How to say?

Have you ever been wanting to say something to someone very special for sooooo long already.. But you never could or never know how to? It's so frustrating sigh........ Just wanted to say at least a "Thank you".. but it's so hard!

Memories

Beware: if you're searching for uplifting inspiration, this post is definitely not it.And I apologise firsthand for pouring these uncheerful posts. I just find that writing is one of the best ways for me to pour out my feelings. And what's a better way than to post to the somehow anonymous world wide web.

It's been 3 days now since I heard of the news. I've got a midsem on Friday but seriously just cannot study properly. Mum and bro's in indo. The house's so quiet. And I don't particularly wanna study alone during these times. So library is where I reside, but each day instead of studying properly my mind just end up blurring into the reasons on why and how it might have happened.

I also started to think about the past. How when me, my sis, and bro were younger, we used to visit my cousin's family. We'd be so happy cos it means that it would be lots of fun times. One fond memory was when we used to pretend we were Power Rangers. My sister and my cousin's sister, got to choose who they want to be first. My sister was the pink one (Kimberley) and my cousin's sister was the Yellow Power Ranger. My bro was the blue, and my cousin chose the Red one. Since I was the youngest, I was left to become the Black power ranger. I used to complain, but now I think about it, it's still pretty cool!

Another memory was when all 5 of us were watching some men playing billiard (pool). I was so young then and I was so captivated by the game, I didn't realise my sister, bro, and my 2 cousins left me alone and hid behind a bush. Apparently they saw a crazy woman coming near and they quickly hide, leaving me behind. Suddenly the crazy woman (I didn't know she was crazy) talked to me: "Aunty kiss you okay??" And she bent down and kissed me. Then all 4 of them laughed from behind the bushes. I was like: grrhhhhh u guys r so mean!!! Later on my uncle and aunty laughed after hearing the story and told me to wash my cheek.

Lots of other memories.. of those fun times.. Then we grew up, my family moved to Australia, so the last time I met him would be about 7 or 8 years ago. It's so sad that now we will never have a chance to meet him and catch up.

Today, me and my sister looked through some blogs and threads posted in memory of my cousin by his friends. There was this blog post from his med friend. Reading about it made me so proud, because the stuff that makes me respect him is not just in my mind, but that friend and lots others think the same way too. Tomorrow would be his burial. Let's hope that everyone can finally let go.. It may have been the closing of one's chapter, but there's still new pages to be filled by the rest of us.

Up and down

Things were going really good until..................................... Sunday morning.
Heard the news that my cousin passed away. Just cannot believe it. He is so young. The boy everyone's proud of. He graduated to be a doctor, had a big dream of specializing in Cardiology and paved out his plans (to study PhD and to become a fellow professor in Paris). He was inspired to be a cardiologist after my grandpa passed away cos of stroke. He was known as the caring, loving, mature brother. His younger brother love him so much. He didn't waste his parents money even though they were rich. He strives to achieve not by money or his parent's power, but by his own abilities (even though these days anything can be gained via money esp in Indo). He invented a device that's affordable for the poorer people to diagnose cancer early and was sent by the university to give a talk in Netherlands about it. He was an awesome drummer in his band. He was known among his lecturers. Anyone who knew him in person would be proud to even be an acquaintance. But the Lord has His ways. All things come to an end, and sadly he was called back home. It saddens me so much to think about the childhood memories and all the respect I have for him. Can't believe that he was gone so soon. I don't know what to say to my uncle, aunt, and everyone involved. I wish I could be there and just hug them, cos that's all I can do. It hurts. It hurts so bad in my heart, but I'm only his cousin, imagine the tremendous pain that his parents, siblings, and my grandma must be experiencing. It hurts me even more if I try imagining that. Soon enough I will have to let go. But it's harder when we don't know the reason of his death.And no, I don't believe the newspapers. It can't be. We know him better than the journalists do.

Hore!! (hurrayyy!)

Before the week break, we had 3 midsems, I studied so much for Antimicrobial Chemotherpies cos it was a hard unit and I really was not confident. Come the night before the exam, I found out that it was only worth 15%! Eek!! Should've studied more on Biochemical Pharmacolog which is worth 30%! By the time I had to study for BP, for some reason I lost all the motivation to study. I was stressing so much cos of the fact that I couldn't study!! So pissed at myself too! On the 2nd day, I gained some composure and started studying very slowly with lots of procrastination. On the last night, I fully cannot study. Shawn told me to at least study the ones I know will come up on the exam. I knew the lecturer said METHOTREXATE is definitely going to be in long answer part, but still I could not study and I just gave up! I cried and went to sleep cos I know it was useless to stay up longer.
Did the exam. And guess what? No METHOTREXATE question! Instead, the lecturer put this ~10 marks question on antihistamines, which I knew really well cos I use antihistamines on a regular basis! xD So I put my 2 favourite antihistamines in (Loratidine and Fexofenadine) as the examples. I knew the side effects cos they always make me sleepy and apparently dry mouth (which I don't experience). I take them once a day so the half life must be about 12 hours. And I fully guessed the rest of the columns. Finished the exam. Talked to some people, told them that I probably failed. Went home and tried to forget about it.

Today, the results came out! AND I PASSED :D Thank You Lord!

PS: the lecturer told us the next week after the exam that the Unit Coordinator changed the METHOTREXATE question into antihistamines last minute (2 days before the exam date) cos she thought the MCQ could give us hints on the answer. How "lucky" is that for me?? xD

More observations about difficulities in life

Continuing from the previous post, a conversation with Shawn made me realise that difficulities really do make us strong. How did I come up to this conclusion? Well, I was telling Shawn about someone really inspiring (I forgot who we were talking about haha) and Shawn asked: "Did he/she have a tragic story?" then I said, "No, why must everyone inspiring have a tragic story??" Shawn replied: "Well, probably cos they've been through the worst and so they become hard working and inspiring and stuff.."


