orange turns 23

its the day of the year again! 1023 =) it does looks like a running number isn't it apart from number 1 and 0 being in different positions. Birthdays are well.. the day of the birth of something.. where a day that is celebrated with well wishes from close ones, friends and family. In all real honesty, i never actually thought that i would actually enjoy massive birthday celebrations that are organized with huge number of guests, with lots of great food and drinks involve. i always enjoy my birthdays to be low-keyed and just spend my day doing things i love to do and spend time with people i care. i always find dinner with 9 other people is big enough for me. anything more would be overwhelming. haha.. im a party pooper i know.. =P

in this very special day.. i would like to thank everyone texted me, called me, wish me and thought about me, making me feel blessed that i am here today. i wish each and everyone of you, all my friend and family today that all of you will have a happy, healthy and a fulfilling days to come.

in this very year, i also thought that it will be good to set some new goals to myself. probably going to take it as a birthday resolution.. i would want :

1) to slow down and live the moment more.

smell the flowers in the garden, spend time catching up with old friends and talking to more people. I would like not to rush through things, spending time to understand something than rushing to conclusions, and look beyond the obvious. i know recent years, i have been missing out on many wonderful occasions just because i am pushing myself to become faster, quicker which leads to hastiness. there is only 24 hours in a day and i vow to enjoy every minute of it.

2) to spend time for myself, friends, family, and love ones.

this i guess is closely related to point one. i would love to spend time in putting myself into shoes of others, listen to what they say, and think before i say something. I want to understand them better, and not take for granted on what they say, or how well they treat me. i will want to treat people that care about me with more care, understand more about people who understands me, and love back people who loves me. I may not be able to give the same amount of time to everyone, but i vow to do the best i can in ways i could achieve.

3) to improve myself as a professional health provider.

in a few weeks time, (if things goes as plan) my university and lecturers will think i am a fully pledge podiatrist. i want to make the best of my 1st year as a health professional, giving the best service to people who needs them, whether is official work of just advice to friends and family. Although throughout the university days, most of challenges i face i could solve, i think its mainly pure luck that i got the easy ones. i will keep myself up to the challenge and knowledge regarding the foot and provide services not only to the foot, but to the overall health of the people that seek my help. i vow to keep studying and keep searching for answers until i find what i need.

4) to finish what i say i will finish

i will not deny that i am a procrastinator. although its not exactly valid, i would say i have improve compared to last years, yet still there are still procrastination happening. i will finish my projects that i plan to finish, stop putting things to another day, and reduce the use of 'will-do-it-later'. i will not make empty promises, and will make an extra effort to fulfill a promise if needed. i vow to reduce putting things to a later date when i can do it now.

4 should be enough to start off the year i think. the list would probably grow as the time comes. with the new year to come, hopefully with all the great wishes and the great thoughts from everyone, i will be a better, stronger and more fulfilling orange =)

happy birthday 23rd orange =) may the coming years be blessed, wonderful and a fulfilling one.

The Optimist Creed

i use to be one very optimistic person. couple of years back, i am a person that could see the tiniest rainbow in the largest storm cloud you can ever imagine. or the blink of the bright light in a very very dark and long tunnel. i will most probably be the last person that say.. "shit.. im dead" in any dire situation where everyone else has already begun to give up. i smile at everything, bad or good, i mourn loses of course, but always take it as a memory that helps me to become stronger.

that was before.

is it just me, or its happening to everyone that, as we get older, it is becoming more and more harder to become a optimistic person. i personally think, as we grow older, our responsibilities keep piling up. and this responsibilities takes the time away for us to actually ponder upon the positive things in life. i am finding the glass half full looks half empty more often than before. which makes me wonder sometimes, what had change? is it me becoming more mature, or me being innocent. i guess i now understand life more than before, that the once half full glass is actually just half filled, and possible be empty soon.

as a person under the health umbrella. we use the word prognosis pretty often. roughly carries the meaning of, chances of recovery. with any condition, we could generally know which direction things are going to. isn't it great when we can tell everyone, 'yeap, i can fix you, and you will feel much better'

anyway, here is a creed that i took from my aunt's page. title: the optimist creed.

Promise myself to be so strong that nothing can disturb my peace of mind.

To talk health, happiness, and prosperity to every person I meet.

To make all my friends feel like there is something in them.

To look at the sunny side of everything and make my optimism come true.

To think only of the best, to work only for the best, and expect only the best.

To be just as enthusiastic about the success of others as I am about my own.

To forget the mistakes of the past and press on the greater achievements of the future.

To wear a cheerful countenance at all times and give every living person I meet a smile.

To give so much time to the improvement of myself that I have no time to criticize others.

To be too large for worry, too noble for anger, and too strong for fear, and to happy to permit the presence of trouble.

p/s: aunt felicia, may you be well and happy always. =)

24 hours: significant?

