PickMyBrain

New post every Saturday!

Origins

This page tells about the origins of Ocean's 1/2. In conventional terms, it would have been the About page. Take a look.

Project 365 Grateful

This a project inspired by a friend to help myself have a brighter outlook on life and appreciate what I already have. Read all about it here!

Contact

Now if you ever have any private/personal questions or are just to shy to leave your name, contact me personally! I'll reply ASAP :)

Disclaimer

No one likes to sue or be sued. Though that is highly unlikely in this tiny blog of mine, I still like to say a few words here.


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Friday, 30 December 2011

2011

I haven't been blogging much, no. Although I do have quite a few things in mind, which I'll probably procrastinate. But seeing that 2011 is coming to an end, I find it fitting that I at least put up one last post.

As usual I can't really remember what happens month by month, which reminds me...I should do a wrap up after every month just to keep my sanity in check. But I guess, this year has been a great year of awakening.

I realised 2 most important virtue/value/principle that I would like to see in myself: hardworking & initiative.

I think it has been there all along, it's just that I've never come to fully understand nor realise the urgency of procuring these values. And yes, I'm quite proud to say I've worked a lot harder on my studies this last 2 sems. Although results weren't as encouraging as I had hoped, I'm keeping the faith. I'll work harder next sem. And never forgetting the friends who took me by the hand, for who I am, and showed me the light. A bit over dramatic, but seriously, I'm very thankful to all of you - you know who you are.

For the second value, initiative, it took me 5 days in a Buddhist camp to realise this fact and punture my hugely inflated ego:

"I finally realised that taking initiative is not being "lebih". It's taking the first step and putting our ego aside because we care." -Loo Han, 2011-

I suppose all this while, I was too afraid to take initiative lest I was shunned by our lesser civilised society. But some people have taught me a lot, and if everyone's too afraid to make the first move, no one will. So, take heart, I'll be more initiative from now onwards.

For the second half of the year, I would say that my life has been changed forever. All thanks to INCOVAR. It's a spiritual awakening of sorts and a realisation that there's a lot more out there than what I think (again, stupid ego). But really, I have to thank Ms. Ng for pushing me to go for a camp I otherwise would have skipped! Thank you!

Since then, there's no turning back. I've becomed a lot more active in Buddhist activities up and about. And total Buddhist camp count = 3!

Also, I have to say that I feel very blessed and thankful. Especially to my ever understanding family. I haven't been able to spend much time with them. I was supposed to be a homebody this December and yet, my adventurous spirit kept me far from being that. Come January and February I will... hopefully. Fingers crossed!

Oh! And I've rediscovered my passion for adventure,spontaneity and the great outdoors! Ahh, what a feeling to go back to nature. Realising that I actually love scout camps much more than I think!

Last but not least, I have to say I've finally found some peace within myself. A sense of purpose and a bigger understanding of life. I feel as if I've grown so much older, and yet the older I grow, the younger I feel. That is to say, we grow up to become who we once were, with a little more wisdom.

Ahem, anyhow, enough for the serious talk. It's the end of the year, and we're still here! We rejoice, we rejoice, we rejoice!

Friday, 23 December 2011

Lord of The Rings

The Lord of the Rings... Hmmm.. I think no words can do this movie justice, so I'm just glad I had the chance to watch all three of them this past week. And I have to say, what a show!

There's no beating the last few scenes in Return of the King. There's just so much to love and so much to learn. The Hobbits taught me a great deal. Their love for simple wants and needs are very inspiring, and it has left me with a feeling unlike no other.

Faith also plays a big part in this movie. And faith has been a big question mark in my life recently. There's always two sides to a story, so they say. And there's two types of people, those who believe and those who don't.

But good faith comes with wisdom. Wisdom = Gandalf. Enough said.

And all the other races - elves, dwarfs, man, hobbit just shows the diversity of the world. Cause that's how it is. You feel the same within your own kind(family/race) and different with others. But each race has their own pros and cons and we can all learn from each other, live with each other. The ideal is just so beautiful.

I'm going off topic already, so all I want to say is... I can't wait for The Hobbit in 2012!

P.S. J.R.R. Tolkien sure is a genius.

Monday, 19 December 2011

On the First Day of Christmas...


There is one Christmas Carol that has always baffled me.  What in the world do leaping lords, French hens, swimming swans, and especially the partridge who won't come out of the pear tree have to do with Christmas?

 
This week, I found out. 
From 1558 until 1829, Roman Catholics in England were not permitted to practice their faith openly. Someone during that era wrote this carol as a catechism song for young Catholics. It has two levels of meaning: the surface meaning plus a hidden meaning known only to members of their church. Each element in the carol has a code word for a religious reality which the children could remember.

-The partridge in a pear tree was Jesus Christ.
 
-Two turtle doves were the Old and New Testaments. 
-Three French hens stood for faith, hope and love.- 
-The four calling birds were the four gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke & John. 
-The five golden rings recalled the Torah or Law, the first five books of the Old Testament. 
-The six geese a-laying stood for the six days of creation. 
-Seven swans a-swimming represented the sevenfold gifts of the Holy Spirit--Prophesy, Serving, Teaching, Exhortation, Contribution, Leadership, and Mercy. 
-The eight maids a-milking were the eight beatitudes. 
-Nine ladies dancing were the nine fruits of the Holy Spirit--Love, Joy, Peace, Patience, Kindness, Goodness, Faithfulness, Gentleness, and Self Control. 
-The ten lords a-leaping were the ten commandments. 
-The eleven pipers piping stood for the eleven faithful disciples. 
-The twelve drummers drumming symbolized the twelve points of belief in the Apostles' Creed. 
So there is your history for today. This knowledge was shared with me and I found it interesting and enlightening and now I know how that strange song became a Christmas Carol...so pass it on if you wish.' 
Merry Christmas Everyone


Picture taken from here.