If there were some points of the year when I was very clear (or think I am clear) about the direction of my life were at the beginning of 2008 and the end of 2008. The rest of the days in between were spent in confusion. There were horrible days when I just felt it would have been better if the earth just opened up and swallow me, and there were fairly okie days when I felt clam and to be honest, there were happy moments which keep on playing in my mind over and over again.

Although I was confused and battered most of the time, I can tell you that I have learnt valuable lessons in 2008:
Lesson #1 - Trust no one
Yea, it is borrowed from the X-files series and I'm sure Fox Mulder wouldn't mind. X-files and Fox Mulder maybe fake, the tagline was and still is true. Trust no one but yourself. It's weird that it was said to me by a person who betrayed my trust. Settei dot com!


Lesson #2 - Love yourself
Now that I am technically, physically, mentally and (hopefully) emotionally free, I have the entire 24 hours for myself. Yes - 24 hours for me to look after myself, to worry for myself, to better myself, to 'repair' myself and to pamper myself. Ah.. so selfish yet so refreshing. In a way, I feel good about that.

Lesson #3 - Perceived friends can be foes
Okie.. this lesson has strong connection with #1. You perceive a person as a good friend, trust the person but only to scar your heart and ego in the end. It only takes one incidence to bring out a person's true colours. I'm just glad that I found out right now than later.


Lesson #4 - There is such thing called 'blog politics' after all
Just like office politics, I found out the blogworld is plagued with politics after all. No point of mentioning names but be it international or local blogging scene, blog drama kings and queens exist! Sometimes it is amusing but sometimes it got me worried also. The last thing I want is to be dragged into the crisis!


Lesson #5 -Becareful with your choice of words
As we go along and make more and more and more 'friends' whom we barely know, we tend to assume that everyone is going to understand our words as we mean it. Yet, at times some so-called friends are simply waiting the opportunity to twist your words against you and land yourself in trouble. Becareful with this kinda people. Bunch of troublemakers. Never give these people opportunity to do this to you. Ever.


Lesson #6 - Losing weight ain't easy
Especially when your diet is well taken care of and you are doing fairly good exercises. Damn it! I feel like a loser whenever the topic on my weight arises. Giving myself another 5 more months on diet and exercise. If I don't see any improvement, I'm gonna take a drastic decision.


Lesson #7 - PhD is not a bed of roses
When I did my MSc, I found out that it is not like BSc where you are constantly spoon-fed with notes and exam tips. Now when I am doing my PhD or should I say "now when I am pursuing my dream", I realised that the learning curve is even steeper. Two months into the program, I am learning to be more independent than ever. I feel like a big girl, literally :P



Lesson #8 - Financial management sucks
I am proudly announcing to the world that I am currently in debt! *sigh. CC, study loan, car loan, bills etc really eating up my stipend. I need to buck up on this department. Any financial advisor reading my blog? Care to help? :-D


Lesson #9 - Travelling with friends can be fun
Oh yea, this is related to my previous post. My travels / vacations have been always with family and this is the first time I get to go on a trip with a bunch of friends, fondly referred to as the LOL Gang. Had the best time and I can't wait for the next trip.


Lesson #10 - Life behind the screen to be cherished
I don't know why I did whatever I did - I spent my last 4 years poking my head into the computer screen, losing myself in the Internet world. Little I know how the real world has developed. Now, slowly but surely I am going back to the reality. Feels good.



I am sure most of us are going to sit down and ponder over the things that happened over the past 1 year. Some say we can't do much thinking about whatever happened but I believe the past made what we are today and what we are doing today will determine our future tomorrow. I sound philosophical, I know. What can be a better way to end the year rather than a philosophy? ;-)

Do take a minute or so to do a post-mortem of what happened in 2008, and how it has changed your life for good or bad. Learn from it, just like I did. This is the final post for the year 2008 and I will be waiting to see you in 2009 with a big big hug!

Hugsss & Muaaaxx!

Of course that is not including of 1 night spent travelling (miserably) on train. Ish! One lesson learnt - never travel on train during the night.

The good news is the train travel is one of the only two 'not so good' thing about my recent trip to Penang. Unfortunately, I have to reserve the second 'not so good' thing.. ish ish.. cannot be revealed in the blog it seems. Travelling with another 10 buddies is indeed fun and I experienced it for the first time. Had so much laughter and I think I never laughed that much collectively for the whole year! We took Gigs of photos and I am sure you'll be seeing them over and over again in FB and blogs.

