Saturday (2/5/09)

THE MOVIES EXAM.... My FINAL PAPER!!!! heheh....

Wah... I went to college with my new pair of heels and met my friends at first floor... When I reached there, I could see Chelsie and Jojo shouting out of excitement. At first I thought that it was my new heels, but when I went closer, I noticed that the 3 of us wore the same shirt!!!! and no one planned for this.... haha....

After exams, we went for tomyam.... And we were talking and talking and all of a sudden they talked about Elliot XD They knew that he was staying over at my place to jaga us and they teased me until I blushed!! Even Miss Jaime was there ahhh.... So now she knows....

Da Bao a few packet of nasi goreng tomyam and nasi pattaya for Garry, Elliot and John... Went home and then went for youth =)

Youth that day was different because there was no preaching. Sun divided us into groups to think of how we can bless the pastors who will be joining us for Project Barnabas soon....

At night, we went for beef noodle at Jalan Kenanga. Half of SE were there and we could start our youth service there already.... hehe....

After the delicious meal, we head home... Elliot brought his 3D Star Wars puzzle thingy... We were supposed to build it together (Elliot, Garry, Jeffrey and I),but in the end, only Elliot had the persistence to build it XD and Garry and Jeffrey took pictures with it.... hehe....

I felt so free!!!! Nothing to worry about at all!!!! Exams are over, parents and kakak not around..... wah.......

Elliot came to jaga us =)

Today, I was anticipating for Elliot to come!! Wah... was so excited that I had to disturbed him in the afternoon by calling him and chatting with him.... kekeke....

So in the evening, he came... piano class was canceled, assignment due date delayed... wah... everything went so well, hope it was God's plan =)

We went for dinner... but we were so fickle minded that we went to Bandar Puteri only to go back to Giant Kinrara to eat Pizza... Guess it was because we came out late and most restaurants were full...

After that, we came home and while I attended online prayer meeting, Elliot helped fix my mom's lappy.... After that only I studied again for tomorrow's paper, which is THE MOVIES!!! There were nothing much to study that's why I wasn't so worried, hehe...

Then we slept....

Thursday (30/4/09)

Today, my parents are going for their honeymoon at Krabi Island!!!! hehe.... and also my kakak will be going back to her KL home tomorrow to prepare to go back to Indonesia for a month... Which means, no guardian at home!!!! hehe.... Well, mom actually asked Elliot to stay over at our place to take care of us... *wonders if it is a test for him* hehhe.... It felt really fun!!

So the five of us in one car, we went to the LRT and dropped my parents there coz they'll be taking the bus to Thailand. Before that, we asked for money!!!! kekeke....

After dropping them there, we head to the pasar malam. I bought a new pair of heels there, it was beautiful =) haha! Started spending some money there... On the way back, we saw Pastor Chris, Deborah and Nathanael.

So it was a day.... Supposed to study for Saturday's exam but.... hehe.....

Wednesday (29/4/09)

Today is my public speaking speech day!!! We had to give a persuasive speech since there was no exam for public speaking, this speech will be evaluated. I was pretty scared yet there was a feeling of confidence and peace somewhere deep inside of me, it must have been knowing that Jesus supports me all the way!!

So I went to the evaluation room and waited and waited and waited.... Dr. Steven came in like after 2 hours, he thought it was in the afternoon XD While waiting, we watched the play that we recorded last week. It was good =)

So one after another we gave our speech, I was the 7th person to present. Below is my speech:

Giving speeches, to me, I think is one of the most challenging things I have gone through, at least for a 19-years-old kid, despite winning several public speaking competitions. I know for a fact that some students face problems when preparing and giving their speeches, and I am one of them too. Well, the blame cannot obviously be thrown to the lecturer or the insufficient of sources that we are exposed to. Why? Because public speaking is not an easy subject to teach. While some things cannot be taught, such as public speaking, the only effective way to learn is by inspiration.

