fasting month is around the corner...

Ooops... i was simply too busy & forgot to update my blog so there's no entry for July... my apologies...

Life is too short, so make the most of it... Every minute and every hour of my life is saturated with responsibilities... everything I do has to be prioritised and planned well before being executed... of course, there were days when I feel rebellious and just dropped everything and just have some fun.

By fun, I don't mean clubbing or partying and getting drunk... but read books in the library sipping on coffee.. my fav pastime with dear fiance... or just walking around window shopping, people watching and gadgets surveying... for now it's the ipad... gonna get one for my future hubby soon, and gonna receive one from my dear brother... :)

Trust me when I say I'm a boring person... My friends think I'm cool but really, I don't even have time to watch TV... maybe if any I will force myself to read the papers... my off days will be days when I catch up on news by reading all the newspapers compiled from 4 days ago... haha! I guess mum has gotten used to it when she saw the whole dining table full of newspapers... she'll just say something like,'how many years of news are you trying to catch up on?'... :)

If ever I get to watch the TV, it will be shows my family call 'nerdy', and I'll be left watching my shows alone... mostly documentaries or such... haha! :) I heard the show Glee! is great according to my teenage sister who's sooo into it... So I made up my mind to catch the first season online or by torrent download... and watch it along the way to work on my iphone...

Fasting month is nearing... to be exact, next Wednesday... I hope I can make it through the days despite my hectic lifestyle... wish me luck! :)

WORK:

I've been posted to another lab, more specialised biochemistry tests, you're basically left alone at your station to fend for yourself, guided by work instructions and files around you... every now and then, there will be kind souls from other workstations to explain away the questions in my head... my first day didn't go quite well I suppose, because my trainer has to cover another station and she has to leave me alone after just a few hours of brief through on the things I have to do... Second day was better cos there's someone to guide me the whole day...

Third day, will be tomorrow, and I'll be on my own officially... trusted to be independent enough to battle it out myself the whole day... Hope to make it through in one piece...

I've been scouring websites for an additional tuition assignment that can give me my first big break and fill up my Sundays and give me additional allowance to finish buying all the things I need by November...





BOOKS & MOVIES:





As usual, my insatiable appetite for knowledge will lead me to explore more great books and intellectual movies for more discussion and pondering into life's complexities and the unique differences between every human being... yes, despite my busy scedule... haha! :)

A great movie I caught was called,'Inception' by Christopher Nolan.. the great guy who directed 'The Dark Knight'... the show explored the psych of the humand mind, and break reality barriers by questioning the impossibilities of our imagination... the idea of extracting information from another person's subconscious mind when a person is at his most vulnerable...



When the character Cobb (played by Leonardo DiCaprio), mastered this art of extraction, he decided to experiment on something rather vice versa... the idea of transplanting an idea into someone's mind... the mistake he made was experimenting it on his loved one, costing her life... leaving him guilt-stricken reminded by heart-wrenching memories whenever he closed his eyes...and dreams...



This movie allows the audience to question themselves regarding the fine line that separates reality from dreams... so how sure are we, that the lives we're leading now belongs to the real world? which brings us back to the movie 'The Matrix'...



( In Inception ) But I find the concept of having a totem to separate reality from dreams, a little too easy... and can still be deceiving as what Cobb proved when he manipulated his wife's totem in her safety box... So how can he be sure his totem wasn't maipulated or tampered with to fool him? That was why the ending was left hanging with a totem still spinning... the last scene involving his children playing in the garden outside the patio, cannot be coincidentally be the same as when he left them... so Cobb might still be in a dream...

Looking forward to Inception 2... because their plan might not work out according to plan, which is to ensure the demise of a rival empire... the victim might have figured out their plans and thwarted it somewhere in between by introducing his own set of plans to fool them into thinking they suceeded... many scenes pointed to that if you are fast enough to catch the hints...

I simply love the idea of the time paradox... in reality, time flies very fast, as compared to dreams... in actual fact, many people believe in this idea... within an hour, you can dream of many things and events... in religious texts, a similar idea was introduced..something like a day spent in hell, feels like a year spent on Earth...

Thus, now I understand why some books introduced concepts like learning using the subconscious mind... that is, you memorise and learn better by sleeping immediately after studying... or sleeping throughout a lecture... the brain can actually retain information better because it has been fooled to believe that the time taken for it to learn something has been prolonged... as compared to real-time... :) I've used this concept myself and it works for me... I passed my exams well despite my last minute resolutions... haha! :) always study smart, not study hard...

A book I've recently read, called 'The Imam's Daughter'by Hannah Shah.... which I initially thought was good because it helps put light to the derogatory culture and practice of minority Muslims in some countries, which misleads others into thinking that Islam is a bad religion, which is sad...

I felt sad that the author converted to Christianity due to the circumstances she has been put through, which were horrible and worst still, came from her own family and community... A minority Muslim community set in England, still strongly practicing cultures like arranged(forced) marriages, leading to honour killings when the daughters refuse or ran away... and they love to back their actions with verses from the Quran... which is a huge sin and leads to wrong interpretations of Islam... leading to other problems like radicalism...

It's more heart-wrenching when the author questioned a lot of Muslim beliefs and practices... and the Quran teachings... questions she had in her mind are all affiliated to her past negative experiences... which is wrong... she should give herself time to heal by visiting Muslims from other countries, out from her community... and realise how beautiful Islam is, if practiced according to mainstream teachings, and it must always be guided by certified religious teachers... like mosques in Singapore...

It's sad many choose to believe that culture and religion is intertwined... they chose to be ignorant and selfishly lead other religions to believe that Islam is a bad religion... I don't encourage my fellow Muslims to read this book, if you're not well-versed in Islamic teachings... it might lead you astray... For others, it's a mind opening book...



Here's an article regarding the spread of radicalism in Islam by Muslims who oppress their own lives by adhering to cultural practices that exist in Afghanistan, despite living in UK.I strongly feel the British authorities should interfere & come up with a solution to tone down such negative practices and thinking and provide mainstream religious education to these ignorant Muslims... before things get out of hand... evident in their current practices which can be damaging to the reputation of Islam.

