I'm known to exaggerate everything I say, but trust me, the following statement contains no such thing:
Blogging for ECS has changed my life.
It all started a little more than a year ago when I was browsing my School's undergraduates pages. I saw a notice calling for student bloggers so I volunteered. When I went to see Joyce, the person in charge, she told me what was expected of me and then surprised me by saying that I'll be getting paid 20 quid a month. That means with the required minimum of two blog posts a month, I'd be earning up to 10 quid a post! :D
So I started blogging for them in October 2007. I thought it was going to be a relatively hush-hush affair; maybe they'd stick my blog in some obscure link deep within the depths of the prospective students' pages. Boy was I wrong. Within a month, my mugshot was on the front page of the School's website and loads of people started mentioning about my blog. Soon afterwards, my lecturers were quoting my posts in lectures the same day they were published :D
But the most prized reward for me is when I receive positive feedback about what I've written. Initially, it was Joyce's encouraging words that drove me forward. Later on, I started to get approving emails from people reading my blog; prospective students, parents, advertisers, even our School receptionist! There was a student who asked me about coming to Soton and now he's one of the bloggers as well :)
It wasn't until things started to happen that made me fully realize the extent of how much my blog is opening doors for me. I had my first podcast made (which to this date I still haven't managed to watch until the end because I can't stop cringing!), I'll be in print twice by mid-November, and most importantly, I've been offered a PhD scholarship and job opportunities as well!
What strikes me odd is that I got all this for being a blogger. If I were to be back home and say "I'm a blogger!", people would start thinking that for some reason I'm an anti-government rebel who's going to jail some time soon, thanks to some pretty high profile government vs bloggers lawsuits. It's a pity how huge the difference is between blogging in the UK and blogging in Malaysia. I hope someday, people's mentality about blogging back home will change.
So yes, I'm proud to say I'm a blogger. At least here in the UK :D
Friday, November 9, 2007
Thursday, November 8, 2007
Pisces Woman
Copied from a chain mail:
She likes to be in a dream world than to be in reality. She is weak and sensitive when it comes to "Love". She can cry if her best friend is breaking up, and she can be over excited when her friend gets a new boyfriend who is good looking and rich, even if it has nothing to do with her at all. You might be surprised to see that she is shy just because she is in love. More or less it will be in a Pisces woman. She loves small animals and gifted in training animals.
She has sixth senses and she can guess what will happen next, it's her nature. Even though she has a good sixth sense, she can not pick or foresee her own choice of lover. She cannot tell if she is meeting a sincere guy or a one night stand guy.
She likes to buy and pick her own clothes. She likes to dress cute and be cute. A Pisces woman tends to be a good looking woman and she has nice skin. Her hands and feet are small and soft. Pisces woman loves to shop for shoes as if she collects them. She is a hot lady that everyone wants her. Whether she has a man in her life or not, she will never try to overpower any man. It's not even in her thought.
She thinks a man can handle things better, and she will make her man feel that way. She is an easy going person, so being with her is easy. She is a confident woman and likes to make people who stay with her happy. She knows how to please and how to comfort a man. If something is wrong, she will try to make other people believe that it must be because of someone else, not because of her loved one. She will not push her man to be ambitious but to make him feel like he should be happy with the way he is now. She is happy with you for what you are now.
A Pisces woman, if she has a bad childhood, she will always remember it and it will make her a very unhappy person. She will pity herself and feel sorry for herself. She tends to hurt herself without knowing it and so vulnerable to drugs (real drugs or just sleeping pills). She has many choices and you can never tell which path she is going to take. If you love her, then hold her tight because she never knows why she did what she did or what she will do next.
A complex character. You may think she is a shy innocent type and cannot hurt anyone, then you are wrong. You might think she is a fragile person who needs protection, wrong again. She has been through a lot, a tough cookie. She is a dreamer and loves the word "Love", so she is the type who will buy gifts for anyone for any occasion, especially if it is a gift for a wedding or an anniversary even for someone who she does not know so well.
Be very careful if you fall in love with a Pisces woman. She can be a totally different person before and after. She can be an angel before and later a witch, but everyone is not perfect, right? She will be soft and gentle most of the time, so not to worry. She is emotional and extremely sensitive when she frequently gets hurt. She is the type who can cry her heart out.
She can have a secret fear inside, when she says she does not need anyone. She badly needs someone to protect her, but sometimes she can hide that feeling by being stubborn. She likes to hide her shyness and her weakness from her enemy. She does not like to follow any fixed rules. She can be a good housewife if you know how to handle her.
Many men will ask to marry her because she is a 100% woman. If she wants to be sweet, she is a real angel.
She likes to be in a dream world than to be in reality. She is weak and sensitive when it comes to "Love". She can cry if her best friend is breaking up, and she can be over excited when her friend gets a new boyfriend who is good looking and rich, even if it has nothing to do with her at all. You might be surprised to see that she is shy just because she is in love. More or less it will be in a Pisces woman. She loves small animals and gifted in training animals.
She has sixth senses and she can guess what will happen next, it's her nature. Even though she has a good sixth sense, she can not pick or foresee her own choice of lover. She cannot tell if she is meeting a sincere guy or a one night stand guy.
She likes to buy and pick her own clothes. She likes to dress cute and be cute. A Pisces woman tends to be a good looking woman and she has nice skin. Her hands and feet are small and soft. Pisces woman loves to shop for shoes as if she collects them. She is a hot lady that everyone wants her. Whether she has a man in her life or not, she will never try to overpower any man. It's not even in her thought.
