Week 1, complete.

WHEEE!
It's the end of the first week of work.
I have learnt SO MUCH in this past week :)
Super excited about starting actual therapy with real kids...

For the past week I've been praying quite a bit about talking to Matt..
I've been back for so long but we haven't had a decent conversation..
A lot was to do with awkwardness..
But I never had the guts to just go up and talk like nothing happened.
Never talked online either because I never knew what to say
and I haven't been brave enough.
BUT when I saw him online today and said hi before I could even think twice.
The 'talk' went pretty well..
So I decided to reward myself with a fresh coat of nail polish, a couple of American tv shows and a tub of Ben & Jerry's Ice cream :D
It'll probably be hard to go back to the friends we were before..
but at least we are now talking :)
A small step at a time..

Women are not chicken rice

Today at work, I had a really upsetting conversation with my trainer D2.
He asked me if being a Christian means not being allowed to go and visit prostitutes.
I didn't know how to answer the question.
Not that I don't know whether visiting prostitutes were a right or wrong thing
It's just that to me, whether or not you are christian, you just shouldn't do it.
No wife would want her husband visiting brothels.. whether Christian or not.
I told D2, if my husband even needs to go to the brothel, that means that I am not satisfying his needs.
Which means we should think of ways to deal with this problem.
Visiting the brothel is not a solution!

In reply, D2 said:"No! but it's like, I may have the best chicken rice ever. But no one would want to eat chicken rice for the rest of their life. Sometimes you just need variety."

Insulting much.
Firstly, I think men should give more credit to us women.
We are not as boring as chicken rice!
As human beings, we have the ability to change, to approach the same task differently, to be creative!
Secondly, if you HAVE to put it that way, then both parties would eventually want something other than 'chicken rice'.
Then what is the point of marriage?
Why commit to 'chicken rice' if you know that you might want 'duck rice' sometimes?

To this, D2 said it is different for women because they are EXPECTED to stay loyal to their husbands.
So ONLY the men are allowed to have multiple sexual partners even when married.
This is when I frowned so hard my head started to hurt.
I guess the whole thing just made me realize that there are people in the world that think prostitution is a natural human thing.
Men will 'NATURALLY' seek sexual partners other than his wife.
And his wife is expected to accept it because it is 'NATURAL' for the guy to do so.

What a screwed up world this is.

This post makes very little sense.

The past couple of days have been AWESOME.
I have started work and we have quizzes every day, which is slightly stressful but great because it ensures that we REALLY learn.
I really thank God that I've been getting along really well with my fellow trainees.

Finally saw mummy today after work and managed to catch up with her...
I haven't been around much and she's been over at Normanton so haven't had the chance to talk to her much lately.
I cannot imagine how it would be if I wasn't this close to mom.
I'm glad I can tell her stuff and get her honest opinion on things :)
I told her something today and she hugged me and said she was really REALLY happy for me :)
Getting her blessing and approval makes things ten times more awesome :)
I know I'm being really vague here..
Just ignore me.
I just needed to type that out.

I haven't had pictures for a long time so I shall post some from the past week or so.
Geri's performance at the esplanade...

FLEA MARKET!

Brownie cookies :)

Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.- 1 Corinthians 13:4-7

Men- 0, God- infinity

For the whole of today, I was pretty restless..
Waking up at 7.45am, finished baking cookies before lunch,
running errands and doing stuff that I would normally procrastinate for at least a few days before actually doing..
Came home just before 5pm having done everything on my list of to-dos, thinking I should bake some more.
Opened my letter box and found a really thick letter from UQ.
I dashed up the 4 flights of stairs so that I could put everything down and open this letter.
I knew it must have something to do with my thesis appeal.
When I slowly pulled the thick stack out,
I realised that my appeal had been rejected.
My heart sank just a little bit, then I didn't feel anything any more.
I picked up my things, went to my room and took my clothes and prepared for a long warm shower.
In the shower, I really thought I would cry a little.
No tears came.
I thought about what I felt toward this 'rejection'.
I thought about what I felt toward this reply.
I guess I'm a little disappointed that after so much work, this is the result I am left with.
As cliche as it is, I couldn't help but still feel thankful.
I'm thankful that the result of my appeal came at this time.
Any other time and I might have just broken down and had a whole series of dramatic episodes.
I am thankful for the many encounters I have had with my Heavenly Father in the past month
For the many reminders given to me about His faithfulness and love.
With all that He has blessed me with, it is difficult to hurt from this unhappy news.