The Talibanisation of British childhood by hardline parents. (5/8/10)

the month of blessings...

Oh my... I guess it's quite hard to regularly update my blog, at the same time maintaining my facebook account and my email... added with my hectic life and workload... So, I guess once a month should do for now... unless a miracle happened, I became rich and has nothing else to do but to just blog away everyday... :)

So, this month is the month of blessings, pretty much for most of us working, as this is the time when we receive our bonuses... I'm excitedly looking forward to pay off my personal wedding makeup artist and go for the fittings by the end of this month. Not forgetting, buying all the items needed to exchanged on trays on our solemnisation day...

Being quite busy people, leading a healthy lifestyle, my fiance and I seldom get the chance to go to movie theatres to catch all the great shows... however, with the advent of iphone, we get to download the great shows we want to watch together at our own time and comfort and audio clarity ( 2 pairs of earphones connected together )... priceless... we get to rewind the great scenes we want to discuss or pause when the need arise... :)

Up to now, we've caught shows in iphone, shows like 'Twilight' & 'New Moon'... I'm starting on the book for the latter movie soon enough, despite buying the book like eons ago.. haha! :) Next show will either be 'Hurt Locker' or 'Beautiful Mind'... looking forward to catch the shows 'Eclipse' and 'Harry Potter' soon...

We've just watched 'Toy Story 3' in 3D yesterday night in the theatres... it was sooo fantastic! the whole script was witty and entertaining... and the storyline is so full of twists and emotional rendezvous... brings me a surge of memories of my childhood toys... the movie was perfect except for the 3-dimensional effects... just watching the show in 2D should suffice... it wasn't designed to be shown in 3D...

We've been reading constantly no doubt... and great books too! We even downloaded an application that allows us to keep tabs on the books we've read, or currently reading... Nerd alert! :) by the way, the application is called 'Ireaditnow'...

My current read is a book called, 'The Talent Code' by Daniel Coyle... just reading the introduction sent goosebumps down my skin.... it feels like you've chanced across an important book that teaches you how to use a confirmed blueprint that works if you want to mold a prodigy... Lots of research has been done on fantastic soccer players, golfers, tennis players, musical prodigies, etc...

Other than that, I've been feeling quite under the weather the past few weeks due to stomach flu... wherever I've contracted it... but my body didn't deal with it quite well as I had to endure a few consecutive nights with high fevers... it really brings a lot of bad memories of my past dengue experience cos the abdominal pain is similar in intensity...

Thank God, my fevers diminished since yesterday and I'm starting to eat solid food again without any pain... but I need to regain my body's wellbeing by eating right and exercising regularly again... the gym hours I clocked this morning was surprisingly painful... I could only lift half the weights I normally carry... I guess my body needs time to regenerate to its full potential again... Need to get my abs back in shape... haha! :)

Personality profile test...

Another night shift to serve later tonight so as usual, I use the time in my hands to do the things I like such as reading, surfing and learning up new things, etc...





The latest book I've borrowed from the library is titled,'The Personality Code' by Travis Bradberry... Haven't really read the book yet, which requires you to complete the free IDISC Personality test with the passcode provided in the book...

So I went online to find out which of the 14 personalities I belonged to, in order to further understand myself - my strengths and weaknesses at the workplace, and how to deal with colleagues or people around me who bear conflicting personality type...



To my utter dismay, the code provided on the flap of the book can only be used once... which I find quite stupid and irritating. Does it mean that I have to buy this same book twice just to know the personality type of myself and my fiance? Haiz....



So I researched further online to find any recommendable personality tests that can advise me on whether I'm on the right footing in my career pathway...

A website I came across that I find quite useful advice and recommendations:

http://www.blogger.com/www.squidoo.com/personalitytestsonline

Just completed a FPYC Personal Career profiling just for the fun of it... there's 90 questions to be answered... quite accurate regarding my personality... but the top 3 recommended careers for me seems quite funny...

1. Healthcare practitioner and technical ( I'm currently doing )

2. Military? ( sounds weird to me... )

3. Education, training and library

( currently teaching tuition, currently training newbies at work, used to join library in school )

Whatever it is, I'll get married first and consider my options again next year on what I really want to do in my life... getting a Masters is one of the future endeavours I'd like to uptake to improve myself academically... We'll see how :) There's only so much we humans can plan, but only God will determine what's going to really happen...

Before yet another night call to serve....

Time flies really,really fast I guess... especially when your life is hectically filled with many obligations and activities like mine... I've been teaching relentlessly after work, I'm starting to ask myself when I'm going to stop doing these teachings.... yet the undulating demands coming hand in hand with the pay remuneration is satisfyingly quenchable....

Been trying to run and do my gym sessions with my dear fiance after work... other than that, do lots of reading with him over coffee or rootbeer ( my fav drink, tastes better with vanilla ice cream actually )....

The reason why I'm putting up a post today ( after long while ) is because I'm quite bored, I don't sleep in the afternoons and have 2 more hours to rest before I get ready for gym and later my night duty call...

There's not much challenge left at work... so I like to challenge myself by increasing my workload at work by helping other sections as well.... so worried of getting bored, knowing I can get bored easily w/o much challenge ahead of me... my direct supervisor seems to notice this cos he's been ordering me around the lab to do so many miscellaneous work on top of my own... I get irritated by his thunderous voice sometimes when he shouted my name across the huge lab, just to ask me a favour to assist him....

I've watched several movies ( surprisingly )... such as 'Percy and the lightning thief', ' How To Train Your Dragon- 3D', 'My Name is Khan' and 'The Green Zone'....

