From an email I got from a friend
"To all the lovely ladies I know"
A WOMAN SHOULD HAVE...
enough money within her control to move out
and rent a place of her own,
even if she never wants to or needs to...
A WOMAN SHOULD HAVE ...
something perfect to wear if the employer,
or date of her dreams wants to see her in an hour... ;)
A WOMAN SHOULD HAVE ..
a youth she's content to leave behind....
A WOMAN SHOULD HAVE ...
a past juicy enough that she's looking forward to
retelling it in her old age.... interesting ;)
A WOMAN SHOULD HAVE ..
a set of screwdrivers, a cordless drill, and a black lace bra... need to get the last one..haha
A WOMAN SHOULD HAVE ...
one friend who always makes her laugh... and one who lets her cry... very important
A WOMAN SHOULD HAVE ....
a good piece of furniture not previously owned by anyone else in her family...
A WOMAN SHOULD HAVE ...
eight matching plates, wine glasses with stems,
and a recipe for a meal,
that will make her guests feel honored... me cook for guests? wait long long...
A WOMAN SHOULD HAVE ...
a feeling of control over her destiny...
EVERY WOMAN SHOULD KNOW...
how to fall in love without losing herself.. oh how true
EVERY WOMAN SHOULD KNOW...
how to quit a job,
break up with a lover,
and confront a friend without;
ruining the friendship...
EVERY WOMAN SHOULD KNOW...
when to try harder...
and when to walk away...
EVERY WOMAN SHOULD KNOW...
that she can't change the length of her calves,
the width of her hips, or the nature of her parents.. darn..lol
EVERY WOMAN SHOULD KNOW...
that her childhood may not have been perfect...
but its over...
EVERY WOMAN SHOULD KNOW...
what she would and wouldn't do for love or more...
EVERY WOMAN SHOULD KNOW...
how to live alone... even if she doesn't like it...
EVERY WOMAN SHOULD KNOW..
whom she can trust,
whom she can't,
and why she shouldn't take it personally... oh the life lessons :P
EVERY WOMAN SHOULD KNOW...
where to go...
be it to her best friend's kitchen table...
or a charming inn in the woods...
when her soul needs soothing
EVERY WOMAN SHOULD KNOW...
what she can and can't accomplish in a day...
a month...
and a year...
meaningful...
Thursday, June 26, 2008
Sunday, June 22, 2008
[eat raisins campaign]
I'm not exactly a proponent of eating raisins, but since it has been my regular source of snack while trudging through my thesis writing, and since I think of a million and one other things to do other than focus on it, I researched and found out that my snack was notably healthy. So I thought I'd advertise it's remarkable properties to qualify for my snacking. Or perhaps just so that I had something else to do other than write. Haha.
Friday, June 20, 2008
[is it worth hoping?]
Life is about experiments and risk. Sometimes you don't realise you're in one, sometimes you don't realise you conjured up one, sometimes you don't realise the experiment has been going on for almost all your life; till you take a step back and look at the big picture. As unpredictable as life is (I read somewhere that the only constant thing about life is change), some experiments turn out great, sometimes they blow up in your face. Good thing none of my lab experiments haven't blown up in my face, at least not literally.
When you're being bombarded with problems, insurmountable hurdles, there is always that chance to succeed. But rising above that challenge is difficult when there is the people factor, a factor other than you, which is more often than not, even more unpredictable than life itself. Or perhaps predictably unpredictable. As in any (failing) experiment, you can try, and you can try. But how much do you try? Often you think of giving people second chances without even realising it. But if compound A isn't gonna react with compound B no matter how many different ways you approach it, are you still gonna go on like a mad scientist? Or do you say enough is enough?
It's not easy to put an end to hope. Hoping that perhaps this time the experiment might work. Hoping that if you do things differently this time, the outcome might be different. Maybe, just maybe, A and B will produce C this time. And then when you receive a slap in the face (or perhaps realise, finally, that you've been receiving too many slaps in the face), you decide: it is time to stop this experiment. Enough.
"It's not enough to know how to ride - one must also know how to fall" Mexican Proverb quote
No it is not quitting. How could it be quitting when you've tried repeating the experiment for years, without even knowing consciously you were hoping for the best? How could it be quitting when all this time there has been no evidence that the experiment would succeed? This is probably what is meant by a reality check. The reality is, sadly, that no matter how many ways you try to combine A and B, they simply aren't gonna react. No you haven't failed. You have succeeded in accepting the situation. And you have also made a discovery, albeit not the one you hypothesized: that A will not react with B. Probably not, ever.
So where do you go from here then? Do you give up hope entirely? It would be easy to say, since my experiments have not been working, there is no point being a scientist/experimentor anymore. Yet being the basis of what life is, where would the challenge be if we stopped experimenting and gave up hope? Perhaps it just means it's time to move on. Experiment with different materials, hope for different outcomes. Hope for Life. Because some dreams do come true.
When you're being bombarded with problems, insurmountable hurdles, there is always that chance to succeed. But rising above that challenge is difficult when there is the people factor, a factor other than you, which is more often than not, even more unpredictable than life itself. Or perhaps predictably unpredictable. As in any (failing) experiment, you can try, and you can try. But how much do you try? Often you think of giving people second chances without even realising it. But if compound A isn't gonna react with compound B no matter how many different ways you approach it, are you still gonna go on like a mad scientist? Or do you say enough is enough?
It's not easy to put an end to hope. Hoping that perhaps this time the experiment might work. Hoping that if you do things differently this time, the outcome might be different. Maybe, just maybe, A and B will produce C this time. And then when you receive a slap in the face (or perhaps realise, finally, that you've been receiving too many slaps in the face), you decide: it is time to stop this experiment. Enough.
"It's not enough to know how to ride - one must also know how to fall" Mexican Proverb quote
No it is not quitting. How could it be quitting when you've tried repeating the experiment for years, without even knowing consciously you were hoping for the best? How could it be quitting when all this time there has been no evidence that the experiment would succeed? This is probably what is meant by a reality check. The reality is, sadly, that no matter how many ways you try to combine A and B, they simply aren't gonna react. No you haven't failed. You have succeeded in accepting the situation. And you have also made a discovery, albeit not the one you hypothesized: that A will not react with B. Probably not, ever.
