ARGGGHH! A knapsack theft case..

I just can't believe it... for a whole year, with that precious hp of mine with me, day in, day out... it's suddenly gone, stolen to be exact. Sigh!

It all happened yesterday... during the wee hours of the cool Thursday morning. Due to my Mum's departure to Singapore, i was left transportation-less.. i mentioned that earlier, so i hitched a ride to work with Uncle Tony and Aunty Janice. We stopped by at a coffee shop to have a quick breakfast, left my knapsack with my hp in it in the car, then got off. And the next thing i knew when i got back in the car was... my knapsack was gone. SOMEONE HAD STOLEN IT.. through lock doors, through that web of alarm mechanisms!!! Those thieves definitely are experts in stealing... and knew the innards and workings of the a Wira from inside out. ARGGHHh!

well, this just proves Kuching isn't safe anymore. Sigh! So the lesson: don't leave your bags, how inconspicuous or dirty they seem, in your car. U'll never know when ur car window will be smashed!

I'm in a hurry to go off, so that's all for now. Cheerio!

Driving Phobia and a pretty busy week ahead!

<strong>Notice: I wouldn’t be posting anything else the next week or so since I’m off to KL and Genting from 29th May to 3rd June. I’ll be taking the next few days off from blogging too, to prepare for my upcoming trip and 2 writing competitions I'm thinking of joining. So stay tuned for my next post after the 3rd, featuring details of my family-trip. Hopefully I could get a few photos uploaded too (if we managed to get a digital camera).

Sigh! I’ll be spending the next week day transportation-less since my Mum just flew off to Singapore yesterday afternoon to attend a parenting facilitator-training conference for a week. That means I’ll be taking lifts from Aunty Janice to the church office every morning till the 28th. I hate the idea of not being able to stand on my own two feet and drive myself to places on my own. It’s a major concern I’m so worried about now. It’s about time, time for me to get a major breakthrough in this area, despite the cold chill which will run through my spine (a direct consequence of my plummeting courage and confidence) as I step into my Mum’s old Nissan. But it’s both funny and annoying to see how many times the car will jerk, and how blank my mind could get when I drive, so much so that a simple maneuver around a bend seems more complicated than analyzing the strengths and flaws of any given theory, or critiquing Keat’s works, for that matter. Being too absorbed in your own fears could do that you in a twinkling, turning all your rational sense of perspective into a mass of confusing jumbles.

My whole week shall be quite packed with getting things ready for the trip, buying stuff for my Aunty in KL, going to the bank and making sure the house is spic and span before the trip (so we wouldn’t leave with the house in a great mess), aside from my usual working hours and daily obligations. Can’t wait for the trip to KL—a slightly different one from the usual, since we’ll be cramming in an Aunt’s apartment in KL. My younger sis, Deb will not be joining us this time around since she has her own agenda—a dancing camp to attend in Singapore on the 29th too. It’ll be different without Deb’s gleeful chatter, witty jokes and happy dance around the place. But I’m sure looking forward to it! Oh yeah!

Just for fun, I read an ‘old’ article by Olasky on 20th May about the infamous Guatanamo Koran-flushing story on Newsweek. Tsk, tsk, how amazing what a deadly furor a false accusation could cause…which reminds me that religious issues are not laughing matters to be taken lightly. Newsweek’s blatant disregard for the need to ascertain claims from the questionable source and foolhardy ignorance of the severity of such claims are indeed appalling. Sekarang sekurang-kurangnya 16 nyawa dah melayang, macam mana ni? Too late to say sorry and retract it now loh! While the pot is boiling at that part of the world, I wonder what is Malaysia’s reaction to this issue. My limited at-home internet-access time and lack of access to other newspapers other than The Borneo Post explains this severe lack of knowledge. Oh well, till my next read, I can’t comment any further. So, tchao!

2nd semester results finally out!

It’s a relief the hassle of waiting and worrying is all over, phew! After 3-4 days of calling up and getting no results, then mulling over and worrying about what could’ve happened, it’s all out. I finally got a GPA of 3.69 (a drop from the 1st semester’s 3.78) and an overall CGPA of 3.73…yippee, a Dean’s Award for my 1st year’s result is on its way! Thank God for those As in the 4 subjects: Sociology of Education, Sociolinguistics, Progressive Grammar and Power Tools for Knowledge Workers (a compulsory computer course), an A- for Learning Styles and Theory of Human Development, and B for TESL Methodology.

