T'is The Season

There is a lack of Christmas cheer in campus.There are no carols playing through the airwaves,no santa hats and no deco of any sort.
But, we should look at the bright side.... Tonight is IK Christmas night! And I have no test on Christmas day, so I'll be driving back after lab on Christmas eve at 5pm to spend christmas with the family.Yay.
Amidst all the madness of running around( 19 credit hours this sem) and studying for tests and quiz, I learn one thing. Christmas happens inside of you. It's not the external mood that counts. Christmas is made, not induced.If the magic of Christ's birthday is in your heart, you can be in the middle of the Sahara desert, and still feel the christmas spirit.These few days, Caroline and I have been singing carols to each other in the mornings before class to remind ourselves what time of the year it is.Here's one I created:
On the 1st Day of New Year
The doctor gave to me,
A physical chemistry test...

wait till next week to get the rest of the song.

A Basic Human Complaint

Terrible. Simply terrible. *Anguished moaning and cries of despair*
I just learned two days ago that my Inorganic and Physical Chemistry first test is scheduled on New Year's Day.
Yes, you read correctly. First of January 2005, 9 a.m. What happened to basic human compassion?
Where have all the tender hearted gone? We're not meant to spend New Year's eve cooped up in our rooms reading Theory of Chemical Bonding......We're suppose to nhjkPARTYvfdx.What on earth is happening?New Year's day in an exam hall ?! God forbid.
Apparently it's an issue of venue.Apparently the only time we can use the Dewan Besar is when everyone is away on holiday( or busy partying). What is to be done? All our complaints are falling on deaf ears.Nobody bothers about what the students think.That's the way it always is, that's the way it has always been.*man*.
What a way to start the new year.No joy, no clapping ,no fireworks, Only me and my ['l1s notes.
On the other hand, we're having Ikatan Kristian Christmas night next wednesday.I'm not performing or stage managing or anything (but I am treasuring) because can't afford the time.
Also doing a lot of background stuff like follow up and the goody bag.Test next Monday and one quiz,plus 2 lab reports .This is turning into a very merry christmas.It's snowing HOMEWoRK!!!

I'll end this with Joseph's version of 'Deck The Halls':
Pour the school with Gasoline
Falalalalalalalala
Light the match and throw it in
Falalalalalalalala
Watch the school burn down to ashes
Falalalalalalalala
Aren't you glad you played with matches?
Falalalalalalalala.

Note: To Florence(director of IK Christmas Night 2004)
You Go Girl!
Don't worry,everything will fall into place on that night.It always does.

On Air With Sunshine

What an eventful second week of December.Last Thursday (9/12/2004)i had the pleasure of being a guest on my good friend Su Lin's radio show on Putra.fm (90.7, Today's campus Voice, hehehe)which is the campus' official radio station, which virtually nobody listens to.Hehe.(It's only available in Serdang and Seri Kembangen area)
Anyway, Su Lin(whose on air glamour name is DJ Sunshine) was doing a segment called 'Campus Life' that started this semester.So, every Thursday she brings in a student guest to talk on a chosen topic. Mine was time management.So far, I only talked to 3 people who listened in.Two of them were my housemates, one of them was my friend Caroline(Who will herself go on air this Thursday the 16th of December 2004 to talk on Looks and personality).
The studio was really nicely done up, fully air-conditioned, and the walls were padded end to end with carpets.(to absorb sound waves and prevent echoes).I got the chance to wear this pair of huge black earphones to hear what's on air. The whole thing was an experience that took some time to swallow. Su Lin and I really enjoyed ourselves talking and we pretty much forgot that this was live on air.(Secret to kurangkan nervousness:Tell yourself 12 times a day that "nobody listens to Putra.fm", which is sad, but true).Poor Su Lin had so many buttons to push that she went 'gabra' for a while and said "Hi, welcome back....You're with me Michelle and my guest...oooppps.. I meant you're with me Sunshine and my guest Michelle.....*hysterical laughter in background*"
All in all, I regretted not asking my housemate to record it.In the beginning I thought " Ah... If I mess up on air, then there's no record of it-lah. Kan Baik?"
But we didn't mess up,by the grace of God. Oh, did I mention that Su lin is in my CG and she's from Klang. And she's fun .......and she's available.Hahahahaha.
After Thursday, there was the Primary Circle concert at FGA which was really good.I mean really good. P. C. is the resident FGA tertiary student's fellowship band.About 15 or more people came to know the Lord, including Joanne's Mum(Joanne was lead singer for the band that night).You should have been there when she walked her mum down the aisle to answer the call of Salvation.This is His work.That's all I have to say.

