31st October 2006

Uhhh OOPS i've totally been lagging in my updates... I"m afraid my current "update" isn't very updated either. It's a continuation of the trek last last last......... week!

Oh before i forget...

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!! =) hahahaha

So the 5 of us boarded the lorry. Do not ask me what possessed us to sit on the lorry instead of a jeep, or whatever else they had. Mind you, the ride on the lorry is no ordinary ride. We don't sit IN the lorry, we sit ON the lorry. Literally. PLanks were nailed across the sides of the lorry, and we sat ON THE PLANKS. In case you didn't quite catch that, we sat ON THE PLANKS. Meaning.. ON THE PLANKS!!!!! We had nothing to hold, except the planks!!! Is that scary or what? We went up and down slopes, went SQUISH across HUGE puddles of muddy water, wnet boom boom BUMP over really ROCKY paths... sigh... haha our butts! No matter, only butts right? BUT the worse was yet to come. As we were going straight into jungle-like terrain, GOODNESS. The people sitting at the sides... Poor guys! There were branches and leaves swipping past them. It was so dangerous really. You could have either fell backwards off the lorry and rolled down, or you could have been knocked down by the hanging solid branch, or you could have been cut real bad by thorns. Poor Eileen, this bumble bee thing stung her on her head. One moment she was sitting next to me, the next moment she was yelling "Get it off Get it off VERY PAIN!" I was panicking lar. i saw it on her head and i actually thought i flicked it off, but it seems that it was stuck on her scalp. Poor girl, she was crying. I have no idea what that insect was. It was black with orange stripes. Anyone knows what it is? Sigh... Well at least she didn't blank out, or suffered from any i don't know, side effects of that sting. Except for a red lump, there was nothing much. What i was worried about was that that lump contained poison or something, and that if it was not treated soon, Eileen might be real sick later. She's okay now anyway, so i guess it's fine. =)

Well, we reached the campsite, an empty piece of land. Guess what? We were to set up our tents there. So uhhh heh, the guys kinda set up the tent. And we just kinda stood around. Haha i wanted to help, but there was just nothing to do. Felt a little bad though, cause later they set up the second tent, and gave us the first one. They did EVERYTHING. Like... Uhh feel a little useless? heh

Group picture before setting off...

Before we could do anything else, we were told to pack our day packs as the trek to to waterfall was immediate. Goodness panicked! Haha I whipped out my obscenely bright yellow pack, and started stuffing cereal inside together with louis (cute eh? he's nearly got the same name as me! He's this guy in my group too!). Haha well we were going to have our lunch there right? Therefore, we needed food! I shared the bag with jia zhen cause i thought it would be ridiculous to carry so many bags up there. Haha she was so cute! SHe brought along these water shoes thing that SUPPOSEDLY is so effective that water does not get in. Well this theory was SO proven wrong later. HAHAHA so off we went.

Sorry guys, it seems like this blogging of the trek will never end. Maybe i'll cut it short and write in point form the next time. I've got to go now. Need to study. This is a rare day when i am free to study "on my own". There is no homework or assignments due immediately, exlcusing CSE (comptuer science) that is. =) See ya

love, loisa

13th -15th October 2006

Introducing the trekking gang:

• Stephanie
• Krystel
• Eileen
• Jia Zhen
• Loisa

These group of able bodied girls embarked on a treacherous trekking trip to the Rainbow Falls and Bukit Paranoma in Malaysia. At Rainbow Falls, the highlight was duh, the waterfalls haha, as can be seen from the name itself. In Bukit Pranoma, it was the SUNRISE. -.- Yes, don't laugh, we trekked all the way up, to miss the sunrise. Haha right, here's the full juicy story from miss loisa koh. . . . .

To be continued.

Day 1 - 20th October 2006 (Friday)

JZ AND I WERE LATE! zoom zoom zoom! I waited for her at Jurong East Mrt station, an was hopping impatiently from one foot to another. SIGH haha it was coming 7pm, and that was the time we were supposed to be AT KRNJI MRT STATION! haha Grand entrance we made indeed, with out wild and erm moppie-like hair, and our blooming big knapsakcs, we rushed, no ran, towards the bunch of OutDoor Adventure Club peeps (ODAC). Riiight, we looked like we were participating in the amazing race or something, but hey, everyone else rpetty much looked the same! WAHAHAHA some had bags bigger than hours! *snickers* AND SOME, *hey steph!* had bags as small as a harversack/schoolbag. (you so want to strangle them eh?) Krystel was real early, and she was sitting there looking like an angel. Steph and eileen were lost on their way to Kranji, so we waited for them. No worries though, as there were others who were later! In fact, jz and i could be considered early. -.- hahahaha

So the trekking gang boarded bus 170 towards JB, but as luck would have it, it was jammed. We fell out of the bus, literally, as we were still unused to the big bags, and struggled throughout the causeway... ON FOOT! It was my first time WALKING to JB, so it was kinda cool. ONe thing i loved about this trip was the experience gained.

