for all You've done

annual Christmas party at Jawei's.

2007-01-02T00:03:00.001+08:00

OUR CHRISTMAS TURKEY!

...That Yarn barbarically tore apart with her bare hands. UGH.

A whole chunk of meat Yarn dumped on my plate.

The root of all problems. Ok not all.
Root of Problem of The Night.

Psychopath Yarn.

Debra playing with Mr. Krabs!
... And eventually dunking xxx into her glass of vodka coz "xxx is dirty!"
Gasp.

Debra gone.

A piece of heaven.

*beams*

Happy kids =)
Rosy got us Godiva chocolate cheesecake from the States that was just... wow.

Yarn and Pheebs.

Yarn and Jawei.

Yarn and Nad.

Sweeping up broken glass pieces... *looks at Deb*
... Whilst most of us just watch on. Uh.

Compromising picture.

"Debra sit here shut up and don't move."

So not tired aye.
(Ungram to no end.)

VOTE YES TO BRING BACK DINOSAURS!

FUNNY!

Camping outside the bathroom...

... And IN the bathroom.

The after-effects of too much alcohol: Twin 2 dying in the toilet.
Thus my permanent seat for the rest of the night.

Twin 1 trying to sober up. (Bed without sheets GUESS WHY.)

Before Denise died; Covering the zit on the nose. Haha.

Debra sleep-standing in the bathroom. Kudos man.

clicky.

2006-12-31T07:10:00.000+08:00

I'm in agony. I can't even begin to tell you how much both my arms freaking HURT.
The party was... Indescribable. We had so much fun it turned slightly disastrous. Maybe disastrous would be putting it lightly...

Alcohol kills.

It's 7am now, I'm having a nightmare of a time trying to sleep. Like literally. I kept getting flashbacks of a few hours back. My arms are killing me to the point I feel like crying. It feels like I've done an intense workout of weight-lifting for the wrists and now lactic acid has consumed my entire being.

But it was last night I realized the love we have for each other will always be special.
Cheers to us being together for 5 years now :)
Thanks for the party, the pressies, the company, the friendship and the love.

I love you all.

Time to drink all the green tea in the world. Detox.

Shanghai edition.

2006-12-26T22:48:00.000+08:00

Outside the bullet train. Shinkensen!

Waiting for our famous xiao long baos.

Blatantly sleeping on the job.

Cool puppet show thinga!

SHANGHAI PISHES SHANGHAI DIRM.

See, in the olden days at this part of China, girls aren't allowed to smile with their teeth showing.

Oh is that right...

Meat hanging outside the huts!

Red maple trees!

Just like all the other scenic places in China, there's always the water, setting sun, tree and some pagoda in the far horizon.

99 balloons for you =)

EMO SHOT. Hahaha.

Breathtaking.

Madame Tusssauds:
My sister thinks I shamelessly cling onto every male wax figurine. *sheepish*

Haha I like this; of the paparazzi snapping pics of me. LOL.

Freaktall Yao Ming and his gross armpit hair.

Altogether now: Awwwwww. Hahaha... Flirty shirty indeed.

A split second before the captain behind sounded the horn. Probably coz of the flash. Heh.

Nanjing Road, Shanghai; at night.

Waxed food.

Sorry I just had to add this.

Xing Tian Di.

Siqi and I.

The perfect temperature.

counting down unwillingly.

2006-12-26T17:18:00.000+08:00

Finally a day to rest, thank God for that! My entire December has been packed with activities back-to-back; tiring but most fulfilling.

China was great! We toured Jiang Nan and it was a hectic 8 days where we checked in and out of 5 different hotels. We were blessed with a funny funky tour guide, a cool tour group, and great weather. No annoying wailing babies, none of those who always keeps everyone waiting, not even people who are perpetually leaving something or the other behind. Or people who have severe bladder problems such that we have to make frequent pee stops. Nothing! The trip was smooth, fuss-free, and fun! Everyone was happy. Thank you Lord.

Absolutely loved the little boys. So endearing. Melts. I miss playing games with them at various difficulty levels. Haha! "Now we play scissors-paper-stone at MEDIUM level ok!" Awww...
(Yeah by the way that was because we had been playing several rounds and little Ronald kept winning, but that WASN'T coz I was giving him chances. Crap. He must've thought otherwise though.)

Then there's Siqi who's 8 and rougher than a boy. But super sweet all at the same time. *grin*

So I got back on the 22nd, all worn out, and perplexed about not having done ANY of my Christmas shopping. I had limited shopping time in China and didn't manage to get anything for myself apart from a coat. I love coats and blazers. Spent the rest of our shopping time playing bargaining games with the shopkeepers for the sibs' LOOT. I'm the queen of bargaining and uh, proud of it. Hahaha. Siqi's mummy's right, it's not so much for the price, everything's so cheap already anyway. But just knowing you've won yet again, and succeeded in making the shopkeeper's face turn blue, all their blood vessels about to burst. It's... funny, to say the least.

China's gorgeous. The scenic bits, that is. I have thus developed a knack for taking emo scenic shots, whereas my sista has a thing for taking random people; candid shots. The gross bits of China are, very gross. My lungs have blackened by 70% from taking in 2nd-hand smoke in the short 8-days I've set foot in China. Smokes are so cheap, everyone just puffs and puffs stick after stick... To keep warm or something. After which, it's almost an instantaneous reaction whereby a hackling cough follows... not forgetting the all-too-famous spit on where ever really. Ugh.

It's a miracle they all live till a ripe old age. Then again it's always the smokers who live till 90ish still puffing happily with yellowed/rotten urm, dentures(?), and the non-smokers who die from lung cancer.

Anyhow, finally touched down in Singapore (oh and believe me when I say how our air is actually rather fresh and not that polluted), learned about the bout of torrent rain and crazy floods that invaded our sunny island over the past week when we were away. Thank God we managed to escape from it. And over in Shanghai, apparently it had been raining heaps before we arrived. But we were blessed with fantastic weather all throughout! Praise the Lord! (Desmond, our tour guide, says it's coz he's been singing "You Are My Sunshine" every night when we are asleep. HAHA.)

Ok how did I digress? So I was back, and fretting about presents and bringing a dish for the following day's party. But because God always sends angels when we need them (or not), my kind babysitter made me a Pyrex full of Hainanese porkchop to take along for the cell Christmas Party held at Germ's. I hate to admit it but I didn't have much time, and after combing Holland Village for a cool gift, I finally gave up and walked into The Body Shop for a feeble pre-packed "Christmas Gift Ideas" tiny hamper. I'm sorry. Granted, it's really quite handy. Haha I was gonna get a giant loofah!

Spent Saturday doing desperate last minute shopping together with the rest of Singapore. Mall to mall, shop to shop. For most, I didn't quite have in mind what I wanted to get so it was just aimless shopping, which got really tiring. Last minute shopping is tedious and such a chore. I absolutely hate it. But hey what choice did I have. However, I was on the hunt for a cool clock, so after I'd done the shops in town, I headed to Marina Square to check Molecule out. LO AND BEHOLD. IT WAS CLOSED BY THE TIME I GOT THERE. Frustrated as frustration gets, I was angsty and ready to give up. Long story short, I managed to find a relatively cool clock somewhere else that threatens to ring the entire block down, heh.

Got back past midnight, wrapped presents and knocked out before I had a chance to write my Christmas notes. *shrugs* Met my dear Lee-lee the following morning for breakfast at Tmall. YAY! Great to see her again, with the China air still floating around the both of us hahaha... Shared funny stories, before we headed off to church for service.

The treasure hunt(?) was supposed to start at 2 but the driver taking the kids mucked up and by the time the kids arrived from G2 and got briefed, it was almost 4 when we left G1. I declare that old people like me should probably not play games like that. Arrived at G2 at 7ish. EXHAUSTING. I'd like to think it's due to the fact I haven't had a good rest in a long time, thus the lack of energy to be running all over Singapore. Uh, yeah. Hopefully anyway.

Dinner was mediocre. The after-dinner entertainment wasn't adrenaline-pumping either. The real fun started only after the countdown, hehheh. I have NEVER heard so many lame jokes in my entire life. And there they were, feeding us with lame jokes one after another. The best part was, when we were all (ok not all) roaring with laughter at each stupid joke/riddle. And begging for more would you beat it? Yeah maybe coz it was early into the morning and we were all stoned. Then we played games. Games that sent Adora and I to a frenzy coz we were almost always the last ones to get them. We'd go like "OHHHHHHHHHHHH I KNOW ALREADY!" and turns out that it's WRONG yet again. Boo. But yay I left the party mastering all the games. YES! Finally! Save for the Fuzzy Wuzzy Bear one. And an air of triumph coz the others who joined us later were still struggling with the games. Hiak hiak hiak...

Soon, many of the youths just started dropping off like flies one by one, each hogging a row of chairs in the Chapel. We were still going on strong, chatting and playing silly games on the stage. Sun rose, Lanz and I left G2 7ish for breakfast at Redhill before I went for the Christmas service. Redefining the meaning of trudge. And dragging of feet. Went back, took a short power nap and chooped off to the other end of Singapore for another party. And Holland in the evening for yet another. Clicky this Sat!

This is getting long and incoherent so I shall just stick some photos up!

left on a jetplane, and back.

2006-12-22T11:20:00.000+08:00

Back from attempting to find my roots.
Found out, instead, that I'm in fact an underground stem.
I am: a potato.

Embarrassingly enough, and sadly.

happy chappy!

2006-12-06T11:46:00.000+08:00

Whee! I'm over the moon! Chewy e-mailed me!

Haha, actually we've been e-mailing over the year, albeit (very) sporadically. So whenever I get his mail, I'll be like, busking in joy for a very long time, before I actually get down to replying it LOL. And it's a cyclical thing such that each time the mail comes, the weather there has already changed drastically. Then again, aren't we all used to the 4-seasons-in-a-day Kiwiland? *grin*

-

Met Yarn for lunch and a movie yesterday. At the rate we're eating steak, it's probably more economically-wise to get a cow instead. Hrm...

Whilst we were out yesterday, it started pouring. And you know the stretch from Hilton to FEP? There's barely any shelter at all- just a skimpy walkway enough for one to get sheltered slightly. AND THEN, there were heaps of people carrying their stupid brollys and walking under the shelter. Why are people so stupid and selfish?! It was already crowded and congested enough as it is, even more so when MORE people with their HUGE brollys come join in the fun. Mutter...

complexity.

2006-12-04T19:48:00.000+08:00

She's so smart yet I don't understand how she can be so stupid and insensitive sometimes. It really gets on my nerves, and because I can't tolerate being under the same roof- it just agitates me further, I escape to where I always do. So here I am now at Tmall Macas. To attempt some work, away from the snide remarks. Blooh.

Suddenly there're heaps of people, probably a late dinner after the fake snow and avalanche out there. It's the same stuff every year. It's annoying and messy. But it generates revenue for the already thriving-rapidly Mc Donald's, who has been stealthily increasing its prices. Scumbag.

I'm shamelessly occupying a 6-seater without ordering any food. But I don't really care. I'm angsty and I figure I've spent possibly one-tenth of my money on Macas, in my entire life thus far.

Signs to show that I probably should have just gone for a movie with Yarn tonight instead. Bad move.

So this morning when I got up, I decided it was finally time to do my laundry yet again and so I loaded up the machine with my wash. Added washing powder, turned a few knobs, pressed a few buttons and it was good to go. 10 minutes later I walked into the bathroom in the kitchen... And it was freaking flooded.

The washer has broken and my full load of laundry was stuck inside, helpless. So what choice do I have but to handwash my clothes one by one. WOULD YOU BEAT THAT?!

I have never attempted washing so many pieces of clothing (by hand) at once. It's scary the way my laundry piles up within the span of a very short time. Maybe I should recycle clothes...

I then decided to be productive and wash my bathroom as well. Let's just say I scrubbed every nook and cranny and I was beyond exhausted. Finally embarked on my Christmas Story project and I'm almost done for the first bit of it. Hope to get the second half of it done soonest. I'm already running late.

Argh I just hate it when people never appreciate anything you do, and on the contrary complain so much that you never do anything for them. What is this man. Such injustice. And let's face it, nothing will ever suffice, and you're always right, since your conscience is forever clear. Isn't that ridiculous?! I won't even contend anymore. It doesn't matter to me. Granted sometimes when I do stuffs, I do them grudgingly but that's also because, with an obvious air of discontent, you keep criticizing this and that, without a word of thanks, and basically I'm just rather sick and tired of all that bull.

To a point that, yeah it's true sometimes when you ask me to do something and I think to myself: Why should I? But I do it anyway because I respect you.

*Shrugs*

I can't believe I turned down a coupla movie dates and a shopping sesh just to coop myself up at home doing chores. Urgh. But I guess when it's gotta be done, it's gotta be done.

Sigh. You know it's strange your name keeps running through my head.

biting the hand that feeds it.

2006-12-03T01:54:00.000+08:00

This morning, the super Lanz Toh gave me a wake-up call and instead of being grateful and getting up like I was meant to, I snarled at him and practically screamed my sleepiness at him. Haha whoops. Sorrrrrrrry!

"Time to get up already!"
"NO."

Haha apparently he found it hilarious. Shame on me. Portraying my unglamness to everyone. So sad eh.

On a completely separate note, I'm so glad and thankful that both cuzzies I'd invited for the drama made it. =) I'd never expect the busy loads-of-activities-back-to-back June would agree to come, but she did. Shall elaborate tomorrow or something. Am knackered.

love in the first degree.

2006-12-02T01:03:00.000+08:00

This song has been stuck in my head since last night and it's been playing on REPEAT MODE with only ONE SONG in the song library. Driving me nuts...

"Only you can set me free, coz I'm guilty (guilty), guilty as a girl can be..."

ARGHHHRGHHGHRHGHHGHGGGHHHH.
Shut up already!

For some strange reason unknown to me, I was in a foul mood, pissy and angsty, and was just ready to snap at anyone/everyone who has intentionally or unintentionally crossed my path (literally). Or basically just anyone within a 3metre radius of me visibly being significantly stupid.

Don't know what got into me either. It's one of those what-crawled-up-your-arse days... Unexplainable. Probably all the pent-up frustrations. *Shrugs*

But the wonders of a good dinner! Steak too! Made Cheryl a happy chappy. Nothing else required. I'm fine and dandy now.

"Only you can set me free, coz I'm guilty (guilty), guilty as a girl can be..." .............. for the umpteenth time.

ungram to no end.

2006-12-01T16:07:00.000+08:00

Lookie what Pheebs posted to our Yahoo Groups!
Cracks me up all the time.

welcome sancho!

2006-12-01T15:13:00.000+08:00

Ooh I finally met Mr. Sancho after a year! I can't remember why he's called Sancho but he is. Had a great time catching up over Thai (oh by the way I had something else other than the stuff I always have at Thai Express!).

Lugged my brick of a laptop around the entire day just so he could use it. Briefly though, coz I had to choop off to Gombak and it takes exactly 46 grand minutes to get there by train. Oh actually more last night, coz the stupid train had to terminate at Yishun so yadayada.

(Abruptly ends here coz... I'm lazy.)

ranDOM ranT.

2006-11-29T23:50:00.000+08:00

I think I have gone mad :D

There's nothing else to do online, online's boring. So why am I waiting! Full House beckons. I'm 4 (long) episodes away from the end! Weep. 4/5 of the fam is watching the same drama at different speeds. Even my brother. Uh, yes I know.

I read plenty of Privity stuffs over the past few days I'm ready to spew it all out.

I saw Germy today on the way home! :D

Bleah I know I really shouldn't be procrastinating doing that, but it's really rather uninteresting and suddenly I wish I'd never agreed to the task.

Milk + active honey to supposedly aid my ailing complexion. And the throat that's about to explode outta my being. Was gonna use the active 15+ hoping to speed things up and y'know, kill 2 birds with a stone... But decided not to overdo it, lest it mightn't work as well in future.

Oh yeah Kenneth is in town!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :D I'm seeing him soon!

Aiya ok I've given up waiting. Oh you cutie pie.

Well, bye.

summer days!

2006-11-29T12:15:00.000+08:00

YES! Just as I thought she was gonna silently dismiss me, I got a text from her. Whoopie!

Strange how it just feels like the end of the year once again, when I really should be on my annual 3-month long summer holiday. Sadly isn't the case though.

I've been hooked watching DVDs at home, and this super funny Korean drama. I love funny Korean dramas!

My brother is disappointing! He'd just got back from his waterpolo trip to Malaysia without any food for me! Basically they just shopped heaps so he's got some loot for himself. Sending the wrong people across the causeway ahhhhhhh jackfruit chips!

This entry is really mindless.

Ah shucks where art thou! Why aren't you online man. Boo.

sista's homecoming!

2006-11-20T00:16:00.000+08:00

It's the time of the year again- the Chan household stands at a firm 5-man unit once more!

2nd time at the airport in 2 days! I love the airport. No, actually I still have a love-hate relationship with it. It's bittersweet. I used to always take off for NZ with a heavy heart every Feb, leaving everything I love back here in sunny island.

But 10 months later when I touchdown at Changi Airport and the pretty air-stewardess goes: "Welcome to Singapore. To all Singaporeans, welcome home." There's just this indescribable fuzzy feeling within you. Heh.

So anyways, the sista is home, thank God for the smooth and safe flight back! There was a slight mayhem at home for us last night. Long story.

Cheryl has a new resident in her room (who might move out very soon to Matthew's if I keep doing late nights hehe)!

-

Anyhow, I don't believe it but the one and only vid I'd uploaded to Youtube ages ago has invited its 3rd comment from a random passer-by who thinks it's absolutely the sweetest (it was, then). I said I'd take it down but haven't actually done so.

I'd thanked you for the most awesome summer ever, not knowing it was just the beginning of the LONGEST, MOST AMAZING (gross understatement) summer I could ever ask for. =)

you're my mystery.

2006-11-19T01:15:00.000+08:00

It felt like a monstrous slash right through the perfectly painted picture I've always had proudly framed up.

-

Today was good just being able to put down everything and chill at the East Coast :) Thank you Germy for having us over! 'Twas quite a crowd aye. Hordes of people there to celebrate baby Noah's 1st month! A real sweet baby he is.

Cycling by the beach in the evening was absolutely blissful.

with eyes wide shut.

2006-11-17T04:23:00.000+08:00

It's 4:23am.

I'm awake because my nose is frickin' stuffed and I can't sleep.

It was a great sleep prior nonetheless.

I have a burning desire to ring someone up to whine to.

Gargh. So tired.
=(

failure.

2006-11-16T01:33:00.000+08:00

Can't help but think that I absolutely suck at tutoring both my kids. Still can't pinpoint what the problem is. I thought, I thought, but I thought wrong.

This is such a letdown.

I'm discouraged.

To top it all, I'm falling ill, or probably have already fallen ill. *shrugs*

Late nights have taken a toll on me. The bod can't take it anymore man.