The animation from Pixar is surprisingly good despite the uncatchy title... and watching from the second row from the front, I felt immersed in the movie... I love the part when I felt as if I was bobbing up & down with only my head on the surface of the sea.... interesting yet foreseeable storyline... but entertaining all the same... ( 3/5 stars )

The first show mentioned above was adapted from a book, but the storyline is rather hard for me to swallow, added with the modern settings... I find the whole show quite humorous but disappointingly nonsensical especially the part when they need to find Hades in hell... situated in Hollywood... so ironically silly ( 1/5 star )

The third one is a hindi show, featuring stars like Shah Rukh Khan and Kajol ( my fav Hindi actor/actress)... They never failed to live up to my expectations with their acting skills... regarding a spastic Muslim man who was detained and beaten up because he was suspected as a terrorist following the 9/11 incident.... just because he wanted badly to meet the US president to declare he's a muslim but not a terrorist, contrary to what most Caucasians in the country believed after 9/11.... A harrowing yet touching storyline with a strong message to non-muslims to clear their general misconceptions regarding muslims worldwide.... ( 4 stars )

The last show was definitely initiated by my fiance, due to his love for war movies... I hate the violence that are inevitably featured in every war movie... the show was heart-thumping, with non-stop action but not much storyline to draw on... the message to be sent across is for us not to deceived by what we see or read in the media, because sometimes they are just propaganda or blinding us to the reality behind the scenes...

In this case, about how the US president fooled the US citizens into thinking they were sending troops to Iraq to uncover and destroy weapons of mass destruction, which were actually non-existent in the first place... the overriding reason is to actually try to gain the natural resources like oil from the country, at the expense of the citizens of Iraq... their welfare, safety and lives are all destroyed in the process... reminds me of a book I've read, 'The Conspiracy Reader'...

(3 stars)

Other than movies, I've recently completed a Nany Drew detective game... just an intellectually stimulating game which I completed over the course of only 2 days... maybe totalled up to 7 hours... too easy I guess...

A book I'm currently reading is called,'Complications', a national bestseller and a New York Times notable book, written by Dr Atul Gawande... This doctor reveals it all in his book regarding the ugly reality of surgeons worldwide... that they are fallible like us, and most of the time struggling and groping in the dark trying to figure out what the problem in our bodies - only after cutting us up.... yikes...

Hard to swallow but true to the bone... I'm an enthusiast when it comes to books like these... uncovering the truths behind the superficial drapes we see everyday... doctors look confident, assuring, intelligent, infallible... but all of these are not true.. they are still humans, and thus prone to making mistakes no matter how experienced...

And these ranging from simple to complex mistakes.... at the cost of putting someone's life on the line... e.g. an 8-yr old died during a wisdom tooth extraction just because the doctor accidentally put the breathing tube through her esophagus (where your food goes into the stomach) instead of the trachea (where air goes into the lungs).... so she died within minutes due to suffocation...

So are malpractice suits justifiable? Most operation procedures are done by the resident surgeons (inexperienced trainees), not the attending surgeons (experienced but just overlook the whole procedure and give advice,or take over when the need arises).... not known to many... because the only way to learn to perform surgical procedures is by practice,not just looking... so patients are guinea pigs most of the time...

Reminds me of the time when I was hospitalized and the trainee nurse poked me wrongly and instead of administering the saline intravenously, the saline went into my muscles making my hand bloated,purple and painful due to internal bleeding... the doctor apologised on her behalf & was clearly outraged but I was the one on the receiving end... it took a month to completely heal... Such a simple procedure can go wrong, yet alone a complex one like surgery...?

A must-read book for nerds like me and my fiance... haha! :)

Sick... but productive!

Was diagnosed with upper respiratory tract infection yesterday and was immediately granted 2 days medical leave.... to my boss's and colleagues dismay... it was unexpected and came quite suddenly... thus inevitable, yet still befuddled as to how I contracted it...

Let's look at the bright side of things... :)

Despite the physical weakness, cough, continuous bouts of sneezing and runny nose with the addition of fever and headaches... I have more time for myself to rest whilst doing the things I've always brushed aside due to work and tuition commitments...

Feeling much better now to surf the internet using my lappy ( since the advent of iphone in my life, I haven't touched my lappy for quite sometime...maybe 3 months now? ), I'm taking this opportunity to update my blog on the latest things happening in my life...

A book I just finished reading yesterday: TWILIGHT

I applaud Stephenie Meyer, for writing a book so impossibly captivating and packed with action, romantic love and sacrifices, that I felt transported into the book itself whilst reading it... So vividly described, filled with beautiful conversational exchange between the characters interjected with humour, sarcasm and emotions....

It was surprisingly highly palatable for someone like me... a woman in late 20s, who doesn't fancy vampire stories.... and ended up a convert after reading the first book... looking forward to reading the rest of her sequels...

I foresee myself being an ardent fan of hers in the future, just as I did for Jodi Picoult and JK Rowling... :)

Rating : 5/5 stars

I felt rather insulted though, by a cashier at the Borders counter when I bought a sequel to 'Twilight', called 'New Moon', which I have yet to start reading... he told me I just bought a 'kids' book... which he corrected to a 'young adult's book' after I scowled and my fiancee repeated loudly what he just said... sooo tactless...

What happened to customer service in Singapore? Which reminds me of a newspaper article I read this morning regarding the decline of customer service quality in Singapore and how the CEOs and management staffs should proactively address promptly before we lose out to other countries like HongKong and Japan... they can start by focusing on product knowledge training & improvements...

The title of the article is very catchy...'Fish Rots First From The Head'... by Mr Liew Mun Leong, president & CEO of CapitaLand Group... in the article, he shared several encounters revolving around unsatisfactory customer service he experienced first-hand whilst shopping in Singapore, one of them being at Borders.

Here's an excerpt from the article...

' Recently, I went to Borders to look for something to read about former US president Ronald Reagen. I couldn't find anything on the shelves, so I approached the information counter for assistance. The young assistant didn't recognise the name and sought help from her senior, who also didn't know.

I thought they didn't catch my pronunciation so I wrote it down for them. Both said they didn't know who Reagan was. When I expressed my surprise, they responded:"We are Singaporeans!"'

Singaporeans have a lot of catchup to do in relation to customer service quality and not stagnate and be contented by the current standards we have....

Time for me to complete my wedding card designing and customization before I send it for printing...!! That's all for now! :)

Love,

Liza

The yr of 2010...

