Meow

I'm back after almost a week of no posts. Today, I can finally take a breather off school and tuition but not for my assignments though. Even if it's a no school day, there's still tuition and assignments. However, my tuition class has been cancelled today due to certain reasons. Yay!! No tuition = a happy girl. :D

It's the first week of the Fasting Month timetable at school. We start school later than usual, classes are shorter and we end classes earlier too. It's a nice timetable as it's a shorter and a more relaxed one to help ease the teachers, staffs and students who are fasting. With the shorter classes and all, there's not much time to do everything in class now so, there's more homework. How great. =.= I have been bombarded with a load of homework during my previous four days of school.. but, I'm sure the teachers and parents would be like, "since we end school earlier, there's more time to do homework right?". That's true but what a bummer. :(

It's been a hectic school week for me so there's nothing really interesting to share about today. Oooohh! I can think of only one. HAHA! I recently got a new cat, or strictly speaking a kitten. My dad had rescued this kitten before from a drain during a rain weeks ago. It kind of belonged to my neighbor for a while but the neighbor couldn't keep the kitten anymore, so the neighbor kindly asked if we would like to keep the kitten if not it will be a pity if it wasn't taken care of. So yeah. We got the kitten from the neighbor and it has been with us for 3 days.

The 3 days have been a challenging one for both my family and the kitten. The kitten, I assume, has been used to enter the house and it has always been scampering outside the kitchen wanting to be let in. Due to a strict no animals in the house rule, the kitten couldn't be kept inside the house. My domestic helper has been helping to keep an eye on the kitten so not to let it enter the house but it does get it's way in somehow and I always have to be the one to catch the kitten and carry the kitten outside. The kitten needs to learn the rule of not entering the house without permission.

I haven't been able to identify if the kitten's a male or a female. I can't seem to see any "male jewels" down there which can be presumably be identified as a female BUT there's a possibility that the kitten's "male jewels" is too small to be seen right? I haven't actually took a proper look down there because it's so hard to see as the kitten is VERY, VERY active. HAHA!! I shall do it one of these days. So, I can properly call the kitten a he or a she. Before that, the kitten shall be called "the kitten". HAHA! 

The kitten has a nice ginger coat. I quite like the name Tigger for the kitten because the kitten is always so active and bouncy just like Tigger from Winnie the Pooh but the name's not fixed yet. I shall properly name it after the gender has been identified. :P The kitten likes to gnaw on my foot or hand if I'm carrying or cuddling the kitten. It hurts but daddy says it's only a kitten. Kitten likes to play. So, I don't really mind at all unless it really, really hurts. It's been a joy to have the kitten around. I do have cats before which weren't actually ours but it kind of just stayed around. One died of diarrhea (a kitten named MooMoo) and one got lost after a family vacation overseas (an adult cat called MiMi). 

I prefer dogs over cats but I can't choose due to the current circumstances that I'm in which doesn't allow me to keep a dog as a pet. Cats are pretty good too so, the kitten is good for now. I would still like to have a dog as a pet in the time to come and when the situation allows. :)

Enjoying the kitty time,

Hannah

Summer Escapades

I haven't had the time to sit down and go online hence, no new post since the last one. I could actually do a quick post or so but let's just say procrastination got the best of me. My week has been wonderful as it was full of fun and a few outings for me which I enjoyed a lot. I don't think I will be getting much relaxing time after this short weekend break due to the start of Ramadan, the fasting month. Oh, Happy Fasting to my Muslim friends! :)

I shall do a short re-cap on my outings for this post so I can actually remember these times when I look and read back on all of my post. Tuesday was a normal, typical school day. So, nothing on that. Let's just start off with Wednesday. :D

Wednesday:

I went back home after my classes in the morning. There was a hang-out session planned between Eia, Amy and I because Eia is going to leave soon. Amy came and picked me up from home and we went to the Thai Restaurant nearby my house to get Mango Sticky Rice for Eia since she was craving it a lot after seeing Amy's Mango Sticky Rice post on instagram. After buying the Mango Sticky Rice, we headed to Eia's house. 