Sigh.

on a Sunday avo:

2006-11-13T11:46:00.000+08:00

"Sending out wrong signals..."

Shar's artistic photography.

Christmassy pair for the day.

So cute right!

Another supposedly artistic shot by Shar.

Shar and I =)

*grin*

my loves.

2006-11-12T23:44:00.001+08:00

Joey & Joel's birthday dinner; Fish & Co.

I'm glad we're in the same cell =)

take me away.

2006-11-01T00:47:00.000+08:00

As usual today we got cheated and it was actually Public Law instead of Crime. Urgh. I hate it how the admin never tells us anything in advance and we never have the correct material for our lectures. The past 3 or 4 Public Law lectures were impromptu, and poor Mr. S had to stand in for whoever (mostly Ms. A).

Today's lecture was on the House of Commons and was exceedingly boring. Lecture seemed to go on forever and the wait to get out of class was excruciating. I found myself doodling and writing out plans of various events. It came to a point I had to tell Mr. S that it was incredibly boring. He agreed and said H/C is the most tiresome topic, EVER, and he gets bored teaching it. Haha. It's really too bad Mr. S teaches us Public Law, he's so cool.

Lately, more than ever, I really need a break out of the country. Anywhere, short trip, wherever, I'll be happy. Sigh.

What am I doing?

christmas in october!

2006-10-30T15:37:00.000+08:00

After cell activities on a Friday evening;
At Village.

2 semi-drunkies.

A very high Grace with her ah-pek TIGER! Hehe.

Caramel banana yum!

Happy contented kids.

Shar loves us deep deep! Heh.

Christmas is... Almost here!

Can't wait to go carolling with my beloved cell!

monday avo rant.

2006-10-30T14:47:00.000+08:00

My entire family is at home on a Monday avo, this is so rare. We're waiting for the curry puffs to walk home from Tanglin SC. Weather can't be any better today, I love! =)

Yarn dated me out for Little Miss Sunshine last Wednesday at the all-new Vivo. Vivo boasts of its most number of movie theatres but lo and behold! When we were at the ticket box getting our tickets...

Lady: 3rd row from the back is that ok?
Yarn to me: Should we get something more to the middle?
Lady: Oh we only have 6 rows.

..........

Imagine if she were to ask us "6th row from the back is that ok?" and we say yes! That'll be the first row! Or maybe if one of the theatres only has one row... "Would you like the last row? Actually the first and last row are the same thing." Haha amusing.

Afterwhich we went to prowl the supermarket aisles and we've decided to hold a cook-out soonish! Probably at our usual holiday getaway in Bishan, heh.

Really harsh words stuck on the fridge door which stored ICE-CREAM behind it. That's Yarn's "I am what I eat" face. Apparently she thinks she has eaten someone really pretty. Ugh I beg to differ Yarn haha... (By the way why does it look like you're wearing our Crescent PE tee?)

Yarny and I!

We had some tickets to the Night Safari so we gave the night animals a wee visit on Tuesday evening. Been yonks since I last went to the Night Safari and it looks really different now.

Flash photography wasn't allowed hence the only clear picture we got of the animals were the pink flamingoes, the rest were of us haha. Anyway animals look the same everywhere.

I have a new found love for scrapbooking.

in a nutshell.

2006-10-22T23:58:00.000+08:00

I've been too tired/lazy/busy to update this of late but it's my short one week break now so I shall stick some photos up! =)

Oh yeah I just manually deleted over a thousand texts from my cellphone and boy was that tedious. I normally connect the phone to the laptop and delete them via the Nokia software, where I'm able to block highlight and chuck them out all at a go. But somehow the software crapped out on me and instead of getting rid of all the texts I didn't want, I got TWO copies of them! And for some, THREE copies gee. Joyous time deleting them individually. Didn't want to risk getting 3 more copies of each text lest I used the software again. Urgh.

Bad habit of not clearing my inbox regularly and letting old texts accumulate and rot in there. Also because I'm sentimental haha. Shrugs.

Remember when the fireworks came on and I was all beaming and on a super high for the rest of the night? But for a different reason from everyone else who seemed to be awed, amazed, and absolutely delighted from watching the (pathetic) fireworks display? And how about the one I was grinning like mad to which Lynda went: Miss Cheryl why are you smiling to yourself? Haha. Yeah it was you.

Can you possibly miss something/someone you never had? Hmmm...

Today's my little nephew Issac's (I'm still wondering if it were genuinely deliberate that they chose to spell it like that or simply covering up for a bad spelling error haha.) FIRST birthday party! It's actually only the second time I'm seeing him and OH BOY has he morphed from a tiny little 2-month old baby into this HUGE FAT HEAVY TODDLER. Gasp. It's scary he doesn't even look 1. More like 2 or 3. I'm sure he's severely overweight, and probably the first to be thrown into TAF Club if they don't start watching his diet.

The reason behind my nephew being so tubby? He scampers quickly to anyone with food and climbs on them and gives you THAT look. Such that if you didn't feed a single morsel of food to him, he'd start WAILING loudly (brat!). And all the aunties and uncles grandmams and grandpops just stuff some food into his mouth (most of which he really isn't even allowed to consume at that age) just to shut him up. Ahhh really that's not the way to go. He's gonna balloon man.

Interestingly enough, no pictures of tubby Issac. Like an object for showing off, he was being handed from aunty to aunty, to coo and admire for 20 seconds before the next aunty gets a go. Either that or he was just busy scampering around looking for people with platters of food that greedy boy.

Jin's mommy told me that Jin's not happy about being an uncle (at 8 years of age) which is quite cute, heh. Hey man neither am I but the older cuzzies aren't getting any younger haha.

The rellies had a mean game of Scrabble and it was super fun! Matthew won the first round, and my mommy won the second (with the help of my dad and myself hah). Already they're planning a Scrabble championship (how cute) the next time we meet, which would have to be the barbecue in November at Amber Point =) Can't wait!

Had a nice long chat with Darren Joe, whom I haven't seen in 10 million years, and who's having a wild time in Otago enjoying the crazy-as hall life in Studholme.

Ok this nutshell is getting a little too big so I shall leave the said photos to another time really. I'm getting old and I need more sleep than ever, but lately I've been immensely sleep-deprived but it's all well worth it.

my beloved tutee.

2006-10-21T23:28:00.000+08:00

This is Edwin.

My beloved little tutee. And I love him to bits and pieces.
Because:
1. He never fails to amuse me with his different crazy antics each week.
2. He's so adorable.
3. Definitely endearing!

Of all the multitude of humour he entertains me with, here're 2 of the latest episodes from this Wednesday:

Butt indeed.

And usually the door to the room is closed when we're having tuition, but lately (past 2 weeks?) the door has been kept open. To which I'm like: "GOOD. So your mother can hear me scold you loudly!" However on Wednesday it was shut again.

Edwin: Teacher you know why today close door?
Me: Why?
Edwin: Coz my brother exam over so can play computer. And he open the volume very loud...
Me: WHAT OPEN THE VOLUME!?! It's either 'SWITCH ON' or 'TURN ON THE VOLUME'.
Edwin: Okok... (clearly doesn't give a damn)
Me: So is it 'open the lights' or 'turn on the lights'?
Edwin: Open the lights...
Me: I WHACK YOU! What 'open the lights'????????????????? It's 'TURN ON'! TURN ON TURN ON TURN ON THE LIGHTS. 'SWITCH ON' ALSO CAN.
Me: You don't give me 'open the lights open the fan open the volume' hor!
Edwin: (clearly REALLY doesn't give a damn) Teacher later can go toilet? Then I can go and open the door so you can hear my brother playing the Maple Story very loud one.
Me: Why must you say 'go AND open the door'??????????

-Now for the punchline.......-

Edwin: Sorry sorry, I mean later can I go and turn on the door?

tears stream...

2006-10-06T01:36:00.000+08:00

Coldplay- Fix You

When you try your best but you don't succeed
When you get what you want but not what you need
When you feel so tired but you can't sleep
Stuck in reverse

And the tears come streaming down your face
When you lose something you can't replace
When you love someone but it goes to waste
Could it be worse?

Lights will guide you home
And ignite your bones
And I will try to fix you

And high up above or down below
When you're too in love to let it go
But if you never try you'll never know
Just what you're worth

Lights will guide you home
And ignite your bones
And I will try to fix you

Tears stream down your face
when you lose something you cannot replace
Tears stream down your face
And I

Tears stream down your face
I promise you I will learn from my mistakes
Tears stream down your face
And I

Lights will guide you home
And ignite your bones
And I will try to fix you

Will it come to a point where I no longer get overly disappointed and cry my heart out over something that upsets me? Will I ever be strong enough? How strong would strong enough be?

box of gold arrived!

2006-10-05T23:29:00.000+08:00

My books have (finally) arrived from London! :)
But because they're over 40kgs, I couldn't possibly lug them home myself. Dad's picking my box of treasure up tomorrow morning. Yipee!

Also got my Statute book for Contract at Kinokuniya today. The rest aren't in yet.

I'm tired of feeling crummy and urgh. The haze is so bad it's getting to me.
Walked around half dazed today. Sigh.

My respect for Patrick has grown tremendously.

Thoughts are all so jumbled up and incoherent.

My buddy is training in Taiwan. I wanna go Taiwan too.

the temp and the sniffles

2006-10-05T00:41:00.000+08:00

Today. I was gonna give Edwin dictation:

Me: Get some paper. Time for dictation.
Edwin: You got paper?
Me: Get your own paper!
Edwin: I don't have paper... AH I know already!
*scampers off to dig into his messy drawers*
Edwin (to himself): Where's that a-lot-of-old-uncle-and-aunty-take-photo that paper ah.....

WOAH I laughed so hard, for I knew exactly what he was referring to. He's got a pad of notepaper complimentary from Aljunid GRC (probably one of those "vote for us!" freebies they gave away pre-General Election 2006) and on it are pictures of the various ministers, a.k.a. "old uncles and aunties". And it's exactly that notepad we use every week.

As of today, I've taught Edwin for 3 months! I love that boy :) How to remain mad at him for constantly forgetting the stuffs I've said to him repeatedly when his impish cheeky face makes me smile, and his crazy antics crack me up all the time.

-

My room is in a mess, and I have no energy to pack it up again. I've been busy-ish lately running about doing stuffs. I think I'm starting to wear out. Fallen ill, need to rest already.

My sister is coming back! Slightly over a month more. Can't wait for Christmas.

So much more to say.

don't stop me now

2006-10-05T00:23:00.000+08:00

Queen- Don't Stop Me Now

Tonight I'm gonna have myself a real good time
I feel alive and the world I'll turn it inside out - yeah
And floating around in ecstasy
So don't stop me now don't stop me
'Cause I'm having a good time having a good time

I'm a shooting star leaping through the sky
Like a tiger defying the laws of gravity
I'm a racing car passing by like Lady Godiva
I'm gonna go go go
There's no stopping me

I'm burnin' through the sky yeah
Two hundred degrees
That's why they call me Mister Fahrenheit
I'm trav'ling at the speed of light
I wanna make a supersonic man out of you

Don't stop me now I'm having such a good time
I'm having a ball
Don't stop me now
If you wanna have a good time just give me a call
Don't stop me now ('Cause I'm having a good time)
Don't stop me now (Yes I'm havin' a good time)
I don't want to stop at all

Yeah, I'm a rocket ship on my way to Mars
On a collision course
I am a satellite I'm out of control
I am a sex machine ready to reload
Like an atom bomb about to
Oh oh oh oh oh explode

I'm burnin' through the sky yeah
Two hundred degrees
That's why they call me Mister Fahrenheit
I'm trav'ling at the speed of light
I wanna make a supersonic woman of you

Don't stop me don't stop me
Don't stop me hey hey hey
Don't stop me don't stop me
Ooh ooh ooh, I like it
Don't stop me don't stop me
Have a good time good time
Don't stop me don't stop me ah
Oh yeah
Alright

Oh, I'm burnin' through the sky yeah
Two hundred degrees
That's why they call me Mister Fahrenheit
I'm trav'ling at the speed of light
I wanna make a supersonic man out of you

Don't stop me now I'm having such a good time
I'm having a ball
Don't stop me now
If you wanna have a good time (wooh)
Just give me a call (alright)
Don't stop me now ('cause I'm having a good time - yeah yeah)
Don't stop me now (yes I'm havin' a good time)
I don't want to stop at all
La da da da daah
Da da da haa
Ha da da ha ha haaa
Ha da daa ha da da aaa
Ooh ooh ooh

Just felt like posting this. I remember the days we had to listen to this song and watch the video which had this as its background song like 50 times per day. Minimum. :)
Good ole Otago days.

2 MILES' Mooncake Fest Celebrations.

2006-10-01T00:12:00.000+08:00

'Nuff said.

:)

msn boo-boos

2006-09-27T00:28:00.000+08:00

jon. anyone wants to sign up for Canon Photo Marathon? says:
wait a minute. are you talking to the right person?

cheryl says:
OMG.
cheryl says:
NO.
cheryl says:
HAHAHAHAHAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA

jon. anyone wants to sign up for Canon Photo Marathon? says:
no wonder i dun understand like half..actaulyl all of what oyu jsut said@!!

cheryl says:
OH MY GOODNESSSSSSSSSSs!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
cheryl says:
WHY DIDN'T YOU SAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

jon. anyone wants to sign up for Canon Photo Marathon? says:
i did lor. you said you bought shorts from her. then i said from who? then you kept going on and on

cheryl says:
i was wondering why my friend was asking me like AGAIN.
cheryl says:
i thought like i just SAID.
cheryl says:
URGH.
cheryl says:
and when you said win win situation i mean that's the correct response what!
cheryl says:
LOL.

jon. anyone wants to sign up for Canon Photo Marathon? says:
aiyah. you kept rambling what. i thought i'm supposed to understand so i just say something sensible lah

cheryl says:
uh you do realize this is HILARIOUS right?

jon. anyone wants to sign up for Canon Photo Marathon? says:
er. quite

cheryl says:
quite only meh!
cheryl says:
i happen to think it's v funny.

jon. anyone wants to sign up for Canon Photo Marathon? says:
hahah
jon. anyone wants to sign up for Canon Photo Marathon? says:
i think you are very funny

cheryl says:
i think so too eh.

jon. anyone wants to sign up for Canon Photo Marathon? says:
ok. i take that back
jon. anyone wants to sign up for Canon Photo Marathon? says:
hahahahah

cheryl says:
now i keep looking at the nick/avatar... how if i were typing something REALLY secretive leh!
cheryl says:
wah so dangerous!

jon. anyone wants to sign up for Canon Photo Marathon? says:
hahahhhaha

cheryl says:
like imagine i were to be loudly proclaiming my undying love for someone and IN THAT PERSON'S CHAT WINDOW.
cheryl says:
.... i think i can just jump off my own room window.

jon. anyone wants to sign up for Canon Photo Marathon? says:
hahahhahahahahhahahhahha
jon. anyone wants to sign up for Canon Photo Marathon? says:
that's damn funny alh
jon. anyone wants to sign up for Canon Photo Marathon? says:
hahahah.

cheryl says:
please next time don't feign innocence....
cheryl says:
and pretend and pretend you understand.
cheryl says:
it could be something CRUCIAL.

jon. anyone wants to sign up for Canon Photo Marathon? says:
i didnbt lor. you jusyt kept going on.
jon. anyone wants to sign up for Canon Photo Marathon? says:
impossible toi stop you

-

HAHAHA...

you tell me.

2006-09-20T00:42:00.000+08:00

How can I possibly tell you, when it's really you?

-

I happened to be looking at some stuffs, and suddenly very much missed sunny Otago days at Clubs and Socs, setting up booths in various rooms, and Kenneth drawing me pink flamingoes =)

And I also dug this up:

Spent lunch and after at Clubs and Sox at the OMSA um .. shop haha, waiting for more people to register for the ski trip and the Almost Amazing Race this Saturday. There were quite a few people today! ^^ Was just sittin around with Wei Ping and Kenneth discussing pink flamingoes and ostriches and all and WOW I never knew you could ride an ostrich. **AMAZING**

Never knew flamingoes/ostriches had frickin WINGS!!! Never knew they could fly! Oh my gosh I'm so thick .. Kenneth says I've got to go to the zoo more often. He's ridden an ostrich before and I think that's quite cute ^^ I found out it's the wings you grab, not the neck (you might strangle it to death I'd expect ..) I'd like to have a pink flamingo as a pet so I could put it on a leash and take it out on walks. So what do you reckon the diameter of a pink flamingo's leash would be? 3cm? I don't know aye. Darren isn't very keen for me to have a pink flamingo as a pet so he's trying (very hard indeed) to get me a motorized pink flamingo instead. I am very stoked. I asked what colour he'd like his pink flamingo to be and he said orange. That kinda defeats the purpose of having a pink flamingo but I suppose we could do that :)

I did tell Kenneth I'd paint a pink flamingo blue JUST FOR HIM now isn't that so nice of me. And I'd like to have 2 pink flamingoes to ride on so if one breaks (like really, breaks under the weight of me), I'd still have the other. I haven't really thought about what might happen if the second one breaks as well but that will come later. Am hoping Darren really gets me a motorized one that's able to put up with my weight.

My apartment in future will NOT have random flamingo ornaments nor flamingo statues randomly dotting my house. Nor the balcony or garden or whichever. So I don't actually know what I'm gonna do with my pink flamingo when I get one. Motorized or otherwise.

I am very happy and I do not sound stressed. I really do wish for a pink flamingo. I have heaps of law readings to do and I shall head home now and wait for dinner to be cooked for memememememememememe. THANK YOU HEAPS DARREN :))))

Am pooped and energyless to cook tonight but will always be up to cut the Hari Kantin food coupons nice/neatly/prettily for dear OMSA in front of the telly. Grey's Anatomy on tonight and yaaay!

I love case analysis! I am very excited :D

And I am very blessed to have dinner all nice and ready w/o having to lift a finger <3<3<3!!!!

Sigh.

Actually I don't know what it is I'm missing.

run for hope 2006

2006-09-17T20:18:00.000+08:00

The weekend's been pretty full-on and fufilling! :)

First up, Saturday's finally the much awaited (but muchly dreaded the night before) Final Theory Test. Reading the highway code seemed easy enough, yet the practice questions asked were so out-of-the world (to me anyway) I got a ton of them wrong and was extremely discouraged. Long story short, I only got to bed at 3ish that night and had a token number of hours of sleep before I had to crawl out of bed unwillingly again. Urgh. Somehow I'd misjudged my timings and underestimated my shower time, so by the time my Dad gave me a ride to SSDC, I was approx 7minutes late.

Rightfully, late-comers aren't allowed to sit for the test, and the people there could get pretty nasty, but as I entered the room, the invigilator(?- what's he called anyway?) just asked for my I/C before handing me the slip of paper with my password on it. Thank God for that! For those who're in the "shading answers" era, theory tests are now computerized and touch-screen. And animated. There actually are videos to watch before answering various questions.

