life's stories

from the rising of the sun

2010-07-22T01:18:00.000+08:00

saw this while driving to the airport to send abel off.

even in sleep-deprived post-worldcupfinals mode, many of us still managed to whip out our respective cameras in time to capture God's most wonderful creation (:

nua

2010-07-20T00:43:00.004+08:00

after 23 years of living, i finally understand the meaning of - NUA
this is possibly the only holiday that i'm not actively working on a project, or doing an internship, or rehearsing for something. granted, i am undergoing special sem classes now, but with just 2 classes a week, this is definitely one of the slackest i've been in my LIFE.
and i'm loving it.

temporary drawl before the beginning of my working life for the next 50 years of my life :S

some pics from clubbing with lide at butter factory (:
the music and company was real nice, but i think i'm growing old. that place is oozing with prepubescents who cant hold their liquor.
in the bathroom, half the girls were throwing up or doing the crazy talk with the crazy eyes.
but i did get applause on my first flaming lambo (: so it's all good -grins-

lunch with mac tomorrow, and then onward to garden festival with mom! (: i hate the 1hour limit for lunch, but what's one girl gotta do.
ending on a random note, i've got new pink bedsheets! (:

pui

2010-07-08T01:13:00.002+08:00

so sick and tired of antics and childish behavior. perhaps s is right. men are 5-year-olds with money. they think they're the king of the world. pui.
screw.you.

idling

2010-07-01T00:33:00.005+08:00

things in my life have finally come to pass at a much slower pace; with the end of VO4, marking the end of my reso career, as well as the passing of Econs D&D @ Peninsula Excelsior hotel, my version of graduation.

it wasn't at exciting/fun as i imagined it to be; perhaps because not everyone from our batch turned up, and far more year 1-3s turned up than year 4s. there were MCs, the standard speeches which nobody paid any attn to, some half-hearted dance performance where the dancers wore ragged costumes that were a futile attempt at appearing hip-hop. in fact, the two most exciting parts of the night was probably the magic show, from a company called The Magic Box, where the magician somehow managed to make a table float; and then it was dressing up. i always enjoy dressing up =p

and then there was VO4. it felt a little weird at the beginning, considering i have taken a year off reso to focus on studies; but singing with the girl group is always really fun. this time around tho, we didnt have that much to sing; there were more choreo/dancing/costuming/makeup than there was singing. but as with the previous girl-group, preparation was really fun.

we had a make-up competition with yufang as our model

and also lots of camwhoring

-

in other news, i'm actually quite excited to start work in August now. things have definitely taken a slower pace at this point in my life, and while it's great that i'm able to dwell in the luxury of time, and meet many people up to do things that people do during the holidays, it's hard for me to live without a goal or motivation. it's hard for me to be idle; it gets boring after a while!

maybe it's time to take up more classes, on top of the vocal & piano classes i'm going for in the coming months. perhaps more body combat sessions, or mixed martial arts? :D

this is it

2010-06-19T16:18:00.003+08:00

i don't understand why i cant perform on stage anymore.
i used to thrive in performance, be it in choir, orchestra, piano, etc. i loved it, i loved the attention, i loved the applause, and i loved the exhiliration.
but of late i realized i cant handle it anymore - i black out, forget my act/lyrics, do the wrong things and don't cover up well. i cant perform anymore.
it's annoying, to have something that you once love turn into something that you now fear.
i know it's a psychological barrier; something i need to get over and deal with. but i cant do it until i figure out what this barrier is, or what's causing this barrier.
soo annoying!

gna start preparing for the econs d&d soon. this graduation dinner/party marks the end of my NUS life, although technically it hasnt really ended yet considering i still have reso's VO4 rehearsals, as well as summer school to finish up my hons track.
but it's the only symbolic event i'm gonna get to mark the end of my college career, since i wont be attending the commencement due to clashes with summer semester :x
no throwing of grad hats, wearing of billowing grad gowns, or receiving my degree scroll from a dean whom i've never met, or laughing at the honorary guests who sleep on stage during commencement speeches.
this.is.it

smile in vietnamese

2010-06-16T22:27:00.001+08:00

gooood morning vietnam!

2010-06-13T10:19:00.004+08:00

waking up today in one of vietnam's bestest hotel is one of the nicest feeling ever.
i'm refreshed, renewed, and rejuvenated, with all the love in the world for this beautiful hotel and the service staff, who have been so generous and so kind to the us.
not because this is a 5-star hotel that we paid a bomb for and are merely reaping the gains of money spent; this is but a 2-star hotel that cost about 10USD/night, in the busy but not-so-class street of Cua Dong in Hanoi.
however, the 5 of us all concurred that this hotel felt more like home than any of the others that we've stayed at in this trip, despite being the cheapest, and lowest star-rated one.

on the other hand, the hotel which we paid the most for was one of the worst we've stayed in, in our LIVES.
we went on a tour to Halong Bay the past 2 days with Ocean Tours, and while we had a really wonderful english-speaking tour guide who was filled with zest and enthusiastic about everything, the accomodation was pretty much everything in its opposite.
to put it in a few words - we literally stayed in an attap house, complete with leaking roofs, no air-con, hot water only in fixed times, and a haven for insects on rainy days. and i'm not even exaggerating.
this was the Ocean Beach Resort that was part of our tour package, and while the journey there was quite some fun (as we kayaked the valleys and through the caves, visited floating fishing villages, and lazed on the deck of the boat), the resort was the epitomy of idyllic, with basically nothing to do other than hang around the beach restaurant, play some pool, table soccer, and drink.
great if you're nearing your 60s, and are okay with lazing your hours by the sea; but not that fantastic if you're looking for an adventure.
pictures will be up soon of the beach resort - it has made urban living and everything else in my life appear just abit more bright and wonderful.

anyway, now that mac has awoken from his deep slumber, it is time for free breakfast!
idk why i woke so early, considering how late we stayed up last night playing poker/blackjack with Vietnam dong.
it's soooo fun to gamble with dong - it makes you feel bloody rich ("I raise $5,000!")
yea but today's the last day in Hanoi, and also the last day at Serenity -wails-
tomorrow it's back to Ho Chi Minh by plane, back to its hecticism and crazy traffic.
today we're going on a motorbike tour (if it's safe), and then to the airport.
i'm going to miss Hanoi! :(

i am a graduate!

2010-05-09T01:45:00.003+08:00

just testing out the macro conversion lens that i got the other day at funan mall; a single rose for mother's day, with close to no post-processing.
mother's day and a single rose don't quite go, i know, but it'll have to do for now till i get a better gift tmr. baad planning.

so anyway, i'm now writing this post as a college graduate (well, sort of), and it is really the most awesome feeling EVER.
i know how the saying goes, about how the pasture's always greener on the other side, but as of now, i'm just so excited about completing my studies, which opens a huge new phase of life for me, with so many changes, things to look forward to, and things to work for, and most importantly, NO EXAMS!
i woke up the other day to my alarm (and a billion of other incessant noises), and then began running thru in my head the things i needed to study for the day, before i realized that doing that was a thing of the past, at least for the near future.
and then i couldn't stop grinning for the longest time ((:

my mind's been also put at ease with my recent signing of contract, that marks the official beginning of my career as a civil servant - something that i never thought i would be, but nonetheless something that i look forward to very muchly. i'll be starting work in august though, leaving me plenty of time for much needed R&R, grad trips, and the luxury of time and nothing to worry about at all for a while. totally works for me (:

i'm going to turkey next monday! never been to the middle east before, so it's gonna be an experience. we've got white water rafting, hanggliding, horseriding tours, and hopefully hotair balloons for the trip. i cant wait already!

sore

2010-04-14T13:18:00.002+08:00

Natalie sent me this email today:

A well-known speaker started off his seminar by holding up a $20.00 bill. In the room of 200, he asked, 'Who would like this $20 bill?' Hands started going up. He said, 'I am going to give this $20 to one of you but first, let me do this.

He proceeded to crumple up the $20 dollar bill. He then asked, 'Who still wants it?' Still the hands were up in the air. Well, he replied, 'What if I do this?' And he dropped it on the ground and started to grind it into the floor with his shoe. He picked it up, now crumpled and dirty. 'Now, who still wants it?' Still the hands went into the air. My friends, we have all learned a very valuable lesson. No matter what I did to the money, you still wanted it because it did not decrease in value. It was still worth $20. Many times in our lives, we are dropped, crumpled, and ground into the dirt by the decisions we make and the circumstances that come our way. We feel as though we are worthless. But no matter what has happened or what will happen, you will never lose your value. Dirty or clean, crumpled or finely creased, you are still priceless to those who do love you. The worth of our lives comes not in what we do or who we know, but by WHO WE ARE and WHOSE WE ARE. You are special- Don't ever forget it.'

Count your blessings, not your problems. And remember: 'amateurs built the Ark; professionals built the Titanic'.

"If God brings you to it - He will bring you through it."

sigh just have to remember that.

body combat

2010-04-03T17:03:00.007+08:00

i swear i haven't been this utterly exhausted and totally wiped out in a long time.
in this case, that's a good thing cuz it's from the body combat class i had this aftn at vivocity gym. it's somewhat like the ones we did in AC, except a lot less cheesy, and way more intensive. halfway through the class we were perspiring buckets, and really sore in the arms and abs
by the end i was like jelly.

it all came about when i got a call a few weeks back to go for a free gym-trial with TrueFitness
i knew they were gonna pile on the sales talk and all, but still fell prey to it because i had decided to embark on a fitness pick-me-up recently, and it just felt right. so mac and i signed a corporate package with TrueFitness gym for 3 months, and we'll see how that'll go before deciding on a longer commitment period. i wonder how long this exercisemania will last before it dies out; but while it lasts, i'm really glad i'm actually exercising again.
it's almost an alien concept since i stopped my pilates classes, and moved out of my condo that had a badminton court to play badminton with.

in other (exciting) news, i booked tickets to vietnam with my girlfriends and their plus-ones!
it's all very exciting cuz i've been wanting to go for a very long time, maybe to discover some of my roots. plus we got 1 CENT TICKETS with tigerairways, smth i thot was never possible.
of course, with taxes and seat choices it all added up to slightly more than a hundred, but it's still really cheap. it's going to be my first on a budget airline, and i'm psyched about giving it a try.
i'm also thinking of going to australia or new zealand during grad-trip period.
we'll see how that turns out!

1 down, 3 to go

2010-03-29T13:12:00.002+08:00

i think i slept about 3 hours last night in total. laid in bed for the other 5 tossing and turning

insomnia is one of the most annoying and irritating things to have - esp when you have an interview early next morning

by God's grace and mercy i made it through the interview today. or at least i think i did, judging from the nods from most of the directors who came down today.

but then, i have one more with the same org, same place tmr, just with a separate group of directors. the HR personnel called me just now to tell me tehre might be yet another interview with yet another director.

3 separate interviews from one organization. i hope that's a good thing.

anyway, ms clarity cafe lunch with the churchies ytd after acappella prac is making me craving for that cream linguine thing that sophia had. and the mumbo jumbo cheese fries.

i've had such a bad impression of ms clarity before ytd, from the two times i've gone, both were noisy, had lousy quality food that was not worth its price, and unsatisfactory overall.

maybe the thomson branch is alot better. or maybe i was just hungry.

ok going to pick mac up frm the airport now. brunei-no-more! (:

nostalgia

2010-03-25T01:15:00.005+08:00

recently i've been feeling pangs of nostalgia; not really those that make me want to return to the past, but those that make me want to look back and smile upon the fond memories that i've had.
i dug out my memory box the other day (okay there wasnt much digging; it's just right there) and went through many of the pictures, diary entries, movie ticket stubs, old organizers etc, and i realized that i've had a plentiful, fulfilling and blessed life.
it's not that i dont know it already; but time and time again, a fresh reminder makes life seem all so colorful and bright once again.
i recently met up my nygirls of the west when yingtong came back from japan, as well as josh&sab recently for shisha - and it's good to know that, what was colorful& bright, has remained colorful & bright.

another slightly nostalgic moment was about sending mac off at the airport today.
admittedly i havent done that in a lonnnggg while; i don't even remember the last time i sent him off to go to somewhere =p
picked him up at his place because his mom, grandma and sister packed so much stuff to bring they couldn't fit in one cab lol! and it's only for 5 days!
anyway ytd night, on the pretext (read: excuse) that mac was flying today, we finally found ourselves at the new spa/massage place near my place, hidden in the centre of all the houses

it's like a complete different world once you step into the place - soothing music, aromatic lemongrass oil, ginger tea served while getting a foot pre-massage, and extremely friendly staff with soothing voices. so un-urban!
we were led to a couples room for the massage, and even the interior design was very chillax and not-urban, altho the picture below doesnt quite do it justice (but it was dark OKAY)

the massage itself was pretty heavenly, partly cuz we were both tired, and also beacuse the whole experience was just such an escape from urban hecticism that it was so enjoyable.
after that was chilli crab and some old-people-style walking around the neighborhood

the perfect excuse to neglect the beckoning workload on my study table (:

back to nature

2010-03-14T18:31:00.004+08:00

bubble always has that 'dude where's my car' look. like DAWGGG.
but anyhow the trip to botanical gardens with the dogs on saturday morning was fun and way overdued. been a while since we've been there, or brought the dogs out for fun since we've moved.

short of a picnic basket, we had a nice day of tanning, chasing the dogs (tt were chasing the birds tt were chasing for stray pieces of bread on the lawn), and then some picture-moments with flowers, trees, and anything that was bright and colorful on that day.

in the evening we dated victor&sooyein for "alice in the wonderland", which i thought was just alright and not spectacular given its buzz, marginally saved by a superb performance of Mad Hatter by johnny depp, who managed to make him brilliantly insane and eccentric and funny all at the same time. it practically overshadowed Mia Wasikowska's portrayal of Alice, imho. but other than that, it was a generally okay movie, visually enticing with interesting creatures from the underland, peppered with comic relief and cutesy characters that prevented the movie from becoming too dark.

pokerface

2010-03-13T02:29:00.002+08:00

5 hours of poker with econs hons students - the new definition of TGIF

arty farty?

2010-02-11T00:09:00.004+08:00

art is so subjective. some may love it to bits, and some may hate (and curse) at it so badly
to me, art is a universal language - something that speaks to more than your mind, but your emotions and your soul as well.
i dont have anything against the arty-fartys, but if you don't understand what is being portrayed or the message that is being brought across, how are you to be touched emotionally and spiritually?
i went to a school dance production last weekend to support a friend. not knowing what sorta dance production i was attending, i had expectations and visualizations of flowy and vibrant costumes; energetic and punctuated choreography; synchronized movements to catchy music.
but i was deeply mistaken.
the bunch of us literally sat through 2 hours in victoria theatre, racking our brains to whatever interpretations we could come up with of each dance; and of the meaning it could entail, and come up with.. nothing.
it's not that it was boring. it really wasn't. i just didn't get any of it.

clarke quay, after that, on the other hand, was art to me. and a fantastic one at that.
from the people it attracted, to its architecture, to the vast varieties of music and clubs - it was every beat an art scene that the singapore government has painstakenly developed, and succeeded in doing so; possibly one of its rare times i would suppose.
we went to pump room, to celebrate jianwen's birthday, and gained entry upon the strike of 12, and then met a drag queen who reminded me of the one in shrek, except that she sang superbly well, with a band that played covers so close to the original songs you really couldn't tell the difference

anyhow, i was discussing with lide about the perceptions of art, and he said he was going to stick to making hollywood films instead of arthouse films, although his decision garnered pretty negative criticisms from 'artists'
and it just somehow bugged me really bad, bout how many 'artists' these days look down on 'underlings' like us who don't appreciate or do not get their silent/shoot-and-cut/no-story-line kinda films, that seemingly get more awards the more normal people don't understand their stories
so seriously, what's the point of a language when nobody understands it but you?
art is for communication and expression; but if your audience doesn't receive the messages that you're trying to send, then you are the one who's failed, not your audience.

this isn't directed at anyone in particular (or maybe it is)
all i'm trying to say is, the appreciation of art is definitely subjective
and the purpose of art isn't to judge. so will the artists please stop judging?

change

2010-02-06T01:57:00.004+08:00

i think life holds the most surprises and fun when it's at the transitional points - like birthdays are the transitional points from an age to another; like from high sch to JC, etc
right now, searching for a job, going for interviews and finishing my last semester of school, i realized i'm enjoying school a lot more than i did, because i have something to look forward to at the end of it. it's like seeing the light at the end of the tunnel as i go for interviews and written assessments with a couple of govt agencies whose names i shall not reveal.
it might have something to do with the moral hazard problem that all my graduating kakis are rambling on about - there isn't much we can or cannot do to modify our GPA/CAP and hence there's not much motivation or urgency to study, beacuse no matter how we do, our grades and future are more or less sealed by now.

anyhow, school in the last semester is something like this:
classes --> meals @ the deck --> hang out at the econs honours room (which has become some sort of lounge or something altho its construction intention was prolly originally for 'academic purposes')
we eat, we sleep, we play, we work in that room, which, sometimes, above and beyond the companionship and friendship that can blossom inside there, has one important thing that everywhere else doesn't have - AIRCON!
today, the honours room came handy again for our game of poker with the usual econs people + mac. it must be chinese new year luck or something because alotta people got good hands today. and just like the evil of bell curve, average to decent hands got pushed out, again and again. makes things a lot more exciting, for sure, and certainly also a little more heart-breaking at times lol.

timbre @ old school after poker. ♥ to a millionth times.
i'm growing realllyyy fond of that place; it's so hidden and chill, and slightly up on a hill so it's alot more cooling than the other timbres. love the pizzas. love the music.
it's so going down in my to-go places. #1!

ok end post abruptly here. i think i just created a post out of entirely disjointed sentences with no link whatsoever to each other. well done.

