Questions beyond my comprehension

As the year come to a close, I am challenged with some things concerning the natural and yet not-so-natural world which I haven't found the answers to/resolve.

1. Natural - The Tsunami
I have always marvelled at the awesomeness of God whenever I get to see the handicraft of His hand. Tis year alone, I got to look under the sea, the tallest snow-capped mountains, slugs, and the familiar and new sights of flowers and trees I'm familiar with. The tsunami that just struck the coasts of many countries and islands, causing large scale devastations (an understatement of course!) Like the mountains and coral colony etc, it is natural. Can I say I'm awed by God? Perhaps,..., not really actually.... How are we supposed to look at God's glory in nature in this case? Its nature too... but..... I question at the same time, what is the Father's heart in relation to this matter? How does He look at this event when He allowed that to happen?

2. Natural and Not-so-natural
This is based on my interest on the infinite possibilities of life stirred up by a discussion (slight debate) with DR tis afternn. Its pretty complex and it'll be difficult for me to lay out the points and my final take but I shall make a feeble attempt to here.

Cosmology. According to DR, time is relative (and I agree to a pretty high extent). Each man is bound by time which offers infinite possibilities. That, I agree too. The way our lives take place are tightly woven into the cosmology, meaning, someone out there who's born at exactly the same time as I am have a similar cosmic, meaning, we will have similar occurances in different parts of the world. We might be doing similar things at this very moment, but bound by opportunities and situational factors and the infinity given by time, we might be doing different things, but at some other point of time, our lives will converge at certain crossroads and end up doing something similar.
I never believe in horoscopes because to me, it means that there are only 12 kinds of personalities in the world. At the same time, they serve more as entertainment and possibly self-fulfilling prophecies, consciously or subconsciously. However, the fact that even a machine can 'calculate' accurately (detailed) occurances in one's life {i cant argue spirits if predicted by fortune tellers} makes one wonder about cosmology. The fact that ancient civilizations spread across the earth evidence heavy influence (to the point of dependence) of cosmology surely meant there's something about it more than just useless calculations?

DR's propositions stop at... relativism. The stars sort of influence our path but time is infinite. Possibilities are infinite. But I cannot stop there, because, much as I like what relativism has to offer, there is the ABSOLUTE, who is the Truth, and that is God. I cannot stop at "everything's what you perceive it to be".

I do not claim to know this well. In fact, I'm fairly clueless. But what had been said holds some water based on historical and experiences of people. My take for now - perhaps cosmology does reflect our lives. It reflects but not control/bind our destiny. Because out there (beyond many's comprehension, mine only goes by faith) lies the One who controls the cosmology, the very path and site of each star. That's where the Absolute comes in. That's my take for now - till more is revealed. Like I will have the brains and time to tink further.

Anywayz, I have been mulling over these from 2004 into 2005. Its 12.03am now. Whoever's reading my contemplations and still awake, or lucid *chuckles* Merry new year!! lol... Why merry? I dunno... Blessed new year. :)

oh.... views on these are very appreciated. :)

I Want To Know You

Who are You
You who brought me out of darkness
Who are You
You who gave me life anew
Who are You
You give me freedom and hope in life
I want to know You

Who are You
You touched my soul each time I come
Who are You
You who healed my broken heart
Who are You I call on everyday You are there

Chorus 1:
Jesus, Father, Spirit
I want to know You
Savior, Abba, Counselor
I want to know You

Instrument Interlude

Chorus 2:
Jesus, Lamb of God, Lovely Kindness
You are my Lord

Bridge:
I want to know You
I want to know You Lord
Show me Your face

Chorus3:
Jesus, Father, Spirit
Show me Your face
I want to know You

This my prayer to You O Lord in the coming new year... Who are You?

gingerbread man

i am eating a gingerbread man now. its right leg. mua ha ha....

actually, its weird eating a gingerbread man!! G gave me one on my bday. its so cute, seriously.

i just decided to take it out to munch on. looking at it, i did not noe where to start from! so i started with the left arm. but after breaking it off, two things. one, it does not look cute anymore, in fact pathetic. two, its so weird to be eating a gingerbread man!! i mean, limbs are easier, how on earth does one go about eating its head?!?! so cruel!!!

or maybe, i just think too much...

Good news....

