Don't be a complainer

My LTS class this semester is "Journey of Israel". So far I'm really benefited. Well most know that the journey took 40 years but it actually just needed 40 days. Why? The Israelites kept complaining and failing the tests. Ended up most of them died in the journey.

I feel that my current situation is like that -- in the wilderness, not sure where I'm heading next. I don't even know where is my Promised Land. And it's very easy to complain and murmur. That day I was thinking about this and suddenly I felt like I was like the first generation of Israelites -- when they had no water and food they complained, even though they have went through the miracle of crossing the red sea. They complained when they had manna; They didn't obey when they had quails; They complained more when they were punished for kept complaining. I don't wanna be like them!

I kept thinking about quitting. It's not that I actually think grass would be greener for my next job. I just want to get out of this place because I feel so stagnant. I don't know what else I can do or learn. I seriously want to see some progress, I just feel like I don't know what to do. Super helpless. I fear I might not be as competent for my next job. I already feel that I'm lacking compared to the standards in the market.

There are actually a lot of things to be thankful of. I can take leave easily. Be it sick leave or even no-pay leave. The company I work with also have good benefit for staff. My boss never abuses me. I don't even need to OT. My colleagues are nice people. I think God really have blessed me with all these yet I'm still not satisfied. It's difficult to find an IT job now with criteria stated above.

I want to start a change myself but at the same time I just completely have no idea what to do. Maybe I should try out some things to reignite my passion for work.

Purple passion by Anthony Easton on flickr

Hello December!

by Live Life Happy on Flickr

December -- the last month of the year. It's the month when you look back at your life in the past year and look forward to the next year ahead. This is like the final castle in Super Mario where you get to see Princess Peach after you beat the boss (sorry never remember the dragon-turtle's name). (I just google. It's Bowser.)

So, I feel like I'm in a hurry to give this year a perfect wrap up. I read the previous posts and I think I'm quite depressed for this lower half year. There were a lot of struggles and worries. There are, still. But I feel like I'm on the way to moving on to a higher ground. I determined to.

Well few things happened this year. My first concert, first visit to Australia, first flight experience (actually I took the flight once but I was very very young and I remember nothing from it)... also finished my Spanish course. (I JUST REMEMBERED THEY NEVER SENT ME MY CERT!)

Back to December and wrapping up. Okay, so I have to get things done. Not too many of them since only less than a month left to be actual.

1. Continue on "Listening to God"

"Listening to God" will be my 2015 personal theme. As I get older I feel that knowing God is really really important.

Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight.

(Proverbs 3:5-6)

When I'm at work and out here alone I have to depend on myself in doing a lot of things. Actually it's not that tough because my family is really near and I have helpful colleagues and friends. But when it comes to big decisions and all, sometimes it's just me. I honestly think without my God I probably couldn't live. It's more about my mind because I always think a lot and worry. I think listening to God and seeking Him for answers are very important to me now and I'm working on it!

>2. Clean up my wardrobe and room

I think this one is essential and crucial.

3. Get the programming blog running

I'm hesitating on the final layout and what the first post should be!

So... these are things I'm focusing on this December. I'm thinking I need to make a Panic List app. I tend to be panicked when I have lots of things to do. I worry and become restless until I get things done. Making a list helps me to calm down (I'm serious).

So let's work on that. Laters!

Hello MOVE-mber! + my phone died :(

White female of Misumena vatia
by Philipp Weigell on WIkimedia Commons

Remember, remember
The Fifth of November...

WAIT! It's 20 already! Ok I did update a post but I deleted it afterwards because... I feel like I didn't want to keep it. Well it's a post about a TNT drama I was watching ("was" because I finished watching it until Season 4). I just think I didn't like that particular post (why wrote it in the first place?!) but it's not the series. THAT SERIES IS AWESOME! Ok it's Rizzoli and Isles. Crime series lovers do look it up.

Now, MOVE-mber is not about mustache. It's about... MOVE-ing on. I feel that there are so many things in my life which are holding me back and I need to move on from them. It could be good or bad things. Comfortable environment or a past achievement could be holding me back. Well bad things... I am the kind of person who tends to immerse myself in guilt. Things I did or I didn't do.

I also feel pretty lost recently. Like I don't know what to do about everything anymore. Rawr.

