....

Had class until 1 am last night.

Yes, 1 am.

-___-

Needless to say, lecturer considered it compulsory that we attended this class (watching a full-dress rehearsal), and oh boy was it complete torture. Ok, it was fun, at first. But by 11.30pm when it was only 50% through with its rehearsal...

Anyway, had a wonderful, much needed break in Kuantan, and I really enjoyed the bonding with the other Lows, both parents and brother. Not to mention a couple of really fun church members. Haha!

Did some PKV work last couple of days, simple handing in stuff. Did a lot of smiling and soft-talking to make my life in HEP easier over the next year. Zzz.

Went to Joash's workshop few hours ago to see him... and to solicit his bro's help for my project. It worked :-) Thank God for generous gifted musicians!

Attempted to learn drums from the expert but he proved to be a fantastic drummer with too little patience for noobs like me..! Guess my (lack of) drum skills shall remain that way for life unless some church people agree to teach me.. haha...

Got two new cute students for tuition! Well I assume they are cute because they're young. =P

Exhausted, think it's off to bed for me now.

God bless ya,
Jo

Home Away From Home!

Haha, having a nice relaxing holiday in Kuantan now!

And for once you'll see photos... Trying to blog from my iPhone so may as well attach photos. But I don't know how to arrange them... Hmm, you guess what I'm talking about for each pic k :P

Muh lovely cosy little room, courtesy of the Lows! Woke up this morning to my presents from the Low parents... Cute backpack, lovely notebook and pretty pencil holder :-)) peeked into the men's bedroom and saw Joash sleeping with a present next to him!!! Hahaha, talk about cute parents.

Attended service, Sayang got to play his beloved drums for worship! Haha :) as papa Low says, he hasn't lost his touch :) joined them for lunch, the church booked 2 tables and we had sooo much food, 9 course lunch, see the pig trotter??

Oh, and that's my man!

Had a humongous dinner last night, turkey! Western dinner but eastern method of eating... We all used hands LOL. Fusion, I call it. 6 of us but still sooo much left over; really really big turkey.

Hmm, what else? Having a good break, after 14 hectic weeks I need it. And so does Joash! We'll be shopping and beaching soon :)

Ok, that's all, have a very wunnerful Christmas, ho ho ho!!!

God bless,
Jo

Elllo! :-)

My sleep pattern has been extremely messed up!

What's new, right? Haha. Week 14, crunch time!

Actually, the assignments I'm rushing are only due next week, but I wanna spend a nice happy holiday in Kuantan worry-free, so now gotta rush!

Only left with English assignments, Asia Tenggara ones handed in last week... Done with one, but am rather stuck with the other.. Just feel totally uninspired. Sigh.

I finally got my iPhone 4S!!! :-)

Had a late class that night, ended 10pm, so reached Bangsar Shopping Centre only at 12am...

Queued up until...

5am.

Yes, 5 freaking hours.

By the 2nd hour I felt like giving up, but only persevered on because I already wasted my 2 hours waiting.

But anyway, after a long horrendous wait, I got it!!!

And for that I gotta thank my *ahem* Mr. Joash Low! ;-) For his perseverance and sacrifice and waiting with me although he was visibly exhausted and had so much work to do and... WITHOUT COMPLAINING! =) Now that's true husband material. Haha! I belanja-ed him a hearty meal in Kenny Roger's and a good movie on Sunday for his wonderfulness. =P

Ok la, I'm not that shallow. haha. Our relationship is beyond just seeing what we do for each other, that was just a grateful post. =D Anyway...

Things have been good, good good good :-)

Despite my busy life, his busy life, things have been wonderful. :-) At this time of the year last year I was in Australia... calling him everyday. Hehe. Things were already very stable back then, it's even stabler now! =)

And it'll be even stabler in the future :-)

As compared to back then, we now see each other once a week.. sometimes twice. Partly the distance (he used to stay fairly nearby) and also his business (and my business). Lol! But if anything the infrequentness of our dates have only served to strengthen our relationship.

Ok, Andrea's gonna say my blog's all lovey dovey so I shall stop it here. =P

Looking forward to Christmas in Kuantan! With the lovely Low family! ;-)

LOOK AT THE TIME!!

God bless,
Jo

Exhaustion

Had an exhaustive but rather satisfying week. My team won the silver medal in SUKMUM, and I won all my games throughout the week. Was exhausting to keep playing but hey, it was just one game a day and long-needed exercise. I've stopped exercising for so long now... gotta get back on track for my health's sake.

Been busy busy busy with assignments, I've been abusing my body to the extent of waking up with a stomachache most mornings... but I believe that badminton helped me to stay awake longer, I found that I could stay awake for much longer each night after a game. Well, doesn't research prove that exercising helps you to avoid exhaustion? Haha.

Rushing an assignment now, today had a dayful of social commitments and listening to a couple of friends' problems...

It's been a good day. :-)

God bless,

Jo

Memory Failure

Grade 6 classical guitar exam was today...

I was hoping to get a merit/distinction...

