Step into my Shoes

Wedding Preparation Blog

2009-11-18T16:31:00.002+08:00

I am lazy. Period.

So fingers crossed for this wedding blog thingy.
http://sethjoannaourjourney.shutterfly.com/

I am really getting excited about this and I will start my first post on the engagement followed by the preparation details.

In retrospect, getting married young did not cross my mind at all until now. I am truly happy and blessed to have made my decision.

Upcoming checklist:

1. Choose dinner banquet - most likely Crowne Plaza (Changi Airport). Its new and I love the open sky ceiling concept.
2. Church venue booking + marriage pastor
3. Choose wedding bands ! (already chosen) Tiffany channel setting wedding band to match my engagement ring :)

4. Finalise on guest list
5. Wedding Package + Photographer
6. Weight management programme - After the recent gown fitting with Yuying and marie, it dawned on me that size is indeed important. I am going for made to measure. Heck the weight management, I still love my calorie laden food. See how.

and tonnes of other preparation. So one down, many more to go. At least the wedding bands part is finalised.

I am still very much alive

2009-06-30T20:33:00.003+08:00

Ok, I need to resurrect my blog. It's been a while and I do get people asking me where the hell I have been...

I don't facebook, msn and blog as often as I did when it was still the good old days of uni life. No words can describe fully how much I miss schooling. I can shop and slack as much as I want to. Now, after earning my own money, I feel that shopping too much is bad. T_T

My parents would be happy to hear this relevation coming from me. Oh well. I save more than I spend now.

Small updates aside, in 2012, I will be having a change of home address plus having made the biggest investment in my life.

The signs of adulthood.

*Not going to blog about Turkey trip - lazy to upload the pictures...*

Till the next time.

Psalm 23 (for the workplace)

2009-01-29T22:42:00.003+08:00

Everyone should know Psalm 23 in the bible. It is like the most famous passage in the bible. My mum sent me the following modification of Psalm 23 for the work place. Hah! For those who know Psalm 23, may it encourage and deepen your faith in trusting God to enable us to prosper in your workplace and to bless the work of your hands.

Psalm 23(For the Work Place)

The Lord is my real boss, and I shall not want.
He gives me peace, when chaos is all around me.
He gently reminds me to pray and do all things without murmuring and complaining.

He reminds me that He is my source and not my job.
He restores my sanity everyday and guides my decisions
that I might honor Him in all that I do.
Even though I face absurd amounts of e-mails (that's me!), system crashes,
unrealistic deadlines, budget cutbacks, gossiping co -workers,
discriminating supervisors and an aging body that doesn't cooperate every morning,
I still will not stop---for He is with me!

His presence, His peace, and His power will see me through.
He raises me up, even when they fail to promote me.
He claims me as His own, even when the company threatens to let me go.
His Faithfulness and love is better than any bonus cheque
His retirement plan beats any 401k there is! When it's all said and done,
I'll be working for Him a whole lot longer and for that
I BLESS HIS NAME!!!!!!

******

Work is busy and demanding (!), which is good. I am enjoying what I am doing even though I hardly have time to surf net and slack. I meet people, talk, rush around and the best thing is, my work is not deskbound! :) Really, never a dull moment.

People, if you have super experience IT professional friends (at least 3 years' experience), let me know. I need to recruit 100 plus more people!!!! Yeah, in such times, we are still vigourously employing. I am looking for a junior temp assistant to assist me. So if you are looking or have friends who don't mind doing temp work, let me know. :)

Good news and somewhat bad news

2008-12-30T14:46:00.002+08:00

Somewhat bad news first. I sprained my left ankle and it's swollen to about the size of a mini balloon. Haha, nah, I am exaggerating. Being the usual klutzy me, I fell down the last row of steps as I came down the stairs. My very first sprain. No worries, I am sure I can be walking as per normal by the end of this week.

Let's move on the good news. Good news are way more fun to tell than bad news. I got a verbal job offer from Singhealth for a HR executive role handling internal recruitment and selection! Actually, I am still in a state of surprise cause I just went for the interview last Monday, 22 December. I didn't expect them to get back to me that quickly.

Yay, goes to show, the job market is still not THAT bad. No doubt, the world is entering or have already entered depressional stage, but there is still hope of a better job.

I'm pondering about accepting though. Package wise, its better than what was. Its just the feeling that what if there is a better offer still out there and yeah, one month break sometimes never seem enough. I am just being greedy. I guess its back to working again.

To those looking for a Human Resource position, there is really a good flow of open jobs looking for fresh graduates. So be positive, there's an offer out there. :)

God is really good all the time! He is so ever faithful and gracious to me.

A Testimony of God's Protection and Faithfulness

2008-12-03T22:45:00.002+08:00

As all of you have heard or read by now, the saddening news of the Mumbai attacks. In times like this, you would never ever want to hear a loved one, a friend or an acquaintance being held hostage in such cruel terrorist attacks.

I remembered last Thursday when I met up with my church mate, Ernest for dinner. He looked distraught and he was like, "Yew Ping, our church mate and my cell group friend is being held hostage at Oberoi Hotel as we speak right now and the church leaders and everyone who knows him are praying for him as as well. I was shocked because even though I do not know him personally but I seen him around in church before and was in the same team as him during one of the young adults' bonding events. Prayers was the only way I can help him and we just prayed for his safety. God delivered him from danger after being held hostage in the hotel room for almost 2 days. He just stayed one floor above the Singaporean lady who was being killed. It was that close.

After his ordeal, he sent out a thank you email and testimony recounting his experience to all the church leaders and cell group leaders. The following testimony might be long but, it is a story of how God never ever fails to deliver us from harm's way. A story when the fear of the unknown threatens to overpower all senses, the peace of GOD will and can transcend all fears.

****
Dear all,

It is sobering to read on the newspaper what happened in Mumbai the last few days. Many lives were lost and it was indeed a tragedy of colossal proportion. I was staying in one of the hotels attacked and held by the terrorists and it is a great blessing to be brought back unharmed. Thanks to all of you for your support throughout these very dramatic days. Glad to be back seeing all of you again. Stirred but not shaken (haha as James Bond would say) but all is well now. Looking back, there were many junctions throughout this ordeal that if things had gone the other way, would lead to outcomes very different from my present state. But God is in control all the time and his perfect timing and protection brought me home safely. Just a brief account here to share what happened and how your prayers and support had strengthened and encouraged me, providing me with comfort, hope and peace (yes, peace even when bomb blasts shook the building every now and then and gun fire were exchanged, quite unreservedly at times); and of course how God had lovingly moved to protect and keep me out of harm's way. Amidst the mayhem, divine intervention was clearly at work though the prayers of the faithful people of Christ. Praise be to the Lord!

Wed 1000pm: everything seems normal before bomb blasts were heard. I had just finished dinner with my colleague - TJ (boss actually) and returning to the hotel room on the 20th floor for rest. I took a shower and was lying down on my bed reading, rounding off the end of a hard day at work. Certainly seemed like any other days I had during the past two weeks in Mumbai. Everything was normal, just normal, until at around 1020pm a loud booming noise was heard across the hotel. So loud it didn't seem like anything usual at all. My first thoughts were that there could have been an accidental explosion at maybe one of the kitchens on the ground floor, certainly not a bomb blast? Oberoi Hotel was after all quite a posh hotel with reasonably good security: recalling that each time I walk into the building, a tall, imposing-looking Punjabi doormen (with his characteristic turban no less) would greet me and unfailingly direct me to go through a metal detector; a terrorist attack seems quite distant in my mind. And of course Mumbai has been stable for quite sometime.

But this initial confidence evaporated instantaneously when in quick succession more explosions followed. Boom, boom and many more to come! That lasted for the next 10 minutes or so. Looking through the peephole of my door, there was absolutely no indication as to what was going on, caution kept within my room and I remained as clueless. I would later find out that these would be the early minutes of a bloody siege by the heavily armed terrorists. Had we been just a little slower in getting back into our rooms (30 minutes or so), what was to come would without doubt be much more grave.

Wed 1030pm: thick smoke seeped into room, in real danger of suffocation After the initial blasts (intertwined with gunshots) ended, I went back to my bed and continued with my daily reading. Saying a quick prayer for nothing untoward to happen to TJ and me, I quickly settled back into my normal routine as no more explosions were heard and I summarily concluded that it was probably a suicide bombing attack and the worst was already over. Again, it was not to be so. The next series of blasts came at around 1030pm, 15 minutes after the first. My prayers became more fervent, asking God for his protection and help. The drama didn't end here. For before long, fire from the explosions broke out and smoke found its way into my room. Slowly creeping in, what was initially a pale grayish vapor with the unmistakably burnt smell soon filled up the room and it grew in darkness till it became suffocating and also threatening. Darker and yet darker the room became until it was impossible for me to just sit in the room and wait for help to come. I needed to take action, and fast. Calling up TJ's room, he stayed in a separate room on the 15th floor, we decided we should run out of our rooms and head for the fire exit to safety. Once the phone was down, I immediately put on my shoes and take out my passport from the safe, getting all ready for the escape. But alas, when I bolted to the door and looked through the peephole, I could see no nothing and I hesitated. So I called TJ's room again but this time he did not pick up. He executed the plan. When I finally did managed to reach him on his blackberry phone, I was immediately greeted by a panic-stricken voice yelling: "I am now out of the room, but I cannot see the fire exit, I can't see anything!!¨ "Where are you? where are you, which floor? Come to my room, I go find you? What can I do to help?¡¨ words stammered out of my mouth as I just stood there stunned, not knowing what else to do. "I CAN'T FIND MY ROOM!¡¨ he yelled, more urgently now. "I can't find my room, I am outside now but I can't see anything! I can't see anything, I cannot even see my hand in front of me. I am going back to my room but I can't find my room...Yew Ping, I dun wan to die here..¡¨ My blood froze. It was pure desperation. It was at this very moment that I awoke to the reality that we were staring at death face to face! It was no longer just the inconvenience of having to change hotel and not getting enough sleep for the night. In the very next minute or so, a life could just be snuffed out in an instance. This realization shook me hard and I was very much grieved. In my mind, I prayed for his safety. I pleaded with God to keep him safe; his wife and a newly born six-month-old daughter were waiting for him to be back in Singapore. But I hear no nothing in the next few moments. My heart was in my mouth throughout those longest of seconds in my life. After what seemed like eternity, I was choked with relief when eventually he announced that he managed to find his way back into the room. I could almost hear angels singing in the background as he slowly regained his composure! Praise the Lord!

Wed 1040pm: broken window, bleeding ankle The siren of the smoke detector screamed non-stop and using a heavy object I smashed open the sealed window in the room to let in some fresh air as smoke was fast filling up the room thick and choking. I also put wet towels below the door to keep out the smoke. Minutes earlier I had sent out a desperate prayer request sms to Ernest; wasn't expecting any immediate reply as it was quite late Singapore time. So I was pleasantly surprised when he replied not long after earnestly and prayed for me. Much comforted by his words of prayers, I soon found myself in a very deep sense of hope and peace knowing full well that God is with me would protect me. Very thankful to our beloved Cell Group Leader who happened to be awake at that very hour (was it 1am?). Thank God for Ernest. Anyway, a moment of stupidity on my own part foiled any prospect of me getting out of this ordeal unscathed. This moment of foolishness came when I attempted to kick away a piece of glass about the size of a slice of pizza which was still stuck on the window frame. Though wearing shoes, that piece of glass swiftly caught my ankle as I was kicking it and left its mark: a 3 cm wide cut at slightly above my right inner ankle. It was not exactly a big cut and was not particularly painful except that it was quite deep and the wound was pretty ugly and with flesh protruding out from the gash. I thought nothing of it at that time but as it turned out, attending to this wound came to be a major preoccupation throughout the next 16 hours until I was finally rescued from the hotel.

Thur 0000am: terrorist occupying hotel All these while, electricity was still running and I had the lights on. I turned to Psalms after settling down a little post the initial chaotic hours. Reading David's pleading to God as he fled from Absalom in Psalms 3, I felt totally connected and I was much strengthened. At about 12 plus at night, calls and sms from concerned colleague and friends in Mumbai started streaming in after they watched news of the terrorist attack on TV. And we were plunged back into action again when the TV news reported that two terrorists were holed up in Oberoi hotel and there were many other targets throughout the city. Mumbai was on fire!

I switched off all lights in the room and put barricade at the door; our sole survival strategy was simply to keep low and avoid being held hostage and then waiting for the rescue team to come for us, hopefully soon. With the lights out I wasn't able to continue reading, but by then God's promise to deliver me from this whole episode was already very clear to me and His peace was upon me. Such peace that I was ready to be called home. God is in control and he has perfect plans for me no matter the outcome. The rescue team would eventually come to my rescue some 16 hours after the first explosion rocked the building. And throughout these 16 hours, while there were periods of extended quietness and stillness, sporadic bomb blasts and gun shots were ever present to remind us that it was not yet over. Sms and calls from the CG and pastor Andrew lifted my spirits, sustaining me and allowed me to be calm and collected in these very uncertain times of turmoil.

Thur 3pm: Escape from the hotel. Help finally arrived at around 2.30pm the next day when a team of masked commando dressed in army uniform broke into my room and stormed in to secure the place. The sight of these commandoes brought much allayed my fears me but as the terrorists were still lurking within the building, it was rather pre-mature and presumptuous at that point for any form of celebrations. In fact it was not quite over, at least for me. That one moment of foolishness came back to haunt me when we were making our final escape to safety climbing down the fire exit and out of the hotel. See, I lost some blood from the wound. Throughout the 16 hours since I first sustained the injury, blood was continuously seeping out from the laceration, soaking through the towels which I had meticulously wrapped around as improvised bandages. By Thursday morning, every towel I could find in the room had become drenched in crimson blood and I was tearing out strips from the bed sheet for bandages. Applying direct pressure, bandaging, icing the wound and elevating my leg; I did just about everything ever written in any good first aid textbooks that I had ever read. Though the flow was contained and it would have been worst if nothing was done, the room was by the time I left quite a bloody mess with stained towel, pillows and bed sheet lying all over. I never knew that one could have so much blood to lose and through a small wound no less. By noon time Thursday, I was feeling slightly light headed. Much depleted of strength from the bleeding and with only appetite for a bar of chocolate and some fruit juice in the mini-bar, my fuel tank was near empty. We climbed down one floor and linked up with another group of escapees under the escort of the army guys. After a brief break, we were all ready to complete the remaining of the descend. But for me that exertion was too much for my body to bear and it triggered off my internal alarm. With one floor down and 19 more to go, giddiness seized me as I felt blood draining from my head and rushing down. I struggled to keep my eyes open and soon I became disorientated. Instances later, my mind went blank like a sheet of paper and I collapsed into a heap and sat there on the ground while rescuers poured water into my mouth. For a second or two I zoned out. I lost awareness of what happened and why I was there. My eyes were like flickering lights, about to go off completely anytime. The cold water helped, and I didn't just blackout. I regained consciousness after a while and getting back onto my feet I was then very much carried down the rest of the floors by the two poor rescuers. One on my left and the other on my right, they helped out of the hotel into an waiting ambulance. By the time we reached ground floor, sweat was already pouring down their faces. Haha, guess its time for me to lose weight :) Again looking back, God's perfect timing was at work. I was among the last of the first batch of people to be rescued out from the hotel. The next batch (TJ included) stepped out of the place some 24 hours later on Friday afternoon after all the terrorists have been neutralized. Had I been rescued out only by that time, and with bleeding lasting some 40 hours in all, that would have certainly complicate things quite a fair bit. All thanksto God for He is a God who saves.

Conclusion: All in all, this has been a harrowing experience for me personally. I have been much blessed to be coming out of this ordeal relatively unharmed. I'll carry with me many unforgettable memories and lessons from this and I would just like to share these three things that I learnt:
1. God is faithful and he keep his promises, all the time. He is there with me always throughout this most nerve wrecking event and he moves in powerful ways. Praise God for who God is.
2. it is so good to have you guys around, rallying behind me and supporting me in prayers and supplying me with strength and encouragement in these times of need, thank God for all of you, you have been such a blessing. And finally, for practical application: 3. Never try to kick at broken windows even if you had your shoes on!

Rejoice in the Lord always. I say again: Rejoice!

Yew Ping

****

The email message brought tears to my eyes. God is a faithful God who saves.

Rest

2008-12-02T14:26:00.004+08:00

Rest. It is a word, people these days, especially these days, don't associate with. Rest. It is a action, people these days don't practise much.

These days, people do the contrary of resting, they worry. We worry about our wellbeing, physically, mentally and emotionally. We worry about of course, our financial wellbeing as well - our jobs and our paychecks. Especially in such times. We see doom and gloom everyday in papers and on CNN.

Rest seems like it's an obscure word now. But I seek to be different.

As some of you might know by now, I lost my job at Michael Page as of last Friday. Honestly, it was like the worst day of my life. In a sudden moment, I felt the crappiest I've ever felt. I don't remember feeling so crappy before. Oh well, shit happens. The company is not doing well and I am more of a liability than an asset since I am just a management trainee there and I don't bill revenue. I am sure, I did my very best during my time there.

And then, there were the tears. Initially, my mind didn't do well in registering the situation. I was like, more dumbfounded than anything. And then, the shock just set in and I was just pure disappointed.

Anyway, no worries, I am more than alright now. I was pretty alright by Friday evening, the same day I was being told to go. Because I know, God has planned a better job for me. Amidst the tears, a small voice just reminded me, Don't worry, just rest and have faith. I kept on tearing still because I am still pretty shocked and all.

And then Sunday came and I was in church. The worship was great and it took my mind off my current situation and I realised that, no matter how crappy my situation is, I am still very blessed. I am deeply encouraged by the following verses:

"Come to Me, all you who labour and are heavy burden, and I will give you rest." Matthew 11:28

"In this world, you will have trouble but in Christ, you will find peace. John 16:32

"Cast all your anxiety on Him because He cares for you" 1 Peter 5:7

In such times, I ought to worry, but I choose not. I choose to rest in Your promises and Your peace, trusting Christ's finished work on the cross, knowing that God, You will provide. Everything happens for a reason, nothing happens for chance. When I looked back onto this moment, I know that it happened for a good reason.

I remembered the Sunday before I lost my job and amidst financial crisis situation, one of the elders in church said this,

"Remember to give thanks no matter what your circumstances are because, it could have been worse...

"When you get a pay cut, it could have been worse, you could have lost your job. When you lost your job, it could have been worse, you could have lost your life. So be thankful that we are still alive"

It spoke to me for a reason because it was truly words of comfort last friday.

Michael Page International Corporate Outing and Quarterly Bash

2008-11-14T11:25:00.012+08:00

FINALLY, a blog post.

7 November, Friday. MPI Corporate outing at Forest Adventures!

On the way there (the trip from the CBD to Bedok Reservoir). We worked for half a day before changing into sport gear. You should see the girls in our tiny 3 cubicle toilet.... The MD actually changed outside the cubicles and she was like, "I realised alot of the girls in the office love black bras." @_@. Pretty spontaneous!

Shradha and May!

Audrey (she always absent-mindedly leave her stuff behind in the office). Sounds like another me, but I am not THAT forgetful (hmmm.)

Sophie, the Aussie-bred chinese babe. She's in the same team as myself and she loves Skittles. She can buy 4 or 5 packets of Skittles at one shot. And she eats Yong Yau Foo for lunch EVERYDAY!

Joyce and Sophie. The party babes of MPI. But they are really nice. During the adventure course, they really took great care of me.

Anyway, to cut the long story short, Forest Adventures (you can go google it if you are keen in trying out some adventure sports in boring ol' singapore) was really an experience. I can now proudly 'boast' that I swung and 'trek' from one tree to another. I would love to do it again when my fitness level is higher. I was like, dead tired halfway through the obstacle course man. But for people like Youie and Wanzhi, I think you girls would love it. =) 30 bucks per pax for 2-3 hours of activity. pretty reasonable price to pay for fun, fitness and team-bonding. We were laughing and cheering a whole lot.

And off we go to House@Dempsey for our evening bash. From sweaty MPI Singlet clad girls to made up dressy babes. We have this corporate culture whereby new consultants who managed to complete their first placements has to come up with a "CREAM CAKE" skit to entertain the rest of the company during the bash. Since there were only 3 full time consultants who bought their first placement cakes (when we placed out first candidates, we have to treat the entire office to cakes, hence the cream cake name), the trainees (aka me and may plus 3 other trainees) were roped in to help out.

The mandatory shots in the toilet. Shradha, one of the full time consultants acting in the skit.

The cream cake folks! Yeaps, we acted as MPI pirates. We actually went to borrow pirate hats from this Halloween-themed costume shop. The skit turned out to be a huge success. We managed to pull it off with just one week of rehearsal. Each of us had to put a show where we portrayed the typical quirks and weird habits of our managers.

May and her manager. Her manager loves brands like MIU MIU and Salvatore Ferragamo. My manager loves Gucci and Kate Spade. So we printed out the brand names and pasted them on our handbags, dresses and shoes. It was so funny, to see Jimmy Choos hanging off the legs of Shradha who acted as our MD who obviously wears her Jimmy Choos to work.

