Boy meets Girl...

Just came home. Having yesterday's soup for dinner. Yum yum... ^ ^ Or should I be upset that yesterday's leftovers were waiting for me at home? =P Anyway, mum didn't let me have much soup. She read somewhere the other day that drinking too much soup late at night isn't good for digestion. =/

Went for purpose-driven shopping with Princess just now. Walked round the bookstore before I asked the information counter if they had the book. I only gave the title and the sales exec said, "By Joshua Harris?" I was amazed. I bought myself my fourth book on relationships. =P

Well... actually my first one - "The Everything Dating Book" was a gift for my 21st birthday from my two best guy buddies. I shall now admit to have only flipped through the book and not read it from cover to cover.

The second and third... are by the Peases. I bought them in Bhutan. Why Bhutan? Cos they cost me just S$10 each there. =P I remember from my JC days how I used to stand in the bookstore and read bits of it cos the books are so funny! =) Anyway, sad to say, since I got them on my v-day trip to Bhutan, I haven't read them at all. I guess cos I didn't really see a need to read them then, except for light hearted reading when I felt like it.

This book that I bought today was recommended by a friend, who had gotten a recommendation from someone else. Really should thank someone else. I read the preface on my way home and it inspired me to think about the way I handle relationships...

I feel tired... Maybe I should just have an early night. =)

Run...

Did a fair bit of running around today:

• Ran across Napier Road to catch a bus.
• Ran across Eu Tong Sen St cos the green man was flashing.
• Ran through Bugis mrt (from street level to platform level) in 1 minute to catch the train.

Went to Settlers at Telok Ayer with Hyperjive pals just now. =) Finally won at a snap-type game! Had lots of fun... But going out tonight meant that I missed dinner at home and mum cooked my favourite chicken soup with white fungus and carrots. Too full to have any now. =/

Exhausted. Shall sleep soon.

Mum

It was Mum's birthday yesterday, 28 Aug. She didn't realise it and I almost forgot, if not for a survey that she was doing.

My mum's only dream is to watch us wear our graduation gowns and collect our degree scrolls. 2 down, 1 to go. I've always admired mum's innovativeness and wondered how come I never inherited that. Or her sewing skills... Or learned how to cook soups. =P

She picked up my mini project just now and said：“你缝的啊？不会散啊? 这边好像不平的。。。” Then she picked up a ruler and measured. Maybe that's where my perfectionist side comes from. (Btw, it was even. Ha. =P)

Happy 49th birthday to Mum,
though you can't remember your own birthday... =)

What type of boyfriend do you need?

Princess sent me this quiz in view of the situation that I'm in. Sigh... tie breaker again. It was down to:

I would rather read then hang out with friends. OR

I love all animals.

I picked the second and scored as Preppy: "You got a prep. He cares for everything in the world including you. He will have to spend time with you every day."

If I had chosen the first, would have got a Geek: "I hate to break it to you but you have a guy that would rather study and do good in school then hang out with friends and you. Sorry."

Somehow, these two types seem to describe the situation that I'm in...

Geek		67%
Preppy		67%
None		50%
Emo		33%
Punk		17%
Goth		0%
Skater		0%
Loner		0%

What type of boyfriend do you need? (PICS!)
created with QuizFarm.com

6th Post of today

OK... I really didn't mean to blog so much but as a friend was asking me about how to delete blog comments, I suddenly realised that I had 8 comments dating back to Nov 2005 that I didn't moderate and allow for publish. =P Apologies to those who had left the comments and wondered what happened to them! Gomen ne!

Amongst these were one left by Princess in July, before the conclusion of my last relationship. And I wish I had read her comment earlier, before I went to Hong Kong, because it articulated, so clearly, the problem that I had with Bee.

Because you see, you can't love someone for the promise of what
they can be. You have to love them for their imperfections.

Butter!

I guess you can see how bored I am when I'm single and not motivated to do work. =P This post is just to mark the birth of Butter (scroll to the bottom of the page), a grey hamster that I just adopted. Would have picked mouse if they had one, and made it brown in memory of its namesake*. But I guess a hamster's pretty close. =) You can click the wheel to make it run or click "more" to feed it strawberries (click at its mouth; If you click elsewhere, it would sniff at it).