Really must give God the credit for my results. I wasn’t expecting that many As, though Socioedu, Socioling and Grammar were all my strong subjects. Progressive Grammar was a breeze (it was easier than the Form 6 MUET paper). The A- for the LS and Theory course was an unexpected bonus… since I botched a 20-mark assignment for it. I didn’t expect an A for the computer course either, which I thought I’d barely scrape through. It gave me such a headache and took me weeks to figure out how to create a website using a combination of Macromedia Flash, FrontPage, Adobe Photoshop, Dreamweaver and Microsoft Access programs (which I had absolutely no knowledge of), then teaching my teammates how to use them. The 2-hours a week lab-classes we went through wasn’t much help either. The lecturer for our lab sessions (who was actually a senior year student) was so busy that most of the lab-classes had to be cancelled. Fortunately my teammates could help me out with the report, and I had a course-mate who’s a computer expert to help me out with the Active-X coding and advice on inserting this-and-that. So it was a miracle, considering that my computer skills were (and still are) nothing to shout about. I guess the mid-term and final objective-question papers on computer theory and history (taught by another lecturer, who was pretty good) also pulled me through. So, thank God for that!

Wasn’t too glad about my TESL Meth results though, since I scored well for my mid-term and other assignments, and thought I could get at least an A- for it. But it wasn’t surprising, since it was a pretty difficult subject, and considering the fact that I missed out on a 6-mark question in my finals and couldn’t answer a few questions pertaining to the last few chapters I was too lazy to read. My night-before-the-exam cramming habit, coupled with too much computer games and yakking with friends/ roommates dulled my desire to strive hard for the finals. Not a big fan of memorizing the boring details of TESL teaching approaches, obviously… I thought understanding the basic concepts could get me through (as with most other subjects). So I was just too complacent, and took my speed-reading ability for granted. I guess I deserved that B, truly, and I ought to be grateful for what I’ve got. This reminds me of what I learnt about thanksgiving on Saturday during the People Who Know Their God session.

I guess that’s all, for now..Cheerio! ^_^

All in a day’s work!

I was back to that mundane job of internet surfing-researching and calling people up to remind them of this-and-that all morning last Thursday, albeit with a slightly educational time teaching a group of 5 adult church workers (from the BM congregation) English from 2pm-4pm in the afternoon. At least that initial awkwardness and jitter of having to teach a group of people all older than me, every Thursday afternoon has toned down somewhat, since this was my 3rd lesson with them. But they seemed slightly nervous and pretty quiet today, especially after I tried out an English speaking activity with them for the first time. Imagine the apprehension of having to share your personal experiences or feelings from completing a Bible study course, in a language pretty foreign to you….and worst still to your friends who are all supposed to listen intently and point out any grammatical mistakes you have made during your little ‘speech’. Owmigosh, no wonder most of them stuttered and practically mumbled most of the words! Maybe I was a bit too hard of them, I don’t know. But given my lack of time to undergo an intensive grammar study with them, this activity has hopefully helped them to be attentive of their grammatical mistakes. Thankfully, during the lesson feedback section at the end of each ‘speech’, they were able to accurately pinpoint a few of each other’s mistakes. Not bad! So, I guess I’ve helped them somewhat. A few of them could actually speak pretty good English, but the rest of them needed some help with it. Hopefully in the future, their confidence in the usage of English will soar as they proceed from taking baby steps to making large leaps.

Haha! I finally had a haircut at one of those hair saloons in Sg Maong today! Finally, after 3 months, suffering through that process of long hair-growth! I actually had nearly- shoulder-length hair before this, which wasn’t long enough for me to tie into a bun when I played Ah Ma in the CFC-version of a PCK skit during Parent’s Day (held in Church during Mother’s Day). Had to use fake hair for that. But it was sooo irritating, especially when those strands had this bad habit of getting in my way each time I’m eating a meal. I actually had to wear a hair-band every day during exam week the past semester to tame those stubborn locks, or else the only thing I would be staring at are the black strands of my hair instead of the exam paper in front of me. Phew, its amazing what miracles a few snips and cuts on your hair could do for you! Less hassle, no more hair- frenzy, and less time spent tucking your hair away while eating or reading. The slightly boyish, shorter hairstyle I’m sporting now seems to fit me better too, since the old one was a wee bit untidy.

