Taman Negara getaway

Buddhima, Bala, Aravind, Lyd, Michael, Ayla and I had a hilarious trip in Taman Negara. Despite our rather diverse group (with people from Sri Lanka, Singapore , Australia, Malaysia and India), we had a lot of fun due to the happenings and mishappenings during the trip. What did we do? We started by strolling the canopy walkway, pretty much walking on extremely long bridges with nothing to see but green leaves beneath us. We caved the Gua Telinga. Since it was rainy season, the cave was slippery, half the time we were crawling on wet and guano-coated rocks. The bats above us keep dropping guano on us in true nuclear bombing style. When we got out of the cave, Bala concluded that "We are full of shit". An apt description of our emotion and physical states then.

Aravind is the most comical being that i know, who manages to be funny while retaining a cool composition (Coming up close after him is my dear Pharmaco lecturer, Prof Moore). I just can't capture the funniness in words, but trust me, if you were there, you would have laughed til your ribs hurt.

In our overnight stay in Bumbung Kumbang (the animal hide), we saw nothing but civet cats, jungle rats and heard barking of invinsible dogs. So much for sighting JUNGLE animals e.g. tiger. Buddhi poured beef curry on strategic spots below our hide, hopping to attract carnivores. Well, he successfully attracted a few civet cats that apparently like Indian food. Lyd, who is a self professed city person, proven her statement by mistakenly identifying flying fireflies in the sky as stars and said "hey, the stars here twinkles more the ones in the city". That sleepless night peaked with a jungle rat biting Bala's toe, probably out of frustation because it can't find any food on his wooden bed.

We also hiked to a nearby isolated waterfall. OOh, beautiful, calm waters. Everyone had enormous thrills when they jumped from a higher rock into the extremely deep water including Bala who couldn't swim except me :( I regretted that I let my fear of deep waters got the better of me then. Too late now. Sigh, I should have jumped. Still, the waterfall spot is a first class area for gamboling and lazing around.

Michael, the monkey of the group, had his first Nasi Lemak. Once again, the humble Nasi Lemak has found another fan cuz Michael describe it "The weirdest dish with fish eyes staring back at you and peanuts eaten with rice that taste very good".

I love this trip. I'll be back, Taman Negara ...next time, it'll be for Gunung Tahan (probably with my mountain-crazy sister).

Mad Over Potatoes

The Potato Kids of Kuku Cell


The Potato Peelers (this is just the beginning before the pile grew to a mountain)


After effects of TOO MUCH peeling


The Kuku Cell Chickies

Galloping with GUTS

Brave Jojo decided to take the i-Gallop challenge even though it wasn't meant for errmm.....guys BUT HE DID! Yeah!!! And the best part, our Jojo did this stunt in the middle of 1-Utama's main concourse in front of hundreds of people (the figures are a bit inflated here). Kudos to the guy for having the guts to do this so casually. :) 

The Food Poisoning Saga

On Monday, I had lunch with Mel at a teochew porridge shop and 2 hours later, I began aching all over and feeling weak. Dizziness set in and the stage before me was a blur of yellow lights and flashing colours. I could hardly concentrate on the academic procession that was taking place during the mock installation ceremony of our big boss. My tummy felt so uncomfortable and my throat seems to be forcing down the urge to vomit. Peristalsis should never be in the opposite direction nature intended because it feels nauseating.

Finally, I decided that I couldn’t take it anymore and just walked to the lavatory. Even that walk which was supposed to be a run felt miserably long. It was so painful that I couldn’t even walk faster than a slow scramble to the only place which I hope I can find relieve from this torturous discomfort. I flung the toilet door open and to my horror, I was going to vomit soon and quickly poured out the contents of my stomach into the nearest cubicle.

I stumbled back to the event room and continued to work in a daze. Managed to walk back to the office and worked till 6pm before Mel fetched me home. I felt so tired out from continuous vomiting and plonked to sleep without bathing..yeah…call me dirty or stinky but I was so tired out that I fell dead where I laid.