So where do you go from here then? Do you give up hope entirely? It would be easy to say, since my experiments have not been working, there is no point being a scientist/experimentor anymore. Yet being the basis of what life is, where would the challenge be if we stopped experimenting and gave up hope? Perhaps it just means it's time to move on. Experiment with different materials, hope for different outcomes. Hope for Life. Because some dreams do come true.
Wednesday, June 18, 2008
[thank you jie jie]
It's nice to have an "elder sis" giving you fruitful advice on love and marriage, etc. It's always good to have someone who has similar experiences (or gonna have similar experiences with) dish out a word of advice or two. And when you can sense it's been all sincere and not in a naggy, this-is-how-it-ought-to-be way, you can't help but feel cared for. (Much more refreshing than advice from those who haven't been there or haven't done that, but seem to have limitless words of wisdom on how things should be done or will turn out to be; which mostly seem to reflect on their own insecurities...bleah.)
Thank you jie jie!
Sunday, June 15, 2008
[I'm Yours]
Well you done done me and you bet I felt it
I tried to be chill but you're so hot that I melted
I fell right through the cracks
And now I'm trying to get back
Before the cool done run out
I'll be giving it my bestest
Nothing's going to stop me but divine intervention
I reckon it's again my turn to win some or learn some
I won't hesitate no more, no more
It cannot wait, I'm yours
Well open up your mind and see like me
Open up your plans and damn you're free
Look into your heart and you'll find love love love
Listen to the music of the moment people dance and sing
We're just one big family.
It's your God-forsaken right to be loved love loved love love
So I won't hesitate no more, no more
It cannot wait I'm sure
There's no need to complicate
Our time is short
This is our fate, I'm yours
I've been spending way too long checking my tongue in the mirror
And bending over backwards just to try to see it clearer
But my breath fogged up the glass
And so I drew a new face and laughed
I guess what I'm saying is there ain't no better reason
To rid yourself of vanity and just go with the seasons
It's what we aim to do
Our name is our virtue
I won't hesitate no more, no more
It cannot wait I'm sure
There's no need to complicate
Our time is short
This is our fate, I'm yours
Well no no, well open up your mind and see like me
Open up your plans and damn you're free
Look into your heart and you'll find love love love love
Listen to the music of the moment come and dance with me
I like one big family (2nd time: I like happy family)
It's your God-forsaken right to be loved love love love
I won't hesitate no more
Oh no more no more no more
It's your God-forsaken right to be loved, I'm sure
There's no need to complicate
Our time is short
This is our fate, I'm yours
No I won't hesitate no more, no more
This cannot wait I'm sure
There's no need to complicate
Our time is short
This is our fate, I'm yours, I'm yours
Jason Mraz
Friday, June 06, 2008
[beauty underwater]
all smiles after first dive
still smiling after 2nd dive
bye bye Aur
Nudibranch
Clown Fish in Anemone
Crown of ThornsPhotos courtesy of Daniel and Ross..one of the advanced divers and instructors
Thursday, June 05, 2008
[I love GSS!]
When else would I be able to buy 3 $70-$80 bras for only $69 in total? Haha. Next up: diamond ring.. ;) Yun says I might be able to get twice the carat for the same price. Let's see..heh.
Monday, June 02, 2008
[hanging up my fins]
I was there for an experience, and an experience is what I got. After last Monday's pool session, I didn't think I'd make it for the real dive. I panicked just submerging into the 2m(!) deep pool with the respirator. Haha. But after some personal attention and calming down Mr Alex, I managed to convince myself that I could breathe underwater lol. Funny how the brain took time to be convinced it's possible to breathe through the respirator and not thru the nose at all. After a very difficult first session, I was ready to call it quits.
Fortunately (in some cynical way), Far also experienced the same sucky 1st session. After comparing notes about how we panicked at several points along the session, we motivated ourselves that we'd do better the next time. And we did! At least I submerged without panicking and the rest of the session was fruitful despite the several instances where I couldn't keep myself "sunken" (fats must've made me too buoyant lol). Oh and I still grabbed onto Alex a couple of times haha.
Alas after a grueling 6 hour bus ride to Mersing (with the usual crazy Fri nite jam at the Woodlands causeway..dunno why they didn't use Tuas as originally planned...) and a 4 hour boat ride to Pulau Aur (imagine what a "bumpy" sleep we had), we had only an hour's rest before we were off to sea. I guess the thing that kept us awake was the excitement of the dive pumping thru our veins. I was disappointed that Alex wasn't gonna take us for the dive. Sob sob. Was looking forward to that. Good thing was that I was shifted to Far's group so at least we could be buddies...yay! Jumping into the sea alone took a lot of guts cos we didn't have the comfort of the walls of the swimming pool around us. The first dive was scary yet exciting. I was almost in denial that I made it...so I took a handful of sand to prove I was really there. Haha.
The second dive was also alright..we did more skills this time. But again my problem was that I kept surfacing so they had to put on more weights on me. After Ross "rescued" me from surfacing a couple of times, we surfaced earlier than the rest of the group. By then I was a lil dizzy and thought I might not go for the 3rd dive. Of course Christophe was like..oh I won't be able to certify u etc, which I didn't mind since I was really there for the experience. But since I was feeling better later, I went ahead for it. I didn't know what I was in for.
18m underwater was a longgggg way down. Equalization was more crucial this time cos my ears started hurting. I didn't feel quite right at first cos I heard something clinging at my tank. But Christophe must've thought it was my usual panicking so he said I was alright to continue anyway. The dive was great - saw a lot of corals, a few schools of fish...there were clown fish, baracudas, rainbow fish...all sorts of fish..even sea cucumber of various kinds! Mashallah, the wonders of God's creation! It was definitely lovely, but I must say Redang was much better with better colours and more abundant corals. I was getting better at getting my buoyancy right...I could bring myself down whenever I was floating higher, and up when I was too low. Oh, but except a few times when I was too low that I hit some corals. Ouch!
