Buck up, girl!!!

Yes, I should be saying this to myself.

Only one more month left until the End-of-Semester exams. And yet I am still not really feeling the sense of urgency yet. Well, maybe yes, but I only just caught onto the exam fever this past few days.
For the entire weekend, I didn't do much revision at all. Friday night, I watched American Idol- and slept early because I was too tired ( read: hardly sleeping the night b4 due to PBL). Saturday morning, I went to Cell Group @ Laverne's place ( and went to have Dim Sum after that), Saturday night, I went to the 'Sold Out' concert at ECF church (which was great, btw. I loved the songs they sang, and my favourite parts were when the children went up the stage, and when they showed the video of the Orang Asli). Sunday, went to church as usual and walked to Carrefour in the evening.
Each time I returned home, I would be too tired to do anything else except.....rest and sleep. Omg, I am so disappointed in myself. I currently don't have the motivation to study at all. Everytime I have my notes in front of me, my eyes would feel droopy and I would end up taking a nap or just sleeping the night away. What is wrong with me? :(

Today, I finally felt that yes....it is crunch time for revision. When I walked into the MMS (medical musuem) this morning, and saw a few of my batchmates camping in front of the models with their notes, it finally hit me.....I have to really start studying hard......I mean really hard for the upcoming EOS!!

I have to admit that I am becoming a bit weary. Going to Cell Group and church is becoming almost like a routine- I practically had to drag myself out of bed on Sunday morning to go to church. I felt like I should be spending time at home doing my revision. Is there anything wrong with me? Maybe I need some 'Time Out'. I need time at home to rest and really spend personal time with God, instead of rushing from this place to the next- listening to worship songs and sermons about Him. The sermons I listen to all contain a message which I already know and am familiar to- they no longer have any impact on me. Maybe what I really need is a personal encounter with God myself....a personal experience with Him, which makes Him real and making my journey with Him more refreshing. I don't want to 'Burn out'- a phenomenon we were discussing about in CG today- and making everything lose its actual meaning.

Also, I seem to have this weary and dreary feeling in my heart almost every day lately. It's as if there is a burden in my heart which I cannot point out. t's weird.....I feel totally fine....everything is going on ok in my life right now ( except for my lack of discipline in revision, haha). So I really don't know where this feeling comes from. I, being the person I am- worry about the tiniest stuff- like saying something that would make ppl unhappy with me ( oh yes- that is my main concern!), worry that people are judging me and don't like what they discover about me and so on.

I don't know. Maybe what I really need is just some 'Time Out!'

Tagged!!

This tag is supposed to be from Lynn Xuan- but I got tagged directly from Kelvin. Hah.

LAYER 1: ON THE OUTSIDE.
Name: Noor Ailing (you wanna know my last name, come and ask me personally ; )
Birth Date: 15th September 1983
Current Status: single
Eye Colour: black
Hair Colour: black
Righty or Lefty: a righty

LAYER 2: ON THE INSIDE.
My Heritage : I'm pure Chinese by blood, although my full name doesn't indicate so
My Fears : fear of the unknown, fear of losing a loved one
My Perfect Pizza : Hawaiian chicken supreme!

LAYER 3: YESTERDAY, TODAY, TOMORROW.
My Thoughts First Waking Up : *blank
My Bedtime : very variable- and can stretch right up to 5-6 am
Most Missed Memory: fellowshipping with friends in Cardiff- going to the Japanese restaurant- Ichiban after church on Sunday- walking across the road for cell group on Friday nights

LAYER 4: MY PICK.
Pepsi or Coke: pepsi
McDonald's or Burger King: McDonald's
Single or Group Dates: Single
Adidas or Nike: Adidas, because i have a pair of Adidas sports shoes
Tea or Nestea: nestea
Chocolate or Vanilla: both!! if I have to choose, chocolate
Cappuccino or Coffee: cappuccino!!

LAYER 5: DO YOU...

Smoke: no
Curse: nO.
Take a Shower: yEs.. duh
Have a Crush: no ( serious)
Think You've Been In Love: no
Go To School: go to uni, yes
Want To Get Married: IF I find Mr. Right
Believe In Yourself: no- that's one of my weaknesses
Think You're A Health Freak: no- I'm a junkie :p

LAYER 6: IN THE PAST.
Drank Alcohol: no. tried one sip- yes.
Gone To The Mall : yes
Eaten Sushi: yes!
Dyed Your Hair: no

7.HAVE YOU EVER...

Played A Stripping Game: no!
Changed Who You Were To Fit In: thought of doing so, but failed

LAYER 8: AGE YOU'RE HOPING...

To Be Married: 30+ or never

LAYER 9: IN A GUY...
Best Eye Colour: black
Best Hair Colour: black
Short Hair or Long Hair: short, please!

