From My Perspective

So how have things been?

2011-06-06T23:18:00.003+08:00

What a vague question, that is. Yet, one that has the potential to unlock a conversation full of life-sharing. Or not.

You see, I've recently learnt that we have the extraordinary ability to stifle a conversation, even when it is riddled with open-ended questions.

Case in point:
A: So how are you? How have things been?
B: Fine fine.. what about you?
A: Okay la.. so-so only. How's your job? Stress or not?
B: Like that lorr... you?
A: Okay only lor.. nothing much happening.

And there you have it - a conversation that's full of answers that don't say much at all!

We're so accustomed to this form of conversation, we don't realise that there's no transfer of information or sharing of lives, just a transfer of words and formalities.

I often do this myself too.

I guess you could say that it depends entirely on the depth of relationship between the 2 parties. Perhaps.

But I think most of the time - we're reluctant to share.

Are we really such private people that we refuse to share our life with friends?

But instead fuel conversations by talking about people other than yourselves?

What is this feeling?

2011-01-10T22:20:00.004+08:00

What is this feeling? This feeling of discontentment?

What is this feeling? This feeling of anger?

What is this feeling? This feeling of being at the losing end?

How long shall I hold on?

How long shall I persevere?

Sometimes, it feels like it is worth my effort at all.

Why should I care, if you don't?

Why should I go the distance, if you're not willing to move an inch?

Why should I stay, if there's no joy left?

How long? How much more can I take?

Oh Lord. Help me.

Realistic dreams. Dreamy reality.

2010-07-23T18:50:00.003+08:00

I wonder if I should allow myself to float so high and lose touch of reality. Because the issues of reality will definitely be hard ones to sort out. Don't want to be stuck in a dream thinking that is reality, or do I?

Musings, musings.

I'm back. ;-)

Until 'Ever After'

2010-02-20T11:41:00.011+08:00

Meet The Lady.

She is inching into her forties. Single. Yearning to settle down.

Highly qualified, excellent at her work. A specialist.

Why is she single? Who knows. Perhaps it was her plain Jane looks that kept men at bay? Or maybe it was her high qualifications as a medical doctor that left men feeling 'under-qualified'. Perhaps it was her demanding career that left her no time to socialize. A common plague among doctors, regardless of gender.

There isn't one single reason that she could pick out to be the culprit. Perhaps it was a combination of culprits that contributed to her lack of companionship.

She has a slightly chubby appearance, a weathered smile with a hint of insecurity. Insecurity, something she that she has tried (and is still trying) to defeat throughout her years of searching.

There's no denying that she no longer has her young looks. And it seems that that is all the men at her age are looking for. Sweet young things. A heart of gold, she has. But the years passed has strained her heart. It is growing tired. It is tiring to keep hoping.

Oh, she's had her share of failed relationships. One even cheated her of her financial savings. By the time she found out, it was too late, the money was gone and she was alone - heartbroken.

Enters The Jerk. Also single. Thinks the world of himself.

You could call him 'The Player', but his slouchy, slacking, unimpressive and undistinguished appearance and attitude dis-entitles him from that label. A more accurate description would be 'a bag of potatoes', or so they say. Harsh, but true.

Yet, with his qualification, he does have some bargaining power. He is a lawyer.

How a lawyer and a bag of potatoes can co-exist in a 1 body is beyond me. But that's not for me to decipher.

The Jerk recognizes The Lady as a lady in distress. I guess it was easy to tell that she was 'desperate'. The Jerk takes advantage. Goes in for the kill.

She is happy, momentarily. Oh, to receive attention of a man, however half-hearted it was, was a sign of a something good. It gave her a twinkle of hope for an 'ever after'. The word 'happily' preceding the phrase would be an optional prefix, she tells herself.

She'll make do. She'll settle for him. After all, she has not many cards left to play.

Guess you could say that they were 'together' or 'going out'. But considering the way he treated her, I think it would have been more appropriate to call it an 'open relationship'. At least that is what people call it these days.

The Jerk came to her when he needed her company. She cooked for him. Listened to him. Bared her hopeful heart to him. After all, she was ever the expectant one. The adoring eyes of a hopeful lady, who could ask for more?

But The Jerk had his eyes set higher. He went out with other potentials. Other single, more attractive ladies. But The Lady was always his comfort zone, the rebound. Kinda like the safe zone he goes back to rest after he's had a ball outside.

Whether she knew what he was doing this behind her back, I don't know. Perhaps, she did. But wanted to think the best of him. Wanted to hope for the best.

This went on for 4 years. She had hoped for 4 years. Never once did he mention 'marriage'. Her parents had spoken to him, nudging him in that direction. Spiritual leaders even asked if he had those intentions.

His reasons were superficial. He complained she is too fat. Not attractive. There were better options. If only he could take a good long look in the mirror. What a Jerk.

She wants to settle down. She wants to give him the ultimatum, but yet she fears that he will walk away, with no hesitation.

But it was time she made a decision. Her expectation had lowered. But it will not go any lower.

So she decides to walk away. Heartbroken - again.

How to you explain the feeling - being totally without hope, yet totally hopeful, all at the same time?

Because that was exactly how she felt. Hope is lost, but still she hopes for yet another day.

Because she has no other option, but to continue hoping.

Until 'ever after'.

Fall in love again

2010-02-14T17:47:00.005+08:00

I don't think I've ever missed posting a blog entry every Valentine's day since I started blogging. I think.

Don't plan to break the tradition. :-)

I remember listening to this song on the radio and didn't think much of it. But it was only after a couple of listens did I really hear the lyrics to it. And when I did (one of the mornings while I was driving to work), it made me smile. Kinda like when I heard this song.

I was hooked, but never bothered to Google or Youtube it. Never knew who the singer was until I heard the radio announcer said this name yesterday: Jason Castro.

Familiar...

*!!!*

American Idol Season 7 contestant! I fell in love with his voice when he sang 'Michelle' by The Beatles. Helps that he has a charming face too. ;-)p

I like the song's upbeat tune, the cute lyrics. Very lovey-dovey, falling-in-love-for-the-first-time, that fuzzy feeling feeling. (Yes, you read me right, you read 'feeling' twice.)

