Expectations?

This is my current Facebook profile pic...I love it coz it's filled with energy and joy. Seems like I've lost this kinda feeling for quite some time already...perhaps since August? Even one of my lecturer noticed and I thought it was funny when she asked if we wanted to hear something 'honest'. She said that when I first came back and started the semester in May, I looked fresh and energetic...as the semester went by...I looked all worn-out and tired. This is really true...haha!! No doubt...it had been quite a stressful semester...partly because of the tough subjects, partly also because I have high expectations of myself.

I've always set high expectations for myself and I believe that this attitude has brought me to where I am today. I read this from an article by Elizabeth J. Agnew: "Having high expectations will drive excellent results...having expectations gives us resilience and a library of life experience to grow with...we use expectations as a tool in striving to be our best by setting our bar high enough to create challenge." But, expectations can also lead to disappointment. As the saying goes, "The higher the expectations the greater the disappointment". Sometimes I wonder, wouldn't our lives be easier without them?

It is disappointing and de-motivating when hard work doesn't pay off and we'll start pondering what went wrong. In fact, we don't have to demand for answers all the time...all that matters is that we've given our best shot. The next thing to do is to get over it and try harder next time.

Life is filled with ups and downs...what doesn't kill us makes us stronger right? So the next time life throws you lemons, make lemonade out of it!!

Thoughts...

I'm holding my book right in front of me trying to study but my mind refuses to focus on what's in the book...so I decided to blog instead.

Final exam was over & result's gonna be out in 10 days' time. Our lecturers went through the exam questions during this week's revision classes and I kinda have some idea of where I did wrong. But I ain't expecting much coz after all, our exam are all essay and it can be very subjective. What matters most is that I've put in my effort and tried my best...so I'm keeping my fingers crossed and hoping for the best.

Throughout the last 4 months...I've had some thoughts about study life back here. Comparing a year ago and now...a lot of things seemed to have changed...or perhaps it's just that the way I look at things have changed.

Sometimes I think to myself...what would have happened or where will I be now if I hadn't gone to the States and deferred my studies for a year. Maybe I could have graduated, completed ACCA, went over to UK, start looking for job. Well...wasn't that the original plan? Don't get me wrong...I have no regrets at all with my decision of going over to the States...it was an opportunity of a lifetime for free...who would resist that?

I've indeed gained a lot from my experience in US...but at the same time...I've also left some things behind back here. I'm a very typical Leo and I enjoy achieving different things in life. 2 years ago, I was blessed to start off my Advanced Diploma really well. I managed to stand out a lil' more in our course of 420 students because I was given the opportunity to hold 2 positions and I was lucky that my results were a lil' above average. Even though it was challenging to juggle between studies and other responsibilities at times, I really treasured those learning experiences. I always remind myself that there's something to learn in everything that I do...no matter how shitty the job is...haha! :p

I believe that everyone will perform better when their efforts are being recognized. Same for me, being able to stand out had definitely boosted my confidence to keep striving higher. I really think that all these have helped me a lot and I'm thankful to all the people who have trusted me and gave me the confidence to do better.

Leaving the course last year meant that I had to leave all the things that I've achieved in the course behind and start all over again this year. Sometimes, it seems to be a lil' wasted but on the bright side, being free from all the extra responsibilities gave me more time to focus on my studies. It's also good to come back as 'nobody' and stand away from the limelight...it helped me to keep both feet on the ground. Besides, there are a lot more smart students in the course this year...being ordinary allowed me to step back, learn from 'em and keep trying harder.

Lately, I've been asking myself why did I choose to do Advanced Diploma in Tar college instead of getting a degree from a local uni...life would have been easier and less stressful. Most employers look for degree or professional degree holders when it comes to hiring. Even though our advanced diploma is equivalent or even tougher than accounting degree (bcoz itz exactly the same as ACCA), many big companies doesn't see it. And the Asian culture emphasizes a lot on CGPAs and qualification...how can we prove ourselves if we can't even get an interview? Plus...the school is pushing the par so high for our exam results in order to be comparable to ACCA standard...that means itz even harder to get good CGPA...can u believe that nobody out of 350 students from our course managed to get Distinction this year? It's tough to get good cgpa even for the best students who had put in so much effort. The advanced diploma qualification is already 'not-so-recognized'...plus a 'not-so-impressive' CGPA...what's the point of working our ass off when people don't even see it?! Well...life's unfair...what to do?

Girly Day-Out

Revision classes started this week so we're back to college again after a short break. Honestly, I know that I've gotta start revising but i'm still slacking...ahhh!! Our revision classes are gonna last for only 3 weeks and it's good that our timetable are not very hectic.

Debbie came over to Rachel's house these few days so 3 of us decided to hang out for a day. Rae set the dress code for this day out...whatelse other than dress for a 'girly' day out...haha!! I was designated as the guinea pig for these 2 'consultants'...haha...I guess they did quite a good job right?

3 pretty girls...haha!! *slapppp*

Lunch at Fish & Co. I was busy taking pictures (as usual!)

More pictures!! Rachel...rocker??

Tea break at the Chocolate Lounge.

I admit...I'm not a good walker...needed a break...pheww!

Spent most of the time looking for perfume. Almost 'pengsan' smelling so many different scents...like drug addicts...hehe!! :p

These 2 gals already looking for rings...*cough cough* (i'm helping them to hint the 2 gentlemen...haha!!)

We were a lil' crazy trying to be 'bugs'...whoops!

Phuket 2008...A Year Ago...

