Trapped In Toilet for 6 Hours!

After a morning exercise I went to take a shower. After drying up myself, I turned the door knob as usual and crap, it got jammed. I'm locked all by myself in the toilet. No one's at home. I've no handphone with me.

First I did was of course trying to turn the door knob clock wise, and anti clock wise; and bang the door a few times. Clearly it didn't work.

Then I sat down on the toilet bowl to pray, for patience and a calm spirit.

First thing that got into my mind was I still had my shower heater switched on. So yeap, I was smart enough to plug out the one inside the toilet and I was so proud of my cleverness for an instant. Thinking that the heater might burst into flames only to find out from my mom later that it the heater will be fine if it's left on for a day!

Next thing that came to mind was - I need a cool space, not a stuffy one. So I opened the window as wide as I could and I'm thankful that the toilet I was in at, faces open space so it was rather cooling.

Third thing that came into my mind was - I need to make a card. Door knob jam isn't something new to me. It happened all the time when we were staying in our university hostel. Our solution was always our Touch n Go card. We used it to snipe open the jammed area. I tried squeezing out the toothpaste from my Colgate tube so I can fold it into a "Card". However it doesn't work, it was rather soft. Tried Clean & Clear, doesn't work either.

Fine. I saw there was a wire hanger. So used whatever ways I could think of to use a hanger to de-jam the knob. But I failed.

Then. I saw there was a spoon which my mom used. I remembered how the lock smith used to use screwdriver to knock off the knob. I tried doing that with a TEA SPOON. Obviously the only result I got was a red palm. :(

I was so tired and so I took 2 towels that were in the toilet to use it as a cushion in my sit tub. Being all tired knocking, I dozed off in the sit tub, not sure for how long.

When I woke up, I tried again, and failed. So I rested again.

Woke up again, I saw my empty mini listerine bottle. Sudden thought - "Perhaps the jammed area needs some lubricant". So I mixed soap with water, and started splashing my proudly handmade 'lubricant' towards the jammed area. Then I noticed I've yet to use my SK2 packaging to snipe open the door. The end of the packaigng was rather hard, yet soft enough to be bent.

So with a little prayer, I tried again with my SK2 facial tube and finally - I got out!

First thing I did - Look at the clock. It's 2.30pm! I entered around 8am! This is really one historical moment. It's also unbelievable that I was so calm in the toilet. Perhaps it's because I know my mom will be back soon anyway. :)


Today's incident reminds me: In whatever circumstances, stay calm, and persevere.

I've lived this day!

I spring cleaned my whole room!

Felt so awesome! The air seemed less dusty, books were well arranged, looks like a new room now. The only thing I lack is a new bedsheet!

I've lived this day!

Happy Birthday Jesus!

My favourite season. Although we don't have snow here, but I love the decoration, the carols, the gifts, the Christmas festive mood.

On top of it all, it's a season to remind us about our Saviour who came and save us, a season to remind us about God's love and Jesus! During such a season, I hope everyone of us doesn't just remember the Father, Son and Holy Spirit just during Dec 25, but every day of their lives :)

May you have an awesome time with your family, your loved ones, your friends, or even with your pets :P May this day reminds you that in life there's hope, joy and love; and that we are to always have faith, and to trust. 

God bless you and Happy New Year!

Dedicating my all time favourite Christmas song to you:

I Told 'Em #3: You Live For Yourself

Remember, God has called you to be you, not someone else. Get excited about that today! - Joel Osteen

Today I got to chat with a friend who was having a hard time being who she really is. I found out that it's because she's been busy living for other people, or doing things that she doesn't really like in order to be accepted. Was a great chat with her and I shared my views on living for ourselves.

I posted this on Facebook after that:
"You don't live for other people. You don't live a life just to please someone else, fit in the crowd, or to be someone who you are not. You live for yourself. So start doing things which will make you genuinely happy and productive in life. People tells me it's selfish to live for ourselves. But what's the point living a life which is not yours?"

I think it is really not easy to make that bold decision to live for ourselves and working towards what we are passionate for. When I was younger, more or less at high school age, I was living for my parents. Their strong objection of me going to Spain for performance due to my government exam made me succumbed to it at the very start. My friend instead, fought for the permission from her parents. In the end, she went and it didn't affect our exams at all. That was the lightbulb moment - I didn't live for myself. But don't get me wrong, I still love my parents and I understood where they were coming from. I was just frustrated why didn't I fight for myself.

When my parents divorced, I started living for my family. After graduating from high school I really hoped to pursue something in the media line yet I succumbed to the older generation's advice on job stability. Now to think of it, it was only STPM stage and we were talking about job stability, how funny is that! I had another chance to pursue my passion for media, arts or languages when I was in university but the professional advices again made me a coward. When I saw a friend of mine was majoring in languages and all the opportunity she had - That was the day I really decided to live for myself and go get what I really want!

Since then things had started to change, life experiences have been awesome every year and it gets better. I fight for what I want, and I am happy. Above it all, I thank the Lord for keeping me strong and guiding me along the way of all these uncertainties and revealing the greatness at the end. I'm not here to brag, but I'm here to share how extraordinary life can be when we really live it out for ourselves and never stop working towards what we want.

