All day, Every day

First of 2014

We are almost in to our 3rd month of the year and I've not had the chance to post an update. I can't say this enough but time really does fly. I realize the older I get the faster time flies. Of course there are many moments in life it didn't always feel that way but every time I look back I just see how things fall into place, how little ones are no longer that little, how unhappiness has changed into happiness, so on so forth.  

As for me, I've joined the working force and now contributing to a field I never thought I would ever be in. Although I've not worked long enough to know what I dislike about the industry but I must say right now things have worked out pretty well for me. And I can never thank my Father in Heaven enough for all these blessings. 

Aside from that, I thoroughly enjoyed Chinese New Year this year! Aren't like the majority of  the chinese population, CNY has never been my favourite  time of the year. I don't like travelling back to Penang, I never enjoyed eating CNY tid bits and because my birthday usually coincides with it, CNY was never a time I enjoyed myself. This year on the other hand, I really enjoyed all 15 days of it! I shall leave you guys with a few pictures from my eventful CNY and then call it a night. :) 

 

Last of 2013

It is 1.27 am right now and I'm just sitting here in front of my lappy and reflecting.

2013 has really been one great year. Despite the difficult start of the year and little hiccups here and there, I can safely say that my year is ending pretty well. I'm really glad and thankful for the many life events that took place this year, especially graduating from my 3 year course and the opportunities I had to travel.

I remember last year this exact time I was just dreading having to go to work (internship). I was so bogged down by work I really had no time to sit down and reflect on how 2012 was to me and now we're already moving on to 2014! OH how time flies!

This will also be the last New Year's Eve I celebrate without any major responsibilities tied to me. 2014 is going to be a very new experience I believe. I'll soon be joining the work force and things will never be as easy as before anymore. Nonetheless I'm looking forward to a new journey and a whole new year!

I'm also very grateful for the love and support I've received from my family, friends and my special someone. I really wouldn't be able to make it through each and every year without them. Of course not forgetting the Big Guy up above, I really thank Him for his favour upon my life and His love for me.

Lastly before I end this short post I would like to wish everyone out there a very HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

unconditional love

The spirit of giving

One of the best videos I've watched. I don't know why but this video really tugged on all my heart strings.
:) :) :)

Universal Studios Singapore

Early last month I spent almost 2 weeks in Singapore, first with my relatives and then later on with my cousin, her friend and my special someone. I was flown down to Singapore to accompany my tuition students which also happens to be my little cousins through their entrance exam. In a way it was my little getaway and I thought to myself why not extend my stay instead. So I did and the highlight of this trip down south was definitely my visit to Universal Studios Singapore, USS.

On the day of our visit to USS, we woke up to the sky rumbling and rain pouring! Quickly I said a short prayer and soon enough the rained eased up and we left for Sentosa. Seeing that it rained we were hoping that there wouldn't be many people, we were absolutely WRONG! We had to squeeze and tug with the thousands of people making their way to Sentosa on the very same day. 

Anyways after a good 45 mins of train rides we finally arrived and it was no less than FUN FUN FUN!!! There were slight pours throughout the day but nothing unbearable. All in all we had a lovely day there.

These are a few tips for those who might be heading there soon :
1. Bring a raincoat, the super cheap kind will do. They do sell it there but it is retailing for 3SGD for what we could get for probably RM2 in Malaysia. If you are more on the adventurous type then just get wet, it's pretty fun!

2. Bring some water and snacks, USS isn't like Disneyland where food and drinks are not allowed. Bringing these things is not so much about saving some bucks but it does come in handy when you get hungry while stuck in a long queue.

3. As you enter USS, you would arrive on Hollywood street, at the end of the street the road fogs, it is advisable to take the left side instead of going with the right. This is why, most people would definitely turn right as it seems only natural to do that, therefore going in the opposite direction should enable you to move with a small crowd. This tip was given to me by a USS worker.

4. We were told also by the workers that for every ride if you went back around 3pm the queue would have subsided. My brother also was able to stand by those words but for us we didn't manage to enjoy such privileges. Anyhow it might just work for you guys.

