we will meet again!=)

Hello zhabors!!hope that all of u are doing well,healthy and happy!!=)

I see farewell/goodbye(sad) messages everywhere in facebook now!and that hit me that yup the UK bunch is leaving as well=(that includes our 3 dear friends!!!

Hoay,Jeannie, Xinying,all the best in UK!!!!!

naughty naomi is this big now=)

May ah ma stay healthy healthy!!=)

*OMG!!i am so so so noob,spent so much time to post this*haha!!

Allow Time For Transition

While i am typing this, i can so imagine Hoay is currently in the airport, with a mixture of feelings... a feeling that u have been preparing for 9 months, but can only be felt, at that time, at that airport...

I came across with an article by one of my favourite authors, Richard Carlson and his wife, Kris Carlson.. it is called
Allow Time For Transition. I found it very mind provoking.. Here is part of it

" There are many periods of transition in life. These are often brought on by the big stuff that happens to you: things like the commitment of a new relationship, moving, pursuing studies while away from home * which many of us are experiencing or will soon experience*. We have found that the most graceful way to move through these transitions is to make allowances for them by allowing plenty of time. When you make assumption that a transition is going to take time, it seems to take the urgency, as well as much of frustration, out of the picture. It allows you the time to adjust and settle in.

Two of our dearest friends were transferred to a new location. They had a young child and were concerned about the move. They were unfamiliar with the new city and initially had no friends. Rather than become despondent or frightened, however, they decided to embrace the philosophy of allowing time for their transition. To their delight, it worked wonders. Rather than expecting their lives to instantly be as fulfilling as before, they created an artificial time frame of transition. They decided they wouldn't expect to feel settled for at least a year. Then , with each new friend they met and each positive experience they had, they were delighted and grateful. They eased into their new lives and are now happier than ever before.

Transitions are like speed bumps: You need to slow down while approaching them. Rather than expecting your life to remain the same, or trying to recreate the life you are most familiar with, try to be open and accepting to change. If, instead of panicking, you allow for plenty of time for your transitions, you will, like a dancer, gracefully adjust to the next step in the process"

May all of us be the graceful dancers in life :)

layQ's take on packing essentials.

GOOD MORNING, ladies.

as you embark on the wonderful journey that lies ahead of you, i am proud to share my two cents worth on what you could call, (or hopefully come to know as):

LayQ's guide to all essential packing for departer(s) (if there ever was a such word)

Step 1:

choose a big luggage bag, preferably a cute and bright coloured one too. note that emphasis is on the words BIG, CUTE, COLOURFUL. 'GIRLY' would make an acceptable substitute should you find that you're not able to get that three combination in one luggage.

Step 2:

categorize the stuff you want to bring over. remember that the general rule of thumb is things fall into 3 most basic categories, namely: things you MUST bring, things you would LIKE to bring, and the things that you debate over repeatedly in your brain about bringing but in all honesty should just be THROWN. yeah, i literally mean throw out of your luggage because they serve no purpose other than spawning the occasional 'awwwww' reflex when you pick it up over in the UK. (if you didnt have it with you in the 2 long vista years, you're not going to need it there)

in hindsight, you could further breakdown the MUST bring things into: Clothes, Food and Happy Stuff. clothes are self explanatory, food is self explanatory for the penangnites at least, and Happy Stuff deserves some mention in the form of examples. I.E. happy stuff for xinying would be her sleeping cloth, happy stuff for shihoay would be puma/mr bennet, happy stuff for jeannie would be her comb. hahahhahaha :D

apply the same breakdown rules to the other 2 categories - clothes food happy stuff, clothes food happy stuff and hola baby, you are good to go in no time!

Step 3:

explore your options, choose vacuum packing to shrink wrap your clothes and save space in your luggage (which as always, is a good thing since that translates to more HOLES for stuffing whatever last minute things belonging to the 3rd category that you just cant let go off, so this is a subconscious reminder to say: REMEMBER, THROWWWWW) repeat mantra x 3/day at least 2 weeks before you start packing and you'll be amazed at how many things you actually do throw.

Step 4:

WEIGH, baby, WEIGH! yes! weigh your luggage!! and check with your flight attendant on baggage allowance to make sure you dont have to leave one 'baby elephant' behind when you actually fly (cos trust me, they may weigh as much as a baby elephant, but they sure can't fly own their own like a baby Dumbo) OH and check for domestic flight baggage allowance too cos they might differ, and once again you wouldn't want to leave your baby elephant behind after flying 123456 miles with it.

Step 5:

pre-departure indulgences says it all. INDULGE yourself, INDULGE family, INDULGE friends, INDULGE foods, INDULGE sleep, INDULGE time, INDULGE, INDULGE, INDULGE :DDDD

and to fit in with the 21st century traveller, make sure you stay savvy with technology and make yourself contactable at the first opportunity when you're there. (being stranded/lost is one thing, but you don't wanna be stranded, and unreachable)

and of course,

the best advice given to me before i left, in 8 simple words:

wheresoever you're going, go with all your heart.

<3

===================================

http://niemann.blogs.nytimes.com/ (check out the post entitled Red Eye) - awesome read before you fly :)

...

Hello.. It always happens to me that blogging is more like sharing something that has been processed.. and in our blog, most of the time is a positive sharing.. But now i m typing this without much brain power.. in fact i m quite tired actually..

Last nite was one of the longest night in my life.. is a very rare night that i wish i can see the sunrise faster.. i was in the hospital accompanying ahma. she was admitted yesterday due to chest discomfort.. and she actually suffered a difficult gastric pain last night because she could barely eat.. her condition is better during day time but not so good at night.. and as i was the only one by her side during the midnights, i actually worried much more than others.. Some relatives visited her during day time and she seemed to be fine..

We are always taught to address patient's worries and concern. But only now i know, how difficult it is when it happens to someone close to you.. it is so hard.. so hard to address her fear.. because you yourself are afraid too..

The only joy I have this few days was when my cousin is beside me.. She is a source of humour.. By being the way she is, she actually gives so much comfort to me. i bet she didn't know that. But i truly feel it these few days.

Life goes on..... ups and downs.. Life made you learnt when they didn;t give you what you want

Ahma will be fine :) She will.. if there is a will, there is a way...