Daisaku Ikeda's Quotes

Everyone needs a bit of encouragement sometime or another to recharge their batteries or give them more courage and confidence in living their lives. Or achieving their dreams. Including me.. ^.^ No matter wat each person is going through, i hope it can help u in some way.. =)

One thing is certain: That is that the power of belief, the power of thought, will move reality in the direction of what we believe and conceive of it. If you really believe you can do something, you can. That is a fact.


When you clearly envision the outcome of victory, engrave it upon your heart, and are firmly convinced that you will attain it, your brain makes every effort to realize the mental image you have created. And then, through your unceasing efforts, that victory is finally made a reality.


Everything depends on what is in our hearts. If we decide to ourselves that something is impossible, then, consistent with our minds in thinking so, even something that is possible for us will become impossible. On the other hand, if we have the confidence that we can definitely do something, then we are already one step closer to achieving it in reality.


We have both a weak self and a strong self; the two are completely different. If we allow our weak side to dominate, we will surely be defeated.


Ultimately, our battle is with ourselves. Whether in our activities in society, or whether in historical, political or economic developments, everything essentially boils down to a struggle between positive and negative forces.


If you always have a shallow perspective and pay attention only to trivial things, you are sure to get bogged down in all kinds of petty worries and concerns, and not be able to move forward. Even relatively minor hurdles or problems will seem insurmountable. But if you look at life from a broad viewpoint, you naturally spot the way to solve any problem you may confront. This is true when we consider our own personal problems as well as those of society and even the future of the entire world.


"The heart is what is important." There is nothing more vulnerable, nothing more corruptible than the human mind; nor is there anything as powerful, steadfast and ennobling.

-Daisaku Ikeda-

Migrating To Vietnam

I still can't upload any pictures. Is anything wrong with blogger? >.<

I have been trying to put of telling this as I wasn't really sure it was confirm yet... furthermore somehow or rather, i wasn't sure i was coming here myself but it looks like we are quite confirm in moving here now..

My dad first told me last year. He sms-ed me when he was in Vietnam and told me that there's a possibility that we may migrate to Vietnam. At that time, he told me that I may have to stay in Malaysia myself to study in the university. When I saw wat he wrote, I was totally shocked and heartbroken. I have always been super close with my family. Never been apart from them for more than 2 weeks! The mere thought that we would be living in a different country was quite unthinkable. I burst into tears at that moment even though it was just a small little plan.

Later when my dad came back to Malaysia. I asked him for more information. It seems that the company he was working for is planning to built a factory in South East Asia and they were actually gonna built it in Malaysia. But for some reason, whether politically or economically which I will not mention here... they finally decided to built it in Vietnam. And my dad is gonna oversea the entire operation. So the whole family is gonna move over there.

My mum told me that she's not gonna make the same mistake her sister made which was not to follow her husband when he was transferred over to KL (she's in KK, Sabah now). Now they are literally separated.

I know my mum is really dreading to move over to Vietnam. She has always hated moving. Whether it is just down the street or across the sea, she hates coming out of her comfort zone and I understand her. We had to move from Sabah to KL when I was 13 years old because of my dad's job and my mum took 5 years to finally make friends and settle in. Now she has to start all over again. It's not easy finding good friends. But for her family...

My mum came over to Vietnam quite a number of times since we knew that we would move here. My brother and I too have been over to Vietnam a few times. 5 or 6 years ago. But that was for holiday. I recall my mum saying that when you come over here again with a mindset that you're gonna make this your home, you'll see things differently.

I didn’t believe her initially but now... It's kinda scary when I look around. How am I gonna settle down? How's my family gonna settle down. We have been living in Malaysia for so many years. Malaysia is our home, it is my birth home. What about the food? Where am I gonna find Malaysian Food? There's no Malaysian Food over here. Everything is in Vietnamese.

Though I really admire the Vietnamese, they're really trying their best to learn English. =) But somehow... it just doesn't feel right.

And my brother is still young. He's only 13, I’m sure he can settle down easily.

But there are no universities suitable for me over here. Wat am I gonna do? I'm applyin for the States now but... wat if?