LAYER 11: WHAT WERE YOU DOING...
A Minute Ago: doing this tag
An Hour Ago: taking a short nap
.4.5 Hours Ago: in uni, having PBL and lectures
1 Month Ago: studying medicine
1 Year Ago: studying Neuroscience in Cardiff

LAYER 12: FINISH THE SENTENCES..
.I love : God, my mum, my housemates, my friends
...I hate: male chauvenists, arrogant people
I hide: myself in my room when I need some private time
miss: friends in Cardiff

Ok....I wouldn't tag anyone specifically......anyone who feels like doing it is welcome to :)

A dedication to........

Miss Rachel Teng Li Cin, who turns 20 today.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, DEAR HOUSEMATE!!!

My mother tongue is English, yours is Mandarin.

I am a (self-proclaimed) spoilt only child, you are the eldest of 4 siblings who cares so much about your younger sisters and brother

Your father is your hero, mine is my mother.

You love doing housework and don't mind being a housewife one day, I could never ever in my life picture being a housewife, doing household chores all day long and serving a man.

You love watching Korean dramas, I do watch them together with you during dinner, but I am not so into them.

I love reality TV, you don't even know what reality TV is about.

You watch 'Superstar' on Saturday and Sunday nights, I watch 'American Idol' on Friday nights.

You listen to Chinese songs, I listen to English songs.

But, despite of our differences, we do have one thing in common, that is the love of our Lord, Jesus.

Thank you so much for coming into my life, and showing me how to love, to care, be tolerant and patient, share with others. And thank you so much for not letting my walk with Jesus slip away when I come back here to Malaysia. Instead, you bring me to a great church over here, discuss about Jesus with me, you helped strengthen my walk with Him.

You are one of the kindest and most caring people I've ever met. You always put others before yourself. One example, you are so used to giving in to your younger siblings, you seldom ever keep or buy stuff for yourself.
And you are so patient and tolerant towards me and my unpredictable behaviour.
And your faith in God is amazing too. You always tell me to have faith and trust in Him, something which I am still learning and struggling to do.

I thank God everyday for bringing you into my life. :)

The epitome of 'blur'

Is me.

Right after our PBL 1 session this afternoon, I took out my handphone to call the Human Resources director of 'The Star' to sort out my electives stuff. Then I vaguely remembered putting it in my bag.....or did I?

Anyways.....after that everything went on as usual.....I went back home for a while, then attended lectures....

When I returned home.....I suddenly realized that.....my handphone was not in my bag!! What next? Of course I panicked!! I searched my entire room, the kitchen, the living room.......it was nowhere to be found.

I rushed back to uni...and bumped into Kevin and Caryn on the way. I must have looked rather flustered.....anyways after I told them what happened they advised me to go to the Lost and Found or the security. I quickly barged into PBL room 17 to check.....no sign of my beloved Nokia. I rushed up to the LT2.....no handphone. No one else had seen it. By then, I was getting discouraged. First, I lost my wallet last week, and now my handphone. Way to go Ailing.

After lodging a report at the Lost and Found.....I went back home to double check just in case my handphone was actually lying around somewhere at home. I searched my entire bedroom again, but to no avail.
Frustrated.....I knelt down on my knees and performed a short prayer to God, asking Him to help me locate my handphone. I was almost in the verge of tears.

After a few moments, suddenly something entered my mind.....my labcoat, which I remembered keeping in my wadrobe as soon as I returned home betwen PBL and lectures. I walked to my wadrobe, picked up the purple plastic bag containing my labcoat.....and saw my beloved handphone tucked comfortably together with my labcoat.

And heaved a HUGE sigh of relief.

Maybe God does indeed answer prayers after all.

A little mishap....

Haha....something a little weird happened to me today.......

At 6:30 pm, housemate Li Cin and I returned back home, both tired and worn out from a long day of CSU (for me), a trip to Low Yat , dance class, MMS (for her) and lectures (for us both). (Housemate Fang Han stayed behind at uni for dinner).

I took out my bunch of keys, and finding the grill key, used it to turn open the grill door. But it wouldn't bulge. I tried again and again, but to no avail.
Li Cin then tried to open the grill using her own key, but the grill wouldn't open either.

We looked at each other puzzled. Is there something wrong with our grill door? We suspected that the grill lock was jammed somehow.

So I rushed down to the guard house to call one of the guards up to assist us. Try with all his might, he couldn't open the grill as well.

He went down, and a while later came up with a number for us to call. Not thinking clearly, I immediately dialled the number only to discover that it was the number of a company specializing in grill locks ( I think). They would come to repair our grill lock.... but we would be charged RM 100 for their services. What?! RM100 just to repair a damn grill door which suddenly became so stubborn through no fault of our own? This is ridiculous.