Oooo, oooooo, before I call it quits,there's some updates on the embrionated eggs.(Chicken eggs with liitle babies inside 'em).They arrived today,so we started innoculating them and growing viruses ,which will be harvested on Weds.(Don't worry, we're not growing SARS, just Newcastle disease viruses which affects birds).Tonight after French Class, I'm joining my CG members for some christmas carol singing. I can't wait.Woo hoo.
Note: Wishing All my Christian friends a very blessed Christmas and a Christ-filled New Year.

Back To Life Again

P1010150
Originally uploaded by michelle_upm.

The new semester started a week ago.This means I'm back in Serdang.Wonderful Serdang, where the vegetables are cheap and the water is brown.Yesterday my room mate's three sisters and her younger brother came to crash over at our place(they flew in from Sarawak).Next friday another sister from UKM and a brother from Penang is coming down. If you paid attention, this means my room mate has 6 siblings staying over next weekend. Six plus the six of us staying at the apartment,this makes 12.I dunno how that's suppose to happen.I just dunno.
Several wonderful things happened during the last week.Here's a list:
1.Managed to key in and sign up for Bahasa Perancis 1(which was full last sem during pre registration)
2. Managed to drive home last wednesday to take IK's money from Wendy.(drove back to Serdang on Thurs)
3.Wendy's re-grading form was accepted by Bahagian Akademik way past the closing date.
4.Christmas committee(I'm in again this year) managed to come up with theme in only half an hour of discussion.

Yep.That was it.Very happening week.Plus I spent the weekend at Eunice's place to help with her wedding deco.(Joseph Raj and Eunice Yeap who are the TSF leaders in charge of UPM are having their big day on the 29th of January)
This week is happening as well.Just now was the weekly microb lab session and we were supposed to innoculate embrionated eggs with newcastle disease viruses.Unfortunately,we found out the eggs had no embrios.So how? Cannot grow virus-lah.So how?Have to wait until next week-lah.
So,next week it is.

Note:the Picture of me and my house mates was taken last semester around mooncake festival time.L-R:Shrina(room mate),Cheah Chee,Chun Sen(the guy),Mei Hwa(who wants to marry before she's 26),Wen Hsia(who is already married) and me.

The Nothingness of Doing

Whoa.............
Yes, people, I am home for the holidays and I have been living in a daze as of two weeks ago.(That's when the holidays started).This is mainly caused by the fact that i have gone from completely busy ( to the point of not having time to do laundry) into a state of complete freedom (to the point of wanting to do laundry,but there's nothing to wash).
Basically, I have set down about 4 objectives for myself to accomplish this semester holidays.They are listed as follows:
1.Read the four gospels of Matthew,Mark,Luke and John( really read them,none of that glancing-through-a-novel type of technique)
2. Brush up on guitar skills.
3.Study the accounting methods used by Wendy Tan to keep the IKUPM treasury because I'm helping her next sem.(wendy is undergoing industrial training in Melaka )
4.Develope and execute consistent exercise regimen for this 1 month holiday.

This is already the 3rd week of holiday,I have 1 1/2 weeks to go. And I am overjoyed to announce that none of the above objectives have been accomplished.So much for living a disciplined life.*sigh*

Note:The author wishes to dedicate this weeks input to the extremely efficient people of UPM's Bahagian Akademik,who have not gotten our results ready,even though exams ended 4 weeks ago and there's only a week left to the start of next sem.

