Just scored another interview with another MP! Yay!

Phew. Need like a few more... Probably 5 or 6? But I am confident it is possible.

But 10,000 words for Graduation Project still loom ahead. 7 more weeks. Need to get interviews in before CNY!

May the Lord hold my hand, and that I will not let go of His, as I walk through this last lap of my education life. I will not worry about tomorrow for I know the Lord holds everything of tomorrow!

On a side note, I thank you Lord for the miracles for those Haiti survivors which I read on The Straits Times today. Amazing how tenacious humans can be when it comes to fighting for their very weak life.

P.S Something random: The new iPad... it really sounds like a sanitary napkin, doesn't it?

Labels: Graduation Project, thanksgiving

I was looking through my old pictures and found this interesting old picture of mine in the computer. This was me when I just entered secondary school, I think 10 years ago, before I had my braces...



I showed my mom this picture and she laughed heartily. She realised how *ahem* I looked then. But you know what she told me? At that point of time, she told me she never thought of me as second best or ugly. In her eyes, I was beautiful. (:

P/S I think I can have this picture as before and after ad for my orthodontist, Dr. Arthur Lim!

Labels: Of the past

Deren and I were discussing the frustration of being stuck in a system, that no matter what you say or do, people are not willing to take into consideration what you said and are still doing the same old things, as if what you said or do is futile.

So I shared the inspirational Starfish Story with him...

The Starfish Story Original Story by: Loren Eisley

One day a man was walking along the beach when he noticed a boy picking something up and gently throwing it into the ocean. Approaching the boy, he asked, “What are you doing?” The youth replied, “Throwing starfish back into the ocean. The surf is up and the tide is going out. If I don’t throw them back, they’ll die.”

“Son,” the man said, “don’t you realize there are miles and miles of beach and hundreds of starfish? You can’t make a difference!”

After listening politely, the boy bent down, picked up another starfish, and threw it back into the surf. Then, smiling at the man, he said… "I made a difference for that one."

After I briefly shared the story, here goes our conversation.

Me: So you know, whenever I feel frustrated about being stuck in some place where I can't do much, I'll just do whatever I can within my individual capacity.

Deren: Why must the guy pick up the starfishes one by one? Why can't he just use the bulldozer to pick the starfishes and throw them back into the sea?

Me: ........

This inspirational story just officially got massacred with his response :/

Shanghai cast a dry spell on me - spiritually.

I confess, I didn't do my Quiet Time (QT) over there as I forgot to bring my devotional booklet "Our Daily Journey" (okay, I know it is a lame excuse considering that I have the Bible in my mobile phone). Rather than spend time with God, I spent time slowly taking off my thick layers of winter clothes and lying on bed after a tiring day on the tour bus.

I was so spiritually dry that I got impatient, easily agitated and spoke with no wisdom.
I felt horrid too. Can't really explain how lah.

Then I realised how important Christian fellowship was to me when I went to church for service and prayer meeting. I was able to focus my energies on knowing God and His word. And I got back my momentum to do QT and I was once again refreshed by His word. It is like drinking a cup of sparkling 100Plus after a long run without water!

My nainai, while on the Shanghai trip, told me that her pots of plants withered when she was away for about 10 days once. Interestingly, these plants only withered on one side. On the other side, where the plants get exposed to the outside, dew managed to sustain the plant, so it survived. The plants were hanging on for their lives with the dew provided by nature.

But after my nainai returned from her 10-day trip, despite the plants being half-withered, she continued to water the plants faithfully. Amazingly, they grew healthy and flowered once again!

When she told me this incident, I was like... WOW!

When I came back to Singapore, only did I understand God's purpose for her telling me about her half-withered plants.

These plants were like my spiritual life. Withered... but only on one side. On the other side, God was providing the dew to sustain me through, giving me the desire to hang on. And after the real watering comes, when QT comes, I am restored fully once again (:

So, in the words of my church's 2010 Back-to-Basics focus - 你QT了吗?

Labels: Christianity; Quiet Time

Last Saturday, after our RYM gathering, our girls secretly had their dinner late at the kitchen and didn't allow Chuanyan and I to see them. And they presented something for us! Thank you very much girls! We feel appreciated (: I do, really!

Having recently gone for a tour in Shanghai, Hangzhou, Suzhou, Wuxi and Nanjing, I've decided that one should avoid all tour packages as far as possible.

Here are 5 reasons why.

#1 You have to stare stupidly into blank space, as if preoccupied with something, after you are done with your meal with 7 other strangers at a round table. Awkward! Trick is, eat slowly during mealtime and stare more at your bowl.

#2 You will be pressured to give tips to the tour guide even if you don't find him/her that worthy of those tips.

#3 The tour people bring you to touristy places (ie. pearl/silk/tea/statues/medicine factories) to rip you off your money!

#4 You have to holiday with strange/anal/boring/quiet/rowdy/overenthusiastic/kaypoh people. You get the drift? Basically, people whom you may not be comfortable with.

#5 And last but not least, is when your tour guide forces you to listen to her talk about things like fengshui when you are totally lethargic and uninterested!


Then again, I do not dismiss my recent China trip as not fruitful. I did learn a little bit about China's culture.

For example, do you know that apparently, China implemented its 3 long holidays (CNY, May Day and their National Day) around late 1990s to allow more time for their people to spend money during the Asian Financial Crisis, thus boosting their economy?

Also, do you know that their civil servants are allowed to take naps for 2 hours (12 - 2pm) after their lunch so as to ensure productivity? It is apparently initiated by Deng Xiaoping. Therefore, nap after lunch is called 邓小平时间.
Wish Singapore had that too!

Anyway, it's already 10 days into the new year. I'm still a bit lost... I need time to recuperate from my cold trip to Shanghai. The cold has frozen some part of my mind and heart.

2010... It's definitely going to be a different, more uplifting and inspiring year - if I make it to be.

Labels: travel