Run

Do things that you never thought that you'll ever do. When something scares you, you know you're doing it right, you know you're living life to your fullest potential. You don't need to plan it all to make it work cause plans are dead. Now, I can proudly share if I were asked how it feels like donating a part of myself. The red bloody connective tissue that does everything it has to to keep me alive. Although it started off as a not so good experience but it became one that was even more memorable than the crazy deed itself. I am grateful for the ever so caring and loving people by my side who knows me and what I need better than I do sometimes.

And three whole days of Health Promotion Campaign could really open your eyes to more things that you'll ever learn in a year of lectures. Things that I call the 'real stuffs out there'. The people, they're real. Their stories, the look on their faces when they express those words, the burning desire to know more and to be reassured. I'm glad to have been exposed to this side of the profession that I've chosen. And the indescribable feeling of satisfaction working and spending more than 12 hours a day with my fellow batch mates and the seniors. They're an awesome bunch. It's a shame that we only have such brief moments with each other before some of them leave to UK. Nevertheless, the connection was strong and a comprehensive one. No one could understand this part of our uni life better than they do really.

This evening, I am glad to have the opportunity to listen to Orla Meade, Unilever's HR Head of Singapore. It was a privilege speaking to her and she said, studying something and doing something in life doesn't have to be the same thing. Love her Irish accent. Okay gotta pack, off to Penang tomorrow. Teehee.

Love, peace and understanding.

A different kind of love

I can't blog as often anymore cause priority setting has leaped into the picture and it's taking up a bigger role than I imagined it would. Not that having quality alone time is of no importance anymore but it has to be done faster, more productive. It's true that productivity is not determined by the amount of time you put into doing something but how much effort you put into that duration. Something Puan Giam wrote in my little notebook in standard six. I didn't quite understand how it would relate to life or in what context it can be applied but now, light-bulb moments!

Right now, doing what I sign myself up for without expecting much in return at first, if this is not it then I don't know what is. Even if it's not, every experience is worth the try. It's totally different and this is what I wanted. Things HAVE to be different in order to obtain that something different that I'm searching for. It's a crazy thing to jump into an unfamiliar, ever-changing ocean without a plan but it's crazier to tie yourself to the railway track and pray for miracles.

Yesterday was a good day with the family in Port Dickson. What's better was having a good read under the humble shade of a coconut tree on the sandy beach. Triple goodness is what I call it.

"You had many more years," he said.

"I didn't want them."

"But they wanted you. Time is not something you give back. The very next moment may be an answer to your prayer. To deny that is to deny the most important part of the future."

"What's that?"

"Hope."

The shame welled up inside her, and once again, she wept. She missed her mother more than ever.

"I'm so sorry," Sarah gasped, tears pouring down her cheeks.

"It's just felt like. . . the end."

"Ends are for yesterdays, not tomorrows."

Dor waved a hand, and the street dissolved into sand. The skies turned a midnight purple, filled with countless stars.

"There is more for you to do in this life, Sarah Lemon."

-an excerpt from The Timekeeper by Mitch Albom.

May you all have a wonderful Monday.
Happy April!
And peace, love and understanding. Always. :)

Cielo

I know it's everywhere but just wanna say, great effort to the organising team and everyone involved in putting together such an awesome event. It did reached out to many many youths in the most exciting and upbeat way. Such a shame the lil' one and I had to leave before the concert. Anyways, it was worth it listening to all the sharing from a list of successful and inspiring personalities like Tony Fernandes, Dato Ruby Khong, Pushpa Basnet, Scott Hammel, Henry Golding, 14-year old Matthew Supramaniam and Deborah Henry and of course, our prime minister. :D

She is Ashling Ezra Lee. :)

Happy Monday, amigos!

Little Things

It's been a hectic but fun-packed week last week. Kudos to the OC of the School of Pharmacy Sports Day 2012 for pulling off such an awesome one within the span of mere two weeks. It was really well-executed and everybody seemed to be enjoying themselves. Jillian and I were the official photographers of the day but I ditched my camera every now and then to have fun myself. Came off fifth for the 1km run and my team, Team Orange Juice! championed the dodgeball competition. Of course, everything comes with a cost; bruised my knees badly and gave my muscles a humongous shock. Woke up the next morning with the expected entire body ache and had the time of our lives at the AIESEC LEAD Conference. Extremely awesome, inspiring and funny speakers. One of them looks and speaks like Russel Peters. :)

It's a really joyful feeling spending time you don't usually have doing things as simple as just talk and laugh in the library as if there's no one around. It's rare to come by someone whom you could jump straight to comfortable zone and just surprise them to the core. It's amazing how simple food like the food court's could give you such great contentment. It's beautiful how two people could sit over nothing and share a good time together (okay one had a sandwich, a cookie, a drink and a very hungry tummy and the other, lots of stories and time to kill intentionally) Lol. I've known them for a year now. If it wasn't for them, everything wouldn't have been as it is now. I know I'm blessed and cared for dearly when I had to postpone invitations or jot down 'dates' scheduled for weeks ahead. :D. Owh it's the winter solstice festival tomorrow. Thought of the time I packed them to uni last year and Cat had so much. Haha. 