.

2010-01-18T14:48:00.003+08:00

i feel almost guilty that i'm not in school today, nor will be in school tmr.
after last sem's mad rush for time and crazy every-min-counts kind of studying, the first 2 weeks of my last sem in NUS seems relatively mild in comparison.
which is good, really, because i'm down with another bout of flu/cough/sorethroat (again), and so will need all sorts of rest that i can find.

i havent been getting much sleep, but that's probably self-inflicted
been taking the start of jan to meet up and make new friends, rebuilding relationships and reconnect with those i've lost touch with
from dinner with ac friends at holland v, to chilling at my place with ny girls; from cell grp dinners, poker with churchies to timbre/winebar with mac's polo boys (HAH)
it's really heartening to be with people you don't really meet up, but yet feel so comfortable and at home with once you start talking
and thats just. nice.

tis a great start to a new year (:

china

2010-01-11T13:31:00.008+08:00

it's been so long since i've touched this blog, or had any urge to write in it.
for some reason i've just lost any writing ability or inspiration i had to begin with, and am now reduced to forced blogging to coerce my creaking brain into finally restarting
having just ended my last ever december-holiday, which was all too short in any case, i am now feeling a little melancholic.
the inevitable job-hunt has since begun, and it can be rather discouraging sometimes when the sent-folder is three times the size of the inbox
but.. no fear, my God will bring me to where He wants me to be, and in His time.
in the meantime, i'll just keep clicking on that send button, and hope one of them employers may fancy my longwinded resume and actually bother to call me back.

-
to get things started, a little update on the things in my life.
i should probably attempt to write about my trip to Wuhan, but frankly i don't really remember much of it now
there are pictures. loads and loads of them on facebook. and perhaps i will upload some here, just for memory's sake

i remember our hotel, walking to school in the cold (which was really nice actually)
i remember classes in the FREEZING lecture theater tt didnt have heating
i remember field trips to gorgeous places and sites (eg: visiting the terracota warriors. love)
i remember the train rides, Yangtze river cruises (and said amazonian armpit woman)
i remember the friends, ktv sessions, and good (cheap) food
it was a gd trip, and a real experience i'll never forget. also, my first christmas overseas (:

and then, there was the wedding of the year - on the first day of 2010
it felt a little like marrying your big sister off - teary, emotional and yet very, very, very happy

it's going to be a little weird now, referring to them as husband and wife; i just got used to 'fiance'
but nonetheless, really happy for the two of them. it was a blast of a wedding too, honestly the most fun wedding i've EVER been to. and i've been to quite a few.

lastly, school's started wehhh.
i'm kinda excited bout everything cuz it's my graduating semester, but also a little worried about how everything's going to turn out because i'm overloading and it may backfire if i can't keep up with the pace.
we'll see how things go

the finish line

2009-10-24T00:46:00.002+08:00

"You dont love someone because they're perfect, you love them in spite of the fact that they're not" — Jodi Picoult (My Sister's Keeper)

i havent cried my eyes out at a movie for a long, long time. i dont think i really cry that much at movies in general; romance movies, yea maybe a tear or two. but what happened today was uncontrollable, unstoppable bawl-sobbing during 'my sister's keeper'.

the movie plot centered around a younger sister's fight for 'medical emancipation' while her older sister battled cancer. sure, there were a few scenes which i thought were deliberate emotional manipulation with the sad music and lyrics paired with a sick girl's weak smile - pure concoction for tears.

but i thought the bulk of the story laid in the character's maturity and strength in facing her brutal way of life, or what was left of her life.

2009-10-09T18:50:00.004+08:00

it's officially about only 5 weeks till the end of this semester; 5 weeks to the grand finale of my 3Ms - macro, metrics and money & banking culminating to a dangerous and possibly disastastrous symphony of panic and chaos at the start of study week. -cue dramatic music-
i've worked harder than any of my past semesters combined, so now i can proudly announce with a resonant conviction in my voice, that.. i don't know what i'm doing studying economics.
no point complaining about the ill marriage of poor math skills and an intensively quantitative curriculum that leads to infinitely 'recursive' mathematical solvings. i should have realized this 3 years ago when i said 'i do' to the department.

ah well, suck it.

job applications have opened (or rather, are closing, at least for the public sector), and i've been trying to pull power words together to form a decent 'impactful' cover letter. which i did, for a grand total of ONE organization that i'm applying to. i took almost 3 hours applying for a job ytd; half of which was spent on my resume and cover letter. and they say a graduate applies for about 20 jobs on average. GREAT.

ah well, suck it.

on a brighter ending note, i re-discovered the joy of webcam pictures ytd. forgot my netbook had one of those built-in cameras, very useful for the stress-relieving (mandatory) cam session that puts spontaneity to the test.

another nice (but poor quality) picture to add to the collection (:

2009-09-12T15:13:00.002+08:00

i don't like camps anymore.

at age 22, albeit not-that-big a number yet, i find myself loathing something that i use to find really enjoyable and exciting to be a part of.
maybe it's that, or maybe its the fact that i have a massive pile of workload waiting for me by my desk - deadlines that i'm racing against.
it's probably a combi of both that led me to leave my induction camp today 3 hours into the camp, barely after ice-breakers (which, werent even fun at all)

i guess i'm just past the phase where taking bus/mrt around singapore in a madrace to take silly photographs of yourselves doing utterly stupid things to strangers is deemed remotely funny and thrilling.
or to find any meaning in jumping around singing happy-birthday-songs to weird-personalities-of-organizers for 'extra points'

garh, pardon the complaining, i felt like i just dragged myself outta bed on a saturday morning for the most redunculous reason, only to return home tired, hot, hungry accomplishing nothing.

-

on a brighter note, it is perhaps this angsty exhaustion of mine, that led me to enjoy the simplest things and to derive relaxation from the simplest enjoyment.

mac and i spent a good part of fri evening lazing around in indochine @ Holland village. albeit missing a live band of any sort, we were ear-wormed with mambo & retro music; very entertaining.

nothing like a cosmo and fried scallops to end off a hectic week.

2009-09-01T12:33:00.005+08:00

living in a terrace house has had many adjustments that were required of us, both the good ones and the bad ones. i've mostly enjoyed a much bigger space, minus the stairs, and also a beautiful deck & garden that has served in relieving my stress from work countless times thus far.

on the bads, the thing that i really need more time to get used to is the sudden increase in visitors from the bug-eyed nation. never was a fan of anything more than 4 legs, and prolly never will be. the influx of 6-legged creatures is expected, with so many more windows and doors that for some reason appear to be safe havens from the rainy and wet outside, much to my demise. just today, my maid caught a dragonfly aimlessly soaring in my room, which caused a chaotic hoohaa in both humans and dogs around me when she proudly showed off the red/green thing - humans were screaming at it to get away, dogs were screaming at it to come.

anw, just because i havent done this in a long time, i'll put up some random pictures: of LASERQUEST in church (:
lasertag is possibly the most fun thing after catching - despite the heavy guns and moody sensors, running around in church like mad people firing away like there's no tomorrow is really quite exciting, especially after hearing about how fun it can be in how-i-met-your-mother.

each game was about 15min (though it prolly lasted much longer than that cuz we completed the missions fast), and it is way more tiring than any game of catch i've played. although the guns in itself were only about 3-5kg depending on the size, having to run and fire and dodge for a full game can be quite exhausting, esp for the not-so-fit like myself =p

dinner that day was at Aston's, another place i've heard loads about but never gotten to try. food was decent at an affordable price, and the atmosphere was of a rustic feel, complete with cheesy love ballads (:

now, back to reality and the pile of work awaiting.

2009-08-15T02:45:00.002+08:00

i've always scoffed at the idea of playing DDR, guffawed at racist stereotype jokes about how DDR is asian, wondered at how people were willing to spend hours on DDR machines perfecting a song

until.. i got myself a DDR game set on WII today and spent 3 straight hours with mac and my sister hopping around on plastic ground sheets, perspiring beads of sweat while occasionally cursing at the number of arrows that were coming up on screen.

not usually smth i'd do on a friday night; but it definitely took some weight off me. literally.

2009-08-12T01:15:00.004+08:00

so.. summer holidays whizzed by me like a speeding, breakless train
today's officially the start of school, but due to insufficient allocation of modules, i'm having today and tomorrow free to ponder on how to secure my last two modules
complaints and whinings aside, my last week of vacation was actually made up for all that i've missed, all the stress that i've been through. i've seen accomplishments of some of the work i've done, effort that i've put in; i've made friends who're there to stay, and also had hell alotta fun in the meantime.
the light at the end of the tunnel surely is sweet.

i've taken on many projects, assignments and tasks this summer break, but there's one that really made an impact; memorable and unforgettable - and that is ACACHAMPS

taking part in acapella championships this year was probably one of the best and worst decisions i've made all year round.
worst not because we didn't win; or that it was a bad experience, but because it was utterly bad timing to be participating in something that required extensive commitment and time, smth that i couldnt afford or had the luxury of at that point in time.
given the time, we could have given so much more, and tried so much harder.

but, at the same time, it was the best decision i've made because through this experience i've learnt so much; about group dynamics, singing techniques, dealing with people, leadership, and most importantly, about myself.
through this journey, i've also gotten to know 5 other girls very well, and had the pleasure of working with them in something that culminated to so much joy, laughter, and fun, albeit amidst hard work, tears, and inevitable disputes.

we walked the path together, and came out of it, smiling.
at the end of it all, it wasn't about winning or losing, but reforming the bonds of sisterhood as we prayed together in a circle right before our performance
i had the most fun performing on that night, (yes probably because i knew there wasnt much chance of winning so no pressure right), but also because i know we went out there as one.

2009-07-15T00:27:00.004+08:00

between shuttling my sister to school, staying up late in attempts to finish NM2208 assignments that have been delayed cuz of the house move, as well as attending acachamps practice with literally only half of the singers, i think i've effin had it.

i realized it was definitely not easy juggling two special semester modules at one go.
its also definitely not easy to COMPLETE photoshop assignments that are dished out on monday and due on thursday, considering i have virtually no photoshop or design skills
and then there's another assignment on thursday, due on monday. GREAT.
acachamps pracs are a fucking joke. what with latecomers who come 2-3 hours late as a normality, and with members who FORGET practices.
home is also a mess, with renovations ongoing, arguments spewing, waking up at 630am to navigate peak hour traffic to Anderson.

i'm so so tired.

and i havent yet studied for my econs finals, which is in 2 weeks time.
no screw it, i havent studied for my econs at all.
acachamps is in 2 weeks, and our group has a grand total of 4 days to practice together as a full group because people just cant be fucking bothered to make time.
so many things not done, so little time.

why the fuck we're still joining the competition, really eludes me.
what i know for sure, is once i'm done with the competition, im gettin the hell outta there

2009-06-02T17:57:00.002+08:00

so it's near the end of 2nd day of my internship @ tembusu, and strangely enough i dont feel the usual eagerness to pack up and get out of office as soon as the clock strikes 6
maybe its the OT-culture that has implanted slight guilt in me as i waved goodbye to colleagues still buried deep in work
maybe it's the fact that there's reso pracs almost everyday after work, diminishing the excitement i usually feel at the end of work

its a little too early to say, but i'd like to think that im not that anxious to bail because i like it here
not so much for the office politics and workload but my colleagues, who've made time pass alot faster each day
also, although this is a short internship, i feel like im actually learning, instead of hunched over the computer typing ctrl-v repeatedly, trying to master data-entry efficiency

work, however, has a high opportunity cost, extinguishing zirca plans this wed entirely
in its redemption, i finally went to butterfactory last week, and it was just as good as i was told
we had free flow drinks till 1am that were alot better than any housepours i've had
the really mainstream music helped alot too

i also managed to watch terminator salvation over the weekend! (:
it was, in all honesty, a little stupid, aside from its special effects and action moves
i've never watched the previous terminators either so i didnt manage to catch the inferences made to the last few movies, while the boys nodded or pointed it out
but i did find really amusing the recurring biblical allusions made in the movie, like how john connor shares the same initials as jesus christ, being the legendary savior and all, or *spoiler alert* how he seemingly 'resurrects' after being stabbed in the heart because a halfman-halfrobot gave up his heart for john connor.

-

in the days preceding work, we had another wii midnight party at mac's place with victor and melvin, another time where boys show off their prowess at games, while i struggled to survive the game
so while the guys were hooting and throwing fists into the air to celebrate wins (which they took turns to attain), i divided their scores by about 4 and realized that it was my score
i was really consistent in my performance at that, the only time i'm ever consistent
the late night timing did not make it any better. OHWELL.

verbal diarrhea, end.

2009-05-27T00:28:00.003+08:00

so.. although the swine flu has altered my summer plans, i find myself dwelling in the unplanned and thoroughly enjoying the unpredictable
i've always thought the come-what-may mentality was an excuse to escape the need for plans and direction, but living each day for what it had to offer and just enjoying that doesnt seem so bad, really.
its funny; many a times i have this beautiful & flawless plan that i come up with as my direction, but it almost always gets crushed by some unforeseen circumstance
and then God comes into the picture, and showers me with this planless direction, that always somehow fits nicely in place and completes the puzzle
and so, now my summer seems to smile even more brightly than i ever thought it will, with my internship secured (and a rly valuable one at that), acapella championships, summer school, and piano duets.

on the same line of unpredictability, lide and i drove aimlessly ytd night after having dinner & drinks @ liquid kitchen, for a night nice drive

we somehow ended up in tampines IKEA, the unintended intention
i got quite a few ideas for my new room @ greenridge, and also quite a few photos from aimless mindless jumpshots that got us more than a few raised eyebrows from passerbys

to complete the story of unplannedness, isaac's ability to buy meat @ a highly discounted price evolved into an impromptu bbq session @ my place on sunday

there we wolfed down $100 worth of beef, chicken, potato, corn & others, deliciously marinated and barbequed by our chef-to-be

it was the first time in my life, i actually enjoyed a barbequed dinner (:

2009-05-22T00:24:00.004+08:00

am back from an urban hiatus, took a trip back to tioman after a decade
the place's still as beautiful and serene, people still as friendly, food still as good

blue seas and skies; the water's a little murkier than i remembered, but it's still blue and filled with marine life; we took loads of photos with the underwater cam, which i still need to develop

ramly burger! i heard sooo much about this magical burger i tried it the first day we were there. and it was DEFINITELY worth the hype, ignoring all the oil and unhealthy ingredients that went into its making. i've never been so excited about eating burgers in my life before this ramlicious burger

drinks @ bakau cafe, which is actually a beach bar in the far (dark) end of the beach, with beating rock music. the locals there were just so friendly, we talked with them feeling like we've known them for a while; and they waved us on whenever they saw us on the lil island - it was a nice feeling (:

maggie goreng lunch by the beach; paya beach is famous for its maggie goreng, and its a sure-hit meal. they really make maggie taste yums

trekking up to the rockfall, past kampong houses and primitive living; its spring/rain water was so cold it was quite a shocking contrast against the weather, which was anything but cold.

2009-05-13T23:48:00.002+08:00

so... its the summer HOLIDAYS!!! (:
although there wasnt as glorious a finish line as i would have hoped so, the break is definitely a welcome change to the incessant note-taking and studying
the first few days of post-exam happiness was relished in dreamland; i was prolly more tired than i thought myself to be, esp towards the end
thankfully i still made it for kayaking @ bedok reservoir on saturday with the church pple, cuz that was a refreshing blast of morning air and...reservoir water

sleep-crediting aside, i also met up with the NYgirls, for a blast from the past
we took a virgin (for some) game of wii+pizza @ my place; the first time is always priceless
we took a video, that really looks more retarded than it really is, and i'm still trying to upload it to the other 4 who werent able to join us

other news, i watched 17again, and its just such a feel-good movie i really felt so lighthearted and happy when i exited the theater
happy-endings are always beautiful, however cliche and old, and it makes you feel so warm and fuzzy inside out
nevermind zac efron's eyes, which even seemed to make leslie mann melt
i think even lide was bought over =p
before that i also managed to meet up with jacob for dimsum hightea buffet @ anchorpoint
he picked me up from my house, and we went for a little roadtrip after hightea (:

last note, i was parked next to a car that belonged to another JOY while shopping with my sista

and.. a lazy saturday afternoon @ mac's. i like (:

2009-05-05T21:25:00.004+08:00

this is an official declaration, that i have traipsed into love with..

