Language Acquisition vs Language Learning

This poem is actually one of my ELT tutorial project with some of my coursemates. Enjoy!

* “Sagen Sie mir, wo ist dein Song,

Sie können in der Klasse schlafen?“

How can I learn it,

When nobody speaks to me?

How can I learn Deutsch,

When all speak in English and French?

How can I write a song,

When I get my Subject-Object-Verb all wrong?

I was born in the country with the Sun to see,

And after a winter I learned my A-B-C.

“A is for apple, B is for boy;

C is for cow, and D is for donkey!”

Papa taught me ‘Alphabets Song’,

Mama taught me ‘Old Mc Donald’,

So I babbled in English as long as I grow old.

Then I want to make wedding gowns,

So I flew to Paris.

‘Bonjour!’ ‘ Merci!’ God, help me!

I even pronounced ‘croissant’ as ‘croy-sen’.

The Parisian gave me that stare (Ha Ha Ha),

But thank God, French words grace the streets.

When I speak in English,

They replied in French instead,

*“excusez-moi?”

The French pronunciation is like a Rubik cube,

Fun to explore, pain to solve,

By rolling my tongue into a ball,

To talk more and erase my woes, once and for all.

The French pronunciation is like a Rubik cube,

But it is peanuts, as when I learn German off YouTube,

I talked to all but a huge eye piercing screen,

With no friend to talk to but a mirror to preen.

So I pranced down the streets of Berlin,

When I say *“Guten Tag”, they replied “How are you”!

* Translation: “Good Day.”

Like a wandering monkey in the alley,

I tried, in vain, to look for a German-speaking ally,

So I went to a class and bought many books,

And burned the midnight oil to get my language right,

Even a *“Zwei Frühstücks” cannot show its might!

“Sagen Sie mir, wo ist dein Song,

Sie können in der Klasse schlafen?“

To write a song, a city of aliens,

Is like me, drowning slowly, into the deepest seas.

Down, down, and down,

Unless if someone rescues me, speak to me. 

*1. Translation: “Tell me, where is your song,

              You can sleep in the class?“  

*2. Translation: "Excuse me?"

*3. Translation: “Good Day.”

*4. Translation: “Two breakfast.”

Life is Simple

As we first opened our eyes
to see the light;
As we first opened our ears
to hear mummy's voice;
As we first opened our mouth
and cry;

Our voyage begins
A voyage from Mum's Cradle
To Never-Ending Land

Brains and brawns are we
just like our non-human friends around;
God gave us the faith, the hope
that we can give rainbows and build bridges
to make this world a Utopia.

He gave us special brains as a gift
so languages we create to speak
and to pass down to our children and grandchildren;
ideas and logics we manifest
to create good livelihood, but

Our life ain't as simple.

As the trees and flowers and shrubs
grow strong from the ground
felicitate under the warmth of the sun
taste the nectar from dew drops

The land animals roam free and wild
across hills and savannahs;
The hummingbirds, magpies and parrots reate melodies
and sing in Mother Nature's choir.
The fish danced in the clear blue rivers
and deep blue seas, along with red shrimps and crabby crabs
while Mother Oyster painstakingly produces
Nature's jewels.

And Man, the Rulers of the World
pay to live with every single cent,
to rewrite God's prescription and ode to live
into a version man fancy. 

For the luscious candies of nature grown 
underwent surgeries and genetic modifications
before slapping them as being super-healthy.
Those, hand-created by God, freshly from the ground
bear the burden of an extra adjective:
"ORGANIC"
with the price-tag triple of that of their counterparts'
and send goosebumps down the laymen's spine.
Where is "ORGANIC" food before World War Two?
None, because ALL food is pure and natural
without the burden of an extra adjective. 

