"I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser.

5 more days left to my last paper... and I've been playing too much!





And the family and relatives are off in Malacca now... so finally some peace and quiet to get down to serious studying =P

Love today's daily devotional: Thank Your Way To Peace

Philippians 4:6
"Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God"

It's not about merely praying about my situation or problem, cos that just makes me focus more on the problem itself actually. It's ending my prayer with thanksgiving, cos He always provides more than enough for me, He who "feed the birds of the air and clothe the lilies of the field", is my constant source of blessings.

So the more I know His heart towards me, which is that to always GIVE and GIVE, the more I can thank Him for being so unfairly and unconditionally good towards me =D

This is the Semester of Undeserved Unmerited Grace!!!

Friday the 13th + Last day of school : I FINALLY GOT MY BRACES!

Jordan and Dad have been teasing me about tomorrow, "So you're gonna lose your wisdom? =P"

A quote I came across in a book when researching for my Sociology term paper:

This thought just came to me again.

My dear,

It's been one year since we first knew each other. From the beginning, finding out that you're mine has elicited a plethora of reactions from family and friends - some were truly happy for me and gave their approval, some gave me shocked looks - but eventually everyone agreed that we were a perfect match.

I laughed when I first read this...... but why do I suddenly feel like I can relate to this?

Trying to reign in the younger brother who thinks he can get away with irresponsibility and faking stuff to get out of things he doesn't want to do.

We can be so chummy and free with each other, but there are times when things are damn annoying! While I usually appear to be calm and incapable of raising my voice, I think only he can bring out the explosive side of me. You don't wanna see me when I'm angry.

I can never love enough with my human love. There's nothing for me to draw from, not to mention loving at times when he is so downright unlovable. Jesus, how do you do it? How can Your love be so unconditional and so scandalously abundant and free at the same time?

Let go and let God. I can't afford to wait til I'm at the end of myself to turn to You for help. I have to involve You right from the start, draw from Your unending supply of love and don't care even if I get hated by anyone in the process, and know that You will give me your wisdom to do and say the right things at the right time.

So I'm made to feel bad about helping someone my family doesn't like?

Was it wrong to help that person?
Should I not have done that? Am I too gullible?

...........

But Jesus said to love your enemies right?

Eeeeee I feel so lousy and used now.

But a child of God has no business to feel condemned!


"Jofid, I will still prosper your mistakes."

---

I feel like I'm entering a new season/phase in my life. Cos my mind's being opened to so many new things lately. New people, new perspectives, new revelations of God.

And then, I'm hit in the face with this unusual bout of condemnation.

Maybe it's another sign of this new season, that Jesus, I need Your wisdom more and more everyday.

Jas's birthday surprise: 15 Aug 2009






Jas screams in pain as her beloved Pooh gets cut into half as Huixian sadistically grins away

And then.
It all started from Jasmine's ice cream cake.

Presenting, the Dry Ice Experiment......

09.09.09

Just thought I'd commemorate that =P

Haha I'm sitting in front of my computer, smiling myself silly at the little things I'm beginning to recall from my childhood days.

Because my primary 2 classmate added me on Facebook today.

And talking to him on Facebook now suddenly makes me realise that I miss my childhood. And my childhood friends (:

I don't know why I still remember this incident, but somehow I can vividly recall the day when our form teacher read to us our 1st ghost story in class after our exams, and I was subconsciously leaning backwards more and more as the story approached the climax... when suddenly he pounced on my shoulders with a "boo!" and I nearly screamed out loud.

Lol. 13 years have passed in a blink of an eye. And thinking back, I don't think I've ever dreaded a single day of primary school. Some memories make me want to crack up all over again. It's a good thing I'm in the privacy of my own room, so there's no one to laugh at how ludicrous I look swinging between smiling dreamily and grinning ridiculously in front of my screen =D


Jesus, you really know how to put a smile on my face with sweet surprises like this (:

It's past 4am on a Thursday night (Friday morning actually) and I'm still furiously working away at my lappie to perfect my brother's class presentation slides...

... when all of a sudden my brother nudges me on MSN and sends me this pic:


Awwwwwww (:

Sitting in the backseat with Myron at the wheel, in the wee hours of the morning, zooming down the highway at 140km/h with the windows rolled down, Hillsong United blasting at its full glory, hair flying in all directions...

... I closed my eyes and wondered how long this moment would last.


Ah, you friends make me love life.

"I am the one HE loves! ♥"

Wow God, I'm totally bowled over by You! Great things always seem to happen at 3 a.m. =P
The 2-hour long phone conversation has made me so refreshed I can't sleep now. Thanks ah, God =P

I'm once again reminded to bring You into every situation, into my school timetable... with You in the picture, everything turns out awesome. And thanks Jesus for protecting my heart as well from things You don't want for me.

"God is moving (: Even while the world is sleeping! working the night shift...." ~ Bang Lin

The Bling Blingz presents... Collection #3: CARTOON VOGUE!


(click on picture to enter blogshop)

This time round, we went overseas to personally handpick pretty vintage cartoon accessories (: These classic items are exclusively limited to ONE piece per design only, so check out our blogshop and place your orders quick before they run out! =D

Ah it's been such a journey! Our fruits of labour finally culminated on 25 July, the day before we flew off to Bangkok. And looking back, we could really see God's fingerprints covering everything... from the smallest detail to the grand picture.

It was, after all, our first attempt at something of this nature, and of such a scale and importance (wedding leh! cannot play play one...), and there were times when we would just stare at each other not knowing what to do. Or how to do it. And of course learning how to deal with our 'client' too.

But it was amazing how God dropped inspiration throughout the entire process. Even the number of bouquets we estimated... they turned out to be EXACTLY enough. no more no less. And the 2 full days we spent putting up the decorations in the church hall were incredibly smooth-sailing too, no delays, no damages, and errands we needed to run fell neatly into place.



We were so happy that the wedding decor was well-received by the wedding couple & guests =D We could feel the entire place literally transform itself from what it's like on normal days.

One that left an impression on me, was the church secretary who works at the church building (who was one of the few who witnessed the entire process of the setup). She was so cute laa... she noticed us scavenging around for food after we took down all the decor at the end of the entire ceremony (the couple didn't even bother to keep any food for us knowing we had to stay behind to take down the decor -_-" and the buffet area was WIPED OUT.) and so nicely brought us some packed food that was kept at a side. And she complimented us on the good job done and said "next time when i celebrate my 80th 'da shou' I'll invite you girls to do decor for me okay!" hahaha...

And later on we found out from the groom's mum that to have a compliment like that coming from her meant a lot, cos she's been working in the church for many years and have seen many many weddings... so for her to be impressed by the decor....... LOL. Praise God!

God is really so good! He was the one who gave us this opportunity, and He was also the one who gave us the desire and passion to be wedding decor designers... and no matter how clueless we were at the start, the little frustrations with our 'client' and the little appreciation we received from them during the process... He still anointed our hands and made our creations find favour in the eyes of everyone (:

And when I least expected it, He also surprised me with a gift that exceeded my imagination. I could hear Him saying to me, at the moment I took the packet in my hands, "You never saw this coming, did you? =P I am Your rewarder... you may think your efforts went away unseen and forgotten, but I see everything and I will never let you be shortchanged.

Lean on me, Beloved (:"

The reason why I can't even sleep on my own bed ever since coming back from Bangkok......



LOL.
Yes, I shocked even myself.
I couldn't even fit everything into my own luggage... had to use another 2 expandable bags and borrow part of Nick's luggage to tompang some stuff =X

I think there are at least 20 dresses/tunics, 5 tops, 2 blazers, 2 vests, 2 leggings, 2 bags, 5 pairs of shoes, a belt, accessories...
7 tops for my mum,
2 berms + shirt + sweater for my bro... I hope I didn't miss anything out lol.

Ok I'm officially on a 1-year shopping ban =P
(til I embark on my Grand Plan to stock up in Bangkok every year haha...)

I'll be off to Bangkok tomorrow afternoon! Wheeeeeeee~

Will post all about my crazy week when I'm back next Saturday! (esp. wedding decor+The Zone!)

Awww I just feel so INCREDIBLY LOVED today.

The precious fellowship with really precious people. Even at 3am in the morning.

Thank You God for putting me at the right place at the right time with the right people.
Nothing's coincidental. Everything's God-incidental.

And most of all,
thank You for giving me EVERYTHING I need in my life.


SO LOVED
SO LOVED
SO LOVED <3

An afternoon of crime scene investigation, wet dirty & sticky games, treasure hunting & zombie dancing later...








I loved the CG Devo that morning... Ecclesiastes 3:11 - "He has made everything beautiful in its time. Also He has put eternity in their hearts, except that no one can find out the work that God does from beginning to end."

Even though I've read this verse many times, what Coach showed us that morning opened my eyes again. When she read from her Message bible version, the word 'eternity' actually means 'divinely implanted sense of purpose working through the ages which nothing under the sun but God can satisfy'.

That blew my mind. DIVINELY IMPLANTED SENSE OF PURPOSE. and only GOD CAN SATISFY it. Perfectly in line with the camp's message theme of God's calling and purpose for us.

And at the previous day's service when Pastor Ben touched on Psalm 139, at the verse "My frame was not hidden from You, when I was made in secret, and skillfully wrought in the lowest parts of the earth.", he said that God fashioned us in secret so that the devil doesn't know our full potential until... BOOM! We enter this earth and give the devil the biggest scare of his life.

I think I'm going ahead of myself by saying this now, but it made me see again how I was so lovingly created and so divinely purposed.... that I am an irreplaceable part of His kingdom because He had a special destiny created JUST FOR ME.

I realised then, that everyone has a totally unique and different life journey from others, because each and every one of us has a distinct purpose in God's plan. Our life journey births our message to others, and God has already prepared me for something that no one else but me can fulfill for Him.


And then, I heard my heart smile,

"I am so small, but yet I mean the world to You (:"

History Maker 2009 (15-19 June)







Camp started off with a powerful message about the destiny God has created for every single one of us way before we were born, a thread that would run throughout the entire camp.

It was so timely that Pastor Prince's sermon the day before camp was about how all things work together for our good (Romans 8:28). God turns the lemons in our life into lemonade, our mess into our message to others, and the testings into our testimony. This was the foundation for Pastor Benjamin's camp messages, as my eyes were opened more to my destiny and the journey I'm taking now.

My destiny was created even before I was born (2 Tim 1:8-12 "... who has saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace which was given to us in Christ Jesus before time began...").

"For You have formed my inward parts (seed of my desires);
You have covered (weaved) me in my mother's womb,
I will praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
Marvelous are Your works..." (Psalm 139:13-16)

The 'inward parts' actually means 'seed of my desires'. The things I loved to do from young without knowing why, the things I'm naturally inclined towards... these are not by accident but God has actually designed my innate desires and planted them in me for the journey He has planned ahead for me. I am His masterpiece! Carefully and skillfully and WONDERFULLY made! (cross-reference to Ephesians 2:10 - "For we are His workmanship (inspiration), created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.")

And it really opened my eyes to see that my DESTINY is not a destination, it's a JOURNEY. I'm not just waiting for that one day when I'll suddenly be 'dropped' into my calling.

I'm living out my destiny & calling every single day.

Every day is filled with something new God wants me to learn, and I can never leave or walk out of His calling for me. And because God is the one who placed this calling in me, He is the one who gives me the gifts/abilities, willingness and time to carry it out.

It really gave me peace to see that everything I do is a journey. The journey is as important as the calling, because the journey IS the destiny planned for me. I can be at rest every step of the way, because I can see that God has placed everything in the right time, and I don't have to be impatient to wait for some things to develop...

... aah I have so much to say about this, but I'll slowly flesh it out over time (:

I heart this cute song I found from Jianzhong's multiply site!

Every morning I wake up, with lingering dreams of you
And my heart is beguiled
I struggle to think just what else I can do
Than log into my favourite online social networking website!

I want to be in your profile picture
I want to be a permanent fixture
On your wall
You're so beautiful

I want to be in your profile status
Feature in the place where you update us
Maybe then I'll have you in mine
I heart you online

I can see from your information
You like japanese animation
And stir-fry
Well so do I

I've read the books that you love reading
I must say you're quite appealing
Maybe you could poke me some time!
I heart you online

ba ba da, ba ba da....

Click on my face and tell me that you love me!

You sent a message with three kisses
Could be wrong, but I think this is
Your way
To convey

That my love's not unrequited
But I won't get too excited
Since you're only virtually mine
I heart you online
I heart you online
I heart you online

Ukulele + Harmonisation = Yeow & Eph let's do this!! =D

Haha I'm blogging about AYG and I'm not even done with my entry for HM Camp yet ><

Anyways.

I've been interning as a youth reporter/tech liaison for the Asian Youth Games (AYG) this week, and despite the mad rush for deadlines, I've been having fun and I feel really blessed in the places I've been put in.

I started out initially a reporter for Athletics (Javelin), but I got pulled into Diving as a tech liaison a week before the games, so I didn't get to meet my team until the day itself on Tuesday.

It was just a small team consisting of some writers from Republic Poly, their teacher liaison and a freelance photographer. But it was awesome how we could work so well together despite only knowing each other for such a short time, and to see everyone loosen up around each other, to the point where the photographer would sneak me into the TV room to transfer photos into my laptop while he continues to shoot the divers, or having major suanning sessions between the RP reporter, the photographer and I in the media room while we pick, resize, upload photos and vet articles for the official website.

"When we saw your name, we thought you were a guy. Even the email you sent us sounded so direct and 'guy-ish'. Then when you walked in... whoa."

Hahaha. And they thought I was 17 or 18! ("Omg you're from NUS?!") Hahaha...

Some awesome shots from my photographer (4 out of the few hundred I had to sort through for the website):









Photo credit: Nyan Fu Keong


Diving finals ended on Wednesday, and yesterday was my first day reporting for Athletics. The management/organisation of the team there was different from the Diving side, but I was blessed to have my other team members to show me around and cover for me when I have to interview more than 1 athlete at a time (cos they all come out at the same time) =P

And as we sat around the table for dinner after the day's events were over, we found out that all of us, except 1, were geppers, and all of us were from AC in one way or another. I found that really funny, especially when they started bringing up names that I recognised. *sings* It's a small small world!

I thought that was pretty cool =P

Ok I'm off to report for Javelin Girls Finals now! ;)

Back from History Maker 2009!

Even though I've attended church camps since 2002, this camp was a totally new experience for me again. I feel like God has compressed so much in just 4 days, so many gifts and revelations imparted that I feel such an overflow from camp! I don't think I've taken down so much notes from camp before =P

Some of my most important camp expectations were met, and I'm so glad for the precious time I had with my caregroup... I don't think we were very close before camp, but through the huddle sessions we had sharing about our lives and trying to dig out deep dark secrets from each other (haha!), I believe we've all learnt a lot from each other and have experienced supernatural bonding too. Praise God!

I'll try to breakdown whatever I've taken back from camp and share in bite-sized pieces over the next few posts. Daddy God is so awesome... He already had a purpose for every single one of us when He designed us, and everyday we're walking out the journey He's already designed for us in the beginning of time (:

YOU ARE IRREPLACEABLE ;)

History Makers Camp 2009 @ Malacca starts in less than 6 hours!

See you guys back on Friday! =D

I just got home from playing for the Dare camp worship tonight! It was at Sarimbun camp, the place where we had our adventure camp more than a year ago. That place brings back bad memories man haha >< Of dust-infested bunks, flooded toilets, crawling through mud and wading in the “milo pool” and trekking for 7 hours throughout the night… gross but memorable precisely cos of that =P

I was serving with Alwin, James and Zheng Kai, and it was my first time serving as a lone keyboardist without a band for a church camp setting. I was excited but nervous at the same time, cos I was afraid that Pastor Benjamin would suddenly pull a laogo song out of his bag that I haven’t heard of before, and I wouldn’t know how to support him… but in the end it turned out weirder than that, it still feels strange to me but I’ll have to wait for Jen’s feedback sometime in the near future to find out more about what exactly it was about… =X

Play @ Sentosa: Launch of 'The Zone' (23 May)

The official launch of our 3 youth ministries (Secondary, Tertiary & Young working adults) combined under 'The Zone'! It was a day of beach fiesta complete with carnival games, huge inflatable structures, reverse bungee-jumping, inter-caregroup soccer and captain's ball matches.


