The Opera Populaire

It's a rather nice, sunny weather today, so I decided to get down to washing some of my clothes. It had been rather difficult to dry for the past few weeks, what with all the rain that has been falling. I usually wash my outside clothes myself cos they r rather delicate and won't be able to withstand the washing machine. One of my hall mates used to "worship" me becos of this! Hahaha. I do think that, as a woman, the least one can do is really to learn a bit of housekeeping skills and not rely on maids or moms. Always useful, anytime.

Saw a very cool quote on a fren's MSN:"The way to the cross is not paved with lilies. It is paved with grace." How true. In all that happened in this life, He has a plan and while it sometimes easy to forget this, it is comforting to remember it. Be strong and take heart and hope in the Lord.

Had a fun ktv session yesterday with some of the peeps. Sorry guys, for hogging e mike...hahaha Pearl had originally threatened that I will have the room all to myself and they will go elsewhere when I told her I got all these nice songs that I practised in Indonesia. Think they shd have given us a bigger room tho...I think our room back in the Clementi branch seemed to be bigger, I dunno? On a sad note...they dun have that one song I was dying to sing in Jap, "Bei Guo Zi Chun" by Teresa Teng. Hmph ;P

Got 2 fresh events lining up this weekend for me. Tmr I'm going drinking with some frens. It's kinda new cos I have neva gone drinking before and I'm absolutely clueless for this sorta thing. Then on Sat, my squadmates have the cool idea of taking picts in our convo gowns in the very place we first met..St. Nick's! Haha thot it so fresh I am onz.

Hai...think being vague is really not Jenn after all. I have simmered down over wat I posted in e last 2 postings enough so I shall briefly explain wat happened.

My mom was scolding my bro abt something and she was exasperated and asked me wat to do. So I tried to act as a middleman and mediate btw them. But for some reason, it din work out e way I wanted at all and in fact, I got scolded as well. Coupled with watever unhappiness I was already feeling about other issues prior to the incident, off I went to sulk and stew in front of my PC. I really shd have been more understanding, but sometimes I really need to learn to let down my pride, and be less self-centered. So there it is.

On another note, God has once again work a small miracle in this little insignificant gal's life. After sun, I woke up to find my flu gone! Except for the sore throat, that is, which I aggravated by eating Pepper Lunch on mon hahaha. But it's not bad really and the service was quite good. Just hope I can sing and not croak at the KTV session tmr hahaha.

"Prayer is not overcoming God's reluctance, but laying hold of His willingness."
(Martin Luther)

Many thanks to those who wished me get well soon after reading my blog... wasn't expecting it actually. I will go see e doc tmr and see how. Some of the well-wishers themselves r not feeling well oso...must take care and rest well hor, guys. The weather is a bit unpredictable these days so must take good care of ur health.

On another note, after that poison pen entry of mine, I am feeling a bit better. I dun want nor need to explain myself to my "audience"...just wanted to get it off my chest. I really need God to teach me to have faith in Him, in His plan through all these. Anyway, the immediate storm has blown over liao. Sometimes, u meant well and did the best, not that u think u r right all e time, but e other party may not react in e way u want him/her to. May accuse u unfairly even...may give their bests to those who dun deserve it in their lives and step all over u. But...God still loves them and so shd u.

Just a side note...my aunt has been having her sister's Eurasian daughter stay over at her house so that her sis can work...and I do like looking at her! She looks completely European, except for her eyeballs, which r black like our Asian ones. Such a pretty little creature. And she speaks Chinese more than English...very interesting indeed. Her sisters have varying degrees of looks from Chinese to a truly mixed look.

Well...off to a rest...

Woke up to find that I have caught the flu bug once again. Ai...to think that it's only been 1 month since my last bout! Must rest a lot and drink more water now.

Meanwhile the job search offically starts! Now that I have finally persuaded my folks that thyroid is no reason to not work. I am perfectly healthy, really. And it's take a turn for e better.

Understanding another's point of view is essential in any relationship, not only in BGR. But sometimes, trying to be a middleman btw 2 "warring parties" can take its toll on u, as u get caught in the crossfire. Am I a self-centered person? I always pray and try to be a less selfish person...but perhaps it's impossible to please everyone, not that I'm an angel. Even if wat u r trying to do is to make the other(s) happier, it doesn't guarantee the other party will appreciate it. When other ppl r just out to manipulate the other party, they reciprocate by giving positive reactions to the manipulator! U r telling me, wat I have been doing is not enough? That is very, very hurting. And I am hurting enough liao. From now onwards, I am moving on and letting go, in every aspect of life. Enough is enough.

(Philippians 3:7-8)

"But whatever was to my profit I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. What is more, I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things."

