15 minutes

Being a working individual who also reports to work on saturday mornings,
I look forward to public holidays because it means a late night out without having to wake up early the next day.
Saturday nights don't count either because there is church on sundays.
BUT I woke up at 6.50am this morning DESPITE not having to work.
This inability to sleep in is kinda getting on my nerves.

But anyway,this vesak day eve we went to 15 minutes..
The specialty of the place was suppose to be the duck pizza..

To be honest, it wasn't THAT fantastic..
Although I have to give it a 10 for creativity!
The egg in the middle was interesting.
but duck meat is not a very pizza-ish meat.
either that or it should be cut up into smaller pieces so that I won't end up consuming all the toppings of the slice in my first bite..
but complain as I may, the food wasn't the main issue of the night anyway..
the company was excellent.

I'm off to Brisbane in a while! :)
can't wait for Domino's puff crust and taro milk tea from Sunnybank! :)

weekend well burnt

I am a little upset that my weekend was spent on work and I didn't get to do things I wanted to do..
More upset that I had to wear heels and didn't get to wear my shorts, tank top and flipflops...
AND miss watching shrek :(
but then I also feel kinda happy for a relatively geeky reason...
I am really excited to apply what I've learnt from the conference and training to my sessions and see how the kids would respond to it..
Especially the difficult kid I'm going to have to deal with tmw morning..
bitter sweet it is..
but slightly sweeter than it is bitter :)
I'm going to spend the last few hours of my weekend now,
with my shorts, tank top and flipflops...

Three.

This morning's session was horrible.
I hope I never have to experience anything like that again.
but I thank God that just as I was feeling discouraged, down and helpless,
He sent me love and encouragement :)
and after the really tough session, just as I was about to leave..
the kid pulled my hand and gave me a very tight hug.
it was as if he knew what a hard time he had given me :)

This weekend is not going to be a weekend for me.
I have a full day training and a conference to attend for the next two days...
But it's been a pretty great week :)
MC on monday,
cancelled session on Tuesday morning,
Awesome lunches and time spent with The Boy :)
and I'm also looking forward to a long break in Australia after next week :)
Mostly because I get to shop on the parents' account AND sleep all I want!
6 days to Brisbane! :)

The Perfect Day Off.

Brunch at Red Star,
then slacked at Quen's for a while..
Then we went to Little India for a little exploration..

Remember heritage tours?

Poor kids.

The figures were mostly very disturbing.

Sleeping Indian men are a tourist attraction too :)

Dinner and dessert at Vivo City :)

The best feelings are those that have no words to describe them.... -Michelle Hammersley

7 awesome moments in a day.

I've been trying my best to finish the book,The Heavenly Man.
I'm hardly halfway through it..
The reason?
I keep having to stop because I get tired of hearing him describe how horrible his situations are when a lot of it is self inflicted..
Like how he was thrown into jail (not this part) and then he went on a fast (THIS PART) for 74 days...
I find myself reading the book with slight skepticism which contributes to the reduction in the book's appeal.
I'm not saying that God is not capable of doing all these things described in the book..
I'm just probably being a bit of a doubting Thomas here..
or maybe I'm just jealous at how God could allow one person to have so many undoubtedly 'God-moments' in his life.
'God-moments' as in miracles, grace, blessings, etc.. that cannot be explained as anything else but a work of God.

I really did start reading this book because the first chapter caused me to be greatly amazed at the experiences this guy encountered..
and got me wishing to have similarly amazing encounters...
But at this point, I think I'm ready to stop reading...
even though I'm not yet half way through.
Firstly because forcing myself to finish it will just be painful,
But also because I no longer feel the need to read other people's recounts to know and experience how amazing God is..
During the past few months, God has been teaching me to count my blessings every day,
and at the same time, indulging me with my own 'God-moments' :)
How awesome is HE!

Just take today for example:
First awesome thing that happened today:
more than 5 people came for cell this morning.
AMAZING considering it's their exam period.
we had a really great time of sharing and encouraging each other :)

I went to the doctor's today because I've been having stomach discomfort and pains for the past few days..
was TOTALLY dreading a long wait that always happens when I go see the doc.
Second awesome thing that happened today: the wait was hardly 10 minutes long.
Third awesome thing: I don't have stomach cancer. Or anything particularly serious.. My mom thought my gastric ulcers returned.. but it's just something minor..
FOURTH awesome thing: I have MC for tmw.

