~precious memories~

2009-06-25T04:10:00.001+08:00

been long since i posted eh? haha! well... i'm still tired! and facebook is fun! XD

2009-06-04T19:02:00.002+08:00

THANKS ANDREW!!!

i had lots of fun playing pool! first time i own so many guys!
haha! and THANKS AGAIN ANDREW!!! for the chicken drumlets!! XD

even though so, hiax... NVM! lets not rake up about it.. i'll take it as it never happened.. and yes.. i can never tell you who the other person is.. sorry!

2009-05-07T18:04:00.002+08:00

I FINALLY GOT A GOLD FOR NAPFA!!! ALL THE MONTHS OF HARD WORK HAD PAID OFF!!! THANKS MRS ANNIE LOH!!!

i've so yet to tell this good news to mr soh... 2.4 timing of 13.43 from a 15-16min in just 2 months!

gosh gosh gosh!!! ARHH!!! I'M HAPPY!!! not just any ordinary happy, but ELATED! IN HIGH SPIRITS! ON CLOUD NINE! TICKLED! THRILLED! ECSTATIC! AND I'M WALKING ON AIR!!

GOSH!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I SO LOVE MY BRO!! THANKS FOR THE ENCOURAGEMENT, THE SHOES AND THE TIPS!!

2009-05-02T00:55:00.003+08:00

updates?:

tired. period.

2009-04-17T23:42:00.001+08:00

YEAH!!! I GOT INTO RECO!!! WOOHOO!!! HAHA!!!

alright... enough with the caps lock already... i hope i won't regret my decision... *fingers crossed*

now... update about my virus... a virus attack has came and has yet to go... it attacked me front, back, centre, left, right, up and down... damn... my throat now hurts like anything... damn the cough and flu...

sorry 09S22 if you end up getting my virus... really sorry...

2009-04-14T00:57:00.003+08:00

it hurts... totally... inside out... whenever this happens, i can't help but feel hopeless... all i can do is just to wait, and wait, and wait... when will all these come to an end? when will i have my freedom again?! when when when?! it has been so torturous that i've been suffering solely in silence... the pain is near the stage of unendurable... i cannot take it anymore, any longer... damn that stupid nose and throat...

HAHA!! alright.. i know it sounds stupid, but, ya.. it really hurts so much you know?! i'm falling ill soon.. i can sense it... it's coming down my way... NNOOOOO!!! *must resist it!* *go away you stupid head...* *shoo shoo...*

2009-04-10T10:56:00.003+08:00

ALSO, TO ADD ON, I'M DAMN PISSED! PISSED OF COUNCIL!

but what else can i do?! other people are good in their studies, while i suck at mine... of course i won't get into exco.. stupid heads!!! sigh... dammit...

updates

2009-03-15T19:20:00.003+08:00

So sorry about the late update!

YES YES YES!!! I GOT INTO STUDENT COUNCIL!!! yes yes.. all my hard work paid off.. thanks 09S22, for your votes!! thanks! really... all the campaigning, speech, dancing, singing, etc... *all eyes on me, at the centre of the ring, just like a circus...* whee~ HAHA!! i feel like dancing again!

yes yes yes.. i look forward to all the organising and planning and of course, investiture which is in 40+ more days time.. yup yup yup.. we're now suppose to think of a suitable theme for our investiture. hmmm... we're still working on it...

anyway.. i've got a tight hol coming ahead.
tuesday: (maybe, meeting for discussion of theme)
tuesday-wednesday: guides overnight in WS
wednesday: council meeting in school
thursday: HSK briefing
thursday-friday: class chalet

WOW!! 'long' holiday eh? well.. i'd better continue with my studying as well; not neglecting them.. hopefully i still have time to spend with you.. thanks for understanding.. XD

2009-03-05T22:12:00.002+08:00

omg... nianting just directed me to her blog. she was thanking people she met so far in her life. she wrote:
'I’ve been wanting to do this for the longest time ever but it’s either i don’t have the time or, i procrastinate. but this time i’ll finish it. because i want to, and i just thought what if i don’t have the chance anymore? and this may just be the best chance i’d show my appreciation for the people who knows how to appreciate - this is for YOU. (and if you’re reading this and your name is not here, fret not cause i haven’t forget you.) I thought i just want to thank the more significant people ((:'

for a moment, i thought my name wouldn't be in the list. i thought that she had forgotten all about me already. then i scrolled down. and i found my name. this was what she wrote:

