little words speak as loud as they are tall

action plans

Mon, 09 Nov 2009 15:21:41 GMT

i need to ACT according to what i believe.
sick of acting impulsively,
ill-disciplined, and self-destructive.

did another interview for dad today.
ashamed of knowing him better through his biblio.
in a positive light,
i m inpsired by him, him and his art consciousness.
and honoured to be dad's secretary.

to do:
1) doing summary for readings
2) flu vaccination to be taken
3) call MOE, which department to call,its an inaccessible tower.
4) stop online shopping
5) and follow up paneldiscussion on fri.
6) take home exam will occupy my ntire weekend. need to prepare.

in the midst of preparation for exams.

23rd bday wish: to be after God's heart

Sun, 11 Oct 2009 12:23:04 GMT

this birthday, i just want to list the blessings that i have.

1) the ileaders. who are the best pple to travel with. also, there was a bk of 23 dares. can u beat that! cheers to pple w dream, passion and oomph! they made me feel like i m 17 again, w mambo night.it will be interesting to see where each of one ends up doing in 3 years time.
2) the cross pendant specially picked by boonie and james. Thank God that B is going to church :) its fortunate to have seen her mature this 1 year.
3) the interns, and their surprises.
4) buddy for the pretty purple diary. i m brainstorming of a name for the diary. they come w memory verses.
5) bffff. who assured that the day was only gonna get better. i preempted S's surprise when peeped out of the balcony. thanks for the meaningful book,cake and hand-made card. i dig drawings and handmade stuffs.
part 2: caught defending the cavemen, then ECP, as we were left with nth to bite on a fri, at 11pm. yes, we just wanna get away from the crowd. Thanks for being such an accountable friend.
Defending the caveman was funny.depicted gender stereoptyped behaviors stemming from the fact that men are born hunters (killing channels, having 2000 words a day) , and women gatherers ( shopping, imaginative, emotional, and nding to max out 5000 words/day). 6) my wish in serving God @new church. am joining choir, and testing my vocal range next week. bffff was amused by the lady sitting beside.Rxtive feminist.
7) blessing me w a trip to China overseas study mission. organising is an experience on its own. Thnk God for Anne , it has been a pleasure working with her.
8) Planning of Dad's exhibition is smooth.
9) being financially provided in situations when i choose to glorify God e.g. going for batam retreat..for mission.
10) supportive family. They are so dear to me. Lord, grant me courage to share the Gospel fearlessly to them.
God is good all the time, i just have to count my blessings.

pending stuff to do/clear/pass w flying colors
1) pe test
2) 2 assignments: early lang and psyc assessmt
3) clinical neuro ppt
4) china trip planning
5) nike run
6) iphone
7) retreat

wishlist

Tue, 29 Sep 2009 11:10:04 GMT

my birthday wish list..only one item.
i m faithful.
iPhone. iPhone. and iPhone

i m 20 going on 21

Tue, 29 Sep 2009 11:07:44 GMT

its week 7, where there are tests and assignments galore.
its my last sem..which made me take things more easily.
no its meant to b a paradox.
just came bk from KL fun, during the raya break.
lesser spotlight effect, settled down in a new church,
made many trustworthy and God loving friends.
partied more too.
its the best time of my life i must agree.
i m set in taking things easy this sem.
but someone appeared and distracted me.:x
planning for study mission is here, too.
my anxiety is here.
I wanna get Aces despite studying lesser.
I feel younger, n more rejuvenated.
in a week's time, i m 23 chronologically.
but 21 mentally.
prepping to start working life,
is like stepping into adulthood once again.
tht feeling.

God pls guide me and grant me peace.
Help me to listen to you.

silicon valley of China

Sun, 23 Aug 2009 13:08:10 GMT

The trip to China has been confirmed!
Will be planning for ilead batch 4's study mission,
to Shanghai and Beijing.
We will be visiting companies
From Facebk equivalent, Xiaonei, to google's equivalent, Baidu.
From social networking start-ups
to Venture Capitalists, clean tech and IT companies!
Tsing Hua uni will be an eye-opener, after Stanford uni:)

"Zhongguancun” doesn’t roll off the Western tongue easily,
but it will soon be an address that technology investors must learn.
For 25 years, locales from Singapore to the south of France
have tried to create their own Silicon Valleys,
but the original’s remarkable spirit has never been duplicated.
China, however, is putting the finishing touches on its own Silicon Valley —
and this time, they may have found the recipe.