Anyways....our landlady was out for a dinner and would only be back at 11pm. So the last resort is......haha....that's right....call Mum. After a bit of discussion, she passed the phone to her friend who told me to turn the key on the lock while shaking the grill door. Filled with doubt, I tried and of course failed. My housemate Li Cin decided to just give it another try.
Turning the key in the lock and shaking the grill.........and suddenly the grill OPENED.

So the conclusion of the matter was......we didn't need to waste RM100 after all......and my housemate learnt that she can be even stronger than a security guard working at vista B.
Lol!!!

p.s. A woman won the latest season of 'The Apprentice (US version)!!' It's high time too, because out of the 5 winners it produced so far, only one was female ( Kendra Todd). Maybe Donald Trump isn't sexist afterall. (ehem.....I don't think he actually is, but can't he just start accepting truly competent female candidates for the show?) Congrats to......alright I wouldn't mention her name, just in case Malaysian TV suddenly decides to air this season and some of you actually watch the show and do not want to be spoilt. Tv3, please stop airing reruns of season 5 of the Apprentice, and just freakin' start airing this latest season 6 already!!

p.p.s Did you guys watch 'American Idol' last Friday night? Let's just say that all is fair and square now .....in the world of singing competitions.

p.p.s Do check back on this blog for the next couple of days, because I have a dedication post coming up then for someone special. *Hint* They are mentioned in this blog post.

What a frustrating day!!

This is one day late, but yesterday can be considered as one of the most trying days for me.

Early yesterday morning, I was due for a community clinic visit to Jinjang with a few of my PBL groupmates. We were lucky because according to the Sisters in the CSU unit, Jinjang is the only clinic which is air-conditioned. (It is the newest and most advanced among all the clinics that our batch are to visit). But it was also the furthest. And yes, the clinic did indeed live up to the expectations that we had of it. It was fully air-conditioned, looked new and sophisticated and well-maintained and it had a spacy and comfortable environment.

The first half of my time there, I spent interviewing random patients and taking their personal details, medical history, family history, etc. Besides recording down patient histories for the purpose of writing our report which is due next week, we were also given a task of 'screening' patients for diabetes and hypertension. We were given a sheet of paper by the nurses which instructs us to record down the BMI, blood glucose levels , etc. of a seemingly healthy visitor. The conditions being.....this screened person is not supposed to be a current diabetic or hypertensive patient. We had trouble trying to find someone suited for this criteria, because almost all the people we interviewed were either diabetic, hypertensive, or both.
I had this technique of searching for English-speaking patients......approaching them with the opening question ' Do you speak English?' I know this might come off as a bit rude.....but you see English is the only language that I am really comfortable with. I can't speak fluent Malay......my Mandarin is only good enough for normal conversations, but not when more complicated or bombastic words come into play. This is going to be a serious problem when I go to Seremban for my clinical years, as apparently most of the patients there are non-English speakers. *notes to self to polish up her Malay (with the Malays) and her Mandarin speaking skills ( with housemates).
For the second half of the time, we took BP and blood glucose levels of some patients. The nurses chased us out halfway as there was a long line of patients waiting outside and we were holding up the queue.

At 11:30, sister Cheah arrived and briefed us about how we are supposed to go about writing our reports. And she told us about how last week one student lost her wallet while visiting one of the clinics. Wallet......suddenly I remembered. I dug into the pocket of my labcoat only to realize that my wallet was no longer there. I waited impatiently for Sister to finish her speech before darting to the toilet which I visited earlier on, only to find that it wasn't there as well. I traced back my steps to the Diabetic room where we all left our bags. It wasn't there. It was then that one of my groupmates told me that she actually saw my wallet lying on the floor beside my bag. But she just left it there because she didn't know whose wallet it was. It must have dropped out of my labcoat pocket when I was trying to take something out of my bag. But now it's gone! She should've alerted the nurses in the room when she saw it, and they would've kept it. But no. Sigh. It's ok, I don't blame her at all, it's my own fault for being so careless.
I don't know why I tend to be so careless at times. I always remind myself to be more careful when I lose/misplace something, but I never learn my lesson :(
Luckily, I kept my original IC and my ATM card somewhere else so there is nothing valuable inside my wallet at that time except money. Nevertheless, I left the clinic with a heavy heart, knowing that I would never see my wallet again.

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The second 'test' of the day happened in the afternoon. I was tired and upset after returning from the clinic so I took a nap.

Now, we were supposed to collect our summative 2 result slips at 3:45 pm in LT2. I arrived a bit late.....thinking that we could collect the results anytime between 3:45 and 4pm, when our lectures start. But when I arrived.....the person with the result slip just left the Lecture Teatre.....with my result slip! I and another girl tried to follow her, but to no avail. Soon....a group of us were gathered outside the AAD, waiting for our result slips. We were told that the lady with the result slips was suddenly called in to a huge convocation ceremony which was held at the 4th floor at that time. We were told to collect our results after our lectures.
But it turned out that she went home before our lectures ended.

