Ermmm...

I just had my fifth driving lesson this afternoon at 2. Which was my nap time. So I was kind of sleepy. Almost died because I FORGOT TO LOOK AT THE RIGHT SIDE WHEN GOING OUT OF A ROUNDABOUT... There was a car coming from that direction!! Good thing instructor immediately brake... but then again, it's like the second or third time it happened at the exact same roundabout, so I no feeling liao...

I'll be eighteen soon... But I still cannot drive on my own until my dad come back or I go back Banting. No driving on my own, says the Great Mother.

I'm in love with Kevin Kern's piano music!! *Hint hint* get me his songbook or piano scores please!!!

I want to do something wild with my hair. Dye... Highlight... any ideas? Not that the G.M. (refer above) would allow, though...

The 4-Letter Word

[click to enlarge]

Stop The Rot

These three words are like imprinted in my mind. Stop the rot. Stop the rot. What rot? Government rot? Tooth decay? Rotting vegetables hidden under my bed? (Hmmm, come to think of it, there's this constant strange smell in my room...)

I woke up this morning feeling like I'm rotting away and wasting this long holiday. Hello, can I be a little bit more productive instead of sitting around watching TV and playing Pokemon Pearl (which totally rocks, by the way) all day? I mean, besides helping my mom type out interviews and all that for her research (Which is really hard to do), I am SOOOO not doing the things that I have always always always promised myself that I would do after SPM. That was before SPM when I wanted to do so much but didn't have the time. Now that I have all the time in the world, I have nothing to do.

So I decided, okay! Three days of wasted time is enough. Stop the rot!! Whatever that means. So, I drew out a plan for my everyday activities and listed the things I want to accomplish this three or so months. So far I haven't come up with a concrete and full plan, but "a journey of a thousand miles begins with a good meal". Wait, that's not it. But whatever, you get the picture.

But just let me rot a bit more while I watch a bit of tennis that I never got to enjoy fully last year... starting 19th January, the Australian Open!!

Tagged

[Again, I am quite sure I've done these silly things before, but since I am as free as the free mouse, cooling pad, headset and lock cable I got with my new laptop, I shall bore you with this tag. Xo]

I was tagged by Leti and Gloria.

I tag:
1. Anders
2. Mrs. Molting
3. Lik Pin
4. Erica
5. Ryner
6. Von Von
7. Neece
8. Barack Obama
9. Cicakman

How do you know 1? (Anders)
Church. Youth. A good friend's best friend. My sister's friend's friend's brother.

What would you do if you never meet 2? (Mrs. Molting)
I would never have known what is a port de bras. No, it has nothing to do with ports nor lingerie. Much to do with ballet dancing.

What would you do if 3 & 4 dated? (Lik Pin & Erica)
Attend their wedding. Unless they don't invite me. I kill you!! (a la Achmed the dead terrorist)

Would 5 & 6 make a good couple? (Von Von & Ryner)
*speechless*
Maybe. They both cannot stop talking. They both sing...

Do you think 7 is attractive? (Neece)
OH YES SHE IS HOT!! Hehe, too bad she has a boyfriend already!! ... or is that, like, outdated news already?

Tell me something about 9 (Cicakman)
Wahahahaha how do I know? I never even watched the stupid thing.

What's 1's favourite past time? (Anders)
Cooking, baking, sewing, singing, piano... I don't know which one is his favourite borr...

What language does 2 speak? (Molting bird)
The language of an emo ex-ballerina who falls in love with a talented ex-model.

Who is 3 going out with? (Pin)
Ermmm... number 4?? Haha I don't know.

How old is 4? (Erica)
From the way she acts, I'd say maybe about 10?? XD

When was the last time you talked to 5? (Ryner)
A long, long time. I mean talk as in face-to-face. MSN doesn't count. *sob* Why so long didn't see him hor...

Who is 6's favourite singer? (Von)
Ermmm... Spongebob??

Would you date 7? (Neece)
OH YES SHE'S HOT!! Only that, like I said, she is taken and SO AM I!!!! Wahahaha...

Is 8 single? (B.O.)
Nope. Unless he gets divorced, sorry ladies!

What's 9's last name? (Cicakman)
... ... ... ...
*blink blink*
... ...
I have not a clue.

My New Laptop

Oh, such indescribable joy fills my whole being! I have just gotten my very own laptop! A laptop that belongs to me, only me and nobody else but me! Happy happy happy... The laptop my dad bought for me (thank you paaaa!!!!) is an NEC Versa E6500.