Hmmm.... that is so true! Some examples are powerful people like:
1) Steve Jobs, the founder of Apple who was adopted but he became the man who created new items that noone imagined before

2) Oprah Winfrey was "a victim of sexual abuse" when she was 14 (Wikipedia) and now she's one of the richest, most influential women in the world

3) Michael Jackson, Nicki Minaj, Eminem, and lots others all had troubled childhood but channeled their energy into music, some writing songs about their past.
4) Mother Teresa lived in a poor ridden country with dying people around her. She then started taking care of them, even if they were dying because she reckoned that ""Being unwanted, unloved, uncared for, forgotten by everybody, I think that is a much greater hunger, a much greater poverty than the person who has nothing to eat."

Now, did their difficulities prevent them from living?? No way, instead of being hopelessly sad in their unfortunate lives, they go on with more drive than most of us who have "easy" lives compared to them. They fight against all odds in reaching their dreams, whilst inspiring others. So if you have a hard life.... Don't despair! You could be the next person in the list of TIME 100 Most Influential People :D

Problems = what you need

Sometimes in life we want so many things.. But instead we get problems coming our way. I found the perfect answer to this dilemma that I wanna share with everyone:


I asked for strength, and God gave me difficulties to make me strong.
I asked for wisdom, and God gave me problems to solve.
I asked for prosperity, and God gave me brain and brawn to work.
I asked for courage, and God gave me obstacles to overcome.
I asked for love, and God gave me troubled people to help.
I asked for favors, and God gave me opportunities.
I received nothing I wanted, but I received everything I needed. 
(by Pdt. Timur Citra Sari, told by Ci Devina)


I reckon it's so true..... When you get problems, it could actually be a way to get what you wanted and needed. Hope you found your answer just as I did today :)

let the music play 'cos I love it that way!

These are the songs I love to play during different moods!
             Mood                      Song            

Boo-yeah! I can face anything!!! Nicki Minaj - Superbass

I need some strength :(  Casting Crowns - Praise You in This Storm

Sad (absolute fave song atm!) Demi Lovato - Skyscraper

Feeling for some T.O.P  Big Bang - I Hate This Love Song

Lovey-dovey  Nicki Minaj - Your Love

Serene  Coldplay - Christmas Lights

What's yours?

PERSISTENCE. PERSEVERANCE.

Those would be my mum's favourite words (she was even more delighted when Obama said the same words in his speech). Probably pretty good ones to be the favourites. During busy weeks like these days, I feel like those two words are more difficult to act on than to speak. Thoughts such as "you don't belong in Pharmacy" or "You're not smart enough!" or "Should've moved to nursing in first year!" just constantly run in my mind (just like the monkey in Homer Simpson's brain).

  

Nevertheless, it's too late to change courses now anyway, so it's probably best to just give it the best try! The picture of the pharmacy below now stands in my desktop background (in the hope to inspire me to study so that in the future I might own that pretty pharmacy haha).


All the best everyone in anything that's currently challenging you! 

"Perseverance is the hard work you do after you get tired of doing the hard work you already did."  Newt Gingrich

Not an argument, more like an observation and an opinion

These days, I several times see articles as well as an "Insight" program on "Should Ethics class be added to the school curriculum for the kids who are not doing RE?" Some parents demand their children's school to do this. However, it makes me think, why did those parents send their kids to these religious schools anyway? I mean, the founder of the school must have had a vision on why he/she made the school, and maybe it is to provide a school environment where children of the same religion can learn both general education as well as more about their religion. However, it is the parents choice to enrol the kids or not, and when the kids grow up, it will be the kids choice to believe it or not anyway. Parents have lots of school choices, so why send the kid there if they don't agree to the RE classes?

Another thing I've been thinking about is, some people say "Wars are caused by religion. If there were no religion, there would be no wars." Hm............. What do you guys think? I understand religion has been used numerous times as excuses for wars, but is it really because of religion? I think it's more like because it is our human nature to be competitive and to try "correct" others the way we want them to be. Wars are also started because of greed and hunger for power. For example, World War I and II, some of the biggest wars in the history of the world. Were they caused by religion? I don't think so.

What do you think?

An Awesome Award :D

This award was kindly offered by my coolest fellow blogger ACHINK. Apparently, there are several stuff one needs to do when given this award! Unfortunately, it's in indo, so i'll just have to translate them into English LOL.

Translated from Achink's blog:

1) The tagged person must also post 10 things about themselves

2) Must pick 5 people to tag

3) Must visit their blog and notify them that they have been tagged

4) Don't tag back (don't tag) the person who posted the award to you 

Happy posting!

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10 things about me!

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1) I really LOVE art. I love drawing, decorating, rearranging, colouring.. you name it! Choosing Pharmacy meant abandoning the dream of becoming an interior architect. But I didn't regret doing that cos I know that I can always have art as a hobby :) Even when I cook, I don't really have passion in it or anything, I just love garnishing, decorating, and arranging the food afterwards teehee


2) I'm a self confessed NARUTARD. I don't know if that's the right word for naruto fans, but a friend calls me a fellow narutard so~ Anyways, I highly recommend this anime, u guys should ALL watch naruto hohoho.. it's so inspiring, funny, and kool!