It was really a test of patience for me. Maybe God was trying to test my patience, teaching me to wait. So I had to wait for another night to know how badly I did in my assessment. I might get a B, C or even a D.....(an A is near impossible, I knew)....I didn't know then. All I could do was to wait. Well, I told myself that it was just another night, anyways I had been waiting for the results for 3 whole weeks already.

So I.....sang the night away! I and my cell group members went to Galaxy KTV in Sunway for a karoake session. It was a high class place! Buffet dinner was provided, complete with dessert and everything. We started off with Chinese songs which I couldn't sing, but for the second half of the session, we sang English songs.....which caused me to sing my heart out until my throat was dry.

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So today.....I finally received my Summative 2 result. Let's just say that had I been in a senior batch (M106 upwards), I would've failed the exam. But because I am in M206, and starting from my batch onwards, the passing mark is 50, I did pass. B-. Definitely not too good a grade, I know that I should've done better. I have to try my best to do much better in my End of Semester exam in May! But at least it wasn't a C ( I would've cried if it was). And I remember a lecturer telling us that just because our passing mark is 50, it doesn't mean that the standard would be lowered. Rather, they would mark our papers so much so that we still need to get at least 65% of the questions correct in order to obtain a 50%. Quite a large drop from my B+ which I got last semester. Sigh. At least I'm a consistent B student. Meh, whatever, lol.


p.s. For some reason, I can't seem to upload my new photos onto my friendster profile! It keeps on saying that the pic I try to upload is too large. Which is weird because before this, I never encountered this problem before. Someone help? ;)

Random blurbs

So today it is Chong Bing's birthday. It must have started out just as an ordinary day for him. PBL in the afternoon, lectures after that. And today we had not only 2, but 3 lectures!!! One on Rheumatic Fever, the 2nd one on Infective Endocarditis and the 3rd one....
Dr.Rajesh Kumar came in LT2 at 6:15pm, supposedly to give a second lecture on ECG *yawn*. Everyone settled down as usual, the powerpoint presentation was being set up, albeit very slowly. Then Dr.Rajesh began to discuss the learning objectives of the lecture......which was..........to celebrate someone's birthday!
Then he asked.....'is there someone named Chong Bing in this class? Happy birthday.'
Yeap.....actually there wasn't a lecture on ECG at all. It was just a ploy between Chong Bing's friends and Dr. Rajesh on throwing him a surprise something for his birthday. It was actually really sweet of Dr. Rajesh to agree to be part of this plan. Ramzi entered the class with 2 huge cakes, which we all got to share. I bet that Chong Bing must be really touched by all this. I could hear him exclaiming 'Oh my God' or something along that lines several times after the secret was being revealed. He must have been really grateful to have such wonderful friends and classmates!

Talking about birthdays, my housemate Li Cin's birthday is coming up soon as well ( next week)....so it's time for me and Fang Han to start planning on what to do for her birthday!
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So study leave is about 2 and a half weeks away. Initially, I didn't want to go back to Kuching for the study break, for fear that I would be too lazy to come back here. Maybe my mum can come over here to pay me a visit instead (if she has something to attend to in KL). But then, today I found out that both of my housemates are going back to their hometowns for about a week or so, during the study break. Which means that I would be alone at my place! Now, as a person who values privacy, I don't mind that so much. It's just that KL is not a safe place to stay alone....especially for a girl....
So now I am wondering whether I should go back to Kuching for the study break as well....Hmmm.... I just SMSed my mum just now and she said that it's basically up to me.

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I think I can be oversensitive at times. Whenever someone says something, at times I tend to take it too seriously and keep it in my heart. This isn't good, and I need to work on changing this attitude of mine. Maybe that's why sometimes people are afraid to tell me something or to voice out their opinions to me.

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One topic that I feel strongly about is feminism. I know that most females are content with what they have and don't feel the need to fight for their or other females's rights. However, I don't like how women tend to submit themselves to men and make themselves feel inferior compared to men, so much so that they let men misuse, mistreat and abuse them.

One pet peeve of mine is how girls get so excited and giggly everytime they see boys or are around boys. Please, guys are also humans.....not supermen or some superior beings ...... Granted, not all girls are like that, but you get my drift...
Hmmm......maybe when I actually get a boyfriend in the future, that might change......

I realize that it's harder for women to support each other, compared to men. This maybe because women tend to get jealous of each other more easily, and become catty towards each other, whereas men tend to be more supportive of each other.

I know that 1 Peter :3 tells wives to submit themselves to their husbands. The first time I read that verse was the first time I found myself not agreeing with a verse in the Bible. However, when I read on, I realized that the passage did not mean what I initially thought it meant.....women actually have their own strengths.

It's time that we, women stand up for ourselves! Why is it so hard to do so?

