Friends come...and go

My cellphone rang at 4.16 a.m. It was not a call from home because instead of "Call" it was this number: 0894148258 that appeared on the screen. At first I thought, "who is this stranger calling me at 4 in the morning?!" But when I heard the voice, it was familiar. It was Neal! He was on his way to the airport. The last time I saw him was on Christmas Day and today he left for the U.S.

Thanks for cooking us a Trini-style breakfast. Thanks for bearing with us when we tease you. Most of all, thanks for the friendship! I'll miss your cooking, I'll miss the laughter and I'll miss you. Don't worry, I'll email the pictures to you. Hehe :D

Well Neal, best wishes to you and oh, Happy New Year!

dze grades are out!

After a night of light stress because of not being able to access NoStress, finally I am relieved. The grades are out and after seeing my grades, all I have to say is that I am glad with what I got for last semester. Really glad! I was expecting the worse but all turned out well. My CGPA went uphill instead of going downhill. Yays! I am satisfied with my grades, I think I deserved what my teachers gave me. :D

Four more months. One more semester. One more hurdle.

After that, I'm gone from this place.

---

Yesterday was one of my favourite nephew's birthday. He's 1!

That's him a year ago. :)

HAPPY HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO PEYTON DANIEL WILLIAMS!

Love ya, kiddo! :D

surviving Christmas

MERRY MERRY CHRISTMAS TO EVERYONE OUT THERE!

I hope you guys had a wonderful Christmas!

I enjoyed this year's Christmas Day and how it was spent. My friends and I had Mediterranean food for lunch then we spent the rest of the afternoon playing Phase 10 and Pit. Boy, were we noisy when we played Pit. Two..two..three...one...one!! Macam pasar gitu. Who cares, it was FUN!!

We played Pit for about an hour until 6 p.m. Then we headed to uncle Damian's house for Christmas dinner. We just had lunch like 3 or 4 hours earlier, and I was still full. But the food was calling me, and I responded to that call. Curry chicken, roasted chicken, casserole, cakes, etc. ahhhh...nice!! There was really no more room in my stomach after I ate the food at uncle Damian's. In fact, I am still full now! Aiyahhh...how to sleep like this?

Tomorrow, we'll be cleaning our room to prepare for the New Year (we don't want a messy room to greet the New Year). This will be my last Christmas in Thailand. I will surely miss this place when I leave next year. But that's life. I will come back. :D

MERRY CHRISTMAS everyone and be safe during the holiday season :D

Two exams and a wedding

Three more exams to go but I'm so tired already!!Tomorrow I have two exams, Seminar in English Language in the morning and Creative Writing in the afternoon. After the exams, I have to rush up to the church to play and sing for Roy and Amy's wedding. The wedding starts at 4.30 p.m., Creative Writing ends at 4.30 p.m. too. What should I do? Run up in my school uniform??Hehe...Well, I hope I can finish the exam at least by 3.30 tomorrow so that I will have enough time to berdandan! hihihihih!

Asian Literature this morning was crazy! Section 1 had FOUR long answer questions!! BS the whole time through. What to do lah, I just wrote whatever came into my mind. I'll just wait and see what my grade for that class is next year.

Next year is just about two weeks away! Yays!

Wish me luck! :D

I love finals...do I?

Finals in 3 days!

Things yet to be done:
- Book Report for Customs & Culture of the English Speaking World
- Article Analysis for Critical Reading
- Poem translation for Asian Literature
- Journal for Seminar in English Language

I am in no mood to do all those mentioned above.

I just want to type my study notes for all 6 subjects, and be done with all my exams!

"Don't be afraid to make a fool out of yourself in public."

That was a quote I read in one of Ms. Julie's book last Thursday. What quote could be more fitting for what I did last night. I wouldn't normally join a tele-match game on campus, but I figured that if I don't do it now, I might not have the chance to do it again. It's my last year anyway! Hahaha! I made a fool out of myself, but I was not alone. :D

Last night was really fun! Before the start of the last game, I told Ms. Julie that this was the stress relief from the debate!

I think there is still some flour stuck in my throat. Ewwwww~!

It's over!

I did it! It was not so bad after all. That was my first time being in a debate team and I actually had fun! Thank you to my cousins - Kakak Tuti and Kakak Elva - and their husbands (Wily and Marion) for their contributions, support and their prayers. I really appreciate them all! :D

That's all I have to say for now.

Have a pleasant day!

It's been a year

"Suppose one morning you never wake up,
Do all your friends know you love them?
Are there any wounds needing to be healed?
Friendship that needs rekindling
Or three words that need to be said,
Sometimes 'I love you' can heal and bless.
Let everyone of your friends know that you love them.
Even if you think they don't love you back,
You would be amazed at what three words and smile can do.
Just in case tomorrow is too late, remember I love you."

Dear Adlynn,

How fast time flies. How fast time flies. It’s been a year since you left us. It feels like it was just last night that I received a call from my brother telling me of your passing. How my heart ached. How my eyes were filled with tears. How I was crying uncontrollably in the middle of the night. I remembered that day very clearly. November 6 – I was already feeling uneasy when I received a text message from my cousin, Darsinah. I filled my mind with positive thoughts that you would be okay, although I knew that a day like this would definitely arrive sooner or later. But I wasn’t prepared for anything like that to happen so soon. To make things worse, I was far away from home.

