Luck from Adam Smith

Taken in the econs dept on the last day of school.

It reminds me of a minimalist installation.

I name this "drawing luck from Adam Smith"

Hope the luck sees me though my 4 econs paper.

Day 10

Just came back from the supermarket. A bit irritated cos i was bullied by an old lady there. The auntie jumped the queue and on purpose. She was inching at 90-deg towards the queue and when she finally she stood right in front of me, she turned towards her back towards me to face the cashier and averted my 'stare'. OMG.... i don't quite like it when old ppl take advantage of being old and think that ppl will close one eye to whatever they do. I know at least my grandmother doesn't do that! I was doing a mental CBA on whether it'll be more efficient to let an elderly person go first or a younger one.....if i let the older person go first maybe it'll save her the "pain and suffering" she has to endure while queuing. But then since she doesn't have to work or have tons of modules to study, her time is probably worth less than the young person, me, so I shld go first. Sounds mean, but true.

I'm not being petty. I'd be most willing to let her jump the queue if she'd just asked in a kindly way and stated that maybe her legs were weak and cannot stand for long (my grandmother has this sort of problem), not just pretend that she has the right of way....

Anw maybe i was just being irritable just now because of the weather and a tough cba paper. Had lunch with Pearl and the CBA ppl and we were so stressed from the paper that we'd to sit in silence for a while to catch out breaths before we cld eat anything. Then I was baked at the com ctr bus stop while waiting for dad to pick me. Although the first paper was bad (i was panicking and got confused over the diagrams) i still feel glad today, probably because i'm finally in the game, no more waiting and waiting for the dreaded.....haha. Told Pearl that if today was bad, due to reversion to the mean, we'll do better tmr!

Very glad that i've dad to send me to sch for my 9am paper and reach at 8am. He has been doing so for the past 8 semesters which makes me feel very lucky. Mum deserves credit too for picking Leng & I up ytd and for preparing lotsa food supplements ever since we began our study week. I can't believe my arsenal of junk food this time round. I got Chipsmore, Liang got me Lemon warheads and tubes of Mentols, LY shared his butter cookies. I can't believe it too that I made an exception to go all the way to IMM to buy sushi & old chang kee on Sat cos the school ran out of it! Been trying to psycho myself that this is only temporary gluttony and I need breaks to prevent burnout. That's why i'm blogging now. Another morale boost after checking my mail. The only senior counsel i know said "good suggestions" =) It feels good cos he's this huge authoritative figure who works in an organisation that most econs students can only dream to work for, although he says he's only a shoe polisher for even higher ppl there. Sometimes i wish i were a shoe polisher too.....

Many encouragements hv been coming in, most said it's the last lap, jiayou! I've been too lazy to msg my well wishes to friends this sem so i'll do it here. To those who I always msg, Jon, Cat, WH etc. Jiayou to you guys too! All the best!

Day 9

We were at the airport to see Daryl off on Good Friday night..... I don't really like seeing people off, the moment you see that person through the departure gates and imagining that you won't see that person for ages. It's borders on overwhelming. I think only family should see you off, that's what I'd rather want anyways, to spend the last moments with them.

That was the trough, other times we were just simply horsing around.....at breeks and T3....

I love the flower structure there....was the only "life-form" there in the sprawling T3.

Posing a kawaii pose since he's gg to japan.

Yesterday was Saturday, had a fruitful shopping session with the auntie at mwh. We brought them to the neighbourhood centre to buy stuff like food and clothes. Then it was off for dinner before watching CO concert with LY at UCC. A couple of uninspiring pieces but on the whole it was good, got me reacquainted with some of the CO instruments.

Day 8

Masaru Emoto is an author known for his controversial claim that if human thoughts are directed at water before it is frozen, images of the resulting water crystals will be beautiful or ugly depending upon whether the thoughts were positive or negative. Emoto claims this can be achieved through prayer, music or by attaching written words to a container of water.

The tale of his capturing of water "expressions" was told to me in sec sch. Till today his theory still controversial. But even if it weren't scientifically proven, imagine without these good people trying to find theories to spread the good word of "love for humanity" how would our world be?

