Of Elena's thoughts.

Disney-fied.

2012-01-02T22:50:00.000-08:00

Doesn't matter if you're Malaysian, Australian, American, European, Chindian, Amphibian.
Whoever you are, wherever you come from, you are searching for love.

Disney movies fuel this desire, amplifies this need.

Hopelessly devoted.

Disney you're such a tease.

Superficial Christmas

2011-12-25T05:34:00.001-08:00

It's Christmas day and while everyone is stuffing themselves with Christmas meals to feel and play the part of the Christmas turkey; sneaking up on 'Santa' in hopes to demystify him but ending up kicking poor dad in the nuts; waiting under the mistletoe religiously for that lucky opportunity (again, this year, as always) because for goodness sake, if its ever true that luck = opportunity meets preparation, you've been prepared for years! ;

we forget how many lonely people there are in the world looking at pictures like these:

and going.. I..

Like her shoes.

Pfft. Superficial. X)

We have our moments.

2011-12-21T05:30:00.001-08:00

#forever alone.
Went to buy biscuits for my dad at pasar malam.
Me :"Hi uncle! How are you? :)"
Uncle xx :"HOMG YOU REALLY PUT ON WEIGHT GIRL!!! :O *nearly stumbles into durian stall*"
Me : *think of something witty to say, think, thinkkkkkk*

"Hai lo. Jiu hai fei zho lo, uncle." [in Cantonese]
(Yahlo. I gained weight.)

That awkward moment when you don't know how to respond to someone who just called you fat. What to do, lol.

Anyhow, enjoy your biscuits, dad. :)

Love Will Keep Us Alive - Eagles.

2011-12-20T19:27:00.000-08:00

One of my all time favourites. <3

When we're hungry, love will keep us alive.

When boredom strikes.

2011-12-17T07:04:00.001-08:00

I shouldn't even be having the TIME to be bored! :P

But I couldn't help it!

"Curiosity is not a sin, Harry; but one should practice caution with it" - Dumbledore, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire.

It all started with an interesting quote by Charlie Brown (he is too cute, btw) from Peanuts.

"Nothing takes the taste out of peanut butter quite like unrequited love."

So I wiki-ed the meaning of unrequited love! And went on reading other related pages. :)

In order of my browsing history:
Unrequited love
Nice guys
Love-shyness
Romantic friendship
Mamihlapinatapai
Erotomania
Broken heart
Obsessive love
Existential crisis

And they call me, Dr. Love .

Heybebehh!

X)

The joyful rendition of music.

2011-12-10T17:57:00.000-08:00

When you are Asian, you are many things.

Math is your supposed best friend, you can speak at least 3 languages (not including dialects), and you must have some form of formal musical training.

Sadly, I enjoy math, but not overwhelmingly. I speak 3 languages, but that's only because I come from a culturally heterogeneous country.

About my musical training.

Admittedly there were times when it was an annoying obligation. Putting aside glorious afternoon naps just to get on with the 45mins of piano class. Having to practice the same boring old piece again and again until my music teacher gives me the green light. Having to endure sitting down and listening to your mother and piano teacher bond over a conversation on 'how you never practice your pieces', 'how uninterested you are in classical pieces', 'how exams are in 2 weeks and you barely mastered your scales'.

Honestly, no one would believe you if you said you attended piano classes from young because of a prominent interest. Interest comes with exposure and inspiration. It's not instant noodles that you can whip up upon a craving.

Exploiting our interests takes time.

Depresso. Another shot of milk please.

Life extras and plus points such as piano classes, sports lessons, art classes and even tuition classes are often forced on children in hopes of giving them a head-start in becoming that well-rounded, holistic individual that would have it easy in life someday.

Rightfully so, too.

To a certain extent, traditional parents (especially Asian parents) have got it right. It is their strong belief that hardwork is directly proportional to success. Starting young is just a way of maximising this success.

Kids just aren't far-sighted enough to visualize whatever success their parents are talking about. After all, they've got to live out their childhood. Growing up and being a successful doctor/lawyer/businessman can wait. And eventually, just as Sir Isaac Newton puts it, according to Newton's third law, the more activities forced on the kids, the more force (rebellion) they exert back.

This clash of mentality makes it hard for parents to understand their kids behaviour and for kids to understand their parents' intentions.

Example of the 'regret' card made popular by parents :

Forget the fact I'm paying for your lessons, feeling suffocated? Feel like quitting? Fine. But don't regret it when you grow up.

In my case, I wasn't such a rebel. The thought of quitting never occurred to me. Because of that I'm now reaping the joys of my parents' labour of supporting my music education. Besides being able to read and play music, I am also able to play by ear (which many believe is a gift/talent, one which I am very thankful to God for), allowing me to play any song/tune as long as I've heard it before -- which really really adds to the fun of playing. This joy is also a two-folded one as my parents are proud to have a daughter who is musically inclined.

This opportunity of music education has helped me appreciate music to it's fullest. Sure it was tiring to juggle both ABRSM examination with my own school work but nothing worth having comes about without sacrifice.

Come to think of it, perhaps I was too young to understand many aspects of the theory of music when I sat for the examinations. I solemnly admit, I went into the examination halls a very confused candidate with no idea of what I'm actually doing. My role was basically being a robot programmed to memorise facts before the test and regurgitate them all out on D-day. It was horrible.

Now that I'm slightly older, and grown wiser from my silly childhood, I find that, Old is truly Gold! :)
I kid you not!

Have you heard Chopin! Such brilliant food for the ears. His music is so rich with emotions, heartache, minors, romance. It makes me ashamed to think how I used to hate playing his pieces, all because they were difficult and took many weeks of hard practice to master. But now I know, being able to play his pieces is like looking into the feelings of a broken-hearted man, who poured out his sorrow not in words but musical notes. Very much like a secret language that only musicians can decipher and understand. Selfish? Perhaps. :P If you want to swim with the dolphins, you've gotta learn how to swim! :)

Memorizing French, German and Latin musical expressions used to be such a boring chore to me. It was dreadfully dull and dry! Why use some big word like legato if all you wanted me to do is to play the note a little longer? But now I understand. It reflects the diverse origins of music. Not just from one part of the world but from many. This is true class, if you'd ask me.The bigger message here is that music transcends the barriers of communication.

Even deafness couldn't hold Beethoven back.

So perhaps it's better to introduce activities to children when they're older. Or better still, let them discover their own interest. That way, they'll be accountable to their own life, and perhaps even find more meaning in what they're committing their time to.

I'm proud to be able to play the piano. And I owe this feat to my parents and not to forget, my beloved piano teacher. When I play, be it to entertain myself or others ; I'll remember them.

If I had the opportunity to, I'd gladly play you the story of the notes. :)

You need only ask.

Christmas Swing Jazz

2011-12-09T01:02:00.000-08:00

My favorite genre of music : Swing Jazz
My favorite time of the year : Christmas

Listening to a lot of Christmas Swing Jazz lately = I'M A VERY HAPPY GIRL. :)

More hours in a day please!

2011-12-01T04:40:00.001-08:00

Today over google chat :

Elena : "I wish there were 30 hours in a day." :(

Weiyang : "Inshaallah the earth will spin slower upon its axis; and the centripetal force will decrease proportionally to the square of this change; and as our normal reactions will be unchanged... may this mean that we are purely acted upon by newton-ian gravitation; and gain weight equal to the change in centripetal force."

Crazy brilliant friend. Weaving science facts into jokes.

THIS is why the boy will get into Oxford.

A Girl Who Reads.

2011-11-28T07:18:00.000-08:00

Date a girl who reads. Date a girl who spends her money on books instead of clothes. She has problems with closet space because she has too many books. Date a girl who has a list of books she wants to read, who has had a library card since she was twelve.

Find a girl who reads. You’ll know that she does because she will always have an unread book in her bag.She’s the one lovingly looking over the shelves in the bookstore, the one who quietly cries out when she finds the book she wants. You see the weird chick sniffing the pages of an old book in a second hand book shop? That’s the reader. They can never resist smelling the pages, especially when they are yellow.

She’s the girl reading while waiting in that coffee shop down the street. If you take a peek at her mug, the non-dairy creamer is floating on top because she’s kind of engrossed already. Lost in a world of the author’s making. Sit down. She might give you a glare, as most girls who read do not like to be interrupted. Ask her if she likes the book.

Buy her another cup of coffee.

Let her know what you really think of Murakami. See if she got through the first chapter of Fellowship. Understand that if she says she understood James Joyce’s Ulysses she’s just saying that to sound intelligent. Ask her if she loves Alice or she would like to be Alice.

It’s easy to date a girl who reads. Give her books for her birthday, for Christmas and for anniversaries. Give her the gift of words, in poetry, in song. Give her Neruda, Pound, Sexton, Cummings. Let her know that you understand that words are love. Understand that she knows the difference between books and reality but by god, she’s going to try to make her life a little like her favorite book. It will never be your fault if she does.

She has to give it a shot somehow.

Lie to her. If she understands syntax, she will understand your need to lie. Behind words are other things: motivation, value, nuance, dialogue. It will not be the end of the world.

Fail her. Because a girl who reads knows that failure always leads up to the climax. Because girls who understand that all things will come to end. That you can always write a sequel. That you can begin again and again and still be the hero. That life is meant to have a villain or two.

Why be frightened of everything that you are not? Girls who read understand that people, like characters, develop.

Except in the Twilight series.

If you find a girl who reads, keep her close. When you find her up at 2 AM clutching a book to her chest and weeping, make her a cup of tea and hold her. You may lose her for a couple of hours but she will always come back to you. She’ll talk as if the characters in the book are real, because for a while, they always are.

You will propose on a hot air balloon. Or during a rock concert. Or very casually next time she’s sick. Over Skype.You will smile so hard you will wonder why your heart hasn’t burst and bled out all over your chest yet. You will write the story of your lives, have kids with strange names and even stranger tastes. She will introduce your children to the Cat in the Hat and Aslan, maybe in the same day. You will walk the winters of your old age together and she will recite Keats under her breath while you shake the snow off your boots.

Date a girl who reads because you deserve it. You deserve a girl who can give you the most colorful life imaginable. If you can only give her monotony, and stale hours and half-baked proposals, then you’re better off alone. If you want the world and the worlds beyond it, date a girl who reads.

Or better yet, date a girl who writes.

- Rosemary Urquico

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Yes it's all true. Likewise, it would work perfectly as well if we'd flip the article around, in a guy's context.

No girl can resist a guy who reads, let alone, a guy who writes. ;)

Gorgeous beyond words. You'd be the knock out of the community!

So guys, you know what to do. :)

Count my blessings instead of sheep.

2011-11-18T09:26:00.001-08:00

I have always wanted to experience sitting alone on my balcony in the middle of the night, just to watch the stars and enjoy the night breeze.

Unfortunately, sitting outside at such an hour would mean becoming a mosquitoes' happy meal and getting high-fived in the face by fruit bat wings. Tried and tested hypothesis. Don't ask.

I love the peace that night brings. Too bad I never had the opportunity to experience it fully.

Good sleep to me is one of the best things in life. Won't trade it for all the chocolate in the world!

Still it's nice to note that I am slightly nocturnal. :) And a little pig-like.

Taking Bible Knowledge for SPM 2010

2011-11-12T02:09:00.002-08:00

Some time ago I was asked to write a reflective word or two about my experience of taking Bible Knowledge in SPM 2010. Such are my precious high school moments that seems so far away now.

"No way, Sherlock!" X)
Haha. Yet another 'surprised' victim of father time. Cliché, Cliché!

Anyhow, I decided that it was a part of me worth sharing with the world so here it is : --

There comes a time to every Christian SPM taker to-be, where he/she is figuratively tapped on the shoulder, and offered a chance to do a very special thing- to take up Bible Knowledge as an official SPM subject. What a tragedy if the moment finds him uninterested or indecisive, for the work which would bring glory to God.

As to not deprive you of due introductions, dear reader, I'm Elena Ong from SMK Damansara Jaya and I took up BK* as my 10th subject in SPM 2010. During my senior years in DJ I served as CF** president, a committee member of the prefectorial board, and also an active school debater. All praise and glory to God, I scored straight As.

I can still remember the very first BK lesson I had in Jan 2009 with a very experienced Miss Yeo. I must say, she commanded an air of respect almost effortlessly from the very first lesson. She made it very clear to us that BK was the study of God's word and if we weren't going to take God seriously, we might as well fall out of the 2 storey window like Eutychus, or go sign up for accounts instead, or even worst, be 'kicked out' of her class.

Time and time again, Miss Yeo stressed upon the importance of diligence, consistency and commitment to the study of the Word, and we had class weekly, come rain or shine. Our thursday nights throughout the 2 years were saturated with BK class with Miss Yeo. However, it was the best way one could ever spend one's thursday nights. Studying BK took me to the humble manger, to the streets where Jesus walked and taught, and to the cross where my sins were forgiven and my freedom bought. I've learnt the books of Luke and Acts to the detail, under the guidance of a wise teacher and the gentle conviction of the Holy Spirit.

Miss Yeo's policy of mandatory participation for all her students in the national postal bible quiz and also the oral quizzes did nothing but to deepen our understanding of the Word and not to mention, promote strong Christ-centred friendship between fellow brothers and sisters-in-Christ.

If you'd ask me, was my BK journey an easy one? It wasn't! But was it rewarding?
Absolutely.

The proof of gold is fire. Be ready to be disciplined and humbled, but fear not and take heart, God will be by our side, every step of our BK journey.

*BK is shorthand for Bible Knowledge.
**CF is shorthand for Christian Fellowship.
------------------

Endless thanks to Miss Yeo for all her teaching, guidance and wisdom.
Needless to say, thanks to mum and dad, Uncle Henry and Aunty Evelyn for chaffering me to class weekly. :)
Last but not least, a special shout-out to all my brothers and sisters-in-Christ who shared this journey with me.

Any further enquiries on how to sign up for Bible Knowledge in SPM and other relevant details, feel free to contact me via email. I will do my best to offer advice based on my limited knowledge and humble experience.

Good day, all! :)

A Life Changing Experience -- Being in a teacher's shoes for 6 months.

2011-11-05T01:45:00.000-07:00

I had the utmost privilege of heading the SASA Gives Back 2011 team with the theme Children and education. Our biggest project was an Orphan Teaching Program engaging 50 SASA-rians to a weekly outreach of 130 students from 3 different homes for 6 months. I personally volunteer at Sunbeams Home where I played baboon mother specifically to 3 monkey boys and many lovely girls.

To mark the end of the program, a committee of SASA-rians got together and organised a charity dinner, which raised RM35k for the 3 home beneficiaries. The dinner itself was a celebration of the teacher-student bond my teachers shared with the children, and the money was just a side incentive, like a goodbye gift to the homes as the teaching program draws to a close.

After spending 6 months worth of thursday nights with these 3 boys, nothing could be more painful to me than to bid goodbye.

James, Michael, Kenneth and I

I thank God for bringing them into my life; giving me time--however limited--with them. It's as if God forgot that I already had 2 younger brothers at home. He went ahead and gave me 3 more anyway.

To my boys, remember what I told you guys? Never forget your roots. :)Study hard! And stop asking me whether I got boyfriend already onot! And stop asking whether cheh cheh is Chinese or Indian. -____-
And no, cheh cheh is not 25 years old! (yet!)

I will also never forget the other children I had the privilege of meeting and subsequently growing close to:

Miss Linda Yap!

In so many ways she reminds me of myself.
Remember to brush your teeth okay, Linda!
Thank you for all our joyous moments.
And also, thank you for being such a brave girl and following me up the stage during charity night!
Be good little sunshine!

Miss Mabel Choo :)

Mabel dearie! A budding young lady.
Underneath that shy-girl exterior lies a reservoir of courage. It's waiting to be summoned by you, girl!
And when that time comes, the world would have to watch out for you. :)

Miss Eunice Wong!

The girl who threatens me every week with a "You don't come next week you watch out ah!"
I will always remember you telling me that while the other kids aspire to become engineers and doctors, you aspire to be a mum.
Wait for your Prince Charming okay, dear girl! No rush!
In the meanwhile, study hard and keep that smile brewing.

Miss Jody Smiley! :]

Possibly the next Marie Curie.
So bright she makes the sun feel shy. :P
I look forward to her phone calls more than I look forward to a call from a guy. LOL should my mum be worried?
Jody, just keep doing what you do and I'm really, truly, sincerely so excited to see how the future unfolds for you!
ps, CALL ME. :D

Miss Evonne Phuah :)

Such a sweet name for a sweet girl.
Had a great 'yatta!' (やった) ["Hiro's" line from the TV series : Heroes] moment when she wore a skirt to the dinner!
I will always remember her demure heart, a complete opposite of mine.
She has such a pure and gentle spirit, it's impossible not to like her.
Just waiting for the right moment for her to step out of her shell. That would be the ultimate 'wow' for her tutor Eunice. It's like a butterfly coming out of it's cocoon after much coaxing! Proud mother hen moment! :)

Parting is inevitable. I have no goodbye-regrets because I know I cherished every Thursday night with them.

Each of them brought to me something I must learn, even though I was technically their teacher.

Knowing them and having the privilege to tutor them helped me grow. Such are the experience and memories I will cherish very closely to my heart.

God please take care of all my friends, my equals at Sunbeams; while I'm gone.

Bless them, each and every one of them, so much.

xx,
Che che Elena3/11/2011

29th Oct 2011.

2011-10-31T02:57:00.000-07:00

The bitter-sweet moment when charity dinner was over.

I will blog about this soon. :)

Battle of the Sexes.

2011-10-19T00:00:00.000-07:00

You know you hear all sorts of funny quotes like

"The man is a domesticated animal which, if treated with firmness and kindness, can be trained to do most things."

"Save the males!"

"Sure God created man before woman. But then you always make a rough draft before the final masterpiece. "

"They call it PMS because Mad Cow Disease was already taken."

"There are three ways to spread news: telegram, television, and tellawoman."

"She's a brilliant brunette with many dumb blonde moments."

Sound like child play? Yes to me too.
Until today, my sister refers to my brothers' room as 'dirty smelly room';
their bed as 'dirty smelly bed';
their toilet as 'dirty smelly toilet'.
Which all have pretty solid factual backing if you'd consider it.

With that said, my brothers also laugh at my coordination skills. Or the lack of it.
They play pranks on me all the time because they have no pity for my poor nerves! :(
Laughing at my driving, never in the car though. In the car, they're my captive audience. >:)

One things for sure, if there are there are differences, there will be comparison and stereotypes.
Because along with our differences we bring along conflict.

As we progress deeper into the maze of life, attraction starts to come into play. This is when we trade in gut deep hatred and being sworn nemesis; for butterflies in the stomach and 'that swoony feeling'.

It is strange, but entirely natural.

The need to procreate is a carnal one.

Men and women need each other for a number of reasons :

1) Procreation ; genetic variation

Born into this world to live a life of the connected person.

It's nothing to shy away from. Sex is important for the survival of the species. When Noah packed all the animals into the ark, he didn't forget his daughters-in-law. Now don't give me all sorts of scientific shiz like how women can actually genetically switch on the genes on a piece of their skin, back to their totipotent state; induce the gene to differentiate into a sperm, and THEN fertilise her own egg with the sperm.

Forget the fact that the idea in itself is so weird, if it were truly possible (in the next millennium or so) for humans to reproduce asexually, think of how genetically left behind we would be. Think of the shrinking gene pool if an egg with gene set (a) fuses with a sperm of gene set (a) again. An (a)² generation of angry feminists?

There is a reason why incest is generally discouraged, and it's simply because the genes are too similar to promote healthy genetic variation. The lack of genetic variation will set the human race behind from all aspects. Health : we can't develop immunity properly; Adaptation to abiotic factors : we can't grow enough fats, fast enough to shield us from the cold, can't produce enough skin pigment to protect us from harmful UV rays; Brain development : caught at a very awkward (and unintelligent) genetic dead-end. So guys, on behalf of the girls, I thank you for your sperm. I hope you'll thank us girls for our eggs, in return.

