Grueling process to US

30th Dec 2011

Throughout this whole year, my one aim was to go to UNT for Masters and now that I am going, I am thinking of writing down a short (hopefully) description of how to get to the US.

1. After you have an idea where to go and what to study, you would need to see the requirement of the university for the course you are wanting to go. Most of the course for Masters in the US would require you to pass a test, either the GRE (most of the courses), GMAT (business i think) or some other test.

Mine was the GRE and there's a general GRE paper and specific GRE paper. You can take the specific ones to 'show off' your knowledge on a particular field, but it's not necessary. Of course, it would cost more also if u take the specific paper, but you MUST take the general paper.

GRE is tough, and I once heard it's 'the mother of all test'. It's also expensive (appx. RM 560). If you fail, you have to pay the money again, so better don't fail. There are books to guide you through the examination and it's best to study about at least half a year. I rushed through it. I think I studies like.. 2 - 3 months. Good thing I passed.

2. Besides the GRE, another test that international students need to take would be an English proficiency test. You can take either TOEFL or IELTS. I took TOEFL and it wasn't that tough. Just be on your toes as it's also pretty expensive (appx. RM 480)

3. If let's say you passed both the test, then YAY! I suppose the university will require some recommendation letters, a completed application forms, registration fees, writing sample etc. Check for the requirements and go get all of those done. Don't get frustrated or discouraged when your lecturers don't reply to your email about the recommendation letter. BUG THEM! :p

For institutions in Texas (I don't know about other states), you can actually send applications online on applytexas.org. It's really cool in a sense that you can complete application and send to many schools at once, and you can pay through credit card online too. 1 application will cost around USD 50 - USD 75. So if you apply for 4 schools, it will roughly come up to appx. RM 700.

4. WAIT! this is one of the most torturous part where you have sent them everything and you wait for their reply. There is no certainty when they will reply, and in my case, my wait was pretty *tut* long (like half a year long).

5. Let's say they have accepted you. Hurray! Quickly ask them to send over the I-20 together with all your necessary documents. Now you have to pass the visa interview. In order to schedule an interview, you first need to fill up the DS-160 form, pay USD 140 for the visa fees at Standard Chartered bank, pay USD 400 for SEVIS fee, and schedule an interview after all the payment. This is the website for Malaysian if you want to apply for a visa. http://www.ustraveldocs.com/my/

In the meantime, go renew your passport, take a visa photo (white background, 2 X 2 inches), look at the possible visa interview questions and get prepared. My interview was supposed to be 7.40 a.m. I reached at 7.10 a.m and there were already 5 person in front of me. My advice, schedule an appointment early and go early, cause the jam is terrible in KL. Early appointment will make parking hunting easier. Remember to bring pertinent items to the interview (valid passport, visa photograph, I-20, financial documents and any relevant documents depicting strong ties to country). Also, look for a place to stay there. If you are staying with friends or relatives, then all's good and well. If you are like me, going alone, better make sure u have a roof before boarding on the plane.

Be confident during interview. My interview lasted less than a minute, 2 minutes top, and I was told that I passed my interview. YAY!

6. Now that visa is done, book an air ticket. Mine was really expensive. You can go through agent or book straight from the airlines, but going to the US, there must be a transit. More often than not, there will be a change of airlines. Even if there isn't, it's normally cheaper to buy from an agent. But it's good that you check it yourself. Buy early to avoid dissapointment.

7. Shop for relevant items. Winter clothes are really expensive, but nothing can be done. It will be winter when I go there. Advice: need not buy that much, cause it's cheaper and of better quality there.

8. I suppose the last step before boarding the plane would be to meet up with loved ones to say bye bye.

Next year will be my first year in a foreign country, experiencing winter, boarding a plane by myself. It will definitely be a year of many firsts for me. It's a little scary thinking about it, but I am taking the leap of faith.

God Bless~

Nostalgic

27th November 2011

2011 has been a great and adventurous year. I have had many first times this year and it started with my first airplane experience to Bali with my friends. First time out of country with friends also. It was really great, seeing one small part of the world where their culture is so different. People are more laidback and I liked it.

Of course, my second flight was also this year to Terengganu and I went to Lang Tengah. It was also my first time snorkeling there. It was great to see the clear waters and the clear sky at night where there were lots of stars.

