Happy cookies

During a practical lesson in school, our lecturer gave us some time to "play" with the dough that is left. So i shaped the dough using different ways.

As I was doing so, I observed my friends who are "playing" with the dough just like me. Then, I realised that from that same dough, we knead in a different manner and created different shapes. There're simple ones that are made by just using the palms to compress it and there're also complicated ones which involve patience to create.

I guess life is like that as well. You can choose to lead a simple life, but that doesn't mean that you're not unique. That is because you're the one shaping your own life with your hands. There is no point in envying others who you deem to be living a better life than you do (because that would make you feel miserable).

Live your life happily and make it wonderful. It doesn't have to be perfect (just like what my cookies look like oops) but just make sure you lead a good quality life because you're worth it.

This is what I've baked:

They don't look perfect but they're the end products of effort being put it. Of course, happiness are incorporated in it as well. :)

From your answers, I can see that you aim to be a social worker or a kindergarten teacher! That's very nice because not many teens/young adults nowadays have the passion for these occupations!

Hello, haha that's what i inspired to be in years to come but right now i still don't know exactly what i want. I will be graduating in a few more months with a diploma in food science and technology, and i hope that i'll be able to know what i really want. :)

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SingTel Touching Lives Fund

Life's like this

It's amazing when we think about how we got to this dimension, standing on this solid ground. All of us literally "grew" from a ball of cells, to a foetus, to a baby, to a toddler, to a little kid, to a kid, to a teenager, to a young adult, to an adult, to an "old" adult, and then to an elder. The last stage would be death, proceeding to another dimension. No one knows where it is, what is it about and what that place would be like. Thinking of it, it is sort of like we live to eventually die.

I used to be extremely afraid of death. To be exact, I'm afraid of the process of dying. I'm afraid of the physical pain and agony, and of getting breathless. There were rumours saying that the world is going to end in year 2012, and I was kind of depressed. But then again, there aren't solid evidence saying that it is going to happen next year. So, it did help to cheer me up. Ever since witnessing my late grandma taking her last breath and leaving peacefully, I am no longer that afraid of death.

No one knows when death is going to approach. But one thing for sure is that no one can escape from it. Be it dying a natural death, illness or in an accident. I'm not writing this post to depress my readers, what I want to do is to let you realise what we need to do before death approaches.

Keeping yourself and your loved ones happy is the very first thing that you should do. Next, fulfill your dreams. I understand that it is easy to say than getting it done. Well, if you can't fulfill all of your dreams, at least try to do something that can make yourself feel good and have the sense of accomplishment. Also, lend a helping hand to those who are in need. Even a simple gesture of giving up a seat on the train would be good enough to make you feel good.

There're many things you can do in your whole lifetime. Don't be afraid to love even when you've had an awful experience. Remember, our motto is "to have no regrets" :)

Because you don't get to say "see you" to your loved ones when death approaches.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1393166/Soldiers-messages-love-baby-daughter-widow-grave-dies-Afghanistan.html

My sister loves to make fun of me all the time.. But that's okay, because that means that I've succeeded (once again) in making her laugh. Laughing is a good exercise which helps you get rid of some stress, so I hope I've succeeded in making you laugh as well.

The importance of staying positive

Life is just like a Roller coaster, with ups and downs. The ups are when we feel like we are on top of the world, with full of happiness. The downs are when we feel like we are stucked in tunnel, a deep deep one which seemed like we aren't able to get any help from others who are standing and walking firmly on the ground. The feeling of being helpless, I would say.

So, during these downs, it is important that we keep thinking positively. Imagine if the negative thoughts keep on poisoning our minds, what would happen is that we would break down and we wouldn't even bother to find our way out of the scary dark tunnel. It is definitely more worthwhile to take up the challenge, think positive and we would eventually get out of the tunnel and 'reunite' with our loved ones again.

If we fall sick, don't get stressed out because things will eventually work its way out. To regain a good health, listen to the doctor and take the prescribed medication with the right dosage. If treatments are needed, go for it.

If we get bullied, don't be afraid to put on a brave front to fight against these ugly bullies. Well, not getting physical because you wouldn't want to dirty your hands and get your parents worried.

If we can't find a group to do the projects, approach others who haven't found one. At the end of the day, our aim is to get the job done so don't fret and stay calm. Once you're done with the work, that's it. You are free to go!

We only have one life to live, so why not live it in a meaningful way and stay happy? It's true that we never know when death approaches. So, before it comes to us, let's just live happily and do whatever we want to (but nothing that's morally incorrect). It's better to smile at the tricky issues that are troubling you, rather than wasting crying all day long. Crying is alright, but just not too often as you wouldn't want to waste boxes of tissue papers. :)

Would u rather exchange shorter life or risk your studies for the things you once lost, like ur late grandma?