This is nothing new or recent...it is just an update that came late after a year. I finally had time to sort out the pictures and update about this trip on my blog. Today is the last day of my break so I decided to spend the entire day working on these...hehe!!

Went on this trip with my family from 21-24 May 2008, right before I started my 2nd year of Advanced Diploma. Well...I started and restarted my 2nd year twice...itz a lil' confusing...nvm.

21 May 2008:
It was my first time traveling on AirAsia. The journey from KL to Phuket took only 2 hours but I don't remember much about the flight coz I was sleeping most of the time.

Arrived Phuket at around 2pm and took a cab to the Andaman Beach Suites Hotel at Patong Beach

Camwhoring around our hotel

Our cozy hotel room

5 minutes walk from our hotel to the beach

Patong Beach...saw some buildings that were destroyed during the Tsunami

Started off with some 'normal' pics on the beach

Followed by some crazy jumping pics...haha!! =P

Had our dinner at this restaurant...Savoey (I don't know what it means)

Yummy yummy Thai cuisine!!

Along the way back to our hotel

22 May 2008:
Followed a one-day island hopping tour to Phi Phi Islands. I've been keeping the island hopping brochure for a long time but I have no idea where I kept it now...so I can't recall the names of all the islands that we went.

Boarded the speed boat at Boat Lagoon Marina

The speed boat was really fast...it was hard to take a nice pic coz my hair was juz flying all over the place like crazy.

Our first stop...Maya Bay. This was where the movie 'The Beach' by Leonardo DiCaprio was filmed.

Stopped by Monkey Beach and Viking Cave as well.

All these islands are soooo beautiful...the scenery was just amazing!

That blue shirt piggy can sleep anywhere even though the boat was so bouncy and rocking in the waves!

Lunch at Leamtong Beach

Bamboo Island...small little island with white sandy beaches...nice!!

Some activities on the island

Hahaha...some action shots for mom and dad!!

Nice...rocks??

Sunset from our hotel

Dinner time!!

Some night pics around the hotel

23 May 2008:
Spent the day in the hotel and enjoyed our last day walking around the town.

Chilling at the hotel in the morning

Along the way to the shopping mall

Stopped by for lunch...Tom Yum everywhere....yum yum!!

Jung Ceylon Shopping Mall

Nice landscaping at the mall

Posing on Patong Beach...again!

Took some pics of Patong's night life

That's all for our Phuket trip...only 3 days but it was fun. We planned this trip ourselves and it turned out great!!

After Exam...Singapore!!

Was out of town last few days travelling around Singapore with Rachel and Joshua. We planned this trip earlier on as our 'post-exam-destress-escapade', after weeks of being zombies studying for our exams. Even though Singapore is so near to Malaysia, this was only my 3rd time visiting Singapore...and the last time I was there was 10 years ago! Of course, this doesn't include my short 'visits' to Changi airport during my transits...hehe! This time we got our return airtickets for only RM95...so cheap right!!

It has been a long time since the last time I went to Sg and itz hard to imagine how much it has changed in 10 years. I've always admired Singapore's development...it is such a small country but everyone knows about this tiny little country in Asia. This was apparent especially when I was in the States, many people doesn't know where Malaysia is, so I just asked if they know where Thailand and Singapore is...and I'll say Malaysia is right in between this 2 countries...haha! One thing I like about this place is...everywhere is soooo clean...even the streets!

I've mentioned before that I love the cities...so the 3 days' trip was mainly about sightseeing...traveling around the city in MRT, buses, and walking...juz like the locals. Getting around was easy coz the public transports are so convenient and systematic. We also walked quite a good bit in 3 days that I had blisters on my foot and my leg still hurts now from all the walking. I've got some friends studying there but I only managed to meet up with ShuLing in NUS.

My 2 travel buddies...we looked so touristy.

Clarke Quay

The first picture that we took in this underground tunnel turned out really cool so we decided to fool around with more poses...hehe!!

Vivo City...jalan-jalan and had Ben & Jerry's ice cream!

This mall is at Harbour Front...overlooking Sentosa Island

Anderson Bridge

Fullerton Hotel

Rachel's uncle gave us a treat at this Thai food restaurant...yummy!

Suntec City Mall (there are sooo many malls in Sg!!)

Esplanade-Theaters On The Bay

This is just the beginning of our obsession with this 'Durian'...haha!!

Scenic night view of the city from the Esplanade

Of all places to go...we went for hiking in Singapore...I'm not kidding...haha!! The whole journey was about 2km...took us about 1.5 hour...luckily the weather was nice.

Henderson Waves

We took so much effort just to see this bridge...the architecture is pretty cool!

Forest Walk...another trail that we passed by during the hiking.

Some random pics of the city. There were still lotsa fencing along the roads coz F1 was just over last weekend.

Day view of the 'Durian', Fullerton Hotel, Merlion, and the Marina Sands Bay that is still under construction.

The Merlion: Mermaid + Lion = Fake Lion (Singa-Pura)

Went on the Singapore Flyer...too bad the stupid haze spoilt all the view. I wanted to go up around 7pm to get the day and night view...but we went earlier coz we thought we wanted to rush to the Night Safari (but we didn't go =.=)

I loveeee these pics!! I told ya...we're obsessed with the Durian...hahaha!!

I love the night view of the city

This trip was supposed to be meant for de-stress...but it seems we were even more tired because of all the walking. At least, we accomplished each of our 'missions' in 3 days. Our 1-week break is coming to an end...time to get back to college for revision classes. I'm so not in the mood to start my revision yet!!