An ole fave...

Where there is the Christmas story, there's always hope.

Merry Christmas With Love
She leaned with her head on the window
Watching evergreen bend in the snow
Remembering Christmas the way it had been
So many seasons ago.

When the children would reach for their stockings
And open the presents they found
The lights on the tree would shine bright in their eyes
Reflecting the love all around.

But this year there's no one to open the gifts
No reason for trimming the tree
And just as a tear made its way to the floor
She heard voices outside start to sing

"Merry Christmas to all who may dwell here
Merry Christmas if even just one
May the joy of the season surround you
Merry Christmas with love"

The carolers sang as she opened the door
Faces of friends in the crowd
And all of the shadows of lonely reminders
Driven away by the sound.

Now the heart that for years had been silent
Was suddenly filled with a song
As she clung to their hands like a child in the night
She found herself singing along:

"Merry Christmas to all who may dwell here
Merry Christmas if even just one
May the joy of the season surround you
Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas to all who may dwell here
Merry Christmas if even just one
May the joy of the season surround you
Merry Christmas with love"

I am home!

You know Singapore ads are effective when you are flying into Changi airport and your inbuilt jukebox goes,

"It's the little things that we share,
The love and joy that's in the air
The children's laughter everywhere
And all our favourite things."

Followed by...

"This is home truly,
Where I know I must be,
Where my dreams wait for me
Where the river always flows

This is home surely
As my senses tell me
This is where I know I belong
This is where I know it's home."

Yes, I am such a soppy homesick patriotic that it's embarrassing. :P

Anyway, call or sms me at 90405430! :)

Packing frenzy is about to begin.

last nite

It's my last night in Melbourne.
I've been waiting and waiting for this night for 3 years.
I should be bouncing around with a silly grin on my face.
But now that I'm here, I don't seem to feel anything.

No, that's not right.

Maybe it's the myriad of thoughts that are stepping on each other so violently I can't differentiate between them.

Maybe I'm too tired from the whole week of playing.
Or it's the thought of starting work.
Could be all the old and new friends I'm leaving here.
Or moving into a new phase in my ministry.
Maybe the excitement just hasn't reached my heart yet.
Or maybe it's just what everyone predicted - the Melbourne magic has finally sunk in during my last year.

I am going to miss heaps of stuff here.
But I have memories to take with me, and in that, I am blessed. :)

edward-de-bono-type-things

I'm getting lazy to blog...:P

I've been revisiting the Melbourne tourist spots while trying to settle everything at my old place.
The sights in Melbourne are better off seen and experienced than described, so I'll talk a little abt the different hats I've been wearing this week instead.

Navigator
Navigating my dad made me realise how similar we are....
For one thing, we can't multi-task when it involves listening! :P
I keep repeating and repeating directions, but he's so focused on driving he doesn't hear anything and then he claims I never said a single word.
Hahaha.
Another thing, any mistakes u make, do it on your graduation day.
No one will blame you then. Hee hee.

DJ
It is tricky to try and please everyone's music taste, esp when the youngest is 21 and the oldest is 75.
I should have done up a cd with chinese, jazz, instrumental, english and the occasional hokkien song.
The car was shaking from side to side with laughter when I played the Liang Zhi Qiang hokkien army song.
My fave part is when the guy who always acts as a loan shark sings, "No.3 ga No.4....bo dai bo ji wah lai wah ki"
Hahaha....
(And all the guys snigger and go "See, I told u she's ah lian.")

Human crutch
You know how in Taiwanese shows like Huan Zhu Ge Ge, they always have some maiden support the Empress as she walks down stairs etc?
We call my cool granny Wong Ah Ma - the Royal Matriarch.
Maid - me lah.

Obsessive-compulsive attendant
For some reason, I have found that some members of my family keep quiet about their toilet and eating needs, until it is absolutely necessary.
Yes, for fear that they will hold up the entourage of 6-8 people if they ask to stop for a break. Haha.
You can't get more phlegmatic than that.
So I check and check and check if people need to stop for toilet breaks or a bite or drink or a back-scratch.

BSBH

Being the person who knows the Hanafis' place the best among my family, I am asked for and about everything....so, being the super-capable woman I am, I rise to the occasion and ask Daisy.

Dumper/Bulldozer
I think Salvation Army should give me a VIP card or something.
I've made 2 trips there (thanks to Daz), and think I'll need to make a 3rd one.
I've also been thowing away stuff like mad, except when I'm trying to secretly give stuff away to people like Chester.
Everything else, and I mean everything, goes into the bin.

Penguin-spotter
Self-explanatory.

Exhibit
This one is more of my whole family.
The real estate agent opened the apartment for viewing but I was expecting just a few people.
My family was sitting in the middle of the living room eating KFC when more than 20 people started traipsing in around them.
It was hilarious to see their expressions, like animals in a glass zoo.

Graduate (!!)

Muahaha....I am now officially a role model for all my little cousins on my mum's side.

It was a super funky graduation ceremony, with the chancellors sitting on a revolving platform that resembled a WWF ring, complete with neon lights.

Band playing "Play That Funky Music" as the doctorate holders marched up on stage.

I was hoping to march up when they were still playing a techno version of Pachelbel's Canon, but too bad....I was too far down.

Anyway, I have finished this part of my race!!

It's on to the next section for me! :)

No deep reflective thoughts on that at the moment, because I think it still hasn't really sunk in yet.

Too busy being on holiday for now.

Can u believe it's only a week to Christmas?!

Woo hoo!

p.s. strawberry picking tomorrow. yum. :)

short and mad

My familee come alleadee!

We stayed over last night at Great Ocean Road!

Lorne Beach Apartments is big and happy and well-stocked!

Going off for dinner soon!

