Lone and I were discussing our year in 2007 yesterday. Instead of simply thinking about our new year resolutions for 2008, I thought I should reflect on the current year. Now that 2007 is ending, I ask myself, what am I happy to have achieved this year?

Here are the answers:

• Performing a song that Lone and I was asked to write for our company's D&D this year.
• Finishing my Certificate course in Holistic Nutrition with flying colors.
• Becoming a contributing writer for an online magazine.
• Moving to a new home.
• Starting a new music-related company with Lone.
• Starting a new band with Lone and friends.
• Meeting a lot of new people who taught me a lot of various things.
• Taking the initiative to learn Chinese (although I haven't achieved *learning* it all yet).
• Taking the first steps to allowing myself to grow spiritually.
• Learning a lot of new things I never knew about before.
• Becoming more of a doer instead of just a thinker.

Actually, I'd say there are a lot of things I'm happy to have achieved this year, it's just that some are quite intangible and difficult to express. And though some are more notable than others, I'm happy for all of them, and I aim to do better next year.

However, it's obvious that it's been a great year, and next year and all the years ahead are just going to get better!

As I've probably said before, I believe in improving myself day to day. As long as I'm better today than I was yesterday, and better tomorrow than I am today, no matter how slow the pace, I'm doing alright.

Here's to more improvements in the year 2008 and all the years ahead!

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I'm happy again! =)

Guess why?!

Can't guess? Come on, I know you know!

You know it!!

I'll give you a hint:
What do I love most in the world?!

Come on, you know the answer!

What is it?!

Come on....

Alright, I'll tell you...

.

.

.

.

.

Books!!!!

And guess what I bought myself from Amazon?!!

Books!!!!

And guess what?!!

They've arrived!!

Yayyyyyyyyyyyyyyy!!!! *skippity-skip* =D

Joy to the World! etc!

I got my books, don't need nothing else, lalalala......

I have had a very stressful week this week. I won't go into details, but generally, it's because of two reasons:

1. I'm having some trouble understanding some new knowledge and information.
2. I've been having some communication problems with certain people who seem to insist on misunderstanding me.

Usually, in the first case, I'd ask for clarifications so that I may understand better, but it seems that the more questions I ask, the more confused I get because I keep getting different answers from different sources. I'm feeling quite frustrated and very, very, confused. =(

In the second case, I normally just ignore people who deliberately misunderstand me on purpose just so they'd have a reason to fight, but in this case I can't, because I don't want to offend the *other* people who are friends of these people.

So yeah, I've been having a really hard week, and I haven't been sleeping well because of worrying about these problems and how to solve them.

I've always been a solitary, independent thinker. I'm not so independent when it comes to physical stuff, for example, traveling alone or getting official biz done, but when it comes to ideas/opinions/learning/planning...etc, *thinking* stuff, I like being solitary.

This is why I enjoy online studying so much, I'm completely in control, can choose how, when, and what I study, how long to focus on particular topics, etc.

This is also why I prefer to learn Chinese on my own rather than have a teacher teach me. And also why I stopped having piano lessons and bought books and went online to find guides that can help me learn on my own instead.

Bottom line is: I don't like people telling me what to do.

That may not be the best thing to be, but nevertheless, it is quite true. That's not to say that I don't listen to advice or guidance especially when I recognize the good in them, but giving me advice is one thing, ordering me around is another.

I'm just really upset now, I need to take a break and relax a little.

Last week my dad gave me a book for learning Chinese. It's about the history and meaning of Chinese characters, and it's really interesting. It's a great way to learn Chinese too, because you learn by associating the words and the meanings.

For example, I learned that 田 (tian) means field, because it looked like paddy fields. And (si) (I can't find the Chinese symbol for it on my Chinese program) means silk. And 累 (lei) which means tired, is a combination of these two symbols because in the olden days, the men mostly worked in the fields and the women mostly worked with silk. So putting the two symbols together meant 'everybody's work' which makes them 'tired'.

The Chinese fonts are ridiculously small, so I'll enlarge them to get a better look:

 

累 = 田 + (si)

There! Much better. The top part is field, and the bottom, which I don't have on my program, I don't know why, is silk. =)

There are a lot more other interesting characters, but I've only just started studying the book, so I've barely scratched the surface.

But this is so fun... I love stories! And what better way for me to learn Chinese than with stories! =)

Happy Birthday, LONE!!!

Have a wonderful birthday, and a even more wonderful year ahead filled with love, laughter, health, and wealth!!

Love you lots!!

HuGs and KisSes!!

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Here's a thought:

Say you and a person you love deeply are placed in separate rooms with a button next to each of you. You know that you will both be killed unless one of you presses your button before 60 minutes pass; furthermore, the first to press the button will save the other person, but will immediately be killed. What do you think you would do?

Would you press the button and kill yourself so your loved one could live, or would you hope that your loved one will kill themselves so you can live. Do you feel that they deserve to live more than you do? Do you think that your life might be worth more than your loved one's life, that maybe you could do more to change the world than they could? Or vice versa? What would influence your decision in either killing yourself or waiting for your loved one to kill themselves.

But what if both you and your loved one are unwilling to sacrifice for the other? If no one presses the button, BOTH of you will die in 60 minutes.

This isn't about risking your life to save your loved one, like if they were drowning and you had to swim into a storm to save them, because while that would be dangerous too, there's always a chance that you would both survive. We're talking about certain death here. You *will* die if you decide to save your loved one.

So?

Do you feel that your life is unworthy and that your loved one could do better things if they stayed alive?

Or do you feel that your life is worth much more than your loved one's and you should be the one to live?

In my own case, I really do wonder. My dearest knows that I'm the one who has all the big plans and ideas to change the world and all that, but I'm too lazy to bring them all into fruition. On the other hand, my dearest is the most hardworking person you could ever meet, whatever he says he'll do, he'll do it, but he's not much of a big planner.

So if I let me live, I'll have a lot of big plans but I may not actually act on them. If I let my bf live, he'll get things done, but nothing significant may come out of them.

But then again, if my bf gave his life so that I could have my life, you can be damned sure I won't waste my life, so obviously I'd stop being lazy and start being hardworking so he wouldn't have sacrificed his life in vain. And if I gave my life for his, he'll probably do the same and start having big plans and ideas.

But then there's the other angle. Are we putting a value on our lives judging from what we can contribute to the world or judging on who we are?

I've got a temper, and I am a little bit prickly and I can be unfriendly sometimes. Dearest has got his temper too, but he's the most generous person and he loves making new friends and making people laugh. 

I sometimes get over defensive and depressed easily, and I'm very self-centered, not bothering about other people's problems when I can't even take care of my own.  Dearest cares about everyone else, and he's the one who always puts a smile on my face.

When I'm with him, I'm just not as big a bitch as I am when he's not around.

So I'm just thinking...

