Reaching out to help others!

Quoted from Google Talk:

Kimberley: Thankyou so much, I can never read anything in my student account.

It'll be a big help

me: no worries

Wow.. have helped another person (though on a smaller scale..to redirect Student email to Gmail)
Hmm.. it seems these days I've been playing a positive part in people! Feeling so great !

TEST !

O.m.G

These three initials describe my test. So yeah.. What happened was I theoretically missed the test. Woke up early this morning and found my phone gone funny. So i reset the phone, plug it back to charger (was charging last night) and set alarm to 30mins later (9:00am) and went back to sleep. So I did that.. and guess what time I woke up? 2:45PM. DAMN OMG! So i sprung up from bed, rushed to get changed and darted to Uni without a jacket nor brushing my teeth. Exam was at 2:00pm btw....

So I reached like 10 mins later, and spoke to the lecturer...Being the class rep, and telling him about my alarm, and being the nice guy he was, he gave me a chance to sit the exam at 3:00pm, right after theirs... Phew !!!

I have an alternative which is to apply for Aegrotat, but since I've put in the effort to study for it, I really want to do it.. Though the exam was hard to be honest. Thank goodness for Pavel Castka, my awesome lecturer and thank God that I woke up at 2:45pm not anytime later.

First ever time I've missed a test in my life.. DAMN!

Oh well.. luckily everything turned out well in the end. Phew. =)

Brand Taskforce Leader

So back a few days ago.. I was entrusted the task of the Brand Taskforce Leader in AIESEC. Right after the meeting, one of my team members sent me an email and below is an excerpt from it:

"Firstly before anything, I would just like to let you know that I am VERY pleased that

we are working with you. I respect you and also it's an honour to have you as

the Task Force Leader. I believe you are a leader we can rely on."

- W o W. Those very lines made me feel that I am leading an army (think 300) lol! =D
Didn't know that I have such an impact on others and the perception others have of me.. Well its definitely a good thing! But in saying that, I have to live up to those expectations and keep the momentum flowing !

GOGOGOGOGOGOOGOGOGO Calvin!

Monday- that time of the week again !

Man, Mondays.....here it is, time of the week again.. as I approach work at 8.30, it dawned upon me that I'll be bombarded with 123456789 boxes waiting for me to check off in the storeroom. And boy, was I right. Blardy shit, spent my entire morning till midday just dealing with the incoming goods itself. ZzzzZzzzzzzzzz. Summore dunno which idiot go take the speakers out from the storeroom computer! My source of Youtube music entertainment also tak ada liao. Damn.. so I had to work in silence. damn pitiful.

The plus side: Jeremy and Amy were really in a good and joyful mood today and offered me a helping hand and teaching me things the entire day today at work. Wow... its a first time for them being this way...They've never treated me this way before...At least that made my day.

Well...... besides hearing from Ing Chia that the exchange rate was 2.3. Haih. Nevermind. Don't wanna comment liao...

Evening came and went, and Toastmasters marks the end of the day pretty much. Tonight we had Humorous Speech & Table Topics Competition (in which everyone is obligated to participate), with the turnout of 3 external guests.

My mind was jammed and didn't felt like participating so I opted not to take part but they made me anyhow, then a second later I was delegated the task of time keeper, so I was quite glad I didn't had to participate in table topics tonight... Wah.. hard man the topic.. Its ;

The New Zealand justice system is unfair towards the victims of crimes.

Geez... like 3/4 of the people answered plainly.. "To be honest, I've just been to NZ for only 6 weeks or so now.. so don't really know"

Hahaha.

And just when I thought I didn't had to take part. Matt had just had to make me go up and talk. So yes. I had to even though not as part of the competition. So he gave me this;

Do higher education get you a better job?

HAR HAR HAR ! SPOT ON ! I am so well-versed around this topic and I am oh-so prepared for it. And yes I managed to address everything and clearly... and I think this is the first ever time in Toastmasters that I spoke for so long, and with clarity too! (Vaughn approached me after the meeting and said, wow, its good you spoke for so long today) Yup. First for me. Its so easy to say something that you are very well-versed at, it comes as second nature.

The other guy, who didn't take part in the competition because he's a guest, was given this topic;

What is love?