Felt sorry for not updating this blog for quite some time, since the advent of facebook and my engagement to my dear Rifaee.... so glad he finally signed up his own personal facebook account so that it won't look weird anymore when we leave messages for each other on the wall.... ( it used to look as if I have a split personality and talking to myself for awhile )

The year of 2010 will not be a less merciless yr for me as compared to the previous year, considering the huge amount of tuition workload on my shoulders due to great demands... which I can fulfil only so many... but with the help of my beloved fiancee, I've managed to delegate some of the workload to him, due to the fact he can teach physics and maths well....

Added with a touch of the wedding preparations that entails out engagement, I'm going to be a pretty busy woman, trying to juggle work, family, tuition and friends.... will try as much as possible to attend functions or time out with friends and ex-colleagues to catch up on each other's lives.... but the recent events I'm definitely not able to attend will be next week's corporate party and the upcoming chalet my colleagues organised in feb....

I hope to be able to consistently take care of my health and yet able to fulfil my daily obligations well... not denying the fact that hiccups are sometimes inevitable in life, but we can always try to proactively prevent or suppress the effects as much as possible with enough effort.... :)

bring me to life...

Being away from my dear hasn't been easy for me, considering we used to see each other almost 24/7.... it has started to take a toll on my appetite and consequently my health... my whole body feels sapped of energy everyday, despite taking my vitamins and trying to eat well and do some exercise routines...

It is just being apart for 10 days and I felt so sick...I thought it was going to be easy, but I was dead wrong.... I can't imagine other women who is having long distance relationships for months, or even years... separated due to work commitments, etc... I wonder how they cope and make the relationship work...

Even reading is so difficult to enjoy, cos whatever I read reminds me of my hubby, coz he loves to read too... Constant prayers seem to be the only answer to my transient loneliness... a few days seem so long... it feels like 10 years to me... and I can't seem to enjoy myself... or enjoy doing the things I used to enjoy... The mood is not even there to start with...

Can't wait for the source of my joy and inspiration in life to come back home... still counting down... 6 more miserable days to go... In the meantime, I'll be trying very hard to concentrate on anything I'm on, especially at work...to avoid another accident from happening...

I recently encountered a freak accident in the biochemistry lab I'm working in... blood from a patient's sample splashed onto my whole face and body, inevitably entering my eyes... Unfortunately, it happened on the same day my baby was to leave for Perth,Australia due to work commitments...

What entails was a whole series of designated protocols... involving so many management staffs and doctors... I felt so guilty for the unnecessary chaos that resulted... Thanks to God, my blood tests for HIV,Hep C & Hep B were neagtive... and the same goes for the patient's blood... I felt so relieved... but I will still be under close monitor for another 6 mths from now, because the doctors said HIV virus needs 3 mths to incubate and they want to provide me the necessary medical treatments if the slightest hint of the virus exist in my blood...

Today my dear went out with his colleagues to Fremantle Market and to enjoy the Kaili's famous Fish & Chips... I haven't been there, but I've seen photos of the place in the internet.... it looks like such a peaceful place to be in and escape from reality for awhile.. considering I love to go to natural landscapes but hadn't had the opportunity to go as yet....

Will be looking forward to go with my dear when we get married and explore other countries together, taking beautiful picturesque photos with our beloved DSLR...

our new lens...

Here's a picture I took using our newly-bought lens ~ Canon EF 50mm f/1.4 USM lens.... The veins of the small leaves are very defined yet a huge contrast to the blurred background effect... No editing was done to this picture I took... cool huh? The lens is surprisingly inexpensive, so I guess it's a crazy bargain..

Went for a short picnic outing with Faee and his siblings with their girlfriends and fiancees... together with his sis & family... we had a great time, except that the weather was unbearably hot and sunny, followed by a drizzle that stopped our picnic experience abruptly... I guess the kids had great fun, by the look of it... and we ended the day with a nice seafood dinner ( sponsored by my future father-in-law ) @ simpang bedok...

A fun game of frisbee...it was tiring running around

Nurul after a crazy game of frisbee

Faee took a photo of me under a tree

Me with Iwan, who was happily muching his fries

My baby putting on his best smile :)

P.S. All pics are taken using our Canon EOS 500D, fitted with the 50mm lens...

December is the busiest mth in 2009....

Selamat Hari Raya Haji to all fellow Muslims reading this blog entry...

I'll be off to my granny's place this afternoon to celebrate this special day with my relatives the rest of the day... followed by a visit to the cemetery tomorrow morning in remembrance of all our loved ones who have passed but will always be etched in our hearts....

Gonna rent a car to spend the rest of tomorrow going around S'pore sending my engagement invitation cards to some of my relatives & bringing my family out for a spin... being the only driver around, I guess it's gonna be a tiring day tmrw... but will still look forward to a gym session with my baby in the evening...

Considering my dear will be flying off to Australia soon due to work commitments, ( 8-18th Dec09') we only have a week left to rush and get the things needed for my corporate dinner & dance event which falls on the 20th Dec, which will be held @ Megu Hall Event, near the great S'pore Flyer....

What's a bummer is having to work OT doing my on-call duty on 6th Dec 09', which falls on the same day as an ex-classmate's wedding reception... Despite that, I've decided to come by her place and congratulate her a day before the event...

Another bummer is having to work night shift on the 11th Dec 09' and still be ready for the 12th & 13th Dec to help facilitate the event of my cousin's wedding... which I foresee will be going to be extremely tiring considering the low budget they've set aside for the event and the lack of manpower on the 2 days... I'm gonna look like a panda bear...

I hope to be able to make it to a friend's birthday party which falls on the 19th Dec, a day before my corporate event... I'm sure it's gonna be a blast! Not sure what to get her though...

Of course, I'll definitely be looking forward to my engagement ceremony... I hope the whole event will a huge success, and my make-up doesn't melt halfway or something... Considering the amount of effort and budget put in, I hope all the guests will go home with an unforgettable experience...