Didn't count on a memory failure. (I memorised all my pieces.) 2nd piece I just plain DIED, and didn't think of looking at the book until my 6th and final attempt (examiner was kind enough to let me try 6 times!). According to my teacher I got 5/20 for that piece... which is more than I deserve I suppose, once I started playing it went as well as any disastrous attempt could, but it was too late, I'd already had 5 failed attempts at starting. Just couldn't get past my 2nd bar! :'-(

Anyway, I think I passed, I THINK I passed, my teacher isn't telling me, but I really hope I did... All that hard work and it's just boiling down to a mere pass/fail. SIGH. Really disappointed myself and my teacher... he was counting on me to do well, told me he'd jump off the building if I failed. hahahahaha. Guess he didn't know I would have a memory lapse.

Hopefully my other sections pulled me up la... hopefully... scales did quite well... 13/15.

Hahaha. Anyway, just releasing some disappointment, am feeling much better already... thanks to my sayang and my mum... :-)

Never knew music, of all things! would become so important to me, I never gave 2 hoots about piano exams before this. Zzz. Haha. Guess that's because I was never so well-prepared and ready for an exam before this...

Maybe because I now pay for the monthly fees with my own money and paid the freaking expensive guitar exam fees on my own.

Or maybe because I fell in love with the classical guitar and feel disappointed with my dismal performance...

Whatever it is, a near-death incident occurred right over my exam, and that was an extremely shocking reminder to me that in whatever situations we think we're stuck in, there are worse situations that COULD happen. Suffice to say, I nearly fell a one whole storey down onto concrete........ *still in complete, utter disbelief*

Anyway, Joash had a rough day too, A LOT rougher than mine, gotta be strong for each other... =)

Have a better day than us!

Jo

Twilight 2011

Vegetarian vampires, love-struck lovers, cheesy love lines, wolves vs. vampires...

Went to watch this show with Joash because he wante-... erm, I mean, because he thinks I wanted to watch it. =P

Haha, I'm not an avid fan of Twilight really, as bro puts it, "It is an inherently female show". LOL. Not that I'm not a female or anything like that, but I just never fell head-over-heels in love with those "cute" vampires.

Ok la, I much prefer Taylor Lautner, he didn't release the not-so-good vibes that I felt Robin Pattinson constantly gave out with his sleepy eyes. But Joash called Lautner a non-PC term so I won't type it here . =P

Anyway, it wasn't all that horrible a movie, a movie is still a movie after all, it made it to the big screen!

Ok I shall quit writing reviews... been writing so many articles for a magazine my mind's kinda set on reviews di. Hahaha.

Final 4 weeks of semester, if there ever had been a time to push, it's NOW! =) Been surviving on 5-6 hours of sleep per day, tests and assignments, not to mention guitar exam. =) *Itchified and can't wait to start grade 8*

MMmm. And I finally agreed to be the secretary of PKV despite my stubborn decision from few months ago not to remain in the committee. Hahaha. Up to last week I confidently told my committee I would not be remaining in it. But oh well, things happened and I just did what I had to do. Hopefully this saying: "Be faithful to Me and I will be faithful to you" rings true over the next year...

I'll be spending Christmas in Kuantan! =D Now that's something to look forward too. Uncle George said he'll be glad to pass on "wild boar technology" to me LOL.

A few days ago the radio said "It's never too late to start caring about your health." I wholehearted DISAGREE. Choices we make today affect our tomorrows. People with unhealthy eating habits end up with heart diseases, diabetes, cancer, high cholesterol, high blood pressure... and all these require treatment for life (which you may not have much time left anyway). I have seen so many people lose their father, husband, brother, son to these diseases... yeah, it's usually the men who go first, most care nothing at all for their health. Haha. I honestly wouldn't care too if I didn't have loved ones around me, but I do, and I don't want to break their hearts by forcing them to take care of me if these diseases ever struck me. No guarantees that they won't, but I guess all I can do is prevent them for as long as I can.

Ok, random few paragraphs, guess you can call it a verbal diarrhoea. =P

Have a good day,

Joanne

New Student!!

Am getting a new student to tutor this Friday! =)

Maybe I should just enter the tuition line la. It's so enjoyable... and it gives me pocket money to enjoy!

But I enjoy writing too... my article got published in a magazine this month! =P

And I'm still trying to get 4.00 -__- in the midst of all my hectic life. Fat chance la Joanne.

Haha.

Maybe that's exactly what lecturing in the future will allow me to do - to teach and to publish. :-) Am learning how to be a "Yesman" from Joash! =P

Oh well, one step at a time.

For now, life is about:

#1. Loving God.

#2. Loving Joash and my family. =)

#3. Grade 6 guitar exam Dec 2!!!

#4. Assignments

#5. Giving tuition

Mmmm.

Oh. And I'm back on the UM badminton team. Hahaha. Can't seem to run far from them, they keep lacking players. Have a tournament on Dec 3rd... why did I join the team ahh?? Cause I wanted exercise... the commitment isn't much, I go for training only when I can (precisely why I've not attended a single training this semester LOL) and I'll need it for scholarship purposes in the future... representing a top uni in Msia would sound good, no? No idea la. But I think it'll help.

Ok, am off now!

