Goodbye...

Never say "adieu", because that might mean we'll never meet again.
Rather, say "au revoir" - till the next time we meet again.


To all my friends and faithful readers, I thank you for being with me to this very day. Tomorrow at 8:00 I shall begin my journey through National Service.

Please do keep me in your thoughts and prayers - that I may be strong and never give up.

Hope to see you all on the 5th of September...

God bless you all !

Love - TNE

Only two days left

Tomorrow and Monday.

I've been pretty busy over the past few days, and I fear that even over the next two days there'll be no respite for me. There are lots of things I have to get done before I leave for Batang Rait.

After having re-read the Wikipedia article on our National Service, I'm beginning to fear for my life.

Please keep me in your thoughts and prayers. I'll pray every single day, that's certain.

How to respond : what I learned in law class

If someone asks you for advice and you're not sure if he's gonna use it, you've got three options :

1. Shut up.
2. Give him advice, and say nothing after that, and create trouble for yourself because if all goes wrong, both of you would be meeting in court.
3. Shut up.

This is an early goodbye, I guess

YUANCHOSAAN # ULTIMA# YER MOM # BEBOPKATE # XIGGIE # MECHAULTIMAZERO # TNÉ # UNBIRTH # DOC ROCCO # AZUL # THOMASKH2 # GUARDIAN SOUL # DTN# KRYTEN

This is my core team on the Kingdom Hearts wiki.
There still are more friends which I have not added onto the picture, because there are just too many.

And I’m glad to have all of you around.

Thank you for making my six months of editing a pleasant experience.
Hope to see you again in September.

SE7EN DAYS

In less than seven days, I'll be off to Miri.

Time flies.

Tomorrow's the last day of my A-Levels, and I've gotta start packing for what I might call an 82-day adventure. Or an 82-day ordeal. I'm not sure. All the things are placed in a pile in the study, and there's a really huge suitcase waiting. I remember dad took it out for me and I was like, "whoa, that's huge !"

I can't help but let silent tears trickle down my cheeks whenever I think of the day I'm going to leave. I just can't.

Some 45 of life's simple rules that a friend decided to share with me

1. Life isn't fair, but it's still good.

2. When in doubt, just take the next small step.

3. Life is too short to waste time hating anyone.

4. Your job won't take care of you when you are sick. Your friends and parents will. Stay in touch.

5. Pay off your credit cards every month.

6. You don't have to win every argument. Agree to disagree.

7. Cry with someone. It's more healing than crying alone.

troisnyx* : Well, I suppose if I can't cry with anybody, I could cry with Jesus...

8. It's OK to get angry with God. He can take it.

9. Save for retirement starting with your first paycheck.

10. When it comes to chocolate, resistance is futile.

troisnyx* : Right you are ! There used to be a time when I had chocolates in my school lunchbox every single day. And immediately when I left school, I used to get myself chocolates frequently - so as to relive those happy moments.

11. Make peace with your past so it won't screw up the present.

12. It's OK to let your children see you cry.

13. Don't compare your life to others. You have no idea what their journey is all about.

14. If a relationship has to be a secret, you shouldn't be in it.

15. Everything can change in the blink of an eye. But don't worry; God never blinks.

16. Take a deep breath. It calms the mind.

17. Get rid of anything that isn't useful, beautiful or joyful.

18. Whatever doesn't kill you really does make you stronger.

19. It's never too late to have a happy childhood. But the second one is up to you and no one else.

20. When it comes to going after what you love in life, don't take no for an answer.

troisnyx* : And I'm not gonna let life kill the dream I have in mind.

21. Burn the candles, use the nice sheets, wear the fancy lingerie. Don't save it for a special occasion. Today is special.