2) Different biological make-up ; bringing different cards to the table

Who's the head of the house now?

At some point in life, we would have to ask ourselves important questions such as, why men and women are prone to different mental health problems, why some drugs work well for one sex but have little effect on the other, why chronic pain tends to affect women more than men.The answers point to none other than : Men and women are of different biological make-up.

Our anatomical differences are a mere reflection of how different we really are deep inside. Testosterone levels, oestrogen levels. Even our very 'xy' and 'xx' chromosomes play a very determining factor in switching on and off different genes, activating different things like hair distribution, hormonal levels, and even proneness to diseases. So some stereotypes are true.

If men and women can react differently to different medical drugs, they certainly can react differently to situations. Joan of Arc led the French army to many important victories. Gandhi made famous peaceful hunger strikes. We get so caught up in the battle of the sexes that we forget that men have a soft side and women have a rough side; and worst still, both are afraid to admit this to their own sex half the time. So as different individuals from 2 different genders, we all have different cards to bring to the table. And as far as diversity is concerned, the more the merrier. We want a holistic approach to things after all.

Which brings me with point number 3:

3) Check and balance of the sexes

It's simple. Economics wise, women need money and rich men need expenditure. Girls are attracted to men who can provide security and comfort. And before you feminist pick up stones to stone me, this is just my two cents worth because I am, attracted to a bread-winning man, and so do most females in general. It's not to say I want to be pampered that way for the rest of my married life. Of course I would want to contribute to the bread-winning aspect of my household! But it's something in a man who's accountable towards his family that is really..sexy.

And men want..sex, and healthy offspring. Okay fine that's a little truistic. Women want sex and healthy offspring too. I'm sure Eve found Adam hot and that's why she gave him many babies. Men want a mother for his children and a beautiful life-long companion--which is what women can provide! It in no way implies that a woman needs to be the bread maker only. She can very well win bread for her family as well. Simply put, there is a void space in a man's heart that can only be filled by a woman. Thus, check and balance.

Everyone loves a romantic evening. But who's footing the bill?

Recently in Malaysia, there was a big uproar about the establishment of an Obedient Wives Club, which sought to address the problem of unhappy marriages and disloyal husbands in the Muslim community. Though their intentions were noble, many Malaysians became angry at the movement because created an illusion of pointed fingers at women as the main reason for failing marriage institutions.

The solution included tips and workshops of how to turn wives into sexual prowesses in the bedroom, how to behave in front of their husbands to best please them, all in the name of a successful marriage. There was even a book published by Malaysia’s Obedient Wives Club urging husbands in polygamous marriages to engage in group sex with their wives. This movement is "a very backward, narrow way of presenting women’s role" quoting Maria Chin Abdullah, executive director of the women’s advocacy group Empower; women should not be the only one to shoulder the blame for failing marriages.

Men should in return, shoulder equally as much burden as the women to be loyal to their spouses. A good friend of mine once joked that to even out the stakes, we should introduce a Malaysia's Loyal Husbands Association. A healthy check and balance must be in place to ensure equality for both genders. If a husband is disloyal, then the Loyal Husbands Association should ensure that he reflects well on his wrongdoing as much as it is 'required' of the women to reflect on her possible faults.

Same goes with meritocracy. If a woman is good and capable of the job, she should have the job. After all, she's the best candidate available; and vice versa.
If sanitary pads are being subsidised by the government then they should consider subsidising facial shaving equipment as well. :)

One things for sure, if we want our world to be colourful and peaceful at the same time, we have to embrace our differences and uphold equality and fair play in our lives. Let the past go. We look towards a future where men and women live together in a world where not all women are horrible drivers, and not all men are sex-maniacs.

Mutual acceptance is key.

Cheers! :)

Two sides of a coin -- Beware the crafty woman.

2011-10-18T06:30:00.000-07:00

Always a woman - Billy Joel.

She can kill with a smile
She can wound with her eyes
She can ruin your faith with her casual lies
And she only reveals what she wants you to see
She hides like a child,
But she's always a woman to me

She can lead you to love
She can take you or leave you
She can ask for the truth
But she'll never believe you
And she'll take what you give her, as long as it's free
Yeah, she steals like a thief
But she's always a woman to me

Oh, she takes care of herself
She can wait if she wants
She's ahead of her time
Oh, and she never gives out
And she never gives in
She just changes her mind

And she'll promise you more
Than the Garden of Eden
Then she'll carelessly cut you
And laugh while you're bleedin'
But she'll bring out the best
And the worst you can be
Blame it all on yourself
Cause she's always a woman to me.

Oh, she takes care of herself
She can wait if she wants
She's ahead of her time
Oh, and she never gives out
And she never gives in
She just changes her mind

She is frequently kind
And she's suddenly cruel
She can do as she pleases
She's nobody's fool
And she can't be convicted
She's earned her degree
And the most she will do
Is throw shadows at you
But she's always a woman to me

Read the lyrics and you'll soon realise that Billy Joel is singing about the most cunning, most cruel, most selfish, most deceitful woman in any known history. I shocked myself by listening carefully to the lyrics!

Yet she's still a woman to him. And he still loves her.

By the way, you guys of virtue out there, don't emulate him. It's just a song. I don't think he means it.

Don't compromise your happiness for someone less than worthy of your love.

Keep searching if you haven't found her. Your woman of virtue is out there, don't be put off by the many extreme examples of my gender.

ps, Billy Joel you make music like no other! :)

Scratch that itch

2011-10-12T05:12:00.000-07:00

I own a lot of scratched items.

Scratched up sony walkman, scratched 5 year old cell phone, scratched car, scratched photos, scratched cards, and even scratched legs.

Thing is, I don't quite remember how they got scratched.

I admit to my carelessness if it truly were the case.Despite a thousand and one reasons I can fabricate to explain the scratch, I soon realize that as long as we continue to exist, scratches in our lives are inevitable.

To deepen the context, the worst form of 'scratches' out there happen to the abstract human heart and arbitrary emotions.

Matthew 6:26 Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow
or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father
feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they?

A hurtful word, a painful memory; countless let-downs and unfulfilled dreams.

I believe that our world is lacking in so many things but broken hearts.

Then again, we live in an imperfect, broken world that was never destined to be scratch-proof.

To all the weary broken hearts out there, your cries in agony were not in vain. Someone heard you and is still listening. Believe me when I say that there is a Perfect Maker who heals, and will never hesitate to bind up our wounds.

If only we'd let Him.

As for myself, I pray to rest in Jesus' love, today and forever more.

Like a boss.

2011-10-05T08:41:00.000-07:00

Hike for Freedom 2011

This post is dedicated to the girl
who physically abuses me during LAN class, (don't deny I'll call the bomba to escort you away, woman);
who amazes me with her creativity, innovativeness and zest for life;
who cried tears of happiness with me;
who calls me priti wanita;
who laughs at my gullibility when (she's supposed to defend and comfort me!) I get pranked;
who tells me to put my foot down when I really should;
who tells me in my face to pick my battles;
who thanks me for our friendship (I know right, what a crazy nut!);
who stayed up all night with me to talk;
who is half monster, half dreamer, half mother, half aunty, half sakai, half Audrey Hepburn;
who told me that we must stand by each other through college, which has by far been the most challenging for the both of us;
who prays for me and encourages me to journal;
who constantly encourages me with our sister-in-Christ moments in college;
who's a woman of her word;
who's one heck of a go-getter, self driven, passionate and determined woman.

You know the past months have been tough.

In the absence of stress balls, I hope my humble but available ears have helped chip away whatever small amounts of stress it was capable of chipping. I am honored by the fact that despite your hectic circumstances, you still find the time to keep me updated on what's going on at your end.

Crying together has never been more meaningful.

Just recapping one of our super lol moments in college. Let's run through the memory together.

Ry : "Elle can you pray for me?"
El : "Sure thing! Let's go outside."

*Ry and I exits class via back door, walking into an unlit alley.

El : "This seems private enough. Shall we?"
Ry : "Okay."

*both girls hold hands, heads bowed.

*SUDDENLY, light fills the alley.

Guys : "Er.. what are you girls doing?"

*Ry and I open our eyes to the puzzled/horrified/excited faces of our male college counterparts, seeing two girls, standing in close proximity, holding hands, in a dark, unlit back alley.
O_______O
Dropped hands immediately.
Ry started laughing hysterically, Elle pathetically trying to explain the situation to the guys.

Of all the friendship moments we share, Ry; one simply HAD to be something to do with suspected lesbianism. Good job, Ry. Good job. Thankssss.

After Ry had gotten a grip from her hysterical laughing. We made our way to the library for more 'privacy', or so we thought. For once I felt what it was like to be in the shoes of a secret lover hunting for a private corner in a library. Nothing could have been more awkward for me. The things I do for you, Ry.

Finally, we decided that no place was private in a public library. So we turned 2 chairs together, sat down, and held hands. Que sera sera whatever people will think.

Le sigh.

I wish the best for you, Ry. No one can steal away the plans God has for you. After knowing you for so many years, we've seen each other in both our pretty and our uglies. We know each other well enough to write each other's obituaries. We're as sensitive to each other like coral and sea water temperature.

You, my dear, have this one of a kind form of determination to pick yourself up from the floor, dust the dust off your butt and carry on. You and I both know what you've been through, the bitter-sweet feeling of seeing God open and shut doors in our lives. In your own words to me, you have no choice but to move forward, despite the circumstances. I know you. Retreat is not in your vocabulary. EVEN IF you were forced to retreat, you'll say that you're advancing, in a different direction.

PAWS Outdoor Event May 2011

We came a long way, priti wanita. I have this ready reservoir of memories of you and I. From day 1 in form 3 when we first spoke after school by the faithful old school gate. Growing up together in CF. SPM. CF Camp. Talking about relationships. About God-fearing men, plucking rambutans for Miss Yeo. Beatles and Bible Knowledge. Prom. Driving lessons! Sleepovers. CF outings. And now, college. Big girls! Classes. Uni applications. Stress. Stress some more. Miracles and breakthroughs! Noticing guys. Volunteer work. Studies. Hike for freedom (so proud of you, no easy feat.)

...and the list goes on.

I'm so glad, and so blessed, to have such a pig-headed, honest, generous, loving, crazy, visionary; best friend like you. See? I keep singing your praises, no wonder people think I'm lesbian. -_____-

But seriously, I am so excited to see how the future unfolds for you.

Let's trust God together on this.

Proud of you la woman. Proud of you now, proud of you in time to come.

ps, cheers to God-fearing men who will catch our eyes and heart alike. When you get married. I am going to tell your husband, that you are the BEST, PRETTIEST and SMARTEST GIRL in the WHOLE WORLD. And how he was THIS CLOSE to loosing you to an anti-pinkfluffyunicorns-marriage-stage-of-your-life that you are in now. I will cry buckets when you get married. Just.. don't call me to break the good news when I'm in surgery. I will cut the patient's vitals out of pure joy.

Ry-Ann is a woman full of wisdom. She is as wise as King Solomon himself (herself), riches, health and honor chase after her because they are all after effects of the God-given wisdom she possess.

If that's the woman you want to be, Ry, I pray that God will continue to mould you to become that virtuous woman of God.

All for His glory, Amen.

Let's finish the race together.

Sincerely.
Your Elle-priti wanita-Ong

Mama's girl.

2011-10-04T20:28:00.000-07:00

Everyday, a college student looks forward to ~~an interesting day of back-to-back 8 hour lectures~~ lunch.

You don't need to be a professor to notice how college students 'high school musical' out of the room at 12pm. Even the machoest of guys could be seen walking with a skip in their step. The girls too, feeling each other's rumbling bellies, giggling senselessly at each other.

"Oh I think I felt a kick!"

"Naww, that's my rumbling belly!"

"Ehehehehehehe!" [together]

For me, I have a loving mum, bless her soul; who packs me lunch almost every day of the week.

Don't be jealous, friends! They look something like this:

Sometimes I have pork.

Sometimes I have chicken

Once I even had this. Yes my classmates laughed at me.

Sometimes I leave too early in the morning that she doesn't have the time to put together something for me. On such days, I feel the strange emptiness of my rug sack, and a bigger vortex in my heart. No, I exaggerate. :) I understand how busy she is, and I really don't want to cause her additional burden. Although I feel her love with every meal she prepares, the meals are just the translation of her deep love for me. That underlying love transcends all actions. And as a daughter, I have always made it a point to see and acknowledge her love and sacrifice in all that she does. Truly I look forward to the day when I am independent enough to show my appreciation to her on a more substantial level. As for today, I am but her little girl-girl.

I am a well nourished baby. Food-wise, and love-wise. :)

Who Says?

2011-10-01T18:37:00.001-07:00

People think I'm a very floral kind of person..

I think so too. :)

But come to think of it, floral ON floral is kind of sickening.

I loaf you very much!

2011-10-01T06:29:00.001-07:00

TOO CUTE!!

CUTE in Mandarin = 可爱

可爱 = 可怜没人爱

Pugs 太可爱了。

16th August.

2011-08-22T03:30:00.000-07:00

To Those I Love and Those Who Love Me

When I am gone, release me, let go. I have so many things to see and do. You mustn't tie yourself to me with tears, be happy that we had so many years.

I gave you my love, you can only guess how much you gave to me in happiness. I thank you for the love you each have shown, but now it's time I traveled on alone.

So grieve a while for me if you must, then let your grief be comforted by trust. It's only for a while that we must part, so keep the memories within your heart. I won't be far away, for life goes on.

So if you need me, call, and I will come. Though you can't see or touch me, I'll be near.

And if you listen with your heart, you'll hear all of my love around you soft and clear.

And then, when you must come this way, I'll greet you with a smile, and say "Welcome Home."

- Author Unknown

Good bye Uncle Chia, thanks for all the joy and laughter. Though I sometimes feel my heart disintegrating in grief of loosing you, you'll always be in my heart.

Till we meet again in paradise.

Until then, I miss you. And, try not to make God laugh too much, okay. :)

Summer days.

2011-08-10T08:46:00.000-07:00

Some days, like today. I sit back, relax and listen to my brother playing the saxophone.
And I'm loving every bit of it.

My boy has talent! Must be because of his sister's DNA. :)
The talent part is true although I'm quite shy to tell him this face to face. But the DNA part! I always rub in his face. Hahaha.

These few nights my brothers had to bunk in the bedroom next to mine because the air-con in their room ain't spewing out cool air. And if you're Malaysian, you would know about the heat, puteri lilin or not.

When the heat sets in --> mosquitoes breed like crazy --> we become mosquito's happy meal.

That's the thing about the spare room. I don't know why, but those annoying 6 legged blood suckers always manage to wiggle their way in from the windows.

On most days, the boys come home very tired from school so they sleep almost instantly as their heads touch the pillow.

With bug spray in one hand and another hand scratching my itchy body, I'm at war with the mosquitoes every night. Guarding my sleeping beauties.

Then I remember those days when I was little and my dad used to come into my room in the middle of the night to hunt for mosquitoes. In a groggy state I would peep at him through my heavy lids. Those days it was the 'in' thing to own a 'mosquito bat' for the convenience of fellow Malaysians to reinact Lee Chong Wei's latest smash stunt. Swoosh. Swing. Zaap.

Anyway, about my dad, I may not have realised it then, but I certainly do now. It was yet another act of love from my dad to me. Its not easy to wake up in the wee hours of the morning to hunt for mosquitoes. Most people would rather salvage as much precious sleep as they possibly can!

My dad must have been tired. But he never failed to come into my room every night, and forgo his own good night's worth of sleep for my good night's worth of sleep.

The thing about me, like a pig, I treasure my sleep A LOT. I have never pulled off an all-nighter in all of my life. Ask my friends. I can never keep awake past 3am at sleepovers. It's wired in my DNA.

Staying up is tough. Staying up to hunt for mosquitoes is even tougher.

But where there's a will, there's a way.

To me, its a sacrifice worth making. Not just because I get to paint my brothers' toenails with hot pink nail polish while they're subconscious.

But more because seeing the goofy smiles on their faces while they're asleep (must be because they're dreaming of me) makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside. :)

Its a sense of fulfillment to me.

Why I do not condone premarital sex.

2011-06-27T07:58:00.000-07:00

Read an issue of my college's magazine today and stumbled upon a survey conducted amongst my peers regarding premarital sex. Some people did not agree with it at all, among those who disagreed did not mind if others around them practiced it either; some people agreed with it wholeheartedly, and even a majority believed that it is even more tolerable if premarital sex is conducted safely.

Though I did not participate in the survey, I must say that I fall into the category of no premarital sex and I will do my best to advice my friends to abstain as well. But even so, I respect their right to choose the way to live their lives, and if they so choose to make such a lifestyle choice, it was an informed choice.

Been giving much thought to why some people who although disagree with premarital sex, find sex between engaged couples completely acceptable, if not a grey area. Engagement is as close as it comes to marriage, which tends to fool us into thinking that it is any different from premarital sex. Which makes me wonder, why are people so eager to consummate their marriage even before it can be called a marriage in both the eyes of the law and more importantly God.

To the argument of engagement being the closest things to marriage, with the basis one does not condone premarital sex.
1) Yes, engagement prior to marriage is a common practice of our society. However, we cannot set aside the fact that the 'engaged' status does not insure marriage. The commitment of an engagement cannot be likened to the commitment listed in the wedding vows of marriage. Sure it amounts to it. But given the reality that even marriages fail, engagements can never assume the role of an alibi. From here, we can further analyze the situation to,
i) a called off engagement
You have given yourself away premaritally, and you're neither married nor engaged. Most of the time there would be guilt because one of the partner was no able to resist the siren call of sex during the dating years. (this is with retrospect to engagement still regarded as being part of courtship) Girls, imagine how you would feel if the guy you're marrying had slept around with dozens of girls before he met you, the supposed 'right one'. What makes you think you would be the 'last one'? If sex meant nothing to him then, what makes you think that it'll magically mean the world to him now? You don't get married believing you can change the person. It's difficult and rarely the case. Guys, imagine the same. Did she ever treasure or respect her body to begin with? Was it right for her to have responded to every guy that caught her interest in such a free and physical manner? Was she ever with a child? When interacting with anyone of the opposite sex, we should always bear in mind, hey, he is someone's husband, she is someone's wife. If you value sex, don't disvalue it by giving it to any Tom, Dick and Harry, or Pam, Lynn and Sally. Give it to the someone who has made a lifelong commitment to you, your spouse.
ii) an engagement that eventually evolved into a full fledge matrimony
Complications such as an edged off delight that was supposed to come from marital sex because of the lack of exclusivity, in other words, sex became an old hat in a new marriage because it wasn't a new practice to the new couple. I personally understand this better when I remember that God designed sex for married couples to heighten their union and of course, for babies! (we must never forget the babies) We are removing the exclusivity of sex for marriage. Marriage is not an outdated institution so we shouldn't be preaching things that will only become loopholes for people to overlook the element of commitment. What I'm trying to say here is, the aim of courtship should ultimately be gearing a couple towards marriage, a lifelong commitment. Engagement is still part of courtship. If we start thinking it's okay for unmarried people to have sex just because, well they love each other a lot, we might as well abolish laws that only allow married couples to buy couples insurance and buy houses together, as a married couple; if people die unmarried, all their money and property should go to their fiancees(if any) first instead of their family, because well, they were in every way a married couple, living and sleeping together, all they lack is that signed piece of legal document. See how its a slippery slope? See how the law is undermined? What a bad precedence. All because we let our physical feelings stop us from drawing the line.