Love it. Apt for Valentine's day, no? Enjoy!

Just to set the record straight: I like the song, but I kinda have issues with his dreadlocks which are so obviously longer than the girl in the video clip. Seems a little odd. Plus he has that pretty boy look, which I think makes him as pretty as, if not prettier than, the girl. I think I'd still prefer guys to have short hair.

All that aside, here's wishing all of you, "Gong Xi Fa Chai!"

The car is mine.

2010-01-14T21:12:00.004+08:00

I love the Kelisa I drive. I think it's the cutest car (after the VW Beetle and Mini Cooper, haha). So when my dad announced months ago that he would be paying the final installment of the car loan, I chirpily said, "I'll pay the last installment! Then the car is mine!"

I only got around to transferring the money to him early this morning. Later that morning, he sent the following email to me.

If you didn't already know, my dad is quite the joker.

So, it's official! I own the Kelisa. Well, at least 1.24% of it.

My Face

2010-01-04T22:02:00.004+08:00

My face went on strike last year.

Like a minefield, pimples started erupting one-by-one, non-stop.

Can cry. Really.

I remember praying to God to take them away.
I remember wondering IF it would ever go away.
I remember people asking if I was hitting my second puberty. Haha.

Facial sessions were extra long and extremely excruciating. (alliteration rocks).

I blame it all on work stress.

The harder I work, the more stressed I get, the worse my face becomes. The more pimples I get, the more scars there are, and the more I have to spend on facials with my hard-earned money to make my face better.

So, really. It doesn't seem like a good deal to me.

I took one week off over Christmas and New Year, and look what happened. My face is pimple free and clearing up, glowing even. Which proves that the less I work, the better my face looks.

So, if the solution is as simple as taking a week off, then my solution to pimple-free face is simple:

Don't work = No stress = Good face.

Like that will happen in the near future for me, right?

*sigh*

If only stress had the reverse effect. The more stressed, the brighter the glow. Then I wouldn't mind working more. Haha.

The Reason

2009-12-25T02:09:00.007+08:00

Wishing everyone a blessed celebration of The Reason,
and a colourful 2010 ahead!

"Glory to God in the highest,
and on earth peace to men on whom his favour rests."

Puzzled

2009-12-18T01:56:00.004+08:00

That's exactly how I feel right now.

No Faith Required

2009-12-15T10:12:00.007+08:00

ShoweRevelation:
If life were perfect and went exactly as how we would plan it,
there would be no uncertainties.
Without uncertainties, there would be no faith required.
When there is no need for faith, there will be no testimonies of faith.
If we had no testimonies of faith,
how else would we tell of His faithfulness in our lives?

So are you called to a life of faith?

Photo taken from Mike Chitty's Enterprise and Entrepreneurship in the Community

"Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see."
Hebrews 11:1

"And without faith, it is impossible to please God because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him."
Hebrews 11:6

What does it mean to be a man?

2009-11-25T01:19:00.018+08:00

"A man is defined by what he produces and not what he consumes."

Watch and you'll understand the line above.

[You can watch this in HD, go to this YouTube link]

"You wanna marry a guy you want to have babies with, you don't want to marry a guy who's a baby."

"Guys don't take initiative cuz Christian guys don't want to fail, and if they don't try they can't fail, and by definition, that's a failure."

"John (the Baptist) shows us what a real man is. He's filled with the spirit, he humbly prepares the way for Jesus, he's an evangelist who makes it his life's work to introduce others to Jesus. He's a man who, ultimately, is a giver, not a taker. He's a producer, not a consumer."

"You want to be creators and cultivators. If you want to image God, God as a creator and a cultivator:
you create a marriage and you cultivate that woman;
you create a child with her and you cultivate that child;
you create a new family legacy for generations and you cultivate it;
you create a business and you cultivate it;
you create a ministry and you cultivate it.

Want to be a man? You're a creator and a cultivator.
You're a producer, not a consumer. You're a giver, not a taker. You bring life, not death. You're not looking for the path with least resistance, you're looking for the path of greatest glory to God."

A-men!

Job match-making

2009-11-23T00:09:00.004+08:00

Lately, JobsDB has been sending me Job Alerts pretty frequently. Is this a sign? *ooooo..* haha..

But look what they have matched me with.

Swimwear designer? Making me wonder: what in the world was my job criteria at that time?

Bear in mind, this was when I was first looking for a job - more than 2 years ago.

Maybe I was ambitious then. Haha.

I love Thee

2009-11-18T11:22:00.004+08:00

My Jesus, I love Thee
My Jesus, I love Thee, I know Thou art mine;
For Thee all the follies of sin I resign.
My gracious Redeemer, my Savior art Thou;
If ever I loved Thee, my Jesus, ’tis now.

I love Thee because Thou has first loved me,
And purchased my pardon on Calvary’s tree.
I love Thee for wearing the thorns on Thy brow;
If ever I loved Thee, my Jesus, ’tis now.

I’ll love Thee in life, I will love Thee in death,
And praise Thee as long as Thou lendest me breath;
And say when the death dew lies cold on my brow,
If ever I loved Thee, my Jesus, ’tis now.

In mansions of glory and endless delight,
I’ll ever adore Thee in heaven so bright;
I’ll sing with the glittering crown on my brow;
If ever I loved Thee, my Jesus, ’tis now.

- William Ralph Featherston, 1864

I Love Thee, Lord.

- Melody Ng, 18 Nov 2009

1864 - switch the '8' and '6', flip the '6' upside down, and then you get? 1984!
That's right, I'm 25 years old. And that's okay. =)

Seeing beyond warna

2009-11-11T01:01:00.008+08:00

Something got me thinking.

About us seeing beyond our colour.

If the real purpose of 1Malaysia, is for us to be united as a country, and see beyond the colour of our skin...

Then why should seeing a group of Chinese dudes together be a problem? Why would it be considered racial and not 1Malaysia-like?

Why should we say,

"Look, they are not muhibah,"

when we see only a particular ethnic group together?

