Glenelg

hmm... don't really know what to say, but i'm so bored and have nothing to do so i've decided to blog... haha.. i should really be getting ready to go out.. i'm going to the city.. gosh, sounds as though it's really far away.. well, it is really.. it's about 50 minutes by bus.. haha.. damn, Ern Chee's right, i do live in la la land.. :) anyway.. i love the area i stay in!!

well.. nothing much happened this week.. had all my usual classes and had a group meeting for our Education assignment.. it's my first group work assignment in uni and lets just say its been interesting.. the other 2 girls that i'm teamed with are so similar.. they both went to schools out in the country, but i went to a private school in Adelaide.. so when we were choosing a topic for our assignment, they wanted to do something on the lack of public funding and quality of teaching in country schools.. then they asked me what i thought and which school i attended before uni.. then when i said Eynesbury College they were like "where's that?".. so i told them it was a private school in the city.. then they were like "oh!".. they didn't really seem pleased.. like sorta resentful! haha.. but it's not my fault i don't live in the country! haha.. anyway.. hope things get better..

handed in my Professional English assignment a day before it was due.. then Jon picked me up and we went to Glenelg for dinner.. we walked along the pier cos we saw all these people surfing.. it was absolute madness in my opinion! it was absolutely freezing cold! and these people were in the water, which had to be even colder! sheesh! i would never do that! haha.. but i suppose it's the only time that they get waves like that at Glenelg.. i've never seen waves like that at Glenelg before.. to me those waves were pretty huge, but Jon said that waves in the Gold Coast are 5 times bigger then that.. goodness! so anyway.. we had Fish n Chips for dinner! yummy.. initially we sat facing the beach watching people attempt to surf, but then it got way too cold so we went looking for shelter.. after dinner we went for dessert.. can't rmb the name of the place, but it's sorta like chocolate bean in Rundell Street.. we had Chocolate Affair, which basically is chocolate fondue.. been a really really long time since i last had that.. and it was yummy! yup.. so then did a bit of exploring and then home sweet home! thank God for good friends.. :)

anyway, i'm off to get ready to go to the city.. gonna go back to Eynesbury and visit my teachers.. then off to the library to look for a few books.. then might have lunch with Jon.. then shopping i suppose! haha.. or rather window shopping.. haha.. don't wanna buy anything else.. i have no space in my wardrobe!! yup.. okie.. i better go.. oh!! and i finally found someone who wants to go to the Egyptian Exhibition too! yippee!! okok.. i'm off! have a great weekend people.. see ya!

just a little something to share...

my aunt forwarded this email to me, and it really touched my heart and brought tears to my eyes.. just thought i'd share it with all of you.. have a great week ahead guys.. :)