The Zhongguancun district is in the northwest corner of Beijing
not far from the old Chinese emperors’ Summer Palace.
It is already populated by thousands of high-tech companies
local firms large and small, as well as international outposts
of companies ranging from Microsoft and Sun to Siemens and NEC.
But now, in the heart of Zhongguancun,
sleek new buildings are rising around prestigious Tsinghua University,
creating what will be a world-class technology incubator.

“We need a culture that gives small companies the confidence to succeed.”
That, of course, is part of Silicon Valley’s secret sauce
an entrepreneurial infrastructure that can take a company
from napkin doodle to business cards and a health plan in a week.

The other ingredient is a strong academic institution.
Silicon Valley was born at Stanford and some of its first companies
were launched in an industrial park that Stanford built in the early 1950s.
Tsinghua University is arguably China’s single most prestigious school:
out of the 7 million Chinese students who qualify for college each year,
only two thousand are admitted to Tsinghua. And while Tsinghua is best-known
for science and engineering, like Stanford it also offers a top-drawer business school.
And, just as does Stanford, Tsinghua not only allows but encourages its professors and students to start companies.

Unlike Silicon Valley, however, Tsinghua is starting with another strong advantage:
“sea turtles.” That’s the local nickname for the native-born Chinese
who receive educations in the United States and return to start companies in China.
One reason is that it’s much cheaper to start a company in China than in Silicon Valley.
The classic sea-turtle is Charles Zhang, who graduated from MIT in 1994
and returned to China to launch Sohu.com with a few hundred thousand dollars;
the Internet portal is now worth half a billion dollars.“Chinese engineers work harder for less.”
The biggest investments are being made in such key areas such as advanced chip design, biotechnology and nanotechnology.

Finally, China brings an element to the table that few other nations can match:
a sufficiently large domestic market such that it can actually create
its own standards for technology and make them stick.
Traditionally, Europe, Japan and the United States
have always created technology standards
how television or cell phone signals are broadcast,
for example, or the formats for CDs and DVDs.
But China is now developing its own standards for technologies
such as digitized video and next-generation cell phones.
Foreign manufacturers will have to adopt those standards
if they wish to sell to the Chinese. Sooner or later,
one of those home-grown standards may go international,
giving Chinese companies even more power.

Part 2 of post-grad trip will be to Japan, w Gladys :)
Let the wander-lust travellers unite.
Thts immediately after coming bk from China, all in Dec.
Accomodation will b @ Kei's!
shall start saving! *discipline*

my sister's keeper

Sun, 23 Aug 2009 12:30:28 GMT

brutal and arbitrary. My sister's keeper is an enlightening movie.
one of the few that deserves 5 stars!
The movie struck me:
While seeking the truth, I pray that the Holy spirit guides me
in seeking God's will, in situations, irregardless whether we have control.

Along the way, a young girl's harsh fate is powerfully,
paradoxically contrasted with the fierce,
unfailing love of her mother and her family.
There is a quiet strength in a film like this one,
a film that unflinchingly focuses on a tragedy without succumbing
to the feel-good Hollywood formula that demands a happy, sappy ending.
And there is a certain wonder in characters
coming to peace with horrible things they don't want
and cannot understand. Kate does this before she dies,
and her family gradually does the same after her death.

Though the film's spiritual themes are merely peripheral—
and God's salvation message is never presented as a means
to understanding or coming to terms with death—they nonetheless
prompted me to ponder the fact that God owes us no answers
for the incomprehensible and painful events He sometimes allows in our lives.
There is mystery in His decisions, mystery we must accept.
Some of us live and some of us die, as Anna says, and we may never have any idea why.

Acceptance is one response to such imponderables,
a destination Kate reaches before her passing.
Denial, the road Sara walks, is another.
When we, like Sara, desperately cling to the way we think life ought to be,
we can become so myopically focused on its disappointments that we miss the bigger picture.

Indeed, up until the very end, Sara is so intent upon saving Kate
that she's rarely (if ever) actually present in the moment with her daughter.
The possibility of joy and grace amid the pain gets squelched by
Sara's determination to maintain control—
not to mention her desperate decision to create and manipulate life for her own purposes.

