The Sky never was the Limit...with God

a Breather

2012-01-21T22:04:00.001+08:00

Ithank God for a chance to pause and relax, even if just for a short while. Thetrip to Awana and Genting was indeed well-timed and it was just so fun to hangout with my good friends and chill, literally and figuratively.

Timesare hectic, but it all boils down to how much time you want to throw into yourstudies, which will depend on what kind of grades you’re aiming for, which willdepend on your goals and motivations; whether you want to excel or not, it’sall up to you.

Iwant to do the best I can, with help from above.

Therehas to be a balance, and it is right now. Settled pictures and collages anduploads. A whole new set of lecture notes just came in, so it’s back to theediting stage for me after this post.

ChineseNew Year is like tomorrow, and there will inevitably be lots of eating (No……).

Mywhole body is aching after a 22-hour period of being awake, that included 3hours of badminton, plus plenty of travelling, and walking around Genting on foot,at 11:30pm to pass by the helipad. Hahaha. We were like chilling ourselves atthe Coffee Bean after walking to find it (circling Genting for half an hour).As the years pass, the group that comes for our annual gathering gets smaller.Sad, of course, but for those who come, the time spent together becomes evenmore meaningful. After all, you can’t laugh about the times you played till 4amlaughing like crazy, not feeling sleepy despite the natural laws of energyusage and defying the usual norms, to every one of your friends. Some friendsare more special than others.

Godhas been good to me. I haven’t fallen sick. Neither have I been involved inanything nasty or debilitating. My family is intact, strong and healthy. Myfriends are comforting and supportive. The important ones are safe. There havebeen many instances when there was divine intervention in the course of mydaily life. Prayer is a powerful weapon that we often underuse. Studies areprogressing at a good rate, which will be upped over the next 40 days up to theperiod of the examination. My notes are going to finally come to the end – all 193sets of notes. If I had not edited the notes, I would have had an extra 200 oddhours to do other stuff. But I have no regrets. Edited notes are clearer andeasier to read, in addition to saving my paper and printer toner and reducingmy carrying weight. I constantly pray for wisdom and strength for I am unableto survive without either attribute.

Thenext week of holiday shall pose a challenge. Praise God for the determinationto continue to push on! Till then.

- - - - - - Pictures - - - - - -

The Trip.

in the middle of the night.

In IMU

meet an energy-drained Charlyene. She's usually FULL of energy. Poor thing. =/

I just had to take a picture of the three of them with their legs like that.

apparently Salha is entering the modelling business

Some more of our lecturers.

with Chien Chong and Jia Yi. She dyed her hair. Ooo.

3-week-late-to-upload pictures. Haha.

From our beloved mentor. All the way from Sri Lanka!

The chocolates are from Tim. And the biscuit (unfolded love letter?) from Ee Von. So nice of them.

TUNA went to a CNY dinner. It was great! Hahahaha =)

and that concludes this blog post. Perhaps if I posted more often, the posts would take less time. Oh well. *shrugs*

Boom! 2012

2012-01-08T01:02:00.000+08:00

I literally ushered the New Year in studying. At the stroke of midnight on January 1, 2012, I was studying. Lol. And will be studying all the way till the exams are over. There is not enough time left. A hundred and ninety-six lectures to cover within a span of 40-odd effective days (having excluded some days for CNY and non-productivity). That's like four days for each of the ten themes. In other words: NOT Enough Time.

But God has been good. =)
Thank God for the realisation that I need to study more. And thank God I passed the recent test, though there still is room for improvement (as always).
Thank God for great health and for great friends.
Thank God for life.

Gordon is in NS now. House is rather quiet in his absence. =/

On an unrelated note, I shall note to myself that I always scrimp and save so I can buy nice stuff. It's like a reward for saving with the thrill that comes when I buy something nice. E.g. a nice meal/drink/tech gadget. Haha. Signing off. It's 1am. Early to bed, early to rise... when both times are in the morning.. this applies to those who need to study a lot. =.='

and this is something I made for Vanessa. It's nice! =D

a Five Minute Post

2011-12-31T01:09:00.001+08:00

Can Ido it? There are 5 minutes to the last tourney horn of the tournament. Then toBed. Badminton tomorrow morning. It has been a whirlwind the past fewdays. Time flies. Exceptionally when you're having fun.

Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows was indeed inspiring, both mentally andlinguistically. A feast for the logical and those who like to analyse things, Ienjoyed the movie a lot.

We were at Fraser's for two days, too. It was totally fun. =) We did stuff thatno IMU student would be doing during the holidays (I think), like eating simplefood cooked over open flames in cold weather. Braving the fog, mist and rain -we were literally in the rain because we were in the clouds as the rain droppedfrom within the cloud, so we got wet too. Food tastes so much better when youhave to cook it in the cold winds. Hahaha. Under an umbrella. =D

Fraser's Pictures.

It's THAT misty.

Time passes too fast.

I have to realign my priorities yet again. And there is little time left to the final showdown. It is imperative that things get done. FAST. God, I pray for a blessed new year for me and my family and my friends, that you will bless us oh so much, and that you will enlarge our territories, and that your Hand will be upon us, and that you will keep us from evil. Amen!

2011 has been an eventful year full of changes, and 2012 is set to be an even better year! Here's to a wonderful year of hard work ahead! *clinks toast glass*

Done. 5 minutes. Without the pictures. Lol.

p.s. Pictures took me another 15 minutes. Need faster internet. Lol. Goodnight.

Christmas 2011

2011-12-25T23:47:00.000+08:00

It's Jesus's birthday! And here I am sitting down feeling stuffed after a Christmas lunch with my cellgroup members. Church service was a very carol-ly awesome affair with loads of handshaking and a good reminder about the ways God uses (which are often not the norm) to bring about His sovereign plan to come to pass.

My Christmas present from the WiFi router was to finally allow my laptop to connect to the wireless network (which is why I get to blog right now). Thank God too for a new planner for 2012! And I was all prepared to recycle my 2011 planner (that I had already drawn out the whole calendar on in the unused space)

I have had a very fun-filled weekend. =) Outings and chat sessions and badminton and movie. Thank God for great friends =)

Praise the Lord for an absolutely AWESOME Christmas production, Two From Galilee, which was an amazing success! The whole crew and cast worked their hearts out and for the three nights, it was, in the words of Nigel, (our manager who gives speeches to inspire us and stuff like that, really good stuff) a well-oiled machine. We just kept rolling on and gave our 100%. God is good. I thank God for my friends who managed to make it too.

some exclusive shots from the crew's perspective

we had Loads of FUN too.

The past month has been pretty eventful, with my running to Lowyat and the adjacent buildings about 6 or 7 times to get some issues settled and some gifts purchased, and the month also saw the first ever Formative OSCE being held for my batch in IMU. Thank God I managed to get through it pretty well. =) My batch is the guinea pig batch for the new syllabus, and there are bound to be bugs and glitches, and yes, there were some. Issues are being ironed out as time goes on, with assurance that each day will bring improvements. Thank God for a great batch representative that really takes the initiative and has the drive to get things done.

I also fell victim to viral fever twice over 14 days in the past month, but thank God for His healing hands, and for prayers from friends. =)
Right now I have a nagging feeling that I should settle this blog post as fast as I can so I can move on to other stuff so I will be able to finish my studying later. I have like 2 months to cover the syllabus of the whole semester (which is actually two semesters plus plus combined into one semester under the new syllabus) so I can be adequately prepared for the end of Semester exam, which is the real McCoy.

Some Shots.

Badminton gatherings!

Previous snapshots of IMU stuff. =)

A Tuna Dinner thanks to Timothy's generous family. =)

And this was to kick off Christmas celebrations. :D

And Emery is missing from this year's picture. Haha

Have a very Merry Christmas!

Monday.

2011-11-28T12:05:00.001+08:00

A rare public holiday, it isindeed. And what do I choose to do with it? I wake up at 6am and studyimmunology. Motivation abounding within. I thank God for failure, for it haswoken me up to the reality that I cannot survive with zero studying in IMU. (that'sactually totally obvious but I have spent the past 3 months not studying savethe 40 odd minutes I spend in the LRT everyday).

So I failed the latest formative assessment, which was expected,but not by a big margin actually, considering the lack of time I invested in mystudies. Honestly, I would have plenty of time to study if I didn't spend somuch time editing my notes before I print them out, but I'm fussy about that soyeah. Anyway I sped up the note-editing process and have started my studies. Itfeels good to have taken a break from studying all the time.

I have become even more aware of the importance of timemanagement. After all, everyone has but 24 hours a day. It's how you use itthat matters. As such, I have had to determine my priorities. (not so easy)

But I thank God for grace and mercy and peace. And for kind soulswho help alleviate the confusion and desperation.

The best thing about failing the formative assessment is that it'sabsolutely okay to fail it. No penalties. No penalties even if you don't takethe test. So it was a good wake-up call to start the machinery going. Now thatI have a good gauge of what level of proficiency I have by just attendinglectures, I can be surer of what I need to do in order to achieve that elusiveA, for the glory of God. For God's strength is made perfect in my weaknessestherefore I shall boast all the more about my weaknesses. I know it makes nosense to the logical human mind. But the Bible is often like that. Some things,we cannot always understand, because our minds are unable to fathom theirinherent meaning.

Now to catch up on 3 months' worth of studies! I know I'll makeit, because with God, NOTHING is impossible. =)

Snapshots of stuff.

isn't his demeanour interesting? :D

some of the dishes we ate for the RM30 Buffet which ends this Wednesday.

Us after Tintin, which by the way, is like totally awesome because the graphics are so real that you can believe that the animated characters are not actual humans in flesh on screen. If it were a PC game, the graphics would be rated 100/10 because it's 3D in appearance though it's actually 2D.

In IMU - Christmas performances at the Driveway!

to let it Go

2011-11-18T22:02:00.001+08:00

the past 3 weeks have been, for a lack of better words, Confusing and Confounding.

It's not the academic content of the course (whichis definitely confusing AND confounding), but it's more of what I've been goingthrough, which has more to do with a testing and a realisation of my own faith and purpose, and how it all fitsinto Christianity.

You have to firstof all understand that we humans were CREATEDby God. Yes. Created. Now I had no problems with this because I've pretty muchbeen a born and bred Christian. Unfortunately, the irony lies therein. Therewas a lack of thirst and hunger for the truth, or more of avoid of desire to know more about this awesome God which I worship every singlemoment of my transient life.

