Lesson learnt

Below is a short story extracted from one of the Facebook posts I went through last night and I could relate to it :

A little bird was flying south for the winter. It was so cold the bird froze and fell to the ground into a large field. While he was lying there, a cow came by and dropped some dung on him. As the frozen bird lay there in the pile of cow dung, he began to realize how warm he was. The dung was actually thawing him out! He lay there all warm and happy, and soon began to sing for joy. A passing cat heard the bird singing and came to investigate. Following the sound, the cat discovered the bird under the pile of cow dung, and promptly dug him out and ate him.

Moral of the story:
1. Not everyone who shits on you is your enemy
2. Not everyone who gets you out of shit is your friend
3. And when you’re in deep shit, it’s best to keep your mouth shut !

To be honest, I've never fancied anything that has to do with 'efficiency' here in where I live because I've never been treated with total efficiency anyway. Processes are always slow, things ALWAYS get delayed and worst of all, people who work without passion and actually SHOW it to their customers. 

Lately, I've been running all the places just to get my application forms done. Went back to school and college to get my certificates translated and certified; noticing some terrible efficiency they have. I'll roughly outline what happened but I shall not disclosed where and who. 

So I went back to college on Tuesday to get my application forms signed (it required a person of higher authority to 'recommend' you) and certify the translations of the certificates ('cause it's for overseas). I reached college at 10am where I immediately looked for the secretary and she wasn't free. Alright then, I waited for 45 mins while she got her stuff done. That's just to explain to her about the application forms. She then told me the head of school wouldn't be free until 2pm (rough estimation), which in actual case, 4.40pm. Meanwhile, I tried to get my translated certificates certified and the admission staff weren't helpful at all. One of the staff stamped her boss' stamp and signed by the side, saying she had to show the boss blablablablaaaaa and when I came back again, the boss stepped out for lunch and apparently, the boss wanted to hear my explanation. Where was I? Jail? The boss' lunch time was at least 2 hours so I had to wait until 2pm. Alright, that isn't too bad since I'm coming back later anyway. 

Fast forward to 5pm when I came back to college with my boyfriend (whom I troubled a lot during the whole delayed process), head of school already signed the documents. BUT, the BOSS did not. He gave me a lot of excuses to not certify the certificates when his staff already stamped the paper! Funniest thing is that, the boss never showed his face. I wonder

•  Why did the staff stamp in the first place knowing she has to show the boss? 
• Why can't they have more stamps of different people's names on it? What if the boss is on MC? Nothing gets certified then? He is no Prime Minister, I'm sorry to say but business should not revolve around only one person.

• Why wasn't he brave enough to hear my explanation face-to-face? Why did he have to send two staff just to pass my explanation to him? 

Today, I went back to my high school and what surprised me was, everything happened very fast. I only had to ask the teacher to certify it without waiting. She even trusted me with her stamp so I stamped where I needed her signature and she immediately signed for me. Trust really brings people closer. I felt a little like home there. To be frank, I hated school for the endless politics and melodrama. I'm not afraid to say. Who would not get sick and tired of such irrelevant drama in school almost every single day? That was pretty childish and I did not enjoy that part of high school life. Admittedly, I would get a little depressed and my tutors used to talk me out of it. What I've learnt is that; you'd be SO MUCH happier when you stop giving two hoots about people who do not matter in your life. Do not bother if they hate you or whatnot, if they'd talk bad behind your back, it only means you're a few steps ahead of them. Insecurity makes them what they are. I'm pretty happy at the fact that I'm not too reluctant to get my stuff done at the high school if I need to in the future. 

I've always thought college was perfect, but I came across that nothing is perfect. Absolutely nothing (I burst my own bubble too). And the place where you have bad thoughts about it, give it a second chance. :) 

Lastly, I reckon we have to work REALLY hard to improve our efficiency if we want a bright future for our country. We're indeed a few steps behind in this case. 

A wedding

I can't get past the fact that I didn't blog about it, not because I'm that kinda blogger who won't let any good event slide by not publishing it on my blog, but it's simply because Ms Hema is too lovable and her wedding was special. It wasn't a white wedding which I've always dreamt of having, but a really, really traditional one. I shall steal all the photos from her Facebook ('cause I didn't want to bring my camera around Subang Parade later on) and you judge whether it fits my description ;)

All in all, I'm really happy for the couple and honoured to have the chance to attend this wedding.

