The last Glimmer of 2008...

In just a wink of an eye, what was left of 2008 is just a mere amber, glowing dimly... The first spark of 2009 is going to ignite at midnight today... Though 2008 isn't a perfect year, it isn't a meaningless one either... This year marked the end of seeing schoolmates whom I had spent at least eleven years with, and a start of meeting new friends in an alien state... Encountering much conflicts, depression, pressure and tension, but yet there are some nice memories which are worth my safe keeping: reunions, heart-to-heart talks, a few trips, some realisation, some events... Though time is blown away by the last breeze of this year, it is still part of my life... 2008 is part of my lifespan on this earth, no matter how many more years there are waiting for me ahead... This will be my last post for 2008, mind you, it'll turn out to be quite a lengthy one...

My New Year Resolution

There are a few resolutions that I had made for myself this year. I hope that all of it could be fulfill... But the most important thing is that I myself and my family would be satisfied by my performance next year...

1. The top priority - my studies. I hope to be able to hold on to this scholarship till the end. This is the opportunity of a life time, sent by god, the first stepping stone towards my desired path. I know that next year would be a tough year for me as I do not want to be kicked out half way, or being given a cancellation of my scholarship. Some pieces of unpleasant news about my seniors who were flung out although they had manage to got through the first year in Auckland U scares me quite a bit. A perfect score would be my target! (I wonder how are my former classmates getting on with their studies?)

2. Good Health for me and my family. Health is the greatest wealth. My weak immunity always can't pull me through a whole year without getting a fever or flu. Sometimes it even spread to my family, and that will always keep us in bed for most of the time till we recover... No health, no best performances, no best grades, no best moods, no smiles...
*pause* (talking about this, I got up to have a drink of water...)*winks* ;)

3. Staying Focused. Sometimes, I tend to lose focus... I will not be concentrating on my studies with all those external disturbance... Please, (begging myself) don't lost focus, you have loads of assignments to complete and refine, there is the mock exam running towards you at full speed in March, there are lots more knowledge to remember and learn... So, the next time you start to daydream I'll whack the sense into you! (make up my mind to self - torture when I lose focus...lol...)

4. Getting Along with Roommate, New Friends and Seniors. Yea, this would be the worst problem next year... I still couldn't familiarised myself with my classmates though we get along quite well so far... Talking about seniors, so far I do not even know any of them, except Evelyn (whom I had talked to through the phone once). I blame myself for not taking the initiative to have a word with them. (*Whining* ...but there are loads of assignments during the first sem!) There is one, who tries to be friendly, but in the end, getting myself to walk away as the first impression that he had given me is not a good one. Huh, whoever had heard of someone who blurted foul words when they first get to know a new person (though he didn't mean it I guess, just a slip of the tongue)... new friends, hmm... Still a little too early to say much except for they are quite nice...

5. Eat healthily. I find it quite impossible as there is only one cafeteria that serves curry everyday (fattening and major cause of high blood pressure)... Perhaps I might order meals from the jolly uncle who brings ordered food from outside...I tried a few times this year, the food isn't too bad, the only problem is the timing and waiting... I'm too lazy to wait for the arrival of this uncle. My lecture ends at 1.30. Most of the time the food comes at 2pm, or 2.30pm... I've a bundle of clothes to wash and sometimes extra classes to attend to at 2.30pm. The delivery is done at the ground floor, but I live on the 3rd floor... (there's no lift)... So, for last semester I went faithfully to the cafeteria, eating curry and soggy dishes daily, gaining a few kilos on the way... Way back here everyone commented that I must have been eating quite a lot of fast food to grow to this size... (I'm down by a few kilos now by the way during this long break)

6. Exercise to Energize. I've been playing badminton with friends several times this hols... Not too bad, at least I still play my game... I hope to play more variety of games next year... I've played ping pong and tennis last sem...I think I'll continue with that, and also spare some time for basketball and badminton in the campus... It's been a long time since I had abandoned my basketball... My skills are way worse than a primary school basketball player... Also, exercise keeps me energized, essential for the building of my concentration...

I think these are what I wish to fulfill and achieve next year...Just hope that it will be a fruitful year. The Year of the Cow coming to kick away the year of the Rat...LOL... Happy New Year everyone!^^

The Breakdown...

