Live.

2010-12-26T01:24:00.000-08:00

Sweet!

2010-05-28T08:35:00.000-07:00

Teddy!

2010-05-28T07:54:00.000-07:00

TMX's Favour

2010-05-14T00:37:00.000-07:00

>> http://www.razerzone.com/getimba-share-n-win/ucb6gdu << CLICK! :D

help my friend Tan Ming Xuan win this competition!

i haven't had time to check it out yet, but i will as soon as i have some free time. meanwhile, help! :D thanks!

Miscel Home Photos

2010-05-09T21:57:00.000-07:00

Coffee

2010-05-09T21:29:00.000-07:00

For Real?

2010-05-05T08:56:00.000-07:00

Oh, boy. Here we go again.

From now on, carmeliayong.blogspot.com will be a PICTURES ONLY blog.

Anything else that does not concern pictures will be here:

http://www.sayhicarmelia.blogspot.com

:) cheers.

being sorry doesn't mean i hurt myself more trying to heal you.

2010-05-05T01:07:00.000-07:00

so you let go, and you let live.

let those tears flow.

and if they still won't come out,

swallow.

smile and let the world see,

i'm okay with being imperfect little me.

BM Tuition One Day

2010-05-04T01:40:00.000-07:00

Men's Rules

2010-05-03T22:40:00.000-07:00

I like boys.

We always hear "the rules" from the female side. Now here are the rules
from the male side. These are our rules! Please note ... these are
all numbered '1' ON PURPOSE!

1. Learn to work the toilet seat. You're a big girl. If it's up, put
it down. We need it up, you need it down. You don't hear us
complaining about you leaving it down. (i'd always wondered about this. i think it's because guys aren't in danger of sitting down and falling into the bowl full of urine, that's why they have to make sure the lid is down. if the lid is up and they don't notice, they still don't end up sitting in urine. :( )

1. Shopping is NOT a sport. And no, we are never going to think of
it that way.

1. Crying is blackmail. (*evil smile*)

1. Ask for what you want. Let us be clear on this one: Subtle hints
do not work! Strong hints do not work! Obvious hints do not work! Just say it! (poor guys)

1. Yes, and No are perfectly acceptable answers to almost every question.

1. Come to us with a problem only if you want help solving it.
That's what we do. Sympathy is what your girlfriends are for.

1. A headache that lasts for 17 months is a problem. See a doctor.

1. Anything we said 6 months ago is inadmissible in an argument.
In fact, all comments become null and void after 7 days.

1. If you won't dress like the Victoria's Secret girls, don't expect
us to act like soap opera guys. (@_@)

1. If you think you're fat, you probably are. Don't ask us. (WTF)

1. If something we said can be interpreted two ways, and one of the
ways makes you sad or angry, we meant the other one.

1. You can either ask us to do something or tell us how you want it
done. Not both. If you already know best how to do it, just do it yourself.

1. Whenever possible, please say whatever you have to say
during commercials. (ah, i'm with the boys on this one)

1. Christopher Columbus did not need directions and neither do we.

1. ALL men see in only 16 colors, like Windows default settings. Peach,
for example, is a fruit, not a color. Pumpkin is also a fruit. We have
no idea what mauve is. (HAHAHAHAHA!!)

1. If it itches, it will be scratched. We do that. (DOUBLE HAHAHAHAHAHA!!)

1. If we ask what is wrong and you say "nothing," we will act
like nothing's wrong. We know you are lying, but it is just not worth
the hassle.

1. If you ask a question you don't want an answer to, expect an
answer you don't want to hear.

1. When we have to go somewhere, absolutely anything you wear is fine.
Really.

1. Don't ask us what we're thinking about unless you are prepared
to discuss such topics as baseball, the shotgun formation, or monster
trucks.

1. You have enough clothes.

1. You have too many shoes.

1. I am in shape. Round is a shape.

1. Thank you for reading this; Yes, I know, I have to sleep on the
couch tonight, but did you know men really don't mind that, it's like
camping.

- from http://www.boardofwisdom.com/Default.asp?start=81&topic=1006

2010-05-03T22:06:00.001-07:00

i got this from a website. :D doesn't mean i think they are true. i just think they are funny. i don't HATE people. i always love people. :) even if they are Saddam Hussein *gulps* doesn't mean i like him though :(

9 Things I Hate About Everyone

1. People who point at their wrist asking for the time... I know where my watch is pal, where the hell is yours? Do I point at my crotch when I ask where the toilet is?

2. People who are willing to get off their a** to search the entire room for the TV remote because they refuse to walk to the TV and change the channel manually.

3. When people say "Oh you just want to have your cake and eat it too". Damn Right! What good is cake if you can't eat it?

4. When people say "it's always the last place you look". Of course it is. Why the hell would you keep looking after you've found it? Do people do this? Who and where are they?

5. When people say while watching a film, "did ya see that?" No Loser, I paid $12 to come to the cinema and stare at the damn floor!

6. People who ask "Can I ask you a question?"... Didn't give me a choice there, did ya sunshine?

7. When something is 'new and improved'. Which is it? If it's new, then there has never been anything before it. If it's an improvement, then there must have been something before it, couldn't be new.

8. When people say "life is short". What the hell??? Life is the longest damn thing anyone ever does!!! What can you do thats longer?

9. When you are waiting for the bus and someone asks "Has the bus come yet?" If the bus came, would I be standing here???

Just-Feel-Like Post

2010-05-02T08:07:00.000-07:00

this was last year. a NANA ORIGINAL!

♥beautiful~

SO if you're reading this, please be reminded/informed that Carmelia doesn't really like the idea of people visiting her blog and her not knowing who these people are.

Don't get me wrong, I am VERY grateful! :D

But it wouldn't kill you to leave a tag in my Shoutmix Box.

You don't even have to fuss about with comments. JUST A TAG! OKAY?

Thank you. :D

Well, so what's up recently, Carmelia?

Things that up recently that I can remember without hurting myself:

1. Ah. Nigel. I went nuclear on him after I found out that his articles were being published in Daily Express every Friday, AND that he had a book published. After that, chatted in Facebook. The boy's taste in music was somewhat similar to mine, so he was able to introduce to me songs that, two days later, I'm still repeating again and again in my iPod.

2. Splashed RM50 at 1Borneo. Had Sushi at Sushi King (RM11), watched Iron Man (RM9), bought some stuff. Blah. Lazy to remember, and anyway I'm not Melissa Chong.

3. Cluedo mania recently. Sadly, I'm not that smart. But I did win one game just now without using the paper thingy. Maybe I should do that again to win. Maybe.

4. Ate a lot of luxury food. KFC for lunch, Krishna's for dinner, YoYo and Croissants for supper, McDonald's Nuggets & Apple Pie for snacking purposes... I love my mummy.

5. Rediscovered my love for boyish voices. Check this out at minute 1.44 to find out what I mean.

6. Managed to remember and play on the piano three songs that I'd created myself. Next, have to figure out how to expand them. Into full fledge songs? Instrumental? Need help. Need Nana.

7. Fell in love with a character in my disfigured novel. Again. I don't know how many times I'd written so much about a fictional character, I fell for him. This time, he wasn't even supposed to be the main character.

My point is: Chapter Thirteen already :D Approximately seven more chapters and I. AM. DONE!

heartattack

2010-04-28T22:55:00.000-07:00

NIGEL CHEE HAD PUBLISHED A BOOK AND HE'S WRITING ARTICLES FOR DAILY EXPRESS

i think i've freaked him out so much he isn't replying me on Facebook anymore.

i was seriously gasping and laughing and grimacing all the while i was reading his post and finding out all this awesome wonderful things.

AWESOME WONDERFUL THINGS

when will i get published? WILL I EVER GET PUBLISHED?

me? who have spent so many hours writing writing rewriting rewriting???

or maybe i just have no talent.

DO SOMETHING MELIA!

... i'm so happy for Nigel.

sleepover

2010-04-28T22:20:00.000-07:00

love my girls!

RIP

2010-04-27T01:36:00.000-07:00

Preview-

2010-04-20T09:02:00.000-07:00

After ending the song with a delicate rumbling of the snare, Mew swirled to face me. His longish black hair was combed back and fixed firm with a gray hair band, lest it soaked up his sweat. Earlier I had faced the question of whether it made him looked girly. I honestly answered that it did not. Mew had a slender face shaped of a heart, but his chin, nose and deep-set eyes were too strong to look feminine. His muscles, the augmentation of which intense drumming had caused, burned even more of masculinity. Dress Mew up in a pink, poufy dress and he’d still looked boyish.

2010-04-19T19:25:00.000-07:00

and again, for the *insert shockingly huge number* time, i am stuck and have stopped my novel.

at least this time, i'd reached chapter 5.

what is my problem? i am thinking, i'm too much a perfectionist (when it comes to my writing).

the problem will either be, i don't like my sentence structures, or,

the sentences are not simple enough, or,

i'm not getting the point across, or,

not poetic enough, or,

the most important one: i have NO MESSAGE.

NONE. what life experience have I had except those little bits of epiphanies? what can i write about worth other people's time?

ok, ok, calm down Melia. you just go FINISH THIS ONE RIGHT NOW and ignore whatever negative thoughts, okay? just FINISH IT.

NOW!

yes madam *scurries off*

100th post

2010-04-19T19:16:00.000-07:00

and again
carmeliayong.blogspot has reached its 100th post!
why again?
because there were many, many carmeliayong.blogspots
hey, i like renewals, okay?

2010-04-17T07:29:00.000-07:00

my stomach hurts. i'd laughed too much seconds ago.

my dad was about to be interviewed for a promotion this coming Friday.

so naturally there was talk about past interviews and bloopers.

i think everything was hilarious because all these candidates who messed up were

stern, serious, forty-years-old above police MEN.

the policemen candidates were required to march before the interview.

now, if you have ever been in a perbarisan (marching team) before,

then you'll know that there are rules as to what foot goes out first,

which arm swings out first,

in which direct you hormat (salute) etc.

you were probably in a team, so if you did something wrong,

you can quickly rectify it.

these policemen marches, however, are NOT like that.

one thing wrong, they cut out marks that determine your reputation and promotion. quite a lot at stake.

it doesn't sound funny if you really do something wrong

because as a policeman that high ranked

you CANNOT do wrong. no bloopers, no mistakes.

i think that's why they were so nervous.

anyway.

case one:

the candidate stopped okay. but when he started to march again, instead of his left foot, his right foot went out.

he ended up jerking his steps like a robot all the way. (i had to spit my water back into the mug)

case two:

everyone else saluted with their right hand.

this candidate saluted with his left. cute!

to make things worse, the tongkat stuck under his arm fell.

case three:

this candidate marched in nicely, but instead of stopping to sit down for the interview, he panicked and forgot the procedure to stop.

he ended up marching a circle around the chair and marching back out the room. (omy gawd the pain... the pain...)

case four:

the interview went okay for this one. then it was time to leave.

he stood up, saluted, and marched to the left and tried to find the exit- in the curtains.

of course he realized it immediately, but he stayed in there until someone directed him to the door on the right.

poor man. until today his nickname is Yap Kur Tan.

i cannot imagine how the interviewers managed to control themselves from totally ROFL.

my throat hurts now.

Customer Service

2010-04-13T03:38:00.000-07:00

Mum wasn't very happy by the time the Sen-Q people arrived. "Bukan pukul 2 meh? Pukul 2 sampai 4 meh?"

Two blank guys stood outside, and one of them produced the receipt: "Delivery: 4pm till 6pm."

Oops.

But mum still wasn't happy. "Masih lambat ah."

"Tidaklah bos... Sepuluh minit saja bha bos..."

It really was only ten minutes after six, but when mum's angry, she's angry. I knew why, because she'd been waiting since 2pm, and no washing was done because she wanted to wait for the new washing machine to arrive.

Problem Two: The hose didn't fit. They suggested we used our old one.

"What do you mean cannot fit??" Mum was even unhappier.

I don't get it. Why can't we use the old hose? But noooooo that wasn't a solution.

We were lucky the part-time cleaner, Anita, was around to help discuss with the Sen-Q men. I don't think mum could last two sentences with them without shooting them with painful words.

Before everything escalated to the point Sen-Q was going to mark our house address as 'RED ALERT' I came up with a brilliant idea: Call dad. The moment my sister said, "Hey pa, the hose doesn't fit," Everyone stopped talking and looked at her. Instant solution.

The phone was passed to Anita, and then passed to the men. Finally it was solved. I didn't find out how though, because a few other things happened after that.

Mum was still unhappy, so we tried to reason with her. It's only ten minutes, ma, not their fault, ma, it says on the paper dated weeks ago that it really is 2pm to 4pm ma, pa gave you the wrong information, ma...

Conclusion: Don't talk to ma when you don't want ma to talk.

When dad called again, my sister told dad that mum was angry- and then mum grabbed the phone and scolded her, 'Don't bhaa!... Hello darling?'

All three of us siblings stumbled to the dining room to hide our bursting laughter. Suddenly so sweet when on the phone with dad. LOLness.

Problem Three: The hose was not long enough.

Mum stared at the hose, her hands cocked on her hips. "Kenapa tak boleh panjang sikit hah?"

The poor man looked at the hose, looked back at her, and then at the hose. "Me-memang begitu panjang bha bos."

My sister, who reported the whole thing to me, was still laughing as she talked, and all three of us laughed and laughed until finally we went over to mum and consoled her.

Note: When you want to laugh at someone in their face, tell them their SOOO CUTE for doing so repeatedly, and you won't get into trouble.

Mum really was SOOO cute anyway anyhow.

