Friday, May 25, 2012
I don't really post here anymore, but since it's my birthday I'll just post something.
I've been surprised twice this week by friends celebrating my birthday, which I really appreciate. Labels: family, focus, friends, university
On Wednesday, I was in the law building on campus using the internet, when Wenyan called to ask if I was in my room, to get back a library book she borrowed for me. Then soon after, Ezekiel called to say that he had milk tea to pass to me, and I was to come down to collect it in 5 minutes. But when I went down I couldn't see him, anywhere in the building or outside, though there was this group of people standing a distance away to the left. Then Jay turned his head and I realised that was them, and for a moment I wondered if Ezekiel was just distributing milk tea like some vendor. So I walked to them and realised that they were there to celebrate my birthday in advance, at which point they sang to me.
Renu made an oreo cheesecake because she knows how much I love it! And I was really surprised to see them there: Renu, Ezekiel, Jay, Reuben, Rachel Chan, Wenyan, Mann Ying and Yi Chen. It was only when I saw Wenyan that I realised the earlier phone call had just been an excuse for her to find out if I was in IH or not! I was absolutely deceived! Retrospectively, I realise her questions didn't really make logical sense, but at that point I didn't think about it. It even occurred to me how odd it was to receive 2 phone calls from friends within like 15 minutes when I normally don't get calls, but I didn't suspect a thing.
Later on we went to the IH ground floor kitchen to eat the cake, and I spent the next couple hours or so chatting to them. It was especially nice because I'd met Renu on Monday night on my way to choir practice, and it just made me regretful that we don't get to see everyone every day like we used to in Phase 1. Apparently her questions about my choir practice time were also for the sake of the surprise! But yeah, it was great to get to hear from them about what their experiences this year have been like.
Then today was my birthday, but I spent the morning and early afternoon in hospital, where obviously only Josh would know my birthday, if at all. So it was actually just a normal hospital day. The exception is that Raja had these magnums, and then I got the last one for free though Jeremy actually paid $2 for one, haha. So it was like indirectly getting a present!
And the thing is that we had Dialogue Night this night, so there was a lot of preparation of food and questions and I thought if my Growth Group was going to celebrate my birthday, it would be during then. And Trish even baked a cheesecake, but it wasn't for me. Since people from Pete's group (whom we combined with) were either unaware of my birthday or knew via Facebook, I assumed that that might be kind of the case with our group. And anyway the dinner was good and the session went well, so I figured it didn't really matter. And my bro Cai got me Chatime milk tea!
Then Simon was in a hurry to get back to IH, so we went back and Ming Fei's and Mike's groups were still there at the ground floor kitchen after their Dialogue Night, so I went to talk to some of them. I met Evelyn on my way up to 1st floor, and then went to the kitchen to keep the food I'd brought back. And I heard her in the corridor saying something like "Sixuan's in the kitchen", but didn't know who she was talking to.
Then my group came in: Jordan, Josh, Trish, Sam and Simon with a cake in the box and a lit candle, singing Happy Birthday! I was surprised, because I genuinely didn't expect this at all! It was this rich chocolate cake that Josh got from Randwick, and he said that's why his first quiche (for dinner) got slightly burnt - made me feel bad! Apparently they thought I was still on the ground floor, went in singing Happy Birthday, only to realise I wasn't there, thereby confusing the people inside, haha!!
This whole surprising experience made me appreciate how the surprise is real and better when you're really not expecting anything. Of course it's not like I forgot my birthday - had to get the free Chatime milk tea, after all - but I don't like the waiting and expecting/hoping for people to remember my birthday. It just makes you more disappointed if they forget. And I wasn't sure if my group forgot, or if Josh (the other birthday IC with me) was simply too busy to do anything about it - it seemed like a real possibility. And it's just childish to be sad that no one celebrates your birthday with fanfare or anything.
I guess the only real expectation I have is of my family to remember. This is evidenced in how I purposely checked the mail pigeonholes to retrieve my birthday cards! I was happy when I got my parents' one on Wednesday - apparently mum sent it 2 weeks in advance so as not to have a repeat of last year when it was like a week late. But I didn't see my sister's one, and was kind of sad. So I decided to make sure, and ran down last night in the cold to check again, and it was there! The sad thing is that I failed to pick up their calls today, which is something I look forward to.
So even though the early part of the day was pretty uneventful - though not un-enjoyable since my hospital group is a fun bunch - I had a great night. I appreciate the Facebook messages, the texts, the face-to-face wishes, and the cards. I especially love reading what people have to say to me. And I'm thankful for the prayers!
Thank God for a lovely birthday :D
Wednesday, May 25, 2011
I turned 21 today! Labels: college, family, focus, friends, university
For a birthday, today wasn't really a day in which I could celebrate, because Wednesdays are my busiest days. It was marked by especially cold rainy weather with vicious winds that kind of spoilt my umbrella.
Special things:
- I received Jiejie's birthday card to me on Monday
- I went to my cousin's house yesterday, and she cooked chicken rice (yum!) for dinner and baked me a cake with chocolate icing and sugar roses that were speedily devoured by her children
- I got calls from my parents and my sister: literally held 2 phones with both parties on the line at one point! note: this made me a little late for my lecture.
- Audrey got me a slice of cake from 85 Degrees!
