=)

I'm no good with titles. I'm no good with short and sweet stuff. Long-winded, that's what I am. No wonder my answers in exams nearly always go beyond the allocated number of lines, which are actually supposed to be more than enough for the answer. Therefore, when no smart short blog post title comes to mind, an emoticon usually works.

And that's my random paragraph for the day.

Anyhoooo...

Only 3 more weeks til the end of Sem 1. Finally all the Topic Tests are over for the semester. I'm not doing too badly I guess, so far...But, obviously I definitely could do better, studying habits-wise. Then I wouldn't have to be so darn stressed out every time a Topic Test draws near and I realize I have to study late into the night and wake up and study in the wee hours of the morning to prepare for it.

And it's all my own fault because of my usual procrastination. Well, either that, or it's the crazy compulsory co-curricular programmes that end at midnight the night before Bio topic test...

Okay, fine... it is more truthful to connect the last two sentences using the word 'and' instead of 'or'. XP

Results I've obtained so far are not bad. In fact, they're actually miraculously okay despite all the burning of midnight oil. That is, other than failing Physics once already (and praying I don't fail again...). XD

Then of course I take a good look around and see my super hardworking peers with their exercise books filled with pages and pages of notes, thick library textbooks, complete understanding of Physics, etc etc. and I go O.o

They are all both inspiring and intimidating at the same time. Wheeee! The society of scholars... a learning experience in every way. =D

But the biggest lessons of all are always only from one source: He who gets me through the toughest days... He who loves me so much... He who always shows how real He is in my life.

This week has been a particularly horrible week thanks to Physics and Bio Topic Tests (which needless to say, I wasn't the least bit prepared for), English Speech, performance for Malam Ko-PLN, and to top it all off, an annoying flu.

If I never got to know Him better, I would probably have gone completely bonkers with the stress. But thanks to Him, I made it through the week unscathed. Sure, there were moments where I felt so stressed that I just wanted to cry/pull my hair out/burn the Bio textbook/sleep and pretend the Bio test doesn't exist etc. etc. etc.

But then, just the knowledge that He is there is enough for me to keep hanging on and not freaking out completely. Isn't it awesome to know that you never ever have to rely on your strength and skills alone, but instead you can always depend on Him, no matter what your circumstance?

For all the academic things that I have been learning this year, nothing could compare to His lessons.

And for that, I am forever grateful.

So yeah, while I am striving to be a better student, I am also striving to be a better disciple of His. No matter how bad the day, I can still smile because of Him. Wheeeeee!

=)

Through You, I can do anything,
I can do all things,

Cos' it's You who gives me strength,

Nothing is impossible!

-Planetshakers-

P/S: Go Tricia, go! Conquer that Bio report! You can do it!! Muaks! =)

The Journey Home... a very thankful narrative.

Thank you, God, that You still love us and take good care of us, even when we're two bumbling blur people who can't even read the time of our flight correctly... Amen!

Yay! I'm finally home, (and finally blogging again) after a long time. And as mentioned above, I nearly didn't make it home... like, 5 minutes short of not making it home.

It starts, with the long week of horrendous topic tests. Physics and Bio... grk. And they love to torture us by placing the tests on the most convenient days... the Monday sandwiched between the long weekend, and the afternoon of our last day of class before the two week break. And they just have to make the exams so fast-paced and hard...

These tests don't just test how much you know... they also test how fast you can think, how fast you can write, and how long before you give up and just start laughing manically to yourself about the hopelessness of the task. There's no time to second guess answers, no time to go, 'Hmmmm... I wonder what is the best way to answer this?'. It's all 'Arrrghhhh!! Write faster! Write faster!! Don't know the answer? Doesn't matter!! Just write something! And fast!! *pant pant pant*'

So, the last day of class was the Bio test. And gosh, it felt so good when it ended. The weight was finally off our shoulders and it was holiday time. So what if we screwed up the paper? We have a whole 2 weeks to ignore the problem and pretend the test never happened.

Soon, everyone is rushing off in all directions, with their packed bags. Bus station, taxi, mummy and daddy etc. etc.

