pensées écrites

Hope...

2011-05-30T23:15:00.003+08:00

The chains and shackles of giving up slams hard on the wall of my mind

How long can this episode of searching be extended?

My life is not a concert and I certainly have no wish for encore

Patience is a virtue and I think I will acquire it in no time should this tormenting stage carry on.

Probably its time to channel some brain waves to drawing some new decisions and conclusions

The rewarding scheme of encouraging thy self proves to be still effective.

Trust and persistence are the only positive cure I can inject at this sticky issue.

The Almighty up there, please do not forget about me.

This hope is like a firm and steady anchor for my soul.

I believe the best has yet to come.

Election Fever

2011-05-07T02:38:00.000+08:00

What is trending now online and all around Singapore is the hotly debated topic of the General Elections 2011. If my memory did not fail me, this should be the second time I am voting as a proud Singaporean! Anyway, I am not that senior to have gone through that many GE. :P This season, I remembered even when I take a cab back home to Hougang, the taxi driver will joked, asked me if I am for the opposition and started analyzing politics with me.

Ever since the President has announced parliament has been dissolved, I am always updating myself on the elections news. I must say the new media plays an important role in this GE. Even the PM also made an effort to connect to the younger generation via FB chat. I salute him for that!

On the other hand, there are countless of reports and comments daily to be read online. It seems like the virtual space has been converted to a dumping ground for netizens to express their unhappiness and/or support towards their parties. As I scanned through the entire web, I realized the comments are skewed to supporting the opposition and many wanted to “teach a lesson” to the ruling party.

From the surge of comments, it was pretty amazing to see how much unhappiness our citizens have stored towards the government. Though many comments were bias, I must say they do make a lot of sense. From the candidates to key issues, everyone has their fair share of perspectives.

From TPL to Nicole Seah, it is amusing to see how our citizens favor the latter to the former. Nicole has the support of mostly the LKK and there is even an online discussion on how she looked when she perspires. Hello… what’s the link with politics?

In terms of charisma and connecting with the people with her daring speeches, Nicole has gained the upper hands. She has indeed won the hearts and applause of many as a 24 year old politician. Though TPL was not as wise with her words, she has the necessary grassroot experience. I read more negative reports on her than good ones. Is the media bias? Yes, she did not have a good start with all her mindless answers, but at least give her credit for not giving up and being so courageous. Not a personal attack, but this is general election! This is neither a beauty campaign nor a star search programme. The physical appearance, how much tears they shed, what bags they carried… who cares? As long as they bring the nation forward, they deserve a seat in the parliament. Arrogance cannot last but persistence will bring us far. The character versus touching base with the residents, there ought to be a good balance.

Key issues like housing and transport problems are highly debated in this GE. Our people felt betrayed when we see how foreign talents are given equal opportunity in housing and job openings, no wonder they hit the roof! The FTs wiped out our units, decreases the chances of our employability, take up space in our MRT and our government treats them like national treasure. I do think these immigrants do create some problems. I came across news articles on how some foreign peeps are causing a nuisance in public by conveniently littering, talking loudly and fighting in public area. What a disgrace to have them in our lovely lion city. They smeared a black mark on this little red dot. I just understand from a NTU friend who spoke with her China classmates… our government actually tries to sell our education system in their country by luring them here with allowances and accommodation provided. How reliable is this, it is questionable. It came from the horse mouth so we decide for ourselves the degree of accuracy in this piece of conversation. Our pledge says: “based on justice and equality”… I think the government has forgotten the equality only refers to Singaporeans and not outsiders.

Of course, we as a developed country, has many high expectations. What to do, Singaporeans are just an atas bunch. They want to work short hours and get highly paid. We aim to work in the comfort of an office at least at supervisory level or other professional fields. We are educated citizens. No one wants to work as a construction worker, cleaners, domestic helpers. So, the foreign laborers got to fill in the gap. We are not against them but there must be a proper control over the headcount crossing the borders.

Living on land scarce Singapore we are already fighting for space to grow, now the influx of these talents will one day sink our small island. I wonder how many MRT lines can we build, probably one day the subway would be underwater.

Our HDB flats are costing us our life! The Mahboro minister has definitely invited many labeling on himself. Are our housing policies helping us own a house faster? Start a family faster? Are we going to work a lifetime just to pay off the bank loans for that tidy space we own? …

The oppositions have given their promise to run Singapore in a better way compared to the ruling party. They said to lower land cost, revert GST to 5%. I wonder how effective and feasible can this be? Is this implying we are taking a step backwards? Does this means we are to slow down our growth as a nation? Are Singaporeans ready?

Yes cost of living has increased but our standard of living has not progress at the same pace as the nation grows. Majority of us are middle income and we struggle to keep our head above the water while the low income families are drowning. Of course, we cannot point the finger at the government for having not enough money to spend and having low income families in the society. But if the government continues to ignore the cries, will the streets of Singapore one day be filled with beggars and robbers?

At the rallies, the oppositions have a lot more crowd listening to them. What is their selling point? Do they really have something better in store for us? Or are they just good at pointing out flaws in our policies? I gathered that people are there because they speak the hearts of the residents and they are echoing what they wanted to hear. The people already know what the ruling party can offer and promise after so many years of “running” the country. Now, the people want to know if the oppositions can offer something better! I saw enthusiastic Singaporeans cheering and clapping at every statement the candidates made, some how I can’t help but wonder, is this the new season for Singapore Idol?! Are we clear about what we are supporting?

We do not need a perfect government. We only need one that think and cares for her people. One that has compassion and put us first. In order to trust, we need accountability and transparency. If the basis of this leadership cannot be fulfilled, I am afraid that the governing baton has to be passed on. Looking back, in my personal opinion, Singaporeans are one fortunate bunch. We do not have to worry about safety issues, crime rates are low, not exposed to natural disasters, plenty of food and entertainment.

Our PM sincere apologies really made me salute him. I do agree to a certain extend that the pressure from the opposition might have forced this out of him. Yes though the apology came late, still he humbled himself finally and acknowledges the issues we are facing are real.

Singaporeans are really the complaining professionals. First, they made a lot of noises saying no apologies were heard. Now with the apologies, it was deemed as not sincere enough. People are hard to please. The government cannot stop the rain from coming down heavy on us and flooding our towns. But I believe they are trying their best to improve the drainage problems or to prevent possible flood as much as they can. Yes, they made a mistake but who don’t. This election is not about talking about the past mistakes. Yes, it is about securing our future. Let’s move on.

There are too many emotions involved in who we want to vote for. Let us all be rationale and be realistic. Let us be grateful for what we have so far. Before you decide, remember what you are voting for. It is the future of Singapore and not just one GRC’s future. Do we just want a voice in parliament or government leaders that will really bring Singapore to a better place?

I am sure after all the rallies, the leaders of Singapore know the people cries and struggles. I know they will improve the situations and things will get better.

Let’s all vote wisely tomorrow. YOU can make a difference in the future of Singapore! J

Holidays On the Go, Part 1: Ipoh, Perak

2010-12-16T01:55:00.005+08:00

2010 is certainly a travelling year for me!

Early part of this year, in April, I went to Bundung, Indonesia for a 4 days visiting trip. It was pretty awesome with the nature sight seeing still fresh in my mind. The down side... food poisoning for a couple of days and the feeling was totally unpleasant. Nevertheless, it was still a good trip.

From May to Sept, I travelled to other neighbouring places for a short stay either on my own or with just a couple of friends... the idea... to get away.

In october, the adventure starts. I went for a short 3 days trip to Ipoh, Perak with my cardio instructor and my secondary school mate. Our agenda: Caving and White Water Rafting. Initially I was so hesistant about signing up as I never learn how to swim... yes even at my age I still have water phobia. However, I managed to convince myself that it is time to challege my fears. I am glad I did!

The caving experience was totally cool to the max. First, inside the cave, we climbed 1000 steps to reach the top. Believe me, my height phobia is seriously reminding me I should just give up. With knees knocking all the way, I finally made it. The air got thinner as we climbed higher. We did not see any bats but you know they are around as the pungent smell of their output was certainly choking at times.

After the climb, we were supposed to slide down this steep slope. Cave has no natural light and so we only have to rely on our touch light to navigate our way. Imagine sliding in the dark... we were not very sure where we will land! It was really "exciting"! After the slide, we glided ourselves through this hole and landed inner into the cave. Water greeted our feet. Cold and unclear water. We waddled through the streams and the ceiling were getting lower and lower and narrower. Before you know it, the only way to move forward is... leopard crawl on hard rocks. So we all had a fair share of a dip in the muddy water but we were not as dirty as the rest of the team mates as we did duck walk to prevent cuts on our hands. (We were able to do that because this is probably the only time that you rejoiced at being shorter). After a 45mins venture, we finally saw light at the end of the tunnel! Now I totally can experienced what that phrase means! Took a victory picture and the foot of the cave. Do check out all the pictures on my facebook :)

We had a short buffet lunch and took a 20mins lorry ride to the river to get ready for some more water activities. We were briefed thoroughly what we should do and the safety precautions. Each boat is assigned a guide. Our boat only has 5 of us including the guide, while the other boats are clustered with 7. We were definitely losing out in terms of strength. After we put on our gear, we struggled to carry the ballooned raft to the river. The 100m walk was seemingly far with the tiny 4 small built girls.

At the river, we started with body rafting first to experience the flow of the water. Here it comes the fear talking to me again. The river flow was fast. No one dares to volunteer themselves and so I decided to get started first.

Ok, at the count of three, the guide let go of me and before I could blend into the water, I realised the water was already hitting my face and rushing into my nose and mouth. Panic attack and despite many attempts to stay calm and trying to float, I could not. I grapped hold of the rope thrown to me and I was pulled back to the side. Other than quenching my thirst from the free flow of water into my lungs, I also got some beautiful bruises painted on my knees from the rocks on the river bed while I was struggling. Then did I realised the water was only chest deep... -__- The comforting thing... I wasnt the only one that got that silly experience =P

So, all of us embarked on our first water rafting experience with great expectancy. We paddled and paddled and jumped up and down to nagivate through the big boulders, fell through many rapids and let out many screams~ Thumbs up!

The weather was good and all of us got a good tann and an aching body with all that exercise. On the way back on the lorry, it started to rain heavily. We were experiencing the full power of the rain with the mega raindrops hitting us on our face and body. All of us were freezing in the rain as the breeze was blowing. By the time we reached our bus, we were dripping wet that we didnt even dare to sit down.

We quickly changed into dry clothes when we reached the hotel and set off for dinner and some shopping. The bus journey home was relaxing with comfortable reclining seats and movies screening.

I love this adventure trip and I am looking forward to something similar or more exciting in the near future.

The next stop: Bali~

Reminder to myself

2010-09-05T02:26:00.001+08:00

It was just one simple word of reminder:

SURRENDER!

WDUW

2010-08-27T00:57:00.002+08:00

One Phonecall away...

2010-08-05T00:05:00.002+08:00

No matter how busy

how far apart we are
punch the numbers

the voice you hear

brings joy

love

assurance

encouragement

care and concern

Eagle's Wings

2010-08-03T00:19:00.003+08:00

Come live in me
All my life take over
Come breathe in me
I will rise on eagle's wing

Incepted?

2010-08-01T23:33:00.002+08:00

It was tough
When reality flashes before my eyes, I felt I was tricked
Totally wrapped in a huge sense of regret
I blamed myself for not enduring long enough
Where did all the preaching of longsuffering went to

It was an attack of confusion
Hesitation rooted me
All in the mind
The W word
I knew it all unfounded
Yet I hold on to it like a precious gem

Everything seems too perfect
I took it too easily
It is time to wake up
It is time for change
It is time for adjustments

Am I caught in an inception?
Somone please give me a kick

I love Children's outing

2010-07-30T00:30:00.013+08:00

2 weeks ago the kids @ CCH were going to SAM for an art exhibition. I am really glad I was part of this excursion! :) Due to the night festival that was on going, there were numerous museums exhibitions and activities lined up. We went on a sat and it was free entry for all! Excellent timing! With a bus load full of 3 to 6 year old, we departed for our destination.

