Monday, July 31, 2006
Green fingers
Over the weekend, my dad was out of town, and being the fillial daughter that I am, I took on the daunting duties of being his Garden Assistant. It's a tall task, mind you, considering how my dad is such a meticulous gardener who wouldn't allow many people to help pick out weeds and dead leaves without his prior approval. Strangely enough, I found the process to be quite therapeutic - Being the person with the chosen hands that pours the water to give life to one of God's many creations. Oh, never mind.Thankfully, his green leafy things are still alive and I have the pictures to prove it.
Posted by Jo at 9:14 PM
Saturday, July 22, 2006
Happy birthday to me...
The candles have gone out once again...all five of them. And over the last couple of years, I've made it a point to keep my birthday memories alive, right here in cyberland. This year is no exception. Let me start off by saying that turning 23 has been painful...The party pooper
Well, I feel sorry for myself, having to start my birthday memories with this but I can't help it...It really made an impression.
At 23 years and 1 day old, I was plagued with a terribly sore right eye. I'm not kidding. It was bad...I saw 3 different doctors who each prescribed eye drops and ointments and antibiotics like there's no tomorrow. It was so bad that I had to take three days off work. The pain was so excruciating that I was practically living off painkillers. My bedroom floor was littered with tissue paper because I couldn't stop tearing. To make things worse, I couldn't use the computer or watch TV.
In short, my right eye swelled so much that I seriously thought I was going blind. My eyes nearly popped out (literally) when the doc said it'll take 1-2 weeks to recover.
Thankfully, the swell is subsiding, slowly but surely ;)
The presents
Thanks to all who've showered me with gifts. This birthday, the best present I received is love. Yes, I know, it sounds so totally cliche, but I'm still gonna say it anyway.
Whenever I'm sick, I would dread telling my mum about it because she never fails to play doctor and give me a diagnosis of why I've fallen ill. Given the very sore eye that I had, it was impossible to hide it from her. Only this time, her words were like music to my ears. (They say that when one sense fails, the others become more alert). I was so desperately in pain and she provided me the comfort that I needed so badly. No doubt she was nagging about me, using contact lenses and blah blah blah...but she is by far, the only one who truly understood the pain I was in. I could see it in her eyes, and I really appreciate her for it. It's true what they say, that when a child is hurting, her mother feels the pain just as much, if not more. The other thing that fills me with admiration for my mum is the fact that she prays ever so fervently. My mum is a very simple and plain woman, but whenever she prays, she becomes an angel in disguise. And for some very strange reason, I feel so at ease and comforted each time she prays for me...as if her prayers have the ability to reach God faster.
And of course, love comes in the form of Hilary. Hil is someone I can always rely on. In him, I see Christ and His unconditional love. Hil would be the one to accompany me to the doc, sit there with me for hours, trying to help me forget my pain. He would be the one who buys me tou-huay, even though I told him not to, but deep down, I really wanted it and I'm glad he bought it. He would be the one to hold my hand till I fall asleep before quietly going home at 1am in the morning. God, there's so much to love about Hilary and I'm so thankful for him.
The birthday!
Ok, enough of my grunting and whining and endless whimpering. Now for the happy bimbotic stuff. Yipee! In a nutshell, this was how I spent my birthday: Woken up by a birthday song (by Hil), had prata for breakfast, watched Pirate of the Caribbean 2, had lunch at Jack's, went to Wild Wild Wet, picked family up for dinner at Brazillian Steakhouse, went home for the cake. Here are the pictures!
Ebony & Ivory party!
In a random moment of genius (and boredom), Herms and I decided to have a joint birthday celebration. So with the help of Gab, we put together a colour-themed party called Ebony & Ivory! (for rather obvious reasons...) Anyway, there's a colour code: My friends in white, Herms' friends in black and 'shared' friends in grey.
Look, even the birthday cake is colour-coordinated.
Hmmm...I wonder why it's a sea of white...
Thanks Gab, for putting the party together!
Sherlock Holmes turns murderer.
Random pix 3.
Posted by Jo at 3:00 PM
Sunday, July 09, 2006
Good day
Pulling myself out of bed at 8am on a Saturday morning is totally uncalled for, but despite my blanket and bolsters screaming out for more love and attention, I managed to crawl out and make my way to church. I enjoyed doing the symbolic input session for the servers. Although the turnout was a lot poorer than I had expected, I truly thank God for giving me the chance to share what I know best – Prayer. It’s an unexplainable feeling, being able to share the experience of communicating with God. In that two hours, I realised how much I’ve grown in Maranatha over the last eight years and how truly blessed I am to be in a position to inspire people to pray. Amazing.
Posted by Jo at 11:16 PM
Tuesday, July 04, 2006
The name of the game
One of the common conversation starters of sunny June 2006 – The FIFA World Cup...The gamblers: “Walau eh, how can Brazil lose?”
The passionate: “The Italians are a bunch of cheats!”
The girls: “Cesc Fabregas is soooooooo cute!”
The game exudes a phenomenal aura, one that draws, even the most unflappable of flaps. Unfortunately (for some), this entry isn’t about soccer…
Yellow card
Oh yes, I totally deserved it. For all the crap that has been coming out of my mouth, a yellow card is an understatement of sorts. I’m sorry if I have betrayed your trust. Sometimes, I get carried away and I go on and on without sparing a thought for you. Pls forgive me. To err is human…
Red card
Ouch, that hurts! For stomping all over me, you deserve a red card. No sympathies, no questions asked, no excuses. I often asked myself, WWJD? I even tried praying for you. Sadly, the only words that came out of my mouth were “Lord, I…I…forget it…Amen.” So go, go back to where you belong - The locker room.
Offside
Sigh...We could have taken it and ran for the win. Too bad, things didn't exactly go our way. It was nice though, the short time we shared. God, I miss you so much.
Free kick
Oh well, I took my chances. It was a long shot but at least I tried. It was a dream worth dreaming. Someday, maybe...I'll get a shot again. Till then, we'll just have to rely on Beckham.
Man-of-the-match
You ought to have the job. You've worked so hard. Don't ever give up. You are in my prayers always. But no matter what, you know I love you.
Penalty
It's not as easy as it seems. Even though I'm so close to my goal, looks like it'll take more than mere passion to get the ball into the net.
Goal
We rocked the house. All of us. It may not have been the most beautiful, but we definitely created a dream. Let there be more of such God-inspired dreams.