I have this coursewhich I attended, and still am attending called Two ways to Live, to blame for all my current troubles. Actually Ihave to thank God for leading me to this course for it has indeed opened up myeyes to a lot of things which I took for granted and never bothered to enquiremore about before. It has in that sense changed a great deal of my perspectiveand also influenced how I walk with God. It is for this reason that every daynow is different. It is just simply absolutely different.

Now why is itdifferent? Before this, I was simply a normal Christian, possibly substandard,now that I have some clear standards to compare myself to - to take up my crossevery day and to deny myself (which means to DIE to myself and surrender ALL toHim every day), and to Follow Him.

Now this may seemlike a Christian spouting a sermon but this was, is and still is and will be afresh revelation for me - that everything is part of God's Plan, and that the Plan is to Unite all things of reality in Christ for the Glory of the Father.Logically speaking from the secular point of view, that makes absolutely nosense. And yes, because the ways of God are not the ways of Man. After all, GodMADE Man. Can you expect a computer program to understand how its programmerprogrammed it?

In short, I wasdeeply moved when my eyes were opened and I started to question many things andget answers from various sources, most notably the Bible and pastors/Christianleaders. It isn't that I never knew.. it's more of that I didn't reallyrealise. The full impact didn't hit me. Now it has. And so I live each dayknowing that God has planned everything and I just need to Love God, Love myneighbour as myself, and to Love each other in the Church. And I need to walkwith God and grow closer to Him. I need to become close enough to call God myFriend, and also Heavenly Father. It makes no sense to the human that God can be our Friend and Father, but thatis the way it is.

God is good. Allthe time.

As I look back atthe journey along which I have been over the years, I see now that everythingwas most accurately planned out allalong from the beginning, though I never knew it at that time. It is mostdefinitely the work of God orchestrating every event. HOW He does it, I have noidea, and don't hope to ever understand, for He is Indescribable. No amount ofwords would amount to even part of God, for He is Holy, LORD God Almighty whomwe will bow down and worship and fall flat and just worship everyday and singpraises to and adore everyday every moment in Heaven. Heaven will be awesome. But am I ready for Heaven?

the Conundrummakes itself known. Because the Bible clearly states that we are to go forthand spread the Good News and to bring in the harvest of souls for the extensionof His Kingdom, and to do that, we have to be thoroughly equipped with theSword of the Spirit, so where does that leave us in the aspect of the balanceof how we live our daily lives?

I have to admitthat I have never studied the Word of God anywhere as much as I have pored overacademic books. I am guilty of this offence. However, if I had not beenstudying that much, I wouldn't end up with this scholarship with which I am nowstudying at IMU under the umbrella of the Malaysian government, and so Iwouldn't have had the opportunity to join Two Ways to Live, and so I wouldn'thave realised (at least with the particular course) that there was so muchrevelation I was missing out on. Roundabout story but yeah.

I blog to let out stuff and to throw upmy own insights for the purpose of keeping myself and others informed of what'sgoing on here in my life and what God is doing. It helps that nowadays peopledon't really read blogs, so I get to have a pretty private blog right Here.Lol.

Anyway I have beenstruggling with all the revelations over the past few days especially, and Ithank God for Jia Yi - my discussion/debatepartner in Christ and my father, whohas been extremely patient with me with my incessant questioning.

I don't know verymuch about medicine despite having been in the course for about 2.5 months now.I thank God for the many gifts He has given me and I know that I have to usethem to glorify Him, and that means that I really should start studying. Ipassed my previous formative assessment without studying a single bit. It'slike THANK YOU GOD but at the same time sobering because I know that I cannothandle it by myself. *pauses to think awhile and reflect*

AND.. I foreseemyself not studying for the next formative assessment, which will be thiscoming Friday. Perhaps just a little. My day consists of taking the LRT andstudying in the LRT. Those two sessions in the train are practically the ONLYtimes I study besides listening in the lectures and while I edit my notesbefore printing them out. Oh and my time is largely occupied with editing thenotes so they are clearer and better formatted so I can print them 8 slides toa page. It's an obsession but I believe it will pay off in the long run when Iactually revise with the notes.

I am using a S-LEDPrinter by Fuji Xerox and I justbought my second toner cartridge today - RM189. Much pricier than what most ofmy coursemates are using - pirated canon MP258 for which the refills are RM10 abottle. A compromise for substandard quality though. I am investing in mynotes. And I'm blogging from my very own Laptop! Thank God for ASUS. The laptop is absolutely AWESOME.And also my Phone.. all of whichhave left my bank account dry and broken into pieces.. at least until the nextallowance comes in.

I thank God thatIMU is easily accessible by LRT, so I can save on accommodation and dinner. Iprobably have the cheapest lifestyle of an IMU student. I scrooge on lunch -averaging RM2.50 a meal. Basically it's very different from what others aredoing. By definition, students in IMU who aren't on scholarship have to haveabout half a million ringgit at least to be spent on their education alone, soyes, they have to have some kind of financial backing. But thank God for Hisgrace and mercy. To not compare myself with them takes phenomenal strength andwillpower but He is always good.

I also thank Godfor the fast internet in IMU. Downloading stuff is very much easier now, withthe average speed I get of 200kB/s compared to at home, but hey, I'm notcomplaining. =)

In retrospect,life is indeed very Good. I just need to pray and continue to work and to findthe balance and at the same time, ask Him for Peace.

to let it Go. Ithere refers to my desires, my plans, my dreams, my hopes and my longings.Everything I've ever wanted to do or aspired to do. All I purposed myself todo. I need to realign. REALIGN with what God wants me to do. It's that simple.But not so simple to do. But He'll guide me I'm sure.

On a lighter note,there's BADMINTON tomorrow! =) can'twait to run and sweat. Lol.

Random Pics.

Huan De and I

My Mentor. She is awesomely motherly and super caring =)

Sri Lankan sweets she bought us!

Cheese Naan. Thank you Jia Yi for convincing me (and the rest of the table too) to buy it. =D

Group Photo session. Haha =)

Part of Phamaco notes..

Siesta session.

Annabel and Jia Yi!

Our most dedicated and caring and kind (though often unappreciated by many students) Pharmaco Lecturer. I admire him a lot.

PBL Outing to watch In Time. Awesome time!

In the MMS and Pathology Lab. Great lecturer =)

Random snapshots in lectures.

My latest Photoshop project and profile picture =) it's nice =) very nice. =D

my Shoe sole. Lol!

Maxi's birthday - we had a Jelly Cake for her and Ji Ching brought porridge and Eric gave her a 5-pack of Vitagen. She was so touched. Awww. =)

That's all for now. Time to hit the Sack. God bless =)

After Twenty Days

2011-10-29T17:33:00.002+08:00

.. I have gone through many things.. Including... Buying a new phone... Customising the new phone... Fretting over stuff not being transferred from the old phone to the new phone.. Wasting a lot of time trying to transfer stuff from the old phone to the new phone... Rejoicing once the stuff was transferred successfully.. Enjoying the experience of the new phone.. And spending more time updating other newfangled aspects of the phone. Lol.

.. And also edited a lot of notes. I have a deeply-rooted negative perception towards notes uploaded in pdf format right now. So much work just to remove the graphics while retaining the important diagrams. Thank God for software like FinePrint. But still. Powerpoint format please! =/

.. And I sat for the formative assessment and passed it though I did not study a single bit (confession of a guilty person.) Now to start studying.. . after I finish this post.. Hahaha.

.. I am amazed at the speed at which technology renews itself. 5 years has made a lot of difference. AMD APUs are AWESOME. I am still incapable of slowing that PC down. >.< Hahaha!

.. The speed of Wi-Fi in IMU is a true Godsend.
.. The IMU Cup has concluded itself. Bowling Bronze! Yeah =D

Lecture notes are piling up. Piling up. And up and up and up. Time zooms by without taking a breather. It just keeps moving. And people don't seem to notice. But that's to be expected. Thank God for great people in my life. =) everyday they count to make a difference.

The incessant rush of the train of new names. Has the count hit 175? 200? Or more? I am not sure myself. Names of people. This doesn't include names of parts of the body. There are 206 bones, to begin with. And how about the muscles? And the parts of the gastrointestinal tract, brain, nervous system, heart and the other organs?

Whatsapp is truly a Godsend too. Hahaha. =)

Tomorrow I will be back at the community service project. Knocking on doors to inform people about the colon cancer screening drive that the NGO is organising. This particular activity never fails to remind me that I am indeed blessed by God.

The all night prayer meeting was Awesome! Never prayed till 2.30am before. Malaysia needs God. The people need God. We all need God. And God is here. We just need to reach out and be willing. And let Him do what He needs to. Not as easy as it seems though.

One day I shall have the time to blog properly.. not like how I'm doing it now (random mismatch of passing thoughts and emotions). But till that day comes, this type of posts will have to do.

On another note, I'm currently scrimping and saving on my daily expenses to cover the cost of paying for my new Phone and upcoming Laptop. Thank God for the scholarship =) I wouldn't be studying in IMU if not for it. Money management 101!

Mugshots at PBL. =D

Before Lecture.

Maximum Mishap with printer. =P

In Lecture.

Stuff TUNA does - Celebrate Yu Hui's birthday. Hahaha. =)

JIA YI!!!!

I assume she doesn't really like it. =P

And these are pictures from the Cheerleading Competition. Finale of IMU Cup. =D it was great =)

Look at all the medals! =D

Those behind me. Lol.

After the event.

Our bowling team. We won Bronze!

above: epic score by carmen. hahaha! =)

And that's it for this post. Done!

Stuff at Uni

2011-10-09T20:25:00.001+08:00

Time seriously flies at IMU, together with the expectation in terms of lecture content covered. I have yet to finish studying whatever I'm supposed to study, and I don't foresee myself doing so within the next 2 weeks. However, I appreciate the time I've had to gather my thoughts and realign my thinking pattern to the style present here. Friends are always helpful and have definitely taken my mind off problems from day to day, and I really thank God for great people in IMU.

The importance of prioritising is paramount once in the University. What activities are more important? Why are they important? Is this particular meeting worth my time? Should I stay back to attend this gathering? To go for this event or that event? Or to stay in the library and study? Or to head back to the alluring comfort of home? Questions abound and bombard the senses each day.

There was a day which I mentally broke down and just tuned out. Zoned out. I just sat there outside the library with nothing entering my mind. I was blank. Thank God for sending an angel to help me. =) I realise that there is a time for every season, including a season of being emotional.

Deciding my commitments has not been easy, but right now most of my scheduled activities are either linked to the church or to the IMU CF, and temporarily, the Draco bowling team practices. Competition's on this Saturday! I have never played bowling this frequently in my entire life. It helps that the price at Endah parade is so much cheaper than in KL. RM3 per game and RM2 for the shoes. Wow. That's at student price, of course.

