The Naughty Table, or Niggas in Paris

Hey,

I just wanted you to know that you're the best thing that could ever have happened to me. You're the reason that when I smile, I smile and I'm not sad after. You know what I mean, right? Like, when you're out with your mates, or when you read a funny thing on the internet, or when you trip yourself on the pavement and smile sheepishly in spite of yourself. I do all these things, and I'm still happy after, because of you.

I will be going out tonight, with my lovely Naughty Table family. Oh, haven't I told you about them? When I say "Naughty Table", I mean my Uni mates that I hang out with from time to time (when we can get time off our hectic schedules; growing up is no joke!). Why that name, you may ask? One of our tutors at uni was so fed up with us that she gave up teaching, apparently, and we all sat at the same table (when we actually went to class). Hence, Naughty Table.

Here are some pictures of us throughout the years:

At the First End of Semester Fiesta

 At Tegan's 19th (I think)

 At Tegan's 21st, two years later (and I look like a kid)

 At Tia's 21st (damn we good looking)

 Enjoying Pizza at the ABC, a Naughty Table fav

At Jayden's 21st

During the Naughty Table Good Friday outing

I'll show you more photos of us one day, if you'd like. They're an important part of my life, and I'm so blessed with good friends who have my back like they do. It's usual for most people to hang out at uni and go through the motions, not making any meaningful friends, since uni classes can be quite large (COUGH MELB COMMERCE STUDENTS COUGH), so I'm grateful that I took something like Creative Writing, and eventhough we're not graduating in the same year, I'm loved so much so that these lovely people still call me family. Tia, Tegan, Abra, Jayden, Georgia, Adina and Lee, this one's for you.

Oh, you're asking me why I'm not graduating with them?

That's a story for another day. I have one hour to prepare for a big night out with me naughty familia, and am contemplating whether or not to dye my hair red. I hope that you have a liking for unnaturally red hair, as I do, but I will love you regardless.

Love,

Nigel 

Time to Take Writing Seriously, or One Smile

I'm 21 now. It's been a while, and I'm 21 now. So much has changed since I've written something, anything, that is of consequence/has meaning/ has effort or part of my soul in it. You can type Facebook statuses, you can update your twitter, but when you write, when you really write; therein lies the overflow of your heart.

Hi. I'm Nigel, and I'm coming back on to the bloggosphere (is that a word? It is now). This is partially to:

A) (Hopefully) create an online portfolio for my writings
B) Have an outlet for my creative musings that have words in them
C) Force me to actually do some writing
D) Collect my experiences for when I feel nostalgic for when times past

So now what? What has changed since we've last met? So much. Much too much. And change sucks, and sometimes we need change, but it sucks. Out of the frying pan and in to the fire.

All you need is one smile

We will give you all night.

A Very Dangerous Story, or Turbulence

Assignment: 2000 words, choose from a mix of fiction, non-fiction and poetry (choose 2 only).

I just embarked on a story that means a lot to me. I didn't know what it meant to discover yourself through writing, that it builds you. I think I know realize what they meant when they said that.

Today was the last day of Semester one. Went out for dinner and drinks with some of the Philosophy people. They're all a really nice bunch, and I honestly am going to miss the times in that room in Building 9, Level 3, on Thursdays at 4.30pm-6.30pm. Good times.

Time really flies. I've only known these people for a relatively short amount of time, so I cannot for certain say that they are genuine (the uncertainty principle). But how are we to know things for certain? We cannot, and therefore we trust ourselves to trust others. What to do?

And this  half-year comes to an end, although there are still many assignments to get over and done with. Still working on the assignment that I first mentioned. And here I am procrastinating. At least I'm writing something!

I Need Tickets Now, or Life in Technicolor II

It's 4.26am. Freezing cold Melbourne weather. The heater's on (and I don't usually turn the heater on unless it's really cold, because I have to pay for the electricity bill, and the more electricity I use, the more I pay), so it must be pretty darn cold. That doesn't make for a very comfortable experience, and as much as I said that I would love the cold weather, I'm getting pretty tired and annoyed of it.

