Embracing my inner bimbo.

2007-05-12T09:35:00.000+08:00

Practicum is finally over.

To celebrate a fresh new start to my life as a Beginning Teacher, here's a spanking new bloggy:

rainstop.livejournal.com

2007-05-08T23:37:00.000+08:00

Had a relatively good day in school, especially since I was able to leave early for once.

I had barely left for half an hour when the other trainees called me, saying that they've received their posting results. The 8 of us have been teasing each other about it, and praying really hard that we don't get a permanent posting to the school. [It's a long story which I'm not going to reveal here...] I was seriously having a panic attack on the way home. Checked the letterbox immediately and opened the letter with shaking hands.

HENG AH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Called them up immediately to share the good news. Muahaha.

And I'm sooooo glad that Shreen and I are going to the same school.
[Me on the phone to her: "Hi Shreen. ***** ***** Primary School, here WE come!!!" We were practically shrieking with excitement over the phone. Haha]
Out of the 7 who are going to different schools, only 2 of us had the same posting. We're really darn lucky to get out of that school and be posted to another school together. I mean, what are the odds?!? I'm just thankful that I'll have company for the next 3 years. It's a fresh beginning, a brand new start.

I'm just feeling so happy now. =)

If only my Gordie darl was around to share the good news with me... He's off sailing again! Sigh.

Anyway, I'm beginning to feel the slight tinge of sadness at leaving my kids. Especially now that I know I'll never see them again after this Friday. My P3s are simply adorable, while my P5s are... hard to control, but still lovable sometimes.

There are some days whereby these kids can really brighten up my day. Today was one fine example.

I was walking back to the staff room during recess, when I stopped just outside the hall to speak to some pupils. It was almost time to assemble in the hall, so everyone was waiting outside. Suddenly, I felt a pair of arms grabbing me from behind and hugging me. I was shocked at first but started grinning once I turned back to see who the 'molester' was. Haha!

It was one of my lovable P3 girls. She held onto me tightly from the back, like a little baby. I asked, "Winnie, what's wrong?" And she just said "Bye bye Miss Chan... you're leaving already!!!"

Honestly, my heart just melted at that point. Any other teacher would probably have been horrified at this touchiness. Okay, the pupils probably wouldn't even think of doing such things to other teachers! But to me, it was such a heartwarming gesture which really brightened up my day. I might not be the most proficient teacher in terms of subject knowledge, but I know that I've at least managed to connect to the pupils on a personal level. I joke with them, share my feelings with them, talk to them like friends outside curriculum hours, and in turn, they tell me about their problems, share personal jokes with me and even ask me to tie their hair for them [that was just another memorable incident in my P3 class... =) ].

Then later, in my P5 class, my frustrations rose upon seeing the behaviour of some pupils. They have disappointed me greatly, honestly. But there's still a saving grace in the form of the girls and some better-behaved boys. They knew that it was my last lesson with them [because of changes in the timetable due to the exams], so the gifts and notes started to appear on my table in the midst of the lesson. It made me smile despite the anger. I don't need all these material things. All I wanted was their attention and cooperativeness, and I would have been happy. This class has made me laugh and cry, but despite everything, I guess I still have a soft spot for them.

At the end of the day, the pupils are the ones I'll miss most.

3 more days and it's sayonara. Having mixed feelings now. But I'm sure that I'll leave with my head held up high.

Untitled.

2007-05-03T19:31:00.000+08:00

The first weekend with the Love of My Life back was... nice. =)

And as much as I wanted to slack, he was the kan cheong one who kept asking, "Have you finished your lesson plans? Marking leh? Everything done already?" I had to assure him repeatedly that I had done what I was supposed to do, so we could spend time together without any worries. Hurhur. I think the 3-weeks absence warranted more time together, even if I had to sacrifice a little sleep to complete everything on Sunday night.

It was a leisurely Saturday and Sunday together, as we caught up and just basked in each other's company. And on Sunday evening, we headed down to the bridal studio to meet up with Mel and her hubby. I finally saw my bridesmaid's gown, and I must say that it's lovely! Tried it on to ensure a proper fit, and even my Gordie darl says that it's really pretty.
But of course, the focus on 26th May will be Mel... Her gown is the loveliest of all! =)

It's almost the end of the 2nd last week of practicum, but everyday is still a new experience for all of us. The stress hasn't died down, especially since the exams will start next week, which is why we have been chasing pupils the past few days to complete their corrections and ensure that everything is marked so that they can bring it home for revision. The 8 trainee teachers at my school have a saying that something 'exciting' will DEFINITELY take place every day. And trust me, we haven't been wrong so far.

Although it's almost the end, there's this sadness in me... I can't bear to be separated from the other trainees. We've really been through the worst shit the past 9 weeks. My best memories of this practicum will be the times we have spent sharing and pouring our hearts out to each other in the little room we've been placed in. We band together and stand up for each other, and we've seen all the tears [mostly mine, I admit], sweat and hard work. I don't think I would have survived if it weren't for these 7 people. Sigh.

On a more positive note though, I'm looking forward to our dinner date on 11th May! Muahaha. We've already planned to have a good feast on the last day of practicum, after leaving the school for the final time. Dinner, dessert, drinks - we've got it all worked out. ;)

And there are plans for a short getaway too... That just shows how close we've become, and also, how badly we need a break after the mental/emotional/physical turmoil. Haha.

Notice the difference in me? I think I'm finding myself again - the cheerful and positive side. There's a change coming this way, simply because I need a new space to share my thoughts. All will be revealed in time to come... Meanwhile, rejoice because tomorrow is Friday!

2007-04-26T23:33:00.000+08:00

My Gordie darl is finally back!

Left school earlier than usual and drove to Tuas Naval Base without getting lost. That is an achievement in itself, IMO. I soon found myself in the same place as I was 8 months ago. Caught up with Ivy and Linda, and as usual, we had to wait the longest for our men to appear. But there he was, eventually. It was so comforting just to see that familiar grin once again.

I've missed him so much, without even realising it.

Then of course, shit had to happen. Had to rush back to school to settle an urgent matter, while my poor boyfriend waited in the car patiently for me. My mood crashed. I really hate shedding tears over something so unworthy, but I find myself doing so too frequently over the past 8 weeks. They've ambushed my supervisor, talked bad about me, brought my mental and physical wellbeing to the lowest possible, left me to sink or swim. I'm putting in my best efforts. I've never worked so hard before. So if this is not good enough, then I don't know what is. I'm just not cut out for this profession, honestly.

But everything's alright, he's back now and we're going to spend more time together.

But everything's alright, it's Friday tomorrow. TGIF!

But everything's alright, it's the end of the 8th week. Only 10 more 'teaching' days and it's bye bye for good, not au revoir.

Just happened to be blog-hopping when I read this line from Melzone's blog:
Children don't kill teachers. Teachers kill teachers.

In the words of a true bimbo, I so totally agree.

In all randomness...

2007-04-21T11:59:00.000+08:00

The weekends seem to be the only time when I have the chance to really indulge in food. Like last night, when I picked up my dear girls up from home and work before heading for some oily prata and mee goreng at Bukit Timah. They never fail to cheer me up.

It's just one of those days... when I feel like doing nothing.

I brought piles of books and worksheets home to mark, but I don't feel compelled to mark them. Not yet. Maybe not today.

I just want to... live.

Random photos!

Had to leave school exceptionally early on Monday to head back to NIE for assignment submission. If it wasn't because of that, I would have stayed till the usual time of 8pm. Rushed over to that familiar place, but not before picking my sis up.

I made it just before 5pm and handed in my FINAL assignment. It was good to be back at NIE... Walking along the corridors, taking in the breeze and open-ness. There's just something about the place that makes me feel so carefree. And of course, it made me think about the good times I had there with my NIE girlies. Couldn't resist SMSing all of them. Sigh.

My sis and I ended up having our sinful lunch of Macdonald's (NTU student price - Much cheaper! Haha) in the car while chatting about everything under the sun... It has been a long time since I had the luxury of time to do that. Went to pick Mum up from work after that, and somehow, the whole family ended up at Bukit Timah Food Centre for dinner.

My crazy sibs and moi

This photo was taken on 23rd Feb, after Gordie darl's ship dinner at SAFRA Yishun.

The Navy guys' Significant Others -
Yiwen (the MT teacher), Ivy (the mother-of-two), Nelly, Linda and me!

... otherwise known as the ones who have been lonely the past 3 weeks. Hurhur.

Our paths probably wouldn't have crossed if not for our boyfriends/husbands, because of the differences in our ages and lifestyles. But what is amazing is that it didn't take long for us to clique and bond. It's comforting to know that we're all feeling the same during this period when the guys are out at sea.

To cope with the loneliness when I'm driving alone, I bought this cute little lion stuffed toy to hang below the rearview mirror. It reminds me of my Gordie darl, because like I've said before, he's a typical Leo (the horoscope) - confident, self-assured, loyal and dependable. The sign of Leo is a lion, which is why lions always remind me of him. Teehee.

It might just be psychological, but I do feel much better whenever I glance at the lion while driving...

FIVE more days before I see the Love of My Life again... I miss him so much!

To end this rojak post, I shall share my latest feel-good song. Hearing it makes me feel free-spirited and happy.

Corinne Bailey Rae - Put Your Records On

I wanna find myself somewhere, somehow...

Vulnerable

2007-04-19T21:11:00.000+08:00

Had a bad day in school.

I was all prepared for my observation when I was told that I couldn't do it. No, no, no, I don't want to observe you today. I'll not go into details here but all I can say is that the negativity totally demoralised me. The first bell had rung and we were supposed to be in the hall for assembly but I just lost it. Went straight into the toilet and burst into tears. But I didn't allow it to last long. I wiped my face dry and headed into the hall with an expressionless face.

It's not fair. It's just not fair. My fellow trainee teachers have been voicing their injustice for me, but what can I do? Nothing.

Later on in the day, when I was telling the whole incident to Faith, tears of frustration just fell again. I really wanted to clear all the CT's observations by this week, so I can focus on the observations by my supervisor and Senior Coordinating Mentor next week. Why can't there be more flexibility and understanding there?

I just felt so crushed.

I rushed into the toilet once again and shut myself in a cubicle. I couldn't hold it in any longer. Just sat on the toilet bowl and cried my heart out. Thank God for Faith, who came in to check on me and to give me a warm hug.

I went for my next lesson less than 10 minutes later, and the moment I stepped into the class, I saw a curious expression on the face of one of my P3 boys.

From where he was seated, he asked, "Miss Chan, are you ill?"

[Because of the crying bout, my nose was red and my eyes were bloodshot, which is probably why he asked that question.]

"Yes, I'm not feeling very well. *faint smile* "

The same little boy came right up to me and asked,"Miss Chan, you're ill? Do you have the flu?" The concerned look never left his face.

Right at that moment, I felt my frustration and bad mood dissipate. My heart just melted.

I smiled at that little angel and assured him that I was alright.

I guess that's the magic of working with children.

At the end of the day, no matter how mischievous and disobedient they are, we know that they are harmless and innocent.

Sometimes, just sometimes, the kids make all these struggles, tears and fatigue worth it.

If only the adults could be more like them.

Regardless, it's Friday tomorrow. The end of yet another week.

Will be meeting my dear girls for supper tomorrow night, and Gordie darl will be home in less than a week's time (*crosses fingers* That's if they're not affected by the tai feng in Taiwan...). Will probably be heading out for a movie and lunch date with my darling sis this weekend too.

So many activities? Well, I've been going to work earlier and ending later everyday. A supposed 6-hours day is turning into a whole THIRTEEN hours in school every single day. I seriously need my life back. Not going to bother about everything else anymore. I don't ask for a Proficient or Excelling, just let me pass and I'll be happy. I don't dare to ask for more.

Happy 22nd, dearest!

2007-04-18T00:00:00.000+08:00

Here's a huge shout-out to my darling Justina -

HAPPY 22ND BIRTHDAY!!!

As promised, here is your present No.10: A video specially made by me! Why is it considered a present? Because I put my sweat, blood, tears and time into it. Teehee.

Watch on babe...

Like it?!? *grins*

The last song used is The Birthday Song by Corrinne May, and I find the lyrics so appropriate and meaningful:

'' Don't worry about that extra line
That's creeping up upon your face
It's just a part of nature's way to say you've grown a little more
Trees have rings and thicker branches
Kids' shoes get a little tighter
Every year we're getting closer to who we're gonna be
It's time to celebrate the story of how you've come to be

Happy Birthday, my friend
Here's to all the years we've shared together
All the fun we've had
You're such a blessing
Such a joy in my life
May the good Lord bless you
And may all your dreams come true

So light a candle on your cake
For every smile you've helped create
For every heart and every soul you've helped to grow
A little more
A few more pounds, a little more grey
Don't count the years, just count the way
It takes a little time to go from water into wine
Don't ever lose the wonder of that child within your eyes

Happy Birthday, my friend
Here's to all the years we've shared together
All the fun we've had
You're such a blessing
Such a joy in my life
May the good Lord bless you
And may all your dreams come true ''

May you continue to receive blessings of love, joy and success in your life, dearest. Your next phase will start in July, and I'm sure you'll do a kick-ass job at that big big company. ;)

Enjoy your special day, and may you always be happy.

Lotsa love,
Eve
xoxo

________________________________________________________

14th April 2007: Justina's 22nd birthday celebration @ Vivocity and Cafe Del Mar

Had an early start to the day as I rushed around buying all the presents on my list. Zhen and I had made a deal to give Justina 22 presents altogether: 10 from her + 10 from me + combined present no. 21: a cake + combined present no. 22: a surprise. In the end, the surprise couldn't be carried out (for reasons that shall not be divulged...), so I've decided to take charge of that and give her something else... She doesn't even know what it is yet so I shan't reveal anything. I'm sure she'll mention it in her blog! Go read it tomorrow or on Thursday! Hurhur.

Anyway, we managed to meet up with everyone else at Vivocity on Saturday evening, and boy was Justina surprised to see so many people. I had invited all the guys and Stace, which was something she didn't expect. Turning 22 doesn't mean you can't have a big celebration, darling. =)

We settled at White Dog Cafe for dinner, where I had the chicken fillet...

and Zhen ended up ordering some King Scallops Pasta which turned out to be squid ink noodles!

Looks so weird right?

The masterminds:

After dinner, Zhen and I conspired to head to the toilet. Well, it wasn't really a conspiracy lah... Coz' I REALLY had to pee!!! But on the way back, we sneakily headed to Haagen Dazs to collect the 2kg ice-cream cake we had pre-ordered.

The staff at White Dog Cafe were really helpful and obliging. They went out of the cafe to take the cake from us and brought it into their kitchen to open and set up with the candles (so as not to arouse any suspicion from Justina. We wanted to make it a total surprise!).

Needless to say, our dear girl was in shock.

She finally got her wish - ice-cream cake for her birthday. =)

The birthday girl had difficulties using the plastic knife to cut the hard ice-cream cake, and the cafe staff actually took over by bringing the cake back into the kitchen and cutting it up for us. Wonderful service there.

One of my pressies to Justina was a birthday Barbie (coz' I know she is a little girl at heart...), and Zhen gave it to her, on the pretence that it was our combined birthday pressie to her.

The look on her face says it all. OMG....

I was just content to eat my cake. Hurhur

The after-dinner activity was to head to Sentosa's Cafe Del Mar, since Justina has been yearning to check the place out for ages. Not everyone came along though, the number dwindled down to 4 guys and 6 gals.

We were still excited though. Especially me! I've wanted to take a ride on the Sentosa Express since it opened! And I finally got the chance that day...

All crowding around the door. Haha!

Stace, Zhen and me... It was shaky in there!

We reached Cafe Del Mar rather quickly, which is a sign that Sentosa is doing something right about its transportation system.

It took us girls a while to warm up...

... whereas the guys had no problem whatsoever.

They were happy to see all the bikini babes lah. Hurhur. But after a while (plus a bit of influence from the alcohol), the cam-whoring and craziness started!

Me, Just and Zhen had specially bought flower hairclips when we were in town the previous week, just for this occasion! So we whipped them out and put 'em on... Not afraid to look hua-chi. ;)

Me and Just

Flower Power!

That's pretty much the only proper photos we took for the rest of the night... We went bonkers after that.

Evidence #1:

Evidence #2:

Evidence #3:

And of course, Justina and I couldn't help but relive our Bangkok memories...

Toilet?!? (Hurhur... Private joke)

We were not intoxicated (I barely drank anything! Was driving so had to be safe, you see...), just crazy. :P

Can't aim properly...

And I really lurve these two shots:

It just proves once again how cheeky Just and I can be, and that we're best friends for a reason... Muahaha.

We took full-length shots after that, but I only have the one with Zhen. Justina, send me the ones both of us took together! We were wearing such similar skirts, so the photos must have turned out nice!

After taking all those shots, Zhen suddenly pointed the camera in my face, so I...

She couldn't stop showing the photo to everyone after that, proclaiming how cute I look in it. I think I just look silly.

We had to leave Cafe Del Mar at 11.30 in order to catch the last Sentosa Express back to Vivo, but not before I took a walk around with Stace, just to soak in the beach atmosphere. It's a nice place. =)

Zhen, Mond and moi...

One more shot of the 3 of us, just to show that we were once at Cafe Del Mar together!!! Teehee

Couldn't resist...

I definitely look and feel different during the weekends. No, make that Saturdays only. I look and feel like complete shite on all other days, because of... oh, never mind. Let's not digress from this happy topic.

So I drove all the girls back safely to their blocks, and was thoroughly exhausted by the time I reached home close to 2a.m. But it was definitely a fun, fun, FUNNNN night. Darling Stace made me laugh so much the whole time, I couldn't help but thank her for cheering me up.

And of course, seeing the smile on our birthday girl's face made all the effort and fatigue worth it. More things could have been planned and more effort could have been put in, but we did our best already. I'm glad that you enjoyed yourself babe. Keep smiling =)

Here's to more birthdays!

P.S. You'll receive your final birthday pressie from me within the next 12 hours or so... It's only a matter of time!!! :D

2007-04-15T23:46:00.000+08:00

Have been in such a sucky mood the whole day.

After crashing last week, my stupid old lousy laptop refuses to cooperate with MS Word. I can install the program but it just can't be opened. It's so frustrating coz' I can't work on any lesson plans at home, which means that I'll be rushing every day this whole week to complete my lesson plans for the next day. And that also means that I'll have to be in school by 6a.m. tomorrow to edit and complete my lesson plans.

Took a breather just now by walking over to the carpark near Gordie darl's block to warm up his bike. And I realised just how much I miss him. It's easier to cope with it when I'm busy with work, but like Stace mentioned last night, the loneliness will return to haunt at night...

While on my way home, the tears threatened to spill once again. The combination of missing the Love of My Life and frustration at not being able to complete my lesson plans at home just made me feel so vulnerable.

I sent an SMS to him immediately: "I just went to warm up your bike... I miss you so much... :( "

Then, his call came in an hour later (just a while ago)... It was so comforting. Just hearing his voice made me feel so much better.

I just have to get through this week (3 observations again...), before I start looking forward to his return in a matter of days.

YOU CAN DO IT EVE.

Still here...

2007-04-15T11:53:00.000+08:00

I know I've been neglecting this space here... But time is really not on my side these days. I've been going to school earlier and leaving later these days. 6.15 am - 7.50 pm. I no longer feel tired. I'm just... numb. Numb to the physical and mental fatigue.

I just want the next 4 weeks to be over quickly.

Meanwhile, here's a quick recap on my boring life over the past week or so.

6th April (Friday):

It was a day I was dreading, yet looking forward to. How contradicting huh?

Well, I was dreading it because it was THE day that my Gordie darl sailed off to Taiwan. He has been such a great source of motivation and support throughout the first few weeks of practicum - putting up with my whines, complains and sudden bouts of tears. Which is why I felt so helpless that Friday morning, as I gave him one last hug at Tuas Naval Base. While driving home on my own, I could feel the tears welling up in my eyes. In the closed confines of the car, I started to sob.

He has called me twice since reaching Taiwan on Tuesday (they're sailing there leh, not flying...Can't imagine being confined to that cramped space with so many people for so many days. RESPECT. P.s. I'm a mild claustrophobic.). That's one of the few things that keep me going these days - anticipating my darling's phone calls, waiting for his return in 11 days' time, and the thought of spending time with him once practicum ends in mid-May. He'll most likely be able to take leave then so we'll either go overseas or escape to the little island nearby... =)

Now, for the reason I was looking forward to Good Friday: I finally got to meet up with my dear girls and secondary school pals!

After telling the babes about my Qian Hu fish farm experience with Gordie darl, they were excited to try it out too. So I made a date with them and off we went!

At Qian Hu, with Justina...

With ah-Zhen...

It was my second time trying out the fish spa thing, so I wasn't that scared. My feet were submerged in the water in no time, which definitely made the fish very happy coz' they were nibbling away at my dead skin in no time!

It was a different story for the first-timers though...

They were freaked out by all the tiny fishes! Justina had that look on her face the whole time we were there. Hurhur.

After 15 minutes or so, Zhen managed to leave both feet in the water without deafening the rest of us. Our dear nA still couldn't bring herself to do it... Here's photographic evidence:

Our legs - Me, Zhen, Justina, unknown girl.

"Hmmm I wonder if they bite........."

One last shot before we left Qian Hu!

We have always been reminiscing about the past and talking about how long it has been since our last neoprint (November 2004), so the next item on our itinerary was to head to Heeren for some sticker shots.

No.1: Neocards!

No.2: Neoprints

Lurve all our pretty shots... We were lounging on the smelly cushioned benches like wannabe-models lah. Hurhur.

My ultimate favourite:

Don't eat us!!!

You won't want to know how this shot came about. But I can't help but giggle whenever I see it.

After taking forever at that shop, we finally met up with the rest of the sec sch pals at Orchard Shopping Centre's Sakura. It was our monthly pig-out session!!! So so so happy to see everyone again. The last time we met up was for the CNY reunion dinner in February.

There were no photos taken at dinner, which only proves one thing: We were so busy stuffing ourselves with food that we couldn't be bothered to whip out our cameras!

The last activity of the day/night was karaoke at Fairway Country Club. Beehui is a member there so we decided to try it out instead of spending an exorbitant amount at Kbox or Partyworld.

It's quite good, actually. The songs are all new, the room is big and fitted with enough sofas for more than 10 people, there are two TVs, and best of all, we only paid $10 each for 3 hours of singing! Totally worth it.

And the best part was that I had so much fun and forgot all about work momentarily, thanks to the pals, and especially my dear girls. Zhen was in such a crazy mood throughout the night and made me laugh so much. Gosh. I couldn't help SMSing her something after driving them home that night - It has been such a long time since I 'saw' my cheerful and siao Zhen. This side of her has been hidden by the drudgery of work the past year. But it was good to see her really having fun. For those few hours, it was like we were young and carefree again, with no worries and stress.

Me and Just...