Somehow things started going wrong. I was floating up too much - a couple of times Far managed to bring me down. Then I must've drifted too far from the group cos no one came to pull me back down. And weirdly enough I couldn't deflate my BCD to go back down. Luckily Far was such a sweet buddy and surfaced with me to find out what's wrong. I told her to go ahead without me and that I'd return to the boat cos I don't seem to be submerging even tho I was pressing my deflate button...that was enough to make me worried. After some checks she realised my tank was dislodged from my BCD. Later on she told me she was wondering why my tank was floating upwards even tho I was kicking downwards. She tried to get our instructor's attn back down but apparently they asked her to continue on with them (thanks a lot ha). So I did the emergency gesture on surface and another instructor on the boat came to my aid. As she was trying to refit my tank, I think it was sort of pulling my into the water so I panicked even more. Then she said the simplest thing..put the respirator back in my mouth and breathe - duh, the littlest things u don't realise when u're panicking. She asked another guy to sing for me to calm me down but in my head I was like..come on..I'm not 5 years old lol. So after that lil rescue I floated on my back while she towed me back to the boat. Phew. It must've seemed minor to the pros but to me it was scary enough an experience. Who knows what might have happened if the tank totally dislodged and floated away...I don't think damaging the corals would be top of my worries. When we were back on the island I finally looked at my cuts...which were plenty. Ross said he noticed I was struggling at the area with the "dangerous" corals, and true enough, I had several "burns" from the fire coral (Wiki: Even though this fire coral looks like real life coral, it is actually closer on the family tree to jellyfish and other stinging anemones.) Yikes! The burns were quite deep and needless to say, stang really badly. The stinging got 10 times worse when Ross sprayed some anti-sting thingy. It was like goddddddd please help get rid of the pain. Had to ask Far to convince me not to wash off the medication. Lol.
The most disappointing part of the incident was that Christophe was unaware it ever happened. When he surfaced with the group, he proceeded to undo his gear as if nothing happened. Only later he came by our room to ask me what went wrong and well, at least he apologised for not checking my tank. I was a lil pissed that he didn't notice I was doing fine all along till that point, and instead went like...u should try to help urself instead of waiting for help. Bleah. Ross was even more clueless, teasing me about how I probably killed some corals and how the stings must've felt multi-orgasmic. I didn't feel so bad cos at least he was "only" the assistant. Only when I told him how the stings were hurting and what happened to my tank..he took me more seriously. Good thing I got towed back before things went worse.
After that harrowing experience, I didn't think I was in the mental nor physical state to continue diving. 3 out of 4 dives - so close to certification. But I guess it wasn't a big loss, since after all I was there for the experience. And I don't think I'm likely to dive again soon or anytime. I accomplished what I set out to. I went to the abyss and back (must exaggerate a bit lah..haha). And I'm proud of myself for acheiving that. Woo hoo! Diving's not for me I guess, I'll stick to snorkeling! Definitely less hassle...no more tanks and dive gear haha.
Oh and of course, I have to thank my dive buddy - Far, for helping me throughout. I think it's our first trip overseas together..sorta.. (after so many years..ha) and it was fantastic! Here's to more adventurous trips eh? Cheers!
Fortunately (in some cynical way), Far also experienced the same sucky 1st session. After comparing notes about how we panicked at several points along the session, we motivated ourselves that we'd do better the next time. And we did! At least I submerged without panicking and the rest of the session was fruitful despite the several instances where I couldn't keep myself "sunken" (fats must've made me too buoyant lol). Oh and I still grabbed onto Alex a couple of times haha.
Alas after a grueling 6 hour bus ride to Mersing (with the usual crazy Fri nite jam at the Woodlands causeway..dunno why they didn't use Tuas as originally planned...) and a 4 hour boat ride to Pulau Aur (imagine what a "bumpy" sleep we had), we had only an hour's rest before we were off to sea. I guess the thing that kept us awake was the excitement of the dive pumping thru our veins. I was disappointed that Alex wasn't gonna take us for the dive. Sob sob. Was looking forward to that. Good thing was that I was shifted to Far's group so at least we could be buddies...yay! Jumping into the sea alone took a lot of guts cos we didn't have the comfort of the walls of the swimming pool around us. The first dive was scary yet exciting. I was almost in denial that I made it...so I took a handful of sand to prove I was really there. Haha.
The second dive was also alright..we did more skills this time. But again my problem was that I kept surfacing so they had to put on more weights on me. After Ross "rescued" me from surfacing a couple of times, we surfaced earlier than the rest of the group. By then I was a lil dizzy and thought I might not go for the 3rd dive. Of course Christophe was like..oh I won't be able to certify u etc, which I didn't mind since I was really there for the experience. But since I was feeling better later, I went ahead for it. I didn't know what I was in for.
18m underwater was a longgggg way down. Equalization was more crucial this time cos my ears started hurting. I didn't feel quite right at first cos I heard something clinging at my tank. But Christophe must've thought it was my usual panicking so he said I was alright to continue anyway. The dive was great - saw a lot of corals, a few schools of fish...there were clown fish, baracudas, rainbow fish...all sorts of fish..even sea cucumber of various kinds! Mashallah, the wonders of God's creation! It was definitely lovely, but I must say Redang was much better with better colours and more abundant corals. I was getting better at getting my buoyancy right...I could bring myself down whenever I was floating higher, and up when I was too low. Oh, but except a few times when I was too low that I hit some corals. Ouch!