The food, the skin care, the house-wash
Once attainable with oil and soil
Now required a millionwillion ingredients
with a list longer than a professor's thesis
Improved livelihoods and civilization? Yes-
Obesity, cancer, allergies, heart attack
Are our bosom friends now.
So cheap, so fragrant, so beautiful, so dear
Yet deadly
As we put these into our bodies to save money,
Our poor bodies are screaming for mercy.

Juicy, thick fat steak
Becomes a sign of social status.
Got milk? How about some pus and hormones with that?
Got egg? Oh, yummy hen period
produced with the expense of the happiness of the hens.
Why harm our animal friends? To nourish?
We gnaw the nerves and muscles off our FRIENDS
and bathed in their blood
and make merry out of a big fat roasted turkey
when there they are in a massive concentration camp
spanning hundreds of years, with their wings clipped and feet bound
to see their family members torn apart from them
every DAY.

We want to move-no more.
These are the days where
Extracting petroleum hydrocarbons for PET, 
polymerization, producing PET pellets, stretch blow molding
cooling down the mold and checking for leftover PET 
are deemed easier than
PROCESING STEEL, MOLDING THEM, 
SELLING THEM AND WASHING THEM FOR ANOTHER USAGE
because we are disposable. We eat, we sleep, we wear, we poo, we throw.

And why the fur, hides and leather for clothes and arm candies?
Why, we are born with our own skin and
insecurity and lack of confidence prevail
so much that
we need to hide under others' skins and coats
the fox, the minks, the rabbits, the tigers, the leopards, the goats?
and we mass produce them through concentration camps
and process it with heavy metal just to rid bacteria and all that jazz
slap a 10K price tag onto it
and have them making their ways into fashion runways,
a symbol of success, and a symbol of pride
when we can have them cheap and easy with
something without flesh and blood-cotton? cool and fresh,

Why we need to pitch knives and swords
against our friends? Why the bloodshed
for a common land? We are all homo sapiens
with 99% similar DNA. It's the skin colour, location and brains
that set us apart, apparently.
For resources and an uber race, 
we set our friends'house on fire
and deport them as slaves or to their ends
and have to pay the price of war
and to sign neverending treaties in the end...

WHY THE HASSLE OF IT AT ALL?

Life is meant to be simple and easy for all
As long as we walk the path
as prescribed by God because
He has painted a picture of life
and designed the seas, the mountains, the plains,
the plants, the animals, and the humans, supposed to be the smartest.
With our brains, we should have make the world of better place
but instead we stabbed against Him and made him cry in fury
and end up with a circle of malaise


Sharon Ng Huey Yuek
14/05/2014
6.29 a.m.

2013，我做了什么？

我知道现在为我的2013来个总结可能言之过早（还有三天好不好？），可是以后我要发布素材，而且还要忙着整理回学院的东西。我之前说过，我住最高楼，当然要尽量减少行李的数量咯。除了省时省力，也不用让妈妈受罪，因为开学前一天妈妈都会和我一起清理宿舍房间。要舍弃什么东西？我真的难以做抉择啊！（衣服、书本等等）


先简单带过我在2013年的人生大事（？）

January 2013: PPISMP Semester 2。基本上也没什么特别的啦。只是，我能住房间，不用一堆人挤在同一个dorm了。STORY HERE
还有，我和朋友做Ponggal饭！

  

February 2013: 被委任为第三十四届全国师范学员佛学生活营秘书组组长。祝我好运。

March 2013: Mock Exam（因为我们TESL生在第三学期才考试，所以我们要考mock exam，当作是考试前的准备。）

April 3, 2013: 正式茹素，是蛋奶素，基于方便缘故，五辛也吃。



May 2013: 马六甲游玩（顺便配合Moral assignment）；参加全国教师佛学研修营。



June 2013: Relay for Life



July-October 2013: 基本上都是assignment、义工等等活动，当然我还有在第一场《父母恩重难报经》当护经藏，即义工。



November 6-14, 2013: 决定我在师范的命运的考试。我ting tong tiang的，真的（因为很多时候我也不知道我在写什么，而且比其他同学早完成作答。难道我的point 不够？

November 17-24, 2013: 第三十四届全国师范学员佛学生活营，顺利举办。还有，我已经受五戒了。全文如下：
《当老师遇见菩萨》之筹委感言
《当老师遇见菩萨》之我的普贤组
《当老师遇见菩萨》之总心得
《当老师遇见菩萨》之Picture Time!

