My Special Friend.

My weekdays have always been a bore. Its waking up at 6.30AM, take my shower, dress up, gobble some cookies into my stomach and drive to the train station to catch the next train to work. I will then "slog" the whole day, and when 6.30 comes, catch the next bus to the train station and head home. Oh, of course, in between my working hours, I slot in some happy moments which I get to share with my special someone. Other than that, and lunch hour, It was a bore!

However, Every single day, at 7PM sharp, after arriving at the station for the inter exchange of another train, my mood immediately changed for the better. Here's a very simple reason why...

At the Masjid Jamek station, right at the entrance of Putra LRT, there will be this one, middle-aged guy selling chips by the roadside. Passer-bys usually just walk past him, either with their face looking down or they put on a face as though they're in a hurry. For goodness sake - Its 7PM, you're heading home!

You see, this guy has no legs. He lost both his legs, and he is wheelchair-bound. For a disabled person to come out in public, working so hard for a living should put us all, able-bodied people to shame! How many times in a day have we constantly complain on our own hardship when in actual fact, it bears not the slightest comparison to what this young man in wheelchair is going through?

I have to be honest, I never noticed him either during my first two days catching the train. It was not until one day, when I noticed that he fell down from his wheel-chair and no one came to his aid. Everyone stopped in their track; and just starred. I did not know what came over me, but I walked forward and offered one of my hands to him. He starred at me, and I saw tears in his eyes. At that moment, something deep within me, the core of me, was so badly shaken and I felt ashame of myself - of the times I walked past this exact location and yet I failed to notice him.

From that day onward, walking past that train station was never the same for me anymore. There would be this one young man shouting *kerepek! Kerepek!* waiting for me.. Each day, he would offer me a brand new pack of chips, which I make it a point to pay him for with RM2. To him, I may be one of the friendly ones, but to me, he taught me the true value of being thankful. So today, at 7PM sharp, I shall stand in that exact location with my special friend, talking about the weather and how his day went. Always wearing his huge happy grin, he is indeed a very special friend, my "Abang Kerepek" =)

A night of Bonding, Beer, Salsa, and Mercedes.

Two of my cousins have been here at Kuala Lumpur for goodness knows how long. Yet, we never seemed to make any plans to meet up and catch up on our lives. That particular Friday though, Michele, one of them, called me and suggested a night out drinking, since we havent met for some time ever since she went to Sarawak for her Practical Stint as an up and coming Architect.

After work that evening, I was a little tired and shamefully, i had this thought of putting the whole plan off, but when I heard how earnest Michele was, i decided to go ahead with it all. So at 10PM that evening, i drove from my house. Upon entering the highway, i was tail-gated by a group of 5 males in a car. BOY! I totally freaked out! Rummaging for my cell phone i immediately gave my boyfriend a call. Somehow, his voice always manages to calm me down. Right after that i got off the highway and slipped in between cars as there was a massive traffic jam. For once, I was thankful for the jam! So yeah, at that moment, i was cussing in my mind on how i should not go out that evening, etc.

When i picked up my cousins though... Everything changes. I realised then, how much i miss our younger days. How we would just sit on my car porch and talk about guys, funny stories and share secrets gossips. So instead of our initial plan to go dancing, we choosed a quiet lounge in the corner of Jalan Raja Chulan called Paradisso, ordered two buckets of beer, with good salsa music and all, we just talked, chatted and had a really really great time!

Surprisingly, even after not meeting up with them for a long time, they seemed to be the very people I can talk about my problems to and not feel as though I'm being judged. Along the way, we met a dance instructor, Allie, who then invited us to dance Salsa (Which none of us know how to!). In the end, Allie made us promise to learn from him, and give it a shot one day. We agreed. :D

As usual, being the shutter-bug that I am, I never leave my house without my trusted Camera in tow! ;) Here are a few shots of us having a good time! Let me start by introducing the main celebrities of the evening.

This is Michele. We were born in the same year, and she's an up and coming Architect to be (=

This is Juliet, Michele's Sister.

Meet Violet, Juliet's colleague.

And then, there's me - Yours Truly ;)
So the evening carried on with us taking MORE pictures, and getting more beers into our slim bellies (ehem. I'd like to think that way) and eventually, before the night ends, we had our ultimate groupie snap shot, which turned out preddy lovely!
If you think our night and fun ended there, maybe you should think again. The best time we had was actually after Paradisso, when we were walking to my car! Right outside of Paradisso, there is this infamous REALLY humungous tree. What else? I started posing for pictures. ;p There were passer bys who actually stopped and looked at 4 crazy girls giggling and having fun while clicking away at my trusted ol' Camera, whom I'd like to name my Fernando. =))

Now, here's the catch. The humungous tree, and passer bys laughing at us? That wasn't the funniest thing of the night. We eventually had to walk down the hill over the curb to my car and we spotted a nice black comfy Merc. (Or so i think) . I shall not describe any further, and just leave you with some images to decipher this not so misterious mystery. So, Until us cousins come together, with Salsa music and all, That shall keep me smiling till we meet again.