I ended my shower committing my future once again into the Lord's hands.
I'm excited!
Excited to see what lies ahead.
What God is going to do with a graduate with a lousy honors class.
I prayed for exciting encounters.
And I have a feeling they are about to happen :)

Our Joy is from knowing Christ, and is never determined by our circumstance.

I just took at 2 hour nap.
It's a ridiculous time for a nap because it is 2:22am now.
It's one of those ridiculous things that happens because I'm a really light sleeper
My sister turned on the toilet light and the sound of the switch woke me up.
Now I have to wait till I get sleepy again :(

I have a cough now...
my throat's really bothering me.
It seems like a flu bug has been going around.
I don't like this bug.

But anyway,
Today has been amazing in so many different ways :)
I PASSED MY BASIC THEORY EXAM.
awesome!
Now I can start having practical driving lessons!
Also got to spend time with the people that matter, which made the day perfect :)

“(I) still have some hope for myself,” he said.
“I think hope useful,” she replied.
“But?” he asked.
“Hope, and results are different. One doesn’t necessarily create the other,” she said.
- Bright Star (2010)

Some woman at the bus stop randomly smiled at me and said I look really sweet.
It was pretty creepy but she said it really nicely.
And she giggled shyly after saying it which made it even cuter..
hahaha..
Sometimes I think these people are angels sent by God to bring cheer and some excitement into our otherwise mundane lives...

No one has ever seen God. But if we love each other, God lives in us, and his love is brought to full expression in us.- 1 John 4:12, NLT

Till I see you face to face and grace amazing takes me home I trust in You

Night cycling was AWESOME.
I wasn't suppose to go because I was suppose to have work on wednesday
BUT the company called to tell me that they would start training on monday instead because they felt the holiday from CNY was too disruptive to the training schedule...
WHEEE!
(Miracle Story Alert)
We all met at East Coast Park that night...
but as usual, people were LATE.
So the early birds decided to leave the bikes at the overnight bicycle parking spot and go to Macs for a drink
When everyone finally arrived, we walked back to get our bikes
BUT SOME 'SMART' PERSON went to LOCK their bikes to ours.
So we were stranded trying to get the lock to open.
Used my hair pin, tried calling the bike rental people...
nothing.
We were inspecting the key drop area when I managed to squeeze my fat fingers under the store's shutter and grab a key from inside (SUPER robber like)
BY GOD'S AMAZING AND BOUNTIFUL GRACE the key was that EXACT key we needed.

God has been absolutely wonderful to me
He has been spoiling me with encounter after encounter with Him.
I have been reading this book entitled 'The Heavenly Man'.
It left me in great want for a more 'God-filled' life.
Constantly comparing my life to that of Yun's I feel immensely deprived in the area of 'experiencing the realness of God'.
But in the past few days, God has made up for it..
Or maybe it's just because I've been looking out more for Him.
It is like He has been constantly reminding me that He is here with me, watching me, loving me.
From the grace of being able to find a job that I love
to the tiny yet significant miracle of being able to go for night cycling
and then experiencing yet another miracle in finding the exact key to release our bikes...
I always knew that God was real
but that was sadly pretty much head knowledge
Believing through what we learn from the bible and other people's experiences and stories
But now God has been gracious toward me and granted me the opportunity to EXPERIENCE THESE THINGS FIRST HAND.
I can truly die happy.
I have experienced my First Love in a way so real these past few days
I am truly TRULY content.

My God is so big, so strong and so mighty, there's nothing my God cannot do.

Gong Hei Fat Sai is hainanese for Gong Xi Fa Cai

Today has been a day filled with traditions.
The morning started out with breakfast consisting my FAVOURITE CNY FOOD.
Nian Gao.
My grandma makes them every year and I ABSOLUTELY love them.
It has become a 'must have' for every CNY.
Day two is also always steamboat at MaiPo's day.
we take turns to sit around this awesome old school steamboat.
It's sole source of heat is from burning hot charcoal.