We only had a tight 45 mins of adventure before the bus comes and bring us back. We hurried in our 2 straight lines and entered the grand entrance of the place greeted with curious on-lookers and friendly ushers. The grown ups really do love to smile and wave at the kids. But... all the kids did were to stare blankly back... haha.. until we poke them and urged them to wave back. :D

So, the kids were pointing their fingers at the exhibits, exclaiming different stories how it came about and asked really innocent questions.

They were all getting their inspirations...

And now is their turn... some were engrossed into the making of their master piece...

While others were enthusiastically... posing...:D

Before we knew it, it was time to say goodbye though the kids did not have enough of the fun yet. I was already left with enough energy to carry myself home after running around with them. Good thing the bus came before all the teachers have to start a catching game with the kids.

It was a totally AWESOME experience serving the kids. I am glad I took time off for them. Tired but worth it. Just look at them, so adorable!

Shattered Dream

2010-07-27T00:27:00.003+08:00

No... it's not a new design or casing...

Ok... I so hate myself now... :(

Work at Dempsey

2010-07-20T00:53:00.014+08:00

Last Friday my office decided to get out of the usual routine and we wanted to be "out of the box"

We decided to plan one day for an off site event... just to work, to plan, to innovate and of course to let our hair down. While we worked hard, we also learned to play hard. So after much consideration, we pinned our hopes at the House, Dempsey also known as Barracks.

It was my first visit to this place. Nice cool place! And yes this is our office for the day :)

And of course not forgetting the rest and relax! (I only got my iPhone with me so the images are not very fantastic)

Of course not forgetting the source of energy... Food! The newspaper looked alike menu

Smiley Chilli sauce to go with our cuisine...

Alright! Soup of the day... Mushroom! Yum Yum! Very thickkk and slurpeeeee!

My Main course... I can't remember the exact looonggg description. Some grilled chicken with yam sticks cushioned with berries. Not too bad~

While I was still struggling to swallow the bird down my throat, the mouth watering dessert stole all our attention. Strawberry cake that complements extremely well with the vanilla dip! :D

But I did not finish the whole marathon of food served... too filling... BURP~~~

With the heavy tummies, we went back to our work, brainstorming and engaging our brains. Before my stomach can finish digesting the food earlier, it's tea break time! Though I was on the verge of explosion, how to resist this sight! Fruits, pies, cakes... ^.^

Overall it was a nice day out with great food and great bonding.

For those interested, the address of the place:

8D Dempsey Road, Level 1 & 2, S(249672) Tel: 6479 0070
Open Mon-Thu 12pm-1am; Fri 12pm-2am; Sat 11am-2am; Sun 11am-11:30pm

As for the price, errr I am not sure because we ate for free! :D

So it was a fulfilling day at work because we accomplished almost 90% of the agenda and it was also a food-filling day with so much food intake. We left at 6pm and went for a Durian gathering at Kovan. Gosh my colleagues all can eat! While they were busy attacking the King of the fruit, I was busy pressing my nose to prevent the pungent smell from reaching my lungs. My hands were too busy. So I did not take any picture! I hate durians!

I ended the day by having dinner at home. Finally mum cooked after weeks and months. This is the best dish for the day! Nothing beats home cooked food. :)

Change

2010-07-15T13:38:00.005+08:00

Progression in life only happens when changes occurred. And for that change to happen, first the mindset has to be changed. Things are not hard to change. What is hard is the mind. No one loves changes. No one loves to start all over again. Most people agreed that being comfortable is more important than accommodating and adapting.

Change needs persistence and endurance. I need to see through the entire process. It is a guaranteed tiring process. The whole race requires much energy and positive talk. You will reach a point you begin to doubt if the path you are walking in is leading to where you want to be. The tendency to turn back urges you on. It is so much easier to deal with the comfort rather than to face the uncertainties of the future. The challenges seem so threatening.

All I need to do is not to look backwards and only to move forward. Bite my teeth and be thick skinned to face the enemies of fear and doubt. I know that I will reach my destination and I am glad I did not give up.

Focus on what needs to be done and not ponder why was it not done properly previously. I do not want to waste my time on the past. Now is the time to make things better and greater! Jia you lion!

S.T.R.E.S.S.E.D

2010-07-14T19:38:00.007+08:00

And now the solution is....

Do not try this at home... but only in office.
Mainly because you can visit the doctor and take MC!

Haha... I think I will go for the conventional way instead!

The little things in life

2010-07-14T00:39:00.005+08:00

We live every single day counting down to the days we look forward to. To some, it may be a very special day committed to remembrance. To others, a purposefully planned eventful day or to most of us, we wished days like the weekends where we get our well deserved rest from a hectic week of work and school will always arrive fast. Somehow we secretly hoped some angels will wave their magic wands and make the clock come to a stand still.

Every minute and second passed by with our own agenda in our mind. The daily unwanted pressure and stress slowly accumulated which eventually unknowingly crawled to us and occupied the remaining room of our brain. What is left is only a minimal level of energy enough for our legs to carry us home from the day's battle.

Under those circumstances, who ever slowed their pace and really gave a thought about the people around us? Are you one of those that remembered your friends and the problems they shared with you? How are they getting along? Are they doing well and getting along in life? Or have the relationships we build, is that superficial that they do not deserve our care and attention?

My brain is no exception. Several times my mind were just too pre-occupied with my own things to do and the up-coming events. Knowing my flaw, I committed myself to think about the people related to me. They are the reasons why things happen isn't it? I am not going for a reward but sometimes when love overflows within you, so much... you got to give it away :)

I love my friends and family because they are the reason why my life is beautiful and every single one is a separate inspiration to me. They make life more interesting and encouraging. The ups and downs not too big deal for me because I am blessed to have great support from these people... anytime, anywhere.

I remembered all the random sms to ask how was my day, the phone calls to check if I have eaten, the dates we went about doing random things, the sports we sweat our guts out, the small cards and letters with words of love and encouragement, the precious gifts that shows they remembered my likes and dislikes....the emails during office hours... the list goes on and on...

Of course these are not the top qualities we all look for in a friend. But all these show me I have the best kind of friends and I can be a better friend to anyone because they deserved the best of me, including going the extra mile for them. I want to do much more because I am inspired to love!

Thou I am inperfect...

Thank you Emily and Shi Ying for always remembering the little details of my life, you made me feel important and remembered.

Thank you Bernice for always staying by me and listening to my last few months of complaints.

Thank you E462 for being the greatest people that any leader can ask for and running this race with me.

Thank you Lian for this friendship marathon since secondary school days! You are still the same yesterday, today and forevermore!

Thank you Alexis, Kim, Justin and Vivian for visiting the sickly me on sunday with my favourite food. I was really touched by the surprise visit!

Of course to many others... Thank you all for accepting me for who I am.

You... made my life wonderful and colourful!

A new friend

2010-07-11T01:48:00.006+08:00

Recently, this fellow has been cracking me up quite abit!

His name is RILAKKUMA!

Some boring facts...

He is a Japanese character produced by the San-X company. A brief introduction... his name actually means Relax Bear! He has a blue-polka-dotted underwear that pokes through the zipper on his back. Don't ask me why, probably this attributed to one of his cuteness. Can you imagine this bear has hobbies? It includes watching TV, going to the spa and of course living up to his name, he loves lying around and sleeping! Can we all change our name to RILA?!

Of course no bear is created to be lonely!

Ko-rilakkuma, who is a smaller child-like white bear has a mischievous personality. He looks like a polar bear and likes strawberries (I think Shing will not want to be her friend), apples, and cherries. She also loves playing with stuffed ducks and penguins. She enjoys loud music (Techno?) and do the cosplay thing too... either as a rabbit or a cow.

Korilakkuma frequently plays pranks on Rilakkuma while he is sleeping, such as drawing on him, putting headphones on him and sewing odd color patches on his bear suits. (What a good treatment for those who always fall asleep during service). Most of the time, Ko-rilakkuma doesn't say a word, but sometimes she imitates what Rilakkuma is saying....! hahaa!

Kiiroitori is a yellow bird that likes to scold Rilakkuma for parading his voice and being lazy but Rila could not care less. He often fights and play with Ko-Rilakkuma. Kiiroitori loves the maid's job and loves to save too!

Oh well, too bad I don't think there is any cartoon series on this. This bear certainly brought some joy to my boring week. Bernice and I always have a good laugh over him.

Lastly, Eva, if you are reading this, this entry is especially written for you~

Holidays~

2010-07-07T22:35:00.001+08:00

YEAH!!! It's confirmed my year end trip! Going for holidays and counting down in a foreign land! Looking forward to it! :)

Roaring Fellowship

2010-07-05T01:08:00.005+08:00

We were so looking forward to the sunday evening meet up! The girls were ready to sink their their teeth into the salmon and probably they were drooling while waiting for the poor fish to be served. I can never comprehend the wow-ness of the cuisine which they always exclaimed to be the best. My heart was never moved.

Neverthess, who cares about what we digested but it was all about the little girls' talk we had over that short few hours. It's good to have Santy back from Indonesia. Thank you San for volunteering and sharing your life stories. It's getting juicer! :)) Thank you Karen for making time for us even when you got family dinner at Bukit Batok!

Anyway, thank you Karen and Santy for always running the race together in JK subzone! You girls are simply the best! Let us continue to grow and shine in this house together! You all made life more interesting and funnier with your loud personality and your little jokes! *winks*

We are the L.T.L!

ROARS~

Apple's mystery solved

2010-07-03T14:52:00.004+08:00

Following the steps of the iPad, the iphone 4G is another pride of the Apple's family. This new addition definitely is a must get gadget for those techy savvy guys out there.

Many trumpets were blown for this new toy... the recent report is certainly not a victorious one prior to all the marketing gimmicks earlier. Complaints were launched regarding the connections of the phone. Many attributed the root cause to the in built antenna, which caused the signal strength to be affected by the way the user hold the phone.

To save their new gadget, today Apple tackled the reception issues by returning justice to the antenna! They reported that a wrong formula calculation was used to estimate the signal strength. They also further mentioned that this problem also co-exist in the iphone 3G and the 3GS! (No wonder! I thought my phone is going haywire after it slipped off my hand that day). Great... now the problem has passed on to the i-siblings... _-_

Well, don't talk about the problem unless you intend to talk about the solution! Thankfully, our utmost faith in this FRUIT is not going to fail us! The remedy introduced is a new signal strength formula which will be available in a few weeks time. This fix will also be extended to the 3G family. The report did not say how. Hopefully the updates will be via our itunes and it will not fail us again.

This reception issue does not seem to be a deterring factor for many to own an apple. The accessories available for the phone seemed to be a solution for this connectivity curse as well. I am not looking for alternatives yet because I have not found a better phone. Ok bias. ;P

You may read more of the article here.

Ok, I still love my apple.

Meanwhile, if you are an apple user and have not updated your phone to version 4, do it soon via your itunes! I am having fun with the multi-tasking, camera zooms and the folders enabled function.

Have fun! :) iPhone rocks!

Random Activities

2010-07-03T04:41:00.005+08:00

It all started with Alexis's enthusiasm for the matches. Little did I know that goodness she is such a great fan of the WC! So with a little help from the accomplice, Belle volunteered her nest for the interested parties.

It ended up only a pathetic three. We cannot even form a proper panel of supporters for Brazil. That did not really bothered us as we knew that we were in for a great and awesome time together!

After a great time of fellowship after cg, we unwillingly bid farewell to Kim at her place. Poor girl she got assignments enough to swallow her up for the next few days. The much anticipated match was already 15mins into it's show time and we are still saying our goodbyes. The journey to Belle's place was punctuated with Alexis's neverending complaints of how much she has missed the glorious goal of her favorite team. We hurried our steps as if we were in some walk-a-jog event.

We were only left with a precious 45min to catch a few more glimpse of the players. Both girls were totally captivated by what was airing on the tv. Eyes glued, on their toes, all ready to shout the desired "GOAL"! Little did they know the pumped up energy were not ready to be released. I was in the room catching up with my taiwan sequel and I heard the live comments broadcasted from the living room. "Come on, Brazil!"

Full time was up and the girls could not accept the reality. It was as though they were out of love! Heartbroken with the results, the pc became a distracting tool for Alexis. Belle and I continued with other programmes on the devil's box.