Neither, because my loved ones would have to bear all the pain if i were to die younger and they would be upset if i were to drop out of school. Now i just pray that all my loved ones age at a slow rate and that they stay healthy, and i believe that grandma's still with me.

Ask me anything

How many children are u planning to have?

I don't know.. 3 would be great i guess

Ask me anything

One

Different people define and describe the word 'clown' in many different ways. Most would define a clown as a silly character with an ugly face and frizzy hair, behaving in a wierd manner. Others see a clown as someone who's able to bring laughter to the visitors in a theme park.

A clown, in my context, is a funny person. One who tells jokes which aren't appreciated by many people, and yet it can be quite funny sometimes when you think about it over and over again. One who does not have any worries, thus he or she is able to bring joy to the rest who may be feeling troubled.

Being a clown in your own positive way, around your family members isn't that bad after all. At least, you don't have to:

1. Colour your face

2. Put on the bulky costume

3. Wear a bright-coloured wig

4. Wear over-sized shoes    

All you need to do is to be yourself and just interact freely with your family members. If one of them happens to be upset or troubled, you can try cheering him or her up by being a clown. You can find out what's wrong and then do anything which is beneficial. Telling a not-so-funny joke, singing a song off-tune, making silly facial expressions, and etc. If it doesn't work, it's okay.. At least, you tried.

At the end of the day you would consider yourself lucky to be able to be a clown in your family. Because that would mean that you bring joy and you're part of the reason why the family stays intact and close! It's a bliss to do so, no doubt. Try it and you'll feel the fun and joy, and most importantly, you would feel happier. 

BUSY

Quick update:

Yea, another 4 letter word that irritates us. For those special ones who are waiting for my good quality posts, just hang on! Just to let you know what my next few posts would be about. It would be categorised under 'My facebook status'. Not to worry, it wouldn't be too boring I guess.

Oh and if any of my posts has helped you to become a happier person, congratulations and keep it up! Think positively and do whatever you can to keep yourself and your loved ones happy :)

Before I go, here's a reminder from me:

What would you try if you had no fear?

Stepping into another dimension to visit my late grandma and see if she's alright.

Ask me anything

what give u the idea to start this blog??

The suicide cases reported on the news, and the people around me. I would say, most of them do not know how fortunate they are as compared to other kids who are suffering out there. Thus, they keep thinking that god is unfair to them and just keep on complaining, which is non-constructive. Also, I hope to be of some help to those who are depressed and need some advice, or those who simply wants to know the reasons why we should live each and every single day happily.

Ask me anything

Salute!

Randy Pausch. An extraordinary person who has already proceeded to another dimension, not similar to the one that we are living in now. He's famous for who he is, his fighting spirit against cancer. While other cancer patients get depressed and don't feel like doing anything else, Randy Pausch remained satisfied and shared precious lessons learned from life. 'The last lecture'.

You can read more about Randy Pausch and take a look at the videos of him conducting the lectures. I'm sure you'll be more satisfied with what you have now, and that you will also know the importance of spending each day fruitfully.

Randy Pausch's Homepage: http://www.cs.cmu.edu/~pausch/

May day is Happy day

Today's post will be a short short one.

Yea, it's my 19th Birthday! As usual, my wish is "I wish that all my wishes will come true". Haha, but it can't be considered as cheating right, it's still a wish afterall..

Just wanna say that I know that not many of the people read my blog posts and some might even fall asleep in the mist of reading those long posts. Nevertheless, I know that there are still one or two special ones who are constantly catching up with me on this blog. If you happen to be one of those special ones, a big thank you to you! :)

I've been quite busy with slacking and school work, so wait for my 'good quality' posts alright.. Alright, got to go! If May day is a public holiday in your country, enjoy it! And you can send letters to me via: jasmineclue@gmail.com

Good Luck

If you are....

1. A Nokia phone user
2. Feeling upset about everything
3. Feeling bored
4. Have Internet access
5. A person who needs more "inspirational" stuff to pull you up

You should go to the Ovi Store and download this application called 'Good Luck'. I'm not sure whether you can find this application on Iphones or other smart phones.

Ever since witnessing the moment when my grandma took her last breath and attending funerals, I begin to wonder why God gave us life but eventually all of us will age and die. I wonder why eternity is impossible, why my loved ones would eventually have to leave me. Then, why do we still devote so much time on loving people around us?