Focus on what you have right now especially the little things, you'll realise that you're a very very spoilt kid. ;)

This is our family. The SOP family.

Aren't we nerdy? :D

Epiphany

Hi there. Today's been great. Half of the usual crowd in uni, light drizzle instead of the usual thunder and storm, I don't know, it just felt different. The test was alright. And spending time with the interns was just wonderful. I kept forgetting and thought that they're locals. It's true that food connects people no matter where they come from. It's a universal subject everybody and anybody could relate to. Brought them on a tour around the campus like a qualified tour guide. They love our mamaks yo :).

Discovered many interesting things today; a friend I never knew I could share so much similar interests with, a validation that my decision two months ago was something very right and that I'm still a long way more to where I wish to be. And I still surprise myself with things I do when I don't think too much about it. Hmm.


3. Quality of life is determined by how you deal with your 
moments, not which moments happen and which don't.
To encounter an undesirable situation and work with it willingly is the mark of a wise and happy person.
http://thoughtcatalog.com/2012/9-mind-blowing-epiphanies-that-turned-my-world-upside-down/#ApDkAJzUs7vSoxdJ.99 


Check out this article is you're free. Lovely weekend, amigos! :D

Sugar & Honey

Happy November! Two more months and it's gonna be the end of this very memorable year. For some reasons, I'm just looking forward to celebrating Christmas and New Year. I like the feeling of being around family and friends. And it's not easy to have everybody gather together any more with so many commitments on our plates as we grow up. And it's nice to see the crowd grow bigger too with cousins bringing along their special someones for dinner. Okay, how did I even get into this topic. And I'm lost for words again.

Gonna rest early for tomorrow I'll be going for my pharmacy placement in Kajang. Hope to have a great time. Just wanna say that no matter how bad things get, there will always be a brighter day ahead. And it feels so good sharing with someone who is just like you. Hope to stay back more often and have dinner or just sit and talk all night like we used to, seriously. Me not driving is indeed quite troublesome as I have to be dependent on others and I feel bad having to say goodbye so soon every single time to them.

Most of the time, I don't do what I wanted to because I am afraid of changes and disappointments. I can survive better being thrown into the sea without warnings but it is extremely difficult for me to jump into a lake voluntarily. I am aware of who I am and what I want to become. And I really hope I have enough will power and courage to do this, for myself. I have to stop thinking and doing so much for others unnecessarily. Like Zee said, "Overdoing anything is bad." I truly appreciate the people who cares so much for me, I don't even know if I deserve this. They are the ones who made uni life so vibrant and joyful. A bunch of different personalities from different corners of the country sitting together, eating, laughing, teasing, gossiping, cracking jokes, reminiscing awkward incidents. Like that day, Sarah did my 'Catwoman' make-up for Halloween. She's just awesome I must say. And Jillian too, she offered me her cat ears when she heard about the event I'm attending. God, thank you. :)

Great weekend, amigos. Find fun in miserable times and you'll never live another day of mud face. XD

You're the reason behind those smiles.

Howdy amigos. What better ways to welcome the weekend than doing something meaningful away from your thick heavy books and stressful timetable. Went for can-washing yesterday right after lecture with the whole gang from the class. Although it was raining, nobody complained but worked so diligently trying to get the work done as swiftly as possible. It's such an amazing feeling to obtain such contentment from doing something as simple as washing cans with your fellow friends in the cold drizzle. After that, attended a super last minute potluck party at the twin's apartment. Though we had simple, not-so-fancy food and take-away's but everybody enjoyed with endless joy in the company of awesome people. Playing Mafia was probably the biggest mistake for some of them especially Jordan. Haha face problem betul the whole night.

Today, woke up earlier than usual for the Educating children in Rural Areas (E.RA) Project in Pahang. It was an initiative by one of the groups in LEAD Programme in collaboration with the Reading Bus organisation. I've always wanted to do this, going to the rural areas, reaching out in whatever ways I could to help the aborigines. As you would've imagined it to be, twas a dismal sight with shortages in so many aspects. The first thing I saw when I stepped out of the four-wheel-drive was a pair of miniature slippers on the uneven yellow soil. I broke into a crooked smile before entering the hall where the children were. There were about 50 to 60 of them and they looked so innocent and ignorant of the lives they have yet to know exist if they would only reach their hands out to it. Or if they only knew it existed. It's 'heavy' to imagine myself being in their shoes and imagine not being who I am and where I am right now.