Then came midnight, it was November 7. Since I received the message from my cousin, I didn’t receive any other messages from anyone so I thought that everything was fine. I was wrong. Just a few minutes after midnight, the word “Call” flashed on the screen of my cell phone. I could feel my heart beating faster. I could feel my heart feeling uncomfortable. I repeated, “No, no, no, no” to myself in my mind, repeatedly. When I answered the call, it was Juji. “Adie, there is not much hope for Adlynn, the organs in her body are slowly shutting down, one by one. But just pray for her,” he said. I was speechless. I broke down in tears, which was all I could do. No words came out of my mouth.

That was the first call. You were still fighting for your life, you were still hanging on. I prayed and I prayed that God would somehow perform a miracle. I couldn’t imagine how you felt. Then the second call came. I dreaded answering that call. I knew that the news will surely not be a good one. And certainly it wasn’t. I just cried when my brother told me that you were gone. He tried to comfort me by saying that it’s okay because you went peacefully with your parents, sister and brother beside you, together with our uncles and aunties and cousins. But death is death. It took you away from us, and being away from home really made it worse. I didn’t know what to feel. I couldn’t say anything to my brother, I just cried.

After that call, I couldn’t sleep. I cried, and cried, and cried. And I kept asking God why – why did He let this happen? I tried to sleep at 3 a.m. but I awoke two hours later. I just couldn’t get myself to sleep. There were a lot of things that I regretted not doing. The sadness that I was feeling inside me was overwhelming that I just couldn’t sleep. I still couldn’t believe that you were gone. I still feel like the calls were just in my dreams.

I was never so close to you. Whenever I go to Goshen, it’s not to your house that I visit and stay. Yes, I see and talk to you in church. Yes, I talk to you if I see you on Saturday nights at the auditorium. With the exception of our family reunions in Kelawat, those were the only times I talked to you. You were always cheerful. You were always positive. You always had that smile wherever you went. But, I admire you for your courage, your strength and your faith. You knew that the day will eventually arrive. You were only given 17 years to live by your doctors. But you have proved to them and those around you that you were strong and lived up to your 22nd birthday. You embraced your 18th birthday because it was so precious to you; you have proven your doctors wrong. You kept a diary where you wrote about your daily life. Your entries said nothing about your fear of death; in fact most of your entries were about celebrating friendship, life, how you live your life to the fullest and your readiness to die when your time comes. One of your entries read, “Lord, if you take me today I am ready to go.” What great faith! That alone showed how strong your faith is in the Lord. You never blamed your disease on anybody, let alone God. Instead, you were thankful for your life, your family and friends and for the people around you who cared about your wellbeing.

Twelve hours before you died, you asked your father whether you had been a good daughter to the family. You knew that your time was near. You could already sense it coming. You could already feel it after your friend passed away two weeks ago. You even told your father how you wanted your funeral to be like. You are strong, and I really admire your strength. You were not afraid of death. You were ready. As you lay on your deathbed, as slowly the organs in your body began to shut down one by one, you still managed to type “God, if You want to take me, please take care of my family, I love them very much.”

Coming home in December last year was not the same. The first thought that came to my mind as the plane landed in KK was to visit your family as soon as possible. But, I didn’t know how to react when I went to your house. On the way to Goshen, I was thinking on how to greet your family. It was just a month since you left. The pain was still fresh in all of us, especially your family. That was the first time that I have ever faced that kind of situation, and it was certainly not easy for me. When I arrived at your house, your sister and father were at home. Melly greeted us, and all I could do was hug her even though I had sort of prepared what I wanted to say. The words didn’t come out, but my arms were open as I hugged your sister. We talked, and I think that was the first time I’ve ever really talked to your sister. I could see that there were times that she wanted to cry when she mentioned you, but she held it inside. Just before we were about to leave, your mother and brother came home. What a shock it was for me when I saw your youngest brother. I remember the last time I saw him, I don’t remember how many years back, but he was still a small boy. When I saw him that day, he was already taller than me! I was embarrassed of myself, seeing how much your brother had grown since the last time I saw him was an indication that I rarely visited your house.

As I watched the video of your funeral, I had goosebumps. Your face was serene; it looked like you were smiling. Clad in full pathfinder uniform, and holding a Bible on your chest. Death may have taken you away from us, Adlynn, but the memories of having you in the family still and will always be in our hearts and minds. I regret not having spent more time with you. I regret not visiting you and your family whenever we went to Goshen. I regret not doing a lot of things. I am waiting for that day when I will be able to see you again. Your courage, faith and your life is my inspiration.

Because I'm the only one I will have a relationship, I choose:

...to love myself the way I am now

...to always acknowledge that I am enough just the way I am

...to love, honor and cherish myself

...to be my own bestfriend

...to be the person I would like to spend the rest of my life with

...to always care of myself so that I can take care of others

...to always grow, develop and share my love and life

Till we meet again someday when Jesus comes.

Your cousin,

Julie

I just love these three munchkins! :D

I am all smiles today. The reason? Because I finally got the chance to talk to my cousin, who is more like a big sister to me, on the phone! It was almost 10 p.m. (U.S. time) but the whole family were still awake. At first I was chatting with her (from the library, hihihi..ssshh!) and then I told her that I wanted to call her. I did, and it felt so good to hear her voice again after so long! We talked for about 7 minutes and after that call, I had a quiz. I didn't study for that quiz, but I was so happy about the call that I almost didn't care whether my answers were correct or not. Hehe!

Here is a picture that she sent this morning. The kids were playing with Johnsons&Johnsons powder. Brianna was the leader, Tyler was her follower and Peyton (poor kid) was the victim. You could see that the description follows - see who has the most powder on his body!! Poor Peyton, luckily he was all smiles in this picture :D

Holiday Fun!

