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

Today...

Today, four months ago, I lost a dear cousin to Thalassaemia.

Today, I had a midterm exam for my Sociolinguistic class...and I think I just failed the exam.

Today, choir was okay.

Today, the weather is a little hotter!

Today will not end without me doing something educational. I hope.

Today, today, today...

Today...

I forced myself to wake up at 7.30 a.m. after a late night's sleep for two reasons: 1) to wash the piled-up clothes in my basket and 2) to go to library and at least finish doing my journals.

So far...I'm done with washin my clothes, and I hope that it won't rain today. And, I'm in the library, taking a break from writing journals.

I just read my cousin's blog, and I'm happy to read that she's now single but not available (as she puts it:)) - she's engaged! Congratulations, Kakak Bibi! :D:D:D

Just a while ago, I took time to read the daily mails I receive from MountainWings.com. It's really inspirational and there were a lot of times when those mails came just at the right time to help me get through the day. Here's one:

If I Can Smile...
==================

I am listening to The Stroke Song again after 30 or so times.

I'm singing with the song like I'm in church, adding the amen's,and hallelujahs. I know it's not a gospel song as we know it,but it is good news. Here's why:

I have a trained musical ear so when I listen to music, I heareverything, the instrumentals, the harmony, everything, SUPERB!

And it hit me while listening to the song about the 10th time,if the person is not having a stroke, then at least they smiled,which is always good. Next they acknowledged that it's asunny day outside, even when it is raining or at night, it'salways a sunny day (perspective). Finally, raise your hands in praise, submission and surrender.

Maybe, that's why the song has a gospel feel to it to me.

I want to always be able to smile and if I can smile,I can laugh.

I want to always know that it's a sunny day outside.No matter what's going on in my life or around me, it's a sunnyday, even at night.

And I want to always be able to praise God, and thank Him,surrender my life to him and give up my will for His Will.

THANK YOU

~A MountainWings Original by Wesley Shorter, Fayetteville, GA~

It's 12.23 p.m. and I think I have taken a break long enough for me to get back in the mood of doing my journals, as well as other assignments.

The last week had been a stressful week for me, and I hope that this new week will be better than last week.

I was a bit down today for I-don't-know-what-reason. Maybe I think too much, or maybe because of the disturbance of sleep last night. I don't know. But I received an offline message in my Yahoo from a cousin whom I'm not so close to and I think that made me a bit happy. Why? I don't know, I guess because I am just happy I get to get in touch with her. She's another cousin married to an American and they have a son, Caleb, who is 7 months old now. I love hearing news from my cousins who are overseas. Family is very important to me. They keep me going. I'm happy I'm part of the Bingku clan - having 5 aunties and 6 uncles, lots of cousins, nephews and nieces just from this side of the family, and also the Lamam clan - 1 aunt and 4 uncles, cousins, nephews and nieces. A whole lot of them!

Sometimes I just think that people don't care about me. I know it's too much to even think like this, but I can see through people's actions and the way they treat me and other people - sometimes I can sense the unfairness.

Well, I hope the rest of the day will get better for me.

The past couple of weeks

I've been in a lazy mode to update my blog for two weeks now... I'll just post some pictures for now...

Two Sabbaths ago, this was what we did after church...















On Valentine's Day eve, this was what we did...



On Valentine's Day, we had to run around campus, singing songs for faculty and students...

Go to Shimona's blog if you want to see the pictures.

This was what I did on Friday night...


I played with our dorm's mascots!


I love this picture...and I love cats!:)

And yesterday...


Took picture with Shimona in our uniform-of-the-day:) Hehehehehe...

and...


Said goodbye to Pr. Pangan.

That's about it....

I will try my best to update me bloggy after this.

Ramblings of the day

No choir for two days. I miss choir! Valentine's concert coming up, and we haven't practiced the songs yet, seriously, I am not sure how this will turn out. But somehow, our choir director always finds a way to make things possible and I admire her about that. I don't know how she does it, but she does it anyway.

Anyways, yoga time is changed! Well, actually I am getting used to waking up at 4.55 a.m. from Monday to Friday, though sometimes I fret.