I can't wait for the month of January to come... as I have a week of annual leave to rest my ass off after New Year... and start revising all the Pure Sciences subjects and familiarize myself with the latest O-lvl syllabus before starting another round of tuition assignments for 2010...

The year of 2010 will be more hectic considering most of my days in a week will be taken up by tuition slots! It'll be the same students but the frequency of the tuition slots will be increased due to parents' special requests...

P.S. Sayang, don't forget to upload the pics... I'd really love to share the pics here... :) thanks!

nearing 2010 soon...yikes!

A picture I took with my EOS 500D whilst my bf is driving in this tunnel...

Life is like a winding road in a tunnel, you're always moving towards the end of the tunnel, where you can see the light, yet you don't really know what's in store for you til' you reach the end....which seems neverending though... :)

Wow...I can put colours and edit the size and type of font now... great!

Despite looking forward to my wedding next year, I am quite dreading the year 2010.... cos it means more and more work... need to save more, need to slog more... and more tuition!!!

Nearing the end of 2009, I've already received numerous tuition offers... all my previous students' parents booked me for 2010 already, so I really have to turned down offers by parents who searched me up online... my 2010 tuition slots is fully booked.... sometimes I wish I have my own small car, so I can be more mobile & travel all over Singapore more... so I don't have to turn down people....

As usual, most of my students will be preparing for their O-levels in 2010... but I guess the most challenging tuition assignment I've ever had is teaching triple pure sciences to a very bright and diligent Malay girl, who aspires to be a neurosurgeon... I'll be more than willing to put in every effort I can afford to push her nearer to her dreams... :)

I guess it's time for me to hit the books again and familiarize myself with the syllabus and prepare my tuition lessons, despite being busy with my engagement preparations....

(P.S. Sayang, after reading this post, please upload the photos we took into PhotoBucket so I can share them here,esp those @ Henderson Bridge... thank you baby)

financially drained...

( Me trying to take a pic of my beautiful EOS 500D )

With so many events to look forward to, I just came upon the realisation how much money I've spent, and how much more money I need to spend... inevitably... birthdays,engagement day,leisure with loved ones and friends,bills,marriage plans,etc....

So tempted though to quit my job and just go into the teaching industry... I can command more tuition fee on a per hour and per subject basis.... considering the great but time-consuming tuition offers I received but little time on my hands due to work commitments(3 shifts)... I feel sooo tempted to switch over to teaching...

What made it more tempting is the fact that I just got invited by NUS and MOE to attend a talk they've organised to convince professionals like me into making a mid-career switch into teaching... it's a talk to attend by invitation only @ Orchard Hotel...

So, should I go give it a try? Hmm.... it's just a talk, right? :)



A 3D-animation movie I've recently caught with my loved one is called,'Coraline'... The 3-D effects were enjoyable, but the storyline is slightly dark for a children's show.... and the content was quite stale and boring.... I hope not to be disappointed by Disney's 'A Christmas Carol in 3-D'....(featuring Jim Carrey) cos I find the trailer quite impressive....

Watched the show '2012', another disaster movie nevertheless.... with almost the same storyline, outcome & effects of people's decision-making and quick-thinking... nothing much that's new, except for the disturbing images of many people dying helplessly, in such a gruesome manner...

In reality, I think if the same event were to occur, the whole Earth will be wiped out heartlessly, with no survivors to save the day.... we must accept the fact that there's nothing much we can do but repent and accept that it's the end of the world..

Other than the end of the world featuring the effect of natural disasters like earthquakes, tsunamis and volcanic eruptions.... I would love to watch a disaster movie featuring the Sun dying out... which is true in a few thousand years to come....

As the Sun is our main energy source for all living things on Earth, I wonder what alternative resources of energy we human beings are capable of utilizing in the future for our survival....

Nuclear resources for energy and light maybe? Will we resort to being cannibals? Or end up cloning plants and animals for food? I would love to watch such a show if it were to ever exist in the future.... the unlimited creativity of the director will be flaunted definitely.... and viewers will be invited to be intrigued and join the thinking fields by such a mind-blowing show....

I also hope movies will be more interactive & interesting in the future... especially the 3-D ones...so different viewers will get different endings.... I'm sure it'll come up to that, after I saw a trailer of an interactive game by PS3... We can do whatever we want with the pet we have in the game... cuddle,tickle,play ball... as if the pet is really by our side... cool, huh? but u need to install a camera so u can see urself on the TV screen playing with ur so-called 'pet'...

Faee's back!.... MAJ in the news..!!!

And for those of you who missed me, for those of you who knew me through the "sayang" that Liza always talks about here.....

Well here I am again....

Re-introduced myself again here....

Give you a bit of my resume here....

Been awhile since i wrote so this has taken awhile for me to write, so bear with me for the lack of intricate and elaborate prose. ok sayang???



Yup...i work for MAJ Aviation. As an Aircraft Technician....Dont discount me as a mere technician with meagre pay....hahaha...like they always say in aviation, experience is king and its who knows you...!!!!

Above is the signing of the MOU between Unisim and MAJ, as reported in the mypaper news. MAJ already has 2 aircrafts ready to fly students up out of Seletar, for the Flight Experience Programme Module, compulsory for BEHAS students. I will be instrumental in setting up more DA40 aircrafts as part of a specialised team, that my company has hand picked, in the Jan 2010.

More MOU pics....taken using my lg ku990r(not the 500d yet)..


the guests from the likes of Yatiman yusof and other CEOs approaching the aircrafts....



I tow the aircrafts out from ATTC hangar from gate AG9....



to gate AG10....near Singapore Flying College.

Cool stuff eh....for those of you have gotten some inspiration...read below!!!

The aviation industry is a unique industry. It has the ability to humble people and will recognise good attitude and initiative, and pay them handsomely. The rest will be filtered out or be forced to be stagnant.

Safety consciousness is paramount and nobody from top down will be spared if it is compromised.

Be calculative at your own perril... Its a dog eat dog world, therefore always be ready to help and push yourself out of your comfort zone, you get noticed.

First impressions will last. Protray yourself confidently and do everything right the first time round.

