Sigh of relief

Am adjusting my body clock to allow sleep at nights again. Even though its only been 4 days of 10pm to 6am, I'm more awake at midnight than I have ever been.

Have just realised that Dec 13 is fast approaching....leaving from Manchester at 1330, arriving Dubai 0025 on the 14th, leaving Dubai 0955 and arriving at KLIA at 2100 on the 14th.

Can't wait. Well, actually I can. It does feel weird, coming back so soon after leaving in the summer. Feels wrong somehow:-) However, this does mean I'll get to spend a summer in the UK for a change.

Application forms for Foundation Year 1 jobs have been sent off. First part's over for now, so just waiting to hear whether my first choice will accept me or not. While I was completing the form, the thought did cross my mind: wouldn't it be fun to try a year out in a different part of the UK and escape the dreariness and Scousi-ness of Liverpool (!) ?

Couldn't really justify doing that just for a change of scene however, so my first choice was Merseyside. Though revisiting Plymouth, or even Cambridge did sound tempting.

My laptop is slowing down, but did manage to create a farewell video/slideshow for Mathew and Sharon Tan recently. They said goodbye to those of us left behind, and departed for the green pastures, the land of opportunity to us Malaysians that is Singapore.

Though I'm not big on news back home, the recent BERSIH rally managed to reach even my out-of-tune-to-anything-political ears. While I'm not sure of the ins and outs of the matter, I feel the response to the rally was undeservedly overboard. Fears probably ran high on seeing the size of the response, hence the knee-jerk reactions. What I found amusing, like a number of other bloggers, was the Information Minister's blanket comment on all bloggers. Basically, he lumped all blogs together as rubbish. I suppose it is human nature to denounce anything beyond our control. Having said that, my knee-jerk reaction would've probably been to pin the blame on someone else too :-)

Waking up early on Sundays recently....the North England Easter Conference 2008 planning meetings take place then. The theme being 'Cracking Concrete', a suitable poster and various design logos need designing, involving the student fellowship. Unfortunately (!) Ed seems to get most of the designing work as he's the only one volunteering with photoshop experience. Maybe we should start doing photoshop basics for the students...

Colossians and 1 Tim recently. Finished 1,2 Samuel, bits of which I might share tmrw at the core group meet. We need direction, otherwise, as Jin says (okla, the Bible too), the battle is lost. (ok he didn't put it in such grandiose terms).

"Do all that you have in mind. Go ahead; I am with you heart and soul."
- King David's armor-bearer,
minutes before a crazy assault on a fortified position by 2 men, and 1 sword between them.

Cats

Having just found out that Cats the musical is based on the book by T.S. Eliot (incidentally the only poetry book I've read from start to finish), and having fond memories of the book, I found myself standing outside the Empire Theatre on a cold Monday evening waiting for the rest of the posse to arrive.


The Empire was packed; buses discharged their motley crew of kids and tourists, while the regular theatre-goers milled around in the reception. As soon as everyone arrived, we headed for our seats, on the 1st floor (or is it gallery?) A much better view than what I was treated to during My Fair Lady a year ago.


The musical itself revolves around a number of different types of cats as portrayed by T.S. Eliot in his poetry. For the purposes of a musical, the narrative is tied together by the main group of cats preparing for their ball, namely the Jellicle Cats.

Trying my best to recall the lines from the book, I managed to follow most of the early scenes, after which time our ears became accustomed to following most of the dialogue. Not that it really mattered, as the actors/actresses playing the various cats ( in appropriately skin-tight feline costumes and whiskers) did a great job in fleshing out various characters.

And they were all there: Skimbleshanks the Railway Cat, Rum Tum Tugger (complete with suggestive hip-thrusts and tail swinging), Bustopher Jones, the Cat About Town, Growltiger the Pirate and Mungojerrie/Rumpelteazer the Cat burglars. Accompanied by a score which was dominated by the iconic melody of 'Memory' and the theme of the Jellicle Cats, this was a treat to watch.

