Kuala Lumpar- Malaysia in pictures

It's been a couple of months here, and it's fair to say that we've settled in this country. Although I'm still doing the maths just to convert currencies ( between $ and ringgit) and stuck in the midst of figuring out how to converse properly with the locals here.

No doubt, every country possesses it's own unique qualities . And I wouldn't ever hesitate to say...Malaysia is a beautiful country.

     

  First time I've ever been to a mosque. It was pretty amazing...

People say that Malaysia's unsafe,they even rank it one of the top most dangerous places in the world. Maybe it's  due to all these cases of theft and pickpocketing, or just the general uprising in crime levels. True enough.  But crime happens in all countries, not just Malaysia. As long as you stay away from quiet doggy area, it's absolutely absurd to think that you'll get robbed or assaulted at any time.

If I could change something here, it would be the traffic. The roads aren't that greatly maintained. Sometimes it takes an extra half an hour to go to a place that only takes 10 mins. Or even worse.. you make one wrong turn and you end up on a never ending highway which will eventually take you 2 hours to get out off.

It's been exactly 4 months, 8 days. I'm starting to embrace the differences in this country... getting used to the busy life and the constant vibrant atmosphere of this city.

88 keys -♩ ♪ ♫ ♬ ♭ ♮

It's the reason for the tears, but the happiness of fulfillment as well.

Sometimes I love it so much.. staying up late learning notes and listening to music recordings played by professional performers.

But other times.. I just hate it to guts.

I like doing things in an efficient way. But when I find my self seated at the piano, I tend to rush things too much. I jump straight into playing with two hands, when I should practice each hand separately.  

And no. It doesn't work out well.

Learning instruments require a whole new level of patience, and after so many years, I still haven't quite gotten it all figured  out. The persistence and incentive of doing something over and over again till it reaches perfection.

I guess at the end of the day, it's the end result that keeps me going.

 Being able to share the music with others in a nice looking concert hall to me,  is the definition of joy. 

The harsh truth that I've realized is that, the adrenaline of excitement and nervousness doesn't help me perform any better, in fact it it does the opposite.

I get a piece 96 % perfect during practice in the confinements of my own home

But once it's brought onto stage, I only get  80% of the entire piece right.

I think the only way to perform at 100 % perfection on stage, is to achieve 150% perfection at practice.

And now it comes to the part where performing an instrument is almost similar to everything we do in life.

" Mental preparedness" 

It's the moment you push yourself to slowly learn the notes of a new piece, and the moment you brace yourself for the first key you lay your fingers on on stage.

It's the mentality that makes you forget the surroundings, to listen and and lose yourself in every note that falls.

It's the ability to submit yourself to anything and everything you do. Whether it's giving a speech to a crowd, or the 10 min job interview.

Just be cool, and do it well ;)

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Thank you for reading;)

Written with love,

June

We won't see another man like him.

He was an extraordinary man

But would he have known...

That after his death, the entire nation would be submerged in deep mourning.

That thousands and thousands would be braving torrential downpours and extreme heats to send him off on his final journey.

That people from all over the world would be commemorating him with images of tributes printed on T-shirts and dominating social media profile pictures. 

Because he holds such an honorable position in the hearts of all Singaporeans .

Lee Kuan Yew was a man with great visions...and with that, he motivated and he inspired many.
His outstanding contributions to Singapore are countless.

First prime minister of Singapore and a socialist politician who transformed the country from a small fishing port

To this vibrant and well governed prosperous city

Around 150,000 people die each day. But how many of them will be still remembered after centuries or even decades after their existence? Only those that changed history.

Not all of us are as intellectual or capable of making life changing contributions like Lee Kuan Yew..
But he left us his legacy of doing good and being kind to others, and with that said, it's not a hard goal to work towards.

Let's face it. I may not end up living half the meaningful life Lee Kuan Yew had or to
 be globally recognized for generations to come after I die.

But for what I do know, l want people to have crossed paths with me in my entire lifetime to remember me as the generous, compassionate person who has lived life to the fullest...

 Just like Mr Lee Kuan Yew.

How about you?:)

Witten with Love,
June

Single-sex school transition to Co-ed?

My attempts to write a meaningful blog post for the past few weeks have failed. It usually ends up with me hopping from one topic or another or just generating countless uncertainties. 

So here I am, writing something out from my own experiences. You might know different..or even better. But this is just my personal point of view.