Because whether the group consisted of

[Ali, Ahmad, Amin] OR [Abu, Muthu, and Ah Chong],

aren't both groups considered MALAYSIAN?

Because if you truly believed in seeing everyone as Malaysian, then your comment of

"Eh, why no 'dan lain-lain' in this blogpost? So not 1Malaysia.."

already proves that you're still seeing through 'coloured lenses'.

*I'd like to know if you think this makes sense. Let's talk this through.

The Park Bench Dance

2009-11-01T23:26:00.007+08:00

So You Think You Can Dance, Season 2, Episode 16

I really like this dance. Sad, but beautiful.

Edited: Click on the pic to view the video.

Google that, Facebook me and Tweet about it.

2009-10-24T10:36:00.006+08:00

You can tell how stuff has changed/influenced our lives by how it has changed our language.

The linguist in me (and I like to claim there is one, haha) has emerged.

I was just thinking about it this morning (when my brain is at the edge of waking up but my body wasn't ready to get out of bed just yet), how proper nouns have evolved to become verbs, particularly around social media tools found on our booming and ever-growing world wide web.

The strongest proof point we have is Google, the world's most popular search engine.

"Go google it lah!"

You'll never hear someone say "I'll go Bing it." (oooh, 1st blow of the day).

What you might hear is "I'll google it on Bing." (2nd blow *dingdingding*)

Yahoo! tried to create a similar effect years ago, with "Do you Yahoo?" but I don't think it ever did catch on.

What about Facebook?

"Do you facebook?" "Yeah, I'm facebook-ing right now!"

Never have I heard anyone say "Come, Friendster me! I'm Friendster-ing." (3rd one, I'm ruthless)

My final proof point for the day: Twitter.

Twitter is major. They have a whole new twictionary for Twitter.

From twerds to Star Twekkies on Twitterverse, tweeple have successfully created a whole new bunch of twords (am I going overboard with this? haha) from one social media tool alone.

What gets to me the most is when someone says "Do you twit?" instead of "Do you tweet?"

Because you should know that a twit can tweet, but a tweet is not necessarily a twit. (I'll leave you to explore the meanings yourself, google it!)

All you need to do to make it offensive is add a comma in it: "Do you, twit?"

And so next time you're online, google your own name (I'm sure you have already!), facebook me and don't tweet rubbish. I indulge in occasional emotional twoutbursts on twitter, bear with me. I'm usually fine by the next tweet. =)

Till I write again, twoodles!

Run Terry, Run!

2009-10-18T21:08:00.012+08:00

There's this run which is held every year.

In commemoration of this man - Terrance Stanley Fox.

He's the dude who ran the Marathon of Hope halfway across Canada with 1 prosthetic leg.

Without too much grandmother story, here's the short and condensed FAQ on Terry Fox.

How did Terry Fox lose his leg?
Cancer. Something called osteosarcoma.

Which leg?
The right one.

How old was he when he lost his right leg?
Only 18.

What was he like? Tell me more about him.
Well, he was a jock (without the 'dumb' prefix). Seriously. Soccer, rugby, baseball, diving. An active dude, he was. Very driven. A go-getter.

So, why did he run the Marathon of Love?
He lost his leg to cancer, was motivated to make a difference, despite being an amputee. There was no cure for cancer then (and now too). So he ran to raise funds for cancer research. His goal was to raise $1 for each person in Canada at that time, which amounted to $24 million.

Marathon, huh? How far did he run?
He intended to run a total of 8000km across Canada, 42km a day. Unfortunately, he only ran 5,374km (143 days consecutively) before his cancer relapsed and had spread to his lungs.

How did this become an annual tradition?
Someone pledged to Terry Fox that his Marathon of Love would be continued every year in his honour until Terry's dream of overcoming cancer is realized.

And here we are, still championing the cause of cancer research.

Some of you may have been so unfortunate to lose a family member or close loved ones to cancer. But we can still do our part to help the Cancer Research Intiatives Foundation (CARIF) in their noble efforts.

Terry Fox Run KL 2009
Date: Sunday, 1 November 2009
Venue: Flag off @ 9.00 a.m. Taman Tasik Perdana
Registration: FREE FREE FREE!

"Hah, then how they raise money?" you ask.

Get this T-shirt for only RM25. And do your part to support cancer research. If you want to order the T-shirts, call/sms/email or leave me a comment, and I can get them for ya.

See you at the run!

Dancing. Waiting.

2009-10-12T00:47:00.004+08:00

Again, I'm reminded of a lesson I am still learning - waiting.

It helps that I can fully visualize the pictures Aunty Selina paints.
Only because I know her and her characters pretty well.

Also because I'm a sucker for dance.

Which is why I'm encouraged by this devotional.
Dance? What Dance?!

I'm blessed. Thank you, Aunty Selina.
You have always been a blessing to me.

20 years

2009-10-04T22:17:00.003+08:00

As much as we can try to re-create innocence, a lot has changed in 20 years.

Size-wise, quite obviously. =P

We'll do this again 20 years from now. ;-)

Permission to date

2009-09-05T13:00:00.008+08:00

Guys, here's a heads up.

My dad recently handed me this form and said "If any guy asks you out on a date, ask him to come talk to me. He needs to fill up this form first."

I took a look at the form. The questions are pretty harsh, but straightforward, if you can get past them, you should do fine.

Shh.. don't tell him I'm showing you all this. He doesn't know.

Page 1

Page 2

Page 3

I suggest, if you really wanna impress, print out the form and fill it up before you meet him. Then hand the form to him with a nice bottle of red wine. May not guarantee immediate approval, but I think you'll earn a few more brownie points.

Good luck!

When you grow up

2009-09-03T01:34:00.009+08:00

When you grow up
      Things change
      Innocence is lost
      Experience is gained.

When you grow up
      The wrongs can seem ‘okay’
      The rights become less important
      The line between right and wrong becomes less clear
      The end sometimes justifies the means you take.

When you grow up
      Decisions become tougher
      Your ideals may be shattered
      Your beliefs will be challenged.

When you grow up
      You’ll meet many different people,
      Big and small, short and tall,
      Some kind, some mean;
      Some wear masks, others don’t bother,
      Some you’ll respect, some you’ll aspire to be;
      Others can be rude, bitter or just plain crude.

