taken for granted...

u know...the weird thing about humans are....they never appreciates something until they lose it...(on a different note, i'm training myself not to use short forms, let's see how it goes)..yeah, back to the thingy....you agree with me? and to make things worse, we often take for granted the people closest to us, the people we meet everyday..not just people, we also take for granted the things we have with us, the priviledges that we enjoy, the surroundings and the atmosphere we live in....we seldom appreciate them until we lose it or are threatened to lose it....

take for example, we live comfortably in our homes, we have everything we need with us, everything is so in order....we have all the facilities and amenities we need....yet we hear ourselves complaining "i can't wait to get outta here...i want to live outside, with a new meaning given to freedom". but when it's time to move out, the freedom that we had once craved for spells.....DREAD! why? because when they have to move out, they realise that they would have to start from scratch...that yes, they may have more freedom (in the sense that they would not be controlled) but that also mean that they would have to live independently and do everything themselves..they would not have the luxury of having delicious home-cooked food served on the dinner table every night...no one to do the laundry for them, no one to make up their beds, no one to do this, no one to do that...and the list goes on and on....and then, people start yearning to go back home....even if that means nagging from parents.....well, of course it's also a matter of adaptability....

on a more personal note: i'm so accustomed to my own lifestlyle now...the thought of leaving home pretty much, scares me! call me a baby! but really...i can't imagine leaving in a place so alien-liked to me....even when i go to posh hotels, i still miss my room, my own bathroom, my everything....it's like i can't live anywhere else...i feel that everything is already so 'perfect' in my own home...i couldn't ask for more.....really! and i believe, one day i'd have to move out to live at hostels, or student residences, or even rent my own place when i further my studies...just the other day i was tellin (wait, it's suppose to be telling) my mom,

"i can't imagine having to live in a room that is half my current room's size and still having to share it with another person that i do not know...."

" i can't imagine having to live with another person all day long, all year long, all say 4-5 years long?" (okie, let me get it straight, that doesn't mean i don't want to get married k? if i get married, it'll be my OWN home, u see?)

and my mom answered me, "you have no choice but to just adapt"

my bro was even smarter, "che, you rent double la....that means u pay the price of 2. so you'll get the whole place to yourself, no need to share"

i said, "what if 4 people were to share a whole house, you rent the entire house?" ;p

actually..i've been going on and on about it...but i'm not even in my main point yet....(no wonder people always say i'm 'cheong hei' -beating around the bush)

my main point: who are the people most often taken for granted? i'd say...none other than the 2 people who love us most.....our PARENTS! they are the ones who care so much about us (over controlling counts, so does over-protective)...they've sacrificed so much for us and still are sacrificing everyday....they will do everything and anything just to provide a better environment for us to grow up in...okie? we won't feel the impact if were to go on this way.....

i'll put it this way...imagine in 10 years time, most of us would be parents ourselves by then (at least, that's what i hope)....you get married, then start a family....before the child was borned, you started planning, started worrying.....you wanted what was best for your child....you bought parenting books, went to parenting seminars....you did everything within your means..... then the child started to grow, initially she was a real sweetheart....your heart would melt everytime she came cuddling you...you'd giggle everytime she babytalked.....and when she sleeps, she's a real angel......when she started pre-school, she became slightly more mischievous....she'd give u a hundred and one suprises everytime you came back home...but you knew she was still a good girl deep inside you, still full of respect and good manners....she'll help you with household chores and love to watch you prepare dinner......

then, the adolescent years (the most rebellious years) - she started receiveing phone calls from boys, this week , it's A, next week it would be B, then C, so on and so forth...she was still doing very well in school (and you thank God for that!).....then you realised that the little angel you onced had in your home started becoming more rebellious...she would answer back...she would challenged you when you made a remark......she hardly helps around the house anymore...she started receiving many invitations to parties, you had no choice but to allow her to go (or else a big argument would have ensued)...you realised that her taste in dressing has also changed....all closed-up to slightly more revealing to revealing to more revealing and to....indistinguishable...

