JI

"That JI guy" is not a Jurong Institute student.

It's the Jemaah Islamiyah guy, Mas Selamat. :P

I suspect he reached one of Indonesia's 13,000 islands within the four hours it took for them to raise the public alarm.

He's a ringleader after all, why would he attempt an escape if he didn't have detailed follow-up?

trust the author

Yah Lan's encouragement: 

"When things are beyond our control, we can pray and trust in God for the best."

Always trusting for the best, always ...

Because anything lesser than that is not worth trusting in, neither does it need trust.

Sometimes the facts get you down, but there's a Truth that has the power to override.

Surely, "all things work together for the good of those who love Him."

All things. How amazing.

Hope is like my parachute. 

And up there, I get to enjoy the view and vision of what is to come. 

My days are packed with work, tuition, Bible studies nowadays.

Can't wait for my wakeboarding trip this weekend!

There's something about being out on the water.

From what I recall, it's been a year.

From what I recall, what a year it's been. 

2007 may be over, but I know my year is not.

I've a few more landmarks to revisit and plant new flags on. 

And when I think about this journey, I'm grateful that God is the author of this life story.

it's true

Okei, it's official.

My living room ceiling lamp is an earthquake squealer.

http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/afp_asiapacific/view/330851/1/.html

But it can't foretell them, of course.

Abraham exercise

It's been a long weekend ... so I fell into a nap earlier and now I'm still too awake to sleep. :P

Been falling asleep and waking up with an active mind again recently.

Some very interesting thoughts flitting through too.

I think and feel that God is wanting to re-ignite some dreams in my life. 

I also find myself asking myself, "Can I give this up if God asked for it? Can I give that up?"

It's like a "Practice Becoming Abraham" exercise. 

I came to this point when I was praying at the overnight prayer meeting, and again zoomed into my dad's salvation.

And then I realized that I would give up everything I had now, (except my relationship with God, of course) for my family's salvation.

It was a pivotal moment for me, because it was like suddenly coming to terms with how important it was.

So it kinda sparked off the "Abraham" exercise, and priorities started becoming clearer.

earthquake signal?

I suspect there's an earthquake in Indonesia again.

I had that same dizzy feeling, and went out to check our ceiling lamp and true enough, it was moving from side to side even though the windows were closed to an inch, as Dad was cold. 

Well, you heard it here first. :P

chameleons and other reptiles

Met up with Min late tonight to catch up on stuff of the talking kind, over Mac's.

And as we were walking back, she pointed out a garden and blandly informed me that there were chameleons in it that had migrated over from another garden!

I got all excited and insisted on going to look for them, which prompted a remark from her, "Xiao leh ... why are you so excited over chameleons?!" 

Beats me too, but it just seemed imperative that we go and check them out!!

Hahaha.

But then, we came across a tramp sleeping on the floor in their territory, and it was too dark cos the street lamps had gone off, so we didn't see any in the end.

Next time, I'll go and look for them earlier and get a pic or two.

I got up close and personal with a couple of iguanas when I was in USA many years back.

We stayed for almost a month at Uncle Harry and Aunty Gloria's in Texas, and I was kept entertained by their pets--2 iguanas and 1 chihuahua.

I remember Uncle Harry introducing me to a big, brown bottle of Hydrogen Peroxide, which he used to dress scratches inflicted by those thrashing iguanas who so-did-not-like to take baths.

Here's one of them, Beano.

I think he was the friendlier one ... or maybe just the one less likely to scratch me.

Ah yes, and that was geeky me at 12 years of age. :P

Check out those glasses! Hahaha.

hahahahahahahahahaha.....

Just wondering, when was the last time you laughed so hard that your laughter came out silent or you were trying to catch your breath or you had stitches?

I went in pursuit of an answer today, and it left me wanting.

I had my answer, but it kinda made me feel stupid in my own eyes. 

Not the "I'm a fool for Christ" kinda feeling stupid, but the real "Why did I even...?!" kind. 

And I went "aiyah" but even "aiyah" is hardly enough to vent what I felt. 

Then, after a while of aiyah-ing, I figured, "Oh well, what's done is over. I'd be wasting my life on aiyah's."

And that's when I realised that I seem to have fitted a lot more aiyah's into my days than haha's...

Which brings me back to my original question.

When was the last time you laughed so hard that your laughter came out silent or you were trying to catch your breath or you had stitches?

Cos I don't remember the last time I had a major laugh-scapade!

And somehow, that is funny....hahahaha. 