- Gilly got me a brownie!
- Renu wrote me a card!
- I got birthday wishes in person, via SMS and Facebook wall posts from more than 100 people! the ones in person are the best :)
I think a birthday is only as special as you make it out to be (Lin, 2011).
People in Australia seem to make a big thing of turning 21, which is bizarre considering they can do most things when they turn 18. For me, it means I can vote, but I wasn't 21 early enough to vote this month anyway. I don't like the idea of being old - 21 really means that you're an adult, apparently.
I'll be sort of celebrating with my Bible Study group on Friday with another guy's birthday, and then with the Singaporeans in my year with another 2 people's birthdays next week. It begs the question of how important the actual day is. And yet whenever I see the date 25th May pop up anywhere, it makes me feel like it is my special day!
Monday, April 25, 2011
I just got back from the church camp over the Easter weekend - it feels like no time passed at all while we were there!
I got to sit on the bus with lots of others this year rather than in a car, which I think they generally allocate to people coming for the 1st time. It was nice sitting on the bus and talking to Shiwei, except that the driver kept going fast and braking suddenly.
The theme was riches and money, and the talks were about our attitudes towards riches, while the Bible studies were on Ecclesiastes and the meaning of life. I feel like I know the book of Ecclesiastes a lot better now, even though we only looked at about 6 chapters of it plus the 2 verses at the end (that provided the twist and conclusion).
There were many electives to choose from: I went for the one on Common Grace, which is the idea of how God gives grace to everyone in many ways, but is different from the grace to give us salvation who believe; and the elective on Materialism. It's depressing to realise that you're actually materialistic when you thought you weren't, because materialism isn't the same as extravagance, but stems from discontent.
The talks were about the blessings from God, how we idolise money and give excuses for it, how we should be spending and saving and sharing, and what it means to live the good life and desire good things.
I feel like I got to speak to quite a few people during this camp, and there were lots of conversations about what we learnt, questions that we had etc. I also got to interview people for the FIC blog.
Free time was well spent playing games like Big Taboo, Jungle Speed and Saboteur, plus a game of Captain's Ball that I just watched but had a lot of fun laughing at. The best part was definitely when Simon fell onto poo while attempting to score.
Camp is now over and I'm looking forward to a week off from uni before getting back to the normal grind again. The things we do under the sun are meaningless unless they are done for God - that has everlasting consequences and meaning.
Saturday, March 12, 2011
I realise this is the first post I've posted since getting back to Sydney. I'm just too lazy to post regularly; maybe I should make it a point to post once a week or something just for fun. Maybe if I'm feeling free I will post on dates that have already passed. Labels: college, focus, friends
Today we had the FOCUS social in which we had breakfast at the Quad, then walked to Coogee Beach, and then did the Coogee-Bondi coastal walk to Bondi Beach. I somehow slept through my morning alarm and didn't arrive at Shiwei's place early enough to help with preparing the breakfast - so paiseh!
We had a late start, and the sun was really hot, but I learned my lesson and applied sunblock! I'm still gradually losing the sunburn I got last Sunday from watching the inter-college volleyball matches in the late morning - early afternoon sun. There was actually only one FOCUS newcomer, for all that it was supposed to be for the new people, haha.
I was an awful participant in that I complained most of the way about the length of the walk, the heat, my tiny headache and sore feet, so I apologise to all the people who put up with my complaining, especially Rachel! But I guess I had a good time with the beautiful scenery and talking to quite a few people along the way. I also happened to walk near the street where my cousin lives near Bronte Beach.
Anyway, I felt pretty accomplished when we reached the end. According to the Internet, the coastal walk is about 6km, which means it's like walking on High Street along UNSW from Anzac Parade to the junction at Botany Street 6 times, or walking around a typical school track for 15 rounds. It doesn't sound like much when you put it like that, but it felt really long.
College is currently pretty quiet with a lot of people gone to Weekend Away, or at MedCamp, or who were at some festival at the Randwick Racecourse tonight. It's simultaneously nice (being peaceful) and strange (not hearing the usual noise).
Wednesday, February 16, 2011
14/2 Labels: choir, church, focus, friends, MGS
So this was the day when Shern, Sarah, Ode and I were free for dinner, and I happily suggested having dinner, forgetting that my brother would be flying off that night and that it was Valentine's Day. Thankfully, Shern said she was free and I managed to make it there in time!
I was at the Aston's and just managed to sit at a newly empty table with 6 seats, when I saw this girl and boy looking for a table not in the smoking section, so I kindly suggested that they sit at this one, since there would be 2 of them + 4 of us = 6. It totally didn't occur to me until five minutes after they accepted that they were on a V'Day dinner date and would find it awkward to sit at a table with strangers!
Then Ode came to join me, and it turned out that she knows the girl from school, what a coincidence. The even funnier part is that it totally didn't occur to her EITHER that her friend was on a V'Day dinner date with that guy!
The 4 of us eventually at at the Tea Party place that I've heard of but never been to before. It was really noisy with all these JC kids talking and laughing. There was a group of boys playing the guitar in one key and singing in a different key, and a smaller group of people playing an out-of-tune guitar but singing Christian songs nicely. Honestly, if you want to have worship practice, do it somewhere where you won't disturb others!
