Six months

Just celebrated my sixth month with Mj at Sakae Sushi. It has been such a long long time since I dined there. Work has been piling up on me, submission dates are here and I'm guiltily blogging down that exams will start in about a month's time.

Despite all these external pressures, I really want to share these times of joys, sorrow and laughter. In addition, to the people who really supported me and had been there for me in the course of my relationship, a big thank you.

Maybe I should name a few...
- Sarah for always encouraging, sharing and patiently listening to me drone on and on about my worries. Her love and patience with her friends really impresses me. Really thanks God for a sharing partner and a friend like her.
- Dorcas, even though not being there all the time due to he unnatural busy schedule, tries her best to listen when I'm really need someone to talk to.
- Jinny for always sharing with us and entertaining us with her worst and crazy scenarios of relationships ( unraveling beastly stuff and what not...haha)
- To Wing, Who always relates her relationship with Andrew and her with me so that I don't feel so alone.
- My family, who whole-heartedly accepted this new added joy in my life. Realizing how it has changed me and making Mj feel so at home all the time.
- To anybody else that I've missed out, Thanks!

Heh...I hope this doesn't start to sound like I've won some ulu Oscar or something.
But here's a collage of our sixth month together...

mumsies and dadies

I love my mum...
She's done so much there's no way I can ever repay her love for me as well as my siblings.
Praying fervently for our needs and keeping us in her thoughts in the day as well as at night is already an action she does to touch me.
What really is special is that my mum can be so generous with us and our friends yet try to stinge whenever it comes to spending on herself. I don't know if this method on doting on us will do us more harm than good but if I had the courage to shout with all my heart that I appreciate her and acknowledge all that she is doing, I would.
Knowing how quietly she was excited for me during my 'O' level result day, crying in her heart when she sees me depressed, encouraging me instead of scolding me when I do badly for exams, waking up in the middle of the night if we feel terribly unwell, etc..
Ok...Maybe I would say most mums would do most of those for their kids. But I guess every mum has their own unique way of doing it.

Not mentioning my dad does not mean I don't love him too...
Perhaps I do acknowledge all that he has done. Coming home early and not staying out at night at all for the past 20 years of my life, taking courses in order to let us life a more comfortable life, bringing us overseas every year for holidays, spending the money on gadgets tell will solely help us on our studies. He's really a father who disciplines like a tyrant but does all he can to support us comfortably through life. Unlike my mum, he's not too good at expressing himself so he tends to be a little short-tempered. But putting aside all those short-comings, and remembering all man have sin and fallen short of the glory of God, I know that there's always something good that we can look to in a person. Whether we choose to see it or not.

Supreme court, City Hall

Visited City Hall and Supreme court last thursday. I actually saw the acutal surrender chamber where the Japanese surrendered to the British in WWII. Though it wasn't anything fantastic but it's really cool when it's a place closed to the public. Not sure if I'm breaking the law or anything, but I'll still take the risk and post some pictures up here anyway.

Just one more day together

Planned for a Rollerblading session with MJ the day before. But it wasn't realised! We were both tired after a long day in school ( even though it was Saturday!) and we couldn't find a single rollerblading counter to rent blades in Pasir Ris Park ( should've gone ECP instead). In the end, we scraped the rollerblading plans to have a dinner in the park from KFC.

Food for thought

Pitera has always been attentive to the emotions evoked by a place, as an afternoon of "desk crits"(critiques of student work) shows. As he moves from table to table, where students draft a variety of landscape designs, he readily draws upon his own experience of place as he examines each design.
He examines one student's drawing of a teaching garden, a garden that will be used to educate children about the connections between farmland and the dinner table. Pitera scrutinizes the space designated for a small cornfield.
"Have you ever been in a cornfield?" he asks the student. "It's exhilarating, but it's also spooky. You lose touch of the horizon, of boundaries. That's why so many horror films use them."

What an interesting point made by Pitera. Must always consider the experience of a space yourself first before imposing others into the space.

What about the sharing of our own experience in life? Do we often give advise to other people not knowing what the consequences are, or will result in? It's a scary thought to know that as you try to influence others with some of your ideologies, they can see a darker perspective of your rosy scene...

