China Internship

Oh YEAH! There gonna be a overseas attachment for my course this year man. We are the lucky first batch to get this opportunity to go overseas. My dream to go for OIP came true. SHIOK

But, a lot of compromises need to be made man. Seriously, sighing again.

On top of that, money is a problem. I need to spend mother's money for Laos and China Internship (If I am selected to go). I feel so bad man, my savings never seem to be enough to pay even the half of the total cost of the Laos trip. Oh well.

Yeah, things are going to get shitty, but must keep my optimism. Must stay apocal-optimist.

Signing Off.

Yet Another Busy Term

Hello, welcome back to school, how was your holidays?

Our dear SP lecturers sure love to ask that, even though most of the time knowing the students were rushing like mad for projects and assignments during holidays. They sure love to joke with us. Maybe it is a courtesy to ask la, hor?

One more term (8 weeks approx) for Final Year Project and YEAH MAN, we are free from projects in Poly. With only 2 modules next semester and attachment in November, I sure gonna miss this hectic life style.

NAH! KIDDING!

With 5 projects this term, woo - I am foreseeing sleepless nights in future. Well, it's all gonna worth it.

And you know what, I am actually looking forward to next holidays, 6 weeks semester break. That's will be a real holidays for us. FYP, projects over liao mah. Haha

I am so gonna look forward to next holidays. Ipoh Leaps Intermediate in first week of holidays and Laos CIP last few weeks, I am going to live my last year in Poly to the fullest. And oh, NYAA ceremony too. I only have one worry in mind, which is what if NYAA ceremony and Laos CIP timings clash? Oh dear great Lord, please do not let this happen. Please let NYAA ceremony at mid October or end of October. *Praying hard*

I am running out of words. Well, let's work very hard for remaining semester shall we?

Signing Off.

Holidays = No Holidays

Today marks two more days to end of our no so enjoyable holidays. Yeah, from the title, you could see I am actually not enjoying my holidays. Or rather, we have yet to enjoy a single day of holidays without having to worry about loads of projects. Not especially when this is the final year of my SP journey. Final Year Project (FYP), assignments - I can't wait to break free from them.

Holidays seem busier than usual, ironic much. Well, this is the last lap, gotta hang in there. Just one more school term and I can scream OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOYEAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH! One more term and we are free from projects. And Imma gotta ask people what is FYP, like a boss. Evil much hor, but I learnt it from Jeff. Ok, kidding, I am not that bad, heh.

Beside projects, yours truly still have to work extra days during holidays to get some extra income for myself so that I can pay for Laos OCIP trip without having to bother mother. Or else, there gonna be endless nagging and emotional breakdown. Oh well, Asian mothers.

Hmmm, I would be very biased if I say I did not enjoy myself during these three weeks. I did enjoy myself here and there. Contradicting myself, haha. Yeah, it's true that I enjoyed myself here and there during holidays but not without having to worry about projects and school works.

I am indeed looking forward to enjoy the holidays without worries. Semester break, I am looking forward to meet you. In the meantime, shall suffer now so can enjoy later.

Signing Off.

Smiles :D

Imagine someone is smiling at you, would you smile back or would you look away?

You would smile back 99% of the time, even if you are tired, frustrated, sad or down. A smile is contagious like flu. You can pass a smile to anyone, anybody. And the best thing of all, it's FREE! You won't be charged a single cent for passing a smile to anyone. 

Pass a smile to anyone, they may need it. A smile is like a form of encouragement, to break down the social barrier, to start a conversation or even can be comforting to people who needed a someone. 

No matter how ugly or horrible looking a person is, a genuine smile can brings out the inner beauty in them. That's how powerful the smile is. 

Mentioning of genuine smile, there are two types of smiles in the world. Genuine and Fake, of course. But hey, most of the time, we can differentiate the different whether if a person faking a smile or his or her smile is genuine and sincere. We can feel it, can't we?

Say, if you are looking at an adorable baby, even if you are a mafia boss, you would definitely smile at the baby because they are too innocent, pure and signify love. Pedophile much? Jokes. The chance of not smiling at the little children is one in a million.

