Christmas has just whizzed past! But who says Christmas ends on 25th Dec? It's 12 days of Christmas. So I still have time to say Merry Christmas to All.

I know I havent been bloggin much eversince I come back. It's been a crazy week! Full of last minute shopping, last minute preparation of the party, meeting up and catching up with family and church mates. It's been a tiring week and thank God, i took leave for the long weekend last week. It was a good break. At least on Friday, I could rest well and feel refreshed. When i had time for myself, I spent it trying to get my house done up and tidy. And I must say, it's been working out real well. But of course there are still loose ends which I keep procrastinating.

The rest of this week is also gonna be full of gatherings, but I would want a weekend to myself. I've just gotten my new oven, a bigger one and cant wait to try making more things. I'm attempting to make cheesecake!! =)

I am back and have survived the first day at work. It feels good to be back and had a lot of people to catch up with.

The moment I was back, I just had enough time to have breakfast and then off to take a shower before going over to my cousin's to help with the party prep. He had invited our colleagues from the PM and OE dept to come over to his house for a christmas gathering. It was a blast, we had fun catching up and eating all the food. The food was good. Love the salad, the fruit cakes and the lasagna. There was also ice-cream included and it was fantastic, eating Haagendaz after so long. It was a fun night getting to know the rest of the people.

Today went to work and the pace was pretty relaxed. Most of the bosses are on vacation. Some of the people in my dept also took vacation. Tomorrow probably would have lesser and lesser people too. Met my manager and he spoke of the probability of me taking on the projects in Indo, as I am an Indonesian and he encouraged me to prolong my stay after the business trips for personal home visit back. I was pretty pleased as that had been what I wanted. But it is also going to be quite a challenge to try and start to do my work proper at my current state. Of course I will have a senior engineer to work with. It feels pretty exciting actually but also scary. Well the mood in the office has been pretty much a holiday kind of mood, since most are not around and it really does feel like a friday. But towards the end of the day, I got irritated by the sound of the drilling that comes from the renovation works. They were supposed to be doing it only after 530 or 6, and yet at 4 they have started their drilling works. It was really really irritating. They are planning to change our warehouse to become an office to accomodate the expansion of the departments. And it so happens that my seat is nearby to the end of the office. They are basically drilling 'behind' me and it was pretty annoying to have the drilling feeling at ur back. After a while u feel like ur body is being drilled or something. And from what I have heard this has been going on since last friday. And will most likely go on for the next few weeks!! God help me...

Anyway it's good to be back here and catch up with everyone. I have been busy shopping for last minute christmas presents too. And im still not done yet! I need more ideas for gifts! Tomorrow will be having a dept bbq over at a colleague's place opposite fong seng! Will probably go shopping after that. Christmas is a happy time as well as a tiring season too. With all the dinners and all the gatherings and all the shopping that must be done. But I love it nonetheless.

Finally the day is here, when I am finally flying back to Singapore. To a place where order, hygiene and food is way way better than here.

Well to sum up my 3 months here, I have to say living it here has been a memorable experience. It is not something that I would not get in Indo, but I would say interacting with the people here has given me great experience. More or less, you know who you can trust or who will just do the talking without any actions produced. More or less we get the feel of the real Indians culture. More or less I have made friends with some of them here and they have been pretty nice, fun and most of all helpful to me. I wouldnt deny that most of them are not selfish to share their knowledge with us, but sometimes, there may be too much info too.

Living in a new place is not a matter of living conditions and other matters. It's the people and the company that makes the difference. With a bad company, I guess, living it here would be unbearable. Too much negative energy around which makes everything looks bad. But with the right company, everything else can more or less be born with.

Today is simply the most tiring day at work that I ever had in Chennai. Our big boss came today and we had a full-day meeting from 1030 till 615 today! Sitting in the whole day results in the lethargic headache and tiredness! It was a very good session in the afternoon though. Morning started off with team meeting and a presentation for our team action plan. And then in the afternoon it was just a meeting together with the Singapore folks, where he basically tested us a lot on the basic stuff, which we unfortunately lack of the kick in our answers. Our answers are either too general or too unsure of. But it was fun, the way he taught us. He made everything simpler and highlighted all the important things that we need to take note of.

After the meeting, we were off to go another hotel for a dinner together. Food was good, of course better than the usual that we are eating. As inviting as the dessert table was, it was far from it. Really bad. But okay lah. First time dining together with boss and the rest of the team.

I'm really tired. Feel like knocking out soon. But still waiting for Ong to finish her beauty long bath! Tomorrow morning is another round of meeting. And this time it's one on one. =(

Oh btw after this Chennai training, it seems that I'm going to be finally doing jobs soon. Everything else would be learnt on the job. So no more training for me and it seems so scary since we still dont know a lot of things. Just super basic stuff. And in terms of technical knowledge we are still quite far from it too. Wish me luck!

Night @ Prego, Taj Coromandel

Last night, I decided to give ourselves a treat at Prego, pretty much the most posh restaurant in Chennai, I think. It is located in one of the 5 star hotel, Taj Coromandel, yes they are of one group with the Taj hotel that got attacked by the terrorists in Mumbai. Anyway a little about Prego. It is set up by Chef lady, Giovanni, in 2007 who hailed all the way from Italy, bringing with her all kinds of Italian fresh goods and wines. I am not sure if it is the best Italian restaurant, though. As I have no idea how to trust the tastebud of those who reviewing all these restaurants in India.

Anyway, it only occurred to Ong that we are going to Taj, as we turned into the hotel and saw the stringent security checks and also the many soldiers who gathered outside the hotel. There were really quite a number of them. As we stepped into the hotel, 2 ladies stopped us and took us to the side for security checks. As we approached to the side, they opened this mini room, and I was like "whoa, do they have to do it in the room just for checking our bags?". So we were whisked into the room and there 2 ladies went in with us. One went on checking my camera bag and the other was laughing and laughing. And Ong looked at me and laughed too. And then it dawned on me that it's body check!!! And they had to do it twice each time. We were laughing and giggling cos man, it sure feels damn weird!!! In the hotel, there were also many policemen inside. Basically the security was pretty tight and it makes us wonder, whether we should feel safe or not.

That didnt deter me from having a good time and enjoying my night with good food on the table. So we went into the restaurant and were taken to our seat in a little corner deep in the rerstaurant where the lights are pretty dim and pretty private, with the exception of the Americans group sitting behind us. We were served by waiters who basically memorised everything that they have to say that even when I sort of interrupt them saying that point that they want to say, they said no and then said that point that I said. They provided with very good service nonetheless.