BOBO CHACHA

my new found love

yes, i know it's been around for quite some time, i've missed out the past 22 years of my life
i've just never really liked sweet potato or yam particularly, nevermind them in oddly-discolored coconut milk
there was even a time, i sulked half a day because i was more than coaxed to finish some homemade bobo chacha

oh the times have changed.
i still dont quite fancy the sweet potato, never was a huge fan
the yam, it's alright, not that bad when its taste is masked by the strong coconut scent
what i really do love.. are the GELATIN cubes

i like it so much my maid's been putting one and a half packet of gelatin cubes into our homemade bobo chacha, instead of the prescribed half packet, just so there'll be some left at the end when i'm done with it, together with the pathetic pieces of sweet potato left behind

yummy, much.

-

i had my GEM2900 paper today, the first since WHO's declaration of swine flu as a pandemic threat
because of that, we were supposed to report to the exam venue an HOUR earlier to measure our temperatures before we step foot in the exam hall
talk about media-induced paranoia -.-

on the advice of friends, i left house an hour earlier today, so i could navigate clementi peak-hour traffic and reach sch half an hour after the stipulated temperature measurement, thinking i've got the better end of the deal
when i got there, i realized my expectation of long lines of irritable, germ-ridden students waiting to get an aural thermometer stuffed up their ear had been uncalled for
there were NO lines at all, other than masked & gloved staff directing us towards this metal-detector-looking frame, where all we had to do was stare at our own eyes in this mirror before our body temperatures were instantly registered on the LED screen
(woaaaa, high tech)

and then that was it.
i almost felt cheated when they ushered me along to the hall

so, i was half an hour early for my exam today, the first time in my life
what i did find at the exam hall were irritable, (germ-ridden?) students who have also been fooled by rumored long lines for temperature taking

in all redemption, the paper went fanta-frickin-tastic (:

2009-04-25T00:53:00.002+08:00

so today i had a change in study environment, albeit for a rly short while
i went to keppel club to pick up mac, who's been teaching swim classes to little kids there
i ended up studying by the seaside/poolside for a little while, thanks to an overestimation of peak-hour traffic, and rly beautiful weather

as cliche as this is gna sound, beautiful scenery does help in absorption rates
it was quiet, aside from the sounds of kids giggling in the nearby pool
and the occasional soft horns of passing cruise ships
really nice.

best thing is, this isnt even my club.

2009-04-22T22:53:00.002+08:00

i got my first taste of 'hostel life' in NUS today, as janice put it
it does sound really weird, having been in NUS for close to 3 years and never tried the infamous 'hall food' other than night suppers at sheares, or camp-packet-food
so to make up for it, i've spent quite some time in KEVII recently, camping out in this tiny cozy study lounge at janice's blog, burrowing deep in public finance notes
and.. *drumrolls* i had hall food.

yay?

ok it wasnt that bad. it was pretty decent, contrary to most of the complaints i've heard in this lifetime.
today's special was spaghetti (ooh i'm beginning to sound like a hallsian. NOT), but basically everyone had the choice between that and chinese-vegetables-rice
it wasnt bad at all, the food, it even came with soup, a drink, and a banana
we even sat in the harry-potter dining hall with janice's friends, completing my NUS hall experience =p

-

so, study week's coming to an end. and i'm beginning to feel that slight anxiety creeping up on me
i dont feel un-ready, i just dont feel ready.
at least not 'ready' enough to put everyone outta their A-listings and come up top
garh. its annoying having all this pressure to do well enough to knock myself up one level for upper honors.
garh

2009-03-22T17:24:00.002+08:00

right outside my room window, was a gift of colors and life
there's something magical about rainbows that makes everybody really excited and happy
besides the secular symbolism of gay pride, the rainbow represents God's promise of faith and His presence through it all
its a reminder that there will be sunshine after the storm, if we just believe
how timely.

-

i've been spending quite a bit on concerts/productions/workshops lately
the most recent one is Junyan's EH hall production @ UCC.
cecilia, enmei and i paid $18 to see Junyan waltz and hiphop, as well as perform some high school musical dance at the end of the production.

it was pretty worth it; alotta effort was put into the production, and the play production was peppered with timely themed dances at each segment, making it alot more intersting as well.

in other news, our cell group + a few more people had lunch after church to celebrate Iris' and Zhenjie's birthday today (:

beef noodles at liang seah street was a treat; its apparently a taiwanese specialty
and most of us had set meals that came with bubble tea (or boba loca, as referred to in the US), i think my first since i came back to singapore (:

lastly, mac's coming back from Brunei tmr (:

YAY.

2009-03-13T00:03:00.003+08:00

i like thursdays, although i have my earliest class in this semester, having to navigate peak hour traffic and reach school by 9am.
but after a 1h philo tutorial, the rest of the day is free for me

so today, i finished class and made it to mac's for macs-breakfast - geddit, geddit?
and then proceeded to spend the whole day doing absolutely nothing but lazing around
being satisfied with guitar hero, online shows, jamming and chilli crab dinner
and some attempts to run at the park and do pilates workouts
and also some research work and internship applications
and messin around with a polo ball

BLISS (:

2009-03-10T23:25:00.003+08:00

in a bid to maximize the usage of our SUV before it gets traded in for a Beemer, i decided to take the dogs to botanical gardens
it might be a few months before the careful treading around the new leather of the BMW will relent to the responsibility of being a dog owner
so it might be a few months before the dogs are allowed in the new car :(

the after-rain botanical-garden scene was really beautiful and peaceful

or at least until ginger came along and tore up every last bit of serenity, freaking out the swans by attempting to hunt them down, and running everywhere frantically like she had enemies hot on her heels

in other news, i made jello-shots! (: vodka, ribena, and blackberry jello

i wanted to do lime+tequila, but i couldnt find any tequila! it is pretty amazing, considering tequila is found everywhere in the USA, even in pharmacies.
anyway, mac&i met up with ernest, lide & zhenjie for drinks @ lide's old condo
it marked the end of my 4 midterms all packed into one week, a really tumultumous week considering the difficulty of the papers

it was a good talk with the boys; we havent caught up this way in a long time
ernest brought his guitar, so there were some emo-song-singing,
and some malibu-MANGO cocktail in a shotglass (we didnt bring cups, smart),
and some melted jelloshots despite my trying to cool the jello in an airconditioned car :(

revival

2009-03-07T12:17:00.002+08:00

i had this thought to revive my blog ytd after the bell rang for my last midterm
it was a weird, oddly-timed thought that probably came with the gush of time that came as i put down my pen and wrote down my name
there was alot of pent-up frustration over the last 2 papers i had ytd (public finance & environmental econs)
for the amt of work i put in, i expected it to be a breeze
but not only was i stuck for a few questions, i actually left blank one entire 10-mark question in public finance, just because i couldnt do it
the only redeeming grace, however uncalled for, is that everyone else wore the same black face when they came out, and complained about the same questions

HEE.

on thursday, my heart broke for JASON MRAZ, who serenaded me 700m away with his guitar and musical-legend-voice
there are many bands/singers who sound better live than on record, but for Jason Mraz, he was just PERFECT live
i was sold the minute he started his first song - dynamo of volition

amongst the 1000-2000 hearts which melted that night, someone else's heart melted too, by pure musical genius

thankfully for that, he didnt mind me gushing about how i was in-love in the middle of "beautiful mess" as i became a beautiful mess

-

to end off, a really beautiful scene that i saw on my way to mac's place the other day
the clouds were ominously looming over the trees, and the gusty winds were blowing at the pink flowers, causing a flower-shower as i drove down that stretch of road
really serene (:

-insert entry-

2009-02-11T19:41:00.002+08:00

its coming into week 5 of school, and i'm starting to feel the heat
school itself isnt as tough as previous semesters, but working towards a cap5.0 this semester so as to graduate with second upper honors is definitely not easy at all.
the thought of summer school... ugh, lets not go there. but thats a must, for sure.
it definitely is a strange feeling considering most of my econ major peers are stepping out into the workforce at the end of this term; but ohwell it is an investment that hopefully i'll appreciate in the near future.

-

past weekend of CNY visitation, golf class, and dinner @ jurong hill was definitely worth remembering.
on sunday we went to zhenjie's for visitation, and...(as all recent house parties would go) play Wii.

here's everybody with some crashers

and here's my cell group

on saturday, mac and i gave our go at golf. wasnt my first, but i still sucked at it as if it were my first.

75, 100, 50 respectively. SIGH

then mac and i joined my parents and abel's & ernest's parents for a midnight karaoke session at orchid country club. OLDIES UNITE.

and on friday, dinner @ jurong bird park. i've never been into the park, but the restaurant on jurong hill was awesome

TEPPANYAKI. yums

the end.

win some, lose some

2009-02-02T22:53:00.008+08:00

as a year 3 junior, i fully expected this semester to be disgustingly brimmed with work, suffocated by mountains of unfinished yet due assignments, and incessant readings to pore over.
instead, i find myself with ample time to go over to mac's for a visit today, and then to great world city for a movie ('the reader') with supper in the evening
granted i have mondays free (as do mac), but i have already finished reading up on the relevant textbook chapters for all my classes, as with the due tutorial assignments.

i am ~~very~~ slightly worried about it, because it may mean next sem's gonna be a culture shock
but at the same time, it gives me alot more time to pursue my interests and commit more with NUS Resonance, and also allowed me the opportunity to take part in a few organizing committees for a couple of student events this semester, which may prove to be slightly challenging, but a new experience nonetheless.

anyway, some pictures from the cny week (:

the CITADEL group @ Reso cny party - i rly love that game

then to zouk to support melvin @ SMU Bondue Pageant/Bash

and then some pictures from CNY day #1 - churchy boys and churchy girls

and family

and homies

this month looks real good (:

2009-01-29T10:46:00.003+08:00

i had my first philosophy tutorial class today at 9AM, and i was 20min early for class
i drove along the stretch of clementi road to school at 830AM, vigorously weaving in between cars thinking i was running late, fervently praying that traffic would not negate my wish to make a good first impression in class
but it was only at one of the stoplights nearest to NUS that i realized i had reached school in less than 10min, a feat that would have been nearly impossible just last year
for anyone unfortunate enough to require the perusal of clementi road in the peak hour mornings to work/school, they would know that traffic there is BRUTAL - it simply does not move; always had for the past 10,000 years.

WHAT happened to all those cars with incessant honking and drivers cursing below their breaths?!

dont get me wrong, i am delightfully relieved that the traffic has somehow evaporated.
but at the same time, the severity of this economic downturn finally struck me hard.
i read it in the newspapers (be it in Singapore or the USA) a lot - about retrenchment, the slowing of GDP growths, the worrisome fall of major financial banks, etc, but i havent really felt the impact of such, being sheltered within my safety bubble of ongoing tertiary education and a family that shields me from the rippling effects of recession
there have been talks of job credit schemes being able to alleviate the crisis, but perhaps Singapore has not been spared from the global job loss trend as our leaders claim.

i cant do anything about the situation; i dont think any single individual can.
but it definitely makes me feel more appreciative and thankful of what i have
i probably cant understand fully the worries and problems of a retrenched, but i will definitely pray - for faith, love and motivation.

on looking back

2009-01-22T14:30:00.002+08:00

mac said something that rang my nostalgic bell this afternoon
and as it follows, i went to my blog, and re-read entries dating back to 2005, and remembered why it is that i still have this blog in the first place
this portal encompasses the bits and pieces in my life - things i'd like to remember, for good or bad, so i can look back and witness my own growth and changes within myself
its like a scatterplot of points in my life; one that i can finally plot a line through to see the ups and downs, and unveil the journey that i have taken
i write today, so that one day i can return to this exact page, and be in the moment that i am now, remember the thoughts that i held, and relive this time.
i write today, so that i may give thanks and be appreciative of what i have or had
i write today, because i want memories to last forever

-

on writing, i've completed a 13-page research paper on the evolution of prehistoric art ytd
its a paper written for my UCLA anthro class, for the credits that i've yet to attain
although it wasnt easy writing this paper (esp since i left my textbook back in UCLA), it was prolly one of the most enjoyable, and best paper i've written
the topic was engaging and interesting; i actually felt like i was learning while writing that paper

on school, i actually have a 3.5 day week this semester
its pretty amazing, the turn of events
i screwed up my CORS bidding because of garmisch's lack of internet in germany, but i ended up with one of the best term schedules i've ever gotten in my entire NUS education
God does have a way of working things out in the least expected manner or time

i am twenty-two

2009-01-12T23:26:00.003+08:00

it's my birthday again today - it seems like ytd that i had my 21st birthday celebration
there's so much to be thankful this year; for the things that have passed, and the things to come.
2008 was a blast; so many new experiences, new friendships, and new journeys
even the end was a culmination of the new and interesting - i set off fireworks for the first time in my life in germany! that was exciting
and 2009 was kickstarted with ski thrills and family bonding, elements i hope will last through this year and more (:

this birthday has been really simply - plans were made, but plans were foiled
by sickness, by some miscalculations.. but in the end, the time spent was well worth it, and also alot more meaningful (:
i came back to singapore, and to my life, feeling rather apprehensive of how things were going to be like
it felt like i forgot how it was to have a life here, after i've delicately built up the life overseas
but i realized, esp today, that i've worried for nothing, because amidst all the changes and times, everything back home has been the same old, same old
and i'm so thankful for that.

i return back to school @ NUS tmr, its the end of the honeymoon 8 months
it's sad to say goodbye to something so precious and wonderful, but i know my journey there has ended, and now i tread onto a new one that will be filled with its own adventures and lessons to be learnt

onward, onward

acclimatization

2008-12-27T00:24:00.004+08:00

i've been back in singapore for 2 days; barely unpacked, but im packing again for our family trip to europe tmr. i'm still rly jetlagged, living on US time - it might make the transition to europe time a little easier.

it's great to be home; being surrounded by familiar faces, sights & sounds once again. there were major adjustments made, and to be made - most obvious of them all is the driving. i almost drove into the wrong lane, and have to concentrate alot harder now to drive on the right side of the road. no more tipping in restaurants is a huge relief, but the humid (suffocating) weather isnt.

in the 2 days i've been home, i managed to meet up with brandon for tea@dempsey and gelare@greenwood today - same person different country. twas nice catching up with a brother whom i've become really close to, and spent the last 4 months almost togehter with every single day. sigh, i do miss ucla so. i also managed to squeeze in a trip to marina barrage with abel, lide, melody & mac for an evening picnic. really pretty place (:

christmas 2008 was pretty low-key and simple. the standard christmas lunch @ aunt susan's with the entire extended family, and then christmas dinner at pz's place with their extended family.

ok jetlagging, sleepy, gdnight

holding on and never letting go

2008-12-12T16:16:00.003+08:00

im sitting at the penthouse (yay 9th floor) study lounge studying for my last final tmr. i honestly cant wait to be done with my exams wholeheartedly, but at the same time its a bittersweet feeling; a whole rush of mixed emotions that i feel, knowing at the end of finals tmr it'll be officially the end of my exchange here; yet another closed chapter of my life that i hold longingly dear to me and dont want to let go.

i think it's actually harder getting TO the part where we leave; because right now, at this moment, surrounded by all these beautiful people whom i've come to call my family; these beautiful buildings that house so many memories of laughter, enjoyment, companionship and utmost comfort; knowing i have to leave all these behind me as i check out for good; it's just really hard. so hard.

maybe tmr, when i actually do leave, it'll just become yet another wonderful dream that i can always look back and smile on; another few pages of my life that i can turn to whenever im feeling sad, and be cheered by the memories of what was good. maybe then, it wouldnt be so hard.

green-eyed girl

2008-12-09T13:01:00.003+08:00

i always have stuff on at the most untimely of times.
while i was slouched over, running accounting numbers thru my sleepy head this evening, my roommate cara was out at Brad Pitt's movie premiere @ westwood (just fricking 5 min walk from ucla) - the curious case of benjamin button
and she's got pictuers to prove it

i havent been particularly bothered about all the movie premieres in westwood
cuz there hasnt been any celebrity i really wanted to see specifically
(other than the couple that went adoption crazy)

jennifer aniston & owen wilson are coming this thurs to westwood for their premiere of "marley and me" - i have to go for thattt (:

back at riverside dr

2008-11-27T16:28:00.003+08:00

it's been a rly exciting journey in US thus far, and it rly stinks that i only have 2 more weeks of school @ ucla left before this all becomes part of my memories.
there's so much i'm going to miss over here, yet at the same time i'm also missing home and the people i've left behind - it's kinda conflicting, those two. if only i could bring home to here, or bring here to home.