:P

fish fish fish

Sorry haven't been updating, cos I'm too busy packing and playing! :p
Was supposed to celebrate getting my drivers license on Tues, but since I didn't get it, Darren and Chester immediately took me to Mornington Peninsula for fish 'n chips.
No celebration but who said I couldn't have a comfort meal? :P

Hm....it was a car of people with not-so-happy stuff on their mind.

Me - the obvious.
Darren - angel eyes for his Beemer still not here.
Chester - lost a colleague and fren to a car accident the night before.

But.......in spite of the houseflies and us missing the main menu by 10 mins at the restaurant by the time we got there, I had a fab time.
We packed fish 'n chips from another shop and ate with our hands at the jetty.
Even better....the sea breeze swept away the hordes of flies on our backs.

So, I think the not-so-happy people ended up quite happy after all.

Today, went fishing with Daz, Chester and Josh at Emerald Lake Park, after a yummy breakfast at Cafe Sweetheart.
We caught 5 barramundis and cooked them for dinner.
Hahahaha..........we wished!
The fishes were all hibernating away at some secret hideout, and there was no sign of them at all.
Plus, the houseflies really took a liking to us (again), maybe cos of the Red Rock Deli chips we were crunching down....or the sun screen we had on....or my Kenzo Flower....or the smell of worms (eeks).
We got annoyed and impatient.
So, no catch at all.

However, we did find out that Chester is the best rock thrower among all of us.
His range is ......*blink blink*......really something.
I swing as wide and throw as hard as I can, but as usual, the stone invariably lands with a plonk right in front of me.
Anyway, we also found a reservoir that was rather lovely to just sit and chill.

I enjoyed myself.
It was a day of total zo-bo-ing.
No agenda to follow, no storm to beat.
And on our way back, we stopped for KFC again!
Hee hee!

Heaps of thanks to Daz and Ches for being around the last few days.
Since Louis and Brian went back, I've been pretty much on my own.
(Kitaro's preparing to go off next Tues, so personally, he's got heaps to catch up on too.)
I prob would have been contented to stay at home, and hang around myself a bit.
See, cos I never mind doing that.
I have fun when I'm with people, but I enjoy it when I'm left on my own too.
But spending time with them does make me very glad to have frens around.
They've really helped by taking me out, hanging around, and esp for Daz, helping me to shift stuff and offering more help.
So, thanks for taking care of me, guys.
Makes things A LOT more manageable for a gal in her last few weeks of overseas living. :)
And nothing beats laughing at a joke/boo-boo, or yawning at a boring show with others. Haha.

Hm.... my family is arriving tomorrow nite.

Actually Sun 1:00am lah, so I've to finish whatever I can before I leave for church tomorrow.

Then it'll be taking them around etc etc etc.

So if I'm not online or I don't reply email, it's probably 'cos I'm too pooped! :P

Thank God for Sis Wei Wei's offer to let them stay at her place, which makes it so much easier for me to settle whatever house stuff I need to.

There's heaps to get rid of and make sure people buy!

Back in Singapore 20 Dec! Woo hoo!

Landing at 1:00am so that means I'll get to see the night lights as my plane descends.....lurf it! :) I always get overwhelmed for 2 secs or so, cos the sight of home as u descend is just.... indescribable.

licensed driver....not.

I failed my driving test.

Always be super-kiasu and give way.

Even if the car is far away and you probably have to wait 54 mins for him to turn.

Sob.

remember THAT wakeboarding trip?

My last few weeks in Melbourne...I should be re-visiting my old haunts right?
Instead, as I was mentioning to the guys, it seems like my last few weeks are full of new experiences.
I reckon I've seen a lot more of Melbourne in this last year than in the 2 years before. :P

So....wakeboarding today!'
Who went?
Adeline, Davina, Darren, Chester and me.
And Adeline's instructor Steve and his two frens, Carl and Theresa.
It was greaaaat fun, even tho it ended up as a test of our survival abilities!
Haha.....read on read on.

First, we were suspicious about the weather.
Dark clouds and drizzle on the way there.
But if you keep confessing something, it comes true u know.
So by the time we got to Hazelwood Pondage 2 hrs later, the sun had emerged.
Hallelujah! :)

Chester took off on his own to fish for dinner.

After a period of waiting and brushing away annoying flies, the rest of us finally got into the boat and took off.

Steve the instructor went first and zoomed about on the water and made it look so easy.
Okei lah! We also can! Haha....Or so I tot lah.

Davina went next.
Steve taught her the basics, but I think it was more of Adeline and Darren who ended up really coaching her.
It's her first time, and she managed to get into a half standing position and eventually stood up for a while! Woo hoo! :)
Then.....10 mins up.

Next - me!!
Ooh la la..... I got in and kept hearing the voices of Adeline and Darren ringing in my head.

"Let the boat pull you. Don't fight it!"

"Keep your arms straight."

"Stay in the pang sai position."

"Squat until 3/4 way, then stand up."

Okei okei okei......I went with the flow and voila, managed to stand up for all of 0.2 seconds!
Ah ha! *smug look*
Psychomotor skills not as bad as I thought....phew!
A few more runs and 10 mins was also up for me.

Hm.....a storm was in the making.
It was lovely.....looked just like something that would eventually brew into a tornado, or waterspout or something.
Woo hoo....storm chasing! :)

Experienced Darren decided to go anyway.
He got to ride a few times, and was looking good skimming the water and all.
But, he didn't get to finish his turn...'cos

The rope got caught in the propellor.

The storm took a nasty turn.

The boat drifted towards the rocks.

The boys got into the water and kept pushing the boat away from the rocks.

The gals paddled backwards furiously.

Everyone was drenched.

Davina called Chester to go for help.

Adeline got into the water to pee.

The current carried Adeline and Darren away.

Adeline and Darren climbed the rocks to get to shore.

Chester appears with helpful jet-skier.

Helpful jet-skier pulls boat to jetty.

Boat is towed out of water.

Sun re-emerges.

