Play That Ukelele Song At the Beach

*plays Hey Soul Sister by Train*

You sit there in perfect solitude, with not a single soul around you.

Nothing but the cool breeze blowing your hair back, causing the corners of your lips to pull slightly upwards into a smile everytime the wind greets you.

The only living sound around you is the sea. The repetitive sound of the waves gently crashing onto shore, and then pulling back into the ocean.

The sun hides behind the white clouds, but not all of its radiance is hidden. It lights up the skies around it, creating a mixture of beautiful colours. As though God Himself picked up a paint brush and the sky was His canvas.

The weather is just perfect. It is in perfect harmony with the sad song that is playing inside your heart.

You sit there on the soft sand. Reluctant to move, finding no point to hum a tune or even to utter a single word. You just sit there, simply enjoying and appreciating that precious moment of isolation away from the hectic world.

You stare into the blue horizon as you fold your knees to your chest, and you let your mind to drift into nothingness, as you pull away from reality, just like how the waves pulled back into the ocean.

*******************

Don't you just wish there is a beach nearby so that you can just stare into the horizon and drift away from all the pressures in life?

That image came to mind because I am an emo person right now and i am bottling it all up when I heard the song Hey Soul Sister by Train.

Apparently, much to my dismay, it is a happy song.

I am not implying that I like emo songs, but what I am trying to say is that it would fit even more perfectly with what I had just described to you above.

With what I think is the sound of a ukelele, that song provided both my roomate and I the I-am-emoing-at-beach feel.

Anyhoo, I would like to introduce to you, the ukulele.

For those of you who do not know, a ukelele is a small version of a guitar from Hawaii, and it produces a high pitched (relatively compared to a normal guitar) sound when played.





There you have it. A ukelele.

Random? Yes, but this post is actually meant for someone who does not know what a ukelele is :)

And now, you know.

Want to know more?

Go Wikipedia. Don't be lazy.

Yes I Know I Suck

I am sorry.

For being such a pain in the ass.

For being selfish.

For being inconsiderate.

For being not understanding enough.

And for being so ungrateful.

Tonight

I've got a feeling.

That tonight's gonna be a good good night :)

Why?

Because of them :)















Tonight on Sheep's agenda, ARCADE CHALLENGE!!

Team 2's gonna rock your boat!

The 7 Stations

This is way past my bedtime, but I wanted to blog it all out while its still fresh.

SIB KL is having an event called 7 Stations of the Cross in conjuction with Easter. Each cell has a designated date to attend and Sheep United's turn was last night, 24th March at 8pm.



The seven stations were literally seven stations around SIB KL. From the 3rd floor all the way up to the 6th.

Each station represented Jesus' journey starting from the last supper up until the moment He hung on the cross.

Each station had a significant meaning, and was a time of reflection. A very interesting form of quiet time.

We came as a group but we went on our own pace. It was an amazing journey of reflection in solitude I have to say.

The stations were basically this:

Station 1 - Jesus Washes His Disciples' Feet
Station 2 - The Lord's Supper
Station 3 - Gethsemane (where Jesus prayed)
Station 4 - The Arrest
Station 5 - The Trial (Jesus brought before Pilate)
Station 6 - The Way of the Cross
Station 7 - The Crucifixion

I will not go into detail about each and every single station, but I will go through the stations that really spoke to me.

I have to agree with what Rachel Thong said. The stations really made us think about everything that was happening. And yes, the stations that I went through challenged my way of thinking, and brought me into a deeper understanding of the scriptures.

Station 1 was where it all started.

We are all familiar with the part where Jesus started washing His disciples' feet right?

The act is in fact not a custom, but an essential practise during his time because unlike us, they had only sandals and had to walk through dirt and mud everyday. So they basically had very dirty feet.



The act of washing another person's feet is usually done by the servant to the master. But here we see Jesus doing it to his disciples. The master doing to the servants. A total role reversal here. Since the first time I read this passage many years ago, I always thought that all it meant was just about humility, until tonight.

The one important thing I missed out was that Jesus washed Judas feet, even though He knew that Judas was later going to betray Him for 30 pieces of silver.



Right here is a true demonstration of loving your enemies. I always thought that Jesus did it as some sort of cover, until I realise what God has been trying to say all along. Love your enemies.

