Memories

Girls—————————
———–are like apples——
——-on trees. The best ones—–
—–are at the top of the tree.—–
—The boys dont want to reach—
–for the good ones because they–
-r afraid of falling and getting hurt.-
-Instead, they get the rotten apples-
from the ground that arent as good,
but easy. So the apples up top think
something wrong w/ them when in
-reality they’re amazing. They just
—–have to wait for the right boy to
—-come along, the one who’s
———— brave enough to—–
—————climb all———
—————the way——–
————–to the top——–

Wow! This analogy is just amazing. I came across it in some random place.

For the girls: It is alright to wait for a while. The right guy is out there waiting for you. The competition to reach the top of the tree is a tough one. Just make sure you yourself do not fall from the branch and turn rotten. :o)

For the guys: You gotta to climb that tree! It shows that you need some effort to get the right girl. Don’t give up just because you are afraid of the consequences which may not even happen if you don’t try! :o)

I woke up at 8am. My room was particularly warm with the heater turned on full blast the whole night.

I saw the Sun! ‘Today must be a good day’, I told myself as I havent seen it for the past few days. I decided to wear shorts and slippers that day.

I need to mention that residents in Wadham (the building that I live in) are very lucky for the dining hall is right under our rooms. People from other residential buildings do not have the luxury. They will have to battle the weather before and after every meal.

However, I realised that we may not be that fortunate after all. Staying indoor has made me totally oblivious to the weather. As soon as I opened the main door of International House, I froze. The temperature was only 9C and apparently that day was the coldest day in the entire autumn. Time was running out, so we walked.

Everyone around me wore at least 3 layers of shirts with jeans and well padded shoes. Surely, they laughed. I was named ’superman’ for the day.

That 20 minutes walk to uni seemed eternal. My toes were so cold that they hurt. My body was shivering involuntarily. The situation in the classroom wasn’t very helpful either. Chilly winds crept through every gap between the windows.

I was so gald that the day was over and finally made my way back to my room. One major lesson learned: Read the weather forecast before deciding what to wear.

I love Malaysia..

P.S. Weather in Melbourne this year has been erratic. Usually by April, all the leaves should have turned yellow and by this time, the trees would be bald. Now, the temperature is in the appropriate range, but the leaves are still green and hanging on the branches!

Somebody once told me that the articles that I wrote in my blog are too serious. Thus, I have decided to share this story I heard..

There was a lady who was staying alone on a land far far away. She had a boyfriend who stayed down the road. It was late at night when she rang her boyfriend up one day.

‘Oh darling! Please come over to help me solve the puzzle!’

‘What kind of puzzle is it?’

‘I don’t know, it has a picture of a rooster on the box. Please help me. I am really stressed out!’

‘Alright. I will come over right now.’

So the boyfriend went over.

As soon as he got into the house,

He said to her, in a very gentle tone,
‘Darling, let’s make ourselves a cup of coffee. We shall sit down around the table and slowly clean the cornflakes up.’

Most of us enjoy staying within our comfort zone. This is where all our basic needs as a social being are fulfilled. We have companionship and we feel belonged.

Surely, what else do we require? However, the idea of comfort zone has dampened our desire to explore. It has bound us to certain cultures which we may not be totally proud of. It has shut our ears from hearing new things. It has prevented our hearts from receiving new ideas and motivation to venture into unfamiliar territories.

I once heard of a saying: He who is unwilling to step out from his comfort zone is like living in prison, caged from the world by his own invisible wall.

Why should we limit ourselves to just what we have, friends and the things that we have achieved? Are we satisfied with the amount of information that we know? Consider these questions:

• How much do you understand about the Keynesian economics theory?
• What are the causes and impacts of East Asian economy crisis in 1997?
• Who Constantine was and his influence on Christianity?
• Is carbon dioxide the main greenhouse gas?
• Which is the least populated country in the world?
• What information can a ‘bone scan’ give us?
• What are the criteria for Jus soli citizenship?
• Who is Daniel Tammet?

As Mark Finley quoted: let’s take the entire world’s knowledge as 100%, how much do you think you have acquired? Do you think you have read 10% of all the books in the library in your school? How about 5%?

(Mat 7:7) Ask and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you. Indeed, ask, seek and knock. Open up your hearts and start talking to the people around you. Meet new friends and understand their culture. Share your knowledge and discuss your understanding.

You will realize that there are always new things to be learned and to be amazed at. It is then we can appreciate better what is good and what is bad, what we should adopt and what we should change.

You can learn something from anyone whom you speak to as long as you are willing to - Ganesh Ramanathan, adapted from Socrates.

We are brothers and sisters of the 21st century. Comfort zone is an ideology of the past that most of us should discard. The world is getting globalised, so should we. People round us are socializing, so should we. Let the burning desire to explore rekindle! Let’s challenge ourselves and achieve great things for mankind!

We are just one night away from the most anticipated event in IH - the CAFE!!

Just for some background information, CAFE is an annual fund raising event started since the 80s. Its orginal purpose was to raise funds for students in IH so to reduce accomodation fees and also improve on facilities. However, in recent years, under the leadership of A. Prof Jane Munroe, IH has enjoyed $5 million dollars revenue every year. Therefore, due to surplus of budget, the CAFE committee and directors of IH this year agreed to donated 100% of the proceeds to an organisation known as Interplast.

Interplast — the first humanitarian organization to provide free reconstructive surgery for children with clefts, disabling burns and hand injuries — has provided 64,000 life-changing surgeries for those  who have no other access to care. Working in underserved regions of 16 countries throughout Africa, Asia and Latin America, Interplast teaches, empowers and partners with volunteers and overseas medical professionals so every child living in poverty has free access to the safest and highest-quality care — now and in the future. Interplast is committed to transforming as many lives as possible, allocating 90 percent of its budget to medical programs.

Understanding the objective behind CAFE, most of the IHers have contributed in as many ways as they could, such as performances, sound and lighting, decoration, waitering, ushering, washing up, prizes for Raffles, invitations and lots of administrative details.

The theme for CAFE this year is Golden Globe. CAFE will begin at 8pm on Saturday night. All 240 seats, worth $70 each, were sold out. Raffles prizes worth thousands of dollars are ready to be claimed by their lucky owners. Everyone involved in organising it is pumped and ready to go!

We had a CAFE preview yesterday, which was a full-dress rehearsal catered for the students in IH and their friends and family. The entrance fee was only $1. Unsurprisingly, the dining hall was packed before the event began. The performances started with a bang! The highlight of the night was definitely Thriller, led by Pat Tan. And of course Joyful joyful (Sister Act 2) and Step Up (led by Darren Ow) which I am involved. :o)

One more night!

CAFE!

Cheers!