And wat about Cody?

Missing Cody...

International Schools

Been in Vietnam for the past 2 days. Luckily i manage to online. That is succeeding in persuading my dad to let me use the internet. It's pretty expensive using the internet in the hotel but ah well..

My family is planning to migrate to Ho Chi Minh City sometime next year so this trip is to scout around for international schools for my brother and also accomodation for my family. The first school we went to was Saigon South International School (SSIS). It's an Americal school. I like that school very much unfortunately there's a big problem here. My brother's results are attrocious! The first thing the admission officer asked was he's results over in Malaysia. My brother has always been a very playful student. Playing the computer the minute he comes back till around 11 o'clock in the night will definitely not produce satisfactory results.

The wonders of the internet! See.. i can show u now! =)

The lady took my brother's results slip, asked us which is which ( it wasn't in English) and proceeded to circle all his D's. She then asked him

"Do u plan on going into a University?"

On which my brother answered a small yes. Then she asked again,

"Do you think u can get into the university with this kind of results?"

My brother smiled sheepishly. Poor brother. She then continued saying that this school is gearing towards university for all it's students. 100% of their graduates get into Universities. She continued saying that my brother has to have the inner motivation to succeed. And that if he doesn't mind being the oldest in class just as long as he excels, that's the most important thing. I know he understands the seriousness of this matter. If the school doesn't accept him..

So he's gonna sit for the placement test tomorrow. English and Maths. Wish him luck! He's gonna need lots of it.

We went to another international school too.. Ho Chi Minh City international School. But somehow i dun have a high impression of this school. Immediately after we sat down, the lady proceeded to go on and on about how good the school is. That it's a credited school. How amazing the curriculum is. Bla bla and bla. No questions regarding my brother's results. None whatsoever. The other school didn't sell her school at all!!!

See the difference?

I hope my brother gets into SSIS. They really put strong emphasis on Higher Level Education.

On another note, i notice something. The beautiful girls of Vietnam wearing their tradisional outfits. I came here 5 years ago and all the girls were wearing their tradisional outfits. Showing off their slender and beautiful bodies. This time around, i barely notice anyone wearing.



Now they only wear it coz it's their school uniforms!

The effects of westernisation. *shakes head*

Blogger can't upload my pictures!

Off i go..!!! Wahaha..

The land of motorbikes and beautiful gals..

I'm going Vietnam for holiday now... =) Will be back 2 weeks time so my small little blog will get quite lonely here.. please do drop by after 2 weeks ya! Cheers!

-Princess Shin-

Excursion tp Malacca-Part 4

Ok... this is the last installment of my trip to Malacca! =) Hehe... last one oh... no more di...

After we finish our chicken ball rice, we went back to the university as Cody had classes to attend. But after that my parents came down too. I guess the aroma of Malacca food was too strong tat they had to come down to taste it for themselves. Crazy right? Haha... but oh well... I’m not much big difference either.

Anyway... after class my parents came and pick us up and guess what? We went and EAT! Wahaha... now that we had a car... it was much much much more easier to get around and most importantly we did not have any smell any fumes! Woohoo..!!!

First stop was something called O Jien. Heard of it? Its fried eggs mixed with oysters!

I only eat the eggs though.. Hate oysters! hehe..

Yup..! Real oysters! Real fresh oysters!

The particular place that we tried was in Ujong Pasir. Shop no.8 or something lidat.

My mistake.. Its no.7!

The owner is an old man. According to my dad, he and his wife has been doing this business for the past 30 years. My grandfather use to bring my dad and his siblings for supper every night! How unhealthy was that? Dear dear... *shakes head*

Husband and wife working hand in hand at the same shop for the past 30 years... Wow...

A few doors away was also this small peranakan shop. Peranakan means something like nyonya. Not really sure how to explain. Long long time ago, the Chinese came down to Malaysia mainly Malacca and married the local Malays. And their culture sort of blended with each other and out came nyonya. Or peranakan. My mother has some peranakan. Or so it seems. She says it's her mum's mum that is from Indonesia or something... Ok... dunno... dun ask me...