The next thing I knew, darkness has already consumed the room. Time checked was 330am. We fell asleep unknowingly and the soccer fanatic was still waiting for her next match. My eyes just won't shut again so we saw how who was going to play against Netherlands. ;)

Yes and it's Saturday! And I am so looking forward to the the early morning jog at 730am with the girls! Go! Go! Go!

Smile~

2010-07-01T22:13:00.005+08:00

There is no limit to when we should smile:

1. We smile when we answer the phone
2. We smile when we are working
3. We smile when we give
4. We smile when we meet people
5. We smile when we make mistakes

A smile costs nothing but gives much
It enriches those who receive
Without impoverishing those who give it.

It takes but a moment,
yet the memory of it sometimes lasts forever.
None is so rich or mighty that he can get along without it,
And none is so poor that he cannot be made rich by it.

A smile creates happiness in the home,
forsters goodwill in business,
and in the countersign of friendship.

A smile brings rest to the weary,
cheer to the discouraged, sunshine to the sad,
and is nature's best antidote for trouble.

Yet it cannot be bought, begged, borrowed, or stolen,
for it is something that is no value at all
until it is given away,
and if you meet someone who is too weary to give you a smile,
leave one of yours.

For no one needs a smile quite so much
as he who has none left to give.

-- Author Unknown

Though sometimes it is hard to smile,
think about it...
It is harder not to smile.

So why not smile :))

Catching Up

2010-06-29T16:00:00.005+08:00

I am responding to the tags on the tagboards. I had a busy and exciting 3 months. The flesh was too weak to lazy to update this space. Alright since I am a free women now, I shall do come updating.

I realised my last update was in April...O.o

April'10

Jen, Bernice and I went for a 4days 3 nights short trip to Bundung Indonesia. We linked up with Michael with the help of Amber. We stayed in Novotel where Mike's cousin was the manager there. Great hospitality from the team. We thoroughly enjoyed the stay! We were at the highest floor overseeing the city! How cool is that! :))

Our hired driver and the very nice Michael brought us sight seeing and of course not forgetting the spa / massage and retail therapy! We went to the volcano crater and took tonnes of pictures. The smell of the strong sulphur and the breath-taking view just made Singaporeans like us really excited! We also visited one part of the Volcano which was still active. We boiled some eggs, relaxed our feet into the steaming water into the natural-made pools, applied some volcanic mud on our legs, what an experience! Check out the pics on my facebook! :)

We also tried rabbit satay. Nice? Hmm... subjective! The adventurous us went horse riding too! It was just so awesome!

We did not buy alot of clothes but we bought home one big box of Indomee! :) And yes, we want to go back there again!

May'10

Of course it is the happening Asia Conference! It was held in Singapore Expo. A total of five days of life changing experiences with powerful speakers, electives and meeting up of new friends. A renewed mind, touched lives and transformed! Did you missed it? The next one: Asia Conference 2012!

June'10

What can be more exiting than the school holidays and the great singapore sales?

Of course, it is ...

This year, we made it alittle more different for the youths. The team leaders led a segment of the outdoor games. I must say they really did an awesome job! Really rose up to the ocassion! Proud of you guys! :) We also brought them to the adventure park where the youths have to go through several obstacle courses, conquered their inner fears and complete all their assigned tasks!

The night sessions were rated thumbs up by the campers! The sharing and the insipration just rained down on the youths! New dreams and new visions, the fire and passion, no doubt this is a whole new generation of people that will and can do much more! Their creativity and their energy... unloaded and unlimited
... indeed nothing is impossible! :)

July'10

The next half of the year is going to get more exciting! Stay tune! :)

Youth Meeting's Reflections

2010-04-25T18:06:00.002+08:00

"It maybe difficult, but it is better to serve and follow the Lord than being anywhere else." -- Belle

"There is a desire, a dream that I always wanted to be able to play the guitar on stage ... I will start by learning to play the guitar in the cg..." -- Samuel

"I sensed and felt the urgency for the youths to raise up as leaders in the house of God!" -- Vivian

"It all begins with praying and fasting more..." -- Justin Tan

"The seriousness in my committment to the Lord. I am inspired to a cgc again! " -- Yu Ting

"Young people have nothing to lose. I dreamt to be a cgl... during camp believe, I was reminded of the dream again..." -- Alexis

"Knowing that I can do it is not enough, I need to know what I must do." -- Kimberly

"Regardless old or young, we can do alot of things and still shine for God." -- Li Ping

Arise and Build

2010-03-06T16:14:00.015+08:00

Two weekends ago marked a new chapter, a new adventure for City Harvest! Yes, PK announced where the new building gonna be! There have been many speculations weeks ago. Regardless of whether our guesses were right or wrong, it no longer matters!

When the video spoke of the land, where our new home gonna be, tears of joy filled my eyes. At that moment, God just reminded me of His faithfulness. Above and beyond that, God of course did challenged me to sacrifice alot more for this building fund.

Talking about building fund, I vaguely recalled that my first was in 2001, during the Hollywood days. We were entering into our second last building campign before we shifted to the new place.
2001 building fund:

And the 7th, the last Arise and Build, in 2002, after we shifted into our debt free building.

Soon, we outgrew the 2000 seater auditorium! Another season of Arise and Build started in 2005. Another season that God is gonna bless us tremendously.

In 2006, after we shifted to Singapore Expo, we continued to give, we continued to believe God for many breakthroughs! If I didn't remember wrongly, I really gave an amount that really required my all. The amount I pledged was 2x what an average adult was giving and I was only a few months into my working life! Even my CGL kept asking, ARE YOU SURE?! Haha! But God is good! Of course, by God's grace, I kept my covenant :)

In 2007, we are believing God for a land in the market place, for the market place and to penerate the market place!

In 2008, the vision continues... the stadium... the 12,000 seater, here we come...

And this year, with Suntec city in mind... We Arise and Build again! We arise to the occassion and build not just our lives but many others.

Looking back, God is good all these years. Every campaign is a challenge, is a breakthrough, is a new beginning. I thank God all these years I ran the race and kept the faith with many thousand others in church.

We have been hearing from the pulpit how many were blessed as they sowed into the building fund. I was really encouraged to hear what our God can do through our giving! In fact, I was even thinking, yes next time I will be sharing how God has blessed me with many properties as well! Why not? haha!

I am believing for greater breakthrough to come as we sow into the house of God, into the lives of many, into our future!

‘Consider now from this day forward, from the twenty-fourth day of the ninth month, from the day that the foundation of the LORD’s temple was laid—consider it: 19 Is the seed still in the barn? As yet the vine, the fig tree, the pomegranate, and the olive tree have not yielded fruit. But from this day I will bless you.’” -- Hag 2:18

Au Revoir Forever

2010-02-05T00:16:00.004+08:00

It was a sudden call from the hospital and all of us rushed to check out how grandma was.

On the way to TTSH, my heart was just at my mouth. I felt unrest. In fact, I feared she would leave us. I did not want to show my vulnerable side so I tried to find a place to hide the falling tears.

When we reached the ward, we were greeted with coldness. I looked at the patient with bruises all over her hands and the tubes which I can't seem to find the start and the end. I cannot believe she is my dearest grandma that raised me from young. My heart really ached. Though she has been making frequent visits to the hospital and discharged after some 14 days stay, she recovered well at home. However, this episode, things were not the same.

One oral feed, a small portion, sealed her destiny. She could not speak but I could sense the pain and suffering. We fulfilled her last wish. While everyone was busy attending to the admin of the discharge matters and listening to the doctors, I chose to standby grandma so she will not feel lonely. I continued talking to her in our familiar dialect, though the only response I got was only a stare. I whispered into her ears a couple of time, telling her Jesus loves her and I love her alot too! I think if she could move, she would have scolded me upside down for being naggy. But, I am glad I did it.

In the comfort of our home, she sensed familiarity and relax herself. I could not do anything except to keep calling and looking intently at her. When the O2 tank emptied, she breathed her last. I saw her life slipped through my hand and I just felt helpless.

I could not believe it. The 5 days wake, it was my last chance to spend time with her. Reality hit really hard when she was wheeled into furnace and I could not suppress my grief anymore. I never felt such pain and loss. My heart was too weak to accommodate. My sister and I recalled our younger days with her and we just missed her a great deal.

We returned home to a house with ah ma's stuff. My mum started disposing them because to the older generation any thing that belong to the dead, it would render unlucky. Now, we no longer heard ah ma nagging at us, no more of her screaming in pain every night, every minute. Something seemed to be missing in her absence.

After all these, I found reconciliation in the family. I learned to cherish each member more. A lot more.

Really appreciate those who came, prayed and supported me during the last few weeks. A special few who came more than once, especially Richard who came every night and stayed till the wee hours during the wake. Thank God for Bro Ed and Sis Jiahui for being understanding and those comforting words. Joseph and Emily for always dating me out for meals to help me relax my mind, and of course my colleagues for bearing with my absence for close to 2 weeks. I am surprised to know who are the real friends are during this period.

Life is not the same. I still miss ah ma alot. Trying very hard to cope with the loss. Life moves on. :)

Merry Xmas!

2009-12-30T22:27:00.013+08:00

Ho Ho Ho!

Nothing beats spending this festive season than spending it with awesome friends~

Alfred volunteered his house and invited Richard and myself over for a simple dinner and catch up. Mr Leow was going marketing and has decided to whip a few dishes for us! Richard and I were really looking forward to eating at Leow's house!

We were really impressed by his cooking.

These are what he cooked for us:

Shrimp and egg! It was very yummy!

Fried sambal kang kong. We love this dish alot!

Fried Chicken.

Of course, white rice! Richard said its very soft which I totally agree. I had 2 servings and the guys emptied the cooker. Heh!

And dessert was served as well!

So, it was a very nice, simple and homely dinner! He is indeed the...

(I found this in his kitchen!)

Richard then volunteered to wash all the dishes all by himself.

That day I felt like a queen... haha!

I also discovered that Alfred not only can cook, but he also sewed me this toy for my birthday with the help of Elle.

So touched~ Thanks Alfred!

Other Santas...

Care Bear Calendar and Mug from Kimberly.

Sweet sweet honey from Belle!

Something that warms my heart from Shi Ying!

Hope you guys had a wonderful Christmas and wishing all a very happy new year!

Dolorous

2009-12-26T18:47:00.002+08:00

Erratic

2009-12-22T23:55:00.001+08:00

The works of cucumber

2009-12-18T23:04:00.004+08:00

This information was in The New York Times several weeks ago as part oftheir "Spotlight on the Home" series that highlighted creative and fanciful ways to solve common problems.

1. Cucumbers contain most of the vitamins you need every day, just one cucumber contains Vitamin B1, Vitamin B2, Vitamin B3, Vitamin B5,Vitamin B6, Folic Acid, Vitamin C, Calcium, Iron, Magnesium, Phosphorus,Potassium and Zinc.

2. Feeling tired in the afternoon, put down the caffeinated soda and pick up a cucumber. Cucumbers are a good source of B Vitamins and Carbohydrates that can provide that quick pick-me-up that can last for hours.

3. Tired of your bathroom mirror fogging up after a shower? Try rubbing a cucumber slice along the mirror, it will eliminate the fog and provide a soothing, spa-like fragrance.

4. Are grubs and slugs ruining your planting beds? Place a few slices in a small pie tin and your garden will be free of pests all season long. The chemicals in the cucumber react with the aluminum to give off a scent undetectable to humans but drive garden pests crazy and make them flee the area.

5. Looking for a fast and easy way to remove cellulite before going out or to the pool? Try rubbing a slice or two of cucumbers along your problem area for a few minutes, the phytochemicals in the cucumber cause the collagen in your skin to tighten, firming up the outer layer and reducing the visibility of cellulite. Works great on wrinkles too!!!

6. Want to avoid a hangover or terrible headache? Eat a few cucumber slices before going to bed and wake up refreshed and headache free. Cucumbers contain enough sugar, B vitamins and electrolytes to replenish essential nutrients the body lost, keeping everything in equilibrium,avoiding both a hangover and headache!!