Before I start my speech, I would like to talk a bit about Dr. Steven. Dr. Steven, our beloved forever “17” young and handsome lecturer, is really one of my favourite lecturers here. Do you agree with me? I do see something burning inside of him, I do not know, maybe it is his heart and passion to educate students that will eventually graduate as a well-rounded person, having both academic excellence and hands-on, practical experiences, or is it just the way he is, that sometimes make people wonder what is there he has that they do not have. The best example would be on giving speeches. He seemed to be so easy-going, spontaneous and happy-go-lucky of a kind of speaker. How I wish I could also be like him! But I am sure deep inside, he has gone through much experiences, hurts, disappointments, success, and all the emotions you can name. Maybe this is his secret recipe to giving a good speech or maybe, just maybe he is a natural speaker by himself. All in all, I just know that he has done his job so well as a lecturer, and sometimes even beyond a lecturer would do by putting his students first before their task. This quality of putting people first, I admit that I must learn from him.

Today, politicians talk about making changes and improving lives, big scales, such as the most current issues, save the mother earth by reducing global warming, no war equals to world peace, eliminate poverty and more. They are striving towards these goals for the good of the people. Well, sometimes I think if are they really doing it for the people, or is it just to build their reputation so that people will continue to support them. But what I care most, is not so much on what they can do for us, but what I can do for us, for people. Today, I would like to persuade you to make a difference in the people around you.

Years ago, I met a friend who had a bad habit of being all messy - with books that are put upside down in her bag and wearing clothes that are not ironed. Contrary to my situation, I was and still am a perfectionist. I dislike mess and love details. I organize my day well, most of the time, and make sure things go according to plan, guess I would be a good administrator to someone. I was transferred to a new school due to transportation problem, and I was glad to be transferred there. The environment of the school was good, the canteen food were clean, the people there were nice, the teachers were experienced, but the only problem with this school, is the girl who sits beside me (the messy girl).

One day, I just could not stand her mess, so I took up the courage and told her politely that she has to change, because it is spoiling her reputation as a librarian and as one of the best students, academically in school. It is just not the way it should be and I wanted to her know. She lost her tempered the very second I finish my sentence and told me, “Who are you to correct me?” I was a bit disappointed that day.

Later she came back much cleaner and looking more presentable, so I was very surprised and asked her what happened. She said that she thought about it the last few days, saying that I was not the first to tell her off about this. Her parents, her friends also did mention about it and she gets very irritated by it. She then finally revealed the actual reason why she was like this. She said that she used to be a perfectionist, like me. She was all clean and neat until one day when she encountered a serious family problem. Her parents were on the verge of divorce. She was struggling deep inside, but she tried to put on a happy mask. She even said that she thought of committing suicide so that she does not have to worry about all this. At the very moment, guilt struck me. I felt so bad for not trying to understand her and assuming that she was messy because the way she is. I quickly comfort her and even cried together with her. When she saw my tears, she saw sincerity, she saw trust, she saw hope, she saw a true friend. Even though I could not help much since it was a family issue and I was just an outsider, as a friend, I did what I could to bring her back to where she should be, which is that she should be thankful for what she has and that all things work for good. The only logical thing I could do is to pray for her family. Today, she has a whole and loving family.

What I am trying to say is that we should be a true friend to someone. You never know what your friends will be in the future and your impact on them could either build them or break them. There is no point backstabbing or lying to a friend, because you will reap what you sow. Now, she and I are best friends.

Another way to make a difference in someone’s life is to shine your light within. People are attracted to light, even insects are. The way we do things, whether it is out of a good and pure heart or an evil intention, people can detect. Shining your light means being the best of you. When you can bring light to people, which means goodness, you can bring life. When you see someone moody, just give that person a tab on the shoulder or a smile that may be the only sunshine he or she sees for the day. Who knows, he or she had gone through a very tough time and needs someone to bring happiness to him or her. That tab on the shoulder or smile might introduce a very helpful and meaningful conversation. Even if everyone is carefree and happy, you could also continue to bring up a cheerful environment. When you are sad and down, the easiest thing to do is to be so called “emo”, but truthfully, it does not help. A smart thing to do is be aware about the problem and work towards solving it with a positive light. When you have this attitude, people will want to seek you and even ask you for advice. I think that that is a good thing.

