The Notebook

Heaven.

2010-05-03T23:33:00.002+08:00

28th April 11.45pm

That was the day granny (my mom's mom) passed away.

Here are my memories of my dearest Grandmother.

My fondest memories of my grandmother are the days where I used to go to my Uncle Peter's house every Saturday. Those were the days before 2000. Uncle Peter was still living in the Bukit Panjang flat with 2 storeys. I remembered the times she cooked for us. Her famous Tau you Bak and black sauce Chicken. Her aromatic Curry. She was a true Nonya. I remember the times she asked me to Pom Pom, which means bathe.

On the weeks we did not visit her, she would come over to my house. For every week she did not see us, she would give each of us 1 dollar. 1 Dollar at that time may not seem like much, but it made up my entire Piggy Bank's savings. I loved hearing her stories. They always intrigued me.

Even up till now, I'm amazed at how my grandmother could bring up so many grandchildren. She took care of each of her 14 grandchildren. She cared deeply for each one of us. Not to mention, she also cared for all her 7 children. Even in her old age, she could still have the patience to spend hours trying to feed us our meals while we ran all over the house. We all did. My cousins and I were all runners.

My Grandmother was also a woman with great faith. She was an active member of my church. She was always friendly and enjoyed talking to church members. She would always pray for us whenever we fell sick or had problems.

Even after Granny had a stroke which paralysed the right side of her body, she still remained optimistic. She did not see her disability as a disadvantage. Yet she protrayed great confidence. She still loved dressing up and making sure she looked her best everyday. She would still gel her hair and comb it making sure it was desirable. She would put lipstick and powder her face. She would dress up for the occasion as well. She always gave her best pose when taking photographs. Even though she couldn't speak or smile, we knew she was always happy to see us. She would always extend her hand to shake ours.

That was my grandma :)

Crossroads.

2010-03-21T21:53:00.004+08:00

At some point in time, we have to make decisions. Huge decisions that will pave our way for years to come. It'll mark a turning point in our lives. Mine is now, or rather soon.

Here are some decisions that I have to make:

Number one, should I extend my ORD by another 6 months? There are many things for me to consider. Firstly, I have 8 months to spare. I definitely can afford to extend by 6 months. Next, my superiors do strongly encourage me to extend. One of the reasons is that my understudy will only come in late December and I ORD in November, thus I will be unable to hand over my knowledge over to him. Meaning that not only will he be 'lost' when he gets posted in, many things will be left unsettled. Also, my superiors will only allow me to go for my CTC and SOAC (advance courses) if I extend. At times I feel obliged to extend. Anyway, the pay is rather good. I doubt I'll be able to find another job that offers as much given my current qualifications.

Number two, should I pursue Psychology. Its my interest. However, there are sayings that it gets really tough and dry after a while. I hope it will still appeal to me. I'm not sure if theres anyhting else that I would want to pursue. I know there are other areas which I can excel in, but the interests is just lacking. I'm also unsure if I can do further studies and get a masters. I do find being a Psychologist rather meaningful, but I am also aware that job prospects in Singapore are really limited.

I've been praying and asking for affirmation from God. I'm reminded that Jesus is the light of the world. He will be my guide. I pray that I will have the courage give thanks in all circumstances (1 Thes 5:18).

Revival.

2010-03-14T23:24:00.005+08:00

It's been a million years since I last blogged. My life has taken a U-turn. Many things have changed, for the better it seems. Well, I've decided to start blogging again as its one avenue for me to straighten out my thoughts and let off some steam.

I'm single now. Its been a real rollercoaster ride, but I'm starting to settle down. I believe that God has a plan for me and that maybe he has someone better out there for me. Initially it was difficult adjusting to being single. I felt lonely very often. There wasn't a buddy there for me to call and chat with every night. There was no longer a buddy to go out with me every weekend. My hands tend to itch to dial her numbers every time I'm free. After sometime, it started to set in and I took it more optimistically. I'm doing pretty much fine now. Keeping my options open. I guess I'm not as idealistic when it comes to relationships any longer. In fact I think I'm more pessimistic now. Well, maybe its just me being more careful. I'm keeping my eyes open and praying for someone to come along. Perhaps a potential life partner.

Anyway, the last time I blogged, I was an Officer Cadet. Now, I'm an 'OCCIFER'! My posting completely shocked me. But I'm not going to discuss about it here due to security reasons. My workload has definitely increased many folds. I've had some really down times. Its been a tough 3 months so far. But I'm learning to adjust. I'm someone who adapts slowly but surely. Having men under my command has really changed things altogether. I've to really watch the things I say. People do take everything I say seriously, and they lose trust in me when that things I say do not materialise. Its tough but its fulfilling. I'm happy being where I am.

I've decided that I will stay in FASS. I've been praying about it. I've been wondering if its really where I should go. I've been asking God if its really the best place for me. But recently, it seems that God has pointed me in the direction of Psychology. He does it through really subtle means that I find hard to describe. But nevertheless, I will continue praying about it and meditating over it. I want to be a psychologist. Reading the books 'Outliers' and 'Tipping Point' by Malcomm Gladwell has really raised my interest in the subject. I think my personality kind of fits the picture too.

Anyway, I've just came back from the Pulse Retreat at People's Association Holiday Flats. It was from the 12 to the 14 of March. The theme of the retreat was really about knowing ourselves better. It was about discovering out Values, interest, personality and skills. We got a chance to visit River Life Church's Youth service. They call the youths MEGALIFERS. Like the name suggests, they were hyper in character and attitude. What struck me the most was that everything about their service was done in a really excellent way. Excellent meaning that in whatever ministry they were in, they invested heavily in it and did it to the best of their abilities.

When it came to Mission Trips, they didn't just have one or two per year, they had like 10. Their Stewards were just standing at the door giving out fliers and passing round the offering bags. They were stage crews. They each had a walkie talkie. They wore a common orange polo T-shirt. They reminded people to not use their handphones when they spotted them using it. They coordinated the whole service. When it came to worship, the band was really cohesive. They complemented one another and really created an engaging atmosphere of worship.

The key take away was not that their youths were more enthusiatic than ours but really that in everything they did, they did it with excellence for God. They were serious about everything. It wasn't done for the sake of doing but to please God. Now if only we could take the same attitude and apply it to the Pulse Minstery, what change could we make?

Pulse is now 7 years from now. There is no doubt that we've grown considerably since the start of the ministry. We've developed systems, groomed leaders. Started numerous cell groups. It is all good. But it could be better. Better for God. What we could do is to really sit down, pray and meditate, and really look deeper into developing each ministry. Its time to be serious and think about how we can grow and serve with excellence.

Imagine PULSE 7 years from now. What is it like? Will there be a revival. I'm praying for one. I'm praying that 7 years from now, our church population will grow 10 folds or even more. Just like the in the book of ACTS. We cannot start a revival, but God can. If He does, how can we prepare ourselves for that revival? We need a bigger church. Hence, we need to invest time into raising funds for the Church building. We need more leaders. Hence, we need to continue grooming leaders. At the same time, leaders have to be role models and lead from the front. We need prayer. We need people who encourage others to pray. We need people who pray. Prayer should become a lifestyle in the church.

Dream big. Have faith in God. Do things with excellence for God. Be prepared for a revival.

I'm looking out the window

2009-09-26T20:20:00.002+08:00

Today is one of those days where everything seems meaningless.
What ever I do, it doesnt seem to contribute to anything.
Its a feeling of lost and hopelessness.

I guess its all in the mind, but its definitely not easy.
Theres just so much on my mind right now that its really overwhelming.

I'll be going to Taiwan soon. Its going to be a pretty rough time.
Negativity has really taken a toll on me.
Its about time I start remembering the grace of God.
Without him, I wouldnt even have made it this far.

I'm longing for your return.
As well as my return after Taiwan.

Its only of those days where I need someone to cheer me up.

Bon Voyage

2009-09-07T02:30:00.003+08:00

Today is finally the day that you're leaving.

I'll be eagerly waiting for the 29th of October.

Till we meet again.

I ought to be sleeping now but I really can't.

Theres a sense of emptiness.

I guess its a hole that only God can fill.

All I want to say is how much I miss you and will miss you.

I'll find strength to thank God in the toughest of time.

I'm glad we can still communicate over the oceans.

Can't wait to receive the first call!

P.s. I love the jelly beans :)

Yesterday, I surprised you pretending that I had to book in.

It was the biggest reaction I've seen from a surprise.

I'm really really happy that I got to spend the time with you.

The few extra hours I will really treasure so much.

I can't wait to hangout with you again!

Have fun in China alright?

Take lots of photos so you can share them with me.

You'll be my eyes in China.

No matter what happens, remember God is always watching over you.

He is there in China too!

19th

2009-09-05T22:07:00.000+08:00

I'm turning 19 in one week exactly! I've yet to get my driving licence. But congrats to Mel who got it on Thursday! :)

We just had a celebration together with her family at a cafe at Simon road. It was a simple dinner at a cosy place. We had a cake with two candles! For those who don't know, her birthday is just 1 week after mine.

Anyway, I'll be in camp doing guard duty on my birthday, not exactly the best way to spend it but I still thank God nevertheless. As for my wish list, a black bar on my chest on the 19th of December! And for Mel to come back in one piece.

Bbbut

HI BLOG

2009-08-30T09:12:00.002+08:00

Its been like a million years since I last posted anything. Its not because I've been lazy and refuse to post but, I've been in OCS. Theres like restrictions on what I can reveal and what I cannot.

Basically, theses few months have been lots of ups and downs. Mostly downs though. Life here is tough and theres no doubt about it. We're so used to getting scolded that we are now numbed by it. We start laughing when we get scolded. And then we get scolded even more.

Theres a million timings to meet, many are really short. Like they said, we're always waiting to rush and rushing to wait. Its so true.

Well, I'm quite happy where I am, I just wish I had more time to spend with my love ones. I'm not looking forward to the September and October. My close friends will know why. I really can't wait for these months to pass by. Then, I'll be eagerly looking forward to my commissioning.

I miss serving in the worship ministry. I really feel more distant from God even though He is always there. I'm making the effort to really thank Him as I go along with my days for blessing me despite my troubles. But sometimes its really difficult.

Anyway, I've got a spot in NUS FASS and USP. Looking forward to my ORD. I'm thinking of what I'll be doing for the 8 free months that I'll have. I want to learn some new skills. Well, till then.

1.

2009-04-11T00:11:00.003+08:00

I recieved an envelope today.
An A4 sized brown envelope.

Love in Your Mailbox <3

Now join your hands, and with your hands your hearts - W.S.

On the top right hand corner a stamp, with a girl holding a heart and a boy with his bow tie, lay.

Priceless was what was written.

I opened up the envelope gently to avoid damages to it. Inside, I saw a huge stack of paper. My heart raced. I wondered what all of it were. I didn't dare to read it, for fear that I wouldn't be able to control my emotions.

Then, at the end of the day, the perfect way to end the sweet night.

Going through my memories, with you by my side. My smiles uncontrolled and spontaneous.

My heart was litted.

Priceless. That was what this day was.

All I need is you by my side, smiling to yourself. I'll treasure it all.

Because you love me.

POP LO!

2009-03-15T18:39:00.005+08:00

After nine whole weeks of tough training, both mental and physical, 46 of us from BMTC School 1 Gryphon Platoon 4 had our passing out parade. These 9 weeks made us brothers. Brothers in Arms. We shared an experience unique to us. Be it the tough times or the happy times, we understood each other. It was not the individual but the man beside the individual that spured him on. I'm just glad its all over.

Without further ado, I shall reveal the happy moments.

First up...

Best Buddies and our beloved commanders. From left to right - 3SG John, 3SG Jas, 2SG HongWei(ORD Lo), 3SG Nazri, 2LT Kevin, PTE Eugene (Coy Best REC & Coy Best PT), PTE Sean Yap, PTE Timothy Gay(Platoon Best REC), PTE Me

Bunk Buddies! G42xx with Platoon Sergeant Jas

My platoon with some guys missing.

During the parade. I took out my load bearing vest accidentally. I thought I was the only one who did that but Sean Yap had a photo showing that about 8 of us did so.

Finally, the ones who have been behind me all the way. I wouldn't know how I would have gone through the 9 weeks without them :)

Drumroll... Lastly I thank God, who we may not be able to see, for his everlasting protection and love upon us. There were many times where I could have so easily gotten injured but he lifted me up.

Hmm.

2009-03-08T07:05:00.002+08:00

Its been a long while since I've last blogged. I've hardly been staying at home other than to sleep. So here's what has been going on in my life.

I've almost completed my BMT:
IPPT - Gold
Live Range - Marksman
SOC - Passed
Grenade Throw - Survived
Route Marches - 1 more to go

A Level results:
GP - A
H2 Maths - A
H2 Physics - A
H2 Geog - B
H2 Economics - C
Project Work - B

Its been a tough journey, I'm not going to deny it. Going through BMT was tougher than I thought it would be. There were times that I really felt like giving up, just falling out. But you kept me going. Its the dream of reaching the end that gives me strength.

I really thank God for the results that I've gotten. I would be tempted to compare myself with others but my expectations were just to get into local U. And I thank mel for always reminding me that God has a plan for us regardless of what results we would get.

As for which course I would like to apply, I'm hoping to get into FASS or Business Admin in SMU. I'm still unsure of whether I'll get a spot in the NUS University Scholars Program. If I do not get it, I'll prefer to go to SMU.

I'm going to pass out from Tekong on Wednesday! I'm really looking forward to it. No more having to save on handphone batteries. No more taking 1 hour to reach Pasir Ris. But then again, I know I'll miss the environment of BMTC. I'll probably miss my bunk mates. We'll see. Till then.

Holga!

2009-02-21T23:43:00.005+08:00

Finally photos of our first roll of film using a holga!

I was really excited about it.We developed it at Triple D at Burlington Square at Bencoolen Street. I think it turned quite well for our first roll of film. The film we used was the China black and white film. We took the photos in Yew Tee Park.

Without further ado, I present the photos!

Oh yes, not to forget we took those with a Nikon Tripod Stand too.
Yep, next roll of film probably in 2-3 weeks time.
Can't wait!

Personality

2009-02-20T22:42:00.002+08:00

Heres a summary of some personality survey which I think it quite accurate:

Isaac, your hemispheric dominance is equally divided between left and right brain, while you show a moderate preference for auditory versus visual learning, signs of a balanced and flexible person.

Your balance gives you the enviable capacity to be verbal and literate while retaining a certain "flair" and individuality. You are logical and compliant but only to a degree. You are organized without being compulsive, goal-directed without being driven, and a "thinking" individual without being excessively so.

The one problem you might have is that your learning might not be as efficient as you would like. At times you will work from the specific to the general, while at other times you'll work from the general to the specific. Sometimes you will be logical in your approach while at other times random. Since you cannot always control the choice, you may experience frustrations not normally felt by persons with a more defined and directed learning style.

