a girl who reads

“If you find a girl who reads, keep her close. When you find her up at 2 AM clutching a book to her chest and weeping, make her a cup of tea and hold her. You may lose her for a couple of hours but she will always come back to you. She’ll talk as if the characters in the book are real, because for a while, they always are.Date a girl who reads because you deserve it. You deserve a girl who can give you the most colorful life imaginable. If you can only give her monotony, and stale hours and half-baked proposals, then you’re better off alone. If you want the world and the worlds beyond it, date a girl who reads.” 

 I feel it's such a nice quote. I agree with it... Maybe because I used to read... Maybe because whenever I read I tend to get lost in the book... I talk as though the characters are real. I would have a real meaningful conversations about those characters to my sister, as though they are real people...

I wish I knew who this quote is from, so I can correctly reference this quote. Some people say that it's from Robert Pattinson (actor), some are skeptical about that. Well, google couldn't tell me who actually said it... so... there you go... a beautiful quote, by somebody unknown...

It's done!!!

I can't believe I did it!

Can't believe it's over!

Yes... I'm still having withdrawals... Can't sleep before 2am, and can't sleep in after 8am... 

*crazystupidbrain*

5 days until thesis is due...

... and I found out I need to do a whole new set of analyses... Did I mentioned that means re-coding data as well?

It's gonna take a miracle for me to get this up and running and done in time for 4pm 10th October...

Thesis pain

I should have started earlier... all my regrets start out the same way... -.-" and I never learn, do I?

Be Alright...

"Across the ocean, across the sea
Startin' to forget the way you look at me now
Over the mountains, across the sky
Need to see your face and need to look un your eyes
Through the storm and, through the clouds
Bumps on the road and upside down now
I know its hard baby, to sleep at night
Don't you worry...
Cause everything's gonna be aright..."

Justin Bieber 

God is good!

Amen!

Bruce Lee

"Do not pray for an easy life, pray for the strength to endure a difficult one." 

Bruce Lee 

Dragon Boating and Dumpling Festival

The Hakka Association organised the Dragon Boat Multicultural Event again this year. I think we had more corporate teams this year (8 in total compared to 5 last year). This year's was also more interesting because they had the Fijians in the festival as well. But as we were racing we didn't get to watch the traditional dances, but we were fortunate enough to race against these big guys! They were all power!

group huddle before racing!

We won the first heat unexpectedly. We had half a boat of newbies who never paddled before! We were just a split second away from the Hakka team who came second! Then the second heat we were up against the Viets among other teams, and they were really good. Their first heat, they beat the second place by a whole boat's length!! We managed to stay with the Viets the whole time but we came in second. We got first again in our final heat which brought us into the finals with the Viets, the Hakka team, and... I actually don't know who the last team were.

 paddling looking good

We raced our hearts out in the finals. We managed to defend our title this year as first runner ups again. Really great team effort! Love the team, you guys rock!

OUR MEDAL

Celebrating Gawai for the 4th time in Brissie Town

This is slightly late, but I was really busy over the weekend with Dragon Boating, which I will blog about later... So, gawai... Gawai is... wiki it!! That's what wikipedia is for! :P Anyway, it is celebrated on the 1st of June, in Sarawak, Malaysia, and so... I decided to have one huge dinner for my friends and I here in Brissie. This is the time when I normally get homesick too, so heaps of good local goodness.

When I think about gawai, I think about open houses, and that leads to cakes and tidbits, and yummy food. One local delicacy that Sarawak is famous for is its Kek Lapis, which literally means, layer cake. Anyway, I decided to make this layer cake for gawai dinner. I found this chocolate cheese layer cake. I must say that for my first ever layer it was pretty good, although I burnt the first two layers... :( BLAME IT ON MASTERCHEF! :P I was watching master chef while baking.

my layer cake! 

This is pretty popular during festivals in Malaysia and Singapore - during Chinese New Year, Hari Raya, and no exception to Gawai as well... I tried looking for the recipe online but it was pretty hard to find. Who knew these were called Honey Joys, and it's apparently Australian/Kiwi! I think I nailed it - everyone loved them!

 my honey joys!

I made the layer cake and the honey joys before Friday (Gawai Day) - because you would normally have them ready before your open house. And so I did. I really enjoyed baking them! Of course there were a couple panic attacks - "LENE! OMG, this doesn't taste like cheese at all!" "This taste like rice!" "Omg, it's not setting!!". Haha... But thankfully they turned out alright and omg, ate so so so much!