7. Looking to fight off that afternoon or evening snacking binge? Cucumbers have been used for centuries and often used by Europeantrappers, traders and explores for quick meals to thwart off starvation.

8. Have an important meeting or job interview and you realize that you don't have enough time to polish your shoes? Rub a freshly cut cucumber over the shoe, its chemicals will provide a quick and durable shine that not only looks great but also repels water.

9. Out of WD 40 and need to fix a squeaky hinge? Take a cucumber slice and rub it along the problematic hinge, and voila, the squeak is gone!

10. Stressed out and don't have time for massage, facial or visit tothe spa? Cut up an entire cucumber and place it in a boiling pot of water, the chemicals and nutrients from the cucumber with react with the boiling water and be released in the steam, creating a soothing, relaxing aroma that has been shown the reduce stress in new mothers andcollege students during final exams.

11. Just finish a business lunch and realize you don't have gum ormints? Take a slice of cucumber and press it to the roof of your mouth with your tongue for 30 seconds to eliminate bad breath, the phytochemcials will kill the bacteria in your mouth responsible for causing badbreath.

12. Looking for a 'green' way to clean your faucets, sinks or stainlesssteel? Take a slice of cucumber and rub it on the surface you want to clean, not only will it remove years of tarnish and bring back the shine, but it won't leave streaks and won't harm you fingers or fingernails while you clean.

13. Using a pen and made a mistake? Take the outside of the cucumber and slowly use it to erase the pen writing, also works great on crayons and markers that the kids have used to decorate the walls!!

So awesome right? I think I will try out no.5!

Broken

2009-12-15T23:31:00.005+08:00

The wall built up with the adventures of every day's despair

No doubt the layers grew thicker

I find myself totally separated

A knock echoed the emptiness

It was hard to believe.

No keys to unlock

It was tightly shut

That door was so uninviting

A rust of disappointment embedded

It was beyond comprehension.

The same words rang and lingered in those wavelengths

It triggered the glands

A flashback

Seemingly familiar embrace

The undying love

sums up to the answer which was the only truth.

It was beyond my ability

I was taken over

I heard every single piece of emotions crumble

The nakedness and the vulnerability set the dependency.

All I need was reiterated and shown in one single moment.

You Tell~

2009-11-17T20:57:00.002+08:00

At Orchard Tangs (yes... not Hong Kong or Malaysia), this is what I chanced upon...

"You Tell" me is this the "You Tiao" we know?

HAHA~

Hong Kong Trip Day 5

2009-11-11T23:48:00.012+08:00

We wanted time to come to a stand still. Our shopping engine has just started roaring! But it was already the last few hours to going home! So we reluctantly woke up earlier and packed our loot into our luggage. We checked out and left our belongings at the office.

We still got a few hours before we depart for the airport so of course there is nothing better than to shop. But before that.. breakfast...

We went to a coffee house near our hostel. The food looks good so we decided to patronise them.

Spaghetti with luncheon meat and bacon. Simply yummy!

The bread and Egg combo set.

The porridge... drool~

The soya bean... so filling!

Chee Chong Fun, the fillings >>> you tiao~ Very crispy!

Breakfast was only SGD4.00! It would be excellent to have this kind of breakfast enjoyment everyday.

So we just shopped and walked around Mongkok area. Time was just running out. There were still so many malls we haven explored. There are lots of malls there with those mini stalls inside. The prices are VERY affordable. SGD7-8 can get a decent piece.

And we went to the bakery called Mei Xin. This bakery sells lots of nice bread and pastry.

Not forgetting the Lao Po Bing (Wife's biscuit) from the famous shop called Heng Hiang. It only cost HKD40 which is SGD8.00 for 1 box (ten pieces).

Then we hurried back to the hostel to squeeze the harvest into our luggage and off we went to the airport.

Waiting for bus A21...

This is Jenny's and my luggage. Not alot right!

After we checked our luggage in, we realised Kai Lin has the heaviest, 16kg! Mine was the lightest, 10kg. Imagine I went with 7 kg ok...

So the HK ended with us flying back to SG feeling so exhausted from all the fun, food and shoppin. We will certainly miss HK! We will be back again!

Overall its a good and relaxing trip. I only spent around SGD800 including airfare and accomodation. I rate it 7/10 with good company, food and buying and buying and buying and buying....

Hong Kong Trip Day 4

2009-10-25T21:46:00.116+08:00

Before we started our adventure on Thursday morning, we decided to try the fast food in HK. Tata! I'm loving it. We had a simple breakfast. S$5 per person.

Macaroni with sausage. It's really healthy

The Deluxe breakfast aka Big Breakfast. Not much difference in taste.

We loved this grilled chicken burger!

After breakfast, we went to the H&M at Central to shop. H&M is like Istean. The apparels are those fashionable kind and at affordable prices too. So this is one place you should not miss! If they happened to have a sale, then you are in luck! For us, we only noticed mostly are knitted wear as the winter is coming. Oh well, but we managed to leave the building with some shopping bags. Smiles all the way.

Along the way to meet my HK colleagues for lunch, we saw all the expensive buildings.

My awesome colleagues. We had Shanghai food for lunch at the restaurant. HKD90 per pax. Stomach filled, wallet emptied.

After lunch, we were supposed to visit Madam T and the Peak but we have to rush to Disneyland in the evening, plus with all my HK friends persuaded us that it was better to shop than to rush everywhere, we decided to abort the sight seeing and SHOP! The miracle word just brought sparkles to our eyes.

My Friend brought us to Tsim Sha Shui. Thank God for her if not we would spend some precious time finding the streets. The shopping experience was not too bad. The best part, the stalls along the streets sell cheap stuff and most importantly can bargain! Muhahaha!

It was 5pm and made our way to our adventure waiting for us. I took a power nap in the train and dreamt. Kai Lin was laughing hard at my silly dream. Haha!

We bought the Halloween tickets the previous day. If you still remembered I mentioned in my previous entry that our first visit to Disney was unsuccessful as they were closing for the day soon. So if you are visiting Disneyland, make double sure you check the theme park operating hours. But it was not a wasted trip for us after all because we took ALOT of pictures before we left. =D

We took the train and alighted at Sunny Bay for the transit to the Resort.

Choo Choo... Here comes the train to bring us to the magical world! So awesome right~

It was very spacious. But we didn't get the chance to sit down because we were busy taking photos from one carriage to another.

Even the handles ...

Every carriage has a different character figurine like this.

Upon alighting... more pics again! Haha, we just couldn't resist.

Finally, the entrance. Coming 630 soon! Did you realised it was already dark? The sun really retire much earlier here. We kept on thinking it was already 8ish. Haha!

All ready to party!

Before we entered, we ensure no food and drinks were in our bag cause it was not allowed! =X Well, you can try to hide the perishables. We did! We cleared the security and deposited our shopping harvest in the lockers provided. Of course not free la. HKD50 for a BIG one!

The tickets. Nice!

When we set our feet into this place, the lighting, music and everything was just so enticing. I forgot all of my tiredness from the day shopping. It was just just (only one word to describe) MAGICAL! It felt like we all became five year old again! Imagine~~ all of us running and screaming...

The fountain. Simply stood in awe~

We went to catch this 10 mins 4D show.

We were armed with the gear and fidgeting on our seats just waiting for the show to begin.

The whole show was just terrific. It was a LIVE show! The smoke, the gust of wind, the water you get to experience all of it! We were so blown away! It was really worth the wait!

Then .... photos again!

The highlight of the visit... how could we miss the opportunity to take pictures with our favourites. We spent considerable time just for that few seconds.

With Mickey Mouse. He was really mischievous.

With Pluto. If you don't know him, he is Mickey's pet.

Winne! A skinny one! We said he went on a diet.

The ah beng Goofy. He walks like one!

Donald Quek! Fell in love with him~

Is this chip or dale? We also not sure. We didn't manage to take picture with him. The queue was closed.

We went to Its A Small World!

The outside...

We secured a seat in the boat and as we cruised down the little "river", the scenery was...

Little Mermaid

Lilo and Stitch

Statue of Liberty

We also watched the parade, a Halloween one! Isn't this a great idea to dress up for our Halloween party?

We went to the soveneirs shop. We only could afford to take pictures.

The Jelly you should not miss too!

We went to visit Winnie.

We sat in this little cart

Saw Eeyore

Bouncy Tigger!

Winnie u-hoo~

They took a picture of us but we didnt realise.

This was an attractive ride. The flying Jumbo Elephant. You decide how high you want to fly by controlling the joystick in front of us.

After which, we went to fight aliens with...

Buzz lightyear!

The results! I love this game alot! Coz its pure laser shooting!

Yeah then we drove around in the Go-Kart. Only one pedal. Step to accerlate, release to brake or slow down.

Bernice and I tried the Merry-Go-Round

A dizzy ride..

The highlight of the night. The Fireworks at 9pm

Beautiful fireworks! The theme park closes at 11pm. But we only left at midnight because the Cindrellas were rushing for the pumpkins.. I mean the last MTR back to the city.

Though we played for about 5 hours, we didnt manage to try all the rides due to the long long queues. Oh but if you have been to other Disneyland, this is not as big compared to the others. However, you still can bring home some fun memories.

Compared to Ocean Park, I preferred Disneyland because I really enjoyed myself and the experience was definitely better than looking at animals and just saying no to thrilling rides. If you are deciding between both theme parks and if you are travelling with kids, Disneyland is an excellent place for family outing. The kids, they will love everything. Personally, I felt it is better to visit at night as it is more cooling and the place is much more beautiful with the lightings.

But if you are travelling with friends, then ocean park might be more exciting.

Hong Kong Trip Day 3

2009-10-23T12:27:00.051+08:00

It is our second morning in Hong Kong and we were really determined to eat some "Dim Sum" breakfast. So we went to a chinese restuarant at Tsim Sha Tsui recommended by Jen's friend.

The place is called Serenade.

This is the menu which we had a hard time reading. It was really confusing. We mistook the numbers for the price! We were pondering how come it gets more expensive as we went down the list. Actually the prices were printed at the footnote of the menu. Really felt silly after we seek clarifications with the waitress.. =/

The Siew Mai

Awesome filling and "feeling" eating it!

Sui Jing Bao

Water Chestnut Kuey

Of course how can we do without Congee. Aww~

Egg tarts, Char Siew Su, some red bean jelly-like stuff and fried sweet food. Thumbs up!

Shrimp Chee Chong Fun

Hand made Char Siew Bun. The filling are those juicy kind, once you peeled open the bun and the juice will just flow out if you are not quick enough to shove it into your mouth.

We are enjoying our breakfast thoroughly!

Oh yes, we also ordered rabbits! They looked so adorable. We couldnt bear to eat them so we decided to...

play with them! Rem the leaf? It was on the red bean dessert. hahha!

The fellowship of the Rab-Bits!

We got tired and we decided to eat them!

You can:

1. bite them like this or

2. ripped them apart!

Well, both ways are cruel! They tasted delicious because they are marshmallows!

Yam Cha Wan Shui ~

We went to City Gate at Tung Chung for our shopping spree~ This is their warehouse sale! But the layout of the mall stunned us! Well, not everything is affordable. All the branded stuff are consolidated here. The branded prices are around S$150 cheaper compared to Singapore. If you are not a branded chap, this is definitely not the place to spend the day.

We discovered toilet seat in one of the changing room and we decided to pose!

Guess what? We saw "DR KONG"!!! ?This shop sells all the toddler stuff.

We went to Food Republic for lunch. SG food!

After lunch, we went to the supermarket "Taste" to look around. They dedicated one corner just for the coming Halloween!

Bernice trying her discipleship on...

This is a hungry ghost! See all the tidbits!

We wanted to just buy mineral water. In the end, we swept all the instant noodles off the shelves!

A trolley full of them!

BK Chips! The Onion Rings is goody good!

Water parade. We bought 2 bottles of 1.5litres of water for S$2.15!

We were supposed to visit Disney Land but upon reaching we realised they close at 8pm! DANG! So we bought tickets for the next day and we took lots of pictures!

After that, we went Causeway Bay Shopping! Tian ar! Very expensive malls to shop in. So we left empty handed...

We were craving for dessert so we went to Hui Lau Shan again!