Being totally psyched, Quen and I went to the museum to spend the day.
Fifth awesome thing: Admission was free. TOTALLY pleasantly surprise.
Sixth awesome thing: The exhibition was TOTALLY INTERESTING.
I admit being a bit biased here because I am kind of a museum person..
But even to me, History of Singapore still really sounds boring and you kinda expect a lot of propaganda..
BUT THIS EXHIBITION WAS UNLIKE ANY OTHER.
promise.
Totally enjoyed it.

then the day went on and I came home at the end of the day.
When I reached my doorstep, I realised I had left my wallet in Quen's bag and so I don't have my keys!!!
SEVENTH awesome thing: My parents who were originally suppose to be at Normanton tonight changed their minds and were at home!!
So I wasn't locked out and I didn't have to make Quen go home and get my keys and then come back so that I could go into the house.
SO much hassle saved!

Tell me, with days like that who needs vicarious 'God-moments'?

I REALISED IT'S ALMOST A WEEK SINCE I LAST BLOGGED!!!
I promise this is not a sign that I'm dropping this habit.. or whatever you call it.
I guess I've been pretty occupied lately... in a good way :)
I didn't have staff meeting today but I had to drop by the office to hand in some checks after this morning's session..
and I was suppose to come home and have a nice quiet afternoon before dinner at normanton,
BUT THERE HAD TO BE AN ENORMOUS JAM.
I was stuck in it for more than an hour!
This is when I should have given in to my urge to stop at the next bus stop and walk home.
But because it was so hot and I was lazy, I didn't.
BAD CHOICE.
it took the bus AN HOUR to travel TWO MISERABLE BUS STOPS.
Jams SUCK THE LIFE OUT OF YOU.
I never used to get flustered in jams..
especially when I'm not rushing to anything
BUT this one was TOO... erm.. JAMMED.
It was taking away my precious weekend :(
dislike.
next time, I am SO giving in to my 'stop at the next bus stop and walk home' urges.
no matter what.
promise.

In my opinion, the best thing you can do is find a person who loves you for EXACTLY what you are. Good mood, bad mood, ugly, pretty, handsome, what have you. The right person is still gonna think the sun shines out of your ass. That’s the kind of person that’s worth sticking around. -Juno

Thank God It's the end of Friday.

Fridays are THE hardest day of the week.
No doubt, it’s a short day for me..
but it still is tough to get through.
It's the day I tackle a whole week's worth of sleep debt AND difficult kids.
but it is over! :)
till next week comes.
I just realised that half of the remaining public holidays fall on friday :D
yay!
I also just realised that it's 3 weeks to Brisbane!
Totally looking forward to it..
wheee!
8 days of shopping, sleeping, eating and resting :)
End of May, come soon!

keepsakes in a click.

I need to find some way to take more photos...
There are so many things and moments that I wish I could keep a momento of...
Today alone was filled with countless 'I wish I had a camera to capture this' moments...
I have my handphone camera but it makes this very irritating 'click' sound that gives me away each time I snap a photo..
so I cannot really take sneaky secret photos..
like one of the aunty who was watching tv from her MOBILE PHONE on the bus, with the volume at maximum...
And I always forget to bring my camera along with me..
And a lot of the time, even when I have it, it is out of battery because I always forget to charge :(
And I also sometimes find it a hassle to carry the camera with me (Even though it is quite tiny)..
So it looks like the only way I'll ever take more photos is when I find a super portable camera WITH endless battery life.
yeah. right.

I feel really drained today.
The new kid is quite a handful.
I chased him around the house quite a bit today..
and all that tickling is hard work!
but his cuteness makes up for a lot of it...
especially when he did the actions to 'head, shoulders, knees and toes' :D
One day, cuteness is not going to be enough to make up for the tantrums.
I'm hope that day never comes...

A taste of having a Bachelorette pad

FIRST AND FOREMOST,
HAPPY BIRTHDAY ANDREA QUAH!

Our friendship history's pretty weird if I must say...
but I'm glad we ended up in the same friendship circle after 8 long years :)

Last night and tonight, I have a taste of what it's like to live alone..
Leah is overseas on some community project.
The parents are at Normanton
Lydia's still in Australia, of course..
IF I were having holidays, I would so totally throw a party now.
BUT I have work :(
not that I hate work..
Work's becoming better than ever because my schedule just became near perfect.
On days I have afternoon sessions further away from home, I end earlier..
AND on days I end late, my afternoon sessions are near to home :)
WHEEE!
So anyway, I thought I heard someone in the house early this morning..
Got a tiny bit freaked out and went to every room to look for signs of intrusion..
My heart was beating SO fast I thought I was going to faint..
hahaha...
I don't think this home alone thing is exactly my thing..
but once in a while, it can be a fun adventure :)