It’s funny though I when think of it-- this blog’s supposed to be a part poetry site, and yet I’ve not posted any of it yet. I’ve been suffering from a bad case of poet’s block for months. Haven’t quite written any good one lately. It’s a terrible state to be in. So here’s only one I’ve read today—a beautiful, insightful poem written by Rebecca Barlow Jordan shown below, courtesy of Life College (sender of the poem right to our doorsteps) and my Dad (who showed me the poem):

Difference:
It’s not how much you accomplish in life that really counts,
But how much you give to others.
It’s not how high you build your dreams,
But how high your faith can climb.
It’s not how many goals you reach,
But how many lives you touch.
It’s not who you know that matters,
But who you are inside.

Believe in the impossible,
Hold tight to the incredible,
And live each day to its fullest potential,
You can make a difference in your world.

Reminds me once again of the God’s plan in our lives—not that we may keep on achieving and build a empire of fame and fortune just for ourselves, but to reach out and make deep impacts in peoples’ lives. It also reminded me of something a children’s ministry expert from Singapore mentioned a few years back: We ought to live today as if there will be no tomorrow, and put all out energy in doing what we’re supposed to do today —so that we will live each day refreshed and excited to do God’s work. Now, that’s a great thing to put into practice!

A pretty mundane day for me…brightened up by an unexpected blessing!

The early hours of today were utterly boring; undisputedly, frustratingly and infuriatingly so. From 9a.m to 5.30p.m, mostly what I did was to pin my already tired eyes on that computer screen in my church office, due to my job description as an odd-job worker cum internet surfer. I’m currently working full-time at my church office during this nearly 3-month semester holidays which started a month ago and will end on 11th July, (been working there for the last 3 weeks or so, you see). But the Lord sure has blessed me with caring and loving church leaders who are my bosses for now. Oh, blessed me! A brief jog down memory lane revealed the following ‘interesting’ things I did today the past few 20 hours:

9 a.m: went to work, started off by counting boxes-full of CGI Bible course booklets, then packing them back into containers and boxes.
10.00 a.m.-1.20p.m: Updated a course attendance record and surfed the net to research on parenting and character building issues and tips for Pastor so that he can compile and use the info to re-create his own course curriculum for a series of parenting talks, seminars or conferences.
10.45p.m.: Received a message from a Uni friend, stating I could call Unimas to obtain my last sem’s results. My heart started beating, furiously.
11.00 p.m. (approximately): The Lord was wonderful to me. To ease my boredom, and inject some joy into my dull day, a Church leader suddenly popped into the room I was working in and gave me a cute little cake box containing 6 pineapple pastry balls from Fujisan. Owmigosh, those pastry balls were one of my favourites from that bakery shop! The last time I had eaten them was when a friend in church ‘chia-ed’ me with a piece 2 weeks or so ago. This was not the first blessing from those church leaders, who have been teaching me so much ever since I entered the office weeks ago. God sure is good!
12.45p.m.: Ate the lunch I brought from home--consisting of home-made ham and sausage ouff. (No, I didn’t make them, my Mum—the wonderful cook and baker made them, which explains my large size and the baby fat on my thighs and tummy).
1.00p.m-5.30p.m.: surfed the net again for some other topics on the theology of family and marriage for Pastor. Nearly fell asleep mid-way. My former habit of afternoon napping seems to be rearing its sleepy head again. And the ‘fun-filled’ job placed upon me didn’t help much either. My younger bro, Hubert drove me home from work after that, thankfully.
6.00pm: tried out driving into that terribly narrow parking spot right outside my house to brush up my driving skills ever since I freaked out from driving nearly 2 years ago. My mega-phobia for driving started after I dented my neighbour’s car 2 years ago. Well, in truth, a mini-phobia actually presented itself even before the car-denting incident, and after I realized my coordination skills weren’t satisfactorily refined, although I’ve obtained my driving license already. Nevertheless, I finally emerged from the car, still safe and emotionally sound, albeit with a wet shirt and wet hair all from perspiration. Ouch! I hate to say this—but physical coordination sure isn’t my forte, Sigh! And my being a nervous wreck sure worsens my current situation drastically.
After 6.00p.m.: As usual, I ‘makan-makan’, ‘bla-bla-ed’, then did what I’m supposed to do. You know, my daily obligations. Tried calling that number to Unimas at 7p.m., but alas, my results weren’t in their computer database record. How did Jodie get her results then? I’ll try it out again, tomorrow morning, at work perhaps. Then after that, well, I don’t wanna go into the mundane details anymore and my eyes are really droopy.