Woke up for soup which I took reluctantly because it felt like it was thick goo flowing down my throat and I was too tired to even bring the spoon to my mouth. Went to the doctor and he said I was displaying signs of being bullemic. GREAT! I am almost psyched here and he said I’m BULLEMIC. Do I look bullemic? I DON’T THINK SO. Anyway, I still took the medicine he prescribed and before the night is over, I started purging approximately 3 times an hour.

The craziest part is that I went to work despite being exhausted from losing so much fluid. Stayed on for the whole installation till it was 1pm but running to the toilet every 20 minutes or so. By the time it was lunch, I could hardly walk and I felt as though my body was a tonne of lead. Struggled to Mel’s car and went to the doctor. This time, I was diagnosed with a bad case of food poisoning and placed on 2 days medical leave to recover from the severe loss of fluid. The doctor even wanted to ward me for dehydration but the chicken in me decided not to because I felt more comfortable at home.

Slept day and night, waking up only to laze around because I was too tired to do anything else. When I weigh myself yesterday – found out I was only 42kgs (record breaking weight because my weight has never gone lower than 44kg in the past 10 years). Looks like I have to restart gaining weight.

I’m fine today and PRAISE GOD for a speedy recovery in less than 24 hours even though after such severe dehydration. By the way, if anyone thinks that this is a good weight loss method (ala purging), think AGAIN because purging only removes water from your body and not fats so you are losing water from the body NOT FATS. The drop in weight = dehydration.

Book: Rose is Rose Running on Alter Ego

After being exposed to Rose is Rose comic strips in The Star newspaper a few years back, I grabbed this book with the hope that it will bring the much needed relaxation into my life. It is very sweet and I got hooked on it. Instead of studying my Immunology textbook, I was happily perusing this funny book, giggling at the typical lives of Rose, Jimbo, Pasquale, the kitty, Pasquale's guardian angel and the drain monster. The guardian angel is ultra cool cuz he is all powerful and looks good in suits. Pasquale flies off in a dreamship every night and believes that the drain monster will eat his toes whenever he bathes in the bathtub. Rose and her sexy alter ego loves talking to plants and have conversation with birds. Jimbo is always kissing and hugging her. A funny perspective on a typical family life:)
Warning - do not attempt to read it as a form of relaxation during study....you will always end up reading this book instead.

Hoey Lit

My September Songs

There are a few songs that have that indelible quality and beauty, they are masterpieces. This month, I find myself listening to these songs again and again. It could be the addictive melody or the honest lyrics or the essence that just touched the secret part of my heart.

1. Raat Nirghum
Written and performed by Habib, one of most popular Bangladesh artists, this song is an invitation from a guy to a girl to walk with him in the moonlight. Then, together, they shall make the rain fall. It sounds corny in this English text but the original version is very romantic.

2. My Old Friend
Performed by Tim Mcgraw, this song is a tribute to a friend, who has passed away - the memories, the regret of not spending more time together due to own busy affairs etc. It reminds me of Lorraine Ong. In the midst of my daily activities, her handprints and memories subtly arise, reminding what good times we had. A simple song that speaks my heart for my old friend.

3. Crazy
Gnarls Barkley is a genius, sensitive soul. He sings about being crazy and dreaming of being crazy. The song is so good that he makes "being crazy" sound as if it is something great and lifting. Maybe he is crazy. But he is one amazing crazy singer.

4. Wonderwall
Ryan Adams did an excellent cover on this Oasis' song. He tuned up the echo for his voice to the max backed up by just one guitar. Interestingly, the effect is very nostalgic, hopeful yet with a dark edge.