So we ordered 2 courses of dinner. Basically the waiter introduced to us that there were 3 courses, but I know it would be too much on to eat and also on the pocket. Furthermore, Italian anti-pasti are not really to our taste. So we had the 1st course and the main course. And of course I was not leaving without having my share of dessert. A real dessert after spending 3 months here trying to find one place with a good cake.

First Course, Squid Ink Fettucine on a bed of squids and prawns cooked in tomato sauce And Potato gnocchi with straw mushroom sauce

Main Course: Risotto, Milanese style with Lamb shank And Duck breast with ratatouille and zucchini.

The First course were good. The fettucine was a tad too al dente for me but the tomato sauce was good! It was fresh and refreshing. The tangy squid pieces in it was also just right. Ong's gnocchi was also nice and it was a new thing for us, though I've heard of it before. It was nice with the mushroom sauce.

Our main course, we both love the lamb shank. The lamb was tender and melts in your mouth. It was very much like the one that Sarah and I did in Sydney. The risotto was a tad too hard for me. I kind of prefer the one that I cooked myself. We both didnt like the duck breast. The ratatouille is good but that's probably because she added the tomato sauce into it, which basically made it into a napoleon, in my opinion.

Overall, the food was good, but it wasnt fantastic. But on the account that these kind of food are not really easily available here, this is way better than nothing. Last night Ong said that I can probably come up with all these food myself, and I also said that I probably can cos everything was pretty simple and it was a matter of presentation. But i really like the fresh taste of the tomato sauce. And this weekend I shall attempt to make my own sauce. Sunday afternoon would probably be the perfect day to be doing it, where I can probably have the whole kitchen to myself.

The experience of eating in this posh restaurant was also a new concept to us. With the waiter ever so readily clear our plates, changed our cutleries and them making the effort to communicate with us. It was a nice feeling, knowing that you have such good service. The interior of the place was normal, probably the same like any restaurants or cafe in Singapore. Just that in the place that we were seated, the light was dimmed really to the minimum.

Oh! In the middle of waiting for our food, there were many small bite size snacks that were served to us. While waiting for our first course, the Chef gave us her complimentary fig coated with cheese and next came a small naan bread topped with olive and parmigianno cheese and a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil. It was both nice! I love the olive oil! Then while waiting for our main course, we were served with breads, which we ate with the olive oil and black peppers. I know this practise from Prego Singapore. It was useful at that moment! The other fun thing that was a thrilling thing for me was the black pepper dispenser. When I was given that, i turned and turned but nothing came out. Then I saw this button and I pressed on it! Voila, it was an automatic black pepper dispenser with a torchlight at the bottom!! See the picture below. It was so cool. I kept pressing it and playing with it. But it was noisy when the motor is running. It was really cool and it was made by Peugeot! CooL!

Playing with the black pepper dispenser!

Overall, it was probably the best night I have in Chennai, in terms of foodwise! A nice change from seeing all the Indian food and fast food. In total, I paid about 150SGD for this dinner for 2 and it was still cheap for this kind of experience that I will not get in Singapore. It is just too expensive!

psst: I'll be back next week! home sweet home... bed sweet bed... pillow lush pillow... quilt comfy quilt... food nice food!!!

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

I'm missing them so much now. We've been talking over Skype the past few days and they are just so adorable. All their hype and laughters over the phone are making me miss them so much.

Looking forward to seeing them soon!

You are forever in my life
You see me through the seasons
Cover me with Your hand
And lead me in Your righteousness

And I look to You
And I wait on You

I'll sing to You Lord
A hymn of Love
For Your faithfulness to me
I'm carried in everlasting arms
You'll never let me go
Through it all

You are forever in my life
You see me through the seasons
Cover me with Your hand
And lead me in Your righteousness

And I look to You
And I wait on You

I'll sing to You Lord
A hymn of Love
For Your faithfulness to me
I'm carried in everlasting arms
You'll never let me go

I'll sing to You Lord
A hymn of Love
For Your faithfulness to me
I'm carried in everlasting arms
You'll never let me go
Through it all

Everlasting Father, I love You
Ever living Savior, I love You

Everlasting Father, I love You
Ever living Savior, I love You

I'll sing to You Lord
A hymn of Love
For Your faithfulness to me
I'm carried in everlasting arms
You'll never let me go
Through it all

As I sit at the smoking area of the office, with the cold breeze and in the open. I listened to this with my ipod. As I listened, something in me just get stirred to just start singing this song aloud. But too bad there are people around and if I do, imagine their reactions.

As it plays on, a lot of thoughts and memories just came back and really through it all, God has really been with me. A lot of things that happened, He brought me out of it. How i've changed and matured over time from the person that i was 10 years ago. I think i understood what my cousins say when they said that I was like a spoilt brat. The arrogance, the self-centredness, the immaturity. How God slowly mould me to be different through His ways. How he brought me here to be independent, how He gave me my cousins to teach me and change me. How God opened my eyes to see that He's always there but I keep turning my back on Him. He's always present. How He reached out to me when I fell into a deep hole, where even as much as saying His name was hard to come out of my mouth, when He took my nephew and let my step-sis suffered in her grief. How He brought me out of those days where I really couldnt deal with seeing the pain and agony in her eyes and how I couldnt do anything to make her feel better or to take it all away from her. That was too much for me to bear. To make things worse, I was still schooling then and I had to be away from her. There's not many people who can console her back at home. My other sis was not in the same town as well. And we both are the closest people to her. I was upset at Him for taking him away, for causing their pain. There were moments when we introduced Him to her, but as her husband was pretty anti, we were rejected. Seeing how helpless she got, how she literally cried her hearts out and how she just lay on the floor crying in front of me, I got more and more angry and upset. That scene still affected me in ways I cannot describe. I just get so helpless when I see her like that. I have no idea how to console her, I have no idea how to help her get by other than just frequent calls and pleas to my mum to help her cope with it.

Even as I wrote this and relived those moments, my heart still ached remembering those painful moments. How I cried to sleep, every night, during those days. I was in choir, but I couldnt sing anything to praise or just to say His name. It hit me so hard, but He didnt give up on me. He sent me people who helped me get back on my feet. He gave me blessings after blessings in ways that I may not have realised it then.

In any kind of trouble, He brought me through it. In any kind of trouble, there's never a moment where I'm left alone to fend for myself. Be it financially, be it trivial matters. Be it matters of the heart, be it physical. No trouble is too trivial for Him to solve. It was a matter of committing the problem to Him and having the faith to leave it all to Him.