3) I'm also a tryhard. In everything I do, especially the things I'm not very good at, I really try hard.. Even if it means getting overly stressed (not sure if that's good or not haha)


4) I often think deep, sometimes too deep to the point that things start to become negative (read: I can often be a pessimist). I'm so thankful though, that I am surrounded by people who are light hearted, easy going, don't think stuff too deep, and helps me to see the bright outlook in everything :)


5) I sometimes consider being a psychologist. Why? I actually don't really know lol. It was never my dream job, but somehow I feel like I "might" be good at it. Maybe. Starting from end of high school until now, I've had 4 friends who opened up to me about some issues. And I've always felt that I want to listen, I want to help. But then I guess, you don't need to be a psychologist to help. And during uni, a number of friends started telling me their problems and asking for my advice about relationship, life, etc etc.. So I was like, hm.... And then, at the end of last year, a friend was having a get together before she left to Indo for good, and we asked her to tell each one of us a short message. And when it was my turn, she told me that I should study Master in Pscyhology after I'm done with Bachelor of Pharmacy, and another friend agreed to that. So in my mind I was like "what the................." haha! cos I was thinking about it wayy before she said that.. but anyway, I don't think I will at the moment....


oh crap, I just realised I need to write 10. Woopsie, wrote too much on the first 5 xD


6) I LOVE chewy food! e.g udon noodles, korean rice cakes, cilok, gnocchi, mochi, klepon, and many more.....


7) I have a favourite lecturer. Does anyone else have one? I feel so nerdy now LOL.. My favourite lecturer/tutor is ANDREW MCWILLIAM. He is the best :) Why? His jokes are funny and he gives hints on what will come up in the exams hehe


8) I'm very shy around new people. 


9) I don't say "typo", instead I say "spello"


10) My favourite cereals are Cheerios and Milo DUO *
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This prestigious award is now given to....
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1) Cass
2) Hanna
3) Emil
4) Rosalind
5) Kelvin
Have fun guys! :D 

Pandan Pancakes Part II

I made these a while ago, but keep forgetting to post it. I decided to try and put drawings on the pandan pancakes, and this is how it turned out! A lot of them are a bit burned though haha..

First Attempt

Second Attempt using Egg Rings, but didn't really like the texture

Going to bring these to PPR today! :D

New semester, new job!

Today was my 2nd day on my new job at the pharmacy (praising God for the new job!). I quite like this pharmacy because the owners and workers are nice, and the pharmacist allowed me to make Upton's Paste today! :D For those who don't know, this is a really thick cream that contains ingredients to get rid of warts.It was so hard cos the paste was so sticky and I had to triturate it using metal spatulas (the spatulas are the same as the one chefs use to work with melted chocolate btw hehe). At the end of it, my wrists ache so bad! But you know the saddest thing?? I had to use this ANCIENT scales to weigh out the ingredients(see picture below)!! It was so hard to use, and I had to use measured weight on one side, and then weight the powders on the other side. It was funny though cos they only had 0.1g and 0.2g so I couldn't measure the 0.5g properly. The pharmacist told me to just add a lil bit extra. So, unlike the scales we used at uni (accurate to 3 decimal points), I'm measuring using this probably not very accurate scales! Ancient too! Did I tell you, one of the weights are still in "ounce"??

So anyways, even though it was sad to leave the previous pharmacy behind, this pharmacy is better in a lot of ways. New owners, new customers, new company and new stuff to learn.I'm thankful for the previous pharmacy to teach me about a lot of things though, otherwise I'd be the clueless one in this pharmacy! Currently I'm still on a 2 months probation, so we'll see in 2 months if I'll be working there permanently or not :)

Pandan Pancake :)

Today, I made some Pandan Pancakes! I've been craving something pandan these days and I thought, well why not pancake? it's so easy to make, just add pandan flavouring? And this is how it turned out:

The taste reminds me of the street vendors who sell the cakes shown below outside my primary school. Not as good offcourse! xD After school I would visit these vendors and get all these yummy snacks! Sadly, we don't have street vendors in Australia, but it's okay, will get some the next time I go Indo teehee.

Random post: HARDCORE STUDY SESSION

Let me tell you about a story that I experienced last year at Curtin Library.
I was studying one day on one of the computers in library when this guy arrived and sat on the comp next to me. He took out a packet of skittles and took out his files and stationery. I was thingking: wow, this guy is gonna have a hardcore study sesh! (can tell from the sugar supply). And then I look at his screen a couple of minutes later to see what he's studying on , and guess what, he's watching anime.-.- oh rite.....

New post coming up :)

Hi all! Hope you've been having a pretty decent week.. (considering that most of us are busy with exams,etc).
I've just thought of something that just fluttered in my mind, but I've only written the really rough post.. I'll continue editing it after the exams done and over with.. Sometimes, I'm kinda a perfectionist, don't wanna put out something unedited haha.. Better wait a bit longer and post a carefully thought piece of writing.
So for now, study hard if ure having exams!! And I'll share the post soon! :D

Pippa and Shaki says hi!

Too Cute!

that time of the year again...

Good evening (or morning or afternoon depending on when this post is read) 
ladies and gentlemen!


How have your days been? Hopefully it's been good or okay..
Mine has been pretty busy.. Mostly with studying for the finals! Can't believe it's that time of the year again.. But at least I've only got 4 more of this to go.. after that it's holidays! :D
Always remember to motivate yourself peeps.. Remind yourself on why you're studying/working :) Will post more stuff probably after the exams done and over with..