anyhow, i'm back at aunt jeanne's again, this time for thanksgiving - my first ever.
deb's parents picked all of us up from school today to go to her hometown, arcadia; where deb and i chilled and drove around for our haircuts, boba loca, and grocery shopping @ ranch 99 (asian market!)

this was from last weekend, when sharon came to visit deb! (:
we drove around santa monica & rodeo drive, and chilled @ chris' room to watch "the fountain" (which is a rly gd show omg hugh jackman awesome)

@ santa monica

i did las vegas the weekend before that too with candice, natalie and maryanne, an impromptu trip that began with a midnight text msg about getting a free suite @ vegas, which unraveled into immediate car rental, packing, and then leaving the next day (wed), conveniently ditching whatever classes we had for the rest of the week

but i can safely say, it was all worth it. it was a trip of many firsts, both goods and bads, but an experience nonetheless

in other news, i finally met up with isabel & iris too!

we hit up a bar that isabel wanted to check out @ santa monica, and although i havent seen them in YEARS it certainly didnt feel like the time gap had done any damage.

ok my shows are starting, so random pictures to end off this post

banana phone

guess whose hairy feeet

updates

2008-11-05T07:15:00.002+08:00

i just cleared my accounting midterm today, and it was relatively easy as compared to the horror i was expecting, considering i have been to probably 50% of the classes, and actually paid attention in less than 50% of the time i was in class.
however, this had entailed 4-am nights at rieber study lounge, late night supper & coffee at bruin cafe, the discovery of crazy antics of sleep-deprived people and how easily people get distracted, esp by the evil monopolization of time by facebook.
found - GUILTY.

but ytd was nice. it was our usual study group again, minus miles, who was gyming with the gym-buff boys. the people whom i've grown to become veryvery(very) fond of; they are my family here. other than doing retarded things like handstands, pilates @ 3am, howling at the top of our lungs to disney/retro songs when the lounge finally vacates, and dancing to boogie music, we are pretty normal people; just your average joes (: our december roadtrip together is going to be fanta-frickin-tastic; i kno it.

other than the people, there are alotta other things that i love about this place.
many of which, is HALLOWEEN!

altho i had a human-evolution midterm on halloween morning, which extinguished any pre-halloween parties for me, i did sit next to darth vader during my midterm.
i, on the other hand, was a.... WITCH

this is the best full body shot of my costume i could find; sadly it didn't occur to me to take a full body costume shot till the day after the day after halloween.

halloween is, however, a really fun experience for me - everyone was dressed up in their own thing, getting into character, and just partying like there was no tmr.

after some liquid courage

deborah and i @ audrey's party, after we party-hopped by the frat rows; which were relatively disappointing because they didnt let any of the guys with us get into the parties, and there were just too many drunken people barfing by the sidewalk (and sometimes within the houses) for any of us to be appealed.

i recently went for InterVarsity's FallConference @ Catalina island as well; somewhere close to long beach apparently
it was just an hour+ of ferry ride from the hustle and bustle of city life, but yet it made all the difference - the island was quiet, quaint, and very picturesque

we had worship & talks each day, and small group time where we shared and prayed for one another by the sea, and studied the bible amidst God's wonderful creations
there were free time, where we could do almost anything we wanted (snorkeling, kayaking, hiking) for free; the entire island was booked for our conference (:
most of us picked up kayaking, and besides the beautiful waters and crazy splash-fights we had, we were delighted by families of seals that swam close to shore and surfaced every now and then with their tiny little whiskered noses next to our kayaks; OH-SO-CUTE!

we also had a bonfire going on each night by the sea, as people gathered to chill with hot cocoa or tea provided by the crew on island. "bed" was bunk beds within wooden cabins, and although we had to navigate our way everywhere with flashlights (there wasnt any electricity other than a few places like the bathrooms), the lack of phones, internet and any sort of modern communication really bonded the group together, as we resorted to late-night hiking up the trail (to this cliff that overlooked the sea), midnight mafia games, and just company-fun. really refreshing.

lastly, to end off this insanely unintentionally long post, tonight's the official faceoff between obama and mccain finally. everyone's really hyped up bout voting; the weeks leading up to today have been filled with americans trying to register their fellow citizens to vote, and to get them to take a stand in tonight's elections. exciting!

cant contain it

2008-10-15T05:47:00.002+08:00

i know for sure that this week is NOT my week; screw all those fortune cookies that come with the chinese food takeouts at rendezvous cafe (just below my dorm)
maybe i'm just really tired but i keep getting myself into situations that are not-so-near from delightful.
right now as i'm typing this, my busted knuckles and bruised hands stare pitifully back at me; war injuries from ytd's game of "hot hands" with Miles - it's a children's slapping game of speed and reflexes, something i'm devoid of at 3am in the morning after a few hours of studying.
hot hands, no more.

Rieber Terrace penthouse study lounge (right next to my room!) has become our popular study enclave - ytd we made our nest and marked our territory by the couch with loads of snack, coffee/hot chocolate from Bruin Cafe, laptops, drinks, and our big fat selves

our game of hot hands while deb tried to take a pitiful pic on her mac

other than the bruised hands, i accidentally spilled soda on my room carpet, and had to resort to pressing coupla sanitary napkins to the carpet in hopes of utilizing 'high absorption rates' of the power-tissues. how yucky. and then, i lost the car keys to our weekend car, and had to fork out $50 to get the locksmith to rescue me from my dead-end hurdle.

the only saving grace of this week was the memories of San Diego trip from last weekend. it was a pretty awesome trip; planned in time so we could attend Romita's 21st birthday, altho we stayed too long at Miles' place to make it to the party; but we did honor her bday with a post-party @ enru's apartment to make up for it!
we picked up rohai from irvine on the way to san diego, and here's all of us at post-party

i heart this picture too

then we drove around san diego the next day; balboa park, coronado, downtown SD, and the beach!
we had a picnic at balboa park

and some jumpshot fun at coronado beach

damien found some love lying on the coast

i also had dinner with the Singapore Students Association (SSA) of ucla on sunday @ this italian restaurant on santa monica. it was pretty cool to be with soo many singaporeans again; i even met a couple of AC peeps and NY friends who were alr part of the SSA. we had drinks at W hotel after (Rose champagne!!) too

anw my only class (principles of accounting) got canceled today cuz my professor's home had to be evacuated due to the forest fires down in San Fernando valley; spurred on by the northern winds which are getting really strong. i walked all the way down to anderson's, and then walked back up to rieber to have lunch with deb. looking forward to sushi dinner tonight! (:

lalaland

2008-10-09T07:22:00.002+08:00

living in UCLA is similar to when i was living in new york - there's always something going on; never a dull moment, everyone's constantly on-the-go, there's always something to do; and most importantly, HEAPS of fun.
because of that, time seems to stand still, and it was only ytd night when i was on the phone with mac that i realized that i've alr been in the States for more than a month, because it definitely didnt feel that long.

i think i've grown quite alot in this journey thus far; learning to be independent and to literally stand on my own two feet (there's alot of walking to do in UCLA) is but a handful of the things i've learnt. most definitely, the life in ucla (or in any college for that matter) is crafted by what you perceive it to be, and what you make it to be; and by the grace of God, i've went thru many happy memories and close friendships, and things look to be on the uphill (:

i'm taking a public policy course this quarter in ucla, which inevitably forces me to keep track of events occuring in the political realm; one that i've deeply neglected and held a generally apathetic attitude towards while in singapore. it is definitely a challenge; the americans take pride in their country's history and politics - there were few hands that were not raised when my professor inquired about the no of people who watched the presidential debate btwn palin and biden. i, unfortunately, did not raise my hand, but it is my endeavor to youtube the debates tonight. i promise. alternatively, i could join the loyal gathered group at joey's room next thursday to watch the next presidential debate.

in other news, there've been quite some crazy activities going on every single day, that it's rly hard to choose which to go for and which to forgo.
among some of the stuff that i've attended:

Dinner @ Roscoe's chicken + Partying out in Hollywood!
that was sparked off when i received two VIP passes for the club, and KJ got really interested in partying out & drinking. we carpooled for dinner with the intervarsity people to Roscoe's chicken (which is by far the BEST chicken+waffles i've ever had!)

one of the cars actually met with a collision-accident on the way there, which totally busted the bumper (the white foam thing was out, and the casing was dangling), which was a damper on the spirits but thankfully for insurance was settled quickly. after dinner we journeyed to Hollywood Club DV8, my first time in Hollywood!

and then back to KJ's for jim beam before we all crashed out at KJ's

its the hamburger

DICOP Picnic @ Sunset canyon
a get-together with the international students for free food

eight pecs?

Universal studios halloween night
we rented a car from enterprise, and got bumped up (at almost the same rate) to get a merc c300 for two whole days (: it had less than 30 miles on it, absolutely brand new!

thea and i on our sweet, sweet ride

and then universal studios!!

it was kinda like a mini sausage-fest - with 2 girls and 8(?!) guys. thea wanted to come but there were only two cars :(
the halloween set-up and scares were rly startling, but the rides were just average. there were couple of mazes as well that were simply scare-fests (texas chainsaw massacre, where there were reproduction of blood stenches YUCK). towards the end of most of them, my eyes were just closed and i merely followed miles around.

the rest of the activities shall come later when i have the time.
gotta catch a nap before going for a show at the planetarium tonight where we're supposed to be able to stargaze and moonbathe with telescopes (:

saturday night feverrr

2008-09-29T08:40:00.005+08:00

school has finally started officially for UCLA, and although i've only had two classes so far, i'm really liking my classes (for now). the classes here are conducted with rather primitive technology; no powerpoint, proper mikes, projectors.. just the trusty old whiteboard and a marker pen to impart deep knowledge and wisdom. as a result, things are a little more slow-paced, relative to the racing speedometers in NUS lecture halls; alot more is required of students to pay attention and ask questions because of the lack of spoonfeeding materials, which may actually be a gd thing!

academics aside, home life @ Rieber Terrace has been pretty awesome. despite my room being one of the barest of the floor (because both my roommate and i are exchange students so we didnt bother to buy a radio, TV, or any durables), activities have greatly made up for the lack of room entertainment.

a) Party @ Daniel's last weekend: was a rather mild party with whisky shots and stupid party games, which attendees blew outta proportion for a short while because one person told another person about the party, and that person told yet another, and so on. caleb drove me to malibu beach at night to check it out, and it was beautiful even at night; the sand was super cold and the waves super strong.

b) Party @ Coop on friday: we had bible study + dinner at ingrid's place on landfair ave right before the party; the irony. but anyway, dinner was REALLY awesome because melanie cooked us curry and rice; GOOD curry rice, not like the crappy american rice they serve in dining halls. i was so pleased for the rest of the night. then it was back to chris' for drinking and horror movies

c) Dance party @ sproul + drinking games at tiverton: it was a superr fun night; sproul had their own dance party in the middle of the courtyard, and it was sorta like an outdoor dance party. the fog came in too so it was really cold, which rly worked out cuz you didnt feel that hot in the dancing crowd.

then we decided to get a drink, and went to ralph's to buy alcohol, and then to johnathan's apartment at tiverton to play drinking games (which were hilarious btw thanks to miles' drama games)

funny enough, it was the guys who couldnt hold their liquor, and did really stupid (but hilarious) things like climbing on top of the bruin bear at like 2am for a photo (the bruin bear is not easy to scale - i tried)

more drinking occured back at brandon's room, where we opened a bottle of wine and watched "silence of the lambs". i ended up crashing out on the floor for tt night; thank god for carpets!

today i went shopping at westside pavillion, this mall about 3 miles down from ucla. and then met the singaporeans in ucla for dinner, before crashing deb's for movie night (spaceballs, which i totally do not get but its funny anw)

crashing out for tonight school officially starts tmr! :D

LA week 2

2008-09-21T09:48:00.002+08:00

"Even though the journey's long
And I know the road is hard
Well, the One who's gone before me
He will help me carry on"

i've been feeling pretty homesick these few days, esp after DICOP activities died down. thankfully, the move-in to Rieber Terrace was pretty smooth, and chris helped me trendously with the three-part move in. a couple of us drove down to Target to get our dorm supplies; i ended up getting alotta stuff that i prolly didnt need because there were so many nice things at target at affordable prices i couldnt help it. i've got nice new pink sheets now; its finally starting to feel like home.

pictures: we had a DICOP beach activity to santa monica beach

abrupt ending cuz i gotta go off now

in the city of angels

2008-09-17T15:05:00.002+08:00

after living outta a suitcase for the past 1.5weeks, i'm... still living outta a suitcase, but now alot more comfortably ever since i moved into my aunt's house ytd; esp dinner which was homecooked chinese food, which is truly madly deeply missed. unfortch, im moving out into "little inn motel" with giovanni & his friend tmr, because 3 hour bus rides to UCLA from aunt jeanne's just doesnt appeal to me; at all - i found myself stranded in downtown LA today evening, unable to find a cab or bus at a deserted city center at about 9pm, only to realize that alotta buses stop operations by 8 or 9pm. thank god aunt jeanne drove out to get me.

i've always thot the deck @ nus was a great place to people watch, cuz you get to see different people doing diff things at diff times. but today, in which i clocked almost 5 hours just sitting on the LA buses, i realized that people-watching on LA buses kicked the deck's ass anytime. from norbit-lookalikes, to crazy old folks wearing ucla sweatshirts chanting ucla cheers while holding a walking stick, to irritable hispanics talking loudly on the phone, to random black/mexican guys siting next to me and asking for my phone number.. i've seen it all on today's bus trips to UCLA and back. my mom's rly proud of the fact that i've been thru it and seen the hidden side of glitzy glamorous hollywood; real people living real lives in a harsh society; i guess i could say the same, but im just really glad im getting the car in a few days time, and then moving into the dorms so i could skip the whole bus thing altogether

anyhow, enough talk. the city of angels does prove to be angelic in its beautiful way, esp thru its beaches and really friendly/nice/helpful people that i've been blessed to meet thru orientation, hostels/hotels and randomly on the streets (yes, we actually made friends with strangers on the streets cuz they stopped to help us; they're THAT friendly)

tyler, enru, rom, rohai, and andrew came to pick me up from orientation ytd, and we took a trip to beverly hills to drool at glamorous unaffordable (not in the near future at least) mansions owned by celebrities, or just people who are too damn rich. @ sunset, we drove down to venice beach for drinks, photos and to watch people surfing as the tide came in.

three words - breathtaking, majestic, and god-created (:
hopefully i'll get to go back there on friday with the DICOP (dashew international center orientation program) people, its just so beautiful and peaceful; the seagulls so tame, and the view so picture perfect!

on sunday, we did a trip to six flags as well! just a 40min drive up from santa monica, and everything was just 33USD. the rides there were INSANE; i went thru rides i wld never have imagined myself going thru before, got spinned a thousand times in all diff directions, felt my stomach in my throat a billion times, and was strapped into the rides in all different directions (i was half-standing for some, and strung superman style for some); i think i screamed like i never before either, it was so fun!
pictures that romita took; the rest of us were too excited to bring cameras along

in sanfrancisco we had a blast as well, esp on the last day, when all the girls (angel, jem, huishan) stayed at rom and my hostel, and we stayed up all night watching "hostel" (yes how ironic) with Vadjim, a Belarusian guy who was the epitomy of chivalry - he cooked sausages for us hungry girls at 3am in the night, after we rejected his spagetti offer.

here's us at the hostel on our last (sobs) day - all the girls + vadjim

also, pictures from the biking trip @ golden gate bridge

that's it for now. i'm so busy these days there isnt much time to blog in the first place; i'm skipping the first half of orientation tmr so i can pack and check into little inn first, before going for the 2nd part of orientation, and also a picnic by the lawns in UCLA or something (:

last day in san fran

2008-09-13T15:09:00.002+08:00

this is becoming like a travel blog of sorts; but its a gd way to update friends/family bout the trip thus far, and also a means of keeping a track of my travels. pictures will come slightly later, when i get back to LA because i left my USB cable at aunt jeanne's, together with my other HUMONGOUS luggage that i will have to lug to UCLA somehow

speaking of luggage, i came to sanfran with one small hand carry, and will be returning with that, a huge bagpack full of things, and three other big bags that will be carried like some underpacked PRC traveling home from the city back to her farm. we intended to dress andrew up with nice clothes, and hence made another trip to forever21 for him, but exited with another bagful of clothes SIGH.

before that we took a ferry across the sanfran bay to the alcatraz prison. which was pretty cool, complete with an audio tour of the place. it was one of the better prisons i've seen, with a REALLY beautiful view since it was just a little island surrounded by the sea (:

huishan's also over from berkeley today to stay with us at the hostel, and jem & angel are staying over for a night of games and movies for the last day of sanfran :( i dont wanna leave...

