Swoosh

Dear blog,

It has been a fruitful holiday and with a renewed spirit, I return to ye ol' UM tomorrow. Naturally, the pants have gotten tighter and the arms flabbier, but the smiles have gotten wider as well so everything's good.
Loads of snapshots in the bag and space taken up by memories that never will fade.
Enough hilarious moments to keep one chuckling and tender heartfelt moments to make life more delectable, somewhat.
Though I've still far to go in terms of total understanding of this living business.

I've had enough kisses to keep me happy
and hugs to keep me warm.

thoughts to keep me thinking and
love to go around.

Till I see you again, which is soon, I hope!
Here's to the sun, the rain and the mud.
And that we'll all be able to enjoy a coconut, every now and then.

*smooches

Yoooooo! Yoooooo!

Okay, some of you would probably know that I attended a leadership camp in UM not too long ago.
I wanted to blog about it, but was too caught up with so much stuff that being the procrastinator that I am, I felt that having a small piece of that experience in my written diary is enough and that anything else on cyberspace is just extra...stuff.
Read : lazy pig.

Organized under the AIESEC banner, I hardly know what AIESEC is nor know anyone there except my roomie, who's quite involved in it. I joined at the very last minute and even signed up after the closing date.
Hah.
Suffice to say, I didn't regret it. I learnt like a LOT.
So much that it was almost too much.
It wasn't just the technical stuff. It forced me to be brutally honest with myself and find parts in me that I haven't really grasp nor truly understood.
It opened up my eyes to nature of human beings and made me appreciate the diversity of man.
But most of all, It made me gorge on humble pie.

Anyway, that's not the main point of this entry.

I should explain first though that in AIESEC, there is this square dance culture which is unique to that certain University. So naturally, UM would have one too and since I did not attend pre-camp, like a monkey, I was lost and jumping around, pretending that I knew the steps when in actual fact I was just jumping around. Like a monkey.
It was a hit tho, and I totally enjoyed it.
So for us, it was this song called Crank Dat Soulja Boy by Soulja Boy (like, what else?) which I never for the life of me knew existed.
It had a catchy tune, and well, cute steps to go along with it.
And I've only just found out that the moves for the song is actually a dance by itself (think Macarena, the funky chicken, etc) and that it's HUGE over in YouTube.


I mean, people around the world did the Soulja Boy just as how UM fellas did it during that 5 days camp.

Curious enough?
Watch this.
God. It's hilarious.

And in case you were wondering, yeah, I did it too. Shook that ass all the way to China.


Okay.
You can stop laughing now.

Oh btw, Merry Christmas everyone!

Altogether now, Yoooooo! Yooooo!

Its CUPID with a W

See the back of that guy's t-shirt?

It says World Universities Peace Invitational Debate -or, WUPID.

Cool name right? WUPID, WUUuuPiid. WOOPiIIID.

N-E-way,

it was held over at UniKL(which by the way has the coolest lecture halls and classrooms) from Sunday through to Thursday. It's by invitation only, so the debate teams there are like from the best universities in the world, from Cambridge to Oxford (collectively : gasp!) to (too add a little bit of that spicy local flavour) MMU, UiTM and many more.

Muchas gracias KW for bringing me along to witness this awesome display of wit, sharp thinking and mind-blowing information overload. My god. I felt like a freaking ignoramus, totally clueless on what they were talking about.

They were debating on stuff so specific that I just shudder to be in their shoes, or rather, slippers.

Mom saw this, "Wah. wear shorts and slippers ar?!"

I couldn't grasp what they were talking about practically half of the time, and those times were spent being lulled by their delicious accent and dreaming about how beautiful the girls (and guys) were.

The half of the time?

I was in awe. Of their eloquence, their apparent lack of nerves and their brains.

The motions were made of stuff like "Give the Kurds a homeland" and,

wait for it.... "The Bolivan Revolution has failed"

WTH?! Who or what are the Kurds and when in heavens did the Bolivan Revolution happen? Boliva? Mana tu?!

Wow. I could literally feel the butterflies flying around in the space within my skull. I must add also, that the teams didn't know the motion until 15 minutes before the competition which made me respect them all the more.

It was good.

And I got to hang out with someone new who's extremely nice and equally crazy!

