Meaningful Friends

I woke up that morning feeling lazy and tired due to the tiring extra curricular activities the day before.I felt like sleeping for another 4 hours.It took a whole lot of effort to move my 56 kg body out of bed.

Had a quick bath,raced down stairs to prepare my things for the day and to have a light breakfast.See,that Thursday was the day that I had the cross country competition in my school.So,I had to make sure I was prepared to face the competition.To be truthful,I wasn't really interested to win because unnecessary injuries were the last things I wanted two weeks before my district level athletics championships.I was more keen in seeing my sister win because she had been training hard for the past few weeks.

In school,I walked in with a smile and no tension at all because I had planned to just run for fun and not to compete.Most of my friends misinterpreted my actions thinking that I was super confident of winning. I just kept it cool.I led my sister through the warm up to make sure that she felt good and fit while running.I knew that she really wanted to cement her place as one of the best runners in school.

I started my race with a quick dash to the front keeping in mind that I wanted to only run fast for the first 15 minutes or so.As the race progressed,I realized that the other runners were actually running closely behind me.I immediately understood(from past experiences) that those guys were planning to out run me only at the end.I kinda called a few of them to follow me at the front so that they could push for a faster finish but they were very reluctant to follow my words.

Only when I reached the front gate of my school(about a 150m from the finish line),one of my friends caught up with me and was trying to outrun me.Then,I thought that I could actually win the race if I sprinted because I had the speed endurance advantage(due to training) over him. So,I thought why not and sprinted past him to surprisingly win the unexpected 7.5 km course with an averagely slow timing of 30 minutes.But,that wasn't the best part of the day......

It was the prize giving ceremony.For my category,4 people including me from my close group of friends managed to get a medal.The other 3 were Eong Wei(19),Kathiresu(11) and Sarivin(8).When their respective names were called,my friends and I stood up and clapped for them while ignoring the other spectators who stared weirdly as they didn't arise to clap for the any of the winners.

When it was my turn to receive the gold medal,my friends did something that really WOW-ed every single person who was watching the event that day,including the teachers.As soon as they announced my name,my friends jogged together with me until the edge of the stage where my winners medal was waiting to be placed around my neck.When I stepped down the stage,all my friends stood around me and cheered for me.They chanted supportive words and showed the crowd the true meaning of close friends.

I went back home very tired(7.5 km is a long,long distance for a sprinter) but very happy and delighted.I was,still and always be very proud of my friends who make my day whenever I'm with them.There has not been a time in my life when I've not enjoyed having them by my side.I always look at the stars and wonder how far the universe will go.....but not once have I asked the question-how far would friendship go.......and I never will..........

Meaningful Friends

I woke up that morning feeling lazy and tired due to the tiring extra curricular activities the day before.I felt like sleeping for another 4 hours.It took a whole lot of effort to move my 56 kg body out of bed.

Had a quick bath,raced down stairs to prepare my things for the day and to have a light breakfast.See,that Thursday was the day that I had the cross country competition in my school.So,I had to make sure I was prepared to face the competition.To be truthful,I wasn't really interested to win because unnecessary injuries were the last things I wanted two weeks before my district level athletics championships.I was more keen in seeing my sister win because she had been training hard for the past few weeks.

In school,I walked in with a smile and no tension at all because I had planned to just run for fun and not to compete.Most of my friends misinterpreted my actions thinking that I was super confident of winning. I just kept it cool.I led my sister through the warm up to make sure that she felt good and fit while running.I knew that she really wanted to cement her place as one of the best runners in school.

I started my race with a quick dash to the front keeping in mind that I wanted to only run fast for the first 15 minutes or so.As the race progressed,I realized that the other runners were actually running closely behind me.I immediately understood(from past experiences) that those guys were planning to out run me only at the end.I kinda called a few of them to follow me at the front so that they could push for a faster finish but they were very reluctant to follow my words.

Only when I reached the front gate of my school(about a 150m from the finish line),one of my friends caught up with me and was trying to outrun me.Then,I thought that I could actually win the race if I sprinted because I had the speed endurance advantage(due to training) over him. So,I thought why not and sprinted past him to surprisingly win the unexpected 7.5 km course with an averagely slow timing of 30 minutes.But,that wasn't the best part of the day......

It was the prize giving ceremony.For my category,4 people including me from my close group of friends managed to get a medal.The other 3 were Eong Wei(19),Kathiresu(11) and Sarivin(8).When their respective names were called,my friends and I stood up and clapped for them while ignoring the other spectators who stared weirdly as they didn't arise to clap for the any of the winners.

When it was my turn to receive the gold medal,my friends did something that really WOW-ed every single person who was watching the event that day,including the teachers.As soon as they announced my name,my friends jogged together with me until the edge of the stage where my winners medal was waiting to be placed around my neck.When I stepped down the stage,all my friends stood around me and cheered for me.They chanted supportive words and showed the crowd the true meaning of close friends.