When you grow up
      You’ll learn that asking for help is necessary,
      That your rights are not always as important
      As you thought they were
      Being humble can be seen as a loss
      You may get confused, jaded.

But when you grow up
      Remember your Maker
      Forget not His Word
      Consider His faithfulness as in the days of your youth
      Take not for granted His mercies, enough for each day.

When you grow up
      Seek His counsel,
      His wisdom is far better than precious jewels or gold,
      It surpasses knowledge,
      Far greater than the wisdom of this world.

When you grow up
      He won’t ever change
      He’ll remain the same,
      So will His love for you endure and remain
      Will yours for Him stay the same?

The reason why I'm still up

2009-08-20T01:00:00.006+08:00

I got hooked, beautifying my blog.

Do you like this new design? I did a little bit of sprucing up, even managed to do some HTML programming to create 'static' pages on Blogger. *beaming* So proud of myself.

I tweeted a while back that my goal is to sleep by 12.00am every night.

I failed tonight, obviously.

But bring on the eyebags and yawns, cos seeing my all-new and beautiful blog now is so worth my beauty sleep.

Sometimes I wonder why I bother, cos I don't really publicize my blog that much. Nor do I really want to. For self-satisfaction, I guess.

Every couple has a love story to tell

2009-07-11T01:03:00.032+08:00

Here’s one I heard just today.

She had always thought he was a snob. She was friends with everyone in church, his friends, and even his sister, but she neither acknowledged nor said a word to or him. “A stuck up, he is,” so she thought.

He, perhaps, thought the same of her. “Always late for church services. A wild child,” was what she thought HE thought of her. (Her working times then often overlapped with service times)

One morning, out of the many mails which appeared in her Inbox, one particular mail stood out.

From an unknown email address. The mail was addressed to her, and a few other people, some of whom she knew. The contents didn’t contain much that was relevant to her though, perhaps a general encouragement to all. What was odd was there wasn’t even a sign off at the end of the mail.

A mystery sender. “How did this person get my work email address?” she wondered.

Curious, she replied the email, asking the mystery sender who he was.

He replied. Without revealing his name, he wittily and mysteriously identified himself as the best friend of so-and-so, the brother of so-and-so, and a host of other connections, most, if not all, of them she knew personally.

She could figure who he was – the snob, but the cleverly crafted email made her smile, laugh and interested her even more.

She replied and that was the start of their email communication and budding friendship. Every day, she would look forward to his email. It was always the first thing that greeted her every morning at work, without fail.

Life went on, she would see him around in church sometimes, but they never spoke in person. A tension built up between them, naturally. (I’m sure most of you will have experienced this before – you’re always on the lookout for him/her, you keep him/her in your sight most of the time. You’re not look straight at him/her, not stalking, of course, but he/she is always at the corner of your eye.)

All those emails, yet no spoken words. Not one. Brief knowing glances, perhaps.

3 months passed, and at long last, he plucked up the courage to ask her out.

Her heart fluttered. But being the lady that she was, she turned him down. Whatever her reasons were, she chose to play hard to get.

That didn’t deter him though. There is always a second time.

The second time came (what if it didn’t?!), then she gave in and agreed. The rest is history.

A little similar the movie “You’ve got mail”, don’t you think?

The only difference between that movie and this love story is – even after being married for years (I’m not sure how many), and now with a 3- or 4-year-old toddler in the family – she still receives an email from her beloved, every single morning in her Inbox, without fail*. (*Saturdays and Sundays excluded)

*The story above is a true account, paraphrased according to how it was told to me. Details are as accurate as possible to the actual event.

Now, how's that for a fairytale?

A letter to mothers

2009-06-29T23:01:00.007+08:00

Was chatting with a girlfriend today. We talked about our mutual friends and acquaintances getting married and/or having babies, about how crucial it is to receive blessings from parents when getting married and so on.

The conversation eventually led on to our current single and boyfriend-less state.

Like all other anxious mothers of 20-something-year-olds, hers is getting... well, anxious.

In semi-frustrated-semi-joking mode, she said:

“Last time when we were in highschool, when we used to go out or hang out with boys – she will marah, never allowed us to go out. Now we don’t go out with guys, no boyfriend – she also marah, keep on nagging and get upset because there are no prospects.”

Funny and ironic, but it’s true. It’s real.

I consider myself pretty blessed, considering that my mom is still hanging in there. She hasn’t, admirably, lost it yet. Not yet, anyway.

But listening to my friend’s complaints, I could empathise with her. So here is an open letter I write to all mothers, on behalf of all single ladies who are also in our situation.

---------------------------------------------------------------

Dear mothers,

We love you and understand your worry. As much as it is in our ability, we want to relieve you of your worries too. But, your worry, articulated in the form of nagging, only makes us more uneasy of our current state.

Beneath our seemingly nonchalant exterior, the ‘I don’t care's’ and the ‘I don’t need a guy’, we are concerned too. We’re just pretending not to care. Your anxiety only makes us more worried and insecure. You should know that deep down, we all want get married too.

Sometimes, this current state drives us to say things like “why do I need a guy?” and “what’s wrong with living my life alone?” It’s a self-comfort mechanism we employ to assure us of our independance and to play down our need to depend on a guy. This probably makes you more agitated and upset, but I guess it’s our way of preparing ourselves for the ‘worst’.

‘Getting a boyfriend’ is not as simple as it seems. It’s not like choosing a toy out of a toy store. It’s not a snap-and-get trick one can employ. Heck, it’s not even something we girls can initiate on our own (we could, but we’d rather be pursued than to throw ourselves at a guy). If there are no prospects, then there are no prospects.

Maybe some of us are not ready to get married. We’re just unsure of that role and the responsibilities involved. Then give us some time to think things through. Don’t rush us.

Maybe some of us have already given up on love. We’ve been through so much that we’re disillusioned by guys and relationships. Then maybe it’ll take time for our broken hearts to heal. Be patient with us. Help us nurture our hearts back to health. Speak hope.