My phone broke down yesterday... I hate that...So far I've changed two phones for the past four years... It seems that phones nowadays have shorter life span than their 'anchestors' of yesteryears... This may mean a good future for handphone dealers as their buyers flourish more than ever... Some sort of business gimmick??

Though all my phones are not the over RM400 types, I kind of have a soft spot for each of them... Precious as they were, I kept each of them at home, unwilling to trade in (it's just a meagre amount of money anyway)... They 'died' so suddenly, just as if a heart attack had just broken out... The screen went blank... Efforts of reviving them are of little use... The switch just won't work... Everything went off together with most of my unsaved contact numbers... Only a few were 'rescued' from the phones through the 'emergency room' - the SIM card... Those nicely written forward messages that I had saved were buried in the heart of the phones with no alternatives of retrieving them out...

I've just gotten myself a new one with multiple functions. That doesn't mean that I've finally bought an expensive model... (though it cost more than the previous ones)...about rm60 more... My friend said that it's worth the money... His phone cost an amount of rm900, burned a hole of his dad's pocket...Lol... But that was two and a half years ago... His phone lasted quite a while till now, that's the advantage of a good expensive one... My phone had all the functions like his but not as expensive of course... I just hope that this one could last for a longer period...Just don't want to burden dad every time my phone breaks down... It takes quite a few years more before I could finally start working and earning my own cash... That time I'll buy good elderly friendly phones for both my parents...

Outdated?

I've read an article in the papers recently. I had a mixture of feelings after that. The writer seems to encourage people to stop blogging. Well, I certainly won't. It was stated that 'blogging is for the oldies'. Frankly speaking, I'm not even in my late twenties yet, so what's wrong with blogging? It seems that nowadays, more people Twitter than blog long posts. There is also some sort of statistic which shows that only 1. something million of people update their blogs in seven days' time. I admit that I do not update frequently,but that shouldn't be discouraged. Personal bloggers who blog for passion do not need to compete with the other socio-political blogs or even some magazine and newspaper blogs. We just blog at our own pace, taking our own sweet time because we do not commercialize our blogs, we do not need many people to flood our blogs just to be some top bloggers, neither do we earn money. We express our opinions in a neutral manner without the fear of being censored by the government (unless you really want to cause trouble by insulting or discuss much-too-sensational issues). The article also stated that 'Those who do not have a Facebook is considered a Luddite'. Well, I certainly do not have one, which, in this case, makes me a Luddite -_-!'''... Whatsoever... I've no regrets of not owning one... That doesn't make sense at all... I can't Twitter because I owned a hand phone without any blue tooth device install in it or any advance gadgets... So who cares if I'm outdated or not!

Family Get-Together...

I went to cousin's house for a get together meal... Though my cousin had just given birth, she's a lively thing after just a few months... She cooked for all of us...As everyone was busy talking and joking while I played with her baby who gained 1.8kg in 2 months... Get together are really effective in bringing the family together... Love it... I'm going back to my institute on the 4th of January... Sad to leave everyone behind again... I'll try to get the achievement that will make everyone proud, repaying every one's concern and support... I won't fail you all, I promise...

Christmas Spirit?

It was raining all day on Christmas day itself... Kind of chilly, that must be the substitute of snow I think... Not very nice christmas programmes on TV these days I wonder why... The worse part is that, my handphone line is doomed suddenly these 2 days... Even my dad's line was limited... Cry...T-T...But, still I could feel the christmas spirit when everyone sent greetings on my phone and online too! Merry Christmas everyone, though it's already over...Lol...

significance of SMS...

For me, every forward message sent by my friends are priceless (I mean those with quotes and nice sayings). I'll always save it up so that I can view it whenever I want. Some people do not like this type of messages. As soon as they had read it, it'll be deleted within a minute. Maybe that's because most do not take messages in the form of SMSes seriously. Maybe there is a lack of warmth, of human touch that makes many of us deleting these forward SMSes without first savouring it. I won't sent forward these to such people as it's a waste of time and effort for those who doesn't appreciate it. I wonder how many people save their forward messages? I bet there are only a handful as most opt to keep their saving capacity as large as they could to make room for videos and music storage...
So,when is the last time you delete a nicely written piece of forward quotes or sayings?

Life's like a flow of water...

