...

The past few days, Saddam Hussein's death sentence has been pasted all over Yahoo top news (which i feel is a great way of keeping ppl who only surf the net, updated on current world news!). I've been so disturbed by the upholding of his death sentence., regardless of his crimes. I concede i don't know squat about the suffering torment and agony he put his people and his enemies through, nor would i know the gravity of what he did, but i personally feel that it's not in our meek human hands to take it upon ourselves to execute and take the life of another human being. We're merely sinking to their low levels and that makes us no better... but what can i do, and would have even made a difference? Thankfully the Vatican has reiterated its stand on the death penalty and how it's sticking to and standing by it!


Vatican cleric hopes for clemency for Saddam
1 hour, 54 minutes ago
A senior Catholic cleric has said he hopes former Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein will be spared execution, citing the Church's opposition to the death penalty.

Cardinal Renato Martino, head of the Vatican's Justice and Peace department, was quoted in Italy's Repubblica newspaper on Thursday saying there was a chance for last-minute clemency for Saddam after an appeals court upheld his death sentence.

"There's still a period of 30 days (before the death sentence must be carried out), the president's signature is required, things can happen," Martino was reported as saying.

Italian Prime Minister Romano Prodi has also condemned the decision to impose the death penalty.

Martino criticized the U.S. authorities at the time of Saddam's capture in December 2003 for releasing TV pictures of soldiers checking his teeth "as if he were a cow," images that he said needlessly humiliated the man.

The former papal envoy to the United Nations said there was "no doubt" that Saddam was responsible for mass murders, but that did not change the Church's opposition to capital punishment.

"You can't think of compensating for one crime with another one," he said. Saddam was sentenced in November for crimes against humanity and the death penalty was upheld on Tuesday.

Martino said he backed the idea of holding a peace conference aimed at solving all the major conflicts in the Middle East and reiterated the Vatican's position that invasion of Iraq by U.S.-led coalition was wrong.

"(Pope) John Paul II did his duty. He said it would be an adventure from which there was no return. Now that is what we are seeing."

Copyright © 2006 Reuters Limited. All rights reserved. Republication or redistribution of Reuters content is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Reuters. Reuters shall not be liable for any errors or delays in the content, or for any actions taken in reliance thereon.
Copyright © 2006 Yahoo! Inc. All rights reserved.
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i whiled away 3 whole hours

my baby brother can now drive!!!

woo hoo! hehe

hehe studying konon...

i wanted to experiment to show everyone what i really look like when im studying and not trying to act all cool and glam. haha well, it was supposed to be a collection of photos of my studying, upon waking up. now, if only i spend as much time studying as i do photographing it.... :-)

:-)

don't really have much to do today since i've bestowed a holiday unto myself. hehe well, with my prominent eyebags, dont u think i deserve a break?? and i'm waiting to skype with my sister and Gracie's taking so long with dinner...
hehe oh and do note, the Pope wasn't in Dublin. i curi-ed that pic from Yahoo!
so... My Room...




The bathroom

Kitchen

Hall

The adorable one...

"Pax vobis" ("Peace be with you) -Pope Benedict XVI

as the events unfolded itself, through an unexpected turn and twists and a tiring day, i found myself stranded in good ol' Dublin this Christmas. it's a good thing i set my mind to not celebrate christmas. Gracie called and one by one my relatives came on the line to wish me a Merry Christmas and they broke through my emotional barrier and tears were shed. :-) but it's all all right now. i couldn't sleep much throughout the night so i decided to make it for an early Mass. who better to celebrate Christmas with than the celebrated Birthday Boy right?
so i headed to church to top off my Advent with Christmas and to bask in the true feeling of Christmas. i knew i was missing so many parties back home, but visiting Jesus in Our Lord's house was like having a piece of my home Christmas!

What i saw on Christmas morning
Dawn Mass- there's this lady who was sitting two rows behind me, once a few weeks back, when i left to go to the altar for Holy Communion, i left my groceries in the pew and when i returned, she was sitting in my seat. i put it down as amnesia or senile dementia and thought it was a one-off occurrence. the same lady did it again today. hehe it was quite amusing...

True love at work- i really respect and am in awe of such love. i don't know if im capable of such love, to care for someone 24/7, especially if what's left is merely a shell of the person i love. that's why these kind of public displays of affection really tug at my heart strings...

Finally, the candles of Hope, Peace, Joy and Love are joined by the Christmas candle.

even the bulletins are cause for joy

probably THE most beautiful crib i've ever seen!