Very importantly, this year is my first year stepping full time into the working force. Being a mentor in a child development centre has been an awesomely wonderful experience. It's also great that we have birthday celebrations and boss pays for it. XD. It helps when colleagues are friendly and willing to guide. They are all sweet and they gave me a farewell with a present! manis giler.

Most of the kids are lovely and I will definitely miss all of them dearly. Some gave me presents for Teacher's Day, my birthday and .... on other random days as well. One of them asked me whether I will take the stars which she gave me overseas. :x

Sometimes we adults don't realize how small things matter so much to the young ones.

December is coming. Christmas is coming. The season when I like it's festive mood and listening to it's music. This year will end close to perfect if I pass my visa interview and get ready to go to Texas. Hopefully I would be more equipped in a few years time to help more people.

God Bless~

Of life and death

26th October 2011

Recently there has been many deaths occurring around the world. It makes me think a little how life can be so short and death so quick and sudden.

There was the flood in Thailand which claimed quite a number of life.. the death of Steve Jobs, the 2 years old in China and more recently Simoncelli. All these news are not good news and the deaths of the 3 latter individuals had cause people around the world to react in a certain manner.

Of course everyone around the world was in a rage over the death of the 2 years old China girl who was ran over and nobody seemed to care for her life. People were talking about it from the office, to the restaurant to the online community condemning the act and baffled at how can we humans be so inhumane towards other humans, so young a child at that.

Millions of people were mourning over the death of Steve Jobs as well. People were crying and saying what a lost to the world as someone so great has passed away. I don't have any Apple products and to me, his death did not made that big of an impact to me. But it got me thinking, what constitutes 'greatness'?

I came across this article http://www.dnaindia.com/analysis/column_comment-steve-jobs-wasnt-great-he-wasnt-even-close_1596888 which made me think of what constitutes greatness. Of course, comparing Jobs to Salk is like comparing an apple to orange and is by no means a comparable comparison but it really got me thinking, what constitutes 'greatness' and how do one achieve that 'greatness' to be a legendary figure?

I suppose one trademark of 'greatness' is that the person leaves a footprint behind to the world. both Jobs and Salk managed to leave their footprints behind. The bigger the footprint, the greater the 'greatness' of a person. Question is, how do we leave footprints?

Surely to be able to leave a big footprint, one needs to be quite intelligent to be able to influence most of the people of its' time. So great intellect which affects people is one measure of greatness.

Another measure of greatness would be how one has helped the world for the better. Mother Teresa is 'great' but I am not too sure whether she's intellectually great. Her heart is great and she left a big footprint with her big heart. I suppose a truly 'great' person is someone who is an intellect with a heart.

GREATNESS = INTELLECT + HEART

I want to strive to be someone with both as I can see the danger of having only the mind and not the heart.

Whatever it is, the death of these 3 people are landmark deaths and we hope their deaths can only change the world for the better. Maybe China is going to have a policy change. Maybe more people will strive to have both intellect and heart. And maybe, there will be more safety measures in the future for athletes.

Maybe, all of us should start valuing our lives.

God Bless~

The PERFECT Dream

29th September 2011

Most of us have dreams. We dream about many things. We dream about having nice cars, big houses, a prince charming or beautiful princess, lots of money, having a good and healthy life etc. But how many of us are living our own dreams?

Taken from http://chris-bradley.org/2011/02/02/awesome-houses-inspiration-bedrooms/

When I was young, I dream about going to school to play with my friends.

As I grew up, I dream of becoming a smart student and becoming a scientist, among other occupations such as sailor and astronaut.

Then I realized that I like numbers and finally I chose a course which have to do with humans.

Dreams change and my point is, are we living our own dream? Or someone else's dream? Who puts the idea in our head that we need to have lots of money and have new nicer cars, new bigger houses, the latest handheld technology, lots of money and plenty of booze?

Those dreams are the dreams of the world and if those are your dreams, then you are not living your dream because it can never be satisfied, as the world will always have another dream they are selling.

In advertisements, the advertisers sell this concept of the perfect dream. The family buying a new house suddenly lives harmoniously and happily. The dude who used the perfume suddenly becomes a hottie. Having a new car would make you weave your way effortlessly on the road (although this will never work in KL). We buy into these 'dreams' and once another product comes out, the perfect dream is imperfect and we are fed with more of these 'perfect dreams'. We slave ourselves with long working hours to achieve these dreams in exchange for less time with friends and families.

