the muted light

Camille is not exactly a starving designer mainly because she loves to eat cake, cookies, and salad. Right now, she's very, very busy with her thesis.
of the bay at night
on twitter
- Before, Parker said Tata should just get a programmer for a bf to help her w/ thesis. Maybe I should do the same. :)) #thesistress about 8 hours ago from web

Feb 28

Islam is a beautiful religion

I first learned some of the few things I know about Islam from the best history teacher back in high school, Sir Beni (I kept my notes color-coded only because they were for his class. I drew penguins on every map of Asia/world a we had to sketch for the tests just because I knew he wouldn’t mind hahahaha). He was also traditionally the Philosophy professor for 4th year but he went on a trip to Europe just when I got to 4th year. Sadness. Anyway, I honestly don’t know if he still teaches in Assumption Antipolo but when I was still studying there, he was one of the “legend teachers.” And while I can write a paper on the greatness and wisdom of Sir Beni (he is a teacher that transcends time!!), I have to remember that this post isn’t about him but of my KL trip.

Point of the intro was, supposedly, how most of what I know or remember about Islam was really still from Sir Beni. I only fed my curiosity about their beautiful calligraphic images from museums (such as the gallery at the Asian Civilizations Musuem).

I haven’t been to KL (or anywhere in Malaysia, for that matter), so I decided to hit two birds with one stone and join the NUS Muslim Society to their one-day Islamic Awareness Week trip to KL. Based on what has happened to me in the past week (self-injuring myself accidentally), my friend warned me to take care and since I’m blogging right now, luckily it only means I haven’t encountered any serious mishap. But my trip wasn’t without any interesting experiences either. I’m going to flood this post with my usual silliness and senseless ramblings so be warned.

TADA! me at the International Institute of Islamic Thought and Civilization

The S$50 trip was primarily an excursion into Islam and while it wasn’t exactly a vacation trip, one of the best things about going on that trip were:

meeting a lot of wonderful, friendly, very nice and thoughtful people. Not just NUS students or organizers but even their friends/family members that went on the trip. NEW FRIENDS FTW! The guys were all so funny, haha, that it made me realize that most guy-groups are really kinda the same wherever I go.
Getting to know the Islam religion and culture. Maybe not so much (I wasn’t able to attend most of their lectures during the Islamic Awareness Week) but I have learned quite a few things too! There are quite a lot of Muslims in the Philippines also and I’ve had two teachers in the past (back in high school) who’s either from the south or taught/had experiences living in the South. I’m the type of person who enjoys learning about cultures and new places!
Trying new food and eating LOTS of ice cream (simply because it’s cheaper in Malaysia).
Getting held up at the immigrations because I forgot my student pass in the bus. And then learning that the bus driver lost his passport.

I start with #4 because well, that’s where the trip technically starts. I mean, I was THIS CLOSE to stepping into Malaysia until oh, apparently we need our Student Pass to get to the other side. (Read more…)

Filed under Adventures
Labeled Malaysia

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Feb 20

The destructive touch of Midas

Everything break-able should be kept at a 5-meter radius away from me. I dropped my camera on the ground and now it’s dented and I’m still wondering if I should have it fixed (if it’s fix-able. I don’t think so though). I’m a walking accident, I tell you, and it’s just so damn unlucky of me. My luck lies only in the fact that at least most of the things I destroy or break are mine. Imagine having to pay for someone else’s S$600-worth camera. I’m so frustrated with myself right now (because of my camera) and I think I’d have to personally strangle myself if I break someone else’s. I’m so stupid this way.

This morning, community service was having fun and helping the old uncles and young kids fly kites! I was taking everyone’s picture because I was just too tired to run around.

I’m also so frustratingly weak as proven by my aching legs (from yesterday). :( I think if I taxed my legs more I’d have started to walk like a penguin. I have no toned muscles to boast of and my stomach is getting fat because of all the food I eat (I starve for a few hours and then there are just some days like this when suddenly I eat like I’ve never been fed before. Especially when it involves new food). But that doesn’t stop me from pigging out.

This afternoon, Shine-oppa was kind enough to bring us to a Korean restaurant: Togi. Jiang Shang said I get amazed by things too easily because this afternoon I was expressing that same sense of awe when the dishes were served as when I come into contact with things like ice cream, cheesecake, and cute animals:

these are just the side-dishes!

So those were, apparently, just the free-flowing side dishes. I was starting to get really, really excited! After they served the main dishes, we dug in faster.

digging in!

When I started eating with the SILVER CHOPSTICKS and the SILVER SPOON WITH A LONG HANDLE, I got much, much happy. Too happy! Hahaha. I finally had an experience of how they eat Korean food which I often see in Korean dramas! AMAZING AMAZING AMAZING! I was eating their rice and their kimchi and their vegetables and the green thing where you stuff beef and rice and some sauce! WHO CARES IF IT WAS A BIT SPICY? It wasn’t very spicy so I was able to eat a lot! I tasted everything! I just didn’t drink the soup because I think I won’t be able to take it, haha.