The mid-term break was great!

The first three days were spent in MC, catching up with assignments, projects and papers to finish.



On Thursday, we went to Dreamworld! That was my first time going there and I was really excited to play the games. It's been a long time since I visited a theme park, so yeah, I was really excited! I loved all the rides, except for the Viking, now that, I hated! It felt as if my intestines and all the insides of my stomach were going to spill out from my mouth! That was the first ride.

After that, we went for the bumper car ride. It was fun, but I didn't quite enjoy it because I was still dizzy from the Viking ride. After the bumper car ride, we went for the hanging coaster. It was great! There were times that I felt as if I was going to fall off, but, it was just a feeling of course. That was the thrill, and I loved it! I loved the speed especially!

Next ride was the Space Mountain. That was also a cool ride. It was dark inside, sort of a galaxy inside with stars and replicas of the planets.

Then after that we went to the Super Splash! Before going for the Super Splash ride, me, Deanna and Lem stood on the bridge. And when the splash came, it was really an awesome sight! The splash was big!!Of course we got wet..but, oh well, I really enjoyed it! The Grand Canyon was okay, not so challenging though.

After lunch, we went to Snow Town. The ticket was 150 Baht, and you can stay inside for as long as you want. I thought it would not be too cold so I only used one of the two sweaters I brought with me, plus the one provided at the entrance. I was mistaken. It was really cold inside that after about 10 to 15 minutes, I couldn't feel my fingers. One thing I enjoyed in Snow Town was going on the sled! Super fun! Then only thing I wished was that I didn't have to drag the plastic sled all the way up. When I went out of Snow Town, my fingers and toes melted. And boy, the feeling of it 'melting' was not a pleasant one. It was painful! What an experience!

The last ride (it was unplanned) was the Hurricane! Super-duper fun! It looked really scary when you're watching how it goes but when you're on it, it is really fun! Not scary at all! Much, much, much better than the Viking, that's for SURE!

Next time, when we go to Dreamworld (next semester!) again, I will know which rides to go and which ones not to go. One thing I'm sure is that Hurricane is a MUST!

For more pictures of Dreamworld, please visit my flickr.

Selamat Hari Raya!

Well... here I am again. After so long.

First of all, I would like to wish Selamat Hari Raya Aidilfitri to all Muslims around the world. I miss Hari Raya. I miss going to people's house during Hari Raya. I miss eating kuih raya. I miss HOME!

I just found out that one of my cousin has already given birth! Yays!!! Another anak buah in da house! :D

Anyway.

School's fine. Getting busier each week. Projects, presentations, assignments, etc.! Begini pulak kehidupan senior ya? Baru tau. Next year, akan tambah sibuk lagi. Final semester, touring (Semenanjung M'sia and S'pore!!), graduation, more projects...aduh! Tapi tidak apa, in about 6 months (May not counted) I'll be out of here for good! I'm not tired of schooling, I just need some rest before continuing. I'm tired of people here that are...hmmm...begitulah. I just want to get out of this place, and go back to my comfort zone. I hope the next school I attend, this kind of situation doesn't appear.

I think that is it for now. Not in the mood of updating these days. I don't know why. But probably it will come back after this week. Hopefully.

It's almost a month since I last posted anything in here. Well, it's just because there's another blog that I am supposed to post something everyday. One of my classes this semester is Creative Writing and instead of a daily journal, the teacher has created a blog in which each of the students in this class would be able to contribute their thoughts and the others will be able to comment on it.

Well...something new about me this semester - I am taking Chinese class! Hahahah! It's a 2-credits class that is offered for the first time in this college (I think). So, since I'm lacking of 1 point for my free elective course, I decided to take this class. When this semester ends, I have no worries on choosing what course to take for my free elective and hopefully next year, it will be smooth sailing all the way to May.

Hmm...I guess that's about it for now. I can't think of what to write anymore.

Have a good day!

MERDEKA! MERDEKA! MERDEKA!

Tanggal tiga puluh satu,

Bulan lapan, lima puluh tujuh...

Selamat Menyambut Hari Kemerdekaan to all Malaysians! :D

Alahai...patriotiknya aku. Hehe.

I just wanted to say:

I miss hanging out with these people!

Have a blessed Sabbath day!

A few pics to share.


Have you ever encountered a crazy chicken? Well, I have. This is my dad's rooster and that rooster is crazy (at least to me). Can you imagine being chased by a chicken? I was chased by this stupid rooster. I didn't do anything wrong, I was just walking pass it when suddenly it gave me a chase. I was afraid that it would peck me that I had to run and climb the small water tank behind the house. Since then, I refused to make friends with this rooster. We used to have a friendly rooster, but this one, not at all friendly.


My cousin, Sounnee MacRyan. They were having fun playing with my camera :D His 8 year old brother took this.


That's me and Tina having a photo with Sounnee's brother, Kubin Shane. He was so chubby when he was a small, and whenever he came to my house the computer was always his first destination. There was once when I was playing the piano and he poked me on the arm with his index finger and then pointed to the computer saying, "tomputer, tomputer". So cuteee! :D


The church where I grew up.


This was the cover of our graduation program, thanks to Kim and Daron. I was just remembering the great times I had in high school and I came across this. It was good to look through it once more.


This is Oscar's little doggie. Sooooooooo cutee, especially when it's seated like this! Heheheheh! So playful summore!


I miss this place. So many memories!