I learned another theory at the Superteen camp in sec sch. Just as positive thoughts can be directed at water, they can be directed at people too. For instance when a loved one is in a competition, you want him/her to win but he/she looks stressed. Try imagining a huge gigantic ring of flowers or those heart-shaped balloons flying from you towards him/her. It surrounds him/her and wraps him/her up (this can get a bit comical). If you like you can imagine even that the instant the flowers hit them, a warm glow of light emanates....., whatever.

The idea is your positive thoughts will somehow or another influence them so that they perform better. This subtle power of your thoughts can work not just in races but also other situations like....when someone is sick. I practice it and it works all the time, the only disclaimer is that you can't try it on your Fluff Pet. THAT's when it doesn't work.

Day 7

It was all set this morning that this post was to be a grievance outpouring session. I had so much to grumble, grouse and complain......Last night, I was looking like an effigy of a ghost due to a futile research attempt for my biz project, my being implicated in some mess, and other many things that were not looking good. But the sky did not come crashing down, at least not in the afternoon.

This afternoon I earned 8 bucks again through behav class, it was the highest amt again. Wong proclaimed that i was a lucky girl and proposed i buy 4D. This made me think that perhaps some forces above were taking care of me afterall. Even if i do feel alone, despaired sometimes, there are small positive things in life that if i paid enough attention, i'd notice.

It's just like in the movie Spiderwick's Chronicles i caught on Sat. The magical realm is all about us if only we look closely enough. Fairies in the flowers....etc. There are good things abound in this world worth noticing and unfortunately most ppl miss out on them and it's a great loss.

So I decided to count my blessings today, like how I managed to squeeze up the crowded 151, caught my fav song on radio, received a biscuit fr Pearl, ate chocolates when I came home, enjoyed the fine weather, had friends asking abt my weekend, and even chatted with Cremers.

Day 6

i've made it to another term at ycm.

Although i still have the lingering sense of misfit in this "bastion of exclusivity" that i described 1 yr back (Apr 07), i decided to go ahead and sign on for a new term. Between doing something good for the society and "putting up" with being 'cold cornered', i choose the former.

Sitting on the panel is like back-office work, it does not give as much satisfaction as working with people at the grassroot level, but it's still a form of community involvement. It's a given that you've to grade projects online, meet the applicants, go for panel meetings, attend special events and what not, but through it i've a chance to give back to society and a chance to meet young people who have more drive than me in propelling changes in our community (and look up to them till my neck is strained)....it's a good thing isn't it?

Moreover, after 1 year i've taken a new view on being 'cold cornered'. Some people esp. extroverts gain energy from interacting with people, they are the ones you see constantly 'networking' at social functions. I used to look at this people and wonder how they are so intelligent and can have an infinitely so many ideas on what to talk about, but not so much now. Because i realised that there's another group of ppl, the introverts, who replenish their strength by just keeping quiet. I realised that I liked heading straight to a corner during panel meetings because that's where i'm in my element. I also realised that the ppl at ycm hv also got used to leaving me alone.... i guess you can call it a form of respect for diversity? lol

But at the crux of it all, i'm really fascinated by the idea of youth empowerment.^^ Afterall everyone has only one chance of being young, we're endowed with 'energy' and 'ideals' while young and it's always worthwhile to pursue them while you can.

Went for the training session on Sat where i helped facilitate 1 segment of it. The new batch of panelists seems more friendly....i'm sure next term wld be better. After 1 term of warming up, it's time to sprint now!

Day 5

Recess break is over *chew nails* and most of my deadlines are postponed to nx wk or the week after. I'm not particularly sure if this is a good or bad thing for me. As a sophisticate with time-inconsistent preference i.e. procastinator, deadlines are actually good commitment technology for me. Recently i've been putting off taking a proactive stance to secure a job before graduation and i feel it does not reflect very well on me at all, neither does it signal a dashing future for me. But as usual a whole host of factors (real or imagined) stand in my path. For one, my 'environment' dictates that I can't plan my future beyond one week. (This is probably disappointing for some but all i can say is my hands are tied)

In quite a behavioural econs mood today and it can be attributed to 3 reasons. I worked my referee report till 2am yest, lunched with the lecturer this aftn, and had a sudden winfall of $30 in class today:)

Does this call for a celebration? I think it'll have to wait till i can fully get 'in the zone' again for at least 5 hrs a day. Decline in marginal productivity has set in exceptionally early for me and this is bad bad bad....

