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Monday, January 31, 2005

Yet another week begins. Its 9 days to chinese new year, 19 days to the wedding and 20 days to tasmania. I'm almost done with packing my boxes, and managed to successfully squash my pillow into the vacuum bag :) oh and everyone keeps asking, so I'll just post my flight details here.

Sunday 20 February 2005
SQ 8.40pm

Buster's surgery went well. The surgeon removed a large piece of carrot and corn (??probably from the rubbish) that were stuck in his stomach. I think buster's problem is that he doesn't chew. He just swallows. Greedy boy. So he'll be on a special diet for a while now, since 10cm of his small intestines were cut off as well. Apparantly the carrot and corn started decomposing and were eating away at the front parts of his small intestines. Ouch. So alls well and buster should be back to his frisky, playful self in no time. Oh and the surgery's probably going to cost us about $1000++. Ouch. But I'm glad buster's fine now. The house has felt so much quieter without him this past 5 days. Haha I know even my mom misses him although she won't admit it. She misses having him around to tease and make funny faces at.

This has been a weekend full of talky, emotional moments and I'm feeling rather...hmm can't find a word for the feeling.

Our Lord never promised that we wouldn't have to face the storms of life, but He did say, "Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest." Matthew 11:28

weibin: Haha my zen micro cost me a bomb but it was worth every cent!Yep and thanks buster's all better now :) It was nice seeing you that day at alumni prac!Too bad we didn't get the chance to really talk much :P Hopefully, see you next sat!:)
cheng: Hey thanks dear buster should be back to his same lovable self again soon :) He'll just have some extra stitches along his tummy. Ouch.
enping: hey hey!!!So nice to see old familiar friends popping up on my blog:) Thanks so much :) I did have a happy bday. haha see ya again next sat ya!
nicole: We missed you too dear. *hug* don't be sad cos when you come back it'll be summer break and you'll have lots and lots of fun outings with the rg girls!!!haha whereas for me I'll be freezing into an ice-cube in tasmania. and as for the whereabouts of clot...haha look at mandy's tag.
mandy: Haha yeah I LOVE dots too. Althought you're probably a lot more crazy about them than me. Heh I'm suddenly remembering our dotty shirt photograph we took that day we sent jing off at the airport...

~me~ at 11:07 AM

Sunday, January 30, 2005

My saturday started early with me going to the wet market with my mom to help her with the groceries. We went to chinatown & it was crazy. People were rushing around stocking up for stuff before the rise in prices during the chinese new year season. It took me a while to master the art of maneuvering my mom's shopping trolley around people without rolling over anyone's feet. My mom bought a ton of fish. Ah well I do love fish. I did spend some nice quality time with my mom:)

Then I had to rush home and bathe (to rid myself of the fishy smell) and met clot, mandy, debs and shumei at J8 for lunch!Lunch was at cafe cartel, and clot (as always) amused us all with her ambitious plans for the future :) Its nice to know she's as crappy & entertaining as ever :)

It was a short,squeezy but much appreciated car ride over to RI for Rwinds band prac in Lynn's car after lunch. Band prac was pretty fun :) It felt exactly like RJ all over again, with my crazy percussion sectionmates (namely andrew and gerald). And I didn't think it was possible but RI percussion is even messier than the old RJ percussion section. I couldn't take one step without putting my foot down on a stray mallet stick. Tsk tsk. We played some nice songs and it was 5pm before I knew it. I had to rush off for church at 6 but the dear rgs girls surprised me with a belated birthday song and present!Thanks peeps!!:) I'm sorry I had to rush off without really thanking all of you!! :P Haha and I can tell mandy had a big hand in selecting the presents since the anklet's decorated with hanging silver DOTS and the earrings are literally big DOTS with little DOTS suspended on them :) haha love them!Thanks thanks so much!!

On a more upsetting note, I'm sad to say that buster had surgery this afternoon. He hasn't been able to keep down food or water for the last 3 days so they carried out this barium-x-ray test on him, and detected some kind of blockage between his stomach and small intestines. So they had to cut up his stomach to remove whatever rubbish was inside. Next 48 hours are crucial.

I suddenly realise buster is getting OLD. I never really thought of him as being old since he's so hyper & energetic & greedy most of the time. But he's almost 8 human years old already. Thats about 56 in doggy years. My mom commented recently how people who get pets have to be prepared to see their pets die before them. Unless they get turtles. Sob.

~me~ at 12:27 AM

Friday, January 28, 2005

AHH its the end of the week. All the stuff I planned to do this week never got done...cos of last minute happenings and unexpected turnouts. I don't know how to feel about last night. I'm not happy, but not sad either. I kind of expected this would happen sooner or later, but now that it really seems to be happening, I feel numb. And its definitely not a good time, what with my sister's wedding and me leaving. I need to pray more on this.