I slathered on tons of sunblock cos I didn't wanna end up like a cooked lobster like I did after the NUS orientation camp, but praise God that He kept the sun behind the clouds the whole time and the weather was exceptionally breezy in the midst of the super-hot period we're experiencing now. God really takes care of His beloved children!

Amy flew off to Thailand yesterday on exchange for 4 months. Really excited for her, although it'll be a bit lonelier without her for a while... but I'll be joining her in Bangkok for a week in July after the wedding we've been decorating for! Can't wait! =D


After many days of hard work, multiple shopping trips, trial & errors, failed attempts, and learning how to deal with our 'client', the wedding stuff we've been working on over the past few weeks is almost complete. Everything will be finalised when Amy returns in July for the wedding.


Presenting, our virgin attempt at being wedding decorators (:


Woo! The collage makes me feel as if we have our own wedding decor shop already =P

Reception table and foyer centrepieces, pew and railing mini bouquets, flower girl baskets, stage flower stands and noticeboard birdies... wait til the cloth goes up too! The place will have a cool makeover (:

It's so cool to see how God has blessed the work of our hands, when the bridegroom's mum said "It's amazing that both of you can do all these without having learnt flower arrangement before." =D

The day Yeow went flying in a room

I had so much fun with Yeow and Charles today! We were recalling that it's been at least 2 or 3 years since we last got together like this to just crap around and have fun. And not surprisingly, something historical happens everytime.

Yeow went flying.

Off a hammock in Charles' room! The same hammock that got my butt stuck to it cos my shorts button was caught in the net. But yes, Yeow flew off the hammock while she was swinging on it. It happened too quickly for us to fully appreciate the moment - we only saw flailing arms and legs - until Yeow pointed to the net that got caught on another hook on the wall while it was swinging but she still continued moving through the air =P

And we laughed and laughed and laughed. Until we had no more strength to carry on laughing, while the movie 'Hancock' was still playing on the computer screen in front of us. Omg. The sight of Yeow flying through the air makes me crack up again. So does the thought of how Yeow and I cowered at a corner of Charles' bed hiding behind the hammock and a cushion while watching the zombie flick 'REC'. Wahaha.

Even though we didn't do many many things, but the whole day just felt awesomely fun. Like Yeow said, it was already funny from the moment we met up. When we saw Charles walking towards us, we tried to hide behind the sheltered walkway pillars, which were obviously too narrow to conceal anything anyway. We haven't lost the 默契 (loose translation: tacit understanding) we have with each other over the years. Awesome (:

I miss you JC West A caregroup! You're one of the best bunch of people I've ever hung out with ;)

The frequency of entries doesn't do justice to the amount of things that have been happening lately!

(insert) I'm really happy with my results for this semester! I think it's pretty much the best sem results I've had so far... and I actually got As for the modules I was least confident of. It HAS to be God! =D (end of insert)

I was re-reading 'Captivating' (by John & Stasi Eldredge) again, and as I got to the part about friendships between women, this line jumped out at me: "When God gives a friend, He is entrusting us with the care of another's heart."

Not just someone to provide company and have fun with, someone to talk to when you're alone, or someone to satisfy your needs... but someone whose heart you're entrusted with.

"It is a chance to mother and to sister, to be a Life giver, to help someone else become the woman she was created to be, to walk alongside her and call her deep heart forth."

Awesome. I love this.

Shin's 21st (18 Apr): The Tent with Spongebob Music

And finally, pics from Shin's birthday surprise. During the last part of Arrow, Yeow and I sneaked out to set up the tent in the main foyer. We got curious stares from passer-bys, and some even jokingly asked if we were camping for front-row seats for 1st service the next day.

The VocaPeople!
(Yeow some inspiration for your resonance stuff =P)

A bit creepy at some parts, but I still think the chalk animation concept is cool =P

Firekites - AUTUMN STORY - chalk animation from Lucinda Schreiber on Vimeo.

This week has been filled with even more favour... my parents blessed me with a new Korg X50 music synthesizer! =D


Sleek, thin, light and ultra-compact, featuring hundreds of sound programmes and combinations (that can be customised), it only weighs around the same as an electric guitar which makes it easily portable.

It's the model the church uses for weddings and studio practices. The only thing is it doesn't have internal speakers, so now I have an AMP in my room. Woohoo!!~ *cues heavy bass beats*


I got the synthesizer at a discounted price through the music min, and even had favour with the guy at the music store, as he discounted the price of the amp for me from $200+ to $180. When I told Derrick about it, he was like, "eh not fair, last week I bought the same 2 amps from him but he never give me discount lehh...." And I'm also getting a keyboard bag, that would originally cost me about $50-100 for the normal kind, for free! (but I'm not allowed to name who =P)


And apparently this new model is more technologically-advanced, less bulky and more affordable than the previous Korg models we have in the church studios, that cost about $3K+. The pros of living in a world where technology becomes twice as good at 1/3 the price every 12 months ;)

Wow favour! I just saw an email sent by my tutor about my Marketing group report grade... and we got an A! =D

"Generally, as compared to the other groups, your group's analysis was very detailed, supported with quality research, relevant examples, and good recommendations. Well done!"

I can't believe we got an A despite the fact that I didn't like some members in the group initially. I remember complaining to some friends during one of our CG devotional sessions in school, but I also remember ending off concurring with Darrell's point saying "but it doesn't matter what kind of group mates I get, cos God can and will still bless me exactly where I am".

*jumps around the room for joy*

----------------

Continuation of Jade's 21st dinner @ Ma Maison (11 May)

The start of the long summer holidays is here! I can't believe almost a year has passed since I last worked at Pat's Schoolhouse... the memories are still fresh in my mind. Sigh why does time pass so fast?!

But as much as I don't want the days to go by so quickly, there's always something to look forward to in the future (: Many exciting things have happened lately and are happening soon hehe.

And I'm one step closer to fulfilling my latest design ambition to be a wedding decor designer/planner. I've been roped in as Amy's co-designer for her boyfriend's brother's wedding, so lately I've been surrounded by flowers and ribbons and lace and pearls and crystal beads... all the pretty pretty stuff (:


And on to the 21st birthday celebrations.......

Esther's 21st (31 Mar)



Despite the unfortunate event that happened the day before the birthday party, that night was just filled with love and warmth, and I'm glad that Esther could spend that day surrounded by people that loved and cared about her.

The food was pretty awesome... fusion food (: And the environment was really cosy too, not forgetting the awesome company to complement the awesome food haha. Esther's meticulous planning and using her own money to fund the entire celebration certainly didn't go to waste =D Many blessings ahead for you dear babe!!


Other recent happenings, but still awaiting sufficient photos hahaha......

Shin's 21st (18 Apr)


Jade's 21st

I walked into my bathroom last night to find myself staring at a CENTIPEDE.
And I live 13 storeys above the ground.

How on earth did it manage to get all the way up here?

My dad attacked the centipede with a pair of scissors and cut it up into 5 pieces, and each of the 5 parts still continued moving and wriggling around after being chopped up!! Gosh!!


On a less icky note, my family visited the Singapore Flyer yesterday evening (:

My aunt bought tickets for all my relatives last year through corporate booking with the intention of all the families going together, but my grandpa passed away before we got a chance to. I still remember my aunts bending over his coffin at his wake, silently weeping and whispering that they were still waiting for him to join us for the Flyer. Even though my aunts are from my mum's side and my grandpa's from my dad's side, we were all close enough for them to include my grandpa in our family activities.

But since the tickets were going to expire soon, we couldn't carry out the original plan to go together since our schedules clashed, so my family was the last of all of the families to go for the Flyer yesterday. I would say that we went at a good time, cos we could catch both evening and nightfall views in one round...






And we went to catch '17 Again' after dinner... I can't believe my parents agreed to watch it with us =P (no it's not bcos we're Zac Efron fans =P) I'm so glad we could spend family time together after many days of busyness, early mornings and late nights. At least this movie has elements that can appeal to both teens and adults. My mum, for one, happily shed her 'just-a-pretty-boy' image of Zac =P

And it makes me realise once again, that I don't have to wish I could turn back the clock and redo some things I wish I had done better, cos every season that I've gone through is where God wanted me to be at those times, and those mistakes and choices are what brought me and makes me where and who I am today.

My first paper starts tomorrow! ><

"The horse is prepared for the day of battle,
But deliverance is of the Lord"!!!
(Proverbs 21:31)

*dives and hides under blanket*

Some photo therapy to tide through exam revision week (:

My beloved PPG (powerpuff girls)! =D



CID D&D Night @ Copthorne


Sisterhood movie date (12 Mar)



Annual Music Min Party (28 Mar)

Random photos from our annual music min gathering to celebrate one of the longest ministries in church that's even older than i am =P



Remembering the last of Year 2...

The joy of chancing upon whimsical food :)

In the midst of projects, essay deadlines and exam revision, Amy and I managed to take time out and had a lovely dinner together at an old little Chinese cafe, Qun Zhong Eating House (21 Neil Road, Singapore 088814).

Being big fans of the ever-delicious XLB (xiao long bao, aka. small cage bao LOL) and Zha Jiang Mian (wheat noodles with minced pork and soybean paste), we were not disappointed by Qun Zhong's offerings. The XLBs were moderately juicy and deliciously soupy with skillfully thin skin, while the Zha Jiang Mian was satisfyingly chewy and soft at the same time.

However, the highlight of the evening's dinner was the ROSE FLAVOURED GLUTINOUS BALLS!

When it first arrived at our table, it looked unassuming with its clear-coloured syrup, small fragments of dried rose petals and 5 little tang yuans (I even thought the small bits of dried rose petals were seaweed at first haha =P)
But all it took was one sip of the fragrant rose flavoured syrup to put dreamy smiles on our faces...

... it was like drinking in a perfume shop x)


Whimsical food in a super cheena cafe? *scratch head* How unexpected... but to us, it was like a little taste of heaven :)

OMGGGGGGGG.... Yeow you're gonna love this...
*falls off chair laughing*

Curious chimp smells butt and faints

something cool to share with everyone...

I Receive.mp3 - Hillsong London

When you love somebody, you are willing to do anything for that person.

Accepted, I live favoured of the Lord
Forgiven, by Your love I am transformed
It's not what I do, but what You've done for me
And by Your grace, oh God, I stand with my head held high

In 1 of my marketing survey questionnaires yesterday, I took a long time trying to complete the sentence "Being in love is ________."
What does it mean to be in love? What does loving someone mean?

To put yourself out there, so vulnerable and self-sacrificial. To give away a precious part of yourself to someone else without being certain of how the person will treat that raw part of your soul.

You LOVED me regardless of whether I returned the favour, whether I would appreciate what You've done to win me over, or whether I would reject You and break Your heart.

I receive Your love
I receive Your love for me

You have captured my heart. You are the most beautiful person I'll ever know, the one who whispers love songs in my ear, who will put heaven on standstill just to find me when I'm lost, who pulls me into Your bosom when I'm hurting, and bore all the beatings and pain that was supposed to be on me. You stood by me faithfully even when I was more interested in other boys than You, seeing me through blushes and disappointments, restoring me with Your complete love and wholeness every single time.

You are my first love, and You will always be my greatest love, and You love me exactly for who I am, every single part of me, no matter how ugly. Nothing I do will surprise You, or make You love me any less, because You know me better than I know myself and I will always be precious in Your sight.

When I know how much You love me Lord, how much You've done for me, the extents You've gone to just to pursue me, I can face the world with my head held high.

My brother got me a new mousepad! A Barracuda LITE... and hot pink somemore to match my ever-increasing collection of pink digital stuff (all my brother's doings lol). Woohoo!!

100 Truths.
(As tagged by Vicki)

001. Real Name: Jofid
002. Nickname(s): Jo, Jojo, Mojojojo, Ah fid, Fiddy
003. Age: 20
004. Horoscope: doesn't matter
005. Male or Female: Female
006. Elementary: Junyuan Primary, St. Hilda's Primary
007. Middle School: Raffles Girls' School (Secondary)
008. High School: Anglo-Chinese Junior College
009. College School: National University of Singapore
010. Hair colour: a bit of black, brown, and a few strands of golden-red buried underneath
011. Long or Short: Long, but not as long as -some- people... *looks at Yeow*
012. Loud or Quiet: Depends on the company I'm with
013. Sweats or Jeans: Jeans... Singaporeans don't really walk around in sweats. But sweats are definitely wayyy more comfortable.
014. Phone or Camera: Phone. I'm a social being with the need to stay connected to people. And there's a camera in the phone anyway.
015. Health Freak: Not really... I eat what I want and trust God with my health.
016. Drink or Smoke: Drinks water. Smokes through assignments.
017. Do you have a crush on someone: That's the way the world works
018. Eat or Drink: Man shall not live by bread alone. haha how to choose... besides, they both go hand-in-hand.
019. Piercings: 1 on each ear
020. Tattoos: Never
021. Social or Anti-Social: social. unless I'm in a very bad mood.
022. Righty or lefty: Righty
023. First piercing: 16. Just in time for prom!
024. First relationship: So many boys, which one to choose?? hahahahahaha......
025. First Best Friend: My favourite play buddy Zi Xiang since we were babies
026. First Award: 1st in class in Primary 1!
027. First Kiss: My parents? =P
028. First Pet: A tank full of silver fishes with different-coloured fins, which I tried to name one by one, but I forgot their names as quickly as I came up with them =P
029. First Big Vacation: Does Genting count? If not then it'd be USA.
030. First Love at first sight: Lol. Hmmm. Uh. Hee.
031. First Big Birthday: One-month old celebration? My parents always threw parties for me when I was small.
032. First Surgery: To remove my umbilical cord when I was born! Hahaha...
033. First sport you joined: Swimming

This or That
034. Orange or Apple juice: Apple. *scrunches nose up at the thought of sour orange juice*
035. Rock or Rap: Rock
036. Country or Screamo: Country
037. NSYNC or Backstreet boys: I can't decide. I love the way boy bands harmonise.
038. Britney spears or Christina Aguilera: I can't decide who's the lesser evil
039. Night or Day: Both have different functions
040. Sun or Moon: Moon. Sunlight is great for phototaking, but I don't like getting sunburnt.
041. TV or Internet: Internet. We're the new generation man!
042. Playstation or xbox: Neither.
043. Kiss or hug: Hug. Kisses are reserved only for very intimate relationships. Unless it's a wet sloppy kiss from a cute kid =D
044. Iguana or turtle: Turtle
045. Spider or bee: Spider. Cos at least I can run away from it =P
046. Fall or spring: Fall... I like cool weather and the gorgeous colours of autumn. (Tim you said you wanted to bring me to USA to experience autumn there!)
047. Limewire or iTunes: iTunes. strictly for listening to music, if I may specify. My brother does the song-torrenting for me =P
048. Soccer or baseball: Soccer. Batting is hard.

Currently
049. Eating: Nothing. It's past supper time.
050. Drinking: Water. Is the best.
051. Excitement level: Moderate. I'm taking a break from my projects to do this =P
052. I’m about to: right now, to hit the keyboard. after this entry, to get back to my marketing project report.
053. Listening to: The Hillsong London 'Hail to the King' album!
054. Plan for today: Do as much as I can for my projects tonight and sleep earlier than I have been for the past few days
055. Waiting for: yesterday. haha kidding... not really waiting for anything.
056. Energy Level: Low. Time to wind down at the end of the day.
057. Thinking of someone: Not til this question reminded me!
058. Want kids?: Definitely. The kingdom of God belongs to the little children (:
059. Want to get married?: Of course. God please don't Rapture us so soon... I wanna get married and have kids first =D
060. When?: Before 30
061. How many kids do you want: Haven't really thought about this yet... maybe 2 or 3
062. Any name on the mind: Haven't planned so far ahead yet =P
063. What did you want to be when you were little: It kept changing, but the longest-standing one was to be a teacher.
064. Careers in mind: Something that combines designing and music together
065. Mellow future or wild: Mellow or wild? The future that God has planned for me!
066. Something you would never try: Bungee jumping. After taking the Giant Drop in Dreamworld.
067. When do you want to die: God will rapture me before I physically die.