My Uni mates got Coldplay tickets today. I want them. Very badly. I still remember my sister, Kim, telling me that they were the number one band/artist/group that she would pay money to go and see, which is unusual, but excellent (I am proud of my sister) (who has gone to Super Junior as well, so yeah), as her taste in music is pretty darn good. Am gonna wake up Friday morning bright and early (if I'm not finishing up assignments) to buy them.

Week 12 already, 1st Semester of Uni is coming to an end. I feel as though I have not made any progress in my writing. That's not a good thing, see, so I'd better do something about that. The second half of this year I promise to:

Read More
Write More
Get a Freaking Job
Stop Buying Things from eBay
Take More Photographs
Play Some Music (Bring Bass Over?)
Stop Sleeping Late
Stop Lying To Self About Sleeping Late

That's to come, though.

OUT OF NOWHERE, or Sorry For Party Rocking

I did the most spontaneous thing I've ever done in my life less than 24 hours ago.

I was thinking to myself, "Hmm, I wonder when's the next Airasia sale." So I googled it.

How very serendipitous that it should be on!

So, to cut an extremely long story short, I'm going to the Philippines in February 2013!

WHAT AN AWESOME, FREAKISHLY RANDOM THING TO DO! WHOOOOOOOOO

When I checked the fares, it was RM122 incl. tax, but I was too late so it bumped up to RM187 or something like that. What to do? Just go!

Going with a few mates of mine, trying to gather more, man this trip's gonna be sick!

My only regret is that I booked the accommodation a little to hurriedly. Now I can't change. What to do.


CLARK, BABY!

I'll Write, or What You Know

I guess I really should write in you, shouldn't I? Yes, yes I should. As someone who's taking a Creative Writing degree, I should write a whole lot more than I actually do. My life has become lazy and pathetic, and I stay in front of the computer, inspiration-less and pointless. I am wasting my own time here, but now, I feel like this is a good idea: To keep writing.

Welcome back to Propositum: An undertaking of the Right Mind.

TCSJ, or Like a G6

So for those of you who aren't in the know, I'm conducting my life in KL right now. That's right, conducting. I see this year as a big buildup for the grand finale at the end. This year is practically the most important year of my life, and so it should be!

College life is no easy matter. It's great, and it's fun, but it's a whole lot of work too, especially if you're taking South Australian Matriculation (SAM). SAM is a one-year (10 months, really) course that consists of 70% internal assessment (presentations, folios, class tests) and only 30% external (end of year assessment). So it's impossible to slack off, unless you want to repeat your SAM year (which I believe two of my classmates are doing; taking SAM lightheartedly is no wise choice), and I DO NOT want to do that. I want to get to RMIT, get me my paper certification that I can write oodles and doodles and off to work and start a family for me, independent of my parents. Because I don't want to burden them. Also because I don't like relying on them, because decisions have to be made taking them in to account as well.

College is awesome. I have met SO many new friends, and they're all great. Most of them. All of them, fine. All of them are great. If I had my wedding today (and this is a question I ask myself from time to time), I'd definitely be inviting some of my college mates, and possibly even in the future I will too.

Lectures are great too, because lecturers are so friendly, and it's easy to talk to them casually and it makes it very interesting to learn. I say this not because I'm what you may call a nerd, but because it helps a whole lot in scoring well when you actually enjoy the subject because of the teacher.

Taylor's is great. I have no idea why you'd go to somewhere to IS if you could afford TCSJ. It's not like it's a popularity contest here. We actually learn stuff.

Welcome Back, Nigel, or Wonder of it All

I should seriously consider doing this regularly. Reading all of Carmelia's posts, dedicated and written just for my sake; it is a sort of guilt trip that makes me want to try, makes me want to write again.

Just the other day during Math class, I was writing a long paragraph on how stagnant my mind had become. How sad, that my once overly-stimulated brain, once able to handpick ideas out of the sky, became lazy and weak, and it became hard to find the appropriate words. In the end I had to (here I pause, thinking for the word I want to use) settle for the next best word, only to groan inwardly because I know there is a better word somewhere, nagging at my subconscious.

I don't know how many of you will be reading this, but if you are, I applaud you, and I raise my eyebrows at you, because... Because blogging is quite unheard of nowadays (or so it seems). This can be seen as my promise to you that I will try and do this more often.

