Hurdles that we've to overcome daily /// 5:20 PM
After some consideration, i think it's best that i take extreme measures and cut my POSB card.
A shower of blessings /// 4:07 PM
Thanks for celebrating my 22nd with me.
Thanks Mum for everything. For enduring my weaknesses for 22 years. You know my every flaw yet you have never given up on me. Thanks for molding me into being who i am today. For never requiring much of me; so long i've tried my best. For working relentlessly the past 30 years to ensure that Jean and I have a good education and lead a comfortable life. For being self-sacrificial, as you always leave the best dishes for us and walking many kilometres to buy our favourite food. For being so supportive during uni days, as you make honey for me when i'm sick or am down with a sorethroat, or when you cut all kinds of fruits for me after coming back from work. Thanks for teaching me what it means to love, so that i can love others as well.
Thanks Jean for staying up till 2am Aussie time just to specially wish me happy birthday! Though we were not able to celebrate it together, just wanna say that i'm so glad you're in Aust because you've grown so much in your walk with God!:) and that's worth the tears and the missing. I saw your card which you wrote last year and it still brought a smile to my face - 'Without you, my heart is halved, but with you, my heart is made whole again!:D'. Thanks for all the infinite unique memories we shared as sisters and i'll never want to exchange any of them for others. Thanks for being there for me 24/7 and for being the one who will give me the advice i'd prefer not to hear but i know i can always rely on you for good advice!
Thanks for sweet cookie museum trip with Wanling and Eileen rushing down to Nex for crystal jade korean buffet dinner:) Here's toast to our 10 years of friendship with chiachia and mabelly! From school to outside-school-activities, travelled overseas (Italy, Chiangmai, Melbourne, KL), sang and got scolded when we did not perform well together but worked hard and achieved our best ever in the 2 SYFs, stayovers (+ the one next friday:) ) confided and relied on one another for support and encouragement and had so much fun together by making frequent impulsive trips to Orchard Road after school. Thanks for making my 22nd a special, memorable one.
Thanks Joanna, Xinyi, Xinru and Xinlei + rest of church mates for countless years of friendship and support:) We've watched one another grow since toddlers, attended camps bible studies carolling together, celebrated each other's birthdays the past few years etc. So many videos and photos hold witnesses to our transformation physically (heh!) as well as maturally as we start to take up leadership positions and learn how to serve in church. May we continue to aspire to grow to be more like Christ each other and spur each other towards good deeds and loving Jesus more:)
Thanks Ruiqi, Jiayee and Skeen for making my university days an unforgettable one. It's undeniable that our lives revolve around one another during the past few semesters. Attending lectures and tutorials together, studying (questionable haha) in the library together and munching on figs, helping one another understand concepts, working on projects together, encouraging and smsing one another before each exam, not to forget the crazy delirious moments! All the comments, jokes etc can never be enough to contain our SM section. Our collection of photos last night prove it!
Thanks Tingyou and Angie for a wonderful time in Vivo, talking and reviving moments in the past, like how we always meet up for little catchup sessions or call each other when in need. Thanks for a unique lunch together, eating our all-time favourite ban mian in Food Republic and being able to enjoy one another's company as much as if we've ate in a more classy place. Thanks for the silly goofy memories in jc as well as post-jc. Thanks Angie for your handmade card, it's really sweet like you (haha) and yes our friendship will continue on and on and on. Thanks Tingyou for the card you gave 2 years ago (digged it up when i was cleaning my room) and the cannot-make-it photos it contained. It's a pity the rest of the girls are either working or overseas but thanks nonetheless! I'll never forget our love for bubble tea:)
Thanks to Kltc, Cheryl, Ceci, Zhengliang, Junjie, Daniel and Jia yi for an awesome celebration in Bugis as well as in Daniel's house. You guys are the one who make secondary school less of a bore=scary memorable one with the bridge-playing in school and outside school. I remember playing CS in queenstown the day before our prelim's maths paper. I remember our late-night hangouts in certain areas of Singapore such as west coast park and orchard road when we were younger and catching the first train home the next day. I remember a night where we were playing bridge at a void deck and a policeman approached us and asked whether we were gambling and after finding out that we werent, even asked to take a photo with us. haha and of course, thanks for being there for me, showering advice and lending a listening ear. Thanks for the lovely memories that make my adolescence a memorable one!