Which is the better in the boy/girl you like (in the future)
068. Lips or Eyes: Eyes. You communicate with your eyes, not your lips =P
069. Romantic or Funny?: A balance of both (:
070. Shorter or Taller?: Taller.
071. Protective or Caring?: Once again, a good balance of both.
072. Romantic or Spontaneous?: AND once again, a good balance of both.
073. Nice Stomach or Nice Arms?: Uh. Healthy is the best.
074. Sensitive or Loud?: Sensitive.
075. Hook-up or Relationship?: Relationship. Duh.
076. Trouble Maker or Hesitant?: Hmmm... to act with wisdom most of the time.
077. Muscular or normal: In-between, being strong is good =P

078. Kissed a stranger: Maybe when I was a kid. (which reminds me, last year during my birthday surprise at church when I was led blindfolded through Suntec, Gracia said 2 angmoh guys were like "eh go and give her a kiss!" O_O *shudders*)
079. Broken a bone: Nope, thank God
080. Lost glasses or contacts: My contacts have gotten lost in my eye before =P when it was really really dry and slid to the far corner of my eye hidden under the eyelid. sounds gross right.
081. Ran away from home: Many times in my head when I was younger. But not anymore.
082. Held a gun/knife for self defence: Never had to be in that position before. And by faith never will have to.
083. Killed somebody: Insects, yes. Humans... what do you think!
084. Broken someone’s heart: Hahahahahaha......... let's not go into the details.........
085. Had your heart broken: Hmmmm..... not really. God please don't ever let my heart be broken!
086. Been arrested: by the Holy Spirit. to call my attention to certain stuff yeah.
087. Cried when someone died: Of course.
088. Liked a friend more than a friend: Hahaha hmmmmm........

Do you believe in
089. Yourself: I don't trust in my flesh. But I believe the calling and gifts God has placed in me.
090. Miracles: How can I not believe when I've experienced them.
091. Love at first sight: Lol. Hmmm. Uh. Hee.
092. Heaven: Definitely
093. Santa Claus: Santa is a distraction from the real meaning of Christmas! Hahahaha...
094. Tooth Fairy: Oh please.
095. Kiss in the first date: Of course not.
096. Angels: Every child of God has personal angels! Not the small Cupid-like ones with dainty wings, but strong and powerful to protect and save me. "For God will command His angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways." (Psalm 91:11)

Answer Truthfully
097. Is there 1 person you want to be with right now?: To be with Jesus every living moment of my life! But other than that, I can't say xP
098. Are you seriously happy with where you’re in life now?: Every season of my life I'm in is the best place God wants me to be at that point in my life.
099. Do you believe in God?: YES OF COURSE.
100. Post as 100 truths and tag 10 people.

Tagged:
Anyone who reads this!

A night of many decoy plans, intentional delays and diversions, lots of random photo-taking, too much laughter, yummylicious bakerzin cheesecake and a happy birthday boy.

Sebastian drove us down to Orchard after classes, where we found ourselves at The Pasta Shop at Wheelocks. We were initially seated in the main eating area, when Jingxiong spotted a 'private' table partitioned off at the corner and specially requested the waiter to shift us there.

It was quite the cosy little corner all to ourselves (albeit squeezier haha), but I guess a special occasion calls for a more special setting. There was even a paging button on the table for us to call the waiter over lol.

Did I mention again that it's the year of 21st parties? =P


The first 21st party of the year. It was loads of fun hanging out with the JC West A peeps again, plus the novelty of being on a houseboat for the first time =P




















Lol so much laughter I must have had a real abs workout that night! How nice it would be if I could rent a big yacht and sail out to sea for my parents' silver anniversary in 2 years' time! *makes note to Jesus* Hehe...

I feel horrible. I feel so wronged. By the 2 people who claim they know me the best in the whole world.

And I can't even explain myself because a certain someone feels insecure about people trying to correct him.

How can you tell ME that you know that I'M thinking when the opposite couldn't be more true! Don't freaking give me that crap.

It's such a horrible feeling. To stand there feeling so exposed and vulnerable and utterly misjudged, but yet unable to defend myself because I will be digging a grave for myself if I do.

Why is it that the ones closest to you hurt you the most.

God, You are my witness. You are my justice.
I am Your child, and there is no way You're gonna let me walk away from this situation shamed and wrongly accused.
You are my mighty fortress.
My hiding place.
My refuge from the storm.
You are my hope that never fails.

My childhood friend Zi Xiang turned 21 yesterday.

It's funny to think we're 21 now, when it seemed like just yesterday when we were throwing sand around our neighbourhood playground, screaming down the roller coaster in Har Paw Villa, dancing on the Sentosa beach, riding around the park on his brand new BMX bicycle, sticking fingers into each other's birthday cakes, churning out play-doh mcdonald's fries and burgers and wrapping them up in crisp pseudo-macs food wrappers... ...

I remember that one incident when we were so convinced that there was buried treasure in the sand next to the slide, so we dug and dug all evening... then we caught sight of something in the sand glinting in the moonlight. We were so excited that we started jumping up and down in joy, then tried to pull out that mysterious glinting object, but we couldn't seem to grab anything. Then it hit us. We had hit the bottom of the sandpit -_-" And the glinting 'thing' was none other than the tile on the base of the sandpit -_____-"






Poor Zi Xiang also got his face dunked into his birthday cake by his friends, as instigated by our dear Aunty Aw, one of our mums' close friend. Somehow that reminded me of what we did to Charles on his 17th birthday 4 years ago............. when we put fake insects into the decoy cake and smashed his face into the real chocolate black forest cake (ouch). I would put the picture up here, but I think Charles' reputation will be gone forever if I do =P Guys seem to have a penchant for smashing things into their faces/heads, like the egg-smashing game during Arrow servers' nite last week. Boys never grow up eh....

Happy 21st my childhood buddy!

Arrow Servers Nite (24 Feb 09)

My very first Arrow Servers appreciation dinner! Previously the music min was considered under the main church and not under Arrow, so was surprised when the invitation was extended out to us this time (:

Trust the emcees to make us do some stupid Japanese 'warm-up exercise' before the dinner. And the evil egg-cracking game where 90% of the male contestants ended up washing away egg contents from their meticulously-gelled-up hairdo haha...

Didn't take many pictures that night but here are some of them...







Really enjoyed the company that night with the music people... they reshuffled us last minute and dumped some people randomly onto tables with people they don't know at all, so some of them crashed my table halfway through dinner since there were empty spaces.

Going around the table, there were Joan, Elaine, Jen, Alwin, I, Esther, Joshua, Raphael, Joseph, Raymond & Timothy at my table when they started playing the "how well do you know your table mates!" game... so we were frantically trying to remember everyone's surnames and where we live hahaha. But in the end we were laughing so hard that the emcees came over to our table and Alwin ended up talking about Jen's muscles instead =X (in reference to Jen's infamous performance during the CNY indoor stadium service)

The worship session was really touching and intimate... but it was a pity we had to end so soon cos of the sec sch kids in our midst :( heh but the wonderful thing is, worship is something all of us can do on our own. At our own time. Wherever we want. Cos it's just between us and God alone.

I love it that I have a keyboard in my room now... even though it's not a very good keyboard and doesn't have a pedal even, but I can still worship in the privacy and comfort of my room at any time of the day, even in ungodly hours in the middle of the night without fearing that I would wake my family members up. Previously when I had the piano in the hall, I couldn't play it at night cos it would disturb my grandpa, but now I have the freedom to! And most recently I'm beginning to pick up guitar again afte being inspired by David Holmes' guitar workshop. More about it next time! =D

The 2nd in our sisterhood to turn 21! (I'll be the last, manz =P) Pity Livia's not in Singapore to celebrate hers and with us, but love can still travel over cyberspace =P



We initially planned an outdoor picnic party with balloons and all on Sunday, but as it turned out, Sunday was coincidentally the start of the rainy season that's still going on now, throwing cold water on our crazy plans. But thank God we could divert almost immediately to Suanne's place, where we still had a fun, albeit frantic (initially, trying to set up the place), gathering nonetheless.

Who can forget the cake which became an aesthetic disaster, the impromptu harmonica-playing, the zoo we made out of our plates, playing taboo, exchanging tales of distant AC days, the endless multi-shots we took while jumping in front of the fountain, and the biker guy that randomly came out from nowhere to help us take pics, and making Minghui a princess.

I'll just let the pictures do the talking:



...this awful melted mess while waiting for Minghui to show up
(but it sure tasted better than it looked =D another lesson in "don't judge a book by its cover", or a cake by its coating)



it was funny setting the camera timer and running to get to the other side of the table before the shutter clicked

Living loved.

Your presence was so sweet today. Throughout the whole day, I could feel You so tangibly, in everything I did. Just Your sweet presence and love enveloping me.

Quite a few times, I wanted to let go and cry in Your presence - during David Holmes' workshop, during Darlene Zschech's sharing, during freeflow onstage. Not the sad kind of cry, but simply out of the beautiful feeling of having Your love overflowing in my heart. But I remembered that I used a bit of mascara today for the first time, and it isn't waterproof! Haha what a lame reason, but still.

And You answered my most ridiculous and random prayer this morning! That put a smile on my face for the rest of the day.

Today I discovered another level of worship - my worship comes from the revelation of Your great love for me. Not the airy-fairy kind of love, but the strong confidence of Your perfect steadfast undying love.
Love is the key ingredient in everything I do.
I have not worshipped until there's a connection between my spirit and Yours.

You are LOVE. I am a girl in love, willing to do everything for You.
You are my love song.

I wanna live everyday in the continued revelation of Your great love.
I wanna live knowing I'm LOVED.

I'm coming back to the heart of worship.

2 trains of thoughts running through my mind right now...


Have you ever felt like you're in a team but yet not a part of it?

Sometimes after the event is over I just wanna walk away from it as fast as I can.

Why do some things feel so sad when it's clearly Your calling?

------------------

Words, when spoken, cannot be taken back.

But sometimes words, when not spoken, can have even more disastrous consequences than if it had been uttered.

God, teach me how to say the right things at the right time.
I don't wanna lose a friend, if we were considered friends in the first place.

HAPPY CHINESE NEW YEAR!! (PART 2: at my place)

(...continued from the things you discover during CNY...)

7. "You have taught children and infants to give you praise." (Psalm 8:2)





8. QUAN JIA FU!
"For the Lord is good and his love endures forever;
his faithfulness continues through all generations." (Psalm 100:5)




9. My closet terrorist cousin is not so closet anymore... don't have equipment still can use hand.


10. "There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus." (Romans 8:1)



11. "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me"! (Philippians 4:13)


12. The heart feels warm when you're around family.


(:

HAPPY CHINESE NEW YEAR!!!


Here's a few things we discover during the CNY festive season...

1. The Lord "satisfies your mouth with good things" (Psalm 103:5)



my mum's deeeelicious cooking, with our help of course! =P

2. I can "rejoice in all the good things the Lord (my) God has given to (me) and (my) household" (Deuteronomy 26:11)



3. In Jesus, my "youth is renewed like the eagle’s" (Psalm 103:5)


4. Girls will always be girls. "You are all fair, my love, and there is no spot in you." (Song of Solomon 4:7)


5. When you discover your youngest cousin is a closet terrorist. "God has chosen the weak things of the world to put to shame the things which are mighty." (1 Corinthians 1:27)




6. You know the world's just a global village when Justin Timberlake & Stalin visits you on CNY. "For God so loved the WORLD..."



I'm having more visitations over the next 2 weekends, so there'll be more pictures to come! x)

I'm so fascinated with lyre birds and their incredible mimicry of sounds they pick up in their environment.

"Lyrebirds render with great fidelity the individual songs of other birds and the chatter of flocks of birds, and also mimic other animals, human noises, machinery of all kinds, explosions, and musical instruments. The lyrebird is capable of imitating almost any sound — from a mill whistle to a cross-cut saw, and, not uncommonly, sounds as diverse as chainsaws, car engines, fire alarms, rifle-shots, camera shutters, dogs barking and crying babies." (Wiki)

And to think they've been around on earth for millions of years. God created the greatest impersonators of all time =P

The year of free favours has just begun (:

I'm already seeing it in the beginning of the semester. It didn't get off to a good start actually, cos this is the only sem where I couldn't get any pre-allocated modules and the bid points were sky-high for all the modules I wanted to bid for. I got outbidded in almost every round, and by the end of all the bidding rounds, I only had 3 out of the 5 I'm supposed to get. I was panicking cos this is the first time it's happened to me, and despite sending several appeals I still couldn't get anything.

Dennis, the CNM dept admin head had me call him up to settle this problem, and informed me that the 2 classes I was appealing for were full. He managed to slot me into another less-popular class, but I still had 1 elusive module to obtain. I happened to meet him in person the next day and asked if anyone dropped the last module I was hoping to get, but to my dismay it was still full. He called me up later in the day to say that even though nobody else dropped the module, but there was a space reserved for an exchange student and he would check if the student still wanted to keep the module.

All weekend long, I prayed for the student to drop the module. At about the same time, I happened to read on someone's multiply blog that he started applying anointing oil not only on his eyes and lips, but also on his ears because God told him to be ready to hear "good news". I started doing the same every night before I went to bed, anointing especially my eyes and ears to "see and hear good news".

You've probably guessed it, early this morning I was surprised to receive an email in my NUS account saying I've been allocated that module which I've been praying for. Dennis called me up as a confirmation and told me he managed to get me a place in it. A place in a class that had originally reached administrative capacity! The impossible had become possible!! I was so excited I could hardly contain my joy and shared it with Ephraim online immediately.

Later I found out from Yeow that it is amazing in itself that Dennis was the one who called me up, because usually it's the student who bugs the dept for vacancies and sends in his/her appeal after that. I didn't even have to do anything... indeed it's the free favour of God!

But God didn't just stop at one free favour, He surprised me with another one just a few hours later during my Marketing lecture. As some of you know, I gave my beloved piano away to my cousin about 3 weeks ago when I shifted house because it was too troublesome and probably not very good to keep moving it around, and have been piano/keyboard-less to practice for weddings and Arrow, having to go over to Shin's house to use her piano and going for band prac early just to get a feel of the chords. Thus, it was such good timing when Aaron smsed me asking if I wanted to take over the keyboard that his dad's friend gave to his dad, since nobody in their family knows how to use it. I haven't seen it yet, but even if it's just a basic keyboard, I just feel so loved that God knows my immediate needs and sends people to bless me. Hallelujah!

As Yeow puts it, it's strange to limit God's blessings to a specific year... rather, this is the year where we discover we have all these free favours that will last our whole lives.

God doesn't just stop at 1 or 2 blessings... He lavishes free favours on us profusely, over and above what we need! And the year has only just begun. This is God we're talking about.

This is my God.

(I have no idea what this black box is doing here -_-")

It's already into January, but better late than never =P

There were things in 2008 that made me cry, but there are many other good things to be thankful for - many chances to learn and grow, both mentally and spiritually, expectations and desires that have been met knowingly and unknowingly, friendships made and existing relationships brought to newer levels...

The most recent happenings of which is my family trip to Shanghai+Beijing+Hangzhou and moving house to Shunfu Road.

The trip came about partly bcos we won a $1K travel voucher during last year's CID annual D&D, and partly to visit my aunt & uncle staying in Shanghai before they move to Sanyang. Initially the plan was for me and my cousins from my dad's side to go on holiday there on our own, but through a series of events, it became clear that the only way was to go on vacation as a family instead. It was like God's way of telling my parents to take a break from everything that was going on (since they were busy with house-hunting at that time), and also a long-awaited family vacation after 4 years.
And it was a pretty awesome trip. Spent good times with my aunt and uncle touring Shanghai and eating spicy Szechuan food. Got to shop and bargain like it's the end of the world. Got to eat super-delicious Xiaolongbaos. Got to see snow fall for the first time. Got to 'ice-skate' (and fall) on the Great Wall cos the snow on the ground hardened. Got to see live scorpions and seahorses skewered on roadside stalls. Got a taste of Olympic fever at the Beijing Olympic Village. Got to row around Hangzhou's famous West Lake. Got to jump around in boots. And most importantly, got to spend quality time with my family.
(Some photos are shown in the slideshow above, but if there's time I'll try to upload a more detailed photo account of the trip.)

