Thought of the Day
My friends, how abt trying out real Korean Cuisine someday??
- From <<大长今>> zhong(4) du(2) tai(4) shen(1) zhe(3)
I have confidence and confidence in Me!
How confident are you? Perfect Confidence Well done!
You're wonderfully confident in yourself and your life - yet you don't fall into any of the traps of positive thinking. You're neither overconfident, with a tendency to overreach yourself. And you're not under-confident, with a tendency to underplay yourself.
Perfect ten.
You feel comfortable with yourself and your life and have a good balance between optimism and realism. You're aware of when you need to change or act differently - and you don't tumble into a well of unhappiness if you realise that you need to improve. Plus, you're aware of when you need more resources, more information, more skills and more support, and you don't hold back in asking for it. You have a very well balanced personality.
Is there any room for improvement?You might want to learn more of the background to the whole arena of confidence and positive thinking - how it works, when it doesn't work, and what to do if things go wrong. Because however confident you are, a life disaster - illness, bereavement, relationship break-up - can come along and rock your boat. If it does, you'll want to know how to cope, how to regain your natural balance of optimism.
Updates
Let's take a break from Taman Negara.
1. I've been neglecting this blog.
2. I've been hibernating.. and will continue to hibernate until work starts.
3. I bought a monthly magazine today that i already bought 2 weeks ago. Drats...
4. Friends have been telling me I look thinner. But let me reassure you, this is just a phenomenon called "optical illusion" whereby your eyes trick your brain (or is it the other way round?? haha.. dunno).
The real reason: Swims --> Tan --> Darker --> Look smaller
5. Finished watching
Dae Jang Geum. Splendid scheming all around (even better than Jin1 Zhi1 Yu4 Nue4 .. or so i heard).
Tips:
-- Always be the first to act. Xian1 xia4 shou3 wei2 qiang2
-- Half-truths are more effective than lies.
-- Cut grass
must clear roots (zhan3 cao3 chu2 gen1).
'Cos xing1 xing1 zhi1 huo3 ke2 yi3 liao2 yuan2 (literal translation: Small fires can spread and burn the whole field)
-- Either you become totally ruthless, or you remain as goody-two-shoes as can be.
Half-halves are no-nos. Because something, somehow or another will
always come back to haunt you.
-- Good
always triumphs over evil... erm but i think this last point does not hold in reality.
6. Have been doing a lot of
readings - Angels and Demons, Digital Fortress, Deception Point, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime, 5 People You Meet in Heaven
I marvel at
Dan Brown's ability to wieve seemingly unrelated scientific facts from different fields into the plot. His storytelling is simply powerful... reading his book is like watching a movie.
As for
The Curious Incident, it opened my eyes to the autistic world. The book's imperfections constitutes its perfection. You'll have to read it to know what i mean.
5 People tells of how every little things you do, the decisions you make, have the capacity to make significant differences to your and others' lives. It also tells of how important communication with your loved ones is. Jumping to conclusions can lead to much regrets. Love your family and friends.
7. My progress in learning the
guitar is good. But now the fingertips of my left hand have hardened and are less sensitive... due to the constant pressing on the strings. *sob* but at least it dosen't hurt anymore when i practise.
8. I enjoy freedom too much to commit.
9. Many frens have asked me what i am looking for.
I thought long and hard... i guess at this point in time, i am
not looking for someone whom i can
communicate with. Other than the physical aspects,
I am looking for someone with whom i feel comfortable being silent. Someone whom I can sit with on the steps of the porch/on the park bench feeding the pigeons/etc etc, just plain enjoying each other's company and not feel the need to talk.
Someone who can take me on an adventure.
I will not settle for anything less. As i said, i value singlehood too much to give it up for anything less.
Taman Negara Trip 3
We got off the boat at the platform with the reddish brown roof. As the zinc roof of the sampan is quite low, we really had to bend our bodies when we alight. With the boat rocking and my height, I got off the boat in a really ungraceful manner (how ungraceful?.. urmm I almost crawled).
"Well, nobody's looking at you what!!" I believe you were saying this to yourself?
That's what i thought too... until I looked up and... saw this really large camera pointing at me.
Camera as in filming kinda camera. Someone was holding a large mic (those big kind suspended on a long rod)
"S***!" I thought
An ang mo was carrying the camera.
"Double S***!!" I thought
He told us they were fiilming an
international travel documentary.
"Triple Big S***!!!" I thought
And that was how i screwed my first shot at international fame.
Ok but I digressed..
As the story goes.. we got off the boat at the platform and somebody was filming us. As you can see in the picture, we have to climb up a few flights to steps to get to the reception.
