With a blink of an eye, the year 2009 has almost come to an end.

I would like to start off this post by counting my blessings.

In our humanistic nature, people pursue many things, thinking that in them they will find meaning. Many have testified that while they achieved their goals, there was still a deep void inside of them, a feeling of emptiness that nothing seemed to fill.

Many a times, we get too caught up with the hustle and bustle of life that we forget to count our blessings. We get too caught up with activities that are happening around us that we forget to take a step back, and appreciate the little things around us. We fail to understand the meaning of life and realize beauty behind it.

With that, I would like to thank the Lord for all the love and blessings that He has showered over me. I would like to thank my parents for always being there as my pillar of guidance and support. Thank my brother for the laughter we shared and tolerating my nonsense. Thank my relatives for all that they have done for me. Thank all my friends who went through thick and thin together with me. For without any one of them, I would not be what I am today.

2009, I can say, has been one of the roughest years of my life. It was a year which I made many wrong decisions, and regretted. It was a year which I lost my focus time and time again, and left everything to destiny. It was a year where I rebelled to whatever that was thrown to me. There were just too many negative incidents popping up, one after another, which got me too tired to handle. Things went pretty bad so much so that I drew myself away from everyone and everything, including my family. I was exhausted physically, mentally and emotionally. Pretty much, I was hiding from reality. To sum it all, I wasn't the person I used to be.

I became more and more vulgar as the days pass by. I thought too highly of myself, and became less tolerant to the things that was happening around me. I was selfish and stubborn. I searched high and low for excuses to cover my own weaknesses and wrongdoings. I blamed everyone around me, except myself. I became more laid back. Things just went wrong and different. Life just seemed to backfire all my changes, at me. It was a tough period. But luckily, I got over it.

Definitely, 2009 has also brought about much excitement for me too. There were many 'first-time' experiences like going into a nude hot spring (I know many of you want me to say this!), having gone out to after 12 midnight and many others. It is a year where I got to pick up many new skills and learned many valuable lessons. It is a year, where I got to know myself better. There were many surprises along the way and many incidents that happened which made my life more interesting and awesome. One of them would be like how my dad managed to crash my bed in the middle of the night while he was sitting on it. Cool uh!

What is more important is that I was given opportunities in 2009 to strengthen bonds with those around me. I managed to spend more quality time with my family and got to know my cousins better. I made many new friends along the way and had the chance to reconnect and get closer to many of my old friends whom I don't usually talk to. I picked up many great friends who were always there to listen to me whine (HAHA! I'm whiny. ) and laugh at my jokes which are not that funny. These people, they taught me the meaning of love.

2009 has definitely left me with many lessons which I can learn from, and never to repeat the same mistakes again. It has made me plan on the things that I want to accomplish in the year to come, so that I would live a fulfilling 2010.

Looking back at all my blog posts, from when I started my first ever entry till now, I can say that I have come a long way. Incidents of the past were flashing through my head when I lied on my bed last night. I managed to see things from a different perspective, the changes in myself for the better. Gone are the days where I used to be so childish in my thinking - Complaining about everything that happens and not knowing the true meaning behind each and every of others' actions. I open my arms wide and welcome the days of matured thinking.

I think it is time for me, now, to place a full-stop to 2009, and start my journey of 2010 on a fresh new page; a whole new paragraph; a whole new sentence.

;D

So here's the veeeedeeooo of OBT that most of you have been waiting for. It says everything! I hope you guys enjoy the veeeedeeooo as much as I have enjoyed my trip!

;D

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Firstly, the message passed to the other person would be clearer, and not like when it is shouted from meters away. In addition, when a message is being shouted, most of the time the receiver would have to walk over to get the sender to double confirm what they have just said to ensure that nothing has been done wrongly or to clarify any doubts. And that is rather stupid because it is doing double work. Secondly, there is more peace in the house with minimal shouting here and there. Imagine living in a house which is noisy all the time with nagging here and there. Trust me, you would not like it. I have experienced it before and it was hell. You'll never want to imagine what it is like to study in those conditions. Thirdly, speaking to a person face to face is a much more polite manner instead of shouting across. It makes the receiver feel better too, rather than to hear all the raised voices. Sometimes, when you hear a message being sent to you at an irritating tone, you can't help but to get irritated by it either. Right? Last but not least, it helps the sender of the message to lose all that weight by walking! Cool uhhh.

That brings me to the point on why don't people want to walk in front of you ask pass you the message. Perhaps one may be busy with their work and need help urgently, or it may even be an emergency that they shout for you. That is understandable. But I cannot think of other reasons that are pretty acceptable. I asked a few friends and they all told me perhaps laziness is the answer. They said that people are lazy to walk to tell a message, when they can just shout it over. They think that shouting is the best way as it saves them the energy. I don't really know about that, but I guess I would take that as an answer for now. I wouldn't call these people lazy though.

I think that we all should stop the habit of shouting across the room, but instead walk over to the people whom we want to talk to and tell them the message nicely. I guess it is the same as someone barging into your room as compared to someone who knocks the door to enter your room. Different feeling eh.
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On the side note, I went out with Liying after her papers today. We did some catching up over lunch and we had Sakae Buffet. The food wasn't that great, but at least we had fun eating it. I managed to force her to eat the smelly beans! WHEEEE!

Actually I look like a glutton eating. But oh wells!
;D