House packing & moving began immediately after we returned from China. It was less tedious than when I shifted from Simei cos we threw out a lot of things then, but it still took a long time and there were like mountains of boxes around the whole house. But it's really by grace that we found this new place at Shunfu.
At the beginning of last year during the New Year service at indoor stadium, a new house was among the 3 things I prayed for, and it was settled even before we left for the Shanghai trip. My parents only went house-viewing once before they narrowed down to this place and another maisonette unit around the area, and when they brought my brother and I along to view for the 2nd time, we all unanimously decided on this place.
It's the biggest house I've had so far (It's definitely bigger than the Bishan unit before this, but I thought my Tampines maisonette unit and my Simei condo unit was quite big... but apparently this HUDC one is bigger at 1700 square feet. The only explanation I have is that I was much smaller then, so everything seemed bigger to me =P). Not only that, the house is also newly-renovated, with new aircons and LCD TV and stuff - it's like God had specially prepared this place just for us. And all these happened before 2008 was over! It's really God's manifested blessings (:

And 2009 is going to be even better.

It is a New Creation Church tradition to have a verse for the year every year, and this year it's The Acceptable Year of the Lord. When I first heard it, I was thinking 'acceptable' in the Singaporean context, like the 'so-so' year of the Lord o_O?! But the 'acceptable' here in Greek is dektos: it denotes "the most blessed time when salvation & the free favours of God profusely abound" (Thayer's Lexicon). Thus 2009 is The Acceptable Year of the Lord, where it is the most blessed time when salvation & the free favours of God profusely abound!

And it only took me & my bro one step into the year 2009 to be slapped with the free favours of God =P Last Sunday was the first service of the year, and my bro and I went for 2nd service on our own, and even though we queued up early enough to get into the main auditorium, we couldn't find 2 seats together everywhere we looked. I was pretty disappointed, but at the same time relieved to still get a chance to enjoy service in the audi, so both of us settled down on the floor cushions right at the back with a whole row of people. Then just before service started, an usher came up to us and asked if she could relocate us to the front. I was unsure if she meant sitting on the floor in between the front aisles, seeing how there were no seats earlier on, but I agreed anyway and we followed her...... to the second row right behind the pastors!!! (which also meant seeing Pastor Prince preach upclose and personal) This was a privilege only for a selected group of people who queued to get tickets super early! It was really an unexpected 'free favour' that God lavished upon me and my bro on the Sunday of the year (:

I say to you, that there will be good days ahead in 2009. Good days that make you LOVE LIFE so much. Because God has gone into our future and declared it good, for "the path of the righteous shines brighter and brighter unto the perfect day" (Proverbs 4:18) SPEAK FORTH God's promises into your life, because there is power in our spoken words and in speaking in tongues. Here's AMEN to a restful year full of favour, delight and abounding free favours from God!!!

See you guys back on the 16th (:

Goodbye consumer box cameras, hello DSLR (:


Finally, a DSLR of our own!
A while back, my bro and I were thinking of investing in one when we're older and well, have more finances of our own. I was really impressed by DSLRs after seeing the amazing photos Elisa took on our Australia trip back in July, experimenting with the pro cameras my bro brings back occasionally from his Photog society, the photos taken by my uncle on his many photography expeditions and those taken by church mates at various church gatherings and parties.

Recently we casually mentioned to our Dad about how nice it would be if we had a DSLR to bring on our Shanghai trip next week, but we thought that the chances were quite slim considering it's quite a hefty investment. To cut the long story short... they returned from the suntec computer fair yesterday with the prized Canon 450D in hand! Amen to Daddy God granting us the desires of our hearts even when finances may seem lacking in the natural =D



My bro very graciously helped me do a mini-photoshoot of my birthday bear given by my beloved caregroup. More pictures of it will be uploaded soon (I hope... *crosses fingers*... there are so many pictures I haven't put up yet =X). BUT anyway, I can't wait to start learning more about using DSLRs and going on photo-taking expeditions ;) Yay!

Now there's a new reason for me to love Disney princesses.

"... post-feminist criticism and other models of interpretation have counter-proposed [that] the power of women can be seen in [Disney movies] when one probes beneath the textual surface. In the characters of Snow White, Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty and Tinkerbell, many now see the emergence of a powerful form of femininity and a deconstruction of patriarchy.

... First, the only true powerful characters in Snow White are two women - Snow White and the evil queen. The men either are dwarves serving their newfound mistress faithfully, or else they play a perfunctory role (such as providing an anonymous kiss). Snow White is a ruler of Nature. All respond to her command, from the animals to the dwarves and the prince, who is beckoned to her side by an implicit natural instinct. Disney further explored the power of womanhood with similar motifs in Cinderella (1950) and Sleeping Beauty (1959). For example, like Snow White, Cinderella talks to the animals as part of the way in which she exercises her mystical force over Nature.

... The theme of the deconstruction of patriarchy has been further explored by the Disney Studio starting with its 1989 feature The Little Mermaid, modeled after the Shakespearean story of Ariel, a mischievous spirit. Ariel's departure to the world above her father's Sea Kingdom saliently showcases the fading power of the patriarchal system. Similarly Beauty and the Beast (1991) entails a clever reversal of roles, wherein it is the accursed prince who has to wait for his rescuer princess to come by and save him (Phoca and Wright 1999). Belle has carved out a model for a generation of women to follow in taking charge of their own identities. Two similar movies from the Disney Studio followed in the 1990s, Pocahontas (1995) and Mulan (1998), in which the heroines are portrayed as being physically and intellectually superior to any of the films' males. At the same time, the characters Pocahontas and Mulan possess the "feminine mystique" of predecessors like Snow White.

... Snow White, Cinderella, and Sleeping Beauty are hardly passive. They are wise and kind, but not submissive. They motivate those around them, even to the extent that others are at their beck and call. At least in my view, they are strong, feminist characters who at the same time are accepting of others. ... Despite early feminist misunderstandings of the Disney mythological subtext, it has become clear that cinema was, and continues to be, a powerful force in shaping belief systems and in changing the world, especially in deconstructing views of gender."

~ taken from my 'sociology of popular culture' textbook, Popular Culture: Introductory Perspectives by Marcel Danesi

wooooo i love this excerpt i found in my 'sociology of popular culture' textbook:

"As the contemporary Czech writer Milan Kundera (b. 1929) has aptly put it (Kundera 1991: 43):

Woman is the future of man. That means that the world which was once formed in man's image will now be transformed to the image of woman. The more technical and mechanical, cold and metallic it becomes, the more it will need the kind of warmth that only the woman can give it. If we want to save the world, we must adapt to the woman, let ourselves be led by the woman, let ourselves be penetrated by the Ewigweiblich, the eternally feminine!"

We were both young when I first saw you
I close my eyes and the flashback starts
I'm standing there on a balcony in summer air
See the lights, see the party, the ball gowns
See you make your way through the crowd
And say hello......

"Do not be afraid nor dismayed because of this great multitude, for the battle is not yours, but God’s... You will not need to fight in this battle. Position yourselves, stand still and see the salvation of the LORD... for the LORD is with you!”
~ 2 Chronicles 20:15-17

Stand STILL. And see God fight for you.
Thank You Jesus for Your unfailing faithfulness and staying true to every word You say in the Bible. The storm has blown over and You have brought us out even stronger.

I was seriously scared on Monday night when my mum suddenly told me that my dad would be warded into Gleneagles ICU the next day. He had gone for a medical check-up after my grandpa's funeral, and the doctor discovered that his heartbeat was irregular, so he wanted to ward my dad to carry out treatment. While praying with my dad that night, I suddenly broke down in tears cos I was so scared that what happened to my grandpa a few weeks ago would happen to my dad too.

But God gives us the faith even when we have none, because He is the "author and perfecter of my faith" (Hebrews 12:2). How much faith I have in Him is how much I know He has done for me on the Cross. And that's why He tells us to "give thanks in all circumstances" (1 Thessalonians 5:18), because praising Him turns our eyes towards Him and not to ourselves and our situations, knowing that He can never do harm against us.
He is the Prince of Peace, my 'shalom' - spiritual peace & physical & emotional well-being.

The first night I visited my dad, he looked rather weak, and he had lots of tubes on his chest and arm. The heart monitor indicated that my dad still had irregular heartbeat, and sometimes there would be a long pause between beats, causing the doctor to be concerned that he could encounter shortage of blood flow. It also seemed like role reversal, cos my dad would usually be the strong one to help the rest of us, but now he was the weak one on the bed looking up at us. But I know he still clung onto God's word of healing, and had on his lap a book by Kenneth Hagin about his heart problems and how God restored a new heart to him.

And that's how the prayer came about. Praying for God to give him a new heart.

But it felt weird without having him at home that night lol... like there's something missing. It's funny how we take the simplest things for granted and only realise it when it's not there.

After my presentation on Wednesday afternoon, my mum called to say that my dad had vomitted a few times that morning after his first treatment, and had to undergo some electric shock 'cardioversion' treatment thingy, like in shows where you see the surgeon pressing 2 iron-like objects on the patient's chest and his body jerks up... the doc wouldn't allow my mum to watch cos he said she would be frightened by the sight. My dad and mum prayed together after that for God's peace and healing, and that the discomfort is just lying symptoms from the devil. When I went down to see him after that, it turned out that he was feeling much better after that treatment and his heartbeat remained within the normal range.

While my bro and I were jumping around the room about Obama's victory, the nurse suddenly came in and said that my dad could be transferred to a normal ward. As my dad was rolled out of the ward in a wheelchair, his face lighted up and he said, "Wow... I can finally see the outside world again..." hahaha... and we were like, "You sound as if you have been cooped inside the ICU ward for a year" lol. Then when we reached the new ward, my dad suddenly stood up from the wheelchair and walked to the bed haha (like it doesn't sit right with our usual perception about people in wheelchairs haha...). My relatives came to visit that night and the atmosphere was lightened up with much joking and plans to chill out together when my dad gets discharged.

So my dad got discharged yesterday afternoon (: We took him out for a welcome-home dinner last night and I felt really very blessed to see the 4 of us around the table again. To know that we were close to having our lives altered for the worse... but at the same time pushing that thought out of our minds because when God puts something in our lives, it's always to enlarge our capacity for the greater blessings He's going to rain down on us later.

It's about perspective - that if we have see our Daddy God as the loving Daddy who holds our hand and knows what we need, then we don't have to fear the trials that are ahead of us, because we can trust Him completely... and know that His thoughts towards us are always that of love and to prosper us.

Even though life can resume its monotonous routine again, going through the grind and irritations of daily life. But it's like you can't take anything for granted, cos really, you never know how blessed you are until it gets taken away.

God, I'm scared of hospitals. Ever since what happened to Grandpa, I get scared just by hearing the word 'hospital'. And now Dad's going to be admitted into one tomorrow.

God I'm so scared.

Even though I know I shouldn't be, cos Your mighty arms of shalom and health are over my family.

You who hold the universe in the palm of Your hand, who calm the storms and the raging seas, will calm the storms raging within me and in my life.

"In my life, be lifted high
In my world, be lifted high
In our love, be lifted high."


A new heart.
A new heart for him.


Thank You Lord.

-------------------------------------------------------------
braving the 12 hours of project meetings today.
-------------------------------------------------------------

(phone rings)
"Morning, Mum."
"Happy birthday dear. I hate to break the news to you, but I'm very sorry that Grandpa passed away this morning."

--------------------------------------------

Sometimes I forget that he isn't around with us anymore.

It's been almost a week after the cremation, but sometimes I half-expect to hear the distinctive clang of keys at 6pm as my grandpa approaches the main door, or to see plates of aromatic piping hot food when I get back from school in the evening. Or to hear his loud coughing in the kitchen at 3am on nights when I'm still up doing work.


Cooking is his labour of love, and generosity is his trademark. His last love gift to us was a big box of a dozen curry/sardine/yam puffs he bought the night before he fainted, even though there are only 5 of us in the house. His last home-cooked dishes for us on Monday night had been very generous portions, despite us running out of gas and had to call for a new cylinder in the middle of his cooking (was that a sign?). His last soup was unlike his usual thick Cantonese kind with many ingredients and had to be brewed overnight - it was clear and simple potato & carrot soup. As simple and peaceful as his passing was.

preparing the place for a wake service

I was alone at home when I first received news of Grandpa's passing, and I felt immediately led by the Holy Spirit to anoint the whole house with anointing oil. On my round, I stumbled across the photo frame that was faced down on a countertop, and when I turned it up to set it back, I found myself looking at a photo of my Grandpa with my bro and I, celebrating his birthday more than a decade ago. And all the memories started flooding back.


How he would lug back fruits for us, including heavy watermelons, despite his limping leg. How he would wake up really early to go to the market, and even though there are only 5 of us, he cooked for us as though he was cooking for an entire village. And whenever I praised him for his excellent cooking, he would shrug it off with a "haiyahhh... sek lah sek lah (eat up eat up)..." Whenever he has money, he would give it to his elder brother, split among my brother and I, and keep very little for himself only. He wouldn't trouble anyone even if he was in pain, only allowing us to help when we ask. And if I told him I like a certain kind of food, like tau sar piah or yong tau foo, he would buy it back for me on the same day. I didn't prepare any notes to read from during the eulogy given during the NCC wake service, but the first thing that came to my lips were these - my Grandpa's generosity and unassuming nature.

note to Grandpa from my cousins in australia who couldn't fly back cos of exams - I miss you guys!


A miracle happened just before the NCC wake service... Pastor Soo Teck was talking to my parents when he found out that I could play the keyboard, so he asked me if I would like to play with the guitarist & singer for the worship session, if they manage to find a keyboard... and of course I said yes, if they manage to find a keyboard.

And it so happened that Jasbeer (the sound & logistics guy whom I also work with for weddings) had an extra keyboard in his van! Despite there being no time to rehearse, and the songs being all in Chinese, it was still amazing to be able to use God's gift to do this last thing for my grandpa. And what also touched me after the service, was that some non-believers were touched by the worship and went up to my uncle to find out more. It's so wonderful that God can use a wake service to sow His seed into people's hearts.



During a conversation with one of my aunts, I suddenly recalled an incident when Grandpa accidentally knocked over a bowl of water while cooking. Naturally we went to clean up the mess, even if he didn't have trouble bending down cos of his back. But throughout the clean-up, he kept apologising for causing the trouble, even though he doesn't have to cos he has the highest seniority in the family. My grandpa, apologising to his son and granddaughter, even though they were just carrying out their duty!

Last moments spent by his coffin: the radio he listened to everyday, and the date that couldn't have been more coincidental

As I stood by the coffin gazing at my Grandpa on the last night of the wake, I felt a sense of peace. I'm glad to have had the privilege of living with a grandparent ever since I was born and glean from their wisdom and advice. I'm thankful for the chances I had to spend time with my Grandpa and talk to him while he was still alive. To catch a glimpse of his childhood. His love for cooking. To serve him his favourite coffee everyday. To help him turn on the troublesome gas stove. And to help him clip his toenails. Lol.

Grandpa enjoying heaven with Grandma now

During the few days of the wake, I've been trying to decipher my dad's emotions. Not one to be extremely expressive, he just kept a still sorrow on his face the whole time.
But at the crematorium hall, it was the first time I had ever seen my dad so emotionally distraught. As the coroner covered the coffin lid to be transported to the furnace, he cried "Father!" and reached out for my grandpa and let go all the tears and emotions he had inside. It was a side of my dad I had never seen before, and it really broke my heart to see him like that.

Despite the emotional upheaval, there was a sense of peace as I watched my grandpa's coffin slowly moving towards the furnace. It was like sending him off at an airport - on a plane to heaven.

Thanks to everyone who came to the wake to offer your love and support, despite your hectic school and work schedule of projects and deadlines... your physical presence really meant a lot to me, and it warmed my heart to see how much you care (:



The next day was the sea burial, my grandpa's last wish of having his ashes scattered into the sea.