2) On a second level, if an engaged couple were to stand for the argument that well, they're so close to getting married anyway, no harm in savoring the fruits of marriage before the vows; Can't it wait? Are we really such impulsive, desire-driven beings? Because sex is something we must have immediately upon craving like fast food? By this ground of argument, it is henceforth questionable whether it was love or lust that dominated the relationship all this while, for love can always wait to give, lust can never wait to take. Love is also being unpossessive, surely this means sex can wait, for the urge to have premarital sex is an urge to awaken love before it's time, to steal a priviledge that belonged to the intimacy of marriage.

Sex between engaged couples IS undoubtedly fornication because it is an illicit sexual misdemeanor performed by 2 single parties outside the commitment of marriage. I believe that when couples get physically intimate, they open themselves to temptation as It fuels their mind with sexual thoughts and scenes. And the Bible did mention that adultery committed in the mind is the same as adultery committed in the flesh. So the only God-approved way is to consummate this passion on the marriage bed.

As someone who's still in her teens, I sure have quite a lot to say (off the cuff too) when it comes to my values and principles. I also do not doubt that many people would regard my views as conservative, age old, and even very 'bozo' like. But if you're someone like me, who seeks for more than just sweet little nothings and physical intimacy in a relationship, I challenge you to think about your values. Do not, in all passiveness, follow the crowd. Find out why you stand for what you stand for. So what if we're young, we should never under underestimate our potential to understand, to be wise and mature beyond our years.

The first step is as simple as to ask questions.

Matthew 7:7-8
7 “Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. 8 For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened."

Premarital sex is a no from me, because it's roots are lust. I believe that a certain level of self-control should be practiced that lust doesn't become the master of us.

With that being said, I also look forward to the day when I'll be able to tell my husband that I'm giving him something that I've never given anyone before, my purity, emotional and physical, both which I have guarded very jealously. That would be the day I will finally love and be loved by my husband freely without a speck of hindrance.

Of Filiality.

2011-06-26T09:21:00.000-07:00

I know it's cliche to the bone to say this, but I'm itching so much to declare my love for my parents. Some people may say, "Eh don't talk so much lah, go and walk the talk!" fair enough! I do make it a serious point to be a filial daughter. And I don't mean it in a blow horn way! I live up to my end of the deal. From performing housework to asking them for permission prior leaving the house to being obedient, polite and respectful. And Ialways make it a point to remember and be thankful for them in everything I do.

Perhaps I'm also very blessed to have never really experience the phase of teenage rebellion in my life. Sure we have had our ups and downs, but it was never enough to trigger the red flag, or blow up a nerve. It's a lot of give and take. My actions are not limitless, my boundaries are in place, and my parents do see to the fact I abide by them; yet I wouldn't say that my wings are clipped, my freedom hobbled, because I have a lot of liberty of making decisions by myself, for myself (with their consultation of course, and even this step wasn't mandatory).

It has always been my dream to reach a point in life where I am finally able to provide for my parents and grandparents. Eldest child syndrome, maybe? I may even be likened to a fool when I tell people that I feel exactly like a burden to my parents. I'm this space occupying, Oxygen inhaling, noise making, high maintenance, semi educated, mitosis-undergoing organism who has dreams (rather expensive ones to cater for too).

Fine, I'll admit to one use. I do bring in a little sum of revenue annually because of Chinese New Year, but as if my parents aren't giving out red packets to other kids too! :(

With all that I am today, I give thanks to God for blessing me with parents who support me physically when I'm sick, emotionally when I'm down, spiritually when I'm feeling dry, monetarily for my education and other needs. They've always been there, and deep inside I know that they'll continue to be there for me.

Today, I can bless others because I have been blessed by them. I can fetch my friends and I to the orphanage to teach the orphans there because I can drive, and hey, I have a car, thanks to them. I can entertain other people and myself with music because, hey, they sent me for classes. Think I'm nice? I have my parents to thank for disciplining me, coaxing the compassionate heart out of me towards others. Think I'm helpful? I've been brought up to be sensitive and observant towards the needs of others, and henceforth, take initiative to make life easier for others.

Even in terms of my Christian growth, my parents have been that pivotal source of guidance to encourage and urge me to search for truth, to walk closely with God, to have knocked the fear of God into me since young, to have prayed with me and for me.

Sure their love is imperfect. Aren't we all imperfect beings to begin with? Their imperfections added a human touch to their parenting.

For everything that they have been to and done for me, I don't want to be just a carrier of their DNA. I would gladly carry the groceries for them, carry their financial burden, carry the dry clothes in, carry their hopes for me, carry their legacy.

The bible tells me to honor my parents. Being expressive of my gratitude and appreciation towards all the work they have done to shape me into the person that I am today, is the least I can do to honor them.

The Prank

2011-05-31T05:18:00.000-07:00

Today I went out with my friends Karmen and Eunice for a lunch + movie + ice cream, the typical girl hang out routine.

It was a joyful day, here are the reasons as to why :
1) I found a parking spot within 10 minutes of my arrival

2) I successfully executed a reverse park with one swift motion

(First time ever since I got my license!)

3) Had tonnes of fun with my bubbly friends Eunice and Karmen :)

4) Watched KUNG FU PANDA 2!

5) Had Baskin Robbins with Eunice and Karmen!

6) Went to MPH and spent a good 1 hour reading.

I had it going for me. It was a laid back, lovely Tuesday.

Then came the time for me to leave the mall to go home. Along the way, I was to pick Daniel up from tuition class. No problem. I love being their chauffeur! Especially when they're at the mercy of my driving. >:)

Paid for my ticket and made my way to the car ever so cautiously.

I learnt this self defence technique from Terry from one of my Easter Choir Practices. To hold your car key in your hand in such a way the key pokes out from your fingers like wolverine's claws, so in case someone decides to be 'funny' with you, you'll be inflicting enough pain on him to escape. Not to mention we were advised to aim at the tender tissues eg, the eyes or nose.

So imagine Elena clutching her hand bag closely to her body, shifting it from arm to arm depending on the direction of traffic; while her good hand clutches her 'make shift' weapon. I've entered mission mode. My family calls me paranoid, but I believe that every girl owes it to herself to take due precautionary measures to ensure her safety at all times, MORE SOEVER if she's walking UNACCOMPANIED, in a CAR PARK, the perfect setting for horror movies.

Better safe than sorry, really.

I made my way to the car and got into it swiftly. My hand flew to the locks primitively.

Safe. Phew.

I unlocked my steering, started the car and shifted into drive. Just as I was about to leave, I saw it.

This curious piece of flyer on my wind shield.

Was I tempted to get down of the car to get it? OF COURSE NOT. I've heard of too many horror stories of how people get tricked out of their cars by 'evil flyer ploys', thank you very much. So I drove on, made my way out, right into the welcoming embrace of a traffic jam.

Great. But there was this kind man who gave way to me at a junction so that was a plus point to my day. I continued my journey to scoop princess Danielle up from tuition.

While seemed like forever in the jam gave me time to observe the flyer on my wind screen.

I realised that it wasn't your average 'promotional flyer'. Instead, it was a scribbled note with such poor penmanship only the blind would appreciate. With much squinting, I made sense of the words in mirror image.

"KAMI DATANG JUMPA KAMU..."

I COULDN'T SEE THE REST BUT IT WAS ENOUGH TO MAKE ME NERVOUS.

Nevertheless I drove carefully. And as I drove I muttered a prayer, praying that God would send a rushing wind to blow that dreadful piece of parchment out my sight.

Finally I reached Mr Phang's house. Before Daniel could get into the car I waved and pointed frantically at the note on my wind shield, gesturing for him to take it away. Instead he took it in. The worst time for a miscommunication.

As I drove off, he read the note and his expression widened. Showing it to me, the full note read:

"KAMI DATANG JUMPA KAMU PRITI WANITA"

exhibit 1 :

Now we're talking edgy! I let out a nervous laugh, which sounded more like a whimper, from an animal at the brink of extinction. Daniel kept telling me to keep my eyes on the road!
HOW IS THAT BEING RELEVANT AT ALL!

Then Daniel himself started freaking out which really fueled my anguish!
(We usually converse in Mandarin when were scared or when we're in an unfavorable situation)

大牛 : "姐...要去报警吗???"
Daniel : "Che .. should we report this to the police?"

我 : "去报也没用啦! 不够 'clue' 怎样去报?"
Me : "It would be useless even if we were to report to them! We have barely enough clues to report nuts!"

大牛 : "这里有人签名!这样奇怪的, 它根本不像'signature'.."
Daniel : "They left their signature here!Wait a minute, it's so weird, doesn't look like a signature at all.."

我 : "给我看!..天哪!！是我们的地址!啊!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"
Me : "Let me have a look!..WHAT THE GORILLA!! IT'S OUR ADDRESS!!AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!"

大牛 : "啊!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 他们跟我们回家怎么办?!?!"
Daniel : "AAHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!! What if they follow us home?!?!"

我 : "啊!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!你问我, 我问谁??!"
Me : "AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!YOU'RE ASKING ME???! HOW WOULD I KNOW WHAT TO DO???!"

And we both went hysterical in my car in the middle of the rush hour jam.

He started asking me how did I find the paper. I explained the whole story to him in great detail, starting from the happier, earlier parts of my day to when things started going downhill.

Then I felt something change within me. I wasn't going to feel sorry for myself. The turning point came when I started ranting about how I plan to start muay thai lessons with Abhi right away to build up my self defence; how i was never going to drive alone at night, and even if i do, i will bring my big rottweiler along in the car; how I would really appreciate a swiss army knife for my birthday..

I surprised myself by how quickly I snapped out from my state of anxiety to angry feminist mode. Because quite honestly, would I ever let a bunch of good for nothing blokes ruin my right to a peaceful life? I think NOT! I could feel the adrenalin (and estrogen) building up..I felt .. empowered!

Reached home safely. I marched into the house with that wretched piece of paper in my hand, and furiously reported the incident to my mum.

I wished I did that! Because what I did was quite the contrary.

The truth was that I hugged my mum and told her I had a very bad day, showing her the paper as evidence. :'( I told her I didn't know if I could ever bring myself to set foot outside the comfort of my nest until I was 40.

My mum 'acted' surprised.

And there and then in the kitchen, they told me the truth.

Turns out my mum and my brothers went to the mall that very afternoon and out of sheer coincidence, parked right opposite my car. Knowing very well I'm a girl who's vigilant (this sounds much better than paranoid, I mean, why shoot myself in the foot right?) They decided to feign the role of a stalker, or in hokkein, 'PAI LANG'; to add 'excitement' to my life.

For a split second, I stood still, my eyes closed, processing the truth that was presented to me. The next thing I knew when I opened my eyes, I was hitting my brothers with my handbag in a barbaric fashion, with the fury of a 6.5 earthquake on the richter scale.

I must admit, it wasn't the most graceful moment of my life. But hell hath no fury like a woman who's been pranked by her own flesh and blood!!

AND THEN I WAS TOLD OF THE WORST. MUM WAS THE MASTERMIND BEHIND THIS!

I turned around, looked her in the eye, raised my hand..

and laid it on my heart,

and thought to myself...

you never bite the hand that feeds you. I was hungry! She prepared my dinner! I gave her a hug. :)

Epilogue :
WELL I CERTAINLY HOPE THAT YOU'RE HAPPY DANIEL AND JOSHUA!
You should be ever grateful to have me as your elder sister, because HONESTLY, the very fact that God has preserved my sanity until this very day proves that He helped me develop a bunion-like resilience towards your endless pranks and bully,

which undoubtedly, makes this PRITI WANITA extremely qualified to write a book entitled :

"Finding liberation in the clouds of misfortune - Life and Times of Elena Ong".

A bond unlike any other - DJ Debaters.

2011-05-06T22:27:00.000-07:00

You know one thing that differentiates debate from all other verbal sports would be the essence of teamwork. Debating is never a one man show. Together with your teammates, you brainstorm for an air tight case, you constantly remind yourself to think why, dig deeper, think harder, form logical and reasonable analysis and many other means of mental torture and strain. Unless of course you're born with this deep thirst of knowledge and that you read dictionaries for fun to quench your undying thirst, then perhaps the phrase above doesn't accurately describe you.

One really wise man (yes he's also a debater) once told me,

"Great debaters are not born."

Well Hallelujah for that! Haha. Not everyone is born a debating prodigy. There is hope for all! :)

Everyone has to start off somewhere, inter class and then to inter school! Now debating is no walk in the park. For every DJ Debater, the day you choose to sign up for an inter school competition is the day you sign away your regular sleeping pattern, teacher's pet identity, perfect schooling attendance and not to mention, your narrow-mindedness. Though at this point, it seems that we're on the losing end when we join debate, our turning point comes when we find great friends in one another, we grow attached to our seniors, we gain a third parent in our teachers.

Naturally as a debater you tend to spend a lot of time with your teammates. For DJ debaters, time is equally spread out (most of the time) if not slightly biased towards playing instead of really practicing and brainstorming. Confessing isn't difficult when it is true. Many nights watching "Who's line" together, sleepover filled with boy talks (for girls) and vice versa for guys, watching Inception together 1m away from the TV screen, going out for celebratory dinner (COMPULSORY whether or not we won the tournament!), cracking jokes, name calling, sleepovers, movies, the joys of haggling with our debating skills... we are like your residential neighborhood gangstas. And yet still manage to pull off straight As in SPM, which totally serves to prove that studying smart beats studying hard hands down, anyday. :)

With all that's been said, what makes our bond special, what glues us all together is our strong junior-senior relationship. The initiative for ex-debating seniors to come back to coach the juniors, the respect the juniors have for our seniors, all play important roles in their right in keeping DJ's debating culture on its toes.

Not too long ago, I was a junior. I really looked up to my debating seniors. But credit where its due, they were indeed, good role models, worthy of exemplifying. They totally fall under the category of decent, outgoing and outstanding individuals, who's wisdom shines through like a beacon in the bay of the lack of it . John and Andrew, to name a few both played very important roles in terms of my development in the realm of debate. Without them, I would probably be in a stage of stunted mental growth.

With everyone of them studying overseas now, the baton fell quite immediately and naturally into the hands of my batch of debaters - Sophia, Siew, Leannz, Abhi and I. No written contract, no deal. We had to step up from the crazy playful juniors we once were (still are :P) to fill in the shoes as coaches and trainers to people whom we debated alongside and also sparred against in highschool - our juniors.

JENG JENG JENG :

Sophie and I taking them out for a treat at Mcds after Octo and Quarterfinals. :)

Yes, what began as 'coaching' slowly developed into something along the lines of 'motherhood'. Its true! I went by the name, Mama Ele. :) Quite fond of the name, actually, hehe. Siew and Soph are no longer in college, so they naturally have more time to train our babies than the rest of us. Siew would make her way to school as often as she could to run through motions with them. Soph as well. Since I have classes in almost everyday, I frequent their morning brainstorming sessions less often, and usually drop by in the afternoon to help out. We nicked named our juniors our 'babies' not because we think any less of them, we are indeed self-professed novices, humbly put. :P Its just this IMMENSE FEELING OF PRIDE that is SO OVERWHELMING, not just when they're taking the stage, mind you, but when we have BREAK THROUGHs in our brainstorming session, when we can see them IMPROVING right in front of our very eyes. It doesn't get better than that, really. You don't just feel like a big mommah, you ARE a big mommah. I'm not just saying haha.

All those days of preparation

which were 70% playtime;

25% work;

and 5% heat lost to the surrounding. :)

the prelims, octos, quarters and semis came and left.

and the finals came.

Those few days prior to the finals were such nerve-wrecking moments for the seniors and I. Of course you don't go around showing such (potentially) negative emotions to your babies. Choi dai kah lei si.

Instead, you bite hard on your lips and smile like a retard to them, and assure them that it's all gonna be alright. (And then turn around and scream into your pillow/into a phonecall with another senior in the privacy of your room). In fact this scene is not exclusive to the finals, but for every debate as well. You will feel butterflies, as a coach. NOW WE UNDERSTAND HOW OUR COACHES FELT.

FINALS CAME AND LEFT. OUR BABIES WON! The sense of pride swells up again. The thing is, before results were released, we seniors looked at each other, and told ourselves that whatever the outcome, we were going to get teary, no onions needed. As the tension built up, for a brief moment, we saw life from a different light and especially through the eyes of a parent.

We understood why all parents hope so much for the best for their children. Instead of believing that it's only based on the parents' own selfish ambitions of stuffing unfulfilled dreams down the 'life throats' of their children; we saw that, as parents, you know the amount of effort your kids had put in, and when the time comes for that effort to pay off, we really want that achievement on behalf of our kids SIMPLY BECAUSE they truly deserve it.

So seeing our babies on the stage! We gave them a standing ovation. Every single one of the juniors have worked so hard for this, truly they deserved it.

It was great to witness the reaping of what was once sowed.

It’s not about the win, because as seniors, it was certain that we would be proud of all of them, just as a parent would be for their kid.

We love both teams equally, because

BOTH TEAMS broke top 16 in the competition,

BOTH TEAMS made it through the Octofinals,

BOTH TEAMS have provided great competition for the progression of this debate competition,

BOTH TEAMS have always been there for one another, (be it in terms of sparring or brainstorming)

BOTH TEAMS prayed together before debating,

BOTH TEAMS made us proud.

So here's a shout out to all my babies!

DANIEL, TIMOTHY, GHEE KEN, MANDA, HAZEL, ANDREW, CLAUDIA, CARMEN!

BIG VIRTUAL HUG FROM ME TO YOU GUYS NOW AND AN EVEN BIGGER REAL HUG WHEN WE MEET AGAIN! :)

That very night after the finals we all gathered at my house for a celebratory dinner. We had a post-mortem but that didn’t mean that our night was solemn and melancholic. WE HAD SO MUCH FUN!

Sophia and Siew ‘moisturising’ my face with cream from the cream puffs,

Our impromptu version of create-a-motion-word-game where 20 of us sat around the dining table and everyone of us had to contribute a word (in seating order) to form a completely nonsensical motion.

Eg,

THW feed Ghee Ken Cheeseburgers Every Wesak Day and Hanukkah.

THBT Daniel and Ghee Ken should eat cheeseburgers happily and jiggely because they have big stomachs, intestines and ribosomes.

Then we went on with a very demure session of heart-to-heart, seniors-to-juniors talk. Telling the juniors about our experiences, inner grievance and joys really did bring Soph, Siew and I (and not to forget ABHI AND LEANNZA who were there with us in spirit) down memory lane once again.

From our Wira days when we oh so truly scared of John.

or not.

To the days when we rocked and rolled with Andrew,

All climaxes up till today when we have left high school and it is now our turn to train.

We realised that we have come a long way. And that what's undeniable is that we know each other so impeccably well, and we have all played very influential roles in each others' life which made us who we are today.

And these are the memories we will cherish in our hearts for a very very long time, I believe.

And we are so grateful that new memories are being formed, between us and our juniors.

Bottomline is, I always tell my juniors. Whatever it is, never forget your roots. Wherever you are, wherever you're going to go; you must never forget the people who helped you find your wings.

I'm talking about our parents, who have relentlessly sent us for practice session, funded our yumcha sessions and been so gracious about so many compromises we made because we joined debate.

I'm talking about our legendary coaches and seniors like John and Andrew, who've completely ignored the line of professionalism to become our friends. They never held back, no reservations at all.

I'm talking about our teachers, who have spent hours sorting out logistics for us, and have given us strength in good and bad times.

I'm talking about the entire DJ population, for their support and school spirit.

Understanding this interdependence, and the sense of gratitude not only knocks perspective into place, but as Mitch Albom said,

"The way you get meaning into your life is to devote yourself to loving others, devote yourself to your community around you, and devote yourself to creating something that gives you purpose and meaning. "

gives meaning to life.

Always praise the bridge that carried you over.

For the blessing of being part of this big family of DJ debaters, I take thankfully the past, and I am also very hopeful for the future. :)

A bond unlike any other.

Easter around the Corner!