Whether or not either of us ever make big plans to make the world a better place or go through with the plans at all isn't the point...

The point is, my dearest, just by being himself, can bring smiles to people's faces, and make their day better and brighter and happier, while I would only be a bigger bitch without him...

I'll let him live. =)

I love this new skin! =)

I feel so cute and girly...like I normally am not. LOL! Ok, actually I am girly at heart, I'm just also very lazy. Too lazy to be girly.

What? It takes a lot of work! Ask those girly girls! They know!

Anyway, I know I haven't posted up any pictures for a while now, although I've promised to.... (Sorry, Rob!)

I was supposed to post up pix of my new cute little puppy, Lucky the Pomeranian, and I wanted to post up pix of my birthday and my presents too, but my birthday was weeks and weeks ago already and I still haven't gotten those pix up.

It's not my fault! Really!

Oh ok, it is a little bit my fault, but only a little!

As we have already established, I am lazy.

The other thing is, since my birthday, Lone had been borrowing my camera off and on. Mostly on, so I seldom had my camera, and when I did, I was....lazy.

Now the camera's back with me. =) Yayy!

So forget the old pix, there wasn't much to see. I'll take a whole lot of new pix and post them up for you! Ok?!

Apparently, my last blog template was giving people a lot of problems with downloading the contents and all, so I finally decided to change the layout. The thing is, it's really really not easy to find a layout that works the way I want it to, and still look the way I want it to.

I used to design my own templates, but I don't have the time to do that anymore, so I just use whatever I can find.

So anyway, I ended up switching to the new blogger layout design, which isn't all that bad once you get used to it.

It's the initial learning part that gives you the headache, but after that, it's all very easy to handle.

And it's easier still to change designs now if I want to, because I used to have to cut and paste almost everything on my sidebars from the old layout to the new, but now all I have to change is the template. =)

So....

Do you like my new puppies? =)

As you all know, I've been spending a lot of time at home; studying, working, reading, and basically just being really dull. So I decided to go to 1 Utama yesterday to treat myself a little, watch a movie, buy some stuff, eat some delicious food...

I even made a list:

• Watch Stardust
• Eat the delicious lamb shoulder at Chili's
• Buy 2 new tops and 1 skirt
• Buy toothpaste
• Buy pillows to match the sofa in my library
• Buy wall clocks for my bedroom and library
• Buy shoes

Here's what I did:

• Watch Stardust
• Eat at B.B.Q Plaza
• Buy 3 Chinese children's books for study
• Buy 1 Stephen King novel
• Buy 2 chick lit novels
• Buy 2 coloring books...

Well... I managed to accomplish one task on the list at least. Here are my excuses...reasons: =P

• Chili's chose yesterday of all days, to close for their company party. For goodness' sake, why?! I hadn't had lamb shoulder in months! Why couldn't they have chosen another day? Why yesterday? What do they have against me?! Arrghh!! Well, obviously, Chili's lamb shoulder was one of the main reasons for going to 1U in the first place, and it wasn't even open. Sigh...
  
• Once I got there, I totally didn't feel like shopping for clothes or shoes. If you know me, you so wouldn't be surprised. I planned to shop for clothes and shoes because I know I desperately need new clothes, and shoes, but it wasn't like I wanted to shop. Everyone knows I hate shopping. So I didn't.
  
• I totally forgot about the toothpaste, dammit!
  
• I did look for the pillows for my library, but when I found the one I really liked, there was only one of it. Who would buy just one? I wanted a pair! And there weren't any others I liked, so being the *ahem* patient person I am, I decided that if I couldn't find a pair of pillows I liked, I would just wait til I did.
  
• I looked for the wall clocks as well, but I didn't find any I like for my rooms. I wanted nice cutesy, sweet ones that matched the decors of the rooms. And since I couldn't find any I liked, as per above, I would just wait til I did.
  
• Buying the 3 novels, do you really need a reason?
  
• Buying the 3 Chinese children's books, well... the ones I had were way above my level, so I decided to get some that were in my league. I am doing so so so well! =) *proud*
  
• About the coloring books... What?!! I couldn't resist! I used to love coloring books when I was younger, and these two had such beautiful pictures. Anyway, it's a great way to relax and unwind. Seriously! While your fingers are doing the coloring, your mind wanders and think of all sorts of wonderful things. It's like a sort of meditation. Really! That's my story and I'm sticking to it!

As for Stardust, it was wonderful!!! Beautiful!! Amazing!!! Spectacular!!! Breathtaking!!! Enchanting!!!

Oh wow!

I'm a great fan of Neil Gaiman's and I would buy everything he writes without even caring what the book's about, he's that good! And he does graphic novels too, (the Sandman books are amazing!) and even screenplays adaptations. By the way, Beowulf, which is showing now in the cinemas too, is Neil Gaiman's adaptation.

So I read Stardust a couple of years ago... ok, more like maybe 3-4 years ago, and I loved it! And when I found out it was going to be made into a movie, I was thrilled. Of course, by then I had already forgotten most of the details of the book, as I am wont to do, but I remembered I loved it, and I know I love all Neil Gaiman's stuff, so obviously it would be the one thing on the list I managed to do. LOL!

Neil Gaiman worked on the movie too, which is why it's so amazing, and I so admire him. Unlike so many other authors who sell movie rights of their books away and then watch helplessly as the producers/directors/actors/whoever else mercilessly mutilate the story, Neil Gaiman gets involved in the process himself.

Is there anything the man can't do?!

I love him!!!

I think I want to marry him... *swoon*

If you haven't seen Hairspray, go out and get it now! It's great! But even if the show sucked big time, it's worth it just to see John Travolta shake his booty!

He acts as a fat dancing momma; fat suit, high heels, and all, and even in his fat suit and heels, he shakes better than Shakira! I'm serious! I'm not even exaggerating a little bit!

Anyway, Shakira doesn't know how to shake her booty, what she does is... I don't know, wiggle? 

Ok, back to Travolta.

Hairspray is a musical, with all the big names attached to the cast; Michelle Pfeiffer, Christopher Walken, James Marsden, Queen Latifah, Amanda Bynes, Zac Efron... just to name a few... and there's a whole lot of dancing and singing in the show. So maybe it isn't everyone's cup of tea, but it's worth watching just for Travolta's booty shakin'! Me no tell lie!

Travolta is by far not the best singer on the show, but he certainly is the best dancer and booty shaker!

I'm not forgetting that he used to act in Saturday Night Fever and he's a great dancer by right, but in high heels and a fat suit?! R-E-S-P-E-C-T!!

And he never shook his booty like this in Saturday Night Fever! He does it better than any girl ever shook her ass!

OMG!!! I am so in awe of John Travolta! If I tried shaking my booty like he did... I can't even imagine it! People might think I was having a seizure or something!

Watch it! Watch it! Watch it!!!

