Tap Tawan (Mission Accomplished)

I just received an update post from my project manager in Thailand.

Tap Tawan, the project I was on for 3 weeks last year, has finally been completed on 27 April 2006.

Photographs of the team and all @ work brought back fond memories I could tear.

Here's the photo site of THAT particular 'house' I spent most of my time working on:
http://chaggar.myphotoalbum.com/view_album.php?set_albumName=album09
I came in in the middle, after foundations have been laid. I laid bricks. Its so nice to finally see the 'almost finished' product that has been worked on since I left. *sigh* Its a happy sigh.

Meanwhile, i've started learning Thai. Like real. Only one phrase this morning "pen yang-nga barng". The intonations are driving me crazy.

After a million hassles of drafting out two detailed proposals about bringing students overseas for their CIP (Batam - which did not see the light, no one read it cos it was shelved when the 2nd opening arose); and the second (Khao Lak, in Sept - I was 'forced' to draft it out of diplomay). In any case, its pretty decided that we will be setting off in November, back to Khao Lak, Nam Kem, further from my previous area, but one of the worst hit areas. Means I can't get to catch up with my friends there. But still, I'm glad... I can be out there... doing something again...

mai-pen-rai..... mai-pen-rai....

things i think to make me feel happy...

i dunno if its my profession. people outside my profession thinks i'm quite 'negative', much as i'm irritated, suggest i go out with frens (like i do but i dun hv too much energy and time), i go on vacation (well, i wish i could), go dating (i'm like ?!? not smart... u dun go dating to feel positive), tink positive.... and the list goes on. Thank you for ur concerns, but honestly, sometimes, i hvn't said anything that means that i'm depressed, so dun just assume tt i'm negative simply because i'm facing up to facts. and the worse thing, pls stop trying to dish out with SOLUTIONS! I'm not upset with life, so get on... i tink only pple in my line really understds.... sigh...

in any case, to please these pple, yes there are things i think about that makes me smile....
1. time spent with my nephew DN. he's such a darling i'm absolutely in love with him. :) the way he calls me ahyi, and speaks to me in his strange language, run around unstably, kisses & hugs.... OMIGOSH!
2. memory images of the beautiful things i see under the sea, esp nice memories of times spent in the similans under the water and above water by the viewing point!
3. some of the rocky paths when i'm in nepal
4. times i spent in Aussie many years ago, in the cool weather, long walks the blue mountains, there was a little cute gal we met @ a playground in the blue mountains, the seafood platter, the absolutely cold cruise ride, the farnie 'face mask' session in the hotel room w G

I like to think i've spelt time doing these beautiful things.... it makes the mundane and unmeaningful more bearable.

i love the new cadbury family bar..

it comes with MORE NUTS now!!! YES!

but why do the mint version cost so much more? Easily 25% more...

perceptions after GE....

1. Opposition party did not win in my estate. Closer margin though. Strange though that, every time when the results that an opposition has won a seat, I hear cheers... the way I hear them when I was a kid when SG scored a goal against Msian States in the Malaysia Cup.

2. Media seems to give the impression that people choose the parties based on what the parties can do for the constituency or ward. But I believe its more than that, based on casual conversations with pple of sorts.

3. Following pt. 2, supporters of the opposition parties are more vocal than supporters of the main government. Or maybe, its just my circle.

3. Media seems to be on one of the party's side. Apparently, the academia they've invited for interviews also seems to be so.

4. Margins are closer for losses by the opposition wards, but wider in wards that have been won. Is this saying something? BUt if we follow what the invited interviewed academia say, i guess not.

Meanwhile, its still stability. Which is good. At the same time, think may need to get ready for more price increases.

truth undermined...

First, the Da Vinci Code.

Now, the gospel of Judas Iscariot.

What next?

.com

just wondering if it would be more apt to end our nation's official websites with a .com or .sg ....

my new shoes....

IT TORE! BROKE! I only wore it TWICE. ANd today, the second I wore it, it broke even before 7.30am!!!

in GENERAL

the rich is getting richer

the poor getting poorer

those in-between (where i belong) are just working our asses off, trying to make a 'decent living', to hit the 'minimum standard of living' as propaganded by the rich as decent.

Don't tell me education can take a person out of a poverty cycle. Perhaps, only to join the ranks of the in-between, still working off our asses.

I'm just glad its a temporal world.

Battered-soles Shopaholic

I did some major shopping just now. Did not plan to spend so much but i did. My 'trophies' are:

1 pair of white shades from Topshop
1 pair of turtle-shell shades from Forever 21
1 pair of super high (3") black heels from Charles & Keith
1 pair of white flats from U.R.S
1 black spaghetti top from Metro
1 white tube from Metro.

Hmm.. i just realize things come in pairs... 2 pairs of shades, 2 pairs of shoes, 2 tops. And colors.. mostly one white one black? lol. What's w me.

Biggest mistake was to wear heels today. Planned to wear flats. But just before I left my place, I realized I cldn't fold up my long jeans. Din hv time to change my outfit, so changed my footwear. Which was bad idea. Now I understand what people say when they say 'my feet are killing me'. My feet were killing me. I come home with a super battered pair of soles.

ANd tis time round, how did I get out of my mom seeing my purchases? I asked her if there was dinner. She went into kitchen to check. I ran in with my bags and put them under their bed. Later, I transfered them to my room when she was heating the food up in the kitchen. AH HA HA HA. OH NO... am i really turning into a shopaholic?

Meanwhile, this weekend was good. I was really rested from since weeks ago, esp yest. Spent the day ironing my clothes, baking, snacking, tv, eating, sleeping..... I love public holidays. Work's gotta start tom. But at least, I've had a real break and I'm real happy. Except my feet are really really aching.... :(

Is that all there is to life?

I'm fine. I'm not upset. I'm not down. Life is just moving, not smoothly, no one's life is, but ok. Can manage. Work's work. Takes up most of my time, but that's that. Learnt to be detached somewhat. Health, not fantastic, but no major problems. But is that all there is to life?

I'm a horrid horrid christian.

I still cant stand my sister. I had a 'breeze' for a month when she's away at my other sister's place. No territorial battles. I get to sleep with ventilation, in peace. No worries about being late in the morning cos there's someone stuck in the toilet bowl reading the papers. Its all ending tonight. She's back. I don't know how to call her my sister. Her presence just bothers me. Day or night. As long as she's there. I'm not even indifferent to her. I don't like her. I'm not sure if I hate her. But I don't care about her existence. Its better if she doesn't exist in my life. Is that hatred already?

Sunday service. I was so horridly late. I arrived at the portion they were about to end the singing portion of worship. People were standing, praying, and praying, and praying. I just stood there, hoping that they can quickly finish that bit, so I can sit down, and talk to ana beside me. I wasn't paying attention during sermon. I turned up for church just because I should?

I've stopped praying for my gals. I've stopped praying for many things. I've stopped praying. During a gals' meeting last weekend, I felt no excitement even tho the other ladies were to excited sharing about His goodness in their lives, learning from the HIllsongs conference CD. I was just thinking 'what on earth am i doing here? i could be elsewhere. why am i here? to catch up with friends? because i should because there's a need for fellowship?' i felt hypocritical (do i?) when i prayed in our smaller groups. I was sincere when i prayed for the other two gals, but i had no choice, its weird to be quiet throughout prayer time. i was sincere, but, yet, i felt weird praying.

i tried singing along with CDs. to be 'inspired'. but no.

ok. don't tell me that i'm doing too much using my own human efforts. its not me. its Him. I know that. But then, so how then?

i noe there's more to life than this. i noe i'm like real horrid. but its so hard to move on. i've tried. but ... somehow i'm back to square one. perhaps i do need some group accountability thing. but, well, see, there's like no difference when i was in the gals' meeting during the weekend. i was excited about the prospects of living a victorious life in Him. Knowing Him. Being His channel of blessing. but i'm so so so so far from that.

i don't know what i'm ranting. beause, i'm just moving and moving along in life. but i knoe there is more. but i don't know how to get there. period.

2 weeks update

1. spent a week sick and recuperating.
2. now have 'slightly longer than usual' filed nails. its a 'once-in-a-year' look on my hands because its rare i dun destroy my nails from the fact tt i'm a keyboardist. tis two weeks not playing in church, so... hmm...
3. been blading the past 3 sats. i'm so slow, little children jog faster than me blade my hardest.
4. lesson ob tis thurs. really sianz. procrastinated the preparation... lesson plan prep etc. for very long. today, finally got the bulk of it done. still need revision of plan tom.
5. i carried all four nephews in one afternn last sunday. :) no. 2's first yr bday & no. 4's full mth. i love the no. 1. *aw.....* my sis says i shld consider teaching in church children ministry. gimme a break. i'm afraid of kids, esp when there's a bunch of them. its just diff when it comes to my no. 1 - 4... aww.....
6. in general, been busy. hvn't really been catching up w pple. so... just waiting for lesson ob to be over tis thurs and see how lah...

i remembered the first interview i had after my uni graduation... the management asked me "so what is your biggest weakness?"

"indecisiveness" i replied. "i am good with coming up with all the pros and cons... consider both sides well. but at the end of the day, i cant decide"

big mistake. that, is not a 'weakness' easily accepted in such organizations, in the corporate world in general. i did not get the job.

i always thought i was indecisive. i had been indecisive most parts of my life. y? couple reasons, which i'm not going into today.

today, i realized... i am not longer indecisive. i can still come up with pros and cons, but i have learnt to be decisive.

in this camp, there are occasions, i realized i had been decisive. these decisions weren't forced (the way i usually dun like to do things, but still do them anyway because i noe those were the right things to do). naturally, i made the decisions. decisions that i believe based on my professional knowledge and experience, was the best for the students. in one occasion, doubt was cast by a particular someone. but i neva doubted the decision i made. i was just glad when i received the full support from the rest of my colleauges. when i realize that owhile in the cab on my way home, i sudenly realized that i had been decisive of late.

how did that happen? i hv no idea. perhaps i have learnt and chosen to take up responsibilities unlike how i preferred not to previously. perhaps with maturity and experiences i've watched how good decisions were made and learnt how to make them too.

this camp, i learnt more abt myself.

on the sideline, the key presentation for LSP is over today. I'm really proud of my gals, esp those who really put in the effort and perservered. their commitment and perseverance, which finally paid off today, made me feel its all worth it. once again, i'm inspired... :)

the ironies of life...

i've been moving about quite a bit....

packing should be a piece of cake....

last nov, i did my packing in less than 2 hours, on the eve of my 21-day trip to thailand.

last month, i did my packing in 30 mins for the weekend dive trip.

tis evening, i did my packing for the 3-day camp tom. Should be a piece of cake. I started packing at 5.30. I just finished packing. Or, almost finished.