I'm having cough now and it's so annoying! It's hard for me to concentrate on whatever I'm doing - in class, in the computer lab, library, room, etc. etc. I hope whatever that tickles my throat will go away soon. It better go away coz I'll be singing on Friday nite and on Saturday!

Nothing new about me here in Mission College. The coping with the many assignments is going on pretty well. I forget most of the due dates, but I'm still getting myself organized. Oh wait, I forgot, there is something new. The ex wants to get back with me. I don't know what to do, I don't know what to think, I just want to go through this semester. What do you think I should do? Suggestions, advice, etc. - I need some of those.

I have a test at 2 p.m. and I haven't really read my notes yet. Survey of British Literature. That class is...uhm, I better not write anything here. Just in case. I don't know whether I'll pass this exam or not, but I have a feeling that I will not pass. If Shimona says that Bio will proabably pull her GPA down, for me, this class will probably pull my GPA down. Not that my GPA is high, it's just enough to keep me going. The course itself is interesting (except for the readings, lots and lots of them, but that's what you get in literature classes, right?) but for me, the problem is the teacher.

Enough said.

Muscles aching...

Yoga session is back!

Yesterday, I went for the first yoga session for this year. I haven't done any yoga since, uhm, I forgot...was it November? After it ended, my arm muscles ached like crazy...and then although I felt like not going this morning, I went anyway. The result --> more aching here and there! Hehe. That's what yoga gives you. Nevertheless, it's fun to be doing yoga again (not the waking-up-at-five part though). Nowadays, it's still quite hard for me to wake up so early but I think I'll get used to it, I have to get use to this routine now. Otherwise....hmm.

The past weekend had been a busy weekend for me. On Saturday, the Choir went to EIS to sing and I think it turned out well. Met with friends - Amy, Roy, Jovita, Farrel, Hazel, Gwen & family, and Auntie Dulinah - it was good to see all of them again, especially baby GG!! She's soooooo cute! The last time I saw her was, ehm, last year I think? when she was only a few weeks or one month old? I couldn't get my hands off her, she was too cute to let go! Hehe.

I need to go down to BKK soon. Auntie Dulinah was already asking me when will I go to BKK and stay at her house. Hehe. She has been asking me that question since last year! And I haven't gone to her place yet. Hehe. I will. Soon, I hope.

Well. Last Sunday, two events were on - International Food Fair and the Chinese New Year celebration. The food fair was okay...the sushi was great! Yummmmmmy~! The Chamber Choir had 3 booths - Massage booth, Cookie booth and the Song Dedication Booth - as part of our fundraising (Malaysia Trip) project. Here are some pictures of the weekend:


The massage and cookie booth.


Dinah at the song dedication booth.


Massage anyone?

Pictures of the trip to Bangkok will be posted soon.

Someone wants to use this computer. Off I go.

...

Kelmarin, saya telah bermain badminton bersama-sama dengan Shimona dan dua orang lelaki dari negara Kampuchea. Kali terakhir saya bermain adalah pada tahun 2002, iaitu 4 tahun yang lalu. Maka, kamu boleh bayangkan sendi-sendi otot saya yang sudah 'berkarat' digerakkan sekali lagi. Selepas bermain selama kira-kira 1 jam 30 minit, badan saya bagaikan didera! Haha! :D Tetapi, sakit-sakit itu berbaloi kerana itu bermakna sendi-sendi otot saya masih berfungsi. Hehe.

My Malay sucks and that's a fact! Sungguh memalukan...

Anyways, I enjoyed playing badminton yesterday! Eventhough the wind was blowing, we managed to have a few good rallies and I got to practice my dropshots again! I used to play badminton in highschool during sports day. My partner was always Choco and we make a pretty good pair - won several games, lost some. I used to play ping pong too, another fun game! For me, at least. And also football. Used to train under one of the Sabah State players. The training was intensive as I think we only had one month to prepare for the friendly match against our sister school, GASS. Our efforts paid off, and we won 1-0. Hehe. Those were the good old days in highschool.

Badminton - good! I hope I can buy myself a badminton racket sometime soon. Hehe. :D

Gettin' old...

