the river flows on

Life is like a river. Born in the violence of clashing rainclouds with the echoes of thunder and flashes of lightning, water falls from the heavens.This is the beginning of life, much like the birth of a newborn, who comes to this world screaming for air.
Calmness soon follows after, as water settles on earth, running down the sides of mountains to join small streams and other pockets of water. The pace of life soon starts to pick up, as the flowing water gets faster and wilder. From streams the flow of water will mature into large rivers, flowing in their full majestic might.From here on, the river will go through many phases, just as we humans would go through in life. At certain times, the river is wide. The water calm, serene and peaceful. Life is good, and we are content.The rules of nature does not allow this to go on forever. There are certain periods of time when the river will be restricted, flowing through narrow ravines, littered with razor sharp rocks. The body of water violently crashes on the banks,with full fury and awesome power. These represent the troubles that one must go through in life. It is inevitable, as troubles would come and plague us at every opportunity. Like the river, we must continue flowing, come what may. Jagged rocks, whirlpools or any other obstacles must be faced head on.
There are times when i want to give up, and just let the winds of fate take me wherever it wants me to. But in that moment of weakness i realise things. I realise that there really is no such thing as fate, and that man controls his own destiny to a large extent, with luck guiding a significant proportion. We have 2 choices in life, either we fight and struggle in our present situation in order to achieve our dreams and goals, or we stay content, and allow the situation to remain as they are. the status quo. To remain with the status quo is to bow low and to submit yourself to defeat, just as a river submits when its awesome power is confined within a dam. To struggle against the present, is to break free from that dam, and continue flowing will full force, living life the way you intend to, not constrained by any other factor.Living life to the fullest.
There are times when the river will go through violent incarnations as waterfalls, when the world comes crashing down on you. Everything is your fault, everything you do is wrong. Negative negative negative. You feel down, your self esteem drops. But what does the river do? The river falls, and crashes to another bed of jagged rocks, but it collects itself in a fresh pool of water, and it flows on. We pick ourselves up and we go on with life,with a fresh start. Within our lifetime we may meet many jagged rocks, rapids, whirlpools dams and waterfalls. All we can do is to keep on flowing. We must keep on flowing, because at the end of the day, when all is said and done, the river of life flows on into the vast ocean of eternity where our purpose in life will finally be fulfilled, where the pains of getting there would just be a distant memory of the past. And this is where we will live, until the day we are called back to the heavens, and begin another journey of life.

When i was young.

Wow..this blog reeks of stagnancy..oh well, blame it on the busy weeks. Today was the worst. 8am-1pm-Biochem lab(Agarose gel electrophoresis and SDS PAGE)..no breaks mind you..only 10 minutes to swallow as much nasi goreng as possible from sidewalk cafe.1-2pm, study for management test<--(stupid credit filler made compusory by Inti). 2.15-3.50pm, management test.4-6pm, continue biochem lab experiment.amost 10 hours non stop. Im getting used to it.The toll on my body was evident..i barely made 1km on my jog before giving up.


Now, back to the main title of the post,when i was young. When i was young, i had no such worries..the most fond memories of my childhood were of those when my dad was posted to London for 2 years. i was 8.

this is my family..from the left: Me! hahaha..my dad, nick, pat, mum and liza.We were celebrating pat's birthday.

Nuing Jeluing a.k.a dad..10 years ago he still looked quite dashing with no pot belly evident hahaha.

was i cute or what hahaha! Me and my brothers. If u see us now, the height and size would be terbalik already. I had plenty of fun during my stay there..

