I say!

2010-11-06T14:55:00.001Z

and just read Rachel's newest post. apparently she's in love too. albeit with different people.

i could sing of your LOVE forever

2010-11-06T14:41:00.005Z

so life's been good, GOD has been good, amazingly, wonderfully mercifully good to me. i am blessed beyond my wildest dreams and beyond my most earnest prayers. so i love my job. i love my colleagues. i am loving the singapore experience (well, discounting being sandwiched in the mrt everyday with pushy aunties. my ability to shoot dirty looks is now so well-honed i think it can actually, very probably kill someone one day).

also, i am loving my newfound Hokkien powers of conversation. what could have been the worst day with 3 non-english speaking patients turned out to be the BEST day. such satisfaction being liberated from the fear of being unable to communicate.

so yeah, life's good. life's a peach. life's a bag of goodies everyday, its schweeet! GOD is amazing is he not? HE turns fears and apprehensions into blessings.

so i know i sound like i'm on moonshine but it really is the happy juice born of gratefulness to GOD. I am blessed by my Father above. apologies in advance for turning into one of those irrepressibly cheerful irritants.

working girl

2010-09-29T15:24:00.003+01:00

so here i am in singapore. whoop dee doo. a brand new start, new friends to make. its terribly tedious making new friends, but reminding myself that at 22 i should be excited. I'm not. I dislike looking for new places to shop, to eat. i miss my reliable green grocer, always 5 minutes away on Thursdays and Saturdays. I have my habit, my routine. on the other hand, i am strangely not missing england at all, not one iota. Perhaps its part of my genetic makeup that refuses to allow me to wallow in nostalgia and sentiment.

anyway, work starts on Friday. If I truly believed in symbolism in every event, i would say it signals an end to true freedom, heralding my conformity to what society deems as part of "growing up" and actively contributing to the endless rat race of work. However, i am no such pessimist. I choose to view this as a mere phase in the run-up to Jesus return. Then I can have an eternal holiday with Jesus. yay!

here's praying everything will be alright at work. colleagues fine, patients fine, some eye-candy walking around to liven my day perhaps....sigh. one hopes.

The Onion Law- physically possible.

2010-08-16T20:35:00.008+01:00

3 years of mother england is coming to an end. its amazing how a month of travelling around the UK and good company can erase every bad moment in the past 3 years. I cannot recall a single bad moment I've had here (you can be sure there were though!).

Anyway, I will miss the people more than anything else. The fact that they are only a skype call away is small consolation. Separated by a 7 hour time difference in a week's time (8 hours during winter), the word "soulmates" is not exclusive to lovers, it also extends to lifelong friends.

My summary of it is that the Onion Law stands true. People have many layers, like onions. The trick of it is to engage people in conversation because most people have interesting lives, be it a godly or ungodly life. My ability to peel onions (both literally and metaphorically), has improved, although I am regrettably still too quick to stereotype and dismiss people in general. You never know who God arranges you to meet. Case in point- my most enjoyable conversation so far was 2 hours talking to a very intelligent priest during an Irish wedding. On the outside, he looked like a turnip but inside that turnip contained a first-rate brain. If I wasn't seated next to him, I would have immediately dismissed him. Catholic priests are among the most notoriously stereotyped people in the world after all.

I'm so thankful to God for these 3 years, I can truly say His plans are marvellous, bemusing, complex and downright exciting. He has granted me lifelong friends who, although are still not ready for their salvation, yet have been a blessing from God Himself. And my prayer is that God will send more onions worthwhile peeling.

Roll on Singapore!

praise Yah

2010-06-22T16:31:00.007+01:00

All glory be to Yahweh, God of my Salvation! First class honours in the bag!

woop woop! Graduation celebration! *opens up a bottle of bubbly*

chapter 3. closed.

2010-06-11T18:20:00.005+01:00

I can finally say I am done with university forever. 3 years has flown and I've enjoyed most of it even the exams. woohoo!! now on to making actual money.

now am going to enjoy days of lazing around without feeling guilty or that i should be doing work! what a liberating feeling.

1 month to go till ireland ireland ireland!! woop woop

Graduation ball right after the final big exam. merdeka!

like zoobeer wasn't bad enough

2010-06-04T21:40:00.006+01:00

If i ever have a kid or kids, I think I will give them irish names such as the ones below. Just to create a difficult childhood (because we all know that relentless childhood teasing builds character).

For the girl: Ailbhe/Eabha/Clodagh/Aoibheann/Aoife/Niamh

For the boy: Tadhg/Eoghan/Eoin/Diarmuid/Caoimhin

Barmy potato-eating people.

eight

2010-06-02T12:43:00.005+01:00

Only 8 more days till permanent freedom from studenthood. I must say I will miss it, but then again, I won't. not the late nights, the working on placements then coming home to work on assignments. nope! soon i will be working and studying but getting PAID for it. hurrah!

8 more days to the start of pretty awesome holidays. ireland, london, scotland etc etc.

sunshine, love and pretty boys will abound!

till then....8 more days of toiling and back ache due to excessive hunching over.

irlande here i come!

W-shaped recession

2010-05-23T21:31:00.006+01:00

God is so great to be bringing me out of this "age of austerity" (as the treasury minister so elegantly put it) into a land filled with milk and honey. well, almost. England's inevitable budget cuts and job slashing does not bode well for us about-to-be-qualified,bottom of the cesspool physio students. I am very interested in the new ConLib budget plan to be unveiled tomorrow. the harvest years seem to be over for England, time for the pasties to turn to God.