I came across this blog entry by Wendy (a famous Singaporean blogger) in her website http://xiaxue.blogspot.com/2006/09/weak-women.html and found it really interesting.....do check it out! ( I know it's way outdated, but it's worth a read)

CF camp!!!

Running along this race of life
Sometime we run out of time
With deadlines to meet
And schedules to fit
There's just no time for everything

Short of breath
Yet we are to press
Onto the goals that we have
In Him, we find rest
Whether we walk or we run or we fly
strengthened by Our King

So we gotta shine on, Oh shine on
and be the blessing
for we are fearfully, wonderfully made
in the image of our Heavenly Father
We we will run with perseverance
And face our giants
His stones- sufficient
We will be more than conquerors
With amazing Grace
To finish the race, keep the faith
And fight the good fight, shine His light
We shall joyfully praise Him
For the battles He's won!

Written by: IMU's very own.....Ivy Ang!! (M205)

Above is the theme song for the Christian Fellowship camp which I attended this weekend. Meaningful lyrics, isn't it? =) If only you could hear the song- it's a really lovely song! And I predict that the tune will be stuck in my head for at least another couple of weeks more.
Ivy is really talented! God gave her many gifts- among them is the ability to play the piano by ear. (not everyone can do that, you know). And she could compose such a great song! On top of that, she actually uses her talents for the glory of God, and not for self-glorification.

About the camp- it was indeed a refreshing and enjoyable experience. I got to meet people from other batches, and those that I already know, I got to know them better. The camp was organized by IMU's Christian Fellowship. A number of people in my batch were in the organizing committee. The camp was held in the Port Dickson Methodist Centre. The theme of this year's camp was 'Short of Breath? Shine on Brightly!'

We stayed in dorms. (Our dorms had air-con! I didn't expect that I would actually be freezing in the middle of the night, that is so not me).

The first night, we were divided into four groups:- yellow, green, orange and blue. ( I was in the orange group. We were also divided into smaller groups within these 4 groups, named after famous sports brands). I was placed in the Pouncing Puma group with Ivy, Jason (Pharm.), Chris ,Yee Pei (M106), Ken, Suisse (both my batchmates), Lynda and Amy (M107). We had the ice-breaking session, whereby we played games and got to know each other better.

The next morning we woke up early to gather in our groups for devotion. After worship, it was time for our first sermon in a series of 3 sermons. Hmm....maybe I prefer to call it a 'talk'.
The power speaker was pastor Sean Prasad from one of the churches in Shah Alam. (Damn, I forgot the name of his church!). I've to say that pastor Sean is a really powerful pastor and speaker. I like his style of preaching, it is sort of similar to Pastor Kevin's (City Harvest church Pastor) style of preaching- in that he would say 'Are you still with me?' or 'Turn to your neighbour and say......' He is full of fun and energy too. At first glance, you wouldn't have guessed that he was a pastor at all. His personality too doesn't give away the fact that he is a pastor. He can be jolly and mischievious (he told us about the pranks he played while in Bible college) , but at the same time he has this burning passion to serve God. He admitted that during his first few years of going full time into the ministry, he suffered a lot- being paid so little, and other people- even other pastors doubted him. And he had to give up so much - including his ex-girlfriend in order to go into the ministry. It is not his will- in fact, at first, he tried so hard to deny that it was His calling.

Pastor Sean has been to many countries before to preach- and among them.....America. (Can I tell you readers a secret? America is like my DREAM PLACE! I vow to go to America one day.) And he has this weird passion of impersonating the black/African-American people's way of speaking.He can impersonate them so well that given his skin colour, you could actually mistake him for a black person himself! And I personally think he resembles some similiarities to Randy Jackson of American Idol.

Then there was this activity called the 'Spider Web' which requires teamwork ( you have to get across the web through the holes), followed by some indoor games.

In the afternoon, we played sports games such as Captain's Ball (which besides football also included us using papayas and throwing discs as our 'balls') and Human Foosball. I think that the Games Committee did a great job in organizing the games! Most of the time, I was afraid that the ball would just make it's way towards me and knock me down unconcious ( can't you see that I'm NOT a sports person?) but it was fun though.

That night, after decorating a HUGE banner for our camp, we danced the night away. =) And Mafiaed the night way as well, for some of us.

Sunday morning, after the final sermon, pastor Sean called us to come to the front and he would pray for us. Now, I've to admit that I can be secretly cynical at times. I used to think that God doesn't speak to me. But now I know that he actually does, in His own ways. Like this morning. Pastor told me that God was telling me 'Don't be afraid'. That's it. 3 simple words. But I think I know what God means. I'll ponder upon it some more. Maybe fear is something that is stopping me from moving forward. The fear of the unknown, fear of failure. Fear of falling down and injuring myself prevents me from giving it my all in sports games. Fear of coming to God face to face prevents Him from reaching out to me.