Man, I think Matt (the one who prepared the table topics) read my mind. So the bottom line this guest gave was (he's like 50ish btw);

"Love is the relationship where we share, love is not selfish, its giving, its hoping, its about caring about one another, *and something along those lines la..forgot liao*"

"Love is a journey, Love starts out anew each day, it renews with every passing day, when the sun shines every morning"

Beautifully worded and phrased. Brilliant.

Oh and btw, the humorous speech (3 people made speeches) was urmm.. in my opinion.. not funny at all. Maybe its me being Asian & not understanding. I found DramaSoc practice session next door more funny.. (They were loud and we could hear them through walls)

We can hear really odd noises and shoutings from next door which goes;

"Somebody please KILL ME"
"ARRRRRRGHGHHHH"
"WAHHHHHHHHHH"

and all the most obnoxious things you can ever think of...

one of the guests even said "it sounds like they are having an exorcism next door"

..

oh well, that's for Monday.

My love shall renew when the sun rises tomorrow and carry on the journey ;p

Starry Starry Night

Thanks thannnnnkkks for the little gift of glow-in-the-dark stars Ing Chia, I didn't even know that you were attentive to the little things I said, hmm did I even say it? Damn... I don't even recall it myself.. Sigh.. since you didn't put it up, I had to do it myself.. and here they are... up in my room ceiling...



if you stare hard enough... you can see

ok nvm, here's a brighter version

Now my room finally got stars liao.. after so long of wanting to get it up there but never got around doing it... yay !

And since I'm here, just dropping u a note saying that your urmm... lemon juice w/ honey taste fantastic.. Hmm at first I thought it was Powerade or something.. but yeah... its nice! =)

Wrapping up the week

Here it is, once again, to wrap up the week 13th-19th August.

A few highlights;

1. Dearest cousin Hui Min has left for Japan / Thursday 16th Aug 2007
2. Dearest Ing Chia departed back to Malaysia / Friday 17th Aug 2007

The two people that are dear to my heart, who matters most to me, who cares about me, who looks after me, who are always there for me, through ups and downs, and all that...walking away...its quite heart-wrenching.. =(

• Cousin Hui Min, I wish you all the best in your endeavors and travel in Japan. May you have the strength and determination to succeed in times of challenges and work overload. We will meet.soon. Till then, miss ya lots ! muakz & hugsssss

• Ing Chia, I'll see you back here in 4 weeks... & hopefully I'll be fully prepared with the special day I've planned for you.

3. Finding out that I've actually inspired someone whom I barely know

From the small chat with Nicole Yeung;
" Nicole: Kirsty is your partner for some presentation right?
Me: Yeah.
Nicole: Yesterday I was chatting with Kirsty at the review board, and she was telling me all about you and she's in awe of the person that you are and all the things you do or capable of doing. She was like sooooo inspired by you and the positive impact you have had made in her. And then, I was like yeah, thats Calvin, he can be in 2 places at one time.
Me: Ooooooooo......*Sense of fulfillment kicked in* "

• Wow, am I glad to hear from a third-party that I've actually managed to inspire someone, to make a positive impact in them by just being myself. Have to say that I've never imagined I could do such an awesome thing myself. Hearing it from a third-party really made me happy. If I can, I wish that I could do the same to everyone, to reach out my hands to those who need them, to share a portion of my heart, to give love & care, to bring happiness & joy and to drive people to be at their best. Then when they look back in their lives sometime in the future and recount their past experiences, they will go "oh hey, Calvin, yup, it's him, the one who "insert everything mentioned above here" in my life."

4. AIESEC Leadership Workshop

Went late, after lunch, because I opt to go for fencing in the morning. The sessions were amazing. There were only 2 sessions after lunch.

Presenters:

• Rosita Guy (HRINZ)

Guy Associates, Christchurch

• Natalia Chaban

NCRE

Rosita's session was highly interactive and humorous. She definitely is a people person, which explains her association with training businesses and HR practices. The way she introduced herself was by far, the most catchy yet meaningful introduction I've ever heard.

" Now just to introduce myself, I'm Rosita, and I admit I don't have triple degrees, nor a Masters, nor a PhD. But I have one thing; I have a PhD in life. And that matters the most because after all is said and done, everything in this world revolves around people."

