r a n d o m << s c r i b b l i n g s >>

2012-01-27T20:54:00.000-08:00

A farewell note from an intern :)

it was so cute, he had tears in his eye when he left, i got a shock cause it was the first time an intern cried on the last day of attachment...think my junior colleagues did a really good job in making his EY experience a very memorable one. Especially Alvin, who treats him like a son, always taking care of his needs, entertaining him & influencing him (to shop on Gmaket -_-""")!

2012-01-27T20:23:00.000-08:00

(Continued Part 3)

Trying out the famous Penang Char Kway Tiao at Lorong Selamat...

Verdict:

okay la...not bad...quite spicy...but 7MYR for such a small plate >.<

as we had to travel in separate cabs, we ended up in separate places towards the end of our day trip. That's when we went crazy trying out all the Penang delicacies (e.g. Penang asam laksa (a sourish version of our local laksa), chendol, etc.)

and this continued back onboard our cruse cabin >.<

we ate like pigs!

the captain and his crew making their first introduction

and guess who was most well received?

no prices for guessing...

no, not the captain...

the master chief!!!

*faints*

you can probably gauge the general crowd on board the ship by now...

GLUTTONS.

lol.

Some vanilla souffle...finally tasted what a soufflé is. i'm always seeing it on Master Chef but i never knew what it tasted like until my experience on Royal Carribean.

it was really quite good :D

guess what we saw when we returned to our cabins!!!

*GASP* "WHAT IS THAT??!!!" - Stella

(me standing behind Stella, unable to see what she was pointing at) "What? What? What is it? Don't scare me!" - me

i am such a coward. i thought she's saw some ghost in the mirror reflection. had half the mind to turn and run for my life.

that was when i saw it...

haha!! A dog sitting right on our bed. Oh, that's my sunglasses by the way. The creative service crew had created animals out of our towels!

we were very amused and impressed.

it was retro disco fever on one of the nights

haha, elephant!

piggy :)

we couldn't get up early enough for sunrise on the first day of the cruise hence we all made a point to get up early the next day to watch the sunrise.

it was a beautiful albeit quite cloudy morning

very pretty huh?? :D

strangely it made me think about the sunsets in Greece...awww, i miss the Greek islands!!!

towel folding lessons

mini golf on the deck

late night karaoke session.

it was an open mike kinda thing and we were so amused by the uncles singing old hokkien, mandarin songs. There was this uncle in his fifties who started mc-ing, it was very entertaining especially cause he out-shadowed the MC himself.

as we left the cruise, we decided to check out the best suite on board.

it was really cool. it has a grand piano of it's own, a mini bar, a jaccuzzi and it was huge!

some previews below:-

That's the end of my 3-part episode of the cruise. Yes, i know, these all came pretty slow >.<

Overall, i give the cruise a 3.5/5. Truly, in terms of cruise experience, i really was impressed by the standards of service and the activities on board. But in terms of personal preference...i'm not a cruise kinda person. i don't really love buffets that much (the food wasn't that fantastic either) and i still prefer having a normal tour with attractions, scenery and walking (yes, i actually love walking in foreign places a lot, lol).

2012-01-26T10:37:00.000-08:00

(Continued...Part 2)

Lying in the decks of the Royal Carribean...ultimate luxury, knowing that there's nothing waiting for you to do, and having just the peace of mind to laze in the sun.

me & wei lin (acting cool *chuckles*)

sleepy shu min dozed off on the chairs while claire cheekily puts on a pair of shades for her.

another pair of sleepyheads.

dinner time at the Romeo & Juilet Restaurant.

The service on the Royal Carribean was indeed remarkable. The waiters and waitresses made every effort to remember the names/faces of the customers and was super attentive to all our needs. They were at our every beck and call and even after meals, they came up with IQ puzzles for us to solve using the mere items on the restaurant table.

It was in one word...

amazing.

and i have to give most of the credits to our assigned assistant waiter - Joel from the Philippines who was very helpful and entertaining.

Examples of some of the table puzzles we are put to the test with:-

1st puzzle

Move 1 of the toothpicks in order to create 4 triangles.

haha. We'd managed to solve this thanks to Yan Rong who'd seen the puzzle before.

2nd puzzle

Move 2 toothpicks such that the ball would then lay outside the cup.

we'd manage to solve this too with the help of Shu Min :)

Joel was complaining we were too smart by then...lol.

that was when he gave us the final and most challenging puzzle...

3rd puzzle

How do you lift the structure below with only 1 straw ( the structure has to retain it's shape even as it is lifted above the table)?

we'd failed...utterly. The solution is to hold a straw horizontally behind the structure and blow the structure onto the horizontal straw such that the structure overturns and you are able to lift it up. I can't explain it in words. You have to see it to comprehend what i mean.

The solution comes with practice.

Hence, even after he demonstrated the solution to us, we never managed to do it...it was just impossible.

Stella with our assistant waiter, Joel.

"Live" performance on board the cruise

The library

Arriving at Penang on the second day of the cruise

Visiting the coffee boutique

Penang white coffee - really good and tad pricey too (30MYR for just 15 sachets)

(To be continued....Part 3)

2012-01-16T10:20:00.000-08:00

sailing on the royal carribean

6 June - 9 June 2012

this is the second time ever stepping on board a cruise.

always had the impression that there's absolutely nothing much to do on cruises, except for eating and sleeping and well...for the married couples, making babies?

and well, after the trip on the royal carribean...i've gathered that...while the main point of cruises remains the buffet spreads...there's actually much much more activities available for people who are opting for a cruise holiday.

royal carribean offers a wide selection of activities ranging from rock climbing, min golf, magic shows, dance performances, movie screenings, casinos, jacuzzi, gym with a sea view, running track with a sea view, table tennis with a sea view....lol.

and i am not even paid to advertise for them >.<

stella and i taking a zi lain shot in our cabin. not as small as i had expected, it was good, felt almost like a normal hotel bedroom!

the deck on level 9. gorgeous pool with 2 jacuzzis under the clear blue skies :)

windjammers dining hall. buffet all day round.

i'm not much of a foodie and i actually hate buffets cause it doesn't make sense to force feed myself just to make my money's worth. it's what i call exponential diminishing marginal utility of food.

claire, shu min and me.

showing off our muscle power at the gym :P

indoor pool

fools balls

at the mustering session.

now i know how important it is to learn where the emergency exits are, how to put on the lifejackets on and what to do in times of emergencies. back during the trip, we all took the safety instructions for granted, turning a blind eye and a deaf ear to all instructions related to the mere word "safety".