Yes it is hard to actually go down to the lowest form of a servant on bended knees and to wash that stinky feet of the person you really hate. We all feel that way. But Jesus demonstrated true love here by washing the feet of he who was to betray Him.

And that really struck me and touched me. The rest of us including myself were inspired to forgive those who have hurt and offended us.

At that station, we were told to pick a stone from what I believe to be a bucket of pond water (it had fish smell all over it) and write the name of a person who did us wrong on that stone. We then proceeded to kneel down in front of a basin of water and "wash" their feet.

Wash away our hurt. Our grudges. And to love them just as Jesus loved His enemies. And I remembered something, even on the cross, Jesus did not ask God to strike the ones of persecuted them with lightning, but to forgive them for "they do not know what they do".

Station 2 was just as eye opening. It was a reminder of His faithfulness to us.

He took the cup of the new covenent, even though He knew that His disciples would betray, abandon and deny Him.



Imagine saying vows to the person whom you know would have an affair with someone else in the future.

Or promising to be best friends with a person that you know will betray you in the future.

Would you?

Jesus knew that I would back slide and sin, yet He still died on the cross for me. Willingly. I am just left speechless here.

Station 4 was confusing at first. They brought us through a journey of Jesus' arrest, from the moment Judas identified Him to the part where Jesus told Peter to keep his sword. At one pit stop, there were swords, and we were instructed to pick it up and hold it. And at another, there were cups. Again, we were instructed to pick it up and hold it.



What did the sword and cup mean?

Towards the end of the station I finally understood that passage.

Jesus had a chance to take things into His hands and escape (the sword). Who on earth would want to be arrested and then persecuted for something they did not do?

Yet He chose not to. He chose to, in complete obedience, follow God's will (the cup - the covenent).

Another reminder of how I should always say, let Your will be done, not mine.

The last station that really spoke to me was a rather interesting one, station 5.

At the entrance, they asked us 3 random and simple questions. At the next section, the answers were not given, but the statistics of the answers chosen by other people were given. Some answers were right, and some were purposely wrong. And then they asked us, do you want to change your answer before moving on?

Then moving on, we were asked to put some red paint on our palm to symbolise Jesus' blood on our hands. We were playing the role of Pilate.



In a maze-like section, and on the walls were multiple quotes by the people, asking Pilate to release Barabbas instead of Jesus. Towards the end were seates clothed in colourful and royal colours fit for a powerful person like Pilate.

Then we were asked, are we going to follow majority and wash our hands clean? Or to pick up the cross?



A very interesting motion here. It reminded and challenged us to decide if we were to just follow the majority or to stand up for the truth.

Well, those are the stations that really impacted me.

At the last station, after communion, we were all given a "letter from God". It truly reminded me of how much God loves me and what He has done for me. As I was reading the letter, it really felt as though He was speaking to me in person.

I wish I could have brought my camera with me and capture every single moment, but I do not think that it is allowed.

7 Stations of the Cross was the sort of revival I needed that I have been praying for. And now I truly appreciate what I have been taking for granted. And I feel and mean it even more when I say, "I love You Lord".

I love You Lord, and I lift my voice, to worship You. O my soul rejoice.

A Thought.

This is what we were always taught:

Put the needs of others before your own.

Ok, I should think of the needs of others first instead of my own. But who is going to take care of MY needs??

Simple answer came to me just now.

God.

Have a blessed day :)

Aum

1. Your blog is very annoying. Enough.

2. RunNat is on 22nd May! Cell members are joining but I do not think that I can make it this year. A2 going on around that time :(

3. I am still dreaming every single night. Last night, Evelyn used the F word while sharing in cell and acted as though nothing happened, but everyone else was shocked, especially Bernard.

