The quality of mercy is not strain'd,
It droppeth as the gentle rain from heaven
Upon the place beneath: it is twice blest;
It blesseth him that gives and him that takes:
'Tis mightiest in the mightiest: it becomes
The throned monarch better than his crown;
His sceptre shows the force of temporal power,
The attribute to awe and majesty,
Wherein doth sit the dread and fear of kings;
But mercy is above this sceptred sway;
It is enthroned in the hearts of kings,
It is an attribute to God himself;
And earthly power doth then show likest God's
When mercy seasons justice. Therefore, Jew,
Though justice be thy plea, consider this,
That, in the course of justice, none of us
Should see salvation: we do pray for mercy;
And that same prayer doth teach us all to render
The deeds of mercy. I have spoke thus much
To mitigate the justice of thy plea;
Which if thou follow, this strict court of Venice
Must needs give sentence 'gainst the merchant there.

~ Portia's speech to Shylock, The Merchant of Venice, William Shakespeare

I think back to the sec 1 days and wonder how some teachers can fail to convey the wonderful meanings encapsulated in such beautiful language. I can't believe I actually despised literature in the beginning -- all cause of that Stanley woman; it's like hating cake after your first experience ever with a mouldy one.

---

Rasulullah s.a.w. said, "When Allah decreed the creation, He pledged Himself by writing in His book which is laid down with Him, 'My Mercy prevails over My Wrath'."

~ On the authority of Abu Hurairah (r.a.), Sahih Muslim

---

I bumped into yet another person on the train yesterday, on the way to school. I was sitting and being stressed and preoccupied with my computer science textbook and thinking hard.Then this person came in and was looking at me, and I was looking at her but not looking at her because I was thinking and faaar away in my brain, and when I finally realised, oh, this person is looking at me, she was about to look away cause apparently I hadn't seemed to notice. And it took like near 5 seconds for me to realise like, EH!!! I KNOW THIS PERSON! And by the time I realised, she had kind of backed away and stood a bit further from my seat, and I had started to feel horrible cause -- Oh no, should I say something now or not!

Horrible situation. And I was chewing away about what to do, and felt like dung. And then she got off at Raffles Place. And then I felt even more evil. :(

And then I started stupidly asking God to let me bump into her again so I can definitely say hi properly. Siiiigh. I don't mean to be so blur. meh.

As usual, I do random things before I actually start on work, and read some old stuff that really made me burst out laughing.

Sorry, this is just too funny. When arts students think science can theoretically come up with solutions to anything:

pls, invent some protein that will make guys better.

protein?! No, I dont need that. Make me not care is what I want.

why! invent a protein to make all guys wonderful and easy to understand

how would a protein work?

goodness knows what u guys do in biochem. just invent SOMETHING.

The other day, I came across something that said that the heart has 40,000 neurons, and thinks independently of the brain. A short review here. Apparently, researchers are considering that it's part of the reason people with heart transplants acquire strange memories of their dead donor; there was one case where a girl was so traumatised by the 'memories' of her previous donor being murdered, that she and her mum reported to the police, and the murderer was easily and promptly apprehended. There were other accounts of people acquiring very strange and contrasting personalities once they had a heart transplant; it's all very fascinating.

One of the most mind-boggling things I read in the review:

Research has also revealed that the heart communicates information to the brain and throughout the body via electromagnetic field interactions. The heart generates the body’s most powerful and most extensive rhythmic electromagnetic field. The heart’s magnetic component is about 500 times stronger than the brain’s magnetic field and can be detected several feet away from the body. It was proposed that, this heart field acts as a carrier wave for information that provides a global synchronizing signal for the entire body. (McCraty, Bradley & Tomasino, 2004)

There is now evidence that a subtle yet influential electromagnetic or ‘energetic’ communication system operates just below our conscious awareness. Energetic interactions possibly contribute to the ‘magnetic’ attractions or repulsions that occur between individuals, and also affect social relationships. It was also found that one person’s brain waves can synchronize to another person’s heart (McCraty, 2004).