Meet KW's fellow debater, Melissa.

And oh, we bumped into our little high achiever Siaw Yen, and we basically yapped all the way back to Telok Gadong.

Heh.

Still the same bright girl. She could rule the earth one day, really.

Current read : Night by Elie Wiesel.

Current love : McD's, after the 5 odd hours Chandu, Shashi and I spent there, talking about everything under the sun.

One afternoon on the couch

Million Voices -Wycleaf Jean
Soundtrack of Hotel Rwanda

Plopped myself down on the couch and flipped through channels.

Stopped at Hotel Rwanda.

I've heard a lot about this film, about how good it really is in portraying humanity, and ironically,the lack of it during the Rwandan genocide .

I was sobbing my eyes out, I mean really sobbing-wasn't sniffling, wasn't just tearing and i distinctly remember feeling as helpless as this when I caught Sometimes in April not too long ago. Yet many things have happened since then, and we forget; I forgot and now I remember.

The movie was a true portrayal of one man, Paul Rusesabagina (played by Don Cheadle) who sheltered over 1,000 Tutsis and moderate Hutus in a Belgian-owned hotel, effectively protecting them from being brutally massacred.

He used his connections, his wit, quick thinking and most importantly, compassion to keep the flames of hope and life burning throughout those horrendous days.

This man had even at one point, decided to stay behind to save the hundreds of lives even when there was an opportunity for him to escape.

This man did not falter even when the world around him turned their backs on him, on the Rwandan people and on plain humanity.

And in the film, the UN soldier (portrayed by Nick Nolte) was based on a real UN peace keeper, Roméo Dallaire who was there to witness the atrocities, first hand.

Read their stories,

Remember Rwanda,

Never forget Darfur.

Hooooliday Take II

It's always fun to play host.; showing people around Klang, its highlights and ugly sights.

The bonus would be to be able to share a bit of your life with the people you care about (in this case it was Rita and Feli) - inviting them to partake in this life of yours!

I brought them to some therapeutic singing of course-sang across genres as Siti Nurhaliza would testify. Heh.

Introduced 'em to the hidden treasure of Bukit Cahaya.

Darn. Went there so many times the Bicycle Man recognized me already!

Me mom came along too..Whoa..did she have stamina!

Random snapshots




Hear the cengkerik chirping?

Whoops!

All aboard!

Ahoy! I see land, cap'ain!

One for the photo album!

So glad to have you guys to keep me sane in college!


xoxo!

The time when we said "Let's Go!"

So there we were, chilling while drinking tea, stuffing cheesecake into our mouths on the night of our last paper.

"Let's go on a holiday! Malacca anyone?"

"Oooo..let's! When?"

"erm..tomorrow?"

"Yeah, man!"

Off we went, clothes and essentials in our backpacks, permission by parents shrouding us like amulets, heads giddy from excitement, hearts beating with anticipation of nothing. For we did not plan, we did not think, we just did.

It was the epitome of being young, free and careless.

We stayed at this beautiful hotel, called Hotel Puri located at Jalan Tun Tan Cheng Lock. Formerly a residence of a millionaire, it was transformed into this beautiful place that doesn't promise much from the outside, but incredible on the inside.

We stuffed ourselves silly with none other than famous Malaccan fare.

Ah, of course.

Cendol session by the river.

Walking aimlessly can lead you to hidden treasure troves that reminds you of times when life was but a bed of roses, accompanied by mysterious beating of drums;

And getting lost can cause you to unintentionally bump into historical places;

Hard to believe but sometimes taking the longer cut will bring you to unexpected places..

And taking risks brings you to your cheapest dim sum breakfast ever!

but of course, we succumbed to being typical visitors and made our mark in lovely tourists haunts.

St. Paul's Hill

Stadhuy's Building
Tall, tall flag.

Who can forget, A Formosa? (or is it Famosa?)

The trishaw man waved and smiled when he noticed me stealing a picture of him

A bastion (nope, I don't know what's a bastion)

Took many, many crazy snapshots of sweet memories

I've learnt a lot, during that trip-that nice people DO exist and that they are willing to help in whatever ways possible. We weren't foreigners but they were courteous and helpful like the taxi man who waited for us in front of Mini Malaysia with no extra charge just because he knew it would be difficult for us to get a cab back to town later on. The same man who did not budge even when we got caught in the rain and the same man who came to our rescue with umbrellas, like a mild-mannered hero saving soaking wet pathetic-looking students.