If Dr. Steven had not shined his light by sharing his experiences to us in public speaking classes, we may not enjoy his class as much as we do now.

The third thing to remember is that we should not compromise. Our values and beliefs, the standards that we set for ourselves, we should not compromise. Instead, we should work at it with excellence. The definition of excellence by Dr. Rob b Thompson, who is the Vice President of University of Excellence, Chicago, United States, is the attention to details that gives rise to superior performance which leads to promotion in life. I absolutely agree with his statement and I think that if we all work with excellence in whatever we do, it can be done, and it can be done well. The best example would be studying hard and smart for this spring’s finals. You can even help your friends who maybe struggling academically.

The three simple things to keep in mind if we want to make a difference in the people around you are to be a true friend to a friend, to shine your light within and to never compromise your standards. When you are able to do this, people around you will be inspired. They may or may not capture your attitude, but if they do, they may even pass it around to the people around them. If everyone can just do a simple deed, this world will be a happier place to live.

Dr. Steven has done his part by being a good lecturer and it can be seen by our responses towards him. Even now, he is still striving to improve and inspire the lives of the people around him. I am doing my part by simple acts of goodness. What about you? Let us not think about what people can give to us, but what we can offer to them with our gifts and talents.

What I share today is the truth. Lies are light but the truth is heavy and not everyone can carry it. This is the truth, I hope you can pass it on by words or by action.

I finished the speech and left the room after listening to a few other speeches....

Later in the afternoon, I got a call from Chelsie (I will never forget that call!!) when I was sleeping.... Despite that, I dragged myself and answered the phone. She called me and said,

"Rachel, I got bad news for you!"

"What bad news?"

"You need to redo your speech because it was not persuasive enough! Not just you, a few of us also have to redo, like me, Nicholas, Jess.... You have to present it on Saturday at 4pm "

"What?! Redo my speech? On Saturday evening? spoiler lar...."

I was thinking myself that Dr. Steven said he will not be too strict on evaluating our persuasive speech because we did not have much practice. At the same time, I trusted what Chelsie said because last time when we had to give our persuasive speech, we didn't do well as many people gave informative speeches than persuasive ones, even some had to redo....

I was so kan cheong!!!

Then Chelsie went like, "Rachel, I have good news for you.... You won the Overall Best Speaker!"

"What? Wei.... Are you lying?"

"Nope, you won it and Nicholas won the Most Improved Speaker"

"ahhh.... Chelsie!! You tricked me!!"

The phone was then passed to Michelle and she said, "You didn't hear ah Bu behind there saying that Chelsie is lying meh??"

ahaha.... he was trying to tell me that.....

Wah.... I couldn't believe that I fell for her trick!!! But what a relieve when I heard that good news... I really thank God for that speech, it was inspired by Sherlin.

One of my friend even asked me to send her a copy of my speech =)

Below is the notice about the the winners and they will be giving us an award =)



Wah..... I am so happy!!!!!!

It was also Wai Loong's birthday today!!! Happy Birthday Wai Loong!!!!

Tuesday (28/4/09)

Hi guys,

It's been awhile since I updated my blog... hehe.... was kinda busy... But I am going to start blogging since end of April, starting from my first exam =)

So it was a Tuesday morning that I was prepared to take my exams for the day - COMM220 Principles of Interviewing and COMM132 Introduction to News Reporting . I was pretty excited to finish up both these papers coz they were the tougher ones compared to the other 2 papers I am gonna take.