2011-04-22T11:36:00.000-07:00

Its passion week and I'm sure things have been hectic for not just me, but also my fellow brothers and sisters-in-Christ.

This year I'm taking part in my church's Easter choir and we've been practicing hard and lyrically every Sunday for the past few months.

As for tomorrow, 3 very important events are taking place.
1) HELP DEBATE COMPETITION 2011
2) MAJLIS ANUGERAH CEMERLANG
3) CHURCH EASTER SET-UP AT SENTUL PARK

I would be attending MAC in the morning but what bothers me is the clash of HELP DEBATE and EASTER SET UP in the afternoon. :(
Have decided that I'll be going to the park instead of college because Easter is my bigger commitment.

Speaking of which, I'm pretty excited for tomorrow! Sentul Park is a beautiful place. To think that I'm going to spend my whole afternoon there with lovely people like Wei-Jann, Rachael, Stacey and many others, its so magical. :)

Whats even more magical would be my church's Easter Sunrise program the following Sunday morning! I can already imagine 4000 people gathering together with one heart and one voice to watch the sunrise together over Sentul Park as one family of God. I am sure I would love, and in fact, I think I'm pre-loving the atmosphere of togetherness already.

So as much I feel sad that I had to put aside my SASA responsibilities in hosting our annual bonanza project aka HELP NATIONAL DEBATE COMPETITION,

I won't deny that I am totally looking forward towards Easter.

Celebrating the resurrection of the Lord Jesus 3 days after He died on the cross for the sin of mankind.

It's only because of what He did for me on the cross on that faithful day, that I am alive today.

Indeed I am living under grace.

Blessed Easter, everyone! :)

College.

2011-04-01T07:38:00.000-07:00

This is how my daily routine has been like ever since I started college.
Like all/most college kiddies now,

I wake up at 6.10am, hit the snooze button and go back to sleep just to wake up 2 minutes later because I'd feel guilty.

I'd get ready for college. I usually don't take much time with this. Just throw on something comfortable, grab my breakfast, lunch box (if any), books and car keys and I'd head out of the house.

Along the way, I'd stop by to pick Siew up and we'd rip up the highways. We usually reach college early enough to secure a good parking, yay! But true happiness is when we arrive early enough to catch the vacant early morning bus to the block where our A-Levels studies would be held.

A little parenting advice, if your kids are ungrateful about having you around to chauffeur them in and out of the house, send them to my college and let them endure a day of public transport. That'll teach them! *waves fist around*

About my study schedule. On mondays I have 8 hours of class. That's crazy draining.
My uncontested favorite subject is BIO :)
Physics turns me violent. But yeah, after today's physics's lesson, my building frustration experienced 'downward motion with a positive acceleration of 9.81ms-2' Layman terms, I'm starting to get the hang of it. Thank God. I now know that I will never be the one to teach my kids physics next time. Any physics related questions, to dad you shall go.

-----

Ah something special happened today. After college, Sophia, Ry-Ann, Emily and I went to part time at Amway's beauty expo in Mid Valley Convention Centre. I found our about this working opportunity from my lovely Aunty Janet. Seeing that it would be fun on one hand, working alongside my friends; and earning extra pocket money on the other, I went to work.

Funny moments during work :

[THIS HAPPENED TO ME MORE THAN ONCE TODAY, BY THE WAY, LOLOL]
Customer: "You look very familiar, have I seen you around before?"
Me : "Haha, possible. Could be from a magazine or two. I joke, I joke." *flashes colgate smile*
Customer : " Ah- HAHAHA. *grabs stuff and walks away quickly from creepy mentally disorientated member of staff*"

maybe I smiled too hard. :(

Colleague : "So what are you doing now?"
Me : "Oh you know, busy with kids. I'm married, you know."
Colleague : "WHAT? 0______0"
Me : "Yeah I'm 25 this year. Got married 2 years ago. Had twins."
Colleague : "Ohh.. right right.." *looks very convinced*
Me : "AHAHA APRIL FOOL! GOTCHA!"
My colleague sighed a breath of relief.
Don't worry, my colleagues are cool. 8)

And 80% of the customers that approach me would start talking to me in either Mandarin, Cantonese or Hokkien. Not English. My Mandarin and dialects have greatly improved from having to answer their questions in their respective language/dialects. Although my command of Cantonese and Hokkien is only worthy to be poked fun at, I stubbornly choose to reply others in the language that they're most comfortable in. Not that's I'm looking for trouble or I'm trying to seem noble and selfless, but more because this is but the only way for me to learn and improve on my dialects, Lol.

Anyhow, I'd better get some rest now. Another big day tomorrow.

Oh God, may I still glorify you with my very broken command of Cantonese. :)

Goodnight.

Pain in the Eye.

2011-03-28T07:41:00.000-07:00

Came home from the Optometrist feeling all angry because the astigmatism in my left eye increased. :(
So I went to google up my predicament in hopes of finding a remedy that would help stop my sight from deteriorating.

What I've learned :

1) Myopia is part of the natural growth process of our eyes.
We are all long-sighted as infants. As we grow, so do our eyeballs, hence the long-sightedness is compensated. We become short-sighted when this growth continues, and our eyeballs become bigger and bigger, hence throwing off the focus of the light rays on our retina.

2) Myopia is also hereditary, which means that if your parents are short-sighted, you have a high chance of being short-sighted as well.

3) There is no way to 'cure' myopia but to go under the knife - LASIK surgery. Even then, one wouldn't be able to cure astigmatism. There are also a pretty annoying list of cons and negative risks to LASIK corrective surgery.

4) Glasses and contact lenses also do not put a halt to the progression of myopia. They simply focus the light so the nearsighted person can see distant objects clearly, aka a quick fix. In most cases, our eyesight can also turn worst 'under' these corrective lenses.

This is why I hate going to the optometrist. Every time I visit them for eye tests, my eyesight seems to deteriorate. And I am overwhelmed with hopelessness. There is no preemptive measure to good eyesight. Neither is there a cure to it.

Its like going to the optometrist, and leaving knowing that that you're one step closer to being blind.

Then something hit me. I am not blind.

Don't get me wrong I am not trying to feel good about myself because there are others out there even worst off than my condition. Its not the right way to look at things.

I am so superficial. I've been comparing myself to the likes of 'a perfect body' with 20/20 vision being one of the criteria, and constantly trying to correct the physical aspects of myself that I consider a defect. I've taken for granted what I've been blessed with, and allowed myself to be blinded by the pursuit of completeness and happiness on a very skin deep level.

Now I see that the line is thin between vanity and self-love.

People say that there is no ugly woman, but rather a lazy woman.

To a certain extent we owe it to ourselves to groom ourselves to look presentable to the public. That's what I mean by 'self-love'. But what I hate about fancy beauty commercials is that they use slogans that are somewhat motivational to lure customers into their trap and thereafter, buy their beauty products.
"Unleash your inner confidence with our products because you're worth it!"
These companies prey on those of weak self-confidence. But its not just the monetary loss that is in play here.
They're also promoting a very false confidence. True confidence in oneself should not originate from our looks but rather from who we are underneath our looks.

Time for me to remind myself to look deeper (again).

For charm is deceptive and beauty is fleeting, but a woman who fears the Lord shall be praised.

:)

or shall i say,

8)

(because of my specs)

Hahahaha. X)

Driving Dreams.

2011-03-21T09:44:00.000-07:00

Driving is a joy to me. Even in the midst of traffic congestion.

Since I'm still a greenhorn driver, my driving is under the heavy scrutiny of both my parents. To many, this means that my 'wings' are 'clipped'. Both my parents have taken upon themselves the responsibility of giving me private driving lessons. Something that I am very grateful for, no doubt. But I must admit, there were moments when both of them are in the car with me, and both of them would be shouting different orders. Leaving me bewildered, and very confused.

"STOP STOP STOP, ERN STOP!"
"SLOW SLOW SLOW SLOW!"
"TURN TURN TURN TURN NOW!!"
"BIKE BUS CAR LORRY OLD-LADY-CROSSING-THE-ROAD, WATCH OUT, ERN!"

In such a situation, I will get scolded regardless of who's orders I follow.

Loose-Loose situation. :(

I used to admire the likes of my friends who were given straight access to the car keys as soon as they've gotten their 'P'. They had it going for them! While I had this strict regime going for me. Thinking back on my first lesson with my dad. Boy did I get it bad. At the start of the lesson, I positioned myself behind the wheel, beaming from ear to ear, only to come home in a foul mood, and a battered self-esteem. I felt so bad about my driving. Worst still, I felt alone.

I would complain to my friends about this. Some of my friends told me to bring on the drama and waterworks. A mumble of "..I..I don't think I want to drive anymore.." at the most strategic of times. All very juicy plots indeed.

However, did I execute those plans?

No.

Being the typical Asian daughter, I didn't do it. Furthermore, the end results of my action didn't appeal to me. Seeing that I'm about to do something in hopes that I would be emancipated from their communist-like regime.

And also, after talking to a few adults. I realised that I am not alone in this. Most children do have a post-'P' grading system imposed on them by their parents.

And the heart behind my parent's actions, ultimately served to protect me.

They did not want to loose me to a car wreck.

I realised that I too, was taking their scolding too personally. Sometimes it is not my driving that they're worried about. I must also remember that I'm not the only driver on the road. My driving reflexes still wanting. Something that I can only improve on with time and experience. And not to mention, with my parents by my side in the passenger seat.

Now I know that they mean well. I am very grateful to the both of them for taking the time and initiative to risk their lives by being in a greenhorn driver's car. Today, their advice and guidance are extremely valuable to me. And I couldn't hope for better yardsticks to gauge my driving skills by - my mum and dad's driving.

As for their timeless lectures, are they uncomfortable? Yes, sometimes.

But as a parent, you discipline the ones you love.

Parenting is not easy. Hopefully being parents to me has been rewarding to them. :P

See you on the road! :)

Injecting some life into my blog.

2011-03-20T08:58:00.000-07:00

For too long I have neglected to update this poor thing. Time to revive it. :)

Drove my siblings and I to 1U today to buy my sister a watch. It was good clean fun. No doubt that I'm enjoying my new found privileges. (especially those that come with being behind the wheel)

Which brings me to say,

Tomorrow would be the start of a new phase in my life - college.

I am so excited and at the same time, I'm also a bundle of nerves!

Haiyoh big girl liao! X)

Time to catch a proper night's worth of sleep.

Goodnight. :)

Praying for Rain in the drylands.

2010-08-06T03:37:00.000-07:00

A close friend of mine had just recently broken up with her boy friend and all I can do is to be there for the both of them. It is crazy to imagine the heart wrenching experience of any break up but this is harsh reality, and we shouldn't be taken aback by how brutal life can be. I'm disappointed in myself for not knowing what to say to people who's hearts are broken. People who've just lost a family member, a friend, a brother. Very often I feel out of place to comment, especially on things I've never experienced before, being in a boy-girl relationship, loss of a family member. I hope that this is something that can be worked on with time. I really dislike the feeling of helplessness.

One of the reason why pretty much all the songs I listen to are Oldies is because I highly regard lyrics as a very important part of a song. It is after all, the part which tells the story, and the rest are merely for the set induction or accompaniment of the song.

Here's a song that I've been listening to a lot these few days.

I Need To Be In Love - The Carpenters.

The hardest thing I've ever done is keep believing
There's someone in this crazy world for me
The way that people come and go through temporary lives
My chance could come and I might never know

I used to say "No promises, let's keep it simple"
But freedom only helps you say goodbye
It took a while for me to learn that nothing comes for free
The price I paid is high enough for me

I know I need to be in love
I know I've wasted too much time
I know I ask perfection of a quite imperfect world
And fool enough to think that's what I'll find

So here I am with pockets full of good intentions
But none of them will comfort me tonight
I'm wide awake at 4 a.m. without a friend in sight
I'm hanging on a hope but I'm alright

I've come to understand that we humans were not made to live a life of isolation. We all crave for company and most of us do have dreams of marriage and of finding 'the right one'.

I still remember the day when my dad encouraged me with Matthew 6:33 while he was doing devotion. He looked up at me, called me over and told me, "Ern, seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well." I'm used to the way my dad randomly pops bible verses to me, and I really appreciate him for doing things like that. Seek first God's kingdom, and life's blessings will be given to me. What a piece of wisdom.

Girls of all ages hope and long for a partner. A love that will last, not lust. A prince charming who will come riding on a horse and sweep us off our feet (onto the horse and not into the mud puddle of course). We fret and strut our hour upon the stage (quote : Life's Brief Candle) to every willing ear about how we're all a bunch a obese ridden members of the fat club society equating our being dateless to prom to remaining single forever, confined to the idea of spending the rest of our lives owning two things : a caravan and 45 cats.

But if you're a guy and you're reading this, please don't take advantage of our 'desperateness'.
I over exaggerated okay, most of the girls I've come to know are very dignified.

I don't deny that men are an issue to women. Finding the right man is challenging.

Being the right woman takes challenge to an excruciating, but rewarding level.

Because we are all children of God, girls are even encouraged to pray for their future husband. In fact, since prayer is having a relationship with God, we need to pray no matter what season or life we're in. An article from Boundless, a website on focus on the family said that we should consider 4 things while praying for our husband. Below are the 4 considerations along with a brief summary I've extracted from the article.

1) Being (and not just feeling) thankful

The Bible says,

Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. (Philippians 4:6-7)

We're supposed to ask for a husband humbly (that's what supplication means) and with thanksgiving. I know how hard it can be to give thanks in the midst of doubt, fear, broken relationships, disappointment and more. How can you feel thankful when you're hurt, angry and frustrated?

However, spending time talking with God creates the opportunity for Him to soften our hearts, shaping our desires to conform to His.

2) Believe that God's will be done

Think about it, what if God answers your prayers differently that you want Him to? He is able to transform the desires of your heart to align with His, and to satisfy you, completely. We may never be able to understand this with our finite minds, but the Holy Spirit makes it possible to grasp it in our spirits, so that we may pray with Jesus, "Thy will be done."

The whole point of prayer is to grow in relationship with God. The more we talk and listen, the more He shapes the conversation. As we grow closer to Him, our desires shift from what we want — what we think we most need — to what He does. His desires become our desires.

3) Having faith in Him

Believe God is able. Trust Him. But know that believing and trusting aren't the same as setting yourself up for bitter disappointment if He doesn't answer you the way you hope He will. God is calling us to faith, like Shadrach, Mesach and Abednego, who said,

"O Nebuchadnezzar, we do not need to defend ourselves before you in this matter. If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God we serve is able to save us from it, and he will rescue us from your hand, O king. But even if he does not, we want you to know, O king, that we will not serve your gods or worship the image of gold you have set up" (Daniel 3:16-18).

The God we serve is able to bring you a husband. But even if he does not, will you be faithful?

4) Praying often

Whether single and praying about your desire for a husband; or later, if you're married, praying about your desire for a baby; or praying for your (or your husband's) need for a job; or if you never do marry, praying about serving faithfully while celibate, the need to pray never ends. Jesus told his disciples they should always pray and never give up. It's never too soon, or too late, to start.

The title of the article was "How to pray for a husband" and I was expecting some sort of a list of traits to ask for and specific verses to pray. In the article, the author also said that she came quite close to doing just that. But the more she wrote and prayed, the more she realized that God's leading in our prayer life is individualized. Each of us is unique and His work in us differs from person to person. That's not to say you can't pray for a godly husband who meets the requirements of the "husband verses. In fact we should. These verses include

Ephesians 5:22-28,
Colossians 3:18-19
1 Peter 3:1-7.

And they're the standard for what makes a good mate.

As we are all searching for the special someone, I pray that young people would have the sensitivity towards God's timing in our lives.

Rushing into something as delicate, complicated and yet so very beautiful such as relationships is not the wisest thing we can and should do.

And if you're feeling down trodden and broken hearted, God heals.

"He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds." - Psalms 147 : 3

Personally, I know that the best thing for me is to always trust God's timing and wisdom, not my own. Another thing is, instead of just praying for men to rise up to become good husbands, we should also pray for them as our brothers-in-Christ. Being a good support to our brothers as sisters-in-Christ would surely help us to better fulfill our role and play our part as a body of Christ.

Hong Kong Feet.

2010-07-11T00:46:00.000-07:00

So right, today Daniel needed a new pair of shoes to replace his worn out pair, only winding up feeling reluctant to throw away his old soles. That really reminds me of myself. I sheepishly admit that i'm quite clutter-ish in nature. And so is my dad and my grandma before him.

Daniel said, "Blame it on primary school education," "Make us write autobiographies like 'Saya Sepasang Kasut' and all." Oh we had a good laugh over that.

Worst still, apart from having to write it in mandarin, 'Wo Shi Yi Shuang Xie Zi' , they made us write a standard unhappy ending, which ALWAYS involved negligence from the owner's behalf, and the 'death' of the shoe.

The thing that bugs me about my primary school essays is that, i was never given the room to express my creativity freely through the medium of essay writing. I remember my class teacher giving me a mandarin essay assignment which needed me to elaborate on my trip to genting. I clearly remember writing about my siblings and i 'rolling left and right in the car' on the car trip up the hill. And we really did! Can you honestly tell me that the road to genting is as straight as a ruler? Come on, its even more unruly than my hair left uncombed for 3 days. As a result? I got a big '?!?' on my paper. Not only that, teacher also wrote a 'qing jian wo' at the margin! (meaning please see me) The Horror!!

The incidence has left a red mark on my essay paper, and a red mark on my heart (and butt).

Now that I'm in high school. Things have taken a 180 degree change. (thank goodness) In essays (the English ones) we're expected to think and write out of the box. No more stereotypical story lines being imposed on us. I'm so glad that the teachers tolerate and in fact, welcome, written works like :

"..If I Were Barack Obama, I Would Paint the White House Pink.." - all rights reserved, my pink friend, Emily Mah.

And we would get good marks for such essays! Provided we still adhere to the rule of thumb which is to watch our grammar and the accurate usage of english terms and all.

Moral of the story?
Thank you God, for the freedom of expression. :)

ps, primary school students, please don't use this as an excuse to riot against your teachers. Stick to your 'Wo Shi Yi Shuang Xie Zi'. It teaches you to appreciate life's blessings.

Goldie Oldie.

2010-07-10T00:05:00.000-07:00

I have retired and that makes me (and my fellow prefect AJKs) old farts. :) It feels so weird coming to school without the usual mad dash to the prefects room and then to the familiarity of gate duty. Oh wait, come to think of it, I did perform a mad headless chicken dash (haha, quoting you Melissa!) to prayer meeting this morning. Haha Ash and Kristal, we shall keep traversing from block F to the pavilion, yeah? It's great to be able to spend the morning with God. Really helps me compose my thoughts. Keeps my priorities in tack too. And praying for our school together as friends and students really knocks perspective into place. It's the entire me-we concept, we're all equally important as agents of positive change and also as a unique, irreplaceable puzzle piece that makes up the student body of DJ.

Had a free period today! The four chi cha pohs in front, namely Kristal, Ashley, Trina (actually Trin you're quite-the-proper-lady, but we still count you in la :D) and I talked about prom, wallowing in self pity because the probability of us being dateless = 1 (maths probability concept meaning "sure to occur")

Le Sigh.

And somehow i know that we're not alone in feeling this way. Pretty sure that this is what many girls (and guys) struggle with. The feeling of loneliness and the crave for companionship is a deadly enough combination to coerce a young person to act desperately. But hey, girls, let's not sell ourselves short. It really isn't anything wrong to enjoy prom with our friends. Above all, we should always trust in the Lord and believe that His grace, is, enough for us. Trust in His timing and He will direct our paths.

And on top of that, perhaps it's also healthy for us to not think about prom too much. (as some of us can be quite obsessive over this matter) Yes, its our last year. Yes, to a certain extent we owe it to ourselves to look presentable. But as Pn Mag told us last year. We are all food for worms. And as drop dead gorgeous as we may be on 'D night', we're just a bunch of painted skin and hair sprayed hair when we decompose. Eye candy for the worms.

