Raison d'être

Love Came Down

2011-09-08T20:07:00.003+10:00

Wowsers, it's been ages since I've last updated...

So here's a quick recap from July till now

July

LIFEGAME!!!!! WAS AWESOME!!! Did a total 360 degree change in my life which I thought was pretty good. But no, no, no. God wanted it to be BETTER. I now have a clearer purpose in what I want to do and Who I do it for: God.
Started new trimester, another grueling 12 weeks of classes.
We've since stopped our girl group because one of the members (our leader, sorta) found a FT job! Something she's been praying for about a year now! PTL!
The Cambodia mission team started to get to know each other a bit better. Plans and groups formed. Oh, yes, I'm going to Cambodia on a mission trip end of the year! Dunno if I've told you guys...now you know?

August

Assignments begin to pile up...stress stress stress
More responsibilities to handle as part of the mission team: evangelism training, distributing gospel tracts, meetings etc.
Being a part of this year's AYC fundraising!
Started this book called "A Love Worth Giving" by Max Lucado. Fantastic book, on the well-known "Love is patient, love is kind..." verse: 1 Corinthians 13:4-7 and have been incredibly touched by God's love that I cried after each chapter and I've only ever read like 3 so far. Not an easy feat I tell you, making me cry. But with God, anything is possible :)
Lost my job...no, no...I wasn't fired. It's only a temporary thing because our store is moving to another area, so we'll be shut down for August until they set up the new place to be open in September! It's hard having no income. Sigh...

September

Still no job...getting a bit worried/annoyed that they promised to contact us 1st Sept...and a week later, still no news. Annoyed because if it's gonna take this long, I could have found another job while waiting! /:
Assignment season..MORE stress!!! Spring = hayfever. Though I haven't felt the effects just yet.
MORE assignments! Hair-pulling and white hair start sprouting out
Mid-Autumn Festival; I'm organizing the 4-6yo kid's program for 'practice' before the Cambodia trip. God help me, I don't know how to look after 4-6yo...

BUT, by God grace through my friends/family, throughout all these stressful times, I am reminded of God's patience, love and peace...

Its probably the same for you guys too. Assignments, papers, tests or exams, problems with family or friends?? Remember God's love:

East to the West

2011-07-18T23:09:00.000+10:00

A beautiful song of God's love and His sacrifice through Jesus Christ to wipe away our sins...

The show that never was and the 21st that has been

2011-06-23T11:36:00.000+10:00

Hello! Wait, is my title grammatically correct? Ah, who cares...

Well, It has been a marathon these past few days: I finished my exams, worked a whole lot and slept not a whole lot. But I've finally found the energy and time to sit down to do this long-overdue post...

I am so glad exams have finished and I'm having my holidays now. I have 'freedom' now to work everyday, yay...hello early morning starts and 3-hour all rounder trips!

Anyway, I came into work today in a fairly good mood--well, better mood than I normally am (solemn and boring)-- and the reason being that I was going to go to Andrew Lloyd Webber's Love Never Dies showing later in the evening! In case you're like a frog under a coconut shell, LND is the sequel to the Phantom of the Opera I was rambling about months ago. The tickets were given to me for my birthday by four lovely ladies who I study Pursuit of Holiness with. So I hyped myself up, fully expecting an amazing night.

So I braved the wind, cold and rain and headed into city after work and waited for my friend, I'll call her RJ. I got a call from her telling me that the show's canceled. Here's a snipet of conversation that followed (paraphrased):

Me: What?? How come? Hey, don't play jokes on me...
RJ: *nervous laughter* I'm not, honest.
Me: What happened??
RJ: I booked the wrong date, I thought it was tonight...
Me: So when did you actually book it?
RJ: ...next Wednesday...
Me: Awwww, you got me all hyped up for nothing *sad face*. Well, you still better come meet up cos I'm starving. Let's have dinner at least.

Ahh, the show that never was...yet.

Speaking of b-day presents, I had a wonderful day of surprises (good ones and bad ones) on my birthday last Friday.

I start with the bad ones first... the first was that it was a horribly cold and wet day, and because I was rushing to get to my exam, I wore canvas shoes and got my shoe and socks wet! So I had cold wet feet the whole morning...the other was that a question that came up in my exam was the part I wasn't well prepared for, but thank God I managed to spew out words and words of relevant (hopefully) information. I guess I'll find out how relevant when my results come out, hah.

The good ones are really good!

After the exam, I went to sort out my library fees and thankfully, I only had to pay $22 because I returned my two overdue textbooks. If I didn't return them, I woulda had to fork out $220. No thank you.

I then collected my assignments and found out that I got a HD (high distinction) for an assignment that was half-arsed, rushed and handed in late! Whew, don't think I'll be so blessed next time round...

When I got home, Esther 'suggested' that I should go read Jan's blog. So I did and words cannot describe how touched I was to read what she (YOU) wrote. I don't think that I can adequately respond, but know this Jan, you and your family has been such a huge influence in my life back in MTS and even now! Seeing how you are eagerly absorbing God's word and equally eager in serving Him really pushes me to strive harder in my own relationship with God. So THANK YOU for the unspoken and spoken words and acts of discipleship, of love and of friendship. You are an amazing friend and role model, truly.

Another surprise came in the form of a surprise 'party'. It wasn't really a party per se, there wasn't food or drinks or flashing music and streamers--no. It was more of a gathering with a surprise: I got serenaded!! Wow, my first time being serenaded! They sang Michael Buble's Everything, but changed some lyrics to suit the occasion. It was combined with a slideshow showing photos of me from young till now--embarrassing! I was touched my their effort in finding the song, changing lyrics, practicing it and singing it...

I was then forced to make an impromptu speech...and I surprised myself...and everyone else...by getting emotional and crying like a baby. Oh gosh, I don't think I ever cried in public in like FOREVER!

I told them of how it was hard moving here 5 years ago in 2006. And around that time was also a big milestone in my life: my 16th, which was a farewell party as well, so it was a sad occasion. It was extremely difficult leaving family and friends of whom I shared my childhood/teenage years with. I was worried that I wouldn't fit into the youth or church...but this time round, on my 21st which is another huge milestone in life, it was filled with joy. I thanked them all for their acceptance into the church family, and wished that we'll all continue to grow bigger and closer together.

That was the gist of what my speech was...but oh goodness, it felt like I took forever to get those words out cos I was trying too hard not to cry, and failed horribly so I was struggling to talk and get words outa my mouth. I am really thankful to God for this 'family'. It's small in numbers but BIG in love.

That Friday evening will be etched into my memory forever...

Here's some of the gifts I got:

A mug that changes colour and reveals pictures when you add hot water (SO COOL!!!)
Tickets to Love Never Dies
Loads of chocolate (they have a secret ambition to make me even fatter than I am! Really!)
Being serenaded :)

"Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you." 1 Thes 5:16

Some random card tower Esther made from Monopoly Deal cards...I love the colours

D&D

2011-04-04T23:09:00.002+10:00

Dinner and dessert: my two favourite meals of the day! Dinner is where everyone comes together after a long, busy day to have a lovely, warm, home-cooked meal. We use that time to do some catching up; to share what’s been happening in each other’s lives. Dessert is a rare treat; and a home-made one rarer still.

I’ve always loved to cook, bake and make. But the weekly routine of cooking simple three-dished-meals (one rice, one vege, one meat/tofu/fish) really hampered my love and desire to try new recipes…that is until I started watching Masterchef and My Kitchen Rules and Alive and Cooking! My favourite cooking show is James Reeson’s Alive and Cooking. James is such a charismatic chef; his humour and easy personality makes the show enjoyable to watch. I find myself waking up before 9 so I can eat breakfast in front of the TV whilst savouring the food he whisks up.

So, armed with a new determination to cook, coupled with a desire to eat healthier (blame my nutrition course) I decided to do something I’ve never done before for my family. Cook them a Western-ish dinner with something more Asian for dessert: a proper two-course meal. So what better dish to cook than ‘Asparagus Stuffed Chicken Breast’ for dinner and ‘Watermelon Tapioca with Watermelon Mint Sorbet’ for dessert?! For the chicken breasts I used James’ recipe found here with slight changes here and there. As for the dessert, I combined several different recipes (I think I used 3) into one.

GL's version: 'Asparagus Stuffed Chicken Breast'

And oh my word, the stuffed chicken breasts were delish, it had the perfect combination of sour (marinated asparagus), sweet (semi-dried tomatoes), salty (cheddar cheese) and crunchy (breadcrumb-ly outer layer) with juicy chicken meat: yum! It’s a healthy, well-balanced meal that ticks all the boxes. As for the dessert, well, it was a bit of a disaster, I guess watermelon didn’t really go well with tapioca pearls (mango would’ve been perfect) and the sorbet was way too sweet (I got a bit lazy with measurements and whatnot :X). Sigh, oh well. Next time, next time.

'Watermelon Tapioca with Watermelon Mint Sorbet'

Now, onto melon pans!

2011

2011-03-29T00:32:00.002+11:00

I thought it was about time to get my act together and update my blog!

So another year has gone by. The Labour Party with Julia Gillard as PM has been doing okay...not too many qualms about it so far. But we shall see. We shall see. PTL that the Coalition (the lesser of two evils) has won the recent New South Wales state elections!

I finished my 2^nd yr of my 3-yr Health Science degree with above average results (yay!); I also managed to get a job at one of my favourite retail stores – Esprit! Again, all blessings from Him above! PTL! 2010's AYC has been spectacular! Visiting Brisbane and Gold Coast was an amazing experience. The weather was lovely, reminded me of Malaysia. The people were equally amazing! It was also the first time in a long time I've been to such a spiritually rewarding and refreshing camp. The last one being the prayer camp in '06 in Mukah (remember?) Coming back from camp, I've been challenged to re-examine areas in my life that needed a huge revamp; namely in my attitude and conduct as a Christian in my own home/family.

I think, like most people (might just be me), as a Christian...especially one that’s always under public scrutiny – youth leaders, mentors, role models etc – I tended be all ‘goodly’ and ‘right’ and ‘holy’ in front of church members and leaders, the other youths, in front of my friends… I say all the 'right stuff': I can give perfect, sound, quotable advice; I can walk the talk and do it so well that even professional models get jealous; heck I’m the Number #1 ICHIBAN example of a Christian there ever was!^††

However, when I'm at home and free from scrutiny, I don't do the Godliest things. I know… *hangs head in shame* I say degrading things to my sibling; I try my utmost to be unhelpful at all times^†††; I am an impatient twit; I throw terrible tantrums (Childish much? Yeah, I think so too); I -- well, I think you get the picture: I am not the most lovable, adoring sister or daughter to have around.

But slowly, by God's grace, mercy and much prompting of the Spirit, I came to a realization that this needed to change if I was to live a life that totally glorifies God and pleases Him, I have to live a holy life. And thus began my pursuit of holiness (PoH) for 2011 and beyond.

I am grateful to God for speaking through situations and people that helped me continue once more my PoH. I say ‘continue’ because my spiritual growth has been quite stagnant these past few years and now, finally has it been starting to angle up again. This started when a sister-in-Christ suggested that we (a couple of the girls in the junior youth and English youth) do a weekly bible study based on the book ‘The Pursuit of Holiness’ by Jerry Bridges as a continuation of 2010’s AYC theme of ‘Holy, Wholly Holy’. I signed up right away. It was going to be a new experience for the organiser and for the attendees as it was the first time we’ve done something like this. But we put a bold foot forward and stuck with it (with God’s help of course) and boy oh boy, eight weeks, four lessons later, I’m loving it!

I found a renewed sense of hunger and yearning for His word and for holier living. There have been ups and downs in my journey but hey, at least I’m growing! I find myself more conscious of what I do, say and think.

I want to do the things that please Him.

There are about five or six more lessons to go. I will start updating more often with how I’m going. In the interim, go do something really helpful and buy a copy of ‘The Pursuit of Holiness’ for yourself!!

And I shall leave you with this:

But just as He who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do; for it is written: ‘Be holy, because I am holy’.
1 Peter 1:15-16

Allons-y!

Remarks:

†† It was just an exaggeration of how I was. Honest!

††† Again, an exaggeration. I ain’t that bad…that’s not the point. Point is. I’m not that lovable at home.

Politics

2010-08-23T11:35:00.001+10:00

Ever since Labor ousted Kevin Rudd as PM several weeks ago (more like back-stabbed and executed) Aussizens slowly came to realize that another election hangs looming in the air.

On one side, we have the Labor Party with Julia Gillard as their captian; an unmarried, atheist with no children. Not to mention, they formed ties with the Greens (boo, Greens).

On the other, we have the Coalition (a merger between the Nationals and the Liberals); lead by Tony Abbott, sly, male chauvinist and former Catholic-priest-in-training(?!)

Easy choice? No! It's a matter of choosing which one we hate the least.

It was only inevitable as Australians sat glued to their TVs on Saturday evening, waiting and watching to see the end to the election campaign and the beginning of a new government. Alas, both of them couldn't get the 76-seat majority, both are stuck with 71/72 seats. Now the power is in the hands of several independent MPs. Let it be a race to the finish! GILLArd and Abbott have got some bribing/persuading/sucking-up to do int he next few days.

A hung government is good. I like that. You get the best of both parties. Though the 'best' don't amount to much. Oh well, everything's in God's hands. We shall see.

The opposite of homosexuality is NOT heterosexuality

2010-08-12T14:24:00.001+10:00

A very interesting article I'd like to share. Haven't you noticed? There are so much more talks and debates going on about gay marriage, gay rights etc etc leading up to the elections. In a society so focused on being politically correct, I am always at a lost as to how I should approach this looming issue as a Christian. Most the time I try to avoid it.

Many Christians I know suggest the 'loving the sinner, hating the sin' approach and that we are to just love them and let them be because they 'can't help it'; a view which I supported...until now...

This article by a former homosexual and is by no means trying to get Christians to hate homosexuals nor is it accepting of homosexuality BUT it serves as a 'wake-up' call for us Christians of what we and the Church should be doing.

Anyway, I encourage you all to read the article in its entirety!

http://christiananswers.net/q-cross/cross-gaychange.html

Phantom of the Opera Movie

2010-08-10T13:55:00.001+10:00

I think I'm in love with it now... so in love with it I start bursting out in song every now and then! With my own lyrics of course. LOL!

It all started last Thursday evening when me and Mark went to Esther's school production: The Sound of Musicals. It was my first time attending a school production and I am impressed. Impressed by the many many budding, young talents in singing, dancing and acting! Most of the students in the production are about Esther's age! 15!

As the name suggests, it's a production about a production. As we sat in our extremely uncomfortable blue plastic chairs, various actors and singers sang us through the behind-the-scenes of making a production. My, oh my, how much effort is needed to produce a 3.5 hour long production that runs for 3-4 days in a row...

Interspersed between some scenes were random 'fillers' which made no sense at all and only served one purpose: to fill time, to allow the crew to prepare the next scene. One particular filler was some guy in a hooded robe wearing a mask, posing like some demonic beast complete with dramatic lights, music and all slowly rising up from the floor (?) It was the Phantom of the Opera! The dramatic music from Andrew Lloyd Webber's The Phantom of the Opera musical.

That was the start of my curiosity. I've heard about POTO before but was never drawn to its story or its characters. Frankly I'd say I was a 'katak di bawah tempurung'. Shame of me! That very night after production (which ended at an unearthly hour of 11pm), I decided to watch the movie version which a dear friend gave me a year or so before, asking me to watch it. So watch it I did. I fell in love with it; fell in love with the characters, the story and the songs!

POTO: Music of the Night

One of my favourite songs from the movie.

Some might argue that Michael Crawford's (guy playing the Phantom from the original London cast) rendition is the best. But Gerard Butler portrays the Phantom better. Even though Gerry ain't a trained singer and his vocals aren't perfect but he pulled off a spectacular Phantom. A Phantom who's solitude, sadness and anger at the world is conveyed so strongly in Gerry's singing. I love his rough, sometimes bad, singing, it gives the Phantom more dimension to his character! I mean, the Phantom is supposed to be an angry, obsessive person, shunned and rejected by the world so you can't expect him to sing so angelically right? That's just my opinion...

POTO: No One Would Listen (excluded scene)

Can't believe they removed this scene. It's one of the more emotionally touching ones...people would've showed more compassion to the Phantom (even though he's a deranged, obsessive murderer) But see how nice the songs are and why I love it so much?! Andrew Lloyd Webber is a genius!

POTO: Masquerade/Why So Silent (Part 1)

*sings: "Masquerade! Paper faces on parade. Masquerade! Hide your face so the world will never find you..."*

POTO: Masquerade/Why so silent (Part 2)

Love this bit :D

Conclusion: GO WATCH THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA IF YOU HAVEN'T ALREADY! Or am I the only one who's been so behind...haha! I wanna watch Love Never Dies now...

I don't enjoy shopping...

2010-07-31T14:43:00.000+10:00

...for more than 3 hours! Particularly when the shopping mall is...HUGE...

I had to attend a friend's 21st party so I had to shop for a nice clutch and accessories to go with my dress so using the limited time I had I took the bus to Chadstone shopping center (biggest shopping center in Melbourne) right after my lecture. I arrived there at around 3:30-ish and proceeded to start my 'shopping' trip walking around the huge place until I found the stuff I needed. As I went from store to store and in circles, I noticed Koko Black Chocolate store a few times and had half a mind to go try it later...

By the third hour I was ready to pengsan. All I wanted to do was to sit somewhere with a nice hot drink - Koko Black time!! They had the most delicious hazelnut hot chocolate there was to offer! It was the first time I tried such heavenly drink (of course, this was exaggerated because I was so thirsty and so tired)!! The smooth, fluffy taste was sensational. I'll go back and have more next time I'm there.

Past few weeks...

2010-07-27T19:25:00.002+10:00

I've been up to...nothing...much. I just go to my lectures, attend my tutorials on time and then I go home and I watch Doctor Who! I love Doctor Who. The show is awesome. I'm a sci-fic geek, I'm sorry...

So anyway, season 5 just ended and I feel so lost without D.W. just like when FIFA ended...boo.

I went to watch Inception today! Boy oh boy, Chris Nolan has done another remarkable job in directing it. The very idea that people could enter your dreams to steal otherwise inaccessible information is brilliant! What's more brilliant is the notion that ideas could be planted and made to look as if it was original!! The pace was very erratic, which kept me on the edge of my seat the whole time. The emotional aspects of the film- Cobb/Mal/Kids- was very convincing and allowed the audience to relate to the characters. Music-wise, another great score by Hans Zimmer though not as epic as the ones he did for the Dark Knight or Sherlock Holmes (I have yet to get myself a copy of the soundtrack, boo)

I especially loved the fight sequence between Arthur and Fischer's 'mental henchmen' in the hotel, most of it isn't CGI! Awesome! It was definitely worth the $13 spent. I think it deserves another re-watch (in the cinema), you know, make sure you don't miss out any missed bits. Hmmmm, nah. I'll watch it on DVD.