After i was done with Mass, i really wanted to snap a shot of River Liffey, a shot that completes almost every tourist-y collection of Dublin photos i've seen. so i rushed there before the rain would start to pour.
Things i saw along the way
Baby Dunnes on George's Street

New Charlie's Four! with Nasi Lemak too

River Liffey on Christmas morning




I had to practically run to the River cause my camera battery was in danger of dying. but on the way back, i stopped right in the middle of Dame Street and took this shot!

Will update more about the rest of the day. I love this shot. It's truly my Christmas in Dublin-me, a bulletin of the Nativity of the Lord and with the background of River Liffey. :-) practically captures the entire essence of my post!

Merry Christmas everyone!

tears and christmas don't go together!!!

right at this very moment, my mother's at the airport, picking up my sister, Gracie who's back from Mangalore for her christmas break. that means, the commencement of the christmas celebrations back home.
Michael Buble's "Home" just started playing, from the random shuffle on my iTunes.
and i'm bawling like a spoilt kid, like the spoilt kid i am.

I told myself rather than to feebly attempt to recreate Christmas for myself here, as i've tried and failed to recreate other events like my birthday and all, i'm not going to celebrate Christmas this year. It'd be just a holiday season which i'm going to enjoy, but not Christmas per se. i figured i am not going to settle for the best, of a tradition that's been alive in my family since ages ago. A Eurasian Catholic family is rich in traditions they concocted up and gathered through the years. Like my Mi's pineapple tarts that melt in your mouth, her pork roast that's just divine, enuff to abolish ANY diet and break any anorexia, my Mummy's moist chocolate cake and butter cookies, roast chicken, the presents, the grand feeling that accompanies the toiling bells that herald in the birth of Jesus... Parties that are followed by subsequent and more spontaneous parties. my Family. i think a feeble attempt would make me even sadder!

it's only the 17th. and this is already the 2nd time im crying...

Hand Me Down - Matchbox 20

Alex first put this video up on his blog and i've officially fallen head over heels in love with this video!! Gracie, can you view ar?

:-) totally random...

it's 3 am!
and i'm as alert as ever. hehe
it's very interesting how a washing machine had me squatting in front of it, and even the normal usage of the thing took me hours to figure out! :-) it's becoming less of a wonderment as to how the process of driving escapes me.
i vacuumed my room and the hallway.
i wish the gym was opened, i have so much pent up energy to release.
i'm actually very happy these days.
only thing that taints my mood is the cold and rain.
overdrive has kicked in and i so know im running on adrenaline.
just scared if i sleep, it'd be ages before im hardworking enough to wake up!

Serious stuff, for a change

:-) well, i decided my blog needed some serious stuff or else not only will ppl think i'm a bimbo who doesn't study at all, i myself might begin to believe my brain has ceased to function. :-)

i was reading the newspaper yesterday (well, truthfully, i was browsing for offers for my dream phone and stuff to do over the christmas season), and i came across the headline "Is there a Doctor in the house? We don't need one" or something along those lines. I tried finding the article online to no avail. But the gist of it was that a group of biomedical researchers (i know a lot of my friends in this field, ppl whom i believe would get the chance to study medicine if it wasn't so expensive cause they really do have the brains... instead a lot of them would be stuck doing laboratory work. a real waste of brain-age i feel). Anyways, in this one university in Ireland, this team of researchers are developing (or have developed) a home diagnostic kit that can take samples of saliva, or prick your skin painlessly for blood samples, or other body fluids and obtain the necessary information from the FBC or other counts and beam it via satelite to the laboratory for further analysis, thus successfully eliminating the need of a middle man. This cost-effective and resources-savvy move, which would normally be applauded by tax payers, has doctors now bearing the brunt of being phased out! kinda fizzes out my zest to study la...

Secondly, there's this forward being circulated about how if (touch wood and pray it doesnt happen to any of you), a robber abducts you and forces you to enter your pin at the atm to draw out money, all you have to do is enter it in reverse, and unbeknown to the unassuming robber, the security authorities and necessary parties would be alerted, though your money would be issued per normal! isn't this wonderful? the end of the email forward had a bit about how not many ppl knew, so robbers wont know better, but i think it won't be for long, what with the incessant email forwarding and my blogging it here... who knows who else would be blogging about it too!

Merriam Webster defines it as...