*Toss coins*

Okay leave that emo stuff be. News. My Padfone2 died. Bricked, to be exact. Because I tried to update it and failed. I didn't even root it or whatever, I just followed instructions, download the KitKat update firmware *sob* from the official Asus wubsite, put it in my phone, click update... BOOM! It bricked. Okay after the screen with the little green Android finished loading, I did click "load from external sd" something like that, then click again (still in boot screen), after that whole thing died. Power + volume up/down button even all buttons wouldn't do a thing. Okay the laptop can detect it as "QHSUSB_DLOAD" but that's all.

Sigh. So for example, in this case, I'd feel guilty that I bricked it. But I need to move on, so I'm already looking at what phones I wanna get when I re-contract... WAIT that's not a good example. Anyway I really wanna fix it. Because I think it's fix-able. Paddie, I won't let you die in vain. I will save you!

So, I hope I could sort things out by this year end, and keep on progressing in year 2015. Fighting!

(The picture doesn't carry any meaning I just like it. What cameras capture would never be as lively as what we see with our eyes -- ok I know human eyes can't see it this clear. I just like the real thing. I hope one I could be like that: don't need to be noticed by the world, but just leave the right impact on the right people. Cheers!)

#BringBackOurGirls update!

An important upate! I'm glad those girls are coming back.

P/s: [27 Oct 14] I am following the news currently there is nothing about Boko Haram group sending the girls back yet. Please continue to pray for them if that's all we can do. Thank you.

Sentosa: Underwater World

I visited Underwater World few months ago and WHAT CAN I SAY?! I always love places like zoos, the Sea Aquarium and River Safari (I will write a post for River Safari too!). Oh by the way I did visit Australia Zoo too in my Brisbane trip this February. It's owned by the Irwin's if you know Steve Irwin, the crocodile hunter. Oh back to Underwater World. It's probably not as big or grand as Sea Aquarium but I like it anyway. There are quite a few places that you can go to touch the fishes. Also there's a dolphin and seal show available (I LOVE THAT).

Yep the picture above is the pink dolphin. It would swim around and lean the platform and it's like they're smiling at us! So cute!!! <3

The day before I spent a night at W Hotel. They gave us these macaroons but I don't really like sweet stuff. :S Then that night we watched the water/fire/light show Wings of Time at Sentosa. Well it was a treat from my company so thank you boss! :D I have a really nice president I am thankful.

Wings of Time

So the next day I went to Underwater World. It was really convenient because there are booths around Sentosa which you can just go and buy it or any other attractions tickets. There are probably certain attractions which you need to buy the tickets at certain places though.

So Underwater World has the feature that you can touch fishes and so on. There's this pool with this kind of fishes which I don't know the name of:

Feels smooth and slippery

Then this: I don't get how this works? Is it air pressure? How does the water not flow out I don't get the physics behind. Anyway you can put your hand in there to touch the fishes when they swim near the entrance.

Hello July!

Adapted from here (Seven Mile Bridge 01 by smilla4 on flickr)

Oh my. I haven't been writing since how long ago. I promised myself to write often. It's like a commitment which would make happy. To make sure I write from time to time.

I have been thinking to write a post about my first half of this year. Yep I like doing this. This is like a memoir or like counting blessings? I could list down bad things that happened too (they sure did happen!). And when I read back I could be like wow I was that depressed? Also I'm making use of my time. I'm currently on the train to Sentosa and listening to songs lol. It's At The Cross. :)

Anyway here's the list!

1. Fulfilling year 2013 resolution: learning Spanish

It's very significant for me. Because I feel like I can achieve what I want to do! And I found out that I really love learning. This is probably the time in my life which I love learning the most. It's like, a hunger for new knowledge and skills. I have a lot of things I wanna learn and I don't wanna be a Jack of all trades though. Also I just signed up to an online course on biology. It is like a 10 weeks thing and it's starting coming Monday.

2. Chasing after dreams and goals

...and actually fulfilling them. I bought a laptop last year end or starting of this year. I'm gonna learn more about programming. I'd need to be more disciplined and make use of my time, I realized. And my dream is to make use of what I know to help improve the world. I'm gonna help people!