Everybody's flying everywhere. Those in Malaysia are still here, but I don't really have much time to arrange for meetings. I wish there was more free time. However, free time will always be taken up by something, be it studies or activities, or reading the newspapers (yes, I still do cling to the physical newspaper and now I've discovered the IMU newpaper and magazine corner, Life's Good. LG). Yes, time is man-made.

In times of trouble, I turn to God, and He helps me. By grace, I have always been blessed of God. I don't deserve it, but He has blessed me so abundantly that I can only sing His praises and worship Him. Nothing else higher, nothing else above. I have to keep that in mind.

Anatomy calls out to me. I have abandoned it today in favour of my blog. Hahaha.

The reputation of candid cameraman still sticks to me. Oh well.

Pictures of random stuff taken during university hours and off university hours. Hahaha.

this is the Auditorium - where we have almost all our lectures. Taken early in the morning.

Somehow the people who stay the furthest always reach the earliest. Ironical paradox.

Though this picture isn't exactly crystal clear, those plasters are Doraemon plasters!

A typical session in the Audi.

p.s. this represents a minority of people, not everybody lest I be besieged with complaints.

Some of our dedicated and (actually they're often very humorous) awesome lecturers.

Tuna people!

Tuna in the Library. Collaborative Study Area.

(not the right place to study in silence - that's the Quiet Study Area for that)

A Medical Museum Session (MMS). Seriously interesting.

Shi Han and her pastime of tying peoples' shoelaces together. Hahaha.

Randon stuff. The gift turned out to be a prank. =.='

The Three Musketeers. =D

During a PBL session. Dr Jo is awesome! We have the most interesting lecturer of all. He can quote Shakespeare and link all manner of stuff to our learning issues. Definitely proud to have him in charge. =D

This is termed as a Check Point a.k.a. gather and chat while actually on the way to some place. Hahahaha.

Charlyene and Yu Hui being kids. =P

Food! Zendra's curry mee. Photoshopped to look different. =D

Cheesecake making session at our Group 2 HQ.

Actually eating the Cheesecake. Mind you, it was GOOD.

After the Charity Home Visit.

A seriously PRICEY lo mai kai (RM5.10 after tax) from Luk Yu Tea House in the food court.

In hindsight, it was really tasty but I still can't justify its price. I'm not that rich. Hahaha.

A trip.. this time to a Korean restaurant.

Have to thank the dedicated drivers. =)

Portraits.

and at the Cafe.

this was in conjunction with Diwali Week.

Banana Leaf Rice!

Random.

Tuna outing.

in support of women.

pharmacokinetics notes.

x-ray.

KLIA

2011-10-09T18:28:00.001+08:00

The day arrived. I took the train there. It was super fast. I could feel the acceleration of the train as my body pressed into the seat. And all too soon, it was over. The meeting was happy but not quite long enough. But it was good. And I thank God for the opportunity to be there. One day, I too shall fly. Godwilling.

Goodbye. You made my life different. =) thank you

Over and Over

2011-10-05T19:27:00.001+08:00

No time to blog properly. Unfortunately a large amount of my time is taken up with editing and printing my own notes as the default format that I download would consume a lot of toner upon printing.

IMU has been quite a whirlwind so far. Quirkiness of certain lecturers aside, I find the ecosystem here to be very appealing. However, time management is proving to be stressful. Never have I had to figure out when to do everything so thoroughly. It would help a lot if my allowance was already in, but it isn't, and I am getting by with a 2-digit bank balance till it comes in (hopefully this week).

The people in IMU are a friendly bunch, in a nutshell, and I like them. All sorts though, and not all are good, but most are.

I feel a deep frustration burning within me with regards to time wastage. God help me overcome this enemy. There are so many lectures that I haven't studied yet, and time will only bring more topics to cover. Ultimately I'll be swamped with undone work if I don't start covering some ground.

It's certainly a world which has its parameters determined by the mindful student. The more conscientious the person is, the more likely his or her time will be wisely utilised, and vice versa. There has to be a balance, though. I cannot study 24/7. Something in me is stopping me from studying as much as I used to. Is it laziness? Or boredom? Or burnout? Or just plain retaliation at the years of attending to books and questions? There is no time. I have to start. Somewhere. Pharmacokinetics will be a good place to begin my journey. I have studied only 2 lectures out of the 40-odd which have come and gone.

This post is serving as an outlet for me to ramble on about stuff which has been bugging me. If you don't understand, don't worry.

Time a-whizzing

2011-09-17T11:47:00.001+08:00

A special dedication note to Nigel Lum - Yes I still remember you =D we still have yet to meet and catch up. Awaiting your reply. Lol.

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Another two weeks have passed and time seems to melt away as the days pass with each blink. I still don't feel like a medical student despite the fact that after yesterday, I have no excuse to start studying. I have all the books I need and the facilities, thank God. I constantly praise Him for providing for my needs. Even through the gales and winds, through sickness and health, He will guide me. It is through my daily experiences that I realise more and more that I have to depend on Him.

IMU requires a strict, disciplined control over one's time. I'm already missing the orientation because now studies have started and I believe I'm very behind schedule in terms of studies and revision and preparation.

Orientation was indeed ABSOLUTELY fun. I had the time of my life getting into all sorts of activities which I never imagined myself doing. Looking forward to going back as a senior. Hahaha! I have awesome group members and we all had tons and tons of pure fun. Right now we still gather and have lunch after sitting in lectures together and stuff.

Throughout this course so far, I have managed to meet people from many different paths of life. Everyone seems to have their story to tell of how they ended up in IMU. Apart from the JPA scholars, of course (we all have similar stories)

Random note - I never expected that so many students in IMU know how to dance.
Another random note - Swype keypad is amazing! Thank you Annabel! =D

I really wish time would slow down. I don't want to miss the chance to smell the roses.

Vanessa is flying off in a week's time. =/

I wish my flu would be cured once and for all.

Random note - Fuji Xerox makes AWESOME printers.
I hope Asus brings the UX21 to Malaysia pronto. Awaiting its arrival in anticipation and with bated breath. =)

Pictures!

Empat Sekawan

Awesome view from Eric's unit.

At Amirah's open house where we had amazing food and Lecture. Hahaha.

Discreet shot of Annabel

At a Lunch

First Aid Exam!

Planning phase of the promotional video

At the Park

We actually created a Facebook account for him. Hahahaha. Later we found out he was a Spy.

Candid shots.

PBL.

Sahan looks like a salesman or a camera stand. Hahahah!

Rehearsal for the Sketch. Green Lantern II! Awesome job we did I think. Hahaha.

Jonah/Joshua.

Shi Han can dance! Awesome.

Viva Session aka Interview and Discuss personal stuff session.

Tuna and MadRace

2011-09-02T23:14:00.000+08:00

The past two weeks have been totally awesome. IMU Orientation followed by the Mad Race Camp and currently recuperating and Badminton. I have never had to remember SO MANY peoples' names within such a short time in my entire life before. But it was definitely memorable. And the orientation isn't over yet! Next week it will continue. The track trip was pretty much an eye-opener for me because apparently my knowledge of how to walk in KL was superbly handy and mostly absent from the others. =P

Rolling in dirty water on the carpark floor over the other guys. Welcome to IMU orientation. Never expected it to be so much fun and outstandingly outlandish. Anyway the brunt of it is over.. I think. Many new friends in IMU. And also reunion with old friends, surprisingly. =) God is indeed Good.

The Mad Race Camp was another awesome event. Also made quite a few new friends =) All great people, of course. Hahahaha. And we all had loads of fun at camp. Will try my best to make it for the next camp, whenever that is. IMU schedule is quite .. devoid of Holidays. Minus the fact that the average class length in a day is two hours, the next non-public holiday will be after Christmas. But I want to watch Johnny English Reborn. (will find the time to do so)

People are going to be flying off soon. Sadly, yeah.

University is going to be absolutely awesome, by God's grace!.
Apparently I'm leading worship tomorrow at CG. Kinda nervous. Oh well.

God bless =)

MBS Boys' Reunion!!

Track Trip and Tuna Orientation

The Auditorium

Part of the sketch/drama of Tuna

Track Trip briefing

Assembling cut-up pictures

I took this from the bus.. =D

MAD RACE CAMPERS. MAD RACERS.

Awesome roommates cum team members! =)

The pretty lights before they were turned off, leaving us all in the dark. =/

the awesome Foursome.. =P

Epic pictures of Abigail. =D

that's Russel doing his "punishment"

our distinguished Speaker. =)

the most Maddening part of the Mad Race - sorting beans. =.=

a Flash photo taken on the way back.. hahahah

NS GANG MEETUP

BADMINTON BUDDIES GAME

The Four

2011-08-18T13:04:00.000+08:00

It recently occurred to me that the four of us have been pretty much close since the days of our birth. Whether it was because our parents were all in the same church, or that we made up the first batch of the church's Toddlers, or that we were simply of the same age, there must have been something to allow us to have this common bond. After digging up an old picture, I have cobbled together a small collection which shows the four of us at 6 years of age and as of now, twenty. It has been a long time, and time certainly flies. We have chosen quite different paths, which only adds to the diversity within the unity of the friendship.

Perhaps in the future, there will be another picture, when we are forty or something. But I certainly thank God for wonderful friends of old, yes of old. Old friends have something which new friends can only grow into - a specific familiarity and close-ness. We click easily. And somehow you can trust old friends better than new friends. Not to discriminate, but old friends have a distinct "unfair" advantage. You also hold more knowledge about them and their behaviour. They may change somewhat over the years, but still you know them pretty well.

Here's to the four of us - Amelia, Abigail, Emery and myself. To the years of friendship to come! *cheers*

Abigail

Emery

Amelia

We were laughing later over these pictures because they were taken simultaneously by two cameras. Haha

The shop which I couldn't get into because I didn't come early enough to.

Those Days

2011-08-16T13:47:00.000+08:00

that was one FUN day.

In retrospect, it has never been easy to pull people together for a gathering. Whether for a game of badminton, a movie, a lunch or a chat session, there will be numerous obstacles which usually result in a marked decrease in the number of attendees. This is all in the perspective of social gatherings of friends, of course. However, when a gathering does take place, it always makes the effort put in all worthwhile. Moments shared together will remain in memory way longer than any other experiences, because one day you can look back and say "I was with and when we did ".

