The last day of 2008! :) Continue with my counting...
5. My birthday - Thanks to Joel, she made an effort to search for the movie I have been looking for quite some times. Touched! And, thanks to good old buddy - the handsome LS who gifted me a book. Thanks for the memories, I am going to miss you, I mean it. :p Of course, I appreciate all text messages from lovely friends. You're great, the best gifts ever. I am blessed.
4. The cake - *Drumroll* ... Self-baked birthday cake from the baker. You know who you are. Your gift was out of my expectation. I wish I could return you a cake one day. Give me some time. :)
3. My four years relationship - Well, I understand, that period of time is not enormous at all. However, it is not the length that matters, but the depth.
2. Surviving my Med school - Another 4 months left. I wish I could make it till the end. Though, the career itself is another challenge. Anyhow, I am proud of myself thus far.
1. I think so hard for this last count... And I come to realise that being alive is a blessing! We take it for granted so often. I am alive. Ready to paint my life with colours. Not resentment. Cheers.
Let's welcome 2009! =)
Dec 30, 2008
Count My Blessing-Part II
Labels: Leisures
Dec 19, 2008
Count My Blessing-Part I
Labels: Leisures
Dec 16, 2008
#1:Keep the Faith
[These are life lessons I quote from my new pet-Life Lessons for Living the Way You Live-one of the Chicken Soup for the Souls'. I start off with Faith today.]
What does faith mean to you? "If you plant faith today, you will reap miracle tomorrow." I stumbled upon this once time ago. And I believe it for some times till I almost forgot it at all. Today, the author reminds me of the magic of faith.
She reckoned, "Faith is an undeniable knowing that all is well and that all will be taken care of. You see everything that happens as having a purpose, good or bad, as contributing to my understanding about life..."
Darkness is my candle.
At some points of life, I see myself in darkness. Searching for the clues in vain. Questioning about decisions made and lamenting the downsides of life. I lose faith. You lose it when you start questioning and doubting. "Could I make it?" "Am I eligible?" "Do I work hard enough?"
She continued, "..a condition of the heart in which you have no doubts, but rather certainty and trust. Faith erases anxiety and doubt, and creates or builds inner peace and happiness."
Keep the faith in you. Be it religion or belief. Knowing that on the other side of obstacles, there are always miracles.
And I am telling myself every day. So do you. /Natalie.
Labels: Books, Motivation
Dec 15, 2008
Midnight terror
Headache in the middle of the night. Terrible terror. The pain was so unbearable like a tight band constricting the whole forehead. And it was kind of throbbing, as if someone is knocking your head from inside. ...T_T...Waking up to search for the wonder drug--paracetamol in the dark. I was telling myself,"Please works faster so that I could fall asleep nicely.."after popping two tablets. And guess the wonder drug did its wonder work, I found myself woke up 7.30 this morning! (The time I supposed to be well-prepared and waiting for the bus downstairs!) What a shock...Okay, so? I moved swiftly like lightning and everything was done with my spinal jerk. ^_^
Blah-ing by Natalie..just ignore me. :p
Labels: Leisures
Nov 23, 2008
the PURSUIT of HAPPYNESS
A small talk between a man and a boy, a father and a son...
Chris (father): Don't ever to let someone tell you, 'you can't do something'.. Not even me, alright?
Christopher (son): Alright.
Chris: You got a dream, you got to protect it. People can't do something themselves, they want to tell you, you can't do it. You want something, go and get it. Prove it.
A touching and yet motivating movie. To tell us about a true story of a father who tries his best to overcome the worst of his life and yet to give the best to his son.
" It was right then I started to thinking about Thomas Jefferson with Declaration of Independence. In the part of our right to our life, liberty and pursuit of happiness. I remembered, I'd been thinking how did he know to put the pursuit part in there. And may be happiness is something that we only can pursue and may be we can actually never have it, no matter what. How did he know? ".
This is what in Chris's mind when his wife left him, brought along his son. Nothing was left to him besides the unpaid taxes, house rents and bills...
Yes, happiness is to be pursued.
There is no way to happiness as happiness is the way.
Happiness is never a DESTINATION but a JOURNEY.
And Chris has proved it!
Thanks to Chris who teaches me the meaning of life and the worth of living. ~Joel
Labels: Movies
Nov 19, 2008
想飞越
Labels: Leisures
Nov 18, 2008
A Message
My dear friend,
------------------Wish you Xing Fu-------------------Natalie
Labels: Leisures
Right or Left?