Peekaboo!!! Dun ask me why..

Anyway... the shop serves quite nice laksa. Something like curry laksa. It comes in a very huge bowl though... but when u look into it... well... let's just say it's not enuff for an average person. Especially greedy gal like me!

We didn't touch it yet!!! Swear!

It’s nice though... the ambience and everything. Very tourist like. Seems that my parents were eating this particular laksa when they were courting ten thousand years ago. So it’s been here for quite some time. My parents were quite proud of themselves when they finally found this place. They sort of moved or something. Personally I feel that the location of their shop is not very appropriate as not alot of ppl know how to come to this section of Malacca. But well... they have me to thank for advertising for them. Too bad they dun know I exist! =(

Next we went to Jalan Tengkera to eat "Putu Piring". Now this is a very special delicacy. It's a kind of desert. Or cake or... Call it whatever you like but it's really very unique. It's made from steam rice flour cakes and it’s filled with palm sugar (gula melaka) and top with coconut! Special right? I have lots of pictures to share with u guys coz it just amazes me how they actually do it.

First you put the flour in a small little plate..



Gula Melaka... That's wat we call it!

Then u add in some gula melaka in between it..

Small cute little hats!

Then you cover them in this small little hat to cook them! Steam them to be exact!

Aunty making her thing now!

Then you turn them around and put it on the cup to cool it down.. i think.. Cody actually ask me do they sell u the whole thing. Cup and all.. Hmm... If they do wont they need lots of cups? Poor ppl... Bankrap!

It looks so soft and comfy..

CO..CO.. NUT..!!! COCONUT!!!!

Yummy...!!!

Then u add in Coconut!

Little sorcerers..!!!

Put a small squarish banana leaf under it.. And there you have it..!!! Putu Piring!!!

There! I have finish sharing with u guys my food adventure. I hope when u guys do come to Malacca... You'll know where to visit. Though I know there are a lot of other nice shops around but hey..! This is what I feel is nice. So do enjoy! Muarx!

Choosing the Right University

Harvard University

What is the reason ppl choose universities? What is the reason ppl choose to get into universities? What are the factors in choosing the right university for urself?

Is choosing the right university just based on financial needs, distance from home, or whether ur girlfriend or boyfriend is going to be there?

Or is it based on the philosophy of the university? The founder of the university. What the university can offer.

What about the lecturers? Campus life? Does all this take into account too?

Or is it the most important thing is wat U can offer to the university?

What if u wanna get into universities like Harvard, Yale or Princeton. What is the reason u wanna get there? Is it just mainly because it is prestigious and can guarantees good career for ur future?

How do ppl choose the right university? How do YOU choose ur university?

I need some answers!!!

Excursion tp Malacca-Part 3

Wow... part 3 already! I think there's gonna be more to come as I really visited a lot of places! Sorry I don't really have any sights to show u guys but my only interest at that time was FOOD!!! Haha... wonder if there's anybody out there that runs away from my blog after seeing so many pictures of food? Haha... Too bad for him or her then... =(

Hehe.. ok.. as I was saying, I stayed there for 3 days. And on Friday itself which was my last day there I visited the most places. After finishing our "Yu Kiao", we went back to Malacca Central and took a bus straight down to the "Red House". The red house is one of the main attractions of Malacca as it was one of the buildings that were built by the Portuguese when they conquered Malacca. It was some kinda fort or something. Because of this building they manage to succeed in conquering Malacca. They were too strong for Malacca troops! They were nice and comfy in their own little building! =( That was way back in 1511. Somewhere there... I gave my History knowledge back to my teacher. Malacca was conquered by few major powers then, first it was the Portuguese, then the Dutch and finally British. That's why Malacca is known as Bandar Bersejarah ("town of History").

Ok... enough of history lesson. Back to food.

We had to hurry up and proceed to our next destination as Cody had class later. Even with our stomach full with Yu Kiao we still needed to visit this other place. See how greedy we are? Or rather how good the food over here is. Haha...