Here are some of the picts from the convo last week. Only got those from my family cos these were mostly taken with my Dad's videocam. This is the turnout of my family on that day.
My one pict with a fren, Jingting! Hehe...so sweet of her to rush down from airport to take picts and congratulate Soph and I.
One happy family. Hahaha...Cherky and Soph said that my bro looks like me!
In the sunlight.

Just came back from being an usher cum concierge (not sure if this is an appropriate term) at the opening ceremony of an exhibition at the Chinese Heritage Center. 1st of all I wanna thank God for His generous provision, becos I came rather unprepared haha. I din study my script for the exhibition in detail as much as I shd but I was not even panicking hahaha. But I came to realize that whenever I surrender anything I do to God, He is always faithful. I did manage to help out as much as I could and that made me very happy. I oso realized that my strength lies a lot in being an executor rather than a planner...I am my element at improvisation and trying loose ends on the grounds. Perhaps it came from my training as a 1st aider for many years.

Anyway, we literally rubbed shoulders with a lot of who's who at the ceremony. In person, most of them were humble but certain qualities set them apart immediately from us ordinary mortals hahaha. I was nervous at 1st cos I dun recognise some of the who's who, but went along fine. Of course, a small glitch occurred nevertheless at a point in time, and the person involved seemed rather miffed, according to Sarah. I have always been a bit blur when it comes to reading facial expression, but oh well, there will always be ppl who believe they shd be treated specially and I am afraid I shd have taken better care of that, but wat's over is over. Overall, I must give kudos to the planning committee, which included our own Cherky, Sarah and Hong Xian. Bravo guys! As long as u've tried ur bests, dun worry abt anything else.

My group in the tour of the exhibition I had to undertake had none other than our own A/P Huang Jianli and A/P Teow! Hahahah I admitted to them immediately that I felt self-conscious talking to them abt overseas Chinese when they must have known so much more! They reassured me that I was doing fine..very kind of them indeed. But the other members of my grp were oso very, very intelligent ppl who asked intelligent questions which I answered to the best of my limited knowledge :p They were well-read and their brains work so quickly! But they were nice and humble ppl, very educated indeed. Unfortunately, I din know exactly who they were, but I am glad to help facilitate them...they were such a pleasure to engage in conversations with, though I think I could have rushed thru less. Just that they were so interested that they stopped by every exhibit to read and ask. They wondered if there was a possibility of making the exhibition permanent, which I agree with wholeheartedly becos I do think it's a very good one indeed.

Let go and let God...how true indeed...need all my strength and courage and faith...press on as the true soldier of God!

Anyway, I am beginning to think my infant cousin a joy, at times. I dun generally pay a lot of attention to children cos I am naturally clueless as to how to deal with them. I am not like the Witches that Roald Dahl wrote abt and hate them...I am simply clueless! Last nite at dinner, she pranced around and called my name a lot. She's been singing "Lao Shu Ai Da Mi" a great deal..very funny esp since I always wonder if it's appropriate if kids sing love songs meant in the adult sense, since they don't understand it. According to her kindergarten, this song is suitable for everyone from e age 4 to 80! Hmm...

If anyone's free these few days, shd try to head down to Junction 8, where there is this exhibition of the 160th anniversary of Straits Times pictures. Walking thru the exhibition was at times like stepping back in time cos some of the picts on display r like from the 1950s, down the memory lane to the present. Like, there was this pict of a family driving one of the 2 cars that was on an island...forgot was it Pulau Tekong or Ubin? I like that a lot hehe...very interesting. Then there was this pict which from far I thot was the pict of 3 members of the Ku Klux Klan, but turned out to be some breed of stingrays! Was laughing with my bro at it. There was oso a very funny pict of a tortoise race which drove peals of laughter from us cos the slowest tortoise won! Of course there were picts of national tragedy like the recent tsunami picts and the Maria Hertogh riots.

This was the 1st time I ever really slowed down and take a look at picts and I do like the sense of nostalgia, as well as the bonding we share as a nation that they created. It surprised me how they touched this inner core inside me as I identified with each and every one of them, even those which I knew for the 1st time.

Went to Orchard Road today, somewhat expecting to come to a shouting match of sorts with a certain shop that carries a certain international brand, from which my Dad had bought something as a gift to my relative. We felt that there was something amiss with the gift and that turned to indignance that such a world famous brand shd attempt to do something so low. But thank God in the end, we found out that the gift was actually in accordance to the international stipulation of how it shd be made and so the visit turned out very peaceful. I din get to use my line,"Then, I'm afraid I shall have to take it to the press." Hahahaaha...bet u din know Jenn the mamasan can be so fierce hor? Hmm...I dislike falsity of any sort...I try to be as real in my dealings with everybody, including strangers as much as I can. So, the thought of being lied to usually makes me madder than anything else. This includes any sort of hypocrisy or even something that is meant to make me feel better like putting on mask in front of me or telling me white lies. But I know at times, these r inevitable so I have been learning to cut ppl some slack and surrender such hurts to God. At times, I even find myself feeling more comforted by such white lies or masks...hahahaah the irony.