Poor Adeline, she didn't get to wakeboard at all.
Steve mentioned it's the worst trip he's ever had.
Rain plus a stuck propellor plus boat likely to become firewood plus current.

Everyone shivered their way into the car.
Then, there arose such a unanimous cry for KFC.
Ha! For once, I'm not the only one craving for Colonel Sander's secret recipe.

Had a most satisfying dinner and then it was back to Melbourne.
Went to wash the car, and shift Jimmy's stuff to Hanafis.
Thanks heaps man, Daz and Chester!
What would I do without you guys helping?!
Appreciate the thoughtful great company too! :)

*a big smile on my face*
Lurf it when you have friends to share such experiences with.
Lurf it when things get so unbelievably memorable.
Lurf it when u can go, "Remember THAT wakeboarding trip?" and everyone knows right away which wakeboarding trip.

p.s. yes yes, will post pics once I get them from davina. :P

Val : No worries, I lurf packing remember? Serious packing already taking place! I'm so glad I cleared whole pile in the living room. It's super easy to pack my room stuff, cos I know what I wanna throw or keep. It's all the communal stuff that's a headache. :P

food and guns

New find - Yokoyama's in Doncaster!
Michael's makan recommendation is always reliably goooood.
We went there for dinner after 5pm svc, and Dazzler gave us all a treat....even tho we shoulda been the ones treating him, cos it's his berfdae. : P Owe u one k, Daz!

The restaurant has a bright-blue-and-yellow signboard, which kinda diminishes its credibility.
But I like the interior...it's real cosy, even though we were sitting right in the middle of nowhere.
And the smell of food as we walked in was very promising!

We had sushi and sashimi platter, agedashi tofu and octopus balls to share.
As usual, I went for my tori kara age (fried chicken) which was rather disappointing, but still, it's fried chicken....so I gobbled it all down.
My new fave is cha soba, but it wasn't on the menu....which is weird.
And as Jen pointed out, they didn't have chawanmushi either!
Hm....

Anyway, the food was yummy....pure make-you-happy kinda food.
Adeline and Michael shared sukiyaki - in Adeline's opinion, the best she's tasted.
I've never had beef dunked in raw egg before, and it is the yummiest!!
And the sushi and sashimi?? Bliss. :)

And to top it all off, I had wasabi ice cream.
Pure genius.
It was plain cool.

Maybe I'll take my family there when they come. :)

Okei, enough gushing about food.

We went back to Daz's place to watch Lock, Stock and 2 Smoking Barrels after the satisfying dinner.
I've read so many good reviews about it, and it's one of those I keep telling myself to get and watch, but just never get round to doing it.
Guy Ritchie is really stylish in his direction of the movie.
It's mainly a dude flick, but it was a smart dude flick. Haha.
It was cool how he pieced everything together and used heaps of music to effectively create the mood.
You just keep going "Oh man" at how everyone seems to be running all over the place yet going around in circles at the same time.
And other than the one-swear-word-a-sentence, I enjoyed how fast and witty they were with their comebacks.
Although, I'm so grateful for subtitles...heh heh.....can't imagine sitting through all that dialogue with my ears at 120% concentration mode!

More fun coming up tomorrow.....wakeboarding! :)

For all those concerned, yes yes I'm still packing.
Am at that stage after I pull everything out and before they all go into boxes. :P

pottermania and a good deal, amongst others

Part 1 :

Harry Potter - Goblet of Fire has finally arrived in Australia! Way overdue, if u ask me, considering it's already been running for a while in Singapore.

Harry's hair is longer and more unruly.
Ron is fleshier.
Hermione is prettier.
The scenery is cool.
So are the newbies who play Viktor Krum, Cedric Diggory, Fleur Delacour and Cho Chang.
The show is WAY darker.
I think it stopped being a kid's tale from The Chamber of Secrets.

All in all, it was a pretty concise presentation of what was in the book, except for 1 or 2 things they changed. For dramatic effects, I suppose.
Considering how thick the book was, it was no mean feat to pick out the necessary bits and squeeze them into a movie that was.....2.5 hrs?!
So I'm pretty satisfied, altho I still prefer the book.

One question though,
Why is Dumbledore so fidgety and tak-cool in this episode?

Part 2 :

While waiting for Chester to come down to the city, some car nearly ran into me and Darren! We were crossing the road oh-most-legally, but the driver just did some kinda weird turn and didn't see us RIGHT IN FRONT of her car. She then found herself at an awkward angle. So she stopped for a while, then continued driving TOWARDS us! We saw the car coming straight at us. Stunned, I didn't know whether to run for it or take a few steps backwards. I ended up just standing there in shock. Darren moved to his left and the car came soooooo close to touching him already. Then suddenly, she saw us and braked in time! We were about 5 cm from the car by then. Boy was she apologetic. Man, sooooo thank God that His hands are really really over His children. If I had ran for it, I would have been hit. Phew! :)

Part 3 :

No more big 42-inch (?) TV! Louis has returned the gargantuan screen to his fren. Speaking of which, Brian already left a week ago for Singapore, and Louis left this morning, so it's me and Kitaro left in the house now. Pretty quiet without the other two boys for me to shush at. It's all cool though. In 20 more days, I'll be back in Singapore chomping down comfort food! Heh heh. Anyway, so now I've to watch dvds on the small TV that's about as big as a basketball. Sigh. I will say it again. Don't give a person something better and then take it away. Haha...I have been spoilt. Anyway, I won't have much time to watch dvds, 'cos....read Part 4.

Part 4 :

For those asking, what am I doing these days? Preparing to sell the household stuff ie. fridge, picnic table, sofa bed, aforementioned puny TV. Everything else will probably go in the dump. Heh heh. It feels great to throw stuff away. Altho, 3 bagfuls of stuff went to the Salvos today, so at least some other kid will be blessed with nice stuff at cheap prices! Am preparing for when family arrives too, next Sat. Yes, am also starting to pack (my fave bit) to go back for good. In Zhi's words, woots! In my own words, yeah-ooh-la-la-hoooooooo!!