The Sweet Smell of Freedom

Goodness, how long has it been since the last blog?Seems like forever.The main reason being that I was too busy getting my finals done with.
And so, it is finally over and done with.For this semester that is. Many things have happened since the last blog,so where do I begin?
I begin with the trip to Singapore.It was brief.Too brief.I spent only about 24 hours in that country.However, managed to get a real taste of their public transport system since we (Ps. Daniel and the TSF leaders and student leaders) travelled mostly by LRT and bus. Food was terrible.Don't go to Singapore for the food. It's nothing compared to Malaysia(home sweet home). We went to see City Harvest Church.Let's just say I came back with mixed feelings about their service.The building was extremely beautiful though. I could filled this whole blog with descriptions about their designer toilets and a designer waterfall outside the church building.Baptism pool was an awesome sight.Imagine getting baptised on the roof surrounded with a tropical garden and a baptismal pool that looks more like a fountain than a pool.Also,the whole country was very clean.So we took the chance to breath in more air. Still, at the end of the day,home is home and home is where we belong. Hujan emas di negeri orang, hujan batu di negeri sendiri, lebih baik di negeri sendiri.

After Singapore, there was the short trip home, which was my first time driving on the north-south highway. One hour into the trip and every part of my body started becoming numb.Probably because I drive a small car(a Kancil).Hahaha.Had to make a stop somewhere in Seremban to let the blood circulate again.

After that the nightmare called final exams started.Which ended today.I had six papers in 2 weeks.'Nuff said.
So,until the next blog, this is yours truly.

Note: Happy Birthday to Wendy, who celebrates her 22nd tomarrow.

Yearning For Hope

474055_827a2e7d21, originally uploaded by michelle_upm.

Dear Dad,
The 11th anniversary of your passing is not until December,but for no particular reason, I thought about you last night.And it made me cry involuntary tears into my pillow.
I found myself wishing you were still alive,so you could see me now.You could see how far I've come.I wish you were alive today, so I could make you proud.I'm not studying anything grand,but I'm happy doing what I'm doing.I am fulfilled.
I felt just a tiny bit sad, because I have this little wish to start learning how to play the guitar.Chords are okay to learn, but strumming's tricky.I found myself asking, wouldn't it be nice if you were here to give me strumming tips.( I remember that you were a self taught guitarist).
I suppose the forthcoming trip to Singapore has brought back memories.Singapore.
I remember Singapore.
The source of your attempted cure,
the place of my broken sorrow.
I remember Mount Elizabeth.I remember standing at the end of a long corridor capped with glass windows,the sun flooding in,yearning for a hope that would not come.I remember the insecurity and the waiting.But the insecurity most of all.

And this weekend I go back to Singapore,the place of your attempted cure, the place of my broken sorrow.

Sewage Workers Appreciation Week

Last Wednesday, my coursemates and I had the wonderful experience of enumearting the number of dangerous bacteria in various water samples, to gauge their quality.
Anyway, one of the samples was sewage water.
Yes, sewage water.Real sewage water taken from sewage tanks.It still had signs of you-know-what floating inside.
Because of this ,the whole lab smelled like eeewwwwwww!
All of us manages to survive the session,although a bit intoxicated by the putrid smell.
However, that got me thinking. Do the people working at indah water have to face this everyday?
The answer is,Yes.How? I don't know.Go ask them.
But we really have to appreciate what they do evryday,from the general workers, to the lab technicians, to the engineers, to the administrators.
Why? Because their job stinks.It literarily does.
Without them, we too wouldn't survive.Hence, sewage workers' appreciation week.

Note: Indah Water is the main private sewage processing company in Malaysia.Also, all the best to Jason Hwang and Tong Ngee as they run for office in MPPUPM in the campus elections this wednesday.

Signs of Rain

HTML freaks me out.It's been two months since I started blogging, and I still don't know how to link my friends or put any interesting website addresses.*sigh*.Shame on me.

And so,
We move on to the hot topic this week;
Why does society look down on scientists?
Ooops,sorry, that was last week's hot topic.

This week's hot topic is;
Where have all the good men gone?
and
Why are there more enteric bacteria in cabbage,
and none in raw beef?
Beats me.

Why does the world love the lovely,
But turn away the good.
My Father plays a song for me,
It says
Behold I make all things new.
And that's the hot topic.
Today.Tomorrow and always.

So,
When is it the right time,
and how do we know when's the wrong time?
What's the best way to cook pasta?
And which is better, Fettucini,
or Macaroni?

And if you haven't realized,
This is a question of weekly poems,
or a poem of weekly questions
or what's left of it
You choose.