I went back home very tired(7.5 km is a long,long distance for a sprinter) but very happy and delighted.I was,still and always be very proud of my friends who make my day whenever I'm with them.There has not been a time in my life when I've not enjoyed having them by my side.I always look at the stars and wonder how far the universe will go.....but not once have I asked the question-how far would friendship go.......and I never will..........

My Inspiration In Writing

One of the main reasons I started a blog was because I was kinda amazed by all those people-the great writers who write wonderful novels and share their amazing experiences through countless number of articles.I wanted to write too.I wasn't confident enough to do so by writing to newspapers.So,I thought about writing a novel when I was only 12.

I started writing,page after page.It was supposed to be some kind of adventure involving 5 teenagers.I spent a lot of my free time to pour put my ideas on pieces of white papers with lines known as test pads.I wrote about 100 pages before I stopped.The story wasn't uninteresting nor did I feel lazy to write.It was just that I felt that adventure stories were not my type.I found that I wasn't putting all my feelings on paper.

As I moved into secondary school where sports took over my life,I practically abandoned my script and writing life.I moved on to participating in physical activities and totally forgot about continuing my story.

However,no one can kick the reading habit out of me,especially reading newspapers.I continued reading newspapers on a daily basis,even when I was busy with sports and exams.To be more specific,I always read the STAR newspaper.And it was articles in this newspaper that ignited my spark for writing.

To be more specific,there are a few writers or sections of the newspaper that I follow consistently.One of my favourite writers is Mary Schneider(I hope I didn't get the spelling wrong).Originating form Scotland and currently living in Penang,she writes weekly to the newspaper and her article always comes under the subtitle "But Then Again".Somehow,she seems to write her experiences in a way that the reader would have little doubt of her hidden message.

Besides her,there is also a writer who writes articles under the subtitle "Teacher Talk" every Sunday.Her articles are always about situations that teachers have to tackle in school every now and then.More than helping teachers,I think those articles always make me think from a teachers point of view whenever I make important decisions in school.

Being a teenager in my mid-teens,life experiences about love and romance never go unnoticed when I'm reading the daily paper.I really like reading the small articles about problems faced by others and the suggestions given by the writers to overcome them.The articles have surely taught me a lot about how to manage the ups and downs in my life.

As I hit my mid-teenage years,I felt like pouring out my views,thoughts,dissatisfaction and advice and that's why I decided to create a blog.The idea actually hit me when 4 of my friends created a blog together.They have abandoned it now,but they surely inspired me to create my own one-thanks guys!

17 years on,and I have finally found my place to write my views about life and daily matters as well as experiences.I guess by now you should be clear about the reason behind the name of my blog-My Online Diary.I have friends whom I share certain personal things with and I have learned a lot from them.At the same time,I don't want my other friends to repeat the same mistakes that I have made before.So,this blog is not just mine but for you too..................

It's That Time Of The Year Again.....

.....when Chinese people around the world celebrate the Lunar New Year....or in simple words,the first day of the Chinese calendar.For my Chinese friends,this is considered a big,big celebration as it brings together relatives from all over the country,sometimes from different parts of the world.As they get busy with their celebrations,I get busy with my own stuff too.

When the word Chinese New Year hits my mind,I know it's time to spend time with my Chinese friends.Some of them usually call me to their house and we usually spend the whole day there with other friends.Every year,I'll go to my friends place and we usually settle down playing Play Station games.We also do loads of other things but the most important part of a visit is the valuable time spent with my closest buddies.

And,when it's Chinese New Year,it means getting red packets filled with money known as "ang pow".Ang pow giving by the married to the unmarried is a Chinese tradition that dates back to the Chinese Dynasties.

According to what I read in the newspaper about the history of the ang pow tradition,it seems that in a village in China,there was once a demon/monster which could not be defeated by many who tried.In the end,one young boy "did something" (I can't seem to remember) and the demon was killed....destroyed........let's keep it simple-it just vanished and never came back to haunt them.So,the people in the village filled red packets with money and gave it to him as an act of appreciation-thus giving birth to the ang pow tradition.To me,the ang pow is just a symbol of prosperity of the giver.I don't really mind being left out in the "ang pow race".

One thing that you cannot leave out in a discussion about Chinese New Year is the fireworks.Usually,on the stroke of midnight of the first day of the new year,Chinese people will burn firecrackers which vary from size and length.So,sleeping is always a problem on that particular night.But,being a Malaysian,sacrificing one night for my Chinese friends as an act of respect to their culture doesn't sound bad at all.So,instead of frowning,I usually stay up late to enjoy the beautiful display of fireworks.

More importantly,I get very busy during the Chinese New Year period because I have to move furniture around my house.My father is a strong believer of Feng Shui,an ancient Chinese knowledge about starts and how they affect our daily life.So,in order to prevent unwanted incidents and to enhance the prosperity and luck at home,there are certain things to change every year.And,currently,my room looks like it just got hit by an earthquake!

I still have a lot to learn about Chinese New Year.I still know very little about the special dishes and delicacies made especially for Chinese New Year.But,that's not something I should worry too much about as I have many Chinese friends who would eventually teach me bit by bit throughout my life.Let us all celebrate this auspicious occasion with joy and happiness.Happy Chinese New Year!