Live not for the finale, but for the song itself: April 2009

Saturday, April 25, 2009

Lest We Forget

The sole solemn sound of a trumpet marking a day, a moment, when all Australians stood still for a two minutes to commemorate and remember those brave, fallen soldiers who died to protect our country and all those within in. Watching the dawn service and even a lil during the footy, as the cameras panned the city of Melbourne, it suddenly struck me – this is what they fought for. This city, this country of ours, this FREE country of ours, is what it is today because of the sacrifices they made. To ask for a mere two minutes a year for the country to bond as a nation seems so insignificant in comparison to what they gave us. The very least we could do is continue on this noble tradition, and pay some respect for these countless men and women who played such a vital part in molding our history, our people.
It seems a life time ago, but war is timeless and ever present throughout the ages, and those heroes too, will never age. As well as being a time to remember those who perished for the sake of their country, family and duty, it’s also a time to remember the soldiers currently fighting in Iraq etc.... Every generation seems to have their own war, man kind never seems to learn from their mistakes do they....? With freedom, the currency of loss used to pay for it - the loss of lives, children, parents, family, stability, hope - seems all too much. Yet it's a price many are willing to pay, despite the pain that comes with it. When ever there's a difference of opinion, there will be conflict, and inevitably, disputes. But maybe, just maybe, there's a chance for us all, like the poppies that bloom so vibrantly red, that we might be able to prevent another repeat of history, where so much pain has been inflicted on both parties. We might prevent such an event from happening again, we might be able to keep what these Anzac Day heroes fought for, pure and not in vain.

So, to all those brave soldiers who are with us, or watching over us, I, and I'm sure the rest of Australia too (esp. on behalf of the younger generations) salute you, and thank you.

Friday, April 24, 2009

TY EVERY1 FOR AN AWESOME 17TH BDAY! LUV U ALL! ^^
Another year passes as I've grown and changed into the person I am today, even though age is but a number, I am one step closer to being a so called "legal adult." ;) haha

But yesterday (ok my post is a day late but meh) was just really fun ^^ beside the fact that I was running a lil late that morning, the rest of the day breezed through as some people came to, and boy did word go round fast coz it seemed everywhere I went after that people came up to greet and wish me o.0 lol, but it was really good :) Though in my free Rosa suddenly had the "ingenious" idea and started singing (a lil bit loudly) "Happy Birthday" in the LIBRARY! Despite full on blushing for a while as we drew a crowd and many amused smiles from onlookers, I thought it was such a sweet gesture I decided not to plan revenge :P hehe jks, however schlocomb did come to tell us off later >.> oops....And so I received my first prezzie for the day (the red bracelet below hint: it's hanging off the cute whale/dolphin's snout that Mickey MADE :O so talented....which also happened to be hanging off a flower in the bouquet from Dad ^^")

Many hugs later, who do I see but Annie and Pricilla at my locker, with a piece (well a few but anyway) of paper sticking out of my locker....Turns out they had written a very, err let's call it "interesting" ;) short story! (haha that was actually longer than Pricilla's SAC essay!) I gotta say, this "best selling" ;) love story with vivid descriptions, even an incorporation of Insomnia ;) plus many, hmm, quirky? jokes that no doubt some were Annie’s idea ;) e.g. microbe food poisoning o.0 But reading it did give me A LOT of laughs, and it still does! Luv you guys heaps my "princesses from the land of the hot hunks" :P LOL ^^ On a side note, it was also edited by MJ, so thanks too :)
Oh Moni also made me this really awesome personalized card with the pics with the lyrics of that "You are 16 going on 17...." song from "The Sound of Music." Haha the tune may have been stuck in my head for a while, but it was WAY worth it ^^ Later on, Fi even treated me to lunch with the help of Kev's (many) coupons :P But after sating with yummy food and hanging with friends, before I knew it I was in last period Chem (with no teacher! ^^) where "Happy Bday" was sung AGAIN! LOL twice in a day (would've been 3 if the bell had not rung before Lidonsha could begin in Methods :P)
Later on, I went to dinner at Jin Lou (?) i.e. the Teapot Restaurant (not direct translation but meh) in Springvale with family :) After a very appetizing meal (crab noodles ^^) we've realized that we've doubled up on cakes :S
Oh well, that worked out quite well too since I could bring one to skool today to thank every1 ^^ Haha after the fiasco of the staff not trusting us with a knife (interrogating us over what subject/teacher we just had....who said we were going to harm them....? 0:) lol) we eventually got it cut up (which may or may not have taken a while to figure out....hey it's hard to cut a cake in the shape of a bag ok?!) it was distributed and so began my hunt to find people to finish the cake since I didn't want to cart around a cake in the rain -.-" Oh, and might I add, mission accomplished! ^^ all 30 odd pieces gone :) Not a bad effort at all :P Haha jks. Ok, will probably just bombard you with some of the pics taken over the days :) Enjoy!

