my personal DNA

You are an Experiencer

Your inquisitive nature, imagination, and hands-on practicality make you an EXPERIENCER.
Although you have an active imagination, you also concern yourself with the functional elements of things.

You are willing to experiment to find things that work the most efficiently.
Getting stuck in certain habits is boring to you—you'd rather find new experiences.
Accordingly, experiences are more important to you than objects—you'd rather spend your money and energy on events and adventures than on material things.
You like to contemplate a lot of options before making a decision, and you're willing and able to consider a lot of different angles to problems.
You're open to suggestions, and often rely on others to assess the merit of those suggestions.
You have an ability to see the big picture—not just how things are, but how they could be—in a variety of situations.
You're not afraid to let your emotions guide you, and you're generally considerate of others' feelings as well.

If you want to be different:
Have faith that your imagination and practicality will complement each other, and lead to good decisions on your part.
Take the initiative in seeking things out—don't wait for them to come to you.

how you relate to others
You are Faithful
Your trust in others, respect for tradition, and caring nature make you FAITHFUL.
Maintaining a few intimate relationships is more important to you than knowing a lot of people, and you share a lot with your close friends.
Those who have managed to get close to you value your camaraderie, and they know that they can trust you with anything; you're a good listener.
While you can usually see several sides of an argument, you often have a strong opinion as to which side is correct—the order of things is usually clear to you.
Your perspective on the world is based on careful observation, and you know a lot about how people feel in—and react to—many situations.
Your exploration of others' feelings has led you to believe that although people generally act appropriately, having clear social rules is very important to a functional society.
Time alone for reflection is important to you—you are introspective and aware of your own feelings.
Faithful is as faithful does—you expect those with whom you are close to be loyal to you, and you take betrayal of your trust very seriously.

If you want to be different:
Some of the alternate perspectives that you understand may have more value than you give them credit for—keep in mind that right and wrong aren't always so clear-cut.
While you are able to reap the benefits of your time alone, and may see interacting with a lot of people as more tiring than exciting, remember that there is a lot to be learned from experiencing things and not just reflecting on them.

why? 我心中的呐喊

Why do i do the same mistakes again and again? have i got no self control at all?

why can't i just tell myself that i will be more confident with myself?

why must i make people's life more miserable?

how???

i am frustrated... i wanna get out of this rut... i dont want to continue to be in this state of self pity... worthlessness... i want to be confident..

i told myself to be positive.... but why do i fall back again to the grey mode, so fast?

i need to do something, its ruining myself, it's ruining my relationship with ppl around me.... i need to do something before it's too late!!!

Do you believe in God?

Am i spiritual? or... am i spiritual enough?

i suppose sometimes, when i am calmer, i am more aware of the surroundings, when i am neutral, i am spiritual.

there are times, when i am feeling stressed, uneasy, easily irritated, upset for minor reasons... i think about negative things... that is when the spirituality in me is nowhere to be found...

Final med is a tough year... and time and time again i lose my spiritual side... (i think) as a result, the frequency of 'unhappy events' are higher as compared to previous years... today, i met Ben, he is like one of our tutor in the CSI, he was reminding me that its very important for us to keep a strong sense of spirituality deep within us, and also to believe in god in times of hardships...he asked me, "Do you believe in the powerful one up there? He is always beside you to help you..."

I replied, "yes, of course... and i do believe that he takes many forms to remind us/take care of us... as an example, he sends people to help us/ take care of us. That is how he reaches us.. and i believe, within everyone of us, there is a god, to lead us the way in our lives....hmm, perhaps he sent u to me today to remind me, to be strong inside!" :)

Going back to my 'fluctuating spirituality', i believe that is a sign that i have not trained my mind well enough... as a result of lack of 'spiritual exercise', i let myself go astray with negative thoughts many times a day... as a result, i frequently think of giving up when things get tough, i get depressed when things do not turn out as planned, i get mad/angry when i could not get things done in time, i feel lousy, and ugly, sometimes a little stupid... all of these are good indicators, signifying that i need to be more alert n keep more in touch with my spiritual side.

I would like to end this post with a shout out (taken from my friend, Alicia's facebook shoutout...

"No other person can make you feel beautiful. You give all these things to yourself by growing as a person and changing the way to talk to yourself."

Enough said, cili padi, stay strong...you can make things happen! :)

Cinderella and the Med Ball

Don't laugh at me, but i do have to admit that i have had a lot of 'magical' thoughts since i was a young girl... one of the fairy tales that lives in me indefinitely, is the story of Cinderella...

I have always dreamed about how it will be like to dress up for a night and to attend a ball, meeting the prince charming there, dance together and have an unforgettable night.

My 'dream came true' last friday, 20th November 2009 was the first time i attended a ball. It was a medical faculty ball organised by UCC (University College Cork).

Although things weren't as fancy as what i imagined... but it turned out to be quite good. This is a night, which i will never forget. Ps: Thanks Mr. Lim ;)

~ Carpe Diem : Cherish the moment ~

Dare to fly, Little Dandelion!

It was Hong Tak's previous visit to Galway. Due to excessive boredom from too much of studying, he suggested 'out of the blue' that we watch an episode of Doraemon (the blue, round, earless robotic cat, pictured below) on the internet. I believe many of us had at least read the Doraemon comic or watched the cartoon once in our lifetime, during childhood.