Also, I had the easiest set of 50 questions! No ridiculously crazy ones to baffle me with. It was a breeze! So I passed the test, glory be to God!

Then I made my way down to G2 to man the youth centre. It's a long story about this little girl who was so pitiful but there was not much I could do anyway :(

The kids there may be vulgar and all, but they do show you respect and I believe they are all good kids. There's an effort made when you tell them to "watch [their] language". I pray that as they spend a part of their weekdays/weekends at the centre, and relationships are forged, they may come to see Christ in us, and one day they will all come to know God, as their personal Lord and Savior. Amen.

We had a guest speaker, Ps Danny Chua, for YA service that evening and I thought the message was really good. "A broken heart". How you have to be broken before God can really use you.

Brokenness removes every man-made obstacle that separates us from our destiny. (Mark 2:1-8)
Brokenness releases passion that impacts the atmosphere. (John 12)
Brokenness reveals the glory of God in us and defeats the enemies. (Judges 7:15-23)

Pre-dinner was as usual, a long wait, but we finally headed to a not-happening-at-all secluded coffeeshop, at Justin's recommendation. Pre-dinner was full of chatter and laughter but once the food came, everyone just sunk their chops in, shut up, and chowed dinner down. Guess all was famished eh.

The array of lame jokes started coming back soon enough anyway. Not like we missed it haha. The boys are so corny! Haha. Haha. HAHA.

Anyways, took me a really long time to finally knock out in bed last night so I probably didn't get much sleep again. Set 2 alarms, with my brother's and my cellphone and even changed the alarm alert to some annoying, loud, and ah-beng sounding one in the hopes that I might get awaken. However, come 5am, I only heard my brother's cellphone. And I shut it off.

The next time I opened my eyes, it was -gasp- 6.40am! We were meeting at Habour Front at 7am!

Finally got to Tanjong Beach, ran the run in the rain- all 9km of it- with my running partner Joel! Who kept me very entertained for the whole 55minutes. He had comments about everyone, and various different ways to keep me going. It was quite funny. Initially we held a conversation. Gradually it was just Joel talking to me without a response. Hey man I had to sustain all my energy to complete the run! Haha.

"Ok next we gotta over take zhong guo mei!"
"Hey look it's Wild Wild West!"
"*points to neon green sports bra some girl was wearing* Eh look, glow in the dark one!"

Etc etc etc.

55minutes of Joel talking. (Thankfully he didn't break into a song.)

And what a good running companion! Apart from talking non-stop to me, he limits my water consumption at the water points! "TWO SIPS ONLY," after grabbing a (HUGE) cup for me. Then yanking the cup off when I had more than "TWO SIPS". "ENOUGH. NO MORE." Very fierce. Post-run also.

"EAT YOUR BANANAS."
"No I'll throw up."
"JUST A BIT. Later you cramp."

Then when we met back with Germ and Marshall, I had MORE pro-runners nagging at me! For my own good of course. Such wonderful running companions :) Thank you all! Really appreciate all that. It was a good run. Yes, unbelievable as it is, Cheryl ran all 9km! Heh.

Post-run saw a crowd of runners at the market at Harbour Front. Pigging out. LOL. We were uhh... guilty of that as well.

Chooped home to shower/change then head out to meet Yi and Grace, before we went for Shar's birthday high-tea party!

Food was great, people/company: priceless. What more can you ask for right? :) We played Polar Bear and ooh it's super fun. Somehow most of them was under the impression that I was the polar bear "behind that innocent face". WAH REALLY OK. Behind the sweet innocent smiley face I was really "pretty much innocent!" LOL.

Then... we played this game that requires a high level of concentration (which I don't have) and 0% blurness (which I'm no where near, sadly- hurhur excuses eh :p). SO, Sister Poh Suan, Sandra and myself ended up having to do a forfeit: go round the swimming pool proclaiming LOUDLY, "RAWWWWRRRRR I AM A POLAR BEAR!" many times. Thanks to stupid Jonathan. Haha but it was hilarious man.

Played that once more later on and I had to do a forfeit AGAIN. Shucks. Why always me!!!!! This time with Joel Tay. Posing as animals from the 12 Zodiac Signs for the camera (and the audience). Sigh...

Blackmailable pictures...

I'm home now and my right leg feels like dead. I think my right ankle is gone as well. And left knee. And how about both of them legs.

Thanks for the amazing party Sharon! :) Happy blessed 22nd birthday!

4 of us drenched after the run :)

(And my tee that resembles a rag after the run. Coz the sleeves were too long and wet and flapping against my arm so I had to roll them up right? But they wouldn't stay, so I was gripping on to them tightly throughout... Such that Joel said he heard a rip when we were running halfway LOL. And the good ol' pear gnawed on for the past 30 minutes.)

Germy, (Joel), and I on the way back to Harbour Front.

revelation strikes

2006-09-16T01:58:00.000+08:00

I realized:
You can run but you can't hide.

Took me long enough aye?

Sigh.

how great is our God

2006-09-12T01:14:00.000+08:00

Fiddling around with the cellphone last night was a nightmare, so I got up bright and early this morning (without the aid of the cellphone alarm clock), and resolved to be the first at the Nokia Care Centre. It was still rather early so I took a nice slow morning walk into town. By the time I got to the Care Centre it was approx 11.07am.

Lo and behold it was already crowded and I was the 30th in the queue for Service and Maintenance. There were 2 other queues for various jobs. And they were only serving the 4th in line. There must have been people camping overnight.

But it was good. I love weekday mornings in town, when it is relatively empty and quiet, none of that hustle-bustle. I had Borders to myself (and a few other fellow early birds)! When it finally came to my turn at the service counter, which was approx an HOUR later, Patrick, the dude who served me, tried figuring out what on earth was wrong with my cellphone... He said he'd have to take my phone in for at least 3 days.

Me: Is there a replacement phone I could use meanwhile? 3 days is rather long, I've got matters to see to.
Patrick: Sorry, we don't give out replacement phones anymore.
Me: Oh. Why is this so?
Patrick: Lately, we have too many customers sending in their phones for servicing and we don't have enough phones to lend out.

We finally decided it was probably my corrupted memory card that was giving problems and causing the phone to go loopy. He said he could give my phone a software update which would only take 4 hours but "everything in the phone will be lost". Meanwhile, my memory card was taken to be reformatted.

Seemt like everything was alright after the newly reformatted card was stuck back into my cellphone.

Me: I think I'll pass on the software update for now aye. I'll probably download the texts and stuffs into my laptop before doing the software update.
Patrick: Yes I was going to suggest that to you.
Me: Uh yeah, I'm kinda sentimental...
Patrick: Yeah I can tell. Your jaw dropped when I told you everything in the phone will be lost.

Haha, there you go. Cheryl, your resident sentimentee for you. And just before I left...

Me: Anyway you mentioned that replacement phones aren't being loaned out anymore coz too many customers are requesting for them when they send their phones in for servicing?
Patrick: Yes that's right... That's why we don't loan them out anymore. Lately there are a lot of customers... We don't have enough to loan out.
Me: That's saying a lot about Nokia phones eh?
Patrick: Ah. *smiles sheepishly*.

Said my thank yous and byes and went off to task #2 for the day.

-

We went to pick baby Reann up for her test/check-up at some ear clinic at Lucky Plaza. Everyone is so sure that Reann's got a hearing problem coz she simply just doesn't respond to her name, or bells ringing etc. She's able to sleep through even when Milky is barking his lungs out. That kinda thing.

My heart ached when I saw Reann going through the tests. Especially when I had to be involved. From when we tried giving her medication meant to make her drowsy- thus falling into a deep sleep, till when she cried her heart out (because the medication was nasty and bitter, and for various other reasons), and when the tests were being carried out. A tiny baby of 4 months, barely brought into the world, and all the stuffs being stuck on her and into machines, just so tests could be carried out.

All through the two hours it was silent in the doctor's room. I was praying. We all have been. The thing is, even last Saturday at YA when we were praying, I had this peace as I prayed for baby Reann. Somehow I knew everything would turn out fine. Reann will be healed, that I'd claimed in faith. God loves her too much, and He will lay His healing hands on her and make her well again. And even if she isn't able to hear the rest of the world, she will hear Him and His comforting voice.

Two hours of tests later, it was found that INDEED REANN WAS FINE AS CAN BE. She's able to hear perfectly and there was NOTHING WRONG WITH HER. HALLELUJAH, PRAISE YOU LORD!

GOD HE REIGNS.

Even as we waited for the tests to be printed out, the sticky stuffs were peeled off the back of her ears and her forehead, pulling her skin and some of her wee baby hairs out. But she slept on. Because of some technical problems, we were there for quite a while more, and finally she awoke. Without a noise. No whimpering. Nothing. She looked so peaceful :) It was as if she had divine hands of comfort upon her little body the entire time, assuring her that it was all alright. And I believe she did. God was there for her tiny self the entire time.

Hallelujah
GLORY IN THE HIGHEST.

Do you understand that a miracle had just occurred? I was so overwhelmed I wanted to cry.

I will sing
I WILL SING HIS PRAISES FOREVER.

This is so surreal, but God is so, so, real.

-

My tutee gave me a belated Teachers' Day card. Which is so weird!!!! I have never received a Teachers' Day card before and I still don't think I deserve one. On top of that, it makes me sound really old so yeah. But it was so sweet and thoughtful of her and I appreciate it! I couldn't help but grin when I read it: HI MISS CHERYL! THANK YOU FOR TUTORING ME FOR THE PAST FEW MONTHS I BET IT HAS BEEN EXHAUSTING! SO, I KNOW THIS GIFT IS SIMPLE BUT WHEN I DID IT I PUT A LOT OF 'THANKS' INTO IT.

Pwah, she knows me too well :p So funny eh.

I love both my tutees :)

-

Also, that day my cellphone went dead on me halfway whilst I was out, it was actually a nice time to be alone without texts coming in, or having to pick calls up and such. It was also then when I saw the "Imagine a world without poverty" posters. Please do go check them out, and realize how very much blessed we all are. Being able to live in Singapore is a blessing in itself.

Instantly I stopped whining about not having a workable cellphone to use.

So blessed, SO BLESSED.

Thank you just does not cut it.

-

I'm going on a detox diet.

horrid101

2006-09-10T21:58:00.000+08:00

I took the longest walk back from town today. Maybe not walk. I dragged my feet for 2 hours, all the way back home.

It's just one of those days I guess. Sigh.

Even lunch and shopping with Yi after service couldn't make me any chirpier. Argh... WHY?! (Thanks for the company though! Thanks for hanging with me! :) I really appreciate it heaps.)

And to top it all off, my cellphone has officially gone apeshit on me. It's not just throwing tantrums. It's... indescribable. It's infuriating coz I need to read my text messages, reply to them and I've got important text messages to send out. And it's more than pissing me off coz nothing can be done until tomorrow where I shall attempt to make a scene at the Care Centre. Meanwhile, everything is trapped in my cellphone. ARGH.

-

And for the record, I give up. Nothing makes sense to me.

fat stummy

2006-09-10T01:32:00.000+08:00

I'm (still) so stuffed from dinner tonight aye. And it's been a good many hours since dinner. We had close to a 9-course dinner after YA service HAHA... 'Twas gooooooood. Company was even better! ;)

Having said that... Just a helpful tip for anyone who desires a clean, NORMAL dinner: not have Jon Wong sitting at the same table. Gee. Twice already he's made me lose my appetite over dinner. Somehow. I shan't go into details, coz I'm sure no one is keen to know anyway. Ugh.

We then adjourned over to the next table for our single solitary durian. Heh. It was quite cute eh.

And to end the Wonderful Saturday, of course we played Monopoly! At Liang's! Pity Van couldn't join us. Ooooh and this time I wasn't bankrupt! Though I suspect I was nearing bankruptcy (what is this man...). Thanks to the stupid jail I landed in TWICE (consecutively). And going past "Go" but not being able to collect $200 coz I kept having to pay $200 income tax. Seriously man, income tax costs $200 but winning the beauty contest only gets you a measly 10bucks. What is going on!? Cheapos.

Had to end the game early soooo... JOHANN WON!

Heh, Yakult to digest the weird mix of food in our stummies.

Getting real tubby aye. Sigh.

MY LOVES.

2006-09-10T00:00:00.000+08:00

2 MILES' INAUGURAL CELL MEETING.
FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 8.

This is all of us.

I love all of you fellow Pilgrims.
We will walk the extra distance together.

Happy birthday also to the September babies: Marshall, Grace and Sharon!

And yes, Cheryl can't for nuts do the non-smiley thing in pictures.
(That pict cracks me up SO BAD, even after the umpteenth time.)

mid-essay ramble

2006-09-06T23:54:00.000+08:00

You know I really have no idea what to say to someone who's so bent on doing something, yet if you apply the "officious bystander test" (ok I'm kidding... Contract is getting to my head) it's clear that nothing is going to work out for them. Maybe I just don't understand. But it really stinks to see someone in that state, and nothing anyone else says or does would help anyway.

That aside...

Does anyone know where I can get Maple Story stickers? Yeah no they're not for me, in case you were wondering. I know nothing about it- the cute fuzzy(?) characters, how you get about playing it and all that. My little tutee has requested for them. He obviously thinks my stickers aren't cool enough for him. Drats.

Gone are the days where you could easily lure/tempt/con a kid with lollies, and make them do anything/EVERYTHING joyfully, enthusiastically, contentedly, with a happy heart. Now it's more like, "I only like SOME chocolates. I don't like that one with that gold colour wrapper with the yellow thing inside. I don't like (insert long list of confectionery)..."

For the record, he meant Crunchie. Which has hokey pokey in the middle. I don't quite like it either. It gets rather sickening after a while. It's soooooooooo Kiwi, and good if you need a desperate sugar fix. *shudders* And he was also trying to describe something else to me, which sounded very much like Oreo cookies, but I'm still not too sure. HOW could he (or anyone for that matter) not like Oreo cookies!?

Hur hur I remember in 5th form when I was trying to make an Oreo cheesecake, I chucked all the creme out (a good few stacks of it!), coz I'd only needed the cookies.

I like the smell of hokey pokey being made though. The process smells so yummy, and I think that's the highlight-of-the-year for every 4th form Science class. Making your own hokey pokey. Whee! And for 7th form Chemistry (highlight-of-the-year I meant), it'll have to be making sorbet! I remember Shanny making us try her lemon sorbet which was uh, worse than Warheads. Like stuffing 20 lemons in your mouth at a go, if that's even possible. And on top of that, I think she added too much of something, such that it was fizzing up very badly and almost seemt like we were gonna foam at our mouths... LOL.

Hrm I haven't seen my sister online in a long time! I've got a bad urge to fill her in on something, although I can already imagine what she'd say. "I KNEW IT." (If you're reading this... cut it out already!) Ah shucks. Anyhoo, my sister will be coming back in two months' time!

Adding on to this grab-bag entry... My Dad cooked us really yummy dinner yesterday and this evening! We had fried carrot cake and oyster omelette which was SO good. I think he was just trying it out, having bought a big bag of oysters and not knowing what to do with them haha. Really palatable. Love it. My omelette must have had like 20 odd oysters in it man.

Also. I met Pheebs back again after lectures yesterday, at Bugis. And remember one of my older entries about Bugis and its many ice-cream carts just next to another? And how they were only 80cents instead of a dollar? Well, competition must've been tough, coz ice-cream is now 60CENTS. Will you beat that?! How much cheaper can it get and pray tell are they even earning? Which is kind of silly. Coz if every other ice-cream uncle/aunty sells it for 60cents, the competition is still there right? So why bother? Hrm...

I miss ambrosia from Rob Roy dairy at corner Albany/George St :(

for some bizarre reason anyway

2006-09-05T10:13:00.000+08:00

This morning's events left me taking a long walk around the entire Sixth Avenue (looking at pretty houses, pretty gardens, pretty cars- size: XXXXXXXXL). It wasn't supposed to end up that way of course. Ugh. Anyway I'd rather not talk about it but guess what Sixth Avenue has abundance of? -Apart from massive houses and flash cars that is. HEAPS OF CABS! For the rich folks who can't for their life operate an automobile.

Sixth Avenue is a maze through and through.

Long story short, I got so mad I just hopped on the next bus out to town and met Pheebs for lunch before school. The bus ride back to town sure was interesting though. Hrm... hehe.

-

Last night as the lightning struck wildly and lit the entire darken sky, and the thunder clapped madly, I got up, and immediately thought of you. Sigh.

wild for...

2006-09-05T02:18:00.000+08:00

Ask me so that I may only get to answer you in the affirmative, or otherwise.

crossroad47 opening week!

2006-09-04T22:47:00.000+08:00

I just spent over an hour traveling from G2 back home. Thanks to bad advice!!!! Ugh. Cheated me already still didn't want to admit. Haha... ok granted it didn't seem as long as it did so it wasn't that horrid.

I had a great time hosting at the Youth Centre opening today together with a whole lot of other people :D Great time of fellowship, and we made many discoveries! Haha. The world is very small! What more Singapore.

We had many people come into our Youth Centre and sign up for membership! Some who came because they were actually in fact looking for a toilet (and got mistakenly dragged in), some because they were escaping from another group of kids who wanted to pick a fight. But it all ended well and the kids were all happy and enjoying themselves aplenty, staying on for a good few hours! Praise God.

We all had dinner at the "happening coffeeshop" where apparently a "nine-course dinner" costs only $16 for 3 pax. LOL. Yeah but no one had nine-course dinners tonight though. Although I can imagine why. The feeling of being spoilt for choice you just have to get... everything. Gluttony! :p

The weather is so hot today aye... I hate the feeling of my skin crawling.

I also don't really like to be eagerly anticipating and so looking forward to something, coz most of the times I just get disappointed. Deeply.

Shrugs.

Somehow it's when I least expect anything, that I get surprised, that gets me high and happy for the rest of the day/night :) That will always put a smile to my face whenever I think about it. Well, it always is the case, no?

C'est la vie.

if only you knew eh?

2006-09-03T19:52:00.000+08:00

I am propagating a unicameral form of idiosyncrasy occuring malevolently in meritorious piece of clasterubial brain.

'Nuff said.

Argh so frustrating...

indescribable joy

2006-08-27T00:47:00.000+08:00

Words can't depict.

You know what I'm saying?

2 miles

2006-08-26T13:49:00.000+08:00

I'm excited.

It's gonna be an amazing journey ahead!

from last saturday

2006-08-24T01:39:00.000+08:00

janery, febery, mary

2006-08-24T00:38:00.000+08:00

Edwin never fails to feed me with bloggable events every Wednesday!

Today I found out that he doesn't know the months of a year! Which is appalling! He has no idea how many months in a year there are, what they're called, let alone what comes before/after what. So I spent a very long time making him learn and spell it.

And as you'd have guessed, the process was HILARIOUS.

Anyways, after making him LEARN the months of a year, I tested him several times and each time he'd forget the same months, get stuck at the same months that kinda thing. ESPECIALLY AUGUST. And September, and October, and November, and December and... yeah you get the idea.