Food for thought.

juxtaposed

Found this really cool website that helps you pass your time through solitary fun!

www.wordjuxtapoz.com

Here are some Holy Words to whet your appetite.

ANSWERS: unequally yoked, Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today and forever, the three wise men

You are my Valentine

Valentine's Day was great!
I had fruits and marshmallows dipped in chocolate fondeau. All of which was homemade with tender loving care. It's my first Valentine's day and it started out great! Hope it will never be my last. Its amazing how I always go home empty-handed but so filled. haha...

Process

Whee!! Submission is finally over.

It was a tough process and going through this course is definitely not easy. Sleeping about 4 hours a day weeks before the submission can get your health down if you don't keep up the fruit and vegetable intake.
However, I'm inclined to say that this process plays a part to what we are to be in future.

I guess it can be illustrated through the design process of a product. For industrial designers, they learn stuff like following the thought process of a designed object( say maybe an Omega watch or a Nike shoe). I've seen some of the work and I'd have to say that beginning and end product are really worlds apart.
At the beginning idea, it looked like some lines scribblied oddly across each other.
As the idea develops, though it still looks rough at the edges, ugly and impossible to use, it starts to look more like the end product.
Through more excruciating thinking and making, the idea finally evolves into something sophisticated, beautiful and functional.

Similarly, I guess we all can look at ourselves in this way...
Though we are still rough at the edges, neither beautiful nor perfect, we are going through the same excruciating process of evolving to something so unique and beautiful no one can copyright who we can become. But we must remember to focus on the end product and not let other distractions make us lose our focus, strategy and style.( these are terminologies used in Design.)

Strength

It's amazing how I managed to live through the past few weeks.

Meeting up with friends was something that was almost impossible last semester.
But because I constantly reminded myself of the New Year Resolutions I made weeks ago, I tried my best.
Well, so farI can say I have been keeping to it. I really hope I can keep it up.

Hope is the word cos it's been getting really busy these few days. I seem to be returning to my cycle of late nights and less sleep.

One thing that sometimes keep me off that eye-drooping routine is the 24 hrs theory someone once told me. I think it was Mj.
But it's rather ironic that I am actually writing this down since I am still at the moment trying to complete my work at this unearthly hour.

But it's amazing how I pray for God to give me strength. Despite the late nights and early mornings( if 9am i what I consider so), I am surprised that I still managed to stay so awake.
Even reaching home safe and sound while driving home even though I tend to doze off occasionally. I thank God for Mj for being so thoughtful and sweet, buying me 'Kopiko' sweets to wake me up, to Sarah who consistently ask if I'm doing well and to Dorcas who despite her and my own busy schedule, just picks up her phone and send me an 'I just sms you to tell you I miss you' msg. So sweet!

Well, I do take some of these things for granted sometimes, like how I feel that sometime I have neglecting some of my friends like Hew Wing, Ridza, Verna, Violet, etc. , due to my busy schedule. I really miss these friends that took up a major part of my life up to now, especially in the period of growing up irrationally together. sweet memories...
Yet, I feel that they understand.

I think my relationship with God is progressing. Considering the time I spent with Him last year and last semester vis-a-vis to this semester, it has definitely progress and strengthened. Sometimes, I can even feel Him beside me, accompanying me through those long and lonely nights, when I do something so terribly upsetting, when I am unhappy and even when I am sitting on the train dozing off. If read wrongly it can be kind of eerie. However, knowing and trusting in the character of God, it isn't so.

I'm so glad that I'm so blessed. Can I bless others too?

Once upon a December

This song has been hounding my head for the past few days...I feel it possesses a very unique and yet haunting melody. It's from the movie Anastasia for those of you who haven't caught it. If you can, go check out this song...

Dancing bears,

Painted wings,

Things I almost remember,

And a song someone sings

Once upon a December.

Someone holds me safe and warm.

Horses prance through a silver storm.

Figures dancing gracefully

Across my memory...

Far away,

long ago,

Glowing dim as an ember,

Things my heart

Used to know,

Things it yearns to remember...

And a song

Someone sings

Once upon a December