I was glad I went to the camp! The things that I learnt and can take home from this camp......... a) running this race of life with perseverance.
b) teamwork! yes- as Brothers and Sisters in Christ, let's support each other, give each other a word of encouragement and lend each other a helping hand! One good example was when Weilin sprained her ankle on the second day of the camp. Everyone was there to help her in their own ways. Have to give props to her too for handling the whole situation so well and not uttering a single word of complaint!

p.s. We also had this 'coach' and 'athlete' thingy which basically follows the 'angel' and 'mortal' concept. I almost got Lynn Xuan as my athlete, but a 'technical problem' occured and so it was not meant to be. :( I got Ping Wei, a Pharmacy student instead, the second draw around. My 'coach' turned out to be an M107 guy whom I didn't know. But he bought me a bar of chocolate, a scent candle and a tiny cute bottle, so all is good :)

Be the Salt!!

I'm actually really tired right now and dozed off a few times while reading my Bible- bad example I know, please don't follow me :P

But my fingers and brain were itching to get up a new blog today- last night I was too tired, earlier on tonight- the internet connection suddenly went haywire again.

Now, you must be wondering what is the title all about. Actually, it's taken from IMU's Christian Fellowship theme for this month. It tells us to be the salt in other people's lives wherever we go. 'Be the salt in other people's lives? Ailing, what on earth are you talking about?' you might be asking.

No....let me explain....

First.....what are the uses of salt? What do we normally use salt for in our daily lives?

Yes that's right....we use salt for.....

a) adding flavour to our food! So, by being the salt in the lives of others, we are adding flavour and taste into the lives of other people!

b) preserving our food - by sprinkling some salt on the lives of other people, we help preserve their spiritual lives, preserve their will to succeed by being an encouragement to them

c) making us thirsty- now, as medic students, we all know that intake of salt would increase our blood osmolarity. This would trigger the osmoreceptors in our hypothalamus, thus stimulating our thirst centre. When we become the salt for the people around us, we make them thirsty......for God!!

I can't think of the other 2 reasons right now......will add them in later.

Eunice then asked us to add some salt into the lives of the person sitting to the right of us by saying some encouraging things about that person.
Thank you, Eunice for giving me some encouraging words this afternoon. =) I really needed it, especially since for the past few days, something seems to be taunting me in my mind and reminding me repeatedly about all my mistakes and my flaws. (I don't know what it is- I don't even know if these thoughts are from God). It was a humbling experience for someone like me who is already suffering from a poor self-esteem in the first place.

Eunice- if you are reading this- just know that you are the salt in my life as well- it was a pleasure getting to know you from the beginning and having you as an Orientation Group mate. (Anus group still rocks, no doubt about it) And didn't you attend all the orientation activities as well, and gave it your all too? =)

Oh yeah.....I was worship leading the Cell Group today =) Not many people knew the first song I chose 'Be Still',. but that's ok. The other 3 songs 'Here I am to Worship', 'The Heart of Worship' and 'I Offer My Life' I think everyone knows how to sing them.

Back to the 'Salt' and 'Light' thing- lately, I have always vowed to be the salt and light in the lives of others. But I always end up reminding myself that I have to improve myself and my own ways first, before I can actually be the salt in someone else's life. It is hard sometimes to discard off your old ways, but it has to be done. I'll ask God to slowly mould me to be a much better person. I'll try to improve my flaws like showing my temper to others (only my mum and my housemates know about this one) . I'll try to be a more disciplined person - ok, this is hard, I am not a morning person, try to be cheerful and put on a pleasant disposition all the time. Only then can I be the salt and light for Jesus who can impact the lives of others.

Before I end my blog.....I would like to give a shoutout to all the people who have been the salt and light in my life so far.....

My mum- even though she is a non-Christian, but she never fails to inspire me. Since I was very little, she brought me up single-handedly, taking over the role of both a father and a mother to me. I sometimes label her as my 'Superwoman'. and I still admire her so much now.

My friends in Cardiff- had I not gone to Cardiff and met them, I might not even be a Christian right now. Each and every one of them- through their own special ways, had left a mark in my life for the 3 years I spent there. They welcomed me with such open arms the first time I set foot on Cardiff Chinese Christian Church. They were there to listen to my problems, and encourage me when things go wrong.
Lily, Dorothy, Gillian, Eileen, Genia, Eunice, Siew, Ivana, Lai Ye- miss you girls! You were always there for me, to hug me and to comfort me and you guys are such kind, gentle and caring people. Lil and Dot- thanks for all the times I could just walk across the road to your place and be rest assured that I would be welcome into your place with open arms anytime. Though you might have forgotten me by now- but just know that I will never forget you guys.
Brian, Darryl, Alan, Kiet, Tong Hong- thanks for being like big brothers to me. You guys showed me that men can actually have a kind and caring side to them as well.