8th April (Sunday):

Other than trying to finish marking my pupils' books and worksheets(my laptop actually crashed on Saturday morning, which made my mood drop to the lowest possible. I was rendered helpless because I couldn't do any lesson plans at all), Sunday was a slow and lazy day... The only interesting thing was meeting up with Melissa and her hubby to get fitted for my bridesmaid's gown. The choosing of colours was the most nerve-wrecking. Shall post a photo of it once the dress is ready and I go back to the shop to try it out. I'm getting increasingly excited about it! =)

That's about it... Monday - Friday was work, work, work. It has been a busy week with 3 observations squeezed into two days. Thank goodness I had something to look forward to, which was Justina's 22nd birthday celebration yesterday (14th April, Saturday) with the sec sch pals. We had such a wonderful time. Shall update again once I receive the photos (we took A LOT, trust me), and when I have the time.

Continue keeping me in your prayers. To the other trainee teachers, hang in there. We're almost done.

Still alive...

2007-04-02T21:21:00.000+08:00

I'm slowly getting out of that deep dark abyss I fell into. I feel more positive about work now, I can laugh, I can smile... There are still days whereby I feel that I can't go on working like this anymore, but they are getting progressively lesser. I might never get out of this hate phase totally, but at least I have more determination now. I guess I've learnt to accept that I'll be stuck here for the next 3 years. I'm just gonna give my best while I'm at it.

The last weekend definitely helped to cheer me up a little. I haven't gone out or socialised at all the past 5 weeks, and I decided that it's time to see the world once again before I really go crazy.

Besides, how could I miss my dearest cousin's tea party? =)

Mum and Dad drove my sis and her boyfriend over to Kuma's place, while Gordie darl and I rode the bike over...

After so many weeks, here are photos of us once again:

My darling and me...

Yes, those are worksheets you see on the table. I had to bring them along to mark. Total madness.

KL and Mell...

We stayed in the function room for hours, just indulging in the food and engaging in senseless banter. I miss times like this. Sigh.

Then, it was time for cake-cutting.

There wasn't a proper cake though. Cupcakes were used instead!

So cute right? The colours are so cheery and bright... I like!

They were baked by Kuma and the birthday girl herself, and were absolutely delish! You know who to contact if you need yummy and pretty cupcakes. ;)

My loveliest Kuma whom I adore to bits.

And of course, we couldn't miss out on a shot with the pretty birthday girl Areta.

Before I forget, happy 20th birthday dear Areta. *sloppy kisses and warm hugs*

Gordie darl and I left at 8plus, and headed to Vivocity for our long-awaited movie date. It has been ages since we had the time to go out, let alone watch a movie! While waiting for the midnight movie to start, we just spent our time talking... Quality time has become such a rarity for us that we have to treasure every moment.

He'll be sailing to Taiwan at the end of this week and will only be returning at the end of the month. I hope I don't break down again like I did last year. This time round, with the added stress of practicum, I really have to be very very very strong to get through the days without him around.

At least I'll have some things to look forward to... Like the fish farm date with my dear girls, the buffet dinner with the sec sch pals this Friday and Justina's birthday celebration at (tentatively) Cafe Del Mar in mid-April.

Press on, fellow trainees. We're at the halfway mark already.

thank you

2007-03-27T20:22:00.000+08:00

Feeling slightly better this week. Just a teeny weeny bit, but any improvement's worth celebrating.

I guess what I really needed was to let it all out. Cry my heart out.

Which was what I did yesterday.

Was so miserable over the fact that I fell ill during this period, that I refused to do anything for three days straight. I did try, but just couldn't complete anything.

Faith SMSed me, asking if everything was alright. I replied and my tears started to drop.

Then, she called me. That's when the dam finally broke.

I cried and cried and cried, and she just listened on the other end of the phone.

I choked, I didn't say anything at times, but she was just there in her calm and patient way.

And at the end of our 45 minutes conversation, I felt much better. I wiped my face dry and told myself, NO MORE TEARS.

Back in school today, I could feel the slight difference.

She was the one who saw my tears during the Teaching Assistantship last July. This time round, she's the one who heard me break down.

Thank you, Faith. For always being around in your silent ways. I really appreciate it.

Thank you to other dear friends of mine too, who have been here for me without fail.

June posted a prayer on her blog, which I've learned to utter to myself during morning assembly after morning prayers. For some reason, it always makes me feel better. Thank you gurl for sharing this:

God, I know that I am weak, but You are strong.
Right now, i acknowledge that I need your strength and guidance in getting through this day's lessons smoothly.
Please help me.
thank You.
In Jesus' name, Amen.

2007-03-24T18:23:00.000+08:00

$58461.62

The price in exchange for my happiness and freedom.

If only I had the guts. Or money.

finding joy

2007-03-24T12:03:00.000+08:00

It has been a rough week, as most of you have seen.

Although the weekends are here, my spirits haven't been lifted... The Love of My Life has been quite ill, and he's suspected of having chicken pox [he was in direct contact with a colleague who was later found to have it]. He's displaying most of the symptoms but I'm having my doubts that it IS really chicken pox because the symptoms will usually appear only 10-21 days after contact with an infected person. It was only two days ago that he talked to his colleague.

Anyways, even if it is chicken pox, I'm not worried because I've had it before so my body is now immune. I'm just worried about him. We need to find out the cause for this sudden bout of illness.

When I left the LOML last night, he had just taken Panadol and was about to sleep. I left instructions to call me if he needs to go to the doctor in the middle of the night or this morning, but he hasn't. I don't want to disturb his rest by calling incessantly. My darling should still be sleeping... Hopefully, he'll wake up feeling much better.

Until he calls me, it's back to more marking. More lesson planning.

On another note, I was driving the car last night while on my way to buy dinner and medicine for Gordie darl. When Daniel Powter's Bad Day came blasting through the speakers, I found myself singing along loudly. The lyrics couldn't seem more apt, especially one sentence after the bridge -

"So where is the passion when you need it the most..."

Where is my passion for teaching when I need it the most? Sigh. I'm still trying to find it...

Singing while driving? THAT'S therapeutic.


Where is the moment we needed the most 
You kick up the leaves and the magic is lost 
They tell me your blue skies fade to grey 
They tell me your passion's gone away 
And I don't need no carryin' on 

You stand in the line just to hit a new low 
You're faking a smile with the coffee to go 
You tell me your life's been way off line 
You're falling to pieces everytime 
And I don't need no carryin' on 

Cause you had a bad day 
You're taking one down 
You sing a sad song just to turn it around 
You say you don't know 
You tell me don't lie 
You work at a smile and you go for a ride 
You had a bad day 
The camera don't lie 
You're coming back down and you really don't mind 
You had a bad day 
You had a bad day 

Well you need a blue sky holiday 
The point is they laugh at what you say 
And I don't need no carryin' on 

You had a bad day 
You're taking one down 
You sing a sad song just to turn it around 
You say you don't know 
You tell me don't lie 
You work at a smile and you go for a ride 
You had a bad day 
The camera don't lie 
You're coming back down and you really don't mind 
You had a bad day 

Sometimes the system goes on the blink 
And the whole thing turns out wrong 
You might not make it back and you know 
That you could be well oh that strong 
And I'm not wrong 

So where is the passion when you need it the most 
Oh you and I 
You kick up the leaves and the magic is lost 

Cause you had a bad day 
You're taking one down 
You sing a sad song just to turn it around 
You say you don't know 
You tell me don't lie 
You work at a smile and you go for a ride 
You had a bad day 
You've seen what you like 
And how does it feel for one more time 
You had a bad day 
You had a bad day

2007-03-22T23:14:00.000+08:00

6.55 a.m - 7.45 p.m the past three days. Back home, it's more marking and more lesson planning. No life. No enjoyment. One word to sum it all up - Craziness.

Burnt out.

Overworked.

Overstressed.

Mood swings.

Lost.

Helpless.

The tears well up with just a mention of all the frustration I'm feeling, and I find myself having to clench my jaws, swallow the lump in my throat and force the tears back.

~~I won't allow the crying to start. Not yet. Hopefully, not ever again.~~

I'm trying my best already... Really... We all are. But I seem to have serious problems dealing with the stress this time round. I don't know what's wrong.

It's almost the end of the 3rd week of practicum. Will I be able to pull through the remaining 7 weeks? I really don't know now.

Several times, I wanted to give it all up. Throw in the towel. Just curl up in bed and refuse to face the world. But I pulled myself up each time. I don't know how long more I can do it. I can't find the strength within myself to do it anymore. The determination is diminishing. The passion is fading. The energy is disappearing The candle is burning out.

I fear that I might be becoming depressed. I can't find any reason to be optimistic about teaching, although I know deep down inside that there ARE many reasons.

I don't want any pity. I don't want anymore words of comfort or concern. I appreciate it but I don't want it now, because I know that my strong facade will break down once I'm given the chance to voice out all my stress and problems. And once the facade is gone, all that will be left of me is a weak and lost girl.

I don't want to shed any more tears over this.

I really hope next week will be a better one for me. I need it to be.

Just get on with it, Eve.

Better.

2007-03-20T22:35:00.000+08:00

The dam was this close to breaking today. It almost did. But I composed myself, determined not to let my weakness show in front of them. My greatest weakness of all - getting too emotional.

But thank you all (friends and readers) for the encouraging and comforting comments/SMSes. It means a lot to me.

The only thing I'm looking forward to now - Gordie darl's return tomorrow. Hoping that he'll make it back earlier than the stipulated time so we can at least meet for dinner. I need his shoulders and ears. :(
If not, we'll only get to meet on Friday because of Thursday's dinner with the sec sch gals... which is something else that I'm looking forward to, of course.

Just living day by day now; counting my blessings and trying to find joy in what I do.

Going crazy.

2007-03-19T22:22:00.000+08:00

It was a pretty odd day in school.

After returning from the March holidays, everyone seemed to be restless and... sian. In fact, that was my word of the day - sian.

I can't explain it either. Perhaps the week-long 'break' [if you could call it that] has cooled our engines, and it'll take a while to warm up again. Hurhur.

I just felt so helpless at times.

Not because of the kids, but because of circumstances. Because of rules. Because of the crazy workload teachers have to deal with.

Honestly, lesson planning and marking can KILL even the most enthusiastic trainee teacher.

I have to agree with something that Sandra mentioned in her blog, which I also talked about to Ai Fang today.

Teaching is a never-ending process. Even after our stipulated hours [7.10am - 1pm for morning session], we still have to stay on for meetings, to mark books, to change lesson plans, the list goes on. Okay, some of you might say, "But normal working hours for office job is 8 - 5 leh... You can leave any time you want after 1pm, that's good enough already."

Well, even if we are able to leave school early, it doesn't end there. We bring books and worksheets home to mark, we prepare resources to use in class the next day, we think of how to connect with our pupils, we think of how to make lessons more interesting, we PLAN MORE LESSONS.

It's not like any other job whereby you know that once you leave the office, your job is done, your boss is happy. You don't have to think about work anymore. You don't have to bring work home [unless it's a really busy period]. For us teachers, even weekends are burnt. It's a 24/7 thing.

I could see the frustration in some of my peers' eyes as we poured our hearts out to each other. And I feel the same way too.

There are many joys in teaching [like interacting with the kids. Bless their sweet lil' hearts, most of them at least], but it's so easy to kill the passion.

This can't go on. I still have 8 weeks more.

Help me find the strength to press on.

P.S. And there you go, my first rant about work. I honestly don't care who is reading this. Sorry for all the emo posts. It must be PMS + stress + loneliness at work.

P.P.S. Just as I was finishing this entry, my sister came up to me and...

Her: *excitedly* "Cheh, you're Libra right? The taiwanese variety show just did this weekly horoscope thing, and the top most unlucky horoscope for this week is Libra leh!!!"

Me: *rolls eyes* "And...?"

Her: *still very excited* "That means hor, you'll be quite suay this week leh! If you want to go out, it might rain. If you drive, the car might stall. Things won't go your way. Be careful okay!!!"

Me: *pretends to cry*

WHY?!?!?!?!?!?

Emotional

2007-03-18T22:30:00.000+08:00

Breakfast with the Love of My Life early this morning before he left for Tuas Naval Base...

Returning mid-week.

It has been well over two months since he went for an overnight sailing [his ship has had more frequent day sailings recently].

And now, in the midst of all the crazy lesson planning, I find myself missing him badly.

Sigh.

In all randomness...

2007-03-17T23:15:00.000+08:00

- School starts again next week. It's gonna be full throttle from here on, all the way until 11th May. Sigh...

- Reading Justina's blog brought out the giggles in me. My driving skills have definitely improved a little [or I better get ready to be whacked by both of them! Haha], but I'm not that zai yet... It's just that I've learnt how to conceal my panic when faced with difficult situations. =)

- The past two days have been interesting. Firstly, Daddy found a video from the past. One which Justina, Shichun and I filmed for a project in Sec 3. I couldn't help cringing at how I looked back then. Gosh. But it really brought back memories of how the 3 of us fooled around with the video camera at Pandan Reservoir. 7 years have gone by just like that.
Then, there was the sighting of (in Justina's words) 'a past being' while at IMM with Gordie darl on Friday evening. Muahaha. Sorry, it's a private joke that only both of us will understand. Which brings me to the next point...

- There was a time, several years ago, when I wanted to give up on my friendships. My thinking then was "My best friends all seem to leave me one after another anyway. Why bother?". It was such a bleak moment in my life, because of various reasons. But things changed for the better, and my attitude did too. That's why I love all my girlfriends to DEATH now and I'm not afraid to express it. We've been through such a great deal that I really couldn't imagine losing them. Justina, especially. Our friendship has gone through two major upheavals and each time, the pain was overwhelming for both of us. But we survived and look where we are now? =)
She was the first and only person to come to my mind after the two incidents the past two days. And she was the first and only person I SMSed. Why? Because she is the only one who will laugh and share the joke with me, who will recall our memories from the past. The only one who will truly be able to understand what I'm talking about when I mention the funny antics we did at Macdonald's and the weird lean-to-one-side walk. Hurhur. It feels wonderful knowing that I'll always have someone around whom I can reminisce with about all the crazy things I did when I was 13. Thanks babe.

- The Love of My Life sails off tomorrow and will return in the middle of next week. Then it'll be preparation for the 1-month-sailing which takes place in 3 weeks' time. I'll be fine. *brave smile*

- It was only on Friday afternoon [the last day of the 1-week break] that I realised that I could have done something that would have put a smile on the faces of a few special people in my life. Well, there's always next week, if I manage to leave school early! Some might call it a waste of time but I'll be glad to sacrifice a few hours in exchange for the happiness of my loved ones. Details will come when I eventually do it. Teehee.

- Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles opens this week! So does the Mr. Bean movie! My darling has been looking forward to both movies. And our 76th month happens to be coming up in slightly more than a week! Time for a movie date!

- More lesson planning tomorrow!

Have a blessed Sunday, everyone.

Day out with my girls

2007-03-15T13:04:00.000+08:00

Any day spent with two of my most favourite girls in the world is always a good day.

But I think it has been too long since the 3 of us had the chance to spend one whole day together, with the luxury of time... Work and school are the evil forces keeping us apart. But nothing can drive us apart lah. The only thing is that when you put us together again for the whole day, madness reigns. Hurhur.

So yesterday, I met up with my dearestS... Justina and Zhen. =)

We were supposed to meet for K-lunch but for some reason, nA and I ended up staying at Zhen's place for almost an hour. It was past 12 by the time we left for Marina Square... for lunch at Swensen's [that's our standard place to eat ok. haha] and Kbox!

Let the photos do the talking. Hur.

Justina and I were standing on the sofa half the time... and we were in there for 4 hours! Look at what our dear Zhen was doing though:

Sleeping Beauty lor.

Justina couldn't resist the urge after a while. Haaaaiiiiii-YAHHHH!!!

She got even crazier after that...

Teehee. That's my siao friend for you.

And while all that was going on, I was contented to just... sing.

You should have seen how I conducted my *ahem* mini-concert though. Hahahahaha... *turns serious* I think both of them secretly love idolising me. :P

After leaving Kbox at 6, we headed to NYDC at Suntec for light snacks and dessert! Muahaha.

The Ultimate Sins: That Boney Cake and Cookie Monster Mudpie

And that wasn't the end of our day... We drove all the way to West Coast Park after that for some heart-to-heart talk... Romantic hor? Teehee.

Aiyah, I really can't describe how wonderful the day was. It was just so special to me, especially since we hardly get the chance to spend so much time together nowadays. Love you girls. Muacks!

2nd day of the break!!! EGADS!!!

2007-03-13T14:18:00.000+08:00

Yup. It's the 2nd day of the March holidays. ALREADY. Two days of not having to wake up at 5.45 a.m [yes, teachers have as much difficulty waking up so early as students do!], and two days of being able to do what I want to do. I don't hate work but not having to work is even better than the opposite of that - which is having to work. Get it? Okay, in short, this is sheer bliss. =)

So the weekend came and went in a flash. Woke up on Saturday morning with a fright after hearing that my sister had fainted in the toilet. She was standing beside the sink when she suddenly blacked out. When she woke up a long while later, she was lying in the shower cubicle with a massive headache and a huge bump on her head. Imagine the impact?!? She collapsed in a standing position straight down onto the hard floor! For fear of internal bleeding or blood clots in her brain, Mell's boyfriend and I rushed her down to the nearest 24-hours clinic. Everything's fine for now but I've never felt more fearful in my life as I did on that day. Sigh.

So anyway, I was supposed to meet up with Melissa on Saturday too, to search for my bridesmaid gown! It was a daunting task, especially since we had no idea where to shop for such dresses. Hurhur. But she managed to make arrangements with the supplier of her wedding gown to customise a made-to-measure bridesmaid gown! We'll be going down to the tailor end of this month. It's all very exciting, really! =) Note to self: Stop binging and start exercising more! Must look nice in gown.

Melissa mentioned that I can keep the gown after the wedding, so I was telling the Love of My Life about it...

Me: "The gown will be so pretty! And Melissa says I can keep it! But... I don't think I'll get to be a bridesmaid again. Then the dress will go to waste right?"

Him: *with a twinkle in his eye* "No lah, you can wear it again soon for our wedding mah. Save money."

Me: *laughs out loud while smacking him*

I couldn't help laughing, because it's a pretty good suggestion! Haha! But I know it's all in jest and he wouldn't think of giving me anything but the best lah. That's my cheeky monkey for you! :P

The rest of the weekend was spent with my Gordie darl, going to the I.T. fair on Saturday evening and having a leisurely afternoon on Sunday. He's going to sail to Taiwan soon [first week of April!] so we're trying to spend as much time as we can together now.

And yesterday, on Monday, I finally met up with my NIE girlies again. We hardly had the chance to meet up often or go out the past few months because of clashes in our timetable and other commitments... So I'm really glad that I could see them again! The occasion was more than a reunion though. We were celebrating Jasmine's birthday too! =)

Since we had so much fun at Settler's Cafe last year, we decided to have a go at Mind's Cafe this time round! The whole package of dinner[soup + main course + dessert + drink] and 4 hours of game-playing came up to $23 per person. Very very very worth the money.

As usual, the four of us created a ruckus while playing lah. Hurhur. Taboo is the ultimate! And just before we started on our last game, I presented the cake to Jas...

Photo-taking time!

[I look like a giant next to Jas! OMG. It must be the angle... I'm not that tall and big-sized...]

And while Viv was adjusting her camera settings to take a shot of me and Jas, Yu started snapping away with my handphone camera. I had to accomodate her lor... ;)

After a while, I could take it no more.

HAVE.TO.EAT.

Jas heard my cries and cut the cake immediately...

Lastly, happy birthday Jas!, from the 3 monkeys:

Teehee.

Week 2 of Practicum

2007-03-10T01:31:00.000+08:00

Friday once again... It's funny how time seems to be passing by quickly. It's already the end of our 2nd week of practicum! And of course, here comes the break we've all been yearning for... the March holidays! Well, I guess most of us will still have to slog our guts out preparing lesson plans, but like Sandra says, at least there's one week of not having to wake up at 5a.m. everyday - even before the birds are up! Hurhur.

This week saw us starting on monitored teaching. While most people might find it weird to have an experienced teacher watching in while you teach a class, I think we are all pretty used to it this time round because of our experience during Teaching Assistantship last year.

Come to think of it, there might be a reason as to why I feel that this week has gone by exceptionally fast. First of all, there was the fire drill on Tuesday! We teachers had already placed our 'bets' on that day [Just joking hor, I don't mean real bets with money lah. We're morally upright citizens with integrity. Hur. It's not that difficult to guess actually, given the big hints that were dropped ;) ], and true enough, while I was starting into the third period of the day with my P5 class, the alarm went off!

It was really interesting to participate in a fire drill as a teacher for once, and not as a student. Oh, I'm sure everyone remembers how we used to lurve fire drills, because it meant only one thing - no lessons!!! Well, things haven't changed much from our time. And the students were even more excited because our assembly point was at the void deck opposite the school. As class after class walked across the zebra crossing, the BBDC learner drivers had to give way. I bet they were cursing and swearing lah! Imagine how much money they wasted just sitting in their cars while waiting for the whole school to cross the road. Haha! But we thank everyone for their understanding, really. Everything proceeded without a hitch.

The following day, on Wednesday, a Math workshop was conducted by a lecturer from NIE, and we trainee teachers were given the chance to take part in it! It was a long and tiring 3-hours worth of lecture, but there were laughs aplenty and we went away with several ideas for activity-based learning.

Then, there was the Powerhouse singing competition on Thursday for the assembly programme. The contestants weren't pitch-perfect, but they were definitely giving their all. And of course, the fun was in hearing these young kids attempting adult songs! RESPECT. This cute little P3 girl [9 years old!] actually sung Rihanna's Unfaithful. And she didn't do too badly. Kids these days are really talented...

The non-stop fun culminated in Friday's Sports Carnival, which is sort of like a Sports Day that involves EVERYONE! So instead of having the usual track & field events at the stadium, game stations were set up all around school. And after the whole event, we teachers were treated to a buffet lunch! Yum yum. The 8 of us trainee teachers took the chance to relax a little as we ate in the library and yakked away while enjoying the food. It's during times like this that I'm really thankful for having been given such supportive and genuinely nice peers this Practicum. We face each other for an average of 8 hours a day [and I mean it literally, because our seating arrangement is such that we're all seated facing each other!], and I don't think I would be able to get through 10 weeks of stress and hard work if I had to be with unfriendly and cold colleagues! You should hear the type of conversations we get into after school [not always child-friendly, but I don't mean it in a perverse way. Haha!]. Things can get really loud and animated in the room we call our "2nd home".

And yes, if all the activities I've listed above makes my school seem like a really fun one, well, I would say that it is. While they do take up our teaching time [which isn't good for us trainees, considering that we have limited time left!], the practicum experience just wouldn't be the same if not for all these things.

No photos this week, because I was too tired and busy most of the time to snap any after I reached home. But here's an interesting conversation that took place last week while I was at my Kuma's place:

Uncle : "You're teaching in a Catholic school now right? Hor hor... Still don't want to go back to Church and start to pray again ah? It's a sin you know!!!"

