It's All About The Experience
Archive for June, 2008
Dad’s Invasion
Jun 15th
Hi Pa, today you got a page all to yourself! This is my gift to you – to let you know roughly what I’m doing. I know have kept you guys at home in the dark for far too long. kekeke.. So yea.. feel free to click around, comment and monitor my activities. Oppss… I hope this is not a wrong move! Anyway welcome.
By the way, Mi and Jiji don’t even know about it yet, so you’re the first! I’m going to let you saviour the moment for a little while before I grant more invasions .
Stripped Naked
Jun 12th
Oh crap! My PC’s been sick lately, and I was and still am worried. Luckily for me, I am staying with a very good PC doctor, Dr. K.L Lim, who helped me throughout the installation of a new motherboard, and getting my faithful gadget online again. I tell you, he’s my go-to-guy the next time I face problem with my computer. Cool~
Of late, my PC was in haywire, ranging for unable to boot properly to automatically restarting. Dr. Lim got me a 2nd-hand motherboard, stripped my CPU naked, dug out the wires, and finally screwed the new one in it. But unfortunately my little fussy baby rejected the new system causing inaccessibility to Windows XP, and that got me into a deep depression till I can’t even sing along David Cook’s “Always Be My Baby” anymore. I realized I can’t live without computer! Seriously man… I can die.
On the other hand, Dr. Lim who have had myriad of hands-on experience, was cool all the time. He was happily ironing clothes when he told me to get my hard disk connected to his PC instead to backup all my important files before formatting the whole junk. Formatting was something I was trying to avoid but somehow it was inevitable and I was desperate. The longer I am without my computer, the longer I suffer from anxiety. But unfortunately again, I had too many things to backup, C&P somehow gave me problem, and the whole world seemed to be against the brain transplant on my baby PC.
Dr. Lim proceeded to stripped my CPU even more naked. He ran the system using my old motherboard, and hard disk without the casing. See the picture, you’ll get the idea. I thought that was musing as I’ve not seen such an operation – call me naive but what the heck. Still it seemed pretty cool to me and scary at the same time working next to a charged unit! Anyhow, I finished up the power plant brochure for my lead engineer, backed up my files, and kiss my software infested C: drive goodbye!
My PC operating like this!
Baby PC under went a second brain transplant operation. This time, wiped out the cancer in totality by formatting the C: drive. IT WORK!!! Yea hoo.. Although it was empty when it got online, but I can finally sing “Always Be My Baby” once more. Welcome back baby PC. Now I’ll slowly fill you up with software nutrients so that you can be fully functional and steady once again.
Many thanks to Dr. K.L Lim. I hope you okay with me repaying the operation cost by paying for your pizza.
PC is in the pink again!
I’ll tell about the pizza when the time is right..kekeke..
Charity: Rural Service: Epilogue
Jun 7th
We ended our rural service on the 18th of July 2007. Packed with enriching experience and bountiful of tropical fruits, we went our separate ways to spend the remaining of our holidays before the next semester reopens. Few weeks into our new semester, some old buddies came to visit our enchanted UTP. Maybe they’ll enrol into UTP next time.
We promised them we would go back for visits whenever we can. From now on, it’s up to us to maintain the life-long relationship with our foster family, especially with our own bothers and sisters. It’s one of our objectives to guide them throughout. I believe many of us are trying to do that, despite our own busy life =P. I really hope they keep all the memories we had together and one day in the future, perhaps we can hear a saying like:-
“I am what I am today, partly because of my brothers and sisters”
Charity: Rural Service: Chapter 10
Jun 6th
Chapter 10: Departure
Today I woke up with mixed feelings. Partly wanting to go back after having gone through several consecutive tiring days and partly wanting to stay for the sake of these kids. The night before, Bo Ann asked me whether I really had to leave tomorrow. He suggested I stay for one more day. Haiyo…. how to answer that? – I’d love to stay but tomorrow Sri Maju bus it’s going to come and take me away back to UTP. Yea..that’s what.
Goodbye to the lush green village
Ian kindly fetched me down to the village as I had given back my 2 wheeled-machine to the neighbour. We all packed and gathered in the village centre that morning to wait for our bus. The kids (and teachers), right after school time, came to join their parents to bid us off. We took the chance to take our last round of pictures.
Picture with the teachers
Yuih Yee famous finger linkin’ good photo
Yours truly signing off
We brought with us tropical fruits, rambutan mostly, and few with mangosteen, bananas and even durians! We wish we could carry more, but that’s all the mouth-watering delicacies we could haul together with our heavy luggage.
Posing with our hairy-ball harvest
Finally the bus came. We exchanged goodbyes and hugs, and promise to come back for visits. When we started loading and boarding the bus, tears can be seen swelling in the eyes of these kids, who looked at us from below, with heavy hearts. Some were visibly sobbing. That’s when we knew we’ve made an impact in their lives during our one week service there. I hope the kids were motivated by us as much as they have inspired us. I would say our affection for them at the time were pretty much mutual, but alas all good things must come to an end.
Bye kids
I wish to tell you more but I’m overwhelmed by tons of things to say till I don’t know where to start. There are so many different experiences and stories to share. Imagine if 26 of us would write 10 chapters each. We would end up with 260 chapter-worth of stories that can match a good 1-inch thick illustrated textbook. All I can say is that what we have gained and learned and shared was invaluable, and what we have given and taught and passed-on was inestimable.
“Bye Liman Kati”
humbly yours,
the UTP rural service team
Coming up next:- Epilogue
Unity: July 04 Batch Circle of Friends
Jun 4th
FRIENDS PLEASE REPLY ME YES OR NO ASAP
VIDEO OR NOT? say YES say YES
CROSS MY FINGERS
YES
- Edwin
- Joey
- Angie
- Jackie (location team)
- Tsae Yng
- Wai Lun
- San Nien
- Gary Pang ( t-shirt / choiring team)
- Look Chee Fai ( I take ‘let’s have fun’ as a YES)
- Ping Hun
- Diane Teng (choiring & choreographing team)
- Pei Chie
- Melvin Lau (t-shirt / video editing team)
- David Lai
- James Tan
This is thus far the response the day after the ‘call for unity’ email was sent!
From now onwards, following updates and discussion will be done in a temporary blog space. Please help tell our buddies ya…. =)