On to upcoming things: #1 VOYAGE OF THE DAWN TREADER!!!

and then I spotted this: The Green Hornet, another lame American movie...but oh noes, Jay Chou is in it?!?!?! WTH?!?! the first time I saw this trailer and saw an Asian dude, I was like "hey, he looks really familiar, where have I seen him before?" and then it dawned on me...it was Jay Chou. Jay Chou in an ENGLISH movie?!

Somehow, I don't see how this will bode well...haha.

HAHA

2010-07-18T23:23:00.002+10:00

This cannot be!

2010-07-15T11:10:00.003+10:00

From my Biochem Metabolism unit chair to all Burwood campus students:

"Hi All,
Lectures notes will be made available to both campuses. This allows students, if they have problems downloading lecture notes, to download another set of similar lecture notes easily. Ilectures however will be campus specific. Tom, Teo and myself feel we can more effectively teach this way.

I am currently teaching other units at present and won't be teaching Biochemical metabolism at Geelong until week 7."

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOoooo!!! This. Cannot. Happen!

This is HUGE (for me anyway) because it means I will not have any access to the Geelong campus i-lectures (audiovisual lecture recordings) For some students like me who found our Burwood lectures to be bad (bad in the fact that it was hard following his lectures and the lecture notes are all messy), access to the other campus lectures and lecture notes were a godsend. Halfway through semester one, I just stopped attending my Biochem Burwood lectures and started to watch the Geelong ones online.

Stuart, the Geelong Biochem lecturer and campus wide unit chair is a great lecturer. One of the best I've come accross. He is enthusiastic, witty, helpful and funny. It also helped that he sounded a lot like Hamish from Hamish and Andy (crazy comedian duos). Haha. Watch them! This is a clip of them 'ghosting' people, the art of Personal Space Invading (without getting caught!)

He made Biochem an enjoyable and interesting unit! He made it not so daunting. Throughout the lecture after each mini-section he would 'test' his students by giving them questions and asked them to take a few minutes to answer them. Even though I wasn't there in person, I participated and that really helped me in this unit. As the exam approached, I became more and more reliable on the Geelong lectures and I learned a lot through Stuart's teaching style. I am not the only one.

So to read that there won't be any access for Burwood students to Geelong i-lectures in semester two, I was devastated. But some students are pushing for access, it's kinda like a petition. So I will petition!

Hope all goes well and we get the i-lectures back!

Blonde moment #2

2010-07-15T10:55:00.000+10:00

I was on my laptop chatting on msn and reading up on writing resumes and cover letters (yes, I'm in need of a job) until I heard a faint ringing noise, similar to that of a phone. So I turned and half-shouted, half-asked anyone who could hear to pick their phone up. No one responded so I was like: "Can't you hear the ringing? Who's phone is it that's ringing?"

Mum replied with a '?' expression, and something was still ringing, so I tried to find the source of the sound. I didn't have to look long. The sound came from my own laptop! It was a friend who was calling me on MSN!

Oh, that was funny and...dumb...

So.

2010-07-10T16:49:00.000+10:00

I spent most of yesterday and today reminding her to not touch anything other than stuff that's hers/already used. Sigh...that's what you have to do when you live with someone that has gastro!

I remember my experience having gastro two years ago *shudders*

Never again I told myself, never again...

I wonder why we never got 'gastro' in Malaysia...hmmmmmmmmmmmmm...it's odd, that's all.

Lifesong - Casting Crowns

2010-07-06T12:12:00.003+10:00

Another update! Just so I can get that very depressing post off the front page :D

So Youth Sunday is this week! And our youth groups have been very busy with camp meetings and prep that we kinda left things to the last minute...not good.

But anyway, the pressie of EMYF came up with a brilliant idea to do a mini musical/play on the book of Job. The EMYF pressie and their faith officer chose Job because it is a very telling story of a Godly man who had to go through a lot of tribulations and suffering but he remained faithful to God even though his faith had been badly shakened. The crux of the play is gonna be a song by Casting Crowns: "Lifesong" sung by our very own quartet of singers! We want to encourage the youths and other members of the church that every part of our lives, everything we say and do should be an act of worship to God. Even through many hardships and trials to come, God will and always be faithful to us all. And like Job, we shouldn't be shaken too much and remain steadfast in God.

So this week will be pretty full-on. Committee meeting, practice sessions, not to mention our respective youth fellowships...ahhhhh...fight on, fight on!

What is our LIFE-song?

Btw, HOW AWESOME IS TOY STORY 3?!?!?!?!? It's one of the best movies I've seen up to date. It helped that I saw it in 3D, looked so good! So nostalgic...and I teared at some scenes from a kids movie. Ngawwwww. And because it was a movie aimed at the younger audience, I specifically chose a screen time of 8:30pm. BOOYAH. No annoying little toddlers being noisy and laughing aloud at...inappropriate times...or annoying kids that talk too loud or cry at 'scary' scenes. See, people do learn new things. I learnt to choose better times to watch PG/G rated movies. If parents so dare as to bring their little bubbly kids out to a movie at 8:30pm. YOU. ARE. NOT. FIT. TO. BE. PARENTS. SORRY.

Next movie: Karate Kid

That night...

2010-07-04T13:35:00.002+10:00

Big, fat tears welled up in her eyes. She started to tear and soon she found herself crying. A moment before she was reading a message from a guy. A message from him made her cry. But he wasn't her beloved, nor her crush. He wasn't even a very close friend.

He was someone who she looked up to, someone who she wanted acknowledgment from. Someone who she respects and someone she learns from. Common words of encouragement, phrases such as "good job" or "you did well" clichéd as they were would not have much of the intended effect on most people; but from him, it meant a lot to her. To her, these simple phrases goes beyond the words and their literal meaning. To her, it meant that the immature, unorganized, lazy and sometimes obnoxious girl that she is did something right.

She decided to retire to her room, the place she feels most secure to sort out her emotions and to get some much needed sleep. It was 2AM. Her tears were not yet dry. She tried to be inconspicuous as she navigated the hallway in the dark, careful not to disturb the rest who were fast asleep. She was familiar enough with the place to avoid stumbling; she remembers when to turn and what to watch out for. Visuospatial memory was easy for her. After all, she's had years of experience practicing it. She loved drawing. She loved examining objects and subjects in detail, visualizing them, memorizing them and reproducing them on paper. Dealing with emotions was not. In the midst of all this, a faint thought crossed her mind. Was she ever going to be ready for relationships? But save that for another time.

She crumbled into bed, pulled the duvet over herself and succumbed to her emotions. She curled into a ball and let her sobs shake her small frame. She feared the others would hear her but at the same time, she wanted someone to ask her if she's okay. She wanted someone to baby her and tell her it's all okay. She wanted someone to pity her. She felt ridiculous for thinking that way. She felt so human. She was human. Nevertheless, she still did not know why the two sentences written by him made her feel that way. She isn't the type to cry over something like this.

It was stupid. Immature. Foolish.

So she began to analyze herself and slowly came to a conclusion. It was probably the unsorted insecurity with the newly added stress and expectations from others which had built up into a mental dam. And then the right person with the right tools came along and shattered the fragile structure. Then the self-pity came and she sobbed even harder.

Stupid. Immature. Foolish.

She also realized that judging from the way he worded his sentence. He was upset at her attitude. He thought she was being purposely disrespectful to him. He thought she did not are less about the presentation for Youth Sunday. That was the last thing she would do to someone who she holds in such high regard. And she cares a lot about the presentation. But she just did not know what to do, so she sat back and let him do all the organizing. A poor judgment. It was irresponsible, she knew. He agrees. Yet she hated being misunderstood. hated it. So she typed back an apology and a quick explanation, hoping it would be quell his anger.

With that, she finally fell into a fitful sleep, exhausted. Her tears dried and her last thought and prayer to God was to help her through the challenges ahead knowing that by overcoming them, she would grow to be a better, stronger and more mature person.

*********

Pruning of branches isn't always pleasant, but it is necessary for the plant to bear more fruit. Pruning is a necessity in holy, Christian living. Otherwise, how are we going to be prepared to carry the weight of all the plans God has for our lives?

"I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunesso that it will be even more fruitful.

You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you. Remain in me, and I will remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me.

"I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. If anyone does not remain in me, he is like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned. If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be given you. This is to my Father's glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.

"As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love. If you obey my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have obeyed my Father's commands and remain in his love. I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete. My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends. You are my friends if you do what I command. I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master's business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you. You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit—fruit that will last. Then the Father will give you whatever you ask in my name.

This is my command: Love each other.

~John 15:1-17~

AMYC 2010!

2010-07-03T17:42:00.000+10:00

Can't believe it's already half a year and in 5 months time, the 16th AMYC will commence! This year, it'll be hosted by our awesome brothers and sisters in Brisbane! WHooo! GOLD COAST HERE I COME. Sorry, I meant, AMYC 2010 HERE I COME! ;D

The theme is Holy, Wholly Holy (nice pun, no?)

Here's their first promo video:

and their second:

I want a video camera too!

Sports Night

2010-07-03T17:29:00.000+10:00

My body's all stiff and sore...and I feel old...

So what happened was we had a combined EMYF (uni-young working adults fellowship) and JMYF (high school students) sports night at a local sports center as it's the holidays and people just wanna chill.

I only participated in like two sports and already I've stuffed my knee, and my kidneys feel painful (well, area around my right kidney to be exact

I think it's high time I start exercising! Haha! We played European handball!! First time playing that, and it was fun! I didn't manage to score any goals but I got to run around till my chest hurts!The guys in our group should pass the ball around to OTHER players more often...I felt so left out and I'm not the only one, sigh.
We then divided into three teams of around 6/7 people and played indoor soccer and we won 2-0; the second goal by yours truly ;D There was even a mini-Messi player! He was pretty good! I feel so proud even though he was an opponent because he's the amongst the youngest in our youth group and I was really happy he even came! He doesn't come often so, it's awesome :D

Anyway, the winning team had to play against the third team but we lost and it got boring after a while so they decided to play basketball which I vehemently refused to play because, well, because I suck BAD at basketball.

I went home after that and pigged on instant mee (all that exercise for nothing!) LOL. Heyy, I didn't have dinner okay...

So yes, really enjoyed last night's sports event. I'm thinking of organizing another one sometime in the next term holidays. We shall see. We shall see...

GERMANY V ARGENTINA TONIGHT!!! *excited*

Looks like no more sleep for me tonight. Nice.

Blonde moment #1

2010-07-01T19:47:00.001+10:00

Yesterday at approximately 1200 hours: Noticed a wet patch on devotional booklet and chucked it over the heater to dry it.

Today at approximately 1000 hours: Was looking for booklet and asked Esther the whereabouts until she pointed to it on top of heater. Turned it around and saw the patch has not dried. So I took a closer look and saw that it was part of the graphics of that page. Blonde moment! Embarrassing when my hair colour is a hundred times darker (not that your hair colour actually determines your I.Q levels). Haha. That was a funny moment, made my day!

Holidays

2010-06-29T12:28:00.000+10:00

It's only been a week and two more to go and already I am bored. But being bored is a good thing because being bored forces you to go out of your way to 'satisfy' your boredom, eg. doing something you wouldn't do often: choosing to stay up into the wee hours of the morning to watch football matches live on TV; spring-cleaning my room; going on an outing when it's raining and only 10 degrees; watching Dr. Phil --wait, what? -- and lotsa other random things. But one beneficial thing that I resumed doing is having my daily devotions.

I've been struggling a lot to keep it constant but somehow always fail. But I know God has been gently nudging me back to Him through the sermons I hear, through the books I read and the people around me. So I've started being constant and diligent in reading His word, meditating on it and praying with it. There's just nothing you can do on your own and succeed without relying on God's guidance.

There was this particular sermon (that I recommend to all) by Paul de Jong from New Zealand on Jesus as Lord (I've linked the podcast, go listen to it!) that really touched my heart and reminded me to view Jesus not just as a provider, but as Lord. He talked about a lot of other things which I can't really exactly recall - it's just better to hear him for yourself. But it helped me refocus my heart and 'internal' eyes back to Him. And as I prepare to face many challenges ahead, my prayer is that my life be pleasing in His eyes. Is yours?

Update Jan-June 2010 (part 2)

2010-06-23T11:20:00.002+10:00

January 2010 ~continued~
3) Melbourne Zoo, Twelve Apostles, Thousand Steps, cherry picking and Sophia's

Bite him!

I think this is a pygmy hippo...not sure...

Rawrrrr!

I was a bit jealous that they got to go to the zoo :(
Missed out all the sights...

They also went to the Twelve Apostles. I think it was a 4 hour drive...but man, I really wish I'd seen the scenery! Clear blue sky! But I heard there were too many flies and big ones too...

Nice inlet...you can just see some of the rock formations...

I only see...six?

This was a stop they made on the way to the Apostles. Awesome fountain...you can see the sheer size of it if you look at the photo on the right...can you make out tiny figures??

Anddd they also checked out the Thousand Steps! Melbourne's own 'Kokoda Track' 15mins drive from our house. Ever since the family went to this place mum started going religiously to exercise and she's lost 4kg!! She can even wear some of my pants now...crap...

Tough track up the steps...but when you reach the top, wah, the satisfaction :)

Cherry picking~

Bought so much home...so we spent the next few days just downing cherries. Yummy!

Local winery. Uncle bought some back, so nice and sparkly and sweet :)

Random Victoria Market scene...me and Esther decided to arm wrestle...and...I lost miserably...

Dinner at Sophia's! We wanted to let our uncle and auntie eat Italian so we took them to Sophia's known for its HUGE portions...

See the dishes in front of us? Each dish is meant for ONE person, but being Asian we shared. Hey, cmon, who can finish one whole plate by themselves?

Uncle and auntie dearest left after 10 exciting days...boo...it was fun while it lasted...

4) Australia Day fishing trip (again)

Dad wanted to go fishing again (what is with men and fishing) so off we went with dad's friends/colleagues to a beach for some fish...I ended up baby-sitting the kids that tagged along with their parents... you can tell I really enjoyed it...

But! They were so cute~~

I helped bury him too! *tries to get credit for their work*

In the end we went home without any fish...oh well, next time.

January was a packed month: Lois came to visit from NZ and we went around the city and shopped a bit. Heard lotsa funny stories about NZ weather. It's crazy! No pictures though..cos we didn't take a lot...

Parents and I also got invited to a wedding dinner: had to dress formal. Formal = me wearing a dress *gasp*

Funny, I did remember taking photos of it...where has it disappeared to..? It was my first dress ever since I was old enough to decide what I wear!

Stole this from FB
Never again...in heels...pain...painnnn

and then February came and went. I quit my job at the end of Feb because I decided to put more effort into my youth ministry and uni...still unemployed but I'm not fussed. I learn spend less :)

March 2010, uni started again, hated my timetable because that I had to go to uni everyday...and me being me being lazy, I skipped a lot of my lectures (shhhhhhh!).

April 2010, nothing interesting to report here...

May 2010: Mum's 49th birthday! She's getting older *cries* and I decided to change my hairstyle after what...4 years?! I got a bob cut :)

June 2010: exams...20th bday...lobster noodles~

That's about it...

Update Jan-June 2010

2010-06-23T00:16:00.000+10:00

Hi all, back again after 6 long months! I've neglected this blog for too long so the least I can do is provide this update...bare with me...

January 2010- Our Aunt and Uncle came and visited us! We went to a LOT of places and did lots of tourist-y things like visit Phillip Island (penguin watching!), Twelve Apostles (only about ten now), cherry picking, wine tasting, China town, Victoria market, Eureka Tower, Melbourne Museum and Melbourne Zoo etc...

It was a busy week! Get ready for the photo-spam ;D (not in chronological order cos..I can't remember...)
1) Phillip Island~

Uncle and Auntie dearest and us!

Just the girls :)

Some farm ducks>>

I got to milk a cow :D The cow pooped and wee-weed everywhere- eugh...

We saw this peacock and it had it's feathers out for a loong loong time twirling around in circles. I think it likes all the attention, haha.

This is an cannon. Pretty cool.

So is this huge tree!

and this huge koala. We visited a koala sanctuary

They're quite small IRL. It was quite hard spotting them around the bushland but we managed, hehe.

and then we strolled around the sanctuary keeping an eye out (many eyes out) for wildlife! AND saw THIS! A wallaby! Dad managed to creep up REAL close (less than 1m away) to take this photo and it didn't even flinch! Brave...wallabies are really really tiny...

and then evening came and we explored around the tip of the island called the Nobbies where there was some beautiful scenery. It was really cold too! We even saw penguins under the decks! The very penguins we were there to watch - the Little Penguins (they sure do live up to their name...)

We had a quick dinner then headed up to the Penguin Parade place where we waited for TWO hours for the sun to set as the Little penguins would only swim back to shore to their nests when it's dark. So we sat on the beach, cold, tired and cold...and then at around 9-ish we started to see tiny specks moving in the sea and several minutes later we see groups of 6-10 penguins scuttling around the beach (avoiding the seagulls who were twice their size) trying to reach their nest a several hundreds of meters up the shore. As we watched and later followed the little animals -- with their tiny bodies -- waddling along so far I can't help but feel a sense of awe at their bravery and determination in getting back home...and no, we weren't allowed to touch them, shame :(

I really enjoyed the trip to Phillip Island, explored nature and all its gifts (from God, of course), had the freshest fish and chips (oily though) and had fun with the family.

2) Exploring Melbourne City - Eureka Tower, Melbourne Museum and Dae Jang Geum

Ah, Melbourne city, so many sights, sounds and just plan weird stuff. Saw this street performer who actually asked a volunteer (in this case a kid) to throw parangs up to him whilst balancing on top of 4 buckets O_O

Amazing chalk drawings! I asked the artist how long it took for him to produce one piece - around 4-5 weeks! Amazing.

We then went to the Melbourne Museum. Australia's Coat of Arms containing national icons: the kangaroo and the emu and the shield with six badges representing the six states. Can you guess which is Victoria's badge?

There was some Aboriginal art on display and I took a few sneeky shots. Cos we weren't allowed to photograph anything in there :X
Beautiful, no?

It was nearing lunchtime so we took left the museum and walked around this park (very very very nice day) and decided to fool around (well, only me and Esther) around this fountain. I could've sat on that grass the whole day if you let me, it was so comfy! Don't mum and dad look so cute like that?! Haha.

LOL. Just, LOL. I don't know why we did this...don't ask.

Ready, set--

--JUMP!!

~~Charlie's~~ Uncle's Angels (minus one)

Lunch at Melbourne's Dae Jang Geum! Korean BBQ FTW!

Lovely lovely food. And yes, that is a piece of cheese they put on top of the noodles. Gave the soup a more jazz. You should go try it sometime with Korean instant mee. Seriously. It's awesome.