Me: "But I'm already praying in school every morning!!! I say my prayers together with the kids!"

Hurhur. He was just trying to make me feel guilty lah. But I still don't think that it's the right time for me to return to church. I don't feel that going to church will make me any more of a God-believer, or that NOT going to church will make me less of a God-believer. I can still maintain my faith to Him in my own ways, in my heart. All in good time, all in good time. =)

But anyway, what I said was true! I do say my "Our Father in Heaven", "Hail Mary" and "Glory Be to the Father" every single morning with the kids, before saying a silent prayer to start off the day.

Somehow, teaching in this Catholic school makes me feel very secure, and it just seems... so right. I don't know if I would feel the same in a non-Catholic school. But of course, regardless of where I eventually end up in July, the ultimate aim is to teach well. I'm still in the process of learning everyday...

Let me have fun over the weekend before starting to chiong for lesson plans again come Monday! ;)

My fellow trainee teachers, may this be a fruitful week for you.
My dear students, please complete all homework assigned to you [especially those in my class!!!] and make full use of the one week break to have fun while still working hard!
To everyone else, have fun squeezing and jostling your way through the crowd at the I.T. fair! Teehee.

Week 1 of Practicum

2007-03-04T12:42:00.000+08:00

The first week of practicum... has been a relatively easy one.

Easy, because we didn't have to conduct any teaching. Easy, in comparison to the following 9 weeks. Easy, because the familiarity of the school has made the orientation process much smoother this time round. I see familiar faces everywhere, and God knows how much better it makes me feel whenever I see any of my students from last year and they start calling my name while waving enthusiastically. I can't help but do the same, although it's not advocated by most teachers [The general consensus is that we should just nod our head and give a teeny weeny smile when students greet us, so we don't appear too friendly. I get the rationale, but can't put it into practice!]. Of course, having the girls back definitely helps too! The 5 of us DipEd-ers are back! Practicum just wouldn't be the same without them, honestly. We support and provide a listening ear to each other. And with the addition of the 3 new PGDEs, who have infected us with their enthusiasm and resourcefulness, I think it's gonna be a good 10 weeks here. ;)

I just want to give my best this practicum, and I can only hope that I'll receive the best too.

The work is piling up so I better leave this space before I start on one of my long-winded blog entries again. Hurhur. The 2nd week of school should be an interesting one though [not to mention short!], with the sports carnival on Friday and several other school activities [which I deign not to mention here, because students are reading].

Pictures!

In line with what I did during the Teaching Assistantship last July, here's Closet Affairs Part Deux:

Week 1 of Practicum

I just want a visual reminder of what I've worn, so I'll try not to repeat it. Haha. Dressing up is very theurapathic for me... I choose my clothes based on my mood, and strangely enough, what I wear will determine how I feel for the rest of the day too. Ironic huh? But wearing the right clothes and colours does brighten up my day, no matter how bimbotic it sounds to you. Some people shop to lift their spirits, some smoke, some read. Me? I just dress up.

After a long week of work for both of us, Gordie darl brought me to Newton Food Centre on Friday night for a yummilicious dinner of Char Kuay Tiao, Prawn Mee and oily Chicken Wings...

So sinful but I like! [And that photo of him looking like a deer caught in the headlights WHILE EATING just cracks me up... :P ]

Saturday saw me catching up on lost sleep and starting work on lesson plans [yes, AGAIN], since my darling was on ship duty. Left home in the evening with my family, and we headed over to Kuma's place for Ashley's birthday celebration. He's turning 18! So fast lah... Everyone seems to be growing up so quickly.

I made myself comfortable in the massage chair, and what followed was 15 minutes of sheer bliss as my shoulders and back were kneaded expertly. It was so shiok that I almost fell asleep...

Time to get back to work!

Multitude of emotions...

2007-02-25T23:56:00.001+08:00

The past few days have been absolutely crazy...

After the 3rd day of CNY on Tuesday [20th Feb], it was a mad rush for me to complete all my assignments before Friday. But I still found time to catch a movie with my family on Wednesday [21st Feb] evening. The 5 + 3 gang once again [Mum, Dad, bro, sis & me + Gordie, Kailun & Celeste]. Hurhur. We watched Just Follow Law, which IMHO, wasn't as good as the previous Jack Neo movies. But it did manage to strike close to home, especially for my parents, me and Gordie - the civil servants. I give it 3.5 popcorns [out of 5 lah]!

And Friday [23rd Feb] finally came... It was a day of mixed emotions for me. 23rd February 2007 - the official last day of the term. Our time at NIE has come to an end. The mad rush to submit all the assignments on time kept me busy, but after everything was done, I felt it. That overwhelming sadness at leaving the place I've become so familiar with over the past 1.5 years. I feel a sense of loss. And over the late lunch/early dinner with June and Melissa at Sakae Sushi, I couldn't help but be thankful that both of them have been with me every step of the way - from Ngee Ann to NIE. I still can't quite make sense of this departure from NIE, but when I'm ready, I'll do a nice post to recount my memories and friendships made there.

We said our goodbyes and I gave June a lift home... I feel your words gurl. Reading those words really choked me up. Thank you for everything.

I rushed over to Gordie's place after that to change up and off we went to Safra Yishun! It was his ship's event - RSS Victory's 16th Anniversary cum CNY dinner.

We ended up being quite early so there was time to explore the place a little...

Very nice ambience! There's a nice resort feel to the whole place...

I caught up with his colleagues and their wives [the last time we met up was in November last year!], and the whole event was pratically an extended family gathering. The food was okay but it was much more interesting to be part of the proceedings, espcially when all the guys started hollering when the lucky draw was conducted - everyone was aiming for the second prize of a brand-new Sony PSP! Haha. Gordie's senior won it eventually. Lucky lah!

The Navy guys... See how happy the Love Of My Life [he's closest to the camera] was. Teehee

The dinner ended at 10-ish, and we had initially planned to go to Partyworld for some karaoke fun. It was too expensive though, so we ended up staying in the main lobby to talk the night away. While standing up. Haha!

We 5 ladies just stood there chatting away for more than an hour, while our boyfriends/husbands sat on the comfortable sofas a short distance away.

Yiwen (The MT teacher), Ivy (The mother of 2), Nelly, Linda and me...

We could have spent the whole night there with our endless banter, but when the guys started dozing off, we knew it was time to go.

Then on Saturday [24th Feb], I spent most of the morning washing my beloved Spark with Gordie darl. Well actually, he was the one doing most of the work. I only helped with the drying part. He was so sweet that I offered to help him wash his bike next week! Teehee.

Since Saturday was the 7th day of CNY [ Ren Ri], there was an impromptu family gathering at our place once again. I picked my grandparents and cousins from church, and stayed home for a while to accompany the little ones before leaving again. But not before partaking in the lo hei, of course...

Yu sheng! Huat ah!!!

Gordie and I headed to Choa Chu Kang after that, to his colleague's place for his wife's advanced birthday celebration that was masked as a CNY dinner because they didn't anyone to spend on presents. Very thoughtful right? But her birthday isn't over yet so we're still going to get one anyway. Muahaha. Happy birthday in advance Linda! =)

We spent a couple of hours in their cosy little nest, when Gordie's Chief's wife [his Chief is his superior at work... that's how upper ranks are addressed there. Not some mafia hor!!!] suggested going for a movie together. So we drove off to Vivocity for a late-night movie. Reached at 10.30, and the next available show was at 12.30! Bought the tickets anyway and the 4 of us spent the time having a good talk at Coffee Bean. Chief and his wife Ivy told us about their courtship days and marriage life, while Gordie and I shared with them how our relationship started 7 years ago. It was just so nice to be sitting there together, chatting about the good old days and having a good laugh over the silliest things. And when the marriage issue came up, the both of them gave us some practical and good advice about ROM-ing first, then slowly saving up for the customary. That's the route Chief and Ivy chose, and according to them, registering their marriage first gave them the motivation to save hard so they could have their customary wedding sooner. Chief even laughingly suggested that he would pay for us to ROM! Teehee.

Well, we definitely gave a lot of thought to their words. Ummm... so don't be surprised if I suddenly announce it okay. ;)

So anyway, we watched Ghostrider! Not really my type of movie, but I kinda enjoyed the special effects. 4 popcorns!

And finally, on Sunday [25th Feb]... I had a little surprise in mind for Gordie! After hearing from Jas about her trip to Qian Hu Fish Farm, I was so intrigued by the Fish Spa [Link: http://203.116.88.76/content/Aboutus/fishspa.pdf]. Was supposed to go with Yu on Friday, but both of us ended up being too busy to make the trip down! We'll go during the March holidays yah Fishy. =)

So anyway, I was sure that my darling would love it too! But he managed to outsmart me by guessing where I was bringing him. Grrrr... It didn't take long for us to drive to Qian Hu from home, and nope, we didn't get lost! Haha.

Fish spa!!!

There were so many people trying it out... Several little kids too!

After sussing out the pool, we decided to give it a go! Paid $10 per person, and that's when the excitement built up. We chose a prime spot and started prepping ourselves for the moment...

But I couldn't bring myself to put my legs into the water! The sight of the little fishes swimming around was just too much for me. I watched as Gordie dipped his legs in tentatively. Okay, no reaction from him. Then, he started laughing away as the fish nibbled at his sole. Hmmm... It seemed quite fun.

I braced myself and decided to cast my fears aside!

With my handphone in one hand [to video the process], I lowered my right leg into the water. No fish yet... Then suddenly, several fish 'attacked' my toes and heel!!! It felt like electric currents shooting up my leg as they nibbled away. My leg shot out of the water immediately! Too ticklish lah!!! I intended to post the video here to show all of you how I made a fool of myself [I was screaming away. Wimp!], but have no time to edit it now. Photos will do for now! =)

After 1o minutes, I started to feel better and could leave both legs in the water...

Look at them having their meal of dead skin from my foot!

As people started leaving because of the rain, there were eventually only 4 people left. So more fish started coming to me!

Argh... So many!!!

At one point, I could feel so many little fish sucking and nibbling at my feet! It was so ticklish and made me quite uncomfortable, but I was determined not to take my feet out so I refused to look into the water. All I could do was grab the LOML's hands while screaming away the whole time. Machiam giving birth. :P

The small fish weren't interested in his feet, but the big ones were! And those were damn scary. You can really feel their suction power. I would lift my legs out immediately whenever I saw one nearby! At one point, FOUR big ones were at his feet. Eeeekss!

I don't know why they like mine so much... It must have been Food Heaven for them.

Our 3o minutes were up too soon. Well, maybe that's because I was either giggling or screaming most of the time. But we had such a good time! The weather was cooling, there weren't many people around... and towards the end, as we held hands and looked into the water while leaning onto each other, I looked up and saw the happiest smile on his face. This is what love and life is about. We'll definitely be going back again! =)

Happy us!

Perhaps the big grin on the LOML's face was also because of my public declaration:

I love my boyfriend!

It's a tee I bought from Bangkok [Justina got one too! Both of us were joking about getting the "I love my girlfriend" tee, so that we can wear it out together and mislead people into thinking that we two girls are erm... a couple. So cheeky right? haha] and I first wore it during the V-day dinner a couple of Saturdays ago. But my hp memory card became corrupted and I never got the chance to upload the photos. So... I decided to wear the tee again today!

It's such a cute and fun tee, and I'm proud to declare that I do love my boyfriend! Na na ni poo poo! I might not get the chance to wear the tee for long though... The boyfriend part might become irrelevant soon. ;)

Okay, that's enough fun for one week! Time for serious work. Practicum starts tomorrow and I think I'll have another sleepless night later. Wish me luck! Blessed week ahead, everyone.

CNY Part III: Day 3

2007-02-21T13:02:00.000+08:00

CNY Day 3: 20th Feb 2007 [Tue]

It was a slow and lazy day for the family... We didn't have any plans except for dinner with Kuma and her family later in the evening, but even that wasn't confirmed.

Headed out with the Love of My Life to Vivocity, intending to catch a movie. Needless to say, we didn't get the chance. The tickets were selling like hotcakes lah! I tried booking online before leaving home but the system was so slow that I gave up eventually. Barely 20 minutes after we stepped into Vivo, Daddy called to confirm dinner plans. So both of us headed home again. Haha!

All the boyfriends and girlfriend were coming along for dinner with us, and initially, my parents wanted everyone to squeeze into the car!!! 6 people behind leh [and my car isn't very big, mind you]! I was about to drive off when my brother waved the white flag. Hurhur. The LOML and I ended up riding the bike while the rest of them took the car. And off we headed to Katong!

Met up with Kuma and her family at Boon Tong Kee...

The gai-fun [chicken rice] was heavenly! With the wonderful spread and lively banter across the table, dinner was a long but sweet affair. And as always, our practice is to head back to Kuma's place after dinner for kopi and teh.

The last time my sis and I were there was in January'06, after our maiden clubbing experience with Areta. It felt so good to be back in the place which my siblings and I used to call "Our Second Home". We used to stay over every weekend, you see. The 5 of us [me, my siblings and my two cousins -Areta & Ashley] were so close that we dubbed ourselves the "Famous 5". Hurhur. Everyone still remembers that now, even the adults! We don't meet up as often now that we've grown up and have our own lives to lead, but nothing can break or replace the tight bond holding the 5 of us together. =)

And it's still easy to see how closely knitted we are. The photos that we took are displayed all around Kuma's house! It was so fun to tell the LOML the memories behind each photo... And when Areta took out the photo albums, the nostalgia really set in. The whole family [including boyfriends/girlfriend] sat down together in the living room, looking through the old photos and laughing over how silly we looked back then. It was... nice. Words fail to describe just how sweet that scene was.

P.S. Sorry for the lousy quality of the photos. I forgot to bring the camera and my handphone camera obviously sucks.

The 3 siblings with their other halves, and the 2 cousins.

We're waiting for the day when there will be 10 people in the photo. ;)

We snapped a photo with Ah-Ma too...

Due to some minor differences and disputes among the adults, we haven't seen Grandma for a long time... She has aged so much and is so different from the past. While she was the chatty and long-winded one last time, she has now become so dependent and subdued. She couldn't even make out who we were.

And of course, the cousins had to take a shot together too!

This was us on one of our numerous holidays, sometime between 1996 to 1997. [Yup, that's the Famous 5 sign we were showing. Teehee]

And us, now. We've all grown up well... =)

The 3 girls [L-R: Me, Areta, Mell], when we were just ickle babies. [Sometime in 1988, I reckon]

And now, 19 years later!

We left slightly past 11, to the dismay of Kuma. It's way too early by her standards! Teehee. But there's always next time! And I ended the day perfectly by meeting my dear girls for supper!!! Justina came to pick me and Zhen up, and we headed to Spize for prata. Yum yum. It was past 2am by the time I reached home, but the smile didn't leave my face. =)

And that concludes my CNY celebration for 2007!

CNY 2007 Part II: Day 1 & 2

2007-02-20T15:13:00.000+08:00

CNY Day 1: 18th Feb 2007 [Sun]

Looking through my blog archives, I've realised that it's very easy to spot the similarities between my family's CNY traditions every year. It's interesting to see how much everyone has changed over the past few years too! As usual, our family tradition is to start off the first day of the Lunar New Year with bai-nian to our parents, followed by the welcoming of everyone from the maternal side of the family to our place. My ah-kong and ah-ma prefer to come over because there's more space here to accomodate everyone; adults can play mahjong and the kids can play & run around all they want!

Before all our relatives started to arrive in the morning, my siblings and I hurriedly bai-nian to our parents...

Eldest starts first!

...followed by my sis...

...and lastly, Gab!

I've always been proud of the fact that my siblings and I still follow this tradition of kneeling down to bai-nian to our parents, because I don't think many people bother to do that now... The 3 of us used to be so paiseh about it [especially when we were in the awkward adolescence age!], but it has become such an integrated part of our CNY rituals that we wouldn't even think of not doing it! When I get married, I think this is one thing I'll miss doing on the first day of CNY - having to kneel in front of my parents and say some 吉利话.

And of course, we must ALWAYS snap a family photo after the bai-nian is done:

The siblings shot... I love how our closeness is depicted in this photo =)

The 3 cheeky monkeys with Mum!

Me and Melly, in the same colours for once! We've never managed to coordinate our wardrobe choices properly the past two years. hurhur

Look at the manicure that we did on our own! I painted her nails and she did mine, and we decorated our nails with oriental nail stickers! Sho pwetty... ;)

By 1pm, almost everyone had arrived and all the activities were in full flow. Then suddenly, we heard the loud banging of drums from somewhere in the block. Some rich family must have hired a lion dance troupe, we thought.

After a while though, the sounds got louder. The lion dance troupe was actually travelling door to door to perform! The whole family got so excited, because we've never experienced this before!

Daddy gave them a token first...

And before we knew it, the huge 'lion' appeared at our doorstep! It started dancing around to the beats of the drums, which were quite loud leh. My two nieces were a little frightened, but in awe nonetheless. Hey, it's not everyday you see a lion dance upclose!

Then, it even entered our house! All my aunties and uncles started stroking the lion's head for good luck. It was such a sight! Haha...

This unexpected surprise really brought a smile to all our faces and heightened the CNY atmosphere! Uber cool.

The rest of the day was the usual - Playing with the kids, watching TV, playing ban-luck... And now that we have a car, it's so much more convenient to go out as and when we want to. I drove the kids out for supper at Mac, which made everyone happy. Teehee.

And of course, I was amazed at how much my little niece has changed. Our previous family gathering was just 1.5 months ago, but she has already grown so much!

I can't tahan her chubby cheeks and huge sparkling eyes... *rubs noses with Charmayne*

CNY Day 2: 19th Feb 2007 [Mon]

Day 2 started a little later, and it was more or less the same people and same activities. But it's never boring with kids around!

For some reason, Charlene and Charmayne started playing with my eyeshadows. I think they love all these colours because their mummy [my cousin] often dolls them up!

My sister wanted to help Charmayne apply some eyeshadow, so she said "Close your eyes". To our amusement, the little one actually scrunched up her face! It was sooooooo cute that we just couldn't help but ask her to do it over and over again.

The other highlight of the day was when the Love of My Life came over to bai-nian to my parents, grandparents and relatives. Honestly, this is something very big for me because he has never done it the past 6 years. He's becoming much receptive and open now, which I really appreciate. Thankfully, he had already met all my relatives during our previous gathering on 1st January, so he didn't have much to fear this time round.

And of course, all my aunties and uncles welcomed him with open arms! They've been anticipating his appearance all these years, and I couldn't be more thankful that this year, I don't have to hear any more "Evelyn, why your boyfriend never come today?". :P

The LOML stayed throughout the day and occupied himself with the job of entertaining the little ones. Haha. By nightfall, my cousins and siblings were feeling bored, so we played a few rounds of Red Indian and Bluff. It's so wonderful to have Gordie around and to see him having fun with my family... =)

We left at midnight to send my Godma home, and the 4 of us [Gordie, me, Melly and Kailun] were feeling naughty so we decided to drive to Bukit Timah for a sinful supper before heading home! Yup, it was our first unofficial double date. Hurhur.

So that's my CNY for you. A very fun one, I must add, because there were so many new experiences! With family and love all around, I couldn't be happier. I hope all of you enjoyed this long break too! =)

CNY 2007 Part 1: The Reunion Dinners [Pigging Out]

2007-02-18T00:08:00.000+08:00

Xin Nian Kuai Le! Gong hei fatt choi!

Okay, so we're officially in the piggy year.

What a wonderful year it'll be, perfect for those who love eating and sleeping and lazing around. Sounds so much like me. Hurhur. But hey, I believe that there's a pig in everyone.

So anyway, this is just Part 1 of my CNY festivities this year - the reunion dinner.

When: 16th Feb 2007 [Fri]
Where: Mond's house
Who: Me, Just, Zhen, Mond, JJ, Yong Jian, Bok, Chin Hock, Ronnie

It was our secondary school family's reunion dinner. Heheh. We just can't pass up the chance to pig out!

The huge spread of food, from cheese-stuffed salmon to prawns!

The guys started eating first while Zhen and I waited patiently for our dear Justina to be ready... Went over to pick her up from school and when we returned to Mond's place, the table was already vacated with the food all ready for us.

It didn't take long before the guys took over the table again though...

Look at Mond - always ready for a photo! :P

And after dinner was finally over [past midnight!!!], the guys did all the dirty jobs of packing and cleaning up.

Putting the table away...

Cleaning the floor...

The guys even washed the dishes! So sweet of them lah. And while they slogged away, we girls relaxed on the sofa - tired after a whole day of school and work.

Poor Zhen was the most tired... Just and I could still ham it up for the camera! Haha

But our eyes were almost closing too... zzzzzz

Dinner with my family was today, of course. Just a simple fare at home with my parents and siblings, nothing eventful. It's been long since the 5 of us sat together at the dinner table though, so the meaning of "reunion" dinner is still fulfilled... =)

Alright, time to sleep now. I reckon tomorrow will be a busy day, but definitely fun!!!

Have a piggy good year ahead! Hope that everyone will HUAT ah!!! Oink oink.

anticipation

2007-02-15T02:05:00.000+08:00

Headed to my practicum school for a meeting in the afternoon [I know, on VALENTINE'S DAY!!!], and I could feel this sense of anticipation and excitement building up in me as I returned to that familiar place where I spent 5 weeks last July.

Received my timetable [I'll be teaching P3 again, and P5. So I might end up having students from the P4 class I taught last year! Quite disappointed that I didn't get any P2s though. The dynamics of a younger class would be so much more different!], met my Coordinating Teachers and got a feel of what I'll be teaching for the next 10 weeks. I must admit that I'm looking forward to this. I'm definitely going to give my best this time round, which means better time management and less procrastination!

I think it's time to start sifting out my work-appropriate clothes. Hurhur.

Why everyday is Valentine's Day for me...

2007-02-14T11:27:00.000+08:00

First and foremost, Happy Valentine's Day to everyone! Whether you're happily attached, married, single and looking, single and not looking, attached yet single or single yet attached [*frowns* relationships can get really complicated nowadays], may you have a great day basking in the love of the person/people who mean the most to you. Not only today but every single day! =)

This is the 7th Valentine's Day the Love of My Life and I are spending together. But somehow, we've never placed great emphasis on this over-hyped occasion. All these years, the only celebration we have is dinner at a simple restaurant - nothing fancy or grand. Yet, I couldn't ask for more. To me, the everyday is more important.

Just a short digression here:
Last Tuesday, when I went to the zoo with my NIE classmates, Zoie was telling us about the 5 Love Languages. She came across this concept while reading a book and during her marriage preparation course, and felt that it was rather useful

Okay, basically, there are 5 love languages - Words of Affirmation, Physical Touch, Acts of Service, Receiving Gifts and Quality Time. The author of the book - Gary Chapman believes that while most people will respond to all 5 love languages, each one of us is more dominant in a certain one. So, in order to express love to our wife/husband/girlfriend/boyfriend in a way that THEY understand, we have to find out what their love language is and give them what they want. That's not something that most people do, of course. Most of the time, we assume that people will like what WE like.

