Unimas--I'll be back soon!

Sigh! 10 more days..10 more short, few days before it's time for to head back to Unimas. And it isn't going to be as convenient this time round, I bet. No longer staying in the same dorm, with the same bunch of close friends living just minutes apart from you. It'll definitely be different. And the worst thing is, I've been given a place in this new dorm in the new Unimas campus, 5-minutes drive or so away from the current old one! It was my 'smart idea' actually to not rent a place near the current old unimas campus. And a few of my friends followed suit. I was worried that we unimas students will be moving to the new campus soon. Didn't want to sign that a one-year contract after renting a place nearby, a condition which most tenants are required to fulfill, aside from the 2 or 3 months downpayment we have to dig out from our own pockets. There'll be too many complications after that. So applying to stay in a hostel sounded like a better option. And I was so glad I was given a place to stay inside unimas...yeah, inside... but in the new campus. This means that I'll have to find some kind of transport to the old campus each day, since classes will most probably be held at the old one. Well, transportation-wise, it didn't seem that bad, until I got quite a disturbing news from an 'inside source' working in the current new unimas campus today. Apparently, the new hostel in the new campus, the one I'm supposed to stay in during next semester, may or may not be ready when semester reopens. If it's true, then I may be stuck, lodging-wise. Possibly have to ask someone to drive me from home each day to unimas. How troublesome! Now I really wish I didn't let my driving phobia stop me from hitting the road. But I don't know how true is this piece of news. I'm hoping this will just be pure gossip, some untested pre-assumption. I'm keeping my fingers crossed, hoping that things will eventually work out well.

So till then, till the chaos starts... well, I guess it'll still be holiday time for me. Or working time. And until then... I'll just have to enjoy these few days while it lasts! It includes having a good sleep, something I'll definitely be deprived of when holiday ends...hehe! So bye! Got to have my precious nap now. Cheerio! ^_^

The Craft marathon

Just came back from my church's ministry centre just now, after a full whole day of designing, cutting and gluing. Guess what I did today?...Well, obviously it has something to do with craftwork, in fact, almost EVERYTHING to do with that tedious thing called C.R.A.F.T, which to me is a combination of the following descriptions:

C

-- Cutting till your hands get numb

R

--Redesigning, after already designing the things you're supposed to put up, then take them down again to make sure the deco is perfectly & strategically placed! Believe me, craftwork projects can be extremely, and excruciatingly tedious!

A

-- ART form that requires A LOT of patience, plus delicate hands, plus creative improvisational skills to make do with the whatever resources you already have ( if u want to cut down the cost).

F

-- Fun. ‘Are you sure?’ you may ask. Oh yeah, I sincerely do mean FUN...not the sarcastic form of ‘FUN’. Especially if you’re doing it for a shorter period of time, for the FUN of it (there… there’s that ‘F’ word again—FUN), then yeah, you know…it’s FUN to do it. But when you’re required to go through days upon days of thinking, drawing, cutting— a full-fledge CRAFT MARATHON, it’s a different scenario altogether.

T

-- Time consuming. Whether you’re doing a teeny-weeny, cute and simple lil’ craftwork (like a little cardboard and sponge photo frame), or a slightly bigger project like a board deco, it’s still pretty hard work, and very time consuming.

So there… I’ve given you a hint. No..no, nothing to do with photo frames. Yes, it has something to do with display boards… yes, and I was decorating it (well, my Mum and I were decorating it, to be precise). Ok, Ok, I’ll throw away my stick and stop beating around the bush, (don’t wanna whack your brains out trying to figure out what I’m talking about). I was actually helping to decorate two large promotion boards and a game stall for an upcoming FAMILY DAY EVENT organised by my church. The whole CRAFT MARATHON started the week before last, to be exact— from searching through the photos to be developed and displayed, then delicately cutting the pieces of coloured paper and gluing it to make some shapes and patterns out of it. My sis was supposed to help me out with the craftwork and deco stuff, but was too busy with her sport’s day training, marching training, piano & violin classes, piano exam.. blah blah blah. So it became this one-girl task at first, until my Mum stepped in the help me cut and draw out things for the promo board on Monday night. She did a major part of the craftwork for one board, and I did the other. Thank God for Mum’s help… I can’t imagine what would have happened if I’d done this alone. So I spent the whole night in church yesterday, decorating the boards with my mum & bro. The team of other church helpers came too, but they were doing other stuff—decorating the whole hall, and their individual game stalls. So, with that dire lack of time & manpower, we couldn’t finish decorating the boards and my game stall on time, and had to continue our task early this morn till nearly evening today. Took the day off from church office work. But phew, at last a major part of the task was completed! A few alterations, adjustments, and a game’s rules display cardboard left to do, which I’ll complete later. Yahooooooooo! I’M JUST SOOOOOO GLAD IT’S ALMOST FINISHED! But I’m feeling pretty sleepy now, since I didn’t sleep well the past few nights… So, I’ve got to catch up on my sleep… which mean I’ve got to tchao! Au Revoir, folks! That’s all for now. Cheerio!