So, bye for now! Read my next post for my future ruminations and ramblings. Cheerio!

Another ‘brief’ intro-haha, anything but!

I believe I’ve quite ‘aptly’ introduced myself, especially with that long-winded description about my turmoil and perks, flaws and forte (if you want to take it that way) all jotted down in the profile section. And only after reading it again did I realize I seem more like a nagging, irritating chatter-box than anything else. The culprit lies in my complexity. I’m so complex that to me, a simple emotion or thing like anger or fear cannot be fully expressed with a simple sentence alone. It must have a taste and feel to it. And that’s why my descriptions tend to be too wordy. A seriously disconcerting bad habit, I admit. My being a less externally developed INFP may have something to do with it (if you are a MBTI fan, or a psychology enthusiast, you will know what I mean). Emotions and hurts in me seem to loom so large that it sometimes engulfs my entire being. And frustratingly, I have this terrible habit of swinging between the extremes and focusing too much on my own emotions (and the evil and ugliness within)—from fever-pitch or dark self-anger to cold indifference. It’s both irritating and humbling at the same time. But thankfully, my being a Christian has help keep these conflicting, perverse and self-indulging tendencies in tandem; focusing more of my sympathies outwards rather than inwards. Not that I don’t care about others in my outer world. My heart bleeds when I see people I love getting hurt- especially when I all I can do is to sit and listen to them. It tears my heart to pieces, leaving me frustrated, again. But as for my self-indulgence--I’m still working on it. Diligently, I hope.

Haha, a chatter-box---my pseudo persona may be anything but. But deep beneath that gloomy, dull exterior, hidden from the naked eye, lies a hidden irrepressible chatter, a repressed rigour only waiting to come out should a listening ear be near. This reminds me of the analogy of a butterfly emerging from a dormant cocoon. Although not totally accurate in representation, my situation still has an inkling of resemblance to it. And this somehow also explains my love for writing, though my writing skills are nothing close to satisfactory. But hey, before you start flying into that accusatory mode of labeling me a two-faced fake, (which I’m definitely not!) let me clarify this important fact: my silence and gloominess are also an inextricable part of me, a fraction of my personality which dwells in the subconscious. It surfaces when the need to protect myself from the impending danger of losing my security arises. Okay, to make this simple, I’m quiet because I’m shy, and also because I fear rejection from people. My shyness is also a weapon I wield to protect myself from getting hurt when people can’t accept me for who I am, due to my diminishing self-esteem. See, very simple. But this sure isn’t biblical, nor is it what God intended. Oh what feeble beings we humans are! So I’m also working on this too... hanging on tightly as the Lord carries me through those turbulent storms of my inner life on His back!

Well, before I start sending anyone off into nocturnal bliss, I think I’d better end this wordy jabber and ranting about my inner soul ASAP! I’ll concentrate on something less inward-looking. So, read my next post, and bear with me, for a moment!

Hi There! Welcome to my first post!

This shall sort of a personal site featuring my thoughts, what i've gone through during the day, and if possible, some of my stories and poetry

I've actually created 2 other blogs at:

http://victoriabong.ebloggy.com
(an e-journal of mine featuring my thoughts and the insights God gave me as i read the Bible and reflect on His work in my life).

http://vic_idealistpoetica.blogs.friendster.com
(can't add posts on it anymore, but stills retains my old posts)

And there's this webpage featuring a nearly complete list of the previous poetry i had written the past 2 years or so at:
http://www.poetry-today.com/poetView.aspx?PoetId=1470


I seem to have this bad habit of starting new blogs when i find one with better features in it. Better cut that habit or else i'll have to spend loads of time mantaining them.

Anyway, welcome to Vic's site... i promise u, my writings can be pretty bizarre at times, not to mention pretty unusual too. But sometimes i'll write all kinds of mundane stuffs that's been happening to me. So, enjoy and visit this often. CHERRIO!