More often than not, a face-to-face meetup trumps a virtual chat session. (I have been off MSN for over two years now and I don't feel that I've missed anything, thanks to regular get-together sessions with buddies)
But as the years go by, each meet-up becomes more valuable as we drift apart, socially and physically. Time becomes more precious, and we get bogged down with work and study commitments. Some turn lazy and cynical, but some keep pushing on, for reunions and bonding sessions and fun times.

I pray for all my friends out there, that God may bless them abundantly and keep them safe, guarded with His angels, always watching out for their safety and wellbeing. I pray too that they will be wise and swift to act when the moment calls for it, and constantly vigilant in the quest to uphold honour and dignity which encompasses the pillars of their character. That they will be strong and not give in to untoward temptations that attempt to wreak havoc on the very nature of their own existence. That the weather will be forgiving towards them and that they will have joy and innermost peace in their souls. That one day we will meet again.

Saturday

2011-08-15T10:44:00.000+08:00

Remember the day we walked up the hill, to be told the court was going to be renovated in 15 minutes' time..

Was a fully-packed day that saw me running to town for badminton, walking up and down and around with Jack Kee to find a badminton court, meeting Emery and deciding to play later instead of watching a movie to make up for not playing badminton, having the cheapest lunch in KL (mixed rice for RM3.60 thank you Kum Lian Kee restaurant, with 4 bowls of FREE soup).

I am kinda upset that they want to close down the shop that sells the BEST Lo Mai Kai (steamed glutinous rice with chicken) in town. Come on. RE-ROUTE the MRT!

Then we played. Got overbilled because I don't speak adequate Cantonese (ARGH).

Showered. Bwahahah Emery. =P
Then Emery and I rushed to KLCC and ambushed Harvin. Lol.
Talked and talked and ate and laughed and laughed and talked. It was superbly Fun.

Rushed back and got to the Dinner Function. Uncle David/Aunty Chin Chin/Stephanie/Jonathan's house. Haha. Met AMELIA Ong there (so difficult to contact her and there she appears coolly walking into the house. LOL.

Interrogated Amelia (and Steph and Sarah and Jonathan Foong and others too actually) over dinner.
Had more fun and photo sessions. Group pic isn't with me.. it's with the DSLR owner.. Lol..

God bless all those who are going back to USA for their studies.. =D

Should "Holiday"?

2011-08-12T17:50:00.000+08:00

Aloe Vera

I've been having trouble getting up as early as I want to recently. The alarm rings, I turn it off and continue sleeping. This occurs with up to 10 alarms. Sometimes the alarm just dies off. Apparently it can give up too. I pity my alarm. Anyway, if I don't sleep in now, I don't know when I'll get to do so in the future, as all I can see in the next ten years or so is work, work and more work. Thank God for holidays. These are the times I can just laze around (not something I'm normally inclined toward, mind you), sit around editing pictures and playing with Photoshop all day, in addition to quenching my thirst and addiction for Civilization IV, which is indeed addictive.

Something I just created. Took about 45 minutes.

The phrase "just.. one.. more.. turn.. " certainly lives it out in Civ IV. The insatiable longing to advance your civilization by just one more turn belongs to the game; it is INHERENT in the game. ADDICTION is unavoidable. It is, in the words of my friend Jun Tung, "a very long game of chess", only it is way beyond the fun levels of chess. I actually got this game a long time ago.. about 5 years back, but I only discovered its complexity and madness last month. Computer games require a luxury of time which I only have now. Probably not next time, sadly.

Meeting up with friends is also on the agenda for these holidays, especially before they fly off/leave/migrate/disappear into oblivion etc... With Facebook and Skype, there IS a means of communication, but Facebook can never come even close to a face-to-face conversation. That is something I've learned all too well over the past few years. Chatting with people who have their feet planted in a highly different path of life brings your own path into perspective. Do you really want to live your life the way you are doing? Would you be happier or better off doing something else. Is the struggle to become a Doctor, and then living out the life of a Doctor all worth it? Many trains of thought have ploughed their way through my mind, and that is one of the reasons for the over-activity of my brain at night, causing me to lose some sleep. Strategies for Civ IV also plague my sleeping time, but that's to be expected. Haha.

One of the many projects we did in school.

Life passes by very fast. Its effects are most noticeable in people whom I've lost touch with then one day discover on Facebook or some other site. People change a lot, and easily too. I think I've changed, too. You can learn a lot by observing people and talking to people. People-watching is a hobby, too.

Metro has turned 29! Thank God for 29 years of grace!

I went back to school. Everything was the same.. including the teachers, but I felt OLD... apart from a few people, I didn't know a single soul in the student classes. Gone are the days when I had everyone's name and class stored away safely in my mind. (thanks to being a Prefect, which was totally great actually. *big grin* )

The country is in dire straits, and any further details would cause the one voicing out his or her views to be dragged and hauled to trial in court for insinuation and derogatory remarking besides being labelled a traitor and evildoer. God help Malaysia, for it is INDEED a beautiful country that deserves better. We need to include our country in our prayers. Let the rain fall down. And rain Hard.

Desire to blog is often bubbled forth during inopportune moments, and sadly so. More often than not, I have the urge to blog about something, but do not have the chance to do so due to certain circumstances, and by the time I do Blog, the ideas and inspiration have been thrown to the wind, blown away like chaff, never to be found again.

Now that everybody's going or already have gone everywhere, it's just a matter of time before everybody will be busy working and climbing up the ladder in the rat race of life. Or at least most of them will be. I don't know. I'm the nostalgic kind, always wishing for the good old days. They are OVER. The time is NOW and it's totally different. Every new day is a New Day, with different rules and patterns to follow. Adaptation is key, and God's help is necessary to survive.

Without a purpose, life is pretty much a shambling shoddy shame. I thank God for giving me a purpose (at least for now before He changes it). I know of people who have not much direction. They are lost. Pray for them. Drifting from moment to moment. You will never be satisfied with what you have unless you know that what you have is actually adequate and you should be thankful for it. Because with human nature, we always want more, better, bigger, pricier, classier, nicer, prettier, shinier, tastier, stronger, faster, and such characteristics of material belongings or connections with other people. When will the longing stop?

It hits me again and again that I'm TWENTY. Big number and big implications. The fact that I'm a lot slower than most of my peers (in the study sense) is pretty fun. They're getting out of Uni in a year and a half, and I'm not even in Uni! But then again, we're all going to be working till retirement so why rush to start? (my point of view as a scholarship holder; if I had to pay my own way, I'd probably be rushing too)

Two spirits I need to take down. The Spirit of procrastination and that of selfishness. Argh. Also addiction (to computer games, Civ IV in particular), and also impatience. Like Lester said, it takes a LOT to be a humble person. I shall persevere in this arena because Jesus was Humble and I want to be like Him (though I'm a long long long long way off) so I shall do my best and keep trying.

I have a bone to pick with Facebook. I don't like the way only certain friends show up in my news feed. Facebook is supposed to widen my world and connect me to all my friends, far and near likewise. Instead, it is narrowing my horizons and shrinking my circle of connections. And one thing I don't really like is the fact that most people like to write stuff to obtain "Like"s. Blogs are dying out but I shall keep blogging mainly because it is through my blog that I can express what I feel, not Facebook. Till this day I have not linked the two together, and I don't see that day ever coming. This page here is a separate entity that has existed before the Advent of Facebook (which Malaysians waste loads of time on anyway), and it shall Survive! *insert evil laughter*

Going against the grain may not be the wisest thing and neither is it the norm, but it is imperative that we do so when the situation requires us to do so. I have yet to differentiate between the essential times and the unessential times. Learning up the curve by the grace of God.

I send greetings to all my friends out there, whether or not they read or realise the existence of this blog, which I do not promote, and wish them all the best. Some are flying off. Some have exams. Some are relaxing. Some are worrying. Many have results coming. Most I have not seen in a while. Those that I do see regularly, I feel privileged to have the opportunity to do so. Those I've seen recently, you've made me happy. Life is Good. God is and was and always will be Good. Thank God for His mercy and grace and peace.

More chillin' out at Carls Jr.

Voon Ho is already in NTU, Singapore...

This girl is going to Terengganu.. Bye Sarah!

Lex is flying back to the US...

p.s. 8 years.

And I haven't seen LESTER for like.. six YEARS. Great time catching up and all. =D

This poor cat was stuck on the next door awning after it jumped out our kitchen balcony

And that about wraps up this post.

It's Back

2011-08-06T12:43:00.000+08:00

Somehow I still like my old layout more.

So goodbye diary-like template..

And hello edited old template! Now the photos won't jut out over the sidebars.. Muahaha... :D

Revamped

2011-08-06T00:23:00.004+08:00

Blog revamped. Took me much lesser time than the last time I did it. Thank God =)
Maybe one day I'll go through the links. There are so many. But now to turn off the lights and go to bed.

my Previous template. I still think it's very nice =)

the Oil of Joy

2011-08-05T19:12:00.000+08:00

I was so blessed by Asia Ablaze 2011, which just concluded last night. Held in Stadium Putra Bukit Jalil, the event saw an increasing attendance with each session and those who were there were definitely blessed.

Initially I was roped in to help out with the tasks involved in the smooth running of the event, and all was fine and well, but I found myself laughing and shaking uncontrollably on the second night when I went up for the altar call.

Being an Altar Worker (our job is to catch people when they get slain in the Spirit), most of the time, our minds are not as focused on God as we'd like them to be, because we have to keep our eyes peeled for potential drops, what with the likes of Dr. David Newberry and Dr Rodney Howard-Browne speaking.

People just flop over, crumble to their knees, wriggle and roll and bounce about. Even in their seats. The effect was most pronounced in the Philippine group of delegates who flew in from their homeland just to attend the event.

So I was wondering if I would experience it too. Apparently God heard my thoughts. Loud and clear. And so I found myself laughing and bouncing about and shaking the second night. It was so joyous.. the feeling.. I just couldn't stop laughing. I had NEVER laughed that much before. It was like all the pent-up laughter coming out.. and it just kept flowing and flowing and flowing.. I laughed and laughed and laughed and laughed and kept on laughing. It must have been like 15 minutes plus. But I kept on laughing.

The last night, I thought I wouldn't be laughing because I was at the back of the arc of the crowd, ready to catch people. Then I got hit again and this time I couldn't stand. My knees buckled and I was on the floor. Slapping the floor. Lying down and laughing my lungs out to the ceiling. It felt SO good. I laughed till I cried. And kept laughing. And wriggling and being HAPPY and JOYOUS. I think my fellow altar workers must've been pretty shocked but to me, it didn't matter. It was just me and God. HAPPINESS. Pure sweet joyful Happiness.

