[different species of students]

My friend and I noticed this about our grad class:

Local students/students who did undergrad here:

• "Yesterday's lecture was so boring. Don't think I'm attending today's."
• "Is this practical compulsory? If it's not, I'm not going. Waste time lah."
• Zzzzzzz...during lecture.
• Running out of class the moment we're dismissed.

vs

Foreign students/students who are not from this uni:

• "What time is today's lecture? The topic is about XXX right?"
• "The practical must be interesting. Yes I'm going for it."
• Furiously taking down notes every step of the way.
• Running up to the lecturer at every opportunity to clarify doubts.

Million dollar question: Did N.U.S. make us like this? haha.

[When you love her]

I don't usually repost these things, but this is sweet. Got it from my funwall.

When she walks away from you mad
[ Follow her ]

When she stares at your mouth
[ Kiss her ]

When she pushes you or hits you
[ Grab her and dont let go ]

When she starts cussing at you
[ Kiss her and tell her you love her ]

When she's quiet
[ Ask her whats wrong ]

When she ignores you
[ Give her your attention ]

When she pulls away
[ Pull her back ]

When you see her at her worst
[ Tell her she's beautiful ]

When you see her start crying
[ Just hold her and dont say a word ]

When you see her walking
[ Sneak up and hug her waist from behind ]

When she's scared
[ Protect her ]

When she lays her head on your shoulder
[ Tilt her head up and kiss her ]

When she steals your favorite hat
[ Let her keep it and sleep with it for a night]

When she teases you
[ Tease her back and make her laugh ]

When she doesn't answer for a long time
[ reassure her that everything is okay ]

When she looks at you with doubt
[ Back yourself up ]

When she says that she likes you
[ she really does more than you could understand ]

When she grabs at your hands
[ Hold hers and play with her fingers ]

When she bumps into you
[ bump into her back and make her laugh ]

When she tells you a secret
[ keep it safe and untold ]

When she looks at you in your eyes
[ don't look away until she does ]

When she misses you
[ she's hurting inside ]

When you break her heart
[ the pain never really goes away ]

When she says its over
[ she still wants you to be hers ]

When she reposts this bulletin
[ she wants you to read it ]

- Stay on the phone with her even if she's not saying anything.
- When she's mad hug her tight and don't let go
- When she says she's ok dont believe it, talk with her
- because 10 yrs later she'll remember you
- Call her at 12:00am on her birthday to tell her you love her
- Call her before you sleep and after you wake up
- Treat her like she's all that matters to you.
- Tease her and let her tease you back.
- Stay up all night with her when she's sick.
- Watch her favorite movie with her or her favorite show even if you think its stupid.
- Give her the world.
- Let her wear your clothes.
- When she's bored and sad, hang out with her.
- Let her know she's important.
- Kiss her in the pouring rain.
- When she runs up to you crying, the first thing you say is;"Who's ass am I kicking babe?"

[Sometimes you have to live life one letter at a time]

"A young widow discovers that her late husband has left her 10 messages intended to help ease her pain and start a new life."

Yes it sounded like a romantic movie. It was I guess, but somewhere along the movie I couldn't make up my mind whether it was romantic or just heartbreaking and I was crying through almost the whole movie. If I lost my husband 50 years too early, or even when I'm old and shrivelled with 10 grandchildren and ready to say goodbye to the world, the pain would be so great; I don't know if I'd want constant reminders of him through letters he left behind.

I loved the portrayal of the intimate bond the couple shared. One which was so great that even after their arguments they patched up immediately. Reminds me of what my aunt said, never go to sleep without patching up a quarrel first...a useful reminder. The first 10 mins resonated with me because it was similar to a conversation I had with MB. Worrying about our future, whether we'd reach a stagnation in our r'ship with years to come. In fact, he was the one who encouraged me to watch the movie because of the first 20 mins he watched. I'm glad I did, cos now I know I'm not the only one who worries about such issues lol.

