I did it! I finally did it! I finally sent the MELTA Conference Proposal today. This is my first time doing this and although it's not a grand conference, but it's grand to me. My boss has been telling me to send it in for a while now, and yet I was still so hesitant. And today she said to me "You worry too much, Grace." I guess I do! But it's a mix of exhilaration and nerves all rolled into this petite body of mine. Almost like the feeling of ecstasy!
So I had let my boss check my abstract this morning, and she edited some stuff and wrote "FINAL VERSION" at the bottom of the paper. Hahahha, she was losing patience I guess? So I came back home, did the corrections, filled in the presentation proposal form, checked the MELTA website for any additional details. Then I composed the email, attached the file....... and for 10 minutes, my cursor was on the 'send' button, but all I did was froze. I couldn't press it! I just couldn't. I didn't have the guts to. And then finally I took the plunge and clicked on it... ahhh, what a relief! So, I sent another email to my boss and attached a copy of the proposal for her to keep. LOL, I even told her about the 10 minutes that I wasted doing absolutely nothing.
So I'll wait for a reply. Maybe it'll get accepted, maybe not. We'll see ;)
Thursday, February 5, 2009
Tuesday, February 3, 2009
Why I'm a happy person
I'm a happy person. I'm not faking it. I don't actually put up a front.. I can't, I won't, I don't know how to (didn't you hear? I'm a freaking lousy actress!). So I was thinking why I can always stay happy.. this is why. Btw, these aren't really tips so I don't suggest you follow them..
1. I've always been a screw up. So even when I screw up, it's nothing new to me. I just get up, dust myself off, and keep on walking. And I gave up on trying to be number 1.. trust me, being the best is simply overrated! LOL.
2. I don't have high expectations.. so when I fail, it's kinda expected. If it produces good results, well.. surprise surprise!
3. I don't have a need to prove anything to anyone. If I do prove, it's a good thing.. if not, who cares? I don't need to be accountable to anyone but God.
4. If someone is mean to me, that's because they probably have issues. So I don't take it to heart.
5. I don't bear grudges. I usually let all my grievances go after the day is over (unless the problem/arguement is HUGE).
6. I don't try to be someone else. I'm a lousy actress, and acting is tough. So I don't want to do that for the rest of my life. Being Grace, on the other hand, is easy!
7. I don't really care if people think I'm a loser, or if I lose face in public. Chances are, I'll never see those faces ever again. Even if I do, who cares? Everyone have their share of embarrassment right?
8. I will always take time off to relax, and to sleep well no matter now busy I am. Seriously, it helps you stay happy! Ok, everyone knows that... right?
9. I smile and laugh more than a lot of other people. When I'm stressed, I watch sitcoms, when I'm sad, I watch standup comedy, when I just don't feel good, I watch stupid stuff that make me laugh.. it's better than drowning yourself in self-pity. Also, I heard it will make you look younger.. hehehe.
So the good ol' happy Grace will sign off here and go to bed. It's a brand new day tomorrow, people!!
1. I've always been a screw up. So even when I screw up, it's nothing new to me. I just get up, dust myself off, and keep on walking. And I gave up on trying to be number 1.. trust me, being the best is simply overrated! LOL.
2. I don't have high expectations.. so when I fail, it's kinda expected. If it produces good results, well.. surprise surprise!
3. I don't have a need to prove anything to anyone. If I do prove, it's a good thing.. if not, who cares? I don't need to be accountable to anyone but God.
4. If someone is mean to me, that's because they probably have issues. So I don't take it to heart.
5. I don't bear grudges. I usually let all my grievances go after the day is over (unless the problem/arguement is HUGE).
6. I don't try to be someone else. I'm a lousy actress, and acting is tough. So I don't want to do that for the rest of my life. Being Grace, on the other hand, is easy!
7. I don't really care if people think I'm a loser, or if I lose face in public. Chances are, I'll never see those faces ever again. Even if I do, who cares? Everyone have their share of embarrassment right?