I'll be out of Eng for at least one semester... will be taking another level of Geog instead. :) Still hv to complete eng stuff for this year, but i'm happy enough.... now i dun hv to spend my time waiting ard for pple to be ready.... efficiency has been absent w those i've worked in.. so i'm really glad to move on to Geog. temporal, but good enough. :)

OPERATION CLEANUP

it was operation cleanup most of the day.... decided to clear up my place before new year comes (or work starts tom). see, i'm a sentimental junkie, pun intended for JUNK. i collect junk, like nice wedding invites, outdated presents from frens (2003 calender?!?), nice packagings of my previous mobiles and so forth.

today, i took out a trash bag and started trashing, things that i wldn't notice are gone after trashing. i'm still a sentimental junkie, so there are still things i ought to trash but have not done so. but fairly proud of my achievement compared to previous attempts. so now my room is a LITTLE roomier than previously... :) getting ready for new year!!

Mango sale.... ....

*SHIVERS*

was out w ana for the evening. accompanying her for the mango sale. we went to ALL FOUR outlets in orchard... (to tink i thot i missed out christmas in town, now, a tad overdose *chuckles*) see, i dun rush down to mango sale like many do. in fact, i avoid it. this had been my first mango sale and not many ahead. will only go down for pple worth my company for. :P

had dinner at OD and guess who i bumped into??? some of my music classmates!! after dinner w ana, joined the noise-producing-gang for a drink.. it was nice to catch up again.. to see each other freshened before most of us start our work again TOMORROW... bleah. *laughs*

anywayz, during dinner w ana, we had a good talk. its farnie actually. previously during our last outing, she was worried for me.. worried that i was having such a good time being single i'll neva wanna get settled down. after tonite, she understood that its not that i dun wanna get settled down. its just, i'm in no hurry (because, per-lease, how do you hurry tis kind of matter?) see, if there no one there, den enjoy life as it is!! if the rite person comes along, den i suppose u enjoy life in a different manner? the point is, i'm learning to appreciate whichever situation i'm in. but we also spoke deeper abt stuff, leaving me feel a little bruised. hehz... but tt's life lah huh? well, new year ahead, means new things ahead too. look ahead!! in any case, its always nice to catch up w ana.... maybe i shld just take her advice and 'jump'. lol

i'm still no fan of mango sales... it takes someone i treasure for me to go for them... *chuckles*

Current Mood: bruised

tis yr's Christmas and bday....

when i toucheddown on 23 nite, or i shld say when i got home on Christmas eve, i was like... Christmas, wat Christmas?

In any case, it had been 3 days jam packed with times spent with frens and i must say, as with last year, I am really thankful for my frens, and how God has been faithful despite my faithlessness and unfaithfulness.

24th evening met up w sandfly. found a nice and quiet place w good food. :)

Christmas... managed to 'drag' myself to church. 'drag' because i'm used to not waking early just to go to church. but i noe i have to go. :) it was nice meeting frens. had a short family dinner. after which, met up with my diving frens. they were so sweet, they actually waited til like 12 to wish me bday. by the time i got back it was like 3. but it was a good nite. as usual, they were trying to teach me the 'ways of politics in work'.... having to not only manage my students, but to 'manage my boss'. lol.. but tt'll b a challenge...

tis morn, somehow, i dunno, must b His divine grace, somehow i made it to church, albeit a little late. quite nice to catch up w ana a little. she gave me cookies!! man.. i'm suckered for cookies.. even w sorethroat.. i went on munching (urm, E, i've finished those u baked. :P) had lunch w P. we realized we prob hvn't met up for a meal for 2 years?!? evening met G for dinner. also been a long time since we met. at first were wandering round AIMLESSLY in orchard (yeah, i finally saw the christmassy orchard) til we were both sian but din say anything abt it. den ended up in M9 for dinner. i overate the dessert. :P evening was more subdued than usual, than our previous meetings. guess we've changed? but as i said gal, it not wat we do but the company tt matters. thanks. :)

all in all, i had a good time meeting up w pple... i tink i've put on a couple of pounds... told myself its the festive season plus my bday so can indulge... but urm.. tink i'd better stop man.

oh, guess wat? i got something from my christmas wish list!!! i mean, i wrote it down for fun, not expecting anyone to get the stuff.. seriously, but E got me a dive sausage!!! thanks!!! i'll definitely learn to launch it during my next dive! :)

as i've mentioned to a couple of frens, i'm thankful for the trip. it was a good break, and a badly needed one as some of u oredi noe. :) my prayer was to see God during the trip, and He answered my prayer, in a subtle manner. i still dunno wat holds ahead, wat challenges i might face, how i might respond to them, victorious or defeated, but i noe one thing, that is that He is faithful, and unchanging, and also thank you to all who have been praying for me.

