Friday, February 29, 2008

Happy Birthday to you, Tabitha Anna Tan Shang Jie (:

You're finally 18! It can be considered as a milestone, I guess.
Having you as my dearest cousin is one of God most precious and wonderful gifts to me. I don't know how I would be like without you. You've played a huge part in carving me into who I am today and I just want to thank you. Thank you for being so caring, so thoughtful, so loving and sooooo special to me.
You're not only my cuzzie, but my friend. A friend I've grown up with and whom I cannot imagine life without. Your bright smile and contagious laughter, even more than that- your genuine concern for me, has never failed to make me smile, no matter how bad a situation I may be in. Even though, sometimes you bag me ever so ruthlessly because of my (sometimes very) dumb actions, I still love you. I love you very very much.

Happy Birthday, Tab.





Wednesday, February 27, 2008

Should we believe someone based on their words?
Sometimes people say stuff that blatantly contradicts how they feel.
How do we tell when someone's hiding something or when they're telling the truth?
How do we tell when a person is being phony or genuine?

Words can just be words, but sometimes it holds a ridiculous amount of power in certain circumstances. Words are capable of making a person feel on top of the world and cloud nine, even when they're stuck deep down in a pit. But words can also easily destroy a person's self-worth and create a huge havoc of self-doubt and confusion.

I reckon words lose their power when they are said without meaning. For example, if we keep saying we love someone, but in our hearts, we know it's not true, the word 'love' in that circumstance is completely worthless. When we say things without actually meaning them, sometimes it can even push us away from people. I know for myself, I tend to stay away from people who, I think, are 'fake'.

I was pondering over something Lydia wrote in her blog.

"With every worthless word we get more far away."

Will meaningless words make friendships lose their worth?
I think so.

Please don't mistaken nonsensical ramblings with meaningless words. Nonsensical ramblings can still be very very extremely meaningful. LOL. Man, I sound so deep -.-

I want to be real and genuine without an ounce of pretense.
That's one of my greatest wishes. I'm sure for many others as well.

Tuesday, February 26, 2008

I feel like I haven't blogged in eons.
Here's a quick update about my 'very eventful' life.

I guess the most exciting thing that has happened over the past 2 weeks is that I've made a new friend! Nicole Tian is her name. Her mum and her stayed over for a weekend and I've never met someone with THAT many allergies to so many different kinds of food. Like all forms of diary products, perservatives, cooking oil... etc. The list is quite long. So while the rest of us would be having 10 different dishes to choose from, she would always end up with her one piece of baked salmon and a massive pot of brocolli and cauliflower. She also has some strange obsession with Australian fruits like cherries and nectarines. I guess, they are pretty juicy and delicious, can't blame her for indulging in the fruity pleasures of life.



I finally went to Pie In The Sky!!! The ultimate pie resturant in Dandenong mountains. Isaac and I tried 'The Floater' which was a beef pie placed in the centre of pea and ham soup. It was not as delicious as I expected. Quite a disappointment, really. Maybe it was cause I was sick at that time. That was one of the first few things I stuffed down my throat when I realised I could take food without puking it out. The cakes and the chai latte were soooo good.


After that, my family, my cousins, Nicole and her mum went to a few wineries and tasted many different kinds of wine. I love the atmosphere of these wineries. Don't really know how to decribe it, but I guess it was a nice and warm place to be since it was cold and raining outside. The delicious port literally brought warmth to my heart.




Too bad we didn't get to go to Miss Marples for scones and tea.
That would have been lovely. Haha.
I like tea.

My cousins have been staying with me for the whole of last week, this week they've gone to Great Ocean Road. Joel, John and their parents are really interesting people to be with. Glad they could come here to enjoy Melbourne and experience a little bit of our lives here.

Had my first Chemistry SAC today. Having to do a Back Titration was such a long process. Took a total of almost an hour and 45 minutes. The actually calculations took like 5 minutes. Don't really ever want to do the same thing again -.- Thank God it's over.

WOO HOO.
Tab's turning 18 soon... for some reason, it's making me feel nostaglic.

Sunday, February 17, 2008

Just thought I'd blog before I start feeling too sick to do anything again :S
At the start of this week, I got a random fever for 2 days.. then I started having stomach cramps and the last two days, gastric flu. It is one of the worst things I've ever gotten, other than food poisoning. Although this is kind of like food poisonining.