I hope they pull through it, i sincerely do.

'ello luv

2010-05-18T21:13:00.003+01:00

its nice to look forward to steady pay soon. its incredible to know God has blessed me and answered my prayers. truly truly I say, God is amazing and His plans are perfect!

however, now I am going to leave, I cannot help the twinge of regret that I have not travelled as much as I should have. I will definitely need to make the most out of my next 3 months in Mother England! admittedly i have not truly seen the beautiful side of England or Europe (with the exception of france).

hello warm sunny weather and good food again! woop woop. Summer is here!

i so feel like this now..

2010-05-17T18:09:00.004+01:00

i so feel like this after dinner just now...

2010-05-16T21:17:00.002+01:00

mental spa

2010-05-12T18:39:00.002+01:00

i am mentally and physically exhausted. i know freedom is less than 4 weeks away but the whole interviews, looking for jobs, working on exams and being a performing monkey everyday 9-5pm at work is just exhausting. I hate being at the bottom of the cesspool, having to prove myself everyday and pretending I enjoy running errands for people. sometimes i wish had an endless pot of gold so i can get me all the happiness money can buy.

anyway enough whining. this is all building character and part of Yah's perfect plan. less than 4 weeks more, less than 4 weeks more. trusting in God. i think a day at the spa would rejuvenate me.

swimmingly swimmingly

2010-05-03T12:53:00.005+01:00

things are going swimmingly swimmingly. having another interview this week hurrah! God is good. AND another 7 more weeks to freedom and travels. yippee yippee.

plus placement has been going well, love the people I work with and there's lots of eye candy on the ward. heh heh heh. always a plus.

GOD is GREAT.

vantage

2010-04-24T17:31:00.003+01:00

the future holds exciting things. God is taking me to places I never thought I'd go! like back to SE Asia, perhaps! i'll know in 3 weeks maybe less.

just have to keep head above water for another 10weeks. less than 3 months to travels and the good life! :D yippee

summer is barely here. but already the frenetic buzzing of wings brings back mild sufferings of entomophobia.

building character

2010-04-19T19:37:00.002+01:00

only God gives me the strength to survive and maintain my sanity these days. its not only assignments and study that I have to do, its job applications, getting the CV together, prepping for final exam yada yada yada. such is life, but God is my strength and refuge. Amen!

to the root of wha?

2010-04-16T10:59:00.002+01:00

sometimes i miss the days of chemistry test papers and addmaths practice. the days of just practising and practising and practising endless questions and MCQs.

i remember the grades i got for addmaths and chemistry. then i don't miss it anymore.

thank God for IFBN

2010-04-11T20:15:00.004+01:00

i am fed up. its so nice and sunny outside, practically calling me to take a holiday in the countryside exploring some ruined castle or something. instead i am stuck in smoky, rough salford trying write up 2 assignments and study for placement! gahh!

seems like such a waste of a day when it should be spent wearing dresses and sitting in the sun with nice people. no holiday for me till i finish these assignments.

feeling so unsettled, i still have not found a church that fits, a church that is alive in the Word. there are no messianic congregations around. moan moan, poor me. anyway, enough of the pity party! i am blessed to be here! sincerely.

tear jerkers

2010-04-06T12:02:00.006+01:00

for goodness sake. someone has to stop nicholas sparks from writing another "heartwarming" novel. unbelievable but the man has managed to churn out another vomit-inducing piece of drivel that will, i predict, will top the bestseller's list again. Now, i don't normally care about authors and the piffle they write nowadays, but he writes books like "the notebook", "message in a bottle", "a walk to remember" (cue melodious hallmark music). In my humble opinion, they are just plain shite.

He has to be stopped. well, maybe its not his fault. its the "hopeless romantics" *suckers suckers* that ought to be shot for catapulting the man into fame (and earning him a crapload of money). The man has no imagination, the crux of his novels is the fact that the hero/heroine goes through numerous emotional sucker punches, loves, loses and discovers some profound truth about their inner strength. whoop dee doo.

Maybe i should write a heartwarming novel, about a girl inspired by nicholas sparks to change her life forever and embark on a personal mission to rid the world of romantic suckers.

sorry thats my rant of the day. its the stress talking. bring back the days of roald dahl's vivid, naughty imagination.

spuds, yeats & shamrock

2010-04-05T01:15:00.005+01:00

its been a tiring weekend. but, i've booked my aer aerann ticket to ireland! ta me sasta! i promise to be enthralled by the soft musical irish lilts and meet many paddys.

it will be a good 4 days attending a wedding and taking road trips with good company.

but another 4 months to that, will have to complete assignments and exams and actually graduate first!

its all coming together!

then they invented the talkies.

2010-03-29T22:04:00.004+01:00

Black and white screwball comedies are the best type of comedies there is and ever will be. The Lady Eve 1941 has to be my favouritest screwball comedy ever. Ranking up there with It Happened One Night and My Man Godfrey. They don't make comedies the way they did in the 1940s, goofy, sweet, clean and ever so slightly corny. Henry Fonda is such a dish!

holiday? or not.

2010-03-24T16:24:00.004Z

Ah, bliss. friday will be the start of a 4 week Easter holiday before the final leg of university begins. I best enjoy it while I can before the madness of job hunting and actual job begins.