So anyways, her agenda for the day is Conflict Prevention versus Conflict Management, which also includes the standard understanding yourself part. Topics covered are quite general around communication. But few things that I've taken away from this session;

Never assume - look at this way .. write the word assume
then we break it down: ass|u|me
Now, what does that say? It makes an ass out of u and me.

Brilliantly put! I think I should not assume too many things in life. Man, even Elaine told me not to assume so much. Hmm.. definitely will try not to assume too many things.

Focus on the good stuff; not the bad stuff, in life

Far too many times, we people tend to focus on the negativity that life brings even though there are 2 sides to everything in any situation. We make a big deal out of the negativeness and leaving the good and positive part shadowed in the background. So Rosita left us with this:

" Think positive, The sun will come up tomorrow"
" Stop worrying & get a life, GET OVER IT"

Regard everyone as a professional person

"Cleaners, cafe staff, admin staff, sales people, plumber; academic qualifications do not make a professional person"

The example Rosita put forth is sooo very true & gets straight to the point;

"Most people look down on cleaners, drainlayers and plumbers. What if one fine day in university, you were in uni and had trouble with the toilet not flushing or no toilet paper? At those moments, who is the one that looks after that? Who would you seek for help? The cleaners and plumbers in facilities management. So, this goes to show that your qualifications comes useless at times like these, where we seek help from people who may not have the same qualifications. They are the professionals in the situation and that is what we define professionalism"

Behaviour & performance defines professionalism; It's about who you are & what you do. It's about putting knowledge into skills that will produce.

"Of course, we mustn't shun qualifications. They are indeed important but that does not define your hierarchy above others. You should never look down on others because it's better to be nice to people on your way up, because you will meet them on the way down."

"At the moment of crisis, its the person who we looked down upon that will rescue us."

Getting the Edge

Be well-groomed and have a good sense of personal hygiene. So when we go out, the stylish look means "business" and its sort of like the edge of a knife. Sharp. Prim. Proper. That being said, its not the most important in carrying yourself out there. Manners, and classiness will take you everywhere. Address people appropriately and if they allow you to take a step back and relax, then you only do so.

Confidence & Making A Difference

"If you think one small person can't make a difference,
try going to bed with a mosquito"

- Ann Roddick,
The Body Shop

To communicate well

"Say what you mean,
mean what you say and
don't be mean when you say it."

Natalia's session was far more generic compared to Rosita's, as her one is about presentation skills. So we covered very very generic stuff, like the posture we should stand, the tone of our voice, our eye contact and such. Which of course, Toastmasters session had paid off well in this sense.

But anyhow, was glad that I did attend this workshop and kudos goes to Rasha Rushdy who managed to put this together!

5. Church stuff & Photos from last week's Baptism

Free bible for me

....... Certificate too




Summing up, was quite a fruitful weekend, except that I haven't started any studies for my test on Thursday... zzzzZZzzz....

My Birthday 12th August 2007

My day started off early with me being baptised at the church.. Hmm must say that it's a one-off experience.. Being submerged in water in a swimming-pool like design in the church building itself.. its definitely a worthwhile experience and once in a lifetime thing.. and officially..feel the first steps of Christianity? as I've missed it for 11 or so years now?

Anyhow.. right after church.. was asked to go for lunch at McD's. Had a quickie lunch with Leon, Jie, Benny, Yun Han.

Darted over to Ing Chia's upon finishing lunch as I was already running late and wondering what was on the agenda for the day (as she wants it to be a surprise). Upon arrival, I questioned what she had in mind....to be told that I was too late for the cruise in Akaroa as it departed already... so she presented me 4 choices:

1) To go Hanmer Springs
2) To go Kaikoura
3) To go Arthur's Pass
4) To go Akaroa

Hmmm... tough decision.. especially coming from two like-minded people who always go "I dunno" or "anything la".. So have to do some evaluation here...

1) Hanmer Springs
- the idea of soaking in the pools sounds good...

2) Kaikoura
- not prepared for whale watching/cruise as we were already running too late for the cruise and also I did not know where I left my binoculars....