Me: What month are we in now???
Him: Hungry Ghost month.

LOL. You know I really CANNOT believe that kid. He NEVER fails to crack me up. Severely. So much so that I burst a rib laughing or something man.

Then of course, after August, comes September, then lo and behold! AUGUST AGAIN! Only my little tutee is capable of doing something like that hehe. You know, August1, August2 that kinda thing. A few Augusts in a year, you know?

And... For some bizarre reason...
MARY COMES INTO THE PICTURE TOO!

"Janery, Febery, Mary..."

Over and over again!

So the new and revised version of Edwin's Months-In-A-Year sounds something like:
"Janery, Febery, uh... What I always say ah? MARY! *both of us crack up* Oh I know already! March, Aperl Fool, MAY, JUNE, JULY (loud and clear coz those were the first three he managed to master!)... *thinks for freaking long, whilst I stare daggers (read: don't tell me you don't know this- WHAT MONTH ARE WE IN NOW?!) at him* err... AUGUST! ... September, Augus.. EH... OCTOBER! NOVEMBER! DECEMBER!"

THEN WE BOTH CHEER VERY LOUDLY!!!

Hehe I'm so proud of him! We both are! So we jumped about, yay-ed very loudly, so high and happy!!! Not only is he able to recite the Months-In-A-Year in his version, he knows them off his head randomly too!

Yipeedoodah! I love that kid. Super very much.

heartbroken

2006-08-21T13:28:00.000+08:00

I haven't felt this in a very long time.

15 crazy stops

2006-08-20T00:15:00.000+08:00

Ok pictures up! Sorry Yi I'm not gonna put ALL of them up. Hehe. Especially not those that I look remotely fat/bad in. We've got a disturbingly large number of pictures taken shamelessly on the train ride from Pasir Ris to: respective homes. So much so the people sitting across us were starting to give us the evils...

Am also including guest pictures! HAHA, as you'd see later on... Guest being, um coz my Nokia software stores my pictures in folders of pictures never uploaded before (kinda thing, if you follow), so these pictures are all in the same folder. Yeap.

Fuzzy pictures are when they've been taken by the second camera on my phone (meant for video calls really). Produces that crappy sickening effect. It must be like 0.000000035256 minipixels or something.

So, many of them do look similar (but they're not), and we took pains to have them taken. Grace and Von were close to strangling the both of us and tearing all their hair (or ours for that matter) out, and would probably have got off at the next possible stop if weren't already so late. Heh. Whoops!

"OK LAST ONE AH. *grumbles*" Grace is so funny. And because the both of them were sandwiched between Yi and myself, they hadn't got much of a choice, so we pictured this hilarious (at that time) senario where it would look like: Happy Yi, Grouchy Grace, Grumbly Von, Happy Cheryl.

Check those Yi+Von pictures out. LOOK WHAT THEY DID TO GRACE. (If you can actually see her, that is.)

Seriously, Costa Sands Resort is so far and away from all other signs of life. But I had a great time tonight at Shaun's 21st party. Love the company. Happy blessed 21st Shaun! :D

I just realized tonight. I have huge eyebags. Please do not go look out for them, not like it ain't obvious enough though. Sigh.

When the carriage was still empty and we had the liberty to fool around.

Guest pictures!

RONALD MC DONALD. At Changi Airport carpark. I was SO amused. And so happy for some reason hehe, so we all took a picture with him (I think Sharon has it!). He's so cool! As are his big red shoes and red smiley and the works. I really thought they flew him in from America when Sharon said they did. "You mean he sat in the plane for over 20 hours in that?!" Uh ok I'm gullible.

At the back of (the other) Grace's van. All 9 of us. After picking Andrea up from the airport!

ANDDDDDDDDDDDD...

[Picture removed. Owner of face isn't happy! Pity tho... :( WEEP.]

Von bluetooth-ed this to me when we were bored and waiting in MOS on Thursday night. Haha!

untitled

2006-08-19T13:53:00.000+08:00

OH MAN. I keep thinking about Dunedin. All last night and this morning. Shucks.

I miss all the multitude of pictures that are stuck in my Acer back there in someone's garage.

It's another one of those days aye.

clubbing is not cheryl

2006-08-18T13:09:00.000+08:00

Being in MOS last night reminded me of the times when we'd go to KCs and Two Bears (which became "Two ears" when the "B" fell off...).

Mostly Sam, Ethan, Tommy, Zhi Ling and myself. Sometimes Chewy. Out to town at night in the cold. Having them shield us from the drunkies. Having the bouncers stifle a laugh whenever I had to produce my driver's licence, coz it's just SO darn ugly you wouldn't believe it either. Club hop (The Vatican always disappoints!) Retreating back to their flat, hanging and chatting, till the boys walked us down the road back to our flat, which was always pitstop #2. Chilling- at humble 136Albany- till the sun rose, as cold as our freezer of a flat was. AYE I MISS THEM SO MUCH.

The 223b Leith Street boys (on Chewy's birthday last year):

Spelling "CHEWY" are: Chewy, Sam, Michael, Ethan and Tommy :D
(picture credit to Chewy!)

Makes me wanna read my old entries all over again :)

train tales

2006-08-17T00:34:00.000+08:00

Imagine a typical Science experiment set-up. 2 see-through boxes, one containing a slice of toast, the other with a normal piece of bread, and a glass of water next to it.

Q: A few days later, John discovers mould on the bread in the second set-up. What can he conclude from this experiment?

I hadn't expected an answer from my tutee. Well, clearly, since it was left blank, so Cheryl's supposed to fill in the blanks and teach him right? But as I read it out to him, provoking a smart guess... indeed I got one:

"Cannot eat, throw away, waste money."

You simply have no idea. How I cracked up. Following the all-too-familiar, "REALLY MAH... *insert cheeky grin*"

AND, it's beyond me why he keeps spelling bread mould as 'bread mouth'!!!!!! It's really funny but I just can't fathom why! Week after week! Bread mouth! "CORRECT WHAT!!!! I check dictionary they spell like that also!"

"What is the fungi called?"
"Mould."
"Spell 'mould'."
"M-o-u-t-h."
"What is this *points to mouth*?"
"Mouth."
"Spell 'mouth'."
"M-o-u-t-h... Eh?... *REALIZATION DAWNS...*"

Once again, we're both left speechless. LOL.

(Which reminds me of Angela, this PRC girl who sat next to me for Eco in 6th Form. One day she was trying to ask me something and went on and on but I just couldn't grasp what the heck she was on to, "mouse" this "mouse" that. THEN SHE POINTED TO HER MOUTH. "Mouse ah!" She sounded so exasperated like as if I'd been the dumb one the entire time. I wanted to die coz I'd spent the last few minutes trying very hard to understand her.)

Oh yeah and he has a never-ending supply of erasers too! Every week without fail somehow he'll misplace his eraser, and conveniently go to the drawer to get a new one still wrapped in plastic. Why am I so amused?

-

On the way home today, at Dhoby Ghaut, the train came and it was one of those that was packed with the massive after-office crowd. One of those that could stuff maybe 5-7 more people (per carriage) MAX. So the people who had to alight did, and the 5-7 people who managed to get on did. THEN CAME THIS WHOLE HOARD OF INDIAN TOURISTS who squeezed their way into the carriage and pushed everyone even closer than everyone already was.

ALL 12 OF THEM.

Shucks man, we were all too close for comfort, I could feel the baby behind me pressed onto my back, and one of them Indians standing in front of me kept moving her head such that her hair kept sweeping my face AAAAGGGHHHHH! The other one next to me had bad body odour, and being short, the air down there isn't that fresh. PLEASE, if you're gonna intend to squeeze with a large crowd in the train, please at least refrain from smelling so bad.

I ended up having to tilt my head up to gasp for air every now and then, had absolutely no intention to be rude but yeah. Can't be helped. Then there was this girl who was reading off the Single Trip Standard Ticket and announcing very loudly to the whole gang, "This ticket is only valid for one day on the MTR rahrahrah..." And she kept reading it as MTR! How does that happen?!!

Ok sorry. I just had a crazy ride back on the train. Thank God it was only for 2 stops. Tormenting enough. You know when you're packed so closely to each other, there really is no need to freaking SHOUT. The entire carriage can hear you for cryin' out loud.

-

Although having said that, it's been most definitely a lovely day/week-to-date.

But why do you have to make things so hard for me? Sigh.

pesky churning-stomach, wobbly-kneed, tongue-tied stuff

2006-08-16T22:25:00.000+08:00

Broken promise made. But I couldn't not do anything when it was so blatantly in my face screaming out to me.

Don't you just hate it when the untouchable comes your way?

It's starting to eat me alive aye...

mutter

2006-08-14T22:27:00.000+08:00

Don't understand why the new neighbours upstairs have to keep walking/shuffling their feet so LOUDLY. It's either our ceiling/their floor's really thin, or they have feet made of sandpaper. 2am and they could still be sweeping the floor, shuffling about. Gets creepy at times. And then, they don't carry their furniture around, they drag. It's starting to get to me aye.

2 days in our estate and they've pretty much pissed many of us off, including the security guards. BOTH. The day time SG, Mr. Lee, complained about them being unreasonable when moving in (long story), and the one at night, Siva, had to go all the way to their apartment to get them to move their stupid car, which was parked diagonally over TWO parking spaces. Right smack in front of the foyer.

Talk about being inconsiderate.

-

On a lighter note, booked my highway code! :D

interview with Jesus

2006-08-14T19:27:00.000+08:00

Do check this out!
Interview With Jesus.

:)

2 second post

2006-08-13T21:41:00.000+08:00

I was just browsing through the calendar in my cellphone and guess what I saw (dated 18 June):

Pay joel 1 million dollers

I'm amused. And it's so Joel to mis-spell LOL. I thought he just types gibberish online. Ooooohwelll. Super random.

riddle

2006-08-10T14:18:00.000+08:00

This came from my current read (when they were trying to solve some crossword), and oh my gosh it's so clever! Ok so here goes:

Attractive affirmative back around ten (four letters).

Seriously you'd never guess! Nevaaaarrrrrrr ...

-

Just got back from lunch with the brother at the mall. I can never understand why people have to keep jamming their fingers at the button at pedestrian crossings non-stop. When will they ever realize it does NOT make the lights change any quicker and they're not gonna get to cross the road any sooner by jabbing the poor button mercilessly.

And I'm sure everyone knows, but just a reminder anyhow. You don't know where fingers/palms/hands have been to before they reached the innocent button. This lady had just sneezed into her hand, then using the same hand, jabbed at the button till it was green for us to cross. Ew.

Same goes for lift buttons and basically everything else haha.

-

Let me know if you've got an answer to the crossword! Heh.

non-patriotic national day celebrations

2006-08-10T00:38:00.000+08:00

Ok yeah I was gonna head to bed sometime ago but the tummy's feeling uncomfy like all the oil's floating about in it. Urgh gross.

Suspect it's the noodles from dinner that looked suspiciously oilier and wetter than usual. But then Yi comes along and complains of an upset tummy so maybe it was the mountain of kaya-BUTTER toasts/sammiches we had this avo. Which equates to oil swimming in my stomach too.

The amount of butter!!!!!! Every tiny inch of toast had a thick SLICE of butter wedged in between. And because Yi and I realized we'd got the wrong stuffs (we'd wanted something else but got the toast instead), we got another order of the sammiches. So effectively we had a LOT of bread/butter/kaya for branch/afternoon tea and pre-dinner. Yelch.

Feeling so nauseated.

Haha it's really funny chatting to my fellow tummyacher who's suffering just as much, if not more, than I am. Umm, won't go into details, kinda explicit and gross. I just made myself a cup of tea. There's no way I'm gonna fall asleep in this state. Garh.

So today! We were supposed to meet at half past 11 but obviously the previous night's events left the both of us dead in bed longing for more sleep, which was what happened. Finally met at almost 1 and embarked on our mission in search of The White Tube. But weeeeeeell, maybe the most fruitful bit was that of fitting into Cheryl's heels (thus no need for a more tedious task of looking for a decent pair of black heels) and probably bargaining with the aunty for Yi's top.

MOST DEFINITELY NOT our kaya toast adventures. Which, of course is why I'm and blogging now. Urgh ...

Then of course when we initially planned to meet at 3, we really mean meeting at past 5, right??? :p Things only started moving when we had everyone at the function room at I don't know, quarter past 5 or the likes. Played a superb game of improvised Boggle which was fun, fun, fun, and was forced to converse in Mandarin. HAHHHHHHHHH please!

Also played (possibly my most exciting game of) Monopoly! It came to a point where it's safer just to be in jail and STAY there for a good three rounds, and being able to get past "GO" and collect $200 (without Liang or Joey sucking your cash and property dry) was such a blessing. And definitely a mean feat. Landing on Joey's property (with a frigging HOTEL planted there) set me back by $2k (was it?) which I obviously was too poor to pay for. But since I was the first (yeah I can't believe it either ...) to set foot on the wretched (haha!) property, of course a grand opening welcome discount should be given right? Paid all of my $500 and $100 bills and gave up my Railway property AND both my utilities :( -still not enough by the way, but it was discounted you see haha ..

Aye anyhow it was super fun and exciting and it all ended when everyone wanted dinner (and whilst I was in the midst of thinking of how I should pay Liang for landing on his property with a stupid hotel erected there. Over $1k!). So we declared Joey the winner. Hah ...

... And went for dinner at Thai Express (read: oily glass noodles!).

Ok the tea's doing its job, and so have the meds. I'm off to bed now.

mongolian twins (+ 1)

2006-08-08T11:57:00.000+08:00

My school just declared this whole week to be National Day holiday. What the. As if school hasn't been slack enough as it is. Since when did people get a WEEK off in lieu of National Day?!

-

Anyway, finally caught my sis online last night! Had a wee chat till the unearthly hours and we both concluded- actually it's more of a question: why my life is always a drama. Um it's quite true and it can be good and bad. Mostly bad I guess. She says I'm "causing ripples" and why can't I be like "normal girls". Aaaaaaagh ...

Always wrong signals being sent out, wrong everything.

And then. Ok you see that's why you should always hear both sides of a story. This came to me twice last night, when someone added me online, and as we chatted, my impression of him was horribly thwarted. Never the wonderful picture painted by someone else. On the other hand, the OTHER person was described close to being so much as a witch, but apparently not. Free me from all these unwanted information I don't need to know man.

Yeah and I have no idea why he keeps harping on how he thinks D was dumb enough to have made that decision and acted unwisely, when he did. I'm like come on it's been such a long time and furthermore, shouldn't it be a blessing to me since he was/IS so "dumb"?

Stop confusing me already.

Weirdddddd. So weirdddddddd. I will probably never understand why and do forgive me if I suddenly appear not to care very much anymore.

Oh yes and just a weekend ago, someone said the most shocking thing to me (ok maybe not MOST, but it would be the last thing on my mind, if anything), especially after I realized who she was. *gulp*

-

That aside, happy things now! We're off to Sharon's this evening yipeedoo! Am taking something along for her too.

:D

-

I absolutely HATE it when people don't bother getting the facts right, and start speculating, being pissy at everyone. Argh.

monday avo racket

2006-08-07T17:44:00.000+08:00

Gee the Botanic Gardens has been blasting patriotic National Day songs ALL AFTERNOON non-stop and it was starting to get on my nerves especially since one of the last songs goes like this: Happy birthday to Singapore, happy birthday to Singapore, happy birthday happy birthday, happy birthday to Singapore (repeat 3x). Following which the National Anthem comes on.

Being the concerned (read: nosey) resident (but had the huge pavillion roof obstruct part of my view), I decided to pop across to check the din out.

Lo and behold. There was a whole CHOIR belting out a medley of National Day songs, in English, Mandarin, Malay and Tamil. And they all looked so chirpy and joyful to be singing (with cutesy hand actions and dance steps) the medley over and over again on a Monday afternoon!!!!!!!

Anyway I think it's for some National Day event tomorrow morning at 9. Which means waking up to MORE of that! Ack.

as random as it gets

2006-08-07T00:36:00.000+08:00

Haven't been on my lappy in bed for a while now! Missed it heaps. Sifting through my files and files of pictures so I shall post some up :D

This is so super funny and random! Clicky collage Jawei made (I think) of us eons ago.
Tiny Rosy posy in the far corner, Cheryl in WGC uniform, Deb all smiles, Pheebs, Jawei during the long-swishy-hair days, Nad on the phone long dist to NZ on CHERYL'S 16TH BIRTHDAY, poseur Denise playing dress up with Cheryl's winter wear, Yarn during the long-swishy-hair days.

Post WGC 6th form ball.

Raya at Nad's.

Our banquet table! WGC Shakespeare Day 2004.

Jawei amused by my various uniform for different seasons.

When Jawei and Pheebs came to visit.

Xian Clarke. I love her so much. The smartest 2-year-old with the widest vocabulary, and who is able to name every vegetable. Including courgette.

-

Off to crash. Am knackered. I think I've pulled a muscle in my right thigh, plus I've also got a massive bruise behind my right thigh too- like 4cm in diameter. Beats me how it got there but it's really ugly. Urgh.

Ironing my brother's school uniform makes me feel like I'm ironing pieces of dirty rags intead. Really I have no clue how a boy could wear a set of white uniform till it resembled cleaning rags. Urgh again.

blob

2006-08-03T00:59:00.000+08:00

I've been feeling fat lately, after consuming all the fattyfoods in the past few days. All that cookies, snacks, ice-cream my brother and I got on a supermarket spree with the parents (always a great time to exploit and indeed, SPREE ON!) on Sunday after church and lunch.

Then the crazily creamy pasta Mel and I had yesterday, I'm sure it was 99% cream and nothing else coz um, we'd made a wee complaint about the "creamy sauce" not being creamy enough. Really it was more like pasta in soup. So they offered to change it for us, and to our horror- our pasta came back with the ORIGNIAL PASTA (with the ingredients scattered around), on the SAME PLATE, and SAME UTENSILS stuck into the pasta in a rude can't-give-two-hoots fashion. The spoon one way, and the fork the other. Would you beat that. Absolutely disgusting.

Oh yeah not to mention the "creamy sauce" came back as diluted as it'd been earlier. So effectively it just felt as if our plates had been taken away from us, sat in the kitchen for a good 5-7 minutes, then returned to us exactly like it was. And actually I think that was what happened.

3rd pasta installment came back CREAMY like it should've been, and we were served complimentary garlic bread. Oh well.

Then there was the coconut which I devoured and scraped the life out of it last night. My Dad bought the coconuts from a fundraiser from church. SUPER YUMMY! I've never had a sweeter and more refreshing coconut! Especially the um, (whatdya call it?) juice? Water?

Coconuts remind me of Thailand. Where coconuts were only 20baht (SGD80cents! Cheaply!) and we (ok fine, it was ME) had so many coconuts over the course of a simple dinner. Heh. I've seriously been longing to visit Thailand again.