P/S: Oh, yeah, I promised to write about my miracle healing..so here’s quite a quick one: I was miraculously healed of a severe sore throat I had on last, last Sunday, one that was pretty bad that I could hardly swallow my saliva without experiencing some intense discomfort. Couldn’t even talk properly, much less sing during worship, since the pain was quite excruciating. Healed during the Sunday service itself, the pain gradually disappeared over the following few hours after the service. And by Monday morn, the pain was totally gone. Praise the Lord! But I’m now down with flu. Got it from I-dunno-who, and I just infected my mum with it. Oh my! So don’t get too close to me if you happen to see me… unless of course if you want to get infected, which I hope not. Sheeesh, I sound like a leper now. Oh boy!

Hi there folks!

I know, it was days since my last entry..partly because there seemed to be nothing particularly interesting happening in my world, except for a miracle that occurred last Sunday. Believe it or not, I was miraculously healed of a throat infection... thank God...or else I won't be able to speak for days! I'll still call it a miracle healing, whether it is a minor miracle or full-scale miracle, nothing is too small for God to deal with. This is one of the interesting thing about the nature of God— He's never too bored or too tired to look at the tiny, minuscule details in your life. Our slightest needs and desires get met each day, sometimes even without our realization. Come to think of it, it’s truly amazing that an all-powerful, omnipotent God, would be so interested in such a relatively insignificant thing like a puny, fallible being’s needs and desires. A perfect of balance of God’s great power and authority, as well as a deep love and compassion for the people He created. What a great God He is!

Oh, about my testimony...I'll give the full details in my next entry (which i'll post in a few days time, if possible). Didn't blog much the past few days since I'm suffering from this weird pyschological & situational 'malady' I'll call the 3Bs. phenomena:

(1)

B

logger's Block (but it's on the verge of a 'cure' now or else i wouldn't be writing this)

(2)

B

usy few days—with church children's ministry deco and scriptwriting stuff to do, some other personal stuff, books I MUST READ too (can't leave that out...an integral part of my life). But I tend to get too ambitious.

(3)

B

iting sense of frustration over things I can't control, future plans..blah blah blah ( The reasons are too many & too personal...hehe).

Oh, about my reading…a topic I can talk about for hours, if possible. B-O-R-I-N-G topic, I know. But I’m currently in the midst of reading a few books, mostly pertaining to my current topic of interest—relationships (no, no, not that kind...but about how to get along well with the people around you, being more compassionate), books like Alan Loy McGinnis' “The Friendship Factor” and Les Parrott's “Relationships:How To Make Bad Relationships Better and Good Relationships Great”. I’ve also just finished reading the following fantastic book:

John Ortberg's "Everybody's Normal Till You Get To Know Them"

This book’s definitely a great read …among Christian literary circles. Ortberg currently tops my list as the most witty and humorous Christian writer yet, with such a magnificent and unique gift of narrating. Almost every single page made me chuckle… and the message he wanted to put across was presented in such a powerfully mesmerising, insightful, yet creatively witty way. It made me saw a whole new dimension to relationships between people and a fresh style of writing that could captivate readers no matter what topic was discussed. Boy, I truly enjoyed every single detail written in that book, and literally couldn’t put it down. A must read, definitely!

Well, that’s basically all for now! Don't want to get into other nitty-gritty details right now. So, enough of my my blah-blah-ing this time round....and stay tuned for my next post! Cheerio! ^_^

I'm so tired, or was tired, or was extremely tired! Whatever...

