Tuesdays with Morrie.

Nope, not another book review. =)

 

Today I attended a ceremony in school, organized by the Golden Key Society. Last month, while i was still in Singapore, I got a letter from them, inviting me to join their society. It is an international honour society for students who performed well in their academic studies, providing networks and scholarships for them. I was attending with another friend, who also got invited. I am honoured to receive such a big recognition from a reputable foundation. Thank you universe for always looking after me and giving me opportunities, I will continue to strive hard in my endeavours. =)

 

Ceremony stage.

 

Certificate.

 

555361-019

 

555361-020

We did not stay for the whole event though, as we were planning to go play badminton later. After receiving the certificate, we decided not to stay for the reception and left.

 

Badminton was fun, was able to move freely again after resting my knee for a couple of weeks. We played til almost eleven, and went for supper at Ming Palace again. I should really stop eating so much, the belly is emerging. Haha. Anyway, here are more photos from the boat trip at Sanctuary Cove.

 

Do not crash my boat, please.

 

Blondies.

 

Birthday boy and gf.

 

Look out for traffic!

 

Both hands on the wheel please.

 

Oh yes, we are stuck.

 

Push it, yeah!

 

Smiley babes.

 

Singlet boys.

 

Back on the road again.

 

One for the memories.

That's all folks, have a good week ahead!

Sunday at Sanctuary Cove.

It has been awhile since I last updated on activities. Yesterday, my friends and I went up to Sanctuary Cove Marina, about half an hour's drive away. We were going there to celebrate a friend's birthday, but he did not know what we have planned. He thought we were just going there to eat a nice buffet (decoy). We had actually planned a boat trip, where we hire a small boat for half a day, and sail along the scenic river.

 

Not the love boat we had hoped for.

 

Party craft, just as good.

The boat is called a 'party craft', which fits all 8 of us comfortably. It even comes with a BBQ pit! The owner gave us a brief rundown on how to manuvoer the boat, and off we went!

 

Long meandering river.

 

Lost faces.

 

Beautiful mansions.

It was supposed to be a nice and relaxing sunny afternoon for us, getting tanned, eating and drinking. We started off well, each of us taking turns to take the wheel. We were planning to go to a nice beachy area about an hour away, park there and start cooking. Now comes the malu part, when this friend was driving the boat, he accidentally went off course, and we were sort of chugging along in a sandy and shallow part of the river. Thankfully no real damage was done to the propeller, just some scratches.

 

 Awhile later, a funny beeping sound came out from somewhere. Not knowing what it was, my friend turned off the engine. He tried to start the engine again, but it just didn't want to. As we were rather near a deserted island, the current slowly swept the boat onto the shore. My friend and me had to get off the boat to push it back into deeper waters, the water was dirty and full of algae and weeds, quite icky. I got wet from the belly button down. =(

 

The motor still refuses to start, we thought we chui-ed the engine. Eventually called the owner for help, which he say he will try to find someone to come find us (yes, we were lost also). After sometime, we decided to try again, this time I pushed the boat til I was chest deep in water, and the motor started! -_- 

 

We were off, on our way again, but decided to forgo going to the nice beach, as we spent quite a bit of time fixing the motor and may not make it back in time. We drove up and down the river aimlessly, looking for an alternative place. We saw this small beach where people were fishing and swimming and decided to go there. We were thinking of docking the boat on the beach, but decided against it. We stopped the boat in between many other bigger boats and threw the anchor down. But the anchor line was so long that the boat continued drifting with the current, and we were heading straight for another boat! We panicked a bit, but the driver didn't really know how to manuvoer the boat properly too. So in the end we crashed into the other boat. Hehe.

 

It was just a small bump, luckily the owner was not around. At this time, most of the people at the beach were looking at us, probably laughing. We decided to make a quick scoot from the crime scene. But the torment has not finished. Our anchor was entangled with the other boat's anchor line. Gosh, what else can go wrong! In the end, one of us jumped into the water to try to free our anchor. It took a considerable and coordinated effort from everybody to finally free our boat.

 

Scoot!