Partners in Crime. They hate but love each other at the same time. Still figuring if its a love-hate relationship between the both of them.

The sales and marketing ladies.

3 Sales & marketing girls + a commerce girl.

The 2 Ms - Matthew and May. Matt is the funniest guy in the office. Sooo dorkishly funny.

I think he looks like Homer Simpson! hahaha.

My manager, Diana. I was 'her' during the skit and I made fun of her brushing teeth habit. She has to brush her teeth everytime after lunch. The thing I was holding is a Darlie's travel toothbrush kit which I plan to give it to her since she needs it more than me. And I am more of a Colgate fan than Darlie.And she drinks alot of coffee....

Nilay and me.

Matt and Steve. Matt played Steve and I loved the line, "I want to see those oars on fire!" Inside joke. Come to think of it, the skit was really funny!

FYI, they are not a couple.

Trainees. Hopefully, we will all be working as consultants soon!

Yin, Another trainee whose laughter can be heard all the way from her end of the office to mine.

No, we were not drunk! By the way, this crazy bunch is my team. There's only one chinese guy in the office and he belongs to our team so he's 'hot' property. We all wanna grab a piece of him. Don't ask why my hand is there. We were all supposed to touch him and it seemed like I was the only one taking it seriously.

This is a creepy shot.

More proper shots.

The commerce team. Missing Rene who was on a flight to Shenzhen for a short vacation.

I am proud of being a part of MPI. And I pray that I will be a full time consultant after the 6 months training program. People there are really nice and friendly. It's always my wish to say this line during my work-life,"I love what I am doing".

How's Work?

2008-09-22T22:54:00.002+08:00

I get that most of the time these days.

And my answer is, "Interesting and I am just soaking it all in." I think I might be the next workoholic. When lunch time comes along, I'm usually pretty surprised cause time flies! My first week at work was pretty good. I get to talk to random strangers over the phone and it's really amusing when they start to share with me about work. I guess, I like to relate. Initally, it was pretty awkward, like I have to go like this, "Hi Esther(random name), this is Joanna calling from Michael Page. How are you doing? Did I catch you at a good time?"

haha, yep. You can call it robotic cold calling. But I like the challenge. I like the fact it boosts my communication skills and verbal professionalism.

Let's keep it short. I am enjoying what I am doing even though it can get really busy when I have to juggle a few things at the same time. Everything's going on fine and dandy as of now.

A few grouses: the lack of personal time (I don't get to online shop, check emails, go online), premature bedtime and early mornings.

Changes here and there, no doubt about that but I am sure I can get used to it.

Work's seriously not that bad. I refuse to type in the word ''yet".

Oh, I went to Vietnam (Hanoi & Ha Long Bay) over the weekend. Thankfully, my manager was nice to grant my request of taking 1.5 days leave during my first week of work. Pictures later!

Thank You so much, God! You are awesome =)

Random shoutout...

Girls and SMU peeps, I miss you guys so much!

A Part of Michael Page International

2008-09-10T20:56:00.007+08:00

"Work with enthusiasm, as though you were working for the Lord rather than for people" - Ephesians 6:7 NLT

As of 15 September 2008, I will be joining the work ranks. It has been a long break for me and it really seemed like I had another summer vacation after I graduated. I am thankful that I had the opportunity to take such a long break before working.

Anyway, Michael Page, a recruitment consultancy firm, has offered me a management trainee position. I'll be in the commerce (banking & accounting) team. I know practically zlich about this sector but, I see it as a great opportunity to expand my knowledge and learn financial terms which might serve to be useful in the long run for personal investments (maybe). It's great and I feel relieved and at peace with this position and the company. I have always wanted to work for an international corporation with an established brand name.

Then again, as humans, there're always the other side of the story. You know, the reality setting in part....

As I was pondering and mulling over the impending fact that I am going to work soon, I inevitably have a dreading feeling. Its normal ok. I mean, no more shopping during afternoons, sleeping in till 12 noon or later, no more parents' allowances, no more slacking in coffee joints with a good read... and, giving the government 20% of my monthly pay. =\

I think I can go on lamenting....

But I know that's not the way. God wouldn't want me too. He wants me to enjoy what I am doing. And I am not going to shut the door which He has opened for me. I recalled, I did ask Him in my prayers to show me a way to be truly happy in my future work and to find joy in working. And He gave me an answer in the form of a Christian corporate world magazine, Vantage Point (highly recommended! It provided awesome tips on how to cope with worklife etc) and a Max Lucardo book. The former costs only 2 dollars (my Young adult pastor decided to sell it at a mass discount in church) and the latter, free.

Both talked about rendering our work service to God and He will add and bless the work of our hands. Even though our work might seem to be menial and ridiculously pain in the arse, God will make it work and all we need to do is to change our attitudes towards work and allow Him to take over.

Be like Apostle Peter (Other than being one of the 12 apostles, he is also a fisherman) who decided to surrender his boat (his workplace) to Jesus. The story in the bible (Luke Chapter 5) is like this, I've decided to put it across more simply. You see, after a long night out fishing with his "colleagues", he was getting fed up with his work (fishing) because they didn't get any fish at all. Not one! ok, sales people will get the point. Imagine you're a sales person, and you didn't get one sales for the entire day. More fish (or sales), more denarius (money in Jerusalem in Jesus' time). You would feel the same darn way as Peter would feel. One word, SIAN!

But, Jesus came along to ask Peter to surrender his boat (work) to him. Jesus didn't stand on one side and let Peter continue suffering in the misery of his work. Instead He came to help and to bless. And He did! According to the later part of the story, Peter was told by Jesus to let his net down once again for another catch. Peter, naturally, was feeling reluctant. And personally, I can understand how he felt. I mean after one night of not catching any fish, I would be feeling kinda hopeless and in a lousy "Oh God, I really feel like giving up now" mood. That's not the point anyway. The point is, Peter did obey in the end and cast down the net and believe it, they did catch a huge number of fishes. I mean, we're talking about Jesus (God) here, when He say do something, it will definitely work for the ultimate good and blessing. It is recorded that the amount of fish that was caught, was so much that the boat began to sink. Haha. Everyone present was astonished.

After reading the passage and getting the picture, I realize I can apply this truth to my life. Peter's example and experience. The message is straightforward, Just surrender your boat (work and workplace) to God and He will bless it! No matter how hard, how menial, how challenging etc... just leave it to God. God's eyes fall upon the work of my hands.

The presence of Christ guarantees more sales, bigger bonuses, longer weekends and early retirement. With Jesus in your boat, you'll go from Galilean fishing to Caribbean fishing. If He showed Peter where to cast nets, won't He show you where to transfer funds, file documents etc? - Max Lucardo.

My Mondays matter to him as much as my Sundays. WIth God, work matters as much as my worship. To shine for Him at work. I am going to take Christ with me to work and ask Him to superintend my 8.30 to 6.30 (yups, my work hours. not 9 to 5).

Also, I feel grateful for all my loved ones and friends who have given me encouragement over the months. You have blessed me greatly with your kind words and prayers! Thank you! GOD did make me wait a while longer for a reason; To teach me to be more patient and to believe more in myself (and in Him as well) to get the right job.

To all my friends, work is not everything. Take it easy. Ok, I know I haven't started work yet so I might not be in a position to advise or anything like that. Yes, I haven't yet tasted the demands and the challenges of work. But just as a reminder and encouragement (for myself as well), let us not be slaves to work. Do well and find joy in working. I am sure all of us can be able to find a garden out of a cesspool of our work.

Raffles Place, here I come! I am going to conquer you. =)

I Heart Worship Revolution

2008-08-16T00:30:00.003+08:00

At the recent Festival of Praise concert, I bought the Hillsong's "I heart Revolution" worship compilation cd with live versions of most of their more popular songs. The interesting thing is that, the songs are sung live in different states, in different countries, by different people of different nationalites from different walks of life.

Yups, that's a whole lot of differences there! But there's a very sublime similarity - It's worshipping the same God. "It's all of us coming together as the Church, under one banner - the name of Jesus Christ."

Joel Houston, a worship leader from Hillsong Sydney, penned this message on the album which brought tears to me. (and I'm going to type down every single word cos it really impacted me). I am not being emotional. It's one of those times when I get so touched and impacted that it wows me so much. It's like, Thank You God, I've found a greater purpose in life and to realize how blessed I truly am.

*****

Here's the short opening message By Houston,

"In November 2005, we stood in a stadium in Bogota, Colombia, with thousands upon thousands of people we'd never seen nor met before. We were about to hit the first note of the night when the power went out completely - no lights, no amplication, nothing but a whole lot of people together in the darkness. For a few awkward seconds I didn't know what to do as my heart skipped and I looked frantically for someone to sort it out. But before I had a chance to worry, I found myself caught up in one of the most incredible worship moments of my life: the people began to roar. It was a shout of praise that defied the present circumstance. It was more than hype, it went beyond a cheer, this was something else altogether. The people took over and we got swept up in it, the whole band joining in the shout, at one with the people. Nobody gave a second thought to anything other than the reason we were all there - to simply encounter our God and to bring glory to His Name.

In that moment I realised that when humanity responds to the call of God and chooses to do that which we were created for, our circumstances and our differences are forgotten. In that same moment I realised God is at work amongst His people all over the planet, and who He is and the message of hope that is found in His Name, is more relevant than anything on earth to the journey and experience of all people. I realised we are all a part of the masterpiece that God is painting and though we can't see the entire canvas, it is so much bigger and more beautiful than we could ever understand or imagine and we all have our place and part to play within it.

It was during our time there in Colombia that we felt we have to tell this story. To try and give others a glimpse of what God is doing all over the world and help to show others what we are all a part of... From Rwanda to Cape Town, Buenos Aires to Mexico City, LA to Toronto, London to Budapest and Shanghai to Sydney, this project is not for a second about "Hillsong United" or where we've been, or the music or even the songs: this project is about the people, about the real lives encountering a real GOD. It's about all of us coming together as the Church, under one banner - the name of JESUS. It's the sound of a generation across the earth with hearts as one, singing a love song to the ONE who IS LOVE, and who in response to that love, are choosing to live a life of worship that goes beyond just the confession of our lips, to a life to love and action - reaching out to the lost and the broken, helping the poor and the oppressed and pursuing justice and fairness for all people."

*****

After reading the message, listening to the voices of people singing live and the unified joyous clapping, I was just blown away by the amazing thought and reality of this church without walls and boundaries. The global church which is not bounded by differences in language, nationality, race and age. The time is now and we are definitely a generation living in exciting times.

A short sharing. Honestly speaking, to be very frank, I used to be a mini skeptic when it comes to singing worship songs. I used to visit churches before I became a Christian and when I see the joyful clapping and singing, I will just think to myself a bunch of questions like, "Are you guys really that joyful?, "Why can't worship be done at home and why do u need to jump and all that"?

And I share, when I experience this joy for myself, it's nothing on this earth. It's indescribable. No matter what crap that was thrown at you during the week (workloads, deadlines, unreasonable bosses/colleagues etc...), worshipping be it singing at home or in church, just fills you up with unspeakable joy, peace and love. To know and be assured that there's a God who is for you, working for you, supporting you. This knowledge just pushes you along in life. And when filled with this kind of joy, its only natural to want to dance, jump and clap along.

*****

This is real love - not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His son as a sacrifice to take away our sins. - 1 John 4:10 (New Living Translation)

I'm Green-Brained.

2008-08-13T22:24:00.003+08:00

I went for a brand consultant trainee interview and I did a short online test. And this is my result which I am supposed to send to the company for review.

I am 60% green brained. If you are interested, here's my results...(the ones highlighted red are those sentences about me which are pretty true of me.)

People with a green brain are forward moving. They process their surroundings as a summary of the overall situation and can see the "Big Picture" of things they get involved in. Thinking is in non-linier random chunks so they can usually only fully concentrate on one situation at a time. (Which means I can't mulitask lah??) The initiation sequence collects information, acts on the information, processes information and actions, collects more information, acts on it again, processes and shapes it some more, gets more information and acts on it again. This random processing style aides in the flow of ideas since one concept does not have to be connected to the other. Interaction with others in an exchange of ideas is natural. When there is a project, they will easily work with others to come up with creative approaches to it, and will have a big picture outcome in mind when they start. (so true!) If there is a problem, they will set out to resolve it immediately. Green brain people usually ask a lot of questions to try to understand things from an objective point of view. (I can ask super alot of questions if I want to, but I don't ask stupid questions) In relationships or projects, green brained individuals are usually very focused, driven, and intense. They work well with other people as well as by themselves.

Communicating with green brained people can be challenging to some because they don't pay much attention to detail and while they are good communicators, they are often too general in their explanations.(yea, its a waste of time to explain in detail =\) Also, because they tend to try to solve problems quickly and move on, so others may perceive them as impatient. Since ideas are always in movement, the green brain process of shaping and reshaping ideas as new information is received may give others the perception of them being erratic or even fickle. Because of this randomness in thinking, they tend to only focus on one thing at a time, leaving individuals who are not the focus of attention at the time the impression that they are insensitive to their needs, when in reality they are simply unaware. And since they are usually expressing their ideas with single-mindedness or passion, some may feel that green brains are "pushing" their views as the "only" way, when in fact because of their inclination for objectivity, they are usually just putting them out to stir up feedback.

Green brained people often flourish in roles that require innovation. They are best for making speedy progress and creating short term plans. Green brained individuals are also best for initiating change, and often develop talents to get others excited from their visionary inspirations.

After reading it, I think it's pretty BS-ish to be included in the selection process. Haha, I only picked one word from the entire result which is, Green-minded people are random. And its indeed true, I am very random.

Other random stuff:

One dumb irony that always happen to me during the watching of Olympics. Last Olympics at Athens, I kept tuning to swimming just to catch the swimming legend, Michael Phelps. And all I caught was, the second best which was Ian Thorpe. Frustrating.

This Olympics at Beijing, same thing!. Oh well, shall not be that shallow.

RANDOM. Blogging is so boring now. In my mind, I have so many things I want to share about and write down, but I am just so lazy to do so. What's new right.

Till next time, bye and God bless!

Something I Really Needed to Read

2008-08-05T13:05:00.003+08:00

Philippians 4: 6-7 (New International Version)
Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

I love the message version of the exact same 2 verses. For your information, the verses are paraphrased from the original biblical text in a more contemporary language for a more dynamic understanding. Both versions portray the same meaning.

Philippians 4:6-7 (The Message)

Don't fret or worry. Instead of worrying, pray. Let petitions and praises shape your worries into prayers, letting God know your concerns. Before you know it, a sense of God's wholeness, everything coming together for good, will come and settle you down. It's wonderful what happens when Christ displaces worry at the center of your life.

My dear friends should know what I've been praying about. A POSITION, not a mere job.

Thanks Jesus for the reminder when I tend to get impatient. I know You want the best for me even in this current slowing job market. Thank you for teaching me not to look at circumstances but to rise up above the circumstances.

=)

2008-07-08T11:19:00.003+08:00

I can do all things when You say i can.

Thank You for making me walk in fields of grace.

One day in Your courts is far better than a thousand elsewhere.

On Hindsight. (Sharing)

2008-06-09T16:45:00.005+08:00

I know, some say, looking back is harmful because, it digs up memories we seek not to remember, experiences that are best kept locked up in the back of our minds and looking back often ends up in feelings of regret. And no matter what nice term you give to 'looking back' such as on hindsight or in retrospect, looking back is simply, really to think about the past. What you did, what you should have done and what you shouldn't have.

I don't subscribe to that train of thoughts. I feel its good to look back and on hindsight, glean useful and valuable lessons from the past. Lessons in life are often learnt on hindsight. We shouldn't 'beat' ourselves up for our past. It's the past already. Just move on and get on with life and what it holds for you in the future.

I looked back today. I looked back at what I wrote in my blogs - the current and the abandoned summer exchange blog.

In the beginning, it seemed as though I was fighting against 2 inner thoughts. One, the decision to read through the posts. Two, to refrain from reading about the past and the memories.

Of course, there are lovely memories with different groups of people. Those memories bring a smile to my face and open up floodgates of uncontrollable laughter. And there are those which I know are lost forever.

It feels surreal to read about what I wrote one to two years back. I've changed. My perspectives changed. I always feel that among all my friends, I stayed the most constant. I am still the same old jo - the blur, sunshiney, optimistic and without a single care in the world, jo. But I did change to a point, I don't even sense it myself.

And yes, I am still like that. But deep in me, I've changed. Its not a change you can see for yourselves outwardly. Its more of an inward change and if you are close to me and if you bother to dvelve deeper, you can tell. I am more passionate about my faith, about living my life the way God desires for me to and my spiritual walk. I am less doubtful of my capabilities and strengths. I am more certain about my future. Yes, I admit I do not possess a crystal ball which allows me to look into my future so to speak. But this I know, my future is secure and decided in the hands of Him who holds the entire universe. Yes, I know not of the storms in life (the mental turmoil storm I was through the last few months is definitely not the last), there are definitely going to be the mountains (the highest points in life) and the valleys (the lowest points)in different seasons of my life. But this I know, all things will work out for good.

There's a line in this inspirational book and I expanded on it, "When I am in the valley of my life, the natural man in me will focus on the bad circumstances and will keep on dwelling on the lowly position in the valley. But, I should not lose heart and hope. Because, God in me will help me focus on the valuable lessons learnt after the bad circumstances and will keep my eyes focused on the high position on the mountain which I will be standing on, after climbing out of the valley."

To believe and see beforehand the reward, the good outcome after the trials.

I wrote the following lesson during March of 2007. More than one year on, and I feel this applies to me now in terms of my new chapter in life.

Matthew 14:28-31

Heard of the story where the apostle Peter walks on water? He walked out of the boat, walked on water, start to panick and find himself sinking and cries out to Jesus for help. That's the passage.

That passage seems to speak to me. Depicting this picture as to what it means to be a Christian caught midway between my faith and doubt. And, Peter represents all who dare to believe that Jesus is Saviour and dare to take their first steps into the unknown in confidence, believing that He is able to sustain them. We then forget to keep our gaze fixed on Him and instead, on the towering waves that are threatening to engulf us. In the depth of our worries, concerns and troubles, when all seems lost, we remember to call upon His name and find His grace is sufficient for all our needs.

It seems to question me, when you are out of your comfort zone, on unchartered land, do you grapple with every worry or DO YOU STEP OUT IN FAITH?

"For many of you, this year 2008, will be a year of change." - My Senior Pastor during his First Sunday of the year sermon. Something stirred in my heart when he said that. God spoke. He speaks through the words in the bible, church speakers, friends' advice and sudden relevations and thoughts that come to our minds.

It is truly been quite a year of change thus far. And I am not complaining. I thank God for the change no matter how daunting it can seem in the beginning. I learnt to look beyond the change and onto the outcome You have in mind for me. And I look forward to You continuing to mould my character and my future. You are my Potter and I am your clay.

Ads.

2008-06-09T15:52:00.003+08:00

Looking through the ads I have saved in my computer. I found some pretty interesting ones.

Here's a few of those:

Perspective of Beauty redefined.

Ad by Ogilvy and Mather, London "Dove's Campaign for Real Beauty"

Argentine Beer ad.

Beauty without Brains

Super bimbotic ad - the weirdest and most unconventional Benz ad I have ever seen.

A more professional Benz ad for the China market.

Personally, I don't really like Zhang Ziyi (or rather, Ziyi Zhang).

Alot of cool and unconventional ads to be found.

And oh, last one, http://www.ffk-wilkinson.com/ Got this advertisement for razor blades from a schoolmate's blog.

Super hilarious in a very lame way.

Grad Trip Part II and last part updated

2008-06-07T00:33:00.003+08:00

Grad trip part II updated. You can find it right after Baby Alert post. It was previously saved under drafts cause I took some time to work on it on and off.

Peace.

2008-06-06T00:21:00.003+08:00

It's 12:16 right now as I glanced over to my lappie screen clock. Going on to 12:17. And my day starts early tomorrow at 8am.

It's gonna be a full day. 3 interviews. The first starts at 10, second at 11 and the last one at 4pm.

Wow.

But, I feel peace in my heart. The battle belongs to You, Lord. You conquered them for me already and I believe so.

Thank You in advance!

Baby Alert.

2008-06-04T23:28:00.007+08:00

Was looking through my church friend's photos and she posted some really cute pictures of her super adorable baby girl. And I had had had to post this to show everyone how cute she is! How adorable, check it out for yourselves.

See what I mean?!

AHHHH! Her cheeks are like, oh my goodness, meatish and cute. I just can't help but become my auntie self and pinch them.

Every sunday on the way to my cell group venue in the basement, we will walk past the sunday school kids room and the kids are just so adorable. Thank God for little ones =)

Grad Trip 2008 Part II

2008-06-04T20:00:00.043+08:00

Continued...

Lovely photo credits go to Li Ping, Julez, Joanne and Qihan. Gary and I seldom take pictures. =\

Essential pit stops while traveling on the road. First, go to the loo. Second, grab whatever chance to get an icecream. Eating icecream in colder climate is so much more fun and we can take our sweet time to enjoy it and not frantically try to lick the melted icecream so as not to let it drip everywhere. There are icecream shops everywhere, even in this ulu small town. Li Ping and I always keep a lookout for icecream signs. ha.