I remember a quote from 'Little Prince' goes by: “It is only with the heart that one can see rightly; what is essential is invisible to the eye.” And,
"You have to trust your inner knowing. If you have a clear mind...you won't have to search for direction. Direction will come to you. "
The external world and people might be cruel and cold sometimes. Well, my dear, it's alright. Let's close up our tiring sore eyes, and feel with our pure heart. We'll see where it leads us to...We'll see. //Natalie
Labels: Leisures
Andrew Rocks
Since the beginning of November, I have been looking for clue here and there. And searching for answer high and low. Until Andrew text me these few lines:
"Sometimes we ask for wind, we get rain;
We ask for sunshine, we get storm.
The truth is, it's really up to us to look for the wind in the rain;
And the sunshine in the strom..."
He reminded me of a song lyric I heard a day before in Evelyn's car. So I replied him:
"Every road has its stones; just like every night has its dawn..."
And, Andrew rocks, he assured me that, "And the stone is the foundation for a good road; dawn may be boring, but stars and moon will always be around you till the next reel of sunshine!" Hooray-----:)//Natalie
Labels: Leisures
Nov 7, 2008
Nov 6, 2008
Stop Pathologizing Yourself
Worn out. Flat. Down. Moody. Bloated. Whatever...I just cannot descibe my feeling right now. Slap me on my face to wake me up please...=)
Read an interesting article on Ms. Magazine site, titled "Pathologizing Your Period", which began with "Are you unhappy? Bloated? Is hard to concentrate? Do you have food craving? Breast tenderness?...Sounds familiar? Yes for me. When my eyes dropped on this line, my mind went saying, "Arh, that period from ovulation to menstruation again, the time you have it all." Which I dread the most.
The article goes on introducing Premenstrual Dysphoric Disorder (PMDD), a mental disorder included in DSM, which represent the extreme form of PMS, a classical syndrome during pre-menstruation. To qualify, it would have to include five familiar PMS-type symptoms, at least one of them a “mood disorder” such as feeling hopeless, “on edge,” self-deprecating, irritable, angry or tearful. Is PMDD real? The author questioned about it and even went extra miles to defend women against being labelled as moody and emotional. And, in the end, she called on us to stop pathologizing ourselves and look at what's really behind our feelings. =)
So true...I probably should stop pathologizing myself right now. I have been in dilemma past few days. As Joel has mentioned, I need a quiet place to listen to my inner voice. I need to know what I want. And how I should do better. I've been losing my grip lately...but I am going to stand up, lift chin, and be confident all over again. =)
Likened in a race, I am not sure how far and how fast should I run? And what I want to achieve in the end? It look like a never ending track with crooks and bends. As I remind myself , 'Life does not ask us to be the Biggest or the Tallest, it only ask that we Try.' And, I should try, giving up before trying is stupid, one will never know his potential as the sky is the limit.
Push on Nat. Just stand up. =)
Labels: Motivation
Nov 2, 2008
Make A Wish
Happy birthday to me,
Happy birthday to me,
Happy birthday to Joel,
Happy birthday to me......
Make a wish.......(secret)
and blow the candles!!!!
Ops....no candles??:P
Labels: Special occasion
Listen to your heart
To follow your way, it is to not follow the world.
Always have faith in what you are doing and to believe in oneself.
Spend a quiet moment to listen to what your mind tells you and not others.
You will find a way to lead your life.~Joel
Labels: Motivation
Oct 31, 2008
Book: Tuesday with Morrie #1
From time to time, I will excerpt a story, a short text or even few lines from my favourite book--Tuesday with Morrie, by Mitch Albom. The book taught me life's greatest lessons...Above all, the Compassion which is lacking while aging. :)
"On this day, Morrie says he has an exercise for us to try. We are to stand, facing away from our classmates, and fall backward, relying on another student to catch us. Most of us are uncomfortable with this, and we cannot let go for more than a few inches before stopping ourselves. We laugh in embarrassment.
Finally, one student, a thin, quiet, dark-haired girl, crosses her arms over her chest, closes her eyes, leans back, and...For a moment, I am sure she is going to thump on the floor. At the last instant, her partner grabs her head and shoulders and yanks her up harshly.
Morrie finally smiles.
"You see, you closed your eyes. That was the difference. Sometimes, you cannot believe what you see, you have to believe what you feel. And if you are ever going to have other people trust you, you must feel that you can trust them, too---even when you're in the dark. Even when you're falling."