Personally I was looking forward to the segment on McCavity the Mystery Cat, who was one of my favourites from the book. However I have to say I particularly enjoyed the segment on Gus the Theatre Cat, which was both moving, epic and played with a straightforward melody that left the audience focussing on every word. Also, we were treated to The Awful Battle of The Pekes and The Pollicles, With Some Account of The Pugs and The Poms, and The Intervention of The Great Rumpuscat, which apparently does not get performed at every screening due to time contraints.


I think all of us enjoyed it. Esther, who apparently is a bit of a theatre buff, left planning dances and other cat-themed ideas for the medical school Smoker, and even Fas, condescended to call it 'interesting'.

So, all in all, Cats the musical - I enjoyed it no end, and still find myself humming tunes from Magical Mr. Mistoffelees.

Signage

Good signs sell stuff.

Re: I Find 2

Somehow, looking back, I don't think I have the right to complain to be honest. Cos if I'm honest with myself, I've done the same thing far too often as well.

Instead of allowing myself to get bogged down with people, expectations etc etc, I should keep faith with my Provider.

He knew what it was like to have his closest fail him in his time of need.

He knows.

Wales

What began as an idea involving a few students, ended up in a 7-person trip to the greater part of lesser-populated Wales. Lena having gotten plans from her SHO in hospital, we set off in a 8-seater Volkswagen Transporter, with Raymond at the wheel.


Little did we know how grateful we'd be to the car and its GPS in the days to come.

Llandudno

First stop was a sleepy town called Llandudno, where Jack asked a local guy at a fishing tackle shop where good food could be had. "King's Head", he answered.

One of the better food pics

We headed off to Snowdonia in the afternoon, and missed our bunkhouse by miles. It was raining, which made navigating the hilly roads more interesting. What was more interesting was that the only place to buy groceries after 6 in the whole area of Snowdonia was a SPAR a few miles away from our bunkhouse.

Raymond pondering the Yes No questions in the bunkhouse

Having loaded up with pork belly, wine, noodles, cider and beer, we proceeded to dinner at the Twy-n-Coed which apparently meant 'in the forest'. The award-winning pork and chilli sausages and the lamb chops glazed with mint and apple were worthy of note.


After a late night, Snowdon was the next order of the morning...Jack having recommended the train ride up for the views.

Hp's mum, CMing and Lena in the train. CMing looks especially enthusiastic

Usual mountain antics ensued, more incriminating photos exist on my hard drive.The Black Lake in the mountainsCMing throwing Jack's jacket over

The rest of the track3 quarters of the way up
Cleaning my frisbee by the river.

The train ride was pretty long, 45 minutes each way; Raymond entertaining us with showing off his baby-pacifying skills on the way down. I got a frisbee about this time, which provided us much entertainment for the rest of the trip.

You can't see it here, but its a massive mixed grill for GBP 5

Then it was a quick lunch (Pete's Eats, which came recommended to us multiple times) at nearby Llanberis, before a 8-hour trip to our next destination; a posh B&B at the village of Llangennith in Swansea called (incidentally) the King's Head. Lena was at the wheel.

Things went sound as a bell until about 7pm when we realised that the GPS was leading us through country roads. It was dark by now, and the road kept getting narrower until there was barely enough space for one car to travel. Hedges on both sides meant we could only see ahead. And periodic mist and fog billowed around. CMing took the opportunity to indulge in brief Blair Witch-esque monologues on Jack's Sony while the driver, Raymond by this time, tried his best to stop us ending up in a ditch.

Posh B&B; just the thing after a long drive.

King's Head was worth the wait though. As we stumbled into our rooms, complete with ensuite bathrooms, bathtubs, showers, flat-screen tvs and beds with sheets and covers warmed by heating from under the floor, we felt the asking price of 25GBP per night was a steal. Hot choc, coffee, tea and biscuits on the table plus a hot breakfast the next day meant we started off well prepared for the day.

The girls (ladies?) at b'fast

Fact: Catherine Zeta-Jones was born in Swansea, Wales.

Surfing was on the cards but apparently the season was over. So our possible Baywatch antics were limited to a bit of frisbee throwing at the beach of Rhossili Bay.

Surfing shop

Wormhead Bay was next. With tall cliffs and an island that you could walk out to at low tide, it seemed promising. However the path across proved to be rocky and so we contented ourselves with taking photos and gazing wistfully across before leaving.

