the pursuit of happyness

"The happiest people in the world are not those who have no problems,but those who learn to live with things that are less than perfect.

* A group of graduates, highly established in their careers, got together to visit their old university professor.

* Conversation soon turned into complaints about stress in work and life.

* Offering his guests coffee, the professor went to the kitchen and returned with a large pot of coffee and an assortment of cups - porcelain, plastic, glass, crystal, some plain looking, some expensive, some exquisite - telling them to help themselves to the coffee.

* When all the students had a cup of coffee, the professor said: "If you noticed, all the nice looking expensive cups were taken up, leaving behind the simple and cheap ones.

* While it is normal for you to want only the best for yourselves, that is the source of your problems and stress.

* Be assured that the cup itself adds no quality to the coffee.

* In most cases, it is just more expensive and in some cases even hides what we drink.

* What all of you really wanted was coffee, not the cup, but you
consciously went for the best cups... Then you began eyeing each other's cups.

* Now consider this:
- Life is the coffee; the jobs, money and position in society are the cups.
- They are just tools to hold and contain Life, and the type of cup we have does not define, nor change the quality of Life we
live.
- Sometimes, by concentrating on the cup, we fail to enjoy the coffee
God has provided us. Enjoy your coffee!."

amazing race

last sunday went for a trip
woke up at 7am
told to bring passport
we planned to go to desaru island
so we had to take ferry from changi ferry terminal
we had to be there at 9.30am
we had to depart by 8am
but somebody was late..
so we started our journey from NTU at 8.10am
someone said "breakfast is important!"
so we queued unexpectedly long at ya kun kaya toast
by the time we got our toasts it was 8.30
.

then we headed east to Changi airport
on the way we needed petrol break
got lost for some time at bedok reservoir
from terminal 3 we took cab to the ferry terminal
we told the driver we had to catch a 10am ferry
but he drove slower than ever
cost about $12
.
when the cab stopped
i was assigned to ran as fast as possible towards the ticketing counter
so i ran..
when i reached the counter..
it was closed
the clock showed 9.50am
so i asked the officer behind
they discussed for quite some time..
then told us..sorry but the counter has closed
and the next ferry is 5.30pm
bye bye desaru island

.
we were sad
disappointed
tried to walk back to terminal 3
but on the way..it suddenly rained
hmm...
could not find any shelter
and the place was deserted
less than 7 minutes later a cab passed by
lucky..
so we took cab back to T3..
he was nice..gave us an 80 cents discount
so we spent hours not knowing what to do..
and strolled along the new terminal


it was 11am
we had our lunch at lerk thai
wanted to go johor but afraid of the checkpoint jam due to mas selamat
so "let's go batam" i suggested
so we went
took the 'penguin' ferry there
the name really lived up its legacy
the ferry was as slow as penguin
'batam fast' was much faster and efficient
.

so we are at batam
changed some rupiahs
went to waterfront
played watersports
parasailing..jetskiing..
it was refreshing




almost had an accident while jetskiing

i was on the wheel..
i turned right and
was just talking to my friend about how safe jet skiing was
when out of sudden on my left another jetski approaching
my friend was shocked and prepared to jump down
water splashing, people screaming
we missed by only an inch..
but we were drenched

.
ate coconut, spring rolls, biscuits
i was impressed by how batam was so international
everything's in S$
the city was so well- managed
the roadside was clean..
definitely much better than my city, medan


at about 5 pm we headed back to the ferry terminal
wanted to book the 6.20 pm ticket back to sg
but it was fully booked
sigh
so we took cab to another terminal
and managed to get 7.30 pm ferry back
.

we reached home at 11pm
and that is my one adventurous day
.

now, back to reality....

cancelled

the cycling to ECP on Sat is cancelled

due to bad weather

but the actual reason is

low no of participants..

but it's an embarrassing excuse..

.

and now i have 1 more day to do formal report

but only 50% done so far

struggling to continue

while sherly and boonbee are sleeping soundly.

.

the birds are getting bigger

and they start to have feathers.

...

.

Speech by Pulitzer Prize winner: Anna Quindlen

"...You cannot be really first rate at
your work if your work is all you are..

Get a life.

A real life, not a manic pursuit of
the next promotion,

the bigger pay cheque,

the larger house

Do you think you'd care so very much
about those things if you blew an aneurysm one afternoon,

or found a lump in your
breast?

....

Get a life in which you are not alone..

Love is not leisure, it is work..

Pick up a phone.

Send an e-mail.

Write a letter.

....

I learned to live so many years ago.

I learned to love the journey, not the destination.

I learned that it is not a dress rehearsal, and

that today is the only guarantee you get.

...

telling others what I had learned.

By telling them this:

Consider the lilies of the field.

Look at the fuzz on a baby's ear.

Read in the backyard with the sun on your face.

Learn to be happy

....
And think of life as a
terminal illness,
because if you
do,
you will live it with joy and
passion as it is ought to be lived."

