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because I've spent too much time on you.
Tonight I will go to bed happy.
And although I may not end up where I've set out to be,
I always know that I'll end up happier than I'll ever imagine.
:)

blessed night. blessed night. :)
High road all the way.

While I was walking to the bathroom, something just hit me.
Just a simple line, but to me it's like an epiphany...
"If you lose sight of God and what that is most important in life, you'll never find true happiness"

Time to get our priorities right.

"Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding, in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight." Proverbs 3:5-6

easier to pronounce as UiTM Selayang, a dedicated campus for their faculty of medicine, i was honoured to be part of the design & build team, although just a small part.

my part was just to check the design that my senior did, and indeed it was tough! the moment i got involved, i was forced to learn the CSC Orion reinforced concrete analysis and design software from scratch, and then rectify my senior’s Orion model.

when i took over, all the structural components of the major buildings were already accomplished. after many months, the 152 million contract value project was finally completed.

with that, i take this opportunity to share with my dear readers the “scanned” copy of part of the coffee table book, which is now available at JKR headquarters. enjoy

from Journal of the Malaysian Institute of Architects | Volume 22 Issue 2, by Architecture Malaysia (am) magazine:

architect’s statement
In early 2006, Universiti Teknologi Mara (UiTM) announced their plan to create a new typology of Medical Faculty Campus to achieve its primary aim of producing highly motivated and accomplished medical professionals practicing holistic medicine. The Medical Faculty swiftly embarked on a development programme to relocate the current Medical Faculty in Shah Alam to a newly government-acquired 11 acres of land next to the Hospital Selayang, Selangor. The number of students enrolled into Medicine in UiTM grows significantly every year and the existing facilities in Shah Alam were unable to cater to the needs of the school programme beyond 2009.
The university’s Development Department had appointed Public Works Department Malaysia (PWD) for project management and commisioned LKMD Architecture Sdn Bhd through Design and Build Contractor to design a new Medical Faculty Campus for more than 500 students. The 540,000 square foot Medical Campus was to house a mix of medical students and scientists, with studies and research ranging from treatment of asthma to the effect of gravity on the human body under the Angkasawan programme.
The Campus was generally broken into 3 major components, the Academic Block, the Specialist Clinic Block and the Residential Block, on a rectangular site bordering a sub-arterial road. It needed to include 36 fully equipped Consultation Suites, Clinical Trials Ward, Research Labs, Library and Medical Museum and other academic facilities – a fairly complex ‘party’. It also had to accommodate the latest Clinical and Communication Skills Lab, used by students and teaching staff in achieving its primary goal of excellence in Clinical studies.
Space planning that fostered collaboration was essential with future flexibility in mind. The campus was intended to be a new genre of medical school in Malaysia, which is traditionally formal in its setting and ‘reserved’. Informal teaching and learning were highly encouraged for the new campus to create a conducive and interactive environment to the students.
The design attempted to ‘redefine’ and ‘reinterpret’ campus planning and architecture through new planning solutions and space articulation. The architect realised the importance of knowledge as a powerful theme in creating a pragmatic medical campus. The master planning highlighted the significance of the medical library and museum as a point of reference for the students instead of placing the administrative building as the focal point of the site.
Closely knitted building blocks allow seamless connectivity and accessibility for students at all times. Medical students undergo different learning routines thus making sure to reach their respective classes on time is vital, and spaces were designed to facilitate and support these excessive and extended activities. A heavily used and shaded pedestrian spine that cuts through the site is also introduced.
The buildings are designed to surround the library and museum block with pockets of outdoor landscape, water features and cafes to complement the oval and irregular shape of the academic block. The front area of the academic block sits on pilotis, creating a 27-foot high shaded mini plaza where 100 pax functions can be held. Further stimulating this elevation is a nucleus-shaped restaurant and cafe with radial standing seam roofing where students can enjoy a nicely created garden space. Colours are chosen to uplift the spirit and enliven the surroundings within the facilities, rather than having a subdued and mundane setting.
The buildings were carefully sited to face north to reduce concern on solar penetration and address the street frontage. Recessed windows on the buildings are further shielded by vertical aluminium sunshades that help to reduce glare and heat gain but allow light to filter through the interior.
The interior overall was a mixture of play and colourful setting. Patterns, textures and fittings were specifically chosen for vibrancy and interactive feelings. Part of the library is designed with sofa and seating pods on a timber style vinyl flooring area to promote informal learning and make the students feel at home. Students are also encouraged to make full use of the learning themed medical museum where real anatomy specimens are displayed. Informal gathering and learning cubes were introduced in the museum to encourage interaction among the teaching staff and the students.
In general, the UiTM Selayang Campus project was a successful collaboration among the client, project manager, consultants and the contractor. Success of the project is attributed to close coordination works and commitment by the project team during the two-year long construction period to ensure all the details met strict requirements by the Faculty.
The campus is a successful fusion of form and function – and a great addition to UiTM.

