Inside My Head

It's so weird how hearing all about something in detail, and experiencing that very same thing can be so different.

I knew the university application process was long, tedious and tiring but doing it is a whole different thing. Hours after hours and days after days in front of the computer screen is sure different than hearing about "hours after hours and days after days in front of the computer screen". So basically, even if i am able to fully express myself in the most accurate way possible, you still would have no idea what i'm really going through unless you go through the same process yourself.

Guess what? I'm happy. I just sent off one of my university applications. But this doesn't mean i'm done. There's still quite a bit more to be done and i probably won't fully complete it all till i finish my first year at university. Nonetheless, it's really relieving to be done with one. Maybe i will go to university after all...

Although i have been complaining a lot about the whole application process, it's not all that bad once you get down to it. Like many other things, just getting started helps. From there, it kind of just flows along...not very smoothly all the time, but yeah...it flows.

My last month has rotated around university applications. Even Christmas this year sort of seemed side-lined. I expect it will be the same for New Year's Day. It will really be the same for everything else until all my applications are sent out. After that...well, i've been thinking about what i want to do then cuz i'll have about six months off before i transfer to the States. I have some ideas but i'm not too sure if they'll work out yet. If they do, i'll be out of this country for a while and in the country of red, green and white for some time. That would be like a prelude to my going off to the States. But the whole thing is still really sketchy and i'm not sure if it will work out yet. Pray for me!

As you can see, i really haven't had much time do anything. Anyhow, there was something that i was thinking about but didn't have time to look up. I read an article that the recent earthquake actually jolted the earth a bit...not enough to affect the earth's rotation or anything like that, but this got me thinking. Is there any source from inside the earth that could actually cause the earth to move out of it's orbit? Normally when i think about our planet being pushed out of it's orbit (not something i usually think about), i always imagine the source being something external; like an asteroid slamming into the earth's surface with great force or something like that. I'm sure it's possible though that a disturbance in the earth's rotation could be caused by something internal and not just by the external. Hmmm...well, this is something i gotta look up when i get the time.

So many shades of pink.

Ciao!

So Much For My Happy Ending

The most powerful earthquake in 40 years erupted under the sea off the coast of the Indonesian island of Sumatra on Sunday. The quake unleashed a giant tsunami wave that crashed into the coasts of south and southeast Asia, killing tens of thousands of people. The power of the tsunami was felt as far away as the African coast, some 3,000 miles away. It is devastating that so many lives are lost in natural disasters as these. More people died from the tsunamis than from the actual earthquake.

This is definately not at all the way most of us intended for this year to end.

Bring it on 2005!

2005 is a new year, fresh with no mistakes or hurts.

I find this statement very encouraging. This last year has been rough for me. Many things have taken place and shaken me up in various ways at home, outside the home, in college, with friends...the list goes on.

Basically, this year has been tough and although i will miss 2004, i do feel ready to be given a fresh, new, blank piece of paper...*fresh with no blotches*

Although this year has been particularly difficult, there have been certain people that i have depended on so much to hold my hand and help me up every time i fall. Without these special individuals, i don't know where i would be...probably some dark lonely alley in downtown K.L., shivering in a corner and begging for food...well, maybe not that bad. But i would definately be in over my head...especially emotionally. I have had to deal with more emotions this year than i have all my life, and it hasn't been easy. Even so, i have no regrets because every trial has brought me out stronger, even more ready to face the next one that slaps me in the face. Not at all plesant, but necessary as part of life.

As 2005 approaches, and it will come whether we want it to or not, i have decided to embrace this year of opportunities and take it one step at a time. Looking ahead, i hope to leave for the U.S. to continue my studies for the fall semester next year. That's gonna be a huge step...one that i'm quite concerned and hesitant about. A big chunk of my support system will be shaken as i will be leaving many loved ones behind. I don't really want to think about that just yet though. For now, i will work on completing my university applications and cherish each moment with all my gems. Hopefully when it's time to leave, all of us will be ready to move into a new phase of life. Happy New Year!

Cheers!

The Mas of Christ

Jesus left each of us a gift 2000 years ago. Some have left their gift unclaimed. Some have accepted it. Others have carried it around, but have never unwrapped it or looked inside. Each gift contains a scroll on which is written, "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life." (John 3:16)

I was surprised by something the pastor said on Saturday morning during the Christmas service. I was rather shocked, but at the same time i kind of expected it. He explained how a man was asked what Christmas was and his response was something along these lines, "It's the birthday of the old man with a white beard."