After our dinner and taking a lot of photos, I went back to Shern's house to talk for half an hour or so before going home. It was great being able to meet up as the 4 of us rather than separately, and there was a lot of good conversation!
15/2
DURIAN PARTY! I went to Serangoon again to get the durian from the same shop as last week. I told the uncle that I wanted 7 of the $8 packets. He said he'd give me 8 packets for $50, which was a $14 discount, so I was okay with it. Then while picking the packets, he said he'd give me another one for free, and spent the longest time choosing one between two of the remaining packets, leaving me dubious about the quality of the 9th packet, but that was a great discount anyway.
Rachel came first, followed by Hongyu, Louis, Ian, and then Melody and Daryl who had gotten lost trying to come to our house by the shortcut. We had a lot of fun eating our durian, pretending to contaminate Rachel's durian, and choosing between bitter and sweet seeds!
I'm sorry I won't be able to attend the first SNYFfers meeting of the year, which is on my flight day, nor their paintball event, which sounds like a lot of fun!
16/2
I met with our girls book club for lunch, as we discussed chapters 6 and 7 of our book. Unfortunately because we'll be changing groups this year, this is the last time we're meeting as our girls book club, so I'll just have to read the last chapter by myself.
We spent really long just finding a place to plonk ourselves at to eat and discuss! It's a pity Ade wasn't free to join us, and that Dior had to leave early. But we still had some good discussion about the marriage institution, cohabitation, the gift of singleness and cultural perceptions.
I just came back from the dinner at Thai Express at PS with my choir comm friends. It's exciting because X-min is back from Japan, and I haven't seen Conana, Ek Ping and Eugene yet. Many thanks to YJ for organising!
Eugene had fun taking a million photos with YJ's camera, enough so that he can make .gifs of us already! It was a lot of fun listening to XM's and EP's stories about their university friends. JA, YJ and Conana will soon have lots of stories of their own when they enter university this year!
Monday, December 20, 2010
Well, the most exciting thing happened today, but I'll save that for last. Labels: choir, church, family, friends, korea
My mum and sisters went to New Zealand, so I was the only girl left at home!
NJ Chorale had our carolling performances outside ION Orchard / Wisma Atria on the 10th, 11th and 12th of December. I couldn't go on the Saturday, on which night the altos were overpowered by number imbalance - what a pity. I was a bit disappointed in how the crowd was seemingly more interested whenever it was the choir performing or group acapella, but many walked away when it was a solo singing. Seems like they can't appreciate solo good singing. Maybe because they see solo singers all the time, but not choirs or group acapella.
I went for a sleepover at Sheryl's house with the rest of them after that weekend. I met XW and KX at Plaza Sing for lunch, and of course RO was late as usual, and then we went to the National Museum to see the Pompeii Exhibition. It was pretty cool, but KX and I were rather tired of walking so much so we took a break at the sitting area where I read one of the books, but XW and RO took so much longer than us!
We had our wonderful sukiyaki dinner at Sher's house after Eliz joined us, and it was just really nice being able to catch up with all of them and talk about lots of stuff through the night!
I had to leave the next morning to go to church for worship practice for camp. I'd intended to stay to do props for the musical, but the people in charge weren't there and nothing was being done, so I decided to go back to Sher's house. We played bridge for a while before I returned home, and then we picked up Mummy and sisters from the airport.
I also was free to go for The Briefing book club at Joanne's house, and we had a good long discussion about our article on prayer. I went home with the idea of eating lunch with sisters, but I was late. I feel I haven't seen them so much, and then they had to go off for Juniors camp so soon after.
I had a pretty busy Saturday then, with NJ carolling practice in the morning, followed by Christmas musical worship practice in the early afternoon, followed by the musical choir practice after that, and then the rehearsal for the musical in the evening, and ending with extended worship playing for the Juniors camp. An altogether tiring day!
We had our Christmas musical event in church yesterday, and I think it went much better than the rehearsals did. There were so many people that the choir had to give up our three pews at the back to sit with the kid performers in the seminar room. The little angels were all adorable!
Today I went for lunch with XW at Bugis, with the aim of buying shoes, because in my absence two pairs at home got spoilt and thrown away. We walked through practically the whole Bugis street and I managed to buy a pair, but since there was still time before I had to go for my Knowing God book club at Kovan, we decided to return to Bugis Junction for a drink and aircon.
Now, earlier on after our lunch I paused at a magazine store to look at those with Korean idols on the covers. There were about 3: 2PM, Miss A and Kim Hyunjoong. And XW said she wasn't really interested in any of them (neither am I), as opposed to if the magazine had Super Junior, for example, or Song Joong Ki even.
When we returned from the shoe buying, before we went back in to get a drink from Macs or wherever, I saw a banner at a stage with barriers and people saying "Song Joong Ki" with his picture on it. XW said she actually had known that he would be in Singapore, but thought it was over.
But we went to check it out and it said he was coming for a fansign meet at 4pm, and at that point it was 2:50pm! Imagine my excitement, considering it was totally unplanned and coincidental! Since there weren't that many fans waiting there, we decided to go in the aircon area to get a drink first.
