2012, here we go

New year resolutions. I don't usually have an official list of them every year. They are just kind of some notes in my mind.

Have more 'been there, done that' moments.
Look at things from different perspective, (not that I didn't before) just feel like I should equip myself with more knowledge.
Learn some skills.

zee little first post of 2012........... :D

Goodbye, 2011!

While we welcome the year of 2012 and making resolutions, let us reflect upon this past year. Don't just rush into a new year thinking it will be a new beginning and just sweeping things gone by under the carpet. Take a moment to go through the good times and tough times.

As I type on, everything in my mind points to only one conclusion.

"Time passes so fast."

I wish everyone a happy and prosperous new year. And as the rascals go back to school next week, I wish them well in their studies. :)

just a lil update

It's the end of the month. So, I am packing up all my stuff and will be moving out of the hostel today.
Mixed feelings. I am happy to finally be returning to Ipoh. Home sweet home. However, I'll miss Sunway a lot; this place has done me good.

When it really matters to you, that's when you really want to achieve it.

5 Ws and 1 H

WHAT

WHO

WHEN

WHICH

WHY

HOW

Of questions starting with the above words, don't you think that answering a WHY question is if not the most difficult, the one which will take the most time to think about before we reach the answer? Of course, it also depends on what question it is.

On another note, I have started using e-book, which I believe, is a useful creation. However, I am also aware that it is extremely bad for the eyes when you keep looking at the screen for hours. Very straining on the eyes. I would not have to resort to it if not for the fact that I could not get my hands on some of the books.

butter, sugar, chocolate, flour

I hardly bake except for baking cookies for Chinese New Year with my mum. Our specialty would be pineapple tarts. I love those a lot. Yet, I am less interested in baking because of the amount of work that comes along with it, especially washing of all the baking tools that have been used. With a lousy oven and no mixer, it is rather time consuming that it just puts me off.....


....till I tried the cupcakes that my friend, Nisha made. Whoah, those were so delicious that I immediately wanted to learn how to bake them from her. I want to learn it so that I can bake for my family and friends, I feel the need to spread the joy! :D

 So yesterday was this fine day in her very own kitchen that I learnt it from the 'sifu' herself. I thank her for sharing the recipe and teaching me.



Behold THE CUPCAKES



Will miss you, kawan. <3

b-a-c-k

I sat for my last paper of A Levels today, which means pre-u studies is already a thing of the past. This year  and a half has been very great for me. One that I truly cherish. I thank my dad for financing my A Level studies here in Sunway College. The journey that I had along the way, I absolutely appreciate it. The people I meet, the experiences I had.


On another note, I am struck by how little we actually know of others. There's a chinese saying, in direct translation, "you see that i'm good, i see that you're good".

After 5 weeks of not blogging, this post looks all over the place. Sorry folks, toodles for now.

No Update.

Again, the blogger will not be updating much for the next one month or so as she will be concentrating on her A2 examinations. Thank you.
Visit again at a later time. Sorry.

To them

I am so very lucky to have had such great classmates for A Levels. I would say this is my all-time favourite class, July 10 S1. Great lecturers we have too. Very dedicated. I miss them all. We've had so much fun and laughter together for the past one year plus. Became so close, went for a trip, go makan, study.
Thank you guys so much for making my college life so memorable. May our friendship last forever.

When life is good, have you ever ask, "Why me?"

Love does spring eternal

Love does spring eternal

Love this touching read.

A year ago, I shared this

 Lee Kuan Yew's eulogy for his wife

My friends :D

A post dedicated to friends I am grateful to have.

I am glad to have friend(s) (not in order of importance or priority):

• who remember my birthday
• who would still keep in touch, even if it's just a hi or a poke on Facebook
• who would wish me luck for exams and be happy for my achievements
• who would give me an especially delicious homemade cupcake
• who would pass around good food in class
• (classmates) who would sing a birthday song for every classmate and lecturer
• who would go on trips and have a great time together
• who would give me a ride to the KTM station when I needed it
• who would share the great things they came across with me
• who would make my day with simple acts
• who would give me a sweater as it would be cold in the cinema
• who would greet and acknowledge me
• who care about my health

(will add more when I think of some)

Green is the colour

Selamat Hari Raya Aidilfitri and Happy Holidays! =)

There Are No Perfect Fathers But......