Natalie: Believing others is not easy; but worth trying. :)
Labels: Books, Motivation
Oct 24, 2008
心情写照
细雨午后,懒洋洋的趴在书桌,听着燕姿熟悉的歌声。已经许久没有拼一拼方块字了,心中有点丁儿怀恋这一块块优美的文字。犹如一颗颗音符跳起旋律迷人的舞支。踏入梦境。
我曾经是个追梦的女孩。不歇也不惧地抱着我的梦上路。差点就忘了我是那么的固执。而如今,却似乎失去了心的方向。脚步也不再那么坚定。究竟是为何?是因年龄增长了,那股炽热随着减少呵?摆脱了少年的情怀,也遗失了作日的梦想。
“今日迥迥而行,他日化蝶飞去。” 我期盼这一天的到来。// 桑子
Labels: Leisures
Oct 23, 2008
Oki Doki Seaweed Flavour Rice Crackers
Labels: Foods
Oct 20, 2008
Pinky bar
Labels: Foods
Oct 13, 2008
N.A.T.A.L.I.E
Oh, this is not a self-promotion or a thing. I came across a special kind of keychains with interpretation of all the names in Borders. Here is mine.. :p
Naturally
Attractive
Totally
Astonnishing
Loves
Inspiring
Everyone
Labels: Leisures
Oct 11, 2008
Just Stand Up!
Oh, thanks to Joel. I am now hooked on this song. Sang by various artists including Beyonce, Mariah, Rihanna, Fergie, Sheryl, Leona etc for Foundation Stand Up To Cancer. It is dubbed to Best Song Lyric which I couldn't agree anymore.
"The heart is stronger than you think
It’s like it can go through anything
And even when you think it can’t it finds a way to still push on, though
Sometimes you want to run away
Ain’t got the patience for the pain
And if you don’t believe it look into your heart the beat goes on
I’m tellin’ you that Things get better Through whatever
If you fall, dust it off, don’t let up
Don’t you know you can go be your own miracle
If the mind keeps thinking you’ve had enough
But the heart keeps telling you don’t give up
Who are we to be questioning, wondering what is what
Don’t give up THROUGH IT ALL, JUST STAND UP....."
So, just Stand Up everyone, don't dwell on yesterday...look forward instead.
Natalie~
Labels: Motivation
An Incovenient Truth
Labels: Opinion
Oct 4, 2008
Step up
I came across this meaning little story today which I wish to share ^_^
One day, a farmer's donkey fell down into a well.The animal cried piteously for hours as the farmer tried to figure out what to do.
Finally, he decided the animal was old, and the well needed to be covered up anyway;it just wasn't worth it to retrieve the donkey. He invited all his neighbours to come over and help him.They all grabbed a shovel and began to shovel dirt into the well.At first, the donkey realized what was happening and cried horribly.
Then, to everyone's amazement he quieted down. A few shovel loads later, the farmer finally looked down the well. He was astonished at what he saw.
With each shovel of dirt that hit his back, the donkey was doing something amazing.He would shake it off and take a step up. As the farmer's neighbors continued to shovel dirt on top of the animal,he would shake it off and take a step up.
Pretty soon, everyone was amazed as the donkeystepped up over the edge of the well and happily trotted off!
MORAL :
Life is going to shovel dirt on you, all kinds of dirt.
The trick to getting out of the well is to shake it off and take a step up.
Each of our troubles is a stepping stone.
We can get out of the deepest wells just by not stopping, never giving up!
So from now on, let's just shake it off and take a step up. . ..~Joel
Labels: Motivation
With arms wide open
I agree with natalie as the past 10 days were indeed a good 'escape' or 'breakaway' from the hectic and tiring life that we have in campus. But sad to say, there isn't any more 'escape' till chinese new year. Gosh......T_T
During this holiday, I dared not to think nor to remind myself what I will be facing once this 'escape' ended. Yes, it will come to an end soon and now it is ended.
It is the time to face the reality.
It is the time to encounter the hazards and hardships.
I must be strong and tough, with arms wide open readily to meet whatever is coming in my way.
No more escape, no more hesistation.~Joel
When the going gets TOUGHER,
the TOUGH gets going.
Labels: Motivation
Sep 30, 2008
Penang Exotic Explore
Joel and I have had great time in Penang for half a day!!~ She called it Penang Exotic Explore..Whee~~ True enough, I have the chance to discover the other face of Penang. Being recognised as one of the World Heritage site by UNESCO recently, Penang lives up to it! The trip was definitely part of the great Escape :-)
Labels: Travel
Sep 24, 2008
An Escape
Looking forward to the coming escape. Though I truly understand it is temporary, momentarily and perhaps not-so-sweet at all. Because life is getting probably thousand times harder after coming back from the escape. Staring blankly on my notes for the whole afternoon, I know I definitely need a fix. The current mood is not encouraging at all...Blame it on the torching sun for my inactivity. ^^ Whoa...//Natalie
Sep 20, 2008
So what if you get burned...
