Disclaimer: I typed this out yesterday on New Year’s Eve. And the internet connection only came back a couple of hours ago that’s why I’m posting this up kinda late. Haha. Anyway it’s New Year today. Happy New Year to whoever’s reading this. Embrace yourself with all the positive vibes and have a great 2015.
Greetings earthlings! There are only a couple of hours left in 2014 and in this post I would like to summarize my 2014. Currently typing this out in Microsoft Word cause no internet connection in my hostel. LOL. I’ve been thinking about the things that have happened to me this year the past few days so that I could write this post. I’ll be in Uni for at least 4 years and every year during this period of time, its finals. Haha. So I’ve never really celebrated the New Year when I’m in Uni. Okay lah, in fact I’ve never really celebrated New Year’s in any sort of way before. I’m always at home and when the clock strikes 12AM, I’ll just wish my parents and siblings and go to bed. Haha. I’m a very boring person. And there was only this one year I went out for New Year’s countdown with Eu Joe and John. Just that one year. That’s it. Haha.
New Year’s don’t really feel like New Year in Uni because we are all focusing on our finals. Early this year, I used to hang out a lot at my girl friends’ room at Jaya hostel. My room is in Lembaran hostel. To welcome 2014, I bought cans of beer and sneaked it into campus. Then five of us – Tiffany, Zhi Jia, Siew Thung, Joanne and I had a good chat and drink while we welcomed 2014. Also in January, it the midst of my finals, I went on a trip to Langkawi with the Aerospace peeps. It was also during this trip I got to know WC and he asked for my number. Haha.
Clear skies and seas of Langkawi
L-R: Joanne, Tiffany, Yours Truly
After my finals, Joanne, Tiffany and I backpacked and toured around Georgetown and Batu Feringghi for 3 days 2 nights. After our trio trip, both of them came down to KL and stayed at my house for a bit. Joanne stayed for only a night and Tiffany stayed on a little longer until she had to catch her flight back to Sibu, Sarawak. During their stay in KL, we went and visited the Doraemon Expo at Viva Expo Hall and also tried Burger Lab for the first time.
Kimberly at Kimberley Street
Doraemon Expo
I forgot what I ordered. Haha
After both of them left, I was down with dengue fever. I was admitted to KPJ Ampang Puteri Specialist Hospital for about 5 days. My mom and I went to about 2-3 different hospitals before we found one that had vacant bed for me. At KPJ Ampang Puteri, I was put in the maternity ward because that was the only ward that had vacant beds. Haha. I also saw new-born babies for the first time! Being admitted to KPJ Ampang Puteri was probably my second time being admitted to a hospital. First would be when I was about 4 or 5 years old to undergo an operation.
No idea why the nurse gave me a teddy bear bandage. Haha
I think I recovered from dengue fever just in time for CNY. Haha. This CNY also I wore not-kiddo Cheongsam for the first time. Haha. Mom got it for me when we were in Starmall Mentakab. Last time in matriculation, we would always go to Starmall Mentakab when my parents visited me because that was the only mall around the area. I only wore the Cheongsam on the first few hours of the first day of CNY. Haha. During the time where the kids serve tea to the parents and the parents give the kids angpao part. When we had to travel back to hometown, I changed into comfier clothes. After CNY there was still a week plus of holidays before the beginning of semester 2. Met up with my buddy Azzam and tried Chaiwalla before semester 2 reopened.
Cacat-ed Hands
Built a Mahjong Tower at some relatives’ house cause I was bored.
Azzam & I at Chaiwalla
Semester 2 was filled with a lot of activities. It started off with Career Fair 2014. I was in the Publication Department. My HOD was super awesome, he always took us out to makan. On the event day, I was in charge of the interview booths so it was kinda boring up on the stage where all the interview booths are, far away from all the happening areas. I remember on the first day of the Career Fair 2014 (it was a 2 day event), I didn’t have time for lunch and WC being a nice friend then delivered potato chips to me. Haha. At the same time I had to pass him my calculus book also lah so not he sengaja come and send food. But still, first ever potato chips delivery guy. The weekend after Career Fair 2014 was my birthday. WC got me my very first dream catcher!