I actually almost got myself a DELL Inspiron 1420, but after looking at both choices I decided that the Inspiron was a bit too flashy for me. This NEC Versa is just right. The anti-scratch leather back is just right. It also has a Touch-and-Go touchpad as shown above from which you can go to the media player, Microsoft Office and also control the music player from the touchpad. How cool can touchpads get? XD






I am so happy!! Dear NEC Versa E6500, I promise, I will take care of you very well. I will guard you with my life. Please please please don't kena virus... Thank God for my new laptop!!! (And thank God I don't have to go back to school tomorrow, instead I shall play with my new toy!!)

Happy going back to school to all you kids!! XD XD

Happy New Year!

Hello everybody! Happy new year! I wrote and recorded a song today, just for this season... Forgive the below-par guitar playing; I don't have my keyboard with me so I couldn't add any drum or synthesizer effects, just acoustic... Enjoy!!

Happy New Year by Samuel Kana Lis

Lyrics:

I’m looking back, the year that’s gone by
The ups and the downs
The smiles and the frowns

I’m looking back at the life that flew by
All the friends that I’ve made
All the things that I’ve said

A year just passed
In the blink of an eye
Cos time passed so fast
But I swear I won’t cry

Happy New Year
This is the end of a story
A life to leave behind
Happy New Year
This is a new beginning
A life we cannot see
But we can sing

I’m looking forward to wait for a year
A year full of hope
A year full of purpose

I’ve made my resolutions I’ve laid out my plans
So I’m going to run
In the rain or the sun

The year will pass
In the blink of an eye
My memories will last
Yeah I know I will try

Happy New Year
This is the end of a journey
A life to leave behind
Happy New Year
This is a new beginning
A life we cannot see
But we can sing

How many days are there in a year
How many hours to sing
Not many seconds to waste
Cos every second will count
What will this year bring

But we can sing
Happy new year!

End of 2008 [Doulos]

I finally went to the Doulos ship today. Finally. After many days of procrastinating, I finally visited the world’s largest floating bookstore. Or something like that.

After a few minutes roaming around the bookstore and feeling like to faint because of lack of oxygen and too much heat, I was starting to get immensely bored - until an Austrian crew member invited my sister Esther and I to tour the ship. Yes! Air-conditioning! It was quite interesting to see the interior of the ship, but the most special part of the tour, I think, was that our tour guide, (I think her name was Bea or something like that) shared about how and why she joined the Doulos ship for 2 years. She had just finished high school and didn’t know what she wanted to do. When she heard about Doulos, she felt led to join, but she was scared and wanted to do other things. But after hearing a preacher talk about Moses and how he had said he was not good enough, our Austrian host felt convicted to join, so she did. And she enjoyed it immensely!






I wonder how it’s like to stay in a ship. For two years! So many people (350 altogether) of different countries all over the world speaking one language (English) and believing the same God! (They’re all Christians). Sadly the ship is going to be dismantled, stopped and summarily destroyed soon because it is too old. (Over 90 years old!! Only two years younger than the Titanic…) So there’s no option for me to join in any way any time soon. But I wonder, if I were to be called to join another ship with the same mission (to give knowledge, help and hope), would I survive it? It looks kind of difficult. Without family but surrounded by new friends; with Internet and laptops and all kinds of food and book and books and sea-sicknesses… Who knows?

My Future Decided

I was lying in bed this morning and I suddenly remembered the song “My Future Decided” by Hillsongs United. The lyrics became so real to me! Even though I don’t know what lies ahead of me, what I do know is that my Father knows!

Lyrics:

You hold the future in Your hands
You know my dreams and You have a plan
And as You light my way, I'll follow You

My eyes on all of the above
My soul secure in all You've done
My minds made up
And You are the only one for me

Jesus, Savior, in my life You are everything
My future decided, I will praise Your name
And I know that I am, I am Yours
Yeah, I know that that I am, I am Yours

You hold the earth in your command
You are the rock on which I stand
And as I live each day, I'll follow You

Unafraid, unashamed Lord we know who we are
(We are Your people and we won't be silent)
Unified hear us cry at the top of our lungs
(You our God and we will not be shaken)

Taggedy Tags

[Why do I feel like I've done a similar tag before a long time ago...? But anyway just to pass my time...]