She thinks a man can handle things better, and she will make her man feel that way. She is an easy going person, so being with her is easy. She is a confident woman and likes to make people who stay with her happy. She knows how to please and how to comfort a man. If something is wrong, she will try to make other people believe that it must be because of someone else, not because of her loved one. She will not push her man to be ambitious but to make him feel like he should be happy with the way he is now. She is happy with you for what you are now.
A Pisces woman, if she has a bad childhood, she will always remember it and it will make her a very unhappy person. She will pity herself and feel sorry for herself. She tends to hurt herself without knowing it and so vulnerable to drugs (real drugs or just sleeping pills). She has many choices and you can never tell which path she is going to take. If you love her, then hold her tight because she never knows why she did what she did or what she will do next.
A complex character. You may think she is a shy innocent type and cannot hurt anyone, then you are wrong. You might think she is a fragile person who needs protection, wrong again. She has been through a lot, a tough cookie. She is a dreamer and loves the word "Love", so she is the type who will buy gifts for anyone for any occasion, especially if it is a gift for a wedding or an anniversary even for someone who she does not know so well.
Be very careful if you fall in love with a Pisces woman. She can be a totally different person before and after. She can be an angel before and later a witch, but everyone is not perfect, right? She will be soft and gentle most of the time, so not to worry. She is emotional and extremely sensitive when she frequently gets hurt. She is the type who can cry her heart out.
She can have a secret fear inside, when she says she does not need anyone. She badly needs someone to protect her, but sometimes she can hide that feeling by being stubborn. She likes to hide her shyness and her weakness from her enemy. She does not like to follow any fixed rules. She can be a good housewife if you know how to handle her.
Many men will ask to marry her because she is a 100% woman. If she wants to be sweet, she is a real angel.
Sunday, November 4, 2007
Happyness
You know sometimes you keep telling yourself that after you get straight As, then you'll say "I'm happy now"? Or when you've finally earned X amount of money, then you'll say "I'm happy now"? Or when you've married your dream guy Y, then you'll say "I'm happy now"? Or when you've gotten round to doing Z, then you'll say "I'm happy now"?
What pure nonsense.
I'm blessed to have friends who keep showering me with words of wisdom:
"Soton best kot ada ko, just if u feel hepi. Kalau x, soton best gila pun, kalau ko asyik sedih n nak ckp psl problem, soton jd x best sbb ko."
"It takes a lot of courage to be happy with what you already have."
"You've already got everything you could ever need."
They're right. I've got loads to be thankful for.
You know what makes me happy?
During my re-orientation program back home last summer, I was introduced to the law of attraction. Basically you just think of what you want in your mind and it will come. I was really sceptical about it and I didn't think it would work. I mean c'mon, have you heard of wishful thinking?
But not anymore. When I first made this blog, I wanted to keep myself focused on my dreams so that eventually I could see them become true. And after a few months, I've accomplished one item off the list, I've made plans to get a couple more done and I'm going to see Celine Dion in May!
So yes, the law of attraction exists. I'm a firm believer now.
Happiness is a choice. I've known this quote for ages but it's taken me this long just to realize and embrace what it actually means.
I'm happy now.
What pure nonsense.
I'm blessed to have friends who keep showering me with words of wisdom:
"Soton best kot ada ko, just if u feel hepi. Kalau x, soton best gila pun, kalau ko asyik sedih n nak ckp psl problem, soton jd x best sbb ko."
"It takes a lot of courage to be happy with what you already have."
"You've already got everything you could ever need."
They're right. I've got loads to be thankful for.
You know what makes me happy?
- Autumn in Soton. The sunshine and its welcoming warmth. The bright colours of the leaves, both on and off the trees. The crimson clouds that merge with the soft blue skies at sunset. The stream in the middle of uni that flows peacefully amongst majestic willow trees. I love autumn. It's the most beautiful thing I've ever seen. If there's one thing I'd miss about British weather when I leave, it'll be autumn.
- My project supervisor. I've been faffing around for a good six weeks and after a really motivating pep-talk and some very encouraging boosts to my morale, he comes up and says I'm *just* late by a week. He's a sweetheart!
- Sufficient resources to do whatever I want, whenever I want to ;)
- Friends who want nothing else but the best for me and never give up on me :)
- Most importantly, the knowledge that God's giving me all these opportunities to grow.
During my re-orientation program back home last summer, I was introduced to the law of attraction. Basically you just think of what you want in your mind and it will come. I was really sceptical about it and I didn't think it would work. I mean c'mon, have you heard of wishful thinking?
But not anymore. When I first made this blog, I wanted to keep myself focused on my dreams so that eventually I could see them become true. And after a few months, I've accomplished one item off the list, I've made plans to get a couple more done and I'm going to see Celine Dion in May!
So yes, the law of attraction exists. I'm a firm believer now.
Happiness is a choice. I've known this quote for ages but it's taken me this long just to realize and embrace what it actually means.
I'm happy now.
Thursday, November 1, 2007
Past. Present. Future.
Yesterday, the past came back to visit me.
And the past came back to haunt me.
Z, maafkan aku.
May God forgive me for my past mistakes.
Miracles happen. I have faith in that.
And the past came back to haunt me.
Z, maafkan aku.
May God forgive me for my past mistakes.
Miracles happen. I have faith in that.
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