Quite a while later, I picked myself up and discovered a perimeter cleared around me. Hahahahahahahahaha =)

From what I've read on the Internet, there certainly are sceptics who scrutinise this particular ministry, and discriminate against it, quoting Scripture and stuff. However, you simply cannot refute it once you've experienced it. What is it? Apparently it's FIRE. Fire as in Fire of the Holy Ghost. And the Oil of Joy. FIRE!!
Everyone needs their own personal Pentecost. And I got mine full head on that night. Hallelujah. Hallelujah!!

I guess that was the missing link. The hole that needed to be filled. It was the assurance from God that He is Real and in my life.

I look forward to Asia Ablaze setting Asia Ablaze in time to come. God is here and He is real and He is sending us to spread the Good News and to Save Souls for His Kingdom. Glory be to God!

Dr. David on the Stage

Dr. Rodney and his wife.

in the middle of one of the sessions.

How often do you get to relax in the VVIP room? =D

Praise and Worship! Blessed so much by the 3 teams.

Couldn't capture an un-blurred picture because they just kept jumping about.

Dr Rodney certainly can pull faces.

Finale night altar call.

God bless you =)

Uncertainties

2011-07-22T13:48:00.000+08:00

Every time I look at something I wrote in the past, I'll realise I was childish.

This means that it's a bad thing as I was ranting away childishly.. But then again, yes, it's a good thing because I've become less childish.

Unfortunately I have to keep growing from being childish to being less childish. But there will always be a certain degree of childishness.. because it's good to be young at heart. =P

It seems that everyday I grow in many ways. This should be good, but it's unnerving sometimes as there are so many new uncertainties that I become aware of.
Choices, choices and more choices.
It makes it harder when you change your perspective of life and what you are aiming for in this marathon.

What is my goal?

That is a question I have to keep asking myself. And God too.

Right now I have a 4x4 Rubik's cube in front of me.
To learn how to solve it or to continue my PC game?
I realised I downloaded so many games recently that I won't have the time to finish playing them. But then again, am I supposed to be playing games? Are they a waste of time? Why would or wouldn't they be a waste of time? Back to the purpose conundrum again. I really don't know right now. Argh.

I think I'll play my game. Just for a while... =D
viva la Torchlight!

p.s. One day I will revamp this blog... Now just to wait for that day to arrive.. =)
God bless!

I wish

2011-07-21T11:10:00.000+08:00

I wish I knew exactly what to do all the time. Where to go, who to interact with, how to spend my time, what the weather would be like..etc .etc..

But then again, I'd have to be God to do that.
So I shall be contented with not knowing the full picture. Though it is trying at time.
Wandering aimlessly without a purpose and direction?

That's common. (though many would hide their dilemmas from others)

Ask God what is His purpose for putting you here on planet Earth.

I guess that would help. =)

Penang and other Outings

2011-07-19T18:55:00.000+08:00

I have to mention this absolutely awesome place called Tao where you can pay RM46.20 to eat all you want (as long as you finish your food and don't order sashimi, which costs an extra ten bucks).

I ate till I couldn't eat anymore...

Kudos to Vanessa for discovering this remarkable place.. =)
They should open an outlet in KLCC or something. I'd definitely go and bring my friends.. (and put on loads of weight but nevermind it's worth it for the Japanese a'la carte buffet)

This is me preparing to skewer a jumbo sausage (not pictured)

I think I was cold.. (the stuff in the pot was related to another day, not the day I was cold)

Food in Megamall

More of KL

NERF!!

And these are collector items.. Barbie dolls.. .. . .. .=P

And KLCC

And Pavilion..

And other places..

And Sunway Pyramid

Archery!

I blame the sweet for my tongue.

This was an earlier Carls Jr. Outing.

More of KLCC

the Victim

Poor Vanessa was exhausted. Hahaha.

p.s. All this did NOT happen in One day. That'd be impossible. But it did happen.. over a number of days. =)

INTEC - the Last Leg

2011-07-19T18:46:00.000+08:00

Some pictures taken during the A Levels themselves. Sometimes you realise you don't need to study any more. You just need to trust God. And study once you've realised that you don't know everything in the syllabus.

I actually enjoyed the A Levels. Have to thank God for blessing me and my friends to get through what was probably the toughest exam thus far of our lives. =)

Vanessa in action at the chessboard.

INTEC is beautiful in certain ways too.

Stuff

Now that I think about it, I actually miss having fried maggi with wedges for breakfast.

And I never did get to try all 100 varieties of Bistro's roti canai. Haha.

Xavier was awarded with some kind of fruit paste which came out of a tube.

He ate it. . .

This was a session we had by the chess set. Discussing issues and experiences.. It was good. =D

I remember. Moisturising Beads..

Moving Out. Mugi!!

Two years have flown by.. and they have been momentous years indeed.

Go Genting!

2011-07-19T18:39:00.000+08:00

We heeded the advice of the advertisement and went to Genting, albeit for 24 hours only. And I mean literally 24 hours exactly. Haha. Though short, the trip was strikingly fun and it was a fitting end to 6 weeks of examinations and a prelude of 2 years of incessant studying.

The guys failed to get into the Casino, though. They were caught for being under 21. Hahahahahaha. =P

Screaming was good. And so was yelling. Thank God for no sore throats. Food was pricey, but as expected. I ate frogleg porridge! (which set me back 13 bucks, but it was definitely better than the wan tan mee or chicken rice which were both the same price)

And we got stupendously low prices for the tickets and room. (neglecting the fact that 6 guys shared the room and 5 girls shared the other room)

Eating herbal eggs is totally awesome up there at Genting. And so is running around with friends doing stuff you don't normally get to do.

The View

REACTION - JONAS

Fly! (in retrospect, this ride was super awesome. It feels like you're constantly accelerating)

Joo Howe.

it's like a Tower!

I ~~stole~~ borrowed Sin Yuan's scarf.

This is a stolen picture. But it's great. Hahaha.

Near the boats. =)

Sleepers along the way

a Willy Wonka sweet - Spree!

Wandering about

Queuing up.

Ready

Steady

And they're off!

They called them.. Jonas's two kids. =P

Tired people and Scandals and Singer (Yong Kai)

It was a great opportunity to surprise Sin Yuan. =D

Much thanks to Jonas, the organiser of it all, including the trip.

All too soon, it was time to go.

And that concludes Genting.
Great time there. Thank God. =)

Annual Grand Dinner

2011-07-19T18:16:00.000+08:00

This was a night of photo-taking. A picture-snapping spree. A gala of photos. A.. Well you get the idea.

Besides the great performances and the seating glitches, the mainstay of the day was taking photographs because for some of us, that might be the last photo for a long time with a friend, as some friends would be flying to India, some to Ireland and some to the UK while others stay in Malaysia.

It was certainly fun. Two years. It's done with and over now. Now to look forward to the future.. =)

Snapshots!

Mr Best-Dressed - Gary!

Vanessa and I

Andrew!

At the Grand Entrance (which isn't actually the entrance)

Epic photo of Bing Yang

Must say I like this picture =)

All who wore vests that day were declared waiters, as with Zen Pei here.

Kit Yeng.. who did her hair .. hahaha. =)

Group Picture

Song Hwee. Always happy and fun to be with.. I'll see him soon. One month.

Victorian Ballroom Ceiling.

Credits to Song Hwee for this picture. I still laugh when I look at it. =)

My Class. With Diyan but not Kelvin .

More fun people =)

Joo Howe didn't want to take a picture..

Loads of great people in INTEC, I must say.

They look like.. Il Divo.. Hahaha!

Performances - Nice =)

Great housemates.

I wish everyone all the best for their journeys and challenges in the future. One month to results!

3 Weeks

2011-07-15T10:59:00.000+08:00

It's been three whole weeks of fun-filled excitement and enjoyment. I recall spending four consecutive nights in different places. The experiences were awesome and definitely to be remembered. After all, you only finish your A Levels once.

I will always thank God for His grace in getting me through the A levels, which were indeed unexpectedly tough due to the sudden shift in emphasis to application-based questions, which stumped most students who were caught unprepared. But the six whole weeks of exams passed by day by day and now I find it all went by very quickly and sometimes I miss the times of poring over the books aiming to score as many marks as possible in the cold environment of the library.

Two years in Shah Alam have come and gone, together with numerous events and experiences through which I have learnt much about life and also have come to know God more each day. Thank God for wonderful friends and chances to make acquaintances with so many great people. We learn to be flexible when we live in hostels, and to be patient when things don't go our way.

The holidays so far have been busy. The virtual cleanup takes longer than the physical cleanup. Right now I am still sorting through pictures. Photoshop can do wonders to save underexposed and dark shots.

I wish I could have all my friends near me all the time but I know that's not possible as we all have to further our studies. Soon, everyone will be flying here and there and away from where I am. Godwilling, I will be able to fly one day too. But for now, I am content with being where I am and heading where I am supposed to be going.

There will be posts with pictures once I have them properly sorted out for the purpose of blogging. Till then..
God Bless =)

Soon

2011-06-23T10:38:00.001+08:00

It'll be all over before I know it.

God is good. =)

the Eye of the Hurricane

2011-06-10T13:55:00.000+08:00

It is the calm of the storm.

As I type this sitting here, the mighty rush of wind threatens to joust its way in and sweep me off my feet and carry me away down to the deep abyss of A Level Past Year Papers. Yet, I resist and throw my anchor overboard to firmly dig in to the rug below my feet just so I can post something here.

Yes, the A Level examinations are here. I have another 6 papers to go. 10 down, 6 to go. Unfortunately the 6 papers are the A2 papers i.e. Pain and Misery (in Mr Allan's words). With the way the new Edexcel papers are going, practically anything can be tested, as long as it is mentioned in the syllabus. In other words, I can expect nothing short of a hurricane sweeping through the minds of the other students in the hall with me next week. But God has been good to me. Indeed He has blessed me, and I shall not be in need or want. I just need more wisdom and grace.

In the meantime, I have devoted some time to procuring useful software that allows me to download stuff that I play through the Internet. Very nice piece of software, this is. Hahaha. Apparently there's Angry Birds on Chrome. I'm probably outdated, though.

Enclosed are two pictures of outings past. =D

God Bless =)

EXAMS!

2011-05-23T21:41:00.000+08:00

Somehow the rush of the exams takes time away like chaff blown by the wind. It Disappears.