Anyway, about why I suddenly take to calling myself mamasan, it began last nite when I was chatting on MSN with Mr. Shanghai Tan Hanyong. How the deal went must be kept a secret on public domain, but he commented that I sounded like a big time pimp, so I said that I'm not a pimp...I am a mamasan. Ta-da! That's how it came abt. Except that, contrary to wat Weijin said abt me trying to prostitute gals, wat I'm doing is really trying to matchmake them. I dun wanna call myself e matchmaker nor a "mei bo", cos they dun sound exciting enough, so mamasan is the next best thing :p I have 2 assignments to date (all self-imposed of course) and one of them promised to be the most exciting one! Hehehehe I get so excited just thinking abt how to execute it. Anyway, Mr. Shanghai Tan had offered me very good deals, so I am gainfully employed under him hahaahah...now this is the beginning of a triad alright :)

Another thing is that I now understand God's mighty purpose not to let us go to Taiwan! When I saw the news report on the typhoon, I gave a silent prayer of thanks!

Yesterday was a very exhausting day, physically and mentally for me. Being a "star" of the day demanded a lot from me. Nevertheless, I enjoyed the convocation immensely, trying to remember that it was once in a lifetime thing.

Very big love and thanks to my parents who came all the way from Jakarta to attend my grad even tho they r very busy. Warmest thanks to my Dad and bro who acted as the professional photographers for the day. They even videocamed everything and we had fun laughing at it later. Thanks for my aunts, grandpa and grandma for giving me face by turning up. I love the bouquets they gave me, but my blur Mom accidentally left it behind when we went home... alamak! Now u know where I inherit my blur nature from hahaah. Thanks Mom for being my porter for the day. Hanyong, Shi zhi and Keong: I wasn't lying ok...they din come from my hordes of admirers hahahaaha. Thanks to Jingting who rushed here all the way after she landed back in S'pore to take picts and congratulate Sophia and I.

Such a great feeling being with the fellow historians once more. Loved our sense of solidarity of bonding as seen during the ceremony itself...the loudest cheerers around! It did make ur 5 sec walk on the stage worth it hahahaah ;) Even my parents noticed us and commented. Sitting beside Huilin and Boi Boi was really enjoyable...considering that I din get to interact with them as much i would have liked to during e sem. Can u believe that this Boi Boi actually wanted to hide behind me when the camera shone to our side???? Erm....a rather impossible feat I must say. Just grin and wave to the camera lah hahaahah. He oso made some very corny suggestions like why dun we all "unsheath" our scroll holders at e same time so that they all made a resounding noise? I was telling him then we would really be condemned liao. But it was kinda funny to imagine the scroll holders as some kinda "sword" that u can unsheath hahaha.

After e ceremony my family went to have a small dinner before I ran to Tanjong Pagar for a career talk, during which I was kinda impatient as I was really exhausted by then. Kept wishing they would quit doing propaganda for their company and give us the bare facts and wat we can hope to get from enrolling in their course. Kinda expensive I must say.

We originally scheduled our trip to Hong Kong on sat, but it had gone down the drain. Wat happened was that we decided on it quite late, like on thu. I thot everything is settled but the lady din get back to me and when I called her just now, she said she couldn't get e ticket or hotel rooms for us! I was not too happy becos that was kinda negligent of her and it wasn't really our fault tho we did book very late. But she really shd have told us sooner, not e day b4. Besides she gave me e reassurance that there was at least e air ticket. Well, watever. Perhaps God has another plan for us. I wasn't particularly looking forward to going HK anyway, so perhaps I'll be able to go elsewhere more exciting. The only sad thing is perhaps that I can't get to see those HK "leng zais" hahaahahaha.

Anyway, I went to see e doc this morning, kinda expecting e worst. But e result of the blood test yesterday was very positive, tho not perfect as yet! I can now take a bit of seafood already hoho! God has been so good to me, as I sought to glorify him. Truly every surrender u give to Him, He turns back to blessings. Thanks oso to Michelle, who introduced me to her church's "Healing Rooms" service, which alerted me to the spiritual aspects of illnesses, something that is interesting me a lot now.

Hope I will b able to load those picts up soon, and perhaps part of e video cam.

Sitting here in my grandpa's office waiting for the time to finally change and go for convo. My parents arrived here last nite. Very funny...in e morning they told my bro to wear long-sleeved blouse and working pants to go for e convo! I had to emphasize again and again that it's ok...it's not all that formal haha.