Anyway, I had planned to have an afternoon of fun yesterday, but ended up bringing buster to the animal hospital :( He was up early yesterday morning puking. He couldn't even keep down water. And when offered a piece of carrot, he actually turned his nose & hid under the table. That was very very uncharacteristic of the poor fella. He must have been feeling miserable. My elder sister was teaching the whole afternoon so I borrowed my dad's car to drive him to the animal hospital since our regular vet was off on thursday. Thanks to Lionel who kept me company & directed me to the hospital:)

The vet on duty was really really young!She looked younger than me even but was pretty experienced when it came to handling buster..She told us he was pretty dehydrated (cos he couldn't even take down water) and said there wasn't any problems with his lungs, heart or intestines. But we would have to x-ray his stomach cos dogs' stomachs are apparantly hidden way inside under the ribcage and other organs. Buster just looked so miserable the whole time!Felt so sad for him :(

He was hospitalised and put on the drip to prevent him from getting severely dehydrated. If he feels better today its probably just food poisoning. If not, something worse.

Had originally planned to crash lecs at NUS today, but finally decided I was in no mood to pay attention and didn't want to disturb my friends..Plus I woke up late. Haha.

~me~ at 1:14 PM

Thursday, January 27, 2005

Woo how time flies..can't believe half the week's over already. Still so much to pack, & so much I want to do.

I've spent the last couple of days wrapping textbooks, preparing presents (my elder sister's wedding gift) and playing with my new mp3 player!!Haha I was impulsive & bought a 5GB creative zen micro on monday =) Ok so it wasn't exactly impulsive..I've been thinking about getting a nice mp3 player for awhile now..I'm feeling guilty for spending so much..but I really love my new mp3 player!bought it cheaper than the marked price too. And music's always been a big part of my life, and at least I'll have my music to keep me company in tasmania all the time now :)

I just read Genesis and the online bible commentary.."The place fixed upon for Adam to dwell in, was not a palace, but a garden. The better we take up with plain things, and the less we seek things to gratify pride and luxury, the nearer we approach to innocency." Whoops. Is God telling me to spend less money on material stuff? I always find it cool how I can be pondering something over a week, then the readings/sermon during mass that particular week just 'happen' to coincide with my thoughts.

Anyway, I spent this afternoon at the tailor's..tried on my bridesmaid dress for e wedding. The dress being red, felt more chinese-new-year than wedding..but no matter, I'm getting more & more excited for the wedding :) I'm trying to put out of my mind the fact that I'll be leaving the very next day..but its not working, largely cos there's so much stuff lying about in my room, waiting to be packed..speaking of chinese new year, I almost forgot how soon it is..probably cos there's so much happening..the wedding and tasmania have been taking up such a large portion of my brain space that I totally forgot about chinese new year. And valentine's day. I only got reminded about that today when I spotted advertisements & flyers announcing valentines day specials all around town. Ooops. Think I'm rambling..ok my bed beckons to me. Lots to do tomorrow. Good night!


~me~ at 2:58 AM

Monday, January 24, 2005

Happy birthday to us
Happy birthday to us
Happy birthday to mom, qi and meeee.......
Happy birthday to US!!!!:)

Woo feeling super hyper now. Haha I had a very very HaPpY birthday tonight with my family plus Lionel & Justin:)We had a steamboat dinner at home, and yummy COOKIES & CREAM ICE-CREAM birthday cake!!:)This year's lucky number is 89! Haha my dad said that the ice-cream cake would melt if we attempted to stick 89 candles into it. So we had 3 candles instead..It was a simple but very joyful celebration:) I truly enjoyed the company of all my family members tonight:) Thank you dear God for blessing me with my family members and the people in my life =)

Some weird stuff...the pagan meaning of the name
1) 'germaine' is 'peasant girl from france'. huh.
2) 'genevieve' is 'tribal woman'. Woo.
3) 'buster' is 'someone who is prone to breaking things.' And I did not make this last one up. Haha very fitting.

Haha and msn is down tonight. Guess msn decided to honour my birthday with a holiday for themselves.

nad: *hug*Thanks so much dear:) I'm sure God brought us together for a reason:) If you ever feel like ranting, just know that I'm here ready to listen!! Drop me an email anytime you feel like it:) Lala take care babe!:)
nicole: Thankew!!Yep this year is definitely going to be life-changing...I just pray it'll change in a good way... :) Ah but in God's hands, things always turn out for the best:)
mandy: Haha thanks for the birthday wish and smiley faces!!:)
pips: Thanks pips!!:) Yeah we've gotta meet up soon ya!:)
qi: HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!! Love ya:) And thanks for the pink gifts. =)

~me~ at 4:01 AM

I love my family!!!:)
~me~ at 3:37 AM

by the way..thanks to my elder sis, the cake says "3 BeAuTiFuL ladies...mom,qi & yin" :)
~me~ at 3:36 AM

Sunday, January 23, 2005

Birthday celebration number 2: Surprise party at Kelly's!!!Many thanks to Justin and Kelly:)

It was just a small gathering and I was really glad to see my sister so happy. The food was entirely prepared by chef kelly, who is an AMAZING cook. It was better than dining at an expensive restuarant. I seriously think she has the talent to be a head chef at a classy restuarant. There was a salmon appetiser, followed by baked codfish with japenese rice, and the most incredible dessert: Brownies with cream cheese and strawberries accompanied with chocolate mousse. Best meal I've had in a long time.