I miss laughing.

Not just the chuckle, or snort, or little giggle, but real HEARTY kind of laughing. 

The INFECTIOUS kind.

The ROFL kind. 

Maybe we should start a laugh-quest. :P

After all, a laugh a day keeps the doctor away.

sprightly lil' lady

Grandma's elder sister has passed away at the ripe old age of 83, and the cremation is tomorrow.

That's 2 of grandma's siblings who has passed away within the space of one year.

Here and there, she cheekily makes comments to freak us out, like "Well, it'll soon be my turn," as she's the next oldest.

But you know, my grandma's a special lady, and she'll outlive others like mad.

I've never seen a 78-year-old so eager to get on her feet, or go shopping or sing karaoke anytime.  

Plus, I'm always praying that she'll live as long as it takes to see my 3 kids grow up and call her Ah-Zor.

Haha. :) 

This week looks set to be a crazy one. 

Work and everything else ... pray for me to be real fruitful!

I find myself praying this pretty often these days, that God will open doors where it's His will for me to go, and close doors where it's not. 

eye candy...hahaha.

I posted some random pics on my Facebook.
Check it out if you'd like. :)

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=28273&id=702932025

V-day catchup

Met up with the Melb gang for V-day dinner at Raffles Hotel Courtyard.

Not cheap, but food was tasty, band was lovely, and half of our cost was splashed on the yummy Sauvignon Blanc. Hahaha. :P

We met up with Davina's mum and her partner too, and conversation turned pretty interesting.

We pretty much covered everything from internet marketing and crazy grace to lawyers and cognitive development. Haha.

 

Here's a pic of everyone.

I'm having trouble uploading the rest, so can't show you the lovely table etc.

And I just heard from Mudder Wei Wei who is in town!

Sigh, she could have joined us last night if we had known earlier.

Anyway, hope you guys had a happy V-day!

see you in the morning!

Happy Valentine's Day to you all!

I stayed up late working on a freelance last night and I became zombified whole of today ... 

So, I'm going to bed early for a change tonight.

Min said her colleague fell asleep at 9:50pm and woke up at 5:50am the next day!

I don't need to sleep at 9:50pm, but I'd be oh-so-happy if I was wide awake at 5:50am.

Most people don't believe this, but I'm really a morning person, meaning I work better in the mornings, and I'm sharper and more effective then, but over time, somehow my body clock has gone haywire due to the bizarre hours I was keeping. It's worse after I get back from each trip to Taiwan, because when we are there, we live and work as if day is night, and night is day. :P 

I hope I'll be able to fall asleep if I go to bed now, because I'm so wide awake at this timing nowadays. Anyway, so getting up early is the hardest thing for me to do these days, but the eternal optimist in me is not giving up!

Good night for now! :)

窝心

I came across these 2 words in a song recently, and checked it up to make sure I got the correct meaning and ended up stumbling on this.

窝心 "By “wo-xin”, a speaker in Taiwan means what other people say or do seems to enter into his own heart, making it feel warm and snug, or even deeply touched. Yet, by using the same word, a Beijing mainlander means that he feels as if his heart is clogged or cramped, and therefore he feels uncomfortable."

Haha.

But anyway, the sentence in the song was： 有你的地方我總感覺很窩心
It means "Any place that you are in warms my heart."

Which I thought was really quite sweet for someone to say to another.

My family at CNY

I went for a Masquerade Party tonight at Raffles Hotel Ballroom.

It was quite fun, and I had my first dance!

Hahaha ... I know, shocking isn't it, to have a first dance at 29. :P

But I tot the evening was rather well-planned.

Didn't care much for the food though ... think I only liked the foie gras and chicken. Haha. 

If I ever get any pics from tonight, I'll post them here.

In the meantime, here are some CNY pics. :)

Isn't my bro cute?!

No, he's not attached yet, and I really can't figure out why.

2 things

1. I'm rather amazed at Angela Zhang's diaphragm power. 

2. Am so tempted to return to the state of my room in Melbourne.

Where my room was bare-er and I had WAY lesser chapalang.

My room now keeps feeling so cluttered.

But when I think about how my Melbourne living was almost primitive...

I have my 2nd thoughts!

thank God for the written word

I'VE LOST MY VOICE. 

I'M SHOUTING HERE TO COMPENSATE FOR THAT.

HAHAHAHA.

It's unbelievable how quick my granny is at mahjong!

My whole family has been playing mahjong pretty regularly in order to keep my dad's mind sharp and agile.