3) Arthur's Pass
- we both haven't been there before

4) Akaroa
- too common

So... finally decided to head over to Arthur's Pass as we both haven't been there before, and wondering what Arthur's Pass holds for us. And also to see the Kea.

After roughly 2 hours, with us stopping at scenic spots for photos and getting directions to Arthur's Pass when we were lost about 30 mins prior to destination... we finally did arrive at Arthur's Pass National Park.


This national reserve is enormous with a huge cluster of mountain ranges and forests...And everywhere here is so greeen ! With sooooo many tramping tracks to pick from... one definitely can't finish the entire park in a span of few days... It's just so amazing !!! There are some specialised winter tracks that takes about 8 hours return journey and from the pictures.. the views are spectacularly stunning at the peak in winter...however, due to the lack of time and preparation in the bitterly cold weather...we can't do the tracks this time around..
Will save this place in our minds till summer comes eh, Ing Chia? I'm just waiting.... waiting for you.... to be back .... for summer... This place would be such an adventure!!!! And I'm so looking forward for it.... !!

And speaking of Keas... birds that apparently "can't" fly... are supposedly all over the town..but due to the time of the day..we did not see many...only a measly 3 birds on top of a roof...and then.. minutes later.. they flew off... notice.. ."flew". Hmm.. new point of information... They do fly..maybe short distances and low altitude....Which explains how they got on top of the roof.

On our way back.. we stopped by Cave Stream to see how it looks like...Wow.. have to say that this place..would be another good adventure too..This cave is a one-way 1 hour walk in entire darkness with knee-deep water and unguided. Would be a good caving experience for the inexperienced as it is straightforward... Hmm first steps to picking up extreme caving...Hmmmm... soooo tempting.. but then again.. because of the coldness...will delay this adventure till summer when it gets warmer..
"Oh hi Ing Chia, this place is calling for your name"

Cave Stream inlet

Majestic view leading to Cave Stream

After posing for a few shots, its really time to head back. After a good shower, and with stomachs growling for food, its time to head out for buffet dinner... at the Casino. Another fine dining place in Christchurch. Dinner was awesome...especially the availability of fresh salmon...MMMMMMM yummmmmmm!!!! I've been craving fresh salmon for a looooong loooong time nowww.. and yeah, you guessed it.. I took a plate stacked with salmons and kept eating the same. I guess after this, I'll stop eating salmon for some time...kekeke..

I suggested to go my house to get candles after dinner so I can blow it to make a wish... But never did I know nor expected that Ing Chia had something up her sleeve all the while...She requested to a slice of cake with a candle on top and I sooo did not even see you hinting at the staff to bring out the cake! You're a master of disguise! Again, you surprised me...
I'm so happy that you've planned the surprises really well for me..you're of course, the greatest!

Complimentary picture

Right before the place closed, the waitress came over and asked to take a picture of us. So we did, but it included all the food on the table (which was alot because the staffs told us to take whatever we want as they were closing the buffet area in 5 mins).. Hahhahah.. make us look so greedy nia...

Complimentary gift

After having a fabulously satisfying meal, its time to go home.. Stopped over at my place since Ing Chia wanted to give me my birthday present.. Oooohh I've been waiting so long for it...
Simply put... the present was the most valuable, priceless and memorable gift that I've ever had in 22 years! The effort and time you, Ing Chia, had put into it, had shaped the simple gift to include so much meaning, emotions, feelings that it portrays.. I am so emotionally touched for the first time in my life.. thank you Ing Chia, thank you sooo soo much. You made me feel so special and the fabulous friendship we share. I have to even hold back my tears and emotions before I burst into tears in front of you... hahhaha =p It's THAT touching, seriously. Hmmm.. looks like you know how to make guys cry, eh? =) I have to say that I'm seldom appreciated in all my life so far, and have not received such a personalised gift, and I've been longing for this for a long long time now. And you gave it to me. All that I wanted. Plus appreciation that I was deprived of all this while...



You're such a wonderful friend, Ing Chia. You're the closest friend that I ever would have dreamed of, and I deeply thank you for that, for being my best friend, for being there whenever I need to reach out, for sharing wacky laughters and jokes, for supporting each other, for being a boon of inspiration, for all the moments and adventures that we have shared so far, and for everything else that you are and for everything that you bring into my life. Words can't fully describe the amazing friendship that we share, and the colors that you bring into my grey life. I hope we will see more of the world, embarking in adventures and enjoy more memorable moments together.

