:)

DIY Recesky Twin Lens Reflex Camera

2012-01-30T16:44:00.000+08:00

Got this new toy a few weeks back, but due to my high level of procrastination, i only fixed it yesterday.

It came in a box, and this is how the inside looks like:

It took me approximately 3hours to fix it (plus minus toilet break, water break, stare-into-nothingness break, dreaming-about-Johnny-Depp break). I felt so proud of myself.........until i read the online manual.

Me:

'One hour' is the biggest lie ever told by manuals. To justify myself, i shall make up as many excuses as possible as to why it took me so long to fix the camera.

#1 The instructions were all in CHINESE.

You see ah. You must understand my hardship. My knowledge of chinese words are very limited hor. I can only write 1-10 and write my own name hor. Other complicated words i no understand hor. That's why it took me so long ^^V

#2 .......the umm....

Ok fine, there's no #2.

Some parts were a bit more complicated than the rest. Small screws, and tiny parts with springs...etc. Since the camera parts are all made out of plastic, they are pretty fragile. You don't wanna over-screw and break any parts because then you'll have to buy another camera just to replace that one small part.

The operation table

TADA!

And when the real camera meets the mini camera.

The mini camera

You get a real mini camera couple!

The real mini camera couple

And they lived happily ever after....

Peace.

2012-01-27T09:44:00.000+08:00

For some reason, i don't know what/why, i woke up at 620am this morning. The dumbest thing i have done this year (so far), is that i stayed on my bed tossing and turning for almost 2 hours. That has gotta be the most unproductive 2 hours of my life in 2012.

So i decided to go downstairs and grab myself a cup of hot milo, and have an early breakfast with grandma. She is up early, as expected. And there was this great peace that suddenly filled the house. Everyone else, except the both of us, were still asleep (and they still are, as i'm typing this). I really enjoyed that moment of serenity. Something that i've been missing out on back at KL simply because the only reason i woke up early was to study for exams.

Then it dawned upon me that this peace that i'm enjoying may not be what my grandma is feeling. Waking up to quietness every single day and spending the whole day alone at home is definitely not something to look forward to, and it pains my heart to know that this is how she has been living for the past decade. The house only comes alive at night when my uncle comes home from work. Only at night will she have someone (in human form) to talk to and to watch TV with. I know not how she truly feels about this. But if i were her, this long term 'quietness' would be nothing but loneliness to me.

This is when i know i have made the right decision to sacrifice some possible 'achievements' that i could have had if i were to spend those few days back home, and stay here for a few more days. I don't know what else i can do for her, but i'll do what i think is right. And at this very point of time, i know it is.

I'm gonna make the best out of my semester break and make it the best one yet - both for me and grandma :)

The Shower Experience

2011-11-17T18:07:00.001+08:00

My encounter in the shower just 30minutes ago has inspired me to write this blog post. With the super rainy-and-always-flooding-and-as-a-result-causing-massive-jam-on-the-road-and-trees-to-fall weather these few days, it has made my university bathing life much more interesting (miserable) than it usually is.

Here is what usually happens to me.

The rain pours.

Goes into the shower, turn on the water tap, and realize that the water is too cold.

So you stand there for 5minutes to double and triple check if the water really IS cold, and you spend another 5minutes deciding if you should risk your life by showering.

"To shower, or not to shower..." "Maybe i should get out and shower later."
"What if the lightning strikes and i get electrocuted? I don't wanna die bathing....and naked."

Then you realize that you've wasted a good 10minutes trying to reason things out.

You: "This cannot be happening. 10minutes have gone by already?? I just got in!"

Then you think to yourself, "I shall not waste the 10minutes that i've wasted. Shower, mama's coming in."

"Have mercy on me."

Dear readers,

before i proceed, allow me to explain to you that there are 2 ways in which you can have a grand entrance.

#1 You can tap some water onto your body, count to 3, and RUN.

Add caption

#2 You can skip all the steps and just RUN.

But truth be told, it doesn't really matter which way you choose.

Because at the end of the day....

you'll still end up....

..................................

......................

............

......

...

PEKCHEK.

The end.

Not my day.

2011-11-01T16:16:00.003+08:00

This is exactly how i feel right now.

Had my first Microeconomics exam this morning. AND, i didn't do too well. 60 objectives in 1.5hours. Time wasn't enough, brain wasn't functioning as well as it should have functioned, and lots of careless mistakes. Answers were given right after exam, and i scored 41/60.

19 wrongs. 19 wrongs. 19 wrongs!!!

It is totally unacceptable. This test is supposed to be the easiest test of all since it only covers the first few chapters of the syllabus and yet i flunked it.

Le sigh.

So in order for me to release stress and to express my frustration towards myself, i have decided to to the gym and sweat it out OR i could destroy all the exercising machines like this:

Kthxbai.

A new blog in progress!

2011-10-25T14:29:00.003+08:00

Raining krusty krabs! Every (tham-ziak) person's dream...

We sisters are in the midst of starting up a Tan Sisters' blog. It'll be a blog where we post up random happenings at home, stupid conversations which take place at home, funny videos...etc. The main purpose of doing this is for us to record down the story of our sisterhood so that one day when we grow old, we'll be able to look back and laugh at all the things that we did/said.

Ideas and blog design are still in progress (not that there are a lot to design, it's a slow progress simply because all of us are computer/photoshop/html code noobs).

But it should be up by this week ;) Stay tuned!

It's good to be alone.

2011-09-20T17:11:00.004+08:00

Well, not all the time. But sometimes it's necessary for one to be alone at least for awhile.

After half a day of classes, running errands around uni, meeting so many people, stressing over unapproved documents...etc. It feels good to be alone in the room reading articles, praying, Tumblr-ing, working, and just enjoying the peace. With things moving so fast nowadays, a 'me-time' is so rare and i most certainly treasure every moment of it.

Next up, gym and dinner with myself. Alone, yes. But not lonely :)

I'm awake, alive, and blessed.

University.

2011-09-17T11:41:00.004+08:00

It's been 2 weeks since i last stepped foot into UM, and i'm in the midst of learning to adapt to everything that's new around me. University life is so different compared to high school years.

Nobody cares if you eat, sleep, starve, attend classes, miss the shuttle bus, bathe, don't bathe or stink (ok, maybe they do care about this one). Anyway, what i'm trying to say is that basically we have to really be independent.

The past 2 weeks have been so eventful that if i were to type everything out, you'd probably die of boredom trying to read everything. So i guess a summary would be good enough? :)

Summary #1 - I joined the Orientation Debate competition...

...and my team won FIRST PLACE! 1 whole week of intense stress, sleepless nights, and loss of appetite was finally worth it. The fact that my debate partner and i have no debating experiences at all made us even more stressed out because almost all our competitors are debaters, and have past debating experiences. Though we feel that we could have done better during the Finals, but we thank God for the victory! :)

A glimpse of how the Finals layout looked like.

To debate over the microphone in front of 300+ people in the congregation is really not easy at all. As i recall back on what happened, i can't help but thank God for His courage.

And meet my dear debate partner aka comrade, Sarah Choong!

Do excuse our craziness. This is what we call 'post-debate-symdrome'.

After 1 week of mental stress, we're finally back to our crazy selves! ;)

Summary #2 - I tidied my desk!

Tada!

Let's hope my desk in the real world will look as good as it does in the virtual world.