I hate not being able to eat my favourite Red Rock Deli chips (bacon and honey flavour).. not being able to eat YUM CHA. Delicious egg tarts and char siew sohs.. I am missing out on too much -.-" Seriously. We even had CNY celebrations at cell group last night with yummy yummy food. AHHH, just kill me.

There are also 2 tests coming up on Tuesday. Thank God they're only tests, not SACs. Haven't been able to do any work during the weekend. Feel so lethargic.. subjecting myself as a social outcast cause my tummy is constantly giving me trouble and I constantly feel like I'm on the verge of vommiting.

Please pray for me if you read this. I need prayers.
Thank you (:

Valentines Day for me was spent at home studying. LOL. Was suppose to go out with some friends, but decided to stay at home and catch up on some work. Glad I did, if not I'd be buried under a bigger pile of work now. Got a few unexpected v-day messages that made my day LOVElier. Especially a special email from my dear godsis :P

School tomorrow. Yeah.

Lord of the Flies is a WEIRD AS show.
Makes me feel like puking -.-

Sunday, February 10, 2008

Since my brother blogged a 10 000 word essay about our trip in Vietnam. I thought I'd just share with you guys the trip to Vietnam from my point of view. I think it's not as descriptive as Isaac Ho's cause I believe that pictures speak more than words and I wasn't about to kill my hand by writing so much before school started.



Day 1 - 7th Jan 2008

This morning, we woke up at 6.30am cause I forgot to change my watch from Singapore time to Vietnamese time. Vietnam is an hour behind S'pore. Zack and I took quite a long time to get up. The night before, we had just landed in the Hanoi airport. As we were walking out the arrival gate, Isaac noticed a Vietnamese man staring at me from top down. He got so pissed that he even swore. I was so horrified at the start. Hadn't heard him swear in a LONG time. But it was because he really cares for me, so I won't blame him.


Anyway, today we went to a few temples, sat on a cyclio (go to Isaac's blog for the description of one) for two hours around Old Town, bargained very unsucessfully for a couple of soft toys, found out how dogs died in Vietnam before being cooked and served on a plate, walked right into oncoming traffic and also, visited two beautiful, but very polluted, lakes.




I had a pleasant surprise.. I saw CAROLINE PHAM!!! (a friend from school in aust) What are the odds??? She was on a tour as well, although she lives here with family.

The lake was really beautiful, especially at night. Very romantic place, I have to admit. Duc (our tourguide) kept mentioning how couples love to kiss and do 'special things' around the lake. He also said that in the middle of the night during some festive seasons, people love sitting around the lake drinking, singing and eating. Some people even go nude and jump into the lake which apparently used to be blue, but now green, because of a massive concentration of urine. Talk about conservative asian societies.



People here don't really seem that friendly. Maybe it's just the ladies that sell cute soft toys. How ironic. Get a new job people!



Culture-shock so far. Not used to everything being old, the misconception of old Viet men being perves, drunk european tourists sitting on the balcony of rundown hotels, roadside stalls selling snails, dirt everywhere. I miss Singapore. I miss Joce, I miss Tab, I miss Lydia. I do, I do, I do. (Can you tell how home-sick I was? LOL.)

(Then as a conclusion, I drew a picture of a lady with a straw hat, carrying a stick across her shoulder, balancing two baskets dangling down at each end. Very pretty indeed.)


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That was only day 1. I shall blog the rest when I have more time. Now I'm about deprived of 2 hours of sleep. Hope you enjoyed my very exciting post about 'Adventures in Vietnam' (:

School tomorrow... wooo hooo. First 7th session ever in my history at University High School. I can see how fun this year is going to turn out (: More time spent with friends and teachers.

Saturday, February 09, 2008

This picture of the blue blue blue sky was taken when I was on the plane to Vietnam. It was so beautiful, almost made me wish I was a bird soaring freely in the sky.

This was a picture taken last year during one of our growth group picnic/barbeques at the foot of Lake Mountain. I thought it was quite artistic, so I wanted to post it to seem somewhat artistic (: The Sun shining above my head could look like a lightbulb.


Went to get my Chem workbook from Academic & General on Friday with Susan and Nancy. We ended up taking many detours along the way. We went to look for an birthday cake that was 'asian' enough for Nancy's grandma.. we also ended up browsing shoes in Myers. We ended up running into Will and Ben. Will had to rush off for a singing session or something, so poor nerdy Ben ended up in the sticker photo booth with us.

We humans can be so blind. We are taught what's right and what's wrong, but too often we choose to ignore what's right. No matter what scale that wrong may be, it's still a wrong. It's scary when we become numb to sin.. cause that's when we really go astray and need God to really wake us up and turn 180 degrees.