But typical to university life, I have so much to do in 4 weeks. 2 assignments, job hunting, job applying (yes even before graduation, we are vying for jobs) and reading up for neuro placement. sigh. looks like it won't be such a wonderful holiday after all. take a chill pill, Zoe, take a chill pill. or a giant valium.

here's to the last few months of university life. I will miss it. But then again, I won't.

that light unto my feet

2010-03-17T17:48:00.007Z

every time i get anxious about exams and the future, God does something incredible to reassure me that it's all gonna be okay. you'd think God would be tired of such trivial thoughts that He'd box my ears for listening to all the negativity around me. Nah. Today, I heard something amazing that I have done incredibly well in final year (through the grapevine of course). that to me is amazing. the progression from first to final year is incredible, its only God's mercy and grace! what else could it be! certainly not due to this brain of mine.

here's to the final exams and applying for jobs, i will not worry because my God is so big and strong.

Thank you Big Daddy!

(i really like the picture below, with the flashing light because i'm so technologically challenged that i'm still fascinated by moving pictures.)

non verbal communication

2010-03-15T21:20:00.005Z

its amazing how the power of speech, body language and volubility of a person can influence even the most hostile of audiences. today i sat in a lecture where the former chief physio of Manchester United and current chief physio of Blackburn talked about his job. Now, let me just say, I am not interested in the least in becoming a sports physio. Not now, not ever. But he didn't make it out to be a glamourous world. on the contrary, he painted a real picture of competitive bitchy pansy-assed players and the obligatory domineering manager (couldn't tell if he was referring to his current manager or the former, whats the difference anyway?)

still, i was fascinated. i still wouldn't like to work in any professional sporting club, be it football or rugby league or crown green bowls but the way he carried himself with such confidence, it was enthralling. its like that story "Destination Unknown" by Agatha Christie (she describes with much better flair), where the twisted evil-genius-millionaire practically hypnotises the crowd with the mere power of his words.

The power of motivational speakers, the power of politicians! and the vulnerable weak minds of the masses. fascinating business.

By the way, he graduated from salford uni physio school. another fact: the current Man utd physio also graduated from salford university. so yeah, feeling a teensy bit proud of salford university now, well, maybe just the school of physiotherapy.

2010-03-10T10:37:00.002Z

note to self: give self a swift kick in the arse each time self gets stressed about the future, assignments and work. self must not have such little faith!

will do, self!

yeah cos i got nothing better to do or say

2010-03-04T20:40:00.004Z

i cannot believe my life has gotten so drab that i look forward to a comedy evening out next week. just for a chance to laugh at unknown brit comedians. next thursday, 7 days away! can't find anything more interesting to do for the next 7 days. feel like a mindless robot, working and thinking about the next task to do all the time. i am what my life is at the moment. B-O-R-I-N-G.

on a side note, today i am a firm believer that all men should wear suits all the time. this is because today i saw a regular slob turn into a fit, trim looking professional. and i had to think for 5 minutes before i realised i knew this slob. call me a convert, i do believe in the power suit.

the preponderance of liberation over slavery

2010-03-03T20:45:00.003Z

choices. sometimes i just want somebody to order me around instead of giving me freewill and options! but this is the reward of liberated man, bought with the ultimate sacrifice on the cross. it is up to us to make the right ones with the guidance of the omnipresent Spirit within us.

i am making the choice to cut out all the junk tv that sucks the soul out of me and turns me into a mindless minion via its subliminal pagan messages. like Glee and all the other american sitcoms. we'll see how that works out.

red and gold

2010-02-14T14:00:00.003Z

tis my 3rd year without those exciting little red packets. i miss the humid days spent fanning oneself and gorging on love letters, peanut butter cookies, honeycomb biscuits then counting the loot afterwards. i miss the money and the food.

talking about a revolution

2010-02-10T20:57:00.004Z

where is the angry undercurrents, dissenting voices? the fire, the passion! we need some drama here. people walk around like zombies, deadened looks in their eyes, only living for the next pint in the pub. they need life, they need God. they need something to boil their blood and rouse the fire within their lifeless souls! i feel like i'm living in Tim Burton's corpse bride land. where the living are dead, and the dead living. this is a culture in decay, decay because of complacency, loose morals and political correctness. manchester, it looks vibrant but it is really a ghost town.

this rambling post is attributed to the stress of research projects and reading too much elizabeth gaskell novels.

Focus

2010-02-08T16:40:00.003Z

its all a trick. an illusion. there is a very good magician out there. the illusion that the seemingly pressing issues of today are indeed pressing. see, a good magician knows to distract our attention from the key to the trick. he flutters his hands, there's fire and smoke but its all a ploy to distract the audience's attention. Our attention is constantly distracted by things that are tangible, the TV, deadlines, wealth, property, the social ladder etc.

When really, all that matters is faith in God. Faith that He has planned out our paths. Its funny when you really start trusting God and really taking that cross and dying to yourself, things fall into place.

its when we fall and experience these pesky dips in faith that our attention is diverted. Don't be fooled.

like the song says, Yesus engkau juru selamatku

2010-02-01T15:19:00.003Z

First day back in uni and already the work is piling on. Went for lunch with friends for a catch-up and they were discussing the tough upcoming semester, placements, work applications and the whole rat race. And suddenly it struck. My God, my Yahweh is so much bigger than all problems. Yeah, i've heard that before, not exactly an epiphany I had, but its was so real that I had to sit back and marvel. Yes, God is my victory dan juru selamatku! Why should I strive and worry like the others when I have a God so strong and faithful?