The only thing i can think of right now are two BIG WORDs-- 'SLEEEEPPY'and 'TIIIIRRREED'...Zzzzzzzz. It was the cause of my not wanting to post anything for the past few days after my trip. WHY? Well, just wanted a break, then helped out at the NO APOLOGIES seminar for three days, together with Esther and the bunch of other church youths. Dunno what NO APOLOGIES is all about--it's a cool program tailored to promote abstinence among adolescents and young adults (ages 12-25)--something u don't hear very often.My mum was one of the facilitators, and the students were taught via various activites--drama, games, role play etc, and also through a video, slides and a No Apologies Workbook. It's a great program--join it the next time round. I'll inform when the next one starts.

I was given a cool Focus On The Family calendar and journal for my effort. If u all dunno where the Focus On the Family Kuching office is--it's at Jalan Mendu (Just before Sekama Road), somewhere next to my cousin's coffee cum steamboat place--"Tokyo Corner". It's a cool place--I mean the Focus Center, with plenty of books and resources by various authors like the famous Dr James Dobson-the founder of Focus On The Family.

Ok, back to the topic about the No Apologies seminar--the closing session of the three day program ended yesterday. So I'm now back at the church office today, and tomorrow too..and the week after.. till my semester break ends. Sigh! I'll miss working, can't imagine going back to that crazy jungle of uni life.The burning mid-night oil stint,piles of assignments...arrgghhh, i can't bear to think of it! Sigh!

The KL trip I was supposed to write about:

Sorry I didn't write anything about the KL & Genting trip I promised to write about...was too busy with things….slightly too lazy and tired to type out something to be exact. But now that I’m back to my old self, and old hometown Kuching… here’s a juicy bit of stuff about my 5-day trip:

The trip went on pretty okay, albeit it taught me a little lesson on patience and self-control, and of course the benefits of everyday exercise since I became quickly exhausted after each ‘marathon’ tour or lengthy ‘walk’ around the streets of Malaysia’s capital & Genting. Woke up at 4a.m on Sunday afternoon (29th May, and was off to the airport and to the plane at approximately 5.45a.m. We took an early flight at dawn because the seats were fully booked due to the school holiday season. The moment we touched down at KLIA...it was a quick rush all the way to my Aunt's apartment at Subang, then at 10.30a.m, we walked, caught a taxi, then a train, then a bus all the way to Genting, and after that it was a horribly long wait at the Genting Skyway.... Horribly long because there were practically hundreds of bobbing heads milling around, and not the mentioned the long queue which packed up the entire waiting area. The waiting alone swallowed up an entire 2 hours of our time. Imagine that--Two long hours, carrying and dragging my luggage across the whole way! I was sweating profusely, arms terribly aching by the time I was in the sky cab.

I thought our torment was over…but we were clearly in for a mega shock, and another round of sheer torture---we had to get a number (like those you get while waiting for your turn at banks or polyclinics) before we could check in at the First World Hotel at Genting, and worst still…we had to wait for over 200 families to check in before it was our turn—the number we were given upon reaching was a 970, and number flashing on the screens at that time was just slightly over 700.Yikes! Even with 32 reception counters at the waiting lounge, the hotel was clearly under-staffed since I believed over 1000 rooms were due to be booked by that day. So you can imagine, by the time we haggardly and tiredly waded into our rooms over two hours later, momentarily relieved from the intense fatigue of having to lug our large luggages all the way up and down from the taxi’s boot all the way to torture zone, it was already almost 6p.m.

Our state of elevation didn’t last long…for another surprise came uninvited: The room was small—but it didn’t matter at first, until we discovered that it didn’t have many of the facilities deemed appropriate for a deluxe room—no clothes cabinet, mini refrigerator, small coffee table, plus poor air circulation around the room, which we had to bear for the rest of the two days we were there. And we spent over RM 130 for that room! My Mom, ever the fighter, couldn’t believe it was a deluxe room, and walked all the way back to the reception counter to request for an explanation and possibly some help, since no one picked up the call of enquiry she made. And although after some amount to probing, and demanding for an explanation, she was given the confirmation that that tiny hole we were given was and is actually a ‘deluxe room’. Bear it or leave it!

