big walk 2005

sheesh, i can't believe that i allowed meiyan to convince me to go for it.. waking up at an unearthly hour of 0540!!! oh my gosh, and everywhere in singapore, everyone was going for big walk... goodness!!! human congestion and loads of jokes...

i cheated and did not complete 10km but i did approximately 8.something.. well, that's an accomplishment, considering that i do not exercise.. had fun with faith/ luyee/ chris & meiyan.. kind of an entertainment for me before the next few weeks ahead.. maybe that's why the youth camp was a break for cheep too... anyway, met eufo and weizhong too... sheesh, can imagine her going for runs while i'll be slacking away, eating in the room... *laughs*...

table's still in a mess.. my backpack is exactly 7kg.. still got a little bit more to go.. less than 12 hours to take off.. see ya all folks!! catch ya when i'm back..

nias, indonesia

well, this may be my most personal post on my blog.. i know super well that this blog is no longer that private.. coz it can be easily googled out with any keywords.. or it's linked from some other friend's blog...

decided that it's time to say it out loud.. i'm gonna be away for 3.5 weeks from 23/05/05 to 15/06/05 to nias, indonesia.. yes, it's the place where tremors can still be felt and the earth is still shaking over there... didn't want it tell many people initially coz just wanna see how things will turn out as the time draws near..

i would say that this is a long overdued trip.. not to anywhere in particular but more about me going.. somehow some things will just pop by along the way and as always, i will not go at all.. but guess this time, i would say that i'm thinking less and just going..

i won't say that i'm going with much faith and much peace coz there are still many things that are holding me back... well, sally got it right.. there's more things holding me back than pushing me to go.. sean said that i'm worried.. but honestly, i don't feel worried.. more like there's just some excess baggages which i can't put down.. i just need a lot of peace from my Father...

honestly, i have been and still am questioning my motives for this trip.. like what the world am i trying to find/ explain/ discover?? is it for self-gratification?? coz everyone is trying to stick their finger into the 'relief-work' pie.. or am i there coz i really want to be there?? coz i really want to serve my Father?? coz i really want to work with kids and really wanna make that my long-term commitment, though i'm thinking of whether if i'm a blessing or an 'evil' to their spiritual growth?? you can say that i'm thinking less for this trip but just 'chionging' in and see what happens.. am i being really fair here?? am i being helpful here or just an extra that will just add to the burdens of others??

few months ago, i wanted to tell cheep that i'm taking this trip to explore around, esp in terms of the children ministry but before i could get that out of my mouth, he asked me this, "do you like kids? if you do, take it as you are coming here to just be with the kids and spend time with them and interacting with them.. show them that there's people who care..."

so now, here i am, trying to pack to be ready to leave on monday and realising that i've quite a bit of stuff to bring.. including a gis map and a warzone to pack on the floor..

to everyone who have fallen asleep, you can stop reading here... the rest of the post is for my own book-keeping purposes... shall go on a more personal level and list out my reasons..

1. by God's grace, i've been partially sponsored by papa-mama scholarship fund.. the rest has been settled by 2.5 weeks of work, which ain't that much but nonetheless, it covered the money required...

2. NUS results will be released on the 1st of june at 3pm.. well, i'm anxious to know my results coz it will determine a million and one things, including my state of mind and reaction at that point of time, which can go either way and be deemed hazardous.. but then again, internet's down over there.. so shall see how i can work ard it..

3. all the necessary arrangements to be made back home.. administrative stuff to be settled.. enough said..

4. in many ways, the reluctance to step out into the unknown, ie. beyond my comfort zone.. in many ways, i think i'm eventually a pampered kid with too much, so to go beyond my safety net, makes me unsure of many things.. i know the exact remedy for this: PRAY and ask for GRACE & STRENGTH.. not from me but the one who is greater than everything else..

5. at this point, i guess this is the biggest reason of all: my parents.. well, i have obtained their permission and the 'green light' has been given.. but i know where they are coming from.. firstly, last june, their little girl disappeared to the other of the world for a month, calling home only at least once a week.. but this time round, she will be gone for approximately a mth, to somewhere nearby but not that safe.. in the same way that they are worried about me, so i am about them.. lately my mum has not been feeling well and my dad will be going on a business trip to beijing soon, so mummy will be home alone..