December 1, 2013: 第一次烘蛋糕






December 20, 2013: 师范考试成绩公布！幸好及格，谢天谢地。



今年我过得算蛮充实，因为在我当少女（teen）的最后一年，发生了很多改变我的生活的事。要迈入成年时期了，思想举止方面一定要成熟，况且我以后还是老师啊！正所谓“上梁不正下梁歪”，假如老师连举止都顾不来，那么学生要怎样学好呢？

哦，在我下线之前，我要看看我的假期计划做到了哪里。

1.设计、更新部落
 这个叻，我当然做到，不然我也不会写这篇。哎，想到荒废好几个月的部落，我只能自叹自己不会好好分配时间。我要明年至少每个星期更新部落一次，锻炼文笔。这次我以简单概念设计部落，告诉自己，快乐其实很简单。


2.学烹饪
我基本上向妈妈学炒菜和做蛋糕。能够自己煮出菜肴是我内心最大的满足。现在，我能自己炒出杂菜，不过自己炒出的菜比较咸，相信是因为自己粗心和“调味越多越好”的想法。当然，妈妈暂时还不让我自制蛋糕，而且坚信没有鸡蛋的蛋糕不能吃。哼！我一定要好好扎马步，做个好吃的素食蛋糕！（当然还是要看食谱，哈哈！）

学会烹饪，以后就可以自己做出健康的餐点，而且能大大节省金钱、时间。

3.预习
这个我好像没有做到，因为我天天都在更新部落，看报纸、小说。。。。。。（面壁）


4.拜佛念经
念经能让我定心，整个人头脑比较放松。每天念经，心情特别好。

5.减肥！
其实，我不知道我减肥成功还是失败。
假期时，我重了两公斤，可是衣服反而变松了。我也不知道为什么？我每天做运动至少一个小时，以弥补之前吃得过多的甜食。要瘦到我梦想的60公斤？恐怕有点难。唉。希望明年住高楼，爬上爬下，能顺便帮我减肥。


好了好了，我好像讲得有点太长。我很庆幸能平安快乐地活过2013年，并从中成长。明年我将升上PISMP了，既是学士班。此外，我也将踏入20岁门槛。我希望来年顺利，法喜充满。

暂时下线，准备面壁、预习去！（囧）

Dear Santa

I may be as small as a speck of dust
In the vast, thick black night sky.
Deep in my heart I wonder
If I am a kid good enough
To receive a little gift from You, Dear Santa?

Hope for toys I don't.
Santa, may you give us a break
From the toys and candies and luxe
Just for once?

Santa, may You bless rains and beautiful sunshine
To the once bountiful regions on Earth
Now devoured with harsh weather and
Torn apart with cannons and gunfires.

May you shower the gift of life
Rays of hope
To the pillars of their nations, their states.
Only when their wings get mended
will they soar high up to the clouds above
And bestow the kind rains
For the world to change.

Santa, may you bless us
With pure heart and sound mindset
As they born gifts from gifts.
And with a pure heart and clear mind
Will we know our direction
And want nothing more than
The seeds of compassion and merry spread around.

Santa, may you bless the men
With a clear brain and soul
as good as Gold, as kind as You are
And may at least a few turkeys and cows and prawns
Get to rejoice and felicitate in this Merry weather
And not to be destined to a lifetime to suffer
Only to be on the plates for men to revere!

Santa, may thou bless us all this Christmas
and thou be blessed and merry too.