Somehow, been rather short fused in e morning. In fact, that's really not new becos I've been rather short fused lately. Perhaps e thyroid played a part as well, but it's not all, I know full well why. God, pls help Jenn at this point in time.

Had a full-dress rehearsal of sorts yesterday, when I put on all my convo dress, down to the shoes! Haha must admit it was a new experience to see myself in a grad gown. My bro frowned on my shoes a bit...he said,"Shouldn't ur shoes cover everything?" Cos my shoes is a bit peep-toed see. I figured out that I dun wanna get a pair that is so severe looking that I won't wear it after that. This pair shd take me almost everywhere so I was kinda proud of e buy.

Well, yeah it's for real, guys. We have all graduated. I can sense that my parents r rather proud of me though perhaps there is a teeny weeny shadow of the thot,"Why not 2nd Upper?" in their behaviour. Well, Mom and Dad, 2nd Lower is already an achievement at this time. God has been really good to me throughout e Hon year. It was a time I'll really cherish...e frens, e profs, even e modules! I hope that our bond last beyond this year, into our future, peeps. I see today as an ending point of my studying life, yet a new beginning, a new phase in my little life. I'm kinda excited to go up e stage and receive my degree scroll, as well as to take picts later.

Lorraine just sent me this quote from a digest called "Living Faith". Perhaps this may help those of us feeling down from work or other probs. Truly, when nobody or nothing else is able to help, God alone is the Rock where we can step on firmly.

" an abysmal swamp is a murky, scary place to be, esp when there's no place to gain a footing for balance and get out of the water. if a person cannot swim, a huge fear of drowning naturally arise. the psalmist named well what many of us feel at certain times. we may not be in the physical waters of a swamp, but we can feel pulled under the swampy waters of busyness, r/s difficulties, loneliness, grief, physical pain, emotional distress, joblessness and anything else that threatens our peace of mind and heart. at these times, we, too, are desperate to gain a foothold to get out of the struggle.

being in this sort of abysmal swamp may actually provide a spiritual gift if it forces us back into the arms of God. There's nowhere else to go except to the One who can give us the strength and courage to endure the swamp of uor distress. When we feel about to go under, we can cry out with the psalmist "Let your saving help O God, protect me" (Psalm 69:30). Then we more fully understand who and what truly matter in our life.

The CNY gathering at the Arts Forum where I kena arrowed to bec the head organiser. Here is my rag-tag group of co-organisers. Chris and Stephen helped oso...by making more headache for me! Haha think overall God was good and made the gathering a successful one, albeit the fact that we started late and I had to kick Stephen and Chris' butts a few times. In the center is a tiramisu cake that Kelvin made...with a cross that stood for Red Cross in the middle. Nice!
A less blurred pict of our Anntic camp last year. Consisting of the Thu CG.
Another CNY gathering pitc. See! Chris being irritating again! These r e stuff that made ppl think that we were tog. Hmph!
My Jap tutorial class, with our tutor Takeda sensei. Miss taking Jap, but since the grades were pulling down my CAP, I couldn't continue on. This is the tutor who introduced the song I sang at KTV in KL, "Kimi Wo Sagashiteta".

To copy Weijin who put up picts of her idea of a chio bu, Song Ye Jin, I shall put up mine. Here is Takeuchi Yuko. Isn't she simply every guy's dream gal??? Or maybe u guys have a different taste from gals like me. Sorry Yueheng, Fiona Xie, Joanne Peh, Michelle Chia r all babes, but nowhere comparable to this one hehe :p Ok lah I'm not a guy so I won't know.

Finally moved to arrange a cooking lesson with my fantastic cook of an aunt. Haven't been to Ang Mo Kio area much since I left AJ and the Salvation Army. My aunt lives beside St. Nicholas, so going there was like stepping back in time. AJ held not so positive memories for me, but SNG was a most beautiful time I've ever had, ones that I will always cherish.

As I stepped down the bus opposite the Macdonalds where I used to go home everyday back then, I was half wondering if God had not actually transported me to a teenage gal once again. A teenager in specs and the convent pinafore, differentiated from the other CHIJ schools becos the badge was sewn on instead of a brooch. Hair tied back in a ponytail and carrying a backpack, walking to the bus stop together with her good frens. A teenager who ate, breathed and slept St. John's Ambulance Brigade everyday instead of studying properly. A student who went home everyday, not cherishing those lovely music of the windchimes placed all around the schools nor those mirrors nor that naggy but charismatic principal :)

I walked on the pavement close to the school and remembered those times of waiting for someone or another at "Father Barre", a term that every SNG gal will know refer to the Statue of Father Nicholas Barre, the founder of the school, at the entrance. I thot of that "Hong Qiao" or Red Bridge, where we took our class photos in Sec 3. The canteen that serves the best teh tarik I've ever tasted even till now. Not to mention its iced Milo and teh halia..simply heavenly! Those lovely classrooms where I used to bug my classmates to pls do their duty in cleaning up e class haha. The field where every Tue, Mrs Hwang would begin her "sermons", which invariably caused one gal or two standing in e hot sun of the assembly to faint.

