Another Year Passed By

I'm simply too lazy this time to write a long 'new year post' =p, so I'd just make it short.

Once again I was amazed by the ways life presents its surprises to me. Successes and failures come when you least expect it, most of the time. This year has been a very exciting year for me. Lots of things changed. I meant it, when I said 'lots'. Sometimes I could hardly catch up with the lessons life had to offer. 

First, things in KTT changed. I don't think I need to elaborate much on this. Then came the entrance exam and interview. I couldn't remember when was the last time I was so nervous, even though I tried my best to remain calm and did my best. However I have to say I was truly blessed. I couldn't have done it with my hard work alone. I'm grateful for how it all turned out to be. 

After that came the A2 exam. I learnt something from AS exam. I carefully avoided the dangerous zones which I fell into during AS. And I did it. Thanks to many people who gave me their support and love. 

After that was a few months' of happy hours, haha. Bla bla bla (see previous posts) =p 

And I was here. It took me so long to accept the fact =D . It felt so unreal. I couldn't imagine how much blessings and good luck it took for me to arrive here in Prague. I've heard people saying that it wasn't a 'top in the world' university, but who cares! For me it's more than enough. I've started to like this city. It's like living in a museum. Everywhere is history. My school is old. Even my apartment is a historical building! Haha! 

Of course the journey here wasn't (and isn't going to be) smooth. I received... well, one of the most difficult lessons so far. The scar still hurts, sometimes, but I hope there's more than this which I gained. And there're always some small little things that keep coming back to trouble me. And the lessons, tests and exams in school are anything but easy. *complaints, complaints, complaints* Hehe... 

BUT, I wanted all these, didn't I? I prayed hard for the chance to experience all these, didn't I? I asked to pass the entrance exam, didn't I? 

So, it was still a wonderful year. Whatever happened. 

Thank you to my good friends, far or near. Whatever happened. 

Thank you to my family. I love you all.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

The Music Won't Last

Suddenly thought of sharing this poem. It was once on my desktop because I really liked it very much, not only because of its beautiful sound when you read it, but also the meaning behind. It's actually PART of the poem because I edited it to fit into my wallpaper, now I can't find the complete poem anymore.

Have you ever watched kids

on a merry-go-round,

or listened to the rain

slapping on the ground.

Ever followed a butterfly's erratic flight.

or gazed at the sun into the fading night.

Ever told your child,

we will do it tomorrow,

and in your haste,

not see his sorrow.

Ever lost touch,

let a good friendship die,

because you never had time

to call and say hi.

You'd better slow down,

don't dance so fast.

Time is short.

The music won't last.

Credit: unknown author

Rome and Vienna

We arrived at Prague airport at around 10am, waited for a long time because the flight to Venice kept being delayed, and it was canceled before 12.30pm due to a flood in Venice. We had to wait till 7.30pm to board another flight to Rome instead. 

I saw a lot of buildings and statues we used to learn in History. Colossuem and Vatican were awesome! However, it was tiring because of the tight schedule and the bad weather (rain). We had to walk in the rain to see the fountains and statues! We were all wet when we got back to hostel from this special sight-seeing experience that night, haha.  

Photos: http://picasaweb.google.com/taiyuxin/VaticanAndRome#

From 23rd till 25th December we visited Vienna, Austria. It was more relaxing compared to the trip to Rome, although it, too, involved a lot of walking. I guess it's an inevitable part of Europe tours. You see better when you walk. We don't have money for more luxurious means of transport anyway, haha! The other thing I really like about Vienna is its decorated Christmas Market! Surprisingly, the festive atmosphere of Vienna was much stronger than that in Rome. I realised that people of Vienna make use of lights to decorate their city. All the buildings, streets and statues were illuminated by beautiful lights. 

Photos: http://picasaweb.google.com/taiyuxin90/Vienna#

There're actually more details, and more stories to be told from these trips, however, my battery hasn't been fully recharged since I came back, hehe. For more, please visit my picasa album! =D 

I must get more sleep before I get back to reality =p 

p/s I can't upload more photos because my Picasa Web Album storage is approaching 1GB (99%), unless I purchase further space T_T 

Here comes the Christmas!!