Current mood: Bliss

Of Nepal... Chapter Two

1. Of checkpoints

Level of security at checkpoints intensified with each day I'm there. Has gotta do with the Maoist movement. We got stuck in Pokhara an extra day cos the maoist declared 2-day strike, roads were closed. When we travelled back to Kathmandu a day later than scheduled, we got stuck mid-way cos apparently 10km ahead, was a clash between the maoist n the army!! a bus was bombed.. saw the bombed out bus and another bombed out depression on the road (the day earlier) later when we were finally allowed to pass hours later. BUT I DIGRESS.... lol... see... checkpoints are everywhere... in the beginning, at checkpoints, the army police merely popped in his head into our vehicle and inspect the passengers... Later part of my trip after the insurgence, all the locals who were travelling would have to get down their bus/whichver vehicles and have their baggage searched, followed by a body search. I am not talking abt major airport baggage search. its just any other road... but yes, there are these searches.... and i've neva gone thro such thorough search in airports before... at the airport... i was frisked thrice! (the last one just before we board the plane on the apron!)...had my hand carry thoroughly searched as well!! i was ticklish.. so the security officer who frisked me the second time round at the apron area recognized me. once she saw me.. she laughed... *chuckles*

2. Of simplicity and choices

On the mountains, life is simple. You reach your destination for the day, either relax (if early) or just have your dinner. The sun sets at 5.30pm. Thereafter, there'll be nothing to do. I try to read in my room by the candle, until the cold forces me to stop reading as even my gloved fingers are frozen stiff. Choice of food? Not much. But I liked that. When we finished the trek, back in more 'civilized' areas, I was suddenly slapped with choices... so many choices!! Choice of food... choice of activity... choice of which shop to go into.... choice of what to buy.... Suddenly I was at a loss.... confused... :) I miss my simple life... :)

3. Of sherpas and others

Clearing a misconception. People think that all mountain guides are sherpas. They are not. Sherpa is just an ethnic group. Perhaps why pple mistakenly relate guides/porters with sherpas has got to do with the first man who mounted Mt Everest Sir Edmund Hillary did it with a sherpa? But no, they can include other ethnic groups as well. :) Malang, my mountain guide for example is a Tamang. My two nice porters, Puchong and Nima, however, are sherpas.

4. Of traversing the mountains

According to Lonely Planet (i cannot locate the page), trekking in most mountains means going round the mountain and up. In Nepal however, trekking in the mountains, means trekking UP and DOWN the mountains, LITERALLY. To get to the other side, means I have to go all the way down, and then up. I have no idea how many mountains we've gone up and down. But the most testing one was on Day 2 of trek, from Pottana, 1900m, we went down to approx a 1000m high valley, followed by a seemingly endless ascend (may i emphasize, steep) to approx 2000m peak for rest. I was just glad that wasn't repeated everyday of the trek. *laughs*

5. Of a modern & strong Nepali lady

I met this lady..She's 28, but has seen more than enough of the ugly world a 28-year-old should have seen. At 15, she was married as her husband threatened to kill her parents. Given that her husband was of a lower caste than her, she was ousted out of the house. Now, she's divorced, with two children. Husband used to beat her up, and now has a new wife. She cldn't return home. Worked hard for her children. Just embarked on a new form of 'employment' selling tibetan jewelry so that she can be home at nite for children. Still, inexperience and the fact tt she's sincere and not a tibetan, its difficult in this line. All she wanted, was good education for her children. She may come from the village, not be educated, etc. But the way I see it, the way I hear her, she is definitely a modern, strong and beautify lady...