The whole boat journey and ceremony was filled with peace and closure, partly cos there was a 1-day buffer between the cremation and the sea burial. It was done quietly and smoothly, and the fine weather and cool breeze was like Grandpa's way of assuring us that he's having the time of his life in heaven.

Perhaps the way I want to remember my grandfather is the way he prepared his last soup for us - unassuming, simple, and sincere.

It feels strange to be sitting at home tonight. I'm about to board the train ride out of teenagehood, and yet the atmosphere in the house is unusually silent.

My heart skips a beat everytime my mum phones home, anxious of what she might say about my grandpa's latest condition. Mixed feelings about my grandpa being in ICU. So mixed that I don't really know what I'm feeling right now. But knowing that all this confusion eventually finds peace in God's almighty hands. Instead of having my family close by my side tonight, they're spending the night in the hospital instead.

But it doesn't matter, because Jesus is always by my side. True celebration is not in outward manifestations, but inner rejoicing in the heart (: And I'm truly thankful for the journeys God has brought me on in my final teenage year.

To have lived, laughed and loved... to look back on this wild year and see the whispers of love between the lines, to know that I've done all these things while I was 19, to look around and see all the amazing people God has brought into my life, and to know that His fingerprints were all over it... that's enough for me to know.

At the dawn of the road ahead, as the first beams of sunlight hit my cheeks, I can only feel confident and excited about the first step I'm going to take, for "the path of the righteous shines brighter and brighter unto the perfect day" (:

At the stroke of midnight, I hear my Beloved whispering to me,
"Rise up, my love, my fair one,
And come away."
(Song of Songs 2:10)
Come away... come away with me...

"He will feed His flock like a shepherd;
He will gather the lambs with His arm,
And carry them in His bosom,
And gently lead those who are with young."
~ Isaiah 40:11

My tender and loving Jesus.
Strong to fight for me
My body shield from my enemies
Yet gentle and loving in holding me in His bosom.

Oh what a beautiful place to be, Jesus, to be in Your arms and so close to Your heart <3

Presenting... my brand new Sony Vaio pink lizard skin laptop!

(I haven't gotten down to taking a pic of and with my new V yet, so this pic will have to suffice for the meantime.)




I'm so ecstatic! After months of praying and using that as my visualisation picture, I finally got my new V today! =D It's my early birthday present from my dad, who recently experienced a lot of favour in closing some property deals.

My Apple has served me faithfully for 4 years, and even though I still love it very much, there's the inevitable wear-and-tear over the years, such as lagginess, an almost non-existent battery life, outdated system that doesn't support upgrades, not enough RAM to run programmes, incompatibility with certain school programmes... among other things. Thus the need for a replacement.

And it's so awesome how this laptop is like a God-sent to me. During freshmen matriculation fair in August, I was caught in a dilemma cos I wanted to get a laptop with Photoshop (especially for my 2208 design module this sem), which came free with laptops purchased in school, but they didn't offer any Sony models. So I was still cracking my brain as to how to borrow Photoshop from others to install if I get a Vaio... and then about 2 weeks ago, I was outside Carrefour at Suntec with my mum and bro while waiting for 3rd service, when we walked past a Sony promotion booth with Vaios on display. We just casually browsed through and talked to the salesgirl... and to my amazement, I found out that the Vaio came pre-installed with Photoshop and Adobe Premiere elements! I never knew a laptop could come with Photoshop already inside!

At that moment, I felt like it was God telling me that He will meet all my needs, even my specific request to have Photoshop with my laptop! Not only that, but the laptop was also PINK, both outside and inside, and no prizes for guessing why that appeals so much to me =P

So today, after the indoor stadium service, I finally got my precious V (: It came with a matching colour-coordinated carry case and mouse, and the salesgirl also threw in other freebies like Office student edition, and a free 3GB RAM upgrade. Everything I wanted in a laptop... it's like a dream come true. God is so faithful, down to the smallest detail... and amidst whatever that may be happening in the world economy, His supply house in Heaven never runs out!

Operation Laptop: my bro and I dressing up as terrorists!

Just a random break from our routine of staying in our rooms to do schoolwork for the sake of comic relief. My bro planned a surprise attack operation on my dad to get his laptop back from him. Due to some disputes over grades, my dad kept my bro's laptop in his room, placing it next to him under the table for safeguarding. We adopted the all-out strategy of making a loud entrance, and I was supposed to cover for my bro, in case my dad pulls some Aikido moves on him, while he went to snatch the laptop bag away.

Brandishing our guns and yelling war cries at the top of our lungs, we burst into my parents' room where my dad was engrossed in his work. To our surprise we didn't have to put up with any resistance at all cos my dad just stared at us in shock as we went in for our grab. Haha!

Operation successful! =P

Summer days before Hillsong (part 2)

Hillsong United The Zone concert (24 May):








It was so exciting that Hillsong United was finally coming down to Singapore again. It would also be the first time that Pastor Benjamin would be preaching at The Zone.

The music ministry got a special chance to go early and observe Hillsong United's sound check. I didn't know which entrance everyone was meeting at, so I just happily went in from the back door (the usher there didn't even stop me to ask for my ticket o_O), bumped into Joan, Mark & Ray backstage and we were allowed to just go upstage to interact with the musicians.













The 4 keyboardists (me, esther, elaine & joan) before the event

While Joan and I were onstage gawking at the keyboardist's super-pro Mac software that he hooked up to the keyboard to get his sounds from, we saw a whole bunch of people walking in from the other end of the hall. It turned out that the rest of the music people were waiting outside the hall, and Elaine & Esther said, "when we came in we were jealous that the both of you were already onstage observing the keyboardist! =P"













Inside the hall during sound check

The empty hall looked like an ice skating rink... and logistics people were literally moving around on roller blades across the floor =P I marvelled at the thought that this huge empty space would soon be entirely filled up with youths. I was so excited about the ice skating rink thing that I msged my caregroup (who were waiting outside with the rest of the youths) about it =P

It was at this time that Liang Hong suddenly msged me to ask if I would be attending the concert. It came as a surprise cos I didn't know he knew about this concert and would be coming for it, and the sound check was so loud that he said he could it from next door where he was attending his City Harvest service haha.












pre-service icebreakers






























I couldn't help it but I was too intrigued by the lighting effects













with jade, minghui and john after the concert

I felt that the atmosphere of this year's The Zone was better than last year's one with Planetshakers, maybe cos we're more familiar with Hillsong music. This would be like a prequel to Hillsong Conference in July, where I would experience more of their music and band-playing firsthand.


Girls' night in at Jade's crib (26 May)

It was an evening of delicious home-made food (kudos to Chef Jade & her friend whose name I can't rmb ><) and fellowshipping at Jade's cosy place. Coincidentally it was also a day of a few 'first's: First day working at Pat's Schoolhouse, first time meeting Livia after she returned for summer vacation, and first time meeting a few other of Jade's friends.










slacking at the dining table while the chefs were still busy... and looking for a video of the Hairspray dance I was supposed to perform at Arrow church camp to show Minghui












tired after a long day at Pat's Schoolhouse running after kids












it's good to have you home, Livia








our sumptuous feast of spaghetti, quiches, cheese-baked mushrooms, corn soup, fake-mudpies & butter cake haha...

I must say, I actually enjoyed the cheese-baked mushrooms Jade & her friend made. That's a major compliment coming from a mushroom-hater HAHA. The cake Jade served us was supposed to be mudpie, but she only found out later that it was chocolate sponge cake haha...

Dinner was filled with interesting conversation topics ranging from food preparation to self-defence tactics to winter in Canada. It was really good fellowship with good company, and even though some of us just met for the first time, we were all comfortable in each other's presence. But we missed Suanne too, cos she couldn't join us last minute :(













Livia demonstrating her prowess after dinner












candid moment while I adjust the camera's position for self-timer mode...
Minghui: "this is where Jofid will run in."
(everyone turns to look in synchrony)
























everyone innocently acts cute while Livia kills someone -_- hahaha...


A Time to Shine 2: A day out to the Airport (31 May)

For the 2nd year running, the Arrow NUS Cluster organised an outreach programme for underprivileged kids in New Town Primary. This included buying schoolbooks and school shoes for the kids, and taking them out on an educational excursion to Terminal 3 (:





























Me and my charge, Cathy-pretty

When I first met Cathy, she was an energetic, dominant, loud-mouthed girl who lacked tact in speaking to others, bluntly calling people "ugly" or "naughty" etc. So following the principle of calling forth edifying things in faith, Winnie and I decided to convert her by teaching her to add a "-pretty" to every girl's name and a "-handsome" to every guy's name. I must say, we were quite successful cos Cathy spent the rest of the day complimenting every girl and guy she met =P














Our group: Japan Airlines, with Kirsten as our leading air stewardess

Amy later commented that she didn't know whether to be happy or sad for me when she found out I was assigned to Cathy: sad cos I had to put up with her, but happy cos I would be patient enough to handle her. I really thanked God that I just started working at Pat's Schoolhouse that week, cos through that God equipped me with the patience, understanding and love to deal with kids like Cathy. Initially when Cathy showed signs of rejection, I had to respond back with love. When she said things like, "I want to change partner because you are not pretty", I responded with things like, "But I want to be your partner because I love you, Cathy." It's like how we kept rejecting God in the beginning, but God still responded to us with love even when we were unlovable. He loved us not for our achievements or looks, but simply for being His children.












Lining up to form the words 'CONTROL TOWER'












Sam reining in his 2 boys















playing a game about mathematics and weights















mix n' match












Sam teaching his boys to breakdance
















Hakim's perfect babyfreeze!














competing to form the longest 'conveyor belt'... my team won!












Jasmine & I with best friends Cathy & Jieying












Our kids & their affirmation cards we decorated with them

After the publicity team's many hours of making 100-over affirmation card frames, I'm glad our tears and sweat paid off when I saw how pretty and colourful they looked on the kids... and how important the cards will be to them when they go home and read the encouraging words on it.

















the active kids vs. the demure kids

Sigh why couldn't my Cathy be part of the demure group instead of running around and making me chase her haha...

















At lunchtime I had to bring Cathy to the toilet, so by the time I got back everyone had started eating and there were no more burgers left for me =O Somehow our group was short of 1 lunch order, so Coach Maddy had to send someone to deliver 1 more burger for me. Jiahao arrived and waved the burger around and asked who it was for, and when I raised my hand in relief, he grinned and said, "You're the most blessed one cos this burger is still fresh and hot!" =P















5 guys and a trolley












JAL!

A near-difficult situation came near the end of the T3 outing where all the groups were hanging around after lunch to take group shots, and our group took our kids to race on the trolleys. Cathy suddenly got really angry at her friends for not giving her enough trolley space to stand on and walked off from the group. Despite our calls to her and her friends' apologies, stubborn Cathy just continued walking away and disappeared into the crowd of people. Naturally I had to look out for her, being my charge, but the more I went after her, the more she shouted at me not to follow her. I could just walk away and wait for her to come back on her own, but she had dangerously found her way next to some electrical rooms behind a carpark. She sat herself down and refused to budge or listen to me. There were people all around us, and I couldn't just stand there looking like a fool, shout at her or drag her back by force, so I told God to help me deal with her.

With her back turned towards me, I said, "Ok if you don't want to follow me back, I'll go back alone." and walked off.

Unsure if she would listen and follow me back, yet not wanting to turn around to give the game away, I just continued walking forward in faith. It wasn't long before I heard footsteps behind me.

When we got back to the group, the others came to my aid by helping me to cheer Cathy up and dissipate her stubbornness. It was a risk to walk away and leave her alone, but thank God it was a risk worth taking.















Cathy-pretty and I after a long day
















Hanyang the gentleman

When we returned to the school, the kids still had some performances to show us, but I had to rush off to play for a church wedding at Goodwood Park. I gave Cathy-pretty a big hug and entrusted her into someone else's care before running off, and according to what some of them told me afterwards, Cathy kept asking where I went after I left.

So what started off initially as her disliking me as her partner, turned into love for each other at the end of the day. I also saw the transformation in her within a day, from being strong-headed and blunt to being an affectionate and more considerate. She even wrote my name next to hers on her affirmation card, shared her fries with me and kept asking me if I could take her shopping haha (nono I didn't brainwash her LOL).

I felt it was really good that we could give these kids an enjoyable outing for a change and let them learn stuff at the same time. We just had a follow-up event with them last Saturday (13 Sep), but this post is supposed to be about what happened before July so I'll blog about that another time =P

I'm so bad at updating haha... the next few posts shall be an attempt to catch up on everything that happened before the Hillsong Australia trip.


8 May - pigging out at ding tai fung and food republic:


22 June - 5/7 of the English Gang enjoying food and games at Jasmine's condo's function room:

suanne's alphabet blocks



Shin's birthday celebration (19 Apr)


heart donut + impromptu candle


birthday girl shin


shin looking like gary the snail


blessed coming in and blessed going out!

after hours labouring over the transparencies and paint and writing birthday notes from the cg, we finally go to present shin with her door curtain!


the birthday company =D (yeow with her smug promoter smile LOL)

CG makan day 1 (20 May)

When the CG found out, to their horror and shock, that I didn't know what 'kueh chap' was, they decided that they had to bring me on a series of makan sprees to introduce me to various local delicacies lol.

In Episode 1, we head down to Maxwell Food Centre.



































































food overload: ngoh hiang, oyster cakes, goreng pisang, ham chin peng, ju kueh, soyabean milk, peanut ice kachang...











































1. sign typo - "... at any tables"?
2. aren't the tables free for all?

Since the Urban Revelopment Authority (URA) building was just next-door to Maxwell market, we just hopped over to view the exhibits (and enjoy some aircon haha...)










in the URA lift (sorry yongxun got cut out of the pic =P)










watching/participating in an interactive "Facts about Singapore" game show










Coach Maddy joined us for a trip down to SKS Christian Bookshop at Outram, dim sum dinner @ sunshine plaza... and Mind Cafe afterwards!






















Balderdash - a game filled with random unbelievable but true facts (in categories of personalities, laws, movies, words & initials)

Every player takes turn to be the 'tester' who rolls a dice to determine the category & picks a card from there. After reading out what's on the card (e.g. a personality name / "Michigan has a law that no one can do this after 4pm" / movie title / initials or acronym / ridiculous-sounding word), the rest of the players have to guess the answer and write it down on a piece of paper, while the 'tester' writes down the correct answer given on the card. The 'tester' collects everyone's answers (including his/her own correct one) and reads them out 1 by 1, and each person will then decide which they think is the correct answer. Players who pick the right answer get to move a step forward on the gameboard. If you happen to write down the correct answer on the 1st attempt, you get to move 2 steps forward automatically.

The fun lies in coming up with & hearing all the ridiculous funny answers people write down! while trying to make it as convincing & believable to others as possible haha... I can't remember how many crappy cheem answers I came up with already haha...










Coach Maddy with a suspiciously mischievous grin as she writes down her answer










Bev read this answer out as "13 cm reverse" (and no one understood what it meant) when actually the '13' was the question number, 'CM' was Chee Min's initials to identify her paper and 'Reverse' was her answer lol!

Singapore Arts Festival opening waterworks display (23 May)































A man on a moving piano!













The Boat quay area already filled with people long before the event was scheduled to begin at























































































































Paul and I after the event (argh my shaky hands)

Most parts were too artistic/abstract for me to understand =P but the visual effects were quite interesting and the cool thing was that everything was done on water.

We took a walk around Boat Quay talking about Indian restaurants and women with scary overdone mascara and zombie movies... and with the majestic Fullerton Hotel in front of us, we decided that since we couldn't afford to dine or stay there, we would just use the hotel restrooms as an excuse to step inside =P

One day I'll save up enough money to treat my parents to a stay in Fullerton. Amen. hahaha.

It has been such an eventful 'summer' (although not summer at all in wintery Australia =P)... working at Pat's Schoolhouse and spending July in Australia. The following entry was supposed to be up before I left for Australia, but I couldn't finish it in time... well, better late than never!