For example, Husband's love language is Receiving Gifts. Since he likes receiving "visual symbols of love" and feels very loved whenever he receives gifts, he feels that buying a present for Wife will show his love to her. So Husband buys a very nice bag for Wife as a birthday present. Wife appreciates it but doesn't really like it, of course. Her love language is actually Words of Affirmation.

After hearing what Zoie said, I was rather intrigued by it. Googled it on the Internet and found a quiz which will determine my love language.

/start
MY RESULTS:

The Five Love Languages

My primary love language is probably
Quality Time
with a secondary love language being
Physical Touch.

Complete set of results

Quality Time:		12
>Physical Touch:		8
>Acts of Service:		5
>Words of Affirmation:		3
>Receiving Gifts:		2

Information

The Five Love Languages

My primary love language is probably
Acts of Service
with a secondary love language being
Quality Time.

Complete set of results

Acts of Service:		9
>Quality Time:		7
>Receiving Gifts:		5
>Words of Affirmation:		5
>Physical Touch:		3

Information

Unhappiness in relationships, according to Dr. Gary Chapman, is often due to the fact that we speak different love languages. Sometimes we don't understand our partner's requirements, or even our own. We all have a "love tank" that needs to be filled in order for us to express love to others, but there are different means by which our tank can be filled, and there are different ways that we can express love to others.

Take the quiz

/end

Can I say that I wasn't surprised at all when I saw my dear boyfriend's results? Somehow, I just KNEW that his love language would be Acts of Service! Like I've mentioned before, he's more of the practical sort of guy who believes in "Action speaks louder than words". If I were to shower him with mushy words and extravagant gifts, he'd be happy but probably wouldn't feel as loved as compared to if I were to wash his bike with him. Seriously! Even doing simple chores like buying dinner for him or helping to tidy up his room will bring a big smile to his face. I told the LOML all these, and you know what he said?

"Yalor. But you never cook dinner for me leh..."

Ooops. Time to start on cooking lessons? Teehee.

Okay, back to the topic.

So as I was saying, I believe in showing my love and appreciation for the LOML [and vice versa] everyday, and not focus so much on this one single occasion.

I know many people use this line so often that it has become a cliche, but I do mean it when I say that everyday is like Valentine's Day for me. We're not bored with each other and the spark is still burning bright, yet we're fine with the simpler pleasures in life. The amount of love, affection and quality time received from him is truly his biggest gift to me.

The LOML was promoted recently, and we have had to make a few trips to Beach Road to get his new ranks sewn onto his uniforms. We NEVER EVER miss the chilli noodles there. Absolutely delish!

We had gone for dinner at IMM's Pepper Lunch before that, and rushed home to catch the 9pm show on Channel 8. The LOML received news that he'd be granted leave the following day, so we decided to take a late-night drive to West Coast Park for a light supper at Mac. Couldn't resist playing at the Adventure Playground after that. I was laughing like a mad woman as he tried to complete the obstacles. It gave me such a warm tingling feeling at the pit of my stomach to see that we were having fun like back in the days when we were younger. =)

Everyday is V-day not just because of my boyfriend, of course! My friends play an important role too. Dear Jas sent an SMS 2 weeks ago, saying that she was excited about something but couldn't tell us yet. She kept us in suspense until yesterday, when she presented all her girlfriends with this mini-bouquet of roses. That girl is so cute lah! Totally sweet. I couldn't resist giving her a bigggg warm hug. Teehee.

The LOML and I headed to Chinatown yesterday evening to buy bak-kwa and shop. Nothing beats walking hand-in-hand with him down the crowded place while soaking in the CNY atmosphere.

Don't think we'll be going anywhere today [don't want to squeeze with couples in town], probably just going to have a simple dinner at the hawker centre near our place. But that's good enough for me. =)

At Giant with mum & dad

2007-02-09T22:50:00.001+08:00

At Giant with mum & dad
Originally uploaded by rain-stop.

I decided to be a good girl by accompanying both of them here for some late-night shopping. :)

My greatest fear...

2007-02-09T18:45:00.000+08:00

... would be death.

This topic has been on my mind for the past 1 week or so, after learning about the death of Taiwanese celebrity 许玮伦 [Xu Wei Lun] two Sundays ago, on 28th Jan. She was seriously injured in a freak car accident on the expressway, and passed away after more than 40 hours in a coma.

I wasn't a big fan but I always took notice of her in drama serials and variety shows because she's so pretty that she just lights up the screen. At 28 and after 6+ years in the entertainment industry, her star was just beginning to shine. It was heartwrenching to go through online blogs and news articles of her and find more about this talented starlet who had her whole life ahead of her. She had just finished filming a drama serial and was in the midst of another. Her life-long dream of becoming a singer was about to be fulfilled and she had even written and recorded a few songs. She had been with her current boyfriend for 6 months and they were planning to get married when she turned 30 [She even sent him an SMS at the start of the year, telling him that they must work hard for the next 1095 days]. She was well-liked by peers and seniors in the industry. Her close clique of friends dubbed her as the perfect woman; the angel.

And this morning, as I watched snippets of the concert held in her memory [许玮伦2007光芒音樂會], I was deeply touched by the emotions displayed by her closest friends as they sang her favourite songs and read their final letters to her. To see celebrities like 林依晨 [Lin Yi Cheng] and 王心凌 [Cyndi Wang Xin Ling] struggling to compose themselves as they conveyed their heartfelt words to her, and 楊丞琳 [Rainie Yang Cheng Lin, who was so close to 许玮伦 that they proclaimed themselves husband & wife, and called each other "Lao Gong" and "Lao Po"] singing 葉子 [which was made even more sad because it was the song she would pester 许玮伦 to sing to her when she was upset]... It really tugged at my heartstrings.

So why have I dedicated half of this entry to someone I didn't even know in real life? 许玮伦's death has made me ponder deeply about, well, death. I can't imagine what it would be like to lose any of my girlfriends, pals or loved ones. I don't think I would be strong enough to handle the grief. More so if it were to happen all of a sudden.

And of course, I fear my own death. I'm not afraid of dying per se. I'm just afraid of leaving this world behind. There are so many more goals for me to accomplish, so many more friendships and relationships to nurture, so many more places I want to go, so many more things I want to see and experience.

But as life goes, we never know what's going to happen. I just want to lead an enriching and fulfilling life filled with love and joy, surrounded by the Love of My Life, my family, girlfriends and pals. That's all that matters. All that makes life worth living for.

Standing up for what I believe in

2007-02-09T00:56:00.000+08:00

I was so mad just a while ago. Self-righteous people just piss me off to no end. Totally ruined my mood.

Yes I do agree that, more often than not, only happy and good stuff about my friendships/relationships will appear on my blog. I speak well of my family, friends and boyfriend, because to me, they ARE indeed the best. And yes, I agree that solid friendships and relationships don't need sucking up & sweet comments. But i can tell you this: most of my friends don't even read my blog. Heck, even my boyfriend rarely reads my blog, for the simple reason that he hates reading.

So I'm not trying to suck up to my friends or boyfriend when I say good things about them. There isn't a need to anyway. All of them already know that I love them to bits. I'm merely stating how I truly feel in this little space of mine. I want to record every single detail and feeling I've experienced, and well, I can't help it if it's mostly good. Don't fault me on that.

I couldn't care less normally, you're entitled to your opinions. But when there are indirect references to me and what I've blogged about, I can't just sit here and read stupidly. I believe in what I'm doing, and I'm going to stand up for it.

In any case, there's nothing wrong with sharing my positive feelings. I know that I may seem pretty bimbotic at times, and I don't deny that. Definitely better than spewing vulgarities and finding fault with every single thing & person. And at least I don't blog about friends & acquaintances behind their backs while still maintaining a friendly facade in front of them [I've experienced it before, and have also seen it in action]. Hypocrite.

My conscience is clear and I can hold my chin up high.

We're going to the zoo, zoo, zoo...

2007-02-08T22:09:00.000+08:00

Was at the zoo on Tuesday with a couple of my NIE groupmates for a Science enrichment trip, and boy were we excited about it!!! Like a bunch of kids on their first school excursion... Teehee. There were several highlights throughout the 3+ hours we spent there, but there was one which was particularly memorable.

We were taking a walk in the Fragile Forest - where insects, butterflies, bats and several docile animals are allowed to roam free - when we came across this seemingly-harmless animal sitting comfortably on the staircase railing. We were so amused by the sight of this creature that we went really close to it to snap photos.

I really dunno what it's called!

We were about to walk down the staircase when the animal started climbing down alongside us. OKAY... Jess and I tiptoed cautiously beside it, while Zoie quickly walked past it. Then, Jess hurried her footsteps and safely crossed it. I didn't know what to do!!! That animal was sitting right smack in my path! Several seconds ticked by as I tried to make up my mind about what to do: To make a run for it, or to stay there frozen like an idiot.

Brave Jess decided to return for me eventually. Hurhur. She pulled my hand towards her and Zoie, and the 3 of us just started running to the exit!

That wasn't the end though.

In the midst of our sprint, Jess turned her head back and shouted "IT'S CHASING AFTER US!!!!!!!!!!!!"

Wtf. I was running the slowest! Which meant that it would attack me first if it managed to catch up! I started screaming my lungs out in fear, which prompted the two girls to scream too. Oh boy, you would have thought that it was a TIGER chasing us.

Well, we made it to safety eventually. The ang-moh tourist standing at the exit was staring at us, I think she was wondering what these 3 crazy girls were doing at the zoo. Hurhur. The situation became so funny suddenly that we burst out in laughter simultaneously! Wo de tian ah, so comical.

Alright, more photos of our excursion will come... soon. Meanwhile, here's a shot of what I wore that day.

Red pinafore with a white tee inside. I was so excited about going to the zoo that I decided to wear this outfit! Okay, and it was also because I couldn't find any other occasion to wear such kiddy clothes!

We actually had to attend one class before going to the zoo, and the moment I stepped out of class, my friends were going "Eh!!! Why you wear so cute?". Then, when I met up with my groupmates, they started calling me "小丸子!!!" [Xiao Wan Zi... she's a cartoon character]. And that's what they called me for the rest of the day... Heheh.

I don't see the resemblance! ;)

from the top of my head

2007-02-05T23:05:00.000+08:00

Just another random post with a couple of random thoughts and photos... But first of all, here's a big THANK YOU to the readers who have supported Yu's blog shop. Whenever she calls me with the news that her latest buyer actually got to know of her blog through my blog, my heart does a little dance. Do continue visiting her blog for latest updates and BUY IF YOU LIKE! Take a read here!

- So... Project Superstar is finally over. Not that I was an ardent fan anyway, but I was hoping that Diya would win! Her supposedly-androgynous personality aside, there's just something about her that's totally cute and likeable. It's that X-factor... Or perhaps I just don't like that guy who eventually won. Hurhur.

- It's always heartening to see the whole country bonding over a big event like the Asean Cup. My Dad and bro were glued to the TV set last night, and screamed their lungs out when the Lions scored their first goal. Along with them, the whole estate was teeming with shouts of joy and exclamations too! NDP can't even beat this. =)

- Been driving for the past 5 days and I'm still lovin' it!

My sis snapped this photo of me in the car last Friday...

- The weekend was a fruiful one as I experienced driving in shopping centre carparks. The slopes at IMM are absolutely horrid! I have a fear of steep slopes because if I have to stop my car while on one, I take a really long time to get the car going again [I drive a manual car so it's much more difficult] and there's always the risk that the engine might stall and the car will roll back! That's my ultimate fear. And of course, there's the issue of having to make a long line of cars wait while I take my time to reverse into a lot. Argh. I know that my parking still sucks! Or as Melissa says, I'm too much of a perfectionist! The car has to be perfectly straight and in place, or I won't give up! Hurhur.

I took a 5-min drive to the LOML's place on Sunday, and it felt quite strange that I was picking him up in my car instead of him fetching me on his bike!!! Teehee. Well, after seeing the car physically, I guess that the LOML has finally realised that there's nothing we can do now except manage our finances well and pay the monthly installments. The practical boyfriend of mine is still not exactly in approval of this decision to buy the car, but he has come to terms with it. I'm just glad that everything is alright now. =)

He didn't want to drive at first, but since a cuckoo person like me can drive, he was soon persuaded to give the Spark a go too!

The look of concentration...

I have to admit that although the LOML has only driven a couple of times since passing his TP way back in Jan 2004, he isn't that bad at it. And his parking skills are definitely better than mine!!! I know lah, I have poor judgement... But I'm improving everyday!

It feels good to be a passenger instead of a chauffeur... Haha!

This is a pointless photo to post, but I just miss seeing his face on my blog:
The Love of My Life eating tang yuan at the Beach Road hawker centre...

Alrighty! This entry is officially a jumbled-up mess. You want a proper blog entry? Scroll to the one below this. That's as proper and good as my blog entries get! Have a blessed week ahead everyone! =)

Zhen's 21st birthday

2007-02-03T13:12:00.000+08:00

Many friends of mine have been surprised when they learn that Zhen is not from the '85 batch and is in fact, one year younger than the rest of us in the Secondary-School-Gang [SSG]. The first question asked will usually be, "So how did you all get to know her and even become such close friends?"

Well, it's a long story... But the gist of it is that most of the people in the SSG live in the Jurong West/Boon Lay/Taman Jurong area, and they would take the same bus to school everyday. So Justina got to know Zhen first, and introduced her to me. Both of us were very close to her even in secondary school, despite being in different levels. And that's how the beautiful friendship between 3 girls evolved... =)

Oooops, I digressed.

So anyway, Zhen's 21st birthday has been something that we've all been looking forward to. She's the baby of the group, the youngest one who might look mature but still needs us to look after. Hurhur. Justina and I have been planning since last year, and we decided between ourselves that since this is our last 21st birthday celebration and because we dote on Zhen so much, we'll dump all our financial resources in and make it a memorable one for her!!! And boy, did we. Read on!!!

PART 1

When: 27th January 2007 [Sat]
Where: Aloha Loyang, Garden Terrace G
Who: Zhen's family and friends from Shuqun, NYP & work

I made my way from the West all the way to the East that afternoon to check into the chalet. The Love of My Life was supposed to accompany me but he had to report back to the ship early in the morning the following day, so I went alone... Justina was busy driving around the whole island, collecting and buying the necessary stuff, while Zhen was on morning shift that day and would only reach in the late evening. And so, I was all by myself in the chalet for a couple of hours. It's just as well that I chose that unit [the one that my NIE girlies and I always book!], because the familiarity gave me a sense of comfort.

I tried to spiff up the chalet with some decorations, then settled down to munch on my late lunch of McNuggets while watching TV.

I got bored after a while.

Thankfully, Just soon arrived with her boyfriend Zhixian. We got busy with the decorations and balloons, and before long, guests started arriving!

Yup, that's what we were. =)

We put up a sign-in banner,

two balloons,

a larger-than-life 'bouquet' of balloons [totally sweet and cute!],

as well as strings of stars and balloons in random places. Just and I wanted the place to have a birthday atmosphere, and I think we didn't do too badly lah. Haha...

The secondary school pals leaving their well-wishes on the banner. Ronnie is darn serious about it.

I didn't make that up!!! He was REALLY drafting out what he wanted to write on the banner! No mistakes allowed. :P

And while we were milling around, the camera came into good use.

Me and Mond... He finally located a long-lost Primary 1-3 classmate of ours! It's nice to know that she's doing well now =)

Just and moi

The guys of the SSG. Poor Ronnie was tekan-ed by them!

They can never take a proper photo. Haha! That's Bok and Zhen behind the pillow.

And finally, a proper group shot. =)

After several delays and interruptions [Singapore-Malaysia match on Channel 5 leh!!!], we finally got down to the cake-cutting at 10pm.

The setting

That's the cake Just and I ordered for our dear girl... So special isn't it? Sexy Missy leh!

Needless to say, Zhen screamed the moment she saw it. But we know that she loves it to bits!!!

Although she was tired, our birthday girl managed to look pretty and radiant that night... Teehee.

Blowing the candles after making her wish(es)!

As birthday celebrations go, it was photo-taking time!!!

Family goes first, of course!

It was a long wait before the SSG got the chance to take a photo with our dear birthday girl. But our wait was worth it, as you will see...

When it was time for the group shots, we decided to go casual and candid. But in just ONE photo alone, there are so many things going on!!! LOL. I always burst into laughter when I see these photos...

The camera flashes were going off like mad!!! I think Zhen's friends were amused at how crazy we were. Like animals at the zoo... Haha! And things just got crazier as we took more photos. After, like, 1 million shots, this is the outcome:

Notice one thing? Despite all the madness, the birthday girl still manages to smile picture-perfectly in all the shots. *kowtows to Zhen*

And this is a candid shot that Zhixian took of us after we finally yelled "CUT!!!". I was telling Justina "I think only both of us were acting cute lor!!!", not knowing that there was actually so much going on around us before that.

The birthday girl with her caricature drawing and her one-of-a-kind cake! Perfect! =)

The rest of the night was spent chit-chatting in our own little groups in the room... With the guys, with the gals, with Justina & Zhixian... And finally, after all the other guests had left, Zhen joined us.

Her first bite of the cake! She commented that this photo really depicts how relaxed she was after the party was officially over.

The guys in the SSG, Just, Zhixian, Zhen and me were staying over, so we took turns showering before starting on the planned activities. Somehow though, only the guys were happily playing with their poker cards. The 3 girls were happy to lie in the air-con room and just relax... But before long, hunger overtook our fatigue!

Justina drove me and Zhen out to Downtown East for supper!

Mac again lor... So sinful but it never fails to satisfy! ;)

It was 4 in the morning by the time we finished our late-night supper... After some chit-chatting, Zhen drifted off to sleep. The poor girl must have been totally shagged after working the morning shift that day and entertaining everyone the whole night! AND, she had to work the next day too! Just and I continued with our chatter until the guys outside finally called it a night. I wasn't sleepy yet!!! Ended up in the living room, where Bok and Junjie were drinking and blubbering like two lunatics. Hyak hyak hyak.

It was 7 a.m when I finally fell into a restless slumber on the armchair. And somehow, I ended up sleeping on the floor with the armchair cushions as my 'bed'. As everyone started to wake up at 9, they were amazed to see me sleeping in that position. It's ok, I was more than willing to sacrifice my comfort for them to have a good rest!!! *halo appears*

Ahem.

We checked out of the chalet at 10, and guess where we headed?

McDonald's for breakfast, of course! Teehee. So I had Mac for lunch, supper and breakfast... High-cholesterol alert!

Some more photos before heading home!

Zhen with the guys...

and with me and Just! [I'm short... Boohoo]

So yes, the first part of Zhen's 21st birthday celebration was a success! I think she has many people to thank, but on my part, I have to say my thanks too: Justina, for being my partner-in-planning. Her boyfriend Zhixian, for being such a great help. The guys of the SSG [Mond, Ronnie, Ling Yang, Yong Jian, Junjie, Bok, Chin Hock, Guangwei], for their company and for always being so fun!!! The girls of the SSG, for making the night extra-special.

That wasn't the end, of course! Just and I still had something special planned for our dear girl...

PART 2

When: 1st February 2007 [Thurs]
Where: Sentosa & Mount Faber
Who: Zhen, Eve, Just

We had actually planned to bring Zhen out for this Surprise Dinner on the 29th or on her actual birthday, but her work schedule forbade us to do so. So since she was on leave on 1st Feb, we decided on that date!

The funniest thing is that, we actually went out on the exact same date one year ago, to celebrate Zhen's 20th birthday!!!

That's the 3 of us on 1st February 2006, in Dbl O. Do we look any different now that we've hit adulthood?!? :P

Justina was commenting that perhaps it'll become a routine for us to celebrate Zhen's birthday on 1st Feb every year instead of 31st Jan. Let's hope not!!! Heheh.

Anyway, I got the car that day so despite being a little insecure about my driving capabilities, I drove out anyway. It would be more convenient, considering where we would be going...

We drove all the way to Sentosa, with Zhen not having a single clue where our final destination was. Muahaha.

My lovely babes - Zhen and Just

I prefer to take photos without using the camera flash, coz the lighting looks more natural. But the rest of the shots that we took without flash were too blur, so I'll use the ones taken with flash instead!

Me with Zhen. We actually wore the same belts [only in different colours] out!

The schemers - Just and me!

Our plan was to take the cable car from Sentosa to Mount Faber, which our Dearest had no idea of!

Snapping a shot at Imbiah Lookout...

We got bored while waiting for Just to order her Chocolate Milkshake. Teehee

While waiting for the island bus, we suddenly saw a peacock coming towards us!!! Our natural reaction? To scream and run away lah. You should have seen the way I lifted my legs over the metal railing just to get away from the bloody bird. Not very dignified, I know. But what if it came near me?!?!?!

Then, Justina started on this anecdote about her friend not knowing what the female version of a peacock is [it's pea-hen, by the way], when suddenly...

Zhen: *screams wildly and starts flailing her arms about*
Eve: *starts screaming too, not knowing why*
Just: *joins in the screaming fest, just for the sake of it*
Eve: WHAT?!?!? What's wrong?
Zhen: PEA-HEN!!! THERE!!!
Eve: *continues screaming* Justina, your mouth is so suay!!!
Just: *runs far far away, still slurping up her milkshake*

Hurhur. It was a totally bimbotic moment.

We made her take this shot for remembrance sake. :D

The 3 of us were soooo excited about taking the cable car... It was even worse than when we were on the plane to Bangkok!!! OMG.

Ta-daa!

Our first shot in Cable Car no.36!

It was so windy in there that the whole cable car was swaying... So scary but we lapped up every single moment!

Wind-swept hair. Hurhur

And finally, we reached Mount Faber! Zhen had no idea where we were going, even when we were on the cable car. It was only when we got off that she went "I know I know!!! We're at Mount Faber!" You see why it's so easy to surprise her? :P

Just and I had actually planned on Sky Dining, but as you know, February is the month to make carrot-heads out of couples everywhere. So the only menu available is the Valentine's one, which is wayyyy too expensive! We settled on Altivo instead, since Zhen had always mentioned that she wanted to go up to Mount Faber and enjoy the views. =)

The gorgeous birthday girl

Mastermind no.1 - The pretty lady in green

Mastermind no.2 - me!!!

We sipped our fruit juices and chatted while waiting for the food to arrive... And when it finally did, I started eating right away! Was super-duper hungry.

This is what Just and I each had...

And something special for Zhen!

It was dessert-time after that, and we sneakily asked the staff to add in a candle for us. [By the way, we give two thumbs up to the service at Altivo!!! They were really helpful throughout the night!]

Zhen's Jewel Peak, and the little candle on top of it!

The preparations for the chalet and surprise dinner weren't our biggest gift to Zhen. Just and I took the chance to present it to our dear Zhen:

ipod nano in silver!

Can't help it lah, we really dote on her. =) Besides, we had good reason to give that to her. Her current mp3 player has been in use for years and is on the verge of going to electrical-goods-Heaven!