There is just too much to say. Just too much. Looking back at blogposts of some of the people that I follow makes me feel extremely nostalgic.

I remember that I love words! I love to read! I love to write! What do I want to say?

Just two things.

The first, to Ri. I'm sorry.

The last, to Carm. I love you. Six months has come and gone, and I hope time passes faster and faster until.... Until it goes.

And remember, that no one does it better than E5.

Community Work, or Lost In Stereo

I went to Sukau over this weekend (well, four days to be exact). Went there all fired up and prepared to work. 'Cos that's what I do. I have this heart (like my momma, who I have recently added on Facecake) for the STOP people who are the.... Uhm, Sick, Torn, Oppressed and Poor (I think). And so I like going out and in to the interior to help and do work and stuff. I like it. I like seeing the looks on their faces when we help them. I also like the little children who, for some reason, have this liking for me, and follow me everywhere, and they don't pronounce my name right, so I just let them call me Koko.

So anyway, there I was, ready for something like Pitas (we had like 600 people there in one day where they were waiting for us to arrive), when we were sorely disappointed; We only had 220 people there in both days. The need wasn't there. But it was still good to help out.

This time I did eye check duty and photo taking/ printing.

Now, I have to explain this in greater detail. My mother does this 'ministry' where she takes photos for kampung people and gives them the photos instantly in photo frames (sponsored), via the two Selphy printers that we have (also sponsored). It may not seem as significant or as helpful as medicinal aid and stuff, but it does lift their morale and make them happy, and it's a good way of gaining trust.

Made good friends too, with this dude called Jamil. We used his house to take the family pictures, and we got talking about cameras and stuff. Long story short, I'm thinking of buying his camera: D2x Nikon! And he plays music and all too, and he's really nice and friendly, and me and mum and Uncle Geoff went to a Kampung Wedding because of him =D It was a good experience. I can now say I have, and I think they were delighted to have a Caucasian there.

So yeah, I was doing a lot of photo printing and taking, along with Jamil and Mum. And some of the people there are pretty fussy about it. Not the way they look or anything, but the amount of copies we gave. It's specifically one photo in a frame per family, and they want more. HELLO? We're already given you free stuff. Give it a rest.

Consumption for What Is Perceived to be the Mind, But Is Actually the Heart, or Starships

Isn't it great to be happy? I like being happy. All the time. Why, I aspire to have a smile on my face as well as a smile on the faces on others around me. That's why sometimes I do silly things or skip happily or act energetically so on first impression, that's the impression I give. So many times I have had people giggling at my general direction, and when I approach them and smile sweetly enquiring what's wrong, I usually get things like "Why are you always so happy?", "You're so energetic today" and sometimes "WTF IS WRONG WITH YOU".

It's good to be happy. You're outlook on life is more positive. When I woke up and got out of bed a while ago I would have been all zombie-Nigel mode. Oh wait. Sometimes I still do. But that's because I'm sleepy, so yeah yeah. I get out of bed happy, and if I wake to the voice of another, well, that just means the whole day is going to be a great day, just because it had a great start, no matter how crappy the middle is.

I like being happy. It's like food for the soul or the heart, or something. There's something about being happy about something, like getting good grades, but if you can set your mind to be happy about absolutely nothing at all... Wow. I salute you, and skip merrily by your side. Happy happy happy!

Happy, joyful, exuberant, jubilant, glad. All these words describe emotions that make your mouth twitch in to that wonderful smile of yours. These words make you laugh, they make you clap, they make you cry, sometimes. These words can spur you to jump for, what else, joy.

Isn't it great to be happy?

Well I'm pretty happy! Eventhough I'm not, I am... If you understand that.

Whataday, or The Sound Of Settling

Phew. Today has been quite the day. I am exhausted, and I have no mood to blog (eventhough my blog is in serious need of human touch to its words).

I was so stressed out though, SO SO SO stressed out, but in the end, things worked out well, thanks God! You're like, the best, really! Prayer is power, and power is awshum!