Eureka Tower¬¬ I think it's the tallest skyscraper now? Not too sure. But if you go up to level 88, you get to see the whole Melbourne city. Definitely worth a look. Awesome 360 view all around! For archi-buffs, this building was designed to resemble an architect's ruler.

Just one part of the city, forgot which direction. But I see the Arts Center building (that pointy white thing in the middle)

There are more photos but there's too many so I chose a few that represents what we did that day. These two days are the only days I spent with my uncle and auntie cos I had work, boo. BUT there's more photos (not too much cos someone *coughEsthercough* didn't clean the camera lens so it came out all blurry) to come, just that there won't be a lot of info on them because I wasn't there, sorry.

Well, it's getting late. More posts to come!

Merimbula Fishing Trip p2

2010-01-15T20:54:00.000+11:00

More photos! As promised...I've been incredibly lazy to upload them :/ sorry...so this is day....2 of the fishing trip, we drove 30mins down to Eden (place we went to the very first fishing trip in Sept) and fished. There were hardly ANY fish this time probably due to the two seals we see sticking their heads outa the water every now and then; it was pretty cool...

And because nothing was biting, dad went to the other (more dangerous) side of the wharf where he met with...little success. He only caught two small, measly fishes that we decided to use as bait...

And here was mum who retired under a tree to escape the heat and read her novels...I don't blame her, it was pretty hot that day...

Ahh, here are the three fishes we caught...two by dad and one by mum (the big one).

As you can see, there are two bugs on the big fish. They were found in the gills of the big fish- EWWWWwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww!! Seriously, I'm so glad we didn't EAT these fish, how DISGUSTING would that've been???

The next day, we went back to the same place and this time, we were quite successful - dad caught the biggest fish (top), this fish (I forgot it's name) has flesh that is noted for having a soft, velvety texture - an expensive delicacy in HK - so I guess we were lucky :)

Someone left this sand 'sculpture'- I have no idea what it is but it looks like a... SHOE PRINT???? I'll leave it up to your imaginations...

On our last night, we met up with the rest of the fishing trip gang AKA dad's students (with their many kids)

and the kids decided to play a little dare game...
Dare 1: Eat a whole tablespoon of wasabi - check.

Dare 2: Kiss the fish on the mouth - check.

Dare 3: Withstand icecubes stuffed down the back of shirt for 10 seconds - check.

Dare 4: Sing Mary had a Little Lamb to everyone in the room - check.

Dare 5: Piggy-back someone around the whole house - check.

There were actually a lot of dares thought not all were snapped and recorded...haha...too bad...

Anyway, this is the end of our fishing trip for 2009...

Merimbula Fishing Trip

2009-12-18T23:35:00.002+11:00

This is officially the first day here at Merimbula (a small, beautiful coastal town in New South Wales). I can say, the journey here was very...taxing - it was meant to be a 7+hr car trip but we ended up taking about 10++ hours!! The reason? A bushfire on route to Merimbula. So we were stopped by officers and told to either turn back or take a detour around the area: we opted for the detour...and it was a rather perilous detour I might add. Not joking. This detour also destroyed what little trust I have left for Susan - our very unreliable GPS. She took us to a "shorter" and more dangerous route though hills/mountains with only dirt for tracks! Dad nearly lost control of the 4WD at on stage and that was pretty scary. But after that section which lasted for 2 hrs, we I got pretty bored and started taking photos.It's not fog, but SMOG (from the bushfires...)

Hah...

I made her pick her nose

The 4-star inn we're staying in.

It's is pretty good AND cheap!

The next day, we didn't really get up to much - woke up at around 9...went for a stroll through town around 11...lunch...then watched volleyball (Italy vs Japan - GO JAPAN!) on TV...and then we went fishing at around 3. Did not catch ANY fish. Not that there weren't any, just that they were too small and would flee every time I jerked up the fishing rod; only dad was successful - he caught 2!! Basically, NOTHING interesting today...meh...I'll let the photos tell the story...haha.

We'll be going off to Eden tomorrow morning to catch somemore fish. I hope that I'll catch something this time...and I promise, MORE PHOTOS! Till then, GL out.

AMYC '09! (Part 2)

2009-12-06T22:15:00.006+11:00

Day 4 + 5 - Catamarans and farewell

We had to bid farewell to newly made friends, brothers, sisters and comrades in Christ. It was sad, but I know that I'll be seeing them again next year (I hope) at Brisbane!!!

Below are some photos taken when we went catamaran-ing the next day. OMO OMO OMO I think that was the highlight of Perth! It was sooooooooooooo FUN! The wind speeds that morning were really good, so we could go really fast around Swan river/lake! It was surprisingly very easy to control too, they only briefed us for 5-10 mins and left us to do our thang - haha.

These are our catamarans :)

So we catamaran-ed for about 1 hr, then we headed out for lunch at...this food plaza at Carillion City plaza - good good food for good good price. After lunch we went to Kings park where they had war memorials (below)

LOL @ expressions below. We were mucking around trying to look like we're in jail.

Same monument as before but from the back

You can tell we stayed at Kings park pretty long...

Glorious view of Perth City @ night

Anddddd that's it for AMYC 2009 :(

AMYC '09! (Part 1)

2009-12-04T23:27:00.013+11:00

It's the time of the year again where most Australian Methodist youths all gather at one place - this year it's Perth! I just came back from the 15th AMYC (Australian Methodist Youth Convention) this morning and what can I say?! I had a blast. Met so many new friends, was encouraged and touched by so many youths with great faith and maturity and had loads of good fun in the sun.

Enough of my talking - here are some photos (some taken by me and some not - I took them off facebook. Hah)

Day 1 - Combined Sunday Service @ Kingsway Methodist Church, Perth

The Sunday service consisted of all camp delegates and Methodist pastors/reverends from all over Australia: there were so many people that we had to watch the service broadcast through a tiny TV in a different room. There were around 3 room just like this. Whats more, some of the Kingsway people were told to stay at home until the opening ceremony of our camp because they couldn't fit everyone!

The sermon was on...I can't remember - I was pretty tired then having not had enough sleep because of jet-lag the night before.

Onto the bus we go! - Kingsway Methodist Church
Coach 3 - The Melburnians' bus + some Sydney-siders too :/

After morning service, we had lunch then waited an hour or so for the official start to AMYC 2009! (again held at KMC - this time all camp delegates were in the same hall as the church-goers left). We then boarded the bus for a relatively short trip to our campsite - only 30mins. Perth is so small :O

I didn't manage to take photos of the campsite- was too lazy, but I can tell you being only 8 minutes away (by foot) from the beach is AWESOME!

Day 2 - Ern Halliday Recreation Camp
Morning aerobics

This year's program was really really really well organized - I mean comeon, where do we get to have 'morning exercise' other than @ AMYC '09?! Yeah, morning exercise complete with their own made-up moves such as "the Toilet" where we bend both our knees (just like going to the toilet asian style!) LOLOLOL. There was also "the Jesus" - start with your right arm, and fold it over your chest, then repeat with left arm whilst keeping your right arm in place (imagine Egyptian tomb pose but standing up); then finally spread out both arms to your side like a cross (JESUS!). Wait! There's more! There was also the "Super Jesus" same upper body movements 'cept you're doing that whilst jogging on the spot...oh the hilarity. I think I more time laughing than actually doing the 'exercise" - twas good fun!
Our camp shirt

After that was devotion, breakfast and then the 2nd theme talk on "Leadership". We also had games that afternoon (again I did not take photos) and we also found out our skit timeline and hero. Our team- Phoebe had Bruce Lee as the hero and it's to be set in the Dinosaur age - had to think up of ideas regarding dinosaurs...

Day 3 - Photo-taking & Skit Night!
A bunch of eyes going gaga for Michelle Ting - LOLWHUT

"My shirt ish too shmall :( " -Richard
Since the t-shirts were made in Malaysia...the sizes are 1 size too small!! Thank God I could fit into an XS O.o I ordered small!

Fantastic Four!

The skits were...SO FUNNY! I couldn't stop LOL-ing at the ideas other teams came up with!
Sorry, no photos :(

Campies having fun on the last night of camp...

It feels depressing now...last night of camp we played card games and chatted. I went to sleep at an unearthly hour of 2am...others went to the beach to watch the sunrise - which they couldn't see cos it was blocked by hills - HAHAH. They waited in the freezing cold!

Time of Trial

2009-10-28T10:00:00.004+11:00

I realized I needed to upgrade my choice of books to include 'adult - fiction/non-fiction' when I walked into a bookstore and saw all my favourite authors in the 'teenage fiction' section. :O Dangit!

Michael Pryor's newest book - Time of Trial is out!! (aren't I glad I visited the bookshop?? - LOL)

Time of Trial blurb:
The mysterious Beccaria Cage could be the cure for Aubrey’s condition: a way to reunite his body and soul. But could its usefulness hide something more sinister?

After Aubrey narrowly escapes the worst fate he can imagine, he realises that there is only one thing to do: he must confront his nemesis. With George and Caroline at his side, he travels to Holmland – the home of Dr Tremaine and the heart of hostile territory – only to face magical conundrums, near-death experiences, ghosts, brigands and enemies on their own ground.
Fisherberg is a city on a knife edge. Can Aubrey solve its mysteries before Dr Tremaine’s warmongering machinations tip the world into chaos?

If you like witty retorts, magic and adventure - this is the book for you. :D

I wonder if this is how You felt...

2009-10-24T12:01:00.003+11:00

I couldn't sleep well last night. I was angry, frustrated and felt very unforgiving. The cause? A customer I had to serve a few hours before. So the story goes like this: customer dropped off a dress to be altered in the morning, she was to pick up the dress in the afternoon at around 4. My shift was from 3-9, so I didn't know about the said dress to be altered. Anyway, so she came at 4, turns out the dress hasn't been altered yet, because it was left in a plastic bag and under piles of clothing - fine, our fault, I totally agree. She started rambling on about how she dropped it off in the morning and demanded to know why it wasn't done etc, saying how she had work at 5 and stuff. It was totally our fault so I apologized profusely and asked for the customer to come back in 30mins. She snatched away her docket and left with an extremely sour face - "I am NOT happy about this!"

This part was okay, I mean, I understand why she'd be so pissed - I would be too. It as AFTER when she came back to pick her dress up @4:45 that what she said really got me. So yes, she came back 45mins later (cmon, you're supposed to come back in 30 mins!) Anyway, we gave her the dress and as an apology we gave her a discount voucher. She was unsatisfied. She demanded we give her back some money for "the inconveniences we'd caused (eg. being late for work)", SO we did another 10% off (on top of the discount voucher) - still unhappy. So I told her, that sorry, this is the best we can do etc etc etc and the boss isn't here so I'm not allowed to give anymore. I asked her to come back the next morning to talk to the boss - instead of an "okay", I got: "NO, I want my money now. I'm not going to leave until you give me money and there are customers waiting so deal with it" - OMG, THE NERVE OF THAT WOMAN. She trying to threaten the business?! I mean seriously! She's the one complaining that she's late for work and here she is, deciding to stand there until we give her more money!

I kept trying to tell her my hands are tied and I cannot do anything TODAY, but if she came back TOMORROW, we could sort something out. But nooooooo, she wanted us to call the boss and talk to him. I did, she got back $20 + discount voucher and left.

Heck, that time, I was glad she was gone. I didn't really feel any anger then, probably cos I had to focus on other customers and had to serve them. But yeah, it's when I got back home and was in bed that I started to playback what had happened earlier...I worked myself up and got myself really angry at her. I was shouting profanities in my head, thinking of what I could've said back. Basically I was plotting revenge. haha. I know. So unChrist-like. It got to the point where I was feeling so much hate I couldn't sleep...and then it dawned on me that I cannot be like this, I had to forgive her (plus, the following evening I had to lead a prayer night! Talking about FORGIVING PEOPLE!) But I did not have the strength to forgive. Only God has. So I asked God to give me the strength that I don't have to forgive this person. It took a while, I was reluctant, but eventually I did...

And it was then I realized if I felt this angry towards someone I didn't even know, how must God have felt when his own CHILDREN disobeyed Him, slandered Him, belittled Him, did all sorts of things God HATES?? How must He have felt? As angry as I felt? If anyone had the right to be angry, it was Him, right?? Yet He still had so much love for us. It continues to amaze me how GREAT our Father in heaven is! I praise Him for showing us the love we do not deserve, even though countless time we saddened and angered Him, He still loved. Praise God! You are awesome! PTL!

Micah 7:18-20

¹⁸ Who is a God like you,
who pardons sin and forgives the transgression
of the remnant of his inheritance?
You do not stay angry forever
but delight to show mercy.

¹⁹ You will again have compassion on us;
you will tread our sins underfoot
and hurl all our iniquities into the depths of the sea.

²⁰ You will be faithful to Jacob,
and show love to Abraham,
as you pledged on oath to our ancestors
in days long ago.

Hellfire

2009-10-21T14:22:00.006+11:00

I've always loved Disney's Hunchback of Notre-Dame. I had an urge one day to watch the movie so I googled and download it (boys and girls, please rent/buy the DVD). The Hunchback of Notre-Dame was probably the darkest, 'adult' movie made by Disney. It contains themes of lust, hell, social injustice (prejudice) and murder. Back when I first watched it (when I was around 7/8) I didn't really understand the deeper 'issues' the movie focuses on...but now that I've re-watched it, my view of this movie has changed- not in a bad way, rather, in a way where I watch/listen in awe of how the producers tell this wonderful tale.

'Hellfire' (video above) is a perfect example of the producers' incredible story telling. Judge Claude Frollo, the antagonist of the film sings about his infatuation, lust and hate for Esmeralda; convinced he's under her 'black spell'. He hallucinates: a fiery silhouette (Esmeralda), foreboding shadows, monks in red cloaks (most probably his conscience) - Desire/Hate, Good/Bad, Salvation/hell?? - ahhh, this is probably my favourite part of the movie!

Why I like the song so much? Because of the way it was done: Frollo's baritone voice against the Confiteor which contrasts with what Frollo actually sings (see below). Frollo blames his lust for Esmeralda on the spell she has supposedly cast - 'it's not my fault, I'm not to blame!'. But he know that deep down in his conscience (represented by the red-cloaked monks), he knows that that's not true - "mea culpa, mea maxima culpa (through my fault, through my grievous fault)". Ultimately, he reaches a conclusion: to let her burn on the pyre or to keep Esmeralda to himself. It is only near the end of the song when the chanting and Frollo's plea become similar - "God have mercy on her" (Kyrie Eleison - Lord have mercy), "God have mercy on me" (Kyrie Eleison - Lord have mercy). I think it's a wonderfully crafted song...and I hope you'll enjoy the thought and effort the song writer and composer put into a mere 3 minutes of screen-time.

Priests
Confiteor Deo Omnipotenti (I confess to God almighty)
Beatae Mariae semper Virgini (To blessed Mary ever Virgin)
Beato Michaeli archangelo (To the blessed archangel Michael)
Sanctis apostolis omnibus sanctis (To the holy apostles, to all the saints)
Frollo
Beata Maria
You know I am a righteous man
Of my virtue I am justly proud
Priests
Et tibit Pater (And to you, Father)
Frollo
Beata Maria
You know I'm so much purer than
The common, vulgar, weak, licentious crowd
Priests
Quia peccavi nimis (That I have sinned)
Frollo
Then tell me, Maria
Why I see her dancing there
Why her smold'ring eyes still scorch my soul
Priests
Cogitatione (In thought)
Frollo
I feel her, I see her
The sun caught in raven hair
Is blazing in me out of all control
Priests
Verbo et opere (In word and deed)
Frollo
Like fire
Hellfire
This fire in my skin
This burning
Desire
Is turning me to sin
It's not my fault
Priests
Mea culpa (Through my fault)
Frollo
I'm not to blame
Priests
Mea culpa (Through my fault)
Frollo
It is the gypsy girl
The witch who sent this flame
Priests
Mea maxima culpa (Through my most griveous fault)
Frollo
It's not my fault
Priests
Mea culpa (Through my fault)
Frollo
If in God's plan
Priests
Mea culpa (Through my fault)
Frollo
He made the devil so much
Stronger than a man
Priests
Mea maxima culpa (Through my most griveous fault)
Frollo
Protect me, Maria
Don't let this siren cast her spell
Don't let her fire sear my flesh and bone
Destroy Esmeralda
And let her taste the fires of hell
Or else let her be mine and mine alone
Guard
Minister Frollo, the gypsy has escaped
Frollo
What?
Guard
No longer in the cathedral. She's gone
Frollo
But how? Never mind. Get out, you idiot
I'll find her. I'll find her if I have to burn down all of Paris
Hellfire
Dark fire
Now gypsy, it's your turn
Choose me or
Your pyre
Be mine or you will burn
Priests
Kyrie Eleison (Lord have mercy)
Frollo
God have mercy on her
Priests
Kyrie Eleison (Lord have mercy)
Frollo
God have mercy on me
Priests
Kyrie Eleison (Lord have mercy)
Frollo
But she will be mine
Or she will burn!

Btw, baritone voices are sexy... (O.O)

ENJOY!!
GL out

Ahh..

2009-10-20T15:43:00.003+11:00

Right, day 2 of 130+ days of holiday...and I impressed myself by cleaning and tidying up my room. I managed to collect a whole bag of paper to be recycled...and my desk is nice, neat and clean! Yay.

I've also begun to search for casual/part-time jobs so I won't waste away at home with nothing to do! But I'm slacking off now...the thought of writing cover letters to each job application is putting me off...sigh...I'll make myself write them tonight :/

I really want to read good books. ANY suggestions?? I prefer fantasy-fiction (because I like to escape the real world reading about fantasy ones?!?! LOL) but fiction/biographical/smtg like "My Sister's Keeper" would be good too.

Here's my to-do-list:
- find part-time/casual jobs
- draw
- read
- ...
- D:
- x.x

Okay, I'm outta ideas...

BUT here's Shinee's new MV! It sounds stupid, but it's addictive O.o *hums*

HAHA, this reminds me of a "nooooooooooo" moment in a conversation with my sis on one of Shinee's members:

*Conversation below is paraphrased*

GL: "That's Taemin *points to screen*, isn't he cute?"
Sis: "How old is he?"
GL: "I think he's 16-" *googles* "Yeah, 16..."
Sis: "Grace, you're too old for him."
GL: *...* "Nooooooooooooooooooooo"

HAHAHA, I didn't "no" because he was too young for me or whatever. I "noooo'ed" because her comment made me feel like a paedophile/cougar for saying that Taemin's cute.. TT-TT and I'm not! Hah....enjoy.