* Butter - female mouse, brown. Pet mouse when I was in Sec 3 or 4. It mated with Bread (black male mouse) and produced Milk, Cookie, Salt, Pepper and I-can't-remember-the-name-of-its-fifth-baby (Therefore, the others were named after easy-to-remember stuff. =P)

4th post of today

Blogging more regularly these days. I guess it's because:

1. I'm less hung up about work these days.
2. Nothing much else to do while waiting for people to reply to my msn msgs (since I'm not doing notes).
3. My life doesn't revolve mostly around one person anymore.
4. I've decided to put more feelings into my blog.

Mummy cooked watercress soup today... even though i dislike watercress, thought I'd better take more soup in hope that my sore throat would go away...

Anyway, I wonder how many people actually talk over the phone these days. For me, I usually only use the phone to chat with boyfriends. =P Before boyfriends came along, I hardly ever used the phone to chat with anyone.

People seem to be using instant messaging a lot more... Is it part of the multi-tasking culture? That instant messaging would allow one to be able to multi-task better? Or is it because instant messaging would give one time to think of a reply, rather than have to say things over the phone that could potentially explode in one's face? Or is it because instant messaging allows us to hide our emotions?

Stupid SE cable: PC can't detect my hp

Yes, facing that problem again. One of the reasons that puts me off using SE phones. Maybe I'll switch back to Nokia next year...

If not for the lousy connection, would have uploaded some pics of my completed mini-project. =) The magazine said it'ld take 6 hrs - I took 6 days. =P Of course, it's only because I was only working on it for an hour or so per day, even when I was in the Maldives. Maldivians had never seen my mini-project type of stuff before! I was quite surprised. Anyway, hope this thing will brighten up someone's day...

Anyway, after effects of not drinking enough water in the Maldives - zit developing on my forehead and woke up w a sore throat today. 3 dessertspoons of Pi Pa Gao hasn't had much effect... =/

You Are 30% Left Brained, 70% Right Brained

The left side of your brain controls verbal ability, attention to detail, and reasoning. Left brained people are good at communication and persuading others. If you're left brained, you are likely good at math and logic. Your left brain prefers dogs, reading, and quiet.

The right side of your brain is all about creativity and flexibility. Daring and intuitive, right brained people see the world in their unique way. If you're right brained, you likely have a talent for creative writing and art. Your right brain prefers day dreaming, philosophy, and sports.

Are You Right or Left Brained?

How could I live without You

How could I survive
Without Your love
Without Your touch
You're the
One that heals me
And cleanses my heart
And sets me free

Led the cell through this song just one or two weeks before I stopped attending cell.

The message in yesterday's service was that

"I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me." - Phi 4: 13

How? By receiving abundant grace, walking in active faith and resting in His love. Faith is our response to God's Grace. Pastor Gerald also showed a clip about Rick Hoyt and his dad Dick. A touching true story about at how Dick, spurred by a father's love for his son, participated in triathlons FOR and WITH him. It reminded me of a poem that I came across on a friend's blog earlier yesterday afternoon.

I was further reminded that we should always have faith in the Lord and of something that someone had said to me. By the end of yesterday's service, I came to a decision to let someone go. And I did. For the third or fourth time. Even though I agree with Aki's logic on why it was more important to have a good boyfriend than a good husband cos no one knows what will happen in the future anyway, at this point in time, I am unable to take that bold step onto the path that would be fraught with difficulties.

If we're meant to be, He would lay the path for us.

Thank you for loving me.

You Are An INFP

The Idealist You are creative with a great imagination, living in your own inner world.Open minded and accepting, you strive for harmony in your important relationships.It takes a long time for people to get to know you. You are hesitant to let people get close.But once you care for someone, you do everything you can to help them grow and develop. You would make an excellent writer, psychologist, or artist.

What's" Your Personality Type?

Of lemonade, grapes and apples

Today, he ate sweets for me. =)

傻姑

As I sat on a speedboat out of Male yesterday, the nickname from my JC1 choir days suddenly came to mind. Hence, the update at the sidebar. Back then, there was this craze over 《神鸼侠侣》 and we were naming ourselves after characters from the book/drama serial (yes, the one that Fann Wong and Christopher Lee acted in).

Yesterday, I was yet again reminded of how blessed I am. Someone made sure that I brought water to the Maldives. Someone made sure that I drank water and not get dehydrated. Someone helped to pull my trolley back halfway across Male to the jetty. Someone wanted to pay for my dinner. Someone said that he would always have a soft spot for me. Someone said that he would always be around.

Is it because I can't take care of myself and need people to take care of me? =P Nevertheless, I would like to thank all of you for being around and caring. *hugs*

暗号

Have you ever found yourself at the crossroads... and faced with two houses in front of you?

The one on your left looks like your dream house but there's something about it that leaves you wondering if it's warm or cold inside.