Disclaimer: The converse shoe is a pencil case, not a real shoe. (the coolest christmas gift ever!) And i WASN'T Tumblr-ing. *giggles*

10 things to thank God for:

1) good roommates

2) a comfortable bed

3) a good and usable toilet

4) a well equipped campus (convenience store, gym, badminton court, basketball court, cafeteria, washing machines...etc.)
5) punctual shuttle buses

6) good lecturers

7) warm, friendly, and ever-so-helpful seniors

8) awesome new friends
9) even more awesome old friends! you know who you are ;)

10) supportive parents & sisters who are always there for me

...and the list goes on and on and on! Oh God, how great thou art. You're the person to thank for every single thing in my life. Thank you, Heavenly Daddy :)

Why hello.

2011-08-22T15:07:00.002+08:00

Say HI to my friends from Children Church! :)

Yesterday when i was just bumming around Facebook (stalking people), a chat suddenly popped out. It's from a girl from Children Church.

Girl: "Hi teacher gladys! ^^ Long time no see."

This immediately put a smile on my face.

This is truly the greatest joy of being a teacher. That your students have the courage and confidence to say "HI" to you outside of classroom, and you can just chat with them on Facebook just like what normal friends do.

Ouch.

2011-07-20T17:49:00.004+08:00

Hi everyone, my name is Gladys.

I have something to share with you.

This is my elbow.

I think i'm experiencing something that's called an 'elbow ligament injury'.

Ok, i'm not sure if that's the exact/correct name for it.

Long story short. I can't straighten or bend my right elbow 100% as of now.

I went to see a traditional chinese doctor yesterday,
and he pulled my right hand from 45° to 90°.

The pain was so unbearable that my tears kept flowing down my cheeks like rivers of living water. Like a spoiled water pipe. Like a never-ending water fountain. Like....ok,i think you get my point.

I woke up this morning, and my right hand is no longer 90° but 80° now.

:(

Friends, i have an advice for you.

Never take any of your body parts for granted.

Appreciate your elbows while they're still intact and in perfect form.

-

As for me, i'm just gonna live my life in slow motion for now until my medication takes a positive effect.

I can't wait to use my right hand to hold up my Milo cup.

I know that time will come soon enough!

I believe so :)

I - P - to - the - O - H (Part II)

2011-07-07T18:06:00.006+08:00

We got swag, we make you sweat.

Here are the Ipoh pictures as promised! Enjoy :)

Dic Vinn - Our tour guide for the trip a.k.a the Ambassador of Ipoh.
He was the one who planned where to bring us, what food to feed us...etc.
Just mention the name 'Dic Vinn' and you'll get 50% off everything ;)

A bunch of crazy people at The Lost World of Tambun!
The hot springs were really very HOT.

Tze Ken holding his breath underwater #likeaboss

Abel doing the James Bond pose underwater #likeaboss

Jo and I trying hard to hold our breath #nothinglikeaboss
It's so hard to do it without closing our nose!

Fo San - where we had dim sum for breakfast :)
The place is huge! Filled with tourists, like us. Hehe.

Everyone with their white and wide smiles :D
(except Dic Vinn)

Meet our newly discovered pair of twins! Same shirt, same pants.
The best part? They bought the same pair of pants, but it was at a different time and at a different place. But wore it on the same night. Wow. One word. BROMANCE.

Jo the Queen of all jump shots!

Dubcube's first GIF ever!
While waiting for the guys to finish packing their bags, we decided to make full use of the facility (and furniture) in our room - the bed.
*notice how Tze Ken managed to maintain his pose throughout the 2 shots #likeaboss

And of course, no road trip's ever complete without Taboo.

Team #1

Addy, frieda, xiao fern, ju, and darren :)

Team #2
also known as *ahem* the WINNING team.

From the back: Abel, sung, dic vinn, justin, yong loon, jo, and me.

The game got so intense and violent that the owner of the hostel called us at 2am to ask us to 'bring down our volume' abit. HEHE. Thank God we weren't banned from staying at the hostel. If we were to get banned, the next time we go to Ipoh we'd all have to squeeze in Dic Vinn's ah ma's house.

Meow!

Ju, jo, adele, and xiao fern :)

This picture, my friends, is going to be on the cover of Forbes magazine.
Smiling next to Oprah and the Queen.

After our very satisfying chicken rice dinner :)

Welcome to our crib! Jean was my room mate. Yay! :)

The finalists of Malaysia's Got Talent-lah.

Ipoh white coffee FTW!

Mixed fruit ice for only RM 4.50. Heaven on earthhhh.

And this was the best of all! Totally worth it.
I don't think we can get it any cheaper here at KL.

Next up, Kellie's Castle.

I sort of knew there's a story behind the construction of this castle, but i didn't really care to know more. But before we went into the castle, we read a few articles which were displayed beside the entrance. After reading them, i felt chills down my spine.

Then i kept reminding myself "it's all in the head, it's all in the head."

One of the many newspaper articles.

Ok, i have no idea what this is but it certainly looks scary.

The exterior of the castle's pretty nice actually. It gives a very 'english' feel.
Didn't feel like we were in Malaysia at all - until we got sun burnt.

Darren: "Ah pa huei lai lor!"

Me: "Sung, don't jump!" *pushes sung*

Beautiful girls, Jo & Ju :)

Instead of touring the castle, we SHUFFLED 'on' the castle.
A gif speaks a thousand words. Look closely and you'll see many epic moves.

Overall, it was a great trip along with great company.
A trip that we'll never forget :)

Ipoh, we'll be back!

I - P - to - the - O - H

2011-07-02T18:23:00.003+08:00

Ooooooh Charlie.......

with adeline, joanna, adele, and frieda at the 'haunted' Kellie's Castle :)
picture credits to Adele Ng

Just got back from a 2days-1night road trip to Ipoh with the Dubcube committees! And i must say that this has gotta be one of the FUNniest and memorable road trips ever. Though the trip was a short one, every minute spent with each other was certainly worth the hours of traveling :)

A short road trip, with no agendas. Ok, maybe got. Only 3 things:

1) eat
2) drink
3) and be merry.

Currently awaiting for more pictures from Jo & Justin. Will post em' up later ;)

Quote of the week: "WE GOT SWAG!"

#likeaboss #blackandyellow #jackdanielssauce

Broken.

2011-06-30T14:01:00.001+08:00

I never liked the feeling of knowing that certain things could have been done in a better way. But dwelling in it won't make things better either.

Now, i just need to suck it up and learn from what I've done wrong.
To be more sensitive towards the feelings of others is what i need to learn.

Wisdom is what i need. Wisdom from you, God.

I'm ready to be molded by You.

LEARN from yesterday,
LIVE for today,
HOPE for tomorrow.

Teach me how to be a better person, Lord. I wanna be just like You :)

Bootcamp: Day #1 - All over again

2011-06-28T10:25:00.009+08:00

Dear diary,

why today bootcamp so smelly?

----

You must be wondering "what's so smelly??". I shall elaborate more later on.

But first and foremost, let me welcome all the new recruits today!

Ok, now back to the serious stuff.

Today was our benchmark test. It's basically a test to test our stamina - and also a test for our trainers to know the level of our stamina so that they can test and put us into groups according to our level of tested stamina.

As for those who have joined bootcamp before, it's a test for us to test how much our stamina has improved since the last benchmark test that we had.

Friends, this is no ordinary test.

It's a test so hard that even STPM examiners will cry when sitting for it:

So TOUGH that all the poh-pohs jogging at the side track will stop and stare:

"The youngsters nowadays are so fit."

SO TOUGH. That........ok, i think you get my point.

Bootcamp starts at 650am this month. Careen and i arrived at 648am today.

And we're like:

"We're 2 minutes early."

We ran towards the field and saw PekLow doing this to us:

"You're late."

And i was like:

"Aha. I know that."

Just because he was early today. JUST BECAUSE.