At a fundraising dinner for a school that serves learning-disabled children, the father of one of the students delivered a speech that would never be forgotten by all who attended. After extolling the school and its dedicated staff, he offered a question: 'When not interfered with by outside influences, everything nature does is done with perfection. Yet my son, Shay, cannot learn things as other children do. He cannot understand things as other children do. Where is the natural order of things in my son?' The audience was stilled by the query. The father continued. 'I believe that when a child like Shay, physically and mentally handicapped comes into the world, an opportunity to realize true human nature presents itself, and it comes in the way other people treat that child.' Then he told the following story: Shay and his father had walked past a park where some boys Shay knew were playing baseball. Shay asked, 'Do you think they'll let me play?' Shay's father knew that most of the boys would not want someone like Shay on their team, but the father also understood that if his son were allowed to play, it would give him a much-needed sense of belonging and some confidence to be accepted by others in spite of his handicaps. Shay's father approached one of the boys on the field and asked (not expecting much) if Shay could play. The boy looked around for guidance and said, 'We're losing by six runs and the game is in the eighth inning. I guess he can be on our team and we'll try to put him in to bat in the ninth inning.' Shay struggled over to the team's bench and, with a broad smile, put on a team shirt. His Father watched with a small tear in his eye and warmth in his heart. The boys saw the father's joy at his son being accepted. In the bottom of the eighth inning, Shay's team scored a few runs but was still behind by three. In the top of the ninth inning, Shay put on a glove and played in the right field. Even though no hits came his way, he was obviously ecstatic just to be in the game and on the field, grinning from ear to ear as his father waved to him from the stands. In the bottom of the ninth inning, Shay's team scored again. Now, with two outs and the bases loaded, the potential winning run was on base and Shay was scheduled to be next at bat. At this juncture, do they let Shay bat and give away their chance to win the game? Surprisingly, Shay was given the bat Everyone knew that a hit was all but impossible because Shay didn't even know how to hold the bat properly, much less connect with the ball. However, as Shay stepped up to the plate, the pitcher, recognizing that the other team was putting winning aside for this moment in Shay's life, moved in a few steps to lob the ball in softly so Shay could at least make contact. The first pitch came and Shay swung clumsily and missed. The pitcher again took a few steps forward to toss the ball softly towards Shay. As the pitch came in, Shay swung at the ball and hit a slow ground ball right back to the pitcher. The game would now be over. The pitcher picked up the soft grounder and could have easily thrown the ball to the first baseman. Shay would have been out and that would have been the end of the game. Instead, the pitcher threw the ball right over the first baseman's head, out of reach of all team mates. Everyone from the stands and both teams started yelling, 'Shay, run to first! Run to first!' Never in his life had Shay ever run that far, but he made it to first base. He scampered down the baseline, wide-eyed and startled. Everyone yelled, 'Run to second, run to second!' Catching his breath, Shay awkwardly ran towards second, gleaming and struggling to make it to the base. By the time Shay rounded towards second base, the right fielder had the ball ... The smallest guy on their team who now had his first chance to be the hero for his team. He could have thrown the ball to the second-baseman for the tag, but he understood the pitcher's intentions so he, too, intentionally threw the ball high and far over the third-baseman's head. Shay ran toward third base deliriously as the runners ahead of him circled the bases toward home. All were screaming, 'Shay, Shay, Shay, all the Way Shay' Shay reached third base because the opposing shortstop ran to help him by turning him in the direction of third base, and shouted, 'Run to third! Shay, run to third!' As Shay rounded third, the boys from both teams, and the spectators, were on their feet screaming, 'Shay, run home! Run home!' Shay ran to home, stepped on the plate, and was cheered as the hero who hit the grand slam and won the game for his team. 'That day', said the father softly with tears now rolling down his face, 'the boys from both teams helped bring a piece of true love and humanity into this world'. Shay didn't make it to another summer. He died that winter, having never forgotten being the hero and making his father so happy, and coming home and seeing his Mother tearfully embrace her little hero of the day!

geez..

geez.. this blog is really collecting dust! i'm sooooo lazy to blog! haha.. so, i guess updates are needed.. hmm.. let's see..

1. my mummy's gone home.. :(
2. i passed my driving theory test! thank you Jesus..
3. i can legally drive in 6 months time.. woo hoo! well, that's the plan at least. haha.
4. school is a blast! loving every moment of it. i know i sound geeky, trust me, i'm not - not yet at least! :)
5. getting more and more used to living under someone else's roof.. :)
6. getting more and more domesticated.. i was domesticated enough before.. now i'm like housewife standard! ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh...
7. preparing for change.. :)

yup, so i suppose that just about sums it all up.. we had mamak night in church last night, so that was good.. we even got to see fireworks from the police games thingy.. well i think they came from there.. yup.. so school's busy as usual.. made lots of new friends, so that's always a good thing.. oh well.. off to do my readings.. have a great week people.. see ya around!

a fresh start..