Wormhead Bay
The walk along the cliffs
The merry men and women
Quite a long way down

I had to climb down to take this one.
Peeping through the clouds
You can walk through at low tide
Piggyback frisbee

Another long drive brought us to Black Mountain Caravans, where we would be spending our last night.

Typical countryside drive

The journey to dinner was another one through country roads, which we were all getting used to by now. The journey reminded me of the legend of spectral hounds prowling the lonely roads of England at night.

King's Head pub

Dinner was at another pub mysteriously also called the King's Head. I think it must be a franchise. Much was made out of the dish called Welsh faggots, which consisted of the innards of a pig cooked in ale and served in two large mounds, very rich indeed.

Huddling up to a heater with a hot drink in the morning

Getting b'fast done. Siew yuk no less..

Sleeping arrangements were made, where all of us crammed into the living room of the caravan to share the electric fire. It was getting cold now, and the t-shirts and scarf that I'd brought were beginning to tell me in no uncertain terms that I was going to end the trip with either a sore throat or a runny nose.

GBP 100 to touch a sheep? Worth a try...

Not as easy as it looks..

On the final day we took stock. Realising that up to now, the most strenous thing we'd done was trying not to fall asleep in the car after a heavy meal, we determined to do at least one ACTIVITY before setting off for home. A choice was made; horse-riding or canoeing. By means of a clever ploy and misgivings on CMing's behalf about horse-riding with an instructor, we called at the canoeing place at Glasbury at lunchtime.


In about half an hour, we were on the river. Our mission: to pull 5 miles downriver to a landing-place just after a bridge where we would be picked up. We were told there would be difficulties:

Briefing includes aerial photos

Gravel on the left and a pile of stones in the middle of the river meant we needed to take a sharp left turn followed by a sharp right to avoid the shallow part of the river that cut into another farmer's land.


Boulders and a cottage on the left meant we were to stick to right of the river as there was a weir to avoid.

Watch out for the shallow bits, stick close to the middle, and if we were about to capsize, lean towards land.

Taking a break

We gamely refused an instructor, reasoning we could all swim. Except for Jack, but he had a PADI diving license anyway.

Skipping stones

The weir

CMing and Raymond crossing in good style

Tired but happy, we packed up and impulsively decided to end our trip with a journey to Cardiff for dinner, where I accidentally caused HP's mum to end up with a burnt hand.


The drive back to Liverpool was a long one, made longer by the fact that the A40 was undergoing roadworks. forcing us to take yet another detour through country roads. This time, and this time only, we relied on yellow 'Road detour' signs to guide our way, instead of the GPS, whom by now we suspected of being programmed to lead us through country roads in the first place.

Arrived back home at 3am, and hit the sack not long after.

A good trip

* Sorry for the dubious quality of the photos here. All were taken with a Samsung E900 2MP camera. I'm still unsure what caused the blue tinge in most of the photos.

I Find 2

I get very frustrated when I find people don't meet my expectations of them.

This is and has been an ongoing problem for me, one that I've only since begun to realise. It's also the source of a lot of my frustration and stress in the past, particularly when leading.

I think I have a great idea of how the outcome should be, and once that doesn't materialize, I revert to a self-pity mode, where everyone else is the bad guy and I'm all-there-where's-everyone-else-why-arent-people-seeing-things-similarly.

I find its ultimately to the detriment of the ongoing process, and its discouraging to others as well as myself.

I Find

That my style of writing on this blog seems to mimic blogs I like to read.


Thank goodness CMing is no longer updating.

(how's that for spontaneity?)

The bulb has burst

I'm sure there's a more technical term to it, but then I'm only a medical student.

Someone asked me some good questions today. Among them was 'I am unsure about your intentions.' Which in itself isn't a question, as the more astute among you would have noticed. Nevertheless it gave me an opportunity to sit back and take stock. For all of half a minute, as she was still waiting for an answer.

I'd better explain.

Somewhere along the way, I managed to get coerced into leading in some capacity, the university students who come to Liverpool Chinese Gospel Church every Friday. A student leader, if you will. And the hows and whys have yet to be fully understood, never mind revealed. Actually to be fair, it wasn't a coercion, more of a quick decision, something I'll probably live to regret.