Dundundundudnudn

2009-10-08T12:06:00.004+11:00

Wasting time again...HAHA. Survived the first exam on Wednesday, now preparing for the second one tomorrow! It's an online unit, but we have to physically go to the exam venue and put pencil to paper...anyway, just wondering how can the mature-aged students (those who have worked but are returning to uni to study - incl married and elderly ppl) have so much motivation to do well in the exam?

I was just browsing through the online discussion group and noticed that the discussions are dominated by these mature-aged students. There were HEAPS of messages posted, discussion on answers and questions they came up with themselves...and I'm like O.o woah. They have already finished revising and going through their notes and things and I haven't even started! I wish I could be like them. FTW MATURE AGED STUDENTS!

Look at all the messages and how the board is dominated by the same few ppl?? Wah. Most of these are mature-aged students...

OHOHOH, I also can't wait to watch the new Korean drama starring Park Shin-hye (from Stairway to Heaven) - "You're Beautiful"

Storyline goes, A.N. JELL (how lame) a boy band are looking for their fourth and newest member of the group. They find the male twin (played by Shin-hye) of two fraternal twins. But soon the male twin is involved in an accident and is unable to perform his duties in the band...so they get his female twin to replace him until he recovers...(storyline familiar much?!)

But yeah...I still wanna watch it cos I wanna see how Shin-hye will act :) PLEASE DON'T LET THIS BE ANOTHER COFFEE PRINCE. O.O That was just awkward.

Why is it always?

2009-10-05T20:09:00.002+11:00

Ugh...once again I find myself blogging even when I'm not supposed to! Argh! My exams start on Wednesday and here I am...typing...sigh.

I wonder why I always blog when I'm having exams, or when I have an assignment due. I think I'm trying to escape - heh.

This year's youth camp was the coldest, rainiest, dirtiest- did I mention coldest camp ever!! The weather that weekend was HORRIBLE. It rained almost all the time, it also hailed at one point; the hailstones were pretty big too. I also had a little 'accident' on the first evening too: I slipped in the mud and muddied my jeans! And guess what, my friend did the same thing too! (even after I warned everyone not to run). Haha. We also had to shorten and limit what could have been a great afternoon of games. Was pretty disappointed because I had spent quite a bit of time organizing the games... oh well. AND, goodness me, I left my phone at the campsite too O.o So I am without my phone, I feel so handicapped as I cannot contact people effectively :(

But despite everything that happened, God provided us with an amazing x10210 speaker!

The theme this year was "A Life Worth Dying For" based on Philippians 1:21 "for to live is Christ, and to die is gain." Pastor Philip Kua did 3 theme talks with us, and I can say, I was listening so intently to him all that time. I am even more surprised that some members of my youth group, the ones that go to camps just for fun actually paid a lot of attention during the talk, they even took notes! I am so proud of them! The Lord was certainly blessing our camp and the speaker! I've learnt a lot from this camp. I pray that my desire to learn will not die down.

I would like to elaborate more, but alas, I have to go back to revision...I don't have many photos, cos I was too busy during the camp to take any. But I think there are some on Facebook, there's videos of our talent night too! Go check it out...somehow...

GL out!

Capped

2009-09-22T14:21:00.002+10:00

I don't like being capped...especially when I have online assessments due!! I tried to vent my frustration with drawing...this is what I drew: "Capped Girl" - HAH.

Exams coming up in less than 2 weeks...sigh...I'll also be going my church's youth camp this Friday!!! Yay...

I really want to eat mooncake :S

Super Girl

2009-09-15T21:36:00.004+10:00

Super Junior M's new MV - "Super Girl"

Love Donghae's new hair...Henry. Wow.

Person: "Whattt?? Grace likes Super Junior?!"

Grace: "Yes and no...yes I like their characters/personality and no, I don't like like them - they're okay, some good vocals but the rest is all for show..."
Person: "Right..." *stares accusingly*

Grace: "W-wh-wh-what you lookin' at? Alright! Fine, I like SuJu (but def. not for their songs) It's their charisma, their looks and their...charisma... (:"

Person: "There we go, isn't it nice to admit the truth for-"

Grace: "I especially like Siwon, he's such a gentleman. Donghae's has such a cute baby face! Han Geng - GO CHINAMAN! Kyuhyun and Ryeowook have the best voices, Henry - ah, Henry, a Chinese Canadian - the baby (and newbie) of the group: he's awesome, he can pop and play the violin!!"

Person: *...*

- GL out.

Why?

2009-09-14T22:03:00.006+10:00

Serena having a go at officials after berating a lines woman in U.S. Open, costing her the semis match. GG.

I've been doing some reflection over the past few days; questioning lots of things, pondering answers to my questions and wondering how I can make it different.

Faith-wise, I have learnt so many things ever since coming to Australia, been given opportunities I would never have back in Malaysia. But, there is a downside: you tend to loose your way very easily as there is a severe lack of support from fellow believers.

Churches in Australia are struggling to keep their members. The average attendance of my church's English congregation is shockingly low: around 50-70 each Sunday. Even more shocking (considering the fact that we most church members have children aged 12+ and we have a total of around 300 members); our Junior Youth Fellowship (JMYF for short) has an average attendance of 12 (2009). And I attribute these low numbers to a total absence of spiritual revival.

Hearts are not stirring...there is no revival...we are a spiritually drained people.

When I read blogs of other believers, I admit, I feel extremely jealous. Why can't I experience what they do? Why is it that they seem to be 'blessed' more than I do or 'experience' God more? Why is it that I can't enjoy God's creation and praise Him wholeheartedly without feeling like its forced? Why is it that - why is it this -

These are the things that's been going through my mind...but I've slowly realized the reason (well, one of the reasons) why. Personally, I think it's because my life right now is too comfortable. Sure, having a comfortable life is great! Before I started working, like all teens, I had to rely on my parents' money, so whenever I wanted something, I'd hope my parents would be nice enough to buy it for me...but the things I wanted had to be limited as I didn't want to put pressure on my parents financially. So, when I start working, I became responsible for what I wanted and my parents have no say in it. Heck, it feels great! But with the money comes the spending. I can be (occasionally; when there's a sale) an impulsive buyer. So I began to rely on myself more and the more I did that, the more my focus was on worldly matters. Anyway, the point I wanted to make was, because our lives are so comfortable, we tend to not rely on God as much to provide. Because we find that we can provide and sustain our happy lives, we don't need God anymore. These things, I mean, these things everyone knows...it's not like I wasn't aware of it... But somehow, you tend to be so caught up with - as Paul describes - 'civilian matters', you lose your focus. And the focus is to be on Christ.

In 2 Timothy 2:1-13, Paul, who was to be executed, writes to Timothy, encouraging him to continue spreading God's word. He urges Tim to be like the soldier who does not get caught up in civilian matters, rather wanting nothing but to please his commander, to be like the athlete who plays by the rules and to be the farmer who is hardworking. Even though Paul was nearing his end, he did not once sound negative, he was extremely positive and was steadfast in his mission to bring the gospel to God's people.

I want to be the soldier. I want to be the athlete. I want to be the farmer.

Are you willing to be the soldier, the athlete and the farmer?

So, if we want spiritual revival, START NOW! Don't wait for some camp or revival service or a disaster (though it does help), start now! Realize your weaknesses, confess them and let the Lord fill you up. It's not a quick process, it's slow, but you gotta keep going! And about the comfort thing, I've decided to take a break, stop work for a while and get back on track with God. I've also started to use my time on public transport more wisely by reading the bible and pray more earnestly. Because nothing else is worth having a strong relationship with God...

Continue to pray for me and also my ministry in JMYF that God may empower these youths to see, experience and love Him.

"Here is a trustworthy saying: If we died with him,

we will also live with him;
if we endure, we will also reign with him. If we disown him, he will also disown us;
if we are faithless, he remains faithful, for he cannot disown himself." 2 Timothy 2:11-13

Anyway,
That's my life journey atm...how 'bout yours? If you are reading this post and are facing the same problem, I pray you'll be encouraged by this...

I'm not very articulate...so the things I say might not link...but...yeah...

Some jokes from Readers' Digest to balance out the mood...

Doctor: "Have you taken my advice and slept with the window open?"
Patient: "Yes."
Doctor: "So your asthma has gone?"
Patient: "No, but my watch, TV, iPod and laptop have."

Wife: "Honey, did you notice? I bought a new toilet brush."
Husband: "Yes, I did. But I still prefer the paper."

and one from a blog I read...

A student comes to the professor's office. She glances down the hall, closes his door, and kneels pleadingly. "I would do anything to pass this exam." She leans closer to him, flips back her hair, gazes meaningfully into his eyes. "I mean," she whispers, "I would do anything." He returns her gaze. "Anything?" "Anything." His voice turns to a whisper. "Would you... study?"

Lachata

2009-09-11T23:07:00.004+10:00

Hi all, I'm not dead...but just very lazy...haha. Anyway, new song from f(x) - Lachata - nothing spectacular save Amber who looks like a very cute guy - I quail. Plus, she's a Christian, awesome.

You know, I find it amazing how Koreans are so faithful even though they are pretty famous!

Like Ye-eun from Wondergirls when asked to list three things that she cannot live without, she immediately replied: "Jesus". Praise God!

Why is it that we don't even dare say out loud "I'M CHRISTIAN AND PROUD OF IT!!" when singers like Ye-eun (who btw, is currently touring with the JONAS BROTHERS in the US) can declare it boldly in front of many what she believes in? Perhaps we should learn something from this.

Heard this great quote (which I don't think has anything to do with the post, but I'd like to share with you all anyway): "Don't be sufferings' servant, rather, let suffering be your servant." This quote basically tells us to not let trials and tribulations get the better of us, instead, we should use our trials and tribulations as a MEGAPHONE of hope for others about how Christ is pulling you through! Bring glory to God always no matter the situations (just as Christ did, when he prayed for God to bring glory to Him so that Christ may bring glory to the Father.

This was a while ago

2009-06-25T14:23:00.017+10:00

Mister steam engine (Puffing Billy)

I think these were taken during our midterm break in April (if my memory serves me right). We went on a train ride to some place in the mountains! It was fun, cos we got to dangle our legs out of the window and feel the wind breeze through our hair! Here are some photos which I neglected to post up :X

Meet the Parents :)

Photos taken as we crossed a bridge. It's pretty exhilarating at that height

This tree is special because it was the ONLY tree that was yellow out of all that greenery...

shadows...

The train trip took around 40 minutes (or was it an hour O_O) Anyway, we arrived at our destination - Lakeside (which is, of course, by a lake!)

And here are some more photos:

Meet our train conductors; this pic could've been awesome if only I had focused it properly :(

We saw this stand where they were reptiles on show - me and Esther had an interesting time playing with the snakes...until...
...this happened O_O 2 snakes! They love me too much, awwwwwwwww :)
mum - holding a lizard; Mark looking bored...
...we woke up a sleepy head (he's nocturnal)...

le family

So after we said bye-bye to our reptile friends, we had lunch and walked around the lake. There were aqua-bikes!!! Wanted to go on, but alas...no time...

BUT, the scenery - beautiful!
"Significant Tree" (very significant...and weird..)
Cryptomeria Japonica

An enjoyable day...I miss Spring now...Winter sucks.

Farewell Dinner

2009-06-17T22:55:00.007+10:00

Parents invited two families for dinner last Sunday (should've arranged it at a later date- it totally killed my study time for Chem exam on Monday @.@). Anyway, here are some photos taken...

Good FOOD!!! Everything was delicious that night: especially the homemade noodles by auntie!!

Osyters with creamy cheese, bacon and mushrooms. Mum did a pretty decent job of replicating the cheesy oysters we always have during 'yum cha'.

Jedidiah- HE'S CO CUTEEEEE - NO WORDS CAN DESCRIBE HOW CUTE HE IS. This is us posing for the camera...the rolled up newspapers were our 'swords'...we kinda...did some role-playing O_O

He's a hyper kid. (You CAN'T CATCH ME!!!)

Haha... :)

To-do-list (for 3-week break)

2009-06-17T20:06:00.002+10:00

1. Watch "Terminator Salvation" & "Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen"

2. Read books

3. Get a leather jacket or winter jacket (it's too cold...)

4. Go to 'the city'

5. Prepare stuff for JMYF

6. Get "Zac & Wiki: Quest for Barbaros' Treasure" and play it

7. PHOTOSHOP!

8. Apply for a new job

9. Blog more

10. Exercise more...

Last exam on Friday...can't wait till exams are over!! I want to chillax...

It was a cold and rainy day...

2009-06-09T15:20:00.003+10:00

...actually...it still is. Good thing I brought my umbrella to uni today. First exam over - YAY. I kinda stuffed up with my timing so I didn't get enough time to finish the last few questions well. Oh well, what's done is done. Today I'll be focusing my attention on the remaining 3 units - Introduction to Psychology A; Principles of Chemistry and Human Structure and Function (the 3/4kg of pure agony)- WHOO!

And I saw this totally cute kid wearing an OVER SIZED raincoat. He looks like a duckling- his hat gave it away. Very cute :)

GL out~

Life is (not) tough for teenagers

2009-06-08T21:15:00.004+10:00

Title to blog post will be explained in the following video:

- World Vision 2009

On another note, EXAMS ARE STARTING TMR *hyperventilates* My first exam is "Understanding Health" (such a BORE); it's mostly common knowledge, so I'm not too fussed...but I find myself cramming - AGAIN. It's such a bad habit, I really should follow the timetables I make...

I am now going to share with you one of my awesome techniques of study-avoidance - "Study Avoidance #213 - Post photo of room and talk nonsense!" (procrastination MUCH??!??!)

#1 - My table - it's covered with ~~poo~~ my lovely study materials, eraser dust, drool and whatnot.
#2 - A pile of...scrap paper??? (Yeah, wow, I keep rubbish too much) Erm, there's a desk lamp (cos my room had to have inadequate lighting!); mobile charger cord and a usb cord.
#3 - My not-so-white lab coat for laboratory practicals that go for like 2-3 hrs (siao)
#4 - Adjustable shoulder bag that I bought on sale - was quite cheap :)
$5 - 3/4kg of PURE agonyyyyyyy - God help me.
#6 - MY CUDDLE BUDDY!! Me LOVE.
#7 - Calendar (that GS gave me - THANKS!!) and purse with monies supposed last me till end of Sept (D:)
#8 - Mini-bin and thick-as dictionary.
#9 - Deakin Uni's freebie wall calendar (given to me when I joined the association: it cost $20 too much >.>)

Okay, I should get back to studying. Pray for me, yeah??

Fruit Cake & Ice Cream

2009-05-26T22:50:00.004+10:00

I recommend you watch..and be prepared to cry...it is quite long, but tahan till the end cos it's worth it.

"Sometimes the best things in life are those we're not even sure we're looking for at the time, but those we realize we can't live without in the end.

That's the story of Ashley, a somewhat typical college senior--loving life, partying hard and trying to balance it all with success in the classroom. Disengaged from God and turned off by most Christians she knew, unexpected events turned Ashley's world upside down and brought a new roommate for her final semester at the University of Florida. Unpolished, and marked by unscripted authenticity, Ashley's personal journal entries provide the backdrop for Fruitcake and Ice Cream, a message that breathes hope for the spiritually searching while providing a massive kick-start for those within the Church who carry the unrivaled story of God's grace and truth in a darkened world."

Part 1/6

Part 2/6

Part 3/6

Part 4/6

Part 5/6

Part 6/6

*Louie Giglio is a good speaker*

AMYC 2009 PERTH!

2009-05-22T22:41:00.002+10:00

This year's Australian Methodist Youth Convention will be in the west - PERTH!!

I can't wait to go even though the plane ticket's rather expensive ($300++ @.@). I think I'd better save up now...ahahha...

Below the Perthies' promotional vid: ENJOY!!

I invite anyone living in Australia to COME JOIN 200 OTHER YOUTHS FOR AMYC 09!!!! It's gonna be a blast!! You can register online @ amyc2009.blogspot.com.

EARLY BIRD ENDS 16th August!

Praise God!!

2009-04-30T20:22:00.004+10:00

I went and got my first assignment back today. I was nervous; anticipating the worst - FAIL.

It did not help when I knew it wasn't the best of my work because it was totally last minute work (woke up at 5 to finish it, didn't, so I had to skip 2 lectures on the morning it was due to). BUT that wasn't the worst part. Heck no...I was just about to save the word doc. into my usb stick to print off and somehow my $2000 notebook replaced my new, completed document with my old, uncompleted version. THE NEW DOCUMENT WAS GONE. Imagine! IMAGINE what I was feeling then. It was probably a mix between shock horror and speechlessness. I couldn't even bring myself to tear. You'd better redeem yourself, notebook. Seriously. (Or I'll chuck you away and stomp on you then I'll get a macbook.)

I somehow managed to compose myself and began feverously typing up the missing paragraphs, citing what needed to be cited, checked that I got the dates and quotes correct for the reference list etc etc. Finally, I trudged over to the Faculty of Health, Medicine, Nursing & Behavioural Sciences building - omniously known as Building Y *insert forboding music*- signed the plagarism sheet and watched my pathetic attempt at university level assignment slide down the tube...

Fast track 3 weeks - All I can say is PRAISE GOD!! I got 14.5 over 15 for this measly attempt!! I'm still surprised...I remember telling this to my mum the night I handed in my assignment, naturally, I was full of contempt...at God...(we always blame God for bad things that happen to us...mmm...something to think about...) and mum told me (I'm paraphrasing) - "Well, God knows what He's doing, and I'm sure it was for the better". You know, I find it funny that EVERYTHING my parents say ARE CORRECT (or will be correct). God is truly amazing...

I've got another assignment due in less than 2 weeks. I've learnt my lesson; no more slacking; no more last minute work; no more lazing around (actually, I should be starting on my assignment now...not blogging D:)

On another note, THE NEW WACOM INTUOS 4 IS OUT!!
Come, lets drool together at this sleek beauty. :D

Quote of the Day

2009-03-25T12:29:00.002+11:00

This is for all you ladies (and guys!) out there!!

'A woman's heart should be so hidden in Christ that a man should have to seek Him first to find her.'

UNREASONABLE CUSTOMERS

2009-03-20T21:46:00.009+11:00

WARNING: This is gonna be a ramble, I'm not happy right now. I just want to vent. I might seem unreasonable myself. I am. But I'm still frustrated so yah. Need to cool down.

For those who don't know, I work at an alteration store as the cashier attendant. And as the cashier attendant I get the blunt force of customers' complaints and tantrums (mostly). Either that or I have to cope with their unhappiness of their $200+pantswhichtheyclaimwespoilt.

Anyway, this totally unreasonable lady comes in and says that she wants to shorten a pair of slacks. So I told her to go into the change room, reassuring her that I'll be there shortly. So I did my job; pinned the leg to the length she wanted (she was quite finicky about the right length) but her requests then were reasonable enough. I put up with her demands, I don't mind, because it is my job to get the right length the customer wants.