I went back to my hot milk and cheese on bread. The men were carrying the new machine to the kitchen, and my sister was following them. She had her hand on her mouth, and I thought she was STILL laughing about mum expecting the hose to be longer. But then she pointed at the back of the man's shirt, where there was this BIG clock face, and the words:

ON TIME DELIVERY

All three of us lost it again.

The finale was when one of the men went in to use the toilet. When he came out my sister was puzzled: Why was he off-ing the red switch, for the hot water shower?

Oh.

For the third time, we had to suffer bouts of laughter as we imagined the poor man in the loo wondering why there isn't any light coming on.

Moral Value: Customer Service is NOT Customer Worship ;)

Graduation 2009

2010-04-12T20:11:00.000-07:00

2010-04-06T09:38:00.000-07:00

"Why do you think there's a God?"

"Because the world didn't just happen like that. Evolution is NOT a proven fact, mind you. Even Darwin reconsidered it, and he was the Father of the Theory of Evolution. And mainly because I can feel Him. I'm telling you, I really don't think I'll be this nice and this obedient etc if it isn't for God."

"Hah! You Christians always say that. I want hard facts, not your 'feelings'."

I think the above conversation is equivalent to this conversation:

"Why do you cry when you listen to this song?"

"Because I feel touched when I listen to it. It has a very deep meaning."

"Hah! I want hard facts, not your 'feelings'."

but excuse me. you asked me why i. me. saya. if i do something because of a reason and you ask me for that reason, don't be telling me about hard facts. why i do something can have nothing to do with hard facts, and still cause me to do something. :(

if you want hard facts then just SAY SO in the first place. sheesh.

What I Was- Meg Rosoff

2010-04-06T08:54:00.000-07:00

of all the books i have read, the one that has managed to present human desire and a deepness of life in the most honest, intense manner is What I Was, by Meg Rosoff.

I borrowed the book from my cousin Carmen. She told me that it was a good read, but flipping through it I'd dismissed her words immediately. Too much description. I was an Oscar Wilde fan. I adore swift, deadly verses that the intelligent of this world use to shut the other guy up. Simple and full of truth. What I Was seemed to me a long-winded, old man's tale. Or, as they say, a 'grandmother's story' Ironic, really, this phrase, because your grandmother probably has better stories to tell than your contemporaries.

Anyway, the first thing that caught my eye (or mind) in the story was the ending.

SPOILER ALERT! SCROLL DOWNWARDS AND DO NOT READ THIS PART IF YOU PLAN TO READ THE BOOK AND DONT WHAT IT SPOILED.

First twist: The boy whom the narrator was so obsessed with shared his name: Finn.

Second twist: The boy is really a girl. The narrator only found out when the nurses and doctor told him, after he'd help send the girl to the hospital. The blood he thought meant a horrible disease was actually menstruation. That was really... Well, interesting.

SPOILER OVER

So after that, I began to read... Slowly.

I can't bring myself to finish the book in one sitting, because it was too full of emotion. Not the exclaimation-mark, passionate kind. It was something like an icy fire, or a calm, wide sea- very flat, but at the same time, you shiver when you really think about the power the sea has. This book has that kind of a power, which I think is honesty. Meg Rosoff is to the point.

So if she was so to-the-point, then how come it's so full of description? It is both. By being short and frank, Meg Rosoff could fill up each paragraph with meanings that go beyond imagination.

For me, personally, almost every page required me to stop and digest everything. I just can't keep on reading without stopping. I think it's because I'm very afraid of missing out one part of it. So much of it is precious. Who knows what I would miss?

Two things in particular I adore about this book.

One is the issue on the mediocrity of life. It is something that I have often wondered, and worried, about. I don't always, though, because of God. Mediocrity is something very fascinating to me. This book touches on how people just live to exist.

"...Although we were taught to be proud of living in this great parliamentary democracy, the civil servants who ran it were a fearsome bunch, a nameless mass of people with jobs (police, social workers, record-keepers, teachers, councilmen) whose sole purpose was to keep everyone shuffling from birth to death in a nice, orderly queue..."

Many people don't think about this much. I bet you don't. Most people are living too comfortably to notice anything beyond their circle, to think about death, if I may say so. Too numbed by the routine of life to worry about it. Too comforted by 'whatever will be will be' to try and find out. A nice orderly queue, punctuated by graduations, marriage, child-birth...

I don't condone extremism, but neither am I too happy about shallow lives. You may feel insulted at the word 'shallow'. What would I know about lives that I have never lived? Well, I would say, ask people if they think their lives are boring, with no purpose, unhappy... You'll find yourself some shallow lives. Take note though, I'm not saying shallow 'people'.

The second thing, and also the theme of the story, is a person's intense desire for something.

That sounds pretty normal, but when anything is intense, it isn't as boring as you think it is. I have yet to figure out the real desire of the narrator concerning the boy Finn, but already at their first meeting I was sucked into it:

"...He looked impossibly familiar, like a fantasy version of myself, with the face I had always hoped would look back at me from a mirror. The bright, flickering quality of his skin reminded me of the surface of the sea. He was almost unbearably beautiful and I had to turn away, overcome with pleasure and longing and a realization of life's desperate unfairness..."

Love? Lust? Envy?

The narrator had described himself as a boy who is, frankly, of no value. Not smart, not handsome, not athletic, not popular. But us, as the readers, can see very obviously that the narrator possesses the ability to see beyond the solid mass of norm people know as life.

If he'd believed in God, he would have thanked Him for letting him be the loser he was. Because you don't miss what you have.

Taiwan (w/o pictures)

2010-03-23T05:33:00.000-07:00

my camera needs charging, and when i upload pictures it really drains the batteries so i'd better fill up my camera's gas tank before i start my uploading spree. so many pictures, i got sick of taking pictures for the past twenty four hours. haha, i guess i'm not cut out to be a photographer after all. ^^

anyway, here's the low down on Taipei in words and no pictures:

CONCLUSION

Taipei rocks.

or at least, from what i have experienced. Taipei rocks.

CIVIC CONSCIOUSNESS

people here queue up everywhere. in the restrooms, in the LRT stations, buying food, on escalators... i was pleasantly surprised. the streets were not that clean, but almost everywhere else indoors were. the toilets were top-notch, clean and supplied with enough toilet paper. GASP!

even in McDonald's, people take up their trash and tray, and throw them away and put the trays back on the platform thingy. all the waiters have to do is wipe the tables clean.

sometimes they don't even need to do that, since the table's all clean anyway.

PRETTY BOYS

and why har, whenever i go abroad, i find that other people's countries have more pretty boys than we do here? :/

take Thailand for example. okay, most of them are probably, you know, but they still look smashing.

China was the same, only most of them were kinda college-aged.

Taipei no different. i find myself buying pearl milk teas and backpacks from very pretty boys. Pale and tall and polite and friendly... if not friendly, then shy.

the girls in my family agrees that the boy who works the night shift at the milky tea shop nearby our first hotel (which coincidentally, is called First Hotel) is Taiwan's Prettiest Boy (Tai Wan Di Yi Da Liang Zai)

which is a big accolade for HIM, because me and my sister and my mother rarely agrees on what kind of boys are 'liang zai'.

this one's very sweet-looking, with thick, soft black hair that is cut straight in all the right places. he's very quick with his hands when preparing our beverages, and has almond-shaped eyes. i think i have a picture of him somewhere...

leave it to Carmelia to notice all the pretty boys during vacation. but seriously, it's like Taiwan's full of them.

i think their 'beautiful' level is higher than here, for both boys and girls.

LOVEBIRDS

the same thing goes for the 'lovebirds phenomenon' in a single crowd picture i can spot at least three couples. they don't really go for PDA, so thank God, but still you can see how pretty they look together, holding hands and stuff.

LRT (MRT?)

i like travelling in the LRT. or MRT, whatever you call it. everything is quick flowing. everyone is cooperative. the place is almost always very crowded, but since everything runs like clockwork, it is no problem. for example, on the escalator. everyone stands to the right, leaving the left lane on the narrow escalator empty for those who wanna rush up the stairs. *hearts*

no food and drink and chewing anything gummy is allowed after you 'DIT!' your metro card and enter the platforms. which contributes a lot to the cleanliness of the place i think.

no loafing around is allow, the toilets are clean, everyone moves about purposefully, and everyone minds their own business, but not to the point of selfishness. everyone still says excuse me and sorry.

sometimes, if they bump into you and don't say sorry, you still feel that it's okay because they look like they are rushing off somewhere and did not do it on purpose.

after all, the place really is very crowded.

SHOPKEEPING

the shopkeepers are AWESOME. i mean, as when compared with Thailand and China's. they always welcome people into their shops with a very squeaky 'huan ying guang ling!' which sounds extremely kawaii and makes you wanna buy everything in sight.

me and Sophia have kept trying to talk like them. our voices go very cute and squeaky. 'huan ying guang ling!' 'welcome!' (only they say this like 'whealk-kuum!' aww.)

and they understand you. as in, they'll tell you to look around, and that it's okay if you don't buy anything. and after i have kept touching their stuff, and still walk out without buying anything, they'll say 'Xie Xie!' (thank you) as though you have bought something.

and if you say thank you, they'll say 'oh, don't need, don't need'

now THAT is service. no wonder i spent RM300 here. (which is A LOT, okay, considering i'm not the type to go shopping and buy stuff)

TAXIS

Taxis here are expensive, according to my dad, but the drivers talk a lot. Which is very helpful, and very reassuring. It's almost like, you wanna know anything? Talk with a taxi driver.

ENVIRONMENT AND SAFETY

Cleanliness is very important here, and so is the environment. Almost everywhere you see a trash bin, you will find one more for recyclables- and these are not empty or filled with trash. these are really filled with paper, or tin, ONLY. no inconsiderate dumbbutts here to mess things up. They also have water fountains in public places, and i proudly say that i have tried them and did not fall sick or feel nauseous thanks to icky stuff left in the basin by dumbbutts. Clean, nice, cool water.

In streets where it's bustling with tourists, they have professional trash collectors collecting trash everywhere. These people look professional enough for me. They were the same bright yellow or orange vests, and they really clean up the streets. Every piece of tissue is picked up with their long tongs.

There are zebra crossings everywhere, and with one crossing, you get an automatic traffic light that gives people time to walk across them, even in the middle of a very big, very wide, very busy road. the traffic light even tells you how many seconds you have left to cross. And in some places, there are real lollipop men (men holding stop signs) directing the flow of traffic. The roads here seem so safe that even bicycles can be rode on the sides of the roads.

FOOD

too. much. pork.

so much pork that i think i may never want to eat anything that i know is pork again.

but anything else that does not involve meat is great. i have had almond milk, a lot of milky teas (thanks to those pretty boys selling them. okay, i'm kidding), Modern Toilet ABC (google this up. it's a shop where all your food is served in potties), a lot of buns filled with a lot of different stuffings, dried fruit, very very nice onion roti canai...

the food's good. but the way you eat is sometimes is even more interesting. take Modern Toilet for example.

and then there's this very popular shop where people buy mee sup... and eat standing outside the shop. No seats available. You wanna eat their mee, you eat standing up. After that, of course, everyone dumps leftover and tissues in a basin and place the utensils nicely in another basin.

they have a lot of novelty food here, like ice cream that is longer than your average ruler, a very long chips thingy, buns that are cooked sticking to the inside wall of a hot metal tube, a sour and sweet juice with little bitty things that look like frog eggs...

Sometimes you don't even have to buy anything to taste everything. On a typical tourist street, almost every shop is clamoring for you to taste their food.

it's like they think you tasting their food equals you buying their food.

which is sort of true, considering half of our return baggage comprised of consumables.

the street hawkers in Xi Men Ting area is funny. the food they sell is awesome. Fruits, buns, pancakes, roti canai, Smelly Tofu etc... strawberries here are as cheap as bananas here, but their mangos are expensive. a packet of those sour mango strips you get here that costs RM 2 is RM 10 there.

anyway, these hawkers don't have licenses, so they are very cooperative. they help one another look out for the policemen riding bikes that patrol the area.

it's interesting how they immediately push their carts frantically away from the street when they hear from one another that a cop is coming. some of them who sell soft toys can shut their briefcases and hide easily, but those pushing carts really have to run their butts off.

they must really know each other to be able to go through this every night. my dad says the cops are only patrolling 'for looks'. because if they'd really wanted to catch those hawkers, they would have already.

for one, these hawkers are kind of the main attraction of the area. for another, the police knows that all these hawkers need a livelihood.