i decided to take down the previous post cos it just seems soooooo negative.. haha.. i was just ranting and raving the other day.. feel kinda silly now.. but oh well.. i just needed to put my feelings down on paper.. made me feel soooo much better.. :)

anyway.. on a lighter note, Uni is awesome.. i'm loving every minute of it.. well, except for English Literature.. haha.. no offence, but Shakespeare would have been soooo much more enjoyable to read if i could actually understand half the things he's saying.. haha.. but everything else is great.. i'm having an absolute blast.. wish i went to uni earlier.. haha.. the workload is crazy.. so many assignments due so soon.. but they are mostly essays and stuff, which i like.. haha.. ok, i know, i'm nuts.. but writing essays is so much better than taking 3 hour long exams.. haha..

my uni is the prettiest uni in adelaide! no offence to the other 2 unis.. hehe... but i love it! i had lunch with the ducks on the grass the other day.. they sat next to me and demanded my sandwhiches be shared with them.. it was fun and sorta cute initially, till i got so intimidated by them that i went to sit on the bench! haha.. they were sqwaking so loudly!!! but there was 1 that was really cute - he had butter on his beak from the butter in my ham sandwhich!

had 2 parties last week that were amazing.. exact details shall be kept in confidence to protect those who much rather forget that evening! haha.. nothing much happened la.. just some people made a fool of themselves! haha.. was introduced to this guy there who was also born in England and all, so i was just talking to him and all, then i totally forgot all about him.. then when i walked into tut this morning, he was standing there! i was like, this guy looks familiar.. hmm.. OH MY GOSH! he's the guy from the uni party.. turns out he's my Eng Lit tutor.. haha.. super weird.. still can't believe it.. way toooooo weird.. oh well..

anyways.. i'm supposed to be up here preparing for tmr's tut which starts at 9am.. oh wells.. better go get started on it.. haha.. emphasis on the word started! haha.. ok ok.. should go.. take care peeps.. and have an awesome week.. looking forward to an awesome dinner and maybe party on friday.. haha.. take care and have a blast guys! love ya! ciao!

my lovely uni..

the ducks who were my lunch company..

the pond in front of my house.. yes, more ducks as you can see.. haha.. australia is full of them!

advance celebration

i have the sweetest friends ever.. i really wanted to celebrate my birthday with my friends here cos i've sorta grown up with them.. from celebrating becoming a teenager with them, i now wanted to celebrate the ending of my teenage years with them.. so.. on the 16th of feb, 6 months and 3 days before the actual day of my birthday, we went to Timbre to celebrate.. it was soooooooooo fun!! i love those guys soooooo much! i've never had a birthday bash like that before.. it was cool.. hehe.. thank you to those who came and made it such a special day for me.. here are the pics from that night.. just a portion of the 77 pictures we took.. haha.. i'm leaving for adelaide tmr.. as excited as i am to start uni, i can't bear to leave here.. haha.. noelle and wilson were right.. they said i wouldn't bear to leave once i came back and its true.. haha.. i'm sooooooo tired right now, but still can't go to bed yet.. still gotta go pack.. grr.. oh well.. i'm off now.. take care peeps.. and HAPPY LUNAR NEW YEAR!!! hugs..


manda, abbie and i

clare, manda, alicia, me, abbie, glenn, chris, mel, daniel


my very advanced birthday pres.. cool huh?

another group photo
we bumped into Jaq
manda, alicia, me and abbie

by the river near the esplanade

the lanterns look so nice


mel is trying to act macho.. haha..

updates!

time really does fly. i've been back for 2 1/2 months, and time has just flown by. i wish i had another month here. i can't bear to leave; i'll miss everything here.. but on the other hand, i'm really excited to go to uni. it'll be my first year in uni. i'm so excited about meeting and making many new friends. oh well.. kinda lazy to blog.. but since i've been gone for so long, i suppose i should just let the pictures do the talking.. haha..

some of my church friends got together to celebrate my 20th birthday with me in advance. if i had it my way, i would have wanted my family and my church friends to celebrate my birthday with me every year.. i've grown up with my church friends and they are like family to me.. awww... so sweet right? haha.. but seriously, they're a really awesome group of people.. love you guys!! thanks for celebrating with me.. it was really special and unforgettable.. i've never celebrated my birthday in such a way before, and i thank all of you for coming and being part of an amazing memory.. i'll never forget this.. :)

it's Leo's 24th birthday today, the 17th of feb, and i know he'll be reading this, so.. HAPPY BIRTHDAY!! :)

enjoy the photos.. will post pics of my party tmr.. :)

My mum and i in JB

Dinner at Tonkichi with Leo's family

Steam boat at Marina south with SHINE youths

Leo and i at the Botanic gardens

Live from the Kallang Stadium

lunch after church

lunch after church at Spageddies..

