mes amis!

{Epic Bintan trip with Sop/Orchard flea market with Jo/meetups with fatzies and the SA pals :)}

20

Between the lovely dinner at Food for Thought with Sop and Jo (and the beautiful gifts they got me!) on the 12th, opening the first half of my present from S in the morning, the sweetest surprise from Fatz Juls and Ems during my lunch break (i love you guys! thank you for all the cute party stuff), my colleagues faking a meeting to cut cake/bless me with really awesome gifts centered around a 'University in NYC' theme (very unexpected but I'm really thankful :') ), dinner with my family and coming home to flowers, the second half of my present (I love you, babe- thanks for always finding ways to make it special even though you can't be here) and cake...

It was a really nice Friday the 13th :)

I'm glad I got to spend time with the people who are really special to me (I wish Chen and S were here though!) and it definitely was a welcome change from being stuck in theatre all day for my past two birthdays!! May my 20th year in this world be the best one yet ;)

Closest

Love you both very veryy much and i'm really glad everything in our lives seems to be falling nicely into place :) We've seen each other through the ups and downs of secondary school ("where love is in the sunshine and out hearts are gay and light!!" haha) and our different pre-university journeys and one thing i'm sure of is that no matter what, the 2 of you are the ones who will be with me through every milestone/joy/sorrow in the future even when i'm literally oceans and a 24 hour journey away! Thank God for the constant support and love i've found in you guys :)

Pinkie

{Lunch at Skinny Pizza/ Finding our way to the F1 pit building on Saturday}

+ what's not in pictures: attending the draggy briefing for SB 2011 (but i'm excited for April!), long cab conversations+observing her volunteer at the SPD today

You're very special to me. :)

CNY 2011

A little overdue but this is how I spent the Chinese New Year break- with family, food and friends. And yes, in that order. :) a whole week has gone by since and i'm kinda suffering the after effects of a scratchy throat and the works but it was mostly worth it! Everyone deserves a second shot at starting over ;)

Sky High

Photos from prom yesterday! It was fun getting ready together with the girls and dinner with (most of) 09a07 was good too! For all the grouses I have about SA, one thing i'm truly thankful for is my great class and classmates :) It makes me so happy when I think of the wonderful and really unique friendships i've made through the 2 years. It was a good way to wrap up jc life, with everyone looking their best (compared to the pale faces and eyebags galore of the A level period haha!) and in high spirits :)

Chen's back on Sunday morning and then we fly off at night, i've yet to pack and tomorrow is a full day sooo I foresee a mad rush on Sunday! But it's an exciting time and i'm really looking forward to it :)

my Sunshines

Thank God for friends who keep you grounded/remind you of the goodness in life and people/that you can be yourself with, and share your thoughts, fears and doubts without inhibition because they know you well enough to give you honest opinions and the advice that you need. :)

Russian Navy

Dinner with sp and fats just now, was good taking time out to laugh over silly things and catch up a bit :) Thennn I had my first ever trip to Tampines (which is really pretty cool! like a little city in itself) and went over to Fat's house to chill/listen to her supertalented sister peform haha/paint nails/try on clothes/eat kfc :) Good times, loveya and thanks for having me over!!

Duck/Hippo tours tomorrow with the family, we'll be tourists for the day :) The second week of the holidays have been good, I pray i'll be able to continue counting my blessings and to not get overwhelmed by things out of my control.. To keep trusting in the One who is ever faithful :)

2006 - ??

"The most beautiful discovery true friends make is that they can grow separately without growing apart."

:) Last night was great.. Flea market at Clarke Quay with Jo, dinner with both my favourites and then Sop brought me to the mst magical place i've been to in a while for drinks/supper of sorts/ to listen and be mesmerized by the awesome awesomee band. (their voices are still in my head!!) It's strange to think we're all 19 this year, but nothing really changes if you think about it ;) Love you v much!

Calm

Rome 2009

Missing the characterful streets of Rome.. and the weather! Cold but still full of sunshine and light (most of the time), which is exactly what I need now that Singapore has hit a season of excessive heat and humidity. After the chaos of Saturday i'm glad for the relative calm of yesterday and today, especially because I got to spend time with Jo over good food and conversation after Church on Sunday.. my heart felt much lighter after :) Today wasn't so bluesy for a Monday either, minus the pain and discomfort from cramps. Spent the long break with my fave classmates at the tauhuey shop and finally collected my new camera! Hope i'll be well enough for school tomorrow.. Just 4 more days till the March Hols :)

CNY

Really glad I got to spend time with Sop for awhile yesterday after so long, wish that I wasn't so busy with school and her with work so that we could meet up more.. And I finally got to shop over friday night/yesterday afternoon! :) Watched Valentine's Day (which I loveloveloved) with my family this morning, spending time talking to S now and hopefully i'll salvage my productivity levels (which have hit an all-time low) by doing some work later. Yay that Monday and Tuesday are days off too, enjoying it while I can :)

To New Beginnings

Wow.. It's the last day of 2009 already? Lots of people have started writing tributes to the year that's ending and it kinda makes me feel uncomfortable, because i'm honestly not ready for 2010 :( This is the first time in quite awhile where I can't look at the new year in the eye with a "bring it on" kinda attitude- I feel like it's gonna bring too many challenges and things i'm generally unprepared for.