Am also helping to ship Jim's boxes of stuff back to Singapore. In return, he's promised to sponsor my wedding photo folio in future. Woo hoo! I got a great deal cos he's a fabulouso photographer man! I am posting this so I will not forget to claim it in future. Haha.

Part 5 :

I am sleepy and it's a warm night. Good nite and God bless your day! :)

fren-types

Someone once said, "Friends break your heart, and they mend it. They will cause you to feel every emotion under the sun, good or bad. Friends are practically emotion-incarnate."
Unbelievably true.

In my life, I have had heaps of friends come and go. Some I look back on and wonder how they came into my life when I so don't deserve them. Some I wonder why I stuck with them for so long, and why I cried so hard when they left. Some I wonder how we became friends when we have nothing in common whatsoever. Some I wonder if I had done things differently, would they still be around today. Some I just decide to let go cos I felt I had to. It's a tricky thing - frenship.

I figure I should chronicle who's around these days....these are the people I thank God for.
People who have played a big part in my life this year, are those who :

a) are so similar to me.

Caroline always understands me, cos we are the same in some ways. Haha...She's always watching out for me. Here's a gal who packs me away for a short break cos she knows I need one, and takes real good care of me along the way. Plus, she is great fun to be with! :)

Rosy-posy is the fren who sits with me quietly as we apply makeup infront of the same mirror. Then when I burst into a hum of some Stephen Chow movie soundtrack, she joins in with much gusto! Haha. She is the power to counteract the opposition of Val in my life (read fren-type b)! Haha...

b) are the total opposite from me.

Who else but Val?! I lurf Coke, she lurfs Soya-bean. I detest red bean and sweet corn, and they turn out to be her favourite dessert. Every guy I think is cute, she rolls her eyes at (and vice versa, but with one major exception.) When we hit frenship problems, I want to confront and conclude, she'd rather keep quiet and draw her own conclusions. I shudder at her fave songs, she scratches her head at my song list. I walk out of a movie going "tsk tsk" and she goes "Wah!"

Haha. Unbelievable and totally enjoyable.

c) are rarely around, but totally dependable when I need them.

Jae usually never picks up when I call. He is online at the most bizarre hours when I barely have any energy left to keep up with his hyperactive chats. He never replies my letters. He replies my sms-es sporadically. He doesn't acknowledge when I send out photo-links. He reads my blog and comments once in every 6 months. And yet somehow, solely thru MSN, he's convinced me that he's totally available when I need him. And let's not forget his brutal honesty which has led to eye-opening understanding for me at least twice in this year. Oh, am I grateful for brilliant maverick Jae.

I prob get to meet Min once a year, and I mean ONCE A YEAR. Even when we are both in the same country, our schedules just never coincide. But when we finally do meet up, we go on a chat-binge for at least 6 hours.

I haven't seen Mark in ages!! He flies in when I'm out, then flies out again just before I fly in. Tsk tsk, he shouldn't make it so obvious that he's avoiding me....Haha...but I know he's always there. Lurf it that he bothers to drop the occasional msg to ask after me when he's oh-so-busy spinning around the world.

d) share fun-times with me.

My supper gang in Singapore!
Who else is always up for supper in the middle of the nite but the gang of Val, Rose, Wel, Mark, Bry?! Only because they are forced by circumstances to fellowship as nocturnal human beings... p.s. I miss the ice cream and chips at Oscar's.

And my Melb gang!
Too much time in the library have we spent mugging together....too many days when we should have been out enjoying the sun at the beach...or a Koko Black hot chocolate in the Melbourne chill.

I found Anna-babe this year, and she has become one of my fave people. Can always chat up a storm with her, and she's totally up for fun anytime. And when she gets high, she starts kicking her heels together! Haha. Woo hoo....dun even get me started on the toilet jokes. :P

My hsemate Louis who's become a great fren to me. Unbelievable ups and downs in this frenship, but in a nutshell.....a fren is born out of many timely car drives and dvd screenings, amongst other things.

e) make me laugh oh-so-hard

Jae and Bry and Louis and Howard and Darren.
No explanation required for Darren. Just read his blog.
Louis cracks me up with the corniest jokes.
Much like Bry, who makes the funniest 'auntie' remarks.
And Howard is in a league of his own when it comes to impersonation.
But Jae's wicked sense of humour only appears in full throttle in msn chats.

f) know me so well I don't even have to say a word for them to pick up on what's going on.

Has to be Yah Lan. She's not just a leader I respect and stand in awe of, but she's also a friend who has won her way into my heart with pure love. She knows the right time to rebuke me, and the right time to listen and let me be. Above all, she reads me so well I barely have to open my mouth sometimes. :P Always feel accepted by her.

silence

"In the end, we will remember not the words of our enemies, but the silence of our friends." - Martin Luther King Jr.

How true.

Silence in speech.
Silence in deeds.
Silence in thoughts.

Silence where there should have been acknowledgement.
Silence where there used to be a kind look.
Silence where there used to be laughter.

All more injurious than careless words.

" A friend is one to whom one may pour out all the contents of one's heart, chaff and grain together, knowing that the gentlest of hands will take and sift it, keep what is worth keeping and with a breath of kindness blow the rest away."- Arabian Proverb


p.s. val, keep leaving comments....i lurf hearing fm u. :)
p.p.s. jae, thanks for sms. we skype when u free?

A tale of a giant spider and a Thai man.

HQ ULU PANDAN















You can't see them but the houseflies are there, zooming around us!
And there are our two tents behind me.
Note the absence of Nixim. :P














I washed my hair in this really cold creek.
Now the people of Horsham have water with Johnson's Baby Shampoo. :P
Louis lost a slipper to the creek, but he got it back after much wading and fighting the current. Haha.














