I so need to find a job. Tried calling a few schools today to ask if they have any vacancy for relief teaching but to no avail. This is bad. The school I wanted to teach at has not called me yet. I guess I shall just be patient and wait. But in the mean time, I need to look for a job to kill my time. Tried applying for a few online home tuition agencies but I have not had an assignment so far. So I'm quite desperate...... Oh well, patience is a virture. Whatever God's will is for me man =)

Yesterday was a great!! Log Branch and Manpower Branch gathering!! It has been like almost 2 years since I last met my upperstudy and I finally got to see him yesterday. Its great meeting the other loggies. How nice =)

Anyway, here are some photos taken LAST year...

The Twins!

The Santarinas

Grandma and mum with the little kiddies who wants to blow the candle

That's all for now. Will post more photos from yesterday and last friday if i get them. Wahaha... Hopefully I get a job soon... *fingers crossed*

Time spent with God on New Year's eve is a time well spent indeed! The presence of God is truly great at Church today! It's the best count down I ever had and I just can't help but to feel high!! woohoo!! =) Now that the high-ness has died down and the tired-ness starts to kick in, i guess I'll just post the first few photos I've taken this year!! =)) Thanks to Choon for being so patronising... haha...

That hand in not mine by the way... wahhahahahaha....

I shall name these photos "Our first faces in 2008!" Lame it is... but i don't care... haha... Anyway, I shall post more photos of Christmas and the wedding dinner tomorrow or something. Its time for me to take my nappy nap =D Have a blessed new year everyone!!

Yes... I'm back from Perth and I have finally ORD-ed. It feels kind of wierd to have finally left the service. Its like I have been waiting for a million years for the day to come and when it finally came, I feel lost. =X I guess its the staying at home with nothing much to do that sort of kill the joy of it all. Oh well...

And so I had an enjoyable trip in Perth. Though the nights were kind of boring with A$5 ripped off of me for using the internet, it is still worth it especially with the great company around. The things I bought back weren't exactly enough but come to think of it, if there were more people with me, I could have tong bang stuff on their luggage because my total baggage weight exceeded 4kg. Haaaa... I feel so paiseh... Nonetheless, its a great experience to have done something like this alone. Sort of train me to be independent and stuff. And it is through this experience that I sort of overcome the fear of sitting planes... Haaa... Praise God! Yay!! Fulfilling trip indeed. Big thank you to Andre and Wen and Friends!! =)

Here are some of the photos taken... mostly scenaries though...

With my mum... the day I fly away....

Perth City. Nice view from King's Park... Taken on my first night =)

London Court in the City

Cottesloe Beach... The place where the sun burnt me... Cool beach though... literally...

Nando's Chicken! Yummm...

BBQ by a lake/river

Curtin Technological University's Department of ART

Fremantle Market aka Freo Market. This shop sells great crepes! I miss my nutella marshmellow crepe

Cicerello's... nice Fish and Chips

Conca's... Great Chilli Mussels!

Swan Bell Towers!

Perth Zoo surrounded by buildings

In front of Art Gallery of Western Australia

Yummy Bubble Tea with Marvellous Pearls with filling!! Yumm...

Andre and I at the Airport

Photos of the trip can be found on the following website:
http://s141.photobucket.com/albums/r46/jere87elm/Perth%20trip/

Oh well... I can't wait for Christmas to come!! And of course the New Year when school starts! Looking forward to many many things to come...

Wow wow wow... I feel extremely tired now! I went to sleep at about 2 +am (Perth time) last night... Went for Supper with Andre, Wen and their friends at Concas after their mah jong game. The chilli mussels there are good!! Even I, who don't eat mussels at all, loved it! But the place is dangerous at night because all sorts of people go there. At least we were back safely =)

I thought that I that I will be fine after the beach outing but no no no, I was so wrong. I'm having a very bad sun burn on my nose now. And its only on my nose... No where else. I wonder why. I look like rudolph now... wahaha... And the sun burn is sort of making me feel feverish and I'm having the flu now... booo... At least I'm well enough to walk about... Thank God!

Yesterday's BBQ was very cold, literally. The wind was blowing and blowing and the sun came and went. Even with the sun, it was still extremely cold! But it was definitely fun! BBQ by the riverside... Nice scenary and weather. Its an electric BBQ by the way. Free for all to use. No charcoal no fire starter needed. How convenient! Love the environment man.

Fremantle is interesting. The sunday market sells lots souvenirs and stuff. Wen recommended the crepes there and they are indeed yummy! I had the nutella with marshmellow crepe. The taste of melted marshmellow together with the nutella is so so so wonderful! But its heaty though... Haha... Then we went to a huge restaurant to have fish and chips. By now I am sooo afraid of fries that I would probably abstain from fries for a whole month or 2 when I'm back at Singapore. Wahaha... But the food there is great no doubt. Took many many photos today... Will post them up when I am back. Tomorrow is zoo day!! And I will be visiting the famous swan bell tower. Can't wait man... Flying back this coming wednesday!! SOOO looking forward to it! =)

Hellllo everybody!! I am very safe here in Perth! haaa... First 2 days of my trip has been great. The people here are extremely friendly, the salesperson here are so so so polite and helpful but the only setback is that having no company when i return to YMCA kind of sucks. So lonely... But I'm finding things to keep my company when I'm back and I should not complain because I chose it to be that way... haaa =X

Accommodation was quite unexpected. But what else can I ask for if I want cheap places to stay. Andre and his friend has brought me to quite a few places yesterday and today and its quite fun! Though the things here are quite expensive, and I'm beginning to be sick of chips (haha...) but it was still fun. Went to Harbour Town today and the things there are so so so cheap! I bought myself 2 fila polo tees (the only ones that could fit me) and am satisfied with it. The clothes here are tooo big for me. After that, we made our way down to Cottlesloe Beach. The beach is so so beautiful! Super duper windy and cold, but bright sun... Still not getting my tan though... haha... But its definitely an eye opener. Huge waves and clear blue sea water... wonderful...