As cliche as it sounds, we should (instead of thinking of prom 23hours a day) divert more attention towards the 'final paper' instead of the 'final dance'. *deng deng deng*

Esh Phee Ehmm.
Hand me my stress ball!

OH HEY JUN NING! Just thought of a new herb for your herb garden. * nudge nudge wink wink*

Corriander! :) i know, such a lovely girl name right?

Heads Up.

2010-06-24T02:48:00.000-07:00

Career day came and left, leaving me with a pile of brochures and a clearer view of my career path. Its a miracle that i managed to sneak some minutes with a few med school representatives. Truth be told, i spent more time talking to people than collecting freebies like i usually do. I really enjoyed discussing matters with grownups. That talk really got me thinking about the different value systems that people have. How differently we rank our priorities, and how these priorities form the colour palette we use to paint a future for ourselves.

And then there was CF meeting! Had a blast with Kristal acting out our "Right or Wrong" scene. HoPoh you are super duper funny, i'm not even trying to be funny here. And I'm sure that CF really benefited from that meeting. I know i did.

Go Green Saturday marked the start of my weekend. Heeding the call of my body to exercise, i got sporty and participated in the 3km run. Almost died halfway but i managed to complete the course, bringing home with me a proud personal record (my only record). If you want to know my placing in the race, come and see me. I'll whisper it (very proudly) to you. :) Next i occupied my time with CF's hot dog stall management. True to their name, the dogs had hot hot hot selling power. CF also had a good time cleaning up after the carnival. Many of us there came with virgin hands to housework. Our lives were never the same ever since. Can write an A+ essay on it already.

Yesterday i attended a wedding dinner with my dad, replacing my mum who was feeling under the weather. After all, it had been ages since i attended a chinese wedding dinner. So i figured that it would be a good time to stir up some serious food shortage at that place. :) Sat with a table of doctors there, but after a while, i left my dad who was busy chatting with them and sat with my dad's nurses instead. The way they kept piling up my plate with food made me feel like a kid all over again. I ate my share and more, pausing only sip tea and i also multi tasked by listening to nurses' gossip.

And now to the future. In 8 hours time, i would be stepping down from my prefect post as Ketua Ponteng (a KP in my own right). Gotta go put the finishing touches on my successor's gift now. All the best to you, Melissa.

Goodnight.

A Love That Will Last.

2010-06-20T10:21:00.000-07:00

After reading all those father's day related articles in the papers, which includes a few on young people commemorating the loss of their fathers, i'm truly grateful to God that my dad is still by my side, and that I should have such a strong fatherly figure to love and look up to. More than ever i'll treasure the moments we share together. I'll always be your little girl, dad. I love you.

Don't Mess With My Brother.

2010-06-19T00:11:00.000-07:00

Today i've decided that enough is enough when it comes to my brother being falsely accused by my parents for accessing the internet through his phone, so here's how i offered myself for hire as his one-time lawyer, and that's how i took up his case.

Here's me as a charming lawyer with a very charming smile, and an even more charming case.

Having knowing him for all 14 years of his existence, i knew that he was the scapegoat in this situation. and i rooted for his defence on 3 levels.

1) I'm his 'dai kah che' (eldest sister) hence i'm here for him, come ye scorching sun, come ye storm.
2) which 14 year old boy buys shares through smses, at weird intervals of 2 shares per day for every five days?
3) which 14 year old boy buys hong leong shares at all?

And so i called up the phone company's toll free customer line and to prove my undying love for my brother. Here's my case. My strategy was to first talk to the service provider to find out more about his case because honestly i was quite lost about the whole she-bang and so were my parents who lectured my brother and also my brother who got lectured (he got lectured even though he didn't know a hoot of what was going on, see? clear sign of innocence!) Throughout the entire 15 mins i went by the name Mrs Ong, as it has always been my aspiration to be a married mother of 7 children. And i referred to Joshua as my 10 year old son. It was after talking to that lady when i found out that my son had been receiving smses from a third party which apparently costs RM8 per time he receives an sms. And after explaining my situation to the lady and expressing my husband, Dr Ong and my distress, i asked for her to kindly connect me to her manager.

And she did! This is when i explained my case in further detail, bringing up things like how my 10 year old son has been sat down 3 consecutive times for 3 consecutive months because of his outrageous phone bill, and how my husband had spanked him for 2 out of the 3 times he's been sat down. i told him that upon reading up on child psychology while he was still a foetus in my womb, i realised that if a child is wrongly accused for things on a repetitive basis, it would scar him emotionally. Deep inside i feared for my child's mental well being. What if prior to this, he becomes a compulsive liar? What if he looses faith in his parents, the ones who's earthly duty is to protect him? I told the man that he is my young son, my own flesh and blood, and i owe him that much respect and trust, and that if i do not trust him now, chances are that i may loose him and never get the chance to trust him again.

Ps, sorry to disappoint, i did not unleash my waterworks. As a mother and wife, i had a certain level of integrity thankyouverymuch.

And i told him about my best friend Mrs Chooi who had experienced pretty much the same thing a few months back. Apparently she had the shock of her life when she was checking her 10 year old son's phone records and found that he made a RM200 call to South Africa that month. Her son was best friends with my son by the way. And so she called me on speed dial and told me everything. After which i advised her to phone up the company for an explanation. And true enough, she received a rebate! I told him, that this is the strength i see in the company he's working in - the emphasis on customer service. This is why my husband and i have 5 lines through his company, and we have been supporting that particular company even when we were still courting 20 years ago. (oh goodness i'm such a dreamer, imagine me smsing sweet little nothings with a guy, WHAT AN IDEALISTIC NOTION!)

10 minutes into the conversation, a deal was struck. The Ong family was getting a rebate the next month. I ended the call by complementing the company once again, and that i'd better be off to break the great news to my loving and eager husband. What can i say? i was very happy! My son was safe, my husband was impressed, and i realised that i should have opted for law school instead of spending my prime years participating and winning every beauty pageant in the country.

And we all went out for sushi. The end.

Hope you enjoyed the story, because i sure did experienced it first hand. It was a great 30 minutes deluding myself that i've been married to this awesome guy for 20 years and bore 7 children as a result of our matrimony, while still maintaining my svelte figure.

And i'm sure Joshua is glad that i managed to clear his name. Even my sister, Adeline who was choking and coughing the whole time i was 'deluding' myself, was glad that i managed to make a stand by flexing my consumer rights. My parents are also pretty impressed with what i've done and were not slow at roping in what i've done as a plus point in encouraging me to take up law instead of medicine. Ba, Ma, i still want to be a doctor okay?

All this made me think about marriage, motherhood, and family. As much as i would love to get married someday, i know that i'm not even close to ready to handle that part of growing up and life. Yet i will not cease to pray for God to guide and prepare my heart for a real relationship in time to come.

Despite the world's stand, i'll the romantic part of my heart vacant, and instead, celebrate friendship and not to forget, God's never ending love for me.

ps, i still want to pursue medicine, dad. :)

Running Out of Sand.

2010-06-17T07:09:00.000-07:00

Just had CF outing the other day. Praise God for a successful outing!
and here's a testimony to behold. that very morning, we all woke up to really cloudy skies and a nervous drizzle. as a coordinator of the outing, i couldn't help but break a sweat because all this while we've been planning for an outdoor retreat, it was literally an out-ing.
and so i went down on my knees in prayer, pleading for God to hold back the rain. and Praise Him! we did have good, in fact great weather for the day's activities! and boy did we have great fun playing with eggs and savoring both food and fellowship. :)

it pains me to know that this would be one of the last things i'll plan for CF this year. :(
i'm so reluctant to leave! not in a tyrant sort of context of course. the thing is, i love the people of CF very much. they're the one's i'll miss the most upon handing over the baton.

it is such a special feeling to be part of a body of Christ in school. to have common goals, common values and yet be so colourful and diverse at the same time.
i love this family of God! and i'm really going to miss it dearly.

Holidays are coming to an end!
time to put 'finishing touches' to my projects. aka, start work.

No Coffee Only Tea for Me.

2010-05-27T07:47:00.000-07:00

I found out the hard way that my body is not caffeine tolerant. This resulted in me puking out the 'dead-acidic-sea' two hours after consummation.

I'm so sad that my body has just rejected such a huge part of adulthood. :( I guess i'll just have to listen to my body. and get my antioxidants elsewhere.

Preferably somewhere which doesn't upset the 'ying yang' of my digestive system, again.

And They Call it Puppy Love

2010-05-12T03:21:00.000-07:00

I haven't cried in a long time but this is what happens when its about animal matters. It all started yesterday when we found 3 abandoned puppies by the road side. Due to complete neglect, they were covered in fleas. 2 out of 3 of these puppies had big open wounds on their backs. 1 out of this 2 had hudreds of maggots tunneling into its body.

Out of pity, my family of animal lovers decided to take them in temporarily ( seeing as we already have two large dogs at home, we couldn't support anymore)

And so we bathed them thoroughly in anti flea solution and brought them to the vet for treatment. There i witnessed the true spirit of a dog which even at such a tender puppy age, was brave enough to endure treatment pains. We left the vets with some medication and a ray of hope that these puppies might actually live to see many more Malaysian days.

After coming home, we felt joy through a miracle when these puppies proved to be active even through their condition. And the one thing that never ceased to wow me is the powerful sibling love they portrayed as they tended to each other's wounds.

"Puppy blood is much thicker than water" indeed.

We drew strength from them as they were catching up on lost strength. In fact, just watching them play and eat, such simple things, made me so happy and this totally opened my eyes to the beauty of God's creation. Yet this happiness was so short lived as my dad made the decision to send them to the local pound, with the reason being we had enough responsibilities on our plates and that there were people out there, who's jobs were specified in taking care of situations like this. i don't blame him one bit, as i know where he's coming from, the fatherly perspective.

But i could not hold back my emotions as my mum told me that the pups lost their sense of joy and vibrance the moment they set foot at the pound. They grew completely inactive and huddled up to one another at a corner. This is the exact same pound where thousands of dogs were probably euthanised or simply dies. Now this is just downright heartbreak.

I believe in God and i know that there is a time for everything including death. I know that we live in a broken world, and this is just one of the many reasons why.

The worst part is, we never know where blame lies, hence we can't put blame where blame is. I mean, who's is to be absolutely at fault in this and other matters. Even my solutions to the problem is so vague and idealistic.

Wanna know what i hope for? A big piece of land i can call my own, where i can set all the rescued dogs in the world free to run, live and be happy.

Dear puppies, i'm still thinking of you guys though you're at the pound now. I pray that you guys will eventually find the peace and love that you guys deserve. Please forgive me for my lack of say in the decision of your fates. May God have mercy upon your lives.

I love you guys. God Bless.

One Big Colourful, Passionate Family.

2010-05-07T03:38:00.000-07:00

Had a blast with my fellow debaters the other night. (yes it was a school night, HEH the thrill!) needless to say, we had an awesome time. the element that constitutes to a good time together is truly, the people. great people = great time. establish the fellowship, and everything else will fall swiftly into place.

the love we share is irreplaceable. there is just so much chemistry between us, words fail to encapsulate its description. if you think that debaters are stout, serious, hairy people with brains, you're so wrong mann. well the hairy part applies to some of us like Abhi but thats beside the topic.

we are really crazy people if you'd get to know us. very very berserk people, mind you.
people say that conflict derives from differences, but i beg to differ. although we share a common ground in terms of big mouths who live to convince (if we're lucky) and confuse people, our circle consists of very different personalities put together. we're like skittle sweets, all sour yet very colorful at the same time.

Abhi is the guy who giggles more than a maiden in love. But he's character is the bomb. in other words, his parents did a good job bringing him into the world and raising him with good values. some people may view him as annoying, but he's just a very playful person by nature. he's someone who really appreciates a good joke and also take a good joke, whenever we tease him about his hair (which is very often). he's indian by race but chinese by appetite. truly he's a friend to keep. he always sticks up for his friends. and Abhi has balls, and no i don't just mean eyeballs, but metaphorical balls. he has his principles and sticks to them. very rarely i come across friends with as much principle as him. more ball-ful people is exactly what we need in this ball-less society.

Siew Sanz is the ~~sweetheart of Abhi~~ most organised of the team. she's absolutely fabulous when it comes to keeping track of time, especially during discussions at sleepovers, where we more than often get strayed off the topic due to absolutely foreseen humorous circumstances. she a crazy supergirl who can run perfectly fine on 5 hours of sleep. and i am not exaggerating. assistant head prefect, vice president of interact, high ranking post in hebat, pandu puteri leader, and debater. she pushes herself to the limit..only to discover that she has stretched her limit further. and did i mention that she's an excellent student too? scholarship granters alert! if you don't give her a scholarship soon you'd only be loosing her to another institution, like seriously! she's also someone who has a heart for others. not only that, anyone can tell that her good looks come from her mommah! and yes, her portuguese heritage too! she looks best when angry. and guys like fiery chicks right? ;)

Sophia is very often the object of boyish admiration whenever we participate in tournaments, and that leaves me very busy warding off stares from random guys. we have countless meaningful conversations regarding relationships. i am sure that she can testify to the fact i keep telling her : "true love is never possessive" whenever she says she misses her hunny-bunny. and as always, she'll reply : "i know la my dear, i just miss him that's all." but she misses him all the time!! and so i decided to nickname her my lovesick friend. but there is a clear distinction between a lovesick friend and a lovesick fool. she is no fool. she is a girl grounded by her heart. and yes she has her principles. besides talking about love and marriages, we also talk about things that matter, like change and characters that make a man. if we have our way in the future, i am pretty convinced we might actually join forces in bringing change to the world. when we talk, the walk seems very real to me, and i know for a fact that this feeling is mutual.

Leannza is a very bright friend of mine. she's sharper than a scalper and frank-er than a frankfurter. wooh syok sendiri. :D she aspires to be the best librarian in the world! actually no. deep inside i know she aspires to be a housewife. no matter how anti men she may seem now. she's one of the best on our ship and we simply cannot do without her. her frugal way of life inspires me to be even more thrifty than i usually am. contrary to popular beliefs, she is a very caring person deep down inside. though words may fail me as i describe her, its because i find my friendship with her very exotic. like a rare mountain flower. but the flower has her short hair, wears braces, and alternates between contact lenses and specs. recently, leannza found her inner woman by liking a guy! i am so proud of her!! and that makes her my lovesick friend #2.

Alynna is crazy funneih. turns everything into jokes. and she cooks as well! miss your apple strudel. not just that, as she said herself, she is a very good judge of character. if you know her well enough, you would also find that she is very gentle in character, and not so much of the tough girl character she portrays. loyalty is also one of her dominant traits. she has her share of let downs, some of this from friends. but i know that she is meant for much bigger things in her life. leaving for australia the end of this year, i can only hope she knows she's leaving behind a bunch of teary eyed, big mouth people.

Daniel is my brother. the same one who put dropped rabbit shit in my aunt's maggie mee, and also the one who can traumatize me by lifting me off the ground, LITERALLY, like a sack of potatoes and parade me around the house. he really does me proud, my little brother. knows more about wars, weapons and world history than me, so much that i can hardly catch up with his general knowledge. football knowledge goes unsaid for any male human but i can't help but feel really small next to him sometimes. but seriously, i can't help but feel a sense of pride as he speaks. i love the feeling of unity as we teamed up together at a recent tournament. it took our family love to a whole new level. that we were fighting for or against a policy TOGETHER. yes, he was, still is annoying. but i know for a fact that if he wasn't, something is really wrong, and sometime even bigger will be missing from my life. after all, sibling qualms are a way of life, and we shouldn't challenge that balance.

Timothy is my brother's girlfriend/wife/mother/daughter/bestfriend all in one. he is a cat lover and works out regularly under the coaching of his mother. i still remember that the invite to his big new house never came. oh wait. thats because its not done yet. okay okay forgiven. tim is extremely pro-life aka anti abortion just like me!! he's also pretty musical for being able to play the piano, electric guitar and a little bass and drums. wow can form his own band already! to some weird extent he believes that i'm in love with his older brother, which is another lie my dear brother has been feeding him with. i mean isn't it weird for your best friend's sister to also be your sister in law? too weird!! but the great thing is, tim and i share the same stand when it comes to relationships. abstinence of the heart. :) finally common ground!

Marc is a friend like no other. he takes 'nerd', solves it with quadratic equations, derives its empirical formula and turns it into something cool. he's a really down to earth person. and though he has ruled out marriage out of his life, declaring himself a nun, all of his true friends think otherwise. he will find that special girl in his life. besides, we're all for the continuity of his 'genius' chromosome.

Shu Wen and Ghee Ken *ahem ahem*. put these two together and you'll walk away with verbal abuse. they're like a walking exhibition of two people who are from completely different backgrounds, religion (shu wen is catholic, ghee is a free thinker), skin colour (shu wen is fair, ghee is.. oh wait fair too), but they all share a common ground of the gift of gab. they can gab gab blah blah gab gab gab your head off with humour line after humour line. inside joke : ' hey shu wen, do you like twiggies?' 'well yes i do.' 'HAHA you like the TWIG of GHEE'. -.- ?! well personally, i don't get it, and i think i never will. anyway, they can conjour fun out of thin air. and we love them for that.

and not to mention our coaches, John and Andrew, and ever willing seniors (Keefe!) who have helped us relentlessly through it all, you guys are the glue that hold us together, without you, we wouldn't be where we are now.

for all those midnight heart-to-heart talks with my girls, to all times i laughed out loud with my boys, through tears and joy, i know, i will continue to uplift the motion before the house today which is THBT DJ DEBATERS ARE ONE BIG COLOURFUL, PASSIONATE FAMILY.

i love you guys. :)

In the Heat of the Debate.

2010-05-03T12:12:00.000-07:00

Mid term in two weeks and the only thing i've been studying is, well, nothing, actually.
even my homework pile is a mountain where dust bunnies come out to play.
sometime i hear this naggy little voice telling me that if i neglect i shall regret, and then i realise that i'm nagging myself. and then i go to sleep.
sadly i am the epitome of a very lethargic person. my dear Sophia ranked #2 on the list. (and i'm sure she'll agree with me on this)

i know that perhaps i'm a lunatic to debate now, seeing that nows the time to either make or break. in fact, its completely against the nerding law. *snort*

But one thing i know for sure, i could never trade the DJ Debaters spirit for any other schooling memory.

I'm much in love with DJ.
And that beats everything else.

It's Only Just Begun.

2010-03-24T09:48:00.000-07:00

Camp 2010 has come and gone leaving behind a bunch of teary eyed form 5s and a bunch of broken hearted juniors. But despite the tears and joys of it all, i believe that God did a mighty work in the hearts of all the campers. its Veni, vidi, vici all over again but this time in a Godly context. God's presence was so real and strong throughout camp, all the campers can testify to that, Amen? Not only was He there with us at camp, He also left revelations in our hearts, and we can be sure that with this change, we would never really be the same ever again. Yes, camp was awesome. All praise and glory be unto God! :)

Thing is, very often we get hyped up after camps, and then time diminishes this burning fire in our hearts. it is a sad fact almost every camper is well aware of. but with this awareness, comes conviction, right? are we going to admit that there is a problem and not do anything to put a halt to it? i think otherwise, and i know my fellow campers think so too. we didn't leave camp with just sweet memories, new friends on facebook and inspiring sermon notes. we left camp 2010 Ready, Get Set, God; with a challenge, which is to not let our flame die down. A challenge to bring on, a revolution of love.

Romans 13:8
" ⁸Let no debt remain outstanding, except the continuing debt to love one another, for he who loves his fellowman has fulfilled the law."

we owe love our beloved school. the bible tells us so.