And the lady who volunteered to tell us which buses to take and which to avoid even when we didn't ask, then later on wished us a safe journey.

Trinket sellers who offered to handle the camera just so the four of us would be in the picture together after seeing us taking turns to take pictures in twos and threes.

And the nice Johor traveller we met while we were on our way not once, nor twice but three times on the same day.

Plus many others who helped to point the direction to which we should be heading.

All these kind souls helped to reinforce the belief that Malaysians sure are a bunch of good people!

And that's a good thing, no?

15-16 Nov 2007

Creep

It could be the serene night, or TLC's Creep blasting from the headphones that triggered it or it could be just plain boredom.

Ah well.

...



Sometimes I wonder, whether I'm too protective of this heart of mine? ( Note: This is purely rhetorical, no one is inclined to answer.) People often ask me why am I still single when everyone else around me is happily with someone else, especially so in university. Is it such a sin to be alone? Countless eyebrows would be raised way up when I answer that it's not a big deal to me, and proceed to encourage me to faster find someone.

Find someone?



How to find lar?!



Start screening every single guy I meet as prospective partners and proceed to label them as unfortunately-taken, single-but-no way, single-and-hmm-maybe-canla, single-but so-so, cute-but-gay?

Why not shove them into compartmentalized drawers while I'm at it?



Nah. Don't think so.



Okay, so my non-existent-love life is non-existent. It's alright by me, I ain't gonna couple up with the first guy I meet just because, but it's not for many others, ironically.

Some say that I'm not willing to open up my heart which brings me back to the rhetorical question above. The thing is, it isn't just one person; I've heard that before from other people as well, years back even. So I wonder whether there is any truth in it. But I guess no one would ever know except me.

Yeap.



But dude, I really don't know.



I can't very well make an incision in my chest to see whether my heart is open though if I do tear my chest and rib cage apart my heart would technically be open.

SO maybe that's what I should do. Someone pass me the scalpel please.

But I might not live long enough to find out, with all the bacteria and risks of infection. I'd have an open but dead heart. That would not do, would it?



Sigh.



As for now, I don't know who's holding that shiny scalpel to cut me open yet.

My my, how romantic.



Mana itu orang? Aku pun tak tahu.
Ask also no use, seriously.

There's a new kid in town

I stepped into Jusco, Bkt Tinggi and I thought to myself,
"This is Klang?"

Wondered through the makan stalls and I rubbed my tummy,
"Ha. Ha. Ha. HA!"
(LW : We have freaking BBQ PLaza and Sakae Sushi in Klang now!)


I saw Guess, Bonia etc and I wondered,
"How long will they last?"

I saw my bunch of friends and I mused,
"How wonderful is this."


Lovely, lovely monday.

...

And oh, if you chance upon a book called The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini, grab it!

It's the only book to date that made me stay up late to finish it in one night.

Breathtaking and a serious page turner. Just make sure you have a tissue box ready.

Current read : 'Tis by Frank McCourt

Bliss?

I was admittedly bemused with HINDRAF (Hindu Rights Action Force) which, in my humble opinion is quite ridiculous in its claim against United Kingdom for RM14 trillion (not million, and NooooOo- not even billion) for bringing Indian labourers into Malaysia and subsequently exploiting them for some 150 years.

I thought it was some twisted method to stir some religious and racial sentiments which may threaten the peace (hmm?) prevailing in this country of ours.

Pitting one race against the other?

We've been conditioned since babies to never, ever do that, for it is much too sensitive to discuss, to talk about, to even whisper about for god forbid-that it should destroy us all.

"Shhhh!, too sensitive! wanna die ar? "

Sorry to say, I'm guilty of that as well.

But then, a little bird swooping around cyberspace reminded me that there is always 2 sides to a coin and that sometimes ignorance is bliss, yes- but is also self-destructive.

If this rally seems irrational to me, 30,000 people definitely did not think so.

If 30,000 people braved arrest to gather for this cause, there must be something to it.

Something that I must have missed.