We visited Old trafford, Stamford bridge as well as Anfield..this particular pic was taken in front of Anfield, home of liverpool f.c..you'll never walk alone hahaha!

we toured various cities in England(vivian, if ure reading this, england is not above london k..)This was taken in liverpool..same time when we visited Anfield stadium.

in front of the museum of natural history..by the way im standing, i probably start to mogok already. wanna go home.

the garden behind our house in 106 Golders Green, North West London...after balik from anfield terus wear liverpool jersey. Aisehmen.

sigh..nostalgia man. All i cared about at that time was toys and games,fighting with patrick and collecting football stickers.There was no such thing as girlfriends and relationships, and there was no such thing as staying up till morning to finish journals or assignments (Bed time was 9pm!)but those days are long gone and it only exists as sweet memories which i would cherish for a long time.I will return to the UK one day. Not now, but soon.

soon =).

P/s: callumn, max,neel,joey,sasan,faisal,dinesh,neil,jaymini, deema, nissa and all my pals from Hendon prep school, i will find you guys one way or another.

The Sanctuary-28th May

This sem we were blessed with a timetable which gave us free thursdays, giving us the chance to go clubbing on wednesday night...we went to The Sanctuary located at The Curve, Damansara.

And yes, i had the honour to escort 5 lovely ladies to the club..Left to right, Brenda, Michelle, Phei Woon, Vivian and Angie

Still looking okay...the girls are sober.

Then came the bottle of Bacardi white..i remember phei woon being hesitant about not being able to finish one whole bottle as the girls werent heavy drinkers..haha..right..30 minutes later the bottle was drained.(Vivian was looking for somemore...)

me and Brenda..luckily you didnt do any of your wild behaviour that night brenda..hahaha!Not drunk enough i guess ;p

Group shot with the girls..I look like a bapa ayam man...

Hahaha..Vivian starting to get a little bit excited..

I actually danced! HAHA! Alcohol DOES help you let go of your inhibitions.

The party kicks into high gear..Angie and michelle looking quite drunk.
Vivian stoned! HAHAHA!!!!!

And they still deny being drunk. LOL! Angie looks totally wasted.

Im sorry vivian and michelle, but the evidence is overwhelming..you guys WERE DRUNk!hahahaha!!!

we all look so happeeeeee..hahahaha!

Here's some random pics from tht night

Well, overall it wasa great night..some perverts tried to take advantage of them but it was all under control because Me, Phei woon and Brenda were still sober..the short walk to the car was hilarious. We got lost on our way back to Brenda's house and Vivian puked by the roadside on LDP(outside kelana jaya station) LOL!! We arrived safely at the hostel by 4am.

It was worth staying up all night to complete my Biochemistry journals :D

Looking forward to going again soon..after the first batch of internal assesments are over i guess. Till then, hardwork and suffering is to be expected on a daily basis = ( Cheers!

kickboxing

Went for the 2nd kickboxing session of the new sem yesterday. Some of the seniors have graduated so a few familiar faces are missing =(. However, plenty of freshies have also signed up so its all good :D

As this is my second semester in the club, i am now classified as a senior. Woohooo! hahaha!

some of the members hanging around before the actual session began..the dude in the white shirt is a junior who as you can see, so berkobar2 wanna punch ppl.Hahaha! well actually he's practising cross-jabs which the seniors were showing..

The instructer only comes next week, so the juniors were put through the basic drills by senior members whereas the remaining seniors were allowed to do whatever we wanted(related to kickboxing ofcourse...)

So,I had a light contact sparring session with Casey from the USA

The rules: No punches to the head and controlled punches to the body(as i wasnt wearing gloves)..kicks with full power are allowed to the body, legs and head. Normal Chinese kickboxing regulations also apply la eg. no elbows and knees.No hitting the balls(MOST IMPORTANT!) and neck region. haha!

we tried to control our power so tht no one got hurt too badly as this was supposed to be "light contact"..

but as you can see, we get carried away sometimes..Unfortunately,the 24 solar drums were practising in the same venue...their traditional chinese drum beats didnt help coz it only added to the combative atmosphere =.='

dunno what made me do that stance..now tht i see it, it looks kinda stupid hahaha!