Here's the shadow of a giant spider we saw on one of our rambles.
It's called the Arachnabaohua.














And on the other side, we spotted the sniper who's been waiting for Arachnabaohua.
He's been there so long he can't move anymore.




















Good thing for Anna there was a Louis Flintstone around, so she made a quick getaway from the danger zone on his contraption.... and left me behind to deal with Arachnabaohua.
















Sigh, that's what friends are for huh, Anna-babe.....

Just then, who should come along but Louis Flintstone's gentle giant of a twin brother, Louis Chatuchak.
"sIr, cAn I hElP yOu?", he sing-songed.

















Then, he immediately sized up the critical situation, and faster than you can say "Little Miss Muffet", he whipped out an oil spray can and a lighter and combusted Arachnabaohua!














Ah yes, peace and quiet has returned to HQ Ulu Pandan once again.

As promised!! Pictures of the YA Ball. :) 

I saw my shooting star!!
Ooh la la....I caught abt 5 of them over the weekend. :)
That's one thing I can cross off my list....but I'm adding another item..

10. I wanna see fireflies.

Have gone from GLAM to TAK-GLAM over the weekend, and it was really fun!
Friday was the Young Adults Ball, and the whole table really made an effort to dress up.
Pictures say heaps more, so will post pics once I get them from Anna, Amanda, Davina & Eunice....my camera is HOPELESS, so I didn't even bother. :P

Then, Saturday morning, it was onto to what I was more excited about - camping up in the Grampians!
Roll call for 3D/2N camp - Anna, Louis, Brian, me
Roll call for 1D fishing road trip - Darren, Amanda, Chester

Had a late start which included breakfast at Brunetti's, which was yummy, but it was very strange how I could barely pick my way through half of it....hm......
Louis' car, Nixim was packed with stuff cos I packed the whole kitchen into 3 Ikea blue bags.
The drive up was smooth and uneventful...stopped at Ararat to touch base with Darren's car.

Then we arrived at Halls Gap and contemplated booking a site there, but it was still pretty much civilization - with ice cream parlours (with the yummiest REAL ice cream), children's playground on the camping grounds, supermarket etc etc etc.
So, we decided we would really rough it and go off in search of some ulu pandan spot

- 15kms away from any mobile phone reception,
- where it's so dark that u cannot see people approaching (creeeeepy),
- where u have to fan yr food with one hand and eat with the other, because houseflies rule,
- where turning on the heat means setting up the fire,
- where u look up and the multitude of stars tell u that the earth is indeed round,
- where washing up means wading into a creek,
- where the toilets are holes in the ground,
- where the sun wakes you up by shining into your tent.

So, the ulu pandan spot was all cool.
We set up tent and then went to explore Mackenzie Falls....climbed 1.04km down and up, AGAIN! I've been down there, but Anna and Louis hadn't, so off we all went.

Then, guess what....we realised that because there's no reception, we would not be able to call Darren....and we had our water supply in his sleek black Beemer.
So what do we do??
Brian and I set off for Halls Gap to try and reach them, and to fill up Nixim's petrol tank.
Big boo boo coming up.....we pumped DIESEL into Nixim instead!!
Uh-oh.....It sputtered abt 100m down the road and then gave up.
So, Brian pushed the car whilst I steered it back into the petrol station.
Called a mechanic who came within half an hour, like he said he would, and he said he would have to tow the car back to his workshop and we could probably get it back on Monday.
WHAaaaa.......T?!

I was pretty sure the guys were worried sick about us, so I explained our situation, and told John & Linda (the mechanic & his wife) that we needed to rent a car or something that'll get us back to HQ Ulu Pandan (real name is actually Smith Mills campsite) real soon.
John kindly offered to tow Nixim down to his workshop in Stawell, then come back to send us up there.
Oohhh....... thank God for kind people who go the extra mile!

So, Brian and I sat at Halls Gap....chewing on our fingernails....praying hard that Louis will not be too heartbroken....that the repairs won't cost too much....that we will not freeze before John gets back....that hopefully, we would be able to reach Darren and the rest soon so John wouldn't have to make a trip back.

Well, the last didn't happen....cos Darren and guys were at HQ Ulu Pandan waiting with Louis and Anna for us to turn up!
We barely managed to catch them going off when we swung into the campsite.
Said a short hi and bye, and then turned to break the news to Louis...:P
He was really gracious about it, so that stone was rolled away. Hee hee.

So we survived one whole day without a car in the wilderness.
When Nixim finally came back this morning, we practically HUGGED it.
Heh heh.....dear dear Nixim.

But boy oh boy, the bill came up to a whopping $1106!
Sigh....poor poor Brian.

So, how did we celebrate the return of Nixim?
We packed up and headed down to Halls Gap for ice cream, and Ararat for KFC!
Hahaha....always spirit-lifters.

Really, it was a great weekend.
Anna and Louis, nothing like sharing ski trips and camping trips to build on a frenship yah? :)
Brian, don't worry man, yr boo-boo meter is still nowhere compared to my daily ones. Haha.

Thanks for the memories guys.
I had such fun.....I wouldn't trade the entire trip for anything.

cool cars

 

Here are the boys in the queue!
Admission - $22.00.
















The moment we walked in, we saw this beauty!
















But really, I think the one next to it was more ooh la la....
















So here's another one of me ON it! :)
















Okei, more pictures in the collage!

how much does a mazda b-2000 minitruck 1988 cost?

I went to an Autosalon today with Louis and Chester, and we saw heaps of cool cars!
Of course, if u ask me what they did to their cars, I wouldn't be able to go into details, but they all looked sooooooo ooh la la!
















Guess what's the price to pay for a car like this?





















Haha....... More pics coming up! :)

I'm officially not a hazard

I passed my Hazard Perception Test!
I got 71% though....is 70% the passing mark?! :P
Anyway, this is the assessment....