More than 3 hours....

How did that happen?

Lack of motivation... Man... Suddenly, picking the pieces of clothings were like.... packing them in were like....

Not bringing a lot of things. LIke my iPOd. because i wasn't thinking properly, so i prob have too much clothing, so no space. do i care? no. i just pack them in. lol

i NEED MOTIVATION..... ..... ..... ....

helpless... pathetic...

mom hvn't been home for a week. she's away @ sis's plce taking care of my new nephew. will be so for at least another week i tink. dad just left yest evening for qing ming in msia. leaving me... all by myself... while i enjoy the solitude, esp when my youngest sis went to my sis's plce (ventilation @ nite!!!), i realized something (other than hving to wash my own clothes)...

i miss mom's food. i mean, its so much more healthier than watever's outside. just came back from the supermart as the fridge is like... empty? realized i cant live on my speciality - maggi mee + extra stuff. to my horror, i realized i cant cook to save myself!! (maggi mee doesn't count cos 90% of urbanites can cook maggi decently, so its nothing great).

browsing thro the fish section and i'm like.. ey.. wat is tis fish? how to cook? skip. tis fish... urm... give it a miss too. meat? Oh, that's worse. i so cannot cook meat.

ok ok, den i thot again. its not tt bad. i can cook vege. urm.. hantum sort. only because i hantum eat. but if i hv a family in the future how? sure die one. its also an irony my ex-cg members used to tink i can cook. i tink cooking is really a skill tt can be forgotten without practise.

but den, i also realize: its tough to cook for an individual. like cook for a group, its so much easier. curry, mixed vege, etc. etc. but for an individual? no wonder they say its not economical to cook for like one or two persons. No wonder singapore's food industry is doing so well.

perhaps i shld be 'glad' i'll be away in camp for three days next week... food will be provided. lol. ok... just comforting myself. i hope i dun hv to sleep in a tent. (i dun mind sleeping in tents, just not when i'm working.)

so anyhow, here's wat i ended up with in my ntuc plastic bag:
1 can of creamed corn
1 can of natas de coco
1 pack of corn (2 piecies) - i dunno y i bought so much corn
1 1.5l bottle of diet coke
1 packet of tao gua (2 pieces)

bizarre rite? well, as long as i can eat can oredi. i miss mommy's food... *sob*

i am a project manager

so many projects i wonder if i teach or wat....

there's the LSP, the NSWP, the IDPW, and now crafting the proposal for a CIP trip to Batam this coming Sept. LSP and NSWP is like really taking a LOT of time. The only reward tt makes it worthwhile, at the end of the day, students do learn more than wats in the syllabus, and seriously, they learn how to observe the environment and do research. Plus, I do enjoy the time with my gals (most of the time, not always lah). Well, I'm totally satisfied with that.

Hardly been home last couple of days. wed nite stayed over at HC's plce after prac. Easier to go sch the following morn. Who noes, the v set of stuff i brought to sch cos i stayed over (toiletries n sleeping stuff) came in useful on thurs. NSWP project's report from students was... urm... can be much better. and the deadline was friday!!! so told them we had to work harder tt evening. started meeting them during my CCA, and we continued working into the nite and MW's plce. so gd to hv my stay over stuff. Thank God for her helping out, if not, i'll be totally dead. Really appreciate an extra advisor, who's so much more senior and motherly than i am. we finished at abt 3.30am. i got home by 4am. got up by 6am to go to sch, to oversee the completion of NSWP report, the discussion for LSP, and vet 3 classes worth of IDPW's brief proposals before they set off for their IDPW action. That morn, was... a continuation of all hell's break lose. Strangely tho, i was alert and not as stoned as i expected myself to be. usually, when i dun hv enuff sleep (like anything less than 6), i'm like a stone, or walking time-bomb - short tempered. But no, friday was a miracle. I was nice, not as stoned... tho i tink i look bad according to my colleagues. its like.. duh... 2 hrs of sleep.

got home finally for a short nap (sadly too tired til cant nap) and forced myself out to meet old pals, Ag n C. Nice dinner n chat, and finally SLEEP!!

other than tt, the past weeks just getting tired w my class. i like them a lot. just dunno how to motivate them, so quite tiring. just collecting forms for camp, encouraging parents to let them go to camp, took up much of my time, much much less time to prepare sch work. but on friday morn, i must say... i was so touched i almost cried. been trying to get them to do something for Kindness Week, but things just moved very slowly. after a crazy day on thurs, followed by crazy nite and 2 hours sleep, when i reached sch on fri morn, as i approahced the staff room, my gals were giving out the cookies they baked for their teachers that morn. i was so so so so so so so so touched... that i really almost cried. its like... i also cannot describe that feeling lah.

TODAY:
i did 2 hours of blading. Mackies to Fort rd and back. NOT BAD EY! den travelled 1.5hrs to see my youngest nephew for the first time! he's another cute chap, slimmer and better tempered than his elder bro, who's well, still v much a baby.

Wldn't b home much in the coming week still. S3's camp. Will be in a super ulu part of singapore for 3 days. den finally, will rush w the gals for the LSP sharing (which marks the end of the project!!) den sun, my guit gals will be performing @ bedok reservoir. oh... i wan my holidays!!

Now, i just wanna go back to sleep again. i hvn't recovered from the sleep deprivation... nitesy....

My Brains

You have the unusual talent of being equally good at both mathematical and verbal skills. That, paired with your thirst to learn through experience, makes you an Inventive Inquisitor.

Your strength lies in the methodology you have naturally adopted to understand the world. Basically, you have perfected "learning through living." You have a unique ability to teach others by taking them through actual experiences. Your talents come in handy especially when confronted with unfamiliar or unproven situations. Most people search their brains for previously stored information that might help in a given situation. You, however, take things as they come and see things as they are. You are a great improviser and are probably open to an unusual amount of change

Another Inventive Inquisitor who demonstrates this very point was Ben Franklin. He suspected that lightning was a naturally occurring electrical current and realized he was correct once he conducted his famous kite-flying experiment on a stormy night. This is the type of novel approach that keeps your perspective fresh. Chances are, it has also helped you develop an unusually worldly sense of things. You use your inherent wisdom to branch out from what others too quickly assume to be the most "rational" solutions. This talent enables you to approach things creatively instead of following the rigid paths of life.

Great Jobs For You
Because of the way you process information, these are just some of the many careers in which you could excel:
Crisis Manager
Think Tank Consultant
Campaign Manager
Inventor
Creative Director
Teacher / Leader

Some of Your Greatest Talents
You've got tons of strengths. It wouldn't surprise us if you:
Spearhead new projects
Experiment without being discouraged
See the big picture
Teach or guide
Do work that is "hands-on" or has practical application

Based on the results of your test, Tickle divided your scores into four distinguishable dimensions — mathematical intelligence, visual-spatial intelligence, linguistic intelligence and logic intelligence.

Here's how each of your intelligence scores break down:
1. Mathematical Intelligence
You scored in the 80th percentile on the mathematical intelligence scale.This means that you scored higher than 70% - 80% of people who took the test and that 20% - 30% scored higher than you did. The scale above illustrates this visually.

Your mathematical intelligence score represents your combined ability to reason and calculate. You scored relatively high, which means you're probably the one your friends look to when splitting the lunch bill or calculating your waitresses' tip. You may or may not be known as a math whiz, but number crunching might come a little easier to you than it does others.

2. Visual-Spatial Intelligence
You scored in the 60th percentile on the visual-spatial intelligence scale.
This means that you scored higher than 50% - 60% of people who took the test and that 40% - 50% scored higher than you did. The scale above illustrates this visually.

The visual-spatial component of intelligence measures your ability to extract a visual pattern and from that envision what should come next in a sequence. Your score was relatively high, which could mean that you're the one navigating the map when you're on an outing with friends. You have, in some capacity, an ability to think in pictures. Maybe this strength comes out in subtle ways, like how you play chess or form metaphors.

3.Your Linguistic Intelligence
You scored in the 80th percentile on the linguistic intelligence scale.
This means that you scored higher than 70% - 80% of people who took the test and that 20% - 30% scored higher than you did. The scale above illustrates this visually.

Linguistic abilities include reading, writing and communicating with words. Tickle's test measures knowledge of vocabulary, ease in completing word analogies and the ability to think critically about a statement based on its semantic structure. Your score was relatively high, which could mean you know your way around a bookstore and maybe like to bandy about the occasional 25-cent word to impress friends.

4. Logical Intelligence
You scored in the 100th percentile on the logical intelligence scale.
This means that you scored higher than 90% - 100% of people who took the test and that 0% - 10% scored higher than you did. The scale above illustrates this visually.

