Colours of the soul

You tell me your days are painted blue,

I’ll choose to live Skittle colored days

You tell me your heart is speckled grey,

I’ll hold tight to the veins , maroon fueled pumps of life

You tell me your sun is jaundiced,

I’ll paint rainbows in the rain

You say the sunrise brings cold days,

I’ll revel in the warmth of fiery sunsets

You find a stranger in your reflection,

I only wish you’d see the promise hidden in your eyes

You hold the palette in your hands,

You hold the colours to the soul. 

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Demain Sera Parfait

Je veux chanter, 
Je veux te faire oublier, 
Ton ame en peine, 
Ton manque de veine, 
Je veux chanter, 
Et te baratiner, 
Demain sera parfait 

I want to sing,
I want to make you forget,
Your tormented soul,
Your lack of luck,
I want to sing,
And persuade you that,
Tomorrow will be perfect.

Keep calm

Dad said : Pray and the venom shall be turned into honey. 

Certainly He works in wondrous ways :) 

Speaking of which, The Hunger Games ... anyone else in on that hype ?  

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Malaysia Luxury Property

It’s that time in one’s life when you look around, and it seems as if just about everyone around you has started settling down and laying roots. Wedding invitations and housewarming invites have been filling my calendars this year so all in all, the new year started out with the promise of lots of fun and exciting celebrations to attend. A huge part of settling down involves getting one’s own property, and this is perhaps one of the most looked forward part of moving out on one’s own. Property scouting can be either a headache or a joy if you’ve got the right resources and the right links to go about looking for a place. With these online universities you can become an expert in real estate management. 

Recently, a friend of mine managed to find an awesome place to move into, which inadvertently led to my discovery of  PropWall. From the first time I clicked onto the home page of the website, I’ve been amazed, enthralled and joyous at this wonderful site. Pristinely organized, the website offers ads, and information about available places for rent or purchase. Navigating around the site is easy, and properties are categorized based on location, and availability. The website even has a list of top properties in the country, making it extremely easy for people who are not familiar with Malaysian real estate to narrow down the choices available to them. There are price listings as well, so you get a realistic estimation of the price of each property.

I love that the site provides an ample amount of photos of various properties, so it’s easy for you to make your shortlist instead of having to drive all the way to the exact location only to find out that it doesn’t suit your requirements. Needless to say, I’ll be spending quite a bit of time poring over all the properties available in my vicinity whilst building the image of my dream home in mind. 

Lock and Key

Note to self : 

Every lock has a key. If the search for the appropriate key fails, there's always the art of lock-picking, failing which there's always a sledgehammer, electric saw, and sheer indomitable will. 

Didn't come this far to allow small setbacks like this to tear me down. Definitely made of much stronger stuff. Try as they may to bring me down, they will never succeed. Not without my permission. Not in this life. 

Here's your challenge. Meet it ; or back off. 

RIP

Being defeated is often a temporary condition. Giving up is what makes it permanent - Marilyn Vos Savant 

Woke up after 5 hours of sleep ( which is a lot comparatively ) , got to the lab, set up the experiment, risked  frostbite and oxygen-displacement-induced suffocation and 6 hours later came the dreaded call to collect the remains of the sample. " Operation terminated " callously marked the cause of demise. It's been a week of sleepless nights, late dates, bonding and tough love, but as with all passionate affairs, this ended with a fizzle and black ash.  

It's been a good run sweetheart, but some things just aren't meant to be. If fate allows, you'll bring me more joy, but Monday's simply not your day. 

Gah, did I just write an obituary for my lab sample ? I need to get out more ... but I'm hitting "Enter" either way. Thank you for reading. Here goes ! 

*click 

Succinct

I'm nowhere near to being a religious nut and I have an intolerance for fanatics, but I think this just sums it all. :) No wonder the video's gone viral.

iBilik - Sublets Master !

Dragon dances, cherry blossoms and an over indulgence in snacks and goodies marks the end of a year in the chinese calender and the festive welcoming of a brand new year. It also marks the busiest time of the year as people journey back to their home towns to visit and spend quality time catching up with friends and family. The smell of cookies in the air, the crackle of firewords and the excited chatter or kin fill the air with a sense of celebration and jovialty.

This year’s been a pretty hectic one for me and it is with a pretty heavy heart that I have to stay back in my lab and put in extra hours to catch up with work. The good news is that my mum’s coming up and spending a glorious week with me here. It’s going to be so much fun driving her around the city, partaking of the many wonders and delicacies that KL has to offer.

