this isn't the end

So I bought this book and it is really, really good. I told myself I shall not use my book voucher to buy any shallow books without a good storyline. :) I'm only 1/5 through this book but I can't seem to put it down. Yeah it's that good.

Other than that, I plan to score for my second sem this year. Made a pact with nadia to ace. We realized we slacked in our first sem and how our hearts ache when we saw our results for linguistics. :) so I not only plan to score in my final exam, but also try to be consistently excellent (or close to excellent) in classes & assignments. To do that I really have to push myself and break free from my comfort corner.

I can do all things through Him who strengthens me. So yes, it is NOT impossible. :) Be positive. Have faith and at the same time work hard, for success is not an easy road without bumps.

Stop saying "I can't". You CAN, you just chose not to. -Mariana Miller #quote. I got it off a friend's fb wall.

I can do this.

of eyebags and Bb diminish

1. blogging early in the morning while listening to Drops of Jupiter is really something.
2. painted my nails turquoise. i think they look...weird. but oh well, change is good.

3. my CNY this year was very simple. No frills and no dress-up, just a simple dinner with uncles. Good enough ;)

4. I somehow feel my chords on piano are so simple and plain. I need to break out from my usual playing and goreng some weird chords.

5. listening to jazz songs in the morning - now that's something (more like cuckoo heh). that's where i got my inspiration to goreng weird chords.

6. uh oh i just remembered i need to find someone to w/l for yf this sat and pianist for SS on sun. why now only i remembered?! *smacks head*

7. jazz music = nice = makes mainstream music seem so small = a fact.

8. i'm thankful for holidays :) recuperate, recharge, re-connect with peeps.
9. i miss my tesl buddies. my close circle of uni friends :D

10. I was thinking of dyeing my hair la, but then.. I duno. still deciding.

okies. bye!

are you going to scarborough fair?

A reminder that we all need from time to time.

again. and again.

It comes, it goes.

People busy spring-cleaning, baking cookies, preparing angpaus, hanging painfully red decorations on their front doors, tossing yee sang, blasting chinese songs to their hearts' content, not being allowed to wear black because it supposedly brings 'bad luck' (pooh, no such thing lah. I believe in God, not luck), visiting relatives, mechanically saying 'thank you' while plastering a forced smile after receiving them red packets ....

Jaded? -yeah.

I'm sorry, but I dont see the hype of cny. I really don't. i guess i haven't jumped on the bandwagon yet - and i don't intend to.

I think, I have become the Grinch of CNY. Yeah, yeah carry on with your celebrations. Don't mind me at all. *snorts*

of gambus and guitars

so far, my hols have been pretty amazing. Some catching ups and meeting new (but very nice and friendly and inspiring/encouraging) people. Don't you just love holidays like these. :) More to come definitely!

I'm planning to go back and visit my CF in taman sea. Should I? A part of me says yeah I should, it's been a while since I stepped on taman sea grounds. It's been a while since I re-connect again with the juniors..I miss them!! But part of me says no, I should let them...breathe, in a sense. I should move forward and walk on.

But i think i'm gonna go back :) hehe.

I was just thinking, when sem2 comes, I'll be stepping a whole lot more out of my comfort zone. I can't say I'm not afraid, because I am. But I'm pretty excited to see myself reaching greater heights and growing heaps. It's gona be an unpredictable journey.

I'm also turning 21 in exactly a month's time, and I'm not ready yet!! I feel so...matured. The number 21 does not suit my personality. I feel that I'm still very immature to be given that 'Twenty One' title. Is it because I hang out with people younger than me? erm. dunno.

the new has come

Semester 1 came to an end today. :) I can't believe it either. Four months passed, just like that?! nice.

Summary of sem1 (that I vividly remembered):

-met many people from everywhere.
-formed lasting friendships with course mates. nadia, pearly, mai, michelle, yeemei, wana, wen, grace, nyna, vana...many more. I learned something new from each one of them :-)
-I learned to think for myself and make decisions. wise ones lah. i also learned what it's like to be a uni student-exploring UM grounds by walking, taking the bus, staying in campus, being a 'grown up'...kinda fun you know.

-made a commitment to serve in pkv. sometimes I ask myself why did I agree to take up that position. then fear starts to crowd my thoughts =/ but I remind myself again and again, it's because I want to step out of my comfort zone. I don't wana be the same person like last year, nestled comfortably in my own lil' treehouse. I need a lil' push. to grow.

that's about it. I'll make it a point to journal down all that has happened in sem1. It's good to journal you know. :)

Happy hols. Have fun. I DEFINITELY WILL.

i'm six feet off the edge..

when you're taking a course related to English, people generally expect you to speak in proper sentences with zero grammatical errors. Well not for me :D I have a habit of speaking in manglish..with the lahs, mahs, wans, aiyohs.. i fail as an English teacher. =="

some people who're not taking a course related to English can speak and write WAY better than I do. And I respect them :) like a friend I know, she's doing pharmacy, but I read her blog and she pens her own poems (how..is tht possible?! I cant) and write short stories. wow...

my exams end this tuesday! :-))))) im very very happy and excited. can't wait for it to end. imagine all the things i'm gona do when it ends. K la mostly a lot of makan here and there and catch up sessions. But that's good.