4. Andrew Tan loves to make us play some sort of charades game during cell. Beware...

5. Full week ahead! Arcade practise, 7 Stations of the cross, and arcade challenge!

6. I have cravings. Allow me to list them all:

- tomato kueh tiaw
- kampua
- Kuching's wantan
- Taiwan pork chop beef soup noodles
- Sugarbun
- "behind Hock Lee's" char siew peng
- salad chicken rice
- char kueh tiaw
- pizza
- Wendy's
- Ramlee burger
- roti canai
- nasi pattaya
- TGI
- cake
- chocolate
- ice-cream
- chocolate pau in KDU square
- chicken rice
- Mama's chicken pie
- sweet and sour pork
- pai kut ong
- Mimi's salad
- Maa's curry
- blueberry muffin
- 1901 hot dogs
- Coffee Bean
- J.Co doughnuts
- Tokiwado
- junk food like Jack & Jill and Cheezels
- porridge
- Mama's other home-made meal
- Sibu tu-kah (Phillipine style)
- Famous Amos
- Ikea meatballs (just had it for lunch thanks to the knight in shinning armour!)
- scones
- Mama's pasta
- Bing!
- carbonara
- Bing!'s beef lagsana
- popcorn
- french fries
- Carl's Junior chilli cheese fries
- lamb chop
- maggi with egg and sausage yum!
- Nips with raisins
- sparkling juice
- lamb shank
- the bread starter thing in Italianese
- nasi briyani
- nasi lemak, no sambal please
- ke-si mee
- butter chicken
- lemon chicken
- pork pork pork pork
- ngo hiang
- lung ngo
- kompia
- mee pok
- mac and cheese
- Chillis' mash potatos
- Badaq's banana muffin
- fried chicken wing

Food food glorious food!

T.T

7. Exams are just around the corner! Who is ready for it, raise up your hands!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

So that I can spot you freaks and shoot you dead on the spot!

8. There is no point of keeping grudges in a relationship. If you do not want to let go, then just forgive and forget. Stop giving him false hope and let him concentrate on his studies!

9. Anyone who willingly takes further maths by choice should be sued.

10. I still have no idea where I want to stay in Colorado. Which convenience is better?

11. You only have 6 weeks left here before you leave. And then another two with me when I get back. Time is short. But why does it feel as though its bugging me more than it does to you?

I wish I was like Edward Cullen, not needing to sleep a wink in my life and still have the energy to climb trees and run like the wind

:s

Never Ending

Again.

For the last two nights I have been dreaming about random stuff.

Only this time, its slightly bad. Not nightmares though.

Not yet.

I wake up after I dream, only to discover its only 2am.

Tried going back to sleep, but kept waking up at intervals.

For two nights.

Ugh

Yes, I am seeking professional help.

By professional help I mean asking Beatrice from HELP who is studying psychology :)

Sigh...

Wet Dreams

No Jie, I had WEIRD dreams, not WET dreams!

For the entire week since Monday, I have been dreaming consistently about stuff. Really random and weird stuff.

I have no idea why.

One night, I dreamt that my very precious SIB KL mug had a very big crack.

I got so upset.

Hey, this mug very special ok...

It cannot be bought and not everyone can have it. They only give it to guest who visited SIB KL for the first time.

Many thanks to James who got it for me :)

So yes, I was actually very sad in my dream when I found the crack...

One night, I dreamt about Nipa and the gang.

They were all hanging out at the Sterling lobby. And I was there. So was Joe (who happens to be in almost every one of my dreams. It was not ABOUT him, but he was definitely there).

Another weird dream of mine involved a midnight trip to KLCC.

I took the LRT from Taman Paramount in a car (I have no idea whose car I drove), and took the 11pm train to KLCC.

Yes, 11pm.

And we all know that the last train was at 11.30pm, and the trip to KLCC was about half an hour.
But when I got to KLCC, the place was still crowded. The outside I mean, in my dream I was never in the mall itself.

The purpose of going to KLCC was to book tickets to go to the sky bridge. I wanted to book for Saturday, but I accidentally booked for Sunday instead.

As if that was not weird enough, I sms people and asked if they wanted the tickets or not. The weird part was that I sms my highschool classmate Maggie Sim. Weird because WHY THE HECK SUDDENLY HER...

It has been ages since I saw her, and I am not exactly the closest person to her, and all of a sudden I sms her!

Goodness...

Every single night, dreams.

But I cannot remember every single one of them though.

I slept for half and hour yesterday evening and even during that short nap I dreamt about something.

Last night's dream took the cake home.

I was on a cruise ship with all the other form 5 students during my year. And then a tsunami hit us.