Despite those very real flaws, however, Sara is a deeply compelling character in her own right,
a mother whose love for her dying daughter is indomitable.
And who are we to say we wouldn't react similarly in her shoes?
Sometimes, though, a child does die. The world is at times indescribably painful.
And in a culture obsessed with knowledge and control, the inevitability of loss and death is a hard thing to come to grips with.

My Sister's Keeper models what it might look like to grapple
with such heartrending losses with dignity and grace.
Even when the answers remain elusive, there comes a point when,
perhaps after fighting fiercely, we, like Sara,
finally relax our grip and open our hearts to a path different than the one we'd once mapped out.

ode to rascal

Thu, 06 Aug 2009 06:46:21 GMT

31 Aug marks the passing of Rascal.
We decided to put her to sleep.
Rascal was never used to being outside our garden
all these 10 years of her life.
She came as a new-born puppy and we saw her
mischiefs, her faithfulness,
Her being fat, and finally, stick thin.
Hence, even by Rascal's deathbed, Jud ensured that
she was there to keep her company.
Jud saw how Rascal fell asleep peacefully
and never woke up again.
I took comfort in her death,
because Rascal was sick,
and I am not ashame to say that
my family members showered her
with tender loving care while
nursing her. We never once gave her up.
Alas, a painful decision was made.
It was an instant of how loving means letting go.

Here's an ode to Rascal.We know you are in heaven now:)

We love thee agreeably enough to let your stinky doghide on the bed after a run through the damp leaves and muddy pond.

We love thee steadfastly enough to devote 10 years to raising you from a wobbly speck into a strong healthy adult.

We love thee for your interesting liking for food such as soya milk, apple, durian, cucumber.

We love thee passionately despite your repeated efforts to probe my ears, eyes and mouth with the same tongue you use for various other atrocities.

We love thee well despite the amazing odors you produce.

We love thee deeply though you use me/Jud as a napkin at every opportunity.

We love thee madly despite the various bodily functions you have performed at inappropriate moments in inappropriate places (even at the doorstep, and everywhere except where the grasspatches are)

We love thee truly despite the "doggie landmines" hidden in the grass.

We love thee absolutely because you were our mice/rat-hunter. You never gave up on them even when you lost your sight.

We love thee gratefully because you stay by our side.

We love thee devotedly more than clean carpeting, clothing, furniture, floors or walls. We enjoyed scrubbing you more.

We love thee bravely enough to battle the indomitable flea on your behalf.

We love thee openly we will bear any embarrassment for your furry sake (esp when u were shedding fur).

We love thee totally more than free time, excess cash or a predictable life.

You were our inspiration for you literally struggle to stand up and find your sense of direction while remaining optimistic even when your world was dark. For you never gave up on yourself, we knew we must be there till your last breath.

Thu, 09 Jul 2009 04:19:51 GMT

The boy with Intellectual impairment.
He has learning difficulties, but is artistically inclined.
He tries hard to make friends, but ends up being bullied.
He fights to gain attention from peers, but often ends up being excluded. His parents woes are eminent for the boy is different from other children.Like other parents, they want their child to be successful;to be doctors, lawyers.
But the academic and outcome oriented school setting, does not tolerate it, and contribute to their key performance indicator.

when parents come w terms in enrolling him to special school for the child to learn some functional academic.

1st asian youth game

Mon, 06 Jul 2009 01:42:30 GMT

Back after a long hiatus.

Volunteered at the Asian youth game, at Swisshotel to have the atheletes' temperature taken.
The floor i was designated to, housed the atheletes from UAE, Qatar and Indonesia.

The atheletes in their teenage years exudes vibrance. Received some olympic collar pins from the representatives from Pakistan, and UAE. sweeties (with blue eyes and all):)
Took some pics w Bahrainian girls, and Frasia the Lion. The fun part was chatting with the atheletes from different countries. Their behavior and demeanor expressed much abt their culture and affluency.Behind every athlete i sensed that there is a story behind each of them. Though they are in their early teenage years, some carried the 'worn' look, masking their real age.Most of them started training even as soon as they cld start walking— a story of perseverance by unheralded athletes and of youthful inexperience and grace.
They were bashful when facing the media, but boldly held their big dreams close to their hearts.
Good luck atheletes, and see you in next year's Youth Olympic in Singapore :)
After the event, i had some (coolbreeze)booze at my fav hangout again!The snacks are real addictive (u just cant stop at one).Also shared a conversation w a buddy who leads an alternative lifestyle, while watching the night view.Interestingly,i felt warped while putting myself in his shoes.