Interesting...very interesting. But how many people know otherwise? We live in such a confused world that it's really not all that surprising that some individuals know no better. Sad but true.

Now, another question i frequently raise is what do Christmas trees have to do with Christmas? They are beautiful, but have no connection to the Christmas story. Yet to many, Christmas isn't Christmas without the evergreen tree. Tradition? Culture? It's something to think about.

In all my years of growing up, i have never had a Christmas tree in my house. Christmas hasn't been any less to me. We don't put up a tree in my house simply because we have certain convictions and beliefs. Weird? Peculiar? Perhaps, but each to it's own. We have our reasons. I'm not suggesting that this action be reflected and Christmas trees be removed from the scene; i merely think that knowing why we do certain things is important. It's so easy to go along with the crowd, but standing alone; now that's not easy.

There are so many more issues that i have on my mind related to Christmas...or what we refer to as Christmas, but it's really a lot. Ultimately, it's important to remember the reason for the season and not be lead astray by distractions that pop up along the way.

Well, to all my readers, have a Blessed Christmas!

Just A Song

The Used: Blue and Yellow

And it's all in how you mix the two,
And it starts just where the light exists.
It's a feeling that you cannot miss,
And it burns a hole,
through everyone that feels it.

Well your never gonna find it,
If your looking for it,
won't come your way,
Well you'll never find it,
if your looking for it.

Should've done something, but I've done it enough.
By the way, your hands were shaking,
Rather waste some time with you.

And you never would have thought in the end,
How amazing it feels just to live again,
It's a feeling that you cannot miss,
it burns a hole, through everyone that feels it.

Well you're never gonna find it,
If your looking for it, won't come your way, yea
Well you'll never find it, if you're looking for it.

Should've done something, but I've done it enough.
By the way, your hands were shaking.
Rather waste some time with you.

Should've said something, but I've said it enough.
By the way, my words were faded.
Rather waste some time with you.

Time with you...
Waste some time with you...

Should've done something, but I've done it enough.
By the way, your hands were shaking.
Rather waste my time with you.

Should've said something, but I've said it enough.
By the way, my words were faded.
Rather waste my time with you.

Should've done something, but I've done it enough.
By the way, your hands were shaking.
Rather waste some time with you.

Waste some time with you...

Busy, Busy, Busy

I have been so amazingly busy these last few days. After my two camps, i've been trying to finish up my Christmas shopping, yet it still remains incomplete. I have had to put that on pause though because i'm more concerned about my university applications at this moment. The deadlines are approaching and i'm still working on the required manuscripts. The encouraging thing is that i've finally decided on the three universities that i will be applying to in the U.S.

Anyway, i'll be back soon with more stuff for my blog. I've got this blog i want to write on commercial Christmas...but well, hopefully i'll have the time to do that. In the meantime, i just want to drop off one of my favorite Christmas tunes. It's called Christmas Isn't Christmas and it goes like this:

Christmas isn't Christmas
Till it happens in your heart
Somewhere deep inside you
Is where Christmas really starts

So give your heart to Jesus
You'll discover when you do
That is Christmas really Christmas
For you...

Simply Dazzling

“Catch a falling star and put it in your pocket, never let it go away...”

I’m back from camp but i still haven’t been able to decide whether I’m happy to be back or not. It was a very interesting experience and i learned many things...probably more than i have ever learned at any other camp i've ever been to. Basically, four days were too short.

I’ve always had the impression that seeing a shooting star is a once in a lifetime experience. Due to my strong liking for stars, i’ve always wanted to have the opportunity to lie down on the soft cool grass at night and watch a meteor shower. It’s always been a dream to me...a dream that i didn't think would ever come true.

The last night at camp, the sky was really clear and i was just drinking in the beauty of God’s creation. The sky was simply sprinkled with glittering beauties. I wish i knew the constellations. I would have been able to point them out simply because they were so clear. It was a real treat for me and that night couldn’t have been any better. The weather was simply beautiful and the air was pleasantly cool.

I was shocked at the first shooting star i saw. I didn’t really think i would see one, even though some of my friends had already announced that they had seen some. But I was pleasantly surprised, shocked, overwhelmed...

A shooting or falling star is not a star at all. It is not even a piece of a star. Stars are huge balls of burning gas sending off great amounts of energy in the form of light and heat. Stars are much bigger than our planet. Stars also do not fall; they stay in their own places in their own galaxies.

A falling star is actually a meteor. Meteors are streaks of light in the sky that we can see when a small speck of dust burns up high in the air above us. These specks of dust come from comets!