Tickle's logical intelligence questions assess your ability to think things through. The questions determine the extent to which you use reasoning and logic to determine the best solution to a problem. Your logic score was relatively high, which could mean that when the car breaks down, your friends look to you to help figure out not only what's wrong, but how to fix it and how you're going to get to the next gas station.

i miss being away....

its been a week since i left for my dive.. and i'm still thinking abt it! Think i just thoroughly love the getaway... now its gotten me like 'gian' for the next dive. tho not sure when that would be, completely.

wed went for course in the morn only to realize my boss had withdrawn us from the course. so i travelled all the way to the west in the early morn, stayed for abt two hours, and left halfway. dropped by ana's place and we played more silly tickle.com quiz stuff. she refused to do the classic IQ test quiz. *laughs* met my old sec fren for lunch and went home to crash before worship prac in the nite.

thurs, went running in east coast w haz n tes. Supposed to be blading, but cos i just had my lasik on mon, so decided to cut the risk and just run. it was like real hot, running at 10am onwards. Did from just before mackies to the jetty and back. quite happy lah. 'showered' in the public shower in east coast in my shorts and tank top. it was quite farnie. hung ard w haz ALL DAY! both of us thot we'll be home early, but no, we left parkway at abt 5 plus, after spending the entire afternn there for lunch and shopping! Bought like bronze belt, gold color shoes and a super short skirt lor (which i really dunno when i'll get to wear it. i mean, my teenage students wear those. if i wasn't a teacher, i'd have worn those. guess they'll only come out when i'm diving or overseas tt sorta thing).

today... omigosh, spend from 8am - 3pm at bukit timah w my gals. we took temp readings for a project at 8.30, 1 and 3pm. In between, made the gals do sketching, counting, and like slash thro the places we were going to take the temp readings. And since we had like between 9.30 - 1pm free in between the reading periods, we 'trekked' up to the summit. Deliberately chose the Rock Path cos its got a little interesting climbing bit. THe rest are... well, i'm like tour guide like that lor. Showing them stuff here and there. In between breaks, we also went to the playground. That was pretty fun. Lunch, walked out to beauty world, in the hot hot sun. Man, in short its DARN TIRING. Just glad to be chilling @ homne. gonna concuss soon.

tom going to the cuban all-star putumaya party. :) BUt tink need to get some work going... so... buaz holidays.... MISS YA!!

ok... i was bored....

The Classic IQ Test
What's Your IQ?

Your IQ score is 124
Your Intellectual Type is Inventive Inquisitor. You have the unusual distinction of being equally good at math and verbal skills. This means you are a creative thinker and are uniquely good at teaching others through experiences. You are also a great improviser and very good at handling change.

http://web.tickle.com/tests/uiq/index-pop.jsp?sid=1443&supp=728x90_IQ_picto_1_nobord&z=

holiday@tioman

diving was good. Not the best I've been to, obviously, but good enough to make me happy to get a break.

tis trip, it was much more comfy becoz unlike the usual, i do actually hv a place to sleep in on the boat en route to tioman. also, we arrived earlier, at about 3.30 instead of the usual 5am. on top of that, both morns, we got up late and started diving late. so, i did get sufficient sleep during tis trip, which is nice. lol.

being spoilt by the beautiful sites in the similans, sites were boring at first. but two were my fav. in one of it, its got beautiful beautiful corals. we even found like many nursing sharks! i tink i'm getting a little better at spotting things. hek hek hek. tink some of the dives cld hv been better/more interesting, but cos the experienced instructor got 'boated' due to some booboos along the way, we kind of have to make do with less experienced DMs who can spot things, just not as much, esp during nite dive. :) but all in all, i'm happy, so doean't matter.

i thot i'll neva really go back to tioman/dayang to dive again. but after the trip, i do realize the feeling's different from diving in thailand. thailand's real nice and comfy. like no need to travel like siao like this. but trips like these, are like real short getaways from work, so its different lor.

ok lah. nothing much to blog abt also.

lasik enhancement yesterday was like... like that lor... had to go thro the traumatizing ordeal again. tis time round, i'm a little myopic, for now, at least tt's wat the eye doc says. so we'll see how lah... anywayz, i'm gonna miss a survey dive at pulau jong tis weekend cos of the lasik. and i cant go blading tis week cos of the lasik too. sigh.

this is pretty kewl...

help me out here
http://kevan.org/jorahi?name=gniteux

i'm sorry. i tried to make this a link. but spent too long.. and it still didnt work. pls copy and paste. *grin*

its been a while...

so many things to blog. but many of them... have since passed by and gone pretty much forgotten or less significant than the very moment i was going thro them. trying to jolt back some items in my memory:

1. went blading twice. the first time was on vday... my school declared a sch hol because of gd O level results. went w some colleagues. i was nicked the 'screamer' because i practically screamed from the beginning til the end. "i cant stand up" "don't leave me" "don't go" "don't go so far" and of course, the usual "aaaaaaaaaaaah". second time was the following tuesday. went w tes after a long staff meeting. it was like 7-nish by the time we started blading. got a pretty aweful cut on my palm, but has fairly much recovered by now.

2. i did my 2.4km run last tues for some sch health thing. improved by abt 30odd seconds compared to last year. 14mins 18secs. not my best. but certainly one of the best since i started growing taller and heavier 10 yrs ago.

3. tis is a juicy one. but sad one too. met someone over a dinner and got 'crushed'. meaning i had a like crush on this person! stuff like this happens pretty rare and long in-between. the irony is, when i'm interested in someone, i suddenly become like this stupid, quiet, 'hv no mind of her own' gal instead of the like blabbermouth i usually am. EC somewhat laffed at me. she said, if i wasn't interested, i wld hv like just talked to him, got his no., contacted him as fren. but precisely cos i'm interested, SIGHZ!!! WHY? wat on earth is wrong with me? if it'd happened to someone else, i'd advice "call him and see how. get to noe him as fren and see how lah. happen happen. dun happen dun happen". But sigh sigh... when it comes to myself, the usual brave, adventurous, social blabbermouth just decide to retreat to one corner and sulk that nothig's happening. SHEESH. IDIOT ME!

4. apparently got pretty stressed of how my church band wans me to be a band leader i like dreamt last nite! that i totally screwed up one worship session because like i was made to start the songs and i only prac the nite before w the band and i dun rem the song. the two most talented 'leaders' of the band were there.. and i so completely messed things up. lol

5. School holidays coming. Not exactly have a full one week off, but at least 3 days off. anywayz here's the plan for the coming week or so:
this wed - fri --> on full day course
fri - sun --> going diving. hope to rush back in time on sun for my class's gathering (but unlikely)
mon --> going for my lasik correction
tues --> nothing so far. :)
wed & thurs --> full day course
fri --> bringing some kids out to bukit timah nature reserve for an entire day to collect data for project.
sat --> mosiac's cuban putomaya band
sun --> playing for service

Hmm.... that's just somethings i can rem. the rest of the 'significant' things (esp with my class) just becomes insignificant the next day cos new things arise. *laughs*

Anyhow... that's that... meanwhile... getting fat.....

I have no idea wat on earth this... just like thamps

Get your own spectral analysis from Area 23®

Shopoholic giraffe strikes again!!

I bought a pair of blades yesterday. COst me like 210 bucks. And nope, my mom has not seen it yet. Hid it under her bed with my dive gear. lol. Oh no, I justread this week's papers. There was an article on shopaholics. One of the symptoms is that... they tend to hide their purchases. I've been hiding my purchases from last week at Ana's place for a while before I chose to bring them back on a day when mom wldn't see my buys. And now again.. EEKS!

Meanwhile, went for tuesdies gathering yesterday. Thot it was a ladies' meeting. But later realized the guys were meeting there too. Just in another room. But I was shocked to see the guys at the apartment in the first place. Luckily I did not bring my swimming gear to swim. lol. SHY wat...

CHecked out substation w tes, AO and AO's fren (whose chinese name i cant rem. usual) Generaly nice place to chill. Tho cocktail's standard was not too great.

And... Tues is a school hol for me!!! Sch did well enough to declare a sch hol!! YEAH! (i brawfed some of my frens saying tt sch decided to encourage their staff to celebrate a good vday in response to the pro-family directives from the govt. lol) No lah. But it'll be a good day to catch up on work. Makes me feel particularly relaxed and happy this weekend. :)

she sell seashells on the seashore

ok. its official.

I LOVE SEASHELLS!!!

Everytime i look at seashells.... Those on my bedside.... Those that had been strung into bracelets... Those that had been strung into necklace (which i wore as an anklet instead)... Ah.. I feel so happy...

Shells are perhaps the closest reminder of God's creation to me in this small, hectic urban life. Some of those I look at are picked up with I was at East coast as a primary school kid. I cant recognize which ones exactly. BUt I know the two pieces with barnacles at my bedside are amongst those I've picked up more than a decade ago. There was a small 3cm stick of coral I picked up when I backpacked to the Southern THailand Islands in 2001. (No, you are not supposed to pick up corals. But then, i seriously had no idea what a coral was.) THere was a piece EC picked for me from Samui. THere was quite a collection from my recent trip to khaolak. Some picked up by myself, a couple by EC, most of them, by this lady massuer I went to, who passed me an entire bag of shells when she saw the few shells I picked up and tied in a plastic bag on my sling.

When I see the shells, i try to think.. calcium carbonate. They used to be homes.. and protection to different types of animals. Clams, barnacles, cowries, and the many that I cannot identify. Eventually when the residents in these shells perish, hermit crabs might have taken refuge in them (i rem my Mr Shy!! EC and I released on Nang Thong beach. Wat an adventure it had travelling from Tap Tawan beach, to the tiled toilet in Phu Khao Lak, before hitting the strong waves of Nang Thong beach). Some of the lives... of the shells i hold in my hand... have come and gone, more than 10 years ago... Leaving behind a skeleton.. we call.. shells... But they have experienced tides... beautiful fishes... coral... YOu never know where they've been to. For some pieces. Yes. For others (that necklace, my elder sister got from Papua New Guinea I think), i have no idea. But guess wat? My Abba knows each of they stories!

I have a fetish for airports and planes (ok, this is random). But I have a greater fetish for shells. Sadly, i'm not exactly doing the right thing. See, whenever one picks up a shell, we are reducing the potential homestay of a hermitcrab in search of a new home. But... I just love them so much I can't resist. So much for conserving the environment. Surely there are enough shells to go round? :P At least shells are hardly a currency now, making them less in deamdn?

In any case, I have a fetish for shells. Because, the fact that they are skeletons... beautiful remains... beautiful memories.... beautiful evidence.... beautiful testimony of His greatness and awesomeness....