#ichooselove

Outwardly i was like:

"CONGRATS ON BEING EARLY, PEKLOW."

But inside my heart:

"You asked for it, bro. The 'who-comes-earlier' race is ON!"

Oh, and did i mention that my stamina has improved since last month's bootcamp?

Last month: 14mins 45secs & 14mins 11secs
Today: 11mins 35secs & 13mins 50secs

You have no idea how much joy this brings to a bootcamper :')

You:

"OMG Gladys, you've improved so much!"

Thanks for your encouragements, guys!
Couldn't have done it without you guys :')

But just when i was about to celebrate my great achievement, i found out that someone named Nehe Ting, ran so fast that he almost broke the 7mins for 1.6km run record.

Spoil market.

For those of you who don't know how he looks like, here you go:

Mmhmm. You got that right. He's the one in green.

No one has mentioned this much before.
But being a girl at bootcamp is actually quite sad and zialat.
This is because your hands and knees are always on the ground, and the ground's either , sandy, rocky, or shitty. No, as in literally shitty with real poos from my friends called 'cats and dogs'.

Girls bring girls, we need our beautiful hands to tie our hair, put on our mascara, wear our shades, shave our armpits, and....etc.

Before bootcamp:

"We love our smooth and silky hands."

After bootcamp:

"HANDS, Y U NO SMOOTH?!"

We need these:

OH. And you guys remember PekLow?

Just to refresh your memory a lil' bit :)

Well, it was his birthday last week.
So i just wanna take this opportunity to wish him 'HAPPY BIRTHDAY'!

Haha. Just kidding. I already wished him on twitter. Why wanna wish him again?

All i wanna do is just to share some joy with you.

WARNING: Viewer discretion is advised.

PekLow praying hard before his crucifixion.

On the way to the cross.

Still on the way.

Almost there. And umm... nice pose with the fingers, PekLow.

And finally....

"Happy un-Father's Day, PekLow!"

I understand that it's actually quite brutal and inhumane to do that to him. But i guess we just love him too much that we cannot let his birthday pass by without a good and loving memory.

But now i'm starting to regret what we did.

It seems like after that incident, PekLow is not the same no more.

1) He's now camera-shy. Which is VERY abnormal of him.

For someone to move from this:

to this:

Is actually quite shocking and heart-breaking.

Abel in the background: "Sigh. We shouldn't have done that to him."

2) He is now SMELLY.

But let me explain myself first. I'm not suggesting that he wasn't smelly before this (of course he was, without a doubt), but after that incident, he's now SMELLIER.

Maybe that incident caused him to give up on life and laundry.

I'm not trying to exaggerate things, but it was really very smelly.

And of all seats, he just had to sit beside me.

And i was like:

Poor ChekJeff, he had to follow PekLow's car home.

This is seriously the definition of PEKCHEK.

"HEWWWWWWP!"

PekLow's smelly shirt aside, i just wanna congratulate all the new recruits for completing the benchmark test! You guys did an amazing job ;)

Starting from now, you'll start to have your 'dim gai' moments every single minute. But hang in there! The best moments of bootcamp are on its way.

And though you walk like this now:

Know that God loves you very much.

The 41 bootcampers on Monday.

3, 2, 1 - HALLEHOOYAH!

SEE. YOU. TOMORROW.

Wise words from an 8year-old.

2011-06-22T15:00:00.000+08:00

I was watching Rio with my baby sisters the other day when i randomly asked a question to well, no one. I wasn't expecting any answers from anyone in particular at that time.

Me: "Why is it that in every movie there will always be ONE main bad guy with 2 not-so-smart assistants??"

I can't really remember the exact words that she said,

but it was something like this:

"I think it's because they spend too much time being bad and doing bad things that they don't have time to study."

After hearing her say that, i realized how much my baby sister has grown.

From the small lil' cute & chubby baby that she used to be,

to this pretty and matured lil' lady that she is right now :)

Even at the this young age, she knows how to say words of appreciation, care for people, and even strike a proper conversation.

Once my mom was preparing lunch in the kitchen, she said:
"Thanks for cooking for us everyday, mum. Your cooking is very nice."

When i got back late from work, feeling all exhausted, she came and asked:
"So how are you? How's your work?"
*with her big wide smile*

Sometimes we as grown-ups don't even do that. Hearing those words from her really encourages me to become a better sister and a better person.

She's our precious lil' princess in the family.

Our precious Melody :)

This was taken on the day Evangeline was born. We were on our way to the hospital to meet Eva for the very first time. They're both very good 'big' sisters :)

And this was Evangeline's way of saying "HI" to them. Hehe.
The 1day-old-fat-chubby-and-red Evangeline :)

♥
Love each and everyone of them to bits.

Bootcamp: Day #idied

2011-06-21T09:43:00.009+08:00

Dear diary,
today i died.

----

I was already halfway drafting the 'Bring-A-Friend Day' blog post but today's bootcamp story is crying out to me like "blog me, blog me!" so i'm gonna listen to my heart.

Today i woke up at 6am SHARP. That's such a rare case.

I woke up feeling all fresh and happy like:

Reached the field at about 640am, and our trainers brought us to another side of the field which we've never trained there before.

AND SO. The sky was dark blue, the wind was blowing, and it was chilly. We were all happily doing our warm-ups when all of a sudden, we starting hearing the sound of footsteps. It was getting louder and louder....

And we were like:

"Which monster is that?!?!"

Ladies and gentlemen, uncles and aunties, cats and dogs - you're right.

This is a very pantang word at bootcamp, but i'm gonna say it anyway.

There were "L.A.T.E.C.O.M.E.R.S"

Now everybody say: "Whatttttt??"

"Whaaaaattttttttt?!?!"

After much thought and consideration, i have decided to stop posting pictures of latecomers. This is to avoid the invasion of privacy, lest anyone should sue me.

Therefore, from this very day onward you won't be seeing pictures like

this:

or this:

or even this:

AND this:

Ok, i know i've never posted the last 2 pictures in my blog before, but i just wanna make sure you guys get my point.

Oh wait. You didn't get my point?

Awww mannn.

Another picture then:

Moving on. Back to the story.

Lets just name the 2 latecomers "pekLow" and "chekJeff".

And so pekchek came 'jogging' to the field.

And i was like:

"WHYYYYYY?!?!?!"

Because of pekchek, we did 8 sets of zialats.
8 sets, my dear friends and family. 8 SETS.

PekLow: "Guys, you gotta understand the 'art' of coming in late. You gotta come in with pride and ELEGANCE."

Me: "You mean like this, PekLow???"

And yesterday night David made an announcement to all bootcampers on twitter :

Note this:

Wahlao. Super angry wei.
HE DIDN'T EVEN COME FOR BOOTCAMP!!!!

So....you're ready huh??

"Mmhmm. Noted."

The reason why i said "i died" at bootcamp today is because the training was really tough today. We were separated into 3 groups - Alpha, Bravo, and

Charlie:

I was in Bravo, and there were 3 stations prepared today.

At the first station, we had to run along the jogging track at the park NON-STOP for around 15minutes (but it felt like eternity). And the best part? We had to carry a sand bag while running.

After the 6th or 7th round, i literally felt like dying.

Body dehydrated. Covered with sweat. Heart pumping so hard.

And i was holding the sandbag like:

"Oh gawd! WHY?!?!"

Extra information: The sandbags are as smelly as a 2-months-never-bathe punya gorillas. The smell was horrible, terrible, worse than vegetable. The sandbag was WET. Not because of rain. It was because of SWEAT. The sweat collected from the bootcampers from the 545am slot.