Main Entry: 1wish
Pronunciation: 'wish
Function: verb
Etymology: Middle English wisshen, from Old English wyscan; akin to Old High German wunsken to wish, Sanskrit vAñchati he wishes, vanoti he strives for -- more at WIN
transitive verb
1 : to have a desire for (as something unattainable)...........

http://www.m-w.com/dictionary/wish

Edited christmas list ;-)

8. a body to fit into this--->

http://www.dresses.com/evening3.html
and
9. enough money to buy this!

http://www.dresses.com/order/9045.html

10. the height to pull this off!

http://www.dresses.com/order/1138.html

My grown up christmas wish... ;-)

Olympus FE-180
2816 x 2112 Max Resolution, 6.0 megapixel Image Sensor, 3x Optical Zoom, 4x Digital Zoom, xD Picture Card Storage, USB Connectivity, Movie Capture, built-in Flash (whatever that means... :-))



Nokia 6111 in Frosted Pink
Compact, chic design
Comfortable fit in the hand
Megapixel camera with full-screen landscape camera mode and camera flash
Nokia Xpress audio messaging
Media player, MP3/AAC ringing tones, and FM radio
Video streaming and recording (up to 1 hour)
Push to talk


Ghost Perfume
Blends of floral and citrus-based fragrances are recommended for casual and daywear. Spicy, woody or warm amber-based fragrances are traditionally favorites for evening and special occasions.

4. tight pencil skirt
5. a nice clutch-under-arm black bonia bag
6. a nice gown ( i went into Julien in Stephen's Green Mall and almost cried with longing!)



7. to be with my family come christmas(but u know, being with my best friend in London is the next best thing! :-))

Countdown to Christmas!

:-) it's so fun. Ravi told me about how easy the new blogger is, and he's right! i can even link all my friends without having to learn html! :-)

Today for the first time in a long long time, it didn't and hasn't rained! YET. :-)

Gracie and my two cousins will be back home next weekend. It really kills me that i can't be home with them and my family. i see the Irish ppl shop and prepare for Christmas. i see the brightly lit Christmas trees. i really miss home...

Christmas carols ring through the malls. Oddly, i don't feel like actually buying anything. i must be really depressed!!

But im loving this new Blog layout. It's so userfriendly for such an internet doofus like myself! :-)

Oh Alex put the youtube music video of Hand Me Down by Matchbox 20 and it's amazing!!

the perfect christmas carol

so advent has dawned, bringing with it the joy, peace, hope and love that christmas is upon us.
A whole new christian calendar.

Every year, i wait and wait...
As christmas draws nearer i start panicking too...
What is i dont get that christmas feeling?
Actually being away from home makes it even worse! There no family gatherings to trigger it. No christmas tree to decorate, or presents to buy and wrap. No loved ones to love!
Usually it's christmas carol that will make my insides warm with the love of christmas.
Among the carols from previous years are - When A Child is Born, It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year, Feliz Navidad....

This year, i feel like Silent Night is my song. So now, i've been hunting for the perfect version of Silent Night, but to no avail.
HELP!

happiness...

This is me, happy...


This is one of the things that make me happy... seeing how Gracie is radiant with happiness...
(hehe sorry i posted this u, gracie. but i love it!)



And also my mom passed her Masters, with flying colours!! i'm so proud of her. it's smooth sailing to her doctorate next year... :-) and Blooming.com.my is amazingly efficient. they allowed me to send flowers that were delivered on the same day i placed the order! Two thumbs and two big toes up to Malaysian eagerness to please with efficient service! and Shops that don't close at 6pm every day!

Being happy doesn't mean everything is perfect. It means you have decided to look beyond the imperfections

okay, when on average the sun rises at 8 am and it sets at 4...
so when it's cold, there are all sorts of strings keeping me in bed, away from the gloomy weather. my brain scans through all sorts of plausible excuses to get out of actually living the day... even my absolute favourite place in Dublin, the Dome takes on its own gloom of doom (the Dome has this beautiful glass roof that lets in the most amazing rays of sun if the timing is right. it's truly like having a small piece of heaven on earth!)

BUT there are always things to be thankful for....

1. everytime i stroll through Stephen's Green Mall, in hunt of my absolute essential, my GRAPES, the Christmas songs, Christmas trees never fail to life my spirits!