How else can you help us? Be patient and uh, pray real hard. =)p Nagging only reminds us of what we already know. We’re sorry if we have snubbed you at times, you probably caught us at our most frustrated moments. Whenever you can, assure us. The best encouragement can only come from you. Try not to be overly kan-cheong. The pressures we feel from our aunties during CNY every year are more than we can bear. ;-)

Much love,
Your single daughter(s)

Summertime

2009-06-20T15:37:00.011+08:00

The typical lifespan of a human being is, according to the Bible, 70 years.

3 scores and 10, to be exact. Or 80, "if your strength endures". (Psalm 90:10)

Most believe that anything more than that is a bonus.

In most poetry, our lives are generally divided into four seasons i.e. Spring, Summer, Autumn and Winter.

Divide 70 by 4, you get 17.5 years.

Makes sense, cos Spring is when plants grow and flowers bloom. We grow the most physically and mentally, having to go to school, learn and soak up knowledge most of that 17.5 years.

I've passed that season years ago, and you could say that I'm in the middle of my "Summertime" now. Wheee....

Mental image of Summer - think fun in the sun, think loads of activites, think summer camps, think summer dresses, think summer love, think summer jobs, think summer vacations.

fun in the sun - it's always hot in Malaysia. fun? yeah, most times, I'm having fun.
loads of activities - aplenty, enough to keep me busy.
summer camps - we've got one coming up real soon! check it out on facebook.
summer dresses - I'm not so much a dress person, but got dresses also lah.
summer love - =), not yet. (methinks the folks are a little worried, =D at most. and I'd be lying if I said I didn't care.)
summer jobs - well, not exactly a summer job, but yeah, I've got a job. enjoying it too.
summer vacations - ada juga. I've been really blessed to be able to visit quite a few places in the past 2 years.

Yup, I'm living the summer season of my life. There've been a couple of hiccups along the way, but so far, I'm lovin' it!

The Who

2009-06-08T22:46:00.004+08:00

Picture taken from happyworker.com

What if your leap of faith had no landing ground?

And then you end up falling, indefinitely?

Well, that's probably why they call it a leap of 'FAITH' in the first place.

If it's about trust, then you'd better know who is it you can trust.

Cos, once you know the Who, then it's easier to believe the what, how, when, where, and why.

Tweeting vs Blogging

2009-06-06T21:48:00.002+08:00

Who's gonna win?

Right now, twitter's winning.

But we'll see.

I've still got a couple of things that i've been wanting to blog about.

Just never got down to doing it.

It's always: "next time", "tomorrow", or "not today".

Yeah, maybe next week.

Enjoy the rest of your weekend, peeps.

Live from Cedar Point

2009-06-02T17:45:00.004+08:00

Proof that my sister is still alive...

Say hi to mi and dy!

Think GLOBAL

2009-05-24T23:28:00.004+08:00

We use the word 'global', but sometimes lose sight of what it actually means, or forget just how much the word actually encompasses.

So I got excited when I saw this in Hong Kong, among the many many ad posters along the walls of the MTR stations.

I'm encouraged. We're not alone. But I should have known that already.

Be encouraged. =)

Twit twit

2009-05-15T12:48:00.003+08:00

Today's post will pose 1 question only.

Do you Tweet?

If you do, add me @swinnmelody

If you don't, sign up!

Wanna know more about Twitter? Here's something with a local flavour. Enjoy!

=D

2009-05-08T19:29:00.005+08:00

Hong Kong, Macau, I am coming!

Taken from http://www.destination360.com/

Happy happy joy joy!

Sum Ting Wong

2009-05-08T10:30:00.004+08:00

Something's wrong with Hotmail.

Or maybe something's wrong with Gmail.

I'm not receiving mails I'm supposed to get.

And you're thinking, "How can she know she's supposed to get emails when she didn't receive any?"

Aiya, the mail was sent from my Dad. From Gmail. And my sis, from Yahoo!.

So maybe something's wrong with Yahoo!.

This isn't the first time it has happened. The last time something like that happened was when Mom and Dad were in San Francisco.

Now we're communicating with sis over in US through email, and I'M NOT GETTING ANY MAILS FROM THEM! Boo. Feel so left out.

Maybe it's something wrong with the US-Malaysia-over-the-internet connection.

Yes, I'm pretty sure it's that.

---------------------------------------------------------------

So, all you out there on Gmail or Yahoo! or in US, if you sent a mail which may require a reply, and I don't reply, I probably didn't get it.

Resend the email to my alternate email, k? If you don't know what is my alternate email, go find out yourself. =P

If, after sending to both emails, I STILL don't reply, try a third time.

If after that, I STILL don't reply...

... get the hint. (ahahhahahahah! =P kidding kidding..)

Rock star, rock on!

2009-05-07T19:09:00.005+08:00

This video cracks me up.

Look at the girls swoon. haha!

Wanna see more? Visit the Intel Sponsors of Tomorrow website. Pretty cool stuff there. =)

There she goes...

2009-05-02T18:54:00.002+08:00

...leaving on a jetplane.

Reality didn't hit me until I saw all the bags packed to the brim.

5 months - it seems long now, but it'll be gone in no time. Enjoy it to the full, Mary!

And buy me many tops, shoes, bags and jeans. hehe

The Yearly Affair

2009-04-29T23:33:00.004+08:00

No, not my birthday.

Not my home spring cleaning season either.

NO, I wash my car more frequently, thankyouverymuch.

Yes, taxes.

Well, a first for me, starting this year.

No, I've not filed my taxes yet.

No, contrary to popular belief, not all girls crave the drama.*

Yes, I procastinate. More often than I should.

Inland Revenue Board of Malaysia, here I come!

---------------------------------------------------------------

*The belief is that girls crave drama in their lives, that's why they over-analyse and draw over-the-top conclusions about guys falling totally in love with them (when it's not true). Which is also why girls always wait for the very last minute to pay bills, apparently just to see if they'll make the cut off time. Oh, the drama~! (popularised by the movie He's Just Not That Into You.)

*EXTRA*
To report anyone whom you know is trying to evade taxes, click here. They're watching you. Watch out.

