back to school days arent that bad actually
in fact, i think this semester would be better than the previous one because i wont have many assignments to chiong! YAY thank God!
although its cold n windy n rainy i thank God for umbrellas n cars
n kind souls who drive the cars.
but i definitely prefer holidaying in singapore right now HEHEHE
ah wells =) its fine here
i think i've lost my social skills.. i've forgotten how to talk to people n what to talk about. more awkward silences =S
anyway, new sem new resolutions! im blogging max once per week! n im gna sleep! GOODNIGHT!

im starting to wish the days pass more slowly

how annoying it is to have to leave when i've started adapting and feeling all comfy and at home. how annoying it is to think about going to school in the freezing cold instead of relaxing in the nice and warm. how annoying it is to always feel so negative about everything =(



im happy that i came back. im happy and grateful for those people who generously made time for me. im glad to catch up with those i havent seen for ages. im happy hanging out in church and taking part in the choir practices. im happy going out to eat n walk n talk n watch movies n bishi bashi n kboxing n sleeping in the car. im happy at home baking n tv-ing n eating n cooking n piano-ing n sleeping. thank God for company =) n thank yous for being great company! it just makes it harder to leave now!
i enjoyed wandering round tp to deliver liming's birthday dinner

i enjoyed aspiring to be a taitai (it was in fact good consolation after a bad experience at the hairdresser's =p)

i enjoyed eating somemore with family

but then again, i guess it's not that healthy to bum around for too long. it's almost time i got my brain ticking and brain juice flowing again. Perth isn't bad. there's things to look forward to as well. there's company as well. the weather's not all THAT bad. but... mmhmm i want to linger here, mmhmm a little longer here......





this morning i woke up with funny eyes, because i've been crying and weeping as if my husband died, because i was watching whywhylove and OH MY GOSH it was so sad. and OH MY GOSH i actually finished watching it and OH MY GOSH MIKE HE woohoo!


hooray baking day =D

its not my fault.. it runs in the family...=D

in face of persecution, what would you do?

i've been struggling to be a reflector of Christ amidst non-Christian friends. i am easily troubled by how they will think of me and how they will react to what i say or what i do. i find it difficult to open my mouth to share the gospel with others, lest they start thinking that Christianity is a religion where its people enjoy brainwashing people.

from a Christian's point of view, it IS good news. it's about God sending Jesus to live like us humans.. but leading a totally blameless life, and dying on the cross bearing the burden of all our sins, but rising 3 days later. its the promise of eternal life, because death (the wages of our sins) has been overcome as Christ rose. and this eternal life is made available for all who believe, not because of what we have done, not because we have been outstandingly amazing people, but simply because God loves His people, even when they sin, even when they hurt each other, even when they are not as amazing as they make themselves out to be. that's what Christians believe and we want to share it with others so that they too would receive the gift of eternal life.
however, somewhere along the lines, misunderstandings might have appeared. Christians start to appear to be pushy, or always think that they're right (which i myself am guilty of). and people get offended and start disliking/avoiding Christians. but what im trying to get at is.. they really seriously meant well. they are sharing the gospel with you because they love you and want you to have that privilege as well and not because they want to brainwash you. having grown up in a Christian environment, i might not be able to relate to how it feels having someone evangelise to me.. but being introduced to a totally new and foreign thing may seem rather daunting and overwhelming.. some may not even see the point of all these religious things.. so what if somebody died for my sins 2000+ years ago? all i can say is, for me, i feel it is really an act of great sacrifice. the wages of our sin is death. but because God loves us, He sent His innocent son, Jesus to take our place. on the day He rose from the dead, sin and death was overcome. all these pain and suffering afflicted on Him, He did nothing to deserve, but He still endured out of love.

many people have died or suffered because of this faith. stoned, shot, jailed, mocked at, ostracised... i really admire their courage and perseverance. those who rejoice and bless those who persecute them i admire even more. in face of persecution, i want to rejoice that i bear the name of the Lord. in face of persecution, i want to still love and bless the people persecuting me. in face of persecution, i want to stand strong and firm in Christ, like a tree with its roots deep in the ground. in face of persecution, i want to be fully reliant on God, because "[His] grace is sufficient for [me], for [His] power is made perfect in weakness." For when i am weak, then i am strong.

i am really really grateful for the people God has placed in my life.. =D
i dont know what pictures to put..

i've been trying to step out of my comfort zone in different areas of life.
i tried and did somersaults on the trampolin (smth i would not hav done if i let the kiasi side of me take over). im not a risk taker, i like to be safe and alive and unharmed. i am scared of falling down or hurting myself.
i volunteered to take up the percussionist position in subi church. i get scared playing in front of people cuz im so lousy and its embarassing. but i think God didnt give me the chance to learn percussion and piano and ballet etc etc for me to play to myself.. and my teacher, but to serve Him in whatever ways i can. yes, i may not be good, but i learnt it so i have the basic skills. and its times like these when i am weak, that i can rely on Him and be strong in the Lord. so please pray for me, that i can serve God wholeheartedly in whatever i do, and stop being worried that i make a fool of myself. =D

HONEY, I'M HOME!!!

ah.. i just love the feeling of being home!