DOGS

A LOT OF DOGS! and not stray ones. i have not seen one stray dog here, every dog i have seen seems to belong to a person.

even a tramp here has a dog. he had this bag of dog food with him, and the black, dirty dog just slept nearby, which was so sweet.

everywhere we went, there will definitely be someone holding a little toy dog. you know, those poofy ones? poodles? they were short, cute, furry little things, and almost always wearing some dog clothing, which is sold a lot here in Taiwan.

there's even this shop named Ah Mao which has big, brown, shaggy, furry dogs tied to the front of the shop- because the shops are themed after them! yes, shops, two of them in different locations so there are two dogs. the shops are very nearby each other though, so when this dog isn't here, you go to the other shop to find the other one. they are equally cute. or maybe it's just one dog? hm.

anyway, we had a short film once:

this very fashionable looking girl brought her brown, poofy dog over, and a bunch of them, including the waitresses and a guy whom i think was in charge of bringing the dogs home, had fun messing with the dogs. Ah Mao kept sniffing the girl's dog's butt.

after that it was time to go home for Ah Mao, so they put him on a leash, the boy took it, and

chaos ensued.

the big dog chased the little dog all around the place. the little dog even stepped on my mum's foot while she was busy looking at clothes nearby. everyone stopped to watch.

finally the boy caught Ah Mao's leash, and yelled for the girl to GO AWAY. he looked at the small dog in the girl's arms. "pretty meh??" ("ta mei meh??" probably talking to Ah Mao)

in the end they still had to use the small dog to lure Ah Mao away from the shop so that he could go home, because Ah Mao did not want to leave his shop. it was amusing, how the girl, holding her dog, rushed in little steps away from the shop while Ah Mao chased from behind, the boy desperately pulling at the leash to slow Ah Mao down.

one more memorable dog was one we saw at seven-eleven on the first night. this big German Shepard was parked in front of the shop while his master, a young, serious looking man, bought stuff inside with his girlfriend (or sister?) he looked so freaking CUTE, with this big, shaggy head, and a smallish body because his fur was trimmed off. He was wearing a white t-shirt that had the picture of those cute, big-headed dogs.

and all he did was sit there patiently for his master.

OMGOSH SO OBEDIENT!! ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥

Melissa and Daphne will definitely LARB HIM TO DEATH.

BIG AND FURRY AND CUTE AND HANDSOME AND SO OBEDIENT!

my mum and sister finally got to pet him and touch his furry CUTENESS when the master came out. hilarious, really, because when he came out, he noticed us three girls staring and panting and practically drooling at his dog. i salute him for not smiling.

people here don't smile when you stare at their dogs, but they don't mind it either.

the young man then told us that 'he doesn't bite', which, in other words, is an invitation to come and touch him. my mum jumped on the dog at once, squealing. okay, she didn't but you get my point. my sister held back a bit, but she petted him in the end. i didn't, because i felt like a total dweeb who have never seen a dog. but yes, i regret it now. T___T

WHAT I GOT

an undying thirst to go and live in Taipei.

i just really love the life there. every building is close to each other so you can easily walk around, the LRT system is terrific, and there are shops everywhere. food everywhere. beverages everywhere. and everyone is polite, or at least they mind their own business, so it isn't as stressful as it is in KL city, where if you bump into someone, they give you the almighty finger.

i got my dad to sponsor a bit for this really cute backpack. i saw it a few days ago, and the salesboy told me it was a vampire, which made my mum jump a bit and stop touching it. it really does look like a vampire, with eyes and two sharp white fangs. the salesboy is a cutie, as usual. when he talks, he speaks quietly (like all the other cuties here that have spoken to me).

he's one of the most 'fashionable' fellows i've seen here. his hair is dyed those dried out brown-gold, poofy and longish, but still not too wild. his eyes were bright blue- contact lenses, duh.

which is why i have decided to name my bag 'blue eyes' in memory of this salesboy, even though my bag has black eyes.

the owner of the shop is this really independant, sassy kinda woman. she looks normal, with short hair, but the way she talks is very strong and determined, and helpful as well. she told us if we ever need to find any place, come find her, her shop's a map. the salesboy was equally nice. he held the bag up for me to put it on, helped me adjust the straps. :D

i didn't pay him much attention then because i had my eyes stuck on the bag, but now that i think about it, the salesboy was really automatically nice. how gentlemanly of him. or maybe he was trained to do so.

another thing i got for myself that i like is this small blue ocarina.

i first saw those ocarinas in a shop where this weirdo man was, painting own ocarinas.

when he caught me staring at him, he started singing along with the ocarina music playing in his shop. it was the famous Christmas lullaby. already its melody was in minor key, so it sounded very haunting, but when played using the ocarina, it sounded even more magical... ♥

the man finally put down his brush and played along with the music using his own ocarina. he's a very odd man. he grins and sings and has messy, wavy flyaway hair. too bad i didn't buy my ocarina from him. instead, i only bought one when we came to a second ocarina shop later. this time, the shop keeper wasn't that magical. aw.

2010-03-17T00:01:00.000-07:00

Taiwan Pictures (session one)

2010-03-16T23:00:00.000-07:00

we specially bought Grade B crocs for this vacation. i wore this for the entire time i was in Taipei. easy to wear, lets my feet breathe, and not hard.

not soft... but not hard.

Taipei 101! (you read it as one-oh-one) i lazy to copy paste the picture to desktop and rotate, so you will just have to bend your neckies people. sorry. =3

next batch of pictures i'll rotate, okay? this batch i didn't because i uploaded these back in Taipei using my new laptop. (yes, i got a new laptop. it's small.)

i don't feel left out, seriously.

with me in the picture, i'll end up deleting it because i don't look good enough. yes, i am very vain. XD

Taipei 101.

Jerry's very camera shy.

Our reflection.

Close-up!

we went in, but to ride the lift all the way up costs RM30 per person, i think, so no can do. all those sohai expensive shops inside, with names i can't pronounce right.

protesters protesting something in front of Taipei 101.

in Malaysia i think this is banned.

bikes! put in a coin and ride ride ride. not sure how the system works though, like how they get the bikes back for sure... but it seems to me that people here are civic conscious enough.

and i bet they don't have Moral AND Civic classes.

McDonalds here is called McCafe for some reason. two orang putih guys spent some time looking at me as i walked past them. i wonder why.

Taipei's full of graffiti. and these graffiti look very good. so good, in fact, i think that it isn't illegal to draw and paint on public objects if your art is good enough. this is only one example of how they are proud of the young people's spontaneous art:

graffiti parade.

New York New York is the name of the mall behind this statue.

NOT the restaurant where you can get the RM40 giant burger.

looks like the skin was peeled off and you can see the muscles on the face. yucky but cool.

haha.

i didn't see this little cute detail until my sister showed it to me.

very nice. chewy dough. love love.

Taiwan's packages are almost always very cute and very creative. they use paper bags for a lot of things, even books.

Taipei's DBKK. very class eh?

so class that my parents wanted to take picture with it.

aw. how sweet. lovebirds.

eslite. there's a very classy bookstore inside. how i wish i had more time to look through... so many comics, so many cute books, so little time...

grass.

can you spot the 'go left go right' characters behind me and Sophia?

i love this horse.

so cute.

♥

HORSEY!!

Bahasa Melayu?

2010-03-11T06:38:00.001-08:00

Bha, selepas saya baca blog post si Nana yang ditulis dalam Bahasa Melayu, saya pun ingin menggunakan bahasa Melayu ni. Saya ni Kuching yang bernama Tiru. :D ...

...

... Ok, sampai sini sajalah. Saya harap apabila saya menulis post lagi (post yang lebih panjang daripada ini) saya akan menggunakan bahasa Melayu, ataupun bahasa Cina. :D

Oscar Wilde

2010-03-08T20:22:00.000-08:00

truly, if i have to pick a favorite writer amongst everything that i have read, it would be Oscar Wilde.

“Man can believe the impossible, but can never believe the improbable”

“There are only two tragedies in life: one is not getting what one wants, and the other is getting it.”

“They spoil every romance by trying to make it last forever.”

“Experience is the name every one gives to their mistakes.”

“A gentleman is one who never hurts anyone's feelings unintentionally.”

“Everything popular is wrong.”

“Society exists only as a mental concept; in the real world there are only individuals.”

“What is a cynic? A man who knows the price of everything and the value of nothing.”

“I am so clever that sometimes I don't understand a single word of what I am saying.”

“The well bred contradict other people. The wise contradict themselves.”

“Ridicule is the tribute paid to the genius by the mediocrities.”

“The world is a stage, but the play is badly cast.”

“A dreamer is one who can only find his way by moonlight, and his punishment is that he sees the dawn before the rest of the world.”

“Most people are other people. Their thoughts are someone else's opinions, their lives a mimicry, their passions a quotation.”

“Quotation is a serviceable substitute for wit.”

“Democracy means simply the bludgeoning of the people by the people for the people.”

“I am the only person in the world I should like to know thoroughly.”

“He lives the poetry that he cannot write. The others write the poetry that they dare not realize.”

“I don't at all like knowing what people say of me behind my back. It makes me far too conceited.”

“When a love comes to an end, weaklings cry, efficient ones instantly find another love, and the wise already have one in reserve.”

“No object is so beautiful that, under certain conditions, it will not look ugly.”

“Be yourself; everyone else is already taken.”

“Every saint has a past and every sinner has a future.”

“A man who is master of himself can end a sorrow as easily as he can invent a pleasure. I don't want to be at the mercy of my emotions. I want to use them, to enjoy them, and to dominate them.”

“When liberty comes with hands dabbled in blood it is hard to shake hands with her.”

“A thing is not necessarily true because a man dies for it.”

“Deceiving others. That is what the world calls a romance.”

“I don't want to earn my living; I want to live.”

“Popularity is the one insult I have never suffered.”

“To live is the rarest thing in the world. Most people exist, that is all.”

“To become a spectator of one's own life is to escape the suffering of life.”

“Man is least himself when he talks in his own person. Give him a mask, and he will tell you the truth.”

“Scepticism is the beginning of Faith.”

“Every portrait that is painted with feeling is a portrait of the artist, not of the sitter.”

“Religions die when they are proved to be true. Science is the record of dead religions.”

“I live in fear of not being misunderstood.”

“To do nothing at all is the most difficult thing in the world, the most difficult and the most intellectual.”

“All art is at once surface and symbol. Those who go beneath the surface do so at their peril.”

“A mask tells us more than a face.”

“A true friend stabs you in the front.”

“What seems to us as bitter trials are often blessings in disguise.”

“The world was my oyster but I used the wrong fork.”

“The value of an idea has nothing to do with the success of the man who expresses it.”

“Death must be so beautiful. To lie in the soft brown earth, with the grasses waving above one's head, and listen to silence. To have no yesterday, and no to-morrow. To forget time, to forgive life, to be at peace.”

“It's not whether you win or lose, it's how you place the blame.”

“Art never expresses anything but itself.”

“It is what you read when you don't have to that determines what you will be when you can't help it.”

“Always forgive your enemies - nothing annoys them so much.”

“It is the spectator, and not life, that art really mirrors”

“People who count their chickens before they are hatched, act very wisely, because chickens run about so absurdly that it is impossible to count them accurately.”

“I like to do all the talking myself. It saves time, and prevents arguments.”

“Mere colour, unspoiled by meaning, and unallied with definite form, can speak to the soul in a thousand different ways.”

“Truth, in matters of religion, is simply the opinion that has survived.”

“Fashion is a form of ugliness so intolerable that we have to alter it every six months.”

“Where there is no extravagance there is no love, and where there is no love there is no understanding.”

Ouran Host Club

2010-03-08T07:50:00.000-08:00

i found this picture of girls cosplaying as the Ouran Hosts. i can't resist posting it up here and rating them, one by one. :P

i think the best is Takashi Mori (the farthest right) followed by the twins.

Kyouya needs to be taller, ditto for Tamaki. HONEY needs to be shorter. Like, WAAAY shorter. And Haruhi... =__=''

But nice shot lah. :D

i wonder if they'll come out with a real persons MOVIE for Ouran Host Club.

*SQUEAK SQUEAK!!!* <3

Family Gathering

2010-03-06T06:05:00.000-08:00

♥

is Venice really that beautiful?

2010-03-04T06:22:00.001-08:00

after playing Nancy Drew: The Phantom of Venice, i have a new answer for the question "Where would you want to go for vacation?"

yup, Venice, Italy! :D (way to go, Nancy Drew game people. :) )

however, i wonder if Venice is really as beautiful and as romantic as they make it seem in the game. so i decided to google Venice.

Burano, Venice, Italy ♥

Dining alfresco-it means dining outside. ♥

(I learnt this word reading Lemony Snicket's Series of Unfortunate Events.)

beautiful. this is dusk. ♥

this is the Grand Canal. ♥

Beautiful Italy, beautiful names. ♥

I can imagine myself saying on the phone, "Hello honey. I'm in San Marino now." foreign accent*

Rialto Bridge. Really cool, how they have arch-windows at the side. ♥

San Marco Square. you get to feed pigeons there! ♥

St. Mark's Square (is this San Marco also?) ♥

Gondola. ♥

♥♥♥ The best time to go to Venice is when they have the Carnevale. ♥♥♥

♥

♥

♥

♥

♥

♥ imagine all the pictures we can take there...

♥

♥

♥

♥ i especially like this one, simple with three contrasting colors.

♥

♥

Chinese New Year 2010 (kdca)

2010-03-02T04:57:00.001-08:00

Chinese New Year 2010

2010-02-24T20:05:00.000-08:00

i kissed a dwarf in my dream and i liked it

2010-02-24T08:12:00.000-08:00

okay. so i have a lot of weird dreams. i mean, c'mon. someone like me is bound to have dreams that are nothing but weird.

but this recent one took the chocolate cake. and did not return it.

so i was in this shop, and i was behind the counter. everything was kinda dark. and then there was this boy. quite cute, a young, teenager like me.

and he was paying me a green five ringgit Malaysia bill to kiss him.

GASP! NEVER!!! i am CARMELIA YONG! PROTECTOR OF FIRST KISSES!!! I'D RATHER WEIGH 100 KILOGRAMS AND BE FORCE TO GO ON A RABBIT-FOOD DIET FOR A YEAR TO LOSE WEIGHT THAN GIVE MY FIRST KISS TO SOMEONE WHO IS NOT THE ONE!

you know what? lagi gasp. gasp sampai caps lock pun tak boleh describe betapa besar gasp ini.