Your test result show that you need more supervised driving experience in the following areas:
- Choosing a safe speed when driving near other road users (erm...too slow?)
- Choosing safe gaps in the traffic when overtaking.
- Choosing safe gaps in the traffic when turning or crossing a stream of traffic.
- Gaining awareness of the risks created by different driving conditions.
- Improving awareness of the potential risks of unseen road users.
- Predicting the movement of other road users you can see.

I went fishing at Freeze-ston last night!
Howard and I were in Louis' Nixim.
Chester and Amanda were in Darren's SinGapore Girl.
Haha...what a fun night.
The sky was really clear at first ... and the stars were out in full display.
But I still didn't get to see any shooting stars ... When oh when ....

So I tried my hand at casting a line.
First one went far right and landed with a "kathunk" on the docking platform.
Second one reeled in Darren's fishing line on my right.
Third one went "Whee ...... Plop" right in front of me.
Haha ..... is there no end to boo-boos?!
Anyway, I reckon they make my life interesting.
Imagine my grandkids laughing at my stories and boo-boo pictures! :P

Anyway, we caught nothing but "sea maggots" man .... or whatever they are called.
Howard saw his prawn bait moving and freaked us all out.
Turns out these maggotty things latch onto and eat the bait.
Then when they are pulled out of the water, they start squirming away in all directions.
Ee-yucks!
And yet, I couldn't take my eyes away from them.
There's something fascinating about the disgusting somehow. :P

Managed to catch the sunrise, cos we were there till abt 7am.
Except, the clouds had overtaken the stars by then, so all we could see of the sunrise was some 40V lighting behind the huge, billowing clouds.
No burst of blinding rays.
No creeping of sunny-side-up.
Instead, a panoramic view of clouds rolling over each other in muted lighting, with pink streaks.
It's lovely to stand in one spot and turn 360 degrees to try and capture just how vast God created the sky to be.

Some super-duper transient stuff I wanna do in my lifetime

1. Sky-diving.
2. See a meteor shower (or at least one shooting star!).
3. Storm-chasing in Tornado Alley, Oklahoma, USA.
4. Watch a play on Broadway.
5. Visit Alaska....see whales and polar bears! Woo hoo!
6. Buy my dad a Mercedes cabriolet.
7. Teach my kids to lurf fireworks.
8. Learn to dance.
9. Visit Hawai'i again.

Saturday began on Friday.

The final day of preparation for anything is ALWAYS the longest!!
Be prepared-longest blog entry ever.
Yes, I am cheong hei sometimes, but again, I've got pics! :P

Original agenda

10:00am - Drop off tees and designs (for the drivers) at Melb Uni for printing.
01:15pm - Meet David (my driving instructor) to book driving test.
02:05pm - Catch train to Huntingdale
02:45pm - Daz to pick me up to his place to work on Cranium.
06:30pm - Leave Daz's place for the Hanafi's.
07:00pm - Praise and worship practice.
09:00pm - Leave for home, finish up last minute stuff, have a good rest for tomorrow's long day.

What really happened

10:30am - Woke up in a frenzy.

10:50am - Dropped off tees for printing.

12:00nn - XO has a sudden outburst of energy after his paper, picks me up for lunch at Vic Mkt.
01:15pm - "Erm....where's David???"
01:30pm - David turns up, "Hi Sharon, this is another of my students, Brian.....I'm booking the test for both of you at the same time." Brian speaks like YUNJIE...

01:45pm - Driving test booked for 7 Dec 2005! Hazard Perception 11 Nov 2005!

02:00pm - Nixim takes us down to Chadstone, where I got 2 tops and a Mocha Ice Blended. Muahaha...

04:00pm - *bang bang* "Daz, we're here....oh hi, Chester!!!"

05:45pm - "Louis, are u coming back here after work? Cos I've only finished ONE category for Cranium....think need to come back after p&w prac." XO - "Oh...okei lor."
06:15pm - Leave to pick Davina and equipment up....buy Subway....

07:00pm - Arrive at Hanafis....set up equipment.....start prac....I kaypoh a bit....add in my 2-cents worth....washed my hair...Haha...:P

10:00pm - Drop off stuff at Docklands....send Dav home....

11:00pm - Start on Cranium again! Eunice and Chester work on the decor outside.
11:30pm - Anna and Howard arrive. Lifesaver Anna bought me 10-pc nuggets!!
12:00mn - Cranium... (as the rest are oh-so-secretly practising for my surprise item outside)
01:00am - Cranium... "Louis, can I borrow yr Cross CD?"
02:00am - Cranium... "Take me to the place...where the Spirit of God is..."
03:00am - Cranium... Howie and Anna - "Hey, we zao first....sending Chester home."
04:00am - Cranium... "I believe in the risen Saviour..."
04:30am - "Yay!! It's done! Let's burn it into a DVD!"
04:45am - Shar is looped in to play a game of soccer on PS..... realise that my "no-ball-sense" extends to on-screen efforts!! I get the ball and run in the opposite direction....Almost scored an own-goal! :P
05:10am - Daz checks on burning, "Hm...how come it's an error? Let's try again."
05:15am - Shar teams up with XO against Daz....Shar's legendary dribbling kills XO's team....Daz gloats over his 3-1 victory. Sorry, XO. :P
05:30am - Shar, XO and Daz pulling out hair in frustration...."Why error again?!" Shar is about to wring Apple's neck...but the gargantuan screen has no neck.
05:45am - Daz says, "Hey, think u guys go back first lah...I'll try and get this done." (looks of massive gratitude....I heard he only slept at 7:30am)
06:10am - Trying to maximize brain juices to cover everything on "Things-to-do" list.

06:30am - "I'll just take a 1-hr nap...wake up at 07:30am to finish it..."

Yes, those in bold are what I originally planned to do...
Look at the whole chunk of other stuff that sneaked in!