This, I tell you, gives a whole new meaning to I feel like I know you on a vibe-y level and Listen to your heart. Also, maybe it gives backing to the idea of love at first sight; except that it isn't love at first sight, it's love at first vibe. :P Later in the review, they also mentioned that this idea of a heart brain might be behind our concept of intuition, or gut-feeling. Of course, the mystical nature of all of this makes most scientists fidgety and some of them are outright dismissive of the idea that the heart contains memories and thoughts or influences decisions and feelings, and simply categorise patients who claim to 'know' their dead donors as loons suffering from surgery trauma.

The Qura'an however clearly states, "They have hearts that they are not able to understand with", clearly establishing the thinking nature of the heart. We're also told that the one who will succeed in the hereafter are those who bring a sound heart; once the heart is okay, everything else will be. 

Transcript of Lecture - Purification of the Heart

When you think life is just getting a little too hard...  :))))

There is a hadith saying that Allah afflicts the people He loves just to hear them call on Him. SubhanAllah. It (Dunya) is only a short time, if you keep it in perspective. It is just like the dentist, it is only going to hurt for a second but he is doing it for your benefit and that is why you let him do it. Is it true or not true? Somebody when they are pulling out the sliver: you know this is just going to hurt for a second, ok go ahead. It is over, that is what you say when you do something to the child to get a sliver out, it is just for a second and then they are crying ,crying. It is over, it is over then you hug them and everything is alright and that is the thing about dunya -- it is just... we are getting the tooth pulled out. 70-80 years maximum but if you relate it to infinity, to infinity, it is cancelled out so stop complaining. Really, just sit back and relax.


Source here.

Found this site where someone attempted to write a biography of Shaykh Hamza, from what little he's revealed about himself throughout his lectures over the years. Actually, I don't think he'd very much approve of this if he found out. :P But he's such an inspiration; it's hard not to wonder about his life and background.

I know it's probably big-headed of me to say this: but I feel akin to his way of thinking and his outlook on the world, and this is part of the reason I am always so affected by his talks. Maybe everyone else feels like they can relate as well. I feel like, ohmygod, here's finally someone saying all the right things! Putting all my exact sentiments about life and religion into the right perspective.

"Like Winston Churchill said, ‘I’ve bumped into the truth a few times in my life, and I quickly get up and brush myself off, and get along with it.’

Well, I bumped into the truth a few times, and I had a choice to brush myself off and get on with it, or to become Muslim, and Alhamdulillah, by the Fadl of Allah, I chose to become Muslim."

This business about Jin letting KATTUN do a tour without him while he cavorts around in California trying to make it big in hollywood -- it's pissing me off. God, so irritating. He's just so full of it. Pleeease. KATTUN should seriously just ditch him. Then maybe I'd like them better, because he just destroys the team dynamic for me, he does. If there's a number one thing that puts me off about a guy or about anyone really, it is this pompous, love-me-for-I-am-made-of-gold, self-centred attitude that Jin exemplifies. Aren't people supposed to have outgrown this by the time they leave adolescence, at least??? UGH. I know Pi dreams of Hollywood too or stg, but at least I have faith that he won't step on others on the way to his dreams.

Anyway, celebrated Jiawen's birthday tonight. And we realise it's been 10 years since we all met. So I brought up the question: what would you say to your 13-year-old self if you could go back in time? Mumu wanted to tell herself that she would die at 23 just so that she'd live more wisely -- we all generally disagreed with her logic, haha, because my gosh, the trauma of knowing your time of death is surely no joke. Eunice felt convinced that her teen self would do the opposite of whatever she said anyway, so what was the point. And I realise Jiawen didn't give an answer! I just want to tell my teen self to be brave, please. Just be brave. And oh, to forget about trying to be tall, because nothing will work and it won't matter in the end anyway. :P

Yesterday, I got a random call from Nur who I met at APEX last year. I hadn't talked to her in months and she suddenly had the urge to talk to me, apparently. To ask me how I was doing and that she was also applying for a different job now. And I could only take it as a sign, because I'd been cracking my head like crazy over the T3M Traineeship offer that I'd got at Biopolis and I was begging God to please show me the way. She was urging me to do the speech pathology thing, describing how meaningless her job felt to her now and advised me that I better be doing something I like. And above all, she said, Whatever I do, be brave.