However, you really never know what could happen...

Look at Costa Concordia, the French luxury cruise liner...the mere misjudgment of the ship captain could cause an entire luxury liner housing 4,200 passengers and crew to hit the rocks off the coast of the Tuscan island of Giglio and almost sink.

the adorable juniors - shu min & stella

we were learning some line dance. quite entertaining.

posing with the rock climbing which i tried and.... failed :(

apparently there's a certain technique to rock climbing: 80% legs, 20% arm strength.

but really, it felt like 99.999% arm strength and 0.0001% leg strength.

and obviously, i don't have much arm power...

barely made it through half the wall >.<

(to be continued...)

2012-01-09T01:44:00.000-08:00

6th month anniversary

made me a photo collage of pictures we took together throughout these past 6 months and framed it up in a huge but simple black frame.

it's the most beautiful thing anyone has given me.

and the sweetest present yet.

so that's how it feels to be given something handmade from someone special...

i'm so used to always doing handmade stuff for people and i guess i did receive a fair share of them, one of which, was an ingenious box filled with surprises that was made by a good friend (That gift was pretty memorable due to the pure cleverness of it).

However, having said that, nothing compares to this. Knowing it was made by him in the midst of everything that he's going through now, i just wana say that i really appreciate it.

Everyday has been a journey for me, learning more about each other, learning to open up one's heart to loving another, learning to compromise, learning to be understanding by seeing things from the other person's perspective, learning that it's nice to have a hand to hold, a shoulder to lean on and a warm hug in times of frustration, stress or even for no random reason at all.

2012-01-05T10:58:00.000-08:00

Merry Christmas 2011

at spruce with my fave primary school mate, Beatrice :)

this quaint little cafe sits along chatsworth road and is an absolute star find from myladyironchef (the most dependable singapore food blog in my opinion).

the atmosphere of the place resembles that of Dempsey Hill but much less commercialized and less crowded, which is a bonus :)

this steak egg benedict thingie was in one word...

heavenly.

i normally never eat steak if i were given the choice but i decided that one day to try out a steak dish since it did look like the best egg benedict on the menu.

to my surprise, i liked the dish...or actually, LOVED it

salivate at the thought of it now, lol.

pretty beat :D

she's been my friend for...*gasp*...15 years and counting!!!

how we've all grown up!

hmm, should try to dig up some photos from back when we were wee lil' kids hanging around Bukit Batok, hogging the swings at the playground, playing on the school bus, ogling at neighborhood boys (lol, remember the days when chia ler was obsessed with this particular boy living near Beat, we would stalk him around the neighbourhood, i never understood why the craze over him but i simply tagged along cause it was so amusing. it was funny what we did as little kids >.<).

Thanksgiving cell group meeting with N109 on 30.12.2011

haha, done up by the little ones of the Cg. so cute with the stockings :)

and boy, did we have tons and tons of food that day!

just look at some (not all) the dishes below...

shephard's pie done by Char's mum :) they have been very good host, always providing us refreshments and good food after every cell group session. Really wana give thanks to them for opening up their house for our CGMs ever fri and faithfully blessing us with refreshments and good food each and every time. There is absolutely no obligations to provide us with anything yet they have always been so generous and kind to our cell group. N109 is truly blessed by them :)

the star shaped tamago is the cutest sushi i've seen :)

group shot before tucking into the great spread of food on the table!

gift exchange

Wendy --> most transformed cell group member

indeed am very proud of this little girl.

the first time she came into Cg, she was completely disinterested in anything that was preached or even the praise/worship and she used to speak more crudely before. However, over the past year, you can tell that she's changed so much....faithfully attending cell group, quoting bible verses occasionally, praising & worshipping God excitedly too. She has also over the year became more mindful of what she says and controlling the urge to swear in times of frustration. Truly, God is good!

so much red colored clothing...looks almost like chinese new year already, haha.

Dan, best cell group member and Mr Darlie or as Lilian puts it, "best husband material".

Indeed, Dan is truly a man of God, faithfully serving our cell group and always being very considerate and gentlemanly in his mannerisms.

Char --> miss honey stars "best wife material" :D

another cell group member who has so faithfully served our cell group, helping lilian with the birthday cards and presents.

and also opening up her house to us for cell group sessions.

thanks charmaine!

a great end to the year 2011.

my thoughts on the year 2011?

i want to give thanks for mainly 3 things:-

1. the amazing change in mummy's lifestyle because of her new found hobby. i had never imagined this could ever happen.

the other day, she gave me a hug...took me by surprise cause she never does that...ever.

i was so surprised i told her to stop hugging me cause i'm not used to it. lol.

what a horrible daughter >.<

2. Leonard. I will stop short of gushing about everything good about him here. But i just want to thank him for being the most amazing bf and for accepting me with all my flaws and inadequacies. It's been six months and I have never felt more fortunate.

