Merry Christmas!!

Hey all!

How's it going? Christmas is almost here! Yay! No, I don't celebrate Christmas, but there's no reason not to celebrate the spirit of Christmas, aye? Spending time with family, a season for forgiveness, buying presents, basically a public holiday :)

Maybe Esmonde can give a Christmas 101.

Anyhow, my internship takes a back seat this week, which is a good thing. I could use a breather. But it has got me thinking real deep, about my future. I never really gave it much thought; I just assumed I'd know when the time comes. That time is soon, like really soon, I'll be graduating. And then what?

I honestly don't know, but I guess only I can figure that out. Let's move on to something happier! Like surviving 21st December 2012!! For some reason I had the impression that there was going to be some plenary alignment on that day (Must be from some research I did when the movie 2012 came out 2 years ago). But I did a quick google search that morning and realised that nothing's gonna happen! Nothing special or out of the ordinary anyway. Only the Tang Yuan(Winter Solstice) festival, like every other year.

So not much yay! after all. Christmas is tomorrow, and I have good news! I have finished drafting my short story's outline! Yay! Should be typing it out soon! :D

So, Merry Christmas everyone!!

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Just A Lil' Something

There hasn't been much activity here on Ocean's 1/2 lately. I truly apologise for that. I've been going through some really personal issues, couple that with exams and what you get is an idle blog. I had plans of shutting this blog down for good, but it seems so much of a deja vu that I'm questioning my perseverance and if it's not for my own lack of will.

Anyhow, here I am. I realised one thing though. The more I write in my private journal, the less I write in my blog. I guess the amount of time I have for documenting my life is limited. That brings me to another question - How do you strike a balance between documenting your life and living it?

Take for example, a camera. I sometimes find myself busy snapping away, or recording something, usually a very precious moment that in the process of doing so, I have essentially failed to enjoy the present. And all that is left are some pixels to remind me of my foolishness. What do you think? Leave me a comment below :)

Anyhow, I have a little more time on my hands now, so I do have a little something for the blog in the coming weeks. I had this idea of writing a series of short stories, much like a weekly thing, but didn't really had the guts to kickstart the project, till I received 2 tweets. 2 encouraging tweets from what I thought was a non-existent reader base. So, that really got to me and I'm happy to say that I have started. I'm not exactly sure how this will go, but I'm just gonna go with the flow, there isn't really a plan. Haha..

Here's a sneak peak :) I hope you enjoy it!

"Just to be politically correct, I don’t know what love is, or what it feels like, because it’s just such a big word to use, but if I were to give it the wildest shot, this is as close as it gets. It’s better than all my fantasies and imagination put together. This is what I would call love. Well, at least for now."

I haven't even named the short story yet..haha. Perhaps when I've written more material, I'd give it a fair title.

I guess this should suffice in making up for October's Wrap Up which I did not write. Till then, I'll probably post a couple more photos from Penang :)

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Wrap Up: September 2012

Somebody wake Green Day up!!! hahahaha.. September is officially gone today, but I could not have asked for a better month! Ever! Really!

My friends would know by now why. Perhaps if you ask me nicely, or bribe me with ice-cream, I'll tell you privately. Safe to say, that I'm happy as can be! :)

What else? Winning the men's badminton doubles gold medal in the Inter Buddhist Youth Games was also a sweet sweet achievement for me. Especially when all odds are stacked against you. Emerging champion after such a battle is the sweetest victory! Badminton was definitely one of the highlights of this month, joining ever so many games with different folks.

The other major event was the Monash Annual Ball. It was fun to dress up and see all your friends dressed up albeit all the complains about the organisers. Lots of drama going on in the FB page, of which I contributed only one two comments.

Most importantly, I think I grew this month. A lot. Hopefully not physically, but emotionally. I learned a lot of invaluable lessons on connecting with someone, taking initiative, and risking it all. And it was all worth it. See Quote #14.

I got distracted seeing that I can't remember what other notable stuff happened, and I thus searched for a good journal app on mobile and the Web. But no luck so far. Anyhow, till then.

Top 3 posts in September: Titanic., The Hitchhiker's Dilemma, Quote #14
Total Pageviews in August: 1404 << I don't know where all these views came from!

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Wrap Up: August 2012

Wow, what a month it has been! University stuff starts building up momentum and with that comes all the pressure and workload all at once. Anyhow, the results for the MyMonash moments competition was announced. I was so confident of winning one of the top prizes, based on view counts and entertainment value, but sadly, my video "Only in Monash" was only worthy of a consolation prize in the eyes of the judges.