This post, is specially dedicated for you, the one and only Phang Ing Chia. The one girl who brought sunshine in my life and being a pillar of strength and support. The one who gave me new experiences, instilled hope and opened my eyes to lots of things. One that helped me developed myself to my fullest potential that I had never ponder of. Someone who made me feel at the pinnacle of my life with every passing day. One who makes me feel that I can achieve great things. Thank you for being that special someone in my life and I'm grateful for knowing you. Again, I thank you, deeply, from the bottom of my heart, for preparing such a fantastic weekend for me. With such a joyful celebration, I certainly hope this is not the last. I look forward to you coming back and soon start on our journey for more adventures ahead. Thank you, Ing Chia. *hugs*


link to the awesome weekend:

August 12 2007 /Arthur's Pass

The past long week

Back. For updates once again.

See, the past week has been such a havoc for me. Have been so busy with full time work, classes, and lotsa AIESECy stuff. Its such a mental drain planning for AIESEC Canty's Induction Day on Saturday 11th August 2007. With stuff to collate from people and getting items at the very last minute isn't helping much. But oh well.. finally its all over now.. I am glad to say that with the help of others in AIESEC and especially Elaine and Ing Chia, we were able to pull the day off with minimal flaws. Thanks for all those that have helped, and of course Ing Chia, for being the boon of inspiration and support for me. You are definetely number ONE.

In the past week, I've also learnt to;

Brew a traditional recipe of Ginger Tea

First trial run of Calvin's Ginger Tea(as seen in some HK dramas)

The healing properties of this very traditional drink includes curing nauseaness, vomiting, cold, flu and ermm something within those lines.

This is the first time I've ever prepared something like this for someone, let alone for myself. And first of its kind too ! Because Ing Chia was having a cold and flu, coupled with the feeling of nauseaness, I took this opportunity to learn to make something meaningful and yet useful for someone else. I know it taste bad and you might not like the taste being too sour and all, but even though it tastes so bad.... its good for your health and your sickness... I really hope it had helped you in a way.. Forgive me for making you drink yeah? I want you to get better =) Don't forget its also my first time making something like this =p I took alot of effort tau =p

Induction Day 11th August 2007

As mentioned before, this day was a full-on full-day event of AIESECy stuff. Being the head of coordinating the facilitation of this event, boy, I made so many trips running around, its so hectic! When evening came, and reaching the pinnacle of the day, I was given an unexpected surprise planned by Ing Chia, and boy, I have to say that you're such an awesome planner, I SOOOO did not see this coming! And so I got a wonderful handmade card by your very own hands with the signature of some of the LC members.... plus a cake ! I'm so happy that I got this surprise!


With so much appreciation from others, I feel a sense of warmth flowing through me =)

But on the other hand, right after the presentation of the cake to me and Sanjaya (his birthday was on this day itself and I've actually planned for his only), the whipped-cream war started! Seeing 3 girls running in amok with cream in their hands, I didn't even have enough time to react and run away. Them being; Elaine, Mia and Ing Chia. With so much cream on their palms, my entire face and hair was constantly bombarded by cream by Mia and Ing Chia respectively.... ZzzzzZzz.. Sanjaya was the main target, not ME !!! <--- I wasn't supposed to be in the plan!!!.... So yeah... of course I got them back after my senses came back to me.. chased Mia, whom smudged me first, then moved on to Ing Chia and of course, she couldn't run away from my grasp and hahahahah she was totally showered with cream. A H A H A H A H A H A! Right after, the first and rational decision was to wash up first before going over to James Carr's flat to chill out before he left for Turkey. Nothing much to say here, besides the fact that I enjoyed his Margarita and free shots of Tequila. Nice.