8. I will always take time off to relax, and to sleep well no matter now busy I am. Seriously, it helps you stay happy! Ok, everyone knows that... right?
9. I smile and laugh more than a lot of other people. When I'm stressed, I watch sitcoms, when I'm sad, I watch standup comedy, when I just don't feel good, I watch stupid stuff that make me laugh.. it's better than drowning yourself in self-pity. Also, I heard it will make you look younger.. hehehe.
So the good ol' happy Grace will sign off here and go to bed. It's a brand new day tomorrow, people!!
Saturday, January 31, 2009
Of coffee, cards games, and writer's block.
Not that I'm being random. Just read on and you'll see that the title actually does make sense.
Chinese New Year has just come and gone. It's when cousins, aunts, uncles, grandma, moms, dads, and dog (yes, even DOG) come together to spend time, do absolutely nothing productive and just have a good time. And a good time we did have!
This year, I was the maid, barista, and kitchen assistant all rolled into one. But the responsibility of making sure everyone got their caffeine fix fell right onto my shoulders. But this time round, I have one more to add to my repertoire of drinks. Japanese rice cracker tea. I made quite a number of pots of that weird but pleasant tea, and the ones who drank it actually liked it! Can't say I've mastered the art, but at least it was a good attempt.
Making drinks wasn't all I did this Chinese New Year though. I played card games.. from Blackjack, to poker, to "in between" (I have no idea what it's official called). Although luck wasn't on my side, I had fun anyway :) Not forgetting, the red packets!! Money money money... when they say Gong Xi Fa Cai (it means "Congratulations, you're rich"), I think of all the kids and single people having all the extra cash, and all the married people being extra broke. I guess that greeting is only suited for singles like me huh.. lol.
Now that CNY holiday has come and gone (the real CNY isn't over yet), it's back to real life. Well, not just yet. I start work next week, but I need to get cracking on my conference paper. I've yet to send in my abstract, so I'm not sure if they'll accept it, but I need to at least make an effort to write the contents first. Starting with the methodology. And although the paper was based on my own research, somehow I'm struggling to write even the first paragraph. Has all the cookies from CNY cause a blockage in my brain?!! I'm excited yet nervous. My very first conference... well, if I get accepted.
So, I shall continue to daydream about the conference, and hopefully.. just hopefully, get some inspiration to write. Happy Lunar Year :)
Chinese New Year has just come and gone. It's when cousins, aunts, uncles, grandma, moms, dads, and dog (yes, even DOG) come together to spend time, do absolutely nothing productive and just have a good time. And a good time we did have!
This year, I was the maid, barista, and kitchen assistant all rolled into one. But the responsibility of making sure everyone got their caffeine fix fell right onto my shoulders. But this time round, I have one more to add to my repertoire of drinks. Japanese rice cracker tea. I made quite a number of pots of that weird but pleasant tea, and the ones who drank it actually liked it! Can't say I've mastered the art, but at least it was a good attempt.
Making drinks wasn't all I did this Chinese New Year though. I played card games.. from Blackjack, to poker, to "in between" (I have no idea what it's official called). Although luck wasn't on my side, I had fun anyway :) Not forgetting, the red packets!! Money money money... when they say Gong Xi Fa Cai (it means "Congratulations, you're rich"), I think of all the kids and single people having all the extra cash, and all the married people being extra broke. I guess that greeting is only suited for singles like me huh.. lol.
Now that CNY holiday has come and gone (the real CNY isn't over yet), it's back to real life. Well, not just yet. I start work next week, but I need to get cracking on my conference paper. I've yet to send in my abstract, so I'm not sure if they'll accept it, but I need to at least make an effort to write the contents first. Starting with the methodology. And although the paper was based on my own research, somehow I'm struggling to write even the first paragraph. Has all the cookies from CNY cause a blockage in my brain?!! I'm excited yet nervous. My very first conference... well, if I get accepted.