As Pastor Andy said, it doesn't help by being a part of the problem. How many times have we so conveniently grumbled about our school not living up to our standards. to be honest, pretty high standards right? :) too often we have fueled conversations that insults the school, complaining about everything and anything, with our finger forever stretched outwards and never towards ourselves. the worst part is, non of us actually have the guts to tell this straight to the authorities. truth is, there are problems, and there always will be problems. its a broken, broken world that we're living in, and we ought to understand that, or we'll all be on anti-depressant drugs for life. and with us knowing that there are problems, that our school is imperfect, just like us, just like everything else in the world; we ought to do something more than just pointing out the obvious. and that brings us to the "Recess Revo" movement, which is a mobilisation of young people, of Christians, who realise that we love our school to the extent we do not want to be a part of the problem any longer. we believe that God has placed us in this world to be part of the bigger picture. and just as God showed us endless grace and mercy by sending Jesus to die on the cross for us, we ought to show others that we genuinely care, more importantly, God cares, because His unconditional love is for everyone.

so here we are, with a mission at heart, and with God as the captain of this movement. through this, we know that it is no longer right to sweep our problems under the carpet, and that the solution lies within us.

Bring on the change.

Blessed Easter!

Tasting Grief.

2010-02-11T00:34:00.000-08:00

If anyone were to ask me a question that i wouldn't be able to respond to, it would be a question on how does it feel like to lose a loved one, how to cope with grief. because i believe that grief is something you can't fully relate to unless you've experienced it before. just think of it this way, a person can read 200 cook books but he'll be no expert cook unless he has hands on experience. come to think of it, i have never attended a funeral before. i wouldn't have known, didn't know how would i handle grief until today.

well it all turned out to be a big misunderstanding but the whole thing really tugged at my heartstrings and scraped the ventricles of my heart.

the details do not matter. i'm more interested in the whole she-bang of reaction.
1) the water works, of course (and yes it applies to guys too)
2) sudden realisation of great truth towards the person, how much you truly love them

"You never know how much you love that person until he's gone."
i know, to some people its a corny saying, to others it something in our parents big book of nags.
but today i realised the weight of this saying. nowadays we're so caught up in our daily routine, get up, go to school, sleep through add math, go home, tuition, sleep, wake up; admit it, most of us are living the life of sisyphus; we're derived of the things that really hold water in our lives.

how many times have we skipped church because of exams?
when was the last time we stopped to ponder? to take a deep breath? to appreciate nature?
when was the last time we told our parents that we loved them and appreciate all that they're doing for us?
when was the last time we told God about our day?

doesn't it all seem so distant to us? how it all clicks? how it really punches you in the gut?

i believe that what happened came from God. it never hurts to have more gratefulness in our lives.

and i want to start being grateful, not tomorrow, not next week, but today i want to stop to smell my mum's hand grown roses, i want to hug my family, yes that includes my brothers. i want to appreciate my friends a little more today, simply because we never know when our last words to them might be.

ultimately, i want to thank God, for keeping my friend safe, for giving me reason to live, for making everything beautiful, for Malaysia, for the birds in the sky, for the pieces of paper we call money, for being able to love and be loved.

Here's to you, God.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
oh and just for memories sake,

Elena says:
i'm actually a magical fairy god mother under the influence of botox

Johanan says:
Ah, yes and you're here to grant my wishes?
*Note, plural*
Elena says:
yes okay noted -.- what is it you wisheth for?
Johanan says:
I want a pretty-smart-kind-nice-witty-Godfearing girlfriend
Preferably Chinese

Elena says:
*ding* wish granted
you're chatting with her right now

Johanan says:
WOW But the last part, is she my girlfriend?
HAHA

Elena says:
dun wan i look overweight standing next to you.

As a Matter of Fact.

2010-01-10T02:01:00.000-08:00

"One of the great uses of Twitter and Facebook will be to prove at the Last Day that prayerlessness was not from lack of time." - John Piper.

still want to go around biting people, making them vampires?
seriously. think about it.
our 'no time' excuse refuted in one statement. :)

First Day.

2010-01-08T00:43:00.000-08:00

it was the first day of primary school for him and he felt nothing but anxiety. however, this was no same anxiety his peers felt at the moment. his stood with his feet rooted to the ground by the school gate and no one, not even the principal nor his grandma could make him go in. mum is supposed to be here by now, he told grandma. old grandma gave her grandson's hand a reassuring squeeze and a warm smile, telling him that his mother is coming soon. from the corner of the road the old lady and the boy saw two officers walking towards them. grandma could tell that something was wrong, this 'sixth sense' came with 50 years worth of life experience. this understanding was something her still-wet-behind-the-ears grandson did not possess. 'Have you seen my mother?' the little boy asked the approaching men. both policemen wore expressionless masks. 'Is this your daughter?', they asked the old lady and handed her a photograph. not long after, the lady broke down into inconsolable sobs and heartbreaking wails. it was done, there was nothing that could be said in rectification of the accident.

She was knocked down by a passing car as she was pedaling as hard as she could to the other side. she was an undergraduate, an under-qualified woman. desperate to feed her family, she took up many jobs to make ends meet. all she wanted was for her son to have a better life than she did. everything she did was for him. he was first on her mind when she wakes up in the morning, and the last thing on her mind of before retiring to bed. in fact, she was thinking of him as she laid in the puddle of her own blood. as she drew her last breath, she said a prayer of protection over her pride and joy, knowing that prayer shortens even the longest of distance.

I know for a fact that accidents happen everyday. all it takes is just for someone to be at the wrong place at the wrong time. but this accident was different. its repercussions were severe. and now whenever it comes to the first day of school, the boy is reminded of the loss of his mother.

mum, i may not have cried when you told me this story, but i'm crying now.

i'm doing the laundry now. in fact, i'm ironing one of your favourite blouse.
i know you told me many many times that it wasn't necessary to iron this piece of fabric. but i think i'll just go ahead and iron it today. infact, i'll iron your clothes for you anytime, mum. you deserve all the crinkle-free clothes in the world.

Season's Greetings.

2009-12-24T09:01:00.000-08:00

Blessed Christmas, everybody! May our year ahead overflow with endless love, joy and peace; made special by the warmth of friends and family. And as we celebrate Christmas, let us not forget the reason behind the season, that this signifies the day the Word became flesh, that our Lord Jesus came from heaven to earth, to walk among sinners, to show the way, to share a personal relationship with us sinners, and finally, to commit the ultimate sacrifice on the cross. Thank you, God, for giving us your only begotten son, that we may have a second chance, that we may have salvation, and to spend an eternity with You in heaven. what a wonderful Christmas present. i could only hope to repay such a debt by giving my heart to the Lord this Christmas.

Blessed Birthday, Lord Jesus.

A Date with My First Love.

2009-11-25T06:13:00.000-08:00

I got up early in the morning today and rubbed the sleep out of my system. i had no time to waste, in my heart i had a mission. I freshened up, made my way to the kitchen for a bite. wait, change of plans, i'll have my bite outside. i had to rush for a very important appointment, a date to be specific. In fear of being late, i grabbed my dating material, stuffed my peanut butter bread into my mouth and broke into a sprint. i had no time to waste. after fumbling with the keys i finally reached the garden where i was supposed to spend time with Him. knowing that the date was going to begin at any given moment, i took a deep breath to steady myself. i scowled at the fact that i was nervous. i had no reason to be nervous at all! i've encountered Him numerous times already! we practically grew up together! He always has been there for me, every single stage of my life. i started to get all worked up and so i said a prayer to calm my foolish heart.

And then i sensed His presence. but instead of feeling shocked by His sudden presence, i felt warmth and peace. i always felt that way around Him. He was special to me that way. i lifted my eyes to His face and smiled. suddenly, raw instincts took over and i opened my mouth and oceans of words poured out. spluttering incomplete sentences and stuttering at syllables, i wanted to tell Him everything, i HAD to tell Him everything. Very calmly, He raised a finger to His lips, hushing me. then, with the same finger, He pointed towards the garden. still red with embarrassment by my moment, i dutifully obeyed His gesture and looked out into the garden.

what i saw stole my breath away. i noticed the sneaky arrival of dawn. the morning mist that enveloped me earlier today has left as swiftly as it came. everything was so real, so clear. 'crystal clear' was an understatement. it was as though i was seeing the world through different eyes. was it the timing? maybe its because i'm not used to getting up early on non school days. everything seemed so alive, so luscious, so beautiful. rays of sunshine were filtered by the leaves on the trees. birds of all shapes and sizes were chatting with great enthusiasm amongst themselves, hopping from one tree to another. squirrels chased each other around in pairs. flowers of all colours and forms peeped up shyly from behind the leaves.. it was a dream, a vivid dream. all this while, He made no sound, not a peep, not a single mutter. a small smile played on His face as He watched my pupils relax, taking in every drop of the beauty that surrounded us.

An overwhelming sense of emotion flooded my system. i was tearing. i looked at Him, and found myself dumbstruck. this isn't how its supposed to be, i came here for us to talk. i was looking forward to this date. but then i realised, theres a reason behind this. He always has a reason for everything. this date isn't happening as according to my expectations because it is beyond my expectations. He has something better installed for me. and then, as if He read my mind, i felt a stronger, richer emotion pulsing through my veins, into my system. i was overwhelmed by gratefulness, sheer grace and also by a deep sense of understanding. today i turn 16, and because of that, it is a benchmark for my 16 years of existence. i was born into the arms of very loving parents, who loved me soo much they gave me 3 siblings. i was born a healthy child. God blessed me with 5 senses and the ability to walk. i had a roof on top of my head. to shield me from the scorching heat, to shelter me from the pouring rain. i had food on the table, and a loving mother to make sure that i am well nourished. i have clothes to wear, and a dad who loves shopping with me. i was blessed with an opportunity of education. i had a voice in my family, my opinions were valued. i've been bestowed upon the responsibility of leading my siblings, guiding them and being there for them every step of the way. God brought friends into my life, which made it a whole lot more colourful. i am certain that i will share an eternity with my creator when my time on earth is over because of what He did. i am so blessed. i have everything i need, everything that i could ever ask for. what should i be then, if not eternally grateful?

i am not worthy. i have done nothing to deserve such blessings, yet i am blessed. how can one repay such grace? what payment is expected of me? nothing. It was love that brought Him down from heaven to be born amongst sinners. it was love that kept Him on the cross until it was finished. this love still dwells among us. it is because of grace that we breathe, grace that we sing, grace that we may have eternal life. grace, that i am alive at 16 while many barely survive over 5.

i want to make a stand. as i grow older i need to make sure that some part of me never changes. and i want that part of me to be my love for God. i need to make God the reason for my living on earth. I need God in my breathing, my living; my sleeping, my waking. I need Him when i rest, while i work; in my thoughts and speech. I absolutely need Him in approving of my hopes and dreams; in guiding me at times when what i really should do is just to watch, and times when i am to wait. God in my laughing and weeping; my hurting and my healing. Everything. i need God in everything.

i finally found my tongue. and as i turn to face Him once more, i told Jesus that He will always be my first love.

Thank you, for everything, Lord Jesus.

It Is Done.

2009-11-22T23:58:00.000-08:00

Sat for the long dreaded Grade 8 piano exam today!
Its not that i don't like piano, in fact, i really enjoy music. its just the repetitive playing that bugs me. anyway, this is what my australian examiner said after my evaluation that really made my day.

Examiner : "Ahh.. you're tall and slim, you'll definitely have lots of boyfriends. Oooh yes, and you can play the piano very well too! you have very agile fingers. Boys will like you for that."

Me : "Hehe, you're looking very fine yourself too. thank you. but if a guy is going to marry me for my piano fingers, i'll be a lonely old hag by the time i have osteoporosis."

Examiner : "Ohoho! you're a funny girl too! well, choose the right guy alright?"

Me : "Yes, i believe my father will see to that fact. with a shotgun by his side of course."

Examiner : "Hahahaha! you take care, young Elena, you take care!"

now, there are 3 possibilities to this situation.
1) i did really really badly in my exams and he's trying to ease the blow of an 'F'.
2) He really meant what he said and i should just be happy that he said that.
3) He urgently needs new spectacles.

hmm.. i'll take number 3. thank you.

I Left My Heart in China.

2009-11-06T23:29:00.000-08:00

I have found a piece of heaven on earth - the middle kingdom.

i had an absolutely great time there! the FOOD, the FUN, and most importantly the FELLOWSHIP. it was an extremely blissful trip. one which made me dread the day that i had to board the plane back to Malaysia.

perhaps one of the reasons why i enjoyed the trip so much was because i could communicate with the people there with the very rusty Mandarin i speak. i even had the opportunity to haggle with the locals there. we left every souvenir shop with the shopkeeper almost reduced to tears from not being able to con these malaysians into buying their overpriced products. :)

and thats how your 'made in China' souvenirs came to be, my dear friends.

here are the few facts i've observed and picked up throughout my trip to shanghai,

-the weather was a steady 24 degrees celsius and even colder in during the nights.

UV rays are pretty strong during the day although the day may seem breezy and you do not feel the scorching heat.

-the means of transportation there was a mixture of motors and bicycles. lots of big cars, for the rich and bicycles with 'motors' for the middle classes. the taxis there were all volkswagens and yellow in colour. their roads system is the opposite of our system and vehicles there drive on the right side of the road. all steering wheels are on the left too.

-the population of shanghai is 19 million citizens.

-almost every where you turn your head in china, has historical value.

-rm1=1.9renminbi

-there are very few stray dogs on chinese streets. (you do the math)

-chinese people are pretty daring when it comes to stylish dressing. knee length boots and stockings dominate the pavement.

-there is no access to facebook in china because of tight censorship. :(

-chinese signboards are very amusing.

-chinese food gets even better in china. malaysia has 3 largest ethnic groups but china recognises 56 other nationalities, hence, an array of different culture and cuisine.

-chinese people can eat almost anything and everything. perhaps thats the reason why we couldn't find dragons dominating the sky, nor lochness monsters in the lakes. they all became exotic chinese dishes. :)

-out off all the chinese people we've came across in china, only 5 were overweight.

-basketball and not girls is the fantasy of young chinese boys with yao ming is their ultimate idol.

-most chinese people don't understand a single hoot of english nor are they impressed by anyone who speaks the language. if you speak english in china, especially infront of a salesman, thats it. the price shoots up and stays there.

-the bund is the most romantic place you can bring your chinese girl friend for a midnight stroll.

-they sell McPork at McD outlets there.

-Shang Hai nightlife is full of zest with plenty of nightclubs for your pick, beautifully decorated streets and sky scrapers.

-it is not chinese culture to throw their toilet paper into the bowl after use (something which is like second nature to us Malaysians) because their 'indah water' system isn't build to support such rubbish. instead, they throw it in the bin next to the bowl.

-because of heavy competition, companies fight to outdo each other by constantly improving their products through means of packaging, presenting, advertising and so on so forth. hence, for chinese shoppers, they can get the best of a product, provided they have the money to pay for it.

-the chinese adore zhang ziyi. nothing new there.

anyway, i was just browsing through the pictures we took throughout the trip and the more i looked, the richer the memories that flood my mind. i hear the water lapping sound of the indoor swimming pool at fuchun resort calling out to me, the way Uncle Chia cracks the funniest jokes at the weirdest of moments, the way Aunty Siew Yen laughs, the way Aunty Wendy hints for Daniel to eat more pancakes.. memories of everybody eating together, laughing together, and just plain being with one another and enjoying each other's company.
memories like these would not fade with time.

i believe that they are carved too deeply in my heart to fade with passing time.

i really admire the fact that the friendship between my dad and his gang of childhood friends are still going strong after all these years. its really becomes what we young people would exclaim as 'COOL'. Everyone knows that in this modern day and time, true friends are so hard to come by. True, unselfish and genuine friendship is are like the rarest of gems; so precious and so hard to find. now, those days, group names were the 'in' thing so the 7 of them went by the group name - the Mights. (i think its much better than calling themselves 'the gay lads' WHICH WAS A GROUP NAME THAT WAS QUITE POPULAR THOSE DAYS) And to think that the Mights are still so close knitted even through the harsh winds of time, i take my hat off to God for preserving their friendship. As my Aunty Margaret had put it in words very nicely, even the wives of the Mights have found good friends in each other. With the same logic, if the children of the 'Mights' had more time to spend with each other, i believe that strong friendships are bound to form, which is something that i'm counting on very much, you know what i mean, girls ;) ehhehehee.

Ultimately, the way i see it, every Might is a blessing to one another. Also, i believe thatevery Might is a blood brother that God forgot to give each Might, so He let them become best friends instead. Hence, i am proud, to have so many loving and caring uncles and aunties.

so for those who were so nice to ask me how was my trip to Shang Hai and witness me switch to dream mode, you know what i mean. it wasn't the food, lodging, sight seeing that made this trip special to me; though they did play their respective roles in making this trip so enjoyable.

but in my opinion, what made this trip unlike any other was the fact that i spent this trip with the people whom my dad had grew up with. it was special company and indescribable fellowship that made this trip a holiday to remember, for me.

Datuk Air-Con Man.

2009-10-16T00:49:00.000-07:00

this morning, a guy came to service my brother's room's air conditioner. i must admit he isn't the most attractive thing on planet earth. but he kinda has one of those faces that only a mother can love.

Air-Con Man.

yes. air-con man was so funny at our house today he should be awarded datukship.

it all started when he kept bending down to reach for stuff. and its not like my siblings and i like to check out people's buttocks but he was an EXCEPTION! and woohoo. air-con man has buttcwacks deeper than the klang valley.

i was fortunate enough to not bear witness of the 'klang valley'. but the survivors barely made it out alive. daniel and joshua fled their room like lightning to LOL in the garden. and they couldn't stand being in the same room as him ever since.

unfortunately, one cannot have it all as air-con man doesn't have very good stamina. he was panting and moaning while trying to pull himself onto joshua's study desk and was grunting very loudly in dire attempts to yank the air-con off the wall.

air-con man, thanks for making our day.

you are forever welcomed in our house. just remember to wear underwear next time. :)

Michie Mouse.

2009-10-10T01:45:00.000-07:00

MICHELLE CHOONG TURNS 16 today!

also, today, a bunch of us friends suffered a near death experience by attempting to finish the signature volcanic pancake dish from Paddington's House of Pancakes. i think we all left the place with a new found phobia. moral of the story? never eat dessert for lunch. main course is main course.

Back to Michelle.

i've known michelle for about 10 months now. well, i mean known KNOWN. we've grew closer ever since we became classmates. :)
of course i knew who she was before, i mean who wouldn't notice this rosy faced girl with that trademark wide smile that never goes away? am i right or am i right?

Michelle is absolutely made up of sugar. she's extremely sweet. so sweet that willy wonka should name a candy after her, preferably something extremely corny like Michie Mouse Delight.

Yes. she is THAT sweet that she's forced to have a man in her life to ward off the ants.
ahem ahem.

here are a couple of facts about our SWEETIE MICHIE.

she's the kind of friend who would tolerate your lameness, no matter how much you over-do it. eg, "hey mich, whats the biggest city in our country?" "heheh, i dunnoe, kl?" "nooo, city nurhaliza." "HAHAHA! GOOD ONE ELENA!" *on a personal note, that was a very funny lame joke.

she'll set aside her homework (almost gladly actually) to listen about her friend's day.

she's the kind of person who would agree to go to toilet with you although she's been to the toilet alone 5 times today.

she never gets offended. no matter how harsh and brutal wai kee's apek slang may be. eg, "eh stupid girl, pass me my book can onnot?"

she's able to manage a sincere smile when teacher calls her up to recite physics formulas. formulas of which, she knows nuts about!

she's cool enough to give a name to a baby plant in school. what was it again? OH YEAH! EVERGREEN! :)

but evergreen die because of a guy's acidic pee. :(

michelle is one of those girls who is beautiful without even lifting a finger.
she's never a vain pot.

