Sunday, February 22, 2009

Happy endings

"Girls are taught a lot of stuff growing up:

if a boy punches you he likes you,
never try to trim your own bangs,
and someday you will meet a wonderful guy and get your very own happy ending.

every movie we see, every story we're told
implores us to wait for it:
the third act twist,
the unexpected declaration of love,
the exception to the rule.

but sometimes we're so focused on finding our happy ending
we don't learn how to read the signs.
how to tell the ones who want us from the ones who don't,
the ones who will stay and the ones who will leave.
and maybe a happy ending doesn't include a guy,
maybe it's you, on your own,
picking up the pieces and starting over,
freeing yourself up for something better in the future.
maybe the happy ending is just moving on.

or maybe the happy ending is this:
knowing after all the unreturned phone calls and broken-hearts,
through the blunders and misread signals,
through all the pain and embarrassment...
you never gave up hope. "

-- he's just not that into you, the movie

Thursday, February 19, 2009

Slumdog Millionaire


i did not go with high expectations, even though i kept hearing comments that it was nice. I was expecting some boring bollywood movie, but how mistaken i was...

slumdog millionaire.. an indian film no doubt, (not the conventional american/taiwanese/korean shows i would watch), but offers you quite another insight to life.

So what's the film gotta offer?

it had a delightful sense of humour, that's for sure.


some scenes simply tugged at your heart... when you see how hard life can be in other parts of the world.. it was really awful how the kids were used as beggars...


the music was cool~ haunting at times, makes your feet tap to the beat at times..

romance?? they actually had 3 different sets of actors and actresses to act the hero, heroine and the hero's brother at their different ages. of course, love prevails forever. typical. but this time it had an added spark of reality. "i love you..." "so what?"


suspense!! i was really vouching for him to win.. and it was so touching to see all the people from the slums, and all the people who had crossed his life's path, huddled expectantly in front of tv shops. it was like he was the hope of the slumdogs for a better chance at life.


and of course, it couldn't be complete without the ending bollywood dance!


definitely worth watching!^^

Saturday, February 14, 2009

Happy Valentine's day!

whether you are single or attached, i suppose valentine's day is an annual reminder for us to cherish our loved ones, may it be your partner, your family, your friends, or it could even be a homeless person on the streets starved for a tiny show of care.

there are so many sides to love that are often forgotten. and it does not alwayz have to be shown through material gifts. a thoughtful gesture. a meal prepared with love. a simple touch, holding your grandmother's withered hands. Love is expressed by your heart.

so do not wait until valentine's day to express your love to your loved ones. why not let everyday be valentine's day?=]

Happy Valentine's Day to all!

祝大家幸福无穷,快乐无尽。情人节快乐!

Friday, February 13, 2009

the God who gives and takes away...

Praise You in This Storm
words by Mark Hall/music by Mark Hall and Bernie Herms

I was sure by now,God, that You would have reached down
and wiped our tears away,
stepped in and saved the day.
But once again, I say amen
and it's still raining
as the thunder rolls
I barely hear You whisper through the rain,
"I'm with you"
and as Your mercy falls
I raise my hands and praise
the God who gives and takes away.

Chorus:
And I'll praise you in this storm
and I will lift my hands
for You are who You are
no matter where I am
and every tear I've cried
You hold in your hand
You never left my side
and though my heart is torn
I will praise You in this storm

I remember when I stumbled in the wind
You heard my cry to You
and raised me up again
my strength is almost gone how can I carry on
if I can't find You
and as the thunder rolls
I barely hear You whisper through the rain
"I'm with you"
and as Your mercy falls
I raise my hands and praise
the God who gives and takes away

Chorus

I lift my eyes onto the hills
where does my help come from?
My help comes from the Lord, the maker of heaven and earth
I lift my eyes onto the hills
where does my help come from?
My help comes from the Lord, the maker of heaven and earth

it never ceases to amaze me, how some people can just find it in their hearts to accept it with so much peace, the fact that the Lord gives and takes away.. especially in funerals. it is so easy to say, yet so hard to embrace and face. some may say that they have left for a better place. but yet their absence from our lives is still very much felt. it makes me think, of what i wanna do with my life, how i wanna leave an impact on the lives of people around me, and not just disappear off the face of the earth. more than ever, it makes me cherish those around me even more.

i suppose each time we are faced with difficulties, it is in our very nature to focus all our attention or every part of our functioning brain capacity on the PROBLEMS, the things we LACK, but we forget, ever so often, just how BLESSED we are, and the things we already HAVE.

i suppose, not only do i have to learn to dance in the rain, but also to praise Him in the storm. =]

Tuesday, February 10, 2009

2nd snowfall in glasgow

the snow was thick thick thick! we rushed out for snow fights and snow-man building like kids running for candy.