Currypuffs, longans and potatoes. I haven't been exercising and the pounds are slowly starting to pile on. Urgh not a good sign.

And my room is in a terrible mess, like a bomb's just gone off in it.

for someone I don't even know

2006-08-03T00:31:00.000+08:00

To everyone who's lost someone they love
Long before it was their time
You feel like the days you had were not enough
when you said goodbye

And to all of the people with burdens and pains
Keeping you back from your life
You believe that there's nothing and there is no one
Who can make it right

There is hope for the helpless
Rest for the weary
Love for the broken heart
There is grace and forgiveness
Mercy and healing
He'll meet you wherever you are
Cry out to Jesus, Cry out to Jesus

For the marriage that's struggling just to hang on
They lost all of their faith in love
They've done all they can to make it right again
Still it's not enough

For the ones who can't break the addictions and chains
You try to give up but you come back again
Just remember that you're not alone in your shame
And your suffering

When your lonely
And it feels like the whole world is falling on you
You just reach out, you just cry out to Jesus
Cry to Jesus

To the widow who suffers from being alone
Wiping the tears from her eyes
For the children around the world without a home
Say a prayer tonight

I'd initially felt compelled to write something as I lay in bed the other night after saying my prayers- and the words just flowed in my head- and I did, but have decided against publishing the post. Shrugs.

-

I realized I get influenced by some people rather easily. It's very telling- when you feel a sudden surge of happiness (like popping starbursts!), or that rising excitement in you when the other person is. Likewise, the heaviness and sadness felt even without many words being exchanged.

Double shrug.

7 on a friday evening

2006-07-29T01:35:00.000+08:00

Gmail's crapped out on me and I've got so many mails to reply! Argh.

So tonight we had a small group for cell again coz a few of the cellmates have taken ill, and some had other commitments. God bless those who couldn't make it today wherever they were, whatever they had to do, and I pray that He'll lay His healing hands on those who're ill and make them well again.

With a small cozy group, we played the old school newspaper game, and Sharon wanted it challenging so we started off with a piece of newspaper from "mindyourbody". Yes, teeny.

In all my excitement to snap pictures of the winning BOYS team, a coupla of them turned out blury. Gutted. But nevertheless ...

Presenting to you 3 (of 4) of the HUH guys:
Liang DA MAN (super strong!), Joey (small and compact, easy to piggyback!), Marshall.

Nothing will cause their (semi) human pyramid to tumble ;)

Super cute! A thrilled Hui Jia in the background.

GROUP HUG!!!!!! :p

Love the cell.

tutee humour

2006-07-27T23:52:00.000+08:00

Which word in the second paragraph has the same meaning as "good luck"?

Ans: The same meaning as good luck is "good luck".

..............
Me: Eh you very funny right. What is this?????????!!!!
Edwin: Really mah. I show you! *flips to comprehension passage*

And the passage reads:
... These are considered auspicious items which will bring them good luck.

Hahahahaha so cheeky! Yeah this is purely coincidental and thus a dead giveaway. Most of the times the meaning of the word isn't even in the entire passage. For the record the answer is "auspicious". "Good luck" couldn't possibly have been the answer anyway. It's TWO words, to be pedantic. HA!

On my lousiest days, my little tutee never fails to bring a smile to my face despite how TIRED and weary I am at the end of it all. So cheeky yet so endearing :)

He's got a really nice Mom too, and a brother in Secondary School who always says "hi" and "bye" to me! Lovely kids.

Oh yeah guess what he asked me today.
Edwin: Teacher you primary what?
Me: ............... Do I look like a primary school student?
Edwin: Hehe no .... Then you secondary what?

He also told me to stop speaking Mandarin because "eeeeee" it sounds "very funny". Aiya I'd only told him to kwai dian coz he was monkeying around (as usual).

Had to rush off (much to his delight) because the fam was doing crabs tonight! Haha funny we even have family dates for dinner at the TSerasi Food Garden, shamefully near- across the wee road.

The weather was fantastic this evening. It almost felt like NZ on its best day- soft breeze with the sunshine pouring generously down on you, neutralizing the cool air. Absolutely blissful.

-

I realized that the problem with me is that I'm not critical enough of judgement reports. I'm just like yeah yeah makes sense true that. When really there're a hundred contentious issues to it waiting to be nabbed and pounced upon and attacked. Maybe I just can't be half arsed to contend something already closed and settled before I was even born. Something that hardly concerns me. Which is bad coz then I tend to go with the flow and be negligent ...

Ok that certainly was random.

-

Oh my goodness SClub7 is playing. Nostalgia.

stubborn

2006-07-27T12:08:00.000+08:00

You know, you learn history to learn from past mistakes right?

Well it obviously works for most people, but not all.

:*(

2006-07-27T00:50:00.000+08:00

ARRRRRGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHhhhhhhhh.

Sucks.

I'm feeling so irritated. At nothing in particular.
I wish the weekend never comes.
I'd be happy going for lects for another week or two. Non-stop.

Only I have got the capability of turning something that I'd once so looked forward to, to something I dread. For all the wrong reasons too.
RAAAAAAAARRRRRrrr.

I need to sleep this off.

sleep woes

2006-07-27T00:34:00.000+08:00

I think I'm suffering from insomnia. 3.30am and I could still be tossing and turning around in bed. Anyways I got up way early this morning, with hardly any sleep. I think there's something wrong with me. I even get restless halfway through lunch.

Had my power nap on the bus on the way to school this avo, and was awoken 5 seconds before my stop! I had one of those sudden jolts. Like you think you're gonna fall off your bed but you're actually right smack in the middle of it. Yeah, except it was on a seat on the bus.

Supra left us copying notes off the whiteboard whilst he rubbed out the first two columns to add more. Suddenly he went "OH MY GOSH", stunned and incapable of speech momentarily.

He had used a permanent marker. LOL.

And because the entire board was filled with Parliamentary Sovereignty stuffs, none of which could be rubbed out, we had to proceed to another room for lecture. Funny. Thought it was a good time to drag our feet and waste some time. But noooo, Supra went over time again today as per every Public lect. Couldn't even join Mel and Yan after.

-

So I was in town on my way to run some errands for my Mom, then my Dad. Engrossed in replying a text as I was walking along, I didn't actually hear these two guys asking for my help. So they wanted to see more of Singapore instead of "being stuck on one road" (Orchard Road of course ;)) and wanted to know how to get to Little India.

Took them to the Somerset train station, taught them which trains to get on/off, which train stations to transit at, where Little India/Chinatown/Sentosa etc were, how to get a single-fare ticket, how to use it, and how to get the deposit back.

In that short half-an-hour or so, we definitely had a good chat :) They were from Texas and New York, and will be visiting many more countries. Don't know what they were up to tho, they seemt sneaky about it with that wink haha.

I love playing tour-guide and giving directions to tourists as best as I'm able to! Coz it's so frustrating to have to go to somewhere foreign and not know your way around, what more ask a local who can't give you helpful directions.

-

I don't know why I just told all that to, well, anyone at all! Now I'm sure he's gonna shame me to death. An hour's entertainment. Rarr ok not that I really care. I'm not even sure of it myself.
I don't WANT to. I think.

-

Oh and my little tutee's Mom sent me a text message in MANDARIN today.
Wow ok.

melzyme day

2006-07-26T00:01:00.000+08:00

Finally got to hang with Mel today! It's been ages. But because I had to wait and wait and waaaaaaiiiiitttt some more whilst she went beyond her Skagen duties and serve those at the Fossil counter, I got to catch up with the rest at Timepieces too! :) Lovely.

Although heaps of them have left, somehow those at the Guess counter don't seem to want to budge LOL. Toni and Jasmine have been there since flintstone age and are still standing strong heh.

Felt quite bad coz MEL'd told me only Cathie was working so I got afternoon tea for her and not the rest. Ah. Toni complains I only go see them once a year (FUNNY EH) but yeah I admit I'm rather lazy to even take the escalator up 2 levels, drop by say hi kinda thing. The only times I even walk into the mall is when I need a 2 minute air-conditioned environment coz it's too darn scorchingly hot out there. Walk in ---- busk in the cool air for a coupla minutes ---- out and furiously perspiring again.

I will stop being so lazy.

Really there's not much to do/see in town but it's all about the company! Talked about my non-existant love life and oh, we've come to a conclusion that our definition of "cute" differs vastly- of course! Beauty lies in the eye of the beholder- both interior and exterior.

'Twas funny in Wellington. Shanny and I would be walking down say .. Lambton Quay/Courtenay Place ...
Shanny: Eh that guy is quite cute.
Me: Which one. *looks around* SO BENG!
Shanny: I like. *smug*

Super funny. Likewise, I'd always get the look of disapproval when I point out all the kid-looking (or should I say youthful instead :p) people who ... probably aren't anywhere close to being kids. Anymore, anyway. Aiya. Haha. I like!

I love hanging with Mel! I love Mel! And dear Shanny too, who's not coming home over the summer. Bummer. (Rhymin!)

-

Today at Criminal we had to write an essay in record time- ok perhaps not really record time, we were just not prepared for it. It was apparently because the last time she'd asked us to write one at home, only one pathetic student had turned it in. (Aye I never knew she wanted it!) But I suspect it was more because she wanted to put her feet up in her office whilst we hurridly scrawled our way through an OL question.

One of the stalls at the TSerasi Food Garden is doing so well you've gotta make BOOKINGS earlier in the day just so to ensure a portion the evening when you dine. We obviously weren't aware so when my family and I went over for dinner last night, alas- we were too late. Oh well.

-

I'm your resident happy chappy :)

This is the day that the Lord hath made,
I will rejoice and be glad in it!

pick me up

2006-07-22T21:33:00.000+08:00

Thank God for the weekend! Been so tired lately it's not funny. Especially after Thurday's all-nighter ala WGC/Otago days where I sat through (almost) the entire night writing an essay due Friday avo. Got to bed at 4ish when the thoughts were just not coming anymore, and the sentences were starting to look gibberish and highly incoherent.

Had to get up early Friday morning to let the brain juices flow again and indeed they did! Finished writing the essay and chooped off to class all .. satisfied, albeit tired, sleepy and dazed. THE BEST PART: Chang didn't ask for it. Not at all. And I suspect he's completely forgotten about it .. forever. Oh well I certainly had fun writing it nonetheless! I love Contract and Chang's lectures. It's really interactive and I get to throw contentious issues at him and start my little debates. So .. satisfying for some reason heh. Criminal's fun too, but Anandi gets iffy at times for no apparent reason. Vicky is full of energy and has much oomph when giving lectures so I love that too, and Supra = Public = 'nuff said.

-

My little tutee cancelled out on me today coz she hadn't done any of her homework. Which was sweet- I had the opportunity to (finally) have a good sleep in, sleeping off all the lost sleep. 'Twas the longest in some time already. I'm recharged! And I really appreciated it.

Lounged around for a bit more before I decided to embark on my Tiramisu-making adventure! Adventure being an understatement. It was all going good- the zabaglione turned out nice and custardy. The strong black coffee (my Mom brewed!) had a killer aroma, especially with a generous amount of Baileys dumped in. The mascarpone cheese, slightly whipped, was smooth to perfection.

By the way, you'd think gourmet-priced cheese would taste fine, or even have a goumet taste to it. But no, mascarpone tastes like crap. Ok it's just bland. Like nothing- to the extent it tastes bad.

UNTIL. I started to whip the cream. Seriously can anyone tell me what the difference is between whipping cream, and buying whipped cream? I was told to use the electric mixer to whip the cream. So I did. And I didn't know how long it'd take, so I left it. Less than a minute later, liquid started spurting out of the electric mixer. My cream had separated itself into butter. (Literally butter-looking yellow butter) And unknown liquid. Amazing huh.

I thought it must've been the high speed the mixer was going on (which wasn't really, it was on 1!) and proceeded to whip the last of my thickened cream by hand with a whisk instead. Furiously beating the cream like a mixer would, again it separated itself into butter and unknown liquid in less than 10 seconds! Mortifying.

I'd already used up all the cream, and my Mom couldn't do anything to help me!
Mom: Aiya call your friend la!
-rings Yarn-
Yarn: ....... Ask your mother to help you la!

Hahahahaha.

Took a walk to Tmall to grab some more cream and practically ran all the way home because I was certain it was the heat that probably caused my cream to not work well (which wasn't the case, I realized)! Hmph. The third batch of cream was almost successful, that's coz my Mom helped whisk it properly. But we were so excited about it looking like it should, we continued whipping it until it was on its way to becoming butter. Which it did. Ayeeeeeeeee!

Last bit of cream. Took utmost caution, and finally! *insert skipping ninja* Anyhoo by the time I'd finished assembling the Tiramisu and clearing up my mess, it was almost 6. Gasp!

-

Went for dinner with the fam. Our initial plans of dining at the Botanics were thwarted coz it was once again extremely crowded and filled to the max, with heaps of people waiting around for a table. Honestly I don't understand why we always have to choose to dine there on a weekend where every typical Singaporean would be there to "try the new food place out". I don't even know why we're rushing with the crowd when we have the rest of the weekdays/months/years to dine there. Seeing as how we live just a lane away for cryin' out loud!

The Saturday it'd opened, my Mom was so excited (as were we- we've been living with that crap construction for the longest time! And didn't think it had -finally- opened!) she wanted to go check it out immediately. To which my Dad said, "What for you go chiong with everyone else! You have the rest of your life man!" Haha.

Come to think of it, right from when we'd moved in to T.Serasi, it's been construction almost non-stop, everywhere around us :S First the estate undergoing a major facelift, then some neighbour or the other has to move in and do renovations, then the food place directly next to our block had to be taken away (thank God! Just made us feel like it was satay everyday/night for mealtimes. The smell my goodness...), then the expansion of the Cluny Road, (more neighbours moving in and out: more renovation works) THEN the whole Botanic Gardens project. Am thankful for being away the most part. BGardens have taken forever and it's finally up and running!

For the record, some neighbour's doing renovations at the mo. Eeps.

-

I've been putting off doing heaps of things, like reply to Chewy's mail! He's the only one who still sends mails to my Hotmail account- that I'm still able to receive. Haven't heard from him in eons and it was a pleasant surprise when his mail came through! I really miss the 136Albany flatties and the 223bLeith boys :( It was Yet Tyng's 22nd birthday on Tuesday and I really wished I were there to celebrate it with the rest of the people! It was such a massive affair last year- and I'd imagine it to be nothing smaller this year- everybody LOVES Yet Tyng :)

I miss how she mothers me. In fact, because I was the baby of the flat, I was their little princess hehe. All of them! Always their lil princess. *beams*

-

I was really taken aback when I received that e-mail notification about someone posting a comment on a video I'd uploaded online early this year. It's such an old video I'd made, and was once so proud of it. It was once so sweet and dear to me.

But it obviously means nothing to me anymore. Nothing more than some pictures and captions put together, with a track playing in the background. Which is why I was surprised when a passer-by came to leave a comment, and thanking me for that video. I've completely forgotten about it. Probably time I took it off.

-

Saw the tutee kid Monday avo. After trying to avoid doing Science previously, I had to give in and wait on as she threw me with heaps of science questions I never knew. Shucks. Since when has P5 Science became so creative and challenging and well, difficult! I was stumped over and over again. Yes, shame on me I know.

Because she had to ask me a question every other 10 seconds or so, and I clearly did not have the answers from the top of my head like any good teacher would, I told her to do those she knew first, and leave those she didn't, blank.

Not surprisingly, the (FULL) paper was completed within half and hour, 60% of the paper was blank. A good, normal tutor would immediately go through the paper with the kid, teach her what she doesn't already know, correct her mistakes etc. I mean yeah that's what you're there for, no?

But because I didn't want to mark the paper in front of her and have to EXPLAIN her mistakes/ fill in her blanks for her (simply because I don't think I knew the answers either ... ) I told her I'd take it back to mark (consult smartypants Matt/Mom/Dad!). She must have wondered WHY I had to do that, considering it wouldn't be hard to mark a paper that was only 40% filled, of which 50% was probably guess work, therefore: funny answers. But oh yeah it is tedious.

She knew exactly why, and even giggled to herself, when I said "to scare myself" because she knows her funny answers always give me little heart attacks, ridiculously funny as they can be. On top of that though, it's because Science questions are so crazily creative these days I don't even know how to get about answering them much less explaining them to her. Thus I really meant "scare myself looking through the paper, trying to figure out how best to deliver to her" when I said that.

Ended up asking Ken, who not-so-subtlely told me that they were "very easy, what". Ah ok.

My other tutee kid now wears a watch, and openly looks at it every now and then, COUNTING DOWN out loud in my face. Eh young child, I'd love to let you go early too, but your Mother wouldn't be too pleased that's the thing. I know it's tiring/ not the most exciting thing to be doing butttt it'll do you some good :)

-

Having said that, everything's been great. I can't ask for more.
Thank you Lord, for all You've done!

Also, I realized that if you said Grace for every little morsel of food/drink you consume, you suddenly see how blessed you are. So much so that we take it forgranted at times. Here we are, taking 3 meals (4/5 for some) a day, not counting snacking in between meals, morning/afternoon tea/supper ETC. And there the people are in third-world countries, struggling to find a drop of clean water, much less a decent meal, or even random scraps of food. And most of us have fish, veg & meat in every meal kinda thing.

I'm just so thankful and grateful, and I don't know why I was born here in Singapore where we live quite substantively, for I've done nothing to deserve this. Then again nothing we do/have done will ever justify enough why we've been given what God has given us. It's solely by the grace and mercy of our Heavenly Father. Living in luxury, and not in shambles of a third-world country. But I know I've been
BLESSED BEYOND MEASURE.
And I can't thank You enough.

So Grace must not be taken as simply a token obligatory prayer you recite quickly just so you can sink your chops in the food in the fastest possible time.

-

And just so you'd like to know, YES the Tiramisu turned out fab and it's yummy! If I do say so myself. Hehe.

Oh and also, Tiramisu means "pick me up" in Italian ;)

kids say/ do the darnest things

2006-07-14T10:16:00.000+08:00

Ugh. I was reading the morning papers along with Banana Nut Crunch, and I was starting to get really sick from reading about the skeleton that was found in some old abandoned house. It doesn't get any worse, does it? It was quite nauseating, especially when there were pictures of the house inserted. I visualise and think too much for my own good. I can't fathom how anyone could live like that, amidst the amount of rubbish and the musky smell (I'd imagine), in a junkyard of a house.

But it's really pitiful to have died for ages without anyone knowing, or even being there as you left this world. Baffles me how the stench from a decomposing body did not get to the neighbours.

Anyhow it was quite gross, and did not go well with breakfast.

I'm up earlier than usual today, and I don't know why. I was up last night talking to my sis (who was up early at 6am and fretting about demonstrating later in the morning lol).

My poor coughing and wheezing brother is on MC today.

Anyhoo.

God has been answering all my prayers lately, re: my tutee kids! Thank you, Lord! But now, it's a different problem altogether.