Life is uncertain but God is faithful. He guides me in paths of righteousness and all my days are in His hands. Enough said.

good things, good people

2010-01-25T03:15:00.002Z

my last day in the land of eternal sunshine and bliss. and it is so blue, sunny and breezy today.

discombobulated

2010-01-09T12:01:00.006Z

"Order and method" is what Hercule Poirot always says. That was the foundation of his success. Fictional he may be, but order and method is how Christie wrote her books. Easier said than done though. It is relatively easier for Poirot to make order and method out of facts presented in a fictional world, much more difficult for me living in this chaotic mess where I rely on others to be punctual and responsible.

I hate disorganisation. Disorganisation mind, not tidiness. 2 entirely different issues. Disorganisation is pure torture to the soul. Leave it all up to me and I'd nuke every disorganised person in the world. After all, these creatures are the main reasons for stress in the workplace. But just one of those things you learn to deal with in the working place, no? Perhaps i could devise a way to indirectly punish disorganised people, like laxatives in coffee etc. The simple ones work best.

just a rant. i haven't updated for awhile, and i deserve to start off with a whiny post.

the faraway tree

2009-12-10T21:58:00.004Z

I am in severe want of a holiday. A nice one by the mediterranean beach with a long cool iced lemon tea by my hand and a stack of my favourite books in all the world, a collection of Enid Blyton books.

i must be the most boring person in the world, constantly jabbering about dream holidays and breaks.

oh well, tough beans. i will be home very soon, a pleasant substitute for the beach indeed.

thank God for each day, He really guides me in paths of righteousness. Cannot wait to get home to church. only 5 more days !

i'm already there

2009-12-01T20:57:00.002Z

home in 2 weeks and a bit! oh boy oh boy oh boy. loh mee, sun, proper rain and church!

i get to wear dresses and miss a month of miserable weather, how good is that.

a truth universally acknowledged

2009-11-28T20:34:00.004Z

I've got a new movie i'm all excited to watch. Lost in Austen, where this girl exchanges lives with Lizzie Bennet. She gets Mr Darcy to reprise that infamous lake scene with that white shirt. hee.

yippee.

a whiff of chicken

2009-11-25T19:03:00.004Z

i got to see a total knee replacement surgery today! loved it, from the big needle going into the spine for anaesthesia to yanking the skin apart and sawing off the ends of the femur & knee. strangely though was very hungry midway through the surgery when the surgeon cauterizing something or other , probably to fuse the arteries together to stem bleeding who knows. anyway,the burning smell was like chicken rice, yummm. that I get hunger pangs from smelling burning flesh must be a signal that i am really dying to go home and have some good food.

how morbid.

sapped

2009-11-22T14:52:00.002Z

i'm exhausted. the past 2 months are catching up with me, working a full day on placements plus 2 assignments due after Christmas. it feels like i'm crawling to the finish line with a boulder tied to my back.

anyway, thats my whine of the day.

barbecues in winter

2009-11-22T01:05:00.003Z

i need another braai like this soon. next one will probably be back in the motherland Malaysia, yippeee!

tomorrow and tomorrow and tomorrow

2009-11-16T20:17:00.005Z

it takes the simplest situation in life to remind you of God's grace and mercy. too often, one takes life and its blessings for granted. it only takes seeing a friend in mortal danger that puts life's struggles into sharp perspective. what was it shakespeare wrote in macbeth?

To-morrow, and to-morrow, and to-morrow,

Creeps in this petty pace from day to day,

To the last syllable of recorded time;

And all our yesterdays have lighted fools

The way to dusty death. Out, out, brief candle!

Life's but a walking shadow, a poor player,

That struts and frets his hour upon the stage,

And then is heard no more. It is a tale

Told by an idiot, full of sound and fury,

Signifying nothing.

Am i right with God this day? Do i spend the time with Him daily seeking out His kingdom instead of mine. I'd like to say yes everyday, but i'm working on it. Thank God for His gentle reminders every now and again.

the rain it rains

2009-11-07T16:26:00.003Z

i really should be concentrating on my assignment just at this moment. watching "the tenant of wildfell hall" will be the highlight of my sedate day.

just counting the days when i can have some fresh loh mee again in all its starchy gastronomic glory.

hEAR me now

2009-11-02T21:09:00.004Z

So there I was sitting in a ward meeting when I idly glance around the room a spot a young doctor with the smallest pair of ears I'll ever see. it was so disproportionate to his face! these small child-like ears were perfectly shaped and normal but just so small! Those incredibly tiny ears were so fascinating, I wonder if he hears the same as other normal human beings. its just not right to have such tiny ears.

On the other hand, the doctor beside him had these big ears but proportionate to his face because he had a big face. Reminds me of the BFG illustrated by quentin blake actually, wrinkly big smiley face with big ears.

anyway........... did you ever read a more frivolous post!

it pains

2009-10-31T14:25:00.004Z

i spent the entire morning and afternoon on chores! shopping, cooking, cleaning, laundry and tidying up. thats my entire saturday morning gone.

this is awful. i'm not cut out for domesticated life. absolutely not. i'd be knackered everyday.

my mom is a superwoman. she has to be.

its pink and its free.

2009-10-27T18:39:00.003Z

I absolutely love freebies! Especially if its a book! How awesome is that? Its not by any famous author , but hey its a free book. Its called "The Good Bride Guide" by Matt Dunn. Looks like another lightweight happy feely book that leaves you feeling like you've just read 400 pages of words without any substance but its FREE.