If I said I wasn't disappointed, it would be a downright lie. But this simply goes to show you can never be too sure in a competition, and expectations only kill you that much more. Nevertheless, with the small amount of money I received, I decided to treat all my cast and TRCHQ a sausage mcmuffin breakfast!! That's 20 of them, I think! And it was worth it, just seeing their faces light up at the sight of free food :)

But, the story did not end there. A guy from Monash Abroad (that's the department that deals with exchange students) took a look at all the videos from the competition and decided to task me with producing 2 videos to promote Monash Sunway as an exchange destination! It's very exciting, yet very challenging as well, what with my Final Year Project and everything that's going on. But I said yes anyway, so it's a done deal.

Speaking of videos, there's another one that I recently made for the Canon Legria competition. Check it out here! The winning entry will be judges solely based on votes, so I guess, it's gonna be one hell of a begging session next week. Although I did receive some positive comments, most response was that it's confusing and they couldn't understand the video.. That's because the video is actually much longer than that, but because of the 2 minutes restrictions, I had to do it flashback style, which probably wasn't such a good story telling method for the clips that I shot. Anyhow, we'll see how it goes, and if you're free, why not give my video a vote? Much appreciated!

As for the month of September, I couldn't have asked for a better start than today! Men's Doubles Champion in the Inter-Buddhist Youth Games. It's was one heck of a nail-bitter and an impossible test of mental and physical limitations. I'll probably give more details later when I have the time, but it's safe to say that we played 3 matches, with a total of 8 games. That's 2 rubber sets! But in the end, it was all worth it :)

And it's also safe to say that I'm looking forward to the following weeks of September, expecting very exciting developments! Till then, have a good weekend ahead guys!

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Wrap Up: July 2012

July. Ahh, you're such a funny month! I can't say you've been the most busy or productive month, and yet you're not the most boring either. It's been quite a ride and most of the time a good month.

Let's see. July spells winter break, and yet a break is hardly what I got. Things kinda slowed down after Penang Trip, but as usual the taxi driver routine kicks in right after. And soon, it turned out to be McDonald Friday as the Olympic Cup collection begins.

For the most of the month, time was spent with the family, Dota or otherwise.

The last week of the month marks the beginning of a new semester and I was brought back one day earlier to attend BGF's Counselling Workshop. I actually felt that it inspired me to be a better photographer than a counsellor because of one of the videos showed about Dewitt Jones. He is a National Geographic photographer and his philosophy used to be "When I see it, then I'll believe it". But soon, as he went out each time to capture photographs, he said that his view began to change. It began to challenge everything he was taught from young and his current philosophy now is "When I believe it, I'll see it". Simply put, his concept is to Celebrate What's Right in The World and when he goes out believing he'll get a great shot, he usually does.

Anyhow, here I am back in university; in my final year. Can you believe that?! I can still remember clearly the day I took a great gamble going away from Form 6 to enrol in Sunway University. And the many times that I doubted myself. The many times I said I would change course if I failed anyone one of the subjects. And yet, fate, or karma has never allowed me to do just that. So here I am! I believe I have changed for the better, relearning skills I used to have and having better understanding at that. Maybe I'll talk about this more in another post.

Well, this sem promises to be uber interesting, what with the start of our Final Year Project. All the drama that has already unfolded right in the allocation process. The Inter-Buddhist Youth Games, and all the usual happenings around uni! Till next time, ciao!

Top 3 posts in July: Titanic., Review: The Dark Knight Rises, The Penang Post Part I
Total pageviews in July: 495

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Wrap Up: June 2012

.....aaaand it's June already. totally should have use cheesetal's technique of scheduling posts. Now I'll have to recollect from the start. Couldn't find much in Project 365 Grateful. I think it's as good as abandoned?

But June's pretty straightforward for me. For the most of June, it's exam period, so study like mad cows day in day out. But also in June, I made yet another video just cause I can cause I can't stand the thought of some vlogger winning the Nokia Lumia 900 when I didn't even try a tiny weeny bit. So I came up with an idea that uses the least amount of resources, yet still funny, I hope. See it here. Yet nope, I didn't win, but at least those who did were good videos, so I'm not to unhappy.

Right after my exams ended, it was Penang, Penang, Penang. <-- *This could be the title of my unwritten Penang post! :O* So yeah, expect more of that next week as this weekend, I'm strengthening my leg muscles and growing thicker face skins trying to sell Celcom Broadband in PC Fair.

And before I sign off, I did watch a lot of movies + London the Summer Musical. Click on them to see  a little review and what I think of them.

That's it for my June! Gotta get to work now. Ciao.

Top 3 posts in June: Cause I don't wanna die!, What Have I Done?!!, Preview: Penang!
Total page views in June: 339

P.S. My video entry for the MyMonash Moments contest has been uploaded here.