-----------------

30 June 2008


Jacqueline, Esther, Elaine and I with the 1 year olds

And so the adventures at Pat's Schoolhouse have come to an end. What a journey it has been. I'm not sure if working in childcare is my preferred career for life, but for those who are called to this profession, it is a really rewarding experience at the end of the day.

During the day, whether I'm running after kids in the playground, shoving noodles into their mouths (ok not so rough la =P) or patting them to sleep, Jesus shows me bits and pieces of Himself in my situation.

One particular week, He kept showing me repeatedly how to lean on Him and His perfect strength, mirrored through my interaction with the kids. Just as how they make me feel loved and willing to go all out for them when they lean on me and depend on me to take care of them... how much more Jesus and His perfect strength? It showed me that He wanted me to draw all I can from Him radically, because unlike human logic, Jesus is refreshed when we draw from Him, His rivers of living water (as seen in the incident with the Samaritan woman by the well, and when Mary sat down at His feet to listen to Him). It's like the surging feeling of love and the desire to protect when the little kids, like Cara, snuggles into my lap and looks up at me with vulnerable eyes that shows me she knows I'm capable of taking care of her. Similarly, by leaning fully on Jesus' bosom, I'm acknowledging that HE is my Provider and God, which makes Him want to provide and bless me even more.

This picture Jesus was trying to show me was met with a confirmation later that week when I was checking my email and happened to click on a Multiply email update showing recent posts by contacts (which I rarely did). At the bottom of the page, there was a particular blog entry by a friend's friend, about the exact same issue God was trying to show me, titled "What the phrase: "God loves it when we take from Him" really means" (click here to read if you have a multiply account).

I clicked on the entry, read it, and sat at my desk just blinking at the computer screen, cos what he wrote was exactly what was going through my heart all week. An excerpt from his entry reads, "Our taking from God is likened to nourishment to God. I also believe that when we have such a revelation of how good God is, that we can take everything we want from Him, we bring such a joy to Daddy's heart, putting an extra skip in His step as He dances over us with love. Words cannot explain what I received, but all I can say is that we need to be more radical in our belief that we can take all that we want from God, and that He is willing!"

"(David) was someone who had a good opinion of God, someone that knew that God loves to give to him. That is why he kept taking from God, and it pleased God so much."





sunshine girl Cara, who greets me with a "hello miss jofid!" every morning in her high-pitched aussie-accented voice... easily one of the happiest kids i've ever met =D



Another time, God showed me that He alone can see the big picture, and He has everything under control. Instances like when I'm watching over them in the playground, e.g. leading them across a mini obstacle course - I want them to establish independence and confidence by coercing them to cross on their own, but sometimes they grip my hand very tightly out of fear of falling, or even want to hold both my hands for added security.

When I slowly release their hand, it's because I am still carefully watching out for them, having full view of every part of the obstacle course, knowing where the dips and slopes are, and I assure them repeatedly that I will catch them if they should stumble and fall.

Similarly, at the times we freak out over small obstacles, short-term problems right in front of our eyes, don't forget that Daddy God has a bird's eye view of the situation, knowing everything from beginning to the end. It may feel like He's absent -- but He never takes His eye off you, because He looks after His beloved child, just like the good shepherd guarding his sheep with his life. In times of turbulence, God has everything under control -- He's the one who calms the storms and raging seas. The kids may be afraid to walk through the obstacle course alone, but they have no cause for worry because I'm always there to protect and take care of them. And how much more our Daddy God? There is no need to worry in our times of trial, because He sees the big picture and works everything out for good.

Little pockets of random memories:


Keziah cosying up when she couldn't sleep


adorable mushroom-head Nash

It didn't take me long to learn from the teachers that Nash only has 2 ways of addressing females he meets: 'jiejie' or 'auntie'. Of course all the teachers hope to be called 'jiejie', but this blissfully unaware little boy ends up offending them unknowingly half the time =P Then my time of testing came, and a sigh of relief was heaved when he smiled and me and said, "jiejie" (:




heartbreaker Owen with those killer eyes (that has got ALL the teachers at his mercy) and angelic french curls

French men are notorious lady-killers for nothing... this little heartbreaker is really good with the ladies, even at the tender age of 2!




my darling, always... Elie.

I love Elie's balanced mix of carefree boisterousness and quiet tenderness.

I fell in love with her the first time she fell asleep in my arms. When it comes to nap time, Elie is a tricky one to handle cos she doesn't like to drink her milk and sleep, and if she eventually falls asleep, she'll wake up at the slightest noise. The first time I encountered this was when I stepped into the sleeping room and saw her crying and refusing the milk a teacher was trying to feed her. In desperation, the teacher shoved her to me to settle her down. I had never done this before, but as I rocked her sobbing body gently and held the milk bottle to her mouth, she started drinking and drifted off to sleep.

I'll never forget the feeling of cradling a child to sleep in my lap. From then on, whenever she kicked up a fuss about napping, I would be the privileged one who could calm her down and hold her to sleep.

Elie, the sweet quiet gentle darling. During lesson times when we're all seated on the floor, she would innocently sidle onto my lap and refuse to share me with anyone else who wanted a part of it too. Oh, and those big pretty eyes that speak volumes when they look at me for help, protection or reassurance.

And I feel so loved whenever I see her face light up when I walk into the classroom, or when she comes running towards me after she wakes up, or when she cried and refused to let go of me cos I had to go to another class to take over for another teacher on a few occasions.

But her inner wild child emerges when she's in her element - on the swing. You should hear her shrill bursts of delight when she's flying through midair, especially when I tickle her when her swing approaches me... it has made many a teacher exclaim from the other end of the playground. And in the music room when the kids are allowed to run around, there are sporadic moments when she goes crazily-high and dashes around laughing at the top of her lungs.


taking the kids for a ride in the park

When I went over to help out at the infants side...

pretty emilia, the principal's cover girl for the camera crews who visit =P


sweet caius, who reminds me of a hong kong actor, the one who always plays a police inspector =P

And at the infants side, there's always Jacq, Esther and Elaine to talk to and share with, making the hours pass faster, and there's always something to learn from these girls.

I'm thankful for the favour I had with my boss and colleagues... the teachers at my toddlers side can be a bit dangerous to hang out with at times cos they're known to gossip a lot, especially during lunch. But it's God's wisdom that leads me to say the right things at the right times. And I even got a chance to share with one of the China teachers about church and playing for worship and Singapore's university education system (in CHINESE =O).

I tried my best to stay out of the 'classroom politics' between the teachers and the boss, and when I submitted to the authority God placed over me, I found that favour followed after me. My boss Anita remarked to Jacq that she thought I was good at what I was doing, asked me to help her on a few occasions with some new classroom decor (including climbing onto cabinets and poking paperclips into the ceiling boards O_O), didn't scold me when I made mistakes, was pleased with the pictures I took for an outdoor painting lesson (it was really God's grace and anointing on the camera, cos the situation went out of control cos the kids were so messy with the paints and they were getting irritated by the hot noon sun), allowed me to take leave without a question even though there was less manpower and part-timers don't really have this privilege, excitedly showed me the new classrooms she furnished (like a child proudly showing an artwork to a parent), and left me with a small farewell gift.

I walked out of Pat's Schoolhouse on my last day, with the scene of the kids happily playing in the playground to remember them by. There was so much for me to learn in God's little kingdom, trials to overcome and joys to discover. Oh, may we stay young at heart forever!

I hold the steaming cup of green tea in my hands. The waitress walks over to clear the plates on our table, as we continue to revisit past memories. All that's left are two pots of green tea among the three of us.

Silence breaks the animated chatter that had dominated the most part of the dinner. I look up to see tears welling up in her eyes.

I put an arm around her shoulders. And suddenly, tears start falling from all around the table.

--

Two grown women crying together, reaching out for parents who are no longer around. In that instant, I saw my mother and aunt being transformed into little girls again.

While dancing through happy childhood memories, my aunt stumbles across a particular incident where she stood in the principal's office as her mother received a harsh verbal beating for withdrawing her daughter from secondary school. My grandmother's shadow bore the burden of having to sponsor education for another five younger children, but these were words she could not say to the principal. My aunt stood up for her mother, lying that it was she herself who did not want to continue studying, while knowing in her heart that her sacrifice would provide education for her younger siblings.

My aunt's tears were in memory of how her mother took in all the scolding and bore her financial burden silently. Like the tears in the dark when you suddenly think of your parents, but you can't hold them or talk to them anymore, simply because they are not around for you to.

My mum spoke, telling us that just a few days ago, she was sitting in the car when she saw an old man looking out of the window of another car. "It's like you want to reach out to call to that person, that person who looks so much like your father, but you can't, because you suddenly realise that that person is not your father."

--

And I remember the times in Australia when I called home, and would suddenly get so choked up just hearing my parents' voice on the other end of the line. I got reminded again and again that family is the closest thing to the heart. And it was those times that I told myself that it doesn't matter if my mum or dad nags at me, because at least I get to hear their voice again.

Tim Costello humorously said during a session in Hillsong Conference, "I have learnt that it doesn't matter what age or continent you're from, your mother will reach you."

I couldn't agree more.

And today, just being able to hold my parents and talk to them, is already a blessing to me. I want to cherish them with every moment I have with them. I don't ever want the day to come where I have to reach out in the dark for the parents who are no longer around.

--

We are the only three patrons left in the restaurant. It is already past closing time. The waiters change out of their uniforms, as we thank the waitress for accommodating us despite the time. We walk to the carpark, and my mum and I wait for my aunt to drive off safely before walking to our car. Under the starry night sky, I hold her hand tighter, because I'm so blessed to have her with me.

I'm the most blessed girl in the world.

It takes effort to rebel. That's what I learnt from a kid at my workplace today.


my little koala bear

After Reagan entered the 'Terrible Two' phase, he's been running around all day long, putting rice in his hair during mealtimes, hiding my water bottle, refusing to participate during lessons, intentionally doing the stuff you specifically told him not to do and laughing at the top of his lungs when you scold him for it.

But today he was the complete angel I knew when I first started work. He compliantly did everything he was told, sat down quietly and listened during lessons, smiling sweetly at me and tugging at my hand to bring me around. The other teachers and I were surprised at this sudden change in behaviour, and noticed that he was a little low on energy today, and looked a little stoned and watery-eyed during the day.

He probably wasn't feeling too good to think of ways to go against the flow, thus obediently following whatever he was being told to do. He's really cute, but if only he could be this guai and adorable everyday. Haha.

So it isn't that easy after all to rebel eh.

my sweetiepie Elie


It's been 3 days at Pat's Schoolhouse and I've got bruises on my knees, aching hamstrings and zombified eyes from waking up at 6 in the mornings and running around with the kids all day. But even though at the end of the day I'm super-duper tired cos 90% of the time is spent keeping the kids entertained and watching out for their every move, I find it fulfilling and enjoyable being around them.


bright-eyed Sean

I love looking into their big sparkling innocent eyes.

I'm currently stationed in the 1+ - 2 yrs old age group section. On the 1st day within the first half an hour of work, I witnessed a male-bonding session - albeit toddler-style. 2 little boys stood in a face-off position, exchanged war cries, and showed off their brawns by having a race around the classroom. From then on, anything one of them did was affirmed by the other's 'manly low grunts' and clapping. It was so honest and amusing that I was seriously tickled by it.


little darling Sarah xiaojie

It's so sweet how these little kids just come up to you with a big smile and tug at your hand to go play or read a book with them. Because they're not old enough to speak a proper sentence or read words, it can be a challenge communicating with them, but that makes the job more creative and unpredictable. I took care of little darling Sarah here on the 1st day and we instantly clicked, but I got posted to the adjacent class for the next 2 days so I didn't get to interact with her much, but whenever she caught a glimpse of me from across the classroom border she would smile and wave shyly and sweetly (:


sweetie Elie

I fell in love with Elie the moment I saw her. Isn't she the most adorable thing? And even her name is so cute! Because I was a new face in a crowd of familiar teachers, I had to work my way up to build up trust with the kids... and I really thank God for favour with them, because now the kids, especially Elie, voluntarily cosy up on my lap when I'm sitting on the floor. And it was funny how, when I left the classroom to bring Gisele to the bathroom, Elie started shouting and ran towards the door cos she thought I was going away haha.


i love the expression on her face! priceless.

More about my little sweethearts next time!

i <3 my youngest cousin

I went for my first job 'interview' today at Pat's Schoolhouse, where Jacq recommended the position of teacher's assistant for me. The reason the word 'interview' is in inverted commas is because it didn't turn to be like a real interview, to my pleasant surprise.

I'm thankful for the favour I had with Jacq's boss, Anita. She must really have trusted Jacq's recommendation, cos she was already giving me forms to fill in before asking me about relevant experiences in handling kids. Our conversation got off to a good start when we found out that I share several similarities with her daughter, one of which is being ACJC students, and art lovers.

She gave me a short tour around the place and as I waved to the little kids in their classrooms, she said, "Taking care of children is like having eyes at the back of your head. You have to be alert all the time."

Looks like I'm in for a ride. Not to mention learning how to change diapers =P

So I got the position of teacher's assistant in helping to take care of the kids throughout the day, starting on Monday. I got the early shift starting at 7.30am, and even though I'm NOT a morning person at all, it'll be a good experience, and I get to end earlier too.

Before I left, she said to me, "You'll grow to love the kids, and miss them when you leave. Then you can come back to work during your next school holidays again."

And I haven't even started working yet! Talk about trust and favour man...

GEEK FEST! (5 Apr 2008)

To make the most out of Arrow's Geek Fest, some of us from the CG - Ying Ling, Amy, Weiwei and I - decided to make oversized dorky specs for everyone in the CG. Armed with cardboard kopped from the bookshop, construction paper and penknives, we got down to work!


the first prototype

Modifying from our first prototype, which was quite rough-edged as the cardboard was quite hard to cut through, the specs slowly evolved from thick boxy frames to more creative and funky shapes.


second modification -- alien antennas!


huang fei hong goggle-eyed specs


lovestruck weiwei! (whoever said love is BLIND was dead-right!)


yingling's neon blue specs


me and the alien antennas


spiky amy (sweet on the outside, tough on the inside)


yongxun holds the world in the palm of his hands


hard at work


work in progress


intense concentration


tidying the 'work desk' up

The finishing touches were made with dimensional paint, marker and glitter glue - resulting in some somewhat successes and fashion disasters haha. But weird + abstract act + geeky = the new fashion statement, no?


the esplanade & the sexy geek


almost done


presenting... our finished work! :D


coach maddy looking hot in red ;)


geeks (:

I remember a particular occasion a few years back when I felt frustrated by my Mum and vented it out to Paul... and at the end of everything, he simply said, "at least you still have a mum."

I don't know why but somehow what he said just stuck with me. It wasn't anything particularly mind-blowing or revolutionary, but it just brought me back to that one simple thing. Thank God I have a Mum. And much more than that, at that moment I lost sight of this precious blessing God has placed in my life.

She's the woman I want to be when I grow up. Strong, capable, independent, smart, confident, beautiful, warm, sensitive to others' feelings, efficient, knows what she wants and is not afraid to go for it. On top of that, a mother's heart is unfathomable, unmatchable and unbelievable.

She loved me even when I was unlovable and embraced my flaws without judging me. She gave up her time and energy for me even when she was exhausted, and went the extra miles without asking for anything in return.

Well, sometimes it isn't expressed in the best way, but everyday God's opening my eyes to see the love behind her words and actions.

They say you'll never realise how much your Mum means to you until you become a mother yourself. And until then, I want to learn how to cherish every moment I have with her.

I <3 ACJC FUN-O-RAMA 2008! (29 march)
(this image is courtesy of deborah's facebook)


(act-cute) ephraim is so excited!

the night before Fun-o-rama, Eph Shin and I crashed and stayed over at Yeow's dorm. Bizcom elections ended past midnight so by the time Yeow, Zhouchu and I sang accapella all the way back to hall (shuttle buses were off-service by that time), Eph & Shin had been waiting on the rooftop for ages haha. we dragged mattresses up from the lounge and basically filled up Yeow's entire floor with them... and thanks to Eph our resident alarm clock, we managed to wake up in time for Fun-o-rama...




so happy to be back in AC! (omg all the eyebags haha...)


half the CG @ andrea's stall




2/3 of the sisterhood

It was fun meeting up with 2/3 of the sisterhood too, back in the place where we first met and where we spent 2 memorable years mugging playing laughing stressing gossiping debating eating exercising together.


of lasagne and tiramisu


minghui & her friend posing proudly with their exclusive ac shirts






2 interesting banners spotted


hot wheels ;)


THE DUNKING


the dunking of the principal


mr ngoei proudly hosting the dunking auction...