Come Gawai Day, the menu was - BBQ chicken & pork, ayam pansuh, belacan eggplant, and belacan spinach, Sarawakian fried rice (Nasi Aruk), and cincalok and ulam. I also made lime juice for the dinner. 

I made everything so I guess it was a little late with starting dinner having to wait for the meat to cook on the barbie, and also for me to finish cooking everything else. I managed to start the fire - yay me! and luckily my friend, Bryan arrive not too long later to get everything going.

 trying to get the coals burning

yummy pork and chicken being BBQed..

at last everything on the table!

Everything went well, although the night ended pretty early, and ended untypically gawai-ish... meaning that no one was drunk..haha! I take it as a good thing though... not fun nursing hangovers so near to exams. Next time I think I should attempt making tempoyak... :D

emo nemo wanna go home...

it's that time of the year again... when nothing else matters, except this intense feeling of wanting to go back to the homeland... you think it gets easier after leaving home for so long, but I find this pattern come June/July etc this homesickness gets intense and it'll escalate... I wanna go home...

What will be the story of my life...

You're still young they say...

Follow your dream they say...

source: Facebook

of quotes that randomly appear...

To accomplish great things, we must not only act

but also dream, not only plan but also believe.

-Anatole France-

Father Noel Hanrahan

I just found out news that my childhood parish priest, Father Noel Hanrahan's cancer has relapse and he may not even make it.

Father Hanrahan is and always will be my favourite priest. He made going to church so enjoyable, and I always looked forward to seeing him. He always had a smile on his face and I always thought I could see God's love and peace radiating from him.

I was sad many many years ago when he left Kuching to go back to him birth land, Ireland. But when he came back, about 5-6 years ago now, he could still remember me as the little girl with her sister always sitting at the front row. I was so happy! Haha, he probably remembered because we were always late for church. >.<

I feel so sad to hear that he is sick and may not even make it. Father Hanrahan, you are such an inspiration and a miracle! Know that you have touched so many people's hearts, and are loved and that we miss you! Whatever God's plan for you is, I'll pray that He will work a miracle for you. Amen.

(source: http://borneopedia.com/2010/10/02/time-to-shepherd-the-flock/)

Living Below the Line

I found out about Live Below the Line from a friend who was doing it. Basically for 5 days from the 7th to the 11th of May, participants would have to live on only AUD2 a day. So that includes budgeting for the 5 days, so we aren't allowed to spend more than AUD10. I was a little late finding out about it, so I started on the second day.

So what is Live Below the Line you ask? Basically, it is a campaign by the Oaktree Foundation to raise awareness of extreme poverty that is going on in the world, and while doing that raise funds to provide educational opportunities in developing countries. For Australia, the funds raise will be to help educational projects in Papua New Guinea.

I'm doing this because I think it is for a good cause. I feel everybody should be given opportunities towards getting an education. It is also an experience to feel what it is like to be really not being able to afford food.

So here I am, putting on my shameless face, I really really need your support! I am trying to raise AUD150 and so far I've managed to raise AUD45. It would be great if you could spare a couple of your loose change to help support this cause. Any donation is greatly appreciated!!

If you would like to make a donation, please go to this link: https://www.livebelowtheline.com/me/shateo and click "donate to me".

Many many thanks in advance!!

Political Issues make me sad

To be honest, I'm not that into politics. But it's hard not to know anything after the Bersih 3.0 rally that happened a couple days ago now. Reading the local (Malaysian) reports about it, they blame the protestors, the oppositions. Saying they are rowdy, dangerous and aggressive. Saying when the opposition lost, they blamed it on rigged votes. Now on the other hand, the international reports about how the Malaysian police has started the whole riot and etc.

If I'm not mistaken, the Bersih 3.0 was supposed to be a peaceful rally to call for a cleaner electoral system. But how did all the violence happened? Apparently the violence started towards the end. If the protestors meant to be violent, why didn't they started earlier? They were camping there since the night before. Maybe it was the police's fault? Maybe it was another group of people who took advantage of the situation.

So whose fault was it? I think it was everyone's fault. The police should've handled the situation better instead of picking a fight. It's really sad to see a group of 5-10 policemen in their uniforms just beating the crap out of a protestor. HELLO?! They are human too! But then again, on the other side, protestors should've just left when things were starting to get dodgy.