I kissed him. T___T smack, right on the lips. then this dwarf man walked by, wearing neat working clothes. he saw, and then looking very awkward (the boy had suddenly vanished) he handed an RM 5 to me. blushing all the way, looking the other way. me? 'no WAAAAAYYY'

of course, as you have already guessed by now, i ended up pecking his lips anyway.

but this time i was not surprised by what i did because even though it was a dream, the sympathy i felt for the dwarf felt really... real lah. all of a sudden my Florence Nightingale Syndrome reared its ugly (or beautiful? Was FN pretty??) head and I just felt so touched by his awkwardness that I just leaned forward and kissed. i didn't take the RM5.

and he was so stunned, the little short man looked so shocked and reddening so fast that i couldn't resist it and gave him another peck. a longer one this time! :D

okay, it's 12.28am now and i MUST go to sleep within ten minutes otherwise i will not forgive myself for being so disobedient. who knows, maybe i'll see the dwarf again! :D i think i really like him. sighs. so cute. so vulnerable. so... sighs.

Happy Chinese New Year- of the Tiger!

2010-02-13T18:01:00.000-08:00

i know, i know. stop laughing already. weird picture.

HAPPY

CHINESE

NEW YEAR,

PEOPLE-WHO-VISIT-MY-BLOG! :D

dedication: pearl & jinho

2010-02-12T23:22:00.000-08:00

this is an expired birthday wish. :'(

a very happy birthday to Pearl Liew! :D

turned

eighteen

on the eleventh of February,

2010! love you girl.

also, a happy birthday to Jinho Clement!

turned

twenty

on the eleventh of February,

2010!

salutations, boss. B)

KKHS Sports Day 2010

2010-02-05T15:14:00.000-08:00

what i've been up to recently

2010-02-05T14:58:00.000-08:00

couldn't sleep til 1am, so i got downstairs, cooked rice in santan, waited for the rice cooker to finish its job, then i shut it down, let the rice cool down, and went back to sleep.

morning, 5am, woke up, fried the chicken frankies in butter, fried the rice a bit in butter, and fried the cheese omelet in butter.

all in all i used up almost an entire slab of butter.

butter breakfast.

DELICIOUS TAU???

especially the rice, omgosh, so nice if we use the rice for Nasi Lemak!!

YUMMY!

one of my psychological complexes- FNS

2010-02-03T16:59:00.000-08:00

been playing Nancy Drew- Legend of the Crystal Skull.

after that, I played and cheated (by referring to walkthroughs) on Nancy Drew- The Last Train to Blue Moon Canyon.

in Legeng of the CS, once again i fell for a fictional character.

remember the game Brave Story i played on Jerry's PSP last time? and I totally fell for this boy named Rei?

and then i remember the time i had a crush on this magician dude the Magus in the tv cartoon series, Gargoyles? (i remember him fondly as Megas)

this time, it's a friend of Ned Nickerson (Ned's Nancy Drew's boyfriend):

Henry Bolet. (it's pronounced Bo-Ley)

he lost his parents to a car crash at the age of eight, sent to live with his creepy great uncle Bruno Bolet- before getting shipped out to boarding school, military school, college etc... basically being side-lined. he's a sarcastic guy (i love the way he's annoyed at how people put him on hold for hours on the phone <3), and he's aware that people pity him all the time. he doesn't mind. secretly, he's still upset about his parents passing like that and leaving him alone. also, he doesn't really have any self-confidence. he's desperate to keep his current girlfriend, Summer (a totally selfish girl who always demands that Henry buy expensive things for her- i was hoping in the game that he'd break up with her) and he said that's because she's probably the only girlfriend he'll ever have...

how about Rei? (view him in action here)

When Rei was born, he was dumped in a public toilet "like a turd" (that was what he'd said. what IS a turd?) and since Rei happened to be the sensitive type, he becomes so confused about why his own mother didn't want him that he started thinking too much and started not to trust anyone, not even after a really loving couple adopted him. they trust him, and plan to hand over the hospital to him (they're in charge of a hospital- wow) but he doesn't trust them to love him. so he turns evil and sets out to get his wish to wipe out all his bad memories, so that he'll be able to start anew with his new parents. unfortunately, Rei's a very intelligent, prodigy-type boy, so he pretty much almost succeeded causing a lot of havoc for a lot of people. he's actually a pretty nice guy, as seen when the good guys defeat him but did not kill him, and when they were surrounded by evil demons, Rei used up all his remaining energy to teleport the good guys away from there.

Scene: After defeating Grandmaster Re, many evil little things came out.

Leynart: We're finished if we stay here!

Hero: We have to save Rei!

Ropple: *fights*

Rei: *weakly from the ground* What... What do you think... You're doing...?

Yuno: Stupid punk! Hero's not like you, he never abandons anybody!

Sogreth: Grrraaah! That's just... how he operates!

Meladee: Yah! Besides... No matter how far you've gone astray... Fwah! You still deserve... a chance to set things right!

Leynart: Humph! My friends, you are far too nice! I suppose... That means... I'm in good company!

Rei: You fools... Human beings always backstab each other in the end...

Don't be so... trusting... You'll only get hurt...

People have hurt me... Since the moment I was born... My mother dumped me in a park restroom after she had me... Like some turd she laid...

I've always had to count on myself to survive... I studied as hard as I could... And caught the eye of that hospital's director, and his wife... They adopted me.

Heh... Ha ha... Picture that. A turd picked to to take over a major hospital... I was set... My future secure.

That's all I cared about. I played the good son... Planned to take them for everything they had...

But... they loved me... They... LOVED ME!

I hated it. I didn't want it! Because I didn't trust them enough to love them back...

Too many bad memories... I couldn't... Ahh...

Enough. Get out of here. Our wishes won't come true, but you belong at your girl's side. *lifts staff* I feel... better. So long... Brat...

Demon King: GRRRAAAAAAR! You dare defy us, Rei!

*Hero disappears. Rei left alone as demons close in on him*

how about the Magus? (lets call him Megas)

basically, he was Princess Katherine's advisor. he did a lot for her. he was the one who'd cast the spell that turned the gargoyles into stone because he thought that they'd caused Princess Katherine's death. after that, he'd used his magic to bring the princess and her precious gargoyle eggs to Avalon, and then because he wanted to be with them on Avalon to raise the hatchlings with the princess, he gave up his spellbook. after all that he did for the princess, though, the princess fell in love with this guy Tom, and Megas could do nothing but watch and feel useless because he didn't have any magic. in the end he died because he'd help the princess defeat some witches by using too much of Avalon's magic.

i see a pattern in all my fictional character crushes. don't you?

misunderstood boy, lost parents, lonely, sidelined, desperate for love...

which leads me to this oh-so important conclusion:

I HAVE

FLORENCE NIGHTINGALE'S

SYNDROME

Smile.

2010-02-01T06:42:00.000-08:00

You're better than the best
I'm lucky just to linger in your light
Cooler than the flip-side of my pillow, that's right

Completely unaware
Nothing can compare to where you send me
Lets me know that it's okay

Yea, it's okay
And the moments when my good times start to fade

You make me smile like the sun

Fall out of bed
Sing like a bird

Dizzy in my head
Spin like a record

Crazy on a Sunday night

You make me dance like fool

Forget how to breathe
Shine like gold

Buzz like a bee
Just the thought of you can drive me wild

Oh, you make me smile

Even when you're gone
Somehow you come along

Just like a flower poking through the sidewalk crack
And just like that
You steal away the rain
And just like that

Don't know how I lived without you
'Cause every time that I get around you
I see the best of me inside your eyes

what i've been up to recently

2010-01-26T19:04:00.000-08:00

This is a Brownie. This is a piece of Brownie with whipped cream on top.

Brownie + Whipped Cream = Yummy.

This is my mouth. This is my mouth with whipped cream sprayed into it.

Whipped Cream + Tastebuds = Yummy.

Okay, this was yesterday.

Dad saw this thing in the newspaper advertising a Canada education fair in Hyatt.

He said I should go. I thought I should go.

So I went.

Before that, though, we went to Lido for lunch.

On the way, I saw this really nice painted message on the door of a white truck.

It didn't matter what the truck said. I just thought it looked really cool so I snapped a picture of it. :D

That is the old lady who reduced me big, strong dad into an embarrassed little boy.

We had to sit with this old lady with her daughter (a middle-aged woman) at the char-sau rice shop in Lido.

Earlier on, we had ordered a lemon teh ping for dad and a warm Chinese tea for me. I think when the waitress came with our drinks, she spilled a little tea on the table.

No one really noticed until the tea somehow spread over to the old lady's side and started to drip down the table. Dad tried to do something about it but the old lady was quicker. Using a tissue she wiped up the whole thing.

After that, I think she thought that the water came from the 'sweat drops' of the lemon teh ping. So she boldly took it up, placed it on a green saucer while smiling at my dad, much to my dad's chagrin.

Alaahh, papa. XD

Our nasi datang sudah. :D YUMMY!! But they gave us DUCK instead of CHICKEN.

as a result I ate only the chinese sausages. :( i don't like duck.

HAHA MELISSA!! XD

The boy was not in there, only his mum was there.

I just HAD to take a picture of it.

This is not the first time we've bumped into this particular car.

Ahhhh SA 617 X, the car plate number of our memories...

(it's not illegal kan?? O__O do i have to like, cover up a bit of the car plate number??)

When Jotun started to set up these little pondoks all around Kota Kinabalu, I used to think that they were portable toilets, until one day in the car with some people from church, mum told them that I thought these were toilets and they laughed. Which made it obviously transparent that they were NOT toilets.

How embarassing.

Finally saw how people put up those in-between-the-roads advertisements. :D

OKAY

the 'fair' itself was SOO FREAKING HIGH CLASS that i spent like five minutes wondering whether to go in or not.

Just before that, while coming down the stairs, a string of HIGH CLASS LOOKNG businessmen and women came up the narrow stairways so my brother and I had to squeeze ourselves to a side while awkwardly smiling at each and every one of them. :S

some of them were really friendly, some of them looked awkward as well, and some just ignored us.

Oh! And while hovering outside the fair, undecided, i had the chance to help a Chinese couple take a picture. so pleased. :P

and it was SO COLD.

thank God i brought my jacket.

not that it mattered anyway, i only went around the fair once, and somehow found myself talking to this representative from Saint John's College in Canada. i told her my interests were arts and medicine. she talked to me a bit about the college and stuff...

Really impressive, how friendly they can sound, while still acting professionally. I could sense some kind of boldness from her.

Indeed, Westerners are so, so different from us Asians.

Having done nothing much, since my dad could not accompany me to visit the fair (remember the stairs I talked about? well, he said he saw the stairs and he was scared to go down because of his foot. more on that later), we decided to go home.

I couldn't really talk about my future with a bunch of strangers without my ultimate financer and advisor with me. :(

i mean, i don't know a lot of things about further studies, okay?

oh, and i saw some people in the Hyatt Hotel parking lot decorating a SPORTS CAR for a wedding. WOW. SO cool. :)

AND WTHECK??? RM10 for not more than an HOUR'S PARKING???

Really a waste of money lah, considering what I'd managed to do at the education fair- ZILCH. :( sighs.

okay, so my dad. he's currently in KK for a week- sick leave.

because he'd managed to sprain his ligaments or tendons or something while playing badminton last week.

really bad lah, his left foot. :( all swollen and stuff. when he walks, he limps.

which is kinda weird, because he'd always been pretty strong and quick and stuff. (policeman bha, how can he not be?)

it gives me like, a feeling of how it's going to be like when he's old. aww. :)

Dad's left foot. OUCH. XS

2010-01-25T20:26:00.000-08:00

Psalm 46:10

"Be still, and know that I am GOD:

I will be exalted among the heathen,

I will be exalted in the earth."

dedication: rowena.

2010-01-25T18:21:00.000-08:00

HAPPY 18th BIRTHDAY ROWENA ♥

dedicated to Nico.

2010-01-24T22:14:00.000-08:00

not perfectly executed. i played by hearing, there were awkward pauses...

but i think it's okay lah. :)

dedication: Ixus

2010-01-24T20:20:00.000-08:00

:'( we will miss you.

What I've been Up to Recently

2010-01-24T01:42:00.001-08:00

Friday's lunch! :D I cooked spaghetti!

First, melt butter in pot.

I had to be very, very careful; butter gets burnt easily.

Then I put in the chopped onions. I chopped them using goggles, and since my eyesight isn't very good, I had to go like, centimeters away from them just to see what I'm doing.

I don't fancy slicing off part of my fingers. They are short enough. :S

And then I put in the tomatoes! :D

WAHH I tell you, onions and tomatoes smothered in butter, NICE SMELL.

I bought San Remo's Vegeroni and Western Family's Original Style Meat Spaghetti Sauce. :D

I only used half of each.

This was after I poured in the tomato sauce and minced beef.

TA-DA! :D

After bubbling nicely in the pot for like, ten to fifteen minutes, ready to serve!

Vegeroni is easier to eat than the mee-type pasta. :D

And they cook way, way faster too.

AND they're easier to scoop out from the boiling water. No splat here splat there and ouchie here ouchie there.

But I'll still like mee-style pasta, of course. All pastas are loved by Carmelia. ^^

Yummy. I finished the whole thing and the plate got licked by me.

So Saturday morning, I was cramming for the driving law theory test.

Finally I had to force myself to stop, go get ready and get out from the house to wait for Melissa to fetch me (Thanks Girl!!)

Before I left I saw this adorable brown thing beneath the table in our garage-

Oh, wait. That's OUR brown thing. *CLICK!*

so cute.