You may also minimally experience conflicts associated with auditory processing. You will be systematic and sequential in your processing of information, you will most often focus on a single dimension of the problem or material, and you will be more reflective, i.e., "taking the data in" as opposed to "devouring" it.

Overall, you should feel content with your life and yourself. You are, perhaps, a little too critical of yourself - and of others - while maintaining an "openness" which is redeeming. Indecisiveness is a problem and your creativity is not in keeping with your potential. Being a pragmatist, you downplay this aspect of yourself and focus on the more immediate, the more obvious and the more functional.

http://mindmedia.com/brainworks/profiler

In the early morning March.

2009-01-27T12:55:00.003+08:00

Its Chinese New Year.
Its my 2nd one in Singapore.

On the eve, I had a reunion dinner in the Samsui Women Restaurant in Jurong Point. Good food but no dessert. It was a very tense atmosphere at my table.

On New Year's Day, I went to Uncle Peter's house for lunch. He cooked his Peranakan Dishes which were really delicious. I really like going there to eat.

After lunch, I went over to join Mel's family for visitation. We went to the columbariums and then to the relatives' houses. I had a really good time of fun and laughter. Had a simple dinner too.

Thats basically my Chinese New Year.

Alright, going back to my mission trip soon! Got to go pack and stuff. See everyone soon! 6 Febuary is the day.

Hmm.

2009-01-24T07:02:00.002+08:00

I'm finally able to come home from my Mission trip.

Mel surprised me and picked me up at when I came back :)

I'm glad I survived this two weeks. It was a slow start but once it passed the first few days, the pace grew more comfortable. I've met some really nice people and some not so desirable. But I thank God for all of them cause they make life on the island more interesting.

Anyway, I've the funny essay I wrote about Quantum Mechanics got me an interview for the NUS University Scholars Program! I'm quite excited but at the same time pretty worried about how I'm going to handle the interview.

Its Chinese New Year but I don't feel the atmosphere. Its all quiet at home, theres no decorations or new year cookies. But it makes me feel more homely.

Anyway, I've gotten used to waking up super early in the morning. I can't seem to sleep in as much as I want to. Thats why I'm here blogging at 6.45am.

NS.

2009-01-08T06:53:00.002+08:00

I'm about to leave for my mission trip to Tekong!
I think I'll only be back like on the 23 or 24th.
Bye everyone! Bye Bed.

Dear Melly,
I'll be waiting to see you.
Trust God and have faith in Him, He'll carry us through.
Hello :)

Army.

2009-01-07T00:54:00.002+08:00

It's finally set in.

All these while I've been thinking like army may not be that bad. It'll be over soon. But when the day approaches, its really setting in. The fear and uncertainty is beginning its insidious creep on me. I'm starting to become oh so emotional everytime I talk about army.

I feel like suddenly my life is being taken away from me. Everything that I have, all my friends, family, love ones, will be taken away. Well though its temporal, its still difficult nevertheless. Theres so many things I want to do, so many things I want to say. I'll miss my friends, family and Mel.

I feel unprepared. Mentally and physically unprepared. Spiritually too. I really pray that I won't lose sight of God.

New Year

2009-01-04T23:47:00.002+08:00

I've yet to write down my New Year resolution.

For the year 2009, these are what I hope to accomplish:

1) A closer relationship with God
I've been writing that down every year but have always been using studies and basketball as an excuse. But all thats not going to be a problem cause I'll be on a 'Mission Trip' to Tekong as small Jon puts it. I'll really be a time where I'll have to really rely on God. I really hope to do my quiet time everyday and not use tiredness as an excuse. Mel if you read this, please remind me not to use tiredness as an excuse.

2) To control my temper
I know people who know me would think I'm a quiet guy. However, I can be quite loud at home, and at times too loud. I think I've been very rude to my parents; I'm always raising my voice to get my point across. I find that I can't seem to control my temper especially towards my mother and sister. I feel horrible and hope to change that.

3) To be a better boyfriend
I've still so much to learn, about her and about myself. I've got to learn how to love all over again, to strengthen our relationship. I think one of my weaknesses is that I'm quite self-centered at times. Many times I've neglected how she feels and hurt her. I really hope to be more understanding and selfless.

4) To do my best in Army
I want to do my best in army. I've only one BMT and I hope that I'll take up all opportunities available and leave with no regrets. I hope I can go to OCS. I'm quite a perfectionist; I want to do my best in everything I do. Well, I'll let God decide. If its with my own strength, I'll only fail.

5) Try to get into a Uni and a Scholarship
I really pray that my results will be good enough to get into a local university. I don't want to be a financial burden. I hope I'm able to get a scholarship too. Prefably one that covers my tuition fees. Its highly likely that it'll come with a bond but I guess in the current economic situation, thats not such a bad idea. I've applied for the NUS USP program. I'm not sure though if I can get in. I'll only know in March. My top choice is still SMU.

Thats my top 5 goals for 2009. Theres so much else I hope to achieve but army would probably take up most of my time. I'm in fear now. Feeling really uncertain about my future now, but I'll let God lead me. Cause, we can do everything we want but without God we'll never be satisfied.

Alright, time to sleep. I've got a picnic at Botanic Gardens with T24 guys at 1pm.

Holga

2009-01-03T21:40:00.003+08:00

On the first day of the year,
I went to Sam Tan and Suren's wedding with Mel. We did car park duty. We had to stop all the cars and divert them to the car park unless they were relatives and placed a red packet on the dashboard. It was quite a funny idea, and some of my church members thought we were joking with them.

The wedding was really beautiful. The theme of the wedding was the 'Pearl'. It was really apt and unique. They gave out pearls in the invitation and had pearls in all their decorations. They didn't have a photo shoot before the wedding. Thought that was something special.

I thought the most interesting part was the live band consisting of musicians from my church. There was a drum, bass guitar, guitar, piano, trumpet and saxophone. They were really good.

Anyway, I was the guy in charge of taking down and packing the decos. I really thank God for lots of helpers including Joel, Clifford, Mervyn and not forgetting Mel who stayed on all the way till I finished.

Yesterday, I went to watch Yes Man!
It was a really funny movie, it kept us laughing through out. Try as much as possible to say Yes but say yes only when you really want to and have thought through it, thats the moral.

Today, I went to meet Jeremy at Ang Mo Kio.
After that, I collected Mel's belated Christmas present! Finally, after so long, it arrived. I hope it'll be put to good use. We then had confirmation class with my dad. It was really interesting.

I kept wondering, how come Lucifer could rebel against God. Where did this sin come from in the first place. My dad clarify that. He said that, God did not create sin but he allowed sin to happen. This was because he wanted all the heavenly creatures and people to have free will including the angels. And because they have free will, they're love for God will be more complete. Its like the relationship between a husband and wife. The relationship would be more complete if a wife is not obligated to love her husband but instead chooses to do so. She can disobey but yet choose not too. Thats the kind of love that God wants, rather than us being forced into loving him. That was really insightful.

Yep and my dad was super funny, I think I laughed harder than when watching Yes Man. Haha

Home

2009-01-01T04:41:00.002+08:00

On the last day of 2008, the last hour, the last second, where was I?
I was on the 2nd deck of a 154 bus.
I was with Mely.
We were talking to God.

Anyway, I'm really glad that I didn't work for the countdown event at Marina. Thank you Mely for reminding me that money is not worth more than spending time with God. I'm really glad that we were at the watch night service in my church. I could not ask to be in a better place.

I just came back. After sending Mely home, I took the night rider to Somerset. There I realise that my card had no more money to take another night rider home. Thinking I had two 1 dollar coins in my wallet, I went to seven eleven to buy something to get more coins. I needed $3.50. I happily bought a bottle of pomegrenade tea and then paid with my $10 note. I got back two notes and 90 cents in coins. I then asked the cashier to change my two dollar note to two one dollar coins. She then had to open the cash register all over again so she could change them.

Yep so I happily went away, wanted to walk to the bus stop behind Ngee Ann City. Then on the way I looked into my wallet and realised that I had no coins in my wallet. And now I only have $2.90. I then decided to go to the 7-11 outside Taka to get something. I figured it was no point asking to change my 5 dollar note since they cant open the cash register unless I buy something. Thus, I bought a mentos. I got back a 1 dollar coin plus a few more coins and a 2 dollar note. I was elated and happily skipped to opposite Far East to take the night rider as Taka was closed and I had to walk a huge round to get to the bus stop at the back.

I waited for about 5 minutes before the first night rider came. It stopped quite a distance from the front of the bus stop and allowed some people to alight. It then droved off without allowing anyone to board cause it was extremely packed (the back of the bus was pretty unfilled as usual, sigh). I then thought that it would be hopeless to wait at that bus stop. I decided to back track and walk to the bus stop behind Taka. It was a super long walk but I saw some interesting things. The first thing I saw was an NR3(2nd bus I missed)! After that, I saw another thing that made my heart race too. A street race! What are the odds. There was like 6 or 7 cars. Each taking one lane on the road behind Wheelock. They were speeding like mad from one traffic light to the next. It was amazing how they managed to stop in time. Imagine a guy trying to cross the traffic light and turns and see 6 cars going at 100km per hour just 20 meters from him.

At 3.30am I finally boarded an NR3. Mely accompanied me through the entired bus ride until I reached safely home. Thank you so much :).

It was a real good experience. Throughout the walk, I remembered in Psalms 3:3, it says that the Lord is our shield. And that really comforted me. It assured me that I will be protected. Not to mention there were many groups of policemen patrolling. Sometimes I wonder if they will find my suspicious walking alone in town and stop me. I think the God was with me through out the experience. Reminding me of His constant presence.

Psalms 3:5 also says that when we lie down, we are able to sleep and wake up cause the Lord sustains us. Time for me to sleep and wake up. I've to attend Sam Tan's wedding tomorrow. I'm really excited.

A Laughter a Day

2008-12-29T14:41:00.001+08:00

This is my 100th post in this Blog!

Mission Trip To Thailand

2008-12-28T16:07:00.002+08:00

Here is a quick summary of my trip to Thailand.

21st December
1.1 Departure from Singapore
1.2 The 14 Hour Bus ride

22nd December
2.1 The Arrival
2.2 Church
2.3 R&R
2.4 Dinner
2.5 Sleep

23rd December
3.1 Morning Devotion
3.2 Gift Wrapping
3.3 Gift Exchange and Lunch
3.4 Carolling

24th December
4.1 Morning Devotion
4.2 Bus to Dannok
4.3 Carolling and Lunch at a Rubber Plantation
4.4 Christmas Eve Party for the Kids
4.5 Carolling and Prayer Walk
4.6 Night Prayer and Christmas Count Down

25th December
5.1 The two Big Bangs
5.2 Morning Devotion
5.3 Christmas Service
5.4 Children Christmas Party
5.5 Bus ride back to Hatyai
5.6 Night Market
5.7 Opening up of presents

26th December
6.1 Morning Devotion
6.2 Shopping at Tesco and Diana
6.3 Mad Rush to the Bus
6.4 Bus Ride back to Singapore

27th December
7.1 Arrival in Singapore

People who were there:Mel and MotherAunty Jannie (The missionary)
Aunty Jessie
Aunty Diana and Family (Uncle Zhang Xin, Kai Ling, Pang Ting)
Li Wen (Thai church co-worker)
Chun Mei (Thai church co-worker)

For Pictures, Please visit http://www.flickr.com/photos/13294122@N08/ .
More photos yet to come.

My take from this trip:
"Though I didn't buy much, I came back more satisfied. God has shown me my priorities in life. He has put his crown over me. He has fueled my passion to serve Him."

On Christmas Day, God revealed through Kai Ling that He has placed his crown over me.

James 1:12
Blessed is the man who preserveres under trials. Because when he has stood the test, he will receive the crown of life that God has prepared to those who love Him.

Back

2008-12-27T15:55:00.002+08:00

I'm back!
I've been in Thailand from the 21st and only arrived home today.
Shall blog about the awesome trip another time, too tired now.

To sum it in one word:
Breath-taking (in many sense of the word)

Garage Sale

2008-12-20T23:39:00.002+08:00

Christmas is really fully or surprises.
Today, my mum went to the market.
When she came home, she brought back...

20" HD ready LCD TV
A Korean BBQ steam boat thing
A Steam Iron thing
+ a Free camera tripod

I get to keep the TV and the tripod!
But occasionally my parents will TVnap the tv into their room.

On Thursday,
I had my 4p3 BBQ at Mingxian's house.
Summary:
I did most of the cooking.
I caught up with my English teacher.
Bought a BP bear for $10.

Friday was chillax day with Mel.
Then I had to go for an LCS Co worker's Christmas Dinner.
It was at HTNS once again.
Yep, good food thing time round.
I won but lost a $20 Popular voucher.
Long story.

Okay back to packing!

Christmas

2008-12-18T08:53:00.003+08:00

Christmas came early this year.

On Tuesday, My mum showed me a letter.
I received the Eagles Award!
It was for Achievement, Good leadership and Service.
Its an award voucher of $150.
I can only collect it after 29 December.
That was quite a surprise.

Yesterday, we went to China town.

It was nice to go somewhere new for a change.

China town really changed so much since I last went there so many years ago.

She brought me to Maxwell food centre for yummy Tian Tian chicken rice and oyster cake.

We then had lovely egg tarts.

I had a really good time.

After that, we went to Bras Basar Complex to find pom pom balls or beads.

After lots of hunting, we got 500 pom pom balls!

And 75 eyes, hahaha.

After all the suspense,
Mel finally told me what my Christmas present was.
And yesterday, we went to get it :)

And the mystery gift is....
A Braziliano Praia Beetle!

It was just what I needed and wanted :)
Thank you so much Lui Yidao impersonator.
I hope you'll like your present just as much.

Time is running out

2008-12-17T09:30:00.002+08:00

Its been a while since I last blogged.

Saturday was our 8th months together :)
I couldn't bring her out cause I had lunch with my primary school friends in the afternoon.
Lunch was at Lao Bei Jing, $21.

We had a Christmas Dinner with her relatives.
It was a huge spread of meat and salad.
The food was excellent, made me regret eating so much for lunch.

On Monday,
Mel and I had our prom with my parents :)
I'm really glad it all worked out.
I really thank my mum for cooking even though shes tired after work.
We had a really great time.
For more information, go to Mel's Blog (she can get more hits for nuffnang)

Yesterday,
We watched Twilight!

Yes I'm sure everyone is thinking, "Doesn't Twilight start on 18th Dec"
Well, almost all the cinema's around the country have already started showing sneak previews since the 15th.

The movie was great.
It was quite interesting the way vampires were illustrated.
I shall not be a spoiler here.
It was worth watching, though we didn't exactly pay for it.
It seems as though there might be a sequel, but we wont know.

Okay time for breakfast!