you realised that the gap wasn't getting narrower no matter what you do....instead, it was getting further...she no longer confides in you because she knows very well that you will not approve of her taste in guys......she hardly speaks to you anymore...her only few phrases are "i'm going out", "i need cash", "i'll be back after midnight, don't wait!" "i need to go shopping, can you send me to the mall?"

as you read, you probably nod your head in agreement with me....most of us, or should i say all of us have taken advantage of our parents, taking them for granted because we know that they will always forgive us....but unlike God, their love for us also has its limits..they may love us a lot, but it is still conditional.....after a period of time, they'll give up on us.....do we want to be the children our parents are proud of? or do we want them to shake their heads with deep regret everytime they see us? it's all up to us...our parents, like humans, make mistakes too.....they are no perfect beings.....but everytime they do something that may have been a lil offensive to us, let's take a moment, to pause and to reminisce the past.....they were the ones who had sleepless nights when we had a cold, they were the ones who supported and encouraged us when we were doubtful of certain things....they were the ones who motivated us when we felt like giving up....they were the ones that hugged and comfort us when we came home crying...they were the ones, people!

it is easier said than done, i know....but the next time we get mad, let us not raise our voices, slammed the door or stomp right out of the house and speed off in our cars (which of course was bought by our parents)...let us instead look at them in their eyes and feel the love they have for us....forgiving them just as how they have forgiven you.....and God will forgive all of us....

and so today, i thank my parents for being my two pillars of strength! i truly believed that i've been abundantly blessed by God through my parents......i couldn't have asked for more....

they are my confidantes, my besties, my playmates, my friends.....you name it......

you may be saying to yourself, "licia, you just do not know me...u do not know my situation..yes, you may be more fortunate" but wait, let me tell you ( i know i've no rights to...) all it takes is a lil change in our attitude and in our mindsets...really...give it a try before denying the opportunity.....after all, they were the ones who raised us to be what we are today!

PAPA AND MIE, I LOVE YOU!!!

p/s: ah boy, i know i've taken advantage of you many times too (btw, you have too)..but how come you weren't mentioned? i'll dedicate a whole post to you, soon!

The strength of a woman!

i did warn you that i was somewhat sexist rite??? haha..but din get me wrong... i still admire and love those homo sapiens with XY chromosomes too....(blame it on my bro, he's always reminding me about genetics...."che, this person has an extra chromosome...lolz" "che, men more susceptible to such diseases cos they only have 1 X chromosome, women need 2 X" haha)

this is too hard to miss....it was publish by yi wen under my comments for the previous post..i shall give her the credits and not say that i wrote it myself...though i doubt she actually wrote it herself, she must have gotten it from somewhere....but i'll let her guilty conscience do the talking...hehe..

The Strength of a Woman

A strong woman works out everyday to keep her body in shape,

but a woman of strength kneels in prayer to keep her soul in shape.

A strong woman isn't afraid of anything,

but a woman of strength shows her courage in the midst of her fear.

A strong woman won't let anyone get the best of her,

but a woman of strength gives the best of her to everyone.

A strong woman walks sure footedly,

but a woman of strength knows that God will catch her when she falls.

A strong woman wears the look of confidence on her face,

but a woman of strength wears grace.

A strong woman has faith that she is strong enough for the journey,

but a woman of strength has faith that it is in the journey that she will become strong.

May GOD grant all women the strength to face the challenges that come their way!!!