Your time is limited, so don’t waste it living someone else’s life. Don’t be trapped by dogma - which is living with the results of other people’s thinking. Don’t let the noise of other’s opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary.

~ Steve Jobs

Almost done with term paper. Shoulder aches!

---
Tzu-kung asked, "'All in the village like him.' What do you think of that?"

The Master said, "That is not enough."

"'All in the village dislike him.' What do you think of that?"

The Master said, "That is not enough either. 'Those in his village who are good like him and those who are bad dislike him.' That would be better."

~ The Analects, Book 8:24
---

In a famous quote, Lee Kuan Yew said, "If you are going to lower me into the grave, and I feel something is wrong, I will get up." 


Singapore can be a disconcerting place, even to the people who call it home, though they'd never think of leaving. As one local put it, "Singapore is like a warm bath. You sink in, slit your wrists, your lifeblood floats away, but hey, it's warm." If that's so, most Singaporeans figure they might as well go down the tubes eating pepper crabs, with a couple of curry puffs on the side. Eating is the true national pastime and refuge. The longer I stayed, the more I ate. It got so I'd go over to the marvelously overcrowded Maxwell Road Food Centre, stand in the 20-minute queue for a plate at the Tian Tian food stall, eat it, then line up again.


~ The Singapore Solution, National Geographic, Mark Jacobson reported on a Mumbai slum in the May 2007 issue. David McLain was hospitalized in Singapore for a virus that turned out not to be swine flu.

Crazy week. I feel like a crazy person. Wah, I cannot wait for this week to end. >.< so incredibly tired, all the time.

I found the JK Rowling Harvard Commencement Talk from 2008! I remember reading the transcript and crying my eyes out. And here it is, the video of JKR herself at the podium. I honestly respect and love her. She is an awesome inspiration. And I couldn't help sobbing away; I don't know; I think it's got to do with how she speaks to the dreamer in me. And her sense of humour -- always wins. :)

J.K. Rowling Speaks at Harvard Commencement from Harvard Magazine on Vimeo.

A short talk about embracing your inner girl, by Eve Ensler, spokesperson for women around the world.



This made me cry. It's not every day I like being a girl. :) In fact, there have been nights of my crying for being one, haha.

But this reminds me of something that has been running in and out of my head recently; that Nabi s.a.w. said he was made to love three things in this world: women, scent and prayer. And Shaykh Hamza has reiterated many times how Nabi's love of women should not be interpreted as something physical, or at least not exclusively so. It is because Nabi loves, in truth, what women represent - the heart; tenderness, emotion and a seemingly bottomless well of forgiveness and mercy. In relation to this, I'm also remembering another story where Nabi s.a.w. kissed a child, and an Arab man who saw him was very shocked, like, How can you kiss a child!!! It's not manly at all!!! Nabi overturned a lot of things when he came. :)

Oh, here is a contracted version of it I found on the net:

Aisha r.a. said : A desert Arab came to Rasulullah s.a.w. and said : "Do you kiss children?, We do not kiss them". Rasulullah s.a.w said : "What can I do for you if Allah has taken away mercy from your heart?" ( Bukhari, Muslim )

Source here.

I'm feeling more and more compelled to read the actual Sword of Truth books. But I wonder if by doing that, I'll kill my love for the show. Because right now, I'm letting the loopholes slide by without much comment, because of my love for Richard and Kahlan. And Zedd and Cara too. But maybe reading the books will open my eyes to more holes in the plots, and then who knows where my love will be.