Pros:	Cons:
You are in control of your own time and pace.	People think that they can call on you whenever they want, because you can always work later.
You can work in your pjs, or even naked if you really want to.	You start to not care about how you look, coz no one is there to look at you.
You can take as many breaks as you like, as long as you like.	You sometimes end up going the whole day without doing anything productive.
You don't have to deal with difficult colleagues, bosses, classmates, etc.	You don't get to meet a lot of great people either.
You don't have to deal with the traffic jams, and you save a lot on petrol.	Hmm...no con here, this is all good.
You don't get interrupted in the middle of some important project by colleagues asking you to go for a drink.	It gets really lonely sometimes.
You get a lot of quality work done and sometimes you can finish two days' work in one day.	You don't know when to quit and go on a much needed break.

Well, there's pros and cons in everything. Right now, working at home suits me, and I really enjoy my independence. It's just sometimes when the cons rear their ugly heads that I feel just a little down.

I just need to get myself some social activities and I'll be fine. I'm just trying to think what those activities should be.

I'm hesitating a little also because I have so many activities already, at home, and if I add some social activity, it may take up too much of my time that I'm not willing to give. This is what I mean about not knowing when to take a break. I'm really pushing myself to achieve as much as I can in as little time as I can when it comes to my work.

Head knows I should take a break. Heart thinks I already take too many breaks. =P

LOL! I love it!

I just took a facebook quiz thingy, about how normal I am in comparison to everyone else.

The results: Congratulations! You are 21% normal. Everyone has a right to be weird, you just abuse the privilege!

How very true! I enjoy being weird/different/special/unique! Just semantics, baby!

It's a testament of how much books mean to me when I remember any little detail I ever learnt that has to do with books.

Lone was testing my Chinese knowledge a few days ago, asking me about the 'penjodoh bilangan', you know, like, a loaf of bread, a pack of wolves, and etc.

So he asked me, what 'penjodoh bilangan' do you use for a person?

一 (blank) 人?

I said I didn't know. He asked me to guess. I couldn't, coz it wasn't something I studied recently, he asked just to see how much I knew.

He ended up telling me, 一个人, yi ge ren.

What about for fish? 一 (blank) 鱼?

I didn't know. He answered, 一条鱼， yi tiao yu.

So far so good, I'm learning new words.

Then he asked. What about books?

And I surprised both of us by jumping up and saying, "I know, I know!!"

"一本书！！" yi ben shu!

I replied so fast that I startled the both of us, and he laughed at me because he found it hilarious that I knew the answer to this particular one.

What does that say about me? That I don't remember the 'penjodoh bilangan' for everything else, but I remember the one for books!

In fact, the main reason I'm even trying to learn Chinese now, after all these years, is just so I can read Chinese history books in their original language! I didn't want to read the English translations of Chinese history because too many things get lost in translation, and there are many imbedded meanings in the Chinese language that can be stories in and of itself.

And god help me if I don't love stories.

The things I do for my books...

Lately I've been thinking about a lot of things... you know, life and stuff.

I'm happier now than I've ever been. I'm content and peaceful and all that, and this is what I wanted. But it feels a little boring...

Ok, not boring exactly, but we all need a little excitement in our lives once in a while.

I was just thinking, earlier today, contemplating and reminiscing about my youth (as if I'm really so old now) back when I was fresh out of high school, and all the mishaps and drama I got myself into.

You know those soap operas that most of us drama queens love to watch? Well, I lived them.

Not all of them of course, but I had more than my fair share of drama. And you know what the funny thing is? While there were many tears and fears and love and hate and many things in between, and it really really hurt while I was going through many of those dramas, I can't help but look back now on all those amazing experiences I had, and say to myself, "That was fun, wasn't it?"

If I had to do it all over again, I would, and I'd do much more of it too!

I guess the saying is really true, you don't regret the things you did, you only regret the things you didn't do. And you know what I regret? I regret that I didn't do more of what I did. LOL!

But I'm content with leaving it all in the past. That's the good thing about being really wild and childish and free when you're young, you don't bring your childhood with you into adulthood.

I'm an adult now, and while I still enjoy being childish (as opposed to immature) and having fun, I know my limits, and I don't go wild the way a teenager would. I did all that as a teenager, and I'm ready to grow up now.

I still wish I was a little more carefree and wild, but I'm ready to grow up.

I know some people who didn't have enough fun or freedom when they were young, and they spend their adult lives trying to live their childhood. It's sad coz they never really live their lives, they just spend it trying to capture the feeling of being alive.

And then there's the other kinds of people, who have had so much fun and freedom and yet they don't know how to grow up. It's like they're stuck doing the only things they know how to do, and can't move to another level. These people are so afraid of not being able to live their lives to the fullest, that they spend it in fear of growing up, and live so recklessly that they may just get their wish of never growing up.

But then again, who am I to judge? Maybe these people got it right. Maybe we are just meant to live hedonistically. Or maybe we are all meant to live it the way we want our lives to be. That's what makes everyone different after all.

Contradicting what I said earlier about wishing I had done more of what I did when I was younger, I feel sometimes that I had a little too much drama in my life. Too much pain, anger, tears, betrayal... whatever. And I'm not the kind of person who handles all these stresses well. That's the reason I decided that I didn't want anymore drama in my life.

I don't want stormy relationships where I scream and fight with my bf every other day, and then make up with sweet words and kisses on the other days. I don't want to stab my best friend in the back because I'm in love with the guy she's with, or have her stab my back when she's telling all my secrets to our other friends. I don't want to be the other woman who ends up becoming friends with his girlfriend and feeling bad that we're fooling around behind her back. I don't want ten guys, all of whom are friends, fighting over me and then hating me and each other when I favor one or the other. I don't want anyone attempting suicide or threatening suicide coz I dumped them or I stole their bfs.

Not that any of the above actually happened, but you know what I'm getting at.

It's all really dramatic and great to watch on tv, and probably fun to imagine too, but really... I just want a nice, normal, simple life.

Which I have. Now.

Which is kind of... uneventful. (Read: boring.)

You know, I'm glad I don't have anymore drama in my life, but that doesn't mean I don't want some excitement or adventure.

I'll still take boring over drama anytime, but I really gotta get myself some adventures.

Know where I can find some?

As you can see from the previous test post, I'm doing 43 things. I used it a couple of years ago, but then priorities changed and etc, so I ended up slacking on it.

I've continued planning my goals and all in my daily planner, but I remembered 43 things, and I thought it might be a good idea to use it again. Right now everything I have there is outdated and obsolete. But I'll update as soon as I get everything organized.

It's a really great way to keep yourself on track. It's not just that it's organized, but there are also many people there who may have the same goals as you do, and they help motivate and inspire you to follow through with everything. And it also motivates you when you keep track of how you're progressing with your goals, it helps you see where you are, and how much further you have to go, and how far you've already gone.

I can't wait to see how far I'm gonna go. =)

I am doing 43 things.