one of my favourite moves, the leg catch..as casey put it " you catch the leg, you win".In a real sparring session or fight, you normally kick his remaing leg and he'll drop like a rag doll..it's impossible to balance urself from this position.But as this was light contact, we just let go if we managed to catch each other's leg.

end of a great sparring session..picked up a few new things from casey coz he's much more experienced as he's been fighting for quite some time. Thanks to Chun Hao for the pics!

here are some random pics from tht day..the guy in blue shorts is Bryan..my regular full-contact sparring partner.He's observing one of the juniors do his jab-crosses.

the meeting of two presidents..Jon(left), president of Inti Aikkido club, and our very own Kickboxing president(right). Jon decided to come for the intro class to see if he likes it or not hahaha! Join us man!

our president demonstrating some jabs..

Lai lai lai..Lelong murah. Single guys up for grabs..low maintenance,good investment for the future. All are willing to fight with their lives to protect their loved ones HAHAHA!!!Jon, myself and Chun hao..the 3 DSCAU sem 3 buddies in kickboxing.

Im glad that im kickboxing again after the sem break. I look forward to the thursday night full contact sparring sessions as well as using the punching bag, and kick pads.muahaha!

and if chun hao and i are elected as committee members, we might propose a Mixed Martial Arts contest between the Chinese Kickboxing Club and the TaeKwonDo ppl..tht should be fun hahaha!Since there seems to be some kind of bad blood between the two clubs.LOL!

Well thts all for now, thanks for reading. I'll post again as soon as im free,Cya!

bake a cake with joe

Cheesecakes. mmmmm. One of the few things which can give me a foodgasm. I had my first cheesecake from secret recipe a few years ago. It was a caramel cream cheesecake which jacintha was having. I took some and was converted.

And so after tasting cheesecakes from various different shops and bakeries i decided to learn how to make one of my own. I carried out the ambitious project during the sem break under the supervision of my mum.

after being warned by mum tht it had a high probability of failing, i started work.

im sorry tht i cant remember the exact measurements and methodology as this was done a couple of weeks ago and im writing based on memory. So just take this post as a bit of general knowledge lah haha!

Part 1: the base

we start by making the base of the cheesecake. My favourite part. The ingredients include 1 cup of butter, 1 cup of walnuts, and a few cups of castor sugar. When i first saw cups, i thought it meant any cup also can..like my coffee mug..actually its a standardized measurement..joe has learned sumthing new =.='

mum chopping up the walnuts..walnuts are not really important..it can be excluded from the base without causing a noticable change in texture

okay, next we add this baby. 4 cups of crushed biscuits.Try to crush the biscuits till they are fine but not too powdery lah.U can use any biscuits such as marie biscuits or even graham crackers.( i wanna try oreo's next time hahaha!) .Mix the crushed biscuits together wif the other stuff and flatten it into a springboard pan..try to compress it as much as possible..this was the only flaw in my cheesecake as the base turned out to be quite thick. Mum says it wasnt flattened enough.

tadaa....put this in the oven for 15 mins and let it cool down by leaving the oven door ajar.(oven must be turnned off ofcourse..) In the meantime, we prepare the main part, the body of the cake.

Part 2: the cake.

mmmmmmmm..the main ingredient..i think approximately 500g of cream cheese(2 packets of 250g). Six eggs, with the egg white separated from the yolk.1 tablespoon of vanilla essence and 1 tablespoon of lemon juice.U'll have to add sour cream as well but i forgot how much.

put all of the said ingredients in a bowl and mix em up baby!..i learnt it the hard way, but try not to let the thingy spin above the mixture unless u want to have stuff flying all over the kitchen hahaha!

Pour the mixture into the base and bake it in the oven..i cant remember how long. All i know is tht our oven was abit sot so we had to bake it longer than what was stated in the recipe book.
After baking, u let it cool down to room temp..this could take some time.Then, u put the cake into the fridge.