6. My name is not called 'pen'.

Kids in the village are used to trekkers giving them pencils, pens, chocolates, sweets... so it is not uncommon to have kids passing by greeting you 'Namaste pen?'
'Nameste sweet?'..... I din like wat i see... seriously... wat have we done to kids? anyhow, i only gave away pencils to those who did not ask for it, those who are sincere is just greeting. ... but den again, am i going to be a guilty culprit causing this one child i've given a pencil start going 'Namaste pen?'... i hope not... :(

Of Nepal....

1. Of rapids & drains

We did rafting across rapids. Highest grade was 3+, so no big deal. Out of curiousity, i asked my guide cum instructor whether he knew how rapids were formed. I would teach my students that rapids are resultant features from presence of riverbeds with bands of rocks with different resistance. (or something like that, cant phrase it correctly now). He's answer was interesting.... Using limited amt of vocab, he explained to me that... underneath the river are drains.... Same concept, different expression. :)

2. Of hills & mountains

We started our trek at about 1500m. Technically speaking, we are oredi on mountains. I stood amazed at the endless mountain ranges as far as my eyes can see... my guide Malang pointed out to us when i referred to those ahead of me as mountains... 'Those are not mountains, they are JUST HILLS." To them, mountains would encompass big buddies like Everest, Daulakiri, etc, snowcapped ones.. the rest... could be 3000m in height, etc, but they are only hills in comparison to those rising above 6000m. In sch, i teach my kids, hills are 600m and below, mountains above 600m. Den again, wat gives me the right to tell my guide that he is wrong? He is more right than anyone of us given the context of where he comes from.... where 2000m highlands are considered midgits.... :)

3. Of the smell.... of smoke..

I realized that in Nepal, whether you are in the city, or the mountains, you will smell smoky (as long as there is 'civilization' or, presence of human). However, smokiness can be differentiated as well. In city, the smokey smell comes from incense... offered in temples... in small worship corners dedicated to their gods along the streets.. everywhere... or worse, cremation... (i witnessed one, it wasn't pleasant, more thots abt it later).... In the hills, smoke comes from burnt firewood.. for warmth.. for cooking... Wherever I got, I smell of smoke... but I'll definitely prefer the latter over the former for obvious reasons....

4. Of Karmasutra

This is a joke. I mean, a sad joke lah. At Dubar Square, our self-declared guide Toya was pointing out to the roof of one of the temples (out of the many in that small area!! very bizarre area!!), saying, if you note, underneath that carving is the carving of karmasutra.... I looked hard... very hard.... Looking for something 'sutra-like'. Sutra to me is like.. scriptures? Am i wrong? I DUNNO!! Anyhow, I cldn't find any inscriptions etc.. and i looked REALLY hard.. and I asked him... "Wat's karmasutra?" My travelmate was shocked! Both of them were embarassed... more for me than anyone else.... *chuckles* But hell, I REALLY DUNNO WAT IT WAS!!! only heard of makan sutra wat... so karmasutra shhld be something like karma-sutra (scripture for karma/doing good?) Oh watever. i noe wat it is now.. *laughs*

Many many more thots but I'm way too tired to post for now... Overall, its been a good trip... Amongst the many things, the mountains are my favorite!! :) Still loading up my fotos, will take days to get things done (if i can even find time to!!) Those interetsed in seeing the pics, email me. :)

You are 53% Capricorn

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Nepal.... here i come!!!!

I cant believe my wish had come true.... Unbelievable!!! Din realize that its reality until a couple of hours ago when on my way to change currency... in approx 16 hours.... i will touchdown!! The feeling is quite strange actually. the last time i was away for over a week was last year in Thailand... strangely, i'm gonna miss my frens!!! weird isn't it? always thot i've wanted to be away... but when its here, its so surreal. *laughs*

wat will i come back w? .... ... ....

in any case, final packing done. uploaded fotos n cleared my flashcard, charged the batts, test-walked GR's army boots and it failed the test inflicting blisters, meaning... its trackshoes for trekking...

NEPAL HERE I COME!!!!

