Another year older...

Yup!! The title says it all. I'm another year older as of 2 days ago. I've hit the last year of my "teens". That statement just gave off my age. Well, nothing has changed apart from my age and this year, it's just a busy, normal day for me. No celebrations, no big family dinners, no nothing. It's just a nice, yummy family dinner at an Italian restaurant for the occasion :)

I have received many birthday greetings and well wishes through text messages, Whatsapp, Facebook, Twitter and a couple more SNS that I have. It's nice to see messages that makes you feel warm all over or ones that makes you smile like a fool or the ones that makes your eyes well up because it's just so touching. I just want to say a BIG THANK YOU to all who have taken a little bit of your time to wish me a "Happy Birthday". I'm truly blessed and grateful with such wonderful family and friends all over. :')

On a fun note, I have been living 6940 days on Earth since birth until my birthday on the 14th January, 2 days ago (which makes me 6942 days old today :P). Wow!! Almost reaching the 7k mark. All the years that went by.. oh my, how time really flies. The next thing I know, I'd be 40.

THANK YOU all,

Hannah

Birthday Shout-out : Maria

Happy Birthday Maria!! You're 20 today!! How time flies. We were still little girls not that long ago and in a blink of an eye, we're all grown up now! 

I've known you all my life. You're a great sister, a cheche and a friend to me. I will remember all the times we spent together, your nagging, your love, your care and your comfort. You've always reminded me that you're just a text away no matter where you are and where I am. Thank you so much for being there during my good and also my bad times. 

Today, you're embarking on a new journey. I wish you nothing but the very best with your music, Eia. You have always shared your love to us through your music and now, it's time for the rest of the world to feel your love too. I'm sure that you'll be the bright, shining star that you've dreamed of. You dreamt big and now, YOU DID IT! I can't be anymore proud of you!

It's not going to be all easy on the upcoming roads ahead, but I pray and hope that you'll be able to place your trust in God. You have a big support system behind you. Your family and also your friends. Bring out the best in you! I believe that you'll be able to touch the hearts of others with your music. 

Dare to dream big! All the best and I love you!

Hannah

2 Birthdays and a Royal Wedding

I haven't been using the laptop for the past week and hence, the no post for last week. I've been busy, you know, with the finals coming up and all. I'm currently bogged up with assignments and revisions which I'm not liking and enjoying as much. But even with all these dull activities, I still spared some of my time for a few more exciting stuff. (I'll be writing on the dates itself, so, today doesn't really means today. :P)

21 September 2012, Friday:

Today is my daddy's birthday. HAPPY BIRTHDAY DADDY!! However, it's rather boring and sad today because my dad isn't exactly at home. My dad went back to KK, Sabah which is our hometown. Dad is the peacemaker in my family. With all the constant fights and bickering between siblings and the defiance against mum sometimes (not that my siblings and I are very naughty but there's always these moments right?), dad is always there at the end to fix everything out. So, daddy left on Wednesday evening and will be back Saturday noon, so hopefully he comes home soon. 

Well, dad had to go back to KK to attend the funeral of his elder cousin which is also my uncle and this is not a very nice reason to go back home to. As far and as much as I can remember, there have been 4 funerals of the people whom I know of this year, as of September 2012. They were family members and friends. Well, it is a hard time especially to their respective families but there's always the fond memories spent together to cherish on. That's what I told myself after the passing of a dear family member of mine. It is painful but as time passes, things would get a little better. :) Below is something that I  said and wrote, not forgetting you, baby chubbs, as each day passes by. :')

"Remembering you every single day, keeping you in my heart. The memories still fresh and the love for you is always there. I miss you. "

Okay, enough of that and moving back to the main story. Since dad's birthday falls during his stay back in KK, he had the honour of celebrating his birthday with his mother, sisters, nieces and nephew, simply speaking they're just my grandma, aunts and cousins. :P They had a birthday dinner together at a Korean restaurant and I sort of gatecrashed their party. Hehehe.. the restaurant, coincidentally, had WiFi and dad was whatsapp-ing me with pictures of their food and fun. So, I was a little jealous because I wasn't there so I FaceTime-d my dad. When I FaceTime-d my dad, I was just in time to sing the birthday song and see my dad cutting his birthday cake! Thank God for modern technology! 