PRAYER POINTERS:

1. please pray for journey mercy and safety in every aspect for everyone on the team when we are over in nias.. pray for good working relationships between ourselves and with the people over there.. pray that we will be a blessing to the people rather than a burden, esp me who knows nothing at all..

2. please pray for my family back home, my parents, my relatives, my friends.. i know that this is all about me, but i guess i need the reassurance in this aspect though.. pray for good health and safety in all aspects as well..

3. please pray that i will not be a 'leech' but rather will be able to contribute somehow.. and that i'll really work to open my mouth and try to pick up the language.. and for my health too and that i'll not be so picky in what i eat and be blessed with a strong stomach..

4. please pray that i'll pass all my papers and be able to do well.. and i really need that to happen..

well, that should be all.. take care and see ya all in 3.5 weeks time!!! God bless!! =)

firstly, i'm not a star wars fan.. i'm just watching this movie coz of the hype it has created and all.. but then again, almost all movies have so much publicity done for it.. and yes, i beat everyone to it and watch the preview!! and of course, the theatre was packed...

this is really dumb i know... but i do think that yoda is a really interesting character.. he rewrote all the grammer rules of english language.. seriously, someone should just give him his own brand of english language.. read the papers and they were talking about how the same yoda model created for episode 1 was used as the stand-in for all 3 episodes, so that the actors had a point to focus on.. but the funny part is, the model was already melting away..

natalie portman is still that stunning.. but i think i prefer her in modern fashion wear than high-tech wear.. darth vader reminded me of gui.. and check this out, the m&m version of star wars episode 3.. what's so interesting is that darth vader's face can be seen!! go check it out man.. oh, i love the m&m chocolates too.. gosh, it's hideously funny... the kind of caption they have on the package such as this famous one: 'luke, i'm your peanut'.. oh my gosh!! here it is: star wars chocolate mpire!!!

sommersturm: my first R21 movie... with the 2 friends who said that, R21 movie tickets will be my birthday present.. but guess what?? i paid for this movie so you guys can't buy me the tickets anymore!! i don't want another R21 movie.. doubt that there will be any that will interest me anymore..

let's see, what's so R21 about this movie?? well, it's the content coz it explored the grounds of homosexuality, in particular, about gays.. and germans being germans.. the way which the movie was filmed was a tat too daring.. well, enough details there.. but it did left liwei being more than tramautised, especially since he's gonna go for reservice soon.. *evil laughter*.. hey, but chills yah.. they are still human...

what left a greater impact, was the thought of how messed up this world may really be.. just wanna thank God that at least, marriage between homosexuals is not legalised in singapore.. well, if it is, riot will break out man!! indeed, the film did raise awareness about gays and how we should not discriminate them, coz they are still part of mankind.. and the emotional struggle they face, ain't that easy too.. but just thinking about how God never intended homosexuality to come about but still, it came about.. in other words, it's against Christianity.. can't comment much too coz i don't know enough to say anything..

2 distinctive traits...

today i saw 2 different characters at play..

i saw integrity and righteousness from a child of only 10 years old.. it even got to the point of which he got so upset when he saw unfair play..

i saw, perhaps the self-centredness of adults.. i know that this sounds totally bitchy and all.. but anyway, there's like a group of people at the lift lobby but when the lift door opened, no one took the 1st step to get into the lift and just press the buttons.. i mean, it doesn't kill to just press a few buttons and hold the door for others.. instead, they all just stood there, waiting for that one 'unlucky' person to be the 1st one to do so.. *sheesh*

enough said..

friendster.com

good to be home when it rains... don't like to be caught being all wet and cold and feeling all sticky when the water evaporates once the sun comes out.. it's pouring now, coupled with lightning and thunder...

no more hongkong tv serials for me to watch, since i've spent like 4 consecutive nights watching till the wee hours of 2am though it's pretty early.. sheesh, haven't been so crazy for serials for a really long time.. but now that i'm done watching it, i actually feel really bored every night..

been spoiling myself lately with loads of things.. for example, i just spoilt myself with a brand new wallet from the wallet shop.. yeah, i wonder how did i get the money esp since i'm pretty broke now and almost in a crisis of having to borrow $$ to watch snow.wolf.lake.. which has more than a sudden hike of ticket prices!!! i wanna faint already.. but then again, i still can't decide if i wanna go for it..