Tomorrow I will be going to Canning River for a BBQ. Sounds so exciting! wahaha... But I can't wait to be back in Singapore too... Not that I don't like this place, but I am quite deprived here without the internet (though I am using it now, but I have to pay for it and it doesn't allow me to use MSN Messenger =X) and the TV. Booo!

Oh well... Can't wait for next Friday to come... heee =)

PS: I found out how to use MSN Messenger afterall... haha... Stupid me =X

Finally, the time has come... I will be flying off to Perth tomorrow morning. Kind of excited now and also a little lost. I can tell that my mum is worried for me and yet she wants me to do it. I felt a little afraid because its my very first time sitting an aeroplane alone, flying all the way to a foreign country and the only people I know there is Andre and Wen. Oh well, I sort of got over that scary feeling and I'm converting all this fear into excitement. Thank God! seriously, without His peace, I would be in a nervous wreck now. However, I hope things won't escalate tomorrow. I'm picturing this 7 day holiday as a 7 day field camp in the island. But, instead of training, I will be having fun instead! That is definitely better than the 7 day field camp I went through. So yea... Its all in the mind... Its all in the mind... Its all in the mind.... =)

I'm very very touched today. One of my colleagues gave me a very expensive watch as my ORD gift. I was shocked when she placed it in front of me and I was thinking of rejecting the gift. Oh well... All these gifts from people are making me feel more and more closer to my dept. The people I work with are great! My department has evolved into a lively and happy working environment. So closely knitted together! It definitely gives colour to my life in NS and whatever contributions I have made is not wasted because I know that my efforts are well appreciated by my frens and colleagues. So so so thankful for all of that! Praise God! =)

Anyway, I shall blog more when I'm back from my trip. Can't wait for next week to come... seriously.. heez...

Its a very very interesting and happy day for me! I attended my cousin and choon's ASLC graduation parade today. It felt kind of weird to be visiting an army camp as a visitor/"civilian". I just had a strong urge to put on my head dress and camp pass -.- But its definitely a great experience! I felt so stupid when my handphone's battery life was low and my camera ran out of battery only when I had reached home did I realise that the spare battery for my camera was actually in my camera pouch!!!! Was so angry with myself. Felt so stupid. But oh well... small matter... At least my aunt brought her camera along! Will be posting up photos once my cousin send them to me.

Anyway, I'm so proud of my cousin. He got the first silver bayonet for his signal course. The pride of my family. Of course, the other pride would be his twin, who will be commissioning as an officer next year. wahaha... So proud and happy for them =) I am also extremely proud of choon for persevering through his ASLC. I know its very very difficult for him but he made it anyway! So happy for him too! yay!!! Congrats to the new Sergeants!!! =)

My understudy is finally here! Praise God that I have someone who is so capable to take over me. Ask and you will receive, indeed! Anyway, I hope he will survive the next 2 days without me. Hopefully he will not be bombarded by people on his 3rd day. Praying hard for him...

Yesterday, I had a nature walk in that forsaken place called you know what. Its truly enriching! A site inspection turned learning experience. Saw the many fruit trees present and very very beautiful scenaries!! I feel so so lucky. However, I got 5 insect bites in return. They seem to love my right arm and the bites are beginning to swell, itch and cause pain today! Oh the agony! I feel so diseased. 3 huge lumps that are hard..... I wonder what they could be... Hmmmm...

Tomorrow shall be my shopping day with my cousins! Have been waiting for this very day to come since last week. Apparently the girls want to treat me since its their first pay day tomorrow. A bit paiseh but they insist. We shall see how its like tomorrow! Anyway, here are the photos taken during our family dinner on Saturday. It turned out to be a wonderful dinner in a very classy place. The only drawback is that its outdoor and the weather is not the way we want it to be... Therefore, I feel like a sticky pig and a pair of sweaty socks by the end of the day. But nonetheless, great company, great food! Nothing more I can ask for =)

i'm supposed to be doing the zao cai mao pose =X

We spent an amazingly long time in the same location taking these crazy photos......

She's such a cutie, my dear beloved cousin =)

Nice crazy shots aren't they. Wahaha.. Love them to bits (in a family kind of way!)

Anyway, I am extremely happy today because my application for relief teaching is successful! Woohoo! Praise God!! Once again, ask and you will receive, indeed! Time to go look for school to teach! Yippee!

And its 17 days to the big O. With just a blink of an eye, my 2 years of national service has finally come close to an end. Life has definitely been insightful and enriching for me through these 2 years. I am very lucky to be able to hold my current appointment as it really puts me in many situations that would train my stress tolerance and planning skills. I have learnt many many things out of it and I am definitely glad that I was chosen to do it.

It is not always that you get good bosses. I am so lucky to be able to have 3 extremely good bosses (not licking any boots here) who never fails to crack me/my department up. Though workload increases with the work environment that I am in, it is how understanding and appreciative my bosses are for the work that I have done that makes me feel committed to my department. It just feels nice to have your superior appreciating what you do, cover for you when you do something wrong and even not scold you when you did not complete what is asked of you. So so nice...

My AO is also one good guy whom I really respect. Though he is the only one who has ever given me an extra throughout my 2 years stint, I still respect him for who he is. He did not even scold us today even though we were late to set up for water point and even help us contact the duty driver to bring our stuff over. And of course, his care and concern for me will never be forgotten lar... Trying his best to fight for a understudy for me... and always having my interest in heart, kind of reminds me of my DY (who will return only after I ORD... boo)!! So so so nice...

The great company I had at my old branch and my present unit has definitely helped me sustain through my NS. Staying in was so enjoyable with nat nat, Andre, bobby, da da, Xavier etc around. Though all of them have left, their understudies remain... wahaha... Set, Kenny, Desmond, Gerard are people who really care for me (Smallest in rank among them... Not much of a choice eh... haha... jk). Helping me whenever possible... Definitely won't forget those bunk mates of mine... Heez... Of course, at present, there is our dear Quek who is funny in his own way, Adam, my lunch buddy, great fren and classmate/past and future schoolmate, Malvin who appreciates my baking, my fellow finance people like Hamza, Mun and Shaun who will destress together and complain to each other about our work, and of course the nice newcomers in my department, fel and jon who are my gossiping (sinful... so so sinful), singing and irritating (in a good way) partners. With these people lighting up my work environment, it makes each day pass so much easier. So so so so nice...