The director and cameramen hurried to the first corner (with the red sign board) to film us climbing up the first flight of steps. Somehow or other.. perhaps we looked too glum or walked too fast.. the director asked us to "rewind" and reclimb. Ignoring the loud protests from our muscles, we obliged.
And if you did your maths, we travelled non-stop and did not have a good long rest for more than 30 hrs (we arrived at tanjong pagar train station at 8pm the previous night... not forgetting we did not sleep the previous afternoon and late morning too). Hence, saying we did not look our best is a super understatement of the year. Even though it was a bad shot at international fame.. it was shot nonetheless. Not many people get this chance. Hee~~~
The reception "hut". This is my travelmate/fren Yuhua. Pict's not taken upon arrival.
Collection of our keys and enquiry about our program.
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Will continue some other day... The next few posts may not be in chronological order though
Taman Negara Trip 2
This is the view from the jetty. The tiled roof is the roof of the platform where we board the boat. On the right hand side of the photo you can see a boat. The boat we took is exactly like it.
A close up pict of the boat we were abt to take. Each boat seats about 20 people. The zinc roof protects the travellers from the sun. The boat is divided into several sections using wooden boards. We sit on the cusions provided using the wooden boards as back rests.
The seating arrangement is 2 people per section except for the very first & last sections since they are narrower and can only accomodate 1 person each. You can either sit cross-legged or stretch your legs out in front of you. Yep, it's THAT spacious and comfortable
Note: You see 2 "tips"...Why? Because there are 2 boats in the pict.. duh.. ok i am the lame one.
Whee!! Off we go! Time: 9 am Feeling: EXcited!
The red bit in the pict is my sis' backpack. All luggages are placed at the front part of the boat/sampan.
My sis was the lucky one who sat in the first section (read: more leg space, better view). She was assigned the seat cos she is an "Ang" with her middle name starting with a "C" and a last name starting with a "P". I am not the second person in line... as my sis' fren is also an "Ang" with her middle name starting with "C" and a last name starting with "Y".
(Aside: both their middle names are the same.. they have been good frens since sec sch)
Those were the bagpacks behind my sister.
Heading towards Taman Negara.
We were lucky that we took the very first boat/sampan and that the sky was overcast. This meant the breeze was cool and there was no sun to burn our skin (You'ld say, "But there's a zinc roof to protect you from the sun!!" Ah... that's a misconception.. I will further explain when i talk about our return trip)
As you can see in the first picture, the river is a meandering one. Hence, the course towards TN is a zig-zag one. The whole journey (to TN) took 3hrs.
While the trip was long, there were sights aplenty to keep us from dozing off. Ah ma(s) washing clothes by the river bank, fishermen pulling in their nets, the passing greenery, the occasional mild rapids, rhinos/hippos/bulls bathing in the river (being the city kid that i am.. i can't identify which was the type i saw.. hee~~). And thus, we the city kids weren't that bored.
About an hour into the boat ride.. we saw boats travelling in the opposite direction. Presumably people coming from Taman Negara back to Jerantut. Friendly ang mos waved to us as they passed and i waved back.
A good start to wonderful stay at Taman Negara. =)
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Next up, the arrival.
Taman Negara Trip
The picts may take some time to load... please bear with it.
(this pict is too dark... just wanna show you the front of the train station)
The tanjong pagar train station. We arrived at 8pm. The whole train ride took 8 hrs... from Singapore to a station called Jerantut.
On the train with my sister and teddy. We slept in sitting positions on the train. They don't switch off the lights on the train.. so the sleep wasn't very restful and you tend to wake up every 15 minutes.
The immigration and customs.
Because the volume of the speakers is really soft and we find it hard to catch the words of the announcer (in Malay), we had to count the number of stops. 12-13 stops to Jerantut. This is the third stop.
By the way, many of you have the misconception that trains move very fast... faster then cars at least. Erm... this is not the case (for us at least)... cars moved faster than the train we were on.
The Jerantut train station. We arrived at 4am in the morning while the transport would only come and pick us up at 7am. As planned, we slept on the benches. It was really cold there... Brrrr...
Teddy slept on the same bench too!!
The uncle who was supposed to pick us up at 7am actually came at around 4am to see whether we were okay staying at the train station. It's really kind of him to do so. =) Less responsible guides wouldn't have bothered to do so.
A misty morning. Time: Nearing 7am
The guide came to fetch us at 7am sharp. This is the view from his van. As you can see, it was still misty and cool. I enjoyed the ride... enjoyed the refreshing breeze. Jerantut gives me a very laid-back kampong feel. I loved it.