as the title suggests, from time to time, i do still visit friendster.. to check if there's anyone who has recently added me to their list of friends... to check if there's any incoming msgs from any friends from any corner of the world.. or to check and make sure that my friends are still somewhere out there, swimming and surviving fine.. respiring just fine..

not a place that i should go too often too... coz it's a place with much to think about.. but just guess that i love reading old entries and see how much i've moved on and developed from there.. attempt to act mature since 21 is not too far away.. right!! *someone give me a prize for being so modest!!!*

what's up with me??

on tuesday afternoon, we finally materialised something that we have been planning since the middle of semester 2.. and yes, we finally went to johor bahru!!! what the world were you expecting?? that i flew to germany and back in the course of 3 hours?? though i would really want to do that...

stupid kelvin li played a dumb trick on me and horrible weiyao, just refused to tell me who it was till he put down the phone.. so as usual, mr late - liwei... oh wells, thank God for no traffic jam at the causeway and at the woodlands checkpoint on both the singapore and the malaysia ends..

took a cab to this seafood place, somewhere near taman pelangi.. RM87.95.. left us bloated and contented.. oh man, jawohl!! the beehoon was great!!! absolutely loved it.. maybe should go design one of those absolute vodka signs for the beehoon... stupid guys just enjoyed bullying me man... thank God that i wasn't too tired yet, so could still retaliate.. oh wells, but ignoring the guys, i just simply love eating!!!

next stop was holiday inn plaza, which was super boring and empty, with nothing much.. i mean, we ended up in some poster shop, staring at more than wonderful posters of all sorts.. yeah, saw this tigger movie poster and wanted to buy for my 'girlfriend' but was wondering if it's gonna be useful or just a waste of space.. oh wells.. shall go scout for other stuff for her.. and then finally, the guys allowed me to go down to city square shopping centre, which they deemed was another orchard road.. jawohl, sue the girls for their love of shopping.. oh man, east india company was not having a sale but saw some really nice shirts there.. tempted to buy it for my dad but guess what, my dad does not exactly seem to have an affinity for the shirts which i've gotten for him, so stuck in a dilemma.. but i didn't get it still...

had chocolate fantasy for dessert and the guys were going on about flicker-minded girls are.. it's like as though you folks are not too!!! and weiyao & liwei just kept going on about the R21 movie tickets.. and let me say it once more: I DON'T WANT THEM!!! GET ME SOMETHING ELSE!! humph!!! evil friends..

we finally left jb at about 930pm and once again, thank God that there was no jam on either side of the causeway.. was feeling pretty tired already and then liwei went on about how girls will never get tired when they are out shopping.. and how their legs seemed to be powered by batteries with extra long life-span, rather than glucose.. otherwise, they are always tired.. well, was too tired to retaliate to that statement.. but otherwise, thanks guys for all the fun.. really enjoyed myself...

wednesday afternoon was spent at fairfield sec... a place with loads of memories, some pleasant and others which i would rather forget of.. sometimes, i wish i have the memory of that of drew barrymore's character in 50 first dates, whereby you remember some wonderful happenings and forget the rest that happened.. was desperately searching for familiar faces especially since more than 70% of the old staff has either retired/ transferred out or resigned from the profession.. feeling a little weird being at the school, coz there seemed to be nothing which i can remembered of.. 'dad' was going on about how he will not go back to that school unless the 'cow' is no longer there.. erm, quoting my 'dad'...

and finally, i saw some familiar faces: mrs nagoor/ mrs chan/ miss thio/ mr tan and the ever present mr hou.. aber nächstes jahr wird er leider verlassen.. and so, there goes another familiar face.. mr siew/ mr matthew lim have left.. even my sec. 4 chinese teacher!! so much has changed even in the course of 1.5 years.. but unfortunately, i didn't get to meet my favourite geography & english language teacher: miss wong chun hei.. sheesh, if she ever found out that i didn't study hard enough for geog, i'm so gonna get killed...

quoting mr hou, "coucillors, i won't exactly remember them.. coz there's too many of them.. but prefects, i will definitely remember you people.."

guess sometimes, i don't exactly want to visit fairfield, it's more than the unpleasant memories there.. but there is an absence of that sense of place and belonging that we had of the school during our time.. well, prof chang must be so proud of me for quoting him but then again, i messed up that module big time.. shhh!!! miss wong must not find out!!! but honestly, sometimes i wish that i will be strong enough to take along whatever memories i need to go on in life and leave all that i should and need to leave behind.. and move ahead.. suddenly, i feel so vulnerable in this department.. just wondering why should i open closed doors, when they should be closed.. what the world is happening to me man???