Astronomers call these pieces of comet dust "meteoroids." Meteoroids are usually smaller than a grain of sand and generally very small. Meteoroids hit the Earth's atmosphere at super high speed, sometimes faster than 90,000 miles per hour. The friction between the tiny meteoroid and the atmosphere creates the light that we recognize as a meteor (or "falling star"). The dust speck that burns up is called a meteoroid. The flash of light is called a meteor. Meteors usually last just a second or two.

It is important to recognize and be able to see the beautiful things that are right before your eyes, even if they appear simple and normal at first. Even something as normal as stars can have such a marvelously strong impact on me.

On the second day of camp, i started getting a sore throat. At first, i thought it was because of the overuse of my voice due to the fact that i was the leader of my group; but as the day went on, i realized that it was actually the water that was making my throat feel so weird.

Now, the first few people i mentioned this to thought i was nuts, but hear me out. Water has different textures. There is soft water and hard water. Here is something i found on the net:

Every water has a flavor and a texture, leaving its own distinctive signature on the palate. The texture comes from the level of mineral "hardness" or "softness". Mouthfeel (the texture of the sensations on the palate) is partly determined by the "hardness" of the water. It is measured by the quantities of dissolved solid matter; this includes the salts in the water and suspended minerals.Certain kinds of minerals in water can be healthful. Minerals are catalysts that trigger chemical reactions and make water taste sweeter.

So water has different levels of sweetness too, but i won’t go there just yet.

So there you go, my throat was getting soar because i wasn’t used to the texture of water. It was actually rough on my throat. To prove my point, my throat is already getting better since I’ve gotten home. Weird huh?

This camp was full of surprises and this has definitely been one of the most memorable camps I have ever gone for.

A Little Bit of This and That

It's amazing how busy i've been over the last few days. Yesterday i went for this play put up by the A-levels students from Help Institute. It's one of Shakespeare's plays entitled 'Much Ado About Nothing' and i think that they did a wonderful job. Today, i was at college because of this street jazz festival thing that was going on. Some of my classmates and i set up a booth on AIDS to promote awareness and to collect funds for AIDS patients. I finally got back after that and i've been packing and getting ready for camp ever since. Yay! I love camps....

These last few days i've been busy worrying about my university applications more than ever and i actually went in to MACEE to sort out some stuff and it ended up taking 4 hours. I'm finally getting down to the actual application process and i'm quite proud about that. Hehe...it's taken me forever to get to this point. It's so amazingly difficult, but then again, i suppose it's all well worth it.

Anyway, tomorrow i leave for camp and i get back in a few days. I'm gonna have fun!!!

Till later...

A Simple Goodbye

It's really weird how talk is cheap and yet words mean so much.

When i was a little girl, i would always stand at the door, bidding farewell to my dad until the very last second that he could be seen. I still do that to this day.

I have always taken goodbye's very seriously simply because i believe that people are precious and you never know what can happen between the time you part with them and the time you see them again.

Sometimes i fail to understand how it is that people can make goodbye's seem so insignificant, and yet i have to constantly remind myself that i probably take this more seriously than others do...or maybe they just don't show it as much as i do. I suppose the depth of the word isn't for everyone. Perhaps it just means more to me than it does to other people...and i have no regrets.

When close friends leave, whether for a short period of time or for a longer duration, whether i see them the next day or the next year, i always try to make sure that i leave them with a goodbye...at least a simple goodbye. To me it's not too difficult to say and definately not too difficult to mean; and yet, it has an everlasting meaning. All it takes is a simple goodbye.

Overcoming Boredom With Nokia

I stumbled upon this page. It basically consists of all the stuff you probably never need to know about your Nokia...but perhaps might want to know. Well, these are some of them...check it out but do observe the WARNING.

*** WARNING: Using secret codes may be harmful to your phone and result in disabling or worse. Use these codes at your own discretion, as there is the possibility of blocked phones while using these codes!!!


SOFTWARE VERSION
*#0000# shows the software version
Information you get from the Software revision-
V 05.31
18-02-99
NSE-3

1ST Line = Software revision
2ND Line = The date of the software release
3RD Line = Phone type


SIM CLOCK STOPPING
*#746025625#
[*#sim0clock#]

Checks if the sim clock can be stopped. Sim clock stop is a kind of stand-by mode which will save battery time. This code doesn't work with software version 4.59. It will tell you if it can be stopped or not.


