Sunday, February 25, 2007

Stg's gotta happen this week.

Not sure if it's good or bad,
but i must be alert.
I shall wait and see.

Saturday, February 24, 2007

Saying Grace In A Restaurant

(the following is adapted from a forwarded email)

Last week, I took my children to a restaurant.

My six-year-old son asked if he could say grace.

As we bowed our heads he said, "God is good, God is great. Thank you for the food, and I would even thank you more if Mom gets us ice cream for dessert. And Liberty and justice for all! Amen!"

Along with the laughter from the other customers nearby, I heard a woman remark, "That's what's wrong with this country. Kids today don't even know how to pray. Asking God for ice cream! Why, I never!"

Hearing this, my son burst into tears and asked me, "Did I do it wrong?Is God mad at me?"

As I held him and assured him that he had done a terrific job, and God was certainly not
mad at him, an elderly gentleman approached the table.


He winked at my son and said, "I happen to know that God thought that was a great prayer."

"Really?" my son asked.

"Cross my heart," the man replied.

Then, in a theatrical whisper, he added (indicating the woman whose remark had started this whole thing), "Too bad she never asks God for ice cream. A little ice cream is good for the soul sometimes."

Naturally, I bought my kids ice cream at the end of the meal.

My son stared at his for a moment, and then did something I will remember the rest of my life.

He picked up his sundae and, without a word, walked over and placed it in front of the woman.

With a big smile he told her, "Here, this is for you. Ice cream is good for the soul sometimes; and my soul is good already."

THE END

~Sometimes, we all need some ice cream.
I hope God sends you some Ice Cream today~

Tuesday, February 20, 2007

precious gift

i am redeeming a present given to me on 23rd Dec 06. I was lost, now i am found!

Firstly, a silver ring of PRIORITY. May you always remember to set your priorities right as you look at the ring on your finger. But beware, for there will also be many things along the way that will be of distraction. The ring will lose its glow if you allow them to bring you off track, and it will then lose its purpose, becoming just another ordinary accessory. Keep its glow!

Secondly, a cap of MOTIVATION. Putting on the cap gives you external motivation, and may you know that there are many who will always support and encourage you along the way. But bear in mind, that without intrinsic motivation, without a strong willpower within you to keep going, all external motivation will be in vain. Wear the cap though, so that you know you are not alone.

Lastly, a simple PRAYER. May His strength sustain you; His hand be your guide; His grace be your suffiency.

i really like this, and i am going to DO it!
"ipba dun offer you a good environment, then u create the environment mar"

Monday, February 19, 2007

Lines

(the following is from a fwd e-mail...)

Standing for what you believe in,
Regardless of the odds against you,
And the pressure that tears your resistance,
...means Courage.
Keeping a smile on your face,
When inside you feel like dying,
For the sake of supporting others,
...means Strength.
Stopping at nothing,
And doing what's in your heart,
You know is right,
...means Determination.
Doing more than is expected,
To make another's life a little more bearable,
Without uttering a single complaint,
...means Compassion.
Helping a friend in need,
No matter the time or effort,
To the best of your ability,
...means Loyalty.
Giving more than you have,
And expecting nothing,
But nothing in return,
...means Selflessness.
Holding your head high,
And being the best you know you can be,
When life seems to fall apart at your feet,
Facing each difficulty with confidence
that time will bring you better tomorrow's,
and never giving up,
...means Confidence.
To the question of your life
you are the only Answer.
To the problems of your life
you are the only Solution.

Mariah Carey - Can't Take That Away From Me

They can say,
Anything they want to say,
Try to bring me down,
But I will not allow anyone to succeed hanging clouds over me,

And they can try
How to make me feel that I,
Don't matter at all,
But I refuse to falter in what I believe or loose faith in my dreams
'Cause there's,
There's a light in me,
That shines brightly,
They can try,
But they can't take that away from me

From me
No no nooo
Oh they,
They can do
Anything they want to you,
If you let them in,
But they won't ever win,
If you cling to you pride, and just push them aside,
See I,
I have learned,
There's an inner peace I own,
Something in my soul that they can not possess
So I won't be afraid and the darkness will fade
'Cause there's,
There's light in me,
That shines brightly, yes
They can try,
But they can't take that away from me
No oh oh,
They can't take this
Precious love I'll always have inside me,
Certainly the Lord will guide me where I need to goWoah, woah
They can say
Anything they want to say,
Try to bring me down,
But I won't face the ground,
I will rise steadily sailing out of their reach,
Although they do try,
How to make me feel that I,
Don't matter at all,
But I refuse to fall,
Tell me what I believe or loose faith in my dreams,