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TADAA!!..the end product..as u can see, the top part is abit crooked coz i pandai2 open the oven door whilst it was baking causing the cake to sink and thus causing the top part to crack hahaha!..joe has learnt sumthing new again =.='

my very own baked cheesecake..the base is quite cacat but nevermindlahh..first try ma. Enjoyed eating this with vanilla ice cream mmmmmmmmmmm...

2 reasons why i did it

1. i like cheesecake

2. a lot of girls like cheesecake.-important point here...

hahahaha! So guys, go and bake one for ur gal today.Thanks for reading and hope u all learnt sumthing new.

thts all for now. Cya~

hello sem 3

Hols are over and another sem is here. And this time i've come mentally prepared. Haha!.Come what may! Biochem? i dont fear you.Genetics? I spit at you. Shit ass electives? I kill you with my gaze.(i sound very confident now, but after the intro week i may feel differently)

But i must say the holiday was fun and offered much needed rest eventhough it was short..

looking for Ms See's baby present with my classmates in One utama...where we spotted some very naughty toys.

oblivious to the dirty looks they get from shoppers, the 2 stuffed toys get it on.

Ok, enough with sick stuff..flew back to miri and spent time with my family and friends. I even learned how to bake a cheesecake from my mum.

my masterpiece.I swear its just like secret recipe..maybe even better.HAHA!I'll do a post on how to make one in the near future.

and ofcourse, a trip to the beach..oh the lovely beach..

a lower tide would have made this place heaven but still lovely nonetheless.

one last shot before leaving.The horizon at 5pm.

Now im back in the hostel..grey and dull. I bring back a few things from miri. Good memories, sandfly bites and the burning desire to get things right from day 1.

I'll be back in another 4 months. 4 months of struggles and stress, pain and euphoria.Till then, the beach will have to wait. Adios people.Sem 3 here i come!

my friends part 1(the St.Co years)

im missing the days when i could just take my motorbike and go to one of my friends place just to lepak. Sigh. So im gonna dedicate this post to my pals from St.Co who have gone to the furthest reaches of the world(or malaysia) in pursuit of education..

this is my beloved 5L2, second class of the science stream. Though most of my good friends are from here, many of my most trusted companions are also from 5L1 and 5L3

Firstly, this is vincent/vince/Don chicken. My best buddy and also the ketua pengawas of stco prefect board 2004-2005.Ive known this fella since form 1, when we met in the science lab and broke the ice by laughing at the sperm drawing on the blackboard.We have been table mates for many many years.Sorry for using this pic man, but i find it hilarious. Hahahaha!

and this is Avery Wee CHEE SIN..my other best buddy..Ive known this asshole since primary 5.We went trough lots of crap as buddies including bullying a kid called jeremiah, a motorcycle accident and a hell lot of other things. This is the guy respoonsible for teaching me about the erotic powers of internet search engines(way back in primary 5 mind you).

together they were my most trusted friends. Id take wise advice from vince, and id release stress on avery. See, everyone plays a role.

we did many silly things as friends. wayne, vince and naya doing the nerd pose at the lobby of dynasty hotel. Hahaha!But nothing beats this la..

yes, avery was always known for his ability to openly embrace other peoples culture. HAHA!! Avery playing the fool during mufti day at St.Co. Theres a spot in hell reserved for u man..hahaha!

This is rachel..our head girl of the prefect board 2004-2005.Ive known rach since like from form 2 i think.Used to fetch her from her house go tuition on my motorbike. HAHAhA!!! I still remember the first time u rode with me rach. Nasib didnt accident..

and of course, if u mention rach, mestilah got hannah also. Two of them were the best of friends.I first got to know hannah way back in primary 1 but werent really friends wif her till sekolah menegah.Rach and hannah always planned crazy things..kelab donut la, kelab muruku la..macam2 la these two. And we always had those pointless gatherings in hannah's house...Miss ya loads babe. Im sure ure enjoying urself up there =)