*High on work*

God bless,

Jo

Amazing Grace

First heard this song when I was a mere 7 year old kid, during my eldest brother's funeral. (The previous funerals I attended were Buddhist/Taoist relatives so to suddenly attend a Christian service left such a deep impact on me even as a young kid. And of course, the fact that this time I had not lost a grandparent/uncle/cousin, but my very own brother. 'Twas also the first time ever I saw my dad cry... no young kid should ever see their parents cry... mmm in my personal opinion. 'Tis horrible, to know your strong pillars in life aren't as solidly strong and all powerful as young kids need them to be.)

This song touched my heart back then, and later on as I grew up I learned that this was a "funeral" song. Each time I hear it however, my memories drift back to koko Jeremy's funeral...

This video was shared by a friend on my FB wall, I wanted to share it here. If you wanna skip all the talk (if you have the time, listen to him though) and listen to this powerful rendition of this amazing song, skip straightaway to 5:00.

I've been having hectic days/weeks lately, very early mornings, lasting till late evenings, coming home and catching up on even more work, sleeping the moment my head touches the pillow each night and detesting the sound of the alarm each morning. My only highlight of the day is probably the phone call to Joash before I kong out for the day. Hehe. :-) We're both working for our future me guess... oh, I'm now writing features for a magazine, firstly because it's good money, and secondly because I want the experience. Haha. My learning curve is STEEP! By my 3rd time writing for them, the editor expects me to "know the style by now". Hahaha. Talk about pressure. But it's good, really good. Extra pressure, but I don't wanna quit now, I'll regret it.

Between handling assignments, classes (I've had perfect attendance thus far!! =D It's a record!! Because my classes are so much tougher now, don't know what's going on in 3 classes :( ), tuition and writing articles, I've got my hands full. Haha. But I don't wanna quit tuition and articles because both give me experiences I can't gain elsewhere, and best be learned when I'm still young! And of course, the extra money means I can spend more (I bought a superchun MP3 for my sayang! And also bought him and bro external iPhone battery cases, them lucky people. =D) and save more! I actually have savings now, last time I lived on JPA alone so it wasn't fun. :( Haha.

Of course, the extra work also means I have less time to shop... so I earn more, save more. Hahaha. Right.

Oh, not forgetting my upcoming grade 6 classical guitar exam. My teacher is already talking about grade 8. -__- He told me if I manage my time well, I could very well complete grade 8 in 2 years time, or at least before I graduate. Hehe. Guess what that means??

Another hectic couple of years ahead of me!

SUKMUM/Inter-college badminton competition also coming up, I'm representing 11th college! Hahaha. As a "pemain import".

Enough blabbering, me off to work, enjoy the video!

God bless,

Jo

=D

Played badminton with my man today! =D

Hahaha, unbelievable, eh? We've known each other for eons now but I've never once played badminton with him! ;-) He's good for a rugby SUKMA player... hehehe...

On a one week break now...

I'll be spending Christmas in Kuantan! =D Now that's something to look forward to. :-) :-) :-)

On a one week 'break' now, time to try to utilise all the remaining time I have left to finish up assignments!

Another 6 weeks of classes... *takes a deep breath*

Have a wonderful week ahead of you!

God bless,

Jo

Dear Dad,

Happy birthday! You're 56 this year.. =)

Hope you're happy where you are, gotta be better than here, right?? Pleaseee tell me I'm right, it had better be better!

I've been busy busy busy, last week I went home late evening everyday, even 10.45pm on Thursday night! Not dating la, had late classes. It's a wonder I'm surviving, eh?? Friday was supposed to be my 'free-er' day but my alarm failed me and I ended up rushing and driving like I owned Sepang F1 on that day. Oh well. Assignments are piling up (in your time you had no assignments!!), but I'm pulling through, somehow. I've got a week's 'break' to catch up on all my work... I'll survive, I will, I will. :-) *fingers crossed*

Again, happy birthday my dear daddy! We're all coping well here, Joash is my strong man. ;-)

My guitar exam date is finally nearly confirmed... I found one of your Carcassi's classical guitar study books... wish I had the interest in classical guitar when you were around, you would have been a wonderful wealth of knowledge to dig through.

Oh, do look out for grandma now, k? She's alone now... I wish I could help her out more but my hands have more than enough to handle here, one of the things about staying home when in uni is that I've got to juggle family issues, household issues, and uni issues all together. Matter of fact, I think our internet and phone line could get cut anytime soon, I've been too busy to even think about paying them. My phone line got cut that day :-( and mum's line too, it just slipped my mind to pay up.

Wish I could write you a better birthday note but my mind's all muddled up now, so you just have a good birthday, k?? We all still miss you very very very much, but we'll survive.

Take care,

Your dearest daughter

Christi...

Last week I was catching up with an old friend (Vic, one of my friends in lower secondary days whom I think I blogged plenty about in those days) and a couple of new friends.

Out of curiosity I brought up the idea of Christianity, because I remember this particular friend had so very many questions about God in our younger days. (And leaving us young 'uns to answer to such deep concepts wasn't exactly the wisest thing to do.)