Thanks to my aunts for squeezing time in the midst of your busy schedules to buy a birthday cake for me on the actual day of my birthday. You're the best aunts i've ever known. Thanks for the jokes that we share over reunion dinner and other outings, for organising outings to keep the bond between my cousins and Jean and I, for good advice on certain issues, for offering to keep me in prayers during my examinations etc. Thanks for being supportive and for breaking my stereotypes of aunts:)
Thanks Jiahao for the tangible things as well as the intangible ones. For your unconventional ideas and for making my birthday a special one. It's amazing how our time together is filled with sharing, talking, joking, laughing, teasing, complaining, praising, complimenting, trying to understand more about each other, encouraging - conversations of all sorts - every time we meet. Thanks for trusting that i can handle things even when the situation is risky like *cough driving cough cough*. Thanks for listening attentively to me when i feel blue. Thanks for being the rational you when emotions overwhelm me. Thanks for the sweet text messages when i study. Thanks for bringing a smile onto my face when my days are gloomy, for enveloping me in your embrace when i cry so hard, for wiping the snot that runs out of my nose with your fingers when i cry (though i still think it's quite gross and am not sure whether i'll do the same thing back haha!) and for being my emotional support when i feel stressed with school work/projects/exams. Thanks for believing strongly in me, when i failed to believe in myself.
Update @ 10.30pm: Thanks Wanting and John for the lovely durian birthday cake which you baked the day your exams ended:) I would never have guessed that it was your first attempt because the taste was just so good! I'm so glad that God has kept our friendship strong since primary 2 and i could remember all our study sessions during A levels and outings with ciyuan as well. Also, many thanks for encouraging me in my spiritual walk with Christ and to grow to be more like Him. I really enjoy all our swimming sessions every holiday and our sharing session during the pool breaks too. Our hopes and dreams actually came true! Thanks for all the birthday surprises the last few years and especially for your advice on certain issues in my life as well:)
And last but not least, thanks dear Lord for sending these angels (and countless others) as a source of blessing in my 22nd years of life.
Anyway, I'll be off to bangkok tmr morning and back in time to spend a day with jiayee and the girls as well as to send her off the following day:((
-Thank You, Lord, for sugar-sweet friends. -
A 'relaxing' afternoon at home /// 4:28 PM
The dates are increasing by the digit at an alarming rate.
Why do days whizz past so quickly when you dont want them to?
Why couldnt the hours drag by like they do when you're sitting in a dentist room? :(
Spent the afternoon doing domestic chores. Sometimes, staying at home with Mum can be quite a challenge as there are equal opportunities for quality time as well as arguments over minute matters to arise. Nonetheless, she never fails to crack me up with her cute-ness.
When i told her that i was going to mop the floor,
she said, 'Welcome.'
'Welcome? I thought people usually say "thank you"?'
To which she replied, 'Welcome means 欢迎你抹地'.
...oh dear. Sometimes i really do think that lameness is hereditary.
哈哈哈哈哈！
Anyway, was cleaning up my room while i chanced upon past memories.
'Night is falling, and as i look out into the vast sky, I spy a corner of the sky splashed with deep orange. It's trying to reach out to the rest of the deep purple surrounding it. Poor beautiful thing.
I gaze into the glass window in front of me and see my forlorn, solitary figure in the room, whiteboards and newly painted walls boxing me in, behind my back.
Orange is losing its battle, slowly but surely
The figure in front is still all alone
A bag of snacks lies untouched
The chair creaks
The symphony of lizards' clicking fills the room
Orange is dead.
I miss you.'
Hmm.
Thank God for close friends /// 12:25 AM
Lord, teach me how to live my life for you
daily.