Saturday
09:40am - "Oh no, sorry Adeline!! I overslept!! You go ahead first okei?"
11:00am - XO drives me, Bri, Grace J down to Hanafis...pick up Jen on the way.
12:30pm - Start final cgm!
04:00pm - Final CGM ends.
04:30pm - All leave for church.
05:00pm - Service starts.
06:30pm - Hang around after church.
07:45pm - At Romanza - "Hi, there's a reservation under Sharon Chew for 25 people?" Meanwhile, Darren and Howard felt the need to dress up for dinner...








































09:00pm -Dinner finally arrives! Everyone puts away their cameras and dig in. Most of us are wolfing down our food, fast and furious...whereas others are engaged in *ahem* more amorous activities...











Heh heh...


10:00pm - Back to the Hanafi's to tear down (no, not the hse!) decor and props etc.
11:00pm - "Let's go! Home is calling my name!"
11:30pm - Steps into Kuai Le Zhan....2nd wind! Walk around the house donno doing what....haha...watched a bit of Bruce Lee "The Chinese Connection"....Eventually go to sleep...zzzz......

And so, what's this all about?
We had our final cell group meeting of the year on Saturday. The theme was MTV Retro and it was a blast to see everyone come all dressed up! :) The whole afternoon was one of guffaws and tears.

We started off with a game of Big Fish, Small Fish, led by our emcees for the day - Louis and Darren. A good game is one thing, having the right people playing it is another. With this bunch, it's never a dull moment. It's either always someone messing up for real, or someone else sabo-ing another, or someone pretending to mess up and then messing up for real...haha...


Davina then led praise and worship with her band - Howie and Daz on the guitars, Anna on the keyboard, me on the drums (yah right! haha!). Rock on, you guys! It was fab. :)

Following that was Cranium...which didn't actually turn out as I expected, but was still heaps of fun anyway....Amanda's zooma-ed eye and Anna's disgruntled face got lots of coverage....Haha...

Then we had the awards. More on that later. :)

I shared a really short word on living an adventure in your life, cos God's plans are never dull! :) Personally, I can't wait for the day when I can look back and say "It all began in Melbourne". Every year, it feels like a new adventure is about to begin.

As far as I was concerned, that was the end of the final cgm....but no no, both cgs prepared surprises for me!

First one up, a tribute DVD - with heaps of msgs and photos ...my ski progress...even bloopers! It made me tear one second and laugh oh-so-hard the next. I can't even imagine the effort that went into recording and editing the whole thing. It will be very cherished. :)

Then M1 gave me a leather jewellery case and a big hand card...which, true to form, no one had written on yet! Haha..




















Haha.... Also a peony which, I realised today, keeps changing colour! It was red, then orange yesterday and now, it's a lovely yellow!













M2 prepared a song for me...they changed the lyrics of James Blunt "You're Beautiful". Howie and Daz played the guitars, Louis sang lead, Anna, Eunice and Adeline were back-up vocalists. Here are the lyrics....I lurf what they did with it. :) And the singing? Charmed the socks off everyone there, and got me all sentimental. Snort.....














Here's what they did...

Louis : Our lives are brilliant
Your love is pure
God sent an angel
Of that I’m sure
You smiled at me on the tramway
You were with another friend
Thank God you’ve been sent here
Cause He’s got a plan

All : You’re beautiful
You’re beautiful
You’re beautiful, it’s true.
I saw your face in a crowded place
And I don’t know what to do
Cause you’re graduating soon.

Louis : You caught our eyes
As you walked on by
We could see from your face that
You were spiritual high
And we wonder when, we’ll see you again
But we’ve shared a moment that will last till the end

All : You’re beautiful
You’re beautiful
You’re beautiful, it’s true.
I saw your face in a crowded place
And I don’t know what to do
Cause you’re graduating soon.

La la la la, la la la la, la la la la, la

All : You’re beautiful
You’re beautiful
You’re beautiful, it’s true.
It’s been such fun, just to be with you
But it’s time to face the truth
You are flying home soon

Back to the awards.
For the record, here are the winners! :)

CG Awards 2005
Most Serving Member of the Year - Brian and Chester
Comic Relief of the Year - Louis and Howard
Most Dependable Member of the Year - Wilfred and Anna
Timothy Award - Brian and Darren
Driver of the Year - Chester
Most Approachable Member of the Year - Eunice
Most Inspirational Member of the Year -Davina
Courage Award - Eunice and Joy

But really,
How do you put a price on courage or servanthood?
How do you reward countless extra miles?
Or sacrifices made for the team?
Can u photograph every smile that belies a hurting heart?
Can u remember the exact moment someone stepped up to the next level?
Can u measure the stress relieved with a joke or impersonation?
Can u note down every act of faithfulness and kindness?
Can u point yr finger at when humility started?

No awards can fully appreciate the efforts sown into this cell group and its members.
We can only bestow a symbol of recognition on you and hope it conveys everything we want to say. I salute you, our winners. Without you, there would be no team.

not a real post, but there are pics!

Yo yo!
It's been eventful this week...but more on that the next time!
I'm too busy relaxing today...hahaha....
For now, here are a few pictures from the final cgm we had yesterday.
It was a blast! :)














These guys really live to drive...haha.














AC a.c. - Anna Choi acting cute! Heh heh....Ain't she such a lovable babe? :)





















Brian and Chester getting in on the cool Jamaican vibe!

You would never have guessed that we waited about 1.5hrs for our dinner to arrive! Haha.

muahahaha.....

To my very encouraging frens...thanks for yr comments.

The Laughter that belongs to Shachew is back in all its rambunctious glory. :P

XO, why didn't I share? I..........donno. Not that there was much to share anyway. Haha.... Actually, I didn't need to. You helped, in yr own way....You swung it out of me with the last 'donut'! Haha...