Anyway right opposite the red house, over the bridge lays the world's greatest chicken rice. What is so amazing about it u ask. Well... The chicken rice is made of balls! Wahaha... it's true.

Perfect spherical things.

The shop over here was one of the pioneering bunch. According to my parents, an old man use to ride his bike around Malacca selling chicken ball rice during my parents’ time. Now it's no more existent though. What we have now is a comfortable restaurant to sit in.

It’s one of the main tourist attraction in Malacca now. During holidays, you'll see a long queue lining outside the shop. That's the reason why multiple 'chicken ball rice shops' are mushroom-ing around Malacca now. And it's mighty important to know the right one coz not all are nice. We tried another shop once and it was... BLUEh...

The shop that i went was Ho Kee chicken rice balls!

Look they even have someone to endorse their product! Advertisers! *shakes head*

You can see that they are definitely making money! They just renovated their shop!

Anyway... I'm not a lover of chicken rice but chicken ball rice... Yummy...!!! =)

They serve the best asam fish too.. Sour and spicy. Just they way I like it!

Before we went back to the University. We had to have desert first. Yup... my stomach stretches endlessly. Hehe...

Right opposite the red house, there's this funny looking stalls made of fruits. They're seriously super cute!

They have Mr.Bean shop too.. It was close though...

And one of them, the purple one which is known as the "maggis" fruit, (I dunno what u call it in English. Anyone knows?) sells 'Cendol'. Cendol is a very famous kind of desert made from brown sugar (we call it gula melaka), long green slimy stuff which is soft and delicious, red beans, and lots of crush ice. It's not easy to find good ones in Malaysia as the 'soup' is not easy to make. It must have the right amount of sugar and the red beans have to have em... soft enough. I'm not really good at explaining it. Just know how to eat! =(

See..! Do u still have this in ur country? This old green thing that produces crush ice!

So if u have nice Cendol in ur area, share with us ya!


Anyway... enough for today. Shall have the next installment some other day. Stay tuned!

(I sound like a TV show! wahaha...)

Five things

I am tag again!!! Wahaha... I like being tagged! =) This time it was Janet a.k.a "wonder mom" that tagged me! I'm supposed to state 5 things that u guys don't know about me. Hmm... Where shall I start?

The main objective of this tag is to trigger creative juices in bloggers like us and develop the so called writers in us. Hmm... Wonder whether there's a little writer inside Princess Shin. Let's see... what do u guys wanna know? *thinks hard!*

1. I dream everyday.

Ok... I’m not talking about day-dreaming though I do day dream sometimes but that is another story. I meant dreaming while you're asleep! I do it all the time! Every single time in fact. There is not a day that goes by without me not dreaming. Even if I sleep for 10 minutes, I will still dream! And my dream ranges from getting my test results even before the real results come out to going out with my family, and even dreaming bout myself being pregnant! Oh goodness... scary right? Don't laugh but its true!

It may signify that my sleep are just now deep enough but ah well.. I liked watching tv while I sleep! My very own show! =)

But most of the time I dream about my high school sweetheart. =) I'll leave it at that!

2. I'm a daddy's gal.

I have said it. I admit it. I'm a daddy's gal. My dad is the person I look up to the most. I am actually closer to my dad compared to my mum. It's sad to say this but it's the truth. I remember I used to lie down beside my dad on the bed and beg him to tell me stories. My dad would then conjure up a story and I would just lie beside him listening intently to every word that he says. There's nothing that my dad can't fix. I remember I was terrible at art when I was in school last time and after much begging, he would then proceed to help me to draw, colour or paint and whenever he does it, my painting would then end up on the wall. Hehe... sad though I did not get his creative gene.

Though I still have heart to heart conversation with him now and then, but I sometimes find that there are some things that can't be shared with my dad. However, I still find joy in sitting beside him on the floor and leaning my head against his knees when he sits on his favorite cushion. =)

3.I wanna work for United Nations someday.