Hoey Lit

Embarrasing moments 2006

Annually, I will undoubtly experience new brief but sufficiently embarrasing moments. I shall update you on the two latest 2 stories, promise me that you will forget them after you read them:

STUCK IN A BUS
One drizzling afternoon, in between two of my important lectures, i had to ride a shuttle bus from one faculty to another. Unfortunately, there were few hundred students doing the same thing as I was at that time. So, here I was, queuing with a large groups of students, trying to get in an already packed bus. Just in the nick of time, I was the last student to successfully get into the bus. The door closed, there was no space to stand comfortably. Standing at the bus stairs, suddenly I noticed a huge space in between the stairs and the front bus window. Hmm, where did that space come from? How come I didn't see it just now? Without thinking much, I moved and stood at THAT space. Good spot.
By this time, the bus had arrived at the next bus stop. The bus door opens once again. AAAAAHHH.... that was when realization set in. THAT space was allocated for the bus door whenever it opens. Blame it on slow reactions, I was not quick enough to move out of the space as the door opened.
My butt got stuck in between the door and the railing, yes, it was the butt that was wearing a cute short skirt. A guy quickly asked the driver to close the door to relieve my situation. To make things worse, I realized that I was surrounded by guys only. They were probably thinking what a big butt I have. Sigh. Any confidence I derived from wearing that cute skirt was definitely completely deflated by now. Anyway, I was rescued and all went back to normal.

WHAT IS IN THE BAG?
If you have read my previous post, you would have recalled that I went into the lovely university cultural centre for a performance yesterday. After the mexican ballet treat, we stood up and moved to the exit. There were many people in the theatre room. For some reason, while walking, I put my hand into my bag (my swimming bag where I put all my clothes). My left hand touched some soft material. Thinking it must be one of my clothes that I forgot to take out when I finished swimming a few days back, I pulled it out to see what was it. There in my hand was a white undergarment. I was flashing my undergarment in public in a posh place! Anyway, i retracted the thing into my bag. I pray that no one saw that, but I will never know.

Hoey Lit

Ballet Folklorico De Veracruz

Yen Ling, Han Yang, Yu Ting, Su Lyn, Pooja, Wang Hai and I eagerly arrived at the NUS University Cultural Centre to watch our first ballet performance yesterday. What I expect was skinny ballerinas and tutus flying around the stage. That did not happen. In fact nothing that resembles ballet remotely actually took place on the stage. What we got was Aztec dance (reminds me of Sarawak tribal dance), Alegria Yucateca (Lady who balanced XO bottle on her head and danced), Boda Tarasca (Mexican wedding inclusive of bread in dance), Danza De Los Viejitos De Jaracuara (Hunched back old men dancing with walking stick), Un Dia En Jalisco (Flaring skirts that resembles flowers...beautiful), Floreador (a talented guy twirling a humongous cowboy loop) Canciones de la Revolucion (blindfolded guys dancing with knives...ooh, dangerous boys are sexy), etc.
Without a doubt, this eye opening performance was truly entertaining. The 10 Mariachis at the background sang and played very lively and upbeat music without even any percussions! Their music was infused with courage, fighting spirit and full of life. I had fun, and now I want a Mexican dress .... the ultra colourful one that flares and blooms like a flower, butterfly or coral reef. Or a guy who is good with knife.....:P

Hoey Lit

Getting Past A Break-Up

Getting over someone is not that easy if one doesn’t stop loving that person and wallows in self-pity, questioning every aspect of the problem, re-evaluating every word and body language by that other person. After 6 months of enduring pain that I thought would never end, it is finally over.

In that 6 months, my heart was so broken that I could ever feel the physical stabbing and hurt. Having cried myself to sleep nightly, I became very depressed and reserved. I was confused, my eating habits changed and it affected the people around me. I was so torn apart over a decision I made to end a relationship I knew was not approved by God yet I didn’t have the conviction to remain firm in that decision. After nights of deliberation and prayer, many lessons learnt and many conversations held between God and myself – enough is enough, a clear line has to be drawn and a choice to be made.

I chose God, to trust Him and live in faith that my life is not mine but His to live and guide. What I do, I would to my best and to live the rest to Him. If given a chance to relive my life, I would choose to endure the same pain because without pain, one would not know what it means to be happy. Without this pain, my faith in God would not have grown. What is 6 months of pain compared to a life of trust and faith in God? He died for us on the cross, my lost is nothing compared to what Jesus had endured.

