Today was pretty weird...

Got up, walked around and suddenly it dawned upon me...


I MISS HOME...


Especially since half of the time, half the people here don't understand half a word i'm saying...
Especially since half of the year, half of the day is half of the time back home...
Especially since half of the week, half of the people are half-dressed with half-decent clothing...
Especially since half of the night, half of the residents are half-drunk with half-screaming, half-yelling voices...
Especially since at half-time, half the people are already half-drunk and the other half asleep...


The other half...

They're okay =D


But really now...

I need to physically see someone who can speak manglish to me...

When you miss someplace, it seems to fly farther and farther out of reach...

It's at times like these where I wish I could take out a pair of ruby slippers (not that it's my fashion taste or anything...) And knock them together and say "there's no place like home, there's no place like home"

Oh and I miss Chicken rice... And dim sum... And nasi goreng kampung... Oh and Sup kambing... And... I better stop, i'm salivating over the library comps already...


MAL
:-P

P/S: To Canadians reading this... It's probably not you I was referring to... It's just some people who tarnish your good reputation... I do like it here =) I really do =D

The Awesomeness of Your Creation...

he sat there today, in awe and in fear...

he read through Your word, and so did he hear...

"Your people", he read, from a scream and a tear...

You brought to Yourself, and You, You drew near...

so many rules, he never did keep...

in so many ways, his death could You seek...

no way he'd come close, what he sowed, he'd reap...

but yet for this boy, in all ways, You'd pick...

it caught his eye, how far they'd go...

how much they'd take but then still show...

that though they saw still would they grumble...

and so in turn the heavens rumbled...

he looked back his life and all he's done...

and thanked Him for sending down His Son...

that in his place the Son be punished...

and at the cross cry "It is finished!"

and as he sits now typing down...

he knows he'll never get a frown...

for where more sin, more grace abounds...

he looks outside...

and...

Snow came down...

How awesome is Your creation, oh God my Father =D

MAL

:-P

Kids! =)

Haven't been around for awhile... Well, been rather busy with exams and quizzes and assignments and stuff... So sorrryyyyy bout dat *gomenasaiiiii*

But anyway...

It's over! Woohooo! Midterms I mean =)

So well, i've been doing rather good actually, for those of you who are asking =) I've been enjoying myself, making lots of new friends, experiencing new stuff, and basically yeah, having lots of fun =)

So okay! Halloween!

Yeah so well, before anything happened, I was pretty worried about the idea of this "Halloween" thingy... Didn't really like the idea of celebrating the belief in the occult and stuff... But well, I learnt something this year =)

Halloween, in all its' scariness...

It's a merchandising ploy... A big one, and nothing more, from what I see...

Don't get me wrong, but well, when it comes to the crux of it, it's like... Christmas trees, Santa Claus and The Easter Bunny...

Aaaaaaanyway, myself, Rob, Will, Noor, Sara and Patrick took part in this operation called "Trick or Eat", a program by "MealXchange" to gather non-perishable food items for the local food bank...

It was pretty fun, but really the thing that struck me was this...

The kids =)

As we went about collecting food items, kids were going round doing the regular job of "trick or treat"ing, collecting sweets from people around their neighbourhoods...

I don't know why, but every time I saw a kid walking pass, I smiled... I guess it's the fact that these kids had costumes on, or the fact that they're so young and lovable =)

Pat mentioned how kids get so scared at the decorations (of which some people actually go all-out doing...) And it was fun seeing the children avoid Patrick and his ??? costume...

This morning's church service included the dedication of Jamie Strickland's son to the Lord... He was sleeping soundly, even on the arms of the pastor, and again, that made me go "awwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww" inside xD

Kids, really, they are cute =)

And that brings me to late last night, when some of us were sitting there in my tower playing "the game of LIFE"... Pat and I were so serious about it, and sometimes even a little upset over how the other 3 were not paying attention, but rather fiddling around with cameras, talking loudly, making weird bawling noises when they lost money and stuff... It was fun...

But one thing I learnt from all of that...

Somewhere...

It might be deep inside, but it's there...

Somewhere deep inside us...

There's our childhood...

Sometimes we just wanna say "grow up"

Or sometimes, we just can't...

What can I say?

We still love kids =) Or just being one =D

MAL

:-P

Because I owe the blog... Big time...

