Across Borders

this year's chinese new year celebration has been the most memorable for me thus far. might sound a tad naive to a working adult, but this is my honest account on my thoughts over the past few days.
the stereotype of doctors leading terrible lives, hvg countless working hours, lack of sleep has always been alive. i hear of it, feel it, smell it and my mind reeks of it. in the anticipation of joining the working force in just a few more months, i can't help but from time to time dread the thought of starting work. the negativity surrounding the whole thing makes me believe that it's going to be terrible for me.
now hearing from my friends who were back in kuching over the cny celeb, those working in engineering firms, the banking line, doing sales and marketing was really really refreshing. felt so amazed listening to their account of their day to day working life. dealing with events, products, people, clients, economy, shipping, millions to billions of ringgit each day. now, that, is what I call challenging. phewh. battling the ups and downs outside there in the corporate world. learning from experience. working on stg totally unrelated to the degree they studied. when I compare my job to doing that, I'm thinking, mine's a lot easier. i felt as if a chip of the coconut shell that has been faithfullly shading a huge portion of my life that revolves around the hospital and clinics being lifted. a small beam of light shining in, making me look up in awe. Man, these ppl are awesome. their jobs are interesting (and tough).
well yeah, no doubt i gotta study lots, sleep less, work round the clock. but i deal with patients. and they deal with kickass bosses and clients with crazy demands. different job requirement altogether. guess of course we're more comfortable with what we've been trained to expect when we walked down our respective pathways in tertiary education.
i came back from kuching this time feeling motivated. i didn't have to look too far for role models to get me going. they didn't have to be internationally renowned figures. they are my secondary school classmates who currently brave the corporate weather each day. darn... i'm so proud of u girls and guys. parting words from the classmate who dropped me off at my house last night: Bye Vin. Take care. Study hard. :P she said it half jokingly. but it did for a moment spur that motivation in me to study hard n get it going in the last lap of my race in this undergraduate course, finals being just 2 months away.
maybe it sounds ridiculously simple. but it evoked a special feeling in me. i wana work hard to make them proud of me too. hehee.

photos taken frm leen and pauline. :P Jacq's place, stealing shots drg the wedding reception, the bridegroom and his bride.

A classmate, Sheryl got married on V day to Jarred, who's from the States. lovely. wish them both much happiness and future blessings. cross cultural marriages are always beautiful (with a hint of curiosity) :P

Cookies make you think of home

Watched a vid on making gingersnap cookies on Youtube and instantly felt homesick.
Thinking of the pineapple cookie making moments at home many years back.

How I miss the familiarity and warmth of home. sobs.

No worries. Transient emo moment. I'll be fine in maybe an hour. ahaha. serves me right for watching random youtube vids.

*disclaimer: all the pictures were taken off the net. that said, I do hope to capture some cny cookie shots from home this yr. :)

Growing Discoveries

This year end holidays, being the longest of all my uni break so far i think :P gave me the liberty of going back kuching for 6 weeks =D officially have 9 weeks of hols, 2 i spent in uni to collect data for a research module, 1 to a coming trip to hongkong. :D

while stil in kl, bumped into a long lost sister! hehe.

and went to a hot air balloon fair in putrajaya. thanks Alisa! :)
such cute balloons. my 1st time seeing a kiwi bird, bday cake and tree shaped balloon.

Along the way, I had the fun of discovering the little things in Kuching that even for the past years of bringing friends touring ard did not reveal to me. had the opportunity to bring Ai Jing and her 3 friends -Amy, Elaine, Alex up and around town. i didnt think i could discover anything newer (if u dont count the new buildings under construction around town - Cue: new shopping malls coming up! hehe. hopefully by next year).

1. We went to the Semmongoh Orang Utan Rehabilitation Centre. I've visited this place quite a number of times and had the oppor to see some cool climbing gymnastic routines -kidding. no sommersaults. - by middle age orang utans (ok i dunno how old they are but i think they're equivalent to our middle age. or young adult?? ok. maybe adolescent. ok nvm i hav no idea how to judge an orang utan's age). they were medium sized. xP and a mother orang utan dubbed Hot Mama (such a cute diva name) whom i was looking for this time but she wasnt at the centre anymore. maybe they shifted her to the Matang Wildlife Centre. and her baby. and a grandmother.

this time, I saw Ritchie. a male orang utan with super duper giant cheekpads of machoness. I never failed to be wow-ed when coming here!