Me wif the Cake #1 - i.e. family cake (lol)

Lui Vouton cake! haha note: handles are NOT edible :P

Lui Vouton cake + Annie and Pricilla :P

Me + Annie (with Mishy's pro photography skills ;))

Pricilla, me and Annie

Pricilla, Mishy and Annie :) (note the absence of a 'halo' for a particular some1....;) jks, jks!)

Moni's awesome card :)

Wednesday, April 22, 2009

The greatest stories in life are love stories, yet so are the greatest tragedies.

Love - this indescribable feeling that can make the smartest person act like a fool, the most composed person blunder and the most confident person stutter.
But although love can simplify things, being the foundation of peace and the roots of all things good, it can also complicate things remarkably, making life and the people we deal with in it so....indecipherable I guess. It can throw us into confusion when they do/say something, or it can ease our stranglehold on life. Without it our lives never seem quite complete. With it we never seem quite as whole without our significant other.

The 08 was the "lucky azn" year of hook-ups :P (lol) and 09 seems to be the yr of strengthening this special connection, or forming new ones. So many around me are in/in pursuit of love, or at the very least have a crush/affection for a particular someone :) Love is all around ^^ There's nothing better to see people so happy! But then it's also provoked some intriguing thoughts/q's (a.k.a. my random ramblings) such as:

Are we conditioned to find someone right now? Do we leave it to fate, or go find it ourselves? Can we choose who to love? Does age, personality, looks all contribute, or is it just chance?
What's the point of liking someone if there's little to no chance of your feelings are returned? How do we even know that someone likes you back? Is there a 'perfect' time to admit, if we ever summon enough courage to do so? Or how do we know we've actually fallen for someone – the difference between admiration, like, love or (one day or who knows since we're all hormonal teens :P) lust? What do you do when nothing seems to make any sense anymore? That you don't trust your instincts, or fear to hope? Haha great, question overload ^^"

The notion of rejection I suppose is what scares the hell out of most. Then again, life is unpredictable. But what keeps us from expressing our true feelings? Is it fear, humiliation, shyness, pride, lack of confidence?
But to feel loved is a feeling everyone yearns to experience at some point, I mean who wouldn't want to feel part of something greater, of something that is so special, unbound, undefinable, untouchable by the rest of the world – to know that you're not alone in this world and that there is someone else outside blood relation that loves you as you do them. Well, from what I've gathered by the reactions of others/people I've seen/known/films/books and the sorts anyway ^^" Don't know how accurate my observations are but meh....attitudes can change :P
Questions without answers seem to be part of love.

Even the way guys and girls approach this topic differs! I'm assuming guys don't see it as complicated as we (girls) do, and they prefer the "just go and tell them or I will do it for you" approach. Girls on the other hand, would probably whack the guy who suggested that, as they tend to lean towards the "wait until the moments right to tell, to be absolutely certain" or traditional "guy asks girl" method. Time consuming, sometimes painful, but may preserve ones ego (slightly) if on the off chance it doesn't work. But every guy is different, and every girl too. So I suppose these are just generalizations, (as much as I dislike harsh stereotypes) that there as just no guidelines to this thing.

What ever you think, there will be always a soft spot for those sweet gestures or moments that are so popular in works of fiction, though it seems too rare in reality: but we all want to unexpectedly receive flowers, a box of special knick-knacks, origami stars or the like, or even a simple hug and smile on a cold winters day. Deny it all you want, but we all dream of a kiss in the rain, receiving a love letter, protecting your SO, or sharing a moment where nothing else matters expect what you feel between you. It is because of this hope that keeps us waiting.

So through it all, all the uncertainity and risks of falling, don't give up on it, as there is a chance, a time, a moment when all this makes sense and comes together.