2. Grapes are now 3.49 euros! and i've been overcharged EVERYDAY for the past week. whenever i attempt to tell the cashier, the price is wrong, she'll pull an awful snoobish haughty brash expression that makes me feel like a stingy bitch. one lady 'kindly' told me to take the issue up with the customer service.. and what do you know, i got a full refund cause i was overcharged after closer investigation! :-) so now,i do still attempt to correct the cashier, but the moment any of them pulls a "greater-than-thou' expression, i gleefully pick up my grapes and proceed to customer service! :-)

3. I've been slaving over my project. Thing is, besides the main subject content, a HUGE percentage comes from this report on our efficiency as a group i.e. Belbin roles, group conflict and how we "miraculously utilised our group rules" to overcome such things. truth be told, some group mates are content in completing their own parts and leaving the loose ends (and they're a handful mind you, search strategy, meeting reports, 4 groups tasks, determining peer review marks and reasons, piecing everyone's work together...) to someone else, or maybe they dont or are not even interested in knowing about the existence of other parts of the project. Another kind, are the ones who do their work, but soooo incompetently that everyone else ends up working even harder to cover up for their lack of (i shall refrain from inserting any word here, cause as hard as i try, there's never a good word to cushion the blow)... And yet another kind are the ones who breeze in apparently too busy to check emails to find out about tasks, but these ppl dont lack competency, just interest and motivation.
BUT good thing is, i'm DONE with everything i could possibly do for the project. all that's left is referencing but this other group mate of mine is completing it. which. is. taking. forever. but where's the surprise there ya?

4. I recently started attending whitefriar church on aungier street. i saw sylvia in the choir on the 2nd week i was there. then the following week, the choir director encouraged anyone who wanted to serve in the choir to come up. and hey, i DID! :-) so last sunday was my first service. :-) the priest actually thanked the choir, but i was gently reminded not to expect such a 'fulfilling reward' after EVERY mass. :-) but practice is on Thursday nights and it's crazily unbelievably uplifting. i've always loved singing at church, and mummy used to say i used to many inaudible noises even as a toddler. but never dared to deem my voice worthy of a choir. That and the fact that going for practice at St John's was quite tedious. so Sunday School was the obvious and easy way of serving God. but hopefully things will be different when i go back this Feb!

5. I used to be the kind to always need ppl around me. First day in INTEC, i rushed around our Akasia block making friends, saying hi to almost all the girls there. Even in St John's, though we Melawatians made up the majority in Sc 1, i remember quite scaring ChiFei and before long, ppl started thinking he was a fellow Melawatian! :-) Even in RCSI, the first year, i seldom needed to tolerate being alone. But in the 2nd year, everyone but everyone had their own agenda. i was unfamiliar with the loneliness, but i got to know Alex, Naren, Lorraine and Kenneth really well then. when i was alone, it was a conscious effort to not bug other ppl, or just a general depressed feeling. i even ended up going home for christmas cause i was soooooooo uneasy. but this year, i enjoy my solace. even when there are things for me to do, or ppl to see, i find it's not uncommon for me to prefer being on my own. :-) it's quite an amazing way to unwind, email my sister, send my mom and sister songs, call some friends and relatives back home... Just when i'm getting used to being independent, i'm going back! hehe

6. I'm going back in Feb!! Our JPA officer said we'll head abt somewhere Mid Feb. before Chinese New Year. hehehe Yippie doo? ?

7. I'm going to London to visit Ei Leen in December! that equals seeing EiLeen after soooooo long, our long chats, hopefully our shopping excursions, Boxing Day in London! hehe i've seen London, but it's been ages since i saw you, Girl!

8. I finally completed our compulsory 10 sign-up-at-your-own-leisure-but-at-your-group's-stipulated-slots-ONLY!!

9. My sister is happy. :-) My brother's driving. Christmas is upon my family, so i'm sure they're happy. That's reason enough to be happy....

:-) a post!

i was lazing in bed this morning, then i suddenly recalled this craze we girls (some guys too actually) used to have... well 2 things actually...
1. autograph craze...
short catchy 4 liners cropped up and suddenly it was about who had the most creative signature (i rmbr Ezlin Deanna have THE most creative signatureS-ezlin came up with many signatures and no one's could even compare!) and poems like

Drink hot coffee, drink hot tea,
Burn your lips and remember me.