Post-birthday celebration

You must be thinking why do I have so many birthday celebrations? Well, I'm loved. :D

This is so last Friday but I must blog 'bout it! Because I think it's the first outing where ALL of us made it since a very very long time.

We were at Mid Valley for dinner, I suggested Homemade Fish Head Noodles. Their signature dishes are pretty damn good, but Man Hou didn't like his asam chicken rice. :P

Alright, these are the photos. Enjoy!

Who is dominating the photos? :P 

The monkey I got from them as birthday present! :) 

and this is the cup I won from one of The Bee's surveys. Hookturn BYO coffee cup, which costs about RM68 here in Malaysia. Thanks to The Bee!

Sony Alpha Experience

Hi everyone! Sorry for neglecting the blog for a few days 'cause I've been busy with post-birthday celebration (which I will blog about soon!) and Sony Alpha Experience during the weekend. I shall blog about the latter event today.

I was invited by Glen to the event and thanks Sony for allowing their users to bring a person along with them to the event, I took up some essential skills here and there during the talks and truly grateful for the experience as this is the first time ever I've attended a photography workshop. FYI, this workshop would cost RM320 for non-Sony users.

It was held at Zebra Square. Don't fret, we didn't know such place existed too. Had a hard time getting there on the first day but the second day went smoother with all the lessons learnt from day 1.

Day 1

This workshop was really packed with exciting activities. Upon registration, we've got goodie bags which included a camera cloth in a really cute pouch with Sony Alpha camera printed on the front and a recycle bag, which looks like one of those tote bags as if you're carrying a camera. Glen and I really appreciate Sony's effort in these little details.

The most exciting part about the workshop would be its sponsors and key speakers!

The sponsors are :

GUESS

Wing Choon Martial Arts Association 

Maserati 

Add caption

Aprilia 

Vespa 

Harley Davidson 

and Ducati 

whereas the key speakers are : 

Michael Yamashita (USA) - National Geographic photographer for 30 years

 Gary L. Friedman ( USA ) - Highly acclaimed photography e-books author 

Melisa Teo ( Singapore ) - globetrotting photographer, Motoyuki Ohtake ( Japan ) - world patent champion optical designer & lens engineer, and a few other Malaysian photographers in different fields such as car commercial, wedding, architecture and photo editing. All of them are experienced and willing to share their stories with us regarding their photography journey. 

A few events that took place on the first days were: 

latin dance 

Guess 2013 spring collection 

this angel is my favourite model!

and ballet dance 

It was rather challenging to take this as I was sitting at the back. 

This may be the funniest part; Glen and I took the wrong bus and ended up at the isolated area of Ampang (where 3 suspicious Bangladesh guys came along), had to wait for another bus which goes to Bukit Bintang and it was a long looooooooooooong journey home.

Day 2

So...Glen called me at 7:50am to inform me he would be slightly late, which couldn't compare to me because I was still in my bed. Too damn tired okay, I don't usually oversleep. Rushed to Masjid Jamek station as usual.

Gary Friedman started off the workshop at 10am and followed by these :

contemporary dance

Guess 2013 summer collection, which I did not take a photo because...

belly dance and a few talks by renowned photographers.

Here are a few shots which I'm pretty proud of from the event! Enjoy.

Not to forget, we got 2 8GB memory cards for FREE! Sony is really generous in this event. Unfortunately, the event fell flat on its face during the prize giving ceremony, where we think the winners for automotive and people&emotion simply don't deserve the prizes. I'm pretty sure you'd think the same if you were to see their work! It made some of us feel dejected even!

Well, all in all, it was an awesome and memorable event. Thank you Sony! 

If you're looking for a reason to hold on, this is it. :)

If you have an unwillingness to give up, then don't, because success can never be achieved by giving up. Nobody said it's gonna be easy, but you've gotta fight for your dreams. Everyone is going to tell you things but all you really have to do is to listen to your heart.

Not a typical Sunday

It's been too long that I haven't woken up at 5a.m on a Sunday morning... Or any morning in this matter. However, I had to wake up at 5am yesterday as we had to head to Central Park at 5:45am. Participants of Run For Sight were supposed to gather at 6:30am, which to my surprise, the punctuality was met. At 6:30am sharp the sign up counters opened and by 7:00am we had warm-up session led by Celebrity Fitness trainers. I almost refused to warm-up to One Direction and Nicki Minaj. Oh well.

The run started when Katrina wanted to blindfold me for photos but all of a sudden, we heard the honk. So I started the blindfold first unexpectedly. LOL. We finished the 5KM run within half an hour, I guess being blindfolded helped a lot since we couldn't see what was ahead of us which eliminated doubts.