Tricia and me had the taxi booked for 7.20pm. So we headed back (around 4pm) and started packing. Everything was smooth and steady, fun and happy, la-la-la and wheeee for those 3 hours. Our increased heart rates from the Bio test were finally coming back down to normal.

And then, we headed down to the bus stand to wait for our taxi. 7.25pm. He still wasn't there. I said to call him to ask if he was on the way.

Tricia called him, and a few seconds into the conversation, she looked at me and did the universal sign of 'we're in deep trouble'... the action of the finger slicing the throat. My already tender heart rate went up a few beats.

Our taxi driver forgot our booking. He was at least half an hour away.

Then a number of things happened in sequence.

It hit Tricia that our flight booking paper, which we need to get the actual tickets, was still upstairs. And for those of you who haven't read my previous post, we live on the FIFTH FLOOR (ominous capital letters). Uh-oh.

Then it hit me that the paper stated that departure was at 8.20pm. It was now 7.30 pm. We had to check in at least 45 minutes or so before the flight. Double uh-oh.

Basically, we were both under the assumption that 8.20 was the check-in time, not the actual flight.

And um, yeah...... the paper with the flight details was posted on our notice board, which was basically right in front of our faces whenever we sat at our study tables. (which was a lot due to studying for the Bio test). The paper has been there for about a month.

So yes, despite that, we still got it wrong.

In my defence, it was the BIO TEST!!!!! (everyone around go 'yeah, yeah, yeah... excuses, excuses...')

So there it goes, like the cascade of events in blood clotting, we were off in full adrenaline and panic mode. (told ya' it was the Bio test.... XD)

Tricia sprinted up the stairs for the paper. And lugging our heavy suitcases and backpacks, we raced to find a cabbie. This isn't usually a problem... but whoops, it's 'buka puasa' time. Thankfully, we managed to catch one guy who just pulled up as we ran up.Talk about Godsend!

And he was a pretty nice guy. He actually changed his radio channel to a Chinese radio station, just because he had Chinese passengers. Cool or what? Too bad we didn't understand Chinese... Ahahahaha...

We made it to the airport at about 8.10pm. The check-in counter for Penang was already closed. We ran to the guy at the counter and started begging for dear life. Thank God for this guy too, as he argued with the people on the other end to let us on... 'Kesian juga mereka ini... boleh kah?'

The people on the other end kept saying through the walkie-talkie 'Tak boleh, tak boleh', which of course totally freaked us out. I don't think I stopped praying since we stepped into the taxi...

But finally, he printed out tickets and told us to run for it, with our check-in bags. So there we sprinted, ala The Amazing Race, with our big heavy bags. And geez... airport terminals are long and far...

We finally managed to get into our seats, red-faced, oxygen-deprived, dehydrated, sweaty and panting like crazy. The plane took off 5 minutes later.

So yeah, in conclusion... Phew.

Praise God!

>>>

>> One week of classes already
=)

>> Two hours straight of lecture for every subject is often too much for the brain
=(

>> Most of my lecturers are pretty nice and good
=)

>> But that still doesn't prevent me from nearly falling asleep in the 2 hour lectures...
XD

>> We have 6 hours of English classes a week, same amount of time as our Science subjects
O.o

>> Buying lunch when everyone has the same lunchtime, at the same cafeteria, requires lots of patience and strategizing
=P

>> Lining up for the bus at the correct time to prevent being late for class requires even more patience and strategizing
=D

>> Campus is huge... and the labs happen to be the furthest away from the classroom...
+_+

>> Met several dead cockroaches. And one dead lizard in the bathroom with ants devouring it's body...
XP

>> Melina Kanakaredes has left CSI NY. Stella has already appeared on the show for the last time.
=( =( =( =( =( =( =( =( =(

>> Carmine Giovinazzo has married Vanessa Marcil, who has been married before, and has an 8 year old son, who is NOT the son of her first husband, but yet ANOTHER man...
-_-"

>> First Topic Test in a week's time. And it's Physics. And Topic Tests count for our sem exam marks.
X_X