Gen and nadine..in this pic nadine still look so cute. Now so sexy oredi hahahaha!Gen was the most fierce girl ive met(SM queen)..yes, dont play2 with her..especially at THAT time of the month.. nads was always so cheerfull and bubbly. but wait..theres another member missing...

yes, mestilah Evangeline Stanley..and dont forget the Ipkis. She always confuse words and their meanings..for example microscope and telescope... she would use a microscope to view the night sky and telescope to look at slides HAHAHAHAhA!These 3 make up the row behind me and vince in class and always kena paksa to give free massage and also copy their addmaths b4 class.

Jason and naya. The 2 musicians from ISCF and also prefects of stco.Naya was assistant head boy btw.I had no idea what prompted them to pose like this but its hilarious hahaha!Jason was also my history buddy who shared a similar passion in military and politics and weve been close friends ever since form 1. As for naya, he's just a plain clown.HAHA! sori la pok. If he had nothing else to say, he'd just announce " bah, ku mok pegi berak lok" or something similar . I first met naya in primary school and was my 'tugas' partner in the primary school prefect board.

not forgetting Lau Hui Siong a.k.a Malau. First got to know him in form 1. He was class monitor and i was his assistant! hahaha. I remember when me,lau vince and avery would go and play basketball in the dark. Stupid. Then those tattoed samseng guys would suddenly come and ask us to play wif them..man, tht was reli scary hahaha.

and finally, wayne the athelete and ivan the guitarist.Buddies of mine eversince primary 4 and 5 respectively. All together, this bunch of people make up my second family, the people i trust and care for just as i would to my own family.

one of the many illegal night staybacks which we did to complete backdrops for events.

adrian steward our crazy senior giving birth on prefect's night. HAhaha!

me n avery fishing at the beach..vince took the photo. Bear in mind this was a few weeks before spm and we still berani go fishing despite having no idea how to fish hahaha!

man, i was damn sexy in form 5 hahahahahaha!!!

Most of us were made to attend a course on sexual abstinence before marriage called 'no apologies'. As u can see, i wasnt too interested. LOL!the Penolong kanan signed my pledge card(which i still keep)..so when i want to get it on, id just have to imagine mdm wong's face...what a turn off. HAHAHA!

this was taken in Bio tuition..no wonder i got a B4 for spm bio. HAHA..busy reading those soppy romance novels when i was supposed to try out past yr papers..tht piece of ppr on the floor.(the title of the book is sweet dreams btw..)

In SMK St.Joseph miri..this trip was to foster better ties with the St.Joe prefects as well as exchanging ideas and opinions.

just some examples of what St.co form 5 students do in their free time...my childhood pal Basil playing air guitar on a broomstick..

the silly L1 trio..basil,ivan n wayne.

racial harmony at its best. Darrel Wee wearing a kelabit hat. HAHA!!!

dancing in the bilik mesyurat.hahaha!..and Jin Wei(first dude) looks like he's in pain..or maybe hes just shy LOL.

most of us had this ability..ability to fall asleep anywhere anytime(important skill!!!!). As demonstrated by rachel here.

rach again..she's a real pro.

jin wei in the library..got air con mah.hahaha!

here's another one..jin wei, albert and david.pretty gay dont u think. LOL. I think this was taken sumwhere behind the dewan.

HAHAHA!!!! tht stick was taken from the tong sampah btw.

but hannah takes the prize lah...check out her advance napping technique. Ini memang tahap dewa lah. HAhahaha!

Ok, technically this man isnt a friend of mine. He's our school principal Mr. Wong King Kui..sporting fella but can be unreasonable at times. He's a good guy despite being not very popular among some of the staff.He's cool with me, so im making him my honorary friend..hahaha!

Sigh..these pics really bring those days back.but its quite impossible to cram years of memories in a single blogpost.........

but no matter where u guys are, u'll always be on my mind and in my heart. I love St. Co!