Another view of Lake Mendota..

Welcome to Madison, Wisconsin

Our beautiful Lake Mendota. A great hanging out place. Various activities are available. Sailing, windsurfing, canoeing..you name it, they have it;)...

This is the biggest library on campus. It's called College Library. During normal semesters (Fall and Spring), this library is open 24 hours a day. Good place to study, hang out and catch a chick:)

One of the churches on campus...

This is the Business building, named Grainger Hall. I will start working as a librarian in the Business library next month. Easy job with reasonable pay:).

This is the Chemistry building. The Chemistry department is quite highly ranked too in the US. I have taken at least 5 classes from this building and more to come...

This building is called Union South, one of the two Unions we have in University of Wisconsin-Madison. It has numerous facilities including pool tables, bowling alley, computer lab, restaurants and many more.

This building represents the pride of Biochemistry department, University of Wisconsin-Madison. This building was completed in 2004. It is an extension to the old Biochemistry building. GO Badger!!

Another picture with my brother in the playground of my apartment..

A picture of my cute brother and me in Penang International Airport. Taken before I left Penang for the US on January 17, 2005. Was sad but still managed to put a smile for this picture..cheers

Be contented..

TWO MEN IN A HOSPITAL

Two men, both seriously ill, occupied the same hospital room. One man was
allowed to sit up in his bed for an hour each afternoon to help drain the
fluid from his lungs. His bed was next to the room's only window. The other
man had to spend all his time flat on his back. The men talked for hours on
end. They spoke of their wives and families, their homes, their jobs, their
involvement in the military service, where they had been on vacation.
And every afternoon when the man in the bed by the window could sit up, he
would pass the time by describing to his roommate all the things he could
see outside the window. The man in the other bed began to live for those
one-hour periods where his world would be broadened and enlivened by all the
activity and color of the world outside. The window overlooked a park with a
lovely lake. Ducks and swans played on the water while children sailed their
model boats. Young lovers walked arm in arm amidst flowers of every color of
the rainbow. Grand old trees graced the landscape, and a fine view of the
city skyline could be seen in the distance. As the man by the window
described all this in exquisite detail, the man on the other side of the
room would close his eyes and imagine the picturesque scene.

One warm afternoon the man by the window described a parade passing by.
Although the other man couldn't hear the band - he could see it in his
mind's eye as the gentleman by the window portrayed it with descriptive
words. Days and weeks passed.

One morning, the day nurse arrived to bring water for their baths only to
find the lifeless body of the man by the window, who had died peacefully in
his sleep. She was saddened and called the hospital attendants to take the
body away. As soon as it seemed appropriate, the other man asked if he could
be moved next to the window. The nurse was happy to make the switch, and
after making sure he was comfortable, she left him alone. Slowly and painfully,
he propped himself up on one elbow to take his first look at the world
outside. Finally, he would have the joy of seeing it for himself. He
strained to slowly turn to look out the window beside the bed. It faced a
blank wall.

The man asked the nurse what could have compelled his deceased
roommate who had described such wonderful things outside this window.

The nurse responded that the man was blind and could not even see the wall. She
said, "Perhaps he just wanted to encourage you."

Epilogue. . .There is tremendous happiness in making others happy, despite
our own situations. Shared grief is half the sorrow, but happiness when
shared, is doubled. If you want to feel rich, just Count all of the things
you have that money can't buy.

"Today is a gift, that's why it is called the present."

Is there a big variation between life in Spring and Summer? You bet. After Spring semester, I obviously had a great time in another continent, Europe. Throughout the trip, I encountered quite a number of peculiar, rough and happy moments. The night when I spent my time in the train station of Venice city is worth mentioning. We (Je Lin, Yee Lin, Chien Mee and I) arrived at about half past ten. Our plan to overnight in that station failed. At about 12 am, a guard and some other policemen started to clear the station and close the main entrance. We ended up sitting on the staircase leading to the station. The staircase was not close to my bedroom in terms of cleanliness but at least, we had a great view in front of us. The main canal of Venice City. Come on, canal of Venice City. Sleeping by the main canal of Venice city doesn't sound that bad, right? Yeah. At first, we thought we were lucky but we spoke too soon. We soon realized that there were a few others who had the same fate as us (homeless for that night). Then, came a guy from nowhere, who was talking to himself, standing right behind us. My ass was facing him. Fortunately, Je Lin was standing in front of us. Thus, his front view was on him. Our bags were behind us. Obviously, we needed someone to keep an eye on the bags and thank to Je Lin, they were in one piece and not stolen:).

