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.