Some may not believe what I am saying or rambling here, but it's an experience that each and individual has to go through before you can relate to any of these things. There's a solution to every problem and that is true, but the difference is I dont go through it alone although it's my problem. It's a different kind of sharing when I share it with Him and share it with friends. Yes friends can help some problems. But it's different. When I'm with Him, my strength to face those problems come from Him and some problems, just cant be solved by friends alone. Even when I'm facing the consequences of my actions or stupidity, I am not alone. God is always with me when I have to face it. Even simple thing like from lying or anything at all. One thing about Him, He never let us evade the consequences of our actions. As much as He loves us, He wants us to be responsible and face it. But He doesnt leave us alone to face it.

I'll sing to You Lord
A hymn of Love
For Your faithfulness to me
I'm carried in everlasting arms
You'll never let me go
Through it all

This is nothing compared to those in the city. In the city, it got to like knee-deep depth. This is just around our place.

Yesterday decided to go find lunch around our place and also to see this mini electronic mall, thinking that there would be food in there. Alas, there was none. So went around looking for one reliable place but found none until this cleaner aunty told us of this place just upfront. So we walked and not long after that it started raining. So we ran and ran under the rain, crossing the crazy traffic in India and found the restaurant. It turned out to be really nice, just that it was vegetarian. But foodwise, it was pretty nice! Cheap and good, and we are guessing that because we are foreigners, they took extra care and caution in preparing our food, cos there were many people who came and have their food served right away while ours took pretty long. Even for plain rice, whose rice pan is just behind me. It was a nice experience and I think I will definitely go back there again.

After our lunch, we decided to try to squeeze into the auto rickshaw, trying to test it whether it can really fit that many people in. It was quite an experience. Each time it gets into some potholes, I knocked my knees onto the metal railings around me and it hurts! It was a short distance to our place and paid 50 rupees for it, which is supposedly overpriced. But we didnt bother bargaining since we are fitting like 5 people into it. Cheap thrill for first-timers like myself. Yes, I've not sat on bajai before.

This is my source of entertainment at home. This is actually our mini dish-tv for our cable.

psst.... 2 more weekends too spend here!

Yes, Chennai is not much affected by what's happening in Mumbai. This is because Mumbai is at the west side of India whereas, Chennai is at the southeast of India which is pretty far apart from each other. Please think big countries like Indo and US and not of Singapore as comparison.

While Mumbai was terrorised by the Pakistanis, Chennai was really terrorised by the rain because of a certain cyclone named, 'Nisha'. The cyclone hit the southern part and I think it was going near Chennai or something so we also got affected with rain and the wind. So here we got flood.

Anyway with so much happenings in Mumbai, I feel glad that we cancelled all our trips. Alternative to Taj Mahal trip was Bangalore trip which I was planning to go next week. But with how these big cities are being the terrorist targets, we are just going to stay in Chennai. Staying safe. Apparently my cousin had already asked me to check if i can ask to go back since it's so unsafe to stay in India. But of course I cant ask, since there's nothing much going on here and so far it's still pretty safe here. But we'll see and just wait for some good news if there's any.

Finally after 1 week, it has stopped raining. However now the aftermath is something that we have to deal with. It's flood everywhere. So far the area within where I am staying is not that flooded. My office building area was pretty flooded. There was no electricity, so they had to rely on the generator and that we have to bear without the AC yesterday. It was pretty unbearable for me. I was kind of melting in the office and we left early as a result.

Today had planned to go out, but I am still checking out whether it's advisable to go out. Had been researching for news about the areas that are affected by it. Apparently the few reservoirs in Chennai had reached its full capacity and they have to open the gates and let water out. So this also adds on to the bad state of the flood. The irony is that our place is currently out of water supply. We had no water since last night. Ah boy went down to supermarket last night to get bottled waters for us in the end. Now i'm only hoping that there will be water, if not then I'll be probably just stay home since I cannot bathe. I must bathe before I go out!!

The English version of Nata's post on blood type. I think it's funnier in Bahasa Indo rather than the english one.

The rainy season is here to stay. It's been really cloudy all weekend and it seems like it's going to stay that way all week. It's been raining on and off and with rain in Chennai, it's gonna be a muddy week with all the little puddle of water and mini floods around Chennai. The weather has slowly turned chillier because of the rain. Those who knows my AC habit well would be really surprised to hear that I set the aircon at 25 degrees because of the cold.

With such cold and moody settings, it's been a challenging task to stay in full concentration at work. Sleep is all I want to do. Just lazing at home, enjoying the whole mood and weather, are definitely more enticing than being at work.

Because of all the rain, the Internet signal and our electricity is also affected. Right now itself, we are in the middle of blackout. Thank God for the generator, but so far only the television is alive. Just now it was the aircon which went off first. A while later, our light starts to go on and off intermittently, before it becomes kind of a disco light and then completely go off. Well thankfully the Internet is still alive and the TV and Cable signal is still working.

Oh on a side note, it's 4 more saturdays before I get back. On that night itself, I already have one Christmas party to go to. And then I will have a long weekend break during Christmas. My leave for Xmas eve and Boxing Day has been approved. So it'll be a splendid long and festive weekend, especially with some of the relatives coming over to join us for Christmas.

Oh Christmas. I still remember how every time it's November, Nata and I would just go deep into christmas mood that we start to listen and sing all the Christmas songs. How we would get all excited over the festive season. It was a form of 'running away' from the reality of exams and mugging over it. This year it's definitely a different feeling over here. As much as I am looking forward to Christmas, but the feeling of Christmas is just not present here. It sure doesnt feel like Christmas is coming at all.

Ong and I are currently watching So You Think You Can Dance, but because of the blackout and the rain outside, the tv is slowly losing its signal. The light is still out, while the aircon is at the on and off cycle.

Welcome to India.

Weekend was ok. On saturday, we lazed around at home the whole afternoon. And then at night, another Indian colleague, took us out to experience the night life of India's pub. It was okay. The club was filled with Indians, the rich ones who drive sports coupes, audi, and saab, and also there were caucasians in there too. The decor of the place is pretty high-class kind. It's like an old English library or study but with loud thumping music playing in the background. The dance floor is pretty ordinary, just take a section of a pub as a dancing floor. Drinks-wise, the usual drinks are there and it's cheaper than Singapore, on the average. I had margarita but it was kind of too slurry for me. But i like the taste of the liquor and the salt aftertaste.

Prior to that, we had dinner at this Chettinad Restaurant, Kaaraikudi. It's another kind of South Indian food, supposedly to be more spicy. Ong and I had the black pepper chicken curry, which taste pretty nice with chappati and prata. Their prata is not only big, but it really contains many many layers inside. I think i still prefer Roti, the North Indian version of Chappati, which is oven-baked rather than fried. It has more taste and fluff to it. Just like Naan.

