Tuesday, July 31, 2007

Recent observations

1) Gold and pearls are fashionable.
2) Plastic bags are more useful than mobile phones.
3) Motto in life: Keep it cheap, good, and practical.
4) marthastewart.com enters the list of favourite websites visited.
5) Collecting freebies become one of life's must-dos.
6) Always carry an extra packet of tissue.
7) ...and bring along a pair of shorts, in case of warm weather.
8) Invest in big bags that can store many things (like freebies, tissue, and a pair of shorts)
9) Curly hair is the only hairstyle deem fit for anyone.
10) Not bothering about how you look or how others look at you.

Tell-tale signs that Jo is becoming __________.

Fill in the blanks. Correct answer gets an NTUC plastic bag (folded in the shape of a samosa, mind you.)

Posted by Jo at 10:00 PM

Friday, July 27, 2007

Good days, bad days.

Good days aren't always easy to come by and when they do, you fight like hell to keep it good. Sadly, things just don't seem to stay that simple most of the time. It's like you're walking along the pavement, minding your business, then flash! bam! alakazam!...bird shit falls on your head and your day is spoilt in that moment. When that happens, you can choose to do one of three things (that is, before you take a piece of tissue and wipe off that stain):

1) Curse and swear at the entire community of birds for the misdeed of one.
2) Call the first person that pops up in your mind and whine about how your day sucks like shit. (no pun intended)
3) Tell yourself that shit happens and move on with life. (again, no pun intended)

Well, I was having a perfectly good day when some shit fell on me - which totally changed everything - much to my helpless disappointment. And while 3) is the healthiest thing to do, I just can't help but feel so vexed that my good day has been ruined. Like I said, good days aren't always easy to come by. I wish I'd taken a different pathway to avoid that shit, or used a brolly to shelter myself, but the fact is that it has already happened and no matter how many times I replay it in my mind, that same piece of shit is still going to fall inevitably.

Sigh...I really need to let it go now...Jo, shit happens. Move on with life. Tomorrow will be a better day...

Now pass me a piece of tissue so I can wipe off that stain...

Posted by Jo at 11:33 PM

Sunday, July 22, 2007

I'm 24!

...And I'm saying that with a big grin on my face and a tinge of excitement stirring in me. Gone are the days where I'm forever 21. Perhaps acceptance is the doorway to a realisation of things to come - when you're finally able to close the door behind you without feeling regret or heartache or the need to hold onto the memories that you're hoping to relive.

I guess birthdays have a funny way of revealing a new side of life. It concocts such a contemplative effect that I can literally feel my brain processing incredible stuff I never imagined possible. Perhaps that's what they call wisdom. Or maybe it's just a psychological effect of the aging process.

Till now, I'm still recuperating from what Hil terms a "festival" - a string of coincidental celebrations which sums up my birthday this year. A true affirmation of friendships formed and molded over the years, family bonds which cannot be broken and a God who personally gave me a birthday hug.

(What you're about to see may look rather exaggerated but hey, what can I say, you only turn 24 once.)

So, what started out as a dinner appointment with Maria ballooned into a full-scale gathering of old farts. A great way to kick off my birthday celebrations - precious time spent with a group of friends whom I hardly even get to meet up with these days. We played two rounds of Balderdash, which, if you ask me, is so much more fun compared to mahjong! (Partly because I won one round)...but mostly becos we laughed our asses off most of the evening.

When my mum first asked me if I wanted a birthday dinner, I shrugged it off, told her to save the money and just buy me a cake. Then, over the weekend, she struck 4D and insisted that we went out for dinner together. Although it was simple, I appreciated every moment spent with them because my parents have celebrated every single birthday I ever had and their unwavering love for me is a true sign that God is with me everyday. And, I got a durian birthday cake for the second year running! Yummy...

My godpa & his family are leaving for the States for two long years and we had dinner at the SAF yatch club to say goodbye and celebrate my birthday. My godbrothers Jerome & Jerald are so adorable and it really saddens me that I'm going to miss their growing up years. I hope they won't forget Hil & I when they return to S'pore in 2009. Anyway, the food was not bad but poor Abby (Godpa's wife) couldn't eat most of it cos of her wisdom tooth extraction. And in case you're wondering how Vincent and his wife Corrine fits into the picture, he's my godbrother too! A big and (not so) adorable one though.

After dinner with my godfamily, Hil & I decided to go for supper at Liquid Kitchen, Serangoon Gardens. He was staying sober with his virgin mary cocktail (although it seems otherwise, judging from his picture - top left) and I was sipping a lychee margarita when the clock struck 12 and I received a string of phone calls from the people I shall officially term the Midnight Mob. They pulled the same stunt during Hil's birthday and now, mine. Such a nice gesture that they'd call/sms at midnight to send their greetings. Thanks guys, you know who you are!

Photo Sharing and Video Hosting at Photobucket

Ok, these are probably the most unglam shots of myself that I'll ever post on my blog. But I must say that Mel & Joel are so sweeeeeeeeeeeeeet! They came to my place at 6.15am on a Friday morning, a school day mind you, to surprise me with a birthday song, and cake, and big breakfast from Macs! I am so truly touched by their gesture. And not forgetting my bro who had to wake up earlier than usual to open the door for them. After the usual birthday formalities, we chatted for awhile and they left for school while I dived back into bed for a few more hours of sleep before I embarked on my day...