Me with Career Fair 2014 Gold Sponsor’s booth
Career Fair 2014 Publication Department
After Career Fair 2014, there was Charity Carnival. I was the only person (also the first ever girl) that got selected to be in the Technical Division under the Stage, Technical and Protocol Department. However, I think my superior didn’t really delegate any task to me. On the event day, my task was just to help with the PA system for the mini stage outside the main hall and also to switch on and off the main lights of the hall when the VIPs arrive. On that night, I used my Switch lanyard in which I have not returned yet (Sorry!) and WC said I was literally a Switcher. Get it? Haha.
That’s my Chinese name!
After Charity Carnival was done, there was the Litlegras Music’s Annual Concert. In which I performed guitar on a stage for a concert for the very first time! Okay actually my guitar skills are like super beginner one. I’m good at strumming but my changing chords and bar chords part have so much room for improvement. Preparing for my tiny role in this concert was quite an experience. There were countless band practices and my fingers hurt a lot. Oh and I can’t really pluck on my guitar because I have cacat-ed fingers on my right hand. I’m sorry if I let anyone down, but it was a great experience and I’m very glad to have patient bandmates.
L-R: Me, Xin Rou, Mei Ling, Vei Zhung, Man Ze, Chai
Litlegras Music’s Annual Concert is usually the last huge event in the campus, if I’m not mistaken. Towards the end of semester 2, I went for an interview to be a part of the committee for SCOReD 2014 under Publication Department. I got in the team and was elected as Head of Department too. LOL. I also had an interview with Heba, an AIESEC member in German University of Cairo (GUC) for a chance in doing my student exchange under AIESEC in Egypt. And I got it too. It was pretty effortless I would say. Oh and before I forget, I also went for an interview to be one of the PPSL (fancy name for facilitator) for Freshman Orientation week. It was not easy for a non-Malay to get it. A lot of people said that I won’t get it, but I did get it! Haha. However I had to turn it down because of my student exchange with AIESEC. They released the results a bit too late that I thought I didn’t get it and started planning my student exchange with AIESEC.
During my semester 2, I had an entrepreneurship subject (I got an A for this subject!) in which one of the projects was to interview an entrepreneur. Not wanting to cheat my way and write a crap load of lies and bullshit for my project, I decided to make an effort and actually interview someone. Thanks to my bro, I ended up getting the chance to interview the owners of The Acoustic Shack, which happens to be my brother’s friends. Haha. It was an interesting experience. The owners of The Acoustic Shack – Tim, Jone and Jon, were very cooperative and fun. So yeah thanks a lot guys. Oh and also in semester 2 I had a subject called Engineering Practices. There were so much fun stuffs to do from dissecting an engine (small one only lah) to welding! Thursday then were always my favorite day. Haha.
L-R: Tim, Jone, Jon. Me
Got to meet Uncle Frank the Bass Guitarist of Alleycats at The Acoustic Shack!
My first ever welding. Damn ugly. Haha
Made a bolt and nut manually!
It was around mid-May I got into a relationship with the most amazing guy –WC. Haha. The day WC confessed was the fuzziest feeling day of the year. For me, a fuzzy feeling is when you get all warm and tingly in the insides. You know how couples have like a specific date of when they got together; well both of us have no idea which specific date we got together (because I didn’t immediately agreed on a relationship the day he confessed). We somehow just got together. It’s been a great 7 and half months with ups and downs with this fella which has the same thinking as me. Haha.