Chinatown was soooo packed!

Manda and I at the S'pore zoo..

mummy's birthday dinner

celebrating all the b'days of all the feb babies in my family


great coffee, even greater company :)

the newest addition to my family - baby Sophie

my other niece, Sarah, and my nephew Matthew..

part of my family...

a new year; a new start?

for most people, the countdown to 2007 was much anticipated - a new year, a fresh start, and a hope for better things to come.

for me, 2006 was a wonderful year - probably the best yet in my short life. ;) 2006 brought me surprises and experiences that i never dreamt of having. most people claim to have the best of both worlds, well for me, i believe i've experienced the best of three worlds. you see, i was born and raised for 6 years in England - although i don't really remember much, there are still certain things and traditions that i picked up and will surely carry with my for the rest of my life. It was through the next 12 years that i spent in Singapore that i picked up the Singapore lingo - more fondly known as "Singlish". Picking up Chinese in primary school was not easy at first, but i am thankful my mum made me learn it; as without it i would not have been able to communicate as freely as i can with my China and Hong Kong schoolmates and hostel mates. The Asian traditions and culture i took to quickly. Although not superstitious, I am terribly fond of Chinese traditions - for example, i love the tea ceremony that takes place at chinese weddings.

On the 21st of January 2006, along with my dearest mum, i left my comfort zone and all that i was familiar with to embark on an adventure and journey from which i have brought back lessons and memories that no amount of money can buy. Not only did i learn so much about myself, life, our purpose in life, and the true meaning of being rich (no, it does not mean having a huge sum in your bank account), i also formed friendships that will last a life time! I really had a blast in 2006, and i found out who my true friends were and who i could count on in times of need. To my MPCC friends, thank you so much for keeping me in your prayers and for not forgetting about me.. To my Paradise friends - Fiona, Wilson, Ing, Noelle, Bruce, Katie, Leah, Erica, Jenn Yong, Phylia, Ern Chee, Lynn and all the rest of you, thank you for welcoming me and going out of your way to make me feel welcome.. you guys did a great job! you guys helped to make my time there the best! to both sides of friends, along with my school and house mates, I LOVE YOU GUYS LOADS.. May all of you have a wonderful 2007. may it be an even better year for one and all - but in all that we do, may none of us lose track of our purpose here on earth! :)

I'm sure 2007 will be an even more exciting year than 2006 - it'll be my first year in uni, i'll be staying in a new place and a whole new area, gonna get my driver's licence, and hopefully a car, gonna make heaps of new friends and so much more. the main thing is to seek first the kingdom of God.

a hostel mate of mine from Brundi, in Africa, taught me so many lessons about life that i want to share with all of you. so often we get comfortable with our lives and lifestyles that we fail to notice and bother about the more important things in life. But all that is another story for another time. :)

Being back in S'pore is great - good food and familiarity. i'm getting used to the weather, so that's a good thing! :) although i still havent put in any effort to exercise.. haha.. not so much cos i wanna lose weight, but more so because i need to increase my energy levels; i've become so lethargic! oh well, i'm off now.. heading down to Orchard.. will blog soon with pics..

here's wishing one and all A VERY BLESSED AND WONDERFUL 2007! May the new year be filled with love, laughter, friendship and success for one and all..
p.s.: thank you mummy darling for all your love - there wouldn't be me without you, and i wouldn't have anything if not for you! i love you a zillion truck loads!!!

p.s:Love and miss you guys back in Adelaide! see you guys in 7+ weeks..