Me:

#ichooselove

Our 3rd station was a 'rope-pulling' sort of station.
We had to pull ourselves forward to the other end of the rope using only our hands. And elbows were NOT ALLOWED to touch the ground.

Trainer: "Chest down, pull yourself towards the other end, tap your partner's hand, and switch positions. BUT no elbows on the ground. I repeat, no elbows on the ground."

But i think i didn't hear the "no elbows on the ground" part la.
Don't know why ^^W

15minutes later....

Trainer: "Alright guys! STEADY! Time for your warm-down session."

Me:

"Indomee, indomee, indomee"

After the warm-down session, everyone shouted "HOOYAH!" with much joy and pride - knowing that we've survived this very torturous and abusive day of bootcamp.

I shall hereby end this post with 3 words.

"WE. DID. IT!"

Bootcamp: Day #idunnowhat

2011-06-16T11:35:00.006+08:00

Dear diary,
i'm fat.

----

Missing a day of bootcamp is like life sentence. I feel flabby, wobbly, fatty, sicky, and unfitty. It was just 4 days of bootcampless days and i was already feeling like a jellyfish.

Now i understand why people can get addicted to bootcamp!
This has gotta be the healthiest addiction ever.

Was absent on Tuesday due to umm...exhaustion. I'm not too sure what happened on the field, but i know what happened off the field - in the virtual world.

This was what happened:

NOTE: "How not to forgive after that pic?!?"

The picture was:

"We're guilty as charged!!"

And i'm like:

YAY! SUCCESS! ^^W

And then i found the betrayer.....

Then me & Careen were like:

"Seriously jin?? After all these years of friendship and brotherhood??!"

--

Anyway, the past is the past.

Today's bootcamp was T.O.U.G.H man. TOUGH!

T - tough
O - orh
U - until
G - gladys
H - hamm (hamm as in 'cry' in cantonese)

Ok, nevermind.

I personally believe that pictures speak a thousand words.

Summary of today's bootcamp:

You: "Eww. Did you just post your own tweet??"

Me:

"Oh yeah i did."

Many were absent today. Some are sick.
While some were doing devotion at home.

Can't really recall who though:

and the ultimate never-comer?

LEX LOW.

Tweet of the year?

Me:

"DON'T YOU DARE TO TWEET ANYMORE, LEX LOW."

Bootcamp: Day #5

2011-06-10T01:15:00.006+08:00

Dear diary,
bootcamp is becoming more fun fun fun fun!

----

The night before bootcamp, my Careen and i went for our Subzone leaders meeting. After that we went for supper, and reached home past midnight.

And when we checked our twitter, we saw this:

I checked the timeline, and the tweet was 2hours old.

Then me and sister were like:

"Ok. We didn't read that tweet because we're asleep..."

So the night passed, and it was morning.

And i had a dream. A very weird dream. I dreamt of someone telling me "Bootcamp is CANCELLED." The dream was soooo real that i actually woke up, and turned off my alarm. But after awhile i started to realize that it was only JUST A DREAM.

Dragged myself out from the bed. Had breakfast. Changed.

And the journey began....

It was a beautiful day. The sun was rising, birds were chirping, wind was blowing, and everyone was happy (and sleepy).

We started out by doing warm-ups. We did jog-on-the-spot exercises, stretched our thigh and calf muscles, squats, and STAR JUMPS.

Like this:

Things were going fine. The sun was shining, plants were growing, mosquitoes were sucking blood UNTIL 4 late comers came walking to the field.

First we were like:

"HUH."

Then we were like:

One of the late comers stood behind me and he said,
"Ok, i think he (our trainer) didn't see me. We're safe."

Trainer: "4 late comers today. 4 zialats NOW!"

And i looked at him like:

Sigh. Life is unfair, isn't it?

When others are late, we'll be like:

#endoftheworld

But when we ourselves are late, we'll be like:

After all the warm-ups and zialats, it was time to divide us into our respective groups again. This time i was smart. I mean, smarter. We all formed a really long straight line, and i was standing at the farthest end.

Trainer: *counting and separating everyone into groups*

and my sister was like:

And true enough, i was back in my old group!

"i know that you are for me, i know that you are for me...
i know that you will never forsake me in my weakness"

In my heart i was like:

"Thank you God!"

There were 3 stations, each planned out with different exercises.

One of the stations was the 'Sprint' station. We were required to sprint as fast as we could from one end to another. BUT the catch is this - before we start running, we have to hold a certain position/pose until our trainer says "GO!"

AND...there was another catch. While you're running, if the trainer 'taps' on your shoulder, you have to do 2 pekcheks when you get to the other side.

I know what you're thinking, "2 pekcheks only whattt. how hard can that be??" But you're so wrong. Friends and family, uncles and aunties, listen. Even if we're only required to do 1 pekchek, it's still VERY pekchek.

Trainer: "Ready?? ONE. TWO. THREE......GO!"

Me:

I ran as fast as i could, but i was still 'tapped'.

And i was like:

"Where is justice??"

One more thing. I don't know why, but it seems like our trainers have this thing against their trainees drinking water and hydrating themselves with liquid.

Everyone: "Sir! Permission to have water break please!"

Trainer:

"No water break until the end of training."

And we're like:

I think we weren't sexy enough.

Next time we should try this:

"SIR! WATER BREAK PLEASE!"

SO. Bootcamp tomorrow???

I have 4 words for ya.

DENG.

DENG.

DENGGGGGG!

Bootcamp: Day #4

2011-06-07T09:25:00.003+08:00

Dear diary,
why today i so memalukan?

--

Ladies & gentlemen, today me and my sister's worst nightmare came to pass.

Yeap, you've guessed it right. WE OVERSLEPT.

This is the part where i can totally imagine my mom saying:

"Well done my dear daughter! Sleep late somemore la, sleep la, sleep...."

This is also the part where the 'DIM GAI' moment happens.

I remember reading Wei Tieng's tweet early in the morning:

And behold, i had my 'dim gai' moment this morning.

"Greater is He who's in me than He who's in the world...."

Got over my 'dim gai' moment, washed up.

We woke up at 620am (and bootcamp starts at 645am SHARP), ran around the house aimlessly looking at the clock, got changed, didn't even have breakfast (only a small packet of 'panda' biscuits with strawberry in it. ok, too much info. moving on....)

But you know what's the most amazing thing?
Eventhough we woke up late, we reached the park earlier than usual. #bangga

Reached the park. Parked the car. Was walking towards the field...

Me: "Eh jie, today's the only day where we actually arrive BEFORE the warm-up le!"
Sis: "Ya i know! So happy!"
Me: *saw a group of people doing warm-ups*

Me: Oh shit! Jie! We're wrong! They're already doing warm-ups!!!!

Immediately ran towards the field like:

"Mama's coming!"

Was about to join in the warm-up when i heard a burst of laughter on my left.

I RAN TOWARDS THE WRONG GROUP OF BOOTCAMPERS.

The ones doing the exercise on the field were actually from the 545am time slot. They were doing their warm-downs, preparing to go home.

As for my own group of bootcampers?

They were laughing like:

and like:

while i was standing there like:

After that our trainer got us to stand in one straight line and divided us into Delta / Seals / Rangers.
Then 2 of the trainers came standing in front of me and said:
"YOU! Move over to DELTA please."

And i was like:

"You've gotta be kidding me"

Lesson learnt. NEVER blog about how happy you are to be in Rangers the night before bootcamp. Our trainers have ears to hear, and they read our blogs.

Nevertheless, i still managed to keep my cool. But in my heart i was thinking:

"Mom & dad, if i don't make it back alive from bootcamp today, know that i love you very very much."