Sorry the food in the steamboat looks very bland..
My family was eating and we love our veg, mushroom and fish more than anything else...

It is AWESOME.
But the smell of the burning charcoal gets into your hair and STAYS THERE THE WHOLE DAY.
which is :(
But SO WORTH IT.

My godbrother and his family came to visit today
I feel quite bad that I love his sister more...
Janice is WAY CUTE.
She has the softest curls and the sweetest personality.
Absolutely LOVE her.
We then went to visit my mom's third aunt before heading to Pasir ris for dinner.
I was absolutely full from all the tidbits I had during the day but I saw this plate of yummy chicken wings and I couldn't resist picking at it.
My grandparents are evil.
They make the yummiest food causing us to eat eat EAT.

While waiting for dinner, I helped my grandpa make another traditionally CNY food....MUAH CHEE.

We eat this every CNY because the name of it sounds like 'more money' in teochew.
So the superstition is that the more you eat, the more money you will get :)
Maybe that's why AngPao collection this year has been pretty good!

I spent the evening after dinner with my cousin enjoying a short time of worship.
It was a really special moment for us both.
My grandparents and his father are non-christians.
He follows his mom, who is a catholic, to church.
We never really talked about church and about our faith much
but tonight after dinner, I just went into the room while he was playing on the computer
took up his guitar and started singing Through It All.
He turned around and asked me what song that was..
I taught him the chords then I sang while he played the guitar..
We then somehow moved on to pick a few songs that we both knew
and then spent a good hour worshiping together.
We only stopped when one of his guitar strings broke
We were so ready to carry on after changing the string but my mom came in to tell me we were leaving.
But what made it so special was that for that one hour, we were no longer cousins.
We were brother and sister in Christ.
Him being catholic and me, methodist, didn't matter during that hour.
Because our greatest love and the One we worship is the same one.
What a great start to the year :)

Girls in red dresses and long fake eyelashes

Sometimes I think that CNY should be in June.
It's too close to Christmas.
Two happy major feasting periods so close to each other is harmful to the human body.
But it's still great to have a reason to buy new clothes, get dressed up and take loads of pictures.

I'm missing Lydia a whole lot this CNY..

Killing time is not the same without Lyd..

(CNY2009)

But seeing the cuzzies again is somewhat fun :)
I just realised how we automatically split into the 'adult' table and 'kids' table without any instruction..
And how 30++ year old Gabe quickly planted his butt at the 'kids' table and attempted to establish his position by saying we are OF THE SAME GENERATION.
hahaha...


but in the end, we let him remain at the kid's table in exchange for a chance to play with his KICK ASS CAMERA !

<3

trackback

The week leading up to CNY was eventful with various gatherings and parties...
We had our second YMLC gathering on thurs
this has got to be the first time we gathered as a group at a non-atas place.
ZHI CHA FTW! :)


Went to get yummy gelato


then crashed Joel's place for guitar hero and Bohnanza!

He has the most awesome music room.

I also want.
I applied my very very VERY basic skills on his drums

Friday night was Charissa's bday!
IT WAS GRAND.


there was a tattoo artist and so I got myself one!!


and I found out that when you are cute, you can get away with almost anything.

Even spitting on the table.
Saturday,
we attempted to head to redstar for dim sum....

BUT

:(

so we ended up at some coffee shop for dim sum.


FAIL.
we shall go to red star soon!!!
I crave their egg tarts SO MUCH.

HAPPY CHINESE NEW YEAR!

It's CNY!

well, soon anyway.

I love CNY eve not 'cause it's the day when everyone is EXPECTED to spend with family.

Not because it's the day before I get money that will provide for a good few months of shopping

Not because of the FOOD even though it's always awesome

But because of a small family tradition my parents have created...

Every CNY eve night,

just before we go to bed..

We will have a small tea ceremony of sorts.

After serving tea to our parents

One by one, we will sit at their feet as they gently lay their hands on our heads, blessing us with words and a short prayer.