Realisation : Life without sight is pretty difficult. This is also when you have to build trust in the person who assists you, have faith that they won't let you be harmed. I also felt why do some visual-impaired people feel as if they're nuisance , because they indeed need to be dependent at first before they get the hang of it. Losing sight to me felt a lot like losing a treasure from God. It felt terrible I almost wept. But I'm glad it wasn't true. My belief is now stronger than ever; I love my life and I won't take anything for granted, including God-given senses or people in my life. I vow to take care of my own body, love people surround me and be kind to people with any form of disability. I vow to learn from them and radiate more positivity to people who need it. I vow to pay back to the society via volunteering.

Moving on, we headed to Mid Valley for A special moving screening organised by Seventeen, exclusive for Seventeen girl crew! Oz The Great and Powerful is indeed a good movie, go catch the movie while it's still showing at the cinemas! My favourite character is nonetheless China Doll because she is too adorable. (She doesn't have a name).


Then, we went to Plan B for lunch where Kat and Pei Ying planned a surprise for me. I was told by Pei Ying that Kat had stomachache so she went to toilet when I was back from the washroom. I actually believed it, LOL, I mean, why wouldn't I, right? They suprised me with tiramisu, green tea and fruit cakes. :)

Below are some photos to your entertainment.

China Doll from Oz The Great and Poweful

Wonderful memories :')

Tickets to the special movie screening :D

After the run.

Second round of cakes for my birthday.

One of the birthday presents from Katrina! :)

They're pro in Ice Hockey already. LOL

Birthday confessions

As promised, this is an update of my birthday celebrations.

The brightest note ever; my great grandma is discharged from the hospital and can walk again! She was admitted to the hospital for more than a month due to stroke and inability to walk. Now, she's discharged and can walk again! She's 93 years old this year. I'm really happy, delighted, overjoyed, pleased...anything happy, YOU NAME IT! It's the best birthday present ever in 19 years. Not to belittle anyone else's effort, but she really means a lot to me. I appreciate every other present too.

Headed to Bangsar Village in the morning to meet with the boyfriend, hung out around Bangsar Village II and then off to La Bodega for birthday lunch, which I suppose ripped his wallet badly. (LOL) Had lamb cutlets, Peaches and cream and paella (Spanish seafood baked rice) and it was pleasant overall. :)

Went to Redbox at The Gardens from 1:30pm for 4 hours and it was great entertainment, hearing him sing songs in different accents and I Knew You Were Trouble goat version. Did I mention I can sing for free for a week at any Redbox outlet? Wonderful isn't it? Had Ding Tai Fung for dinner where I got complimentary xiao long pao since it's my birthday.

Headed home to celebrate with the family! :D Dad bought cupcakes from Bizou because we've always had normal cake for previous birthdays so he's decided to make a change.

                       His handmade birthday present for me! How thoughtful of him. <3>

Thanks once again for all the birthday wishes on any platform, be it Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, text message, Whatsapp or anything that can reach me, I truly appreciate it. I feel loved and blessed indeed, I know I am despite all the doubts throughout the year. Whether you were reminded by Facebook or whatnot, I know some of you do remember it by heart, thanks for that! :)


Have a blessed life (because day/month/year feels too short) everyone, for I hope for the best for everyone of you! :) 

19

I'm officially nineteen!

It's only been an hour but I've got 'em birthday wishes flooding on my Facebook, Twitter, texts, Whatsapp and Viber. I'm really, REALLY grateful.

Earlier, grandma treated me an early birthday dinner since I won't be in today.

To me, birthdays are really important. My birthday and my loved ones' are the days I look forward to the most besides CNY and Christmas. It's this day of the year to prove me whether you can remember me or not. Well, I truly believe if you care about a friend, you will always remember their birthday by heart. So that's why I'm so touched getting wishes, they mean a lot to me. A few of you brought up the thought of a meet-up and it shall be done ASAP! :) can't wait.


Full update of my birthday will be up soon, stay tuned <3 br="">

Materialism

It's true that insecure people tend to seek for sense of security in materialistic goods. One of the things that hurts me to see nowadays; people getting crazy over things BEYOND what they deserve. Ask yourself, are you earning yet? Do you deserve the things you chase for at this age and not feel guilty later? You get what you want simply because your parents pamper you. All parents do. They have a soft spot for their children. But would you use that as an excuse?