Somehow things started going wrong. I was floating up too much - a couple of times Far managed to bring me down. Then I must've drifted too far from the group cos no one came to pull me back down. And weirdly enough I couldn't deflate my BCD to go back down. Luckily Far was such a sweet buddy and surfaced with me to find out what's wrong. I told her to go ahead without me and that I'd return to the boat cos I don't seem to be submerging even tho I was pressing my deflate button...that was enough to make me worried. After some checks she realised my tank was dislodged from my BCD. Later on she told me she was wondering why my tank was floating upwards even tho I was kicking downwards. She tried to get our instructor's attn back down but apparently they asked her to continue on with them (thanks a lot ha). So I did the emergency gesture on surface and another instructor on the boat came to my aid. As she was trying to refit my tank, I think it was sort of pulling my into the water so I panicked even more. Then she said the simplest thing..put the respirator back in my mouth and breathe - duh, the littlest things u don't realise when u're panicking. She asked another guy to sing for me to calm me down but in my head I was like..come on..I'm not 5 years old lol. So after that lil rescue I floated on my back while she towed me back to the boat. Phew. It must've seemed minor to the pros but to me it was scary enough an experience. Who knows what might have happened if the tank totally dislodged and floated away...I don't think damaging the corals would be top of my worries. When we were back on the island I finally looked at my cuts...which were plenty. Ross said he noticed I was struggling at the area with the "dangerous" corals, and true enough, I had several "burns" from the fire coral (Wiki: Even though this fire coral looks like real life coral, it is actually closer on the family tree to jellyfish and other stinging anemones.) Yikes! The burns were quite deep and needless to say, stang really badly. The stinging got 10 times worse when Ross sprayed some anti-sting thingy. It was like goddddddd please help get rid of the pain. Had to ask Far to convince me not to wash off the medication. Lol.
The most disappointing part of the incident was that Christophe was unaware it ever happened. When he surfaced with the group, he proceeded to undo his gear as if nothing happened. Only later he came by our room to ask me what went wrong and well, at least he apologised for not checking my tank. I was a lil pissed that he didn't notice I was doing fine all along till that point, and instead went like...u should try to help urself instead of waiting for help. Bleah. Ross was even more clueless, teasing me about how I probably killed some corals and how the stings must've felt multi-orgasmic. I didn't feel so bad cos at least he was "only" the assistant. Only when I told him how the stings were hurting and what happened to my tank..he took me more seriously. Good thing I got towed back before things went worse.
After that harrowing experience, I didn't think I was in the mental nor physical state to continue diving. 3 out of 4 dives - so close to certification. But I guess it wasn't a big loss, since after all I was there for the experience. And I don't think I'm likely to dive again soon or anytime. I accomplished what I set out to. I went to the abyss and back (must exaggerate a bit lah..haha). And I'm proud of myself for acheiving that. Woo hoo! Diving's not for me I guess, I'll stick to snorkeling! Definitely less hassle...no more tanks and dive gear haha.
Oh and of course, I have to thank my dive buddy - Far, for helping me throughout. I think it's our first trip overseas together..sorta.. (after so many years..ha) and it was fantastic! Here's to more adventurous trips eh? Cheers!
Sunday, May 25, 2008
[Happy Birthday Far!]
Finally after a longgggggggg time we accomplished our mission to have a non just-eat-out meetup. And boy was it fun! Although our original plans were interrupted (bowling alley at CSC Bt Batok was full cos there was some tournament going on), it was good that we still dropped by the place - at least I got to check out my shortlisted wedding reception venue. Heh. I'm still wooed by the greenery...ah I love Bukit Batok. I should really give them a second chance and call them again for quotations heh.
We managed to force our bums to Chevrons to the bowling alley there instead..and Min was like..wow in one day we see both ur shortlisted venues. Haha. Talk about being efficient! ;) Mel was the outright champion of the day and although I picked up in the second round, I couldn't keep it up for the third. We were very much awed by Min's "zen" bowling style...even tried to emulate it tho it didn't always work lol. After some nachos with cheese and lots of laughter, we decided it was time go off - especially since the junior expert bowlers were making us feel pathetic. Picture 10-14 year olds who were so used to scoring strikes that they weren't even smiling whenever they did vs. us erm young ladies who clapped gleefully each time we managed to knock down some pins. Heh.
Japanese seemed the theme of the day since after Sakae Sushi, we had a "ramen" cake for the birthday gal. Must've been her lucky day cos she even got an ang pao from Mel's mum haha (thanks auntie *on far's behalf*). Had a lovely time with the HP gang as always. Here's some pics to prove it! (and gals..upload the rest soon ya?!) =)
We managed to force our bums to Chevrons to the bowling alley there instead..and Min was like..wow in one day we see both ur shortlisted venues. Haha. Talk about being efficient! ;) Mel was the outright champion of the day and although I picked up in the second round, I couldn't keep it up for the third. We were very much awed by Min's "zen" bowling style...even tried to emulate it tho it didn't always work lol. After some nachos with cheese and lots of laughter, we decided it was time go off - especially since the junior expert bowlers were making us feel pathetic. Picture 10-14 year olds who were so used to scoring strikes that they weren't even smiling whenever they did vs. us erm young ladies who clapped gleefully each time we managed to knock down some pins. Heh.
Japanese seemed the theme of the day since after Sakae Sushi, we had a "ramen" cake for the birthday gal. Must've been her lucky day cos she even got an ang pao from Mel's mum haha (thanks auntie *on far's behalf*). Had a lovely time with the HP gang as always. Here's some pics to prove it! (and gals..upload the rest soon ya?!) =)
far strutting her stuff!
ramen cake complete with chopsticks!
b'day gal intrigued with the cake
awww lovey pose
cut us some pieces!
the cake dissected
Saturday, May 24, 2008
[Verses of love]
I don't usually watch Indonesian movies. In fact, can't remember the last time I watched one. But this was a really good movie. A few lame lines here and there, but the movie's really worth a watch for the concepts of life and love portrayed very well in the story. Not just love for another human being, but love for God, and pursuing life to get closer to Him. My favourite line: I now realise love and wanting to possess someone is not the same. Oh and not to forget, Rianti Cartwright is beautiful, even when it's just her (alluring) eyes with her face covered up. ;) It's so good I even feel like watching it again. Or maybe I just love the mushy parts. Heh.
Ayat Ayat Cinta is a beautifully portrayed Islamic love story – a tale of a virtuous Muslim protagonist who overcomes all obstacles of life maintaining pure ideals.