I'd hoped and prayed my tutee kids wouldn't be soooooo smart they'd outsmart me, and I'd be stumped and embarrassed and sheepish. The P5 one has successfully managed to make me want to warmit braaarrd, within 2 weeks. But my little p3 tutee made me want to WARMIT BRRAAARD 30 minutes into the session. *takes deep breath*

Far from being overly brainy and intelligent, my little tutee hardly knows anything at all. So it was really tedious when I had to explain every other word in a sentence to him. Came to a point where I was so tired (physically, and just tired from talking), I said, "'Unreasonable' means ... not reasonable, you know?" as I explained the meaning of 'unreasonable' to him. Which of course wasn't helping, since he knew not what 'reasonable' meant.

I also went to the extent of trying my best to explain some words in Mandarin (beat that!) for him. Some easier ones, like what 'courteous', 'co-operative', 'stingy' meant. BEST PART WAS: He didn't understand what it was in Mandarin either.

I wanted to pull all my hair out.

"Ok what does 'violent' mean?"
"Got 2! One is the colour ... the other one is .. uhh I don't know how to say!"
"*proceedes to explain what violent really means* and the COLOUR, did you say? That is viOlet! *more explanation/ description*"

'Brought' and 'bought' are the same,
so are 'sacks' and 'snacks'.

"Ali has 4 sNacks of durians ...."

Indeed it was challenging. My little tutee kid warmed up to me within minutes, and when kids warm up to you, they get comfy with you, and start trying to be funny. He's so adorable though, but I don't think his mother would be too pleased if I'd allowed him to climb on top of my head, and not learn anything in the process. Sadly.

"So what is the difference between 'brought' and 'bought'? Ok what is 'brought'? What is the present tense of 'brought'?"
"Dunno! :D"
"What is the present tense of 'bought'?"
"Dunno! :D"
"Do you know how to use the dictionary? I'll teach y..."
"I KNOW I KNOW!"
"Ok then you show me."
"....... I dunno. Hehe."

And then the OTHER tutee kid, amongst all the other things she said/did (which almost made me go into a bout of fits), the other day she was trying to use long division to solve 25 divided by 2. Which looks something like this:

Somehow her answer turned out to be 12. So I asked her:
"12 ah? Then you tell me what is 12 x 2."
"*thinks for a bit* ... 24!!!!!!"
"Uh huh then ... *points at long division working*"
"*deep in thought* OHHHHHHH!!!!"
Then proceeds to change her working TO:

O_O

Numbers with decimals and those without can be added together:

7 divided by 2 = 35

HOW CAN 5 AND 6 JUST SIMPLY CANCEL OUT LIKE THAT!?"
"CAN ONEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE."

Appalled.

No wonder her Mom was shocked (big understatement) when I told her she learns fast (but that was just the first session when she was still the good tutee kid, attentive and co-operative), because apparently she'd "lost patience teaching her". And did she say she'd given up too?

Anyway the reason why I'm doing this is because I had a LOT of time to kill over summer, and they've only recently rang me up after school's started. So why not since I have some time on my hands, and besides I actually thought it might be fun. Yes.

big/small risks

2006-07-13T01:14:00.000+08:00

On top of Public Law already being boring as it is, I was super tired today too. So I fell asleep in Mr. Supra's lecture today without intending to. Yes I do feel extremely bad about that coz I think it's plain rude and discourteous to be sleeping in class. And it shows no form of respect whatsoever to the lecturer.

But the eyelids were very heavy, and when Supra had to take a call halfway, they just gave way and I slept for approx 10minutes. Power nap. I wasn't paying much attention throughout the rest of the lect coz I was busy trying to keep awake more than anything else. So I doodled, and scribbed some random thoughts off my head.

I'd gone to bed at 4ish the night before.
Because I was up doing work/ surfing the web/ looking at pretty things AND:
Because I was listening (reading) to a live commentary of a fashion show.

LOL!

It's visualising and getting excited coz it feels as if you'd been the one back from a massive shopping spree yourself hehe. Super cute! Shopping is such love! [Ah. Ok. Makes mental note to self to have to curb bad habit!]

I remember feeling really crummy once back in Dunnerz, and had told my Mom I needed some retail therapy. All she said was "Rubbish. There's no such thing as retail therapy." Boo.

Gonna crash soon or I might fall asleep in Supra's again tomorrow. Don't want that to happen.

-

Always loved this coz it's just so true. Really we should just go for it sometimes aye. To let loose, let love, let God.

The Dilemma
To laugh is to risk appearing a fool.
To weep is to risk appearing sentimental.
To reach out for another is to risk involvement.
To expose feelings is to risk rejection.
To place your dreams before the crowd is to risk ridicule.
To love is to risk not being loved in return.
To go forward in the face of overwhelming odds is to risk failure.
But risks must be taken because the greatest hazzard in life is to risk nothing.
The person who risks nothing does nothing, has nothing, is nothing.
He may avoid suffering and sorrow, but he cannot learn, feel, change, grow, or love.
Chained by his certitudes, he is a slave.
He has forfeited his freedom.
Only a person who takes risks is free.

Isn't it true sometimes it's better not to expect too much, or expect anything at all, because when you do, you're only allowing yourself to be more prone to a bigger disappointment at the end.

Then isn't expecting something a risk in itself? Risk of disappointment, and all the other feelings that come along with it. Of being vulnerable and exposing yourself to the possibility of being hurt again.

I don't know aye.

To expose feelings is to risk rejection.
To love is to risk not being loved in return.

But only a person who takes risks is free.

Hrm.

-

Off to bed.
Lyds and Nat leave tomorrow.

It's strange I keep thinking how I was deliriously happy as the pathetic fireworks display was put on, but for a different reason altogether. No, it can't be?

crazy antics

2006-07-11T23:53:00.000+08:00

HEHHEH ...

So I was diligently (no, REALLY) doing my Criminal stuffs on automatism when Yi dropped by to chat. I thought I was the only one with a shopping disease but noooo! Yi's fretting, too. There are always things to fret about (re: shopping, that is). Like whether or not you should make that sinful purchase, whether it's worth it, whether you should even be pampering yourself (yet again- because apparently the last time was The Last Time), then what design/colour/pattern you should get it in, what size fits best, then- oh! When you've finally decided to go for it, lo-and-behold! No size! No stock! No this and that! So maybe God is saying no. Hrm. The latest, as it is, is fretting about not having someone overseas who's coming back soon. (Right, Yi?) Go figure. Heh. On the way home today it started pouring so I had to seek shelter at Ngee Ann City. Rang the Mom, and since, coincidentally she had a facial appointment at Takashimaya in the late afternoon, thought I'd just wait up for her so we could go home together.

What better opportunity/excuse to check the sale at Mango out. It was really disappointing but I was secretly happy there was nothing to tempt myself with. Anyway Dad gave Mom a ride to Takashimaya so I hitched a ride back! Wasn't raining anymore anyway. Weather was soooo cool! I lourve! :)

Ooh. Yay. The inconsiderate security guard from across the road has turned his stupid radio off. Retired for the night I see. Why do managements of private estates even bother hiring security guards at night, since all they do is to sleep the night away anyway? They leave the barrier open, such that any vehicle has entrance to the private estate. Either that or they're just too old/fat to move very fast, should anything happen. Maybe plonking an old AND fat security guard is meant to deter potential buglars and what have you. It's all in the mind. Maybe residents feel safer with the knowledge of a guard .. guarding the estate. Seriously doesn't work that way though. Fat sloppy security guards. Rah.

So we were chatting about Mutant Mangoes (still amazed- one Mutant Mango can feed a family substantially for after-dinner fruits), and somehow the topic of Joel sending us the same text came about. "I'm in a rubbish truck. Yuck so smelly". Ok. Firstly, duh. Rubbish trucks are not meant to smell like a bed of roses, or even anything close. Secondly, WHAT ON EARTH ARE YOU DOING IN A RUBBISH TRUCK JOEL CHAN? Hahahahahahaha I got that text during Criminal and I had to stifle my laugh coz Anandi was a little anal today, for whatever reason, snapping at us for nothing.

Mutant Mangoes and me going to attempt to stuff myself with the whole thing someday, brought about the topic of Joel (yes, again) and his leg of ham. One fateful Friday before cell, Joel and I were at Carrefour in search of food (before our Ikea dinner with the rest). Then Joel set his eyes upon a full leg of ham and said he'd once bought the whole thing and wanting to be barbaric, he started gnawing at the leg of ham as it was. And finished the entire thing. By himself. Without slicing the ham up.

I was ... beyond words (still am). But still managed to talk him outta getting another leg of ham for pre-dinner snacks. Had to put a stop to his umm, caveman ways. LOL.

Did you know that being diabetic could give you defenses of automatism and insanity if you decide to do something nutty? There are, of course, strict requirements. But yeah. WOW!

Ok gonna have to embrace myself for the following two days of Public Law. Eeeeeeeekkkkkkk.

WELCOME BACK JOEY :D

viva la italia

2006-07-10T13:09:00.000+08:00

2 minutes into the game it occured to me (then I remembered): Of course! The Italy jersey's blue! So pardon my sheer ignorance that led to the outburst of me exclaming about my blue tank not having anything to do with Italy ... *sheepish* Please do not be shocked beyond words or anything. It's only ... normal.

It would've been marvellous if the rest could have joined us last night. We missed you all very much! Um, especially when it was only Yi, Matthew and myself left watching the game when 2am ticked by. VON AND JOEL SLEPT THE ENTIRE NIGHT AWAY RIGHT FROM 11ISH. (Shame on you! :p)

OH YES, a little into the match I went back in, and there Joel was, groggy and squinting at me.
Me: HELLO! THE MATCH HAS STARTED ARE YOU WATCHING WITH US?
Joel: *rubs eyes* ..... Where am I?
Me: You're in my bedroom.
Joel: *looks at Von on the bed, rubs eyes* Who is she?
Me: She's Yvonne. And I'm Cheryl.
Joel: *rubs eyes* Ya I know.
Me: *gasps and thinks: Wow he does ..* Are you watching with us or not!! Match! Outside!
Joel: *rubs eyes* Where am I?
Me: You're at my place.
Joel: *grunts* Ok no. *retreats back under the duvet*

.................... WAH.

It was a bit of a struggle trying to keep awake. Matthew went to bed at 8 and got up at half past 1, and proved his little strategy to work very well! That boy was multi-tasking watching the game and playing a soccer game on his cellphone at the same time. Eh.

5 minutes before 1st half ended, Yi and I looked at each other: "I'm so sleepy!" LOL.

But we caught most parts of the game :D

It started freezing, both in the room and in the lounge where we were. But because Von and Joel took both the duvets, Yi and I bunked in the lounge instead. Was pouring & thundering- nice and cool, but probably a little too cold.

"Lightning always comes before thunder!" HAHA!

Ok that was random, but speaking of which, we did eventually put on Cars .. and well, didn't get about really watching it. Hrm there must be something about the show aye.

We all got up at 8, washed up and lazed about more, complained more about it being so chilly, yawned a zillion more times (even them both who've slept .. ALL NIGHT. With the duvet some more! The audacity!) Then headed to town for breakfast.

Dropped by Gleneagles before with the intention of looking up Sharon (who couldn't join us the night before because she had to work. Pity.) but we realized we didn't exactly know where she was stationed. Couldn't reach her either so after sitting at the 8th floor and looking clueless for a while, we left for town.

Went to PS after with Yi to get the Fox tanks! Now she's got the same Brazil one as me, only in yellow. Cool beans. I loike! ;)

Nat's 21st tonight. Was bestowed the glorious task of getting the prezzie and I haven't. Gotta hunt for one later in the avo. Ahhh last minute again.

-

It was so weird as we went for our run at the BGardens yesterday morning. One of them had asked something, and after I'd given an answer, I could just sense the burning desire from the both of them to say something. Yet no one did. Then there was that awkward silence for a coupla seconds.

However all's not lost. They did eventually give it to me at night when ALL of them were there to attack me together and give me a lot of umm, unwanted attention. Hrm. WHY??!

I've got incriminating photos of you guys snoozing away (when you weren't supposed to!) that I said I was gonna shame you both to death. Hahaha .. WELL.

Ok Cherylsleepytimes now. Really exhausted. It was great having you guys over. Thanks for coming all the way down. It was fantastic company, as always :)

embarrassingly unfit

2006-07-09T16:28:00.000+08:00

YIPEE! We're watching the World Cup finals Italy v France tonight at my place, at a crazy 2 am in the morning!

I think I'll support Italy. I'm not a footie fan, and I'd probably be the one with the least football knowledge tonight (I'm my sister's #1 blondie) hehe BUT, I'll go for Italy because I love pasta. And because red and green are Christmas colours (I LOVE!). Aaaannd, also because I've got a top that says Italy on it and I shall wear it tonight. There you go, all the wrong and very, very, superficial reasons for rooting for a football team ;)

Of all the ridiculous reasons for cheering on a team- like certain players being oh-so-hot, and other crazy justifications, mine will have to take the cake. Haha!

And I got the top because of its colour- a very nice shade of blue (WILL YOU BEAT THAT- I don't even know where blue came from!)

-

Now, on to my very feeble attempt at a morning run today.

By the way, Von bailed out on us because she couldn't get up this morning, not even after "[her] phone was blasting ohio... Ohio... OHIO!!" LOL.

So whilst Joel and I were waiting for Huiyi, I had a bowl of Blueberry Morning cereal
#1: because I needed breakfast
#2: because it's so yummy and I was greedy (ok what's new).

Bad move.

2 minutes into the run and already I could feel the cereal in my tummy threatening to launch itself out. Then came the stitch (from the milk? I don't know.) which lasted the entire run. Approx 4kms later, I had to let them both continue with the run whilst I umm, enjoyed the beautiful park surroudings hehe. The greenery, fresh air, kids, and dogs. And yes I am ashamed at myself! We gotta do this more. Or Cheryl'd never make it to 10kms. Moan groan weep cry brawl.

Met them again and we headed home to grab cash. For breakfast at Tmall. God is so good to us. It wasn't till we stepped back into my apartment before it started pouring. Heavily. Had to negotiate with time as we got ready for church. Got a ride with Mom and Matthew- really thankful for that!

Sky's so gloomy.

Oh yeah we'll probably do Cars tonight. Gosh it's been on the agenda for ages and we still haven't got about watching it! Joey why are you in Hong Kong? :(

5 tann-er girls

2006-07-09T01:05:00.000+08:00

I HAD A MORE-THAN-FABULOUS DAY TODAY :D

Praise God!

And thank you Von, Yi, Zhi and Huijia! I really enjoyed the fellowship and company!
Loves.

Met Yi early at 2.15, got a ride to Redhill train station with the folks hehe .. Spared us from walking under the scorching sun. Took a train down to Kallang, and met Huijia at the train station! Which was umm, a surprise, coz we initially thought all of them would be late anyway lol. But she was only 1 of 3 who was on time! Proceeded to Macas to grab some food before following the crowd to the National Stadium :)

Met Von and Matthew who'd cabbed there, then Ken who had to pass me one more ticket. Queued to make our way in, was given a plastic bag which contained a bottle of water, the un-inflated clapper things, some security band thingum, and a flag! Only my flag didn't have a flag. Um, I had the flagpole (flagstick?) without the FLAG itself :(

So the girls told me to go get another one. The army boys (men?!) happily gave me like 5 more flags. "ALL FOR YOU!" Maybe coz I looked so sad and despondant I didn't have a flag hehehe ...

Got some decent seats, and sweltered like pigs under the scorching sun for the next hour and half or so. The wait before the parade actually started was rather lengthy, and I think the girls sitting behind us, and the middle-aged couple couldn't take sitting in the sun for ages- so they left. Before the show started! Pity aye.

Went back out shortly with Von to get Zhi. Was a massive queue back in, although it was already way past the time we were supposed to be seated by. Typically Singaporean, where wedding dinners only start at 9 when the wedding invite states for you to be seated by 7. And where National Day Parade starts at 6/6.30 when you're meant to be seated by 4.45. By and by everyone just comes 1-2 hours late to minimise waiting time on their part, not have to sit in the sun for like- ever, and be on time for the performance/dinner/what-have-you. Hrm.

Waiting time is bonding time! :D

Soon the whole stadium was a sea of red and white :) It's nice seeing people making an effort and being enthusiastic about this event, although it isn't the actual parade, or even the Preview itself. Yi and I had pink tops on, whist Von and Zhi were decked in black. And poor Huijia whining the afternoon away, about being silly to be wearing jeans. "SO HOTTTTTT!"

A while later, the sky was slightly overcast, and we felt raindrops every now and then. But GOD IS GOOD. The sky cleared soon after :) Praise God!

The Parade wasn't spectecular or anything. This being its first full dress rehearsal, there were obviously technical glitches, and funny performers making funny mistakes that were so evident from an spectator's view.

Nothing extremely special, no WOW factor or anything. As per every year however, the Redlions and the fighter jets were the attraction! And they never fail to impress the crowd.

Also, after 4 years, I finally sang the National Anthem and said the Pledge again today.
*beams*

Being there and watching the Combined-Schools Choir made me really miss being in NDP, and being part of the Combined-Schools Choir, as tiring as the weekly rehearsals got. Crazy 10am-10pm rehearsals under the sun, a shade darker and dehydrated as each week went by.The year I was part of the NDP, it was really interactive too, with the Fun Dance and all. Aye ...

Having said that, it doesn't take a WOW event to make my day. For Cheryl really, it's always the company :) I thorougly, I say that again and again, enjoy the girls' company :)

HUH rocks.

Zhi (on the line with Joel): EHHhhh you looked really smart just now, leh!
Joel: REALLY you managed to see me?!
Zhi: YAH. Everybody just looked the same lor.

LOL.

Made our way to town for a drink before most had to head home. Walked Von to Cuppage Plaza to meet her sista before I trooped home myself. I finally know where Cuppage is! We were both clueless but I couldn't possibly leave her looking for a building alone at night soooo!

Joel, Yi, Von and I are going a-running tomorrow morning at BGardens! Then bfast! Then shower and church! Can't wait already!

I know it's cliched to take pictures of fireworks, but I couldn't help snapping along, especially since they were true to their words, and when they spoke of not having "high level fireworks", THEY MEANT IT. We got little bouts of fireworks here and there. Aaaannnndd, because I was using the cam on my cellphone, it does that laggy thing that captures, then saves what it captures (for the 2nd time) at THAT specific second. Which means to say, whenever a picture is taken, the cam has to be in that same position, smiles frozen- for a few moments- before the same image is saved, if you got what I meant.

Which also means that, since I couldn't possibly make the fireworks STAY the way they were, my reflexes were slow and I caught mostly the SMOKE LEFT AFTER THE FIREWORKS HAD EXPLODED IN THE SKY. Yes funny I know.

I've got real pretty pictures nonetheless! (Courtesy of Zhi!)

Spot Joel!

Really I wonder why I always have to stand in between tall people.
Or umm, maybe the ground was just uneven.