Song sung blue

2008-12-11T23:58:00.003+08:00

Today is the first time in I think 2 weeks that I didn't leave the house.
Feels kind of weird just staying at home.

On Tuesday,
I went to Sentosa for the 4P3 outing.
It was fun but really tiring.
Not a lot of people went.
We played Ultimate frisbee, Captain's ball and swam a bit.
My shoulders got sunburnt.
A few of us went for Chicken rice at Far East after that.

On Wednesday,
I went to Mel's house.
I wanted to send my PSP for repair again but some how the circle button magically worked properly again.
Anyway, I was suppoed to cook lunch for Mel but her aunty cooked for her already.
And when I got there, her aunt offered me her share of the food and cooked magi mee for herself.
I felt really bad.
I left uncooked beef patties at her house.
I made a dog bark ferociously when I was walking to her house.

We then went to meet a seller to collect a dress for her at Sengkang.
We had the BK Stacker!
The Quad Burger.
4 slices of Beef Patty.
Its name was Ballsy.
Mel said, "We've got balls, lets eat that"
That was quite funny.
Anyway, the burger wasn't as big as it looked.
We weren't really full after that.
I think the Mega Mac seem to be more filling.
For a real filling meal I would recommend 8 patties at Carls Junior.

Anyway, the Mr Men were at Sengkang.
I only remember reading Mr Men and not watching them.
It was quite funny when the Mr Men all paused in a particular position and not move.

We had tau hui after that and then headed home.

Grr.

2008-12-08T21:59:00.002+08:00

I'm quite frustrated now.
Well, partly its actually my own doing.

My PSP's triangle button wasn't working properly cause lime juice spilled in my bag while I was trying to smuggle some lime juice up the bus.
Today, I went to repair my psp.
After collection, another button wasn't working properly.
It cost me $40 to repair the triangle button.
Hopefully the circle button would be free.

Sentosa tomorrow with 4p3 people!

Hopes and Dreams

2008-12-08T01:39:00.000+08:00

Happenings.

2008-12-08T00:50:00.003+08:00

On Wednesday, Mely and I went to Ikea to study.
It was quite funny cause she was studying Information Technology in Business and I was studying a cook book.
We ordered their Christmas Hot Plate which cost $7.20.
Their turkey was excellent and went really well with the pineapple.
We bought chicken wings and meatballs too!
It was quite a feast.

After all our studying,
I brought busybee to Killiney road for some Chee Cheong Fun.
There was this place that I happen to chance upon while searching for places to satisfy her craving for Chee Cheong Fun.
There were all sorts of Chee Cheong Fun.
We ate the Chicken and Banana Chee Cheong Fun and Green Tee Tang Yuan.
I must say their food was really good but a lil pricy.
All those we ordered were $3.50 each.
The most expensive Chee Cheong Fun is the Cheese Lobster.
Its a whooping $12.
It was a joy seeing her finally able to satisfy her cravings :)

On Thursday, I went to Mel's house wearing a vest and a Fedora.
Its the first time I actually wore a fedora, supposed to be for prom.
I chickened out and didn't dare to wear it when we were going out though.

We then went to watch City of Ember.
It was quite a thrilling show, especially the Giant Mole.
The puzzles were however quite obvious and didn't really make me think much.
It is quite worth watching.
It makes you think about the possibility of living within the earth in future when the surface of the earth becomes inhabitable.
It might even be a necessity in future.
I must say the writers have quite an imagination.
It reminded me of the the Matrix, where by people lived in Zion, an underground city, except this one was a lot more realistic.

We had KFC after that.
I feel like I'm really growing fat, I think my tummy is starting to become flabby and my 6 pacs is almost gone.
Not sure how I'm going to take off my shirt on Tuesday when I go to Sentosa.
Really have to start training soon.

On Friday,
I picked Mel from school and then brought her to Sunset Way for some Ice Cream.

Prom Photos

2008-12-05T00:31:00.004+08:00

Classmates:

Big Shots:

Mr Tan Jek Suan (VP)

Brother Paul (Principal)

President of Student Council

Group Photos:
T37 Guys

Basketballers

For more photos go to http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=64811&l=917dc&id=570752750

Yawn.

2008-12-04T01:05:00.004+08:00

I've finally done my essay for my application to USP.
Time to sleep soon.

Phew

2008-12-02T21:01:00.002+08:00

Yesterday was my prom night.
I'm too tired to blog about it now.
It was quite an eventful event.

I shall post pictures soon, maybe tomorrow.
Pictures speak a thousand words.
And I have 1000 pictures.
Okay actually only like 70+.
Thats 70,000 words.

Till then, I shall keep readers in suspenders.

Oh yes,
I went to Nathanial's house for BBQ on Saturday.
It was a spontaneous BBQ.
His mum decided to have a BBQ when she went to the market and saw giant prawns.
Yes giant prawns, the size of lobsters.
I've never seen such huge prawns.

It was a nice feeling being there.
Nat's house is about 5 minutes away from Mel's house.
I was able to send her home in the night.
If only we lived nearer, I would be able to do that everyday.

And last night,
I stayed over at Nat's house together with some of the bballers and friends.
We ordered McDonals at 2.45am and it only came at about 3.35am.
I slept at about 3am and woke up half an hour later to eat two double cheese burger.
After that, I watched the guys play PS3 before going back to sleep.

I slept on the floor in Nat's room with I think 6 other guys.
3 were on the bed, the other 3 were on the floor.
I could hardly move without kicking someone else.
Cause of the discomfort, I woke up periodically.
Each time I did, I would see a pair of feet right above my face.
But I was too tired to move.

When I woke up, only Terence was awake.
Nat's mom then invited us down to watch tv and then prepared some food for us.
Scrambled eggs with tiny pan cakes.

The PS3 kept us entertained until we left his house.

I walked over to Mel's house to wait for her.
I fell asleep on the sofa waiting for her.
We then went to Serangoon Gardens to find Chee Chong Fan.
We railed miserably though.
Ended up eating Satay which wasn't bad either.
We then went back and played the guitar.

Mel can sing and play the guitar at the same time out of a sudden!
Yes its one of those must-tell-the-world news.
I'm so proud of her.

When it was time to go, she sent me all the way to the bus stop cause of the rain.
It was really sweet of her to do so even though she has to study for her exams.

Yep, it really felt very comforting being so close to Mel.
I could just pop over to her house when I needed to.

Okay, time to rest.
Shall continue tomorrow.

2 Days to Prom

2008-11-29T13:29:00.004+08:00

Its 2 more days to prom night!
Yesterday, Mel and I ransacked town trying to find stuff for prom.
It was tough and we looked at all the wrong places.
But in the end, everything turned out fine and we were both dead tired.
Its the first time I'm actually shopping.
I didn't even know how to buy a shoe.

This is not how I'll look.

I'm going to wear a black shirt instead.

Don't wanna look like a waiter.

Wild Child

2008-11-27T22:52:00.002+08:00

I caught Wild Child with Mel today.
It was quite a good movie, not a brainless bimbotic show.
Kind of like House Bunny but more British.
It was really funny and really made me laugh.
I would say its worth the money.

Anyway, we had lots of fun trying to speak good english.
Hitting each other's head each time we spoke singlish.

Going shopping for prom stuff tomorrow.
Kind of eggciting, hopefully I'll find what I need.

Time is running out.
Theres so much I want to do but I've only a short while before NS.
Feeling kind of stressed for some reason.
Hope I'll make the full use of the time I have.

I can't wait for Christmas though.
Going to bring good news and joy and the spirit of giving to young kids.
And someone special is going to be there with me. :)

In the night.

2008-11-25T23:33:00.003+08:00

My headache is killing me.

I went to school today to join the J1 in their basketball training.
I've really become quite unfit.
I can't seem to keep up with the J1s.
Its been so long since I had training.
We did physical at first and that really made my head spin.
I could barely hold my head up.
Towards the end I felt much better and was able to play a full court match with them.
My team won.

After training,
I went to Toa Payoh to eat with some of the J1s and get to know them a little better.
Then I went to get some materials for a secret project.
And then headed home.

I'm dead tired.
My head is spinning.

Anyway,
I've been forming the milky way for 2 hours.
25 done!
Only another 175 to go.
Really hope she'll like it :)

Shall continue when I'm feeling much better.

Kids Camp 2008

2008-11-23T22:14:00.004+08:00

I'm back from kids camp.

I was the leader of Othniel.
Its members are:
Cecilia (Chicken Dance girl, the most adorable and friendliest)
Petrina (Shy girl who didn't want to take part in the skit cause she had to say a few words)
Song Yi (Smart girl)
Matthias (Mervyn's bro)
Wai Jian (Hand holder no 1, Hugger and kisser)
Marcus (Hand holder no 2, called me Lao puo[Grr...])
Sherwyn (pretended to be marcus)
Daniel (Potential best camper, goody good boy)
Shane (Home-sick boy)
Nathaniel (Evil looking kid who teased me for 3 days for having a girlfriend)

Not forgetting... Ligory (THE group crasher, problematic kid, big bully, public meanace)

Yep so that was the whole group, all P1 to P3 except Ligory, I've no idea hold old he is caused he crashed our group and I didn't want to ask.

So the whole weekend was spent chasing kids, shouting at them, losing my voice, planning a skit, more shouting, more chasing, doing morning devotion, serving food, late night suppers, playing Handy-Plas (a game where you wack your friends tighs really hard till it leaves marks) and walking great distances around the church and in Hort Park. I think I walked more than 10 km during the stay.

10km seems like a short distance until you realised you have to chase after kids, make sure that the problem kid doesn't go missing, the kids dont get bang down by cars or people, make sure they stick to the group, not be irritants to the public, drink enough water, etc..

Well, the point is that I'm dead tired from all these 3 days.

But, the purpose of the camp was met.
4 of the kids gave their lifes to God.
Cecilia, Shane, Marcus and Sherwyn.
Yep, it was really encouraging.

Its really nice to have kids just trusting you so easily and bonding with them so quickly.

Anyway, its time for me to adjust back to the real world where kids dont traumatise you.

Oh, I received a letter congradulating me for being the top 25% in my school(CJC) and offering me an edusave merit bursary if my family has an income of less than $4000, which we do not qualify.

Hmm.

2008-11-21T01:03:00.002+08:00

I'm going to help out in Kids camps.
Gotta be there at 7.45am.

I'm feeling so unprepared.
I kind of dont feel like going suddenly.
Not sure why.

Hey honey,
I had a really great time walking down orchard road today.
We had so much laughter and fun.
I'm starting to really miss you suddenly.

I feel so lost.
I hope I'll still be nice to the kids and have fun with them.

Sigh.

2008-11-19T13:40:00.001+08:00

Drown the old Adam.
The one that kept repeating his mistakes thinking he can get away with them.

I know I can never hide anything.
And I can never bare to.
I ask for your forgiveness.

I need courage.

Examinations

2008-11-18T21:20:00.003+08:00

I had my last A level Paper today.

Hurray.

I'm super drained out now.

I went bowling and Ice skating with my class guys.

I had to do 38 push ups cause I got 95 points and the top guy got 133.

For Ice skating, I got 2 new blisters, sigh.

Anyway, I got to spend good time with Mel over the past few days.

I'm going to teach her how to play the guitar before I enter NS.

Mel came over yesterday to accompany me to study for my physics MCQ.

I got to cook fried rice for her.

And I'm going on a mission trip with her, her mum, and her aunty!

I'm really excited about the trip.

I really hope language wont be a barrier for me.

I've been 1 year since my last mission trip to Cambodia and I really want to do something meaningful before I go into NS.

We've going to take a bus from Singapore to Thailand.

Yes a bus, but saving on travel fare means we can shop more.

I have no complains about that.

I can't wait.

Oh yes, kids camp is coming!

21-23 Nov.

I've quite a lot of responsibility being a group leader.

I'm a guitarist for the camp too.

I've to plan a skit for them, lead devotions, and take care of kids, and more kids.

Phew hope I survive the 3 days.

Oh yes, on Saturday, my mum bought me a Vox Tonelab Le!

Just what I needed to play for worship.

I'm really glad and can't wait to serve God with it.

Hmm.

2008-11-15T02:16:00.004+08:00

Lets go back to the start.

The times we kept wondering how each other felt.

The times we were happy just seeing each other.

The times that we were contented.

I guess a long the way, we lost track of each other.
We've come to expect too much from one another.
Lets find our way back, and remember how blessed we are that we've made it this far.
Lets remember our favourite past times.
Lets remember our dreams.

Let me win your heart all over again, just like before.

When your heart smiles, is when mine will too.

Examinations.

2008-11-14T00:12:00.002+08:00

Well after all that hard work and sleepless nights.
All the worry and anxiety, all the crazy memorisation.
All the crankiness and moodiness.

I'm only left with my final physics MCQ paper.
I'm so relieved.
No more Geography!
Hurray!
No more econs, no more maths, no more GP.

I'm going to sleep and not wake up till tomorrow afternoon.
I'm going to have a long tiring weekend in church though.
I've STOMP practice on Saturday from 2-5 Pm and Kids Camp meeting from 1.30 - 6pm.
I need rest!

Oh yes, I cannot neglect my Physics MCQ.
If I do well for it, I might possibly get an A.
But well I'll leave my results to God.

Oh yes, today is our 7th month together :)
I went to pick mel up after her school and went over to her house.
She wrote my this really sweet letter that really cheered me up.
Hello you, thanks for always encouraging me everytime I complain that I'm so stressed and feel like giving up.
Thanks for enduring all my crankiness.
Thanks for all your sweet surprises.
Thanks for reminding me that God is always watching over me and carrying me through.
Thanks for being there always :)

The A levels would have been a lot tougher if I didn't have her cheering me on all the way.

Sigh.

2008-11-12T10:45:00.001+08:00

Its so difficult to love my sister.

Exams.

2008-11-11T21:20:00.002+08:00

I just hope it'll all be over.
Enough of studying.

I just want to sit back and spend the time with you.

I can't say how lousy I feel.

Economics.

2008-11-11T07:43:00.001+08:00

Quite stressed out over economics.
Can't seem to bring myself to sit down and study.
I think I'm pretty burnt out and its just the last stretch.
Oh well, got another 6 hours to the paper.
I'm quite tired.

Here I am a sinner broken and in need of you

2008-11-09T20:08:00.002+08:00

Dear God,

I'm sorry.
I've let you down time and again.
I wonder how you are feeling now.
I really did not mean to.

My mind was clouded.
I lost sight of you.
I'm selfish, always wanting your blessing but forgetting to obey you.
Let me start all over again.

I want to be right with you again.
Show me Lord, who you want me to be.
I want to testify of your love again.
To be blameless just like Jesus.
Forgive me Father.

Father,
I want to put you on the throne again.
Take control of my life.
Lead me into righteousness.
I want to rely on you again, not my own strength.

You are why I live.
Soften my harden heart, let me feel how you would feel.
Please forgive me.

This is my prayer.