I drove to college and met Daily Kristy at the lift... haha.... what a coincidence... Then went up to first floor to eat my 100 marks breakfast made by my one and only Jojo!! I took the fish ball first, and she was like, "nope! eat the sausage first.... coz then only it it 1 0 0 ....." haha... had to obey her loh....

So after the first paper, Daily Kristy and Twinlight were waiting for me outside of the exam room as I was the last to come out (as usual). We went to first floor and ate. Daily Kristy and I each bought a plate of Spaghetti and Twinlight bought something from auntie-make-hot. So we ate and kept discussing about some of the questions that came out just now. I was pretty excited to know what their answers were... hehe....

I continue eating but didn't really like the sauce coz got the fried rice stuff!! The peas, carrot and corn..... I just left it aside....


Then I kept eating and discussing and eating and discussing that my mouth was so dirty and I had to wipe my mouth every time when we discuss.... So it happened so many times that I had to keep taking tissue @.@ Daily Kristy called me "The tissue girl"



So after that we went to the Library to study... We met Sandra there... hehe.... and as we studied, we talked and laughed... we only started to really study after like an hour of disturbing each other XD Twinlight kept on 'crying' (that's the sound of how she laughs), she made so much noise.... But too bad the library didn't say "Please do not cry".

One of the stuff that kept us laughing was that Sandra and Kristy fighting about being Hakka.... Yes, both of them are hakka... and me too! Kristy said wrongly as she talked too fast and said, "you la hakkaN" akakakakkaka.....

Then we were studying half way and Twinlight said that she was not sure if she could finish studying all that will be coming out for exam.... The last topic was about Libel Law....

She went like, "I am not sure if I got time for labour la"

Then we were like, "what labour?"

She actually pronounced the word libel as labour XD and we all laughed!!!!

Sandra said, "errrr.... I don't want to see you in labour?"

akakkakakka......

After the second paper, we discusssed a bit about it. Then Kristy suddenly talked about her shoes... her NEW pair of shoes.... See below:


What do you think about it? Her sister said that it looks like those people who are attending funeral XD and Sandra said it looks like those people who are going for Tai Chi XDXD I felt like it was for those auntie selling vege or meat at the pasar....... haha......

Today is Michelle's birthday!!!! Wah... Last Friday, us kisiao united made a video for her:




Nice??

I just want to wish her Happy Birthday again!! Thank you Michelle for being a great friend to me.... I know I can trust you and count on you anytime... You are really helpful you know?? I thank you for supporting me for the things I do and correcting me when I am wrong =) Love ya!!!

Happily (N)ever After Play by Group 2 from Public Speaking Class

Last Thursday we had a play. It was called Happily N'ever After (See how it works 2 way - Happily N Ever After/ Happily Never After)... At first I was so stressed out and worried that our group may not be able to perform so well, I was so scared.... But the play turned out so well that the title of the play should be called Happily Ever After!! hehe... So here I want to thank each and every member of my group:

Hey fairytale people,

I just wanted to let you know that I am really happy, satisfied and impressed by our play. Though at first I was a bit stressed out, because our practices weren't that in proper sequence and flow, but I thank God and thank you that our actual play turned out 10 times even better than our practices!! I am so glad to work with all of you, whether major role or minor role, because everyone of you played your part so well, everyone of you made your part important to the play, even if you were just one of the 7 dwarfs or the ultraman XD

Dr. Steven (our beloved lecturer) was and is still very proud of us!! He said, "good play, good acting!" hehehe.... I could see how shocked he was because we just raised the bar higher this time *the other group felt pressured when they saw our play... shhhhh....*

All in all, I learn to work together as a group and appreciate every member who committed their hearts into this play...

Wai Loong, for being our wonderful and caring leader, always putting people first(more important) than their task. I just want to appreciate you for helping me as a leader, coz without you, I wouldn't have had all the moral support and some of the funny ideas... hehe... and I still think that you looked funny in the man in black suit and halo that made you looked like an angel.. so not ngam... hehe

Wai Loong and I (Both leaders of our group!!)