We spent the afternoon lazing about at her house, playing with her dad's collection of guitars and his very very nice new pearl drumset. I didn't realise how much I missed playing a real drumset until this afternoon. Anyway, we left in the evening to go for church..I felt very emotionally strengthened after mass today. I don't know why but His words were particularly meaningful to me today.

Had a nice leisurely dinner with Lionel and spent the rest of the lazy night talking and lazing about. Good day. Argh about 1 day of being 19 left. I wish I didn't have to grow up.

weibin: Haha thanks! Yep I'll treasure my last day of being 19 :)
lynn: Thanks lynn!!:) Heh yep I'll probably be crashing med lec sometime this week..when's a good day to come disturb you?:)
ruxin: Hello! Nice to hear from you:) Haha yep I look forward to working with the great doctor ruxin as well :) Thank you!!

~me~ at 2:57 AM

Saturday, January 22, 2005

Had my first birthday celebration today!My mom's mahjong club wanted to treat her to lunch, and she insisted on bringing us along since it was our birthdays as well. All the aunties were very nice :) Lunch was at this nice place with a french name I can't pronounce and don't know how to spell. Birthday cake was the most delicious carrot cake I've tasted EVER. They're really a pleasant bunch of people..I'm glad my mom has good friends like them:)

Haha after lunch auntie jasmine drove us home in her husband's PORSCHE. Very fun but scary. The engine made this loud purring sound whenever she stepped on the accelerator. I was sitting at the back and still felt exhilirated everytime she accelerated. Hmm but if given a choice I'd rather have a normal car than a super cool porsche I guess. Too flashy. But it was really FUN getting a ride today :)

Went to meet mandy, debs, cass, karen & junejoo for the NIE concert at VCH later on..first concert I've been to since NTU concert last year!They weren't too bad, but I guess I have high expectations being from band myself. Listening to band music & going to VCH again just made me miss band all the more though. :(

I think driving makes people antisocial. Cos when you can drive, you miss out on talk time when taking public transport. And I had to leave slightly earlier today cos my parking coupon had expired already. Apologies to mandy :(

Finally managed to catch up with an old friend tonight. :) And thanks to pips for making me feel better:) Don't know why I'm feeling particularly down tonight.

Blessed are the undefiled in the way
who walk in the law of the Lord
Blessed are they who keep his testimonies
and that seek him with the whole heart. -psalm 119

cheng: hey dear you're in my prayers cos I care. Be happy ya. Haha oh and sorry it wasn't listed in any particular order that night.
qi: yep you know why I'm acting weird. Sorry. Hey and I'm glad for you now about your decision :)
nicole: haha yeah sorry I was definitely exaggerating yesterday..but halfway around the world or not, tasmania still feels far far away from home..haha sorry I'm in a nostalgic phase right now..
pips: hey your words really mean a lot to me :) Thanks so much for everything ya :)

~me~ at 2:57 AM

Thursday, January 20, 2005

I'm supposed to be packing now.

Been feeling very mixed these 2 days..nostalgic, lost, happy, sad..I spent the most of yesterday fixing an irritating problem with my student visa application. Hopefully thats all settled now. Went shopping with Lionel, Qi & Justin for my mom's birthday present the day before..Heh we spent quite a bit on something that I hope she'll like very much, but I wanted to give her something extra special this year..as a BIG thank you to what she's done for me (paying for my very expensive education and giving me moral support) and also cos of the past stressful year for her. Haha I remember someone once commented to me how my birthday also meant spending a lot of money, since I have to get both my mom and sister presents as well. Haha but I think its fun giving presents :) The slight hassle is just thinking of what to give.

Sigh. The thing about packing is that its giving me a reality check. Its really happening. I'm flying off in EXACTLY one month's time. 20 Feb 2005. I'm putting all my belongings into boxes to be brought halfway across the world. Sob.

~me~ at 5:44 PM

I feel happy...but so sad at the same time.

It suddenly seems like so many people I care about are depressed or sad. And I really don't know how to help.

Tonight, I thank God for
1) Giving me chances in life to do things which I only once dreamt of doing.
2) Blessing me with family and friends.
3) The situation with Nadine and Nicole taking a turn for the better :)

and I pray for
1) Chengyee.
2) My sister.
3) My parents.
4) Nicole and Nad.
5) Everyone I know to be happy as a bunny. (deb's phrase)

Take care all.

nicole: haha yep and i had fish yet again tonight!haha. Yes I'll drink more milk..then I can grow taller!!
cheng:erm is there a difference?haha joyful's good too!
nad: oh man..thats a lot of blood! :( eat more iron!
weibin: Thanks so much:) Haha and yep I am now driving a lot more cautiously!heh so in a way the accident did me goood:)

~me~ at 2:32 AM

Tuesday, January 18, 2005

A busy busy day.