"Such a waste of water!" mum exclaimed when she saw dad washing the dishes under the running water... "Should turn off the tap first ma...Rinse it after you finish it up with the dish washer... Some others are not so lucky as to have even a drop of water for drinking." (giggles...). Okay, that's what happens when mum saw dad wasting unnecessary water.

I thought about it for quite some time. I had remembered the times when we had water shortage. We had saved every drop of it in pails and containers just to prevent the shortage of drinking water and a portion for cleaning up and refreshments. The funny thing is we seem to cherish and appreciate when there is little of something such as water - the life giver. We realised just how much we need it at such times...

What about life? Do we really live out the life when it is about to end? I'm not having depression or anything, it's just that this mere thought crossed my mind after watching a picturesque scenery of a magnificant waterfalls tumbling down the rocky slope down into the stream below it. The water is such a lively thing although it isn't a living thing. It is always on the move no matter whether it is in the form of river, raindrops or the raging oceans and seas, or even the rarest dewdrop that we sometimes discover nested upon a single leaf with a spark of sunshine in it, to which we take as a perfect little pleasure.

The cycle of water is endless. It goes as far down into the soil as it could get, sipped up by plants and also ended up among the clouds where its cycle was to be repeated again and again. The moment when a raindrop starts to fall down to the earth, it is the sign of a new cycle - a new life. Can it be compared to that of the birth of a human? The start for all, everything was at its initial point.

Then, as twisted by fate, the birth of a new life may not be perfect. Sometimes the raindrop may be absorbed by the soil down into the underground rivers and streams. Sometimes it fall into the gusting river water, meeting up with other drops of H2O whereby they rushed towards the end, the end of the river... into the open sea... Meeting many other H2O on the way... Sometimes, it merely falls on a leaf which refuses to let it continue its journey to the ground below, whereby it doesn't even have any moment to spare, to stare around before it evaporates as the water vapour up into the clouds again. Some raindrops or waterdroplets give much of a contribution too, as they are sucked or pumped into water pipes, purified and emerged as drinking water for humans, or float on in the oasis where animals gratefully lapped it up, thanking it for allowing them a chance to live a longer life...Life is also such too! Some people do not have the time to appreciate life, they tend to rush around like the waterdroplets in the waterfalls, the fast moving rivers... Some are destined to have a brief life span like the dewdrops or raindrops upon the leaves, the sign of them living is such an insignificant one. Some great people have lived winning the applause of the others, remembered for eternity as the noble ones ever born on earth.

Some water droplets aren't so lucky too... they settle into standstill drains where the drainage system is at its worst, a breeding area of the much loathed mosquito larvae, the bogs... Those presence are not much of a recognise ones... Humans too feel the presence of such ill-fated people lingering around them, either because of their miserable fate or their own irreversible choices...

Yet after discussing most of the similarities, there is a significant difference between human life and the lively flow of water... Water is a renewable resource, BUT LIFE ISN'T...

Picky about eating eggs...

Mum cooked yesterday. A simple meal of bull's eye fried eggs, cabbage soup, and homemade meatballs yet satisfying my cravings for home cooked food after spending half a year swallowing curry, nasi and sayur at my campus' cafeteria .Yum yum, mum's cooking is always the best.Hard to find cuisine I must say.Only during the holidays do I have the chance to savour it.

I gulped down (wolf down to be exact...=_=''). Mum gave me her portion of egg white during lunch. I was quite surprised as she used to love eating that part the most. It seem that she had changed her liking for egg white. I guess people change their taste most of the time. Mum had also reminded me that I used to pick out mushrooms from my steam cabbage rice which is now one of my favourite dish. Now I simply love the mushrooms, black mushrooms which is a frequent ingredient in Chinese dishes.

Came across a saying that states people change their tastes as they undergo different stages of life. Yeap, maybe that's part of growing. No matter whether the growth involves mental maturity, self esteem, personality or lifestyle, people are always changing. The positive changes or the negative changes??? It just depends on the choices they choose whether it go against the limits of conscience or the other way round. It really goes in line with the theory proposed by Max Weber. People are guided by rationality nowadays. Are they guided by the rationality of cultural trend? or rational instinct?

For sure man are the only beings who live on based on cultural elements and not biological instincts solely...

Christmas is coming...