~Who is willing to spar with me?~

Taken from 畿米

My Chinese is too lousy to make me a avid reader of Chinese poems, but this one that i chanced upon somehow resonates with my "caption" above.

神秘分界线

小丑的世界，总被一分为二，
一半阳光，一半阴影；
一半欢乐，一半凄凉。
我真想知道，
那一条神秘的分界线究竟是什么？

And this one is super poetic & touching....

And a "kissing cousin" to it....

烙印下脚印的沙滩，已被海浪卷去。
而我们一起走过的路，并没有随之消逝。
美丽的回忆，早已融化在海水里，载到地平线去。
走到任何一片沙滩，我都能嗅到对你淡淡的思念。
就这样，我拥有了整个世界。

Day 4

Another bonding session-- We had our mwh chalet at Coasta Sands Downtown East.

Somebody said the act of Pledging Alliances was to display ur artistic talent...or the lack of it.

These gals got it right with their Artsy pigss!

Group photo on Second day

Googled this this morning....in light of Chikungunya scares this seems befitting:

Q: What exactly happens when you get a mosquito bite?
A: The mosquito stabs into your skin with its proboscis, injects an anti-coagulant to stop the clotting process and then sucks its full of your blood.

Q: I have 4 bites on my legs 1 on my foot and one on my hand and arm. what makes them so rediculasly itchy?
A: It's proteins in the mosquito's saliva, which it injects in order to prevent the blood from clogging. As these proteins are destroyed in temperatures of over 45°C, a method is to hold a not-too-hot cup of coffee or tea against the bite for about a minute, then it won't ever itch again. I always do this and it works great.

Day 3

Coincidentally all the ppl i like are graduating this sem with me! Yayz!...Er...okays maybe not so coincidental afterall...

Last sem alr, rushing to lunch with everyone i can in sch, but it seems impossible =[

Day 2

幸福是回家有焦糖茶等着你
幸福是有人煮给你吃......
幸福是soyabean ice-cream

Day 1- Cambodia Travel Journal

It's almost the end of January....i've been back for 20 days already and I've yet to blog abt my Cambodian trip. *Major Procastinator* It was a fabulous trip, went back primarily to visit friends i'd made from the last trip. And to bring Leng & the gals (Pearl & Xuan)to visit Prey Veng! The place i missed dearly...wanted so bad to go back and relive the simple slow-paced life. *Huge country bumpkin*

We set off on Christmas evening, i was expecting some x'mas festivities on the flight but they'd none on Jetstar....budget....so budget....At the airport, because of some silly miscommunication, we ran all the way to Gate 16 only to missing all the duty-free shopping. On the plane i chatted with an Aussie PR who was in the mining industry in Spore (I never knew such industries existed in SG) and he shared some of his reservations abt gg to Cambodia. From our previous trip, I'd gathered some useful survival tips and so I told him it was better to carry his bag in front, things abt the weather, the currency etc. Going there for a second time was definitely different from going there for the first time.

However, i was not prepared for the cultural shock when we reached the guest house in Phnom Penh. Vitou was very nice to help us book the rooms USD$13 for 3 rooms a night. But before you think it's a steal, let me tell you, the conditions were appalling. Firstly the bed linen looked barely washed, secondly we'd to climb this steep steps up to the fifth floor though the dark stairwell, the windows were non-existent, it was only curtains drawn over grills so anyone wld draw the curtains and peep in anytime they wanted....if they were ok with touching the dirty curtains. The bathroom (this one I'd expected) had no heater and looked like a built-in cabinet. Blackouts were frequent in Cambodia so again it wasn't unexpected when all the fans and lights went off at abt 2am. For me i wished the lights were turned on in that dark creepy room but when they weren't, i had to sleep clutching an amulet which was way out of anything i, a rational non-religious person, would do normally. Jeez....