MATTER OF FACT : i really REALLY appreciate her as a friend. kind and gentle as she is, i have one last praise for her.

we all know how girls often have a certain body part they're absolutely proud of?
the typical answers would be hips, lips, nose, boobs, tongue, ankle etc.

but in my opinion, michelle's most attractive body part is her ear.

why? because she's a very good listener. and sometimes, what we really need is a person who's willing to hear you out.
so thanks michelle, for being such a blessing to us. know it or not, you've made a difference in many people's lives.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Father Lord in Heaven, for 16 years You've watched over Your little gem, michelle. 16 years and counting, never once have You left her side, in fact, You have always been there for her every step of the way. So Lord, i pray as we celebrate her birthday that we would come to understand that we are celebrating a miracle of Yours. and Lord, i pray as she continues to blossom into the wonderful woman of God she's destined to be, that You'll keep her safe and sound. Give her Your wisdom so that others wouldn't take advantage of her sincerity. Surround her with Your love, that she would never feel lonely, even on the darkest of days. May you be the source of her inspiration, the source of her strength, her determination.
May she be a living testimony proclaiming the goodness of the living God.
In Jesus' precious name, Amen.
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Blessed Sweet Sixteen, Michelle!
Have a great one. :) and seriously, LAY OFF THE PANCAKES.

michelle: " i feel so loved!"
elena: " you'd better. we spent rm73 on that cake."
:)

Prefects Hi-Tea 2009

2009-10-06T03:50:00.001-07:00

there's this bunch of salmon pink roses that i happily took home from Royale Bintang last saturday. my mum had them all propped up in a clear vase by my bed.
So every morning i would wake up to smell each and every of the pretty things. but what stands out the most to me is not that sweet fragrance, but how they seem to wither more and more with each passing day.
i guess that's a symbolic reminder to me that hi-tea is over, and all that's left of it is sweet memories and, of course facebook pictures.

playtimes' over.

let's get down to business.

Pmr starts this week. to be honest, i feel the heat even more than my brother. i know he'll do his best. and his best is enough for me, no matter the outcome. same to all those pmr takers this year. if you've put in your share of hard work, it will pay off.

Our lessons comes from the journey, not the destination.

so i pray that as my dear brother (and his peers of course) lays his head to rest tonight, and the butterflies start to flutter in his belly, i pray, not for them to vanish completely, but for them to be bearable enough for him to have a good night's rest.

all of us at home have faith in you, daniel!
so have faith in yourself.
but most importantly, have faith in Jesus.

My Generation?

2009-09-18T01:47:00.000-07:00

Just took my hands off the book 'Shopaholic & Sister' lent to me by my dear friend Jun Ning and now its resting peacefully between two of my biggest encyclopedias.
hehe, if you're reading this, i've really enjoyed it and i hope you're enjoying my 'Capten Underpants' and 'The Poltergoose' in return. ;)i admit that i was a little prejudice towards that book in the beginning. MAINLY BECAUSE of its bimbo tone of narrating. with becky bloomwood pulling nonsensical stunts like marching up the mountain in the pouring rain with diamante kitten heels, a mini skirt and a designer handbag.
but the book turned out to be quite a pleasant read. all thanks to the twists in the stories. and you would think that the story lines of such books would be totally predictable.

but what tugged at me the most was the message embodied between the pages.
ultimately, everyone is obsessed with something. it may be your work, fashion, rocks, popularity, housework, knowledge, God(birth place of extremists), FOOD, sleep, love(you become a very possessive lover which is a big no-no in any relationship) and so on, so forth.

i, personally find that there's nothing more therapeutic than sleeping.
i need at least 9 hours of sleep per day in order to not feel sluggish the next day. no, i'm not ready for caffeine.
its a very bad habit i think. my folks tell me that its not very good. but after that they sheepishly admit that this may be a genetical trait so it may not be entirely my fault. HAHAHEHE, YESH.

Confessions of a Sleepaholic. -Eleanor Ophelia.
whaatt? i need a grand, author-like name. (to protect my real identity) ingenius eh?

too much sleep makes people lethargic. what more people who don't exercise very often like ME.
gotta change gotta change gotta change. maybe i'll give coffee a try. but then the people around me would suffer from my caffeine repercussions. like seriously, would you really like to see a very hyper elena? do you need to step on dog droppings to know that your mum would kill you? no, i think i'll lay off the caffeine for now.

its not nice to be lethargic. its almost being labeled as lazy.
thats not very nice. :(

i need to change. its all part of the bigger plan.

behold! the inspiration of my week.

I am part of a Lost Generation
and I refuse to believe that
I can change the world.
I realize this may be a shock, but
“Happiness comes from within”
is a lie and
“Money will make me happy.”
So in 30 years I will tell my children
they are not the most important thing in my life.
My employer will know that I have my priorities straight because
work
is more important than
family.
I tell you this,
once upon a time
families stayed together
but this will not be true in my era.
This is a quick fix society.
Experts tell me
30 years from now I will be celebrating the 10th anniversary of my divorce.
I do not concede that
I will live in a country of my own making.
In the future,
environmental destruction will be the norm.
No longer can it be said that
my peers and I care about this Earth.
It will be evident that
my generation is apathetic and lethargic.
It is foolish to presume that
there is hope.
And all of this will come true unless we choose to reverse it.
Now read backwards line by line.
-Jonathan Reed-
Are we part of a lost generation? i refuse to believe that this is our sealed fate.
and i'm gonna do something to change it. with God by my side anything is possible.
now, are you with me?

A Breath of Familiarity.

2009-09-03T08:04:00.000-07:00

Lord I come to You,

Let my heart be changed, renewed,
Flowing from the grace,
That I’ve found in You.
Lord I’ve come to know,
The weaknesses I see in me,
Will be stripped away,
By the power of Your love.

Hold me close,
Let Your love surround me.
Bring me near,
Draw me to Your side.
And as I wait,
I’ll rise up like the eagle.
And I will soar with You,
Your Spirit leads me on,
In the power of Your love.

Lord unveil my eyes,
Let me see You face to face,
The knowledge of Your love,
As You live in me.
Lord renew my mind,
As Your will unfolds in my life,
In living every day,
By the power of Your love.

And I will soar with You, Your Spirit leads me on,
In the power of Your love.

Only You know my heart's desires.

Capture me in Your love once again.

Thank you, Lord.

Whats Your Personality?

2009-08-22T02:04:00.000-07:00

the kind lady with funny breath says that i is special!

was blog hopping today and found dansim's blog. apparently he took a personality test on ipersonic and it was pretty good stuff.
so after 5 minutes of labouring brainwork ( they asked me such deep questions!) and physical pains from being experimented on on Jumba's evil ship,

they've concluded that i'm a..

Daniel Ong with curves.

yes, that AND..

A Spontaneous Idealist

Spontaneous Idealists are creative, lively and open-minded persons. They are humorous and dispose of a contagious zest for life. Their enthusiasm and sparkling energy inspires others and sweeps them along. They enjoy being together with other people and often have an uncanny intuition for their motivations and potential. Spontaneous Idealists are masters of communication and very amusing and gifted entertainers. Fun and variety are guaranteed when they are around. However, they are sometimes somewhat too impulsive in dealing with others and can hurt people without really meaning to do so, due to their direct and sometimes critical nature.

This personality type is a keen and alert observer; they miss nothing which is going on around them. In extreme cases, they tend to be oversensitive and exaggeratedly alert and are inwardly always ready to jump. Life for them is an exciting drama full of emotionality. However, they quickly become bored when things repeat themselves and too much detailed work and care is required. Their creativity, their imaginativeness and their originality become most noticeable when developing new projects and ideas - they then leave the meticulous implementation of the whole to others. On the whole, Spontaneous Idealists attach great value to their inner and outward independence and do not like accepting a subordinate role. They therefore have problems with hierarchies and authorities.

If you have a Spontaneous Idealist as your friend, you will never be bored; with them, you can enjoy life to the full and celebrate the best parties. At the same time, they are warm, sensitive, attentive and always willing to help. If Spontaneous Idealists have just fallen in love, the sky is full of violins and their new partners are showered with attention and affection. This type then bubbles over with charm, tenderness and imagination. But, unfortunately, it soon becomes boring for them once the novelty has worn off. Boring everyday life in a partnership is not for them. However, should the partner manage to keep their curiosity alive and not let routine and familiarity gain the upper hand, Spontaneous Idealists can be inspiring and loving partners.

Adjectives which describe your type: spontaneous, enthusiastic, idealistic, extroverted, theoretical, emotional, relaxed, friendly, optimistic, charming, helpful, independent, individualistic, creative, dynamic, lively, humorous, full of zest for life, imaginative, changeable, adaptable, loyal, sensitive, inspiring, sociable, communicative, erratic, curious, open, vulnerable.

Personally, i feel that i can pretty much agree with the test results.
i don't really take these sort of tests, and ESPECIALLY NOT those tests on facebook!
what weird sexbot, what do your eyes say about youuu, does your crush like you, whats the first letter of the name of the girl that loves you.. M-um..

sincerely, i'd rather play my happy farm than take those quizzes. ;P

if i need an honest opinion on myself, i usually go to my mum.

so yes. when given the choice between peanuts or pistachios, demand a fruitbar. :)
take the ipersonic test, today.

No Hate Towards The Gate.

2009-08-06T01:37:00.000-07:00

when we're all grown up, and we have our own families, our own children.
we'll tend to annoy them by telling them about the 'good old days'. for instance :
'...when baba was a young chap, i was very good at running, always the first at every finish line..'

*pats beer belly and beams*

'..when mama was still schooling arh, i was very brainy, always the top in my form..'

*pats hair affectionately and beams*

its true! everyone does that and everyone of us, teens will do the same, all in good time.

i however, would have a very interesting story to tell my grandchildren when i'm 80 years old with hardy any teeth left, and sucking porridge through a straw.

'..when ahmah was a young girl of er...oh yah! 16 years of age, i almost got flattened by my school gate arh...'
and all my little dearies would laugh at me.

Yes. i almost got flattened by the school gate and i'm not ashamed of it.
the thing is, no one could have foreseen the accident as it was just coincidental.
so no fingers pointed, no one is to be blamed.

yes i ALMOST got flattened by the school gate but i DIDN'T get flattened.
and i have God to thank for that.
i escaped this tragedy with only 3 minor bruises. one on my left forehead, on my left shoulder and my left wrist.

the story goes as such, it was about 7.28 in the morning. Uncle Bala came and lock the smaller gate at Pagar C, while opening the bigger gate next to it. that was something very unusual. he never really touched the larger gate on normal days. so yeah he opened the gate, but after awhile, i felt itchy handed and i thought that the gate was opened too narrow for my taste. i had the students best intention in mind actually. i saw the many bags that they were carrying, the bicycles that they came on.. and i really wanted to widen the gate, so that we can all enter school grounds with ease.

so i made my way to the gate.

looking back, i think i made 2 mistakes.

1stly i should have stopped the flow of students before i made my move.

i should have done that, even though no one but me was injured, i should have made sure that no one was in range of getting hurt. this is why i feel very thankful that despite being slightly hurt, no one else was hurt along with me. from a sincere heart, i really really am thankful that my fellow peers are not hurt.

2ndly, i should have pushed from the rear end of the gate, instead of yanking it sideways

gates are heavy. school gates are EXTRA heavy. they're huge. and this school gate is an old school gate. i should have registered that in my mind before i thought of shifting it. but i didn't. perhaps i was too distracted with the wheels under the gate? or the pretty clouds in the sky? i don't know. ultimately, i should have pushed the gate, and not slide it. uncle bala pushed it, did he not? i should have considered that also. Why is it that i keep stressing about PUSH and not SLIDE? because if i had PUSHED. the gate wouldn't have fell on me. it would have just fell with a loud 'clank' on the floor. no one would have gotten hurt.

Anyway, i shouldn't keep lingering on what i should and should not have done. Whats done is done. the circumstances were uncalled for, all it takes is for a person to be at the wrong place at the wrong time.

But i learnt alot through this.
the reason why i sustained such minor injuries was because many students came to my aid when the gate came crashing down on me.
the reason why the swelling on my head is minimal is because my dear friends and my very own brother rushed me to the office immediately for aid.
the reason why i felt peace was because Pn Mary-Ann said a prayer of healing for me in her room.

if you saw me tear today, it was because i was touched, not because i was in pain.

i was well cared after. i experienced acts of kindness, from everybody who knew about my situation.
a kind word, a generous act, sacrifices.

my dad keeps calling me, all the way from work. and he's calling me so much now, double the times he usually calls me everyday. (mind you he calls me alot). and he calls to remind me to take my medication, he calls to check on my swelling, and my food intake, he checks whether or not i'm in pain..

i am touched. by the students, who came to my aid at the sight of the falling gate.
i am grateful, towards my friends and teachers, who INSISTED i go home to rest, and to get a check-up.
i was reluctant at first. but then gave in to their persistence.

so the way i see it, let's not play a blame game.
let's just accept the situation as it is, and be thankful, because things could have turned out much worst.

:)

Stepping Up.

2009-07-30T07:50:00.000-07:00

Tomorrow, the natural change between old and new takes place in CF.
Do i feel sad? not really. Happy? The usual happy feeling.
To me, Stepping up and Stepping down is a norm of life.
its as natural as the exchange cycle in our circulatory system.
the old red blood cells would, without fail, and without hesitation, be replaced by their fresh and new successors, every month.
its the way of life.
the old will fade away, and the new will take its place.
Parents that return to the Lord leave great legacies and, of course, not to mention, the long awaited and fought over Will to polish it off.
A man's wife dies, and he finds love and marries again.
Same for the late King Henry VIII. He just chops off her head and remarries again.
Sarah Palin steps down from her role as government of Alaska and someone is to replace her.
the UN council rotate members every 2 years.
Autumn leaves fall and new buds takes their place.

Change is inevitable.

and the special thing is, you don't step down because you suck.
not at all.
you step down, because you move on to better things.

for a retiree, stepping down could have meant more time for his wife, thus rekindling the undying love they felt for each other 40 years ago.
it could signify rest and peace after years and years of serving the company.

Stepping Up or stepping down is a form a change.

Change is a chunk of play dough. YOU make what you want of it.
if change is uncomfortable for you, then it would bring suffering.
if, however, you accept change, your life will definitely, change for the better.

i choose to accept change, as the will of God. wherever life brings me, as long as i have God, my life has meaning and purpose.
With God by my side, i am secure.

Amen.

Opah Ellie, the Up and Rising.

2009-07-18T00:07:00.000-07:00

Thank you f5 cfers for pouring your hearts out at cf today.
You guys inspire. Keep the fire burning for Christ.
God Bless you guys.

ps, Opah Ellie loves you and she owes each and every one of you a fully stocked fridge.

Hope to see you again at Opah Ellie's Christmas Special. (this year, we'll be giving out free babies.)

About Giving.

2009-07-15T07:21:00.000-07:00

Give, for it is in giving that we receive.

Thanks, God, for teaching me that very important lesson in life.

Em-Mah.

2009-06-04T03:23:00.000-07:00

I owe this woman a birthday post.

so here it is. long overdue, but from a sincere heart.

Okay. so what is the most outstanding thing about eMAHly?

this girl's passion, drive and zest for life can all be summed up in one word.

PINK.

and not just any pink. HAWT PINK! which is a colour i really can't seem to find in my text colour options.

But all is fine. any tom, dick and harry with the slightest hint of logic will tell you that HAWT PINK is a very blinding shade of pink.

its the sort of pink that would make an old man ask his wife "honey, did you burn yourself with the iron again?" , drive a bull to instant rage (that even beats red's record time) , make all the flowers in the park tear off their petals in shame, heck, that would make ALL MEN bury their heads in the soil. also in shame.

Yes, dear friends.
Emily loves pink.

and if you don't know that, learn.it.up.quick.

or..
she will use her pink powers to ~insert nasty torture here~ you.

But since she's my friend, and this post is, after all, a tribute to her annual birthday.

i would feed this post with pink stuff.

and EVERYONE is to enjoy the amazing peaceful sensation and tranquility the colour brings forth.

no i wasn't lying through gritted teeth.

Okay. since we've already travelled back in time numerous times to check out the past of many people, we shall now take on an innovative stance and look towards the future.

we shall check out emily's future. ooh how enriching.

Emily's future Gadgets.

From top : Emily's Pink Camera, Emily's Pink ITouch, Emily's Pink Phone, Emily's Emergency Pink Phone, Emily's Pink PSP.

so, Ladies and Gentlemen, what's the common denominator? think hard. :)

Ooh, look!
Emily's Pink Laptop! Which also comes with a free Pink Mouse and also a free Pink Hello Kitty Mouse Pad to match!

*emily Squeals in delight*

Check This Out!

A Pink Coupe De Ville! Emily, how about that? :)

But yeah, we ought to really give some credit to the colour too la.

in certain scenarios and under lawful conditions,

Pink .. ~~can~~ ~~alwa~~ OFTEN proves itself to be a beautiful colour.

That wasn't so bad right?

Fine, Emily, we give it to you.

Pink is a lovely colour. Sometimes. :)

HAPPY 16TH BIRTHDAY DEAR EMILY!

Have a pink one! :)
_______________________________________________________
Personal message to Emily :
warning, snoopers will be shot.
Dear Emily, you have always been someone different in my eyes. Something sets you apart from the crowd, really, somehow something just does. So, yeah. i pray that you keep holding on to that because God has always wanted us to be unique, right? And i also perceive in you the spirit to follow, to do well under leadership. But sometimes i wonder whether you would one day step up into a position of leadership. i have this feeling you will. no matter how not you may think of it now. Another obvious good trait of yours would be that you are very compassionate towards others. You know when is everyone's birthday and you pretty darn make sure that you either plan something out, or you make them a fabulous card. you may think of this as a norm to your regime, but in fact, it is touching lives. thanks for being such a blessing to all of us.
Father Lord, i pray that you continue to bless my dear friend Emily in abundance as she continues to serve you and glorify you in all that she does. I pray that she would continue to live her life as a child of God and that she will continue to grow in faith in You. Bless her as she tackles the giants of her life, and may You provide her with the strength and power to move mountains. I pray that she would hold fast to Your word and to Your love, and that she would be an inspiration to the people around her.
Keep her and her family safe from all harm and evil.
In Jesus' most mighty name i pray, Amen.
Once again, Happy Birthday, Em. :)

Ry-the-Bomb

2009-05-15T17:42:00.000-07:00

Breed of Monster : Ry-Ann Lim Kimm Jyn

Age: Unsure, but Professionals that dedicated their lives in research of this mysterious creature believe that she just recently turned 16 on May 13th - her suspected date of birth.

Places Conquered and Destroyed : (kindly refer to graphic illustration below)

Caused devastation and suffering to countries from all continents of the world. As clearly shown on the map, the blue dots represent the places under her domain. And if you would feast your eyes to the bottom left of the map, you would see that she even conquered a large portion of the Pacific Ocean. The creature proved herself very intelligent as she only caused devastation to the certain regions of the ocean, to form her name.
Characteristics of the Ry-Ann Monster : The creature is not at all hard to spot as her characteristics are both distinct AND deadly.
She show signs of :
Uncontrolled Retarded Laughter , Random Recital of Lines from Dexter's Laboratory , Lameness Oozing out of Every Possible Pore of her Body.
Precaution upon encounter of monster :
1) Avoid Eye-Contact ; gaze away upon her gaze.
2) Immitate the call of the Goozfrabaa bird ; Word-for-word bird call : Ah-keh-keh-keh-keh-KAAH! it is said that the Goozfrabaa bird was once the love of the Ry-Ann monster and an imitation of it's call would make her swoon and relapse into fond memories of 'the good old days'. ps, this is a tried and tested formula.
3) Perform the Dynamitez Cheer ; this would trick the Ry-Ann monster in participating in your 'dance-off', which you will most definitely loose but this would buy you precious time to formulate a ingenuous escape plan.
Ultimately, no one has ever survived an encounter with the Ry-Ann Monster.
Our only hope of survival now is to..