Got a call from my friend yesterday...My long time friend in matriculation...It really has been a long time since I saw her...Talking about holidays, she's coming back this Christmas for four days...I wonder how beautiful she has become... The feeling of Christmas atmosphere is too great for me to resist it although I do not celebrate it... There will be loads of Christmas programmes on TV...Yeah, gonna watch it all! Rejoice in the Christmas spirit too...Looking forward to it...looking forward to see my friends too!

Some Rages...

I'd discovered someone who steals other people's blog post to fill up one's blog... That's so disgusting... At least the someone does not discover my blog yet...
but sooner or later, I think I'll find some of my posts up there too..

Many of my friends posts were copied, those appeared in that blog of that particular person...
Nowadays, just to boost one's blog popularity, such inconsiderate culprits opt to take the short cut... there were none of their own true feelings, none of their own words...They just borrowed them... the more nicely a post is written, the higher the risk it is going to be copied by the person...

So I was wondering, why in the first place do they have a blog even without the enthusiasm to write it?

I just hope that there won't be any copycat blogs spreading trend...

If I could...

If I could be a little more serious...
If I could be a little more focused...
If I could concentrate more on my studies,
and spend less worrying,
I might reach the desired...the sloughed after...

If I could be a little more intelligent,
or a well-versed linguist,
or maybe a talented genius,
(which I'd been daydreaming for)
I'll be one perfectionist,
(whom no one will ever be)...

If I could choose to be what I really want to be,
I won't feel left out,
I won't feel the despair,
I won't feel aimless,
I won't feel helpless...

If only I could...

The Big Changes...

It's actually very very late for me to discuss this issue... Everyone knows that Barack Obama is going to be the president of US next year... I just feel that racial sentiments are no longer strong in the Europe country. Now both the American Africans and White Americans can cooperate to build a stronger nation. Other countries should follow suit. This would or might be the first step towards the reduction of unpleasant racial rivalry throughout the world.

Minus the racial issues, I find that mankind nowadays contains more anger, hatred and aggressiveness in them. Teenagers in Greece creating riots just because of the mistaken death of a 15 year-old boy who was shoot down by one or two of the police there. Not that the boy's life isn't a precious one, I feel that they shouldn't be doing all those damaging demonstration as it is the fault of those two policemen but not the entire public. Why create more unhappiness even after justice had taken over that case with the offenders been given punishment?

Mum said jokingly that maybe mankind consume too much meat, too much feelings of hatred from the animals transferred into the body of everyone as they had died unwillingly just to satisfy man's needs. Maybe perhaps one day this theory might be proven to be true, I couldn't say it for sure. Maybe Man should stop consuming meat and be a vegetarian instead. (Just kidding)

Peace for all!!!

T-T plus ^-^

I can't upload photos from my camera because of the missing piece - the cable. I got so upset that I just do not feel like writing anything for a few days... I finally faced the fact that it is lost forever already... To late to cry...

All the cute baby photos have to wait until the arrival of my new cable before uploading it... Even my camera was spoiled... Such bad luck...I think it is because of a long period of abandonment... The lens just won't come out...

My cousin had had a baby girl last month... My status since then have upgraded... I'm an aunt to this lively babe... (not really upgraded as I've upgraded since the day when I was born... My elderest nephew is currently 35 years old and also already a married man) Still here is one of the photos my cousin had previously sent to me... Cute little Yanxin!!! I hope that I can teach her when she starts her preschool...

Sleepless nights...

I spend these few nights tossing about in bed... Didn't sleep well, that's why the two baggy sacs under my eyes start to look visible...

I heard from my friends their pleasant news -They got four flats in their matriculation exam this semester... Wow, that was quite a tough score to achieve and yet they did it... I was quite doubtful about my grades this semester as it will be derived from my assignments this semester... I really want to excel in my field too!

On that cloudy day when we played badminton together, at first glance, something isn't right, they have become unfamiliar to me (sort of)... Some brought along their special mates which makes the joy of playing together with old friends lack the enthusiasm we had before... There seemed to be a barrier between us... Only a few stay unchanged...there wasn't any after meals with them after the session ended... It was a brief farewell... But still, I can say that I'm still looking forward to each get - togethers with them as they have grown to be part of the primary group in my life... I do not see them as the secondary group as I do not interact with them out of the sole purpose of achieving a goal... Thus, no matter what changes, these friendship will always be maintained, preserved in my soul... The purest form of it...