its volleyball after work today. Ready for some digging,setting and smashing!

i need to spend more time w my rascal,for the last few times.

i'm feeling sweet upon the rock

Mon, 09 Mar 2009 14:17:33 GMT

kee needs to learn to take care of myself more.
being responsible for self,family,and God.
thanks mom for the reminder.

anyway,its only week8 and end of new prod dev lecture.
so many things have happened.
met ex-cell grp leader,eunice.(she's getting married,and got a nice house,Hallelujah)
presentation for impt project.(i hope we get it)
learning to be less hesitant bt things.
handling assignments/tests.
being graceful despite experiencing hypocrisy.yikes.
insomnia for a night.

catching delirious worship session on sun:)
'm feeling sweet upon the rock.

macbkmacbkmacbk

Wed, 04 Feb 2009 14:28:33 GMT

mypcsucks.timeformacbook.myspacedoesntworkanymore.
*$%&%^&

staying focused

Sun, 01 Feb 2009 16:11:20 GMT

Thank God for widening my perspectives-to pursue my interest in biz and entrepreneurship. In the midst of :"networking", I have met many good friends, whom were there, and will be there. Its just the beginning of things, and the start of establishing ventures...
Gonna do sth for Vday, and though i was and still against the commercialisation of Vdaygifts, but i m gonna just have some fun while doing some biz. Hopefully enough to earn me enough for my summer vacation.
Kee, scrimp/spend comfortably and stay focused.

louhei!

Sun, 01 Feb 2009 16:01:46 GMT

during the louhei gathering at prof's place with the ilead-ers.

"..studied in cornell, then harvard..
they both got their scholarships, but they serve porn"
there was silence, and no one reacted.

for a moment i thought i was dirty minded.

then at the dinner, everyone started talking abt mistakingly hearing "porn" for "bond".phew, I wasnt the only warped one.

anyhow it was a nice gathering, and getting funny kaiqin to describe to us our ilead "elitist" room. Vote for the one with the window or balcony?

Sun, 01 Feb 2009 15:48:37 GMT

"Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.
Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.
Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.
Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy.
Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.
Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called sons of God.
Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven."

China and India: The power of complementary cultures

Thu, 22 Jan 2009 02:44:49 GMT

From the role of government to attitudes toward foreign investment and the nature of entrepreneurship, China and India differ in fundamental ways. Yet the future of these two cultures rests on a shared optimism of people on the streets, an outlook grounded in the belief that it is possible for individuals to work their way up the economic ladder—a notion that is expanding in China and India just as it is being challenged in the United States. The result is rapidly increasing cross-border trade and a growing trust built on familiarity that is reshaping their future—and the rest of the world’s.

been the upperside of down been the inside of out

Sun, 18 Jan 2009 18:26:21 GMT

its a thrill to see your imagination
just watching you is an education
what’s in your mind is my fascination
it blows my mind it sets my heart to racing

You’re my Sunday, Make my Monday come alive,
Just like Tuesday you’re a new day, wakes me up, Wednesday’s raining, Thursday’s yearning, Friday nights, Then it all ends at the weekend, you’re my star

gilroy repmium shopping outlets

Sat, 13 Dec 2008 08:01:11 GMT

its a solid packed week. The weather was good,
full of company visits in Silicon Valley,
met Doug Engelbart at Stanford U, the man who came up with interactive tools
like the first mouse, hypertext, etc.Some other company visits include HP, Youtube, Benchmark Capital, Ideo.
The culture here at SV is amazing, and just the environment for start-ups.
Imagine doing a start-up of your own in SV.Thts my dream :)

Alright,break for the weekend,
its shopping at Gilroy premium outlets.sweet.

Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk

Tue, 09 Dec 2008 12:10:31 GMT

Santa Cruz Main Beach describes this Santa Cruz County beach
aptly as the primary or main beach located in the heart of Santa Cruz.
Along the seaside, hungry seagulls at the wharf seeked scraps of food.
The sky was azure blue.
Santa Cruz Main Beach is the most popular beach family
vacations in the San Francisco Bay area. California’s oldest
amusement beach theme park (100 years old in 2007) is also located at Main Beach.
Though in winter, the sun was gleaming in the awesome blue sky,
while youngsters sailed and played volley ball in the cold. brrr

stanford university

Tue, 09 Dec 2008 11:54:28 GMT

Day one at Sillicon Valley,
and visited Apple (i call it a lifestyle cult), Voyage Medicine today.
Research has shown that customers tend to buy more when staying longer in the Ipod store, and it was true.

Met Prof Tom Kosnik who brought us arnd Stanford.
Stanford u campus was awsome with rich heritage.
Checked out Psyc department, and saw many published researches,
with its famous prison experiment during the Vietnam War.
The University, because of its close location to Silicon Valley, offers strong programs in business management, medicine, and engineering; many Stanford alumni have founded companies associated with technology, such as HP, Sun Microsystems, Yahoo, and Google.

Stanford Memorial Church stands at the center of the campus, and is the University's architectural crown jewel. It was one of the earliest, and is still among the most prominent, interdenominational churches in the West. The Stanfords, who were religious, but not committed to any denomination, decreed that the church was also to be non-denominational. Adopting such a philosophy, they felt, would permit the church to serve the broadest spiritual needs of the university community.

going bk there for "Mother of demos" tml.
In a historic demonstration 40 years ago, researchers from the Stanford Research Institute revealed the future of interactive computing. In 90 minutes of high-end show and tell, Douglas Engelbart and his team introduced the computer mouse, hypertext links, multiple windows, shared-screen collaboration involving remote sites and dynamic file linking. The audience gave them a standing ovation.In celebration of the 40th anniversary of that presentation, SRI is assembling many of the original demo participants for an afternoon of reminiscence and forward-looking discussion.

Oh had my 3rd starbucks cuppa in a chilly winter (6deg). grins.

day one in san frans

Fri, 05 Dec 2008 20:15:42 GMT

the 20 hr ride on NW was torturous,
but caught some gd movies onboard;
mad in love, waitress, little miss sunshine and read
tipping point.
7 hrs mid journey we transited at narita airport,
and bought SAKAE! and the oxygen bars.
the trip has about 6 professional photographers so i am not worried of not having nice pics :) at the custom, the security was tight, and
some of my msia and indo friends were interrogated, and had their luggage dug inside out, tho they are chinese.
after touching down at san frans airport, we took a tram to post street, near union square to our hostel. We are living by the street. can see the street from my window :)
its free and easy today! gona check out the historic cable cars and enjoy San Francisco's best shopping. vic secrets, gaps, h&V here i come!and the weather is darn good too, at abt 16 degrees, and am in my boots. cute!

brrrr

Thu, 23 Oct 2008 18:21:37 GMT

cycled in the rain to spore flyer from office.
the most thrilling one i had,
cos it was friggin cold,
and i practically cldnt see where i was going.
but the rain cleared the crowd at clark quay.
i hope i dont catcha cold tml.
TGIF, its fri and a long weekend.

Tue, 21 Oct 2008 15:54:59 GMT

thank God for the one week of teaching.
getting the students to fall in love with learning
english is a mega challenge.
i love my china students!
absolutely lovely.attitude.
They were the ones who introduced me to K songs
and scream into the microphone.

Went for new balance run with faith and mary
and my healthy lifestyle is back again.
muscles are aching. :(

cant wait for dec to come.

slipping through my fingers-ABBA

Sun, 05 Oct 2008 09:16:26 GMT

i totally love MAMA MIA!!!
The heart of the show-is in Donna's relationship with her daughter Sophie
a touching rendition of "Slipping Through My Fingers,"
as Donna realizes her little girl is all grown up,
is the play's most moving moment.

maybe i m too sentimental, my tears rolled down when i heard that song.
Perhaps on the eve of my wedding,
i will totally understand the essence of this song.
-childhood passes way fast.

overlooking marinabay from my home

Sun, 03 Aug 2008 07:31:35 GMT

oh yes,
pre-ndp preview
overlooking marinabay.
anticipating the fireworks
loads of fun
with the smallies and cousins.

ndp preview at swisshotel!

Sun, 03 Aug 2008 07:23:28 GMT