It's already on to the second day of the second week of my A Levels and I don't feel like I've started. It feels just like another test. Haha. And today's paper was indeed a TEST. Harder than any of the Edexcel or INTEC past year papers. But thank God for wisdom to answer what I could. Not that I could answer everything but I feel I did okay. =)

More time spent doing past year papers and studying than anything else.

Things are like a whirlwind now and the only reason I'm blogging is because I don't want to study; I want to sleep; and I have access to the Internet. ( hahaha )

And I haven't blogged in quite a while. =D

A Levels are interesting... hahahaha. Tired. Need more rest. =/

God Bless =)

Study Leave?

2011-05-05T19:10:00.000+08:00

Is the period when we leave classes to Study, Study and do nothing but Study.

Obviously NOT. I just got back from rounding Times Square and Lowyat Plaza. I am so dead. Hahaha.

I thank God for grace and strength to keep pushing on even when times are terribly tough.
Though the winds fight you and the current pushes you back, you can always depend on the Rock - His name is Jesus.

Weigh your anchor and stick to your spot.
Hold your head high and budge you shall not.

I don't know how to say this, but it seems that it always hits where it hurts the most. And you're expected to double over crying in pain and fall down and bite the dust and never get up again.

I say NO.

I say I get back up and continue fighting till the ends of time meet each other and say Hi.
I say I keep going for the goal when others say it's not possible.
I say we should just strive harder and turn up the heat.

Keep hanging on and pushing forward. Marching steadily on we chant a chorus. To battle it seems. To war and to Victory which it brings.

This blog is one that will go on, despite the other things I have to do.
And this post is not about this blog.

this post is about the fight.
the battle. the crunch. the victory.

I need God. As usual.

Apparently

2011-04-27T22:05:00.000+08:00

It's kinda sad how life is that once we get settled down and get used to a place, it's time to move on to another.

But life's like that.

Finishing the interview marks another step to my journey to University.
Thank God for interviewers who were quick and witty.
Unfortunately, they were frustrated because they couldn't find any basis to shoot me on as I wasn't "bragging/boasting" about anything.. and so they had to specifically ask me "What are you Proud of?"

Overall the interview went smoothly. Thank God.

And now I can finally start ~~playing~~ studying.(I should have done that a LONG time ago)

I'll just leave the results of the Interview to God for now while I concentrate on my studies.

Some shots of today. =)

Btw, Firefox 4 is Cool, TBBT is awesome and Asus makes some terrific laptops. =D

to let go.

2011-04-25T00:54:00.000+08:00

I just knew it this morning when the preacher asked for an altar call for people who had something to let go of.

I knew I had something to let go of, but I just wasn't sure what it was.
So I didn't go.

Now I know what it was.
And it's not pretty.

I need to surrender it.
NOW.

Before it tears me up and plunges me into the deep recesses of the bottomless pit.
Before I have to gnash my teeth.

It's really NOT easy to be a good Christian.
But the blessings are waiting there at the end.

Heaven beckons.

This Easter I learnt something. That it is always good to forgive and to let God take the burdens and stress and frustration.

And to thank God for wonderful parents.

thank you, Abba Father.

The Casting Call

2011-04-22T22:49:00.000+08:00

This is where I begin the post.

The past five or six weeks have been a frantic rush to obtain trial paper results, conduct unit 6 trials and settle the Unit Six REPORT as well as manifesting the class's apparent appreciation for our lecturers and dealing with certain roommate issues.

Time passes way too fast. It's already the study leave period. That means that life in INTEC as a normal student is practically over. Null. Declared void. Friends. All everywhere doing their own stuff striving to accomplish their own goals though we all have one thing in common: we have to prepare to the best of our ability to score 15 points for the actual A Level examinations.

Day in and day out I go to college and freeze in the library or chase people to conduct memory tests on them. Food is a constant topic of conversation. It's always "What's for dinner?" after eating lunch and "What's for breakfast tomorrow?" after eating dinner. Food people.

I've been meaning to blog for a long long time now. Every time I have the inspiration, it's taken away by the necessity of doing something else hence this post today after I put my foot down and DECIDED that I. WILL. BLOG.

And so Blog I Shall.
Blog I am. Blogging I mean.

The original purpose of this blog was to type out stuff so that I and other people can read it.
The purpose still stands.

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I would like to say that life is like a casting call.

and so... What's YOUR Role?

A pretty good question to ask yourself. What's my role? What purpose do I serve? Where do I fit in? What set of rules and social conventions must I adhere to? Why do I do so? WHO sets the rules?

Inevitably, the decisions willingly or unwillingly made in the past will affect the way you live in the Present and thus influence the way you live your Future.

I was sitting in the bus on the way back from an Easter production just last night when I started thinking about this topic in detail. It's not that I never thought about it before; now it seems like a more relevant time to do so.

Look how far I've come.
Or how much I've accomplished.
Or how little.

It's all relative. What I have now is a direct result of my past decisions and actions.
The crowd of people I mix with - they're the people I chose to mix with in the past and now carry on to the present and will most likely continue in the future.

Then I think. If I had lived my life differently, where would I be now? Would I still have this scholarship? Would I be here? Would I even be alive?

Difficult questions to ask because they come together in a humongous confusing lump in a theoretical never ending loop that ceases to answer the question.

In other words, there was a writhing of the soul running through my very being. It craved Purpose and Acknowledgement that I had at least achieved something substantial or that I had fulfilled some mission; so I wouldn't feel that I had been led down the wrong road.

Now you have to know that God hears your cry and sends help, which can come in many forms.
Direct answering is one way but more often than not, he sends help through messengers - people. They may be people you know or people you don't. Even enemies. And God did send help last night. That person consoled me and made me clear all that confusion. I was okay again. Thank God.

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Back to the topic of the Casting Call.
So anyway what's your call?
You have to find that out yourself. Nobody (except God) can tell you for sure.

On the same topic, some people seem to be weirdly-cast. (or they're just playing their roles in a weird manner)

Behavioural symptoms such as multiple-personality disorders generally don't run well with the gamut of social humans. God help such people.

And some people just tend to be selfish. Self-preservative perhaps, but they really shouldn't do it to the extent of inconveniencing or disturbing others. Such actions only show that they are selfish pigs without a whim or a care for people other than themselves.

Allowing language to limit the people you mix with is a big no-no if you intend to expand your wisdom and knowledge.

Not learning from the mistakes from others is a warm welcome to trouble to trouble you.

Trying to be funny with authority usually means you're playing with fire.

Words of wisdom perhaps? I don't know.
Testing 66 different peoples' memory within 2.5 days was certainly taxing on my physical and mental resources. Thank God for strength and great friends who were willing to help me out. The report is done, printed and handed up. FINALLY I CAN START STUDYING! (kinda pathetic I know but that's the way it is.. a nagging voice at the back of your mind going like "Unit 6... Unit 6... UNIT 6..!!")

I have to thank Vanessa for introducing me to two wonderful eating places. Carl's Junior and Seri Keningau. They're AWESOME.

(besides the watering hole adjacent to the library's 24-hour room of course)

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Sometimes I feel guilty for not attending more gatherings by friends.. but that's how life is. You grow closer to some and simultaneously distance yourself unwittingly from some. Time goes on. But you know that they're still friends.. just not totally up-to-date.

I believe that lecturers should be better appreciated by their students. Most students don't half know the amount of word put in by their educators. But then again, I don't control peoples' minds.

The upcoming three weeks hold great promise. There will be an interview and I will have to attend it. I have to prepare myself. But that's not all. This is just the beginning................. PAST YEARS! I salute Xavier for actually finishing Chemistry past years.. Kinda impossible but he did it. Wow. I personally have yet to do past year papers. Have to finish.. somehow. God will give me the strength and determination and discipline.. I pray.

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Pictures

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A mish mash jumbleup of picture of the past one and a half months. :D

Random scenery, meetups with friends, still life objects, moving live people and others.

And a gift of a watch.

that's all for now.

God Bless you =)

Junctions, Traffic Lights and Directions

2011-03-21T13:32:00.000+08:00

         Inevitably, life will throw us decisions and this puts us at the Crossroads. Whether to take one path or the other, and Why. There are undoubtedly numerous underlying factors ascertaining as to which path one may choose.

         Then there are the Trafffic Lights. Situations when the brakes are put on your hard-thought-out plans (or hardly-thought-out plans, depending on your position). More often than not, this would be when God has something else in mind for you. He might just make it known via His messengers, whether in the form of friends, family or circumstances beyond your control. At those moments, you can only stop and wait for the green light.

         Directions come in all sorts of shapes and sizes, each with their own subverting intentions or honest causes. Everybody likes to give others directions, but not many willingly submit to them. The question is whether you follow what others say or listen to God or your heart. We will not always be sure as to which voice to listen to. The world has many opinions as all and sundry can publish books detailing the procedure of How and When and Where to do What according to each and every viewpoint.

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I honestly forgot what I wanted to blog about. Now that the holidays are over (and they were certainly great times), and I'm back in INTEC, I find that time passes too fast. Recent incidents and talks have got my mind-wheels and cogs turning again. This age is the most volatile as it is when mind meets matter, when rubber hits the road - when the sheltered young persona makes a date with the World and Reality, and all too often, it is harsh reality that hits home.

The world isn't as rosy as it seems.

It takes all kinds to make a world.
The human mind is a complex thing indeed, which is yet to be understood by mankind.
Sounds ironic, no?

The brain is known to possess a quality named "plasticity". This refers to the innate ability of neurones in the brain to form and reform connections between each other as and when needed, practically allowing the brain to rewire itself.

In layman's terms, this means that we are able to learn new things/abilities/skills/methods of doing things/recover from brain and spinal cord injury because our brain cells are able to change the way they connect to each other.

Thus, the human personality can also change to reflect the situation in which the human is placed in life.

It was difficult to take the blow that came when the poor old soul crumbled and collapsed to the ground in my house just two days ago. The clang when it hit, (and the fact that it was partially saved by its chair) just saddened my heart.

The argument that the heart is not as important as the brain does not hold water, in my humble opinion. Though it may be true that by scientific knowledge, the brain harbours emotion and feelings, and the heart merely pumps blood around the body, God has made man such that the Heart is the dwelling place of the Holy Spirit. By this virtue, the heart is the home of the Soul. Man is not Mind and Body alone; he has a Soul. This is what distinguishes us from other mammals and animals - they do not have souls.

When a Man dies, what happens to the Soul? It can very well head for one or two places or get stuck in between, wandering the empty chasms which exist in the very fabric of human existence and this planet.