Q: what have you been doing the last 24 hours? and how you rate your last 24 hours?

was it good? so-so? or could be better?? to all of us, 24 hours is something we go through, over and over again. some of us realized about it, and others is too busy with life to realize that they just went past another 24 hours. If we start by looking at a fix particular time to begin our 24 hours, eg: waking up in the morning, most of us will go through a usual cycle, breakfast, uni, classes, lunch, classes, dinner etc. etc. etc. sometimes, some 24 hours will be more exciting than others, while other times, we can't wait till the next 24 hours to come.

Q: how many times have we put something away to the next 24 hours? tomorrow maybe? or later?

i must admit, i'm trying to kick the habit of putting something away to another day. reasons like, oh, "i'm too busy, too tired, too lazy, something's on etc etc" was and most probably being used over and over again. thinking back, there are many things that i put away which could be easily done in a couple of seconds. sending a friend a message in facebook, or just to say hi to a newly added friend? have you ever wonder why is it so hard for us to do so, yet we can spend endless number of minutes in just reading 'news feed' and do nothing?

anyway from the previous major natural disasters, and a short discussion from my friends triggered my brain thinking. what is the significance of my next 24 hours? generally if i ask anyone this question, they will come out with what i call 'generic' answers eg, i'll live my 24 hours as if its my last and things like that isn't it. BUT! how close are we in achieving that?

One might thing, to make my day significant, i must do something big! something amazing something that the whole worlds know and celebrate! while others think that a significant day will be maybe their, graduation day, marriage day, or maybe the birth of their children. On the other hand, some actions can make a day very significant to some too. for example, when one receive some donation to allow him to feed his family a proper dinner after weeks just on dry biscuits, or one who got a letter from his/her partner's lawyer seeking divorce, or maybe a tragedy happen to a love one. significant is just a word that meant 'of high important' and it could be a good significant day, or a bad horrific significant day.

a significant 24 hours to different people will be very different. here is a couple of examples i can think off my mind right now.

1) a student rushing for an assignment due in the next 24 hours.

2) a heart transplant patient waiting for a new heart

3) a bus driver

4) a lady that is in labour

5) a death row prisoner

6) a beggar looking for his next meal

7) a normal working admin worker

8) a car accident victim in a critical state

9) a country at the brink of a civil war

10) you.

im sure if you have a think, all of the people above will spend their next 24 hours differently, to some, every seconds count. while others, its another plain ol' 24 hours they have to get through

generally, most of us never put our day as the most significant day and ask why, most probably one would answer, 'well, its a pretty usual day for me. nothing interesting" so now, i pose you a question. WHY don't you make it significant? why not grab the moment, do something different? now, be warn i'm not saying you give up your studies and work and travel the world until you are broke as such. BUT, why not try something new? a new path that lead to work? or a new stall recently open that you wanted to try but keep using the word 'tomorrow'? how about doing something that make other people's day significant? a short letter to a long lost friend or family? put a couple of dollars to a busker or beggar? or how about just go to the near by park and spend 5 minutes enjoying the sounds of nature?

i personally think that 'Tomorrow', 'another day', 'no time', and 'maybe later' is one of the most misused words today. why not seize the day, and make the next 24 hours a more significant one? why wait anymore??

changi airport

6 weeks!

the last 6 weeks was a cocktail of feelings. to put it into a word, best thing ever in 3 years. throughout 3 years, i never understand the feeling of going home, being home and leaving home. throughout 3 years, i was never being pampered, being spoilt, and being treated like a high school kid. and for 3 years, i never had a proper holidays. this 6 weeks was spend beyond well, in which i manage to plan and did everything i insisted to do.

flying back from adelaide to penang

along the way back was filled with excitement, and the great warm feeling of home coming. the feeling of looking forward to seeing mum and dad, cousins, aunts, uncle and just the feeling of home. good food, great weather, wonderful people all atributing to the melting pot of culture in malaysia. which pretty much includes, stupid drivers, traffic jam, rude people and people jumping queue. for some reason, 3 years in adelaide has made me a much nicer person for malaysia. nevertheless, the feeling of being home is one of the greatest feeling ever. i was practically over the moon! AND i am not even home yet! i was just spending nights at penang, my home town. nevertheless, it was one of the greatest feeling ever.

penang to sandakan

HOME! to summarize up, it was in the previous 2 post. MUM! greatest person ever!! being at HOME(must emphasize) for 2 weeks, was pretty much the most relaxing time ever in 2010 and a great start for 2011. i had the whole house to myself! anyway, throughout the 2 weeks, apart from just helping mum around the house, i pretty much let mum being mum around me. i got a feeling she is enjoying her 'mum-moments' when im around. hmmm.. im missing her already >.<