Melissa frantically calling people to find out where KK RILEK (kononnya the driving test place) is. XD

The setting in this picture is Fook Yuan.

And yes we saw Akademi Fantasia there! :D Dancing and shouting and being celebrities.

I didn't really dare go close to take pictures while they were onstage because I knew there were cameramen videotaping the whole thing.

Krishna's Curry. My darling~

Okay, long story short, I passed the test, and to reward myself I went for Krishna's.

LOVE....

I think the people there know me already: The weird, tall, big girl wearing black shirts, black sling bag and always, ALWAYS the same light blue denim skirt- ME!

After that I went for music practice in church, and then to Asia City complex to wait for my dad to come fetch me.

I bought Rowena's birthday present there, and then went for my third cup at Second cup- Jasmine Green Tea. (i forgot to take picture!!! ARGHHH!!!)

This time, the lady there initiated small talk with me!!

"Why are you still out? It's so late." (in mandarin)

"Oh, erm, err, hehe, ahh... Nothing lah. I went for driving test."

"Oh, so you passed?"

"Yup!"

:D yay!

and then dad took me and Jerry and Sophia to go watch a movie at Cathay.

We actually wanted to go to Golden but the entire parking lot down there was so... empty... and scary...

We also wanted to watch the Jackie Chan movie (i forgot the name. i only know there's JACKIE IN IT!) but Cathay wasn't screening it at a convenient time so we ended up watching TOOTHFAIRY.

Toothfairy actually reminds me of horrible, scary small creatures who attack you by eating up your teeth.

Thank you Hell Boy for this bad image of toothfairies.

NANNY MCPHEE POSTER! :D

i sorta think that it has become slightly commercialized...

don't know lah. but FLYING PIGS!! HAHA!

***watching movie... shh.***

Conclusion: Toothfairy was an okay movie. :)

I enjoyed it, but I don't think I'd have missed much if I'd missed it.

After that, went to Lido to eat. Let's let the pictures do the talking here. :)

Yummy. I didn't get to eat much though.

Okay, so, now, back home.

My dad had just installed a new air-conditioner in the master bedroom, so the room was kinda messy because he had to upside-down the mattress so that the bed won't get dirty.

Sophia and Jerry introduced me to something they'd played in the afternoon on the upside-down mattress.

It was quite fun, actually. *blush*

Going...

WHHEEEEEE!!

"THAT WAS FUN!"

Good Saturday. :)

rant.

2010-01-23T20:45:00.000-08:00

after read this (<'Bad Romance' to enter my mind again.

everything in that website sounds ridiculous.

"too radical," some might say.

"psycho." more might scoff.

but to those who are sincerely seeking the truth

and want to find out exactly what is the deal,

they will not casually just ignore 'psycho' things like that.

let me remind you, people, of how the world was like years ago:

if people knew you were gay or lesbian, you'd be shunned by society.

but now, everything all topsy-turvy. now, if you oppose gay rights openly,

you'd be charged and have to face the court (in some states in the west)

my point here is not whether gay rights are right.

my point here is, things can change so radically.

if years ago homosexuality was hated so much, and now homosexuality is embraced,

then it is definitely POSSIBLE and PROBABLE that some time in the future,

SATANISM will be embraced as lovingly.

no, it doesn't matter how determined you are not to embrace Satanism.

because in the future, you will be the old, conservative ADULTS.

the next generation,

who are now SPOON FED with all these Lady Gaga, vampire, blood, ritualistic, satanic stuff,

will be the ones who say what's what.

they are slowly being desensitized to these hardcore things.

'freedom of expression'

is being used as an excuse for Satan to twist Man

into something totally different than what God had created.

is there any wonder why anti-christ will be able to rule this world one day?

to all you skeptical people, never underestimate Satan's ability to deceive. :(

never say, "oh, don't worry, you're being too serious and psychotic."

the bible warns us that Satan will blatantly disguise himself as an 'angel of light'

ANGEL OF LIGHT?!

if you see a heavenly figure shining with light,

i doubt that you'd even for a second think that he's Satan.

he is the MASTER of deception.

he will even use the mistakes done by Christians to 'prove' that Christianity is wrong.

Muslims scorn us partly because they think that Christians can drink and get drunk.

NO!

please do not confuse Christians with those who view Christianity as a 'Sunday Thing' only.

:( drunkenness is explicitly forbidden in the bible.
(i should know, i had to translate an article on that from Malay to English recently. complete with more than five bible verses, okay?)

okay, i digressed. oops.

my POINT is that Satan is very cunning. :(

for example, homosexuality. you know how i think it came about?

thanks to men who treat women unequally, women fought back to liberate themselves.

this is all very good, until things start to backfire.

woman eventually BECAME men on the basis that sexuality is not important, because 'equality is everything'.

and where did that 'equality' concept come from?

thanks to the first problem.

so now, when you oppose homosexuality, people will accuse YOU of trying to bring back to life the first problem, which is inequality.

Satan is very cunning. :(

but of course we must always remember that

God is LORD over satan. :D

YAY!

so in conclusion, i also think that Mr. Vigilant, who runs that very 'enlightening' website, is extremely detailed and focused on these 'Satanism in the entertainment industry' stuff.

but not in a bad way.

because we cannot continue living comfortably knowing that

what we see and hear comes from Satan. :(

musings

2010-01-23T19:32:00.000-08:00

If you were of the world, the world would love his own;

but you are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world,

therefore the world hates you.

-John15:19

one of my favorite verses. :)

i will be careful.

when things go too good,

when i feel popular amongst my friends,

i must remember to ask myself:

why do they like me?

because i'm bearing the fruits of the Spirit,

or because i'm doing what everyone else is doing?

and when i declare my love for Jesus,

will they mock me?

will they scorn me?

will they say that i am trying to be 'holy'?

i will that they DO.

because a life liked by the world is not a life lived for GOD.

AMEN!

what had happened this morning.

2010-01-21T20:12:00.000-08:00

so this morning, i woke up at 10.30am. i groggily got up, feeling as though there's a chicken egg stuck in my throat, and stumbled over to the bathroom. i put toothpaste on toothbrush and started brushing...

RINGGGGGGGGGGG!!!

darn it. i quickly picked up th ephone, toothbrush in my mouth. my phone has a caller ID system, but i don't know why this time no number was displayed.

"HREE ROW?" *froth and Colgate in my mouth*

DUM DUM DUM DUMMMMM!!! *Beethoven's Fifth*

Okay, since I have spaghetti to cook before 12pm, I'll just have to 'synopsize' everything:

"This lady speaking Mandarin called. I didn't quite catch what she was saying but I think ti was a survey of some sorts. She asked me if I go on vacation to other countries or withint Malaysia. I said both campur campur. The she asked for my surname. Err, okay, I told her. YANG. Then she asked for my name. I said sorry, I can't tell her. Okay, never mind. She asked me for my English name. For some inexplicable reason, I told her. Carmelia. She asked me how old I was, whether I was schooling, whether I was working... I told her. Then she asked again for my Chinese name. Again I refused politely. Then she asked again for my English name. I told her again. She then asked me AGAIN for the third time for my Chinese name. I refused again. Then she was all nice, wished me some nice stuff and bye bye we hung up."

I'm very confused. Why is it that I do not dare to give out my Chinese name, and yet dare to give out my English name? :S

Anyway, my brother and MOTHER are back and I still haven't started working on lunch.

OH NO!!!

DUM DUM DUM DUMMMMMMMM!!!

What I've been Up to Recently

2010-01-21T18:33:00.000-08:00

Chicken Soup Mee! (Wednesday dinner)

it was DELICIOUS. i used Maggi's chicken stock to make chicken soup (according to the recipe behind the box)

I had no potatoes so I used carrots, and everything turned out wonderfully. :D

The mee was a bit too soggy and heavy, and the soup was boiling for too long so it kinda turned into broth, and I did not bother to add water.

But it turned out that Jerry and Sophia liked it as broth, and not soupy, because when I added hot water to Jerry's bowl, he liked Sophia's better than his.

On the way home from church Wednesday night, I saw this really cool, really cool thing on this car.

Normally I see how people decorate their cars, and I don't really like but this one I REALLY LIKED. XD As you can see, in the first picture, how really nice it is. :P But I had the flash on so the picture was... :(

Then I tried to take another picture. My sister hurriedly helped me put down the window. Everything was chaotic as all of us tried to spur Carmelia faster so that the picture can be taken.

I really have to fix the zip on my bag. :( One day I'll miss a very good opportunity to take a really awesome picture because of that zip. F3

Anyway, finally, it was Mission FAILED. :'( sobs.

Darn that car which passed by just as my camera snapped. DARN!

This was yesterday's Lunchinner.

Nasi Goreng KAMPUNG!! :D

Again, SUCCESS! I have learnt not to be smart and change recipes.

I have to try to follow as close as possible the recipe given. :) (But I am STILL lazy to measure the quantities)

My mummy said that leafy green thing is Bayam, not Kang Kung. Huh, I thought it said Kang Kung on the vegetable's packet.

Oh well, tasted nice anyway. :D

It was a bit too hot for my sister, because the recipe said 3 to 4 chili padi,

but I, being stupid and seeing that those padi chillies were so small, decided to put in 8 to 10. (yes I have a problem with measuring out the correct quantities of ingredients.)

when my mum asked me how many chili padi I put in, I kept quiet.

Chick-kaan. :D

Smothered in black pepper, and the other, whiter side, fried with bawang merah.

NYUM!

But I didn't really get to enjoy them because since I was the one who had to cut them up while they were still in their Ugly Duckling form (aka ugly, smelly, icky, wet) so maybe that had a 'ew no eating' effect on me.

I pounded the Black Pepper myself and in the end I had to throw away 70% of what I had pounded out because I stupidly put the raw chicken pieces into the entire bowl.

My sister could not eat the Nasi Goreng Kampung (too hot... oops.) so she made this omelet.

WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN OMELETE AND SCRAMBLED EGGS?? :D

Scrambled eggs is just scrambling the eggs and pour them into the pan.

Omelet is scrambled eggs PLUS some other stuff that you put on the omelet while it cooks, and you fold on side over the other.

I leanrt this in AFC!

(Asian Food Channel, really cool channel. Thanks to Nana, I have the interest in all these Food channels. XD)

So my sister's omelet was cheese and egg. :D Mozerella cheese inside. YUMMY!!

Not too brown, as you can see. It has a really pancakey smell thanks to the butter it was smothered in. Really nice and fragrant~ :D

Okay, now I'm off to cook spaghetti for lunch. :D

Twilight

2010-01-19T20:28:00.001-08:00

well, we don't read Twilight for the same reasons, but...

Jessi doesn't read it too!! so i won't EITHER! XD

What I've been Up to Recently

2010-01-19T18:14:00.000-08:00

one of my most successful fried rice. but i'm still not satisfied because it's only successful thanks to the Maggi fried rice Briyani powder i used.
one day i shall triumph WITHOUT MAGGI!!!

my driving license kit. sort of. 500 questions to finish, not easy man. see the certificate on the left? that's what i get for completing five hours of course.

"...telah mengikuti kursus selama 5 Jam sebagaimana yang ditetapkan di bawah peruntukan Kaedah Kenderaan Motor (Lesen Memandu) 1959 di atas."

so basically, the people who made and approved this 'law' thinks that 5 hours of kursus will guarantee that all graduated drivers are safe, happy and smart drivers.

okay, i admit that at least they did try to do something there.

maybe they're testing your patience. no patience to go through 5 hours of BORINGNESS then no patience to drive. so no license.

when my mum brought this home at 3pm, it was full. she was adamant that this is not opened and devoured until February.

"it's for Chinese New Year." *so innocent*

well, mum, don't you know that you have three little piggy wolves at home? :(

the moral of the story is, do not bring home snacks for a certain festival until the festival is already nigh.

next time keep them in school mummy.

New Look

2010-01-18T17:21:00.001-08:00

woke up at 5am to cook porridge for siblings. the left-over i ate. all cold and filling... nice but too much. XS

i really like this layout. :) it's very cool, and very easy to edit.

two minor problems, though.

one, whenever i wanna go to my dashboard for a new post or edit settings, i have to visit Nana or Daphne or Melissa's blog. because this layout doesn't have the 'sign in' and 'dashboard' thing up there.

two, i really rather prefer a white layout. it's simpler and the words are easier to read. but black is just too nice for this layout. :D

feeling kinda sick now. should not have eating so much porridge in the morning. :S

i wanna be a good blogger too :3

2010-01-17T18:33:00.000-08:00

Whoa, after checking out Nana's blog, I decided to see how cute Derek's koala was, so I went to HIS blog...

AWESOME.

He's a serious blogger (unlike me.), he has this AWESOME iwant list, load of pictures... and he got paid from Nuffnang.

If you get money for blogging, you've gotta be a good blogger, kan?

Okay, then before I get all overwhelmed and start crying over my ~~horrible~~ not-so-nice blog, I visited Olivia's blog, and lo and behold

AWESOME

she also has an iwant list, loads of pictures, and really cool blog posts. like the one dedicated to Ugly Better, the one dedicated to her friend, and one where there's a big CAKE...

so i want too! :D (not the cake, i mean i wanna be a good blogger like them.)

and instead of studying for my driving license's law test, I SHALL START WORKING ON MY BLOG RIGHTAWAY!!!

1. Find cool layout.

2. Edit layout. (gotta credit the original creator of course.)

3. Add nice gadgets to blog.(iwant list)

4. Finish and gloat about it in Facebook.

I want an iwant list to keep me in check. because, honestly lah, I view my blog more times then I view my poor diary/planner.