san fran baby

2008-09-11T14:50:00.004+08:00

greetings from San Francisco!
it's a beautiful, wonderful city; people here are just so friendly and helpful, and we've received nothing but hospitality, great shopping, and awesome scenery
after a SIX hours coach ride from LA, we've settled into a youth hostel @ ellis street, near the city-center for the past 2 nights
because it's just rom & i in the girls room, we've got 2 other roommates - Lana (from New Orleans), and Irina (from Russia) whom we've gotten quite attached to thanks to late night chats and bagels-and-coffee breakfasts in the morning

we did a biking trail today with Irina across the Golden Gate Bridge; a full 6 hours of biking in REALLY cold winds and temperature
it was a pretty tough ride because san francisco is so hilly, but when we got to the top of everything and looked down, it was just so breathtaking that it made the aching thighs worth it, esp since loads of pictures turned out rly nice
golden gate bridge itself was very grand; alot more grand and beautiful than in movies, i think. we rode across the bridge, and took more pictures from the other side
we met two german guys at the observation tower for golden gate bridge, and did the return journey together with them; and we had good talks with them on the way back, when we werent losing our breaths or panting over the hilly roads

on a sidenote, shopping here is to die for. we spent 3-4hours in union square ytd just for shopping in forever21, gap and urban outfitters; and just across the street laid the welcome arms of abercrombie, american eagle, etc which will be checked out tomorrow =D

im tapping on the free wifi in the hostel lounge right now, but battery's running out for my laptop, so thats all the updates for now. i'm rly loving sanfran!

hello from Los Angeles

2008-09-08T13:33:00.002+08:00

i've slept less than 5 hours in the past.. 3 days (in singapore time), so im just blogging to say that i've arrived in Los Angeles, the land that drives on the wrong side of the car/road; with terrifying customs officers (i saw an indian guy get deported), and heck alot of freeways.

the journey here was really tough; we had a 12 hour transit in tokyo coupled with the magics of jetlag.
but it was also very blessed, because despite all that, we managed to shop at Aeon @ narita city (i got a few tops in my sleep-craved mode), and also booked a dayroom @ narita airport last minute to catch 3 hours of snooze time and shower.

currently "checked in" to aunt jeanne's home @ riverside drive, just 10 min away from downtown LA. a quaint little house one-story house that's the epitomy of cozy living. my uncle and aunt have been TREMENDOUS help, they've offered to help me on move-in day, and also to shop for dormitory necessities, phone cards, and even helped me pack for my sanfran trip. they've made me feel alot better about being in this strange land that i will call home for the next 4 months; i have a feeling i'll be seeing alot of them in these months!

tyler & i navigated the barrage of freeways to pick up rohai & andrew @ union station, where they spent 4 hours on a train ride from Irvine instead of a 45min drive; then dinner @ carl's junior because we got utterly lost, and decided to park ourselves at smth familiar to get a hold of our bearings, and fill the tummies. on a side note, driving on the left side isnt too different or difficult, just the turnings and parallel parkings on the right may require a lil adjustments. also, i've to rmb not to flip the wiper switch whenever i try to signal.

crashing out for tonight. i'm SO tired.

there is none like You

2008-09-04T00:35:00.003+08:00

i started on "Captivating" by Stasi Eldredge today during my hair appointment, a book that was given to me from my DG (discipleship group) for my birthday this year. it talks about life and God from a woman's perspective, and discusses the purpose that God created women, wholly different from our counterparts, to serve different missions and goals that He has set us out to.

here's an excerpt that really struck a chord with me:
"What is it that God wants from you?
He wants the same thing that you want. He wants to be loved. He wants to be known as only lovers can know each other. He wants intimacy with you. Yes, he wants your obedience, but only when it flows out of a heart filled with love for him. "Whoever has my commands and obeys them, he is the one who loves me" (John 14:21). Following hard after Jesus is the heart's natural response when it has been captured and has fallen deeply in love with him"
- Stasi Eldredge, Captivating

so beautifully written; our romancing relationship with God. a very timely reminder of His love, and the need to flower intimacy amidst changes, problems, and all that we're going through. the need for solitude and silence, so as to hear His voice and to speak with Him; to bare our vulnerabilities before Him. it has truly awakened my heart, it feels like stirring from deep slumber, being able to breathe again, an immense sense of peace that sends waves of warmth thru me.

"The Lord is my shepherd,
I shall not want;
He makes me lie down in green pastures.
He leads me beside still waters;
He restores my soul.
He leads me in paths of righteousness
for His name's sake"
- Psalm 23

and even though i was so far away, so dry, i've been blessed. huikai, janice and i met up on monday for a good dinner, reminiscing chats, and loads of laughter over huikai's work&travel adventures in Yellowstone, and also janice's work drama (she quit on her first day!). huikai gave me many tips on packing for US as well - i'm now only packing a mini hand-carry luggage, to be stuffed into a big EMPTY luggage so i have room for shopping/textbooks/rubbish that i'm gna be hauling home. then there was reso welcome tea on tues, which was really rather high and crazy towards the end. it's just really nice and heartwarming to see everyone, frm diff batches come together to have a gd time and fellowship and singing.

3 more days till im flying, and i'm really pretty psyched about it! altho there were many screwups in the planning process, but God is a faithful God, and he has brought us thru so many difficulties. for now, we've got all our hotels/bus ticks booked for the trip, and we're good to go.

i'm so excited, but im really gna miss everyone tho.

"there is none like You,
no one else can touch my heart like You do"

sobriety

2008-08-30T01:55:00.002+08:00

when i move to my new house next year january, the one place i'm going to miss the most in my current condo is no doubt the swimming pool at night.
behind the gentle trickling of fountain water, comfortable beach chairs and round tables with the ginormous umbrellas lay memories of birthday celebrations & respective dunkings, drinking sessions with lide, & with josh, mac + jeremy's gin gang just yesterday night, gatherings for midnight chats - stories of friendship, love; written under the watchful dim light.

but for now, mr booze and i are going to keep a distance - we finished joshua's bottle of peach schnaps ytd night, all one liter of it, with mixers from the dispensing machine nearby. it got us high enough not only to last the night, but also to develop zero inhibitions in massacring songs of the old, and howling love ballads with the help of my dad's trusty old guitar - lucky for us, josh's fingers remain sober even amidst rising BAC levels in its owner (though i cant say the same for the neighbors)

these few weeks have been just about friends and family; suddenly there isnt enough time to do alot of things originally planned, or meet all the people that are loved and treasured. but i did make time for a nice chilli crab dinner with the family @ esplanade No Signboard Seafood, lunch with my FASS mentor/banker & aijia, lunch with rachael before she flew, badminton + dinner with family friends & extended family, supper with jeremy, lunch @ holland v's ipoh horfun stall with mac, and also a trip to the old fort factory

for $2.50 worth of student ticket price, it was quite a worthwhile trip for an educational tour that featured everything you've learnt in social studies textbooks, except more realistic because they had either a physical representation or the real antique present within the museum

i also gave another vice a go, puffing down some shisha @ baghdad st with a few friends

im really glad i went for my first shisha; cuz its gonna be my last time
smoking's so not cool man.

shalala

2008-08-16T22:26:00.002+08:00

the past 2 weeks of reso rehearsals culminated to today's gig at lyndley's church - church of st mary's and angels, for their 50th anniversary celebration, or more specifically, the "Golden Jubilee celebration" with a kampong night theme
we reached his church in the early afternoon for a sound check, only to find ourselves with nothing to do, and 6 hours to kill before our performance
on group consensus we adjourned to westmall for lunch and arcade, before "pictionary-ing" the aftn away back in church

the winning team - team JEREMY

and 1st runner up(and also the last) - team JOY (minus lyndley)

and then some camwhore moments before our performance, which jeremy directed

the performance itself wasnt all too good - there were at least a thousand people surrounding the openair stage, which made singing and hitting the right not alot more challenging than it shld be because we couldnt hear ourselves, and the crowd banter wasnt very helpful
there were a number of popular acts at the carnival as well - straight after us was a performance by may & choi, the durian sisters, doing techno versions of hokkien "881" songs
then there was sylvester, carrie (idk who she is tho), and a few others whose names elude me
but the act that stole the limelight was actually the LIVE CHICKEN that was brought in to dance with may&choi for the 881 song

it's apparently a chicken given by the sultan of Brunei

lastly, pictures (from facebook) of acachamps night @ esplanade

the night we reigned champions (:

together, again.

2008-08-16T01:18:00.002+08:00

"you will never walk alone, as long as you have faith
Jesus will be right beside you all the way"

i went back to school for lunch with yihong today, and the scene that greeted me was one that was familiar and warm, yet at the same time new and odd.
gone were the days of pin-drop-silent libraries (acc to a friend), luxurious empty seats at the deck, the soothing sounds of nature that resonates the corners of YIH, crowdless hallways, things i've been so used to in the past 3 months of summer break
the end of summer just hasnt really hit me largely due to the fact that i'll be whisked off to another extended holiday at UCLA in a week or two's time
but the "odd" part comes in play when i see the boys from JC starting their journey as freshmen strutting around with laptops and bagpacks, eager and freshfaced as was I two whole years ago
its pretty good to greet that flurry of familiar faces (now the deck feels like a mini AC), yet at the same time scary cuz it means 2 years have gone by, and i'm still standing at the same spot where i was, feeling no more different than 2 years ago (except for a few more wrinkles & white hairs)

the past few weeks have been pretty insane, preparing for the exchange not just logistically, but also physically, emotioanlly, and socially.
the days were spent with friends from all over - lunch with seok&cherie, dinners & movies with mac, farewell dinner with family & friends for benedict, acachamps @ esplanade (we won overall champion!!), supper & night drives/adventures with jeremy & his friends (till 5am?!), movie&dinner with lide, suppers at sheares with the reso people, and then more reso rehearasals @ YIH which are huge bundles of fun in itself.

today, yingfen derek and i had supper at white coffee @ chuntin after reso prac
our initial intention of suppering at alameen changed when we saw the new supper place that replaced the original mazda shop

derek played with the camera..

the food was pretty good, but i guess we had to pay a little more for the airconditioned supper environment
anw, to end off, cuteness at its very best:

suck it

2008-08-07T00:16:00.003+08:00

i'll be flying off in exactly 18 days, and the thought of saying goodbye inevitably causes a mixture of anxiety coupled with excitement, and also a tinge of fear perhaps
while i rly look forward to the 4 months of independence and new experiences, there's a sense of inertia thats tying me down, this voice that tells me im comfortable where i am and should want no more
its the whole "stepping outta ur comfort zone", or being "outward bound", that involves breaking the bonds of the inertia to be able to truly learn, grow, and challenge yourself
18 days - i hope thats enough for me to do just that.

meanwhile, i've stopped work officially last friday, and work ended with a bang because of the corporate house party that was organized.
it was a party organized for AXA members, which saw the CEO himself coming down to grace the occassion.
it was an amazing party - cat hosted and organized the entire thing by herself, going down to the nitty gritty of arranging the napkins in an arty manner on the plates, to buying and designing corporate gifts for the clients, giving the party a really "atas" feel

Liming & i helping out

in other news, i've been delighting and rejoicing in the fact that mac's started sch
because "school" is of relatively (extremely) close proximity to my home
for the past week i've been meeting him for lunch (and some dinners), including a visit to a fish therapy session today
my mom received a couple of vouchers to spa/therapy sessions, and one of them was to Kampong Fish Therapy (its in Novena) for a hand/feet session
so after school i picked mac up and we went to let our feet get eaten by fishes
i forgot to bring my camera, so here're a few lousy phone cam pictures:

mac's got alot of fishes eating him
(he has NEVER exfoliated his skin apparently)

my feet

it was a REALLY interesting experience, aside from the initial mild tickle torture by them suckers
we sat there for a ticklish 40min watching them suck our skin out, and the entire time was surprisingly refreshing and enlightening
tis a pleasant experience, one that i'll definitely try again, esp since both our feet/calves/knees were really smooth and shiny after those suckers were done with us
(apparently they dont just suck you; they inject enzymes into your skin or smth)

also, there've been reso rehearsals that never cease to end because im always in some gig or another
but i guess it's all good cuz you learn as you sing, and its really fun while we're at it

picture this

2008-07-28T13:41:00.003+08:00

It’s been more than a week since we’ve got back from our melb trip, and ever since then I’ve been constantly on my toes, kept busy with commitments, activities, and events. Nevertheless, thru the past week I’ve felt the latent effect of withdrawal symptoms that usually come after a really awesome mind-blowing trip overseas, especially one with gd friends.

There’s so many things I miss bout the trip, but most of all, I miss the communal living, the daily night activities that would result in bouts of unstoppable laughter, the thrill of exploring new places and activities at the dawn of each morning, and even the funny, retarded things that always happen in the car.

looking back, we realized it was a really god-blessed trip, for God was truly amongst us. many things that could have gone wrong, didnt. we started each day with a prayer, be it in the car, or on the train, or just outside the door, and each meal with thanksgiving. although there were stil many things that we planned but didnt have time or energy to do/eat, we had so much fun there that it was easily one of the best trips i've ever had. (PLUS, we came back home with a pair of newly engaged because bryan proposed to sophia there)

-

back in singapore, we celebrated commando sim's 21st birthday on July 26! :D
the impromptu celebration was short & sweet, on his first bookout day

HAPPY BELATED BIRTHDAY, ERNEST! (:

in other news, i performed with reso at a gig at Laguna Country Club
twas a charity golf dinner event by Singapore Heart Foundation, organized by Josh's dad

we had a performer's table, shared with this other Filipino performing group, and enjoyed an 8-course Chinese dinner courtesy of SHF (:

im backk!!

2008-07-20T00:22:00.002+08:00

from melbourne.
it feels so surreal to be back - perhaps i left my heart in melbourne, bless that beautiful place
we've accomplished so much in just one trip, and im missing it all already

from the activities planned to the good food each day

to the amazing scenery and my awesome travel buddies

i'll elaborate more another day
for now, my brain's fried, and tongue's tied so its time for bed, goodnight

how to

2008-07-10T01:00:00.002+08:00

we've discovered the secret to cutting my JRT's unruly fur today - a float!
actually mac bought the float for me so i cld sit my injured popo but since it was too big for my butt we decided to put it to other gd use

Step #1 - introduce float to dog and make sure she likes it

Step #2 - cut fur on the back first

Step #3 - Flip dog over

Step #4 - Cut fur on underside

Done!

all in a day's work

2008-07-07T00:24:00.004+08:00

being on medical leave today feels like being able to take a breath after swimming a 4x50 breaststroke without any breaths in between. each day in the past week has been a flurry of actvities and commitments, and i've been so set on completing them all that it has prolly taken yet another toll on my health, and also taken the enjoyment outta some of them cuz of all the rushing. but looking back im real glad that i've survived all that, altho i've missed out on some of the other things that i've been unable to attend/do but all in all its been a smooth journey with gd experiences and awesome friendship.

it'll prolly be an understatement to say that "its been a long week", but here are some of the stuff i've been up to:

Dragonboating event @ Kallang!

twas an event organized by my cell group for the rest of the youth groups, and it was as physically challenging as it was mentally. waking up at 7+ to go to church was one of them :p we had games, songs, and new friends for the event, and also 3 dragonboat coaches from SDBA (singapore dragon boat association) to conduct the activity.

a me-moment with ernest's hat

it was a pretty successful event, yay to its organizers (im not one of them). however, we had a gd taste of the kallang river water (literally) and its ill-contents, what with the screaming of commands and laughing and open-mouthed moments that provided adequate containments for paddle-splash residue.

unintentional artistry, i like.

Dinner + KBox

mac&i met up with melvin, victor & SY for dinner @ manhatten fish in a pre-celebration for mac's birthday, cuz melvin was flying off the next day. that was followed by a customary kbox session where songs were massacred, and old english MTVs with blonde retro women strutting around in swimsuits were goosebump-ed at. i actually tried singing "fire" for the fun of it, the deng li jun version, and gave up halfway because i was getting waves of goosebumps at both the arrangement and the image on the screen. but the guys didnt seem to have a problem with the slaughtering of guns&roses, bonjovi, switchfoot etc.

Wedding @ jizeng's

yet another wedding where the quartet got together to play, except this time it was at jizeng's place - his brother conducted his ROM at their house, which was beautiful, majestic, and homely all in one. we provided background "garden-music", my first outdoor playing experience, which was tons harder than playing in any room because we simply couldnt hear each other, plus our space was shared with a few friendly garden bugs and also mr humidity, which made our violins alil cranky. after dinner we moved indoors where it became tons better, but what saved the day was the nice big fat angpao after dinner, which i opened with a few squeals of delight during reso practice straight after the wedding.

TGIF

2008-07-04T16:32:00.002+08:00

I’ve been finding uncanny similarities btwn me and KungFuPanda recently, esp for comparisons above the neck. The only diff is that the unlucky panda doesn’t have Loreal concealer to do some brightening magic along its dark eye circles, and i do. With the end of VOIII, i’ve imagined more rest, sleep, and possibly more at-home-time & home entertainment, but my late nights and reach-home-at-12am days continued incessantly.