At some point of time people might say we are selfish if we do not care about others and just live for ourselves. My mom used to nag my brother for being super busy and not coming back whenever he has extra semester break time. But I'm proud with my brother, because I know he is out there pursuing what he really wants. At the end of the day, when he won that certain award, or being recognised for certain awards and competition, he fulfilled my mother's dream - To have successful children. My mother was happy, she is still now, although she still nags (I guessed parents are always the same) ^^

Leaving your family pursuing your dreams might sound selfish or coldhearted. But did I ever say that we shouldn't communicate with them? No. The world is so connected today. We have iphones and webcams which will be able to connect us at least. :) At the end of the day, if I'm a parent, I would want my children to fulfill their dreams as I wish them lifetime of happiness and fulfillment. I want them to pursue whatever it is that stirs their passion. I want them to work on their dreams, not someone else's, not mine. 

Perhaps now you  might feel:

But most of the time things get clearer when I shared this phrase from Jim Rogers from one of his books - "A gift to My Children":
"A lot of people try to live for others - their children, their spouses, their parents, their friends - and in doing so twist themselves into knots attempting to meet their often outsized and/or unrealistic expectations. That leaves little space for personal growth and progress, and creates resentment for lost opportunites."


I hope all of us will start living for ourselves to make the best out of us in order for us to bring the best out of other people!

Dedicating to you: Fighter by Christina Aguilera

Are you a fighter?

Thoughts I Had #9: God Is Punctual

Today I read a tweet about God's timing. It's amazing how people fail to understand the difference between our limited time frame compared to God's miracle plans for us.

I've been through ups and downs in life. Trust me, I'm happy everyday not because I have no problems, but it's because I know I have a big God who will be there for me. And He did and still is.

I learned to embrace the truth that God is never ever early, and never ever late! It's we humans who have limited abilities, capabilities, and time, failed to wait!

Some times, the big plan for you might just be within reach if we could only hold on a little longer and have faith in Him. :)

God bless you friends!

Places I've Been #1: Haeundae Beach, Busan

Everyone loves Seoul, Soul of Asia. When I say, "Nope, I prefer Busan"; I got bombarded with all sorts of questions. Erm, what's wrong with Busan? :) 

I love Seoul, but Busan more, freaking more! My Busan journey started when we hopped on to the free bus provided by the Korea Government, it's one of my best bus moments ever! Well, I rarely sit buses back at Malaysia (do you sit lots of buses?). Anyway  if you are travelling from Seoul to Busan, you better do remember to book this luxurious free bus early!

The fact that I love Busan so much is because of:

Haeundae Beach

In my country we don't really have many great beaches around us. The cities are always so faraway from the beach! You don't get to experience K-drama scenes where a couple broke up near a shopping mall and next *poof!*, they're beside the sea pouring their hearts out! Busan is so different, it's the 2nd largest city, with this beautiful Haeundae beach within reach, you typically get the best of both worlds!

After checking in to Hello GuestHouse, my cousins and I took a 3 minutes walk to the long awaited Haeundae beach! Contrary to some beaches where the sands were rough, Haeundae beach during the noon was soft, warm and so smooth! Best part of it was hot dudes + sexy chicks. Worst part of it was ... I can't run with a bikini on. 

Anyway, back to Haeundae:

Chevy sponsored orange umbrellas

They say the best time to go to the beach is during Summer. That's right if you love being squeezed with thousands of people on the beach, even in the sea. How are you going to swim? If you are someone who would love to take cool jump shots with an awesome beach and sea background, accompanied with 1/3 of the city-scape; I recommend you to go during end of August - mid September.  That's when the summer break is over, the weather is still warm and you'll have most of the beach to yourself! Like me!

No bikini T.T

I love taking jump shots. And no, I did not slap my cousin.

September is also a good time for beach because the sea isn't that cold yet.  Somehow I felt Haeundae resembles Bondi beach from Sydney a lot in terms of the landscape :) For those who love to swim, the sea is ALL YOURS if you go after Korea's summer break! You can rent yellow tubes at a rate of 5000 won (USD 5) per tube and use it as long as you would want to.

Be careful if you plan to sit on the tube at the shore...You'll most likely being flipped over by the waves if they're strong enough :) Well, at least I was, a few times.

White sand + blue sea + 5000 won yellow tube each + 2 pretty girls = Perfect Picture

For just an extra 5000 won (USD 5), we rented an umbrella with a mat which was wide enough for 2 persons to lie on for a good rest by the sea! Thanks to my poor memory, I do not remember how much was it to rent the benches, but I do remember it's definitely much more expensive!

Chilling out after a good dip in the sea

We love the beach so much thata during our last day before we left for Jejudo, we went and rented a mat again just to sleep by the sea. Such a peaceful feeling! I miss it so much!

My view 

My cousin brother took another short rest beside the sea before we really really left reluctantly

Beach aside, Busan has awesome night view, will make other posts on other stuffs in Busan! :)

Credits to Google Images

Spendings:

Yellow tube per person - 5000 won

Mat & Umbrella - 5000 won

By the way, after visiting Haeundae, you should really re-watch (or watch if you have yet to!) the movie again:

Visit Rating: 5/5! Must Visit!