The drink is so fruity delicious! Fresh mango with many sago! Once you start, you cant stop!

Curry with Prata

The dessert are just so awesome that even the fly could not resist it even though it is just a picture on the wall!

We finished dessert at 10pm and decided to take the MTR to Jordan. We went to Temple Street. The place was relatively similar to the Ladies Market. However, Temple Street offered lower prices. These two places are the best places to exhibit your bargaining skills.

We slept at 2am and we were all ready for our magical adventure the next day~

Hong Kong Trip Day 2

2009-10-20T13:29:00.053+08:00

We woke up early to get ready for our expedition. We bought the Ocean Park tickets at a discounted price of HKD230. The weather was in our favor as the sun was smiling and hanging brightly up in the sky.

Before we embarked for an exciting day, how could we forget our stomach! We went to the stall that sell You Tiao a few streets away from our hostel.

See the still sleepy faces.

There were so many things we wanted to try so we just ordered and shared.

Fish Congee. I love their porridge!

The super duper crispy You Tiao!

The plain soya bean. We have to add sugar if not its tasteless.

Char Siew Chee Chong Fun

Drooling already? This set of breakfast only cost us around S$3.40 each! Cheap!

After breakfast, Ocean Park is waiting for us! We took a direct bus to the theme park from Admiralty.

Look at the awesome tickets. Guess which one I took? Haha~

At the entrance...

We were greeted by the "animals". So smiley. They made perfect ushers.

We took pictures with the Panda mascot, Le Le. This fellow super naughty. It kept on distubing us. So Kai Lin tried to blind him.

My all time favourite, Swift the Dolphin.

The Professor.

Halloween at Ocean Park!

What a pity. They are still so young. Rest in peace.

We took a train to another part of the park. Breath-taking view!

I spotted two weirdo trying to ...

Someone else was following us. Maybe he was our guardian angel :)

We saw the fire foxes. They were taking their afternoon nap.

Tarepanda comes alive! Don't you think he is very adorable? We cant figure out if he was posing for us or was he sleeping. He got really bad dark rings. So we tried to say HELLO PANDA!

We also came across many species of goldfishes. All looked depressed.

See, I fished a shark! Heh!

The Jelly Fish. Armies of them in the aquarium.

Cecil (Sea Seal) taking the afternoon nap. I was wondering how come the animals all so sleepy.

The really long escaltor that helped us to navigate around the park.

The exciting rides!

It was so exciting that only Kai Lin dared to try. Did you all managed to spot the brave little horse?

The ONE AND ONLY ride we all took: The Ferris Wheel

They told me it is not scary at all but I wasnt assured at all. =/

For the many revolutions up on the wheel, I was holding tight to the railings. My height phobia made me tried very hard not to move any of my muscles at all. Mind you, there were no safety belts on the seats! So scary x1000. It was so torturing for me.

The precious moment~

Kai lin and Bernice was facing the South China Sea. They said the view was good! I believed them though I didnt managed to turn my head and see.

Next, we hurried to the Dolphin show at 330pm. We watched the mammals did the tricks for half an hour. We were scorched under the hot sun. But it was worth it. DOLPHINS>>> thumbs up!

After the show, we were totally exhausted and our stomach were protesting.

Char Siew Rice

Duck Rice

Curry Pork Rice. Yum Yum!

Beef Bolognaise Rice

The portion was huge! We could hardly finish our share. Each of us paid around S$5. Worth it!

After dinner, we went to Harbour View to watch the Symphony of Light.

All the lights on the buildings created very nice moves as they danced to the rhythm of the music! A little disappointing as we expected something more spectacular. But yeah you should not miss this if you are going HK. This is one of their highlights.

After which, we took a stroll down Avenue of stars. The sea breeze was great companion to our walk.

It was a very long day of walking. Before we ended our day, we ate the famous "Yu Dan" (we call them fish balls).

Can you tell if they enjoyed it?

There were many other choices. All by the roadside. Just right after we stepped out of our hostel.

Oh, how could we forget this? Jenny was chanting to buy this the moment we left the plane. "Chou Dou Fu" (Smeelllllly Bean Curd).

I am new to this dish. It tasted alright with all the sweet sauce and chili. But if you eat it without the sauces, you will taste the fermented the smell inside your mouth. It is not so bad as people made it to be. Got to try this!

So, it was a day with much exercise for the legs! Ocean Park was great though we did not manage to experience all the rides. By the end of Day 2, the crave to shop was actually acting up.

Stay and watch how we eat "Rabbits" on Day 3!

Hong Kong Trip Day 1

2009-10-19T21:44:00.034+08:00

Preparation

Taking advantage of the Jet Star Bring A Friend promotion, Bernice, Kai Lin, Jenny (my sec school friend) and I decided to go for a short holiday! After several discussions over email at work, the flying date was sealed in July. Since then, everyday we would count down to our well deserved rest.

We really do not know what to expect in Hong Kong. Oue perception of this place is "mai dong xi, chi dong xi" (buying and eating). Of course, the association of Ocean Park and Disney Land as well. We were determined to visit these places! We only read of Shing's visit to HK previously. Thankfully, Jenny went before 4 years ago and she did most of the itinerary planning for our trip.

We also monitored the weather condition to ensure we packed the right clothings for this trip. It is expected to be slightly cooler around this period. At the same time, we followed closely on the exchange rate. We exchanged our currency only few days before we flew. We had a relatively good deal S$1 to HKD5.5

It seemed that alot of things were quite uncertain, but there was one thing we were quite certain, that is, we CONFIRMED will shop ALOT!

As clever travellers, the most logical thing to do was to travel light. We packed minimum clothes into our seemingly huge luggage, brought additional shopping bag to get ready for a plentiful harvest, and a hand carry bag for our essentials such as our wallets and passport.

Arrival

12 October was indeed a beautiful day! We arrived at the airport and have a quick lunch before we depart. We left at 345pm and reached HK 730pm local time. The climate over in HK as quite similar to SG. Our flight do not have a passage way that lead us to the immigration checkpoint. Instead we made our way out of the plane and boarded a mini bus that will bring us to the airport. It was about a short five mins ride. It was an awesome tour of the parking area of the planes and oh well it was just so cool to be in such close proximity to the huge birds.

Accomodation

From HK airport to our accomodation, Dragon Hostel, the best way is to take Airport Bus A21 which cost at HK$33.00 per person/per trip , the duration is about 35mins. The address is Room 707, 7/Floor, Sincere House, 83 Argyle Street, MongKok, Kowloon, HongKong. We paid SGD80 dollars for our 4 night stay per person. Personally, I felt this is an awesome deal because we were located in the middle of the hustle and bustle of Mongkok. We were just steps away from the ladies market (isnt that an awesome thing for us? Everyday also got temptation!)

Surrounding the place were many shopping malls where we can get many great bargains, it was just too bad we got no time to visit all. Eating places are everywhere. From the local cusines to Macdonalds and KFC, I bet you have a headache deciding what to eat everyday! The MTR is also walking distance.

Our room was fully air-conditioned, hot water for our shower was provided (very important for me because I cannot survive on cold water), towels provided, free wireless access, free room cleaning service, excellent cleaniness, staff are friendly and helpful! For a very budget stay, these things are just bonus!

Here's the pictures of our room:

Yes, it is this small. We only got walking space.Four of us shared this room. I know it is very messy. But this is what happen after 4 days of shopping!

After we checked in, it was already close to ten. So we need to satisfy our stomach!

Bernice had curry rice.

Jen, Kai lin and me had wanton noodles!

The wanton fillings. So yum yum.

After dinner, we don't feel shiok at all. We went to this very famous dessert stall. Its just across the street of our hostel.

The utensils are kept inside the table compartment.

We wanted more to fill our stomach!

Mango Platter.. whoohoo. Its Monday special!

Mango Muchi~

XO carrot cake. We preferred SG carrot cake.

This mango dessert is just simply delicious. Its just so fresh and we love the big sago! Chewy~

We had a happy time eating!

Off to HK!

2009-10-12T12:45:00.003+08:00

Back on 16/12/09 midnight!

Multiplication

2009-10-12T01:11:00.014+08:00

Nov 2007

April 2008

Nov 2008

July 2009

It was the big day everyone was looking forward to. It was important for every individual. After 2 years of breathing in the same air at Marine Crescent every Saturday, coming early to book seats together, attended countless of prayer meetings, played multiply sessions of LAN, we are going to multiply!

They were so afraid to hear their names being called so I decided to call everyone and then tell them if they are staying or going to the new cg. I could see that their hearts were at their mouth when each of their names were called. It kinda sound like a survivor series. So finally, this episode ended with Alfred, Esther, Hui Yan, Jordan, Maria and Eugene moving to the new cg doing greater things following Bear's and JY's departure in August.

We had a great time fellowshipping with 3 different groups inventing their own dishes and explaining why they creatively made them.

My favourite was Yu Ting's group. Their group put some fruits together and mixed with yogurt. The group wanted to show that we are all different ones but the yogurt which is the glue will keep us together! All of them were bursting with ego when their dish were everyone's favourite.

Really thank God for a wonderful two years with this awesome cg! In my very bias opinion, they are the best members any leaders could ask for! I will always remember the laughter, the silly jokes, the gaming sessions and all the fun we all have together. Lets continue to love God and serve Him in this awesome place!

A worth of sacrifice

2009-10-02T01:07:00.001+08:00

We meant everything to God. What does God meant to you?

Left 4 Dead 2

2009-09-30T01:01:00.004+08:00

For the LAN players out there, I believe we are all waiting for version 2 of L4D to be released! And of course not forgetting my cg!

E462, while we patiently wait for the new version, here is a substitute.

Now we got more things to talk about other than shouting each other name during gaming. :)

See you guys at the next challenge! I believe it would be soon!

A new day

2009-09-28T21:32:00.000+08:00

I was not ready for anything new.
Maybe it was essential, nothing too hard to comprehend.
I tried to convince but was persuaded.
I mustered all my strength to give a nod.

I was still living in that decision unconsciously
The past three hundred and thirty-six hours was totally oblivious to me.
Reality hit real hard late last night.
The manifestation even I could not suppress.
The pair of window to my soul could not hold the waters any more.
A flood of emotions rendered my self -conscious thoughts.

Not wanting to be engulfed and walloped by the darkness
I shut the tap and reclined into bed with my favorite teddy
I uttered a good night and drew the day to an end.

The nightmare was gone when dawn breaks
The realization of God’s new mercy and grace pumped my dejected heart
I jumped into my day with determination and energy.

All I need was a new beginning.

Social Networking Wars

2009-09-21T17:58:00.004+08:00

My members showed me this and i thought it was really hilarious!

And not forgetting twitter of course!

Sun rises in the west~

2009-09-18T11:49:00.002+08:00

Calling all SUN fans! Log in to your Facebook at 11pm tonight and get to chat LIVE with our very own Sun Ho!

It will be (almost) a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to connect with her realtime, where she will answer questions on her latest single Fancy Free! I heard it will only last for half an hour so don't miss this Sun rising in the West, and now in Singapore (virtually!) HAHA

See you all enthusiastic SUNNY peeps at 11pm on FB tonight then!

You The Leader – Chapter 1: Leaders needed

2009-09-17T00:17:00.001+08:00

The book started with Phil Pringle illustrating the need of leadership in humankind. The introduction links up to why there is a need for leadership in this world – because we are designed to lead and to provide leadership!

Leaders play prominent roles which we can see explicitly from the lives of biblical leaders. Moses was not only tasked to bring the people out of slavery but also communicating to Pharaoh the will of God. John the Baptist, the spiritual leader prepared the way for Jesus’ ministry. A few words to summarise their roles but their responsibilities were not as simple. Yet, they accomplished what was given to them and attained great results.

Phil Pringle reiterated the importance that leaders that provide hope, steadiness, and moral guidance are in high demand. Weak leadership denotes uncertainty and induced fear. Imagine, it is not the directors, presidents, executives, doctors that are in high demand, but great leaders are!

He went on to exemplify the importance of leadership and I’ve learnt:

1. Leaders change the world

Examples are Alexandra the Great, Alexander Graham Bell, Martin Luther.

They changed the world in difficult times.