I'm happy... very very happy that God has blessed me with so many wonderful things. Yay! Of course I will never forget my close friends who has always been by my side for the past 6 years, Chase, Choon, Ernie. Life has never been worst. So yar... I'm one big happy guy now and nothing can bring me down... Woohoo!! (except maybe work? haha..)

So looking forward to my shopping trip with my cousins on Thursday, my cousin, samuel and choon's POP this Friday, Church this Sunday and definitely, Perth Trip next Thursday!! yay!! As for Ms Lim's (Or should I say Mrs Li) wedding and my family dinner last Saturday, I shall blog about it, with photos, on another day =)

4 more working days before I go off for my C cube. Life has definitely been exciting so far this month. It feels as if I am lavished with work to mark the upcoming event by the name of the big O. It has been a very stressful period for me definitely. With super wierd dreams about work and sleepless nights because of work, life can never be more exciting than this. Oh well, complaining about if definitely doesn't help. All I can do is to just take it in my stride and take it as a God given experience for me to increase my stress-intake level so as to be prepared for better things ahead. yea! =)



Through this experience, I've realised something. Doing work at home definitely takes away some of the stress I face. You can take your time to finish it, there will not be anyone shooting arrows at you while you are in the middle of something, and the environment is just so comfy! That's why its home.... heh...



Anyway, its a piggish day for me today. I just couldn't wake up from bed. Every part of my home seems like a comfy place for me to sleep. I just feel soooooooooooo tired, as if I have done a million guard duties. diao diao... I ate and slept, ate again and slept again, I wonder why I still cannot get fat. But I have no choice but to force myself to stay awake now, to make sure that I am tired enough to fall asleep tonight (just in case... heh heh...).



Choon is back from Taiwan like finally. Met him on Monday (like finally) and came to know many things about that wonderful place called Taiwan. Woohoo... and the Sun biscuit from Taiwan rocks by the way... Haha...



Jonathan came back from Hongkong/China too! (like finally) Now I have one more person to arrow my work to and someone to irritate me at work... yay! so entertaining =) He bought the many flavours of wife biscuit (they called it a cake, but i feel that biscuit sounds more appropriate... heh heh) which rocks as well!! Though the blueberry flavoured one was out of stock, the raspberry one is still not bad as well... together with the honey green tea one and the original winter melon one... yum yum...



And it will be my turn to fly off soon! Aussie trip will be in 2 weeks time and I feel so so so excited! Andre has been telling me how warm that place is now because of the hateful season called Summer. I guess its good in a way... Might come home with a nice tanned skin... haha... =X Oh well, he plans to bring me to the gym at Aussie... ... ... ... Actually, i don't reall mind because I have not run for like a zillion years and I don't even remember when I last touched those weights in the gym... So yea... A new experience... Gym-ing in Australia.

Many big events coming my way and I just can't wait! exciting exciting exciting! =)

I'm exhausted! Although I've not been doing guard duty lately, work has drained me of my energy. I've been running about my office building since Monday to get things done and even I've been working from morning till lunch and after lunch till 5pm, I am still unable to complete my work. Boo! Considering my ORD buddies are enjoying their Offs and Leaves while I am still slogging my hearts out like a piggy pig pig. Oh well... It doesn't really affect me at all seriously. I still feel cheery and happy amidst all the stress and tension. I wonder why........... Hmmm... But praise God for blessing me with the mental energy to complete my stuff. Exhaustion only sets in after 5pm for me. Wahaha... Happy Happy! =)

I've found my understudy but I hope he is able to be posted to my department. *Fingers crossed*

And this thursday evening will be an exciting one. I will be baking my Oreo Cheesecake again!! Its for those who will be ORD-ing this Friday. Sort of want them to leave the forsaken/forbidden island with SWEET memories. haha... My ORD gift to them. Though its nothing great but I'll be baking the cake with LOVE... haha... (ok... lameee...). So exciting =) Can't wait for my turn to come though... But Perth will come first!!! Woohoo!! Super excited!! =))

PS: I know its very incoherent... I'm tired here... can't think =X

I guess work has finally got to me... I had such a weird dream last night. I dreamt that I was being audited by my Finance officer and her team at my grandmother's place -.- Oh well... I guess i really need rest and a break from work. How I wish I have my understudy now... Any later and he will just have to learn things on his own.

Anyway, my family has decided to sell away my grandmother's house. I guess I miss that place a lot because I have been having dreams about it lately. The place where I sort of grew up in is finally going to be sold off. Sigh... fond fond memories...

I came home this evening with a strong urge to prepare for my Aussie trip and all I did so far was to display my luggage in my room. Though I have not started packing, it still makes me feel excited because I'm flying off so so soon!!! =) Life is so wonderful =)

Last week was really terrible for me. 3 guard duties in 7 days! But definitely happy that I've finally finished my last duty last thursday. I almost fainted on my last duty though... Was really exhausted since I have not recovered from the tiredness I have accumulated from the previous 2 guard duties. But lives good nonetheless though my mood was pretty bad last week. I exploded (aka raised my voice) in front of people and it certainly didn't feel good. I know its wrong but I was just so tired that i felt super duper irritable... Especially when you are trying very hard to do your work but the situation is just not helping... booo... =( But I guess all will turn well soon enough...

Visited Betrand's church yesterday. It was definitely a new and enriching experience for me. Its my first time attending a mandrain service and the environment is so much different from lighthouse. I've definitely learnt quite a few things from sermon and sunday school yesterday. Sunday school sort of made me rethink my life as a Christian... What I've been doing and stuff... Felt really enlightened =) And I was really touched by Betrand's concern over my work situation/environment. Yep... Really thankful =)

Oh well, I took my Final Theory Test today and I passed!! Praise God! woohoo! I thought I would fail because I really didn't know/study much for it. Even though I finished reading the book, I forgot more than half of its contents... So it was pretty bad... Thank God I managed to pass it!! Now its time to find a driving instructor and get my licence... heh heh... Anyone has any recommendations for a driving instructor? =)

Yay!! I'm so happy!! I've been feeling so cheery for the past few days (or rather, since monday) and I wonder why... hehe...