Press on

2008-11-08T18:17:00.002+08:00

Hello girl in blue,
This is to help us get through this tough time.
Today is Day 1.
We'll soar on wings like eagles together.
To never never land where we'll find rest.
:)

Examination.

2008-11-07T19:30:00.002+08:00

I've completed all my Maths paper.
GP and Maths down.
Physics, Econs and Geog to go.

Anyway, today is Honey Shine Day.
I prepared honey water for Mel early in the morning.
Then brought her out for lunch after the Maths paper at Adam Road and then Island Creamery.
Yep we had lots of fun!

We were both quite tired though, and fell asleep on the way back.
We'll I'm glad we could still spend time together during this Honey Shine Day.

Lets start the count again, we'll count together.

Examinations.

2008-11-05T21:18:00.002+08:00

Papers I have taken so far:
General Paper 1 & 2
Geography Paper 1
Physics Paper 3
Maths Paper 1

Papers left:
Maths Paper 2 (Tomorrow)
Physics Paper 1 (Monday)
Econs Paper 1 (Tuesday)
Econs Paper 2 (Wednesday)
Geography Paper 2 (Thursday)
Physics Paper 1 (18th Nov)

Well so far the examinations have been going well.
I think I'll better than I did for prelims.
Hopefully I can sustain the momentum.
Thanks to all those who have supported me one way or another.
Some special mentions:
1. Mel's mum for 15 bottles of Escence of Chicken and all her encouragement
2. Mel for appearing outside my school 3 times in 2 days just to give me moral encouragement and an exam package with secret contents even though she had school :)
3. My mum for asking me to relax more and offering to buy me a multi effects pedal after my examinations
4. My dad for cooking for me for more often and constantly showing his concern and telling me all about the world (did I mention that he is a walking Channel News Asia on top of being a walking dictionary and pocket pc)

13 days to go to freedom!

A Levels

2008-11-03T00:19:00.002+08:00

7 more hours to my GP paper.

Its done, I've studied all I could for my Physical Geog paper.
2 Years of Physical geog, I've done it.

I probably wont study a single thing to do with physical geog from today onwards.

Freedom!

Thanks to for all those that have encouraged me!

Thank you God for sustaining me.

.

2008-11-01T00:35:00.002+08:00

I've 48 hours more.

I'm panicking.
Theres just so much thoughts going through my mind.
So much I'm worried about, and its so difficult to settle myself.
I can't seem to sleep in peace.

I'm not sure what I'm doing.
I'm over reacting to everything.

Its kind of driving me nuts.

Dear God, please help me get through this.

Tired

2008-10-30T00:35:00.003+08:00

I just went for a run and did some pull ups and sit ups.
I went down to clear my mind from exams and sort out my thoughts.
The exam stress is really getting into me.
I can't think about anything else other than my exams and its really tiring.

I almost couldnt come home.
After all the running, both thighs felt like they were going to cramp with each step.
I could barely walk home.
I had to keep stretching alone the way and limp home.
It was quite a scary experience.
It was midnight and I doubt anyone will be there to help me up if I do get a serious cramp.

Anyway, I felt much better after the workout.
I'm tired but my mind feels more active now.

Yesterday,
I went to pick Mel up from school cause she ended at 7pm.
I managed to surprise her but I wasn't in time cause I was helping Fengheng understand demand and supply.
We cheated but I'm glad I got to see her :)

Anyway about my enlistment,
People have been saying that those that go in in January would stand a higher chance of getting into OCS.
Thats what I'm hoping for.
Oh and I heard people who go in January are the scholars and I'll be seeing a lot of people from Hwachong and RJ.
Hmm hope I don't feel inferior there.

Sadly we may not get to spend our first year anniversary together cause I may be in camp :(
We'll theres always a possibility that we might get to, and I'll hope dearly for that.

I can't wait for A levels to me over. I really can't.
I can say this over and over cause its the only thing on my mind.

I'm looking forward to serving God, spend time with my family and mel, catch up with friends.

Oh, I'm a leader and guitarist and maybe worship leader for the up coming Kids Camp in my church.
And I'm part of the 'Stomp' team for my church's evangelical concert.

Oh yes, and my mum says she'll get me the multi-effects pedal that I've been longing for so I can serve the Lord better :)

And I'll get to Jam with Mel!

I'll come up with my TO-DO list for my short holiday soon.

Deepavali

2008-10-27T15:35:00.002+08:00

I just realise in India its called Deevali.

While everyone is busy enjoying their holiday, I packed my stuff and left house happily and went to... Study.
Anyway I went to Limbang Macs with Guoxiang and Glen to study.
Reached there about 8.30am and stayed there till 2.30pm.

I wont get to see my honeybee for the next week :(
But I'll look forward till the end of the A levels.

National Service

2008-10-25T22:40:00.002+08:00

My enlistment date is on 8 Jan 2009.
Reporting time 9.30 in Pulau Tekong.

Its all happening so fast.
A levels, then NS.
I don't know whether to look forward or not.

Neopets

2008-10-24T22:11:00.003+08:00

Okay to relieve my examination stress, I turned my Peophin into a Jetsam (A Jetsam is a limited edition neopet).

The potion cost me 550k.

My dad.

2008-10-24T21:08:00.002+08:00

I took some time off from my studies to watch High school musical.
It was in my opinion better than the first two.
The songs are nicer, and its in a way more sensible.
More inspiring.
Its no wonder almost everyone in the cinema were teenagers.

My dad can watch movies at Cathay on week days for $4 in only 5 more years time.
He is going to be come a senior citizen.
It only hit me today that he is really getting older.
I really thank God for like keeping him going all this while.
I must mention that my dad is the most selfless person.
When I asked him if he is going to change his phone, he said,
"Yes im going to change my phone soon... when i strike the lottery."
Oh just to be clear, he doesn't buy lottery tickets.
And his phone was a free gift from Starhub more than 2 years ago.
The point is, he has been paying for our new phones.

No my dad is not outdated.
In fact he is the editor of one of Singapore's most popular forums for pocket pc and all that kind of things.
He is a tester and reviewer for iTech, the company that specialises in bluetooth headsets.
More importantly, my dad is a man that is always serving God.
He is a pastor and works in the Lutheran Church of Singapore's head office.
And he has to worry constantly about me and my sister.

We'll it doesn't have to be father's day to appreciate him.
So I just wanna tell the world how great a father he is.
He really inspires me to want to be a father just like him.
Except the big tummy.

Lost.

2008-10-23T12:04:00.003+08:00

I've only myself to blame.
I lost the battle of fights with myself.
I'm falling back.
Pull me out.

Yawn.

2008-10-22T22:27:00.002+08:00

Another tiring day of studying.

Then I went with Mel and her dad to get her Korg M3-61.
Its a wonderful workstation, and its a whole lot of fun too!
Even people who don't know how to play the piano (like me) can have lots of fun playing with it.
I'm going to try to make all the sound effects from Star Wars and Wall.E.

I asked my dad if I could get a multi effects pedal to go along with my electric guitar and he is supportive of the idea!
I can't wait.
After A levels, hopefully by then there is still stock and the recession will be over.

I'll have a whole lot of time after A levels to practice the guitar.
Kind of looking forward to bring a whole new range of music to the worship service.

Playing the guitar for God is why I started learning the guitar in the first place.
Thinking back, it all started one day when I asked my dad if we had any guitars at home and he brought out a classical guitar.
He also brought out a chord book and thought me a few chords.

The first song I learnt how to play was Amazing Grace.
How sweet the sound.

I guess I'm still quite a beginner but I pray that one day God will grant me the listening ear and the nifty fingers to bring worship to the next level.
I've to constantly remind myself its for God and not to impress people.

Well, I've to focus on my upcoming A levels first before thinking about becoming a rock star.

Till then.

Sweet Peanuts!

Amidst the fear.

2008-10-20T00:19:00.004+08:00

In the midst of all trials, I'm brought back to Christ.
I'm brought to the inevitable realisation that God is with me and always have been.
He lights my darkness.
I've found my way back to him.

James 1:12
Blessed is the man who preseveres under trials, because when he has stood the test, he will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love him.

This is my prayer, that I'll presevere for God, and for those I love.

Pink headband

2008-10-19T20:35:00.003+08:00

Hey you :)

Thanks for the surprise.
I can't describe how much it means to me.
In this tough stretch, it really cheered me up.
And reminded me that there was someone out there who is always rooting for me.
I'm really touched by it.

I really love it when you surprise me like that :)

Isaac is a happy boy!

Surprise!

2008-10-16T22:15:00.009+08:00

Honeybee surprised me at my house with Lunch today!

It was such a sweet gesture of hers.

I couldn't stop smiling.

I love it when she surprises me like that, it really makes me feel so loved.

Monday was our 6 months together.

Its been a long winding journey,

but we've always been there for each other :)

Oh we watched Burn after reading.

Its a show with twisted humor.

Its quite a tough show to understand.

Well not really my cup of tea, but if you like artistic shows then this might be one of them.

We then ate Botak Jones for dinner.

I painted a long sleeve T shirt and got a beanie for her and packed them into a tiny little box.

I'm really glad that she loved the surprise.

Thank you Charis and Marie for helping out with the gifts.

Thank you Mel for all the time you've been there for me, for all the times you've cheered me up, for all the times you've fed me and more.

Yes its hand painted!

Edit: Oh yes, I forgot to mention that we spotted Lydia helping a little boy put on his climbing gear outside Ngee Ann City during the weekend. It was really nice seeing her again after so long.

6 Months!

2008-10-13T23:20:00.001+08:00

I'll update more about today later :)

The end.

2008-10-11T09:57:00.006+08:00

On Wednesday,

We watched House Bunny in AMK.

And no, House Bunny is not a brainless humor show.

It was really more about the issues of conformity as well as the the achievement of dreams.

A great day to take my mind of my studies.

I went to study in macs at night.

On Thursday,

I had a blast of a time with my honeybee.

We walked around town as usual and then went to spotlight.

She said Hocapontas!

That really cracked me up.

We had a really good talk over dinner before walking back to Far East to take a bus.

We couldn't get up on two 190s because they we packed to the door.

We then walked to the bus stop behind Ngee Ann City and almost got lost along the way.

I had fun :)

Yesterday was the official end of my 2 years in Catholic Junior College.

We had our graduation day.

It was a day of mixed feelings, I wasn't sure if I was happy or sad.

On one hand, I'm glad that I've made it through the tough 2 years and can finally take a break from waking up at 6am everyday.

But on the other hand, I'm sad.

I'm afraid I'll miss having a time table all planned out for me.

I'll miss having caring teachers and friends around me all the time.

I'll miss my class thats so bonded.

I'm not sure.

We went to eat Dim Sum buffet after that.

We cam whore as a classed for the last time, it was really funny.

Broken.

2008-10-07T23:05:00.003+08:00

In the dim living room haunted by the wind.
Staring at the glaring screen.

Right here waiting.
Waiting for the phone to ring just once more.

I'm as broken as my broken spectacles.
I feel blind, in all sense of the word.

Sigh.

2008-10-07T21:02:00.001+08:00

Here I am a Sinner,
Broken and in need of you.
Take my life and wash my fears away.

Jumpy.

2008-10-06T23:56:00.002+08:00

Today was Mel's Jumpy Aunty's Birthday.
I went over Mel's house to celebrate her birthday.
It was quite a joke.
We had an umbrella party, supposed to be a colours party.

And just when we thought that the whole surprise went well, Marion blew it!

We tried to hide the cake from Jumpy, but Marion went round hunting for the cake and when she saw it, she shouted, "My mummy's Cake is here!"

Jibaboom! The plan was ruin.

Hahahaha.

Days of my life.

2008-10-04T21:49:00.004+08:00

I'm Back!

Been a long long long time since I last blogged.
I must say I've lost the passion to do a lot since the exams started.

I'm not sure where to start on the post.

Alright, my prelims results.

Maths: B(67)
Geography: C(58)
Physics: C(57)
Econs: E(?)
GP: E(45)

Hmm, I think I did considerably better than my mid-years.
Heres a comparison.

Physics: A(81)
Geog: D(52)
Econs: E(48)
GP: E (45)
Maths: U(38)

Although I didn't get on the honor rolls for prelims, I managed to pass all.
I guess the revision programme that the school had for us was effective, to a large extent.
I'm quite disappointed with my Economics though.
I feel that I could have done much better, but I had poor time management.
I'm especially happy with my Mathematics and Geography.

Anyway, I've decided to really work on my GP and Econs.
I haven't been putting much emphasis on them.

Okay let me recap the days thats I've been away from my blog cause my Laptop crashed.

Let me start with 19th September - Honeybee's Birthday!
After spending many days planning and executing the plan, the day finally came.

At about 12am, I sent her a song that I've been working on for the entire week. That was my way of saying happy birthday. I really wanted to do more but didn't have the time and my Amp blew.

In the wee hours of the morning, I went all the way to her house before school and left a special package there.
18 Bing Pi mooncakes, which I was supposed to make but didn't cause my eye was hurting like crazy and swollen.
I really have to thank my mum for that.

On the bus to school, she called me and said that her mum found mooncakes.
I chatted with her all the way until I reached school.

I couldn't wait for school to end so I could bring her out.

We watched Make it Happen.
It kind of had the same concept as Step Up 2 but unique in its own way.
It was a different kind of dance all together, but wasn't a show that would keep you at the edge of your seat.

We met in town and were supposed to find Lucky prata.
But ended up going to McDonals instead.
The Ironic thing was that Lucky prata was directly above McDonals.
I messaged sent a birthday message to the TV in Macs but it didn't appear.
I felt cheated.
Anyway, I passed her the 2nd part of the gifts.
Its a continuation of the notebook that I wrote.
Oh and I spilled tomato sauce on my pants and it looked like I had mens, and she laughed so much till she almost fell of the chair, hahaha.

I then had to bring her around town cause I had a plan cooked up for her at her house.
We walked all around Far East and then took a long bus ride back.

Then when we arrived at her house, Marion took over.
Marion, her 4 year old cousin, pretended that she had a gift for her.
She then led honeybee up the stairs all the way to her brother's room.
There, Valerie and friends popped up and gave her a 'surprise'.
It would have been a surprise except that I gave away quite a lot of clues.
She probably guessed it.

Anyway, the girls bought an accessory hanger for her and a really nice cake.
Its the first time I'm meeting all of them at once.
But it was nice meeting her friends.

After they left, we spend quite a long time sorting up the accessories and hanging them up.
It really took quite a lot of effort, but we had lots of fun.

We then went to Ice Cube to spend the rest of the night.
I presented her with the final gift to end the night.

We then walked back to her house where her church youths celebrated her birthday for her.

We then spend a little more time together before I left.

I wished I could have spent more time with her.
Wanted to do lots of other things but couldn't.

I'm glad that she really liked the presents and the time spent together.