1) the jungle like-ness of it all
2) the trekking
3) the traditional way of going into JB (walking, stumbling trhough the crowds)

etc.

At the customs, it was ridiculous. Our Singapore customs officer sure had loads of comments for us. He told Krystel to open "her curtain" (hair) as she looked very difference form her passport photo, told jz all about the departure form, and called me "boy boy". The ultimate was the Malysian side, when the guy told me "10 year old little girls shouldn't be travelling without their mothers". Wah i nearly snapped! I furiously turned to my date of birth and wordlessly stuffed it into his face. See it for yourself, you big meanie!

ps: Passport covers were amusing! Mine was normal, thank goodness, krystel's had a very nice sunshine on it, but jz... hmm, it needs further elaboration. She's disney kid! A hello kitty passport cover, mickey mouse wallet, and... a tweetybird plaster! (ahem.. haha)

Well we took bus 170 yet again to Larkin bus station, in Malaysia, and stopped at Marybrown's to eat. Sigh, that was when i found out my malaysian one rinngit-s were expired. I tired to use them to pay for my iced milo and the cashier went "These are expired already!" How embarrassing was that?! Sigh...

Here we are at Marybrown's! =)

Right, onwards, march march march, to the coach we hired! ARGHHH a 6 hours bus ride! I could have died in there. We were rushing to put our bags at the back, so i took out only my windbreaker (GB's one), and left everything else! Thankgoodness Jia zhen brought her MP3 player along to entertain us. We listened to quite a few songs, so wasn't so sick on the bus. After a while, was a bit tired already, so went to sleep. I mean come on, it was like 2 plus in the morning? Haha our body clock went so wrong... Krystel sat with another guy in our group, and i felt a little cause she was alone. Anyway, i think it was better for her to sit there in the end, cause jz and i were a little uncomfortable in our seats. We were as good as stuck! Nevermind, we'll leave it as that.

FINALLY the bus had a rest stop. We all got off to pee, and pee, and peeeeeeee..... Everyone were so zombieliked and cold. So off we trooped to the coffee shop to get our hot milo. Before the milo could even arrive, the whole lot were back boarding the bus already. We were like "WHAT?!" *panicks* I was trying to gorge down my milo as quickly as posisble but it was so SO scorching hot!! Actually, i wanted to finish the whole cup, but since the girls were so fast in drinking, i decided to forgo the lasy half of my milo. =) Was quite sad. Haha, all the way to the bus i was literally thinking longingly of that half filled cup of MILO.

Well back to the bus.. sigh... back to our seats... sigh... back on the road... sigh... back to sleep... sigh...

ARRIVAL! SQ...

Okay so not so high class. Just the arrival of a very normal coach at Sungei Lembing! We packed our daypacks, AND GOT TO BRUSH OUR TEETH! Haha, a very rare thing down there... After that, the interesting part comes...

There's Krystel looking.. uhh.. REALLY stoned...

THE LORRY RIDE!!!

(to be continued once again) heh heh

9th October 2006

Well well well...

I got back my CSE (computer science) grade today! Just realised something, peopel are never ever contented with what they have. I mean, how much can we improve in such a short period of time right? Not to worry, i'm not pointing fingers at anyone, only at myself really haha. You see, i failed my first BASIC computer science test 2 weeks back, perhaps? I had 5/10, but in SIM, that ain't the passing mark. The passing mark is 60 %. Annoying right? haha Such high standards.

Anyway, this time round, for the mid terms, HEY i passed!!! BUT i got a C grade, i think. 25/40. I know i passed, but i dare not calculate the actual grade. It could be a C-, or a D, but whatever, i don't really want to know. Initially i was so ultra excited, SUPER happy, cause i thought " OEI LOISA KOH MEI SHI! You passed girl! You're the genius of the world! SUPERGIRL!" hahahaha yeah narcissist i know haha, but give me some credit here, i IMPROVED. That is the important thing right? Always improving, that's the best anyone can hope for.

