Another year passes....

So another year passes, while a new one beckons. Honestly, I have not sat down and reflected on what went on throughout the year. Only certain things are at the top of  my head and because of that...this is going to be a very short entry.

I traveled overseas 3 times this year - to new states in India, Thailand and also Germany! Needless to say, the places were of course beautiful and I enjoyed myself thoroughly. The travels only added fuel to my desire to travel more, however, despite planning on starting a 'travel fund', the plan remains a plan. Sighs. I must say that I did extend my stay in Germany this year and had a great time in Munich.

I made new friends this year. This is definitely an achievement as being the introvert that I am, I've somehow managed to add/maintain the same number of friends in every stage of my life: 2-3 in high school; similarly in college, and even at work. My social circle is really small and I sometimes wonder whether it's due to me being lazy or some unknown forces.

I think I read more books this year than I did last year. I also BOUGHT more books and my to-be-read pile is still high and piling up. And just this Xmas, my sister gave me Mitch Albom's newest book but I've yet to start it.

Oh...I also watched more movies in the cinema this year. It has started to become a guilty pleasure for my family and me. And I broke my personal record of watching the later SRK-Kajol movie 3 times (!!!) at the cinema. I want to watch it a 4th time but my mum will kill me. I'll just have to settle for the DVD when it comes out. Seriously, I've not been obsessed about a movie since their last romantic movie in 2001.

Amidst all that, I have been thinking about my professional life. It was not a good year at work throughout the year. The last two months of the year was really tough and I had to make difficult decisions. Decisions that will take me on the road less traveled but which I hope leads me to greater heights and places.

Come 2016, I hope and pray for a better me, new opportunities, new hopes and dreams!

Happy New Year!!

Merdeka

'Merdeka'. Literally, it means free or independent. I have celebrated every August 31st as my country's Independence Day. It is the date when my country freed itself from the rule of the British empire; and together, as a nation, we rose as ONE. Sadly, over the last few years, the meaning of Merdeka has changed...for me at least. After 58 years of independence, one would think that the nation would be forging ahead, growing stealthily, as the years add up. Yes...we have Vision 20:20 in sight. Yes...we are aiming to be a developed country. BUT...how are we going to achieve all that when the very foundation upon which our country was built upon i.e. the harmony of the people, is threatened? The foundation upon which we gained our independence on, which thus allowed us to build our country and nation, is now marred with  widening cracks that are threatening to crumble the entire institution. The original spirit of 'Merdeka' has vanished. I can't help but ask myself, WHY IS THIS HAPPENING? Shouldn't we be moving forward, growing together as a nation, getting stronger each year? Instead, we seem to be chiseling little but sturdy cracks into the cement that holds the foundation together. We're supposed to be progressive, advanced, forward thinking. We're the new generation that will one day lead the country. And yet.... While the acceptance of certain issues like interracial marriages has been socially accepted and in fact boomed in the past few years, I am perplexed, confounded, baffled, by the sudden and unexpected backward steps of the up-rise of religious/cultural differences of the people (I don't even want to think about politics at this point!). It is simply ironic. On one hand, there is the socially acceptable and boasted about issue of interracial relationships, how we're all living so peacefully with one another, celebrating each other's festivals etc. The diversity that is the pride of Malaysia. We boast about this anywhere, anytime!  Then on the other hand....there are issues of disagreements between races, declarations or statements of superiority of one race or religion over the other, unacceptable or thoughtless taunts.The very basis of what we built our nation on is now under a serious threat. Where did these come from? It's worrying to think that as we move ahead in time, technology etc, we seem to be moving backwards in our thinking and mindset. Sighs... And so, this year, my Merdeka message, or rather wish, is for us, as a nation, to be MERDEKA from all the political/social/cultural differences. We need to come together as one, and start cementing back our foundation; fortifying it against everything that we fought against when we claimed independence. As cliche as it may sound, UNITED WE STAND, DIVIDED WE FALL!! Happy Merdeka everyone! :-)

"Same Same: A Dan Lain-lain Project"

Back in early May when I was in Chiangmai for a Consultation, I came across this phrase "samesame" emblazoned across souvenir t-shirts that were being sold on the streets. I didn't know what it meant or symbolised, so I figured that it must be one of those slangs that the locals used (although for God knows what!). :-)

And then two weeks later, I came across an "advert" (if you can call it that) on Facebook, inviting mixed-race families of Malaysia to contribute their stories and photos of: how did they meet, what were their biggest joys, obstacles, adventures, misunderstandings, etc., while being in a mixed-race relationship. To my pleasant surprise, the project was called...SAME SAME! Was this fate or what? The project is the brainchild of Lithuanian photographer Paulius Staniunas and aims to celebrate Malaysia's cultural and racial diversity.

