white thanksgiving~

am sitting on a carpeted floor in my sister's place on a white thanksgiving day..
am attempting to complete my stats homework but really, stats is not my thing..

its almost dec and i suppose i should type one entry before nov has come and gone and been neglected huh..

in a pensive mode now, things have been totally crazy in the most indescribable way, but i'm alive and kicking.. and there's still much to be thankful for.. amidst the craziness God has still blessed me with many great things and reminded me of the wonderful family and friends He has given me.. family will always be family and always there and beside you.. and best friends will always be best friends through up and downs.. thank you all for loving me, understanding me and accepting me..

may God bless every person in the world hurt or hungry, lost or exasperated, tired or weary this holiday season.. may His love, joy and peace flow abundantly and fill each one of our lives..


thank You for everything You've given me~

happy thanksgiving everyone..

wonderful weekend~

its been a great weekend, after a simply crazy week..

pulled almost 3 all nighters this week.. resulting in sleep deprivation and a grumpy me.. heh.
BUT on a brighter side, i got into salseros and into viennese opening ball~! *beams* was hesitant at first to take on both, but decided that i had only a year and i needed to stretch my year to the max.. if i gave either one up, i'd regret it forever.. (hints of how i felt in jc arise...) haha. so i'm doing both and me 310!

anyways, the paperbike is done.. took a LOT of work.. but most of it was really fun, and it was great getting to know ppl better and making frens.. just a little frustrating at time when things and ppl clash and everyone's at their wit's end.. =(

the end of the week was greeted but a fabulous weekend, more than i could ask for.. jem came up on friday.. supposed to be out 2 year.. happy 2 year!! but i had the paper bike race till pretty late and we were both exhausted after.. sweet jem helped me w m heap of laundry, and after dessert, we both fell aslp.. then sat after viennese practice, we checked out Filoli gardens.. it was great.. prob not as pretty as spring.. but was a beautiful mansion with lovely sculptured gardens.. after which jem took me shopping (!!) at hillsdale =) ooh i luv shopping.. anyways we went to see's candies and the lady gave us two free expensive dark chocolate nougatey thingeys! haha we were happily satisfied..

anyways jem brought riesling cos he noes its one of my faves.. (of wat little i drink) so we decided to put tog a homemade dinner in my apt.. haven't done this for awhile.. and realized how muc more fun it is preparing and cooking with him around.. we fixed a hefty meal-- garlic bread, cream of mushroom soup, grilled salmon fillets, baked potato with mozarella and bacon bits, and bratwursts.. goodness we stuffed ourselves silly, devouring our food cos we were hungry, and falling aslp in food coma shortly after.. at 9pm! so early.. haha

so we woke up today and prepared a picnic lunch cos we headed up with a bunch of other ppl to san fran golden gate park for Alice's now and zen concert at the park, with sarah borealis, sugaray, duffy and more~! live performances and lovely sunny weather.. i even got a tan on one side. =( haha but anyways, the fleet show of the navy/air force was going on nearby, so the show was graced by the appearance of the blue angels and stuff~! =) wat a lovely afternoon.. am glad to announce i was very wellprepared.. with tuna salad, lettuce and ham, sandwiches, oatmeal and raisin cookies, and fruitips and apples...

am kinda sad e weekend's over.. and trying to get geared back to another crazy busy week.. but as u can see, trying to capture my wonderful weekend, so i can look back and say-- the past crazy week was worth it..

so i'll attempt to put up pics now..=P

enjoy!

filoli gardens~






















dinner at home~

















concert at the park~!

midst of a busy week~

its midweek! after tmr, the weekend will be -that- much nearer=)

and after tmr, all e homework will be turned in (for this week) and our critical function prototype presentation for me 310 wil also be over! phew.

spend the WHOLE afternoon and nite till 11pm in the loft today for our me310 stuff.. with e exception of lunch, 1.5 hrs of product realization lab training, and dinner. hah. oh and 1 hr or so finishing up my controls homework...