Hey honey, Happy 18th Birthday!
I'm glad our dreams were finally fulfilled.
I'm really happy that we could spend our birthdays together.
Especially our special 18th birthday.
I'm really blessed to have you as a girlfriend.
I cannot ask for more.
I really thank God for you, for this relationship that we share.
Let us look forward to many more birthdays to share together =)

On the 20th of September,
My class had dinner in Outback in Milennia Walk to celebrate Glen's 18th Birthday.
The food was really good and we kept singing happy birthday, which kind of irritated the other patrons.
There were lots of laugh and silly jokes.
It was a good class gathering.

21th September,
Mel and I went to Ikea Tampinese to find furniture and ideas for her new room.
Tons of ideas came and we had so much fun generating them.
We then made a shopping list.
I can't wait to redo my room too.
Her family then came to join us.
We tried to find seats at Ikea's restaurant but ended up going to White Sands.
We had nice Tim Sum and other food.
It was the first time I'm having dinner with her family outside, I wasn't really sure how to react but I feel really blessed.

22th September,
I was supposed to help my honeybee clear her room but ended up falling asleep.
I felt really bad that day.
I'm not sure why I'm always so tire out by school, I'm just glad its going to end this Friday.

23th September,
We finally got down to painting the walls.
After weeks of planning, we finally had paint and brushes.
Painting is really not easy at all.
After many hours of painting, we finished 2 walls.
2, yes 2.
It was horribly frustrating and tiring, but at the same time fun.
We ended up painting ourselves.
The wall turned out rather patchy.

24th September,
We painted all the other walls and also the cornese.
We were on the verge of giving up many times but eventually did what we wanted to do.
The cornese were especially tough to paint.
There were so many details, and we had to keep wiping as we painted.
Holding the brush up was really tiring.

25th September,
MAMMA MIA!
We watched Mamma Mia at Marina Square.
The movie was quite good.
Help you to appreciate ABBA's songs.
After watching the movie, kept ringing in our heads.

Some how we then decided to walk all the way to City Hall instead of taking the bus.
It was quite a long walk but it didn't seem all that long cause I had someone special to accompany me the entire way.

We then went to our usually hangout, Spotlight looking for curtains and cloth.
But we left empty hanaded.

26th of September,
I went to help Mely paint her room again.
This time we did the final touches on the cornese.
After all was done, the red became really outstanding.
A pity I don't have a picture of the room to show everyone.
I'm glad I could be a part of the painting of the room.
It was really lots of fun, and a great exercise.

27th September,
Mel, her mum and sister and me went to Ikea to get the furniture and deco for her room.
We had lunch and her mum gave me a treat!
We finally got the $3 glass bottle that we had planned to get for a long time.
We left with a whole lot of cushions!

After that, I met up with my primary school classmates.
Ivan, Yize, Lingchen, Lester, Hanzhong and me.
We tried to find spots to view the on going F1 race.
It was during the practice session.
The cars were amazingly loud!
Every car that passed by was as loud as a Jet plane.
We had to cover our ears each time one car passed by and couldn't hear each other talking.

We then went to Yize's house to watch the F1 qualifying race on his 42'' LCD tv.
His TV was really good, even channel 5 was pixelated, but he had no speakers.
We stayed on until quite late.
I was dead beat by the time I reached home.

28th September,
I met Ms random in town again and we went to PS.
We went to hunt for cloth for her wall and curtains but ended up buying 3 premade curtains.
Total cost: $44.70

Then it was home sweet home to catch the F1 race.

29th September,
A day to remember.

30th September,
Was a long long day.
I had school as usual in the morning.
After school, I rushed to Ang Mo Kio to meet up with Mely.
We wanted to sign up for driving but instead ended up watching 'Eagle Eye'.

Eagle Eye was quite a futuristic show.
Its plot was really unexpected.
The movie leads you in to thinking its all about terrorism.
But think again.

We then went round to find a present for Daryl and finally settled on Mamma Mia Sound track.
We then went to her house to package the present in a Sexy Cookie box and paper bag.
Then I left on my voyage to find Daryl's house.

At Serangoon garden, I was unable to contact my classmates.
I tried calling and calling everyone on my contact list but to no avail.

Finally I managed to call Glen.
I took a bus and he then came to pick me up a the bus stop.

At the house, we had BBQ but I didn't eat much cause I had to wait forever for the food to arrive.
I decided to just chill inside the house.
We then watched Kwek, daryl and Mark V dance around the house.
Kwek was just amazing, his body seems to have an infinite amount of energy.
He can dance non-stop and he is really good.
Next up,
Mingxuan,Feng and another guy performed for the crowd.
As usual, Feng impressed us with his quick fingers.

We lost track of time and soon it was too late to go home without the help of a taxi.
I was too tired to make my way back, and decided to stay over.
His living room was extra cold and I fell sick with a running nose.

1st October, Children's day,
I woke up on Daryl's sofa.
My dad then called and told me that he is going to the airport at 10.45am.
I was too tired to move and ended up having breakfast and leaving at 10am.
I went to Mel's house to get a shower and change of clothes before making my way with her to the airport.
Halfway on the bus, my mum called and said she is checking in now.
Sigh, the trip to the airport was practically wasted.
We wanted to divert our route to Ikea Tampinese but my dad asked us to meet him at T1 for lunch.
We had Popeyes for lunch! Yum.
My dad and sister then left.

We then went to Ikea Tampinese but got lost along the way.
We then walked around Ikea, tried to find picture frames, cloths, and even a lost child.
We left empty handed.
We ended up at Tampinese and then left.

We were too tired to do anything, but I'm glad we could spend the day together.

2nd October,
I went to Mel's house to study.
I spend a really long time reading my GP essays until my eyes were all blurry.
Had a really filling dinner and then left.

3rd October,
I brought honeybee to Potong Pasir to eat Tangyuan and Tau Hui.
We then took a train to little India to take a look a cloth.
We then walked to Sim Lim Square to have carrot cake to satisfy her craving.
After that we walked to Arab street and then Haji Lane.
We then tried to walk to Suntec city but took a super long detour along the ECP only to realise that the pathway was blocked at the end.
We then walked to Suntec City, Raffles City, Dhoby Ghaut, Cineleisure.
Imagine the distance we had to walk.
But it was good time spent.

4th October,
Mely came over and I cooked for her.
Shepard's pie, Pasta and Chicken which didn't get cooked.
We then watched the first episode of Heroes Season 3 but ended up falling asleep.
After waking up, we watched the rest of the Episode and then left.

I then went to fetch my mum from the airport.
I'm happy to be finally able to see her again.
When she came home, I prepared the chicken thighs for her.

Well, that sums up everything.
Phew, what a long post.

Hey Love,
I'm really glad I got to spend so much time together with you.
These two weeks have been really enjoyable.
You've helped me prepare for my final stretch.
I can't wait till the end of A' Levels!

Come away with me.

2008-09-16T23:54:00.002+08:00

I wanna take you away, from all this worry and disappointments, to somewhere overflowing with joy and love.

We'll dance to this song on that special day.

18th Birthday

2008-09-14T00:54:00.008+08:00

September 12 2008 was my 18th Birthday and the best one yet.
I'm going to post every detail of it so it'll never forget.
Here goes.

I woke up at 5.30am and slacked around until 6am and then went to get changed and prepare for school. I had a Physics MCQ paper but wasn't really feeling stressed yet. Anyway I took a quick shower(20 minutes) and then came out. Then I saw my phone blinking. Meows was calling. AH! I tried to answer but it got cut off. Then I read my message, she sent "Hello you Surprise". Could it be? Could she be outside my door? I called her, she sounded so sleepy and I thought she has just woken up. Then she said theres a present at my door. I was so shocked. I quickly put on my uniform and then opened the door for her.

My girlfriend had been waiting outside the door for me since 6.10am. Not to mention she lives 1 hour away. That really made my day. She then presented me with breakfast she had prepared earlier. A small bottle of orange juice and a sandwich! I which I didn't have to go to school. Anyway, she accompanied me all the way to school before she went home :)

At about 7.40, I stepped into school and went to find my class. Daryl was the first to wish me a Happy birthday. He came running to me and offered a handshake and a happy birthday. I thought it was really nice of him. The rest of the guys then wished me happy birthday too. Most of them were still quite sunk in their physics revision though.

We then went into the Auditorium for or final paper, Physics MCQ. It was a 1 hour 15 minutes paper.

After school, I waited eagerly for Mel to come. And when she finally did, I was overjoyed. That was the beginning of the surprises that she had install for me.

First up, she asked me if I wanted to go to Ikea Tampinese or Demsey Hill. Well after much thought, about 1 minute we decided on Demsey hill. We took a bus there and reached about 10.30am. Then we realised the Ben and Jerry's only opens at 11am. We walked around for a while and then remembered that its been a while since we wanted to go to Island Creamery. We then took a bus all the way to Serene Centre. It was such a detour but it was quite fun.

We then had 4 scoops of ice cream, Holicks, Teh Tarik, Banana, Cookies and Cream. The ice cream was really good especially when enjoyed with someone special. My honeybee then presented me with a birthday present she had been spending so much time working on.

I shall show it off to the world!

I really love the shoes, Cookie ninja! It was really a lot of effort put in. I really appreciate it honey. I really didn't expect it, but I'm really touched :) It was just what I needed. I can't say enough how happy I am.

After that, we went to Coronation Plaza to eat the Lemon Chicken rice. We really enjoyed the Lemon Chicken but the Chingchow was just 'a little' too sweet.

Next stop, movie at The Cathay. We went to watch 'My Sassy Girl'. It was quite a complicated show but one that leaves you feeling very emotional. It had quite an unexpected ending and took a while for me to understand what was happening. Watching movies is one of our favourite pass-times and I'm really glad we got to watch one.

After that, my girlfriend had another surprise installed for me. But she refused to tell me what it was. She kept asking me to guess but when I did, she waved her finger at me and said "Maayyybeee you're right". I tell you, when its your birthday, its really quite irritating. But that was her intention anyway. Haha. We went hunting in PS for some mysterious thing.

Later, she told me she wanted to bring me somewhere to eat. And said that she had made reservations for 2 as some restaurant where you can bring outside food. The Chef is very personalized as well. It sounded like a dream restaurant. I couldn't wait. Well, she then said she had to park me somewhere before going to find the restaurant. After some negotiations we decided to hunt for the restaurant together.

Before that, she went into PS to buy 'something'. She told me not to look at what she brought and I didn't cause I didn't want to spoil my surprise. She said we had to find Fort canning road cause the restaurant was along the road. When we were near parkmall, she suddenly said that it was in Fort canning park instead of fort canning road. We then walked and walked and walked, climbed a thousand flights of stairs and then came to Fort canning park. Then she said, 'Oh no, what if the restaurant is gone.' She then said it was located in Fort canning green. When we reached Fort canning green, I saw a huge patch of dead grass.

'Oh no, could the restuarant have previously laid here and disappeared?' I thought to myself.

Well, she then said, 'Oh, you needed to go to the toilet right, I'll wait for you here, you go ahead and find the toilet in Fort canning centre.'

I went to find the toilet and when I came back, SURPRISE!

I found the restaurant where we could bring outside food into and better still, the personalised Chef.

Heres the restaurant and the food :)

And the candle light :)

And of course, the chef is secret and doesn't want to be revealed. Silly me, really thought that there was a nice restaurant that had candle light, allowed outside food and had a personalised chef with reservations made. But what I got was more than that, I've no complains at all and I feel so blessed. It was the sweetest KFC chicken I've ever ate.

The surprise didn't end there. After dinner, I was told to face the field and not turn back until I was told to. And yes, I didn't. When I turned back, I got a pleasant surprised.

12 Mochis with the words Happy 18 Love plus 2 candles on them. I can't say how touched I was. The mochi was excellent! And Mel painted every single one of the letters. Her efforts really won my heart. Oh yes, the Mochis were the secret something that we went round PS looking for.

Heres to show how happy I was.

After eating 4 Mochis, we were too full to go on. I really wished we could just sit there the whole day. But it was quite a weird place cause there were people coming in and out of Fort Canning Centre. We then went to sit on a bench beside the foot path. And there, we dreamt our night away. My poor baby could barely stay awake after all the efforts she took the surprise me and made me feel like the most special person to her.

To Mel, the best party planner:

I just wanna say a ginormous THANK YOU! for putting in so much efforts into planning the entire day out and for spending so much time painting the shoe for me and those little letters. It must have really been very difficult for you to hide the entire plan from me but you did it perfectly. I can't say enough how much I appreciate you doing this for me and me alone. 12 September 2008 will be a day I will never forget.

I remember when I was 12, my birthday wish was to spend a birthday with my beloved girlfriend. I imagined it would be under the stars. And baby, I didn't tell you that but somehow we ended up under the stars :). That day was like a dream turn reality. Thank you so much for making it happen!

I love you

1 Day.

2008-09-11T08:39:00.001+08:00

Turning 18 tomorrow and I'm excited.

Hectic Life.

2008-09-08T20:24:00.005+08:00

This is going to be one long post to make up for all the days I've yet to be updating my Blog.

This goes way back to the 2nd of September. Read at your own Risk.

On the 2nd September, I embarked on Project WMH.
It was a plan to win Mel's heart all over again.
This was to make up for the many times that I've been a lousy boyfriend, hurt her, not been sensitive to her feelings, stepped on her feet, laughed at her and more importantly, made her cry.
I want to make her heart skip a beat once again.
I didn't want to take her forgranted anymore.

I thought about it for quite a while and planned out the entire day just for her.
It was something that I've not done in a long time and I wanted her to just enjoy herself without any worries.
And yes it was an all expense paid for date excluding transport fees, and $0.40.

I decided to bring her to Plaza Singapura.
It was the place that we used to go to a lot before we got together.
All she knew was that we were going to watch Death Race.
Everything else was a surprise.

I wanted to bring her on a journey that would bring back all the memories we had.

Heres the day that meant so much to me.

At 5.30pm, We met at Dhoby Ghaut Interchange.
I was so thrilled to see my girlfriend in a maxi that we chose together.
She is beautiful.
I felt so honoured walking around with her beside me.

We decided to be friends for the day.
Any affectionate names such as honey would result in a fine of 30 seconds of tickling.
Before the date started I had already owed her 90 seconds.
We couldn't hold hands.
It was really hard, not being affectionate.
But I thought that, its something that meant a lot to us and I'll put in my best.
I want this day to be one that she'll always remember, as though it was our first date.

As we stepped into Plaza Singapura, I made her guess what we were going to do next.
She said, "Dinner at Carl's Junior?".
I was really taken aback.
Am I that predictable.
Well anyway I guess it was pretty obvious cause I told her to have a light lunch.
Carl's Junior was another place we used to frequent before we agreed that we would only have 2 fast foods a week.
Anyway we had Carls Junior for dinner.
I really love sharing food with my favourite S.
Its my favourite pass-time.
I feel lonely everytime I had to eat a meal by myself.
I'll feel more satisfied when I see my honeybee eat rather than when I eat the burger myself.
I love cooking for her too.
Okay back to the account of the day.
During dinner, I passed her the Paaintt that I wanted to give her a week ago.
I had 2 more gifts waiting inside my Yak Pak.