3. Realizing it's important to seek God in everything I do

Everything. People might have different ways of planning for themselves. As for me, I'm committing my plans to God. And I believe God will help me to be a blessing to people and have a meaningful life (read John 10:10). Also, I learnt that time is really precious and I need to make use of my time. And in Him I don't have to feel uncertain. Thank God for the peace. :) (Oh and I'm really thankful because my parents never control what I do.)

4. Bad things

Which I don't want to elaborate on. And I made mistakes. It's irresponsible to throw the bad ending to God :( but I wish somehow the broken can be fixed. Mistakes couldn't be undone. But I wanna start afresh. I also learnt that even though God is merciful, things are different if I screw up once, or twice, or more times. But I'm working on it. And I thank God for being in control through the good and bad.

5. Building my career

Refers to #2. I feel like I'm on the way on building my career (I just feel like very motivated to do it). I hope it's not too late for a 26 year old. D:

Okay and some other things that happened hmm...

Before the concert started!

6. I joined a new cell group! My previous one changed their cell day to Friday. Anyway I love it there.

7. I took an online course at coursera and it's starting tomorrow!

8. I visited Brisbane!!! Anyway I had to factory reset my phone and couldn't do any back up before hand so I lost all Brisbane pictures... :( I want to visit Australia again!

9. I went to my first concert! With Hillsong United at Singapore Indoor Stadium!

Mid-year Resolutions

1. To draw closer to God. Spend more times for bible study, prayer time and ministries. Most of all God.

2. Improve my efficiency at work and skills and everything. Yes everything (so general).

3. To set up a drawing blog and a techie blog. Like a programming blog.

That's all so far I'd upload more! (Rushing out so bye)

Bad Movie(s) Review: Simplified Review of some Moooooovies

I watched quite a number of movies and I was always like "I gotta do a review for this". Just like I always wanted to do one for Alien Quadrilogy.

I'm a huge sci-fi fans. I watch comedies and actions and everything else too, just can't stand sad movies...

"Lie down - try not to cry - cry a lot" meme from thy great internet (I don't own this pic)

Okay now let's talk about movies. There are quite a number of them so I have to do a short and quick review for each. Like "What do I think of these movies" in 20 sentences (okay maybe more).

Edge of Tomorrow

The title doesn't make sense. "Edge of Tomorrow". I couldn't guess what it's about, unlike "Escape". You could be like "oh they're escaping somewhere." Maybe a house/forest/barn/valley of a psycho killer, or just prisons. Okay we can talk about "Escape" later.

Emily Blunt as Rita. Angel of Verdun. Full Metal B*tch. (I like the latter more.) And Tom Cruise as Cage (why is he being referred to with his last name and Rita is Rita?). Coward to Hero. Okay can't really say coward because he did fight this whole war. Anyway sci-fi and actions. I give it a 7. New concept (not the time warp thing but yea) and cool cast (I'm referring to Emily Blunt).

Time travelling is such a thing now. X-men and whatnot. My favourite is gonna be BTTF all the time.

(Okay this review is bull, sorry.)

Comment: Live. Die. Respawn. Like that part in a video game which you can't pass.

Malefiecient

by T E on Flickr

As much as I love Angelina Jolie's makeup and acting in this movie, I'm gonna give it a 6. It feels like they're rushing for an ending since the meet-a-prince (is the boy a prince) part and then true-love-kiss-yes-or-no. And later we found out that the plot twist which directs the whole movie to the HAPPY-MOTHERS'-DAY theme like Aliens did. Despite those points, Angelina Jolie did a humorous and just GREAT Maleficient (I mean her expressions). For example when she visits Aurora's christening. I love her change of expression. She's very beautiful.

Oh and the little Aurora is her daughter! :D Do you think she looks a little like Brad Pitt? When she said "up up" it's super cute. Okay maybe 6.5 for the girl.

Anyway I think the movies nowadays are promoting love of family instead of the kind of old Disney movies love. Good or bad? It's a little sad when Maleficient said "There's no true love". :(

Comment: Jennifer Aniston as Aurora's mom please?

Godzilla

by Sebastian Dooris on Flickr

Godzilla is the new superhero. He (She? It?) should be joining the Avengers Alliance. Or Justice League. Since it evolved from a fish (right?) Sea Man might be able to communicate with him. Sorry I mean Aquaman. Sea Man was the first term which came to my mind. (Sea Man is a valid character though.)