We love the ambience at Altivo!

It was still early after we were done with desserts, so we spent the rest of the night just talking about everything we could think of... Even death. These 2 girlfriends are so important to me that I could never imagine what I would do without either of them.

We had to catch the last cable car back to Sentosa at 10.45 p.m, but there was still time for more photos just outside Altivo!

One kiss from Just!

And another from Eve!

I really love this shot of us!

We couldn't get out of that seat after snapping that photo because our butts were squeezed into that small space. Haha!!! It was such a comical moment.

The 3 sisters in their lovely dresses =)

We had a summing-up session in the cable car back to Sentosa, and it was so touching to hear Zhen give her sincerest thanks to us for everything we had done. Just and I were just glad to see that she was happy and that she had really enjoyed herself. =)

One last shot in the car before I drove off!

Happy 21st once again, my dearest! Remember our pact about saving more money okie!!! Heheh.

*hugs Zhen and Just tightly* My life wouldn't be the same without both of you! *plants wet slobbery kisses on both of them*

A day without public transport

2007-02-02T21:22:00.000+08:00

Feeling totally knackered. After driving around the whole day, I've come to this conclusion: Driving really saps the driver's energy. My left arm is aching [I'm proud to be a manual car driver! My left arm will definitely develop muscles in a month's time. Fit ah!!! Muahaha], my leg muscles are pulled to the maximum and my eyes are bloodshot from having to keep alert at all times. But I'm having fun!!!

So anyway, I drove out to meet my babes for Part 2 of Zhen's birthday celebration last night. It was my first time driving alone, and considering that it was also the first day I got the car, I was feeling rather tense. Picked Just and Zhen up at their blocks, and off we went to Sentosa!!! You'll know what we got up to in the next blog entry... Heheh.

And today, I drove to NIE for the very first time. Had difficulty finding a lot in the free-entry carparks, but everything went well eventually. Drove Melissa out to Jurong Point during our break, and we had a good lunch at Pizza Hut. It definitely beats staying in the school canteen for two whole hours!!! After class ended, I gave Yu a lift back home since her place is near where I was supposed to fetch my Dad. And from there, it was a long way back to the West where I picked my mom up from work. I reached home at 7pm. VERY TIRED LOR!!! But I still kindly offered to drive my sis to West Mall after that, and finally, to send my bro's girlfriend home just a while ago... Phew.

Hi, I'm the official family chauffeur. =)

Well, I'm not really complaining lah. It's good experience for me, to get used to the car and to familiarise myself with road conditions. My parking still sucks [it takes me at least 2 tries to reverse into a lot properly, and I haven't tried parallel parking yet!], and I'm still learning the technique to driving on slopes, but you know what? I think I'm doing alright for a new driver! Heheh. And since I'm driving on my own most of the time [and thus have no one to guide me along] I've adopted this motto: Do or Die. ;)

Wave if you see me on the roads!

The start of a new month

2007-02-01T16:05:00.000+08:00

What a way to start off the second month of 2007.

Received a SMS from my Dad while on my way to school this morning, informing me that the car is finally ready for collection.

I don't know why, but I didn't feel as excited or happy as I should be when I heard the news. Several unhappy issues have been raised ever since the purchase of this new car, mainly between the Love of My Life and I... He's worried for me, worried that this car will drag my finances AND my life down because it is under my name. He knows that although I'm paying only half of the monthly installment [which is already a good fraction of my measly salary], my parents might not be able to handle the rest of the payment PLUS the other expenses associated with owning a car.

There's definitely cause for concern there, and I've had countless sleepless nights because of these worries, but you know what? There's nothing we can do now. Can't cancel it, can't say we don't want it. I admit that I was swayed too easily by my Dad's persuasion when he asked to buy a car under my name. I was too taken in by temptation. And now, I'll have to pay for the consequences. Don't get me wrong, I AM happy to a certain extent to get this car. It's so much more convenient, plus the LOML and I won't have to worry about rainy days anymore [I'll still ride his bike occasionally though!]. Hopefully, my family relationship will improve with the addition of this car. More family outings = More chances to bond.

Ultimately, I trust that my parents won't want to see their eldest daughter in financial ruins because of a car. I know that they'll do all they can to make the monthly payments. That's the only hope I'm hanging on to now: TRUST.

Sigh. Enough of the heavy matters... Back to the point.

Ta-daaa! Here is my new baby:

Chevrolet Spark in Ocean Blue... I chose the colour! Isn't it pretty?

I covered up the car license plate number, but it shouldn't be too difficult to identify my car on the roads anyway... Don't often see Sparks around, not to mention in this colour.

I admit that I'm still a kayu driver [ehhhh... I haven't driven at all since passing on 29th December leh!!!], but hey, it takes time to get used to it. Just pray that I'll be safe at all times.

*pouty face* Please be kind to me.

2 days in a row!

2007-01-31T22:25:00.000+08:00

30th & 31st January - the birthdays of two girls who hold important places in my life and heart!

The first is, of course, my darling sister.

The birthday girl, on 30th Jan!

Rushed off after class on Tuesday to meet up with the family at West Mall, where we had lunch. A simple one, as usual. But it's the thought that counts. =)

The siblings' shot. I think all 3 of us really look alike in this photo, which is very rare!!!

The baby of the family went off to meet his girlfriend after lunch, while the rest of us took a walk around West Mall... well, only my sis and me were left eventually. Hurhur. Since it's been a long time since the both of us have had a proper Sisters' Day Out, we lingered at Coffee Bean for drinks, dessert and some quality time together.

Yum yum!

The prison inmate and the office lady. :P

[I wore the black heart necklace made by Yu, but it can't be seen in all the photos! Such a pity... I really LURVE it!]

And after 2 hours, the most important person of the evening arrived - birthday girl's boyfriend lor. Teehee.

Sweetest of all =)

I entrusted her in his good hands, and left for home... alone. The Love of My Life has been away for the past 2 nights, and will only be back tomorrow...

So anyway, here's a HAPPY BELATED 19th BIRTHDAY to my dear Mell!!!

So, who's the 2nd person I mentioned at the beginning of this post?

My babe, Zhen!

HAPPY 21st BIRTHDAY, dearest. :D

I just know that we'll have a blast tomorrow. Justina and I are going to bring our dear girl to a surprise location for dinner! *giggles* A proper birthday post for her by this weekend!

In brief

2007-01-28T12:48:00.000+08:00

Just got home a while ago. The weekend has been absolutely crazyyyy... and FUN!!! Zhen's birthday chalet was a sucess [*hugs Justina* Our efforts paid off!] and it was absolutely wonderful to spend time with the secondary school pals again. It has been two months since the last 21st birthday celebration of 2006!

Photos will be up soon... probably after Part 2 of her birthday celebration! ;)

I only had 2 hours of sleep on the floor this morning [it's a long story heheh], so I'm going to snooze now. Zzzzzzz

the year of the 22nds.

2007-01-25T00:08:00.000+08:00

First and foremost, HAPPY BIRTHDAY JO!!!!!!! *hugs*

It's quite scary how fast time flies... It seems like we celebrated Jo's 21st not too long ago, it seems like only yesterday that we were all looking forward to all the 21st birthday parties and celebrations. The whole year seems to have flown by just like that. And here we are now, celebrating the first 22nd birthday of the year. EGADS!!!

When all is said and done though, it should be quite nice to go back to our usual routine of having simple and laidback dinners to celebrate each of our birthdays, instead of the big affairs that we saw a lot of in 2006. We're maturing, no doubt about that. Getting wittier and smarter too. Muahaha!

But the best thing about growing up [or growing OLD, if you prefer to use that word] is having such wonderful friends to share your life with. The standard catchphrase among us girls now is, "WE'RE GETTING OLD!!!"

So anyway, the secondary school girlfriends arranged to meet up on Monday [22nd Jan] to celebrate Jo's birthday. Justina and I met up much earlier though, to get up to our usual nonsense. Hyak hyak. Ahem, we had serious business to settle okay.

Both of us ended up being the earliest to arrive in Hog's Breath Cafe. For once!!! :D

The hot chocolate that we ordered while waiting for the other girls...

Guess who we bought that balloon for?!?!?

The seats in Hog's Breath are quite unique... Not for heavy-bottomed ones, definitely. Hurhur.

nA and I continued with our ~~nonsense~~ business [okay okay, if you really HAVE to know, we were preparing Jo's present and discussing our plans for Zhen's birthday celebration this Sat!] for quite a while, until my Chan-sis and Li-li [erm... Kexin & Taoli. Heheh] arrived.

Our stomachs were rumbling by then, so we ordered appetisers first.

Yummy nachos and garlic bread!!!

Our dear birthday girl arrived just when we were finishing our appetisers, perfect timing! ;) It was time to order our main courses...

Li-li had the salad, I had the chicken burger, and the other 3 girls had the humongous double burger!!!

The servings at Hog's Breath are H-U-G-E. My Chan-sis, nA and Jo had a face-off with their double burgers. It was a draw eventually. But guess what happened next? 2 of them [guess who?!?] started playing with their food! My girlfriends are gross right? But I still lubb them deep deep. Hurhur.

Just when we were all about to puke our food out, Justina and I carried out our Mission of The Night.

Despite some hiccups and a suspiciously long time in the washroom, our mission was completed successfully!

Yup, that was part of our serious business. All for Jo, of course!

Wish I may, wish I might, have the wish I wish tonight... =)

For some reason, Justina appeared in almost all the shots which featured Jo cutting the cake. Extra lah. :P

So adorable, but Jo doesn't care. Teehee

Savouring the yummy cake from Sweet Secrets!

We hopped over next-door after finishing half of the cake, to Essential Brew!

I loved my Rosebud Tea. Absolutely delightful, and so pretty too!

The sweet birthday girl

And by 11pm, we were well on our way home... With everyone having to wake up early for school and work the next day, we decided not to stay out late. There will DEFINITELY be a next time anyway!

Love these girls =)

Just an afterthought here. I was on my way to class this morning when I started thinking about... stuff. And I realised that next year will be our TENTH year of friendship!!! It's really amazing how far we've come.

Bangkok 2007

2007-01-20T11:26:00.000+08:00

It started with this, in late-December 2006.

Going on a holiday with my dearest girlfriends in the whole wide world - it was like a dream come true! =)

And despite being ill for 3 whole days before we departed for Bangkok, I was determined not to let anything ruin our trip!

So, on Day 1 [Friday, 12th January 2007], the 3 of us set off happily for Changi Airport...

That's our flight!!!

Justina and Zhen on the skytrain

We were such happy girls after collecting our tickets! =)

Had plenty of time before our flight departed, so we window-shopped at the duty-free area and settled for some snacks.

The glutton refused to take a proper photo... Teehee

I was feeling so ill, and had to settle for a cup of soya bean. Sigh.

While waiting at the lounge before boarding our plane... There it is!!!

We managed to find our seats without much difficulty, and were slightly disappointed to learn that we were not given window seats. Oh well, nothing could dampen our mood anyway. Hurhur. We wanted to snap a photo when the Thai Airways air hostess noticed it, and she immediately offered to snap one for us! Now that's what I call GOOD SERVICE.

All smiles!

The plane took off, to much squeals of delight from me. Easily excitable lah. Haha!

I was still looking pretty cheery at this time...

The girls seriously filling in the disembarkation forms...

Food was served not long after the plane took off... This is Justina's rice and fish!

I only managed a couple of tiny bites of my duck noodles... Was feeling even worse by then, but one thing that made me feel slightly better was the fact that the airline provided blankets. I needed the warmth! But nothing could stop me from feeling nauseous after a while... and before I knew it, I was lunging forward and puking into the barf bag! Okay, I didn't really puke... But it was pretty nasty anyway.

Thankfully, we were almost reaching Bangkok by then! The new airport [Suvarnabhumi airport] is exactly what everyone has been saying about it - inaccessible and not as good compared to the old Don Muang airport. We had to take a shuttle bus to the immigrations department!

Managed to take a shot of our plane from the bus...

After a fume-filled bus journey, we finally reached the main section of the airport...

And this is the shuttle bus arranged to ferry us from the airport to our hotel!

As much as I guessed, there are still many Singaporeans who went ahead with their travel plans despite what happened in Bangkok over New Year's Eve. *shrugs* We're not apathetic, it's all about being cautious and wary.

It was a long bus ride to our hotel... but we entertained ourselves by snapping photos, singing along to the songs on the radio and... napping. hurhur.

Before we knew it, we had reached Baiyoke Sky Hotel. It's the tallest building in Bangkok, and we were constantly fascinated by the wonderful views offered throughout our stay there.

The view from our room on the 40th floor.

I couldn't help snapping away the moment we stepped into the room... Blogger's Syndrome lah. :P

And while Justina and I were busy taking photos, our dear Zhen was happily rolling around in bed. Haha!

We took a while to settle down, and after all the necessary unpacking was done, it was time for dinner!!! I was the assigned tour guide for this trip, since I've been to Bangkok a couple of times. So according to my planned itinerary, we were supposed to head to Pantip Plaza for A&W, and we did it! *smirks*

Root beer and waffle ice-cream for a sick girl ---> not a good idea. But I couldn't care more!!!

Our after-dinner activity was an exciting one... I had pre-ordered tickets to Calypso Cabaret a couple of weeks back, and we were all looking forward to it.

Now, what is Calypso Cabaret?

It's not just any other show, mind you. The performers are actually lady-boys, or what they call katoeys in Bangkok. Essentially, they are transvestites. But honestly, I think all the 3 words above degrade their beauty and class. You have to see them in action to know what I mean. Some of them could put us real ladies to shame!!!

The entrance; the cabaret is located at Asia Hotel.

The pretty stage. Hurhur

I couldn't help gasping in amazement at the opening act... Zhen and I were practically digging our fingers into each other's arms. The 'ladies' were beautiful!

Just one of them... You can't really see her face, but look at her figure!!!

Pink feathers, sequins and all that glitter makes for a stunning introduction to the show!

All 3 of us couldn't help but agree that the 'lady' in white is the prettiest of all!!!

'She' was quite chio too...

Then came the short intervals in between, where the other 'ladies' were changing up and preparing for the next performance. To fill up the time, this comical dude came onstage to entertain us. He's not a transvestite like the rest of them, but stole the show anyway!!! The whole audience was roaring with laughter whenever he appeared.

Brings a whole new meaning to the word Geisha... We called him GAY-sha instead. Haha!

Want to see how he looks like? Go see Justina's blog. ;)

The chio one appeared again, as a Korean dancer this time round!

And after an hour, it was time for the finale...

More feathers, more sequins, MORE GLITTER!!!

After the show, the 'ladies' lined themselves up at the exit for photos... But Zhen, Justina and I were too intimidated to take any photos with them! Such a pity right? We were afraid that they would eat us up. Wuss. :P

I was running a fever by then, and my nose was running like a tap, so we decided to head back to Baiyoke Sky for an early night... Well, I did. The girls decided to enjoy themselves and ordered room service while I snored away.

By Day 2 [Saturday, 13th Jan], I was feeling a little better... Woke up bright and early to change up and prepare, and dragged the girls out of bed. Teehee. We went for buffet breakfast all the way at the top - 78th storey!

By 10am Bangkok time, we were on our way to Chatuchak Weekend Market!

In the mood for shopping...

As I had warned them way beforehand, it was a hot and sticky day at Chatuchak. By 2+ in the afternoon, both of them were dehydrated and tired... And I was ready to collapse anytime. I couldn't even bring myself to shop! All I could think of the moment I entered a shop was "WHERE'S THE CHAIR?!?!?!??" And if there weren't any chairs available, I would just sit on any empty space and wait for both of them to buy their stuff. Weak, I know.

After a short rest back in the hotel room, we took a short walk to Platinum Mall for dinner! I discovered this wholesale shopping mall on my last trip to Bangkok with the Love of My Life in September 2006, and I lurve the place!

Spicy meatball soup noodles for me,

and chicken rice for them!

On our way back to Baiyoke Sky, we just had to stop for photos.

The night traffic in Bangkok!

And here, you see the night view of Bangkok from our hotel room... This is what we saw every night before going to bed!

On Day 3 [Sunday, 14th January], my babes and I gave ourselves a little more allowance in waking up late... Ahhhh, this was also the day that I felt much much much better. Thanks to the cough syrup and lozenges that both of them bought for me the night before, of course! =)

See, can take so many photos already:

This was in the hotel room, with busy Bangkok in the background...

This was also the day that the 3 of us wore the same t-shirts!!!

Born to Shop - totally broke

Teehee. I had given that tee to each of them as part of their X'mas presents, in preparation for this trip! This 'uniform' caused a lot of talking points for other tourists... *giggles*

Zhen and I. This photo is so Clean&Clear right? Wholesome and sweet! :P

All 3 of us now! We look so cute with the identical tees. Hurhur

After breakfast, we started on our shopping centre tour for the day! Heheh. First stop: MBK.

Since I was feeling a whole lot better, I managed to get more shopping done... Teehee.

Look at the huge Chupa-chup lollipop that Justina found! Compare it to my face [which is rather big IMO] and it still looks huge!!!

After spending a few hours in MBK, we decided to move on to the other shopping centres. Siam Centre, Siam Discovery Centre, Siam Paragon... Didn't spend much time at these places though, and we were back in our hotel room by late afternoon.

That's when the craziness started...

For some weird reason, Zhen and I started behaving like animals [don't ask], and before we knew it, more strange behaviour started to manifest! We were dancing on the bed WHILE LYING DOWN [thanks to the MP3s in my handphone teehee], attempting to somersault on the floor, laughing and screaming like crazy, and... well, just being crazy lah. I don't know how Justina survived it without being infected with the 'disease', but she did. *clap clap clap*

Only evidence of the madness: This photo that Zhen snapped of me using my handphone. Meow.

We were totally exhausted by the time sanity returned, and decided that we better leave the room while we can. Hahahahaha. It was time for the next part of our itinerary - MORE SHOPPING!

I had planned for us to go to my all-time favourite place in Bangkok - Suan Lum Night Bazaar! We were told that the place only opens at 7pm, and since there was an hour to go before that time, we decided to go for a mani/pedi at a shop nearby.

It was my first time doing a manicure in Bangkok [my babes did pedicures], and it was quite interesting to see the tools they use over there. Not as advanced as Singapore, definitely. But their skills, patience and smiles more than made up for it. =)

We had pretty nails, all for the price of 200Baht [approximately SGD$8] per person!

The pampering session ended just in time for us to go over to Suan Lum. And we decided to be a little bit more gung-ho by taking a tuktuk.

That's our driver - a pretty young chap.

I managed to snap this lovely photo of us when the traffic light turned red! It would be impossible to take any photos otherwise.

The craziest thing happened a short while after I snapped the photo above!

This diagram is self-explanatory, I believe. [We're the ones in pink!]

Our tuktuk driver suddenly swerved in between Taxi A and Taxi B!!! It was just a narrow space, mind you. And the braking and drifting sounds were loud and clear! Wah, machiam Initial D leh.

I swear that I saw my life flashing past me in that instant.

Hahahahahaha.

He must have noticed that we were giggling away like little girls before that, and wanted to provide more thrills and excitement! All 3 of us were practically screaming as he pulled that stunt, and the grin never left his face. But I maintain that he knows what he's doing. Like I told the girls, these people wouldn't want accidents to occur too, because this is their livelihood.

So much fun for only 100Baht [approximately SGD$4]! And we couldn't stop talking about it after that. :P

Before switching on our Shopping Mode, we had to fill our stomachs first. This time, at the open-air food stalls beside the ferris wheel [it's still there!!!].

Contented,

happy,

and kiasu!!!

Hurhur. That Justina ah, took so much tissue each time we went out! But it came to good use so no complaints. ;)

We had a wonderful time shopping at Suan Lum, and stayed out very late that night! It was our last night in Bangkok though, so we were determined to shop ourselves silly!

Day 3 [Monday, 15th January], was our last day in Bangkok. Quite sad lah, because I was only beginning to really enjoy myself. But all good things have to come to an end.

You know I'm almost fully-recovered, when I can take such shots of myself. Hurhur

Ahhhh... The beautiful view we got when we ate breakfast those 3 mornings.

It's actually the same direction as our hotel room, only on a much higher level!

Back in our hotel room, we started snapping photos while waiting for the clock to strike 12pm [check-out time].

Posing with our loot - I bought the least!!!

And the leg comes up!

Look at my expression - I think I'm crazy!

Normal, normal, crazy!!!

We tried the jumping shot, but failed. Too tired to try after that... Old liao. Hyak hyak

Since there was still 4 hours before the bus would arrive to pick us up, we took a walk to Platinum Mall once again, for lunch and to spend our remaining money!

By 4.30pm, we were on our way to the airport once again... More waiting, eating and photo-taking ensued.

Teehee

Actual reason for the poses in this photo shall not be revealed :P

And it was time to bid farewell to Bangkok. *sob*

One last shot before boarding the plane!

I don't know if the 3 of us will go on a trip together again, and I don't know what will happen in the years to come... But this holiday certainly proved one thing to me - that our friendship is able to overcome anything! Their care, patience and companionship was unfailing throughout, and our shared experience during these 4 days is something that only the 3 of us will have. All the private jokes [toilet?], shopping sprees, bathing and peeing with door unclosed... I'm sure we'll be talking about this wonderful trip for years to come!!!

Thank you girls. I love both of you to bits!!! =)

tralalalala

2007-01-20T10:08:00.000+08:00

I'm delighted and honoured to announce this morning that... I'm going to be a bridesmaid!!!

*giggles*

Bridesmaid to who?

Well, to one of my dearest friends of course... Melissa!

I couldn't get myself to sleep after her very sweet SMS last night... I kept thinking about how exciting and fun it would be on the actual day. Hey who knows, this might be my one and only chance to be a bridesmaid! So I'm going to be the best one ever. Hurhur. Now I better take extra care of myself during the practicum, don't put on or lose too much weight and ensure that no zits appear on my face, so I can be a pretty bridesmaid at the end of May!

Thank you Mel!!! It's really a big big BIG honour for me. :D

Lovely weekend everyone! Bangkok post coming right up!!!

Driving

2007-01-18T21:53:00.000+08:00

Alright, here's the heads up on what has been happening ever since I got my driver's license [only 3 weeks since that fateful day...but it seems like a whole lifetime ago!]. Due to various personal reasons, my parents went from getting a car to getting a van to getting a car again. I'll be paying half of the loan, which is quite hefty. Will have to scrimp and save from now on... Sigh. But I can't complain much lah, since I'll be driving the car most of the time.

So anyway, I went for a test-drive with my parents last week and signed on the papers to get a sparkling brand new Chevrolet. The COE bidding and bank loan have been approved so everything will be good to go...in about two weeks' time!!! =)

Haven't driven at all since passing the test on 29th December'06, so I've been quite concerned about how I'll drive around when I finally get the car. I've already been assigned as the family chauffeur, so I'll be responsible for many lives hor. Haha.