Today I received something wonderful, became an evil gamemaster, sang a song that I think I shouldn't go around singing, drove three different cars, ate a burger, drove up and down I was probably on the road for more than an hour, unloaded a bunch of crap with (barely any) help, lost something, found something, went to see a friend in a crisis, met up with new friends and finally was able to see an old friend. And these words just don't justify it all. It doesn't.

I was at the Backpackers Cafe in KK, and it said that on this date, in 1947, a Japanese General was executed for war crimes in Borneo. What a coincidence!

It was a good day, though. No regrets. Except misplacing my bag.

DISC, or What You Waiting For

I got back on Thursday night, and my mum poked me and said, "Nigel, tomorrow you help me run event again ah." Erm, okay, fine, sure...

Now before I give a downlo of what happened, let me just explain what DISC is. DISC stands for Dominant, Influence, Steadiness and Conscientiousness. These four traits are the main personalities that the rest of human behaviour can be more or less derived from.

Let's shove a few examples to quickly explain:

Cleaning a Whiteboard:

D- Quickly orders someone to get the job done

I- "WHEE LET'S CLEAN THE WHITEBOARD WHEE"

S- Waits for someone to ask him/her before moving to the whiteboard to clean it

C- Calculates the best way to effectively clean the whiteboard

When the Roof Caves in:

D- Organises a crew to help clear the rubble and aid the wounded

I- "WOAH, THE ROOF CAVED IN! AWSHUM!"

S- Huddles in a corner

C- Works in his mind why the roof caved in in the first place

A few people of DISC characters in the Bible:

D- Paul. Paul is a typical D, hardheaded and strong.

I-Peter. He get's things going.

S-Abraham. Mr. Behind The Scenes worker.

C-Moses. He charts the course (People argue he's got some D in him, and of course he does. Everyone does, so shut up and let me explain)

Anyway, so my sister, Andrew, Kah Mun and I were helping my momma out that night. Apart from Mum, me and Andrew were given walkie talkies. We were dressed up in super formal black (someone said debonair) (except for Andrew; He wasn't dressed up THAT much), and both of us ran around helping coordinate the whole show: From the release time of the alcoholic beverages (after the PM's speech) to registration ("Good evening sir... Yes you may sit there") to cueing (?) the guest performers, like the runner up from the latest season of Akedemi Fantasia (what was her name... Akilaah or something, but she was cute), to standing on the stage to hold the bowl of lucky draw slips.

It was pretty 'fun', in the sense that I got to boss people older than me around, and watch them wait on my call (that's the Control-Freak D in me), scurrying around serving food, and doing things I tell them to. When things go wrong, though, it's frustrating, because it's the event organisers who get the blame, not the hotel staff, or the performers.

Thankfully there were no major slip-ups. The hotel staff, however, are some of the most slow (mentally and physically) people I have ever met (and hello, the Chief Minister is here); I had to poke their supervisors twice to get them to hurry up and get more people working.

This event was the Shell Sabah Journalist Association Awards (OR SOMETHING), and it's held annually, every year, once a year. I met a few people who could be future contacts in the future, so that's a good thing. Who knows, maybe next year I could be a participant instead of the one running around?

Funny thing? I met my father there, who was a guest of his friend. And my mum was there. Awkward...

I did get to enjoy some booze after. A bottle of J, anyone?

Helium Balloons, or Sweetness (Jimmy Eats World)

My Chem tutor told me that the reason that our voices become all high-pitched and freaky when we inhale helium is because the density of the air that we inhale is not as dense as normal air, and so the vibrations caused by our voicebox is faster, causing our pitch to become higher than usual.

Also, helium balloons have to fall down one day. This is because (insert reason here because I have no idea why this happens). I am so smart.

Why talk about helium, you say? The lojik applied in science usually, generally and almost always applies in our everyday lives. This lojik makes a lot of sense, and it makes us nod our heads and go "Oh yeah kan". Lojik is the currency of reasoning: If you have not lojik, you reason poorly, or not at all.

What goes up eventually has to come down. Cindy told me this one day, and I pointed out to her that I told her that first, and she just laughed. It is true, though. Good times come to an end. Bad times come to end. All time will come to an end. What you do while your balloon floats up there is what counts: You don't want to waste your time floating up there doing nothing. You want to do something. You want to be worthwhile.