Not that i’m complaining, i am thankful that my after-work schedule is always filled up with things i love doing. I’ve been having rehearsals with zhic, Kenneth and wayne @ zhic’s place for an upcoming wedding, and this time round it’s alot more fun cuz we’re doing a few contemp pieces, a departure from the usually medley of minuets & trios that are deemed the easiest to pull off. When we have time we sneak in the occasional Mario-kart and guitar-hero moments, which are alot more entertaining than i initially pictured them to be. I might just get that guitar soon, altho im still not a big fan of driving mario’s friends and firing turtle-shells at opponents.

In other news, i’ve successfully attained my American visa! It was a long, arduous, painful process that involved lots of waiting, waiting, and then, waiting. Thankfully, i took a day off from work just to sit at the embassy to do the waiting with tyler, because i found out it can be a rather draining process, the waiting, seeing as i rushed home and fell straight asleep after i was bestowed with my royal visa.

Resonance debrief on Tues was an eye-opener as well, to the shared passion and emotions of my peers and the seniors, of the sense of belonging and love for music & the family within the CCA, and how resonance has given each a sense of purpose in NUS, more than just books and grades and study. We watched our concert thru the eyes of a video recorder, albeit a rather painful process, and had pizza, icecream (daily scoop!!), and drinks before conducting our sharing session, which reminded me very much of cell grp, esp the love, care, and encouragement involved (: i’m so glad that i’ve joined this family, and my only regret was that i hadn’t joined it sooner, but then God has His ways and im just thankful i am where i am now.

lastly, a few interesting pictures from "i will survive" & "cheng li de yue guang" group :p

vocal obsession

2008-06-29T18:03:00.006+08:00

With the coming and passing of Resonance's VOIII, there is the overwhelming wave of mixed emotions that goes through me, even as i reminisce the reminiscent concert. VOIII, short for Vocal Obsession III, held my firsts in many aspects - my first vocal concert in my LIFE (choirs not counted), my first time singing solo in front of that many people without breaking down, my first time i experienced soo much love and teamwork and encouragement in NUS, the first time i actually looked forward to going to school, and many more. it was such an amazing journey thru the past months of hardwork, tears, sweat, laughter, friendship, love, and most importantly, God's grace and provision thru it all. I've learnt and grown so much more as a singer AND as a christian after these practices, and im proud to say that i've sucessfully overcame my stagefright, while my initial audience of my gathered soft-toys (when i first joined reso) has graduated to become a full live audience at UCC theater (:

at the end of this chapter, i feel so utterly blessed to have completed this journey not just without a scratch (i was fearing more), but also with a group of friends who have grown to become so dear to my heart, that i truly treasure & cherish. i look to reso clubroom almost as a 2nd home for the past mnths, and the pple within, my 2nd family. thru the ups & downs, and the goods & bads, we've stuck thru it all, with prayers, suppers, thanksgivings, and fellowship. and as we held hands and prayed for one another before the concert, i truly felt God's blessings and favor upon us all, so amazing and beautiful.

i've so much to share, and yet i cant put it all down in words adequately. for me, after being stressed and worried about my two solos within the concert for months, and even breaking down at points during rehearsal, God showed me that He was faithful, and that truly, all things were possible thru Him. plus, He gave me friends who were so encouraging, friends who believed in me even when i ceased to believe in myself, and who egged me on, and went with me to the finishing line (: i am forever grateful.

also, loads of thanks to people who came down to support! (: even tho i asked everybody so last min cuz i didnt want anybody to see me trip & fall over my own singing at first, but God gave me courage to share this wonderful experience and concert with y'all and your presence rly encouraged me!

anw enough talk, pictures will do the rest of the talking!

a few pictures during the concert when we had time in btwn costume changes

edlina, her eyelashes, jiayan, and zoe

"i will survive" group right before our turn on stage!

post-concert pictures!

the AC-peeps!

churchies!

andrew & michael

and then our craziest supper @ breko

reason for murder: rachael singing songs on loop - guilty as charged!

music is the key

2008-06-24T00:22:00.001+08:00

And today, i found new revelation for this song:

People - have always been singing
To wipe away tears
To ease all their pain

Music - has always been healing
Some people just sometimes
And others again and again and again

So we hope that today you are ready
To understand

[Chorus:]
Whenever you're falling down
Hopeless and pushed around
Find your own melody
Trust me that music is the key

It makes you feel proud and strong
Helps you to carry on
If you are down on your knees
You should sing it with me
Music is the key - sets you free

It's the key to the heart of all people
It can open the door to your soul
It's the key to a world
Where the flower of love
Always grows - don't you know...

the sunshine after the rain

2008-06-21T00:52:00.004+08:00

today was like the rain amidst the drought, bringing with it the much needed relief, rest, and recreation, and is easily one of the best days of my holidays so far. again, i feel so blessed and blissful, esp when i received the sms from my boss ytd night, informing vanessa and i that we didnt need to work today due to some renovation complications, rewarding our hard work with a timely long weekend.

mac and i went out for the day (finally!) for a nice meal and caught "get smart" which was kinda silly but funny at the same time, and i realized that it has become rather alien to me to sit down for a proper good meal at the table, after all the times i've been eating in office, and packing dinner (or what constitutes dinner) to reso pracs. it was pretty ridiculous how it felt weird to be out in a mall in the first place, to have the luxury of time back in my grasp - i think i've forgotten how it is like to live life, being too absorbed in my daily rushing routines of madness and tasks, but it is thus that i learn to enjoy life's little moments of joy even more, because im more easily satisfied now than ever before.

moving on with life's little joys, i had supper with ET, tovya, derek and weilee at fongseng today after prac, one of my rare moments there. it was great fun & talk with nasi lemak, its real interesting how people talk randomly about certain things and everyone switches topic immediately to that topic, regardless of the previous topic and whether it has been concluded. also, now i know that people who play with their food are said to be creative in bed. hmmm.

boogiee

2008-06-19T17:04:00.000+08:00

Twas been a really nerve wrecking morning at work today, and i’ve truly put my multitasking skills to the test. There were renovation works going on today in the office, and the drilling noises were loud enough to cause a ring to resonate in my ears even after they’ve stopped. That, with the anxiety and frustration of booking similar flights to Los Angeles with tyler and romita, while trying to complete work at the same time was pretty tough on the spirit. I almost wanted to give up, and ask for a day off just to settle my stuff and catch a breath before the mad rush of reso rehearsals again, but instead i prayed, and had lunch at the garden by myself to escape from insanity.

And what resulted from that short break was opened doors and miraculous change of events – i’ve settled my flights with my friends by favour of both man and God, cleared all my required work, dealt with certain difficult people in ways i can look back and be proud of, and also settled certain problems that have been bugging me for the longest time. For now, things are looking bright and shiny, although very tired.

12-15 May was our youth life motivational camp @ port Dickson, and also my first time travelling with the entire youth group. The 4plus-hour coach ride to port Dickson was significantly entertaining and interesting with the entire bunch of friends whom i’ve grown up with and love, as with the actual camp and activities that were carried out. I’ve learnt to share alot more – my thoughts, feelings, bed, and even food (with those drooling flies) thru this camp, and also experienced God with the closest friends i’ll ever have. There’s actually too much that has been taught, learnt and experienced to be put into words, so i think “amazing” wld have to suffice for now.

Ytd night was also one to be thankful for, cuz i reached home before 1130pm for the first time in a looonggg while, even after dropping diff people home. Like meisi said, when reso rehearsals and concert are over, there’ll be an extreme mixtures of happiness, coupled with nostalgia and sadness, for what has been shared and learnt through these coupla weeks of intense rehearsals is smth that i wont trade anything in for. Yet, while i look forward dearly to reso rehearsals, work + reso is a deathly combi thats starting to take a toll on my health, and time for the other pple whom i love, as well as my service in church. Hence, while i dread the ending of rehearsals, i yearn for the coming of the concert. What a dilemma.
On a happier note, 21 more days to Melbourne!(:

musings

2008-06-11T10:13:00.001+08:00

Work today is pretty quiet. Aside from the soft humming of the kitchen kettle, the hissing blow of the aircon, and the sound of my typing on the keyboard, silence is probably the next best word to describe the situation now, void of the usual banter and chatter of the interns and staff. Veronica has resigned because she was unable to cope with the stress and multi-tasking that the job required her to be in, while Vanessa is on leave today due to hives. Its going to be a long day, i know.

Nonetheless, i feel so very blessed to be working here. Ytd morning, for almost a full 2 hours, we had a sharing session, where Cat gave us her testimony of how she came to know God. Glad to say, her testimony touched more than my heart, but Vanessa’s too, and we heard of her plans to get to know God and to go to church. How truly amazing.

Work aside, my life revolves around reso rehearsals, and i got off work early ytd so i could make the full dress rehearsal on time. Unfortunately, there were numerous pretty major screw-ups for my group– people arriving late, not having scores for substitute singers, no costumes etc. It got me pretty upset for a while, esp after all the planning, msging, calling to try to get things right. But i guess it’s thru these failures that we learn the most, more than in knowing how to handle difficult situations but also difficult people, and from there, learning how to make things right again.

Wei Lee, wailun and i braved the storm with one small umbrella after that to make it for supper @ al-ameen to satiate hungry stomachs void of dinner, and also to quell the upset and disappointments of the rehearsal. It worked, after numerous naans, spring chicken, prata, and soup (those guys can eat heck alot!).

Anw, to end this post off before i start work proper (hehe), peektures from Lide’s 21st birthday party on Saturday! :D

the color blockers (:

all the churchies (:

Lide, i just realized we didn’t take a single pict together on that day! Haha!

burn-out

2008-06-06T23:58:00.003+08:00

perhaps i've been spreading myself a little too thin, and am now experiencing the nasty sideeffects of a prolonged absence of sleep, proper meals, and time to pause, take a break, and to have a little me-time and god-time.
when it all came crashing down i realized i've been trying to support and sustain everything like how a little superhero girl would do, except i cant.
daniel wrote me an email today, and he reminded me of all things gd - faith, joy, humility, and true friendship
most of all, he reminded me of God's love and strength, things that are always shelved to the back of my head when i try to take things into my own hands
a timely reminder, one that truly encouraged and inspired

here's what i've been up to:

rehearsals..

on a more exciting note, i just got notified of my housing in UCLA!
i'll be staying at this residential plaza called Rieber Terrace, which is within walking distance to school (:
tis a double-occupancy room, with shared bath with this other room next to ours
sounds real exciting!
ok meds starting to get me groggy. nights!

.

2008-06-01T23:14:00.002+08:00

weekends.
narnia (prince caspian) was THE bomb. (lovelovelove)
patience while queueing for parking @ plaza sing is an acquired virtue.
wedding performance: check
big fat juicy angpao: check
jamming session @ the atrium.
narnia (the witch.. and something closet) for old time's sake (and also for william moseley)
monday blues.
start of work again.
reso rehearsals. im starting to really look forward to them.
supper tmr night (:

loveee

2008-05-29T23:35:00.003+08:00

deflated balloon reporting back for duty with a smile and cherries on the top.
i just reached home not too long ago from more rehearsals, for both strings (read: wedding) and resonance
for some reason, i really love wedding processions, including the rehearsals and whatnots
so i was rather pleased we had to sit through the entire wedding rehearsal, while edwin, ainsley and cindy fumed beside me
the couple roped in 3 little kids for the processional, the flower girl being not more than 2 or 3 years old was absolutely adorable, and had to be baited with toys and candies at certain junctures so she could complete the walk
altho they were fears amongst us that she might suddenly start to crawl (she was THAT young) she was a dear and did the rehearsal perfect

for reso, rehearsals are starting to look more perky
'true colors' is starting to sound more like the original song, with the loads of generous help frm edmund, ET and wailun
the 3 hours we had just to mike up today also helped plenty, and for once i didnt feel like making an ugly face after we completed the song
after prac i squeezed a coupla pple into my car for rides since it was late, and realized that edmund and wailun alone are tall enough to block out almost my entire view of my back windscreen. and im not even exaggerating hahaha

today marks day 5 of work. and i'm still surviving!
although that aint a feat by itself because work's so awesome and i've learned alot from this internship. all of us from office attended a training program @ capital towers today on behalf of MYCG, to learn about the new packages and programs that AXA was launching and how they intended to market it. what i expected to be boring and monotonous turned out to be an engaging and very interesting workshop - one that i actually paid attention to more than i ever do in lectures

we got a cool ride in cat's merc CLK on our trip to goodwood park for dim sum lunch (: which was really, the highlight of the week, cuz the food there's so good, and because i was rly craving dimsum ever since "maid of honor".

im still standing on my two feet, even after this heck of a hectic week (:
its funny too that im in school so much more than i ever was during semester, leavin school at unearthly hours for supper, or just night drives home with friends after long hours of rehearsals
but what i've learned and accomplished, makes me so happy and satisfied that i dont rly feel the wear and tear of early mornings and late nights, which is good, while it lasts

mad rush

2008-05-28T18:11:00.002+08:00

today marks day 3 since i've started work at MYCG, and i'm already kinda out of breath.
its not from the work, no, the work's fantastic. i've got great lady-bosses, who are oh-so-cool and jolly that meeting them each day puts a smile on my face.
the office is really amazing too - its an old colonial house converted into an office, with beautiful and well thought-out interior design that's very sleek and classy within.
my fellow intern, vanessa and i have our own terminals to work with, and also a kitchen-full of well-stocked foods that is replenished daily, including delicacies from J-Co donuts, loads of chocos & icecreams, baskets full of cheezels and so on.
no wonder i've become a lil more rolly-polly since i've started work.

but work aside, i've been rushing faster than speedracer from rehearsals to rehearsals
reso rehearsals have taken up almost every single night, and as i rush to school from work i grab dinner in the form of paos, snacks, milos, further fueling the rolly-polly in a rapid snowball effect
then, i rush for strings rehearsals for the upcoming wedding. thank God its at ACS(I), because that makes rushing a lil easier
we had prac at cindy's ytd - ains, edwin and i, without wayne, which is rather funny because the wedding is at wayne's church, and the couple getting married are wayne's friends, and wayne was the one who got this quartet together but he aint playing
unfortch, unlike the other past weddings we've done, this time we're doing the processionals itself, and also the preludes, which can be very stressful esp since my violin still goes out of tune every now and then as it pleases (including my playing of course)

today, i rushed from work(hollandV) to interview(aljunied) in a matter of 20min, thanks to jam-less roads despite peak hour cramps. and then from there rushed to a church funeral @ singapore caskets.

tmr, i'll be again, "rushing" to tanjong pagar for a training session for my insurance company, before another mad rush session for rehearsals again.

till the next time i can time and energy then~

bruin's welcome

2008-05-21T23:49:00.004+08:00

im currently waiting for the clock to strike the magic midnight strokes, so i can call over to UCLA's Bruins office to get some issues regarding my intranet login settled. after many months of worrisome and incessant waiting, i've FINALLY received my acceptance letter into UCLA, one of the last few to receive among all the students goign to the UCs just because UCLA decides to be special. thankfully, im not the only one suffering the cruel puppetry of the school, if not my worries would have increased more than 10-fold. but as of now, im just eager to get things done and settle my housing, travel, and modules for the time i'll be there.

by some stroke of luck (or misfortune depending on how you look at it), the start of my internship has been pushed back yet another week, because the marketing materials that i'm supposed to be working on has yet to arrive. hence, it freed up another week, blossoming my wish for more fun and laughter. the past week saw several noteworthy events, ranging from isaac's teaparty @ his place with hand-made sushi, to "made of honor", which is quite a nice romantic comedy thanks to mcdreamy, geok's 21st beach party @ sentosa, followed by vivocity dinner, mahjong nights at victor's, and retro funfair @ church, which was really very entertaining (for a while). peekures are with zhenjie.

now that it is one minute to 12, cinderella shall adjourn to the phone to catch the help-desk officer starting their day @ 8AM over in UCLA in their cranky, lack-of-coffee mode so i can bug them for my faulty login ID. taa~

(edit) i've settled the login problems! (:
and also, some filing tasks for my mom-boss
hence, some peektures from random people from all over on the sentosa party

melvin & mac, then mac & i with the birthday girl!

then, because i like this shot from turqoise room because it makes the place look real cozy:

joyride

2008-05-16T01:54:00.002+08:00

holidays are made for the people, the foods and the places. check, check, check.

here're the PEOPLE:

the FOODS:

SakaeSushi on a rainy Friday afternoon @Wheelock Place

hawkerfood night-out @ Golden Mile Food Complex (gooood fooood)

the PLACE:

my virgin visit to the Singapore Flyer
also, a dinner date at Airport Terminal 3, which is really quite nice and quiet (but really cold)

its all good (:
i'm getting prematurely excited about many things that're gonna come my way, and its just exhilirating to know that theres so much to look forward to.
but right now im tired so thats it for a post.
OUT.

your world, my world

2008-05-12T22:58:00.001+08:00

I have 3 and a half blisters on my hands and feet combined, and aches that seem to mushroom all over my body, esp my forearm (garh, the pain). Once again, it does seem pretty “incessant” to have 2 badminton sessions (yesterday, and TODAY with josh, mac, wayne, zhic, charles) scheduled 2 days in a row. Unfortunately, both sessions saw very many guys and little or no other girls besides myself, and it seems to cultivate this “need” to match up to the guys, or be at least a little more decent/strong in playing so that you dont drag the team down. It is definitely more tiring cuz its like being kept on your toes, but its also real fun cuz its challenging and exhilarating (esp when I do manage to match up at certain but few points in the game!)