'Cause there's a light in me,
That shines brightly yesThey can try but they can't take that away from me
From me
No no nooo
Me

Sunday, February 18, 2007

new site to EXPLORE

A cousin of mine came all te way from Kuching for CNY, but the best thing about him coming to house now is to show me this unbelievably 'awesome' website, called uncyclopedia!

For a start, just type the only thing that comes into your head now, for example,
MALAYSIA or Albert Einstein, and you'll find information which you'll never expect.

The first time i read the Malaysia articles, it was so funny and entertaining. But as i moved more detailed into reading its content, it does go a little 'honest' and 'revealing' about what's happening in Malaysia. In fact, i was taken aback by what they said.

Anyway, i gotta let you have a read at it and get some feedbacks from u soon!

Friday, February 16, 2007

A road to discovery

"The only real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking new landscapes, but in having new EYES"
(as cited by Marcel Proust in Loving annabelle, 2006)

Home

I am home after a month of hectic and challenging life in IPBA. I am tired mentally, physically and emotionally. Thanks to a busy day this morning where I had two tutorials classes to attend to and the Jabatan HEP (Hal Ehwal Pelajar) to chase after their signature of my absence. While today was still a working Thursday, the college seemed very much deserted after its recess hour. It could be speculated that both students and even lecturers who don’t have classes are heading back home for CNY!

Trying to make full use of the remaining few hours in IPBA, Doreen, Elyas, Rosalynn and I went out for a leisure drive and walk at Bangsar which slowly drew the two ladies to some dress shopping. One even ended up buying a cool and cheap dress there!

There is not much time left to spare once i arrived back hostel. I quickly packed up my luggage. Just as I packed and looked for the things to be brought back, I stumbled on a pendant which has long been kept in my drawer. It’s a hook-shaped pendant given to me on my birthday last year. Taking it out of the drawer took me back to the time when I first looked at it saying 'whoaaa' and when I first wore it. It is pretty but it’s a little dusty. It’s so obvious that I have not been wearing it for quite some time. And although its black string looked a little dusty, the white pendant is still shiny like before.


Somehow, I was brought to reflect the times when I neglected her over the past few weeks. I had come out with a hundred and one reasons to cover myself eg discussion, meeting, dinner, appointment etc. It worked but somehow i feel the uneasiness within. Also, not everything has fallen in the right place. in fact, many important things are not done yet as compared to unimportant things like watching movies, outing etc. Priority is one that i am lacking of now. It would be a big challenge for me next Tuesday when i go back IPBA and give myself a new opportunity to once again set my priorities right.

In the taxi where I was on a 1-hour trip to the airport, I was brought to think how fast time has passed. It seemed like yesterday when I first stepped on KL in pursuit of a new semester in IPBA; but now I was on my way back home. In this one month, something amazing happened. I didn’t whinge about my future practicum which is coming soon in July. Neither did I complain about my future life as a language teacher. I made less comparison about my life in IPBA and in Brisbane back then, except one which is on the lack of resources and books in IPBA library. Perhaps, I begin to be able to accept the fact of me becoming a future language teacher. It’s crazy but I think I begin to see myself as a language teacher now. What is happening to me? What is happening around me? Has it been something working within me? Should it be a good thing or a bad thing?

Anyway, I’m tired now. Hardly can I think anymore. It’s time to take some time off to rest now. The question of whether it’s good or bad will appear one day.

Saturday, February 10, 2007

REunite

It’s a night not forgotten. It’s a night to be remembered. A night where impossible became possible, dreams became reality, and all efforts and hard work are paid off in the end. About a week ago, Anas, Allen and Faisal came out with the idea of having a night of reunite-cum-performance before we submit ourselves readily into the life of endless assignment submission following the next few weeks. And we called the night ‘REunite’.

