Ramadhan

The holy month of Ramadhan has begun for some time for my Muslims friends. Indeed, to fast the whole month is not easy. I admire their strength, because to go hungry is still bearable, but to ignore the clawing thirst at their throats everyday for the whole month, that requires pushing one's will to the limit.

Being invited to buka puasa at one my friends' house, I have thus challenge myself to a day of fasting too so that it will be more meaningful. I have thought the only real trial today would be sitting through the Heat Integration test with the aching thirst, but never would I expect myself to come down with a fever. For now it has not developed into a fever yet, but the tell-tale signs are there. The incessant coughing, which only worsen my need for water, the neck and forehead warming up while the fingers and toes are cold, i woke up for sahur today in a miserable mess. Of all the days to get sick, it has to be today?

So the odds are not in my favor, but never mind, I will try my best to tide through this. The feeling of achievement will be many times greater with the extra odds stacked against me. About me being sick, let's just say I have not been responsible with my health lately. Unhealthy meals, staying up late to finish my work, no fruits, and less exercises, it's not surprising I turned out like this. I just wish I have my Austrian lifestyle back, where I am in control of my life, my schedule and the places I can go.

Today will be a tough day ahead. Even when I'm done, sure I might deserve a pat on the back, but it's nothing to be too proud of. If I sincerely wish to fast, I would have done so without needing a reason to, and without glorifying it to the whole world so that they can heap praises onto me, which I'm trying to keep a minimum here. No, it would be silent, a challenge I embark on my own, where my temptations will be the contenders. In the end, it's just a battle with the devil inside of me. That's how it should be done.      

At this point of time

There has been such a huge gap since my mediocre update from Graz. Where am I and what am I doing now? What have I been through? 

Well, 7 months of internship in Graz, Austria has been the best 7 months of my life. To be independent, to be in charge of your own life, and of course the culture, the weather, the people, the food: to have the chance to experience them is indeed a privilege I never dream of. It is as if I was being transported to another reality of fantasy. I really missed my life there. 

Back from internship, I am currently facing my Final year 1st Semester in May. Study life seems tougher after internship for most of us, perhaps due to the allure of working life that we briefly experienced  in that window  of 7 months. I myself have enough of exams and lectures, but who knows? I have yet to face the real working environment. It should be even tougher. Even so, the current semester is already tough on me, and certain time I feel the weight of responsibility on my shoulders threatening to break me. But toughen up and face it I shall, because if I can't handle this, how am I going to handle the meaner ones in the future?

I guess studying or working life, both are challenging aspects of a student life. So, it is important to have plenty of fun. This semester has its equal share of ups too. Some pictures to share here: 

White water rafting with friends whom mostly have been interns in Austria 

Craving for durians after the rafting

Cameron trip with the Chindians Jan08

          Laser tag battle with my coursemates. Oh the fun! 

The bowling team for Chemical Engineering Department. We won the champion title!! 

These are the good times, and I'm sure more will be coming. Whenever I feel the stress biting into me, I just need to think of all the good times you have had, and remind myself bad and stressful times are just part and parcel of life. Eventually the rain clouds will clear and the sunshine and rainbow will appear. 

Happy mid-sem break to all UTP students! 

Near death experience?

It's an awkward transition really, from the merry "yay I am oversea!" to this morbid account of near death experience, but i guess it is only when death brushed past me ever so lightly that i feel i must get things off my mind in this post. Interestingly, it was someday this week during a blackout in utp, a few friends and I escaped to the mamak stall, and this near-death experience topic was brought up somewhere during our conversation. Who would have thought a few days later i really got a near-death experience to share!

It was Sunday, my team was announced the champion for this year's utp sports carnival for bowling, so we went on to celebrate till the wee hours of the morning. We were heading back, just about reaching Tronoh where the road is pitch dark with nary a street light, then it happened. 

I was in a drowsy state from sleepiness when the driver suddenly exclaimed "What's that?!" Before i knew it, our car slammed into something hard, followed by loud screeching, then our car hurtled forward violently and unsteadily, almost seems any moment it will swerve and crashed into the adjacent divider. Luckily, it finally came to a stop. Everyone's sleepiness instantly evaporated as we took in what had just happened. 

Our car had been ensnared by some thick wire that had been hung across the road.  The 1st instinct was this was a trap, and someone might be waiting to ambush us if we stepped right out of our disabled car. So we stay put in the car and called for help. Our friends in another car soon came. It is only then that we dared stepped out of the car. Closer inspection revealed that the wire was actually a cable that has gotten loose from the power grid and it hung across the whole length of the road. No one dared to touch the cable. The cable has cut deeply into the bumper of the car but luckily was not entangled in the wheel.  

Soon, the police was called over, then some men from the TNB also came to remove the cable. Then, we drove (yeah, amazingly only the bumper was damaged) to the batu gajah police station to file a report. The police's theory was that someone was halfway stealing the cable and was lowering it to the ground when we happened to drive past, therefore getting caught by it. That would explain why other cars before us were not affected. It was a bad-ass cable indeed. Strong, sturdy and used in cranes to lift heavy loads, which made it lucrative to steal i guess. The accident happened at 4am, and by the time we were done with the police report and finally get to go back, it was 7am. Needless to say, I took a really long and deep sleep. 

Thinking back, we were indeed very lucky to be alive and the car suffered only a minimal amount of damage. So many things could have gone wrong that we might end up in scenes akin to those in Final Destinations.We could have swerved and crashed violently into the divider, or the whole car could have flipped over. I shudder to think if it was a motorbike that was tripped by the cable instead of us. Kudos to my friend for gripping the steering tightly and keeping the car steady in that spur moment of accident. There is so much more: If the cable from the power grid was alive with current, we could have been electrocuted. Or if it was hung higher, it could have smashed right through the windshield and cut into our flesh. Or if there really was a cable thief, he might be violent and decided to robbed us instead. Indeed, we can count on our lucky stars neither one of worst-case scenarios actually happened. We escaped unscathed, traumatized maybe, but safe and sound in one piece. Pitting all this against the Ipoh Run that I'd missed, it seems minor. Of course, it was really a letdown for me because I had been looking forward to this run for a very long time. Nevertheless, here I am, still breathing and alive, so I am eternally grateful. 

Life is so fleeting wasn't it? We could lose it all in just that one moment, with all those unspoken words left hanging, all those things to do never accomplished.