Note:This week's shout out is to Sian Lerk and Flo for being the first to link this site to their blog.Check them out at http://www.holiao.com/blog

Less Reason

Sean, originally uploaded by michelle_upm.

Time travels like a bird in flight,and as we age we find less reasons to be joyful.To be happy. To not have worries, to not have a terrible weight on our shoulders.As we age, we find more reasons to be sour, to forget, and to drown our memories in that blackness called the past.
To hold on or to break bridges? That is the question.
A Flower bud cannot be if not for the tree, therefore we must look down at our roots,our trunks and our branches.
Tomorrow is connected to today, and today with our actions of ten years ago.
Therefore, may it be that we spread out, but remain rooted at the same time.

Note:Thanks a million to Liz and Jason Teh, for the really kewl pix of their son ,Sean(it's Sha-awn not Si-an).This lil' fella apparently has excellant PR skills.

The crystallographer

SCfranklinR, originally uploaded by michelle_upm.

Few people know who Rosalind franklin is.Most biologists know James Watson and Francis Crick,who discovered the structure of DNA and revolutionised science forever.But, nobody has heard of poor Rosalind.
Today ,we pay tribute to a woman whom scientific history often fails to mention.The crystallographer.
Whilst still alive, she was grossly mistreated by he male counterparts such as Watson and Crick, who did not see it neccessary to recognize her con tribution to the discovery of the double helix.
It was she who provided the X-ray crystallography photographs so essential in deducing the DNA structure. However, even when the Nobel prize was awarded for this discovery, she was left out.She had died 2 years before at age 37, of ovarian cancer.The Nobel prize is never awarded posthumously.her co researcher Maurice Wilkins was awarded the prize, however.
Rosalind Elsie Franklin. Born July 25th 1920, died april 16 1958.
Here's to you Rosie.

Note: the writer wished to dedicate this entry to her coursemates, Hidayah, Erma ,Akmal, Asilah,Hani and Caroline, who will one day be(she believes) great scientists in their own right.

Hunters and Gatherers

I'm finally home for the holidays. An odd feeling.To be torn between two places.When away,one wishes one were home.When home,one yearns for freedom.Torn between the comforts of heaven and the endeavors of reality.
My brother Sam mentioned yesterday, that he would like to win a Nobel prize. I says, Nobel prize in what? and he said,in Phsycology.
Apparently he wants to be the first man in the world to understand women. I told him,not possible. Has never been done.Nada.Zip.
He didn't believe me. Wants to try anyway.You'd think it was possible,since he grew up surrounded by women all his life(not at all his fault).
But , that got me thinking.Women are not meant to be understood.They are a mystery. created that way by God. Men should not try. They will drive themselves mad.
Each woman is a person. An artefact of great wealth, hidden inside.A diamond in the rough.But all women want one thing.Their common desire.To be accepted as themselves. To love, and be loved in return.

As for me, I just wanna tell Sam, all the best.

Wisdon(part 2)

P7110, originally uploaded by michelle_upm.

The problems of last week have gradually cleared up.This week however,is a new batch of problems.Currently,I'm sitting here at home and all my friend have gone hom for the mid semester break,but I have to stay to complete 2 assignments.So much for the holiday.Last wednesday,I developed this dreadful food poisoning,(complete with vomiting and fever),of which I'm still feeling a bit of its effects even today.Yesterday,went to visit my friends Doreen and Mel(a.k.a. Dong and Duh)who stay in this really beautiful apartment in Taman Universiti Indah ,Seri Kembangan.The place was relly clean and nice.The walkway is nicknamed'Bintang Walk'.That's how nice it is.Very unlike the dirty ,blackish,moss covered,water marked buildings we students are used to.
There's some activities in church this weekend so I'm not completely bored.A band called FORM is performing(from NZ).As I'm writing this,lovely smells are coming from the kitchen because my room mate is cooking lunch.
Did I mention all my housemates are cooking freaks?Since semester started I've eaten only about 50% of my meals outside.Nevertheless,their food is amazing,espcially this thing called tomatoes fried with egg.Did I also mention that Chun Sen's lobster gave birth 3 days ago?
Note: this week's shout out goes to Mel and Doreen for fabulous soup out of a packet and for their hospitality.

Wisdom

IMG_cn, originally uploaded by michelle_upm.