My brother rocks my socks man! Firstly, queue for 2 hours at donut factory just to buy donuts for me... Today, my brother surprised me with the DS game which I've been bugging him to buy for like a zillion years... =) Such a nice birthday present. I remembered he wanted to buy me a new handphone as my birthday present a few years back when I lost my handphone. I feel so loveeeed!!!

And I've finally settled my accommodation for my Australia trip! I'll be staying at YMCA though. I figured that if I spend less on accommodation it means that I can spend more on other things! So yep... Booked and confirmed!! yippee!! And I almost couldn't go to Australia... But now, everything is settled! Woohoo! happy happy... can't wait man..

Anyway, its busy busy busy time for me. My understudy still hasn't arrived yet, so no one to take over me. But my big boss has been pushing for one. So yep, hopefully I'll get my understudy soon!

Anyway... Its time to rest... Super duper tired now... but still happy =)

Praise the Lord!! I've finally managed to clear most of my work. Stressful I am but I'm feeling better now. Not too stressed up as before... whahaha...

Last week, I baked 2 wonderful cheesecakes!!! Rich New York Cheesecake and Oreo Cheesecake (Or Temptation Oreo as the cookbook calls it...) The cakes turned out to be not bad at all! I was so addicted to the Oreo cheesecake that I can't stop eating it. It took quite a lot of time to bake it... So luckily it turned out well... If not... I might as well hang myself. The biscuit base to my New York Cheesecake was quite blend though, due to my stupidity. It so happened that the biscuit base was soaked in water throughout the baking process as water has seeped into the springform pan. How did water got in you may ask? Its because I immersed the springform pan into the tray of water instead of putting the pan on the tray first, then pour the water into the tray. You understand? If you don't, its okay. wahhahahaha... Anyway, here is a picture of my New York Cheesecake...

I did not take a picture of my oreo cheesecake because I caused it to have a huge crack when I was about to remove it from the pan!!! (Apparently, i forget to run a knife along the side of the cake to ensure that the cake did not cling onto the sides of the pan............... again... Its due to my stupidity!) Therefore, its not too nice to show... wahahhaha... But here's a picture of the chocolate cheese tart that I made quite a few weeks back...

I've been searching for this cheese tart recipe for sooooo long and finally, I've found it in a cookbook which my mother's customer gave me. Woohoo!! And I vow to bake almost every cheesecake in the cookbook because they all looooked so yummy and nice. haha...

Alright, I woke up this morning with a great sense of urgency in me today. I realised I have not prepared much for my coming Perth trip. The only thing I did was the booking of air tickets!! I have not made my new passport, I have not find out more about the Pert and worse of all, I have not settle my accomodation!!!!! SCREAM!!!! And why the sudden sense of urgency? Its because I dreamt that I was panicking when I was all alone over at a beautiful country which does not look anything like Perth (Looks like an asian country...).. Yea... How cool is that -.- And I also realised that my Final Theory Test is like 1 month away and I have not started studying for it. I haven't even got the book!! diao diao... I'm so dead man...

Amidst all those panicking, I still feel happy! The day with the big O is coming and my last batch of recruits have just enlisted! Woohoo!!! Each day seems to pass so quickly... Woohoo! I just can't wait =)

Before I end, I want to say Nodame Cantabile rocks!! Its a Japanese Drama which involves a lot of orchestra and piano music... wahaha... I loveeeeeee...!

Yay! I've passed my basic theory test! I'm one step closer in getting my driving license. I had a weird dream this morning before the test. I dreamt that I drove my dad's car to ang mo kio to take my basic theory. And I ended up in some HDB block where I tried to park the car. But somehow, I over shot the barrier and I reverse all the way into the void deck of the block...... And right in front of me was a police car, so I drove out and tried to run away because I am driving without a license....................... I'm thinking too much.. I know... I'm so crazy -_-"

Oh well... I think there is a donut craze in Singapore now. More and more shops selling donuts. And somehow, I've joined in the craze! Going around hunting for good donuts. My mum bought 6 donuts from Missy Donuts (8 days rated 4 simpsons =)) Can't wait to try them!! I've been buying donuts from Yummy donuts at Pasir Ris White Sands. The donuts are alright. Not too bad... But not fantastic either... I'm waiting to try Donut Factory's donuts. But i'm too lazy to join in the super duper long line... hehe... Oh well... We shall see...

I'm still crippled by the 2 saturdays of guard duty. Even though I slept quite a lot this morning, I'm still feeling super tired now... why? why? Tsk...

Yesterday's service was fantastic! Pastor Rony is so so so funny!

And so I'm 3 months away to the long awaited day. Seriously can't wait for it to come. Please come soon? Please?

I'm like being so so random now... Eyes closing... closing... closing...

"We are a miracle nation because we have grown so much over 42 years. We also have miracle service every Saturday.... "

I'm so tired... Guard duty drains me of my energy... Boo...

After reading through my previous posts, I realised my english sucks. There are so many spelling errors... movie became money and reveal became review... pooi! double boo...

WITS presentation at Div HQ this thurs... Guard duty this coming Saturday again... Just kill me ok?!

I need rest!! Revive me please... Enervate!

Finally I'm back! I've been cut off from the world of internet for like 3 weeks. My internet was only restored last tuesday. Wahaha... and I have been busy/lazy to type something here but now, I'm doing it in camp!!.

Many many things happened since 25 June. Andre has flew off to Aussieland where it is freezing cold there. I missed my synergy concert because I did not book in time and I was rather lazy to go out and I WILL not forget to book my In Song concert tickets! That concert is a must watch! I've completed my personal statement (like finally) and my counsellor has vet through it. Still need to make some corrections (Apparently I am good at creating sentences which are very super long and dreary... haha..) to it before its presentable.