Get yourself noticed. Always be special in the team, be it a special skill, good English diction, assertiveness, or what have you. Just get noticed...!!!

Skill that is imperative: class 3 driving...!!!!very important..!!!

this is all for now...this is what i learnt here in aviation (has always been my passion since i met ucopman in sec 1, another 17OCTober-ree),

very, very humbling, just like all my engineer, pilot, instructor, lecturer, CEO friends will testify...he hehe..Faee, out : )

My new gadget....

Bought a new gadget with my dear just a few days back.... and we've made a pact not to look back on our decision... that is to buy Canon's latest DSLR EOS 500D... the whole kit together with the insurance for 3 years costs us around almost S$1.6k

But I guess it's worth it... my friends said so too... (read : after they've recovered from the shock of how much it costs... and closed their gaping mouths)

My dear and I have started reading magazines on photography to learn the various techniques on capturing beautiful images and fully utilizing the camera... I definitely can't wait to enrol in the photography workshop... but hopefully both of us are eligible to go...if not, he'll be the one going, as the camera is sort of a birthday gift... ( read : Sayang, ur soo pampered this year's birthday...you owe me BIG time )

I've never seen myself immersed in photography before meeting my dear...but coupled with my artistic senses and the love for paintings and artpieces... I guess the concept is quite similar with photography... to capture a beautiful image, you have to take note of various things like the main subject, type of lighting and different contrast techniques... just like in paintings.... So no qualms on my part in taking up photography with my dear...

I want no more excuses after this... I want my dear to start writing up blog entries accompanied by beautiful pictures taken by the DSLR... The interesting thing I found about this camera is, it can capture digital videos as well... cool, huh? I can't wait to buy the addition to this camera... that is the waterproof body covering so that I can shoot pictures underwater as well... yesssss!!!!!

P.S. Hoping to win some lucky draws... a BMW 3 Series from Best Denki lucky draw entries ( we have 31 entries )... and McDonalds Monopoly grand prize of S$50K...!! Can't help being one of those hopefuls... :)



( My properties are almost completed )

so busy lately...

I'm so glad to have accomplished so many things within a month... it's no small feat juggling work,tuition,family and friends... The current updates bout me so far...

Went to Singapore Expo Wedding and Holiday Fair on 24th Oct along with my bf family members... it was fun hanging out with them the whole day, right after work... not excluding the fact that I managed to secure Andam service for my wedding next year as well as a reputable and an established photojournalist to take the beautiful moments of my wedding day next yr...

Being the most choosiest and hard-to-pls couple around, always wanting the best and most unique service ever, the photojournalist's portfolio simply swept us away... as his concept of photography aligned nicely with the concept we had in mind... it comes at a price though... but simply worth it :)

On the same day, my future-mother-in-law secured catering and deco services for her side for the wedding day...

Regarding movies... I've watched a couple within a month...



'Cloudy with a chance of meatballs'-3D... watched with my dear quite late after work... the storyline was rather long-winded and weak... after an hour I was feeling rather bored... there's no beautiful music scores,unlike the other shows we've caught... no climax scene... the only part I will never forget is...hearing a snore beside me, only to find my dear sleeping under his huge 3D glasses...haha!


'Darah' is an Indonesian horror movie I caught with the poly students who used to serve their attachment period in the lab...the show was filled with so much blood, violence and gore... coupled with a sick storyline... I felt like puking at the end of the show...my head was spinning slightly when we went out of the theatre... I think our group was the most absorbed into the movie that we screamed almost every minute of the show..(obviously the noisiest) I wonder how much calories were lost as a result.... :)



The best show I've watched this month is called,'My Sister's Keeper'... an adaptation of Jodi Picoult's masterpiece I've never gotten to read coz the book is almost always out of stock in the bookstores... get tissue papers ready no matter how hard as a rock ur heart is... like me...

Throughout the whole show I was struck by the painful and beautiful moments the family shared throughout Kate's inevitably progressive disease... the moral and ethical issues surrounding the disease... how it affected everyone in the family... how a disease can break some family bonds or create stronger family bonds, depending on the various perspectives people choose to take...

At the end of the day, I learn that death is an inevitable stage in any life processes... whoever lives, needs to die one day... but the interesting question is... how far will you go for someone you love, who is facing the death sentence?...

Will you be stuck in denial and exhaust every possible way to prolong his/her life,so you can spend more time together... but at the expense of the people around you? So absorbed in thinking of various ways to save her... so much so your marriage starts to break apart, you quit your job,you start neglecting the rest of your children, and so far as to hurt and make use of another child to save the dying one...?

Or is the concept of acceptance better for the benefit of everyone around including the dying? To be able to spend as much quality time together with the dying, and make every moment together count & as beautiful as possible...filled with laughters and happiness... To create as much precious memories together and take away the stress of the disease from everyone's mind... so as to make the dying family member's life as fulfilled and less painful and less scary as possible up to the last day of his/her life.....

If it happens to me, I would prefer the concept of acceptance... which is definitely a harder choice, but brings me peace and happiness til my death... and more smiles on the faces of my loved ones due to the beautiful memories created together...

rating= 5/5 stars

Another book review....

(Pic taken from Katrina Firlik's website)

Another book I've recently read is titled,'Another Day in the Frontal Lobe',by Katrina Firlik, a brain surgeon who shares the ongoings inside the hectic life of a specialist surgeon like herself...

The book is written in a truthful,simplistic, sincere and humorous manner... yet with several detailed medical concepts and some personal philosophical moments.... Being a woman in a male-dominated field, she shares her most challenging and unforgettable encounters yet, be it with her male colleagues, mentors, patients as well as patients' relatives and family members.

Anyone will be impressed reading this book, and realizing how self-sacrificial being a doctor is... they are so busy attending to their everyday hectic duties as well as on-call duties, they seem to rarely have free time to do the things they would love to do.... Things we sometimes take for granted...