3. God's grace in my life. every day that i still stand, alive and healthy, i wana thank God. Thank You for providing a roof over my head, a family that loves me, a life filled with more ups than downs. i think i am very blessed and without the You, all these would not have been possible.

2011-12-27T11:19:00.000-08:00

Leonard showed me this video...

have been hooked on it ever since.

i can't help it, i'm a sucker for everything romantic.

almost cried the first few times i watched it T_T

loved (x3) the song playing throughout the video...it wouldn't be half as romantic w/o the song (i'm a very audio person)

2011-12-26T22:03:00.000-08:00

MERRY CHRISTMAS 2011 :D

Christmas didn't feel very much like xmas this year. what with all the train breakdowns, rainy weathers and flooding. all the bad omen. *shrugs*

some of the highlights this christmas season:-

Candlelight event

one of the services i look forward to every year :)

singing to "silent night" while watching the dark hall being slowly illuminated by the soft glow of the candlelights.

i can't explain how beautiful it is. no picture could describe that peaceful and serene feeling that sweeps through the hall (or at least over me).

and i was fortunate to be able to experience this beautiful event with someone special this year.

i attended candlelight service twice this year and i could never get bored of it.

with cutie pie cherie.

see how beautiful it is.

the person/friend/leader whom i have utmost respect for.

her undying love for God through all trial and tribulations inspires me constantly.

she is a conqueror in every sense of the word.

lilian with nat.

lilian with junwen.

the cg girls.

all together now. love N109W365.

the young ones.

the sweet couple :)

family pic

with xinyi

with my dearest sis.

hmm, we kinda look alike here.

maybe it's the hair color.

joyce dearie, the ever enthusiastic gal. haha.

they hugged me so tightly, lol. it was infectious.

with cg :)

myrna's cg

zhijian & lilian

Firsthand ministry - Xmas caroling

went christmas caroling with the firsthand people. though i have done christmas carolling a countless number of times, starting way back from secondary school where my school choir sang at shopping malls, i still enjoy it thoroughly till this day.

christmas caroling for the terminally ill patients at CDC is always such a rewarding experience for me. because that's when i really feel that our singing can touch lives, where we get first hand encounters of how the power of a simple christmas carol could bring comfort and joy to people.

when the songs you sing bring tears to people's eyes, you know you have touched someone's life that day and to me, it is the most gratifying experience i could ever receive from my joy of singing.

Choon, Andy & Yingiet

carolers unite

my fave gal in firsthand - karen

we celebrated her birthday right after the event. love ya gurlie! you're a rockstar :D

home team xmas caroling below. above was christmas caroling in the wards.

the home team caroling was at a function room at a condo in East Coast Park. the home team volunteers would bring their patients down to the condo, where'd the home team had organized a buffet, games & singing for them. it was a homely and cosy setting. and the audiences were a lively bunch, especially with Andy hyping up the crowd. and the game of Bingo sure did wonders to keep everyone interested. even me. i was so determined to win, Ginny told me to relax >.< lol. but come to think of it, i think Bingo makes for a good party game. of course, that's not if you already come equipped with kinect/wii/playstation & the likes.

Sleepover at Swissotel Merchant Court

with the gfs from university :)

(from left) stephy, me (duh.), addy, val, susan, jas :D

all trying to get a spot on the coveted queen sized bed.

had a nice albeit short time with them. they're always a fun bunch to be around with :)

they went clubbing at REBEL while i met them after, around 2am. thank goodness i couldn't make it for the clubbing session cause from what i hear, maybe we are a tad too old for the clubbing crowd. the REBEL crowd is a bit toooo young, what with 18,19 yr old boys pretending to be in their 20s.

*gasp* they're the 1990s babies.

times like this, you realize how old you are :S

19 year old boy: i'm in my 20s. you?

Val: i'm 30+. close to 40.

19 year old boy: *shocked expression*

Val: yar, i know, i just maintain really well.

ROFL.

Ice cream & movie at Leonard's place

watched "The Adjustment Bureau".

it's definitely a must watch if you haven't already seen it. a very unique love story. yeps. love story. the name of the movie is deceiving. lol. i thought it was some thriller crime movie too.

it shows what it's like to live in a world where we don't have free will over our destiny. where everything is already pre-determined.

recommended watch :)

awfully chocolate's HEI ice cream. leonard's fave.

WICKED MUSICAL with the swiss gals

(from left) me, jade & wan ping

we were like "shua gu" tourists. staring in awe at the aluminium plates lining the exterior of MBS. if you ever looked closely at the exterior of the building, you'd notice the architect used a kind of metal (not sure if it is aluminum, probably not) that creates a rippling effect whenever wind hits the surface of the metal. it creates the optical illusion of a vertical pond.

wicked musical is by far one of the best musicals i have ever watched, other than joseph and the technicolour coat (my fave musical so far). the storyline and songs are awesome...okay, i'm lazy to think of a better word to describe it. you've just got to watch it to understand what i mean. and trust me, i have seen quite a fair share of musicals to be able to tell you this. and considering the fact that i was sitting at the last seat of the very last row (>.<) and yet still be able to say that the musical kicked ass, you can bet it really is good.