Watched Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix with my cousins. The show would be super cool if I didn't read the book. But too bad, I've read it and naturally I will have certain expectations for that movie. Yes, I will have to accept the fact that the movie cannot follow the book from cover to cover. But I guess the director should not make major changes to the story. Then again, I understand that the changes are necessary because the cost in producing a money has to be taken into account. More characters = more money spent. Anyway, storyline aside, the special effects and what have you are definitely cool!! Especially the duel at the Ministry of Magic! Its so so exciting! Though I wish the duel between Voldemort and Dumbledore could be more exciting than just point point, stop, stare and wait for things to happen. It would be good if the golden statues could come alive, like in the book, and protect harry and stuff. woohoo! Overall, not too bad lar...

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows came out finally!!!! This is the best Harry Potter book I've ever read because there is non-stop action in the book! Very very exciting! The story flows very well from one chapter to another. This book definitely answers a lot of questions which might arise in previous books and the ending is simply touching. I almost cried through some parts of the book because certain people died and Harry did something very brave, something which takes someone great courage to do. Shan't review details just in case people have not finish reading the book. But yea... truly enjoyed the book!!! LOOOOOOOOOVVVVVVEEE IT!

Met the wanderers last saturday. IT was sort of a small gathering as 4 out of 7 made it. So happy to be able to see them again. Lunch at the taiwan restaurant opposite my house was fantastic! Its the company... haha... And I met my cousins for karaoke session at Chevrons on Sunday. Its just sing sing sing and eat eat eat at IMM... nothing much but enjoyable =)

Oh well, my Aussie trip has been brought forward from 10 december to 28 november!! I'll be returning on 5 december with Andre. The dates are confirmed and I will be booking air tickets when I go home!! so exciting!!! Can't wait Can't wait =)

Alright... I shall go study for my basic theory now... Hopefully I pass... woohoo!!

And so I bought a skipping rope yesterday. I have no idea why I had the sudden urge to skip but yea, I bought it and I skipped. It must be that disney channel movie, Jump In, which cause me to like skipping suddenly...But seriously, I sucked at it. Haha... I wonder... =X

Today's counselling session is definitely productive. All thanks to my wonderful counsellor =) He gave me some pointers on how I should edit my messy personal statement. Frankly speaking, it was a rather last minute thing because I only came up with my personal statement this morning in office. And I was even editing it on my way to CMPB. How pathetic... But yea, its definitely good to have someone to show me which way to go and how I should phrase my sentences. My counsellor is very learned. He is so deep and his points are so logical and yet profound. Rocks man! Oh yea, I express my concern of fear in flying alone to other countries and he actually gave me some useful pointers on how to curb that fear. Its so true that fear stops us from doing what we want to do. Its like disregarding a good book by looking at its cover instead of its content. If we don't go ahead and do what we want to do and explore, we will regret it one day.

And so, I have begin planning my end of year trip to Aussieland to visit Andre. I've gathered ticket prices to perth for several airlines and most probably I will be taking Qantas... SO CHEAP! (cheaper than SIA definitely...) Also, I will be gathering information about perth, just in case I get lost or something. Tentative date of departure would be the Monday after my ORD, 10 December. woots!

Finally, I have decided to book for the Basic Theory Test. I will be taking mine on 13 August at Ang Mo Kio. ooooh... Can't wait. My mind has been pondering about getting a driver's license lately... Its really convenient to have one I guess... wahaha...

My cousins have gotten their posting quite a while back and one went to SISPEC while the other went to OCS. How interesting... I'm sure the both of them can pull through the training! woohoo!!

Oh well... as for now... its back to work for me... ORD... I'm coming!

PS: Song choon... you can do it! Time will pass very quickly and before you know it, I will have to call you sergeant! As for kian heng... lucky you... so slack... wahaha... poke poke poke... poke yourself... wahahaha...

Dreams are just so fascinating.

Yesterday I had many weird dreams during guard duty. I dreamt that my teeth were falling out one by one and my whole mouth was bleeding (it felt so real...). Then I dreamt that I was outside a church and I saw stevenson... Then someone was praying in tongues before I woke up... This morning when I was sleeping at home, I dreamt that the whole parade square at BMTC was flooded with water and I am suppose to take part in some water sport but I told my team mates (can't remember who...) that I can't swim... Then suddenly, Tay Ping Hui materialise behind me and I can't remember what he did... I guess he was encouraging me or something... I had a lot of interesting dreams during this 2 days but I have forgotten most of them by now...

Guard duty sucked as usual... But time passed by so so quickly. I don't even know if its a good thing or a bad thing. Good that I'm one day closer to my ORD but bad because I don't seem to be able to catch my breath. Hours seemed like minutes to me all of a sudden...

I will be staying at my cousins' house for the next three days because of the Finance Appointment Holder's Seminar... Yew Tee here I come! Can't wait to see how much the finance structure has change after a year...

More concerts coming up! Its Synergy and In Song 07 for me... Can't wait...

The world continues spinning and Life still goes on...

I'm tired. So tired. How I wish I can just take a break from life and rest. Just rest.

I baked muffins today. Just had a strong urge to bake vanilla chocolate chip muffins. Went to Ikea and Giant at Tampines with Choon today too. Tried to find my giant tin of panda biscuits, but there's only the giant box. Saw boxes of nougats too... But they are so expensive... I guess I've lost my addiction for them.

There're so many things which I felt compelled to do all of a sudden. I guess the next big thing will be taking my Basic Theory? Wahaha.. Like finally...

I've been sick since Tuesday. My fever always threaten to come back. Even now, I still feel feverish and all, but definitely better compared to the past few days. Argh... The past few days have been quite miserable all because of the stupid fever! Oh well... Have to thank Andre for taking care of me in camp while I was sick. Really thankful for his care and concern.

La Risonanza IV just flew by. Alumni's performance was not that bad (one of the better ones compared to previous rehearsals.......). The choir did well. The other 2 guest choirs were quite impressive. I could have enjoyed the concert and Alumni's performance more if not for that fever which choose to come a few hours before the concert. Praise God for allowing the fever to subside in time! =) woohoo!

