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