tmr i get free breakfast and free dinner!!! haha technically bagels are at 11 so i guess its really free lunch if i want it to be=P the mech e department here is so generous.. they sponsor $300 worth of food for me 310 class every thursday for this thing called SUDS (slight unorganized design session) or smth like that.. haha so i get free dinner=)

oh yeah.. i had my first in-n-out burger on monday nite with kathryn (my roommate from la), serheng (my neighbour) and megan (serene's roomate and also my neighbour).. =) it was really good! maybe cos i was also v hungry and by e time we got dinner it was past 9pm.. and THEN we got KRISPY KREMES!!! and kathry and i got a dozen to stock up at home.. been trying to ration out my krispy kremes.. but they are disappearing fast.. =P

haha so actually me 310 is really time consuming but its really fun.. cos i meet alot of ppl in class cos we're all in e loft almost 24/7.. jie an kale were rite.. haha.. but anyways, cos i met this guy in my class who's in the salsa grp, me and this other girl in my class went for the salsa tryouts last nite.. i noe i was kinda off e whole salsa thing for the longest time alr.. but this campus grp looks fun and un-sleazy.. so i thot it was worth a shot since the ballroom team here's kinda not as organized and well developed as umich and cos finding a partner for just 9 mths is gonna be a huge pain and almost impossible.. at least with this grp u dun need a fixed partner and all.. and u can still dance!!! so i'm waiting for the results.. but there's not tt much chance cos there were well over 50 girls, with maybe like 3 spots?? plus another 20 tried out tonite and a couple more tmr.. haha but i shd noe by friday.. then i'll decide whether or not to also audition for the viennese ball opening comm.. =)

yay the dancing's the only thing tt's keeping me positive, sane, and possibly happy amidst the craziness of settling down with crazy busy classes and homework... can't wait for the next time i get to dance.. =)

ps. i miss tv.. i wish i had tv... it'd make meals a lot less lonely and alot more relaxing. haha

okies i shd go slp now.. i have a 9.30am clas tmr.. followed by another LOOONGGG day.u noe, i shd really start cherishing these times when i'm busy with school and doing homework and having classes and frens.. cos in less than a yr i wun haf it anymore, and i'll be stuck in an office from 8am - 6 pm or later..
*trying to think positive and be thankful*

thank You for my little blessings, for the family and frens around me, and for being with me always..

still settling..

hihi i'm one week into school and i've had a crazy two weeks here.. been just such a crazy first week at school...

as a summary, i've had 2 assigments due in the first week and built a water balloon launcher in two days.. which class makes to BUILD a first project in two days??!!??!!

ok but i must admit it was kinda fun building it and 310 is really a great place to meet ppl and make new frens.. =) its cos of 310 that i found out about church, cell groups on campus, viennese ball opening committee auditions, and this salsa group on campus and when the salsa party and auditions are..

its kinda comforting to know that my ME classmates can afford to have a life outside ME, so that mean i can too! heh. will prob try to go for a ocuple tryouts and stuff but haf no idea if i can get in since i'm still recovering and i haevn't danced in AGES. esp salsa.. but oh wells. i'll try for fun.. and hope i can do some dancing to keep me sane..

am working on homework now for a controls class. i was the only one in office hours today.. =s which only mean either of two things-- 1) everyone else is super smart and knows how to do the homework.. 2) no one else has started on the homework.. so hm... i'm kinda demoralized..

oh yes and i got a new bike. i have to bike to class. =S another thing i'm not used to.. def wakes me up i guess when u have to exercise in order to get to class.. and my bike lock cost half as much as my bike itself. bleah.

and i need a brighter lamp in my room.. the light is so yellow. and it doesn't help when i'm trying to study.. maybe i'll make a second trip to ikea.. my study lamp from the first trip isn't quite enough.. need a bedside lamp too.. =P

sigh it seems like these few weeks is like major change time period for my whole family.. jie has to adjust to moving away, and mommie and daddie have to adjust to both of us being away... i guess its a hard time for everyone now huh.. shd just count my blessings.. like having jem come visit me on weekends to distract me from my misery and demoralization..and jie emailing me to tell me its not unusual to feel demoralized..

and although i'm all e way here, i feel really sad that she's leaving home.. as in.. not that i'm there or anything.. but it feels like everything will never be the same again. =( i bet mommy and daddy will miss her and their only grandaughters too.. -i- will at least and they prob will even more... and well.. everything's just so saddening.. bleah. i'm emo now too. sorry.

things are just so unsettled, and so unsettling now....

californiaaa...

i'm here~! officially moved in in sunny california~!

and terribly jetlagged.. been up almost all nite.. and only haf myself to blame-- for sleeping all e way in the plane ride.. i think i'm gonna crash this afternoon..