Later at about 4 am, the station was open. We entered happily with the hope of getting at least two hours of rest on the seats. The condition of the station was not up to expectation. I mean, it's the only train station of Venice City. I don't think it's too much to expect something. Too bad, the station was quite dull-looking, without much decoration. Cleanliness of the station is questionable too. Despite this, Venice City is still superb. Trust me. You would love the canals and the city, except the station:). Alright, back to the story. We tried to sleep but to no avail when one drunk guy slept on the row of seats, maybe about half an hour after us. He stinked badly. He snored loudly. Also, he talked to himself. Believe me, the odor was so funny, I couldn't tell if it came from the alcoholic beverage that he consumed or his stinky clothes resulting from lack of shower. I think he didn't really have a peaceful sleep since he moved quite often. I was awaken by his movements. Guess what I saw next..He dropped his cellphone. Five seconds later, his cellphone was 'stolen'. An old guy who was walking by saw his phone and just picked up and fled. Sorry, he didn't run away but he just walked away swiftly. I was definitely shocked. That old guy did not even take a glance on the guy who obviously owned the cellphone. Sounds funny but this incident somehow reflects the kind of people in Venice City:(. I am not trying to say Italians in Venice City suck. That old guy could be a traveller too though he didn't look like one. He definitely did not look like a beggar too. So there you go. One of my many juicy moments in EUROPE...

I shall answer the question I asked myself later..cheerss

Stress-free outing...

I just love this picture. From left, Zhang Ning, Chan Chong Ming, Koo Kien Keat and Taufik Hidayat. Seldom do we see a group of badminton players from different countries sitting together. It seems that Zhang, Chan and Koo are having a great time with the boy in the middle. I have no idea who that boy is. Meanwhile, Hidayat seems to be bugged by a woman. Nice picture by 'ants'. Thanks loads.

PS: 'ants' is an active member of badmintoncentral.com. GO BADMINTON!

Realm of reality...

Something for us to ponder...

Nudge the Balance
=================

A 91-year-old woman died after living a very long
dignified
life. When she met God, she asked Him
something that had really
bothered her for a very long time. "If Man was
created in God's
image, and if all men are created equal, why do
people treat
each other so badly?"

God replied that each person who enters our life
has a unique
lesson to teach us. It is only through these
lessons that we
learn about life, people and our relationships with
God.
This confused the woman, so God began to
explain:

"When someone lies to you, it teaches you that
things are not
always what they seem. The truth is often far
beneath the
surface. Look beyond the masks people wear if
you want to know
what is in their hearts. Remove your own masks to
let people
know who you really are.

When someone steals from you it teaches you
that nothing is
forever. Always appreciate what you have. You
never know when
you might lose it. Never take your friends or family
for
granted, because today and sometimes only this
very moment is
the only guarantee you may have.

When someone inflicts injury upon you, it teaches
you that the
human state is a very fragile one. Protect and take
care of
your body as best as you can, it's the one thing
that you are
sure to have forever.

When someone mocks you, it teaches you that no
two people are
alike. When you encounter people who are
different from you, do
not judge them by how they look or act, instead
base it on the
contents of what is in their hearts.

When someone breaks your heart, it teaches you
that loving
someone does not always mean that the person
will love you
back. But don't turn your back on love, because
when you find
the right person, the joy that one person brings
you will make
up for all of your past hurts. Times a thousand fold.

When someone holds a grudge against you, it
teaches you that
everyone makes mistakes. When you are
wronged, the most
virtuous thing you can do is forgive the offender
without
pretense. Forgiving those who have hurt us is often
the most
difficult and painful of life's experiences, but it is
also the
most courageous thing a person can do.

When a loved one is unfaithful to you, it teaches
you that
resisting temptation is Man's greatest challenge.
Be vigilant
in your resistance against all temptations. By
doing so, you
will be rewarded with an enduring sense of
satisfaction far
greater than the temporary pleasure by which you
were tempted.

When someone cheats you, it teaches you that
greed is the root
of all evil. Aspire to make your dreams come true,
no matter
how lofty they may be. Do not feel guilty about
your success,
but never let an obsession with achieving your
goals lead you to
engage in malevolent activities.