We were really blessed because Eia's grandma has graciously made us some food for lunch. Oh my.. the food was amazing and totally delicious! Her grandma made chai-kueh (steamed veggie dumplings) and Lo Mai Gai except it was without the Lotus Leaf but in a steel container. The food has the potential to make a person really homesick. We just chat (like what girls would normally do when they're together) the entire time about the things under the sun. 

Oh, in the midst of all the talking, I got lectured and nagged at by Eia and Amy about my serious negativity on life and my studies. Yeah.. they said that's what they, my big sisters or as I call them my che che, are for. They said they nag and lecture me because it was for my own good. Well, it did kind of kick some sense into me so, I guess all of their nagging didn't go to waste. You guys happy now? HAHA! We even took a mini road trip to send Eia to her next schedule. There was a jam because it was peak hours as people just knocked off work but we still enjoyed the jam because we get more time to talk. There's just never ending talks between girls eh? It's going to be really sad when Eia and Amy leave which will be very, very soon. I'm going to miss them a lot.

Thursday:

Thursday was suppose to be another typical school day but my afternoon class got cancelled and there was supposed to be a compulsory function in school that I was supposed to attend in the afternoon. I cancelled my piano lesson just for the function however, the function is cancelled and postponed. So many cancellations.. but then, Sophia had a movie outing planned for the afternoon, so I decided to join her. 

There was a big group of us for the movie outing. 2 girls and the rest were boys. Sophia and I were the only girls but we didn't mind. HAHA! The boys were very accommodating to us the entire time. We watched Batman: The Dark Knight Rises. I usually don't watch action movies because it's just not my type (I'm more of a chick flick and rom-com person) but I just went for it and guess what? I actually liked this movie! I love the actions (believe it or not), the story-line and the actors. Hey, how bad can a movie go with Christian Bale and Anne Hathaway in it? I also like the Bat-mobile or whatever that's call because I like how the tires work. Hehehe. The movie was really nice that we and the other people in the theater actually applauded when the credits rolled.

We hung out, took Polaroid pictures together and ate ice-cream sundaes. It was just a nice, fun afternoon with my friends. Fad, a friend whom I haven't seen in the past 1 1/2 year joined us for the movie. It was nice seeing and talking to him again. I was glad I didn't make a mistake to go watch the movie and join them because I actually enjoyed my afternoon. Thanks Sophia for inviting me along. Big love to you. x

Friday:

Dad texted me and asked if I'm actually around his office area. If I was, I could help him get coffee. Haha! I actually went out with Jess to the area after the text. How nice of a daughter am I? My brother came and joined us after his gym work-out session then we walked around the shopping centres of the area, ate some Frozen Yogurt and had Taro Pearl Milk Tea from ShareTea. It was my first time trying Sharetea and it wasn't a bad experience except for the long queue. I had dinner with the family at a Icebar & Cafe which specialises in shabu-shabu. I will do another post on this soon. ;)

Saturday:

The day isn't officially over but it'll do. I and the whole nation of Brunei get today off work and from school because it's the first day of the fasting month. I slept in and woke up at 10am because my biological alarm woke me up. We had a Care Group Family lunch together at Thiam Hock, a famous chinese restaurant in town. It was a nice lunch and get-together with the whole care group because it's not always that we can actually come together and relax over a meal. Usually, we will have to rush off for something but we actually had a good 2 hours of food and talks. The lunch was for Brother JC who's leaving for further studies in a couple of days.

These are just the little bits of my escapades for this week. I'm really grateful for all the fun and love I received. It's amazing! I enjoy every bit of it. :D

Enjoying my Saturday,

Hannah

Gratefulness!