A bet is a bet.

Last Tuesday, I had a bet with my cousin Jay. He's like a brother to me, I have always been close to him since he was a baby. He was at my house because his mom had asked me to drill him on his scales and sight reading, their exam was the next day. So after 2 hours of scales, I finally decided that we should end the drilling session. Hehe. The season finale (a repeat from last year) of the Amazing Race was at 6 o'clock. It was 20 minutes to 6, so while waiting, we decided to bet who will win the AR. There were three couples: Rob and Amber (which both of us didn't like), Ron and Kelly (I was for them) and Uchenna and Joyce (Jay said they would win). The deal was like this: If Rob and Amber won, both of us would have to drink 6 cups of water (Jay was the one who suggested 6, I suggested 4 but he insisted on 6). If 'my' team won, he would drink 6 cups of water and if 'his' team wins, I would have to do the honour of drinking 6 cups.

I was confindent that Ron and Kelly would win the race based on their performance throughout the whole leg of the race, but I was also aware that a race is a race and anything could happen. To make the whole story short, Uchenna and Joyce won. So, I lost the bet and I had to drink 6 cups of water. My brother and mom (including Jay) really had a good time laughing at my 'loss'. Hehe. Jay was kind enough to reduce it to 4 cups which I was really grateful for! Haha!


That's Jay and me, taken last Sunday. He growing taller and taller everyday, it feels like it was just yesterday that I carried him in my arms. Now, he's taller than me and he's just 13. :D


------


On another note, I really had fun at Daron's place last Wednesday. The food was great and the cake Shaun made was really delicious! Chervie and Fiona came all the way from KK too. So happy to meet them :D Daron's ex-classmates were there, and an ex-classmate of mine was there too. While the others were chatting among themselves, some of us played UNO and it was really fun! We laughed...and laughed.............and laughed all the time! I don't know what was the real reasons were, I think it must have been the way we played the game especially when Steve joined us. The last game of UNO lasted about 30 minutes (there were 8 of us), until some of us got disoriented as to what cards to put down! No one wanted to lose, +4s and +2s kept on going on. Finally, thanks to Fiona the game ended! It was 15 minutes past ten. Hehe! By the time the game ended my throat hurt, my cheeks hurt and also my stomach. But it sure was fun! Valentino was there too, and during our 'break' from playing UNO, he really did make me laugh so, so hard! He is one funny person that always makes people laugh. Glad to have him as my friend :D

Oh I forgot. We also had a bet when we played UNO. That was when there were only five of us playing. The losers must eat one banana each. I ended up eating 4 bananas. I really have no luck when it comes to betting. :D

Just a shout out to Mr. Daron Benjamin:

Happy, Happy Birthday!

Just some pictures from last Saturday. I went to Dantai with Daron and his family last Sabbath and it was great having the chance to go there again after so long. We had a nice time, remembering the past when we were still high school students, going there for Pathfinder camps. Some of the ghost stories recalled, our adventures walking from Tenghilan to Dantai (hiking honor), recalling where ORION used to pitch tents, eating acar like the good old days - sweet, sweet memories! We walked along the beach while the AY had their honor classes eventhough it was a really hot day, we didn't care! Hehe. :D


I miss this place!


What a sad, sad sight. *Sigh. A sea turtle dead on shore. Its head no longer attached to it, probably brutally taken for its beak. That's the first time I've seen such sad scene there. I hope not to see anymore the next time I visit this beach.


Dasron, where are you going? ...Daron disappearing into the light. Hehe.

More pictures to come.

I wish we could do it one more time! I miss those days :(

Anyway, Happy Sabbath! :D

It's been four days since I got back. The first two days were spent doing nothing at home, and I finally went out on the third day. And today is the fourth day - I'm all ALONE at home, thinking of something to do. Watch TV? Nah, nothing's nice on TV at this time. Watch movie? I've watch all of the movies my brother got here and I don't have RENT. Damn. Clean the house? Sounds like a good idea, but I'm l.a.z.y.

By the way, both my mum and bro asked me to help them correct their students' work because I had so much free time. I'm having fun but it's also frustrating. I wonder whether I was like them when I was their age? Hmm. Sometimes their answers make me laugh too. Some of them like to add some extras - like including a Malay translation of the English words. Here's an example:

Selfish - penjual ikan ... oh my goodness!
Anger - sudut ... the word is "angle" students!

I'm going to be correcting my mum's students' essays later in the afternoon. I hope it's not as frustrating as checking the 13-year-olds' work.

Yesterday was a good day. Me, Daron and my cousin went jalan-jalan to our old school. First we went to STPS and met Steve. Haha, so weird to see him as a teacher there! I met up with the other teachers who were MY teachers back when I was in primary school. Then, we proceded to SASS, lepak at the library, ate at the canteen, and talked to the teachers. As usual, I got the "wah, tambah sihat oh kau kan!" from some of the teachers. Whatever! Dagnamit! Anyway, we had a small party at Shaun's house too! Fiona and Chervie came all the way from KK and it was good to see them! We had Shaun's famous chicken fried rice, bbqed chicken, potato salad, brownies and ice cream! mmmMMMM, yum yum!

I'm getting hungry now. Lemme go to the kitchen and find something to eat.