I’ve been looking around for a room for the both of us to lodge in during her short stay here. Thankfully, someone told me about iBilik, which is a wonderful online service to help in locating rooms for rent and places to stay either for a short term or long term basis. The site’s really easy to navigate around and I’m pretty thankful that it’s helped me narrow down available places to lodge in and various other sublets available around the city. Travelling around the city is going to be so much more convenient now that we’ve found an easy place that’s a stone’s throw away from the major attractions.

Life hasn’t been all work and no play. For the first time in a long while, a close friend of mine’s coming here to visit from Shanghai, so we’ve got a whole host of activities and fun planned out. It’s a good thing that I stumbled upon this website since it’s helped heaps in smoothing out our travel plans as we plan to visit other states as well. Searching for hotels during this peak season was no mean feat so it’s been a blessing and a great help. Suffice to say, I’ll be welcoming the dragon year playing tourist around the major attractions of the city, indulging in way too much good food and warm times. For the first time since I was a little kid, I’m terribly looking forward to this season of fun and festivities. 

A day

Research is horribly repetitive, and when it's not, you hit brick wall after brick wall so you spend time doing more repetitive work in order to scale those walls. That is, unless you hit an epiphany ( " oh hey ! I could just devise a machine and fly over those walls ! " ) but most of the time you'll either be digging under, or climbing brick by painful brick all the way to the top and then vertigo hits. But I digress. 

I'm here because of today's sleep-inducing mind boggling reading. 

For example, the grand canonical free energy is :  

and seeing that the mean number of free particles satisfies : 

(3

the fractional occupation being : 

and the characteristic scale of pressure is : 

*Mental brakes screeching* Excuse me, but what LANGUAGE is this ?? Google translate doesn't seem to be able to help. Aide-moi, mon dieu  !! 

genius language credit  

Spine

So the 'old' year faded out and the new year dropped in and decided to stay for some time, so I guess it's that time again for people to start scrambling around for resolutions and wondrous sounding, positive looking promises they make to the person in the mirror.

This year I'm not going to grow a backbone. No. I'm going to use mine because today my life begins, thank you very much.

*flying kisses mwah !

In the blink of an eye

It's the eve of the eve of New Year's eve. If I could clip off the wings of time to slow it down, I might not know what to do with all that excess time on my hands so mayhaps I should really leave things as they are and strive for a better year ahead. 

Lots have happened in the past year, sometimes it's hard to believe it's only been a year, because sometimes it feels as if a whole decade has passed, the way I feel. 

Some time back someone told me that he wished he could be 23 again. 23 again. I guess I really am at the cusp of adulthood. Maybe I really can reach out, stretch a little and aim for the stars. Most of all, I need to stop planning, and start living. 

I hope you all find your new year resolutions and keep to them this coming year. I'm not sure how many people still read this, so this account's for myself. One day in 2012, I might stumble upon this post, and draw some strength from the positive energy I feel today. 

More coming, but here's a future toast to the future ! To brighter things , to a better year ! 

It's me who is my enemy, 

Me who beat me up, 

Me who makes the monsters, 

Me who strips my confidence

- Paula Cole 

*clinks glass

The junk of the past

It's ridiculous how some people can gossip about other people behind their backs, effectively defaming someone's character and then a couple of months later you see them all buddied up and chummy together. It does give one the chills looking at displays such as these. 

Yes, forgiveness is something that religion teaches, but carrying out an act to seek for deliberate forgiveness is a waste of time and just downright ridiculous. 

Congratulations. I'm sure you'll head very far in the corporate world. You've got all it takes. Just don't blame anyone when you find yourself alone and miserable at the top. You reap what you sow.

I no longer want any part of your nonsense. Over, done with, next !

And no, I'm not talking about my personal relationship. There are lots of other things to worry about in life than boy-girl relationships. Just thought the lyrics of this song apt. 

Subtraction

She was 15, and had no idea how to subtract 145 from 2001.

Every time I spend time with these kids, I'm humbled. Humbled by how eager they are to learn, how patient they are with me when I muck up simple questions. Most times I come back in a concoction of small joys, humility, and a little pinch of guilt. 