>> Taking a short trip home for Speech Day in 2 1/2 weeks time!
=D

>> Missing Stella Bonasera already... *sigh*

=(

One Week In

Voila! I have finally managed to appear back to the online world after one week of absence. The Orientation Week here at Intec was long and tiring. It was informative and pretty fun at times, and the facilitators were nice people. But each day lasted from 6.30 am til 11+ pm. And the facilitators adhered to the timing very accurately. There's no such thing as starting late, nor ending early, nor much periods of rest in between. There was of course, plenty of 'ending late's. But anyway, even if we still had that wee bit of energy left to go online after ending the day, there is no decent internet anywhere... I finally managed to get my hands on Digi Broadband. It's not as good as home, obviously, but it'll have to do.

On the plus side, we now have 4 days off to recover from MMS (Minggu Mesra Siswa). Classes only begin on Wednesday. Immediately after the last session last Friday, most of the new students could be seen scuttling across the hostel grounds with their bags, eager to go home and get back to civilisation. Tricia and I stuck around and spent our day exploring Shah Alam, and of course, saying 'hi' to good ol' Sunway Pyramid.

I thank God for the strength He has given me. 6 months ago, I would have cried every time I realized that I'll be away from home for 2 weeks, 1 month etc. But now, even with 2 months until my next long holiday, I'm actually feeling okay and happy with where I am. God heals!

So, what's home for the next two years? Kolej Akasia in Shah Alam. Yes, it's a hostel, but it's called a college... *shrug*. While there are some definite adjustments and changes in lifestyle that we have to adapt to, it's not a bad place to be in.

For example, anytime we want to leave our rooms, even if it's just to make a one minute trip downstairs to the water cooler, we have to begin the process of taking off our shorts and T-shirts... change into our long pants... put on our jackets... and put on proper shoes. Oh, and we're 'fortunate' enough to be on the 5th floor, which is the top most floor. It's no wonder my parents keep saying I get thinner and thinner every time I go home...

Then, of course there's the misbehaving piping. As a church friend puts it, there's either too little water or too much. The tap at the sink has not worked since we arrived, and the toilet stopped being able to flush for a few days. Meanwhile, some other block had a burst pipe. XD

There's also of course the little critters sharing the apartment with us. Ants which appear in the manner of minutes if there's a tiny crumb on the floor, mosquitoes every night, spiders and a big lizard which is currently hiding from Tricia and her rubberband. So yeah, it is a pretty crowded house.

Also, we're in an area where there really isn't anything to do. Which is the point, I suppose. They keep us in a place where there is nothing for us to occupy our time with, except to study. :P

As Esther also mentions in her blog about her Kolej Terlampau Talented, it's the same here. There are 675 JPA scholars here! And maybe a hundred more from other sponsors like MARA, BN etc. The ALM group (A-Level Medicine) is the largest. Lots of doctors and pharmacists coming up... Other programmes include ADFP, A-Level German, Russian, AUSMAT, etc. Classes have yet to start yet, but uh-huh... we're obviously in a community of smarty-pants, which is quite intimidating and pressuring at times, haha.

The A-Levels we're taking is different in the sense that we don't take the AS and A Level exam separately. We sit for everything at the end of two years. So basically, we just have to keep downloading information into our brains and pray our heads don't explode with the overload of facts. Also, it would be good if someone invents an external hard drive for human brains sometime in the next month or so.

The campus itself is a bus ride away. Commuting on the bus back and forth the campus and hostel is of course another part of Intec life which requires skill and strategizing. The campus grounds are big and hopefully we won't feel so lost walking around in circles soon.

So yeah, that's my first week at a glance. Let the journey begin!

Here We Go Again

Whaddya mean it's only one week left?! O.o

Have I really been stuck in the rotting-into-a-worthless-ball-of-slush-that-merely-takes-up-space phase for a month already? And is it already time to insert some bones and brain back into myself and head back to college? In INTEC no less... home of all the smart-smart scholarship holders whose hardworking-ness and studying habits put mine to shame... gaaaaaaah...

And of course there's the whole issue of leaving the comforts of everything-in-it-SS15-Subang Jaya and trading it for the uh... limited resources Intec campus. Rough it out time! I'm treasuring every precious moment of my air-cond and water heater now. Haha, it's actually funny. In my future dwellings, it's going to be hot when one wants it cold and it's going to be cold when one wants it hot.