Have a good day! :D

I'm home! I'm back where I belong! Hehe. Despite the 2 hour delay, we managed to 'do' something to kill time. Yes. 8 hours. We left the campus at 6.19 a.m. and reached Don Muang International Airport at around 8. Our flight was supposed to be at 1435, but it was delayed until 1610. So, yes, imagine, we had to wait for 8 hours! It was worse than when we have to wait for 7 hours in Brunei two years ago. What we did? Hmm. Watched "Just Friends" (without sound, I mean there was, but it was tooooo soft) and played "lap lap pu" (card game that I finally understood how to play).

Well, I'm home and that's all that matters. It's 2 p.m. and all I did the whole morning was ehm, laze around, feed the dog, watch "Life Without Limbs", watch Worlds Apart (love it!) and ehm, online.

And now, my brother wants to watch Pirates of the Caribbean, so I'll resort to watching whatever's available on TV. Hehe.

So happy to be home and I hope time will pass slowwwwly!

Have a good day folks!

One down, one to go

Yes. One down, one to go. The hard one down, the not-so-hard one is tomorrow. The exam for English Usage this morning was challenging. At 8.30 a.m., the auditorium was full of students. Then slowly, one by one went out. Then an hour before 11.30 a.m., the only students left were on Row B. I left the auditorium at 11.10 a.m. One of the longest time I've taken to complete an exam paper. Oh well, it's done. No more English Usage after this. Phew!

Semantics is tomorrow. At least we were given specific topics to study, so I think it's gonna be okay. I wouldn't want to be over confident though.

For now, I son't want worry about Semantics. I need some sleep. Now.

A couple of funnies

Little Tommy was a smart little boy. Little Tommy was sitting in class doing math problems when his teacher picked him to answer a question "Tommy, if there were five birds sitting on a fence and you shot one with your gun how many would be left?" "None.", replied Tommy, " ’cos the rest would fly away." "Well, the answer is four," said the teacher. "But I like the way you are thinking." Little Tommy then said, "I have a question for you now. If there were three women eating ice cream cones in a shop, one licking her cone, the
second biting her cone, and the third one sucking her cone, which one is married?" "Well," said the teacher nervously, "I guess the one sucking the cone?" "No," said Little Tommy, "the one with the wedding ring on her finger. But I like the way you are thinking."

_______


Three men who were lost in the forest were captured by cannibals. The cannibal king told the
prisoners that they could live if they pass a trial. The first step of the trial was to go to the forest and get ten pieces of the same kind of fruit. So all three men went separate ways to gather fruits. The first one came back and said to the king, "I brought ten apples." The king then explained the trial to him. "You have to shove the fruits up your arse without any _expression on your face or you'll be eaten." The first apple went in... but on the second one he winced out in pain, so he was killed. The second one arrived and showed the king ten berries. When the king explained the trial to him he thought to himself that this should be easy. 1...2...3...4...5...6...7...8... and on the ninth berry he burst out in laughter and was killed. The first guy and the second guy met in heaven. The first one asked, "Why did you laugh, you almost got away with it?" The second one replied, "I couldn't help it, I saw the third guy coming with pineapples."

Randomness

Five jobs I've had
Piano Teacher
Violin Teacher
Reader for one of my lecturers in MC (really fun!)
Tukang masak at home (hihihih....)
Tukang sapu, tukang lap cermin (porreallss!)

Five movies I can watch over and over again
RENT (yays!)
A Walk to Remember
RENT
Just Like Heaven
RENT (yays, i can watch RENT over and over again!)

Five places I've lived
Tamparuli
Singapore
Philippines
Thailand
ehm, I think that's about it..so far Lah.

Five schools I've attended
Sabah Training Primary School
A Chinese kindergarten school in Singapore (I forgot the name)
PUC (now AUP) Elementary School, Philippines
Sabah Training Primary School
Mission College

Five shows I love
Judging Amy
Fear Factor (oooohh, love to watch them gulp down the yucky 'food'!)
Friends
America's Next Top Model
Amazing Race
World's Apart
oopsss, it's more than five. But I just love Reality shows! :D

Five of my favourite dishes
My Mum's cooking (definitely!)
Mee Sup Tamparuli (dze best!)
Thai dish "Kha Pao Ghai" (Chicken with basil leaves)
Pisang goreng
Ayam tuhau (mmmm..yum yum!)

Five sites I visit everyday
Bloint (it's a must! :D)
Berita Harian
Friendster
mp3shits.com
Utusan Malaysia

Five places I'd rather be right now
HOME~~!!!!
Uhm, well, visiting my favourite cousin in America
England - hanging out with my niece and nephews there
Australia
HOME~~!!!! (3 more days!)

Final exams begin tomorrow and will end on Friday. Luckily I don't have 2 exams on one day, that would have been hell for me. English Usage will be tomorrow - I haven't studied yet. Our teacher said that the final exam tomorrow is supposed to be fun. Uhm, fun? FUN?!?! I'll try. Semantics will be on Friday and I have a good feeling that I will pass that one. Somehow, I found Semantics to be easier than English Usage. :D

Well, wish me luck. And good luck to those who will be sitting for their exams tomorrow and Friday!

I changed it to five Shiz :D

World Cup finally over!

ITALY won the World Cup!

Yays!! I was never a fan of Italy before but now I guess I am. I used to cheer for England only but after this year's World Cup, I think I'm gonna go for England (yes, still for good 'ol England), Germany and Italy.