I've downloaded the application and I think I'll need to look at things in a different perspective. I took a screen snap of one of the interesting quotes. Best of all, it is apparently free of charge! Here's it:

Do you see that? It says, 'Better to have loved and lost, than to have never loved at all'.

I think many of the youngsters might think that this applies to those people who just broke up with their boyfriends or girlfriends. Sounds like it, huh.

Well, I've interpreted it in another way.

For my case, it's like.. I love my grandma, there won't be a past tense to it. But her death has affected me in many ways and it strikes me badly. It's especially true when I stepped into her house, staring at the empty chair in which she used to sit.

Then, I came across this particular quote from the application. It cheers me up and the pain eased a little. Since I have chosen to love, I shall not have any regrets or get into a depressed state for a long period of time when I lose my loved ones.

Everyone and everything has to go in the end, it's just the matter of time. Instead of getting so depressed over the loss, we'll need to move on to show our love and care to those who are still alive.

Nevertheless, we should never forget our loved ones who have proceeded to a different dimension from us. Although they are unable to return to life, they are still living in our hearts. Forever, it will be.

Deja vu or coincidence?

A suicide case occcured here in Singapore on Friday, 15th of April. Well, I know there're suicide cases reported frequently or even everyday, all around the world. But, for this case, it's rather sad.

You can get the gist of what happened by reading this short article here:
http://www.straitstimes.com/BreakingNews/Singapore/Story/STIStory_657729.html

Basically, a mother and her 9 year old daughter were found dead on a grass patch, after jumping down from their apartment which is on the 12th floor. Many expressed their anger because they could not understand the reason why the mother had to take her daughter with her, to the route of death. Painful death, in fact.

12 floors. You can imagine how bad the effect was. Bone fractures, distorting of facial features and endless pain that tortures. An innocent girl who has only lived 9 years of life, and she couldn't make it even as a teenager just because of her mother's mistake of grabbing her and jumping down from the 12th floor together.

Nevertheless, I felt that the mother is not to be blamed entirely. She could be down with some kind of depression or that she wasn't thinking correctly at that point in time. There could be tricky issues that were bugging her.

Yea, so what has Deja vu got to do with this incident? I'll tell you in a few seconds.

About 1or 2 days before this happened, which could be the 13th or 14th, I had a wierd dream that terrified me to the extent that I have trouble getting back to sleep. I have dreamt of a woman hugging a girl, standing on the edge of a building. Without any warning, that woman jumped down and landed on the ground. I couldn't really recall what happened next but it was really scary.

I was shocked when one of my colleagues that I've met during my internship told me of the suicide case that she have read on the newspaper. I started to wonder whether it's Deja vu or just pure coincidence. Whatever it is, I hope I won't get to dream about such stuff again. May the mother and her daughter rest in peace.

Friendship

Friendship is literally a ship (as its name suggests) that sails on the sea. A colourful and cute-looking ship, just like what I've just drawn:

Once you board this ship, you would find that life is more interesting as you get to hang out with your friends and do all the crazy things that you've never thought of doing. You get to share your worries with your friends, and often you would ask them for advice or possible solutions to solving your problems. Other than that, you and your friends would go shopping together, exercise together, eat together and just have fun together.

However, many of us understand that the situation can change at any time, such that the friendship is "broken" somehow, and that's when some of us would feel upset and find that we have got no one to turn to. Possible issues that have led to this would be disagreements, different opinions and etc. When these issues arise, the ship that you have boarded would most probably be traveling across the sea of huge waves. Huge huge waves which makes you unable to stand properly while on the ship. So, how do we deal with it?

The very first thing you should do is to stay calm and don't try to upset your friends by saying nasty stuff (whether it's in their face or not). Perhaps you can try to go for a nap, or go to bed if it's almost time. It is quite useful as you would have a clearer view of things once you have sufficient rest. After that, think about what went wrong. Remember, you must not have biased views, otherwise you would never be able to figure out what exactly went wrong and who is/are responsible for it. Once you are done with it, proceed to the next step, APOLOGISE.

In this way, you will be able to maintain a good relationship with your friends and that be rest assured, the ship will sail smoothly on the calm sea.

Nose bleeding

I love it when my nose bleeds. You might think that I'm crazy (yea, even my sister says that I'm insane), but I guess that's what makes me different compared to others.

The last time I experienced nose bleeding was in year 2008 when I was busy preparing for my 'O' level examinations. It was kind of exciting to see the blood dripping on to my Food And Nutrition textbook. The vibrant red coloured blood that eventually dried up to become a nasty dull brown colour. I've collected that few drops of blood using a cotton bud, and it's still in my drawer. Well, I'm just keeping it so that in the future I can let my kids or even grandkids to look at it.