I guess I have evolved into a couch potato. I've been rotting on my sofa since yesterday morning (except for nap time at night). rest rest rest is all i need!

Happy Mother's Day to all Mother's out there!

My parents and I had dinner at Serangoon Gardens Market today, together with my aunts and my cousin. I almost puke after dinner, not because the food sucked but because I was so so full that if you push my stomach, I will vomit everything back out for you.

Anyway, we drove pass my grandma's house on the way there. All of us did the same thing while we were waiting for traffic to move. My parents and I turned to the direction of my grandmother's house and looked at it for quite some time. We did not exchange words after that. Everyone was quiet and deep in thought. I guess I missed that place a lot. It was a place where my cousins would gather every saturday, to play. It was the place where I sort of grew up. Yep, a place filled with memories indeed. Sigh... I wish I could go back there again, just for old times sake. But the place is empty now and I think my uncles and aunts have decided to sell it away. Sigh... Oh well... Move on, Jeremy, Move on...

The SYF Central Judging for Choirs took place on Tuesday. MJChoir got GOLD!!!!! I was like so so happy! Can't stand it... The alumni was like so stress while waiting for the results because we thought MJChoir had a chance of getting silver. Wahaha... but Gold!!! Anyway, this year's competitors are definitely strong. Many many choirs seem to have improved alot and some even sound like they have a chance of getting a Gold. But, the judges this year are very strict too. Hence, the number of Gold with Honors dropped to 3 this year and the number of Gold dropped to 4. I was very surprised that ACJC and AJC missed their Gold with Honors and TPJC and RJC missed their Gold. Really very shocking. But then again, its the Judges' decision, so I shan't comment much.

La Risonanza IV is coming! So exciting. Hopefully the Alumni will sound good on stage since there are 2 other guest choirs and there's the MJ chamber choir too... haha... Can't wait can't wait...

Iwill never be bored with my family because there is just too much drama going on here.

Today, my whole family (mother's side, minus a few peeps) won 4D. Where did they get the number from, you may ask? Its actually from the barbeque pit which we used yesterday at our family gathering. The pit number was PIT 1. So where did the other 3 numbers come from? This is how they get their number...

P looks like a 9
I looks like a 1
T looks like a 7

Therefore, the lucky number is................... 9171! haha... They chose to use the BBQ pit's number because there was a huge fire at the pit yesterday and them being chinese felt that it was very auspicious (hen wang!). So they went to buy the number... haha... And so my mothers's sisters flock over to my place (minus sister number 3) for an animated discussion. Its really easy to find out if one of my family members have won lottery because the warning signal will sound. It will go off at about 7pm every sunday (saturdays too if we don't meet up...) and that will follow with my mother's scream. That very warning signal would be my house phone's "ring ring..."

How interesting...

Murphy sort of like me today.

I tripped and almost fell down on an over head bridge. I was almost knocked down by a bicycle while walking. I stepped on a dead Cockroach. My friend (someone whom I have not met for a long time...) had high fever today and so we were not able to meet up. While I was walking towards the 89 bus stop, I saw the bus left without me.

Looking at things from the brighter side,

at least I didn't fall down flat and injure myself (or even fall onto the expressway... choy choy choy). At least there was someone behind me who called me to watch out, if not I would have been severely injured. At least I didn't kill a living creature (okay... this is cheesy...). At least my friend is not dead, meaning that we can still meet up some other time. At least the next 89 didn't take so long to arrive.

Oh well... Today's choir practice is quite fruitful I guess. We completed Exultate Justi and managed to sing through all 3 songs. Although the songs are still not perfect, at least we see new faces coming for pract. 3 more weeks to Concert! 1 more week to SYF for JC choirs! So exciting. This would also mean that more weekends will be burnt due to intensive practices. I'm still able to handle it so far even though I'm on the verge of cracking already (too tired... boo...) But yea, its kind of healthy as it keeps my mind moving. yippee!

My aunt gave me 2 cook books today! Both books contain baking techniques for desserts and cakes and what nots and apparently, they belonged to my uncle. I don't remember him as a cook when he was still around... Haha... maybe I was too young to remember about such things or maybe it was just a gift to him. But those 2 books are very very interesting! Am going to read it before baking Andre's Super Fudge Chocolate Delight (HA! I remember ok! haha...) next week. Can't wait can't wait...

I am so extremely tired now.
I don't even have the energy to chew my food. Pooi pooi!
I feel like fainting when I stand.
I don't have the mood to do anything.
Even baking today seems like a chore to me.
I am so extremely tired now.

Being unable to sleep for the past few nights sucks. I have no idea why too! Must be those stinking mosquito bites!! Da bian... This combined with guard duty completely drained me of all energy. How sucky!

Oh well... May things be better as each day passes...

And so Montfort Chorale got Bronze for their SYF... Nvm... Its okay... at least they didn't deprove. Yea, definitely am sad that they weren't able to get that silver because they did really well for their Set piece! But, hey, things happen on stage and as a chorister, I should understand that. Oh well, I am glad that they got a Bronze at least and that the hard work they put in did not go to waste. Well done MC! =)

Time flies. Yesterday, I was helping Jan with his SYF set piece for JCs. How much he has changed. When he was in Montfort, he would find ways and excuses to skip choir practice and now when he is in Meridian Choir, he is so enthusiastic about it and even asked me to help him with the songs. How much he has changed. The both of us were looking at some old photos of Montfort Chorale yesterday and boy did I miss those days so much. The fun we had and the many change of conductors we had. It is definitely a very interesting experience.

I miss those days in Log branch where every day is a day of fun and laughter. Where we help each other whenever possible and stay in together. Most of the people in Log branch has left. Yea... I've got to move on. Just can't help but think of those days when School 2 Log Branch existed.

I miss my Meridian Choir days where we were given so much pressure. I still remember the time where we were practising for SYF, when Mr Kwei goes into his SYF mood. When AJC, VJC, TPJC and us come and sing to one another. Where we had to go through so so much to perfect the unperfect-able Shoga. Where we sang the set piece the best (out of the 4 choirs) but screw it up on SYF day itself.