Yeah, I know. I think I am getting out of topic. Well, my mind is always travelling around.. There was never once a time yours truly can focus solely on a certain thing. Even if I was, my mind would still be thinking unnecessary stuff. 

Alright, before I end, there is a poem I found on the net by Colin Heather.

"Smiling is infectious; you catch it like the flu,

When someone smiled at me today, I started smiling too.

I passed around the corner and someone saw my grin

When he smiled I realized I'd passed it on to him.

I thought about that smile then I realized its worth,

A single smile, just like mine could travel round the earth.

So, if you feel a smile begin, don't leave it undetected

Let's start an epidemic quick, and get the world infected!"

So, why stay dull, poker face or stoning all day. Pass a smile to anyone next to you, starting now. Smile, and the world smiles with you. :) 

Signing Off.

A Belated Surprise

Who had a picnic at night before? It was my first time with KX and Nas at Marina Barrage. It was simple but surprisingly awesome. 

Why?

Two of them planned a belated birthday surprise for me. I was totally stunned. Surprised of course. 

So instead of sitting and waiting for the damn bus to come, we decided to walk to the venue from Marina Bay Station. We walked to and fro the place. Nothing to be lost, we got all the time to ourselves, chatting and catching up like old times.

The food was not that much but enough for three of us. But who cares, the best part has yet to come. There was a banana cake, singing birthday song, making wishes and blowing off the candle. That was indeed fun. And awesome of course.

Fish ball and Chicken wing from Nas, Custard and Choc Puff from me and  Drinks from KX.

And here comes the best part. There was a fire lantern bought  from Thailand. It was definitely not the first time I light up the fire lantern in my life but it is the first time I am lighting it up together with my buddies. It was like, totally touching moment for me. Writing wishes on the lantern and lanching it to the sky above. 

KX's

KX placing the fuel at the base.

A message from Nas

But good things come bundled with troubles too. Haha, but it was a pleasant trouble I would say.

As we were about to launch it to the sky, the security guard came with flashing light. We were not allowed to launch it at Marin Barrage. Awwwww! We were closed to launch it. :(

But table was turned. The security guard was rather friendly uncle, chatting with us, even helping us took photo. Yeah, a new acquaintance was made.

Our group photo. We are the Via Ferrata "The Losers Team". KX's camera is awesome, super awesome.

We left the place shortly taking a group photo. Next plan (impromptu) was to launch it somewhere further from Marina Barrage's premises. After five minutes of walking, we light the lantern for second time. This time, no wind, no car, no building, only the trees. And yea, the place was near Garden by the Bay or Garden  @ the Bay or whatsoever.

Second time was A SUCCESS. WOOHOO! We watched it flying into the sky above. Cool much! After 5 or 10 minutes, the fire extinguished and *poof* disappeared into air. Thank god, the whole thing did not get burnt. OPERATION SUCCESS.

There it is!! Our lantern!!!! Like a moon. 

Since we still have time, we walked back to Marina Bay again. This time, we talked about our plan to travel to Myanmar. This is definitely going to be one awesome trip. Travelling with my buddies, acting as their guide bringing them around my country, what more I can ask for. March 2013, I can't wait for you to arrive. Myanmar with my Mt Kinabalu buddies next year. WOOHOO!

The time has come for me to retreat to my dreamland. Today (20 June 2012) was a simple yet enjoyable day. A belated surprise cum picnic with them, it was truly lovely and pleasantly surprising. :)

That's all folks.

Signing off.

Long Text Messages

Yeah, everyone especially my close friends knows I love to send long messages to them, spam and jam their inbox, like a boss. Sometimes my messages even exceeded maximum. Some messages can be that long. 

There is one occasion I would send long, super long messages. That is when I am piss or angry by a person. But that did not happen all the time of course.  

If you are wondering why yours truly love to sent really LOOOOOOOOOOOOOONNNNG messages. Simple. I do not know how to express my feel, my thoughts in person. Therefore, I would write down all the thought in the text as a result. Not surprising. 