So the movie describes Godzilla as the saviour to maintain balance for Mother Nature. And... yep. Muto died, Godzilla seemed to be dying but POOF I'M NOT DEAD FOOLISH HUMAN BEINGS and into the sea I go~ Are they saving that for a sequel? Cliché.

I feel NULL thinking about this movie like what kind of impact it gives me... Hmm *shrug*

I thought of Tommy in Power Ranger (the dude in white with gold and black thing around his shoulder) calling his dinosaur from the sea with a flute though. Awesome.

Comment: "Avengers assemb --" *Godzilla steps on Steve Rogers*

Sorry this post is crap lol.

What makes me happy :>

Tea by Ben Matthews on Flickr

1. A good cup of tea. Like Lipton's Russian Earl Grey (you might be like WHAT?! LIPTON?! but it is really nice...)

2. Some good snacks. Probably better to be served with #1.

3. Learning (only applies to my interests). Like programming, or a new language (I signed up to a Spanish class! Muey bien!)

4. A good movie. I don't like sad romantic movies. Or any sad movie. I love actions, sci-fi, comedies... My call would be "Back to the Future" trilogy if I have to pick my favourite.

5. Bling-bling (sometimes no-bling). Only thing I don't wear are earrings.

6. Scrapbooking. Doodling. DIY stuff. I'm such a crafty-maniac. I am.

7. Running with "Eye of the Tiger" as background music.

For Mom

Carnation, by Shawn Han on flickr.

Mothers' Day just passed. And I just want to say: mothers are the greatest.

Okay I don't know about others, but my mum is great.

My mum can clean up things really well. She makes sure the house is always clean. She handles our everything. Food, living, well beings or the husband and kids. I can't say I'm able to do that!

And she took care of us no matter what. My family has went through hard times. She didn't have enough money for food and she didn't know what to get for us. And you know what, I didn't even know that happened! I was in primary school maybe around 10 years old, or older. So she never let her kids worry about her problems.

And my mum is really cool. She told me about our neighbour, this lady, whose kid got really sick. He was like having a seizure and his face was turning purple. So my mum open his mouth and made sure he didn't bite his tongue. Then she pinched his philtrum (the part between nose and upper lip) really hard. Then he cried really loud. So when he cried meaning he was fine. That was badass because I wouldn't know what to do.

And it would be a really long story if I kept on telling about my mum. So let's jump to the conclusion (lol?).

Thank you mum! Thank you for everything you have done for the family. And for me. I love you. Stay healthy and happy for a long long time and God bless you! I thank God for you! <3 <3 <3

#BringBackOurGirls

Bring Back Our Girls, by Xavier J. Peg on flickr

I'm full of rage.

200 over Nigerian girls were abducted from their boarding school. And the abductor, Boko Haram, a terrorist organization, is selling them as brides for $12 each.

This makes me sad. This makes me angry.

There's not a lot that we can do. But we can do this: sign this petition to show that you care. Share it to everyone you know. I have signed it. And pray for them. It's the least that we can do.

Read The New York Times on this issue.

P/s: [18 Oct 2014] Read an update on this! "...the Nigerian government announced they have reached an agreement with Boko Haram in which the over 200 girls who have been missing for six months will be released." I'm glad!

We are all monkeys

[Edited] Papio anubis (olive or anubis baboon), by Stolz, Gary M.
Source: United States Fish and Wildlife Service: Digital Library System. Via Wikimedia Commons.
(I added the caption above)

In case you have no idea what it means: #SomosTodosMacacos! Means we are all monkeys!

FC Barcelone defender Dani Alves sparked a global anti-racism protest by eating a banana that was thrown at him during Sunday's match atVillareal. Alves picked it up, peeled it, and then ate it before taking a corner kick. (Exact words from this 9gag post)

Then there's this trend. WOO!

Speaking about the incident Alves said, “I don’t know who it was, but thanks to whoever threw the banana, the potassium gave me the energy for the two crosses which led to a goal.” (From this post in afrocosmopolitan.com)

Man he has such good EQ. I love bananas they are kinda filling so whenever I am hungry at work I'd eat one.