As usual, I overslept and only started my day officially at around 11am. I had an entire itinerary planned, except that I was two hours behind schedule. Hil couldn't get off work so I decided to spend my birthday alone. That's a first! A little awkward initially but I ended up feeling really happy by myself becos I got to do practically anything and everything I wanted! That's a cool feeling of liberation which gave me an entire day to be still and think about life.

Anyway, as you can probably tell, I went to the Bird Park. Haven't been there since I was a kid and I wanted to spend my birthday close to nature (yes, cheesy but true...I'm a nature lover, erhm, by nature). Ate Ben & Jerry's, walked around looking at birds and snapped lots of pictures! It was quite a challenge taking photos of myself and I had to reshoot many times, which led to the unfortunate premature death of the camera battery. So I relied on my handphone camera for the final part of my tour in the park. The birds did stink a bit and the place isn't very well-maintained but generally, I enjoyed the shows and the serenity of being there.

Left the place at 3pm and headed down to PS to catch Harry Potter. It was my first time catching a movie alone. It was ok, considering that no one will disturb me during the movie, but the stupid ticketing fellow gave me a single seat at the back which was isolated from everyone else. Hmph. Well, the movie was so-so...Nothing to rave about really, not that I'm a Harry Potter fan to begin with.

After the movie, I met Hil for buffet dinner at the Plaza Market Cafe. The food wasn't as nice as I remembered it to be, but this thought struck me while I was staring at the oyster. The idea of a buffet is so that people have a variety of food to choose from, not so that we can stuff ourselves silly with food. Hmmm...words of wisdom eh? No?

Anyway, we went to Timbre after dinner - a fitting way to end the day - with drinks and great music. Well, Timmy did sound a bit off that night but maybe it's becos of the new sound system they have in place which totally did not enhance the music at all. Ggrrhh.

This is a last minute entry but it's certainly a part of the celebrations. To be honest, I was expecting a normal dinner but Ben really surprised me with his efforts to make my birthday a special one. We met at City Hall and I was tasked to pick out the dinner place. To cut the story short, I ended up picking a Japanese buffet restaurant called Kuishin-Bo at Suntec. It was my first time there and we really enjoyed ourselves gorging on the sumptuous spread and catching up on each other's life. I was feeling rather adventurous that evening and ate some weird looking sushi and other delicacies which I wouldn't have eaten normally. Thanks Ben for dinner...& the flowers too!

So you see, every birthday brings about a new perspective to life. I'm glad that this year, family and friends took the centre stage of my celebrations and reminded me that I'm abundantly blessed by God. This brings a close to my 24th birthday celebration. I'm 24! Woohoo!

...I'm loved, and I know it. =)

Posted by Jo at 9:21 PM

Tuesday, July 17, 2007

Word of the Day - Friday, July 13 2007

triskaidekaphobia \tris-ky-dek-uh-FOH-bee-uh\, noun:

A morbid fear of the number 13 or the date Friday the 13th. Triskaidekaphobia is from Greek treiskaideka, thirteen (treis, three + kai, and + deka, ten) + phobos, fear.

Some believe that the number 13 is considered unlucky because there were 13 persons at the Last Supper of Christ. Fridays are also unlucky, because the Crucifixion was on a Friday. Hence, a Friday falling on the thirteenth day is regarded as especially unlucky.

I, for sure, am not triskaidekaphobic.

Birthday entry coming soon...

Posted by Jo at 11:41 PM

Sunday, July 15, 2007

Save On Supplies

In the beginning, God made Earth.
Then, He made Man and Woman.
Man and Woman used the earth.
Then, they abused it.
This made Earth very, very sick.
Now, Earth is dying.
Man and Woman must do something about it...
So wake up! Smell the smoke-filled roses! Save our Earth!

My pledge:
1) To turn off my monitor screen when I go for lunch or long meetings.
2) To keep an additional carrier in my bag for my extra barang-barangs.
3) To stop using paper towels to dry my hands after each toilet trip.

Help to make a difference.
What is your pledge?
Get inspired.

Posted by Jo at 9:53 PM

Sunday, July 08, 2007

When it's all said and done...

When the world stops spinning 'round.
When the dust settles and silence surrounds.
When you no longer fuss about how you look or behave,
Or whether you've eaten three meals for the day.
When you don't have to worry about your loved ones being in danger or harm.
When your tears have dried up and your hurts are calmed.
When you let go of everything you've worked so hard for,
And you see a soul behind every soldier at war.
When you know that money can only bring you a fraction of true happiness.
When you no longer need to live up to others' expectations.
When you face your enemies and feel only peace from within.
When you believe with all your heart, all your might and all your strength...

All knees shall bow,
All tongues confess,
All hands will be raised in complete surrender,
All eyes will fixate on the one Thing that matters.
Only One will matter.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Which part did you enjoy the most?"
"Adoring my Lord."
- Archdiocese Youth Day 070707