I'm back! =) (for now)

ATP Malaysian Open 2010

Tenggol

Seatru

Yangon

Dear Blog,

Sorry for neglecting you as I've been very busy LIVING. =)

Well, much has happened since I last wrote here. Among them, were a few notable and memorable trips/events: -

1. Certificate in Legal Practice exams

The results: didn't get through.
The next step: DO IT AGAIN lah! =)

2. Trip to Yangon =)

The journey: A.M.A.Z.I.N.G.
The people: G.E.N.T.L.E
The weather: R.A.I.N
The pictures: some of them can be seen here

http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=652028760#!/album.php?aid=270352&id=652028760



3. Seatru Volunteer Programme

Where: Chagar Hutang
When: 21st Aug - 28th Aug
With who: 7 other turtle guardians!
Pictures:

http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=652028760#!/album.php?aid=273027&id=652028760

4. Tenggol Dive Trip

An A.W.E.S.O.M.E. diving trip! ^^

http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=652028760#!/album.php?aid=280996&id=652028760

5. Malaysian Open

I ended up spending 3 days in a row at Stadium Putra, Bukit Jalil just to watch the wonderful, world class tennis matches! =) it was worth the cheering (losing my voice) and the crazy name-chanting (of Mikhail Youzhny the eventual Champion). hahahaha.... crazy me.

AND so many so many more outings and gatherings and happenings that just made my life in the past 3 months WONDERFUL. =)

AND I'm looking forward to end 2010 the "Beijing" style!

Coming up:

Penang Bridge International Marathon where Queenie will make her own history by running her virgin marathon! =D

Sunlight Charity - home visits - for the underprivileged children. To put a smile on their faces and to bring them some good news!

Beijing Trip - where Christmas spirit will surround us in the Great Wall of China! =)

The Curious Incident of the dog in the night-time

Thank you Mark Haddon for writing this wonderful novel.

Due to the CLP examinations, I have not been reading any other books besides statutes, orders, cases and lecture notes.

So right after the exams, I knew I needed to do something: start reading non-CLP- related books! =)

Therefore 1 day after the exams, after getting my Myanmar visa done, in the company of Chris and Jia Xin, I went to Kinokuniya and got myself this book....

"The Curious Incident" is simply brilliant.

Mark Haddon gave "Christopher Boone" such a convincing voice.

He's simple, logical and honest and he is intelligent.

Of Black Days and Yellow objects.

Of Good Days and Red food.

Of no talking to strangers.

Of counting cows and cars.

Of the mysterious death of Wellington.

I enjoyed every single line in the book.

Except the Appendix at the end which I simply couldn't make sense of or relate to. =p

So please, get a copy of this, and be fascinated by the simple things that make "Christopher" my favourite protagonist of all times!

Cooking for Daddy

Butter Cereal Prawns
The fun: in frying the prawns. =)

Watermelon Chicken (my creation)
The Selling Point: It's healthy! It's "nutty"! It's WATERMELON AND CHICKEN! =p

The joy is in preparing a meal for your beloved!

It was a Happy Father's Day after all. =)

DSLR =)

Unexpectedly, I got my hands on a basic DSLR. =)

I'm happy with a normal digital camera. Nothing fancy. Just enjoy capturing moments.
But I appreciate what the DSLR is capable of doing. =)

"A photograph taken with a digital single lens reflex (DSLR) camera starts at the lens. A DSLR lens is really a collection of sub-lenses called elements. Each lens refines and focuses light to create a sharp, high quality image."

So I shall explore further, the wonders of the DSLR camera...

Dear Jessica

dedicating this blog post to my Baby Jess, an extraordinary daughter, and friend.

Whatever happens, you're not alone. =)

You've got a friend in me.

Love,
Quin.

Violin 小提琴 Vitula

Playing the violin has always been my childhood dream, or more like one of my secret ambitions. Well, it's no more a dream now that I have started learning. =)

Baroque music is empowering and the sound of violin is just as wonderful.

And later, as soon as I heard The Four Seasons by Antonio Vivaldi, I fell in love with the strings... "Winter" is peppered with silvery staccato notes from the high strings, calling to mind icy rain, whereas "Summer" evokes a thunderstorm in its final movement, which is why the movement is often dubbed "Storm."

To me, it is the most emotional musical instrument.
Sometimes it sounds like a soft speaking lady, sometimes a crying child, sometimes a heroic warrior, sometimes a blossoming flower, sometimes a lonely willow tree....

Time flies, it's been 6 months since my first violin lesson.
With the festive holidays in between, I have taken fewer lessons than I should have.
But the progress that I've made so far is something that I'm proud of. =)
Although I've been struggling with the basics, I've recently learnt to RELAX and ENJOY movements on the strings. Thanks to Ms.Yap, my truly amazing teacher.