There is always a push and pull. In Karate, we learnt that the sharper our negative reaction, the more powerful our outwards thrust. I've applied it and see it at work physically (ask the people I poke), but now I come to realise that it works socially as well. It does. TRUST ME!

How are you going to spend your time at the top?

---

I'M SO STRESSED OUT WITH ALL THIS CAMP STUFF, ALONG WITH THE OTHER THINGS I HAVE TO CLEAR UP BEFORE I LEAVE FOR CAMP/ MIRI. STRESS. OUT.

TEKANAN. KELUAR.

And I've been unusually, strangely and oddly hungry lately. I don't understand. It can't be that I'm exercising more lately. I get hungry at the strangest of times: Lunch time, after lunch time, in the middle of the night, when I wake up, after I exercise. Ask the people I've been around. They've seen (and heard) me eat recently.

Things in life have been a chaotic bag of chaos. Inside is crap. I hate that crap. I wish it would go away. But I found this picture in Matthew Lee''s house one day:

I want to be like that. I want to learn how. I just need a partner to laugh along with my mistakes, to be there when I'm down. I don't expect you to solve my problems: I want you to be there, and let your presence just comfort me. Love is not selfish. Love bears all things. I'm bearing as much as I can.

I want someone to dance with me, as sweetly and as silently as possible.

Teeth, or Littlest Things

At Bel's bakery (Walnut at Foh Sang, go there and buy bread, and maybe I can ask them to give me some for free) I had to sit for awhile to wait for my sister. Contrary to what my mother thinks, I wasn't THAT much of a kelefe... I had to discuss some things with Eleni, and after that I found this book lying open on one of the tables.

It was a book on sex. But it looked... Interesting (besides, there was nothing to do), and so I started reading. I was so engrossed in it that time flew by, and I didn't realise that I could've just gone home. Instead, I just read and read and read, and I made the owner promise me that I could borrow it once I was done.

I'm not going to go in to much details. I mean, we all know the drill right: Sex is holy, sex is pure, sex is something that needs to wait for marriage. We know the details, right? But what are we doing about it?

What's your excuse for not having sex before marriage? Religion? Is that HONESTLY it? That, to me, after reading that book, isn't really a good reason at all. If you want to know more you can ask me personally. But yeah, good read, I can't wait to get my hands on it again!

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Honestly, I have no idea why I started that rant. Wasn't really a rant to begin with, but whatever.

There's a lot left in this year. A LOT. Lotsa things to do, lotsa things to get through. Imagine, that it was January just a little earlier this year. It seems a lifetime ago, but it passed by so very very fast. I very very much so despised my life last year: Not the experiences and situations I went through, but the person I was. I wasn't myself. I was... Different.

I'm back (as close as possible) to the person I once was, but... But I'm, in a sense, 'stronger'. I realise that sometimes, I need to be serious. Sometimes, I need to stop fooling around. I'm still learning, but I take life in with every chance that I get, not taking it for granted.

Recently I've been... Confused. I wasn't sure of the road to take. Down a new path, or up the same one that I've followed for so long? Before I could make a proper decision, the new path shed some light on the truth. The truth amazed me; I expected it, but not so soon. I was shocked, and so I wanted to run down that road, but that wasn't the right thing to do. I had to stroll down the path, take in the scenery, all the little things, because I wasn't on these paths for want of a means to a destination. Rather, it was the journey I was on that really counted. And so far, I'm enjoying the sights, sounds and warmth of this new path. This path was something that seemed very... Comfortable. Like I was already used to the path; I knew the turns and bends even before I approached it, and I knew where to go. There were still some things I needed to learn, but I had time. Oh, I had nothing but time. This experience is... It was...

Different.

Sorry about that, it was all very very cryptic, and even the people that know what I'm talking about will find it a little hard to understand!

Being enigmatic is useful to a lesser extent. Eh.

Show me your teeth when you smile.

Full-On Freak-Out, or I Wanna

My body aches so bad. I'm so out of shape!

But I think that, if I go the gym more often, I'll be in shape. Aha.

Hmm.

