New Year Reflections ...

(Not so)Interesting snippets from parts of my life ...

New Year Reflections

First and foremost, I would like to give thanks for all the help rendered to me by God, Mother Mary, my guardian angel and my patron saints. Secondly, I would like to thank my confessors. Thirdly, I would like to thank my parents and my sister. Fourthly, I would like to thank some other people who helped me along the way during the last whole year.=)

Christmas this year was good! My first Christmas (and of course many more) in tradition! =) The Christmas homily by Fr. Davide was really meaningful. It was about the supernatural mystery of the incarnation of our Lord Jesus Christ. (You can read all about it in Angeline's blog - I've linked her)

(Anyway it's here for your perusal ... Fr Davide delivered another meaningful homily on the supernatural mystery of the incarnation of Our Lord Jesus Christ.....how He became man and still retained His Divine Nature as God...and how Jesus depended on his parents-----The Blessed Virgin Mary and St Joseph as Man and yet the entire universe still depended on Him ----for He was the Second Person of the Blessed Trinity. The Blessed Virgin Mary, remained a virgin at the moment of Jesus' Incarnation and remained one after His Holy Birth.....a supernatural mystery which no one can comprehend...but catholics still believe because of FAITH......All the 9 choirs of angels---The cherubims, the seraphims, the thrones, the dominions, the powers, the principalities, the virtues ,the archangels and the guardian angels were present at The Birth of Jesus.....in fact the entire celestial court was celebrating the birth of Jesus .Deo optimo maximoque.(To God Who is the best and the Greatest) !

Also, before Christmas, we had our house blessing! Fr. Davide came to bless our house and Uncle Clement and Auntie Mag together with Angeline and Kenneth came for the house blessing. Angeline even stayed over! =) Can't wait for the next holidays ... Here are some of the pictures that were taken that day ...

Here's a family portrait with Fr. Davide

Denise, Angeline and Me respectively ...

A neoprint with them again .. =)

The Three Sisters!

Again!! =)

Ok .. it's us again! =)

There was also a new year gathering at mrs sumantri's residence ...

We had a real good time there too! =)
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Life has been good. =) I've spent an interesting holiday, mostly thinking of my life, the ways I can change it to become a better person, ways to attain a higher level of perfection of my soul.. to sum it all up, I've spent my entire holidays reflecting on what a person I am, what I want my life to be and how I want to spend my life. Reflecting on all these, with some meditation, prayer and confession, I've finally decided what I want my life here on Earth to be. Because of all these reflections, I've made some interesting decisions. I can never turn these decisions back cos' I know they can't be turned around just like that, but the load that has been on my shoulders has just been lifted and I feel like a whole new person with a whole new perspective of life. I've never felt happier, never felt "freeier" and never felt more close to God and the Blessed Virgin.

Ok. Enough reflecting.. Come Monday, I'll be starting a new semester!! I can't believe that the last semester just flew by. It still seems as if I've just entered the Uni! With all the hassle and bustle and all the excitement of the last sem, I'm entering Sem 2 with a whole new perspective and focus. =) I've just finished with all the bidding and all and I'm proud to annouce, after having a rubbish timetable the last semester, that I finally have a GOOD timetable!!!.. I only start early one morning a week and I end all the days at 6pm, just in time for mass!! (considering that during the last sem I started almost every other day early and ended almost at 7pm every other day and I had one day ending at 8pm.) YAY!!! YAY!!! =)

Next Sem's Modules will be interesting too! (I hope) =) ... here's a peek at em!:

LSM 1103 - Biodiversity

OVERALL AIM: To develop better awareness and understanding of Biodiversity; what it consists of; and why its conservation is important.

SPECIFIC OBJECTIVES
By the end of this course, you should be able to:

n Define biodiversity, and recognise its scope.

n Identify, compare and contrast the major groups or sub-groups of living organisms, including
q the key features that distinguish certain organisms from others.
q the key features that relate certain organisms to others.

n Write essays that clearly demonstrate understanding of various groups of living organisms and their key features.

n Understand the need for conserving biodiversity and be able to list the main reasons for doing so.

ST 1232 - Statistics for Life Sciences

An introduction to the basic principles and methods of biostatistics designed specifically for life sciences students who wish to learn modern research methods for analysing and extracting information from biological, biomedical and genomic data. Relevant examples will be used throughout the course to illustrate various techniques. A computer package will be used to enhance learning and to enable students to analyze real life data sets. Topics include tabular and graphical display of data, probability, probability distributions, sampling distributions, confidence intervals and regression analysis, distribution free tests, categorical data analysis, logistic and Poisson regression, introduction to Bayesian inference. This module is essential to students of the Life Sciences.

LSM 1202 - Human Anatomy

Basic introduction to human structure and function, comprising gross anatomy integrated with microscopic anatomy. Histological organization of the primary tissues: epithelial, connective, muscular and nervous tissues. Emphasis on clinical relevance and understanding of cell function at the molecular level.

GEK 1519 - Science of Music

The aim of the module is to introduce non-musicians as well as non-scientists to the underlying science on which much of music is based. Present-day music theory is based on firm physics and psycho-acoustical foundations which may not be apparent to most listeners but which underlie the rules of harmony and counterpoint. The design and technology of musical instruments also has a solid basis in physics and acoustics. Recent developments in electronic and computer music, as well as sound reproduction, have served to bring music, science and technology even more closely together. Electronic keyboards and synthesizers are now widely used alongside traditional keyboard instruments like the pianoforte for music making.

GEM 2003 - Why History? The 20th Century 1914-1989

This module aims to introduce undergraduates to both the main events of the 20th century and some of the fundamental methodological issues involved in the study of history. Major topics will include the First World War, the interwar period, World War II, the Cold War, the 1960s and the collapse of Communism.

This module will explore some of the defining moments and developments of the 20th century while introducing history as a critical discipline. Students will conduct group projects resulting in tutorial debates (at the end of the semester) as well as watch and comment on films. The module will combine many contemporary approaches to history (i.e, cultural, social, political, urban, intellectual, gender and environmental), and lectures will explore the 20th century from multiple perspectives, to show that history involves not only careful and imaginative use of documents, but critical thinking. The combination of lectures, tutorials, readings, and project work should foster both an understanding of historical enquiry and critical reflection about the ways in which we think about the past.

Well ... =) Cheers! to all you busy ppl out there ...

Have a great year ahead and of course! May the Good Lord's blessings be upon you always!

JMJ!

-rach-