Life is full of surprises, and God works in funny ways. I found a book recently which I never thought I would read. This little book sums up some of the lessons I have learnt from this ex-relationship. To people out there, whether you are in a relationship or not – daily acts of love is meant for people you love. God let us go through pain for a reason and to refine us for the future:

Lesson 1: Unconditional love is a commitment to go on loving for love’s sake, to go on appreciating the gift of life, to go on believing there is good in humankind, despite the failures, disappointments, tragedies and mysteries that are part of every human existence.

Lesson 2: Compassion arises when you think less about your difficulties with forgiveness and more about the insights your suffering has brought you

Lesson 3: As long as we judge people as being more or less worth of love, we are confusing the value of their life with the value of their actions. We can love some actions more, and some less. We can admire some behaviours, despise others. But love asks more of us than that. No matter how foul someone’s life is, how devastating their actions, that person remains as deserving of love as you or I.

Lesson 4: No one can make you into a slave. When you must do something you usually resent, choose the attitude you bring to the task. Choosing to do something wholeheartedly and well expresses your freedom. It also depends your sense of honour and validates your self-respect.

Lesson 5: To be loving, you don’t need to have someone special in your life. The state of loving is special in itself. It needs no particular goal. No particular object. It is the state of the heart and mind, a way of being.

Sleepy @ Work

Feeling sleepy on a Monday morning and this is after weeks of non-stop social outings. I think its time for a little rest or I might just burn out. I'm been going out every free time I had that my house-maid is almost konk-ed out from going out with me. Yesterday was a good example of maximising my Sundays and minimising my rest time.

I have been studying on Sundays for so long that I could hardly remember when was the last time I actually went out with my youngest sis. Yesterday, we went to 1-U to catch a movie and I discovered that my little sis can actually play pool quite well if she wants. My little sis who is still very much the little girl who runs around stealing my liquid paper and smiles with her 'durian' hairstyle. Well, everyone grows up and she's blooming into a young adult before my eyes. Though currently, she looks like Mel more than anyone in our family. Maybe it is the hairstyle and the love for wearing Ts and jeans.

PC nerd just dared me yesterday to play on the children's slide in 1-U and it was ok except that my skirt was a bit short and I malu to 'chow kong'. The BET: I play on the playground, PC nerd washes my car..haha.

Now feeling extremely tired. Going to go back to work and keep awake. I'm so wishing it is 6pm and I can pop into bed.

PMS Attacks

Symptoms
Contractual pains, bloatation and hormonal imbalance

Signs
Crankiness, psychotic temperants, irritable, IBS

WARNING
Stay away from me at this point of time

This whole PMS saga started when I was a teenager and despite the doctors telling me that this will go away when I turn 21, it didn't happen. I'm still facing this daunting saga and every month...I feel like crap. I wonder why some people don't get this while others get extremely bad attacks. Mine is so obvious that my whole family can tell that I'm facing PMS. I've tried all sorts of pills and herbs till I'm freaked out and NOTHING WORKS! Even exercise doesn't elevate the pain. The only resort...painkillers and WHOOSAH! It goes away for 5 hours till the painkillers wear off. Panadol earns a monthly income from me and I don't even pay the bank that timely each month.

The only thing that even seems to work is to consume a healthy diet of vege, fruits and dairy products (loads of it) and no spicy or oily food before my PMS (which incidentally means I have to go without my favourite nasi lemak or tom yam). This is so sad, can you imagine eating a vege-diet and a dairy-diet when I am slightly lactose-intolerant? Bad combo but my only cure.

The other alternative: Take birth-control pills to control my hormonal imbalance and when I did for a month, I started eating like there was no tomorrow. I had this craving to eat and eat and eat and even when my stomach is so full, I just wanted to eat. Bad effect considering that my metabolism doesn't burn out that fast nowadays and I have to jog everyday to avoid becoming a fat little pig. Thus, the life of a woman under the attack of PMS.

If you think you can't dance...