Thank you girls /// 1:11 AM
Been around a year since I last stepped foot into Timbre and a nostalgic feeling greeted me when i caught sight of the familiar buildings. Celebrated my 22nd with my childhood friends - joanna, xinyi, xinru and xinlei. The ambience was good and the atmosphere was an informal, friendly one as everyone seated at different tables was trying to outtalk one another, in order to be heard. After dinner and cake-cutting session (they tried to customize the cake but i'd insist it looked nothing like me cuz they added insignificant facial features heh) and a few cream-smeared-on-face attempts, we went to play one round of daytona and bishi bashi. The latter got us laughing ourselves silly especially for those whose roles were spectators. haha
While on the way home, i made a new friend.
The person standing next to me in the crowded bus suddenly asked me whether I was 'Joyce' and of course, I corrected him. Proceeded to ask him how he knew me and it turned out, we went to the same kindergarten and primary school (although he's a year older) and he lives in my neighbourhood. And what astonished me was because he could remember certain events in kindergarten, like when he mentioned that we held hands during those days! Must be one of those times where a boyboy has to partner a girlgirl and walk in twos. Honestly, i felt slightly taken aback as i've totally no recollection of this and i'm amazed at how people can remember such stuff. By the end of the bus ride, had learnt what his interests are (bio engineering, psychology, cooking and life-saving) and bits and pieces of his life when he was in Australia.
What an interesting conversation.
One step towards being part of an aging population /// 3:40 PM
This afternoon, i answered a call and after flinging the door open, was greeted by Daniel, Wanting and her boyfriend John who baked a durian cake for the very first time! Was utterly surprised:D The cake was a delight to the tastebuds.
1/4 of durian cake left
The week has been awesome! Had badminton session with dawn, sharan and skeen, wedding rehearsal, and birthday celebrations with uni friends -jiayee, ruiqi and skeen; jc friends - tingyou and angie; family - aunts and mum; as well as the boyfriend. Fabulous time catching up with friends, especially tingyou and angie since we seldom have the opportunity to meet up (not counting last week haha). A few more celebrations during the course of the next few days and the 22nd birthday season will finally be over.
Thirst-quenching chendol bought at Farm Mart
Weekends- Visited fish farms and dog farms @ Pasir Ris on Sat and Ikea-ed on Sunday after church.
Strictly pancakes with the babes
The girls who went through ups and downs with me in school
Gonna play on this grand piano on Saturday
Yesterday's celebration with the aunts and Mum was extremely funny. As there were only 4 of us, the birthday song ended up as a birthday chant. We started out singing and standing around the cake in a circle but by the end of the song, all 4 of us were marching around the cake. Trust me, it was a hilarious sight. We didnt even finish singing the song (though it only had 4 lines) because we were too busy rofl halfway through.
Famous chocolate cake from Four Leaves (they initially wanted to get additional ice cream after knowing that i like ice cream cake. haha! it was not permitted by Mum due to amount of ice cream in the fridge)
The funny-bones-activating-Aunts and Mum
Toasted bread dipped with cheese and some apple spread:)
At 7 plus, Jiahao dropped by and was taken to The Disgruntled Chef in Dempsey Hills. Hmm not very much my kind of thing (oops!) but the food was quite good. Besides the 'small plate' as shown above, we had crayfish macaroni and cheese as well as some Chicken dish with roasted potato. For every mouthful, I mixed the chicken with a layer of cheese and it tasted heavenly sinful. Later, was brought to his rooftop garden when he sprang a not-as-disappointing-as-he-would-like-it-to-be-because-i-wasnt-expecting-much-and-thus-got-him-disappointed-instead surprise on me. Surprise consisted of a macaron and a lighted candle. Turned out he wanted me to be all disappointed so that he could shock me with another 22 more macarons afterwards. haha
Heading out to Timbre @ Old School later for celebration with childhood friends from church! Looking forward:)
And finally, what was in the box, you might ask?