If the recipient of the text is a close friend, buddy or a bro, oh well, good luck to them. Why is that so? They will definitely be seeing long messages on special occasions like birthdays, Christmas or New Year. I could feel them saying, "ZAYLINN!!! Not spamming my inbox againnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnn". I want to make them feel special on their special occasions. :P Haha, but they know me and understand me enough to forgive my spamming. Awesome to have such friends.

But a friend said I am being too gay for sending super long messages. Seriously, yours truly get accused of being a gay for sending messages. What the f***?

 Bitch please, that's the only way I could express my thought and feelings. You can't expect me to say, how awesome you are, how much you mean to me in person? Which is worse? Telling you through text or saying you in person? See my point there? You get it, haha. Even if you don't get it, force yourself to see the point. 

There was one time I stopped sending long text to a friend, or rather a friend whom I treasured a lot. I treasured that friend more than anyone. But all changed now of course. I withdrew away from that fella. Because I see no point treasuring a person so much while the person didn't even give a damn about me. Yeah, it also made me realised that, you know, there were friends who I have been neglecting for long because I was too busy trying to please one person. I even neglected my very best friend. I was full of guilt and shits and feeling down and sad. But those friends were there for me, cheering me up and so on. That's why I was back to myself today. I can just look at that person and do not feel any sadness.

Alright, alright, let's get back to track shall we. When that fella's birthday came, I wanted to give him a big surprise, but, reader, you should know what is going on right if you have been following my posts. I planned to throw him a surprise party, go out for dinner and made his day a enjoyable one. But sad, it didn't happen. Because I believe his best friends would be celebrating for him and I am just a random passenger in his life journey now. So, I decided, just a simple wish will do fine. So I sent a message containing "Happy Birthday :)" 

That was the first, very first time I stopped sending a long winded and wishful message to a closed friend. Kinda sad. :( 

But hey, HAKUNA MATATA! I still have friends who truly care for me by my side. Why must I feel sad? There are still people who will be receiving long winded texts from me. Heh ;)

I have two best bros, buddies and close friends to spam their inbox. So why worry? Haha. 

That's all for the night folks. Have a great day ahead.

Signing Off. 

Jambo, Jambo Bwana - Hello, Hello Sir

Jambo
Jambo Bwana
Habari Gani
Mzuri Sana

Wageni
Mwakari-bishwa
Kenya yetu
Hakuna Matata

Translation:
Hello
Hello Sir
How are you?
I am fine.

Foreigners
Welcome
in Kenya
There is no problem.

I was addicted, totally addicted and fallen in love with this charming song after attending Jeff's post Kilimanjaro sharing session. 

The lyrics are simple, fun and simply amazing. At the end of the song, I learnt how to greet in Swahili, a native language in Africa. Awesome isn't it?

And this is the second time I came across the phrase "Hakuna Matata". First time was when watching Lion King while I was young. Timon and Pumba, the best singers of all time. And yeah, the second encounter is while listening to this awesome song, Jambo Bwana.

Hakuna Matata means, problem free, simplicity or no worries. 

This song makes yours truly feel like he is in Africa, literally. This phrase Hakuna Matata actually tells us of how simple and worry free the native Africans' lives are. (Too much Social Studies referencing, X-factoring in secondary school).

But, it is contradicting to the reality, you would say. 

Yes, you are right to say that. Africa is the continent with most problems. A barren land (not that meaning barren, but you get my point, don't cha?) bundled with countless problems. Slavery, starvation, droughts, famines, STDs etc.

*They sure have problems. In fact many, much more than the problems we have in our lives. But they are really amazing. Even though there are countless hardship they faced in their lives, they endured them, embraced them bravely. If we were in their shoes, will we even be able to bear just the slightest problem they faced? The answer, NO. *

(** Just my opinions, my perspectives. No offence intended)

That's probably the phrase Hakuna Matata must means a lot to them. Telling themselves no problem at the end of the day. We, the citizens of first world nations have a lot to learn from them. We also have to tell ourselves Hakuna Matata. :) 

The whole thing actually makes me want to go to Africa. I want to fly there to experience things there. And most importantly, I want to put a smile on their faces, make them forget the problems, worries temporarily and feel comfortable with me around. And I gonna dance with the native Africans, and sing Jambo Bwana together with them. 