Yup, I do... And I owe all of you back home an update, a well deserved one of how i've been so far xD

Hey all!!! Life's been treating me good, lots of friends, lots of activities, lots of quizzes, exams, labs and assignments, lots of fun basically xD

Lots of stuff's happened since I last wrote... (Mostly to do with going here and there, visiting old friends, making new ones... xD)

Anyway, it's been fun hanging around with different people, making friends and renewing old ones...

A thought crosses my mind...

Is it really fair to hang out with different people, and leave out the others whom I haven't seen for a long time? My seniors, I haven't really been spending much time with them... And THEY were the ones who helped me get settled in, and even let me bunk in during my first day in Canada...

That does it, i've gotta get their MSN addresses... I think I gotta hang out with them a little more...

Fire alarms can save lives, and yet the same fire alarms can cause quite alot of deep anguish and sorrow...

2 days ago the fire alarm rang... At 6 in the morning!!!

Tonight it rang again, at 1am... And apparently the drunkard who vandalized it also managed to destroy the fire alarm system... Looks like it's gonna be a loooooooong night...

Home's pretty far when seen from the other side of the globe... And you know what they say about "you don't really know what you've got till it's gone"? They - were right =)

A message to certain friends and to anyone this applies to...

Everything happens for a reason... And everything that doesn't? That's for a reason as well... One day you'll look back and you'll say "Oh, THAT's why that didn't happen then", or "Oh, that's why it DID happen then"... So no worries, smile xD

(relating to the issue, i'll never forget a reminder to myself...)

e=hf

e=hf

e=hf

e=hf

e=hf

Worked out fine i hope =)

Isn't it funny how things are such opposites from what it should be sometimes? Never thought i'd see the day where i'd be happy to hear an accent from "forsaken land"-ian xD

And how the word "party" here brings to mind the idea of drunk guys and disgusting stuff?

I'm pretty sure I had parties when I was younger, and those definitely did not include booze... Seems the world is changing...

Or is it just me?

Well, whatever it is, it seems...

Times are changing...

MAL

:-P

P/S: Shoutout to GCCG xD and to family xD Oh and oso to buddies old and new looking at this post!!! xD Love you guys!!! All of you =D

Reminiscence of a distant past...

Walking in the shopping centre, looking at children, their parents by their sides...
Reminds me of a time when I would rush mummy and daddy out of fear that we'll get locked in... (I wonder if they even have a name for such a fear? Oh well...)

Searching through websites, I found out that the Boys' Brigade in Canada was famous till the mid 1980s...
Reminds me of days where I would move in precise coordination, stand with undetered attention and walk in unmatched unison with a whole crowd of brothers and sisters... And never think I would ever miss BB as much as I do now...
And a handshake from a fellow Boy brought back deep pride from inside of me... I always will be proud to have been a Boy, spelt with a capital B...

Queueing up in line at the Bullring, staring at the menu and finally picking "curry"...
I realized how much, how far I have traversed, literally to the other end of the world... And yet, as Dorothy in the "Wizard of Oz" says, and rightly so as she claps her slippers together, "There's no place like home... There's no place like home..."

Playing volleyball in the pouring rain...
Reminds me of a time when I never excelled and in fact was below par in any sport known to mankind... And a time when team Bismarck became the turning point of sports in my life... I remember squash, I remember class football games... I remember the goal posts... I remember managerial duties, and I remember, most of all... High School...

Hearing voices of family members over Skype...
I hear also the little quarrels and squabbles of Amanda and Koko, the noises that make home what it always is etched in my memory as... I hear the voice of Nothing... I hear the complains that Amanda always seem to have against Koko... And I hear the reason Amanda gets upset... I still think most of the time Koko actually asks for it too xD Indeed, it's as they say... Home... It's where the heart is =)

Learning about the Raya break in Malaysia...
I remember times when I would make a large hue and cry over having to write "ponteng letters" for Girlie, but without fail would draft the letter and make sure it was put onto our dining table before breakfast... And I remember Daddy trusting and signing it, whatever I wrote... I always joked that some day i'll write a letter saying that "Saya hanya tulis surat ini oleh kerana saya tau cikgu takde bace punyeeeee" in my worst possible Malay xD Or something to that effect anyway =)

Walking out for "makan" with my ang mo friends...
I remember the nights where Terence, Rui Heng, yes even Jun Zhang would walk out in search of food all around Casa... And I remember when Naiz and Yas eventually took over when RH and JZ became... Ummm... Occupied xD... I remember 79 cents... I remember late night jokes and trading stories with RH... I remember Terence stealing my faster internet line xD... I remember... "MU coach good ah?" (Well technically not...) xD... And I remember loving every moment of all these memories...