my snow angel ^^

we built snow mans on the wide expanse in front of john anderson building. sadly, they got smashed up while we went searching for their eyes, nose and hands. sigh.. but anyway... here's a sneak of our snowman-building process...

first... roll roll roll... it was fun. some kept crumbling down though. mine had poky sides to it. some was square. but in the end.. we each had 2 big round balls.;p

me behind fiona's snowball.. so big!

when we were fixing the eyes and mouth, we met trisha, jacinta and wei chun coming back from church. more people joined in the fun/craze.

can you spot what's missing on the snowman?

complete now? ^^

Sunday, February 08, 2009

picasa...


the poor man's substitute for nikon D60 + lens + flash
of course the effect is far from D60... but ah well.. it's either this or thousands of pounds gone, or an intensive and in-depth course of photoshop/lightroom.

Thursday, February 05, 2009

for the love of books

there's a kind of thrill,
trudging in the snow to v.o.
wondering which book it will be.

Monday, February 02, 2009

下雪

外头下着的雪
仿佛落在我寒冷的心中

it's snowing at JBC finally! whee!

we woke up amidst screaming, but since my shades are always down, i didn't realise it was actually snowing!! anyways, we hurried down to catch the snow, in our house clothes. finally! it was cold though. my fingers were numb with cold. and the snow stopped after we got down. sad..

me and hui ling behind our hostel. this is where our room windows look out to.

another photo behind JBC

me at the steps we have to trudge up everytime we are heavily laden with groceries.

leaving my mark ^^

jeannie preparing to slide down JBC's very own 'snow' slope.

we went down again when it started to snow heavily once more. this time, i went with my gloves. i saw boys proudly taking pictures wearing shorts. really salute them.^^

me and yi lyn when the snow got heavier

me with shu yin

with snowball from leng.

we saw a tiny snowman on the slope behind JBC.. built by the boys i think.

awww.. isn't it simply adorable??^^

copyright infringement?? oopss..

we went out a third time (i really can't believe myself) after a period of heavy snow. this time, we headed to the grounds in front of the architectural building. the snow was really quite thick and fluffy.





well, i finally got my snow at JBC. really hopes it snows and snows and snows... then we can have a snow fight! as long as there's no up-coming presentation nearby. till that day then.~

Tuesday, January 27, 2009

Massive CNY open house!

Not being deterred by the fact that we were miles away from home, we decided to put in a joined effort in our last class project - our chinese new year open house! Hence, on the first day of chinese new year, after a listless day of class and workshops, our house was open at 6.45pm to fellow coursemates, home students and lecturers. everyone was in a new year mood, with chinese new year songs blaring, and loadz of people sporting the chinese traditional costume or cheery red shirts.

taking a breather before all the madness began

our House consisted of a combination of: our house, shu yin's house, siew ying's house, chu siang's house, and khei chong's house. the deco was done by chu siang's house.

left to right, top to bottom: tom yam bee hoon, lo chicken and eggs, keropok udang, pineapple fried rice, lotus mixed vege, brocolli mixed vege, chocolate corn flakes, wantan, cola wings, siew yoke, bubur chacha.

Before it all started, i managed to catch some of the highlights at the other Houses...

Kian aun's House: mixed vege, popiah, hai nan chicken rice

Shazwan's House (the halal section): (i'm not sure what the first one is), rendang, rojak, prawn fritters, egg tart

Soo fen's House: lobak, wantan, satay, steamboat

Hui yen's House: mixed vege, mussels, fried rice, char siew, (not sure what it's called), ikan bilis, (not sure again), red bean balls.

Chi yuan's House: (something very nice), gu lou yoke, mixed vege, black vinegar pork legs, curry chicken.


amidst the chaos and clutter, we managed to grab a few photos in remembrance of this rare occasion.

with our neighbours - J9

Top: with lillian, bottom: with mei ling

with fiona and shu yin, on our way to 'catch' the lecturers.

Lastly, when all food is eaten and all leftovers kept away, i'd like to wish everyone...

A very happy, healthy and prosperous chinese new year!

Monday, January 26, 2009

Reunion dinner across the seas

our hall was decorated with a CNY feel~ mainly for the open house tomorrow. we hung up lanterns, chinese wordings (good to trick those who don't know mandarin with), and even had the table set and the poker cards ready.;p


our reunion dinner was no simple affair. it was a 9-course meal which left us all feeling extremely satisfied and sleepy.

迎春接福
Welcoming the spring & good luck

情意绵绵
Inspiring love & affection

宫廷之宝
Majestically loved

龙马精神
Hale & hearty, fit as a fiddle

黄金遍地
Affluent & plentifulness

哈哈大笑
Joyous laughter & happiness


三阳开泰
Good fortune all year round

包你满意
Utter contentment

年年有余
Abundance & prosperity

and so.. it's going to be new year (glasgow time) in 20 minutes! and i still feel bloated. haha..