2 thumbs up.

it was the highlight of my christmas weekend :D

with swiss gals and their partners :D this is the first time we're gathering together with the respective partners.

as js put it, the theme for the night was 1+1.

and since me, js & yean ling came alone, we were 2+1 :S

2011-12-15T07:13:00.000-08:00

birthday celebration with dear :D

had a short ice skating session at kallang leisure centre. the crowd was overwhelming with young children and teenagers pouring into the ice skating rink. i guess it probably was expected since it's the December holidays but we took the chance cause it's been a long time since we managed to do anything out-doorish or sporting.

leonard doesn't really like ice-skating much so i'm touched that he took me ice-skating. and turns out, he wasn't as bad at ice-skating as he claims he is. for a while, i was a bit excited that i'm finally better than him at something, lol, a tad disappointed he's not that bad after all. haha. sometimes i do think i have a bit of a competitive streak in me :S but then again, i'm not complaining, I'm proud of the fact that he's near perfect.

after ice skating, he told me we were going for a show......think he meant it to be a surprise, but he accidentally let slip that we were watching a show...and i kinda knew what show he meant due to some hiccups the night before. (i'd sorta found out that there was a play being put up by the medical students on the day which we had agreed to celebrate my birthday. and that some of his friends were involved in the play.)

however, he'd seem to want it to be a surprise so i pretended i didn't know anything and went along with the flow. didn't want to ruin his efforts to surprise me. but i eventually admitted that i already knew of it the night before.

anyway, the play was about a typical medical student's life and it was pretty funny. though there was quite a bit of inside jokes and some medical jargons which was beyond me. required a bit of explanation cause i did not really understand some parts. but it was still refreshing and i guess it brought me a little closer to what he's going through in school. (being from a completely different field from him, sometimes i do feel like there's a lot of things i don't really understand but i guess i'm learning more each day?)

the highlight of the day was at the very end when we returned back to his place. he'd lined his rooftop with candles and decorated the rooftop with balloons and a "Happy Birthday" banner. it was in short the most romantic thing anyone has done for me and i was really touched by his efforts. i know a lot of work went to doing up the banner, collecting the cake, cleaning up the rooftop, the mat, etc etc.

thank you for going the extra mile for me. ♥

the cake from pattissier was incredibly good. it was a meringue sponge cake filled with a burst of flavor from the passion fruit mousse, fresh mangoes and fresh strawberries. *licks lips* absolutely delectable.

loved the candles :) so pretty~

the birthday banner :)

multi-coloured balloons! truth be told, though i used complain that flowers and balloons are frivolous things that guys should not spend money on, it puts a smile on my face whenever i receive them.

i think all girls either love/secretly love receiving flowers/balloons/bears from their bfs.

♥

it was an amazing and memorable birthday...thank you :)

2011-12-06T08:23:00.000-08:00

new haircut that cost me whopping 80bucks and another 140bucks for hair treatment :(

even though the haircut was not bad, but for that kinda price, i'd much rather save it and head to a neighborhood salon...

cause truth be told, i think my heart is bleeding more than i appreciate the haircut.

2011-12-05T09:13:00.000-08:00

New F.O's lead vocalist - MIMA's rendition of "It will rain" by Bruno Mars

the end of a nightmarish month

2011-12-05T02:37:00.000-08:00

the corporate tax filing peak is finally over.

and that marks the end of my 3rd peak now.

in simplicity, peak signifies approximately 2 months of non-stop work, an average of 3 hours of sleep every day, loss of appetite and accumulation of stress and fatigue leading to excessive loss of hair, dark eye circles, eye bags and an overall negative attitude.

how many more peaks will i be able to deal with?

in all honesty, i don't know. i love tax even after 3 years, but there is a point when fatigue just kills all interest till there is nothing left but distaste.

for now, i'm glad it's over.

i can finally breathe and think about things i really want to do.

and as we've come to the last month of 2011. it's the time of the year to look back and see what we have accomplished over the past year.

but....

i'll leave that till the next post :P

--------------------

Anyway, this is very delayed, but i just wana thank everyone for their birthday well wishes.

i still remember the first call i received was from a very unexpected person.

Joyce dearie :)

haha, knew this lil' gal from choir and she's also a close friend of my sis.

such a sweetie!

a very sweet, caring gal who has really been a great blessing to my life.

----

thanks to Addy, my fave gf from university, for the birthday lunch treat as well, definitely helped to lift my mood in the midst of that dreadful working week.

----

i also wana give thanks to my buddy at work who never fails to amuse me with his antics.

this time round he photoshopped my head onto a picture of Barberella and sent an email blast to my entire office (including my partners)...imagine the shock i had.

when i walked into office after lunch, guess what i saw right on the wall at the entrance of the office...

Geri did this, together with the rest of my juniors. the embarrassment :S

no one would admit to doing it until very much later in the day.

this year round, i got awfully chocolate cake again. along with capital land vouchers and a card.

the best part about birthdays i reckon is reading all the birthday wishes from friends and close ones. it's nice to read the things they write about in the cards, some are touching, some make you reminisce about the past, some are funny, some simply poke fun at you.

but the fact that they are all personal just makes it that much more special. more than any gift they could ever give.

thanks to all my colleagues at work and Vicks and Wei lin for the nice smelling crabtree & evelyn lotion :)

------

wanna thank my awesome sister for the hand-decorated birthday cake & wonderful sunflower.

love ya so, so much girl.

somehow you always know how to make me smile.

Every day i thank God for such a wonderful lil' sister.

------

wana thank my cg members as well for coming down to pass me my presents cause i have been MIA from church for almost an entire month (they made a joke that i'd gone to jupiter and back).

thank you my dearest germaine and lydia for making the effort to come down all the way to Raffles place. love the accessories, i've already started wearing them. love you gals loads.

so happy that i am finally back in church and cg worshipping Christ with the bunch of ya. :D

------

And of course, not forgetting, i wana thank dear for the birthday song over Skype. despite me not having the time to celebrate my birthday, i know you tried to make the best of it. was very sweet of you. you have been the greatest blessing to my life this year :)

All in all, it's during times like this, i am reminded how fortunate i am and that God has brought me so much joy via the angels he has bestowed in my life. I am truly grateful and will always count my blessings so i never take any of this for granted.