Ok... I have said it. There... don't laugh. I have no idea how am I gonna achieve this but it is just it. Nothing much to explain now. Thank you. =)

4. I'm a super greedy eater.

Well... this may not be something that u guys dun know about. The amount of times that I blog about food well... maybe some of u may guess by now. Wahaha... I LOVE FOOD!!! Any kinds of food. Chinese food, Malay food, Indian food, Western food, Spaghetti... ah... everything. I'm an adventurous person when it comes to food. Just give me something new and I’ll definitely try it. But if it's worms, well... it may take some persuasion.

The problem is though, I don't have a big stomach. I tend to order lots of food but end of not finishing it. So poor ppl around me will then have to stuff themselves up so as not to waste food. For that reason, I tend to get scolded A LOT. =( Boohoo...

And because I don't eat a lot, I get hungry VERY FAST!!! Unfortunately, no one wants to eat anymore. And I hate eating alone. See the dilemma here?

5. I get tongue tied when I’m in a fight.

Yup. Believe it or not but I have no control over my little brother at all even though he's 6 years younger than me. Every time we get into an argument, I’ll have nothing to say even though I’m bursting with anger! He will then proceed to fire me with four letter word (he's 13 now!) and win me with his sharp remarks. It's saddening I tell u. Embarrassing too... Sigh... I'm at his mercy.

Wow... that wasn't easy. Finally finish with this. Now it's my turn to tag the others! Wahaha... drop by Sharon's Five Things so she can link u too...

1. Baby Sa
2. Emma
3. Terra Shield
4. tm89lee
5. Winged Acrophobic

Have fun telling us ur secrets! Tata...

Excursion to Malacca -Part 2

Whoa... seems that my imaginary readers are starting to become quite real... It's a wonderful feeling when ppl start to read what u write and actually like it..!!! =) No wonder blogging is so addictive! I feel the love! Hehe...

Well... I stayed in Malacca for 3 days 2 nights. Didn't really go anyway on the 2nd day... just hang out in MMU with Cody the whole day as he had classes. What did I do there u ask? Well... the place I love most... the Library!!! Wahaha... yeah... I’m a confessed nerd! U let anot? =P

On the 3rd day... we went to a few places... shall share with u one thing at a time. For starters though we didn't have the luxury of driving around in a nice comfortable car to get to places. Yup... we had to take public transportation, which was our infamous bus. For those ppl not from Malaysia, the bus service in Malaysia has always been known for its 'punctuality'! Quoted from my father, "I waited for bus for 8 hours to go to my college back in KL then!!!"

I wonder how he manages to attend any of his classes?

Surprisingly though, the busses in Malacca are quite punctual. U just have to wait for around 15-20 minutes and there'll be a bus for u. But... comfort wise... remains to be seen...

Notice the wooden floor? And see the conductor! The man with the bag! =)

Well... let's just say its like air-cond had never been invented. Hehe...

They have these windows which u have to share with the person in front of u and it’s always super black. Every single time after u touch it ur hands would be totally black. Ok... I’m sorta exaggerating but... haha... it's quite nice to feel the wind in ur face but on a hot sticky Malaysian weather? Well... and when u are at a long traffic light? Well... Prepare to love the fumes!!!

This somehow reminds me of hanging oneself.. =(

The amount of fumes that we breathe in... Adding to those inconsiderate j*rks who choose to sit behind and smoke!!! Breathe fumes la u ppl!!! >.<

Me bus tickets!!! Gonna be antique soon...!

Anyway.. we took a bus from MMU to Melaka Central (which is the main bus station in Malacca) and went for our first stop. It's called Yu Kiao! Heard of it? I guess not too... it's weird though but even locals in Malacca dun know the existence of this little treasure! I remember when I was younger, my dad would always make sure that we drove down to Malacca early in the morning as he wanted to eat his 'Yu Kiao'! If we reach after 10:30 am, we know that there's a chance that it's already sold finish. I always wonder what was so big deal about this so called 'Yu Kiao' but after the first bite of it... I was hooked forever. Sigh... till this day, my dad actually spends 2 hours driving down to Malacca just to taste his favorite dish. In actual fact, I don’t' really know wat exactly is Yu Kiao. It's a kind of noodle that uses pork's oil as gravy. And has fish ball and fish slices in it. Not that kind of real fish slices but those made with flour. The dry one is nicer.

