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