Convocation

It is the day that reminded me that my life as a student had ended. The day I got to meet ALL my coursemates and reminisce the good old days together, for the last time. The day I got to visit UPM, probably for the last time as well. Yes, it is the day of my convocation ceremony. After the long hours in the hall and got our supposedly transcript and scroll and bla bla bla, by the time we got out it was already 5:30 p.m. We were busy taking pictures, entertaining our family and friends, there was barely enough time for us to look at each other's face, let alone exchange a few words. The only thing we have is our memory, and some photographs for remembrance. This blog entry is dedicated to all of you who had accompanied me throughout my ups and downs, bitter and sweet. May our friendship be forever. Cheers! ;)

Everyone is so happy. :)

I was on the phone with my juniors. They called up to find out where I was. They wanted to hand me the flowers and gifts. How sweet of them...

Yeah I was distracted. But YoYo could you NOT put your arm on my mortar?Poor Kok Chiang...

Lydia and Xiao Ming and me. :)

Manyee, my roommate for 3 years, and me. We're buddies.

Zilin and me.

Zilin and Hooi Fang and me! Wakakakakakaakaka.....

All of us. :)

Convocation gift from my big sister - a Doraemon graduate. How cute!

Though ShinYin, SukTeng, TzeYee and Audrey couldn't make it to my convo, I still got a bouquet of flowers from them. How sweet... :)

a day of MC...

It's a day after Deepavali and I'm on MC. I fell sick after the Melaka trip. Yeah I went Melaka during Deepavali. Will blog about the trip when I gather all the picutres. I'm feeling rather lost now. Maybe it's the carefree weekend without having to worry about anything, and I feel reluctant to go back to the reality... and think about the future. Maybe it's the MSN conversation I just had with Shin Tien, and I feel her loneliness... and also mine. Maybe it's the cough and flu medicine that I just took, and I'm sure they would cause some emotional side effects... Yeah, must be that...

Ponyo on the Cliff by the Sea

"Ponyo on the Cliff by the Sea" is Hayao Miyazaki's latest animation. Being a No. 1 fan of Miyazaki's, I had been anticipating the release of the DVD ever since I've heard of this movie. Finally having a chance to watch it, I'm sad to say it's kind of a disappointment.

The story itself is not attractive, neither is it captivating. At some points I found it difficult to concentrate on the progress. It's either because I have a very distracting movie companion or because of the movie itself.

The story is about... erm... a... mermaid, I supposed, named Ponyo who had, out of curiosity, ran away from home. She (though it was not obvious at the beginning that it's a female, but towards the end I suppose we can make that conclusion) met 5-year-old Sosuke and had taken a great liking to him. Meanwhile Ponyo's worried dad was looking for her to bring her back. And when he finally did, Ponyo declared her choice of becoming a human and live with Sosuke.

I feel that it is not convincing that the bond between Ponyo and Sosuke is very strong since there wasn't much elaboration in this matter. And yeah, the story sounds somewhat like "The Little Mermaid" from Walt Disney a number of years ago. But in this case, it's a love story between two 5-year-old kids! (If you can call that a love story...) I can't help thinking realistic... My movie companion also mentioned that there are many unexplained things.

Anyway maybe I should watch it again. It's possible that I've missed something. I mean, I didn't like "Howl's Moving Castle" that much the first time I watched it; and I don't expect anyone to produce another miracle like "Spirited Away". And for the rest of Miyazaki's fans out there, since you've watched all of his series, why not give this a try as well? Anyone wanna watch I'll be glad to lend it.

being happy

Like I said, my biggest failure in life, is that I am afraid to be happy. I guess I've finally decided to change for good. I'll start... say... by writing something less gloomy on my blog. So... here goes...

People say that the future lies in your hands. I believe it's more than that. I believe that a portion of it does lie in our hands; the other portion, is beyond our control. Or in a religious manner, it's in God's hands. What's important, is neither the future nor the past, it's the present. Enjoy the moment, live life to the fullest... These are things easier said than done. People spend too much time worrying about the future; and regretting the past, they fail to notice small little details around them... the apartment guard who greets you warmly every morning when you leave for work, your best friend who always listens when you tell her boring things like what you ate for lunch, the swing which always squeaks when you sit on it, the person who always notices whenever you feel unhappy and who is willing to go through so much trouble just to download a song that you like, the taste of the best dish in the world - mom's cooking, the soft "thank you" uttered by a pregnant lady when you offer her your seat in the LRT... When you have master the art of appreciation, you already possessed the key to happiness.