Sigh, feel bad not signing up for Kilimanjaro Leap Camp last year. Well, I believe there will be chance for me to go Africa, somewhere in future. Hope this little goal of mine will be able to achieve soon. Is there any rich and kind soul out there to sponsor me? *Pray*

Must thank Jeff for sharing about his trip, for making me realized my passion to help people there. Thank you bro. :)

One day, someday in future, I will be heading to Africa to help the folks there, putting a smile 

on everyone's face, making sure they know that they are being loved too. :) 

And I also pray and hope there will be a sponsor for me to pursue my passion, even though the chance of getting a sponsor is almost zero. 

That's for the night folks.

With a farewell song from The Tokens, Lion Sleeps Tonight, I bid you a good night. Have a good day ahead folks. :)

Signing off. 

No Dream, No Point in Life

My friend told me about this phrase which I find it very interesting and true. 

NO DREAM = NO POINT IN LIFE. 

I agree with him, totally. What about you reader? Don't you share the same sentiment too? 

What is the purpose of life if we don't have a dream? Are we just born to live our lives without dreams? No definitely not. The fact that we all still living and surviving in this world of harsh reality are because we are still pursuing our dreams. 

So why give up if we have yet to achieve our dream? No matter what the obstacles are, if you are determined, no dream is too big. We cannot achieve our dreams with just a finger snip. We have to work hard for it. It may takes up to decades but hey, perseverance is all that matters right? 

So what's my dream? My dream is to travel around the world, see the world in a different perspective. I want to spread my wings and fly around the globe. I also want to travel to the third world countries, regions and help the people. Most importantly, I want to put a SMILE on the people I meet. What a eccentric dream I have, isn't it? 

To achieve my dream, I cannot actualize it now of course. I am not sure how long will it take, how hard will it be to reach there but I am pretty sure the day will come. :)

ONE DAY, I WILL SEE THE WORLD, PUTTING A SMILE ON EVERYONE I MEET. :-D

Dream, live up for your dreams, because they are worth living. If you don't have a dream, I might say you have no life, or rather you are a robot. 

Yeah, you got my message. Dreams are important. Pursue them. Don't give up halfway. If you feel like giving up halfway, Google how Steven Spielberg and Dreamwork studio came about. :) 

And if you feel like falling down, just remember three words. I love you, of course not. Three words, 

"ALL IS WELL"

Have a great day folks.

Signing Off

2nd June : A surprising day full of surprising surprises that keep me surprised.

2nd of June. The day I am turning 20. Feels so old. 

That day was just an ordinary day with extraordinary surprises my peeps planned for me. 

There was morning surprise. Xinyi, Clara and Pearlyn came all the way to JP to meet me for breakfast. Pearlyn got me a calendar (self made one some more, like super cute can). Can see the effort put into make the card, touched by her man. Xinyi gave me 1 whole pack of Polaroid films, super awesome. We proceed to Old Town coffee shop for breakfast. One of their french toast got the tag, so they compensate us by treating us ice cream, cool much? Like birthday present hor? 

After breakfast, we set off for different destinations (and did not realize that there is a sequel to this surprise). 

Group photo at JP, 10 Polaroid films gone, and Xinyi gave them all to me.

First destination: To Daiko, to have a small little discussion among my batch, expecting that everyone will be there. Things did not turn out what I expected to be. Never mind, just the three of us will do. So after talking and letting it out, I chose to drop out of training. I am thankful to Rona and Chee Heng for understanding my situation. To be think skin a bit, I was kind of disappointed that only one wished me happy birthday when I went there. That's not important by the way, but, the things that upset me is that the people I am expecting to turn out did not.  And one more joker, whom I treasured never turned up too. Mood meter went down that instant. I felt so lonely that moment. But it's alright, I still have other plans. Birthday boy must not get upset, must keep the mood up. :) 

Destination 2: Bukit Gombak with Shimin. 

Supposed to meet Shimin at 130 pm but reached there half an hour earlier. Got a caramel milk tea from Gong Cha while waiting for Shimin to come. Messaged friends to ask me out (just go out only). Then, one by one pua stunt, haha. Feeling super sad at the moment, until Shimin reached and pass me a photo frame. And with this photo. 