Stopped to take a break and a picture.

and then off we continue on the road, to be exact, the Princes Highway, the most taken route from Melbourne to Sydney....

Merimbula - a small seaside resort town with a tranquil beach to boast about. Its just a short drive down south from Bega (famous for its bega cheese)

The other part of the beach.

The rocks.

We decided to make use of it to pose (again!)

Great stuff. Chocolate and cheese.

So that's Merimbula.

Slurps.

The 1 kg gain in weight is worth it for the great breakfasts we eat every morning. Cafes should be opened selling such breakfasts. Make it more mainstream.

****

Lake Entrance - another small town enroute to Merimbula. We were told by the lady at the Visitor Information kiosk to go to this place for seafood. One thing to praise about Australia's tourism board is that they are really commited to providing accurate, prompt and warm service to tourists. We didn't worry much about finding accomodation along the way. No laptops to book accoms so everything was planned on the spot. The visitor information kiosks (which are pretty easy to spot with their blue and yellow logo with the letter "i" information) have all the resources to search for accomodation as per your budget. And they found really good and lovely service apts for us which totally exceeded NOT our budget, but our expectations. Blessed more than abundantly.

We stayed at this awesome double-storey service apartment with our own garage. =) which the lovely people at Visitor information sourced for us. Nice house number too. Number 7.

Carrying Gary's backpack.

What we do best for self-entertainment...

We pose. From the mellow to the 'high fashion model wannabes" to the ridiculous poser shots.

Be entertained. (descriptions of types of poses found below each picture)

2 rich tai-tais appreciating an art piece in a chi-chi gallery.

The 'sprained' neck pose. Our in-group jargon.

Gary's peaceful reading area turned into a "studio" for our version of ANTM (America's Next Top Model) series.

Test drive pose. We haven't get the hang of doing model poses yet. We need to perfect the kind of look where you don't smile sweetly, you instead, put on that 'come hither' look. Super hilarious.

Laugh -freaking- out loud. HAHA. Erms, Qihan (no choice) had to be our male model. You know, there's always a male model in ANTM. Yah, we totally cannot make it. Julie is the closest lah.

The mandatory -look everywhere but at the camera- pose.

I was trying very hard not to burst out in uncontrollable suck in air laughter

And then there is the ridiculous......

...

........

.........

We played with our scarves. Let's introduce the 4 interchangable characters first.

We have,

1. The Rambo -do not mess with me- babe (thats using my black, white and grey checkered scarf)

2. The Countryside Milkmaid babe (Joanne's pale yellow scarf)

3. The trendy fashionnista babe (Julie's brown and blue striped scarf)

4. The Fatimah babe (Li Ping's light brown scarf)

Ok, enjoy the randomness.. =D I crapped out all the titles. Thought it would be fun to do so. lol.

I super like this shot. Looking at Julie's Rambo turned mad and wants to kill Fatimah shot, it cracks me up. And Li ping looked so demure. Haha

Julie has the funniest ideas when it comes to doing well for her pose. Her milkmaid pose is pretty descriptive in a suggestive manner.

Gary, finally joined in the poser fun (if you can spot him). He is acting as Ju-on, the scene where the ghost kid stares out of nowhere and climbs freakishly down the stairs.

Joanne at the open concept kitchen with the marble top counter and the high stools. Nice.

Oh well, it was fun!

Wining again....

We rented and watched a classic romantic comedy, When Harry Met Sally. And I totally understood why its an all time fave classic. When two people are meant to be together, nothing can ever separate them. Not even time and distance.

Honestly, Lake's Entrance can be skipped. The only highlight was the apartment.

****

Blue Mountains, New South Wales. (1 hr drive away from Sydney)

This is a must if you want to experience the splendor of the natural beauty of the great outdoors with its geological wonders. Blue Mountains which was named because of the blue haze that surrounds them, is a hugely popular tourist destination for city dwellers (like us and the people living in Sydney) to escape to the great outdoors to experience the mountains’ grandeur, mist-covered valleys and the rich Aboriginal heritage and culture. Why the mountains are called Blue Mountains? It is so because, the entire Blue Mountains region is heavily covered with this plant called the eucalypts plants (girls, this is the typical active ingredient used in our body lotions) which disperse droplets of oil into the surrounding air and this causes the blue rays from the sun to be scattered more effectively. And this makes distant objects seem blueish.

Along with the Blue Mountains, are the famous Three Sisters landforms which are basically 3 rock structures formed by wind erosion. Again, there’s a story or rather legend behind the name. I read this story while browsing through the visitor information kiosk. Legend has it that there were 3 beautiful sisters living in the Katoomba tribe (the largest tribe in Blue Mountains). They were so beautiful that every man in the village wanted them as their wives. (faints, men are superficial). Anyway, afraid that his daughters were coveted just for their beauty, the father decided to ‘hire’ a witch doctor to turn them into rock structures to ‘protect’ them until they become of age to marry. Call it bad luck or whatever, the witch doctor died a sudden death and there’s no one to undo the transformation. So, the Three Sisters stayed in their rock forms.

The things people made up to lure tourists to see 3 rock forms.

Three Sisters

****

Last stop before driving to Sydney, Newcastle.

Sand Dunes at Port Stephens

Where we tried sandboarding for 20 AUD per pax.

ok, after 2 to 3 times sliding down the dune, we pretty much got sian of it because sliding down was easy, but climbing back up was tiring. We had to use our boards to dig into the sand in order not to lose our foothold in the sand. We kinda looked half-dead. And if you look closely, Qihan looked like he's on a mission to lead us out of a deserted and forsaken barren land. LOL. As expected, I was the one trailing behind.

Qh in action. He's still v enthusiastic about it.

Mandatory poser shots while waiting for the 4WD to pick us up. You should know us by now, we don't waste time waiting, we use it for taking self-entertaining shots.

Doing the jump. The jump is mandatory.

Also mandatory, the all shoes together shot.

And the heads. (and also the double chins =\)

Good pose.

Ultimate pose. The dying from thirst and exhaustion pose.

Bye dunes...

And to the beach nearby...

Let's do a hollywood hand print thing...

The most extravagant dinner we had in Australia. Fresh oysters, lobster, clam chowder soup, prawns, wine and champagne. So good that we went back there a second time. That's where the shopping budget went to. =\

Best clam chowder soup.

And with the 2 nights stopover at Newcastle, we are off to our very last stop of our grad trip, Sydney.

Queen Victoria Building (QVB). Pure victorian.

If only shopping malls in Sg are like these,

Not to be missed, Sydney Opera House.

Have you guys heard of the movie, Edward ScissorHands directed by Tim Burton and one of Johnny Depp's most prolific films? When we were there at the opera house, they were showcasing posters of the musical. =O Missed it. I would have watched it if we stayed in Sydney longer.

Darling Harbour with Star City casino in the backdrop.

Harbour Bridge.

NDP trio.

Royal Botanical Gardens. Soaking in the autumn sun.

Baskin Robbins' super shiok strawberry cheesecake icecream. Li Ping's my ice-cream kaki in Aussie :)

Australia. Where Gloria Jean's hail from. Eh. I still prefer Starbucks. I like this picture. Perhaps its how good and enticing the cake looks.

Lindt cafe at Cockle Bay Wharf, Darling Harbour. The Lindt cafe in Sydney is apparently the first concept store by swiss chocolate maker, Lindt in the world. It is the exclusive Lindt cafe concept.

Seriously indulgent. Chocolate. I think I will die without you.

No matter how much fats you add to my tummy, I still love you and will still eat you without hesitation. =)

With its decadent array of handmade chocolates, gourmet icecream, mouthwatering cakes and pastries (macaroons etc.), any chocoholic will be guaranteed to go gaga just looking at the display. I just stood there and wanted so much to order everything I see but, my pockets are not deep enough to afford. Finally after much contemplating, I decided to go for the dark chocolate cheesecake and it was heavenly. No words can describe it. The chocolate milkshake was alright. I am not going to order another glass of milkshake in Aust again. I drank like, 3 or 4 huge glasses of milkshakes while I was there and not one is fantastically good. Because, they love too much (too much) milk in their milkshake and the flavour overrides the chocolate. American milkshakes are the best. The last time I went to US, I was 11, but till now, I can still remember how good the american milkshakes. I'm crazy over full cream milk (my opinion, skimmed milk is not the real thing) and dark chocolate.

After writing this line, I went straight to the fridge to grab whatever's left of the Lindt chocolates we bought from Woolsworth which was much cheaper than buying from the cafe. Heh.

Highlight of Sydney trip: Hang gliding at BaldHill, Stanwell Park.

A hang glider gliding through the sky like a bird. This is the closest you can get to flying light like a bird. Blue Skies ahead, wind gushing beside your ears, the cliff side just distance away from your side and the sea water below. It was breathtaking. We just glide as the wind takes us.

If you think you cannot take the adrenaline rush of skydiving, hang gliding is worth considering. I preferred the rush of adrenaline which comes with skydiving but the serenity and tranquilty of hang gliding peacefully in the air comes close.

Geared up. All ready to go! Qihan said I look like the mushroom Super Mario jumped on to earn points. T_T
HAHAHA

The expert glider: You ready? When I say, Run, you start running along with me? Got it?
Newbie (Me): Yeap got it. Let's go.

He started running super quickly. And being way shorter than him which means my shorter legs cannot match his bigger strides, my feet kinda dragged the ground while running off the cliff. Within seconds, the windfront just lifted us up easily into the air.

Thats me. The aussie glider was a super friendly guy and we talked for a full 30 min straight from skydiving to scuba diving plus looking for a job. Haha. Interesting guy who loves his job and is getting paid for it. How cool. I am a person who cannot take awkward silence when hanging out with a stranger. I need to talk non-stop and thankfully, he can talk non-stop or else the ride would have been boring just gliding along for half an hour.

Cool license plate.I nearly had a chance to drive this 4wd down the hill to pick up the gliders since they took turns to bring the newbies down. They were pretty shorthanded. However, this aussie girl drove it instead. =\

Qihan's turn.

*****

BONDI BEACH!

The famous beach in Sydney. Decided to trade off Manly beach for this. It was so raved about in travel mags and shows so had to pay a visit to see what's so great about Bondi.

It was filled with joggers, lazy suntanners (read: hot babes and hunks), people walking their dogs and people like us, who well, take pictures like typical tourists.

hah, but it was great to walk barefoot in the sand and bask in the warm sunlight. It is warm but NOT humid, unlike SG.

Our fave meal of the day. A lovely start to a great day ahead.

Breakfast at this beach side cafe, Sobo. It was a nice comfy little cafe filled with good looking customers and waitstaff! And I had one of the best hot chocs ever.

Poached eggs on salmon.

Drools.

The three of us woke up early just to head to the beach.

Waking up early for me is actually very easy whenever I am overseas. Its just the natural thrill of seeing and experiencing the new stuff, I guess.

While Qihan was busy walking over to another part of the beach, The lazy girls went back to Sobo again to get drinks and slack.

The bill which came along with a tiny cup of Smarties, which we happily munched every single one. We seriously didn't let go any type of chocolates that came into our sight.

The reality of going back home set in with our last meal in Sydney. Decided to eat at this vietnamese restaurant and I had beef pho. The beef broth was delicious and I like the fact the raw beansprouts and veg came along in a separate plate because I hate bean sprouts esp those soaked in soup. =X

Well, what I can say? It was a smashing great trip. Everything went on splendidly and it was worth the 4.1k SGD for 18 days, great food and drinks (alcoholic and non-alcoholid), activities, car rental, and the awesome accoms (except for the hostels, which are actually fine but in relative terms with the service apts, well. ok nvm.)

And the company/the group of friends, more than I can hope for. Great laughs, lame jokes cracked during the car ride (I forgot like, half of them already, but some were really crash wall kinda funny) and spontaneous to pose silly for the camera.

Thanks Grad Trippers, Thank you dad and mum and above all, Thank you God for making it happen!

Truly Blessed trip.

God's Voice.

2008-06-04T19:17:00.002+08:00

1. God will never say anything that contradicts Scripture.

2. God's voice is not a voice of anxiety, doubt, unsettledness and exhaustion. Instead, God's voice speaks of His rest and peace.

3. God's voice is not a voice of obscurity. He doesn't speak in riddles and He doesn't beat around the bush. God speaks clearly to those who seek him - James 1:5

4. God's voice is a voice of hope and a future decided. "For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not harm you, plans to give you a hope and a future." - Jeremiah 29:11

5. God's voice is not the voice of condemnation. Rather, it is the voice of conviction/encouragement. Our own minds are quick to condemn us, telling us we are never good enough. But the bible says, "There is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of Life set me free from the law of sin and death. - Romans 8:1-2

Condemnation and conviction is not the same. Condemnation discourages and breeds hopelessness in us. It gives us the feeling that nothing can ever fix our problems. On the contrary, Conviction encourages and gives us the determination to allow God to give us solutions to our problems.

"When You speak, difficult circumstances fade away. By Your Name, the fierciest of oceans is still"

Looking back on the past few months, it looked like a period of uncertainty and of doubt. Never have I cried so much, think so much emotionally and mentally and consulted God so much. It was a journey of knowing exactly what I want in my life and how I want to live my life now and in the future. It was a journey of self-discovery and finding God again.

I found and realised that He is always there. Always patient to guide me along the path I was always meant to take but lack the courage to. I thank God for the struggle and that circumstance because I emerged with certainty and assurance.

"The LORD is a refuge for the oppressed, a stronghold in times of trouble" Psalm 9:9

****

Quotes for thought:

Go for long walks, indulge in hot baths, question your assumptions, be kind to yourself, live for the moment, loosen up, scream, curse the world, count your blessings. Just let go. Just be.

Dance, as though no one is watching you.

Love, as if you have never been hurt before.

Sing, as though no one can hear you.

Live, as though heaven is on earth.

Grad Trip 2008 Part I

2008-06-03T21:14:00.020+08:00

Like. F.I.N.A.L.L.Y

I have finally decided to download all the pictures and got down to writing the afterthoughts of my long over grad trip.

It's gonna be a long one...

24th April 2008 - Departure at Terminal 3.

Inflight baileys. I hate taking planes because I never ever can be able to sleep well on board since I am a light sleeper. Used to love taking planes for the take off and landing.

25th April - Arrival at Melbourne. It was Anzac Day and there was a huge crowd in front of Flinders Station. Bands were playing and people were marching along the streets.

Hi to temperate weather! I cannot tell you how much I love the weather. =) Anything I say would be an understatement.

Tiring first day. It was one of the longest day ever.

Flinders station.

State Library

Love the lying on the grass culture

Along Bourke Street. Where we saw the first good looking hunk who helped us take a photo. And according to the other girls, I had the sweetest smile when I posed for the picture. HAHA T_T Sigh.

He's really very good looking.

Outside The Westin Melbourne. We borrowed their restrooms for use and their soap are all from Molton Brown! Nice. I love using 5 star hotel public restrooms.

Going to Crown Casino
Wearing each others' caps in the hostel.

Posing like coolies on the bunk beds.

What we do when we have time to spare.

=O.

Praying for Better accoms to come.

St Kilda's Pier

Lovely.

The beach

Doing a baywatch. I totally cannot pull it off. Ha.

Series of poser shots.

Gary with his Stamford pose.

Last meal in Mel - the first of many beef steaks to come.

****

Time to leave the city and hit the road. My opinion, This is the fun part.

A full rainbow across the sky.

Blue Skies with cotton-like fluffy clouds.

First stop of the road trip:

Great Ocean Road

A oceanside journey along Australia’s most spectacular road which reveals fantastic coastal scenery, natural landforms, charming old resorts and a forested hinterland.

A drive you wouldn’t want to miss. With the windows down and the coast line just flashing past beside you, it’s really a sight to behold. I will definitely do that drive again in a heartbeat.

Ok, some information about Great Ocean Road you need to know. GOR located in the state of Victoria, snakes its way along the state’s south-west coast for a distance of 300 km. Geelong is a great starting point (just 75km from Melbourne) to start the journey and which we did start off our journey from there. After driving off from Geelong, we stopped for a quick look at the coast line at Anglesea which is a quiet holiday village.

Apollo Bay was our stop for the next 2 nights. It is a fishing village hence we had one of the best fish and chips ever at Apollo Bay Seafood Café. The seafood was super fresh and salivatingly good. Gary cannot stop raving about the awesome tartar sauce. I bet till now, he’s dreaming about it in his dreams. Haha. I still think about the royal basa fillet.

Our service apartment or rather, they call it self-contained apartment was a breath of fresh air (literally and figuratively) after our stay at Nomads Industry Hostel. I was like, THANK GOD when I saw the apartment; the rooms were so comfy with nice fluffy sheets and pillows, the bathroom with the Jacuzzi bathtub and there were wine glasses plus champagne flutes in the kitchen (good excuses for opening bottles of wine).

From then on, we were thinking, “No more hostels until Sydney” It’s like when you tasted champagne and have the chance to keep drinking it, you wouldn’t want to go back to drinking Coke again. Ok lousy analogy, but I hope you get the meaning.

The very first stopover along Great Ocean Road - Anglesea. We did the planning along the way. It was seriously a by faith kinda road trip. Thankfully, everything went on smoothly and we didn't end up stranded without a night's accomodation at anytime of the road trip.

The two jos. Joanne and Joanna.

You know, they say when friends hanged out with each 24/7 for a period time, they will know each other better; in terms of lifestyle habits, quirks and behaviors.

Ok. Agreed totally. I saw the side of Qihan I have never had the chance to see if not for this trip.

The poser side. No offence. He provides the comic relief and watches out for our safety while crossing the road. Eh Hum....

Dolphins Service Apts. No more bunk beds.

Since we have the wine glasses at our disposal, we bought 2 bottles of wine. You cannot go to Australia and not drink any kind of alcoholic beverages which are ironically cheaper than soft drinks.

Cheese. Beer. Wine. Eggs (scrambled). Bacon. Beef. Seafood. Hot Chocolate. Icecream. Fries.

The things we consumed the most in Australia.

Cheers to wonderful friendship and to the start of a great road trip.

Brekkie the next morning at Great Ocean Road Deli. I still dream of the scrambled eggs.

I can eat these everyday. Which we did every morning over in Aussie. That explains the inflated tummy.

On to our first destination - Cape Otway Lighthouse.

Upclose.

The girls. Li Ping, Julie, Myself and Joanne.

The climb up.

I love the wind. Refreshingly cool. It just makes me want to stay and not go back to the humid weather back in Sg.

Poser shot. We look as if we are filming a music video. HAHA. Looking at Qihan do his "I am posing but I actually don't want to make it seem like I am" poses just makes me burst out in hilarious laughter all the time. Just so amusing.

Apollo Seafood Cafe - A not to be missed seafood place. If you ever drive along Great Ocean Road and drop by Apollo Bay, please eat at this place. Really fresh seafood.

Fish and chips. The 6 of us all agreed it was one of the best.

One grouse though, they only serve fried seafood which is not exactly the best way to eat fresh seafood.

Loch & Gorge.

View from the escarpment lookout.

Let's do bare-foot. The sand is so soft to the touch. I ran straight to the water like a school girl just to dip my feet into the refreshingly cool water. I love nature and I am proud to be a Geography student!

Next stop: Twelve Apostles at Port Campbell National Park.

They basically are naturally formed rock structures that gradually over hundreds of years, broke away from the hinterland due to wind and wave erosion.

The must go when traveling on the Great Ocean Road. Only nine of the 'apostles' can be seen now; the other three are already submerged.

And that's the end of the Great Ocean Road. Off we go to Yarra Valley. Drove back to Melbourne and then to Yarra which was about an hour's drive away. GPS rocks. Driving overseas made easier with clear and prompt directions.

Even though Yarra Valley is known to be a famous vineyard region and boasts of good wine, we didn't get to go wine-tasting due to time constraints. Instead the highlight of Yarra one night stopover was this cottage, Brentwood self-contained cottage.

It was our first time staying in a quaint cottage and it was a really unique experience. The beds were so sweet and lovely that I would have loved to ship every single one of them back or buy them. Each bed in each room was different.

The KIA 8 Seater.

Qihan's pink bed. It was the most girlish and sweetest I have ever seen. Eileen would have 'choped' the bed for herself if she was there with us.

*Warning*

The bedroom scenes below are strictly for mature audience. Heh.

It was love at first sight when we laid eyes upon the sweet pink bed.

And then, things turned nasty... Pillow fight! =O

Nice...

The chillax area.

the living room with the cozy lights and embroidered victorian styled sofa

the garden patio

It was really a lovely one night stay at the Brentwood cottage with its rustic charm.

Thats the end of part I. More to come of Lake's Entrance, Merimbula, Blue Mountains + Three Sisters, Newcastle and Sydney.

Steamboat with the Sz peeps

2008-05-29T15:23:00.002+08:00

14 May 2008

One year on. Exactly one year from my first day in China for my internship. Time really flies. Enough said about that.

Gathering the China way. Yuan Yang Steamboat. It does bring back fond memories of super duper cheap and good steamboat meals in China. It was really steamboat all the way. The amount of steamboat dinners back in China was enough to last me for the rest of 2007.