Shaun for helping us so much!! I really think that you are a great leader, because of your enthusiasm and aura, haha! thank you for being so humble by taking up the role of a dishwasher XD but in the end, you get married to Cinderella... hehe... so is it a good thing or a bad thing for you, since I am the Cinderella? kekeke.... You have been a really nice friend and I am so glad to have the opportunity to work with you!

Cally for making sure everyone get's their costumes and for coordinating the lights... like your laughter as an evil stepsister.... Oh ya, for making my hair too!!! wahhh... I love it!

Amirul for getting the props ready and prepared and for wearing that cute hairband on your head!!! hehee.... You did well as Amo =)

Meggie for always bringing the projector... I really think you looked cute with the tail and the 'cat' hairband on your head too... You really looked like Momo... hahaha... nice acting!!

Amo (Amirul) and Momo (Meggie) *just realized that their initials are the same as their characters' initials*

Jasmine for collecting attendance, chasing for money and for being such a cute narrator!!! *I still think you looked nice*

Sufi for making sure the staging is right for every scene.... well done in your ultraman dance!

Shadow and Shay Pin for making sure the backdrops are perfect for each scene and also that the scale looks like a scale.... hehe... oh ya, and coordinating the lights as well... Shadow, love your white hair... hehe.... Shay Pin, nice acting, "useless prince" XD

Michelle for coming for our practices more often than some of our group members... hehe... for helping us so much, especially on the sound that day..

Jojo, for putting on the makeup for me... Yes, I know I am your guinea pig... but you made your guinea pig looked like a princess!! heheh.... Thank you for supporting me too!!

My makeup artist

Jo-Joan for lending me your skirt and for coming to the play too =)

Leit, for becoming one of our best actresses XD I really think you did very well in that role. hehe... and doing all the last minute preparations and making sure everything is there. Thank you for your speaker!! It was really helpful... even to the other team...

Tiffany for making us the props... balloon guns, balloon sword, balloon mirror, and the prince's crown!! I think you are so talented!! and also for being such an evil stepsister!

CY, thank you for doing all the cutting of the scenes and preparing most of the sound effects and music... hehe... Thank you for also making the posters =) I think you did awesome as the wizard and as the big bad wolf =))

Pei Fern for being the cute little red riding hood and for being so committed to our play...

Yancy, thank you for your commitment too!! I think you are a really nice person to share thoughts with and that you can be a good leader... by the way, you looked so cute with the frog!!

Justin, for daring to dance the ultraman dance! haha... I thought you look so good... with the mask XD hehe... I also like your enthusiasm to want to help in our play =)


Roweena, for being such a lovely princess... hehe...

Clare, for being a smart chef!! hehe...

Hsiao Ling, thank you for being our scale =) You did really well in being one of the 7 dwarfs too....

Yvonne for also being one of the cute 7 dwarfs... I honestly think that you gurls looked cute!!

and how can I forget my prince charming!! Benny!! hehe... I really likd the way you acted as a prince, young and naiive... heheh... You did very well Benny, especially the dancing part =) A lot of my friends thought it was so lovely =)

also Neha, for finishing up the script in 3 hours... =)


THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR BEING IN THIS GROUP!!

If I ever get the chance to do this again, I would, because the reward is awesome =)

Thanks!!

With gratitude,
Rachel (the leader that is proud of every member of the this group)

After the play, we (the whole class) presented Dr. Steven with a surprise gift!!! hehe... A Fedora!!! See Leit wearing it:


Here are some pictures to go with the post:

Momo (Meggie) , evil stepsister (not that evil after all - Cally), me and our cute narrator (Jasmine)

Spot the man....

Me, Jasmine, Michelle, and Leit (our evil stepmother)

Chelsie (the leader of Group 1) and I

Amirul, me, Meggie, Cally and Shay Pin (One of the cute 7 dwarfs)