Current State: Esctatic

here... and... there.....

a short continuation of yest's blog... in any case, cos of the late nite, EC n i did not manage to run at 6am as we wanted to (well we slept at 4am after watching Finding Nemo while drinking Corona w lemon we bought from Carrefour. It was a chill out and watever rubbish goes nite. lol). The funniest part was, we did not even hear the alarm go off!!! Suddenly, it was bright, i saw her at the door look at me asking 'guess wats the time now??' *laughs* late enough for me to jump out of bed, washup and get out so she wldn't b late for her meeting. anyhow, i was so dazed i wore my running shorts the front at the back! *laughs* and did not even realize it!! walking ard in the house until she burst out laughing... :) man.....

anyhow.... skip watever happened yest since (i baked!! ah ha ha) ... it was late nite again... nonetheless, i managed to get up early enough to meet my godbrother for breakfast. it was a good breakfast as we shared abt our lives here and there. i was encouraged. as usual, i am reminded that i need to tidy up my messy life... and my hope is... by next year... because, i can see the next year a better year, if i stop procrasinating, nuahing (according to bong's words) and 'rebelling'. have been in silent rebellion for too long. the road ahead though, is uncertain... and difficult...

FINALLY got down to my packing and more or less completed. just need to get some cash n change currency and i'm almost there.... actually... by the time i'm back.. the holidays would have ended.... how fast.... *sighz* wat on earth do i wan in my life?

Current state: Sleepy

Date: 7 Dec 2004
Time: 9:56am
Venue: Clinic in Tampines

Waiting for my turn to see the doctor. This is the ‘da-pai’ doctor where you have to wait for hours, which explains why I’m doing my blog here and now.

Finally, I’ve compiled PART of the Eng SOW, while waiting for the doc. This is seriously the best that I can do for now, the rest have to wait til I’m back from Nepal.

Super-duper sleepy now. Just trying to stay awake til I reach home later. *laughs* Yesterday was an amazing day. Was supposed to meet up w JT, my godbrother for dinner, but plans were changed when I realized that I seriously had a lot of things to do for my Nepal trip.

Checklist:
Take foto
Buy stuff for the children there
Clear my memory card n charge my camera batt.
Get extra batts for torch.
Change currency for visa.
Get book and boots from GR.
PACK!

In any case, I was supposed to go and collect my air tix etc yesterday at Chinatown. Managed to drag EC to accompany me down. It was actually more for us to catch up cos we had been running around such that our schedules did not allow for us to meet, so this was the one slot where both of us are in town and sort of available. After meeting up with her for a while at the agency, I sort of know that, hey, just two hours are not gonna be enough. We’ll somehow just stick around for hours. Plus the fact that I realized that I’m SUPER ILL-PREPARED for the trip in terms of the things I need to get, I had to call up JT and arrange for another time instead.

EC and I then planned to get my stuff, go for a run… dinner… Later the plan was changed to get stuff, dinner…. Go my place to collect my stuff and run in east coast in the nite, and I’ll stayover… but by the time I tried out all the little beanie for my head, gloves etc etc.. (totally exhausted!!) and reached my place…. It was like 11 plus!! So no running. We were exhausted… but managed to make our way to her place. Hey, bus 10 and 14 resumed its route on nicol highway. Cool!

Oops… my turn to see doc.. she’s fast today… laterz….

Last 42 hours.....

Many things happened..... but too long for me to expound... so in summary.....

Sat
got up at 6 plus to go for run at east coast w AG. Did my 5km, and that boy... he merely walked.....

rushed down for KY's wedding's 'worship prac'. was a little cheezed off. first i had to be there like 2 hours before that... not to prac only 3 songs.. but... to pray... i noe where he was coming from.. but given my present current state... oh... spare me...

rushed down for KY's wedding dinner. hardly got time to take breather. got like &*^@& to find myself alloted an... interesting.... table. AD was very sweet n swopped seats w me so i cld sit w my 'sisters'...

during the dinner.. i did some 'pao tai' to meet my dive buddies who were just across the road at forum hving a feast!!! some of them were 'shocked' to see me dressed up... see... u dun dress up when u go diving.. lol... after the wedding dinner we cont' to hang out..