2011-11-11T17:56:00.000-08:00

http://www.lightedpixels.com/

an amazing group of award winning wedding photographers.

i recall attending a photography seminar where one of the photographers gave a guest speech.

knew they were good...but never knew they were that amazing until i chanced upon their portfolio of wedding photos.

love admiring beautiful photos as a pastime. not necessarily wedding shots.

in my opinion, what makes a good shot?

one that grabs you at first sight and you're so intrigued by the colors, the choreography and the subjects within the photo that you can't help but take a second look.

to all who are getting married and are looking out for good wedding photographers, you may wish to check out this amazing group.

might be a tad pricey though.

but for gorgeous memories to capture that one significant moment in your life, i say why not?

that said, looking at all the photos taken abroad, i'd want to take wedding shots overseas too.

2011-11-03T12:22:00.000-07:00

TIRED. BURNT OUT.

I NEED STRENGTH.

i need the will power to continue. going home at 2am every day is not exactly the most pleasurable.

taxi driver: "wah, girl, you always work so late?"

me: "ya"

taxi driver: "Now's 2am, by the time you sleep, it'd be 3am...what time do you hafta get up?"

me:"i get to work around 9.30am"

taxi driver: "whoa. you have like 4 hours of sleep only?? every day?"

me: "ya"

taxi driver: "so does the company give you benefits for working late?"

me: "i can claim my taxi fares?"

taxi driver: "wahhh...."very" good hor??" (filled with sarcasm)

depressed.

i feel really sick and tired.

sometimes i think whether it's cause i'm slow and my technical knowledge is just bad...why am i taking so long to complete my work...

every day that i review my work progress report...i feel like i am tumbling down a never ending spiral...at the end is nothing but a big black wormhole waiting to consume me...and i just feel so incredibly stressed to the point of tears.

am i lazy?

if wanting to take a break, to work a 9-5 job and have minimal responsibility is considered being lazy, then well... i am ashamed to admit but i'd much rather be "lazy".

-----

Philippians 4:13

I can do all things through him who strengthens me.

Hebrews 6:12

So that you may not be sluggish, but imitators of those who through faith and patience inherit the promises.

Isaiah 41:10
Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.

2011-10-31T12:10:00.000-07:00

一閃一閃亮晶晶

留下歲月的痕跡

我的世界的中心

依然還是你

一年一年又一年

飛逝僅在一轉眼

唯一永遠不改變

是不停地改變

我不像從前的自己

你也有點不像你

但在我眼中你的笑

一樣的美麗

日子只能往前走

一個方向順時鐘

不知道還有多久

所以要讓你懂

我依然愛你就是唯一的退路

我依然珍惜時時刻刻的幸福

你每個呼吸每一個動作每個表情

到最後一定會

依然愛你

我依然愛你或許是命中注定

多年之後任何人都無法代替

那些時光是我這一輩子最美好的

那些回憶教我如何忘記

我依然愛你就是唯一的退路

我依然珍惜時時刻刻的幸福

你每個呼吸每一個動作每個表情

到最後一定會

依然愛你

你每個呼吸每一個動作每個表情

到永遠一定會

依然愛你

-----

chanced upon this song... as you know, i don't listen much of chinese songs.

but i love this song to bits.

so touching and heartwarming.

♥

-------

Cousin's wedding at Corpthorne King's Hotel

cousin & his bride

congrats to the beautiful couple :D

our family photo (less the lil' bro who is far far away in UK)

2011-10-30T10:14:00.000-07:00

love this song.

-----------

recently got back to reading the bible.

it feels like a long while since i've read His word, felt His presence. Only after sitting down for an hour to read the bible did i realize i've really been neglecting my walk with God.

i want to make it a habit to always build on my relationship with the almighty Father in heaven and not just seek His word and His grace in times of sorrow and need. It is very convenient to fall upon God when you have no where to turn to and everything just seems to be against you.

However, in my opinion, the ultimate test of whether your relationship with God is genuine is when you never fail to praise, to worship and to pray during the good times as well.

God looks beyond our words and religious activities to see if our conduct backs up what we say, and he judges our words by the actions that accompany them.

when you love someone, you'll take time out every day to spend time with the person. don't just say you love them, back it up through your actions. Likewise, when you say you love the Lord, you'll be willing to fork out a portion of your time to just talk to Him.

I don't think i've been a good Christian in that sense...8years of being in church, sometimes i feel like church has become a weekly religious routine to me and on days when i'm not in cell group or in service, i find it difficult to do my quiet time...my job, my life seems to take over the one thing that i should place utmost importance on.

Lord, i want to go back to when it all first began, to the younger days when the fervency to serve, to know You was so great.

i gotta get back to building on my prayer life.

God, give me discipline!

---------------

how very apt.

i gotta print a photo-quality picture of this and stick it right up my cubicle at work.

reminds me never to give in to my carnal flesh but to keep pushing on because i know i can do above and beyond all i could imagine.

NEVER GIVE UP.

2011-10-26T11:28:00.000-07:00

dear is now in Korea for some medical conference.

proud of him but a tad sad that he's miles and miles away...

counting down the days when he'll be back.

----------

went for halloween horror nights @ universal studios with dear over the weekend.

i must say, they must have spent a fortune doing up the place.

overturned cars, professional props & costumes, dozens of smoke machines littered all over the place to create a spooky atmosphere (think resident evil).

in all honesty, i have not a single clue who in the world were the characters i took pictures with. i hope they were just random characters and not from some movie though...otherwise it'd make me look very ignorant and well....like a frog in a very deep well :S

come to think of it...the red man with the devil horns kinda looks familiar...hellboy??

hmmm...

at least i kinda know one of them? lol.

made dear wear the red horns with me. haha.

was very excited about the whole event cause the 51 bucks not only give us access to the halloween attractions, it also allowed us access to the Battlestar Galactica!! :D

was a coward and decided we should take the less scarier blue ride (CYCLONE) first and because the waiting time was so long, we only had time for the 1 ride and 2 halloween attractions (Peranakan mansion and some other outdoor attraction).

uber cool wings.

evil nurses and their mutilated victim.

rawr. dear tackling Mr Frankenstein.

doing his best impersonation of Barney from HIMYM.

scary lady at one smoky corner of the streets of Universal Studios.

haha. still looking goofy even with a bloody zombie staring right up at him.

always loved going to amusement parks cause there's that feeling of being on a holiday, far far away from the normal hectic life. there's that feeling of euphoria each time i step into a theme park, notwithstanding that this time it was done up for halloween.

and with dear...

it was a guaranteed good time from the very start.