On another note, there's this man on the bus everyday who looks exactly, a spitting image of, Bill Nighy that actor from Love Actually. Never a more similar face. Anyway, I take the bus to work everyday in case you were wondering what I was doing a bus every single day.

cough cough ptui

2009-10-13T20:47:00.003+01:00

sputum sputum sputum. my life currently centres around sputum.

weighing sputum, smelling sputum, swirling sputum, blood in sputum, testing sputum.

pretending to be immensely interested when clinical educator talks about sputum when really my inner person is tearing its non-existential hair out.

i suppose it could be worse. i could be working on an incontinence ward.

then what would i do. probably die of urine poisoning.

thank the good Lord that less than 3 weeks remain of this placement and praise Him for continuous favour from everyone.

2009-10-09T18:51:00.002+01:00

hmmm there is an open house in manchester this sunday. free malaysian food! but its being hosted by kumpulan umno salford. so i have to decide, skip on the basis of principle or attend and eat free food. my opportunistic side says "go! got satay!" but my principled side says "who wants to eat their food its tainted."

decisions decisions.

restrain

2009-10-05T19:28:00.002+01:00

i am in the worst temper i've ever been in years. honestly i cannot remember the last time i violently desired to throw a tantrum. i arrived home THREE hours after i finished work. THREE bloody hours!! and why you ask? well, its all due to the bloody strike these bus drivers are on every monday. these lazy ang mohs and their strikes, these are recession times! what raise do you want!

i swore in my head so much i think i have to pray the Lord's prayer 5 times and eat the Lord's supper another 5 times.

maybe more.

spoof

2009-10-03T17:58:00.002+01:00

ha ha ha. i still laugh at this although I've watched it more than 3 times. A French and Saunders parody of britney and madonna. Also love their parodies of Mamma Mia and Abba.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PD0rbiePhBc

define...job?

2009-10-02T22:37:00.006+01:00

a degree in world history or cultural/archeological anthropology appeals very much to my interests. do i hear double degree/ second course calling? hmm, maybe after earning some of my own dosh for a few years. besides, i fancy a course in history in a more exotic and hot climate. maybe spain! you never know.

back to work!

:)

2009-09-29T20:54:00.003+01:00

you just can't buy favour from people. not with charm, not with money. maybe once in a while if you have connexions, but mostly you just can't. you just rely on God to grant you favour. And favour plus grace gets you everywhere in this world. It also takes away the pressure to kiss your superior/educator's ass whenever you can. So I am happily under God's grace. Tis going to be a good next 6 weeks.

i subscribe to positivism

2009-09-26T15:14:00.007+01:00

i hear the internal clock inevitably ticking away, the one associated with deadlines & responsibilities. shed the old skin, put on the new. dispense with the attitude that tears down, rather adopt the personality that is driven.

being antisocial is one of the ways to survive final year. relying on God is the other far more important one. He is my refuge & my wisdom. i will survive!

metaphores

2009-09-19T11:04:00.004+01:00

The end of holidays always invokes a "death-row" state of mind.

There is an eternal black hole in my stomach, as Obelix would say, "I have an empty hole, right here". hence, the constant craving for food.

Then there is that frantic re-reading of favourite children storybooks like Malory Towers, Tintin etc.

Not forgetting lolling around in bed on a nice rainy day.

Its a wonder I'm not the size of a hippo yet, but its getting there. Hence some good in going back to a self-inflicted pauper lifestyle students love to adopt eh.

Yet I have plenty to give thanks for this summer holidays. I have made the most of it and have been mightily blessed. Work, fellowship, outings, food, lolling around, children's stories...loved it all.

May the wheels of time move at a torturous slow pace! Just for these 2 days!

the wailing wall

2009-09-16T08:30:00.003+01:00

The calendar sitting on the wall yells the 16th, less than a week till I go back to cold rainy days, massaging fat backs, smelling rank feet and completing pointless assignments. YAY! never mind, that much closer to graduation eh.

old school the christian way

2009-09-06T11:57:00.003+01:00

am the happiest camper in the world. found most of Hosanna music on youtube. hoooooray!

gasp

2009-08-26T15:30:00.002+01:00

only 3 weeks left of glorious lazy days, good food and church every weekend!! woe betide. i must live! live! live!

time & space curvatures

2009-08-13T15:43:00.003+01:00

i would contentedly be caught in a time loop these days. like in Groundhog day when Bill Murray constantly wakes up to "I got you babe" by Sunny and Cher.

i throw stones at mid-september in hopes it runs away from me.

ooh, though completely digressing, i must get my beach chair out on the balcony midnight tomorrow and watch those Perseid meteor showers. i must!

2009-08-06T14:25:00.002+01:00

the challenge. i like it. the challenge of having to engage non-engageable(?) kids. the challenge of controlling uncontrollable monyets. but its all oh-so-worth it, to see their sweet, impish smiles and those bambi eyes. yeah, volunteer work is good. plus i get to sneak the odd junk snack or two.

valuable goop

2009-07-26T14:23:00.005+01:00

i sneezed snot that resembles Snoopy the dog. i wonder how much it'll be worth on Ebay.

dire straits

2009-07-19T15:05:00.003+01:00

i'm out blog-stalking people. very unnecessary on a Sunday evening when there are plenty of programmes on the TV. need to get my priorities right!

2009-07-17T08:00:00.003+01:00

The joy contained in the process of arranging every single item in precise order is inexplicable. It might be said that I have an overactive basal ganglia.

2009-07-10T15:39:00.003+01:00

women! irrational and illogical! thundering typhoons.