5B mini-gathering @ Tanjung Aru beach

2010-01-15T23:19:00.000-08:00

Kim Bum

2010-01-15T07:54:00.000-08:00

KIM BUM is so CUTE!!!

while waiting for my brother's CallofDuty2 game to be installed, i googled some pictures and... and... and i decided to post something about all the beautiful boys in the world. :D

bha, actually i'm only interested in showcasing KIM BUM to everyone. so forget the other beautiful boys, let's focus on KIM BUM!!

oh, okay, now i'm too lazy to focus on Kim Bum with all of you.

NOW I WANNA STARE AT SOME MORE KIM BUM!! i love Google <3>

2010-01-15T06:17:00.000-08:00

have you ever wondered how those people in malls like Centre Point decorate such a big place? they use

THAT ORANGE machine there in the picture

to go up high high to hang up the stuff on the ceiling. :D

(sorry, have to bend your head to the right to see the picture.

i lazy to figure out how to rotate the picture. XS)

i had this in the shop on the second floor of Asia City Complex.

REALLY GOOD. they have all sorts of drinks, Pearl Milky Tea, Champagne Green Tea, Milkshakes, Ice Blended, Fresh Juice, Concentrated Juice, and all sorts of Toasts. REALLY GOOD SHOP with GOOD FOOD and GOOD DRINKS.

But it's in a very remote corner. :(

this drink was RM3.50, git chai ice blended with asam boi. NICE.

After youth just now, went to McDonalds Api-Api to semi-celebrate Jerry's birthday. :D And I was hungry. I was so hungry that I ordered a BIG MAC!

I've been very hungry these few days. :( Gone is my diet.

BIG MAC is delicious...

2010-01-14T22:23:00.000-08:00

AHHHHH FORGET carmeliauntitled. i can't continue anymore. :(

i'll save all the chapters into my computer, and delete everything from carmeliauntitled.

thank you for all your support people! :D unfortunately i cannot continue the novel :( sorry.

Jalan-Jalan Cari Ingredient

2010-01-14T18:45:00.000-08:00

looks so different from what i had in mind. :(

So... we had to cook dinner last night.

Actually, I had to, but as usual I dragged Sophia into the whole kitchen business.

I didn't want just fried egg rice because it'll give this taste which is delicious, but brings back the memories of some kittens in Sipitang... which will make it not so delicious for me...

Because once when we went to Sipitang, in the mornings someone cooked egg fried rice for breakfast, so while I ate, I also fed these little kittens I'd found behind the house. I think it ruins me appetite, thinking about cute but dirty kittens while eating...

Anyway, I decided to experiment. I found a LOT of tomatoes in the fridge (no clue why), and some Hailam Chicken Rice paste, and Chicken Stock, and sweet corn... :D

after that we cooked away and it turned out really good!! i loved it, especially all the tomatoey taste. Tomatoes are healthy!

But the rice was not as fried as it should be. It was all wet and chunky. Actually, I planned to make it soupy, but then it's like stuck in the middle. :S

Also, the Chicken Stock turned out to have expired in 2008.

EW. EXPIRED CHICKEN STOCK IS HORRIBLE.

i only smelt it and already my stomach kinda growled in protest. (thank God i checked before we poured in the whole thing and spoil seven tomatoes and a pot of rice.)

"Don't you DARE eat that, Carmelia Yong."

Kesian my sister. Before we found out the truth, she was happily using her fingers to make the chicken stock melt in hot water. Kesian... XS

2010-01-11T19:23:00.000-08:00

Woke up this morning had to rush to the toilet. After coming up, suddenly felt so faint. My vision went black totally, my head was spinning like mad and I had to make my way up to my room, crashing into the wall and slipping on the stairs because I couldn't see. I finally threw myself on the bed...

@__@ What was happening?

YouTube debates

2010-01-11T04:38:00.000-08:00

i probably shouldn't be venturing into these dangerous waters. i searched for 'God does not exist' in YouTube and, seriously, so many videos came up.

All those athiests trying to disprove God's existence.

i shouldn't be watching these videos because i cannot underestimate the power of the enemy.

i am just starting to train seriously with my sword, and i've only just started sharpening it.

but i can't help but feel so amused... and sad.

2010-01-10T19:42:00.000-08:00

I don't like it when my mum limits the time that I have online to do 'other stuff'. And when I ask her what 'other stuff' is, she'll be all annoyed and vague and say,

"Mesti got one lah... NAH!!! Like this certificate!! You have to put it back into the file!!"

*points at innocent little certificate on the table*

Mum, please. After my siblings come home, bye bye computer for me, do you know that? And have you ever really thought about what I do online? I research scholarships, I connect with friends on the net, I blog. Seriously, I do more online than I do when offline at home. I mean, if you're talking about me being online and missing out on activities outside, then fine. But what activities do I have for now, outside?

Haiyo.

Nevertheless, still have to obey parents so I guess I'll just let it be.

All For Love

2010-01-10T01:56:00.000-08:00

All For Love-

i stumbled across this song yesterday while fiddling with the church office's computer. i've listened to it before but it just seemed especially powerful whenever i listen to it recently.

truly?

most religions in the world teach moral values. most atheists are practical and kindhearted. and a lot of doctrines and teachings out there sound logical, practical, and beneficial. probably not as confusing as Christianity can be, sometimes.

but i still stick with Jesus, because no other god out there offers the love He gives.

it's not that His love is cheap, to be used as an excuse again and again for Christians to forget about their sins. it's that He knows how weak humans are. no matter how good we are, how many good deeds we do, we're still sinners.

so He does the one thing no other god can, or wants, to do. He forgives. :D

All For Love- Hillsong

All for love, a Father gave
For only Love could make a way
All for love, the heavens cried
For Love was crucified

Oh how many times have I broken Your heart...
But still You forgive,
If only I ask.
And how many times have You heard me pray
Draw near to me

Everything I need is You
My beginning, my forever
Everything I need is You

Let me sing, all for love
I will join the angels' song
"Ever holy is the Lord
King of Glory
King of all."

All for a love, a Savior prayed,
"Abba Father have Your way
Though they know not what they do
Let the Cross draw man to You."

Sunday, 10th January

2010-01-10T01:31:00.000-08:00

c.o.r.e

jinho left for KL today, and he'll be back in July. after that, he won't be around for three years. he got an offer from Cambridge University. my mum said his parents are extremely proud of him, especially Sister Suk.

sick yesterday and today and right NOW. full-blown flu, been sneezing like nobody's business since this morning.

i had planned to wake up at 7.30am this morning, but i ended up sleeping in until 8.30am despite sleeping relatively early last night (11.30pm is a big step towards sleeping early for me, okay? i'm working on it.)

i guess when you're sick, your body knows to grab all the rest it can.

i had a horrible dream last night. in short, i ended up crying and crying in my dream. it had something to do with leading the youth. i dreamed that i failed badly.

i'm planning for c.o.r.e to visit and helpo out at Cheshire Home Kota Kinabalu. i've been there before, thanks to this Agape leadership training program. i'll ask Pastor Clement about it. i hope we can do this.

for once, i don't want c.o.r.e to focus on having fun and getting more people to come or whatever. i want us to be able to give, truly give without expecting anything in return. i don't mind if we end up spending most of our efforts and time raising funds for charity and donating our time, energy and money to homes like Cheshire.

what happened to my last post?

2010-01-09T02:00:00.001-08:00

why did all those hyperlinks appear in my last post?

like 'word of God' and 'Fire From Heaven'? O__O

i did nothing! i'm innocent!!

New Position of Leadership

2010-01-09T01:41:00.001-08:00

There's not turning back now.

Especially after I'd told everyone my 'word from God'- that there are people who have to fill in temporarily in positions that they don't feel comfortable in. It's sometimes not that there isn't anyone else, but rather perhaps God wants you to have that temporary experience, which is going to be helpful in the long run.

Me and my big mouth. When I said those words, I was thinking about another leader in particular, but then now it seems as though God is smirking and looking at me from the corners of His eyes. "Gotcha."

I can't back down now, not after saying THOSE. And I'm sure that the 'word from God' was really a 'word from God' because I was hesitating about saying it out, and I told God, "God, if that was really You, then please make Jinho ask us if anyone has anything to share."

Jinho did not, but Faith did. So? What to do lah now?

I think I am now officially the co-leader of our youth group. (the other co-leader is Berto)

I believe that I have the right to make a choice here. If I really don't want to do this, then I can tell them I don't want to.

The problem is, when every road sign is pointing at a certain path that you really don't want to go down... Well, you still have the ability to go down the other path, but since all the road-signs point to the other one... AH just GO!

I'm a very weird person. And I think I'm going to be a very weird leader, when compared to Jinho. Jinho's a total fireball (not my word. this is a term of endearment that the folks at LIFE camp gave him.)

and me? a little ~~monkey~~ bunny (sorry, i'm so over monkeys now) shaped ice cube floating in a glass of warm water. Cold now, but what happens to an ice cube when in a glass of warm water? The ice cube melts, joins the other little particles of water, and everything becomes One (i sound like Raffiki the Baboon)

Obviously, the entire glass of water will go down in temperature, thanks to the weird, bunny-shaped ice cube. Jinho the fire-ball will warm up the water, but now an ice-cube will be bringing everything down.

So what can I do but pray that God will

"SEND DOWN FIRE FROM HEAVEN!!!" (Elijah style) and heat up everything for us.

Yeah, I know we've gotta do our part, pull our share of the load. God won't do everything for us.

But if we really think about it, everything good we have is from God. Even that desire to worship Him is from Him.

Sighs. God, there's just no escaping You, huh? :) Wait, where was I? Did I digress? I think I did.

Anyway, I will graciously accept this new job. I think this is just a temporary thing, and someone better will step up to the leadership thing for UPC C.O.R.E.

I don't think I'm a "OH YES we're going to do this, that, achieve this, that, goals blah blah, and let's pray to God about it so that He'll help us know whether this is His will..." You know, someone who sets visions.

I like being a follower more. I get the directions, the orders, and I do my own thing according to that. Of course I'll have to work with others, but at some stage down the piramid, you'll have to handle a little load on your own.

I think I'm a "YES SIR! OKAY SIR! But sir, if this? And that? OHHH.... OKAY! YES! Right away!" (am i really this obedient though? hehe.)

Or maybe I just think I'm like that because I'm already used to taking orders from the Fireball.

Whatever lah. For now, I'll just try my best, and ask God to lend me strength, courage and the nessecesry (HOW ON EARTH DO YOU SPELL NE-SE-SE-RI?? no Firefox here to help me) skills to do this. Maybe He'll give me the skills, or give me people who have the skills.

MAY HIS WILL BE DONE! AMEN!

Beach Outing (8th January)

2010-01-08T18:50:00.000-08:00

we reached the beach at 6.30pm. Kak Yee, Sister Helen, aunty, Geng Geng, the kid who always runs away when i call him, and my darling QUAN QUAN who won't run away when i call him, were already there.

Waited....

Waited...

Kiren, Faith, and Mandy came. So I sent them to find a spot for the whole gang.

Tasha, Harold, Berto and Jinho came next.

"No, don't wanna go that FAR!"

So we called them back. Trudge, trudge, trudge, they came back, only to find that the nearby spots were not so proper.

So we had to go all the way back to the spot where Kiren and Faith and Mandy and Sophia and Jerry had found. As punishment for not researching the area earlier and saving everyone's energies, I carried their bags for them. T___T

I love having music worship at the beach. Beautiful! Out in the open space, I can't help but feel that it was as though our words and our hearts could just float upwards towards the almighty God. <3>and watching the wide, wide, wide sea helps too as I imagine how awesome God is. of course, that is unimaginable for a human brain like mine.

Then, my game. HAH! I should have planned a bit more lah. I kept getting things wrong, and the gamers themselves had to remind me that 'oh, it's this, not that'. And I always start them off BEFORE I could reset the whole setting.

*taste lemon* XSAWKWARD!

but never mind that. They had a frantic time running about, and in the end Harold's Team (comprising of mainly boys) got negative 4 marks, and Kiren's Team (Girls) got 65 marks.

HILARIOUS... but I didn't really laugh because it was probably my fault. I don't know if they had fun, I hope they did. I felt bad for the guys, and I wanted to give them a second round but then it started raining. We packed up our stuff and ran to the food court.

In the end, it didn't really rain. What a joke. But everyone was hungry lah, anyway, so we had food, and then we went home. :D

Thank you all you people who helped make this beach outing a success!! (I think it was. Wasn't it?)

Oh, and Rina came too!! She had her tonsils removed and now her voice is a bit different. NICE! Not to say that last time her voice wasn't, but this time it's somehow smoother. :D

What I did this beautiful morning.

2010-01-07T19:50:00.000-08:00

Woke up, said good morning to God and complimented Him a bit.

Facebook. Confirmed tickets with Ralph.

Tried to figure out what to do for later's night-beach-thingy but got sidetracked.

Later, if Anita doesn't come, I'll have to clean up the house...

But now... it's back to my novel! :D

Ouran Host Club

2010-01-06T20:05:00.000-08:00

Haruhi Fujioka- Heroine of the series.

Kaoru Hitachiin- Younger Hitachiin twin.

Hikaru Hitachiin- Older Hitachiin twin.

Haninozuka Mitsukuni- Eldest member of the club, but the most childish and cutest.

Morinozuka Takashi- Hunny's cousin. The strongest member of the club.

Tamaki Suoh- The King of the club. Has the purest heart.

Kyouya Ootori- Shadow King of the club. Manages everything.