Sharing some photos taken in Penang:

Geez! I wanna go on another vacation with the group again! Can't wait! :-D

The rest of the photos in my Flickr.

After a tiring Friday which was spent buying groceries, stationaries and packing titbits, and constantly waking up the whole night due to some nightmares, I was indeed too lazy to wake up fresh on Saturday. But the show must go on right? :-) There were way too much stuff (thanks for the donation which poured in especially during the last few days) to be carried using my car. Called up MC & Hema who were generous enough to help me load the used clothes and stationaries into their cars, the groceries went into mine. Picked up Mala & her housemate along the way and reached the Home sharp 12. "Checked-in" the groceries and used clothes/bags while waiting for the other group of friends to come. The kids were called to the hall and we took it off from there.

The rest in my FLICKR.

p/s: I will be busy with research work and another engagement this entire week. Taking a break from blogworld for a week or so. See you all after 22nd Dec.

 It is a quiet Kartigai for me this year. Wonder why.. maybe post-effect of the disaster that struck Bukit Antrabangsa?

And this week's Nostalgic Friday (#61) is dedicated to the humble earthen oil lamps..

.. that pisses me off, in reverse order:

10. Spitting in public
I still don't understand why some men do this. It's gross!


9. Rude while driving, especially when he sees a woman driver in a smaller car
I know this well enough - am a woman driver in a small Kancil for 7 years before trading it for a slightly bigger one. Some guys are sweet when you meet them elsewhere but on the road, they are Satans. *sigh..


8. Letting her to carry heavy loads while he walks free
I am strong enough to lift up heavy boxes, but letting a woman to do that while he walks swaying his hands? Doesn't sound gentlemanly to me.. Between, the same goes to men who let the women to push the heavy trolley around the hypermarket.


7. Use of vulgar words in blogs/e-mails
How one writes, reflects himself. Need I to say more? And oh yea.. WTFs are okay :D


6. Cheating his girl (be it lover or wife) with another woman/man and/or women/men
I know I know. It sounds hilarious when you read it for the first time. But it does happens. And Ammu doesn't like it when it happens. Cheats are unforgivable, though mistakes can be forgiven. Mistakes and cheating are two different thing, mind you.


5. Smoking in presence of a (non-smoking) woman
It is not COOL or MANLY thing to smoke and blow it on her face. Got that?


4. Bad-mouthing his girl to his friends.. and laugh about it
There is a difference in complaining about her bad habits to your close friends and bad-mouthing her. The former was to find a solution and to get (peer) support but the later is just to boost his ego.


3. Boosting his self-confidence by belittling the woman
Is that all he can do to show the Hercules in him?


2. Hitting a woman (obviously)
This is closely related to #3. Usually it starts with #3 and ends with #2. In some cases, proceed to #1.


1. Forcing himself on a woman, even if that is his wife
Hungry animal - that explains enough.


p/s: Been really busy. All free time I have is sufficient only to write new posts, no time to blog-hop. My apologies to the regulars here. I will definitely check out our blogs when the time permits. Cheers!

Saturday:

Sunday:

So, how was your weekend?

These are some of the things which could be donated to the Home:


Provision:

1. Sardine 425g - RM 3.59
2. Cooking Oil 5kg - RM 12.89
3. Milo Refill Pack 2kg - RM 25.45
4. Local Rice (5%) 10kg - RM 25.50
5. Coarse Sugar 2kg - RM 2.75
6. Full Cream Milk 2kg - RM 41.90

Gifts:

1. Age 8-12   : Colouring set
2. Age 13-15 : Stationary Set
3. Age 16-18 : Stationary Set ( a different one to suit their higher secondary needs )

The sets are estimated to be around RM7/child, which roughly come up to RM340.
 
These are just some ideas that occurred to us while brainstorming about it. I am sure everyone here could come up with their own ideas or some maybe generous enough to part with old books or unused clothes which are still in good condition.

Besides, we also would appreciate if you could sacrifice your Saturday afternoon to be with these kids.
You may choose to leave a comment with your details and things you may be able to sponsor, or else e-mail us (amutha@mindsblog.com / npuvanan@gmail.com / nkavilan@yahoo.com) for further details.

Let’s join hands to make this event a success.

RSVP via Facebook.