on the ugly duckling donut

I was standing in clinic waiting to see someone about my study, and i overhear the following exchange of words between a mother and her 6 or 7 year old daughter...

Mom: (holding a Tim Horton's bag that looked like it still had a lump of something in it)... so you see, you chose the beautiful pretty looking donut, and it was so gross you didn't want to finish it. When you really should've listened to me. I got a really ugly looking donut, but I knew the inside was delicious... I mean it was amazing, melt in your mouth, amazing!!

* the little girl was giggling throughout*

Mom: ... listen this is an important lesson! Do you remember on the parent trap? Meredith was really pretty on the outside, but she was so MEAN and HIDEOUS on the inside! This is an important life lesson! I hope you remember this when you are choosing a boy...
little girl: okay mommy.... *giggles some more*

the little girl was like 7... or 8... or 9 TOPS...
anyway... apparently the story of the ugly duckling... or these life lessons can be taught through a donut... you can never start to early i suppose...

on taking the leap

Lily: "You're like that goat with the washcloth. You want it so bad and every time the world tries to take it away from you, you keep grabbing it.
But... you know, it's just a washcloth. Why do you even want it?
Ted: because... I... I have to be an architect. That's... that's the plan.
Lily: screw the plan! I planned on being a famous artist, Marshall planned on being an environmental lawyer, Robyn planned on being a tv reporter-
Robyn: uh.. Hey i AM a tv reporter! i'm on every morning at 4am
Lily: is that still on? oh! Good for you!
Robyn: somebody watch it please.
Lily: Barney planned on being a violinist - don't tell me things!
You can't design your life like a building - it doesn't work that way. You just have to live it... and it'll design itself.
Ted: So i should just do nothing?
Lily: No... listen to what the world is telling you to do... and take the leap.

. how i met your mother. season 4 finale. the leap.

on settling

what happens when everything you hoped for, planned for in life leaves you high and dry, flat on your face?

You have a backup plan. Something you won't be dissatisfied with. enjoyable even. but this is the point you ask yourself - is that good enough? am i willing to settle?

overwhelmed - just breathe

on the lack of motivation

have you ever looked at a task so daunting that you don't know where to begin... and you just want to give up before you've even started?

i've recently been playing pokemon (yes i'm quite lame =P) on my way to work, because it passes the time and is relatively mindless. But as the end of the game approaches and I have to go face the elite four/defeat team galactica/capture the rare pokemon... i just suddenly got really unmotivated to finish the game. I haven't touched it for a week.

i'm not sure what sort of instinct i have in me that i just want to give up once the tasks get too big, or the chance of failure is really high. At work, i'm involved in numerous projects in which there's a lot to do... and i don't know where to start, so sometimes i sit there and twiddle my thumbs - not because i don't know how to do it... or don't have anything to do - the task is simply so large that i feel like i'm drowning before i begin.

It reminds me of this time my sister decided to come in and clean my room. She said 'the best strategy is to dump everything off your shelves onto the floor and start from scratch'. She proceeded to do this, and after she was done, i had a pile of junk up to my knees. We sorted through for awhile, and soon after we just called it a day, because after hours of sorting, we still had barely made a dent. Once we started doing one thing, we realized we needed to do something else in order to finish that first thing we started. It seemed like we started from the wrong place, and therefore leave a trail of unfinished tasks.

i'm not used to feeling overwhelmed. i like to believe i'm the type that rises to a challenge and, no matter what, finds a way to conquer it. but as i look on these little details in my life, i realize that i really am just a coward running away when things get too hard.

... and the ugly green-eyed monster rears it's head again. After being dormant for so long, it's hard to know what to do when he shows his face unexpectedly; me, unaware...

One Afternoon, I am complaining about the confusion of my age, what is expected of me versus what I want for myself.
"Have I told you about the tension of opposites?" he says.
The tension of opposites?
"Life is a series of pulls back and forth. You want to do one thing, but you are bound to do something else. Something hurts you, yet you know it shouldn't. You take certain things for granted, even when you know you should never take anything for granted. A tension of opposites, like a pull on a rubber band. And most of us live somewhere in the middle."
Sounds like a wrestling match, I say.
"A wrestling match." He laughs. "Yes, you could describe life that way."
So which side wins, I ask?
"Which side wins?"
He smiles at me, the crinkled eyes, the crooked teeth.
"Love wins. Love always wins"

age of marriage

so i have an exam in a few hours that i don't want to be studying for. I was really bored and decided to take the 'what age will you get married' quiz... this is my result

When will you get married

Created by pterodash

Your Result

At the age of 21.

