Once In A Blue Moon

            Life is like sailing in an ocean full of tides and waves. That’s why we need someone to anchor us when we happen to be sailing aimlessly.

            Sometimes, oblivious to us, the people whom we are always with actually help to mould us to who we are. It is not as simple as peer pressure, but more like your habit/perception starts to seep into each other and become integrates as part of her/his life.

              I think having a support group is so important. Having a group who kinda have the same priority as you - how they look upon studies and play, is so crucial in our uni life. It is them who unconsiously push you to a certain extent in your studies. Because you are surrounded with responsible people who care about their studies, everyone is interested in what is being taught so everyone can help each other in clearing the doubts. Then you all will know where to draw the line and say, ‘hey let’s stop hitting the book and hit our usual chill-out place instead.’

                I know just because you don’t have one doesn’t give the excuse to sorta pour your grouses etc., because ultimately, you should be the one setting your own priorities and making sure that you try to achieve your goal. It is your life that you are going to build on, so if you do not care, why would other people bother?

                I miss mc. I miss the drive in me. I miss the goal-driven, constantly-searching-to-improve oneself me. Where is that me? I am not ‘dead’, not am I having any problem. But I need to be reawaken,= and  rejuvenated…

               If you think you are my anchor, approach me before I wander away to some deserted island….

              As I am sitting in elab 1 typing out this post, prasad & hai liang, yih seong & deborah are busy preparing for the quarterfinals. yes, 2 teams from imu broke in to the quarter-finals!! and hopefully semi-finals and finals later on!

              Having been there, done that for 2 days, I have again requested from my ‘boss’ to skip work to come for the finals of NHSD. I believe that there is much to learn from the adjudicators and the tremendously talented debaors, including our very own IMUians =) Now if you are an imu-ian and you are reading my post now, take note of this:

                The semi-finals will be starting at 2 p.m., release of rooms and disclosure of motion will be done in LT 3. The grand finals will begin at 5.15. p.m. and it will be held in MPH 6. Now if you think debate is where nerdy dudes sit around talking about boring topics like politics and all, you are so wrong. It is about spontaneity, it is about thinking on your feet, it is about structure, it is about how you project your speech to ultimately give this impresstion to people : ‘Wow, that dude makes a lot of sense!!’

                 I didn’t break in and all, but I am happy with myself for giving the best. Debate really built this onto me- to take criticism positively and not take things personally. Indeed, during these 2 days, I made friends with my opponents who were in the same room as my team!Once we left the room, all was good.

                I am really grateful to hai liang and gang for guiding us young debators. The adjudicator Henry (Yes prasad, it is henry. and There is NOTHING going on.) said he liked my manner and all =) Just that I could have set a better case as an opening government (in which I got 2nd ouf of 4 teams), losing to the opening oppositiong because they were attacking my mechanism. And my closing government ‘backstabbed’ me-in the sense they changed our proposal (more like misinterpreted).

              On the good side, my mc friends are back =) the mc guys-minghong and justin really made us girls laughed at The Laundry in The Curve yesterday. I miss mc gang. I miss having a gang whereby the girls and the guys can blend in really well; because right now in uni, I do not have that kinda of bond with my friends. It is either I am close with a certain girl, or I can talk to these 2 guys who are in a gang, but there is NEVER a gang that the guys and girls click really well and I find myself having the same wavelength as them.

               May be people are changing as we grow older. May be we need to lose something in order to not take something for granted. May be some people just want to be more protective and reserved, may be now it takes longer to melt the ice.

              Whatever it is, I never doubt the friendship I have with my help and mc friends. Distance may be there but it never drives us apart. Thanks may ling, for sharing with shin and sandy in my super-belated bday present - a nice pair of earrings which I wore today (which shin said was only ‘appetizer’ of my bday present). hehe.

             Even if we haven’t been in touched with each other for some time, we can pick up where we left from when we meet up again. Phoebe and I were shopping in the curve for her boy friend’s present when we chatted. We both have mutual questions:

‘why is it applicable when it come to friendship, but not relationship?’ ‘why is it we ask so much more in a relationship?’

            To which we answered, ‘may be we love him so much that we really really care (zai 4 yi4) if he doesn’t do certain things to us.’

         After all, who ever says that love is not complicated?

5th National Health Sciences Debate (NHSD)

Venue : IMU Bkt Jalil Campus

Date : 9th – 12th December 2006

Theme : α – ω(Alpha-Omega) Health of the Extreme Ages

* α – ω are the first & the last letter in Greek alphabets Debate

Style : British Parliamentary Style

Motions :

1. This House Believes that (THBT) the government should fund palliative treatment for memory loss.

2. THBT all employees medical coverage plan must include a ‘Successful Aging and Wellness Program’

3. This House would (THW) make pre-school education compulsory

4. THW ban genetic predetermination of babies

5. THW continue prescribing Ritalin for ADHD children

6. THBT babies with genetic defects should be aborted

7. THBT sexual assignment for intersexed infants should be decided at adulthood

8. THW set an age cap for practicing clinicians

9. THW vaccinate our children against cervical cancer

10. THBT geriatric care facilities should be government funded

11. THW legalise euthanasia for the elderly

12. THW provide government funding for cosmetic surgery in the elderly - humour round if picked * A humour round is a debate when debaters should make jokes with sense. The team that comes out with most jokes & the most sense wins the round.