The weird part is that I knew that it was coming and somehow planned it for whatever reason.

And I swam to shore while dragging a wooden chair with me. When I got there I screamed at one of my Petronas juniors for just watching us struggle instead of helping us. And my other Petronas junior was there as well!

Sadly the death toll was 7, and I suddenly felt so guilty because I had planned for the tsunami to come.

Like, what?? How on earth do you plan a tsunami???

Ugh...

Want to know another weird fact?

I am not the only one that has been having wet weird dreams.

Nipa too. For the past two nights.

Owh man... What on earth is going on here?

Stress?

Maybe.

Haha I actually find it kinda funny.

I wonder what my dream tonight will be about...

Add On

Owh great.

More complications.

It might not be Colorado, but Tulsa instead.

This is so confusing.

Damn it if I got Texas I would not be facing any of this crap...

Ugh someone help me...

No Water

We all know how the saying goes.

You never miss the water until its gone.

But in my case, I never even had that reviving fresh pure water to begin with.

In my previous post I said that I am fine with going to Colorado. But the more I think about the, the more I wished that I was going to Texas instead.

For one, it happens to be the second best university in America that offers Petroleum Engineering.

And there are less Malaysians there. About 12 (yes that is how hard it is to get in).

I guess I was not good enough for them.

But darn, it would have been cool to be a longhorn.

Longhorn is the school mascot, and the football games there are very active.

American football. Not the ManU Liverpool football.

I was actually looking forward to watch a football game in Texas with Bian and cheer on the Longhorns.

I know, you all must be thinking, Texas? Eew.

And then a few things come to mind when you heard the word Texas.

And a desert town filled with sand, dust and cowboys shooting at each other.

Americans with a really weird and annoying Southern accent.

Or even a ranch full of cows and horses.

But Austin, is a city la for goodness sake.

It would have been real fun there.

I guess I was meant to go skiing in Colorado instead. Hehe

See that lighted M on top of the hill? Its a Mines tradition that started many many many years ago. Kinda cool huh?

Finally

Remember my previous post about me sending in my application to Texas way past the deadline?

Well, last month I emailed them and asked them when will I know their decision. They told me by the end of February.

On the last week of February, my very itchy hands clicked on the "apply for housing" link on the site, without knowing that I have accidentally activated my housing application.

To apply for housing would cost $50, non refundable I think, and I have to do it within 10 days.

I panic la.

Because $50 is a lot of money, and I really wanted to wait and see if I got into Texas or not. If not, I would be just wasting my parents money. Not very nice now is it?

Today, I opened my status check, and this is what I saw.

Darn it. I did not get in :(

Fret not, I am not so disappointed to the point of suicide.

Before I applied I had my eye on two universities : UTexas and Colorado School of Mines.

Kautsar and I just got accepted into Colorado, so I still have a plan B.

Kinda disappointing though since Texas was my aim main, and I was so excited about going there. I put a whole lot of effort into researching infomation about the UT, and not for any other university. I even looked up what the rooms looked like and what food they serve!

I love the rooms.

I love the meal plan, I think its brilliant.

Austin is a city so I would not die of boredom.

Bian goes to one of the local churches there so it is easier for me to connect.

I also troubled my senior Bian about almost every single thing.

Sorry Bian. Thanks so much for your help though.

Plus I put in a whole lot of effort into writing my personal statement, and to complete the 3 essays that were required. All that effort. Ugh...

But I knew very well that UT was very hard to get into. A few of my seniors tried, and only one got in. So even if I did send in my application on time, there is a big chance that I might not get accepted. UT is highly sought after, and the competition is very stiff. I suppose I lost out somewhere, one way or another.

All hope is not lost though, because I still have Colorado to look forward to. I have almost the same level of enthusiasm for Colorado as I have for UT.

Plus, it snows in Colorado! Whee!!! Skiiiiiiiiii :D

Haha the cold weather is not going to be kind to me and my very thin layer of skin :(
I get cold VERY easily...

Heck it might get so cold that my nose freezes and drops off! Hehe

OMHG I just realised that I now have the perfect excuse to buy a trench coat! Muahaha!!!

I am thankful though, and I trust in God completely about where He is going to send me.

Jer 29.11.
"For I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future."