anyways thank you all for coming to the airport~! it was really nice having all of you there... my whole big family came.. =) and patiently stayed and waited till i went in (we went for an extremely early lunch) =P and thank u sooo much for coming to pick us up and bring my pink bedsheets and extra pillows=)

lets see if i can put pics up.. this is wat happens when i'm jetlagged with nothing to do. =P


oh by e way, my apt is really big and i'm pretty happy with it.. now just waiting for my roomate to move in in a couple of days.. *anxious* haha

this was at breakfast at botanical gardens.. =P

too many things, too little space

just came home from a yummy japanese buffet at miramar hotel, ikoi~! =) now my tummy is full and satisfied (and bloated)..

so i'm sitting in my room now amidst the mess of packing.. one of my bags is filled, the other half filled, and i can think of so many more things i might like to bring with me.. i have too many things dear to me, and too little space =( and too small a weight limit too. *Sighs* but i'm trying to tell myself to minimize.. cos i'm gonna haf to move back here in less than a year anyways.. then i'll haf a big bunch of stuff to bring back. =(

can't believe i'm leaving in less than three days.. the only consolation i haf is that i'm going to a really nice place, and jem's waiting in cali. =) still, i don't wanna leave my family and frens here, esp knowing that when i get back for good my sister and her family wun be here at home anymore. =(

then again, i shd really be looking forward to this last year and cherish it to the max.. after which i'll by slogging e rest of my life away in e workforce and i'll really start feeling like i haf to be an all-out adult.

regarding a totally unrelated issue, my comp has been making weird loud whirring noises =( and my msn messenger is screwing up, it refuses to let me log on~! =( signs of an unhealthy computer-me relationship appearing..bleah.

went out with hwying today just one more time.. am going to miss u lots~! thanx for everything and take good care=) May God bless u and be with you each step of the way.. May He comfort you with His loving hand and heal every hurt and wound..=) *hugs*

great weekend and a wonderful monday~

so despite still being sick since last wed, i had a pretty nice weekend, and a really great monday today~!

the weekend started with the family(except kale) taking a breakfast trip to botanical gardens to eat prata.. its soo changed now! and pretty nice too.. next time i come back home i def haf to remind myself to visit the gardens properly.. =) then i had vietnamese noodles with my sister at great world city before heading home to konk out and try to slp away the flu bug (again, and again to no avail)..

and then my parents and i headed out to TMCC for another dinner/dance thingey.. this time it was elvis/retro themed~! =) my mommie got me these bright pink hoop earrings and hairband thingey to match my pink top! haha surprise suprise..
anyways, dancing a little with my dad really lifted my spirits and cheered me up and make me feel better.. i miss dancing so so much!

so saturday ended with a late nite and a lost voice.

sunday morning was spent in church seeing my lovely church frens for e last time this year... went home to a nice lunch from my family's fave vegetarian store in pek kio market=) yummy. then we headed out to the photoshoot place with the whole family to take studio shots of graduation and stuff.. =) amusing cos its a really tough, if not impossible task getting a 2 yr old and a 3 mth old to pose well for the camera at the same time.. =P pictures did turn out quite ok in e end, altho i still insist that make up covering my eyebags makes me look strangely oriental and not me.. *Shrugs*

the day ended with a nice italian dinner and a trip to the flyer~! and meredith was totally thrilled to be able to ride the "big wheel" =)

and then came monday..

i had so many plans for today.. didn't manage to fit everything i wanted to do in e end, but it -was- quite a fruitful day, and i feel happy refreshed and contented now=)

wanted to hit clementi bookstore and the optician and get my flu sorted out at the doctor's all in e morning.. (overly ambitious, i know) ended up only accomplishing the last task, but along with doing tt i was able to get my laundry bags and foldable laundry baskets and bath mats for use in my future grad sch life=) then i got dropped off at city hall for a really pampering pedi with my sister.. thanks jie for the treat!=)

was supposed to meet May for the rest of our baptism class/discussion thingey.. but i wandered ard bras basah for awhile, looking for a cd compilation of singapore songs for my sister.. she's rite, its impossible to find it in singapore.=( popular din haf it, and tried to contact the supplier.. they later told me the supplier din bring it in anymroe either=( bleah. so i'll try HMV next i guess.. anyways i got my stationery from popular at least.. then wandered around the Christian bookstore there.. really wanted to get a chinese bible for my grandma, but they had discounts for members only, so decided to wait for may to get it some other time..