Edit: After reading it again, i realised i'm such a sexist...haha...but the world needs such ppl too rite?

of boiling carrots, eggs and oolong...

u noe....when a lil child is born...u gotta give it a lot of love and attention, feeding it bout almost every hour...haha...n tht's exactly wht i'm doin with my lil baby....so tht it would not starve....hehe

okie....to the topic...i dunno how many of u read star two today? i'm pretty sure the headlines hv caught ur attention and u were probably most engrossed with pages 1-3....n probably skipped chong sheau ching's article.....hehe.....i shall not discuss the pages 1-3 thingy here....it's outta my topic....if u noe it, u noe it...if not, then it's up to u to find out....

csc wrote on gender equality...and went on to mention the degratory remarks about woman....i shall admit here that i'm pretty sexist...n i will defend the females to as long as i live....hehe...
so the saying on boiling carrots, eggs and oolong.....

boiling carrots : when u boil carrots, they become soft right?
yeah...same goes with women in the yesteryears....they succumb to pressure and admit defeat in the battle with men.....they r labeled the 'softies'...who do not stand up for their rights....or should i say they r ignorant (and in this case here, ignorance is certainly no bliss) and do not noe their rights...hence, being bullied by the stronger race...

boiling eggs : when u boil eggs, they become hard right?
yeaps....tht's what women are today...they've evolved to become stronger (maybe not physically but emotionally and mentally)....they are the result of ur constant discrimination, men! (u regret ur past actions now, do u?) so women these days have become tougher....and are no longer that susceptible to discrimination and sexism.....we do not want to be the more inferior gender.....

boiling oolong : and what happens when u boil oolong/tea? the colour comes out aight? the colour around it changes huh?
we want to be women who can influence the ppl around us, we want to be able to convince ppl of their rights....we do not want to rule, we only want equality...we want to be treated with respect, with dignity...and tell me, is tht too much to ask? y is it that we have to continuously endure sexist and degratory remarks against us? how much longer do we have to bear with ur nonsensical 'humours'? who gave u the right n the authority to make fun of us...r u not aware of who bore u into this world n moulded u to be who u r today? then give her n her race some respect, men!!!

men,let us treat the women around us today with respect and dignity....
and women, let us stand up for our own rights and be bold and courageous....and be the oolongs of the millenium!
~here's a toast to all the women in the world today!~

a sense of betrayal...

i believe that the topic is so common and being dealth with in our lives all the time....
all of us...at one point in our life would hv either been betrayed to or felt betrayed by the ppl closest to us.... wht hurts the most is when u hv bn betrayed by your family, relatives and your best frens...you won't call it a betrayal if tht person does not mean somethg to u...bcos in the very first place, u'd hv to be very close to one person before being able to tell them how u feel bout certain thgs...(okie...wht m i crappin bout?)

well...as a matter of fact...i'm a victim of betrayal.....i'm not going into the details...but i shall do some story telling for now....

Story #1:
there was this fren of mine who happened to share with me her feelings for another guy
(who at the same time, happens to be one of my good frens)...and then a couple of weeks later, i realised that this guy (my fren, and the guy my fren likes) started gettin really close to me....he'd always be somewhere around pullin a joke on me, teasin me, whtever...... and of course, as time past, this fren of mine (the girl) started to get furious...she must have thought i was trying to seduce the guy she like, betraying her and going against her.....but what she failed to realise is tht, in actual fact...i did not do anythg at all......n bein a good fren and valuing our frenship more....i decided to keep a distance from the guy....he finally got my msg.....and everything fell into the right places again.....and they all lived happily ever after. *the end*

okie....tht didn't sound like i was the victim rite? yeah.....i was the heroine! haha....