I just watched "Take the Lead", another dance movie with bad story plot but extremely gorgeous dance moves. I am a big sucker for dance movies.Anyway, for people who thinks you can't dance a single move, i shall leave you with a word from Pierre Dulaine (played by hot Antonio Banderas),

Student : I can't dance.
Pierre: Do you like dancing?
Student: Yeah....
Pierre: Then you are made FOR dancing:)

So, dance your hearts out, people.

Book: The Kite Runner

I definitely like this book a lot because it made me cry a lot:p My fave quote from the book is when Hassan says to Amir "For you, a thousand times over". It sums up the love and loyalty of Hassan to his best friend. Hassan will inspire you with his courage and optimism in troubled times, you would think whether such person ever exist. The plot centres on this one-sided but unique friendship, set in troubled Afghanistan. Yet this is the kind of friend I hope to be, one who would lay down her life for her friends.

Fate is never in your hands, it is geographically determined

Han yang, Yuting and I went to the World Press Exhibition yesterday. The photos were hauntingly beautiful and emotional (obviously, since they are the best of the best photos). In the words of James Colton, the photo editor of Sports Illustrated, "great photos give a few answers while raising a few more questions". And that is what these photos had achieved. The faces of the people and their stories were immortalised in these photos, making one ponders on how fragile life can be. Seeing a bodiless head, a crying orphan Iraqi girl, a marathon in the desert, the bloody polar bear, these photos readily imprint on my mind.
We are all humans, yet our fates are never the same. In fact, fate has never been in our own hands. Funny, fate seems to be more influenced by geography. In Malaysia, we are living comfortably (though plagued by snatch thieves, robbery, murders etc.), in Iraqi, Middle East, Acheh, people are overwhelmed by war and tsunami and barely surviving.
All in all, I know I am very blessed to be in the right place.

Maths As Women Understand

ROMANCE MATHEMATICS
Smart man + smart woman = romance
Smart man + dumb woman = affair
Dumb man + smart woman = marriage
Dumb man + dumb woman = pregnancy

OFFICE ARITHMETIC
Smart boss + smart employee = profit
Smart boss + dumb employee = production
Dumb boss + smart employee = promotion
Dumb boss + dumb employee = overtime

SHOPPING MATH
A man will pay $20 for a $10 item he needs.
A woman will pay $10 for a $20 item that she doesn't need.

GENERAL EQUATIONS & STATISTICS
A woman worries about the future until she gets a husband.
A man never worries about the future until he gets a wife.
A successful man is one who makes more money than his wife can spend.
A successful woman is one who can find such a man.

HAPPINESS
To be happy with a man, you must understand him a lot and love him a little.
To be happy with a woman, you must love her a lot and not try to understand her at all.

LONGEVITY
Married men live longer than single men do, but married men are a lot more willing to die.

PROPENSITY TO CHANGE
A woman marries a man expecting he will change, but he doesn't.
A man marries a woman expecting that she won't change, and she does.

DISCUSSION TECHNIQUE
A woman has the last word in any argument.
Anything a man says after that is the beginning of a new argument.

Things you'll never get in Singapore

After living in Singapore for 2 years, I realized that there are a few things that you will never get in Singapore no matter how hard you try:

1. You'll never get to see a live chicken. City life must be very dentrimental to chicken cuz the only chickens I see here are dead ones.
   
2. You'll never get lost. Go ahead, try to get lost by walking around aimlessly in Singapore. Chances are that you'll reach somewhere familiar or see a signboard indicating where you are. This city is just too small.
   
3. You'll never get a bad treatment if you are a Mat Salleh. Blondes seem to be treated like gods around here. Singaporeans adore them the way sunflowers adore the sun.
   
4. You'll never get to do mountain climbing. When they say that Singapore has no natural resources, they mean it. No mountain, no jungle. The best alternative is to conquer a hill or better still, climb the stairs of the HDB flat.
5. You'll never get a car plate no "SEX XXXX". Sigh, the Singaporean government wouldn't allow this particular registration for cars. If allowed, car sales would have sky rocketed during that period and maybe then, the government's campaign encouraging baby making would have better response. ~Hoey lit~
   

Stupid PC

Yawnz, i just realize that out home needs a new CPU .... gah the software manga studio just told me my current pc has insufficient proccessing power to do more advance layouts........