We were going to the boat jetty. Yes, we need to along a river to reach Taman Negara.
We ate breakfast here. This is also the place where we waited for our boat to Taman Negara.
My breakfast: Nasi Lemak + Teh
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That's all for now. Next up will be abt the boat trip.
If you are bored...
Check these out (
only if you are very bored):
Some song童话如果我是周星驰小猪版《情非得已》 (kawaii!! a must see)
Cola mobile (another kawaii one!)
不让糖份陪我过夜 (weird but funny in an off-beat way)
Ooopps
Just realised the links don't work.
Please right click on the 2 hyperlinks.. and choose "open in new window"
You need to wait for it to load.
Graduation #1
For the soon-to-be-graduates
Memories another oneP/S: You need to mentally superimpose your faces, NTU, Nanyang Lake, Yunnan Garden, seminar rooms, S4 benches, reading rooms, lecture theatres, halls, canteen A and B, soccer field outside examination hall D.. etc etc
Random thoughts...
1. Remain a swinging single rather than settle for something less. Ensure he/she is worth your giving up your freedom for.
2. Differentiate "
being in love" from "
being in love with the thought of being in love"
3. Try not to take your love for granted (applies to all loves: family, friends). It's interesting how we can be perfectly polite to strangers but neglect the feelings of your loved ones.
This is easier said than done. Miss Juneberry is guilty of this.. too many times and for too long.
4. Is friendship more important than romantic love? What would you do if you fall for your friend's beau? What if you fall for your close friend who thought the friendship is supposed to be platonic all along?
5. Sometimes even when I did not contact/see you (my friends) for a long time, you'ld still appear in my thoughts many times a day.
6. Certain things which you thought/wish would continue indefinitely.. may in the next second... be changed forever. When you have to say goodbye... say a proper goodbye.
Let gratitude replace any resentment you may feel in your heart because when you look back... memories without hate is the most
beautiful.
7. If you know he/she will never regard you as someone more than a friend... bury your love... just give him/her your deepest 祝福 (zhu4 fu2; blessings) ...
And another pointless post...
What gender is your brain?| Your Brain is 60.00% Female, 40.00% Male |
Your brain is a healthy mix of male and female
You are both sensitive and savvy
Rational and reasonable, you tend to keep level headed
But you also tend to wear your heart on your sleeve |
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Why ain't I 60% Male and 40% Female instead?
... oh wow.. i am more feminine than i thought
And another one...
Do you have a Type A personality?| You Have A Type A Personality |
A
You are hyper, energetic, and always on the moodYou tend to succeed at everything you attemptAnd if you don't succeed at first, you quickly climb your way to the top!
You could be called a workaholic, but you also make time for funAs long as it's high energy and competitive, you're interestedYou have the perfect personality for business and atheltic success |
Erm... not really........... Miss Juneberry is nothing but a bum...
Another one
I'm at it again... wahahahaa
What is your Celtic Horoscope?| You Are A Fig Tree |
You are very independent and strong minded.
A hard worker when you want to be, you play hard too.
You are honest and loyal. You hate contradiction or arguments.
You love life, and you live for your friends, children, and animals.
A great sense of humor, artistic talent, and intelligence are all gifts you possess. |
More abt singaporeans
Here's a list of what I can't stand:
1. It's common courstesy to press the lift buttons for others if you are the first in the lift. Many just move to the back of the lift and wait for others to "serve" them. Many a times, when i am the last in and and nobody was at the buttons, i was darn tempted to just stand there and stare into the space too.
2. Getting onto the bus. Must you always squeeze your fat bodies into whatever little gap that is in front of me? MUST you?? Can't you just wait for your turn? I always end up the last to get on the bus cos i hate squeezing.
3. Using the AXS and SAM machine. Do you know that there is a function for you to add all your bills together so that you only have to make a single payment?
Using the SAM. If you want to win the "lucky draw" thus resulting in you making many transactions bill by bill ... i suppose you should have considered the long queue of people behind you waiting to pay their bills.
Using the AXS. Can you not check your red rewards points/whatever other things after EVERY single transactions (which you made bill by bill)?? Can't you just check once after you finish everything?
4. Sales person. Please do not dog my every step. I hate it... once you do that... I will never buy anything from your shop. Please be sincere in serving your customer. I like to dress in tees and shorts together with hideous specs.. but that doesn't mean i ain't buying office wear........ (but i must comment that there are some good salespersons too... just griping abt some black sheeps)
5. etc...
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I probably have more to say.. but off my head.. i can only remember the above at the moment.