Yesterday was not a great day for me. My lower back ached like crazy! I wasn't able to sit still in class and then my head started to get dizzy and I had sore throat! Great, just great... I had to skip two classes yesterday. I guess I'm getting old. Haha! I've experienced back aches a few times, but yesterday's pain was just unbearable, I couldn't sit still, what more walk! It's not only me who has back aches in the family, my bro has it and my cousins too. Once, I had a cousin who had to be hospitalized because of back aches and I was scared that I had to be hospitalized yesterday. Luckily today it's not so bad although it still hurts. Thanks to Felly for massaging my back last night:).

I was browsing through pictures taken last year and the year before and this one caught my eye. I like this pic! Haha~!


Our very own Statue of Liberty in MC! Hahaha!

We had fun during our 'photoshoot' session! :D

Back to college

We landed at Don Muang Airport at around 9 p.m. and reached Mission College at around midnight. The journey was good, and we had a safe landing.

Now, I'm back in school and I have to get the studying mood back. This is serious stuff, no more playing around like last semester. Hehe. For this semester, I'm taking 16 credits and all of my major classes are on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. That means 6 classes (plus Choir) on those days! 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. straight, break comes only from 11 a.m to 12 noon. Tiring. Tiring. Tiring. Then after that I have to teach, so I won't have a break until 5 p.m.! This semester's gonna be interesting. Hmmpph~!

Today I went for the Chamber Choir meeting and it just felt good to be singing again. I missed practices actually and yeah, Malaysia is on the way! Some more interesting stuffs that will be done this semester and I can't wait!

Well, here are some pictures from Sabah during the break:


This was how I spent my New Year's Day - helped in harvesting paddy at my maternal grandmother's place. That was what I wore, it was not a hot day, instead it rained, and out of boredom, I sang "In the bleak midwinter" while harvesting paddy. ...no wonder the rain didn't stop..teeheehee!


This is my doggy...


...and it likes to jump on people, so be careful if you come to my house:D




During the break, I took the opportunity to visit my cousin's house because I wasn't able to be there during the funeral. This is me and my late cousin's sister, taken at Adlynn's grave. When I stepped out of the car, an overwhelming feeling swept over me and I was shaking. I guessed it was because I was still shaken or sad over her death and the fact that I wasn't able to be there.



This is my late cousin's brother, Maxrell (I think that's how his name is spelled, I've always called him by his nickname). The last time I saw him, he was still a small boy, and now, he's taller than me! Nice:D


I also visited my two grandmothers. This is me and my paternal grandmother.


This is my maternal grandmother. She's had quite a few minor strokes but thank God, she's still with us. She's strong, and I admire her for that.


I also had the opportunity to drive to my kampung...without license! Hehe. :D


This is my cute and chubby niece, Enya Belle. She's just 4 years old but she's a smart kid and speaks in full sentences already! This was taken on my last Sabbath there.


Last but not least...a smile from PP~! :D

After 7 years...

It's the 2nd day of the New Year. On New Year's day, I just stayed home and relax. Then, today, I decided to follow my parents to ketam padi in Kg. Lapai. Hehe. The last time I did this was, uhm, I think 7 years ago? Haha~! Harvesting paddy is certainly NOT an easy job. Especially during the rainy season. Well, I think I did a good job and I'm proud of myself. I get to 'taste' and feel how hard it is for the older folks before. It was raining, and although my Mom asked me to stop over and over again because of the rain, I refused to stop. It was actually fun~! I was singing some of the choir songs (the ones I remember well, hahhaha~!) while ketaming paddy. Hehe. By 4.35 p.m., my left arm was already hurting, and my right hand fingers were filled with cuts here and there, but nevertheless, it was worth it! I felt happy to have helped and it was a good experience. Harvesting paddy while singing under the rain! Whew~!

And now I'm back home. Fiona called me while we were having lunch and informed me that the grades are already available online. And I checked my grades right after we reached home. I wasn't expecting good grades for this semester because I felt that I didn't do so well in my studies. But, to my surprise (and delight!) I got better grades than what I expected! No C's and it just feels good! I can sleep soundly tonight.