(F)riendship (R)emains (A)nd (N)ever (C)an (E)nd

Do not put off this tomorrow what may be done today (this used to spur me on to impulsive acts, some of the more memorable ones involved certain vulnerable feelings, confessions to a said hot guy (though nowadays, when i look back on my crushes, i find myself thinking 'what was i thinking???"), and ultimately dejected and bruised esteem due to rejection, or at odd times, reciprocated feelings and ultimately boredom. :-)

2. the infamous F.L.A.M.E and .F.C.H.L
ok so heres what they stand for (F)riendship (C)ourtship (H)atred (L)ove
(F)rienship (L)ove (A)dmiration (M)arriage (E)ngagement
and the percentage count
------>all supposedly to interpret the course of our connection with a hot guy (or non hot also, where we hope for the hatred so avoid any linkage and to disprove rumors) from how the letters in our names line up against each other.
just for illustration's sake, i'll borrow two characters
A.R.I.E.L.
E.R.I.C
so cancelling out common letters, it'dp be
A.*.*.*.L
*.*.*.C
so counting the F.L.A.M.E. first on the cancelled letters, then on the non-cancelled out ones, we have
A-H-L-C and
A-H-F-F
Interpretation ----> Ariel would first (A)dmire Eric, then (H)ate him, then (L)ove him then wanna (C)ourt him
In the same course of time, Eric would (A)dmire Ariel, then reciprocate the (H)atred, then only want (F)riendship both when she loves and wanna court him.

the percentage game...
there's a total of
A=1, R=2, I=2, E=2, L=1, C=1
so 1+2, 2+2, 1+1 would equal
3,4,2
adding 3+4, 2 would equal
72%
in conclusion, Ariel and Eric would have a compatibility of 72%!
isn't it just fun???

:-) i was reading Lorraine's post on weight issue among women and no one would believe me if i were to say i'm above such nonsense. the hype on this issue, esp among mental health conscious medical students is escalating. and 2 thoughts occurred to me.
1. back home, among nonmedical ppl, weight loss would be heralded and sincere and some less sincere compliments would abound as it's undeniable that healthy weight loss is not only highly beneficial health-wise, but there's a huge margin of weight loss in which no one can honestly proclaim to look worse. granted, there's a point when ppl cross the line into looking sickly and ghastly scrawny, but i find it to be a very hard temptation to resist, esp when it's relatively easy to lose weight to look good. Guys, on the other hand, need to eat protein-rich diets, and lift weights to buff up, but at the same time, not looking too buff. it's truly not easy.
2. i bought a christmas dress yesterday, at such a bargain too, and while i was in the process of letting go of the preoccupation i have with wanting to look good, it just felt soooo nice to be able to fit and not have unsightly bulges.

DeepaRaya
am trying to upload photos here, but do proceed to my dear dear friend, Alex Ong's blog for photos. :-) i can't seem to upload mine...
http://pandaong86.livejournal.com


thula and i. i think thula looks so great here!
i took a pic with Saravanan last year too! but this pic depicts my entire baju kedah!
Alex Ong!
JunMay and i
ravi kumar
sylvia
shinshen
abhilash!

Oh i've been plagued by horrible migraines and a very bad attack of conjunctivitis.
I overused my contact lenses, but it wasn't a grossly long overstay, just a week over a month, when i use my lenses up to 2 months back home! well, it became bloodshot,and LaySan warned me that i had better get it checked for fear of it developing into an ulcer. for the very first time in my life, i was so worried to get my health checked. i dropped eye drops in my eyes and still it didn't subside. i had to don my specs for 3 days! hehe
i admittedly do get very self conscious and not feel my optimal self in specs, but i also can't look at ppl in the eye. i tend to keep the world at bay when i wear specs. but the good news is that it's healing... the moral of the story is pretty apparent ya?

so that's it for now... :-)
Mr Daniel Khong!!! blog, baby! :-) and i never heard abt ur gift u know...
Miss Gracie Snowflakes, i miss you so much!
Sharon Tay, Ms Vice President, please update...
Lionel Tessenshon, thanks for always remembering me...
Mr Alex Ong, sorry for borrowing ur blog post without prior permission!
Miss Lorraine Thong, do keep ur blog posts coming, dear...
Miss Amanda Khoo, thanks for all your help, girl!
Gracey Moo, thanks for always always updating ur blog. it's really something i look forward to reading everyday, and draw inspiration to keep Jesus in everything i do, like u always do!
Miss Karen Looi, heard u looked stunning at the Ambassador's open hse, girl.. do post photos!
Shen-Han, i dont know if u blog or even if u visit here, but so sorry i didnt get to properly catch up the other day... was very very delighted to see an old pal. really happy actually!
I'm not sure who else reads this blog... and i do have a lot of other shout outs to other ppl on my mind, but oh well...
better keep them to myself for now! :-)






---->Bimbo Songs
Cater to You - Destiny's Child
Wishing and Hoping - OST My Best Friend's Wedding

vs

===>
You Don't Own Me - OST First Wives' Club