I wanna live in a shell castle... ah ha ha ha...

*Under the sea
Under the sea
Darling it's better
Down where it's wetter
Take it from me
Up on the shore they work all day
Out in the sun they slave away
While we devotin'
Full time to floatin'
Under the sea*

Mmm mmmm....

Oh yeah... i wonder how Mr Shy is doing now. Wat do u tink EC? God, only You noe!

shopaholic giraffe

i've been shopping....

Tuesday.... while waiting for farewell tea in town, went shopping and bought a Yen top from Robinsons, and another top from warehouse.

Wednesday.... went shopping w ana after work.... ended up with a new pair of shoes and a bag from Isetan.

Today.... after lunch after church, thot i'll go home. but ended up hving to help use my card pay for stuff for a person leaving for studies abroad. so hung ard a bit w ana.... ended up... buying another top from topshop!!!

I'm like.... NOT GOOD!!!

Doesn't help ana passed me two books on wednesday, shopaholic abroad and shopaholic ties the knot. I finished the first book on friday nite itself (too stressed to work) and not I'm halfway thro the second book. OMIGOSH. this is bad.. this is bad.. i seriously need to get started on preparing next week's work...

been feasting... so pretty... hmm... rounded now.... even mom's complaining... but hvn't gotten chance to exercise cos i hvn't been well. i noe tt's wat i said at the beginnning of the year. But well... i'm not sick sick... but just everytime by the end of the week on fridays... i'll just start getting the 'onset of cold' attack... :( i hope this stops soon...

meanwhile,... , i'm still pretty much living one day at a tmie. :) keeps me sane....

3 weeks into 2006...

I've finally posted again. :)

Yes, been busy. There are occasions when I do have a couple of minutes in front of my PC to blog, however, somehow its tough to blog given just a couple of minutes. Hvn't been home much. After late days at work, had been busy with meetings, dinners or practices. Maybe I'm too much a 'feel' person. I'll need the 'feel' to blog. ANd finally, its not exactly here. But the 'no-feel' is not present. :)

Yet, I have no idea where to begin. This year has come quickly. School has been managable thus far. Only getting busier with each day. With what? An interesting class whose interesting characters I've grown a special affinity to. Although, when it means I've grown to love them, it also means, each encouragement means something, but each disappointment also means a lot. Everyday, new things (its plural) happen. Its only three weeks, but I've really learnt what it means to entrust all to Him and not to worry. I don't worry for my gals (not yet!) BUt I must admit I do not really know how to handle situations extremely well. Just relying on Him day by day, praying that they will grow in maturity, they will grow to know him, and I will grow with them through this year. Other stuff I'm busy in school, PROJECTS PROJECTS PROJECTS... Am I a project coordinator or a teacher? Good gracious. The most ironic part is, the computer jinx and IT idiot I am have sort of become the 'gadget-woman' of my department. I even just had a two-hour course with one of my project group gals in which I taught them how to use softwares and hardwares (which I learnt how to use on Friday during a training). I almost fainted of laughter (inside myself) as I stood in front of the lab using the computer to show them the steps using words like 'browser... click on this... that...' I seriously dunno what God is up to man. lol Just fortunate heavy marking is not in yet. Starting tomorrow. HA. So meantime, just keeping my cool being a mother and project co-ordinator.

Frens... I witnessed a brother's marriage during the weekend. It was one of the 'coolest' wedding I've been to. Nope, nothing 'interesting'. In fact, its so simple you hardly have those surprise items etc. But seeing this brother who has been so faithful to God through all these years, seeing how God in return showed Himself to be faithful... its is so touching really! I'm not even close to him, but i was close to tearing during the service when I sensed his gratefulness and God's faithfulness. Did baking once with Ana. :) My dear ex-cookie expert cant even use her new oven. lol. But we baked decent.

Really, so many things happening (not SPECTACULAR) but many things.. I don't noe what to write. Perhaps the only thing constant (almost) would be through these times, I'm learning to rely on Him and to trust in Him. When work presses in, handling lives comes in, managing my time and frenshipts, I'm really learning to rely on Him. My prayer is to be able to hear Him, see the way He sees, and have the grace and wisdom to glorify His name where He has placed me. I know it sounds general, but tt's generally my life now. :)

Oh oh, and I've 'sort-of' started running again. Can't confirm if i've really started. *laughs* Cos its only been a week. Hope to keep it on...

3 weeks into 2006... I still miss diving. I still miss the beautiful times volunteering. But I'm so looking forward to the things ahead, knowing that He's ahead too... :)

BTW, vani, I'm sorry, I've lost ur blog addy. Can you pls send it to me again? Also, has the great reveal occurred yet? ;)

"kodak" moments of 2006

Day 4 of 2006. Here are some of the memorable bits / bits worth talking about:

0000am, 01012006
I was 'stuck' in a fren's fren's car. We were supposed to go watch fireworks somewhere, but somehow due to heavy traffic and bad timing, we were stuck on the road in between the padang and the court. Its not too bad cos we still get to watch the fireworks, only the lower portions got blocked. Still, some are so large and spectacular, i cld still see them in full view and go 'wow'. What made this moment a 'kodak' moment is to hear some of my Thai frens' voice over the fon. I called them at midnight, wishing them a happy new year, when its still new year's eve at their end. And everyone I knew from the shop happened to be together then and I spoke to my DM there as well. The feeling was so warm... looking at the fireworks.. hearing their voice... so excited. Man, that really made that moment special.

Still on friends...
I met up w the fren who 'dropped' me last year on NYE for dinner. It was nice. We caught up. Even though I'm cautious abt not committing fully into this r/s the way I did then, it was still nice to have a 'close' to that strange episode that left me bewildered, disappointed, sad and to some extent angry.
Another dear thing is i got to talk to someone i was really close to years ago. Strange how relationships regress / progress. Its really comforting to be able to have both parties just opening up and talking, as in, just talk the way we are without having to consider too many things.

Others...
Don't wanna talk too much about school. Its really challenging. But I'm constantly reminding myself that I am going to look forward to relying more on God, to see how He works in the many challenging issues and tasks I'm assigned. All in all, I'm feeling real strange teaching. Guess its been months since I stood in front of a class and teach proper. Not used to it. Sometimes, I'm not too aware of what's going on, but just going through the motion. Of course, I attribute that to a large extent the fact that I hvn't been well. All the coughing is really making pretty stoned and tired. Really hate that feeling. Cant wait to be well and alert in class.

Long-sighted giraffe
Just came back from a checkup for my lasik in the evening. Thot this would be the final consultation. But NO.... according to my doc, my left eye is over-corrected by 100 degrees. Its not a lot, but that explains why my left eye feels 'stupid' or 'retarded'. Also, when I'm tired, my left eye's vision does blur. Well, also cant see clearly when I read the papers. Now I know the reason why. I'm not upset. Never regretted the procedure. But its not something anyone wans to go through again. But in two months, if the next review shows the same eye degree, I might have to do an 'enhancement' to 'correct' this 'overcorrection'. Eeks! Meanwhile, I"ll just have to leave with it, who noes i might just get used to this 'stupid-eye' feeling.

Resolves...
Doesn't come under 'kodak'moments. Does it matter? *laughs*
1. Do my rescue diving course. (failed in 2005, possibly in 2006 too)
2. Still under consideration: Get my driving license? (probably fat hope)
3. urm... ....
Well, lets' just say I've given up with coming up with new year resolutions. Just hopes here and there... and that's pretty much it. :) Life's easier that way.

Typical colors and pictures along the road - colors of reconstruction


My 'bungalow' - its a quarter of that building. hehz

THAIKEA - another of TVC's project

Scenery from Boat yard - TVC's another project

Police boat that got beached 1km in from the coast

Tap Tawan team @ our communal table. Think the animals are under the table. :)

On truck going to work

First septic tank i dug

Beginning stage

Wall coming to a completion

Laying the last brick of my wall

End-product of each house of my project


Sunset @ Nang THong Beach

Viewpoint of Ko Similan

Ko Similan's beach

From the viewpoint on Ko Similan

Addicted to nitrox

Another pair of trusty shoes I left behind

Weeks ago....

Five weeks ago Saturday, I was at the dentist, yet to pack my stuff.
Four weeks ago Saturday, I was on the dive boat. At this hour, I'd probably just did my first dive at the Similans.
Three weeks ago, I was on my way leaving Khao Sok National Park.
Two weeks ago, I was on my way leaving Khao Lak, where I left part of my heart in.
One week ago, somewhere in Singapore, I can't really be bothered to know what happened then.

The entry about my trip was long overdue. Not because I'm busy. But simply, I do not know where to begin. People ask me how the trip was, there is too much to say. The only word that I could use, despite its lack of substance to describe everything is 'Awesome'.

Memorial bits include the daily cold showers in the early morn and late evenings, the wonderful people I've met in my project, doing the basics for the people there, the parties at night, the beautiful dive sites and great dive people I've met, some impromptu things that happen when u travel, the simple routine every day, good and bad things I've seen and learnt about human ....

The simple routine....
We work on weekdays. Life is pretty straightforward. Wake up at 7.30 Cold shower. Change. Sunblock. Tell my two pigtail. Pack. Leave my place at 8.15. Reach Nang Thong supermkt at 8.30. Say hi to my teammates and get a yoghurt. Get picked up on our truck and drive to work. Work is the only things tt's not routine as you never know what you'll be assigned to do, and well, things just don't go the way they should. SOmetimes, just a lot of waiting. No electricity. No water. Power tools fail. Something's missing. Typical. :) First thing at work site, go to tool shed and pack whatever we need for our tasks assigned. Lunch at 12-ish with the rest at our table. Usual cat/dog/chicken/pig fights to entertain us during meal times. Continue work. Pack up. Keep tools at tool shed. Take the truck back. Silly conversations on the truck. Back at my place, cold shower again. Wash my work clothes (I only have 2 sets I wear on alternate working days). Meet for dinner. A couple of nights a week there may be activities. Sleep.