So, are you living your dream? Or the dream of the world? Is there really a perfect dream? There is, for those who believe in heaven. For those who don't, a perfect dream can be as easy as living with dignity by making the world a better place.

We often forget, that often, the most precious things in life are free.

God Bless~

Consumerism

25th September 2011

Consumerism is chiseling away the life of our planet. While some of us are eating awesome food here, others are dying of hunger.

Taken from http://www.chrismadden.co.uk/eco/consumerism-illustration.html

I got this thought when I was in church today. With the advent of group coupons (groupons), we can get so many exciting deals and the demand for things is on the rise with the so called 'deal'. We can get buffets, exciting adventures but what are the cost of demanding so much?

While we may eat to the brim of our stomach for RM 40 - RM 60 with the deal, we are demanding more food to be put on the dining table in the restaurant. And with about 2000 plus people buying it, you can surely bet there would be a huge demand for animals, plants and seafood to be slaughtered, harvested and fished. And that's just for 1 of the restaurants. Multiply that by the constant deal and the wastage at the end of the day, maybe the picture is not as colourful anymore (for the life of our world at least).

What about the travel industry? With the cheap flights and discounted prices of holidays, there would be an increase of pollution, from airplane, to nature being invaded to more food being provided for tourist.

I for one, admit that I do purchase these deals every once in a while but where are we heading to with such rampant consumerism? Surely the world cannot consistently supply us with our cravings as it is never ending and always on the rise. But if we don't put a stop to it, then sooner or later, our world is going to be so barren that we are gonna starve ourselves. (ok this might be a slippery slope argument. sue me).

Taken from http://sal.am/tag/consumerism/

I guess all of us should take a step back and think a little before purchasing things. The most important thing would be to be contented with our lives and what we have. If we are contented, we wouldn't think that a buffet or a discounted travel package is such a great thing because we are simply happy and satisfied with how things are and need not look for 'extra' things to complement our life. It's pretty simple. Things work in a demand and supply dynamic. When the demand goes down, so does supply.

Taken from http://www.herdarkmatter.com/2008/12/two-thousand-eight.html

On another note, why not use consumerism in a positive manner. Another idea which popped into my head when I was in church is how companies like Groupon can utilize the people's purchasing power. If only they could feature a home (refugee, autism, spastic, old folks etc.) every week, I think it would be of great help to the home. I think Malaysians are a good lot and are willing to help. Just maybe we are caught up with everyday work and the awareness is low as to how to help. By utilizing this vast network that is already established and the ease of donating by just a few clicks, this could be a great power to be leveraged (or at least I think so). Positive consumerism anyone?

God Bless~

Years gone by

10th September 2011

I am feeling nostalgic and contemplative now. A feeling which I have not felt for quite some time due to my busyness I suppose. Was it because of the weather or was it because of the departure? Looking back at the years gone by, I would proudly say I love my life and I am very blessed even till this day for having good family and friends by my side.

So many memories made and cherished. Were there regrets? Yes, but I can count them with my fingers. If I could turn back time, I might not make the same mistakes, but oh well, such things made me realize what I shouldn't do in the future.

Today I sent one of my friends at the airport. My first time sending anyone away. Will there be more to come? I kinda like airports.

My work is pretty ok. Kids in kepong are not that bad. I got a present from one of my students already in my first week there. But where is my life bringing me to? Or where am I bringing my life to? What does future holds for me?

Sometimes I feel that life is so futile. What's the purpose of having a nice life? It is going to end one day. My thinking could be a little weird since I think not many 23 years old thinks like me. I think most of them would be roaring to go, wanting to earn money or to change the world. Am I grounded in reality, or am I a pessimist?

God Bless~

Lang Tengah Day 2

So this is the second day of our Lang Tengah trip.

We woke up and went for jungle trekking. The receptionist said that her mum (or aunt I am not sure) can go up and down using slippers. I believed her and wore slippers. Dang smart.. it's not a good idea. Kena tipu already.

So up we went and these were some of the pictures which we took along the way.

This was supposed to be the peak

The other side of the island

The strong man who 'lifted' both of us

How dare you did that to us. Revenge! Shou-ru-ken

After that, we went back to our lodging place and had lunch and then we went for snorkeling. This time, we almost missed the boat and we had an amazing race part 2 to chase after the boat before it departs. What an exciting trip we had. Chase after plane and now boat. XD

We came back from snorkeling and did some other things. Of course. We will always walk the beach because it's so lovely.