Today was tiring and good at the same time. And I think I'm gonna go to bed early. Ciao~!

For Smart People Only!

Below are four questions and a bonus question.
You have to answer them instantly. You can't take your time.
Answer all of them immediately. OK?

Let's find out just how clever you really are.
Ready? GO!!! (Scroll down)







First Question:
You are participating in a race.
You overtake the second person.
What position are you in?
Scroll down







Answer: If you answered that you are first,
you are absolutely wrong!If you overtake the second person
and you take his place,you are second!

Try not to make a mistake in the next question.
To answer the second question, don't take as much time as youtook for the first question.

Second Question:If you overtake the last person, then you are...?

Scroll down







Answer: If you answered that you are second to last,
you are wrong again.Tell me, how can you overtake
the LAST person?

You're not very good at this! Are you?

Third Question:Very tricky math!
Note: This must be done in your head only.Do NOT use paper and pencil or a calculator.
Try it.Take 1000 and add 40 to it. Now add another 1000. Now add 30.Add another 1000.
Now add 20. Now add another 1000. Now add 10.What is the total?

Scroll down for answer.







Did you get 5000?The correct answer is actually 4100.Don't believe it?
Check with your calculator!To understand why you added wrong, read this issue:http://www.mountainwings.com/past/1025.htm

Maybe you will get the last question right?

Fourth Question:Mary's father has five daughters:
1. Nana, 2. Nene, 3.Nini, 4. Nono.What is the name of the fifth daughter?

Scroll down






Answer: Nunu? NO! Of course not.Her name is Mary. Read the question again.

Okay, now the bonus round:There is a mute person who wants to buy a toothbrush.
By imitating the action of brushing one's teeth, he successfullyexpresses himself to the shopkeeper and the purchase is done.
There is a blind man who wishes to buy a pair of sunglasses,how should he express himself?

Scroll down







Answer: He just has to open his mouth and ask, so simple.


KEEP THIS GOING TO FRUSTRATE THE SMART PEOPLE IN YOUR LIFE!

Were you smart enough? I received this in my mailbox from MountainWings.com :D

Happy New Year to ALL!

It's the last day of the year 2005. In 3 hrs 49 mins, we will enter a brand new year. I can already hear drums beating from afar, probably getting ready to mark the new year. I can't help but to reminisce on events that had happened throughout this year. A while ago, I just watched the recorded funeral service of my dear cousin. I wasn't able to attend the funeral service, but as I was watching the CD, I felt as if I was there and tears came streaming down my cheeks freely. Then other events came into my mind - all that happened to me this year. Good and bad. That's the way of life.

But, all those now lingers in my memory. I can only hope that the brand new year will be a good one and that I will be able to accomplish more of what I want to accomplish.

All of us hold dreams for our future, but we can only hope and dream because our lives are in God's hands and He holds the future for us.

I wish everybody a happy New Year and God bless you all!:D

So long 2005, Welcome 2006!

Yeah! New babe in da' house!

I just received an email from my dearest cousin in Germany, and pictures of her new baby! Name is Peyton Daniel Williams. Yeah~! So happy for her! I haven't seen her for a long, long time, but we still keep in touch through email and chatting. They came back last year (I think) but I wasn't here in Sabah so I didn't have the chance to meet her family. Nevermind, I hope eventually I'll get to meet her again after all these years! She and her sister have been like older sisters to me since I was a kid and still am till now! I'm their one and only "Bukidi"! cheh, perasannnnn...hehehe

Presenting baby Peyton!


Awww, isn't he cute? Of course he IS!!hehehehe..so proud to be an aunty...again! :D

I'm HOME!

Hehe. Finally, I can say that I'm HOME again! The semester seemed to go by so fast, the next thing I know, I'm back again. It feels like I've never left home. I arrived safely on Christmas day and my Dad and bro were there to meet me at the airport. It really feels good to be home again!