...despite almost suffocating when i stepped out of the plane into the humid weather.

But God has been graciously providing rain to cool my side of the world, so i don't melt and die. It's also a good thing that it's humid here cus perth has been dehydrating me so much that it made my skin peel n bla n it hurt. so here, i can re-hydrate myself while feasting!

night 1:

hokkien mee

orh luat

kulat (??!) some mushroom thing which is yummy =)

day 2:

seafood porridge

chee cheong fun

chicken rice

fish

another kind of fish

night 2:

mango milk pudding (i think?!)

chai tow kuay black

stingray

satay longan drink

day 3:

ya kun kaya toast

hehehe i know i know i've been doing a great job with meal planning. im a natural =p anyway, day 2 morning my dear friend qinyilim came to sengkang to visit! so sweet! but the funny thing was.. i was not home! hahaha but i got home eventually n we spent the day lazing around n walked to chomp chomp to eat with dorcas n zhengting=D

i've been itching ever since camp ended. i think i got bitten by bedbugs. I CANT STAND IT! SO ITCHY!!! gahh... if i did bring any home by accident, i hope the bugs starve n die so that when i return, i'll be saved from all the itching.

this holiday's gonna be real short! 18 days n 2.5 have gone! i need to make the most out of it! i find it very difficult to wake up!

all those claims that exercising makes you happy are fake! seriously.. while joggin last night, my blood pressure was rising steadily with xxx's constant nagging. but still.. i think i was annoyed because what he said was true and i think im too proud to admit my mistakes and weaknesses in front of my own family especially. i like to be right and i always think im right which is so not right =(

what happened to your 'never say die' spirit? slowly killed by failures and setbacks? where's your zest and daringness? hidden by fear and doubt? is that all to life? being too afraid of failing, always giving up? where does that bring you?

cya in 18 days perth home home!

geri's surprise 18th. we were teaching the ladies about modesty hahah.

sara's farewell/girly sleepover

1. winter camp was super duper!
2. i passed my driving test!
3. im sick!
4. im singaporing soon!
5. its so lonely at home =(
6. there's not many people left in perth
7. its freezing!
8. i miss camp!
9. i want trampolin!
10. i did somersault on the trampolin!
11. i put on weight i know so when u see me u dont have to tell me!

i think God's purpose for me to study overseas is to stop me from becoming too comfortable and attached to the world, and know that heaven is home.

exams are long gone.
MERDEKA!
school's out this winter.
MERDEKA!
holidays are here.
MERDEKA!

we did a bit of ciao-italia-ing to celebrate haniksha's early 21st.. before exams, we had a chicken themed bs dinner (i duno if ive mentioned it before but hey it was really YUMYUMYUMMY)

SARALEE'S RABBIT!!!!!!! SO CUTEEEE!!!!!!!!
steph, liz n i did some baking and cooking for the stressed up ocf-ers having exams

i just finished watching HANA KIMI and.. NAKATSU!!!!!!!! nakatsu nakatsu nakatsu!! so cute!
awwwwwwwwww
we also celebrated ivan's birthday

i have more photos but they're not rotated yet.

METEOR GARDEN! IM COMING FOR YOU!

pei ni qu kan liu xing yu!!! hahaha

happy holidays!

bring me back to the good ol' cedar days..

the blue and grey, the naps we take whenever we can,

the choir singing and harmonising

camps, dances, cheers..





we heard a canadian (i think) choir sing this song at the Pacific Basin Music Festival '05 in Hawaii. really really pretty song! but we didnt know the lyrics so we had to make them up...



I see a cheekopeh go "WHEEET!" when he sees my pretty face

"what's up babe? what's up babe?

wee-ooo-weet

what's up babe? what's up babe?"