--------------

this boy is so cuuutee :D

----------------

2011-10-21T22:13:00.000-07:00

EY DND 2011

for the first time in ages, i finally went to do my hair (the last i recall actually going through so much just for an event was probably nbs convocation 2 years back)

and boy was it a good deal

i recommend anyone and everyone who's thinking of getting a good hairstylist for dinner functions like this to go for Valerie De Salon at Lucky Plaza.

highly recommended.

crazy cheap at 24 bucks for an evening updo. plus a very professional hairstylist who is willing to provide extra service (i.e. make-up, body glitter)

the theme for this year was "Dance with the stars"...

we could choose to dress within any of the following 3 themes:

1. Movie star

2. Pop star

3. Animated star

and boy, did some of them come dressed up for the occassion...

I could see many "stars" come alive that day. Harry potter, flintstones, snow white, zombies, chinese vampires, beetlejuice,agent smith, cloud with his humungous gunblade, etc etc.

a feast for the eye indeed.

not in the "wow, there's tons of good-looking" kinda way but a "wow, what a wide variety of weird, outrageous characters"

the international tax team and their snow white.

me, vicks and xiu mei :)

hmmm....think we kinda look alike cause our petite stature.

with girl-next-door geri :)

wei lin, my lunch buddy :)

buddy & super chio nicole

with agent smith & his clone. haha.

we decided to pose like those rich socialites with scary looking bodyguards....but the attempt kinda flopped cause andy & cedric kinda lacked the "scary" factor. lol.

with cute junior, claire

with cubicle mate, Alvin, whose ego is the size of a whale. and that is an understatement.

Celyn posing as the elusive korean pop star and seductive temptress to HJ.

with one of the prettier mgrs, Sheryl :)

Tax B guy senior/mangers with partner

girls turn :)

that night so many ppl drank.

result: the 250 bottles of red wine ordered by the DND committee were completely wiped out. even then, my colleagues, some in a drunken stupor, kept calling for the waiter to serve more wine

-_-""

i'm starting to think my department is made out of alcoholics. lol.

with "wonder girl" stella

buddy and i with the mgrs & partner

mafia wannabes

with cutie pie Cheryl :D

with my fave EY audit staff, Bee... she looks chio-er with time. totally refuting the common saying that auditors age 10x more than any other person in another occupation.

2011-09-27T10:39:00.000-07:00

Mission 101 - dear's birthday surprise

Venue 1: PS Cafe @ Dempsey Road

we headed down for dinner after some hiccup with transportation at the start.

food was alright...but i guess the reason why i chose the place was cause i liked the ambience of the place more than anything else...

but according to him, didn't seem like the food was very fantastic :S

...hmm, guess i did not take that into account.

think i tend to look at the ambience of a restaurant more so than the actual food, which probably is a bad way to choose a dining place.

but...

whatever it is...

i still love PS Cafe.

i wish i had the truffle fries~!

trying to vie with me for the top prize in the small eyes competition *chuckles*

when we were done with dinner...

we were on to the next adventure for the night ;)

but first we had to head back to home so i could prepare the stuff.

Venue 2: Home sweet home

he looks super cute here :D

we're all set and ready to go!

blindfolded and drove him down to...well, one of the only places i'm familiar with given my extremely bad direction sense & driving skills.

i'm surprised he dared to entrust me with his life by willingly being blindfolded. the last time i drove, he wouldn't let his hands off the hand brake :S

and the worst part was...the car was bro kel's...was terrified that i would scratch it or cause irreparable damage to the pseudo sports car while driving.

thank God nothing happened!

Venue 3: my secret haunt

the finale to my well thought out birthday surprise...

the pattisier's cake with a single litted candle...

at the top of my secret hideout

with a group of singers and guitarists to serenade us for free.

lol.

tired from having to climb stairs/slopes but happy that everything turned out well.

♥

it's been 2 months since we got together, 6 months since i got to know him and till now, i still feel my heart racing each time i look at him.

we probably don't have the luxury of time like most couples do so i treasure every precious hour spent with him and with time, we are getting to know each other more and more, seeing each other's likes/dislikes/habits/strengths/flaws. even though it may not always be smooth sailing, but he's been most tolerative of my occasional mood swings.

though we've probably still got a long way to go, a lot more to know about each other but for now... everything feels right and i feel thoroughly blessed just to have him by my side.

mission accomplished~!

-------

Mummy's birthday @ Taste paradise

we'd celebrated mummy's birthday without papa for the first time.

i really believe that this has been one of the best years for my mummy in a long while.

karaoke and her karaoke kakis have really brought a renewed sense of purpose to her life...i'm not saying she didn't have any before this, but she's become so much happier with her newfound hobby and group of like-minded friends.

life has never been better and i thank God for everything that He has done in our lives. everything seems to be falling in place now :)

love my mummy :)

2011-09-19T08:29:00.000-07:00

there's been a nagging thought...

wish i could tuck it aside...

bury it in a daypack and send it on a one way trip round the world...