.i am turning 23 in a few weeks. i am not married yet.

it's march.
where did the time go?

brand new day

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=97df0Q5qxa8

Some kind of magic
Happens late at night
When the moon smiles down on me
And bathes me in it’s light

I fell asleep beneath you
In the tall blades of grass
When I woke the world was new
I never had to ask

It’s a brand new day
The sun is shinning
It’s a brand new day
For the first time
In such a long long time
I know
I’ll be ok

Most kind of stories
Save the best part for last
Most stories have a hero who finds
You make your past your past
Ya you make your past your past

It’s a brand new day
The sun is shinning
It’s a brand new day
For the first time
In such a long long time
I know
I’ll be ok

This cycle never ends
Gotta fall in order to mend

And it’s a brand new day
It’s a brand new day
For the first time
Inn such a long long time
I know
I’ll be ok

on msn conversations

i used to think i was awesome at msn conversations. There was something about being on msn (or any sort of online conversation medium) that made it easier for me to talk. I was able to verbalize myself well... and could stay up until 2am, 3 am , 4 am etc. just chatting. Something about msn was liberating. i could be myself with no regard and just talk for hours and hours... and it was fun. people would be like 'you're so different online than you are in person! you're a lot more outgoing, not as afraid to speak your mind'.

so i hung onto this belief that I was amazing at msn conversations. It wasn't until recently i learned that i've apparently come to suck at talking online.
I give one word answers. I ':p' ':)' ':(' 'aww....' 'yea...' all the time... and frequently the conversation always just end because... well because how do you respond to 'oh that's cool!' or 'aww... that sucks' or just ': )'

Upon talking to a friend about my seeming 'lack of interest' online, i realized that... what came so naturally before, the whole act of being myself and just speaking my mind and having good conversations has somehow slipped from my fingertips. May it be because my life has suddenly become a lot more boring... or i've drifted from my friends... or i just have lost the social skills, my msn skills just... well they stink. So my friend suggested a few rules to abide by when chatting online- so i'm not so frustrating to talk to online. Here they are:

1) an easy way to indicate interest in someone's answer is to ask a follow up question about something they said in their answer
2) general rule of thumb... the amount of text a person types to you should be roughly the same amount as what you reply with
3) when someone says A and B, respond to both A and B

When you don't have enough time to obey these rules in a conversation, it is better to not start the conversation at all (i.e. pretend you are not there when they message you) than to carry on in a half-hearted manner.

So, if i no longer answer your messages on msn, you know why.

.wise words.

-sometimes you cannot believe what you see, you have to believe what you feel. And if you are ever going to have other people trust you, you must feel that you can trust them too-even when you are in the dark. Even when you're falling. -

-So many people walk around with a meaningless life. They seem half-asleep, even when they're busy doing things they think are important. This is because they're chasing the wrong things. The way you get meaning into your life is to devote yourself to loving others, devote yourself to your community around you, and devote yourself to creating something that gives you purpose and meaning. -

-The most important thing in life is to learn how to give out love, and to let it come in.-


.Tuesdays with morrie.

On funny eating habits

So after two 'normal' days of eating 'breakfast' (if eating a slice of toast with peanut butter is considered breakfast!!) in my rush this morning I forgot to grab a slice.
Didn't really think it was a problem- I don't USUALLY eat breakfast... This is no different right? Wrong.

I got to work and about 10:30 rolled along and I was ready for lunch... I witheld my hunger until maybe 11:30 then just pulled out my sandwich for a quick bite. I ate the whole thing in like 5 minutes.

So I thought it wasn't too bad... It was noon-is anyway!!

Then around 3 my stomach started grumbling again... And by 3:30 I thought my stomach was going to eat itself so I bought a box of pad sew from Thai express and INHALED it

Now.. It's 7pm and apparently my stomach needs more food... So i eat some cereal... Talk about a backwards day.

on achieving big things

i was working at a pediatric clinic the other day and one family came in - a mother with two daughters - one who was about 1.5 years old, the other about 4.5. The older daughter desperately had to pee, but the mother, had her hands full with the younger daughter and couldn't take her.
so i volunteered to take her to the washroom which was just down the hall. The mother gratefully accepted and me and this 4 year old ventured into the tiny (no stall) bathroom.

the conversation went as follows:
little girl stands there a little awkward
me: i'm going to give you some privacy. I'll turn around and just let me know when you're done okay?
little girl looks at me funny, then laughs
little girl: i think it's okay for mommies and daddies and doctors to watch me when i pee
myself still not that comfortable, turns around and just let her do her thing

she thought i was a DOCTOR
at least this little girl believes i can achieve greatness. *sigh* i need to make a list

on chocolate cravings

so the past two weeks (and a bit) our house has been snack free.
i've eaten a steady 2 meals per day, colourful, and with all the food groups.
i've been drinking milk and taking vitamin supplements
i even went to the gym a couple times... okay so i went once, but still

esther and i have sworn off junk food from our apartment for the purpose of stopping ourselves from pigging out when we want to

but when you have a chocolate craving... like a real craving - you just can't resist

i'm allowed at least one indulgence per term. it's a rule

on being 'you'

i was bored at work and i was browsing through people's old blogs, and i came across 'special k' . one of her friends posted a comment that i just absolutely love.

"You know, you've had 20 years, of 24/7 experience being yourself. That's over 174720 hrs of experience at something, and so that makes you an expert on you. And so, that is why you are great and should be yourself, because you've perfected the art of being [you]. So be happy, that's a great accomplishment."

i love that.

on cooking

being away from home makes me really sad that i can't cook very well. It's led to lots of experiments with cooking, and trying to replicate some of the stuff i remember eating at home.

i LOVE leen goh (or 'shanghai nian gao') and WHENEVER we go out to a shanghai place, i ALWAYS order it, because i know that i can't make it. BUT! today, i made an attempt. And everything seemed to go wrong - i soaked the stuff for like 2 days and it STILL didn't get soft, i added too much pepper, after mixing everything together, it didn't have enough sauce... just all these things and i was so disappointed.