Fahri bin Abdillah is a poor, intelligent student who wins a scholarship to complete his graduate degree at Egypt's esteemed Al Azhar University. Very disciplined and dedicated by nature, Fahri embraces his life in Cairo, completing his studies and translation of religious books with full enthusiasm, exactly according to pre-determined targets.
Only one goal is left unattempted: the pursuit of marriage.
For Fahri is innocent and pure, and doesn't believe in the concept of relationships prior to marriage. He is inarticulate and shy around women. All his life, only two women have been close to him – his mother and grandmother.
Life changes drastically in Egypt for he suddenly finds himself surrounded by four beautiful, distinctly different women.
Maria Girgis, a shy, open-minded Coptic-Christian neighbor who is attracted to the teachings of the Holy Al Quran, finds herself falling in love with Fahri (a fact she only reveals to her diary).
Nurul, a student at Al Azhar like Fahri, is the Muslim daughter of a renowned Indonesian cleric. Fahri feels unworthy of her and thus ignores his feelings for her, leaving her confused and guessing.
Noura, an abused Egyptian neighbor, develops strong romantic feelings for Fahri, who in turn simply sympathizes with her situation. His romantic rejection destroys her and eventually leads to a false accusation of rape.
Aisha, a German Turkish student in Cairo haunts Fahri with her beautiful eyes. Following an incident on the metro where Fahri defends her against narrow minded bigoted Muslims, both immediately develop feelings for each other.
As the story unravels, the protagonist makes the audience face the daunting decisions he himself faces, and forces us to marvel at his undying loyalty to the true ideals of Islam as he ultimately makes the choice of a lifetime.
Wednesday, May 21, 2008
[Meaning of flowers]
Not sure which flowers say it best? Use this as a guide:
Sorry Seems To Be The Hardest Word (the best flowers to apologise):
Geraniums – stupidity, folly
Yellow Gerberas – I'll try harder to win your love
Orange Gerberas – You are the sunshine of my life
Don't Worry, Be Happy (the best flowers to brighten someone's day):
Freesias - thoughtfulness
Orange Roses – feelings of enthusiasm, fascination
Sunflowers – adoration, following the sun
Yellow Tulips – there's sunshine in your smile
Thank You For Being a Friend (the best flowers to say thank you):
Pink Roses – gratitude, admiration, appreciation, friendship, thankfulness
Peach Roses – gratitude, appreciation, admiration
Yellow Roses – joy, friendship
Be My Baby (the best flowers to express new love):
Red Tulips – declaration of love, believe me.
White Roses – spiritual love, happy love
Lavender Roses – love at first sight, enchantment
I Will Remember You (the best flowers to express sympathy/condolences):
Forget-Me-Nots – memories, remembrance
Crimson Roses – mourning
Pink Roses – sympathy
White Roses – reverence
Lily of the Valley – humility, new life
Chrysanthemums – passing of a life
An Apple A Day (the best flowers to express Get Well wishes):
Sunflowers – sunshine, following the sun
Orange Gerberas – you are the sunshine of my life
Freesias – thoughtfulness
Celebrate Good Times (the best flowers to say Congratulations):
Birds Of Paradise – magnificence
Lilies – magnificent beauty, wealth, pride, majestic
Sunflowers – adoration
Yellow & Red Roses - congratulations
I Will Always Love You (the best flowers to express true love):
Yellow & Orange Roses – passionate thoughts
Thornless Roses – love at first sight
Red Roses – love, passion, respect, courage, I love you
Orange Lilies – flame, I burn for you
while we're on the topic...
10 Reasons to Send Flowers to your Sweetheart
10. To remind her that you exist.
9. So she'll forget that you came 2 hours late for your last date.
8. To prevent her from dumping you for someone who will give her flowers.
7. Because you can't figure out what else to give her.
6. Sending flowers is easy – you can order them while you wait for the match to start.
5. She'll tell her girlfriends about it, and soon you'll gain a reputation for being a gentleman.
4. Because life is a bed of roses. Avoid being the thorn.
3. She'll expect them. Sooner or later.
2. It makes you happy to see her smile.
1. Because you love her.
To the guy(s) reading this..hint hint ;)
from floweradvisor.com
Sorry Seems To Be The Hardest Word (the best flowers to apologise):
Geraniums – stupidity, folly
Yellow Gerberas – I'll try harder to win your love
Orange Gerberas – You are the sunshine of my life
Don't Worry, Be Happy (the best flowers to brighten someone's day):
Freesias - thoughtfulness
Orange Roses – feelings of enthusiasm, fascination
Sunflowers – adoration, following the sun
Yellow Tulips – there's sunshine in your smile
Thank You For Being a Friend (the best flowers to say thank you):
Pink Roses – gratitude, admiration, appreciation, friendship, thankfulness
Peach Roses – gratitude, appreciation, admiration
Yellow Roses – joy, friendship
Be My Baby (the best flowers to express new love):
Red Tulips – declaration of love, believe me.
White Roses – spiritual love, happy love
Lavender Roses – love at first sight, enchantment
I Will Remember You (the best flowers to express sympathy/condolences):
Forget-Me-Nots – memories, remembrance
Crimson Roses – mourning
Pink Roses – sympathy
White Roses – reverence
Lily of the Valley – humility, new life
Chrysanthemums – passing of a life
An Apple A Day (the best flowers to express Get Well wishes):
Sunflowers – sunshine, following the sun
Orange Gerberas – you are the sunshine of my life
Freesias – thoughtfulness
Celebrate Good Times (the best flowers to say Congratulations):
Birds Of Paradise – magnificence
Lilies – magnificent beauty, wealth, pride, majestic
Sunflowers – adoration
Yellow & Red Roses - congratulations
I Will Always Love You (the best flowers to express true love):
Yellow & Orange Roses – passionate thoughts
Thornless Roses – love at first sight
Red Roses – love, passion, respect, courage, I love you
Orange Lilies – flame, I burn for you
while we're on the topic...