The point is that the journey does not end there.
Death is merely a transition point, when we leave this mortal bodies, when the first part of life ends, and a new chapter begins. How and Why we do not know - only those who have experienced it will know, and they live not to tell us the tale.

But this is not a post about death. Neither is it about the afterlife. Those are matters which are sensitive and vary according to religion. So I shall not go into those areas.

This is a post by a person who is being challenged.
This is a rambling and ranting piece of text.
This is a random prose.
This is a mixture of carefully chosen words strung together to give a specific meaning.
This is a Blog Post.

Welcome to my blog. :D

That's random.

If only human bickerings could be whisked away to oblivion with a wave of a wand.
If only tensions were eased via treaties and agreements.
If only the world were perfect.

Sometimes people are too idealistic. But if we were not to be idealistic, there would be no more hope left in this world. Where would the room for divine intervention be? Missing?

Life is a funny old thing (plucked from the poem studied in SPM)

Once you leave school, the years between different batches of students gets smaller and smaller and eventually unimportant. Foes become friends and friends become foes or both of them fade away and morph into mere acquaintances.

This year I turn Twenty. 2-0.
Honestly speaking, I feel like I just sat for my SPM. And here I am. Now. It's different.
Everyone is growing older. This I cannot prevent. Yet why would one like to live forever? It is senseless. This world is not our final resting place.. we are only in transition while in preparation for a better place. At least, that's what I believe. I'm a Christian.

Life is Good.
(because God is/was/will always be Good)

When I look back on my life thus far (now I sound like a very old person..hahaha), I can really see that I never ever really worried, and that I was always safe and well-protected. There's an invisible Hand guiding my life, and I'll always follow where the Hand leads me. That's God. I thank God for the many blessings He's showered upon my life.

In my opinion, many people should learn to count their blessings, and not whine and grumble over petty issues.

Learn to be satisfied with your lot in life. Not to say that we shouldn't work hard to improve ourselves. By all means, do work hard. And do it legitimately.

The principles which guide our lives will ultimately determine the sort of decisions we make, and how we turn out to be in the end.

Now to get back to doing some work.
Pictures will appear over the weekend. =)
God Bless you

And so ends another chapter of Life - TRIALS

2011-03-13T21:08:00.000+08:00

The never-ending saga of seemingly futile attempts to overcome astoundingly difficult papers set by our lecturers certainly took its toll on our mental, physical, emotional and spiritual health and wellbeing.

Cast in iron, the story was told as pages unfolded to reveal insanely tricky sentences of words stringed together aimed to flummox even the most ardent student of the A Levels examination.

We soldiered on, paper after paper, our pens held fast in hands, readily poised to strike at the very beginning of every Time, not yielding until Time had ended and it was Time to end.

It's not a Fairytale; It's a TRIAL.
And only those with nerves of steel and unwavering determination and awesome Faith managed to hang on as the tsunami swept over us all, washing the unprepared away down the deep drain of dogged desperation.

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Enough waxing lyrical about the 16 papers which I sat for in two weeks.
It's OVER! And it's HOLIDAY. (but somehow I'm going to study instead of enjoy myself. Maybe I shall enjoy myself studying. Ooo. )

On an unrelated note, Facebook photo upload speed loses to snails right now. Pictures of snails below later.

The first wave to hit us when we go back on Monday will be the results of the trials.

But anyway, God is Good and He has always been good and He will always be good to me (and those who believe in Him of course)

I find that time flies, and I'm TWENTY this year. Old. (sorry to those older than me, I can't help it)
The Education Fair today was cool in the sense that this time round, I was there not seeking help on available options to further my education (as I have an AWESOME God who provides me with the perfect path), so I didn't have to worry about anything much except to not bump into people and knock them over - yes it's possible for me to do that unwittingly of course.

Praying for a better future and a safer world and peace in Japan too over here and that time will pass slower and not zoom past, so I can actually do some stuff. Hahaha.

Pictures from the past month or so attached below. Next job is to read the Papers! Yay =D

my Awesome lecturers. :D

pounding stuff to make paste and icky-poo stuff.

Gifts lighten up peoples' lives. =)

so does Secret Recipe apparently. =)

when you have nothing to do at the KTM station..

Must admit that Mr. Mano is awesome. He can do anything.. hahaha

Putting what we learn into action!

I got fedup that day..so I wrote the note and stuck it on my table.. and voila! Problem solved. =)

(with some scolding of course in addition)

Beautiful scenery taken by Vanessa and I (more of her than me though)

As you can see, it's really random. =)

Lucas, Mun Fei and I who chatted for about 3.5 hours. =D

Cool outings and cool stuff. =)

Met Sarah at the Education Fair!

And this is like WOW for Anthony!!! Hahahahahah =)

Mumblings

2011-02-26T08:59:00.000+08:00

Somehow I've become numb to examinations and tests and their kin alike. The upcoming trials which will start next Monday will just be another round of studying brainlessly and watching the grief and worry and rue on my coursemates' faces as they undergo round after round after round of mind-numbing revision. I don't know why but I feel that the amount of time put in studying totally does not reflect upon the marks in the final call. Like what Mr Allan said, the "Marks against time put in studying" graph levels off after a short initial upward burst after which extra time spent studying does not result in a dramatic increase of marks.

Life is a funny old thing - quote from Literature text.
Life is an observance of the behaviour and nature of other people. The realisation that we are all merely human and all have limitations, shortcomings and other such things.

We are not perfect.

God gives us the grace to be strong, and for us to live on this Earth, we have to learn to live with, interact with, and relate to imperfect people for we ourselves are imperfect too and it is through our imperfections, we can boast of how great our God is for His greatness is made perfect in our weaknesses. Or at least that's what I can remember.

I have to say a HUMONGOUS CONGRATULATIONS to all my STPM friends. They did so so well. I couldn't help but think that if I hadn't been blessed with the scholarship, I'd be jittery too the day before the results were released, but God sent me along another path, and I have yet to find the true purpose of Him doing so.

Time zooms past us somehow and it's already coming to the end of February. Trials will be here for two weeks, then a week of mid-sem holidays. After that, it'll be a rush to complete my long-overdue Unit 6 Individual Investigations. If only the lab assistant was around.. Oh well.

Right now as I sit here typing this, most of my college mates are probably studying their Bio or Chemistry feverishly as cold sweat breaks out as it dawns upon them that they have lost most if not all of the knowledge they so carefully gathered over the past 1.5 years. I thank God for blessings and abundance for He is good to me.

This is from my Facebook status.

"I finally realise that I have to contend with the cockroach that shares my hostel with me. I see it every morning and it retreats into its two-dimensional world of filth and darkness and I decide to leave it in peace.. for God gives us the grace to relate to the imperfect things in this world to keep us strong. . . ."

And there will be a time when I get to upload pictures, but not now, for there is breakfast to settle and a whole lot of Bio and Chem to dig into after that. Got to go......... =)

A day well spent

2011-02-02T14:05:00.000+08:00

Obviously it was well spent in the company of good friends.

What with Anthony back and yesterday being the only day he was free, we just had to have an outing, and we had our regular marathon outing - badminton followed by lunch and movie. Sadly, the movie was not to be, but in retrospect, that was a blessing in disguise. (and patched the hole in the wallet too)

The game was great. Luckily we were early, and thank God Chin Woo was open (very surprisingly but at a premium price), so we managed to avoid losing our precious badminton game.

Catching up with Anthony and the others was awesome =D

Lunch at Wong Kok and pity poor Toh Seng who had to contend with us not being contactable during the badminton game. Kudos to Matthew for showing up for lunch (why not the game? Hahaha).

We even met Kee An in Pavilion. Kee An needs to look at his commitment issues. Hmmm.....
Treats from Taiwan and HK aside, it was an awesome time of reunion with good old buddies and contemplating the future.. after all, we're Twenty. O.o.

Oh ya Voon Ho's birthday is coming. Hmm.
Till then.

Holiday!

2011-01-28T21:57:00.000+08:00

I don't know why but I certainly don't really feel like it's Holiday yet.
I still feel the urge to study and do work and notes and stuff like that.
This is minus the fact that I seem to be pretty much stuck to the PC and the newspapers so far.

Gatherings are coming!

I'd say that the four weeks of classes in college so far have been great. Things have definitely changed and alliances have shifted but I have to admit it's good to have good buddies to rely on, and that I know who is good and who is unstable. Time flies, without a doubt, and it's already the week-long Chinese New Year holiday season.

After that it'll be back to classes for three weeks then trials for two weeks then another week-long holiday.
Then it's classes for five weeks and then study leave for three weeks then A LEVELS for SIX Weeks. Then that's the end of College. =(

I'll definitely miss college.
Though it's the place I discovered the pains of having ulcers and serious stomach problems and difficulties beyond measure, I've learnt much from this place in Shah Alam.

The people too. Only some will be with me after college. That's a bummer. =/

Anyway, it's the holidays, and the urge to blog is here.
Reading up on laptops is certainly confusing, with loads of reviews and some conflicting information. Hopefully I'll be able to buy one this year. It's true that the later you buy a laptop, the more the price drops, and the better quality and performance there'll be for the price i.e., more bang for the buck.

Right now I have this statistics past year paper under my palms as I type. Gotta mark it.
Anthony's on his way back to M'sia tomorrow!

Blogs have kinda gone out of fashion because of Facebook but that's alright.
Random ramblings and musings of mine will never go out of my own fashion. Someday I'll look back and reminisce the "good old Times".. LOL..

This year I'm turning TWENTY! I feel so old. Oops. Haha.

Perhaps I'll be able to reverse the ang pau graph trend which tends to obey the rule saying that Collections are inversely proportional to Age.

Some Pictures..

Till then.. Isaac signing Out. =D
God Bless =)

Random Stuff

2011-01-16T22:03:00.000+08:00

So life is back to normal in college, or so it seems.
Results are great considering the rest of the students' results. (hahaha)

As Pastor said, there will be a change in alliances this year, and there already have been changes.
And it is raining as 2011 will be a Wet Year.

I just had a great game of badminton with Jasper, Loke, Lap Bann and Yem. Apparently the working life ain't that great after all. And A&W Root Beer is totally fantastic. And so are their fries.

Anyway I find it weird that some people have split personalities. It's weird. The study of human behaviour is indeed interesting, as is the observation of human behaviour throughout my daily life.

I have to say that God has been great in these two weeks of 2011 so far. Multiple blessings and favour and opportunities. =) And answers for impending questions of heavy weights. Thank you God.

Blogging is a method of expressing one's self but I still feel that nothing gets more personal than handwriting. A handwritten letter would be much more treasured than a well-written email. So much more goes into writing a physical message than typing one. The emotions, picked up from nuances hidden amongst the lines, that's what counts.