When we went in, we saw lots of girls crowded outside a shop, and even on the balconies of other levels looking at the shop, and realised that it's the shop he endorses. But there were too many people for us to see anything, so we went back out to the fansign area and waited. Gradually more and more people came, and at 3:45 or so, this lady host came out and started talking, and the fans got pretty excited, and after a few minutes SONG JOONG KI APPEARED ON STAGE.
I was really SO EXCITED TO SEE HIM IN REAL LIFE, I TELL YOU. He looks thinner in real life, and his voice is to die for, seriously. The lady talked to him in Korean and translated his answers, about how he was thankful for the support. The best part was when she asked him to wink as was characteristic of his Goo Yong Ha character in the drama Sungkyunkwan Scandal which was his shot to fame.
They also had these little boys and a small 2-year old to present him with some flowers on behalf of the company, and it was so cute when he carried the little boy! 2 lucky representatives of his fanclub presented him with Christmas gifts of Singaporean food and a handmade personalised travel book, and he put his arm around them!
I left when they started the fansign, and ended up being late for my book club. I've learned my lesson - never take a bus when MRT is easily available, even if you have to keep changing lines.
Anyhow, it was really coincidental and cool and amazing to see him in real life!
Thursday, December 2, 2010
It's been exactly 2 weeks since I reached back home to Singapore. One one hand, it's great to be back home, where: my family and friends are, Chinese people are the majority, public transport is better, food is more diverse and cheaper, etc. Labels: choir, church, family, focus, friends
On the other hand, the weather isn't particularly great. The moment I stepped out of Changi Airport the humidity hit me like a block of water. It's been raining quite heavily the past few days, which barely lowers the temperature but increases the humidity by a lot!
I've been going to church a lot to help out with the musical preparations. I've helped to cut cloth, sew sleeves and pant-legs, and thread elastic for the costumes, cut cardboard, crush newspaper, paint eggshell trays and glue paper for props, pretended to be an Israelite singer, and subbed Yue as 3rd keyboard when she was at school.
Speaking of her, of the 14 days I was back in Singapore, I've actually only seen her for about 5 days. She got me a lovely present (which I haven't opened yet, lol) from her Taiwan trip.
We celebrated our parents birthdays together by having a great buffet lunch! But I've come to feel that buffets are bad for you. You upset your stomach cycle by starving yourself before the buffet just so you can eat enough to make the price worth it, and then feel sick after.
Yan had a brilliant idea when buying the birthday cake, and we got a small general cake, plus a slice for each of our parents catered to their individual preferences. We also surprised the Prima Deli salesperson by asking for a lot of candles. She thought we didn't realise that one large candle = 10 years!
Brother and I have joined the CS adult choir which will be performing a few carols at the Christmas musical put up by our church on 19th December, being its youngest members! I felt really surprised by how much fun these "old-er" adults have :)
Most of my friends were still having exams when I came back - in fact, some of them still ARE. Thus far I've only gone out with Sheena & Yong Jian & Jing An to watch the movie Red, with Michelle Ng & Foo, Yingxuan, Nicolette and Cheryl for our Sunday School dinner at AMK Hub, and I met Clar the other day in town.
Mummy and sisters left for New Zealand last night, and I feel rather sorry for them, because I think Yan had food poisoning and Yue gets motion sickness. If you guys are reading this, guess what: Stephanie and Adeline had food poisoning too! I suspect the prawn mee shop near church! Though the only explanation then would be that I have a stronger gastrointestinal tract than all four of them, since I ate the same thing.
I just came back from the alumni chorale carolling practice (one of three pracs before our gigs) and it was really nice singing with everyone again! Many are surprised that I don't have an accent, but I'm not talented at imitating accents, so too bad.
I regret not being able to go for my first bookclub meeting - hope it went well with the rest! But it looks like our girls bookclub will be meeting tomorrow - looking forward to seeing them!
Thursday, November 18, 2010
I can't believe I'll be flying home to Singapore today! It feels like I've been in Sydney for forever already. Labels: college, focus, friends, university
The last few weeks had been mostly about studying for the AEB theory exam, and after that, for the progressive prac exam. I think I'd gotten so used to only having 1 exam every 8 weeks that having to study for another exam after the first one felt very strange and tiresome.
But I must say that because this time round I studied with friends like Rachel and Suyi (law library gang!) it was a lot more interesting and helped me remember things better.
We all went to eat ba chor mee at ASEANA after the exam on 9/9/10, and I've decided that when I go back to Singapore I need to eat it again - as some others have agreed, it's pretty sad that my first experience eating ba chor me is in a foreign country.
The prac exam wasn't exactly as horrific as I thought it would be. I think it's a matter of how well you know your pracs and histology slides, and the main factor is that you're given very little time to write stuff down.
I followed some of the others after the prac exam on 15/9/10 to this Thai place, and got this green curry that was nice but spicy! Thanks to Mann Ying's recommendation! Then went to Coles with Renu and Wenyan for some random last minute shopping for things to bring back - didn't end up with much, really.
In our One Wei Bible study group, Christie organised this mass card-signing thing where we each write a short note to each person in our group on these pretty cards that she made. And I love doing this kind of thing - it's a priceless memento. But I realise some people like Kwong haven't written on my card yet, so I'll go chase them in Singapore.