My teammates....
People from all over the world, all ages, different experiences, different personalities. One thing great though is, everyone's real. Here, no one needs to be nice for any motives. They are just nice. It makes my heart so warm to work with them. I miss them all. I could just sit here and type and cry at the same time thinking of the times spent with them. Special friends I'm met include Kara, Kate and Sukhy.

Diving....
Is awesome. I went there the first weekend break. Perfect weather. Sites are awesome. MANY MANY things to see. Met cute people. Quirky tho. Usual asses. Also met nice folks. Kara, Kate and I managed to have the boat to ourselves after the day-trippers left. Our two dive guides then brought us to Ko Similan's viewpoint for a couple of hours while the boat went to stock up freshwater from a waterfall nearby. We talked. about many things. Happy stories and sad stories of the tsunami experienced by our guides themselves who were there during that fateful day. Starry night. We even had dolphins circling our boat all nite. My dive instructors told us that has neva happened before. I guess we just have loads of flying fish ard our boat for the dolphins to hunt. Its awesome!!!! A whole school of them, seven inclusive of two baby dolphines.... aw..... My guide tells me I'm a good diver. SO HAPPY!! :) I went on a second liveaboard on the last 2 days of my trip in Khao Lak. This time, I was alone as Kara and Kate have left. Weather was cloudy. No sun. :( Strong widns and hugh waves. Neva dived in such big waves before. But I'm glad I took the challenge. I'm much more confident now. The captain of the boat later hand-signed to me 'big waves... u dive... u good...' lol. Whatever conditions, diving in the Similans is still amazing. :)

Sotong...
I've been eating like squid everyday... Phad Thai with squid. Noodle soup with squid. ... ... I LOVE SQUID and they are so affordable there!!! :P

Squid-fishing
My team had the opportunity to go squid-fishing one afternn with the villagers. We knocked off 2 hours earlier and followed them to the beach nearby and saw how they fished for squid. Tools: just a twig with little crab meat at the end poked into it as bait and a sharp metal rod to poke them in their holes one we've lured them out enough. Our catch, ten plus of us, was... 2 tentacles. LOL. PATHETIC!!!

Impromtu event 1
During the second weekend, Kara, Kate, EC and myself decided to go to Khao Sok National Park, about 70km away for tubing (that's sitting on a rubber type - for mine, just sinking into it rather, cos its too huge!!) down the river for the day and return to Khao Lak. But thanks to the previous night's hangover, plus the fact that the journey took 2.5 hours instead of the 1 hour we expected, we arrived there at about 3.30pm, only to realize that the last bus leaves there for Khao Lak at 5pm!! So, only in shorts, tank top and my swimwear, with nothing else except a waterbottle and some cash, WE WERE STUCK AT THE COLD PARK FOR THE NIGHT!! Went tubing anywayz. Got pants and tshirt for the night. But its an 'ulu' place. So, watever patterned clothes, we just grab, as long as we can keep warm for the night. lol

Impromptu Event 2
The false alarm! On the last day of work, there was a short siren followed by a short announcement in Thai. My Thai teammate looked worried. We asked her what it was and she said it said 'big waves'. She tried to contact our Center for more information, but no one was really sure except people from our other projects were evacuated into higher grounds as well. So anyway, we did evacuate to higher grounds. No one knew what was going on, as there was no prior information that there was going to be a drill. Later, we realized, the technician in Bangkok pressed the button by mistake when the drill was supposed to be the following day. MY GOSH! I had to go back and knock down one brick I just laid as I did not have time to set it straight before we left the site, and the cement had set, the crooked brick. GOSH! Irritating (its a lot of work!). But iwasn't alone, Sukhy was complaining too. *laughs* When I'm home and recounted this story, someone asked me how I felt then. Honestly, I did not know how I was supposed to feel. When we were evacuating, I wasn't worried because I knew it takes time for tsunami waves to travel, and as long as there was prior warning, there would be sufficient time. But I was also feeling.. strange... Another tsunami, even with warning, would still mean... deaths.... I hated that part.... And then, I wasn't sure if I want to hear any more deaths. There's been enough. Too many lives have been taken. Too many families wrecked and separated. sighz...

Work there...
Two days of literal shitholes and weeks of brick laying and occasional foundation setting. Shitholes are 2m deep holes dug from the ground. When digging them, you get wet and dirty from groundwater that keeps flowing in despite using a pump and bucketing them out manually. Our project manager promised us no poop with his fingers crossed. We found something and retained it for his view. Kara went 'it looks like poop, it smells like poop, it is poop'. Andy, our project manager used a stick, poking the stuff and scrutinizing it went 'it looks like poop, it smells like poop.... its probably poop.' That was the end of our shithole job. lol

Reconstruction....
can take place very quickly if resources are available and if they have an incentive to. First day I reached Khao Lak, the bus stopped us like....in the middle of nowhere... literally. The entire 'road' was simply... sand and gravel!!! First week I was there... tarring of the road took place. Second work, they built a road divider. Overnight, trees were tranplanted into the road divider. Walkpaths at the sides were being tiled. Third week, lampposts on road divider. Road lanes were marked out. By the the end of third week when I was leaving, the road ... was... amazing. Comparable to Singapore's road that sort of thing. Reason? The anniversary is coming... Everyday from the second week onwards, new shops open. The 'in the middle of nowhere' i stepped into suddenly became a developed tourist destination. My question though is, why so late? Money turns the world around doesn't it?

I cannot continue typing anymore. There's just too much. :) Brings back such good memories I may start to feel blue again! :) One thing tho I've learnt, when I'm there, I enjoy it, appreciate the time. Now that its 'over', I am not going to be upset that my 'happy' time is over. But rather, I'm happy I was there, my life has truly been enriched.

one word: Awesome.

dentist visit costs me a BOMB...

but nvm. tom morn i'll be gone from singapore. if you want to know what i'm up to, you can refer to www.tsunamivolunteer.net

dun miss me. i'll try to update wats been happening here. depending on the cost of internet services (and actually, more imptly, the availability of it).

See ya... in a .... while... :)

i have a 'i'm attached' look.

At sushi tei during a rush rush lunch (we kidnapped MsG's car at 2.30 as sushi tei closes at 3 and drove round the sch to hv our sashimi salad), we were just talking.

Colleague S asked Colleague T wat kind of guy she's interested in and she will help her look out for that sort. So colleague T went down her list. So i questioned Collegue S "hey wat abt me? hello? i noe u longer u noe?" just to disturb her.

Colleague S proceeded to say this phrase that was so familiar to me, heard from different parties in my life 'Oh, you look like you are attached. a.k.a 'you have the attached look'. i was like....not again. Colleauge T den agreed.

Define the attached look, i demanded. T said... its the outgoing, confidence that makes pple tink i'm attached and not interested / need someone else?!?!?!

I'm like. Ok. that does it. I'm gonna blog this crap. Colleague S recommended me a Nike t-shirt that reads 'i'm available'. lol. But i tink, i'm happy sticking to my Nike singlet that goes 'i eat watever i want to eat'. yum yum.

Speaking of which, having some dull ache at my right jaw. cant eat properly. sigh. will see a dentist (finally!) before i fly off on sunday. cant risk dying of toothache in thailand. and yeah, its unfair. i take care of my teeth. but its all in the genes. darn.

blessed blue bimbo

Life have been fairly bleah bleah over the week. Over the past 24 X 7 hours, what sums up my bleah bleah life?

Taking ice-cream for breakfast every morning before going to work.

Usual. Meeting. SOW. Meeting. SOW. Meeting. SOW. and watever other paperwork.

Met ana twice actually this week. She's gonna make me a wrapdress. :) We did something 'notti' on friday. ah ha ha. but it was fun. we had some bimbotic conversations. two of which i cld sum up as: if i had got braces done, like a boob job and a lipo round my hips, i cld be a model. AH HA HA.and oh, if i wear my loop earrings with a bustier dress she made, i cld end up looking like SPG. lol. ok. bimbo moments.

Kena 'forced' to a family 'outing'. My consolation is definitely my two nephews. OMG. They are so adorable, esp the elder one... every time i see his face on my mobile fon, my heart just melts.... sure the best way to beat the blues. look at my mobile. :)

Just went for a CCCCC today. CCCCC = Communicating Christ Cross-Culturally Course. Honestly, it was bleah. The only thing that was useful last like the final 30 mins when i had a brief on XXXXX. CCCCC comprises of concepts i've learnt over the years in various stages of my education life: communication, culture. CCCCC just ended up... being a combination of those two tog. Nonetheless, it was not bad. I just wldn't sign up for it ever again.

Perhaps the most 'exciting' thing that happened was my dinner just now, where i had Ms Ethopia-Universe sitting beside me. Cool eh? Actually, its not that exciting lah. But she's really nice and frenly.

The most 'meaningful' time i had was my slow walk w mom to ntuc area to hunt for wrapping paper. Man, its hard to find wrapping paper nowadays. In the slow walk,we just chitchatted and sorts. Also commenting on how the landscape of the ntuc area where i grew up in has changed. The old 'traditional' shops that were there... are now gone, cldn't survive the tough compeition of the world now. It was pretty sad. I mean, i felt sad for these pple.. cos these little shops.. added to the memories that made me who i am. HAIZ.

Current State: sometimes bimbotic, sometimes blessed, sometimes blue

mache.suntec.or.heeren.

met up w dive gang yest, after a long while. nice to catch up. usual. booboo. was pretty late cos i spend my afternn w ana. and before i left, she insisted on dolling me up putting on makeup for me just for the fun of it. but it was fun, havn't done that in years.

anywayz, i arrived at hmv, an hour late (its ok, diver's time are pretty flexible, except when underwater). called GR

me: "its crowded here. do i hv to join the queue?"
GR: "no, just tell them u hv a table inside."
me: "where are you?"
GR: "just in front of the rosti section"

got to the rosti section

me: "cant find you. where are you?"
GR: "here here. right in front. dun see u."
*sense of foreboding*
me: "which mache are you in?"
GR: "suntec"
me: "WL, i'm in hmv. ok. be there in 30mins"

Sigh. But all in all, good week catching up. Monday was work lunch. Tues was CG. Wed met my Di and crashed in the worship prac followed by a long nite supper w SS, P n mommy. Thurs, tink i chilled@home. Fri had dinner w HH n her family. sat met divers.(sandfly was present. she talked to me as per norm, as if nothing had occurred. so i just left the matter as that. afterall, wat's the point? i'm a talker. but sometimes if talking doesn't help, den so be it.) today had hari raya lunch at haz's place.