Tsunami

This biology practical was done a few weeks ago. We immobilised enzymes in alginate beads. Quite remarkable stuff. These enzymes work eventhough they are immobilised in this bead form. Just put them in a column in the burette and pour in the substrate. You can then collect the products.

Reminds you of diamonds, eh?

Last Wednesday, I had the opportunity to try the famous nasi lemak at Village Park restaurant. Absolutely delicious. We arrived at about 11 something and it is already super crowded. I ordered nasi lemak rendang ayam which cost me RM 7.20 and soya bean cincau for RM 2.60. Hailing from Ipoh, the food haven where food prices are usually much lower, I would say it is worth a try. But when you are in KL, comparatively, it is one of those value-for-money food around! Try their nasi lemak ayam goreng, their specialty.
Therefore, folks, new eating spot. =)

bercham food

Okay, some Ipoh mali stuff.
Restaurant in focus: Bercham Emas

A stall serving rice with dishes
Good dishes that I've tried: Braised pork belly with yam, Assam fish/ fish head, speciality tofu, stir-fried kailan, herbal chicken
Other dishes: steamed tilapia, fried eggs, belacan kangkung, pork ribs
(forgot to take photos of them, will try to do it next time)

Also in the spotlight is the stall selling satay at night (opens around 8 pm)
Why: have not tried the satay yet but ETHICS respected.
As I was leaving Bercham Emas after dinner, I saw the uncle and his son cutting off the carbon, the burnt part of the satay meats before serving them.

toodles :)

Mode: Chasing time

So many things to do, so little time. As much as I want to whine about how 24 hours are not enough for me, I also do not want to succumb under pressure. This blog post is such a repetition of my bad time management skills. Haih..
A2 is no joke, really. "Don't play play ah."

I've realised that I am a more emotional person than I thought. I feel better when I rant about things not working out just for the sake of letting it out, you know. Looks like not many people are okay with it, since they have come to think that I am pessimistic and paranoid. I really should learn how to control my emotions.

Conclusion: I've still got a lot to learn. Really got to buck up!

So tiring to be chasing time, COME ON!, got to be ahead of time.

Walking into July

Hello, people! It's July already.

I really like walking at my own pace, though most of the times people just zoom past me. When you are walking that fast, you tend to miss out on a lot of beautiful little things. In the morning, when I step out of the hostel, I look up into the sky; brilliant blue. So serene. "A new day." =) I take a deep breath of the fresh air and walk to college. There are times, of course, when walking fast is a must. I also prefer taking the stairs than the elevator: healthy.

On another note, it's Wimbledon now. I am a huge fan of Roger Federer. He is really the greatest tennis player of all time. This time round, he crashed out of the quarterfinals. I hope he could at least win a Grand Slam again.

I watched Transformers 3. For me, it was pretty good. I like the transformers part with the good effects, not so much on some of the actors'. Still, I would recommend you to watch it. =)

Fast forward

Only the second day of classes but lessons are already on fast pace. All lecturers are trying to finish up the syllabus. I am foreseeing very busy and hectic days coming soon. This is when time management skill comes in.
In the meantime, I am looking forward to watching Transformers: Dark of the Moon and Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.

*missing much good times*

Semester 3

They say all good things must come to an end. Semester 3 is starting today. Honestly, I am not so looking forward to it yet. I am missing my break. The past 2 weeks have been a great experience and it hurts badly that I am now back in hostel and will be going through the same routine again. Nevertheless, I thank God for the opportunity.

Understand?

A sudden urge to blog.

Human beings are such complicated creatures. You probably will never really understand anyone at all a 100%. Every person is so uniquely different that differences in opinions are bound to occur. This may not lead to a disaster. In fact, if one can actually have an open mind, you may find it to be rather interesting to look at things from a different perspective. If you just loosen up your stand a little at times and for a moment put yourself in the shoes of others, you may be amazed to find that it is such a good learning process, maybe even realise that how little knowledge you have or how selfish you have been.

Speaking of understanding others, have you thought of whether you even understand yourself well?

No Update

The blogger will not be updating much for the next one month or so as she is concentrating on her AS exams.
Sorry. Visit again at a later time.