Meanwhile, I'd like to share with you this song, which was so inspirational for me. One reason is because it reminds me that we are not living in this world on our own, there are others that we also need to care about. Hope it brings a blessing to you :)

The World Wide Web

Hello readers! Happy Mother's day and happy Sunday to you all!

The topic this time is about THE WORLD WIDE WEB.

Facebook, twitter, and all the kinds, these days they're probably a significant part of our life. People like to post every little tinnie winnie bits of their life. From the daily mobile uploads, status updates, check-ins (I do these too xD)... 

But sometimes I think to myself, are these really necessary? Apparently some people just do all these to increase their popularity, to show people that they've been to the hippest place on the planet, to show how happy they are and how many friends they have.. But sometimes, I think we need to appreciate our own privacy.. Keep some things to ourselves and the people that were present in the event. The whole world doesn't have to know all about it..Cos only the people who were in it will remember it in their hearts :) I'm not saying posting all those on Facebook is not good. It definitely has its own advantages! Such as easiness to share photos to other ppl, etc.. But things like your romantic dinners with ur bf/gf, or the special family get-togethers.. Wouldn't it be more special if it was all shared only between you and the other people involved? ;) What do you think?

THE CUTEST BRIDESMAID

I'm sure everyone watched the Royal Wedding the day before yesterday! Did you???
I gotta say, everything was so beautiful and fairytale like, but the one that really sticks in my mind is that lil bridesmaid. I noticed throughout the wedding she's always frowning lol!!!!! and then when Price William and Kate kissed in the balcony, she totally stole the show aye!! Just check out the picture below xD

I figured out the NO HEAT wavy hair! :D

Hi all! Been a long time since I last blogged, and just now I got inspired to write a blog, so here it is! :) What is it about this time? HOW TO DO WAVY HAIR WITH NO HEAT!


For those who've known me for agessssssss you would've know that I have the coarsest, frizziest, thickest, DRIEST, wavy/messy hair..... And for a long time, I've been so confused on what to do, cos majority of Asians have straight hair.. And so, I don't know how to work the kind of hair I have. Straightening hair everyday is not an option, because:

1. I don't have time 
2. I cbb lol!
3. It damages my already dry hair. 

And I have decided that permanent hair straightening/smoothing is not for me because apparently it can damage your hair further, and it also contains the chemical Formylaldehyde which is a known cancer causing chemical! :O 


So for those of you out there with similar hair like mine, don't dread! We don't have to have straight hair to be pretty! There are heaps of gorgeous girls out there with wavy hair ;)


If you'd like to try it out, here are the steps:

1. Wash hair with extra2 moisturising shampoo and heaps of conditioner
2. Towel dry hair and apply hair oil, heaps and HEAPS of them (I use The Body Shop Monoi Miracle Oil because it doesn't react with my sensitive skin) P.S only do this if you have dry hair
3. Braid your hair from the top back all the way to the bottom and secure with hair tie
4. Grab a scarf and cover the top of your head to flatten and minimize frizz on the top part of your hair, tie the scarf at the back below the braided hair.
5. Leave it like that until your hair dries naturally.
6. Once it's dry, take off the scarf and the braid, apply more hair oil if necessary, and twist the left and right sections of your hair to manage the waves. Voila! All done :) Easy, no heat from curling tongs, no breakages, healthier and shinier looking  wavy hair!

Good luck! :D

The wavy hair. Excuse the low quality photo taken by my old Sony Ericsson 
and my amateur camwhoring skills lols!

Scirbbly thoughts

Hello readers (if there are any xD),

I welcome u all again to another Grumble rumble ramble post about my life.. i know it's boring and probably meaningless to you all *sighpies*.. But what can I say, I need a platform to drain all these hazy, scribbly thoughts from my head.. So ya'll can become the platform :D teehee.

Scribbly thought no 1) Studying pharmacy

I've talked about this before.. And as the months go by, it doesn't get any better :( Pharmacy just keep on getting harder and harder for me. I often think that I'm SO not smart enough to do this course.. But since I've started it for 2 years already, might as well finish it off.. It's not like I don't like the units or the profession, it's just the workload is wayyy too much. I'm only doing 3 units now (unlike other pharmacy studentswho are doing 5), but it's actually a lot of work already. Let me give you an idea.........during the midsem exams, I still had uni. So between studying for the exams, I also had to prepare and go to 3 hour lab and a 2 hours tute and another 1 hour tute. I pretty much skipped all the lectures irrelevant to the upcoming midsem. (Which I now regret coz I now have to catch up for them >.<). And these leave me so tired and just got enough energy to study. And this leads to thought no 2.

Scribbly thought no 2) Neglecting housework

As a result of  spending all my energy on uni stuff, I pretty much have limited time and energy doing housework. And that really sucks because in my house, the only people who clean are me, dad, and my bro. My mum cooks and do other stuffs. But, my dad works quite a lot so he gets pretty tired. And my bro, hm let me just say that he procrastinates a lot more than he does housework -.-. Sometimes I envy him coz his life is like one big holiday. Well, I guess his job require him to do more physical work (Chef) so maybe he gets tired when he gets home.. But still!! at least he doesn't have homeworks or tests coming up??? So anyways, neglecting housework makes me feel guilty, but I really CANNOT fail any units AGAIN. So everytime there are tests coming up, I totally focus on them. After all, if I screw this up, it will be another delay to graduation, which means I'll need to rely on my parents financially even longer (which I don't really want to do because I know they're getting older...). And I just feel that I'm rushed to graduate ASAP since I'm the last kid in the family, and I think my parents has had enough of supporting us LOL. So yah :( And my mum is like me, we both get really stressed pretty fast.. And so, when she gets stressed, it gets me stressed, and it makes me want to graduate and earn money asap to stop her from stressing... I'm so scared she gets like really high blood pressure.. And my dad, well he's work a lot for all of us, so I think it's time for us to pay back.