Next to venture, will be to find a really nice North Indian food. I want to try a nice tandoori and naan, and if possible kebab! Hopefully manage to find it before I go back. I have given up on trying to get anything for people. There's really not much things down here that is worth buying or getting as gifts. So for the next few weekends, either I laze at home, or probably try some food that I know I wont go to Little India to have.

Well after a week of sitting, surrounded by Indian colleagues, it has a nice feeling. Knowing that you can speak to anyone in the surrounding so freely. They are very easy to talk to and quite helpful with my assignments, of course. They give a lot of insights and also share more knowledge than just what is in the classroom.

Other than work-related stuff, they are also very interesting in terms of the way they think. They are all so simple, but it shouldnt come as a surprise as they are very conservative here. People sleep at 930-10pm and wake up really early about 5 in the morning. They bring their own lunches and have a group lunch at the pantry together. After a few days, the colleague start asking me to join them for tea break, sharing chocolates. All the simple things but it's a nice gesture of welcoming you into their midst.

I pretty much enjoy this week. It's breezing through pretty fast, and I must say I have a lot of fun!

Today, no Monday blues. It was pretty relaxed in the office. As I started on my 2nd assignment, my mentor asked me to sit at the desk beside her since the person sitting there is on leave for the day.

It was freezing to sit there but also the most relaxed and fun day I have. The aircon was literally blowing at me so that's why it was freezing and then when I had class in the big conference room in the afternoon, it was like going into the freezer. I was shivering inside. And I didnt even bring my jacket along. It was the most relaxed one, as I interact the most with the Indians surrounding me. My mentor is a pretty fun and outgoing girl. And she was pretty free so aside from my sizing exercises, we talked a lot of other stuff. Talking about the different cultures, different places tat we've been to, about movies, places to go in Chennai, showing her some of the pictures of the places that Ive been too. She was very interested with the real Chinese food and also of the culture. Soon others surrounding us joined in and we talked even more. Talk about places to see in Chennai, and they told me that there's horse riding by the beach. But some said that the horses are very skinny and malnourished. So we were laughing at the thought of it. I only did some work in the morning and the whole afternoon, it was filled with all these talks. In between the talk, I had a 1 hour class. Then followed by talks again.

By the time, I want to start on the assignment again, it was slightly past 5. Saw Ong and the guys, so went out for small talk with them, while one of the guys smoke. So we just hung around till it was time to go. Really perfect Monday.

Today has been a really funny day. Or maybe weird but in a fun way. I just know ended up we had a pretty fun day out. I know I'm not making any kind of sense here. But yeah probably after reading through the happening, u may get the gist. Maybe it is best to call it a drama moment.

So today I woke up and told Ong that she can follow them if she wants. But then she was also worried of going shopping for too long and might not tahan. So we had thought of getting another car since we may not tahan shopping. But that place somehow just turns me off. Then I was asking the 2 guys of their plan. I might just join them for night activities. But turned out that they too dont feel like going shopping. And they also suggested on getting another car and probably just go for lunch and then go back. It was already like 1215-1230 when we decided. And the previous day, they had told their driver to come at 1pm. So I just told them that we 4 will wait for another car since we are not ready. We'll just go on our own. So at 1 they went down and then Ong, Ah Boy and I were just going to eat the porridge that I've made for something to fill the hungry stomach while we wait.

Just after I had finished scooping the porridge into the bowls, KK came up and started yelling " I dont know what you all want" these and that. We got shocked like what happen. And then she went on saying how we are so fickle to have changed our mind and plan when we have decided yesterday. On my part, I didnt agree to anything. I said see how tomorrow. The 2 guys said anything. And then she went on saying that the driver is angry this and that. I was surprised because he has no reason to be angry and from the way things work around here, pretty much they cant get angry at us. So ah boy went down with ah pek to check it out, and Ong too. So i was left alone with the yelling KK who keeps harping on and on about us changing plan. And i told her that for us, we dont want to go shopping and they can just go ahead with their plan. But she kept harping on about not knowing what we want. For me I cant stand any yelling and these kind of yellings and naggings will just get on my nerve and get me pissed. And true enough I succumbed to being pissed and just got angry with her. As much as she said not scolding me or anything it was all done in pissed off mode, so I also got pissed off in the end. So I just went to the room and then I was already losing the mood of going out and I just wanted to stay in. I was quite pissed that I almost just go to the toilet and shower to cool off my head. But damn, the towel is outside and all of them are outside. In a while Ong came in and then she told me that they will go first. And that's it. After a while I heard from the guys that they are still around, and that there's another car coming. It was really confusing cos me and Ong were sort of already settled with staying at home. Ah pek also said that they were going to go down to get some food. So it was all confusing. So i told them to come over and talk properly. So both of them came and suddenly ah boy asked us to go bathe and get changed. So after getting the plan straightened out, so I went to bathe while they discussed about what had just happened.

It was truly a clash of personality and them trying to fit their ideas and wants onto us. It seems that the guys are also having some problems with them. Just a matter of different frequencies. So we talked about it and I just feel better that somehow it is not just me who feel that way. Not that i'm trying to get people not to like them but more that I have been feeling is it just me who feel this way, so now I feel better.

So we carried on with our plan for lunch. But of course we didnt want to go to the same place anymore. So I suggested going to City Centre for lunch and just to look around and to buy some fruits and vegs for the week ahead. It was the best lunch and meal so far, though it's my second time going there. A different company really makes the whole difference. I had moroccan lamb shaslik and it tasted really good. VERY GOOD. tasted like beef and I like it. And then Ah pek had stuffed chicken breast and he loved it cos it was all meat stuffed with some herbs. Ah boy had bbqed chicken burger. And Ong had chicken tikka masala with naan bread and roti. It was really the best meal for us. We love it. Ong initially had reservations about ordering it, but I told her that it was worth it. And she really liked it alot. Oh i forgot to mention that it was an alfresco dining. We were at the rooftop breathing the Chennai air and feeling at the top of the world with such nice food in front of us. Then from the rooftop, we could also see the beach and the waves. So we really feel like we are in Sentosa except for the sea smell. It was really windy. And i think that's why now Ong and I are pretty much feeling a little sick. Oh another thing we definitely regretted. After lunch, we went to play at the arcade having fun playing basketball, bowling and then watching the 2 guys play shooting games at the arcade. It was a really simple and fun day.

When we head back, midway just about 10 mins from home, we saw their car and our mood got dampened. We just didnt want to meet them. So it was kind of an amazing race for us. Thankfully our driver is a skilled driver and he drove past them overtaking them by quite far. So we were like hoping that they wont be behind us and all, out of a sudden. So we ended up all going to the supermarket, so as to give time for them to get settled in the house as well.