I haven't blogged in weeks!

I don't know what's wrong with me, I'm a little out of it... Just started the next phase of my studies. I'm doing a double degree in Holistic Nutrition and Natural Health now. Whew!

The problem with me is I tend to do things to the extreme. I'm so excited about starting this new phase that for the last couple of weeks, I've neglected *everything* except my studies. The good news is that I'm well ahead of schedule on my studies, and doing very very well. (All in a matter of two weeks!)

The not so good news is that I'm behind on my reviews and my other assignments unrelated to studies. And I've also neglected my blog, my piano lessons, my Chinese lessons... =(

I need to find a balance.

The good news is, I'm trying to get back on track with everything else and hoping that it won't mean slowing down on my studies. I've started another blog where I can practise and learn Mandarin...

It's Lone's idea, coz he's doing it too, to learn his Japanese. As for my Chinese blog, it's pretty boring and embarrassing. I won't be writing anything profound there, it's just for little, simple sentences, and Lone (my Chinese teacher!) will correct any mistakes I make.

我会加油！
wo hui jia you!
I will work hard!
(Literal translation: "I will add gas!" LOL!)

I'm 25 years old today!!

Half a century old! OMG! (Edited: Dammit!! I meant to say QUARTER of a century old! You were right, zza! Took me two weeks to see this, I *am* getting old!)

But still young as ever in heart, I hope! LOL! I sometimes feel that I'm still young in mind though... I can still be a little immature sometimes.

Not that I'm proud of it, but as long as I keep on improving each day.

I have a 'motto' that I live by... I don't like to compare myself with others, because that's never a fair or practical comparison either way, but I do like to compare myself with what I was before...

So my motto is that I need to improve each and every day, be a better person, more mature, more intelligent, wiser, kinder, nicer, more patient, more motivated, successful....whatever. The point is that I need to be a better me everyday that passes.

And I am! I'm not the best that I can be, of course, how could I ever be? That would mean that I couldn't improve anymore, and if there's no room for growth then it's time to die.

But I'm only a quarter of a century old, I have 3 more of these to go. I'm only at 25% of my full potential, I have a long long wayyyyy to go... and it's fun...growing, learning, making mistakes and learning from them, becoming a better me, a happier me...

Everyday I see some kind of progress in whichever area of my life, and I'm happy because this is the life! This *is* the life!

I know the changes I want to make, the improvements I want to make... and I see them manifest, everyday of my life.

Even though sometimes I'm not doing the things I think I should do, or wasting time on things I think I shouldn't do, but I make more and more choices that brings me towards the things I want, and away from the things I don't want.

I have more to improve on, and it's fun. It's like working on a lifelong project, in which you add something beautiful and new everyday, and it only gets better and better. And the thing is, the project is you!

I am so loving every minute of my life.

I don't want to waste a minute having bad thoughts or bad feelings, or making bad choices. Why should I, when I can have great thoughts and happy feelings and wonderful experiences?

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME!

I've come a long way. =)

I can't believe that they killed Sara Tancredi off the show!!!

And by decapitation!

This just sucks...

They said they had to kill her because they needed to give Michael some motivation to make the show more interesting, and Sara Wayne Callies (who plays Sara Tancredi) is pregnant and didn't want to do the show. I guess they had to do it...

But then again, it could just be an elaborate hoax, which I admit could just be wishful thinking on my part, but you never know. Wait til you hear the theory though...

So let's see, they need Michael to be motivated, and Sara Wayne Callies is pregnant. So they pretend to kill Sara Tancredi, to give Michael his motivation, and SWC the time she needs for her family. Then they make a big deal out of it, and release news reports and all that about how Sara needed to be killed, and SWC didn't want to act...blah blah blah.

And then much later, we'll find out... Sara Tancredi isn't really dead!!! Yayy!

She comes back towards the end of the season, or maybe she comes back next season, and we find out that it wasn't really her head in the box. It was another dead woman's head that they operated on to look like Sara Tancredi (they're good with plastic surgery, remember the bitch Senator's brother?). The evil Susan didn't really have Sara Tancredi in her hands to kill, so she sent someone else's head as Sara's to motivate Michael to do as they want.

The show goes on, Michael is motivated, Sara Wayne Callies gets her time with her family and gets to come back later, publicity/ratings for the show soars, and the fans are happy! It's win-win-win-win-win for all!

I only wish it was true...

Well, time will tell, though I'm pretty sure it's just wishful thinking. But you never know... there's always the possibility.

This postcard from Postsecret touched me so much that I just had to post it up here. It's so beautiful.

I hope one day I can do something like this.

I recently reviewed a book, A Secret of the Universe by Stephen L. Gibson, which made me curious about the Bible.

I'm not a Christian, and I've never actually read the Bible, but I do know about the stories of the Bible. You know, like Noah's ark, Adam and Eve, Moses' 10 Commandments, etc. And I enjoy those stories, it's just that I've never read the Bible to see what the Bible actually says.

I've known for a while that the Bible contradicts itself many times. What else can you expect from a book which was written by dozens of different people and translated from dozens of different languages? Something was bound to get lost in translation somewhere.

I meant to read the Bible for myself one day, so I could read the stories, and the contradictions, for myself (better to argue theology when you know about the other's points), but I wasn't interested enough to do it.

Stephen L. Gibson's novel A Secret of the Universe has made me so interested that I have now started reading a chapter of the Bible a day, starting from the book of Genesis.

Already I've found something which many Christians conveniently ignore;

If Adam and Eve were the first people, and they gave birth to Cain, Abel, and Seth, then who was it that Cain took as a wife? Where did she come from? And why was he so afraid that other men might judge him for killing his brother? Where did those other men come from?

It's just the first in a long long list of questionable statements in the Bible. This is why, though I enjoy the Bible stories, I would never really believe them. I take them the way I would take any other fantasy story.

Even with fictional books, readers question certain things that don't make sense in the story, why should we do any less with the Bible? Especially with the Bible, in fact. If it doesn't make sense, I'll pick at it. It's fun! =P

But it's really interesting too, you know.

OMG! I haven't blogged in two weeks?!

I didn't even realize!

So sorry! But I've been really busy (yeah I always say that). I spent the week before finishing up the final assignments in my course, and this week I'm busy with a new member of my family.

We got a new puppy! He's a Pomeranian, born on 7/7/07! We had to do the obvious; we named him Lucky. =)

Sorry I haven't got any pix right now. They're all on my brother's camera and I haven't had time to upload them just yet. He's the cutest little puppy you could ever imagine, though taking care of him has been taking up a LOT of my time this week. I hardly had time to do anything else, except play with him, train him, feed him, hold him, clean him...etc.

Poor Baby is so jealous, she hasn't been herself lately. She's been really morose and anxious that we don't care about her anymore. But of course we do! Baby's the best! It's just that you can't pick her up and carry her around coz she's so big and heavy, but we still give her the same amount of attention we normally do. In fact, we give her more, because we're worried that she's getting so sad.