Scribbly thought no 3) Disease

Hm.. I don't know if you can call this disease/condition, but anyway... I've just recently found out  that I have this "condition". I haven't told ppl and only my sister and my bf knows about it..But it gets worse when I'm stressed/studying... So, when I'm stressed/studying, I exacerbate this condition, and therefore I get even more stressed because of it.. Does that make sense? lol. And no, it's not eczema. My eczema is under control now except just on the back of my neck, but it's okay, I can live with that.

Scribbly thought no 4) The desire to learn more about the Bible

Since I attended some bible studies at uni (with this group called IBF: International Bible Fellowship), I've learnt so much about the bible! And it's very interesting, because sometimes as Christians, we don't actually read the bible that much. Which is pretty silly coz it is like the "life guide" of every Christian. And after learning more about it, I was able to explain it to people who ask me, and most importantly, I really learned more about the God I believe in, and purpose of my life in this world. However, uni and church commitments actually prevent me from learning more. Ironic isn't it? Because the time I spend in studying, going to uni, time spent preparing for church volunteering work, just really test my time management skills to the max. But thing is, even with time management, it's still so hard to fit all of them together, because after all, I have limited energy in me. Which is so crappppppp.. I wish I have more energy and more than 24 hours in a day! But oh well... So anyway, the point is, I often miss the bible study sessions (which is held on Friday 4-6pm and Sunday 3-5pm). Because by 4pm, I'd be too tired from uni and on Sunday I got no transport to go there since I don't drive... I should learn how to drive aye..

Scribbly thought summary

So all these pretty much stress me everyday.. But writing it here I guess kinda relieve the stress cos now that I got it typed down, I can see that it's actually only a total of 4 scribbly thoughts! (in my mind it feels like there are so many!) And I'm actually thinking of talking to the counselors at Curtin's health services (since it's free anyway :)  I know a  couple of my friends go there to get counselling cos of the stress from uni and life.. So might give it a try since they said it's pretty good... 

That's it! What's your scribbly thoughts? :)

HOHOHO I FINISH MY MIDSEM

Finally I can relieve my stress, which has been heightened up these past few weeks! But that doesn't mean I'm completely free..  1 assignment to do.. And offcourse must study everynow and then or otherwise ill have to cram real bad in the finals.. :S

This song is good btw.. James Morrison has one of the BEST voice in the world!! <3

study mood, hard to build, easy to break

I had a really bad day today... Been trying to study for this exam, but ended up only doing 1 lecture in the morning (didn't even finish that 1 lecture!)
Then at night.. I had the motivation to study, so I studied pretty well.. Suddenly something happened :S
And then I just couldn't study. AT ALL -.-

Ended up scribbling this picture on a piece of scrap paper..
The picture depicts a real story (except the palm which is non-existent near where shaki usually sits).
When I leave Shaki's food outside, he doesn't eat it unless I sit right next to him and wait until he finish it. So, in the end, he just stares at the door, waiting for ppl to open door for him... Letting the ants eat his food -.- The ants must love him so much, and they're probably having a feast down there in their underground headquarter...

Shaki and the Ants

I hope it's been a productive day for you all! (Just like the ants who worked very hard to carry all those food, and now they can have the all-you-can-eat buffet of Shaki's food for supper) :)

such is life.

First of all, sorry about the randomness.
In the midst of intense studying, I feel like updating my blog..
But nothing much had been on my mind except these:

1) NERDING
2) nerding
3) feeding shaki
4) wash up the plates
5) nerding
6) stressing
7) making appointment and showing people who want to rent rooms
8) cook and eat
9) play with shaki
10) church multimedia stuff
11) stressing
12) church camp stuff
13) nerding
14) thingking about where to put shaki when we all go to camp
11) STRESSING (midsems coming up in about 4 weeks time!)

Hm.. it seems that I kinda got bored of blogging hahah.. A asked me why I haven't blogged and apparently she was waiting for me to post about the Tiger Mum thing.. But thing is.. I've got a number of things that inspire me to blog.. But like.. Just haven't found the time and the right mood to do it yet.. I'm guessing it's cos I'm not stressed atm.. Also, since my sister stole my laptop to Melbourne, I can't type my blog in my own personal room.. It's kinda awkward to write a blog post in the main room where the computer is (especially if Dad/Bro is there).. so yah... whereas when I'm in my room I usually think more about stuff.. hence the blog was born!

So for now.. I guess I'll update a bit on what's goin on in my life..

I came back from Indonesia last week. It would be the first time I've been back there since three years ago. Things have definitely change. A lot of my cousins are married and they even have kids! Now I find myself getting called Aunty, which is a huge change since I used to call everyone Cici (read: jie jie) since I am the youngest of all of my cousins in my Dad's family and 2nd youngest in Mum's family. I feel so honoured to be called Aunty Monica :D hohohoho Finally I am superior to someone! MUAHAHAHA... (what a sad person)

So that was the happy news.. cute nephews and nieces and to be called Aunty :) Next is the saddish part.. Life for my Ema (grandma's from Mum's side) has been pretty good. She had both her knees operated and now she has strong, straight legs which allow her to walk further and climb stairs and play with Shaki as much as she would want to. She's able to go out more with the rest of us, and everyone was amazed when she went back to Indo.