During my childhood years, my nose used to bleed a lot. My nose could bleed once or twice a month and it made my mum feel worried. If you have been reading my blog, you would know that I used to visit my grandpa and my late grandma on every saturday. So, my mum told my grandparents about this issue and it got them worried too.

So... From that day onwards, I get to drink a bowl of herbal soup on every saturday's visit to my grandma's house. My late grandma specially bought it for me, hoping that the nose-bleeing thingy will get away soon. The soup doesn't taste nice, in fact it's just pure bitterness with one or two pork ribs in it. Nevertheless, I would always finish it. But, I've always wished that my nose keeps on bleeding as it is, but not to the extent that I would die instantly.

The purpose is not to make my loved ones worry, but to show that they care for me. I really enjoy it when my parents and grandparents take care of me. I love it when they place a wet towel on my forehead, give me many pieces of tissue papers when my nose bleeds. They would then instruct me to sit or lie down on the sofa, and I get to drink a glass of water after that. Yea, plain water filled with tons of love, care, concern, and attention.

Eventually, my nose stopped bleeding for a very very very long period of time. That's when I got a little disappointed as the level of care and attention decreased a little. Thinking of it, it should be a good news as my parents and grandparents won't worry about my condition that much. And.. This means that they're happy!

Yea, that's how it should be. Perhaps this should be the way:

"As long as you're happy, I shall stay happy too". That's happiness, once again. It's not hard to achieve, all you need to do is to make a positive change and just ensure that everyone is happy (that includes you as well). Live life with joy, cherish moments spent with your loved ones because you never know when death strikes you.

What is your dream profession?

At the age of 19 this year, I still don't know exactly what I want. Hmmm I've thought of being a doctor but thinking of the number of years in school and the difficulty of the modules, I gave up.
I can't exactly tell you what's my dream profession, but I can tell you some of the descriptions:

I want have a profession which enables me to... :

1. Help people (can be mentally and physically)
2. Interact with both kids and elderly
3. Help to solve issues and problems which are faced by elderly and those who have financial difficulties
4. Come up with effective stratagies which lower the damage from natural disasters
5. Stop the sufferings

Ask me anything

What do you think about young smokers?

Hmmm I think that young smokers are not bad kids, it's just that they are smoking because of influence. Bad influence, I would say. That's because they are trying to shorten their life span and also harm others when they smoke.

Also, they get bad breath and have unhealthy gums as time goes by. They would also sort of get addicted to smoking and it would hard to quit it, like how my grandfathers are unable to do so.

Most importantly, they wasting money on cigarettes. They can use the money to buy the stuff that they need, or save it in the bank, or even donate it to help others.

So I think that young smokers should start to making an effort to quit smoking and start engaging in other meaningful activities!

Ask me anything

How do you maintain such a positive thinking and good relationship with your family?

I maintain a positive thinking through constantly reminding myself how fortunate I am, as compared to millions of people who are suffering out of there. They don't have sufficient food to eat and they don't get to have nutritious meals throughout their short life span. While for others, they live in fear of physical abuse and violence which happen a frequent basis. Many don't have a proper house to live in, they don't get to watch television programmes and sleep in air-conditioned rooms.

It can be a challenge to maintain a good relationship with my family simply because all of us think differently and thus have different views on certain issues. I maintain a good relationship with my family by being a clown. Being a clown, meaning that I tell them jokes and keep everyone happy. Most of the time, I don't need to tell them specific jokes. By giving a comment about an actor who's acting in the tv drama that we're watching, they'll just laugh (which I don't know why). I can only say, LAUGHTHER is the magical thing that keeps a family close.

Ask me anything

Busy busy busy

I've been quite busy with many stuff for this period so that explains why I don't have any new post for quite some time. I've thought of what to write and post about but I shall do it after I'm done with the stuff.

Leading a busy school life right now as I've slacked way too much. Now I find it hard to cope with school work, and I'm feeling a little stressed up. But, guess what? I'm still as happy as before as going through all these catching-up makes me feel like I'm a good kid.

They say, " 知足常乐". I contented with my life and for who I am, and it keeps me going.
So while waiting for the next post (which will be after a month).... Enjoy this clip.

                  

If you haven't been smiling or laughing for quite some time, I guess you're having a good laugh right now upon finishing the clip.

P.S: Merry Chinese New Year

4:01 pm, Friday afternoon

It's a Friday afternoon. A rainy day. The sky darkens, huge rain drops falling down from the grey coloured clouds. This reminds me of an afternoon visit to my grandma's house, all alone.