1 hour later, she comes back, goes into the the change room to try on the newly shortened pants. Comes back out ~~a few minutes later~~ quite a while later (all the while holding up other customers who need to use the change room) and shows me and the tailor a piece of string (part of the fabric of her pants) that has somehow materialized from the fabric of her pants (not the from the seams, the fabric). So she asks the tailor to fix it up-*by fix up, we normally just cut the string off.*- But NO. She insisted that someone painstakingly sew this single piece of string back into the the fabric. So the tailor (poor her...) struggles to push the string through the needle (she's aged, cannot see very well). Anyway, she asks me to help her, I do...and finally. finally. managed to put the sting through. Okay job done, sewed it back in. Time to get her to pay.

I go up to the counter, she inspects the pants; eyes the tiny spot where the needle had gone in (to fix her recalcitrant string). I look at her face. Not a happy face. She turns and says "Look, I'm not happy with this. I'm just not happy with the job you've done." I shrug. We did our job properly and professionally- which was to shorten the pants.

She continues on, "It's RUINED; my pants are ruined!"

"It's not, you can still wear them. Besides, no one will notice anyway," I answered coolly.

"Well, I am not going to pay for this," she retorts. "Do you know how much I bought this pants for? $200. And you've ruined it."

"It's not our fault, the tailor only altered the part they were suppose to alter, no one touched your pants anywhere else." Gee this client is getting unreasonable I thought.

She pushes on, "I want a discount."

"Sure, I'll give you a discount. $12 (was originally $13 to shorten pants). Best I can do."

I wait as she takes out her purse. A $10 dollar note appeared, I waited longer. Nothing. I piped up, "There's another $2..."

"I am only going to pay $10," she stated.

"But it's $12...(this. woman. is. too. unreasonable. they. need. to. earn.a. living. too. if. you. can. afford. a. $200. pants. why. can't. you. pay. another. $2??!?!)..."

"I am only going to pay $10."

"I'm not allowed to do that," I replied. "You'll have to ask the tailors."

She turns to one of the tailors and says (not asks) "I am going to pay $10 for this." The tailor reluctantly agreed. Actually, had no choice but to agree.

*$#@&$*#&&^!@&#@* (not swear words, just plain frustration)

I really really really dislike people who do anything to not pay full price. Lie, cheat, threaten, force.

But I guess this is not too bad...other customers are worse, they demand you pay the full price of whatever they claimed we spoiled. SIGH. SIGH. SIGH.

End venting.

Deakin

2009-03-18T19:34:00.002+11:00

I don't know how I'm gonna survive another 11 weeks of uni. I'm already tired out every single day. I'm stressed. I've already accumulated so many readings and exercises (and the second week's not even over yet!)

I'm falling asleep in most my lectures; especially those that start ridiculously at 8am (means I have to get up at 6 and leave home by 7. I even bought Warheads and they don't do anything but burn the taste buds off my tongue. And as I sit here typing this my eyes are drooping (only 7:45pm btw) I sleep at around 11!

Today I had a 3hr lab practical - something about chemical reactions and the colour of salts etc etc. Then I have to work out how to do balanced ionic equations when I have NO CHEMISTRY experience whatsoever ('cept the first few months of F4 which I didn't even concentrate in; never did my homework; bummed around; gee I was such a slacker then. D:)

I guess I have even more memorizing to do. I went and bought my lab coat today - cost $25. Money comes in one hand and out the other. Sigh. And I've noticed that I'm attracted to junk food wen I'm stressed. Which is very very very bad. God help me.

On a happier note, I met another fellow Malaysian!! YAY!!! She goes to 2 of my lectures and she's from Penang and she's doing Nursing and she's unluckier than me because she lives so far that it takes her 1hr 30mins to get to campus. But then my friend told me she knows someone who has to travel 2hrs to get to campus (one way) Wow wow wow wow wow. I'm really lucky...only takes me 30mins (from Knox bus station) to get to Deakin if I don't have to wait for the bus/tram and dad/mum normally leave me at the bus terminal (only 5 mins by car or another 20mins if I walk). Yeah. Mark takes about 1hr. So don't be surprised guys. It's perfectly normal to expect between 40-1hr travelling by public transport to ANYWHERE.

Later I have to organize for "Friends Night" (this special event for JMYF this Sat)...choosing songs...preparing my presentation...games...transport...AJSIOJSIOAJDIOJJQIOIephdbckjaxmcn...and not to mention a committee meeting this Sunday. :( :( :(

AND WHY IS PRINTING SO EXP (Msia only RM0.05!!!) Here is twice that! and the currency's bigger!!

Okay. Enough ramblings now. Night.

Interesting videos you should watch

2009-03-15T15:40:00.005+11:00

Oh yes, very creative title I came up with today (thank you...thank you...thank you... *bows*)

The first is of a Korean Christian dance group. They danced to the song of "We are the Reason"
They are so good and popping and locking. WATCH IT!

We will be performing a mime/dance during the Easter service and our choreographer will be using some of the moves in this dance as well.

Good eh?!

Alright, next video is by a famous American preacher - Louie Giglio. This particular video corresponds quite well with Colossians 1:15-17

He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. For by him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by him and for him. He is before all things, and in him all things hold together.

God is so amazing

Uni Start

2009-03-09T22:23:00.004+11:00

I officially started attending lectures at Deakin University today. My timetable for Mondays is packed full with 3 lectures and a practical (below).

But I thank God that I only need to be on campus Mon-Thurs; Friday I have no classes- YAY!

This morning I had my first lecture of unit HBS107 aka "Understanding Health". It was particularly interesting not because of the content itself but because of the 3-way video conference the lecturers used so that all HBS107 students from Burwood (the one I'm at), Geelong (it's far from Melbourne city, about 2 hours drive...also where the Adventure Park we went to is situated) and Warrnumbul (I don't really know where this is but I guarantee it's someplace rural) can see and hear each other. They (the lecturers) decided to do it's first trial today so that in the future the lecturers across all 3 campuses get to do their presentations. It saves time I guess. We got to see the many students from the different campuses (and their lecturers) so that was fun. Other than that the first lecture was just the basics - the determinants of health, how the media shapes our perception of health etc. Boring really. But compulsory for any student doing any health related subjects (like biomedicine, dentistry, nursing etc...)

After that was a real short break (maybe 10-15mins?) before the next lecture which goes on for about 2 hours (ugh). But that was okay because it's Psychology! Or rather, "Introduction to Psychology A"! The lecture was held as a symposium; a meeting or conference for discussion
of a topic, especially one in which the participants form an audience and make presentations. Basically we have several lecturers (each with their area of expertise) and they give their presentations in turn to us (the audience). A new way for me to attend lectures...it was okay. The first speaker (Dr Adam Rock) is a really funny guy; he's a bit unpredictable, very witty in his presentations and overall enjoyable to hear (should have more people like him) So he talked on Freudian Psychoanalysis (crazy theories on why people do what they do...). I liked the 'id', 'ego' and 'alterego' part.

Next speaker presented on 'Behaviourism' which unlike psychoanalysis which dwells into the unconsciousness of the human mind; behaviourists claims that behaviours are carried out by people because of a certain stimulus. Stimulus = Response. In comes classical and operant conditioning. Blah blah...then some critics which lead to another approach to determine human behaviour which is the 'humanist approach' which states that generally people are good and they do bad things because of conflicts between a person's self-concept and their experience. Please don't ask me to explain; it's rather hard...sry! Uh...what else..oh..and the fourth approach is the 'Cognitive Approach' which emphasises the use of mental processes in determining human behaviour.

I'm surprised I remember that much...but yeah...according to research, it's good to teach others what you've learnt because then you'll understand it better yourself and in turn remember better as well. So that's why I'm rewriting out what we went through...thanks for reading...haha...I bet you don't understand half of what I was on about. Nevermind.

Okay....then I had lunch...a simple cheese and tomato croissant - $5 gone. Bye. I really need to get a better job...I'm running out of money already!

then at 1 I had my HBS109 lecture (Anatomy and Physiology) *cringe* thick textbook weighing easily more than 3kg. Anyway we went through 11 physiology systems of the human body...a bit like stuff we learnt in science Form 3. We also went through anatomical terms *palmhead* I have a lot of memorising to do~~

Tomorrow I have a lecture at 8 in the morning! Have to wake up at like....6 to get ready! Arhghghahhfwihfa. But good thing is I get to go home at 10~! Yay.

Okay..it's pretty late so I'd better go sleep now....I still haven't read through my textbook for tomorrow's lecture... D: AND I ALSO NEED TO GET A LAB COAT AND SAFETY GLASSES. UGH.

Grace out.

That is just several of the many many buildings of Deakin Burwood campus.

I am a uni student...I feel old...D:

I'll try to upload more photos when I get a chance to explore more...but I have to get my camera fixed first...the lens won't close in properly because I think there's sand in it. I don't know what to do!! Any advice?!

A Blue Thought

2009-03-05T21:11:00.005+11:00

It's interesting how the by-products --after eating blue candy floss --turns blue as well.

Food for thought. :D

Quote of the Day

2009-03-05T19:56:00.002+11:00

"Beware of health books. You might die of a misprint"
- Mark Twain

Spirit Touch Your Church

2009-02-18T13:33:00.002+11:00

I first heard this song during the AYC camp 2008 in Adelaide. I found the lyrics very meaningful and touching so I want to share it with all.

Spirit Touch Your Church
by Kim Bollinger

Lord, we need Your grace and mercy,
We need to pray like never before;
We need the power of Your Holy Spirit,
To open heaven 's door.

(Chorus)
Spirit, touch Your Church,
Stir the hearts of men,
Revive us, Lord,
with Your passion once again;

I want to care for others,
Like Jesus cares for me,
Let Your rain fall upon me,
Let Your rain fall upon me.

Lord, humbly come before You,
We don't deserve of You what we ask;
But we yearn to see Your glory,
Restore this drying land.

Let Your rain fall upon me,
Let Your rain fall upon me,
Let Your rain fall upon me.

Amen.

Lord Have Mercy

2009-02-08T22:42:00.002+11:00

I don't really know how to start this...it's horrific...devastating...many dead...the firefighters are still fighting the flames. We're waiting anxiously for a call from my dad's friend about news of his sister whom they haven't been able to contact since early this morning because of the raging bushfires that spred throughout the night.

After such a long heatwave of 40+ degrees last week and another heatwave yesterday of again 40+ temperatures some idiot person had to go and light up the dry grasslands and cause all this havoc, killing many people; familes; neighbours; friends. The fires that spread throughout Victoria were so swift that people died in their cars trying to escape the heat. It literally took only seconds before the flames caught up and destroyed lives. The burnt charred bodies of mothers and their children of pets of-

As of 9:39pm (1 hr ago) 8th February 2009, 84 have been confirmed dead and it is still feared that the death toll will rise over 100 at least 750 homes have been destroyed that's 700 families who have lost their memories, everything they're worked hard to achieve - all lost, all gone. And when you hear a meer girl ask her mother whether or not she'll be alive the next day...when you hear of a father who had to awtch his kids burn trapped in the car...when you hear of a grandfather who'd lost his son earlier in a plane crash and be told that his wife had died...what do you feel??

When you hear newsreporters reporting on bushfires raging in so-and-so place you normally don't care. Why? Because it's not my family that's in danger, it's not my house that's being destroyed, it's not my life that's not going to stay the same. I used to think like that...but my mindset's changed listening to all these people crying out for mercy for relief for RAIN and especially because it happened so close to home, dear to your heart, hearing your friends go through the pain of losing someone they love...

I plead all to pray for these people - people who have lost their homes; communities which lost their whole town; for relief; for comfort; for peace; for rain.

Lord have mercy
Christ have mercy
Lord have mercy on them

A Crabbit Old Woman Wrote This

2009-01-29T09:42:00.003+11:00

This poem was found among the possessions of an old lady who died in the geriatric ward of Ashludie Hospital, near Dundee.

What do you see, nurses, what do you see?
Are you thinking when you are looking at me;
A crabbit old woman, not very wise,
Uncertain of habits, with far away eyes.
Who dribbles her food and makes no reply,
When you say in a loud voice, "I do wish you'd try."
Who seems not to notice the things that you do
And forever is losing a stocking or shoe.
Who, unresisting or not, lets you do as you will,
With bathing and feeding, the long day to fill.
Is that what you're thinking, is that what you see?
Then open your eyes, nurse, you're looking at me.

I'll tell you who I am, as I sit here so still,
As I do your bidding, as I eat at your will,
I'm a small child of ten with a father and mother,
Brothers and sisters, who love one another.
A young girl of sixteen with wings on her feet,
Dreaming that soon now a lover she'll meet.
A bride at twenty, my heart gives a leap,
Remembering the vows that I promised to keep.
At twenty-five now I have young of my own,
Who need me to build a secure, happy home.

A woman of thirty, my young now grow fast,
Bound to each other with ties that should last.
At forty my young sons have grown up and gone,
But my man's beside me to see I don't mourn.
At fifty, once more, babies play round my knee,
Again we know children, my loved one and me.
Dark days are upon me, my husband is dead,
I look to the future, I shudder with dread,
For my young are all rearing young of their own,
And I think of the years and the love that I've known.

I'm an old woman now and nature is cruel,
'Tis her jest to make old age look like a fool,
The body it crumbles, grace and vigour depart,
There is now a stone where I once had a heart.
And now and again my battered heart swells,
I remember the joys, I remember the pain,
And I'm loving and living life all over again.
I think of the years all too few, gone too fast,
And accept the stark facts that nothing can last.
So open your eyes, nurses, open and see,
Not a crabbit old woman, look closer - see ME.

This poem was found in our community news. I think it speaks for itself.

Chilli Crackers and Diesel Go-Karts (Part 2 of 2)

2009-01-27T20:30:00.024+11:00

Went for enrollment this afternoon and it was scorching hot! I'm so glad I had my sunscreen on otherwise I'd develop cancer already hahahaha. Sat in the lecture theater for about 1 hr listening to the unit descriptions. My confidence grew as the presentations went on- I now know what I'm supposed to do! After the presentations, we were told to go to the computer labs to enroll online. Finished that then had to get my Deakin Student I.D. card which was surprisingly quick; only had to wait like what? 5 seconds? On the way out I passed by the card reload station and attempted to load cash into my student card. FAILED horribly; the machine seemed pretty convinced that it didn't want to accept my card. GRRR..so I gave up and phoned dad to pick me up. I'll try again next time with someone more...knowledgeble.

OKay, part 2 of 2 (continued)

Australia Day (26th of January) was also the first day of the new Lunar Year. It was a while since we had a real family gathering so we came up with several ideas of how to spend the day. At first we were planning to go fishing where there will this guy who will teach us how to fish in a 4 hour long session (we get to cook the fish we catch for lunch/dinner) but that costs $75 per person. Too expensive; scraped that idea. Mum wanted to go to the beach to pick whatchamacallit? Pipis? Some kind of shellfish. But then we have to buy a licence to actually pick them. Sigh...Australia and her strict regulations. Dad cbb to buy one so mum suggested we go to the city to visit China Town and enjoy the festivities. Gave that idea a thought decided nahhhhhhhh, it's tiring getting there and there's bound to be loads of people. Plus it gets a bit boring and it won't feel like a family gathering. So last idea (our idea - the children) was to go to Adventure Park Geelong - this supposedly newly opened water theme park.

Fastforward to next morning

0700 hrs Monday Jan 26
Woke up, changed into our swimware, prepared food/drinks etc.

0740 hrs
In car ready to go. Dad setting the GPS.

0740 - 0945 hrs (approx 2 hrs)
I slept most the way there...dunno about the rest. Dad as usual...driving.

0945 - 1000
Arrived at the entrance. A queue has already formed. Had to wait a while for our turn to be admitted it costs $32 for an adult/child over 1.2 meters in height. I expected a paper pass (the ones where you stick in around your wrists but they gave us a stamp instead. I questioned the durability of the ink underwater and was told that the ink is waterproof (interesting~) *I still have the stamp mark on my wrist until now...it's faded though but still visible*

1000 - 1630
Sunny fun! I didn't manage to take photos of the wet rides...obviously it wouldn't be good for the camera to be in wet hands. There wasn't a lot of photos of dad and mum cos we went off by ourselves and I took the camera with me. Shame. I know.

Adventure Park Geelong

A very fine day indeed.

But what's up with Mark?

I think he was jealous of that guy's arm floats.

Don't worry, here's a yummy compensation :)

And look at our neighbors...

...and *gasp* what are you doing?? Trying to sneak more food?

Up and down. Side to side.
(The bridge was very unstable...it swings D: I feared for my clothes didn't want them wet again. Haha.)

But hey! Look at the fun they're having! Me likes those aquabikes.

Cue cue cue for archery!

"...could be dangerous" You don't say...

On to a safer pastime - Gol-!...putting...

Give your hair a flick

*Random shot insert*

And they yell, "Wheeeeeeee!"

My feeble attempt at kung fu. Haha.
(was actually trying to regain balance)

Maneuvering the waterways...

Contrary to popular belief, dad is actually wearing pants...really really short ones...

1630-1830
Home bound.

The most enjoyable rides for me were the Aqua Racer, Go Karting and canoeing. I think it's partly cos I like the adrenaline rush. However...Sunway Lagoon in KL is still much more fun. It's bigger and has plenty of wet and dry rides.

Hotest week in a century.

2009-01-27T09:12:00.002+11:00

Tue (Jan 27) - 38°c
Wed (Jan 28) - 41°c
Thurs (Jan 29) - 40°c
Fri (Jan 30) - 40°c
Sat (Jan 31) - 40°c
Sun (Feb 1) - 31°c
Mon (Feb 2) - 30 °c

The temperature in Melbourne for the week ahead. Die.

Majors

2009-01-26T21:57:00.001+11:00

I..have...to...pick...my...majors...tomorrow. Please pray that I'll have the wisdom I need to choose them.

Chilli Crackers and Diesel Go-Karts (Part 1 of 2)

2009-01-26T18:56:00.016+11:00

Just came back from Geelong. It's about 2 hours drive from Melbourne central. My eyes are red and sore...I'm heavy-headed and tired...but in a pretty good mood. It's the first day of CNY and also Australia Day!

Happy Chinese New Year (or 'Bully' New Year according to Alan) and happy Australia Day!!!

Before I continue with events that happened today, I'll rewind back to yesterday's Chinese New Year Eve.

As usual we went to church. The speaker that day encouraged "BUILDing" people up. Be it through your Belief in them and their abilities; Understanding; Inspiring others; Loveing them and be ready for Danger that is having the courage to go out and serve God not being a mundane (means earthly/laid-back) Christian. A lovely acronym, don't you think?

After church we went grovery shopping then I had to return my 4 overdue books (that's -$3 from my wallet *defeated sigh* and I've only managed to finish 1 out of the 4 books!