But we were so tired that night having walked prob abt 8km before that so dirty linen or not we slept. Since it was the first and only night we were going to spend there, we were determined not to waste it and so headed out to take in the night "scenes"--- what a scene, it was so dark at the riverside (supposedly the famous intersection between Tonle Sap and the Mekkong) we cldn't make out what were the black things driven so quickly by the water currents until the walk the nx morning we found out it was bags of rubbish. Duh! There weren't any pretty sights that night, the best thing was seeing the Spore Embassy which had such a towering fence that the interior was not visible at all! Just like Changi Prison! Now we know our Spore ambassador to Cambodia is so very well protected.^^ And hmm we got to see the National Momument which was deserted at night, guarded by a solitary guard. But i'm not complaining, cos it was what we wanted, to take in Phnom Penh as it was at night and that was it, in its truest undisguised form. And we were amazing that night, we managed to acquire a map of the city out of pure initiative by walking into the Princess Hotel and asking for one.

The nx morning's itenary was pretty tight. We went to a coffeeshop for breakfast and took a walk around the Central Market area (which had a magnificent dome roof architecture that i felt had kinda a Middle-Eastern flavour) and then met up with Vitou and friend at the Royal Palace where we had to pay admission of 13USD per person to get in (25 times what the locals paid) Jeez...again. Xuan and Pearl had to miss it cos they weren't appropriately dressed (no shorts and caps allowed), a pity cos it was probably the best Phnom Penh had to offer-- intricately carved shrines and edifice.

Then we rushed back to the guest house to retrieve our bags and then lunch at the upper floor of the market which looked like those 80's hawker centres. Ate zichar...and that was antecedent of the series of zichar throughout the trip. The afternoon's bus journey was to be the most memorable one of our lifetimes. Affectionately known as the MUMBAI bus, the 20-capacity bus squeezed 30 people, a motorcycle plus tons of baggage and dried foodstuff. Think the people on the bus were very amused by us, they were peeping over our shoulders when we viewed photos on our digicams, when we wrote our travel journals on the bus, when we sprayed insect repellent etc. Pearl will nv forget the uncle with an incessant spitting habit, Xuan would nv forget the ricesack she stepped on, and I'd never forget the lady beside me who had a penchant for breadloaves. For their part, the locals would never forget the youngsters who were so afraid of the footprints they left on the seats. The 4-hour journey was a once in a lifetime experience whereby we got up close and personal with the locals and their way of life. The bus got onto a ferry and we reached Neak Leung the scary and bustling market town-- the first sign that we're reaching Prey Veng!

We visited the Youth Center many times the nx few days cos...it was the "most happening" place in the whole of PV and we wanted to be at the "most happening place". It was fun to get to see all the kids again, esp. the familiar faces, some even remembered our names!! *touched* Leng, Pearl and Xuan got to experience being engulfed by kids who wanted photos taken. I got to see Dani, Ame and Edwin again! Xuan, true to her personality, got to be the trend-setter...of butterfly hennas! Lol. The days in PV, i was overcomed with bliss....to experience the slow pace of life there again, to see the star-filled sky, to walk along the riverside and see the riverside kids *paedophile at work again*, to revise my Khemer, to eat ice-cream at the school & petrol stn, desserts and soup noodles at the market, to drink sugarcane water (we saw the ice stored in sawdust), to see the pigs, cows, chickens etc., to talk to the local kids, ride on motorcycles....so much.....The 2-half days in PV made my airfare worthwhile already. Best to be was the sunset, just the 6 of us and the sunset nothing else mattered. A pity none of the camera modes we tried could capture the beauty of the sunset we saw that evening. Vitou also hosted us to dinner at his house one night, it was really cool cos we got invited to eat with a local family! You don't get that in guided tours. Jeremiah has hilarious clips of the evening we spent there discussing Changi airport sweets.They saw fireworks from the shophouse window too.

In Prey Veng, the Mittaheap Guest House was also memorable for its excellent room service (wanted to bring the cleaning lady home) and the restaurant opposite where we tried almost everything...Khemer soup, Viet soup etc. (Too indulgent in my opinion). We visited the temple beside the guest house where we met monks who shouted "See you next year!". This made Xuan very tickled because she was not as warmly received by the local network providers at the PP airport.

26-28 Dec was the best part of the trip. Fresh air in the rural areas was a stark contrast to the polluted air in PP and also Siem Reap as we were to find out. And so was the food. Our first stop in Siem Reap was the fateful restaurant whereby on eating the zichar, I vomitted twice that night.