Hmm... maybe she's just acting sad so that we'll give her more attention. Smart dog, that Baby...

Well, anyway, I'm so glad I finished all my assignments before we got Lucky, else I probably wouldn't have the time at all to do anything! I haven't done anything productive at all this week!

I need a puppysitter! Who wants to volunteer?!

It's always obvious when I haven't had a life...

My blog posts consists of mostly opinions or quizes or whatnot, instead of pictures of the places I've been and the people I've met.

Sighz...

It's not fair! I wanna be happening too! *wails*

Oh, whatever, I actually don't really care if I'm not as happening as others because I really do enjoy my work and studies and hobbies, but honestly...sometimes I just need to go out and stretch my legs, you know.

All the things I do, like studying, or writing for the web, or reading, requires that I sit at home at the computer. I'm taking an online course, so there's no college to go to. I'm freelance, so there's no office. Reading is a hobby, so obviously I read at home too.

I enjoy it all, but I'm seeing the same scenery all the time. If I had a college or an office, my days would be spent in first in college, then in the office, then I could go back home. But now it's just, home, home, home. And no people!!!!

I don't have classmates or colleagues!

Well, actually I do, but none that I can actually see or go out for drinks with...

It's a sad, sad, lonely life. =~(

But I'm enjoying every minute of it! LOL! =)

I was having a conversation with Lone about communication and the roles of body language, tone, and words in communication. I don't know the exact figures, but I think it's something like 70% of your communication is your body language, 20% your tone of voice, and only 10% your words. I believe most of us have heard that, though I'm quite sure my figures are wrong.

So anyway, we were talking about that, and the fact that with internet chats, text messaging, and emails, 80% of our communication (body language and tone of voice) are effectively lost. Smiley faces help somewhat to communicate that in real life, we're smiling when we say what we say, which might have been construed as something negative if there wasn't any smiles on our faces. But take away the smiley faces, and you'll have to be very careful of what you write and the way you put your words together.

For most professional writers who write articles or reviews for newsletters and magazines, or bloggers who write for company blogs, the only form of communication they are able to use is words. No smiley faces allowed, no "=)", "=P", "=(" or stuff like *grin*, *LOL*, *smirk*, and etc. All they have are their words.

Some people say that personal interaction is best, so you can read other people better. You can understand them better because you can see their body language, hear their tone of voice, and the words they say.

Well, of course that's true. But there's something special about being able to communicate using only words too. I kind of likened it to a handicap that makes your other senses stronger, like the blind man whose sense of hearing is extra-sensitive (DareDevil comes to mind...).

When you are 'handicapped' to only be able to communicate with words, you do tend to develop sharper skills with forming your words and sentences carefully to communicate what you really want to say. Of course, it's not a real handicap, coz you can go back to using the rest of your 'senses' anytime, but while you are communicating via writing only, your sharper 'sense' of words turn on, and you use different words and sentences from what you might use if you were talking to someone face to face.

It is a skill, and now that more and more communication are going digital, we should all develop this skill, and make ourselves better understood with only words to help us.

Are you kidding me?!

Who Wants to be a Superhero?!!!!

What the heck will they come up with next!

Ohh...my head! I have a headache! I may never be cured until all these reality shows are stopped!

Oh wait...

That might be never.

Sigh...nevermind.

I've been staring at words a LOT the last couple of weeks. If it isn't writing some reviews, or my assignments, it's researching and reading books and textbooks. Not to mention my various blogs...

My brain is tired.

Yet it still seems like I'm not getting things done fast enough. Maybe it's because everything I do is so...similar? Reading, writing, studying, reviewing, blogging...

It's really not a lot, but because it's all WORDs, sometimes I just need a break. And most times I tend to break quite often and for quite a while. =P

So you know what? This isn't gonna be a long post. I'm out of words, for today. =)

Last Friday, Lone and I went to Groove Junction in Hartamas to watch his friend and my piano teacher, Wilson, perform.

Lone introduced me to Wilson, and he invited both of us to watch him perform with his band, they played a fusion of jazz and pop and they were really good, actually. But it was a one time thing only, so we won't be going back there anytime soon. They have a cover charge, and when we asked them to take a picture for us, they had to make sure that the name of the place was in the picture. Hah.

Well, it was fun anyway, and the ambiance wasn't bad, but it's not a place I'll go back to unless the band is really, really good.

Me and Lone

The band, Wilson is the one on the keyboard, duh.

The deco was really nice

The bar looks nice too

Lone, Wilson, and me, and the bar's name behind us.

*bursts into song and twirls around with arms outstretched*

The Hills are aliiiive with the sound of muuuuusicccccccccc
With sooongggs they have suuunngg for a thousand yeeeaaarrrssss
The Hills fill my heeaarrttt with the sound of muusiccc.......

*notices people looking at her funny*

Oops! *blushes*

Sorry people, I couldn't help it! I watched The Sound of Music yesterday on Star Movies and now all the songs are stuck in my head.

(Raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens)

I was actually quite delighted (Bright copper kettles and warm woolen mittens) that it was showing, because I was just talking to Lone about the movie the day before yesterday. (Brown paper packages tied up with strings) Coincidence? =)

I haven't watched it in a long long looooooongggg time, (These are a few of my favourite things) but it was soooooooo fun watching it again... *geeky grin* I'm a geek!!

Oh, and now that I'm older, (When the dog bites) I understand the Nazi/Hitler/political part of it better. (When the bee stings) Coz I never got that part about why they had to run when I was younger. (When I'm feeling sad) I always thought it was sad that Leisl and Rolf never had a happy ending... =(

Oh and guess what?! It's actually based on a true story! (I simply remember my favourite things) I never knew that!! I guess watching the Sound of Music at a too young age, you only focus on the songs, but now that I watched it again and did some research... I was so surprised to find out it was a true story! (And then I don't feeeeeeeelll soooo saaaaaaaaaaaaaad)

I'm gonna be doing more research on them. I'm so intrigued!

I did a little shopping yesterdayyyyyy!! *in singsong voice*

Yeap! I actually went shopping!!

But then again, I didn't shop for clothes...

I did BETTER! =D

I bought CDs!!! =)

I don't even remember the last time I bought a CD... I used to buy them by the dozen, but since I moved, my radio hasn't been set up yet, so I can only play CDs on my computer. But yesterday I bought three 'new' CDs! Yayyy!

Wanna know? Wanna?

Well, I'm gonna tell you anyway. =P


Avril Lavigne's The Best Damn Thing

Her new album is definitely different from her last two, more poppy and um...chirpy. But there are a couple of songs I really like still, so I just thought I'd give it a try. Besides, I have the other two albums, and I just couldn't resist 'collecting'.