Ouran Host Club

2010-01-06T19:49:00.000-08:00

I've finally finished watching Ouran Host Club.

I've been Ouran Host Club's fan ever since I first meet the characters in one of my cousin's Mangga magazines. I've determined which character was my favorite (Kaoru Hitachiin). Ironically, though, this is the first time I've finished watching the entire series of Ouran Host Club.

I realize that Tamaki Suoh is indeed the hero.

Kaoru's selfless love for his brother is really moving. And I love it that even though he hides behind the twins alike facade, he's actually wiser and more sensitive than Hikaru.

Nevertheless, watching the last two episodes, I fell in love with Tamaki Suoh's never say die attitude.

He could still smile and welcome his grandmother to the event, even though his grandmother was so mean to him, and detested him so much.

He could still smile and thank Claire, even after all that she'd done to force him to quit the club that he loved so much.

When Kyoya got angry with him, he could still see through Kyoya's anger, and somehow managed to bring Kyoya out from that limiting frame. When Tamaki told Kyoya of his plans to start a Host Club, and Kyoya kicked him down, he kept on laughing because he was so happy with his idea.

Ouran Host Club is only an Anime series, with very fictional characters. It is somewhat filled with too dramatic scenes. But this is different from all those soap operas and dramas because for every too dramatic scene, amusement and a moral is injected into it.

The best part is, they did not make the characters fight over the heroine. I hate it when they do that. Here, the heroine is always friends with everyone. And though Hikaru and Tamaki both love Haruhi so much, Hikaru will always be beside his brother. Obviously, Haruhi is Tamaki's.

I'm a bit worried that they'll make Kyoya and Tamaki fight over Haruhi next time. T___T Please don't let that happen.

insomnia

2010-01-06T17:08:00.000-08:00

Do you feel stupid?

2010-01-05T20:28:00.000-08:00

I do, sometimes. :) it's good to feel stupid once in a while, though. It reminds you to be humble, and it reminds you that, however smart you are, you will never be the smartest.

"Now i think my newest phobia is smart people. Because i feel that smart people always, always judge other people." quote anonymous. (why does this remind me of Theodore the Chipmunk?)

I think it's safe to say that it includes me. :) I think too much. Naturally, I will think too much about other people as well. And since everyone has flaws, it's not surprising that when I think about other people, I will think about their flaws.

Humans have a tendency to dwell on the flaws of others, don't you think?

Yes, in my humble opinion, relatively intelligent people do judge other people.

Now that that's settled, let's turn to the real issue here.

Judgmental thinking is often associated with looking down on others.

That is definitely not good.

When someone judges someone else, and expresses it, that victim will usually fell hurt.

That is definitely not good.

When someone judges someone else, but keeps it in the heart, at first no harm is done, but negative thinking is stored up and sooner or later he or she will act, unconsciously, biased against the victim.

That is definitely not good.

So being judgmental is definitely not good? Definitely, I say.

SO... We can safely conclude that being judgmental is one of the reasons why humans can NEVER be perfect.

Because humans, with our so, so limited knowledge of things, and our so, so limited compassion and love, will always judge other people.

Never mind the intellects, even the ordinary passerby on the street will judge.

The only way you as a human being will not judge others? You will have to lose your sanity. If you're not responsible for your own thoughts, then whatever thoughts you have cannot be deemed a judgmental thought simply because you do not judge.

God knows all things. God's love is indescribable. Heck, God IS love. That is why God is the only being that can judge anyone else because He knows all things, His judgment is perfect, and add to that, His love and compassion never fails, which is why we know for sure that God will never add to our grief and sufferings unnecessarily.

There are many people out there who act like God.

If you are one of them, then congratulations, because if you admit that you are one of them, that means you are aware of what you're doing.

Carmelia sometimes admits it, and sometimes she does not, because she's a thick-headed narcissist.

If you are a victim to one of those people who act like God, then prove your worth. Forgive. And for your own sake (because everyone has their own limit) avoid being the victim again. Seek refuge within the love of your family and friends. Love is blind to intelligence. :)

Intelligent much?

2010-01-05T19:28:00.001-08:00

First off, I want to thank Nana for flattering me so much by telling me that I'm included in those 'smarties group'.

HAHAHA!! Okay, done laughing.

Intelligence.

I googled the word, and I found out that, well, the definition for this word is non-existent. Basically, everyone can have their own opinion about the definition of intelligence, and everyone will have to agree to disagree.

When I get my narcissism attacks, one of the things I say I am is that I'm intelligent. Why? Because I had realized, since a long time ago, that I tend to process information in my brain more systematically than most people. By the time others had realized something, I'd already figured it out.

Also, I tend to think too much, meaning, one topic in my brain will have so, so many other branches sneaking out. That often leads to brain overload and massive emotional damage, but also to discoveries and many, many untested but logical theories.

Okay, this is the answer to WHAT'S YOUR SECRET question:

~~My mum ate a bat when she was pregnant with me and now I'm bat girl.~~

I'm a bookworm. Simple as that.

I have two explanations here. One explanation is just far too complicated and complex for me to figure out and type here. I have limited time, I have to offline before my mum comes home, because my mum had actually pulled out the cable, but I was smart and I used the cable for the telephone, and that is why I can be online now. If anyone reading this divulges my secret, I will find out who you are and I will make sure you end up in an asylum and spend the rest of your days claiming to be Batman, like the Mr. Question (what's his name?) in one of the Batman movies.

The other explanation is relatively simple to understand. I am a bookworm equals I read a lot of books. That leads to

1. My vocabulary grows.

2. My ability to express my feelings and opinions improves.

3. ~~My general knowledge increases.~~ Actually, no. I read fiction, so my general knowledge rather sucks. I won't be touching on this because I myself don't have any experience here.

So, let's look at number one first.

I truly believe that, in the society I live in now, intelligence is somewhat measured by how big and wide your vocabulary is.

Oh, seriously. For example, our debate competition. Our opponents used really big words. Words that I did not understand. And every time a big word comes out, the audience will lean back a bit and breathe, "Wow." Like the aura and power of a big word was just too strong for them to resist.

It is true that people with a good vocabulary tend to know more than others, but that's because they get the knowledge from the same source that they get their vocabulary.

I know loads of people whose vocabulary isn't that spectacular.

Don't be fooled.

These people are either so superior that they could express their feelings without having to resort to bombastic words,

or they have other skills and talents that you will never be able to match.

Now, number two.

I believe that everyone has incredibly smart thoughts.

Everyone is capable of thinking up something that other people cannot, in ten years, think up.

Why?

Because in every brain, there are uncountable synapses.

For every thought you think, an electrical signal goes through a series of synapse. Your brain will have the tendency to go, perhaps, A, B, E, G synapses, bypassing C, D, F.

Now, let us picture two people, Crazy and Weirdo. They are given the same stimulus. Maybe they are shown the same Rorschach inkblot (google this, very interesting psychological test).

Crazy's brain goes A, B, E, G. But Weirdo's brain might go A, C, D, G.

They end up at the same place.

They'd probably end up at the same conclusion, and they might give the same answers. But their train of thought is totally different. Crazy went through B and E, Weirdo went through C and D. Basically, their brains go through different 'thinking experiences'.

So the next time some other stimulus is given to them, it is very likely that

Crazy will go A, B, F, J, but Weirdo will go A, C, D, L.

They end up different so the opinions they give are different.

The first situation happens more. Most people have the same opinions because they go through similar education and childhood environment. Their train of thoughts were trained to go a certain, similar way. These people are collectively called 'the majority'.

What I'm trying to point out here is that everyone has their own revelations and discoveries, hidden in their heads.

Thanks to the pressure to fit in, people tend to conform to the world and join the majority.

They give in because they are unable to express themselves. They can't figure out a smart way to let the others understand why they have such and such an opinion. Their vocabulary is limited, and their language ability sucks so they don't want to even try to express themselves.

So they fit in, they keep quiet and let other people's opinions change them so that in the end, their train of thought becomes similar with other people's, and they, well, fit in.

If you have the power to express yourself, however, you will have the power to persuade others to think the way you do.

You use big words, and already, automatically people will think, oh, smart person alert, and they will listen.

Then, you are able to talk smoothly and convincingly. You can because you've read so many books, so many opinions expressed in so many different ways. You've learned the art of persuasion. You can trace other people's train of thoughts because you've probably read something whose author had a similar train of thought. You understand people.

And when you understand people, it's easier to get through to them.

So when people are persuaded, and they start to see things your way, you'll be the one hailed as INTELLIGENT.

Conclusion: In this society, the better your vocabulary and the better your language abilities, the more intelligent other people will deem you to be.

(disclaimer: all the above are Carmelia's THEORIES and
are not proven in any scientific measures.)

So does that answer your question on how Carmelia defines intelligence, Nana? :)

A bit too much, I know, but when my train of thought starts going, it usually goes in circles, up, down, right, left, a total Journey to the Center of the Earth. I end up with a lot of theories.

Plus, this is a topic on which I'd pondered upon many times. :)

Good Commentators.

2010-01-05T18:51:00.000-08:00

dedicated to nana.

A long time ago, I joined this website dedicated to helping young writers produce better works. They have a system that allows members to comment on other members' works. They call commenting critique.

At first I was rather hesitant to 'crit' anyone's works. I mean, it was not like I had the experience to critique other people's works. They were definitely better than I was, so I could not start commenting on things that were better than mine, right?

However, the admin of the website really encouraged every member to support each other by 'critting'. So I did start commenting on other people's works. I told them what I liked, what I could not understand, what I think would make the whole thing better...

Firstly, I rarely told them what I disliked.

Secondly, I stressed on the fact that my comments were subjective to my opinions. I almost always added, at the end of the critique, that these were what I thought, and that I could always be wrong, or people might not agree with me. That practically protects me from any fire-backs from the author.

When someone posts their work up for other people to read, and allow comment for it, THEY have to be professional about it and understand that not all comments will be good. In fact, they'd better hope that not all comments will be positive, because if they seriously want to succeed in a writing career, they'll need to improve as much as they can. I've heard stories about how publishers just send you a polite note of 'no thanks'.

They don't tell you what they don't like about your stuff, and they don't tell you what they want. That makes it very hard to figure out what you must improve on.

At the end of the day, a writer will still have to rely on other people's honest comments to improve. Others will be able to see what the writer can't see. And the writer will have to readjust his or her work based on a few chosen comments, or maybe even all the comments. Of course, the writer will have to have his or her own stand. You can't simply give in to every comment like that. You're the writer. You know what you want to write.

So, Nana, just be honest, like the comments you gave me. :) Writers will try to justify why they wrote this, why they wrote that, but that's actually for their own benefit. They are trying to convince themselves that they were right in doing this and that. In the end, if they are logical thinkers, the writers themselves will either be persuaded that they really did the right thing, or they'll see what you mean and remove the flaws. Bear in mind though, that everything is subjective. Very subjective.

However, there are some writers who just can't take negative comments... With those kind of writers, I suggest either you really just say nice, (but honest) things about their work, or you can tactfully point out what you think is a bit off. I do that by telling them I don't understand this part, why was this when this and that... You know. If there really is something wrong there, then he or she will be able to see it. Unless they're too thick. If so, then just give nice comments. What to do?

Sometimes, though, when the writer is young and just starting, I usually refrain from commenting too much. :) He or she will need all the support they can get. Their grammar and vocabulary won't really matter. The important thing is to just pump out all those ideas and stories out first. When the writer starts to become serious about publishing or posting publicly their stuff, then... You'll just have to comment in private about all those mistakes.

Nevertheless, in short, for a blog like AweWrit, just go ahead with the comments, Nana. These people should be quite seasoned writers, that's why Qay invited them to contribute one-shots in the first place. They should be able to handle any kind of criticism, especially when the comment is meant to be constructive. If you meet a writer who shoots back in a very hostile manner whenever you give a criticism, then for your own sake, don't comment on his/her work anymore.

And I think, well, the reason why Qay allowed people to comment is to get feedback from the general population. Books are bought and read by ordinary people, so in the end, what matters is still the opinions of the ordinary people, get what I mean? :)

Excerpt from 'Untitled'

2010-01-05T08:02:00.000-08:00

Matthew laughed. “I wouldn’t call my past relationships ‘experiences’. And well, no. I can’t help you. Every relationship is different. Yours is too gray shaded. You’ll have to sort out the black and white yourself. One thing, though, I can advice you on.” Matthew’s voice became quiet. “Don’t mistake love for romance.”

NewsFlash.

2010-01-04T04:58:00.000-08:00

Hah. I can't believe this. Such an important fact, and yet I have not mentioned it until now.

Dad bought a new computer for us.

The old one is currently being repaired at the shop at Karamunsing.

So now, we're going to have two computers at home, functioning properly with speakers, internet connections and everything. So cool.

This new computer is an e-machine by Acer. All white, and the CPU is relatively small. I'll try to take a picture of it and upload it here.

We the Three Kids will try our best to keep this one clutter free. I will not save any pictures in this computer, excluding a few very important ones, of course, and no music as well (except for a few important ones too, heh.).

NO GAMES allowed. All gaming will be done on the other computer, the old one.

Yeah, that's all. :D

What I'd probably end up doing for the rest of 2010.

2010-01-04T04:44:00.001-08:00

From where I stand right now, what I'd most probably end up doing for the rest of 2010 is:

1. Doing stuff for Pastor Clement. He said so, and when pastor says something he usually isn't joking.

2. Giving tuition classes for RM7 per hour at home.

3. Teaching Sunday School in church.

4. Planning our first Sabah English Youth Camp (SEYC), the dates for which are September 4, 5, 6. (Melissa, Daphne, Rowena, all you people, I am praying and aiming for you people to join. So be prepared. God answers prayer, especially when the prayer goes on for six months. :P)

5. Getting paid to do housework at home. Although so far, my mum had offered me money a few times for doing chores, and I did them, and I did not want the money. I am such a good daughter. (Narcissism alert.)