I have had a nice weekend! It was just what I've always wanted during school weeks. A nice weekend to recharge myself so that I will have sufficient energy to work through the whole week. And thankfully, all thanks to a Public Holiday that falls on a Sunday, I get another day off, Monday! Sunday was a public holiday for us folks in Brunei because it's our king, the Sultan's 66 birthday! Daulat Kebawah Duli Tuan Patik!! :D

Every year during our Sultan's birthday, the whole country gets a day off! How nice is it? I always enjoy my holiday and I enjoyed myself today. Even if I wasn't actually participating in the whole birthday celebrations myself, I do feel the whole festive mood the country was in. I slept in for the day but it was still really nice to catch some bits and pieces of the birthday celebration through the TV, the radio and other SNS (Social Networking Sites). For the day, there's the birthday procession at the Taman SOAS, the Sultan's Titah (Titah = the King's speech) and the dinner banquet at the Istana (Istana is the Sultan's palace).

After the Titah, there was this giving out of medals or bestowing honors to some of the people who have contributed to the country or something. (I know I'm really terrible for not knowing this but I'll try my best to understand the whole thing soon). Also, I've always wonder, every year during the Sultan's birthday, His Majesty is always giving other people especially His citizens something in all sorts of ways... but does anybody gives the king anything? It's like his birthday right? Haha! That's just my random thought. :)

I'm really grateful to be living in such a peaceful country where it's relatively safe everywhere if you're being careful. The Sultan has blessed the people Brunei A LOT! The citizens of Brunei receives FREE health care, FREE education, SUBSIDISED petrol, rice and oil and many other things. By His Majesty's grace, even I receive free education! I don't need to pay school fees in my college that I'm in. It's just wonderful. :D

On Saturday night in YF, we learned about being grateful and how we ought to be grateful. To our families, our friends, the people around us. Are you grateful? I know I am! In my previous blog posts, I have written about being thankful and grateful for so many things. Even though there's still some of the little things that I'm always taking granted for, I'm still learning. Learning to be grateful for many things and everything because EVERYTHING in this world is God's blessings to us. We should be grateful to God too for this! 

I've done some thinking and reflecting myself. I feel really good if other people praise me and thank me for the things that I have done. So, I should learn to praise others and thank them, be grateful to them for the things that they have done for me too, be it big or small. That way, they'll also feel appreciated right? Nobody would like to be taken for granted because I know how that feels and it SUCKS BIG TIME!! So, I MUST learn to be more thankful and grateful to others so they'll feel good too. (this is not sucking up!)

Apart from what I learnt in YF, today during my Bible Study lesson, I learned about David. How he's willing to admit that he's has done wrong by committing sins like adultery and murder even though he's a king. This lesson has impacted me. It suddenly hit me like, "Hey, if David who's a king can admit that he's wrong, I should be able to do the same right?". I mean like I'm just a normal person who does wrong in little ways or in big, obvious ways. I should learn how to apologize and repent for my wrongdoings, even if it means putting down my dignity. Wow! I think that this is going to be a hard lesson but I will have to do it.

Also, during bible study, I also learned that if we have sinned or done wrong, the person that hurts the most will be God because we are God's children but God will always forgive us because He loves us so much, just the way we are. One earthly example will be like if we have done something wrong, our parents will be hurt too right? This hit me once again. I hate seeing other people hurt or upset. It kinda kills me on the inside.. and that feeling is pretty horrible. So, I must try my best to become a more pleasant person so that I won't hurt others.

This is such a lengthy post. So much reflective words. I also don't really know why I've chose to post this up here but I feel that it might be helpful to the readers to read my post. Maybe it'll impact them too just like how the words impacted me yesterday and today. It was such a blessing for me and I hope that it will be a blessing to you too. 

I'm glad that I don't have school tomorrow so I can stay up later and sleep in. This week will be a rather relaxed week and there's another long weekend coming up for me. Will explain this in a later post. Have a nice week ahead!

With love and gratefulness,

Hannah

Everything will be okay in the end

Today is a very nice day, for me that is. :) It's been filled with fun and something memorable. I finally FINISHED my MIB presentation that I've been worrying about the past week. WOW! Was I ever relieved that it's over. I can finally put my mind at ease and sleep better during the night now. :P

Today, I have achieved another thing. After practicing through my lines for my presentation for a few times last night, it all paid off. I kind of told myself to not think about how others will look and judge me, and also told myself not to panic or get scared. I prayed a lot for my panic attack to not happen and that everything will go smoothly. Guess what? God totally answered my prayers! HAHA!! My presentation went really well, I was a little jittery at the start for a few seconds but all went well after that. I tried my best to speak with a loud and clear voice and also with confidence.

