Kaj & Christene's 21st Birthday

On the night of 27th of August, I celebrated the birthday of two people so like each other yet will wage war against each other if they have to. To my friends K & C, welcome to the world of adulthood. :D

Taken by Kiku Zakura waitress but it is my only group photo so bear with me: SY, A, C, LW, K, me (on the left) & J, CM, C, B, Yy (on the right) ... Apologies to those that the photo did not do justice to :P
K & me :D

C & CM :D

After much debate between me & J, we finally decided to surprise them on an in between date. C's birthday is on 26th of August while K's is on 28th of August, so, we agreed upon 27th of August. Simple maths, no? The venue, Kiku Zakura is thanks to B. Hehe He pulled a lot of strings to get us the venue. I hoped that K will finally be able to say he has tried good jap food (past experience were poor :P)

C found out that the wasabi is served as cute leaf impressions.

Tempura by Kiku Zakura (K's order)

Udon by Kiku Zakura (C's order)

J ordered something cheese... ? Looks nice though :P

Anyway, the night began late (due to us all being Malaysian's :P & of course the heavy downpour leading to heavy traffic) (Murphy's Law?). Fortunately, we managed to surprise them because they didn't know so many people came (11 plus the celebrities)! The cake was the highlight though! The ice cream dog cake gave all the girls something to scream about! But the best cake award goes to CM and her 21 cupcakes. Ohhh! Sinfully delicious ... hmm, we are all now thinking of ways to get her to continue cooking in S'ban :P

The cupcakes!! (Trying very hard not to drool) :P

The ice cream cake ... hehe truth was it was suppose to be brown ... ah well, it worked well anyway :D

A special thanks to my partner's in crime J & B. To all who attended & those whose hearts were with us but not unfortunately unable to be there, thank you! Last but not least to the two newly 21st, I hope you had a great time and that the years to come are filled with many more laughters. Happy 21st Birthday.

PS: My sincere apologies due to poor photos (my camera old mah!)

Astronomical Message

Disclaimer: I am not putting anyone down or lifting any one idea/concept in this post. I would just like to present my own view upon a thought that has been revolving round my head.

Some weeks ago (some as in at least 2 weeks ...), I watched a video about a message of God. It talked about the space & the astronomical bodies which reflected God's view on us. It was touching and Ad had wanted to watch it with me. I truly agree with the message: we on Earth are so small compared to the universe. Yet, we are all loved by Him. We measure by meter and the galaxy by light years (distance travelled by light in a year ). It was awesome to watch. However, I was not as moved as Ad was watching it. It truly bothered me that I was did not feel the same excitement he felt.

http://schoolnet.gov.mt/earth_universe/images/milkyway.jpg

Finally, I truly realise the reason. The reason I felt that seeing God in the galaxy is not that moving is that I always felt He was much much much closer to Earth than seemed. (Not to say the video was wrong, but I prefer seeing Him this way ...) I see Him in childbirth, growth, smiles, laughter, patience ... all the small miracles in a day (incidentally, this reminds me of a song I like: Ordinary miracles by Sarah Mchlachlan). I am a believer that everything happens to His will for a better future. For me, if I pass a traffic light which remained green for me, that is a sign of His miracle.

Source:

1) http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www1.istockphoto.com/file_thumbview_approve/3609625/2/istockphoto_3609625_stork_cartoon.jpg&imgrefurl=http://gummybearsandgreenmango.blogspot.com/2008/05/how-to-hold-baby.html&h=380&w=285&sz=30&hl=en&start=33&sig2=uR4OjksYPkZBComPD7wVJg&um=1&tbnid=TB4TM2SCrSiXhM:&tbnh=123&tbnw=92&ei=Vc6rSO_NO4TIsgL6vbHVDw&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dbaby%2Bcartoon%26start%3D18%26ndsp%3D18%26um%3D1%26hl%3Den%26rls%3Dcom.microsoft:en-us:IE-Address%26rlz%3D1I7SKPB%26sa%3DN

2) http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/ni/040929_rfoster_mp_ict_trafficlights_sensor.jpg

Perhaps I should learn to see Him in a different light ... or perhaps He is just everywhere for everyone to view differently.

Convocation celebration

My university is having a convo celeb for my batch that has finished phase 1. When I got the letter, I had mixed feelings ...

I was proud that I had finished my phase 1. It has been 2 1/2 yrs of pain, tears, sweat, laughter and screams. I felt that I had reached a milestone. A point before I enter the dreaded phase 2.

I am also grateful to my uni. They have taken the effort to recognize our achievement. The want to honour us for the journey we have made along with them. (Before anyone criticizes ... I believe in giving the uni admin the benefit of the doubt that they are not just trying to have publicity)

However, after reading the letter, I felt depress (I think it is the emotion that suites best but maybe it is more of a combination of disappointment and apprehension). On that day, I (my batch) will being wearing a robe without hood or mortar board. I (my batch) do not earn a degree but rather a certificate that we have passed the phase 1. I feel rather "sweepable under the carpet"?

Other than that, I did not truly achieve my goal for the finals to finish the phase 1 programme. My results were below the average score. Hence, I am a below the average student. While many know that passing is the main idea ... I can't help but feel under achieved. I don't feel accomplished. I can almost imagine myself on the day of the convo ... walking down from the stage and crying, not out of joy but out of failure. Sigh. Maybe I am just feeling under the weather.

Well, I am grateful to have come this far no matter what my dreams were. So, while I am grateful to both fate (for my results) and my uni (for the honour), I have made the decision to not attend the ceremony. Perhaps I am reading to deep. Perhaps I am being silly. Perhaps I am being selfish. But, I can't help how I feel. Thanks but sorry :P

School of thought for success

Some amusing (to me, of course ... you might find this in the category of "..." :P) thoughts crossed my mind while watching this Cantonese Drama entitled "Life Made Simple". I don't mean to criticize or give a review, but there is a subplot of it that intrigue me. The subplot is about succeeding in a higher class society.

A poor public estate (low on social rank) girl (C) had opportunity to further studies and return to her hometown with a degree. She began work in a famous company along with her cousin (A) who is wealthy. C is brought up to know that with knowledge and hard work, one can change the fate of one's future. Due to her diligence, she manages to gather money for studies, renovate the house and climb rank in the company.

A is holds on to the principle that presentation and knowing people will get you to the top of the ladder. She dresses the part (she can afford it anyway! :D ) and uses the contacts she has to pave her way to success. Her method causes a lot of people to get hurt and play into her hands.

Now, don't get me wrong. I am neither for nor against the thoughts. The core of me believes that the values we have will help us rise; hardworking, loyal, honesty. But, one cannot deny the windows formed by having contacts. Sometimes, one has to play a gambit (a move to sacrifice something else to protect or rather allow advancement/success). I cannot help wondering the power one will have if he/she can manipulate the chess pieces on the board so easily(no offence to anyone who plays chess, but rather a metaphor of life's decisions). Perhaps a combination of both school of thought is optimum but not so realistic :P

No particular side or strong opinion but rather just some random musings ...