Anyway, we chatted about the old times.
About how we got together, and the feelings that we shared.

After dinner, I brought her up to buy the tickets.
We only needed to pay $3.50 for 2 tickets to Death Race at 6.45pm.
Thats the benefits of being a GV member and watching a movie on Tuesday in your Birthday month.

It was still pretty early and I decided to bring her around.
I had one more activity planned before the movie begin.
I wanted to treat my baby to Secret Recipe.
As usual, I asked if she could guess what we were going to do next.
She got it right once again on the 2nd guess.
Oh by the way, its her secret talent to be able to guess all the silly riddles that I tell.
Don't we have such great chemistry.
For example, I asked her why didn't the chicken cross the road and she said "the chicken was too chicken to cross the road".

We didn't go to secret recipe in the end cause we were both so full from dinner and decided to go after the movie instead.
We then went to Spotlight to chill out.
We love Spotlight!

As the night went on, we progressed on from being friends to sweethearts.

Before the movie, I passed her Part 2 of the gifts.
It was a notebook.
In it, were notes of my thoughts and feelings.
Its only for Melissa Jiang Weilin and Isaac Yee Jinxiong to read.
Well, for the rest, its for me to know and you to not find out.

I wished I had more time to spend on the notebook.
I really wished I had, so I could have written more.
But I'm glad she really liked it.
It made everything seemed worth it, the late night, the running around.

We then went into the theatre to watch Death Race.
Let me think of a rating system.
Okay lets says we give 3 points to value for money, 3 to plot and 4 to others
For paying $6.50 to watch a US$250 subscription show for two with behind the scenes action, I would give the full 3 points for its value for money.
It had quite a good plot, there were many parts in the show that were really unexpected, especially the climax. I would give it a 3 for its plot.
I really loved the big guns and explosions, also why I love myth busters. I'm a fan of modified Cars for some reason. I felt that the only let down of the show was the insanely frequent use of vulgarities and some aspects of gore. Then again, its NC16 for a reason.
Well overall I would give it an 8 (The Journey to the centre of the Earth and Transformers are 10)
But in my heart, Death Race will always get a 10 cause it'll be a movie that will always remind me of this amazing day.

After the movie, we went to Secret Recipe.
We wanted to order a slice Tiramisu but it was sold out.
We chose the Royal Chocolate Cake and lets just say that its chocolateliness was too much for us to be able to appreciate even though we're fans of chocolate cakes.
And for once there are no photos of the cake.
We had the Twin Delight as well, a two scoop ice cream (strawberry and vanila) with peanuts and whip cream on top.
Well, it may not be the best dessert but just being able to share food with my honeybee, whether yummy or not, satisfies me.

After Secret Recipe, I asked her again, what do you think we're going to do next.
No prizes for guessing that she got it right again.
Istana Park to Camwhore and talk.
Sounds random right?

Well Istana Park was the place we went to have our green Nasi Lemak to celebrate our first month together.
It really brought back a lot of memories.
Anyway, there I passed her the final part of the presents.

This photo was the first photo we took together.
I can't say enough how much it means to us.
At the back of the photo were some words.
Once again, they're secret.

We had a really great time at the Istana Park, watching people dancing and taking silly photos.
It was a really meaningful day.

To Mel:
Hey favourite S,
I'm glad we had that day together.
It really made me think of how much we've grown since we first got to know each other.
All the memories we've shared over this months are priceless.
We had good and bad times.
We laughed and cried, sometimes both together.
But it could only be because we mean so much to each other.
I want to shout out to the world, through the internet.
I want to tell everyone how blessed I am to have you as my girlfriend.
I won't take it forgranted.
Cause you're the one for me, and no one can take your place in my heart.
Take my hand, lets never let go.
In the good times and bad, we'll be supporting each other.
Even until our hands are old and wrinkly.
I love you

My Sister's Blog Shop

2008-09-04T23:56:00.002+08:00

Hey everyone! Check out my Sister's Blog Shop! I'm doing some free advertisements for her.
I think some of her Clothes are not bad, and the prices are quite reasonable too.
If you're nice to me I can get you some discounts too. Haha.

Click here!

Her blogshop is newly opened with fresh ideas. Go check it out.

The cry of my heart.

2008-09-03T20:08:00.002+08:00

Here I am a sinner, broken and in need of you
Take my life and wash my fears away
For you are the great I am, rest assured into your hands
Let the whole world know that you are here

Father to the fatherless, redeemer of my soul
My life is your forever, my heart will always know

Your mercy saved me, your mercy made me whole,
Your mercy found me, called me as your own

A fresh start I will treasure.

Weekends.

2008-09-01T21:59:00.006+08:00

On Saturday,
I went to rent a dvd titled "Fools Gold".
I then happily went to Mel's house to discover that the disc was faulty and it couldn't play.
There 5 dollars gone.
We spend half the day watching TV and then headed out to cityhall.

I went to meet Q at cityhall.
I wanted to go to bay beats with Mel but I told Merv I'll be going for Q cause I thought it was lesson.
I met Alexis and Nathanial first and then went to hunt for a wallet for Nathanial's friend's birthday.
It was quite a fun experience cause he really couldnt make up his mind.
Anyway, Q went to Settlers Cafe in SMU.
There were 6 of us in total, Merv, Small Jon, Alexis, Clifford, Me and Nathanial.
We ordered the deluxe package.

It comes with a basket of nuggets, Sotong balls and chicken wings + 6 drinks.
We played Bites Munchkin.
It was quite a fun game.
Anyway, we stayed there until about 10pm and then left.

After that, I got to meet my honeybee outside the Esplanade for Bay Beats :)
It really made my day.
Seeing her cheered me up.
We stayed until 11.50 and then left.
I only managed to catch Agrikulture.
It was an Indonesian band that was not bad.
We took our respective night bus home.
I had a really great time.
And it was my first experience on a night bus.

Yesterday,
I went to Comex 2008 with my dad.
After squeezing through the crowds, we managed to find what we wanted.
He got me a Western Digital 500gb external hard disk and a Creative 2.1 Speaker system.
Thanks Daddy!
Its my advance Birthday present, btw its on 12 September.

Today, I stayed home to study.
Mel came over and cheered me up :)

Hmm.

2008-08-29T22:16:00.008+08:00

Once again my emotions have taken over me.
I'm going to sink myself in to typing an extra long post once again.

Here is a brief account of my week of examinations.
I'm not sure how I'll fair, I'm delighted with some yet horrified by other papers.

This examinations, I didn't feel stressed at all.
Not one bit.
While doing the papers I could still think about what I want to eat for dinner or what I wanted to do after the exams.
I'm not sure if that is a good or a bad thing.
For one, it helps me calm my mind down and remember things better (as proven in my geography, maths and physics paper).
But at the same time, it leads to me having a tendency to write slowly.

I'm a deep thinker, no doubts about that.
I think a lot, most of the time too much for my own good.
I can't help but do the paper slowly.
I can't do a question halfway and skip and come back later.
Once I start a question, my mind won't rest till it comes to an answer or explaination.
That is me, its not something I can change in a day.
Cause of that, I do my papers slower than others do.
I'm not saying I'm weird, I've just got a different personality.
But doing slow issint necessarily a bad thing.
For the quesitons I do, I secure most of the marks (applicable to Maths and Physics).
And its proven true from pass results.

Anyway, I really wish I could think faster.
I wish I could speak faster without tripping on my words so often.
I'm not a charismatic person.
I can't give good speeches or inspiring ones.
My team can testify to that.

Back to my papers.
GP is as usual uncertain.
Geography was alright, it was the first time I studied my casestudies for Physical Geog and its proved to be a life saver.
Econs was horrible, my first essay was good but the subsequent ones not up to my capabilities due to my slow brain and hands.
For physics, I could do most of the questions but I left 13/60 marks blank. Once again, due to lack of time.
Maths was the paper I was most satisfied with, its the first time I've completed a maths paper and feel reasonably confident. There were some mistakes that I've spotted but its a huge improvement.

One more week of study.
One more week of examinations.
I'll be 18 on the last day of my examinations.

Its going to signify a new stage of my life.
I'm looking forward to it.

Today, we celebrated teachers day.
I was disturbed by the loud chattering that went on during the prayer service.
I wanted to just let out a big "ssssssssssssshhhhh".
The concert in CJC had some pretty disappointing performances.
I shall not mention them.
I thought the Emcees did a great job in keeping us entertained.
The choir's performance deserves and honourable mention.

I went to BP after that.
We were stopped at the gate and told that we cannot enter.
The guard said, "Visiting hours are over, you cannot come in."
What!
After all that travelling, we're not even allowed to see our teachers.
It was ridiculous.
Anyway I called Mrs Chiang and she said she would come to the gate to see us.
Fortunately, the operation manager or some sort came and let us all in.
Its quite ridiculous that even on Teacher's day we're not allowed to enter.
Imagine how the teachers would feel.

I then walked in and saw Mrs Chiang and she asked how we got in.
Anyway she told us there was some food beside the canteen.
Along the way there, I met Mr Tom Chan, my red house Master.
He really took care of my when I was the house captain in BP.
It was really nice to see him again.
I felt like a jinx though.
JINXiong <- maybe its something to do with my chinese name.
Everytime I go back to BP, Tom Chan will end up injured.
The last time I went, he stepped on my feet and sprained his ankle.
This time his hand was sprained, cause of a soccer incident.

I then called Mr Chiam, my sec 3&4 form teacher, and went to find him.
I'm really worried about Mr Chiam.
He had a minor heart attack recently.
I can't stress enough how nice a teacher he is.
The sacrifices he made for our class cannot be quantified.
I remember the times he even offered to meet us in groups every Saturday just to help us catch up with maths.
He also willingly offers to treat us for lunch when we see him walking out of school.
Theres an endless things to say about him.
But the point is, He is someone really sincere and caring and treats us like his own children.

Anyway, once again, he offered to treat us all to lunch at Pastamania.
All 15 of his ex students who went back.
Imagine the cost of that.
But he was willing to.
We couldn't let him pay that amount and decided to get our orders when he went off to draw money.
We just couldn't.
I think he is really blessed to have such a close relationship with his students.

I came home and slacked a while.
I later went to Yewtee Primary School with Caleb and Benjamin to see Ms Gwei.
Its been a year since I last saw her.
I saw her on the MRT station at Yewtee the previous teacher's day.
Anyway, Benjamin's accent seemed so different from the last time I heard him speak.
Its been more than 3 years if I've not mistaken.

I was really happy to see Ms Gwei again.
She still look the same!
She looked similar to when we first saw her in Primary 5.
No wait, since my sister was in Primary 5, and Ms Gwei taught her.
Its amazing how she managed to maintain her looks after giving birth to her daughter who is now 6 years old.
We had a really long talk with Ms Gwei.
The conversation did not seem to pause.
I remember vividly, 2 years ago, we were in the same school talking about which JCs or Polys we wanted to go to.
Now, we're talking about which Universities we want to go to, NS, and our ambitions.
Its amazing how much we've grown.
Its even more amazing we still visit Ms Gwei after so long.
Its time like this that make teaching rewarding - seeing your students grow.
I miss her lessons.
After about 1 hour and 15 minutes of talks, it was time to part.
We said our last wishes and went off.

I must say this teacher's day was a really meaningful one.

Examinations!

2008-08-27T00:01:00.003+08:00

Over the weekends while I was busy mugging,
Mel came over to accompany me and paint a pair of shoes for her sister :)
I helped to paint once in a while too.

Anyway, I cant wait for exams to end.
I'm really bored with studying.

Heres what I do when I'm bored.

Life and How to Survive It

2008-08-24T22:19:00.003+08:00

I received this in an Email and I find it very meaningful. I couldn't stop reading until the end. You should too.

"Below is a speech to the graduating class of 2008 at NTU convocation ceremony last week by Adrian Tan, a litigation lawyer and the author of The Teenage Textbook. Read it! It's hilarious but very meaningful.

I must say thank you to the faculty and staff of the Wee Kim Wee School of Communication and Information for inviting me to give your convocation address. It's a wonderful honour and a privilege for me to speak here for ten minutes without fear of contradiction, defamation or retaliation. I say this as a Singaporean and more so as a husband.

My wife is a wonderful person and perfect in every way except one. She is the editor of a magazine. She corrects people for a living. She has honed her expert skills over a quarter of a century, mostly by practising at home during conversations between her and me.On the other hand, I am a litigator. Essentially, I spend my day telling people how wrong they are. I make my living being disagreeable.Nevertheless, there is perfect harmony in our matrimonial home. That is because when an editor and a litigator have an argument, the one who triumphs is always the wife.And so I want to start by giving one piece of advice to the men: when you've already won her heart, you don't need to win every argument.

Marriage is considered one milestone of life. Some of you may already be married. Some of you may never be married. Some of you will be married. Some of you will enjoy the experience so much, you will be married many, many times. Good for you.

The next big milestone in your life is today: your graduation. The end of education. You're done learning.You've probably been told the big lie that "Learning is a lifelong process" and that therefore you will continue studying and taking masters' degrees and doctorates and professorships and so on. You know the sort of people who tell you that? Teachers. Don't you think there is some measure of conflict of interest? They are in the business of learning, after all. Where would they be without you? They need you to be repeat customers.

The good news is that they're wrong.The bad news is that you don't need further education because your entire life is over. It is gone. That may come as a shock to some of you. You're in your teens or early twenties. People may tell you that you will live to be 70, 80, 90 years old. That is your life expectancy.

I love that term: life expectancy. We all understand the term to mean the average life span of a group of people. But I'm here to talk about a bigger idea, which is what you expect from your life.

You may be very happy to know that Singapore is currently ranked as the country with the third highest life expectancy. We are behind Andorra and Japan, and tied with San Marino. It seems quite clear why people in those countries, and ours, live so long. We share one thing in common: our football teams are all hopeless. There's very little danger of any of our citizens having their pulses raised by watching us play in the World Cup. Spectators are more likely to be lulled into a gentle and restful nap.

Singaporeans have a life expectancy of 81.8 years. Singapore men live to an average of 79.21 years, while Singapore women live more than five years longer, probably to take into account the additional time they need to spend in the bathroom.

So here you are, in your twenties, thinking that you'll have another 40 years to go. Four decades in which to live long and prosper.Bad news. Read the papers. There are people dropping dead when they're 50, 40, 30 years old. Or quite possibly just after finishing their convocation. They would be very disappointed that they didn't meet their life expectancy.

I'm here to tell you this. Forget about your life expectancy.