22. Over prepare, then go with the flow.

23. Be eccentric now. Don't wait for old age to wear purple.

troisnyx* : I'm already wearing purple lol ! :D

24. The most important sex organ is the brain.

25. No one is in charge of your happiness but you.

26. Frame every so-called disaster with these words ''In five years, will this matter ?"

27. Always choose life.

28. Forgive everyone everything.

29. What other people think of you is none of your business.

30. Time heals almost everything. Give time, time.

31. However good or bad a situation is, it will change.

32. Don't take yourself so seriously. No one else does.

33. Believe in miracles.

34. God loves you because of who God is, not because of anything you did or didn't do.

35. Don't audit life. Show up and make the most of it now.

36. Growing old beats the alternative -- dying young.

37. Your children get only one childhood.

38. All that truly matters in the end is that you loved.

39. Get outside every day. Miracles are waiting everywhere.

40. If we all threw our problems in a pile and saw everyone else's, we'd grab ours back.

41. Envy is a waste of time. You already have all you need.

42. The best is yet to come.

43. No matter how you feel, get up, dress up and show up.

44. Yield.

45. Life isn't tied with a bow, but it's still a gift.

troisnyx* : Well, I suppose life seems to be a little package wrapped in brown paper (uuuuuugly lookin' thing, I say), but when you open it, it's got these shimmery-looking things... and whatnot. I hope, for all of you who read this post, that when you get to bed tonight, you'd tuck yourself in with the same feeling as I've got right now : that life is meant to be beautiful, and no one is meant to ruin it for us.

The introduction of the National Service journal, with a few modifications

The equivalent of this article - the original French text - can be found here.

A note before I begin :

* All titles shall be coloured : blue for a normal day/event, red for a crisis, black for a sad and lamentable day, and gold for a celebration.

* This notebook shall be divided into chapters according to the activity being undergone by the National Service trainees.

* If there is a silver star next to the title, that indicates that the article is already archived in the virtual NS journal.

* The English translation shall be placed online around a month after the updating of Jeunesse.

* I write in French for two reasons : 1) so that no one shall understand me but He alone (I doubt that anyone would speak French over there), 2) so that I won't lose the flow of the language after spending 82 days over there ! I'm in the midst of preparing for the C2 and I don't wanna lose it !

* If there are still a few pages even after the posts of 82 days, I might perhaps write a few words to end the journal. But, I will certainly allow my National Service friends to leave their mark (i.e. their signature, messages and contact details) on the last page.

* At the training camp, this book shall be shared amongst close friends. No one shall touch this book, or ask me for the translation, or even beg me to tell them my story, without my consent.

Happy reading !

Some decisions are just too tough to be made.

Je commençai.

Je travaillai.
Tu apparus.
On se connut.
Tu parlas.
J’écoutai.

Tu t’énervas.
On ne comprit pas.
Tu me déçus.
J’essayai.
J’échouai.
Je réessayai.
J’échouai à nouveau.
Il n’y a aucun changement.
Et tu me déçois vraiment.
Je suis prête à pardonner.
Mais les autres, ils ne le sont pas.


Adieu, ma chère aimée.

Je ne sais pas pourquoi, mais j'ai un pressentiment qu'on ne se reverra plus jamais.

I'm actually anxious about going

I know of the time we're bound to gather in Car Park C of Bukit Jalil Stadium - I know I'll have to get up early and leave early, but I seriously don't know what's gonna happen thereafter.


When will they leave ? Will I meet people who are going to the same Sungai Rait training camp ? Will I find good company, amongst a multitude of trainees ? Will I survive ? Will I be accepted by the peers I make ? Will I last under the sweltering June/July/August heat during physical training ? Will we be guided by a team of good mentors over there ? Is it going to be better than the NS experiences of some people, as most people claim ?


All the things I need to take along with me have already been set aside (except for a bundle of T-shirts - that, I'll soon have to set aside, after my final paper on the 10th). I've begun stylising my National Service notebooks - one journal and one other book to take to class.


I feel anxious, because I don't know how to celebrate Father's Day, Fête de la Musique, Bastille Day and Merdeka Day over there. I don't know what to do in memory of my beloved mom - I've gotta do more than just say a special prayer for her. And I hope and pray that nothing untoward happens over there in Sungai Rait.

I'm really anxious : dear Lord, please help me. I can't go on feeling like this.



P.S. The NS journal will appear on Jeunesse before it appears on this blog, as I shall be writing in French (firstly, so that people won't understand ; secondly, to still have the flow of the language). Translation should take between a few days to about a month, depending on how long my posts are.

In times like these...

...when you have an abdominal pain and a deadening back pain, you just can't sleep.

Yesterday was wonderful - in the morning I helped create a video for Rin, and at sunset, dad, Rin and I did some NS shopping. (Can't believe we actually spent two hours in that place !) But seriously, shopping brings us together. Then immediately after shopping, because we were all hungry, we went to our familiar yong tau foo restaurant in USJ.

We all came home staggering, too full, and immediately curled up in bed.


In bed, the trouble started. Ouch.