Amy- you're the sweetest and cutest person ever-I haven't seen you and Jon for almost 2 years already. Send my regards to Jon too- I actually miss him too.
Renee- so sweet too. I still remember the time when you whispered to me that you were pregnant. And you confided in me and shared with me all the troubles and difficulties you had to go through during your entire pregnancy. And how we went through this entire journey together-right from the early months until Shane reached a year old! Send my love to Chung How and little Shane! Hope Chung How is still his usual cheerful self- may God bless your little family!
Ivy- just continue being your usually chatty and cheerful and bubbly self! You were also there to listen to me. One thing I like about you is your ability to be honest and open to others. Say hi to Kevin for me. ( Please ask him not to overwork himself ok?)
Amy March and Heather- you two never failed to inspire me as well. You never hesistated in lending me your notes- and offering my help and encouragement. And on top of your kindness, you ended up being such an excellent students in class as well.

All my friends/batchmates/ seniors in IMU- This is too many to name. But I have to thank all my batchmates, Christians and non-Christians alike- for being so nice to me- making me feel like I am welcome here. To my Christian batchmates, thank you for the cell group, for keeping my spiritual walk and faith alive. Eunice, Lynn Xuan, Edwina, Sarah Yuen, Weilin, Evelyn, Elizabeth, Yen BEE, Jeremys, Jimmy, to name a few.....To my seniors- so many- Shio Yen, Debbie, Jo Ann, Ivy, Sarah, Michelle, Naomi, David,....thanks also for making me feel so comfortable and at home here.
To my O.Os - Zi Yun, Sue Wen, Caryn and Kevin (you know I just can't miss you guys out)- you guys are the best O.Os ever!!

To my housemates Li Cin ( Rachel) and Fang Han:- I know this is the umpteenth time I have mentioned this....but thank you SO much for always putting up with my unpredictable mood swings and temper. I can't imagine having any other housemates. Additional thanks to Rachel for being my guide and pulling me back to Jesus whenever I stray away.

To my cousin Bibiana Tie for being one of the closest cousins ever to me, for being like the elder sister I never had. For always showing concern for me, for sharing about Jesus to me, for taking the time to get to know my friends, for giving me advise about lots of things and last but not least- for being the only person I can discuss and share my interest on 'Survivor' with!

p.s. Today's CSU session just reminded me how much I still don't know. I couldn't even answer a single question being tossed to me- but that was because I was too tired to read up MacCloid's the night before.

Latest Happenings......

Sorry for such a boring title.....I am simply too tired right now to think of a more creative one, heh.

On Tuesday- me, my housemates, Chong Bing, Ramzi and Wen Chong went to Times Square in the afternoon ( after lectures) to catch a movie. I was disappointed to find out that 'Bridge to Terabithia' was not screening anymore! So we had to settle for another movie. We had a tough time initially deciding which movie to watch. We certainly didn't want to watch a scary movie- well, not me at least. The guys have watched Mr.Bean already, and they didn't think that it was a good movie worth watching a second time. Finally, after much deliberation, we all settled for 'Meet The Robinsons'.

To be honest, I am not really into animated movies. However, I do admit that some animated movies are great ones worth watching, such as 'Tarzan', 'The Lion King' and 'Mulan'.

Something weird happened during the first 20 minutes or so of screening time. We were surprised to see a short animated feature of Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck, production of Walt Disney. We all looked at each other questioningly. The unspoken question written on our faces was 'What on earth is this?! Have we ventured into the wrong theatre or something? Have we caught the wrong movie?' But it was a good laugh though.

Then.....finally the actual movie came on, and we all heaved a sigh of relief. Lol. The movie was actually not bad at all...worth a relaxing afternoon. You have to not expect so much out of the movie, and instead just sit back, relax and enjoy the experience. Though I've to admit that some parts were rather confusing. For example....there is this character(Michael aka 'Goob') who is supposed to be the roommate, the good friend and the enemy of the main character, Lewis.

Yeah- you wouldn't comprehend what I'm talking about- until you watch the movie yourself. So go watch the movie, peeps! :D

One important message that I can take away from this movie is........'Keep moving forward!!!' Yeah!!

On Monday- we had our very first PBL session with our new facilitator. Basically- my PBL groupmates still remain the same, only the facilitators change. I miss my previous faci, CKK. ( I still don't know what his real name is, Lol!) Anyways, my new facilitator's name is ......*checks timetable*.... Miss Wong Shew Fung. K. She is one funny lady. And nice too. I don't know about the first impression that I gave her though- walking noncholantly into the PBL room, stiffling a giggle and holding a slice of pizza on one hand. And suddenly I spotted this unfamiliar person sitting right opposite me. And suddenly the realization hit me that it was our new faci- uh oh. I quickly stuffed the pizza into my mouth.

