lol i grabbed this photo from aub's friendster some time back and decided to post it up! this was taken like more than 1 year back? look how time flies and how we've all changed and progressed since then. we're all in different places now, be it local uni, uk or army. it's quite sad that our class dint exactly have a very good relationship, what with all the cliques. ohwells. i dont really care actually lol. i'm happy that i left the school with sphcf!

let's bling it on tmr!

happy birthday jia!

went out to celebrate my sister's birthday today. i realized it's the first time in ages since i've actually gone out with my family. felt quite guilty about it. sometimes you realize that, in pursuing certain things in life, you sacrifice and compromise many other. family becomes the most conveniently neglected "other", perhaps because you feel so comfortable and familiar with it that you dont see the need to make a consistent effort to maintain it. school's been an overly-used excuse for that negligence; you know that you much rather prefer the new and fun experience outside as compared to the same old company at home. and when you finally return from all the fun you've had, you realize that the family has changed since the time you "left". that's when i felt guilty and got reminded of my new year resolution - "appreciating my family"! more time with the family!

anyway i feel like going for fortune telling! isn't it cool that a stranger can actually predict your future? isn't it exciting to sit back and wait for the prediction to play out; or anticipate an exception so that you can prove the teller wrong? but then again, would you feel the same way if the prediction had an ominous message? ohwells. i may not really be that interested in fortune telling :\

ok finally put up the stong trek photos!

day 1
took a 10hour train ride from jb to dabong village in kelantan. my first time taking a train with double-bunk beds! had a quick breakfast at the town and started the first activity of the day - caving!

we explored three different limestone caves. there was a cave where we actually had to backcrawl through a "doghole". i felt really adventurous then! we went into a cave chamber too! i think ms lian should organise a geog trip here! it would be really interesting!

and that's us waiting to cross the river. look at all of us with our humongous bags! i dint know we could just cross a river like that, like just jump over rocks!

i was complaining throughout the 2hour trek to our base camp and almost regretting coming for this. but when we finally got to the camp site, the view simply makes everything worthwhile!

this is where we lived for the next 2 days.

day 2

we woke up at 6 plus the next day to catch the sunrise. so pretty. you can see the clouds at your feet!

main activity of the day - summit climb! non-stop whining from me again!

and the summit was only a slab of big rock! i was expecting some nice green flat plain!

and yay i conquered the mountain! it's gunong stong btw :)

day 3

this is the last day of the trek! we went waterfall exploring in the morning!

and we made our long way back to the start point. it rained just before we went back so the path was really muddy and slippery. there was one part where we just happily slipped all the way and got our butts all muddy and yellow!

i was so happy when we finally made it back to the start point! all of us had a quick bath before making our way to the village for the train.

group shot at the train station! yay happy that we all made it!

HAPPY 2007!

and there we bade farewell to 2006! before i move on to the usual new year resolutions, i shall recap what happened in 2006. simply to say, 2006 was about working and smu :)

2006 was the year after we graduated from jc and where most of us had our first taste of working life (not counting the horrendous thai express 1day work experience :\). i started off with a receptionist position at kato where i remember myself fighting to stay awake early in the morn, talking on the phone and surfing the net on the sly during the rest of the day. and then i moved on to the hr department where i remember shredding bags and bags of confidential documents and repacking their inventory store. thankfully, contrary to what many said about office politics, i was rather free from it. but i dint like the monotony of the job :\

then i did relief teaching at stgabs. started off as a pe (yes PE!) and geog tchr; taught english towards the end. relief teaching was a whole new experience for me. being in a totally different environment, interacting with the boys, learning how to teach and at the same time, educate them. there were many times of disillusionment and disappointment but any slightest sign of recipocration will easily dissipate the feeling and make you feel a huge sense of accomplishment. i guess that's the reason people go into teaching. but sad to say, i think many teachers tend to lose this passion halfway and become teaching robots :( besides the feeling of fulfilment, i also enjoy the unpredictability and challenge of being a teacher. each time you enter the classroom, you never know what you're gonna get (that is, apart from the noise :\) who knows, i may just become a teacher next time! lol!

this photo was taken with my sec1 geog class while i was still a pe tchr. look at the boys with all their patterns!

the next big thing of 2006 was starting school in smu! i was actually rather against going to the school initially because i thought the hip and different image it was trying to portray was more of a facade. but then i decided it's all up to the individual to make life fun and i thought the participative teaching approach would be good training so i decided to give it a shot and till now i'm glad to say that i havent regretted my decision (the only regret is missing out on hall life)! i entered the school not knowing many people and i'm proud of myself for taking the initiative to join orientation camps and ccas! i'm really glad i got to know some good friends whom i can hang out and talk anything with! and yes, smu is also where i started challenging myself by going for cycling and trekking in msia - things i never thought i could have done!

so to conclude, 2006 was a memorable year filled up with many "first"s for me! i'm sure 2007 will be as memorable! and now for the new year resolutions!

losing weight will never fail to be one of my new year resolutions every year lol. and not to forget, being a better person - appreciating my family and friends! apart from the cliche resolutions, this year i wanna challenge myself further! climbing one of msia's g7 and standchart 10km will be goals to work towards for the time being!

happy new year and all the best to everyone! :)