Ans: Refer to 3rd option of the relevant post. HA.
Two twos /// 11:51 AM
Happy belated birthday to me! Here, have a macaron:)
Thank you friends and family members for your birthday wishes and for constructing more memories with me:)
/// 12:18 AM
We are as different as we are similar.
Will that work for us?
Or against us?
Surprise surprise! /// 11:39 AM
Yesterday, a parcel arrived for my mum. When she came back, a curious me asked her what it contained. She replied that if i were to open it, I'd be looking at my birthday present. I wouldnt do that now, of course; i love surprises! So i shall patiently wait and eye it with my beady eyes everyday.
The question is
WHAT ON EARTH HAS SHE BOUGHT FOR ME???
There are a few possibilities:
1. I'm secretly hoping that it's a puppy, like Jiahao's.
But there's no sound coming from the box. Maybe its mouth is scotchtaped.
Probability: 0% - it'd have suffocated.
2. Maybe it contained heaps of clothes?
I hope not. I'm going to Bangkok afterall.
Probability: 10%
3. Maybe it contained bags of different shades and sizes?
(background check: if my mum likes a bag, she has a tendency to buy it in its various colours) Hmm this is a possibility. But, refer to point 2 above.
Probability: 10%
4. Or maybe it contained some baking-related equipment! This, I like!:)
But it may not be very practical since there's not even a grain of sugar at home.
Probability: 9%
I've run out of ideas.
Anyway, am meeting tingyou and angie for lunch later and it's off to cck to give tuition and prawn fishing later in the night. Cant wait to meet them!:)
- Thank You, Lord, for holidays. -
Who made you king of anything? /// 11:36 AM
This is an old mtv but i still find it as ingenious as ever.
Sara Bareilles - King of Anything from Sam Garvey on Vimeo.
One of the many ways to serve Jesus /// 1:08 AM
The tip of my fingers, especially the 2nd, 3rd and 4th, is throbbing because
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tadaaaaa!
my new acoustic guitar! :D
It's an excellent time to get one because:
1) my exams are over since thurs and it
2) marks the start of my holidays
3) i'm leading worship this Sunday
Jiahao asked his friend, who is a professional in guitar-playing and even performs in concerts, to recommend a reliable guitar at affordable prices, and he suggested a few brands such as Cort. So we headed down to Bukit Timah Centre (where jiahao got his haircut too) as well as Swee Lee and settled for this gorgeous piece of instrument at the latter shop.
And it's the same shade as my fingernails! Well, maybe the colour of my nails subconsciously influence a small % of my choice of guitar, like how the presence of Goh Chok T0ng affects a % of success votes for Marine Parade GRC. haha. Sorry for the sidetrack but it's a post-GE recency effect syndrome.
I can't wait to wake up tmr and lay eyes on my pretty guitar, sitting lonely at the corner, waiting to be strummed:)
- Thank You, Lord, for today's message. -
Post-exams activities /// 11:57 PM
Attended two birthday surprises last week - Charmaine's and Wanting's. Was having a splitting headache last saturday when we celebrated Charmaine's 22nd at Clarke Quay with Sijay (her bf as well as the organiser), Joel, Nathan and a few of her friends as well. But thankfully, it was gone by the next day. Wanting's was a huge success (also organized by her bf, John) as it was evident by the look of astonishment plastered on her face when she first saw the cake and the brightly lit candles. After much persuasion, she made birthday speeches dedicated to each of us who was present, including her parents. It was hilarious yet touching:)
After our final paper on Thursday, Jiayee, Ruiqi, Skeen and I headed to vivo to eat the set lunch at Thai Express. Savoured mouth-watering Tom Yam and Skeen introduced us to the salad, which was stinging-to-the-tongue but shiok. Rushed home to grab my stuff and i was feeling lethargic and having a headache by then due to the lack of sleep and the sauna-like heat. Felt as if my muscles were anesthetized with exhaustion but i dragged self all the way to the doorstep of Joyce's house and tried to put on an enthusiastic self to prepare her for the coming exams. Walked to church after that where we had a youth study session on the different titles of Jesus and how knowing certain theoretical issues can help us when we are faced with obstacles. This is imperative as we may tend to be led by our emotions when such circumstances arise and understanding more about the attributes of Jesus will enable us to make better sense of the situations.