The St. John's room and sick bay where we practiced our first aid and nursing skills. The track where a great many footdrill practices were conducted. The spectator stand where every Sat or even weekdays we would fall in and began our practices. The flag pole where I dreamt of becoming parade commander like the NPCC gals. The lectures and punishments I dished out to my juniors at various points. Those times of bonding with frens who r still with me, supporting me till this day. I love u, gals.

Anyway, memories aside, I walked to my aunt's house, glad that at least memories were pushing aside present unhappiness. We learnt to cook duck's meat and salted vegetable soup. Oso chicken curry. Cos my aunt is a superb cook, see. Cooking is like 2nd nature to her and she does it so skillfully. We din do much except peel potatoes and cut up the salted veg. But I recorded the ingredients and the steps liao and hopefully I get to learn more soon. Practice! It's impt. Now I can try to whip up a bit of food for my family in Indo. On my way to becoming a first rate house keeper hehehe :)

Through some recent incidents in my life, I have seriously come to wonder if I am really a guy trapped in this girlish body hahahaah. Nearly lost my patience at my mom the whole of yesterday finalising our holiday plans to Hong Kong. I understand that she is busy and I thot she had left the planning to me, but she kept coming up with new ideas and I had to run around finding out more abt those new ideas. Finally I decided to sit and sulk and not be the slave any longer, spent of all energy. I am sorry for being so rude, but I found out that I am like a guy in e sense that, if I had already planned nicely wat to do and ppl keep coming up with new ideas, I get extremely impatient. Nevertheless, my girlish nature finally took over after some silent prayers and I decided to go with her wishes once more today.

But this is not e only time. As Yanchun put it, I handle things in a very "man" way. I do realize that I dun much prefer going toilets in a grp, though I usually follow along with e crowd when they ask me. Toilet bonding struck me as being a bit strange at times, chatting while preening in front of the mirror. I can't process more than 1 info at a given point in time, although at times there r exceptions. I have a violent streak inside me, like I'll threaten to beat ppl up if they cross me, though I usually dun mean it except in a joking way. I like and excel in "manly" things like footdrill.

Hmm..but yeah all these viewpoints could be the result of over-exposure to pop psychology books like "Man are from Mars and Women are from Venus" and "Why Men dun Listen and Women Can't Read Maps". These books give a good generalised analysis of the differences between man and woman, but they oso cautioned that there r no clear cut division in the character of both genders. Men can possess certain "feminine" traits like compassion and women can be aggressive (like yours truly here haha) too. Think one shd not worry that u r not a man/ woman just becos u dun possess e characteristics that these books think u shd have. I have never really worried that I may turn guys off with my boyish demenour haha cos I know I am not abnormal, contrary to my mom who always tell me,"Sit in a more ladylike manner, would you?", "Stop laughing like that!" At the end of the day, I think I still possess a good amount of feminine traits to balance by boyish traits.

Jill Lowe, who conducted grooming courses in St. Nicholas last time, said something I'll never forget,"Nobody takes a woman who dresses like a man and think like a woman seriously. If you want to be take seriously, you must dress like a woman and think like a man." I din understand it then, but I think I do now.

Watched the Jap movie "Be With You" a few days ago. I must say that Jap movies and dramas usually never disappoint. As you can see, my whole family are Jap media fans. Anyhow, I shan't spoil the enjoyment of those who have yet to catch the movie, except to say that it's a beautiful show. The plot is special indeed and did take you by surprise at the end, while captivating you throughout. I do like romantic movies and dramas, but not when the plot lacks originality or is too sacharine sweet *blech* This movie exceeded all my expectations, or rather the lack of expectations might have helped too.

The female lead is one beautiful woman too. Takeuchi Yuko. Hai...think she's e sort of gal that all guys will drool over...so sweet and demure. Ok, I mean, if I were a guy I would go for her haha. She was e lead actress for "Pride" as well, starring Takuya Kimura. He said in e show that she was like a woman straight out of the feudal times...a very interesting statement. What is a woman from feudal times like? Demure, willing to sacrifice her time and energy waiting on that one man, skilled in womanly arts like housekeeping, spent all her time and energy on her children. Something that was lamented as lacking inS'porean women.