The last few days have been spent packing up my room in college for good - since I won't be getting the same room next year, so it's a different feeling from when I had to pack it end of last session. And I've rediscovered how much I dislike packing. I wish Jiejie was here to do it for me. (Plus I had Wella and Christabel to help me last time!)
But many thanks to Dan Foong for the use of his weighing scale, Gizmo for the use of his printer, and Rachel for the use of her room, haha! Without these people I would have been in big trouble by now.
I've made so many new friends over this year in college, classes and church that I'm kind of afraid that I'll go home having forgotten a lot of friends in Singapore. I'm not sure what the brain's capacity for remembering people (faces+names) is. If I appear to have 848 friends on Facebook, how many will I actually be able to recognise, put a name to, and tag on my memories of that person's character to?
Anyway, I've got to go do some really last minute tidying up. Looking forward to going home!
Wednesday, September 8, 2010
So it's supposedly spring, but it's still kind of cold, and the weather just changes from day to day. Labels: friends, university
Today's Brother-in-law's birthday! I Skyped with them earlier on in the afternoon, to see the baby and say hi to Jiejie and wish BiL happy birthday. He received my card even though I thought I mailed it late, according to the post office lady.
I'm so glad my exam is over today! There is a sense of freedom in the air!
I guess the only other interesting thing is that Prashanth came to Sydney, so we had tea together in the Chinatown part of the city. It was really great being able to talk about all the choir stuff I've been missing out on, especially the concert.
And just now, we celebrated Bryan and Yi Chen's combined birthdays, which are actually tomorrow. We had dinner at Aseana, which I enjoyed, even though it was kind of funny because it was like one long table, and I could only talk to the people around my end.
Now I just need to find out what I'm going to be doing in my break until next Sunday. I love how I don't have anything to do at the moment!
Monday, August 30, 2010
So, it's been quite a nice month, to my recollection. For one, we celebrated several birthdays. Labels: college, focus, friends, university
There was Simon's birthday for our Bible Study group, as well as going out for karaoke with most of the 1st year med people. There was also cheesecake, which is always good. Even though it was practically chosen by him, despite it being a 'surprise' cake.
Then the week after was Rachel's birthday, and while our surprise didn't really surprise her, it was quite a fun attempt at sneaking around and organising things. It was more complicated because we were planning to surprise Andrew as well, and he was definitely surprised! The kidnapping thing was kind of fail, but it all worked out ok in the end :)
We celebrated Justin's birthday in an elaborate set up with 2 surprise groups, one at the movie and the other in the quad. I was in the quad group, and my only regret is that they didn't walk a bit faster, so that by the time they reached back, all the sparklers burned out!
And in NC, we celebrated Ice and Wallet's birthdays one after the other, with cake, chocolate, balloons, poppers, music and pass the parcel!
Both my individual assignment and group assignment have been submitted, so I only have the exam left, which happens to fall on a certain Brother-in-Law's birthday. Coincidence!
NC put on their annual Revue, for which I was in Tech, which was a new experience for me! I might have stuffed it up on the first night, but I hope not many people noticed! Revue was really funny, especially all the fillers!
We recently had our 2nd Dialogue Night together with The Min(g) Dynasty, and I'm thankful for all the invited friends who came to listen to the Word, and watched the Christ Files video, which was excellent.
I've had too much cheesecake recently as well. Once at formal dinner last Wednesday, then at Dialoge Night on Friday, then today at SG, courtesy of Renu's great baking skills. And then all the cake at all those birthdays!
And most exciting of all, there was a fire yesterday! Flick and I were returning from Randwick Coles at around 12:15? We first noticed a police car stop at the junction of Botany St and High St, and the policeman got out, and we were wondering what was happening.
Then as we were reaching Uniwalk, we saw the smoke in the distance, and decided to check it out. We didn't know which building was actually burning, though I think later someone said it belongs to UNSW. There were many fire engines, ambulance cars, a couple of helicopters, and film cameras.
Seeing the flames was really exciting, and I have great respect for the firefighters. They even got out this pipe from the ground at the road and connected a hose to it. They also stopped all the traffic between the Barker St traffic light and the High St one, I think.
At first there were only about 4 of us from NC watching the fire, but then more and more people came out to watch. Lots of them were taking photos, and some too advantage of the emptied road to skateboard. I think a few of them brought out their lunch on a table and sat eating while watching the fire.
Disrespectful, or funny? Not too sure myself.
Saturday, July 3, 2010
I probably should be sleeping now, but my body clock seems to be adjusted to Sydney time still, which is 2 hours behind Auckland. Labels: family, friends, new zealand
I had my first flight by myself from Sydney to Auckland on Sunday, and I'm thankful that I was kept safe throughout. Plus I had an impressive welcoming party at the airport of 6 people!
I've spent the last week or so staying at my sister's house, staring at my nephew, eating, watching The Big Bang Theory, using the Internet and reading books. In particular, I've read about 14 books since Monday, I think.
Today Mummy, Brother and I went to my uncle's house, where my mum and uncle made pumpkin cake, and I finished the jigsaw puzzle (with 2 pieces left over, imagine!) and read my sister's newly bought Poirot murder mystery. And my aunt and uncle made chicken rice for dinner, where we were joined by my sister, brother-in-law and baby!