Something that we must have missed.

Hindraf: A new generation of oppressed and suppressed Indians?

The Personal Dignity of HINDRAF Supporters

Why I will not walk this Sunday and why the walk must not proceed

and of course,

http://www.jeffooi.com/

Regards.

Of Boomerangs and Words

And altogether now,

au revoir exams!

*evil laughter*

Life lessons of one Amy Chuah :

Lesson 1 : Alone - It's okay, it's refreshing, it's lovely.
Drawing swirls of dreams, dreaming;
Listening to non but the fan spinning,
curled up with a book til the wee hours of the morning;
stripping without looking,
sleeping, laughing, joyously crying.
I'm being.

Lesson 2 : Express.
Jump!
To the beats of the drum,
Prance!
To the pattering of steps,
Look!
Into the mirror, reflecting you.
Stamp!
Your mark, quake the earth,
Swing!
To the sky, Look up!
Heavens above..
Or below?

Lesson 3 : Boomerang.
Humorous monk in robes seated,
A microphone in hand, gesturing
wildly; challenging, luring,
words, thoughts, questions;
Hours passed,
"Agree or not?"
Heads nodding, listening intently,
Believe or not?
"Like a boomerang,
What you throw comes back to you."
I believe.

Lesson 4 : Pain
Crap.
Leg's numb. Can't feel...
Loving kindness,
Concentrate.
Leg's numb.
It's cold.
Concentrate.
I love my family.
"Open your eyes"
Crap.
Am I not supposed to visualize?!
Darn.

muaks

currently addicted to this




The campus beckons and yours truly is going to be MIA for about a month.

I shall emerge from the battle stronger than ever before, with my sanity intact.

And a bit thinner too, hopefully.

Gonna miss all of you, gonna miss you, bloggie, gonna miss you TV.

But like how Arnie used to say,

"I'll be BAK ! "

*smooch smooch hug hug *

closure? release?
hmm.
happy for you.

Calm

They said that places of worship have this aura about them that pulls you into a vortex of calmness.
Actually KW said that.

But its true; I went to the Brickfields Buddhist Temple today and for some reason I feel a lot better. Pouring my heart out to a higher being does work, I guess. A little blessing didn't hurt either.
Pledged to be a better human being as well, but you don't have to know all that.
Oops.

And of course, with my family being the Chuah family, once we're out of the house we're OUT of the house. Lunch was at SUBWAY, S.Pyramid ( LW : Yeap! It's inching closer to home now!) upon my mom's request who is now a sandwich convert and a SUBWAY Groupie. What was supposed to only be a lunch outing, turned into a lepak session with some attempt of shopping thrown into the fray.
Tried some organic-super healthy-low calories-low cholesterol-soy ice-cream which was *ahem different, but nice after a few mouthfuls.

Okay. I have to admit it, I am grateful that my family gives me my space and never forces me-god forbid-to sit at the table 24-7.
It's good that they keep me sane by being the fun-loving people that they are. Of course, sometimes it gets a lil' bit out of hand but the little things that they do, forcing me out for dinner after being at home studying-eventhough they have to drag me out screaming "I donwannago! Ta Pau for me! Ta Pau!TAAA PAUUU!"
Wait, that never happens.
Usually I only need a minute amount of persuasion before I grab my phone and slip into my slippers.

words of encouragement, pecks on the head(Yeah, my dad still gives me pecks on the head-still very much the princess)
and silly jokes;

Dad (pointing at the telly ) : Eh, see whether your name's on TV or not!
Mom (excited) : What? Really? Where? .... Wait..What list is that?
Dad : The central committee members of the Communist Party.

me laughing in the background.

Brother was buying some creampuffs amounting to RM9.30
Dad (handing over money to mom, to be passed to bro.) : Nah
Mom(looking at the 2 keping of coins handed over to her) : Hah? So little ar?
Dad : Yeah, there got 30 cents what.

me laughing in the background.

Mom : What were you two doing in the toilet la? Why so long one?
Bro : We were playing with the high tech hand dryer.
Dad : Not only that, the toilet's so high tech, you don't have to do anything there's this pipe that attaches to *ahem* which sucks your urine out.
Mom : HA. HA.

me laughing in the background.