Got most of my student visa stuff settled..collected my new passport, had to fill up a whole bunch of forms for the australian embassy, then went for a chest x-ray and medical examination..the nice doctor took a whole test-tube of my blood for tests. Standard procedure for prospective med students. Heh but think I'm getting used to people taking blood from me already. She took quite some time finding a nice big fat vein to get the blood from, but she spent the time talking to me about tasmania and studying medicine. Haha think the other patients in the waiting room were kind of freaked to see me exit the doctor's room with a long fat test-tube of blood and a big plaster on my arm. Cos all the patients who go to this particular clinic are students applying for visas or foreginers applying for work permits, I guess they all thought they'd have to fork out some of their blood to the good doctor.

And I think I'm shrinking. I'm now 3cm shorter than I was the last time I took my height :P

Anyway, I'm feeling accomplished but tired now. Just got back from tuition. My dad let me use his car to drive to tuition today since it was raining. Felt nice not having to walk all the way to the bus stop. And I was really extra careful today:) Glad to know my dad still trusts me with his car:)

Argh. My room's still littered with stuff. Packing for tasmania has come to a temporary halt. Heh I was very pleasantly surprised to hear ruth's voice all the way from london last night:) According to her, 3 boxes + 2 suitcases is normal. Oh and something really weird happened to my elder sis this morn. I was rummaging through the fridge for breakfast when she came out of her room looking blur and carefully holding a half-eaten chicken drumstick. She said she'd been sitting next to her bed petting buster when she heard a loud bang against her window. Then buster sniffed his way to the window and she saw a half-eaten chicken drumstick (plus a grease stain on the window) at the window sill. It apparantly fell out of the sky. Haha probably from a naughty bird that stole some poor guy's dinner the night before.

I realise my post tonight is very disjointed. Sorry. I had little sleep last night and lost blood today.

Tonight, I pray for...
1) My sister to find some joy in JC and to be happy.
2) Nadine & Nicole to be happy. And to know that many people are praying for them and care for them. No matter how things turn out, God has his reasons and big plans for you.
3) My elder sister's wedding plans to run smoothly so she and chris will be happy.
4) My parents to communicate more and to be happy in each other's presence.
5) Everyone studying now, esp the rgs girls and cn5a, that they find some kind of pleasure amidst the stress in school and to be happy with what they do.

~me~ at 1:57 AM

Sunday, January 16, 2005

Warning: LONG entry ahead. Apologies in advance..

Haha I'm still suffering from the repercussions of my crash.But in a kind of good way.I'm driving much more carefully and keeping my eyes trained STRAIGHT ahead of at all times.Especially when TIBS buses are in the vicinity.

Haha to make me feel better, Chris was telling me about his own history of automobile accidents. He's really a pretty good driver now, mostly cos he's had a lot of practice driving a police car back in his policeman days:) Haha he's had a couple of chances playing "police and thief", where he can totally forego the speed limit and just chase after a criminal at top speed. He says as the driver he finds it super fun, while his partner in the passenger seat just holds on for dear life with a petrified expression.

There was this one time he was driving a policevan full of convicts at 4 am. He was feeling sleeeeepy and actually fell asleep at the wheel. Aiyo. Then he crashed into a signpost. He only woke up to the sound of the convicts banging against the window. Haha he said all the convicts were sprawled on the floor, still handcuffed.

Anyway, its been a good couple of days. And very fun:) I had a great time visiting my NUS class yesterday..Its great to know that they're still as ON as ever..organising regular sports activities:) I won't forget all those volleyball, tennis, captain's ball and badminton sessions last sem. Haha they were my only source of exercise. Anyway we played badminton for 3 straight hours yesterday morning..was considerably tired yesterday..but not as tired as my classmates!poor things.. after badminton, they went for a 4-hour session of afternoon lectures.

I met up with them again for dinner after school at fish & co:) I love cn5a!!:)The 16 of us ate $360 worth of seafood. Woah. We were celebrating all the january babies' birthdays..Haha I had no idea fish & co was such a popular place for bday celebrations. The poor guy with the guitar up on stage must have sung "happy birthday" at least 10 times that night. Dinner was yummy; I had salmon cajun style!Lionel commented that I've been eating a ridiculous amount of fish these days. I think so too. Dinner tonight was the first meal in the last week that I haven't had fish. Haha after dinner my mom and her kakees resumed their mahjong session, but it came to a screaming halt when she spotted a lizard among their feet underneath the table. It was chaos. Just imagine a roomful of screaming tai tais with particularly loud voices. One of the aunties actually jumped onto the sofa screaming her head off. But amidst the chaos I did hear my mother scream for buster to eat the lizard. Haha I'm guessing this was in light of the lizard incident a couple of nights ago. Yep buster chased after it once again, but it escaped underneath a cupboard this time..Haha my sister would have scolded my mother for encouraging buster to eat meat if she had been at home.