Of course, 'twas hardly a surprise to me when she proudly proclaimed to be an agnostic (in other words, a more intelligent version of her younger days of wondering if there was a god). Haha. We talked about various types of beliefs for a bit (no, I'm not one to shove doctrine down your throat, I've learnt the hard way that it FAILS, big time.) and it was a pretty enlightening chat. What struck a chord in me was her friend. She laughingly gestured to her friend and said, "He was actually in the CF committee last time!!!" to which he quickly shut her up and covered up for the piece of rather embarrassing info with vulgarities. And we talked about others who 'used to' be active in various CFs... mostly past tense, however.

What was the most disturbing (for me) was a guy they brought up. He seemed like a character I wouldn't want to know (because he was a bully, and brought bullying into university level. Obviously he never outgrew his sick desire to make others feel pathetic.)... but according to his friends, this particular guy was actually a FOUNDER of a school CF in his secondary school days.

Which was pretty surprising to me. I've served in CFs so long, I know how tiring and horrible an experience it must be to go against all the rules, regulations and authorities in order to start up a school CF. It takes faith SO STRONG I myself can't imagine it. But that was history, for that guy. Now that triumphant victory for the KOG would be another piece of 'embarrassing info' for him.

And that's just so discouraging and saddening to hear about.

Still, that's life. I keep looking back at stories like these... and wonder if my turn will arrive... To be so passionate for Christ at one point of life, and to lose faith in it all later on..

I've had my dry spells I admit, but thank God for closer Christian friends who are sharp enough to spot it and to keep me going. :-) It's at times like these that I remember why God created a COMMUNITY for us. He knows we can't survive alone. But anyway, it's something we should all ponder upon, eh?

(And I'm ok, no need to bombard me with "Are you ok!!!" questions. =P Just giving a voice to my thoughts.)

Yesterday I had an awesome birthday dinner with my wonderful coursemates. Hehe. 'Twas good to just sit back and relax with them, haven't done that in such a long time! To another fantastic 2.5 years with you peeps! =)

After that I met up with my PKVians in Desa Park City, and that was awesome too. Hehe. Putting aside all worries and thoughts about life, responsibilities etc, just hanging out with them. Haha. After making each person giddy on the funny equipments, we sat down and had a singing session! The songs ranged from love songs to Christmas carols to I don't know what other songs.

And today I spent my afternoon with my dear man, who works so hard I think he needs a break from life. Followed him to MMU! Hehehe. Ate Arab food with him... *deciding if that was lunch or dinner* Was good food, and he thanked me profusely for belanja-ing him! =P Left him later in the evening so he could continue working.. <3

And that's about all, have a good day k!

God bless,

Jo

(Eh, if I become like one of those people I mentioned I'll stop typing 'God bless'! -__-)

Updates Updates

Hey hey, I've neglected my blog for a pretty long time..

Poor fella.

Anyway, what's been going on...

I've been meaning to, but just never got around it.

RIP Grandpa.

Dad's dad. He passed away on the 23rd of September, around 2pm. Mum and bro went back to Malacca first, and I went back with Joash after his exam paper the next day.

For those of you who didn't know, I'd been going back to Malacca more frequently before he passed away because he was very weak (which accounted for my exhausting first few weeks of lectures, weekends spent in Malacca), and I decided that making amends with that side of the family was a must. Enough of cold shoulders and silence between us, life's short enough that we can't keep doing that. People seemed rather apologetic on that side, though nothing can alleviate what they threw onto us, a family who'd just lost a husband and a father.

I'm blogging in a rather cryptic manner, aren't I. Oh well.

Anyway, granddad passed away peacefully, and the few weeks prior to his passing he'd been gradually getting weaker, and his state so much reminded me of dad in HIS last days it was quite, quite painful to endure. At least grandpa left in a much less painful manner... And I had a good chat with him the last time I visited him. (I did think of visiting him the week before he passed away but I never did, I should have... but. Oh well. I didn't, and that's that.)

Grandma, poor ol' grandma... I could only put my arm around her tiny frame as she sobbed her eyes out.. death, such a painful thing... death... life... death....

I remember what someone told me. And I've probably blogged it before. But just gotta repeat it. "We're not afraid of dying because we know where we're heading. But we live healthily because we care and love those who will be left behind, how they will hurt and suffer if we die." (This lady gestured to her young daughter as she said it.) Well, maybe it wasn't said in those exact words, but that's the gist of it. And each time I reflect back on those words, I wish everyone had the same unselfish love for others as this woman had. So many people today live for themselves... I suppose I've seen so so many people wail, despair and sob their eyes out (and I myself having endured all sorts of terrible pain) when their loved ones die... I simply don't understand how people can still be selfish.

During a poem discussion in class sometime ago, my lecturer asked if any of us had seen a grown man cry. She called it an "unnatural" and some other words along that line. I bitterly smiled as I had flashbacks of how many grown men I've seen cry. From young, working men to old, white-haired retired Datuks. And no, I don't think any less of men who cry. Life's a huge ball of sorrow at times, and only a stone-heart would keep tears in check.

Was supposed to blog more, but after typing all these my mind's gone all confuddled so I'm afraid I can't go on.. haha.