I'm sorry but I have allergy towards spoilt brats. I wasn't brought up that way. Up till this day, I can proudly say I deserve everything I own because I EARNED them; using my results, using achievements everyone would be proud of.


I'm not your mom, but I sure hope this can knock some sense into your little skulls. I'm not invading your privacy to know all this either, everyone would know seeing your social networks' updates.

What else do insecure people do? Seek for attention. It's seriously getting on my nerves. If you deserve any, you will get it. You don't have to "promote" yourself or show off, nothing.

Photography 2 : Laughter

Thanks to Katrina, I've started my art journal! Since I have all the time in my hands, might as well do something productive before this long holiday ends! Or so I console myself for all the time wasted.

I read another Mitch Albom's book, Tuesdays with Morrie yesterday and it was so moving. I finished the book with stream of tears on my face. Stories like this really touch me. It got me thinking I may be a little too soft, and how am I going to handle deaths when I become a surgeon? On the other hand, I'm so determined to save lives so I believe I will be able to do it once the time comes.

Here's one of the photography theme I've started on, in case you don't know, I will randomly choose any theme from the picture on the right tab on my blog and upload 'em here! :D

How I miss taking my DSLR with me for a walk.

 

Right, laughter. AUSMAT class of 2012. Thinking back, we were such a family, we were close to one another and always joked around without taking it to heart. Really miss those moments :') 

Cliche : Click on the photos to get a larger view.

Justice?

The more I read about my own country, I somehow feel more ashamed than I already am. Since young, school teachers who are too afraid to voice out told me things such as 'don't get involved in this and that, it shows disrespect' but truth is, DO WE GET RESPECTED? Us, Malaysian citizens. I truly believe everyone of us deserves to be treated in all the right ways, today, I'm not being mistreated, but someone is. Read the article here. And I've always wanted to express how I feel about these things.

These incidents are ridiculous, yet, they happen again and again! What are we doing? Why can't we take a stand to change our behaviour? Little things such as TAKING RESPONSIBILITY or stop driving recklessly.

Higher authority involved in hit and run? This is certainly unforgivable. Everyone makes mistakes and when you made a mistake, take the responsibility! NOT just take the flag off and escape!

What a shame.

Girls day out! ...or not.

It's the beginning of March and I have a lot to look forward to! Besides December, March has got to be my favourite month obviously because it's yours sincerely's birthday month!

The events in store for March are Jaya One bazaar, BBW aftermath bookfair, my birthday celebrations, FREE karaoke for a week, Run For Sight, FREE movie screening exclusively for Seventeen girl crew, Sony Alpha Experience and a wedding lunch. I'm so excited! :D

Back to the topic. Today I went out with Katrina and her friend, Addie. First stop at Jaya One for the bazaar. It was amazing! Bought a pair of Oxford shoes, handbag, craft supplies and I'm ashamed to say lots of food; salted caramel brownie, DIY cupcakes and fruit juice. Will definitely pay a visit next year! ( P/S: or perhaps 3 months because Kat said it happens once every 3 months. Hooray! )

Here are some of the vendors which you should totally check out!

yay, cake!  Their Salted Caramel Brownie is totally awesome
yay,sammich! For sandwich lovers!
Madelyn Muffins they had DIY mini muffins which you can put your creativity into good use. Partial total sales goes to charity as well.
Alice Wonders Go crazy, their bags and accessories are at affordable price. :D
Notbook For those of you who are in desperate need of a statement notebook and have no time to design your own, click away!
Smooshie Juice  For juice lovers. It's reallllllllly good.

-advertising over-

Kat and her giant pencil! It actually writes!

The cupcakes Kat and I designed :D 

Bag from Alice Wonders! 

 Replacing my broken black sneakers with these. :)

 Malaysian Dogs Deserve Better was there too. Public could adopt from their booth!

Next stop was The Mines for the Big Bad Wolf bookfair but sorry to say it was disappointing. None of the workers did not know about Mitch Albom and I went home empty-handed because the books were all over the place and it was crowded, so I lost interest in finding good books anymore. Anyway, I've bought enough to sustain for this year the last time round! So I'm good.

But then again it's Mitch Albom. D:

Oh, while arranging the books in hope to find any Mitch Albom's novel, a splinter pierced right into my middle finger. I had to wait for hours to take it out at home. Oh well, wasn't TOO painful.

After that, we went dinner and took public transport back home. Like the usual.







Ending this post with a photo of me writing using a giant pencil :