In the light of the recent male bashing, I think that on the other side, guys oso were complaining abt the S'porean women. Well, I think it is all too easy to generalise, either from one's own experiences with the opposite sex or thru the eyes of other ppl. I think generalisation is never fair. I have had my share of not so positive experiences with the opposite sex, though perhaps little by the standards of my female frens. But I think these experiences shd not be the basis of judging all members of the opposite sex. We shd not hate all members of the male species just becos one failed us. I think it's oso impt to try to understand each individual for his/her own worth. If we employ such perspective, perhaps our view of the opposite sex may bec more tolerant in e least. If we each begin by being more proactive in treating e opp sex with respect and concern, I'm sure future interaction and perspectives may be more positive. People are not perfect and we shd not expect them to be. But each of us can make e difference in any relationship by being sincere and treating ppl with love and respect.

Anyhow, I think that the fundamental message of "Be With You" is to love and cherish a person that means a lot to u. Most of the times when that special someone slips away from ur life thru death or other things, u wish passionately for him/ her to come back but some things r impossible to happen. But what happens when God wills a 2nd chance for u? The movie is abt 2nd chances. 2nd chances r beautiful becos u can begin again, in a much better way becos u now know how much that special someone means to u only when he/ she went away. U urself may oso have changed for the better in the loved ones' absence. The movie's simple but meaningful portrayal of cherishing such 2nd chances, however short it may be, touched me immmensely. Even though 2nd chances may not always be possible in real life due to circumstaces, the movie's a must watch!!!!

Found 2 nice romantic places today. Though I won't be like Soon Onn and write in to Straits Times recommending them, I wanna share with those of us who r in the bliss of love haha.

The 1st one was at China square, where I was walking about and thinking abt things before going church. It was this secluded corner behind e shops, with lovely benches, shaded by vines. In the middle was this little fountain. There was something abt the simplicity of the place in the bright sunlight that reminded me of Europe. The simple quiet beauty that allow u to appreciate it in breathtaking silence. I think it may be lovely at night too, if the lighting is right.

The 2nd one is Fort Canning Park at night. It can be a bit creepy if u r alone, but I found that the lighting etc made e place look nice, bathed in soft glow. Just keep around the clubhouse...the spots r nice. It could oso be a good place to hold garden party weddings if u r like me haha. Saw a nice Malay wedding at the clubhouse. Coincidentally, I oso saw another Malay wedding at the Kampung Lele restaurant at China Square. Think they were all so sophisticated and elegant in their kebayas.

Ok, dear lovers reading this blog. Dun say I neva recommend ar. But dun swamp e places oso hor...otherwise not romantic liao hahahahaa.

Last night, my strings nearly snapped, not from anger but from other emotions. The point reached its climax when I was talking on e phone with Mom. She was in a very angry mood and was shouting away, not directed at me, but I kena part of e missiles. Usually hearing her out is not a prob, but for some reason I felt strange last nite. Only by God's grace could I hear her out till the very end and even said some soothing words to comfort her. At this rate, my thyroid tests next week is not gonna be very positive... I feel like just lying down and thinking abt everything and nothing. Life feels so difficult at this point in time... God, pls help Jenn. Hai..I hope this is e only blog where I unleash such negative emotions.

Alex lounging around on my bed...oops that sounds so wrong, as Hanyong would put it. Hahahaah
Can u tell that there r actually 4 ppl in the pict? Haha...I look dirty and bedraggled..all thanks to Weijian who smashed part of my cake into me! Had to bathe at like 2 am in e morning to clean it all away lor.
But yeah e biscuit was one of my favs...I always had a bit of biscuit and drinks lying abt in e room cos I like to entertain my "guests" with them and made them feel welcome. Stephen liked this biscuit found here and Chris liked another. As u can tell, they r both frequent guests in my room.
My cell grp peeps in KR...a source of many joys and counsel! E guy on top in grey shirt is Big Chris..so called becos he is so tall. E gal at e most left in e 2nd row with blue shirt is Meijie. E pair in white is Jasmine and Weijian (not to say they r tog hor...they were just my CGLs back then) E guy with the "Green Power" short is Jackson, our exchange student from Canada...our source of Godly inspiration! The guy in blue is Weitee and the gal in red is my now church mate, Yunling. She was my neighbour back then. That shirt I was holding in my hand was made by her...isn't she simply sweet?
A pict that deceptively shows that my room was a cluttered one...most untrue! Chris always joked that my room was yi wu suo you. My beloved laptop which was a 21st birthday present from my daddy. I used it all e way till now to type my essays etc. The flower was a joke to tease Kelvin and I. That was e only bouquet I've ever received in my life...really treasured it then. The other tiny bouquet at e tiny corner of my right hand was from Stephen...a V-Day pressie just for this god-sis of his, as an afterthought haha.
Erm...Chris making my bear bear into a bedouin with my blanket...wah lau messing up my room. Hand it back or else! Kelvin once commented that my room is very nice and very neat. I must admit that my mom's training in housekeeping really helped me a lot. And I think it's very impt for a woman to learn a bit of housekeeping becos u'll always use it. I always tease Chris abt his room...which I suspect he neva cleaned e entire sem!!!!