Daz, thanks for the offer. Was just worried that the 2-way door will hit me as I approach it. Haha. Oops, the corniness kicks in again! :P I know u've got exam stress on yr mind too (starting to pile on yah?). Appreciate it tho.

Anna, grannies are da best! You da bomb too! Haha....you know what, come to think of it, kinda miss our Friday and Sunday dates at the library, but we'll move on to *ahem* hot chocolate and movie dates after yr exams okei! Heh heh.

Also, am I wrong or was last week a particularly down week for a few other people too?
"Be strong and of good courage", says He who will not fail you.
For all those on Swot Vac this week...hang in there for your distinctions.
Just when yr last finger is about to slip from the parapet, the Prince will come.

feng

Was a bit troubled over some little stuff recently, and so the brain's been churning heaps of thoughts. I get reluctant to go to bed too, cos it's usually the longest period of time before I get to fall asleep. I tot sharing with a close fren would help, but instead, it seemed to bring everything to the surface and make it worse. Hence, I determined that I shall just keep my mouth shut.

Also had a chat with my granny this afternoon, and she said stuff that (although totally unrelated) put the whole thing in perspective for me. And then the feeling that I'm oh-so-selfish kicked in. Because whatever is going on, there's always someone else who is going through worse.

Anyhow, feel much better after a dou feng (thanx fren). It feels like the stronger the wind that whips past u, the more of u it takes with it. Plus, there's nothing like finding something new, or exploring an unknown road to lift yr heart. :) If I had my own car, I think I would take heaps of midnight drives to just discover new places.

God is unceasingly faithful.
I feel loved just holding on to His hand.

Whom have I in heaven but You?
There is nothing on earth I desire besides You.
My heart may fail, and my spirit may grow weak,
but God remains the strength of my heart;
He is mine forever.

Psalm 73:25-26

Twinkle Twinkle Little Song

Was on a mini-mission online last nite....and things started to look real good.
Then I got so excited at the prospective outcome that I couldn't sleep for abt 2 hrs after I went to bed! Hahaha...

And my happy fren of the Val wrote me a song!
Thanks to Jae who taught the choir a simple way to write a song.
That is, to take a tune of a song u like, and change the lyrics! :)

So here's Val's song for me.

~sung to Twinkle Twinkle Little Star~

When people ask me what you're like
It often brings a smile to sight
Brings to mind someone quite sweet
A fren I always love to meet
So my answer to them often is when u meet her, the answer clicks!

Haha!
So sweet of her to think of me when writing a song...
Love tank meter swings to 100! :)
Muak Vallie! :)

He is.

Strong Enough (Stacie Orrico)

As I rest against this cold hard wall will you pass me by?
Will you criticize me as I sit and cry?
I had fought so hard and thought that all my battles had been won
Only to find the war has just begun

Is He not strong enough?
Is He not pure enough?
To break me, pour me out
And start again?

Is He not brave enough
To take one chance on me
Please can I have one chance to start again?

Will my weakness for an hour make me suffer for a lifetime?
Is there any way to be made whole again?
If I'm healed, renewed and find forgiveness; find the strength I’ve never had
Will my scars forever ruin all God’s plan?

Is He not strong enough?
Is He not pure enough?
To break me, pour me out
And start again?

Is He not brave enough
To take one chance on me
Please can I have one chance to start again?

He took my life into His hands and turned it all around
In my most desperate circumstance
It's there I've finally found

That You are strong enough
That You are pure enough
To break me, pour me out and start again

That You are brave enough
To take one chance on me
Oh thank You for my chance to start again

Ball - $10 discount

Yes!! I've finished my 2nd last assignment....only to realise I've 15 other items on my things-to-do list. :P

Okei, who's going for the YA ball?? If we get a table of 10, we pay $45 each as opposed to the $55 each individual pays. :) Gals, our excuse to buy a new dress. Guys, yr chance to show off tuxes? Heh heh.

So far, there's -

1. Shar
2. Louis
3. Anna
4. Adeline
5. Eunice
6. Darren
7. Brian

No pie in the sky...

3 years in Melb and I always miss going to Mt Dandenong Range. Then in less than 20 hrs, I have gone twice! Hahaha...We went up for a drive 3am plus this morning, then again at 4pm this afternoon. Was almost in a stupor during the morning trip, so it was nice to see it with my eyes open 2nd time around.

Pie in the Sky was closed by the time we got there today (!!!), so we drove around and explored unknown routes. So fun! :) Must go again and probe around a little more....Quite amazing lah, even in the most ulu pandan parts, there were people living there in nice houses and all. It's like a town in itself, all separated from the world. I was thinking, it would be such a nice place for a kid to grow up in, all protected in a community where everyone probably knows everyone else, and they get to play in all the crevices of the mountain range and know it oh-so-well. But there'll come a time when they need to get reacquainted with the bigger world too huh?

Okei, time to start on essay tomorrow. And there's heaps of other stuff to catch up on too. :P :P :P

Once again, scroll down to the first pic, and then scroll upwards.

Not just half a Louis.....but an armed one.

There was also Thomas, Iskandar (Sis Wei Wei's dad's fren) and half a Louis. 

.....the gorgeous gal of Faraday! :) Hahaha..... but she was not alone.... 

a bluish tint lights up in a car, casting its highlights on... 

A cool evening in Mt Dandenong... 

Payback time

For the uninitiated, this is one of my hsemates, Louis. Yes, the man who has more toiletries than me.....hahaha....Check out the hairdo! Yes, this is payback for him putting pictures of my big meals on his blog. 

Woo hoo...new earrings from Xodus to say thanks for helping to take Thomas around.
Jingle jangle... 

Word of advice

Scroll down to the first picture and then view them all backwards.

"Nenenibubu, we got away...."

Apparently I look like Sonia in this pic. But this is a picture of revelation....I didn't realise how long my hair is!! :P 

make a quick escape! :P