我对外吃的看法

什么是外食族？顾名思义，外食族既是三餐都在外解决的人。今日生活步伐加速，人们也为了生计，而拼命在外打拼，外食便是充饥的方便选择了。

我在学院时，几乎也是外食族，早餐除外。毕竟，院方不允许学生在学院烹饪嘛。

马来西亚是个美食天堂。 只要你有钱，你就不愁吃。大街小巷不乏有很多摊子，卖各种熟食，从最简单的糕粿至大排档煮炒，一定有其中一道能满足饥肠辘辘的又最挑剔的食物鉴赏家。不然，来茶餐室用餐吧！虽然环境会有点闷热，不过里头招待的叔叔、阿姨们笑脸迎人，会亲切地向你拿订单，然后不下五分钟，你就能享受一顿热腾腾又果腹的便餐，如：炒饭、咖喱面、chapati等等，真正以经济的方式体会马来西亚多姿多彩的美食文化和民间色彩。



要比较高级的地方，和亲朋戚友聚餐吗？全国各地都有大型超级市场和形形色色的购物中心，如雨后春笋般林立。中心里头一定会有多间连锁餐厅和咖啡馆，如：Chatime、The Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf、星巴克、麦当劳、龙的传人、Sushi King等等。除了大家熟悉的连锁店，我们也能到某些专卖异国料理的餐馆用餐。这里的食物卖相精美而且种类繁多，让食客能不用申请护照也能尝遍来自世界各地的异国料理，满足好奇心和味蕾。

外吃，就是这么享受。那么我还要嫌什么呢？

------------------------------------------------

既然我是年轻人，那么我应该喜欢时尚，对衣食住行也有很高的要求吧？


对，我对生活的要求非常高，穿也要得体美观又要多样化。每天穿T-shirt配裤子，真没趣啊！（可是这也是我遮掩赘肉的法宝，因为它比较便宜、舒适。现在瘦一点点才不用整天穿T-shirt配裤子出门）还有，你叫我天天吃炒面、炒面、炒面？呵呵，对我这个大胃王来说，来两盘炒面，也吃不饱，又超级油腻，热量高脂肪高，超级不划算。今天吃沙拉，明天吃寿司，后天来个英式下午茶，然后吃chapati，才是我的吃法嘛。（如果我有那么多钱天天吃异国料理就好 T.T）过后，我穿衣服，绝对不会胡乱配色，比如蓝色上衣配粉红色长裤再加上靴子，对我来说简直就是恶心到。。。。。。不要讲了。基于经济缘故，我基本上只买多种颜色的上衣，其他的多是中性色彩，百搭又不失美观。

可是，对我来说，吃的主要目的是为了提供营养和能量，让我有精力完成事儿。吃下去的东西，有谁看得见？即使你能剖开别人的肚子，你所看到的，最多仅仅是软烂的一团东西。当然，那些食物已经被消化到不成形了，呵呵。你能在肚子看到寿司、奶茶等等吗？不能嘛对不对。

FACTOR #1: MONEY IS A MAJOR ISSUE

因此，身为经常得外食又频频缺钱的学生，我尽量选择在摊子、传统老式kopitiam或超级市场的Food Court 用餐。虽然我不大可能能尝试异国风味（除了台湾食物，而且多是窜烧，所以我不吃），不过能尝试大马的小食，比如马来人的kuih、华人的包等等，岂不是一个简单的享受。此外，这里的食物比较便宜。举例说，Kopitiam卖的清汤面一碗要价RM3.20，而在连锁店，一盘清汤面要价RM10！食物的用料几乎大同小异，只是连锁店的分量可能大一点点。为什么同样的食物，要价这么贵呢？我用point form解释了。

• 6%政府税，有些地方还收10%服务税。
• 租金关系。不过我对各地方的租金不甚了解，恳求有这方面的知识的朋友们多多指教。当然，在购物中心租地方做生意，一定会比在小镇，甚至摆摊的租金高。（废话）e.g. 在Taiping Sentral每个月的租金为大约 RM2828
• 水电费。连锁店还要提供冷气，又用美丽的电灯装饰。假如他们在为食物标价时没有考虑水电费，他们要怎样负担做生意的成本？
• 店内装横。店里美丽的装饰，如：雕像、精美座椅、壁画等等，都至少有一个共同点：要钱！