2011-09-14T11:55:00.000-07:00

Jones the grocer

all day breakfast at mandarin gallery

hot chocolate --> looks good but can't say much for it's taste :S

tasted like milo with a tad too much milk

lenny with his humongous dish

eggs benedict :D

oh shucks. why am i like yellowish beside him?!! i look like i have jaundice >.<

social painting at mandarin gallery.

really cool concept where people gather together to draw/paint stuff while socializing.

good activity for all the social dating agencies.

though it is pretty pricey~!

Swan Lake on Ice @ MBS

bf was pretty tired out that day cause he was on call the night before and had barely enough sleep before he had to come out to watch swan lake with me.

thanks for making the effort though :)

the dance routine on ice was pretty amazing, it looked effortless and at times, i almost forgot that the actors were skating on ice because the dance routine was executed so well, you almost forgot they had to maneuver around a block of ice at the same time.

however, at some point in time, the dance routine became repetitive and the circular motions became sleep inducing. i was trying hard to stay awake at some parts. Nonetheless, i think the actors were highly skilled albeit some flops in executing some moves. The costumes, as mentioned in the newspaper, were indeed gorgeous.

looking at the pic reminds me of a conversation i had with my colleague today...

my colleague :"how tall are you?"

me: "tall enough"

------------------

RANDOM

this guy gets a thumbs up from me for his acting skills.

give him a golden globe award already.

lol.

i want to goooooo for night safari halloween fest again! who wants to join me?? :D

2011-09-04T11:02:00.000-07:00

our (Chc choir) love tribute to Sun for her birthday :)

this was recorded wayyy back.

but it was pretty cool, loved the mash of bruno mars' "Just the way you are", Cheryl Cole's "Fight for this love" and Katy Perry's "Firework"!

2011-09-02T10:41:00.000-07:00

[Habakkuk 2:2-3]

And the Lord answered me and said:
Write a vision and make it plain on tablets. That he may run who reads it.
For the vision is yet for an appointed time;
But at the end it will speak; and it will not lie.
Though it tarries, wait on it,
Because it will surely come, it will not tarry.

today's sermon was about having a vision.

we were made to pray on it....

and well...

my vision is to....

wait for it...

FIND A WELL PAYING JOB (APPROX. 7K) IN 4 YEARS TIME...BUT THE CATCH IS...IT MUST ENABLE ME TO SLACK AND HAVE A BALANCED LIFESTYLE, ONE WHERE I DON'T FACE THE CHALLENGE OF HAVING TO COMPROMISE ON TIME WITH MY FRIENDS AND LOVED ONES.

is that a lousy vision?

Lilian said to dream of something that is (in your personal opinion) unreachable, something not easily achievable.

And well...i hate to say this...

but i guess my vision came partly from the circumstances i'm facing at this present moment in time...

And currently, that seems like an unreachable dream for me...

goes to show what a crappy job i have.

and because i'm the kind of person who finds it hard to let go of my work, somehow i'll always end up having to compromise on my other aspects of life. SO...God, please please PLEASE let me find a job that doesn't demand so much of me!

2011-08-23T12:38:00.000-07:00

with my dearest lil' sis.

camwhoring while on the way to church.

Gathering with the SAJC peeps.

it's been a long while since we all met up. it was a nostalgic moment as we reminisced about the times in JC and all the nasty/weird teachers. pretty amazing to see how we've all grown up and now have careers of our own, how we once studied together and yet, now take entirely different paths in life. some going into banks, teaching, engineering, bioscience, etc.

random thought: yue xiang has gotta be the coolest gf i know, she shaved her head for cancer.

i would do it but i lack the guts.

SOT 2011 GRADUATION

Congrats Daniel!!! You finally did it! 6 months of intensive bible theology! it must have been an awesome experience, to be able to live, sleep and feed on the word of God. i wish God could make a way for me to also attend SOT! I'm praying for a greater breakthrough in my walk with God...been feeling very stagnant in my growth with God lately and i hope that somehow i can relive that spark that i first felt when i accepted Christ.

Mad about Garlic with Beatrice, my long-time pal since primary school days!

yums. love the food there. always had the impression mad for garlic was some cafe targetted at the younger crowd. was quite surprised to see that the interior decor was quite exquisite, like that of a fine dining restaurant.

my best friend in primary school. haha. when i was younger, we used to hang out at her playground and hog the swings as though we owned them.

ahh. those days seem aeons ago. when i was a weee' lil primary school kid.

garlic ice-cream. we decided to try this purely for fun. it tasted not bad actually. hahaha. but then again, i am an ice-cream fan. :)

Thanks beat for the pair of nude heels! love it lots, it's so easy to match!

-----------------------

Watched Rise of the Planet Apes.

surprisingly it turned out quite good albeit the sudden ending. always thought the show was some movie about apes and nothing else. Being not much of an animal lover, i thought it'd be a retarded show but was surprised to find that it was actually quite gripping from start to end. the character buildup of Casear the ape was good and i ended up feeling for him/it. so yeps, 3.5/5 popcorns. haha.

BUT

the scriptwriter ought to be shot for the terrible ending.

we then took a stroll along the bridge linking Sentosa to the main island. managed to catch some pretty fireworks while walking :)

2011-08-16T10:51:00.000-07:00

when i'm bored or i need a breather from the hectic life, i like to surf youtube and check out my fave youtube musicians.

i know i've said this a million times already.

but thank God for youtube.

love this cover of bruno mars' lazy song. the pair of them are sooo cute.

this is good too! love the beat boxing :)

------------

youtube faves.