The match between Italy and France was good, although I admit it that after Zidane scored in the 7th minute I had a little doubt that Italy could break the 0. But they did, and boy was that a thriller for Paps, JJ and me! Leaps, shouts of "yesssss!" and high-fives were exchanged between the three of us while Vivian and Lorena (cheering for France) were glued to the sofa. Hehe. 90 minutes gone and the score was 1-1. Extra time - still 1-1. I was starting to feel nervous inside because first, I hate it whenever the winner of a game is decided through penalty shoots and second, I know that Fabien Barthez is a good goalkeeper. By this time, Pappu was standing up, so was JJ. Then all of us stood up, unable to plant our asses on the couch no longer. When David Trezeguet missed his shot, we couldn't help it but to shout 'yesss!' And then when Barthez failed to save Fabio Grosso's shot, shouts of 'yessss!' that I believed were twice as loud as the previous ones could be heard in the quiet and stillness of the early morning. Haha, I think we woke half of the neighbourhood this morning! Hopefully, nobody complains. Hehe.

After the match, we were too excited to go to sleep right away. But then eventually one by one fell asleep, except me. I had decided to go back to the dorm at 6 a.m. so I stayed awake. I thought that I would be able to sleep at 6.30 a.m. but the door was not yet opened at 6 so I walked and talked with God on the tracks, enjoying the fresh morning breeze and the smell of the plants wet with dew. It was fun, and I finally got to sleep at 7.30 a.m.

I woke up at 12 noon and went online to find some information for my presentation. I haven't eaten anything yet and it's already 6 p.m. Well, at least I get to accomplish something today.

Lazy, lazy, lazy....

I haven't updated my blog for almost a month! Lazy, lazy, lazy. Lagipun, there's nothing interesting about my life nowadays. I'm just counting the days to go back to Sabah - 13 more days!! Yays! This time, my time back in Sabah will be more syok! My cousin who married an American pastor will be going back home to Sabah, and the nice thing is they have a kid!! Caleb's the name and I've been communicating with her for almost two months even though I have never been close to her before. Thanks to the internet for reconnecting me to her! I just received an email from her, and she updated me on Caleb. He took his first steps last Saturday! He'll be turning 1 in 19 days! Hehe! Can't wait to meet them!

I'm watching Animal Planet (finally!) right now. Too lazy to go to the library to study.

Anyway, I'm lazy to type already.

Good day!

Morpheme and morph....

Hmm. Hari ini cuti. Cuti apa? Hari ini seluruh Thailand akan meraihkan the 60th year of the King's accession to the takhta (iya, iya...my Malay vocabulary is limited). Sungguh boring lah! It's gonna be a lonnggggg weekend. I miss English Usage class! Hahahah, lol!

Last Wednesday, I was the moderator. I was supposed to cover Chapter 3 - "Close Encounters of the Morphemic Kind". Yes. While reading that chapter, I myself got lost in it. Confused. The terms are just so confusing for my poor head. I mean, it's not that hard to understand actually, but then when a lot of terms are used in the book, it gets confusing especially when the book gives different terms but in one way or the other, they actually have the same meaning and functions! Aaarrrgghhh! The challenge of being an English major. Hehehehe.

While preparing the questions for discussion, I was worried that I would not be able to get the class to participate in the discussion. I always have that fear. But, surprisingly the discussion was lively. It was really a good discussion. Everyone was saying something, especially when we got stuck in trying to explain and understand the meaning of "morpheme" and "morph". We had to end the class because it was already time. After class ended, some of us were not yet satisfied before we really understand those two terms. So the discussion continued at the cafeteria. Yes, while eating lunch. We sort of got to the point when we finally understood but not quite there yet. So, after lunch (it was already 2 o'clock, class ended at 12.40) we decided to ask one of the teachers who teaches language. While trying to explain, something struck us. So after that, we went in to our teacher's office and tried to explain to her what we understood. Once again we had a lenghty discussion with her. We were trying to create a simple but understandable explanation for the class. Laughter, frustration, pulling-of-the-hair feeling - all those were present. We finally left the office at ehm, I think it was a little after 3 o'clock. Yays. 3 o'clock. I think that's the longest discussion that I've participated so far.

Now, I sort of understand what "morpheme" and "morph" means. Sort of. I just realize - I love being an ENGLISH MAJOR!!!! LOL!

Gonna go eat breakfast now.

Have a good weekend everyone!

Happy Harvest Festival Day!

Just a shoutout to all the Kadazandusuns out there:

Kotobian Tadau Tagayo do Kaamatan!
Kopivosian Tadau Tagazo do Kaamatan!

and to all Ibans (for tomorrow):

Selamat Hari Gawai!

Song service was good, although there was a bit of confusion on stage, but it was good. It seemed like the song leaders (and the teachers) were the only ones that were singing because probably the songs are new to them. We're gonna do it again for friday night vespers and for Sabbath School. Yays, let them be bored of seeing us on stage 3 days in a row. Hihihihihih :D

Nothing else to update on. School starts on Monday, and I need to go down to Saraburi to buy new uniforms!heheheheheh...

I'm BORED!


That is all.

DONE!

I'm DONE with JOURNALISTIC WRITING, CROSS-CULTURAL COMMUNICATION, SACRED LITERATURE, SOCIOLINGUISTICS AND SURVEY OF BRITISH LITERATURE!!!CHOIR? I'll never be done with choir, at least when I'm still studying here. Hehe.

No more waking up at 7 a.m. every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. No more going to 6 classes with only 1 hour break in between. I will miss Journalistic Writing class though. I just love everything about that class - the teacher, the assignments, the students, the discussions, the journals, the class itself, everything! I think it's the most easy-going class this semester and after this, I doubt that there will ever be such a class anymore because I am a SENIOR!! And my subjects for the next 3 semester including summer classes, will be everything but easy.