我要填饱肚子，又要付那些额外的水电费、租金、装横费等等，普通的学生应该都会为此吃不消把？（不止学生，多数平民应该会如此吧。）

FACTOR #2: THE TASTE TEST

我比较喜欢原味的东西。在街边小摊和kopitiam吃，能够吃到各种不同口味、口感的食物，顺便认识当地的美食文化（假如去外坡旅游的话）。还有，在路边这样吃，能顺便测试叔叔或阿婶的功夫，哈哈！最重要的是，街边吃，食物是新鲜准备的，叔叔阿婶们需要用到新鲜材料煮，现做现卖，端上的食物是热腾腾的。这样的美味，是在高级饮食场所的食物加热处理遥不可及的。很多连锁店有专属的卡车，运输食物到各个分店去，加热售卖，所以我觉得连锁店的食物除了美观之外，味觉方面大同小异。



前提街边食物价格便宜，因此即使不好吃，我也不会那么心疼，顶多以后不光顾该摊而已。在连锁店吃到不好吃的食物，又想到钱包已瘦了一大半，会心如刀割，血流到美国去也流不完！


FACTOR 3: HEALTH ISSUE

先不要骂我！我知道街坊的食物不健康。炒面炒饭下了一大堆油；Mi Rebus的配料几乎都是煎炸的；Nasi Lemak都已经光明正大的告诉你它是lemak了，又是椰浆又是炸花生、炸江鱼仔，花俏一点的又有炸鸡！甜品方面，奶茶的黑珍珠都是淀粉，随便一杯能媲美炒饭的热量。至于红豆冰呢，先是一堆雪山，过后又加了甜甜的配料，糖浆似尼罗河，炼乳好像不用钱这样淋上去就大功告成！（一汤匙炼乳=60大卡）

当然，比较健康的也不少，如：粥、清汤面、经济饭（看你放什么配料）等等。连锁餐馆不是也有这些吗？对，健康的菜单多，不健康的更多，这就是外食族所要面对的。我从我少少的外食经验找到这个共同点：

• 青菜少得可怜，炸料就一大堆！
• 多油，多盐，多糖！
• 分量不定，有的太少，有的太多。

不过，我觉得小食摊的分量合理，就刚刚好一个中等的碗（？）反之，连锁店的食物，大多数分量太大了（比如装满炒饭的12寸盘，本人只能吃一半，可是丢掉一半又浪费食物浪费钱，很矛盾）。更可恶的是，有些店的食物分量大却吃不饱！他们到底下什么料啊？？！！

此外，街边吃，能看到小贩准备食物的情况。小贩可能已经再加准备好材料了，可是起码我能看到他下厨的方式，比较安心。大排档不会很肮脏吗？用脑筋，避开不处理垃圾的当口、环境肮脏的kopitiam吧！反之，连锁餐馆和饭厅虽然看起来干净整洁，可是我们能看到厨师准备食物的情况吗？


这只是例子，我没有一支竹竿打翻整艘船的意思。

化学物？我觉得只要你外食，就要准备吃化学物了！

结论：

我也不希望当外食族。我想亲自下厨，因为我知道我要什么，多少分量，更有效地控制饮食。不过，必须外食时，我还是比较喜欢光顾那种所谓老套的kopitiam、街边吃。除了比较经济，我也能尝试地方美食特色。kopitiam和摊口的工作人员也比较亲切。更重要的是，因为他们露天工作，所以他们自然比较不敢对我们的食物动手脚。若真的要和朋友聚餐的话，来这种亲切的地方吃也不错哦。

P/S: All pictures are obtained from the Internet.