It must've been difficult doing what Gerry did - planning out Holly's "recovery" process at the right time with the right support around her. What I loved best was his loving words and his letters that were crafted so perfectly to depict how intimately he knew her. Oh lovely. Those scenes were the good tear jerkers. The not so good tear jerkers were when Gerry planned things that got Holly reminded of their past together and the moments when she was so lonely she'd "feel" Gerry around in her apartment, only (for the audience) to realise he wasn't really there. The former reaffirms my believe that break-ups should be clean - no more contact so that there's no more remnant feelings or at least no temptation to fall back into a relationship that wasn't working out well in the first place. Easier said than done I suppose, especially when you think of the wonderful moments you spent with that special someone.

MB has promised me he won't leave me 50 years too soon. I'll be keeping ur word to it. I wouldn't be able to bear it.

And an important reminder from the movie, tell the one you love how much you feel for him/her before it's too late, literally.

P.S. I Love You

[we hope you dance]

I never thought I'd have the gut to do this. But today is a historical day because I gathered up the courage to sing (or at least attend the rehearsal) for our department's MPH Nite (some celebration for the Masters of Public Health students for completing their coursework..how privileged...haha). I got "volunteered" (yeah, sabo-ed more like) by my dear AW who told GK that I sang well during our karaoke night pre-new year. So I was like..ok..I'll attend the rehearsal and see how it goes. And suddenly we received an email saying GK's wife who's a choral conductor will be "auditioning" us to see which parts of the song suited our voices better. Yikes! I thought it was gonna be a simple affair.

I almost backed out after getting that email...using classes as an excuse (yeah, like I'd choose lessons over having fun..lol). But I went ahead anyway, and it turned out great. Thank goodness Sz didn't make us sing individually..we "auditioned" as a group. Ha. It was a bumpy start getting used to the guitar and keyboard accompaniment which was so different from the original song I was practicing on. By the end of the day, we were even singing in different melodies. Woohoo. I even got my own few solo lines lol. I think I was doing fine...till prof came along. As if his presence wasn't nerve wrecking enough, he was going "Wow Saf you're singing huh? Not bad. Must hear you sing. Good good." with GK lauding along. No pressure at all.

Wasn't surprised I goofed up the first round after prof came by. It'll get better...I hope. We'll have 2 more practices....extremely few for the novices that we are. But now I'm actually looking forward to MPH Nite. Heh ;)

P.S. Department head DK just walked by my cubicle and commented that "Wow Saf you can sing very well. You have a beautiful voice." I was too stunned to say something intelligent...I think I went like err...thanks... Lol. Ok, shall stop blowing my own horn already. Haha.

Get inspired ya'll

I HOPE YOU DANCE
By: Lee Ann Womack

I hope you never lose your sense of wonder
You get your fill to eat but always keep that hunger
May you never take one single breath for granted
God forbid love ever leave you empty handed
I hope you still feel small when you stand beside the ocean
Whenever one door closes I hope one more opens
Promise me that you'll give fate the fighting chance
And when you get the choice to sit it out or dance

I hope you dance
I hope you dance

I hope you never fear those mountains in the distance
Never settle for the path of least resistance
Living might mean taking chances but they're worth taking
Lovin' might be a mistake but it's worth making
Don't let some hell bent heart leave you bitter
When you come close to selling out reconsider
Give the heavens above more than just a passing glance
And when you get the choice to sit it out or dance

I hope you dance
(Time is a wheel in constant motion always)
I hope you dance
(Rolling us along)
I hope you dance
(Tell me who wants to look back on their years and wonder)
I hope you dance
(Where those years have gone)

I hope you still feel small when you stand by the ocean
Whenever one door closes I hope one more opens
Promise me that you'll give faith the fighting chance
And when you get the choice to sit it out or dance

Dance
I hope you dance
I hope you dance
(Time is a wheel in constant motion always)
I hope you dance
(Rolling us along)
I hope you dance
(Tell me who wants to look back on their years and wonder)
I hope you dance
(Where those years have gone)
(Tell me who wants to look back on their years and wonder)
I hope you dance
(Where those years have gone)

[one word: adorable]

[on the hot air balloon]

