i am a flower quickly fading

Wednesday, November 30, 2005

a wonderful trip - shop eat sleep shop eat sleep

yep..im back in spore again
had a great and ahem.. fruitful time in malaysia
came home with quite alot of new things:)
warning though, this is going to be a record-breaking entry in terms of length

-day 1/sat-
left home at abt 920 with mom and siblings
made our way to kranji mrt station to catch bus 170 in m'sia
spore checkpoint, cleared it and waited for another bus to cross causeway
waited for something like 45 mins!
the quene(s) for the buses were sooo long
snaking all over the place, criss crossing each other
anyway..to cut the long story short..
met my dad[he works in m'sia] at Larkin bus terminal JB at abt 1215

had lunch and we went to visit my dad's workplace and home/room
really hard to explain what i saw
but i guess it suffices to say that i appreciate him so much more
love him for the sacrifices that he makes..

long road trip up to KL
started at abt 2 plus
reached KL at abt 6 plus to 7
drove round and round, navigating through the confusing place
younger sis was the official map reader and hence route planner
the poor girl got quite stressed a few times
i would be able to identify the ' national mosque' from miles away now
reached 'Berjaya TIme Square'[finally] at abt 730
checked in and realised that we were upgraded to a 2-room family suite:)
at no extra cost!
mom made her necessary calls - to my grandma and older sis
had dinner nearby and concussed for the night at about 10 plus to 11

-day 2/sun-
woke up at abt 745
complimentary breakfast at the hotel
we talked abt finding a church to spend the morning
and thank God we did..
right at the hotel itself!
my dad was in the toilet when he overhead some random conversation
he realised that it was abt the church service in the hotel's convention centre

went for the service at 930
we 3 siblings felt a tad underdressed in berms and tees
the service was sooo awesome:)
there was no difference to what i was used too in spore
the songs were the same, the preaching style about the same
i felt so blessed to spend the morning there:)
truely when we worship the same God, we are just one huge family
nationality and denominational differences takes a back seat
that gave me a tiny glimpse of heaven:)

service ended at 11
we decided to drive down to KL chinatown to eat and shop
bought my copy of 'Guinness World Records 2006'!
i simply love that book
and my parents indulge me with a new and updated copy every year!
it was really cheap at $37, after conversion, anyway [spore selling at $57]
ate lunch and started our attempt to dig out good bargains:)
the place was crowded at first, with illegal stalls set up all around
then..the authorites came
everything illegal was packed up and hidden in like 30 secs
so the police managed to nab abt 2 or 3 vendors..maybe for show only?
in any case, they effectively widened the roads for us:)
walking through became a pleasure
the shopping added up to..
1 tee for me, 3 tees for younger sis and pair of nikes for bro
returned to hotel room at abt 3

second round of shooping started at 430
in berjaya time square itself
that place is HUGE. ENORMOUS. GIGANTIC.
younger siblings went to enjoy the theme park
i dun like roller coasters and its cousins so its a waste of money for me to enter
went shopping with my parents which was a little blah
after dinner at the food court, another round of shopping with my sis
walked till my soles were painful
bought some stuff too
sis and bro went into the theme park at 9 again
the two parents and i were too shacked to shop anymore
so spend the time in macs instead:)

-day 3/mon-
didnt have anything to do after breakfast
so..we stayed in the hotel room palying mahjong!
finally persuaded my bro to learn the game
checked out at 11 plus to 12
bak ku teh lunch and IMAX movie at 115
set off to our next destination - 'Colmar Tropicale' at about 215

place was further then we thought
and much higher[in terms off altitude]
basically its a french-themed resort that my mom found out about
reached there at about 4
after 10 km of winding road up my stomach was a little erm..uncomfortable
have to admit that after the poshness of the hotel in KL,
i was a little dissappointed with the place initially

droved down a little to a golf resort to bowl
had dinner there too. finished at about 8
drove back to our hotel in darkness
its a little scary..eeks
more mahjong at night:)