The reality is that there are no shades of grey when it comes to doing what's right or wrong, but we often live as if there are.

Thursday, February 07, 2008


Happy Birthday, Lydia Liao Simin.

I hope you've had a very special 17th Birthday.
It's the year before you become 18th, so I guess that has some significance.

You've sure grown from a little innocent tooty girl with a very trendy haircut, to a loving, almost-matured beautiful young lady with curtains. You still have a LONG way to go when it comes to being mature, so you should take some notes and learn from me (:

I wish I could sing you a birthday song, and give you 17 birthday bashes, but I can't, for that I apologise. I'm sure I'll be able to do it one day, when that day comes, I'll be the loudest person singing, trust me.

I'm so grateful to God for allowing our paths to cross since we were little. You've been a friend I've cherished all my life and who will always be close to my heart.

We're one step closer in living out our little promise to grow old and drop teeth together. Before you know it, we'll be needing dentures.

I love you with all my (bloody pumping) heart (:

Tuesday, February 05, 2008


I think this picture would paint the idea of FREEDOM very well if I had a wide smile on my face.. Random thought. LOL.
I really can't wait for the end of VCE. Though I'm just starting my engines, I'm already looking forward to the finish line.
Time to do some planning, some re-evaluating and to exercise some discipline.
Ok. So I got my Further Maths class.. and guess what? We did box plots and histograms today. LOL or what? It may be easy work, but this text book is twice the size of my Biology book. Now that, is NOT a good sign. I guess now I know what "Easy but A LOT of work" means.
I just want to leave a note to someone who has touched me this week. (Not literally.)
JELLY ROLLED IN PB.
Thanks for your 'note' of encouragement. It was more like a 1000 word essay. But thanks for bothering to send me an email at a time I really needed it. I was expecting emails from my friends in Singapore, but I got an email from you instead.. it was a very pleasant surprise. I was REALLY touched inside out, upside down. You've made the load of VCE a little lighter for me to carry (: You're one friend I know will always be there for me whenever I need you, you've proven it well and truly, way beyond my expectations. I love you, Jelly! Even during the times you are annoying..... LOL.

Sunday, February 03, 2008

Had a barbeque last week with some people from Fungus. It was really awesome seeing them again and catching up with Audrey and Sarah. The chickenwings were also quite nice (:




This was Audrey's 'angry' face. Sarah and I, of course, make her world seem so much more happier and brighter. LOL.

Yummmmy.... I feel like having a barbeque now. UOP sacrificed his whole arm for us to have delicious sausages and chickenwings. It was bright red and sunburnt by the end of the day.





The cool table.

NEways.. yesterday I had a spasm of overwhelming thoughts.

One reason was cause' I decided that it was better for me to do Further Maths, rather than Accounting. If I do Accounting, I might not do very well for the Mid Years with Chemistry, Biology, Accounting and the UMAT to study for. and it counts for like 1/3 of my ENTER. So, I decided to make the switch. However.. there was a price to pay- my very very awesome english teacher who has an Irish accent.

Well.. in life there's always give and take I guess. Hopefully I'll be able to confirm that swap on Monday morning.. if not I'll be an ultimate nerd even before the Mid Years.

But the main reason for all that stress was the fact that I kept comparing myself with everyone. "Was I being too 'woosie' by doing Further instead of Specialist Maths?", " Why didn't I do bio last year, then this year I wouldn't be this confused.", " That person is smarter than me, I'm going to do so badly.. "blah blah blah blah. My head was literally gonna explode into a gazillion pieces.

But God comforted me through my family, friends and through His Word (:

He reminded me that He was the one in control. Doesn't matter what others think of me, what result I get in the end, or what course I got into for Uni.. what matters is that I glorify Him in everything that I do. What matters is that smile on His face when He sees me doing my best for Him.

When we strive for our own gain and for the wrong reasons, it all amounts to nothing. All can be taken away from us in a split second. Houses can be burnt, cars can get smashed, clothing can be torn, reputation can mean nothing when we're face to face with death... But when we place our faith in the everlasting God, we don't have to worry about ever losing Him. He will always provide, always love and always be with us. He may take certain things away from us, but He will never take away His eternal love.

So even if I study my guts out and become a mad woman by the end of this year, if it's purely for my own gain, it would all amount to nothing.

I think by the end of this year, I would have A LOT to thank God for.

If I do survive, that would be one thing to thank Him for.