Anyway we don't know (or do we?) why this person threw a banana at him... maybe it's not racism? He just had a banana and he was like WOW I WANNA GET HIS ATTENTION and then he threw it -- you know, you see people do that in concert. They throw bottles because that's what they have. Or this person wants him to have a banana (ok very unlikely).

Anyway, anti-racism is the BEST. It shouldn't exist in the first place though because racism itself shouldn't be existing. I'm glad to see there are people supporting this cause. :D Cheers, mankind!

Be thankful! (Good Friday and Easter post)

Edited from Pink Sunset Sky on freeaussiestock.com

It is interesting to read that Jesus's death happened during Passover. It is an important festival for Jews. Passover is to remember the event when God ordered the Hebrews to put the blood of sheep or goats on the doorframes. God said to Moses and Aaron "The blood will be a sign for you on the houses where you are, and when I see the blood, I will pass over you. No destructive plague will touch you when I strike Egypt." (Exodus 12:13, NIV).

The Passover symbolises the redemption plan of God for human kind: those who are covered by the blood will be saved. And Jesus is our Passover lamb.

One thing I didn't find out until just now is, in Jewish custom, the lamb is chosen five days before it is killed. So did Jesus enter Jerusalem five days before his death (which is Palm Sunday). He was chosen to be sacrificed with people around shouting "Hosanna!" and praising God.

Pastor preached on this part n the Bible. How would you feel if you were Jesus? I would be like "IRONIC!". But I believe that Jesus focused on the fruit of the suffering, which is to free us from the bondage of sin and death.

Thank God for this Good Friday and Easter. :)

When they hurled their insults at him, he did not retaliate; when he suffered, he made no threats. Instead, he entrusted himself to him who judges justly. “He himself bore our sins” in his body on the cross, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; “by his wounds you have been healed.”

--1 Peter 2:23-24, NIV

Read the whole chapter of 1 Peter 2 here.

It's Doctor Who 50th anniversary!

I have only watched the special episodes and I only know the Tenth (David Tennant) and Eleventh Doctor (Matt Smith) and... I think I prefer the latter lol. Ok can't comment much because I'm not really a hardcore fan but I do want to watch more if I could! Anyway, the mini games are too intense lol. Have fun~

Candy Crush + Zombie Ate My Friends + Draw Something 2 + Alien Hive

I always wanted to write something more about programming and what not but whenever I have an idea for a post I always failed to write it down RAWR!

Well this post is not really anything techie. I just want to share some games I play on my phone for a while (those Android apps... yea). Mind you, this post is not anything helpful like reviews or whatever it's just about some games I like and (still) play.

(All pictures below are screenshots from my phone/tablet.)

1. Candy Crush

I know. People are probably like "WHAT?! Why are you still playing that?!". I gotta say, I'm a faithful person. My goal is to complete the game! But everytime I'm reaching the highest level I always got stuck and they released more levels! So I'm stuck in this infinite loop of always trying to win... I think I'm at level 419 now.
Fun: ★★★★☆ (Crashing candies are FUN!)
Addicting: ★★★★★ (I play them everywhere! But not really when you're stuck for like a month)

2. Zombies Ate My Friends

This game is about clicking and clicking and clicking. I just like the story line and my favorite character is Violet! :D Also there are some mini episodes like the Halloween special episode (I believe they have something coming up for Christmas too).
Fun: ★★★☆☆ (Mainly clicking and your energy runs out)
Addicting: ★★★☆☆ (For special gifts! Yes!)

3. Draw Something 2

I like Draw Something 2 because I play it with my friend and you can just put it aside and draw whenever you're free. It's more like a social network in games form for me. Needs gold (which can be earned through game or purchase from store) for the cool brushes though. :/ Man why am I listing this as one of the games I play...
Fun: ★★☆☆☆ (Play this with friends, not bad)
Addicting: ★☆☆☆☆ (I almost rate 0 for this)

4. Alien Hive

New game found in Play Store. I like it very much! It's a puzzle game but not the ordinary Match 3. Well you have to breed aliens and grow the plants. It's like the sliding puzzle game you can slide multiple tiles/blocks in four directions (up, down, left, right) to match 3 or more blocks. There are some power ups too. So far I haven't breed any alien yet :( Just alien baby and then game over (running out of energy).
Fun: ★★★★★ (Probably because it's a new game)
Addicting: ★★★★★ (I love it!)