Okamied at home, cbb to defeat the boss (I was pretty tired) then had to make salad to bring to Olivia's "tuan yuan fan" that night. The salad was pretty good - lettuce, egg, potato, chicken breast and a good dollop of caesar salad dressing anddd I forgot to add salt and pepper so it tasted quite bland. I had a generous amount of GOOD CHINESE FOOD.
Loved Olivia's mum's bee hoon; managed a few cups of sago and cincau (made me really full); tasted some jellyfish-like-substance made from rice (ewww); had a few forkfuls of mee goreng; tried to finish a cup of red wine but accepted defeat and gave the rest to dad; attempted a chicken wing but my stomach had other ideas and decided to reject it...so I ended up pleading Mark to finish it for me; had an awesome time taking photos with Olivia, Shi Wei and Esther;

Don't you want me to cut your hair??

I guess we were a teeny bit bored.

This is what teens do when they're bored. Tread with caution.

Note Esther's expression. Classic.

Mega punch (slow-mo)

laughed at the lengths people go to to win a game (make the longest line possible using anything found on yourself - shoes, socks, necklaces, etc.);

Line of shoes...

Dorama Panorama!

had a blast playing with chilli crackers...

Dandelion in the Night-time.

and cheered on Jelena Dokic in her quarter-finals qualification round.

Go Jelena!

A jolly good day.

Frustrated

2009-01-22T13:21:00.005+11:00

Every time I start my post on my Malaysia trip the internet fails or my computer fails...and the thought of rewriting everything dissuaded me from continuing (for now) I'll try again some other day.

As for today I want to share with you this really interesting site Esther stumbled upon. It has a rather therapeutic quality with the combined nature of art and music. I recommend it for anyone under stress or just plain bored.

Play Auditorium

The aim of this whole thing is to manipulate the flow of light particles with given direction pointers to fill in the boxes. There is no true 'way' or 'answer' its up to your imagination and creativity."Winter"

"Spring"

There are 4 levels I presume since it started off with "Winter" then "Spring". I haven't had the chance to proceed to Summer/Autumn yet as the levels get harder and harder. Look at the art you create. Capital.

Btw, congratulations to Barack Obama - 1st African-American President. May God Bless you and your family (and Joe Biden and family) :D

I'll leave you with Rick Warren's inauguration prayer:
(Here's the text vers.)

Let us pray.

Almighty God, our Father, everything we see and everything we can’t see exists because of you alone. It all comes from you. It all belongs to you. It all exists for your glory.

History is your story. The Scripture tells us, “Hear O Israel, the Lord is our God. The Lord is One.” And you are the compassionate and merciful one. And you are loving to everyone you have made.

Now, today, we rejoice not only in America’s peaceful transfer of power for the 44th time. We celebrate a hingepoint of history with the inauguration of our first African American president of the United States. We are so grateful to live in this land, a land of unequaled possibility, where the son of an African immigrant can rise to the highest level of our leadership. And we know today that Dr. King and a great cloud of witnesses are shouting in heaven.Give to our new President, Barack Obama, the wisdom to lead us with humility, the courage to lead us with integrity, the compassion to lead us with generosity. Bless and protect him, his family, Vice President Biden, the cabinet, and every one of our freely elected leaders.

Help us, O God, to remember that we are Americans, united not by race, or religion, or blood, but to our commitment to freedom and justice for all. When we focus on ourselves, when we fight each other, when we forget you, forgive us. When we presume that our greatness and our prosperity is ours alone, forgive us. When we fail to treat our fellow human beings and all the earth with the respect that they deserve, forgive us. And as we face these difficult days ahead, may we have a new birth of clarity in our aims, responsibility in our actions, humility in our approaches, and civility in our attitudes, even when we differ.

Help us to share, to serve and to seek the common good of all. May all people of good will today join together to work for a more just, a more healthy and a more prosperous nation and a peaceful planet. And may we never forget that one day all nations and all people will stand accountable before you. We now commit our new president and his wife, Michelle and his daughters, Malia and Sasha, into your loving care.

I humbly ask this in the name of the one who changed my life, Yeshua, Isa, Jesus [Spanish pronunciation], Jesus, who taught us to pray:

“Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.”

Amen to that.

I Am Exhausted

2008-12-04T00:28:00.001+11:00

Just came back from Adelaide.

One word:

BROWN.

Yay!

2008-11-29T20:23:00.002+11:00

I'll be going off to AYC (Australian Youth Convention) tomorrow!!! Anddddddd I have to wake up at 3am!! (boo) Plane's gonna be leaving at 6:30am, arriving at Adelaide at 7:10am. Whoo. I pray that I won't get sick during camp so I'll be healthy when I go back to Msia. K, gotta go pack up. byes.

I Cannot Survive Without...

2008-11-20T09:33:00.014+11:00

TELFAST!

I need my daily dose of hay fever drug relief. Otherwise I'd be clawing my eyes and sneezing my nose off every. single. DAY. during Spring...

You know I love you Spring, but sorry, it's just too hard...

I will now *gasp* post pictures of flowers (from our ~~manic oversized flower breeding ground~~ garden) - yes. The very ones that try as they like to make Spring miserable for me.

Most photos are taken by Esther - she takes all the credit (why do I fail at taking photos?) Oh wait, I take some credit too because she used my camera! Hahahaha. K.

Photos taken during Winter and Spring of this year.

I actually like this picture...
I wonder why...That's it! IT HAS NO FLOWERS ;B Just the leaves.
I think I took this one...during one cold cold Winter morning. Hah.

Nice blue and red contrast.
The blue bit is part of our front porch.

Aw, triplets!
This pic is, dare I say, pretty nice.

They look dangerous.
Careful, they bite. Rawr!

Seriously, we have way too many flowers. I had to go through a couple hundred photos of ~~our~~ their garden. By 'their' I meant the rest of my family.

Last pic. Rather symbolic I think.

Conclusion...I think I may have a love-hate relationship with these ~~buggers~~ lubly flowers.
:D

I need a change of pace -
Presenting, CityLife! 2nd (or is it the largest?) largest church in Melbourne.

I was happily taking photos here until I saw the sign that said "no photography".
Just testing out the panoramic options in my camera. Too bad I wasn't sitting exactly in the middle, otherwise this pic would have been better.

And finally...

Taken on 'free dress day' in the one of the Art rooms of our last couple of days left at school before the exams.
Will miss these guys :(
I just realized that everyone's wearing glassed 'cept for me and Steph. Hmmm.

Of Birthdays & SMG

2008-11-17T21:31:00.010+11:00

This post is a little overdue - internet too slow. Used up most of our bandwidth allowance this month watching (whisper it) Super Junior videos and (whisper it) re-watching Winter Sonata. Hah. But I cbs waiting for it to reset this Saturday so here we go!

Last Saturday (the 15th) was dad's birthday. We wanted to make his birthday really special to encourage him as he had and still is having a really really tough year this year. There were countless physically, mentally and emotionally challenging situations that he had to face and us as his family could not do a lot to help alleviate his metaphoric pain. So we wanted to do something extra special to cheer him up; reminding him that we will always be there as a family to support him through all the tough times.

~The Plan~

First off - the present - what does dad want/need? Methinks cologne- gives him that professional-ness. lol. Tie??? No way, he has enough already and it's so generic as well, I want something that he has never had before. So cologne it was. Second, the cake. Cheesecake? No, not again. Getting sick of cheesecake. Why not an ice-cream cake? Homemade- extra special - cos of the effort put into it. Good idea. Goes and buys ice-cream, well, technically its yogurt ice-cream.

~Friday night~
(~~Ice-cream~~ Yogurt ice-cream shopping)

hum dee dum deee dum. *walks into Safeway, Foresthill; heads straight for dessert section* Hmmm, Bulla's - no...Cornettos - yum - but not what I want...BULLA'S YOGURT ICE-CREAM - SCORE! Now what flavour? Mango. Perfect *continues browsing frozen dessert section* OoooH! Hazelnut gelato! Never tried that before, 99.5% fat free also! Bonus! (lol) Two different flavours enough? Yeah, why not. *hurries to biscuit section* Biscuit base? Uhm. oatmeal biscuits and Oreos *yummy*

Arrives home, attempts to hide ice-cream in fridge. Success. Nighty-night.

~Saturday Morning~

Still haven't bought dad's present yet. Planning to get him cologne. Difficult objective. Do not know what smell dad likes. O: Wished dad a happy birthday during breakfast. I went to the doctors with bro and dad (Mark had to get his big-ol'-ugly-gash-on-his-left-brow-checked). Had a ball making fun of his single eyebrow (the other eyebrow was covered in band-aid) and the fact that he'll get a permanent scar similar to Kovu's scar from Lion King 2 but it doesn't extend till his eye) Next up, to the market for groceries and what-not. Grabbed two 1L carton of soymilk (my favourite) at this cheap supermarket thingo. I also managed to persuade Mark discreetly to come with me to Knox to get dad's present. My 'excuse' to dad to let me off at Knox Shopping mall was that I wanted to go to the library. Which was true.

~Saturday Afternoon~

Went straight to business; actually, I stopped by at Game to get my longed Wii games (Okami and Super Mario Galaxy) and thankfully there was a sale on; but I couldn't find Okami *cry* but the latter was easily located; anyway, managed to purchase SMG for $20 less off it's original price! Score! Was originally $99.99. Then I saw De Blob for $49.99 - original price $79.99. Definite buy. And guess what? Mark paid for it!! Hahahaha, didn't need to spend my money. What? He has like more than $2000+ in his account! But I did have to shout him a Fruit Flo from New Zealand Natural (too overpriced!)

Back to business. Found the right cologne for dad. I was glad I bought Mark with me cos my nose wasn't functioning properly yet and we chose a really subtle Pal Zileri. Had a hard time choosing between the 50mL bottle or the 100mL bottle as I was worried that dad might not like it and I'll just be wasting money buying the 100mL bottle if he never uses it so we opted for the 50mL bottle. Paid the 44 something odd dollars for it and went hunting for a birthday card (I would have preferred to make it myself but I didn't have time to buy card and make it in time for dinner. I could have gone out and bought the card earlier during the week you might ask. Well, problem was, I still had my exams. Also bought a nice, little, snug bag -for the present mind you, not for me, though one would be fine too :D. Walked 20mins home from the mall. I had to sneak the present in. Then I quickly wrapped the gift, made the ice-cream cake, got everyone to write in the card.

~Saturday Evening~

Ate a measly dinner of instant noodles; didn't have time to cook an extravagant meal as mum was working and dad was not allowed to cook anyway since it was his birthday. Besides, time wasn't in our favour that week. I urged them to hurry and eat and clean the tables and dishes before we bring out the cake. I made two separate ones. Of course I did not mix the mango yogurt ice-cream with le hazelnut gelato - they just don't go well together. The hazelnut ice-cream cake was mixed with a packet of Oreos (crushed) with an oatmeal biscuit base; the mango yogurt ice-cream was just that, nothing added atop same oatmeal biscuit base.

The result?

(Dad's getting really old D:)

We sang 'Happy Birthday'. Took some photos. Dad got uncooperative and did not blow out the candles, instead he did the frantic wave of the hand thing...sigh...then we dug into the cake, everyone liked it. I loved it, haha, 'specially the Oreos one (I love Oreos) Then I made everyone go to the living room for sharing and stuff. We had 'fellowship' together saying encouraging stuff to dad and I (whisper it) cried. Dad too shed a few tears. I told him that (I'm paraphrasing cos I can't remember exactly what I said) "We just want you (dad) to know that we know every little thing that you do for us; cooking for us even though you come home from work exhausted and drained; looking after me during my exams, 'massaging' my feet (it's an Chinese thing - like acupuncture but without needles. Apparently your big toe is your head and if you have a head ache or smtg massage it. Haha) when I was sick; praying for me; encouraging me; going to the market every Saturday to buy food for the family; all those that you do for the family even though you have a lot on your plate and we don't thank you enough. So I, we, just wanted to thank you and let you know that we appreciate you and continue to tell you that we are here to journey with you through your hard times etc etc." All that was said through many pauses because I kept wanting to burst into tears...IT'S SO HARD CONVEYING WHAT YOU WANNA SAY WHEN YOU FEEL LIKE CRYING. GAH. But I managed. Yay. Then dad was allowed to open his present. And I immeadiately went and smelt it cos I wanted to triple check that the perfume was the right one. Thank God dad liked it, (I high-fived Mark) it had a really nice, not-too-strong smell that suits him. Thank God we chose correct.

I guess that was it for the day, we finished off with a thanksgiving prayer. Just giving thanks for God's numerous blessings then dad went off to take a shower. As for me, I Super Mario Galaxy-ed all night (finally) LoL. Mark went off again, to his beloved Albatross18 game...Esther le...I think she watched me SMG-ing...Mum went back to reading this Chinese romance novel. hah.

All in all, we had a very meaningful day; I think it was a much needed day after everything we'd gone through this year.

Happy 47th Dad! Love you!!!

Pre, During & Post - Exam Feelings

2008-11-17T20:42:00.004+11:00

Last week has been pretty miserable for me. First, I got sick- AGAIN - (ate too much salted cashews and not drank enough water). So the sore throat came. What's more, I had a cold as well...that time I was thinking God must have hated me/wanted to punish me/test me/other let that happen to me when I had 3 more exams to go. So I was pretty down after I did my Vis Comm exam on Tuesday and had no motivation at all to study for my Art exam coming up on Friday.

Thoughts like: I'd do badly no matter how much effort I put into my revision so why bother in the first place? I might not even get the score I need to enter into Health Science and Deakin. So why bother at all?? were constantly cycling around in my mind. I could not bring myself to trust in God and His guidance during my exams and of my future; I felt that God does not want me to do well in my VCE because of some other 'greater' plan that He has for me. A plan that I will not be happy with.

But then this reminded me of the Israelites and how they complained and opposed God and His plans for them to enter into the promised land. They were faithless and ungrateful- they were proud, they did not trust God to lead them - just like me. And what did God do? He punished them again and again, still they argued and complained - too stubborn and forgetful.

That's right, forgetful of all the great things that God had done for them during the journey through the dessert - He gave them manna and quail when there was no food; water from a rock; pillar of fire by night and a pillar of cloud by day to guide and find suitable camping grounds for them; devine protection and strength against enemies and sooo much more.

Anyway, I've finally finished my 12 years of school on Friday the 14th. Amazingly, given the limited time I had to revise due to my being sick, I was able to write well for it. I guess, like Dad said, God wanted to test my faith in Him. Even though it's all over, I don't feel 'happy'. I guess I'm still a bit uncertain about my future. I don't know if I did well enough. I'm convinced I stuffed my exams...and consequently...my future. *crai* BUT in reading Exodus through to Deuteronomy; it taught me to fear God more and to humble myself to Him, letting Him drive the car that is my life. And also to not forget the countless blessings He has given me during hard times and to be patient in waiting to see the 'big picture' God has already painted, just not unveiled fully. I will continue to trust in Him, knowing that whatever He plans is in the end so much better than my own.

Polymer Clay

2008-11-01T20:26:00.005+11:00

Since it's my very last year at school, I wanted to give my teachers a gift but I didn't know what to give that's meaningful and long-lasting (of course I want them to remember me!) So I decided to hand make cute keychains/charms out of polymer clay (some sort of clay-like material that you can mold into different shapes based on PVC).

I went to Riot to get some after my study session at the library. Discovered that they were on sale for $2.99; if not they'd cost about $4.75 per 56g (picture 6 blocks of Cadbury Old Gold - yah, very exp for so LITTLE) I went and bought six different colours at once *piggybank cries* without even trying it out first because I did not wanna pay the full price (sale ends tomorrow, see)

Haven't experimented with them yet but I'll get around to doing that either sometime during this week or the next depending on how much revision I've done. I've never used polymer clay before so I don't know whether my gifts will be successful. I don't even know what I want to make...

Look at some of the sculptures. How can they look so real???? It's clay wadddd...

AND LOOK AT THAT!

(professional clay modeller - Garie Sim from Sg.)

I wanna get good like them....someday....someday....

English Exam and Reflections

2008-10-31T14:09:00.006+11:00

Well, today was the day that I had been dreading -- the English exam (my last one. EVER.) Could not sleep at all night before, maybe I did drift into stages 1, 2 and 3 but not the fourth stage of sleep.

I was too busy worrying about what the prompt would be; how I will approach it; whether or not I will get a high English mark...whether or not God will be with me during exams...had my doubts because I was convinced that I'd be punished because of my lack of motivation during preparations - now I know that that was the most ridiculous thing I could think.

I'm touched by my family's faith in me and God that He will (and did) lead me throughout this exam. They took the time to pray for me and with me. I thank God for a loving family.

I also thank God for being with me before and throughout the exam. He kept my nerves in check (otherwise I'd be hyperventilating and be experiencing psychologically induced physical symptoms - stomach aches) Yeah, I was pretty calm. Even though I had ONE LAST SENTENCE to finish before the woman overseeing us grabbed my paper away (literally). She snatched it out of my hands *cry*

My thoughts? Well, I would be elated if I got over 40 out of 50 for my English...otherwise I'm just happy that it's over. PHEW.

Oh and reflections. I'm grateful that I don't have to suffer like my friend did. My friend...lets say 'K'- well, K- she- uh- has seizures- O.o

After the English exam, I found K and she told me she was feeling very sick (was already very sick during exams - worst thing that could happen to you because the exam results determine which uni and which course you will take. A bit like STPM/SPM) and wanted me to go with her to the health center. So I did, asked her how she was feeling (I knew she was generally unwell; get's sick often and faints often and that's about all I knew) So we hurried to the health center. Nurse wasn't in. She was having lunch. We were told to go into the room first and that the nurse will be with us shortly. We went in to the room then K just sort of fainted and started having seizures, I panicked. Thankfully the nurse came in soon after and told me to move away anything that could hurt her. Her seizures lasted about 3 minutes? Then she went into a semi-comatose state for about 10 minutes or so before she could respond to anything.

I was pretty flustered by the end of it, but somehow I was calm (I guess it's cos of the nurse being there, hahha.) Anyway, I got to speak to K after that when she was feeling much better. Asked her about her seizures; the frequency of it (average about 2 every week *gasp*); when it started happening to her et cetera. K told me that it started happening a year ago. But before that for 3 years she had non-stop headaches (from when she wakes up to when she sleeps) and that made me go - "Wow, that must be...so...difficult to endure (FOR 3 YEARS!)"

So reflections. Yeah, I'm really blessed to have a healthy body and to not suffer headaches and seizures! It was an interesting experience for me. I know what to do in situations like those now, haha.

*Note: If you do come across anyone having a seizure - MOVE any object away that might hurt the person. POSITION them in the recovery position - it's essential so that they won't choke on their tongue (yes, that happens.) And I guess, call the ambulance. But in K's case there was no need (partly because the nurse has previously been informed of K's condition)
So if you are feeling like you're the unluckiest person on Earth, there are bound to be others worst off than you.