铁马寻桥

最新的TVB剧集铁马寻桥又让我见识了李添胜的“戏”。

坚诚的等待，铁马的心酸。好美的故事。
不是凄美的美，不只是感动的美，是“顾家”互相守护，“第三件事”-正义的美！=)

故事的人物，每一个都那么重要，缺一不可。
这么细腻的戏，鲜少。

有欧阳惠兰（元秋）戏里的坚诚等候，蒋上珠（惠英红）的精湛演技，她戏中的“良知”，
荣万钧（向佐）的觉悟，荣德（林嘉华）的执迷不悟，梁湛（蒋志光）的铁砂掌，他的“正义”！
榮芷晴（李诗韵）的理智孝顺，邱局长（白彪）的昏庸，排长（戴耀明）的“豁出去”！
乜都曉教頭，棠哥仔-顾汝棠（马国明）的神神化化，“胆识过人”，非笔墨能形容的“酷”！
他们都让我，不爱追戏的我，永远地，深刻地记住了欧阳彪武术馆的对联：

修合无人知，良心有天知！

良心，正义-是不是你人生中的“其中一件事”？

=)

Yes, I love Liverpool!

I do! I do! I do! =)

That's my beautiful Merseyside.

Before catching the big match on Sunday, we made a trip to Liverpool.
And though we did not tour Anfield, it was awesome enough just sightseeing in Liverpool Central and Albert Dock.
I will always remember the walk at Albert Dock. The sunset was captivating.
I must admit that when we first got off the train from Manchester at Lime Street Station,IT WAS FREAKING COLD! But it was all worth it!

We even managed to have Chinese food at the biggest China Town in UK before happily hopping on the train back to Manchester that Saturday night. =)

It's no chicken.....

Bought a jersey and a scarf from the store NEXT to the official one. =p
It's 40% cheaper!

It's Liver Bird! =)

The 99 pence Toblerone Chocolate!

It's genuine! =)

收心养性

是时候“收心养性”了。

人生中现阶段最大的专业执照考试要到了！同学们看见“神龙教教主”般的我-来无影，去无踪，都好奇万分，有的甚至为我提心吊胆。这疯子是在找死吗？怎么可以若无其事，还到处游荡呢？

是的，是时候“收心养性”了朋友。

香港游过了，在大屿山吃过斋，海洋公园的海狮也结识了，英国到过了，伦敦的繁华体验过了，巴黎的风情感受过了，迪士尼乐园，曼联，利物浦也畅游过了，2010年的春季，也算是非同凡响咯。

寒窗数年，考取了法律系学士学位，还得过专业鉴定考试这虎口啊！
所以心里真的有些不平衡。怎么没完没了？ 或许是自己的心野，过动儿症状，要我“闭关修炼”，还蛮难的！

就开开心心地考吧！过了这关，就“自由”了！

巴黎的塞纳河，我会赶上那玻璃船，力争上游，我们在钟楼见！=)

哇！二月了！

天啊！看看日历，已经是2月8号了！

---其实有时候真的很想把所见，所闻，所感受，所经历的通通记在部落格里。
哈哈哈。。。I know, it's simply impossible! =)
因为在我还没准备“动笔”时，一连串的活动又接踵而来，都未来得及记录，时间又溜走了，写实的FEEL 也跑掉了。 好无奈！

惟有等到“灵感”回来之时，再仔细记录，回味。

虽然往年那浓浓的新年气息已不复再，心里孩子似的期盼还是有的！呵呵。。。

所以，新的一年里！！！ 一定要舞虎扬威！好在明年兔气扬眉！

恭喜恭喜！

42km. A goal. A promise.

I'm glad that the pain in my left foot is gone. =)

And I can finally run properly during my usual training!
Thanks to 'coach' who disciplined me during my 'injury time'.

So, I shall proudly announce 1 of my 2010 resolutions:

TO RUN MY FIRST EVER 42KM BY END OF THIS YEAR.

Tentatively, the most probable timing would be during the Penang Bridge International Marathon 2010 - 21st November 2010.

The marathon is a long-distance foot race with an official distance of 42.195 kilometres (26 miles and 385 yards), that is usually run as a road race.

Been 'googling' Full Marathon world records...and well, I can only read those records in awe. =p

Hahaha...But I've taken my 1st baby step by beginning to DREAM about it!
So I guess I'm not so far from achieving. (in my dreams) =D

Run on Quin!

*peace*

Sometimes when we touch...

It was 9th January 2009.
A Saturday.
Like my usual Saturdays, this was also an interesting one.

The only difference was, my heart was opened and touched by the Special Children in Rumah Sayangku.

I woke up at 6.30am, tried my best to wake lil'bro up (not without difficulties). =p
Thank goodness he was cooperative. )He had earlier promised to join me volunteering.

We took a detour to Cheras to collect the banner.

The journey to Kuala Langat was quite 'interesting' since I relied 100 per cent on my sense of direction... the GPS was quite 'helpful' in repeatedly showing me the wrong way.

A huge and warm party was going on when we reached.
The volunteers were energetic, the kids, overjoyed!

We painted faces, eggs, made kites, photo frames...
They danced, sang, performed whole-heartedly...
They gave their best. =)

And I really appreciate every one of them.
Their limitations have brought them even closer to their parents, their loved ones.

Physical, Inherent imperfections have made them inspirations to an ordinary person like me.

Like the bird I painted on Ikmal's face, these special children should fly freely in the sky, that is filled with hope and love. And faith.

In face of 2010, Positive. =)

Like a fish, I shall take on the vast ocean without fear! =)
And hopefully, when December comes, I'm a bigger, better & wiser fish!