So yesterday I went to the gym. Me, Kimbo, Joshua Ronald and Adren went to the Sutera Harbour gym, where we're all members, and 'worked out' (Adren ditched us to play tennis after awhle). I just jogged a lot (6.5 Km, which to some of you isn't a lot, but to me at this time, IT IS), and did some ab work and a little bit of upper body exercises. This morning at church me and Josh were flicking each other's sternum (is it? Not too sure, I don't take Bio), which caused some painful wincing.

You were the one who raised me from birth.

But oh, you've changed so very very much.

What happened? Yeesh.

I went to pick my mother up from the airport just now. The first thing she said to me was, "What are you wearing? You look ridiculous." That's really what you want to hear from your mother. I think something's going on with her; something that she's not telling us. She's grumpy, touchy, and easily irritated, and even more unreasonable than she normally is. Stubborn and resolute, she's not going to give in to anything, so I surmised it's simpler to just walk away. And it's working, in a way.

I didn't realise I mean that much to you.

I mean, I did, but not now.

Just a hug?

After the meeting, something just pushed me into your direction, and give you a long awaited hug. I still don't know if that was the right thing for me to do. Maybe I should stay away, away again. It worked that way, didn't it? The silence. That's for the best.

But it's not what we want.

NOW IMMA GO LAZE AROUND THE HOUSE, BWAHAHAHAHAHAHA. Why can't the holidays come faster? Come faster! COME EH!!!!

You Are Practical, or Underneath

You Are Practical

You have your feet firmly planted on the ground, and you are very sensible. You always seem to know what to do, and if not, you can sort things out on a long walk. You are like comfort food for the soul. You set your friends (and even strangers) at ease. You take extra good care of yourself, and because of this, you have a lot to give back to those you love.

Seriously? Man I rock!

The Little Things We Share, or Hanging By The Moment

Isn't it great that there are just so many things to talk about in this world? How easy it is to change from one topic to another topic with ease?

Okay, what nonsense that is, right? Both sentences do not have to do anything with each other. As many topics about anything and everything in the world (music, movies, books, food, food, food, school, porcupines), and indeed, there are many things (including food), it isn't always easy to talk to someone.

I know A LOT of people who are chatterboxes, but those boxes are closed; shut tight, firmly locked. All you need is the key to open this box, and voilà! Instant chatterbox (just add water). So many of these people complain on the inside of being lonely and that no one ones to be their friend. Believe it or not, I was one of those people. All it took was someone to open me up.

I'm generally like that, too. Whenever I go to a new place, I don't talk to anyone. I plug in my iPhone, listen to music, and alienate myself from the strange surroundings. As soon as someone starts talking to me, though, I open up to them, and the earphones are put away.

It's like that story of the frog? The frog who is taking a bath, and the water gets too warm, and he gets comfortable, and after awhile he's boiled alive. Disgusting as that may sound, the whole point of the story is "don't get comfortable with what you're doing. Complacency is dangerous". And Indeederific, it is.

Over the past few weeks, I've been making new friends, making old friends, making a mess, and making a plan (okay, that's not grammatically correct, but I need to put 'making' one more time). I'm devising a plan for my mother on mother's day, and I'm not sure how big it will be, but it will definitely be successful, eh Josh? But I know you don't read my blog, so never mind. If anyone is reading this and knows Josh Ronald tell him to start blogging again, he hasn't done it for 9 months.

Anyway, I hope this people skill thing comes in handy one day. In fact, I hope I'm able to make a living out of it. That'd be great, because it'd cut studying time.

Which reminds me.

I have my exams in a week's time.

It doesn't feel like it though.

Ah well. BZZT.

Note for self: Lol, remember at the start of your blog, where you refused to write about yourself and what happened everyday? That's what you've become, Nigel. This is the kind of shit you should be writing again.

Note: I love my scarf!

The Sharpest Edge, or Don't Quit! Not Quite!

The Mad Hatter: Have I gone mad?

Alice Kingsley: I'm afraid so. You're entirely bonkers. But I'll tell you a secret. All the best people are.

And I find this to be quite true, actually. Like Joshua Ronald's shirt says, "Well behaved people seldom make a difference." It takes just on person to step out and change the world. In fact, it took only vote for Hitler to come in to power. So yes, if anyone says that one person makes not the difference, that is in fact WRONG.