Been quite busy running abt the place and procrastinating with regards to work. progress been very slow. but need to buck up. loads of things to be settled before i leave. and many more appointments to come. AH... KILL THE PROCRASTINATOR!!!!

*btw, thnx jas for making a point to inform me abt apprentice. silly me went to check the results online on tues, only to realize later that the results are not out on tv!!! argh. but anuywayz, the stronger contestant i felt win. :)

HOW COULD I!!! SUCH AN IDIOT!!!

i JUST realized that I MISSED THE FINALE FOR APPRENTICE!!!

drats man. i've been like watching this series for like months. And this is like the only show i really actually catch. JUST WAITING for the cose to see who wins and guess wat? i completely forgot. As i was brushing my teeth just now, i was still tinking, oi. .. like sunday i neba watch apprentice. the last time i watched as a while ago.. but no leh, i neva miss.

idiot i am. yesterday, sunday which did not feel like a sunday cos i brought my kids for performance at the national library, den rushed to pick Fel from the airport. by the time i got home, it was ten. meaning I CLD HV CAUGHT THE SHOW!!! but all the rushing abt made me lose track of time. it was so hard to rem it was sun thro'out the day once i left church. MAN!!! this really stinks. :(

Very upset.

Catch up

I've been making an effort to meet up with my frens now that I can wake up slightly later for school (and this week's public holidays help). Inspired to treasure the relationships and people that have come into my life over the many years and what better time than now.

Earlier this week, I met up with C and Aggie. Tonight, met up with Ah Tong, Chee and Joan. 2 1/2 years ago, our paths crossed. Tong, Chee and myself were doing contract teaching, while Joan was doing her practicum. Today, all of us are dispersed in the different schools (none of us ended up in the school we met. How ironic). It was a good nite of laughter, provided by the wit of Chee, supported by Tong. Chee was the most 'linguistically-challenged' amongst us all. I remember the times Tong and I helped him to prepare for his EPT. REmembered teaching him how to pronounce 'zero'. Yet, it was also him, despite his smaller vocabulary stock who made us laugh. Chee also injected loads of positivism in the way he felt we should take life.

Overall, it was a light-hearted and pleasant session where those involved (who happen to be educators) chose not to grumble or whine about their lives (in school), but rather talk about how blessed we are.

Sweet.

Girl Power

had a gathering of old gals - C, Aggie n myself - of ten years on the beach last nite. while sipping our drinks and picking on the fingerfood, C said her Dad asked why we did not plan to stayover at her place for the nite.

over the past ten years, from teens to adulthood, through times of laughter, sadness, encouragement, disappointment with each other, we had stayed over at C's place many times. All the usual gals' night of chattering, fighting for space on the one bed, racking of her kitchen for midnight snack, endless giggling, poking fun at each other's crushes of yond... C is getting married next year. The family will be moving out in two months. Where we shared our special moments, soon they will no longer be ours.

I told C I thot she's busy so I did not ask tho the thot did come to my mind. So at that moment, we decided to stay over nite... very likely, the last time we'll ever do that.

As usual, we did the raking of her wardrobe for change of clothes. Shoved each other for some room on the bed. Racked her kitchen and the fridge. Spent some time watching tv. Laughed. Giggled. Talked (yest nite's topic included sleep paralysis and sleep... urm.. another sleep disorder condition we all were suffering from). The same way we did for the many years. The only difference - we were ten years older, and we lack the stamina to last much later into the night. By 2am, the other two gals were pretty gone. I managed to make them hang on watching tv and eat icecream til about 3am. Then, we all concuzzed.

Slept on the makeshift beds her dad prepared for us (even before we reached her place). An inflatable bed and another, well... sort of mat? Everything was laid out so nicely with pillows and blankets. Even when we left this morning, we met her dad on the gate while he was driving in and he asked if we were coming back for lunch. Her dad, despite our age, always make us feel like we are back to being little girls. How sweet...

In any case, we just heard in the morning that there was a warehouse sale at the Expo. We decided to go. I underwent my retail therapy. Adding on to the previous trophies (of wet suit, watches, skirts, shoes over the past month), THREE bags, THREE sets of lingerie, and one top. I MUST STOP SHOPPING!!!! (This excludes the one more skirt I bought whle I was in Geylang w Haz). I'm so gone. I must so stop spending!!! No more highclass food... No more shopping... ARGH...

Oh and one thing I've learnt: I will never ever shop in warehouse sale EVER AGAIN!! LIke this is my first experience, and we spent over an hour queuing!!! NEVER EVER!!!

SO much for coming home last nite, waking up early this morn to do work. HA. What a joke. So am I going to start work soon? ... Well, I really need to catch fortywinks from sleep deprivation and tink i do need to go for CG later. SHEESH. Whatever. Enjoy while I can. No point thinking of work when I'm enjoying. That will come later. AH HA HA HA.... zzzzz.....

yeah, i shld be typing away on my school work

but i went to check out AG's blog and came up with this.



create your own visited country map
or check our Venice travel guide

that woman is so artistic my goodness, God isn't fair. *laughs*

I don't want to work anymore!!!

plans for nov/dec vacation

i hvn't updated this here tho some pple are oredi aware.

nope, i wldn't be heading to india. EC and i hv decided to go to Thailand instead. we will be joining a local volunteer center that is working on the rebuilding of the lives of those affected by the tsunami which hit last year, on my birthday. a year has passed. many pple ask me, huh? why are you going there? but really, it takes time for communities to be rebuilt. wat am i gonna do there? i hv no idea. i hope *fingers cramped from crossing* that they wouldn't make me teach. maybe picking up litter, *laughs*, maybe painting, maybe teaching, maybe diving ;). Honestly, i hv no idea. all i noe is, as a volunteer, i have availed my time. its not wat i wanna do, its wats needed there.

is it a pity to give up india now that i've actualy found a companion to go with me? it wasn't an easy decision. but the way i look at it: i have heaven ahead where i tink i can do a lot of nice things. but in heaven, i will not have the blessed opportunity to be God's hands to bless. This, I can now do on earth. Is it worth it? I dunno. Is He pleased? I hope so.

in any case, if you would like to contribute in monetary terms (i've written in to enquire what they want... old clothes etc etc... but they cited financial support), i can be your 'tranferer' to transport your contribution for their works there to rebuild lives. u can pass me your contribution if you trust me. :)

meanwhile, i just realize i'd better start bucking up and get my school admin and planning work started. if not, i'll really be crushed by the paper mountain. *laughs*

great ideas

i realize i do hv some good ideas pertaining to work... can possible amount to big stuff.. have some contacts....

unfortunately, i also realize i lack the courage and confidence that i can pull those things through. hence, the ideas neva got put to use. i mean, such a BOOBOO person, how wld i noe i wldn't create a booboo if i decide to embark on these bigger things? i oredi booboo on small things i've set out to do... sometimes even if its not my fault, still i dun carry out a good job. of course, partly cos of my incompetency.

sigh. wats the use of having ideas when you cant carry them?

on the brighter side, fieldwork is finally possibly formally introduced into my school. maybe the small lichen research plus some psyching done to my boss did help. we are considering doing proper field stuff for the entire level next year. i'm supposed to conduct a recce and briefing for my colleauges next year too before we set off for this attempt. but whether things will turn out that way, and whether i wldn't mess things up.... we'll see lor...

all over the place...

last thursday, was in arab street w a bunch of colleauges. it was KUEH KUEH GALORE!!! i was so happy eating all the weird kueh kuehs. but alas, ended up with LS....

on sat, went to jb w EC. bought like FOUR pairs of shoes. we took it slow. stuck to only one place. so it wasn't as tiring. ate my ayam kuleg. ha ha ha

tis afternn, went to little india w haz to get my brows threaded and bought TWO BIG skirts. u noe lah, my obsession with big long skirts.

in case anyone thinks i'm very free, i cannot be bothered to explain my case. go think watever you wan, pple who always just happily think that teachers are free in the afternoons, free during exams, free after exams, free for all students' vacations.

Next entry: Two questions tt's tickling my brains.

Talks of earthquakes and tsunamis in Singapore

A group of geographer met up and discussed some updates from researches about the possibility of tsunami hitting Singapore. Much as many think we are safe from tsunami or earthquakes, who can be entirely sure?

The question posed would be, if a tsunami hits Singapore as suggested by a researcher, where would be the safest place in Singapore? While high-rise buildings found all over may be a refuge from the tall waves, the structure of the buildings may not be able to withstand the impacts of the waves, especially if the waves are amplified by the narrow channel along the Straits of Malacca.

The geographers' only choice (not that it was fantastic, but it was the best bet) was Bukit Timah hill. Afterall, its a lump of granite, stronger than the man-made concrete.

So I've resolved to work very very very hard to earn my million bucks to buy a piece of land at Bukit Timah, hmm, make it a piece of landed property just beside Bukit Timah HILL. Of course, I have to train to run up the hill, quick enough too.

the kueh lapis geography teacher

Teacher is an unglamorous job. Exciting things do happen, but nothing hip or glamorous. Sometimes I do look at myself and wonder what happened to me such that I am so unhip, uncool, and unglamorous. Worse when I end up spending more than half my time dealing with admin stuff at the expense of doing what I'm 'paid' or passionate about doing - developing the lives.

Yet, these couple of days, there are small things that reward me.

1. I was entering my lift after work and out came two of the gals I used to teach in MPSS more than two years ago. Immediately, they greeted me!! By the correct surname immediately!! I was like, WOW.