---------------------------------------------------------------

*EDIT* 12.59 am
Done! I've filed my taxes! Easy and hassle-free. Melody Ng - In support of filing taxes online. Go, LHDNM!

Labour Day = Sugar Rush

2009-04-27T11:16:00.003+08:00

I don't think I've ever been so excited about the 1st of May before.

I CAN'T WAIT!

Just the thought of having a day off (even though it's only ONE day!) thrills me.

And it's not like I've got anything exciting planned for it.

*sigh* See what working life does to me?

Sabbath in hiding

2009-04-08T23:06:00.006+08:00

This week is one of those weeks. It doesn't happen every week, but it happens.

Mon-day - Work
Mon-night - Core Meet

Tues-day - Work
Tues-night - LOUDroom

Weds-day - Work
Weds-night - Family dinner

Thurs-day - Work
Thurs-night - Easter Practice

Fri-day - Work
Fri-night - Sheep Utd - Good Friday Makan

Saturday - Easter Service - Singing

Sunday - Easter Services - Singing - Family Lunch

And there you go, one week. In a blink of an eye. Sometimes weeks like these go past so fast. I struggle to find time to sit and rest. Relax. Ponder. Write.

I often catch myself thinking, "There are too few hours in a day. Too much to do. Too little time."

Where art thou, O Sabbath?

Sooner or later, something's gotta give.

Speak hope

2009-03-27T23:40:00.004+08:00

I've decided to speak Hope to the situations I'm in.

Here's the age-old grievance we girls have (in or out of church).

"There are no eligible guys around!"

I've decided that I shall not echo that sentence (consciously) anymore.

Because I know that it is not entirely true.

Now, while I do believe that there ARE eligible guys out there, I also believe that that pool of eligible guys is incredibly small.

Minute.

I mean, miniscule.

Like, atomic.

So really, you can't fault us for having that argument at the tip of our tongues all the time.

But all that aside, I'm gonna be more hopeful when this topic comes about in my conversations.

Cos I think if we continue saying "No guys, no guys," even if 'got' also, it'll become 'don't have'.

I'd rather speak the truth and have faith that it will come to pass, than to see a lie become the truth.

Solitary Retreat

2009-03-23T10:10:00.005+08:00

Melody needs a solitary retreat.

Just some time alone with Him.

Is that so hard to get?

White

2009-03-13T17:27:00.001+08:00

What is worse than finding one strand of white hair on your head?

Finding THREE strands of white hair!

Grrrr..eat.

Anticipation vs NowNowNow

2009-03-05T15:13:00.004+08:00

24 February 2009, The Star, Calvin and Hobbes

Bill Watterson is a genius.

I'm falling in love

2009-03-03T17:29:00.002+08:00

Have a listen and you'll understand why. =)

Prayer

2009-03-02T22:04:00.004+08:00

"Prayer is not about God giving you what you want. It's about God giving you what you should have wanted."

-Landa Cope, 1 March 2009

So am I praying for what I should want? I hope so. If not it'll be like me beating the air, asking for the foolish things of life.

What can be more tragic than demanding for wrong/foolish/harmful things, eh?

I can't wait, I can't wait!

2009-03-01T20:23:00.004+08:00

Jason Mraz Live in Malaysia

4 March 2009, Stadium Negara

I've never been to a concert before. But I'm going to see Jason this Wednesday.

Yah, Jason is my friend, cannot? :-P

Yay yay!

To the face

2009-02-28T00:21:00.001+08:00

If there's anything worth saying, it's worth saying to the face.

If one dares not say it to the face, then it's not worth saying at all.

Long week

2009-02-26T17:05:00.001+08:00

Today feels like a Friday.

Padahal, it's only a Thursday.

Why does this week feel so long?

I can't wait for the weekend. Busy as it may be.

IDF

2009-02-26T14:20:00.005+08:00

My colleague and I have recently contracted this disease.

It's called the IDF.

Short for 'Itchy Dancing Feet'.

How to cure ah?

Choose one

2009-02-24T10:29:00.008+08:00

1. The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

2. Slumdog Millionaire

3. Changeling

3 must-watch movies, too few days, and only ONE TGV voucher.

How to choose lah?!

The voting lines are now open.
Type...

1800-MOVIE-001 to vote for The Curious Case of Benjamin Button.
1800-MOVIE-002 to vote for Slumdog Millionaire.
1800-MOVIE-003 to vote for Changeling.

Remember Malaysia, I only have one free movie voucher. Make your vote count!

Easier

2009-02-24T10:06:00.004+08:00

Some people just have it easier, don't you think?

Or maybe, we just think they do, but they actually don't.

Guess that's just a self-comfort statement.

*sigh*

Life

2009-02-21T22:10:00.009+08:00

Life will be a lot less stressful if we were...

... less bitter

... more patient

... less complaintful

... more contented

... less easily-angered

... more others-centered

... less stubborn

... more forgiving

... less harsh

... more compassionate.

"(Do not) do to others as you would (not) have them do to you."

- Luke 6:31 (words inserted are of my own)

My reasons, your excuses

2009-02-16T14:02:00.005+08:00

In a conversation with someone, I blurted out (virtually) these words,

"Take all my reasons and make them your excuses."

Not bad eh? Sound like lyrics from a song, or a line from a movie. Or a poem maybe.

Alright. Syok-sendiri-moment for the day has ended. Time to get back to work!

Moping around online?

2009-02-15T19:52:00.003+08:00

Do you find yourself online, after the usual checking of mails, reading of blogs and updating of facebook, switching between IE tabs or scrolling up and down the Messenger list, seemingly busy with something of some sort, but actually, you ain’t doing nothing but moping around online?

Then you actually end up wasting time staring at your computer screen, searching for something to do/click on, waiting for a mail to come in, listening for someone to ping you, or looking for any form of distraction to keep you occupied.

I think that’s when you know you’ve got to get off the net, shut down the computer, close the laptop lid and go read a book.

That’s precisely what I’m about to do.

Have a good week ahead, ppl.
MeL

Template troubles

2009-02-14T21:08:00.003+08:00

I think i kinda screwed up my blog template.

Whatever happened the Font and Color of my Post Title text???