5. As soon as you enter ask the workers around for a timetable of when all the mascots would come out for a photo session. I was so upset we missed all of them and was later told they had a schedule printed out for reference.

These are the top 5 tips we wished we knew before hand and below some photos of my visit there!

One of the blessings of old friends is that you can afford to be stupid with them

My friends and I make it a point each year to go on a trip together. Unfortunately, this year, due to the many constraints, we didn't manage to arrange a getaway. We ended up spending the day together roaming the streets of Kuala Lumpur and by night we found ourselves laughing and chatting the night away in an ordinary Old Town White Coffee. I recall the laughter, the deep conversations we had around that tiny little table and of course the moment where I had to run to the toilet to throw up. It was also the first time in years that we were in a mall together and in a park petting dogs.

When life throws me curve balls I know that they'll be there.

Travelling is a fulfilling experience.....

.....especially when we've realize how far we've gone from the starting point. 

Up till 17 the only places I've ever been outside the country was to our neighbor's, Singapore. Now at 23 I've been to so many more places and it is all thanks to my lovely parents whom has funded me throughout all my trips. Of course I do chip in wherever possible. 

The last 5 days I was so blessed to have spent it in Krabi, Thailand, with my special someone. Upon arriving at Krabi I must say I was slightly disappointed. The town was so small that on the first day itself we managed to cover so much ground that it left me wondering what could I possibly do there for the next 4 days. 

But that totally changed as the days passed by, I began to love the slow paced life we had in Krabi. We didn't find ourselves waking up and rushing off to breakfast, then rushing of to do tons of activities just so we could make our trip worth while. It was all about taking slow walks on the beach, around town, hearing the waves crashing on the beach and even shopping was done is such a relaxing manner. 

Aownang by day is quite unsightly but by night it is a lovely place to be. As we were there early November, beginning of the peak period, the crowd there was just right. 

I'll post more details of my trip later but for now I leave you guys with some photos from my trip.  

Love them, Hate them

It just dawned on me last night that I have siblings with extremely weird sleeping habits.

My younger sister would doze of anywhere and everywhere in the house. Recently she has found a spot on the new bean bag we have at home. She would rather sleep the whole night there than to walk a few more steps into the room and sleep lying down. 

My brother on the other hand sleeps with white noise playing in the background. The sound it plays is the sound of rain and occasionally the sound of thunder would roll as well. The thing I found the weirdest was that his phone flashes occasionally the whole night just like lightning. 

How weird is that?

And one thing the both of them have in common is that they set alarms in order to wake someone else up which then would wake them up. How irritating. 

It used to bother me so much but now I've learned to sleep through the alarms and therefore leads me to be a less grumpy person in the morning. 

Tiny heartbreakers

I have a bad obsession with cute things. :)

23rd

Had the sudden urge to post a few photos up and I settled with these few I took on my 23rd birthday dinner. I don't know about you guys but as I grow older the desire to have a smashing big party seems to diminish over time. Now, a small dinner party would suffice as long as the people I love are present.

Anyhow these are the only few photos I took that night so please excuse the picture quality as none of us had a proper camera that night.

Heart strings

Just last Friday my friends and I were reminiscing about who we use to like in high school. While I am able to remember a few memories with the people I used to love, I really couldn't pin point many memories. I just knew that I was happy being with them. As for my friends, they definitely remembered more about my exs than I did. It was nice just hearing my story from their eyes.

One even knew how frequent my ex and I wrote love letters. HAHAHAHA.

After hearing all the stories about me that I've somehow let myself forget, I went home and dug in the pile of stuff I kept from every relationship, be it friend or boyfriend. And I found what we once called LOVE letters. As I read through them, I giggled with happiness just knowing that at one point of time I was some one's everything and at the innocence we all had once.

I mean how can there be so many "I love yous" in a letter? hahaha. Love was much easier back then not because we were not serious about each other but because there were so many other factors we haven't realize mattered in a relationship.

At this age, love seems to be much more than I love yous, we start thinking about whether the other is a suitable partner, will he be able to put my needs first, protect me, push me to greater levels, support me, provide for me, etc etc and sometime when my pessimist side surfaces, I do question whether some day I might just end up alone.