Of course, the greatest leader that changed the world is Jesus Himself. He transformed the lives of million and gave eternal salvation to those who received Him.

2. Leaders impart vision

It is about seeing the Promised Land. We need to see what our leaders are seeing. We need to tell what we are seeing. When we get the get the vision right, we can get on the right programme and everyone is on one same track.

3. Leaders create the new and recreate the old

New ideas and creativity are powerful tools to shape the future. It gives life to the vision and makes it more exciting!

4. Leaders mentor and empower

We stretch the ability of those around us and see the values in individuals. Together, we make things happen and don’t wait for things to happen. Reaching the higher level is within our means. Be thankful for people that guides you or gives you opportunity to grow. You will appreciate that your latent potential are exhibited.

5. Leaders spiritually inspired

Spiritual leadership is the most powerful and important kind of leadership. The influence is extended beyond just morals.

In conclusion, God trusts people to build His kingdom. He uses people that went through fire, people that are willing. God choose those that are ready to go through the good and the bad. Trials are just part of the pack.

It is funny to think that our Wonderful, Faithful and Almighty God can trust in the fallen, the imperfect us with the task of doing His will, why can’t we trust the God that believes in us?

Matthew 19(New American Standard Bible)

²⁶And looking at them Jesus said to them, "With people this is impossible, but with God all things are possible."

So, are you ready to be a leader for God and with God?

I am in the process.

Blockbuster Sunday rocks Orchard!

2009-09-13T23:06:00.022+08:00

Other than catching our favourite movie characters in the theatres, this time we decided to bring them up close and personal...

Right there in the heart of Singapore, if you saw teams of enthusiastics youths racing down Orchard Road... familiar movie characters in the malls of Orchard, then you are right in the middle of...

Yes! Finally after days and nights of planning and cracking their brains, the connect group leaders of JK subzone has put together an excellent event! Though alot of brain juice was squeezed during the brainstorming session, the event itself was worth all the effort and time!

All the teams successfully finished their tasks enthusiatically and arrived at the ending point victorious! Let us go through some of the stations...

All of them received a clue card to start off!

This is memory power station:

There are altogether 30 pairs of movie charcters to remember. After 30s, the cards will be turned over. Teams have to guess as many correct pairs as possible. But the challenge is, every wrong guess will cause the board to turn 90 degrees clockwise. Exciting right!

I think they have more fun turning the board than guessing the pairs!

Our station master, Mr Aladdin, giving the teams the instructions.

Guess... Guess... Guess..

One of the check points required them to speak to the foreigners.

Singing station:

Team members 1 & 3 sing: Titanic, Team members 2 & 4 sings: Aladdin

So team member 1 will sing follow by 2, then 3 and then lastly 4. So the songs and tune will be interrupted. The next person singing must remember to sing the right tune to the right song! ha.. Not very easy, so in the end...

Next, the foot charade: They have the guess what were drawn on their feet.. hahaha!

Next, play flag game with handsome Ong Bak!

So, they were playing so hard for:

And we decided to end off with:

We all had fuuuunnnnnnnnnnnn!

iPhone 3G

2009-09-03T21:55:00.000+08:00

My dad gave me an iPhone ... brochure

I was like... thanks for giving me a vision to get hold of one..

My current Nokia pal is giving me alot of problems. It is showing symptoms of old age.

I cant seem to start my music player. I cant exit any screen when I pressed the "cancel or exit" button. I can't use the contact list. The list goes on. Hopefully the whole phone will not malfunction.

I am currently on Mio Plan (Mobile + Internet + Residential line). I can't do anyupgrade till end December. Meanwhile, I can only pray that N81 continues to serve me faithfully.

Believing my Heavenly Father to give me the REAL iPhone!

Do your part

2009-08-30T21:56:00.003+08:00

I never knew in some part of the world we live in, such cruelty actually existed!

The movie, The Cove, actually uncovered a truth which I personally think is total inhuman.

This movie depicts an annual dolphin massacre in a secret cove in Taiji. Japan suggests a microcosm of a larger picture, man’s disregard for life. The theme broadens – coal-burning facilities multiply across the planet, leading to high mercury levels in seafood, man’s primary source of protein.

The killing season starts every September 1st and concludes on April 30th. Every drive results in a loss of a shocking 23,000 dolphins and porpoises. The harvested mammals are sold off as normal seafood in the supermarket. Most Japanese do not know actually their source of protein are actually "dolphin in disguise"

The slaughter is a hidden activity and was never aired to the nation. Many do not know such activity is happening in their country and they are actually eating dolphin's meat. To make things worse, the meat might be contaminated with mercury due to the proliferated industrial activities. The fishermen are not educated and they have the impression that they are just doing their part in "pest control" as they believed that the dolphins are disrupting their food chain.

You can read more here.

Throughout history, we have stories of dolphins saving humans. In Ancient Greece, it was a crime punishable by death to harm them. With this film OPS hopes to save dolphins, and ultimately…ourselves.

I felt helpless. The only thing I can do is to sign a petition to help stop this massive killing. I urged all to join me in this campaign. We are only a few hours away to reaching 50,000 petition.

Sign the letter and save the many Dolphins!

Thank you all.

Lastly, the trailer:

Finally

2009-08-26T01:06:00.006+08:00

It was still a balancing act between school, work and church some 2 months back. But…the words school, assignments, exams, all these have reached a conclusion when I received the letter from the institution.

It read:

“We are pleased to invite you to participate in the SIM-RMIT University Degree Conferment & Awards Ceremony…

Yes! I am graduating with a Bsc in Business Management majoring in Human Resources Management degree in 3 days time! Oh my gosh! Can you imagine 3 days and that ceremony will put a full stop to my part time tertiary education with SIM.

It only felt like last week when I was frantically looking for some five thousand dollars to qualify myself in the new school term in July 2007. I was intending to take up a bank loan so that I can cruised myself through the school fees for the 24 months course and have my undivided attention on my assignments alone without battling an eyelid. Oh well, the seemingly perfect plan was put off by the jacking high interest rates. Well, in the end I borrowed the essentials from my uncle to get myself started in my university life. The rest of the fees were collected over 3 periods of my entire school term. Basically they were birth forth from my monthly salary which was initially pathetic, the year end bonus, and the little which I painstakingly consolidated through the lesser meals and entertainment. It was like a “Give to Su Ting’s school fund”

So it was, two years of school life was punctuated with…

Lessons thrice a week for 3 consecutive hours from 7PM to 10PM…

No doubt the interesting and yes … boring lectures…

Fishing game in class…

Photocopying notes…

Class tests…

Rushing assignments MADLY…

Tea breaks in between lessons…

Countless of researches and discussions…

Lengthy essays…

Inundated with lecture notes…

Visiting student portal…

Tonnes of coffee to keep myself awake…

Three hours long examination which we still think is not sufficient to write a half page long answer for a question worth TWO marks…

Anxiety…

Beating the crowd to get to the bus stop to get home…

Tiredness…

Of course and … Stress…

But school would never be complete without all these, isn’t it? =D

Well, I have collected my academic Regalia

And it is happening very soon!

Oh yes, Karen Wong will be graduating with me! Yeah!

So looking forward to Friday! Such a joyous occasion!

Going with the flow

2009-08-20T22:18:00.005+08:00

Life is like a raging river. There is a constant flow of agitation and movements of challenges. These are essentials for life to endure and overcome. In fact, stagnant waters breed disease and decay.

Whenever life decides to throw a boulder or rock at us, be it failing a test or even losing a loved one, do not be dismayed or get disheartened. Do not get sore with the bumps. The negative instincts rave how unfortunate the situations might be. Do not leverage on disappointment, self-pity, self-loathing, trepidation and fear. Don't get walloped by the seemingly ebbing lifestyle, but in fact let the word of God proliferate in your life through meditations and confessions.

Rom 8 (The message)

^26-28Meanwhile, the moment we get tired in the waiting, God's Spirit is right alongside helping us along. If we don't know how or what to pray, it doesn't matter. He does our praying in and for us, making prayer out of our wordless sighs, our aching groans. He knows us far better than we know ourselves, knows our pregnant condition, and keeps us present before God. That's why we can be so sure that every detail in our lives of love for God is worked into something good.

We are not in control of things like losing a job or to prevent tragedies from happening, but we can control how we want to perceive things and how to overcome our problems. Life is fair. There are gains and losses. Sometimes loss is essential for growth and survival. When you go through changes, let the mind work. Do not cripple the mind by depriving its ability to discover viable solutions. It is no enigma.

Some things in our lives have to go in order to make way for better things. The Universe has a way of nudging us along when we get too lazy, complacent or comfortable. I am sure occasionally we have this little stirring of dissatisfaction. Then it's time to start moving!

Do not let the stagnation process develop fats in us. Thus, something in our lives has to shift in order for us to continue growing. It then arranges for people and events to push us towards what we were meant to be.

We can choose to be ignorant of tell tale signs. We were steadfast in our own negative mindset numerous times. They are so firmly embedded in the riverbed that they refuse to let the currents lift them up. As the years go by, and along with them, a flood of lost opportunities... and the stubborn rocks are finally left buried in algae and dirt.

Did you put your dreams on hold because you were trapped in a wake up, go to work, go home, go to bed routine? Have you stopped growing in your life? Did nothing excite you anymore about your work or your game? What about your friends? Were they really good for you? Or were you hanging on because you were afraid of being alone?

You didn't have the time nor courage to go out and do what you really wanted to do. Well, now you do! Change that mind, uplift the stubborn rocks, meet new fishes, reach new riverbeds!

Go with the flow of change!

The Problem

2009-08-18T22:39:00.001+08:00

It is not within our control that problems happened. They line up and greet you with a sudden visitation without fail. No doubt they do spice up our life, challenge and drive us out of the boring daily routine. These unexpected guests might be a thorn but lets pause for a second and think. Some find them a pain and yet they did nothing about them and let them continue to reside and eventually these problems have a permanent status. Some rose up and fight these so called pests and the reward, an overcoming warrior!

But who will dare to say actually they themselves are the problem? It is human nature to play finger pointing. We attributed the blame to situations, environment and others around us, but never us. I am not a saint. Yes I do that when I refused to face the cruel reality.

But thank God to wake up calls. The Word of God, best friends, leaders.

Luke8:4-8 (NASB)

5"The sower went out to sow his seed; and as he sowed, some fell beside the road, and it was trampled under foot and the birds of the air ate it up.

6"Other seed fell on rocky soil, and as soon as it grew up, it withered away, because it had no moisture.

7"Other seed fell among the thorns; and the thorns grew up with it and choked it out.

8"Other seed fell into the good soil, and grew up, and produced a crop a hundred times as great." As He said these things, He would call out, "He who has ears to hear, let him hear."

I've learnt...

Our hearts are sowing ground. When we hear the WOG and when people speak a word into our lives, what do we do to them?

12"Those beside the road are those who have heard; then the devil comes and takes away the word from their heart, so that they will not believe and be saved.

13"Those on the rocky soil are those who, when they hear, receive the word with joy; and these have no firm root; they believe for a while, and in time of temptation fall away.

14"The seed which fell among the thorns, these are the ones who have heard, and as they go on their way they are choked with worries and riches and pleasures of this life, and bring no fruit to maturity.

15"But the seed in the good soil, these are the ones who have heard the word in an honest and good heart, and hold it fast, and bear fruit with perseverance.

What kind of ground would you rendered your heart to be? Sometimes when we are approached with a new challenge or presented with words we do not like to hear, selective listening or actions act up. We can spend a whole life counselling, teaching and inspiring. The results and the harvesting, is it the sower's responsibilty?

Just like we cant control problems, we cannot control how people want to feel and perceive. A good intention might deemed as a wicked thought, a teaching session can be accused as a confrontation. Isn't teachability of the heart the main essence to reason a great harvest or rather the force to overcome. It is more than just nodding the head and saying yes. Teachability is like true repentance, saying sorry. Acknowledging the mistake and not repeating it. It is avoiding all the "buts" and not giving excuses or reasons as an way of escape. Do not channel the fault nor overlook it. Take ownership and change! Yes it takes courage.