EFR CALL QUALITY
To activate EFR (Enhanced Full Rate) Enter the code-
*3370#
This improves call quality but decreases battery life by about 5%
To deactivate it, Enter the code-
#3370#


WARANTTY MENU
*#92702689# takes you to a secret menu with 6 choices:
[*#war0anty#]

1. Displays Serial Number.
2. Displays the Month and Year of Manufacture (0997).
3. Displays (if there) the date where the phone was purchased (MMYY).
4. Displays the date of the last repairment - if found (0000).
5. Makes you capable of transferring user data if you have the gear for it.
6. Shows how long the phone has been used to talk. This counter is not reset by when you "clear timers" like the counters in the call register.


BYPASS THE SP LOCK WITH A NOKIA 16xx/21xx/31xx/51xx/81xx
1. Insert SIM card of different provider.
2. Turn on the phone and press the UP VOLUME key for 3 sec. Then release it and the phone says PIN CODE?
3. Press the "C" key.
4. Then Press * and wait until it disappears and appears again, then press * one more time and 04*PIN*PIN*PIN#


NOKIA SPEED TRAP DETECTOR-Urban Legend spread by Nokia Engineers
The settings for radar speed traps detector. Your Nokia cell phone can be programmed to pick up radar speed traps, when programmed your cell phone picks up the radar and alerts you on the message alert tone. ( Doesn't work with Nokia 7110! )
1. Enter your menu
2. Select settings
3. Select security setting`s
4. Select closed user group
5. Select on
6. Enter 00000
7. Press ok
8. Clear back to normal, within a few seconds your phone will display a radar sign with five zero's next to it. It is now activated.

Unfortunately only Nokia phones have this function. The Cell Phone info display needs to be de-activated. Settings -> Phone Settings -> Cell Info display. Each time you turn off your phone, or even each time you loose contact with your carrier, you'll have to activate it again... It is done using steps 1 through 5 above, but the number (00000) will be already on the field as a default.


THE JAMES BOND TRICK
If you short-circuit the left, middle and right pins on the bottom of the phone with all connections touching each other, the Nokia software hangs! The profile "Headset" will be activated. Before you do this just activate the "Automatic Answer" in the headset profile and set the ringing volume to "Mute". Now you can use your phone for checking out what people are talking about in a room. Just place it under a table in a room and call it. The phone receives the call without ringing and you can listen to what people are saying!

Sources: http://www.themarketbuzz.com/nokia_secret_codes.html
http://www.geocities.com/tom_chat_2000/NokiaHacks.htm

Door Art (subject to interpretation)

Over the last few days, i've been bogged down with studying for my two final papers. In the process, i've felt quite stretched and a bit tense. Well, guess what...i've found a new way to express myself and release that feeling of tension.

I've actually been able to relax and believe it or not, what helped me was drawing on my door. Yup, I decided to take a break from studying for one of my papers, so i opened my drawer, took out a black marker, walked over to my white door and started doodling. The weirdest part was my dad happened to walk past just then and he stopped, observed me in the process of drawing on my door, and he was like, "That's nice..." and then he walked off. I actually found that quite hilarious as that was the reaction that i least expected.

Anyway, for a few hours over the past few days, i have been doodling on my door and it is now half full with black and white door art...something like the grafitti along the roads in Rome, but somehow mine didn't turn out as nice. Who cares though, really...this actually helped me relax and do something that i enjoy. In fact, i would even go to the extent of recommending it.

I gotta warn you though that this is lotsa fun and it's very tempting to start looking for new doors once yours is done.Just don't get yourself into trouble.

World AIDS Day

Today is World AIDS day. Take a moment to check out this short video that a friend of mine did. He won the OneWorld and MTV's 'Staying Alive' campaign for 2004. Here's the site: http://tv.oneworld.net

The Incredible Bride and Prejudice

I am done with my final organizational behavior paper, and that is very relieving. Thanks to all those who said a prayer for me. Anyway, between yesterday and today, i've managed to catch up on some movies.

Bride and Prejudice: Bollywood meets Hollywood. I found this really interesting because of the 'clash' of cultures. It's along the line of my major i suppose...thus the source of deep interest. Surprise appearances by Alexis Bledel (Rory from Gilmore Girls) and Ashanti. Anyway, i would recommend this movie and yes, it's in English.

The Incredibles: Today, i went for a family movie. I state that very proudly. How many people still go for family movies? Anyway, i thought the animation for this one was simply 'incredible'. Pixar did a really good job. I'm still amazed at how the animation artists managed to make Violet's hair look so real. Every wisp moved just the right way. This is a must see...even if only for the animation.

Note of the day: If i drink two cups of coke after 9 pm, i won't sleep till 3 am. The caffeine really hits me...probably because i don't drink coffee.