... and the next in line to be dunked


mr ngoei (before he got dunked)


the ever-youthful looking miss ng


our dear ex-form teacher ms marhaini

It was just wonderful to be back in AC, seeing familiar faces again and simply knowing by the look on their faces that the AC spirit never dies.

Grow old along with me, the best is yet to be.

When I was young, I used to ask why most of the songs that I hear are about love. Different words, different melodies, different words - but they were all love songs. I didn't understand then.

I tried writing my first love song in Sec 1 for a songwriting competition. It failed miserably. I didn't even know how to start. In the end, I turned to the theme of friendship instead, which - by God's grace - got me into the finals. Being the youngest contestant there, I also didn't understand why all the other finalist songs were either about love or heartbreak either.

But bit by bit, I began to realise what a powerful emotion love is. How it permeates and saturates our lives that we can't help but to write about it.

It is an age-old quest that never ends. Love is probably one of the few emotions that can tug at our heartstrings so easily. Only love makes us change for another person, sacrifice our personal comfort or pleasure, and to become a bigger person than who we were before. Perhaps love is the only emotion that is so intense and wraps itself so closely around our hearts that it is expressed best not through words, but through the music and rhythm of our hearts.

In the words of the fallen star from 'Stardust', Yvaine, "But when I see the way that mankind loves… you could search to the furthest reaches of the universe and never find anything more beautiful."

And indeed, love is what makes us human.

22nd March 2008: CG BBQ

I had my first BBQ with my NUS caregroup at Chee Min's place during the Good Friday weekend! It was an evening of good fellowship, yummylicious food, a case of a violent game-turned-civil, and lots of smoke and ashes =P



It was raining when Ying Ling, Amy, Jasmine and I first reached Chee Min's house, and at first we were a little worried about the bbq pits having to be under shelter and its smoke might travel into the house. And it proved quite a feat to start up the fire without any guys around to help (Coach Maddy's plan to have guys around to do the bbq job backfired haha)...


fanning and fanning and vigorously fanning



In the meanwhile, Amy & I decided to start making the games first, and roped Daffy in when she arrived. We planned a crossword puzzle (with exceptionally wide lines and small words to cross their eyes haha) and a flour game to get them all dirty, but we didn't get to play these in the end cos the fire took too long to start up. But they'll be unleashed during our next gathering mwahaha...


who went into the whale?! (questions for the flour game)


the "Know your family" crossword

And the FOOD! Omg it was just absolutely mouth-watering... (I'm drooling just by looking at the pictures)


before & after

We ordered the bbq food online through this website Coach Maddy recommended, with the raw meat already marinated for us... and it tasted SO good. Their chicken wings, black pepper chicken fillet and dory fillet were really really good. They also have cooked food available, like noodles and fishballs etc. Thankfully, Amy often took food to share with me, cos I was trying very hard to control and not appear like a glutton =P


Coach happily feeding her sheep the delicious food


BBQed babes



And God sent Chee Min's brother to help us with the dying fire! Not so that our eating spree could continue into the night haha, but it really made it easier and faster to BBQ the food after that. And I was decidedly satisfied with my role of being the butter-applier (if such a word exists).


a new way of cooking

We were also looking at the moon, marvelling at how it moved across the sky so quickly. One minute ago it was behind a building, and before we knew it, it was already high up in the sky. At first we thought it was some strange cosmic movement, but I guess it's cos we don't often sit around watching the night sky to know how fast the moon travels haha.


Coach showing off her powaa!!

... or maybe a bit too much power...


all-consuming fire

We had a good time of fellowship after dinner, sitting around under the night sky sharing about our week and about curfews (which was so ironic, cos I ran into a minor curfew problem that night when I reached home after midnight oops). And it was really heartwarming to hear Chee Min share about how this gathering at her house would not have been possible, if not for God miraculously changing her parents' mindsets somehow. and also for her aunt's acts of sincere hospitality towards us even though she's still a pre-believer.


ugly ugly

And yes, the case of the violent game-turned-civil. If you've played Ugly Doll before, you will know how violent it can be. Every card has a drawing of a cartoon creature, and all cards are overturned at the start of the game and shuffled around mahjong-style. Each player takes turn to turn over a card (and leave it open on the floor), and once there are 3 turned cards of the same cartoon drawing, whoever spots it first will shout "Ugly ugly!!" and make a mad dash to get as many of those 3 cards as possible. The objective of the game is to have the biggest card collection at the end.

People have been known to rip the cards apart and scratch others in the flurry of the mad dash during the game. It's that violent.



When we first started off, everyone who had played this before went all-out to grab cards, and the newcomers to the game had those O_O expressions lol. Amy was being especially violent to me hahaha (all is fair in love and war?) and everyone was really hyped up. I think the turning point came when Amy got accidentally punched in the face by Winnie as she stretched out while Amy was leaning forward to get the cards. So we decided to be a gracious society and start playing the ladylike, gentle version of the game (meaning: NO dashing NO snatching NO shouting NO whacking of each other's hands).

Chee Min was so tickled that she took a short video of it (this is like the super gentle version of the game already):


It was super funny watching everyone suddenly becoming guniang and suddenly offering each other cards instead of grabbing from each other. So out-of-character tsk tsk =P


cheemin's brother & sam having a guy-to-guy moment

Thank God for the good weather when we started BBQing, for the incredible food (yes i must say this again!), awesome company and fellowship, and for the memories I'll take back from the night (:

The old CG peeps (Yeow Shinying Ephraim Clement Michael Joash Joseph Joshua Joel) met up for praise & worship at Sheares Hall where Yeow's staying at now.


initial wave of hall crashers

I was the earliest! *proud beam* probably only one of the few occasions when I was actually the first one to arrive haha. Sat on Yeow's chair reading about biological psychology... and saw a huge picture of a monkey just as Yeow was talking to Eph on the phone about eating at Munchy Monkey Cafe at YIH. and couldn't stop laughing hahaha.

VS
ephraim the guitar hero vs. jofid the guitar imposter

Yes, I attempted to learn guitar while waiting for the rest and dinner to arrive... but I could only get past 'Old Macdonald had a farm'. But thanks to Eph's patient guidance, I managed to at least learn the more important basic chords and work on my trasitioning (which still needs a LOT of work).


famished boys who are hiding their hunger well


torturing their poor ears with my horrid guitar playing (and smiling to make up for it LOL)



After making our way through the mazes in the hall to reach different rooftops, we finally settled down on a pretty spacious cooling one. Dinner and praise & worship there was quite enjoyable... I couldn't stay for the entire praise & worship session cos my relatives were having a gathering and my aunt came over to pick me from her workplace nearby, but I treasured whatever time I spent together with the CG peeps.


doing what boys do best...


... and doing what girls do best (:


guitars have EYES

I felt it was really precious that we still meet up, putting aside our different workloads/responsibilities for one night to fellowship and worship God together.

Love ya guys! :D

Shell D&D, 7th March @ Shangri-La



I was both surprised and honoured to be invited back to attend the Shell annual D&D. It was an excellent opportunity for me to catch up with my ex-colleagues after half a year.


the flashing disco lights in the ballroom

It was retro night fever when I first stepped into the reception area, with loud bopping 60s music, bling bling decor, complete with a dance floor where people started entertaining themselves ala Dancing Queen. The huge ballroom was also a sight with kaleidoscopic rainbow lights and psychedelic stage decor. The doorgift was a unique portable radio box with a vintage radio design and some portable travel items inside, and I was wondering, if they had that much budget for the doorgift alone, what would the lucky draw be like...


table games
(they remind me of primary school delinquents who had to stand on their chairs as punishment =P)

The table games got everyone going as representatives from each table had to compete with each other through a series of eliminations, using the 'bird, water, stone' actions: bird 'wins' water (by drinking it), water 'wins' stone (by submerging it) and stone 'wins' bird (by hitting it).

Uncle Chin Wah represented our table in good cheer, but the sight of the food being served during the game probably presented itself as too much of a temptation to resist, and he was all too happy to get back to eating when he eventually lost to another table =P


Elvis is IN the house!

Some people went to a lot of effort to get all dressed up - in coloured or afro wigs, shiny sequinned mini dresses or costumes, big and colourful sunglasses and chunky accessories. And yes, we even had an ELVIS in the house. (who was really really tall btw, so he would have stood out of the crowd even without his costume anyway.)



balloons!

We had a really queer magician who kept popping balls out of his mouth, and drew a face on a board that started to move! That was a little too freaky haha...

We also had a hilarious emcee who could rah-rah the audience pretty effectively, dance surprisingly well, and basically just made us have a ball of a time. I'm going to attempt to post some videos here, but I apologise in advance for the poor quality:

(copy the URL at the end of the video to see the full size version)


This is a remixed video of the emcee teaching the participants a retro dance.


In this video, it was a best-dressed contest and the emcee was trying to teach this pair how to lip-sync an indian song/dance.

And it was true. The lucky draw prizes were above my expected budget. It hadn't even reached the top 10 prizes and they were already giving away LCD TVs. And the guy who got the top prize was quite tyco. Initially the number they called out was unclaimed, cos the ticket holder had left already and someone found his ticket stub on the floor. So they had a redraw, and when the new top-winning number was called out, it went to an Indian chap who just happened to return from the washroom and walked through the doors to hear his number. LOL.

And finally, pictures with some of the people I met in Shell (didn't manage to take with everyone cos the programme was so packed and it wasn't prom where I could ignore the food & performances and run around).


Shelia (my dearest lunch & shopping partner, office MSN buddy, and fellow babe-in-Christ!)


The 2 lovely ladies in my department (girl power overrides being outnumbered!)


Jong (who very graciously invited me to the event, and was in the organising committee who did a wonderful job!)


Grace (the admin lady from the dept next to mine whom I always bug for meeting room bookings =P)

note: belated post of minghui's 20th on 12th feb


birthday girl minghui

It was a smaller birthday company this year - with Suanne, John and I, but I hope Minghui enjoyed her birthday dinner just as much (:

I had to rush down to Holland V to join them after my media writing lecture at 8pm, but was just in time to enjoy their leftover smoked salmon and pasta (John, smoked salmon is nice ok!)



I remember how thrilled I was to get flowers from her for my birthday in J2, so I surprised her with a bouquet of purples and pinks (sadly, I don't know which species the flowers belong to). I guess being near one of God's beautiful creations makes one feel beautiful too haha.


dessert @ coffee bean



Happy birthday Minghui dear! May your 20th year be filled with even more of God's grace, overflowing blessings and His love in every situation that comes your way (: Love ya! <3

christmas cookie from music min ppl

I love what Pastor Joshua shared today. If God is love, then if He ceases to love you, He ceases to be God.

"... to know the love of Christ which passes knowledge; that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.
Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us..."
~ Ephesians 3:19-20

It's been said many times, but God doesn't attach conditions to His love. No fine print. He doesn't ask for our love in return. He takes the first step and embraces us wholeheartedly.

It's like how a parent loves his/her baby abundantly even though the baby doesn't love him/her back (it's too small to comprehend the concept of love). The parent doesn't wait for the baby to say "Mummy I love you" before feeding it milk. And God doesn't wait for us to be obedient to Him before He starts loving us.

We love Him because He FIRST loved us. (1 John 4:19)

We don't have to sacrifice our possessions or desires just to gain God's love. We don't have to be obedient and obey all His commandments to get His approval and blessings. And He didn't wait for us to say "We love You God" before sending His Son to pay for our sins once and for all, to conquer curse and death and save our souls eternally, for:

"In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins." (1 John 4:10)

and, "Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one's life for his friends." (John 15:13)

God didn't ask us for anything in return. He gave all things to us freely, yet we think we must work to earn His blessings or to try to draw near to Him. But Christ dwells inside us, because He bridged the gap between man and God when He died at the cross - symbolized by the torn curtain that previously separated the Holy of Holies from the inner court of the temple. And so we can go to Him whenever we want, converse with Him and spend time in His presence.

And because He loved us unconditionally, we can do the same to others. Jesus said to forgive your brother "seventy times seven times" a day if he sins against you. I don't think someone can sin against you 490 times a day, but it goes to show how much we should forgive others of their mistakes towards us.

There is no thanks to love someone who's easy to love/loves you back, but the true test of love is found when you have to love someone who's unlovable to you. Because God took the first step to love us unconditionally, we ought to take the first initiative to love that unlovable person too, regardless of the past. When the grudge/discomfort is gone, your heart releases a burden. And because you loved out of His overflowing love for us, good things lie ahead. My mum did just that recently, and she was surprised to find the blessings and favour God had in store for her.

Love - what a splendid thing, that makes us who we are - human. And love - His love for us, and our love for others in response to that - is all we have to save humanity from itself.


I will not boast of my love for Christ, but of HIS LOVE FOR ME. I was nothing, but when His love found me, He became my everything (:

Dinner with the music min ppl

Finally breaking the post-Arrow cycle of having dinner with my CG or rushing somewhere else for dinner, I'm glad I got to spend time with the music min peeps. And my, did we make good use of the time =P *let's take pictures!!*

Dinner at a seafood corner in Marina Square foodcourt was deliiicious! And as if all the mussels and stingrays and tofu weren't enough, dinner was followed by dessert at Billy Bombers. As for the rest of the time, I'll just let the pictures do the talking =D


jacq and i; kenny and raphael


kenny's 3 cups of rose syrup! O_O


mussels (or what's left of it)


zandra's sianified look


belinda & zandra: before & after


1. 2. 3!
(Jofid's photography class 102: even if your picture comes out blur, your megawatt smiles can redeem it. and of course, it's because your photographer was too mesmerized by you to have a steady hand. haha!)


charlie's angels (wannabes)


milkshake quartet


camera-shy raphael (he looks like he's trying to make ultraman eyes or sth =P)

Cousins outing on leap year day!

Our last chance to meet up with Justina, Tammy and Vicki before they fly back to Australia.


lunch @ boon tong kee
(the cousins + uncle patrick & aunty serene)

A week after the funeral, we finally got to meet again (: The week must have been busy for the 3 of them, meeting their Singaporean friends and relatives and revisiting old memories again. And they got manicures + pedicures... pretty (: If I did mine, it probably wouldn't be able to last past a few days, cos who plays piano with long fingernails? haha...


turquoise is the new black ;)

After lunch, we headed down to Orchard to meet up with some of their church friends and our other cousins, and continued their week-long shopping spree - which was enjoyable for us girls of course, but the guys got bored and started playing handheld games at a corner =P I was surprised at how fast the 3 girls shopped, cos I'm the kind who will consider for some time before committing to buying something. unless it's really cheap. I psychoed myself into a "no buying" mentality during the shopping trip so I wouldn't get distracted, but in the end Emily and I got treated to a belt each by Uncle Patrick. Yay.


dinner @ mosburger

Dinner and movie afterwards was a treat from Aunt Christina, who flew back to Shanghai with Uncle Anthony a few days before our outing. Dinner at MOS was mildly chaotic, with burgers and fries all over the place, snapping-straw episodes, and Ken having to take a pic of us cousins from behind the glass wall of the outlet cos it was the only distance from which everyone could be captured in the frame lol.


cinema girls

We went to watch 'Jumper', which was both good and bad. Cute guy. Great effects. Lousy plot with loose ends.

And the girls made so much noise in the theatre that I was like *cover face* >< hahaha.


escalator ride

But the night was still young! We had a leisurely stroll from Lido down to Cineleisure, cracking jokes along the way and trying to snap (unsuccessful) photos of ourselves haha. And we did something I haven't done since J1 - take neoprints!! Omg... those neoprints days...