Yet... After a while, i began to feel... sore? I don't know, like hey, why couldn't i have got better? Oh, but what the heck, i'll do better for the finals eh? As long as i improve, i'm the luckiest girl on the planet!

Thank you Lord. =)

ps: the peeps are back, they got their results already! HEY GUYS! haha =)

8th October 2006

I'm dying... from the haze. It's killing me. If i don't contract kidney failure from the high amount of carbon dioxide in the air, i'll suffer from respiritory problems due to the sulphur dioxide. Haha okay exaggerating here a little... but seriously, the psi level is at an unhealthy level already. The healthy level should be 100, and although it did drop form 150 to 140, it's still unhealthy!!

BRING OUT THE MASKS PEOPLE! 1997 is BACK!

Riiight, being dramatic here...

Anyway, on just don't open your windows and doors too much okay? It's very choking... I'm thirsty, i'm hot, and i'm uncomfortable, but somehow it makes me work faster and better. Now that the haze has cleared up a little, i seem to be more laggy... oh well.

Gotta run, literally. My dog's screaming for me. She's horrible lar. This morning she wanted to watch tv, so i turned the channel to "beyblade" on kids central for her. Not quite sure why, but she loves that show. -.- Don't ask. AND NOW, she wants to go for a walk. Siiighhhhh

see ya =)

Poem

It is the Lord, who will set me free
Watch, as He shines His light on me

No mountains too high, no waters too deep
My soul is for the Lord to keep

I lift up my voice, with songs so sweet
And it will be the Lord i'll meet

Forever faithful, i will remain
My love for the Lord, i will sustain

My name is in the book of life
The Lord has removed, all my sighs (?? or lies?)

Thank you Lord, for loving me. Oh,
I shall worship You, now and forever so.

(or Thank you Lord, for loving me
I shall worship You, for all to see)

I kinda came up with this on the spot after reading the previous post in an email i received. Haha it ain't too good, it is after all, just a small lil poetry of a thing. HEY i am an amateur okay! haha i had a little trouble with the second last stanza. couldn't seem to rhyme it. AND i can't decide which one to use for the lazy stanza. the "or" part sounds nicer, of course, but i kinda like the other one put there. haha oh well. It is for the Lord, so wh cares? It's what in the heart, that is true. Right? haha =)

The game was tight. Archrivals had faced off for three and a half periods in a seesaw battle that was going down to the wire. As the clock ticked down, the two sides traded the lead back and forth. Neither could be assured of victory because with the game so close, anything could happen. From the sideline, the coach watched his team getting more and more apprehensive as the seconds ticked away. They were missing shots they never missed. They were missing opportunities they didn't miss. Even their body language said, "This is bad. We might lose this one."

With less than a minute left, the coach called a time out. Now he knew that every girl on that court had been over the plays a million times. They didn't need elaborate help to set up a play for a last second win. They needed to calm down and play the way they knew how to play. So when they bent into that huddle, the coach told them something more than a little unconventional. "Go out there. Play the game. Have fun. Do your best, and I'll win it for you."
No pressure instructions. No you have to win this or we lose to our rivals. No anxiety-inducing strategy. Simply, "Go play, and I'll win it for you."

To my way of thinking, that was an audacious statement because in reality, it wouldn't be the coach taking the shot that would win or lose the game. He would be standing on the sideline with no direct control whatsoever. However, this coach knew something about the training these girls had been through, and he knew without a doubt they could do it. The problem was they didn't know they could do it, and so, he let them rely not on themselves for the win but on him.

The amazing thing to me when I really started thinking about this statement is that what that coach told his team is exactly what Jesus tells each one of us: "Go out there. Play the game. Have fun. Do your best, and I'll win it for you."

"Play the game. Have fun."

We think it's all on us-that we have to get everything right, do everything perfectly, or our "win" will never materialize. In fact, we get sucked into this mentality that Heaven may be just out of our reach no matter what we do. However, I think the reality is that Jesus is the coach standing on the sideline having full faith that we can do everything He's trained us to do. We can love just like He's shown us. We can give; we can live-not because we can do it on our own but because He's right there, and He has faith that we have been given everything we need to win through Him.

I'm sure you know the end of the story. When the buzzer sounded, the team who had just gone out, had fun, and done their best was victorious.]

One day the final buzzer of your life will sound, and the question at that moment will be this: Did you allow Jesus to be your coach? Did you have faith that He would win the game for you-or are you still trying to win it yourself? It's a question worth contemplating.

Big Face Cat

Haha just thought this was kinda cute. I was always attracted to grumpy faces or close ups... they're so cute! haha