the past two days in school, we have been having "intellectual" conversation regarding the project that we are doing now. we were discussing how chinatown is a place for tourist blah blah blah and how to do a space intervention blah blah blah.the project is getting on me now..now that we have 4 weeks to finish! prays hard..

someone said to me this a long long time ago, "you have a certain charm in you that makes people wanna listen to you".

hmm, i don't know if i have that charm anymore..

SAN DIEGO – The pursuit of happiness is sometimes easier said than done.

Some scientists have argued that happiness is largely determined by genetics, health and other factors mostly outside of our control. But recent research suggests people actually can take charge of their own happiness and boost it through certain practices.

"The billion-dollar question is, is it possible to become happier?" said psychologist Sonja Lyubomirsky of the University of California, Riverside. "Despite the finding that happiness is partially genetically determined, and despite the finding that life situations have a smaller influence on our happiness than we think they do, we argue that still a large portion of happiness is in our power to change."

Lyubomirsky spoke here Saturday at the annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. She and colleagues last year reviewed 51 studies that tested attempts to increase happiness through different types of positive thinking, and found that these practices can significantly enhance well-being. The results were published in the Journal of Clinical Psychology.

Here are five things that research has shown can improve happiness:

1. Be grateful – Some study participants were asked to write letters of gratitude to people who had helped them in some way. The study found that these people reported a lasting increase in happiness – over weeks and even months – after implementing the habit. What's even more surprising: Sending the letter is not necessary. Even when people wrote letters but never delivered them to the addressee, they still reported feeling better afterwards.

2. Be optimistic – Another practice that seems to help is optimistic thinking. Study participants were asked to visualize an ideal future – for example, living with a loving and supportive partner, or finding a job that was fulfilling – and describe the image in a journal entry. After doing this for a few weeks, these people too reported increased feelings of well-being.

3. Count your blessings – People who practice writing down three good things that have happened to them every week show significant boosts in happiness, studies have found. It seems the act of focusing on the positive helps people remember reasons to be glad.

4. Use your strengths – Another study asked people to identify their greatest strengths, and then to try to use these strengths in new ways. For example, someone who says they have a good sense of humor could try telling jokes to lighten up business meetings or cheer up sad friends. This habit, too, seems to heighten happiness.

5. Commit acts of kindness – It turns out helping others also helps ourselves. People who donate time or money to charity, or who altruistically assist people in need, report improvements in their own happiness.
Lyubomirsky has also created a free iPhone application, called Live Happy, to help people boost their well-being.

http://www.livescience.com/health/how-to-be-happy-100222.html

time flies fast. it's almost 2 years now :)

i wished to jump into 5 years time, then all my anxieties and doubts will end.

life would be way better if you have religion and Allah in your life.
too many sins, too many of it.

chocolate is always good.do you know when i would buy chocolate: 1.when i feel happy. 2. when i feel down.

okay, spamming my own blog. that's it for tonight!

you know, after being alone(most of the time) for 7 weeks, i think i can do it. loneliness is profounding and i embraced the feeling.

Chris told us that there might be Tokyo and Seoul trip this year.i really really really want to go for either one but..

saw this quote fb :

"The true beauty of a woman is her inherent ability to make a man better in every way."

maybe i'm being too nice...

When you wake up in the morning, do not expect to see the evening live as though today is all that you have. Yesterday has passed with its good and evil, while tomorrow has not yet arrived. Your life's span is but one day, as if you were born in it and will die at the end of it. With this attitude, you will not be caught between an obsession over the past, with all its anxieties, and the hopes of the future, with all its uncertainty. Live for today: During this day you should pray with a wakeful heart, recite the Qur'an with understanding, and remember Allah with sincerity. In this day you should be balanced in your affairs, satisfied with your allotted portion, concerned with your appearance and health.

Organize the hours of this day, so that you make years out of minutes and months out of seconds. Seek forgiveness from your Lord, remember Him, prepare for the final parting from this world, and live today happily and at peace. Be content with your sustenance, your wife, your children, your work, your house and your station in life.

So hold that which I have given you and be of the grateful. (Qur'an 7: 144)

You must engrave onto your heart one phrase: Today is my only day. If you have eaten warm, fresh bread today, then what do yesterday's dry, rotten bread and tomorrow's anticipated bread matter?