Had not been in a particularly uplifting mood. But was listening to songs yesterday and this song that Stephen sent me 2 years ago picked me up a little. Sometimes my dear god-bro can do something right after all buahahahaah. Got another song that made me happy oso but I'll put it up later or something. Besides I have been trying to put up more picts of my 22nd birthday party but for some reason couldn't. Heh will try again at night.

Jesus Loves Me This I Know (Michael Card)

Jesus loves me, I know it's true
Because He died for me
And He died for you
When I think of all the pain He went through
I want the world to know
And I want to shout it out

Jesus loves me, this I know (Chorus)
It's not just the Bible which tells me so
I can feel it
Feel it in my soul
Jesus loves me, this I know

Jesus loves me
How can it be
That the only Son of God should care for me
To take away my sin and set me free
To take my life and make it all it's meant to be

(Chorus)

Jesus loves me
He loves you too
You can't understand it all
Just believe it's true
He'll take away your old heart
Gives you one that's new
You'll feel the walls come down as His love comes breaking through

(Chorus)

Just remembered the existence of this album that Stephen gave me last nite. These r not in order of the events happening that night. As I wrote before, it was supposed to be a surprise, but I knew abt it beforehand so I had to act surprised throughout. These r probably the ugliest picts of me ever taken hahahaah and it's all Stephen's camera's fault!

This was supposed to be at the end, when they all came into my room in Kent Ridge hall. That is Alex standing at my doorway. Notice the mask above my door peephole...found it at home and decided that it would make a good decorative piece. The house figurines r gifts from KLM plane, representations of the houses in the Netherlands. The tissue paper was there cos they wanna help clean me up after Weijian threw e cake at me.
Pep talk before the actual operation in Chris' room, which I always joked consisted of his entire house! When he moved out, he had to get a lorry and Alex plus his mom to help him! The 2 guys making a fool of themselves r Alex (in white) and Chris (in black and flapping his arms). The guy in Perth shirt is my dearest god-bro Stephen and e gal in black beside him is his gf, Sze Chean. The guy in blue is Han Seong and e gal in white is his gf, Bee Khoon. The guy in white is Norman. The guy in red is Kelvin.
Erm....dunno wat they r doing lah hahahaha.
One of e few picts of myself I din censor. I'm quite self-conscious of how I look in picts and all these happened to look very very sucky!!! The cake was bought by my lovely cousin, Weifen, who was e only surprise I got that night!
The view from the 7th floor of D Block Kent Ridge Hall where the "surprise" party was held...really nice view! I liked going up there to just feel the breeze and think abt things.

Sharing an ice cream cone between us cos it costed like 2 pounds! Ain't my cousins gorgeous???
In Lucerne, Switzerland, our dinner of veal and rosti with wine and song and dance. For some reason, all of us dressed up to go for that dinner tho it was really rather casual event. The ang moh is Erik our frenly host. He was really hoping my guy cousin would stay out of e pict and let him take with us gals hahaha :) Everything's clean but expensive in Swiss! But I liked our dinner at Tuscany in Italy better cos it was very romantic despite not having anyone romantic by my side then. Italy will always stay in my mind as a place that is excitingly romantic. I promise myself that I'll ask the address of that restaurant and go there once more for my honeymoon next time and just drink in the atmosphere with my husband and fall in love all over again hahaha.
My hair having a life of its own again. But it was a lovely sunny day in London, not as cold as Horsham, south of England where my cousin stays. It's hard to imagine cold in summer, isn't it? But it could dip as low as 16 degrees even in the day! At Westminster Abbey. We din go in just to save some money haha.

Big Ben looming behind us. We really wished we could have seen much, much more of London! Esp the St. Paul's Cathedral. There are many many more picts but I must ask my cousin for it.

Knowing more than 1 language is an asset, anytime. I find mysef in e position of a translator quite often. My grandma just told me to ask her maid wat happened to her chin. Apparently e poor thing was sleeping, had a dream and turned over, but landed on e floor. Not before her chin grazed a table. Alamak. Had to help ask her if she wanna see e doc and how did that happen. She refused of course. And I think it's ok cos e wound is not too serious. Just hope that there won't b a scar.

Went to my aunt's father's wake last nite. Quite a novelty in a way becos that was e 1st time I saw vegetarian dishes served together with e normal plates of peanuts. Too much food and we din touch any of it, with e exception of some sweets and peanuts.