All scanned images in this post are copyrights of JKR and UiTM.

it's never because of success.
and
it's always about affection..
and according to Lope de Vega,
There is no greater glory than love, nor any greater punishment than jealousy.

Love that is fed by jealousy dies hard -Ovid- 

Hard times, but I must persevere.

Three grand essentials to happiness in this life are something to do, something to love, and something to hope for. - Joseph Addison

i choose to wait.i choose to love Love . i choose to wait on Love.

when was the last time you’ve felt really down and that your life seems like its a never ending black hole and you cant see a way out?

this is one of those times… and it always hits you at the oddest of hours and at the most inconvenient of times..
it just feels as though every thread in your body is being tore open and all your guts are spilt for public humiliation and there is nothing you can do but to try to go through day by day as though everything is normal and fine..

it is times like these that i find it hard to focus on the fact that i should be grateful for everything that’s happened to me so far because nothing can compare to the millions of people suffering in the world and that i am actually so much more blessed then they are regardless of which angle i choose to view my life through..
it is hard… but life goes on, no?

we muddle through life looking for a second of glimmering sparkles to remind us that life aint as hard as we think it is..

i of all people should know better…
the past few days has been wonderful and heart-warming being able to spend some time with the kids..
i’ve gotten a chance to travel and i’ve got good friends and a relatively well off life as compared to the kids who’ve got nobody but themselves and rarely anyone showing them the love and support that they so desperately need.

at the end of the day, after all this and all that, our life is what we make of it
so its back to the ‘decision’ board

at least i’ve got the kids..

dear readers, for those of you who couldn’t make it to davin and michelle’s wedding, don’t worry. you shouldn’t feel left out! this post is dedicated to you regarding my journey with wonderful companions throughout the 2 tiring yet enjoyable days.

we departed at 10 somethin in the morning only to find ourselves at kluang’s mcd around 2pm. the place was freakin pack, as though the weren’t any other food outlets in kluang.

after grabbing some burgers for lunch, we checked in prime city hotel and paid davin a visit (see his suite in picture below).

after that, i managed to get a very short rest before havin to get up and prepare for the church ceremony, which schedule to begin at 5pm.

oh, don’t ask me what alvin was doin in the picture above.

anyway, we were there early and i went around takin some photographs.

the church, as you can see in the picture above, is very small. this photo was taken from the second last row of seats. by the way, these seats are reserved only to close family members.

based on what we observed, this church can only squeeze fit about 50 adults in quite a crammed manner.

somewhat after a quarter of the ceremony, we were chased ushered out of the church due to its limited seats.

my photos after that were then taken from the church windows.

we look like a bunch of papparazis tryin to steal shots from a window

the ceremony, i personally feel, was somewhat a little draggy, and could’ve been shorten as according to alvin, most of the audience are non-christians.

it ended slightly after 6pm, and we all headed back to the hotel room to prepare ourselves for the wedding dinner.

by the time we arrived at the ballroom, my rough estimation was about 20% of the guests were only there.

we spent some time registering and looking through the photo album.

while waiting for the other guests to arrive, jolene was literally askin me to take her photo every now and then.

here’s an example to what i was sayin above.

see what i mean?

finally, the evening’s event started with a grand entree dance lead by the bride and the groom, followed by their trusted bestman, maid of honor etc etc, all wearing sunglasses. this happened when all the lights in the ballroom were turned off, and only a spotlight was shining on them while lady gaga‘s telephone playing in the background.

after that it was cake cutting, toast of the maid of honor and bestman, some violin performance, davin’s song to michelle, and performance by a band. (what i’ve listed might not be in chronological order)

by the way, the food there was so-so only. then, it was some photo taking, followed by a little dancing after all the family members left.

chianming insisted that i post this picture up on facebook, so i assumed she wants it up here on my blog post as well

and that’s me, lookin all tired and worn out. i can’t exactly remember what happened after the dancing, and therefore i’m leavin anythin after that out

the followin morning, we got up, have breakfast at the hotel, then packed to return to pj. before leaving, we stopped by kluang railcoffee for lunch.