Joseph Vincent

David Choi

Kina Grannis

jason chen

Sam tsui & Kurt

Krissy and Ericka

Jayesslee

2011-08-08T19:54:00.000-07:00

Shape Run - 24 July 2011

Nett time: 1hr 07mins

it was really a breakthrough for me!

from a girl who hated running, barely passed every 2.4km runs back in secondary, jc days to where i am now! super running nymph, lol. kidding. far from it.

ranking 751 out of possibly 3000 particpants is not exactly an achievement. >.<

but it's good enough for me!

feel inspired to run 21 km now.

posing with our medals!

i think i'm gloating too much on this. but it feels good to be the "fastest" Sandra in the race. haha. and mind you, there weren't just 2 or 3 "Sandras", there were....ahem....*drumroll*...

6 (for the 10km category)!

haha. okay. feel rather stupid now that i think about it.

oh well, purely for humour sake.

---------------

Jo's virgin performance @ timbre substation

so proud of her!

my ex-roomie won a timbre music academy contest and got to hold a 30min solo act at Timbre.

she sang a total of 4 cover songs and 2 originals.

all of which were really good.

"just the way you are", "my girl", "lazy song",etc.

all my current fave songs! :)

if only i was good at the guitar too! i've always secretly dreamt of becoming a singer-songwriter (think Fiona Apple, Michelle Branch, Liz Phair, A Fine Frenzy, Priscilla Ahn)!

with my JC peeps, Jo, Yan Ping & Sarah :)

this buncha gals are by far my most independent, gung-ho group of gfs, anything that involves risking your life, i would know who to call....lol.

Pretty hall mates, Lynette & Yanni.

-------------------

Farewell celebration for the interns

Jiaxin and i

One thing i like about working for my firm is that it constantly takes in fresh new faces. It's good to see more young people joining the firm. The office always seem more vibrant and fun with the interns and juniors around. Somehow it seems that the longer people work, energy just gets zapped out of them and people just become a bit more lethargic, a bit less talkative, a bit more serious....

rawr. i MUST NOT succumb to the the evils of work.

------------------

Firsthand Orientation @ House of Joy

it's been 1+ year since i've served in this wonderful ministry and it's been an enriching experience cause of the heart-wrenching/touching/life-changing life experiences heard and friends made.

-------------------------

Pietrasanta @ Portsdown Road

my fave restaurant with my fave person :)

haha, nope, not me! :P

though i have to admit i am quite narcisstic...

but not that much! lol.

loved the pasta! *drools*

2011-07-23T09:27:00.000-07:00

horrible.

i always knew i was too blur for my own good.

but seriously.

this was the last straw...i'm sick of myself.

felt so terrible after tonight...imagine what it feels to plan something so perfectly and having it fall apart right in my own hands...just because i forgot the road name.

i absolutely hate myself.

Hello, it's been a long time...

2011-07-20T10:25:00.000-07:00

gosh, it's been a long while since i last blogged...

recently acquired a new addition to my dying collection of soft toys, by collection, i meant 1 piece of soft toy and hence the word dying would most aptly describe it. lol.

say hello to my not-so-angry bird, Lenny :p

--------------------

OH! Notwithstanding all the good things that have happened these past few weeks, my trusty canon g11 died on me!! RAWR!

and as Ron from Harry Potter would say..."Bloody Hell"

what irks me is that the repair cost totaled 307 bucks (excl. gst)!!!

the cam better not die on me for the next 3 years, i very much intend to make the cam well worth the 307 bucks.

---------------------

On a happier note, bestie signed on to army again :)

i am so happy for her. honestly when i heard she'd went out of course during her term in navy, i really felt it was such a waste cause you can tell that she is destined for an active career. Why? Strangely, she, unlike normal human beings, has a passion for....well, torturous trainings. lol. bestie has always been one cut out for a more vigorous career, one that allows her to move about and challenge her physical strength. A desk bound job would never keep her down, it would never satisfy her i think.

So Jess, CONGRATS ON GETTING BACK TO ARMY!!! This time i pray that everything will run smoothly and before you know it, you'll have completed OCS. I really believe that this is the place most suited for you! JIAYOU!

these pics were taken very long ago...times have really changed hasn't it? suddenly feel like we've all grown up to become individuals in our own right, leading our own lives, having different priorities. *sigh*...it's been a long while since we've really met up and had a htht...i miss those days. hmmm, as i speak, i'm starting to miss my long time buddy already...

P.S. to make a mental note to ask her out once she books out from BMT!

-------------------------

EMERGE 2011

it was an exciting event filled with many talented performances from the youths of chc! check them out below :)

love LOUD's spoof of NOOSE! so darn funnny! and i know the barberella gal! i never knew Xinyi could act that well, the last time i'd saw her was when she was still a sec sch kid serving for usher ministry! :) time truly flies by so quickly!

and i am in awe with the 2 winners of "Your Best Shot"....Amos & Nathania!

i've always wished i was that talented....had a voice as powerful as Nathania and charisma as strong as Amos. they were nothing short of amazing.

this emerge has really showed me the abundance of talent within the church!

the people of God are really doing great things for Him!

and of course, one of the best things that happened in the past few weeks... JAYESSLEE!

they came to chc and for the first time ever, i heard them live and they were just as good as they sound on youtube!

this pair of twins are indeed blessed with incredible vocals and the ability to sing in perfect harmony.

check out their performances below :)

pity i couldn't get tickets to their live performance at TAB....

--------------------------------

bro dj-ing.

am v proud of him. whenever he sets out to do something, he always does it to the best of his abilities. and it shows from how fast he is picking up the skills!

-----------------

On a final note...i think i am going to die on sunday...God, please help me complete the 10km, i don't know what got into me when i signed up for it...starting to regret it :S

tried running today and realized my stamina has gone down after 2+ weeks of not training!

40mins for 5km! on a treadmill! and i'm gasping for air already...

i need power!!! going to do a practice run with Vicks at the stadium this saturday, hopefully it'd turn out good :)

Cheers to a good week ahead!