My mouth starts dripping saliva even looking at this! =(

2 big bowls for me!!! Sparkling clean! hehe..

This particular shop is located at the market right opposite Malacca Central.

Took this while sitting in the bus! My photo taking skills are improving!

For some reason, there was a bodyguard right outside Uncle Hee's shop

And the man doing it, Ah Hee has been doing it for over 40 years! It seems that he knew my grandmother and up till this day, my dad doesn't have the heart to tell him that my grandmother passed away last year. Sad thing right. The thing is I don't think my children will be able to enjoy what I’m enjoying now. It's a dying trait! He's at least 70 years old!

I was actually quite embarrassed to take photo of the small stall over here. But for some reason Uncle Hee was more than delighted when he saw me holding a camera. He even did a post for me! So sweet!!! Take care ya Uncle Hee... =)

It's my daddy's birthday today..!!! Happy Birthday dad!!! =) Gave him cufflinks! Hope he liked it..

Excursion to Malacca -Part 1

Wow... It has been a week since I last posted!!! My imaginary readers must be getting super tired of coming to my blog and finding out that I have not updated anything yet... Thousand apologies. Guess what? I went to Malacca. Hehe... for those who didn't passed their Geography in school last time, well... Malacca is in Malaysia and it's known as Bandar Bersejarah (Historical Town-or something lidat) But for me... it's known as The City of FOOD!!! Wahaha...

So for the next few blogs, I’m gonna introduced the bestest and most loved food in Malacca! Enjoy ya people!!! For my imaginary friends from all over the world... well... u can get a taste of wat is Malaysian food! Try not to lick your monitor. It'll be kinda gross but if u want... well... its Ur monitor! =)

I took a bus to Malacca to visit Cody. Took me 2 hours to get to Malacca on a bus which cost RM11 (US $3). Went to Pudu Bus Station for that. That's another experience altogether. Getting on the bus station I mean. The dirt, fumes and throngs of people is quite enough to make a princess like me feel terribly uncomfortable. =( But well.. it's an experience for me!

The bus was quite spacious and comfy though. Apart from waiting an extra 30 minutes for it coz the bus I was supposed to take failed to arrive. It was quite nice compared to being in the hot and congested bus station. Okay... enough of scaring away potential tourist to Malaysia. Now for the good part.

That night, me and Cody went for Satay Celup. It's located at Ong Kim Wee.. Dun really know who the person is but well... his street serves delicious satay celup!

It doesnt say anywhere on the sign that it's satay celup. Unless u can read Chinese! Unfair!

Know what's that? Or rather do u know wat is Satay? Well... for starters satay is a very popular food in Malaysia. It consists of chunks of chicken or beef 'poked' into sticks and later barbecued to perfection. It is normally eaten with peanut sauce which is both spicy and well peanut-ish. Not recommended for faint hearted though! =)

well... the difference between satay and satay celup is satay celup is not cooked! Everything is raw and the whole point is that we have to dip our different sticks into this hot pot in the middle of our table to cook it.

Oooh.. hot steamy.. sigh..

HOT!!!

And guess what? The pot is filled with hot steamy PEANUT sauce!!! Hehe... Where Satay is just chicken or beef... well... for satay celup we have everything! Crabmeat, sotong (calamari), sausage, quail eggs, even vegetables!!!

It's a bit not halal here.. =(

This is wat the locals call 'sotong'!

And the result.. YUMMYLICIOUS!!!

Helped!!! I'm cooked!!! Get me out of here!!!

I ate almost 10 sticks of pure quail eggs!!! That is like 20!!!

This is how many sticks i ate!

AAll in all... i really enjoyed my dinner over there... I use to always think Satay Celup will not be nice and wat's the fun of dipping everything into that pot and making everything taste the same? But surprisingly I really loved it. One thing though... You’ll end up all hot and stuffy and... Smelly... =(

Definitely worth is though.. wahaha....