10 Reasons to Send Flowers to your Sweetheart
10. To remind her that you exist.
9. So she'll forget that you came 2 hours late for your last date.
8. To prevent her from dumping you for someone who will give her flowers.
7. Because you can't figure out what else to give her.
6. Sending flowers is easy – you can order them while you wait for the match to start.
5. She'll tell her girlfriends about it, and soon you'll gain a reputation for being a gentleman.
4. Because life is a bed of roses. Avoid being the thorn.
3. She'll expect them. Sooner or later.
2. It makes you happy to see her smile.
1. Because you love her.
To the guy(s) reading this..hint hint ;)
from floweradvisor.com
Saturday, May 03, 2008
Wednesday, April 30, 2008
[double celebrations!]
Firstly, my exams are over! Woohoo. And they're over for good! At least until I decided to torture myself with another degree, which I doubt will happen anytime soon. Haha. Although it was a right decision to do my Masters as soon as I graduated, it's been kinda exhausting working and studying at the same time. And this even after I've had it pretty easy, with my boss cutting some slack (or so I think heh). I guess this was sort of an "optional" degree so I didn't see it as a die-die-must-get kinda thing...lacked the motivation in that sense. Plus after 4 years of undergrad, u really do need a break from studying. It gets too much sometimes. But of course, my choice in taking it immediately to keep up the study momentum had its payoffs. One of the most important factors was that at least I wasn't scared of not having sat for exams for a long while, which many of the older graduate students feared. And then of course course material were (relatively) fresh in mind - which meant I did not have to rely on extremely [note: extremely] heavy mugging to remember what went on during Bio 1101. Heh. I also have a lot of friends who have gone on to have children - who had the mentality "I'll do my Masters later." But the later never came. Ha. And with 3 children I don't think it will ever come. So yeah, carpe diem. Do it while you can! Oh and another advantage, I don't have to worry about looking after my kid and mugging at the same time; I really admire the mums who managed that! Kudos to you!
Ok so much rambling, but there's still my thesis to go. Ah...wonder when I'll get down to that. For now, I'll just be high on the fact that my modules are overrrrrr and that biostats was actually a breeze. I actually got worried that I finished one "round" in an hour. Kept checking and rechecking the paper to look for errors...and still had plenty of time left after that. Not that I was sure of all my answers lah...but at least all the blanks were filled up lol. I was so relieved that I even had time to look up and smile back at the lecturer haha. And the review questions she gave were a pretty good (and terribly obvious) hint to what was coming out..so yay to that too heh.
Went to Vivo with Sakura to celebrate; and if she hadn't stopped me, I'd have, in my euphoria, spent $25 x 2 on Gold Class tix to watch The Other Boleyn Girl. Heh. So as a comfort she promised to give me Gold Class service for a movie on my birthday. I'm writing it down here girl, so I'm not gonna forget! Haha. Don't forget to serve me good food and chilled drinks and check on me every few minutes whether I'm enjoying the movie. Lol. We settled for Definitely, Maybe only because it was at a suitable time and the only other movie we knew. The movie was like...god..really lame and super cheesy. It's like cheesy from beginning to end so yeah, unless you have absolutely no other movie to watch or are in a really lame mood, or you're in the mood for cheese (oh no I'm getting influenced by the movie) please DO NOT watch it.
Another good news I had this morning was that I published my first ever paper with me as the first author...yay! That's definitely motivation to start working on my thesis. Woohoo!
Ok so much rambling, but there's still my thesis to go. Ah...wonder when I'll get down to that. For now, I'll just be high on the fact that my modules are overrrrrr and that biostats was actually a breeze. I actually got worried that I finished one "round" in an hour. Kept checking and rechecking the paper to look for errors...and still had plenty of time left after that. Not that I was sure of all my answers lah...but at least all the blanks were filled up lol. I was so relieved that I even had time to look up and smile back at the lecturer haha. And the review questions she gave were a pretty good (and terribly obvious) hint to what was coming out..so yay to that too heh.
Went to Vivo with Sakura to celebrate; and if she hadn't stopped me, I'd have, in my euphoria, spent $25 x 2 on Gold Class tix to watch The Other Boleyn Girl. Heh. So as a comfort she promised to give me Gold Class service for a movie on my birthday. I'm writing it down here girl, so I'm not gonna forget! Haha. Don't forget to serve me good food and chilled drinks and check on me every few minutes whether I'm enjoying the movie. Lol. We settled for Definitely, Maybe only because it was at a suitable time and the only other movie we knew. The movie was like...god..really lame and super cheesy. It's like cheesy from beginning to end so yeah, unless you have absolutely no other movie to watch or are in a really lame mood, or you're in the mood for cheese (oh no I'm getting influenced by the movie) please DO NOT watch it.
Another good news I had this morning was that I published my first ever paper with me as the first author...yay! That's definitely motivation to start working on my thesis. Woohoo!
Friday, April 25, 2008
[confidence]
You know he really cares when he digs up (yucky) stats notes and studies it for an hour while u're asleep just so that he can explain to you what confidence intervals are.
=)
=)
Monday, April 21, 2008
[woes]
Seems like this isn't gonna get any easier. First there was the need to balance both of them being happy. She being hostile with him, he being hostile with her. Each not focusing on the occasion at hand, but rather their own childish bickering leading to animosity.
Just when things calm down, new situations arise. Personal aims become more important than being part of a larger entity. Selfish goals lead to abandonment of responsiblity. Apparently a trip like this isn't as important as setting up an education system for a bunch of strangers. Don't ask why I don't understand you. Because I simply do not. Makes me think that I should have stuck to my original plan.
Although the first matter got resolved, albeit in an unpleasant way, something else crops up. I can't believe you invited him - him of all people. Do you not understand the struggle I went through, do you not realise the pain he has caused me? Even if you don't understand that, were you not there everytime he ruined an occasion, were you blind whenever he caused a nuisance at our gatherings? Do you think things change overnight and he'll be an angel now? Again, I am speechless. I have only one thing to say - if you still insist on it, you will be solely responsible for ruining my special day.