But heck,

Regardless of the baju kurung dress codes, the lack of TV and refrigerators, the hot weather and cold showers, the cockroaches and lizards and mosquitoes running free etc. etc, it's going to be a great 2 years! I am proclaiming it, yes-sir-ree!

More often than not, your environment is what you make it out to be. If you think it's gonna suck before you even experience it, it is definitely going to suck. A little positivity goes a long way. Bring it on, baybeh!

But I'm still going to miss sitting around doing nothing =(

In Transition

'I've got some friends, some that I hardly know...

But we've had some times, I wouldn't trade for the world...'

-Swing Life Away, Rise Against-

So as of 2 days ago, I am officially no longer a Taylorian. And today is my 2nd of many days of rotting into oblivion before pulling myself together and plunging into life as a pre-medical student.

I didn't think it would be that hard to leave Taylor's. But in the end, it was. The lyrics above felt so true to me as I left my last class of the day.

In all honesty, throughout the past 5 months or so, I was a complete introvert. My classmates all bonded with each other, formed close friendships, talked and laughed all day... while I sat quietly in the corner. I couldn't figure out why I was finding it so hard to fit in. I was usually the one they turned to for questions of coursework, homework, etc. Rarely for a friendly conversation. So yeah, I was the awkward, socially inadequate nerd of the class... harhar.

So yeah, I wasn't that heart-broken about leaving Taylor's. But on my last day, we went to Pizza Hut as a loud, rowdy class. My classmates treated me to lunch and wished me all the best for the future. And when it was time for me to leave, classmates whom I hardly talked to came up to me and gave me hugs. And that's when I remembered the song lyrics. That was also when I suddenly felt sad that I was leaving.

I just want to say here that I'm sorry you guys, for not making more of an effort to get to know you guys better. And I wish you all the best too, and we should always keep in contact. Call me when you're in Penang for the class trip and I'll be your official tourguide. Haha.

*

Lecturers! Wow, I couldn't ask for better. You're a big part of what makes studying at Taylor's fun. I'm going to miss Maths terribly when I head into INTEC. And I'll have to struggle with Physics, which I know nuts about now... *runs away from Ms. Chow*. And I'm definitely going to miss Psychology... I don't get to finish the last four core studies!! *whines* =(

*

One thing I'm going to miss a lot about Taylor's is CF. I love the CF crowd. With them, I was no longer the socially inadequate nerd. It was so awesome to be able to serve in CF as the secretary, albeit only for a short while. And the opportunity to play guitar in the worship team was an experience that I would never forget. (Thanks, Daniel! Not many people would lend their precious guitar to someone else to abuse, but you did! XD)

CF was such a great blessing to me. I learnt so much and met so many awesome people.

*

So yeah, the past five months have definitely not been a waste of time. In fact, I wouldn't have spent it any other way. =)

Now, back to rotting.

Wow... it's been four months already.

Some days I'm happy,
Some days I'm sad,
Some days I feel inspired and on top of the world,
Some days I just want to crawl under the blankets and hide,
Some days I actually feel enthusiastic about studying,
Most days I'm not. Har har haaaarr...
*Ahem*
Some days I finish all my homework and more on time,
Some days I watch 2 hours of TV and don't do any work at all,
Some days I keep questioning where I'm headed next,
Some days I just go with the flow,
Some days are bad days,
Some days are good days,
Some days I miss the old days,
Some days I wish the days will fly by,

But whatever the day,
I'm always grateful anyway,
Because He is always there,
Everyday of my life.

:)

I feel...

LOVE...

... for my parents, more than ever before.
Ok, I've always been the kind of person who was very close to my parents. I was never the uh... 'stereotypical' teenager who argued and screamed at her parents over the tiniest matters, for which I'm thankful for every single day. Heck, I don't think I even know of any teenagers who actually fit that stereotype except for on the TV. Boo to stereotypes XD. *thinks for a moment* Ok, wait, maybe I do... :P

But I digress...