NDP full dress screening

2006-07-08T01:23:00.000+08:00

This week has passed so slowly. Everyday has been crawling. Beats me why though.

Today, we went for our Contract lect. Which signifies the last lecture of the week.

WEEKEND AHOY!

Tomorrow we set forth! To Kallang! For the National Day- I can't say Preview- well the full dress rehearsal then!

It says (amongst all the other normalities), on the shabby cheaparse ticket printed without colour, on cheap flimsy blue vanguard sheet (gee I gripe too much about insignificant nitty gritty things!):

You are encouraged to come dressed in red
Viewing of full dress rehearsal
No high level fireworks
No fun packs
Bring your own food, drinks and wet weather gear etc

WOULD YOU IMAGINE MY DISAPPOINTMENT AS I READ THAT innocent little "NO FUN PACKS" line? BOO.

Of such cardinal sin! How can you go to a NDP thingy without a fun pack!? No fun pack = no Singapore (fake) tattoos, no lousy noisy annoying instruments to clang around with, no fun stuffs to participate along with, when the hosts urge you to. And no free sponsored food. BOOOOOOOOOOO.

Hope it'll be great nonetheless.

of everything

2006-07-06T02:21:00.000+08:00

Today I walked into another part of Singapore.

Ok this will be short. Cheryl has yet another essay to be turned in tomorrow urgh. Oh but we never know :p

It's a little different from stepping into the heartlands of Singapore, whereby it's mostly high-rise HDB apartments, little minimarts and various provision shops lining the ground floors of the apartment blocks, primary & secondary schools here and there. And now it seems like there's a mall at almost every district!

Anyways after school I had to run a little errand for Matthew. Joyce and I made our way towards Bugis and along the way ... we had to walk through Rochor(?) Road. It's hard to describe.

But WOW.

The last time I'd been there was when I was still in primary school, and was sent for some stupid Chinese classes at Fu Lu Shou Complex which I very much dreaded each week. (And hated deeply, needless to say.) The only highlight of being there on Saturday afternoons was waiting whilst my sister gets her turn at Chinese classes (haha!) so my Mommy and I could go shopping at Bugis Junction. Yeah anyway the classes were so hard and I think I wasted everyone's time, money and effort taking me to classes religiously every single Saturday, rain or shine. Because I never did any of the homework assigned to me. Neither did I listen during classes.

It was one of the more popular Chinese education centres at that time, that every kid who went there benefitted from it, everyone but me. Garh. It's tough enough struggling with the language, let alone have LADIES FROM CHINA trying to converse and teach the whole frickin lesson to you in their ... accent. And assign me work that only smart-as kids from China would've been able to tackle effortlessly, without a drop of sweat.

Ok this was supposed to be about Rochor Road.

Yeah but I'm having a little difficulty putting my short experience there into words. Basically it just made me, the ultimate City Girl (somehow this reminds me of Citycabs LOL) open my big eyes even wider, to see well, something completely different from my everyday city life. There were just heaps of old-ish uncles and aunties tending to their little food/clothe stalls. Thing is, everyone just seemt so laidback, and contented kinda thing. Like they're just happy doing whatever they were doing, no competition, no rushing with the rest of Singapore. Just happy to be in that neighbourhood, amongst the rest of their mates :) Also makes me wonder exactly how many out of all the uncles and aunties know Christ and are saved. It'll be great to know that they're happy simply coz they HAVE Christ. Nothing else required.

Something definitely worth a mention tho: you know those push cart $1 ice-cream thingys along the entire stretch of Orchard Road? Well it's only 80cents along Rochor Road LOL. And ice-cream cones are 50cents. HOW MUCH CHEAPER CAN IT GET? And what are they earning really. Hrm.

There were like 5 ice-cream push carts all together in a circle. Cute! Haha.

Bugis Street was crowded with people, people and MORE people 4.30pm on a weekday avo. So weird. And I'd thought it only comes to life at night. Guess there isn't really a specific time where shopping comes alive aye? ;)

I love Bugis Street. It reminds me of a pasar-malam, just a little more up-market hehe. I haven't been to pasar-malams in the longest time. All the FOOD.

Proceeded to the National Library to check a book out for Matthew, only to find out that the 10 over copies they had in the library were strictly for reference. Aaarrrrrrrghhhhhh. So back down town I went, to the Library @ Orchard. The book for his ERP, Little Ironies: Stories of Singapore by Catherine Lim, turned out to be this small and thin paperback. Praytell why 10ish copies had to be classified under reference material. Ack.

Trooped home soon after for dinner with the fam.

Still agonizing over the poisonous looking zit on my chin threatening to ... engulf and kill me or something. Such a hindrance I wish it'll just go away and quit bothering me :(

I also have been eating heaps lately. Eating and growing fat FATTTTTTTTT. I need to run. But I'm so unmotivated to put on those running shoes and head to BGardens, even when it's just a traffic light away, (or just a lane away if you'd like to jaywalk LOL).

Speaking of which, who's still going for the New Balance Real Run? I um, humbly believe we need to train, and there're dates where we could go down to check the route/distance/markers out and things like that. Oh and we need to register too. Most definitely :)

Weather lately has been real hot, to say the least. Which also means being in an air-conditioned place most of the times. Thus the dry skin. Ugh.

I should go visit Dunnerz soon. I really miss the flatties. And the 223B Leith boys. And wearing all my coats and boots. And just the little university town itself. I miss the Farmers Market, that I've only managed to get up in time for it like a few times hehheh. Anyone wants to go to NZ? I'll take ya around Dunedin (Cadbury factory! Speights brewery!) and Wellington (nothing exciting at all!). Then we can go around Auckland (shopping + food!)/ Christchurch (more shopping and more food!) with a map! Hehe. Ok I'm quite keen really. But Thailand first!

Nat's invited us over for his 21st party next Monday. I can't think of what to get.

Ok I was gonna write about something else but .. yes. Shall go do other more important stuffs :D

AND YES! I've most certainly kept this short!
Hehehehehehe :p

midnight ramble

2006-07-05T01:12:00.000+08:00

Another of God's beautiful works :)

A nice pretty um .. dog. My sis calls me a blondie coz I only know the diff between a poodle and a chihuahua LOL. (And perhaps a bulldog, because they're so .. bulldog-looking.)

Some cropped jacket at Nike, which wasn't very nice.

Ok that was so random. I've got a zit on my chin and it's so infuriating!!!!! :(

of BABIES! KIDS!

2006-07-05T00:22:00.000+08:00

Oooooooooooohhhh I love kids. Such lovable huggable endearing lil honeys. Full of sunshine and laughter and chirp. And of much innocence! Little bubs. Ayeeeee ... love!
I want a baby! :D
Hehe.

monday greens

2006-07-03T13:21:00.000+08:00

Having Mondays off makes me a fat procrastinator. I'm under the impression that I've got a lot of time on my hands over the weekends soooo, yes it's Monday again today and I've got a Criminal essay to be turned in tomorrow! And I'm typing this amidst doing other unnecessary things like reading stuffs and ummm, shopping online.

I haven't been shopping in a looooong time, especially since the GSS has started, it almost feels as if the whole of Singapore is in town prowling the streets and malls for some cheap good deals. Which is why the city is so crowded and sickening over the weekends. Everyone loves a good deal.

However because I can't imagine walking body-to-body, face-to-back-of-head with some sweaty random stranger, I'd rather not join in the rat race, and remain sane somewhere else.

Besides, the stuffs left on the shelf when Cheryl comes along are always 5 sizes too big or just very gaudy. So more often than not, I'd end up getting the non-sale items. Which defeats the purpose of having to squeeze with the rest of Singapore for a good deal. Hrm.

Ok did I just type all that out to justify why I'm even shopping online? Haha.
(It's such excitement when the parcel comes through the mail, by the way.)

It's been many minutes and I'm still wondering how to get about tackling the darned OL essay. And I'd probably only get down to serious thinking in the unearthly hours tonight. .......... I work better under stress haha.

OOOH lookie check this out. I was randomly surfing, and found this at the Ministry of Youth Affairs New Zealand site:

Ever felt like today's youngsters are speaking a different language? The following table (courtesy of the Ministry of Youth Affairs) aims to allow many of us brush up on some current youth terms...

FUNNY! I can't believe they actually took the trouble to compile something like that! It's like seeing all the slangy/ teenager stuffs we used to say being penned down by adults who're really trying hard to be a blender LOL. Ayeee, those were the WGC days ;)

Accidentally triggered something off and the Chinese text thingum came up. Lookie what I managed! 我的名是陈嘉欣我很乖！Hehe. (Um, that's the right character for guai right?)

-

We had Lydia and Nat over for dinner this evening, for some Singapore-lovin' home cooked food :)

It was such a massive spread, what supposedly was meant to be just a "simple meal". Hosts (and especially the cook), will always be so modest. Dinner big enough for a 6 pax dinner.

Dad single-handedly whipped up the prawns, pacific clams, veg, steamed fish, and granted we got the chicken from the stalls heh. Topping it up with soup brewed since the arvo, Cantonese-styled. ALL BY HIMSELF! I umm .. arranged the chicken.

I know we often take it forgranted, and never say this enough, but DAD IS SUCH AN AWESOME COOK. I'm full of awe and admiration for my Dad, who always tries to provide us with home-cooked food, no matter how busy he is. Yes, my Dad does the cooking at home, and does an excellent job at that.

I was gonna take a pic for the sista who's missing it all, but everyone seemt to have sunk their chops in the glorious food before anything. Hrm.

We all had fat and full stummies after, had a whole heap of fruits, before Mom had the dessert served up. Phood, PHOOOD and MORE PHOOOOOOOOOD!!!!

The sibs are thankful to escape the crazy winter in Dunnerz for a short break back here. My poor sister's stuck back there doing research on a cold winter's night LOL.

Lydia keeps urging me to go back to Dunnerz buttt nay. I'm lovin' it here, more than I ever did. And I thank God DAILY for that. Praise God! Over and over again!

-

Can't wait for Christmas.

Edit: Joel and I finally went for the Thai Fest at the Royal Thai Embassy, on its last day (ie, today)! It was quite disappointing actually, to say the least. There wasn't much. Poobums. I want the real thing! Someone organise a trip to Thailand pretty please!! Will love you for .. a long time hehe :p

OK. Time to embark on The Essay.
xcrossesfingersx

of egg-tarts

2006-07-02T02:40:00.000+08:00

Tonight, instead of joining the rest of the cell at Huiyi's for the England v Portugal game, I caught it with the father&son duo in the lounge instead.

It wasn't quite as exciting, really, and we spent a good bit of the game snorting at the commentator's ridiculously irrelevant (and sometimes uncalled for) comments and random sudden outbursts. Hilarious whilst they lasted.

I suddenly miss Lambton Quay.

And this has been at the back of my mind for sometime now, so tonight was apt as I pop-quized Matthew :D

"Would Portuguese egg-tarts have anything to do with Portugal?!"
I got the biggest look of bewilderment in return.

For the record, yes I think so.

Wikipedia also generously shared a picture of a tray of burnt Portuguese egg-tarts, with showers of blessing (read: water) upon them, before the entire tray of tarts actually torches up.

Ok wait, sorry I re-read the para again and my bad- it isn't water to put out fire from the burnt tarts, instead, the tray of tarts "requires a finishing touch of topping with a layer of syrup or granulated sugar, then baking in the oven to caramelize the sugar".

Seriously, of all pictures to use for illustration purposes.

mutants

2006-07-01T10:37:00.000+08:00

I look and feel terrible and very dead.

I haven't heard Singapore's National Anthem in say, 4 years (?) now. 6am I was STILL lying in bed with my eyes wide open. Suddenly the National Anthem came on the radio and it brought a smile to my face. Bred such strange familarity. It's great to be back in Singapore.

:)

-

This is a regular-sized papaya. >>>>>>>This is Mutant Mango.

And this comparison-contrast really cracks me up. You should see the real thing man.

Young primary school kids aspiring to be hip-hop dancers in future ;)

"He hipped and he hopped. He loved hip-hop." LOL ok irrelevant.

-

Matthew's got a bump on his forehead from polo training and the folks have got him to ice the bruise himself, which he's been rather lazy to do it consistently. SO, the folks have also threatened to take him to this old physiotherapist uncle (whom we've always gone to when we sprain our ankles etc). Which is why I don't really get it.

By the way, for a frail-looking old man like the uncle, he exerts force 100 times more than what he appears to possess. Which is scary. He makes you sit on this creaky stool that creaks like crazy when you squirm and wince whilst he forces your twisted/sprained (insert part of body) back into shape.

So pray tell why is it my folks want to take the brother to the uncle! I mean if all he's going to do is rub the bruise with all his might such that the bump turns concave on the forehead, and comes out from the back of his head ...

He's quite thankful though.

"Aiyo is it quite common?"
"At least I didn't get kicked in the balls ..."

insomnia

2006-07-01T04:43:00.000+08:00

It's quarter to 5, and I'm wide awake.

(Note: pointless entry ahead)

I'd stayed up watching the game between Germany and Argentina with Matthew a while before, then watched more tv and did some light reading before attempting to retire for the night. But I've been tossing and turning in bed for the past almost 2 hours, watching the tealight from my aromatherapy stand flicker about, threatening to die out for a long time already, but still hasn't.

Truth is, I am very, very tired. I just can't seem to go to sleep.

Soon the sky will be bright again, and everyone else will be up and ready to embrace a brand new day.

During cell earlier on in the evening, my heart felt extremely heavy, to the point I really wanted to cry. Beats me why though. So I prayed and asked the Lord. But yeah.

On the way home, I passed a young, pretty girl jogging. It was already 11ish. Said a little prayer for the Lord to protect and watch over her, because it just isn't very safe to be going for a run alone at that time, especially when BGardens is still undergoing some construction and there're heaps of well, foreign workers around. I'm not trying to stereotype or anything like that, but you know the danger that lies ...

Can't wait for tomorrow already :)
This is the day that the Lord hath made, I will rejoice and be glad in it!

It was cool watching soccer with the brother. Am not sure if you're not supposed to be talking heaps when one's intently watching on, but I did anyway hehe. And it just occured to me I must've sounded like the ultimate bimbotic sister who was watching soccer for the first time LOL. But hey! At least I wasn't cooing over the players ok.

I can fully understand why everyone's so excited watching a game. It IS exciting, especially when you're rooting for a team, which I wasn't. My initial intentions were to provide my brother with some soccer-watching company, coz my Dad had already gone to bed after the 1st half of the game, and it is more fun to watch a game with someone else umm .. right? But like I said, don't know if I was annoying him too much with my constant babble heh. *Sheepish*

And if you'd believe it, I did the hula-hoops whilst watching the game. Yep. Stop sniggering already. Went on for a considerable amount of time, which resulted in my tummy turning red and itchy. Argh. The only other time I encountered anything like that, was when I tried using the U-Zap for 10 minutes. WHOLE tummy turned an awful shade of purple. Lasted for a coupla hours, and it was the most torturing. Blotchy, hot and itchy (yet not really).

I also realized my entire family owns and uses an electric toothbrush, but me. I still prefer the conventional toothbrush. My Mom gave me an extra small toothbrush thingy so I could fit it onto my brother's electric holder (am I making any sense here?) and oh gosh. My nose just vibrates along with the brush in my mouth and I ended up having to multitask even whilst brushing my teeth- brush and rub the nose at the same time.

Mom's got a cool one that beeps after every 30 seconds, prompting you to brush the other part of your mouth. Apparently you're supposed to spend 5 seconds on each tooth, so the whole set of teeth takes 2 minutes. AMAZING HUH. What technology. I can't really be bothered. It makes my nose vibrate (at a high frequency hahahaha).

Hrm what other cool gadgets. Oh yeah the family bread machine (?- maker? Whatever.) It's quite easy to bake bread- you just have to dump all the ingredients in it, press some buttons and some hours later- viola! Fresh bread! The thing is, you are able to set the timer, such that, say- it starts baking whilst you're asleep and is ready when you awake in the morning!

I suspect my Mom slices the bread really thick in the mornings before she rushes off to work and doesn't really have time for equally thin slices. This morning as I made my sammich for brunch, there was some parallex error of some sort, I ended up making a BIG-AS sammich, which I ate till I wanted to die.

I don't think this entry is making any sense. I'm tired and I'm aware I'm speaking (typing) gibberish.

Oh yes I'm very happy for the cell to be using our place if it means convenience for almost everyone! Whoopie! :D

Power 98 is playing a lot of not-so-old skool songs from when I was in high school. Ahh .. reminisce. I'm such a sentimental person. Which could be good and bad at the same time. I realise I keep a LOT of stuffs from well, ages ago. Heaps of letters, little knick-knacks people give me. So much extra baggage.

One last random note. I met the friendliest, most chirpy + cheery bus conductor yesterday as I boarded the bus to school! It really made my day when the bus driver greeted every single commuter "Good morning!" as they went up the bus! I love people who're so positive about everything- the things they do, the stuffs they say, the way they approach situations. People who appreciate everyday in itself, because they're thankful for another day that the Lord hath made.

Such a blessing.

pouty pouty

2006-06-30T00:09:00.000+08:00

Cheryl feels so cheated!!!!!! :(

-

2nd consecutive day I met my Mom after school for her shopping escapade after work :) So we could go home together, and also to carry some of her shopping bags haha.

Had a long-as day at school today, so thought I'd take my lappy along for entertainment purposes. There isn't wireless at my school yet (poobums), but I enjoyed the good music over the really short break we were given in between Criminal and Common Law. Just enough time for us to chow down all the chips, half a burger and half a bottle of green tea. In record time.

Also made a recent discovery that I walk past my Mom's all time favourite baking shop everyday on the way to school. Ran a little errand and replenished some of her baking supplies- bread flour and bread improver (???) this arvo before meeting up with her, which wasn't very timely. The lappy's heavy, the bag's heavy with MORE new Judicial Precedent notes- a thick stack at that.

We got some mangoes on the way home. Mangoes so huge we thought they were papayas from afar. SERIOUSLY WILL YOU BEAT THAT! Finally a far cry from scrawny skinny mangoes I always see around. I miss the big red Australian mangoes! But the ones we got this evening were like mutants or something. I've never seen any mango like that before. It's ... wow.

This is where I'm going to start whining about how I got cheated.

This morning on the way to school, I'd passed by the Thai Embassy and realized they were having some sort of a Thai Fair which is how very excitement!! Replied to Joel's text and told him about it, that all of us should visit it sometime soon.

On the way home, he texts to say he wants to go to the Fair, and wants me to ask the rest. So I did. And um, no one really got back to me 'cept Joey. Maybe coz I'd typed his full Thai name out conscientiously, with much effort, blood and sweat. Hahahaha. Ok where was I. Oh yes, meanwhile I'd already taken my shower and decided on what I should wear, CHANGED (oh by the way I'm already at home at this point of time, if you didn't follow. Haha!) and after much deliberation, Joel realises that by the time we make our way down to the Thai Fair, we wouldn't have much time left.