We even went star gazing at night. The stars shone so brightly and it can be seen so clearly. Very nice experience :D

God Bless~

Lang Tengah Day 1 Part 2

SO here is part 2 of day 1

After our lunch we went for snorkeling and once we came back, we had tea. Tea was ok and we Sly with each other in the room until about 5 something where we went out to play volleyball. The girls walked along the beach while the guys played.

After that, we went walking also, and took pictures. Below are the pictures to feast your eyes with.

Can you see the fishes?

Sunset

Nice clear water

God Bless~

Lang Tengah Day 1 Part 1

21st August 2011

On 5th of August, my friends and I went to Lang Tengah for a vacation. Where is Lang Tengah you ask? It's an island off the coast of Terengganu and can only be reached by a boat. I have been waiting eagerly for this vacation to come ever since I started working as I have been very busy and would like to unwind and relax.

On the morning of the 5th, woke up early at 4.30 a.m and reached Shawn's house at 5. His dad fetched us to KL Central so that we can take a bus to KLIA. We got on the bus and I slept on the way and we reached KLIA. It's the first time I have been there and boy IT'S DANG HUGE!! It's so huge that it's a little crazy. And it's very beautiful too.

Checked ourselves in and went to eat breakfast at McD before boarding. We almost missed the flight as we didn't expect our counter to be the last. It's so far that it took us about 4 - 5 minutes RUNNING. Announcement was made to Mr. Yoong Mun Kiat to come quickly to the counter and go into the plane. That's us. XD Nice start to an amazing trip eh?

First time taking MAS, and the service was good. There's peanuts and drinks on board. Unlike AirAsia where I had to spend RM 3 for a 300ml bottled water. After reaching the Terengganu airport, we exited at once as the van driver has been waiting for us. The van took us to the jetty and off we went on a boat.

Me sitting with an uncle who's from Subang

Very soon, the water turned blue

After about 1 hour of boat ride, we finally reached our destination. The first thing which captivated us was how clear the water is. We were like 'ooooo' AWESOME!

The clear water ^^

This is our hotel room

How it looks like inside

This is how it looks like outside

It's a simple place but it's nice and I like the feeling. Close to nature and so un-city-like.

We checked into our rooms, had lunch and quickly changed our attire for our first snorkeling trip. I don't have photos of them, but the experience was really wonderful, especially at our second snorkeling place where there's so many fishes.

Water is so clear and the fishes seemed to be dancing around us. Simply lovely. Next post about what we did in the evening, coming up soon

God Bless~

Life is like driving

Life is like driving

Go too fast and you might overshoot

Go too slow and you might never reach the destination on time

Go too fast and you might get into an accident

Go too slow and people behind will start pushing you to move faster

Move at a nice speed so that you can enjoy the scenery on your journey

At times, the journey will be dangerous

Due to rain and bumpy roads

But most of the time, it would be sunny and smooth

There will be people to act as signboards, telling you where to go

Believe in all of them, and you might get lost

Use your experience and discerning mind to navigate your way

Along the way, there will be people who will irritate you

Be sensible and do not be irritated by them

Work too hard, and the car might break down

It's important to find the time to rest and rejuvenate, just as how you would service your car

The most important thing to know is where to go

For knowing not where to head is equivalent to wasting of time and energy.

God Bless~

Weed and the Wheat

4th August 2011

A few weeks ago, I heard the sermon about the weed and the wheat and wanted to share about it, but was held back due to my busy-ness. It was a parable in the Bible and it goes something like this.

An owner of a farm planted good wheat in his farm. At night, his enemy came and planted weeds and left. The following morning, a few servants came and said to the owner "Sir, weren't the seeds that you planted good seeds? Why are there weeds among the wheat? Should I go and pull it out?"

The owner replied "No. If you pull out the weeds, the good wheat might be uprooted together with the weeds. Let them grow side by side until the time comes when I will gather the wheat into my barn and burn the weeds"

So what is the moral of this parable? Why wouldn't the owner pull out the weeds? Wouldn't it be easier if the weeds were all uprooted and only the wheat were allowed to grow?