The hope to one day love and be loved is what keeps us searching in hope. Love grows by giving. The love we give away is the only love we keep. The only way to retain love is to give it away.-- Elbert Hubbard

Saturday, April 11, 2009

Wah, haven't had a girls night for so long ^^" Just a couple of friends, STACKS of movies to choose from, slightly singed chips, charcoal chicken, oh and a lot of sugar to maintain a "healthy" high :P haha what else could a girl want on a Good Friday night?
(Btw this better clear up that I was out with FRIENDS and not....eh never mind....-.-")
Anyway, when we all carpooled 2 Mishy's (after I' accompanied newbie Issy to Jacks :P) we pored over and sifted through the boxes and boxed of K/C drama's or movies, before settling on a few that caught our eye. But just then....Pricilla HAPPENED to go....:

P: Hey what smells nice?
*slight pause*
M: OH SHIT!
*jumps up and runs to the kitchen as we follow*
M: Umm guys I burnt the chips....How the hell did you (P) think this smelt good?!
*shows us the plate of VERY burnt chips….well most of them were anyway ^^" & we all crack up*

I never knew Pricilla was such a good housewife either! ^^ jks, jks, but she DID help out carve/hack/cut? (you can choose the appropriate term :P) the chicken into edible chunks when Mish had a lil trouble.
Although I did have 2 just point out that no we don't eat spoons, nor do we eat chicken with a spoon :P
During dinner, who would it be but Issy herself to call :P I must've sounded like a total idiot over the phone as in between attempting to instruct Issy how to enroll online for Medentry, I was also trying holding back my laughter coz of what they were all doing, and also kick (playfully of course ;)) Annie as she tried to do imitations -.-"
A short extract from our convo so you had to see what I had to deal with:

I: So I'm on the homepage, now what?
S: Um press the big massive button that say's 'enroll.'
I: .....Where?
*Minutes later*
I: Ok found it.
S: Ok, now fill in the details....
I: Huh? Where? Nothing's changed
S: Did you click it?
I: ....Oh yeh....oops....

And I shall not comment on the background noise that CERTAIN people were making U NOE WHO YOU ARE! Lol, which reminds me, I will have to poke them for >.>
Haha so after not getting the plot of 'Silent Hill' at all (hey we only came in half way) we decided to spare Annie the agony of having to distract herself with a nearby calculator, and switched to a funny/romantic K movie “The Cool Guy.” Lol not much of a name, but it was actually quite ok :) Cute guys ;) Haha but not enough to bring out the bucket as some others had prepared earlier :P So after we aww'd and lol'd our way through, (with many interesting comments about whether we would ever do this or that) e.g. hand-make Gimbap for that special someone! (rofl Dim-butt! ;) Hey it's easy to get mixed up with the pronunciations!)
So that was basically half of my Good Friday :P
Btw, eep, there's only about a week left until school starts again! O.O I know, time flies, so I'd better buckle down and actually finish some hw ^^" Haha, but then again, also have so many outings :S Hmm, I suppose I'll just have to juggle :) Either that or I won't sleep for a day or two....Haha jks, I love my sleep (and sanity) too much :P
Oh, I wanted to post something else sooner, but I'll do it tomorrow or the day after since this time SOME people may take it the wrong way -.-" You'll see.... ;)

Thursday, April 2, 2009

Hmm, it seems like its been so long since the last time I had time to ponder and take an legitimate breather, it's as if I've just came up for a gasp of air after unconsciously holding my breathe. But anyway....

HOLIDAYS ARE SO CLOSE! ^^ haha ok so most people are currently being SWAMPED by hw, and we just got the annual “work hard over the holidays (and try not to drown under the sheets of hw)” spiel by teachers/other higher authority figures (sif tell us that NOW....btw lol the latter part was implied of course :P) but I'm here to say: We deserve a break. A proper break.
I mean what other time do we have to recover our sanity? To replenish lost sleep? To revive our social life, hang out with friends, go to the many parties/outings we've put off going to, or weren't allowed to since term started, and/or FINALLY get time to watch all those k/j/c dramas that are sitting by the tissue box/bucket ;) haha jks for those of you who got that :P Seriously, next term will be full on. Duh. So take a largish portion of these two weeks to relax, savor the feeling, cherish every laugh you share, every photo you take. Who knows when we'll have another time like this – in fact, this moment, right here, right now, will never happen again. Even if it's just half a day, or a couple of hrs, do something you love, spend time with that special someone, watch that show/s you've been obsessing over, even something as simple as staring at the stars outside your window as the crickets chirp harmoniously can be a welcome break rest of this chaotic world.
Yes, I won't deny it; homework is (unfortunately) mandatory and essential this year, but then again, so is, if not more, ones health, sanity and LIFE. School is not ones entire life after all. Although it may be a major chapter in our life so far, it does not build a definite path, nor represents the end of learning, nor is it the SOLE factor that determines who you are, or who you will be. It is merely a stepping stone to possibly greater things.
Haha I just realized my to do list that's running through my head is rapidly growing, and that maybe I should redecorate my room a lil. Must put up all the photos I've accumulated :) Hmm I wonder if I'll have enough space....Oh well I'll find out soon enough :) Might post up a pic later of the collage of photos I plan to make ^^