Felt really sad on the bus ride home yesterday night. Kept thinking how I was officially no longer a part of my class and how I'd never again have mugging sessions and lectures together with them. Crashing lectures now would still feel different from last semester, when I didn't know I'd be leaving. But thinking positively, I'm really glad I had a semester's chance to get to know these wonderful people:)And there'll still be msn and emails.

I did a bit more packing today. I'm one more box closer to leaving. I had no idea I had so much stuff. My estimated packing capacity is 3 boxes plus 2 suitcases. Is that normal? Or am I being kiasu and bringing a lot of extra stuff? Haha maybe I'm being kiasu cos I know I can bring up to about 80kg worth of stuff since my parents are coming along with me. Room's a mess now.

mandy: Thanks so much for the concern:) Oh by the way, what exactly is WOOT supposed to mean??!:)
weibin: FOUR times?!Haha but you were lucky..I wish TIBS would pay for my sister's car.
deb: haha thanks:) you take care out there on the roads too ya!:) I'll be praying for you and your driving test!!:)
lynn: Yep I'm still recovering...But in a good way cos I'm driving more cautiously now:) Haha when again are you retaking your driving test?
pips: I'm really not sure yet actually. Don't know if TIBS will report it..Argh. Haha but I hope this doesn't discourage you from learning your driving!Have you finally booked your theory test yet??

~me~ at 2:27 AM

Thursday, January 13, 2005

Sigh. I've got mixed feelings about today..

It started off great..I went with my sister to the printer place to order her wedding booklets for the church wedding. Helped her to choose the colours and textures and ribbons. Kind of interesting :) After that we went to my grandma's place to spend a little time with her..I've always felt sad that I can't really communicate with my grandma since she only speaks cantonese. I can generally understand her although I'm not able to keep up with my end of the conversation..but at least with my elder sister there I'm able to be considerably more coherant. My grandma's such a sweet, cute old woman:)

I was driving my sister's car on the way home. And I CRASHED INTO A BUS. Sigh. And it was entirely my fault. I was trying to filter right and didn't pay attention to the bus which stopped suddenly in front of me. And my sister and dad were so nice to me about it, telling me not to feel bad. Sigh. Anyway, I went with my dad to get the car fixed (the front bender was crooked)..and the mechanic told us the estimated cost was $200+. Sigh. I feel super bad. Plus my sister won't get to use her car for the next couple of days. Plus the stupid bus company might claim money for damage done to the bus. (I don't recall seeing any damage done to the bus but it figures that the bus company would try to get money out of us. Stupid TIBS company. I'm boycotting their bus service from now on.) Oh well, the only thing good out of this is that I'm going to be a super careful, super kiasu driver from now on:) Yes and to people learning driving, please take care out there on the roads. Its a scary and unpredictable driving world out there.

My parents were pretty nice to me about the accident..my mom was like, "So you hit the bus bumblebar?" and I was like, "yeah I hit the bumper of the bus." Anyway, sorry to Lionel whom I was supposed to meet but couldn't cos I had to take the car to the mechanic's for repairs. I had an enjoyable day with him yesterday, when we stuffed ourselves silly at souel garden.

Lionel: Ok I'm going to cook an egg. You done with the soup?
germ: Yep. Why?
Lionel: I'm cracking the egg into the soup to make egg soup.
germ: Normal people boil their eggs to eat.
Lionel: But I like it this way.
-proceeds to crack egg over steamboat-
-egg makes a sizzling sound as it hits the barbeque instead-
Lionel: Oooops.
germ: You've got an omelette now.

Haha he ended up with an omelette which he had to scrape off the grill cos it got super burnt. Anyway, we were super full after that and I've got a sore throat now as a result of too much spicy chicken and peppered beef.

mandy: whoops sorry!yep jiamin had e same problem..not quite sure how to but I'll try to fix it one of these days!
nadine: haha i was a brave girl!!:) actually they do have english names..genevieve and geraldine..just that we usually go by chinese names at home..plus I normally refer to my elder sis as "jie jie" :)
cheng: yep wish u could have been there too :( oh well, hope your interview went well:)haha yep do you use firefox?apparantly my blog is firefox incompatible..
clot: Yo doc clot!!haven't heard from you in awhile:) heh I'm doing fine!having a busy yet lazy couple of months before I fly off..

~me~ at 11:28 PM

Wednesday, January 12, 2005

Oh joy what a lovely day.

I met dear michelle and amelia for lunch today..They ended school at 11am!Pity cheng wasn't there though :( yes we missed you dear chengyee!haha michelle was craving fish & chips from SIM (SIngapore Institute of Management) so we made her day by going there for lunch..in her words, SIM has "the best fish and chips in Singapore"..haha its not bad for a $4.90 set lunch including soup. I originally thought it was kind of weird to be going to SIM for lunch but their cafeteria is really nice!The whole place is air-conditioned and the cafeteria is marche-style; You're given a card at the door, you get a stamp when you get your food and you only pay at the exit. The pasta and claypot looked pretty yummy. And they had cheap stuff like $2 chicken rice and noodles.