父母

十月怀胎冒风雨，
母亲心酸有谁知？
屋漏儿病没柴烧，
父亲忍痛赚几两。
儿女哇哇求吃饭，
饿着肚子喂儿女。
欺凌惩罚样样来，
父母忍羞替出面。
儿女读书好辛苦，
省吃俭用教好来。
自己寒酸没关系，
儿女温饱才要紧。
展翅高飞迎未来，
眉开眼笑多欣慰。
父母旧巢望子回，
鹤发苍苍求平安。
子女在外多享受，
哪有心思见父老？
嫌三嫌四父母老，
父母泪奔谁知晓？
只求儿女活安好，
往生也求儿女妙。
乌鸦尚知反哺恩，
羊儿跪下喝母乳。
父母恩重又难报，
为儿女小时了了，
大了未必成好料！
没了爸爸没了妈，
岂能在此自夸耀？

Fight CANCER together with Relay for Life!

Celebrate, Remember, FIGHT BACK!

Yes, that was basically what Relay for Life is about at the first glance. Organised by the National Cancer Society Malaysia, this charitable activity was held as a means to support the cancer survivors who triumphed cancer victoriously, commemorate the victims who lost their battle in cancer, and also to raise the awareness against cancer among the public.

I was indeed privileged to be a part of the Relay this year, since this was my first Relay in my life and I enjoy charity activities. It did not matter even if I had to sacrifice an extra day of holidays or raise funds from my parents' friends (Thanks to my parents)-most importantly, I could learn, explore and socialise.

For your information, Relay For Life 2013 was held in Youth Park, Penang. The park was huge and wide, with a children's playground separated from the lush field by a road. Before I proceed, let me show you around first!  

The Relay track

  I was unsure why PURPLE was used extensively in this event. Anyhow, purple is beautiful and evokes a feel of mystery. 

Hearts and flowers... we wish all cancer survivors to stay optimistic and win the battle against cancer.

I took part in the aerobics which was held before the Relay. Initially I was a little shy to get on the groove because there were many people around and neither my course mates nor seniors joined. I was hesitating when my seniors asked me to join the aerobics with them. 

Some performers before the relay.

I must say, when I began mirroring the aerobics (while perspiring GALLONS of saline solution as well), THERE IS NO STOPPING ME until the booming music ceased to silence. Aerobics was such a fun workout, especially when it was done with a group of friends, because it helped me to actually release my stress and embrace music through movements while working myself out without pushing myself. 

Apart from that, I think that performing aerobics with the triumphant cancer survivors is a simple gesture of supporting them and dancing to the melodious rhythm of life with them. They must have had incredulously strong determination and optimism to battle with cancer cells.

The crowded food court.

Hungry? Head towards the food stalls to satiate your hunger! There were a myriad of stalls selling various food to tailor all appetites. 

I was overjoyed as there were two stalls selling VEGAN food man! My dinner of the day was vegetarian fried rice at RM5. While RM5 may be a little pricey, it was sold for a good cause. Besides, the fried rice was CHOCK FULL OF LONG BEANS AND MIXED VEGETABLES! I was so hungry that I actually gobbled the entire plate without taking a picture of it LOL.

However, the place was so crowded that I did not actually manage to capture the pictures. Le sigh.

   Fancy some fun and games? The game stalls might cater for the fun-loving youngsters around. I was particularly amused with the game stall by Advance Tertiary College (ATC). They offered fun hair-highlighting and braiding. Besides, at RM2, we could even sponge our friends or the students there. (Naughty, Naughty!)  Nevertheless, my coupons were quite limited and I thought those stuffs were pretty impractical, so yeah, I just ignored them although I was tempted to have my hair coloured at first. Teachers are NOT supposed to wear rainbow-coloured hair, anyway. As the clock stroke 6pm, the Relay for Life begun. Us teacher trainees stand with solidarity to combat cancer and give cancer patients HOPE. The Relay kick-started with a grandeur.  