Bottom line: Thank you Ing Chia, for organising this surprise that did not even cross my mind at all... and the experience of celebrating with such a big company today.. is definetely one to remember.. You're such a mastermind! I enjoyed the cream war though, and everything that you have planned for and of course the pre-planning with Elaine too... Here's a hug from me to you... *hugs*

Back from a weekend, to meet Blue Monday

Soooo..... i spent my weekend as follows:

Saturday 4th August 2007
Fencing session (2nd class) in the morning, and had lunch right after that with the fencing club members at Spice Traders in Uni. And... the lunch dragged on for an hour or so because one girl by the name of Margaret just can't shut up and kept debating about cultural assimilation or something like that with the fencing master. Haiyo.... talk talk talk .... i also got nothing to say.. =/ Oh, and Ing Chia, being the slow eater she is, got so tension'ed when everyone had finished their lunch.. Hahahah make me laugh nia when i see you being pressured to eat quicker hahahaha

After that, spent the remaining of the day doing up the AIESEC website and playing with Adobe Dreamweaver 8. I tell you people lah, anyone with half a brain and some free time can do wonders in the world. Technology is making life easier for everyone, especially in designing web pages. Dreamweaver is a WYSIWYG editor and the help files are there for you when you get stuck, and sure they did their part in helping me. So.. after a couple of hours and playing around from a complete noob who has never touched Dreamweaver before... the result: a template made:

AIESEC Canterbury Test Pilot Page

Then at night, after Ing Chia's work, we went grocery shopping, and boy the amazement that I spent $120 on groceries alone <-- only junk food and tidbits.... its like OMGGG!!!!
After that, we both had the wacky idea to do some wine tasting so that she (Ing Chia) knows that to buy to bring back to Malaysia. So we bought Riesling and Sauvignon Blanc. 2 big bottles. We ended up drinking half of each bottle. Amazing. Oh and the bottom line: RIESLING is the wine to go for a light and sweet tasting wine without the strong alcohol taste.

Sunday 5th August 2007
Woke up late, cos stayed up late the night before, and headed to the Cantonese church service at 1pm. I am still not used to the Cantonese church service as I am more accustomed to the Mandarin one, and thus I find the Mandarin one to be more livelier and merrier. After the service ended, I had a chat with Pastor Jack regarding next week's baptism. So he told me what to bring (khakis pants and light coloured t shirt), to be there at 9:30 am (very hard task for me) next Sunday, and told me what to say (speech and "Yes I Do" answers to 2 of his questions). So, I'm looking forward to this once in a lifetime experience on my birthday next week. Cool.

Oh and in this very night, I popped over to Jie's house to try and fix her new Dell Inspiron Laptop that she got for 1199. Awesome deal for the specs. So as usual, I showed off my super uber awesome MacBook first before helping out. So Jie was abit retarded and thought Microsoft Office came standard shipped with the laptop. ZzzzzZzz. So yeah we headed out back to my house to install Office. Before that, I must claim and confess that on this very night I became an uber pro champion/ super literate support person for Windows Vista. I shall be promoted to IT Helpdesk in Uni man.

Why so? I managed to set up a very very hard process in setting up network sharing with Windows Vista. Time spent = 1 hour ++ . Result = A++. Yes. Pro man. PRO. Coming from someone who hasn't really touched Vista summore.
Oh and last words? Vista = slow. Its just a ripoff of the Mac OSX system. Except worse. And by worse, i mean a whole lot worse. Microsoft is such a failure with copy and paste. Geez. Make something that works. Mac = "it just works". With MAC OSX 10.5 Leopard around the corner. BYE BYE VISTA.

So yeah, all in all in this very night I became Vista competent instantly, and managed to set up all the applications needed to use in Jie's new laptop. Have fun with VISTA, while i have fun with MAC.

Monday 6th August 2007
I hate Mondays. Period.
1) Work
2) Bad luck
3) More bad luck

So why do I say work sucks at Monday? That's because the entire stockroom is full with inwards goods and since I'm working on Monday mornings, its hell for me. So it is. Spent literally the entire morning until 12 midday sorting out the goods and stock items. ZZzzzzz. And then somewhere in between I get told off by the receptionist that I'm supposed to bring out and stack the toners while she do the smaller items. I mean how gay can that be? Geeez the toner area is like right in front of you hello!!! and yet you can be so lazy to save that few steps... GEEEZ ! "Not in my job description" crap that Kiwis give as excuse. Lazy arses i say.

Bad luck. The whole day having bad luck sucks arse. Shall not go into further detail,