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Wrap Up: May 2012

It felt like only yesterday I wrote the warp up for April. Ok, so I was late for April. Not gonna let that be a habit, so here I am writing this little post up for your viewing pleasures.

Started with a bang - the Ajahn Brahm Public Seminar and also the Selangor State Wesak Celebration MC gig. Read about it here.

Most prominent project in May? For any other Engineering student in my batch, they would probably say TRC3000! Well, that and the MyMonash Moments short film competition! The video has been completed and was submitted just this afternoon, but I'm not sure if I can publish it just yet. It is a competition after all.

But throughout the writing and filming and editing of the video, I have learnt SO MUCH! I met so many people, or rather so many sides of the people I thought I knew, people I pass by in the corridor but never really talk to. It's just such an amazing experience. Which reminds me that next time I start a project, I should probably write a day-to-day journal on the project since I have kinda short term memory for new things.

But luckily, there was Project 365 Grateful as an incentive to write down what little I'd like to share with the blogosphere.What I'll say is this: It's not easy casting people, but most everyone I asked sportingly agreed to help out :) And for the part of the friend whom I pass by in the corridor but never really talk to, here's a snippet I wrote about him:

"Grateful to finally found a friend who has and who is willing to lend me his DSLR so I could record my video tomorrow. I know I've not been the best of friends with him, and yet, the fact that he so willingly lent me his RM3k++ camera without a second thought just blows me away! Even friends that I know weren't quite as willing. So from now on, I pledge to try my very best to be a better friend, to not judge and to open up my heart and give everyone a chance. Grateful to find such a beautiful soul =) Thank you for showing me that."

I asked many people, most don't have the kind of camera I need, others not so willing to trust me with their gear, and when I almost almost hit a brick wall, I decided, you know what, let's just ask. And he immediately agreed! No second thought. I.am.blown.away! And not just one day, but I extended a bit and then borrowed again for the second part of the shooting. Couldn't have done it without him!

Another side project of mine was helping my ESC course mate do a voice-over for their presentation (Sakyamuni Dharma Centre). It's yet another new experience and yes, again I'm very happy to be able to help! I'm trying to get the slideshow so I can post it up here. Look out for it!

Also, May marks the end of the semester. All that is standing between me and freedom are four bloody   paper. Wish me luck!

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Wrap Up: April 2012

April. *sigh* then *smile*. What a month it has been! As you no doubt have noticed, it's already May as I'm writing this wrap up thanks to my super busy schedule. Not to mention also that I've failed to update Project 365 Grateful as frequently as I would have liked.

It's not that I chose to be (maybe I did, but for good reason too), but things just seem to move very quickly during the sem. One thing after another, and another, and another. But I'm still glad I did what I did and didn't do what I chose not to.

Early in April, I was pleasantly surprised when I stumbled upon old blogs, some dead, some revived. I still remember how nostalgic it made me feel. Of what I could have becomed and who I am now aka The Road Not Taken.

Another eye-opening event in April happened on the 12th with my joining the TaraBuddy group to a Spastic House. All along, I have blissfully ignored/overlooked this group of people till that day. I presumed that they were unfortunate and that I sympathised with them. I just didn't know how much till today. This is what I wrote in Project 365 Grateful:

"Spastic House visit in the morning! First off, grateful that I'm actually awake! Let me detail the visit here in brief. Assembled at Lagoon View with all the Indonesian friends and off we went. We were divided into various classroom. I was in the music/morning exercise room, where we helped the parents of the spastic children exercise to nursery rhymes. This is because for some, their bones are heavier and their muscles have difficulty of some sort (I'm not really sure). But basically, most of them are angled towards one side, not by choice, and we have to exercise the other side by bending their limbs for them. And it's painful on the patient! But they're not the only one suffering. The parents actually get tired very easily because spastic children are very strong. They resist the exercise. For me, I was working with Aisyah and her Mom. She was the happiest of everyone I've seen there! She's always smiling and the moment we walked in, her mouth was already wide open with a big grin! Her condition was quite severe (can't walk, can't eat, can't speak, can't control her movements). But I went up to her anyway, cause they needed someone strong large to keep up with her. Le me got sucked in. But I'm grateful and very happy to attend to her :) We then proceeded for a break, where some of them ate, some of them played. Aisyah couldn't eat solid food, only crushed bread and milk. That also, she will regurgitate back out because she can't control her tracts. I really respect her Mom. I'm gonna repeat. I really respect her Mom and all parents with spastic children. Their love made everything possible. Just think about it. No parents go through pregnancy expecting a spastic child! Hell, no! You don't get a choice! But when you do realise that your child is spastic, it would appear that your whole world is crashing down upon you. What was supposed to be a wonderful childbirth suddenly becomes your death sentence of sorts. But these parents stuck with their child. Aisyah's Mom told me this: "We have to wake up early around 4/5am. Bathing her takes an hour. Brushing her teeth takes 10 mins. Even feeding her takes 20. Then you'll have to take her to the spastic centre. Exercise with her. Etc. etc." This already takes up half a day minimum! And we're talking about working adults here, not housewifes or anything! Can you imagine that?! I..I am really moved by their patience, dedication and love for their children. 'Nuff said. Besides the kids, I myself have learnt a lot! First, to make new friends amid the language barrier. I'm a bit sesated among the Indons, you see. Then it was dealing with the spastic kids itself. It hit me really hard as I never really paid attention to this group of people. I did a lot of soul searching and zoning out and realised that I have to be grateful for everything I take for granted. My parents, my family, my body, my friends. Thank you Tarabuddy for this meaningful trip!"