But after waiting a few minutes with the lid on, and letting the steam work... it WORKED! somehow the sauce thickened, i had added sugar to balance out the pepper, the steam softened the rice cake... and voila! it worked!!!

and somehow it just tastes so good - because i made it myself =)

on coming to terms with the past

Say goodbye, say goodbye to the way I was before
Say hello, say hello to a new way
I was lost, but I found what I was looking for
Waking up, waking up to a new day
A new day

I was sleeping in a twisted dream
Dying just to make believe
A pretty situation was far from where I was

But I’m not up for giving up
Lying down and out of luck
My mistakes are in the open and know I’m finally coming clean

.A New Day - Tamar.
(http://myspace.com/tamarmusic)
- jasy posted her singing 'apologize' and recently discovered 'a new day' which is currently on repeat on my ipod-

sometimes it's easy to 'forget' the path and the mistakes that have lead me to where i am at this moment. It's really easy to 'make believe' a pretty situation to make me feel better about myself. I've screwed up so many times, and i think as a way of protecting myself, i paint a pretty picture to tell myself that i'm not all bad. That there were outside forces 'pushing' me to do things, and therefore that's why i made mistakes - not because *I* did anything wrong. Don't put the blame on me.

but then the harsh reality, that regardless of whether outside forces denoted my actions, or whether it was purely me - they were still my mistakes - no justifications. It makes me confused as to how many of my memories of my past are tainted with 'prideful' innuendos - ones that make me seem more innocent than i was in certain incidences, or other ones that shelter me from past hurts.

i'm finally coming clean. Say goodbye, say goodbye to the way I was before.

I refuse to give my future to my past.

one step at a time

Call it guilty pleasure, but enjoying my Jordin Sparks :)

It's been a theme for awhile now - sometimes i just want opportunities to leap out at me - in an instant i'll get what i want.

But i'm constantly being reminded that maybe taking things slowly allows me to understand why things are happening - and appreciate it that much more.


"One Step At A Time"
Hurry up and wait
So close, but so far away
Everything that you've always dreamed of
Close enough for you to taste
But you just can't touch

You wanna show the world, but no one knows your name yet
Wonder when and where and how you're gonna make it
You know you can if you get the chance
In your face as the door keeps slamming
Now you're feeling more and more frustrated
And you're getting all kind of impatient waiting
We live and we learn to take

[Chorus:]
One step at a time
There's no need to rush
It's like learning to fly
Or falling in love
It's gonna happen and it's
Supposed to happen that we
Find the reasons why
One step at a time

You believe and you doubt
You're confused, you got it all figured out
Everything that you always wished for
Could be yours, should be yours, would be yours
If they only knew

When you can't wait any longer
But there's no end in sight
when you need to find the strength
It's the faith that makes you stronger
The only way you get there
Is one step at a time

indulgence

don't judge me -

a girl is allowed to indulge once in awhile right?? :)

things i learned while trying to get my G

- patience
- take your time
- failure is just an opportunity to try again, and next time, own it
- people in red cars really are more aggressive
- look both ways (always)
- just because you don't see it, doesn't mean it's not there
- when you argue for your weakness, the weakness is yours
- always try and think about things from another person's perspective

FINALLY G'd =)

.failure.

as everyone re-enters the blogging bandwagon... the emergence of so many people's thoughts on the internet have spurred me to start thinking about my own things. Start thinking about things that i refused to think about during exams because, well it was exams. Things i stopped myself from pondering post-exams because well- that was my summer! But now, with no excuses, I am re-entering the closet of thoughts and sorting through to try and remember the things that were so pertinent in my mind when i was trying to cram biology into my head.

so amidst all the hustle and bustle of living in toronto... it's given me adequate time to simply just... think.

I've been reading a lot of people's blogs on new beginnings, and 'fresh starts' for summer.
Unlike most people (or so it seems) this first week has been a challenging one.

Failure is not something I (or anyone else i'm sure) take a liking to. It's hard enough admitting to yourself that you're not good enough for something... but to have someone else tell you that... whether it's through a really bad final, or just through straight plan out words... it hurts.

It's one thing to not prepare for something and not do well, but after sinking hours of time into prepping, and just... not making the bar... it just pulled me back into a deep feeling of inadequacy.

But, today, when i opened the 'care package' my parents prepared for me... i pulled out a 'special' item.

very simple - a water bottle with Jeremiah 29:11 written on it - "For I know the Plans i have for you, declares the Lord"

it was a simple reminder. This whole week, i had an agenda. my whole life i have an agenda. And i wanted life to unfold in the way that i had planned. I would love to say that i'm not the type to mope and can see the bigger picture after failure... but i'm not. But this reminder... that there's a bigger picture... and that maybe failure is a part of it... is holding me together.

just re-learning to trust