Life is good. Life has always been good because God is in charge of my life.
Rev. Nicholas Choo is an awesome Pastor. Not that my pastor isn't awesome (he totally is), but today's sermon was very true and it hit the right spot.

3 chairs. I want to be in the first chair too.

And I'm still wracking my brain thinking about how he kept the 9 boxes inside the small paper bag. Magic tricks ahoy!

Time seems to pass by at an infinite speed. It's already the middle of January. And we seem to be making plans for Chinese New Year. Wow. Thaipusam is this week. Ponggal just concluded.

I don't know if I'm ready to take my A Levels yet, but something tells me I'll do just fine. (but I still have to work hard of course)

Money is fast becoming a subject of discussion among my friends. It seems that it is elusive and has a tendency to disappear faster than it appears. Hahahaa. =)

Pictures of times of past.

Grace

2011-01-07T16:29:00.002+08:00

I want to thank God for awesome MUET results.
BAND 6!!

Back To School

2011-01-01T18:12:00.000+08:00

Somehow the holiday feeling is still here.. though the real A Levels exams are in this semester.
I don't feel like it's time to study.. for tis the season to be jolly.. hahaha.. =)

I like the feeling of sending 12 nukes onto an ACU. Yeah. :D

I've been to Shah Alam and back today.. and will be back there tomorrow. This also marks a dry spell in new posts for this blog. But that's alright =)

Next up will be Chinese New Year! And in the meantime, Happy Blessed New Year 2011 to everyone out there. =)

Indeed it will be a year of Following God Fully.

Watchnight Service was totally AWESOME. I was deeply moved by the numerous testimonials, especially by the one of God slowly healing blindness, retinitis pigmentosa. God is a God of Miracles, and everything can indeed by done if it is His will, and in His time.

Miracles are possible in this time of downturns and negativity.

Anything is possible. =)

Looking forward to another AWESOME year with my friends, family and most importantly, God.

More Outings =)

2010-12-29T20:24:00.002+08:00

LOL BBQ.

Absolutely a lot of fun. And Laughing Out Loud. I had quite a lot of fun there. It certainly was nice to meet so many people and to gather more information =D

I'm glad Voon Ho managed to make it. =)
Jack Kee would've been there too.. but oh well.. haha

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A Facebook-organised Outing

Plans to have a Lunch magically materialised on Facebook one day. Plans were made and guests were invited but after a while it became clear that there wasn't going to be any outing if nobody did something.

So I posted something on the wall of the gathering and Hwa Jiunn came immediately and continued the questioning and it was just a matter of time and text messages until we all met up at Lot 10 for lunch and then later a chatting session in and around Pavilion.

Good to meet up with the long-lost Prefect gang. Haha =) though incomplete it was alright. =)
Also to meet the other MBS guys. =) nothing quite beats meeting these friends from secondary school. =)

Even Tan Pang Jiunn came! Awesome =)

Really miss the times in school but now we gotta look forward

I even caught a shot with MJ who was visiting Lot 10. =P

MJ walking about with our gang. Cool! :D

Kay Yan and Drink.

There was this joke about me being big and small.

Old Town was the only place we could find that was sufficiently empty and could accomodate our 14 people. So after rounding Pavilion and going into and out of Coffee Bean and using many escalators, we decided to sit down here and chat. =)

The 4 guys above attended job interviews. =)

Hwa Jiunn has certainly made over his wardrobe. =)

Though after all the laughter the hostel still beckons, it's great to have memories. =)

When Things Come to a Close

2010-12-29T19:43:00.000+08:00

So it's the end of the year 2010 and publications and papers are full of year-ender articles and stuff and all. I'm not joining in the fray personally because I don't write that kind of stuff...

But anyway this year was a great one in which I had plenty of chances to take leaps of faith and I learnt to put my trust in God even more as I matured from day to day facing numerous challenges the details of which I will not put up here but you may see me in person to enquire for further information. =P

I don't know about most people but I find that I seem to be growing exponentially (not in height or weight or depth) but in character and personality. It takes time and experience to know one's self, and I am no different.

What I am today is a complex mix of what I've been through (personal experiences), together with some genetic predisposition and environmental factors, and of course the God Factor. Humans are complicated. It's a fact.

And when the rubber hits the road, the time comes to decide what you want to do. Time and tide wait for no man. Golden opportunities present themselves but once. You just have to strike while the iron is HOT. This year saw me taking loads of risks and entering new, unexplored and potentially dangerous territory.

I'm still amused that quite a few people my age (or within one year of my age) comment that I seem to think and talk like someone much older. Perhaps this is a reflection of my maturity. =P hahaha.
Somehow things have changed in my life this year, and the way I behave reflects that. (though sometimes I behave like a kid though.. hahhaha)

This blog has become more like a treasure trove of memories stashed away in the wild wild web for me and a few others to access. Though I started the adsense, it's not going to pay the bills. =) More for fun than anything else.

And the past few days have seen me playing Badminton!
Badminton tomorrow again! Yay =)

2010 is coming to a close. God Bless you all everybody =D

I remember the day I was Slapped

2010-12-28T20:57:00.000+08:00

Somehow this memory has stuck till now and a recent Facebook add evoked images from the past.

It was a usual day for me as a Form One probationary prefect. I was doing some rounds and taking care of a class in line in the assembly grounds.

There was this boy who got angry when I told him to line up properly. He got mad when I tried to physically nudge him into place and said "Don't push me!!".

Being the naive boy I was back then, I ignored what he said and pressed on, determined to right the wrong.

The next thing I knew, the world was a blur because my spectacles had flown to the end of the line. My cheek was smarting from the force of the slap and I was stunned. I wasn't exactly hurt; more of being stunned and surprised that something could hit me that fast without me seeing it or expecting it. Hahaha. Immature me.

I still remember it was Chao Jie who picked up my specs for me and after that things were like a whirlwind.. though the line of students was very very quiet..

The discipline teacher demanded that we both apologise to each other in front of the whole school (afternoon session at that time) during an assembly.

Apologies over and done with, the boy and I were still friends but I never saw him again after he transferred out in Form Two. (back then I don't recall anyone using Facebook)

Now that I come to think of it, I never held any grudges against him. Being slapped was a very new experience to me because I'm a good boy and don't normally get slapped. =P

But I never blamed him. Somehow there wasn't anything to blame him for. And we were still friends (as in not enemies)

And recently a person added me on Facebook and I looked at his pictures and something struck me. Is it him? Hahaha =)

Time heals wounds and now I'm more curious than anything about him. What has happened to him in the course of the past 6 years or so? Has he been fine?

On another note, it seems that I'm able to read people. This is a very interesting hobby of mine. Analysing people. Sometimes it's scary how much you can tell about a person from a small conversation. But that's a topic for another day. =)

A Time to be Merry

2010-12-26T09:10:00.004+08:00

I'm still on my saving spree.. four separate outings over four days and I still haven't spent 50 bucks! This is indeed a great accomplishment. =)

Apparently our friend Matthew Ooi is Back from Australia. So the gang decided to meet up. And in the spirit of exercising, we walked from Times Square to Pavilion just to take pictures. And that was after getting to Hu Tong in Lot 10 for dinner (probably the best place to eat in a shopping mall in KL for the money)

YES!

The best part about Pavilion was definitely the escalators.. pranking Matthew on the escalators, that was. =D

Then off to the cinema area where we squabbled over the movie. Ended up we didn't watch movie. It was late. =(

But we had a great time at Snowflake (and finished their snowflake resources too)

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An invitation by Chong Yong Shean to accompany them to purchase MPO tickets saw me visiting the Toilet Bowl Restaurant. >.<

Kinda disgusting. =P

And I became the guide as no one knew how to get to KLCC from Jalan Hang Tuah. But it was okay. =)

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Badminton games are great. I believe I have improved a lot compared to last time.
Hui Chiang was pretty surprised at the level of Jack Kee's and my game. =D

And Lucas was there.. (not playing but watching and later bickering with Nigel as usual)

Thank you Jasper for organising =) One more next week? :D

Our friend Nigel wants to get a new phone! Ooooooooo.....

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The Promise.
This production by the church (although smaller than its predecessors), was indeed marvellous. I thoroughly enjoyed myself. =)

The Choir was amazing =)

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BBQ. (about the 5th BBQ I think)
An animated Gordon telling stories from his camp. =)

And this is Katrina again. With a Face. =P

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Recently I read through a post I wrote over a year ago and went "WOW! I wrote that?!"

Hahaha. =) thanks E Von. :D

So it's Christmas

2010-12-25T09:12:00.000+08:00

Yes, it's that season again. Jingle Bells and Carols abound in the air as people exchange wishes and presents in the presumed intent of spreading goodwill to all mankind.

Shopping sprees and stunning bargains aside, Christmas isn't actually about the much-hyped sale season. Neither is it a time of marketing ploys (though plenty of businesses choose to ride the waves with it and boost their sales). Even more so is it not about the presents (well thought or crudely wrapped).

Christmas is about the birth of Jesus Christ. Most people have probably heard this story before and will go like "Oh yeah.. yeah that's right.. Yeah I know.. Been there done that.. "

But take away the uber large shopping malls and the festive music and the commercial spirit. What did those people of older times have to celebrate? There certainly weren't CHRISTMAS sales back then neither were there CHRISTMAS specials on TV nor were there CHRISTMAS open houses.

There was something else.. something that has been there since the beginning whether people acknowledge it or not. And that something is indeed still here. It's the Spirit of Christmas. The knowledge that God sent his Son to Earth to die for mankind's Sins. Like an innocent lamb led to the slaughter was He and only pure blood could have cleansed our sins. Any other attempt would have been like the blind leading the blind.

It's good to keep that in mind when we celebrate Christmas.
And it's good to not waste food though it's in abundance as it probably isn't that way in some other places where people live off less than a dollar a day.
It probably isn't much of a Christmas over there, where they think more about where to find their next meal then about fancily wrapped presents and the latest technological breakthrough kind of gadget and expensive meals in classy restaurants.

Therefore we should be thankful for what we have and stay positive and remember what Christmas is all about throughout this jolly season which comes a week before New Year's Day.

Wishing everyone a Blessed and Merry Christmas!

This is Isaac, signing out. =D

BB and PJPO

2010-12-20T15:10:00.000+08:00

I have to say that the level of band performance has definitely perked up compared to the previous times.

A great show by the brass band and great competence level. There is obviously room for improvement but things look promising =)