RG's car tyre was kindof flat so we drove to a kiosk (SPC - they are bad!!! trust me!!) to pump in some air. den we figured there must be a pinhole which is pretty serious cos it went flat shortly after we pumped it.. so decided to change tyre. bad mistake, cos we did it on a very gentle slope... the jet got deformed halfway, the car almost toppled over!! *shivers* we tried to get help from the kiosk.. they gave lame replies.... called 24-hr mechanic, he said he'll take 45 mins to get there (he was in punggol, and we.. in holland v)... so the car was like tilting precariously .... held by the deformed jet, half out of alignment tyre... and the grace of God.... thankfully a pickup drove in.. we borrowed a 'power jet' from them... and changed the tyre.. *phew*

later had a chill session at CC at liang seah str where we just talked and talked. it was nice cos we started talking abt wat we thot of each other.. it wasn't a 'praise pple session'... we just told each other the good and bad impressions we hv of each other.. nice.... :)

hit the bed at abt 4am... got up next morn at like close to noon!!! :P

Sun
Din go church... ... ... ... ... ... ...

Got up. Read papers.... read book..... slept again!!!

Spent most of day sleeping.... got up... did some touch up to my SOW and sent to my geog HOD. Eng SOW still stuck... its a long story.. basically i just hv to tink how to draft a 'nice' letter to my eng HOD to explain to her i cant get it to her til... urm... when i'm back from nepal... *SIGH*

went airport to collect something from SND. it was nice.. as was all my trips to the airport.. brightens up my mood.... yeah.. this weird thing abt the airport... :) did i ever mention i hv a fetish for airports and planes? *laughs*

went downtown to meet sandfly n GR. chatted... bitched... gossipped... updated.... before we split out ways to go for our various activities ahead - npcc training camp (sandfly), NZ (GR), Nepal (me)......

last 42 hours... oops.. i tink more than a summary oredi. hehz.

Things I learnt today... (since my waking hours)

1. Never change a tyre on a slope.

2. People think that I am a 'strong' woman.

3. I stand by my frens, but can indulge in them too much.

Three main things I've learnt on an eventful day. But its too long for me to blog tonite. Shall update later..... Meanwhile, need to catch some snooze....

share.....

computer dummy needs help....

me tinking of displaying the books n cds tt i own (not tt they are fantastic) on a webpage or something like that linked to my blog so can lend to pple.. IF they wan (cos i dunno wat to do w them after i've read the books/ripped the cds!!)

any smarties can tell me how to do it?

twisted.....

yeah... again.....wat else?.... my ankle... *sighz*

my ankle gave way when i went running the evening before... it was okiez den.... i suppose i've forgotten that the effects will only surface a day or two later... its not painful.... but certainly aching and kindof 'out of alignment' when i walk... not good for trip ahead... but guess i'll just hv to be more careful...

spent the entire day reading... sleeping.... the latter took up half of the day... *laughs*

its back to school again tom... got Eng meeting tom morn... yeah.. eng again... in any case, i have yet to find out how to get to the new holding school!!! tom just hantum.... lol.... hmm.... better wear ankle guard n my track shoes jic........

HMV....

Without fail, every time i drop by HMV, i will spend... *sighz* And I just bought another set of CDs... oredi had to restrain to prevent myself from buying another two!!! Anywayz, I'm enjoying myself listening to it now. Its quite nice... Exotic Moods - Chill Out Sessions From the Far East featuring Buddha Bar and the likes. Question I'm asking myself though.. these pieces are a little 'religious'... so .... not sure whether its 'safe' to listen to them.. but i like.... :-S In any case, must seriously stay away from HMV!!! I'm broke!!

Woke up extremely late tis morn!!! at like 1030?? but its good.. rare that i can wake up late.. as in.. my body clock allows me to wake up late.. spent the afternoon finishing up my geog SOW *smug smile*, ironing my mountain of clothes (yeah.. trust me.. a LOT of clothes).... and guess wat?!? I cooked fish and vege to eat for lunch!!!! HA HA.. pple who noe me noes 1. i eat junk... 2. i'm so lazy i cant even be bothered to go downstairs to buy food, or cook maggi mee just eat biscuits.. dunno wat got into me... 3. i'm so out of touch with cooking.. i was like looking at the fish fillet and wondering wat to do w it...so cooked it two ways.... one, pan fried w butter, salt n crushed pepper, two, microwave w salt n crushed pepper... lol... Anyone wans to give me some advice on how to cook them properly??? But they turned out decent enuff.. at least for me!! *laughs*

Umizaru is a nice movie... we all enjoyed it... given tt we all dive, we found the show engaging cos we can somehow identify w it....