Anyway, really, life's good, just busy busy busy. And I've decided to make a comeback to badminton... haha... been away far too long, it's been tingling my nerves. The UM badminton captain asked me to train with the team... after declining for 2 whole semesters, I've decided to shove all cowardice aside, and join them. Hahaha. *Prepared to be the weakest player on the team* There are national back-up players on the team! -__-

Which is why I'm forcing CP to play badminton with me this weekend, I need to get a feel of the racquet after centuries of not playing! If I'm gonna embarrass myself on court alongside national players, I'm gonna do it in style! =P

Anyway, tired now,

God bless,

Jo

Sexaaay

SX Acoustic Guitar Traveller TG1

=D

My dearest man bought this for me on the 28th of September 2011! =D (It comes with the gig bag tailored to its size!)

Haha I gave the date because we celebrated our one year of dating! Yep, it's been that fast, time flies. Ok la, not exactly 28 Sep, I don't remember the exact date of the first date... and I doubt Joash remembers either. LOL. Guess we didn't bother remembering because we both didn't want to get our hopes to high for fear of hurting our hearts.

But one year down the road, and we're doing well. :-) Extremely well, really. =)

Say hello to... *no name yet* Hmm... Sexy, perhaps?

Haha! It's the cutest nicest guitar I've ever had and held! =D It's super cute, 580mm =D Next to jumbo-sized guitars this is like a baby.

Yeah, I'm a sucker for cute things.

All thanks to Mr. Joash Low who took time off from work, drove all the way to PJ Old Town and found this shop which looked like a store room.. but contained a gem inside. ;-)

Bro (who doesn't give 2 hoots about music) took a look at this guitar and asked, "What in the world is that!" :-) It's THAT cute. =P

Now if I only I can learn to strum properly...

That's why I'm learning Elementary Guitar as my co-curricular subject!

Hehe. It's been pretty useful thus far, I hope I have half-decent strumming by the end of this sem.

People say as a classical guitar player I should be able to strum since it's easier. Er... I dunno why la, cannot.. my guitar teacher taught me the 'universal strumming pattern' long ago but that's about the only strum I know, I seem retarded when it comes to improvising. :(

But ANYWAY, that's beside the point. The point is, I have the world's cutest guitar thanks to my love!

=)

It's been a wonderful one year, I've learnt a lot about loving in this one year... =) And many more years to come, eh? ;-)

Till the next inspiring post,

Jo

*Pengsan*

And this week has ended....

And I'm still alive!!!!

Barely. LOL.

I have walked and climbed so many many many flights of stairs the past few days that I think I've lost some weight!

Been sleeping 4-5 hours each night since Saturday night! And NO TIME for any afternoon naps. Monday-Thursday been waking up at 7.30am (I overslept on Tuesday though LOL most important day, 8.15am) and staying in campus till 8pm.. yesterday 11.30pm! Cause of our PKV's MSK (Malam Suai Kenal).

By this morning, when I dragged this wretched body up, it was so so so exhausted, but it felt like a broken-in horse. There was no more fight within to sleep, it just wearily KNEW that it HAD to get up and get on with life, no arguments, no compromises. Hahaha.

Only thing that kept me going was the fact that it would end soon! =D

A few nights ago I was so so so discouraged and tired and weary and stressed-out I felt like the world should have just ended. (Not to mention that Joash's line got cut due to Celcom's big blunder so there wasn't much he could do from where he was.) Thank God for a God-sent friend, Grace! She attempted to alleviate all my suicidal thoughts.. I wanted to resign from life that night. LOL. (My family didn't help much either, they added to my stress by nagging. Zzz.) Later on I attributed it to PMS because I finally thought I should WRITE down all the things which were stressing me out... and found the paper blank. Hahaha. -__-

I was in charge of PKV booth the past few days, it's about promoting PKV to campus students. And I had to be there to set things up each morning, and then pack things up. And to ensure that the booth had attendants there all the time, 9am-5pm. And today I had to find people to send to some nonsensical ceramah, all societies had to send people. I couldn't make it, but I managed to find some willing victims =D

Anyway, what really lifted my rather discouraged self was the number of first years who attended last night's MSK. I looked at the crowd and marveled at the fact that we didn't even have enough chairs! It just reminded me that all my work of going back and forth to HEP (Hal Ehwal Pelajar) in UM during the holidays and after the holidays to get paperwork settled was worth it. :-) It was a satisfactory feeling, and I'm very very glad to have met so many juniors (who were so so lost and were attempting to find people who could help them get their bearings right in UM).

And of course, church. So many of them were looking for churches to attend, having left their home churches back in their respective hometowns. Nothing more encouraging than to see young people these days eagerly looking for churches to attend...

So I think, despite everything that ever discouraged me, despite people around me who have discouraged and perhaps even affected my faith with their cynical point of views...

Lately I've been finding my old self again, the days before I hardened my heart. And it has been a gentle reminder of who I need to become again. Last Sunday I was realized the need to love others unceasingly, to love even if it hurts/inconveniences me. Because that's exactly the kind of love Christ had for us. No more selfish love, giving as much as I receive.