~nothing is permanent~

ok..this is stressful
my dearest roomie, ms Sherly Goh is so demanding
i have to blog an entry a day?
but these days i have been lucky
so i dun mind

my microbio quiz result: 88%
although i had no idea what the bacteria's names were
a. Pseudomonas spp
b. Clostridium
c. Staphylococcus
d. Desulfurobacterium
"Huhhhh?"
since i couldnt cheat (distance to next human = 2 rows back, 3 seats sideways)
so i was singing to decide on either a,b,c or d
i sang silently "Pada hari Minggu kuturut ayah ke kota...."
to double confirm i hummed "Twinkle twinkle little stars..."
both songs led me to "b"
and my friend at the back saw me did that
and he thought i'm weird
but it's okay...

Environmental processes Quiz1 result: 90%
Not too bad
considering i only studied on the quiz day
during the 3 hr break

another lucky event
a friend came into my room
i passed her her thumbdrive
then she offered me a pair of jeans
given for free by this super duper rich person
(how can people have such a big heart, i have no idea)
so i tried it on
it fitted perfectly..
and so now i have a new pair of jeans!
Thank you!!

sponsors also have been so generous the past few days
sponsored lotsa cans of Nescafe and KitKat bars
lighten my burden a lot
plus i have a friend who can actually exchange items with me
so, cee students!
lucky you..this time round the exam goodiebags will be of top quality

hopefully i can carry this kinda luck throughout
i will be very lucky if i can...

Facts:
111,111,111 x 111,111,111 = 12,345,678,987,654,321
Elephants are the only animals that cannot jump.

in the midst of rain

it's 3 am
and i am still awake
perhaps the 'teh peng' is keeping me awake
or perhaps it's the 1 hour nap

currently on my list:
presentation due this wednesday
report due next monday
business law interrogation next thursday
proposals due 16th march
sponsors finding due 31st march

thankfully today's meeting didnt last too long
and had a good dinner in the nice rainy weather
and i won 6-4 in a foosball game against my club's president
couldnt stop laughing during the game
my first foosball game ever...

today we had env lab
bacterial examination via MPN count
the lab technician told us to test samples
added solution drop per drop
tranferred from this bottle to another one
changed pipette for 6 times
hands so tired and numb
we struggled and finally completed it
after dropping solution to over 30 samples
"so sir, what do we do with these?"
he answered "now you can throw and wash away all the samples"
we're like "Huhh??"
all our efforts were futile.

What a Wonderful World

I see trees of green........ red roses too

I see 'em bloom..... for me and for you

And I think to myself....

what a wonderful world.

I see skies of blue..... clouds of white

Bright blessed days....dark sacred nights

And I think to myself .....what a wonderful world.

The colors of a rainbow.....so pretty ..in the sky

Are also on the faces.....of people ..going by

I see friends shaking hands.....sayin.. how do you do

Theyre really sayin......i love you.

I hear babies cry...... I watch them grow

They'll learn much more.....than I'll never know

And I think to myself .....what a wonderful world

The colors of a rainbow.....so pretty ..in the sky

Are there on the faces.....of people ..going by

see friends shaking hands.....sayin.. how do you do

Theyre really sayin...*spoken*(I ....love....you).

I hear babies cry...... I watch them grow*spoken*

(you know their gonna learn

A whole lot more than I'll never know)

And I think to myself .....what a wonderful world

Yes I think to myself .......what a wonderful world.

nostalgic

went back my old jc on friday
everything looked exactly the same as 2 years ago
the canteen, track, the tree house, the swing, the hall
even the people did not seem to age
mr ho wei kang (maths), ms monica wong (chem), mr seet (PE), mr ho (GP)
how nostalgic....
the new principal, mr chang (he's quite friendly) said that next year VJC is celebrating its 25th
all alumni will be invited.
should i go?

"VICTORIAN flag"

"The anticipation" : A Level results (07.03.08; 14:30h)

Oyar, happy international women's day 2008
Friday, 7th march 2008

Yesterday was NTU open house
and i had to present my URECA poster competition in front of

5 judges who asked a lot of questions within 3 minutes,

passersby, who seemed interested but not really

friends, who are just my victims

btw, it is titled 'Arsenic Removal from groundwater using Adsorptive media'
dont think my poster can win though

but then it's the experience that counts

met new people like my poster neighbours,

the professors, some people that looked familiar but i couldnt remember the names, etc

exhibition: with trieska &her poster

exhibition: with dewi and her poster

my poster

"My experience as Ms.Lita 'BUN' Lim"

Some people have been sending me pictures of me in NTU ads these days. So thanks to them i have a folder-ful of pictures that reminds me of my experience as NTU model.

@ newspaper

@City Hall MRT

@ NTU Website

searching for passion

ok..blogging feels much better than studying
but how come?
i used to study well
whenever i want
wherever i want
regardless of all the distractions
helppppp!!

i was browsing through my pics
and saw the 'me' in long hair
i miss having long hair..
but short feels light and fresh too

this was most probably my last pic before i had my haircut.

i should stop excusing myself from studying by blogging away. so, microbiology, i am coming!