Sandakan-KL-Penang

awesomely, i planed this trip myself! with my own earned money =) something that i wanted to do for a very long time but don't have the time. for this short trip. i was sincerely touch for the generosity of the people that is willing to house me for the few nights in KL. no words can describe their wonderful hearts and wonderful home. it almost makes you feel like staying there forever. KL was a great place. a city where there is no night, and no day. i will forever remember those that came to catch up with me and took me around the places. one of this trip main objectives is, i was trying to prove, malaysia isn't exactly a dangerous place like what most of the people believe. my parents wasn't that keen on me going myself to places like KL, while i personally believe in this world, not everyone on the street is bad. in fact i still believe there are kind hearted people out there. and im sure if everyone takes proper steps and precautions, every holiday trips will be a great one.

after KL, it was 2 days in penang. special thanks to cousin ado that became the main mode of my transport in her little car. penang will be so different without you there. of course, i was really grateful to my uncle and aunt that let me bunk in their house (again) for 2 days. truthfully, i kinda feel bad for doing that. its like checking in and out of their house =( which is bad... real bad >.<>

Penang -sdk

this part of the trip, i guess it kinda change how i see things a bit. during this time, news came that grand dad was very sick. it was pretty shocking to hear that because i just saw him 2 days ago. it kinda came knocking that, that time i see him might be the last time i see him (he is still going pretty well at the moment). nevertheless, it was a sense of lost, helpless and sad till the extend, it kinda help to prepare for the worst. the fact that i was not there, and only hear news from my parents make things worst. few days after, surprisingly grand dad found out he manage to won some money through his lottery numbers and that made him happy and got well straight away! talk about the benefits of lottery to mankind! how shall i describe grand dad. hmm.. put it in simple terms.. everyday is a celebration for him. days in sandakan was equally filled with excitement as well as sadness. it was a sudden realization that 'i wonder when will be the next time i set foot again in sandakan?) maybe 1 year? or 2? hopefully there will be once in a 5 years period i hope? with a heavy heart, i left sandakan, towards penang once again

Penang - adelaide

final week in malaysia! how badly i wish it could be extended. a week where i wish i could be split into 2, maybe 3 so i can spend the extremely valuable time with everyone. it is the sense that i the next time i come back.. hopefully will be for some good news and not something sad. given the previous lost of someone that i didn't really spend time much with, i wanted to spend time with everyone. there is this feeling that, celebrating CNY in penang.. and in sandakan is very different. how i wish i could be in sandakan, as well as penang at the same time. like its said above, home is always the best place. towards the end of the trip, the sense of heading back to adelaide was kinda depressing, back to work, studies, and final year~ i guess i should be excited that this would be my last year studying after 19 years of facing books, homework and exams.

throughout the 6 weeks, many have touch my heart, and i am extremely grateful to rekindle friendships that have long became stagnant. not to mention spending time with dear mum and dad, as well as dear cousin sis that insisted i should be back this trip. seeing her almost one third of my trip.. should be able to repay all the debts of the previous 3 years right? also spending time with my only grandparents left, and most of all, spending time for myself. to re-charge, and time to just relax and do nothing. im my mind, it is always friends and family that made the whole me. and in this trip i hope i could reinforce this value in myself.

to all! that has cross path with me this trip, all that provide roof for me, all, that feed me with nutritious food, spend precious time for me, and not metioning all other tiny bits, driving me around, buying me stuff, making me little figures(chicken little) and all! i thank you. thanks for being around for me, and i really really appreciate all of you. may i be given the chance in the future to repay all your kindness in the near or far future. words will never be enough to say how i feel now.

in one hour's time, i'll be airborn, leaving singapore, to the land down under. to those that are finishing up final years, lets work hard together and graduate. to those that are working.. all my very best to you, and may great opportunities come knocking on your door. and for the one, that is heading to NZ to study and begin your new chapter of life, all my best wishes to you. may the new life you are having there will be great! if not the greatest time in your life. wishing you smooth journey and may you be bless with all the great things in life!

(unedited) laptop dying soon.. >.<

goodbye malaysia, and hello adelaide

singing for the deaf.

have you ever wonder how the less capable enjoy what most of us do? for example the deaf enjoy the rhythm and base of dynamite by taio cruz without turning the base volume so loud that u can feel your heart vibrate with it? or some love songs by taylor swift?

or have you ever thought of doing something you like that would change the world? something small, but people world wide would enjoy?? thats what a year 2 teacher did. at the age of 22, she sang for the deaf. and with the help of the internet, she helped the deaf around the world to enjoy what most of us take for granted everyday.

check this link out and you will understand what i am saying =)

sign language opens music world to deaf citizens -ABC news

on a personal note: it all began when i was with someone. this special someone was deaf and have to talk through a interpreter with AUSLAN (australian sign language). i am sure, that most of us have been in a situation where we do not understand what others are saying(including where they are talking bad about you right in front of your face without u knowing it). It was a pretty awkward moment, especially they are moving their hands and arms all around them right in front of you and you don't understand a tiny bit of it. at some point. it made me felt pretty helpless, that although i am suppose to help him, but i can't understand what he's trying to say without the help of the interpreter. it made me wonder, could he enjoy the wonderful sounds of the world? now i know, there are people out there who cares =) how about you? do you care?

also posted at rushi's blogspot.