I just want to THANK MY TEAMMATES for helping me out through the whole thing, patiently explaining the things that I don't know and also for preparing the slides. Also, Thanks F for the Reese's Peanut Butter Cup! THANK YOU SO MUCH GUYS!! :D I got a nice grade for my presentation and some compliments from the teachers. I haven't really received any compliments about my work nowadays, so this was a nice pick-me-up. I'm glad that it's over and that I've gained more confidence in public speaking and also, in experience. (I guess my Malay wasn't as bad as I initially thought. So, the person who said that I sounded "karau" should err.. make it sound a little better)

The lessons from my different classes were interesting as well. For sociology, we started on a new topic yesterday, which was Religion. It sounds pretty interesting from the introduction itself. So, I'm hoping that it will stay as nice as it sounds. Also, for Accounting, we also started a new topic. It was a little crazy at first but all is good after I get the hang of it. (What's with all the new topics? HAHA) And, I won't talk about maths since I don't feel like it. That was one of the few downsides I had for the day. I really do hope I can keep up with all my studies.

Oh yeah, yesterday, my nom-nom buddy and I went out for a study date. More like a teaching date since she taught me some MIB things and help me go through my Malay for the presentation. Yeah, thanks N for correcting my horrible Malay. Thank you for being so ever patient with me! I LOVE YOU FOR THAT! :D We went to Cheezbox for tea because both of us were feeling hungry and then headed to Coffee Bean for the "study or teaching date" (whatever you want to call it). We planned for dinner at McD's but it rained heavily so it didn't work out. I promise you N, we'll go next time alright? :)

So, I'm quite happy for the many things that have happened for the past couple of days. For once, I feel happy and that everything fell into the right place. I'm just really grateful that my prayers had been answered.. if not for it, I don't know what would really happen. :)

Loving the moment,

Hannah

p.s. I just had to add the picture of the dream catcher because it's just so pretty. I want one ;)

MIB worries

It's only Tuesday today, the second day of the week, and I'm craving for the weekend already. What is this?! I guess school plays a really big part with me wanting the weekend to come faster. I think this has been a recurring topic. That's how much I love my weekend, my mini-holiday, my free time. I can't wait until this nightmare is over and I get to have a couple months off from studying. >:)

School lessons are fine with me these days. My maths teacher has finished the syllabus at an ultra-fast speed (not joking), I'm left with a topic or two for Accounting and a couple more topics for Sociology too. This SCARES me a lot. Why? Because it means that the whole A Level thing is going to end soon for me and I don't think I'm that ready for everything to end. For all these to come to a close, I would have to take the BIG EXAM which I so ever dread. I have always hated exams and tests, be it small or big, I detest them.

I'm really thankful to have this group of friends who are there for me in school and in my subject classes. They're a big help especially when I'm at a loss with some of my assignments and revisions. We help each other, lean onto one another for support, especially during the tests and exam season. I also have a few Malay friends whom I appreciate a lot. Being in a government school has been quite a challenge to me due to the main language being spoken and my Malay friends have gone all out, translating words and speeches and everything for me. Thanks so much you guys! <3

I'm very used to speak in English and Chinese and I'm absolutely no any good with Malay. Today, I was in the Students' Learning Centre (SLC) during my personal study period to discuss with my teammates for our MIB project. There's 4 in a group and I was the only girl and the only Chinese (not being racist here). I don't know the rest of the boys except for 1 who's in my Accounting class but we don't speak much at all. For the whole time, I had to translate myself whatever that they were talking about during the discussions and I didn't talk much. I felt kind of awkward because they're all boys and they're strangers to me. I was wondering what they felt at that time too.