No Fool

It's already April, folks. I thought when you are in college, pranks for April Fool's Day is going to be so much worse. However, there wasn't any hint of even one practical joke in my class but that's not surprising since it's mock exams next week. So, as of now, I am lucky this year to not have myself tricked. :)

The past week had just zoomed in and out. Sometimes, I just lost track of time as it flew by. The week was okay; things went alright. The only setback is I am still way behind in my revision for mock exams.
Cheers for a good week. :)


PS: The only person standing in your way is you yourself.

Mini update ;)

It's been mundane for the past two weeks, largely due to the fact that exams are looming near. Everyone is just immersing themselves in the large piles of books. I would love to update on interesting issues, unfortunately, I don't have much. Just a couple of mini ones.

The new ALSCO committee organised an A-Level Inter class Olympic Games. I was first signed up for tug of war. I thought I want to try it out since it would be an interesting, new experience. However, it was cancelled on the day of event because there was no rope! =_= All was not down, nonetheless. With the teams already present, they decided to have captain ball matches instead. So, with almost three quarters of the classmates cheering for us, we trashed the other 3 teams and brought home victory. :D
Credits to good teamwork and supportive classmates.

Yesterday, I had the opportunity to use the McD voucher where one must purchase a minimum of RM5 and get 2 Big Breakfasts for free. I was so satisfied after I bought the meal. It is a very good promotion; many customers were queuing up to buy their breakfasts with the vouchers. It's a pity that the vouchers are valid until the end of this month. *sobs* I would want to patronize McD more often if the promotion lasts longer.

PS Words of encouragement from your loved ones never ceases to help. The effect it gives really is amazing. =)

Surely Like This

For this issue, I am going to write it in Thinking Skills terms.

 Circumstantial evidence

Say, you are in a crowd and just witnessed someone get thrown with two eggs. And you happened to have just reached the place straight after grocery shopping. Your bag contains a carton of eggs but with only 10 eggs in it, and that is just because you bought only 10 eggs. However, after some chemical analysis, the eggs that were thrown matched the eggs you bought in terms of size, grade etc. So, you have suddenly become the culprit.

How does that feel? At that moment, you would be like " God, why me?! "

I have recently encountered such problem and it is definitely very frustrating trying to explain yourself. Man, I tell you. Although, in my case, I was not accused of a bad thing. I actually by luck happened to achieve something but people would tend to only credit the things that led up to it, which is not entirely true.

PS: Ipoh is a great place to grow up in. ;) Sending regards to all Ipoh langs, either to those who are still in Ipoh or to those who have gone to all parts of the world.

Fit for a royalty

I would like to congratulate the cast and crew of 'The King's Speech' for the many nominations and awards they have achieved including Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor and Best Original Screenplay at the Academy Awards recently.

Watch for the ever-charming Colin Firth at his best. He plays King George VI who tries to overcome his stammer to lead the country. He is introduced to Lionel Logue, the unorthodox speech therapist played by Geoffrey Rush. Also not to forget Helena Bonham Carter as the king's wife. Both gave very convincing performances too.

This is one of the best films I have watched so far. You will not regret watching this. ;)

Footprints in the Sand

One night I had a dream, I dreamed that I was walking along the beach with the Lord and across the sky flashed scenes of my life. For each scene, I noticed two sets of footprints, one belonged to me and the other to the Lord. When the last scene of my life flashed before me, I looked back at the footprints in the sand. I noticed that many times along the path of my life, there was only one set of footprints and that it happened at the lowest and saddest moments of my life. This really bothered me and I asked the Lord about it.

"Lord, you said that when I decide to follow you, you would walk with me all the way, but I have noticed that during the worst times of my life, there is only one set of footprints."
"I don't understand why in times when I needed you most, you should leave me."

The Lord replied, " My precious, precious child, I love you and I would never, ever leave you during your times of trial and suffering. When you saw only one set of footprints, it was then that I carried you."

(I read this on a paper tablemat at Shogun Restaurant and thought it good to share it on my blog.)

;)

Good Stress?No. Bad stress? Yes.

Most of the time, stress is a bad one for me. I have never really look at it as good stress. Stress can easily drives us crazy. It makes you swear a lot more, lose your pleasant sleep, gets agitated quickly, like the whole world owes you something. The things that you do under stress might hurt people's feelings or simply annoy them. This process can sometimes be a vicious circle if not managed well.