Not that I want to sound too critical, but not having a refrigerator really spoilt our plans of having a fresh meal. We brought loads of roasted chicken, cheese, fresh milk and other food to cut cost, and we ended up having to throw away a whole piece of chicken after that. What’s more, the stench of human excretion had to be endured with bated breaths, and ignored to the best of our ability. But it seemed that our rooms were not the only ones direly lacking in resources---we were confronted with the same odour as we hurriedly scrambled past the other rooms too as we made our way to the lift each morning! It just goes to prove how misleading advertisements can be at times.

I enjoyed myself tremendously at the outdoor theme park though. Could finally try out the many different rides I missed the last time I was in Genting. Tried one of those slightly hair-raising rides twice (can’t remember what it was called), once in the morning and once at night after 9 p.m. The impact I got was clearly different—it was freakier and dizzier at night, as expected. Then we went around the indoor park, and did a lot of window shopping, a bit of arcade game playing, then on the last day at Genting—a few rounds of bowling, which definitely showed that I needed A LOT of practice at it since the ball I threw became too attached to the little ‘drains’ at the sides of the lane. Haha! Well, at least those fascinating rides and games somewhat made up for the bad experiences we had with our sleeping arrangements. So it wasn’t that bad after all.

Went back to KL on the 31st May…and the journey ‘home’ to Aunt Helen’s condo was much smoother than I’d expected. We didn’t encounter any other hassle, strolled around KL Central, then a train ride down to Carrefour and Parkson at Subang Jaya for ‘a few’ hours of shopping. Bought plenty of reasonably cheaper items there—a new canon printer, sewing machine, food items and stuffs. We finally arrived at my aunt’s apartment pretty late, loaded with a whole bonnetful and armful of boxes and baggages. Phew!

1st & 2nd June saw a flurry of activities that included window shopping, hopping onto one bus to another, etc. To cut the long story short, we covered many places—KLCC, Mydin, Petaling Street, Tesco, Ikea, The Curve, 1 Utama, Giant, Sunway Pyramid and so forth….I couldn’t remember all the places since there were too many. We tried out as many different modes of transportation available—Taxis, metro buses, KTM trains, Putra LRT, and the oldest form of transportation—our two feet. I finally knew what it was like to have blisters on each of your feet, and a sore heel to match. A very sufferable but enlightening experience I must say. And my Dad even commented that I walked like a duck the whole while…haha, I didn’t know I had the talent to wade around like one of those Quakers. Not bad! Maybe I should try perfecting that duck quack a bit—you know, to be more authentic. Oh well!

3rd June—phew, it was back to home sweet home. Took a final tour around every single floor of KLIA before boarding the plane home—to the serene and peaceful Kuching. Sigh, nothing, not even the so-called dizzying glamour of big city KL could match the tranquility of humble old Kuching. Oh well, as they say, nothing beats home!

P/S:We didn't manage to get hold of a digicam, so we snapped photos with a manual one instead. Will upload photos of the trip when the photos are ready.

A new Poem

Just wrote a new poem a few days back.. while i was in Genting, watching a TV show, listening to one of those dialogues between a daughter and mother, when a thought just ran through my mind. So this poem is the byproduct of a quick, few seconds of jumbled ideas and personal ideologies, flashing across the cerebral cortex at lightning speed;fleshed out by a few systematic choice of words all quickly compiled into a concise poetic form of art. I prefer to call poetry an art, though some may choose to debate on this--calling it some form of nonsensical gibberish or sheer waste of time and effort. Anyway, read my poem-- comment on it as much as you can, even if u think this poem is utterly silly. But if u consent to the opinion that any form of poetry isn't worth your reading, then just keep your opinions to yourself. If otherwise, read on, guys and gals, and enjoy:

Façade of Fear

Sweetness gingerly staring forth
beneath the secret wishes, tamed
stunted by fear’s clamour
for an unleashing, so unrefined,
thus, strained.

It jerks forth a cry
murmurs under dark blankets
dripping, soaking, seeking comfort,
tugging muscles, a pale grin
pulled wretchedly, exhausting

Not in purpose, unlikely,
a farce, though subconsciously,
pressure found, misunderstood,
the reasons for its likelihood,
in a weakling haunted
by Honesty’s conscience.

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!