I miss my Meridian Day. I miss Mrs Chong's cold maths jokes, Mr Lee's GP consultation and humour, Mr Sung's patient teaching, us making Mrs Quek frustrated, Ms Soh's care for us. I miss Mr Eric Chua's unending patience for training me in my pull up and his never ending encouragement for me during PE. I miss the fun times I had in class with the wanderers in J2 and with Magan, weilin, weeling and josephine in J1.

I have so so many fun times in my life which I will never forget. And I am so thankful that I am able to have so many happy memories which I can keep till the end. Yea, praise God!

Oh well, such is life, life is as such... Let's wait and see what else is installed for me in future...

By the way, please support MJChoir (if there is anyone out there reading this...)! Come for La Risonanza IV!!! Come come come! =)

Today, my family gathered at Carribean for my grandma's birthday celebration. The food was great but I guess I was too tired to even enjoy myself. Futhermore, most of my cousins are not around, so its rather quiet. Oh well... I'm really too tired to type anything so I will just post photos. Oh yea! Today's service concludes the 10 ways to maintain our healing. Its really very enlightening for me. Shall talk about it the next time I blog. Here are the photos...

The final final product with strawberries from China!





The Swimming Pool. My whole family was watching the swimming pool for a good half an hour at the Clubhouse because they were very very fascinated with an ang moh throwing their kids into the swimming pool, literally. haha...

The future bridge to dunno where...

The nice fountain...

And finally... the giant ferris wheel... I just can't help but take a photo of it... again... haha...

I went back to Montfort today to listen to Montfort Chorale before they sing for SYF this coming Wednesday. And to be honest, I am really very very surprised when I heard them. They have improved tremendously! Its like they went through some crash course in choral singing. Their set piece was very nicely done (Not really gold standard but definitely better than the standard they produce for Sunset). They sang in one voice, they moved together as a choir, there was actually interpretation to the song, every note was correct and most importantly, they actually show some choral technique! Never in my life have I heard them sing so well ever since Mr Yong left. Seriously, I am really very impressed and proud of them man! Woots! Yagi Bushi was a stunner! The song was definitely of a high standard (comparable to their jap proverbs i guess) given that they have never sung such songs in TTBB before. And they are able to deliver it reasonably well. I admit that the song wasn't perfect as there were messy entries and sometimes they will just slow down and there are definitely some frivolous notes sung during the song but then, its really a great achievement for them. They suck when I heard them in Jan. 3 - 4 months later, they are able to produce a standard like that, its really very good. As for Ave Maria, I find that they can do more for the interpretation because they sounded so chor lor when they sing this soft mellow piece. But oh well... they managed to pull through a difficult sacred piece like that, I have nothing to say (although they went sharp in the end =X) haha... Hopefullly they will be able to get a Silver for SYF and prove to the school that they can be better than the band and most importantly, they have substance! Kudos to Mr Wilson Goh for helping them improve so much!!!! =)



Anyway, after choir pract, Ernest and I made our way to Cafe Cartel for dinner then he came over to my place to see me bake a cake for my grandma's birthday. Ernest Lim Wee Kiat actually helped me to decorate the cake. He sucked at it. So do I... haha... The both of us were practically laughing our heads off while decorating the cake, coming up with funny ideas of how we should decorate the cake and all. Its really very happening. I will have to thank Ernest for helping me out today! Thank you Ernest! Anyway, this is the end result...



Cocoa pops wordings were done by yours truly! Thank you thank you! Haha... oh well... I will post more pics tomorrow. I am so so so tired now. Out since 8.30am for MJChoir Alumni pract, then rushed down to Montfort for MC pract which ended at about 5pm. Didn't have time to eat and drink man... Okay... Shall go and sleep now... Goodie night


Quote of the day: Let's see the cake of the fate...
No prizes for guessing who said that... ha!

Its home alone again for me. My parents have flown off to China for their holiday early this morning while my brother will not be back from work till like midnight (not that he is working OT or anything but he will most probably be out with his friends...) So its just me, myself and I, alone at home. And I ended up watching Night at the Museum again at home. Funny movie that is... My dumb dumb wants to speak... haha...

I'll be on off tomorrow because I'll be going back to Montfort tomorrow to see how the choir is doing. Their SYF is coming up soon and I so hope that they will do well for it this year. Hopefully they can maintain their bronze or even move up to a silver (so that the band won't laugh at them anymore since they got a bronze this year... ha!) I will have to deliver old choir uniforms to them too, to help the needy students.

Yesterday's choir pract at Meridian was nonetheless, fruitful. Despite most of the uni gals having exams and stuff, quite a number turned up for practice. woohoo! And its only when we enter our wonderfully horrible choir room (I so miss that place...) that we found out how horrible we sound. And lucky for us, Mr Yong came before our Alumni Practice end, so we asked him to work on the 3 pieces with us. And so, we've decided to start having intensive practices from next Saturday onwards, to improve on our 3 songs. diao diao...

After so many months, I finally went out with my cousins yesterday. We went to watch Meet the Robinsons and boy were we so inspired by that movie. Keep Moving Forward! yea... and Hooray! I've made a mistake which means I will get to learn! That kind of thing... Its certainly much more interesting than Mr Bean's Holiday... Oh well... After the movie, we went to New York New York to taste the most spicy chicken drumlets of all time. One piece of the drumlet caused me to down one whole glass of water. One small bite of the drumlet caused Amanda to down half a glass of water. How small is the bite you may ask.... This small....

And we had to de-skin the chicken to finish them. How sad can we get...

Before

After

We had a great time yesterday definitely. Hopefully we can go to the Austrailia trip end of this year after their exams. Woohoo!!