From age 9 up to 15, I had hardly any exposure with guys my age.  Transitioning from one girl's school to another, my parents didn't think it was the best idea. But I was happy. To me, not having boys around was definitely not a con. During this period of time in high school, I formed many close relationships, and settled in an amazing friendship circle in which I would happily call my " group". 

It wasn't too hard to approach anyone. We would openly talk about feminine stuff like who and who had their period that week , menstrual cramps, etc... When it came to talking about boys, we were pretty cool with it though most of us didn't have much experience. Most conversations regarding that topic revolved around hot actors from blockbuster movies or just guys we've never met before but heard lot's about. I don't know if any of us craved for an actual relationship, but what I'm certain about is that we definitely didn't physically show it. 

I remember once after the social/dance , someone told me, " Girls become mean to each other when guys come into the scene.". 

For some reason, I considered boy girl relationships happening then slightly " odd". I mean...how well will  it work out if you don't see each other often. But that was the least of our worries. After some "not so good' encounters, my really close friend and I vowed that we wouldn't get ourselves involved in high school relationships we weren't ready for.

It is a proven fact that girls gossip a lot. I gossip. And friendship problems were caused mainly due to that. We worry about not being able to fit in, not being able to be accepted by the other girls. Oh yea.. and I think negative body images can sometimes come along with that.

In general I loved my single gender school. It made me a more confident person with much more self belief, not having to worry about unnecessary stuff. Not only that, I think I've made some lifelong friends in that all girls environment. :)

If any of you are reading this, the teddy bear that you guys gave me is well looked after <3

And then I move into a new school .... and it's not single-sexed. 

I see couples walking around the school hand in close embrace. I see guys and girls talking to each other so close that it is at kissing distance. I see guys and girls texting each other love hearts when they are obviously not in a relationship.

I know this is normal, but I feel awkward with all this flirting going around.

But I must say, it's more lively here. We have more interesting class discussions with both genders expressing their opinions. Girls and guys don't necessarily agree on the same thing, and that's what makes it fun.

It's been three months since the move and I'm still worrying about which table to sit at lunch, who to talk to in class, who I partner up to do projects, who I should just avoid totally ... ahaha. It's been a frenzy...this whole transitioning in school. But I'm slowly getting used to it, I'm slowly working my way around with guys.

Oh well.. I don't have any other option do I?;)

Thank you for reading:)
Do comment if you have anything you want to say :)
Written with love.
June

My other home & Chinese New Year ❤

~It's not the most beautiful place in the world, neither is it the cleanest nor safest country.

But I love it.

Because in China, I get reunited with the loved ones that I infrequently see.

Especially my Grandma:) 

This short span of one week was well spent:)

 Most of the time was spent with my extended family...eating, haha! 

China is famed for their food, and infamous for having too much a variety :') 

Everyone just stuffs their face with food during new year XD

Just some little appetizers;) 

                                                                   

I guess my stay in China wouldn't be as meaningful without the following photographs taken. 

Haha I'll call it a once in a lifetime thing...  I was dressed in clothes from the Han dynasty period, and there was a photographer telling me how to pose :3 

Departing is always the toughest thing. 

It was difficult to say goodbye, it was difficult to imagine the next time I would return.

But at the end of the day, we all know that we should keep this quote in our minds;)

Thank you for reading! For those of you that celebrate Chinese New Year, I hope it had been as great for you as it had been with for me :)

Have a great day xx

Written with love,

June

Sometimes... can we just run away?- I've got a war in my mind

We all make hundreds of decisions ever day...

 from the moment we get out of bed, to the moment we lower our eyelids into slumber.

Making hard decisions is like figuring out how to walk out of a labyrinth.

It hurts your brain...but once you get it right, you're good.

I'm not a good decision maker.. I tend to act on emotional responses, and they usually lead to bad consequences. That usually happens when I'm too tired or in a state when I'm not thinking rationally. 

Poor judgement causes bad decisions. 

And we all know bad decisions can change your life forever. Okay, it might not be physically, but emotional scars are hard to heal. 

“Trust your instincts, and make judgements on what your heart tells you. The heart will not betray you.” 
― David Gemmell, Fall of Kings

People can betray..but the heart will never. 

I hate making difficult decisions... but that's just a part of life, isn't it?

I hope all of you enjoyed your valentines day! 

Have a beautiful day, make good decisions.

Written with Love,

June