so then i met may and jesu at e national library! and we ate a little and started a long conversation and intriguing discussion abt various issues.. it was really a very enlightening and wonderful time of sharing, learning, and fellowship =)

was supposed to head home for dinner, and was kinda sad that i reached home too late. i missed an opportunity to haf dinner w my sister and e kids and all.. =( and i told my sister i'd be home for dinner too.. =(

but its ok, i haven't been v active in cell and church activities, it was a realy refreshing time to hang out with may and talk abt deep things, getting a renewed sense of peace and joy, and spending time in fellowship with others and in His presence=) thank you for taking e time to meet and talk with me~!=) and thank you jie for understanding.. i'm saving friday for you!=)

don't she look adorable~?

us flag and a bright pink bow=)

scratchy throat and sniffy nose~

looks like my immune system has finally given in to that potent bug that been going ard the family.. =S

oh wells.. hopefully i can slp and rest it off and it'llbe gone before i leave.. which isn't far away~! as of now.. i have 8 days and 17 hours (ish).=P

i've gotten my apartment block and number and the feeling of finaly starting grad school is suddenly becoming more real.. i can spot my future home as a dot on the campus map =)

meanwhile, packing has to start soon.. i'm wondering how i ever got my life into two suitcases when i first moved to michigan, complete with all e lovely farewell gifts and notes from my wonderful singapore frens.

now i don't even haf all e added extras to carry and i alr feel like there's not enough space.. but i shall try my best to minimize.. after all, i'm gonna haf to face the pain of transporting everything back here in less than a year..=(

*sniffs* i think i shall go to bed now. tried to slp this horrid flu bug thing off the whole day.. but it resfuses to budge. will try again tonite and tmr. wish i cd haf some tlc..

new phase, new face~

haha my blog has undergone a change tt resulted from an accident..

i guess its about time i changed my blog layout anyways, the picture was disappearing, the falling hearts were getting annoying, and the links are totally ancient and out of date..

ps. thanks lyd, for letting me know that at least someone reads my blog.. i was starting to think that NO ONE visited my blog anymore, following the draught of posts.. (which may not be a bad thing compared to blogs overly visited by unknown random strangers.. =P)

so.. to a new phase of my life tt i'll be embarking on in less than two weeks =)
Lord, teach me and guide me~

happy 30th jie~! =)
pics of our Dozo dinner..

chocolate, chocolate and more chocolate~!

just back from a yummy feast in a realli nice place with my sister, kale, and hwying..thanx jie for a lovely treats to the fullerton choc buffet~!=) it was a realli nice 21st bday pressie.. altho it was redeemed 1 year + too late.. =P

am way too full now.. i really wanted to save my stomache for the chocolate heaven but i got too tempted by the yummy homemade curry and beehoon.. hence i ate too much dinner =( but nvm, i dont really think i cd haf fit in muchmore choc even if i starved myself beforehand.. =p

tmr we're gonna celebrate jie's birthday at Dozo! =) yay. yet another day of stuffing myself..

not v ordinary appearances on msn~

if anyone noes me well enough they'd noe that i'm hardly online msn wise and i'd hardly chat online either.. cos there's just not much time and not much point in chattng online.. or so i used to think =P now that jem's left and one of the cheapest (or free) ways of talking to him is through msn chatting and webcamming, i find that i'm online every morning and every nite~! haha -and- chatting alot more... i think i even got meredith hooked to webcamming to see "hamie" on in the computer, which in her mind must be that weird tv thing that captures people inside so that she can only vaguely see and hear them due to not-so-sonderful internet connections..

oh wells, she seems to love the webcamming anyways.. so that makes two of us.. =)

haha just a random thot abt web camming..

anyways, was webcamming w jem today, and suddenly felt like taking a pic with him, feels like forever since the last pic we took tog.. sooo, smart jem had an idea~!

so here's e cyber-shots of us.. =P a normal one, then one that captured e unknowingly similar tilted angles. haha

tinges of sweetness~

one tinge of sweetness-- yay, i received a postcard from cali today! =) thank u v v much =) i luved it and it meant alot to me..