My younger sister was on the phone in the evening, and she told me that my ex-classmate from MGS, who was also in GB, recently passed away due to leukaemia, after being critically ill. It was shocking to hear this, especially because at the age of 20, you don't expect ANY of your friends to be dying from illnesses.
While I wasn't a close friend by any means (the only memories I have of her is that she was impossibly skilled at Five Stones, which was a post-exam activity in primary school), I just felt really relieved that she was Christian, I'm pretty sure, which means she's in heaven. My condolences are with her family.
Thursday, June 24, 2010
Today we had our end of course BGDA exam - and I was just really thankful that it's over! We found the shorter way to walk to the racecourse, and I feel like a dummy for walking the long way round the last time, haha. I just feel sorry for the 2nd years who have to study for tomorrow's prac exam. Labels: friends, university
I don't remember studying so hard before. But it's kind of annoying that all the microbiology, anatomy and embryology didn't come out! After I went through all that effort too!
Christabel and Kailun are leaving UNSW, so we had dinner together with most of the 1st year med people, at Old Tote at the Village. We couldn't really find a big enough place for all of us, so we all brought our own food there to eat. I had a really fun time just talking to all of them, and I feel that I've gotten to know some of them better.
I'm really sad that the two of them will be leaving, but I'm sure that they'll do well in their respective universities. And after all, if we're all studying the same thing, chances are we'll get to meet again!
Tuesday, May 25, 2010
So today's my 20th birthday. My age now begins with a 2 instead of a 1, signalling that I'm no longer as young as I'd like to be. I got pretty depressed on my 19th birthday, because you're still a teenager up to 18, I think? I guess I just have to accept it...and then dread turning 21! Labels: college, family, friends, university
So, I had a pretty great day today. I received a birthday sms from Jiejie at about 8am, and then Mummy called about 10 minutes later to wish me as well! Not to belittle all the other wishes, but these were the ones that mattered the most to me.
Subsequently, I got a lot of wishes from my fellow med students, college people etc. It did kind of make me feel a bit special!
Another good thing is that I only had 3 hours of class today! If my birthday had been yesterday - 7 hours of class - it would have been kind of sad. As it is, I went to have a Chinese lunch with Christabel and Audrey, which was fun. And they bought me a slice of cheesecake - so sweet of them!
Afterwards I went to Sze Hui's house to kind of celebrate, and even though she didn't have time to make a cake (not that I expected her to!), she managed to whip out 12 tiny cupcakes and put them together with a candle! And I've been invited to her daughter's birthday party too!
Then I returned to find my room decorated prettily by 2AB group members, after which they had a cake that Stanley baked, and two birthday cards!
I'm currently trying to respond to the mass of Facebook birthday wishes that people have posted on my wall. I suppose it won't be finished by tonight, though.
Even though I'd have loved to spend my birthday with my family, I guess living here and having so many new friends just multiplied all the well-wishes that I received, and it really made me happy!
I'm really thankful to God for the past 20 years of my life, in which He has given me so many things that I don't deserve, and always protected me and loved me. I hope that I can become more mature and wise as I continue to grow wholly as a Christian.
Wednesday, April 7, 2010
I've recently got back from the FOCUS church camp, but I haven't gotten down to writing an account yet - I'll do it some other time.
So this afternoon I met up with Shernise to have lunch in the city of Sydney.
I actually woke up pretty late this morning, and I kind of freaked out when my watch said it was already 10am, but then when I was replying her sms I noticed my phone saying it was 9 plus, and then I realised it was because I forgot to set my watch back one hour for daylight savings!
Anyway, we'd previously meant to meet at Circular Quay, but then it was raining and not conducive for the amount of walking we'd planned, so she suggested the Queen Victoria Building.
So at breakfast (where I was the only one!) I was thinking about how to get there, after having consulted the Sydney travel website. Thankfully a senior came and sat at the same table, so I could ask him which bus to take. Apparently there's a big statue of the Queen in front of that building - so it's pretty hard to miss!
I met Kailun at the bus stop, and he was going on the same bus too, but not that he knew exactly which bus stop for me to get off at either, so we were both kind of trying to figure it out. Thankfully the bus stop was really near the building!
Also, the interesting thing is that because it was a cross junction, and I was diagonally opposite the building, I would have had to cross two roads to get there. But then suddenly all the traffic stopped and people could not only cross the road normally in two perpendicular directions, but also cut across the empty square of road in between diagonally! This doesn't happen in Singapore!
So I met with her and we ate rice and stuff at this food court place, which was pretty good. I miss Chinese food. It was great talking to her after so long, and it's pretty cool how we've both come to Sydney after being friends for so long!
Friday, January 15, 2010
Yesterday my brother and I went to the much-advertised Body Worlds exhibition at the Science Centre, and it was pretty interesting and informative.
They showcased specimens that came from real people or animals, sometimes showing the muscles or the skeleton or particular organs. It took a long time to get through the whole thing because there was lots of information to read, in the glass cases or on the walls.
I liked the quotes they had on certain large posters on the walls, generally talking about life or age or the mind. They also had these blood pressure machines, but both my brother and I tried and the machine didn't put the final reading, but it worked for the lady after us!
I was really tired after it because there's no place to sit down at all! And after we left I bought a notebook which says I <3 My Body, only that the heart picture is like a real heart and not a valentine. So cute!