Next day, decided to flee Singapore with Jiahao to destress @ JB. Shopped for mother's day present (got her a country-style photoframe and developed photos of us in Aust as well as a card) at Jusco and City Square and bought snacks and mangoes as well. Later on, dined at a cheap seafood restaurant with a beautiful sea-view in the rural areas before heading back home. Yeah, although i am not one who'd appreciate seafood, told myself to have an open mind and thus ate two butter crayfish, which were quite tasty.
Mr Crabby sing a song, doo daa doo daa
Waiting to be eaten
Where they rear fish
The sight of the living creature peeking out of the shells makes me wince
With people enjoying their meals in the background
In general, the trip was enjoyable but unforgettable. The highlight of the trip was an unexpected turn of events just before and after dinner.
As the taxi which was supposed to fetch us to the restaurant did not know where it was, it drove us to a neighbourhood much further than our destination. To make matters worse, he did not speak English and unfortunately, i've returned my Bahasa Indonesian skills to my professor (it may actually help a little). After much difficulty, we retraced the route and alighted at a neighbourhood. Asked around and walked for what-seemed-like 40 minutes to our destination. And all these while, the sun was setting.
A shot of the sun, from the cab
In the neighbourhood where we alighted
Catching the sunset along the highway
After dinner, we had to walk the same way out; along a narrow road for approximately 15 minutes where trees line both sides of the road and another 15 mins along a wide desolate road to the highway to catch a cab. As it was already dark, i tried to flag two passing cars, in the hope of hitching a ride to the main road but none of them stopped.
While walking along the dimly-lit narrow road, we prayed that we could find cabs easily and that they could bring us back to the city safely. Time seemed to fly by, thanks to Jiahao's entertaining tactics of singing/dancing/rapping to particular hiphop songs.
The situation at the main road leading to the highway was equally bad as it was in a state of almost total darkness and Jiahao had to use his iphone's torch to shine on the ground so that we would know where we were walking and also, to alert cars about our presence so that they would not drive straight into our paths.
When we've reached the highway, we kept a lookout for cabs but there was close to none, with the exception of 2-3s which refused to stop for us. Was starting to lose hope after 20 mins had passed and we changed plans and headed towards some nearby neighbourhoods. It was already close to 10 pm.
It was there that God shows how His providence, in incredible ways!
Saw an elderly couple throwing rubbish outside their bungalow and i approached the lady to ask her where we could get available taxis. And they offered to drive us around their neighbourhood to find for cabs! Rejected their kind offer but they were rather persistent so we hopped onto their car. Turned out they were Malaysians by birth but studied and worked in Singapore. They ran a factory here before retiring. We chatted about the GE elections which would commence the next day and shared our views about who we supported. They even offered to purchase bread for us from one of the neighbourhood's stores. They truly are the epitome of kindness! Of course, we really had to be adamant and refused their offer politely.
Later on, i found out why walking at night was not the wisest thing to do in Malaysia. They were appalled when they found out how "daring" we were, to be walking along the deserted main and narrow roads that connected the restaurant and the highway. The couple advised against it as it was extremely dangerous.
They gave an example of how one of their friends were attacked by 3 men who jumped out of a car and robbed him. That incident only happened a week ago! They added that such incidents were commonplace. After they recounted the incident, i felt goosebumps and shivers ran down my spine because Jiahao and i were just innocently walking on the same stretch of road, for such a period of time, at a late hour. At that instance, I uttered a prayer as I felt so thankful for how the Lord has protected us from all harm that could have occurred that night!
Anyway, they ended up driving us all the way to the city where we could find more cabs and asked us to visit them when we make a trip down to JB again! Such hospitality and warmth!
Well, of course we will!