Dad-the fervent advocate of the Mandarin language : Eh, want to go learn Mandarin ar?
Mom : Bu Yao.

me laughing in the background.


still make my day.

It's times like these that I thank my stars.

Donkey

ARGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

I should be studying!

Crap...someone give me a swift kick in the ass.

I've been

-sleeping too much for my own good; more than what I usually need

-going out too often

-watching too much TV

and you know what's the worst part?

I don't mind NOT studying eventhough I know there's so much to cover I can just break down and cry right now in front of you.
But I know I won't.

The saddest part about all this is that I'm losing grip of my old self; the old me doesn't care what her results are gonna be like as long as she does her best. Now, I find myself constantly worrying about my results and succumbing to the pressure of being on the dean's list.
Shit la.
It's just a freaking LIST!

You see? I KNOW that, but it's just not getting into my head. How I wish I've never heard of such a thing as a dean's list, CGPA and all that. I'm doing my degree for goodness sake; I should not be in this mad chase for excellent, perfect results.
Being in a university shouldn't be like this!
Or have I been living in a lie, believing in something that doesn't exist? Are we that kiasu,
or

am I that kiasu?

shudders.

What have I morphed into?

I want my old self back!

Selaaamat Haaarii Raaaayaa!

Note to self :

You better start tomorrow.
That would be enough rest..
for now.

It has been a whirlwind Hari Raya holidays. We're Malaysian anyway, we celebrate everything together.
We live for public holidays. *nudge nudge wink wink*

Thursday was the day I got involved in the seedy world of human trafficking.
Made Kin Wai as envious as a green-eyed monster with the bitter taste of sour grapes in his mouth, showing him around UM.
Being a self-proclaimed food connoisseur, took him to a superb place to eat.
Thanks for the surprise, really.

Friday was a blur; haven't woken up that late in a long, long time. My relatives came down from Penang and that was that.
My weekend was filled with food, and drinks, walks, malls, shopping.

Scones, shortbreads, tea and irish coffee with whipped cream.
Guiness Stout chicken wings and Kajang sate in the midst.

The kids were so adorable I just didn't want to let them go. Especially the little one, who had saliva perpetually dribbling onto whatever.
God I'm gonna miss them.

Caught up with friends too; Choon Yen, Esther + co. ; Pauline, Yi Jiang + co.
Had such a blast making Jiang do mad but hilarious birthday rituals.
"Can one lar!"
"Cannot leh!" Face inched closer to the cake. "Cannot lar! " and closer. " Woi. CANNOT!"

In unison : "CAN!"

Since it is technically, a break; I rummaged through my 'to read' pile and noticed some titles that I didn't know I owned.
Started on Heart Songs & Other Stories by E.Annie Proulx
and The Girls' Guide to Hunting and Fishing by Melissa Bank.

I'm halfway through both, but I have to say that the latter is written especially for me, man.

I don't wish to be so narcissistic but the resemblance to my life is uncanny.
No. 1 : The title itself; ..Girls' Guide.. - I was, and still am a girl guide!

No. 2 : The heroine has an elder brother - so do I

No. 3 : The book has reference to the classic, The Great Gatsby - which I happen to own and read, earlier.

No. 4 : The heroine has a fascination with words, and grew up to be an editor - I don't mind words; just not those that come in the form of lecture notes.

No. 5 : She got involved with a much older man - I wouldn't be all that surprised if I were to, too. Ahem. I'm a closet romantic, if you haven't already known.

How can you not fall in love with a passage like

"While Mother hostessed and Girlfriend guested, Younger Sister stood up. When there was a pause in their nicing, I made my mouth move smileward : I'd love to stay and talk, but I have to go shoot some heroin now."

'Nuff said.

Let's just hope the other half of the book is just as juicy.

God.
I so need to start studying tomorrow.
Somebody slap me if I don't.

I cut my hair!

Me : I'm thinking of piercing my nose...i think it's quite..

Mom : What?! NO.

Me : ...nice..but..

Mom : You'll spoil the feng shui of your face.


Riiight.


And oh, if you need a good cry, you should watch Adoption Stories over at Discovery Home & Health .

God. I just couldn't stop bawling.

Mary, mary quite contrary, how does your garden grow?