More exams for me...I have 5 more to go

Psycholody is on the 6th.
Methods 1 - 7th
Methods 2 - 10th
Visual Communication and Design - 11th
Art - 14th

PRAY FOR ME!

Oh and Esther's 14's birthday!! WUAhahha. She doens't know I posted her photo, let's keep it that way, eh? XD THE CAKE WAS DELICIOUS.

Can't believe she's 14!

Because I am a Boring Person

2008-10-12T16:48:00.002+11:00

Hi again, I'm back from my hiatus, actually not really, just wanted to let y'all know that I'm still here and have not abandoned this blog (might, not sure yet, maybe after my exams)

Well, it's been a while. I don't really know what to say. Actually I want to post about a camp I went to just two weeks ago but I'm super lazy and I'm supposed to be studying for my exams (coming up on the 30th Oct), still.

No photos to upload. Actually I've uploaded some on facebook, so go check it out there.

I'm planning major renovations to the blog. But that's undecided. Well. Over and out.

Grace.

GL is going on hiatus

2008-05-29T22:40:00.002+10:00

I should have done this a few weeks ago. Anyway, I'll be back...soon?

If GL was defined using an image, this should be it.

One comment: WOW

2008-04-30T17:13:00.005+10:00

I can't believe I'm actually doing this...but I deemed it worthy to share with you guysers =D

Just when you cannot possibly think of any more ways to be creative with your hands, someone comes up with this:

The Million Dollar Question

2008-04-18T21:01:00.002+10:00

Should I go to the school formal?????

If so, what the heck am I supposed to wear???

A dress? WHAT DRESS?? OMG

The idea of finding a nice dress and wearing make-up just unnerves me...what to do??

I don't want to miss this once in a life time opportunity to attend a school formal!

I Feel Sic!

2008-04-14T23:02:00.003+10:00

'cuse the pun. Yes, I was sick by the time I came home from school on Friday. The constant sneezing, the uncomfortable, itchy feeling in my throat - a cold!

Saturday, I was bed-ridden (not really, but I didn't feel well enough to be talking and going out etc, so I stayed at home) I communicated through sign-language with a few croaks now and then because of my sore throat, it was comical though...=D

Despite that I had fun, especially getting others to bring me drinks and get stuff for me. I also sat in front of the computer the whole day drawing...I finally finished the picture on Sunday...even though I was supposed to be doing homework :X

I'm happy with it I decided to share it with you guys... ;D It's fan art of newly released Vampire Knight anime about vampires, humans, love and what not.

Kaname Kuran & Yuuki Cross- VAMPIRE KNIGHT
(lovers? I don't really want them to be..haa...)

It's only a sample picture, hence it's covered with heavy watermarks, sorry guys, I'm a bit paranoid when it comes to my artwork...heh...If you want to see the complete, rendered image you'll have to go to my Deviantart page but not too soon, I haven't started rendering it yet...but I will maybe in the end of term 2 holidays..(July i think)

Ciaos-su

I Will Follow You

2008-04-10T22:19:00.007+10:00

I have been rather stressed out lately - school, youth...school. Nothing I didn't expect except for the stress part =D. Unfinished holiday homework just made it worse, come to think of it, I regretted wasting my ample holiday time in front of the Wii playing Twilight Princess (still am, hahahahaha. It's nearly finished though) I have a bad habit of reading/playing something that interests me until I can't do anything else unless the game/book is finished. It seems like I cannot function properly until I get it over and done with, which is what happened with Twilight Princess and my 2 weeks worth of term break. GAH

Now, a week into term 2, I have to catch up with English essays whilst knowing that I have two important English SACs (school assessment coursework) on the 21st and the 28th April (yes, ppl i'm hinting that you pray for me, =D) And now I'm stressing over how incompetent I am in English etc etc etc. It's the same with Art, since we have too much freedom to do anything we want, I get lost and confused with what I should be doing. It's way better with all the rules and the time limits.

Conclusion: I AM WAYYY BEHIND

I also had a Psyc. SAC today and I totally and utterly stuffed up. Geez, how could I get parasympathetic nervous system and sympathetic nervous system mixed up??? I am so angry with myself because I just blown 10 marks out of 50 marks because of that. It's worth 50% of my enterscore!!! *gasp* *shock* *faint*

I guess I'm putting too much pressure on myself. But I should, it's my last year of highschool and I want to go to a decent uni. I've had it with my attitude to learning in the last few years, especially back in Msia. You don't know how lazy I was back then. I didn't finish any homework on time. The only thing I was good at (or I thought I was good at- which I'm not) was English, and what good did that do to me? I had to constantly "copy" (and edit) off my friends in essays and homework (not English though, I don't think I even finished my essays let alone hand them up). Gosh, I'm appalled at myself now that I reflect upon it.

So whilst I contemplated these things;

E.g.
"I stuffed up Psych SAC, what to doooo *palm-forehead*"

"What am I supposed to do in Art? What themes shall I pursue? What mediums to use? But I'm bad with paint, I only know pencil sketching which ain't that good enough"

"I need to finish my English essays, but I find it had to sit there and concentrate on it cos it's hard to understand"

"I must do well in all my subjects to get a good enterscore to get a Commonwealth support place for when I do uni"

"I'm not good enough to be president"

My sister too had me worried and feeling helpless. She's been having negative thoughts and it's so hard to help her especially when she wakes you up in the middle of the night and you just want to sleep but you can't anymore cos you're worried about her and ahhhhhhhh.

Stress stress stress stressstressstressstressstressstressstressstressstressstress

And now i have a big ol' red ugly pimple on my nose D: and I want it gone! Lol.

I advised Esther to stop worrying, trust in God etc etc etc. My parents too said the same thing but in different words.

But only now did I truly realize the full meaning of the words I utter so thoughtlessly to Esther. I really do need to let go fully and just lay in God's presence, with not a care in the world knowing that God has by burdens. He will look after me even though it's so hard. Even as I write this, I am still coming in terms of with what I just wrote.

Thus, I am reminded of Matthew 11:28-
"Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest."

"Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you REST."

How wonderful is that? "I WILL GIVE YOU REST" A sermon was preached on this topic just two weeks ago. I guess I thought it didn't apply to me then, but now, oh-ho it's applied to me all right, all 54 letters of it.

I heard a voice say, "Who cares about getting a high enter score, what matters is how you will serve Me by applying what you learn in uni later. You can still go to TAFE and learn the same thing, sure it will take an extra year or so but as long as whatever you're studying can be used to gratify Me then do not worry." (which means I need to focus on pleasing God and serving Him, not about getting to Uni with high enterscore so I have 'face')

That reminded me of Matthew 6:33
"But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you."

Again, another bible verse I know well but sometimes I lose the real meaning of.

So maybe if i focus on serving God, then maybe all the other things will be added unto me. Sure I would love to get a good enterscore but that's not the real point in discipleship. (I miss disciple classes. Guys if there's one near you, GO FOR IT! It was the only intense bible study that really got me knowing the REAL God not just God-is-good-He-loves-us kinda thing which He does, but that He is definitely way more than that. Disciple classes made me fear Him and made me more aware of my surroundings and what I am doing wrong or not doing at all...so yah...go disciple class! I also want to redo EE and complete it properly. Sigh, no chance here)

I know y'all just skim through the post, but heck. I feel so much better writing it. Haha. I am revitalized!! Whoo!

*scurries back to do homework*

Tagged by Dory

2008-03-18T09:28:00.005+11:00

Instructions: Remove ONE question from below, and add in your personal question, make it a total of 20 questions, then tag 8 people in your list, list them out at the end of this post. Notify them in their chat box that he/she has been tagged. Whoever does the tag will have blessings from all.

1. What's your favorite anime at the present time?
^ Ouran ftw!(I dare you to watch it, really it's good. At least try the first part of episode 1 and the second part and the third part) Even though that ended a while ago...but I'm still not over it (bring on season 2 ppl!...pls...?)

2. Given the chance, what special ability/power would you like to have?
^ Power mimicry like Peter Petrelli (referring to Heroes =D)

3. If you were to be stranded on a deserted island, who are the 3 blog buddies you would take with you? Why?
^ I will try to fit all into my luggage and smuggle them aboard so that when I get stranded they will also get stranded with me. Heh. Too ambitious?

4. Where is the place that you want to go the most?
^ Right now, I want to go back to Sibu so badly. =(

5. If you can have 1 dream to come true, what would it be?
^ That all my other dreams will come true?

6. Do you believe in seeing a rainbow after the rain?
^ What sort of a question is this? Yes?

7. What are you afraid to lose the most now?
^ My enthusiasm for Christ (stress is getting to me...*gasp*)

8. If you win $1 million, what would you do?
^ Pay the mortgage, refurbish house (yes, I love my houses), pay for our uni fees, go back to Sibu every year, get my notebook, legit software (haha, shhhh), new Wii games (The Legend of Zelda Twilight Princess!), a new digicam...so many more things that I want but not need..(can't follow the ways of the world!)

9. If you meet someone that you love, would you confess to him/her?
^ Weird question...hmm...I don't know...seriously.

10. List out 3 good points of the person who tagged you.
^ Godly, enthusiastic, beautiful.

11. What are the requirements that you wish from your other half?
^ Must be God-fearing, Godly, loving and humble.

12. Which type of person do you ~~hate~~(hate is a strong word; me no likie) dislike the most?
^ Immature, irresponsible, selfish, stuck-up people. (I am all those too, smtimes..xD)

13. What is your ambition?
^ Disney!

14. If you have fault, would you rather the people around you point out to you or would you rather they keep quiet?
^ Of course, w/o criticism, how are we gonna improve? Sometimes a good kick in the bum helps =D

15. What do you think is the most important thing in your life?
^ Knowing the purpose of my life (to serve, praise and worship God)

16. Are you a shopaholic or not?
^ No, I'm a certified fantasy-book-and-movieholic (anyone watched Flight Plan?? It's good innit??)

17. Find a word to describe the person who tagged you.
^ Inspiring

18. If you have a chance. Which part of your character you would like to change?
^ Laziness def. I'm supposed to be doing homework now...

19. Is there anything that you have done which you regret?
^ Yeah. No, I will not elaborate, tyvm.

20. Do you love your life at the moment?
^ Yes, even though it's hard to live my life.

I don't have people to tag...Dory, you stole my preys! Haha.

I Can't WAIT

2008-03-12T16:18:00.002+11:00

CoN - Prince Caspian

(the vid is so tiny!)

Go here for a bigger one =D

LOL

2008-02-29T17:17:00.013+11:00

Yeah. Okay. My friend and I were chatting about what we should give my other friend for her birthday - which is TODAY the 29th of February - and we got to talking about ipods (since she mentioned to
identity_****@hotmail.com that she would like one...)

So whilst I considered it, identity_****@hotmail.com inquired about whether or not Dick Smiths Electronics does indeed sell ipods...and...herein my reply that followed:

graceliong90@hotmail.com says:
its dicksmiths man <-(meaning that they sell just about everything electronic) identity_****@hotmail.com says:
lol me and my friend were talking about the name before

identity_****@hotmail.com says:
how their logo has dick then a head following it

identity_****@hotmail.com says:
xD

graceliong90@hotmail.com says:
lol <-(took me a while to understand the full meaning- hence the non-capital reply of 'lol') graceliong90@hotmail.com says:
LOL <-(yeap, sure is funny, but regretfully crude D:)

sorry~! Can't help it! :X

But seriously. I feel sorry for the company...XD

On to a more...'appropriate'...topic - SWIMMING CARNIVAL! It's a yearly thing that most schools (that I know of) have one at their local swimming pool. Ours was on the 22nd, I was gonna post about this earlier but haven't had the time to do it. For many, it's a special day where they can turn up in their house colours (my house is Rees which is red) dressed in a variety of costumes and gigs that would cause them to be shunned by the society - that is if it had been a normal Friday - but nay, it wasn't, because it's the swimming carnival! Yeah, all the older students (year 11s + 12s) came up dressed for action - ninja outfits, teenage mutant ninja turtles, hippies, Hawaiian girls, sailors, fish, kids, tribesmen etc. (basically anything weird and wonderful you can possibly imagine!)

I found this group amusing in a wrong sort of way...hahaha. Just look at 'em! Note the guy in red...this reminds me soooooo much of Borat and no, I haven't seen Borat. *smile*

They look like they time-warped from the 60s to now. I'm still trying to figure out why they even bother doing something like this...mmm...culture? Mayb.

The reason they're jumping is so that other students +teachers could take a photo of them and I just so happened to be sitting right beside them. How convenient.

Sailor girls...and a school of fish behind them D:

Bad quality...my camera hates me and decided at that time to lose battery power. So I had to take this with my mobile. Sigh.

Our group decided to go with a look-like-a-child-theme. Apparently I did not find this idea entertaining, so I opted to wear a cheap necklace and have zinc painted on my face. Yup, I look fat, pls don't remind me. =D

Though it was fun at first, we soon got bored and sat there and wasted time...then it rained and we all rushed inside for shelter and we sat some more and I drew. Btw, Esther entered the swimming competition for breaststroke under 13s and she got 4th which is last. =D AND I MISSED IT COS I WAS OUTSIDE!!! I wanted to watch them raceeee.....*sniff sniff*

Enjoy.

Conclusion

2008-02-24T22:25:00.002+11:00

It's the first time in a looong time that I had to rely on God every second of my life especially after being elected- surely a plus. Anyone watch Kid Nation???

I have a Psyc. test tomorrow...sigh...pray.for.meeeeeee. thanks. =D

Eclipse Mints - Cinnamon Flavoured = YUCK

2008-02-19T15:37:00.004+11:00

I'm wondering if Msia sells 'Eclipse Mints' - you know, the ones in the metal tin? No? They look like this:Anyhoo, I tried the orange flavoured ones and fell in love with them, then my friend suggested I try the cinnamon ones. Quote: "They are my favourite, try them; very nice." End quote.

And this is what I concluded after the first mint. Chilli-ish hot + mint + sugar = worst mint flavour ever.

Ughhh, but I still want to collect the tins (I have two more to collect, the peppermint and the spearmint flavoured ones): they're the only reasons I bought them anyway. =) It costs $2.50 for a tin of 50 mints.

Then there's the 'me being the president of JMYF (Junior Methodist Youth Fellowship)' thing. Yah, we had our yearly elections last Saturday (16/02/08) and apparently I got elected to be the president for this year. Whoo hoo..Not that I didn't expect it; I am the oldest now since all the older ones moved on to EMYF (English Methodist Youth Fellowship) so I guess it is kinda my responsibility to serve. Plus, I do want to serve God in anyway possible and this year, it's through being president.

Hopefully I'll be a good president. I have so many worries and fears and I don't know a thing about leading the comm.

Please pray for me and my committee members!! JMYF needs your prayers and support to:

Grow spiritually mature in fellowship and doing bible study
To get more ppl to come and stay in JMYF (we only have about 8 regular members le!)
JMYFers (ppl who come to JMYF) needs to be more enthusiastic and to serve too
basically all the above and loads loads more...

We also just had our first committee meeting of the year last night - man was that tiring. We came up with a theme - COOL (yes, I 'ripped off' 2004's Msian Youth Convention theme. But not intentionally! Cos the pastor suggested to have a theme like COOL and make it stand for something, so I just said why not "Christ Our Only Love?" and everyone agreed and decided to stick with it - sorry!)

98% Human, 2% Avian

2008-02-16T13:38:00.013+11:00

Hi guys...I know, I know- haven't updated for a loooooong time- actually, not that long, only 2 weeks. =D Okay, that's a bad excuse.

Ima gonna try and condense what happened in the past two weeks.

Last Wednesday we had a 'lock-down' in our school- a real one. I was in my Psyc. class then and the bell started ringing, we thought smtg had gone wrong with the bell cos it wasn't lunch time so we ignored the first ring..then it started ringing again and the teacher said that it might be a drill so we promptly crawled under the tables near the middle of the classroom, laughing and joking along (didn't know it was real) until a teacher came to our classroom and said that it was and that it wasn't smtg to be worried about cos no danger to schl. Apparently, there had been an armed robbery near our school and the guy was heading towards school. Come to think about it no wonder there was this police helicopter flying for a while before the lock-down...hmmm...

A friend of mine said that the robber was actually caught in her neighbour's yard, complete with an entourage of unmarked police cars and all. That was pretty interesting...wondering why we had huddle in the middle of the classroom and not near the walls? Well statistics say that in Aus, you are potentially in more danger to be attacked by knifes (knives?) than a gun(s)...cos unlike the US, we can't purchase guns unless you get a special license (very hard to get). So hence "stay in the middle of the classroom under tables." Heard got another uni shooting yesterday in the US...again...geez...don't they ever stop? Hoh, Phebs, you musta heard it on the news..right? I feel scared for you :X Mmmm.

Other than that...I've been busy busy busy...doing 2 art folios, psychology...METHODS AH (I hate permutations and combinations- what cPr and nPr ) Oh and my favouritest hobby- reading....seriously, I'm such a book lover that when others are busy being distracted by TV and computer games, I get distracted by books (extremely easily). Like on Valentine's Day, we had no school cos of the teachers strike and stuff and I promised myself to catchup on my homework...which I did..sorta. I started doing homework at 9-ish then stopped at 11:30-ish read a bit of "The Magician's Guild" by Trudi Canavan, ate lunch and chatted with Phe a bit then continued reading till I finished the whole book at 8...all 500+ pages of it...O.o Remind me to not do that again..I get headaches for reading over an hour...why??? Do you guys? So whole day I got a headache..but I didn't care cos I wanted very much to finish the book....AND I DIDN'T FINISH MY HMWRK! AHH. Now I want to find the other 2 books in the trilogy and read and read somemore. =D

I also read "Maximum Ride and the Angel Experiment" by James Patterson - another really interesting book. I love the characters and their sense of humour: very funny! It's part of a series...Go check them out if you have a chance. Guess what?? They might even make it in to a movie!! Whoot!! I love good fantasy books, love 'em *hint hint*
If you go and recommend Eragon to me I'll puke. Eragon is - oh pleaaaasee, I couldn't stand Eragon. En'tho the ideas are good, his story writing isn't to my taste the way he describes every single bit of detail of Eragon and his surroundings just makes it long and boring...and and and bah...he needs to give the character more 'oomph' Eragon is a country boy yet he talks like like some well-literate person from the city or smtg- what planning is that?? Okay, I'll stop criticizing.

Sigh...now I'm tormented cos I cannot find the other 2 remaining books in the trilogy by Trudi Canavan..oh where are you??? I'm desperate to read them...I might even go the the local library to search later...hah...