So we started off with a short ice-breaker. Then, it was free reading session. The kids were allowed to come up to the shelf and pick whatever books they like. You can clearly see there was a relatively big gap between the ones who are able to follow and the younger ones who are merely pushed by the current. Next, we distributed the new books on 'Bugs' and narrated it to them and they repeated after us. I never taught I would ever had the chance to do this, seriously. I went around trying to converse with them but obviously, their strength is in the Malay language. So I took a different approach and we did manage to understand each other. I saw their smiles when I high-fived them. Irreplaceable. And Pastor Charlie was really awesome in teaching the kids and getting them to be responsive and interactive. He shared a little about himself in the car, he's been doing this for 30 years now. It's just amazing.

It's been a really eye-opening experience. What I've realised and share would never be the same if you do not live it yourself for real. One thing for sure is that, if we have never seen something, we wouldn't have the desire for it. If you do not open yourself to the crazy amount of opportunities out there, you wouldn't know what suits you best or in the first place, what you would even have to ponder upon. It's pointless to be afraid, all you have to keep in mind is the precautions in case things go bad, which should be nothing surprising. I appreciate the love and care from everyone around me and I love you too very much.

Keep trying unless you're completely paralysed! Good day. :D

Rainbow after the rain.

My eye lids are like the black clouds, heavy with load but I want to remember today. As usual, I woke up to the melody of Boston and fall back for ten minutes. Wasn't expecting much out of today, was contemplating to be a good or bad student. It's like I didn't have anything to look forward to until Friday. Thankfully I did the right thing and stayed till the end. If it was me last time, I would have thought of the activities as lame and a mere waste of time but I actually thought it was quite enjoyable and was a good opportunity to get to know my potential classmates. What harm could it cause me anyway.

So what happened was I showed them how physically tough I could be. Haha I don't know, twas fun just fooling around and laughing uncontrollably like that. That three hours were joyfully spent with playing Charades, the running while acting game, drinking 1.5 litres of diluted apple cider vinegar and jumping with balloons between our legs and under our armpits. The most surprising thing was our group won first prize. The evening got better when I met up with a few former classmates in foundation and had a great sharing session with the elegant Farah Yunos. Thank you so much for the beautiful bracelet, it was a lovely surprise and very thoughtful gift, by the lake :D. Before that, I dropped my just-collected ID card and a lady came searching for me in the pc lab. Thank goodness.

It was a blessed day for me indeed. LLDS this Friday, have not packed a single thing. Long day ahead. Good day amigos!

Random photos in the cam. Sorry if it hurts ;P

Sometimes you only need one minute to make a change.

Halcyon

First day of orientation. I thought it was super duper boring. Maybe I was too tired that I slept off during the briefing. I honestly didn't mean it as I wouldn't like it too if people were to fall asleep when I'm speaking. And I was sitting beside a senior who's busy with her iPad. Anyways, it's great seeing all those familiar faces again. Some of them changed their appearance a little, getting prettier and more ladylike. I enjoyed and really appreciate those who actually came up and said hi to me and we had a lil' chat. It's sad to see some who perhaps are comfortable enough staying within their own clique so they actually gave that I-didn't-see-you-there look and turned away when I looked directly at them and threw a couple of smiles. I felt like I was an alien with huge external eyeballs or something. So weird. The lecturers looked quite intimidating though, and there's darn many rules to abide to. It's gonna be awesome.

We all know that anything could happen, we just don't think about it that often. Hence, do what you think is important to you. Don't waste time on people who don't appreciate and love you back. Open up your heart and allow the right people in. It's okay if intruders get in cause one day, they'll come to realise that they don't have a nest to take cover it when the cold harsh wind or the hot blazing fire comes washing the don't-matters away. "It's not what you've lost but what you find."

Often I lie wide awake, think of things

I can make but I don't seem to have

The parts to build them

Human - Ellie Goulding

Fairytales

To all the free at mind and heart, congratulations. We've persevered and thrived through this one year and whatever happens, be proud because we came out of the battle alive! Lol exaggerations. So one chapter is closed. The next chapter, 24th September 2012. It's really not that far away, time flies and before you know it, it's right in front of you. And things that happened, it seems as though it just happened yesterday. Scary.

Anyways, happy holiday and go crazy. :D

Mi Ohana ♥. 

Patatas

Something's not right and really weird with moi today. My fingernails are the colour of M&M's. Seriously, and it's darn distracting during quiz today according to Calista. Haha. And an Iranian friend called me Canny the Cute :/. And I was sitting under the umbrella thingy and a hot girl sat beside me and a friend asked if she's my friend. In the bus, someone said hi to me like I'm her close friend for years. So nice :). 