I love this because I feel that many parents forget that although monetary blessings are great

It so much more important to bless your child by praying for them and speaking words of blessings over their lives.

I feel REALLY blessed to have parents who not only fear and honor the same God that I do

but remember to set aside some time every start of the chinese new year to bless us and pray for us

For those short 5 minutes, everything else really doesn't matter to me.

The love, support and assurance through this small tradition is enough to make every struggle seem insignificant.

It's times like this that I feel I have the best parents in the whole world :)

HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE! :)

i just looked at my photos again and realised I AM DARK NOW.
don't like.
flash doesn't do anything for me now.
:(
*pout*

where pigs can fly and kum kums roar

Met up with my favorite people yesterday :)


It's amazing how close we still are after so many years of leaving JC...
I feel blessed to have a close circle of girl friends I know will always be there to support me through any thing :)


We walked down haji lane yesterday and found this quaint little shop/tea place

LOVE the idea of it...
I wanted to buy so many things from there...
this chair was so pretty!! But the price was not so pretty........

Made the three of them look REALLY HAPPY while eating ice cream..



To many more years of friendship <3

Happiness smells like freshly baked cookies

Had the whole day to myself (how rare)
no dinner meeting, no lunch meeting
no last minute interview calls :D
SO, I baked.
This might just be the last time I bake in a very long while..
I made sugee cookies as well as snickerdoodles :)
The Sugee didn't turn out as well as I wanted it to.
doesn't exactly melt in your mouth :(
Might try it again some time since it isn't all that difficult.
the snickerdoodles were perfect.

A few batches came out browner than I would like them to because of my cranky oven
but on the whole, perfect.
I feel very accomplished now.
AND GUESS WHAT
I'm going to have my room back!
WHEEEE!
the girl is moving out by the end of this month..
She managed to get a place in hostel..
so YAY!
I'm going to be back in the comfort of my room soon :)
Somehow when good things happen,
they happen all at once.
Almost everything I wish for has happened.
I hope I get a reply regarding my thesis appeal soon...
but for the meantime.
I'm content :)
<3

Rawa was LEGENDARY.
It was great to be back again..
and the cute little dog was still there.
I got a nice tan :)
Rawa is going to be my occasional escape.
if I don't go any where in the year,
I will make a trip down to rawa.
How can any holiday there turn out bad.

I went for my interview with ARN today..
The guy who interviewed me today didn't think I was chinese because I wasn't fair skinned.
He said girls in hong kong are like I guess girls in hong kong have translucent skin :P
I told myself that I'm just there to find out what they do
but I ended up really liking what I hear
and the guy ended up offering me the position.
How can interacting with autistic 2 year olds compare with helping old men deal with sexual problems??
So I have to be a bad guy and tell SPPA I wont be working with them
it's really difficult because I know they really need someone
their counselor is leaving at the end of the month.
pfft.
telling them just made me feel all queasy and sad.
Maybe it's a good thing I'm not going to be a counselor then...

Work Day 1

Today was the very first day of work!
I went there on time but didn't realise that I had to press the doorbell to enter.
So I stood outside for the longest time..
and people just kept staring at me, then at the center, then back at me.
I think they thought I was there for counselling or something.
but anyway,
the whole day was pretty boring...
it was orientation day..
so all we did was sit while they gave us a briefing of our job scopes,
then we helped them prepare for an event they are going to have tmw.
some art competition thing and a youth forum..
talked to the current counsellor about the job...
some how I think she is making the job sound more attractive than it sounds..
but there is one thing I like about the job:
I CAN WEAR SLIPPERS TO WORK.

awesome.

MAMBO NIGHT! :D

The day before the 1st day of work

I made a trip down to NTU today to meet up with the three stooges.

Walter, Koon...

And Mark

Koon brought me to eat this thing called Shaved Ice..
it's really nice!

This one is called GRAPE RAPE.
hahahahahahaha...
Mark has to read Tintin comics for his class!!

HOW AWESOME IS THAT..
We had zhicha for dinner

and then went to udders for dessert :D

Black Socks were will never get dirty<---Dirty Big Beng

good company always makes the day feel extra good :)