2. I got down the bus couple of nites ago and from the back, someone called me. I turned back to see another students from MPSS. Its not the first time we ended up in the same bus and walked back togehter to our flat. But its nice. He was in Sec 2 then. Now, he will be taking his O levels. We chatted and he told me he wanted to be a tamil language teacher.

3. I had a splitting headache dealing with the GIS project. Sent the gals to collect the data the second time today, only to have to deal with technical problems while they were away. Not the first time I was stuck for hours dealing with this software. Til now, the problem is not resolved. But when I saw how they learnt new things and the amazement on their faces (only to a certain extent lah), I'm glad they were able to learn something useful and applicable to life, out of the curriculum.

4. I just came home from a nite class with the current Sec 4s I taught Geography to last year. I thought they wouldn't ask me questions and would direct their queries to their current Geog teacher. To my surprise, we clicked back to when I left them. Some of them even told me they remembered my kueh lapis analogy in plate tectonics and weathering. I did not use this analogy this year. But really, am surprised it stuck with them. One even said she chose to study plate tectonics (which was one of the most challenging topics in Phy Geog) because of the kueh lapis. lol. Maybe I should use it next year again.
It was so pleasant, the couple of hours which extended later than the time scheduled passed so quickly. I'm like, hey, finally I'm doing TEACHING today! Beyond the filling in of forms, etc. etc. etc. It was comforting to see how they have come so far (urm, but still have more to catch up for their Os). I spend the last portion trying to inspire them with pictures I've taken and showing them the relevance of things happening to what they are studying, beyond the memory of facts from our txtbook author MC.

Sometimes I do wonder if I'm doing the right thing 'playing' with them just to inspire them to learn and experience new things instead of focussing on examination skills. I mean, I do do the latter, but see, I could have spent more time doing that rite? But yet, I cannot bear the thought of not exciting them about the many things in life. Am I doing the right thing? I don't know. Only time will tell.

Sandman

I looked at the coat of sand that has dried and lightly stuck on my feet. This look... reminds me of a person I met when I was little - younger than 6.

We were on the bus on the way to a bungalow for my maternal's family chalet. Somewhere in the north/east of Singapore, we transfered onto an old SBS shuttle bus.

I was sitting near the front of the bus, where there were two rows of seats facing each other. Apparently, the bus was travelling along the beach (I couldn't see the beach, well, by deduction). At a quiet stop, one man board the bus and sat on the row of seats facing me. I looked at him. I was shocked. He looked like some weird person with sand coated like all over him, even on his forehead. He was carrying a crew cut, and some of the sand were like falling off him as and when. Strangely, this strange being was eating a brightly colored swiss-roll-like bread. He looked scary, the Sandman. He looked at me with his big eyes and smiled and offered me his brightly colored swiss-roll-like bread after looking at me (probably?) stare at him. I was frightened and shook my head.

Perspective of sandman has changed as life moves on with new episodes of experiences for me. My guess now, Sandman was probably a teenager or even like army boy who got saboe-ed by his pals with 'mua-chee'. Like any usual being, sandy, he made his way home on public transport while munching on his food. (It was ok to eat on buses previously.) Sandman saw a young (cute?? actually 'gong-looking') girl staring at him and out of goodwill and well soft spots for kids?? offered his food.

Over twenty years has passed. I wonder where Sandman is. I wonder who Sandman is. In a weird sense, as I'm thinking of Sandman when I associated the coat of sand on my feet, there is only ONE Being in this whole wide world who knows the whereabouts of this Sandman. Of course, I'm sure Sandman do not remember this episode.

This episode strangely surfaced from my memory archives during my walk on Siloso beach today with Fel and her friend when we went for the Jazz by the Beach in Sentosa.

His Love Never Fails

Its hard to be 'joyful' when things just seem to go wrong despite the efforts one puts in. Rem the field collection we did on Teachers' Day? The data... was.... gone.... GONE..... A mth ago, brought guitar gals out for performance. Accoustics was bad..... BAD..... Tho my sis was getting married next year, just need to tahan half a year more... but... no.. the plan was different..... DIFFERENT..... Teachers' Day supposed to be the time u noe whether u hv made impact in kids' lives rite? but... it seems i haven't.... haveN"T....

And I'm supposed to say God is good. I mean, I'm His mouthpiece etc. right? And He will bless me so I can be a blessing rite?

It has been a tough couple of months. I hv been struggling to be a 'victorious' christian trusting Him. Yeah, I mean, of course I trust Him. After all, wat can go so wrong in the perspective of eternity?

Many things I desire, which are good,which are theoretically 'pleasing' in His sight. But yet... it wasn't enuff.

After the most recent episode of the disappearing data, honestly, I dunno wat He is up to. Hving to break the news to my boss, and worse, to the kids who went under the hot sun w me... was .....

Then, when i went for CG (after months, and i almost din make it again cos of the terrible episode), God revealed to me that... these things happened so I know how much He loves me and His love will neva fail me. How? I dunno. But I know and am reminded that indeed, all that I need is His unfailing love.

In any case, so amazingly, my gals took it very positivel when i broke the news to them. In fact, even tho i gave them the option of taking another teams' data (outside our vicinity) to work with, they chose to collect the data all over again, unanimously. I learnt grace. I learnt how sometimes, we just need to be more positive and b so hard on ourselves. But, i was really really encouraged, meaning, i shld get them something nice to affirm th em ey? *laughs*

His love neva fails... .... ...

10 Ways to avoid becoming a missionary

1. Ignore Jesus' request in John 4:35
that we take a long hard look at the fields. Seeing the needs of people can be depressing and very unsettling. It could lead to genuine missionary concern.(John 4:35 "Do you not say, `Four months more and then the harvest'? I tell you, open your eyes and look at the fields! They are ripe for harvest."

2. Focus all your energies on socially legitimate targets.
Go after a bigger salary. Make your primary focus a job promotion, a bigger home, a more luxurious car, or future financial security. Along the way, run up some big credit card debts.

3. Get married to somebody who thinks the "Great Commission" is what your employer gives you after you make a big sale.
After marriage, plunge into the socially accepted norm of settling down, establishing a career and raising a family.

4. Stay away from missionaries.
Their testimonies can be disturbing. The situations they describe will distract you from embracing whole-heartedly the materialistic lifestyle of your home country.

5. If you happen to think about missions, restrict your attention to countries where it's impossible to openly do missionary work.
Think only about North Korea, Saudi Arabia, China and other closed countries. Forget the vast areas of our globe open to missionaries. Never, never listen to talk about creative access countries.

6. Think how bad a missionary you would be based on your own past failures.
It is unreasonable to expect you will ever be any better. Don't even think about Moses , David, Jonah, Peter or Mark, all of whom overcame failures.

7. Always imagine missionaries as talented, super-spiritual people who stand on lofty pedestals.
Maintaining this image of missionaries will heighten your own sense of inadequacy. Thinking that God does not use ordinary people as missionaries will smother any guilt you may feel about refusing to even listen for a call from God.

8. Agree with the people who tell you that you are indispensable where you are.
Listen when they tell you that your local church or home country can't do without you.

9. Worry incessantly about money.

10. If you still feel you must go, go out right away without any preparation or training. You'll soon be home again and no one can ever blame you for not trying!

adventure@hantu

0810 Arrived at RSYC by cab.

0830 Met the rest and we all split into 2 grps for 2 sites.

0930 At hantu reef. Saw a OWD course going on. And all joked how there would be no fish to record today cos all the fish will be frightened away.

1000+ Tape-layers descended, followed by fish 15 mins later. Inverts (my buddy n i) supposed to follow 15 mins later, but buddy did not hv mask, so hv to wait for tape-layers to surface to lend her mask. But ended up, we din get to dive at the beginning because.......

A CONVECTION RAIN CAME!!!
Geography lesson: Prior to rain, VERY STRONG drafts of wind. Rain is of high intensity (ouch) and short duration lasting between 1 - 2 hours.

What happened for us was very strong surface (and reported in the shallow waters we were dealing with as well) currents. Our little boat started to shift closer and closer to the breakwaters and we were abt to hit it. had to drag one fish-gal who lost her buddy out so the boatman can start the engine to move the boat before we hit the breakwaters. I saw with my own eyes a tree from the island break its trunk and fell into the sea. Anywayz, a huge HUGE barge was also drifting towards us and the boatman wanted us to get the rest out of water (LIKE WE CAN CONTACT THEM?!?) because it would be dangerous for them if the barge did drift any closer. Cant raff the engine to signal to them cos we need it to keep us away from the breakwater, so i resorted to the second (not too effective, in fact, not effective, just try lah) method of recalling the pple. Knocking metal to the ladder. Anywayz, it was rocky, painful (attack from the raindrops). F9inally, we got all of them up. I got totally wet, my wet suit's first saturation is rain water and not sea water. And ha, the rain subsided after quite a while, but within the 1 - 2 hours time frame. Next qns: to abort or not abort survey? Decision: Not.

1300+ I was cold n shivering even before i was in water. ANywayz, lost buddy once. Overweight. Too small BC. My BC cant inflate. @#$#&*(@ A pair of divers reeled up the first transect making my buddy n i lost for a while. Vis wasn't too bad for hantu. ave about 1.5m. Of course, when silt is stirred up, vis is 0.00m. Not bad lah.

1430 Finished survey. Got up. Had lunch. Served up brownie and fruits. lol. Waiting for bentic to surface.

1545 Left site. But we were heading further from mainland. reason: boatman went further to chekc on another boat which was grounded (hit coral). It was tilting pretty badly. Poor boatman gotta wait till high tide. And worse, a TANKER got grounded too. Many bigger boats (than ours) were like trying to drag it or something like tat.

1630 Arrived back at RSYC. Unpacked. Showered. Came home.

Wash gear Wash gear Wash gear.

Its a long entry. I noe its boring. But hey, now i can print this and stick it in my log book! dun hv to write again. lol

Meanwhile, marking starts tom. So will prob MIA for a while.

TiS d sEaSoN 2 b mArKiNg fA La lA La lA La lA La la.....