Today I went to NUS Co-op to get my textbooks, with Justin's help and member card for a discount! Then we saw Gloria, Melody, called Liu Xuan and Kai Xin to meet them (I thought KX might be going home too but she still had class) and Jessica as well! It must be so fun to go to uni and bump into your friends like that!
Brother and I made spaghetti for dinner, with our maid's help of course, we'd probably fail otherwise. It was quite nice!
Sunday, January 10, 2010
We had our first class gathering ever since we weren't an official class any more yesterday night, 9th Jan 2010, organised by Ben!
It was sad that many couldn't come or weren't even in the country, but at least those of us who came had a good time!
After tuition I went to near Xiaowen's house, to eat lunch. She also bought this takoyaki, but sadly her piece had no tako! So ridiculous! She'd made the jelly already, and we found that it could be jam-packed together so as to stack three layers of helly into my one tupperware box!
And we also watched stuff as she connected her laptop to the tv, making everything BIGGER :D Then we left her house at about 5pm or so to go to AMK Hub to the NTUC to get the utensils, plates, drinks and some fruit syrup because the jelly was slightly tasteless.
We met Rachel there, who helped to carry, and we chionged across the road the moment the green man lit up, because the 74 had already reached the bus stop! Finding the condo was easy enough, though finding the function room required more walking.
AND... we were the first ones there! I was surprised, because I expected Ben to be there already, but he was still at home making the food, with some other guys I guess.
So we just sat there waiting and talking until Kai Xin and Kai Qi came, followed by Xin Yuan, then Ben called Xiaowen to tell us to help take the things from HIS parents CAR. I'm so jealous! He got to drive!
Right, so his car had all the beehoon and ice and other stuff, and Gerard and Jiayi were with him. It took us so long to find the mysterious staircase leading to the car park! Many thanks to the friendly resident who showed us!
After we'd laid the tables and started pouring drinks, I think the people who came after us were Daniel, Wu Si, Rongrong, Daixi, Terence, Jessica, Justin and Jeremy. It was fun being able to talk to everyone after so long!
After a lot of phototaking, I was tempted to go home with Jess since her father was here to pick her up, but decided not to in the end. Then we began playing games prepared by Ben! I applaud his efforts!
So the first task was to write down the names of everyone in the class next to their register number, and their secondary school. I confess I don't know the names of the scholars' schools! Just put Vietnam and PRC! But anyway I finished first, followed by the joint Daniel & Xin Yuan, then Xiaowen. But everyone was copying from each other anyway!
The next thing was a 40 question quiz on events in our IP life, some easy, some ridiculously tough!
E.g. what did we do for Funtasia 2? Everyone remembers the Haunted House :)
E.g. who was our IH2103 teacher? I didn't even know what SUBJECT that was!
E.g. what was Jiayi's rank before entering university? GUY-BIASED QUESTION.
After which the girls received an education on army stuff :D stars, crabs, bars, chevrons, OCS, Specs, and Man!
It was really fun, and we all helped to clean up afterwards, and split up between those going to the bus stop towards the west and those going to the east in Ben's car. Kai Qi was taking a cab anyway, so I went with her, but didn't have enough change to pay for my trip! And she was so nice, saying it wasn't necessary!
I've been blessed to have all these friends from school, all really nice people, and to be able to meet up with them after a year shows how we've grown, and had new experiences, and that we're still good friends!
Monday, December 21, 2009
What a lovely day today was! I got to go out with the Choir Comm 07-08 as well as my own IP friends!
First the choir people were supposed to meet at 11:30 at Dhoby Ghaut, and I'm ashamed to say that I was late while LC, Gnia and WY were on time, and XM, JA and YJ were waiting at the wrong entrance I think!
We actually walked to the Cathay and debated over Nihon Mura and Aston's before deciding to go back to Cine to eat the Suki Sushi buffet because we were hungry and didn't want to wait until 2:30 for the other one.
Unfortunately they only had one table seating 6 available, so XM, LC, Gnia and I went to eat first, feeling guilty that the other 4 were still standing there for so long waiting for a table!
Eating with the other 3 was super fun, I felt like I was going high from all the laughter, stemming from LC and XM insulting each other, scheming of ways to hide leftover rice so as not to be charged with wastage, and Gnia's and XM's antics over the sushi train!
XM: Wait, let's keep the plates to keep count of how much we've eaten. (to make sure it's worth the money)
LC: Why not keep the (plastic) covers instead, it's easier.
Waiter comes to remove plates.
Waiter: Shall I remove the covers?
XM: Oh, no, we want to keep track of what we're eating.
XM: Oh, what's that?
Gnia: Mango pudding.
XM takes the mango pudding and takes one bite.
XM: I don't want any more. Where's my chawanmushi?
*facepalm* MAJOR FAIL, XM.
LC: What's that?
Gnia: (takes the plate) I think it's duck.
SX: DUCK SUSHI?
LC: It looks like...something that begins with a C and ends with an R.
*stare at LC*
LC: And has a D in the middle.
SX: OH, I know......wait, maybe I don't know, what is it?
LC: Something like a corpse (i.e. "cadaver").
YUCK, LC!
XM: Eee, the carrot is uncooked!
LC: No it's not!
XM: Yes it is!