'til this tuesday! cheers.

*the title of this post is from Creed's One Last Breath. I liked the beginning of the song. It's in Db Major.

pa-padu-baa...

I was at my college choir practice today, and in walked Miss Tracy, our choir advisor/teacher. And when I saw her I thought, why does she look so familiar? Where have I seen her. And bam! It hit me. She is from a famous local a capella quartet called Caipifruta. I first came across this group when I was watching The Breakfast show on ntv7 and they were the guests to talk la on the show.

And when I heard them sing I was blown away la. Perfect pitch, flawless...really good. So I googled them, found their facebook page and liked it. Never would I thought that one of the singers is our coach for my college choir.

Am I happy? Uh..duh. Am I honoured? Very. Am I inspired? YES, pumped up!

Thank you Miss Tracy. You are an inspiration to all of us, (to me especially hee) to sing well and to not give up on music. (er..yeah, I forgot to mention I felt a lil' jaded on music, and I doubted my musicality. But I guess the passion is restored. for now :D).

Here's a video of them. Miss Tracy is the lady with long tresses. And they are awesome enuf said!! Please watch? Notice the harmony and zero flaws. (for me)

here I come weekends! Busy busy, but enjoying it.

20 + 1

oh yeah 5 more days and i'm done with exams. come on, time, speed up! :P

in about a month's time, I'm turning 21. The age where I'm not a 'teen' anymore, where I have the right to vote. <-yep, i'll make sure I vote for the right party. *cough cough*

The thought of turning 21 makes me feel old =/ I duno la, I guess because most of my peers are still in the 'teenager phase'. And that makes me old. =p Also, being 21 means I'm an adult = decisions to make = more responsibilities.

But you know what? I'm going to enjoy it. :-) And embrace whatever that comes. Woo hoo, optimism coming your way. -_-"

Now I know how people in the age group of 21 and above feels like. Old, but young at heart. Ya know, when I talk to people younger than me, I somewhat have a different perception from them. My opinions are equivalent to standing on a watchtower with a vast 360-degree view of the land, whereas theirs are like standing on a big, somewhat tall stone with only half the view of mine. You get what I'm tryin' ta say? Yeah. So. That's how I feel being 21.

However, I do enjoy hanging out with them because they make me feel young and carefree again. :) The joy of chilling with peers younger than you is that they can make you feel a lil old but young at the same time. I chose to focus on the latter, simply because..their 'young-ness' is too contagious to ignore. And that's a very good thing. Hee :)

tata.

If you never leave your comfort zone, you won't grow

fly high

9 more days to go and bam! The holidays are here. So how am I going to spend my hols? I counted already, starting from the 17th when my test ends, I have 25days to chill and relax and let my brain take a rest. I'm gona read some Nicholas Sparks books my cousin lend to me, chill at home and have makan sessions lah with peeps. Isn't that great? :)

Anyway, one of my pet peeves is when people don't reply my sms, especially if I ask them a question, an important one. Don't you think so?

nites. I'm sleeping early today. :-) Back to my ol' routine of 8hours sleep per day.

talking to Nadia is real fun. :-) I like poking fun at her. she's a good sport.

Thank God for good course mate buddies :)

Random Kopi Post

Tucked away in the corner of the street with its weathered whitewashed walls and an askew signboard that read "Seng Fatt Kopi", there stood a coffee shop in its remaining glory. In it, a group of uncles sat magnificently around a table- two sat cross-legged, another with one folded leg propped up on his chair while the rest sat like tauke's, sporting gold chains and flashing their wide array of coffee-stained teeth. Their incessant chatting and hearty laughs pierced through the humid atmosphere, collecting stares - a mixture of curiosity, amusement, annoyance. To others, they appear as rowdy, old men with nothing better to do. But to the uncles, no worries of life could prevent them from enjoying each other's company, not forgetting their daily brew of thick, black coffee - 'kurang manis ah bos!'

we are young.

Ok so exams have already begun already. But to be honest all I can think about right now is the holidays that's gona come after my last paper on the 17th. I have a month's break before sem2 starts, so imma start planning makan & catch up sessions to celebrate the end of Sem1. :-) Time flies huh.

so rachael yapp and i, we chat frequently on fb, and she's fun to talk with despite being 8 years younger than me. :) Today I was confined in my dorm/my room for the whole day since there wasn't any exams, so the four walls of my room looked pretty oppressive to me, 'suffocating' me lah in a sense. But talking to her brightens up my mood because, she's so .. young and lively and zestful and full of energy. Which helps me to stay young too :)

And so we're chatting now about guys in church hee. Yeah. :-) what an odd topic, but it helps me de-stress. Love you babe!

Btw. the many façades of Johnny Depp, my fav actor.

heart-warming

Please watch. Warning : prepare a tissue just in case your tear ducts decided to function :-)

And yes this is a very sweet proposal! I'm encouraged and inspired by videos like these. And take note of the guy's face. He can't stop grinning, and that smile, is genuine. You can tell!