesus taught us to question the teachings of teachers and to test everything. In science, we learn that what anyone says is not true until proven but a set of data. In the same way, the Bible taught us to test for the truth lest it be proven otherwise (1 John 4).

What we know as Science laws and theories are really what God has set since the beginning of time. We're merely discovering what God has made all this while. Even if we say we're playing 'god' by rearranging genes and making clones or transgenic animals, it is not wrong to say that we're merely rearranging what was already there. We're not even close to knowing how to construct our own genes! Our human brain cannot even begin to comprehend how God has made this entire world with a four letter code. Every day in genetics taught me and showed me more and more that God exists.

He really does!

Hunting

2008-03-04T21:38:00.003+08:00

I have been looking around for an affordable phone. The theme of my search was to ensure I am upgrading to a better phone. Then again, any phone would be an upgrade considering the current state of my mobile.

I seriously want Sony Ericsson w760!

Unfortunately, my budget would only allow me to buy one phone. Darn. And I can't wait for it to be released too.

Assignments have been piling up. It is now only week 2. The mid-sem break is coming. Club activities are starting. Lectures are getting serious. The need to study is becoming imminent.

I might be getting a job.

New Layout

2008-03-01T09:33:00.003+08:00

For some reason I couldn't open my list of drafts and therefore can't edit the post I had written previously.

Here I am now blogging about this new layout I got. I like it lots but it seems that everytime I put in my tag-board, the whole sidebar gets pushed below the main body. So not cool. I'm working on fixing the dimensions of the tag-board so that it fits in perfectly without seeming overly thin.

It's 9.35 AM and I'm waiting for 10.15 AM to arrive so that I can start my journey to the Pavillion (first visit ever!) with my girl friends. I'm not even in Monash U waiting. I'm in THOL, using the A-level's general account freely for my own selfish purpose; with only Matthew Reilly's book called "Temple" to accompany me. I'm at page 226 where the group of adventurers have found themselves out of the claws of the great cats, known by Incans as Rapa, into the Amazon river where 1-tonne 22-feet black caiman alligator/crocodiles await them. Fun.

Japanese?

2008-03-01T09:05:00.003+08:00

Why is it always when I visit my blog without logging in, it's always Japanese?

Anime :: Manga

2008-02-25T02:31:00.000+08:00

Updated Profile

2008-02-22T19:49:00.010+08:00

As you can see, I've updated my blogspot profile!

I didn't care about it before but I suppose it's good to at least put up something about myself. Heh. Too bad it doesn't have a favourite person's section.

I don't like this new layout anymore. I think I'll change it. It feels like it takes too long to load. And what's worse, I'm starting to dislike the fact that my tag-board isn't in my navigation column.

EDIT at 8.29PM: As you can see... I've changed the layout. XD

Thank you Everyone!

2008-02-16T18:42:00.005+08:00

Thank you so much for coming over and accompanying me! I was really happy that you guys would come over and have bbq for the sake of having bbq. The Friday night jam must have been so tiring! Thank you again for being so willing to come over.

Well, I was happy I had my marshmallows and choco-bananas. To me, they were all that mattered for the bbq. Hehe. The sausages and garlic bread were next on the favourites list but everything else was really just extra. *Thumbs up!* So thank you again for helping me eat up the food. The leftover chicken were my lunch and dinner the next day. They're all gone now so all's good.

As for what happened that day...

Joo was thankfully around to ferry me to Tesco to get whatever else I thought I had to buy. Kenny and Voon came just as Joo was about to go home to bathe. Voon helped out in the kitchen, Kenny set up the pit with Dad and started the fire. Dear came a little later to help as well while I showered; after which I came down to set the table.

Everyone came at odd odd hours! Apparently the traffic that night was more appalling than usual. Some came at 8, some at 9, and there was one who came at 11.30. But that was for reasons other than traffic. (Still.) We played the "Mafia" game after the fire died. Played several rounds before Mei, Peng, Mun K, and Joo had to leave. It was a good thing Peng and Mei left their deck of cards with us. Everyone else who stayed back played a very odd version of Go Fish...

It was decided that the jelly (courtesy of Kenny's mom) had to go. And since there were many of us, and the deck sort of diminishes to nothingness very quickly, every time the deck finishes and someone has to go fish, they eat a jelly instead! Those who win first (finishes their cards in hand) has to eat jelly too; and those who lose (the last to finish their cards in hand) as well. After there were very little jelly left, we used choco-bananas too! I think we played until everything was gone.