ME WAN

I'll leave you with quotes from Maximum Ride series....lol

This is my favourite (whilst introducing Gazzy/The Gasman):
"He'd been the Gasman ever since he was a baby. What can I say? The child has something funky with his digestive system. A word to the wise- stay upwind!" - Maximum Ride.

and another quote (this is when Max- le main character/heroine, was talking about their pet dog they found called Total):
"Did I want a dog? No.

Did I need a dog? Also no.

We were six kids running for our lives, not knowing where our next meal was coming from! Could we afford to feed a dog?

Wait for it- no!"

- Maximum Ride.

Oh, the sarcasm *smile*

I are maths stupid

2008-02-01T18:47:00.000+11:00

School finally started on the 30th, a day earlier than most students because...why...'cos we're year 12 - the last year of school, also the most busiest cos we have exams! Whoo~ We have this thing called VCE (Victorian Certificate of Education) which is pretty much equivalent to STPM (no, we don't have SPM cos then we won't have to waste our time and money studying foundation :D)

These 3 days has been surprisingly tiring for me...mainly cos I sleep at 11+ (haaa...it's healthy wad...better than some ppl *eyes Eric*) and cos I think too much when I'm in bed...like what themes I want to explore in Art and VisCom (VCD/Visual Communication and Design/design stuff), how I'm gonna do this, do that...argh!

Art is not as easy as you think! You gotta do brainstorming, annotate them, do research, annotate the research...more research, trialling of techniques (painting, sketching, etc etc) annotate all the stuff you do, then have to produce the artwork, keep record of how you actually do it, take photos...more annotating..and by the end of it all, you have one big fat A3 size folio and several art pieces that have to be handed in for the examiners to mark you..AND I WANT TO GET THE TOP SCORE OF 50! And that's only for Art! I also have VisCom le also require all the things I just typed down!

So at night I can't sleep cos I think about ideas and stuff...=( and I have bad bad dreams...like last night I have this dream where I was on top of a building and then dunno why, the building starts to break and collapse (terrorist attack I think, haha) and then you're hanging onto the railing and the whole building goes crashing down and you feel the inertia and your stomach flying and you scream your lungs out and then it goes black and you actually think you died...then I opened my eyes and realize that it was just a dream. -_- Also I've had ridiculous dreams like getting married off, what's more, arranged marriage at like 20-22 and you think to yourself, "but I'm still so young!! I don't wanna get married! Why is this happening?? I don't love this guy, am I gonna be stuck with him the rest of my life etc etc." LOL it was actually quite unnerving really...

I still hate Telstra, still can't believe that they even count the upload rate wjakjdawijdawj;ljdjkhiouewoauiof!

Now, I'm rambling on about different stuff...like MATHS. I do not like maths, I'm bad at maths, I don't think I'll ever fully understand the fundamentals of maths and I definitely will get crap at maths...I got a D (I think) for maths even though it was way easier than the maths we did in form 4 ><. I NEED A TUTOR (no, Mark cannot be my tutor, namely cos he can't teach properly and I have to keep repeating his name over and over and over before he responds to me and I find that extremely annoying!)

I want to do good at maths, I want to get As and A+s for my tests and exams so I can get a good enough enter score. I am now forcing myself to finish any maths homework A.S.A.P. and be patient enough to ask Mark for help (gosh, he needs a social life) and to study and make a log book (notebook) of all the many graphs and equations like the derivatives of f(x) and whatnot. Please pray that I'll be really hardworking this year and do well in maths and get As and A+s. For English also! I got a C! I think that was cos I wrote out of topic...but still! A C is a no-no, so again, pray that I'll be able to write essays well, to be able to express what I think into words which I find hard and yah...and you're probably skimming through the post cos you're bored and lazy to read what I wrote cos I do that too, sometimes...=D

I'LL SHOW YOU MY TIMETABLE!! WHEEE

I have 5 subjects - English, Mathematical Methods, Psychology, Art and VisCom. The subjects are spread throughout 2 weeks...so it's week A and week B ( don't get mixed up later bring wrong books) and the blanks parts are the times where I have no classes so I can either go home earlier or go later to school, and there's this mentor group like home group but they changed it to mentor group and we have to meet once every week (highlighted in orange). I named it 'mental' group cos it's a waste of time, you just sit there and do exercises that supposedly will 'help' you with school.

You read it like (subject) (teacher's surname) and the (room it's in)

Like if it's English (my class is English B) and my English teacher is Ms. McIntosh and our English class is in Room H1 then the timetable there will say

ENGB MCI H6 (H is the block the room's in)

Sigh...pray for me ya??

I'll add a bonus picture of my school planner....hahas...=.=

To add, I might not be updating as much...maybe...depends whether I'm busy or not...hopefully I'll continue to update.

Oh, and GIMME THEMES TO EXPLORE FOR ART!!

I have

Emotion (how we hide what we feel - having masks)
Movement (how it is expressed, through colour, line, point)
Nature vs the opposite of nature, lol dunno what it's called. (How nature can coexist with buildings etc.)
Social status (rich ppl and poor ppl and how they treat each other, kinda cynical) Mark is really cynical...-.- he has this black aura around him most times...dunno why...haha
??
???
????help???

Depressed...

2008-01-27T17:05:00.001+11:00

I felt sad after checking our daily usage of bandwidth on the 'net today...I don't think I will feel better unless you guys help me by joining me in prayer that dad will change the internet plan to the 25GB one! PUH-LEASEEEEE!!!

We are now on the 12GB plan thing and that's TOO LITTLE!!! HOH?? PHEBS YOU AGREE?? You also watch a lot of Korean/Singaporean dramas and with 12GB bandwidth allowance per month you cannot freely click on a link and watch the drama right??? YOU AGREE?? SEEE! kasjdwiajdjajd;wa DADDDD CHANGE THE PLANNNNNNNNNNNNNN *SIGH*

Anyway, we were originally on this 21GB plan with a different internet provider - Optus, now dad changed the plan cos he thought that the deal was good (a salesperson came to our house one day and persuaded dad to change to their company - Telstra - for reasons I cannot fathom, oh wait, it's to win back customers, well why do you want to win back customers unless it's cos ppl don't like your company cos Telstra badeth! No seriously, they are, got lots of bad publicity on TV last year)

What's more, we were promised unlimited bandwidth and sureeeee we got unlimited connection, just that the speed will be slowed down to 64kbs after you pass the 12gb limit (64kbs in layman terms = extremely slow) Terrence, you understand my plea, pray that dad will change plan quick! Cos we used up about 8+ gb already and it's not even been a week!! :S

Below is a screencap of our daily usage... AND I CANT BELIEVE THEY EVEN COUNT THE UPLOADS!! WHAT IS THIS TREACHERY??? HOW DARE THEY NOT INFORM US?? Now I will look upon salespeople with ~~hate~~ discontent in my eyes, you'd better watch out salesppl! I won't ever trust you!

Go on, click it

So kids, if you are ever here in Aus. do not seek Telstra for their products or services :)

Australian Open mens finals today! It's Novak Djokovic world no. 3, also happens to be my favourite player versus this unseeded guy Wilfred Tsonga which beat Nadal (2) in straight sets!! (Djokovic(3) beat Federer(1) in straight sets too! Like, woah)

Women's finals was yesterday...Maria Sharapova won..she's really good, she even beat Serena at 17 to win Wimbledon!

School's gonna start on the 30th, I'm so not looking forward to school...plus I haven't even finished my English homework yet! Ahhhhh.

I'm going overboard...

2008-01-21T15:22:00.001+11:00

LOL, yes, definitely. 3 posts in 1 day? @.@ I guess I'm bored...sigh...I got someone to introduce you guys to!

This is my baby. I got her in Dec 2005 when we went to KL, I practically begged my parents to get me one and made ~~excuses~~ reasons to convince them to buy. It cost RM 300+, but I bet it's even cheaper now.

My baby, a short intro.

Now, about 2 years later, my baby is old enough to face the world of the dusty ComputerDesktop with more dust than the average store room (not really...but still v. dusty) and more grime than that of ComputerDesktop's most common inhabitant- Mouse. Together with it's neighbouring ally- the Keyboard, they pose a threat to mankind and their hygiene. When in action, Mouse and Keyboard will work profusely to collect dirt, dust and grime and annoy mankind as they frequent ComputerDesktop for reasons unbeknown to us. How do we stop this monstrosity? Experts believe that by separating the inhabitants, either by hiding them or by removing them from their habitat, mankind will cease to visit ComputerDesktop and hence mankind will not be buggered by the resulting grime of Mouse and Keyboard's daily routines and-

Eh? Sorry, was on the wrong track. I'll restart. :)

My baby, a short intro.

Now, about 2 years later, my baby is old enough to face the world of the dusty ComputerDesktop with more dust than the average store room (not really...but still v. dusty)....etc..etc..etc..

blah -_- I cbb continuing anymore. This is what I really meant:-

I took off my baby's protective plastic covering today that came with together with my baby which I raelly should have taken it off as soon as i started using it, but I couldn't bare to see it her so exposed so I left it...and now I'm showing her off because one, I'm terribly bored, two, I'm a proud mum and three, wait, no number three. I also hope that she'll stay with me at least until I get to Uni. or until I get a proper job, in which I will be needing a new baby like the one below ;D (Buy for me ya?)

Wacom Cintiq 21UX aka My Dear (LOL)

Woah, this is really cool.

2008-01-21T14:50:00.000+11:00

Click here

Thanks for the link Dory!

Your Last Opportunity

2008-01-21T14:04:00.000+11:00

I went to Camberwell Methodist Church yesterday for their English service. I enjoyed the sermon Rev. Gan was preaching that day about opportunities and how important prayer is.

This is kinda what he said (shortened)...it's not word for word but it should be alright.

Even if it was the last day of your life, nothing is more important than prayer. Through prayer, we keep in communion with God. So if we had one last opportunity, what would be the most important thing to do? Pray. Or in other words, to keep in communion with God by keeping the relationship alive through devotion, prayer and worship.

Rev. Gan then went on saying that most Christians are too busy or lazy to have that dedicated time for prayer and devotion (like me...but I'm trying!) and that nothing, nothing is more important in Christian life than prayer, no matter how busy we are. He then quoted from his friend/cousin (I forgot) which I thought, was worth a double thumbs-up goes like this:

"Ordinary people wait for opportunities, wise people look for opportunities but the very wise create opportunities."

Right on!

This reminded me that I should really dedicate a time just for prayer and devotion, not that I haven't, but dedicate a little more of my time...like say...30 mins? It that little? I want to be a very wise person by creating opportunities for myself to pray....XD

And again, devotion time is not because I have to do it or because I feel like doing it, but it's mostly because God is God and HE is the one worthy of all this attention, just like worship. We can't say, "Oh...I don't feel like worshiping today because I don't feel like singing etc etc." We worship because God is...well...GOD! The LORD of the universe! We are only His created beings! We have no right to say, "Sorry, I don't want to worship you today." (I learnt that from camp last year when this pastor was telling us that we worship God because of who He is not because of whether we want to or feel like it. Cos ppl were tired and all and weren't joining in the worhip...hehehehe)

So...yeah...SING PPL! and pray!

The downside of AO

2008-01-19T19:24:00.000+11:00

NO MOVIES!! All the time slots for channel 7 is taken up by tennis (below, high-lighted in green. Sighhh) They normally would have movies and other interesting shows...but I'm kinda bored with all the tennis action. Hey, you would be too if the it's on morning, afternoon and night! At least it ends on the 27th. *click on pic to enlarge*

I'm bored outta my wits! But wait, there's Mythbusters! YAYYY, okay, me go watch =D

A (cold) Summer's Day (warning, long post!)

2008-01-19T07:55:00.000+11:00

I met up with Jia Han on Sunday, I think it was the happiest I've been in a long long time-lol. It's nice to meet up with someone from Sibu again; to talk to each other in- as Phebs had put it- 'rojak language'; to pester her for every ittle wittle bit of information whether important or unimportant about friends and church; to gasp and laugh at stuff she told me and to somewhat feel a bit disheartened on the whole.

I asked the night before if she wanted to join me for church the next day, she agreed and I told her how to catch the train from Flinders Station to Mitcham Station (which is nearer to our house in Wantirna) We were promptly late for church, haha, as JH missed the earliest train and had to wait 30 more minutes for the next but we got there in the end. After church (it was at Grace Church, also near where I live...walk 15mins can get there) we went back to our house, chatted a while and then mum and dad took JH, me and my sister for lunch at a Vietnamese cafe at Box Hill the so-called 'Asian' town (sort-of, since that's where all the Asian food is). The food was good. I love Vietnamese noodles! I also wanted to post pictures of the food but I can't because I don't have any pictures to post, lol.

Me and JH then took the train from Box Hill back to Flinders Station which is in the city. The train ride took about 30 mins (very normal time spent on travel if you live here, you get used to it) so we talked a lot on the way...about youth worship, church, SPM and all that. Now I feel sad again...=( Miss you all!!!

We then walked to JH's hotel (yes, she's staying at a hotel for now until they find a house. Pray for her!!) Gosh..I wanna talk about Australian Open but not yet..calm down, Grace... -_-;; Anywayyy, we freshened up in JH's 5-star hotel (Crown Towers Hotel)..wahh the room there so nice...even got a flat screen 40-42 inch tv in the hotel room @.@ The hotel foyer was 'wahhh' lolol. Seriously, I gotta stop that. MMMmmmm. I asked her why not stay at another hotel where it was cheaper and she replied "Well, let's just say my dad knows how to pamper himself" and I laughed...lol, it was comical wad...

Since there wasn't anything much to do; we didn't wanna go shopping or walk around the city so we opted for a movie: either 'Enchanted' or 'Atonement' in this case, we chose the latter because the time slots for Enchanted weren't suitable as JH's dad had invited us me for dinner afterwards. So Atonement (side) it was and besides, JH wanted to watch it.

Surprisingly it was pretty good, that's a big compliment from me because I'm not the type to go for romance or war but I enjoyed Atonement thoroughly. I loved the cinematography: it was extremely unique in a way as some parts of the movie were told from two different perspectives which was the main reason why I liked the movie. The other reason is the lead actor - James McAvoy (he has an intense glare and extremely pretty blue eyes. Don't look at me like that! :X and oh! He's the guy that plays Mr. Tumnus the faun in CoN:LWW!!), ermm lead actress Saoirse Ronan (no idea how to pronounce that but wow, she's really good for her age, 12 I think?) and the other lead actress Keira Knightly, yah..her... Don't worry, no spoilers...and for those who have watched it...I closed my eyes the entire time the..erm..MA 15+ scene showed...ah-ha-haaha................*nervous laughter* mm. For those who haven't, go watch, it's nice =D

After that we took photos using JH's camera (she hasn't sent me the photos so no photos) and then then went back to the hotel for dinner at Koko's: the best Japanese cuisine restaurant in Melbourne (here) ...$79 per person for the Teppanyaki set menus and that was only the second cheapest! But I guess the experience was worth it because the chiefs cooked the meals right in front of you on the hot stove that's built into the tables so we just sit around it and wait for the chiefs to cook..makes you feel like a princess...hahahaha. The other thing is that since the Australian Open (yes, finally!), the first of the four grand slams was starting the next day, famous tennis players come and stay at Crown Towers, so if you're lucky enough, you get to meet them.

Fortunately me and JH were lucky enough that evening to be sitting on the same table as Patrick McEnroe a former professional tennis player who is now the captain of the USA tennis team which won the Davis cup in winter '07. We found out because the chief who cooked for us loves his tennis and so he was congratulated Patrick on the win last winter and me and JH were both O_O and so we ate and listened to Patrick and another guy...forgot his name...who apparently works as a sports commentator in ESPN sports...wow...lol...but we didn't meet any other tennis players...JH did! She ~~met~~ saw Rafael Nadal world no. 2 tennis player (men) at her hotel foyer but she didn't get his autograph....sigh...JH la you...

World no. 1 is Roger Federer =D

I think I need to explain myself about this tennis business...I fell in love with tennis after watching the Hopman Cup last year...then it was the Australian Open which is held in Melb. in which Federer won..again (in '06 and '07)...no wonder he's world no. 1 player...aha-ha-haa....gahh...I WANNA GO AO NEXT YEAR! I'd better stop...later y'all get bored...

After dinner I had to head back, it was getting late so we bid our farewells and I walked back to Flinders Street...had to wait 40 mins for the train...so I played games on my mobile..haha..I guess it was an interesting day for me. Here's more of AO..XDXD
(I wonder who's gonna win this year...)

Venus Williams (USA) rank no. 8 female (her younger sister, Serena Williams is no.7) Just look at her bling! Real diamonds le..

This one here....Rafael Nadal...nice shirt~ and when there's a slow-mo of him on TV ahh...you can see all his sweat flick off his hair...uh...
Roger Federer! He's such a nice guy...very humble for his rank.

Okayyy!! I'll stop! Geez..

2008

2008-01-16T11:02:00.000+11:00

Finally, my first post of the year. This took me a long time to get started-- blogging I mean. I have considered this several times over the past year but I just wouldn't or couldn't take the time to sit down and, well, write something. So now, influenced and encouraged by family and friends- oh, and of course, the start of a new year- this blog came to be.

A new year includes:- new responsibilities, new interests, new dreams, new things-- I could go on and on, but heck, you get the idea. =) Anyhoo, I want to thank God again for bringing me and my family through '07 where there were times when we rejoiced and times when we mourned.

Since it is the start of the new year-- disregarding the fact that it is the 16th January (16 days late, haa)-- I made some resolutions that I do hope to keep. One of them (which made me start a blog) was suggested by dad; he was saying that: "You know, we should keep a diary and write about what we learn during our daily devotions every morning so that we can share them at night during family time." or something along the lines of that, so I did, not everyday though. That was resolution No. 1. No. 2 was to finish reading the bible this year because this was something I have never been able to accomplish so I am determined to do it this year. No. 3 was to study hard as it is my last year of school and I want to get a scholarship to help support me financially for when I'm in uni. No. 4 was to get a part-time job so that I'll be able to get the experience and the extra-pocket money from it because I don't want to keep depending on mum and dad for stuff- which btw, I'm happy to announce that I have a job! Whoot! More on that later, lemme get through this list of resolutions first, haha. No. 5 was to draw and cg more costhenicansellthemandearnmoneyandatthesametimeidgettomeetlotsa
coolartistsandmydreamistoworkatPixaranimationstudios! Tad sorry about that, I got a bit too excited; thinking too far into the future. For now, I gotta focus on things at hand like VCE (equivalent to SPM/STPM) eek! Please pray for me!!

A shorter vers. of my resolutions:-(mostly for my own reference)

Keep a diary/blog and update often
Finish the bible this year
Study real hard and get 'A+'s in all my assignments (eek!)
~~Get a part-time job~~ (completed)
Improve in my art skills so I can get work for Pixar Animation Studios or Dreamworks animation studios

I'll make it a point to update this every week, if not, every month ~~(just pester me long enough and I will, because I'm lazy, k?)~~