-day 4/tues-
breakfast at the coffeehouse
and we saw my ex VP from PL with her family!
sis and i didnt know whether to adknowledge her
decided not to in the end
yep..we are ungrateful students but its so hard to do it
played more mahjong till 10 cos thats when the gift shop opens

we went to the plaster craft shop to look around
ended up with a whole bag full of purchases
our christmas prezzies to our friends:)
my sis and i at least
i'll be busy painting from now on:)

started our long trip back at abt 1230
with some stops in between, we reached JB at 7 for dinner
was so surprised to meet edward at a rest stop
i came out off the toilet, walked over to my dad and saw edward standing next to him!
anyway..we finally crashed home at about 9
glad to be home:)

yups..thats the whole account of my family trip this time. it wasn't anything fancy but the time together counted the most. the only pity was the rather pathetic amount of photos that we took. but how much can you take on a primarily shopping trip right? anyway..its back to reality once again.

11:51 AM
heaven in a wildflower

Friday, November 25, 2005

well..just to drop a note
i wont be in spore from the 26th to the 29th[going malaysia lah]
and try not to call me on my handphone cos i dun have autoroam
think smses should still be fine

ciao:)

8:53 PM
heaven in a wildflower

Tuesday, November 22, 2005

surprisingly calm

school life officially ended at 5pm today:)
yet it was not felicity nor joy nor euphoria that ran through me
it was more of sheer relief i guess

finally the license to slack:)
and read till i go cross-eyed or something
shall compile a book list soon

and how did i spend the first evening after exams..
-the first 15 mins complaining how insane the paper was
-made our way to j8 at about 520
-reached j8, followed everyone to GV
-met ms kwok and we went for dinner
-640, they went to GV to watch harry which i cannot:(
-650, ms kwok and i 'sent them off', trooped down to LIFE bookshop
-730, left j8, cabbed home with ms kwok:)
-800, on the phone with bonnie
-930, start watching the 9 o'clock show
-1030, go online and still counting:)

alot of time on my hands now
may i use the time well and not squander everything away
after all..time will never be rewound

10:42 PM
heaven in a wildflower

Sunday, November 20, 2005

keeping to the thin line

well..if you take a stroll along the streets today would you see many androgynous looking people? perhaps thats a little far-fetched but many people, youngsters especially, are crossing the line between what used to define the different genders. ok or wrong?

my personal stand is that it should not be condoned. guys sporting earrings and acting oh so sissified is just so wrong. maybe its just a narrow-minded mindset of mine but allow me to share my rather unyielding opinion.

this started when i found out 2 guys from church pierced their ears[one ear each] and were extremely proud that they did so. for a while they were even somewhat hailed as heroes by the younger ones who marvelled at their bravery to do such an unthinkable thing. at first i treated it more like a joke of some sorts, telling them that it was weird that they had ear holes when i a girl did not. but as things wore on..i started getting a little 'disturbed' by it and hence the inspiration behind this blog entry.

after the novelty of that wore off, the guys[not the same ones with the earrings] found another activity to occupy themselves with - nail buffing. i tell you, it was almost an obession. more and more of these XY chromosomes beings started buffing their nails to tip-top condition. perhaps this issue struck me alot harder cos i found out that my own brother was joining in the 'fun'. i admit that i was angry when i saw him doing it and thinking that it was a perfectly normal thing to do. obviously i expressed my displeasure[maybe wrath would be a better word?]. this was coupled with the fact that if my mum knew about she would most probably evict him from my home for the next 10 years or something. i told her a lie, regarding this, to save his skin actually. i decided that it was better than to break her heart.

guess you would think that this is a highly biased gp essay that is written from a girl's point of view? to add some balance, i also personally disapprove of gals wearing guy boxers or dressing up overtly guyish. i know of people who do that and i sometimes really can't understand why they like doing so. it just seems so wrong[no moralistic conotations here, more a figure of speech] to me, at least.