Precipitations

Hamster Testimonial
Originally uploaded by TuesdayAgain.

When the week of tests is over,a whole bunch of other things start to crop up.I feel like the cayote being bullied by the road runner.(Or rather the other way around).Like an ACME anvil is being thrown down at me from a precipice.My dean's list certificate was not printed,handphone charger malfunctioned,and my car radiator seems to be drinking more water than me(meaning,it's using lots of water...No,it's not leaking).And one more thing,I don't think I can go home during the uni's mid semester break because of academic commitments. *sigh*
Wish I could be as relaxed as our friend in the picture.
Note:The write wishes to state that she is not concerned with American politics.She does not in any way endorse John Kerry.The text came with the picture.In fact,the writer regards American politics as a great source of amusement.

All the worlds' a stage

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Originally uploaded by michelle_upm.

And those who are in it,actors.But what becomes of us who lack the talent to bask in the glorious limelight? We are pushed backstage,away from the people,away from the front.Where we are easily forgotten.No one remebers our names,or even sees our faces,save our closest friends and family.Even then,some friends easily let us go,breaking old bridges as they build new ones.And thus,I am forgotten.
But,should I ,like them ,forget?It is but a choice we all must make.Do we remember our friends from long ago,or forget them on our wedding day? That,my friends,is the question.

Note:The writer wishes to dedicate this week's entry to friends who have not forgotten her.Stephanie Leong,Su bing,Sin-Lin,Chin Sing,Kwee Hoon,Sook Fun,Hui Ching,Yun Zi,Adeline Chua Yong Lin(who is in USM,I miss you)& Hwei Hsien. ALSO,a thousand apologies to Lame-melia,because I forgot to liat her as one of the members of the lame club last week.MERDEKA! first test season has finally passed!

Fish in Toxic waste

Hmmm,fighting fish in apple juice.This is also my housemate Chun Sen's.The one on the right is a really blur fish.last week while studying, I put the tip of my pencil accidently on the cup's surface,and the blur fish started fighting it.Incidently,I tried the same thing on the other fish.It had enough common sense to ignore the pencil.

P1010103 Originally uploaded by michelle_upm.

The Mafia

Rather sinister looking,don't you think? I personally prefer furry animals like hamsters,guinea pigs and rabbits.However,keeping them is such bother,especially if you're staying away from home.

P1010117 Originally uploaded by michelle_upm.

fish and lobsters,anyone?

My housemate has in interesting array of pets.This is the blue-lobster,whom he claims is pregnat.How can we actually tell?

P1010111 Originally uploaded by michelle_upm.

Flickr

This is a test post from , a fancy photo sharing thing.

The lost of limb

Of late,yours truly has had the opportunity of joining an exclusive club called the Lame-ers.Of which,as the name explains,is not an expression of lost of limb,but of the subtle art of telling unrecognizable jokes that are severely 'cacat-ed'.members include:
Sian Lame
Michael_lame
Lame Pin
L-Amy(pronounced lame-mee)
Carol-lame
Gerry Lame
Richard the Lame and yours truly,
Michelle-lame.
Past activities have included a tutorial on the various L signs awarded to different degrees of lame jokes,the highest of which is a song called Lame-garaku.So prestigious  that it is awarded only once every year! Another award is piala -L,which was awarded twice to Carol-lame,for answering not one ,but two lame riddles correctly.One of which is:
Q:there was a thief running away from persuing policemen.He was finally surrounded by police cars at a dead end.How did he escape?
A: Surrounded by police CARS only-mah,not the police,so he got away loh.
 
And one of my personal favourites,
Q:two prawns are swimming in the sea.One red,one black.Whiach one swims faster?
A:Neither. The red already cooked,the black one chow-ta. 

members have all taken a pledge to remain faithful to the ideals of  lame-ology,and delight in sharing lame jokes with each other on a regular basis.
 
Note: The writer wishes to dedicate this section to all the members of LAME,who have all tried uncle's infamous Roti Michael Jackson at least once.

The ship sails

Why the third floor?cos that's where I'm staying.i can see a good part of Serdang from my balcony.Sometimes,on days that are hard,one stands at the  balcony as the sun sets and watch as dusk falls and then,clarity sets in and one can think.again.