But on the other hand, it's been sad for my family because my Oma (grandma from dad's side) has forgotten everything.. Her dementia is pretty bad now.. She doesn't even remember that she used to have a husband and she has kids.. So that's sad because my family used to live with her and I remember she was such a caring and loving grandmother to all of us. But now she doesn't even know me! Nevertheless, I was still inspired because she's always so cheerful and always joke around.. Which makes all of us laugh :)
For example.. My dad asked her for some Ang Pao.. And then she said: "Ang Pao??? Haiya!!!! (raising her hand as if she's fighting an enemy ninja style)" and then she laugh and we all laugh because even after all these years and with her memory lost, she is still able to joke around with everyone..

We also visited my Ema's brother.. Who is now living alone with his caretaker.. His wife passed away late last year.. It was so sad for me cos the last time I went back Indo, she was still alive.. And they were still showing us picture of them doing Yoga stretches (which needs crazy flexibility) and claimed that they could still do it. They even taught my brother how to walk with the perfect posture.. (They were yoga teachers by the way).. But now it was only him alone.. :(

Next we visited my Engkong (grandpa from mum's side) sister.. When we met her she looked so weak and much skinnier than before.. I was so sad because she used to be cheerful too and would talk to us grandkids in English.. And when I arrived back in Perth, she went to the hospital.. And now she is in HCU (High Care Unit) :( So we are all really praying for her to get better..

So yah.. sorry that this post is mostly about my old relatives.. And really sad stories too.. :(
But I'm currently worried for my Engkong's sister and I hope that she will be ok.. Cos even though she is not directly my grandma.. She is to me like an Aunt..

Back in my home country, Indonesia!

I haven't been updating my blog lately.. This is because I'm currently on a holiday in Indo for 2 weeks.. Things have been good.. After all its been 3 years since I went here the last time.. Things are changing, even the bank next door is renovated into a beautiful Patisserie and Cafe called The Harvest. My grandma doesn't remember me or my dad anymore.. In fact she doesn't remember anyone (dementia). Met a lot of my relatives, but my uncles and aunts mostly live on their own now since their children are married. Lots of things happened.. Happy things, thoughtful things.. Things that makes me ponder and I guess in a way makes me wiser hehe :)

Probably will tell you next time when I'm back in Perth!

For now, hope you're all having a nice holiday!!! 

..Greetings from Bandung..

Literally :S

This picture describes my day today..

:) for Australian Day Fireworks and Shawn coming back from singapore in about 1 hour time
:( for my sister going to Melbourne in about 3 and a half hours

utter shock.

I cannot believe this is happening. Well here was the plan... Our whole family (for the first time) will be going back to Indonesia for 2 weeks to celebrate my parents wedding anniversary and my grandma's 92nd birthday. We would go to Bali, Bandung, Jakarta.. It would be the epic family holiday since the Eurotrip 2 years ago!


However, this morning my dad told me that mum got an email saying that Yvonne my sister is accepted in Dentistry in University of Melbourne. What does this mean? Well let me say that my mum have ALWAYS had a dream that Yvonne would be a doctor one day. She would push my sister to do UMAT, GAMSAT, go to Sydney to do Medical Science, etc etc. And even after my sister already finished Med Science, my mum is never backing down on not pushing her daughter to become a doctor. So this offer means A LOT for our family. This is because my mum is pretty much the main decision maker of the family. And she is also known to be the "maker of sudden changes" woman. And so, my sister is going to Melbourne first thing this Monday with my mum because the uni starts already on that day. Crazy? hah... I'm pretty much shocked.. Cos number one, the Indo holiday would not be the whole family, number two, my sister is moving to Melbourne for 4 years starting next week.. :S


What does this mean for the church? Well, my sister is the leader of our Youth Camp this year which will be held in March. We've nearly finished all the preparations of the camp. And all of a sudden, we would need to find a new leader. Secondly, she is a sunday school teacher.. So the Sunday School would lose 1 scarce resource. Number three: I cannot imagine her living apart from her boyfriend for another 4 years after 3 years of separation when she was in Sydney.


So yeah. :S This is shocking. Great cos finally my mum reach her dreams. Sad cos.. well... it's sad for me...... :'( *teary*

Goodbye again to Shaki's Big Momma..

:( :( :(

I wanna be the loving, cheerful grandmother!

There are two types of old people in this world: 

1) The cheerful, beaming, loved-by-everyone old man/old woman

2) The bitter, grumpy, suspicious-of-the-world old man/old woman

A recent news about my grandma in Indo who has dementia made me want to write a blog post about this. And also I've met a lot of senior customers in the pharmacy and other places. Let's start by telling you about some of them..

Type no 1: The Cheerful Senior

There is this old chap who always hums and sings as he comes into the pharmacy. Despite his completely white hair, I can't believe he's 70 with his 19th century styled golf cap. He would greet us the pharmacy assitants: "Hello little ones! How are you today? I'm here to see my old friend (the pharmacist) up there!" Then he will walk up to where the dispensary is and greet any customers on the way. Such a lovely old man isn't he! He would definitely brighten everyone's day just for coming into the pharmacy to get his scripts filled in. There is also this old lady who used to come to Chooks with her husband. She has dementia (she doesn't remember anything), sometimes she even ask her husband "Who are you?". Some old people who have dementia would get scared all the time because they don't know where they are etc etc. But this woman is different, she would come into the store with her husband saying "Oh what a lovely store!! I love the colours here, they're all so bright!". Do you see what I'm getting at? :)

Type no 2: The bitter old "Boggis, Bunce, and Bean"

NB: For those who haven't watch Fantastic Mr Fox would have no idea who Boggis, Bunce, and Bean are. I was referring to scary old men who are not very friendly.