When someone ridicules you, it teaches you that
nobody is
perfect. Accept people for their merits and be
tolerant of
their flaws. Do not ever reject someone for
imperfections over
which they have no control."

Upon hearing the Lord's wisdom, the old woman
became concerned
that there are no lessons to be learned from man's
good deeds.
God replied that Man's capacity to love is the
greatest gift He
has. At the root of kindness and love, and each act
of love
also teaches us a lesson.
The woman's curiosity deepened.
God, once again began to explain:

"When someone loves us, it teaches us love,
kindness, charity,
honesty, humility, forgiveness, acceptance, and all
of these can
counteract all the evil in the world. For every good
deed,
there is one evil deed. Man alone has the power to
control the
balance between good and evil, but because the
lessons of love
are not taught often enough, the power is too often
abused.

When you enter someone's life, whether by plan,
chance or
coincidence, consider what your lesson will be.
Will you teach
love or a harsh lesson of reality? When you die,
will your life
have resulted in more loving or more hurting? More
comfort or
more pain? More joy or more sadness? Each one
of us has the
power over the balance of the love in the world.
Use it wisely!"

Don't miss an opportunity to nudge the world's
scale in the
right direction!

Pass this lesson of love on to those you love and
those you have
hurt, and those that have hurt you, hopefully with
each person
that receives this, there will be far less evil and a
great deal
more love!

~Author Unknown~

Badminton Championship Malaysian Open 2005

Lee Chong Wei..His name sounds familiar. Is he from Penang? Yes, he is. Not from the island but from the mainland. Who cares? He's from Penang in short. This guy was the 'King' in Malaysia on the 10th of July. Why? The reason is obvious. Despite all the pressure pounded on him, he managed to pull himself to beat Lin Dan, currently the world No. 1 player in the world. Trailing in the first game and final game by 0-7, he still turned the table on Lin Dan and took the two games. Though many calls from the line judges were clearly wrong, we still have to give credit to Lee Chong Wei.Besides, this only shows that Lin Dan is not mentally strong enough. A good player needs to be strong physically, mentally and skilfully. I think it is good that Lin Dan lost. At least, he knows the dark side of himself and still has ample time to improve it prior to the World Championship in Anaheim, California. The above pictures show how delighted Chong Wei was after claiming the winning point. Also, you can observe that Lin Dan was not very sporting. He somehow was very reluctant to accept his loss. Not even a handshake. Hmm...still, kudos to Lee Chong Wei..And to Lin Dan, please be more open and sporting..arrogance can kill you:)

Golden Opportunity...

I recently joined this group of people who want more from their lives.

I think I finally "caught the big one!"

I joined an online marketing team called the Vortex
Group and they promised they would build a sales organization
below me. I was skeptical at first but here is what has happened:

1. I enrolled during the pre-launch phase (still going!)
2. The company offered a free benefactor enrollment option
3. My team is now growing by hundreds of people every week (the company is attracting them!)
4. The company gave ME benefactor vouchers that I can give to people I know.


I want you to have one of these benefactor positions!


****** NO COST TO YOU OR ME! ******


This will not cost you a cent and the upside is very exciting
based on what I am observing. Here is what is happening in a "nut shell":

1. In 2002 two entrepreneurs started an online technology marketing company
2. In 2004 this company began to attract industry leaders
3. In 2005 this company decided to build a V-LINE (power line) to pre launch
multiple multi-tier pay out systems.
4. In 2005 this company allotted 10,000+ benefactor slots (They gave me some to give out)
5. In 2005-2006 this company will reach 50,000 online affiliates.

******** DO NOT BE LEFT BEHIND-I AM GOING FORWARD! **********


This is your chance to go with me and not be left behind. I am NOT asking
for ANY financial commitment, NONE at all, just your time.


I am going to offer these benefactor vouchers to the many leads this company
is giving me however I would rather have you on board with me first.

********** INSTRUCTIONS THAT ARE VITAL TO YOU AND ME ! **********

Send me an email with "Confirmed/Read-Voucher Request" and I will send you
one of my vouchers so you can activate it and get credited with a CD
pack and position in the V-Line.

Do this now because I plan on getting this message out to many more
people and those people could be placed UNDER YOU if you take this
serious and follow my instructions.

Time is of the essence.