My Mantra - by Kuya Martin

I have always loved the beach – for the simple fact that it brings me near the ocean. The purpose of going to the beach, for me, is not the beach itself but to be near the water. Sandy beach, rocky beach…it makes no difference. I love the ocean.

It is the ocean, not the beach, that is symbolic of my life. It is the rhythmic waves, cyclic and steady – like a heart beat or a breath – that are my mantra. Of course waves are waves – they are turbulent and rocky, they can be destructive – but it is turbulence that is controlled and measured…an aspiring lesson to learn.

One of my favorite beaches is Ruggles Beach, in Newport, Rhode Island at the end of Ruggles Avenue. It’s a very small beach – and there are a lot of rocks – so it’s not very popular with the tourists – that’s perfectly fine with me. There is next to no sand – instead there are small pebbles. When the waves come in and recede, they push and pull the pebbles along with them. It makes a soothing sound like falling rain…but without the turbulence of the waves, there would be no sound.

p/s: This entree was written by a very special person, my Kuya Martin from HumanPets. So simple, yet symbolic in nature. Simplicity at its best. Thanks kuya. You're loved and adored by me. Here's a snapshot of my Kuya Martin in his Military Suit. (= Hunky! hehe.

Raju Bear.

Today, I was walking around, doing some Gifts shopping for one of the client's son's birthday.. Walking through the bear department was an eye sore! i h.a.t.e.d bears. That was until, one caught my eye.

First look at it, it instantly reminded me of a special someone. Why? Just cause the bear has a really adorable somewhat distorted look to it. Its so adorably Fugly that i LOVE it instantly! So i named it Raju Bear. ^.^

I'm ME.

I saw this post, on one of my friend Carol's personal page, and I really liked it. With her permission,I'm posting this on my blog for whoever that comes along. ü

Be loving to those who love you.

Be loving to those who do not love you, and they may change.

Be strong enough to face the world each day.

Be weak enough to know you cannot do everything alone.

Be generous to those who need your help.

Be frugal with what you need yourself.

Be wise enough to know that you do not know everything.

Be foolish enough to believe in miracles.

Be willing to share your joys.

Be willing to share the sorrows of others.

Be a leader when you see a path of others that have been missed.

Be a follower when you are shrouded in the midst of uncertainty.

Be the first to congratulate an opponent who succeeds.

Be the last to criticize a colleague who fails.

Be sure where your next step will fall, so that you will not stumble.

Be sure of your final destination, in case you are going to the wrong way.

Above all, be sure of yourself and BE yourself.

ü

A Peek into my Sunday

So yeah, Today is a Sunday. Its Church day. I had a fairly exciting day. Its been approximately about 10 months since I've moved to Kuala Lumpur, yet there have been many places that I've never been to. Since I woke up in a cheery mood today, I decided to go church hopping! ^.^This time though, I picked St. John's church! I've heard a lot about it, mainly from my Filipino mom, because apparently, there's plenty of Filipino who goes to St John.

Upon Arrival, my word! Its like a whole re-enactment of Jesus overturning the tables in the house of Lord in Jerusalem. There were SO many hawker stalls selling food, clothes and merchandises, all of which are mainly Filipino products. I was tempted to try some Filipino delicacies that I've come to love and miss so much, but i restrained myself. I have a mass to go to! Reluctantly, i brought back my focus on attending mass.

The moment i stepped into the church, I was immediately enthralled by the structures and architectures of the ancient church. Its breathtakingly beautiful. I was painstakingly aware that I was being stared at by the local church-goer because frankly, I was blown away by the sight of St. John's Church. It gave me this warm cozy feeling of my hometown's church where I grew up at and have been singing faithfully for the past 15 years. Being the shutter bug that I am, mycamera instantly swing into action. Here is a collage i made of some photos taken of the church

Right after Mass ended at 9.15AM, I decided to keep evangelizing. As some of you may have known by now, when I'm in the mood to do something, I make sure i had a real good time with it! So i decided to hop onto the train.. and evangelize to KLCC shopping centre (Yeap!i've never been there!! >.< ) Along the way, I took some photos of the journey of my train ride just for kicks. Its also for my non-Malaysian friends, so they'll know how public transports are like over here at Malaysia ^.^ First Pit stop: Putra LRT train station. I had to walk through an air conditionned thats adjoined to KLCC shopping mall. This is how it looked like, projecting from the image of my camera lenses.Then, I went up,up, up on the escalator... Looking for FOOD! Didn't have breakfast, and it's nearly 12. Naturally, being a glutton that I am, I was famished! *Stomach growling* The fact that i've never been there, and that the place was humungously huge, wasn't doing me any favour! >.<

And then... Taa daaa.... Sign boards! I love Sign boards. They've always been a life saver. I'm a muddle headed clumsy little thing, and I tend to get lost most of the time, so I've grown to be very attached to my new-found friend - Mr Sign boards. ^.~
After walking around for about 30 Minutes, i settled for some local Chicken rice. By then, I was soooooo hungry, I couldnt Care less about other food! :D It does look delicious Doesn't it? i'm hungry yet again, even just typing about it. i took my own sweet time devouring all these, and blessed with a full stomach, i made my way around the mall, and then took the same train back home. What an eventful Sunday. i should do this more. Way more often.