"I'm growing into my skin"

I've been doing much growing, or rather, think that I am, these past few years. Whenever a lightbulb goes 'ting!' in my head, I was pretty sure, at that time that I grew just a couple of inches closer.
But how do I know for sure that that 'true' skin would not remain forever elusive, always beyond reach?
Leaving me tergapai-gapai in the middle of an ocean?
Ah but who ever said life is about the destination and not the journey?
If ever I've reached my destination, it would be located 6 feet underground;
Hopefully, after all my organs that are of use had been taken out for those who need it, that is.

But before I reach that inevitable stage, I think I just wanna enjoy the ride a little.
Feel a little of everything, taste a little of some, take in a lot of all.

What say you,
wanna join me?

Hmm.

My first tests results are out.

...

A part of me expected this as I was playing a fool most of the time and busy the rest of it.

Blardy well studied for the tests the day / night before.

Oh yeah, did I mention that I stayed in the library for 9 hours straight cramming for one of the tests?!

Crazy.

Now the question is this,
Should I let go of all the other responsibilities, forgo lepak time and focus on my studies instead?

...

Missing bits and pieces..

Well, well, well..

Looks like I haven't been blogging for a while now have I?

Where to start?!

*screams

I guess the best solution would be to skim through that missing bits of my life-like super quick and I shall not bore the already limited number of readers that I have with petty details, thus I shall just let the pictures do the talking.

Actuaaaaliiii

I'm just plain lazy.

Here goes!

So I spent my holidays not having a holiday at all, with all the camps to attend and preparations to be done for the coming batch of new meat.

BTN Camp over at Muar, Johor.

The Orientation Week was surprisingly fun being on the other side of things.

6th College's bunch of misfits Pembantu Mahasiswa'sOne for the picture!

Attended NoGAPS (National Gathering of Pharmacy Students) in UiTM which wasn't so bad.

And then classes and blardy tests started.
Funnily enough, I'm busier than ever but I enjoy myself more eventhough 2nd year totally require consistent studying.

See the red ones? Those are my tests.

I dread to see my results.

Crap.

But of course, the big news was the return of Li Wei!
We went cycling (upon his humble request)

and he became my taxi ride home every Friday. Though for some particular reason I only reach home very late at night. LMAO.

Vinesh and Anne came back too. Had a bad tummy ache from laughing so much.

I somehow found myself performing during the Commonwealth Pharmaceutical Assoc. - M'sian Pharmacaceutical Society Conference Farewell Dinner.

It was over at Saloma's Bistro and Cafe, KL. Beautiful ambience, incredible people from all over the world, good food, superb night.
Missed Li Ern's birthday dinner tho. Sniff..

Was forced into taking part in the Merdeka Parade (a dance-again) in which we represented the Medical Faculty.

Almost everyone there assumed that we were medical students when the fact is that none of the medical students even bothered to take part, much less organize whatever we've done.

It was only us, Pharmacy students, Biomedical Sc. students and the nurses.

Figures.

Believe me, the costume was as heavy, heavier even- than it looks. My head piece almost came off and had to be redone while waiting for our turn. The event ended at almost 1 am and the best part?

I had a freaking test at 9 a.m. the next morning!

Suffice to say, I barely slept that night.

....

I painted the town red with girlfriends.

Look up!

Became the editor of Notitia. My baby!

Celebrated a whole lotta birthdays! Every. Single. Weekend. Officially broke.

-Choon Yen's

-Asha's

-Sindhu's on the same night


-Beef's (drank so much I puked the next day -shhh!-)

- Rita's


Went clubbing for the first time in my life. Ahem

- Esther's


Dropped by at Malacca.

before heading over to Jeff's!

Hah! There he is.

and then there was See Wah's.

Finally we've come to the the weekend that is now.
MPS had an appreciation dinner at Shogun on Friday and us, dancers were invited.. that guy? Well, he's just the President of the Malaysian Pharmaceutical Society.
HAH!


Went to IMU's Carnival and then headed to my seniors' convocation on Saturday.

I tell you, the atmosphere was one of sheer, unadulterated happiness that you can actually taste it. And weep at how sweet it is.

My graduated buddy

*wipes sweat*

Okay, thats the gist of it..

Till then,

Cheerios!