Some old customers that come into the pharmacy doesn't talk much and they always frown when they hand in the script.. Sometimes it makes me wonder if I did/say anything wrong, and sometimes I feel guilty for being too cheerful in case it's annoying to them. Maybe it's because they're in pain or tired I don't know.. But it's the complete opposite of the previous two I mentioned. Some are not completely "Boggis, Bunce, and Bean" but they are suspicious of the people around them, especially those whom they discriminate (e.g. if they see customers of other races, etc). Some fight with their children all the time. Some are afraid of change. All these unhappy characteristics which I'm sure is somehow caused by the things that they encounter in the past (wars, etc) or how other people treat them. 

These people who didn't have a very good past life was very unfortunate. But for the rest of us, so far we haven't been in any war situations, especially my generation. Our countries have been pretty peaceful compared to the wars in the Middle East and African countries. So let us all be grateful for that, and do so by being more cheerful about every single thing. If I get dementia when I grow older, I would want the good memories to be kept and hence become the loving happy grandmother of Type no 1 to my grandkids. So maybe if I start being cheerful about every single thing in my life now, accept everyone no matter who they are, and share compassion, my brain would be accustomed to being like that till the end of my life :) What about you?

"Money doesn't buy happiness"

Oh that cliché! Haven't we all heard of it? A lot of people somewhat disagree, but I couldn't agree more :)

People would then add statements like "Money doesn't buy happiness, but it buys THINGS to MAKE you happy" or "Whoever said money doesn't make you happy, obviously doesn't know where to shop" xD

Well truth is, those are all somewhat true. And money really is important in our lives. But even if you had an unlimited amount of money, can you really be truly happy?

Okay, imagine this scenario. You just got your week's pay yesterday, you were so happy that you can finally buy that dress you've always wanted! But then, now that you've bought that dress.. Are you truly satisfied and happy? I don't think so, I'm sure you would think of thousands of other things you wish you could buy, and would soon start saving up from your work money to buy other stuff after you get bored of that dress! So the statement above to me sounds more like: "Money doesn't buy you happiness, but it buys THINGS to MAKE you happy TEMPORARILY"

I believe that true happiness comes from being content and grateful. When you start to be thankful of your life, you'll be happy because you feel blessed with all these things that you already have. I know this because I grew up in Indonesia with my maids and babysitters. They were not that well off, and they had so much less money than my family, but then they were not like SAD. They were just content, thankful that they have a job, thankful that they can earn money for their families back home, thankful that they have a house to live in, thankful that they're not out there in the streets as beggars! They always seem so happy and me and my sister love to play with their kids and just chilling out at the back with our maids..

In contrast, in a general view, there are a lot of celebrities who are just filthy rich, but they end up in jails, getting drunk, got involved with drugs, in and out of rehabs, and numerous love scandals. Celebrity splits are not rare and those who remain married are so rare these days. Would that be called a happy life? Are they any happier than me, you, my maids back in indo, or those hobos on the streets?

I'll leave you to decide :)

 

"Life is full of beauty. Notice it. Notice the bumblebee, the small child, and the smiling faces. Smell the rain, and feel the wind. Live your life to the fullest potential, and fight for your dreams." - Ashley Smith

 "Let us acknowledge all good, all delight that the world holds, and be content." - George MacDonald

"To have everything is happiness. All the things I already have is everything to me. Therefore, I have everything already." - Forgot where I heard it from :)

Skin Care for Eczema

I feel like doing something different so thought about doing a skin care routine! :D These products have been helping me to control my eczema and so far it's been pretty good. The last time I use my prescription Cortisone creams would probably middle of last year. From then on till now, I've only been using these products and some others but I've put here my favourite. For those with problem, sensitive, and dry skin, I really recommend these. For those with acne, I recommend the Tea Tree Oil too! :)

face

loving: Olay Moisturising Lotion, Tea Tree Oil, Bio Oil
wanting to try: Aveeno Positively Radiant Daily Moisturiser

body

loving Dermaveen Lotion and Curash Anti-Rash Powder

wanting to try Aveeno Skin Relief Moisturising Cream with Cooling Menthol

face wash

loving Dermeze Soap Free Wash, St Ives Apricot Scrub

The Blind Side

I just watched this movie called The Blind Side. Ended up crying in the middle of the movie and tears run down like a river towards the end! Lols.


Here is the synapsis of the movie from Rotten Tomatoes:

"Synopsis: The Blind Side depicts the remarkable true story of Michael Oher, a homeless African-American youngster from a broken home, taken in by the Touhys, a... The Blind Side depicts the remarkable true story of Michael Oher, a homeless African-American youngster from a broken home, taken in by the Touhys, a well-to-do white family who help him fulfill his potential. At the same time, Oher's presence in the Touhys' lives leads them to some insightful self-discoveries of their own. Living in his new environment, the teen faces a completely different set of challenges to overcome. As a football player and student, Oher works hard and, with the help of his coaches and adopted family, becomes an All-American offensive left tackle. Based on the book The Blind Side: Evolution of a Game by Michael Lewis"

But the amazing thing about this movie is, you really realise how random acts of kindness not only can give a person a blessing for that one time, but it can also change his/her whole future into a better one. I realised this towards the end, when the mother of the family read a newspaper article about this African-American boy from a broken home, the same as Michael Oher (her son), who died in gang shooting or something like that. And that's when she realised that that boy could have been anyone, he could have been Michael. But their act of kindness had changed Michael's future, so that he didn't become like that.