The Corrs' Home

I'm a big fan of their regular music, and I love Irish music. They've gone more traditional rather than pop with this album, that's probably why I haven't heard any singles from this album on the radios. But even though their style here is very different from their usual, I love any kind of music, and they know music.









Norah Jones' Not Too Late

What can I say? I love her, I love her voice, I love her style, I love her music... She's just getting better and better, and I forsee my CD cupboard filled with more of her albums in the future to come.






I'm listening to them now...(one at a time, of course) and I'm enjoying them to bits! Will be back with more later maybe.

Wheeee!! =)

I'm looking for badminton players who are interested in committing to a badminton session at least once a week, every week.

I don't care if you're a good or a bad player, but you must be a serious one. I don't want girls (or guys for that matter) who giggle everytime the shuttlecock drops in front of you and you don't take the shot coz you're too lazy to move. And I don't want guys who fob me off to play with those girls who do nothing but giggle. If your girlfriends aren't serious about playing, DON'T bring them! If you want to bring them, MAKE them PLAY PROPERLY! If they don't, DON'T let them play!

I know I'm not as good a player as most of you guys, but I'm serious about improving, and I can never improve when you always make me play with girls who aren't serious! I wanna play, dammit!!

And don't just let me play one game and then make me sit on the bench for two hours!! I came to play! NOT to SIT ON THE BENCH!

And don't say I'm not entitled to more court time because I'm not paying for it! I wanted to pay for it! I INSIST on paying for it! You don't let me pay coz I'm a girl, but I wanna pay coz I want SERIOUS COURT TIME!

ArrrggghhHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Actually...I did find a group that was almost perfect, but they had too many people, and only one court, so most times everyone else didn't have enough court time either. I decided there wasn't any point going coz sometimes all I get to do is warm up for about 5-10 mins, and then my ass gets to warm the bench for the next two hours. It is soooo frustrating!

I really want to play! And it isn't easy finding a group you like....=~(

Seriously, I'm kinda desperate. Does anyone wanna play badminton with me?

Pleeeeaaaasseeee???

With sugar on top?

I can totally relate to Marti Dodson’s chagrin about the music industry’s tendency to treat girls in the industry like sex symbols rather than musicians. Almost everywhere I look, female singers and musicians are shaking their booties and showing off their cleavages. I admire Dodson, Saving Jane’s lead singer, for starting a One Girl Revolution to show the world that girls are more than just sex symbols. There is so much more to us than that.

Saving Jane’s new album, One Girl Revolution, is all about keeping it real. The lyrics are straightforward and outspoken, reflecting Dodson’s strong opinions. Dodson has a talent for writing heart wrenching and ass kicking lyrics that people can relate to. The title track, "One Girl Revolution," is Dodson’s way of fighting back against the stereotype of girls as sex symbols in the music business. She's more than just a pretty face, though it's a very pretty face. She's got brains, and she's not afraid to use them.

Saving Jane's new album covers almost every issue that young people are facing. "From the Sky" is also a song with 'fight-back' lyrics, but not as aggresively sung as "One Girl Revolution" is. "What I Didn't Say" and "Let Me Down Easy" are songs of lost love, and "Say Please" is about wanting him to beg you for forgiveness. "Grace" is about faith, "Far From Home" is about leaving home for the first time, and "Better Day" is about picking yourself up after a fall. Dodson also covers more serious issues like smoking and alcohol addiction with "Nicotine" and "Writing On the Wall."

"Loser" is about a loser ex-boyfriend you're so glad you broke up with, and it's my particular favourite. I think the lyrics are hilarious and the melody is really catchy. And I know what you're thinking, but no, I did not just break up with a loser boyfriend. I broke up with him more than a year ago.

The bonus track, "Ohio" is about, well, Ohio, and Dodson's love for her homeland. It's more country than rock, but it sounds good, and Dodson's voice sounds good singing country. Overall, One Girl Revolution makes for good listening, with catchy melodies, compelling lyrics, energetic music, and enthusiastic singing. While I prefer their previous album, Girl Next Door, I think One Girl Revolution will speak to the heart of many Saving Jane's fans, and is definitely worth a listen to.

So after procrastinating for so long about uploading pictures of the last couple of weeks... finally, here they are! Yayyy! =P

Yeah, so on Friday a couple of weeks ago, 27th July, there was a sort of reunion thing going on with the guys at CK's new bar, Hana. Bob invited me to go, and since I hadn't seen many of them for a looooooooong time, I decided to go. And of course, I was curious about Ck's bar. =)

Here are the pics:

Me, Chen Wei, Cheen Png

Hein Yong, me, Andrew

Eng Kok, Shijin, Png, Shien Choy

Andrew, Bob, Me, Chen Wei, Png

EK, Bryan, Chau Hau, Jason, Bob, Andrew, Chen Wei, Nick


Then on Saturday, 28th July, we went to Hard Rock on last final time before the Redemptions went off to Jakarta to perform there. I miss them soooooo much already. =~( Life really feels so silent and empty without their music.

Us before the show started, John brought his brother along.

Five very handsome guys...

Transformed into five very ugly guys...LOL!

All of us!

At the Redemption's place, with the farewell cake. (Yes I know I look fat...watever. =P)


Then on the 4th of August, we all went to Rahsia in KL, for a joint birthday dinner for Charmin and Elaine. It was great getting all the girls together again. This is a month for reunions and farewells....

Ee Won, Charmin, me

Jeremy, Eewon, Charmin, John, Lone, Me

Everyone! Um...cept me, Jeremy and Lone

The girls!
Top: Joanne, Me, Charmin, Sewei, Angeline
Bottom: Eewon, Elaine, Margaret


There you go! Sorry it took so long for me to post up these few pix, but as the saying goes, 'A lazy person is a lazy person...who is waaaayyyy to lazy to look up an actual proverb about lazy persons so this will have to do.' =) Enjoy!

Happy Birthday, dearest Charmin!!

Just wanted to say that I really appreciate your friendship, and I'm very glad that you are a part of my life. Everything is so much more fun and exciting when you're around! Love you lots, babe!

Have a great birthday! And many many more happy birthdays! May every new day be a better day for you, and may you grow more and more beautiful each day, inside and out!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!

As you have already seen, I've changed my blogskin.

You probably also know that I haven't been blogging much lately. Mostly because I've been busy with a lot of writing assignments, so at the end of the day I'm just too lazy to blog anymore.

Or maybe I was just bored with my blog's look. =P

Which shouldn't be a problem now that it's got a whole new look! =)

I hope you like it, guys! It's simple and peaceful, and just what I need right now.

I've been really lazy the last couple of days.

Busy, and lazy.

Busy because I had to review a number of books and CDs, and also finish a few of my assignments.

Lazy because I've been writing so much that I just didn't feel like writing anymore, or blogging, or uploading pictures, or anything.

I'm still lazy.

*plops down on bed to read trashy romance novel*

I'll blog later.