Coming from a mixed race family, I was intrigued with this project, and promptly submitted a photo of my sister, cousin and me to Paul, explaining how the three of us are of mixed raced and often get questioned as to which race we belong to. Lo and behold, our picture was posted on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/samesameproject/photos/pb.1555171511367613.-2207520000.1439280391./1659929877558442/?type=3&theater)

What happened next was simply amazing!! Paul then contacted me, asking if by any chance I was based in Penang. He explained that he was planning to have a photo/story exhibition of mixed race families, individuals, couples, in Penang, in conjunction with the George Town Festival, and asked if I would be interested to take part. Joe Sidek, the festival director, had heard of his project and has asked if he could do a similar project focusing on the people of Penang. (For full background info of the "Same Same: A Dan Lain-lain Project", go to http://www.samesame.my). 

Having learnt more about the whole project, I of course wholeheartedly jumped on the bandwagon to be part of this amazing endeavour. Emails were exchanged, dates were discussed...and finally, my family and I met Paul and his friend, Alex who was helping him in the project. The two of them were very engaging and friendly as they interviewed my parents on their background, how they met, the complete love story. They even got my dad to admit that he stole my mum from another guy (much to my sister's and my surprise)!! Haha!!

A month and a half later, and the beautifully taken photograph and well synthesised story of my family is now on display at Dewan Sri Pinang, together with 30 other photographs and stories of mixed race families from Penang. 

It was/is indeed such a pleasure and honour to be part of this project and I am excited to see how the entire "Same Same: A Dan Lain-lain Project" unfolds. If the exhibition in Penang is anything to go by, I'm sure the entire project will be something spectacular to look forward to! :-) 

Five girlfriends and a jungle trekking adventure

One weekend, five girlfriends decided to “be one” with nature. The aim: jungle trek to Monkey Beach and then hike up to the Muka Head Lighthouse located 242 metres (794 ft) above sea level.

These girls were quite an “active” bunch: one could and WOULD sleep at anytime of the day, at ANY place; the other, is a self-confessed couch potato whose idea of exercising includes watching E-News and Keeping Up with the Kardashians; one is a bookworm whose friends are mostly characters from books; another is called Miss-I-Like-All-Things-Weird; while the other spends her free time chauffeuring her mum.

So on one Sunday morning, with all of us appropriately attired and adequately protected from the sun (i.e. sun-block: checked, hat: checked, water: checked) we stood at the entrance of the Penang National Park, all gung-ho ready for our adventure!

Having set 60 minutes as our time limit to reach Monkey Beach (the estimated time proposed by the park is roughly 105 minutes), we were ecstatic when we “reached” Monkey Beach in under 60 minutes! We all commented on how easy the trek was and that we must be in really good shape to have trekked that fast. Imagine our horror and embarrassment when we found out that we had only reached the Teluk Ailing Beach which was where the USM Research Station is located. We were not yet on Monkey Beach! Suppressing our glee, we marched on, this time at a slower pace as the trail was a fairly narrow path through the jungle with a number of headlands that went up and down. When we first started, it felt like were we on an Indiana Jones’ adventure. But as time passed, we began to feel as though we were in the series Lost. Needless to say, the chatter and laughter that accompanied us from the beginning soon deserted us as the true colours of our stamina began to show. Other people soon began to overtake us as we slowed down. There were of course some “accidents” where two of us slipped down a slope but no harm was done. In fact, it brought back some laughter and “excitement”.

Finally, as we were about to give up (not that we would have turned back), we reached Monkey Beach! We quickly spread our beach cloth down and proceeded to rest our legs and quench our thirst with fresh coconut juice. Needless to say, selfies (or wefies) were next on the agenda. Once that was done, we asked a stall operator how far and how long it would take us to get to the light house. The lady whom we asked generously told us that it would take us at least 40 minutes to get to the light house (this was after she looked at all of us from head to toe. I have to admit that we all looked like typical city girls who were dumped into the “jungle” to fend for ourselves). She also emphasized that it was 40 minutes ONE WAY.

After the resting, we started our hike up to the light house. As soon as we began our journey up the trail, we realized the mistake we made in resting our legs. As we hiked up the hill which was mainly stairs (!!), our legs felt as though they were fitted prosthetic legs made out of lead. Every step of the way up was simply torturous. We made new friends on the way up and by the way we looked, I think they felt like they had to encourage and cheer us on; embarrassingly, two of them even stayed back to help us maneuver ourselves at certain parts of the trail. There were numerous times when each of the five of us was on the verge of giving up, but we persevered, psyching ourselves by humming the song “Eye of the Tiger” despite us not knowing the full song!

Just as we really thought that we could not go on, we turned a corner and there it was…the LIGHTHOUSE! We made it! We were all smiles and laughter as we made our way up to the viewing deck…only to be disappointed by what we saw. The beautiful view that we all thought would greet us was missing! What we got was a clouded view of the sea and its surrounding. We had been cheated by the haze! Swallowing our disappointment, we maintained the positivity that enabled us to fulfill our aim: Five island girls had jungle trekked and hiked their way up a hill. They had indeed been “one with nature”.  We even made new friends! After the obligatory selfies/wefies, we headed back to the beach for more photographs, and then we took a leisurely boat ride back to reality. 