Anyway, we were feeling pretty stagnant after eating so sat there in air-conditioned comfort for a couple of hours..then took a nice slow 5-minute walk to amelia's (her house is literally behind SIM) Haha we stayed there all afternoon..watching tv and talking:) I really love hanging out with them:) Amelia showed me their ridiculously wordy medical textbooks (the exact ones I'll be using)..which got to wondering how the heck I'm going to manage studying next time :( It was almost 5 before we knew it..I had michelle to keep me company all the way home on 154..then I gave buster his weekly bath..he smells really nice now:)

Dinner was just me and my sisters..it was really nice just talking to them..we may live in the same home but we hardly get the chance to sit down together and talk..esp now that qi's started jc and my sister's so busy planning her wedding..I really love my sisters and thank them for loving me:)

I was sitting at my desk after dinner when my elder sister screamed for me. I ran out of my room and saw her and buster standing in front of the open refridgerator..

me: What's wrong??!
my elder sis: A LIZARD!!!In the fridge!
me: Is it frozen?? *pokes at it*
my elder sis: I don't know!Just get rid of it!
me: Oh its alive. *grabs a piece of paper and swats at it*
-Lizard hops out of the fridge and slithers onto the floor near our feet-
me and elder sis: AAAHHH!!!
-Buster gobbles up the lizard-

Haha ok that last part NEARLY happened. He ran after it licking his mouth but the poor half-frozen lizard managed to escape under the refridgerator. If he had caught it that lizard would have been a goner though. Silly vegeterian dog. How does he even find half-frozen cold-blooded lizards yummy? Perhaps he feels meat-deprived. Hope not. Oh joy what an interesting day. Yawn. Good night all. :)

~me~ at 2:57 AM

Tuesday, January 11, 2005

I had my first tuition job in eons today. Haha actually I've only stopped for about a month but its felt like a really long time..I couldn't even write properly, and I had to pause to think about certain chemistry terms again..heh but I felt like my old teaching self again after the first hour. Hard as it is to believe, I'll actually miss tuition when I go off to tasmania. Sometimes I wonder how things would have turned out had I chose teaching as a career instead.

Anyway, I'm glad for these last few tuition jobs before I go off. I had originally planned to end my tuition career in december but a couple of students wanted me to teach them until the last possible week before I leave. Haha and I got a raise!Heh it'll only be a bit more money for a month or so but even so. My student today is my very first tuition student ever so it feels nice to be ending with her as well.

After tuition I got tired of waiting for the bus (plus there was a ridiculous traffic jam) so I took the 30-minute walk back home. It had been raining the whole afternoon so it was nice and cool plus the walk didn't seem that long with music to keep me company..I like long walks. They give me time to think :)

~me~ at 12:22 AM

Sunday, January 09, 2005

Nothing really exciting happened today, but it somehow felt like a special day..

I woke up feeling slightly flu-ey..It rained most of the afternoon, hence my sleepy and lazy mood throughout the day..Lionel came over in the afternoon with his bro's ps2, and we attempted to play tennis and volleyball..and I was highly amused watching him play grand theft auto..its this ridiculous game where you score stars by stealing cars and running over policemen. He got a big kick out of punching innocent civilians and stealing policecars.

Anyway, we went off to church in the evening..Sometimes I feel really guilty when I space out during mass. I don't mean to but my mind just wanders at times. I love singing the psalms and hymns..and I love it when father O'Neil worships in song. But sometimes I feel like I'm just listening to words without their true meaning really registering in my brain. Sometimes when I read the bible, I feel like I'm not completely understanding the message God is trying to convey. I've been wanting to do something to improve my relationship with God and to strengthen my faith. I think I'll probably join a bible study group or something when I go to tasmania. Haha I tried looking for christian books at the library the other day but orchard library is really LOUSY.

I drove us home after mass in time for dinner..one of my mom's mahjong kakees had made us a HUGE bowl of sambal prawns..kinda spicy for me but they were pretty scrumptious. Lionel had twenty prawns. I counted his heads. Amazing. And an hour later, he announces, "I'm hungry."Hmm speaking of which, I'm kind of hungry now too...

jiamin: whoops really sorry..I'm also not quite sure how to remedy it..so how does my blog appear to you?
weibin: heh thanks:)yes I'll definitely keep blogging..and I'll try to be optimistic about the next 6 years!you think positively about life too:)
nadine: haha ok I already adjusted the percentage!is it better??:)
deb: haha I'm very glad to have a sister like you to strengthen my faith in the Lord!I always feel enlightened reading your beautiful words on your blog:)thanks you:)
nicole: haha I should be back in june/july..hopefully..but it'll only be a short break..yep when's the next time u gals are coming back?:)




~me~ at 2:57 AM

Friday, January 07, 2005

missing home already..

haha sorry for the one-lined post yesterday..but after spending a couple of hours trying to fix the new layout I was so sick of staring at the computer screen..haha I'm so glad I don't have to take computing next sem at NUS anymore..it would have been one of my core modules..