Dad rented a van for his goods delivery today, and my mom managed to persuade me to go behind the steering wheel. I only drove for a short distance, and honestly, it was quite stressful. I'll need to get a lot more practice. Meanwhile, I'll have to get more advice from friends who can drive and continue observing drivers in action... Two weeks more!

P.S. Bangkok entry will be up by this weekend... Photos galore!!!

Recuperating

2007-01-17T21:14:00.000+08:00

Wow... I've been missing in action for more than a week. Amazing for a blogging-freak like me. Hurhur.

Basically, what happened after my last entry was that... I did fall ill. Last Tuesday, I had a sudden outbreak of hives in school, which really freaked me out. It had been a long day in school and just before my last tutorial at 4.30pm, the mosquito-bite-like rash appeared on my right eye, causing it to swell up. Before long, it spread to my forehead and neck. Totally horrible. And to make things worse, I could also feel my sore throat acting up... That night, I went to bed with hives all over my body, a burning forehead [fever] and throat. SMSes of concern from my girlfriends made me feel slightly better though.

Went to the doctor the next day and he gave me 3 days worth of MC. With my dishevelled hair and countless ailments, I must have looked pathetic lah. Haha. Had plenty of rest the next couple of days, but I was still ill when I left with my dear girls Justina & Zhen for Bangkok on Friday. In fact, I was a sick cat practically throughout the trip. But we had fun, didn't we? Meow. :P

Now, that's another story for another time... I'm still recovering from this bout of illness and need all the rest I can get. Can't afford to fall ill again!!! This semester is too short!!! And I can't help being sad that this is our last 5 weeks at NIE... I'll miss the wonderful bunch of people I've met here. That feeling of returning to school on Tuesday and having my classmates - people I'm not extremely close with - being so concerned about what happened to me... The knowledge that they cared enough to notice that I was missing from class and actually took the effort to ask me about it really touched my heart. Thank you. =)

I don't want to fall sick!

2007-01-08T18:04:00.000+08:00

It's only the first day back at NIE, and I feel that my voice is going... going... hopefully won't be gone. Heh.

Was yakking too much lah, catching up with my dear Melissa about our driving tests, her driving experience so far, her wedding preparations, the best time to have a baby (!!!) [We feel that good planning is necessary in our profession, so that our maternity leave can come right after the school holidays. The things we talk about... haha!], school, life......
I guess that explains the scratchy voice and itchy throat now. But it was wonderful to really catch up with her [and with you too, June dear!!!] after two months of break.

Okay, I better shut up for the rest of the day. :P

3 days of fun

2007-01-06T16:53:00.000+08:00

The new term at NIE starts on Monday! Eeeks! And it's our last two months there... then comes Practicum and the inevitable start of our career as teachers.

When that time arrives, we'll also lose some of our freedom. Just one of the harsh truths of the working world, I guess.

So my NIE girlies and I made good use of our remaining days in the last week to have fun!!!

First up was Mahjong Day at Viv's place on Wednesday [3rd Jan]!

Really have to thank Viv, her boyfriend and Yu for teaching me how to play this addictive game. Though I've only played it about 4 times since learning it last August [thrice with them and once with my sec sch pals during Mond's birthday celebration!], I love the thrills and excitement of the game! Hurhur.

Yu was explaining something to Jas... So serious!

We had our usual routine of going for lunch somewhere around Viv's place, then heading back to relax for a while before starting to play mahjong... Lady luck seemed to be on my side that day, I won $3.20 from each of them at the start of the game! Teehee.

But the most exciting moment of the day [and night!] was when I got really good tiles:

These were my tiles that were displayed out...

At that point of time, it was "Bei Feng" [if I don't remember wrongly], and my number was 2. Which meant that I had all the right tiles. And also, I managed to take all the animals!!! So I had about 4 or 5 tai already [not too sure here, Viv is usually the one who counts for us... heheh], which means big money if I win! :P

Amazing right?

And best of all, I had taken both of the Number 1 tiles, which meant that Viv[who was before me] wouldn't be able to win this game. Also, I had taken No.4 - Yu's number, and Jas had taken the other No.4. So essentially, Yu wasn't able to win too.

It was down to either Jas or me to win. Of course, both of them wanted Jas to win. Pay less mah. Haha!

These were the tiles I had:

The tile I wanted hadn't been thrown out yet, and I was just waiting for either one of them to throw it... BUT, they ganged up against me!!! =(

So both of them happily threw all the tiles I didn't want, until Jas finally won.

WHY?!?!?!?!?! Let me win a big one and be happy also cannot. Sigh... *cheers up* But I still won in the end lah. And I still love all of you, my girlies!

Mahjong ish good. We hardly spent any money that day, yet enjoyed ourselves so much! =)

Then on Thursday, the 4 of us met up again and went for 5 hours of Kbox [student price so it was really cheap, but we got sian of singing after 3 hours. haha]!

And on Friday, I met up with my dear girls Zhen and nA to collect our Bangkok tickets! Yes, we're still going. And we're still VERY VERY excited about it! We spent more than 2 hours sitting at the hawker centre after dinner, just discussing our itinerary for the trip! I've planned everything, since I'm the only one who has been there a few times. I can just imagine all the fun and shopping madness we'll have in Bangkok. Can't wait!!!

Have a happy weekend!

Blog Plug of the Year!

2007-01-05T14:30:00.000+08:00

This is a special shout-out for my dear Fishy [a.k.a. Wanyu]! I've always been a fan of her accessories & jewellery designs, and I love them all so much! If you haven't taken a look at Yu's online store before, Click---> PLEASE DO SO NOW!!! <--- Click

All her designs are one-of-a-kind, customisable and best of all, very affordable. There are many local blogs selling hand-made jewellery, and I have bought necklaces and earrings from a couple of them. So coming from an *ahem* experienced buyer, believe me when I say that Yu's designs are one of the most reasonably-priced around here. =)

The very first piece I bought from Yu was a lovely necklace which, when attached with a clip, doubles up as a pretty lanyard too!

I used it during my Teaching Assistantship in June/July'06 [hey, who says teachers can't have style? I don't like to use the plain ol' lanyard...], and received many queries about it from fellow teachers.

A photo of the necklace when used as a lanyard...

Here's a clearer view of the necklace [photo from trinklet.blogspot.com]:

To read more about the design of the necklace, here's the place to go. Go get it if you like!

Then, when we were at Yu's place last month, she took out some of her latest designs to get our feedback, and we fell in love with the unique handphone chains!

Viv, Jas and I took our time to choose the colours and shapes we wanted for our handphone chains, and Yu patiently customised one for each of us.

Here's mine!

Love it too? Take a look HERE!

On that same day, while rummaging through Yu's treasure trove, I came across some sailor-themed trinklets. My girlfriends will know what a sucker I am for such accessories, so of course I couldn't pass them up! Asked Yu to combine a metallic anchor with a striped buoy, and voila! New earrings for me!

I bought and wore them immediately. Hurhur

The earrings are really worth the price! Only $2.90 a pair! Visit this page for anchor earrings, and this page to take a look at those attached with a navigational wheel [or whatever it is you call those things... must ask the Love of My Life tonight. Teehee].

And of course, the latest addition to my collection of necklaces is this beauty:

A punk-rock yet sweet creation by Yu

I fell in love with the black heart/gold chain combination the moment I saw it on her blog!

Don't know if Yu has any more pieces, but take a look here anyway. Email her at blu_ishy@hotmail.com if you have any queries!

I've always felt that Yu has a natural flair for DIY-jewellery-design. Her fingers are so nimble and I can really see her patience and ease while doing it. And of course, she knows just how to combine the different pieces together to create a lovely design [at good prices!].

Do visit Yu's accessories blog at trinklet.blogspot.com! And as her blog slogan goes:

if you love it just get it!!!

let there be peace

2007-01-03T02:28:00.000+08:00

It's the beginning of the 3rd day of 2007... and insomnia strikes me again. Sigh. I really need to adjust my sleeping pattern before the new term at NIE starts on Monday.

Since I haven't been able to sleep, I've spent the last couple of hours looking through photos stored in my laptop. I love doing this, it's interesting how one simple photograph can invoke so many memories. And as I click through the countless photos my dear girls and I have taken together over the past few years, I feel that I just can't wait for our Bangkok trip for even more silly and pretty snapshots to be caught on [digital] film!

All 3 of us have been looking forward to it, which is why it was with a heavy heart that I watched the news on New Year's Eve. I heard the words "Bangkok" and "bomb blasts", and immediately sprung up from bed. It's not the best news for us, definitely. But after numerous SMS exchanges, we've reached the consensus that the best thing we can do now is to hope for the best.

*crosses fingers* If nothing else happens over the next few days, we'll still go on this trip and have the time of our lives!

A great start to the new year =)

2007-01-02T01:20:00.000+08:00

Instead of jostling with the crowd in town/Vivocity/Esplanade, the Love of My Life and I decided to spend a quiet evening at home, snuggling up to each other and watching the 8-minutes fireworks on TV while lying comfortable in bed... Just the way we like it. =)

Our last meal of 2006: our all-time favourite Flossy Chicken pizza, Hawaiian Pizza and potato wedges from Rite Pizza!

At the stroke of midnight, I shouted "Happy New Year" into the LOML's ears several times and planted a slobbering smooch on his lips. I did the shouting part [which went like, "HAPPY NEW YEAR!!! *hugs him tightly*"] many times over the next couple of hours, until he muttered in a mock exasperated tone, "Ok lah ok lah, happy new year lah! You want to say how many times?" Hahahaha! I know my darling loves me.

Our first shot of 2007!!!!!!

What a way to start the new year, snug in each other's arms and lost in our own world. Perfect. =)

And what made the first day of 2007 even better was the Love of My Life joining in the family gathering. The extended family on my mom's side met up at my auntie's condo near East Coast Park, and I wasn't intending to join them initially. Too far lah... But somehow or rather, both of us soon found ourselves on the express bus towards East Coast, together with my brother, as well as my sis and her boyfriend. Heheh.

My cheeky darling... :P

We met up with the whole family at East Coast Park's hawker centre and, as expected, all the aunties and uncles were happy to finally see the LOML in person. They've been nagging me for years to bring him home, but the time just wasn't right, until today. I guess the LOML put his shyness aside for my sake too, which I'm very appreciative of. =)

We wanted to cycle/rollerblade after dinner, but it was drizzling so we decided to postpone it to anotherday. The whole family - 22 of us altogether! 4 generations! - walked to the carpark, where the senior citizens [my ah-ma and ah-gong] and the little ones [my two little nieces Charlene and Charmayne] piled into the car to be chauffered back to the condo, while the rest of us took a leisurely stroll along East Coast Park and soon arrived at the condo. The side-gate is located just outside one of the underpasses, so convenient!

*On a sidenote, I really admire my uncle and auntie. They're both ex-teachers [my uncle was actually a teacher at Shuqun while I was in Sec. 3 & 4! Never got to be in his class though...] and lived a simple life all the way till retirement, when they had enough money to buy this sea-facing condominium unit. Really can xiang3 qing1 fu2...*

It was such a heartwarming sight, as we teased and chatted with each other while walking back to the condo... It's not often we do this [family gatherings usually equate mahjong session for the adults], but we should. It's really good bonding time for the whole family. =)

Back at my aunt's place, it was back to the same old... Mahjong for the adults and playtime for the kids. My little niece Charmayne has been the centre of our world ever since she learnt how to walk. She actually went around feeding us grapes today! Arghhhh... Too cute to resist lah...

And as for her older sis Charlene, well, she was her usual cheeky yet adorable self!

Dunno what the Love of My Life was saying to make her laugh so happily... Heheh

The kids got bored after a while, so all of us [my 2 little nieces, 2 cousins, brother, sister & Kailun, me & my Gordie darl] headed downstairs for a walk... Only to end up playing several rounds of Catching and Hide&Seek. Hurhur.

One of the reasons why I want to integrate the LOML into my family gatherings is that he seldom gets the chance with his own family... I want him to experience what it's like to be part of this large and warm family, and I think he experienced it today. As I watched the LOML laugh and play cheekily with my little nieces, cousins and siblings, I saw a side of him that I've never seen before. That exceptional gentleness and lovingness came through today, and I loved it.

He was holding Charlene's ham-ham hostage! :P

What a day it has been... May the rest of 2007 be as full of joy and laughter as it was today!!! Happy New Year once again, everyone.

End of 2006.

2006-12-31T18:59:00.000+08:00

I guess it's time for the mandatory end-of-year reflection entry that bloggers all over the world will be doing.

2006 has been a good year for me in most aspects - love, family, friends, work and on a personal level. And of course, this has been THE year of the 21st birthday celebrations!

It started on the last day of 2005, with Wei Qi's birthday celebration and continued all the way till November!

Jan-May'06:

July-Nov'06:

Of course, there was my wonderful 21st birthday celebration too. =)

All these special occasions have brought the sec sch buddies much closer, and the knowledge that everyone takes the time and effort to celebrate together is really heartwarming. One of the most memorable[other than my own!] was Ronnie's 21st, where Ronnie, Mond, Ling Yang and me [we've known each other since Jurong Pri days] were smeared with mango cake thanks to the birthday boy. Heheh.

Well, technically, the celebrations aren't over yet. There's one more in January'07... My darling Zhen's! We'll definitely end the year of the 21st celebrations with a bang. Hurhur.

xxxxxx
Since we're on the topic of friends, let's continue from there... 2006 has seen conflicts with 2 very treasured friends - one of whom was a long-time friend from sec sch... It's with much regret that the friendship ended with a heated trashing-out session, but it's for lack of a better word that I use the word "ended", because we still hold on to the hope that one day, we'll be able to talk and hang out with each other like we used to.

On a more positive note, I've developed closer bonds with my dearest friends in 2006. Zhen and I have been meeting up almost every other week this whole year, while Justina and I have had one of the best times of our 9-years friendship. =)

My NIE girlies [Viv, Jas & Yu] and I got to know each other much better when we went for our first-ever chalet @Aloha in Feb this year, and we had sooooo much fun that we booked another chalet to celebrate Yu's birthday in August!!! Another wonderful thing to happen this year was that I introduced my NIE girlies to 2 of my closest friends from Ngee Ann Poly who joined NIE too - Mel & June, and everyone managed to hit it off. Nothing makes me happier than to see them all together.

xxxxxx

Family-wise, 2006 has been a rather turbulent year... I didn't want to reveal it openly here back then, but my parents were almost headed for divorce this year. Things between them became especially bad at one point and I remember pouring out my sorrows to Zhen while we were out shopping, and both of us ended up busting our budget for that month. That's what best friends are for, I guess? =) Anyway, my parents are now on much better terms now, and I hope that their relationship will improve in the new year.

I had a huge argument with my mom towards the later part of the year. It was my dad's good intentions initially to get us to talk things out, but hot-headedness got the better of us and... well, we've not talked much to each other ever since [not that we were talking much even before that]. Envy fills me whenever I hear my girlfriends sharing bits & snippets about their relationship with their moms. I want that type of mother & daughter relationship too... Even if she were to nag at me, I wouldn't mind. At least we would be talking. I always tell myself that I need to make peace with her lest I regret it in future, but I just can't bring myself to do it. And whenever she chooses to do silly things like SMSing my sis hurtful words on X'mas Eve, my resolve of not talking to her just strengthens. I don't know what to do anymore.

Other than that, everything else on the family side has remained more or less the same. My relationship with my siblings is still going strong and I want it to stay that way because my sis & bro are the only ones who keep me sane at home. The best thing to happen this year was the family dinner with my parents and siblings, as well as our Significant Others. To have all 8 of us seated at the same table, engaging in meaningful conversation [and senseless jokes at times!] and enjoying dinner... That's all I can ever ask for.

xxxxxx

In terms of the relationship with the Love of My Life... Well, it has been a smooth-sailing year for us.

He went on two long-haul sailing trips this year [to Taiwan in April and Australia in July], which did more good than harm for us... Like I've always said, distance is the key to maintaining a healthy relationship. Both times, we managed to lead our own separate lives thousands of miles apart with the knowledge that we're constantly on each other's minds. Even when the LOML is not sailing, I don't neglect my friends and family, which is the most magical thing of our relationship. I really appreciate all this freedom and space that he gives me.

And of course, we celebrated our 6th anniversary on 27th November. 6 years of his unconditional love... My poor darling was ill on the weekend of our anniversary, but instead of dampening our spirits, we actually managed to spend more quality time together. And it also brought more meaning to the phrase "in sickness and in health"... Hurhur. Which brings us to the topic of marriage, of course! All I shall say is, it'll come in good time. Hey, we're still young and not in that much of a hurry to get hitched. [*gasp* What has happened to me? New awakening with the coming of a new year?!?]

I don't need that certificate to tie the LOML down, I know he won't run away! Hee. And we don't need it to show our love for each other either... Status quo is fine, for now. [I might sing a different tune when I turn 22 though... Haha] Our target is now 2010, as I've explained to my dear Zhen & nA. Ask me when we meet and I shall tell you why! =)

2007 will be our 7th year together. 7-year-itch??? Hahaha! *hugs LOML tightly* No such thing will ever happen to us!

xxxxxx

On a personal level, the greatest thing I've achieved in 2006 is passing my driving test on 29th December. I'll probably only get to drive in the new year[anytime this coming week!], but the thought of it excites me to no end! I don't think I've smiled more joyously than I did while walking out of the tester's room with the TP checklist in my hand and the knowledge that I accomplished something I didn't have a lot of confidence in in the first place! Teehee.

I managed to overcome a personal obstacle during my Teaching Assistantship [TA] in June/July this year, when I successfully went through my first lesson as a teacher in front of a Primary 3 class. The teaching part has always been the scariest part of being a teacher, to me. Ironic, yes I know. A little oxymoronic too, perhaps. But ever since I was accepted into the teaching force in 2005, I've always had mild anxiety attacks at the thought of having to stand in front of my pupils and, well, teach. To be honest, I don't think I was that good at it during the TA. But hey, there's always room for improvement. And at the very least, I realised just how much I loved being a teacher during that short 5 weeks. The kids made all my sweat, tears and blood (?) worth it.

xxxxxx

So, that's more or less what I've been through the past year. It'll take more than this to really account for all my experiences and thoughts though. Read through my entries for the past 12 month. if you really want to know. Hurhur. I love doing this whole reflection biznazz, and to think back on all my ups and downs, laughter and tears. I don't think I do enough of that - reflection, that is.
Regardless, a brand new year is coming. Auld Lang Syne! May 2007 be a rockin' year for all of us. =)

P.S. My resolutions for 2007? I just want to give my best in everything I do. My only wish is to be happy & loved always. That's as simple as it gets, I guess. If life were to remain the way it is right now, I would be the happiest girl on earth.

Exhilarated!

2006-12-30T03:01:00.000+08:00

It's been a longgggg day, but strangely enough, I don't feel sleepy yet. Must be the adrenalin rush from today [Friday, 29th December] that's still keeping me awake...

I have big news to announce. *clears throat*

I'm proud to announce that I, Evelyn Chan, am now a qualified driver! :D

From signing up for the course on 13th June to my first time driving on the roads outside, from getting involved in my first traffic accident to realising that I love being behind the wheels, I must say that I have enjoyed the whole driving experience.

And I've got my license in slightly more than 6 months! My bank account and wallet feel much happier now [not to mention lighter too. Sigh]. Anyway, for the benefit of that one friend who wants to know how the whole process went [you know who you are hor!], here goes...

To be honest, I wasn't feeling very confident. I only had 6 revision lessons before the test, and on my 2nd last revision last night [Thursday], I was still striking the kerb on my crank course. For those in the know, striking the kerb during the test constitutes an immediate failure. So of course, I was quite demoralised.

The worst thing was, it was raining so heavily the past few days! Like I was telling Jo on Tuesday, the weather might affect how I drive, but ultimately, it all boils down to that bit of luck that determines your tester [fierce or nice?] and route [easy or difficult?]. And amazingly enough, it didn't rain at all today!!! The first time this week!!! When I woke up this morning with the sun shining on my arse, I was so happy. It definitely lifted my spirits. =)

So, I went for my last revision this afternoon, followed by the 1-hour warm up... Thankfully, I didn't strike the kerb anymore, and everything proceeded rather smoothly except for some hiccups on the road.

Then came the actual test. All 10 of us balloted for our routes, and I was assigned to Route 6. Okay, not that most of you will know where that is, but I just want to record every single detail here. Heheh. I was glad to be assigned to that route, coz' I've been practising along those roads the past few lessons, and knew what to do at which part.

I met my tester, and was glad that he didn't seem that stern. Started on the different sections in the circuit, and everything from the parking to stopping/starting on slope to the crank-course & S- course went well. And so, we headed to the actual test route. I made some minor mistakes here and there on the roads outside, but the worst thing to happen came mid-way through.

This van was in front of my car when the driver suddenly stopped about 1 metre before the stop line. I was already cursing in my heart when I saw that. I tried to bypass the van by crossing over to the oncoming traffic's lane, but the van was so close to the stop line that I barely had enough space to cut in in front of it and still stop at the line [t IS compulsory to stop at the stop line]. And you know what happened next???

The bloody van actually started moving off just when I was about to cut in [thus eating into the little space I already had to move in front of it], which meant that I was now stuck between the oncoming traffic's lane and my own lane. At that point, I really thought it was all over for me. I really thought I'd fail.

Drove back to the driving centre without any more disruptions, and it was verdict time. Back in the tester's room, my tester started lecturing me about my mistakes during the test. He was saying so many negative things that I honestly felt that he wouldn't pass me. The thought of it brought tears to my eyes, and I struggled to compose myself. Looking down at the checklist filled with ticks [one tick = demerit points], I was even more disheartened.

He calculated all my demerit points, and turned to the last page, with the words "PASSED" and "FAILED". No words can desribe the joy in my heart when he cancelled the latter word and ticked the box beside "PASSED". That feeling was... pure ecstacy.

I blurted out "Thank you Sir!", and he replied in that low and firm voice "Don't tell me thank you. You better do the right things when driving next time." Quite fierce lah, but I didn't take it to heart. I was so thankful that he had passed me, that nothing else mattered!!!

The checklist. I didn't get any demerit points while in the circuit, so technically, all my points were accumulated while driving outside!

So, I no longer hold a provisional license [for training purposes]...

... and am now officially licensed to drive!!!

And that also strikes one goal off the list that I made in Jan'2005!!! Finally.

I'll start polishing my skills soon... after Daddy decides whether to get a cheap lil' car or a mini-van for his business [it's a long story, don't ask]. Anything, as long as I get to drive! =)

Jolly jolly x'mas!

2006-12-28T23:44:00.000+08:00

It's the 4th day of Christmas!!! =)

And it's finally time for my annual Christmas entry! Thank goodness I already blogged about my first X'mas celebration on Sunday, or I would have too many photos now! Hurhur. I've edited most of the photos [using plain old Powerpoint... Simple but nice!] to bring out the X'mas mood!

First up, here's a look at the gifts exchanged between the Love of My Life and me!

I bought him a Fossil watch [chosen with the help of my dear girls Zhen & nA], because he has been using his metallic G-Shock for too long.