So UGLYY!! Yucks..

[Edit: 9.55pm Phew, managed to get it back to the ori template. I shall not attempt to modify it. Not anytime soon anyway.]

Crossed a little in love

2009-02-14T18:45:00.005+08:00

I watched Pride and Prejudice. Again. (Since we're all in the lovey-dovey mood, hehe)

One of my all-time-favourite movies. Never fails to make me smile.

It's interesting that eventhough I've watched the movie more than 10 times, different quotes stuck to me at the different times that I've watched it.

Here's the one that stuck today.

"Next to being married, a girl likes to be crossed a little in love now and then. It is something to think of, and it gives her a sort of distinction among her companions."
-Pride and Prejudice, Jane Austen-

Now I'm not sure about the "having a distinction among her companions" part, but the first sentence is probably true for most girls. Hehe..

Here's to Jane Austen. And that shall be my bit for Valentine's day. Enjoy!

Feel the love

2009-02-09T08:50:00.008+08:00

This article made my heart melt.

In my opinion, it's what true wooing and courting is like. =)

"After a year of determined courtship..."

He must have did something right. After all, it ain't easy to get a girl (who's in love with another) to respond to you positively. But that's the essence of wooing!

woo (old fashioned) (of a man) to try to persuade a woman to love him and marry him

-Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary

Feel the love oozing out of the webpage as you read. Haha..

Enjoy!

Other Valentine's day posts:
- Court, date, woo
- Ready to dine on Valentine?

You have... 11 months left

2009-01-31T23:24:00.002+08:00

*alarmclockring*

Whaaat?! You mean January has already come and gone? Already? Soo FAST?

I feel like I've not done a thing since the year started and tomorrow is already February, the 2nd month of the year.

Time to get my engine revving and start achieving some things for this year.

Time really does fly. By the months, I tell ya. Soon it'll be December again. *shudder*

Better is one day

2009-01-22T18:45:00.002+08:00

Psalm 84:10-12

10 Better is one day in Your courts

than a thousand elsewhere;

I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God

than dwell in the tents of the wicked.

11 For the Lord God is a sun and shield;

the Lord bestows favour and honour;

no good thing does He withhold

from those whose walk is blameless.

12 Lord Almighty,

blessed are those who trust in You.

Amen.

Father, I trust You.

In the zone... not.

2009-01-19T10:16:00.002+08:00

There are times when I'm all geared up to work on a Monday,

and there are times when I'm not in that zone at all.

Today is one of those days that I'm of the latter.

Great.

Ouuuch

2009-01-18T20:11:00.002+08:00

Headache, be gone!

*pounding*

grrr...

Compliments

2009-01-11T16:49:00.005+08:00

The subject came up between me and 2 other colleagues: Giving Compliments.

What is a compliment? A compliment is an expression of praise, admiration, or congratulation, according to Dictionary.com. (Of course, I knew you knew that.)

See, we have come to know a certain someone who seems so liberal with his compliments that when they are given, they seem insincere and they aren't taken seriously.

I had a light-bulb moment and said:

"Compliments are like currency. Give too much of it away and they lose their value."

So my advice when giving a compliment is:

1. Give it sincerely.
2. Make sure you mean it.
3. And, uh, ration it.

[akcherly ah, points 1 and 2 mean the same thing, but 3 points look better than 2 :-p]

I, however, contra to all that I've written, need to learn to give compliments because there is always something good in everyone that is always commendable.

Unpaid compliments have no value either. So there.

======================================

Since I'm in the mood to quote...

"I hate careless flattery, the kind that exhausts you

in your effort to believe it." ~Wilson Mizner

I resort to doing this to create space

"I can live for two months on a good compliment." ~Mark Twain

I resort to doing this to create space

======================================

The Story Retold

2009-01-03T17:46:00.002+08:00

I highly recommend that you read this and this.

It's totally engaging and absorbing. Gives you a different perspective too.

Enjoy!
MeL

Thank you, Lord

2009-01-03T13:26:00.003+08:00

Thank You Lord

I thank You Lord, for the trials that come my way
In that way I can grow each day, As I let You lead
And I thank You Lord for the patience those trials bring
In that process of growing, I can learn to care

Chorus:
But it goes against the way I am
To put my human nature down
And let the Spirit take control of all I do
For when those trials come
My human nature shouts the thing to do
And God's soft prompting can be easily ignored.

But I thank You Lord, with each trial I feel inside
That You're there to help lead and guide me away from wrong
For You promised, Lord, that with every testing
That Your way of escaping's easier to bear

But it goes against the way I am
To put my human nature down
And let the Spirit take control of all I do
For when those trials come
My human nature shouts the thing to do
And God's soft prompting can be easily ignored.

Yes, I thank You Lord, for the victory that growing brings
In surrender of everything, life is so worthwhile
And I thank You Lord, that when everything's put in place
Out in front I can see Your face
And it's there You belong

But it goes against the way I am
To put my human nature down
And let the Spirit take control of all I do
For when those trials come
My human nature shouts the thing to do
And God's soft prompting can be easily ignored.

Question: Why do we struggle to submit to God's will when we already know that His will is perfect?

Heard this song for the first time at the recent Watchnight Service at this church. I thought it was an interesting song, cos it's not often we hear worship songs that end with a not-so-good connotation.

How the songwriter chose to end the song is unique and real, for most of us. The struggle is real and our human nature definitely still exists.

But what is most interesting are the contradicting verses of the song. They thank God for the trials, for His guidance and His victory at the end of each trial.

The chorus leaves you tempted to think that our own human nature is so easy to 'fall' into and it can't be helped, but the verses give you hope, to continue to trust in God and have faith that He is and will be there in every trial to see you through and rise victorious.

I guess when you're struggling, you don't see/listen. You're too engrossed with wrestling for your own way. But when you take a step back at look, you realise that you have foolishly wasted time and energy struggling over something that was a non-issue in God's plan.

I think it was timely that I read this online devotional as well by a dear sister/aunty/mentor of mine.

God makes everything beautiful in His time. And I shall continue to hope in Christ Jesus my Lord and in His garenti-sure promises.