Gone were the days when I could still procrastinate. Gone were the days when I could still sit and relax almost everyday. Gone were the days of being a Freshman, Sophomore and Junior. It's been three years. Three not-so-long years. I can't believe that I actually survived until my fourth year here. Hehe. It's been fun with friends and all the activities done. I've been involved in a lot of activities, I had the opportunity to perform on stage more than I had back home, and I have learned a lot since coming to MC. Though I complain, and complain, and complain about this school, I really think that I would actually miss life here at MC when I graduate. Seriously.

Friends. I have made a lot of friends here and it's such a good feeling to be around these kind of friends. Some already left, and some will be leaving. I hate it, I hate goodbyes. But that's life, right? Life. LIFE. L.I.F.E! Anyway, I'm gonna be here for another year, so I might as well enjoy my stay and have fun with my friends!

Hmm. How did I go that far? Macam saya pula yang mo graduate..hehehe Neway, my brother, Feldinand and Heary is here! Yays! Seeing them here feels like they've never left the campus. So happy!

Graduation weekend is just around the corner. Busy. Busy. Busy people around campus making preparations to welcome the Princess on campus. Once again the Princess will make an appearance on campus after 2 years.

I guess I will be hanging out with my bro for the next two weeks. Hopefully. Hehe. Now, I'm just gonna find something to do. Like...ehm, I don't know. Whatever lah.

the way kids see it

In church yesterday...

Dr. Ted: When you're rich, and have more money, you become richer. When you're richer and have more money, what will you become?

Kid: A scientist.

Cute :D

That made me laugh. I was sitting alone, at the right-hand side of the church. Just felt like sitting alone - disappointed at what was going on, pondering on what life is all about - what friendship is all about, struggling with different feelings and emotions inside, struggling with myself.

Sometimes life can be difficult to understand. I just wish I could understand everything - my life, myself, my friends,etc. Sometimes I think that by understanding everything that happens around me would make life easier to go through. Not always though.

Hmm. Thinking of all sorts of things now - good and bad - a mixture of everything. I have one more exam. I need to study. Now.

Exams, exams, EXAMS!!

Yays, the final exams are here again! Yesterday I had one exam - Cross Cultural Communication. I used up all 5 papers back to back writing bs (well, not all of them were bs, but most of them were I think). The questions were challenging but not as challenging as Sociolinguistics. I am SO glad that I'm over with Sociolinguistics! That is one subject that I struggled the most throughout this semester. And now, I'm free! Journalistic Writing was okay. I forgot what the definitions were for some of the terms, but I think I pulled through and I think I will pass JW at least with a B+. That will do.

Tomorrow afternoon is Sacred Literature. I hope I'll pass that one too. I've been doing well throughout the semester, and I'm quite satisfied with where I stand as of today. Tomorrow, it can change if I don't do well.

My last exam will be Survey of British Literature, another class that I can't wait to get over with. It's not that I don't enjoy the class, but I guess it's just the crushed hope I had last semester - hoping that the second part of the class will be enjoyable. It was a little enjoyable this semester - watching movies and all but still, I am not satisfied.

Anyway. I will survive all the exams. Yays!

Thank you!

Thank you to all of you who wished me a Happy Birthday, gave me hugs, sent me smses and gave me pwesents! I appreciate all of them :D

Thank you Chervie.


Thank you Shimona.


Thank you Nok.


Thank you Felly.


Thank you Fiona and Pappu.


Thank you rakan-rakanku.


THANK YOU ALL!


Walaupun tahun ini low cost saja belanja hari jadi, tapi terima kasih kerana telah membuat hari Isnin yang lalu satu daripada hari yang amat menyeronokan!

Leaving my teen years...

In less than two hours, I'll leave my teen years and enter the twenties. Can my age be twen-teen? Hehe. The 'teen' will no longer be there when I tell people my age. Goodbye 'teen'!
I'm happy to be alive for 20 years now. I'm still half-way in accomplishing what I dreamt of when I was a kid. I still have a long way to go (I hope) before I'll be able to accomplish what I really want, what I dreamt of, and what I've set as my goal when I was growing up. I know I can do it, because it's what I've always wanted and I would work towards accomplishing it and because I have all the support I have from my parents, aunties and uncles, cousins and friends. Probably in 5 years I would see myself and my goal accomplished. I hope.

I'm content with my life. I'm quite content with my I've got. I'm almost content with what I've accomplished. God has blessed me throughout the 20 years of my life and I thank Him for that. I can't help but thinking about my dear cousin who passed away at a young age - 22 years. She was happy with her life, even though she knew that she wouldn't be able to live long. She was strong. She had faith. She had a close relationship with her friends, her family and God. She lived her life to the fullest. She lived to see her 22nd birthday when doctors only gave her 17 years. She's everyone's inspiration. She's my inspiration.

Life is short. Trust in God, keep your faith and live your life to the fullest!

Happy Birthday Me! :D

We're Back!

The trip was great! We had great fun wherever we went, although sometimes things just aren't going the way we expected, but nevertheless, we lived that day and went through it no matter what. Singing (and playing) morning and evening daily was tiring, no doubt about that, but it felt good just to be together with the group singing songs and having fun! We battled mosquitoes in most churches, especially in Sabah I guess, right Shizmona? Hehe. New nicknames invented, new friends made and relationships strenghtened because of this trip. I wish the 10 days didn't end so soon. When I was in the airport, waiting to board the plane back to Thailand, I felt like it was just yesterday that we arrived in Kuching Airport. The days passed by quickly, belum puas enjoying myself back home.

