Sanctuary

About time

mindfulsoul — Tue, 06 Oct 2009 23:33:50 +0000

I finally got my internet up and running today, many thanks to Nicole for her help. =D Its about time really haha. Its been three weeks since I used the internet at home, comfortably. My life and general daily routine has been quite different from what I’ve experienced last year and to be honest, I really like it this way now. Because I’m living off campus, I have to walk to campus everytime I have a seminar or lecture and it takes me around 20 mins to complete that 2km walk so its 4km both ways a day. Its good to know I walk at least 4km a day, wow thats some exercise lol.

Last year, I live on campus and many daily essentials are just a few steps away, and I do not need to walk around so much and spend most of my time on campus, seeing the usual stuffs besides some excursion into the city on some weekends or some event or gathering.

This time however, I do alot of walking, and living outside means that I’m surrounded by many different types of people, being part of a neighbourhood and I feel that I can finally have a feeling of what living in this country really feels like, unlike student accomodation on campus where you get that ‘student’ feeling everywhere you go. I get to notice those little things and details and it generally made my life a better one. Although there are some added burdens of living off campus, I do not regret it one bit and actually am enjoying it.

Last friday was my 21st birthday and thanks to all my friends for all the things they done for me. All those messages on facebook made me miss those good old times we had together and thanks to my lovely housemates for that wonderful suprise haha. On sunday we had a house party and it went well, plenty of laughter and fun, in fact it was better than what I was expecting. All the guest seem to have nice words for our house and they really loved it. We are indeed living in a really nice house.

The school seem to be a little bit more serious about things this term and lectures and seminars seem to be more serious. I have to work hard this year as this is my final year. There seem to be alot of things for me to do too.

Unpredictable as it is

mindfulsoul — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 15:35:21 +0000

Finally I’m back at UEA for my third year of studies. Its been a strange summer for me, nothing really big happening but at the same time many small things and experiences that I believe have made me a very different person from a year ago. So much can change in a year, people change, circumstances change and your life’s direction and purpose can change too. So we should never give up as things can always become better. Like one saying from Boa that goes something like, only in the darkness that we can see the light.

Life is just full of surprises. The first day I came back, I met with Thomas at the main bus stop and the next day, i decided to walk further and take the bus from another bus stop, and guess what he was on the same bus too! What are the chances. I also saw this girl, she was quite stand-out, and she looks quite unique in a way. i saw her while paying for groceries at the counter at morrisons. 2 days later while walking on the street, I saw her again. haha. She look at me, I look at her, I look away, she look away, I look at her again, she look at me again, we walk past each other.

The house I’m staying in now is great. Its a really nice one located in a really nice neighbourhood as well. Its quiet and really peaceful. Everything is coming together slowly and staying with your close friends and being around nice people is just great. However one downside is that we are having problems with the internet. I might be going for mobile broadband from 3.

Hope all goes well for the year ahead and wish all my buddies a good one!

Few more days..

mindfulsoul — Tue, 08 Sep 2009 16:15:01 +0000

3 more days till my departure on Saturday from the hot,wet and humid home I call Malaysia to the cold place called England. One thing I’ll miss is the culture and the food here. Well, my holiday is almost up and its back to the UK where another phase of my life begins. Right now I am eager to go back and start it all again, the daily routine, going to class and hanging out with my mates after such a long break. Time to look forward and work hard!

Cycle of friends

mindfulsoul — Mon, 31 Aug 2009 17:28:10 +0000

I used to think that I’m a good-with-anybody kind of person. You know, those people who are nice and get along well with anyone and everyone they meet. My recent experience thought me that well, there are certain types of people i can’t stand. Some people just gets on my nerves, their attitude and way of life is just annoying and having to put up with them for a few days gets to my limits. Don’t judge a book by its cover. People may seem decent when you talk to them on the phone, or in short meetings, or through the web. However, sometimes their true side can only be revealed when you spend much more time together so never quickly jump into conclusions.

I used to have a very close bunch of friends. We hang around, share problems and do lots of stuff together. We laugh, cry, and work together. I thought that our friendship will last forever, that our bond will not be broken even though we are separated by distance and circumstances. It seems that I might be wrong. People seem more and more distant, they cross paths with each other more than I do with them, I’m always the last to be updated or sometimes never updated. People whom I used to be comfortable with, whom I confided and share many experiences with now seem cold and alienated.

Maybe its just fate. As we move on in life, we will meet many new people, some whom we will forget and leave behind, some whom we make long lasting friendships and some whom will be our lifetime friends.

Inspired

mindfulsoul — Sat, 15 Aug 2009 09:43:21 +0000

Not yet. Don’t want to wake up yet. White warm sun rays shine through the opening in the curtain onto my face. I could feel the cool morning breeze blowing onto my skin. What a nice feeling. How nice to have a home facing the sea. Today my two cousins will fly back to the States, continuing their studies over there. Next time I see them will be probably two years on or even longer. Its pretty windy now, actually its super windy! Heavy rain coming.

Paula Taylor proved that you can be successful and be nice and kind at the same time. I first noticed her in The Amazing Raze Asia 2 racing along side her best friend Natasha. Besides being beautiful, she is also such a cheerful and kind person. One thing I picked up while watching her interviews was that she is a person that doesn’t like to stay in her comfort zone and is constantly seeking challenges. She loves to challenge herself to new things, to start from scratch and face tough hurdles.