Olivia: OLI! manzxzxz, i’d die in council without you. all the late nights trying to plan out something, all the macs we’ve eaten for a camp that made a difference, all the time when we hug and talk and laugh together, i remember, really (: remember pre-camp-camp, how we bargained and joked and crapped and shared a cup noodle among the 7 of us, that was really great and awesome. and i still have your letter that you gave me during birthday. gosh that made me cry like some idiot but hey, i’m truly thankful, grateful and touched. I love the way we are able to work together seriously and play together and go crazy. and i love the way you’re determined to get things done when you set your heart to it. WE NEED TO GO OUT AND MEET UP AND CATCH UP SOON ((: LOVE YOU! ((:

you know how touched i feel? omg.. i felt like crying can... NIANTING!!! I"LL ALWAYS REMEMBER YOU TOO!!!

2009-03-04T17:54:00.002+08:00

hopefully, hopefully, hopefully, i can get into council. have been working pretty hard and its been very tiring for the past few days. i can't go on for too long with only 3 hours of sleep everyday! i'll die!!

anyway.. thought that i had been drifting off from wenrong already. i'm not too sure if its just my imagination or what. but i know for sure is that we aren't as close as we used to. what shall i do?! is it because of council that is keeping us apart? or is it because i'm oversensitive? or are we REALLY drifting apart? i don't know what to do. perhaps it could be because i am not as hyper as before. but i can't help it. she doesn't mind talking a little in class, but i thought that i should listen cause my foundation is not that good. could it be that because the rest are willing to talk, thats why she naturally becomes closer to them? i really dunno what to do.

School Updates

2009-02-24T23:54:00.002+08:00

School started and life is 'so far so good'.. saw 1 cat and 3 kittens a few days back.. after that heard that there were 7 kittens! 5 white, 1 brown and 1 black! omg.. the black one was really cute! haha. alright. enough with that.

today, i was unwell and my classmates were very concerned about me. thank you 09S22. you guys are the best! thanks for all the care and concern! i'm still not feeling too well, but, i'll pull through, no matter the pain..

and yes, i'm looking forward to work with Habitat for Humanity again!! XD

the best brother that anyone can ever have

2009-01-31T02:21:00.004+08:00

i LOVE my BROTHER!!! you'd be surprised! last year, when i was aiming to get a single digit for my o levels, getting into NJC - yes i know, a bit off target right? but its alright to plan and at least have an aim. when you aim for the sun, you drop on the clouds! so, indeed, i've dropped on the clouds!

so anyway, the thing was that my bro said he'd give me his ds,(which was his birthday present) if i could get into NJC. whereas, he'd buy me a Nintendogs if i were to get a single digit. so, the whole year round, i worked hard(?). HAHA!! maybe not.. anyway, as time passed, he changed and said CJ instead. (as my results were all 20, 20+ - how to get into CJ? needless to say, NJ. we were even worrying about me being unable to enter PJ.)

when i got back my results, i was very calm. i just felt totally relaxed as though as i had already known my results. when ms chong saw me, she thought that i already knew my results. ms chong and mr seet were sort of proud of my results? cause a 17 is after all better then the 22 that i got previously.

i was pretty neutral about the 15, (after minus 2 bonus points). but somehow, i just accepted it? i don't know. i know that i could have done better, yet also felt that this was considered not too bad? mixed feelings i guess.

told my bro that if the results were good, i'd message him. so to me, it wasn't good enough to be considered as good news. so i didn't tell him. my parents messaged him instead. he didn't reply or anything.

when he booked out of camp, he waited until he was already at white sands before messaging us that he was ready. i mean we were at the west and he's at the east?! it would take us a full 30min to get there to fetch him.

finally, when he was in the car, he turned to me and said, 'so, you got a 15 right? (R4 - 10) considered not too bad lah! here's your Nintendogs!' i was shocked and speechless. i didn't expect that i still got rewarded for just a 15!

not only that. he is also paying for my handphone bills, my school fees, and maybe even my school trips! what more can i ask from this fantastic brother of mine?! he's simply... (he's just too good that no words can describe how i feel of him! just too good!)

there is definitely something that i know of - when he's in need of help, i'll make sure that i'll be the first one to help him!