After doing 1 set of exercise, 1 LATE COMER came running into the field. Actually, he didn't run. He was WALKING. We were super angry. Because of him, we were punished to do 1 set of 10 pekcheks.

I ain't gonna reveal no name for privacy purposes.

So the best i can do is to show you a picture of the latecomer:

His name is not Lex Low. I repeat, his name is NOT Lex Low.

After doing 10 pekcheks, someone decided to happily drop his rifle on the ground.

Trainer: "Ok, someone just dropped his equipment. 10 pekcheks NOW!"

And we're like:

"Any last words, ADRIAN TAN?????"

And whenever someone stalls, or in other words - whenever someone stops before our trainers say "Steady", we'll get an additional time of 5seconds as punishment. And in the world of bootcamp, 5seconds is like 5minutes.

A few of our teammates 'stalled' and God knows how many seconds were added to our exercises.

And i'm like:

"Just kill me."

One more thing, our lady trainer trains us in a very special way. She counts like this:
"10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 1!"

And we're like:

"YOU DIDN'T STUDY MATH????"

And towards the end of bootcamp, i was walking like:

SO. Bootcamp on Thursday??? I have 3 words for ya.

BRING. IT. ON.

Bootcamp: Day #3

2011-06-04T10:10:00.007+08:00

Dear diary,
why time no pass fast fast during bootcamp?

--

I've been really busy with work and Facebook LIVE for the past few days. Hence, this delayed post. Right now as i'm typing this, i'm proud to tell you that none of my muscles are aching no more! WOOHOO!

But suddenly reality hit me, and i realize that there's bootcamp TOMORROW.

And i'm like:

"I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me....."

Ok, all negative emotions aside.
Here's what happened on the 3rd day of bootcamp.

Careen and i woke up earlier than usual (about 5minutes earlier) and quickly got ready, had a quick breakfast, got changed, and quickly rushed out of the house because we didn't wanna reach late again.

Me: "Hey, why don't we take a short cut today?"

Sis: "Short cut? Oh okay. You sure you know the way?"
Me: "Come on. Have faith in me."
Sis: "Ok. I trust you. Show me the way, woman."

*shows Careen the way*

Got lost.

Reached late.

And i'm like:

"TADA! We're here!"

And my sister was like:

"I'M GONNA KILL YOUUUUUUU"

Thank God our trainers didn't punish us (and the others) for being late.

This is when we feel like hugging and telling them:

"I love you, trainer."

After warming up, they split us up into different groups.
Delta / Seals / and Rangers.

Delta is for STRONG people.
Seals is also for STRONG people.
&
Rangers is for people who loves God with passion and people with compassion.

Need i say more? I'm in Rangers.

We all know very clearly why we're divided into different groups.
And i'm very happy to be in Rangers. #smallpeopletalk

And so our exercise began.

We're supposed to do different exercises in 3 different stations, and do a total of 6 sets.
Just when we thought our life was tough, we looked over at the Seals n Delta, and they were doing some really really hardcore arm exercises using sandbags.

That's when we Rangers smiled at each other and said:

"Come on Delta & Seals, you can do it!"
when our actual thought was:
"Thank God i'm not in your group...."

BUT little did we know that we're supposed to swap places with Delta & Seals and do the arms exercises too.

We were like:

Nevertheless, we kept our cool.
And nodded our heads to whatever the trainer's instruction was.

Trainer: "Alright guys. Carry this sandbag, put on your left shoulder - carry it above your head - and put it on your right shoulder. DO NOT STOP until i say STEADY!"

Me:

"Let's do this!"

but in my heart i was thinking...
"I'm gonna sue you if i can't lift up my fork&spoon to eat."

HEHEHE! Just kidding ^^V

Our trainers trust us so much that he asked us to do our own counting.

Others: "1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8!"
Me: "1, 2, 4, 7, 8!"

Trainer: "YOU! How many more to go?"

And I'm like:

"I'm done, trainer."

After the 2nd set, we all felt like giving up on life already. Ok, not 'we all'. Just me.

And there's this 'military rule' saying that all the tools/equipments used are not supposed to make any sound when you put them down. In short, no matter how heavy that tool/equipment is, you gotta put it down really slowly and QUIETLY.

Unfortunately, a few of our group members decided to break the rule. Therefore, we had to do 1 set of a certain exercise. (I forgot the name of that particular exercise. So let's just call it....pekchek.)

Member #1 drops the sandbag loudly on the ground.

Trainer: "give me 10 pekcheks NOW!"

And i'm like:

"Awww come on man...i need my arms for making milo!'

Member #1 drops the sandbag AGAIN.

And i'm like:

"GOD, TAKE ME AWAY FROM THIS CRUEL CRUEL WORLD!"

Thank goodness there wasn't a 3rd round of punishment.

If not.......

At the last 5minutes of bootcamp, i can't really feel my arms no more.
We warmed down. Drank water. And took pictures.

Us: "Let's take pictures, guys!"
Trainer: *runs behind us and poses for the camera*

And i'm like:

"What are you doing here???"

HEHEHEHE. Just kidding again ^^V

*camera snaps*

and

TADA! All the happy and wobbly human beings.

"WE. SURVIVED. THE. DAY."

Bootcamp tomorrow?? All i can say is....

READYYYYYYYYYYY.

Bootcamp: Day #2

2011-06-03T08:03:00.002+08:00

Dear diary,

why our trainers no mean what they say???

----

After the first day, my muscles were aching so badly that it literally took me 5 minutes to walk my way to the bathroom. I now LAUGH in pain wherever i go, and my baby sisters will look at me like i'm some kinda crazy woman.

And so.....since there's nothing else i can do about my muscles aching, i learnt to accept it and tried to stay as positive as i can.

My motto of the day was:

Ok, so here's the summary of the 2nd day.

We started by doing warm-ups in a fenced up basketball court.
After the warm-ups, Careen and i was praying hard that we won't have to run on the field at all. And guess what?? Our prayers came true!!!
And we were celebrating in our hearts like:

"Jyeah. You ain't gonna torture me no more, bootcamp."

But little did we know what our trainers had in store for us.

We started bending our knees, holding the position for 20 seconds straight,
did multiple sets of 'i-dont-know-what-they're-called' exercises...etc.

And after the first 30minutes, my thigh muscles started to vibrate. Ok, maybe not vibrate. Vibrate sounds wrong. 'Shiver' would be a better word. Or wobble. Or...i think you get my point.

Trainer: "Bend your knees, and put your arms straight in front of you."

And we're like:

Then our trainers started telling us things like:

"Ok! Come on guys, you can do it! ONE LAST SET!!!"

And we're like:

"Woohoo! Nasi ayam goreng satu!"

Trainer: "Great job, guys. Come on, i know you can do it! ONE MORE TIME!!"

And we're like:

"OH NO YOU DIDN'T....."

Then we started doing some really 'cute' exercises in pairs. Lucky for me, my partner was my sister. We were so physically tired (and wobbly) that we decided to 'cheat' during some of the exercises.

When our trainers walk past, we'll be like:

"Come on sis! Push hard! You can do better than that! Don't be a pussy. Come on, give me some energy!!!"

But after they walk past.......

*dances the Bollywood dance*

Trainer walks back. Stares at us.
We act as if we're pushing our limits.
"Come on sis! Push hard! You can do better than that! Don't be a pussy.
Come on, give me some energy!!!"
Trainer nods in satisfaction. Trainer walks away.

And we go:

The happiest moment of the day was when our trainer said
"Alright, that's it for the day. Well done, guys!"

And i'm like:

Phew. Another round tomorrow! I'm readyyy! HOOYAH!