Taj: The Woman and the Wonder is the fictional account of the very true story behind the building of one of the Seven Wonders, the Taj Mahal. Although it's fiction, Sandra Wilson keeps the facts real, and all I can say is, if all my history textbooks read like this, I would've aced all my exams.

We all know about the Taj Mahal as one of the most famous monuments in history. It is beautiful, enchanting, and ever changing. Just like a woman. I've never had the opportunity to see the Taj Mahal in person, but those who are lucky enough to have seen it and be enchanted by it, will be just as enchanted by Wilson's Taj.

Wilson brings history to life with her book Taj. The descriptions are so vivid and colourful, I felt as if I traveled back in time and was actually there. When Shah Jahan was betrayed by his scheming stepmother and lost his father's favour, I was so frustrated I wished I could've beheaded his stepmother or at least tell his father that it was all a misunderstanding so that he would behead her. When Shah Jahan's beloved wife, Mumtaz Mahal, passed away and he was so heartbroken and distraught, I felt my heart break too for the loss of such a wonderful woman. Wilson's portrayal of Shah Jahan and his wife were brilliantly written, and it showed how true the saying was, that 'behind every great man there is a great woman.'

Mumtaz Mahal stood by her husband through everything, even when he was forced to go to war with his father, because her aunt, Shah Jahan's stepmother, was power-hungry and wanted to rule the empire. Her devotion to her husband never wavered, although she was forced to be on opposing sides with her own father, who was brother to Shah Jahan's stepmother.

There is so much to the story behind the Taj Mahal. Before I read Taj, all I knew about the Taj Mahal is that it is one of the Seven Wonders, and that it was built by an emperor for his wife whom he loved very much. A touching story in itself.

Now that I've read the book, I see that there's so much more to it than that. The Taj Mahal is a testament of an emperor's love for his wife, yes, but it is also the testament of her devotion to him, his struggle to regain what was rightfully his against all odds, and the power of a love that transcends time and death. I understand more clearly now this love between an ordinary man who was emperor, and his exceptional wife who was completely devoted to him and stood by him through all the best and the worst of times, that led to the building of one of the Seven Wonders of the world.

Kudos to Sandra Wilson, for writing such a compelling story about Taj; the woman, and the wonder.

So guess what?

I had my first piano lesson today after many(about 4?) years of not playing the piano at all... and I'm too ashamed to say I'd forgotten everything I ever learnt.

Not to mention that it was kinda embarrassing when the notes keep coming out, out of tune. I hadn't tuned it in 4 years either. And um...the keyboard was really dusty too.

*hides face in shame*

I don't think I can ever face my piano teacher again.

Or at least until our next class. =P

Anyway, I've been kinda busy lately, with assignments and writing and reviewing, so I'm sorry if I haven't updated anything substancial lately.

On a really sad note, the Redemptions are gone. =~(

They've gone to Jakarta, and after that they'll be in Bali. But we're still here....*sobs*

But we'll see each other again. =) And we'll keep in touch. =) Don't you just love the wonders of the internet? The world is much much smaller now, and in fact, I talk more with some of my oversea friends than I do with some of my friends here.

Like I said, I've been busy though, doing a lot of reading and writing. Reading textbooks, story books, self-improvement books, non-fiction books.... and writing assignments, reviews, blogs...a new movie screenplay.... =P

And now, learning piano.

I hope I improve soon.

Hey guys!

My review for Paulo Coelho's The Alchemist was posted up on his blog!

Check it out here!

This is sooooo cool! =)

I was doing some research for my assignments and I came across this article about coffee.

Stop drinking coffee! It's bad for you, people!

It's as bad as, or worse, than nicotine and alcohol. It causes heartburn, excess gas, bloating ulcers, and it is terrible for your digestion.

Drinking coffee increases your risk of getting ulcers by 72%! That's a lot!

If you drink a lot of coffee, and you have digestion problems, stomach pains, or heartburn... Well, what are you waiting for! Stop already!

It's actually very simple to me.

If you cause me pain, I let you go.

Simple.

Why do so many people keep sticking to bad relationships that cause them so much heartache and pain just because they've been together so long and it's so hard to let go and they love each other so much...blah blah blah...

I don't care if you love each other. If it hurts you to be together, and if you really loved each other, you'll let each other go so that you can be happy.

Yes, I'm a very selfish person. I care about myself very much. I care about my happiness. I care about my well-being. I care about my life. I love myself very much.

If everyone was as selfish as me, the world would be a better place.

We wouldn't have matyrs who 'sacrifice' their own happiness to do things for others to make others like them more. And then resent the people who 'made' them give up their own happiness. And then start arguing and fighting and making the world a less peaceful place.

If everyone would only put themselves first, and make sure they have everything they need before helping anyone else, the world would be a better place. If everyone loved themselves more than they want others to love them, the world would be a better place. Trust me.

Seriously, how many people do you know do things to make other people like them more, rather than do things to make themselves happy? It always ends up badly. I learned that the hard way.

Because I used to be one of those people who did everything so that other people would like me more.

Now I don't give a damn if someone doesn't like me. Why should I? As long as I'm happy.

I'll say it again, the world would be a much better place if everyone loved themselves more than they want others to love them.

Anyway, back to my point.

I love just as easily as the next person. More easily, in fact. I get attached easily, and I like people easily. But if it turns out that you only want to cause me trouble, pain, heartache or general bad feelings, then I let you go just as easily.

Don't get me wrong. I'm not a heartless person. It will hurt me to let you go, it will hurt me to lose the good things and the good times. But if there are more bad than good, and if it hurts me to be with you. Then guess what? I'm gone with the wind.

Self-preservation.

I don't care if you're my best friend, my boyfriend, my father, my mother, my brother, my husband, even if you're my own child.

If you are bad for me, I'm gone.

Easily.

Just like that.

*Poof*

Like I said, my well-being is very important to me. And I love myself very much.

More than I will ever love anyone else, even my own child.

Don't deliberately miscontrue what I'm saying, by the way... You need to love yourself more than you love anyone else, I really believe that. Anyone who says they love someone else more than they love themselves, is either lying, or insecure, or otherwise psychologically impaired. And of course I'm not going to abandon my own child because I wanna have fun or whatever selfish meaning you wanted to read into my statement above.

I meant that even the strongest blood relationships will not be as strong as my own love for myself. I will still sever my relationship with my imaginary children, if in the future they chose to exploit me for the money I can give them.

And obviously, I'll have no problem cutting them out of my will, if they try to hurry me to my grave. LOL!

Anyway, the moral of this story is...

'Learning to love yourself, this is the greatest love of all.'

I don't get it.

I really don't get it.

How on earth did Harry Potter get so overhyped?

It's a great book, no doubt. It's creative and imaginative and exciting and interesting and fun, and all of that.

But so are a whole damn lot of other books!

And many of which that are much much much better than Harry Potter.