Supper was good... now we wanna start a business to sell bra... ah ha ha ha.... but it'll b fun to work on something... doesnt hv to be braaaaa..... :-P

Hmm..... i really quite like this cd... in fact, more than SMOMA.... maybe its my mood... maybe... its really this nice...light.... relaxed....clear yet mystic.... feeling the songs give me... hmmmm....


Current piece playing: Lotus Flower by Deep River Corp

Interesting day i heard interesting things....

spent the entire afternoon working on my geog SOW... as in, ENTIRE afternoon... aim to finish it tomorrow.. *fingers-crosed*

supposed to go wheelock in the evening for a workshop on imovie... but they were so unprofessional... cancelled the wksshop without informing us!! fortunately my colleague called up and informed me. so changed my plan to meet GR tt early to collect the Left Behind series books from him.. while waiting for him to decide where to go for dinner, i got bored and decided to go running... stamina down all the way.. *sighz*

anywayz, he remembered that there was a chalet booked by EW and so we might as well pop by. waited a while and got a lift from RG to changi. supposed to wait for KR cos she said she'd arrive at 12... little did we noe that.. the wait... ... was till 2!!! gosh..

in any case, had interesting conversations.

first with EW's sis, EV, who was my practicum mate, finally got to see her little baby!! :) It was nice to catch up... she also kena hv to teach eng next year.. poor gal. but her baby was so adorable!!! only 3 months.. but strong!!

den, guess wat? AG Tan was there too!!! We were shocked to see each other.. how many years had it been? She's still the same.. always give the 'scared' look whenever she talks to me.. *chuckles* we used to play in the youth band before, i was like the da jie last time, but my my, she's grown up to become a young lady!! and i must say, very sensible lady.. good.. :) i asked her for a walk to the little playground nearby and we sat to chat. a little awkward actually.. but it was interesting.. after chatting for a while.. she made the comment that.. i seem more 'leng' (cold) now... i was like.. huh? 'leng' as in to people? to things in life? she said 'spiritually'.... sadly, i noe wat she said was absolutely true. who i was years ago when we were together is different from who i am... it wasn't a revelation.. but it was 'surprising' that from a short conversation, it was so evident to her.... *sighz* move on.....

third 'interesting' conversations will of course b with the dive gang... as usual... crap and not so crap. it seems like the 'group dynamics' have changed. as usual, i am having a fun time sitting there watching and observing the changes in interaction patterns as people begin to know each other more (or realize that they dun) and as familiarity starts to change how people value others... unpleasantries start to surface. I'm not saying that's bad. i tink its perfectly natural... but it was interesting to observe since i've been around since the 'beginning' when the group 'formed'. wish i cld expound more on my observation.. but tt'll only get too personal. *laughs*

finally, en route home when RG was sending LDV n me back, we were tlaking abt the schs we attended. as usual, RG thot i was from a gals sch (as many pple thot). but the interesting part was, when he heard tt i was from nus, he was surprised cos he thot i studied overseas... *laughs* another interesting perception others have of me... :)

in any case, its late... and in order to finish my SOW tom.. plus go watch the jap movie.. i'd better hit the sack!! interesting nite.......

The Incredibles.... A**

Absolutely hilarious movie. Brought out much laughter from the a little blue me. Kids, couples n families ard me were laughing away too... Laughing together w others added on to the fun. :)

Did my full payment for trip to Nepal. It is finalized!! :) I am coming...

In Orchard today, the atmosphere of christmas is so evident. The lights... the crowd... the little stalls set up. But usually, the mood doesn't fully set in until you hear carols... I had the full package tonight while passing by the street for a couple of minutes. I miss the 'christmas-es' I've spent as a kid... with my family... as a teenager... with my church youth... I wonder what this coming christmas holds in store...

Just finished the second book of the Left Behind series - Tribulation Force. Book is getting exciting... Cant wait to get hold of the next one!! Currently working on The Song-Writers Idea Book (shuttering between tis and Lonely Planet - Nepal). Its interesting to consider how personality type and brain dominance affects the creativity process and types of lyrics/songs produced. More comments on that at a later stage.

GOOD GRACIOUS!!! Just checked my fon bills.... WAT ON EARTH HV I BEEN UP TO!?!? Double the subscription charge?!?! I must stop talking on the fon!!! DRATS!!

meanwhile... SOW SOW SOW SOW SOW.....