End of June, about a week or so after my finals, I took off to Egypt on my own. I flew with Etihad Airways from KLIA to Abu Dhabi International Airport, and then from Abu Dhabi International Airport to Cairo. Flying alone to a Middle Eastern country was exciting and fulfilling, but at the same time I was cautious and aware because I heard that Egypt wasn’t politically stable still. I was supposed to be in Egypt for 2 months but after 10 days, I came back. The project which I applied and got accepted to was in an unconfirmed status. In simple words, I left because I felt that if I stayed on, it was a waste of time and money. There’s a longer story to it. Haha.
But anyway, in my 10 days in Egypt, I’ve been to the Red Sea, the Blue Hole, slept under the stars in Abou Galoum, hiked up the tallest mountain in Egypt (Mount Catherine) at 2AM to catch the sun rise and also visited the Great Pyramids of Giza. I’ll write about my 10 days in Egypt when I have the time! During the period of time I was in Egypt, WC was all the way in Canada for about 2 months. The time difference then was about 6 hours. We were supposed to arrive back in Malaysia at around the same day. But since I left Egypt after 10 days, had to cope with the 12 hour time difference for one month plus. Long distance relationship for budding romance was not an easy feat. Haha. Anyway the bugger was encouraging and yeah, no challenge.
Both my bro and small sis was down with the dengue fever when I landed in Malaysia. Since I cut my student exchange to Egypt short, I had quite some time in KL before semester 1 of year 2 begins. So I went back to Switch to work part time! And this time Carmen was working there too! Was quite happy to be working with her. Her working hours was rarely the same as mine though. But anyways those few days working with her were fun. Oh and working at Switch this time, I couldn’t punch in because the HQ had a new system. So all the while I was worried about my salary. Haha. But I did get every single cent of my salary in the end. No worries.
On the first day of work at Switch, was also the first time I fell off a motorbike. I was riding to my colleague’s house to hitch a ride from her. I haven’t ridden the motorbike for ages. Okay and maybe I was sort of over confident also lah. The second junction after I left my house, I didn’t slow down while turning at a cornering and I skidded and fell of the bike. Haha. Had a pretty ugly wound on my palm for a while. And customers at Switch were asking me whether I got involved with a snatch thief case. Haha.
It took a couple of weeks to heal completely.
Around mid-August, someone from campus asked me to reconsider the PPSL offer since I’m free at that period of time (because I left Egypt after 10 days. Haha). I was in a dilemma at that time. Part of me wanted to take up the offer, get my ass back to campus 2 weeks earlier to help with the preparation to welcome the freshmen because this was an opportunity not everyone gets. Another part of me wanted to stay in KL and enjoy the holidays longer, work a couple more days, andI’ve been waiting so long to meet WC again. I wanted to take him for pizza or burger on his birthday. So after consulting WC and my parents (I didn’t tell them about the waiting to meet WC part lah. Haha), my final decision was to take up the PPSL offer. Getting back to campus early also means that I can take my own sweet time tidying up my room without any interruptions.
Being a PPSL, means we have to go through one of those leadership camp thing *groans*. The campsite was somewhere in Perak if I’m not mistaken. During this 5 days 4 nights camp, we had to surrender our phones. And during one of this day, was the day WC was flying back to Malaysia. I couldn’t contact him in anyway, I was pretty much worrying the whole time I was in this leadership camp. As you have heard in news of missing planes and plane crashes, that was why I was being a worrier. Haha.
For PPSL, I was in one of the most boring departments ever. The department I was in is called Penajaan dan Pimpin Siswa (PPS). Penajaan stands for sponsorship and Pimpin Siswa is a 3 days 2 nights camp that all USM freshmen have to undergo. My job was basically to distribute the caps, bags and t-shirts to the students for the camp. That’s it. It was so boring. During the orientation week, there were a lot of sleepless nights which I hated. And there were some sort of miscommunication and stuff among the team. It was not a very pleasant experience being a PPSL (except for the free jacket and shirts. LOL).