I can only pray, that things go smoothly.
Just when things calm down, new situations arise. Personal aims become more important than being part of a larger entity. Selfish goals lead to abandonment of responsiblity. Apparently a trip like this isn't as important as setting up an education system for a bunch of strangers. Don't ask why I don't understand you. Because I simply do not. Makes me think that I should have stuck to my original plan.
Although the first matter got resolved, albeit in an unpleasant way, something else crops up. I can't believe you invited him - him of all people. Do you not understand the struggle I went through, do you not realise the pain he has caused me? Even if you don't understand that, were you not there everytime he ruined an occasion, were you blind whenever he caused a nuisance at our gatherings? Do you think things change overnight and he'll be an angel now? Again, I am speechless. I have only one thing to say - if you still insist on it, you will be solely responsible for ruining my special day.
I can only pray, that things go smoothly.
Friday, April 11, 2008
personal time
Whether you like to take long walks, catch an afternoon blockbuster, or check out a hip new art exhibit, you like exploring the world on your own terms and learning more about yourself in the process. Not one to harp on the past or obsess about the future, you have a confident and graceful way of savoring each experience as it comes.
Monday, April 07, 2008
[9 days]
9 days passed by so quickly. It started with the anticipation of picking you up at the airport. Did I look alright, would you be excited to see me, would you enjoy the trip? Where are you...did customs hold you back, did the visa not work...cos so many are out already? Tick tock, tick tock, I grew more nervous. And then finally you appeared. Finally I see you again. Yes, dreams do come true.
It was fun showing you around town, as bad a guide as I was. Hey I know Sthlm better, next time I'll show u around there haha. I started feeling a bit like your PA, telling you who you'd be meeting, when and where tonight. I'm glad meet-the-dad session went superbly; then again, I think all the meet-my-family/friends sessions went great. Wee :)
I enjoyed our moment on the beach. If I had known how terrific it felt to just sit beside you all day gazing into the horizon, I'd have spent the whole day there. But then again, we needed to get the ring, so first things first. Haha.
Thank you for putting up with a 10-year-old brat, thank you for putting up with a terrible guide and a driver with a terrible sense of direction. Thank you for making me talk, thank you for opening my heart up. Thank you for coming.
Till we meet again...
It's hard for me to say the things
I want to say sometimes
There's no one here but you and me
And that broken old street light
Lock the doors
We'll leave the world outside
All I've got to give to you
Are these five words tonight
Thank you for loving me
For being my eyes
When I couldn't see
For parting my lips
When I couldn't breathe
Thank you for loving me
Thank you for loving me
I never knew I had a dream
Until that dream was you
When I look into your eyes
The sky's a different blue
Cross my heart I wear no disguise
If I tried, you'd make believe
That you believed my lies
Thank you for loving me
For being my eyes
When I couldn't see
For parting my lips
When I couldn't breathe
Thank you for loving me
You pick me up when I fall down
You ring the bell before they count me out
If I was drowning you would part the sea
And risk your own life to rescue me
Lock the doors
We'll leave the world outside
All I've got to give to you
Are these five words tonight
Thank you for loving me
For being my eyes
When I couldn't see
You parted my lips
When I couldn't breathe
Thank you for loving me
When I couldn't fly
Oh, you gave me wings
You parted my lips
When I couldn't breathe
Thank you for loving me
Thank You For Loving Me - Bon Jovi
It was fun showing you around town, as bad a guide as I was. Hey I know Sthlm better, next time I'll show u around there haha. I started feeling a bit like your PA, telling you who you'd be meeting, when and where tonight. I'm glad meet-the-dad session went superbly; then again, I think all the meet-my-family/friends sessions went great. Wee :)
I enjoyed our moment on the beach. If I had known how terrific it felt to just sit beside you all day gazing into the horizon, I'd have spent the whole day there. But then again, we needed to get the ring, so first things first. Haha.
Thank you for putting up with a 10-year-old brat, thank you for putting up with a terrible guide and a driver with a terrible sense of direction. Thank you for making me talk, thank you for opening my heart up. Thank you for coming.
Till we meet again...
I want to say sometimes
There's no one here but you and me
And that broken old street light
Lock the doors
We'll leave the world outside
All I've got to give to you
Are these five words tonight
Thank you for loving me
For being my eyes
When I couldn't see
For parting my lips
When I couldn't breathe
Thank you for loving me
Thank you for loving me
Until that dream was you
When I look into your eyes
The sky's a different blue
Cross my heart I wear no disguise
If I tried, you'd make believe
That you believed my lies
Thank you for loving me
For being my eyes
When I couldn't see
For parting my lips
When I couldn't breathe
Thank you for loving me
You pick me up when I fall down
You ring the bell before they count me out
If I was drowning you would part the sea
And risk your own life to rescue me
Lock the doors
We'll leave the world outside
All I've got to give to you
Are these five words tonight
Thank you for loving me
For being my eyes
When I couldn't see
You parted my lips
When I couldn't breathe
Thank you for loving me
Oh, you gave me wings
You parted my lips
When I couldn't breathe
Thank you for loving me
Thank You For Loving Me - Bon Jovi
Friday, March 14, 2008
[intuition?]
Have you ever experienced a situation where u're thinking of something...and then awhile later it happens?
E.g.
E.g.
- Hmm I haven't called her for a long while. Maybe I should today. And then suddenly she calls you to catch up or she (finally) comes online and you have a great long chat.
- Why hasn't he updated me about that? It's been a couple of weeks now. Then the next day you somehow receive an email about the updates.
- Oh yeah, I forgot to find out what's the outcome of this. Hope they call me soon, or maybe I'll call them tomorrow. And in the next couple of days, you receive a letter or something regarding the matter.
Coincidences or intuition? Seems like it's happened on many occasions for me. Hmmm. Or maybe in some telephathic way my "wondering about something" got transmitted to the other party and it was time they took action. Haha.
Tuesday, March 11, 2008
[frisbee fun at Sentosa!]
frisbee gang ----------------------------- this is fun!