I decided to be a little kiasu and gave it to my darling on Saturday - the eve of X'mas eve. :P

He loved his new toy!

Then on Sunday afternoon, in the midst of my blogging, I suddenly received a call from the LOML, asking me to meet him downstairs immediately.

I went down, to be surprised by this lovely gift from him:

Dunno what it is?

Yup, it's the first time my dear boyfriend has given me such an expensive gift, and also the very first piece of real jewellery that I own. 14 diamonds leh... Considering that he doesn't know how to buy gifts, it's really very very sweet. =) I didn't expect it at all, and upon returning home, I couldn't help telling my sis about it.

Sis: "Wah... So expensive and nice! I also want... Going to tell Kailun [her boyfriend] about it and make him feel guilty."

Me: "Ahem excuse me... I waited 6 years for this hor! You wait long long ah. Hahaha!"

Teehee.

So anyway, we headed to Marina Square on Sunday evening to meet up with my secondary school pals. Decided to ask the LOML to join us this year because the guys would be coming along too [it's usually a girls-only affair], and also because I've not spent the last two X'mas Eves with him! Anyway, we're not the sticky type of couple who have to be together every single minute, and I had already made it clear to my girlfriends that I wouldn't abandon them even if he's around. In fact, both of us weren't even sitting together for dinner! Hurhur. He knows the guys quite well too from the days in secondary school, so I wasn't worried that he'd be lonely. My darling knows that I love him lah. ;)

While waiting at Yoshinoya for everyone to arrive, I decided to warm up the camera!

First photo of the night with Zhen...

With Justina... All 3 of us had arranged to wear dresses! =)

At 8pm, we finally entered Pariss for dinner. That's when the gorging began!

As usual, we girls were treated like *cough*royalty*cough*. Heheh.

The guys took food for us, and by the time the above photo was taken, we had already eaten a good bit of it! But if we think THAT's bad, wait till you see the guys' side.

Really pigs lor. Ha!

Once our stomachs were filled [the buffet only lasted for 2 hours that day], it was time for the nonsensical photo-taking to start.

The little cakes were so cute that my dear girls couldn't resist taking photos with them... And that's when the Strange-hands-appearing phenomenon starts.

Evidence [with culprits named]:

And finally, they get to take decent photos with their cakes.

Both also cute lah. Teehee.

But that's not all.

They started posing like they were forced to take a cheesy shot:

But I showed them who's boss! Muahaha.

Bok and my hansem boyfriend were sitting so comfortably together that I just had to take a shot.

But hey, we know how to be prim and proper too okay! Here are some of the proper shots we managed to take:

My babe and I...

Girls!

Alas! When it's the guys' turn to take a group shot, another strange phenomenon occurs:

Got one extra head! Haha

Guys

We left Pariss slightly past 10, and the enthusiastic manager helped us snap a group photo.

Cheese!!!

In the toilet, some funny business was going on...

Hahaha. So I decided to take my own shot, and my old smile returned!

That's how I used to smile... Doesn't look very happy hor?

*bimbotic mode* Oh oh oh, I love my necklace to bits! It's a garden fairy theme, and utterly sweet!

While waiting for Keke and Taoli to touch up their make-up, the rest of the girls went snappity-snap with the X'mas decorations hanging off the ceiling as our background:

Me and my dear girls

And with Jo!

It's funny how so many establishments close early on X'mas Eve. We had so much difficulty finding a decent place for our gift exchange! Ended up at Milennia Walk's Coffee Club.

We girls had our usual gifts-exchange, and I was the first to start!

The photo-taking took up too much time [6 girls leh!], so the rest of the girls just gave out their pressies without snapping photos. Then, it was time for our group gift-exchange! The guys brought one gift each to exchange with the girls, and vice versa.

Just before we started on that, my Chan-sis Keke whipped out a Santa hat and wand, and handed them to me!

Both items can light up!!!

And so, I became the Santarina for our group gifts-exchange!

And while I was distributing the gifts, the other girls entertained themselves with my camera... :P

We had to vacate Coffee Club by 11.30, and after saying our goodbyes to Jo and Keke, all 10 of us took a leisurely walk to Esplanade to find a comfortable place to chill out.

I was walking in front, when I noticed this bar with a vacant table outside, complete with 3 sofas! Perfect! After finding out that the bar would be open till 1.30, all of us scrambled onto the comfortable seats without hesitation. Haha!

We girls got the largest sofa, of course!

To prevent Zhen from falling asleep [the poor girl worked morning shift on x'mas eve, and was on morning shift the next day too!], I suggested opening the pressies!

Ooops. I tend to be long-winded... :P

No mistletoe in sight, but we took this shot anyway!

Let's toast to a very merry Christmas!!! =)

We left Esplanade at 1+ in the morning, which is probably considered quite early. Think we're all getting old lah, couldn't stay up too late. Hurhur. But I really enjoyed myself so much, especially because the LOML was around too.

X'mas Eve is meant to be a night spent with loved ones, which is why I really appreciate the fact that everyone took the time out to meet up and have dinner together. It means so much to me. =)

A photo with my darling while waiting for the NightRider...

On X'mas Day [Monday] itself, I spent time at home with the family. As usual, we had a family gathering, and the highlight of the day was taking care of my two adorable nieces. They're both growing up so fast, and I'm glad that as aunties/uncles, we get to be a part of this process. =)

Cheeky Charlene - still as pretty and lovable as ever. She wore this lovely pair of white boots that got all of us gushing over it! I want also!!!

And her sister - Charmayne... Gosh, it has only been two months since I last saw her but she has grown so much! From that tiny baby I carried last year to this quiet and beautiful toddler who can walk and talk now. I was walking away from the playground to throw some rubbish when she started calling for me, and it just melted my heart. First time she called me leh!

This little one is not as zi lian as her older sister though. Or perhaps she hasn't mastered the art of posing yet. Hurhur. I couldn't get a proper shot with her! But it's still sweet... She doesn't smile often, but when she does, my heart just melts again...

And on Boxing Day [Tuesday], my sec sch girlfriends and I met up to have dinner at Mr. Seah's place. Yup, he's our Sec 3/4 form teacher, and we've been ~~disturbing~~ in contact with him even after leaving secondary school. It's been 5 years already! Gosh.

The purpose of our visit? Well, Mr. Seah finally got married on 19th November this year! =) Why do I say finally? Well, that's because he often used to lament about his age and the fact that he doesn't have a girlfriend yet. Back then, we would tease him about it all the time and try to pair him up with single female teachers in Shuqun. Well, he DID eventually get married to a fellow teacher from the school, but we weren't involved! Teehee.

Anyway, we girls are really happy for Mr. Seah. And because he couldn't invite us to his wedding, he decided to make up for it by treating us to dinner at their place. It felt quite weird initially, to see our former form teacher with his wife [they make a very loving couple!] and in a totally different setting. But all it took was a bit of conversation and a dose of red wine to make us feel comfortable.

Spent our time there looking through their studio shots and wedding photos [it was so funny to see all the photos... we never knew that our Ah-Seah could be so full of expression!], making conversation about work/life/weddings/marriage, and watching TV. We actually spent two whole hours watching drama serials on Ch8 and ChU, but it didn't feel awkward. In fact, it felt like we were one big family - 4 sisters with their big brother and sister-in-law. Hurhur. Surreal, but that's how I felt.

We presented the lovely couple with gifts [actually, it was more like a birthday/X'mas/wedding gift for Ah-Seah! haha!]...

We took some group shots too but I dunno if Mr.Seah will email them to us! Will update if he does!

Ahhhh... All in all, I had a wonderful and jolly X'mas with all the people who mean so much to me. Next up, New Year! Time to make resolutions? ;)

Down.

2006-12-28T14:35:00.000+08:00

Well, it looks like it'll be near impossible to blog a full-length entry over the next few days, because of this. Think I'll go crazy just waiting for Flickr and Blogger to load. But I've already edited the X'mas photos, so do keep checking... Hopefully, the situation improves soon! Blessed Christmas once again, everyone. =)

X'mas celebration No.1

2006-12-24T14:19:00.000+08:00

I can't believe that it's X'mas Eve already! Better get some blogging done before more photos are taken tonight. Heheheh.

I had my very first X'mas celebration on Friday, with my NIE girlies! And the very same thing happened this year as it did last year: Our results were released on the day that we went out to celebrate X'mas. How coincidental can it get?!?

Anyway, we didn't let the results [good or bad] deter us from having fun! ;)

Had dinner at Cine's Cafe Cartel, and our photo-whoring started there... The photos are in Viv's camera though, so I'll update this section another time. Hurhur.

I only have one shot, that was taken with Yu, from our time in Cartel. Ah lian or not?

It has been a long time since we took neoprints together, so we decided to do it after dinner!

So old still act cute hor... Tsk tsk. But we like it leh!

After taking our time to cut and choose the neoprints, we headed over to Partyworld! It's our usual after-dinner activity. =)

Yu took this shot of me while I was singing... I'm sitting like some 三八佬 right?!? *smacks forehead*

Pretty Yu!

I was making myself comfortable on the sofa, when Yu and Viv suddenly exclaimed: "Stop!!! Don't move!!! Very nice pose!!!"

And they snapped this. [I was told to make this black and white... Haha]

Ahhhhhhhh!!!

This photo's lighting is over-exposed, but I like... What's X'mas entry without some zi lian photo of mine? ;)

After 4 hours of singing, it was time to leave! One group shot first!

We intended to chill out at Alley or Acid bar, but both places were packed. So we went over to tcc instead, which turned out to be a much better choice! We were given two large sofas... Shiokness.

And of course, after placing our orders [teas and potato wedges!], it was time to exchange our presents.

When it comes to us, nothing is done the conventional way. Hyak hyak hyak. We played Hai Dai Quan to decide who would start the gift-exchange!
[I edited the photos to make it more interesting... Hee]

Round 1:

Jas lost, so she was the first to give out the pressies!

Round 2: Very funny lor. Teehee.

Yes, I lost this time, and was the second Santarina! =)

Finally, it was down to Yu and Viv.

I always laugh when I see these two photos... Their expressions are priceless! Hahaha

Yu lost lah. Hurhur.

Her turn to give out pressies!

And Viv rounded up the whole gift-exchange 'ceremony'. :P

So that was my X'mas celebration with the NIE girlies. Quite different from last year's, but so much more heartwarming and fun. Thanks for everything girls. Your friendship means so much to me. =)

Merry X'mas from all of us!!!

P.S. Alright! Gotta run! Have a merry merry X'mas everyone! Will be back to blog on Tuesday after the celebration with the sec sch pals & LOML tonight and with my family tomorrow! *Hugs*

We've done it!!!

2006-12-21T23:32:00.000+08:00

*screams in excitement*

Zhen, Justina and I have booked our Bangkok trip!

It's the first official time 3 of us are going overseas together, if you don't count the school-organised Desaru trip in 2001.

Yup, that's me, Zhen and Justina in the Desaru hotel room... FIVE whole years ago. Oh my goodness, we looked so different then!

It all started when our dear Zhen suggested going overseas next June, since she'll be able to take one week's worth of leave then. I didn't think too much about it though, since it's still a long way more. Then, last Monday, she suddenly called to ask, "You free to go on holiday in the 2nd week of January?". I was shocked lah!
But all it took was a short discussion for 3 of us to decide on one thing: We WANT to go on a holiday together!!! =)

And so, today was THE day.

After much tittering and planning [By then, lessons at NIE would have started for me, and Justina's semester at SIM will still be ongoing, but we've managed to work our way around the schedules], we finally got down to business!

Conversation that went on as this photo was taken [My name is on the official receipt so I had to sign on it]:

Justina: "Must take photo to commemorate the 'start' of our holiday!"
Eve: "Eh, you think this is R.O.M. ah?"

Hurhurhur.

We were grinning away like idiots after that. Hyak hyak. It is extremely exciting for us! 3 best friends going overseas together. It's our dream come true! =)

We're already thinking of how many bags to bring, what clothes to wear, what we want to buy/eat, where we want to shop, what we want to do... And of course, sleeping arrangements are important. It'll be a triple-sharing room, but we'll probably just squeeze onto the double bed together. Teehee. And bathing time will involve all 3 of us [when 1 bathes, the other 2 will sit in to keep her company], because we're scaredy cats. Haha! Zhen suggested that we should just bathe together. As kinky as that sounds, it's something we might just end up doing if our nerves get the better of us. Aiyah, we're not paiseh one lah. :P

We're happy gurls after booking our Bangkok trip!

I just can't wait! Only 3 more weeks!!!

It's a happy day! :D

2006-12-21T10:41:00.000+08:00

Woohoo! I'm actually blogging from my handphone now! Well, that's one BIG reason why i decided to get this N80 instead of the pretty pink & white Nokia7390... Because this phone is wifi-enabled! Which means i can surf the net anywhere... As long as there's a free connection. :)

Which probably explains why i decided to come to Mac for a sinful breakfast. Supposed to meet my babes at 12, but i had driving lesson earlier on [my TP test is next fri! Eeeks!], and didn't want to go home. So here I am now at Jurong Point's Mac, enjoying the free wireless internet through my handphone! Everything looks the same as on my laptop! And the speed is good too!

*bimbotic mode* Oh oh oh, we're gonna book our trip later! I'm soooo excited! Really praying hard that the flight and room availability will be in our favour! I'll be back! :)

I *heart* Mac! But i *heart* my N80 even more!

Rain, rain, GO AWAY!!!!!!!!!!!!

2006-12-20T01:25:00.000+08:00

First things first. Where the heck does all the rain come from?!? It has been raining since Sunday and hasn't stopped since then! That makes 3 full days of rain! Goodness gracious me... I hate the rain. Never thought I'd say this, but, I WANT TO SEE THE SUN!!! Hurhur.

Anyway, regardless of the rain, I've been out and about the past few days... which probably explains my absence from this lil' space here. There are places to go, dear ones to meet and shopping to do! So even though the weather is an absolute killer, I still have to go out. Let's start from where I last left off...

Met up with Justina last Friday to do our X'mas shopping together and to have a much-needed chit-chat session. Okay, we're self-admitted "lone shoppers", i.e. we love shopping alone. But it's always nice to have some company and second opinions from your best friend, isn't it? =)

We didn't get to buy much though. Heheh. Had to go off to meet our dearest Zhen for dinner, all the way back at the West side.

Wah... Andy Lau leh. I wasn't fast enough to snap another one of her 'leaning' on his chest. :P

Couldn't resist trying out my handphone cameras while we were on the long journey back...

The VGA cam in front,

and the supposedly-3MP one.

We can cam-whore anywhere... Teehee.

3 of us had dinner at Swensen's, but before we could even order our food, Justina and I just had to present Zhen with a little gift:

So cartoon... Hahaha

For the record, our little gift to her was a coaster that reads:

"I'm a nurse.
I am invincible.
I am tired."

Our dear girl actually screamed when she saw the word "Nurse" on the coaster. But how could we not buy it?!? It describes her so aptly. She is tired lor. Besides, we want her to look at it when she's stressed up and remember that she is INVINCIBLE!!! Power to her!

Can't remember what we were talking about, when Just and I suddenly did this pose simultaneously. It's called chemistry, darling. And of course, photo opportunity once again! *indulgent smile*

Zhen was so happy because I now look older than her with my new curls... Sigh. 让你啦!!!

We continued shopping after dinner, and headed over to Mac just before leaving. And these two babes of mine broke out into a 'war' over hot fudge sundae. Hahaha!

两个 ah-lian 要翻桌子了!!!

Justina ordered the ice-cream and brought it back to the table, and upon seeing it, Zhen 吵着要 also. So being the *cough*big sister*cough* that I am, I went to buy one for her. But Just not happy lor, say Zhen copy her. You tell me, like that how? ;)

Okay, it's just us up to our usual nonsense. Muahaha.

Anyway, the best best BEST part of the whole day was when we made a big decision... Something which we have been thinking of for quite some time...
*squirms around in excitement*

We're going to Bangkok in January!!!

Our very first holiday together! Just the 3 of us! Everything will be finalised this Thursday. We're just crossing our fingers and praying hard that everything will proceed smoothly.

Just imagine, the things we'll do... The food we'll eat [Zhen and I have officially fallen in love with mango glutinous rice after eating it twice at Thai Express]... The photos we'll take! Ahhhhhhhh! Can you tell that I'm really excited about it?

Okay, let's not jinx anything by rambling on and on about the trip before we even book it. I'll bring the good news here on Thursday. =)

*hugs my babes tightly* I love you girls.

*calms self down*

Right. Let's get back on track.

Saturday! It was the day that Chanel has been looking forward to. Okay, first of all, Chanel is the Love of My Life's cousin. Yup, the one I helped to tuition a couple of months back, and the cheeky one who has been flooding my tagboard [but I don't mind it Cutie!]... Hee.
[Attention to Chanel's friends: I'm NOT her aunty hor!!! I don't look that old right?!? :P ]

So anyway, the student care centre that Chanel has been with throughout her primary school years was holding its annual Performance Day, and we were invited! The LOML couldn't make it, but I went ahead anyway...

I met up with their [the LOML and Chanel's] Aunt before we headed over to the performance area together.

Chanel and Auntie Gillian, before the event proper.

Both of us were trying to guess which performance she would appear in, because the cheeky girl refused to tell us!

Which was why we were pleasantly surprised when she appeared on stage as one of the two emcees!

Don't worry Chanel, you did fine. =)

Random photos of the performances... [The boy clad in the blue robe [middle photo, last row] was really good! His spoken Mandarin was so polished and perfect that I felt really ashamed of myself.]

Wah... Someone won the 'Star Award' for being a model student leh. *clap clap* [She didn't expect it at all, and I finally knew why today... Hurhur]

Auntie Gillian, Chanel and me, after the whole event.

Cheese!

She got her aunty and me to try this twirling-plate thingy, but both of us failed miserably.

It was great to really catch up with Auntie Gillian after so long... Afterall, she played a big part in the LOML's growing up years, being one of only two female figures in his whole life. The other female figure was his grandmother, whom Auntie Gillian brought me to visit after Chanel left with her Dad.

I've seen the LOML's po-po numerous times when they were living together, but not since she was brought to the nursing home so she can receive better care. I can't describe how I felt when I saw her again, but it was a sense of familiarity, somehow... It's wonderful to know that she's in good spirits and health, which I gladly informed the LOML of when I met him after that... =)

And finally, Tuesday! Chanel and I had planned a few weeks ago to head to Escape Theme Park for some mindless fun, and today was the day. BUT, the lousy weather spoiled all our plans. We were optimistic initially, hoping that the rain would subside eventually. So this is how we spent the first couple of hours:

We claimed the free candy floss[ and ended up having to wash our sticky hands in the rain. Hurhur],

played the carnival games [we managed to win a total of 6 toys!],

and took photos! [Most of them can't be posted though... I don't think an orang-utan photo would be flattering for me. Right Chanel? ;) ]

We waited from 12plus all the way till 5pm, before finally giving up. Sigh. Stupid rain. Had dinner at BK before we embarked on our long journey back to the West.

The photo Chanel took using her handphone while we were on the MRT... I look like a ghost lah!

Okay, I think that's enough photos for one blog entry. Heh. Will be very busy the next few days [probably all the way till next week!], but I don't mind! X'mas is finally here!!! :D

On a lazy Wednesday afternoon...

2006-12-14T12:47:00.000+08:00

Yu very kindly extended an invitation to her house, so I met up with my NIE girlies yesterday for a lazy afternoon of fun and chit-chat...

We were sitting around in Yu's room when she brought out her DIY jewellery-making set and showed her lastest creations for our *ahem* valued opinions. And that's what we were occupied with the rest of the day. Hurhur. Once we saw the new handphone straps that she created, we fell in love with it! Can customise the colours and designs you want leh...

So colourful!

My very own handphone strap... No one else will have the exact same piece as moi! =)

Couldn't help snapping away with my new phone while she was busy doing the straps for us...

My curls have loosened! I like...

Poor Jas was struck with a sudden attack of the runny nose. But she still looks lovely doesn't she... =)

My NIE girlies!

We ended off the night with delicious beehoon cooked by Yu's mom, and a few rounds of card games with only one dare which Yu very bravely took up.

Our first and only dare: Yu had to call a random number on Jas's handphone list... But thankfully, she was lucky enough to kena someone who was her classmate previously. Heng ah!!!

Teehee.

Looking forward to our X'mas dinner next Friday! :D

The ones who really matter...

2006-12-13T00:04:00.000+08:00

Have been busy the past two days... The Love of My Life returned on Sunday afternoon and was on leave on Monday so we finally had the opportunity to go on a proper date. Hurhur.

We had steamboat at Chinese Feasts restaurant [Suntec]!

The 麻辣汤 was really really spicy!!! Our tongues were numb by the time we started on our second serving of food [It's a free-flow concept... there's a huge variety of food but we felt that there were only 3 dishes worth eating - shrimp wanton, beef and prawns. Delish!]! Then, we were bewildered when a dish containing what looked like dessert was placed on our table.

Dessert in the middle of our meal? [I didn't realise that my handphone camera was smudged. Heh]

Then, I spotted this at the side of our table. Read "Magical Step 2":

Ohhhh... So that's what those 'desserts' are for...

It has been too long since the LOML and I had the time to have a leisurely lunch and 甜密密 together [on a weekday some more!!!], so it felt really good to just indulge in each other's company and shop around at our own pace without the stifling weekend crowd...

Us. =)

Finally removed the smudge. Hurhur.

The LOML was trying this headrest when I commented on the resemblance between him and the cute lil' monkey and forced him to stay in that position for this photo. Teehee.

Alas! As my very humorous darling loves to say, "Haha! 快乐的时间过得真快, 又到了时间说 bye-bye!"

-_-'''

But it's true, isn't it?

So Monday came and went just like that... and it marked the last time that I would use my Panasonic VS7, and also the last time I'll see my straight hair [at least for a while].

Woke up bright and early on Tuesday morning and headed to the neighbourhood salon with my sis.

I decided that it's time for a change. One which I've never tried before... which I was afraid would turn out badly.

But after 2.5 hours, I loved what I saw in the mirror.

I've permed my hair!

I've been doing DIY-perms since my poly days, and while I love the effect of curled & tousled hair, I've never dared to do a permanent perm. But after thinking over it for months, I told myself to just go for it. It's now or never!!!

I love the new look... =)

Melly insisted that she looks awful in the photo and requested to be cropped out... Haha!

Headed to town after that where we met up with the rest of the family... It was our official Family Day, made even more special because all our Significant Others were invited along!

Couple #1: LOML and moi

Couple #2: ~~Robert~~ Kailun and Melly...

[Mum doesn't speak Mandarin and can't pronounce Chinese names very well, so she christened him with the name 'Robert', which made my sis protest vehemently! Muahahaha]

Couple #3: Gab and Celeste

Dinner was at Vil'age, and we chose this long table underneath a tree. Hurhur. So autumn-y hor?