Anyway I just got home..spent the afternoon celebrating chee's and june joo's birthdays!:)I'm happy for any time spent with the rgs girls..haha they were discussing bidding and modules a lot today..I'm so glad I'm spared the horrers of bidding this year..haha I recall recklessly splurging points on modules last sem cos I had the mentality that I wouldn't be needing any points this sem..good thing things worked out the way I'd hoped..or I'd be in trouble now..

Somehow it still doesn't really feel like 2005 yet..think its cos I haven't started school yet. But I don't think I'll ever really be fully prepared to leave Singapore to start school..I guess it'll only hit me after I leave. So far, most of the people I know who are studying overseas tell me what incredible experiences they're having, and how much I'll learn. I still can't help feeling sad at the thought of leaving. My mom and sister keep telling me I'll ba back in a few months; its not like I'll be gone forever. True, but just the idea of leaving home, leaving this comfort zone, leaving my friends and family, leaving the place where my whole life revolves around is sad. I'll definitely try my best to keep in touch with everyone here, but there's no denying the fact that the distance will keep me from being a part of my loved ones' lives to some degree at least.

Meeting up with all my friends over the holidays is just making me miss home more and more..ok I should start thinking ahead, and I need to think optimistically. I'll get to study something I actually want to study. I'll get to meet people from completely different places, hopefully make new friends and learn from them as well.

oh and my apologies to everyone squinting at the screen..I'll try to fix it so the words are easier to make out...

yahui: No thanks are needed yaya..just hope you really do feel better..and heck the stupid "no one" disturbing the peace of your blog:)
nolly: It was a pleasure noelle!haha yep now you'll have something to remind you of us in cold cold london..hope you had a safe trip back!have a great time back at school!:)
deb: haha glad your voice felt better today..hope your sore/runny nose goes away as well before school starts!:P
lynn: hah thanks!I like my new blog!yes we should do more mindless shopping together more often:)haha yeah I'm sure I can afford that jacket, esp if I'm going to get a camera too..sigh but it really was nice..:)
nadine: haha thanks dear!hmm you mean there's transparant stuff on the chatterbox too?on my screen, the transparant thingy's only on the wordy part..haha I'll try to fix it..wouldn't want to have all you poor guys squinting at my blog!
qi: hah oh I just realised I forgot to remove the pic..sorry I'll do it now..yeah I'm trying to fix the opaqueness now..
jiamin: yep new blog!oops sorry..so is my blog readable to you?

~me~ at 10:57 PM

Thursday, January 06, 2005

New blog!

Whew. Finally got down to figuring out how to change the layout of my blog...

~me~ at 5:58 PM

Saxy day

I had a great saxy day. Haha yes it was a wonderful day spent with 4 wonderful people; lynn, nolly, chee & debs. We were supposed to meet at 10am but unfortunately debs was the only one who was on time. Haha so sorry sis but its was the fault of the rainy weather that we all woke up late!yeah I woke up at 930 to the sound of rain against my window, then hurried to orchard..

We ended up having a nice long brunch at wisma macs..it was great seeing noelle again and so nice to catch up with everyone!:)Lynn was aussie girl today,dressed in a shirt she'd bought in aus and a billlabong skirt..poor debs had a sore throat & was croaking away (hey hope you feel better soon sis..take care and drink lotsa water k!don't eat too many strepsils!!)..chee was the latest to arrive as usual, breaking her own record by being 2 hours late!(haha but no matter it was nice seeing you too chee..just don't get too stressed with school stuff k)..and nolly was her usual corny, cheerful self..and I was so glad to hear how she's enjoying school in london!:)

After lunch, we trooped around orchard aimlessly for awhile..then debs and chee parted, leaving me,lynn and nolly to carry out some mindless shopping at topshop. Haha lynn was so excited cos she hadn't been to orchard in the longest time and was in dire need to spend some money..We saw a nice jacket at u2, where me and lynn schemed to buy it for noelle as a belated birthday/christmas present:)

Then lynn accompanied me to suntec where I had to see the optician for my new contact lenses for tasmania..after which we continued our shopping tour for lynn's jeans..saw a super nice but sadly super ex jacket at topshop..and lynn was trying to convince me to buy a digital camera for tasmania..sigh. Maybe..

I was surprised to look at my watch and find that it was close to 7pm!We'd been walking and talking and eating for almost 9 hours!Heh I'm really glad to have a friend like lynn. We can just tirelessly talk and shop the time away..I'm so glad to have gotten the chance to have known her so much better in RJ:)And I'm so glad to have all the saxes who adopted me into their section at RJ:)

Anyway, I got home and had a nice chat with my mom and younger sister during dinner..qi was telling us about her orientation at NJC for the week..sigh I can't believe its been 3 years since my orientation at RJ..and now RJ has been taken over by NUS high..so sad..