Story #2:
wht if u were to wake up one day...and realised that your best fren kind of meddled herself into your relationship...switched off some switches (thus, no more sparks) cut off some wires (thus, no more connection) jumbled up some of the wires (thus, the confusion), etc, etc....the next thing you noe is the guy that used to be urs....was now with her.....the person whom u've trusted with almost everythg.....is now an alien and a stranger....how would u feel? of course u'll be heart-wrecked...and felt as if the whole world came crashing down on u.....why not? since u trusted the person more than anythg else....but she turned to go against you and robbing you of what you hv been so proud of......understand tht feelin? well..if u've nvr gone through it...trust me, u will at some points in ur life....but these are the things which will make us stronger, giving us a triumphant comeback! woohoo....haha....looks like the hols is gettin into me...maybe i jus can't reach my quota of 1325654 words a day.....i can't be yakkin n yakkin to goldie and tasha the whole day rite? they prob will get so sick of me too...*sighz* so back to the story...wht do u do? cry n cry? n cry somemore? till ur pillows soak with tears? nah! u dun do tht....pick urself up, stand up, be proud of urself (no matter how hard it is)...then walk on again...n trust that God will continue to provide...after all, is life all ablut gettin married n havin kids? no rite? or else wht would life be for all those who dun get married...even in their later years? n besides, we r all still young n capable people...let us be up on our feet, and to face more challenges life could possibly give to us...the more hurdles, the stronger we become! and there are many more fishes in the sea...(a fren once asked me when i told him tis, he said "but wht if tht was the fish meant for u? n cudn't possibly find another which is compatible?" i answered, "how do u noe then that tht was the best fish u could possibly find?" haha...true?)

story #3:
a lil girl did all her homework bcos her mommy promised to take her out to buy new pretty lacy dresses and more babrie dolls if she finishes 10 pages of maths today....the lil girl was so excited and enthusiasm kicked in....she was determined to do wht it takes even if she were to finish 100 pages, she'd do it...cos she wants that pretty lacy dress from "precious".......she started solving all the arithmetic problems.....few couple of hours later, she proudly announced to her mother, "Mommy, i've finished 11 pages of maths...which is more than 10.....can we go out now? to buy that dress that i've so wanted....and to get matching shoes for barbie? if i get new clothes, it's only fair that barbie gets some too.....*giggles to self*"
Mother looks at the lil girl and said "sweetheart, not today k? mommy has a lot of work to do....maybe next week ya? tell barbie that she'll be getting new shoes soon...but not today *kisses lil girl's forehead*"
"but mommy? "
"no buts, sweetheart" "mommy is really busy"
"mommy, next week? promise?"
"yeah, sweetheart. mommy promise"

and as u hv expected it....a week past....and mommy is still busy....more busy or so it seems.....
and wht happens to the lil girl? she decides that she'll no longer trust her mommy cos she has betrayed her trust, not once......not twice, not even thrice......but numerous of times.....

see? we all get betrayed......it's part and parcel of life.....let's move on.....friends are hard to find....yeah, i agree.....but there's always another lonely soul out there longing to be ur fren..... (ooopsies, but i jus told lay yen tis aftnoon tht when 2 lonely souls meet, the ending could be pretty tragic...haha)

and so after 3 stories, wht points do i want to get across? sorry...i'm clueless myself....maybe it's just my idea of therapy.....hehe.....at least i feel a whole deal lot beta....haha....
so which was my story........haha...i'll leave u to figure for urself...dun rule out story #3 so quickly,
who noes i may still be a lil girl at heart.....not craving for lacy dresses and matching shoes for barbies....but perhaps, matching shoes for my own outfit? haha...n not to mention matching bags/totes??? haha...there i go again-living in my very own dollieworld....
leave me a comment (if u r readin this post) n tell me which u think is MY STORY...lolz....

Tribute to Mie!!!

mie....i owe u a big big one...and i noe i'll never be able to repay you for all you've done...this is for u!




Dearest Mie,

You mean all the world to me....thank you for being such the wonderful mother you are...i couldn't have asked for more...you have taught me the most invaluable lessons in life, bringing me up in the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ, teaching me to love and to care for the less fortunate and the 'not so lovely' ones, instillin in me a sense of discipline, good virtues and moral values...i could go on and on..and the list would probably never come to an end because every second spent with you exposes me more to the wisdom that you have acquired over the years! mommy dearest, i love you from the very botttom of my heart....and may the Lord our GOD continue to bless you abundantly to be the woman mentioned in Proverbs 31! i'm truly sorry for everything that i've done which have hurt you in any manner or ways.....Mie, i love you! n a blessed birthday once again! oh..n this year i promise i'll be a good girl for you...to be the daughter that you will be very proud of...and another thing before i leave, you are the most beautiful woman in the world...both inside and out! muaxies!