Wish Her A Very Very Happy Birthday on May 13th!

_______________________________________________________

Father Lord in heaven, i know you hear my every prayer, but now, i pray, that you will keep your firm hand over my dear Ry-Ann's life. I pray that you continue to Bless her and the people around her in abundance. May she be a shining light to the nations and may she win many hearts over to You. I pray for your protection and guidance upon her life as You have called her by name for Your Holy purpose. I pray Lord, as she grows into the wonderful woman of God she is destined to be, that she would never forget to put You 1st in her life, and that she would glorify You in everything she does, in every way possible.

Thank you for bringing her into my life. She truly means so much to me, not only as a great friend, but also a great sister-in Christ.

Thank you Lord, and i ask all this, In Jesus most precious name i pray, Amen.

_______________________________________________________

BLESSED 16TH BIRTHDAY RY!

Thank you for all your friendship, and also for the many great years of kinship to come. :)

God Bless.

Garden Intruder.

2009-04-22T03:02:00.000-07:00

Girls are like apples on trees. The best ones are at the top of the trees. The boys don’t want to reach for the good ones because they are afraid of falling and getting hurt. Instead, they just get the rotten apples that are on the ground that aren’t as good, but easy. So the apples at the top think there is something wrong with them, when, in reality, they are amazing. They just have to wait for the right boy to come along, the one who’s brave enough to climb all the way to the top of the tree. -some really wise person

Just the other day, i was in the toilet with ashley. she had to pee.

when she came out and we washed our hands, she took one hard look at her reflection in the mirror and told me that she did not like her nose. and that she thought that it was big and ugly.

and i told her that its okay because she has a big butt to match her big nose.

but haha, no that was not how i replied her. i told her what any normal good friend would say. i told her, that her nose does not look like ugly fungi and in fact, looks fine.

but then she went on to say that ashley simpsons' nose job was so pretty and all. and i responded by pointing at the noses of random people we met on the way back to class while exclaiming, "She has a great nose!" "He has a terrific nose!". i was the perfect picture of retardedness, wasn't i? ash?

but despite all the drama and the laughs. that incident really got me thinking. i realised, that there are many people out there, who feel insecure because of they claim to be 'not beautiful'. to not have that sharp nose they want so much. to be as thin as Gisele Bunchen. to have long silky hair that dances with the wind. to have great skin. to have big, round, double lidded eyes.

and ashley's case isn't the first, nor is it the most extreme.

As you can see, Anorexic and Bulimic cases are on the rise. Surveys conducted showed that majority of girls nowadays suffer from emotional insecurity. and that is very very sad indeed.

at times like this, you really have to ask yourself one firm question. Do you have to be blond, blue eyed and thin to be beautiful?
Its simply ludicrous to believe and promote that there should only be one standard form of beauty in the world. Are we gonna succumb to such modern communism? And to think that millions of youths worldwide are subjected to peer pressure regarding this issue which has no depth to it whatsoever!
Beauty lies in the eyes of the beholder. Many people have grown weary of hearing that quote. but i believe that it is a very true statement. Beauty comes in many forms. People's tastes differ. therefore, young girls should be fairly aware of that. whats beautiful, is for each person to decide him/herself. Ugly Betty is clear proof of that.

But what i really stand for, is beauty on the inside. or in other words, inner beauty. I believe, that the most attractive attribute of a person, would be his/her love for God. if a person genuinely wants to please God, and to seek God's face, then he would go all out to do things that are pleasing in God's own eyes. He would be a living example of God's grace and mercy, and he would strive the extra mile to grow in the likeness of Christ. We Christians believe that our life here on earth we're living for God, and to do his will. We have a great commission to carry out during our short time here on planet earth, and that is to spread the Good News to the poor, to heal the sick, and to declare the coming of God's Kingdom. and to do that, we have to first reach in, to the depths of our hearts, to set ourselves right with God. we have to humble ourselves, deny ourselves, take up our cross and follow Christ. (Mark 8:34)

Thats why attitude is so important. its how you carry yourself in the world, and how your portray your personality that counts. not how curly is your hair, or how long your eye lashes are.
it is THAT simple and THAT clear cut. but the world seems to be so caught up with the outer package all the time, it simply sends the wrong message. period. and to think that this is affecting the mindsets of the future generation of the world.
yes, us.
We ought to start standing up, and standing up bold. To declare to the world, that to look presentable is one thing, but to be vain is another. Together we must come to our senses, that the world will be in our hands one day, whether we like it or not. and we are responsible, to make sure, that when it is our turn to receive the baton, to resume the race, our hearts are right. We should put an end to the wrong message thats circulating in the minds of our fellow peers this very moment.

Be the change, start the ripple. We should all play our part in this.
Stand up, for what is right.
Together, we, as a people of this generation will make a difference. it all starts with us, our hearts, our mentalities. we've got to set that straight. we have to.
to those good apples on the top of the tree. you are precious. never ever question your value. you are beautiful. the fact that the men aren't climbing up to get you yet proves that you are too beautiful for them to handle. just be patient and wait on the Lord, and in the meanwhile keep doing what you do thats pleasing in His eyes. He will definitely reward you.
As said in Jeremiah 29:11
11 For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.
You see red and juicy apples at the top? God Loves You so very much! He has your whole life planned out for you! He knows all the spoilers, he CREATED the spoilers.
So do not worry. He will send that brave and couragous knight in shining armour up that tree. Man AND horse. Just trust God with the time switch.

He WILL fill your life with purpose. If only you'd let him.

Tian Xi Bwain

2009-04-13T07:06:00.000-07:00

He always completes his add maths paper under record time,
He stays up till unearthly hours to perfect his chess playing skills,
He finds it amusing to poke fun at my super tasteful welcome quote every time he visits my blog,
"He he stays up to read his joke book till the wee hours of the morning and even LAUGHS TO HIMSELF. LOL." -quote Suet Ying.
He has a bird-nest like mop of luscious curly hair (oh wow just like me!!) to keep the cold away from his TIAN XI BRAIN!
He set of straight teeth are the only asset he has to charm girls!

He is THE ONE,
THE ONLY..

TIAN XI BRAIN!! :)

oh yeah mann! this post just wouldn't be right without those 3 words. :)

oh yes, my man tian xi is turning 16 in about 2 hours time.

they just grow up so quickly you know?

one minute you thought you've had enough of feeding him oats and cleaning his poop.

but the next minute,

he's slipping through your fingers once again..

HECK what am i SAYING?

*slaps self left right up front.

BUT ITS TRUE! LOOK AT HIS BABY PICTURES!

just look at him!
look! i'm holding his tiny, insignificant hand with my elegant and smooth fair hand!
I mean look at him! LOOK AT HIS MOUTH!
WHAT WERE YOU DOING? TIAN XI?
did a colourful butterfly catch your eye? did you see another hawt ~~monkey~~ girl walk by? and you certainly didn't loose the hairiness over the years.
in fact, i think puberty helped THICKEN the jungle. :)

lets take a look at another childhood picture of him, shall we?

oh my, look at that SMILE!
look at those TEETH!
i tell you, your dentist really did do a great job at fixing your pearly whites.
your teeth was the only part of your body the professionals were able to fix. :(
to tell you the truth,
when i brought you to see your plastic surgeons,
(all 15 of them you know!!)
they were unable to do anything to your face and your badly mishapped body.
and to think that they were professionals.
plastic surgery after plastic surgery, they were unable to make you look normal again.

i was heart stricken, but i never gave up.
every single day, i would yank you up from bed,
and slap your over sized ears 50 times each ear.
i would spend at least 3 hours everyday, to shave your furry body.
i would use my delicate yet muscular fingers to PRY open your little beady eyes,
i stretch the poor little pieces of membrane to their limit everyday!
ALL IN STRONG HOPE,
that you would look slightly better than you did before.

pfft i say to those plastic surgeons and all my precious money along with it.

i would make tian xi beautiful, MYSELF.

and i succeeded.. in making you look somewhat bearable to the sighted world.
now you don't need to wear a bag over your head when we head to IKEA anymore.

you were even able to take this picture!
your first ever picture with a girl!
ooh, and a very pretty one too!
see?

*in sobs*
MY TIAN XI IS ALL GROWN UP ALREADY!!
WHAT A DRASTIC CHANGE FROM THE MONKEY AND DONKEY HE RESEMBLED WHEN HE WAS YOUNG, NO?
i don't know how much you paid this girl to stand still to take a picture with you..
but however much you're in debt to her, MUMMY WILL BAIL YOU OUT!
i'm just too proud for words. you did the right thing. :)
haha. but back to the serious stuff.
thanks for your friendship, tians. i really appreciate it. and i'm pretty sure i'm not the only one who does.
you have this very unique heart of gold. you're always there to extend a hand to others. people can really see you radiate good morals, and thats absolutely great!
Continue to shine on for God. if leadership is what God has called you to do, i pray that you'll rise up to be a strong man of God. That God will use you mightily to touch lives, and to do great things. May your lifestyle and your attitude towards life be something to be followed by the juniors, and something to be proud of by your parents, and your loved ones.
I just want to encourage you to keep on doing what you're doing, and that God's hand will be upon whatever you decide to take on. just know that we're all right back supporting you.
Continue to be a responsible brother you are to Yi Fen, and also a responsible son to your parents, and most importantly, be a responsible child of God.

Blessed 16th Birthday, Tian Xi!

you'll always be our tian xi brain. :)
God Bless.

SophieLiza

2009-03-28T07:34:00.000-07:00

One little slip of the tongue and i land myself in jokes.
Stewpeed word. left me emotionally scarred for life!
Abreast.
i'm NEVER mentioning you ever again, you're officially OUT of my vocabulary.
you're the reason why the debate team giggles whenever we begin our speeches.
you even stained the meaning of the words : 'uplift' and 'support'.
and even TARNISHED THE GOOD NAME OF PUSH UP BRAS!

Abreast, one evil word.

and sophie never lets me forget that it was i who brought 'fame' to the word, Abreast.

which brings me back to the purpose of this post.

Sophie.

Born on the 29th of March 16 years ago, she's reminded of her birth yearly.
and yes, you didn't know that, never did, till i enlightened you.

so, yes.
i won't go ALL the way back till when it all began like how i did with ashley,
but instead, i would describe the labour process!

16 years ago, a heavily pregnant Aunty Zafarina was working out. and Uncle Jamal was giving her moral support.

Uncle J : "Go dear! loose all those belly fats! Oh yeah! thats the way! thats the way!"
Aunty Z : "Darling jangan kacau, you sangat noisy! Go get me a glass of water! Not from the fish pond this time! think about the baby!" *pats belly*
Uncle J : "Oh yes, sorry darling, yes, yes, think about our baby. and what water does sophie want today? Ice water, Sea Water, OH OH! WATERmelon! sophie loves watermelon right? oh yesh she does, yeshhh she dooeesss." *cooes at wife's belly*
Aunty Z : *smacks the back of husband's head* "Just go get my water now pleas-
AAAAARRRRRRHHH! OHMYGOSH i think MY WATER just BROKE!!"
Uncle J : *releases a high pitch scream*
Aunty Z : *slaps husband* "PULL YOURSELF TOGETHER WOMAN!! NOW CARRY ME TO THE CAR SO THAT I CAN TELL SOPHIE THAT I GAVE BIRTH TO HER IN THE HOSPITAL LIKE EVERYONE ELSE AND NOT IN THE GYM!"
Uncle J : "YES BOSS!"
*picks up Aunty Zafarina and carries her to the car, straps her in*
Aunty Z : "HONEY WHY DID YOU STRAP ME IN THE DRIVER'S SEAT?"
Uncle J : "I CAN'T DRIVE WHEN I FEEL THE CONTRACTIONS!!!"
Aunty Z : " SAYANG, SAYA YANG GIVING BIRTH DI SINI!"
Uncle J : " oh ya horr."
*carries her to the backseat*

after 2 hours of labour,

Sophia Aliza binti Jamal was born!

an anonymous comment (since neither the doctors or the nurses wanted to admit to it) on her birth was :
Very healthy baby ~~boy~~ girl. Mother was grinning the whole time throughout labour. Her grin looked sincere. Had to drag father out of the ward 12 5 a couple of times because of loud screaming. All 5 epidurals given to father. All pain killers too. Encountered a couple of complications during baby's birth, one of them being the baby's ENORMOUS head and buttock. Doctor tsk-ed, mother was beaming from ear to ear, father passed out. Mother's words after labour were : well that was easy! much, much easier than my add maths paper! Jamal and i shall have a couple more. Father's words were : no way am i going through that painful process ever again. not ever. *pukes and passes out* Whole labour team was shocked when mother got up after receiving her all cleaned up baby, plucked all the drips off her wrists, threw her head back, and walked out of the ward. Husband followed soon after.

zap zap zap zap zap zap DING!

16 years later, an all grown up sophie hosts a sleepover (YESTERDAY!!)

for her intellectual debate friends. yours truly included. :)

-cool pictures-

haha, the pictures are still in sophie's camera!
would post them up some other time. :)

but anyway, heres the scoop, (after humiliating sophie in every way possible up there)

personal message to sophie :

Sophie. We had our share of ups and downs, you and i both know that. But i believe that now, we are closer than we ever were. i would just like to say that, you really mean a lot to me, and i care for you in the sense that i don't want to see you get hurt. i was thinking to myself that i should list down your good qualities. but then it would make this love letter too long winded, so i'll just say the major ones i perceive in you. You are a very encouraging person. you know what to tell the person to make him/her feel better. You are not snobbish, and you realise the importance of making friends with different people, even people outside your clique. You're passionate, and have focus in everything you do. When you do something, you have this sense of responsibility and purpose, that you are to do it well. I'm sure if guys were to complete the sentence "Sophia is _________". you would have to give them a second piece of paper. :)

Of course you have your flaws too, just like everyone else. The only difference is that, you are aware of your flaws and whenever you aren't aware of them, you pretty darn make sure that you find it out, by asking friends for instance. And then you'd think their opinions over, and then add in your take of the situation. And when you think you ought to change, you change. That's great because you think things over. you are not rash. everything must go through the brain, go through prayer. and that makes you rational, my special friend. You are also a girl who follows her heart. and yes you do have very strong principles as well. besides talking about love and marriages, we also talk about things that matter, like change and characters that make a man. if we have our way in the future, i am pretty convinced we might actually join forces in bringing change to the world. when we talk, the walk seems very real to me, and i know for a fact that this feeling is mutual. :)

Well, soph. that was my honest opinion right there. i really hope you're tearing now. if not, i'm forced to print this letter out, and bring it to school along with an onion. haha, joke. :D

so soph, you really are one in a million.

Thanks for your friendship, and for all the great times together, and for all the greater times to come.

Happy 16th Birthday SophieDarling.

have fun with your iTouch.

to many years of great friendship.

love you lots, soph. :)

AshWong

2008-11-14T00:04:00.000-08:00

"eleenaaaa, you coming to school tomorrow or nott? i don't wanna loser myself tomorrow k.."

- Ashley Wong Shieh-Lii, in fear of being forced to loser alone.

14th november.

if you find this date rather familiar ..or you've somehow heard it being mentioned somewhere sometime ago...

i don't blame you, seriously.

you've probably heard that date from ashley wong herself. really.

it is very likely, that it was our very own ashleywong hinting for a jonas brother CD album to be presented to her on her very special day-14th november.

haha. but you've really gotta give it to her la, for having skin that's thicker than an elephant's.

hehe, she's so gonna kill me now, but oh well, the things you do out of love.

okay.

hmm..where to start, where to start??

oh yeah! we'll start from the BEGINING.

long long time ago.

well, not so long lah.

15 years ago, around this time..

...Ashley happened.

*que for cheer*

it all started, when sperm ashley went adventuring into the deep unknown.

SUDDENLY! she met a big round ball-like thingi.

"OH LOOK! a big round ball-like thingi!" she exclaimed.

she was busy admiring the big round ball-like thingi , when she suddenly noticed that her fellow worm-like brothers and sisters were racing away to it.

"NOOH! DON'T TOUCH IT!! ITS MINE, ITS ALL MINE!! " she screamed her LOUD wormy scream.

for a little worm-like creature, she had pretty loud vocals. :)

and so sperm ashley swam and swam, with all her worm might, all so, that she would reach her ball first.
for a little worm-like creature, she had a pretty strong swoosh with her tail too. :) *go sperm ashley!*

so in 3 quick minutes, she reached the big round ball-like thingi.

and so, sperm ashley did her little victory dance, paused to check her reflection in the big round ball-like thingi (refer to picture below) , and in a swift 'swoop', she was inside her ball.

okay, now that we've known the humble orgins of ashley wong, let us fast forward into the future, 10 years from her conceivement.

ladies and gentlemen, i present to thee,

10 year old ashley.

i can really imagine ashley jumping up and down like a functional retard, pointing at the screen,screaming :"OMGOSH I'M SO CUTEE!!!"

and i'll do this back to her, i'll give her, her very own '-____-' she always uses on me on msn.

its basicly a hint whereby i've gotta stop being lame or weird. WHICH i never take.

i mean, come on, whats life without laughter for heaven's sake?

plus... Jesus heals the lame! so i've got nothing to worry about! :)

anyway,

heres another picture of cutie-pie ashley.

please take note of the fact that she's holding out her plate for MORE FOOD. :O

so greedy right?

aih but she had the right to. she could afford the extra calories back then.

*note the usage of right, could and back then.

hee hee. haha just joking la.

you're still in great shape now ash! :) GUYS, STOP SNICKERING!!

now, for a more recent and up-to-date picture of ashley wong,

yesh. this is, indeed, ashley wong shieh-lii.

i have no idea why is she holding the pumpkin towards the middle of her chest.

and the pumpkin has such a sinister look on its face. talk about vegetable evil.

oh, and please do take note of the shirt she's wearing, the 'little miss splendid' one, its her most weared shirt. this also means that, if you ever see her running towards you wearing that shirt, run the opposite direction, AWAY from her. but don't worry, if she plans to suprise you from the back, you'll probably have sensed her stench far FAR away, and have had crawled to safety already.

ohgosh why the sarcasm outbreak?

*slaps self*

gosh i need sarcasma now. hahahaha. :)

so people, i guess you've already gotten a huge enough dose of ashley wong, so what you can do now, is go take a 5 minute breather, i don't know..perhaps go pick your nose or something, AND THEN, pick up that phone, and wish her, a very happy birthday.

...and don't forget the jonas brothers CD!

HIGHLY PERSONAL AND PRIVATE MESSAGE TO ASHLEY WONG, THE BIRTHDAY GIRL :

hey ash, if your reading this, it means that you are reading my extremely personal and private message from me to you now. haha scho cool right? see how the two are related??!! its amazing, really! :)

i just want to express my thanks to you for being such a great friend to me. i truly thank God for blessing me with such a fun-loving friend like you. i will forever remember the times where we loser-ed around and lamed out loud. you have left on me, great emotional scars from your excessive teasing of 'hand-phone'. haha, just joking. i really enjoyed those times really. i truly am blessed with such a friend like you, whom i can confine my secrets in. a friend, who really inspired me to do things i never dreamt of doing. you're always there to motivate and perk me up, never once putting me down.

now that you're one year older, i pray that God will continue to shower His blessings upon you and your family. i pray, that He'll continue to mold and shape you, into the wonderful person you'll grow up to be. may Jesus continue to be the center of your life, and may you continue to be a shining light for Him.

thanks again, for being such a huge blessing to me! i pray that our friendship will continue to bloom over the years. ~~into something more than just friends~~

haha, love you loads ash! :)

Happy 15th Birthday!