" WIll you be able to handle subtractions in your next test now ? " 

*bright smile, gleeful nod

Perhaps these are my little rewards. I'm humbled that I have the opportunity to witness the disbelieving joy these children display when they 'get' simple concepts that I've taken so callously in the past. I may have sat her through hundreds of questions on subtraction, but these little experiences taught me how to subtract the negatives in life which in turn subtracts the power that negative thoughts could potentially have on me.

" For I know the plans I have for you." declares the Lord. " Plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future " - Jeremiah 29:11

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Solitary

There are some days that I don't really like human company all that much.
It's not the humans that are the problem.
Those are the days when comfort comes in the form of paper, ink, flipping pages, tea and good music. Those are the days like these.



Pic credit

Hello, old friend

Was in the mood to read something highly intellectual the other day, ( and no, dear journals, I don't mean y-o-u ) I mean really, like Noddy in Toy Land, or Peter Rabbit ... What, are you challenging the intellect of a 5 year old now ?  And of course no relaxation is complete sans the right soundtrack 

Sometimes you stumble on an old long forgotten song, and you smile, the way you do when you unexpectedly meet an old chum and the years seem to melt away as you rekindle the sweet, sweet past.

I'm gonna be somebody, 

One of these days I'm gonna break these chains, 

I'm gonna be somebody someday, 

You can bet your hard earned dollar I will ... 

Yee-haw ! 

Last one

I'm not a give-upper
But today I'm really really tired
of being 'strong'
of labels and expectations
and of feeling lonely in a crowd

Of hypocrites and rainbows

I don't want to make this space of mine a section to rant and grumble, but it's been a tough few weeks and just when I'm about to burst at the seams, I see the faint beginnings of a rainbow. 

Maybe this is a lesson for me to learn. A sort of 'toughening' to go through. And a reminder to be grateful regardless of the circumstances and know that He is God. I'm grateful for angels who'll stand by me and am deeply touched by their relentless support. 

Thank the Lord for gem friends and sisters :) 

A real friend is one who walks in when the rest of the world walks out - Walter Winchell

Are you looking for a room for rent ?

If anything, the past week has taught me an invaluable lesson and it’s definitely one that’ll remain imprinted in my memory for years to come. I’d just terminated my rental contract, and was in the middle of transitioning from one place to the other when lo and behold, disaster struck. The new place is currently under renovation and will not be ready for at least another month. Right now, bunking and having ‘extended sleepovers’ with friends remains the only available option.

Living out of boxes and suitcases really isn’t all that fun so I sit here wishing that I had planned way ahead in advance of my move. Sites like http://www.ibilik.my are awesome for seeking out short term or temporary rooms for rent. The available rooms are categorized according to areas and postcode zones so it’s pretty easy for you to narrow down your selections to a relevant few. Easy site navigation lets you achieve your target in no time at all so your accommodation worries can be settled as soon as possible.

In fact, if you’re planning to go on vacation, you could go on iBilik and seek out potential rooms for rent. There are options for short term rentals in Malaysia, Singapore and Indonesia, so you can smooth out the wrinkles in your vacation plans. This is also an awesome site to head to if you’re looking for a room when you’re relocating from one part of the city to another. Both tenants and prospective landlords now have a better way of advertising room vacancies and best of all, you get the flexibility to do all these without having to go to the actual site itself when you’re narrowing down possible options. Believe you  me, the hassle of being stuck in a bottomless pit of desperation due to accommodation mix-ups will definitely dampen your mood and fresh enthusiasm. 

This restless feeling

I've spent the past few days, weeks in fact trying to shake off this restless recklessness within me. And then I read the papers, and there's nothing but unrest , disruption of peace, stifled freedom. 

For now I thank the Lord for the people in my life. 

The people who have cast little beams in my grey-blue skies. 

And this song.

Greater things are yet to come

Greater things are yet to be done 

In pursuit of

Happiness

The word sits lightly on one's tongue, and leaves a smile with the final syllable. Yet it's something so elusive, often hard to attain and so fleeting when it deigns to delight one with its presence. Still we all strive to capture it, probably package it in see through bottles with pretty polka-dotted ribbons, at least my version looks like that ...

I've come to realize that really, happiness is all around us. It just depends on knowing where to look and what to see ..  My little bottles are filled with :

• Music. Country, rock n roll, gospel. Sing me a tune and I'll tap my feet. 
• Stories. Fiction, non-fiction. I'm a collector
• Food. Gastronomic ecstasy
• Awesome company. Late nights laughing till bellies ache
• Love. Caring. Sharing
• Stumbling upon Gratitude in the randomest things ... 
• And this song :