It seems that wheat and weeds look alike when they are young. One could easily be mistaken a weed for a wheat and vice versa. If let's say the owner would want to pull out the weeds, he could be pulling out the wheat by accident.

Moral 1: Whether or not a person is a weed or a wheat can only be determined at the end of his/her life. It is only then that we can clearly see the fruit of their labour.

Now let's talk about the servant who suggested to pull out the weed. Is this servant doing the right thing? On the surface, the servant might be concerned, but he could also want to make himself 'smart' by suggesting the weeding out of weeds.

Moral 2: We should not be the one to judge whether a person is a wheat or a weed. Let us not be like the servant who would want to act all righteous and weed out the weeds. Only God should judge, and what's more, whether a person is a weed or a wheat will only be ascertained when his/her time has come.

If we were quick to judge whether a person is a weed or a wheat, the church would be lacking of so many saints.

************************************************************************

Short update on my life.

1) I am going Lang Tengah tomorrow. Naice :D

2) My love the kids at my centre. Although they do drive me crazy sometimes, but I love them. Some of them are 'OMG' so cute.

3) Awaiting anxiously for Fulbright shortlisting.

God Bless~

Dreams and musings

10th July 2011

I had a very strange dream this morning and inside the dream i actually cried. Drama isn't it? So what happened in the dream?

I remember seeing someone (my friend) doing some strenuous exercise and it she was doing the exercise really really high up. She was doing and doing until she fell down. I guess it was about 16 floors high. I got a shock of my life and ran to see her. When I got there, I saw some paramedics carrying out a girl whose legs were already severed. I was stunned.

Then I saw another person who was walking and talking on the phone. It was my friend who fell down. She was perfectly fine. I ran to her and shed tears of joy and relieve.

In reality, falling so from such a height... you would not come out uninjured. In reality, i might not have shed tears. But this is a dream, so everything is possible.

************************************************************************************

I wonder why I always have this urge to 'save' people from their sorrow. Well actually that's not true, I only have this urge on selected people. XD what is my motivation i wonder. praise? intrinsic motivation? :x

God Bless~

Work

One of the main reasons for me being busy would be work. I am currently working in a child enrichment centre as a mentor. Started work at the end of April. As for these 2 weeks, I have been working for 13 days straight now. :p

I always hear about people who talks about bad working experience. Although I had had bad working experience, my job is really good now. I enjoy my job and it's nice when you get to do what you like. I like playing with children and being childish at times, so I suppose this job suits me well. It's a plus that your colleagues are funny and they share the same wavelengths :)

SOME of the kids there are REALLY CUTE. I have a few personal kids which I like very much. This 1 kid gave me presents for Teacher's Day. So nice isn't it? I feel so loved.

The front of the card, together with the cookies.

Inside of the card. Although the drawing is not very nice,

I still thought it was very lovely of her.

The back of the card.

Kids there are smart, and they are frank. It is nice to be with kids.

God Bless~

Convocation Post

My convo was on April 4th 2011. Clearly this post is long overdue but I just got the mood and the free time to blog about it. So here goes.

So after finishing and passing both GRE and TOEFL, I am eagerly waiting for D-day to come. Mainly, I would want to take photos with all my friends which I have made throughout my undergraduate years. Before my convo, I did invite some of my friends who were not convo-ing to come together, namely people from the volleyball club, but I guess none came except for Bobo, who was there because of Cha cha.

Even those who went to the convo, I didn't manage to get photos with them, because everyone is just everywhere. And there's no reception as it was in LG, which makes it hard for people to call each other.

But there are photos to make me remember this day.

Welcoming Banner

My family who have supported me throughout my journey.

Mr. Lam

Jian, my private pilot. XD

Ah Bit

Lynnette Chai whom I RARELY see these days

Family Photo 2

All the above photos are taken inside the hotel. Now for some outdoor shots (which I think are nicer)

Ms. Too

Lam and me and the bushes.

Evie Teh joined in.

My lovely juniors who came and see me. Really touched.

My juniors gave me 2 presents. One is this pen.

Another is this cert. So sweet of them right?

Main reason for outdoor shots? Throwing the mortar boards of course!

Take 1

Take 2

It's a day to be remembered. Although there's regret that I did not manage to take photos with all of my friends, I suppose we cannot be too greedy in life.

Time to move on in life.

God Bless~