Words play an important part in framing our lives. We care too much how words can inflict emotions on ourselves and misinterpreted the real weight of the words. Our narrow mind, the self-centered disease, own interests, like what the bible says, choked us.

Sometimes when we want to be use by God and do great things, it takes more than just having friends. What does your heart says? What does your flesh says? And what does God says?

We do not have to disguise ourselves. We do not need to be wolves in sheep's' clothings. Most importantly, be the person God has designed you to be. God's designs are always unique. Dun be a copy cat. The final product always been through many correction and subjection in order to be labelled the best. Are you brave enough to be corrected? Or do you succumbed to self pity and denial?

Human do make mistakes. We are imperfect. When you committed one, what do you do?

When Peter denied Jesus, yes, it did hurt him emotionally. He was guilty and was sorrowful. But his life did not end there. He repented, reconciled with Jesus and eventually went off to do and then share the great works of Jesus.

When Judas betrayed Jesus, yes, it did hurt him emotionally. He was guilty and was sorrowful. His guilt and sorrows overwhelmed him and he chose death as his verdict. He was forever disconnected from Jesus just because he refused to face his mistakes like Peter did.

Would you choose to be Peter or Judas?

When situations or problems are not in favor of us, do you murmured and complained? Seal the mouth and shut up. Do not pronounced the death sentence over your life.

So, next time when you are not able to solve a problem, it takes more than changing the heart and the mindset. It goes beyond. The problem then might be...

Your attitude.

The healthier choice

2009-08-12T21:42:00.000+08:00

These are little milk-looking drinks that are believed to deliver good bacteria into our stomach. I remembered these drinks were substitutes to soda drinks and mummy used them to reward me when I did what she said. Well, it didn’t dwell on me was Vitagen better or Yakult. When you were younger, everything else just appealed to you. We were not really "brand conscious" then.

I kinda stop drinking them because mummy has stopped buying home any. She said we are supposed to buy her essence now instead of her buying fermented milk for us. Ok then. But recently, I always have digestive problem. My stomach cant seems to digest food at a normal rate so I ate lesser or in smaller portions as I do not get hungry easily.
Vitagen started getting into my life when the sudden crave crept to me unknowingly. This fermented milk drink thus became one of the solutions to my deteriorating digestive problem.

I was pondering would Yakult or Vitagen suit me best. And I did a little read up.

Vitagen is the answer because…

Vitagen Less Sugar cultured milk drink is specially formulated for consumers who are health conscious and are concerned about their sugar intake. Its sugar content is 50% lower compared to regular cultured milk drinks
And every bottle has billions of live probiotic cultures (good bacteria) to maintain a healthy digestive system. It is also high in dietary fibre (prebiotic fibre) to aid digestion and help support the growth of good bacteria in the intestines.

Prebiotics are non-digestible foods that make their way through our digestive system and help good bacteria grow and flourish. Prebiotics keep beneficial bacteria healthy.
Vitagen also contains lactobacillus acidolphilus culture. L. acidolphilus on the other hand,”protects against the entrance and proliferation of “bad” organisms that can lead to diseases. This is accomplished through a variety of mechanisms.

For instance, L. acidophilus breaks down food which leads to the production of lactic acid, hydrogen peroxide, and other byproducts that suggest a poor breeding ground for those unwelcomed micro guests.

L. acidophilus also produces lactase, the enzyme that breaks down milk sugar (lactose) into simple sugars. People who are lactose intolerant do not produce this enzyme. This is indeed a terrific finding for me as I am suffering from mild lactose intolerant. Therefore, L. acidophilus supplements may aid those with this ailment.

Also, dietary fibre or probiotics have the ability to relieve constipation, great solutions to diarrohea, have lower cholesterol, prevent and control thrush (a vaginal yeast Infection) and even prevent bowel cancer, as well as stimulate the immune system.” (Wahlqvist, 2002).

Finally, Vitagen is cheaper and it has a home delivery service! I have already signed up! Looking forward to drink my Vitagen everyday!

Grab a bottle today!

Visited

2009-08-04T00:18:00.004+08:00

I think it was a three hours long fellowship.

I usually do not have any agenda for Mon night after my kickboxing. I will hurry myself home to take a cool shower and comfortably glue my eyes to the TV. But tonight was a little different.

We met at the fast food restaurant which was only a 5 minutes walk from my nest. I was presented a bar of chocolate when we met. Wow! Actually my mind reminded me about the calories I burnt an hour ago can easily be earned back with just one bite of the deadly bar. That thought was retaliated by the thoughtfulness of the giver. So I happily waved the bar in the air and appreciated the gesture with a smile and a thank you.

I helped myself to my favourite six pieces of chicken chunks while the conversation just kept on going on. I heard the sad, unhappy and of course the happy stuff. We paused, discussed, thought and laughed. I could sense the helplessness in him as he revealed the various events he was in. I prompted further to unveil a clearer picture of the whole situation.

Of course I shared my part and bare my heart. I have been wanting to talk to someone about it. It was hard to start sharing the ordeal I am in because not many can understand and to majority, maybe its no big deal. Not all problems have a model solution to it but I do know problems are only temporary, the overcoming attitude is permanent.

Today I decided to let the cat out of the bag since I have already conquered my hurdle. I do not mind letting the listening party know more. He listened intently and nodded his head in acknowledgement as I echoed my thoughts once more. That served as an assurance to me which I felt I really needed the support greatly. I am really glad I related my feelings and I knew he has captured the essence of the whole sharing session.

We made our way to the bus stop as time did not permit us to carry on. Some random topics. SOT. People. Missions. Pets. Goldfish. We got a never ending list of things to talk about and we got to stop when the arrival of the bus interrupted us. I walked home thinking all he did.

He came and visited.
Shared and understood.
Asked and was taught.

He supported and prayed. The phone call every Thurs night.

You reminded me of Shi Ying when we were in the same cg.

You are a great friend!

Thank you... Alfred.

Lion Spotted

2009-07-29T00:38:00.007+08:00

Workers at Sim Ming Ave car workshops were having a normal day at work, when a nervous looking LION suddenly came out of nowhere...seemingly hungry because of how skinny his body looks.

Everyone freaked out, jumping over each other, some locking themselves up in cars, some in the offices, and some just ran away...but one brave guy took the picture of this Lion without making a sound....and there was the SHOCK when the Lion turned around... Turns out that one co-worker had shaved his dog in such a way to look like a Lion.... A lion wannabe... To be continued...

Aww cutie~

Have you seen him? Roar.... I mean Woof~

Wonder Baby

2009-07-27T16:33:00.002+08:00

Korea's fave Wonder Baby.

She's fantastically, awesomely cute!

The Garbage Trucks

2009-07-25T21:55:00.000+08:00

After I read the below article,I felt life is like a simple test. When people cross your path, what was your greeting to them regardless of what they did to you? We cannot avoid meeting people because we live in a populated planet and we need to meet people to connect. What we can avoid is bad attitude. Avoid having it.

Beware of Garbage Trucks
by David J. Pollay*

How often do you let other people's nonsense change your mood?

Do you let a bad driver, rude waiter, curt boss, or an insensitive
employee ruin your day?

Unless you're the Terminator, for an instant you're probably set back on your heels. However, the mark of a successful person is how quickly he/she can get back her focus on what's important.

Sixteen years ago I learned this lesson. I learned it in the back of a New York City taxi cab. Here's what happened.

I hopped in a taxi, and we took off for Grand Central Station. We were driving in the right lane when, all of a sudden, a black car jumped out of a parking space right in front of us. My taxi driver slammed on his breaks, skidded, and missed the other car's back end by just inches!

The driver of the other car, the guy who almost caused a big accident, whipped his head around and he started
yelling bad words at us.

My taxi driver just smiled and waved at the guy. And I mean, he was friendly.

So, I said, 'Why did you just do that? This guy almost ruined your car and sent us to the hospital!'

And this is when my taxi driver told me what I now call, 'The Law of the Garbage Truck.'

Many people are like garbage trucks. They run around full of garbage, full of frustration, full of anger, and full of disappointment.

As their garbage piles up, they need a place to dump it. And if you let them, they'll dump it on you.

When someone wants to dump on you, don't take it personally. You just smile, wave, wish them well, and move on. You'll be happy you did.

So this was it: The 'Law of the Garbage Truck.'
I started thinking, how often do I let Garbage Trucks run right over me?

And how often do I take their garbage and spread it to other people: at work, at home, on the streets?

It was that day I said, 'I'm not going to do it anymore.' I began to see garbage trucks. I see the load they're carrying. I see them coming to drop it off. And like my Taxi Driver, I don't make it a personal thing; I just smile, wave, wish them well, and I move on.

One of my favorite football players of all time, Walter Payton, did this every day on the football field.
He would jump up as quickly as he hit the ground after being tackled. He never dwelled on a hit. Payton was ready to make the next play his best.

Good leaders know they have to be ready for their next meeting. Good parents know that they have to welcome their children home from school with hugs and kisses.

Teachers and parents know that they have to be fully present, and at their best for the people they care about.
The bottom line is that successful people do not let Garbage Trucks take over their day.

What about you?

What would happen in your life, starting today, if you let more garbage trucks pass you by?

Here's my bet.You'll be happier.

So.. Love the people who treat you right.
Forget about the ones who don't.
Believe that everything happens for a reason.
If you get a chance , TAKE IT!
If it changes your life , LET IT!
Nobody said it would be easy...
They just promised it would be worth it!

Powerful Duet!

2009-07-22T01:46:00.000+08:00

Enjoy! Nice Song by SUN and JJ!

Horsey Joke

2009-07-21T23:52:00.006+08:00

Kai lin might like this entry~

Sunday after service, my cg went to town to check out the latest mall, Orchard Central. We laughed all the way there as we entertained each other with riddles and jokes. While exiting the MRT station, Bernice and me were just talking to Vivian...

Bernice, me: Vivian, do you know which horse has the biggest breast?
Vivian: Hmm...
Vivian: (after 3s).... I know! Its a cow!
Bernice, me: A COW?!
Bernice, me: (burst out in laughter) HAHAHAHAHA!
Vivian: Erm ya!
Bernice: But we were asking which HORSE...(giggling)
Me: (trying very hard not to laugh)
Vivian: Ohhh....
Bernice, me: Wah COW! (continued to laugh)...

Anyway, the answer is Zebra (Z-bra)...! hahaha

This Vivian always cracked me up! She really brightens up my day!

Oh and what do you get when you put a horse and a zebra together? This is not another riddle.
A Zorse of course! I am not kidding!

Anyway I just randomly went and looked up the world's largest horse. The quick search revealed that ... The Largest Horse In The World Is.... Digger, measuring at 19 hands and 2 inches. You can read more about him here.

Well, I found a friendly horse in the NEIGHbourhood recently. She was reported missing and have escaped from its original stable at Kranji. She is believed to be a nice horsey which weighs less than 50 KG and is 160cm tall. Her picture was last taken at Suntec. Check it out!

Familiar?

Fluffy Results

2009-07-19T00:25:00.003+08:00

Recently the H1N1 is the talk of the town. Probably getting the virus is the best way to prevent it.. haha! Well, steps on taking precautions and the message on the importance of personal hygiene have been penetrating the community. From wearing masks, taking temperatures to washing hands, all are equally important. Of course, all these are not just viable in the work place but at home as well. ;)

When I saw the bottom of the bottle of the hand soap, I thought it would be great to replace one soon. But before I could put a full stop to my thought, Mum has already got it replaced the next day.

So efficient! Anyway, the new soap came in chalky pale green colour and it looked quite thick too. Woah it really caught my attention. When I was admiring the new hand soap, I chanced upon the words that says "Fluffy results". I didn't give it much thought. I was wondering how fluffy would it gets. So I just pressed what I needed.. just in case my mum caught me playing with soap!

As days passed, my curiosity just increases when I use the toilet everyday. So I decided to take another closer look, then I saw...

!!!!!!!!!!!!

It is not a hand soap after all!...

Its for...

Xiao Hei... His bubble bath....

Why did my mum put it near the sink? Grr. So that explains the weird pale colour.

Anyway I have stopped using the "new hand soap"

Oh Xiao Hei got a new hair cut (maybe its fur cut) recently, and he looks like this now...