Minor Updates (because there's no major update)

Beeeeeeeeeee-zzy! I've been busy for (for what?)... lots of things. Work, Christmas programs, learning new things... Work itself is hectic enough.

So let's do some minor updates! Well I've been thinking to start on my new DIY project features my favorite dog -- a pug! I looked up for some ideas and came to this Etsy store of Cornstarch. You could go look it up at "Sushi You Can Hug" and this is the one I like. :3

Black Pug Loaf from Cornstarch's Etsy store Sushi You Can Hug

There are other colors of this model and some really cute plushies. Well I am going to try make my own in reference to this. Also I need to buy some fleece. Felt is not really good (as in it doesn't feel good) for hugging.

Now, about Bad Movie Review (BMR), I wanted to do Cabin Fever and it's sequel, also Rocky Horror Picture Show (Rocky Horror is classic!). Also that The Walking Dead Season 4 is out (episode 2 is the latest!) I might want to do reviews on that too (just to entertain myself). Someone told me "I think they're moving back the focus on Zombies in Season 4" since Season 3 much focus on humanity and so. I have watched episode 1 and I am excited!

I've been trying to complete my project at work and I was that stressed I think about my work during weekends :( It is bad because work is work and I want to achieve work-life balance.

Regarding No-'Poo, I want to try some new approaches since Baking Soda kinda makes my roots a little... weak? Also the back of my hair is always oily except for the day after I washed my hair (I do it weekly). :( so I do use some so-called organic shampoo in between but I really want to keep doing this No-'Poo thing so I might just tried the honey shampoo approach.

Anyway, that's all for now, laters-taters!

The Drifting Classroom

Umezu Kazuo's "The Drifting Classroom" (Hyoryu Kyoshitsu) by watashiwani, on Flickr

(About the category... since only Japanese comic is called Manga so I made the category consisted of both)

I really don't know if I should make a new category for this post (well I did) since I don't really talk about or watch anime or manga a lot nowadays (I watched more last time when I was in university... since I had more sources).

One of my favorite (I think it's also considered as an epic -- hey do I use epic here right? Since this manga is really awesome) is 20th Century Boys (20世紀少年 Nijūseiki Shōnen). I'm not sure if it's classified as Sci-Fi. It's about a group of friends, when they were young they made up stories about them being superheroes and saving the world. When they became grown-ups, the things that they made up actually came to pass. The childhood friends stood up against this cult behind everything which was lead by "Friend". Sounds not interesting? But the story line is really awesome I recommend YOU to read it. The style is not like any shoujo manga but I assure you it is addictive.

Killer instinct

So I came across this news, and I'm still thinking what title to give to this post.

This news was 3 years ago. In SeaWorld, Florida, the tragedy happened that a killer whale (also known as orca), Tilikum, killed his trainer, Dawn Brancheau. Read the news here.

Tilikum as "Shamu" at SeaWorld Orlando, Florida. Author: Milan Boers. Source.

Desiderata - Max Ehrman

By Brocken Inaglory on Wikimedia Commons.

Desiderata

-Max Ehrman-

Go placidly amid the noise and haste,

and remember what peace there may be in silence.

As far as possible, without surrender, be on good terms with all persons.

Speak your truth quietly and clearly; and listen to others,

even to the dull and ignorant; they too have their story.

Hello August

- by Aleksa Torri on Flickr

So... It's August!!!

The first month of the second half year is gone. How is your soul searching trip? Have you achieved your monthly goals? (Have you been doing anything about it?)

How do I convert my PTPTN loan to scholarship?

It seems that this post is constantly viewed so I think it's needed to add a reminder: I graduated in October 2012 and the procedures took place since then till maybe February or March of 2013. PTPTN might have updated the forms or procedures or standards (like first class CGPA requirement for different universities) so please always go to the website to find out the latest information. The SAFEST way is to call and confirm (because last time I submitted an outdated form which was downloaded from the website itself). Anyway, all the best, students and graduates! :)

Yoohoo~ So I got my PTPTN loan converted to scholarship, yes. I just want to jot down things to take note, the steps etc, so anyone who needs them in the future well then I could just refer to this.

I graduated!
- source: Graduation Cake by Israa on Flickr