After the cake cutting, my aunts and cousins were surprised at this FaceTime thing and also they haven't seen and heard from me a long time, it became a catching up session for me and my aunts, cousins and grandma. Haha.. it's like stealing the spotlight away from my dad to me. :P But I had fun, they had fun and I led them to discover the wonders of FaceTime. Even when we're miles apart, it can make you feel like you was there too. I had a nice day seeing my KK family. Can't wait to go back to my hometown for a stay after my exams. :)

22 September 2012, Saturday:

Today is Mel's birthday. Yay!! You're finally 19!! I'm so happy for you. We had a normal school day but I for one, was excited about the party happening later tonight. School went well as well as everything else. I carpooled with Alicia and Bums to the party. However, in the car, Alicia informed Bums and I that Mel had gotten into a car accident. Further details weren't known at that time. So, when we arrived at Mel's residence, Mel still wasn't back. She had to go to record a police statement as a result of the accident and to the hospital to check on her injuries.

Mel came home not long after we arrived. Thank goodness that nothing serious has happened to her. What a birthday for her to remember. Poor Mel. Other than that unfortunate event, the party went fine. She had invited our school gang as well as other schoolmates. It was a fun party and I got to talked to friends whom I haven't talked to in a very long time even though we see each other in school. Mel, of course, was in a lot of discomfort from her injuries but it didn't really stop her from having a good time. What a champ she is!

Mel is one friend that I appreciate a lot. She and I share a lot of similar situations in life, though being different in personalities and all. She's always the one who talks practical sense into me for I sometimes have a fantasied view of life. Mel has a unique persona. She's a very straightforward person, so don't get offended by what she says really and she's a bubbly and happy-go-lucky girl. I've known her for 9 years and it's been amazing getting to know her. HAPPY BIRTHDAY GIRL!! You're the bomb and I love you! 

23 September 2012, Sunday:

In Brunei today and for the past week, people have been busy and getting ready for a big occasion. There's a royal wedding in the Sultanate today! One of Sultan's daughter, Princess Hafizah, is getting married. Though there's no wedding procession along the streets this time, we can still watch the wedding through TV. Wow.. I'm ever so amazed by how grand royal weddings in Brunei can be. It's really great. I've seen the repeat telecast of the wedding at night and  I can feel the excitement of the royal wedding.

This wedding has been full and rich in Bruneian rituals and culture, as like the many other weddings in the past. The items that I see in the Royal Regalia is used in the wedding and all. There's also so many people being invited to the royal wedding being held in the Royal Palace including foreign dignitaries. One thing that attracts me most is the outfit and the many blings. ;) 

You can clearly see how happy the Sultan is. When I looked at him through the TV, he's smiling from ear to ear, seeing his princess (like literally :P) get married. Ahh.. so heartwarming. SELAMAT PENGANTIN DIRAJA! :)

What an eventful weekend!

Hannah

Disclaimer: All photos aren't mine unless stated so. Credits to the original photo uploader.

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

Birthday Shout-out

I just want to give a Birthday Shout-out to 2 of my favourite twins in the world. They are my meimeis, my baby sisters from another mother. HAPPY 13TH BIRTHDAY to Miss C and Miss D!! :D Hehe.. just like I told you two a couple of days ago that no matter how old you girls are, you two will still be like my baby sisters. 

You are now embarking on a new journey into the world of "teens". Another year year older, another year wiser. I pray and hope that you two girls will continue to grow in the love of God. You guys are now teenagers, a new phase of life where you'll be curious about many things and will be searching for answers. Stay grounded and be firm. Remember that I'm always here for you guys no matter how far our distance may be. 

Have fun being a teenager. I will remember what I promised you guys. See you girls soon! Giving you two BIG HUGS AND KISSES when I see you. :P Be good! <3 xxx

I LOVE YOU GIRLS!

Cheche Hannah