HA HA HA

i spent a bomb today.

bought a wet suit, a dress watch and a sports watch all in a day!

wet suit - black w some red trimmings here and there. its a cool wet suit. pity i become a mish mash mismatch of colors with my so-far blue and yellow combi of fins, mask, etc. No choice. I need my wet suit by tom, and its really nicely priced and the cut is nice. oh well, consolation: whichever buddy i hv will recognize me from a hundred other divers in the water.

dress watch - bought a dkny watch. crazy to spend the bomb. but tink its time i invest in a proper watch.

sports watch - always wanted one which has stopwatch function so i dun hv to rely on my ipod or mobile to check how much time i took to complete my run.

in case u tink i'm anyhow spending my money, tt's not true. my 'last' watch died on me during the week. i had to borrow a watch from a colleague for the rest of the week because i hv no time to get a watch. pathetic rite? from someone who use to wear watches as her accessory. oh well. now i dun hv to anymore. 2 is enuff. of course i wldn't mind the cheaper cute ones too still. ;)

Timing - Who decides the very moment the first drop of rain falls in a storm?

I got to leave school early this afternoon. The sky was dark and had been threatening to rain since late morning. Being the Geog teacher, I had been 'analyzing' and trying to guess when rain will fall - predicting it to be in the afternoon, definitely today.

As I was leaving the school, was thinking whether or not to bring the BIG umbrella. By 'calculation', based on the way the clouds look, they'd hold a while more. I was probably gonna reach home JUST before the rain pours or the rain would fall just MIN(s) before I reach home. To bring or not to bring. Decision: Not.

On the bus, still pretty sunny, with the dark clouds looming nonetheless. When I was within 1 km from my place (but still 'circling' around my neighborhood cos of the bus route), it was like... quick quick bussie, anytime will rain. Strangely, the bus keeps hitting the red lights (which I know would 'jeopardize' my hope in reaching my flat dry).

"Trapped" in the bus, I was thinking, WHO really decides on the VERY MINUTE the first drop of rain, then the second, and the third, then the downpour to fall? - Esp in times when we are at the 'critical threhold' where either you just make it dry, or end up very drenched, just affected by those very minutes - traffic lights / passengers alighting/boarding.

So many rains a day in so many places. WHO presses the 'fall' button? The world may boast its technological advances to precision in timing in setting off fireworks during countdowns / celebrations, in sending the murderous H-bomb that kill in 000s, all at the touch of a button. But who can control the very thing that affects our lives daily? Not us, even with our 'fantastic' technology. The world may boast its technological advances in modifying the very element I'm talking about - rain, through seeding. But we can only modifying, subjected to natural limitations such as humidity and pressure. We can't just shift it to any place we want it to fall.

Its just amazing how despite our 'achievements', the simple rain that falls each time can remind us of how great our Creator Abba is. He is the One who decides on each small storm's beginning and end. I'm not even talking about huge storms that have been grabbing headlines lately.

Why am I even blogging about this? No, bong, its not cause I think too much. I thot I was a little cuckoo to read so much into it earlier. But in evening, human fears strike again. I worry about my future. I linger through memories of decisions made, some of which I 'regret' in my human nature but yet have to trust God that that is what pleases Him. Then I realize, I'm not thinking too much. "I hold everything in place. I am in control of every single timing." That's what He's saying.

I pray, that I will trust my faithful Father.

If anyone is still interested if I'm caught in the rain? I was ONE minute behind. So was caught in a moderately heavy rain. But one minute after I stepped into my flat buidling, the moment I stepped out of the lift, it was raining very heavily. Kindof in between ey? ;)

Where will you be in December?

I was so happy that I've found someone to go with me to India!!! YES!!! can you believe it?

But now, our plans might shift. What's the plan? Need to work it out first. But its a hard decision to make. Stay tuned.

Oh yeah, but where will YOU be in December? At least, where do you think you will be? Then I can plot our where my pals will be on the map. :D

nursing

spending my weekend just resting

spent most of yest afternn in bed cos wasn't feeling well. EC managed to get me out for some fresh air. but she said i looked like crap. well, i felt like crap. like 50 year old woman. lol. thnx for being patient when i'm so full of crap yest. lol

today, getting out of house to church was a challenge again. impending flu coming up. but told myself must go to church. den end up? CM sunday. Honestly, when i see the kids, and worse, the parents, they really frighten me!! oops. :P

hopefully tom will feel better. haiz..... la la la la.... i'm bored.... feeling old... lol

bandaged...

since i'm on the topic of footwear, here's my 'injuired' shoe while i was in kunming. (yeah, all my footwear gave way there) and its final resting plce was in a 3-star hotel in Kunming city, together with my faithful sandals. They have served me well.



Oh yeah, and tt's wat is good abt taking first aid course and a first aid pouch w u wherever u go. LOL

Before & After...

First one taken in Ang Snoul, Cambodia, en route to river near the orphanage w kids in June 2004. Second one taken in Xundian, Kunming, China, on the last visit to the Pri school when we bid them farewell, June 2005. Left it behind in China, never to see it thereafter. Dun ask me y i take pics of my sandals (esp the first pic). I dunno. lol

Its been more than a week since i last blogged. where hv i been? wat hv i done? still in singapore (duh) and largely busy with work (reads: setting of examination papers).

since d last entry, most of my time had been spent setting the papers, day and nite, in and out of school. Finally submitted them. Den was busy with meetings. Only til Friday evening was i finally and suddenly free from it all - at least for this weekend.

so friday nite, went to new frens' plce to chill. there was a gathering of 2 swiss, 1 german, 1 'half-malay;half-chinese;half-indonesian;half-singaporean' (or so she claims, but tt totals up to 2 rite? :P), and 7 other singaporeans (pure? how i noe?). it was supposedly a pasta dinner. but turned out to be more a 'suppertime' drinks cum food prepared by our swiss pals and local delights bought by us. A bizarre mix of mooncakes (traditional pastry type, colored skin type, walnut type), alcohol (tequila, vodka, jap rice wine only found in okinawa they claim, cheap thai whisky), pasta (with three types of sauces); otah, choc cake, fried champedak, ... .... .... i almost cldn't make it for this gathering cos was exhausted from week. but was gald i made it. sitting round the table with nice breeze, great food and good company... was great.

saturday was largely... sleep.... mooncake... sleep... toast.... sleep... was catching up on lack of sleep from fri's late rendevous and from the week in general. in total, my waking hours was like abt 9??? lol. so was too stoned to do anything or meet anyone.

so today, not so stoned anymore. but despite the sleep last nite, still sleepy. must be the weather. in fact, i was caught dozing off standing while waiting for AO to pass me something. playing for service wasn't too fantastic cos i was too stoned to b alert (glad i was on piano and not KB). so was sermon time. so is it now. must b the weather. oh. did i oreid type that? lol. i'm going to sleep again now... nites....

btw, eyes recovering fine. eyes still adjusting to fine prints. dry sometimes, but very managable. best part, no need to take out lenses or wash (i hardly do tt anyway :P) after long day out. like can just shower and sink into bed. :D speaking of bed..... ..... .....

goodbye specky... ...

Specs.... they have been with me for close to 2 decades. Started with a pink plastic frame, then a smaller maroon one, den another pink one which in Sec sch they thot it was too 'hip' and wanted me to change new specs during spotcheck?!?! den i moved on into metal frames. black. gold. silver. blue. den it was back to my current 'hip' blue specky u either love or hate.

tis week, i hv ditched specs by undergoing lasik. mon was a breeze. eye just took a longer time to adjust and stabilize. for today for the second eye however, i realized i had taken the first one's blessedness for granted. it was like there waws something gritty stuck in my eye ALL DAY LONG and i ws tearing like no ppl's business. P says tt's cos everyone knew abt my mon procedure and prayed for it but for todays, no one was informed so they din pray. lol. still, thanks mom, dad, mommy, P, KN, SR, AO and all others who prayed for muaz. It was a comfort knowing that i'm covered not only by the love of Daddy but also of you pple.

Anywayz, how was the procedure like? Well, just not something i'd like to go through again. Mon's was smoother than today's. In fact, procedure was delayed today due to some unforeseen backlog. So ended up having to bring my mom out of the center for lunch (with a dilated pupil!! that was crazy!) Just din feel that good during the procedure itself and after tt. Discomfort all the way in the afternn into the evening. Decided to go down for worship prac tonite, just to play flute. Strangely, after i left my place, the eye slowly got better. and its realy pretty decent comfort wise now. God works ey?

anywayz, vision is still blur. will take time to stabilize. and only after this den did i realize that my left eye's degree is almost DOUBLE that of my right eye's. no wonder i get so disoriented when i dun hv my specky. whichever the case... i've ditched my specky for now. For how long? I dunno. Maybe until age catches up.. that ... is another story for another time.

sunrise or sunset?

Imaged uploaded is a sunrise during the reefwalk weeks ago. Rare to catch a nice sunrise. Sunsets usually work better. A gal gave me a card for Teachers' Day asking 'do u see a sunrise or sunset?' I like sunsets more. But i tink i shld see more sunrise? lol

Wats been up:

1. SCALP BURN!!!

2. Teachers' Day was so-so. Sad tt despite all the hard work into my CCA, my efforts were not appreciated.

3. Spent Teachers' Day bringing kids out to log data. Hot hot hot.

4. Kids out for performance at CS today. It was.... sigh... disappointing due to poor acoustics. Gals cant be heard. They were good, but cant be heard and cant hear each other so cldn't play as a group. Now, they feel lousy. SIGH.

5. Lasik is coming up on Mon. Had been specky these few days. Still dun hv mom's support. But i'm going ahead.

6. Currently its really just sigh. The only good news :) is my dear EC can go and take her OWD oredi!!! After one long year gal! So happy for u. Lets hit the water tog. For u, i'll go down the water once more tis yr. :)

simple prayer answered

the sky is still holding! despite how according to 'nature', there was no rain. we completed our data collation. Just over 200 trees recorded. I'm so dying... lol...

My Daddy heard my prayer! Thank You Dad!