And of course, I awwwwwwwwwwwwww-ed the instant. So sweet of my "daughter". 

To make the story short, I had a laobei-nuer prata lunch with her and have to settle some issue at that time. Thanks to someone. Then followed her to her home at Sengkang. Nice house. Despite all the issues, I spent a good afternoon chatting with her, thank you daughter. :) 

Destination 3: After all the dramas happened, I felt exhausted. Mood meter was at lowest. I headed back to Boon Lay. All I wanted that time was a nice and comfy bed for me to sleep. 

Destination 4: The Surprise part 2. 

So Gilbert asked me to come down to void deck about 1020. And Jeff asked me for address. Meixuan not replying my phone the whole day. Sensed something fishy there (heh!) Mood meter went up instantly.

The first thing I saw when I opened the door was Meixuan's shoe. Super failed haha! And I saw Jeff and Gilbert running (to hide?).

True enough, when I went down, there they are. GILBERT, JEFF, MEIXUAN, MEL, XINYI, PEARLYN AND CLARA! SURPRISE AND BIRTHDAY SONG FOR ME!  

At that moment, it felt totally awesome. You see man, my close friends gathered. I not sure how they managed to planned and meet each other (since most of them met only for the first time). This part is where I felt like the happiest boy alive. Jeff came all the way from Punggol despite his busy schedule. Meixuan came all the way from AMK. Gilbert rushed all the way from his grandma house to celebrate. I did not expect Mel, Pearlyn, Xin Yi and Clara to be there too. Since three of them has already surprised me in the morning. 

Who wouldn't be touched man?

Yeah, I have to blew the candles countless times because the candles relighted themselves. I felt like some idiot. Haha. 

The cake was awesome. A present from Jeff, thanks bro. :)

Happy Birthday Boy

And they painted cream on my faces. %^&*()$# hahahah, but it was fun though. 

So after this surprise, time to send them off. It was getting late and Jeff need to rush back in order to take last train. After spending 2nd pack of Polaroid films (Xinyi gave them all to me, super generous buddy). 

Yay! A group photo! :)

And wait wait, here is also the most awesome part because I get to take photos with my best and super awesome bros together for the first time. Jeff and Gilbert going to think I am being gay again but heck, this is really one of the awesome moments where I get to take picture with both of them. Don't you agree. ;)

Awesome picture! With my two bros by my sides. 

So the day ended well, despite the dramas and down moments. And I am thankful, really thankful and more than glad for having friends like them. Imagine without them, my day would just going be just some normal day. Really thankful to everyone for planning all these for me. Indeed, 2nd June was really a surprising day full of surprising surprises that kept me surprising. Thank you everyone once again, for making that day a special one. All ended well. :) 

P.S After sending them off, Gilbert, Pearlyn, Xinyi, Clara and I went to watch MIB 3! Really awesome movie, all should watch! After movie, I went to have a prata supper with Gilbert and of course chit chat and talk craps.

~The End~

2 Decades of Living

When the clock strikes midnight, good bye 19.  I am officially 20. Which means, I have lived 2 decades worth of joys, pains, happiness, sadness,  ups and downs. *Happy Birthday Zay Linn, you have come so far, continue to stay strong*.

I look forward being 20. Not being love to be old or whatsoever. I am just proud of myself that I have come so far.

Currently, my brain is having difficulties spilling out what I wanted to say here. So, sorry I have to stop here. :X

Nevertheless,  HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME. Thanks for all the experiences; joy or pain, happiness or sadness, etc etc. And a big thank you to all my friends (best friends, buddies, bros, sis's) for all your times and being there for me when I needed you all.

PS: Gilbert, thank you bro, for being there for me all the while. I still can't believe how the heck you have became best bro, best friend, my "bitch" (LOL!) from enemy. But hey, it's the pleasant surprise isn't it? ;)

Of course, if your name is not being mentioned here, no worries. You guys are still important as much as that joker mentioned above too. ;)

Have a great day all.