BUDDY BUDDY STICKERBOOOK! i rmbr u had problems keeping ur luggage closed when we had to pack to go back home! HAHA too much shopping seriously!

we were trying to take a photo of the cute guy in green HEHEHE

ah the good times the good times, i wanna go back and relive those moments!

i was just revising for my foundations of OT exam on monday when my phone buzzed.

a message from my mum, who's in Japan with my dad n sis:

" Mummy daddy n jodie love jeannie (a cute animation thing here) (another cute animation thing here)"

i knew straight away that they are at the airport, returning to Singapore.

my parents, and sometimes my sister, never fail to send a simple text message of love whenever they are leaving singapore or returning from another country, especially mummy nowadays since she's travelling to india and london for work so often.

i suddenly remembered how blessed i am.

how blessed i am to have such a loving family!

i can imagine qinyi imitating them on the phone when we were on our short term mission trip in thailand in primary five "daddy love u ah! mummy love you ah! jodie also love you ah!"

not much has changed, has it? =)

and i can also remember kristi laughing at how she thinks my honeymoon in the future would end up a family holiday. HAHAHA well i really dont know.. its probably a 50/50 chance that it would happen hehehe.

i remember being annoyed for the many reasons they give me for not wanting me to sleepover at my friends' houses since young, not very approving of me going to jakarta for the end of year mission trip with YWAM, not allowing me to go to the beach.

coming to Perth to study, which for many would have been a big change where they are on their own and have to be independent, wasnt quite that bad for me, considering i had my dad with me in Perth for practically the whole of year 2006 while i was settling in and getting used to everything. instead, he was the one who was facing more difficulties i would imagine. he stayed in hotels for quite a while, waiting for suitable houses to come by, having to search for internet cafes to do stuff, stayed at a friend's place, eventually found an apartment to rent, got furnitures, set up the phone stuff, internet stuff.. all alone in Perth while i was at the boarding house, well fed, sheltered, well taken care of in the company of other boarders. i was even more fortunate than the boarders cus i could come out of the b/h every weekend with my dad, eat at nice stuff at nice places, use the internet, watch tv, go shopping, visit vicky for sleepovers and fishing, attend ballet lessons, go for OCF etc.

even now when all of them are in singapore, they will still take the time out to ring me frequently to see how i'm going, if i miss any food from singapore, if uni is difficult, if geri is doing more cooking than me, if i am feeling okay or stressed or tired..

i really need to appreciate my family more.

the special and unique family, where the dad sees and announces the presence of a cockroach, where the mum's the one to kill the cockroach while the daughters scream and hop and hide anywhere they feel is safe from cockroaches. the family that stays up together to watch stupid shows like X-family (a favourite of the younger daughter), or long and neverending korean serials. the one that looks forward to midnight movies like CJ7 or ah long and cannot stop laughing about it during the whole car ride.. well until all the females fall asleep, leaving the driver lonely and bored. the unique family where the annoying driver picks strands of the our hair to tickle our noses while we're asleep. where the annoying driver becomes the screaming nervous wreck when his daughter takes the wheel. the one where the mum gets her daughter to take before and after photos of her face when trying out new facial products, or floods the house with korean serials. the family that snores like theres no tomorrow. the family where the daughters would anytime choose to eat beard papa cream puff with their last few dollars even if it meant they had no money to return home. the family that gets all hyped up about taking neoprints together x)

there's so much more about my family i could talk about, but i'm gonna stop here.

i've taken my family for granted so many times, preferring to spend my time with things i think are more fun and 'hip and happening', giving more thoughts and concerns to my own life while day still love me unconditionally, supporting me as much as they have since the moment i was born. i can be confident in saying that when all things fail me, they will still be there to catch me, welcoming me with warm hugs and showering me with love.

thank you Lord for this wonderful gift you have blessed me with <3

we made a trip all the way up to stirling today for brunch with nicolepotato and tedjemulja-aiyaya at IKEA. =)

after a hearty meal consisting of chips, gravy and 7.5 meatballs each, we trekked towards Greater Union cinema to watch PRINCE CASPIAN!

although i've been feeling so guilty about it all week with exams looming.. REALLY LOOMING.. like in 1.5 days.. i don't regret making that decision to watch it =D

i shant go into details of what actually happened in the movie but i thought it reminded me so much about our relationship with God.

it reminded me of how difficult but important it is to have a child-like faith, like Lucy's; as we get older, after having experienced many setbacks, becoming more and more selfish as we get caught up with all the troubles of the world, refusing to pin too much hope on something we can't see, losing faith and failing to see the main thing that really matters.

it reminded me of how many a times, things will come between us and God, pulling us away in the wrong direction and how many times we succumb to the temptation to depend on things that don't last instead of keeping our eyes on God, just like the wall of ice from that icy witch (i dont remember her name) which formed before prince caspian and peter, calling out and hypnotising them, trying to convince them to 'resurrect' her so she can help them kill King Miraz. the wall was later on smashed by edmund to reveal Aslan's face (maybe body too i dont remember) engraved on the wall, and it just struck me that how easy it is to lose focus on God and how important it is that we should keep having faith. Lucy's child-like faith: believing strongly and not doubting, always seeking God.

anyway, great movie! amazing sets and scenery, like seriously breathtaking. watch it!

oh yea we had a chicken themed dinner before bible study last night! hehe it was good good good! photos coming soon....

study time! haha