(Doraemon {{fairuse}} ©[http://www.fujiko-pro.co.jp/ Fujiko-Pro], [http://www.shogakukan.co.jp/ Shogakukan] and [http://www.tv-asahi.co.jp/ TV Asahi].)

I have to admit that have i watched quite a great deal of Doraemon cartoons and comic. However, i could hardly recall vividly, any of the stories depicted (poor memory..LOL) .... except for a story i read in one of the comics during my primary school period. It was about the story of Nobita following the life of a dandelion.

Hmm.... the synopsis of the story goes like this:

One fine day, Nobita and Doraemon was cleaning up the room. Nobita spotted a plant (the dandelion) growing inside his empty glass aquarium. He planned to throw the plant away but was stopped by Doraemon... Anyway, Doraemon, as usual, introduced a very cool piece of tool to Nobita, and thus he was able to 'interact' with and 'befriended' the dandelion. Nobita became propective and curious about the plant, observing it day by day, until the day it evolved into a beautiful, flower head covered with many 'baby' parachutes.

Then the time came when the wind came blowing and the 'babies' took flight with the strong wind, spinning courageously in the air, leaving their 'beloved mother' behind, to pursue their destiny while exploring the world around them. The first gush of wind brought all of the baby dandelions away, except for one tiny little 'baby', very attached and very reluctant to leave its mother.

"I'm afraid!!! I don't want to leave you, mother! I want to stay here with you..." the young dandelion cried.

"Don't be afraid, my dear child. You have to be strong, you have to be brave. You should join your brothers and sisters. Look! They are all flying happily in the air, exploring the beautiful world."
"But I don't want to leave you, I feel safe here. I'm afraid to go away all by myself!", the young one protested.

"My dear child, before I settled here, I was once young like you. I join my brothers and sisters, we left our mother (your grandmother) beside the train station, we flew bravely in the air, and then we parted and took our own journey. I went to many different place, i saw the most beautiful sights on earth....and at night, when it was cold and lonely, I would settle down and rest on top of the roof, accompanied by the bright, beautiful 'Grandma Moon'. Then for my final destination, I settled in a glass aquarium in Nobita's room. And now i am happy to have you here."

"Wow.... mother, your experience was really exciting. After listening to your story, I am not afraid anymore! When the next gush of wind comes, I will be brave and take flight, to explore the beautiful world outside!" exclaimed the young one.

Within seconds, another gush of strong wind came by, the young dandelion spunned gracefully in the sky, happily bidding farewell to its mother....

Of course, Nobita followed the whole process of the dandelion's life. He then summed up enough courage to join the Big bully Giant and and smug boy (Shinyu) in a baseball game which he is always afraid to join.

-The End-

Anyone interested in watching the animation of the story? Click on the link below:
http://www.tudou.com/programs/view/j9-ZFgZz-_w/

The retold story may not be 100% accurate, but that is the gist i think is valuable to share. I find this story, simple, yet deeply inspiring and touching. It unfolded many lessons and facts of life.

I could still remember back in the time where i first settled down at Taylor's College Subang Jaya, i was very reluctant and afraid to leave my coccoon. Furthermore, to leave the accountancy course in matriculation and pursue medicine in KL was an abrupt decision i made on the day i left. I cried, i was unsure of the future, i felt helpless.

Mummy and daddy called to check if i was settling well. I could not recall the exact conversation but there was a sentence which still rings in my head, everytime i feel afraid (even until now). Mummy said, "Li Liang, i know you are a very strong girl and you will be OK. We (everyone at home) will always be here for you."

Until now, her words still come back to me, when the going gets tough. That is how i motivate and reassure myself when i feel afraid at this foreign land. I think in a way, it has evolved into an inner motto i constantly have in my mind when things get really challenging. I think daddy and mummy has done a great deal to provide a very secure base for us all, independent and strong enough to pursue the challenges in our life, yet having a very safe haven to turn to when we needed the extra support. Thank you :)

I have not really discussed much about the lessons i learnt from the story i shared above. Perhaps my dear readers, would you reflect and ponder what the little plant in the story has taught us all?

The Five Love Languages

I was told by a friend last week, that the expression of love, or known as the 'love languages' comes in 5 different forms..it may differ for every individual in terms of preference of using and receiving the type of love language.. i was curious and started to look for more clues with regards to this matter, and i found these:

Words of affirmation
Quality time
Receiving gifts
Acts of Service
Physical Touch

Those listed above are the five major types of love languages.
I think the headings are pretty much self-explanatory. I know, they may seem very 'cliche', but common things being common, common things are often neglected and taken for granted.

In my opinion, for every relationship, it takes a combination of all of them to ensure an effective communication. It is actually easy to achieve all of the above, what we need is just a little bit more of mindfulness and empathy towards the people who we care about. Hence, as different independent beings as we are, it is not impossible if the other person prefers a different type of love language as us... should we pay more attention to their needs?

Or do we just express our care using the language that we are comfortable using and expect that the other party would somehow be a 'psychic' and feel it?

悄悄地，他走了。。。

他走了。

在12月31日的那个下午，他放下了一切，离开我们，离开这充满喜怒哀乐的世界。

阿公，希望你现在过得较好。我会努力，做个有用的人，尽力照顾家里的每个人。