Haha oh and going to the optician today reminded me of a previous time I visited him..I was waiting outside for him to call me into his room for the eye check-up, and was testing my own eyesight by closing each eye and trying to read the signboard on the far wall of the room..and this guy sitting near the wall thought I was winking at him!He gave me this funny look and I turned to look in the other direction fast. So embarrassing.

Hmm its pretty late now but I don't know why I don't feel the least bit sleepy. I had a long day yesterday as well. I spent the day at Lionel's, where we played mindless stuff on his bro's ps2 and we watched lousy-quality dvds..I found both Alexander and Ocean's 12 to be pretty slow-moving and kinda boring..but it was a nice afternoon spent in Lionel's company all the same:)His mom cooked us a yummy dinner and I hung around for awhile to chat before he sent me home..

The last couple of days have been great. And I really thank God for my family and friends.

~me~ at 4:07 AM

Tuesday, January 04, 2005

I spent a lot of time thinking about my relationship with God tonight..I feel bad how I turn to him more in times of need..when life is happy and good, its so much easier to neglect and forget His presence..I really am grateful to Him for giving me so many oppurtunities in life, and for giving me such a good life..I thank Him for letting me experience His love in the people of my life..my family, Lionel, my friends..Thank you Lord. I'm scared and excited about my upcoming life experience, but I know you'll always be there with me..no matter how far away from home I'll be. I'll miss home.


~me~ at 5:27 AM

Saturday, January 01, 2005

my grandma, the wedding girl, and the poor HUGE roasted pig.
~me~ at 5:56 PM

germ armed with a slice of roast pig!
~me~ at 5:54 PM

Happy new year everyone!!:)yawn. I can't remember the last time I had to wake up as early as I did on new year this year..its my sister's dowry day!haha so according to chinese customs she's already married. I woke up to my dad pounding on my door at 8am this morning, shouting that the roasted pig had already arrived..

I didn't even have time to wash my face or brush my teeth..just threw on some clothes and hurried downstairs..haha and a HUGE roasted pig was sitting on the dining room table..the first thing I thought of when I saw it was, "oh gosh it looks like a roasted buster!" cos the pig was fat and brown and sausage-shaped, just like buster. Anyway buster was trying hard to stand up with his front paws and get a look at what smelt so good on the table..

Then Chris's relatives came..and his uncle chopped up the pig into pieces for us to hand out to our own relatives..they also brought us 8 whole cakes, a tall basket of mandarin oranges and a couple bottles of wine!We had the banana-walnut cake(which was pretty savoury)for breakfast, then my parents loaded the pig, cakes and oranges into their car..and they proceeded to our own relatives' houses to hand out everything..it was quite an interesting morning.I learnt a lot of funny chinese customs..
1) We sprinkled peanuts over the pig cos "hua sheng" symbolised more babies!
2) The oranges came in several sizes, again representing more babies..(I don't know exactly why)
3) We chopped up the whole pig, except for the head and tail..something about "you tou you wei"

Quite sleepy now after lunch..Its been a busy last couple of days..went to sentosa with my NUS class on thurs!sadly the weather was in disagreement with us..cos it poured for the late part of the afternoon..but we managed to have volleyball fun from 9 in the morning all the way till 3..time really flew by..haha and it was a nice surprise to see some of the singapore idol finalists having rehearsal for the new year's eve party at siloso!yeah we saw olinda and maia..and got a slight preview of the show!haha we were playing volleyball behind the stage when we heard sylvester singing!a couple of my classmates immediately ran to the front of the stage..but pity it was only a recording..heh then qingyi asked olinda if we could take a photo with her..and she refered us to her manager. :P hmph.

We made it to shelter just in time..before the rain hit..so we spent a while enjoying a slow lunch and cards..After washing up, we went to the haunted house!The orientation team members in my class wanted to check it out in preparation for orientation next year..and it was really pretty scary!its located at the top of the hill near the chalets..all dark and creepy and deserted and run-down. Haha quite interesting. Apparantly the house has been sitting there untouched all along..NUS has been using it as a part of orientation camp for awhile..its not exactly legal to enter but not really considered illegal entry either..bah.

Anway, I met up with michelle, amelia and ruth yesterday for a seoul garden buffet lunch!I haven't seen them since the halloween party..and I can't even remember the last time I stuffed myself with seoul garden prawns and beef. I can still taste the peppered beef in my mouth. We were so super full and stuffed we couldn't move from our seats. It was great seeing them again..as childish and playful and cheerful as ever. Haha michelle's new haircut resembles the do she had in the beginning of J1..so little-girlish and cute.
"I think I swallowed a prawn shell."-Michelle at the end of lunch.

All this talk about food is making me really sleepy. Time for a nap now. Oh one more little thing..I was glad to read in the papers today how countries worldwide either cancelled festivities or toned down the new year celebrations because of the tsunami disaster. Yep its important to welcome the new year with optimism and cheer but its also good to observe some degree of reverence for the dead..Happy 2005 people!:)

~me~ at 5:47 PM