love your beloved sweetheart xoxo,
~me~

(p/s: mie's bday was on may 25th)
(double p/s: she looks super young rite? guess how old she is? i won't tell u tho...oh...n i hate it when ppl say i'm her sis when we go out.....it jus spoils my day...but of course, she'll be giggling away and all happy)

Truly Malaysian

What is truly Malaysian? when visitors from abroad come over to visit, the first thing they's say is probably, "wow! u malaysians eat a lot! almost every subsequent hour" (of course, what they fail to realise is that we are actually playing our roles as hosts very well...and in actual fact, malaysians don't eat that much, rite?)

But i've been truly malaysian the past 3 days...it has been a food fest in the Tan's residence...or should i call it "the Tan's jalan-jalan cari makan"..lolz..
flashback:
fri nite - we had super yummy chinese food (song river, klang town) the place is somewhat hidden, and you probably won't be able to locate it easily....but the food there is super duper good....haha....they were even featured in the star newspaper very recently....the chief editor herself tried the sumptous food...
sat nite - should i call it western? okie...i'll let u decide for urself.....dinner at san francisco's steakhouse, usj...i like the setting and the arrangement there...very cosy, very private, perfect ambience....haha...except for the children's voices....the food's good too.....i recommend...everythg? haha....(wait..the idea is not bout wht i ordered....but bout the food fest in the family)
sun aftnoon - chinese....wht do chinese eat for brunch? yeah...dim sum....(oriental, pj) okie...let me say i was pretty impressed with this place....but i'd say that the dim sum served in mandarin oriental, kl is still better....but its thousand times better than the ones u get in klang....n yeah, we'd pekking duck for lunch....lolz....super huge apetites.....
sun nite - my all-time childhood favourite...we'd tex-mex (short for texas-mexican) american chillis, 1 utama...i used to like this place a lot when i was a lot younger cos they'd always provide my brother with crayons n pictures to colour..there'll also be puzzles and problems to solve...ahaha...we were always so excited bout going to this place....(back then, we frequent the bangsar outlet) and best of all, u get to take home the crayons n ur meals come free-of-charge if a main dish is ordered.....but of course, we don't get to eat for free anymore....haha....long past that period.....all grown up d....okie...back to the place...i'd say that the food served in this outlet's good...but the service isn't that 'very satisfactory'....nevertheless, i enjoyed my meal....my fav: nachos and fajitas....

n yeah...i was tellin my mom that if we could eat like this everyday....it'll be superb...n she said, "if we were to eat liddat for a month, we'd be obese...(n this is my fav part)...n i'd go bankrupt....haha.....

so i guess, this was all but a holiday special.....and in conjuction with my mom's birthday....wait...a post on my heroine will be up soon.....

and so after reading, u're really convinced that i've been so msian for the past few days huh? not to mention a very 'muhibbah' apetite too....

p/s: sorry...no photos....i was too hungry to even take pictures of the food....but i'd say tht the presentation in sfs earns an A from me...haha...u shld hv seen the cream caramel for dessert....

my brainchild

yeah..this is my brainchild..hehe...
i never thought i'll come close to doing anything like this...but i did it anyway after much thought and consideration...
i'm going to do this my way....it's my way of expressing myself in my own way...i want to be able to comment on anything and everything i want regardless of what others may say or think or do...
i like to be able to stand out and be different from the rest...
and for the time being, i choose to write on people, places and happenings rather than my personal life like what happens or what i do.....i dunno how long this transition period will be...but we'll see....
so welcome to this little corner of mine....and i hope that through this, u'll better understand me...and thus, the birth of my lil baby....

p/s: i wonder whether procrastination will get its way to me or not...if it does, this baby will probably face health problems due to premature birth...and may not be able to survive this ordeal...lolz