The next day after breakfast at the Chinese style restaurant beside our Angkor Davy Hotel, we visited Angkor Wat and the temples in the vicinity, but I was not in the best shape to do so...all i remember of the place besides the disintegrating architecture was that i was carrying a puke bag all around. With all the steps you need to climb, it was terrible. We visited Tonle Sap river to see the floating houses and markets and the fish/crocodile farm. We visited the Souvenir Shop too before heading back to the same fateful restaurant for dinner. Luckily i avoided the food this time but the rest didn't escape the fate of food poisoning. For the next 4 days to come, the 2.5 meter square toilet at the hotel became the "most happening" place in Siem Reap. For those few days, we went to the Angkor National Museum, the Artisan house and the market to shop for more souvenirs. We went to West Baryan an island that had a dilapidated temple and where we saw many kids selling bracelets "san ge yi kuai". But the girls were sick this time (xuan even fainted) and probably didn't enjoy it much. Before the team left on the 1st, we had "Kenny Rogers" and noodles from the roadside stalls^^ It was fun squeezing together and eating in the hotel room since none of us had the appetite for the buffet that the team went to enjoy.

1st and 2nd Jan only 4 of us were left. Fortunately Vitou kindly agreed to stay with us and bring us around. On the first day, we went to the market place by ourselves via the Tuk-Tuk and ate the most fantastic seafood spaghetti at a Mexican restaurant. By that time it was the 8th day of our trip and we were so sick of Cambodian food and our stomachs were weak from the food posioning ordeal, so the spaghetti and fruit platter was so heavenly. In the evening, we went to the local concert/pasar-malam with Vitou and his Aunt. Imagine standing in the crowd of hundreds watching the concert and munching on corn. Although we couldn't understand a thing the people were saying, it was definitely an experience that no tourgroup could provide. We also tried the Cambodian ferris wheel which was all wobbly and had carriages like birdcages and which went around at an unusually fast pace...and also a motorcycle carrousel. It was a night of good fun as we rode on the Tuk Tuk out to quite a 'ulu' district out of the heart of town for the concert.

The next day, with a rented car, we went to many exciting places. We went for breakfast at a 'higher class' kopitiam where we ate roast chicken rice, and then we went to the War Museum where we played with guns and tanks and planes. We went to the Cultural Village where we got to see many lousy dances (but kudos to the same cast which ran around performing all the dances) and where the most interesting attraction was the "Halls of Hell" where we screamed our lungs out as the ghost surprised us in the tunnel, grabbing our ankles....we ran for the most part of it and didn't get to see much of the gruesome exhibits. Lol. Think the guys who tried to scare us (Vitou too) had the most thrilling time. We were just 4 girls....no guys to protect us....easy targets.

We went back to the Angkor Wat site attempting to catch the sunset but were too late. Nearly got stranded there in the dark when our driver failed to turn up at the agreed time. And....i lost my specs there. Jeez, all unfortunate things happen to me at that place....We went to the local supermarket (If only we were brought there earlier!!!!) where we stocked up on food cos our supplies of breakfast bars, Chipsmore and Lays have ran out. Then we went back to the hotel to wash up before our driver brought us to try out Cambodian massage! It was pretty cool cos i had a very cool massage lady to the envy of the other girls haha. A good massage to compensate for all the toiling during the trip! And then we went for the most sumptuous dinner throughout the trip. It was our last meal and the driver brought us to a restaurant where he ordered food liberally and we took up the tab. It was a good meal which would have cost us a bomb if we were back in Spore, but not in Cambodia.

Next morning at 4.30 a.m., we took a Tuk-Tuk (not the one hired by the "si wen bai lei")to the Siem Reap airport only to find that it was not open yet. We became the earliest visitors to the airport (examplary example of Sporean kiasuness). Felt really stupid that morning, even the Tuk Tuk driver told us he thought we were playing a prank on him when we told him to pick us up at 4.30. We felt like we woke up early for nothing, braved the morning cold winds for nothing to rush to the airport. We even bought Blue Pumpkin pastries the day before for our breakfast, only to realise that the true blue Blue Pumpkin restaurant was situated inside the SR airport (the one we got from the supermkt came from this shop). So throughout this trip, we've been doing many things "for nothing"....