The one on your right... doesn't look much like your dream house but you know for sure that it's warm and cosy.

Which would you choose?

我想要的, 想做的, 你比誰都了
你想說的, 想給的, 我全都知道
未接來電, 沒留言, 一定是你孤單的想念
任何人都, 猜不到, 這是我們的暗號

他們猜, 隨便猜, 不重要
連上彼此的訊號, 才有個依靠
有太多人, 太多事, 夾在我們之間咆哮
雜訊太多訊號弱, 就連風吹都要干擾

可是你不想一直走在黑暗地下道
想吹風, 想自由, 想要一起手牽手
去看海, 繞世界流浪

我害怕你心碎沒人幫你擦眼淚
別管那是非, 只要我們感覺對
我害怕你心碎沒人幫你擦眼淚
別離開身邊, 擁有你我的世界才能完美

你說你想逃開鬆手, 愛太累愛得不自由
因為我給不起最簡單的承諾
你停止收訊號, 我開始搜尋不到
到底有誰知道, 是幾點鐘方向, 你才會收到暗號

Something about heart and yonder and fonder...

Rained all day in Male. Couldn't get to go to Gan because the flight was cancelled due to technical difficulties - after we waited at the airport for 3 hrs. Ended up having lunch, walk about and back in the hotel to chat online. =P

"Absences makes the heart grow fonder..."

What is my world view

Did this quiz in a semi-conscious state. Came down to a tie-breaker between which of the two was preferred:

1 Interpretation is an intrinsic feature of the fabric of the universe.

2 There is a spiritual side to being human.

I picked 1, which apparently made me a

Postmodernist. Postmodernism is the belief in complete open interpretation. You see the universe as a collection of information with varying ways of putting it together. There is no absolute truth for you; even the most hardened facts are open to interpretation. Meaning relies on context and even the language you use to describe things should be subject to analysis. Cultural Creative 63% Postmodernist 63% Existentialist 56% Modernist 38% Romanticist 38% Idealist 31% Fundamentalist 19% Materialist 13% What is Your World View? created with QuizFarm.com

Picking 2 would have made me a Cultural Creative, a member of probably the newest group to enter this realm. "You are a modern thinker who tends to shy away from organized religion but still feels as if there is something greater than ourselves. You are very spiritual, even if you are not religious. Life has a meaning outside of the rational."

1st Day in the Maldives

WOOHOO! Free internet access in the hotel lobby!

Shoulders aching. From carrying my heavy bag... even without my laptop! I miss certain people. =P

Hey Spinky, let Eva know that I'm away k?

Sounds perfect for me...

Someone who is quite guai because I am also quite guai
But also someone who is not super-religious or super-guai
Like, someone who is not hung-up about adhering to a strict moral code
But able to let loose and have fun and be slightly naughty every once in a while

Then, someone who is quite smart but not dao-dao artsy-fartsy smart
Who can also appreciate down-to-earth jokes and kopitiam food
Someone who is not super flamboyant or loud, but is also good humored and can be funny
And someone who is NICE

- Princess Di

Note to self:

Do not be impetuous.

Musings from the office on a lazy Sunday afternoon

Yup. In preparations for the trip tomorrow. I guess I really should have brought my laptop back on Fri but I didn't feel inspired to do so. =P

As I walked down the corridors of my office, I thought of how last year, was surprised to see Kon, who had just joined not too long ago, working in the office on a Saturday. Back then, I was trying to do my filing...

Was also surprised by 烧卖's call at about 11 am this morning. Had gained conscious at about 9 am, sent him a sms and went back to sleep since he hadn't reply. Our conversation was interrupted by someone whom I later confirmed to have called the long number. -_- But then again, I guess he didn't want to have another long teleconversation. =P Shortly after, got a "good morning" sms from 地毯.... Speaking of smses, I've finally deleted all of Bee's smses, including the one he sent on my graduation day last year.

My older cousin came by earlier and asked how's things going with Bee. I didn't see the need to lie, so I told him that we had broken up. My cousin then started giving me advice on how I should look out for someone who shares the same vision of the future as me...

What my vision of the future like? To be with someone who loves me as much as I love him? To have two kids and try my best not to turn them into spoilt brats or neglect them? I'ld like to think that I'm a simple person, who doesn't ask much but am I just thinking too simply? Is love sufficient to overcome it all?

Cheesecake!

Met the Pals for lunch, shopping and baking yesterday. Yes, we used the Hilton recipe cut out from Straits Times. If they hadn't proposed that we try baking it, I'll probably not do it by myself till December or so.