2. ok better cut down on the rant. holidays has made me over-ranty.
Found out that Kuching has a river kayaking package that brings u kayaking up to 11km in the wilderness?? ok maybe not wilderness. through the pristine rainforests of Kuching. :) the one my friends took up was RM188 per pax, day trip n all, food, transport included. i didnt go, but from the photos it looked like a tonne of fun. :)

3. Discovered Sunny Hill ice cream parlour has a schedule for the ice cream flavours they make for a particular day. (sorry! i think this i ought to have known earlier than just now) lol

4. n that the ikan bakar place beside McD in Central Park doesnt open til maybe 8pm. and that the foodcourt at Jalan Song is called Peach Garden. had my first try at the 101 Avenue food court (didnt know it existed). and umm.. owh. the Hui Sing pasar malam with the famous White Lady n Metahon closes on Wednesdays. (so weird i didnt know that. but it wasnt like the 1st/15th of the month pun).

5. just realised that there was a reason the Fairy Caves was named that. my friends found a fairy. hehe.

5. more photography tricks

had lots of fun. :)

Back in Kuching I joined the Lifeguards & Watchmen for life group under Johnson and Lina. Have been really blessed by the brothers n sisters here. the 1st life group itself witnessed my car breaking down (alamak. yes another car crisis by xu vin driving the Proton Wira - hv never been short of stories on this) n who but them came to my rescue! *hooray? !* =P
They take a group shot after every Life Group. such a cute 2012 resolution. (so yay i get to be in a group photo) lol =P

Have had a guitar in my room since KTSN days in Year 2 but have been neglecting it (guilty of having an awesome guitar but not making full use of it). this holidays is a time i challenge myself to practise playing it properly b4 going back to kl. hehe. found a guitar sifu @Johnson. thousand thanks. :D

Been reading some books as well. and as I read, I somehow found back the love for reading (I stopped reading for fun since secondary school days n never really had the habit of reading since.)
A book that i found most inspiring was Divine Mentors by Wayne Cordeiro. Check out his books. the way he writes made me just wana keep turning the pages. really amazing book. I rediscovered the joy and excitement of hearing from God daily through the Bible. and it daunted to me the urgency to build my foundation strong in His words.

I found myself growing more n more (thumbs up to homecooked food. :P and also to good guidance from Christian leaders)

Heading back to KL for the wkend on the way to Hong Kong next week with 2 other friends. =D

CNY 2012

This chinese new year was no exception from previous years. Great family and friends moments, lots of catching up and consumption :P don't want it to end!

 eileen, eve, pauline and amanda :P

 nicole, pei, drey tan, jacq, leen, crystal, pauline and eve

with the adorable and super energized aunty mei yin :)

Happy Chinese New Year everyone! go on. soak in the atmosphere filled with clanging cymbals, chinese drums, mandarin oranges and fireworks. :P

Merdeka

It was just a few days ago that I rmbed saying 'Owh! I didnt realise National Day's next week!' nah. just another day. most of us probably lost the sense of excitement for National Day since our primary sch days (for me at least). in primary sch, it was the excitement of having a school holiday, switching on and sitting in front of the tv the entire morning, watching as the prime minister and DYMM YDP Agong arrive, seeing the grandiosity of the whole occasion with smartly dressed troops standing in attention, etc.. and my favourite part: the parade and the coloured smoke jets :D

well now, the excitement has definitely diminished if not disappeared. the celebration is seen as a superficial cover over many many issues thrown ard in the political scene, and most ppl dont feel the pride of freedom from foreign rule our leaders achieved 54 years ago anymore.

my church had a Merdeka special service yesterday morning. this video was being shown. i guess videos have a way of illustrating and bringing u back to the moment in time, thousands of times better than pictures or words alone. If you have not clicked on the video to watch it, watch it first. :)

as i sat watching the documentary, still in black and white, seeing the stadium bursting with Malaysians of all races, seeing the Union Jack being brought down, Tunku Abdul Rahman leading the multitude of ppl declaring 'Merdeka!' echoed by thousands and thousands of proud, united Malaysians, i felt a pang of pride. mixed with a little guilt for taking many things for granted in this country. You could just imagine yourself being one of them dressing ur best and marching off to the stadium that morning with a whole throng of ppl u probably didnt know, but as u walked along, u smiled at each other because deep down, u shared sth in common.

As I stood up to sing the National Anthem, I wondered, when was the last time I stood up to sing the National Anthem with all my heart.

This might seem naive and idealistic to some of you, but deep down, you know that you're a proud Malaysian, and there is no other place in the world besides here, that you can truly call home.

It's time we count our blessings and pray for this country. :)

Awe

Who would

Spend the entire night trimming coconut tree leaves with a knife to get the middle portion we call 'Lidi' for my boat house model art project in form2.