After all, it's calculated based on an average. And you never, ever want to expect being average.Revisit those expectations. You might be looking forward to working, falling in love, marrying, raising a family. You are told that, as graduates, you should expect to find a job paying so much, where your hours are so much, where your responsibilities are so much.

That is what is expected of you. And if you live up to it, it will be an awful waste. If you expect that, you will be limiting yourself. You will be living your life according to boundaries set by average people. I have nothing against average people. But no one should aspire to be them. And you don't need years of education by the best minds in Singapore to prepare you to be average.

What you should prepare for is mess. Life's a mess. You are not entitled to expect anything from it. Life is not fair. Everything does not balance out in the end. Life happens, and you have no control over it. Good and bad things happen to you day by day, hour by hour, moment by moment. Your degree is a poor armour against fate.Don't expect anything. Erase all life expectancies. Just live. Your life is over as of today. At this point in time, you have grown as tall as you will ever be, you are physically the fittest you will ever be in your entire life and you are probably looking the best that you will ever look. This is as good as it gets. It is all downhill from here. Or up. No one knows.

What does this mean for you? It is good that your life is over.Since your life is over, you are free. Let me tell you the many wonderful things that you can do when you are free.The most important is this: do not work.Work is anything that you are compelled to do. By its very nature, it is undesirable.Work kills. The Japanese have a term "Karoshi", which means death from overwork. That's the most dramatic form of how work can kill. But it can also kill you in more subtle ways. If you work, then day by day, bit by bit, your soul is chipped away, disintegrating until there's nothing left. A rock has been ground into sand and dust.

There's a common misconception that work is necessary. You will meet people working at miserable jobs. They tell you they are "making a living". No, they're not. They're dying, frittering away their fast-extinguishing lives doing things which are, at best, meaningless and, at worst, harmful.People will tell you that work ennobles you, that work lends you a certain dignity. Work makes you free. The slogan "Arbeit macht frei" was placed at the entrances to a number of Nazi concentration camps. Utter nonsense.

Do not waste the vast majority of your life doing something you hate so that you can spend the small remainder sliver of your life in modest comfort. You may never reach that end anyway.

Resist the temptation to get a job. Instead, play. Find something you enjoy doing. Do it. Over and over again. You will become good at it for two reasons: you like it, and you do it often. Soon, that will have value in itself.I like arguing, and I love language. So, I became a litigator. I enjoy it and I would do it for free. If I didn't do that, I would've been in some other type of work that still involved writing fiction – probably a sports journalist.

So what should you do? You will find your own niche. I don't imagine you will need to look very hard. By this time in your life, you will have a very good idea of what you will want to do. In fact, I'll go further and say the ideal situation would be that you will not be able to stop yourself pursuing your passions. By this time you should know what your obsessions are. If you enjoy showing off your knowledge and feeling superior, you might become a teacher.

Find that pursuit that will energise you, consume you, become an obsession. Each day, you must rise with a restless enthusiasm. If you don't, you are working.

Most of you will end up in activities which involve communication. To those of you I have a second message: be wary of the truth. I'm not asking you to speak it, or write it, for there are times when it is dangerous or impossible to do those things. The truth has a great capacity to offend and injure, and you will find that the closer you are to someone, the more care you must take to disguise or even conceal the truth. Often, there is great virtue in being evasive, or equivocating. There is also great skill. Any child can blurt out the truth, without thought to the consequences. It takes great maturity to appreciate the value of silence.

In order to be wary of the truth, you must first know it. That requires great frankness to yourself. Never fool the person in the mirror.

I have told you that your life is over, that you should not work, and that you should avoid telling the truth. I now say this to you: be hated.It's not as easy as it sounds. Do you know anyone who hates you? Yet every great figure who has contributed to the human race has been hated, not just by one person, but often by a great many. That hatred is so strong it has caused those great figures to be shunned, abused, murdered and in one famous instance, nailed to a cross.

One does not have to be evil to be hated. In fact, it's often the case that one is hated precisely because one is trying to do right by one's own convictions. It is far too easy to be liked, one merely has to be accommodating and hold no strong convictions. Then one will gravitate towards the centre and settle into the average. That cannot be your role. There are a great many bad people in the world, and if you are not offending them, you must be bad yourself. Popularity is a sure sign that you are doing something wrong.

The other side of the coin is this: fall in love.

I didn't say "be loved". That requires too much compromise. If one changes one's looks, personality and values, one can be loved by anyone.Rather, I exhort you to love another human being. It may seem odd for me to tell you this. You may expect it to happen naturally, without deliberation. That is false. Modern society is anti-love. We've taken a microscope to everyone to bring out their flaws and shortcomings. It far easier to find a reason not to love someone, than otherwise. Rejection requires only one reason. Love requires complete acceptance. It is hard work – the only kind of work that I find palatable.

Loving someone has great benefits. There is admiration, learning, attraction and something which, for the want of a better word, we call happiness. In loving someone, we become inspired to better ourselves in every way. We learn the truth worthlessness of material things. We celebrate being human. Loving is good for the soul.

Loving someone is therefore very important, and it is also important to choose the right person. Despite popular culture, love doesn't happen by chance, at first sight, across a crowded dance floor. It grows slowly, sinking roots first before branching and blossoming. It is not a silly weed, but a mighty tree that weathers every storm.You will find, that when you have someone to love, that the face is less important than the brain, and the body is less important than the heart.

You will also find that it is no great tragedy if your love is not reciprocated. You are not doing it to be loved back. Its value is to inspire you.

Finally, you will find that there is no half-measure when it comes to loving someone. You either don't, or you do with every cell in your body, completely and utterly, without reservation or apology. It consumes you, and you are reborn, all the better for it.

Don't work. Avoid telling the truth. Be hated. Love someone.

You're going to have a busy life. Thank goodness there's no life expectancy."

Minor Surgery

2008-08-22T23:15:00.002+08:00

I went shopping with Mel today.
We went to queensway and I managed to find a pair of jeans and altered my pair of jeans and white pants.
I've got two 'new' pairs of jeans to wear.
I'm quite happy with the alterations and I can't wait to wear them.
All thats left is a pair of chucks.
Anyway we went to find her a pair of mary janes for her sister.
I think its really thoughtful of her to want to paint a pair of shoes just for her sister.
Shes really very sincere about it and I really admire her :)
Shortly after, I had to go for my appointment.

I had a day surgery at Alexandra Hospital.
I went there at 2pm, registered and then was assigned a day bed.
I put my thing down and then went to change into the surgery attire.
I went up to the operating theatre at about 3 but the actually operation only started at about 4pm.
The injection was probably the scariest part of the whole operation.
It was the only time I felt pain.
Throughout the operation, I could feel the surgeon tugging on the lump and pulling it.
At some time I could feel him trying to saw it out and cut it with a pair of scissors.
I was quite frightened at some point in that.
I was afraid that the anesthesia would suddenly wear off and the pain would come.
Thankfully it didnt.
God was with me the whole time.
He really calmed my nerves.

The entire operation went well.
I was transfered onto a trolley and then wheeled to one side where I fell asleep.
I was quite tired from trying so hard not to move.
I was pushed back to the ward at about 6pm.
At 6.30pm, the nurse discharged me.

It was quite an experience.
All for one lump on my bottom.
I'm glad its over.

But now, I've got to live with stitches and dressing for 2 weeks.
I've got a 6 days MC which I can't use cause I need to take prelims no matter what.
Oh well, I'm still a happy boy.

The Journey to the Centre of the Earth

2008-08-22T00:48:00.002+08:00

Today I watched 'The Journey to the Centre of the Earth' with Mel.

THE JOURNEY TO THE CENTRE OF THE EARTH IS AN EXCELLENT SHOW.

I can't say enough how nice the show was.
It was quite an exciting show, much better than mummy!
I strongly recommend it for students who take Geography.
You'll find that everything you've studied about lithospheric processes is so applicable.

The show is really funny.
Its scary at some parts but still funny during the scary scenes.
It kept me laughing the whole show even till the end.

Its not your typical sci-fi show.
It actually has quite a lot of truths that you study in your textbooks.
While some ideas are quite out of this world, thats the fun part of the movie.

The actors did a really good job.
I've never loved rocks this much.
It was well worth the money!
Even though we didnt exactly pay anything.

Anyway, after the show, we headed down to Far East.
I got my love her birthday present 1 month in advance :)
I bought her a hamburger, no not just any hamburger but one that you can actually use as a telephone!
Okay I'm not going to reveal where in Far East you can find it.
I want it to be exclusive to my honeybee.
Its really quite unexpected, I would never thought we would find it there.
I wanted to buy it online, but I'm glad she loved it even though it came so early :)

I had a really fun day, a day to just let loose and take a break from my studies.
Tomorrow, I'm really really going to get my butt cut.
I know I said that yesterday, but the polyclinic misled me.
When I went there today, they asked me to go to Alexander Hospital tomorrow, or rather today.
Hope I can still sit, they're going to use local anethesia on me.
I'll be numb for a few hours.
When it wear's off, I probably won't be able to sit.

Examination Mode.

2008-08-20T12:37:00.003+08:00

I'm in the midst of practising an essay on Elasticity concepts.
But theres something that I really want to blog about.

On Saturday, I met up with honeybee to study at Toa Payoh.
After that, I got a new backpack!
Its a YAK PAK.
I can't say how happy I am that I've finally gotten a new bag, not to mention a very nice one chosen by her :)

Heres a picture of it:

Thank you so much Meli-lily-lulu-lala!
For helping me choose the bag and sponsoring part of it :)
This bag will last me a life time cause it has a life time warranty.
Thank you too Ah Girl (my sister) for sponsoring the other half.

Without this the two girls I loved the most,
I would still be carrying a chengteng spilled dusty bag.
:) I'm a happy boy.

Okay back to studying!

Sorry

2008-08-17T00:45:00.004+08:00

I can't help but feel so lousy.
It feels like I'm such a let down.

I really don't know what to say or what to do.
I can't do anything.
It hurts so bad everytime I think about it.

It ruined your fairy tale.
I can't do anything but try to make it up to your for the rest of my life.

I'm really sorry.
I really want to make it up to you.
Please forgive me.

:(

Exhaustion

2008-08-15T23:27:00.002+08:00

2T24 are the first runner-ups for Interclass Basketball 2008.
We beat 2T05 22-20,
But lost to 2T34 18-28.
Oh well, guess height is important.
We're surprised we even made it this far.
Lihui and Yanthing did a good job, especially Lihui who played with bleeding knees.
All the other guys played well too.

I'm really tired.
Rushed straight to church after the matches.
Worship practice ended 45 minutes late.
We couldn't come up with a nice transition for a particular song.
I was too tired to focus on worshipping God.
I feel kind of bad, neglecting him.
Anyway, I thought the music was kind of messy.
There was no proper arrangement.
I felt so discouraged, didn't feel like playing anymore.
But its all for God.
I should give me best.

I've violin lesson tomorrow.
I really don't feel like going.
I think the time can be better used studying.

Late night

2008-08-14T02:35:00.005+08:00

The weekends:

On National day,
Mel and I went to T3 to study.

We ate Popeyes!
I love Popeyes' Chicken and fries, they beat KFC's hands down.
We then studied at the foodcourt.
While people were watching NDP, we were studying.
We had lots of fun though.
I really enjoyed myself.
We then ate the Poori set for dinner.

We then hung around the airport and caught a bus back.
Its a unique National Day :)

On Sunday, my Honeybee came over for dinner with my parents.
I thought it was a really nice gesture from her.
I cooked fried rice.
It turned out tasting like gluttoneous rice.
It was edible.
Theres still a tiny bowl of it left in my fridge though.
Don't think anyone would want to eat it any time soon.

On Monday,
We went bag hunting after some studying :)
I wanted to get a new bagpack.
We ransacked town and couldn't really find any nice bags until we went into Hereen.

We eyed a particular bag, and to our surprise/horror, we saw a girl carrying it across the street right after we left the building.
We secretly tailed the girl like PIs trying to get a good look at the bag.
It was a dilemma trying to choose one bag over another.
I've never had such a hard time making a decision over bags.
But it was lots of fun :)
This picture makes me look muscular:

Honey shinning day:

Tuesday
was a horrible school day.
I had no break until 2pm.
Good thing Geog +1 lesson was cancelled and I could eat at 1pm.
I had Maths CA at 2.30pm.
It was quite okay but I made lots of silly mistakes.

Wednesday
I skipped school today.
For a very valid reason.
I spent 3 hours in the morning waiting and waiting,
To get rid of a villian that has been following my for years.
Remember the date, 21st August.
The villian will be removed!
(Actually I went to the policlinic at 9.30am and got to see the doctor for 2 minutes at 12.30pm. He then referred me to room 17, the Hospital referal counter. I was asked to pay $4.80 and come back on 21 Aug. The reason? I've a lump on my butt thats been there for years.)

I went to Mel's house after that to study and ended up taking a nap.
The 3 hours waiting at the clinic really tire me out, ironically.
My girlfriend cooked maggi mee for me knowing I haven't eaten all day :)
I did my geog essay for a while and then had dinner.
I'm always so well fed there.
But I'm not complaining, I'm quite a foodie :)

From then till now, I've been doing my Geog essay and blogging.
Time for bed!

Trackback

2008-08-13T08:24:00.002+08:00

Kids under 10 were asked to explain the definition of love,these 2 are my favourites.
Epitome of pure innocence.

"When my grandmother got arthritis, she couldn't bend over and paint her toenails anymore. So my grandfather does it for her all the time, even when his hands got arthritis too. That's love."
Rebecca- age 8

"Love is what makes you smile when you're tired."
Terri - age 4

As much as these answers touch my heart,I still hold some skepticism about everlasting love.
If changes are inevitable,it goes without saying that people change,and feelings change.
There is no guarantee that a certain someone can love you for a lifetime and not have his/her heart quaver.
How then can everlasting love between 2 people still stand?

Right now, I guess it's hard for me to comprehend,but maybe someday I will.
And maybe then, I'll be able to love again.

-Ms S

Do you believe now?

Hello Love

2008-08-12T21:20:00.003+08:00

I need you now.

2008-08-12T14:38:00.005+08:00

HELLO LOVE

God and you are my strength. (:
Your 10,000 BC posts inspired me.

They reminded me of a whole load of things,
I'll list them to you when you get home from your tiring school day!
Hopefully I won't forget them.
They also allowed me to see how God really paved our paths to put us together.
He prepared us for each other way ahead of time. (:

I'm glad I took the morning off to read them.
It would have been a total loss if I chose to study aimlessly instead of reading them and be reminded that God is always in control and He loves us too much to harm us.

(: Yes IZE,
you keep me going.

