Sakinah Abdul Aziz

I was told by numerous colleagues to "enjoy this honeymoon period" and I decided that I should make the best out of the free time that I have now. The last time I stayed in the office just about 30 minutes more than my supposedly knock-off time, I was shoo-ed away by my colleagues. Fancy being kicked out somewhat because I have "lots of opportunities in the future to stay back". So since I'm under probation (if you know what my job is, you'd find this pretty pun-y and funny really), I find myself having lots of energy and so I thought of channeling this excess energy into constructive things rather than just bumming and sleeping all the time. And so I decided to run. I used to jog pretty regularly before I entered uni. I run whenever I feel stressed, I run whenever I feel sad, I run whenever I feel ok, I run whenever I feel triumphant, I run because it was part of my CCA, I run as an excuse to go outside and see the world in a flash, I run to clear my mind...

Well, it's been way too long isn't it? Let's see. 4th week of school was so passé and I've begun to feel slightly worried about my schoolwork cos I haven't really done much about it. And also, it's been a week since I've bidded farewell to my dear Beninois. I've been busy with YOG ever since its opening ceremony. I used to tell Kai Teng during one of the June/July trainings that we attended, that I never felt any form of satisfaction attending any of those. But once the olympics commenced, I feel the satisfaction sinking in bit by bit. First of all, I had access to the village, which is an atmosphere you'd want to sense every single day. Ok, at least for me, I love the international feel of it. You walk along those long corridors of NIE, and you see people of different colours speaking different languages. Trust me, I'll never look at NIE the same way again. It's like a mini world. With people exchanging pins, basking in the culture of others...

"Destiny, I feel, is also a relationship - a play between divine grace and willful self-effort. Half of it you have no control over; half of it is absolutely in your hands, and your actions will show measurable consequence. Man is neither entirely a puppet of the gods, nor is he entirely the captain of his own destiny; he's a little of both. We gallop through our lives like circus performers balancing on two speeding side-by-side horse called "free will". And the question you have to ask every day is - which horse is which? Which horse do I need to stop worrying about because it's not under my control, and which do I need to steer with concentrated effort? There is so much about fate that I cannot control, but other things do fall under my jurisdiction. There are certain lottery tickets I can buy, thereby increasing my odds of finding contentment. I can decide how I spend my time, whom I interact with, whom I share my body and life and money and energy with. I ca...

So it comes down to Mani the Parakeet vs. Paul the Octopus. Lame I know. For tonight's World Cup finals, I don't really want to choose sides although I have to admit, I am more on the Holland's side but that's only because Spain won and Germany lost during the semis when I wanted the Germans to win. But that's stupid. So may the best team wins!