Bootcamp: Day #1

2011-05-31T08:52:00.002+08:00

Dear diary,

today i felt like dying.
--

Summary:

Woke up feeling like this:

"We can do this."Careen and i were 5 minutes late. And we thought "Nah, should be alright."

We reached the USJ1 padang, and we thought "Where is everybody??"

Look closer and saw EVERYONE was already lined up, doing warm-ups.

Assessment results: 14mins 45secs & 14mins 11secs.

Ran. Sweated like craqzy. Rained. Ran (i mean, walked) in the rain. Felt like puking. Regret eating full breakfast in the morning. Warmed down. Happy. Felt like a winner.

Exhausted. Challenged. Inspired to be healthy. Excited. Motivated.

Looking forward to the next one! :D

In just a blink of an eye ...

2011-05-25T14:55:00.003+08:00

...the month of May is already coming to an end.

7 more months to go before 2012 comes.
4 more months before Uni starts.
2 more months before moving into our new church building.
1 more month until my work ends.

Right now, i'm doing things that i never thought i would.
Holidays are getting much more productive than what i'd expected.

God has greatly exceeded my expectations,
and I believe He will continue to do so :)

Smile

2011-05-20T15:15:00.003+08:00

This song is the most encouraging song i've ever heard. The lyrics are so beautifully written, and every last word rhymes. A song originally sung by Michael Jackson. But i absolutely loved the version by Martina McBride. Hope this song will put a smile on your face :)

SMILE

Smile though your heart is aching
Smile even though it's breaking.
When there are clouds in the sky
you'll get by.

If you smile through your pain and sorrow
Smile and maybe tomorrow
You'll see the sun come shining through
For you.

Light up your face with gladness,
Hide every trace of sadness.
Although a tear may be ever so near
That's the time you must keep on trying
Smile, what's the use of crying.
You'll find that life is still worthwhile-
If you just smile.

In Life...

2011-05-12T14:16:00.000+08:00

From,

Tumblr

Have a great day ahead, everyone :)

We less than three Prince William!

2011-05-01T00:03:00.006+08:00

With great power....
Comes great responsibility....

With great responsibility....
Comes great stress....

Hence, the receding hairline.

*giggles*

That's what you get ifyou're not Harry ;) HEHE!

Jokes aside. I absolutely loved the Royal Wedding :) Everything was so grand and flawless!
Needless to say, Kate was simply beautiful.

She is, in my opinion, the definition of true elegance and gracefulness :)

The Rescuing Hug

2011-04-29T00:22:00.003+08:00

Twin girls, Brielle and Kyrie, were born 12 weeks ahead of their due date. Needing intensive care, they were placed in separate incubators.

Kyrie began to gain weight and her health stabilized. But Brielle, born only 2 lbs, had trouble breathing, heart problems and other complications. She was not expected to live.

Their nurse did everything she could to make Brielle's health better, but nothing she did was helping her. With nothing else to do, their nurse went against hospital policy and decided to place both babies in the same incubator.

She left the twin girls to sleep and when she returned, she found a sight she could not believe. She called all the nurses and doctors and this is what they saw (refer to the picture above)

As Brielle got closer to her sister, Kyrie put her small little arm around her, as if to hug and support her sister. From that moment on, Brielle's breathing and heart rate stabilized and her health became normal.

From then on, they decided to keep both babies together, because when they were together they kept each other alive.

And today they are both 15 years old.

--

So remember, when you are going through something, that you're not alone. you're within an arm's length of a sister who will be there to support you. But best and above all, you have a God who loves you no matter what. Who are you within arm's length of today? Think of someone who might need your love and encouragement. Stay close to them, because you never know if that moment will save their life :)

mirshal and i

2011-04-27T21:53:00.005+08:00

This picture was taken on the last day of STPM. Sweeeet.

Back when we were still students. Wait, we still are. Just that we're currently uni-less students for now. Those we were days of stress and insufficient sleep. Now, we're merely human beings with only 0.2% of brain usage.

After so long, we finally got the chance to meet up and catch up with each other. With her, there's no need to pretend. We've smiled, laughed, and cried together. We have so many things in common that talking about them freaks us out. She's a huge Paramore fan, Starbucks lover, generous giver, a laughing machine, the owner of a beautiful smile, my best friend :)

"Life is much more meaningful when you share it with someone whom you love, and someone who loves you back just as much in return."

Treasure your friends while you still have them with you :)

there's a newbie in town.

2011-03-08T00:39:00.005+08:00

Epic.

Anyway :)

Yesterday (since it's already past 12am) was such a memorable and significant day. I've never taken public transport this often ever in my 20years of living on Earth as a human being. Took KTM & LRT to and fro KL. Man, it's really not easy to travel like this.

I really salute those people who travel to and fro KL every single weekdays without complaints. Especially during the peak hours around 5-7pm, it's really 'people mountain, people sea'. There's no such thing as 'excuse me', 'thank you', or even 'sorry' anymore. Everyone will just squeeze into the coach without saying a word, but you can still sense the 'i-die-die-also-must-get-in' kind of kiasu spirit in everyone. But honestly you can't really blame them. I mean, come on....the train only arrives like what - once every 20minutes or so? How can you afford to miss the train. You won't be able to make it back in time for dinner if you do. If that happens, you'd be the ultimate pekchek person.

One interesting thing about KTM is the 'ladies coach'. I think it was introduced sometime in April last year. Basically it's an exclusive coach just for the ladies. In other words, no men allowed. I must say it's a really good idea to have that because we ladies feel much more comfortable travelling now - without having to worry about 'hamsap lous' with smelly armpit and bad breath.

Another good thing about this 'ladies coach' is that it provides free entertainment to the ladies. How you ask? We ladies get the privilege to watch the men go crazy when they find out they're in the wrong coach.

Here are some real-life scenarios:

1. Man walks into the coach while texting. After sending his text, he looks up and wonders 'where on earth are the men?!' and finally realizes he's actually in the ladies coach. The man panics, walks quickly to the nearest door, but it's too late to escape. So he stands very very near to the door, looks out the window in shame & despair and thinks to himself the ultimate regret of his life - I SHOULDN'T HAVE TEXTED. #regret

2. Man gets too carried away with talking to his friend. Walks into the ladies coach and sits down. Train starts to move, and they finally realize what happened and gives this weird smile to the ladies: http://bit.ly/eyF0M7

3. Man rushes into the ladies coach naively, immediately realizes his mistake, steps out of the coach, and the doors close. #pekchek

4. Man purposely walks into the ladies coach and gives this stare to the ladies. #slapworthy

I'm only a newbie in taking public transportation, yet i have already seen all these weird yet funny stuffs. I wonder what's next, seriously. Maybe a talking cat? Hahaha. I don't know.

I shall just enjoy whatever life brings :)

Greetings from G

2011-03-02T22:07:00.003+08:00

The ABC of Love :)

It's so good to finally be able to blog! I've been away for far too long (well, in the blogging world that is). I'm gonna try to be more consistent with this as I live my busy life. Days are certainly moving wayyyy faster than usual right now! So here's a list of 'the-5-things-that-you-might-have-missed-out-in-Gladys'-life-ever-since-she-backslided-in-blogging-but-thank-goodness-now-she's-back-but-then-again-she-might-be-talking-too-much-right-now-so-ok-i-shall-get-straight-to-the-point-now-tee-hee'.

1) My hair has grown longer.

2) My Monopoly Deal skills has improved.

3) Got 3A's 1B for STPM! (yay!)

4) Sort of backslided in Tumblr-ing too. (ok, this is not a very pleasant update. next!)