6. Facebook and Blogging. I think this is pretty obvious.

7. Researching universities and courses for 2011. 2010 is a year-off for me, so to speak. I don't intend to have another year-off for 2011. That won't be a year-off. That will be a year-dead.

8. Finishing my story and sending the manuscript to publishers. I don't know if anything will get published. Chances are they won't, not until I'm thirty years old, but I have to try.

Anything else on the agenda, Carmelia?

Oh, yes. I have this trip to TaiPei (Which is in Taiwan, I learned recently. Gasp!) in March, thanks to my dear father. He practically clicked most of our family's income away when he clicked to book air flight tickets bounded for Taiwan, because although the tickets are relatively cheap, everything else there costs a BOMB. I'm surprised they don't charge you for breathing clean air in Taiwan. Legend has it that if you take pictures on the streets, the shop-keepers will rush out to sue you for 'taking pictures of their shops with the intention of defaming them.'

What else, Carmelia?

Lose weight. Lose a lot of weight.

And I have to start socializing.

Because even though I truly and whole-heartedly believe that God is going to be my dear match-maker, I still have to do something about it myself, right? As the saying goes, "Do what you can do, and let God do what you cannot do." Or something like that.

But then again, me? Socialize? HAHAHA!

reasons to be a teacher.

2010-01-04T04:15:00.001-08:00

My New Year's Resolution: NONE.

Melissa, Daphne and James went for their first day of IS at, well, where else? Institute Sinaran. That place sounds so cool, man. I ~~was~~ am especially excited when Melissa mentioned the Student Council. President? Vice-President?

Makes me wish I am studying there as well.

And why not?

Firstly, I was too lazy to get my forecast results. I don't want to give my teachers the opportunity to harass me about the lifestyle I have in school and during class. If you know Carmelia well, then you will know that she sleeps in class almost half the time. And my teachers do know me well. Very well. Too well, in fact, because other than being in class with me, they also have direct access to the ultimate source of Carmelia information: MOTHER.

Secondly, I am seriously doubting my ability to continue with the whole Science fiasco. I don't deny that I'm a smart girl (narcissism alert), a fact that I duly acknowledged ever since my mother told me about how she ate a bat while she was pregnant with me so that was supposed to have upgraded my intellect or something. Ahem.

Anyway, I hated Science so much last time. Note that it is in past-tense form, because I am not sure whether or not I hate it as much now. I think I don't hate it now because I don't have to face it. I'd told Nana before to slap me really hard if I ever think about continuing Science. And even though Nana looks like she's forgotten about that pact, looks can be deceiving. I don't want her to slap me. She draws and types a lot, okay? Her hand and fingers have a lot of daily work-out. I don't want those fingers and palms to come into forceful contact with my face.

So, there. Those are the main reasons why I don't want to enroll in Institute Sinaran this year.

I don't know about next year, though. The ambition to become a doctor in the future is quite strong in me, because whenever I enter government hospitals, man, I get so stressed up about the lack of good doctors in this country. It does not help that my mother reminded me about what my late grandfather said before he'd passed away due to lung and skin cancer. He wanted Carmelia to become a doctor so that I can 'heal him'. I think he was joking, though. I was in Form One at the time, did he really think that he could have lasted that long from Stage Four cancer?

Sobs. I sound so mean there.

I am also thinking about SIA (Sabah Institute of Art). SIA had really impressed me. As a local institute, it had achieved quite a lot. I've been to the art fair in Asia City where SIA's music department performed, and I totally LOVED the music. I've seen the artworks of their art students, really not bad. Jennyfer from church and Berto is studying there as well.

But then, do I really wanna pursue a degree/diploma/career in art? What can I do? Art is a very subjective part of life. I don't want a career where I will have to meet really tight deadlines. I don't want a career where the quality of my paycheck depends on my client's satisfaction on my work. I don't think I have the normal kind of taste that most people have, I'll probably end up arguing with the client about what's best for the project.

If I do freelance, then my income will be very unstable.

What sounds the most logical is: Being a teacher, and at the same time, freelance as a writer.

Teacher because I have second-hand experience, which I get from my mother. Also, I like a teacher's jobs- teaching, admin, decorating...

What I like about being a teacher (order not important):

1. The chance to impact young, malleable lives. Teenagers go through the hardest phase in life. Your teens is when you make the hardest choices, go through ~~hell~~ physical and mental puberty, and get a lot of pressure from all sides, including school. I want to be in a position where I have the authority to at least check on them and make sure that they don't go horribly wrong in life. Teachers have the power to help, because as a teacher, you come into contact with your students for at least two hours a week. Two hours a week is a lot. In addition to that, as a teacher I will have the chance to show compassion. When students don't do their work, I have the chance to tolerate them and figure out what the problem is.

I know it's hard to impact lives positively, especially when the lives you're impacting, don't want you to even touch them. But as a student, I have 'experienced' a lot of teachers, and the best experiences have, in some way or another, really improved my character.

2. A relatively stable income. Also, if I want even more income, I can always teach tuition classes.

3. I get to enjoy school holidays. Don't need to elaborate here. :P

4. I know who my 'enemies' are. Because I've been a kid once.

5. I get the chance to be creative. I get to enjoy decorating classes and be known as the 'creative' teacher. Tee-Hee. If I land the right jobs, I might also get the chance to decorate halls and rooms for major events like concerts and convocations. I don't do this for recognition (okay, maybe a bit.). I do these things because I love doing them. It satisfies me! Plus, I want to be creative in planning my classes. I had teachers who were extremely creative in class, and they inspired me.

6. I get to organize outings. In short, I get to be 'da boss'. A very stressful position, but I'll manage, somehow.

Six reasons why I want to be a teacher. Hey, not a weak stand here, people. :D

Break Me Down- Tenth Avenue North

2010-01-03T18:44:00.000-08:00

Break Me Down- Tenth Avenue North

Yeah, I feel You fallin'
Like the rain against my skin
And I hear You calling
Your voice like thunder in my head

But now I am stallin'
'Cause I'm afraid to let you in
Yeah, come break me down with Your mercy
Come break me down again

I'm Yours tonight
I'm Yours, if You can break me down
Break through these walls I hide behind
I'm Yours tonight
Come and break me down
Won't You break me

I feel it inside me
I feel You underneath my skin
These walls could not hide me
They could not keep You from coming in

So now here You find me
Right back to where I began
Oh, come break me down with Your mercy
Come break me down again

I'm Yours tonight
I'm Yours. You can break me down
Break through these walls I hide behind
I'm Yours tonight
Come and break me down

'Cause I need Your strength to feel this weak
I need Your touch to fill my need
I need Your strong hands to carry me
Take me, break me, set me free
Take me, bring me to my knees...

I'm Yours tonight.

2009-12-31T22:50:00.000-08:00

MELISSA CHONG SHEN TZU

please don't worry about the post before this one. :) really. even before you'd mentioned him, i was already thinking about stuff. i guess being sleepy but not being able to sleep at the same time, in addition to the peaceful, breezy atmosphere, reminded me of him.

so it's okay, don't worry Mel. :) and it's a good thing that i remember again.

2009-12-30T10:01:00.001-08:00

i'm really not sure why i was tossing and turning in bed just now, even though i was yawning my head off waiting for my dad to fetch me at Upperstar just now.

tossing and turning thinking about a friend of mine.

i'm not even sure if he's my friend anymore.

all the same, i love him very much and i really hope that he will find his way into God's arms. he needs love that only God can give, the kind of love that never disappoints.

i know he's been disappointed by many people many times before.

i should know. i was one of them.

2009-12-28T23:10:00.001-08:00

will be blogging later, after i hang the clothes. :D

2009-12-27T07:08:00.000-08:00

stuff just won't stop happening to me.

after carolling, drama.

after drama, IBC (or CBC, hehe.).

after IBC, house bash.

after house bash, computer test.

after computer test, practical.

no wonder i haven't managed to get a job yet. T___T

i really ~~need~~ want the money. because one, i wanna buy some stuff for myself, to do crafts, and to start an art portfolio.

two, i wanna buy stuff for people... T___T i wanna hang out with people, spend time with people. and how do i do that if i don't have money to pay for gas (to transport people) and belanja them makan?? (don't keep asking people to go out and waste money just to spend time with me mah, right?)

now playing Castle Age. i kinda gave up Sacred Seasons because no one play with me, boring. T__T and in Castle Age, i can level up pretty fast. :D

2009-12-25T18:30:00.000-08:00

Christmas this year is an 'okay' event for me. :)

Let me list down a few more visible Christmas blessings.

1. Dad managed to come home for Christmas night because our Sabah teenage basketball team lost. If they'd won, my dad would have to go accompany them to the finals.

2. I'm in charge of the Christmas decoration for our church hall this year. So glad everything turned out nice and pretty, with Kak Yee and Sophia's help, and Kiren's grace to allow me to work during her drama practice.

3. I got my Ouran Host Club CD. AHH!!! XD

4. We went for dinner at Nick's house Christmas night. His mum gave me an orange Thailand bead bag, which was really nice, and a skeleton-key (so to speak) necklace, which was cool. :) My Aunt Shirley gave me a SHOWER CAP with a zebra's head sticking out in front, and four limbs sticking out all around the cap. SO CUTE! Dinner was delicious, I loved the bread pudding, someone said I'm growing prettier :P, and i felt happy!

(have to hang the washed clothes now)

(done. now makan siu mai <3)

5. Even though I had no faith in carolling, it turned out quite... nice. :D Thanks to the efforts of Jinho! Faith, Nicholas, and Colin. Thank you!

2009-12-24T20:42:00.001-08:00

merry Christmas. :)

2009-12-23T18:30:00.001-08:00

Note:

My Favorite Christmas Song is 'Noel' ;

My Favorite Christmas Carol is 'Joy To The World'

this will have to be a short post (tsk, macam lah i post long posts often. *rolls eyes*) mummy expects me to be wrapping Christmas presents today, and perhaps we can get into the car and distribute presents all--

OMG! i had just realized that my brother went for tuition on Christmas EVE! okay, just a slight digression.

--over Kota Kinabalu.

my problem is that i don't know who to give my gifts to.

i just saw that they were really nice and cute, stuff that i'd like myself, so i bought them.

sighs. :(

i really want to get a job instead of living at home being a total waste of oxygen, food, water, energy, and space. i think i'll go google 'part time job kota kinabalu' now. :)

well, it's worth a try.

2009-12-21T07:30:00.000-08:00

Avatar was nice. :) For the amount of money spent on it, it had no excuse not to be nice. Although it was really exciting, I could still leave it to go to the washroom in mid-movie. Well, no surprise there. :) Everyone is different.

I guess it's because I'm used to this whole magical-other world idea. I mean, c'mon. I've been planning fantastical plots for novels like that ever since primary school. Magical scenes, fantastic scenes... All 'what-ifs' have been playing through my mind again and again...

But Avatar really was awesome. :D One of the better movies I've watched. Christmas this year definitely won't be 'BEST CHRISTMAS EVER'.

Firstly, I have to study for my driving examinations.

Secondly, I'm quite bogged down by some church work.

If you systematically go through my to-do-list, you'll probably think, "Hey, not much lah." That was what I thought everytime I systematically go through my physical to-do-list.

But when it comes to actually DOING the stuff... Stressed out laah. It involves ~~a lot of calling people up...~~ No, I think I have just realized what the problem is. It involves a lot of socializing.

I HATE socializing, especially when some back-motive is concerned. The motives here are either to delegate my workload, or to get people to come to this, or to join that. But I've accepted the workload willingly so I should follow through willingly.

After all, HABIS SPM BHA, FREEDOM MACAM TIADA BATASAN"

Ahem. :(

And it doesn't help that I'm not familiar with a lot of the adult church members. I'm a very blur person. For example, I totally forgot that someone's dad passed away so the children can't join caroling. Thank goodness that someone reminded me before I do something totally stupid like calling them and asking them about it in a sickeningly persuasive and cheerful voice.

I have loads more to write here, but my mum's now nagging away at me. Telling my dad about how sorry she is that she can't raise the children to be people who can do house chores. Saying that when we go out, we'll be people who don't know how to do house chores.

Thanks a lot mum for the curse. :( I hate it when parents say things like that, as though predicting the future. I haven't been home much, that's why I couldn't help so much with the chores. Why haven't I been home?

Been out with my friends, which is justifiable because friends are people too, you know. Friendships don't just bloom into flowers like that dandy-peachy, friendship needs effort on my part too.

Secondly, church activities. And today, why was I out the whole day?

Because you guys came late to fetch me so I had to reach home at 11pm.

Fine. I'll sacrifice all my online time to do housechores. :( That'll make EVERYONE happy, I know, because the internet is a wasteland filled with rubbish, unlike church activities that will ensure you get God's blessings and BLAAAAHHHHHHHH. Gosh, my mood changed so fast within the same post.

Alright, I have to go now. Shower, and go to sleep. :)

2009-12-16T21:48:00.000-08:00

the first time i read Holes, i loved it.

now, after countless of times, everytime i look at it, i feel sick.

is this what Literature is supposed to do? making you sick of a piece of Literature so that you can just throw up everything for exam?

or maybe i'm just not cut out to 'study' Literature.

my forte is enjoying it. :(