call me conservative, traditional or even puritan but i stick by my opinions. now..the rationale on which i base my stand. to me, the simplest reason would be my belief that you are created to be distinctly male or female[leaving the arguement of gays aside here] by the Creator above. like it or not, you are who you are and you have the 'duty' to act that role out. hence the categorisation of feminine vs masculine objects/behaviours. perhaps you may argue that its society not God who stipulates all the correct conduct required but do remember that you are to honour Him with your life, including the way that you portray yourself in front of other people. would you not stumble others who may derive their ideas of christians from you? its true that such things do not make you less a child of God but are you a good reflection of your Father?

i do agree that society is getting more liberalised and things are changing. i admit to benefit from the blurring of the gender divides[think jeans, education]. yet thus far all those take on a more functional reason for existence. earrings and shiny nails are nothing more than mere comestic additions. thus, i believe that we should keep to the thin line, the division between what is acceptable and one that would cause others to question. what does a earring help in proving your masculinity to the rest of the world? is it a really neccesary assessory?

okie..i think thats all i want to say about this. i know that the people i am referring to probably dun know that this blog actually exists but anyway.. you are free to disagree but ultimately i would still stand by my view. feel free to let me know what you think of this issue k. and..i started thinking about this without the intention to write a gp essay kinda thing but somehow it evolved along the way. hope it was not too heavy for you to plough through.

11:37 PM
heaven in a wildflower

Saturday, November 19, 2005

our pre post-exams party

ok i know that sounds a little funny
but thats what it was
a nice steamboat dinner at mardi's house:)
with most of my classmates:):)

it was super duper fun!
the whole business of getting ourselves there..
making so much noise on the bus
forcing the guys to climb 9 storeys worth of stairs
placing enough shoes outside her home to open a shoe shop
eating the never-ending hari raya goodies
like what aaron..
"if there's a war i will hide at your house, sure got food to eat one!"

and..i watched my..i think..3rd episode of the 7 o'clock show so far
think i drive everyone insane with my questions
on who's who and what's what
its such a soap opera..or did you know that already?
anyway..we left her house at about 845 to rush home
for the 9 o'clock show:)

yups..that marks the beginning of our partying:)
one more paper on tues and we are FREE!
sorry erica but i couldn't resist gloating:)
have to do intensive prom shopping..
anyone wants to follow me?

ok..scotting off to church:)
wait for my shouts of celebrations soon:)

1:58 PM
heaven in a wildflower

Thursday, November 17, 2005

wiping the sweat off my brow

ok..i know that sounds so melodramatic
but allow me to indulge:)
anyway..the worst is over..

YIPPEE!!

2 more papers, both lit ones so they should not be so bad
at least i pray they would not be
waiting for 221105 to come..

3:46 PM
heaven in a wildflower

Saturday, November 12, 2005

just to tell you i am still alive

yep..the exams have started
weird questions were asked..
not exactly difficult just funny..if you can get what i mean

geog[phy]..dun want to talk about it already
everyone thinks that a certain drq was wrong and everything
whatever anyway..the paper has been done

gp..do-able paper in a twisted sense
the questions were weird again, kinda unconventional
so..i did an essay question that i shunned all my life
i guess desperation drives you to new frontiers:)

yup..that was do so far..
next week is going to be bad
one paper everyday
all the best to me and anyone in the same boat:)

4:31 PM
heaven in a wildflower

Tuesday, November 01, 2005

the rock of my salvation

when Christ the solid rock i stand
all other ground is sinking sand
all other ground is sinking sand

was studying 'arid and semi arid' [geography stuff for the ignorant]
when the chorus of 'the solid rock' came to my mind
not surprising actually
studying about sand dunes, wind action, rock pedestals..

but the point is
only in Christ do we have total security
everything else just pales in comparison

yet..many of us prefer to cling to security of earthly things
perhaps because they are so much more tangible
even christians who claim to rely on God are guilty of doing it
me included

only when we reach the end of the rope
and all else fails
do we run back to God
He is usually the last resort and not the first response
when will we ever learn?

but..
He is always there, standing by
ready to catch us when we fall

and when we fall and reach rock bottom
we stand on the rock of our salvation:)

I love you, O LORD, my strength. The LORD is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer; my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge. He is my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.
psalms 18:1-2

4:52 PM
heaven in a wildflower