When we were home, we just went straight to our rooms. After sometime while we were getting our stuff stored in the fridge, KK went out and said sorry and hugged me. It's very cliche type lah. I expected just a talk but she went to hug me. So yeah after apologies session done, they offered to have dinner together. So we agreed and had dinner.

I tot the list of events would end here when I initially started writing this entry. Alas, it was not.

Post dinner, KK wanted us to have an open discussion to solve the problem of misunderstanding and miscommunication. Basically it's far from it. As Ong pointed out for me this morning, it was just a clash of personalities. So as things were put in the open, they are just driving the point of being considerate and being more communicating. Basically, just report whereever u r going as I see it. They were talking about how if there's a split plan they have to second-guess things. In my mind it was more like second guessing our motives isn't it. And then they want us not to do things last minute but in the first place like today we woke up quite late. And it also takes time to decide. What's wrong with just pulling out from a plan. On the way home from our outing today, I was thinking why they were so upset about it cos normally if I pulled out from the plan it's fine one. So it dawned on me tat it's because the guys join us instead of them and that caused the second-guessing. So while we 4 are open to their thoughts, but it seems that they, who suggested the open discussion, are not that open also. They keep coming down on things that are said. Some are accepted but I dont know if it's clear or not. But it seems that they just keep being defensive. They seem only to keep driving their point while looking like they accept our suggestion. And i got sick, and just try to make them see it but they still in the end still back to square 1. I dont think they achieve anything. It was a round and round about talking. At least we achieve something about having second car and that's because Ong brought it up. SO HOW TO SOLVE ABOUT PLANS FOR WEEKENDS? at least that point was achieved.

It was pretty drama lah the whole thing. Even as a discussion to solve thing, they still get worked up at each other. Even after i say about respect each other and dont anyhow say things, they still say it. So probably it ends up as nothing is solved at all. So how to consider it solved?

YAY! (5 more sats)

Today celebrated another TGIF and again had pasta for dinner. Had wanted to do bolognaise but there's not enough meat to thicken the whole sauce. This time round, cooked too much pasta though. Everyone was still so full. Even Ong and I didnt have our usual supper, but did have craving for something sweet. Regretted not buying another supply of apple juice.

I love weekends. Just being able to sleep in tomorrow and not having to wake up. Tomorrow I might not go out in the day, but shall see about the night plan. The guys have been wantinig to go somewhere or some pub to chill out. So maybe we are going to do that tomorrow. In the afternoon, they are thinking of going to T Nagar, this place that I really dread going after having been there once. I'll probably stay at home. That place is not really somewhere I want to go shopping. It's probably gonna be muddy and all plus there'll be lots of people. Well it might be the experience that they want to try. But im gonna skip it. Ong might go, I dont know. She's been having flu the past couple of days.

Sunday we're set to watch Body of Lies at the cinema. Have heard so much about the way the Indians watch their movies. I just hope it doesnt get too noisy that I cant catch all that talkings in the show. I've heard that it is a very nice show.

Ask and it shall be given.

Just reading it, I feel so ashamed. So ashamed to be in His presence. My heart is stirred. Being a blessing for others! What a reminder. Have i been a blessing for others in this trip at all? As much as my disappointment abt others, I find myself being disappointed at myself to have let myself slipped, after reading this. Have I shown anything at all that potrays God working in my life? Pride, snob, unkind, I have it all. SO ashamed, but I know and I can feel His love working in me.

Well I guess, now I have a direction as to be a blessing for others.

Today’s Thoughts: A Blessing For Others

And Laban said to him, "Please stay, if I have found favor in your eyes, for I have learned by experience that the Lord has blessed me for your sake." Then he said, "Name me your wages, and I will give it." So Jacob said to him, "You know how I have served you and how your livestock has been with me. For what you had before I came was little, and it has increased to a great amount; the Lord has blessed you since my coming. And now, when shall I also provide for my own house?" Genesis 30:27-30

Jacob had two wives and eleven children and he wanted to return to his own land. The time had come for him to leave his father-in-law, Laban, but Laban was not ready to let Jacob go. Both men acknowledged the blessings upon Laban’s house as being from the Lord. Jacob lived with and worked for Laban for over 20 years and both men prospered greatly, but the blessings came to Laban because the Lord’s hand was upon Jacob.

The same should be true of the Christian today. Because we know the Lord Jesus, our lives should bring blessings to others. The blessings come in many ways, such as recognizable calmness in our presence and stability. Many times, others do not want to admit that their blessings are a result of the Christian’s convictions and prayers. The unbeliever’s pride causes them to take the glory for themselves. But as Christians, our lives do bless others. In time, God will get the glory as the fruit of our lives, as well as the testimony of our mouths, will clearly point to His intervention

Are others blessed because of you? Even if you are the only Christian in your family, God’s hand is on you and your home will be covered with your prayers. Continue to pray for your family and seek the Lord’s blessings over those who do not yet know Him. Press on to not grow weary in doing good. Wherever we go, we bring the Lord’s presence because His Holy Spirit lives within us. We need to acknowledge the Lord’s blessings not only in our own lives but also in the lives of those around us. Let your light shine to those around you and give God the glory for all things.

Learning the Art to be Indifferent or taking it all in my stride.

Well as the days go by, I think i really need to learn the art not to be affected by anything these people do. Or maybe it's just a test! I guess it's really hard to maintain a close walk with God especially when we dont get enough spiritual food, spiritual fellowships or maybe as simple as going to church. I find myself slowly getting affected by little things, easily agitated, easily angered. I am getting distracted from doing my usual QT.

It's really hard to be patient nowadays, it's getting harder to be able to take things in my stride and just look past it.

A part of me is feeling that this sucks. Cos I have to change myself or adapt myself to others again. At this age, I just want to stop these kind of adapting. Really dont have the patience.

But again, I am learning and I will let God help me change me. Letting Him work His way through me. This kind of change is not within my power and strength. I dont have it and certainly not anywhere near.

Bear with my ramblings. It's gonna be quite a while.

Damn pissed!

So old in terms of age but behaviour-wise, not knowing a simple basic courtesy or how to behave, it's really getting too much and out of hand. And I idiotically just simply keep quiet! What an idiot. And i know the next time the day I simply refuse to be quiet, it will probably be pretty massive explosion.

At least now I know that it's not just me exaggerating over the behaviour.

Bitch!

Another weekend passed, and counting down, it's another 6 more saturdays back to singapore.