After freshman orientation week, comes the beginning of a new semester! I’m still part of the Career Fair team, one of Publication Department’s muscles for Career Fair 2015. I got elected as secretary for Litlegras Music Club, and have been doing couple of paperwork and reports for the club. This is pretty time consuming at times. I also got elected as the Vice President 1 of MIMATES (School of Materials and Mineral Resources’ Student Society) most probably because I’m known with the Malays and Non-Malays. But I’ve pretty much done nothing for this society. I’ve tried many times to voice out my opinions, and after one incident with the deputy dean of my school, I sort of lost hope in this society. All they do are to carry out the annual activities (which I agree), but none of them try to come out with something new that is impactful.
I agree to a certain extend that my school is pretty much dominated my extremist. And a small potato like me, even though with a high position, there’s really nothing much I can do to help. Alright I guess that’s all I have to say about MIMATES. Oh and remember I mentioned a few hundred words above that I was elected as the Head of Publication for SCOReD 2014, it was one good load of experience. SCOReD 2014 is an international conference organized by IEEE Malaysia Section and IEEE USM Student Branch. My workload begin around after mid semester break. I’ve been through a lot of stress carrying out my responsibilities. And just yesterday that my job had officially ended even though the conference ended 2 weeks ago.
Somewhere in the beginning of semester 2 I went on a trip with Career Fair 2014 committee members to Redang island, partially sponsored. And also during my mid semester break I visited Rahman Hydraulics Tin Sdn Bhd, my very first time visiting a mine!
Redang Island was beautiful!
Me at Rahman Hydraulics
In November I’ve been involved with quite a few physical activities. On the first of November, I participated in the Viper Challenge 2014 with WC. We went unprepared but we completed it like an awesome team. Go team Mac & Cheese. Haha. 2 weeks after Viper Challenge, WC and I completed our first half marathon at PBIM. And about another 2 weeks later, we joined the Penang International Hill Run (walk). Whoa come to think of it, 3 hard core physical activities all in the month of November. I haven’t been exercising regularly because I’ve been so busy. I joined these activities all unprepared and I’m still alive. Woohoo. Haha.
My December started off with rushing SCOReD 2014 publication stuffs then its study break. I’ve conquered 2 papers already. Another 4 papers to go. I guess 2014 has been rather eventful. I didn’t really think I’ve gone through so much until I start writing it down. From having friends sleepover at my place (something super-duper rare), to having dengue fever, to performing guitar for a concert, to getting into a relationship, to traveling to Egypt alone (although just 10 days), to completing viper challenge, to running my first half marathon, to having my work published for an international conference. Very eventful year I would say.
However this year, the nation has been experiencing a lot of tragedies and sorrows. Hence, I’ve learnt to be grateful with what I have. In fact ever since returning from Egypt, I have been extremely grateful to be a Malaysian and to have whatever I’m having now. All my key electronics devices (laptop and mobile phone) still work fine. My Sony MP3 of 4 years still works fine. My RM 15 converse lookalike sneakers of 4 years still wearable. My pencil case of 6 years barely useable but still serving me well. Just realised that this paragraph sounds a bit nonsensical but anyway I’m just grateful for all the stuff that I have that are still working fine (which means I don’t have to spend money getting new ones)
I can just say that I’m grateful for everything lah but I would like to elaborate. Haha. I’m grateful to my parents for always being there for me and ever so understanding. I’m grateful to have my siblings even though sometimes they damn bad. I’m grateful to WC for being like a third parent (since I’m far away from my parents now) and always looking out for me. I’m grateful for my handful of friends that stayed. I’m grateful for all the nice people that have lent a helping hand even though we don’t really know each other. I’m grateful for all the mean people that have indirectly made me stronger. Thank you wonderful earthlings.
Despite going through so much and learning so much, I still see A LOT of room for improvements in myself. I guess for this New Year I just want to be a better me than before. And I know sometimes I’ll slack because I have that mischievous naughty child in me still. Specific New Year resolutions are still in thoughts.
It has been in amazing and eventful 2014 and I thank every single soul who have been a part of it from the bottom of my potato heart. God bless you and have a splendid 2015!