I want to be like her and have the courage and confidence to leave my comfort zone and challenge myself to new things and experiences.

Heart and mind

mindfulsoul — Sun, 09 Aug 2009 08:44:46 +0000

Heart or Mind

Emotions or Logical thinking

Irrational or Rational

Sometimes it’s just so difficult. Follow what your heart says, follow what you believe or listen to your rational and logical mind.The mind analyses, and makes rational decisions, taking no risk and avoiding any hurt. The heart makes you believe, having faith, makes you want things that may seem far reaching which may hurt you. Matters of the heart may change from time to time but matters of your mind won’t change unless you change it.

Some say, life is about taking risks and making mistakes. You do that by following your heart.

Some say, a heart’s will is stronger than that of the mind. When you want to achieve something. if your heart says no, you will never succeed.

Even though you made a decision to let go and move on, sometimes you get those small strong emotions coming back making you miss and think about her. Your heart can be broken and takes time to heal. If you believe you can get through this, you can, no doubt there will be obstacles, you just need to keep on going, you just need to get there.

Anger

mindfulsoul — Thu, 06 Aug 2009 14:41:16 +0000

Anger. Why must we get angry? Why must we hate, shout, scold, someone or something? Must we have our revenge? Why must we argue amongst each other? Kind words are not sufficient? Can’t we always talk amicably and discuss things over in a calm and peaceful manner? Why must there be so much hate in this world? There is always talk of hitting back, getting revenge, people getting angry over many small mundane matters and fighting over unresonable issues?

The world will be so much nicer if everyone acts compassionately, be kind and caring. Nobody gains in a fight or arguement, there will be emotional and physical effects, nobody gains from it. It causes more unnecessary suffering in this already tough and unkind world.

Once a friend told me she finds it hard to shout or scold other people, she is that nice a person. ‘ Scold and argue also no use, everyone sad and angry as a result. Nobody gains. ‘ Her own words. We should let out our opinions in a more calm manner.

Dark streets

mindfulsoul — Tue, 04 Aug 2009 14:12:47 +0000

I just looked out of my balcony towards the road infont and I was startled by the darkness infront of me. In the distance small specks of light coming from the few windows from the little shophouses and tall apartments provide some form of illumination. What happened to all the lights on the streets? What happened to the street lights? Good thing cars got lights haha, lucky the traffic lights are working.

Having a bad flu right now, with a little cough. Hope I would recover soon cause I don’t want to be sick when I travel.

Humbling rain

mindfulsoul — Sat, 01 Aug 2009 06:44:03 +0000

In UK, when it rains, it drizzles down for hours and hours, little drops of rain which make using an umbrella a waste of energy and effort, and sometimes (most of the time) the wind is so strong that it can blow your umbrella away, or twisting it upside down if you manage to hold on.

Back in Malaysia, I get to experience tropical rain again, and I tell you I love tropical rain. It just lowers the temperature substantially, making it so much cooler which is great. It does not go on dripping for a whole day, it just comes down in 1 heavy downpour and we can have blue and clear skies again, with a cooler air. =D Sometimes I do feel humble and small when it pours very heavily, makes you wonder about the power of nature.

When it rains heavily, people naturally drive slower and be more careful on the roads, and life slows down just a bit. One of the things I used to do was to just sit down at the balcony and listen to the sound of the rain dropping down on the roof tiles, and the sounds of thunder in the distance together with the sound of water on the road when cars zoom past the wet wet road ( if you know what I mean). I just find peace when I listen to water, I find it very calming and refreshing.

I love water. I love the sea. I love nature.

Ancestor worship

mindfulsoul — Sun, 26 Jul 2009 10:12:44 +0000

Today is the death anniversary of my great-grandfather which in Hokkien I call ‘chor chor’. Every year at this date, my grandma will cook up a feast( literally) to pray. All the food will be placed on a table infront of the altar, and we will all light jossticks and pray, asking our chor chor to come and ‘eat’. This is more a Taoism/old Chinese custom that a ceremony is held on the anniversary of a family member’s death. The belief is that the soul will return and food is offered to the soul. After we all took our turns to pray , we will throw 2 beads on the floor and their arrangements wil show whether the food has been ‘eaten’ or not. If I’m not mistaken, we also burn ‘hell money’ outside.

After the ceremony is over, its time to eat. The whole family will eat together, my cousins, aunts, and uncles. Chinese customs and traditions value family relationships alot in my opinion. Even though the person has passed on, an occasion can be created to bring the family together.

My grandma is really a good cook. Her knowledge in Chinese and traditional food is immense. I really enjoy her food, everytime I come back from Uk I will take with me some advice from her on the various dishes she knows how to cook. Eating popiah later. Haha.

I wonder do ghosts really exists. There is a small part of me that says that they really do exist. Every now and then we listen to stories of ghosts/spirits. Just now Khai Yang told me last night he saw a green green thing coming out of a lamp post! Got hand and body and face some more! Omgosh. I remember last time in St Xavier, I took a picture in the classroom with 2 other friends. There was 4 chairs and 3 of us, and 1 empty chair. When the photo was developed, there was a ‘thing’ on that empty chair, had a face and cloak on. Scary.

Well, don’t disturb them, they don’t disturb you.