It is oso surprising how immersing oneself in another's pains din diminish one's own private grief. Indeed, living out e consequences of own decision is more difficult than making e decision itself. Or perhaps, Jenn is just a self-centered creature hahaha...

Spent this nice Friday with Sarah and Hanyong. The idea was mooted yesterday, after we went to collect our grad gown tog. Hmm...after putting on that gown, I really had the sensation that we r really graduating now. Felt kind of surreal and a bit sentimental as I adjusted the mortar board on my head and the person taught me how to lace on that ribbon onto the gown. Sarah said that I looked like a scholar haha. That was really e 1st time someone told me that. And I was thinking that, truly, we r very fortunate to graduate from this place I've come to love a lot. I have experienced true friendships, loved and be loved, learnt analytical skills and most of all, blossomed as a lady (some of my frens out there may disagree with this last point. but! hmph! hahahaah). For all my dissatisfaction with the admin and my disappointment abt not having been able to go on SEP, I think that overall my time in NUS had been one that I'll cherish.

Anyway we met at City Hall and we proceeded to Suntec City for lunch. After walking around, we decided on this restaurant which I can't rem the name liao, but served lotsa promotional dishes. We spent quite some time trying to decipher e menu becos the layout was a bit messy hahaha. The food was so-so and the place was rather noisy, esp when e lunchtime crowd started streaming in. But we still managed to have fun talking to one another.

Left soon and went over to Millenia Walk, where we decided to stay at Burger King to just snack (yes! again) and chat some more. Millenia Walk brought back some memories for me, but e past shall remain e past. Think my laughter echoed throughout BK, but some of the things we said were really tickling lah. It was such a cool time, achieving nothing but enjoying one another's company, e 2 of us unemployed blokes and one relaxing gal abt to enter e teaching profession. Once, this Indian little boy wearing cute Tigger navy blue double shirt ran ahead of his mom to the door. As he waited for his mom, he swung around to face us and covered his face. His mom laughed and she told him to say bye to us. He came over and I shook his hand before he walked out. Think he was too far away from Sarah so he couldn't shake her hand, but she joked that I have young and old admirers hah!

As we walked back, Sarah and I window shopped along e way. No nice black court shoes to wear for our convo. And we need e white shirt too. Nice Hanyong patiently waited for us. I tell u, this guy will make a great husband hahaahah. Not that we took a long time lar. But woah e GSS really helped make City Hall area a very congested place.

To Weijin who officially started work today: jia you!

To e rest of e guys, in NIE or otherwise: Keep the spirits up!

Hehe this is a bit blur, but now that there is Blogger Images, even IT idiot like Jenn can post pictures on her bloggie!! :) Just experimenting. Do u like it? Of course, my writing is still e priority...all that jazz of pictures and stuff can neva replace quality writing. Erm...not to say I write very well or can grab people's attention thru my writing so masterfully lah. But yeah I do like sharing my pictures with ppl, tho I am usually neva satissfied with how I look in them. Plus e picts I use may tend to repeat from those in other blogs like Weijin's.

Hi dear Tablelamp! Haven't seen ur comments in a while. Maybe now u can finally see how this stranger look like. Hehehee :) Speaking of comments, where have all e ppl who used to comment gone to???? Busy I suppose. Hai...can't be helped. Soon I'll oso be too busy working to blog.

But yeah, these r e picts from VCF. I joined VCF very late, in fact 1 month before I thot I was gonna graduate in year 3. I was in the midst of being a backslider, looking around for a new church. Yunling, whom I met in hall, introduced me to this cell group in VCF. I am at times the sort of person who decide on things at first impression (but not all e time lah). If that first impression is fine, I usually dun mind going back there again. Thank God it's that way for VCF. I stuck on, liking e people immediately. They struck me as being very sincere and God-seeking as well as accepting of newcomers. I thot that, it is just as well I shd spend my last month in NUS in VCF.

But God works in wonderful ways becos that sem, my CAP was up by a margin that made me decide to gamble if it was possible for a 2nd Lower at e end of year 4 after all. So my VCF frens were very surprised to see me back! I was glad for their frenship as well as Godly encouragement. I oso learnt a bit abt Godly leadership by taking over the role of a co-CGL from Delia, who was really hard-pressed with her thesis. As Jesus said, in order to be the first, u gotta be the last, just as Jesus was willing to humble Himself to wash his disciples' feet. I haven't washed as many feet as I could have, but I believe God will give me chances in e future.

E pict on top and on e right r that taken in Arts canteen. I think one was taken by Yueheng, whom I asked to come over to help us take that time in the sem. Thanks ah Yueheng! It was Pink Day, a day where all the ppl of the Thu CG must wear something pink to mark e last day of CG for e sem. We oso got ice cream float day, cow day etc etc. I tell u, VCF esp Arts side, was neva short of fun!