The past few days has been a fresh boost of encouragement + energy and reminds me that everything I do does not equal to nothing, and that I am still running the race, albeit in an exhausted manner due to circumstances. Running the race is mostly a very lonely journey, usually with discouragement/sneers/scorn instead of cheers from people around me. (I'm a 'good girl' and 'goody-two-shoes' and whatever other goody goody term you can find for me.) But despite having considered dropping out of the race many many times, His Grace has been sufficient for me to keep me going. And for that I'm grateful. :-) All we need to keep going at times is encouragement and support, to know that our work and sacrifice is worthwhile for other lives. :-)

Anyway, just a song that I hope I can live up to someday.

Have a very good, blessed weekend. I'm too brain-dead to continue.

God bless!

Jo

2nd day of sem!

Ok, since I just reread my last post, grandpa is doing fine, weak but still strong enough to talk about plenty of nonsense. I had to counsel him -__- ! Haha, long story. But so far, still ok. Grandma's love for him is amazing. Each time I look at him in his current frail condition, I'm reminded of dad in his final stage of life... but anyway, not gonna delve into that!

Sem started yesterday, and as usual my nicely planned out schedule had to be rudely disrupted by this and that... 2 of my Asia Tenggara courses may be 'shut down' because... there was only 1 student who showed up for it. Guess who? ME lah. I mean, I like small classes and all, but really, ONE on ONE is really NOT my cup of tea. Anyway, UM won't allow a class of 1. They are both about politics... the lecturer, an Indonesian was telling me about how students in Indonesia fight for places in courses dealing with politics, but in UM practically NOBODY wants to study it. Zzz.

Anyway, managed to find some friends who were planning to take one of the courses but they had to rearrange the timing... so I will most likely drop 1, and maintain the class they wanna take.

Slept over at Yan's hostel yesterday after meeting some juniors.. PKV's annual 'junior visitation' (JV). Since she had early morning class (8am..!) this morning, I dragged my weary body up too.. but it was a very good thing!

Because while I sleepily waited around campus for the office to open (had to settle PKV stuff. Welcome to the secretary's ass' world. I've been running around so much for ONE event - ironically I'm not even a committee member of this event!), I decided, out of sheer randomness.. to check what empty slots were left for co-curricular courses. I've been targeting Elementary Guitar (because I want something non-stressful and they apparently teach you strumming, something I'm quite a failure in. I can play Bach/Carcassi/Tarrega/blablabla but I can't strum properly. -__-) since I first found out about it but the 40 places were snapped in the the first 45 minutes our seniors were allowed to register. (Seniors get priority.....) So obviously no hope to get one la.

BUT.

Lo and behold, when I looked at the empty slots this morning, I saw '1' for Elementary Guitar!!! I was in complete disbelief, some kind fella had dropped that precious, coveted spot (for me!). So without further ado, I dropped my Asia Tenggara course (which I can always add back if I ever want to because obviously NO ONE is rushing for it) and signed up for guitar.

Hehe.

Then I went to settle HEP (Hal Ehwal Pelajar) stuff, spent 2-3 hours of my morning on my feet, walking up and down flights and flights of stairs, walking in the sun... with a heavy bag because I had my stuff from my sleepover at Yan's room. Zzz. Tried to look for the guitar class place, couldn't find it, walked all over, was sent on a wild goose chase by a music student. -__- Finally called up the music department only to be redirected to another department. After some waiting, they told me it was located in the Engineering faculty.

ENGINEERING faculty.

'Twas on the tip of my tongue to ask WHY in the FREAKING WORLD would a guitar class be held among future engineers, but I just thanked the lady politely and hung up. Had no car today because Joash so kindly sent me by superbike to campus yesterday evening, peak of jam hour. So I did something I've never done in my whole entire life. I took a taxi home alone. Normally I don't trust taxis and I much prefer LRTs and buses although they usually involved a lot more walking. But today, I was just too hot and tired and sticky and sweaty to think of any other solution. All I knew was that by 11.15am, I just wanted/needed a good bath and to stop walking. Had no class on apart from the guitar class which I'd just signed up for, and that was in the evening.

So I did just that. :-) Rested, my man dropped by a short while because he was around the area dealing with some customers. Went back to uni by 5.30pm, went to engineering fac, and couldn't find the place. Haha, thank God for awesome engineering friends who guided my way! (Since I don't think they read my blog no need to put names la.) Learnt nothing, as usual, first class. Then went to fetch some friends and juniors for JV (diff colleges from yesterday).

Had a very, very, very good getting to know session with them, and was glad to offer whatever help they needed with regards to UM. I know the feeling of being totally, completely lost in this whole new world, so I was glad to offer help to them. Last year my college was somehow missed out from JV, so I never got the answers to my queries at that time.

And I got approached by a cult today. So that just gave me all the more new 'semangat' to ensure the first years settle into decent churches and had a strong body of Christ to belong to in campus. :-)

Too tired, God bless,

Jo

CCU

Grandpa's in CCU, gotta make a last min trip to Melaka today... had to cancel all my appointments on for today (today was supposed to be a full day).

I'll be driving the family back, hope the rain stops soon!

Till the next post,

God bless.

=D

Happy Mappy!