Another life changing or rather brave moment came in the form of a competition! It was held in conjunction with the My Generasi video by JinnyboyTV. I have always wanted to shoot videos, but perfectionism and procrastination were two very effective bouncers. This time, I knew what I wanted, I knew what I had to do, and I did it without a second thought. No doubt the video is not the best it can be, proven by the fact that I didn't win that darn Galaxy Note, but I'm still proud of my decision and of what I did. All the time and effort sacrificed (Edited till 5 in the morning!)were well worth it :) Watch it here.

Then came the finals of the Effective Speaking Course! Of which I did some really last minute adjustments to further dramatise my performance after watching all the awesome performances from my fellow friends. I did  emerge champion, but I had already won when I decided to give my all. Still, thank you for the recognition :)

The champion title does comes with its perks, if you would call it that. I was made emcee for 2 events. The first being Ajahn Brahm's Dhamma Talk at BGF on the 28th and the second being the Selangor State Wesak Celebration at Shah Alam on the 1st of May. It's something I enjoy doing, some times, but it does require sacrifices of time and energy.

30th April and 1st May was dedicated to Ajahn Brahm's Public Seminar(yet another delayed post!), which explains why I didn't manage to type this out earlier in the month of April.

I foresee the month of May to take a slower run in the extra-curricular side while the academic side should be full steam ahead! I do have some posts lined up stored in my phone, cameras and whatnots. Cheers!

Top 3 posts in April : Rosemary Lemon Chicken Baked with Cheese, Titanic., Draw Something
Total page views in April: 759

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Wrap Up: March 2012

I have been neglecting Project 365 Grateful this month. A lot. But that does not mean I'm any less grateful, just less disciplined. But in the end, I'm realised, it's not about updating it every single day. But updating when I really feel grateful. I think it's much more meaningful that way, else I'll just be updating random stuff.

Anyhow, let's get down to business. In the blink of an eye, the 3rd month of 2012 is ending. It seems only yesterday that we celebrated the New Year and the Chinese New Year.

Nevertheless, March have been one heck of a month for me. The effective Speaker's Course was definitely the highlight of my Saturdays - what with being honoured with Best Impromptu Speaker and Best Speaker Award. Not to mention also all the skills and techniques I've learned somehow made me more confident of what I'm saying. Met a great bunch of friends as well, young and old.

March has also been a very trying month. What with 2 car breakdown problems early in the month and spending a bomb on repairing it. But oh well, at least I made the acquaintance of two mechanics along the way!

This month also, I discovered the beauty of Bukit Jalil Park. Beautiful park, lots of activities buzzing, lots of undiscovered routes, and lots of things to see, watch and observe in the park.

Buddhism has also been in the spotlight this month. Organised a talk show session inspired from YDC 20 for the Monash folks, with Reuben, Yvonne, Pei Hao and Ms. Ng as the panel of speakers. The Ajahn Brahm public seminar is also making some progress.

Speaking of clubs, I am finally retired from Music Club which has been a part of my uni life pretty much since my first sem here. It's been a great ride thus far, but I'm also glad I will be able to take a break from organising and be a participant for now. The new committee members do look promising! I have high hopes for them :)

One of the highlights for this month is definitely joining Tarabuddy's session in Sunway Pyramid. I'll just quote from Project 365 Grateful:

24.3.12Grateful to be able to join TaraBuddy's session today; doing random stuff to share happiness in Pyramid - giving sweets and breakfast to strangers, free hugs, singing Happy Birthday song to a stranger, and singing Just the Way You Are to the folks at WWF's Earth Day booth! Oh, and a whole lot of candies in between. Also grateful to meet so many new Indonesian friends on the way.