The next day, my bro and I attended a friend (and also our babysitter) 's wedding in Tagaroh and to my surprise, I saw Teacher Arlene there! I haven't seen her since I-don't-know-when, probably 4 years? Not sure. Anyways, me and Crystal waited until the wedding was over to meet and greet her. Haha~! She was in Thailand the week before and I sent her a card through Pappu, not knowing that she'll be coming back to Sabah! She told me she was surprised to receive my card when she will meet me in Sabah anyway, and I told her that I didn't know she was coming back home. Hehe. Anyways. After the wedding we visited our cousin's home in Goshen. It's almost 2 months since my cousin passed away, I wasn't able to come home for the funeral, so I decided to go and visit their house. I didn't know what to say when I arrived at their house, her sister greeted us. The moment I shook her hand, a feeling of sadness swept through me and I was silent for a moment. Both of us understood.

We talked about many other things. She asked me whether I visited the sister's grave already, I told her I haven't. We didn't planned to stay there long, but it turned out that we stayed there for 2 1/2 hours. It just feels right. Before, we often go to Goshen, but never to their house eventhough we're first cousins because we're not so used to each other and seldom meet. But then, sometimes it takes events like this to happen to pull the family closer. I'm not so close to the mother (I'm related to them through her Dad), but when I met the mother, it seemed like I was close to her. And one more thing that took me by surprise, is the brother. The last time I saw him, he was still small, now, he's taller than me and his appearance changed completely. He was a cute little boy the last time I saw him and now, he's grown into a tall 14-year-old boy, and that cute face is still there:). Since I'm only gonna be here for two weeks, I'm planning to go visit them again, and visit my cousin's grave. I haven't seen the movie of the funeral yet, but I've seen the pictures, and she was given a full military style (by the Pathfinders) funeral service. Her last wish was to be dressed in a full Pathfinder uniform and hold a Bible in her hand. Just by looking at the pictures and watching the powerpoint presentation of her diary made me cry.

Anyways. Today we had our family reunion (mom's side) in Tenghilan. It was fun! And the food, ohhh, the food! It felt really good to taste homecooked food again! A lot of our relatives from far and near came and the house was almost filled with people. With 11 children in the family, plus lots of grandchildren and great-grandchildren and other relatives, the atmosphere is never dull and boring. Kids everywhere, I'm getting old. Suddenly I have lots of nephews and nieces! And they're growing bigger and bigger, and cuter!! Haha~! My Mom's side had always been close and always hold family reunions. It makes the family ties close and strong. That is the important thing. :)

Now, I'm at home. Bored. Nothing to do at the moment.

I think I'll do find something else to do now. Or else...I might end up going to bed..but it's still early! It's still 8 p.m.! Hehe.

Stille nacht...heilige nacht...

I had a really great time during the concert last night. This is my first Christmas concert with the Collegiate Chorale and it was really good! I'm glad I'm in the choir:D. After the concert, Dr. Paul talked to me and he said he was really impressed at the choir, not burying their heads in their files and singing "Silent Night" in German! Hahah. I asked him whether the pronunciation of the words were correct and whether he understood what we were singing, his reply was, "Yes, yes, it was world class!" Hahaha. LOL. Stille nacht...heilige nacht. :D

In a while, the English majors will be going to Phu Kae Gardens in Saraburi for our Sabbath outing. So, I gotta get ready now. Hehe.

Happy Sabbath. :D


"Once in David's Royal City" by the MCCC.


The choir and the string ensemble.


My current desktop wallpaper.

Christmas is here:D

December is here again. I love the month of December! Last night, the AIMS had their program at the auditorium, it was nice. The kids were so adorable! Watching them performing last night made me remembered the times when I got to perform like those kids on stage. It was 12 years ago in the Philippines. Pictures of those times make me want to go back to that age again! I want to be a kid again! Hehe.

Anyways. I'm just taking a break from doing my double-log entry for my Theories class. 4 more chapters to go! Haihhh~! Getting busy, as always, just before the finals. :P

Concert tonight. Hope everything will be alright. I hope I can remember words. Haha! And yeah, hampir menjadi kenyataan --> koir kecil akan ke Negeri Di Bawah Bayu dan ke Bumi Kenyalang tahun depan waktu Songkran! YEAH! Hehehehe:D:D:D:D:D