 

At this time, we were all quite tired already, and were thinking what else can possibly happen. Haha. We rode up and down the river aimlessly again (seems like that is the only thing we can do right), cooked some chicken wings and hot dogs, which turned out charcoal burnt. Happy-ness.

 

We decided to return the boat early, and head back my friend's house to cook the rest of the food. Not before another embarrassing incident though. I crashed the boat into the jetty when parking. Haha. I was already going very slow, but at the crucial moment, somehow could not engage the reverse gear to stop the boat. I bumped metal to metal at the jetty with a loud "PONG", just then a group of people walked past and one of them commented "not a very talented driver eh". Haha. 

 

Farewell shot.

THAT is the love boat.

 We went to our usual hangout place to cook dinner, and ordered puff crust pizza too, which tastes rather like prata.

 

Introducing the prat-zza.

 

Enough to feed army.

 

Friend's pet lizard, either "Duke" or "King".

We celebrated friend's birthday with cake and champagne.

 

Chocolate cake.

 

Slaughter the cake!

 

"Pop!"

 

Customary toast.

What a weekend! More photos are in my friends' camera, will try to get it and post them next time.

 

What a weekend indeed, it has been more than 2 days since i last slept. I was trying to get my assignment started on Saturday afternoon, worked on it through the night til Sunday morning. Went for the boat trip and dinner, reached home at about 10pm. Continued working on the report til this morning, which I finally finished at 6.30am. Went to bathe and prepared for school, as I have 7 hours straight of lessons from 8am to 3pm.

 

Rrrrrrrright. It has been a long 54 hours. Time for bed. =) 

A Prayer for mum.

Dear mummy,

 

How are you feeling today? Still nervous like the previous two times? Today is your third session already, everything is going according to schedule, you are halfway through! You have been recovering well after the previous two sessions, remember to eat well and drink more fresh juices. If everything goes according to plan, you will be able to come over for my graduation at the end of the year! I can bring you around to eat a lot of nice food too, especially your favourite fish and chips.

 

As you lay on the hospital bed, letting the chemicals flow into your body, let me say this short prayer for you;

Dearest God,

Thank you for giving mummy strength,

Thank you for taking care of her,

Give her your light as she goes through yet another session,

Surround her with your love,

and protect her.

 

Thank you God,

for everything.

I love you.

 

Rest well, mummy, you will be alright. =) 

The Masterpiece.

Dedicated to a bao, wish you the best of health. May your back be totally healed soon, and find happiness in whatever you do. =)

The Masterpiece

Andreas Yonatan

You are special!
Created by the hands of God himself!
Awaken by His breath!
Filled with His spirit!
Redeemed by His blood!
Live by His love!
For none on this earth could be measured equal to you!
So live as what you are supposed to be!
The masterpiece of GOD!

 

You are loved, and blessed.

Exams are over!

Weeeelllll, not exactly. I should rephrase, mid-semester exams are over. Had my last paper this afternoon, all 60 multiple choices of it. Hmm, multiple choices may sound easy, but they can be rather tricky too. Typically there will be 2 choices which will be very similar to the right answer, have to get the brain juices to work to decipher the correct one. I feel I'll do good for my exams, been preparing well for them.

 

Now that exams are out of the way, i have a couple of assignments due soon. The soonest one is due this coming Monday! I am supposed to do an Environmental Impact Assessment report for the South-east Queensland Food and Wine Industry. Sounds intimidating eh, I must try to finish the bulk of it by the weekend! Muuuuussssttt Trrrrryyyyy.

 

The Eternal Now

Rev. Stan Howse

I am here to be me




For better or worse.
An attitude, an insight,
A blessing or curse.

I'm here as you see me,




I walk as you will,
And "as you believe",
I give all, or nil.

No past and no future,




I am just today -
Expecting no quarter,
No "instant replay".

I  am this instant,
The Eternal Now.
There's nothing outside me,
And I give you this vow:
I am What I am and will be What I'll be.
In Me you're forgiven, in Me you are free.

Full moon.

There is something special about nights when there is a full moon. The night comes alive, the land becomes brighter and clearer. Tonight is the night.