LC: No, you just got to let it boil a bit more! Why are you so stubborn?
Later...
SX: (pokes carrot) It's STILL hard!
XM to LC: YOU SEE? It's uncooked! Why are YOU so stubborn?
Then there was a part where Gnia and I were laughing like mad, but I can't remember what about. Yun Tian joined us about halfway through and didn't eat anything, but had to leave early.
Wanyun's table finished first, and they were urging us to finish, I thought they wanted to go to school to see the choir's caroling practice with the conductor, but in the end we didn't.
Anyway, they gave me this farewell gift (even though I only made it seem to be my last outing to guilt trip them to come) which was a personalised 2010 calendar with all their pictures on it (because there's 12 of them excluding me, BRILLIANT) and I think YJ put in a lot of effort making it, so I'm SO THANKFUL FOR IT!! *cries happy tears*
After walking with WY, Sheena, YJ and XM to Dhoby Ghaut again, I took the train up to AMK to meet XW!
We stoned at the Macs while waiting for the others and I was telling her about the Mu Lan movie I already saw. Then Sheryl came in with all her presents and stuff (thanks!), followed shortly by KX and Eliz, and then we went back to AMK Hub to decide on Pepper Lunch for dinner. Maybe we should call it Pepper Dinner.
RO met us after they'd all ordered except me, because I was a bit full and didn't really feel like eating PL. RO gave us our Christmas cards, and Sheryl gave us our presents, including a large toy hedgehog for RO the birthday girl!
I wanted to go to BBQ Express because I remembered liking the chicken wings, but unfortunately they were sold out! So Sheryl and I got takoyaki, and we wandered around in NTUC for a while, spending the most time debating on which sushi pack to buy!
There was much phototaking with Sheryl's pro camera and angles of trying to get XW to look pregnant in her billowing dress! I'm glad we got to take photos together, it's been ages!
Today was tiring, but utterly fun. I love meeting my friends, and the time we've not been together just makes the meeting more special. Maybe I was wrong about "out of sight, out of mind", as I quoted to YJ earlier today.
Thursday, December 3, 2009
Today I met up with Melody Cheong (back from Brisbane for a visit) and Shernise, and we had a nice long lunch at Ion Orchard!
We ate at the Xin Wang Hong Kong cafe, and I find it funny that Melody is dying to eat all the Asian/Chinese food after being in Australia for so long, while I who eat Chinese food EVERY DAY opted for cheese baked rice!
Shern and I are wondering if we'll acquire accents like hers! But it was fun to catch up, and it's a bit sad we won't be in the same region. It's also great to have someone to give advice after being there for so long.
On a side note, I think Shern is right about my not really being suited to ACJC. I guess it's a good thing I went to NJC instead!
Friday, October 16, 2009
Otherwise read as ni hon bu kan no yoru, or something like that!
This evening, I went to watch Clarissa at her dance performance, organised by the NUS Japanese club that she and Xiaowen are in, inclusive of dance, tea ceremony, koto, and a guest drum troupe from SP.
I just missed the 151 when I reached the bus stop, but any way the trip was only about 15 minutes (so quick!) that I reached my destination earlier than I needed to! Then Yi Hoong and Samantha met me there and led me to the LT where the performance was.
Xiaowen came in at the 3rd item, and we all took pictures during the intermission!
It was pretty interesting, and I especially liked the last dance. It was so energetic, and had lots of performers on stage, plus people off stage chanting, SORAN, SORAN!
After that XW and I went to the BK to have a sort of dinner thing, and I realise how much I miss having my friends around to just talk about everything.
Just sitting at the bus stop earlier and seeing this whole bustling activity, made the campus really seem alive. I hope my university experience will be fun as well! I'm kind of scared, because I haven't been studying for the past year, I hope I'll be able to adjust to schooling again!
Tuesday, September 15, 2009
Today I went to Changi Airport Terminal 3 Row 2 to send Yihui and Yiwen off to England (going with Aunty Sabrina). Daryl, Michelle and Rachel were also there!
Yiwen's going for a year to do intense studying for her Masters. I didn't know that a Masters degree could be finished in only one year!
Yihui's going to study law at Leeds, I think, but this means she'll be separated by a 5-hour coach ride distance from Yiwen, poor thing. I don't think she's living exactly on the campus? I vaguely remember her saying something about cycling 4 miles to school.
I'm really going to miss them, but because Australia timetables are such that the long holidays are at the end of the year, while the UK one is in the middle of the year, it means while I'll see Yiwen at the end of 2010, I won't see Yihui until she gets back to Singapore!
Oh, but to go to England, how cool! The land of sarcasm, royalty, musicals and the Queen's English! I love British English!!!!
I hope they'll have a safe journey; they're still on the plane now I think, silly Yihui asked for my letter to last her the whole 14 hours. I said to her at the farewell on Friday, to watch the free movies! That's the best part of flying! That and the playing cards you get to ask for.
Yihui's been my church friend for as long as I can remember, and it's going to be ultra weird not seeing her on Sundays any more. What's happening to our Sunday School class!?!?!
God bless the both of you! :D
Thanks to all the blogs i referred to (countless) for html code help :) (esp. cyn' and sixseven)
Adobe Photoshop Elements for supernatural abilities