Lectures...
I remember days where senyuman serta tawaan yang tidak henti-henti terkeluar daripada sekalian liang rongga rakan-rakan sekelas melihat gelagat guru kelas Matematik kami yang tersayang =) I remember the fun times and all the jokes shared... Mostly with Iylia and Deedee... And I remember guru kami asyik mengenakan mereka... Akan tetapi tidak saya... Mengapakah demikian? Mungkin... Tidak akan saya tahu... Oh well... =P

And as I walk day-to-day...
I remember the One who's brought me so far, the One who has led me all the way here... And the One who has loved me right from day one, and has shown His favour upon me... Nowhere, nowhere I would be without Him... I'm sure of that...

And so as I think back on all these times...

If I had to it all over again...


I would =)




MAL
:-P

Agak Chaotic? Ntah la xD

Hmmmm...

"The more things change, the more they remain the same"... Koko once (okay more than once) told me that... Well, what can I say? It stuck =) (And I realize I would get a zero in this assignment for not quoting using the correct format, MLA or APA xD)

Guelph is beautiful =)

As i've asked many of my ang mo friends so far, "is all of Canada as beautiful as Guelph?" I guess "sometimes" so says Julia "I have to wake up and just remind myself that i'm in Canada!!!" *hands in the sky* (again i'll get zero xD)

Maple trees can be barely 100 metres from each other yet one can start to turn red and wilt already while another is still as green as the first day I stepped foot onto this University... I wonder... What causes this natural phenomena? God is great =)

It's amazing... "We haven't seen each other for over 4 months yet we still miss and want to see each other so much...", so says Yasmin (once more, another quote) Clearly we've formed more than just a simple friendship, Yas, Naiz, Terence, myself... Still missing a couple of lunch kaki though... *shoutout to Sasi, Ammy, and occasional guests Iyliaaaaaaaa and Keng xD*

Again it's interesting how it's warmer when it rains than when it does not... Unheard of in Malaysia... Daddy explains on how the clouds cause affect the wind and the temperature...

And the Ontario Science Centre is pretty cool... I'll go there again sometime =)

*ONTARIO SCIENCE CENTRE IS GIVING FREE ENTRY TO PUBLIC THIS WEEKEND, SATURDAY 26TH SEPTEMBER 2009!!!* =O Yup, true true!!! Take advantage, Toronto-ians...

Man... That was chaotic and did not really have a progression... Ah well, that's life xD

MAL

:-P

P/S: Honestly though... Go check out Ontario Science Centre this Saturday... Free doh!!! =O

One-sided? Unconditional? Love =)

Yesterday and today as I walked the streets of Toronto, a thought and realization suddenly struck me...

I know it probably isn't as great a realization that would shock nations, and probably some might say it's been heard far too often...

But...

I realized again Father...

I thought, and was again shocked at Your love...

I realized that Your love is so great that You would show Your love to us, even before we even bothered to know You...

But the thing that hit me most is this fact...

You love us, knowing that this would probably never be returned...

You would give up everything for us, and most of the time we would not even notice, and if we did, we would not even care...

You would spend hours showing us the extent of Your love, how much You treasure us...

But we would not even spare the few minutes to read Your word and pray...

You would send Your Holy Spirit and friends to comfort us for hours, even days when we're down...

But we would not even spare a word or two when we succeed to thank You...

But Father, I think I get what it means to You... Probably not, but i'll try anyway...

To love those around me, and to those whom I love, unconditionally...

Unconditional acceptance, wether or not that love and acceptance would be returned...

To smile when those I love smile...

To be happy when those I love are happy...

To be sad when those I love are sad...

And to be glad when the ones I love are glad...

Wether or not love is returned is immaterial, ay Father?

Hatred stirs up dissension, but love covers over all wrongs. – Proverbs 10:12

I guess the thing I wanna say is thank You for Your love...

And teach me how to love the way You do =)

MAL

:-P