 

Full moon.

I was taking a break while cooking just now, and went to the balcony for a smoke. It was then that i noticed how bright and round the moon is today. Took some pictures, also took the opportunity to toggle some functions on the camera.

 

Cold light of the moon.

 

Sepia.

I shall now go to the balcony again to soak in the moon's energy, by looking at her, and imagining her light and love engulfing my earthly body. =)

 

A blessed week ahead for everyone.

Moon Festival.

Happy Moon Festival, as the aussies will put it.

 

Saturday. Woke up at 11am (early by my standards), and the sun was shining bright. Decided to make my way down to the beach, to sit and relax. The sky was cloudless, and the sun's rays were intense. I lubed myself up with suntan lotion, and just lay there in the warm sand.

 

Afternoon beach.

 

Sand storm!

It is becoming like a weekly thing now. Was tanning with my neighbour last Saturday too, afterwhich they went to rollerblade and I went for a short run along the beach. Today's weather was nice, but there was too much wind. The wind was blowing sand all over the place, which makes it hard to lie down on the sand when they constantly fly across the face or into the ear. I was there, half lying down, reading some notes for about an hour. I caught a cold after going home to clean up, probably due to the wind, and my nose has been leaking juices non-stop!

 

In the evening, at about 5pm, my friend and I started preparing dinner for my housemate and neighbours. On the menu was herbal chicken and bak kut teh. My friend stuffed the herbs into the whole chicken, and rubbed some herb powder on the exterior (I couldn't do it due to my sniffly nose). We steamed the chicken for 2 hours. The bak kut teh was simple, just had to boil the water, chop the ribs, and dump them together with the flavouring sachets and some garlic.

 

After 2 hours or so and TA DA, this was what came out!

 

Look, there's greens!

Housemate and her best friend.

Customary before-dinner shot.

Another one.

The food turned out great! Better than what i was expecting. Haha. I think the rest enjoyed themselves too. My friend brought a mooncake along, to be eaten for dessert, but one of the girls bought a cake, so we had that instead.

 

After dinner, my friend and I got changed and drove to the casino to meet some other friends. No, not to gamble, but to watch soccer. It is the Big One today, Liverpool vs Man U.

 

Jupiters casino.

Pokies.

Dammit, Man U lost! 

Amazing Thailand, Smooth as silk.

No, I am not in Bangcock, nor am I heading there anytime soon.

 

Some of my friends and I went to a Thai restaurant for dinner today. I was taking a nap in the early evening, when my friend came over and knocked on the door. He asked if I want to join him, my neighbour and a few others for dinner at this Thai place just around the corner. So after a quick change, we were off to meet the rest.

 

Sir, cum in, I give you good time!

 

Good time, I cum I cum.

The setting was nice, dim setting, low tables with holes underneath for us to insert our legs. As it was a Bring-Your-Own place, they brought quite a few bottles of wine along, with corkage charged at $1 per head. We ordered a lot a lot of food.

 

Don't talk so much, drink your wine.

First up were the entrees, there were curry puffs, spring rolls and prawn rolls. Didn't manage to take many pictures of the food though, as the moment they came, they get passed around and disappear into the stomachs. For the mains, we ordered Green Curry Pork, Red Curry Beef, Panang Curry Chicken, Cashew Nut Chicken, Sweet and Sour Pork and Pad Thai.

 

Gobbling up the entrees.

 

Pad Thai, best of the lot.

 

Go on, dig in.

The food was surprisingly nice! Much better than the mumbo jumbo served at Thai Express. We had a wonderful time chatting, eating and making merry. They are planning a self-styled Oktoberfest next month at one of the mate's place, ooh I can't wait! Thank you God for bringing me such great company.

 

Happy faces, hungry no more.

Spring.

Rejoice, Spring is here!

 

September marks the beginning of Spring on the Gold Coast. Even though it does not snow during winter here, it does get quite chilly and windy at times. Together with the occasional rain, it can get quite miserable. Bring forth Spring, the season of beautiful weather and blossoming flowers, when animals and humans alike begin to come out and play, to embrace life!