If you are truthful with yourself and have a firm, solid resolve, you will undoubtedly convince yourself of the following: Today is my last day to live. When you achieve this attitude, you will profit from every moment of your day, by developing your personality, expanding your abilities, and purifying your deeds. Then you say to yourself:

Today I shall be refined in my speech and will utter neither evil speech nor obscenity. Also, I shall not backbite.

Today I shall organize my house and my office. They will not be disorderly and chaotic, but organized and neat.

Today I will be particular about my bodily cleanliness and appearance. I will be meticulous in my neatness and balanced in my walk, talk, and actions.

Today I will strive to be obedient to my Lord, pray in the best manner possible, do more voluntary acts of righteousness, recite the Qur'an, and read beneficial books. I will plant goodness into my heart and extract from it the roots of evil such as pride, jealousy, and hypocrisy.

Today I will try to help others to visit the sick, to attend a
funeral, to guide the one who is lost, and to feed the hungry. I will stand side by side with the oppressed and the weak. I will pay respect to the scholar, be merciful to the young, and reverent to the old.

O' past that has departed and is gone, I will not cry over you. You will not see me remembering you, not even for a moment, because you have traveled away from me never to return.

O' future, you are in the realm of the unseen, so I will not be obsessed by your dreams. I will not be preoccupied about what is to come because tomorrow is nothing and has not yet been created.

`Today is my only day' is one of the most important statements in the dictionary of happiness, for those who desire to live life in its fullest splendor and brilliance.

Don't Be Sad - By Aaidh ibn Abdullah al-Qarni (A Few Excerpts from the Book about Happiness)
i just realised that my dad bought this book sometime ago but in malay though.

my milkshake brings all the boys to the yard

so yesterday was the first time i had to network. it was solely for a class assignment and it doesnt seemed practical when there are 80+ students and probably less than that of professional people and that each of us had had to get 8-10 namecards each.

initially i thought it was so stupid, but at the end of the day, i find it useful. in the future, i might need to network.anyway, i met one guy who works in Thomson Reuters who studied degree in mass communication in NTU. if i would like, i would spend the entire night talking to him.hehehe.
somehow, i think networking is fun and tiring, cause we need to constantly talk and come up with something to talk about.well, i think as an extrovert, i enjoyed it quite much.

ps/: hammie, it is not all about looks. in the long term, if the person is good looking but the personality sucks, then it's not worth it then. i think to me, is all about confidence. if you have confident, it can take you far :)

i'm liking the new timetable.no school on friday means longer weekend for me, if there is no work to do of course but that is very unlikely.

i don't know why but the fact that you are always smarter than me irked me. i don't know why, but i feel the need to prove to you that i am just as smart.is this the feminism side of me?that i can be as smart as you? maybe. i feel so challenged and i have never feel so challenged with anybody else. you make me want to be smart, do you know that?it is funny how i began to realize after the heated argument we had.it made me wished that i had dumb boyfriend instead.hahah. but i am thankful.you always blow my mind.always.i admit defeat. you are indeed smarter than me. you don't make me feel stupid.i make myself feel stupid.thank you for the very beneficial argument we had.hahah.

school starts tomorrow. Year 3, here we come. better armed ourselves for we will be battling throughout the entire year. (gosh, i sound like hidayat)

time to borrow some books!!!!and dvds!



ps/: 3 more weeks to K's ORD!

the week has been quite tiring, hot, lonely and most importantly the most-experienced week i ever had. not only i had to deal with plumber, carpenters, electrician,painter,cleaner,doorman, varnish guy and client, i had to be in-charge. i spent almost 4 days and a half over-seeing the whole process of handover(where the renovation job is done and the house is ready for the owner to live in).i was glad to be away from the office and avoid any awkwardness with my supervisor.i even exchanged contacts with a carpenter and he said he'll give me a discount when i do my own house.hahah.

okay, so 5 more days and we're done. see you girls next week~

J's Lomo Film-





love it. cant wait to see the night shots taken by the lomo camera.

Girlfriends- Botanic Garden 27/03








more pictures coming up. this one taken by our aspiring photographer, Lin.
love every pictures that turned out :) thank you girls for the bestest time i had.