June 18, 2014

Happy (belated) Father's Day

Anyone else notice a lot less social media posts compared to Mother's Day? Either fathers are not as good as mothers or people do not like their fathers as much. Or maybe just my circle of friends ...

Me? I love them both, albeit for different reasons, but let's focus on my dad because it is (was) Father's Day.

It's stressful to be his son at times, because there is so much to live up to! He's great with kids, respects the elderly and is generally well-liked by everyone. I'm not just talking about basic etiquette, because anyone can do that; no, he plays with kids, entertains them for hours, spends hours talking to old folk, showing sincere concern, and all with a smile on his face. I often wonder how did I turned out so cold and emotionless when my dad is such a cheerful person ... seriously though, 99% of the time, he looks happy.

Another thing about my dad is that he is probably the most understanding father I've ever seen. Fathers are generally known as the distant one in the family, the one that doesn't really care about their children's studies as long as they are scoring A's, the one that doesn't really bother trying understand why their kids disagree because "I'm your father and I'm always right". I have to often remind myself to be extremely grateful that mine is the exact opposite, and it has resulted in me having more respect for him. He might not know exactly what I'm going through, but at least he doesn't impose irrational standards on me. For some reason, he trusts me and believes that I'm mature enough to make my own decisions, even at a young age.

Did I mention that he is very selfless too? Other than the obvious fact that he saved up a huge amount of money to send me off to study in the UK, he genuinely doesn't mind tending to my many needs. Remember when you were young and you needed your parents to pick you up and drop you off, and there are times when they are just lazy and seem reluctant or they might just say that they're busy ... well, my dad doesn't do that. Instead, he shows up a smile on his face. Maybe that's just part and parcel of being a father, but the attitude he does them with makes all the difference.

I could go on and on about how perfect of a person he is, but that would take too long. Did I mention that he cooks great food too? Now you see why I say there is so much to live up to?

I can't fathom how he went through so much hardship in his early life, and still have the will not spend money on himself but use it to make sure that I live a better life.

I guess the only thing I can do now is to make him proud. My biggest worry is that he doesn't live long enough for me to repay him.


Happy Father's Day, dee. Can't wait to go eat 虾面 and 鱼头米粉 with you again!

Your only son,
Kritz

June 1, 2014

Something worth celebrating

Taking a break from studying to write this ... who am I kidding, I'm really just here because I ran out of stuff to browse and kill time when I should be studying.

1 paper down, 8 more to go.

Before that, I have to head down to London on Monday to pick up my Moroccan visa, assuming that my application hasn't been rejected. Can't wait for my exams to be over so I can fly to Morocco. Kinda excited to spend 2 nights in the desert. I can almost imagine the unpolluted night sky filled with stars ...

Can't wait to go back to Malaysia too! So many things to eat do!

But not for long, because I'll be flying back to the UK 2 months before everyone else as I'll be working as an intern! Nothing coveted like internships in banks or other firms in the financial sector, but nevertheless it's still an opportunity to work overseas! Kinda excited for that too. What if I end up working in this field after graduating? Will the higher education sector be my calling?

So many things to be excited for, but 8 papers more. Gah.

There's also that considerably significant probability that I might fail my second year and have to redo it ... i.e. going through hell again. I might go crazy. Or become clinically depressed. Or both. Tell me why did I choose this course again?

Anyway, the midnight caffeine boost should be kicking in soon. Better get some studying done I guess :/

-Kritz