The usual way, I bought snacks for my grandma and grandpa. Their door is always open, so I could see grandma sitting in her chair, staring into the space. The next thing I did was to greet my grandpa as he's the one who opens the gate door for us. My grandma hadn't done it for a few years because her legs are weak and she needed someone to support her as she walks. Of course, that person is my handsome grandpa.

I entered their house (well, it's my second home as well) with a huge smile and greeted grandpa. Then, I walked towards my grandma and raised my voice to greet her as one of her ears is impaired. Her eyesight is not very good as well, so all she could see is blur images, I supposed. So, I would go near her face to greet her and at the same time, reach out my hand to catch hers.

My grandpa then ate the food that I've bought. While my grandpa is enjoying his food, I fed my grandma with her favourite dessert (I'm not sure whether it's her favourite, but she tells us that it's rather tasty). After finishing her food, she would thank me for doing so and I told her that she didn't need to thank me. I didn't tell her the reason why because I don't know how to translate it in Hokkien dialect. I wanted to tell her that I'm her grand daughter and it's my responsibility to take good care of her, do things for her to show my love for her, so there is no need to thank me at all.

After that, I sat on the sofa beside her. Wonder why I always do that? It's because I wanted to go near and just to let her know that I'm beside her, listening to the words and laughter that always come out from her throat and then mouth.

At first, I didn't really know what to tell her or ask her though I wanted to interact with her. Then, I realised that I don't need to come up with a specific topic. Hence, I just talked to her about that stuff that were in my mind. It did work, but sometimes she didn't reply me, which I think it's because she didn't hear what I was saying. And sometimes my grandpa would laugh at the stuff that I've told my grandma about. I wasn't really talking about funny stuff but I don't know, maybe it's because I looked funny when I interact with grandma haha.

When the surroundings start to darken, my grandma would ask me to go home because it's getting late. It's only around 6pm or so, but she's always worried about my safety. Such that, she's afraid that I might bump into some bad people who would attack me or something. She said something like "It's getting dark, go home quickly." So i assured that I would go home soon, but everytime I delayed by one or two hours before leaving their house.

When it was time to go home, she would reach out her hand again, for me to catch hers. I would always tell her "Grandma, I'll visit you again next week with my mum and siblings", followed by a smile like this:

                            

That sentence makes both my grandma and grandpa look forward to the weekends as that's when most of us, including my aunts, uncle and cousins would visit them. Also, that's when we interact with each other and bond together. This also brings us closer in a way. 

I'm still missing my grandma, and I know she's doing well in another dimension that's not far from us. We're going to visit grandpa later and I'm sure he will flash his huge smile the moment he sees us.

P.S: I started blogging this post on Friday at 4.01pm, but I stopped and could only complete it this afternoon.

                                                                     

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Happiness is.. Staying happy for as long as you can

What do you see in this picture? Yes, a not-so-pleasant looking bedsheet (because of the creases or because you don't like its colour). To 'compensate' for the unpleasantness, a round ball with a smiley-face on it is placed in the middle, making the picture look pretty and not so dull.

Life's like this too. It is impossible to stay happy all the time especially where all of us are living in a competitive world that is filled with opportunities, but also endless cruelty.

In the aspect of sports, athletes are working hard and trying to grab hold of the gold medal. They can even feel upset and unhappy because of the tough trainings high expectations that they have in their mind. But.. Why? The answer is simple, that is, they want it to have the honour, to prove others wrong. In the working industry, this kind of situation occurs as well. For example, there is only one vacancy as a CEO in a company. And that vacancy is just like the one-and-only gold medal. Hence, everyone with high qualifications is snatching for it, no matter how tough the competition is. Everyone then gets stressed up. But.. Why? Because they want to earn loads of money for a luxury life and that they can get to reach the top (but not as if they can get to touch the sky).



Image obtained from: http://trueslant.com/johnknefel/files/2010/03/sad_face.jpg



But, do all these stiff competitions make you happy at the end of the day? I agree that there's nothing wrong with wanting to achieve your goals, however, sometimes people just tend to try too hard. And in those cases, they don't manage to get what they want, ending up feeling discouraged and upset. Also, some people tend to aim too high and have unrealistic dreams. If they insist on pursuing it and eventually it don't work out, they end up hurting themselves as well.

So, work within your limits and exceed a little if you want to challenge yourself. Don't overdo it as you would be putting unnecessary stress on yourself, which can pose bad effects and it won't make you happy.

What we need to achieve is to stay happy for as long as we can, and at the same time, try to achieve our goals and enjoying the process instead of forcing ourselves to accomplish it.

Life's short, so why make yourself miserable? Maximise the time on smiling instead of frowning.