Like watching movies, sipping a cup of coffee reading a book in a peaceful, quiet place with a loved one to cuddle with, exercising, strolling in a park absorbing the view and sounds of nature... I personally feel blessed to have personal time for myself and my loved ones... even though my monthly pay will never be on par with that of a brain surgeon's...yet my life is fulfilling

I can really relate with Katrina, and really love the fact that she shares her passions & weaknesses with readers... Coincidentally, we have the same weakness and passion...

My very distinctive weakness, similar to Katrina's, is having a poor sense of direction...Initially I felt it very unsettling & that there might be something wrong with my brain but I guess different ppl have diff strengths and weaknesses which can always be worked on though.... Passion is the love for learning new things...yearning for more challenges in life....

Here's some excerpts taken from the book:

"...What I am passionate about,more than almost anything else,I'm afraid,is learning something new.... I love life on the learning curve and my curiosity is broad. This can be a double-edged sword,though, when it comes to settling on a career...."

"... One strike against me is that I have little inherent sense of direction.... This deficit of mine is fertile grounds for teasing,again,by my husband, whose sense of direction rivals that of migratory birds....He marvels over how I can step out of a store in New York City, out onto the sidewalk, and start walking in the wrong direction....""

"... I used to think my poor sense of direction was a real liability until I read that Harvey Cushing, the father of neurosurgery, shared the same deficit. It didn't stop him from operating on the brain and pioneering a whole new surgical specialty...."

"... My husband and I can waste inordinate amounts of time in arguing over which one of us came up with a certain brilliant idea, exchanging accusations of a faulty memory....'Aren't you glad I thought of visiting this little town?' Rather than a 'yes' and maybe a 'thank you' he'll counter with:'I like your revisionist history,but I'm the one who came up with the idea,remember?'...Then I'll say,'But I'm the one who read about it.' And he'll claim,'But the only reason you read about it in the first place was because I told you about it.'And so on...."

Rating : 5/5 stars

P.S : My dear Faee, if you're reading this post, don't the 2nd and 4th excerpt sound familiar to you? I thought we're the only couple arguing over and laughing hysterically over little stuffs like that... I guess that's what happens when 2 brilliant minds fall in love with one another... No one wants to give in... haha!

For more info and updates on Katrina, you can visit her website at www.katrinafirlik.com

what a crazy month to celebrate raya!

Just fully recovered from flu (which lasts for 2 unbearable weeks), and getting my voice to sound normal again... U can expect my face not to be glowing as it's supposed to on the first day of raya... I was heavily sedated and relied on my meds and antibiotics to get by each day and try perform as many activities for the month...



A candid shot of me working...thanks to ms salsa...

Baking cakes and cookies, driving my family around for a whole day in a rented car, going out with colleagues, friends, my bf and his relatives for raya... it was super-tiring,yet worth every sweat I shed along the way...

Speaking of colleagues, I'm really gonna miss the whole bunch of wacky and fun-loving poly attachment students @ my workplace as they are going off soon... to face their final year exam... Wishing them all the lucks they need!
Never failing to find time to chat up the kiddies... :)


Noisy girls posing in the toilet...


Went out for dinner @ 18 Chefs in Tiong Bahru Plaza

The kids acting busy...

Work has been busy as always added with my busy schedule teaching... need to jumpstart my intensive training for my Women10K Run coming 1 Nov... really looking forward to it! Starting my night shifts very very soon... and I really hope I don't disappoint anyone at that...

Things to look forward to in this next few mths:

- My bf family meeting my family to formally discuss our engagemnt & wedding plans
( 3 Oct )

- Going out raya with my relatives ( 4 Oct )

- All my students' exams ( Oct )

- My Women10K ( 1 Nov )

- Balloting for a place to live ( 0ct )

- Buying Iphone 3G / 3GS ( Oct - Nov )

- My engagement ceremony ( 27 Dec )

- Booking of all necessary wedding day services (deco/catering being of utmost priority!) : ( Oct - Dec '09 )

Gonna write my book review in another posting then... its quite late now... *yawn*

Month of Ramadhan...so challenging

Hadn't been blogging for some time now, and also running... the month of Ramadhan is quite draining as the body is slowly adapting to having lesser food and fluids inside the system, and yet has to regulate and work as per normal on a day to day basis.... The weather was simply unbearable for the first week, but nowadays were quite cooler thanks to the rainy days....

For the past week, I've been catching up with my colleagues aka friends... I went out with my fellow Muslim colleagues to Breeks @ Marina for Iftar on Monday evening, and learned how to bowl and Costa Sands with some colleagues past Thursday night... It didn't sit quite well with my dear though, cos I haven't been running and taking care of my body as well as I should have done... Time to buck up then....


My fav...'Lafayette'


Some chinese colleagues also wanted to experience Iftar with us Muslims

I've been trying to collect 'points' during this special month of Ramadhan by putting in more effort in my prayers and reciting doas consistently in order to have a fulfilling and meaningful month of fasting... considering some tuition lessons were cancelled, I have more time for myself nowadays...better make the most of it...

The month of Ramadhan is a special month to seek forgiveness from all the people around you and from God to cleanse your past sins... fasting also serve as a reminder to all Muslims the sufferings of the poor and starving all over the world, and to emulate the behaviours of our late prophet Muhammad... fasting is not just about refraining from eating and drinking but holds a lot more meaning to it....

I hope all my prayers will be answered in this special month and all my wishes granted... Insyaallah...


Bowling girls


The whole bowling team not inclusive of Salsa,who was taking this pic


Started off clearing drains,and had a strike on my 4th try! But I was the lowest still...bleah!


My score improved on the 2nd game,thanks to dear salsa and daniel's tips on how not to hit the drains...haha

I would love to go bowling with my dear after puasa... just for the fun of it...

My current read is very interesting and on the medical side... a book written by a brain surgeon who shares how life is being a specialist doctor like her... will share this one in another blog post....

book review: Secrets of Super Achievers

Had a great weekend! Went out with my colleagues after work on Friday night and caught a show @ Plaza Singapura after dinner @ BK... the show was called 'Orphan', and it was really dark and freaky the whole show... I found the whole storyline rather unsettling - regarding a couple who adopted a 9-yr old from an orphanage after a recent loss of a baby to stillbirth....