 

The weather has been changing gradually over the past week. A couple of weeks ago, many people were still wearing jumpers and sweaters, but now the spring dresses are starting to come out of the wardrobe! Everyday, as I sit at the balcony, I see more and more surfer dudes lugging their surfboards, trodding onto the beach and into the waves. Makes me feel like learning how to surf, my housemate has a huge surfboard sitting pretty in the living room.

 

It has been a peaceful and quiet week for me. I had an exam on Monday, went to play badminton on Tuesday, did my laundry on Wednesday, and nothing today. Perhaps this is the calm before the storm, as I have another exam next week, and a major assignment due the following week. I really should start focussing more on my school work, and not pay lip service to it. Called home yesterday to have a short chat with my mum, she is doing very well. I am grateful that God is taking good care of her, protecting her and giving her strength. Next week, she will be going for her third session. May everything go smoothly and well. =)

 

This is week 7 of the semester already, there are only 6 more weeks of school left. Plus a couple of weeks of break and a week of exam, I only have 8 weeks left of my life as a student! Afterwhich, I won't be able to tell people that i'm a student anymore, no more concessionary rates, no more student perks. Just like spring, it will be a time of renewed faith and new beginning, surprisingly, I am very much looking forward to it. Yip Yip.

Spring Time

Algernon Charles Swinburne

For winter's rains and ruins are over,
And all the season of snows and sins;
The days dividing lover and lover,
The light that loses, the night that wins;
And time remembered is grief forgotten,
And frosts are slain and flowers begotten,
And in green underwood and cover
Blossom by blossom the spring begins

Love.

What is love? One of life's great mysteries, Love is complex, difficult, and undefinable. What do you feel when you love someone? Yes, love is an emotion, a feeling, a wanting and a "being" that makes one feel good when receiving it.

 

For some, love is patient, love is kind. Love has no envy, nor does it boasts itself, and it is never proud. Love protects, perseveres, and hopes for the positive aspects of life. Love is wanting the best for the other half. Love is not possessing, but liberating. Love is giving emotional, spiritual and physical enjoyment enthusiastically and unconditionally. 

 

While others may say, love is the sum of all fears. When you think you have found love, you will try every means to keep the love alive. You live for the other person, instead for yourself. You fear his/her disapprovals, hesitations and emotional outbursts. A struggle for love, attention and power soon develops and slowly break down the relationship.

 

There are many types of love, such as romantic love, where it is deep, intense, and shared on an intimate and interpersonal relationship. Then there are affections such as platonic love, family love and religious love, where the souce of love comes from one's desires, preferences and feelings. Love cannot be measured, take for example, the relationship between a mother and a child. The mother loves the child unconditionally, and this depth of love cannot be measured. I believe love should be experienced, and not just felt. The magic of love can be created by focussing on the goodness of the other person. Love does the rest of the job, by bonding and connecting us in a unified link of trust and intimacy, which enhances the relationship and comforts the soul.

 

I had love with someone, not too long ago. We first started almost 9 years ago. I believe it was puppy love then, it slowly developed between us over a period of 2 years. Suddenly, it all ended in an instant, but our hearts were unwilling to let go. A couple of years down the road, we decided to give it another try, but things did not work out again. Even though our hearts long to be together, both of us are unwilling to commit to each other totally.

 

Like an unfinished love story, we left it to the mysterious hands of fate and time. We maintained our friendship all along. Everytime i look at her, my heart melts with a warm and fuzzy feeling. Every look into her eyes is like looking into the window of my soulmate's heart, there is unspoken love, compassion and desire in our gazes. Over the past 2 years, feelings started to flutter yet again, and we became intimate for a short period. We were very happy. 

 

But, like the forbidden fruit that was never meant to be eaten, love slipped out of our hands once again. I do not regret the decision that I have made, as I know i am following what my heart tells me to. Everything happens for a good reason, I believe should love come knocking again, it will be deeper and more intense. Love is not a journey into the unknown. Be together, share your joys and sorrows, understand each other, while giving space at the same time. Always be there for each other, and love will definitely blossom.

 

It is better to have loved and lost, than never to have loved at all.