But what's done is done. I think we, the rakyat, have to stick together despite what's going on. It saddens me so so much when I talk to fellow countrymen about home. And they're like, "yea, the political system there is bad. It's really very bias back home. Here (overseas) is much better. You are recognised by the effort you put in."

BUT IF YOU ALL ARE LEAVING WHO'S GONNA FIGHT FOR A BETTER TOMORROW IN MALAYSIA?!

Do you think other democratic countries do not have the same problem as Malaysia? Think again! It's just that those countries people stick it out to the government and DEMAND THEIR RIGHTS, and WON'T TOLERATE INJUSTICE! We need to come together as a country and decide what we want!

I must admit though the older generation still thinks about being migrators into the country and that if we go against the government we will get kicked out. But the country should understand that WE ARE ALL BORN IN MALAYSIA. We have every right to be in the country and live as MALAYSIANS. Why should we segregate ourselves into Malays, Chinese, Indians, and the other bumiputras? Can't we all be identified as one? I'm not asking you to abandon your culture and believes. I'm asking us as a country to respect each other and be one.

We are all the same. We are all Malaysians. We all love the same thing. Beaches, good food, a good laugh, a bargain, the EPL and our knack for creating this beautiful rojak language of Manglish. We are Malaysians!

By the way, I'm really not a supporter of government or the opposition parties. I just want my home, my Malaysia, to be a peaceful country, without any oppression, without any racial bias, without any religious issues. I just want it to be fair! I want it to be home...

Tiredness

I'm so tired it doesn't even makes sense! I haven't been doing anything but I just feel tired of everything... Tired of Uni.. Tired of work.. Tired of talking... Tired of people... And sleep doesn't even help! I think I'm angry... But at what? Maybe at the insecurity of life? I'm not even making sense... I just want to go on an intense workout.. Run 5k beat the shit out of a punching bag... Where is this rage coming from?! Then maybe I can sleep again...

Ponderings...

What would you have done different had you know what you knew now about 5 years ago?

I know people say I'm still young... And that it's still ok...

But no one told me it was this hard... No one told me what I had to do to make it easier...

But is it their fault for my ignorance or is it mine?

I guess they say look into the future and the rest is history... But what if history affects the future? What then?

When life throw you lemons...

... make lemonade...

>.<

Time...

It feels like I fell asleep on Monday... And when I woke up.. It's Wednesday...

WTF?

:D

OFFICIALLY FOUND MY WEDDING SONG!!

:D

Now... just need to finish off my degree... get into a postgraduate coursework program... finish that... get registered... work... and then I can finally use this song...

Boo... I hope you can still wait...

>.<

Yes, what I always wondered...

God is good!!

Indeed He is!

when the tough gets going...

I feel like abandoning what I do...

And becoming a dolphin trainer instead...

>.<

What I need!

This was taken at Tweed Heads, Gold Coast

I feel like I need a break!

I should've appreciated my holiday more...

Time.. go slower please!

I can't believe it's already the fourth week of Uni!!!

I am feeling a little panicky!

So many things to do...

So little time!!

Final Year of Undergraduate!!

I can't believe my undergraduate life is ending soon...

precisely in 8 months!!

That means, I need to study for my stats course, seminar on clinical psychology, ethics, an elective... and on top of that...

write a 12000-15000 word Thesis!!!

oh... did I mention run the experiments as well??

O.O

Uni... please don't start soon!!!

2012

So far... 2012 has been a great start!

I got into the mental hospital in Kuching to do some volunteering work to gain some experience... and also since I came back to Brissie, life has been... busy! not with work.. but with my social life... which i think it's really good... 'coz I didn't have much time back home for holidays.

A friend's brother was here during my first week and into my second week here. So we just chilled around doing touristy stuff... and on the second week, a friend from Germany contacted me 'coz she was coming to Brisbane. That was such a surprise and so that ended my second week with a bang! My sister came back on the third week and that was orientation week... and now guess what? Uni's starting up next week!

I must say tho, I ended my holidays awesomely! Was a part of the World's Largest Toga party I must say, despite the rain!! But I would say the rain made it even more awesome!!! :D We (Brisbane) broke the Guiness Book of Records for hosting the world's largest toga party... We were sooooo excitedddd!! I'm still a little high with excitement here!!

But that doesn't change the fact that uni is starting off next week... My final year... My honours year... Full pressure mode on starting on Monday... at least I've still got the weekend to chill out!