Now I'm just glad I'm more of an optimist than a pessimist! *Phewwww*

State capital of New South Wales

Discipline is the bridge between goals and accomplishment

So since I'm unemployed I've found myself some stuff to do. Just so my brain doesn't deteriorate within these few months of my intended break. 

1. A book a week every 2 weeks. 

I know, I know, there are those who can finish a book a day, I do live in the same house as those people. But if you know me, reading has never been my strongest point. I can read a book up to one year and still would not have finished it or even better it gets lost on my watch. So, a book every 2 weeks is quite a goal for me to achieve. It has been so far so good, I'm currently on to the second one now. 

2. Cook a meal at least 2 times a week. 

Somehow as I grow older I find cooking a lot more interesting. I find myself on the Internet searching for recipes and trying them at home nowadays while previously the sight and smell of fresh poultry would just trigger my gag reflexes. I still do sometimes but not as bad as before, still, I prefer to stick to fish while I'm still experimenting. LESS BLOOD. 

3. Exercise at least 2 times a week 

My energy levels have been on the low side lately and I think it is because of my love for sleeping. It seems like the more I sleep, the more I want to sleep. If that makes any sense at all. I use to workout quite frequently but now as my sis puts it, my fitness level is that of a couch potato! Time to start working out for my most looked forward trip right now, which is to Krabi. Sun, Sea, Sand! 

I believe writing down these goals of mine would give me some sense of accountability to whoever reading it and perhaps motivate me even more. :) 

 

“Put your ear down close to your soul and listen hard.”

Let your "Yes" be Yes and your "No" be No. 

                                                Mathew 5:37

Everyone brought up in their own way will have different values accordingly, it is because of these differences that I now sit here blogging.

It boggles me how 2 people can be the bestest of friend yet share a whole different point of values in life. Like whether one should get married before making love or even the simplest thing like whether stealing is an action agreeable or not. And then there is the other question of how could one spend their life with another person if they both hold different values. How would these two people come to a compromise their whole life when things come between them?

I view friendship as the easier relationship to find a compromising ground, but with a lover/spouse I find it quite hard to give in, only because building a life together is not the same as being the bestest of friends. The amount of responsibilities one holds by sharing a life with another is no longer the same as being just a friend.

Then the question of how about when a child comes into the world, what values should he/she be brought up with, if the parents are unable to hold a common ground?

All these thoughts makes me slightly uneasy knowing that one day I might have to compromise on my believes, willingly or unwillingly, consciously or unconsciously.

what we learn with pleasure we never forget

It is finally official, I'm graduating!!!

I still remember the first few days of my university life so vividly. After 3 years, today, I sit here and letting everyone know that it is official I'm moving on the the next chapter of my life.

I glad to say that I finished my studies with the best results I've gotten throughout my 6 semesters in Monash. To some it may not be that good of a result but to me it is good enough and I am ever so thankful to my Father up there. I've never been one who scored all HDs or As whether in high school or uni and even though I came to accept that a long time ago, I still really strive to.

This is the end of my uni life but definitely not the end of learning for me. Studying may seem to be a pain (sometimes even literally) at times but looking back I'll have it no other way. Studying may not be at the top of the to do list currently but I'm sure some time in the near future it will resume it's prior position in my life.

For now, goodbye  assignments, referencing, early morning classes, car park problems and tutorials!

Till then, I'll enjoy the life of an unemployed and worry about all sorts of future related stuff.
BUT, of course, before that, I'm going on a well deserved holiday to Sydney, Australia!

Little updates on me

I've just finished my finals in my final semester in Monash University. In other words, I'm currently unemployed. Being unemployed is actually more stressful than it sounds. I begin to start thinking what I should do with my life, what my life goals should be and where do I want to see my self in say 5-10 years. I know many would say I do not need to have everything figured out right now and all but I just would like to have a faintest idea of what might life should look like in the coming years. I've always been a strong believer of no need to plan so much but in this case it is always good to have a plan even if it doesn't follow through. 