L'amour est bleu

2009-06-28T12:12:00.002+01:00

"Love is Blue". a favourite.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nD4ib9-laGY

2009-06-24T12:20:00.003+01:00

i love being back home. the familiar smells and sounds of Penang lull me to sleep and in the same way wake me up in the morning. aye, its humid that is true but even the sweat is enjoyable at the moment.

hee hee! woop woop. I am home!

impish

2009-06-16T22:29:00.004+01:00

Amelie is brilliant. Its typically French in all its quirkiness and whimsies. I am 8years late in watching this movie but no matter. Twas 2hours well spent.

Oh Don Juan Demarco was very enjoyable too. Quite whimsy and fanciful as well.

And yes, changed the whole blog look thing. I'm feeling sunny and colourful today. Mayn't last.

sniff

2009-06-12T11:06:00.006+01:00

Twas a strange morning today. En route to Uni to hand in the last of my assignments (woop woop), the sun was shining golden and sky as blue as Paul Newman's eyes. Caught a whiff of fresh air and suddenly it seemed like I was home in Penang. So vivid it was that I was disoriented for a moment, I could have sworn (but i don't swear) I smelt Georgetown in all its exhaust fumes and coffee shop fried oil smells.

Merely an acute longing to go home I hear you say. Nay. I have proof it is explained by science.

Scientists believe they have discovered how a waft of perfume or the strains of a familiar melody can evoke a vivid memory.

A study has located the precise region of the brain that appears to be responsible for connecting an everyday sensation with something that has happened in the past. The area, the CA3 region of the brain's hippocampus, plays a critical role in the formation of memories that can stay with a person for life.

Researchers led by Dan Johnston, a professor of neuroscience at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, Texas, said the CA3 region was essential for a phenomenon known as "pattern completion". He said: "That is the ability to recall memories from partial representations of the original." The CA3 region may be the part of the brain that initially captures a memory and prepares it for long-term storage. This may explain why people with a damaged hippocampus can remember events that occurred years ago but not what happened yesterday.

The study was based on an experiment in which mice were trained to escape from a maze using a set of visual clues. Genetically engineered mice that lacked a specific protein in the CA3 region could not remember how to get out of the maze when some of the clues had been removed.

Being able to recall the details of a memory from partial clues is thought to explain why humans can become sentimental over a song or a smell.

So you see, I am no sentimental fool. Twas my hippocampus playing tricks on me.

dearth

2009-06-09T14:21:00.006+01:00

there is a dearth of motivation. a dearth of excitement. a dearth of tender loving care. a surplus of stress, frustration & injustice reigneth for another week or so! Oh no! no! no! no!

so melodramatic.

2009-06-05T22:55:00.002+01:00

"The pina colada song", my favourite chill-out song.

the short of it

2009-06-03T16:57:00.004+01:00

Could this week drag any longer? well, i exaggerate it is actually flying by. last week of placement woop woop! then its wrapping up assignments, kill off a presentation then home! where the sun shines relentlessly and it rains earnestly. Praise Adonai for a truly blessed year..what a year it was! and its not over yet(i'm speaking in terms of academic year).

- had great friends to help me enjoy the exam/study process. and got a good housemate too.

- had an amazing not-so-ordinary christmas at Johnny's

- got 2 great placements with great grades and great educators

- went to Cote D'Azur, met the extended family and had an unbelievably good time.

- flying back home for more adventures and CHURCH soon. i miss the B.O.G. ambience!

its been GREAT. i couldn't have had a better 2nd year if i purposefully planned it. I've met some weird and wonderful people. God is good. HE is indeed.

whinge!

2009-05-31T15:54:00.002+01:00

I really would love to be in either of these places right now.

promenade des anglais

maybe i'd prefer the ramshackle houses to a beautiful blue sea.

futile ponderings attributed to sheer procrastination

2009-05-24T17:05:00.015+01:00

I don't understand how years of narrating nature documentaries, the most famous ones include BBC Planet Earth and Blue Planet, still has not convinced David Attenborough that Darwinism is a load of baloney written by a man stuck aboard the Beagle for far too long. A man undoubtedly clever, but sadly deluded. Attenborough is an extremely clever man with a really nice deep soothing voice i might add (i have a penchant for soothing tones), but for him not to realise the wonders & complexities of nature created by Elohim, is sheer stupidity. And to dismiss it all based on natural selection is idiotic.

Plus now that they've found that fossil, they're saying I'm descended from a freaking lemur. As Captain Haddock would say, "Billions of bilious blue blistering barnacles!"

Pity, because i really do admire the man. But, it doesn't detract from the fact that BBC planet earth is the best documentary ever made..bestest! Has everything you need to know about the earth. Thus ends my avoidance of work, I am resolved to get back to it. Now.

circus

2009-05-19T17:42:00.004+01:00

i am heartily tired of being a performing monkey!

angst

2009-05-11T21:22:00.002+01:00

the time is ripe to head back to Penang when the mind starts planning what food to eat and what songs to play in church. its high time! alas...

allegorical ties & strings

2009-05-08T22:05:00.010+01:00

I am missing proper family sit downs, church get togethers and overall fellowship with like-minded people. One of the reasons I absolutely loathed leaving France was not the Mediterranean scenes, not the remarkably fine-looking people in their remarkably well-tailored outfits nor the frequent gustating of gelato(i never knew ice-cream had so many flava flavs).

None of the above though I would be very content living in that kind of environment instead of putting up with the potty-mouthed English. I don't dislike the English, I really don't. But they are the most boring population in all of Europe, however interesting their history is. They are dull in nature, behave like sheep & think like preprogrammed robots. And they're unforgivably bland-looking. I do like rural English villages with their afternoon teas, scones and jams. But! I digress.