Badminton was quickly followed by another Wii-session :D

Dinner was at “Miss Clarity Café” with the two ruths and meiqing

meiqing’s 21st birthday-ish cake + some blur-ish pictures of the outside of the café

the food was so-so only, but the place was pretty interestingly designed with really chick decos and menus
it was like stepping into “madhouse” world or smth – its very PINK and cheery (:
Purvis street has quite a number of really artsy-fartsy shops/offices so it makes a rather intriguing visit, which makes up for the not-so-good food

I got to meet up with almost all the people headed to UC this coming semester too, and it really looks like the whole bunch of us (12 pple) are gonna be doing a massive roadtrip together or summat. Its gonna be interesting in a way that could either be very good, or very bad, because meeting with those peeps today, and talking with them, made me realized that we’ve got together a whole bunch of unique (read: different) and interesting personalities bounded by the same interest in traveling and our exchange to sunny california. We’ll see how that turns out, but im glad anyhow that there’re so many people going together, people who will eventually become friends with each other to hold on to in an alien land, and perhaps people I will grow to truly hold close to my heart, as I do with those who went to germany with me

you spin me right round

2008-05-12T01:11:00.001+08:00

Today was one of those days where I could lay my head on a bench while seated on the floor and fall asleep with no cares in the world, because I just couldn’t keep my eyes opened any longer. So as I sat at ToaPayohCC’s badminton court and fell into a deep sleep (sweat, humidity, noise and all), I finally realized how ridiculously worn out I was over the past few days due to an incessant stream of activities that gave me no rest. Or rather, insufficient rest to clear any sleep debt accumulated in the past week.

Then again, today’s badminton was one of those you could call “intensive”, where we had 2 courts to the 7 of us, and many nonstop games that went on for more than 3 hours. We had singles, doubles, and triples (1 vs 2) interchangeably, and by the 3rd hour my body decided to transit into standby/hibernate mode, and I collapsed onto the benches as the guys continued waging their badminton wars.

True to the word incessant, mac and I rushed off for a quick shower at lide’s place after badminton, before picking my sister and heading to Keppel Club for a mother’s day dinner with the extended family + grandmother, unfortunately without my mother since she was overseas. It was a pretty decent dinner @ Jade Palace, what with crab-beehoon, peking duck rolls, herbal soups etc.

On the topic of good food, Turquoise Room is one for good food plus really awesome romantic ambience. Its gaining popularity ever since its appeared on hungrygowhere, and although I made reservations there for my mother’s day dinner treat my parents decided to surprise me with an overseas trip, hence depriving of my visit there. So you could imagine my delight when Sophia suggested we dined there on Saturday after band prac.

We ordered a banana-crumble-with-gelato for the 5 of us, and it was sooo good. One of the best crumbles I’ve ever had I would say; that we forgot to take a picture of it before it turned into this:

Friday was lunch with Sarah at Marmalade Pantry @ Holland Village (I did mention incessant, didn’t I). I had scrambled eggs with toast & sausage, while she had crab Caesar (drools), both of which were in oh-so-huge portions, half of which I generously but hesitantly returned to the waitress clearing our plates, because I just couldn’t eat anymore.

THEN, Friday night was games-dvd-baileys stayover night!
From guitar heroes…

to Wii!

(super funnyyy im loving bomberman)

Lastly, to end off the post, the cutest poster baby of the year:

Frank’s little angel (soooo cute)

hello world

2008-05-09T12:08:00.001+08:00

so its been 3 days since i've been studying. and it doesnt matter cuz its been 3 days since my last paper. it's pretty much a relief to finally enter into the beautiful summers' world of freedom and leisure - it felt like i had been in deep slumber of hibernation for the past few weeks for the purpose of exams, only to be awoken by the scent of holidays and no-exams :D

in order of celebrations and rejoice i spent the day frolicking around places for shopping, fine dining, and sentosa. i havent had time to blog properly, but i really wna cuz the future-me would wna look back and remember so.. here're some pictures for you, future Joy

May 7th - Sentosa & Bather's restaurant

we busted some cash going up the luge ride. its my 3rd time going up the ride, but mac's virgin ride. heehee

then to bather's cafe&restaurant, which was hidden deep inside sunset way
it looks rly atas inside - the decos were really pretty, the lights were dimmed, and the food was really gd!

May 8th - Kbox & Arts&crafts @ cell group

we sang from 2-7pm (hohoho!) at student's price so it was pretty worth it cuz it came with drinks, food, and snacks. and since it was only the 2 of us we pretty much maxed out the singing time we had (hohoho, again!). i've lost count of the number of songs we gleefully slaughtered, however.

then we made.. arts&crafts things with resin during cell group

its supposed to harden overnight to become beautiful paperweights, or earrings, or whatever its supposed to be, before we can give em away as doorgifts or smth for new friends who'll be joining us at our church camp

it isnt as easy as it looks, cuz we had to mix the hardening liquid with the resin, and by mixing it creates bubbles within the formula, which we had to get rid of, in order for the final product to look clear. that, plus we had to design and meticulously place designs on the palette that has already been filled with a layer of our formula, hence rendering mini accidents like resin being stuck onto fingers (like mine). they are impossible to get rid of with just soap, so i had sticky hands all the way until my miracle nailpolish remover came into handy.

more to come, more to come.

sunrise to sunrise

2008-04-29T23:32:00.003+08:00

took this a while back on a morning drive with mac to mac's house. although im a self-proclaimed monster child or im-not-a-morning-person person in the morning i truly do enjoy the touch of the morning dew, the soothe glides of cool winds, the gentle medley of chirps that signals the awakening of the land of each morning. although, the real beauty of the morning occurs upon the gaze of the morning sky. you see this, a subtle harmonization of the whites and blues and the rising sun. and its beautiful.

hence, on those rare mornings that i actually wake up on time to partake in the ceremonial sunrise of the day i would make it a point to pause to gaze at the unfolding of one of God's most awesome creations

"In the morning, O LORD, you hear my voice;
in the morning I lay my requests before you and wait in expectation"
Psalm 5:3

today i checked off the 3rd paper to be completed in my series of 5. cant say i was really pleased with what i wrote, or rather, what i UNLOADED unto the exam script in an effort of catharsis perhaps of stored and pent up information that i've forcedly squeezed into my protesting head, but it felt pretty good doing that for a while, cuz it was as if i've been holding pee for a really long time and finally being able to let it all out. alright, bad analogy, i know, but you get the idea.

PGP's a really beautiful place if i may say so myself. i've never rly taken the effort or time to travel down that winding road that led to PGP, and so you could imagine my frustration and irritation when i found myself dreadfully lost and wandering, ten minutes into my Econometrics paper yesterday. i thought it was the end of the world, until i stumbled into the exam hall, (all eyes on the wild-haired, panting, and blushed girl), found my seat, and started scribbling away furiously, 15 min into the exam. i didnt really enjoy PGP ytd, but i took a walk with audrey today before my money&banking paper today, and saw for myself its modern architecture and sleek environment, and thought to myself, this place aint that bad afterall.

with 7 more days left till i officially declare the start of summer break, i think im starting to feel a little better about everything, esp with all those lovely people who've showered their blessings, prayers and verses each day for encouragement and reassurement. not to mention loads of midnight sugar snacks, leaving me drunk on happy endorphins. i like (:

die Deutsch Mann

2008-04-22T02:26:00.002+08:00

having coffee with stephan in school got us talking about germany
while he's not too eager about getting back, i on the other hand would love to go back there
he tried to get me to speak some german, and after i squeezed out some "gutgut schlecht-schlecht" after racking my brains for eons, i realised i actually missed speaking in the beautiful language, although it did sound like you were trying to spit out some phlegm sometimes
most of all, i missed being in Deutschland, with that bunch of people in the picture
(okay and a whole lot more, but you guys arent in the picture so too bad)
this may, and last may is gonna be a hugemega difference, good or bad.
but i'll survive, cuz there're many more gd memories to come (:

crazyyyyy

2008-04-19T23:50:00.002+08:00

since im pretty much in the mode for countdowns these days, here're a few of the things i'm counting down

-1 days to mac's ORD
YES, that was ytd!! NS has finally become history, until reservice that is
i was soo excited about it that i couldnt really sleep the night before
i dare say, i might have been even more excited than him at some points, i have no idea why
its as if i were the one ORD-ing lol
i went to pick him and his friend up at payalebar airbase, or the likes of it
i couldnt wait at his base itself, cuz its intel and whatnot, so i decided to park and wait at the airforce museum
it looked pretty cool, with all the fighter planes on display at the main entrance.
i was honestly itching to go in, but it was SWARMED with army guys in warehouse-suits-looking things
so i just stayed in the car -.- and took a picture (:
heres the backside of one of the jets. whatever its name is

18 days till my version of ORD - end exams!
im seriously counting this one down. this exam period is particularly difficult for me, in view of all the post-exam craziness to come.
also, it'll be like an 8-month holiday for me, half of which would be in the U S of A

24 days to start of internship
im really quite excited about this internship. maybe because its at holland v, and i wont have to travel super far to go to work, or wake up super early for that matter (: maybe its because i'd be taking up parttime job with my dad's company at the same time, which means more disposable income, higher consumption, and higher leisure! (pardon the econs thanks)

54 days to church camp @ port dickson
we're headed for some beach resort for our church camp. i think that speaks for itself the anticipation on my part hahaha!

83 days to melbourne!
planning for this is enough to get me really excited. lots of friends to meet up there, lots of activities (SKIING!!), and lots of beautiful places to visit. it'll prolly be the first time im traveling with so many gd friends of mine, plus the boyfriend.

idk-how-many-days till California roadtrip
i'll be checkin myself to hotel(s) California in aug-sept with Enru (: the plan is to travel in the land of america before our stated semester there. soo many people to meet there as well! (:

there. all my countdowns.
pls tell me how am i supposed to keep my head in the books

teethy issues

2008-04-17T20:37:00.004+08:00

In today's New York Times, i found something mildly intriguing, but very amusing (to me)

Here's what the abstract said:
"LEAD: PEOPLE with especially small teeth may represent the advance guard of human evolution, at least in dentition. They seem to be at the forefront of a 100,000-year trend."

for those who know me, you'd prolly already notice/know that i have REALLY small teeth for some weird, annoying yet unknown reason. i get questions asking about whether my teeth are still milk teeth sometimes.

but hah, since those smarty-geeky scientists have come up with such a theory, i just thought that you all should know i have small teeth :p
so there (:

(here's the link to the article, in case you dont believe me)
http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=940DEFD91530F933A0575BC0A96E948260&sec=health&spon=

fever

2008-04-16T23:25:00.005+08:00

a really vintage looking car/van parked on the 2nd level of my condo's carpark

it prolly doesnt seem very weird now, but amidst the audis/merc/lexus/MX8s/random-vans on that deck, this was the vehicle that stood out the most as i surveyed the carpark for a parking lot

exam fever has caught up on me. nothing else seems to matter in this period of time now haha
ok, aside for my movies (:

i've got my internship confirmation as well (: i'll be interning under MYCG, an insurance company starting may12
which means i effectively have 7 days of absolutfun&laughter before its back to the routine of early mornings and early drives to work
except this time, it comes with the additional incentive of a SALARY, which is more than enough to get my blood going, and my cant-stand-the-morning-body up and running (:

pictures! (that sophia juz uploaded)

Wii! you wont get it till you try it. you can get muscle aches from playing this!

blooies! one-for-one drinks + good food (: just at my doorstep *evillaughter*
ok the point of this picture isnt really about the food
its bout the unintended panoramic view of our side of the table
lide looks like he's in both pictures, if you ignore that hand HEE.

last one. i know this is damn bad, and i apologize in advance. but....

this is classic. in the midst of all that adrenaline at that =p
so just in case facebook crashes in the future, i'd still have it here to look back onto (:

point-form

2008-04-13T00:00:00.002+08:00

crap, i forgot to blog again. and now i've forgotten like half of what's happened
here's what i remember

1. sophia's 25th birthday-badminton celebration @ my place: we had people come over for badminton session (IN AIRCON!) since it was her birthday, followed by wii-crazy olympic games, and a really fun time at blooies' steakhouse for dinner (: we got free sides + drinks from the birthday girl + bryan, sang the birthday song at the top of our lungs, played STUPID games with water forfeits until i kinda died and subsequently lost every single.. attempt at playing 007-bang

2. political science crash course: joshua and i went for a 2-day crash course for PS1101E (they should have this for econs too!) it was pretty info-intensive, and i paid $3 for the notes, but at least now i know where to start studying :p two really important thing i've learnt from this course, one is that i'll never do political science ever again in my life. two is that NUS is really very nice and serene at night, altho i got quite a few mossie bites while josh and i sat in the deck and chatted away after dinner

3. speeding tickets and parking fines: actually, i have nothing to say. im BROKE.

4. Cell group outing @ Sentosa: ok, i wouldnt say it failed, but it wasnt much of a success either, no thanks to the sudden downpour and windy uh, winds. it sort of reduced our captain's-water-balloon game into a survivor-style-fight to stay dry, where about 12-15 people huddled in a circle around our precious bags, under this PUNY little sentosa-beach-hut, while the rain and winds battered us down. it was so cold it was NOT funny. when we got back to our cars, we actually had to turn on the heater to warmup the coldeth and stop the chattering teeth. thank god for abel's house where we stoppedover for a nice warm shower (ok i didnt really shower but everyone else did) before we headed to church for band prac

crap, so much for studying.

49 to 56

2008-04-05T01:06:00.005+08:00

ytd was HAPPY-BIRTHDAY-DAD day, but my dad was overseas
he came home today, and i went to pick both mom&dad at the airport
my sister, grandfather and i had a nice bday surrpise planned for him when he got home, and it all went well until....
we realised my grandfather had accidentally made my dad 56, instead of 49 years old this year by putting an extra BIG candle (i think he couldnt tell), and then realised there was no space on the cake for 3 more small candles, so just left it as 56
if it was any consolation, one of the small candles burnt down to nothing by the time my father blew the candle, so he's technically only 55

i went through more than 300+ photos, looking for the perfect ones to put on the collage
i think i literally scrolled through the pages of my dad's life through the eyes of these photographs
and i must say, it was heck of an interesting one.

a few of those really beautiful pics that i found in our 40gig photo library
the color's sooo rich and nice, i just have to post it here.

in gobi desert

and in italy

last but not least, the wacky things that are help me live out my 'laughter-is-the-best-medicine' motto

to end off on a random note, the UC has reviewed my application and transcript, and have decided to bump me up to my 1st choice for SEP --> UCLA!!
i'm going to UCLA for fall quarter baby!!

monday blues goodbye

2008-03-31T23:03:00.005+08:00

these few days have been quite a blurr.
i've made manymany trips to the airport, to send off my parents, then mac, and then to pick mac and his family up today (:
amidst the tiredness from waking up at 630am everyday to send my sister to the mrt for sch, i overslept a little today to pick mac up
however, i made it to the airport in a record time of 15min, and was even earlier than them (:
i am sooooo proud of myself

today was monday without the blues, because it saw good company, with the accompaniment of NEW wii games (which are damn fun!), awesome hawker food, AND, a flu :(
i prescribe myself loads of sleep, loads of fun, and NO WORK in order to recover

while driving out to buy dinner today, mac suddenly exclaimed: IS THAT A CAT'S PAWPRINT?!
turns out, he was staring at these:

pawprints courtesy of a cat (i think) on my windscreen
it isnt very obvious in the pictures, but there was a whole trail of it leading from the hood to the top of the car. grrr

anyhow, BRIDGE session @ enjie's house yesterday was really funnnn. i havent played that much bridge in ages, nor have i had that great a winning streak since a long time :p
catherine and i had ladyluck on our side ytd - we were dealt gd cards, and called each other partners for like 80% of the games
hence explaining the winning streak :p hahaha

love, is just love

2008-03-24T22:56:00.002+08:00

two consecutive days of doing ache inducing exercises is indeed.. ache-y.
im so darn glad i didnt drive today, because my after-pilates state of strength was prolly not enough to turn the steering wheel
badminton was pretty killer yesterday, maybe because i havent played intensive for too long

i had a huge bunch of churchies come over ytd after church for movie+wii at my place
after which we had a killer badminton + table soccer session
it was an adrenaline-pumped and white-blood-cells-filled session (because we all laughed a LOT, especially when lide pulled his fairy stunt, killing catherine almost instantly hahaha)
sophia managed to swim in the sharky pool finally ever since forever
again, we ordered pizza and macs, this time for 12 people, and pigged out in the video room, where girls vetoed guys, and chick flick triumphed cartoon, and thus the girls got to watch THE WEDDING PLANNER :D

to end, heres an awww-quote from the wedding planner, from massimo to mary:
"Mary, I know I never done the right thing, say the right thing. I know I act like a fool. I know say we'd be buddy-buddy friends, but that would not be true to my heart so I'll ask this one question, and if you answer "no" I'll leave you alone once and for all. Be my wife, Mary Fiore. If you answer yes I'll take care of you, be true to you, and like this house I built for your dolls, I'll make sure you have a strong roof over your head. If you answer yes than no one will love you as much as I love you. If you answer yes than you will make me the happiest man on earth"

if it aint got youu..