We have to stand up for what we believe in. It is okay to have anger, but do not let anger have you. We have to be stubborn and unmovable for what we believe in. When asked on Saturday, "Are you ready to die for Jesus?", I averted my eyes, because I believed I was, but when the situation comes, what will really happen? Because saying something and doing it are two completely different things.

If you were not at the Cutting Edge conference, you missed not a good conference, not a great conference, but an important conference. It's about or nation, generally, and some people confuse it for being something political. There is NOTHING political about God, guys. Religion is political. God is not.

I won't go into details, because that would take awhile. Just know that God has risen up a Generation to declare.

On a side note, I played bass again for the first time this year! It was great to play for a Rally again. I enjoyed the Praise and Worship a lot, even though my lack of practice caused me to make tons of mistakes. Ps. Sam told me on Sunday that he "enjoyed watching me play. The enthusiasm on your (my) face is very encouraging." And I try my best to show when I serve, I suppose.

And people like the song we wrote! People are asking for the mp3 and the chords and all. I'm just so encouraged by that. It's not me, but He who lives in me. It's me making a difference in a way that

I know how.

Mum is sick. I slept all day. And there's school tomorrow. And there's work to do.

On the bright side, Chelsea won! =D

Yes, Carm. I am awesome. Just admit it.

I See Now, or When You're Looking Like That

I got sick recently. I think it was due to the bug going around, and also due to the fact that my mother isn't here, I have the house to myself, and the late nights out. Sure, I have a Wii, but again, I didn't buy the Wii to play it myself, it's more of a party thing. I never stayed up late Wii-ing. Rather, I'd be out, or in, watching movies or something.

But I'm all better now, and the work is piling up. I tried doing my Math and Account work, but somehow, after finishing one chapter of Math, I couldn't figure anything out anymore. My brain got stuck. So that leaves me with half a chapter of Math and a total of 6 Account questions (for those of you who don't know, Account questions take an average of 25 minutes to complete, each), and I tried doing them, but I honestly couldn't. ARGH. The one time I actually am committed to doing work and I can't. WHY WORLD, WHY?

Anyway,

Please, if you feel anything for Malaysia, even remotely, please come. Don't ask questions, this will only take at most two-and-a-half hours of your time (if you only come for the rally, 7.30pm, 1st May, Skyline SIB). You really want to know, ask me about it personally.

I'm giving up on my work, and going to bed, reminiscing on Suit Up, which, by the way, went alright. As last minute as it was, we did make a HUGE impression on the church, but sadly, and I hate to say this, but my mother wasn't there to take brilliant photos of us in our marvellous and fantabulous looking sooooots. Instead I had Jo-Hanna taking photos, but she wasn't used to my camera so we only got mediocre shots.

Anyway, I just need to survive this week (Especially tomorrow when I meet my math and account teacher, who, whopee, are the same person), and when Friday night comes Tristana (my Nikon) comes out and I'm snapping pics for Cutting Edge. Apart from that we have practices on Wednesday and Thursday, so that means every single night from now for this week is occupied.

Come, yes? Come and be blessed in, and in return be a blessing yourself. We're playing The Declaration, ahahah... When I first heard it being played by anybody but myself, it was like "Wow, haha, okay, okay.. Wow, haha", so you can get that I didn't really know what to feel about it.

Have you watched My Sassy Girl (English, not lame-ass Korean)? It teaches you that leaving things to Fate or Destiny or "Whatever will be will be" is simply the stupidest, most passive thing to do.

If you want something, you have to do something? Logic, yes?

ARGH STRGWTGR HOMEWORK

Legendary, or Lullabies

One word of advice, before I start.

GET ENOUGH REST BEFORE MISSION TRIPS

Okay, now! It begins! The tale of Dandun, Pitas.

Slept at 1am, forgetting that I would have to wake up at 4.30 to pack.

So I did wake up at 5 (haha slept woot!) to pack, albeit hurriedly, but I packed everything, nothing was forgotten, so there!

Set off to go McDonalds/Shell, where we were all meeting to depart as a convoy.

Went with Melvyn, who was driving Ps. Philip's car. I know, awesome right? WRONG. That car has minimal pickup. Heck, there were Kias speeding past us at times.