In about less than 2 week I'll be going on one of the longest vacation of my life thus far. 11days! HAHA I know it sounded much longer than it really is. Really am looking forward to it, just a break from worrying and pondering upon my future would be really nice at this time. Probably after that I've got to start putting actions into my words. 

Haven't been doing anything productive since my last paper which was last last Monday. Tried to do my usual workout routine but ended up aching for about 5 days which prohibited me from continuing on with it. I've been spending most of my time sleeping, in the mall and spending time with the best friend. Weekdays seems to be a lot quieter than I remember them to be and weekends are just what I look forward too nowadays. 

This is the life of an unemployed. 

Garden by the Bay

This trip down south was during the end of last year. As usual my partner in crime, Jessica and I made our way down to Singapore for our annual Singapore getaway. Looking back the past years, we make a trip to Singapore at least 2 times each year and each trip seems to just be more and more fun.

This time round we managed to visit the new tourist attraction in Singapore called Garden by the Bay which is located just across Marina Bay Sands. My advice to anyone visiting the place is take the tram ride. It was the most worth it 5SGD (if im not mistaken) in my life. HAHA. It will save you a lot of walking and definitely from sun burn.

There are 2 observatories there, the Flower Dome and the Cloud Forest. We were extremely blessed by Jessica's uncle which sponsored our entrance fees into one of them and we chose the Cloud Forest. I think they mentioned something like it is the largest man made waterfall in Asia? I'm not too sure on that, so it would be good it you did't hold me to it.

Walking in there was really cooling and nice but it was also the first time in my life I've ever felt afraid of heights. Didn't even know I was so afraid of hneights. I remember the moment I stepped out onto the external bridge, my knees froze, I was having cold sweat, my heart was definitely beating faster than usual and also I felt a little faint. Thankfully the best friend was there to hold my hand! Like literally.

It seems that our trips each time gets more and more interesting compared to the last one and we discover more and more about each other during that time too. I'm not too sure about whether our annual Singapore trips will continue to go on now that we both have finished our studies and have different commitments but I'm sure when we do, we will have a great time!

Descending Dragon Bay

Vietnam trip back in July 2012. 

I remembered the time when I sat foot onto the Oriental Sail to set out to one of UNESCO's World Heritage Sites, Ha Long Bay, I was filled with excitement to see nature in all it's glory and it really did not disappoint. The sight of it all was just BEAUTIFUL. The skies were the bluest I've seen and although the sea was not clear, it was just beautiful.

The Oriental Sail was one of the many junks you'll find cruising it's way through Ha Long Bay. I managed to book an overnight cruise which came with all meals on board and was filled with activities. One of the most memorable activity we had was kayaking. They made us kayak through this tiny cave which only was high enough for kayaks to past through to arrive at this place which was so beautiful words can't describe. It was a pity we didn't have any cameras on us. Also because my partner and I were so horrible at kayaking we were the last to reach there and did not have much time to soak it all up, all that is left now is just a mental image. We had only a few minutes to spare and had to make our way back, worried that we would have lost our way as it was such a long distance.

While kayaking I remembered being really mad at my partner because I was so tired and I really hate it when people boss me around but at that time I also knew that my partner was as tired as I was. Not once did my partner yell at me for doing such a bad job instead my partner tried to do most of the work to get us safely back to the junk. I'm just really thankful for all that my partner has done for me during that time, it would be quite ugly if we started an argument on board a kayak. Imagine, with no where to go and screaming at each other, that would have been a funny sight.

I was glad we managed to reach back safely and although last in the team, it made a really good memory.

Photos are from my Windows phone 

Fraser's Hill

Almost a year ago, the 5 of us found ourselves making our way up to Fraser's Hill for a weekend getaway in conjunction with the best friend's birthday. As we have all never been fans of planning, we spent all our time there chatting our lives away, sleeping, lazing and just sitting around a hot pot of homemade steamboat. We really couldn't have had a better time and the mildly cold weather just made everything much better.

A little advise for those intending to visit Fraser's Hill, remember to bring tons of great company. The place doesn't have much to offer but I'm sure good company will make up for it just like it did for me!

Photos are from my Windows phone