Sunday, January 25, 2009

a ring, a promise.

today was Jim and Nkem's big day... their wedding! it was refreshing and interesting to finally witness a scottish + african wedding. of course, before the wedding could start, the decorations must first be done. the church had looked simple at first, but after they were done with it, it was simply beautiful! it also had a very african feel about it. it just shows how a simple touch here and there makes a difference.




first of all, the bride had to enter. and that she did, announced loudly by the bagpipes! (it is after all partly scottish). the poor guy had to stand at attention since early on though, and in the freezing cold too!


it started with the wedding march (stress!), followed by a hymn, then the wedding vows. during the signing, eileen and kay sang 'your love' by jim brickman. it's such a romantic and touching song. i love the way they harmonise too. it really makes a lot of difference. i found myself all jittery during the real thing though, worrying bout the speed, the intro. the practice is always better.

my favourite pic.. thanks chris and trisha..^^

after the ceremony, the new couple went for photo taking in the freezing cold in kelvingrove while we had some tea in the warmth of the church. and in the mere space of an hour or two, the place was tastefully decorated and totally transformed from a wedding hall to a dining area.


after that was dinner served buffet style - with african food! and the bride really danced in... one thing i can say bout africans.. they love to dance, grab every opportunity to dance, and dance really really well, until they set your feet all tingling. i had dinner with chris, eileen and natanya. they made the dinner all the more enjoyable and less intimidating.

after dinner... there was more! the whole dining area was cleared and became a dance floor. the wedding couple had their first dance, and was pretty soon joined by all others. they really seemed to be having so much fun groving around, especially the africans. i loved watching the old couples dance though. they looked so sweet together. we saw some of our friends astound us with their hidden moves too. haha.. some of the scottish males wore their kilt in full assemble. i really must take a picture with one of them before going back to malaysia.

i got to try out my hand using one of those big complicated-looking cameras too. man, they really are heavy. but i think i can really fall in love with them.. coz the different effects make such nice photos. i learnt some interesting stuff too.. bout how to aim the flash to get a more natural photo.. how to operate the lenses.. interesting..

me and trisha =]

my first try at macro lens... gosh.... that's what got me started on my obsession with blur background.;p

wedding cake! the wedding/birthday cakes here are all icing-topped. nice!

grooving on the dance floor. it's so cool~ it would probably never work in malaysia though. it's just too odd.


it was a great day to dress up.;p more than ever, it reminded me of the solemness and sweetness of marriage. people have so many different views on love or marriage.

"marriage is when men lose their bachelor's degree and women gain their masters." -- PhD students

"marriage is not just spiritual communion, it is also remembering to take out the trash" -- Joyce brothers

"if you want to sacrifice the admiration of many men for the criticism of one, go ahead, get married." -- Katharine Hepburn

"a man is incomplete until he is married. after that, he is finished." -- Zsa Zsa Gabor

"a successful marriage requires falling in love many times, always with the same person" -- Mignon Mclaughlin

"always and forever." -- One tree hill

"love at first sight is easy to understand; it's when two people have been looking at each other for a lifetime that it becomes a miracle" -- Amy Bloom

"to keep your marriage brimming, with love in the loving cup, whenever you're wrong admit it, whenever you're right shut up." -- Ogden Nash

"marriage is the alliance of two people, one of whom never remembers birthdays and the other who never forgets." -- Ogden Nash

"the goal in marriage is not to think alike, but to think together" -- Robert C Dodds

"happy marriages begin when we marry the ones we love, and they blossom when we love the ones we marry" -- Tom Mullen

"getting a dog is like getting married. it teaches you to be less self-centered, to accept suden, surprising outbursts of affection, and not to be upset by a few scratches on your car." -- Will Stanton

"sexiness wears thin after a while and beauty fades, but to be married to a man who makes you laugh every day, ah, now that's a real treat." -- Joanne Woodward

"marriage is not a noun; it's a verb. it isn't something you get. it's something you do. it's the way you love your partner every day." -- Barbara de Angelis


my favourite ones...

"a happy marriage is a long conversation which always seems too short." -- Andre Maurois

"we are told that people stay in love because of chemistry, or because they remain intrigued with each other, because of many kindnesses, because of luck. but part of it has got to be forgiveness and gratefulness." -- Ellen Goodman

"Life has taught us that love does not consist of gazing at each other, but in looking together in the same direction." -- Antoine de Saint-Exupery

"there's no such thing as a perfect man or a perfect woman in the world, there is only perfect love built together by imperfect men and imperfect women." -- Soulmate

anyways.. to jim and nkem.. hope this day will be the beginning of a wondrous future together. =]


p/s: all pictures from chris kueh. pics taken by chris and trish. thanks loadz.:)