Auction for Haiti

A few weeks ago, school had a auction to raise funds for the people in Haiti. The response was really good, I think we raised over Rm 7000. Coming from high school kids I think its really impressive.

This auction was really interesting because you have groups of people pooling cash together so the bids can go up really high. There were cakes that went up to Rm 300. So the 3 cakes amounted up to almost Rm 1000.

We had good response from teachers and students who were so kind to donate their precious stuff and people who brought their cash to bid for stuff. People like Yasmin were so generous to donate their precious apparel. Louis Vuitton wei! No kidding!

A little update on life. Last week was such a hectic week, having to deal with so many things at one go. Things got a little overwhelming, well its not unusual to be overwhelmed here in KTJ but still it happened.

On the bright side, term break is very near. 4 more days to go!! I will be in Penang for a whole week, starting next week doing a hospital attachment. So it will be one whole week experiencing life as a doctor. Looking forward to it! And yes, I do hope to eat my stomach out while I'm there as well and take in some sights during my free time.

KTJ Inter-house sports: Tug of War

Imran house didn't win but the boys put up a good fight. I always admire looking at how much passion everyone show when competing in inter-house competitions. You see so much heart on their faces, which clearly shows how hard they were trying.

Eating Kuala Lumpur: Nasi Lemak Tanglin @ Lake Gardens, Kuala Lumpur

Last holiday, dad and I decided to have an eating spree around KL. By the end of the day (somewhere in the afternoon) we ate our way through a lot of stalls. Well, that was the initial plan at least. Many shops were close as it was during the Chinese New Year holidays. So we covered what we could find.

This was not our first stop. In fact, Nasi Lemak Tanglin was our 3rd breakfast of the day! I remember coming across this stall on many food blogs and books. We had a hard time finding the place, mostly due to my incompetence in reading maps hahaha.

The name of the stall is Nasi Lemak TANGLIN, so I assumed that it was on Tanglin road. My was I mistaken. We walked to this little shack with three stalls selling nasi lemak. I had a hard time figuring out which one it was since all the stalls lacked customers. *Generally good food can be found where Malaysians flock and line up. Any food worth lining up for is worth trying. At least that's what I think.

So we approached a guard on duty nearby and he told us where to go immediately. Turns out the stall is just further down the road in a proper food court building. Directly opposite the community clinic and next to Methodist Girls School, the stall should not be too hard to locate.

And it was confirmed by the throng of people lining up to get their fix of nasi lemak. I was kind of worried that it would take too long to get our food but service was brisk. It could be compared to the serving style at the SS15 Rojak. Everything is done systematically and it takes less than 5 minutes to get to the front of the line.

What it tasted like? Wow, this is definitely one of the best nasi lemak's I've had. I would prefer the sambal to be more spicy though, I like mine with a little more 'kick' to it. But other than that, everything just fell into place. Its no surprise that this stall could garner such a huge following.

Do visit if you get the chance. Well, you know what they say.....breakfast is the most important meal of the day! Hahaha....

On another note, I'm back here at school after a short weekend. Its so sad how much we look forward to these weekends and when it actually comes, the weekend just zips by without any warning.

Term break is coming in two weeks, so that's something to look forward too. Hopefully, I'll be able to do my hospital attachment this holiday. The process so far has been painfully slow. I tell you, corresponding with e-mails is not the way to go. Unlike phone calls, people don't have to reply you right away.

The only thing between me and my holidays is Thinking Skills trials, Maths Trials, Chemistry Trials and Global Debates. I'm looking forward to ticking those thing off my list one by one.

Meeting and Old Friend @ Delicious, One Utama

Recently during Chinese New Year, I met up a friend who was visiting from New Zealand. We were classmates in the first two years of secondary school, and migrated to the sheep country after that.

She's part of the gang I hung out with back in SMK Taman Desa. I really miss those bunch of people! They're really a fantastic group of people to be around. Those 3 years of lower secondary school life was definitely memorable.

Lol, initially it was supposed to be a large gathering. We had like what.....more than 10 people who were supposed to come? Everyone ffk-ed because of the Chinese New Year celebrations and it ended up being just the 3 of us.

I've always like dining at Delicious. Food there is GOOD! This is probably mom's all time favourite restaurant. Normally going to One Utama would mean going to Delicious.

Melissa, having lived in New Zealand for the past 5 to 6 years developed an accent! I remember talking to her on the phone prior to the meet up and I just could not get over how different she sounds.

The food was awesome as usual. I had this crabmeat+some-nut-thing spaghetti and it was an odd but good combination. This would probably encourage me to venture beyond my usual aglio olio and carbonara.

Dessert was heavenly! Had this last time with the 350 team at Bangsar Village, and it taste as good I remembered it to be. I tell you, moist chocolate cake oozing with chocolate sauce is meant to go with vanilla ice-cream. They should serve this up in heaven.

It was good meeting up with you again after such a long time Melissa! Speaking about being glad to meet up with old friends, I feel so old now. *sigh* I'm old enough to have 'old' friends.

Serenity

I'm having one of those moments right now. The peace that comes with knowing that I have done everything I could. Now I leave everything else up to God. Its like sitting at an isolated spot on the beach, watching the waves crash on the shores with the wind blowing all your troubles away so gently you hardly notice it.

With everyone around you dashing towards their dreams, you tend to get caught in the same race and forget certain core principles. I am glad to be reminded of them once again. This journey has barely begun, and who knows what else lies ahead.