It was fun! =D

Barbeque!

2008-02-15T20:42:00.000+08:00

February.5.2008:Tuesday

I've been craving for it for a while and I've finally decided to invite really close friends to come and accompany me to barbeque! =D So... if I've already called you and you know you're free, make sure you come to 'teman' me eat BBQ okie? XD

Oh! And this post will be a sticky for awhile until after February 15. =3

Details: -

Day / Date:	Friday / 15.February.2008
Venue:	Carolyn's House
Time:	Evening (7 p.m.) till Late...

(*Psst! Please bring board games!)

Present Guest-List (People who've actually replied...):
NHE, Mun K, CS, Chian, Voon, Joo, Kenny, Peng, Mei, Dear...

Quentin Crisp

2008-02-10T19:15:00.000+08:00

"The very purpose of existence is to reconcile the glowing opinion we have of ourselves with the appalling things that other people think about us."

Staying Healthy

2008-02-07T18:46:00.001+08:00

This morning, I heard a very interesting message from our senior pastor this CNY morning. 3 John 1:2 was a greeting for a friend of the apostle John. Our pastor says that John was the most spiritual apostle and in his letter he wishes his friend good health. It is an indication that a healthy body is just as important as a healthy spiritual life. (Here I remembered that there was a verse, 1 Cor 6:19, that says we should take care of our body, that is God's temple.) So yea, while wishing health to others may seem commonplace and ordinary, it's truly wishing for someone to have something as important as a healthy spiritual life.

Today, I've decided to list out the points I took back from the sermon. =)

3 John 1:2

Health is important; important for your spiritual life as well (as indicated by John).

Romans 12:2
Paul encourages us to be renewed in our minds.
We should be transformed by the renewal of the mind to be able to test and approve what God's will is.
To be transformed is a continuous process.
This mind renewing process concerns the understanding of God's will.
Our level of thinking should not be stagnant such that we do not understand God's will further.
There are three levels to understanding God's will.

Level 1: Taking good will (any good will) or good things to be from God.
Level 2: Seeking to understand what pleases God (through the understanding of the Bible).
Level 3: Seeking to understand what is God's perfect will.

Therefore, we should not limit ourselves to doing good things.
Do what pleases God.
Seek to understand His perfect will.
Most importantly, have a part in the fulfilment of God's perfect will.

He called us all to have a part in the church's cell group and to be involved in mission. Although, cell group is by no means separate from the church because as christians, we cannot be separated from the body life of the church. God's original plan was not for us to live alone. We are not to be separated from other people (your spouse, or family, or anyone from any race or gender on this earth). This should be our attitude.

Cell group is there to help us promote personal growth and church growth. The church itself has one purpose and one only: mission. The church exists for the very purpose of mission.

God won't forget our contributions. It's only possible if you have the desire. We should consider it as part of our lives. To be involved in mission. (I personally believe that if you want to contribute, God will provide.)

New Layout

2008-02-06T23:44:00.000+08:00

Wee~ I finally got a new template! The sidebar's wanting though... Too small for comfort. That said, my tag-board's presently off-site; so you'll have to click the link provided to drop a comment. (Sorry for the inconvenience.) Then again, might as well leave your lovely well appreciated comments in my posts. =)

I've added and removed stuff from my sidebar and left the rest as it is. My favourite verses and verse of the day are now links, unfortunately. I'll look into how I can actually have them displayed.

Well, if I can fix a certain other template with proper width, I'll be switching to that one! So, hehe, enjoy this new layout.

You know...

2008-02-05T21:11:00.001+08:00

Today's observation...
"You know you're in love when you order your darling's favourite dish instead of your own... even when she/he isn't there."

February.5.2008:Tuesday
Sigh... I didn't get to go out today... So sad... Was supposed to go shopping but couldn't in the end. It didn't help that mom was so stressed at home... (Why do I always get picked at? x.x) She never fails to make me feel like the perfect daughter gone all wrong... Like a failure... A dream that almost came true but didn't in the end...

If you haven't already guessed, I'm presently feeling blue. Staying at home didn't help. Though the nap in the afternoon did help the "not thinking about anything". I was happily about to write about the New Year cookies I got recently when a certain someone couldn't stop herself from berating about sharing with the rest of the family. (What does she want? Have me report to her everything I do or get or encounter? Does she need a report on how many breaths I took today?)

Gah... I lost my mood to even blog...