Anyways- back to Miss Wong- during the PBL (1) trigger session, she guided us a lot- by giving us clues as to what learning topics she wants us to write down. For the 2nd session, the presentation one- she undertook a more laid back approach, and let us present our stuff first before giving her comments at the very end.

I LOVE my PBL group, btw. Practically everyone in the group takes an active part in the group discussion, and we are always so eager to share any bit of info that we have found.....so much so that we have to fight for the right to speak up- or else we would simply be 'overshadowed' by the others! To William, Hooi Hooi, Sharon, Hui Wen, Kim Long, Chih Ying, Priya, Teck Cheng and Afiq- you guys are the best PBL group mates that I can ever find!!

Today- we had Islam class presentation. I was grouped with Mastura and Sarah. I have a confession to make.... we only started preparing for our presentation one or two days ago!!! And I just started searching for pictures last night! I don't know how we managed to pull it through ( I was really hoping- almost praying in fact, that we didn't need to present today. But alas, lady luck was not on our side) but we did! Special thanks to Mastura, for being such a natural speaker and who was able to pull off a formidable presentation, despite the circumstances. I presented the pictures I found at the end.

Tonight- I went to the very first City Harvest CG meeting for my new cell group!! I got to meet my new cell group members for the first time tonight. They are a nice and friendly bunch of people who welcomed us into their cell group with open arms. ( It was held in the leader's house in Bukit Jalil). One thing that I was not prepared for was the fact that almost all the existing members in the group- spare for 2, were guys. Now that me, housemate Rachel, and Naomi have joined the group- there are more girls in it now. But before that, it was just Laverne ( the cell leader) and Yvonne. Never mind, at least I have a chance to mix around with more guys now...haha. One of them....Kelvin, hails from Kuching as well. He is from Batu Kawa as well.....but I suspect it 's the other one- the one across the Sarawak river. I like Laverne's style of Bible teaching- almost similar to Sally's(our previous CG leader)- but that was because she had been learning from Sally!

After cell group was over, we all went to a restaurant for supper. Quite a variety of food there, took quite a while to decide what I wanted to have! Apparently, it was Yvonne's birthday after midnight- so we celebrated her birthday at the same time. Yippie!! She got a huge waffle with 5 scoops of ice-cream on top. Yum...and one HUGE jug of teh ais. But yeah....we ended up sharing all these anyways. Hehe....

Alright....do check out the pictures above!!

p.s ugh! I don't understand a single thing about the ECG lecture! Have to read up!!

p.p.s Only a week into CVS- and I'm already behind in my lecture notes....

Happy April Fools!!!

Well....I didn't originally intend to make a blog post today....but here goes...

First off....Happy April Fools Day! For me personally, it's just another normal day....or supposed to be. But that was until I got April Fooled. Or rather....Naomied..... twice.

First time round....we were waiting at the church lobby for someone to usher us in. I was just standing around, when suddenly Naomi ( my Sem 3 senior) whispered to me.....'Ailing, your zip is down'. As predicted, I panicked a little and whispered back that I was gonna go to the toilet to sort that out. Then suddenly she said 'Happy April Fools!' Omg. Yeap, I smacked her with the newspaper I was holding, hehe. Naughty naughty girl. (Zi Yun- is she this naughty in class? :P)

But seriously though- I cannot imagine what our cell group or Sunday noons will be like without her around. She is so cheerful and fun-loving, mischievious but at the same time caring.....she's a breath of fresh air. * cyber hugs Naomi* Hmm......wonder whether she reads this or not, I did send her an invitation after all.

Oh yeah....about the 'big announcement' that Jia Hou wanted to make. Well.....it was indeed a big annoucement after all. Our Cell Group (Group E30- which composes of IMU students and is held at PBL room 17 every Friday at 1pm) is going to be dissolved. Which means that all of us, the E30 group members would be split up from now on. No more City Harvest IMU cell group. *cries*
The Pharmacy students and Debbie (Sem 4) would be joining Jennifer's group and me, Li Cin, David and Naomi would be joining Greg's sister's cell group ( I forgot what is her name) and the rest will join another cell group. The main reason for splitting us up was that Sally, the previous cell group leader, had left to UK, and Jia Hou the guitarist is leaving to Singapore soon.

I've to admit that I was quite shocked at first. It would take quite a while for me to get used to this new arrangement....but we'll manage...I hope. Plus, we'll get to meet some new friends outside of IMU! And cell groups would be more like what an actual cell group SHOULD be....going to someone's house and fellowshipping over tea or supper in the midst of the usual Bible study, worship and stuff. Yes...cell group would now be more like my Friday nights in Cardiff. ( Can't you see I still miss Cardiff?)

I should learn to be more flexible to change.

Right....I guess that's it from me for now.....


p.s.... Will miss being in the same cell group as Debbie and Shio Yen ( sem 5). But then again, I will see them around in uni anyways. Plus, I still have Bible Study with Debbie.