I loved France for la famille, incomprehensible they may be due to the language barrier but feeling comfortable nonetheless amongst people of like mind. Makes you realise how fabulous the chinese are, with all their traditional ideas and daily practice.

I'm just rambling on a Friday night, knowing that summer hols and home is not too far away now. Thank GOD!

2009-04-29T21:30:00.001+01:00

the joy of Adonai is my strength, my fortress and my song!

i've a lot to be thankful for this year. Adonai has been amazingly gracious and faithful. Its incredible to just sit back and look at how everything has just fallen into place. Indeed, Thy Word is lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path!

from now till june

2009-04-26T12:19:00.004+01:00

another six weeks of 8am-5pm hours stuck in a small stuffy room. hoorah! Here's to praying that neuro will be relatively easy although it does sound it would challenge my weaknesses.

Qualities needed:

-patience. (Uh oh)

-observation of subtle details. (SIGH)

-upper body strength. (mmm...?)

topping it off is the possibility of being verbally and physically (slight chance) abused by brain injured people.

But no, my optimistic and faith-filled part just bitch-slapped my pessimistic side. am now looking forward to the next six weeks. :)

2009-04-24T19:39:00.003+01:00

it actually takes me an hour to get settled into work properly. thats 3600seconds wasted.

interesting fact:

China invented - gunpowder, compass, paper, printing, porcelain, fork, collapsible umbrella, TOILET PAPER and more. i'd say that was the greatest invention, where would we be without toilet paper?

au revoir

2009-04-19T21:39:00.010+01:00

I have descended back into the grind, back from southern France. it was the best holiday i could ever ever dream of! in 2 weeks i've seen Nice, Grasse, Toulon, Marseille, Monaco, Antibes, Cannes, St Tropez, Mandelieu, St Jean Cap-Ferrat, San Remo and Vence St Paul! i will say Nice and Grasse are my favourite places. People there are so good-looking not bloomin bland and featureless like the English.

Also caught a glimpse of celebrity tennis players at the Monte Carlo Rolex Masters like Nadal and Djokovic and Murray( heh, note the name dropping). Took a dip in the freezing Mediterranean sea in Mandelieu too and saw the most expensive mansions in St Jean Cap Ferrat.

I love la famile there, absolutely lovely people. hoping to go back during summer maybe. :) i miss France already. Praise God for a fantastic holiday.

Monaco and its white yachts

a view of Nice

perfume garden in Grasse

Nice!

2009-04-02T20:47:00.002+01:00

praise Adonai for immense blessings and immense favours. this was the best 6 weeks of placement i could ever hope for and now i fly off to the Republique Francaise! His grace is never ending. fandabbydosey!

must remember to get some work done though, 2 weeks of the sun, sea and food is probably not good for keeping the mind sharp.

living in a square box

2009-03-29T22:55:00.003+01:00

i have become a boring, systematic, organised task monkey who gets a certain degree of satisfaction from paperwork. hmm!

2009-03-22T19:05:00.003Z

"It is a truth universally acknowledged that a single man in possession of a good fortune must be in want of a wife".

the first line of Pride & Prejudice.

Jane Austen's acute observation was true in 1797, it holds true still. :)

in the words of Shaul

2009-03-22T18:16:00.003Z

Philippians chapter two verse five to eleven:

"Your attitude should be the same as that of Yeshua:

6. Who, being in the very form of God,

did not consider equality with God something to be grasped

7. But made Himself nothing,taking the very form of a servant,

being made in human likeness

8. And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself

and became obedient to death

even death on a cross!

9. Therefore, Adonai exalted Him to the highest place

and gave Him the name that is above every name

10. That in the name of Yeshua every knee should bow,

in heaven & on earth & under the earth

11. and every tongue confess that Yeshua HaMaschiach is Lord

to the glory of Elohim our Abba Father".

Nice, French-style.

2009-03-12T19:55:00.002Z

just this picture is enough to motivate me to make it through the next 2 weeks!

crescendo! crescendo!

2009-03-07T16:13:00.004Z

dramatic mozart symphonies with its frenzied violins and chaotic undertones compliments a dramatic jane austen book- Persuasion.

i might add it is also storming outside. an utmost dramatic scene indeed.

2009-02-22T16:55:00.001Z

i got me a penny whistle! ceol 's craic!

Sin sin, nil aon sceal eile agam.

robert louis stevenson's mister hyde

2009-02-21T22:10:00.007Z

people annoy me.

how will I survive the clinical world?

it is an open secret that physios possess the ability to kill via manual techniques.

patients best stay on my pleasant side.

the next 4 months will tell.

hyde

jekyll

2009-02-07T20:48:00.003Z

my wishlist:

Chuck King- Highways to Zion.

Chuck king is to messianic music as James Brown is to funk!

smile.

2009-01-31T21:16:00.004Z

The little things in life, the ones that can push you over the edge or make you dance and sing for joy. What are they to the Almighty One?

Leave everything to the dependable hands of HaShem! He is indeed amazing! He directs my path, so far ahead its only in hindsight that I am able to observe the miracle . Trust God with the gargantuan matters, for He also takes care of the seemingly inconspicuous little things that make up our day. Praise Yah.

Cote d'Azur

2009-01-23T18:21:00.003Z

flight to Nice booked! 2 weeks of bliss, sunshine and blue sea by the French Riviera in April. Genoa and Pisa may also be awaiting in the wings, potentially ready to be visited by me! *do the funky dance*

and now, to spend some quality time with myself. time to ply myself with books and go out on self-exploration of manchester.

who's blessed? I'm blessed! *mexican wave*

in retrospect......