When we finally touched down in Spore, it was pure relief. 10 days in Cambodia....was a truely memorable experience. I'd never forget the distinctive soupbase taste that was present in the noodles and porridges (Leng & I hv developed a phobia of it). I'd never forget the countless 6-pac training sessions we had laughing at the "mo"/dark forces and the "chi" pitting their wits out and then converging....I loved the trip-- ups and downs.

Pictures are uploaded at:
http://picasaweb.google.com/sheeyee/CambodiaTrip25Dec073Jan08
http://picasaweb.google.com/sheeyee/CambodiaTripPart2

Day 77

I have an affliction, i like talking. Though not many will believe me.

Sometimes....i talk too much. Sometimes.....i just shut up. Most of the times i talk too much is in one-to-one situations, i clam up when three's a crowd.

This couple of weeks I've hung out at Starbucks twice over cups of Caramel Frappuccino and also at Timbre over drinks n pizzas last night. I've talked to many people recently, this includes the befriending session at the ycm interview session (i had my initial misgivings but it turned out fine). Thanks to those people who've listened to me. Hope it has been enjoyable to you as it was for me. To me, I feel that talking is somewhat theraputic. At home, theraputic means washing de toilet, reading a good book or playing the piano, it's a solo occupation. But recently I realised when there's someone else...it can be nice too. The benefits of talking are way underrated.

The next thing i've got to learn is to listen....

--
Yesterday was a pretty awesome day, had 2 meetings in the morning and after lunch but managed to squeeze in session of hosting a friend at home and enjoying baked chicken wings together! Lately i've not been spending enough time at home, luckily I found my way home because of the chicken wings that i couldn't resist. Also had a narrow escape of getting a fine for of all things....jay-walking.

Imagine having a almost clean track-record of jaywalking, one day you explicitly express your intention to jaywalk. Fortunately at the last moment you see a traffic crossing and you change your mind. You cross and the next second, you witness a traffic police stopping someone else who has just jaywalked. You heave a sigh of relief. Luckily you stood by your principles.

The fine for jaywalking in singapore is a tidy $500.

Managed to squeeze in a session of shopping too at TP. Haven't been there for a long long time so although somewhat awkward and embarrassing jostling among the aunties at a closing-down shoeshop, successfully buying a pair of sandles for mum somewhat gave a bit of satisfaction.

And of course the night at Timbre had lotsa gaiety. Though I 'nearly lost it' as xx so aptly put it when everyone intentionally dragged their feet to avoid the last train, it was funny trying to avoid Comfort taxis in favor of Silver-arrow taxis.

-Monday mornings and a spoonful of curry could be the tilting point-

Day 76

Watched Alvin and the Chipmunks and had a good laugh at the theatre. It's my 2nd film this holidays and the best so far. My favourite chipmunk has got to be Theodore....super cute with lots of baby fat! I never really fancied cute cuddley stuff, much less express it, but he's one of the few exceptions. Actually i only just realised after googling for pictures for this post that the movie's a remake of the original cartoons. Realised that I'd watched the cartoon when i was young...it's supposed to be from my "nian dai" but when my friend and i were recapping yesterday what we've watched i never realised they were one and the same. Brings back good old memories looking at the old cartoon pictures.


P.S. don't try to understand the previous post, it's an inside joke

Day 75

"The sun came out from the wrong side today!" Someone suddenly decided to come out of her homeostatic equilibrium of impassiveness and intoxicate all of us with a potent dose of Cl2. Free sponsorship maybe?

Oh anw changes have been happening around our tiny little enclave along bu lai de lu. We had our kitchen madeover courtesy of Ikea....did u see the newspaper writeup on Sat? Haha. And more recently we fell the tree in front of our house. Changes are good, they're refreshing and most welcomed. In Cedar, the principal used to say "Change is the only constant"....and later out of sec sch, i realised that people from other schools were saying the same things=( Hey! They copied us!!! I was pretty sure Mrs Tay was the first one who said that.