another tinge of sweetness-- dawn and lyd came over to bake yummy cookies~! very very chocolatey ones... and peanut buttery ones too

one more ting of sweetness-- hwying came over today too=)

out of randomness, why did anyone ever invent angular pokey door knobs =( i've bumped my elbow and my back into the same corner of the doorknob twice in 5 minutes. =( *winces* it hurts. =(

or maybe that's just me being clumsy. =(

a long time coming..

goodness i didnt realize i haven't updated since such a long time ago.. its been almost two months since morgan's first month.. which was when i last updated..

morgan has grown alot now.. (and so haf i over summer after feasting on all sorts of food in singapore and esp in perth)

so.. its been a long time since i last blogged.. and a much much longer time since i saw most of the 23rds, so it was great to be able to meet up with them in rj last saturday.. was glad i went, and glad to see many familiar faces.. just a little disappointed not to be able to catch some of e old frens i was hoping to see..ppl like br and kooifei and pam and other wonderful frens who were a huge part of my jc life.. i was just telling my mom that some of the councillors are truly the nicest people i've ever met.. and perhaps the nicest ppl i'll ever meet..

so i guess i've been reminiscing about jc since then.. i realized my favorite mainstream songs are divided into three main categories.. (1) sappy mushy old love songs, (2) songs from my jc era, and (3) songs from my college era..

(1)- Dreaming of you, Wonderful tonight, Love me, Christmas shoes, Everyday i love you(=P)..
(2)- Accidentally in love, Iris, Reason, Time of your life, You and me..
(3)- Ever the same, Buttons (serheng and carriage girls!), Far away, Wherever you may go, Fix you, Gravity, Blind...

songs just haf a way of invoking emotions and feelings in me.. they're just so powerful and can set the atmosphere and mood of any occassion. they speak powerful messages of life and love, they express and convey wat mere words cannot.. lastly but prob most importantly to me, they give me the inspiration and drive to release myself into the only world i can truly be myself in-- my world of dance..

even if some day i haf to give it up and let it go for whatever reason, the impact it has made on my life and the way it has shaped me is so great, and i'll be just so thankful for this gift and many past opportunities that God has given me.. =)
oh the sweet memories...

hms.. i guess this is quite a rubbish post in some sense..

anyways, i hope you're doing well on the other end of the world=) i miss u too and will be keeping u in my prayers. =) may God bless you and guide you with His loving hand no matter where you're at =)

some pics?
i can never get the lines to run proper when it comes to titling the photos so i shall not try this time.. some shots of long time ago in mich and cali before returning to sg, in perth with morgan, in bintan a few weeks ago, and the little tennis star..

morgan's first month~

morgan had her first big celebration of her life today.. her first month~! =) all e relatives came over and had a nice local feast with freshest fruits and a pretty pink cake..=P

had a nice little swim, or to be more exact, a leisurely dip in the pool with my cousin natalie and jem =) jem was trying to teach natalie how to swim breastroke, but i'm not too sure how far that got accomplished..

in e meantime, i shd try and post some photos of morgan and some shots of the summer thus far.. can't believe i've been home for exactly a month once its past midnight or so tonite~! =P goodness, i only haf less than three months left of my last long holiday before i start working.. FOREVER. =S

on second thots, i think the next three month holiday i'll get would be like wat my sister is having now, if and when i ever get a kid =) heh.

pixie time~! =)


meredith and i awaiting the arrival of her new little sister.. *anxious*


there she is with a happy, relaxed(and experienced) mother~!


my hair cut and meredith's hair clip =)


morgan's comfy and sleeping like a little smurf~! =)


my lovely grandma's birthday~















and my 22nd birthdae pics~ =)
small little celebrations that made up a really sweet birthday..
notice the same birthday dress i had on last year.. =P i realli like it~! and it has now become my "bdae dress" *beams*





























on my birthday: delicious cake from sweet secrets and fabulous dinner at Dozo~
*happifying thots*




















and a great meet up, catch up, shop, and eat session with hwying and yingling on the day after.. anna~!! u were greatly missed... =P

oh not forgetting the special little surprise that jem brought me to on our pre-birthday outing.. no pics with me but basically a nice little flight on e flyer was e highlight of it all~
thanx for the thoughts and efforts.. they are def greatly appreciated and remembered no matter wat.. =)
and thanx to all my lovely frens near and far for their birthday wishes.. (i'm extremely late, but better late than never rite? =p)