Wake me up when September ends..

September 1st..

Ahh so August ended.. with a holiday ^^. Well, August always ends with a holiday for me because it's the country's official Independence Day. Many people wondered why I'm having holidays even when I'm studying abroad hahah. The answer is simple - our calendar includes major holidays of both our home country and the campus' resident country. Why? The school itself is founded by a Malaysian institute with the collaboration of a local education foundation. So there you go.

I bought my Ricoh AD-1 ^^

Classic looking huh..it's circa 1979. I'm not a skilled photographer, but I've always wanted an old camera to "play around" or rather, experiment with. Plus, I like films (although digital is really convenient). I actually wanted a polaroid, which is harder to find, but I managed to get this model at quite a cheap price. It's still working well, can't wait to try it out.

Yes, I had a good rest today. In fact I slept few hours more than I usually do. If I didn't have backache from lying down so long, I would have probably stayed in bed because it was cold.

There's another IA at the end of the month. Yeah, wake me up when the month ends huhu.

I'll write again when I remember. Signing off.

Catching up..

I decided to stay home this morning because of some minor bowel problem (><) heh.. It's better now but it's too late to catch the bus for field posting. I'll be attending the afternoon class though.

My mom wouldn't like to hear this kind of thing, "If you don't take care of yourself well, you're going to miss out on a lot of things!" is what she tells me sometimes. Although mom is the worrier-type, I think she's handling better nowadays :) It must be the fresh air hehe. Personally, I'm not the type who likes to be late or miss important lessons/appointments because of my own incompetency - my failure to manage time or control my mental and emotional health (in other words managing stress), or failure to avoid something which is preventable (such as getting sick due to lack of sleep or not eating right). Rather than blaming so many factors, I usually tend to blame myself for lack of performance or for not being strong enough because from my point of view, everyone struggles in life and compared to so many others, I'm in a much better situation. That's why people who keep giving excuses or talk about their minor hardships everyday don't really appeal to me, because that's exactly the kind of person I don't wish to become.

However, blaming oneself too much is not a good thing. It was said that too much or too less of something is not good - everything has limitations. In my case, my relationship with other people is affected. I take relationships e.g. friendship seriously. When things go wrong, turn sour or the mood becomes a bit awkward, I have the tendency to feel responsible - although I may have done nothing wrong. This is tiring. But I was taught that if we entertain our personal troubles or thoughts too much we won't get anywhere in life - we won't be able to move on. So I tried my best to put unhappy experiences behind but there are times I feel uncomfortable too.

Many people say I talk a lot - and that's all they know about me. These people noticed when I'm noisy but what they don't notice is that I have quiet moments just like others too; and that might be because they're in their own world as well ^^ I agree that I have strong opinions about things though haha, maybe due to the way I was brought up and education I received in school (I used to join debates ;p). I'm a little bit apprehensive in trusting people. I make friends but I'm only close with a few, and my innermost thoughts, difficulties and worries are usually shared only with my parents, Lou or on some rare occasions with people I'm close or comfortable with. Most of the time they are kept to myself, which I try to bring to prayer. There are times I break down. It's not like I'm a perfect being, I am only human after all.

Ahh, now where am I going? This is turning into serious talk. Am I trying to be philosophical?Haha.. Anyway, there's one good thing about missing the bus today. I get to catch up with some of my reading. There's just too many subjects to read about and I have short term memory (excuses, excuses hehe). I need to read more but I always feel tired and sleepy at the end of the day. Have to find solutions for that! ^^ Break finished! Back to book mode.

August Rush

I thought of leaving a quick post today (but it seems like it has to be one of those long updates again) ^^ since i haven't been able to get online much lately.

There are 3 main reasons for that:

1. Internet line is, in short, just problematic! i don't know why, i hope it gets solved soon.

2. Frequent electricity cut-offs. Almost 5-6 times in a day since last week, which is a bit frustrating. Tonight is actually the first night free of blackouts after several days in a row.

3. Hectic schedule ^^

I noticed i haven't uploaded any pics for a very long time. Come to think of it, i don't think i took any pictures lately too. Even my phone's camera is not working - i'll fix it when i go back home (i don't know when will that be T_T)

Anyway, feeling the importance of electricity in this modern world (blackouts are certainly inconvenient for me), i wonder what will happen if the world runs out of the resources (e.g. coal, etc.) needed to produce electricity someday. Then the whole world will come to a halt! Maybe we could work more on solar power and hydroelectric and try to prevent opening of new coal mines? ^^ Meanwhile, what we common people can do, rather than complaining everyday, is to save electricity (and water - here, there's a shortage of that too at times)! Don't waste! huehue.. and give thanks when we have good, stable electricity supplies v^^v

Today's the Indian Independence Day - I was able to participate in a small flag-raising ceremony by the local church members after mass, followed by singing of the national anthem. I just stood at first, feeling a little bit awkward, but a little while later i sensed their pride - how important the event was to them and i felt like i could understand the sentiment ^^ i was honoured to be able to join them.

I seem to be running in a better condition recently. It may be because I've had some good rest, prayer time and some motivations/revelations(?). Thank God. I hope i'll continue to be healthy and not go into a "slump" period any time in the near future. Short conversations with mom and dad, and sometimes with my siblings and my faithful confidante (^^) have also been helpful. Thank you!! I always keep in mind that i have to be strong for myself and for them; and i will be - with God's grace, especially in these present trying conditions for all of us.

I'm blessed since there are people continuously praying for me, even though things may be tough for them too. For these important people - although it may take a long time before we meet again, just remember that you are all in my prayers too.