Handling stress has not been my strongest point but I always try to keep myself together. =) At the moment, stress is getting on my nerves. I am not at my best, not having my 'mojo'. Even trying to make this blog post is taking twice the time that I would usually need. But, I know all I need are baby steps, getting things done one at a time because obviously multitasking is not a good option when you are stressful. In no time at all, problems will be solved and 'the Sun shines again'.

Never ever push a panic button. Good old sane person will know it doesn't help much.

Coping with stress, I have caved in to spending more time watching movies and videos. =(
Anyway, I watched "I Love Hong Kong". It is a movie good for laughs. "Black Swan" is a definitely a great film, must-watch. I was at the edge of my seat throughout the movie. Good directing, acting, storyline. Well-deserved nominations and awards it has received.

Back to business

I'm back. Took a 2-week break to celebrate Chinese New Year. Hope it is not too late to wish everyone a Happy Chinese New Year. May the year of the rabbit bring prosperity, good health and good luck to all of us.

"Everybody lies."  House
I am such a huge fan of House series that I tend to mention things from it in many of my posts. I hope readers of my blog don't mind it. I really have a 'thing' for scriptwriters of some of the good dramas. The lines that the actors say are just so memorable and meaningful. If you just take some time and appreciate the lines as well as the acting, watching the television is so much more of a learning experience. Try taking some of the lines, think about it and do some self reflection. =)

So back to everybody lies. I strongly agree with the statement but at the same time wonder if there is anybody at all who does not lie in his lifetime. How do you feel when you lie? Anxious? Guilty? Nonchalant? Even when you are telling a white lie, you would feel uneasy because it sucks to be betraying that someone's trust. Or is it that you have been doing it on an almost daily routine that you are unperturbed by the act of lying. It is the most unfortunate thing to bump into such insincere jerk and never knowing when the person is telling the truth or when the person is lying.

Remember the fable, "The Boy Who Cried Wolf"? It is about a bored shepherd boy who found it extremely entertaining crying for help to trick the villagers into thinking that a wolf is attacking his flock of sheep. However, when the villagers arrived, they realised it was false alarm and a waste of time. When the boy was actually confronted by the wolf, the villagers did not come to his rescue when he again cried for help for they did not believe him. In the end, all his sheep were eaten by the wolf.

This fable is now told to children to teach them that even when liars tell the truth, no one would actually believe them or worse still, listen to them.

A Little Something

Some of the quotes from television programmes that I would like to share.

" As the philosophical Jagger once said, you can't always get what you want. " House

" You can't be angry at God and not believe in Him at the same time. " a nun character from House Season 1

" How many tens of years does one have in his life? " Chai Gau from Rosy Business

Life is too short to be spent on unnecessary things. Carpe diem. Do you feel grateful everyday, even if it is only for trivial things? Appreciate your loved ones. =)

For the win!

Having a sluggish start to the year is already bad enough. What's more when things are all tangled up. It's like you are trying to knit a sweater but what you have now in front of you is a large, furry ball of tangled yarn. The more you try to straighten things out, the more complicated it becomes.

Reminder to self: Stay strong, hang in there and hope for the better. =)

Nostalgia

Everyday, we are so engrossed in our routines that we forget many of the little things in life, hence, not appreciating the present. Only when it has become a thing of the past that we really felt their importance for now that it is gone, it left a huge hole in our lives. Then, we long for those good old times that are now just sweet memories.

So, in today's blog post, I will be highlighting an art that was part of my life for more than 10 years.

 BALLET

When I was young, I had really bad posture and always slouching my back. My dad made a good decision by enrolling me into ballet classes. That was the moment I was exposed to the world of dance.

Now I tend to appreciate dance reality shows on television more because you have got to experience it to know exactly how difficult those dance steps are. 

Though I may not be a very good ballerina, I have always enjoyed my ballet classes. Besides testing your motor skills and the ability to dance to the rhythm of the music, the techniques are rather hard to master.

Since then, my posture has improved a lot. It also helped me to release stress after a tiring week of schooldays. Every one-hour lesson relaxed my mind and was a good exercise.

Those were the days....

Starting the engine

First post for year 2011.
New year, new 'beginning'.

Recently, I came across this question in a website.

" WHAT IS YOUR TRUE PURPOSE IN LIFE? "

It kept me thinking for a whole week. Till now, it is still bugging me. How about you, folks?