Realised that the recipe called for plain cream, but didn't indicate what it was for! But the cake turned out really well... =) I think it's all to the mixer's credit, to produce a cake so smooth! So tempted to buy another mixer - a proper one that won't die on me after being used thrice. =P

Since Prozac's birthday was 16 Aug, we decided to stick a candle and surprise him. So nice to be spontaneous every now and then. =) You may wish to refer to Little Miss Dreamer's blogfor photos and a more detailed description of Operation Cheesecake. =)

While the cake was baking, my love life was up for discussion again. =P The conclusion was that it was interesting enough to be turned into a script and submitted to Mediacorp. We also talked about whether, if the two were mutually exclusive, we would choose a good boyfriend or a good husband. Instinctively, I thought a good husband would be more important since I'ld be spending the rest of my life with him. But I also agree with Aki's thinking when she picked good boyfriend. If this guy can't even make a good boyfriend, how can you be sure that he would be a good husband?

The Five Love Languages

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

Complete set of results

Physical Touch:		8
Quality Time:		7
Words of Affirmation:		7
Acts of Service:		6
Receiving Gifts:		2

Information

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

Take the quiz

Fragility

Tears for one
Being with the second
Mind on a third
But heart... where art thou?

My past seems to have caught up with me, though I knew that it would, a week before I started work. Perhaps, as much as I thought I could be 洒脱, I can never truly be so. Perhaps, I care too much for making others happy, that I've left my own sense of happiness in their hands...

I need space from you too.

烧卖与地毯

Had lunch with 烧卖 and 地毯 today. Although 烧卖 had agreed to join us, he had second thoughts after 10 minutes and expressed preference to lunch with his book. Anyway, in the end, 地毯 beckoned him over.

烧卖 and 地毯 couldn't be more different - size, demeanour, personality... Yet they shared certain similarities. In the end, our lunch discussion primarily revolved around the ongoings in a certain training camp. =P

Sometimes I wonder if I'm just looking for trouble.

鼻涕虫

The conversation went (mebbe not the exact words cos I'm really forgetful these days)...

Bee: Do you know what's wrong?
Me: I'm going around breaking people's hearts.
Bee: Exactly.
.....
Bee: Do you know what's your problem? It's because you don't know what you want.

I know. And I don't mean to.

"Barbadoo"

How do people know that their partners are THE ONES that they wanna be with for the rest of their lives? Because they can imagine...

... growing old together?
... raising kids together?
... waking up to see their partners every morning?

Because they thank God for bringing these people into their lives?

I guess I've had all of those feelings at one point or another and I've come to realise that while such feelings may be sufficient to kick start a romance, it takes a lot more effort to keep it going for eternity. When I think I know what I had been looking for, it turns out that perhaps, I'd wanted more than that. Sometimes I don't trust myself anymore. Therefore, I am indecisive.

My last experience had taught me to be more patient but I guess I wasn't patient enough. Anyway, I'd reached the last chapter of that book. Time for me to take a break, enjoy the scenery before embarking on a new book, that would hopefully last me a lifetime. =P

In other news...

Haven't received my additional hello for this morning. Hmmm...

Who's that?

Was tweaking my blog yesterday (correcting a typo as pointed out by Spinky) when my brother said this. He couldn't recognise the girl in the blog header. =P

Saw a little girl in a PCF uniform on the train today. Short hair, cut very evenly and not layered. Wide eyed and in wonder of the world around her. Reminded me of when I was a little girl, when I aspired to be a scientist, or a pianist or a artist. Well... I jumped off the path to be a scientist, never got to learn to play the piano and art... I find that my sketchings are too restricted. When I do draw, I draw what I see as is. I often wish I could sketch more and every now and then, I'm tempted to buy myself a set of colour pencils (you know, the kind where it's a set of 128 and there are all sorts of funky colours), sit down somewhere and just draw. But I know that being the perfectionist that I am, I'ld probably be too engrossed in making something perfect, then to actually accept something random.