Whoever who gets tagged has to write 10 things about the person who tagged him/her:

1. Her name is Lilian Lee.
2. She is a girl. I think. I hope. This isn't Thailand, right? Yeah I think she's a she. I hope....
3. She is hardworking. I think.
4. She is a Christian.
5. She goes to EmBaCY.
6. [Now, before I continue, I must note that I will only speak of the positive. Of course, everyone has their bad points, right? I shan't be one to point them out.] She wears spectacles.
7. She has a brother.
8. She is my age.
9. She went to St. Theresa.
10. I know these sound pathetic, like what kind of friend am I??!! But I don't really know her loh, so... She is herself and no one else. No one can be like Lilian, I hope not. I meant that in the nicest possible way...


The person who got tagged has to write 10 things about himself/herself:

1. I am a boy. Wait, let me check. ... ... Yup, definitely a boy.
2. I am 17 this year.
3. I will be 18 in less than a month's time. *hint hint*
4. I just finished SPM!! Wheeeee...
5. I play the piano and guitar.
6. I am quiet most of the time. I mean, I'm not that much of a fan of talking, but sometimes it is nice to talk to people. But most of the time I just enjoy the company. Well that's how I think I am. My friends would know me better than I do myself!!
7. I dream of writing a novel. Or novels.
8. You do know that my name is Samuel, right? I also don't mind being called Kana. It's my Iban name after all. Speaking of Iban...
9. Did you know I am an Iban? I guess you would...
10. I am running out of ideas. XD

At the end you need to choose 10 people to be tagged and list their names:

1. Barack Obama
2. Ana Ivanovic [She is like the haaaawwwtest female tennis player!!]
3. Cicakman
4. Batman
5. Spiderman
6. Chickenman [Who wants to bet that some stoopid local production would decide to make a new superhero with feathers?]
7. I am getting bored... I doubt anyone wants to do the tag so if I say "whoever wants to do the tag", no one would do the tag. Why waste my breath?
8. Ultraman [Now that I watch it again at a friend's house, it all really looks so ultra-fake and ultra-lame...]
9. I want to watch Batman: The Dark Knight! Anyone got the DVD?
10. Ivanna Ting... XD XD XD

Some Wise Advise

2008 is almost over. 2009 is coming. For me, it's a whole new journey, a whole new life ahead of me!! But enough said about me for this post. I want to give some sound and wise advise to any of YOU who have not finished SPM and still have to struggle through school. I am speaking especially to those of you who will be in Form 3, Form 4 or Form 5 next year (2009). Any of you who are facing major examinations next year, please take heed!

[Note: My own SPM results have not come out yet, but if I wait until then it would be too late to share my finite wisdom, so just let me tell you how I survived the grueling ordeal of Form 5!!]

There are many self-help books that teach you how to study in bookstores, but there was one that really helped me this year. I mean really as in REALLY helped me.

The book is called "Study Smarter, Not Harder" by Kevin Paul. Many thanks to my classmate, Tejhpal Singh, for bringing the book to school so that I spotted it. For some reason I doubt he actually read the book but that is besides the point. The book completely revolutionized the way I studied.

So, if you can, please do get your hands on a copy of this super-cool book. (Sorry to Kuching folks, I didn't bring mine with me...) You should spend a few days reading and making notes of the book sometime in January to prepare for the whole year. It is very detailed in explaining how to and why make notes, mnemonics, mind maps, manage your time and so on. There's even a section about music!

Believe me, you won't regret it!

The next thing you must definitely get is g'soft pens. I am totally a fan of g'soft pens, but only the blue one. I don't trust the other colours like blacks and red because they dry up fast, but blue is perfectly fine. I used to use the GS 5566 model which is slim, but recently I started using the fatter BP-GS-55 model which is kinder on my fingers. The only problem with the latter is that it has black markings on the side. Because I regularly bite my pen when I am thinking, after a few days the markings would disappear. I wonder where it went... [o.O] Nevertheless I only used the g'soft BP-GS-55 pen and nothing else throughout SPM, and it served me very well. [That would probably be due to the fact that I had no less than 10 of the same pens in my pencil case, and every single one was used in exam until none was left with more than half of the ink left...]

Another product you should consider is the stabilo point 88 coloured pens. These are important for making notes. Research shows that colour helps your memory! Most of my notes in Sejarah, Chemistry and Biology and splattered with all sorts of colours. So, get as many colours as possible!! I think it's better than other types because its colours are bright and the ink doesn't really soak into the paper which is good for writing on both sides of the paper. I didn't use highlighters much this year, but everyone have their own preferences and study methods, so choose accordingly and wisely!

[I was not paid to advertise the above products. This is just advise from me to you!!]

Having said that, have fun studying! I believe that studying should be fun. I personally enjoyed making notes in creative ways, but when it comes to the revising and actual memorizing, it is hard work. However I believe it will all be very worth it in the end. Good luck!!