<3 honeybee

30th post

2008-08-09T08:53:00.004+08:00

A summary of this week:
Monday - Study
Tuesday - Study
Wednesday - Went to train with the J1s and played a match against some of the DSA applicants and got elbowed on my nose (Yes it hurt really bad, shall see a doctor on Tuesday)
Thursday - I had my last PE lesson and played basketball. I got hit on the face by the ball when a guy threw a really quick pass. My spectacles went out of shape. Then I went to watch The Mummy with honeybee! We then went hunting for the Paperchase bag but it wasn't there anymore. I'm just glad I finally got to spend some time with her.
Friday - We had National day celebrations. We had to walk from CJC all the way to CCAB. Took about 1 hour and 15 minutes. I then went to town with my class and ate $0.99 Sushis at The Cathay basement. I ate 2 plates of sushis and a Bento set and paid about 10 dollars. It was really filling. Anyway, I left and completely forgot to drink my tea. After that, I went to Mel's house to slack and end up taking a really long nap. I had dinner there and was once again well fed. Her uncle bought durians too. It was such a feast. My stomach was so huge after that. We then watched the princess diaries.

It was a tiring but fun week. And I found out how much I meant to Mel :)

*Spoiler Alert*
Review of The Mummy 3
This Mummy wasn't as exciting as the previous one.
It was however quite interesting to see a Chinese mummy rather than an Egyptian or South American one.
In my opinion, the Mummy was revived way too early in the show.
The standard of Chinese was like mine, it was quite bad that is.
The emperor should have transformed into a dragon and just burn away his enemies at the final battle, but he didn't.
There are some good parts of the movie.
I like the part where the Yetis or Abominable snowmans fought.
I like the humor in the show, thats probably the best reason to watch it.
Overall, it was a good follow up to the previous Mummy but not a show that you would queue up very long for.

Its National Day today!
I've totally no plans as to what to do.
I woke up thinking I had to go for violin lesson but found out that there was no lesson.
Silly me, I practiced violin anyway.
I'm going out to study later.
Its not really what people would do on such a festive occasion but at least I have a special someone to study with.

.

2008-08-06T23:22:00.002+08:00

I don't know what I'm saying.
Words keep coming out wrong.
I can't help but feel so bad.
Feeling kind of useless.

FOP 2008.

2008-08-04T21:35:00.003+08:00

Festival of Praise 2008 was a really special event.

Yesterday morning,
Something prompted me to asked Mel to come to FOP with me.
I was doubtful as to whether she would want to go with me or study.
But as I was in the service hall, I suddenly felt the strong conviction to ask her to come along.
And so I did.

When she replied, Where? When?
My face lit up.

She was fearful at first cause she has never been to FOP but she decided to come along with me.
I can't stress enough how delighted I was.

When we went into the Indoor stadium,
God took us away.
All our thoughts and feelings, they were all centered upon him.
I felt really horrible at some point.

I teared.

I felt like all this while, since the start of this year, I've really been very distant from God.
I've been feeling so dry.
Its now even so difficult just to pray.
But at that point, when the Parachute Band were singing in the background, I commited my life back to God.
I commited my time, my studies, my goals in life and everything else.

I forgot how important God was to me.
3 Years ago, in the same place and even, I shouted my hearts out to Him.
Yesterday, I lost my voice for Him.

I'm so glad to have my special someone with me.
To be able to worship God together, it was priceless.

We caught the last train to Boon Lay.
And at Jurong East, we caught the last train to Ang Mo Kio.
We almost gave up, but we hung on to the hope.
God will lead us home.

Lets go again next year, 31st July, 1st and 2nd August!
Hopefully, I won't be in camp.

Yawn

2008-08-02T08:26:00.002+08:00

Yesterday, 2T24 beat 1T32 in interclass basketball.
I felt kind of bad cause Philip had asked me to go easy on them.
But that what happened was the opposite.
Unknowningly, I was shouting things like "Press them!" on the court.
Anyway, my class is now in the top 4.
A summary of the matches we had:
2T24 vs 1T07 (16-6)
2T24 vs 1T24 (36-15)
2T24 vs 2T30 (13 - 4)
2T24 vs 1T32 (23-5)

After that, I finally got to meet my honeybee!
I was really excited and eagerly waited in anticipation for her bus to arrive.
I had a surprise for her in my bag and felt like I was smuggling.
I went over to her house for dinner and then watched TV.
Then along the way, I planted the surprise under her pillow.

She wrote me the most personalised song for me!
I can't say how happy I am.
I really loved the song.
I couldn't stop smiling when she sang the song to me.
It didn't mind that I was perspiring like crazy holding up the piece of lyrics up for her while she played the piano.
THANK YOU :)

Lately, I realised that I've been more emotive in my blogging.
I remember last time it was a taboo to put exclaimation marks and smilies when I blog.

And I've put my violin lessons on hold for the time being at least until after the A' Levels.

The Year of Living Biblically - A.J. Jacobs

2008-07-31T20:02:00.002+08:00

A few months ago, while I was at Popular Bookstore, I came across this book "The Year of Living Biblically.
Reading the back cover of the book got me really interested.
I've been trying to get a whole of the book ever since.

Today, I finally found the book at Bukit Batok Community Library.
I borrowed it as soon as possible.
I came home and read the first 20 pages and only stopped cause of the smell of my char siew chicken rice.
The author is a humorous writer.

The book is about the author following every law in the bible over the course of one year.
He is a Jew but has never said a prayer.
Here is a quote from the book:
"This is a law that God gave us. We have to trust Him. He's all powerful. We're like children. Sometimes parents have laws children don't understand. Like when you tell a child not to touch fire, he doesn't understand why, but it is good for him."

Well anyone whether Christian or not should join me in reading this book.
It gives great insides into God and His commandments.

.

2008-07-30T22:37:00.000+08:00

The silence is so difficult to bear.

Hey you,

2008-07-30T20:44:00.004+08:00

Its been really tough for this few days.
I know how hard is it for you too, and I wished it would just be all over.
My Prelims, A lvs and more.
This will be a difficult time for us, especially you.
But lets not lose hope alright?
Trust God, He will carry us through.
I know all this are easy to say, but we have to constantly remind ourselves of this.

Baby, I can't say enough how blessed I am to be with you.
I still feel that way.
You're constantly trying to think of ways to surprise me, to help me through my days.
You've come up with so many surprises for my birthday.
Even though not all of them may materialise, I'm really touched.
I really appreciate when you go through all the effort to surprise me.
Even taking time off to think about these things.
I appreciate them all.

You've put in so much efforts into writing a song for me.
I can't say how grateful I am, to have someone even want to do that for me.
No one else would do that for me but you.
And it really means a lot to me.
Hey, you mean more than the world to me.

And right now,
You seem rather hostile towards me.
I've been trying to cheer you up but you return me with one word answers.
Baby, I know how difficult it is for you.
It is just as difficult for me too.
I can't stop worrying about you.
But honey, I know you're like an elastic band.
Each time you're sad and down, you always manage to return back to your happy self.
I can't wait to see you smile again.
Your smile makes everything right again.
It really cheers me up.
When I'm down, when I'm disappointed, your smile is like a brightens my day.

I can't wait to see you again.
To see that lovely smile of yours.
To hold you in my arms again.
I love you

Hmm.

2008-07-28T19:16:00.001+08:00

I can't help but stare at my phone.
Waiting and waiting.
Wondering whats happening on the other side.

Paperchase

2008-07-28T00:31:00.003+08:00

Honeybee and I went to Marina Square and had shroom burgers and studied .
KFC mugged up the price of their cheese from 50cents to 1 dollar!
We cannot exploit them anymore.
Our favourite Shrooms meal, mash potato change to regular fries, drink change to lemon tea meal and add one 50 cents cheese is now,
"Shrooms meal, mash potato change to regular fries, drink change to lemon tea meal and add one ONE DOLLAR cheese".
This is so saddening.

Anyway we had so much fun wacking each other's head.
Hahaha, we would try to be the first to hit each other's head every time we see a white merc cab, civil defence vehicle, police vehicle, ambulance, cars with a spare tire behind, cars with a L plate and coca-cola trucks or vans.
We even included headbands, double coloured skinnies and nerdy specs.

Time flies when you're having fun.

We won't be seeing each other till next Sat.
Try to have fun alright?
Then this 5 days would fly.
Today is Day 2.

Joy

2008-07-27T03:25:00.004+08:00

On Friday,
I had an extremely dramatic Interclass Basketball match against 2T30.
That class was quite rough.
In the first half (8mins), the score was 2-2.
This was probably the lowest scoring game ever.
In the 2nd half, my class was losing 4-2.
We were only one ball down and it was quite irritating when the other team kept fouling us and the referee didn't dare to blow cause they were J1s and they didn't want to offend us.
In the last minute, we scored one ball to tie 4-4.
In over time (extra 2 minutres), my class scored 9 points and 2T30, 0.
The final score was 13-4.

I stayed back in school and refereed one game.
I then went over to Mel's home for dinner.
We watched Next, a show with an anti-climax, before I headed home.

Yesterday,
Was Day 1.

I had the Nayang Concept Test (Physics).
It was quite challenging but quite fun to do.
I like doing papers like this.

Honey and I then ransacked town trying to find cafes to eat at.
We walked all over, from Far East to Wheelock to Far East to Heeren to Cine and finally to Plaza Sing.
We had Chocolate Banana Cake and Shepard's Pie at Secret Recipe.
Yum!
Then we went to the foodcourt for Fries and ChengTeng.
I had such a blast, really took my mind off from the stresses of studying.
:)

The day ended off going to Jerome's house warming.
Ate lots of food and caught up with some of the Church youths.

Time for bed!

Sleepiness.

2008-07-24T23:21:00.002+08:00

The past few days have passed by in a flash.
Its been nothing but study and more studying.
I've suddenly become really motivated to study and show no sign of tiring out.
I hope this momentum can last.

Anyway, just for the record today is day One.
A new beginning, a new hope, a new goal.

Tetra!

2008-07-21T00:39:00.001+08:00

Before I say anything, I need to welcome my new friend, Tetra!
Tetra is a she, a HP2133 Ultra Portable Laptop.
Her face is 8.9inches in diameter and she weights about 1+kg.
She is about 4 times the size of my gigantic handphone.
She wears the same clothes as her best buddy guppie.
Tetra's birthday is on the 18th of July.

My honeybee came to watch me play for interclass basketball on Friday.
I felt so honoured to have her watching me.
Thank you, my cheer leader :)
She came all the way to cj just to watch me play and spend time together.
For the record, Mr Tan Chin Piaw just found out that we're together and laughed.
I kept smiling the entire day :)

Yesterday, I went to Honeybee's grandfather's birthday party.
He is 94 years old!
He survived two world wars.
I had to meet her entire extended family again.
After the food, the little rascals dragged me down to the void deck to play badminton.
The kids all wanted me to be on their team.
I felt like I had to split myself into 3 pieces to satisfy the 3 of them.
It was fun though.
I even played catching with them.
I felt so young again.
After everything, the kids dragged me back up to the house.
All the aunties and uncles were so shocked when they saw how tired and wet i was.
I had a really good time.
Honeybee thanks for being by my side the entire time.
Oh and the cake that Geraldine made was fabulous.

I'm super tired now.
Just did the basketball report for the school year book and a Geog essay.
I went to Suntec earlier today for some scholarship exhibition and seminar.
The only thing I got out of it was lots of freebies.
Anyway, I feel so much more motivated to get straight As.
I really hope for scholarship.
Honeybee came over after that to chill at my place and study.
We then watched a little of Batman and had dinner.
We took lots of silly photos and had so much laughter.

Crawling

2008-07-17T15:07:00.004+08:00

This whole week has been really tiring.
But I finally got to rest yesterday.

Monday,
It was work work work.
I worked from 8am-6pm and only took a break of 1 hour.
I came home and slept till quite late.

Tuesday,
It was work work work again.
From 8am-6pm with only an hour of break.
I came home and slept till Wednesday.

Wednesday,
I studied in school a while and then went to watch my juniors train.
I kind of miss my trainings.
But I know my time has passed.
After that I finally got to meet Honeybee.
We went to a cafe in Toa Payoh called Food Addict.
It was a small cafe but quite presentable.
The cake was quite good too.
After that I went over to her place for dinner and then D24 Durians.
I came home smelling like durians.

Today's PE was really fun,
My class played volleyball.
My hands were swollen after serving about 50 times.
And school ended at 1pm cause of A'Level MT Listening Comprehension.

That reminds me, I've got to compile photos for the Basketball page of the school year book and edit the report.
Theres an endless list of things to do.

3

2008-07-13T22:02:00.005+08:00

"The apple of my eye"

Happy 1st Quartiversary!
Its been 3 months since the journey started.
It really has been a difficult yet meaningful journey.
I can still recall the day it all began so vividly.

In this time, we've uncovered many cafes, watched many movies together, studied together, tripped over many times, talked about everything under the stars, laughed our butts out, shared litres of tears, took millions of blur photos, made scenes in numerous public spaces, served God together, learnt songs together, ate fast food only twice a week, cut down on sweet drinks and coffee, had 3 honey shine days, shopped till we dropped, met family and relatives, visited each other's churches, and more...

"A woman should be so hidden in God that a man would have to seek God first to find her." Lets continue to see God together.

These are some best times of my life and will always be edged in my memories. I look forward to many more sweet memories with you.

Je t'aime miel

Fun

2008-07-12T22:32:00.002+08:00

Yesterday was an action packed day.
I had no stop lessons until 1pm cause I had make up geog lesson during my break.
I went to meet honeybee after school for lunch at Long Johns.
We then went to food fest at Taka again!
The food fest is so irresistable.
After which we watched the rehersal of the Primary school dance SYF.
The kids there were quite cute.
I especially liked the Da Shu Bao (Big Bag) dance.
I kind of pity the school who did the tap dance.
The kids were all wearing tap dancing shoes but the stage was carpetted and their tappings couldn't be heard.

Anyway, I went back to school after that to play in the Interclass basketball.
My class beat 1T07.
It was fun except for the rain which delayed the second half by about half an hour.

I had dinner with Honeybee.
We ate the curry rice at Tao Payoh.
I had a really great time that night.
It brought back lots of sweet memories.

Today,
I woke up at 8am to practice violin.
I haven't been practicing much the entire week.
I feel a little guilty.
Anyway I had violin lesson and then went to study with Honeybee at Toa Payoh.
We then went shopping!
And took lots of funny photos.
The night was spent at the old church building watching her worship practice.
Theres no better way to spend the night then in God's house.

Over the week, I've been playing the song Kingdom Come by Hillsongs.

Verse 1:
Your love reaches out to me
Your grace has made a way to You
Made a way to You
Your word lives inside of me
Your truth is life to all to hear
Life to all who hear

PreChorus:
We live for You
Live Your truth

Chorus:
May Your Kingdom come
And Your will be done
As we serve Your heart
Serve Your heart
Let salvation flow
As Your people pray
Lord we long for more
Long for more

Verse 2:
In You death is overcome
No power can stand against Your Name
The power of Your Name
In faith we will rise to be
Your hands and feet to all the earth
Life to all the earth