Which to me is like a big NOOOOOOOOOO... since after that it crashed and i havent saved my effort -_-.

Life is cruel but oh well i will just have to get a temphorary job and get mum and dad a better comp .........

P/S: papa is hinting too me he need new games and i keep telling him the old pc cant take the new game XD

Hoey Sheen

The youngest of the siblings, her name includes the name of a beautiful flower, carnation. True to her name, she is the favourite of our mum... that is, before Cookie arrived and took that throne.Hoey Sheen is very bubbly and has a gift in making your day brighter. A keen observer, she notices the weirdest things e.g. the new pimple on your face, the insignificant bird in the background of a manga, etc. Her flyaway hair and laid back attitude will mislead people to think that she is inorganised. Quite the contrary, she is the most systematic person in our family and definitely, a clean freak. And you can't fool her, she is street smart and manupulative at times:) Just be careful, don't get tricked by this aspiring psychologist instead.
She has a huge talent for sleeping a lot and anywhere too - the bus, floor, etc. During our secondary days, she is always late for classes cuz she failed to wake up in the bus when it reached the school. Besides that, our dear sister has the most original thoughts e.g. Perth is not in Australia, the combination of two colours - pink and beige is BI**H, Art Garfunkel's name changed to Art F**kenel.
A very pretty and photogenic gal, she can also play the piano, sing, dance and work the tambourine. She loves CSI, computer Solitaire (of all games?), emptying Hoey Theen's food stock and dressing up. That is our lil' sis who stole our hearts ~Hoey Lit~

Malaysian politics introduction for foreigners

Ever wonder what Malaysia politics is like? Well, to deepen your knowledge, I shall give you a concise introduction to the 3 main parties in Malaysia:

• UMNO is the biggest and most powerful party (representing the Malays). Thus, if you want to survive in Malaysia, U Must Never Oppose them.
• MCA represents the Chinese population, who by the way, are the richest race in Malaysia. Hence, they control the economic situation of this country, proving that Money Conquers Anything.
• MIC is the smallest party of the three, representing the Indians who are neither the majority race nor the richest. This translates to little political power. Therefore, everytime there is a political gathering, they probably be thinking "Must I Come?".

Go read the newspaper if you want to know more, k? ~Hoey Lit~

Mum & Dad

ok... These are the coolest ppl in our lives... i believe i'm speaking for all the 5 siblings in the family... sometimes we just can't stop laughing about what they do... like neglect the other 4 of us and give all the TLC to (you know who)...haha... just joking... anyway, we love and cherish them a whole lot..
My dad...is someone who's very far-sighted.... can you believe this or not... he actually started saving for the family (education, daily provisions, etc.) even before we were born....at least before i was born... He looks stern but that's just all looks.... ppl out there don't be deceived.... his heart softens the minute Cookie comes in the picture...man i tell you, i have not seen that side of him much before THE DOG came into the family frame...Well, he's pretty much a very stable person.... He likes to fly planes but before that chance comes to him, he has his training with computer games especially the game "PEARL HARBOR something something something" (can't really remember the title)...
As for my mum, haha.. she makes us laugh a lot... e.g.: she actually thought that the Gateway factory was a milk factory because it was painted with patches of black on white (just like the colouration of a cow)...can't really blame her though... i think i almost got caught with that thought too at first glance...haha... well, that's pretty looooooong ago....she has more of that, like making funny sounds when talking to Cookie. Sometimes it sounds like she's talking to her grandchild (in which she still does not have any)...oh, she's a really good cook (pong teh) and a very capable homemaker....i wonder how she can be so patient... hmmmm....she never ask us to the the house chores when we were schooling...

P/s: Realise the amount of times cookie's name appears on screen???

-Hoey Sheen-