So what is it about Harry Potter which warrants the long queues and midnight camping and overpricing?

I mean, seriously, the book isn't that good. I can think of a few thousand other books which are much better, and none of them even got as much hype as this one.

Why?

I really, really just don't get it!

I liked the first three books, but I didn't love them. And from the fourth book onwards I thought that Rowling was starting to overdo things a little, but I still enjoyed the books.

I didn't buy the books, by the way, I didn't like them enough to spend money on them, not even on the first three books, which hadn't had their prices jacked up yet. My brother bought them, and I just borrowed them to read when I had nothing else better to read. My brother was way more into them than I was.

And yet he stopped buying them. He didn't buy the sixth book(I don't remember the suffixes, was it Harry Potter and the...oh, whatever) and the Deathly Hallows isn't on the shopping list either.

The prices are just ridiculous! Like I said, it's not that great of a book, and even if it is, why does it warrant a RM100 ++ price tag? It can't be because of the paper or the cost of printing, because I know the price of books, and since these books are in such demand, printing more of them should have brought the cost of printing down!

So the price must have been jacked up for Rowling's sheer genius in writing them, except, seriously... they aren't that great!

I'm really shaking my head in disbelief at this.

I'm glad for the hype of Harry Potter causing so many non-readers to start reading, and I'm glad at least, that it's one about wizards and witches and dragons.

Sighz...

I guess I'm kinda glad for the hype, but for the life of me, I just can't understand it.

Music is a universal language.

I believe it was the first language.

Music has been around ever since humans have been around. Without getting all technical, I'd say that cavemen had music too, however primitive their music may have been compared to ours.

Point being, there's something magical about music.

There's something about music that speaks to all of us. We use it as a form of expression, to show our feelings, our inspirations, our dreams... There are things inside us that can't be described with words. So we use music.

Everybody loves music. There may be a hundred different genres of music now, and perhaps not everyone likes the same kind of music, but we all love music. And we all need music. I don't think mankind could survive if we didn't have music. We wouldn't be human without music.

How much more respect do you have for the people who create music?

I have plenty.

Music is a part of everyone's lives, we've pretty much established that.

But for the people to whom music is their lives...

These people are different. These people are special. These people live in a world different from us. An alternate universe parellel but completely distinct from ours.

I wish I could go into that world.

I've seen glimpses of it in my dreams, and during my few moments of creativity. It's a beautiful world, a magickal world. It's a place where dreams come true and everything is possible. It's a place where you're always happy and nothing bad ever happens. Everyday is a sunny day and every place a playground for your inner child.

At least, that's how it was for me. I lived there for a while and I loved it there.

But reality crashed into my world like a bad car accident, and now I'm just as real, jaded, and cynical, as any other person.

Sometimes I wish I could go back into that world... but other times I think, I'm in the real world now, and I need to be real to survive here.

My question is... why is the real world so full of ugliness and pain? Why do we allow bad things to happen to the real world? Why can't everyone live in a beautiful, bright, happy world? Why can't I live in my dream world without bad people from the real world forcing me to see all the ugliness in their world?

These are all hypothetical questions, so don't bother answering.

I can live in reality just as well as in my dream world. But sometimes when I see glimpses of my dreams, it reminds me of what I gave up and what I gave it up for, and sometimes I really wonder why.

Reality is a poor substitute for dreams.

Alex was sweet enough to loan me this book, since I've always wanted to read it. I've heard so much about it that I was actually prepared to dislike it. I thought that maybe it was all just hype and that when I finally read it, I'd see that it was all overrated. But I loved it.

The Alchemist is a wonderfully simple story of a young shepherd who follows his dreams of treasure and encounters many experiences and people, learning wisdom and life lessons along the way. Paulo Coelho has skillfully woven many bits of truth and wisdom about life into this masterpiece, and it is a true delight to read. Just like it teaches, it is not the destination, but the journey with this book, that counts.

It doesn't matter if you're searching for buried treasure, or for love, or for the secret of turning lead into gold. It doesn't matter if you die trying, never reaching your goal. It doesn't matter if you don't find what you're looking for, once you get there. What matters is what you've brought with you on the way, and what you've learned along the way. The people you meet, the hardships and heartaches you go through, the lessons your experiences has taught you.



The Alchemist tells you how to turn lead into gold. It tells you of the wonder and the uncertainty of change and evolution, the secret of enjoying the beauty of life without becoming hardened by the harshness of reality, the art of living in the moment without worrying about the past or the future, and most importantly, the ultimate secret of the universe, that we are all interconnected. We are all one.

It has been compared to Saint-Exupery's The Little Prince and Herman Hesse's Siddhartha. I have read both, and while they both have their own beauty and teach their own wisdom, The Alchemist touches people in its own quiet way.

What I like about the book is that it teaches you to live your life well. Live every moment in the moment. Let go of anything that is an encumberance. Follow your dreams. Have fun and enjoy everything life has to offer, but don't forget the things that really matter. Let go of things that are not within your control. Live your life and let others live theirs, what works for you may not work for them and vice versa. There is something to be learnt in everything.

There is so much wisdom contained within the pages of this little book, but for me, the most important one, is to enjoy every minute of your life. We all have goals in life, we have dreams to fulfill and successes to achieve. We need to remember to stop once in a while, and smell each rose and count each star in the sky. It is not the destination, but the journey, that counts.

We went to Hard Rock again last weekend.

I know, I know! You're getting bored already, aren't you? But we're not! It just gets funner and funner for us! =)

Anyway, it's only for this month, coz of the band, and then they'll be going off to Jakarta after this, and I'll miss them all so much. =(

L-R: Isa(Jeff's wife), Erena and Paula(the vocalists), me, and Margaret.

Clockwise: Jeff, Raoul(keyboardist), Chris(drummer), Teody(guitarist), John, Margaret, Charmin, Ceaser, Lone and me.

L-R: Me, Raoul, Chris, John, Margaret

L-R: Erena and Paula, Lone, Charmin, Margaret, me, Ceaser, Alex(bassist), and John

Just for fun.

And because I'm too lazy to post any more than this right now.

Get Your Sexy Name

Alex, if you're reading this...

I was just joking! You are damn cute!

Margaret and I both love you! And we've agreed to share!

LOL! =P

Hugs and kisses!

(PS. We've got loads of good pix tonight, I'll post them up soon. Too tired and sleepy now... G'nite, peeps!)

On second thought...

Alex isn't that cute after all.

You can have him, Marg.

=P

=D

We went to Hard Rock again last Saturday to support the band, Redemption.

And...*ahem* also to see Alex. ;)

So....here are the pix!

(PS. Sorry Marg, I'm not putting up the pic of you and Alex! =P After the way both of you dirty danced on the dancefloor?! Hmmpphhh! How could you! *jealous* ;P He's mine ok!)


Oh okay, Marg...since you begged... ;P