My roomies. the folks whom have seen me do the laundry and the toilet washing. We hanged up each others' undies. Haha.
Our fave hangout in Sz. Even back in Sg, we cannot get enough of Starbucks. Oh just a little trivia, Starbucks in China is known as Xing Ba Ke. Pardon my hanyupinyin. Its so easy to remember cause its just a literal translation from English to Mandarin.

Hang man partner.

That's all for now. Still too lazy to upload the ton of aussie pictures. =X

Oh and finally, I just submitted my resumes. YAY! First step. Let Your Grace abound for this job search aspect.

A date with Wanzhi at LowenBrau, Sydney

2008-05-20T12:30:00.006+08:00

8th May, Thursday.

I had been waiting for this day ever since day one of my pre grad trip planning; waiting for the day to finally meet up with one of my best girlfriends, Wanzhi. Days of secondary school, spending time at the beach, clubbing days, mahjong and dinners with the rest of the girls are just some of the wonderful memories in the past decade. One of the long time friends who so happens to be away in Sydney while the rest of us are stuck here in Sg.

She still looks as bubbly and pretty as ever before. We went to a German restuarant, Lowenbrau at the Rocks. It was pretty authentic and the german beer was good. But it was a wrong choice to order the lemon beer which pales in flavor compared to Julie's mango beer.

As always, we pose with our food. Feels so strange the rest of the girls were not there to eat, drink and talk with us. ah well, it feels really great talking to zhi face to face again, catching up on each others' lives and mutual friendtalk. When I saw her walking towards me in the restuarant, it just didn't feel like its that long a time since she left for Sydney. Just goes to show, close friends even when apart, never run out of things to talk about. Sorry to the boyfriend, kind of snatched your girl away for that short 2 hours. He must be amused seeing us talk like school girls once again.

oh anyway, the boyfriend, Mark. I like his last name, Bentley. The coolest last name I ever heard of. He's really towering tall. Seriously, I think I have a biased judgment that night, because once he said he skydives and scuba dives, I was like, Ok, Approved.

Other than that, he's actually a really sweet guy.

The rest of the grad trippers gang. Gary looks kinda eerie looking in the picture. =\ And my tummy is blatant! The tell tale signs of eating too much red meat, fries and seafood. Of course, the beer, the cheese and the wine. Oh gosh, I really look like I am pulling a spare tyre around my waist. Oh whatever, its more than worth it. The calorie laden food was awesome. We sure know how not to waste our calories on yucky food.

The apple strudel which isn't that great-tasting. Perhaps its due to the fact that I am not an apple strudel person and I couldn't help stealing Li Ping's black forest cake which was much more yummy.

"volunteered" to perform on stage in front of the dinner audience. I was being sabotaged when I wanted to sabotage gary instead.

Went to chill out after dinner and Wanzhi treated us to champagne. Overall, it was a nice time just catching up and making plans to hang out once she's back end june. I really cannot wait to resume our mahjong and dinner with the rest of the girls.

Now, it's just missing ellie who is still in perth.

Kelong View Resort, Batam

2008-05-20T09:46:00.010+08:00

18th May, Sunday

It was pretty much a last minute trip. Or rather, It was a last minute trip for me because I am very sure my mum told me about it a long time ago, but being the forgetful me, I totally forgotten about it. Oh well, anyway, it was my first time kelong-ing. And it was quite an experience. My mum's cell group in church organised the outing for a chillax bonding session and the family is invited as well. So Dad, sis and I just tagged along for the ride.

Presenting to you, Kelong view resort...

erms, yah the colour combination is really off. I can like see the kelong very clearly from the jetty. By the way, the owner of the kelong, Mr. Teo loves blue and yellow so I guess he really cannot decide which colour to paint the kelong hence he decided to just go for the combi colour. Haha. the kelong with a unique twist. It comes with ensuite rooms with fully air-conditioned facilities such as 2 conference rooms, an italian (!) buffet room, karaoke and dvd room. Plus, it has a billard table and a mahjong table! Like wow, a five star kelong.

The best thing is, the stay was fully free of charge. Uncle David in mum's cg knows the owner so he loaned it out for us to have our "break-away from city life" mini outing.

The weather is unbelievably hot and humid. Can't do without the thirst quenching Pocari Sweat which was free of charge as well.

Back view shots are the trend these days. My sis and I say so.

Dad.

No idea what made us laugh, and it was a totally candid shot. My dad takes the most candid and unglam photos ever. Yeah, its one of those -laugh till your eyes just become lines in your faces- laughs.

We made a new friend, Rachel. We are known as the kids in the group. She fast became our mahjong, dai di and bridge pal. Played this really interesting game, Rummy O. It's like the westernized Mahjong only much simpler.

The sampan which brought us from the jetty to the kelong and around the island.

Island tour. The rest of the aunties and uncles actually brought along their own life jackets to wear on the sampan. Haha. We were really a glaring bunch of people walking around inviting stares from the villagers.

Life on stilts.
Daddy's girl no. 1
and no. 2
My beloved sister, Jean
Auntie Nancy, Jean and mum. Auntie Nancy was so afraid of walking on the wooden planks with loopholes that give way to the sea beneath. It was pretty fun walking and doing the whole balancing act thing. Its all about planting your steps firmly.

The kids were so cute yet so shy.

Another one of those wooden planks with loopholes bridge. Some of the planks are rotten and looks like they can give way anytime soon. Pretty interesting and exciting experience. everyone was so apprehensive while crossing the bridge.

On the other hand, my dad and I had a good time observing the rest and taking pictures. I was fooling around, pretending to balance on the loopholey plank. oh well, I wasn't too worried about falling into the sea.

at the fish farm, where we bought fresh fishes to steam for lunch.

Yeah, told you, we were a glaring bunch. The life jackets, in my opinion weren't too necessary.

my trusty mary janes.

Thats all for the kelong trip.

Erh, still sorting out the grad trip photos. 1000 of them. The pictures turned out lovely and I want to head back to Aussie soon!

I am going traveling again; heading to Perth this time round with my aunt Janet and uncle Jem. Great! No more clummy sweaty Sg weather.... Job hunting not going anywhere and on hold at the moment. Figured that I have to get the most traveling done before I start settling down in a J-O-B.

Thank YOU, God for everything. In the midst of what's happening, I know you walk with me every single step.

"Peace. It does not mean to be in a place where there is no noise, trouble or hard work. It means to be in the midst of those things, and still be calm in your heart. "

- A quote I got from a card in Queen Victoria Building, Sydney.

Just stood there staring again and again at the card. It seems as if, a part of me knows the storm that lies ahead yet know that I still can be calm through it all.

---------

Heading to Oz.

2008-04-24T00:42:00.005+08:00

In less than 24 hours, I will be heading to Melbourne.

The thing I am looking most forward to, is meeting up with Wanzhi. I miss her. And the last time I saw her was close to year ago when she saw me off on my China internship trip. She flew off to Sydney before I came back to Sg. Girls, I will definitely give her one huge bear hug on all your behalf. And...since she will be bringing me to this famous chocolate cafe, I will slurp up all the chocolate stuff on your behalf too. Haha, and most probably put on more weight.

23rd april: A date I remembered for the last 2 years and I think I will remember this date for a long time to come. It feels different yet, it does feel the same. I seriously do not know anymore. Just feels like staying in Australia permanently. Ya, the walk away me. I tend to skirt the issue and run along and do something to distract me so I won't dwell too much. Good and bad, I guess.

Feeling crappy and pretty much moodless the last few days. Don't feel like eating and talking much. PMS mood. The problem is, it's post not, pre. Went for high tea at this place called Carousel with Jax today. Didn't feel like eating much despite the spread of food.

And Harold and Kumar the prequel is totally gross this time round. Super duper sick humor. The cockmeat sandwich scene was out of this world sick. Laugh out loud twisted comedy with the stupidestly funny script ever. The first film I saw 2 grown men kissing which is sick. The entire audience just went ew. And I think I covered my face with my hand. T_T Seriously, don't waste money watching this show. Just watch live streaming on movie6 or something.

Blabbering..

ok, bye friends. See you when I am back.

2 Expos in one week.

2008-04-22T23:07:00.003+08:00

First, there was the Asia Dive Expo 2008 which is held every 3 years. So its really a not to be missed event if you really want to get your hands on good dive equip deals. Entrance fee was only 1 dollar for certified divers. Thankfully, Shao reminded me to bring my card.

It was overall, a really good experience. 2.5 hours just flew past while Shao, Jax, Fred and Youie and I were there. Loads of dive equip, familar faces from the dive community and diving instructors who suddenly turned into sales people at the expo. It is so weird to see my instructor Vincent all clothed up! Lol, too used to seeing him half-naked. =\ I kept him pretty busy asking him for help in choosing a suitable mask and fins (which I decided not to get in the end). Oh, and it was a nice surprise bumping into Yuying and her boyfriend at the expo as well. It seems like half the people I know are there at the dive expo which is really great.

Sadly, I only bought a snorkel plus mask, a pointer and a hand grip combo.

I didn't buy my fins and wet suit. I was really tempted to buy this pair of blood red stripes fins.

And Shao, you really shouldn't have sent me the reviews on those Atomic fins!! Now, I regret not buying those blood red striped split fins which would have looked super cool underwater. With that pair, I can say goodbye to black ugly fins from BBC (the only ones around which can fit my feet size).

Tadah, the fierce looking blood red Atomic split fins (the best performing type of fins, according to dive-tests)

Has got to do with the entire ergonomics stuff.

My instructor was like, "if you want to get this fins, you should get a red and black suit too. That way you can colour coordinate." Apparently, the jap divers are very into colour coordination when it comes to dive gear. Think pink mask, snorkel, suit, and fins. Haha overkill!

Question: Will sharks be attracted to red fins?

Atomic Aquatics Reef Red

This latest version of Atomic's sturdy SplitFin gets its name from the bright red flexible panels on its split blade. According to Atomic, the fin's base material is similar to last year's Liquid Blue, but has an added ingredient that increases elasticity over previous SplitFins. It's also lighter than its predecessors. Like earlier SplitFins, the Reef Red sports a longer-than-average blade--the longest split fin blade in this group. In spite of its length, the fin easily scoots around underwater corners. The tight turns of the slalom course were conquered just two seconds shy of the front-runner XT's best time, and the fin ran neck and neck with the XT on the efficiency course. On the speed course, the Reef Red heats up the water, regardless of fin kick, but it really showed its stuff on the ergo dives. It's powerful yet stable when streaking through blue water, and easy to control down among the corals. The Reef Red was rated Excellent for donning and doffing thanks to the EZ-Lok buckles. To detach, you simply squeeze both tabs and slip the buckle off the post. To attach, slide it onto the post where it clicks into place. For the past three years, the EZ-Lok has been rated the best buckle system by test divers.

Test Diver Comments "They're like Mercury's winged boots ... Nice-fitting foot pocket. Good all-around performance ... Best buckle of the group ... Everything I want--power, agility, speed. I just love these fins."

ah well. it was going at a price of 145 at the expo. Retail price was 200 plus close to 300. I missed a fairly good deal. It is alright, I will definitely get those fins sooner than later.

At the end of the day, Youie got the best deal. A full body Oceanic wet suit for 89 dollars.

Diving is such an expensive sport eh. But its worth it.

Anyway, Food and Hotel Asia story another day. Tired from standing and walking the entire day.

Till next time when I have better and more interesting stuff to talk about.

What I learnt...

2008-04-21T14:53:00.004+08:00

The last post-exam life. When there's nothing I want to do except just slack full time and not care about anything. I was checking my personal email box and I got this really encouraging forwarded email from my cg leader, Chui Li. Just want to share with those of you who might be going through a crossroad phase in your life. I pray that the message encourages you as much as it encourages me.

Dear Friends

God reminded us: In Everything, Give Thanks!

Let us trust the Lord and surrender to Him, what He needs to do.

Closed Doors vs. Opened Doors

We need to learn to thank the Lord for closed doors just as much as we do for open doors. The reason God closes doors is because He has not prepared anything over there for us. If He didn't close the wrong door we would never find our way to the right door. Even when we don't realize it, God directs our paths through the closing and opening of doors. When one door closes, it forces us to change our course. Another door closes; it forces us to change our course yet again. Then finally, we find the open door and walk right into our blessing.

But in our circumstances, we sometimes, instead of praising God for the closed door (which kept us out of trouble), we get upset because we 'judge by the appearances. ' And in our own arrogance, or ignorance, we insist that we know what is right. We need to know that we have a God who is our very present help in the time of need. And He is always standing guard. Because He walks ahead of us, He can see trouble down the road and He sets up road blocks and detours accordingly. But through our lack of wisdom we try to tear down the roadblocks or push aside the detour signs. Then the minute we get into trouble, we start crying, 'Lord how could this happen to me?' We have got to realize that the closed door was a blessing. Didn't He say that 'No good thing will He withhold from them that love Him?'

If you get terminated from your job - don't be down, instead thank God for the new opportunities that will manifest themselves in His time - it might be a better job, or an opportunity to go back to graduate school.

If that man or woman won't return your call - it might not be them, it might be the Lord setting up a roadblock (just let it go).

One time a person had a bank he had been doing business with for many years tell him 'NO' for a $10,000 loan. The Lord led him to call another bank. That bank approved a $40,000 loan for him at a lower interest rate than his own bank had advertised.

I'm so grateful, for the many times God has closed doors to me, just to open them in the most unexpected places. 'The steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord, and He delights in his way.' (Psalms 37:23) The Mountain top is glorious, but it is in the Valley that I will grow!

Always Remember God gives you...
Happiness to keep you Sweet
Trials to keep you Strong
Sorrows to keep you Human
Hope to keep you joyful
Failure to keep you Humble
Success to keep you Eager
Friends to give you Comfort
Wealth to meet your Needs
Enthusiasm to make you look forward
Faith to banish depression, and
Determination! to make each day a better day than the last.

Life must be lived forward but can only be understood backwards (upon hindsight). Commit to the Lord in whatever you do and your plans will succeed. (Proverbs 16:3)

'Rowing harder doesn't help if the boat is headed in the wrong direction'

****

Other really non-related randoms:

I've signed up for a viwawa account! Like finally. Jax reminded me to.

And I find the doll thingy really dumb! HAHA, my doll is a naked boy doll because I, absolutely cannot be bothered to clothe it. Anyway, it does look special naked since all the other players' dolls are dressed up. And yeah, I am still at level one. Let's see if I can be hooked to it (as what others have warned about viwawa and that is the primary reason I stayed clear of it until after exams). I played mahjong and was tempted to play bridge but, I can't find myself getting hook to playing. Its just way off from real life playing when you can chit chat and laugh with your friends.

Oh and there's packing which I really sucked at because I keep going, "should I bring this?, and Should I bring that?" Is it really necessary..? No I shouldn't and erh maybe I should"

Faints.

Thanksgiving!

2008-04-19T22:28:00.002+08:00

A big shout out to God, THANK YOU SO MUCH!

For so many things. The top of the mind thanksgiving is of course, for the end of the exams. It is the THE end of exams. It's like saying a huge farewell to an old companion whom sadly, I am very glad to say goodbye to.

Strategy exam has been surprisingly, a breeze to sit through. All thanks to a fellow project mate who so kindly emailed us a past year paper and shockingly, I went to do the paper. And to my delight, half of the true false questions and some of the MCQ questions came up in the final paper. Anyway, whatever it is, I am so grateful.

As for Malay, I seriously think it's the easiest paper ever in SMU because, the professor gave us the exact same paper he gave us for our exam practice. And I went to do it (which is very unlike me.) So it was just an exam where I just had to copy my answers unto the actual exam paper itself (the exam is open notes and OPEN LAPTOP, we can use online dictionary). When I left the exam hall, it just felt surreal to acknowledge the fact that there is no more mugging ever to be done, no more calculations and no more essays to be written. Its as if, I am closing an invisible door to my student life.

HAHA, oh well, what a good ending to all my exams in my formal education. If only I had it so easy during A and O levels.

****

Another exciting mini event that's happening. I am (for the first time), leading worship during cell group this Sunday. A new experience which I thank God for. Its the first step in serving in church. Ok, its no doubt, a tiny one, but a journey takes a single step no matter how small it is. If there is an area in church where I want to serve in, it's definitely worship and Sunday school (cause of the cute little ones). And I got Aaron as my guitarist. So I pray that it's gonna be an anointed time of worship with my new cg friends.

The songs I chose...

1. HERE I AM TO WORSHIP

Light of the world
You stepped down into darkness.
Opened my eyes, let me see.
Beauty that made this heart adore You
Hope of a life spent with You

Here I am to worship,
Here I am to bow down,
Here I am to say that You're my God
You're altogether lovely
Altogether worthy,
Altogether wonderful to me

King of all days
oh, so highly exalted
Glorious in heaven above
Humbly You came To the earth You created
All for love's sake became poor

Here I am to worship,
Here I am to bow down,
Here I am to say that You're my God
You're altogether lovely
Altogether worthy,
Altogether wonderful to me

I'll never know how much it cost
To see my sin upon that cross
I'll never know how much it cost
To see my sin upon that cross

2. I Could Sing Of Your Love Forever (one of my fave worship song during JC 2 days)

Over the mountains and the sea,
Your river runs with love for me,
and I will open up my heart and let the Healer set me free.
I'm happy to be in the truth, and I will daily lift my hands:
for I will always sing of when Your love came down. [Yeah!]

I could sing of Your love forever,
I could sing of Your love forever,
I could sing of Your love forever,
I could sing of Your love forever.

Oh, I feel like dancing -it's foolishness I know;but,
when the world has seen the light,they will dance with joy,like we're dancing now.

3. What Can I do

When I see the beauty
Of the sunset’s glory
Amazing artistry
Across the evening sky
When I feel the mystery
Of a distant galaxy
It awes and humbles me
To be loved by a God so high

What can I do but thank you
What can I do but give
My life to you
Hallelujah, hallelujah
What can I do but praise you
Every day make everything I do
A hallelujah, a hallelujah
Hallelujah

When I hear the story
Of a God of mercy
Who shared humanity
And suffered by our side
Of the cross they nailed you to
That could not hold you
Now you’re making all things new
By the power of your risen life

God, Thank you for what you have done and for the countless showers of blessings. You have indeed made all things new and lovely. It is an opportunity to serve in Cg and I pray that you have great plans for me to serve your kingdom. Take away the spirit of timidity and replace it with one of courage, to take a bold step in serving with a joyful heart. Amen.

=)

Dive Expo 2008

2008-04-14T14:36:00.004+08:00

For diving junkies out there:

Dive Expo is back again!

Venue:
Suntec Singapore (Hall 602 and 603)

Date:
18 - 20 April 2008 (Friday – Sunday)

18 April Trade only

19 – 20 April All visitors

Opening Hours:
11.00 am – 7.00 pm
Organiser:
TMX Show Productions Pte Ltd
Website:
http://www.asiadiveexpo.com/

Looking forward to getting good deals for dive equipment. Big Bubble Center is having a booth which means I can drop by to say hi to the dive instructors.

on the topic of expos, I am looking forward to the Food & Hospitality Asia Expo come april as well. This time round, I will be helping out at my dad's booth which is gonna be huge. I go and help out by eating and talking. Marie, remember we used to work part time during the 2004 expo? My dad was my employer and my dad's friend was your exployer at that time. I got 10 bucks per hour for sitting and collecting namecards. HAHA. and we went around eating all the freebies. So fun and singaporean-like.

You can take a Singaporean out of Singapore, but you can't take Singapore out of a Singaporean. Agree?

Ok, back to studying. Bye.

Plugged in to this song while studying, Only Love - Lenny LeBlanc

What could make this world a better place
Nothing less than amazing grace
What could help the lonely ones endure
I believe I've found a miracle cure

Only love could bridge the great divide
Only love can move a mountain
Only love could ever change my heart
Only the love of my Jesus
Only the love of my Savior

You sacrificed everything for me
Made a guilty man so free
Sinless hands nailed to a cross
What would make You wanna
Die for the lost

Only love could ever change
This heart of stone
Only love could ever lead
Me home

Only love could bridge the great divide
Only love can move a mountian
Only love could ever change my heart
Only the love of my Jesus

Only the love of my Savior

With You, studying is a breeze. You take away my worries and anxieties.

Cast all your anxiety on Him because He cares for you. - 1 Peter 5:7

Last Study Week

2008-04-12T14:47:00.007+08:00

I used to look forward to exams (I'm crazy). Because with impending exams, it simply means the 4 months long summer holidays are just round the corner.

Not this exams though. Because I had fun studying for it. Yah, another crazy statement. I have no idea if its the -last term already, last term grades won't significantly affect GPA- mentality or what. But, we simply lack the motivation to study much.

We took photos.

We bring our soft toys to study with us. Kallis and Wanling (both very soft-toy-ey people) brought their 15-year old Octos they got from Marina Square.

See the difference? Wan's one was so old and hugged so much, that the eyes came out and she had to colour them herself. And the hat has gone missing.

Fako muggers. What posers. HAHAHA...

We got sick of studying even before we started on any revision...

NDP pal, Qihan, who came along to study with us girls. Big mistake.