So, I shall continue to daydream about the conference, and hopefully.. just hopefully, get some inspiration to write. Happy Lunar Year :)
Thursday, January 22, 2009
Miss Monk
Don't worry, I'm not losing my religion. I love Jesus too much :)
Nor am I shaving my head anytime soon.
The person I'm turning into though, is perhaps the female version of Mr. Adrian Monk. Don't know who he is? Let me shed some light on who he is. Adrian Monk (from the tv series Monk) is a detective who developed OCD (Obsessive Compulsive Disorder) after the tragic death of his wife. He has an obsession with hygiene, fear of hugs, fear of handshakes, fear of.... well, 300+ other things. And everything has to be perfectly cleaned, not a crumb, not a dot of dust.. nothing.
Well, I'm not that bad, but I'm beginning to suspect I'm developing a mild OCD. I don't know, it's just a suspicion. Grace is still normal, you know (or so I think.... I hope).
As you know, I've been working in my boss' old office and my job is pretty much sitting in front of computer, typing stuff and searching for stuff. And then just today, I realized that I've been cleaning my work area (just where the computer is situated, and her desk) every once a week or whenever I see dust. I've been cleaning the table, the screen, the keyboard, the phone.. and whenever I leave, I need to put the chair back to the original position, facing the desk. And now, I've added another task.. clearing the waste paper basket! OH GOSH! I'm a freak!
But then again, when have I ever stopped being a freak? :p But if I get to be as cool a freak as Mr. Monk.. I don't mind. ;)
Nor am I shaving my head anytime soon.
The person I'm turning into though, is perhaps the female version of Mr. Adrian Monk. Don't know who he is? Let me shed some light on who he is. Adrian Monk (from the tv series Monk) is a detective who developed OCD (Obsessive Compulsive Disorder) after the tragic death of his wife. He has an obsession with hygiene, fear of hugs, fear of handshakes, fear of.... well, 300+ other things. And everything has to be perfectly cleaned, not a crumb, not a dot of dust.. nothing.
Well, I'm not that bad, but I'm beginning to suspect I'm developing a mild OCD. I don't know, it's just a suspicion. Grace is still normal, you know (or so I think.... I hope).
As you know, I've been working in my boss' old office and my job is pretty much sitting in front of computer, typing stuff and searching for stuff. And then just today, I realized that I've been cleaning my work area (just where the computer is situated, and her desk) every once a week or whenever I see dust. I've been cleaning the table, the screen, the keyboard, the phone.. and whenever I leave, I need to put the chair back to the original position, facing the desk. And now, I've added another task.. clearing the waste paper basket! OH GOSH! I'm a freak!
But then again, when have I ever stopped being a freak? :p But if I get to be as cool a freak as Mr. Monk.. I don't mind. ;)
Monday, January 19, 2009
Krazy KL
I spent a weekend full of madness in Kuala Lumpur, the capital of Malaysia. But I just realized one fact, as much as KL is cool and home to loads of awesome concerts, it is also just home to the most massive traffic congestion in Malaysia. I wouldn't dare say it has the most world-class traffic congestion since I've been to Beijing, but KL wins hands down in that department when it comes to the country of Malaysia. Not that it's something to be proud of though.
Most of my time was spent in MidValley Mega Mall where my hotel is situated as well. And since it was as congested (if not more congested) on the inside of the mall as it is on the roads, I just stayed put. No point of having to go somewhere less congested, because chances are, it'll be just as bad.
I was actually hopeful. I wanted to watch a movie, have nice meals, buy nice things. But the minute I opened the door that connected my hotel to the mall, reality set in. There was massive lines of people everywhere. People queing up to get their cash from the atm machine, people standing in queue for a cup of coffee (that would be me as well), people standing in queue for almost everything and anything.