I'm used to having a couple of my close Malay friends around and we joke that they're like my subtitles. The title being given because they translate a lot to me from Malay to English especially during assembly or official functions in school. I can understand around 70% of Malay but the rest is a disaster. I tried speaking Malay to my friends after the discussion and they're having LAUGHING AND GIGGLING FITS because of my broken and horrible Malay with many wrong terms and grammar used. What a great support system you are guys. =.= (HAHA!! I STILL LOVE YOU ALL) Well, I guess I would have to write out what I'm going to present and have me memorize it. Thanks N for promising to help me out with this. :D xx

Well, I plan to stay in Brunei for a long time and in order to live here successfully, I would have to really polish up my Malay skills. Another thing to add onto my bucket list. I must and will get my friends to help me with this. Oh, another thing that I'm worried about is that every time after a group finishes their presentation, the teacher judging the whole presentation will ask a person out of the entire group a question regarding about the topic that you were given to prepare. The thing is, my teammates told me that the chances of me being the one asked is very high like 90% because as I mentioned above that I'm the only girl and the only Chinese.

That is so very true after giving it much thoughts. Because if I were the teacher, why would I want to ask my teammates the "question" since they're already very knowledgable about the whole thing since it's their culture and everything. So, my teammates said the main target is very likely to be ME. How great! Now, I don't think I will be able to sleep in peace until after my presentation is done with. Hopefully if I'm really the "lucky one", they'll be able to help me out. 

Oh well, that's another thing that I will prepare myself with. An upcoming battle this Thursday and I hope and pray that I'll be ready for anything that will come my way. Who knows that the 10% might happen and one of my teammates will get "lucky" eh? Nobody knows what's gonna happen. ;)

Surviving on,

Hannah

Sleepy Saturday

It's a sleepy Saturday for me. School was alright except for the part where the maths test screwed up everything. This is the very first time that when everybody came out of the maths classes with gloomy and worried faces, some smiling and laughing because they knew that they've made a mess out of the paper. Yeap.. it was that bad. 

I'm so sleepy and tired today. Having a dinner gathering later at an aunt's house. Having an overseas family friend who's stopping by Brunei and visiting friends. Well, I don't know who that person is but hopefully, things won't get awkward or bad. Haha.. I'm kind of a socially awkward person, so I don't really like big gatherings. 

Gonna just leave with a short post today, ending with another video. Remember how I posted up S.H.E's Ella's video in my previous post, today I'm going to post up another S.H.E. member's video. Selina. In my honest opinion, I think that she's a very strong woman considering all those trials and trauma that she has been through. This song will speak of what she wants to tell us. :) I love it! 

Have fun listening,
Hannah

Eia : Brunei's very own talent

How's your Friday so far? Mine has been great so far. I really just want to thank God for blessing me with the good days that I've been experiencing so far. It just really calms me down and help me get through all these chaos with ease. It's just wonderful! 

For today, I won't really blog much about my day or any other thing. I just want to give a special post for a special someone. Someone who's really dear to me, my friend and my sister, who's there for me when I needed help or advice no matter how far our distance may be. Here's to Eia. :)

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About

Hi! I'm Eia. I'm a singer-songwriter from the majestic country of Brunei, and I believe in chasing your dreams and never giving up. click on 'ABOUT' for more info :) ★ http://www.myspace.com/eiamusic - my first single, 'Hello World'! :)

Biography

It’s not everyday that you come across a national athlete who’s also an amazing singer-songwriter. Bubbly and outgoing, Maria Grace Koh – known as Eia – is a 19-year-old singer-songwriter from the majestic country of Brunei. Born on October the 25th 1992, she started singing, dancing and playing the piano from the age of four. Since then she has performed in a wide variety of concerts and charity events, including a Showcase fronting her High School Orchestra for a visit from the British Royal Family!

One of Eia’s early dreams was to become an Olympic Athlete… Due to hard work, a unique talent and strong determination, she was honored to be a selected athlete to represent her country for Swimming at the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games. However, due to unfortunate events, the team did not proceed on and her dreams were crushed. Devastated, Eia turned to music – channeling her heartbreak and emotions into lyrics and melodies… And this is how her first song, “Hello World” was born.