Anyway, I will always remember him as the guy who came to talk to me about him wanting to lose weight, the very first time we met. Haha, strangers became friends with the start of the strangest conversations. Missing Jules.. =X The 3 of us are the original trio of the NDP '05 ushers gang. Sigh, miss those days of free KFC meals, slacking during breaks, and catching cheap firework thrills.

I will miss studying. I will miss laughing out loud and watching Grey's and Heroes when I shouldn't be in the first place when I should be studying hard.

Thank You, Lord, for surrounding me with lovely friends from my pre-school days right up to my college days. School life isn't the same without them around.

Here's a big thank you for my different cliques of friends from school days!

The lovelies from Sec School - Marie, Youie, Kavi, Yvette, Yu Ying, Shirong, Chithira, Eileen, Hanyan, Wanzhi and last but not least, Ellie.

Junior college - My worst years in my school years. Marie and Benjamin, Thank God for you guys. Actually, I seriously think my brain was somewhat in a comatose and vegetative state during these 2 years. Oh well, I am grateful I survived it.

And college days. What can I say? The second best 4 years next to sec school days - the final 4 years of school life. College life comes with the most number of cliques. People do come and go during these 4 years but thankfully, there are mainstayers who have provided much entertainment, laughter and joy.

Year One G1 group. HR folks. Shenzhen Gang. Misc straddlers (who straddle between different groups). Chillout group. UBC peeps (Vanny, you are the only active friend in this group. HA)

It was indeed an amazing journey and we have came a long way to the finishing line of our formal education. Well done graduating people! We truly deserve a pat on our backs. =)

Obama vs. Clinton

2008-04-10T23:50:00.007+08:00

Alright, I am not an avid follower of US politics. I don't profess to tuning in to CNBC, CNN and the likes. I only do that occasionally.

But, if you were to ask me, who I think should win the presidental elections, I would say Barack Obama. If I were a US citizen, he will get my vote.

(I know this is kinda a passe topic. Oh well. It doesn't matter cause I feel like talking about it now)

Because of his "Yes, We can" inspirational speech at New Hampshire, Jan 2008....

"We know the battle ahead will be long, but always remember that no matter what obstacles stand in our way, nothing can withstand the power of millions of voices calling for change.

We have been told we cannot do this by a chorus of cynics who will only grow louder and more dissonant in the weeks to come. We’ve been asked to pause for a reality check. We’ve been warned against offering the people of this nation false hope.

But in the unlikely story that is America, there has never been anything false about hope. For when we have faced down impossible odds; when we’ve been told that we’re not ready, or that we shouldn’t try, or that we can’t, generations of Americans have responded with a simple creed that sums up the spirit of a people.

Yes we can.

It was a creed written into the founding documents that declared the destiny of a nation.

Yes we can.

It was whispered by slaves and abolitionists as they blazed a trail toward freedom through the darkest of nights.

Yes we can.

It was sung by immigrants as they struck out from distant shores and pioneers who pushed westward against an unforgiving wilderness.

Yes we can.

It was the call of workers who organized; women who reached for the ballot; a President who chose the moon as our new frontier; and a King who took us to the mountaintop and pointed the way to the Promised Land.

Yes we can to justice and equality. Yes we can to opportunity and prosperity. Yes we can heal this nation. Yes we can repair this world. Yes we can.

And so tomorrow, as we take this campaign South and West; as we learn that the struggles of the textile worker in Spartanburg are not so different than the plight of the dishwasher in Las Vegas; that the hopes of the little girl who goes to a crumbling school in Dillon are the same as the dreams of the boy who learns on the streets of LA; we will remember that there is something happening in America; that we are not as divided as our politics suggests; that we are one people;we are one nation; and together, we will begin the next great chapter in America’s story with three words that will ring from coast to coast; from sea to shining sea - Yes. We. Can."

Change is good for America and Obama has the guts to champion this change movement.

I really hope these words come from Obama himself, and not some unseen, behind the scene speech writer.

Anyway, my dad and I both support Obama.

While we were watching primetime news on CNN earlier this year, and they were showing coverage on the elections,

Dad: "Who are you supporting?"
Me: Obama. He gives a good and credible vibe"
Dad: "Great minds think alike"

@_@ HAHA. You only talk about such stuff with dads, I have no idea WHY!

I seriously hope and pray that my kids talk to me about such "serious" stuff next time. Sigh, why are mums always being side-lined.

ok, I will make an effort to talk more to my mum other than stuff on shopping, traveling and clothes. Sounds fair enough eh.

Doodling around

2008-04-10T00:11:00.003+08:00

What I do while I doodle around, while waiting for my black mask to dry.

(yes, I still put on masks at this time. I find it theraputic in some ways. But I always freak my mum out when I come out of the toilet with that black-ed face in the middle of the night. Oh well.)

Ok, so while waiting for the mask to dry... I checked out this month's movie list for SQ. What I like to do when I take SQ. Yay, they have the best line up of inflight entertainment.

the awesome thing is, we are leaving in April and coming back in May... So we get to have different line up of movies since it's 2 different months.

Great for people like me, who can't sleep on flights.

Grad trippers, check it out.
http://www.singaporeair.com/saa/en_UK/content/exp/entertainment/movies/thismonth1.jsp

I lack the motivation to study. Not good.

Lacking the motivation to study is only valid for people who landed themselves a job.

Oh well, I am still not that eager to work. So I shall take my time. I am crazy but I need to finalize the traveling first before I can actually plan when to work. Super unorthodox.

Taking a leap of faith.

Where the Love Lasts Forever

2008-04-07T22:47:00.002+08:00

Can sing this over and over again.

****

Looked at the picture folder again. Wrong move.

Final lap of the SMU education. Let's finish well.

YA Ministry

2008-04-06T02:10:00.002+08:00

Young Adult Ministry in Church (18 to 35 years old)

We seriously have loads of fun, laughter, joy and love.

Can't wait for the PlanetShakers (a famous Australian worship band) worship concert at Sg Expo come this friday.

Farewell SMU

2008-04-03T13:56:00.002+08:00

Typing this during my last class in SMU.

I am now looking at the seminar room which I am in right now. I hate to admit it, but I will really miss logging on to MSN and engaging in mass conversations during class. I will miss taking down notes using my laptop in class.

Oh well, Farewell to 15 years of formal education.

This is only the beginning of more to come. =)

Even though I don't really want to enter the working world this soon, I will nevertheless, welcome it with joy.

Because I can be sure of Your promises that ALL things will work out for good. Even though my mind and the present circumstances (I am still unemployed!) tells me otherwise, I believe that God will enable me to conquer the odds!

Happy with my new toy

2008-03-30T23:10:00.002+08:00

my first Apple product.

All thanks to my sister who persuaded my mum to get her an Ipod. I just jumped on board the persuasion bandwagon and we got blessed with new gadgets.

Thank YOU, MUM!

By the grace of God, my mum has become a very different person. She used to nag non stop and 'kill' me with her words when I do something stupid for example, drop my mobile phone into the toilet. But, she didn't even scold or nag at me when I came home to tell her I dropped my Samsung ultra into the toilet bowl. She just gave the -I am not surprised- look and said, "Get a new phone lo. What to do.."

@_@

My dad's response is even more power when I broke the news.

Me: Daddy, I got something to tell you. I dropped my mobile phone into the toilet bowl.

Dad: Great............

Me: (laugh to myself): yeps. please tell mummy for me. THANKS! I don't dare to tell her.

My dad behaves and talks like he belongs to the Gen Y era.

I love my parents! They are awesome beyond words. Parents are amazing people. They can totally withstand the crap their kids give them sometimes.

I pray that I wont crush my Ipod by sitting on it accidentally. Quite capable of that. =\

Gonna plug into the 864 (!) worship songs my "Ipod Fan" uncle helped to transfer for me. Saves me the trouble =)

Box Office Peeks

2008-03-27T21:10:00.003+08:00

Movies to catch...

1. Romantic Comedy, Made of Honour

Patrick Dempsey! McDreamy...

Miss watching Grey's Anatomy.

2. Brainless Humour, Harold & Kumar Escapes from Guantanamo Bay

Catch the prequel, Harold & Kumar Goes to White Castle first. Actually I am sure there is no logical link between the two. One of the most hilarious brainless humour movies I've ever since.

3. All time favorite action archeologist, Indy! Reminded me of the old days when I cringed and screamed at the monkey brains scene in Temple of Doom and my dad will be deeply amused and laughed at me.

4. Finally, Fantasy.... Prince Caspian

All my fave genres of movies... Such a movie buff.

Is There More to Life than This....

2008-03-27T20:30:00.004+08:00

1. Money

2. Jet setting lifestyle

3. Food

4. Material/Luxury Pleasures

5. Adventure

Is there more to life than all these we, blessed people living in Singapore have?

Have you asked yourself, what is the true meaning of life on this earth?

Is it finding happiness in getting the next paycheck, the next branded bag, the next plane ride out of the country?

Sometimes, we get too deluded with the concept of happiness and meaning of life. Have you asked yourselves, what is your purpose on this earth?

Is it to just consume oxygen and to give out carbon dioxide?

Is it to just be another person in the crowd, the only sense of joy being, able to get a seat on a cramped train back home from work?

Are there more meaning to life?

If you have questions, then Alpha has answers for you. Explore the meaning of life.

"There must be more to life than finding that ultimate plate of Hokkien Mee!"

-Leslie Tan, Ieatishootipost blogger. (I quote from him because his church is conducting alpha course as well.)

You can find out more about Alpha courses here.

Deja Vu or is it not?

2008-03-24T16:09:00.006+08:00

I was taking a break from studying and I stole some glances at this acquaintance's blog. I have no idea what made me read his blog but I just needed to read some good and engaging stuff.

And some of his past entries just kinda made me realise, my sense of foreboding is actually freakishly accurate. Its just this unexplanable strange feeling when I read about someone's life (even though I kinda know nuts about the other party and reading about other people's lives are just an excuse to pass up doing boring stuff like studying), I just had this questioning voice telling me, "Hey, what if this is gonna happen to you?" Yea, the "What ifs". And its deja vu, really. In retrospect, I think I might end up being the "she" in his story. The girl with the better suit at Poker and just completely shattered the other party's high hopes of winning. And other unsuspecting parties are just equally shocked and saddened at the outcome of the entire game.

and it feels like crap everytime I think of the aftermath.

When decisions are easy to make but hard to execute. Just take it from my hands and place it in Yours.

(Diving post below)

Pulau Dayang 2008

2008-03-24T15:03:00.012+08:00

Warning: Image Heavy.

Back from Dayang. I'm so happy and relieved to be certified an advanced diver. Hello to diving up to 30 metres and to the unknown world of night diving.

Bags of diving gear (super heavy). All our wet suits, BCD (Buoyancy Control Device) Mask and fins are inside. The only humble dive gear I own now, is sadly just a diving sausage, slate and dive torch. I long for the day when I can get my hands on a full set of diving equipment. Shao and Jax, I know you want it too. =P

2nd dive trip together. My most patient buddy. Seriously, I test his patience big time.

Shao: My icecream and diving friend from Open Water days. Shao! I still have no idea how on earth we became icecream buddies but well, here's to many coming years of exploring the marvelous underwater world! Working won't zap away our passion for diving ya? Oh, I am just practising the "I am OK" hand signal to be used underwater for communication.

AC Boys

Pulau Dayang. You are worth the 4 hours' coach ride and another 4 hours' boat ride.

The PADI instructors: A bunch of ah bengs who seriously just eat, dive, sleep and smoke. They look fierce and menacing with their tattoos. But they are very nice and patient people. I was seriously super hopeless when it comes to navigation with a compass underwater and 3 of them took turns to coach me and wait patiently until I finally figured how to navigate correctly. Guess I will always be remembered as the compass girl.

Common area for slacking and eating in between dives. As the slogan says on the divers' shirts, Eat, Sleep, Dive. Thats all we do.

The only girl. The boys I hanged out with on the island. I didn't talk to a single girl cause we are outnumbered. I'm one of the 2 girls on adv/leisure dive.

FYI, Jax took this picture. Anyway, this is Frederick from Sweden. He's quite a character; funny and a great conversationalist. Other than the cool facts that he's a diving junkie, underwater photog and owns his personal diving kit, he provided verbal entertainment during our waits for the next dive.

A glimpse into their 4 bed-bunk. =\ Seriously, you cannot expect much from a divers' lodge. The bare minimums. The 2 bed ensuite room Jax and I got was not any better. Extremely squeaky double decker beds and cold showers (no heater!). But its fine. The diving experience surpasses all the crappiness. As long as I get to dive, I can tolerate all that.

Diving Buddies: Fred and Shao

My diving buddy. Dayang, the same after 3 years. Yet, it just feels different.

Our diving instructor, Vincent. He's 25 (or so he says). He asked me to guess how old he is, and I wanted to say he seriously looks like he's 19. Lol. Super patient instructor; I gave him hell during the navigation course. My directional skills suck big time on land and in water. The only thing I aced, was the underwater nitrogen narcosis test where we had to perform simple writing and mental tasks at a depth of 30 metres to assess if we are affected by the pressure.

Dayang, We will miss diving around you. The place where I dived for the first time in June 2005, which opened my eyes to this amazing world of underwater marvels.

Going back. Ya, we are drained. But yet, happy and eagerly awaiting our next dive trip.

Yes, I am addicted to diving.

Some unglam pictures. Diving is a super unglam activity for girls. For guys, look super good. But not for girls. The no make up, crazily tangled hair and the struggle to get out of my body clinging wet suit without incurring any bikini malfunctions.

Have no idea what I was doing. Perhaps saying bye to the fishies below. There was a baby bumphead parrotfish that was swimming near the jetty.

No pictures please when I am munching on junk food.

Oh, the highlight of the boat ride was the sighting of 3 dolphins!!! SCREAMS!!!! They were jumping in the water. Everyone was so elated to see them. Esp. me. We were all sleeping and drooling away when one of the instructors started blasting in his booming voice, "Wake up! Dolphins!" The way we jumped and rushed to the side of the boat in a matter of seconds was really hilarious on hindsight.

Home (not so sweet) home. Even though it was a tiring and short trip, it was still a getaway and diving is always one of the things I am passionate about.

Supper with Jax and Shao. Frog Leg porridge! HEHE. Fred didn't join us because he's a vegan. He was appalled when we told him we are craving for frog's leg porridge. =\ Since the dive centre is at Cantonment Road, there's no better time to head down to the nearby famous frog leg porridge stall.

You can tell how happy and eager I was to dig in. While Shao and Jax were reminiscing about their AC cyber old school days of CounterStrike and Doom (?), I was just slurping up the good hawkerfood. Sigh, Boys will be boys. I guess they must have visited every cyber lan shop in the entire Bukit Timah stretch.

Still waiting for the underwater shots taken by Fred. Amazing stuff.

A little advert on Scuba Diving:

What does S.C.U.B.A means?

It's an acronym for Self Contained Underwater Breathing Apparatus. Recreational or leisure diving has sky rocketed in popularity in the last 2 decades. To start off, there are 2 entry level certifications; the Open Water Diver Cert which is essentially the passport to diving and the Advanced Open Water Diver cert. Once you get these 2 certifications, you are free to dive any where in the world up to a depth of 30 metres (for advanced divers only). Open water divers can only dive up to 18 metres and are not allowed to go for night diving.

After advanced, diving doesn't stop here. There are other specialty courses as well such as wreck diving, search and rescue, drift diving, deep diving, ice diving and underwater photography. All these will be steps closer to being a Dive Master (DM) or an instructor. The coolest and often one of the most dangerous form of diving is ice diving where diving extremists will drill a hole in frozen lakes and carry out diving activities for a very limited window of time just to get the adrenaline rush of doing such a crazy thing. Must be an out of the world experience man....

And as divers living in Singapore, we are a blessed lot because we are situated at the gateway to the most amazing dive sites in the world. South east asia is by far, the world's biggest hotspot for recreational diving with many of the world's most beautiful marine habitats such as Sipadan, Phuket, Manado, Layang Layang and many more. Westerners such as Fred flock to SEA just to dive. And definitely, it is my biggest dream to dive at every one of them in the future. The feeling of being submerged underwater and appreciating the beauty of nature is unbelievable. You can only see it for yourselves to believe and trust me, you will be addicted. One of the most common question asked amongst divers is, "When and where is your next dive destination?"

You think diving is expensive and eats up alot of time just by traveling for hours there. And once you get to the dive site, you sometimes get crappy lodging and food. On top of that, you have instructors and divemasters shouting at you to suit and gear up quick (like army all over again for guys), the initial fear of the unknown in a new dive site and the unglam factor (for girls). But once you descend into the water, all that is worth tolerating when you experienced being totally enthralled by the vast species of marine life in the open seas. Out of this world, seriously.

It is so worth every cent, every moment of butt pain getting to the destination, every bed bug bite and every morsel of crap food.

2005 pictures:

The old gang.

*****

Thank God Its Good Friday

2008-03-21T14:39:00.002+08:00

So You Would Come - HillSong

Before the world began
You were on His mind
And every tear you cry
Is precious in His eyes
Because of His great love
He gave His only Son
Everything was done
So you would come

Nothing you can do
Could make Him love you more
And nothing that you've done
Could make Him close the door
Because of His great love
He gave His only Son
Everything was done
So you would come

Come to the Father
Though your gift is small
Broken hearts, broken lives
He will take them all

The power of the Word
The power of His blood
Everything was done
So you would come

****

Good Friday. Where the world's greatest love story was written for Mankind.

ok, typing this before leaving for diving. I pray that I will enjoy the marvelous underwater world God created and not worry too much over the getting lost part while I get too carried away looking at corals (which I can get really carried away just looking at them and not looking at where the rest of the team go).

I will be kept safe =)

Blessings!

2008-03-16T20:02:00.004+08:00

Like I said, It was a crazy week. And to wrap up the week, I had a weekend filled with heartwarming blessings.

Firstly, I wanna so Thank God for the amazing worship but Ok message today. It was awesome just lifting my hands to praise Him together with my entire cg. He has indeed placed me in a brand new cell group (cg) which I feel very much belonged in. I am not saying I didn't feel comfortable in my previous cg. I can get along with most people. I feel I can talk and warm up to new people easily. Yet, there are certain aspects of my life I couldn't share as easily with people who are in different stages of life. My previous cg was made up of church friends who are all in the corporate world earning their gazillion paychecks while I, on the other hand, am still receiving my allowance from my parents. But I still am very grateful that I spent 3 meaningful years in my ex-cg because in terms of advice, I got plenty from the "older" and definitely more experienced friends.

Haha, I got my fair share of pregnancy advice which I so obviously don't need them now. Perhaps 5 years down the road. Seriously, I heard so much about what to do, what not to do during pregnancy and delivery that I think its pretty amusing to see if I will use them in the future. I cannot imagine myself being a mum. I super need alot of favour from God and loving support and of course, prayers from my husband.

Oh anyway back to the new cg, everything's great. The sharing has been fantastic and I feel so encouraged by our weekly testimonies of faith. I nearly cried during the sharing (yah, I tend to get very emotional for my own good) because this girl, Esther said something that totally strengthened my conviction even more. oh well, blessed time of fellowship.

Another blessing will come in the form of a brand new phone which my mum has very graciously and kindly bestowed upon me. Actually, I can't bear to part with my current phone but it 'drowned'. I dropped the poor thing into a toilet bowl in school! THANK GOD, it was flushed before the mobile dropped it. Phew.. HAHA, and I hesitated for like, 3 seconds before I really very "bobian" had to stick my hand in and fished the soaking wet phone out. What a klutz.

I guess my close friends will just shake their heads and say, thats jo. LOL.

I am blessed as well with encouraging words from my close friends. You girls know the most and thanks for the support :) and thanks to others who dropped by to say, Are you ok? Haha.

Another week starts tomorrow. And dear final year friends, its Week 11........ This the first time I feel reluctant to say goodbye to each week as they sickeningly fly past.

I Will Emerge More than a Conqueror!

2008-03-14T01:09:00.006+08:00

I know some of my friends have been questioning the content of my recent posts of late. Just to share a little, my start of the year has been a rather messy and strange one. It seems like my life has turned topsy-turvy and I don't understand why.

But the above is definitely not the gist and definitely not the crux of this post (it's gonna be a lengthy one!), rather its just the starting point of drawing closer to God in a way I can never imagine.

I was very tired today. Things just simultaneously happened to blow up. But, I decided to just relax and rest. So, I went to put on my Kose Black Mask which I haven't put on for ages. Anyway, thats not the point. Whilst I was having the mask on, I got nothing much to do except to wait for the thing to dry. Hence, I was just looking for some cds to play and I chanced (or rather, God made me) upon this rather old audio sermon from my church. Its rather bizarre but upon retrospect, it really isn't that bizarre when I felt this inclination to play that cd. It felt as the cd was calling out at me, "PICK ME UP, YOU NEED TO LISTEN TO ME" Haha, seriously.

And I played it. God spoke to me right there and then. You gotta believe it.He told me to look at Romans 8. And it is mentioned that,

If the bible were a ring, then the book of Romans must be the diamond. and if Romans is the diamond, then Romans Chapter 8 is definitely the sparkle of that diamond.