Home

2008-12-28T00:09:00.002+08:00

I'm coming home.

The Abstracts

2008-12-23T16:22:00.001+08:00

Yeah, I’ve been pretty quiet on the blog.

There has been a lot going through my head. But I find them too private to be shared on the web. I’ve been finding the net, and especially my blog, increasingly limiting. Limiting my space and thoughts and whatever I wanna say. There are things I want to say but I’m unsure who would read it and if I want to share it with them. I’m even feeling uncomfortable about revealing my whereabouts these days.

So I find solace in my journal.

I guess that just leaves me to write in abstracts.

Life’s been challenging, but good. I’m learning a lot. Can’t help but to realize that the past 6 months have been a ‘season of disappointment’ for me. Yet I believe God has shown me his faithfulness and that he has me where I’m supposed to be. Learning to surrender to his will has been a constant struggle. But He’ll ‘wrestle’ with me through it lah.

Looking forward to 2009.

Working

2008-11-28T09:03:00.009+08:00

I've been working.

As opposed to saying "i'm busy". I'd like to think that working and being busy are 2 different things.

You can be busy working, but you can't be working busy.

-Melody

Haha. So, like i said. I've been working. So late, and for one too many nights that I didn't even know my mom fell sick the for the past week.

And of all people to find that out from, I only knew about it when the cleaning lady at my apartment came up to me and asked after my mom.

She asked, "Is your mom at home?" I answered, "No. I think she went to work."

"How is she? Is she still sick?"

And I went, "Huh? Sick? I don't know..."

Then I had that sinking feeling. :-(

*sigh*

Time

2008-11-16T23:47:00.003+08:00

Question: Is it okay for me to be selfish with my Time?

It seems as if all my Time is being given away, and I have not much for myself.

I have 7 days a week, 24 hours a day, just like everyone else.

But why does it feel like I have soo much less than that???

Surprise

2008-11-13T00:18:00.001+08:00

Was pleasantly surprised tonight.

*smile*

Was well-fed too.

I'm happy. =)

-MeL

Everybody's got talent

2008-10-31T00:20:00.001+08:00

Join join join! RM500 up for grabs! I'll be there, will you? =D

It's pink, cute and not mine

2008-10-02T13:40:00.004+08:00

I've got a new toy.

*giggle* It was lent to me.

It's the only reason why i've been blogging more often, and also the reason why i can be on msn after office hours.

It's really really cute. And it's pink. (reiterating the title for emphasis)

This baby is as thick as a textbook, and a little bigger than an exercise book, and DEFINITELY lighter than a dictionary.

Yes, it's a mini-notebook a.k.a netbook a.k.a ultra-mobile PC. Call it what you want, I LOVE IT!

The keyboard is smaller than the usual size, but look i'm typing just *backspace-backspace* fine, aren't i?

It's kinda like a Starbucks-laptop. You know, the laptop that you'd use to surf the Internet while you sip your hazelnut-latte. It's my TV-laptop. I use it to go online while i watch TV in the living room. This is the laptop you'd proudly take out and show off to your friends (i've done that already), cos it's small, cute, light and so easy to handle.

Sure, the screen may be a wee bit small, but it's sufficient for me to go online and check my facebook, check my mail, chat on msn, and blog.

The cute and pink MSI Wind U100

So, because of this, i'm happy. =D

Now, i need to do something about my blog design...

Wit & Sarcasm

2008-10-02T12:55:00.005+08:00

My dad sure knows how to get a message across...

and effectively too...

Plastic containers all washed, squeeky clean.

Guess who washed them? ;-)

Looking back

2008-09-28T23:50:00.002+08:00

I went back to my old blog for fun, and found out that friendster has revamped their blog feature and it looks relatively good now. No adverts of any sort, and it looks pretty much like blogger.

So here's the question: Shall i move back there? Since so many of my posts are there, and i've not done much on this blog anyway..

So how?? So tempting.

Will i turn into a virtual pillar of salt if i go back? hehee

Sleep-less-ness

2008-09-06T11:01:00.004+08:00

I knew I haven't been getting enough sleep when I almost absentmindedly put facial wash onto my toothbrush last night.

The keyword there was "almost", haha.

And from the looks of this month's calendar, it's gonna be even more full on.

*thinks randomly* I can't wait for Christmas.

Computers...

2008-05-04T22:17:00.003+08:00

... are not my friends right now.

lousy motherboard, registry and whachamacallits!

GRRR...

Dilemma, dilemma

2008-04-29T19:40:00.000+08:00

A few opportunities have presented themselves to me.

I'm in a dilemma.

And I think I have to decide fast before the opportunities slip away.

Oh man.

On another note, quite a few other things have happened in the past 2 weeks. So much to tell and so little time to tell! The posts will come. Sometime soon, I hope.

Two things you must know though:

>> I'm not planning to keep this design template. but it was the best of the lot, in my opinion. Any experienced bloggers who can help me beautify it? i'm still quite a blogger-baby in terms of HTML and the likes..

>> My computer is in a coma. I won't say dead just yet, cos I don't have its death certified by a professional. (so says a friend=P)

Will be posting more. Hopefully with better computer access, somehow.

about mmelodia

2007-04-01T00:12:00.003+08:00

mmelodia is my screen name.

If you know me in person, you'd probably know my real name. If you don't, that's okay.

Welcome to my humble little space on the world WIDE web.

I am so many things. I am Christian. I am Malaysian. I am also a Penangite. I'm a PR consultant. I'm also, embarrassingly, a wannabe dancer and singer.

I enjoy tweeting (@mmelodia), reading books and blogs, dancing and singing.

I like eating crabs (any way it is cooked), potatoes, fish and most things that have shells - like prawns and oysters and balitung and... well, you get what I mean. (I don't eat turtles or anything like that.)

I write about what I see happening around me. My writings capture events, thoughts and rants about my life's journey. Hopefully, my writings grow as I grow.

So, feel free to browse through, leave a comment or two and come back for a visit once in a while! =)

Writings on my blog reflect my own views entirely and cannot be associated or affiliated with any organization(s) I may be apart of, unless otherwise stated.