Finally the Christmas break has arrived! 

We had our dissection which lasted 5 days, and a dissection test on the 6th day. I was examined by Prof Grim, whom was said to be relatively nicer, haha, plus the questions he asked were exactly the ones I knew. I was lucky, really! =D Dissection was a nice experience. We had the chance to see more closely the things we've been learning since the start of the term. It was tiring for me, concentrating for 2 hours plus each day trying my best to remember everything the demonstrators (seniors of high years) said, and studied and studied by myself when it's over, but no doubt, it was a beneficial experience! Thank you to the seniors who taught us so much. We also had some kind of group discussion, with Adeline, Ian, Ye Ling, Evon and Phyllis, 2 nights before the test. 

By the way, the temperature has been dropping since about 1 week ago. I first saw the ground covered with snow and felt slippery walking after finished watching the movie 2012 with Xiang Yan and Adeline on Wednesday night... And it's -15 Celsius right now! I just came back from Old Town Square Christmas Market with Adeline and Agnes. It was freaking cold! My hands and ears hurt due to the coldness, and my face and hands were red, even though I was wearing gloves all the time! I'm sure I couldn't even imagine how -15 was like before this, haha... I heard it's gonna be colder in January? Seriously, if this is true, it's unimaginable for me... However, I was still excited to see a white Prague, hehe... 

oh the weather outside is frightful... 

me, Adeline and Agnes at Old Town Square. I was freezing... 

I'm leaving for Venice and Rome from tomorrow (actually, today) till 22nd of December, then to Vienna from 23rd to 25th December. Hope the trip is going to go smoothly! It's actually a deam-come-true, visiting European countries... =D 

Before I disappear from the internet (blog, facebook, msn etc.), I'd like to wish everyone a Merry Christmas, especially to the Christians friends! =)

A warm welcome to 关靖恒

Welcome to our lovely family! 

May you be a blessing to people around, see the beauty and miracles along your journey and learn the lessons life is going to offer, guided by the ones who love you, and the ones you're going to love. 

(as if you can already read this XD)

I'm...

I'm eating soup noodle, which is not very nice.

Browsed through www.beliefnet.com, an amazing site about different kinds of religions and faiths, lots of information to learn from, ideal for people like me. =D

Found a nice new single, 'Sweet Night', by Katie Rice. Can be found here: http://www.katierice.com/_/Katie_Rice.html

Browsing through blogs, and found this powerful sentence that touched my heart:

you are not alone, even when you feel that way.

Totally random.

Better finish my dinner now and go back to Anatomy. (Dissection starting on Wednesday!!)

Some little thoughts

Isn't it weird how some little things hurt? Isn't it weird that sometimes I'd rather live with the pain then letting go? Stop caring once and for all?? 

Reserve my care for something worths more? Haha, speaking of this, you don't even know what is worth and what is not until the end of the road. Life can only be understood backwards. 

So let it be. Let it be the way it is. 

P/S Nobody gets the meaning behind? Excellent. That's how I meant it to be. Haha. Ha.

Adeline's birthday

Knowing that she's no fan of lies (even white lies), I tried my best to achieve it without telling any. However I failed because I guess she suspected something and kept asking me questions so that I had no choice but to lie to cover up the plan!

4th December was Adeline's birthday, but we decided to celebrate it one day earlier because I was told that some other friends (from her bible studies class) would want to celebrate for her on Friday night itself, plus we couldn't find anything convincing to tell her so that she skip her bible studies (no way!) without another lie...

It's never my idea of fun, organising gatherings and stuffs, but I really thought I should do something. So, I started gathering ideas from friends and together we've come up with this. Well, it wasn't that creative, but, what's most important was we really wanted to give her a warm birthday.

Ye Ling suggested a video and I thought it was an amazing idea. I like playing with photos and editing but for me, it usually takes quite a lot of time. However I proceeded with making the video using our photos since KTT, photos of her family, and dedications from her siblings and mum (I'm particularly proud of this, haha!), a million thanks to her sister Serena.

The celebration went well and I truly hope we made that special day even more special. =)