Of course, there were those occasional times where I got irritated at my parents for who-knows-what reasons. But there were never any shouting matches or anything of that sort. The days leading up to packing up for college left me irritated more often than usual with the usual parental advice, lessons, *cough* nagging *cough*.

But once they left home for Penang and left me semi-alone in KL, I finally realised how much I love them. Not a day went by without me thinking of them. For the past week, I won't deny it, it had been quite bad. You have no idea how bad it got. Let's just say I was definitely not my usual self. It was through this past week I realised how much they were part of my life, and how much I appreciate and love them. Obviously, we never know what we've got with us until it's taken away from us.

LOVE...
... for the internet, phones and all other general communication devices.
Thanks to these technological marvels, I can at the very least exchange an sms with mum every morning. Mummy's sweet words of encouragement and love were the perfect start to the day while her emails and our conversations on Skype were the perfect end to the day.

LOVE...
... for my room mate.
Gosh, could I ever ask for more in a room mate? She's there to make me laugh, to comfort me when I'm feeling down and to be my constant companion so there is never a dull moment. The past week could have been a lot worse had she not been there. We talk non stop, traverse KL city together and try (with not much success) to keep each other from reverting back to our usual procrastinating habits...

LOVE...
... for my other family members.
Thanks for all those messages of 'how are you doing' and 'call if you ever need anything'. They mean so much to me.

LOVE...
... for campus life.
Well, sort of... The course work is quite heavy. All the lecturers go "I don't mean to scare you, but..." Sigh.
But I like it because of the fun atmosphere. The lecturers are all very fun and welcome everyone's opinions. Classes are fun because everyone has something to contribute, something to say. It is so different from previous schooling life, where no one dared/wanted/bothered to open their mouths in class (except when the teacher is not inside, of course. XD)

One week in college. There were plenty of down moments, thanks to the fact that I'm such a home-body... harhar. And there were plenty of up moments as well. At the end of the day, I'd take it. Ups and downs and everything in between.

It's all part of the learning experience. Being away from home, no more mummy to wash your clothes for you, no more mummy to make sure you eat a well balanced diet everyday, no more daddy to drive you all over the place. No more being a person who didn't have anything to worry about, other than to go to school and study hard and play hard. Now, we still have to do that, plus worry about all the things above.

Here's to another week in college, where the work load will get heavier, the homesickness will get lighter (hopefully) and I will be able to embrace the life I'm living to the fullest.
Oh, and I'm celebrating my 18th birthday this week. Away from home. :( Ah well....... Ups and downs. ;)

Better get down to getting some reading done for class tomorrow. :P
It's our first practical class for chem and bio, which means, I get to wear a very cool lab coat and goggles, which I get to wear in the way Danny Messer did before he stopped wearing his glasses. Jolene, you know what I mean... muahahahahahaha!!!

What I've Learnt...

My desire to chase independence completely blocked out all the negative aspects, and I'm now paying the price :P
Funny that the thought of homesickness never even once occurred to me when I was in Penang. I was so looking forward to college life in KL that it never hit me until the moment my parents left for home, leaving me to start my new life in KL with them three hundred kilometers away.
No, I won't deny it. I miss them terribly, although it's only the second day and college hasn't even started. I find myself needing to occupy my brain with other tasks, including mindless games to distract myself from the homesickness. And I admit, yes, I cried a fair few times.

But I guess most people feel the same way when leaving home for the first time. My mood would probably pick up once classes start and I have no time to think about home XD.

To mum and dad, because I know you'll read this, don't worry about me here. I may feel sad sometimes but I'm happy with the choice I made, no regrets. Don't hold it against me if I cry when I talk to you on Skype. I'm just happy to see you :-). I'm perfectly fine here and I will survive. And I will be home before you know it! ;-) Tricia's taking good care of me. Haha.

I thank God that I have Tricia for a room mate. Her happy nature is just the thing anyone needs on their down days and she's always there for me. MUAX, dear!

College starts tomorrow! Wheeee!

Geez, I'm like a yoyo, first up, then down, then up again. XD But I tell myself that I'm learning new things and getting stronger everyday. I will survive! Muahahaha.