IT'S A PANDAN LIFE ...!

I think it's my adventure, my trip, my journey, and I guess my attitude is, let the chips fall where they may. ~ Leonard Nimoy Now that the mad jet lag is over, it’s time to scribble about my latest trip abroad. I’d like to refer to it as the U.S/U.K. trip, since the trip began in the States and ended in the UK. Pre-trip The trip to the States was my idea. I’d really wanted to meet Yours Truly (YT), whom I’ve virtually known for 5 years. Since the thought of meeting a stranger (a male one, for that matter) in a foreign land was extremely scary, I asked a very good friend of mine, Faiz, to accompany me. He’d mentioned that he’d accumulated enough Malaysia Airlines (MAS) Enrich points that would entitle him to a free round trip to LA. Since I was planning to meet YT in LA anyway, I thought we might as well go together. Luckily, he agreed. I’ve known Faiz for a few years now. He’s so dear to me, almost like a brother. So, the plan was for us to fly to LA, meet YT, and Faiz and me...

E very child comes with the message that God is not yet discouraged of man. ~Rabindranath Tagore Now that the new semester is just around the corner, I can’t help but think about the kids, especially those who are going to step their feet on campus for the first time. To these kids, I’m sure it would be one of the most unforgettable days in their lives. The pics I’ve got here were the pics that I took almost a year ago. These were the kids that had just registered and somehow I got roped in as the facilitator in one of the orientation programs. Being with them was tremendous fun! Some seemed clueless, some looked confident, some naïve, some playful, some indifferent. Nevertheless, they all looked so cute that I just had to take their pics! Being with these kids reminded me of the time when I first enrolled in college. I was so happy!Little that I knew life was going to be so challenging and demanding. But I made it. And I hope these kids would make it, too. Good luck, kids. Don't ...

Usually, jet lag is not this big of an issue for me. I'm not sure why I'm so disoriented this time. It could be due to the amount of chocolate and french fries I've eaten in the last two and a half weeks. ~ April Winchell Every time I fly, I get really bad jet lag. But they didn’t last for long. The most was 2 days. What normally happens when I arrive on the first day is (I normally arrive early in the morning), sleep right from noon till evening. After that, I would be fine. This time around however, I really, really, really suffered. Not for two days, but SEVEN excruciating days! For one week, I got the urge to sleep at 6 or 7 or 8, which was unusual for me, who normally sleeps at 11ish. Then, I'd wake up at 4, and found myself counting sheep till it’s time for suboh . I also had problems driving. My eyes had the urge to close everytime I drove. Forget coffee. It didn’t work. Another urge that I experienced was the urge to eat rice. I wouldn’t say I was deprived of r...