Hence the question. By one of the former leaders no less. Which sort of put me on the spot. And as all clinical examiners/consultants in Liverpool who've ever examined me before know, JLEH is not at his best when being put on the spot.

I'll save my answer for another post, my mind being bothered at the moment by the intermittent collapse of my corkboard. Apparently 9 slabs of blu-tack is not sufficient to hold a corkboard slightly over twice the width of my laptop on my wall without falling at least once a fortnight.


Had the manchester people over for the weekend. House cleaning was therefore postponed to monday and late sunday night. A slow start to the week.


I'm really going to have to start thinking seriously about where I'll be applying for house jobs next year. An open day in hospital tmrw, and a lecture on CV-writing in the afternoon...My CV is as yet, non-existent. Which just goes to show how unprepared I am for anything.

How in the wide world are 6 people going to go for a road trip in Wales exactly 1 week from now without having prepared in the slightest will be probably the subject of a couple of posts from this. When you look at the photos, in fact, all the photos from now on, will be taken by a Samsung E900 2MP mobile phone. Any complaints about how pixelated/grainy/underexposed/shaky the photos look, will hopefully reach the ears of the person(s) in possession of a stolen Pentax Optio somewhere in Msia (or maybe even abroad, with the wonder that is eBay).


Would upload photos of the past few days, but its a late night as it is.

Plugs

A couple of plugs for anyone who pops by:


I-Bridge Camp 2007



Have you just graduated and are looking for some directions? Or perhaps you've worked for a number of years, but yet find the transition from studying life to the working life still a challenge, a gap that leaves many things to be desired. Or maybe you've lost the luster that once was in your Christian walk, whereby the once close fellowship and passion for Christ has been replaced by an emptiness and meaningless pursuit of career.

If so, consider joining us at I-Bridge Camp 2007 this year, from October 13th to 16th, http://www.ibridge.com.my. Located in the scenic Cameron Highlands, the refreshing, fun and invigorating camp will definitely make an impact on your life. 4 days 3 nights or 3 days 2 nights (depending on your leave), we're all young, working graduates, just like you. Do hurry and sign up fast as the limited places are going fast!

I-bridge Camp is organised by I-bridge, a part of Graduates Christian Fellowship, an interdenominational Christian Organisation, part of NECF.

Thank you!

p/s: please help us post/forward this to your friends.



Beautiful Lunar Landscape's music video preview.


They play what I can only describe as dark, mysterious music.

Not for smooth pop/rock lovers, but worth a recommend as they are different from what normally floods the scene these days. Plus, Ben is a nice guy who kept his promise to send me an EP, so I feel obliged to promote his music:-)

The middle of the week

A good post on sex. What say you?

Am praying for a group of people who are willing to share a dream and lives towards building a community of God-fearing uni students in Liverpool.

Meeting Barrow people at a house party Thurs. Should be fun catching up.

Met quite a number of fresher's at the fair yday. Talked to Bruneians, Indons, MsianS, Singaporeans. Made contact with people from Christian Union hall groups whom I haven't seen for a year. A brief moment of 'hey you look familiar' before launching into catch-up speak.

Hoping to start frisbee again on Sat mornings...this week if the weather holds up.

Weekend

Tried a new restaurant with Jack and HP. With a neutral name 'The Quarter', it seems to serve mainly pastas and pizzas. The Greek bread and dressing is an anomaly we think. Nice place, however.


Saw this in a shop on Bold Street. Thought it was mildly amusing.


Said goodbye to a couple of Malaysians from JMU (John Moores University) who are flying back to Malaysia today. Welcomed new faces too...student transition happening all over again.


An answer to a prayer breathed in between gasps of breath. I was lost coming back from seeing a friend in halls, and the sky was cloudy. An hour later, it rained. And I took the photo from the comfort of my room. Nice.

Musings

It's been a while since I've taken a step of faith.

A baby step, but one nevertheless.

While it's refreshingly different now, I anticipate an overwhelming impulse to panic and rely on my abilities, others, anything but God.

Maybe, maybe.

But for now, I'm enjoying the ride.

Potshots

Thought this was funny.
Also,
How do polar bears disguise themselves?



They cover their noses!