Falling a tree...homeostasis....hmm...recently i went to Chek Jawa too (on Wed). 6 hours on foot there and back. It was quite an experience to be so close to nature again. Some parts of Pulau Ubin was reminiscent of MacRitchie. A $2 bumboat ride to the island, you get to climb 120 steps up the tower to see the carcass of a snake, get chased by scary wild dogs, feed the never-been-to-the-city-to-be-introduced-insecticide mosquitoes, bask in the warm sunlight along the jetty, drink and eat "Thailand" coconuts, and see tiny crabs sumo fight! It was so cute seeing those scuttling little crabs with only one luminescent claw fight. They reminded me of legions of primeval knights with spears.

One day, maybe one day, I'll take Ame's advice an go for the guided tour where u get to go down to the marshlands and leave ur footprints in the sand.

Day 74

Went for OSA Appreciation Dinner at the Ballroom of Sheraton Towers. The atmosphere was very good, with all good people around, and we saw a fantastic video made by our very talented LYen to commemorate the 16th MC.

Jay Chou's Piano Duet with 宇豪

Still amazed...gg to be amazed forever...

Day 73

Was very touched when 'Giant' got me a Chocolate Tiramisu cake from Sweet Secrets so I got him doughnuts in return for his big day! What a lot of pastries this week...**jumping up and down**

Day 72 - Happy Birthday to Me...

ON To 22.....

Last night was a bizarre night. We went to Fish & Co. to celebrate my birthday. It was a late dinner, but I was moved that everyone who made it spared the time despite an incredulously hetic week of mid-term tests...("I'd wanted to 'fly' home to sleep")...*sheepish and grateful*

Afterwhich, we decided to go to Fort Canning!! For cake-cutting!!! At 10+ pm!!! Lol. We took the van up to the uppermost level, and had cake-cutting. What made it funnier was that nobody remembered to bring along a lighter, so I was 'blowing' out the candles. I'm sure the joggers there were intrigued to see a bunch of 'kids' celebrating with an Oreo cake out in the open like that, and asking them to take photos for us.

Nonetheless, I had a good time. I'm sure the mosquitoes at Fort Canning did too. It was a birthday to remember =) Thought a lot of effort was put in to choosing the gifts, THANKS PEOPLE!!! Love you guys!!! :-*

(I remember, ...I'm always very liberal with my 'kisses' on birthdays lol.)


21 Recollections.....

LIFE, believe, is not a dream
So dark as sages say;
Oft a little morning rain
Foretells a pleasant day.
Sometimes there are clouds of gloom,
But these are transient all;
If the shower will make the roses bloom,
O why lament its fall?

Rapidly, merrily,
Life's sunny hours flit by,
Gratefully, cheerily,
Enjoy them as they fly!

(Life by Emile Bronte)


My twenty-one years of journeying was not a smooth path, I don't expect anyone's to be easy, but those who know me really well would know mine is more scabrous than many. However, as I stood on the brink of 22, looking back, there was none of the expected melancholy. Instead, I was very glad.

If the years act to define you, why not say they empower you?

This year, I finally got so say there's nothing I really need. When my friends were thinking of what to get for me, they agreed that there was nothing I was in desparate need of. Isn't that a blessing?

While it's true that I'm still very busy (see my neck-breaking schedule), haha, I was glad that there were times in the previous year where I could slow down and find some peace with myself...

I was glad too that I met a lot more ppl this year. Before this, P & I were like the "Er Ren Shi Jie", but at Honours year, our "world" expanded....Lol. That's not forgetting the v supportive ppl I met through cca etc.

Once I thought that the "meaning" of life was sth very intangible? The freaks who coined that term or claim they know what it means probably have no idea what it means. But suddenly I felt that my 21st year was an extremely meaningful year? I can't explain nail the definition still, but there just isn't a better word for it as yet. Does that mean I'm growing up? =p=p 21st was a sweet year.

Feeling only anticipation for the new year.

Day 71

It can't be more than 1km as the crow flies from Raffles City to Suntec, but I took 1 hour to travel between the two. Ended up being the butt of all jokes on Fri when I met the OG for dinner (Grr...Pls rem to send the pig head sms...), and i had to accept graciously the honorific of being the blurest bus traveller in the world. It has happened far too many times, Ame said she cld help me no more =p

*Surround yourself with people who want the best for you, those who want you to succeed. Stay away from ppl who give you bad vibes....*

We brought the residents out for some mooncakes-feasting and lantern-carrying in the hot! hot! afternoon yest.