Dinner Dance Party, THIMUN Singapore 2009

I remember the place being almost pitch black. Taking photographs was definitely a challenge! Did loads of experimentation that night, mostly with delayed shutter. The vibe of that night was definitely lively, well if this is your kind of thing. I was mostly fooling around with the camera, and watching some people REALLY enjoying themselves dancing.

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

Hmm......currently life is quite overwhelming. I got trial examinations next week, where the results will be used for university application. There are nights where I just feel my head spinning round and round. Its just one of those times where you feel like you're doing all that you can, but still fail to produce results.

I'm very thankful for the people around me-the seniors with their comforting advices, friends who make my day, and not to forget mom and dad who are constantly keeping me in their prayers.

Right now I'm listening to this song by Michael W. Smith which I find it very uplifting and encouraging. I find comfort in knowing that whatever happens, there is this one person that never fails whom I can cling on to.



Help Is On The Way
People say that time will heal
But you know, they just don't feel what you feel
Times are hard but God is so good
He's never failed you, and He said He never would

He see's your tears
He fights your fears

CHORUS
Hold on, help is on the way
He said he'd never leave you or forsake you
Stay strong
Help is on the way
He'd said he'd help you
Just reach out and take his hand

VERSE 2
He knows your heart, He lifts your head
He's always close enough to hear every word you said
When you're weak, He said He's so much more
His arm is long enough to reach you where you are

He see's your tears
He fights your fears

Help is on the way

Stairwells by Kina Grannis (First online purchase!)

My very first online purchase arrived last week! It has been sitting around my room for a while since I was stuck in school and can only get it when I go home on weekends. I can still remember the excitement though, confirming my purchase through paypal and finally using some of the money I've earned through this blog.

Signed copy!

I bought this CD title Stairwells by Kina Grannis. She's one of those people who started out on Youtube and then eventually produce an album or get picked up by a record label (ie: Marie Digby, Justin Bieber).

Kina Grannis covered quite a number of popular songs, which gained her a huge following of fans. I like her style of music, its very chilled out-relaxed-Jason Mraz-zy kind of vibe. Her songs just puts you on a beach. I also like the honesty of the music and I find it refreshing compared to what we hear on the radio these days. Despite how catchy tunes like "I Got A Feeling" and "Bad Romance" may be, you eventually get bored.






Oh yeah, how did I come to buy this cd? I came home one weekend and my sister was singing this tune while playing the guitar. I liked it and she told me who sang it. My sister actually made a cover of that song and posted it on Youtube.

That night I remember posting the link on Twitter and guess what? Kina Grannis actually replied and complimented my sister on the cover. I thought that was really nice of her so yeah, I bought the album. A good deed goes a long way =)

Khao San Road in Bangkok, Thailand

What a tourist infested place! My perfect place for a holiday. Hahah, as locals we normally avoid areas filled with tourists but when you're a tourist in another country, you scuttle over to those exact places where the locals avoid.

Khao San Road is a well known spot in Bangkok, a place where backpackers go to. Seriously, its that obvious. You actually see loads of people walking around......with backpacks. I like the vibe of the place. Perhaps its just me being excited discovering new things in such a foreign place.

I remember walking around with my dad under the hot sun, and watching 'ang mohs' eating in restaurants claiming to serve the best food in Thailand. Things were not cheap, but being such a condensed area its a nice place to explore and get lost in.

There was this one bookshop in some random corner, stuffed with so many book-filled-shelves which looked as if they were squeezed into this little shop lot. Interesting as it was, pricing was no different from major chain bookstores.

True to what all the travel sites say, Khao San Road is a wonderful place for people watching. Take a 360 look around and you'll see people from different walks of life and ethnicity around you, all gathered in one place in the spirit of traveling.

I also like how people over there just seem to know when you're taking their picture, and quickly flash a smile. The last picture shown, the lady was probably a good 10 metres away!

Right now I really feel like jetting off to a faraway place. The pressure right here is getting a little too much to bear =(

Japanese food @Watami Restaurant, Singapore

I remember this place very well because we had good Japanese food at an affordable pricing. Considering that we were in Singapore, and in a shopping mall we were delighted to find out that we could get a good meal for less than RM 20.

The set-up was nice, similar to other Japanese restaurants around. But seriously, considering the pricing the decor was pretty swanky! We got a whole room to ourselves, so that was cool.

I really liked what I ordered. This restaurant got me obsessed with this dish called the "Bibimbap" which is rice that comes with some meat, loads of vege, an egg and you mix it all up! Somehow the theoretically disgusting combination of half cooked egg yolk mixed in with kim chi and what nots tasted really good.

Since its served in a hotpot, you get these slightly charred bits of rice which when eaten at the right time gets nice and crispy. Ever since I've always ordered this dish when I get the chance too. And interesting thing, the Bibimbap is actually a Korean dish. This restaurant just so happens to serve some Korean varieties as well.

I think we probably hung around there till closing time. Even after that got time to lepak around Clark Quay some more. *sigh* Those were good days. Saving the world by discussing world issues by day, and having fun by night.

Goodbye festivities

We officially say goodbye to the Chinese New Year celebrations on Sunday. Now here is where everything gets scary. Trials in two weeks, global debates with lots of service projects to execute and videos to shoot, and the trying life and times of being a teenager. God help me.