5) Working part time as an event organizer for DG Color Model Search 2011!

6) Fell in love with Upstairs Cafe. Especially their Chocolate Hazelnut. Yumms :)

7) Just cleaned my room yesterday. (err...whattt?)

8) Started watching Modern Family - 3 thumbs UP! (Y) (Y) (Y)

9) I haven't watched any of the Oscar nominated movies.

10) Fell in love with Snowflakes' Pearl Milk Tea. Yumms x2 :)

--

Now, if you'll excuse me. I'm gonna go make myself a cup of Milo and watch some random RTM tv shows just to kill time :) And I promise to keep this blogging thing going! *pinky promises*

when students burn-out.

2011-02-08T13:31:00.003+08:00

what happens when your teacher tells you that your work isn't good enough:

"YOU DO IT THEN"

there's a new maid in town.

2011-02-02T14:46:00.004+08:00

Once upon a time, in a land not-so-far away.....

There lived a baby girl named Evangeline Ros Saminah Tan. It was the eve of Chinese New Year. Everyone was busy cleaning the house, including her.

She took a colorful table cloth, and started to wipe everything and anything that she sees (things that were around her height)

Here's Evangeline Ros Saminah Tan's HOW TO BE A MAID 101:

#1 Use a colorful table cloth to wipe the table.
- Make sure you have your hair tied up (in 2 side ponytails)
- Make sure you use 'yellow' rubber-bands. Yellow is the new pink.
- Make sure the table cloth has at least 3 colors on it. Yellow MUST be in.

#2 If you can't reach the top, tiptoe.

#3 To make sure the floor's clean, squat down when vacuuming.

#4 When you're tired, take a break and pose for the camera.
- In the modelling world, this is called the 'i-need-to-pee' pose.

Last but not least....

After doing all the house chores, make sure you take a picture like this:

"Make sure you help out around the house during CNY, people!" ;)

Love,
Evangeline Ros Saminah Tan

oooh, balik kampung.

2011-01-31T23:13:00.006+08:00

I love road trips.

Spent more than 2hours in the car travelling from KL - Malacca yesterday. Thanks to our very 'kepoh' Malaysian drivers who slow down to look-see-look-see any cars that's been pulled over to the side of the road. BIG SIGH.

Complaints aside. I really love to see how happy and excited the lil' ones are when it comes to 'family outings' :) They'll be the happiest girls on earth, making all sorts of noise in the car, jumping back and forth....etc. BUT, this is what makes our family road trips worthwhile and memorable. I mean, how long are they gonna be this little?! Someday they'll grow up. When that happens, they'll be playing iPhone/iSomething in the car instead of being the noisy lil' princesses that they are right now.

Charity & Melody getting ready to 'sleep' :)

Evangeline & Melody at Secret Recipe :)

Charity waiting for her cake to come :)

--

CNY hasn't even started, yet here i am stuffing myself with all the scrumptious CNY cookies already. I think when CNY comes, my grandma will have to restock all the cookies again - because she has a crazy granddaughter who eats non-stop. A granddaughter who, by the end of CNY, is signing herself up for the next season of The Biggest Loser Asia.

I don't think i'll even have to go for any auditions. They see me, they approve.
"Sigh, this girl looks so pekchek..."

HAPPY CHINESE NEW YEAR, EVERYONE! :)

all grown up.

2011-01-27T15:52:00.002+08:00

My mind cannot comprehend how much they've grown up to be. Used to be the cute-little-chubby babies sucking the pacifier almost 24/7, now my 3 lil' princesses go out with a handbag hung over their shoulders. For Evangeline, her handbag contains a milk bottle, a random toy from home & one packet of tissues. For Melody, it's her purse and her all time must-have: lip gloss. As for Charity....she doesn't exactly HAVE a bag. Not that we didn't buy her one. It's simply because she doesn't WANT one. Sigh, she's so like me :)

I mean, why go through the trouble of bringing a handbag out when you have sisters who actually do that? Trust me. It's easy breezy! Just dump all your stuffs into your sister's bag and live happily ever after :) The end.

our temporary home :)

2011-01-26T11:56:00.005+08:00

I've heard this song many times on the radio, but i never knew what it was about. I just thought that it's a 'nice' song to listen to before i sleep. (hehe) But one day i decided to YouTube the music video and Google the song lyrics - and boy was i touched. Never thought i'd actually cry while watching a music video. The lyrics are so meaningful and real. The music video reflects perfectly on what the song lyrics say.

Little boy, 6 years old
A little too used to bein' alone.
Another new mom and dad,another school,
Another house that'll never be home.
When people ask him how he likes this place...
He looks up and says, with a smile upon his face,

"This is my temporary home
It's not where I belong.
Windows and rooms that I'm passin' through.
This is just a stop, on the way to where I'm going.
I'm not afraid because I know this is my
Temporary Home."

Young mom on her own.
She needs a little help, got nowhere to go.
She's lookin' for a job, lookin' for a way out,
Because a half-way house will never be a home.
At night she whispers to her baby girl,
"Someday we'll find our place here in this world."

"This is our temporary home.
It's not where we belong.
Windows and rooms that we're passin' through.
This is just a stop, on the way to where we're going.
I'm not afraid because I know this is our
Temporary Home."

Old man, hospital bed,
The room is filled with people he loves.
And he whispers don't cry for me,
I'll see you all someday.
He looks up and says, "I can see God's face."

"This is my temporary Home
It's not where I belong.
Windows and rooms that I'm passin' through.
This was just a stop,on the way to where I'm going.
I'm not afraid because I know... this was
My temporary home."

This is our temporary home.

♥
Just as i was watching American Idol in my grandma's house the other day, i came across this audition which literally brought tears to my eyes - like how the music video did :') this is really 'based on a true story'. it's amazing to see how songs can help express real life situations.

This is the audition video of Paris Tassin :)
I'm rooting for her.

This is indeed our temporary home.

As all of us live in this imperfect world, it's nothing but comforting to know that this place is not permanent. There's a place for us to go to, after our life on earth. A place that has rainbows & sunshine & chipsmores...and where all the beautiful and good things are :)

my first jog of the year.

2011-01-19T19:56:00.003+08:00

I don't have to worry about that for awhile :)

It's funny how i always came up with my own "what-i-wanna-do/eat-after-stpm" list. Things like....

i wanna clear my closet and make sure all my clothes are in place...

i wanna finish reading at least one book a month...

i wanna go for a jog EVERYDAY... (ok, this is by far the most unrealistic one)

i wanna eat healthily,so no more late night yamcha sessions... (ok, and this too)

....and so on, and so forth.

After weeks of procrastinating, i finally went for a jog today. Jogged for a few good rounds (more of like a...fast walk maybe? hehe) but SUDDENLY, came a group of topless-and-suspicious-looking guys standing very close to the jogging track - laughing and shouting. Being the me who ALWAYS puts safety as the #1 priority in life, thinking that i'm too young to be kidnapped and sold as a maid, i quickly jogged home.

So there you have it, ladies & gentlemen. The first jog of Gladys Tan in the year 2011. EPIC FAIL. But hey, at least i jogged a few rounds right. Better than nothing! ;)

what happens when you facebook in class.

2011-01-19T15:13:00.002+08:00

Moral of the story: never facebook in class.

;)

changed, from the inside out :)

2011-01-17T22:34:00.004+08:00

Just came back from probably one of the best camps i've ever attended.