Why I read

Reading has always been a part of my life. In fact, when my mum was pregnant, she used to read the dictionary to me!! And this practice of reading the dictionary has stuck with me throughout my life. Yes...call me a nerd but I do still read the dictionary albeit occasionally. There are at least 3 dictionaries on my bookshelf and one is always within reaching distance. Of course with technology nowadays, I can just Google for the meaning of a word, and yet, I still find myself reaching for the small, worn out dictionary. But I digress.

I came upon the words below while browsing the internet one day and the words immediately struck a cord in me. It beautifully captures what I feel when I read. Aptly titled 'Why Do I Read', the whole passage explains exactly why I read. I shared the words with a fellow reader friend of mine and he too agreed with me. If you love reading and you love books....you'll understand the words. I also shared the words with my mum but she did not share the same feelings as me. I guess there are people who read as though their lives depend on it, and there are people who read just for the sake of reading. I'm the former. 

 

Delayed but not too late

I usually write my last entry for a particular year before the year actually ends, no matter how busy I am. In 2014, I started my year-end holiday rather early, which gave me 16 days to think about what my last entry for the year should be. Despite having that many days, all I did was scribble a few ideas onto a piece of paper and decided that I'll sit down one day and start writing. I sat till the end of the year and as you can see from the date of this entry...my last post for 2014 did not happen on time. So...instead of writing a lengthy post of what happened in the past year, I've chosen to highlight or mention a few things that made my year memorable (or not!). I may have missed a few events though.

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2014 was the year when:

1) I turned the BIG 29+1!! Yup...I left my 20s behind and stepped into a whole new decade. I ushered in the new decade with a party that was perfectly organised by my sister and was attended by some (there were others who couldn't make it) of my favourite people!!Oh...and I dyed my hair copper red!!

2) The year was also a year when friendships were re-kindled/strengthened. As many of you know, I seem to be able to only have very very few close friends (2-3 from high school and a similar number from college). The friendship that was severed or broken down about 2.years ago was patched up; while my hang outs/meeting-up with the friend that I only seem to meet up with once a year, increased. Thinking back, I can find no proper excuse as to why I only met this friend so sparingly. This was also the year when I finally met up with my high school chums after not seeing them for more than 5 years!! It was such a great meet up and oh my.....it was simply fantastic!! 

3) There were also relationships that were sadly broken. And this is particularly sad as it's family and in my opinion, it was over a small matter that went out of proportion. Unfortunately, we could not overcome the difference in opinions and so...I guess for the time being, it's best that we keep our distance.

4) I was also introduced to Penangpac thanks to my sister and her organisation. After my first musical show, I became hooked and have now become a patron of Penangpac. I supported my friend's dance group during a competition in which they won two awards; I watched a college benefit drama; I also went and watch a Malaysianised Hamlet. Ok...it may not look like I watched much shows but still....it's a start.

5) Coincidentally, I had my third trip to Berlin and also India!! The Berlin trip was the usual alumni meeting that is held every year (although I was surprised that my trip was still fully funded). My trip to India was to Bhopal. Yes....after hearing about the place and the tragedy that occurred there, I finally set foot on the place. That too after much drama on my way to Bhopal (my flight from Bangkok to Mumbai was delayed as we had to evacuate the plane due to a spark at the tail-end!). I participated in a rally (and had to walk for nearly 2 hours!) but it was all in solidarity and support. It was an experience I will not forget. Talking about trips, this year I also went on a super short road trip with a friend and my sis. We dropped my sis in KL, while my friend and I drove on to Melaka where I spent one whole day being a tourist!! I should have more road trips!!

6) How can I not mention that I now have a house of my own?? Ok...so technically the bank owns the house until I finish paying off the loan but heck....I bought a house!!!

7) My bucket list for the next 10 years is still not done although I have a draft ready. I just can't seem to sit down and decide on what I want to put on the list. I want a list that I can achieve and check off the boxes as the years go by, and not just have a list that by the end of 10 years, nothing or only 2-4 things are done.

8) Finally....2014 was also the year when my family and I returned to spend Christmas in KL after 10 years!! Yes!! It's been THAT long. We even stayed with my grandmother which is a first. Though it was only for 3 nights, it felt so good to be among loved ones.

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And so....there's my recap of 2014. From the looks of it, there are some things that were left unfinished like my bucket list. I really need to finish it! Also, I need to take more road trips. I plan to go to either Bali or Cambodia this year (ok so these are not road trips...) and I hope that the plans go through. I would also like to have a more active social life i.e. go out more often and not really worry about spending $$ too much (hahaha....the Scrooge in  me is already cringing). Well...maybe I can find a balance.

Anyway....I'm beginning to ramble so I'd better stop here...