Shortly after this, Eia discovered a passion for song writing – she started to write more and more music – innocent and emotionally very raw, the music portrays a young girl’s perspective on life, love, hopes and dreams. Her music has been likened to that of Sara Barielles and Taylor Swift, with a touch of Christina Perri and maybe even some traits of Adele – who have all influenced Eia alongside Christina Aguilera, Alicia Keys and Michael Jackson. Most of her songs are born from the piano, so they naturally have a soothing and ballad-y feel to them.

Her vision has always been, and always will be, ‘to touch the hearts of people around the world with her music’. Writing is very much a therapeutic and healing process for herself, but Eia’s message is quickly reaching out to others who may be going through tough times, too – just knowing they’re not alone can make a huge difference.

Eia continues to grow and develop as an artist at LASALLE College of the Arts in Singapore, where she met one of her amazing Producers, Joseph Curiale – who has worked with legends such as Stevie Wonder, Michael Jackson, Santana, and Quincy Jones. This led her to recording some of her songs at the prestigious Karma Sound Studios, where she then met renown Producer, Artist Manager, and most recently the General Manager and Senior Vice President of the International Division of Sony BMG Masterworks, Chris Craker, with whom she is currently working on developing her music career. 

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The above is taken from Eia's Facebook Fan Page. So be sure to go check out her Facebook Page if you haven't done so. Go "LIKE" her Fan Page. Also, just share Eia's page on your Facebook too. Let your family and friends know about this new, up and rising singer. 

Go to her MySpace Fan Page to get a sneak preview of her FIRST SINGLE, Hello World. I think it's a really nice song for the lyrics is very meaningful + Eia has an AMAZING voice!

Eia's Facebook Fan Page link: http://www.facebook.com/eia.music

Eia's MySpace Fan Page link : http://www.myspace.com/eiamusic

I think that she's really great! She has worked so hard to be where she is today. She deserve it! Her FULL SINGLE is going to be out on iTunes soon, so be sure to buy the song on iTunes and support her. :D

Eia 

Sharing the love,

Hannah

Ready for the weekend

YAY!! Today is a Thursday which means it's the weekend! I LOVE WEEKENDS! Do you? Weekends means a lot to me. It's like a relaxing and social period for me. School isn't that hectic on Saturdays, I have YF on Saturday nights and then church afternoons on a Sunday. It's pretty good for me.. but the downside of that is all the homework that the teachers dump on us just because it's a weekend and we get Fridays and Sundays to do them. Yeah.. =.=

School went pretty well today. We had MIB lectures again after 1 month + of hiatus, which means all the presentations will continue and guess what? The teacher called out the names of those who are going to present their topics the next Thursday at the end of the lecture and my name was called. Great. I'm not that scared of public speaking or anything but it's just that, the whole thing is not going to be in English which I'm more confident of. This is it. This is going to be quite a challenge since I don't frequently speak Malay. I have only 1 week to practice and brush up my Malay skills. It would be really great if I could speak all the languages of the world. :D

Other than that, there's nothing big going on except for the upcoming P4 Math Test on Saturday. I have been doing past year questions and I don't think I'm any good to score a really good grade yet but it's much better than before, which I think is an improvement and an encouragement. Oh, and my sociology marks could have been higher is I had written more things in it but due to time constraints, I couldn't. Mr.S told me to work harder in improving writing within the time limit. Shall practice that before all turns bad again. 

While at tuition just now, the junior boys sat with us at our usual table for the night. Not to eavesdrop but their conversations were hilarious. I giggled and laughed at their conversation. One even said that, "Tangled (the Disney animation movie) is the best love story ever!". And that came out from the mouth of a guy. Aww... I find it really cute and funny at the same time. It was quite a fun night instead of a grueling session of maths as I have envisioned it to be.

Overall, my day has been smooth sailing which I'm really grateful for. Sometimes, I just wonder, what other people's day might be like? Every minute, every hour, something can just happen. A child is born, a person has just died, you were informed of a devastating news or you received really good news, all of these. Have you ever wonder that before? While you're being so happy and enjoying the moment, some other people in a certain part of the world might be having a rough time. So, I think we should actually thank God for blessing us with such a wonderful day. :)

Blessings and Love,
Hannah