And Joey wants to catch Superman. As in watch the movie. Um .. yes. So change of plans! Which were fine by me! I'm kinda sweet with anything. Just y'know, I'd like to get out soon after I've changed kinda thing.

Anyway the story ends when my fellow Chan tells all of us that HE HAS TO GO BACK TO CAMP (to sew some stuffs on the new uniform). Bleah. What's so important it couldn't wait till the next morning really. Army. Hah.

Ok to be fair I know it isn't your fault Joel. Heh ... but since you keep feeling so guilty then .. yeah. Time to exploit and go for a ride! Nah just jokes :p

"Why do you feel so guilty anyway when Joey doesn't even feel anything?"
"JOEY WILL NEVER FEEL GUILTY ONE LAAAAA."

LOL.

Which, I remember, the Sunday after Retreat- where I'd just got to know Von, Huiyi, Joel & Grace, we were loitering about outside the Chapel coz it was pouring profusely and there was no way we could get to town without getting drenched. Then comes along this guy, whom the rest have asked for a ride to town, and were refused by him. (We later got a ride to the bus stop across church from this other guy, Ricky, who made 2 trips just to get all 6 of us over :D) For the rest of the afternoon, all of them were griping about "Joey" who "will never feel guilty one la", as Von tried sending texts which contained our sob stories, of how we were "cold and shivering in the rain". "Won't work one lor! Joey will never feel bad one!"

HAHA!

So that was my "first impression" of someone I hadn't yet known. Just to clarify though, Joey's an awesome person nonetheless :) And of course everyone said what they did in jest and nothing more.

:D

After prancing about my house for the longest time, talking to the parents and watching bits of the telly here and there, my Mom asked, "I thought you were going out?".

"Bailed out on me."

of r'ships

2006-06-28T11:24:00.000+08:00

I used to have a friend, D. I don't know how friendships can be turned into past tense, it's a little beyond me. But this one did anyway. I think.

Believe me, I never wanted things to turn out this way.

But when suddenly you're made to see really how shittily you've been treated as a friend all the while, I just didn't think I could put up with it anymore.

I felt like I was a friend merely for punching-bag purposes. So maybe there never was a friendship anyway. Never in my life have I been treated like that. Pushed around physically and metaphorically, insulted and criticized for every other thing, blamed for things that weren't of my concern. Always "it's your fault", never a sorry for something done wrong. Not even when I was made to wait for 4 hours. Because then it became my fault again. For -- ?? The audacity to even utter those few words. It was as if I'd deserved waiting. To even bring yourself to blame someone else for nothing. I find it hard to believe.

Also because I'm his spare tyre, it seems like I'm constantly being given the "graveyard shift" slot for hanging out. Beats me why I always feel obliged to hang anyway. I must be the silliest person, ever.

Which was why I suddenly questioned myself why I was putting up with all that. Which was also why I don't anymore. One day I was asked to the mall to "talk it out", which I didn't see the need to, coz I've already said all I ever wanted to, and there wasn't a need to get verbally abused again.

But I went. Because I didn't manage to get my point across clearly- that no, no, no, this is clearly redundant. Alas, he was already at the mall. Garh. And I was right. For someone so obnoxious, so self-centered, for someone who thinks the world revolves around him, things were still the same as before the "talk". I went home knowing that I'd given my best in this friendship, I don't regret doing anything I had, nor not doing anything I hadn't. I don't regret ever crossing paths with him.

And I don't have to forgive him. Simply because I never bore any grudges. I never held anything against him.

It was nice doing the little things I could. Like going all the way to the East to surprise a mate with a bday cake and pressies, because I knew having an exam the next day would leave one with no time for bday celebrations. Or the occasional lollies and stuff.

Maybe I just can't see us hanging for now. Does that constitute as me not being able to "forgive and forget"? Am I contradicting myself?

Whilst typing this post out in the arvo, I was led to Colossians 3:12-14:
12Therefore, as God's chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. 13Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. 14And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity.

The patience bit also applies to when I was talking to my Dad this arvo. (Actually it was then that I read the passage. Hrm.) I think the both of us wanted to warmit brarrd talking to each other. We'll always think our perception of things is the right one. I don't think my Dad saw where I was coming from. Anyways it's a simple issue of how we should fill the form up. Haha. It's very weird. Especially when filling in forms from overseas. Because of that, my certs and student IDs from Wellington Girls' often read Jiaxin Chan, or Jiaxin Cheryl Chan. Or something equally funny looking.

Also the reason how Amanda/Darren Joe and Kriselle Poi got their last names. Complicated Kiwis ...

I just wiped out a bag of Meiji chocolates :x Should stop raiding the fridge unnecessarily.

Anyways. Whoopie it just occured to me that a lot of my mates are all attached! Which is nice to know. And also slightly worrying! I'm going to be so lonely when ALL my mates are attached!

Thing is, it's not so much about finding the right guy. But being the right girl. What you can give, and not what you hope to receive. Having said that, the most important criteria, if any would be that my ideal partner would have to love God very very very very very much. So much so that it spurs me on to love God more and more each day. Oh and you'd have to love my family too.

I kinda miss cooking for someone else, doing all the little nitty gritty things for the other half, just being there for that special someone. Watching his back and supporting him and the stuffs that he does. Yet it's not the person I'm missing, nor the r'ship we shared. Haha. Weird aye. I can say with utmost conviction that the break up was such a blessing to me. I think I miss sharing my life with someone else, and being able to share someone else's life, be part of another family. Kinda thing. Hrm.

Having said that, single is good! To a certain extent of course. The day when all my mates are happily married with kids and I'm starting to grow old and wrinkley- ALONE, I WILL indeed know that something must be seriously wrong with me. Err yeah.

But God is good! I'm getting excited already :p

I spent an entire night burning my lavender aromatherapy thingum and finally as the tealight burns out, my room smells lovely and lavenderish :) THEN, I left the room door open as I went on to wash up. Unbeknownst to me, Dad was in the kitchen microwaving NOODLES. And as you'd have guessed, my entire room smells like noodles now.

Gonna be a long day of lectures tomorrow. Criminal and Common Law. It's great they've finally stuck the new blinds up. Being on the 12th floor, sun's been really uh, blinding, coz we sit facing the sky, really. Always have the urge to wear my sunnies in class but it's quite ridiculous.

water purifiers

2006-06-27T22:14:00.000+08:00

Last night whilst watching the 9pm serial with the fam (YES I watch Ch8 shows! And read subtitles!) I received a call from a random person. Who promptly informed me about some survey I'd done (???) and "CONGRATULATIONS we've arranged an interview for you!".

....

Firstly I can't remember when and what survey I'd done. Of late I have been filling in surveys those poor teens have been approaching me for. I used to just smile and decline but why not since I've got the time and if that'll mean one less survey for them. Soo anyway. Oh yeah since when did filling in a survey form lead to being granted an interview!!!!!!? And praytell for what? But since the guy over the phone was going on and on, and I didn't have any lects today, I decided to go on down anyway. BAD MOVE.

Anyway the gist of it all was how I wasted half a day watching a presentation of a water purifier, and various experiments which were quite cool, that also kept me awake. I don't know how true this is, but apparently when you eat a chicken, you eat the hormones injected into its body as well, and that's what makes you age. The presenter said she was a classic example. "I am 18 but I know I look 25, 26 right?" Suddenly I was awake. All throughout I thought she must've been like 28-30ish. Ayeee ...

She was very nice to have kept me involved in her little experiments coz she knew I was this close to falling asleep. I was already spacing out. Hey man it's a nice sunny arvo out there! Not for sticking around listening to water being purified etc.

After the lengthy presentation, we had to listen to another guy talk about his business plan. SO this whole deal was for them to discuss their business plan. Pfffffft. Another hour later, yet another guy came along to talk to us. Gosh it felt like it was never gonna end. Was stuck with the after-office-hours crowd on the way home.

It's all good I guess. I learnt quite a bit on water purification. Not the process per se. More like the benefits and stuff. It's an eye opener.

Dad texted "Always remember there's no free lunch in the world! This is like time-sharing." Thing is, at least for time-sharing, you're given some incentive after sitting through the pointless couple of hours. We sat through almost 4 hours of presentation/talks back-to-back without even being given a bottle of purified water the company's trying to sell! :o

So much for an "interview" aye?

-

Speaking of which, I'd told my dad about how the security guard at BGardens View was quite nasty and rude to Joey last week(?) and he's like "That guy's a bit crazy la. He yawns so loudly at night!" I don't understand why old men have to yawn so loudly, especially when our neighbourhood is so .. echoey? No. Hrm what's the right word to use. We can actually hear a conversation clearly right where we are from when they're at the ground level, speaking at a normal tone. Or hear the house phone ring when we're at the carpark. Things like that. What more yawning like loud yawns could save your life.

random

2006-06-26T23:56:00.000+08:00

I'm in a random mood today so I shall post random pictures and blog randomly. Then again I think I'm always blogging randomly anyway, whatever whatever from the top of my head. I LOVE pictures, coz pictures speak a thousand words.

Anyhoo.

This is my lovely family. I love my family very very very much and I don't know what I'd do, who I'll be or what I'd have become without them. Matthew used to be the fairest in our fam, but thanks to waterpolo he's got a nice tan now, but is also this close to being black. Haha.

This is the Clicky. At Jawei's cool condo getaway, that's only used for holding parties and barbeques and little gatherings :) This is dated Christmas 2004. All 8 of us- Debra, Ying Liang, Phoebe, Yarn, Jawei, Nadia, Denise and Cheryl.

THIS. Is 2 years later. The same apartment, same good ol' couch, same people :) Apparently I'm the only one who still looks the same. My dad says I still have the same look, like when I was a baby. Which means to say what, that I've always looked that old? Hahaha.

These are my adorable little pals from Retreat. They're such smart children and so so so SO sweet. Every breakfast lunch and dinner when we met at Manhattan, the sibs never fail to make my heart melt. Also, I haven't been called "Cheryl jie jie" in a loonnnnnng time. Everytime they saw me too! Even my brother doesn't call me jie jie. Haha.

adding some colour to this blog!

2006-06-26T20:13:00.000+08:00

To spruce the blog up with pretty colours!
of Huiyi, Von (and an amused me), Joel at Pizza Hut;
of 4/5 of us squashed at the back of the car;
of skuxy Joey on the road;
of Grace, Cheryl, Von at Huiyi's.

Dated umm, some time ago. Let's see ... 11 June (?).
Yay pretty!

rant on a hot sunny day

2006-06-26T15:22:00.000+08:00

Still full from the gianormous sammich from brunch. Love the homemade bread! The family bread maker has been rather convenient, although no one really bothers 'cept the mother. Hehe. But it's really nice to wake up to a home smelling like freshly baked bread. My mom's been on a baking frenzy lately- cakes, muffins and the works.

Mom and I went down town yesterday avo- another one of her "stocking up supplies cabinet" shopping sprees. She also had to get something changed, coz she'd bought the wrong item the day before. You know when the crowd gets to your head and you just want to pay up and choop home. So anyway, the sales manager was being slightly anal about it and refused us the small favour, saying it is known that you can't do exchanges (SINCE WHEN?) etc. I say small favour coz I've worked in a departmental store over the various summer holidays before, and it's almost no hassle to do an exchange, give a credit note. Simple as that.

Many times when the sales people give you trouble, they just can't be bothered having to do an exchange. I can't fathom why. It's not even hard work, it makes the customer happy. So why not? Why not just DO IT and save everyone from the unnecessary excuses. Very frequently, although the items purchased have been way past the "exchange by" date, we still do it anyway coz it only makes the customer happy and satisfied for the good service AND, one less complaint letter to the store. It's just that simple. Besides it's nobody's loss. Item gets placed back on the shelf, customer exchanges for something else, customer goes home happily, customer returns to shop because of the good service.

Anyway that is probably the reason why staff at Tangs get sent to various service standard courses, and is something of utmost importance to them, and also the reason for the numerous awards for good service standards! Ok this wasn't meant to be a "shop at Tangs" entry.

Oh yeah so I was saying, in the process of giving heaps of stupid excuses as to why we couldn't have the item changed, the sales manager contradicted herself several times. It was pointless and time consuming and the mall was extremely crowded, as a mall would on a weekend.

THEN, I don't know why I opened my big mouth and spoke of the Consumer's Rights (something Mark Hennagan told us last year at Case, that heaps of people are not aware of, but in fact is so true and powerful!). As soon as I did that, I wanted to laugh. I don't know what got into me I think I just wanted her to cut the crap. Or that whilst she was going on and on with her ridiculous reasons, it was in me bursting to come out. That burning desire to give it to her.

Long story short, I think that shut her up and a couple of minutes later, we got the stuffs exchanged (boy oh boy we could've saved so much time and saliva). From the corner of my eye, she kept staring at me, then looking away when I looked up. It was slightly amusing.

-

The sun is so scorching today! Perfect weather for doing my laundry. By the way, why is it so unbelievable that Cheryl is capable of doing the housewifey stuffs like cooking, doing the laundry, cleaning her own room etc? A LOT of people seem to think I'm gu-niangish, princessy, wimpish (and what have you) and always wondered how I survived the years I did in NZ.

We've always brought up to be independant, and to fend for ourselves if need be, bearing in mind the support the family will always give nevertheless. Such that when I left Singapore at 15, it was no mean feat anymore.

In that few years I have had fun, shed tears, done heaps I mightn't have had the opportunity to here in Singapore, regretted doing stuffs, learnt to let go of people and things. And I thank the Lord for always keeping me safe in His arms, in the land where every 1 in 5 people were mentally unstable (no really, I'm serious). And I've grown to be even stronger, by His mighty power.

Being back home makes me lazy. I miss cooking! Western and Asian! And shopping for food. Now, everytime I visit the supermart I don't have to look at raw meat anymore. Ahhh rack of lamb, sirloin steak slurrrrrrpppp. LOVES supermarkets! :D

-

So hot. Am going to start sweltering like a pig. Back in NZ, weather was such a fantastic topic for when you meet people you hardly talk to, but just want to make small talk. Everyone talks about the weather- for you can experience 4 seasons in a day, that loony place :p So much so that I could even blog an entire entry about the weather. I amaze myself.

cigar

2006-06-25T23:03:00.000+08:00

The room perpetually smells like someone's been taking a smoke (IN the room). And it stinks quite bad. It's been a mystery for like, EVER, and I think I'm going to die of second-hand smoke rahhhh ...

-

MSN has crapped out on me and it's highly frustrating when you're in the midst of a convo and you keep getting signed in and out. Me feeling frustrated aside, I feel for those who keep having to see the little "cheryl has just signed in" window pop up every now and then. It's truly annoying, that little box. Maybe I should just disable it.

This morning's bright-and-early running plans were thwarted, even though Joel and I did get up in time and made it to well, my place at given time! Only the skies were cloudy and gloomy and it started pouring :( poobums. Sat in the lounge and watched Dodgeball for the rest of the morning. Senseless humour but entertaining nevertheless. Zhi bailed out on us, so I had no breakfast partner today! Cereal looked rather pathetic coz someone had left just that last bit of milk, and forgotten to put a new carton in the fridge. Jeepers! So it was heaps of cereal in my cereal bowl, and probably 2 tablespoonsful of milk. I do not like freshmilk unchilled. It's just wrong.

There's not much I can do online now, everything's moving at a snail's pace. So I'm reading Contract. Some umm .. light reading. Bedtime stories! :D I used to convince myself I'd read Nigel's Legal History before bedtime, and indeed they were bedtime stories. Put me to sleep instantly. Works like a charm I tell ya ;) Needless to say I never read much of Legal History, which was also my own funeral. Boo ... my bad.

-

I had Von, Matthew, Zhi, and Joey over Saturday evening. We were in town after YA service and couldn't decide on where to dine at. Which is always an irony to me, seeing as how Singapore's supposedly a food haven. Indeed it is. And it's precisely because of that we're often spoilt for choice. I never had such a luxury back in NZ, it's such a pain trying to decide between um, Apsara or Sampan or Asian or Meredian (read: BK) or Tokyo Garden/Express. Which by the way, serves almost the same food. It's a matter of whether we'd like to come out smelling like Sampan today, or whether we'd like to get ripped off by Tokyo Garden/Express, or whether we're willing to walk the distance all the way past the Octagon for Asian. Or, of course, Flying Squid, which spells oil and more fat (and coming out smelling like fish and chips ;) ).

(The Japanese/ Korean/ Cambodian/ Vietnamese restaurants all dump non-authentic dishes into their menu. Every said restaurant has Singapore noodles (will you beat that? WHAT is Singapore noodles anyway?), sushi, burgers, ramen, and everything assorted. It amuses us a lot.)

So round and round we went, and finally decided to have pizza at Cheryl's. Yay. However, the parents were so sweet to drive out to grab some dinner for us. 'Twas a nice cosy night :)

I really enjoyed the company.

of whys

2006-06-22T12:10:00.000+08:00

I'd gone for a morning walk into town just a while ago, and town's so lovely when it's not all crowded and full of people and sweaty bodies. The morning sunshine makes me happy too.

I like walks alone coz they give me time to think, to reflect on my life, to marvel and amaze- at the wonders of things and how they've come to be- and sometimes marvel and amaze at how stupid and silly I'd been, to have done the stuffs that I have, then regret after.

But it's always the case, isn't it? Sometimes you never intend for something to happen, yet it does in a moment of folly, and wham-bam .. there it goes, another ridiculously stupid mark in the history of your life. Hrm.

(Why is it I always have so much to say when I'm alone and walking and thinking but when I have the time/ opportunity to type it out/ pen it down, I can't for the world remember what it was I'd wanted to say. Garh.)

Some time ago I was at a shop getting a top (some really pleated tube top), and there was this girl who was getting the same top as I was. She whined to her boyfriend whilst waiting at the queue for the check out, "I'm going to get fits ironing this!" Phoebe and I gave this slight snicker. BUT TODAY, I think I almost got fits ironing my top that'd came back from the laundry. Oh the horrors- there were just so many pleates it was never-ending, and quite scary at that.

For the longest time I didn't have to look forward to weekends. Every other day was a free day for me and I could do whatever I wished! Which was nice for a while but got mundane. School's taking up a lot more time now and TGIF, tomorrow!

Although having said that, I'm really enjoying lects. Even the Legal History-ish aspects of it (Common Law/ Public Law) that I used to once loath when I had Nigel at Otago last year. Nigel was cool, just perhaps too cool for me, I didn't get 90% of what he was saying, for the entire year :S

God is so good to me. Everything just seems to fall into place as I sit and (still) marvel at His goodness. It's amazing how everything just works out in the end, and you realize that indeed, trust in the Lord. Which I must admit, I was skeptical initially. I didn't know what was going on and being the kid at home- I hardly had any say.

Thank you Lord for saving this wretched child of yours, for making me see light once again, for putting everything in place. I can't imagine going through another year of living that sinful life, albeit it appearing seemingly happy chirpy sweet (sugar + spice and all things nice haha).

Thank you Lord, for all You've done.