When this plan has got its approval from the authority, its preparation was in full swing. Different groups of dance enthusiasts began looking for volunteers. Similarly, committee members were busy preparing and arranging events and ideas days and night. I on a lower profile volunteered myself to join the one-of-the-best-art-dances as described by Glo called Glowing in the dark.

As choreographed by Hani, we had our first dance practice on the day I had my right wisdom tooth removed. I could in fact talk on the first night despite my half numb face resulted from the ecstasy injection. That night, I was asked by Tapa if I was interested to do Haka dance. I agreed. The next day, I was informed that there will be a break dance on the night. Having no idea how to move or act like a hip-hop rapper, I agreed again with a hope that this experience would be an awesome one.

Basically, we had only one week to prepare for this night. Those who were committed and chose to volunteer had put in a great deal of effort to make this night possible. I, for example, suggested an idea of using technology to do slideshow on the night. The next second I knew, I was in the team. I was in charge of technology, particularly on the section of creating and editing video. It was on Monday night when this was suggested; and the show was just two nights ahead.

That night, I started scratching my head to think of a good introduction. Finally, I had it done perfectly but it was already 4.30am on my laptop’s screen (lectures began at 8.00am that morning). There were seven sections which I needed to do and 5-8 minutes was allocated for each section. It’s considered late to start then, but all I could think of at that moment was to have it done successfully. I regarded this project – this night – as a night of utmost importance because lecturers, friends and even Nesa would come and I wanted them to enjoy every single moment of it. I wanted to give it my best shot.

Time was running as I was working behind time. Many challenges came along my way: not enough photos from each university, time constraints, my own dance practices, insufficient ideas and painful tooth. That Tuesday, I knew I won’t be sleeping that night because of the loads of work to be completed. At 3.00am Wednesday morning, I just completed the first part. 6 parts to go! As persistent as my effort went, my friends here too were also running against time in completing their work. I really appreciated their efforts in giving up their time for this night. I understood some who in fact gave up and slept after a long night of work. By 7.30am the next morning, I had only completed 3 7-minutes-slideshows. It was the first time in my life that I spent a sleepless night for something non-academic. Indeed, I went to class that Wednesday morning with a pair of tired eyes yet determined heart of completing the slideshows.

Class finished at 12.30pm. 8 hours to go! Already I felt a little hopeless in this task completion thing, but all my friends told me not to keep going. In my tired eyes yet active brain functioning, I continued working. At 3pm, I finished the fourth part! The fifth’s at 4pm! Before I forget, Allen had me participated in Para-para sakura dance for this night, and so he explained to me about its formation at 4pm something. Back to working, the sixth and the seventh were quite short and so I had them both done in an hour time. By 5.30pm, I successfully completed everything! I remembered I being very hungry at that moment; and Nesa told me he had arrived already. So we went Scud and had dinner there.

It was a total contentment to see that everything was done well before the event started.

On the night, I chose to wear a rapper costume. Since I thought I was participating in the break dance and had never worn a hip-hop baju, I decided to give it a try. The night was fantastic as it moved along. Dances went excellently awesome, especially for Haka dance for which people thought it was lame and unreal at first. After the night, I took lots of pictures with my friends around despite my tired eyes and brain this time.

me, Dodo & Elyas


Me, Allen & Dodo
group pics
Vwen, me & Cath
me & Ashes
The Hip-Hop boys

The best things I loved about that night were that:
- the sleepless night.
- Nesa coming from Melaka and watched my show.
- wearing like a rapper.
- words of encouragement from my fellow friends.
- words of compliments after the show.
- strong unity between each one of us after the show.
- the feeling of teamwork between each one of us despite the time constraints.

The night proved to me once again that nothing is impossible when I called upon Jesus’s name. Even the sleepless night would not hinder me from completing what I want to do. All thanks to those who had helped me so much throughout this period of time. Knowing that I am blogging now, Allen, my roommate now, asked me to include his name in this blog. So here you go Allen. Thanks to u too! And though saham has naik after the night, I must maintain my humility with others. There is nothing to be proud of myself because all good things come from Him. With everything that I am doing, I am doing it for Him. At least now I can publicly declare that I have done something meaningful in my life here in IPBA.

Ps: Mr. Aslam our lecturer yesterday commented our REunite that night as 3S’s: Spectacular, Sensational and … he left the last one for us to think. Is it supposed to be a suspense sir? Do we need one? :p