Hahaha =P

Anyway, forgot to blog about my Kuantan trip. It was really good, good break for the whole family, Joash included. :-) (Although he spent so much time sleeping!) We just stayed around the hotel, used the facilities, gym, swimming pool, arcade, and buffet of course. =D And since our hotel was at the beach, we beached too!

Went to Teluk Cempedak, felt so happy at the beach. Didn't care two hoots about the scorching sun, just played water. =) I want to own a resort by the beach! Ok la, house also can. Must be east coast side cause west coast is just too dirty and polluted and small waved.

The in-laws gave us a dinner, and it was a good dinner + a good time of fellowship. Muh family returned to PJ after 3 days, I spent an extra day over in the hubby's home. Twas good fellowship, hmm.. learnt a lot about fishes. Haha! Uncle George (dad-in-law) showed me the birth cert of... an AROWANA fish. -__- Would you believe that?? I told Joash that it was nicer than HIS birth cert. Lol.

His cute parents brought us out for a sumptuous dinner at... T&L, something like that. We had everything-ikan bakar, char kuey teow, curry wild boar, rojak, coconut, sugarcane.. felt so pressured to eat. PRESSURED TO EAT. Cause everything was so much and the men were eating so fast! Poor mum-in-law had to survive with 4 men chomping food around her all these years...

Spent most of my time in the house, apart from that dinner. Went for a walk around the neighbourhood, the atmosphere is so different from PJ's. :-) Partly because in PJ crime rate is so high I just don't feel safe walking around for fun. The ayang went rollicking with his friends while I slept! It's so good for him to have some stress-free lepak time =)

Aunty Kate as usual talked to me about serious issues.. =P Dad talking to me about fish and dogs and jungles, mum talking to me about health and relationship and family stuff. Good balance! Haha!

Anyway, it was a good trip to Kuantan, perhaps a wee bit too short.. *hint for a longer holiday in Kuantan syg ahem ahem*

That's all, nothing much really, just enjoyed my holiday. :-)

Will be starting 2nd year in a few days time, am excited to see what uni has to offer me this sem!

This afternoon I had a phone call from my PKV/CF president. It went like this:

TH: Mojojo, guess who!

Me: Er, Dawn??

TH: Huh! Who else calls you that name??

Me: A LOT of people.

blablabla *short talk aside*

TH: Eh Jo, remember ah, about our CGL (Cell Group Leaders) meeting next week?

Me: What? What? What meeting??

TH: You also forgot ah! ...

Me: Oh, kk, so it's next week ah? (At the back of my mind I'm furiously computing my involvement in this, I think all committee members have to attend it)

TH: Yes, it's the day before our mini CPR (Committee Planning Retreat)..

Me: HUH? What? What ah?? Mini CPR?? Next week??

TH: You forgot that too!

Me: Hahaha.... yeah....

(She obviously expected me to remember it all because I took down the minutes some months back.. *speechless*)

Just a stark reminder that uni life will be back in full swing very very soon!

Ok, light-hearted post today, have a blessed day ahead of you!

God bless,

Jo

2nd Year

I'll be starting my 2nd year of university next week...

Time flies, eh?

I still remember entering UM as a freshie last year, wondering what this new phase of life would bring me..

Feelings experienced at that time? Probably a bit of anxiety, I was venturing into a whole new area of life ALONE. I remember worrying about leaving mum alone at that time... during orientation week. We were still getting over dad's passing on, so naturally I worried about her and called home as frequently as orientation week would allow it.

Orientation was pretty ok, survivable, about the same level as IPDA's one. I think. Haha. Looking back la, but I'll never want to go through it again. Just not my cup of tea to be treated like a cow, herded and shouted at all the time.

How did my first year go?

Let's see.

I entered uni determined NOT to be involved in UM's CF/PKV (Persaudaraan Kristian Varsiti) because I wanted a break from it, after serving so many years in school CF. Haha.

Next thing I know, I'm secretary of PKV's annual camp. -_-

And yeah, I kinda got Wai Yan involved (who coincidentally was just as determined not to be active LOL).

Still, it was a good experience, good time of bonding, laughing. :-) Workload was a lot heavier... unlike schooling days, where I could hold a post and yet do nothing, only to find my work magically done for me. =P

Got involved in badminton, squash, debate... badminton and squash no big deal for me. Debate and emceeing, now those 2 were entirely new experiences for me, and good experiences they were too!

Hahaha. Emceeing for a 100 people function was fun, for a first-timer with absolutely no training whatsoever... 100 was a big enough crowd. =P

Debate was less fun, but learnt a lot. *Not that I want to debate again.*

Was asked to join UM's badminton team alongside them national players, but got too busy to join their training... so I backed off after a while. Hmm. We'll see how this sem goes.

I did represent my faculty and college in tournaments though, and that was fun. :-) I've made friends with the staff in several departments due to my representing them in tournaments (they even snuck me in as a 'staff' for a staff tournament once LOL), they've got friendly smiles each time I've got stuff to deal with them.

What else?