               So the day has come. 10 of us (5 teams) will be having the first preliminary round in 3 hours time. I am perfectly calm now but I may just get nervous when the round starts and the speaker speaks in a loud/(perceived)threatening/bitchy way that gives me the unwanted tachycardia. But I shall remain calm; our goal is all imu debaters will end up as the top 40 speakes and top 40 teams (I think). The potential embarrasement when the scores are shown on the monitor will be hard to bear. (for me, if I end up really bottom. *sob*)

               However, I shall not doubt myself. Ishall not doubt my new partner, Sree. I shall not doubt Prasad and Hai Liang who have put in so much effort in being our mentors. I look up to Hai Liang as the mentor who shows us how to go about debating (because your scores are based on your contributions, if you can rattle off confidently but are out of context etc., you will still lose). Thanks a lot to the whole lot of them!!

              Looking back when I just signed up for IMu with the sole thought of participation for experience and earn points of participation for pharmacy, I have come so far in debate (not as in I have improved a lot, but as in how I now can approach the motion, how I try to be structured in my arguments and all). I never regretted joining debate though my academic results turned out to below my expectation. There ain’t many people out there who are willling to share knowledge and experience with you; but IMu debate club is a big family like what deborah said.

                 From the time we spoke formally till how we now laugh at yih seong’s ‘pseudo flash of brilliance’, prasad and hai liang’s imitation of that-attention-seeking-guy-in-sem-2, to the making fun of deborah’s ‘aishiteru’ to yih seong- we have indeed formed some bonds. I hate to say I have to stop debate next semester due to my academic performance; debate eats brains and I need  my rest and revision time. I hope there will be a point I could come back to the club when I succeed in shifting the equilibrium in my academic performance.

                 Here is to wish ALL the imu teams all the very best; and may at least one teal breaks into the finals. May prasad and hai liang get into top 5 speaker,and may IMU shines in NHSD!!

          On Saturday, my 2 sis and I went to Genting with my godmother. We stayed in Awana- it was really breathtaking and they have a very complete sports centre =) So after the trip, I found that:

1. I finally like California Fish Roe(the roll). I used to not like those rolls because I just do not like the seaweed. Sushi is ok since the sea weed’s taste is negligible. But to indulge in a roll wrapped with the crisp seaweed is not something I enjoyed. All my sisters love them and they will snack on sea weed. However, that day I tried one bite from my 2nd sis and ended up ordering another one myself. *wink* THe mayonnaise taste was just too tempting. My sis offered to finish up the last bit of the roll as it consist mainly of sea weed.

2. I got the hang of ping pong BACK! I do not have the ping pong gene like my sis and I didn’t take to ping pong like how I clicked with badminton (not saying I am good, but it is the ‘click’ when you first played the sports). She was playing ping pong with my godmother’s husband when they asked my 3rd sis and I to join them. We really had a good game. I came to the conclusion that I am indeed a ’shake- hand’ steyle holder as before. I played better on the right side, to add to that.

             On something not so ‘big’. i enjoyed 3 games of bowling there, one game at RM 4.50, MUCH cheaper than the killer mv bowling alley. (don’t knwo abou the one in one u since I ven’t played there before). hehe, if I play more, I am confident that I can improve much more=) I came back with an aching body after walking for such a great distance in genting and playing sports. I was happy that my cousin fixed my virus-plagued com back. I was a bit disappointed that I couldn’t msn yesterday it self coz I still need to connect the broadband guy to fix the IP prob. I spent some time typing debate points which I thought of (didn’t get to suft net so no research done) but was frustrated when I failed to save it in my pendrive or Cd.R. This morning, I woke up early before work to save it in another CD-R. I hope I will be able to retrieve it in uni later.

             I enjoy my work here in pantai, people are friendly and I fully utilize what is around me to absorb the hands-on experience. I was kinda disappointed with my results but I have confidence in myself to be a good pharmacist in future. I have been through so much that I got over it in 5 minutes. I chose to look forward.

          I will not be your first-class honours pharmacist, but I will give my best to give you my first-class professional service and smile. ^_^

Have you ever watched kids

on a merry-go-round?

Or listen to the rain

slapping on the ground?

Ever follow butterfly’s erratic flight?

Or gazed at the sun into the fading night?

You better slow down.

Don’t dance too fast.

Time is short

The music won’t last.

Do you run through each day on the flight?

When you ask ‘How are you?’

Do you hear the reply?

When the day is done

Do you lie in the bed

With the next hundred chores

Running through your head?

You had better slow down

Don’t dance too fast.

Time is short.

The music won’t last.

Ever told your child,

We will do it tomorrow?

and in your haste,

not see his sorrow?

Ever lost touch

let a good friendship die

Cause you never had time

to call and say ‘hi’

You had better slow down

Don’t dance so fast.

Time is short.

The music won’t last.

When you run so fast to get somewhere,

You miss half the fun of getting there.

When you worry and hurry through your day,

It is like an unopened gift…

Thrown away,

Life is not a race,

Do take it slower,

Hear the music,

before the song is over.

This is a poem written by a girl in US with terminal cancer. Willy sent it to my email so I decided to share it with u all. *wink* you all thought I wrote it??? Hehe, let’s see if one day someone out there will inspire me to write a sugary sweet one. Until then, just hang on ya!