---
LotS Parody (from episode 10, Sacrifice)

Zedd: Male confessors can't control their power! They abuse it. Therefore we kill them at birth. It's much easier that way cuz, let's be honest, most newborn babies are ugly as-

Richard: NOOOOOO!!!! We can't kill a baby! How do you know he'll really be evil? You desperately need to recruit more confessors!

MC: Oh Richard... there's been many cases where confessors try teaching their male child to be good... but it's never worked. Like me! I finally had to kill him when he was 11. Now that was painful!

Richard: (Babbles on about a .01% possibility that Denee's child might turn out good because he is related to Kahlan and everything Kahlanish is super sweet and awesome.)

Kahlan: Richard... Stfu! We must do it now before we get attached and he gets cuter!

Richard: No! (Knocks over bottles of Vampire Glitter and wolf piss.)

MC: (Facepalm.)
Confessors: (Facepalm.)
Kahlan: (Facepalm.)
Baby: (Facepalm.)

Richard: No one is going to hurt this baby! NO ONE!

MC: Oh Richard... if only you knew how we kill them in the books...
---

This morning, went for the T3M Traineeship interview. It was mostly okay, they didn't ask any tough questions, and were very nice. So, my worry now, is that if I get this, I won't know whether to accept it or not. HOW. What about my speech pathology thing! :(

On the train home, I got assailed by philosophical thoughts of choosing ideals over reality. I mean. Like. HOW. Should we grab opportunities that come by or wait for the one thing that's supposed to be perfect? Or maybe, I should stop thinking in absolutes. Yes, I should.

In connection to this, one of my favourites from xkcd:

Finally submitted FYP report yesterday. Celebrated with sushi dinner - totally gobbled down four of the spicy tuna, and all our usuals. More work in this last two weeks -- but I will survive! Anyway, we forced each other during dinner to tell about interesting things, and I harped on about legend of the seeker. eheh.

And here are some amusing lines from a parody of the show from ff.net (spoilers abound! if you care.):


Legend of the Seeker Season 1 Parody by smartie2742, excerpts from episode one.

*Enter Richard, shirtless, for all the fangirls to squeal over. He's building a small bridge.*

Richard: Hi ho, hi ho, it's off to work I go... oh! Who's that pretty lady running? Hurr... looks like men are chasing her. I don't approve of this behavior at all so I shall interfere!

---


Kahlan: Come my glowy blue orb of light! Show us the waaaay!
Richard: *stalking* Wha?

---

Fain: I come from D'Hara and am tracking down a dangerous witch from The Midlands. She used magic to cross the boundary, and had help from someone on this side! He was wearing this tooth necklace!
Michael: Zomg! That's my brother's!

---

*Fain and men show up at house*

George: Leave, LEAVE! Run to Zedd's house!
Richard: Zedd? That crazy chicken man? What's going on? I WANT ANSWERS DAMMIT!
George: JUST LEAVE, DAMMIT!

*Richard leaves. Men come in.*

Fain: Where is your son?
George: I dunno, he went off to build a bridge - shirtless.

---

Kahlan: I think I'll take this time to tell you that I'm a confessor and that every seeker needs a confessor. All I'm gonna say is that we try to find the truth no matter how hard someone tries hiding it. My names Kahlan, sorry for being such a bitch. I came to bring you this book!

Richard: Yay! Porn!

Kahlan: No, It's The Book of Counted Shadows. Darken Rahl is trying to steal it. He can use it to take over the world. The seeker shall use this book to defeat Rahl!

Richard: What the hell? I can't read this. It's in German!

Kahlan: Ah, but every seeker can read German without learning it first. Give it a try!

Richard: *reading* One shadow... two shadow... three shadow... four! Whoa! When did I learn German?

Zedd: Because you are the true seeker.

---

XD wahahaha. I should refrain from pasting everything.

“A mature person is one who does not think only in absolutes, who is able to be objective even when deeply stirred emotionally, who has learned that there is both good and bad in all people and in all things, and who walks humbly and deals charitably with the circumstances of life, knowing that in this world no one is all knowing and therefore all of us need both love and charity.”

Eleanor Roosevelt