In other words, I have got someone of a much higher power looking out for me :)

All I have to do now is to pass the Petronas cut-off point. I am hopeless in A2, but I am hopeful in the Lord :)

Happy

Cell last night was fun.

We laughed.

We called each other pig, sheep, dog, cow and tiger.

We worshipped.

And had fellowship with each other.

I literally smiled and laugh until my cheeks were so sore from smiling.

Now that Sheep United has multiplied into Sheep United and ChampionSheep United, our Friday cell is now a smaller group.

Almost everyone in Sheep United together with a few stray sheep (John and Beatrice) from a different cell

At first I was sad because we had to split. I was just starting to be close to the others, and all of a sudden we have to go our seperate ways.

Yes I do miss the others. But I thank God that we multiplied. It means that His kingdom is growing, no?

And a smaller group is much easier to manage now. We can afford to have more sharing time with each other without rushing anyone.

We actually ended cell very early last night at 10.30pm instead of the usual 11.30pm. And all of us were given a lengthy chance to share and to get to know each other more. I like that :)

Joe gave me a call once I got home and I really thank God for him. I am so glad that he is always there to support me in my times of need.

What he said to me last night made a lot of sense.

Saturated.

Time to give back, one step at a time :)

I Witnessed A Hit and Run!!

OMG.















OMG...
















OMG!














OMG!!!!!!















OMHG!!!!!!!!!














OH MY HEATHEN GAWWWWWWWWWWWWD!!!!!!!!!!!!












OWH hahaha :p

Hehe KDU people are great posers!

That was Hasif on the ground and the brutal driver was Arsyad. We took that shot after coming back from UIAM for a Petronas career talk yesterday.

We were required to go for the Accountancy talk. Yes. I am taking Petroleum Engineering.

In a way it was beneficial because at least I now know that I do not have to stick to PE for the rest of my life once I start working.

Our journey to the beautiful UIA campus was a rather, unexpected one.

We were expecting to climb into a KDU van at 7.45am at the KDU entrance.

We were expecting a free ride there with ease. Aircond mah.

We were expecting to not have to worry about getting lost or getting caught in a jam because we were to leave so early.

BUT no.

After half an hour of waiting for the van, we were informed that we had to take a CAB all the way to Universiti Islam Antarabangsa in freaking GOMBAK!

How 'bout no?

Must have been a miscommunication somewhere, but luckily Arsyad and Rashad drove to college that morning, and so the 9 of us spilt up and hopped into their cars and made our way over there.

Ms Sathya promised that we can claim back for our journey there. RM0.70 per km. Our trip to and fro was about 60km. And there were two tolls on the way there. So thank you Ms Sathya for your generosity :)

UIA campus was so cool. Since it is an Islamic university, there were a lot of cool Islamic geometrical designs on the building, adding to its very uniqueness. We had the we-are-somewhere-in-the-middle-east feel. Well, some of us that is.

The remaining Petronas scholars in KDU

Yes, don't we all just look so lovely?

We parked so far away from the lecture hall where the talk was held. And to make things worst, the weather was scorching hot! We were really sweating by the time we reached the car.

For Arsyad, Zul, Kautsar, Yvonne and Jie, no problem. Arsyad's car was in prime condition and the aircond worked just fine. It worked so well that the car was so cool and every single passenger slept all the way back to KDU.

Unfortunately the same cannot be said for the rest of us. You all know Rashad's car right? Yea. Damn hot. Haha no offence dude :p we all know how much you love that blue thing of yours.

When he made a pit stop to the petrol station, Alep and I literally dashed into the store because, GOT AIRCOND INSIDE LAAAAAAAAAAAAA.

Yes, that hot. Ugh...

I wanted to die when we reached KDU. I was so exhausted and uncomfortable, I did not even have the appetite for lunch...

My whole day yesterday was not a total drag.

Happy hour started at night.

I went to Ikea for its very deliciyummmy Swedish meatballs, and to watch Book of Eli with Joe who promised that he will try to be a lot more romantic next time :)

Yes, I am writing this here so that you do not forget.

I made a huge mistake last night.

I should have conned Joe into buying Joey for me!!

Owh well lesson learned. There's always a next time anyway.

Right Joe? hehehe *hinthinthint*