Because, in that chapter, it shows the writer's (who is Apostle Paul) thesis of the magnificence of our salvations through Christ. And Romans 8 is the climax of the entire book. For those who knows Romans 8, it starts with No condemnation for those in Christ and the chapter ends with No separation from God's love. How wonderful is that! I am set free from the power of sin. As a result of God's love, nothing can separate me from Christ.

I know the above might sound really too much. But what I am trying to say is, no matter what the circumstances, present or future, in all things, I am called to be more than a conqueror.

These 2 verses spoke to me figuratively and I know the meaning applies to me.

"...But hope that is seen is no hope at all. Who hopes for what he already has? But if we hope for what we do not have, we wait for it patiently" Romans 8: 24-25

I will hope and wait. Its not with a waiting attitude of resignation and passitivity. This hoping and waiting is not a "This is really bobian and grit my teeth" kinda thing. Rather, I will seek to go through all these with perseverance and to emerge as more than a conqueror, to be more blessed, more glorious and in the process, better able to bless others as well.

God, I am sure you will bring sweetness out of bitterness, strength out of weakness, victory out of loss and blessing out of heartache. I want to have a "Paul" mindset. Even though he was stuck in the hideous Roman prisons (which back in those age, were the most horrid prisons), he turned them into his own "retreat centres" where he wrote his most joyful letters. In a situation where he is supposed to cry and wail about his pitiful and painful state, he didn't but he was joyful instead. How amazing. Joy instead of sorrow when its supposed to be. Definitely, Paul's strength didn't come from himself, rather it came from God. So thankfully, that being more than a conqueror, we need not depend on our mere shelves, but rather, we rest upon His promises that God will provide His strength and all His resources to aid us through whatever trials and hardships we face in this earthly life. God's power is made perfect in our weaknesses.

I know what I am going through sounds like nothing as compared to other people's problems like facing a loss of a loved one, accidents, other failures in life. What have you. But take heart, sometimes in life, we might not come to understand the reasons for the human suffering that happen to us or to the people around us, or even to strangers in other parts of the world, but the "Whys" are not important. Questions are not important. Does questioning endlessly and self-pitying over our circumstances give us solutions? Course not. It will give us more worries and heartaches. What is important is definitely to be assured that God is with us to help us overcome the daunting circumstances in our lives. I mean God is God, if He can't help, who can in this world? And let's come to a realization that there is no point questioning the doubts, rather let's learn to respond to every nuance of God's love. Let His peace transcends all our understanding. Let me say to Him that, my understanding over areas of my life is limited, but His peace and rest are limitless/infinite!

You say, How does God express His love to me? I can't see Him. Yes, He does express His love even though He is invisible. Even though God cannot be seen, doesn't mean He's not there. It like, you can't see the air around you, but please do not say that there isn't air around. And even though I cannot see Him, I know He expresses His love and encouragement through all the friends He put in my path (yes, non-christians and christians, every one of them is God's blessings), sermons and worship songs. His encouragement is shown forth in the times when I am down, there are definitely "support cushions" that never fail to catch me and prevents me from dwelling on sadness. If you know me, I don't get sad too long. The joy is supernatural. God won't allow me to dwell in self-pity and sadness too much for my own good. This is the nature of my God. His ever loving, gracious and merciful nature.

After the entire message, this reminder that His extravagant and immense love will build up my faith and enable me to be more than a conqueror in my life just resonates. I can feel its lingering presence. At this juncture, when I feel weak and lost, I am gonna cling onto God's goodness, promises and love. I will draw ever closer to Him than before. And I am so going to tell the Evil One with all his crappy guilt and condemnation accusations, to get lost and go fly kite (which means in Singlish, to buzz off or rather crudely, to F off)! Seriously, with God in my life, all the bad drama will just cease and go away. Definitely have to.

Ok, a long post. I feel great after sharing =) Thank God! He still amazes me so so much for what He has in store for me.

Gonna end off with one of my favorite songs, "Still" By HillSong.

Hide me now
Under Your wings
Cover me within Your mighty hand
When the oceans rise and thunders roar
I will soar with You above the storm
Father You are king over the flood
I will be still and know You are God
Find rest my soul
In Christ alone
Know His power
In quietness and trust

I know with His help, guidance and support, I am going to get through all of this, and emerge stronger than ever. More than I can imagine. =)

Team Hoyt

2008-03-09T22:00:00.004+08:00

I don't know if you have heard of this Father-Son team called Team Hoyt before. Their story is an amazing one of perseverance, faith, belief, love, victory, triumph and above all, glory.

A video of how much the father loves his son. Of how much he believes in him even though he is physically disabled and mentally challenged. Of how much the father can give up and do for the son he believes so much in. A story of self-sacrificial love.

As I was watching the video, I realized I am, figuratively like the son character in the video. Even though, I am not disabled but somehow, I feel in this world, we as human beings, can get too bogged down by our iniquities and our so called "inabilities". We just become paralysed in a different way. In a invisible, hidden and subtle way. And don't you think that we are all running the race towards the finishing line. There are many kinds of races in this world. The race for financial success, the race for status, the race for freedom. whatever. Do you know what race you are running? Have you got a clue? I know what race I am running. I am called to run the race of faith. To run with perseverance.

"Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart."

– Hebrews 12:1-3

And the amazing thing is, I am not running this race alone. Like the video, I have a Father that races with me. Not only races, but carries and supports me all the way. If the dad in the video is able and willing to give up so much of his own love, time and ability to run the race with his handicapped son, how much MORE will the Father God be ever willing to do the same thing. Not just the same thing, but much much much more. More than my human mind can ever conceive and fathom.

It is just so amazing!

Honestly, I can confidently say that I have never felt so at peace and at rest before knowing the LORD. Before, when I run into trouble in my life, all I can do is just depend on the world system to provide me with temporal solutions which work fine and dandy for a short while and then the whole cycle starts again. The search for true meaning in this life and the uphill climb for good grades and reputation to seal the future. Superficial Confidence in temporal stuff. Now, I find that only God provides the eternal solution to everything. Even if I become sad, moody and completely shitty when things don't turn out fine, this indescribable joy and peace will force itself to just replace all the negative thoughts in my mind.

In His Time.

2008-03-07T22:15:00.004+08:00

These days I wonder if God can indeed transform things and situations. I became questioning when I shouldn't be in the first time. I stop questioning and began believing when I get this simple relevation :-

When I ask if God can indeed take the awful and upsetting situations that befall us as well as the circumstances we bring on ourselves by our hot-headedness, foolishness whatever, and turn them into good? The bible says He can!. "And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose" (Romans 8:28-29).

And He showed me the best way to deepen this conviction is that God has all the power to take the setbacks in life and turn them into springboards. How? By simply reflecting on the finished work of the Cross. The cross; it is the ultimate and the supreme example of God's ability to transform things and situations, the worst of the lot. Right there at the cross, He took the most horrific event that ever happened on this earth and made it into the most sublime. What happened on the cross was the world's worst crime, yet it is now the world's supreme hope. It was the darkest event in history, yet now, it is the brightest and most marvelous light of all. Sin became the dark backdrop against which His grace shines even more brilliantly.

Hence, He's telling me, If He CAN do that with the cross, what can he not do with the setbacks in life. If He can conquer the cross, can he not help me conquer my circumstances. He will aid me to reign over all that is happening and I see hope. I really do.

I know that I might not come to understand the things that are happening now. I can be lost for words to explain and sometimes, I find it beyond me to explain and justify to everyone why this is happening. But, I know this phase will come to past soon. I believe in His time, he can make everything beautiful again. Give us the patience to wait it out.

My prayer for today:

Lord, just help me drop my personal anchor into the immense depths of your reassuring and encouraging relevation and truth, that nothing that ever happens to me is by chance and is beyond Your power to transform. I believe that every stumbling block becomes a stepping stone. I am indeed grateful. Amen.

WTH.

2008-03-07T14:45:00.005+08:00

My dive trip is postponed yet again.

When I should be at home packing for the trip and stoning in front of the TV or reading to kill time before I can finally set off for my fave diving, I am instead sitting in PCC editing my report.

Crap.

My final term, it seems, is indeed ending with a bang. This is unlike any previous terms. It is so super out of the norm.

I have so much to share but I have no idea where and how to start. And I just revert back to my lazy old self and stop trying to put thoughts into words anymore.

****

Long overdue pictures of Dinner at Paulaners with Ah Cat, Michelle, Alaska and Michelle

17th Feb 2008

Paulaners beer and german sausages. The sausages were so full of cheese that when SY munched into one of them, the warm cheese squirted onto me. HAHA. Yummy comfort food. I love drinking beer with these people. They are my beer people. =)

(Below) The grilled pork knuckle. What's eating German food without eating pork knuckle right. It tastes great even though it looks crappy.

Alaska just love the german mustard

Oh well, thats all.

Random day.

Aussie Bound 24 April to 11 May 08

2008-02-29T22:37:00.005+08:00

Finally. We have confirmed our grad trip. Booked our airtickets.

I was the one who booked the airtickets for 5 passengers and I found the booking process quite nerve-wrecking actually. I kept checking, checking and checking the details over and over again.

All in Price: 992 SGD per pax for SQ flight to Melbourne. GV4 promotion. Departs from T3 =)

Happy happy happy mode.

Only God Knows

2008-02-27T19:05:00.002+08:00

He is still the one who knows everything that has been going on in my life and in my mind.

I feel so alone yet, not alone at times. You know what I mean.

Close friends only know that much but I guess some stuff can't really be put into words. It's too hard to even try putting them in words.

At this juncture, I not only know the truth that God knows but He also understands 100% what I've been going through. And deep in my heart, I take comfort in that assurance.

You have made known to me the path of life; You will fill me with joy in Your presence , with eternal pleasures at Your right hand. - Psalm 16:11

Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight. - Proverbs 3:5

Yes, I'm trusting in the Lord with all my heart and I lean not on my own understanding.

Ice Cream Places Explored

2008-02-25T15:58:00.006+08:00

By now, most of my friends would know how much of an icecream fan I am. Sad to say, I'm not a big fan of big brands like Haagen Daz and Ben & Jerry's (used to be be a fan of their icecream but way too expensive for icecream which is too sweet). Overrated stuff.

On the contrary, I love neighbourhood icecream palours like

1. Daily Scoop (Click Me!)

41 Sunset Way, #01-04 Clementi Arcade, Singapore 597071
Tel: (+65) 6463 3365
Email: icecream@thedailyscoop.com.sg

Our operating hours:
Mon-Thu 11am - 9pm
Fri & Sat 11am - 10pm
Sun 2pm - 9pm
Closed on selected public holidays

My favorite: Their Lychee Martini Icecream.

Shao, I know you love their handmade icecream too ;)

2. The Icecream Chefs (Click Me!)

Premium Home made icecream on the rocks!

520 East Coast Road #01-06 (Ocean Park Building, along main east coast road)Tel: 64466355

3. Ice 3 (known as Ice Cube) (Click Me!)

New found love since it's located at Serangoon Gardens! Just 10 min drive from my place =)

Add: 11 Kensington Park Road Serangoon Garden Estate Singapore 557263
For those of you who know where Chomp Chomp is, the store is located diagonally opposite of the famous eatery, along the same row of 7 Eleven.

Other outlet at Tampines Century Square! For those Easterners.

Alcoholics Anonymous Mudpie. For those who love Rum and Raisin icecream, you'll love this. I'm not a big fan of R&R, so naturally, I didn't find that fantastic but its still pretty shiok.

Caramel brownie.

Finally, my all time favorite icecream place award definitely goes to Island Creamery.

Even though they have expanded all over the island with outlets in Great World City and CentrePoint, I still love going to the original outlet at Serene Centre (Bukit Timah). It reminded me of school days back at the Old SMU bukit timah campus. From a tiny dingy outlet when Jax brought me there to try out their Revers-O icecream and we had to stand around eating the icecream because there were not enough chairs and tables around, IC had since expanded into a full-fledged icecream palour.

Sadly, the owner's son is just a Hi and Bye acquaintance in school, otherwise, I would bug him to give me a mega discount for patronizing his store. =P

Shao, icecream places wouldn't be possible without you as the ultimate walking icecream guide. Haha, you are the best icecream khaki around, ever willing to drive across the island for good and affordable icecream.

Icecream is seriously my Archille's Heel when it comes to having a healthy diet.

What on Earth Happened the past few weeks.

2008-02-23T22:35:00.006+08:00

Other than the CNY festivities, these are what happened for the entire month of Feb.

The main highlights.

1. Kavitha's dance ceremony; a culmination of more than a decade of dancing.

Babe, I know I said this like countless times. But I'm going to say it again, "I am SO proud of you! It was nothing short of a brilliant performance!" Even though most of the time, the girls and I had no idea what was going on during the dance, we are still amazed at how well you danced solo. Solo for 3 hours in front of a near full house threatre. What a feat...

The girls who attended the ceremony.

2. My 23rd birthday mini-celeb at Aerins Raffles City.

I'm 23!

Chocolate truffle cake from Cedele Depot. Yummy! Coincidentally, my family bought a cake from Cedele this year too. Their Death by Chocolate or Devil's Chocolate Fudge cake (can't remember which one is the exact name) is sinfully good. The choc fudge is super thick. So if you sink your teeth into the entire slice of cake, your front teeth will emerge speared with chocolate. OoOoOoO. *Salivating* Awfully Chocolate is still better though. I think.

If I were to open a shop in the future, I'll most likely sell chocolate and everything to do with chocolate. Perhaps even a small corner where you can learn how to make chocolate and chocolate cakes.

But, I'll grow fat because I will very likely eat my own supply of chocolate and end up not making money at all. Haha.

oh well, starting to ramble nonsense.

Posing with Vet's car (fondly known as The Silver Spaceship) Why eh? Someone tell me the story behind the nickname. Ha. Her car is filled with truckloads of soft toys dangling everywhere! In the event we cannot remember where the car is parked, we'll look out from far, for a big ass Mashi maro dangling at the side window and we know we have located the Silver Spaceship.

I think I'm a non-accessorize car person. My car would most likely be deprived of any type of girlish accessories (even though I can be girlish). I want my car to be manly. LOL. Because I drive like a guy. Impatient, bossy and cannot stand slow drivers. Just like my daddy. oops.

And and! Thanks Marie, Youie, Vet, Shirong, YuYing and Kavitha for the watch! Love it and love all of you loads!

And of course, Wanzhi! How can I forget your airflown can of Grans Chocolate Fudge from Aussie. It was a lovely surprise. Thank you so much =)

And thanks to everyone else who gave me pressies, red packets, well wishes, CARDS (you know who you are =P!) and treats!

That's all that will be posted. The rest of the happenings are confidental stuff.

Whirlwind of a month. All I can say is, I'll remember this year's birthday for the rest of my life.

Feeling uber blessed with so much love showered upon me.

***

Something lousy happened. My dive trip is postponed due to bad weather conditions over at the island. Boooo... Postponed to 7th - 9th march weekend.

Went to watch Fool's Gold with Jax and there were these awesome diving scenes in the Bahamas (before I die, I'll surely go there to dive!) which reminded me of the dive trip that didn't happen this weekend.

If my chocolate shop doesn't turn out fine, I'll open a tour agency purely specializing in arranging dive trips, live-aboards and family diving around the world. (Youie, want to be my business partner? lol.)

The Best Birthday Gift From Jean

2008-02-18T12:44:00.002+08:00

A blog entry dedicated to me by my beloved sister, Jean.

Titled simply, "To Jie,"

May the good Lord bless you, may the good Lord bless you, may the good Lord bless youuuu, may the good Lord bless you~!(sing to the tune of the happy birthday song)

Jie,blessed 23rd! 23 years ain't a lot of years actually, when you have all eternity waiting for you=)

and this year, I've decided to dedicate one post to you instead of writing a letter. This way, I can type down more and you can have an easier time reading what I have to say;)

haha.

It's been amazing these past few years(cause I can't remember the time I spent as a kid), being able to just spend time together as a family, talking to each other, praying together, even simple things like sitting together on sundays during the second service...though it's quite hard for us to spend more time with one another due to school, work and all, but I'm glad that at night, we're just able to smile and say goodnight to each other, know that we have this family to depend on, to have our big family dinners, play dai ti and mahjong..all the simple things do matter a lot.

and on your special day, I just want to thank God and thank you for all you've done and all you are! haha. thank you for being the fashionista in our family(so I can borrow stuff from you..), thank you for the times when you helped me out with my work, with my dressing-up, for those times when you drove all the way to school and church just to pick me up, those times when you stood up for me, those encouragements you have given me...and more.

You have indeed been the sweetest sister around, and also a most qualified driver in our family!=)

also, even though we are very different from each other, but I'm glad we didn't let our differences hinder us in getting to know each other!

yup, may our Heavenly Father continue to bless this family, and I pray as the year goes by, you'll be drawn closer to Him and that His presence will be manifested in your life. And that you'll experience every blessing in Christ, receive all joy, love, grace, mercy, peace, wisdom and understanding from our great God=) Continue to grow in Christ and seek His will in your life!

haha, that's all.

love you jie,jean.

My eyes just welled up with tears after reading it. It was the sweestest message ever.
****

I know since my birthday, I've been ''missing" from writing online.

It was one unforgettable week in all emotional aspects.

One blatant thing, I ate alot of good food (I ate enough steak to last me for the next month! =\) last week. Thanks friends for all the dinner treats :)

She Amazes me

2008-02-18T12:33:00.002+08:00

As I was reading through my younger sister's blog, I was truly amazed by what she shared. She blew me away with her words. Always had and always will.

She wrote this piece, "Believe" and I was speechless by the time I was reading halfway through it. I can truly see how my sister's life has been transformed.

"Believe!"

Christianity, if false, is of no importance, and if true, of infinite importance. The only thing it cannot be is moderately important. - by C. S. Lewis

This speaks exactly what is in my heart and what I once read from a max lucado book.

let me see if I can find the passage. ah, here's one.
Not the one I remember, but one alright.

Matt 28:1-6:
Early on Sunday morning, as the new day was dawning, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went out to see the tomb. Suddenly, there was a great earthquake, because an angel of the Lord came down from heaven and rolled aside the stone and sat on it. His face shone like lightning, and his clothing was as white as snow. The guards shook with fear when they saw him and they fell into a dead faint. "Don't be afraid!...I know you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified. He isn't here! He has been raised from the dead, just as he said would happen. Come, see where his body was lying."

Such words mess with you. They cause you either to leave or to hop on. Be they false, the body of Jesus lay a-moldering in a borrowed grave. Be they false, then we have no good news. An occupied tomb on Sunday takes the good out of Good Friday.

Be they true however-if the rock is rolled and the Lord is living-then pull out the fiddle and don your dancing shoes. Heaven unplugged the grave's power chord, and you and I have nothing to fear. Death is disabled. Get on board!

Can we trust the proclamation? The invitation of the angel is "come and see..."

The empty tomb never resists honest investigation. Following Christ demands faith, but not blind faith. Shall we come and see? Take a look at the vacated tomb. Did you know that the opponents of Christ never challenged its vacancy? No pharisee or roman soldier ever led a contingent back to the burial site and declared, "The angel was wrong. The body is here. It was all a rumor."

They would have if they could have. Within weeks, disciples occupied every Jerusalem street corner, announcing a risen Christ. What quicker way for the enemies of the church to shut them up than to produce a cold and lifeless body? Display the body, and Christianity is stillborn. But they had none to display.

Helps explain the Jerusalem revival. When the apostles argued for the empty tomb, the people looked to the pharisees for a rebuttal. But they had none to give. As A.M.Fairbairn put it long ago, "the silence of the Jews is as eloquent as the speech of Christians!"

The other passage I remember has the message along the lines of the quote. Jesus proclaims to be the Son of God, God himself. That He is "the way, the life, and the truth. No one (goes) to the Father except through (Him)"- John 14:6. Jesus didn't give us three choices. He gave us only two- Believe in Him or not. Accept His gift of salvation on reject it.

It may seem harsh, but if you think about it, if you don't accept a gift given to you, you are actually rejecting it aren't you? You can't poosibly say," I acknowledge the gift, but I'm just going to leave it there and that's it." Even if you say"it's okay, I appreciate it..."Returning the gift is as good as rejecting it right?

There is no middle ground with God. And in fact, there shouldn't be. Would you want a God who doesn't really care if you accept him or ignore him? I know I wouldn't. A living God who truly loves us will be able and willing to reach out to us in His way. When He has done everything for us, and the truth is looking at us right in our face, we can choose to accept it or reject it. It's our choice.Maybe it's time now to step out of our comfort zones and seek the truth for ourselves, and to accept it.

I believe in Christianity as I believe that the sun has risen: not only because I see it, but because by it I see everything else.- by C. S. Lewis

Powerful message. Penned by my dear lovely and wonderful sister.

I'm a Book Geek.

2008-02-07T21:30:00.000+08:00

I'm seriously am one since at a very young age. That explains my thick spectacle lens.

Just finished The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini a week ago. And it was a marvelously captivating read - the best I read in a long while. It made me feel I was living in the story's protagonist's shoes. I was so caught up with the story that I stayed up till the wee hours just to read on, on and on until I finished the rest of the book. However, the movie, in my opinion, didn't do justice to the literature though. I thought I would cry at the end of the movie, but it turned out, I didn't. So, I came to this warped conclusion that the movie was not that excellently done to move me to tears.