Well, here are some of the pictures taken during the trip. There are a lot of pictures, can't post them all.


This was where we stayed in Kuching.


Had the chance to meet ex-schoolmates in Kuching.


Shizmona, Me and Losvina :D


With Joemmaicca in Miri.


Pussshhhhh~!


Kuching Airport a.k.a. KLIA junior.


We also performed at the Sarawak Tourism Center.


Last meal in Kuching.


Our performance in SASS good ol' dewan.


Me, Villary and ehm, I forgot her name. Hehehe.


Lynsdelle and Ken at Pantai Dalit.


UNO - official constant companion of the group. Anywhere, Anytime.


Crocodile Farm in Tuaran. (I never knew it existed before!)


We all had matching umbrellas!


Juji started it first. Hehe.


Aiichi and Bobby the python. :D


My first-hand experience touching a live snake. Not so bad, actually. If I stayed there longer, I would have bonded with that snake. I miss Bobby! hehehehe.

Have to go to class now. Will post more later. :D

Malaysia, Tanah Airku!

In about 6 1/2 hours, we're gonna leave MC campus. And 4 hours after that, we'll be flying up in the air, on our way to Sarawak. Excited, because I'm going HOME!!! Muahahahaha!

Can't write long, gotta help with sticking labels on our CDs.

Will be updating once I reach HOME, which will be next week. Hehe.

Balik kampung, oh oh oh, balik kampung, hatiku sangat girang!

A Psalm for Students

We're studying some of the Psalms in our Sacred Literature class and yesterday, before the teacher excused us, she passed a handout to the five of us. It was "A Psalm For Students" by Steven M. Zeimis.

A Psalm For Students

The Lord is my teacher; I shall not sleep.
He makes me stay awake in my studies all night;
He leads me from page to page.
He restores my sanity;
He guides me in the path of consciousness.
For my grades' sake.
Even though I grow weary in the shadow of books,
I fear no test, for thou art with me.
The rod and Thy staff, they keep jabbing me.
Thou wilt prepare a test for me
in the presence of my classmates.
Thou hast crammed my mind with knowledge;
My eyelid overlap.
Surely a good grade and
a kind teacher will follow me after the test,
Or I will dwell in the class forever.

Have a Happy Sabbath everyone :D

What a day!

4th time in 3 years! How's that? Yes. Another minor motorbike accident. Haha! What a way to end the day huh? At first, everything was okay - making sandwiches, playing with clay, English Department party - and then, coming back from one of the faculty's house...slow motion - c...r...a...s...h...two of us facing the ground, and the other facing the sky. Silence. A few seconds later, it began to make sense. We just crashed to the ground - in slow mo. Nobody got seriously hurt though. I got a cut on my wrist, the middle person got a scratch on the knee and the third person was scratch-free. Phew~! We were laughing like crazy over the incident. It was embarassing in a way. I think they guys who were playing football at the field saw the whole thing - haih...malu...malu - i think 4 guys came over in two bikes to see whether we were okay, of course we were, in fact we were laughing! The bike? Hmm. Not much damage, just a few scratches, luckily. If not, I'm dead.


The cut on my wrist that showed a bit of the inside flesh. Hehe.

Oh, and I just spotted a bruise on my right thigh. It's black and ugly, luckily it will be covered when I walk outside. My left shoulder and arm hurts. My left foot hurts. Yeah. That's the addition to the cut on my right wrist. And it's hard to type because of the cut.

I managed to get two papers done! Yays! (Hehe. Lyndelle, aku mencuri dulu perkataan terkenal awak :D) Op-ed for Journalistic Writing done - wrote about Women's Rights. Haha! BS pun BS lah, asalkan dah siap. Hehe. Just finished Assignment # 7 for Sacred Literature - a paper on analyzing one of the Biblical tragedies - my paper was on the tragedy of Samson. Really, studying the Bible in the literature perspective is interesting! Now we are studying the Psalms, and it's actually syok! Not that I am interested into changing my major to Theology, but we study Biblical narratives, Biblical heroes, Biblical tragedies, and the Psalms in a different way that the theologians study up the hill. Hehe.

This morning I got the chance to chat with one of the cousins that I'm close to (who is currently 'stuck' in Penang...hehe) and she informed me of one great news! Another anak buah is on the way in about 7 1/2 months! Hehe. It's not hers, but her sister. :D Yays!

Now, what should I do? Hmm. Sleep or ...? I don't know. I guess I better give myself a little bit of rest so that tonight I'll be able to finish other assignments.

Yays! :D

Today is good ... so far.

What made my day today?

One and only reason - receiving an email from my favourite cousin and the best thing is, she sent pictures of the kids!!! Hehe. I always get excited when I receive emails from Kakak Tuti, especially when she attaches pictures of her kids! Man, the kids have grown since I last saw them (on pictures only of course, how sad can that be?). I haven't seen her for years, and when they went back 2 years ago, I wasn't there, I was stuck here and couldn't go back!! Tyler's 3-years-old(I think), Brianna's 2-years-old and I think Peyton is just entering 3 months :D


Brianna with her Daddy (she's grown so much!!)


Brianna with her Mommy (me cousin :D)


Tyler with Mommy (he's getting taller!!)


Tyler and Daddy (look at the 'drawing' on the wall, Tyler punya kerja kah tu Kakak Tuti? Hehe)


...and that's little Peyton! Getting chubbier each day, right?

And that's all for today.

:D