It was a culture shock for me; this place was in my own country, the people speak just the way I do, I could blend right into the crowd, but yet I felt like I didn't fit in - at all. So, I scrap plans of watching a movie, I hardly had a good meal due to the massive crowds in ALL of the good restaurants, I hardly got to sit down on the benches as well, since they were all occupied. It was a nightmare, I was missing Johor Bahru so badly. So JB is full of crime, so they say almost everything in JB is bad... so what? I'll go crazy if I had to go through those crowds and congestion day in and day out. GOSH!
So, that was the weekend spent. I'm glad I'm home, I'm glad I'm back in my JB, where it's not too busy and yet not too quiet. It's an imperfect city, and yet, it's where I truly belong :)
Most of my time was spent in MidValley Mega Mall where my hotel is situated as well. And since it was as congested (if not more congested) on the inside of the mall as it is on the roads, I just stayed put. No point of having to go somewhere less congested, because chances are, it'll be just as bad.
I was actually hopeful. I wanted to watch a movie, have nice meals, buy nice things. But the minute I opened the door that connected my hotel to the mall, reality set in. There was massive lines of people everywhere. People queing up to get their cash from the atm machine, people standing in queue for a cup of coffee (that would be me as well), people standing in queue for almost everything and anything.
It was a culture shock for me; this place was in my own country, the people speak just the way I do, I could blend right into the crowd, but yet I felt like I didn't fit in - at all. So, I scrap plans of watching a movie, I hardly had a good meal due to the massive crowds in ALL of the good restaurants, I hardly got to sit down on the benches as well, since they were all occupied. It was a nightmare, I was missing Johor Bahru so badly. So JB is full of crime, so they say almost everything in JB is bad... so what? I'll go crazy if I had to go through those crowds and congestion day in and day out. GOSH!
So, that was the weekend spent. I'm glad I'm home, I'm glad I'm back in my JB, where it's not too busy and yet not too quiet. It's an imperfect city, and yet, it's where I truly belong :)
Tuesday, January 6, 2009
Mind your engrish
Perhaps a lot of you don't know, but I am truly fascinated by ungrammatical, and hilarious signboards. Honestly, if there's a job for that, I'll be the first in line. The first thing I'll do when I walk into a shop is to look at their notices to the customers (For example, "No smoking") and when it comes to restaurants, I will start picking out grammatical and spelling mistakes that I can spot from the menu. It's not that I'm doing it on purpose (Or maybe I am) but correcting people's grammatical and spelling mistake has somehow become second nature to me. I'm a language major, and if you're a true blue language major, that's probably what you do most of the time, right? And what's more, I have fun while at it ;)
So anyway, I was surfing a guy's blog, a blog belonging to a friend of a friend of a friend (complicated,innit?) and somehow saw the link to Engrish.com and thought I'd check it out. Turns out, there are many people who are like me, who love taking pictures of signboards, menus and what not! OMG! I'm not weird after all!! And I loved the site.. it's just so awesome. And did I mention hilarious?! So since they have all the copyright thing going on and stuff, I thought I'd just post my own photos.. not as intriguing as those on the site but cool enough I guess. And btw, if you think I'm laughing at the expense of others, maybe I am. So I dare you to try not to laugh ;)
#1. This was taken while breathlessly trying to climb the Great Wall. Now you know how passionate I am about this ;)
#2. This was taken at a budget store. Honestly? If I break anything I only have to consider buying? Wow, I'd probably NOT buy the broken piece of junk. :p
#3. I was at a restaurant when I saw this notice (the notice are posted in two separate photos). This isn't grammatically wrong, but it's just plain appalling. In an amusing way, of course :) Do I get a discount for being incredibly nice?
#4. This two banners were at a buffet place. And btw, I did not eat any of their prawns.
# 5. This was taken the same place as #2, except it's a water bottle. I know my photo taking skills are atrocious, but what the heck :p
Written on the bottle: "CONS TANT CREATIVE MAJOR IN THE OUTPACE LINE"........... whatever that means. And I'm not making this up, btw. Look closely if you don't believe me.