Ok, sounds very warped. Nevermind.

I'm gonna read A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini and Journeys beyond the Comfort Zone by David W.F Wong from the Haggai Institute, concurrently.

Books are an immense source of knowledge, imagination and food for the soul.

Eden Loft Nail Spa

2008-02-06T22:04:00.000+08:00

Located at Sin Ming Plaza Tower 2, 6 Sin Ming Road (Off Thomson Road)

After going to quite a number of nail spa palours, this gotta be the best and the cheapest.

Opted for Mani and pedi combo at $40. As compared to Snails' pedicure for close to 50 bucks, I don't think I want to go back to Snails ever again. Disgustingly expensive.

And its just 10 mins away from home by bus =)

Call this number for appointment, 6554 0320

Happy with my red nails for the lunar new year.

Full speed ahead in devouring CNY goodies,steamboats, playing mahjong and collecting red packets. Woooo.. And of course, lots of family bonding time!

Really looking forward to my ah ma's home made curry puffs and my aunt's home made pineapple tarts (I don't really like pineapple tarts but I only eat the ones she made.) Damn fussy, I know. =\

=)=)=)=)

Have a joyful & blessed lunar new year!

Woods @ Dempsey

2008-02-02T13:00:00.000+08:00

31st January 08 - Thursday

Indulging in wine after a long day in school. - Morning class, Strat lesson and case study presentation and gym workout. It was worth it.

The 12. We kinda expanded from 7 to 12 (according to May's figure keeping records). Yups, welcome to the Mostly HR-AA club.

With Li Ping, Eunice, & Gary (The VP)

Hui Xin, Julez (The Pres), May & Li Ping

Qiu Xin and Ash

Qihan (soon to be gymming khaki, hopefully...)

As the drinking went on, the increase in the number of unglam and most candid shots are inevitable...

Hah. Grad trip discussion while posing for the camera. She can really multi-task.

They are all reaching out for the wine.

Wine appreciation in the process. Actually I looked puzzled and sleepy.

HAHA... I like this shot.

I like this following candid shot the best because they look really serious...

Till next time. Great company, Good cheese but ok wine (=X)

Only grouses -

Dempsey is really ulu and the toilets look like Malaysia toilets with lizards crawling around.

I didn't get to try the German gewurztramine white wine. I like that, but sadly, we didn't order that.

THIS IS IT.

2008-02-02T00:40:00.000+08:00

I filed for Graduation.

It was just a 3 step process. But it took me quite awhile. No, there was no technical screw up, no slow internet speed or whatever. It is just the emotions.

This, marks the end of my 16 years of formal education.

This filing for graduation process makes me feel like I'm declaring to the entire world that my school years are fast approaching its end.

No words are good enough to describe my feelings right now.

I can only think of saying goodbye to,

the years of wearing uniforms to school

the years of canteen food

the years of receiving allowances from my family

the years of 90% play, 10% study

the years of mugging thru heaps of Ten Year Series, Different JCs Prelim papers and Past year papers

But, I'll forever keep the memories of

Having my first crushes, my first strong friendships, laughter, adventure, mischiefs, klutzy moments & the start of dreams and aspirations within the comfort and safety of the school walls.

In retrospect, I would never ever want to change any aspect of my education life. I was truly blessed during this journey.

I'm thankful for my family who gave and is still giving their endless support, love and definitely financial resources to aid me thru school.

My friends, who more than often were and still are the reasons I love going to school everyday. The same old people who lent me their homework to copy, coach me in dreadful maths, physics & science and believe in me more than I do at times. And the Friends who made college life less cut-throat and more worthwhile.

And, of course, ultimately God, who made all of the above possible. =)

HAHA.

After all that writing, I wonder since when a simple affair of filing for graduation became a Oscar winning speech. T_T

Dear Lovely Wan Zhi & and her sweet message

2008-01-30T21:49:00.000+08:00

I hardly log into Facebook these days and for once, I'm actually thankful that FB sent me notification emails when someone wrote on my wall. Because, Wanzhi replied my message on the wall, which brought a HUGE smile to my face.

"hey jo!! i miss u loads too. i promise u babe, i ll do all e mentioned n even more. lol. over here in sydney, i jus came to realise so many things tat we can all do together, like organising day trip or hiking etc. also, its hard to find frens w common interests, so i ll treasure u gals n def get all of u out n hav fun together.i hav actually jus return frm mel, it was really great. can giv u some ideas on where 2 go in mel for ur mel graduation trip if u need any tat is. n i read e comments on my blog too, lol. i wld def luv to hav u n ur frens here at my BIG BIG house but tat is if u guys r coming b4 in jan or feb coz my housmates r nt ard. afterwhich they ll b back so no rooms 4 all of u. but if its only u, u r always welcome at any time to 'sleep' w me, lol.hear frm u soon, or mayb i ll see u during e easter wk!!! take care n luv u!!!"

Haha. Zhi, can all of us squeeze into your room? Hopefully, its a BIG BIG room. lols.

All of us girls back home miss you like crazy! Come back to us soon to entertain and play MJ with us!

Looking forward to Kavi's dance graduation ceremony. Not only can I watch her dance (not the clubbing kinda dancing) for the first time but I finally get to see all the girlies again. Seriously, I yearn for that day to come.

My Wish List for Birthday

2008-01-28T17:39:00.000+08:00

I shall keep this list short and attainable.

1. A new watch.

Reaction Collection - Just Stunning

Reaction Collection - Happy Hour

Old School (the cheapest USD89) But its too casual. I need a formal looking watch.

The Time is right (eh, this is the name of the model) How appropriate. =\

Tangs Vouchers would be great! I want to try out the latest Shiseido cream eyeliner =)

Short list right. No bags. No shoes.

****

Random pictures when Ellie was still in Sg. Missing her already...

Memories Tucked Away

2008-01-22T22:30:00.000+08:00

Tucked away in some corner of my mind. I always feel that there are different types of memories. Memories you'll always want to remember and keep for life, memories not worth remembering and memories that somehow got forgotten along the years.

It was a rather odd day in school. Figuratively, I felt like I traveled back in time in school today (No, I'm not watching too much of Hiro on Heros to feel this way...) It just felt as if I traveled back to Year 1 college days. All in a day, I saw a few of my Year 1 friends whom I used to be close to and now, lost contact with as we go along our separate ways.

I saw,

Matthias - The straight As guy who was in my LTB group. Funny and relaxed when not working. Focused and direct when working during meetings. Walks from campus down the hill to the busstop talking about church stuff.

James - Studied with. Explained Stats and Financial Accounting terminology to me. Used to share our Christian walk together. Planned to learn diving together. 2 years on, I found out, he still have yet to learn it!

Year one, it feels so long ago but the memories once chucked away, seem so recent and clear now when I see my friends.

And now, we are just hi and bye friends. Changes. We started fresh in Year One, as if we just started drawing on a clean slate of paper. And now, we are really going separate ways. Used to be good friends, now, we talked like strangers. Nothing more than just polite conversations. We thought we would stay as good friends for a long time to come. But we didn't make the effort.

I don't know. This is happening all too fast.

If I want it my way, I seriously would love to find all the time in the world to make time out for each friend to maintain the friendship.

ok. Emo talk. Back to my case study.

****
Conversation of the day:
Met up with Lewyn for quick lunch and Strategy consultation.

Lewyn: When I first saw you in our Ethics class in Year 2, I thought you looked fierce. Wild partying sort.

Me: oh man, that's not a good first impression.

Lewyn: You look fierce when you don't smile.

Not the first time someone tells me that. I get stuff like I look super intimitating when I go for my first project meetings with pre-assigned group mates.

Do I look intimitating and snobbish? HAHAHA.

I'm NOT, ok, IF you know me well enough.

Anw, congrats again for graduating with a summa cum laude and nailing that StanChart job! You're easily the smartest person I know from SMU. Haha...

Pulau Dayang Coming Feb.

2008-01-20T21:22:00.001+08:00

I'M GOING DIVING THIS TERM BREAK! HELLO, ADVANCED CERTIFICATION :):)

Destination is Pulau Dayang, Malaysia (again...) But, I don't mind as long as I get to dive again. I'm actually going with the NTU divers. Not that I want to compare, but SMU diveteam sucks in getting good deals and they are certified under NAWI. They arrange to go to the same place but charge higher prices. =\ Since I'm a PADI certified diver, I have to learn from a PADI dive centre (I prefer PADI anyway.)

Click here for PADI's official website. For the uninitiated, it stands for Professional Association of Diving Instructors. It is the world's largest and most recognized recreational diving membership and diving training centre. (Taken fr. Wikipedia) A PADI membership is for life.

Side note: (evil and biased one towards NAWI certification)
I wiki-ed NAWI and Wikipedia doesn't even recognize it! It came back with weird results. Hmm.

So, please go for PADI! It's Australian and it says alot already.

Anyway, really looking forward to it since Shao and my boyfriend will be going as well. It will just be like the old days when I went for my first diving trip.

I'm really hoping Youie can go and someone kindly be her buddy so she will want to go. Diving without a buddy sucks. Jax and I are going for the advanced lessons so we cannot dive with the leisure divers so technically speaking, we won't be diving along with Youie so it's kinda sad because I have never dived with her before.

But, fret not, once I get my advanced cert, we shall go to Sipadan for diving okies.

Talking about going for this trip. It was kinda tough convincing Jax to go... But he finally gave in. I was so desperate that I said going for diving trip shall be my birthday present. Hence, he does not need to buy me any present at all.

Honestly, I'm quite afraid of diving in certain aspects like buoyancy control (I have a tendency to go too near to the corals and get myself scratched which is super dangerous because some corals are poisonous) I got scratched really badly the last time I went diving and the wound was like bleeding quite profusely. Thankfully, it healed completely and the scar I thought would come along with the injury didn't appear. So it was really Thank God or else I think I would be sad to have a scar on my leg. Plus, I read about how divers got infected with flesh eating bacteria, which got me really worried. And I have this tendency to get lost while navigating.

Nevertheless, all that is not gonna stop me from enjoying the beautiful underwater world. I'm going to conquer my fears!!

OH, another good thing. this guy just joined my cell group and he's a divemaster! So cool. He gets to dive for free because he works for a dive mag. I want that job!

As you can read, I'm really excited over the trip :)

So dear friends or school pals I'm doing project with, I'll be away from 22 to 25 Feb (its the weekend before term break.)

Shopping Friday with Jax

2008-01-19T11:43:00.000+08:00

We constantly read about how our partners are supposed to be our everything. Our "soul-mates", lovers, best friends, teachers and motivators. And I always thought my boyfriend however, couldn't somehow fulfill the part on shopping buddies (I would rather not use the word, girlfriends).

I was wrong... At least, he proved me wrong.

Because, we officially went for our first full-fledged shopping trip along the entire Orchard stretch. ;) Can't believe I can actually shop with him. I'm not saying this to make you guys assume that my boyfriend's a lousy shopping companion or he has lousy taste or whatever. See, when we go the malls, we usually just window shop, watch movies or hang out in coffeeshops to read and talk. So we hardly shop per se. Anyhow, he was a pretty good shopping companion and he waited PATIENTLY for me the entire time without making any complaints. If you shopped with me before, you'll know I take ages to come out of the fitting room and I'm super fussy so usually, I'll go to alot of shops before seeing something I really like. So unless I'm super comfortable with you, I think its best to not make you go through the agony of waiting for me. Haha.

But he still this really annoying habit though. The habit of pulling me away from any shoe boutique. Along comes the usual nagging. But funnily, it's nice to have someone control my spending occasionally.

And we bought what we set out to buy and the most amazing steal of all, was this squash racket he bought at Isetan. It costs 25 bucks (after discount!) for an Ashaway racket. And he used the vouchers given to him by his dad. So technically, it was free. Everything seems to be on sale these days. Blessed shopping trip with lots of discounts, extremely good deals, laughter and silly talk.

Oh Jax wanted me to blog this:

On the way home, we saw this guy with this funny icon on his shirt. Instead of iPOD, it was iPOOD (in case you didn't get it, its the farting poo-ing noise) and there's this picture of a guy pooing.

T_T!!! He found this gross humor to be super hilarious. It was hilarious for me to watch him laugh out loud, amused over such a lame joke. *shakes head* Yups, he found this worthwhile to blog about.

Oh wells, Boyfriends still pack a great deal of surprise in them. I'm still constantly amazed. =)

Shoutout: Fly Me to Paris!

2008-01-19T11:35:00.001+08:00

Advert! Visit the following online livejournal for your daily dose of retail fix!

http://flymetoparis.livejournal.com/

Must check it out and buy stuff from there alright!

Oh another one, For all those foodies out there, check out these food blogs,

1. www.ieatishootipost.blogspot.com (my favorite, recommended by Jax)

We went to a Peranakan/Indo cuisine restaurant the blogowner recommended. And the food especially the mee siam and mango sticky rice dessert was great. Not to mention, the pictures look super mouth-watering so refrain from viewing them in the night. Right now, I have a list of food places to go.

2. http://eatlikeus.wordpress.com/ (not as good as the first one, since this person doesn't really include enough pictures to whet our appetite...) but anyhow, still pretty informative.

.Live to eat.

Sudden Realization and Movies Mania

2008-01-18T10:41:00.000+08:00

When I woke up this morning and was lazing in bed, It suddenly dawned on me that, I'm turning 23 in less than a month!

Oh dear, age is really catching up. I want to be forever 21.

Oh well, age is just a number. Being young is not tied to a number!

***

I was looking at GV's Sneaks and Upcoming movie list and I have so many movies I want to catch!

Like this,

With one of my favorite Hollywood actors. He's easily my sister's TOP TOP favorite actor.

But I have a feeling (by reading the synopsis), it's gonna be gory and gut wrenching bloody.

And definitely this,
nothing can stop me from watching this in the cinema. Absolutely no livestreaming and no downloading please for this one.

Adaptation from the book, The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini. I'm going to read the book again.

And this, just because I have not seen a Brad Pitt movie for ages and I want to see how he has really aged. ok. That's quite a lame and lousy reason to watch this film. In my opinion, his best film is still Seven Years in Tibet. Not because he looks the best in that film or anything like that. Sadly, He USED to be my favorite Hollywood actor.

Random:

Dive trip to Dayang anyone? Open to SMU students. I want to dive at least once before I start work. Even if it means going back to Dayang again. I want to catch mini sharks and rays which I missed seeing the last trip. =( I was blessed to see an entire school of gi-normous bumphead parrotfish and barracudas but I didn't see the mini sharks which would have been even more awesome.

Youie, if NTU dive team goes to Dayang and nobody wants to go with me on the smu trip, I want to hitch a ride. =D But then again, I don't have a buddy unless I managed to persuade Jax to go along. I need more diver-friends.....

You can tell I'm getting desperate to dive here. The underwater world is just so amazing and beautiful that getting that dive certification is one of the best things that happened in my life. I bet you guys never know this, but Little Mermaid is my favorite Disney Fairytale and it kinda inspired me from young to explore the underwater world. Back then, when I was a kid, I don't think I ever knew such a thing called scuba diving actually existed.

And ultimately, I got my wish fulfilled, a decade later.

Under the sea, Under the sea, darling it's better.

I'm such a Disney fairytale person. Sometimes, I wish I was a little girl again.

You choose to be on the side of me.

2008-01-16T23:13:00.000+08:00

I'm not the easiest person to love
I'm often the one who let things go unresolved

Yet you choose
To be on the side of me
On the side of me
Yeah, You choose to be on the side of me
On The side of me

I'm not too proud of some things I've done in my life
Skeletons in my closet are too big for me to hide

Yet You choose to be on the side of me
Blessed Charity
You're on the side of me
Cause everyone needs a friend to hold
When its cold outside and there's no place to go

Yeah everyone needs a friend to hold
all alone, I cry. There's no place to go

I remember when nobody cared
Nobody cared, but, You.

I'm not the easiest person to love
But You, You opened your heart to show me what I'm worth
Cause You choose to be on the side of me

You choose to be on the side of me.

A Walk to Remember.

2008-01-13T23:28:00.000+08:00

Watched a re-run on Movie6.net. Actually, this is like my umpteenth re-run of the movie.

I love the "Love is patient, Love is Kind" scene the most. It never ever fail to make me tear (a little)

"Love is always patient and kind. It is never jealous, never boastful; nor conceited. It is never rude and never selfish. It does not take offence and it is not resentful. Love takes no pleasure in other people's sins but delights in the truth. It is always ready to excuse, to trust, to hope and to endure whatever comes."

1 Corinthians 13

A.k.a The Love Chapter

I wonder, in the world today, how many people know the full meaning of love and how many can honestly say they have experienced for themselves this full measure of agape love.

God is fully capable of agape love and the evidence, the cross.

****

It's funny. I preached to Jax about this verse before and how much I like reading it over and over again. And whenever, I get alittle too impatient and grouchy with him, he'll go, "Love is patient, love is kind". Things will be ok after.

To myself: Girl, walk the talk.

Was inspired by the message in church today.

"Life is not a sprint of a race. It is a marathon. Finish well."

"Live life with certainty. Know who you are and Whose you are." A child of God, deeply loved, greatly blessed and highly favored.

Plan A and Plan B

2008-01-12T22:31:00.000+08:00

11th Jan, Friday.

As always, Fridays are spent with Jax. Decided to go to Timbre in the night for some daiquiris, pizzas and live music. By the time we drove there, there was a long queue waiting to get in. And being a liveband place, the chances of people leaving anytime soon are pretty slim so he suggested Plan B, which is to go to Zouk where his friend can get us into the members' lounge.

Other than bumping into Derrick (the fashion designer, the one at Yuying's party), it was an uneventful night.

I would rather go to Timbre where we can talk without shouting over the music and just chill out.

Anyway, the rest of the day was rather good in a relaxing manner. Caught Darjeeling Limited which was seriously more like an art film and I fell asleep while watching it. Even Owen Wilson couldn't save the show for me.

I do not appreciate such films.

I'm learning malay now. Haha, after my last attempt at learning Japanese for an entire year, I thought that the days of eagerly learning a new language were long over. Guess I'm wrong.

And the only sentences I vaguely recall are:

Nama Saya Joanna. (My name is Joanna.)

Saya suka makan nasi ayam (I like to eat chicken rice)

Saya tinggal di Bishan (I live in Bishan).

HAHA. I feel like a primary school kid.

Oh another one,

Saya Bahasa Melayu Profesor adalah satu cheeko peh (My Malay professor is a cheeko peh.)

You read that right. He's not your subtle kind of cheeko peh, but right in your face blatant kind.

Day one he asked me in a very suggestive manner if I have a boyfriend and do I "sayang" him?

I said yes, I do have a boyfriend. And I so wanted to tell him to MYOB for that second question.

Rolls eye.

Happy 23rd Birthday, Babe!

2008-01-07T20:20:00.000+08:00

Yuying's 23rd at Zouk...

Boyfriends were invited so Jax came along too.

The girls

(Marie, you should know the reason behind the black and white, right?) ;)

The crazy flow of drinks & Shooters.

The boyfriend who made sure I didn't drink more than I ought to. I hate to admit it, but Zouk is actually the place where I first met Jax (seriously, a club is the last place I would like to meet my other half). Haha. But who knows...

Lovely girls, Yuying and Shirong

The Fab "twins", Looking very good.

The long time ago tanning mates =X

While the rest were on the dancefloor, we chilled and took pictures. =)

He just couldn't take it without a taking a shot with the bottle of McCallan when nobody's around.

Last minute impulse buy the day before from F21.

This hilarious "fashion designer" who kinda gatecrashed the party and started dancing in front of us. Shirong, Jax and I were seriously amused and entertained by him. I jokingly asked him to pose for the camera and he sportingly did. Lol. What a character....

Marie & Kevin (another black and white) A very nice black and white. Decided to add the colour back to Marie's top.

Shirong and Qilong (the mystery guy revealed). Heh.

HAHA!

The only un-tomato-fied face. Teehee... ;)

*Just read Marie's blog, we updated the same pictures! Most of them. =D*

To Yuying! Happy Birthday! You're still as beautiful and stunning as ever! Love ya! Keep that radiant glow ;)

New Year Margaritas

2008-01-05T13:15:00.001+08:00

HR Folks (FINALLY) gathered at Cafe Iguana for that long awaited glass(es) of Macho Margarita.

They are not called Macho for nothing. Getting the best of both the Mango and Lime Margaritas

May, all hail the Margarita Queen. ;)

Group photo (from the right, Eunice, Li Ping, Gary, Hui Xin's boyfriend,Kenny, Huixin, May and me). Missing the company of both Julez, Qiu Xin, Qihan and Ash. Drinking somehow ain't the same without them.

Desserts at Riciotto. The girls all love the Soffiato (chocolate molten souffle cake). Gary and Kenny couldn't understand why girls are so mad over chocolate. Guys... *shakes heads*

****

Cookout at Qihan's place.