Regards,


Ong, Kuok Teong (Norman)
Vortex FOUNDING Affiliate
kuokteong@yahoo.com

P.S The company has signed some "heavy hitters" and is about to
bring in MANY more and they will be placed BELOW us in the V-LINE!
Get back with me ASAP!!!

Considering nocturnal life??

This is a must. Everyone should know about this. Read on..

The main causes of liver damage are:
1. Sleeping too late and waking up too late is the
main cause.
2. Not urinating in the morning.
3. Too much eating.
4. Skipping breakfast.
5. Consuming too much medication.
6. Consuming too much preservatives, additives,
food coloring, and artificial sweetener.
7. Consuming unhealthy cooking oil. As much as
possible reduce cooking oil use when frying, which
includes even the best cooking oils like olive oil.
Do not consume fried foods when you are tired,
except if the body is very fit.
8. Consuming overly done foods also add to the
burden of liver.Veggies should be eaten raw or
cooked 3-5 parts. Fried veggies should be finished
in one sitting, do not store.
We should prevent this without necessarily
spending more. We just have to adopt a good daily
lifestyle and eating habits.

Maintaining good eating habits and time condition
are very important for our bodies to absorb and get
rid of unnecessary chemicals according


Because:

Evening at 9 - 11pm : is the time for eliminating
unnecessary/toxic chemicals (de-toxification) from
the antibody system (lymph nodes).This time
duration should be spent by relaxing or listening to
music. If during this time a housewife is still in an
unrelaxed state such as washing the dishes or
monitoring children doing their homework, this will
have a negative impact on health.

Evening at 11pm - 1am : is the detoxification
process in the liver, and ideally should be done in
a deep sleep state.

Early morning 1 - 3am : de-toxification process in
the gall, also ideally done in a deep sleep state.

Early morning 3 - 5am : de-toxification in the
lungs. Therefore there will sometimes be a severe
cough for cough sufferers during this time. Since
the de-toxification process had reached the
respiratory tract, there is no need to take cough
medicine so as not to interfere with toxin removal
process.

Morning 5 - 7am : de-toxification in the colon, you
should empty your bowel.

Morning 7 - 9am : absorption of nutrients in the
small in testine, you should be having breakfast at
this time. Breakfast should be earlier, before
6:30am, for those who are sick. Breakfast before
7:30am is very beneficial to those wanting to stay
fit. Those who always skip breakfast, they should
change their habits, and it is still better to eat
breakfast late until 9 - 10am rather than no meal at
all.

Sleeping so late and waking up too late will disrupt
the process of removing unnecessary chemicals.
Aside from that, midnight to 4am is the time when
the bone marrow produces blood. Therefore, have a
good sleep and don't sleep late.

An outing with some malaysian "Madisonites" in a bowling alley. Farewell to Whey Han (the guy third from the left) who will be leaving for Minneapolis, Minnesota. Best of luck in your new life in a much bigger city, unlike Madison...:) 

Federer for the Third Time..

Yeap, it's Federer again. Again and again, he has won the Wimbledon Men's Singles title for three years consecutively. He needs to win another title in order to emulate Pete Sampras's feat of winning Wimbledon Open four years in a row. Clearly, Roddick was nowhere close to beating him. Better luck next time, Roddick.

Wimbledon Open, Ladies Singles Event

The revival of Venus Williams. She is back again in action after 4 years of unfelt presence in the Wimbledon Open. The last time she won this open was in 2001 and 2000. This picture shows her being overcomed with joy at reclaiming her namesake trophy by winning the Ladies' Singles Tournament. The final match between Venus Williams and Lindsay Davenport went on for 2 hours and 45 minutes, being their 27th match and the most dramatic one. Congratulations to both!!

Spanish Temple

Lamp post of the day...haha..In between, Je Lin and Yee Lin...at the top of a temple in Spain. Don't remember the name of it though

Another picture of BSG 2005. This time I am second to this Indian pair with my partner, Nor from Thailand. Also, he's the President of the UW-Badminton Club. Oh yeah, Badminton ROCKS!! 

Badminton Rulezzzz

That's me up on the podium:))). Blissful moment indeed. I won the singles event for the Badger State Games 2005 which was just held last week. I was very fortunate to win this event because there weren't many great players there. In fact, the guy on the left of me (Indian) beat me before in Wisconsin Open. During this tournament, he was very rusty mainly due to lack of regular practice. For more info about this tournament, visit UW-Badminton or Badger State Games. For full results, here.