On friday night, I cooked pasta for all of us and gave Isamu a farewell 'party'. It was just a simple dinner accompanied by beers bought by the boys and just played some cards game. Were playing and playing and in the midst of the game, there was blackout and it got pretty hard to see the cards. Anyway as any card games, loser will drink. Since Ong didnt want to drink so she had to eat, bites and bites of toasted bread. She lost all her rounds, and kept eating bread. In the end she gave up! The moment she left from the game, I started losing. All her fault for leaving the game. XD , =p.

Anyway I thought i would have a good sleep afterwards. So i slept early since alcohol can make u sleep better. Turned out otherwise. I slept at 10 and woke up by 1.30 and couldnt sleep till 4. I have been having these sleeping problem for a few weeks. Maybe I cant sleep long hours anymore. Probably just once in a while.

Saturday, went out for lunch and thought of going to this Fort St George place, where it used to be a British fort and currently one of the building is used for the parliament or some government place of the Tamil Nadu. I thought i had the right address, and when we got there it was actually a hotel and this Fort St George place turned out to be a bar. +___+! But the hotel was really nice so we took some pictures while we were there. The contrast of the nice Indian hotel and the real India is pretty far. The hotel was really posh and they had Salvatore Ferragamo boutique in there. And then Ong and I went in to one of the dinner hall, and the design was breathtaking. They designed the place in accordance to a dinner hall where King would have his meals. They have performances on a small stage. It was really nice and it was not a big dining hall or something but it was just simple and have a rustic feeling to it. So they decided to go shopping at Spencer Plaza. I'm not really fond of going there, though the stuff are at a bargain, because it's hot and stuffy. It's always in blackout mode. Thought i could find some cheap bangles over there, but it was pretty expensive. Let's see if I can find it elsewhere.

Today, pretty much lazed the whole day. Slept the whole day and when i woke up, Harry Potter & The Goblet of Fire was on tv. So was watching that and had porridge for lunch, since Ong has got sore throat. So was lazing the day just like that and it's nice. The rest ended up staying at home instead of sticking to their plan to go to the gym. And they were pretty bored i think that they prepared dinner very early, cutting their carrot into flower-like shape. Oh anyway, today is lazy sunday! We've been in the room the whole day except for cooking and getting water. And maybe 10 mins of talking with the rest outside.

Another week is coming and I cant be more than happy for it to come and go.

My Take on YJ's topic as to whether TA should split.

I really think we should not split. TA should have existed not as TA1 or Ta2 in the first place. Just the branding itself has separated us from each other. I'm sure God had a plan for the whole of TA. As to why TA1 and TA2 have been established, only He knows that perfect plan that He has. But i think we have sort of conveniently segregated ourselves from each other. Only knowing people just on the surface when we are supposed to be brothers and sisters in Christ.

There are a lot of wrong steps that have been undertaken here. There are not that many occasions where the 2 families meet. Even when we meet, just look at the way we are seated. It's always the chinese would be to one side and the english mingle with their own people as well. There are no interactions between the 2 youth ministries. Not even choir or anything.

I also find that even during communications and meetings, there are not a lot of room for compromise and reasoning. Each has their own view and take which they guard strongly about. There are different ways of looking of problems, while some look only at the surface, others will look deep inside and back to the basic of spiritual aims and will. One side looking only for short-term answer, while the other hope for a long term.

These are the human management errors. Although all the points point towards TA should split, but we must remember that it's God's plan that we are trying to split. I'm sure this was not the way things should be in the first place.

As to why there're no election or anything for LCEC member, i'm not sure but I know that it's probably because in the bible, God chose His people to be leaders instead of people nomination or election. I'm not sure about this as I'm also not very strong in my biblical knowledge but from what I know, God called out to these people.

A lot of things are going through my head right now. A lot of maybes, a lot of justifications, a lot of reasoning, a thousand of angles to look at everything, and all lead to a more confusing state of mind.

Maybe it's my fault, maybe it's just me, maybe I deserve it too,
But then is it really normal? But then is it really me?
Now it's like this and because of that, see!

Could it have been different? Should I change? Or maybe just leave it?
Maybe it was just boring, maybe it was just too quiet, maybe....
But then .........
Should I? Maybe not.

Never mind. Just leave it as it is.

An honest observation from someone on their 2nd day in India.

While watching the telly, she suddenly asked me
O: Lin, these few weeks, have you ever seen a whitening lotion advertisement here?
Me: WKWKWKWKWKWKWKWKWKWKWK (burst out laughing!!) No... dont think they have such thing here loh!

My source of laughters:

tessie: ini group band ya?
me: hooh.. johnny.. tao ga?
tessie: giving me a surprised look... JOHNNY? johnny... kan....
me: johnny jimusho? yg ada hideaki takizawa... takuya kimura.......
tessie: iye.... yang... cantik2... and pada ga bisa nyanyi ituw kan............................
me: T.T!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! *dengan berat hati, ive go to say, yes to certain extent..* tapi v6 ngga koqqq.. *uda gituw gw baru nyadar.. wahlew.. klu tessie denger suara miake dia bisa ketawa ngakak2... trus tar dia ga suka v6.. dame dame...*

I can truly imagine what is your reaction nat. not the swt kind but the 'jeger' kind. It was really funny! and then there's this

ok.. eniweiz.. mission merubah tessie harus dilakukan discreetly through multiple cash studio visit.. anyone? XD haha!!!!

This is damn funny! Ong and I were really laughing out loud when we read this. Mission to transform tessie to like j-pop boys??? hahahaha

Oh man, nat! I miss you!!!! expressionnya itu loh! *chasing after nata to give her a beary hug and evading the punches."

Reason to be thankful to God for His countless blessings.
From safely bringing my best company here, to safely bringing things that I really want to eat.
All the small and trivial troubles to big emotional problems, He solved them all for me.
What A wonderful Friend I have!

Finally after 1 month and 1 week, supplies are here and of course I got my best company here. See the supplies. Behind the porridges, lie stacks of instant noodles from indo, courtesy from Nata! Then the red plastic bag is filled with floss and crispy prawn with sambal form indo. The white plastic bag contains 3 bottles of indo sambal. Then behind the chilli sauce and soy sauce, lies 6 packets of bakwa. Hmmm.. I just love my friend who brought all these goodies.

See my happy face! =)

Btw, for some reason, the moment she comes, yesterday we had 2 extra visitors in the room and 1 small one today. in the middle of the night, they decided to crawl their way under Ong's bed. and I freaked out! 2 BIG ONES. I was frozen and then called out to Ong to kill it, but she went back to sleep! Thankfully i had bought a bottle of Baygon especially for cockroaches in the morning. They both died instantly, but the thought of them in the room was making me so uneasy that I couldnt sleep the whole night.