Life has its highs and lows. \*_*/ But...
"There are no guarantee
Life throws things at you
You can catch or miss them
But they will come, ready or not
........................................................
So let go of the fear
Reach out for the flame
So what if you get burned
Better that then numb for life
Better to remember passion and joy
Along with the pain and tears
Then to have no memories worth
Remembering
So to hell with safe
I am going to gamble and bet
Until I win back everything I lost
And my life is what it was meant to be . . ."
I will take this as brooch, pin safely on my chest. As a reminder for life. //Natalie
Labels: Motivation
Sep 14, 2008
Candle lit
Today is Mid Autumn Festival. Preferably regarded as Mooncake festival as there is no season in this part of world here. Apart from exchanging forwarded messages over phone, I don't have any particular celeb else. Hmm, I can't even recall the last time I celebrated this day with family. Pity. I was asked whether do I have Tanglung ready in hand?:) (Oh, I don't even have any mooncake...aiyoyo)
Today is somewhat special that I'd like to do my bit as a citizen who care. I'd like to light up a candle to pray for my country and her people, especially two of the detainees under the ISA. Natalie.
Labels: Leisures
Sep 10, 2008
Bleeding in Love
The paper is the material that I’d want to read the least these days. I’d rather close my ears to all news on tv/radio. I’m getting sick of the bizarre headlines, irresponsible comments and unacceptable facts. Sick of over-politicking, racist ideation, murder mysteries, unresolved cases…All these while people struggle to cope with fear of crime and rising inflation to make ends meet… I’m feeling feverish. Something is not right. Oh, how pathetic.
A question arise: Where is my home if it’s not here? For the past one month, I was staying in Besut district with a population of 90% Malays and 8% Chinese. I discovered one thing unusual while dining in Chinese restaurants. They are serving usual Chinese foods like wanton mee, lou mai gai, pau etc. The unusual part is, Muslim friends are free to enter and have their meals. While the ’superiors’ were talking so loud about lies and truth, 14 of us (4 Chinese and the rest are Malays) were staying under one roof. Our Malay friends performed their prayers as usual, fasting for Ramadhan month, and we listened to one of them who just back from Umrah in Mecca. We had a great home-cooked dinner together. :) This is not an icing-coated story.
Well, some might be thinking of migration to other countries with the perception of ‘grass is always greener over the fence’. Is it? I doubt it. Because no matter how green the grass is, here is my home. My beloved country. A place where I grew up and gain my identity all these years. (I don’t care what they say, I am in love with you).
I’m learning to become an adult. A person who speaks sensibly, be judgemental but not sentimental. And I thought our leaders know better than me. That once spoken, you can’t take it back as damage is done. Likened nail on the wall, even though you pull it off, the mark is there forever.
I guess our Malaysian artists ’sing’ it best
Hold on brother hold on
The road is long We’re on stony ground
But i’m strong, and you ain’t heavy
Oh there’s a misspoken truth that lies
Colors don’t bind, oh no
What do they know? They speak falsely
Here in my homeI’ll tell you what it’s all about
There’s just one hope here in my heart
One love undivided
That’s what it’s all about
Please won’t you fall in one by one by one with me?
…………………Natalie.................................................
Labels: Opinion
Aug 31, 2008
Growth is the most painful when we resist
Often times, i look back my life and start to hope that i can be a liitle child again. Being an adult can be very tiring sometimes. Well, more accurately, most of the time. The resposibilities that you have to bear with and the expectations from the others.....Can be quite suffocating sometimes......
Especially recently, as i'm posting in paediatric posting and previously in O&G posting which both involve dealing with babies, toddles and children. When i see their happy faces, i wish i can smile and laugh like them. When i see them crying, i wish i can cry like them. When i see them sleeping soundly and peacefully, i wish i could too. (especially during oncals)
When is the last time i had actually laughed whole-heartedly?
When is the last time i had actually cried from the bottom of the heart?
When is the last time i had slept with no worries of tomorrow?
I think hard and i only have answer to the 2nd question.
Yup, had been crying hard once last 2 weeks.
I knew and i always know that life of an adult is never been easy, but i never expect that how hard it can be.
Life is full with sorrows but it should be full with happiness and hope as well.
Since when the robotic and materialistic life of an adult had turned me into a mercyless and an ignorance person??
I questioned myself but have no answer to it.
I was speechless.
Yet, one thing for sure.