"CAP" gang ------------------------------- ok i'm ur height now haha (note flying frisbee)
weee ------------------------------------ frisbee 30 madness
frisbee 30 "grauduate" ------------------------- frisbee shi-fu
frisbee gang complete
Rest of the pics here:
by Suqing_Joycy
frisbee gang completeRest of the pics here:
by Suqing_Joycy
[blue monday]
received news early in the morning that our fave prof was gonna transfer out of our dept. apparently cos of the NUH + Med faculty merging, they're restructuring the depts and family health physicians will no longer have a place here. GK seemed distraught when he told us the news, finger (ahem) pointing to one of our dear stat boards, who like every other govt org annouces decisions at the last min and expects everyone to conform without protest. it was a joke that GL thought this only happened in her country. GK was like..my dear..this happens here ALL the time. could see the frustration he had - imagine having to sacrifice ur research to do something u don't wanna focus on, and being pushed into it at that.
on a personal note, he's impacted my stay in the dept for a long time. since i first joined, i was inspired by the way he always has a smile on his face. always the cheery prof who is genuinely interested in his work. even when he was doing field work on our factory visits, u could see his passion - he's not one of those docs who simply says "ok, height, weight, are u healthy",etc. even on our corridoor chit chats he exudes enthusiasm about public health, almost giving me a lecture once about how "the system needs to be changed" (haven't we all heard that one before? yeah, but not all of us actually do something about it, unlike him). when i was having my down periods i looked to him as an example. i remember V (embarrassingly asking on my behalf once) asking him why he was always smiling and laughing, and his response was "What's there not to be grateful for? There's so many good things in life." and he started to list the simplest things like going home to a happy family, being healthy enough to have a great job, etc. Wow. I held those words and constantly reminded myself that yeah, when you're down, look at the littlest things to be happy about.
It was also b'cos of my fondness for him that I joined the Health & Wellness committee. Don't think the previous chairpersons could've matched his standard ;). He likes to do things differently, has a chop-chop way of work which minimises our workload, and our meetings are never full of laughter, and most importantly he shows how grateful he is for our help (knowing how many ppl wanna join this "glam" comm unlike the other more popular safety comm). He even asked DK to treat the comm "for their hard work" (Straits Kitchen next week..yay!) I also sang at the dept gathering partly cos he was in it. Oh and he has one of the better voices I might add!
When he told us at the meeting abt his leaving, everyone became glum, especially AW and me. AW also has a special bond with him...due to some other circumstances. GK's role in their research group is one of the reasons AW is motivated to stay at his (low-paying and stressful-due-to-a-certain-superior..tsk tsk) job.
To GK: thanks for all the encouragement and motivation you've given us. You'll be sadly missed. Hope you manage to drop by next door even when you leave, and as u quoted DK, you're always one of us! Keep in touch and continue to inspire everyone around u!
Didn't realise I was so affected by the news till I realised I was glum the rest of the day. It didn't help that my experiments were not working again. Sigh. As if that wasn't enough, one of my friends was pouting and not wanting to talk to me. By the end of the day my headache cos of lack of sleep on Sun nite turned into a migraine, and I had to resort to taking some meds for it (I'm anti meds even tho I'm a scientist...maybe cos I know how toxic they can be for my dear organs ha). Stayed in darkness the whole night, chatting with MB under the night light and a dimmed screen...even went to the loo with the lights off lol. Thank God it finally disappeared with the powerful new med I got. Yay.
Hopefully things are better to day. At least my head is. :)
on a personal note, he's impacted my stay in the dept for a long time. since i first joined, i was inspired by the way he always has a smile on his face. always the cheery prof who is genuinely interested in his work. even when he was doing field work on our factory visits, u could see his passion - he's not one of those docs who simply says "ok, height, weight, are u healthy",etc. even on our corridoor chit chats he exudes enthusiasm about public health, almost giving me a lecture once about how "the system needs to be changed" (haven't we all heard that one before? yeah, but not all of us actually do something about it, unlike him). when i was having my down periods i looked to him as an example. i remember V (embarrassingly asking on my behalf once) asking him why he was always smiling and laughing, and his response was "What's there not to be grateful for? There's so many good things in life." and he started to list the simplest things like going home to a happy family, being healthy enough to have a great job, etc. Wow. I held those words and constantly reminded myself that yeah, when you're down, look at the littlest things to be happy about.
It was also b'cos of my fondness for him that I joined the Health & Wellness committee. Don't think the previous chairpersons could've matched his standard ;). He likes to do things differently, has a chop-chop way of work which minimises our workload, and our meetings are never full of laughter, and most importantly he shows how grateful he is for our help (knowing how many ppl wanna join this "glam" comm unlike the other more popular safety comm). He even asked DK to treat the comm "for their hard work" (Straits Kitchen next week..yay!) I also sang at the dept gathering partly cos he was in it. Oh and he has one of the better voices I might add!
When he told us at the meeting abt his leaving, everyone became glum, especially AW and me. AW also has a special bond with him...due to some other circumstances. GK's role in their research group is one of the reasons AW is motivated to stay at his (low-paying and stressful-due-to-a-certain-superior..tsk tsk) job.
To GK: thanks for all the encouragement and motivation you've given us. You'll be sadly missed. Hope you manage to drop by next door even when you leave, and as u quoted DK, you're always one of us! Keep in touch and continue to inspire everyone around u!
Didn't realise I was so affected by the news till I realised I was glum the rest of the day. It didn't help that my experiments were not working again. Sigh. As if that wasn't enough, one of my friends was pouting and not wanting to talk to me. By the end of the day my headache cos of lack of sleep on Sun nite turned into a migraine, and I had to resort to taking some meds for it (I'm anti meds even tho I'm a scientist...maybe cos I know how toxic they can be for my dear organs ha). Stayed in darkness the whole night, chatting with MB under the night light and a dimmed screen...even went to the loo with the lights off lol. Thank God it finally disappeared with the powerful new med I got. Yay.
Hopefully things are better to day. At least my head is. :)
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