I banged my head against the door the other day. It gave me a pimple and a swelling. Boo... And today, I was almost late for service because complacent me thought I could make it in time by leaving home 45 mins earlier... But the bus never came... And when I was about to walk to Compass point to take a cab, bus 83 drove to the bus stop happily.. And when I reach Compass point taxi stand, there was a super long queue and no cabs were in sight. Then I began walking upwards towards the 89 bus stop to try to get a cab. But there were no cabs in sight too! da bian... and It was like 11am (15 minutes to service) and I was like so panicky... don't even know whether I can make it in time. So in the end I took bus 27 to the busstop before the expressway and I got a cab there. In the end, I reached church just in time... woot! Praise the Lord!!

Alright... Let's all Keep Moving Forward! Put the pass behind us! Let go of all unhappy worries and troubles and delight in the presence of God!

That was random... oh well... Let's see what God has installed for me this coming week..

Happy Easter everyone!! I spent my Easter Sunday baking away at the Kitchen today. I have been waiting for today to come because I wanted to try out that White Chocolate Raspberry Cheesecake recipe which I've found at all recipes. It didn't really turn out the way I wanted it to be because my mother bought duo chocolate chips (white and milk chocolate together) instead of white chocolate and my raspberry sauce didn't turn out as thick as it should be. Hmmm... So the cake became brown in colour (instead of white) and I don't think the thickness of the sauce affected the cake much. Oh well... I didn't take a photo of it because I am too lazy to do so.


I'm just so so so tired because I've been sleeping late and waking up early every day for Good Friday Service, Choir practice and Sunday Service. I really don't mind waking up early for these stuff but the lack of sleep is causing me to be a little heavy in the head. And so, I messed up the kitchen in the end because I can't think clearly and I felt really disorientated and disorganised. So pooi pooi...


I've finally found my Mascarpone Cheese at Cold Storage when I was out with Choon on Friday!! So I went home immediately to make my long awaited tiramisu which didn't turn out very well too... (How irritating...) I don't know if it should be creamy or cake like. But it turned out creamy in the end. Maybe I should not have used my electric mixer to mix my mascarpone cheese and egg yolk mixture because it turned out that the cheese became watery!!! I was so shocked that I began panicking (the uncertainty of whether I'm doing it correctly kills me... pooi pooi!). I wanted to throw the whole thing away but I heard a distant voice from afar (Sharon's one actually) reminding me of the countless children who are dying from hunger in Africa everyday. So, I fought the the feeling of imperfection and continued on with the journey of producing my first ever tiramisu. And so, that's how my creamy/ failed (I think...) tiramisu came about (no photos... Its too disgusting to be posted online...). It turned out that my mum's friend said that the tiramisu tasted nice... I've tried it. It was okay... But I don't find it perfect yet...


Somehow, the only thing I've baked over the pass few days which turned out well was my Apple crisp. The look is okay but it was too bloody sweet!!! pooi pooi pooi! But its really very nice (not praising myself but the recipe) if I cut down the sugar content by half. I felt diabetic after taking one small bite of that apple crisp. Comparable to the constipation and diabetes inducing brownie I produced last week... Woot!! Here's one photo of how it looked like in the oven...





Oh well, I enjoy baking because it sort of relaxes my mind. Sometimes it helps me think through stuff and sort out my thoughts. Yea, its one way to calm the irritating beast within me. People ask me to sell what I bake but I feel awkward doing it for money. I sort of want to do things as and when I like to do with no worries whether I will poison the next guy who takes a bit out of my stuff. Also, its really laborious to bake things in big quantities. I just one to bake it, savour it and clean up. haha... Its just my way of relaxing I guess...

Alright, Choir practice have been very very productive so far! We've chose our 3 songs and finished learning 2 of them. So exciting! People who wants to support MJChoir and its alumni (3 songs only...), Please please buy tickets!! Details are as follows:

Meridian Junior College Choir presents:
La Risonanza IV
Date: 24 May 07
Venue: Victoria Concert Hall
Time: 7.30pm
Tix price: $12


Lastly, I'm really really broke! Phewy... I've been spending a lot on movies and food for the past few days and I think I'm buying things on impulse. Like yesterday, while I was waiting for Ernest and Edwin at Vivo City, I went into Candy Empire and came out with 2 packets of biscuits (Buy one get one free... I'm no cheapo ok!) worth $7.90. Then on Friday, while I was buying ingredients with choon on Friday, I bought one packet of M&Ms, 2 packets of Marks and Spencer cookies, Oreo cookies and 1 packet of marshmellows just because I felt like buying it. Now my house if filled with biscuits and I have no idea when I can finish them... da bian... I'm so dead... I'm so dead... The money in my pocket is replaced with guilt (for not saving... damn it!)... Oh well... I guess I really have to start saving and learn how to control my expenses (I'm a finance clerk for goodness sake!) Alright... here are some photos taken yesterday with Ern and Edwin (Such cam whores are we!)

Through this cam whoring experience, I realised that my face is very small... Boo... Oh well... To end off, Ernest, the following is for you:

Seek ye first the kindom of God

And His righteousness

And all His things shall be given unto you

Hallelu Hallelujah

Recess over loh!!!

And so I had my first weekend guard duty yesterday. I'm quite blessed actually because I had a lot of resting time yesterday and there was no turn out or anything. So yea, lucky lucky me. Anyway, guard duty is definitely not fun but one thing about doing it at SFT is that you get to see aeroplanes land one after another. Not that its a very interesting sight or anything (it gets boring after a while because the planes just keep on coming...) but you get to see planes from different airlines. Some are foreign but most are common (like, duh!). That is one way to past time when you are walking about, making sure that no suspicious personnel can be found lurking around the vicinity. Oh well... One month down... another 8 more months to go...

After returning home from guard duty today, I decided to bake something to relax myself. And I'm proud to announce that I've produced the ultimate constipation causing brownie. I'm not praising my own cooking but the brownie is very chocolatey itself, and its coated with chocolate icing made from cocoa powder, butter, icing sugar and honey. Woooooooh! No doubt, it will definitely cause constipation and if you're unlucky enough, diabetes mellitus... haha... Shall see the reaction of my friends tomorrow... wooohooo

Another exciting week ahead for me! Good Friday service, MJChoir Alumni Practice, MCA lunch and my grandma's birthday at my cousins' house. Woots!