Who i am now is not the person that i want to be when i was small.
This is not the life i want.
This is the time to change.
And time to bed. Had been in a hyposomnia state lately.~Joel
Labels: Leisures
Aug 29, 2008
A Day Forgotten
It's the day of the year again -- highlighted on our table calendar -- National Day. With a flag and a reminder that it's the celebration of Independence. Or it's a day we remember as an Off-day? Shopping day?(as Merdeka Sale is knocking our doors) Family Day? Parade day? ... ...
Being the Post Merdeka generation, we do not witness the birth of our nation. We therefore will not understand the meaning of Independence. Few weeks back, I visited a War Museum of Kelantan by chance. It highlighted the time Malaya was invaded and colonised by Japan army. If you remember our history well, the Japanese landed on Kota Bharu by bicycles in 1941. During their colonization, the Malayan students were complied to sing a song "Kimigayo" in school assembly. "May the Emperor's reign continue for a thousand Eight thousand generations until the pebbles grow into boulders lush with moss..." And I think, "History was made yesterday to teach us how to live today for a better tomorrow."
Anyhow, Aug 31 is just another day./Natalie
Labels: Leisures
Aug 26, 2008
On the Move
This is not a planned vacation. We have no choice. Jerteh, Besut is our destination.
Accomodation: A semi-detached, semi-concrete+wooden house. Adequate eletrical supply but scarce water source. We heard people screaming "No Water!" in the middle of their baths. -_-!
Duration: Three and a half weeks.
Mission: Hmm, I've no concrete idea in the beginning. To fulfill our logbooks? (5 of them in all) To carry out some surveys and playing the SPSS? Guess have to tell later on.
Places of interest: Hospital Besut, District Health Office, Health clinics. And Restaurants of course.
Team Members: There are 14 of us. Car-pooling Members: CW, Michelle, ChaiChin and I.
Rewards: ??
First week
Needless to say, we were thrown a bombshell once we stepped into the house. Dusty and stuffy. Dark and gloomy. Lines of ants were welcoming us. What a heck of unpleasant smell!
We settled down at last... This was the time of showing our survival skills. We headed to the town and hunt for foodss! How elated we were when we saw a Chinese restaurant in the middle of the town..hehem:)
Hospital Besut is kind of small compared to HUSM. All the wards are single storey buildings. I've a deja vu feeling...kind of going back to my primary school as the buildings are so alike those classrooms we had. And, oh, so few of people inside (and outside as well) the wards! Our wards are congested always, with overloaded patients, family, specialists, MOs, HOs, staff nurses, medical students, nursing students, physiotherapists, dieticians...the list goes on.
My first oncall in A&E was great fun though no high end heart racing Red flag cases. Because I got to manage a case from the beginning till the end. History taking, PE, blood taking, IV line, chest x ray, admission...Eventhough it was just a complaint of "cough for 2 weeks"...And CW discharged a 5 years old girl after we confirmed she had no corneal abrasion with the fluorescent strip. (Hope we were right, hehe). Oh, we prescribed drugs too...alright, I'm getting too excited>>
Natalie: Stay tuned for second week's story;)
Labels: Travel
Aug 23, 2008
A start of something NEW
This is the 1st post from me, joel, for our beloved blog.:)
Blogging, a totally brand new experience to me. As far as I know, I'm always not good at expressing myself especially via writting.
Hence, you see, this blogging thing is sure not the idea of mine but natalie's:P
Well, everything must has a start or you will never know how it likes.
So..... on this particular day, at this particular time, in my small small hostel's room (sharing with natalie), at my not-so-tidy study place, i've made the 1st move to try on a something NEW.
What a great start of something NEW.
By the way, poor Natalie is still packing for her Besut posting:(
She is leaving soon, leaving me alone in this room alone at this cold post raining night. T_T
Labels: Leisures
Shine on...
Saturday night. End of another weekend. Light shower. Sombre mood.
Packing. Packing. Going to leave my comfy room in one hour time. Taking one hour ride to Jerteh, Besut. Northen Terengganu. 15km away from jetty to Pulau Perhentian.
Attachment to District Hospital. Three and a half weeks.
*********************************************************************************
This is a site jointly managed by Joel & I. Our dancefloor. Our couch. Our safest place to express. Private emotions...the 7 wonders of the world. To see, to listen, to feel, to touch, to smell, to taste, and to Smile :)
One of the brightest stars,"Why",you might ask...Well, to remind you all, we are, at all times, one of the brightest stars. Brilliant. Unique. Irreplaceable. Worthwhile. So. Shine on..! ~ Natalie
Labels: Leisures