(Spoiler)
The orphan was called Esther, and was actually from a mental hospital which burned due to a case of arson which was still unsolved. The disturbing part was when Kate Coleman, the wife who came about with the idea of adopting, found out after an exhaustive search into Esther's background, only to find out that Esther was actually a 33 yr old woman, a serial killer, who has a growth dysfunctional problem that caused her to have an underdeveloped body, and thus looks like a 9-yr old....

Of course, by the time the truth was revealed, it was too late... some lives were already lost... Overall, I find the show gory, erotic, sick and violent... went out of the theatre with a bad headache and in need of Panadol... haha



Read a great book recently called,'Secrets of Super Achievers', by Philip Baker. It was a book beautifully and simply written regarding the common traits of Super Achievers and how we can work towards being one....

Easy to digest yet never fail to impress with the random distributions of inspirational quotes and stories from great people of the past and present.

It is a great book for anyone to read and will find great difficulties putting it down once he/she started reading it... Everyone needs motivational books such as these along the way to propel himself forward and live life gracefully... especially in the face of adversities which is inevitable... I can truly relate with everything written in this book, having faced some hard times as well....

There's so many great quotes and stories in the book but here's only some that I love & can share in this humble space of a blog :

'The trials of life will either wear you down, or polish you up, depending on what you are made of'

'We must use time as a tool, not as a couch' ~ JFK

'There are too many people who think they're educated because they have a diploma. They aren't. You don't get educated; you prepare yourself for an education. You prepare yourself to know how to look things up, to know how to use books, how to think.'~ Art Buchwald

'The love of learning;the love of books is a common trait for Super Achievers. Truman was a constant reader, as was Kennedy.'

'It is when we love and we are loved,believe in others and sense their faith in us as well, that we discover what it is to become truly human. We cannot survive as simply autonomous units.'

'These people are not stupid...but they can't think. They have gone straight from college and acquired their law and commerce degrees and missed out on an education. Sadly, what we are finding in our company is that many of our best thinkers have never been near a university...' ~ Sir Robert Jones

'The only difference between the big shot and the little shot, is that the big shot was simply the little shot that kept on shooting.'~ Zig Ziglar

'He who has a "why" can live with almost any "how".'~ Victor Frankl

'Courage is not the absence of fear,it is the ability to face fear and say,"Regardless of how I feel at the moment, I am going to push through to the other side."'

what's up?

Just caught the 3D animated movie called 'UP' from Disney's Pixar....by directors Pete Docter and Bob Peterson. In terms of the storyline, it was one hell of a fantastic adventure superbly crafted and unbelievably hard to predict the ending. It reminds me of an adventure book I read as a child called 'Great Adventures of The Wishing Chair', if I still remember it right...

I was so touched by the persistent spririt and great devotion the main character, Mr Fredrickson had for his late wife, Elly, who had filled his life with love,laughters, happiness, purpose, companionship and most importantly, sets as an inspiration for him to set an important goal in life, that is to build a house together in South America @ the beautiful Paradise, surrounded by lush greeneries and nature at its best....untainted by urban life.....

The twist came when he met a boy scout named Russell along the way, together with a mysteriously cute & loyal talking dog and a rare bird they called Kevin... laughters just reverberated throughout the movie theatre with the funny antics of the plump boy who desires to serve the old man in order to attain the last badge for a title as Senior Wilderness Leader.... and the bond they had til the end was heart-rendering and gorgeous @ the same time....

A nice show to watch with your kids.... I can't help thinking throughout the show whether my kids in the future are gonna be as cute yet can be quite annoying as Russell in the show.... cos I used to be one when I was small... I loooooved to ask questions.... sigh... I suddenly yearned to have kids when I get married...haha! crazy!

The 3D effects however, wasn't quite as good as I would have expected it to be... could have done better with more 3D focus on the main characters, not just the backgrounds.... which reminds me of a 3D show which I can't wait to catch with my dear soon... called 'Coraline'... I'm very sure it's a very promising show to watch after catching the trailers in cinemas for some time now....

rating = 5/5 stars

By the way, the 'kenduri doa selamat', a prayer recital ceremony held at my place on 9 Aug 09, National Day, went fantastically smooth as I've hoped.... I've introduced my dear Faee to my whole family and all of them can't wait for our engagement day coming December....

For updates, my family and I had painted the whole house, bought new TV for raya, and my crazy bro bought PS3 and we're currently a tag team to conquer the game Resident Evil together...yeah yeah...

I know you'll be thinking that it's an old game... but it's a great game anyway... can't wait to tag team with him once we've bought the set for Guitar Hero... I wanna be a great rocking guitar player.... haha! If you think that doesn't sound like Liza, YOU'RE DEAD WRONG! haha!! I'm getting a set for myself once I get married with my own house... my dear agreed to being my drummer... hehe... :)

The joy of having a loved one being tolerant to your childish antics....

Lovable Islamic quotes to share with all fellow Muslims:

'He, who angers you, controls you'

'He who kneels before Allah can stand before anyone'

P.S: Regarding my promise for updates on the movies 'Drag Me To Hell' & 'Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince', pls just forget it... just not worth my time talking about the 2 shows....hehe

been too busy to blog lately...

Everyday has been a tiring day for me as I tried like a crazy woman, to fit as much itineraries into my already hectic schedule as possible... so little time, so MUCH to do!!

Nevertheless, I always tried my best to put in time for family,books,gym, running, friends, pets, tuition students and work... Here's 2 videos I took of the 'apple of my eye' @ home.... Her name is Siti, and my mum - her Arch-nemesis - is bullying her....

My mum knew she loooove chickens but doesn't really feel sincere enough to feed her the proper way... so decided to hang the chicken off a string to see the measures she's willing to take to enjoy her snack... hehe...



Part 1 - Caution!! Might be nauseatic for some cos I couldn't make up my mind which angle my cat will look best in...great apologies....



Part 2 - Conclusion to whether Siti ate the chicken....