So there you have it. My share of photos. I am not into photo blogging, but I finally realized how fun it can be when the photos are just freakin' funny. It's been a blast :)
So anyway, I was surfing a guy's blog, a blog belonging to a friend of a friend of a friend (complicated,innit?) and somehow saw the link to Engrish.com and thought I'd check it out. Turns out, there are many people who are like me, who love taking pictures of signboards, menus and what not! OMG! I'm not weird after all!! And I loved the site.. it's just so awesome. And did I mention hilarious?! So since they have all the copyright thing going on and stuff, I thought I'd just post my own photos.. not as intriguing as those on the site but cool enough I guess. And btw, if you think I'm laughing at the expense of others, maybe I am. So I dare you to try not to laugh ;)
#1. This was taken while breathlessly trying to climb the Great Wall. Now you know how passionate I am about this ;)
#2. This was taken at a budget store. Honestly? If I break anything I only have to consider buying? Wow, I'd probably NOT buy the broken piece of junk. :p
#3. I was at a restaurant when I saw this notice (the notice are posted in two separate photos). This isn't grammatically wrong, but it's just plain appalling. In an amusing way, of course :) Do I get a discount for being incredibly nice?
#4. This two banners were at a buffet place. And btw, I did not eat any of their prawns.
# 5. This was taken the same place as #2, except it's a water bottle. I know my photo taking skills are atrocious, but what the heck :p
Written on the bottle: "CONS TANT CREATIVE MAJOR IN THE OUTPACE LINE"........... whatever that means. And I'm not making this up, btw. Look closely if you don't believe me.
So there you have it. My share of photos. I am not into photo blogging, but I finally realized how fun it can be when the photos are just freakin' funny. It's been a blast :)
One for the new year
Happy new year! I know I'm a bit late, but what the heck :)
Well, it was 2008 when I fell asleep the night of the 31st Dec and I awoke to find that I'm in a whole new year. Year 2008 was like any other year.. joy, tears, hardship but most of all, a journey of self-discovery. I've learnt a lot about myself, about my weaknesses, my strengths, and I've accomplished things that I never thought I could or would do. I lost loved ones, and gain new friends; well, it's been a complicated year to say the least :)
I looked back and though I did regret somethings I did or did not do, all those little things had made me stronger. There were things that almost broke my spirit, but did not.. and that is why I'm here today, and I'm stronger than ever. I had realized certain things while going through those ordeal, and have come to the conclusion that life is for living, and if I don't live my life for myself and the ones around me, who would? After all, what/who doesn't break you (even if it almost did), only makes you stronger.
So here's to a good year ahead. A year of leisure and of toil, of sadness and of joy, a year of loss and of gain, a year of learning and of teaching, a year that will break me and build me up; a year that will make me who I am suppose to be eventually.
Well, it was 2008 when I fell asleep the night of the 31st Dec and I awoke to find that I'm in a whole new year. Year 2008 was like any other year.. joy, tears, hardship but most of all, a journey of self-discovery. I've learnt a lot about myself, about my weaknesses, my strengths, and I've accomplished things that I never thought I could or would do. I lost loved ones, and gain new friends; well, it's been a complicated year to say the least :)
I looked back and though I did regret somethings I did or did not do, all those little things had made me stronger. There were things that almost broke my spirit, but did not.. and that is why I'm here today, and I'm stronger than ever. I had realized certain things while going through those ordeal, and have come to the conclusion that life is for living, and if I don't live my life for myself and the ones around me, who would? After all, what/who doesn't break you (even if it almost did), only makes you stronger.
So here's to a good year ahead. A year of leisure and of toil, of sadness and of joy, a year of loss and of gain, a year of learning and of teaching, a year that will break me and build me up; a year that will make me who I am suppose to be eventually.
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