So yes, today was weird but I think I like it. Where you just go with the flow, shed down all paranoia and ego and do whatever your heart tells you to. The feeling you get after that is priceless, trust me.  Not everything has to go as planned or with deep mind-crushing thoughts. It's more exciting like that and it gives more contentment. And most importantly, it's honest and sincere from your heart. I love you God =). 

I can't wait for this weekend! :D

The only korean dude I find attractive. He's a dude for god's sake. HAHA.

Farah! She's a star now ;)

No wonder she asked for the picture the other day. Hmm. 

May you blossom to the fullest in spring

And I'll still see you on winter nights

Small Bump

Ever listened to a song millions of time to find out what was the true message behind it? Well I did. At first, I thought twas about an 'imaginary' baby he never had. I thought wow, this dude is something to write about something so darn deep. And one day, being me, I overthink and I thought maybe it's more than that. Maybe it was about a miscarriage. So little detail was given at the end of the song, it must be something more. So yea, me addicted to the song very muchie :).

This past one week has been quite a ride downhill. New timetable. Monday, we had to urinate into the beaker and measure it for a few times for the urine output experiment. Twas weird cause people might be thinking "I know what you're gonna do inside there with those apparatus and you're disgusting." Haha anyways, we had fun. There were people complimenting each other, Not bad uh, you can pee a lot; You got big bladder!; You pee so much uh, wah. So hilarious.

Tuesday, we made soap. Seriously almost fell asleep while stirring. Most boring experiment ever. And instead of powder soap, Kam and I got jelly soap. Haha. The funniest part was when the new demonstrator just finished explaining, Kam and I turned to each other and asked, "So, do what now?". Wednesday, we shot the advertisement for our charcoal toothpaste. Can't wait to see the outcome :D. Thursday, slept over at Farah's house. All of us cooked dinner together and watched A Crazy Little Thing Called Love. So awesomeee. The guy in it is so cute and it was one of the sweetest love story I've ever seen. Yesterday, class ended at 9am for us. Had a lovely time talking over Baskin Robbins and walking around pyramid.

In two more months, we'll all separate and go in different directions and be somebody great. Everybody has a part of their lives that they don't want to talk about. Not that they intentionally hide it but it was just not something they themselves are proud of. And like it or not, we're all judgemental. Lots of thinking the past few days, made decisions I'm unsure about but one thing for sure, I wish to change further in some ways. It's something I hope will happen some time ago but never had the courage to.

Moo cha chas. :)

An 'estrella' in the night sky

I said don't screw up but I did. It was really frustrating but I can't show it cause everyone did so so much better than me, some perfect. Of course I'm disappointed. Twas the second time I cried at school. It just happened and worse, at the food court. I just called her and told her everything and she cancelled all her incoming calls just to comfort me. I love her more and more every single day :'). I've always tried to give my best in everything but I guess sometimes, your best isn't enough if it just doesn't belong to you. Not gonna be upset about it though, I still have a long way to go. For now, just gonna chill and enjoy my one-week break before I go back to war mode.

This week was pretty fun actually. We had our English roleplay based on the book, Flowers for Algernon. It is the most ridiculous book I've ever read really. Not really a fan of sci-fi genre. And yesterday, went to Ikea and the Curve after class with Ivan, Rachel and James. Today, had fun with the boys at Nottingham Campus. Twas so much fun. Twas like a road trip and we got into so many crazy things like the cop who caught us at the emergency lane. Seriously, that was the most stupidest thing I've heard a cop said. And his name was SAFARI. Anyway, we got 'fined' each ten bucks as a lesson. Well, then, we stopped by at KFC to fill our starving stomachs before regathering with the others there. It's been a while since we had that hell of a time of crazy laughters. Wish we could have more of this before everybody leaves :). 

I've been baking again. I miss baking so much. I feel like doing so much during this one week. Colour, cut, doodle, sew, stitch, swim, run, sleep, read, watch, climb, snap and more that I yet to think of. Wanna watch This Means War, The Vow and Hunger Games :(. I wanna go Aussie..

These babies containing cinnamon weren't well accepted.

Not gonna use this recipe anymore. :(

Ouh, my dinner last night.

The lil' one and I actually prefer food like this. Really.

These fellas..I call them shinies =).

Been on repeat:

Blue Jeans - Lana Del Rey

Bacardi

The last couple of weeks were indeed the most memorable ones for me. In such short period of time, we all got so close together and shared so much of good times. It all happened when Farah insisted on me staying back with them after the Moral paper. Crazy people, crazy conversations by the lakeside past midnight, crazy stuffs they do to scare us. Haha just insane. Well, we shall reunite and continue doing what we do best after the 3 weeks break. :)

The shinies in black and white :D

Sometimes you don't need much

All you need is noise

Sometimes it isn't loneliness you're feeling

It's just the heavy feeling

It's golden.