Still cute. I think he will enjoy the fluffy results more than me!

Kuishin-bo feast!

2009-07-15T19:27:00.024+08:00

Monday was our Kuishin-bo day! It was actually arranged weeks back but it didnt happen. Kai lin and lian wanted to take advantage of their 4ever friends promotion so together with bernice and myself, we skipped our way to our destination. Well, in the end we asked Karen and David along as well. The more the merrier.

I'll let the pictures do the talking yea..

Lian and I were armed with our chopsticks to start the sushi rolling.

And we met some hungry ghosts... hee

Waiting for David and Karen to come, we had to keep ourselves from touching the food.

All smiles, but very tough! (some of us even skipped breakfast and lunch for this!)

There was really a wide spread of food. So much food until I dun know where to start and what to start eating. Man, I am spoilt for choices. Just looking at the food, it was already a feast for the eyes.. I just can't wait to sink my teeth into those sushi.

And so we started.. finally! After a short 20mins into the food, I felt I have reached the maximum capacity of my intake for the day. Actually I always do not stand to gain when it comes to eating buffet. I don't fancy Seafood, Salmon, Sashimi. I am not a big fan of Jap food like Lian. Well, maybe I should not be there in the first place but yeah its the experience.

Oh and they got this special timing where they would ring the bell and make an announcement on the release of some special food. We do not know what it was going to be but all we knew was it was limited edition. So... david and I made a dashing trip to join the queue! Haaa... Well, in my opinion, nothing fantastic or special.

It was great fellowship. We shared, laughed, ate and played.

We were the last few to leave.

The dinner burnt a hole in my pocket. $39.90 per person. X_x

So we made a vow that we will not be back in the next half a year.

Ha! Definitely it is so easy for me! But for the sushi lovers, we will see about that!

Mr and Miss Little Men

2009-07-12T22:24:00.014+08:00

I wonder if you have heard of them.

They were once my childhood pals. They used to amuse me with their special personality and their names. I dont quite remember all. I knew I only owned one of the story books.

It is the Mr Funny Story. I recalled I read this story tirelessly again and again without getting bored. I would laugh at the silly things he did even though I read it a million times already. It just tickled me. Hahahahaha! Well, it was one of the best books I owned at that time so I kinda loved it. As for the rest of the stories, I just imagined and developed my own story lines.

These cute stuff were nearly out of sight and out of mind untill recently they made a comeback. If you happen to pass by 7-11, I am sure all these weird shapes toys or dolls are there near the entrance greeting you. Well, strangely I was just abit attracted to picking them up and looking at them again. Then Mr Funny came to my mind again. hahaha!

I didnt pay much attention to them until Sihui got me one from the convenient stall. It is a HP accessory. Like the bungee jump, Mr Happy went up and down in front of me... smiling! I don't know since when my legs started carrying to 7-11 and I would stretch out my hand and reward myself with one little capsule at an affordable $1.80.

One capsule can hatch 2 little Mr or Ms. I would find myself chanting the names of the figurines I would love to own. Everywhere I go now, seeing 7-11 would means spending $1.80 or sometimes even more =/ So far, these are what I've got!

Still missing a few more.

I gave away a few repeats:

I gave Emily Ms Sunshine! She said she would love to have one so I gave her my precious. *Smile*

I gave Kailin and Bear Mr Greedy. I gave to KL coz she said she loves him! I gave bear because... nothing.. its just a gift~ heh!

I gave Tang Mr Nosey. Emily suggested that so haha. Del was jumping and kept on reinforcing the idea..."It's not me!"

I saw Yu Ting carrying Ms Chatterbox! Ahhhh! I thought she is quite similar to that character.

I guess I would be frequenting 7-11 until I got the whole collection. =)

Mr Happy and Ms Sunshine! Lovely right?

Shing named them Mr & Miss Yellow~

Haha!

Are they your favourites too?

A new beginning

2009-07-11T23:18:00.008+08:00

The next half of the year has already started! Gosh...
I can say that God has really been faithful for the last 6 months, especially in my cg!

Last week our subzone reshuffled and we bid farewell to our dearest Bear, JY, Jon and Eugene. People like Ally and Peter also joined Jon in the new cg. The members did their usual stuff. Utilised all the tissues, blow their nose, hugged each other, said their last words...

Alfred did a video to summarise our time together for the past one year or so.

Check it out on my cg's blog! I love it!

But we all know change is always for the better!

Today we had our very first meeting after the changes. I just felt very strong in my heart that we really need to pray. This is especially important when we haven met for cg for the whole month of June and since we are starting afresh, we needed to get things going all over again.

Cg started with 12 ppl singing out their lungs out to God. Their praises was definitely clamarously loud I would say. Probably the neighbours would think has K-box started a branch at Marine Crescent. Ha~

Alfred and two more friends joined us shortly.

Worship moved into a new dimension when God just dropped a message, a new direction for us. We were reminded that God is still faithful. We should continue to trust, continue to believe. We are to enter into the land prepared for us to claim that victory that God has already won for us! God really made us felt everyone IS important and each individual CAN make a difference.

So, I felt like the general of the camp. When I heard the voice of the Chief, I just related the message to the soldiers. We prayed, we proclaimed that victory over our lives. We saw how the promises of God coming to pass, we saw growth, we felt breakthrough! An Army of God has arise! We are ready to fight and to overcome all... TOGETHER!

Not only that, the whole prayer meeting God just kept on encouraging us. The members just kept on praying and praying. Of course, needless to say, new people rose up to the occasion, took ownership and experienced their own breakthrough. Especially Kim and Belle! (I really think the camp changed them ALOT!) The cg spiritual atmosphere was lifted up! It felt like all the burdens that we brought into the meeting were all gone.

I really felt pumped up too~ Faith surrounds us! We are shouting out our God Reigns!

All in all, we ended the meeting with a new impartation of faith. Most importantly, when God said He make all things new, we can aways expect the best! We closed on a high note knowing that we have a NEW vision, New faith, New people, New breakthrough! God is good!

And how could I forget the fellowship... It always been the best. Today is exceptionally the bestest! Ahaha...

We had JCO Donuts!

OCK and some stuff that Alexis made...

Yum Yum! Sorry if I made you drool

I am very sure they were enjoying themselves.

Yeah! This is us today!

Alright! Looking forward to next week's meeting with the 2Ws: Weng Lok and Wang Xiang!

God is good!

I am getting ready for L4D tomo!

Camp Remuneration Part 2

2009-07-06T23:04:00.011+08:00

The game continues with the campers doing some more exercise.

Are they looking for "SEA food"?

Nope, these were the gold they were digging for.

Look at Yan Ming. So focus in counting.

This is Yan Ming's team. Gideon!!! So garang!

I saw something interesting after the game...

After the rain, I saw the citrus team did this:

What a sight on St John's Island!

Before we knew it, we were in the room for our last meeting. Everything was good. The drama, praise and worship, the people! I have never seen such enthusiatic campers before. They were singing, dancing, clapping to the song of the video, cheering even there were technical errors and the list just goes on... they were really a bunch of encouraging people!

All in all, I feel we did not feel cast away at all in the little island. There were people that were on fire, greater visions and dreams, thicker presence of God in our life! It is indeed an extraordinary camp. Thank you all for making a difference!

A video to sum up the camp: http://www.vimeo.com/5350386

I shall upload the drama videos in my next post. Stay tuned!

Camp Remuneration Part 1

2009-06-30T00:49:00.020+08:00

More attractive than the GSS discounts, more happening than Michael's sudden departure, more exciting than you thought it would be... Camp Castaway: The Camp Edition ended on 27th June 09.

We were selling the camp idea like hotcakes and I am so glad you were there to be part of this dynamic camp. In my opinion, it was one of the best camps besides Camp Fission some years back.

I really regretted my absence on the first day but I guess I was lucky enough to get a pretty late leave approval for just one day.

I jumped up of bed on a friday morning at 630am. This is even earlier than my normal every 730am and snoozing the clock every other five mins. My ferry timing was 10am but I needed to pack my bag and buy 30 packets of breakfast so my beauty sleep has to be sacrificed. I left my nest at 8am and in a hurry, I forgot to bring the most important thing. I had to take the train back home and then rushed down to Marina Pier in Comfort Cab. But the cab ride wasnt comfortable at all with all the long queues of cars and the horrendously expensive fare. Oh but thank God, I was just a few mins early before I have to swim to St John.

Alright, I was really glad I made it for the ferry. With Jerb and ten others campers, we set our feet on the island 25 mins later. It was a pretty long walk to our meeting room and our heavy bags were definitely unnessary companions.

Oh before we could proceed on to the camp site, we were greeted by Joanne and Aileen. As a safety precaution and in view of the H1N1, this is what we gonna do...

Haha. Yes. Temperature check to ensure we are H1N1 free.

After which we proceed to the meeting room where the session already started. I was really glad to see the campers still excited! Jared shared about apologetics and he got some live demostrations!

Tianyi showing us how he prays at home. It was pretty funny!

After the session was lunch!

The campers sat on the floor...We had proper tables and chairs.. oops

Del and See Wan, see the syrup they are preparing. They were the ones that made sure we were well fed. On top of that, they kept the whole dining area really clean and tidy. Probably you can call them the Kitchen MaMa!

Lunch was not eternal. The sun out there was calling out to us! It was the long awaited telematch. The troop was heading towards the beach and there was a sudden downpour. But that didnt dampen the spirit of the campers. They were all ready to give their best!

My digicam caught a few shots. Here was what they were heading for:

Cheezels!

Bread!

And a whole string of food!

But they must piggy back their team mates and reach for the food only with their mouth.

Stay tuned for the later part of Day 2 event!

God's Chisel

2009-06-21T00:41:00.001+08:00

I really love this post. It really triggered many thoughts.

Tampines Giraffe

2009-06-17T23:39:00.007+08:00

After reading Shing's blog on the Korean Giraffe entry, I realised I have a similar video.

If you have not read her entry, you can check it out on her blog.

Here is the one I have... Enjoy! Heh

Cast Away: The Camp Edition

2009-06-17T02:06:00.000+08:00

June holidays are coming to an end. What have you youths been doing? I know... sleep late, watch TV programmes, endless of gaming session and the last thing that would come to mind is the reality of picking up the pens and start doing those holidays assignments. Well, I was a youth before and probably still am. +p

Well, here is one good reason you should start finishing your untouched homework by this week.

YES! This year youth camp from the 25th to 27th of June, we are going "overseas"! Whoohoo!

I recalled camp was the most exciting part of my secondary school life. I went to St John's Island when I was in Sec Three (1997)! Gosh.. that's donkey years back. Anyway I can't remember what was it all about. Hee! Now all the camp participation I've been through was just simply the planning part. I guess I will never have the chance to be play in the camp again. But I have my fair share of fun.

Come on think about it... when will you ever get the chance to go to this island again? So now this is the best chance to make new friends, explore another side of our nation and of course to have fun! I am excited about it! So now, don't wait! All members can embarked on this camp for just an affordable $30 and your friends at $20.

All meals are taken care of. Delphine might be your chef (thank God not Shiying...heh). She has some chef recommendations! Well, if you say your grace, you should be enjoying the finger licking food! Ask for a second serving if there are still more left over!

Of course how can we forget the most important thing... no more tables and floors as bed. We have passed the Flinstones age! You will be greeted by bunks fully furbished with beds and mattress. Powerful fans by the wall and the ceiling will spin fast enough that maybe will leave you pulling your blanket up till your neck! Maybe its more solid than your aircon at home.

Oh... don't forget to immerse youself with the nature. The gentle breeze, the tall and strong trees that formed a canopy over us, hear the crashing of the waves against the rocks, listen to the insects and birds as they compose a nice symphony for all to enjoy!

Nope, we do not need your passport to reach the island. We will all be ferried across the waters. I wish it was Titianic but we aren't Jacks nor Roses so the little ferries will just do the job. Wave and say hello to all the vessels and big ships as we pass by them.

See, the ferry company even hire us to be their models. ;)

Alright, enough said, go sign up now! Don't miss it!

Here's the trailer:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=evYxZ-hbE6U

See you there! Let's rock the island!

St John's Island here we come!