Last but not least, education has been a huge part of March, not just for me, but also for family and friends who come to me for advice after SPM. I mean, who am I to give advice, really? But I do what I can and be as honest as possible with what I think. Maybe it helps them decide as a whole, who knows?

Updated: Top 3 posts in march: Quote #12, Sun Down, Problem?

April, you're up. And yes, I do have high hopes for you :) Big month, big month. Especially when I've been feeling so lucky THIS month itself :)

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Wrap Up: February '12

It's that time of the month again, where I'm sitting here, wondering how have I spent yet another month of my life!

I'm happy to say that I'm happy with how I fared in February. :)
Let's see, there were a lot of catch-ups - going back to high school, reunions, badminton sessions, etc. Friends you only see once a year, I'm happy to make time for. Not to mention my best friend came back from Germany! Happiness. What with the usual hanging out, Ramly burger, we even went to Klang with another best friend. Good times, good times. It's unlike any other experience you can buy, to be honest. And traveling all the way from Melaka to Subang with Nadeje's cake for a friend who's leaving for NZ :)

Also, this month, I got to witness the Wangkang Procession, a grand procession that's supposed to get rid of evil spirits in Melaka Town, not to mention the towering firecracker that came with it and too many fireworks.

Next, I entered Nuffnang's contest for a shot at LG Optimus 3D! Check it out - http://oceanshalf.blogspot.com/2012/02/what-would-my-3d-world-be-with-lg.html

February is also known as the month of love. Still no luck in the romantic department, but I'm very grateful that the friendship department is overflowing with it :)

With the urgency of uni starting soon, I rediscovered the joys of morning and evening walks in a nearby park which inspired the last 2 posts - The Monitor Lizard and The Lotus Flower Part I and Part II.

Also, I'm committing 8 weeks to BGF's Effective Speaker's Course. The honeymoon phase is also officially over with the start of Uni.

Last but not least, we lost a dear voice unlike any other - Whitney Houston. May you rest in peace and find solace wherever you are.

Well, I'd say it was one heck of a month! How was yours?

P.S. It's a leap yearrrr! One in every four years or so (not so simple calculations actually). One extra day to let me draft out this wrap up :)

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Wrap Up: January '12

I don't usually like to do wrap ups, but this year, I shall try to do a monthly review. They serve 2 purposes: to remind me of how far I've come, what I've done and also hopefully inspires me to do better every month onwards.

January of 2012 seemed like a blur of events rushing through one after the other albeit the fact that I'm still on my summer break! Right after ushering in the New Year, we ushered in the Chinese New Year. In between was all the non-finishing spring cleaning, shopping and CNY planning.

I had this post entitled CNY doesn't make you a Superman for some time, but I guess all I wanted to say was,  CNY is far from a relaxing holiday, what with all the midnight and early morning temple visits, catering food, sending gifts over, reunion dinner, cleaning, decorating, packing red packets, painting (I painted a section f the wall all by myself! so proud :D ), rituals, meeting up with relatives you only get to meet once a year, etc. trying so hard to just make everything perfect.

And when CNY first day arrives, everyone is just too tired to be in a celebratory mood somehow. I've noticed a lack of activity on the morning of the first day year after year. I somehow wish we had more energy to enjoy and reap what we sowed the past week of hard labour cleaning the house. This is turning out to be a CNY post..LOL

Anyways, beside the New Years, I've been busy organising the house. I like to create systems that is practical, especially if it is used like every other day. Feels really rewarding. Right now, I'm sorting all our family photos, backing them up, and trying to come up with an easy to input-organise-find system for everyone in the house to use.

I've also been working on my past travel journals. Way overdue writings, but thankfully there's pictures to guide me! There's 3 photobook vouchers I've yet to utilise and they expire SOON! And oh! We went on a super spontaneous family trip when one of my uncles came over to bai nian. We were talking and suddenly, the topic of holidays came into spotlight. 3 hours later, we were on a road trip to Fraser's Hill! I think this just breaks the record for shortest holiday planning ever! That reminds me, Fraser's Hill's a totally different story, maybe I'll post up some pictures (hint: very English setting! me likey)

Overall, this month has seen a good catching up with family, relatives, high school friends, high school teachers and very interesting conversations and struck a chord deep down within me, and as always, with the most unlikely people in the most unlikely settings. I'm happy nonetheless. Although it has been quite a journey, I look forward to and dread February at the same time. Best friend's coming back from Deutschland, but it's also time to get back to uni! I shall enjoy the holidays while it lasts! Adios~

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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!

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