But because they always play on Sat when I am out, I only just got my chance at learning how to play today.

Oh, we don't gamble with money.

Or at least, we don't gamble with REAL money. 

We use the coins from our flea market float, and then at the end of the game, we dump all the coins back so no one wins or loses real money.

It's fun! 

And I'm a quick learner! Or so my encouraging family tells me. :)

Rachel won $15+ and I won $4+ ... not bad for an amateur.

Hee hee.

And guess what they used to lay over the dining table to mute the clashing of the tiles?!

My Happy House flannel blanket!

Hahaha. 

Pity I didn't take a picture. :P

Oh, and I sms-ed Uncle Robert to arrange for wakeboarding (YES! I'm going again soon!), and he replied to say he was just thinking about me! What are the odds?! Considering we haven't been in touch for at least 4 months! He's convinced it's telepathy. Hahaha. He asked why I wasn't at his "I-moved-to-Sembawang" party. :P And I thought he wouldn't notice. Anyway, I can't wait to catch up with him and hear the stories of his recent trip to Canada. 

Painting the MP town red

Happy Cheena New Year! 

I've got bunches of friends catching movies all over the town, and painting it red.

And I'm being Cinderella at home. 

Hahaha.

Cos my bro and I never get to go out on CNY eve.

Not that it matters that terribly to us.

We've gotten used to it over the years, and we find simple joy in watching the movies screened on TV instead.

I guess, if you determine in your heart to have a good time wherever you are, you will.

Plus, I rarely get to watch TV on normal days! 

Unbelievable, I know. 

CNY is probably the time when I watch the most TV. 

What else do you do at your relatives' house besides gorging on pineapple tarts?! :P

And, as I was walking over to Mac's this afternoon for nuggets, it occurred to me that living in Marine Parade is such a blast.

The beach is right opposite (No wonder I've never been drawn to chalets, I'm practically living in one).

We have good RCs, good schools, good shopping (Well, considering whose constituency this is, it's no surprise).

There are direct buses into town, which is only about 15 mins away.

And, we're gonna get MRT here by 2020!

Whoopee!

Granted, by then I'll be 41 years old (gasp) but still, it's great news!

All we need now is a Multiplex and MP will be PERFECT. 

Sidetrack: The Cookie Museum is not making Cranberry-Lychee anymore! And I JUST discovered it! It's gonna be replaced with Cranberry-Mango. Sigh. I shoulda gotten one tin for myself from their last batch when I bought it as a gift for CT's family the other day. I figured the Madeleine Rose would be enough, but now, I'm starting to think I have a crush on lychee. :P I went back today and most predictably, the last batch has all sold out. 

kaleidoscope

After 18-going-on-19 years of knowing Min, I find myself giving thanks to God often for what this best-frenship has grown into.

We are similar in that we are able to accept and appreciate direct speech from each other, being honest and not having to beat around the bush even in the trickiest of topics.

But mostly, we end up laughing at how we are soooooooo different from each other.

And every time I catch up with her, I recall and reinforce this thought of mine:

I appreciate differences in people very much.

In fact, I realize I relish them. 

I find that it is really cool to see how people complement me, and I them.

Not to say that I don't like similarities; they help me understand the other person more easily, but it's our differences that create the sparks and keep things unpredictably exciting.

Notice, it's differences, not disagreements. Haha.

But going back to it ... without differences, my learning curve of people would be nothing more than a straight line.

And honestly, with my short attention span, I would find it absolutely boring.

I guess that explains why I welcome such a variety of people in my life. :)

Sidetrack

Happy berfdae Benjiiiiii! 

I visited him today and he's now one perpetually happy 7-year-old cocker spaniel with "rebonded" hair, channelling the energy of bouncing Tigger.

Lurf ya, boy. :)

Working backward from looking forward

There are some moments in life when you wish you could press the fast forward button.

No, not the rewind button, because I always think even if I go back in time, I'll end up doing the same things because it'll seem to me the best thing I could have done then, even if I know better now. 

But it's when you are living in the repercussions of those things that you wish you could zoom past it. 

Then again, it's all part and parcel of learning in growing up, isn't it?

Looking 20 years down the road, what do I want to become?

A gracious woman who is pure in heart, and trusts God. 

So I have to start working on that now, daily.

Making sure that there are no shards in my heart that'll keep it from purity.

Forgiving myself and others quickly, thus living out grace.

Deciding to have faith in God in all things, and not act from my own fear.