9 of us piling into one neoprint machine. GOSH. It was stressfully fun scrambling around to form new poses haha.

We had great fun that day... I'll miss them when they go back, but til the next time we reunite! ~

the boy's 15!

and he gets a treat at his favourite birthday restaurant again - nydc cafe (:


"i'm hot! and don't you dare touch my hot stuff." lol

and once again, he's grown even more mature and dong3 shi4 from his last birthday celebration, being moulded more and more into the man of God he's called to be. and all the lessons i gave him on 'gentlemanliness and how to treat a girl' is indeed taking effect ;) you should have seen him being the centre of female attention last week during the wake.



but some things still don't change. like being manhandled by him. lol.


oozing with da luuuurve

happy birthday bro!

in loving memory of my grandmother

It all happened so suddenly.

We just saw her on Sunday night for our belated reunion dinner - I even got to talk to her and hold her hand, and she told me that love is divinely arranged by God, not human gimmicks like fengshui. She was really happy and kept laughing throughout the dinner. Those were my last memories of her.

It all happened in one night. She didn't make it past Wednesday morning. The news was the first thing I heard when I got called up that morning by my mum.

My relatives in Australia rushed back that day. I haven't seen them for a couple of years already, and it was kinda ironic in a sense, cos during Sunday's reunion dinner, Grandma was just talking about having a whole family reunion together with my relatives who had migrated to Australia. And she indirectly made that happen. But God makes all things work for His good, and I believe that becoming closer to my relatives is 1 of the good things that will come out of this.



The wake was from Thursday to Saturday at Our Lady of Lourdes Church. I was really thankful for my NUS Caregroup and Ming Hui who came down, it was such a relief to have familiar company amidst the foreign-ness and sadness of the setting.

When I got home on the first night, I overheard my grandpa telling my mum that my grandmother "looked beautiful in the coffin... like how she looked like in her younger days..." I found it really poignant coming from him, especially cos they weren't on very good terms for as long as I can remember. And on the second day, I found him standing by the coffin looking at her for a very long time. I guess love never goes away, despite all the arguments and drifting apart.


our final act of love

Sunday morning was the funeral. It was beautiful that all us grandchildren could do a final act of love for my grandma by decorating her coffin with flowers before the people from the crematorium came. And to see her surrounded by the beauty of God's creation, and all her loved ones around her.


at the crematorium hall

It was an emotionally-charged day. With the soft strains of 'Amazing Grace' playing in the background as we watched her coffin being transported into the furnace, all the previously-repressed emotions couldn't help but well out at once. I think the one who felt it the hardest was my grandpa, and when I later reviewed some photos my uncle took, some pictures of my grandpa were too heartbreaking to look at.


the cousins (at the wake & at dinner)

One good thing though, was that the cousins could reunite again after 4 years. It was so different from the days we used to play with kitchen sets and dolls (my bro excluded) at each other's places. When we went back to my grandma's place after the funeral to sort and pack her stuff, we found lotsa old photographs of my grandparents' marriage, my uncles & aunts when they were young, and of us kids back when we were younger. It really brought back many memories, together with the shrieks of exclamations and laughter that came with it ("omg uncle patrick you looked like a girl!!" haha).

At the end of the day, there was a peace knowing that my grandmother's eternally saved and in heaven smiling down on us with Jesus, dancing around in her brand-new body and waiting for us to join her one day.

travelling through time

During cognitive psychology tutorial today, we were discussing about Dementia (a neurological disease involving deterioration in memory, thinking/judgement, social relationships etc.). Dementia is seen as a loss of self, since one starts forgetting recent events and how to carry out normal functions. e.g. operating a telephone or unlocking a door with a key, as one previously could do.

Then my tutor said something that struck me.

"Dementia illustrates that memory processes are what we are made of."

Reflecting on that brought out a whole barrage of questions...
How do we carry out our everyday activities if we can't remember how to operate basic tools? Or even remember what our daily routines are?
How can we live peacefully at home if we can't remember who our family members are and think they're strangers instead?
How can we even find our way home if we can't remember where we stay?
How can we enjoy our friends if we can't remember what experiences we've had with them?
How can we have social circles if we can't even remember who our friends are?
How can we constantly build ourselves up through education if we can't remember what we've learnt a moment ago?
How can we get on with the day if we can't remember what we're supposed to be doing?
How do we find meaning in life if we can't remember what our identity/purpose is?

It was really a new perspective presented to me. The word 'memories' usually brings to mind happy photographs of good times past, but I never realised that our life is actually built on memories. Not just memories of past experiences, but a memory of EVERYTHING.

Oh gosh. I'm still trying to pick up the bits of my mind that got blown away.

Lol =P

Jasmine's birthday
(top: Samuel, Isaac, Bernard
bottom: Me, Jasmine, Suanne)

The old English gang (OG mates who took English together last sem) had a reunion again when we celebrated Jasmine's birthday last Friday (:


the radiant birthday girl


'cake' and present!


Samuel the latecomer is made to sing the birthday song solo as a punishment =P

And of course, how can a birthday be complete without a little surprises here and there? Jasmine had it easy. She only had a re-lightable trick candle to deal with. Hehe.


staring dismally at the trick candle that can't seem to go out... until Samuel the fireman steps in lol

Bernard was so sneaky - he pretended not to know which candles in the pack were re-lightable ones and 'accidentally' made Jasmine choose those. But never fear when Samuel the fireman is near... the candle was neatly disposed of in an empty soft drink cup.

BUT the candle re-lit itself again in the cup! In the midst of all the ice cubes somemore! What a joker lol.

It was good to hang out with the old English gang again this sem haha... may there be many more to come!

"You're the end of the rainbow, my pot of gold
You're daddy's little girl to have and hold
A precious gem is what you are
... You're sugar you're spice, you're everything nice
And you're daddy's little girl"

~ Daddy's Little Girl, Michael Buble

And Daddy God in heaven is saying the same to me this Valentine's Day, as He dazzles me with the greatest love story ever told. The greatest love ever known.

That someone would die for me to win my heart.

That Someone paints the sunrise and sunset for me everyday, sends the breeze to play with my hair, writes me love letters in His psalms, charms me with flower bouquets not in dozens but by park-fuls, serenades me with the song of solomon, and surrounds me with love from others.

Valentine's Day is not an occasion just for lovebirds, but to celebrate all the love in the world, and this year I'm spending it with the coolest guy ever - Jesus (:

Loud, shrill voices piercing the silence
Silent missiles hurtling through the air
Shattering the glass,
my defences,
my faith in you.

Where do I draw the line between seeking justification and giving honour?

My iron fortress of indifference stands strong
While behind the walls I'm trying to
Bleed out this anger,
This hatred
Like poison in my heart.

And when the tears fall,
Lord, You're there to catch them,

and me.

Our belated belated Christmas dinner at Olio!

(Disclaimer: We were not in a sleazy nightclub lol... I don't know why the above picture turned out blue even though the lighting was yellow, save for small blue hanging lights, but it's an interesting effect.)


the 4 pretty babes

I had to rush over after Arrow and kept everyone waiting (with their food turning cold), so paiseh.... thanks for waiting for me, you guys. Finally, after frustrating delays and schedule clashes, everyone could finally meet up! It was nice to see everyone at the start of the year, and Shi whom we haven't seen since a looong time ago haha.



I would really recommend the Teriyaki pizza I had, thin crispy crust with teriyaki chicken and bonito flakes, among other seasonings... I'm just hungry thinking about it again =P The others ordered their dishes in pairs, with Suanne going vegetarian as usual haha, Minghui and her roe pasta, and fish & chips for the others. It all looked good, if only I had the appetite (and the affordance) to try everything lol.


leo in the pink

Shi was telling us about the competitive state in the Law faculty, where it's pretty much every man for himself. In a way, it's preparation for the competitive law world outside, and university education is supposed to be more or less independent, but it's still quite sad to hear about how people can get calculative over these small little things. Has Singaporean education been reduced to a rat race filled with cat-clawing and climbing over each other just to get to the top? In pursuit of a certificate that can perhaps give you an edge, but cannot guarantee success in life?

Our success in life is found in the never-changing foundation of Christ, our source of strength and wisdom, the solid rock on which we stand.

presenting..... our fried mars bars!

Finally after more than a year, I got to meet up with Ofelia again! We promised to go pink shopping, but even though we didn't manage to get anything pink this time, at least we got to take photos against a pink background (unintended though haha).


Jofid's photography class 101: food or faeces? angle is extremely important.

so is focusing. LOL.


trying on hats, while trying to evade the shop assistant's field of vision

It's a pity we can't really wear nice hats around in Singapore, unless you're thick-skinned enough to start a new trend, that may or may not catch on. I don't even see many wearing sunhats at Sentosa. Oh well, looks like we only have caps to hide a bad-hair day with =P


whizzing by on an escalator
(I cut myself off again, but Ofelia looks so sweet here that I had to put this up haha)

From childhood church friends to partners-in-crime (for a really hilarious incident that cannot be revealed in case the victim happens to be reading this, though we were never exposed HAHA) to sec-sch mates and carpool-buddies, and now NUS-mates, we have quite a lot to look back on whenever we reminiscent about the past. Though we're in different faculties, I'm really thankful that we still managed to keep in contact after a decade and continue encouraging each other in Christ.

If the Lord's the Lord of us, then a lifetime's not too long to live as friends!

All I want for Christmas


Lady earring holder!

My parents surprised me with this beautiful turquoise earring holder, something I had been looking for for quite some time but never quite found the right size+price to match, and kinda shelved the image aside... until this present surfaced. Pretty!

And since my Canon ixus's display got problematic and the repair fees are so not worth it, they got me this... Nikon Coolpix S200!





Even though it's not pink and sparkly lol, it's really slim and light to carry around. While settling the details with the salesgirl, my mum randomly commented, "Don't understand why youngsters nowadays like to take so many pictures..." and the salesgirl was like, "To keep those priceless memories mah..." and I totally agreed with her haha. To capture priceless moments and to relive priceless memories. Mhmmm.

CID Annual D&D @ Pan Pacific



The food's always good, the company (of my relatives)'s always good, but one thing puzzles me. It's supposed to be a police annual dinner, but somehow certain parts of the programme never fails to surprise/disgust (somewhere in between) me... a few years ago they had lap dancing, last year they had a pole dancer, and this time they got Mia Lee to perform in her barely-there cheerleader outfit and played some embarrassing touchy-feely game, and she started rambling about how a police officer at the airport was staring disapprovingly at her numerous tattoos (Talk about a bad conversationalist...). Like, hello, aren't these the kind of people that the police go after? Strange.

But we were really blessed. Even though we didn't get to go overseas this holidays due to schedule clashes, we kept holding onto God's promise that He'll provide a vacation for us the next time, and during the lucky draw our ticket number got picked for 3rd prize - $1000 travel voucher! My bro got so excited he jumped outta his seat and ran upstage to collect the prize, forgetting his shyness at such events haha. Thank You Lord for being faithful to us (:

Before the year is over, here's my chance to catch up all the lag posts that rightly belong to 2007.

'Platero and I' essay competition


"sea of white! aahh my eyes, my eyes!"

My brother speaks English, Chinese and German but he won 3rd prize at a Spanish essay competition in October O_O

Haha actually it's a literary competition organised by the Embassy of Spain to write a piece inspired by the Nobel prize winning book 'Platero and I' by Juan Ramon Jimenez. Entries could be in any form - from prose to poetry, reflective to expository - and to my utter surprise and amazement, my bro wrote this super-emo-and-poetic prose piece that was simple yet carried such weight beyond what I could have imagined him to be capable of. All those Halo books he's been reading has certainly come into good use.


buddies with the Spanish ambassador

My bro's gotta work on acquiring a more 'professional' signature cos he had to autograph some books to be flown back to Spain to be displayed haha... no more tanks and smiley faces anymore, dude...


enjoying the fruits of my brother's labour

And our family got treated to a nice dinner with part of the prize money he won hehe... a pity he's moving away from Lit to triple science next year. But I guess writing for academic/exam purposes is a whole lot different (and less enjoyable) than writing for recreation.


the raffles legacy


St. Hilda's GEP 10th Anniversary Dinner



10 years sounds like a really long time, but looking at how our teachers don't seem to have aged at all, it's hard to believe how much we've grown since we stepped into St. Hilda's a decade ago.


mrs choo

The school has also changed so much from the structures and landmarks we were familiar with in the past, such as the dear porch where we used to do our project work or play five stones at, the old conventional non-airconditioned hall with the varnished floorboards that could open up for naughty little kids to slip bits of rubbish into, the spiral stairways where we hid from Miss Siah before her class to give her a surprise, or where Benjamin once leaned backwards and broke the fire alarm glass, causing the entire school to dash to the basketball courts.



Silly memories like how we used to persuade Miss Siah to let us play Huang Fei Hong in the classroom during Chinese lessons, of how Lap Him used to shoot rubberbands at girls in class or jump over us playing five stones during recess, of David taunting me with a Hello Kitty purse he bought for the angel-mortal game and jumping out at me along the corridors, of Miss Tan making us line up outside the classroom and testing us one by one with 11-20 timetables until we could qualify to return into the classroom, of boiling tea eggs in class with a bunsen burner and beaker, of me telling Zheng Kang off on the 1st day of school that he was an arrogant snob and he tamed down so much after that, of the bat that flew into our classroom and lodged itself into the ceiling light while we were watching a bat documentary on the tv.....


with our math olympiad classmates etched onto the Hall of Fame

.... of the insane kickings under the tables and after class that left many of us with battle bruises on our shins, of the crush craze that swept through both GEP classes and entangling many-an-innocent-girl-and-boy together, of staying back after school to eat roti prata from the mama shop opposite and playing games on the classroom computers, of painting sugar cubes to learn 3D figures, of singing hymns from our maroon-and-gold hymnbook on the bus during every school excursion... and that's just the tip of the iceberg.


they had a badge-making photo booth!

Even though only 8 out of the 29 of us could make it back that night, it was great catching up with each other and the teachers (who look as young and radiant as ever haha).... the food was great and it was funny seeing how Miss Tan's efforts at grooming the boys to be gentlemanly stuck with them all these years - bringing and refilling drinks for the girls etc. And looking at our small little juniors running around the hall was hilarious... the 2 poor P4 boys sharing the table with us were calling us oldies lol.


do ns boys just climb up anything they see?



It may have only been 3 years we spent in St. Hilda's, but the memories and lessons we took away are priceless. Really.


Wedding keyboardist buddies


late night shopping with Esther after 1 of the weddings we played for

Finally I'm not dragging Esther to the Cold Storage sushi counter with me haha. Tempura sushi is nice! (oh no i'm making myself hungry now.) Ok that's besides the point......

It's been wonderful playing for church weddings. It's always so rewarding to see the priceless looks on the couple's faces, be it the fidgeting groom too nervous to smile, or the one dancing with joy as his bride walks down the aisle, the bride who tears as she's being touched by the worship songs, and the bride who's composed enough to recite her marriage vows calmly and perfectly... it's just such a blessing to be part of the wedding ceremony where the couple start their journey together.


sian after waiting in the taxi queue for ages (the lady behind looks like Limhui's mum O_O)


Farewell breakfast for my Bishan Buddy



A final breakfast with Timothy before he goes off into commandos for his jungle-solo stint haha.... I still remember the first time I met him outside the Noel studio where he was during push-ups and crunches to prepare for army. Now all the muscles you've been working hard at will be put to good use, dude!


Cousins' stayover



One of the advantages of having a sofabed is the increased number of stayovers one can afford to have. Lol. And with the 2 girls around, I'm suddenly thrown into the world of Taiwan drama serials and loud unashamed girly gigglings all day...


emily on rollerblades ("don't be scared!")

We brought them down to Bishan Park for some outdoor action and it was funny how my 2 cousins and my bro had to take turns to share his rollerblades cos mine were too small for them ><


moving at the speed of sound

Armed with rollerblades, it became much easier to chase after my brother's remote-controlled car - which fascinated the little kids around and startled some unsuspecting joggers. Oh and the car did a flipping stint into the canal and my bro had to jump over the railings to retrieve it back lol. It's a miracle the car barely sustained any damage save for a chi