*Drum rolls* 

What followed the drum rolls was a grand procession featuring the societies for cancer survivors, who marched in pride to tell the world that cancer is not a death sentence; rather, it is an opportunity for us homo sapiens to rethink our deeds and be more concerned about our health for the days to come-in a hard way.  

The Candy Girls, a dance society for cancer patients came all the way from the Capital.
I particularly admire this group as they danced in the rain despite the torrents faced while battling cancer.

   

Here is the Line Dance Troupe.

 

The ultimate PURPLE army! Notice the Mohawk sported by some men there?

   

I4P-ians showed their UNDYING support to cancer patients and survivors.

 We relayed by walking behind the societies and cheering behind them. Well, since it was a relay, we exchanged people who held the banners while walking. Holding the banner up high was so damn tiring that my hands felt weak after holding them. It required strong strength of the arms. Come nightfall, there is a marathon of feasts-performances meant to be carried out for a staggering SIXTEEN hours of the relay.

A singing performance

 People with their loved ones struggling with cancer or lost to the battle bought some light-bags (well, that was how I called these paper lamps) from the Luminaria to pray for them. The paper lamps lighted up the field like a beautiful lighted wreath in the dark.   Unfortunately I did not take pictures of the performance as the stage was really crowded. I did not want my pictures to have many human heads instead of the highlights on the stage. (Perfectionist, much?) I actually walked in the relay from 8pm to 10:15pm with only three 5-minute breaks to pass the information to my course mates and, of course, buying at the Candy Girls' stall. Here are what I bought at relatively budget-friendly prices. Sometimes, you can hunt for bargains at charity sales too, if you are lucky. I should count my blessings then... Tee hee.

ABOVE: faux leather bracelets, RM3 per piece, RM5 for two. The designs are pretty ethnic-based.
BELOW: Twilight Breaking Dawn soundtrack. I got this for RM6 by the "Bursting the Balloons" game, where I could find a number in each balloon, hence I got this album.
I do not really like the soundtracks from Twilight though. Nevertheless, I am still grateful. At least I have an album of beautiful lullabies!

Come Day Two (16 June 2013), we performed aerobics to begin the second and final day of the Relay. What followed was the shaving ceremony, where some volunteers went bald as a token of support to the fighting cancer patients who had to lose their hair due to the various therapies underwent.  SIDE-BY-SIDE: Pre and while shaving.

Before going back to IPG, I bagged myself another bargain...

FREE LUNCH!!!

I was like, seriously, a free lunch? I wish to thank my course mate, Ng Jia Ying for informing me that the vegetarian stall, having its donation box given to the organizers, were clearing their food by  giving them out for free. Otherwise, I would have to pay RM5 for this yummy, veggie-laden spaghetti. 

Thank God I had a yummy free lunch for that day. Om nom nom...

Of course, I added the cherry tomatoes myself!

EPILOGUE: 

Being part of the event was indeed a blessing for me. Besides being able to hunt for bargains (surprise, surprise!) I realised that we are indeed blessed to be in a clean bill of health. Thus, we should always look after our health from a young age. I always believe that we cannot blame anyone when we fell ill. God gave us the responsibility to look after our bodies. Remember that "You are what you eat".

Apart from that, I learnt to be optimistic when walking through the path of life. Life is short, thus we should celebrate the days with optimism and treasure every single second. I saluted the cancer survivors for braving through that perceived "death sentence" in stride. This "Relay for Life" event reminded me of my tuition teacher who triumphed nose cancer and my mother's friends who won the battle against certain cancers but can no longer consume chicken and durians. They are indeed brave and determined. As the saying goes, "God helps those who help themselves".

Thank you Buddha and my lecturer, Miss Loke Khoon Ee who provided us the golden ticket to participate in this life-enriching event. Given the opportunity, I will like to participate in the Relays in the future.

Relay for Life, please COME TO TAIPING!!!