Argh.. my hair is really out of shape. =(

I miss hawker food. =( I miss the crowd and miss all the camaderie that a hawker offers. I miss seeing people 'chop'-ing seats with their tissue papers packets, umbrellas or even pamphlets. I miss having my rounds of kopi-peng. I miss having good chillis in my food.

Argh I'm homesick again!

*JAW DROPPED*

*DROPPED FURTHER*

can't believe what these people do for full marks.. acting so childish... copying is one thing that we can close one eye of.

The indian trainer was just passing a remark after seeing her paper that it's full mark. He said, " Wow full marks, this means that I have to relook into the paper and find some faults." She immediately snatch the paper back from the trainer and kept saying, "no no no no!". She really snatched it very fast from him and I just gave her a really shocked look! When he asked for the paper, she still went "no no no!". Is it just me over-reacting or wat?

Then cos 2 of them got full marks, they are so happy! Well they copy wholesale from the slides right under his nose, how not to score full marks also. Then kept going on and on about how lenient that guy is when marking and how they managed to get the answer by luck. I dont have a problem with the copying but more like the attitude and the childish behaviour.

I really couldnt believe it. Thank God i still managed to keep my jaw closed in front of them. But i know my look was really in shock!

I definitely have a proBREm with that childish behaviour. They are already so A-vanced (advanced) in age but still behaves like that. And we are in working world for goodness' sake! I am still coping with the shock!

Just a thought of the day! I find it's really inspiring. It's not the amount of bible verses that you know, but how much you include God in your life that makes your relationship and walk with God very personal. Sometimes we just get too carried away doing His work, or just trying to follow His footsteps that we forget to include Him in our lives. It's good to remind ourselves to take a step back and see how much we are including Him in our lives.

How Can I Improve My Daily Quiet Time?

Gregg Farah

Ask the Expert for Guys

Q. I have trouble doing daily quiet times and praying consistently. I want to though. Can you help?


A. I love your heart. And just so you know, I have trouble too. I have times when I'm consumed with God and times when God has to reintroduce Himself to me.

Before I share thoughts from my own struggles, let me ask you a question: Why is this important to you?

Are you hungry for God, wanting to love Him and know Him in greater intimacy? Or do you feel like you're letting others down? You know, other people respect your walk with God, and so you may be trying to live up to their expectations, rather than being more concerned with what God thinks. That's pride, and Jesus addresses that kind of heart in Matthew 23:1-6.

I'm guessing your motives are pure, and you're simply wanting to take the next step with God! But I can relate to that other motive ... the prideful one ... and it's ugly. Don't go there. Instead, here are some things that have helped me when I've struggled with spending time with God.

Don't Miss the Obvious!

Time with God is not a five-minute quiet time or even an hour. Time with God is a 24-hour lifestyle! Sure, there may be times in the day when we get away from our routine to pray or read or journal or sing or ... whatever. But we
need to worship God all the time, when we're in school, playing basketball, going to the movies, laughing with friends ... you get the idea.

Accountability

Sometimes I'm motivated by accountability. Ask a friend to call you once a week to let you share what you've been reading and learning and what God has impressed on your heart during times of prayer. Ask this friend to
pray for you, to be open to what God wants to teach you.

Prayer Partner

Meet with a friend or two and pray for one another, for non-Christians, or whatever else is on your heart. Designate a place and time to meet and give it to God. Not only will you be motivated to grow closer to God, but your friendship with your prayer partner(s) will deepen.

Think About It

Pick one thing from your Bible reading that you can think about all day long. Write down that thought on an index card and stick it in your pocket. When you're walking between classes or have any time to think (30 seconds or so), pull out that card and read it. Let it soak into your brain. By the end of the day, you won't even have to look at the card ... you'll already be thinking about its message!

Mix It Up

Don't get stuck in a rut. There's more than one way to spend time with God. So try something completely different. Draw, journal, sing, take a walk ... whatever. Just do it while focusing on God.

In his excellent book, The Life You've Always Wanted, John Ortberg reminds us that "our primary task is not to calculate how many verses of Scripture we read or how many minutes we spend in prayer. Our task is to use these activities to create opportunities for God to work. Then what happens is up to Him."

God wants to spend time with you and use you to serve Him. Are you ready?

Eversince Nata's blog about the blood type, I was interested about how this blood types thing affect your characters. Well I've heard so much how Japanese and Koreans are always fussing over bloodtypes even more so than zodiac. So here's what I found from one of the website.
____________________________________________________________________

Type A

People with blood type A have a deep-rooted strength that helps them stay calm in a crisis when everyone else is panicking. However, they tend to avoid confrontation, and feel very uncomfortable around people. A types are shy and sometimes withdrawn. They seek harmony and are very polite, but all the same feel that they never really fit in with others. A types are very responsible. If there is a job to be done, they prefer to take care of it themselves. These people crave success and are perfectionists. They are also very creative, and the most artistic of all the blood types, most likely because of their sensitivity.

People with blood type A are also likely to be considered classic "type A's": stressed and conscientious. In anime, people like Hotohori are type A's.

The Third Hokage, Haruno Sakura, Hotohori, Heero Yui, Keiko (Kayko) Yukimura

Type B

People with blood type B are the most practical of the blood groups. They are specialists in what they do. When they start a project, they spend extra time understanding and trying to follow directions than others might. When they are doing something, all of their attention is focused on it. They tend to stick to a goal and follow it through to the end, even if it seems impossible. They tend to be less than cooperative, as they like to follow their own rules and their own ideas. They are individualists. B type people pay attention to their thoughts a little more than their feelings, and therefore can sometimes seem cold and serious.

People with blood type B are often considered more relaxed, freewheeling, and unconventional than other types, although not necessarily to an unacceptable degree. In anime, the genki, off-the-wall types are type B, along with any kind of well-intended character who's ruled by their impulses.

Naruto, Duo Maxwell, Miaka, Nuriko, Tasuki, Sagara Sanosuke

Type O

People with blood type O people are outgoing, energetic and social. They are the most flexible of the blood types. They easily start up projects but often have trouble following through because they give up easily. They are flighty and not too dependable. O types always say what's on their mind. They value the opinion of others and like to be the center of attention. Also, people with O blood are extremely self-confident.

Type O, the most "average" blood type, is considered the best type in Japan.

Quatre, Sailor Moon, Saito Hajime, Kamiya Kaoru, Tamahome

Type AB

People with blood type AB are hard to categorize. They can have characteristics on both ends of the spectrum at the same time. For instance, they are both shy and outgoing. They easily switch from one opposite to another. AB people are trustworthy and responsible, but can't handle it when too much is asked of them. They don't mind doing favors or helping out, as long as its on their own conditions. People with this blood type are interested in art and metaphysics.