[yummy yummy belly]

[egyptian dance]

[egyptian music]

[reflections]

1. When you're down, you can't expect everyone to understand you. And you can't expect anyone to understand you completely. Only you understand yourself best.
2. Be your own parent, especially when you have invisible parents.
3. There's no time like the present, so forget about the past. Yes your past made you who you are today, but if it isn't doing you much good, discard your past.
4. Focus on the people who are there for you, doesn't matter if they aren't family. Whatever it is, they care and they show they care. That's what's important.
5. When you learn to trust yourself, you start to trust others more.
6. Love yourself. You're the most important person in your life.
7. Do things to pamper yourself. Reward yourself, even when there's no special occasion. Reward yourself just for being yourself.
8. Stay away from people who bring you down, people who make you feel miserable and people who bring you down. It's ok to deviate - to those around you who make you feel good.
9. Look on the positive side of things. Be positive, think positive.
10. Have faith that He puts you through tests for a reason. The reason may not be clear when you feel that you're in the deepest of shit, but there is always something good to be learnt out of life's lessons.

[back from Egypt]

Yes, I've finally been to the land of the pyramids! Land of culture and ancient wonders. Another red dot on my map, and on the African continent..so that only leaves me South America to visit..haha. Actually, I'm still undecided...Egypt is more like a middle eastern country on the wrong continent...so maybe I still need to make that trip to South Africa..lol.

We accomplished a lot, starting from Cairo and sailing down south and making our way up from Aswan to Luxor and back to Cairo. I've been waiting to settle down for a few days before writing, so that my getting sick on the trip wouldn't make me write bad remarks about it. But then again, I don't think there was much to complain about, even my dad (and that's huge, coming from him), said it was well planned and we chose the right agency. Wee! One of the main things that made it so enjoyable was that we had a really great guide. Despite our initial worries about him being too young (haha..think total opposite of old post-retirement ah peks who give tours in SEA), he did a great job at every point along the trip. Drowned us with lots of info and entertained us too while we were bored..heh.

The pyramids were somehow not as enthralling as I imagined them to be. Yes they were majestic, something gigantic created with such early technology, mostly manpower. But to me, they were not more than that - structures towering into the sky. I think the Taj impressed me more. Perhaps I'm into natural wonders more. The camel ride in the desert with the pyramids in the background were worth the experience though, I'm glad I did it even though I had reservations about whether the camel would be able to take my weight lol. Our skillfull camel boy even took brilliant photos of us at a stop - no wonder he's in the business ;).

Our cruise was fantastic - true to what Ahmed said. First class cabins with first class food and service. The only complain was that on the third day we were purely sailing so there wasn't much to do - we were literally eating and sleeping. I finished my Dan Brown book in a day and was looking for something else to do. Luckily they had belly dancing to occupy us that night, something I didn't wanna miss for sure ;). The temple ruins and the wonderful scenery along the Nile were more captivating than the pyramids. My faves were Karnak and Philae Temple. Karnak because it was huge and had diverse architecture and Philae because it was on an offshore island where the terrain was lovely, the boatride there itself was a charm. There was a heavenly moment I spent with Sakura when we watched the sun set from the sundeck of the ship. The scenery was just WOW, and with the sunlight reflecting off the rocky moutains, Mashallah, it was just a sight to revel in. Who can deny God's creation when you're surrounded by such beauty. Wow.

I got sick after inhaling too much cigarrete smoke on the ship unfortunately (another reason why I love the ban in smoking in public places here...yay). It didn't help that certain people (ahem) insisted on turning on the aircon at night..so my last couple of days in Cairo were a little miserable. It started with a horrible sore throat, puking on the train back to Cairo, and a full blown asthma attack after that. I couldn't go on the last day of sightseeing in Cairo...which meant that I couldn't do shopping. Sobs. Sakura didn't have a very good experience at the bazaar either..too bad. The half day we had left before flying off..we went to visit Muhammad Ali mosque, refreshing after the half dozen ancient temples we visited.

Next destination: Greece for honeymoon. hahaha.

Egypt pics here.