Was a bumpy ride when we went off road, we got lost a total of TWO times, which set us off schedule of course. Raining pretty heavily.

Started unloading everything off the cars in to the hall: medicine, towels, soap, toothpaste, toothbrushes, brooms, tables; the like. This wasn't a regular mission trip: This was a medical trip, where we work together with the government to provide treatment for the interior dudes.

Set up consisted of preparing stations:

Registration>Height and Weight>Temperature>Blood Pressure/Deworming>Doctors>Medicine Collection>Goodies

So what was my job? I took pictures and helped out wherever I could. Pictures later.

After that went to the suspension bridge.

After THAT, went to play in the river. That was FUN, playing with the little kids there, splashing water everywhere. I think they love me.

Shower up, dinner.

Went to watch MU vs ManC. EPIC game... Last goal was so... Epic.

After that, went to eat porridge with Rachel Lee. Stayed up with her and random people till like 4.15. I blame her, it's mostly her fault.

Woke up at 7.15. Walk around like zombie awhile.

9.30 went to church.

Halfway through church, though, I was suddenly called to act for the children in a separate building. We did the prodigal son, and guess who that was? Me.

Went to set up Medical Centre one last time, then it was just helping out with the medical side of things again.

Left there at 4 smth and arrived back at 7.30. Woo.

Had dinner with mum, Kimbo and Melvyn.

That was pretty simple and straight forward. And that was just what happened.

Overall, the experience was amazing for me. As tired as I am (believe me, I'm dead tired. Do the math, and you'll see that I slept for an amazing total of about 7 hours in 2 days), I have to write down what happened while it is fresh in my mind.

I gave away to caps to two children there. Those actions, of course, garnered me a lot of attention from children bugging me for caps and candy, which I carried around at most times. It's a good way to communicate and make them do things.

Mum brought up two Canon Selphy printers, where we printed photos as my mother took them, put them in photo frames and gave them to the people. This was another good way to make them sit down and not run around (parents and children included), because it was pretty much chaos in that place. They were generally quite happy to receive pictures of themselves, though it did cause a bit of problem, which shall not be elaborated on.

The river was fun. Children were playing in the river butt naked, boys and girls together, and even when two sisters almost drowned, their friends swam in to help them and continued playing. Only me and Aunty Jenny dared to go into the water; everyone else just stood at the riverside and watched us. All I said was," You don't get to do this everyday."

I won't bother commenting on the football game.

The real fun begins at 10.30. The majority of 10.30pm-4.15 am the next day was spent at what me and Rachel-

Okay, pause a moment. I made a new friend, Rachel Lee. It's not true to say that I didn't know her before. I mean, we went to the same church and all, but we barely talked to each other at all. We both somehow clicked, being around the same age (her a year older than me), and at the camp we just hanged around a lot doing tasks together. In a way I'm glad that I got to know somebody that was around, but I never knew. Our families our kinda simliar and all too, but never mind, back to the story.

-referred to as 'Harry's Place'. Uncle Harry was my mum's friend who she invited to go in this trip because he's a super safari guy. He has a meanass car, and meanass camping gear to go with it. He had a box full to the brim with different types of instant noodles, a water boiler (camping style, no current needed), and all sorts of stuff.

Anyway, Harry's Place was where me, Rachel, Harry and two friends, plus two doctors for awhile gathered, along with the night-watch people. In the end, when everyone fell asleep, it was sorta just me, Rachel and Uncle Harry, and the night-watch for the hour (they took turns- Josh Siaw and somebody, Alvin and somebody, Eric Foo and somebody, Etc). Me and Rachel talked endlessly, made it rain on each other, looked at the beautiful night sky, made Ipoh White Coffee, while all the while talking with the night watch people and Darrell, and eating chicken ginseng porridge made by Uncle Jeffery. It was an epic night, and the memories are still there, but I can't be bothered to write it all.

I am EXHAUSTED. And I have an Oral test for my O levels tomorrow. Should I upload pictures? Nah they're on Facebook.

Now was it Legendary? The best part, though?

It brought me back to me and you, Ri. Funny, ain't it? It's where it all began.

Go again? Sign me up!