Search shops for double layered crepe paper and puppet eyes for my doll art project.

For my rocket project in form4, cruise around town looking for shops selling bicycle pump needles cz i kept breaking each of them, buy a brand new silicon gun and a huge bottle of silicon from the hardware store, find tons of plastic bottles for me to trial and error, drive to the nearby park early in the morning with a tank of water and metal measuring tape to test run the plastic water rocket.

Scour bushes, trees, grass, any area with plants u name it for locusts / bugs for my form6 biology project / lab work.

Drive all the way to the bookstore to photocopy a few pages of pictures i needed for class the next day js bcz i was last minute in primary sch.

Spend the entire day scouring through Airline magazines for pictures of leaves and plants cz i needed super a lot of them for my artwork collage in pri4. (thr wasnt Google back then)

Drive and accompany me to the Tugu Pahlawan (the 1 in kch at the museum park) to take like just 5 photos and to the museum to look for catalogues on Fort Margheritta for my history project in form1.

Pack lunch and drive all the way to school when i had around the clock band practice. Wait in the car in agony when practices end late.

Search like crazy for a particular caterpillar stuffed toy i crazily wanted in malls when i was a kid cz at that time the tv was advertising them like no1's business. (Blame the tv)

Walk to the nearby discount store and back to surprise me with a stuffed toy i wanted so badly that i went ballistic (lol) even tho it costed quite a bomb. okay i was in pri4 that time n i still have that stuffed toy til today.

Patiently teach me to ride a bicycle by taking the trouble to make me a 3-wheel bicycle by removing 1 trainer wheel so that i had a backup trainer wheel lol.

Buy me princessy dresses in kindergarten.

Rush me to the hospital for stitches when i swung on the clothes line support bar like a monkey, flew and hit my chin on the ground in pri3.

my gosh even reading this is tiring.

I wouldn't have been able to do all that for a single person.

But mum and dad did.

Wow. realise i was quite a ma fan kid.. sheepish grin.

the boy in my life

18 years have passed. childhood memories linger. it was as if it was just yesterday that my brother threw marbles at me and made me so mad at him that i cried. he still reminds me of it from time to time to poke fun at me. geez. but no doubt its pretty funny thinking of it now.

it was in primary sch days that fights ensued bcz he stole, i mean took the last piece of my share of cheesecake from the fridge and walloped it all up without telling any1. LOL. the bits of mischief he'd be up to to make me oh so mad. the times my sister and i would gang up against him (HAha) and threaten to tell mum if he played the computer while she was away if he didnt stop disturbing us. or secretly watching some cartoon on tv together when we were suppose to be doing our homework.

and it was in sec sch days that we poked fun at each other and fight over who gets to use the computer and go online. bcz i'd hog the comp to check emails and do lots of useless things and be totally kepo on ppl's friendster profiles. and he wanted to play comp games.

and it was in f6 days that i went to the same sch as him and drove him to sch together every morn and yell at him to wake up early cz i didnt wana get caught in the traffic. threatening to leave without him if he wasnt on time. muahaha. and listening to really hillarious stories he'd tell of his teachers and classmates and stuffs.

and it was when i entered university that i didnt meet him on a daily basis anymore. lol. but we'd chat endlessly whenever i got home drg the hols. the hillarious stories of teachers and friends never stopped. we stil argue about stupid things but all in good humour.

i met up with him over lunch today. we talked, shared little life stories. and i realised that as time goes by, this fella has really matured. he even qualifies as my counsellor. lol :P i'm sometimes awed by his train of thoughts. and his actions.

why am i being so nostalgic?? silly me. haha.

well. i love this brother of mine. :)

Homing

10 things that tell me i'm home:

1. making a drink means heating up water for just 30 seconds with the microwave.

(no mafan boiling water in a kettle)

2. seeing the ground floor view from a table through the glass window.

3. watching hong kong Cantonese serials at 6pm

4. spending more than 30 minutes at the dinner table talking with mum/dad/sis/bro

5. smelling fried fish wafting from the kitchen to the living room

6. driving around town

7. having a grocery store 5 minutes from home

8. showering in a bathroom with a water heater, toilet, mirror and sink combined

9. being the last to switch off all lights and

(this is totally not my house grins)

10. climbing the stairs to my bedroom

The comforts of home :P

walking

have u ever been struck by that sudden feeling of nostalgia? when the exams are over, when the period of busyness is over, and u have time for urself and u take that trip back home. far from friends who're busy. u spiral down into solitude knowing the week ahead needs to be filled with productivity, studying and spending quality family time and getting a few assignments done and contemplating future plans. plans that require a huge rock of faith.