2009-01-20T20:33:00.004Z

the stupid things students(well to be honest, me) say in practical exams

question: what general safety issues are there to watch out when getting patient to relax against wall to relieve breathlessness?

answer: err, unsafe walls? *doink*

question: *yadayadayadayada* and explain the signs.

answer: har? sorry, i wasn't listening. too many jumbled thoughts.

In midst of explaining relaxed breathing to patient, "So i want to throw away all your thoughts and focus on gentle breathing. Just throw away all anxious thoughts."

Yes, throw away your thoughts, they're all rubbish anyway.

ha. another day then its liberty liberty sweet liberty!

you know its exam season when...

2009-01-18T23:45:00.004Z

you have

neck pains- blame the unergonomic tables.

backaches

hunger pangs

muscle spasms

horrifically messy room- oh for shame!

a mountainous pile of laundry

and you feel neither dead nor fully alive till its over.

thursday cannot come sooner. it is but 4 days away.

heisa hop sa-sa!

2009-01-14T13:08:00.003Z

Der Vogelfanger bin ich ya!

exams have driven me to the brink of insanity. searching for comic operas by Mozart and have finished Die Zauberflote and on to Le Nozze di Figaro. and was never happier.

am insane in the membrane. next- Cosi fan tutte?

2009-01-09T22:45:00.001Z

Such a wonder
Ordering time and tide
Such a wonder
Bridging the great divide
I consider all that you had, all you gave
And all that you endured
From this rebel world
What a wondrous cross you chose to bear
What a wonder you would even care

LET ALL CREATION SING IN WONDER
EVERY SEA, EVERY CREATURE, EVERY STAR
YOU OPENED UP MY EYES TO WONDER
WHAT A VISION, WHAT A WONDER YOU ARE -newsboys-

poetry or the attempt of it

2009-01-07T19:43:00.004Z

the end is nearing, i can see the golden ribbon

the neck is aching, i can feel the knotty tension

the sun will come up tomorrow, to be sure of it

i press on, spurred on by the divine Hand,

never mind the annoying gits

the work is almost done,

the blood, sweat and tears poured out

He helps me, He lifts me up,

He strengthens my hand to give me great clout.

only another week or so, then its sweet and joyous liberty

i wait in anticipation for an interesting after-exam story.

rhyme me a limerick

2009-01-03T14:54:00.004Z

i love rhymes & limericks.

Mary had a row boat the row boat had a bell
Mary went to heaven the row boat went to
Hello operator give me #9
if you disconnect me I'll kick you from
behind the 'frigerator there was a piece of glass
Mary sat upon it and cut her big fat
ask me no more questions
tell me no more lies
the cow jumped over the moon
and left two chocolate pudding pies

limericks
A mosquito was heard to complain,
'A chemist has poisoned my brain!'
The cause of his sorrow was
paradichloro-triphenyldichloroethane.

http://www.beachnet.com/~jeanettem/chants.html#MARY

christmas christmas!

2008-12-29T14:09:00.007Z

So the christmas holidays were pretty darn awesome. Johnny's place in ramsdell is always good fun. With 25 other people from various countries, we played dijoridoo, sang by the fire, danced the night away, sang christmas carols (badly but nobody cared), had a classic christmas banquet, went for long muddy walks by lakes, attended service in a quaint jane austen-type church and ate too much good food.
am refreshed from the 5 days of fun, its time to crack the whip and start studying. in earnest!

o shout for joy

2008-12-19T10:09:00.003Z

its the holidays!
i've plenty of things to be grateful for this year. favour of God has been mighty in my life and i haven't been a tad miserable at all this 2nd year in university.
true, the work has been aplenty and free time has been few and far between, but the company's been great and the health's been amazing.
met new people, saw new things, done the runs, ate the same old food but loved it all. Praise God for all the blessings this year & the year to come!! woohoo...

London..wait for me!

that feelingalingaling

2008-12-12T11:58:00.004Z

what is this feeling? being all knotted up inside, butterflies in the belly?
possessing all this nervous energy and not being able to concentrate at the task at hand. yearning for that teasing sweet smell and hardly able to contain the excitement of being in the same room as "it" again.
unable to sit still and you find your mind wandering to the most interesting subject. "it."
waiting impatiently for the hour when i'll be able to quench the desire for it again.

oh bak kut teh. you make me giddy.

marathons

2008-12-09T17:29:00.003Z

10km race by the 4th of jan! hoohaa. i must say, this is shaping up to be fittest i've ever been in 20years. pilates class and 7km run achieved in half an hour today without too much overexertion. well done me!! *pats on back*
its true when they say you can get addicted to exercise, although i'm not. Not yet.

another weekend. can't wait for the next.

2008-12-06T08:35:00.005Z

hopefully this weekend will rejuvenate the creative juices and get the little grey cells multiplying again. handy little diversions like the housewarming party and charity run may, just may, stifle the urge to throw a tantrum/fit in the middle of class.

on a side note, i've become very organised in my notes (this will undoubtedly frighten C.C.) but yes i have become the queen of neatness. not so in my room though, unfortunately still looks like a refuge camp for clothes & plastic bags.

proof of a boring, nerdy life is having to blog about mundane activities just because you've nothing else to blog about.

elementary, my dear

2008-12-02T08:38:00.005Z

she'll be around for youth camp 2008. she will. be it hijacking a private jet or hotballooning it across the oceans.

its a little early for snow in industrial manchester, but there u go. watching white-topped cars crawl by.