i have this sudden urge to go to somewhere... to surround myself with nature and animals, and maybe just a few people. to lie in the sun, enjoy the warmth of the sunlight on my face, listening to the sounds of nature.. play with the animals, have a nice cup of tea with some friends and family... and all that...

i think i've been watching a little too much of Mcleod's Daughters. haha. It's an awesome show, made me laugh and cry quite a bit... and it feels quite realistic to me..

but i do remember that feeling i had when i was at the farm last semester.. waking up and looking out into that open space, the greenery, the nature, the animals, just being in that surrounding.. it makes me feel.. at ease, relaxed, peaceful and happy..

i think... maybe, just maybe, there is a bit of country girl in me ;)

I know i've probably posted about this topic thousands of times. But i feel like, today, i need to mention it once again, that i'm so thankful for my best friends here in Perth. They know me quite well. I do believe that God knows me best and He has placed a few of His 'angels in disguise' in my life.

It's amazing how the 4 of us are from such different backgrounds, how we have all decided to come to st. cats, and if it was not for that crazy hailstorm, we probably would not have turn out the way we are today. Looking back, though that hailstorm was a pretty devastating one, but something really great came out of it - the friendship among the 4 of us. It is like the 'rainbow' after the storm (literally THE storm. haa)

And i'm just so thankful and feel so blessed that the 4 of us have managed to become such great and close friends, genuine friends that i have come to trust and love.

As i've told them, i always feel much happier when i'm around them cos they just somehow seem to be able to cheer me up. Even if i'm having a bad day, i know i have someone i can turn to, and sometimes, i need not even mention anything, one of them will be able to know what's going on with me.

I truly thank God for them. I do believe that the 3 of them will be my friends for life :)

As i was studying for my sales management test, i came across this line in my lecture notes. "Being able to conduct an efficient and effective sales interview requires communication skills. This means being able to plan, listen and ask pointed and meaningful questions. Among these three skills, the most important is listening skills. The sales person should first and foremost be a good listener."

Not that i'm saying we're all sales people or whatnot... But one thing that kind of stood out to me was.. In communication, the most important thing is listening. Maybe for some people, communication means being able to get your message across to the other person clearly and accurately, such that the person is able to understand what you are trying to convey. But i guess, sometimes, we often forget, that in communication, be it between 2 people or more.. the more important thing is actually listening. And by listening, i do not mean hearing. Hearing, to me, is just literally hearing what the person is saying. Listening means, hearing but understanding with your heart.

How often do we give others the chance to share with us what they are trying to convey, without us being judgmental or being a little assuming about certain things? How often do we enter into a conversation with someone, with the pre-notion of us trying to give different advices to them, with the idea of us being able to 'help' them? Sometimes, i guess, what a person wants is just someone who is willing to just listen. Not that i mean that we have to be like a motionless wall, no reaction, no emotion, etc.. We can still share with them what we think too, giving advices appropriately. But i guess what's most important is actually listening to what the person is really trying to say.

Sometimes "i'm okay" does not really mean "i'm okay"... I always feel that everyone needs someone who is willing to take the time to listen to them. Sometimes, it's the people who appears to be the strongest who really needs someone who is willing to listen and care.. Sometimes, a simple "Hey, how are you?" or just a simple act of giving someone a bit of your time to listen can actually make a whole lot of difference..