and now, to the biggest dilemma of all: when the world am i leaving?? sheesh, it will affect my decision to watch SNOW.WOLF.LAKE.. and yes, adeline has just made me the most famous person on her blog by typing my full name out loud and completely in capital letters!! goodness!!! but i really don't know.. i cannot make up my mind due to various reasons and till i can sort them out, i'm stuck!! oh man, i really want to watch the production.. and it didn't help that i heard the theme song this morning, in CHINESE!!! argh!!! someone make up my mind for me please???

madama butterfly

i've waited a long long time to watch this production.. ever since the day i watched miss saigon, which was actually inspired by this very story.. so i jumped at this production though it's a local production directed by ivan heng, which is GOOD!!!! but the entire production was in french.. boy, at that point of time, i wished that i knew french!!!

remembered that i was crazy enough to go queue and buy the tickets just before exams started.. anyways, it was worth my time and effort, except that reading the subtitles was kind of tough coz you split your attention between the stage and the subtitles box.. and throw in the fact that i was really tired...

and adeline brought her digital camera too, which is not hers actually.. and she has terrible self-portrait taking skills.. opps!!! but it's true.. but then again, practise makes perfect!!! so go work on it gal!!! quoting that dear girl, which i only get to see every half a year, or rather, at the end of each semester, 'this is our first photo together, though we have known each other for 3 years!!!' well.. yeah.. just somehow both of us didn't have photos together.. even miss tan and me have photos together!!! and one stupid phone call which i made, got her a little flustered and all.. *laughs*

just having some thoughts about the whole story after the production ended at approximately 11pm coz president nathan was gracing the event, so the interval was extended till 25 minutes!!! lo and behold, i actually went for the gala premiere of the production!!! woohoo!!! *laughs*... some guys were joking how the lead actress should kill the lead actor before committing suicide.. well, i've loads to say but shall spare my readers..

haagen daaz midnight chocolate cookies kind of made my stomach feel a little weird now.. and to think that i won a free haagen daaz ice cream bar during some uob online contest!! *laughs*.. and yes, my desktop is dying too.. it's a miracle that i got it working now.. please pray that it survives yah!!! else i'll have to go back to school and 'fight' for a computer at the library!! and yes, i'm counting the times i'm going back to school this holidays coz this time round, i do not have a legitimate reason to go back.. i mean, as compared to last year, when there was orientation.. sheesh!! those were the days.. talk about graduating friends man.. i'll miss you folks!!

5-second food rule

[courtesy of suren]

1st second: that's the time it takes for your food to reach the ground...

2nd - 3rd second: that's the time taken for the bacteria and whatever little insects to realise that there is something big falling down on them and they better run away in order to keep their small lives...

4th-5th second: that's the time taken for the bacteria and whatever little insects to realise that, "hey, there's food for us!!! let's go back and attack it!!!"

moral of the story: pick up your food within 5 seconds if you want to consume them after dropping them anywhere but in your bowl/ plate..

my new baby - N7260

blogging more often now.. with a heavily unstable desktop.. i need loads of help to sustain it..



anyway, i got my new baby this evening.. trying to get used to the functions and instructions and all.. you all will be very glad that i've gotten rid of my N6510 phone, which still has a trade-in value of $50, and the what-you-all-deemed-as-irritating ringtone of it.. but yeah, i missed it though.. what a trick to pull on everyone!!!

oh wells.. mr designer reminded me why guys should purchase a pair of shades.. yeah, reminded me what gabriel said to me too.. *laughs*..

on a sidenote: great day but i really need my desktop to work well and not bail out on me!!

mothers' day items!!!

okay folks.. i have some lobangs that are really suitable stuff to give your mums as mothers' day presents... so here are some of the photos and the price of each item..

item no. 1: a combination of a potpourri pack with a pastel-coloured hand towel, packed in a lovely paper bag.. [and you can write anything you want on the bag!!! so sorry but don't have a photograph of it...]: $6

item no. 2: $30


item no. 3: $30


item no. 4: $35


item no. 5: $35


item no. 6: $40


item no. 7: $50