2008-03-22T00:58:00.002+08:00

I'll be there
When the world stops turning
I'll be there
When the storm is through
In the end I wanna be standing
At the beginning with you

alas for the poor students (aka, me) who have mountains of work piled up to tide us thru this long weekend
it sucks to be haunted by guilt pangs that come every now and then
so to satiate those guilty-pangys, i decided to study, while mac and ginger conveniently shared my bed for a nap - in the same position.

ok not really in this picture, cuz they both moved right before i snapped up the shot

after i managed to silence the guilt-voice in me, we made our way to bottle tree park, which is near khatib (:

it was a nature park/live seafood restaurants/fishing area/swanboats peddling pond all in one

i feel like im driving a humvee when i drive the orange tanker. but im getting used to it (:

live seafood center - loads of fishes, crabs, mussels, clams, weird-alien-prawns
and you could catch em yourself to be served on your dinner plate at the restaurant, or go home to cook em yourself

bearing striking resemblances to the memories on aasee river in germany
except, the water didnt look as murky, everybody wasnt wearing life vests, and you could actually tire yourself peddling in germany, where the river was about, 10times bigger than the pond there hahaha

us! (: when the sun was setting, so it looks oddly glaring and weirdly-colored

like i said, fishing, for the young to old
pictures are REALLY blur. i felt weird taking pictures of people while they fished
plus my phone camera sucks. too bad i didnt bother to bring my cam.
but yeah, kids can "fish" for free, while adults can fish/prawn for a price (i think)

on a random note, i watched "lions for lambs" today, and it was somewhat an exact parallel to my editorial essay, regarding the Iraq war and inefficiencies of NATO and the UN
i guess it made it feel more "real" to me, beyond the studying of those crappy hypocritcal theories of political science in Shively & Kripa's textbooks
for once i could actually understand and apply the politics in it
and i have to say, im darn proud of myself :P

bored economists

2008-03-18T23:48:00.003+08:00

the things bored economists do in their free time

1) marriage

2)wealth and hair

3) evils of facebook

haha proud to call myself a budding one :p

i just printed my political science editorial response essay
im real glad to say, this is the FIRST piece of work that has been finished a full week and a half before its due date!!
*applause*

on a random note, heres a mosaic picture lide did for me for my birthday (:

it was a supermega HUGE file, and when i zoomed in all the way, i could actually see all the pictures that were used
its really amazing how those pictures put together formed another pictures
theres prolly like a thousand or more pictures in that mosaic itself
nice.

oh you light up my lifeeee

2008-03-18T00:09:00.004+08:00

there're certain days or weeks when i just feel absolutely lazy and lethargic for no good reason
these days/weeks are one of em
the lethargy comes with guilt of course, in view of the countless political science, macroecons, and medical soci lectures i've skipped
in my defense, these are the webcasted lectures
(i see a trend here)

also, in light of our melbournian quest, followed by my american journey,
i've been trying to shed some calories so there'll be room to spare then :p
unfortunately, every time i lose em, i put them right back on

saturday:
i played badminton with victor, sooyein and mac, followed by like 20 games of table soccer (im a pretty decent goal keeper now i think!)
just as i was feeling satisfied with myself, we went for hanabi buffet dinner

sunday:
badminton again at my house, but just with mac this time
twas a short game cuz i was already aching like crazy, but its still exercise okayy
however, when mac went for his swim, i dialled for pizza hut to settle dinner
2 slices of pizza + 5 chicken drumlet + those hashy-browny things later, i realised i prolly just doubled the amt of calories i lost, except positively
(and before that, we had lunch at marina club with a hugeass bunch of peeps from church)

weight loss attempt: FAILED.

but at least we had a really nice time ytd night (:
dinner was by the pool, and we spent three hours laying on the beach chairs listening to EMO music and gazing at stars, talking till the wee hours of the morning when it got too cold (:

today was the start of mac's off from ns as well, so we went for a nice fish&co meal+ spiderwick chronicles (:
i like mondays like that.

fuzzy

2008-03-14T11:32:00.002+08:00

rainy and cold days like these are perfect for the nice warm hugs and cuddles

someone find me a cat please (:

(just kidding mac)

i'm grouchy

2008-03-12T15:40:00.002+08:00

(what a cute baby)

i dislike rainy days. they're cold, gloomy, and extremely wet in a depressing, humid sticky way
unfortunately we've been (joyously) blessed with continual showers that explode every now and then on you when you least expect it, and soggy everything-else

today was generally NOT a good day because:

#1
i had to wake up early today for a makeup political science tutorial (which was essentially useless because the tutor had standard answers like "it depends" or "i dont know" for almost everything)
after lunch with josh i decided to go home to rest my sleepyhead before my next class in 2hours
i was halfway home when ruth called to remind me of DG, which i had totally forgotten
so i turned the car around, and drove back to school

#2
just as a bad day would have it, the min i reached the carpark, it started pouring like there was no tomorrow
it was quite a distance to the sheltered walkway, and i had JUST lent my umbrella to cheryl before i left school. so i was stranded there for 10min before i decided to call kenneth for umbrella-rescue
how embarrassing

#3
i lost my organiser, and it has EVERYTHING i need in there. deadlines, dates to note, work assignment details, study plans, everything.

#4
i have already finished 2 brownies, a scoop of icecream, 3 sticks of kinder bueno, and 2 ferrero rocher (which i just bought at the Esso)
and i still feel grouchy.
so much for comfort food.

when you find yourself

2008-03-12T00:44:00.003+08:00

When we go through life
So sure of where we're headin'
And we wind up lost and it's
The best thing that could have happened
‘Cause sometimes when you lose your way
it's really just as well
Because that's when you find yourself

im making a conscious effort to blog more so i'd have more to look back unto
im also making effort to meet up with friends, because old friends are like old wine (right?)

i feel really sorry for NSguys especially during this manhunt hoohaa period (and also glad tt im not an NSgirl)
its been raining cats and dogs these few days, and i've been seeing many perimeters of armyguys guarding forests, reservoirs, and whatevers looking like poor drenched pigeons perched on their respective guarding spot, about 100m apart from each other such that they (conveniently) cannot talk with each another

today was another one of those days, where it thunderstormed and the weather was as cold as hell (or antarctica)
i was driving along mandai stretch when i saw yet another SAF perimeter, with their weapons and bagpacks and whatnot stationed throughout the entire stretch, from BKE exit to end of mandai
then, at one of the stoplights, i turned to look at the poor soldier (with water dripping off his hair), only to realise it was a friend of mine, whose name i instantly forgot

it almost made me feel guilty because i was headed for a nice comfy airconditioned room with loads of DVD entertainment with my boyfriend.
just almost.

food haven

2008-03-10T23:19:00.003+08:00

i've been having alot of (good) food these two days
sunday
lunch was my first time at manhatten fish market, where 8 of us squeezed into zhenjie's car, and another 4 in grace's car to go to PS for lunch after church
maybe it was because i was rly hungry, or maybe the food there was rly good, cuz i felt i enjoyed my money's worth
i had pacific dory fish&chips, while mac had some herbal garlic fish something. we all shared isaac's garlic mussels with bread
shiok.

dinner was also my first time at longhouse dempsey, for chilli crab session with my family
i finally didnt have to drive, so i could ride in the merc on our way there
throughout the whole trip my sister and i amused ourselves with the multiple cool gadgets that the car was endowed with
including automatic sunshades, cool dual sunroof, adjustable backseats, a very polite GPS system.. etc
this is what happens when you put two mountain tortoise into a cool car :p
food was rly good, and the environment cozy and cool at the same time
however, it wasnt all cut out like i thought it was gonna be, just a nice ordinary place to chill out
it did come with its own sets of long queues, so luckily we made reservations beforehand or we'd not only have left without our crabs but with an empty stomach and strings of curses

monday
i met up with joshua and enru for hotpot dinner @ the deck before our pilates session
we've wanted to have our hotpot dinner since the start of pilates, but every week someone wouldnt be able to make it for dinner, until this week
apparently the price of the hotpot would be 50% off (right?) after 6pm, so it was quite affordable
it had a nice array of meat and vegetables included, but nothing too fancy
it looked rather tiny and small and unfilling, but i realised it can get you quite filled, cuz of the breaks in between where you stop eating to cook your stuff.
joshua couldnt even finish his own hotpot :p haha

tmr's a long and early day :( not looking forward to it at all.

touch of nature

2008-03-09T00:09:00.003+08:00

"Climb the mountains and get their good tidings.
Nature's peace will flow into you as sunshine flows into trees.
The winds will blow their own freshness into you...
while cares will drop off like autumn leaves" - John Muir

amidst heavy schedules, tight deadlines, and torrential and incessant flows of workload, i found time for a revisit back to the greens with the sister, the boyfriend and the doggies today evening
i guess it goes without saying that botanical gardens is a very relaxing place to be at, with its little huts with quaint thatched roofs, the scenic nature, and the frequent blows of light breeze

and, for the first time, i actualised the full capacities of having an SUV - to ferry my not-so-nice-smelling but very-active furry pals
and still have alot of space for ourselves

because we went there about evening, the gentle sunlight was perfect for taking pictures

when we got there however, all hell broke loose as we saw the transformation of docile oh-so-cute dogs, to hyper maniacs ready to rule the world
in between the intermissions from these bouts of insanity and hyperactivity, we snapped a few shots that were coo-worthy
like this: emo contemplative shot of ginger fit for a story book cover (:

or this: fit for a bookmark (somehow the camera compresed the image into a bookmark sized one)

and then of ourselves when our dogs worn themselves out enough for us to take a break

after all the swan-chasing, pond-waddling, we went for our customary session to ogle at the turtles

to prevent bubble from straining on her injured leg too much, we brought along this box trolley for her to be pulled around in
mac had to spend some time coaxing her to get into it tho

additionally, he also had to carry her around when we were on non-rollable surfaces

just like in kampong days :p

i particularly love this shot - on our way back to my car

it's a really tiring experience bringing the dogs for a dayout session
on our way back home, i turned around to check on the sister and dogs while waiting for mac to buy dinner for all of us, only to find the three of them concussed in various positions, with unidentified snoring
that's evidence enough haha

2008-03-06T23:03:00.000+08:00

115 words

Speed test

happy birthday abel! (:

2008-03-04T23:43:00.002+08:00

exactly last tuesday after resonance rehearsals was..

abel's 21st birthday surprise thingy(:

i wanted to dedicate a post to you abel.. BUT, i had no time.
so here's a veryvery delayed post on what happened last tues (:

melo planned the entire thing at the park near abel's house, and the guys helped to blow up balloons
however, due to the latenight-effect and their innate horniness, the balloons ended up either as

1) BOOB

2) BOOB with BALLS

melody blindfolded abel with his tie

and then drove him around the estate in multiple 3-pt-turns so he wouldnt know where he was being brought to
the rest of the surprise was captured in video, so thats it for pictures! hahaha
now, im just waiting for the birthday japanese buffet.. (:(: (still waiting..)

anyhow, the rest of the year looks real good (:
after all that trouble and scares, we're finally good to go for our australia winter road trip!! :D
we've booked our tickets ytd, and so far all's good!
to say im excited about it is prolly a major understatement - it'll be my first time traveling with so many gd friends (:
also, enru and i have also been planning on roadtrips in the USA during our exchange term
and also chicago and maybe newyork after the semester (:

on a super random note, i think i've been having too many suppers
today was supper at fongseng with the reso guys, ytd was supper at subway with enru & joshua.
the last weeks was countless suppers at railway mall with mac
its time to put an end to these fat-inducing activities
i'll have lots of chance to grow fat when im in the States..

happy birthday

2008-02-23T00:57:00.002+08:00

to us...

we're TWO years old now (:

we had plans for dinner at Hangout@MtEmily at first. but in view of our upcoming roadtrip to Melbourne, we had to save money
so.. we decided to make dinner together instead! :D

we went grocery shopping for the ingredients for carbonara dinner (:

and mac slicing up the bacon (:

the final product (: im quite proud of it, other than the fact that the sauce was a tad too cheesy for my liking
the rest of the evening was spent making friends with grey's anatomy (:

and if you asked me, this beats a fancy restaurant anytime (:

vday

2008-02-16T11:19:00.003+08:00

mac came over to my place the night before vday, to surprise me with Teuscher chocolates (:

from the website:

sooo beautiful and sweet (:
however, after i successfully guessed the price of the chocolates, it was sooo "heartpain"!
i couldnt bear to open up the chocolates until today, when i couldnt resist anymore
i took the liberty to have one as well, and the chocolate was so pure and fine it literally melts in your mouth, as cliche as it sounds

on vday itself, mac took leave and came to NUS to join me at school! (:
we drove to clementi for lunch + bubble tea to satisfy my cravings and then back to school for classes
after that, we went to the cathay for a movie before joining the rest of the youth group for steamboat dinner at yusong's house, in our valiant efforts to resist being sucked into the commercialization of valentine's day
the steamboat session was REALLY good, much to my surprise
although our pastors did make really lame efforts at playing vday table games, or put up love-song dedications, and what nots :p

the 87ers came to my house for wii after dinner, before driving out to labrador park for a midnight picnic (: hahaha!
there were like loads of couples there as well, including MOUTers who parked their cars there and shielded their windows
*scratches head and wonders what they were up to*

ANYWAY.
my sister and i went to sentosa last wednesday before reunion dinner (:

with our dogs (:
we inflated our little green turtle float, and (unsuccessfully) taught them how to swim
and they call jack russel terriers "water dogs" sighh

chinese new year 2008

2008-02-10T22:48:00.000+08:00

happy CNY to everybody! (:

chinese new years are always awesome because they're a good excuse to indulge in good food, play cheena games (MAHJONG!), get loads of free money with no guilt attached, and best of all, meet up with everybody to have a great time of fellowship amidst kinship and friendship

this CNY, fortunately or unfortunately, has been wayyy too much fun, effectively ruining all my efficient study plans that i've ambitiously allocated beforehand
sadly, i only realized that when i opened my much-too-filled schedulebook today to realize i've done almost nothing of what i had planned originally
and almost everything that i havent planned

this chinese new year saw...

1) STOMP! (again)

enmei and i right before we transported our instruments down to the main hall

didnt have any more pictures of stomp because the cameraman was one of our crew :p
the performance itself however was... a total disaster - our beats were off, we danced off-beat, we couldnt hear a thing
and prolly worst of it all, i was downright center, and in the brunt of the limelight of disaster
however, it was FREAKING FUN (: we were just having so much fun up on stage making all our mistakes, laughing at ourselves, that it didnt really matter that we were screwing up the entire thing completely hahaha
all of the girls got so high before the performance itself that we were practically laughing at everything and nothing, doing all sorts of stupid things that bordered on insanity, that everything else didnt really quite make the cut for silliness (:

2) Mass photo-taking session!

with the people i grew up with and love the most (:

with the families who watched me grow up, and grew along with me

with the people whose best memories are shared with (: minus mac who wasnt there!

and with the best girlfriend i'll ever have

(lide i'll put yours up tmr! hahaha)

3) KBOX!
pictures are still with my cousin, but yes, we went to kbox on day 1 of CNY (:
it was a maddeningly expensive charge of 28+++ per person, but it was the first time every single person in my paternal family went for a karaoke session together, young and old alike
therefore, we did "baabaa blacksheep" to "stayin' alive", from beegees to backstreetboys all the way till the wee hours of the night

4) Cell group visitations
we went visiting with our new cell group this year - J(jesus) walkers (:
we went to junyan's place, and then my place

heres us at junyan's really big and nice house with his family
we played mahjong the entire time we were there and i won the last 2 rounds! (muahaha)

and then at my place, we played Wiii!!
ginger kept everybody well entertained as well.

after that it was worship, sharing, more wii, and pizza + dvds (:
more pictures maybe another day! (:

those high points make school starting tmr really dreary :(
to make things worse, i havent touched ANY work at all since forever
and on a last note, celine's going back in a week's time! SIGHHHHHHHH