I was in charge of cooking mushroom and beef pasta and mini pizzas (the same ones youie did for our cookout). It took the 6 of us 2 hours to prepare just a simple meal of pasta, potato salad, omelette and spicy steamed chicken wings. The best dish, in my opinion is Julez's steamed chicken wings. Everyone gobbled up the chicken wings first.

Movie time. We watched Shutter T_T. Which scared the crap out of me. Haha, but Qiuxin looked more terrfied than me in most of the pictures...

2008

2008-01-01T20:13:00.000+08:00

Happy new year! May the year ahead be filled with much joy, love, peace and laughter for all of you =)

2007 came and went like the wind. Yet another wonderful year. December was a great month of chilling out, slacking, shopping, family time and partying.

Girls, we didn't spend much time during the december holidays though. A part of me misses you guys alot. We need to MJ soon. I have a 2 day school week coming up, please come over to my place to hang out ok. Do not make me feel like I planned a 2 day week for nothing. =\

Why the lack of blogging and non-presence online. Oh well, I'm getting very lazy of late. The days when I'm at home, I spend my time watching back to back episodes of Heroes on youku.com. I hardly go online to chat on MSN, Facebook or even online shop. Just a short while ago, I logged onto Facebook and I'm shocked by how much I was Superpoked! I was like, WOW, so many cool functions, and my friends are superpoking me like mad and inviting me to all these applications. So much so that my requests list on my Facebook's homepage is as long as the page itself. And I'm seriously too lazy to cancel all of them. I'm just waiting to see how long it will just go on. So friends, stop sending me invites to join applications. Haha, it's gonna be a vain attempt =\

Back to Heroes... My fave hero, HIRO NAKAMURA! He makes me laugh out loud! The scene where he stood on the rooftop facing Manhattan shouting"Don't worry NEW YORK, I'm going to save you!"in his dorkish Japanese accent is classic. He does look like a carp when he talks. Hehe...His pal, Ando is such a funny dork too. I always love watching the comic reliefs in any shows.

Ok, back to watching Heroes. Just killing time here while waiting for the show to load.

All Things Will Work Out Good

2007-12-26T11:40:00.000+08:00

This phrase just came to mind everytime I have those crazy doubts in my mind when I ponder about my career options.

After a long hiatus from MSN, I decided to go online only to face a decision which I ought to have already made up my mind about. I mean ok, since when MSN became such a channel for major dilemma headaches. Isn't it supposed to be a kind of brainless entertainment communication channel where people just catch up and talk crap. Well anyway, I was chatting with a friend from school and we were talking about deciding between which major we should embark our career on. Suddenly, we were talking adult stuff and it was over-whelming. It was all about prospects, pay packages and the like.

For me, it's Marketing and HR. FYI, HR pays far better than Marketing. But its not about the paycheck, its about what I'm good at and what I'm more suitable for. But, I'm not 100 percent certain about what I'm good at. Let's give an analogy to make explanation easier; I'm like this bystander idling at the bleachers observing and taking my own sweet time deciding which football team I want to support when the game is way past half-time and about to end........ damnit.

Haha, if only choosing a career option when I have one more term before graduating is as easy as choosing which football team to support.

So my next option, I'm going to consult the greatest and the most wonderful coach to give me answers. And that's God. Seriously, at this juncture, I do need His consult. And I trust in the hope that He will send friends, those who have graduated and those with experience to come my way to give me answers and advice. He has already put me in the best place to ask for consult, my cell group. 3 years ago, I asked myself why did God lead me to a cell group where all the members are at least 3 years older than me and I'm the only student in their midst. Come to think of it, all my career advisers are right there for me to ask.

Like, wow. Haha, if only I'm majoring in finance and accounting, cause half of them are working in banks and have worked in the big 4s. Nevertheless, I'm sure they have the knowledge and wisdom to provide me the advice I need.

All, I need to do is ask.

Matt 7:7-8

"Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened."

First person He sent along to encourage me to trust in God, Miranda, a friend whom I got to know during my summer trip to Vancouver. And I have not talked to her in ages and out of the blue, she just msned me. And its funny. The reason she came to talk to me - she was having some dilemma thingy as well. And I was having my own issues.

mirmirr: sunkissed said:
so im trying to rationalise it in my brain to trust in God and leave it all to Him
mirmirr: sunkissed said:
hahah He prob made me say hi and then tell u that we both need to rely on Him
mirmirr: sunkissed said:

joanna* . says:
thats what I was thinking too =)
joanna* . says:
amazing!

And its funny in an amazing way. The reason she came to talk to me online - she was having some dilemma issue as well. And I have my own issues to handle. As we said our goodbyes online, we left with the same conclusion. Trust in God, you will never go wrong. We cannot have control over everything. When we think we do have ultimate control, that's when we realise its really tiring and worthless to devote much of our time worrying about the "what ifs". When I become my insecure self, God gave countless reasons to make me feel secure once again.

Be blessed during this festive season!

Grad Trip (Under Construction) and the festive season

2007-12-22T00:39:00.000+08:00

Yayness! We got ourselves a grad trip committee formed. Initially, it was just the 4 of us, Julez, Li Ping, Qihan and myself. We added 2 more friends, Qiu Xin and Gary to form the current group of 6.

Surface work pretty much discussed over coffee at Starbucks amidst all the gossip and latest news being shared in between who's researching on what and responsible for which aspects of the trip prep.

Well well well, doesn't it sound like project meeting? If it does, it sure and must be the most interesting and gratifiable project meeting ever. Project Grad Trip - Getting the A+ for Enjoyment, Adventure, Meeting Budgets, Indulgences, Thrill Factor, Bonding and memories worth remembering for a lifetime!

I didn't include glorious shopping because I'm making an exception this time. Shopping will be the least of my priorities during the grad trip. =)

There're so many stuff I'm looking forward to this coming week!

First, there's my favorite event of the year, Christmas. Family and I went Christmas shopping on Thursday and town was near madness, filled with throngs of Xmas shoppers. Xmas shopping is fun but painful for the account...... Well, the joy in the giving! I bought a bag for my Grandma to bring for her weekly card playing sessions. I think she's gonna love it. She's always eyeing my bags.

I hope I'll get a shoe voucher.

And there's Cafe Del Mar with the girlies! Ellie came back from Perth and I get to see her and hear that infectious laughter finally.

Looking forward to cookout session with the Grad-Trippers (decided to name the group since I have all these different cliques now. Something I love about university life, different groups of friends added to this circle of friendship) to better prep us for cooking our meals during the trip. Eh, I'm bringing one or two of my mum's many cookbooks (even though my mum doesn't know how to cook and our kitchen doesn't have any rice to begin with). Western, Peranakan, Chinese Cuisine, you choose, I guess I can dig out a couple of those cookbooks to bring over. HAHA.

Have a blessed Christmas, y'll! Happy holidays!

OMGoodness!

2007-12-16T19:53:00.000+08:00

Check out this awesome movie livestreaming website (for those who have yet to know of this free movie haven of a website), www.movie6.net

Seriously I'm appalled by the truckload of free movies online. They even have "I am Legend" which is not out yet in cinemas. It's crazy! People out there live stream everything these days.

Damn pirated stuff. But I like.

I'm sucha cheapo pirated junkie. I'm not ashamed to admit it. Hurhur...

My trip to China was so boring and uneventful that I'm not even keen to transfer the pictures I took, from my cammie to my laptop. But apart from the lack of fantastic scenery and places to visit, it was a superb time of family bonding (the 11 of us!) To compensate for the boring factor, my cousins, aunt, sis and I played card games and ate loads of junk food into the wee hours of the night and slept 2 to 4 hours straight during bus journeys.

I love my family. To me, they are the best people I can have around me.

And I still have this heartwarming and tingley feeling everytime I see my ah-gong hold my ah-ma's hands to guide her through the shopping crowd. It's uber sweet and that picture is to me, my so-called definition of true love. (I believe very very strongly in marrying only once, to the right person, no regrets and you stick to the same person till your dying day). My grandparents, they are my role model when it comes to marriage.

When it comes to love, honestly, I'm a traditionalist and a die-hard romantic person at heart. I still believe so much in blissful fairytale endings. Jaded-ness, I forbid you to ever come near me!...

I'm SO HOOKED!

2007-12-13T00:11:00.001+08:00

On Grey's Anatomy...

I can watch like 5 ep back to back non stop. I love the holidays man. The Post exam life.

Mc Dreamy. I say, he can pull off the long hair. Usually, I feel strongly against guys having long hair, but IF you can pull it off and looks good with long hair, why not?

2nd hottest.

But my favorite is still O'Malley. He's the comic relief, the funny guy. And I always like the funny guy the best. Sense of humor triumphs over good looks (most of the time).

The soundtrack rocks too.

Songs such as "The Way I am" by Ingrid Michaelson and "9 Crimes" by Damien Rice.

Hardly the usual radio stuff, which is great.

Well, life's pretty much boring after coming back from my trip. Other than "scaling" Bukit Timah hill with Jax, I cannot think of anything more interesting that happened the past week. Just watching Grey's and napping.

Oh, and I'm baking chocolate molten cakes! I'm turning into a baking person, however bad my last cheesecake turned out.

Does asking my boyfriend to sign up for baking classes with me sound absurd? HAHA.

I'm starting to ramble. This entire post's content sounds so ramblish. -_-"

Bored. Bye and next week will be a good and amazing week! No more staying at home!... =X

(I'm beginning to talk like a boring person.)

I'm SO HOOKED!

2007-12-13T00:11:00.000+08:00

Some Boredom Relief

2007-11-20T21:50:00.000+08:00

I'm bored from studying hence the quick succession of posts...

I was looking through my pictures folder. And I realized I have not seen my best girlfriends for ages. Other than Kavitha, Youie and Yvette, it really felt like ages since I last saw Marie, Shirong and Yuying.

Marie. Busy at work while I'm still in school.

Wan Zhi. Having her final year of studies in Sydney

I don't care. I'm going to organize a mass meet up this december holidays at my place or something and we can all webcam Wanzhi from Singapore to Sydney. Heh.

And let's chill out more =)

The entire HR- double major gang (missing Li Ping) Qihan, the econs students gatecrashed. Haha. The guys are always outnumbered when we go for HR outings. Poor Gary is always surrounded by busybody girls like us who never fail to tease him about a certain girl in class, S____. =p

Looking forward to more fun, games and laughter come December!

Jax's Birthday

2007-11-19T21:09:00.000+08:00

18th November - He turns 24!

And, I got him a cheesecake from Hilton...

NOT!

HAHA. The cake box is just a recycled one. Oh by the way, Hilton's cheesecake is really yummy.

I baked an oreo cheesecake for him. Actually I got some help from my sis. (Thanks Jean, Love you!)

Erms, it looks chao ta. To be honest with you, the cake looks awful. I should have stuck with the previous plain cheesecake recipe from Nigella Lawson's website. Anyhow, he said it still tasted good. Haha, oh well. He better say its good since I took all that trouble of baking the cake and traveling all the way to NTU to celebrate his birthday.

He laughed and was really amused when I sang him a birthday song. It feels strange to sing a birthday song on my own.

Heh, I really love this photo. He looks so adorable while making a wish. Oh my goodness, he really have this boyish charm.

My effort has not gone to waste.

=)

Five Loaves and Two Fishes

2007-11-19T17:39:00.000+08:00

A little boy of thirteen

was on his way to school

He heard a crowd of people laughing

and he went to take a look

Thousands were listening to the stories of one man

He spoke with such wisdom,

even the kids could understand

The hours passed so quickly

the day turned to night

Everyone was hungry

but there was no food in sight

The boy looked in his lunchboxat the little that he had

He wasn't sure what good it'd do

there were thousands to be fed

But he saw the twinkling eyes of Jesus

the kindness in His smile

and the boy cried out with the trust of a child

he said:

"Take my five loaves and two fishes

Do with it as you willI surrender

Take my fears and inhibitions

All my burdens, my ambitions

You can use it all

to feed them all"

I often think about that boy

when I'm feeling small

and I worry that the work I do

means nothing at all

But every single tear I cry

is a diamond in His hands

and every door that slams in my face

I will offer up in prayer

So I'll give you every breadth that I have

Oh Lord, you can work miracles

All that you need is my "Amen"

Take my five loaves and two fishes

Do with it as you will

I surrender

Take my fears and inhibitions

All my burdens, my ambitions

You can use it all

I hope it's not too small

I trust in you

Take my five loaves and two fishes

Do with it as you will

I surrender

Take my fears and inhibitions

All my burdens, my ambitions

You can use it all

no gift is too small

*******

Imeem rocks. It lets me listen to all Corrinne May's songs while studying.

Corrinne May. "Singapore's answer to Sarah McLachlan".

Last Day of Term 1 07/08 & Starry Night VI

2007-11-18T22:28:00.000+08:00

16 November 2007, Friday

Finally, Week 13 is over and done with.

Another term has flown by yet again. It's strange but it seems with every year, the terms just come to past faster than the academic year before. It's all ending too soon.

And to all my friends who are graduating this term, I'll miss seeing you guys around in school.

All the very best in your job hunt and careers =) Do meet up for the occasional coffee or lunch.

In the day

Last class of the term; Performance Management & Compensation. We just wrapped up our last debate styled presentation and feeling super hyper about the end of school. Hence loads of whipping out of cameras to snap away.

Here's a picture of my team-mates and our Prof, David K (who soooo happens to be the husband of another prof from another class.)

My gene cell team-mates. New friends; Joycelyn and Steven who are both doing 3.5 years and graduating this term.

Friends from Year 1 !

Lewyn who is such a gentleman. Also graduating. Kinda feeling this sense of loss knowing that I wouldn't be seeing some of my friends in school anymore.

In the night

"Starry Night VI"

An "end of term" mini band concert to celebrate the end of each school term. As usual, it was held at the Big Steps, the venue to go for concerts and mini gigs such as Starry Night.

It was rather packed when we got there. Had to make do with this side corner which didn't promise much of a view.

Finally. I get to meet up with my friends/classmates from Year One.

Jian Sheng, Sharon, Me and Francesca

Jian Sheng with the free Kahjang Puteh. They were giving out free Red Bull as well. Too bad, the beer was not.

Jian Sheng and Sharon

My favorite act of the night, this band called, "The Good Fellows"

I know the name sounds kinda -_-" but the lead has really strong vocals and the entire band dynamics is really good. They totally worked the crowd. A mosh pit started to form at the foot of the stage. I guess the reason why they were so popular is because, they stuck with the safe numbers such as Black Eye Peas' and ColdPlay's songs.

The ending song, Fix You by ColdPlay was really surreal in a sense cause I'm sure there are many in the midst who are graduating who might be feeling sad and overwhelmed that this great chapter of their lives is ending soon. I don't know about you, but if I'm graduating and there at that point, listening to that sad tune, most probably I'll have tears in my eyes.

Honestly, next to secondary school days, college years are the best years ever. I know I will look back with fondness at the memories and friendships forged within the walls of the campus, both the old and the new.

Yea, honestly at times, I do feel that SMU's culture can be a little too elitist, too cut-throat, too superfluous and too grades-competitive. But, I've found my moments and my friends in SMU, whom I know has made a great deal of difference in my life and friends whom I know will be my friends for many more years to come.

(Now, why do I sound like, I'm graduating this term and wouldn't be returning to school after the December holidays...?!) Haha....

On another note, this means exams are coming.

One paper. One date. Many post-exams plans.

The Answer

2007-11-15T20:05:00.001+08:00

I teared in school today; nearing the end of Retail Management class.

I was feeling damn shitty the entire day. Woke up this morning at 6 with a super bad sore eye which scared the hell out of me. Because it was really damn red and it looks like my left eye was bleeding. And the worst thing is, I can't take the day off since my RM presentation was scheduled today. and, the cab ride to school costs a bomb as I had the 3D model to lug to school.

It is really one of those lousy moments.

I couldn't take it anymore when I saw my test score. I did way below expectations and right there and then, my vision just blurred. I was trying so hard not to let my tears fall.

This is one of the rare moments you see me looking so listless and moodless the entire day.

And Corrinne May's song, The Answer cheered me up. It's really such a lovely (in a somewhat melodiously melancholic kind of way) short piece.

I believe you are the answer to every tear I’ve cried
I believe that you are with me,My rising and my light.

Give me strength when I am weary
Give me hope when I can’t see
Through the crosses I must carry
Lord, bind my heart to thee

That when all my days are over and all my chores are done,
I may see your risen Glory
Forever where You are.

I know I might risk portraying myself as being a very emotional person when I say this. But I teared all over again when I see the lyrics and hear the song.

This time, they were shed for a better reason than over just a puny quiz score which is worth only 15% of my total grade.

Thank you God, for that song which knocked some sense into me and reminded me that you are with me every step of the way. I know You won't let me fall.

And Thank You for the wonderful and encouraging friends you blessed me with in school. In fact, all the girlfriends, friends and loved ones You blessed me with.

****

Another one.

Angel in Disguise -Corrinne May

It's really heartwarming to listen to her songs. Just oozes with simple meaningfulness.

Monbatbat

2007-11-14T00:24:00.001+08:00

I bet you have no idea whatsoever what the hell the post title meant. Except for the SZ peeps.

One of our many inside jokes during our time spent together.

For your information, (if you guys are reading this), I'm thinking about all of you. Yeah, this sounds kinda wrong. ButI'm like half-asleep and on the verge of my head threatening to slam onto the study table. Hence, I don't really care.

Haha. I tend to talk (and type) gibberish when I'm damn sleepy.

It's really funny when you stay with and see the same old people day in and day out (almost 24/7 really), how they seem to know all your deepest, darkest, most embarrassing secrets and lifestyle habits. Some of them, I bet my best girlfriends don't even know about. =\

This is THE most random post ever. Seriously no link.

Whatever. I'm just being a sleepyhead. Personnel selection notes are lethal sleeping pills. The statistical jargon seem like alien language to me.

Zzzzzzzzz.

I've Blogged. Dammit.

2007-11-12T22:58:00.000+08:00

Blame the itchy fingers and the restlessness.

It's the start of Week 13! The most dreaded week, yet I feel really excited because the holidays are coming very very soon. Even though its the time for presentation, project deadlines (they all seem to clash this term. No idea what's up with this term) and debates, I'm glad it's week 13.

I'm just relieved it's coming to an end soon. This term borders on the crazy side.

Firstly, Retail Management is kinda driving us nuts with the 3-D model. As if coming up with a novel retail concept is not that tough enough, it is mandatory that each group build a 3D model of our shop.

HAHA. Kinda absurd. After the first round of 'spoil market' presentations last Saturday, the competition is heating up. The 3D models made by the first few groups were really something - more like professionally done showroom models. Mind you, we are business students and not architects. So yeah, it goes to show the ultra competitive culture. T_T

And, to the class's and the Prof's horror, this guy had to go to the hospital to get 7 stitches for his index finger because he accidentally slashed it while cutting the metal sheets just to make the chairs for the model.

Ouch. Poor thing. Like what my schoolmate says, and I quote,

"This is a classic example of how SMU students like to "spoil market" for one another. If you teach a SMU student how to make a motorbike, he's going to build you a car for his project. The next batch of students will build you a boat. And by the time it's my turn to do the project, I will probably build you a jumbo jet."

How really true.

Hey Julez, let's see if we can indeed build a 'jumbo jet' for our retail mgmt project alright?
LOL. We'll see....

I'll be speaking malay next term because it is one of the Arts GE I will be taking for my last term. French and Spanish would be way more interesting but it clashed with another HR module (again!) My last school term will be a breeze and it ought be to be since its my last term. I'll be having a 2 day week (Tuesday and Thurdays) and 3 modules.

More time to shop, slack, plan for grad trip and of cause, more importantly hunt for jobs and go for interviews during term.

Thank God everything is falling into place for my last term in school. Let it be a breeze =)

For Fun...

2007-11-08T22:07:00.001+08:00

You Are An ENFP

The Inspirer

You love being around people, and you are deeply committed to your friends.
You are also unconventional, irreverent, and unimpressed by authority and rules.
Incredibly perceptive, you can usually sense if someone has hidden motives.
You use lots of colorful language and expressions. You're quite the storyteller!

In love, you are quite the charmer. And you are definitely willing to risk your heart.
You often don't follow through with your flirting or professed feelings. And you do break a lot of hearts.

At work, you are driven but not a workaholic. You just always seem to enjoy what you do.
You would make an excellent entrepreneur, politician, or journalist.

How you see yourself: compassionate, unselfish, and understanding

When other people don't get you, they see you as: gushy, emotional, and unfocused

What's Your Personality Type?

Yes, I was bored. Hence this random thing I got from some stranger's blog.

Time to get back to the books. Counting down to the

1. Suppers

2. Rounds after rounds of MJ with the girls

3. Party and indulging in wine

4. THAT trip to Cafe Iguana

5. Shopping (NOT online)

6. Travel (still dreaming of that dive trip)

7. Christmas, caroling and presents

8. Holiday movies

December is far too short a holiday to over-indulge in each of the above. =\

*******

I really love this movie. It's like a total fantasy and magical escape from reality for 2.5 hours. It felt like an adventure and it was somewhat as if I was a little girl again, all caught with her fantasy storybooks.

Please watch it in a child-like mindset. Haha. Because if not, you might find it ridiculous. Otherwise, it's really a fun movie to watch.