AB is considered the worst blood type. In predictability-loving Japan, they're loose cannons. They also like to set their own conditions and reserve the right to drop out when things don't meet their expectations. They're known to be sensitive and considerate—at times—but it just isn't enough to balance out the flaws in this blood type. For a while, some companies tried dividing their employees into work groups based on blood type, and no one wanted to work with the AB group. Anime villains are likely to be type AB.

Uchiha Sasuke, Hongo Yui, Tomo, Trowa Barton, Kenshin

A is most compatible with A and AB.

B is most compatible with B and AB.

AB is most compatible with AB, B, A, and O.

O is most compatible with O and AB

____________________________________________________________________

	Japanese Culture Site
	Jillian Michelle Williams BellaOnline's Japanese Culture Editor

Personality Traits By Blood Type - A Japanese Concept Guest Author - Melanie Shintaku

Beginning in approximately 1930, the Japanese embraced the idea of matching personality traits with one's blood type. This phenomenon is as popular in Japan as the idea of matching horoscope with personality is in the States.

Almost all Japanese are aware of their blood type. The idea began when some in the west were touting the idea that the asian peoples were more closely related to animals then humans, or lower on the evolutionary chain, since type B blood was the predominant blood type in asians and animals. As ludicrous and unscientific as this idea was, it was insulting to say the least. Modern science disproves this obviously faulted idea. In the 1930's Furukawa Takeji (1891–1940) set out to disprove this notion and a new idea was born.

However, the idea of personality traits being influenced by blood type remains. Companies in Japan even had divided workers by blood type.

Here are the general ideas of each blood type. The Rh factor plays no role in the blood type/personality idea:

Type O:
Type O's are outgoing, and very social. They are initiators, although they don't always finish what they start. Creative and popular, they love to be the center of attention and appear very self confident.

Type A:
While outwardly calm, they have such high standards (perfectionists) that they tend to be balls of nerves on the inside. Type A's are the most artistic of the blood groups. They can be shy, are conscientious, trustworthy, and sensitive.

Type B:
Goal oriented and strong minded, type B's will start a task and continue it until completed, and completed well. Type B's are the individualists of the blood group categories and find their own way in life.

Type AB:
Type AB's are the split personalities of the blood groups. They can be both outgoing and shy, confident and timid. While responsible, too much responsibility will cause a problem. They are trustworthy and like to help others.
____________________________________________________________________

Human is really funny creatures. Put them together and there wont be a time when they will not even talk about a particular person, be it friends, colleagues or even ex-collegemates. Most of the times during lunch, I am a very quiet person. Partly because I have no idea what they are talking about. But i notice that they love to talk and discuss or pass judgement about their friends or college-mates. And the things that they say sometimes can be without rationale and sense to derive to such conclusions. Other than this topics, I hardly hear them converse a sensible topic at all. In fact it's always about somebody or the people where we are currently based at. Oh maybe always is too much. But most of the time. The rest of the time, I've already heard how one studied, spotted questions, and then during exam, she only managed to do 1 question and that got her A. And then another one about how she juggled with FYP and this particular module and also managed to get A. Basically bragging to outdo one another or maybe showing off to me? (this one is the too sensitive part of me, i know).

Well see what I mean about human being a funny creature! What am I doing now? I am also talking about people. But just that I prefer to do it with much more sense and analysizing rather than coming to some conclusions on my own.

Yes i do not like them, but I've learnt not to be biased and affected by it. I learnt it the hard way with the Lord kept slapping the verses in my face for a week. It's painful but efficient to get me back on the right track. I still do get affected when they are crazy over details of a product or when they are stressing themselves out of something unimportant. For example, remembering some unimportant formulas, which half the time we wont even use for work. Or simply going to die because there was a surprise test and they have not studied. These things still gets to me but when I get all these attacks, I remember back what verses or the week's devotions topics and I calmed down. Of course there are times, when I cannot take it and still need someone to spill all these things out.

One sad thing is seeing a Christian who has such extreme view start to backslide. And because she has attitude whenever she talks, it is hard to remind her about christian stuff. Furthermore, we are not close so it's even harder to remind her of God. She is always fussing and have no faith in what she studies. And i think even the Indians doesn't appreciate the way she speaks as sometimes it gets pretty offensive and the way she points out things is like saying that the person is stupid. The poor guy was so scared and i think a bit unhappy as well. Afterall this is a MCP country where girls status are basically lower.

sigh.

Well, Diwali is definitely a high profile time for them. The whole of Chennai's night sky is alive with all the fireworks and the whole town is basically lighting up firecrackers. The firecrackers has been going on since saturday. Meanwhile the fireworks started last night. Tonight it is more crazy though, since everyone is trying to finish up all their fireworks and crackers. The sound of the crackers is crazy though. They sounded like gunshots rather than crackers, unlike the usual that i've played and heard before. After 3 days under these conditions, i think i'm beginning to get really irritated.

Well we went over to Ganesh's place this afternoon for lunch at his place. Initially with all the hypes and hoo hahs of the festival, I thought it would be a really lively and bustling kind of things over at his place. I went there to find that we were the only guests there. They also dont expect relatives to come over, and they rather much prefer to stay in for the day. It was kind of disappointing but lunch was nice. His mum made this rice flour cakes and dosai to eat with this daal curry (usually i dont eat this, but as guest i just took some and it was nice) and a variety of sweets. Well i really conclude that indian sweets are just not to our palate. It is extremely sweet and made of ginger. It was definitely not my preferred kind of indian sweets.

The locals place is definitely very small. The house has 1 bedroom where 5 people sleep. The kids sleep on the bed, while the parents n grandfather sleep on the floor. It seems bad that the parents sleep on the floor but this has just been their common practise. I didnt take any pictures of their place as I thought it seemed rude to do so. The area is also pretty rural. They have a mixture of slums and houses at the same area.

This boy here is the son of one of their tenant who is living in the room above their house. He's really a cutie. He kept smiling when he sees me with the camera. He was also excited as Ganesh lit up all the firecrackers. Well I asked him if we could try playing with it since there was nothing much to do in the house as well. It's illegal to play in Singapore and I havent played it for a long time, since I left Indo. So i thought it was fun.

There you go, lighting it up, and then disappearing from the place. And in 15-20 seconds time, it goes BOOOM! it was really really loud! After playing it for 15 minutes, I was kind of deaf by that time. My ears were ringing! And because of it, I had such a bad headache afterwards. In fact it lasts till now. Even after a short nap, it doesnt go away!