The long hours of planning and brainstorming, sleepless nights, totally-stressed-out days, and the tonnes of phone calls made, were all worth it :)

It's such a joy to see high schoolers rise up to do things that even they themselves never thought possible of doing. The groups leaders - Jee Vinn, Andrew, Simone, Tong Shin, Hong Joo, and Tze Ken all literally stepped out of their comfort zone and led a group of more than 10people. I really see changes in them - from the first 'group leaders meeting' that we had about a week before camp, to the confident person that they are right now! :) They almost fainted when i told them they had to lead the devotion on the 2nd day of camp. (hehe) BUT that was history man! They did so well that they can start preaching anytime from now!

Tze Ken - leader of Addmath & the award winner for The Most Hardworking award!

Tong Shin - leader of Chemistry, and the happiest & cutest leader of all time! She's always smiling, filled with so much joy. Whenever i walk past her group, her group members are either smiling / laughing. All thanks to her and her 'extraordinary' helper, Albert Koh! :)

Jee Vinn - the history maker! Leader of Sejarah, and the only man alive who gives birth. HEHE!

Andrew - leader of Accounts, a super accountable person, and the winner of The Most Sacrificial award! Andrew had many sleepless nights preparing for the devotion. Well done, bro! You did such an awesome job :)

Hong Joo - leader of English! :) A guy who has so much initiative - ever ready to help out with anything and everything. A great leader indeed!

Simone - leader of Biology, the champion of IO CAMP 2011! Woohoo! Their group name's gonna be engraved on the trophy and is to be displayed at the church lobby this weekend! How awesome is that? ;) And, she's also the winner of The Most Potential award! A very real & sporting girl. You've got to see how she dug her 'pei si' during drama! Haha. Funny girl! ;)

I was greatly blessed and ministered to by Andrew & Abel's preaching. It was when i began to realize that all these while i've been doing a lot of things, but didn't really know 'why' or to 'whom' i was doing it for. Truly, we cannot serve a God whom we do not know. After that session with Abel, i made it a point to take time out from my everyday schedule, to pray and to spend time with God. Because He's always waiting for us to do so, each and everyday :)

And i really can't think of a better way to kick start the year. I believe we're all pumped up to do greater things for God in 2011! The camp may have ended, but our journey to living a greater life has just begun!

See you cool peeps at the reunion this Saturday! ;)

And everybody says.......PROTEIN!

inspiring.

2011-01-17T14:10:00.000+08:00

Read this article on Tumblr. Very inspiring :)

Man Lives on cliff and talks down suicide jumpers for last 50 years
Meet the Australian Who’s Saved 160 People from Suicide

Don Ritchie lives across the street from the most famous suicide spot in Australia: A cliff known as “The Gap.” Most people would move, but Ritchie’s stayed for almost 50 years—saving an estimated 160 people from suicide.
So what’s his big secret? Ritchie wakes up every morning and looks out the window for “anyone standing alone too close to the precipice.” If he sees someone who looks like they might be contemplating a jump, he walks over and… strikes up a conversation.
He just gives them a warm smile, asks if they’d like to talk and invites them back to his house for tea. Sometimes, they join him.
“I’m offering them an alternative, really,” Ritchie says. “I always act in a friendly manner. I smile.”
Ritchie’s house might be the worst real estate ever. One person a week commits suicide at the “the Gap,” the cliff he lives across from. It’s protected only by a small, one-meter fence, despite its legendary reputation as a suicide spot dating back to the 1800s.
But the former life insurance salesman says he doesn’t feel “burdened” by the fact that people are always contemplating jumping to their deaths outside his house. In fact, he and his wife Moya see it as a blessing: “I think, ‘Isn’t it wonderful that we live here and we can help people?’”
Ritchie, who basically sounds like the nicest guy in the entire world, is 84, and has spent much of the last year battling cancer. But, as you might expect for a dude who’s managed to live across from a tragic place, and not become a casualty himself, he’s optimistic: “I imagine somebody else will come along and do what I’ve been doing.” I hope so.

out of the box.

2011-01-10T15:07:00.005+08:00

Ever since i started Tumblr-ing, i never stopped doing so. Ok, maybe i did backslide a little once in awhile. But once i log into my account and start to view all the pictures/quotes/random stuffs posted by other users, i find it hard to stop. Really really hard.

It is through Tumblr that i discovered loads of cool stuffs. Things which i didn't even know exist. It really inspires me to think out of the box. Life is so much more fun and exciting when you do so. Seriously! These days i really gotta set timer when i Tumblr.

Check these out:

Starbucks' logo - zooming in every year.

A guitar pick with words carved on it ;)

Cool stairs.

Hehehe.

This is simply creative. The lego blocks are actually containers which you can store things up. And after storing your things, you can stack em' up and actually build something out of it! It kills 3birds with one stone. You can store things, save space, and decorate your house :)

This is for those of us who have more than 3months of holiday. We can do this over-and-over again without having to worry about morning classes :D

Boxes of all sizes stacked up! NAIS! ;)

A mini sofa-cake! :)

A very creative and meaningful tattoo ;)

A mini book on a ring. I actually think it'd be pretty cool to write your marriage vows in that mini book :) And just in case you forget your marriage vows on your wedding day, you can just flip through the book :D

Moustache hangers! :)

Kit-kat advertisement on a bench. :)

This my friend, is an Ink Calendar. My all-time favourite. The ink will slowly colour each day of the month as time passes by. You don't have to 'X' the dates on your calendars no more! ;)

Flying models.

--

Don't you just feel like creating a Tumblr account already? :)

life's too short to be unhappy.

2011-01-03T23:15:00.004+08:00

The 3rd day of 2011, lived! I hope you haven't lost your new year's resolutions ;)

I'm not just saying this because it's a nice thing to say. But i'm really excited for what's in stored this year :)

Here's something which i find really meaningful.

21 Suggestions for Success

By H. Jackson Brown Jr.

Marry the right person. This one decision will determine 90% of your happiness or misery.
Work at something you enjoy and that’s worthy of your time and talent.
Give people more than they expect and do it cheerfully.
Become the most positive and enthusiastic person you know.
Be forgiving of yourself and others.
Be generous.
Have a grateful heart.
Persistence, persistence, persistence.
Discipline yourself to save money on even the most modest salary.
Treat everyone you meet like you want to be treated.
Commit yourself to constant improvement.
Commit yourself to quality.
Understand that happiness is not based on possessions, power or prestige, but on relationships with people you love and respect.
Be loyal.
Be honest.
Be a self-starter.
Be decisive even if it means you’ll sometimes be wrong.
Stop blaming others. Take responsibility for every area of your life.
Be bold and courageous. When you look back on your life, you’ll regret the things you didn’t do more than the ones you did.
Take good care of those you love.
Don’t do anything that wouldn’t make your Mom proud.

Hope you're blessed! :)

nineteen.

2010-12-30T13:58:00.006+08:00

29th December 2010, 12am.

Got a pleasant surprise from a bunch of handsome & beautiful people,
and here are a few of them :)

HAHA! We were playing around with the 'fish-eye' effect, which i think the pictures turned out pretty well. It focuses a lot on their sharp features. (especially Sung's)

Cousin, Park Ji-Sung, Park Is-Sung

Yong Loon looking excited for his Nasi Ayam

Mojojojo & i :)

To all who came for the surprise, who wanted to come but couldn't make it, or didn't want to come but still came anyway - Thank you so much for the sweet surprise! I was really surprised! Thank God i was wearing a cool pyjamas and not my 'blue kitten' pyjamas. Ahem. Hehehe. You guys really made my birthday this year extra special. It's certainly one that i'll never forget :)

Special thanks to Mirshal, Phaik Chia & Melanie too! You girls rock my world.

And of course not forgetting Jean, Joanna, Juyinn & Adele for the awesome surprise! Love you all :)