Music-wise, I've yet to see how their music department is like. By 2nd sem I had already shifted out of hostel so I never got an opportunity to see where my classical guitar playing stands amongst the rest. I'll find a way though. :-)

Academic wise? After my first week in uni, I told brother that I'd found my place in life. Haha, blogged about this before, but since this is the main gist of my 1st year, allow me to repeat it again. I felt like a fish in water right after I started uni. Kinda like how I pick up my badminton racquet and play a game after a long while... the "I am finally home" feeling is very very strong. :-)

I struggled with the concept of assignments for the first few months because I simply could not get into the habit of constantly studying/researching. I hated, detested that part. All my schooling years I've relied on last-minute studying to pull me through, and usually did poorly/was absent for monthly tests. So to suddenly have EVERY single piece of work I did week after week to be counted in my CGPA was darn stressful on my part.

I got used to it by 2nd semester, and griped less about it. I learnt to fret less over assignments, and began to enjoy them more. :-)

The most awesome thing about uni?

You can play all the time! Apart from dedicating some time for assignments, I was enjoying the rest of my time. Hahaha. Mum kept wondering how I could afford so much time just enjoying life, even in the midst of our 'study breaks'. And yet maintain my CGPA. It dropped from 4.00 to 3.97 from 1st sem to 2nd sem, but still pretty good considering the amount of time I spent on other activities (uni, badminton, church, guitar, lepaking, dating... the list goes on).

Hehe.

I packed this coming sem though, will have the heaviest combination of subjects ever, but I do want to do as many subjects as I can so that my final year is free.

*Takes a deep breath, readies meself to take on more subjects, spend more time on research!* The thing about my degree is that so so so much reading and researching and writing is required as compared to many other courses. Not that I'm complaining. :-)

So anyway, it's been a good first year. Joash has been an incredible companion throughout, and we're both grown and matured so much in the short time we've been dating.

Why, I was just telling Joash I could trace his 'growth'! Hahaha. When we first started out, he was a middleman for some biking shop. Then he started selling 2nd hand tyres. Then he started selling his personal belongings to buy machinery. As he used to tell me, "For the greater good." Then he started doing small-scale bike fixing stuff. After a while he decided to go big and set up his own workshop. :-) And it doesn't stop there, he's now expanding and offering more services.

It's incredible, the rate he just progresses. :-) I'm proud of all he has achieved, and still find it amazing that he has the strength and determination to persevere on even when HUGE obstacles come in the way! Huge and dangerous at times, eh my dear man? ;-)

Anyway, I'm going off-tangent. Haha. I'll begin next semester continuing my 2nd term as assistant secretary of PKV (no running away from secretarial work since young la, my face just screams "SECRETARY!!!" I think. :(), in charge of some PKV booth (which I still have no idea what to do...) and playing the keyboard for PKV's MSK (Malam Suai Kenal)... oh my, I need plenty of prayer..! Especially for the keyboard part. Haha I dislike being plugged in.. skill not enough. :( I'll sorely miss PKV's annual camp this sem though.. was supposed to be in charge of it but due to some probs it's off. Sigh. That was one thing I was looking forward to. Oh well, maybe it's about time I be sociable and join some FES camps. I will...

So that's pretty much it, here's a toast to a good 2nd year!! *Toasts* =P

God bless YOU, my dear reader!

Jo

...

And yet another ex-classmate gave birth and got married.

-_-

Oh well, that's life.

Am discovering all these through Facebook.

Cute babies though...

1 Utama!

1 Utama's Jusco has re-opened after its months of renovation! And there are new shops popping up. And old shops revamping and renovating. And Uniqlo is opening there too!

=D

Hahaha.

I sound like a shopaholic. I'm not one la, I just enjoy walking in 1 U. Hehe. Especially when I'm alone and have nothing to do. =) Usually end up buying nothing anyway, I just enjoy window shopping.

Guess 1U is something I grew up with, and my (extremely) poor sense of direction means that I'm not very adventurous. So I basically only know my way to the shopping malls closer to home.

I have been exploring Sunway Pyramid more frequently though, but still get lost there. Anyhow at the rate 1 U is expanding I really don't need Pyramid anymore. =)

And Tropicana (TCM) is so tiny, the first time I brought Joash there we rounded it 3 times and Joash had the whole place memorized by then. -_-

Sunway + TCM both have Ninja Joe's though... all 1 U needs now is a Ninja Joe's... *pork burger* Who knows, it may just open! =P

Had a good time in CG today =)

And I have a whole new load of books now!! Rachael was generous enough to give them away... =D *Happy happy* Thanks Rachael!

Random random. Holidays ain't doing my brain good.

Am glad I didn't sign up for ThePlan11 though, would have missed out on a good family holiday otherwise. And of course, precious time with Joash. ;-) Since his place will be on holiday next week! =D It's been some good extremely busy months for his business, so I think it's a very good break for him, and definitely a well-deserved one.

It's also been about a year since things 'happened' between us, twas around Raya last year that my posts began being filled with winks and 'someones'. It's been good so far, I've learnt so much about relationships and trying to be a good girlfriend. Haha. Trying...

Ok, this was a super random post.

:-) Have a blessed new week ahead of you, and happy raya-ing! =)

God bless,

Jo