And that's why I was so inspired, and let us all do the same. Do random acts of kindness. We never know how that may change that persons life! :)


We should also pray for those who are in the Queensland floods. Especially families who had lost their loved ones in the disaster. And may we all be more thankful that we are all still alive today and safe from natural disasters.

Really?

Someone told me I look like her:



Is it true? What do you think??
Comment
or vote the :) box if you think yes
or the :( box if you think no
haha..

busybusybusy

will update soon! :)

On another note, PBS medications that used to cost us $5.40 has now gone up to $5.60! It keeps going up doesn't it?!

2010??

Got this from Cass' blog.. thought I'd do the q's too! :)

1. What did you do in 2010 that you’d never done before?
- Translate for the girls and Shawn who has limited English at PPR (Church Youth)
- Did the dispensing at the pharmacy
- heaps of other things which I cbb writing haha

2. Did you keep your New Year’s Resolutions, and will you make more for next year?
- well generally, to study hard and I think I did pretty good this year :) Especially 2nd semester
- also to be more helpful at church and to the people around me.. I hope I achieved that.. 

3. Did anyone close to you give birth?
Not really.. My cousin did.. 

4. Did anyone close to you die?
No..

5. What countries did you visit?
Australia haha

6. What would you like to have in 2011 that you lacked in 2010?
More confidence and to be able to be less sensitive

7. What dates from 2010 will remain etched upon your memory, and why?
18th February 2010 because ;)

8. What was your biggest achievement of the year?
Introducing my hun to Jesus Christ :) which off course was not done by me alone, but by the works from above..

9. What was your biggest failure?
Failed to be a good friend to one of my best friends

10. Did you suffer illness or injury?
Um, sort of.. Would cataracts be considered illness/injury?

11. What was the best thing someone bought you?
Their kindness, selflessness, and honesty.
Oh, wait, is this materialistic wise? Hm... Probably the dog necklace Shawn gave me but was chosen by my bro and sis lols!

12. Whose behaviour merited celebration?
- Du Vinh for his enthusiasm in serving the Lord and leading Focus
- My pharmacy friend Sarah for her kindness and helpfulness to the friends around her :)
- My grandma for her strong-will and strength in undergoing the 2nd knee replacement surgery
- Shawn for putting up with my crazy talks and numerous breakdowns during the year :)

13. Whose behaviour made you appalled and/or depressed?
There are always dissapointments when you have relationships with people. All I do is to try to forgive them for the behaviours and to think of the other numerous goodwill they've done in the past. After all, I'm not myself perfect. 


14. Where did most of your money go?
Food, drinks, and skincare :D 



15. What did you get really, really, really excited about?
Was going to Indo with Shawn, but my dad didn't allow him to lols..


16. What songs will always remind of 2010?
Jay Sean DOWN lols.. wait.. was that 2009?
Otherwise it would be Bruno Mars - Just the way you are



17. Compared to this time last year, are you:

a) happier or sadder?
Happier in general

b) fatter or skinnier?
haha definitely FATTER
c) richer or poorer?
Richer both financially, happiness and friendship wise :)


18. What do you wish you’d done more of?
Being able to spend more time with my best friend, who somehow I never get time for because of uni and other stuff going on..


19. What do you wish you’d done less of?
Studying. LOL but I have to study anyway..



20. How do you plan to spend Christmas?
That's past already.. and didn't do much.. Went to church, home, and got ready to say goodbye to bro and sis who went to exmouth the next day!


21. Did you fall in love in 2010?
Yes lol


22. How many one night stands?
None!


23. What was your favourite TV programme?
It's still The Simpsons :)

24. Do you hate anyone now that you didn’t hate this time last year?
Not really.. Only 1 guy lol.. but thats for a reason I don't even know why.. Should probably stop..



25. What was the best book you read?
Hm... good point.. Didn't read any lols..



26. What was your greatest musical discovery?
I can actually kinda sing! lol..



27. What did you want and get?
There are heaps! Can't remember..



28. What did you want and not get?
To be able to maintain my close friendships but it didn't really work.. 


29. What was your favourite film of this year?
Harry potter, Despicable me. Harry Potter was really good though!


30. What did you do on your birthday?
Worked hahah... Was so tired and then got woken up at 12am in a cold, windy night to blow a freezing Ice Cream cake lols! That was good still...


31. What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying?
Hm.. no idea... I think it was satisfying already..



32. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2010?
Definitely dresses! They're so easy and comfy to wear :D 

33. What kept you sane?
Shawn and Shaki lol


34. Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most?
Barack Obama for his ability to lead and his eloquence. He also gave hope to open the minds of a lot of Indonesians that anyone can be a big thing in the future. I especially thought about those who are less fortunate and I hope that they can be inspired to strive to be better by hardwork and determination.

35. What political issue stirred you the most?
Hmm.. I'd rather not say to the anonymous net world but you could probably guess...



36. Who do you miss?
Mr Shawn Tan who left me for singapore for 1 month!


37. Who was the best new person you met?
Hm.. not sure...


38. What was the best thing you ate?
Hm.. I'll get back to that.. ahhaha.. maybe macaroons? But I've tasted that in 2009..


39. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2010?
The world can be a depressing place, where all your hopes and dreams can get crushed so easily.. There are so many issues that I worry about currently happening in the world.. But I learned that I should at least start with the people around me to bring about change. And I also learn to always look out for those people who continue to inspire me in my goals.



40. Quote a song lyric that sums up your year:

Jeremy Camp - There Will be a Day , which was a song that constantly encouraged me to keep going with my studies, problems, etc :)