I look back and think about how simply I used to think:

1. Go to a good Sec school (check)
2. Go to a good JC (check)
3. Get a decent degree (check)
4. Find a stable job (check - though I'm not sure how long I can last in this job.=P)
5. Meet the man of my dreams (work in progress)
6. Settle down (dependent on item 5 above)
7. Have two or four kids (ditto)
   [Note: Yes, even numbers, because it's easier for kids to play games in even numbers. Although I suppose the preference is two because of the difficulties of raising four kids and that maybe I'll get tired after three. =P]

Back then, I didn't know what hyprocisy and heart ache were. I remember that up to university, I left people the impression that I was a carefree girl. Although I think that my desire to be carefree had churned out problems of its own. =P

The path of getting to where I am today has been more difficult that I had imagined it to be when I was five. But I constantly remind myself that my path has been a much smoother one compared to some others out there. I'm lucky to have the support of my family (though we don't really express ourselves. =P), the Pals and all you guys out there who have made a difference to my life in one way or another.

Thanks.

All time favourite chinese song

思念是一种很玄的东西
如影 随行
无声又无息 出没在心底
转眼 吞没我在寂寞里
我无力抗拒 特别是夜里
哦 想你到无法呼吸
恨不能立即 朝你狂奔去
大声的告诉你

我愿意为你 我愿意为你
我愿意为你 忘记我姓名
就算多一秒 停留在你怀里
失去世界也不可惜
我愿意为你 我愿意为你
我愿意为你 被放逐天际
只要你真心 拿爱与我回应
(我)什么都愿意
什么都愿意为你

Photos!

I've uploaded long-awaited photos on my new Webshots homepage, which you can access here or click on the link at the sidebar, right below "back on the shelf". =P

Visit the site to view photos of:

• Commencement 2005


• Graduation photo-taking outing


• New Delhi, Sep 2005


• Maldives, Oct 2005


• Bhutan, Feb 2006


• Sri Lanka, Apr 2006

Revamped my blog.

Ta da! First attempt at personalising my blog. Quite pleased with myself. =) Yellow text does go quite well on various colours. =P At the very least, I can now surf my blog using IE and not have to use Opera (which distorts the alignment).

Just a simple design... maybe one of these days will scan in something that i sketched as a background.

4-5, 5-6, 6-7, ...

Had lunch w YT the other day. I enjoy talking to YT cos he's always so insightful and gives practical advice. Felt quite motivated to revamp my wardrobe after that. Yes, that long overdue task. I think my sister would be pleased. Given the time that has freed up now, I guess I shall make an appointment with my sister to go pamper myself (or her, since I'll probably end up buying stuff that she likes. =P)

The recent ongoings... made me realised that I leave a pretty good first impression on people. =) I never realised that there were people around that actually noticed me.

By chance, I came across an article in "Duet" (yes, the SDU magazine) yesterday, talking about dating traps. One of which was that people shouldn't think that there is only one soul mate for them out there. I guess it makes me think twice about my outlook on dating. There really are many nice guys out there who would say that they care about you. You know that they aren't lying but how do you know who's really The One for you?

Something There

[Belle:]
There's something sweet
And almost kind
But he was mean and he was coarse and unrefined
And now he's dear
And so I'm sure
I wonder why I didn't see it there before

[Beast:]
She glanced this way
I thought I saw
And when we touched she didn't shudder at my paw
No it can't be
I'll just ignore
But then she's never looked at me that way before

[Belle:]
New and a bit alarming
Who'd have ever thought that this could be?
True that he's no Prince Charming
But there's something in him that I simply didn't see

[Lumiere:] Well, who'd have thought?
[Mrs Potts:] Well, bless my soul
[Cogsworth:] Well, who'd have known?
[Mrs Potts:] Well, who indeed?
[Lumiere:] And who'd have guessed they'd come together on their own?
[Mrs Potts:] It's so peculiar. Wait and see
[Lumiere and Cogsworth:] We'll wait and see
[All three:] A few days more
There may be something there that wasn't there before
[Cogsworth:] You know, perhaps there's something there that wasn't
there before
[Mrs Potts:] There may be something there that wasn't there before

"Everything that love means can be expressed in a kiss."

From the Nestle website:

"Each Baci , which means "kisses" in Italian, with its creamy dark chocolate and rich hazelnut center, comes wrapped in a poetic love note in four languages describing the course of love — a true gesture of romance."

Relieved

I haven't felt so relieved after weeks of confusion. I guess this confusion might come back to me after a while, but i'm just happy right now nonetheless.

Disney characters and I

Pluto with a Chinese cap!



Mickey and I [Note: no photos with Minnie cos nothing can top that photo w Aki and Spinky last year. =)]



"Oh bother..." Pooh and I...

Hong Kong Disneyland

Disneyland by night...

Panoramic Views from the Peak

The Peak

As the sun sets...



Evening and Night shots of Central...

Back in Singapore

Expect photos to be up by the end of the week. Choir Pals would probably get to see them this Sat... =)