There's nothing I can do about time though, so I might as well jump on the bandwagon and bid adieu to 2009 while i'm here :) It's been a rough year, difficult on many different levels, but I can confidently say that it has toughened me up and made me stronger and yes! braver! which is what I prayed for on too many nights this year. I'm thankful to God for challenging me and allowing me to go through tough times (although I definitely wasn't feeling thankful at the time haa) but leading me through them with His grace and strength.

It's been a year of change- a new environment, starting over in JC, learning what it truly means to be humble and trying my best to have a gentle and quiet spirit (haha key word is trying..) even when I felt like things were really unfair. On the relationship front too; it's the first time S and I were apart for such a long time! Almost 8 months with him in Chicago and me back here, but we learnt to adapt and it worked out fine. Thank God for skype!! It's a lifesaver and that's how we still see each other and talk everyday :) I'm very thankful for Shawn's presence in my life through 2009 too- he keeps me grounded, reminds me about finding joy in the little things and manages to make me laugh even when I least feel like it. Thanks babe, you've been the biggest blessing and even though I don't feel ready for the new year, I know you'll be there walking/running/crawling/jumping through the months with me, and that makes it ok :)

I don't even want to talk about school here (haha still working on the mindset!) but because of the cool friends I've made, I will :) It brought too much unecessary drama (pun intended ;) ) and I can't say I'm fully reconciled with how some things were done/are done there, but all in all, i'm thankful that it provides me a place to grow academically and to take my A levels :) Also thankful for great classmates- Fat you've been a lifesaver this whole year.. Tolerating my moods and always showering me with affection haha :) It makes a big difference. And Juls!! Always sweet and calm in temperament, thanks for being there. And Weng for being someone I can argue loads with but still wanna be friends with haha. One more year together guys, let's do it well :)

I'm not used to typing so much! Gonna end this soon cos if I thank everyone, it'll take forever. But Jo and Sop have been the best girlfriends as always, and I probably wouldn't have made it through 2009 without the constant love and support from my awesome family :) and speaking of family.. Shawn's family has been a huge blessing in my life, always bringing me out for nice meals and making sure i'm ok when he's not around :) I really thank God for the people who have come into my life this rocky year to help and support me.

I started this post in the morning, left it to meet S to record our prayers/wishes for the new year by the river (new tradition!), and then came home for dinner with the family and continued it. Wouldn't say i'm all set to face 2010 now, especially because Shawn's leaving on Saturday morning.. which means i'll have to face up to everything i've kinda been avoiding (like the stack of work I have to do!!) and get used to the distance again. Won't be easy but i'll do what i've learnt this year- be brave and just bite the bullet and get on with it! Though 2010 doesn't promise easy times, I know I have God who's stronger and bigger than all the challenges i'll face, and great people in my life to support me through it :) Here's to the new beginnings that the new year will bring! As always, may we all continue to hope, love, and be joyful in all things :) Happy New Year everyone!

Ennui

Really treasure time with my family and favourite girls :)

I've been feeling a little out of sorts today- started the morning with the H1N1 vaccination (and i'm the Number 1 scaredycat when it comes to needles..)! I'm still aching from it, everytime I move my arm it hurts but dad says that's just me being a baby :( Well.. at least I did it, praying that it really does work so it'll be worth the fussing and fretting that went into actually getting the jab.

Also suddenly miss Chen and S a lot- I miss them all the time but their absence has been especially pronounced to me recently. Maybe it's because i'm soo close to seeing them both but time isn't going by very fast, and I feel like I need to accomplish more before we go away/S comes back.. but i'm strangely stuck in this state of ennui which frustrates me a bit.

Oh well.. Things will get better :) There's the putting up of our loovely Christmas tree to look forward to, and daddy's birthday, and then before I know it it'll already be time to start packing. Maybe I just need to sit down and draw up a list of things to do and do them one by one! Starting with getting over the ache in my arm and learning to overcome my irrational fear of needles :)

Some things never change :)

The weather is insane today!! Sooo hot that i've a mini-suburn just from walking under the sun. Second last day of school ever (um.. for this year at least!)- 1.5 hours of econs lecture and then met Sop for lunch and we went to Kovan for her interview. Simple day but I really love spending time with her talking about everything and eating (a lot..) haha :) Our friendship is very special to me cos like we were saying, time doesn't change the way things are.

I'm excited that school ends tomorrow, excited to leave for Rome in exactly 14 days!, excited cos i've made it through the full academic year only slightly bruised. It's been a tough year.. but it made me stronger and braver, and that in itself is something to be thankful for.