The LOML was engaged in conversation with my parents throughout dinner... I think the fact that my sis's boyfriend and bro's girlfriend were also around, and that he's the most 'senior' amongst them, made him feel less nervous. ;)

I love this photo of the Love and I. And have I mentioned that I love my curls?

We were going to order dessert. Waffle ice-cream for us...

... while couple #2 and #3 ordered Chocolate fondue for dessert! It wasn't great, but definitely filling [just ask my brother! :P ]

Gab suddenly lifted his fondue pick in the air and shouted "Gambatte", which drew a loud laugh from me. He's crazy lah!!! Hahahaha. This is the afore-mentioned expression:

After dinner, it's time for a proper family photo. This will definitely be framed up at home. =)

The siblings take a shot together too... I love these two cheeky monkeys!

And one last one with our Significant Others before we leave...

This simple dinner meant so much to me. To have my parents, darling boyfriend, siblings and their own darlings at the same table. Nothing compares to that heartwarming feeling of seeing all your loved ones together like that. No, scratch that. There IS something better than that feeling. It's knowing that they feel the same way too. =)

It's a beautiful Sunday!

2006-12-10T11:56:00.000+08:00

Look at what I got in the mail yesterday!

New security device given by DBS for Internet Banking users...

Can change the skin some more... That sheet on the left contains 4 stickers of different colours - orange, pink, black and white. No prizes for guessing which colour I chose.

I admit that I used to baulk at the idea of making money transactions over the Internet. But I've found it to be quite safe, really. And with this added layer, on top of the current safety measures like sending a SMS to your designated handphone number before a 3rd party's a/c number can be added for funds transfer, I feel much more at ease. Aiyah, it's not like I have thousands of dollars in my a/c, so I'm ok with using Internet Banking lah. Hurhur.

Anyway, it's SUNDAY!!! After 10 long long long days of sailing, the Love of My Life is finally coming home today! Not sure what time though... He only managed to call me once throughout the past 10 days and I forgot to ask him. It's okay, the only thing that matters is - I'll be seeing him within the next 12 hours.

And I think the happiness shows in my nails:

Did a DIY-manicure for myself yesterday - sheer pink base with gold glitter tips!!!

The colours are so festive and cheerful right? That's the way to describe my mood now. Teehee.

Have a blessed Sunday everyone!

Nothing beats this.

2006-12-09T12:27:00.000+08:00

Had a lovely night out with the girls yesterday.

We used to meet up almost every Friday for dinner last year, but with work, school and other commitments dragging us down, that old routine just stopped temporarily. Besides, we've been busy this whole year attending all the 21st birthday celebrations! So now that 2006 is coming to an end, it's a perfect time for us girls to meet up on our own to reflect on the past year and really catch up... =)

We had dinner at Cineleisure - Xin Wang Hong Kong Cafe. I've heard so much about it from Justina but never had the chance to try it out. Practically jumped with joy when she suggested this place. Hurhur. The food wasn't overly fantastic, but reasonably good for the price.

My mee sua with spicy pork cubes, Justina's mee sua with minced meat, Stacey's wanton mee, Baked spaghetti and baked rice which Jo, Kexin & Taoli had [looks the same from the outside so one photo is enough. :P ], buttery French toast and lastly, our dessert - mango pudding!

Other than the French toast, my Chan-sis and I also couldn't resist ordering the kaya toast... And look at how we divided it among the 6 of us!

Everyone gets an equal piece, no fighting!

Ahhhh... I didn't realise just how much I missed meeting up with the girls. Dinner was a chockful of laughs, giggles and teasing. I vaguely remember Stacey making a pun on mee, but can't remember what it was about. One thing's for sure though - my ability to laugh out loud [even in a public place] never fails to show when I'm with them!

Jo, Just and Stace... [What Stace proclaimed as the 'Skinny' side]

Taoli and the Chan-sisters: Kexin and yours truly... [You won't want to know what Stacey proclaimed our side to be. *throttles her neck*]

One pretty group shot before we left! I like this... =)

We took a leisurely walk along Orchard Road, in a feeble attempt to digest our food so we could continue eating more! Finally settled down at the Coffee Club beside California Fitness.

Justina's Mango Mousse Cake

Fresh Fruit Fondue which Jo, Taoli and I shared... Sinful but healthy leh. [Oxymoron. Hurhur]

And of course, Justina and I just had to have our Strawberry Garden Tea... I love it!

We spent the next 3 hours or so just talking about everything and anything. From X'mas to our great memories of our teachers in Shuqun to our jobs... And of course, who can forget our dearest form teacher ~~Ah-Seah~~ Mr. Seah! Yup, we haven't stopped bugging him since we left Shuqun 5 years ago. Muahaha. We'll be going over to his place on Boxing Day for dinner with him and his newly-wedded wife!

The most wonderful moment came when the 4 of us [Jo and Stace left a little earlier] were on the topic about how different expectations and reality are. When we were 15, we always talked about how life would be when we turn 21. And it's amazing how things have turned out for each and every one of us, as well as for our friendship as a whole. Back then, being 21 seemed like such a far-fetched idea. Yet, here we are now. The end of 2006. It almost seems surreal.

[I remember telling Stace many many years ago that I see myself being a housewife when I turn 21. That thought is almost laughable now, but it just goes to show how innocent we once were...]

What do we see ourselves doing at the grand old age of 25? That was another question that left us thinking deeply... It's only 4 years down the road, but like Justina pointed out, our lives will be very different by then. Marriage, career changes, perhaps even kids...

Whatever changes there may be, I'm positively sure that one thing will still remain when we are 25, and that is the friendship I have with this group of secondary school girlfriends. We may all have different personalities and lifestyles. We don't always agree on the same things. We show our care and concern passively. But that's the beauty of our friendship - it is simple and genuine. We may gain new experiences, meet new people... But nothing can beat the 9 years of friendship we share.

Just me and my dearest babes...

2006-12-07T23:13:00.000+08:00

After 3 days of being a cavewoman [Didn't feel like going out... Wanted to save money. Wanted to rest at home because I foresee that the next couple of weeks will be busy busy busy!], I finally went out today!

K-lunch with two of my most favourite people in the world. =)

Justina and Zhen, who both went a bit cuckoo in the cold little room... Heh heh.

I was errr... influenced by both of them.

But I think the girls will say that I'm naturally crazy and it's not caused by them. Hrmphh

We were up to our usual nonsense - rapping, dramatising, harmonising [my duet with nA on 天天夜夜 got 麻点 one hor! Hurhur], snapping photos and stuffing our faces with the bento set. But the ultimate crazy moment came when our dear Miss Eng sang this song:

嘻唰唰 by 花儿乐队

Ahhhh!!! We love this song! But we love the way she sang it even more! Soooo cute! *pinches nA's cheeks*

We just had to hear it again before we left. You should have seen us in there... So old already still act like lunatics. Teehee. And the freaking song has been stuck in my mind ever since.

嘻唰唰嘻唰唰嘻唰唰 ooh ooh!!!

Ahem.

Random crazy photos!

Justina had something else on in the evening so Zhen and I headed to town to window-shop and spend more time together...

We were walking around in Far East Plaza when she pulled me into an accessories shop. And look what she found!

Red octopus earrings!

Argh!!! She just wants to remind me of this Fear-Factor experience last week. That horrible girl... But I still love her to bits lah. =)

Speaking of earrings, look at the new ballerina earrings I wore out today!

I know the girl isn't very pretty, but I still adore it!

I'm really looking forward to tomorrow... We ladies need to catch up!

A Friday evening with the girls, coupled with the long-awaited call from the Love of My Life last night, as well as the presence of my two lovely babes today,

I couldn't be happier. =)

Perfect match :P

2006-12-04T14:02:00.000+08:00

Finally went out with my lil' sis yesterday... She has been too busy dating the past few months. Muahaha. No lah, she was occupied with studying for her A-levels so we haven't had the chance to go out as often as we usually do.

As usual, Mel and I headed to Kbox for our favourite pastime - singing!!! You can take the girls out of the choir but you can't take the choir out of the girls. ;)
I absolutely love singing with Mel, coz' she's an Alto and knows how to harmonise perfectly! And me being a Soprano, well, I have it easy. That's why she's my perfect match for duets and S.H.E. songs. Hurhur.

Anyway, the price for K-lunch has increased. They now have a standard set lunch at $9+++, with two choices of meat.

Set 1 - Chicken

Set 2 - Fish

It comes with rice [with chicken/pork floss sprinkled on top], your choice of meat, some cold egg dish [topped with fish eggs!!!], salad and dessert - jelly. Quite value for money lah.

I occupied myself with the camera while my sis was singing...

The necklace that my NIE girlies gave me [which made up part of my 10 bday presents] can be doubled up as a pretty belt!

You can spot it somewhere in this entry...

Mel & I decided to be good girls and headed back home after a bit of shopping at West Mall...

Always close to my heart =)

It lifted my spirits =)

2006-12-02T15:30:00.000+08:00

I've been reading her blog for close to two years now... We don't know each other personally but through the Strawberry Milkshake incident, I got to know what a loyal friend she is. [I think the whole fracas has been retold to death, so I shall not elaborate]
I was thankful to her, in a way, for what she did. Her blog entries have always been honest and thought-provoking, which is something I really appreciate.

Then, in September, she revealed a very personal secret... A shocking one. But I'm sure it wasn't easy for her to come clean about it to the whole world, and that's something which everyone knew. There could only be respect and admiration for this mummy-to-be who chose to walk down this path despite the circumstances. I was so moved by that entry that I wrote her a long email.

Since then, I've been following her blog entries even more religiously, anxious about her wellbeing and Minibean's development. And I almost hyperventilated while reading her post last night before leaving for the hospital.

Ting has popped!!!

And I believe this is the first photo of Minibean that's available: http://acardia.sg/blog/index.php/2006/12/02/minibean/

I can't believe that I'm looking at a photo of Minibean...After all these months of anticipating her arrival, together with all of Ting's readers! So glad that both of them are well and healthy. =)

You've made it through, Ting. Now continue making the lifelong, but worthwhile and fulfilling, journey with Minibean by your side. *hugs*

Vulnerable.

2006-12-01T17:44:00.000+08:00

Everytime he leaves, a small part of my heart seems to die... Only to be revived when he returns.

I can only grit my teeth and use all my might to prevent the tears from falling whenever he turns away, knowing that I won't see him for the next 5 days/1 week/1 month.

After 1 year of him sailing so frequently, I thought I would be used to it already. I thought I would be strong enough. But I'm not. I'm really not...

玉婷,你要坚强.

Wonderful work of nature

2006-11-30T18:03:00.000+08:00

It started pouring suddenly and I rushed to close all the windows at home... Looked out and saw this beautiful sight.

A Rainbow!!!

Braved the strong winds and pelting rain while standing beside the window to capture this. Hahaha.

It's been a long time since I've seen a rainbow. And gazing at it brought out the little girl in me, as I gushed in delight at the beauty of nature and God. We're always told to appreciate the little things in life, and this pretty rainbow is what I'm most thankful for today. =)

Fear Factor

2006-11-30T15:16:00.000+08:00

I've never been a big fan of Japanese food, but after numerous lunches and dinners at Sakae Sushi/Genki Sushi/Suki Sushi with my dear Zhen over the past few years, I've been converted... A little. Heh.

Yesterday's lunch at Lot 1's Suki Sushi was no different! I'm perfectly fine with normal sushi [No salmon please, I prefer my food cooked. So it's usually just boring ol' egg or crabmeat sushi for me], soft shell crabs and all those yummy fried food like Tori Karaage. I might even be a little more adventurous if I'm in the mood.

BUT, after yesterday's experience, I now draw the line at anything that looks remotely foreign.

Fear Factor Challenge #1: Some octopus drenched in red sauce

I bravely stuffed the whole freaking thing in my mouth the first time, and there was only word that could describe how I felt as I bit into its head: Grossed-out.

It's not only about the taste. It's about how it looks! If I can see its head and all of its tentacles, no way am I going to eat it! [Does that explain why I don't eat prawns or crabs or fish or in general, any type of seafood?!?]

Fear Factor Challenge #2: Oysters with melted cheese

Like I said, I prefer my food cooked. No, make that well-cooked. So I've never liked hum [cockles] or anything oyster-like. The one above looked harmless though. I scraped off a bit of the cheese and tasted it. Okay, no fishy taste.

Then, my wonderful Zhen started egging me on, "Put the whole thing in your mouth! It's not very big! Try! TRY!!!". I did what any normal person would do under those circumstances.

I succumbed to peer pressure.

Sigh.

That instant when you bite down on the oyster and a gooey liquid starts to ooze out? Not particularly appetising.

I tried to swallow the whole darn thing, with Zhen laughing in the background as she saw my facial expressions. But eventually, I lost. Had to spit out the vile thing onto a piece of tissue paper and wash the bad taste away with plenty of guava juice.

It's just another day in paradise... =)

P.S. Justina, we're waiting for you to join in our weekly lunches... Next week onwards ok!!!

The start of our 7th year. =)

2006-11-27T23:53:00.000+08:00

Exactly six years ago, at around this time, the 15-years-old me was chatting on ICQ with the guy of my dreams.

The guy who was my secondary school senior. The guy who made me understand what love at first sight was, when I saw him for the first time at our school's National Day celebrations at the Bird Park and felt my heart beat relentlessly. The guy who always looked away shyly when I bumped into him in school. The guy who walked over to my block just to pass me a present and card for my 15th birthday.

The guy who asked me the questions of all questions on 27th November 2000, 11.50 p.m.

And that started a relationship which progressed slowly [Because we were both terribly shy and new to relationships. I'm his first girlfriend, he's my first serious boyfriend. First hand-holding and first kiss all gave to him lah. Hurhur.], but soon blossomed into a steadfast and loving union which has remained unwavering till this very day.

27th November 2000. A date which the Love of My Life and I will always remember. =)

_____________________________________

We had planned on going somewhere nice for dinner, but after thinking for days, I still couldn't decide on a suitable place.

It was then I realised that, we're just not the type to spend lavishly on wining and dining. I mean, I can't imagine both of us sitting down at a classy restaurant, all prim and proper. I'll probably be giggling away trying to figure out which fork to use for my appetiser, and the LOML will be stumped at the names of the food. Teehee. And so, I decided to spend the money somewhere else.

GV Gold Class!

I secretly booked the tickets online [Happy Feet!] after double-and-triple-confirming with my darling that he would not have to work or sail on the 25th. I was looking forward to the whole experience, and boy, I sure wasn't disappointed!

Made our way down to Vivocity on Saturday afternoon, but the bad weather threatened to spoil our plans.

We had to stop under a bridge on the AYE while waiting for the rain to stop...

Just one of the downsides of owning a bike, I guess. But instead of being his usual grumpy self whenever we encounter rain, the Love of My Life was surprisingly upbeat! He kept singing "Always look on the bright side of life... *whistles*", which really kept the smile on my face. =)

Thankfully, the skies cleared up soon enough, and we were vroom-vrooming away before long.

The Gold Class tickets don't come cheap [$30 a pop], but seeing the glee on the LOML's face when he realised that we were going for Gold Class made everything worth it.

We were really treated like VIPs upon entering the special area for Gold Class ticket holders. There's a lounge in there where you can order food, and that's what we did. What makes it so special then?

The food will be served to you in the theatre, where you can enjoy your meal in full comfort!

The Gold Class movie tickets came in a nice black envelope...

LOML with his killer stare...

while I felt like a tourist... Heheh

The moment we were waiting for soon arrived! We were led into the theatre by the smartly-dressed concierge, and I was squealing in delight at the sight of the large theatre with a grand total of 48 seats.

They even provide blankets! Not ordinary types, mind you, but black woollen ones which were so comfortable the LOML contemplated bringing his home after the movie. Haha! He was overwhelmed by everything initially, but was soon fiddling around with the buttons at the side of the seat until he was practically lying horizontally. I had to control my laughter at that ridiculous sight!

We had no balls to use the camera [the flash is horrendously bright], so I had to make do with my handphone camera.

Our food soon came in a dimsum carrier and we were taken aback by the small serving [small considering the price], but happily dug into it anyway...

all fried food!

The movie soon started and we made ourselves comfortable on the sofa-like seats. As I sat there with the LOML beside me, the air-con in the theatre set at a low temperature and my whole body curled up in the huge seat with the blanket covering me, all I felt was utter bliss. I turned to him and muttered, "This is sooooooooo shiok.", and as the lights dimmed to signal the start of the movie, I could glimpse a shadow of a grin on his face.

Happy Feet was quite entertaining, but not as great as I had expected. The experience of being in a Gold Class theatre more than made up for it though...

Me and the LOML after the movie [We ended up ordering popcorn midway through... the price of all the food he paid for could have bought another GC ticket. hurhur]

The feeling of being a Gold Class patron is totally different, I tell you. Even as we were walking out of the lounge, people from outside kept looking in, wondering where we came from. My darling was so thrilled with the experience that he said we should make it a point to come at least once a year [Me: "Okay lor, this year is almost over so we can come again in January!"]. Ahem. This is a luxury, not a necessity. Saving money is our priority now... Right baby? ;)

Random photo taken before we left Vivo... The LOML looks so gaunt!!!

We didn't even have dinner on Saturday and only headed for supper around our place later in the night. We only had porridge, because my poor darling had been down with diarrhoea and vomitting since Thursday.

And it got worse on Sunday. He was supposed to sail on that day, but the food poisoning got so bad that the doctor gave him two days' worth of MC to rest. I don't know if it was a blessing in disguise, really. He couldn't go anywhere so we didn't continue with our celebrations after Saturday. But the upside of it was that we had each other's company for two days. =)

Passed the LOML two little presents before I left on Sunday night, so he could occupy himself meaningfully... Teehee.

One's a mug which I painstakingly designed [didn't take photo of the final product though], the other's a jigsaw puzzle which had a special message for him!

I really like the idea of a jigsaw card, though it took me hours to piece it together. I'm just not a jigsaw type of person. But for the LOML, I would gladly do anything.

100 pieces, and nothing to guide me except the number on the back of each piece... Even that was difficult because not all pieces have the complete number printed. Okay, or perhaps I'm really a jigsaw-idiot.

I finally got it... the message I wrote cannot be shown lah. Don't want your goosebumps to rise. Heh

I told him not to start on the jigsaw first, so we could do it together today. But those itchy hands of his didn't listen to me! Just as well though, I don't think I could survive another round of jigsaw-piecing. :P

So what did we do today [Monday]?

The LOML cooked porridge for lunch [We've been having this everyday since Friday! He suffers, so I willingly suffer with him also... Eat porridge together lor]...

... and I borrowed this from my sister:

It's the game commonly called Mastermind.

My lovable darling with his messy hair [what I term Wolverine hair. Hahahaha]. He has that look on his face because I couldn't guess what the secret code was despite 4 tries! Hrmphh.

So basically, we spent our 6th anniversary holed up at home... And I had to keep an eye on the clock, automatically getting the medicine and stuffing them into the LOML's mouth every 4 and 8 hours. I can't swallow pills but I derive so much pleasure from seeing other people do it. I know I'm sick. Muahahaha.

But despite everything, this was the most wonderful 'celebration' we've ever had. Because there was only two of us and no distractions. This simple and quiet time together brought us back to our early years when we would spend hours with each other after school.

Some of the boliao photos we took... =)

[Just many thoughts from this point on... Let me blab all I want, I need to put it on record. Hyak hyak. You may skip this part. Really. ;) ]

It scares me sometimes just how much I love him even after six years of being together. It scares me not because I don't want to love him so much, but because I'm afraid of what would become of me if I don't have him. I still think about these words very often, about how true they are. And I realise that there's no need to fear losing him. These are things that I can't control, factors that are out of my reach. What I can control is the amount of love I shower on him and how much of my heart I open up to him to allow him to shower his love on me.

The past six years have been amazing. No, "amazing" wouldn't even start to describe it.

I have practically grown up with this wonderful person whom I call the Love of My Life. From the 15-years-old awkward boy when I first saw him, to the studious guy he was in Poly, to the macho dude when he started working in the Navy last year, to the man he is now... And he has seen me go through these very stages of my life too - me as a student and now, a teacher of the students. We have seen each other at our best and worst, and our relationship has settled into one where we can see each other everyday without feeling bored... Where we can go without seeing each other for a month [when he's sailing] and nothing's lost when he's back... Where we give each other space and freedom without questions or doubts... A relationship that is calm yet passionate, stable yet colourful.

Friends often ask, "How can both of you survive so many years without any major quarrels or even minor arguments once in a while?", and I wouldn't know how to reply. Because, really, that's just the way the LOML and I have always been. I don't claim that our relationship is always smooth-sailing, but we have many many more good days than bad days. I'll probably never know the perfect answer to the above question. But I do know that the trust and respect we have for each other play a big part.

Our life in the future is one which we look forward to every single day. I used to yearn for marriage so much, but it was like reality hit me just before I turned 21 in October. I really woke up and thought seriously about saving money. For our future. For us. I just couldn't continue being selfish and let the LOML be the only one saving up, no matter how bad my family's situation is. Which is why this piece of news made me so so so happy last week... 2.2 months of bonus! I can save up a good portion of it.

I no longer question the LOML about when we're going to get married, because I know that it's just a matter of time. And besides, I'm not going to make things so easy for him by bringing up the topic so often. I love the man a lot, but I ain't gonna say Yes unless he pops the question nicely [no need for big proposal... give me Cola ring also can. Hurhur. I just want to listen to what he says, to his heart.]

From now till then, we'll just enjoy our lives together as separate entities in the eyes of the law, but with our hearts as one.

Here's to the start of our seventh year together, Love of My Life. =)

Tick-tock tick-tock

2006-11-25T01:34:00.000+08:00

Nothing makes me happier than to hear my little niece [or for that matter, any baby or toddler] laugh. It's the type of pure joy that can only emanate from a child.

From: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HttF5HVYtlQ

Gosh, this is just the kind of thing that makes my biological clock tick faster. I'm sure every parent wants to have a happy baby like the adorable little dude in the video! I want to pinch his red chubby cheeks so much... Hurhur.

What a perfect way to end my day, and a perfect way to start yours, if you're reading this in the morning. Goodnight world. =)

A love-hate relationship with teaching?

2006-11-24T15:11:00.000+08:00

Receiving an email from one of the P4 students I taught during the Teaching Assistantship really lifted my spirits... Looking at the snapshots of them out on a fieldtrip to Kampong Glam, I'm reminded of the vivaciousness of the children, who never failed to brighten my days during those 5 weeks.

Somehow, I can't wait to return to the school in February/March next year to see my P3 and P4 students again, to take charge of a new class and to do what I love best about teaching - the interaction with the kids. =)

Books galore!

2006-11-22T17:58:00.000+08:00

Just got back from the library... and nothing made me happier than to find out that the National Library Board has increased its loaning quota to 8 books per person! Until January next year if I'm not wrong. And so...

I borrowed enough books to last me for the next 1 week or so [hopefully]!

I'm a happy girl. =) Okie, gotta run! Meeting the LOML for dinner. Toodles!