Thoughts I Had #8: Why Are We Afraid?

"A person who is secure with himself is much more likely to achieve success, have meaningful relationships, and be respected by others." - Annonymous

I've spoke with quite a number of friends on security and I realised most people are afraid to make big life time decisions because they are not sure what the future holds. They feel insecure. They kept asking themselves "what if?". The fact is, we will never know what the future holds so what-ifs will always be there and there is no point for us to waste our time thinking too much about what-ifs.

We have to start being more secured with ourselves in order to feel secured of what the future may hold. When we are secured with ourselves and we know what makes us happy, what makes us move forward in life; we are then able to courageously make big life decisions. A person who is insecure often finds difficulty in different areas of life.

Begin Today!

Thoughts I Had #8: Have Incredible Dreams!

‎"I hope that your dreams are bigger than life. I hope that they're bigger than where you are right now. I hope that your dreams have capacity. I hope that they have room for you to grow and develop and perhaps be the person that you would really like to become. Because you see, right now, you are who you are; but your potential could be INCREDIBLE what you could become. The only the way to become bigger in life, is to have dreams that are BIGGER than life." 
- John C Maxwell


Dreamt of travelling the world? Climbing Mt Kilimanjaro? Inventing the most creative cellphone? Changing the society? Saving lives? Now all your childhood dream would have appeared in your mind :) I once blogged about being rebellious for what you really want. Everyone has always more than one dream. Life is worthwhile when we get most of our dreams, realised, even if we can't get all to come true.

Once I read a phrase saying, "If your dream is not scary to you, it's not ambitious enough". It totally supported what John Maxwell said - "I hope that your dreams are bigger than life". It's true in a way if you dream or goals are something that you are sure that you can reach it, it's not a dream nor a goal. But if you have that one big dream, which scares you off so badly because it's too big to dream for; yet you have that itchy feeling in you to go for it; you should then start to take positive baby steps to move closer to your dreams. Even if you won't be able to reach it in the end, you would have accomplished things you could never had imagined! Just like what John Maxwell said again, "I hope that they have room for you to grow and develop and perhaps be the person that you would really like to become."

Let's DREAM BIG!

Thoughts I Had #7: The Power of Prayer

There's this incredible thing about the power of prayer. Trust me, worship and prayer work wonders. You might have to wait, but as long as you wait upon the Lord, He'll always open ways for you. Just hold on to Him, He'll never fail you.

I'm thankful for all trials and tribulations in my life because through that, I was able to see God's love and wonder over and over and over again. He's my rock and saviour.

Friends always ask me why am I so positive in life, or being so strong and not afraid of things. No, I'm not all positive, or a super strong individual as you may think I am. But I have a Big God! I lay my future in His hands because I know He holds my future. I always love Jeremiah 29:11 which says "For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. That is why, I have a happy and strong outlook on life, I guess. I know that even if I fail, or if situations go bad, it's part of God's plan to make me grow. What I should do, is to respond well. Always remembering WWJD.

If ever there're troubles, pray. God says in Jeremiah 33:3: "Call to me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know."

Have a great week ahead! If you need a prayer, drop me a mail at ruehann@gmail.com :)

I Told 'Em #2: The Leap Forward

Today I heard that they broke up, this pair of friend of mine. It was not expected. They were so loving and compatible. But you know how one will always give reasons to break up.  When I grew older, break ups seemed like a normal thing to me. Here break there break everywhere break. Even the longest relationship couple would have broken up. I grew to learn that when break ups happen, no one is at fault. It just means that the relationship doesn't work at that point of time and that holding on to it is just too miserable to bear.

Another pair of friend of mine however, broke up and got together again. This cycle repeated countless times. I know what is he thinking and I felt that it will still not work if such feelings and thoughts aren't change, no matter how many times they got back together for the sake of familiarity. But I would better stay neutral as a friend.

I guessed some times we found out our love for someone have faded and are afraid to break up because we are unsure what the future holds for us. What more when the other partner is a very great person to have with if we think of it rationally. So no matter how incompatible it may seem, we still feel it's good to have him/her around because the personality is great, that's the person who will take good care of us. Yet countless times we forgot the fundamentals of what builds a strong relationship when we are just on courtship- Communication and Love. If we hold back someone for the sake of guilt, for the sake of familiarity, for the sake of security...and yet cannot provide the love and communication that the other half desires, what's the point then?

Break up or not, the key word is to leap forward. If we broke up, move on for the better. If we did not break up, then move on together with our partners for a better future. If we stay put in a relationship and ding-dong back and forth, I say it's better to break up and move on in life faster for the betterment of each other rather than waste each other's time if you seriously have not much of feelings or don't see light in your relationship anymore.

Life is precious. Time is limited. There's time to love, but there' not much time to waste people's love. So make your decision and take the leap forward and move on.

As wrong as I may seem, as harsh as I may sound, this is what I think at the moment. Nobody like break ups, I don't either. But if it happen, it happens. What we need to do is, to leap forward.