Kor, I LOVE YOU!!! YOU'RE THE BEST OF THE BEST OF THE BEST!!!

posting results

2009-01-31T02:15:00.003+08:00

yup yup yup!! got into PJ!!! WOOHOO!!! (ok... wenrong's gonna say me again - sound like jiang xiao hua) and and... wenrong also got into PJ!!

yeah man! we've been fated to be in the same school.. cause she just made it in! i'm so happy for her!! i knew that she can do it! XD

now, its a time for the both of us to work hard together and that we'll master our studies well! it takes encouragement and just being there!

lets brace through the storm and work hard together!! PJC, HERE WE COME!!

2009-01-22T22:05:00.003+08:00

whee~~ i just love pineapple tarts... made one in a shape of a curry puff! then mummy say ask me to eat my popiah! wei! its curry puff ok?! haha. anyway, think i'll make another the shape of a popiah! haha. mummy gave me inspiration... think i should make a few more cute cute and wierd wierd shapes! XD MORE PINEAPPLE TARTS!!! I LOVE THEM!!

not feeling well

2009-01-20T12:49:00.004+08:00

ok, ok. i know, i know. i haven't received my posting results yet, but just thought i'd post a bit of something. well, its been pretty boring for the past few days...

hmmm. haven't been feeling quite well since yesterday. terrible runny nose with a bit of yellowish-green mucus. (i know, sounds disgusting, but also means that i'm not quite in the right state of health) today was worse. blew out a little bit of blood too. i'm blowing too hard already, but still.. hate this feeling. yesterday had giddy spells and a bit nauseous. standing up is like when you are having a fever and you tried to get up from bed, where everyting seems to have turned dark and it is like bluring my vision, head feels heavy and i need to hold on something for a support. can someone tell me what to do about this?

about the head spinning spells part, it happened quite often for a period of time before it stopped. then recently, it seemed to have started again. normally happens when i try to get up either from my bed (while lying or sitting down), the chair, or from the floor. am i having high blood pressure? can't be right? at such a young age?

and finally, i dun have to visit the doc about my old prob! yup! i guess it should be ok now..

(you know what? i'm very determined about this now, so don't ever change my mind anymore... this time i guess its for real.. anyway, really grateful for all that you've guided me through.. guess your existence in my life is up, and i'll accept that fact..)

12 choices

2009-01-15T15:26:00.004+08:00

well... submitted on 12 jan already.. then karmen just had to 'force' me to update my blog.. so... viola!!! here's what i chose for my 12 choices...

1) pioneer jc - expect, explore, excel
2) innova jc
3) MI - Millennia institude
4) banking and financial services (np)
5) tourism & resort management (np)
6) psychology & community services (np)
7) banking &financial services (sp)
8) human resource management with psychology (sp)
9) accountancy (np)
10) business studies (np)
11) financial informatics (sp)
12) integrated events & project management (sp)

and seeing all my choices, all karmen said was "whoa! all business?!"

haha. well, i can't help it, i want to venture into (listed by priority):
1) teaching
2) accountancy
3) business (not setting up my business, but more of being those executive persons you see walking in the streets) - sort of like office work?
4) planning and organising events - starting from things like road shows etc to big big events - i love planning and organising though i take a long time to do so...
5) doing psychology

well, hopefully, i would be able to reach my goals and that i will be able to serve people with my passion and of course that my studies can be coped well too!

that's all for now, and i guess the next time i pop by is when i'm being 'forced' to again, or when i receive my posting results... see ya!!

results

2009-01-13T00:17:00.003+08:00

hmmm.. got my results back already... but i'm still not very satisfied with it... i prayed and prayed and hoped for the best.. i thought that i would be able to get into CJC, which i thought was the right JC for me. but at the end of the day, i do know that what has happened, has already happened, and i also do believe in fate. i may have to go through this twice (PSLE and O Levels), but i think that through each cycle, god seemed to be telling me something...

this time, i guess i get his message. i learnt my lesson in from sec 3 to O Levels. i really mustn't take time for granted. time is invaluable. its priceless. so what if my studies suck now? it doesn't really matter. so long as i have the will to pick myself up, so long as i am ready to play my life properly, so long as i learn my lesson, so long as i will not repeat history, i believe that there is always a chance for me to excel! a chance for me to proof of my existence, and the importance of my existence..

i must make a change and move on with my JC life, be it good or bad, just accept the fact and move on. what is the point of clinging on to something that is not worth wasting your energy? at the same time, i am also going to sure that i do not let history repeat it self. chinese was one which i was not able to accept, lesson learned. i picked myself up and re-sit for the paper. i dare not say too much as i sort of gave up along the way, but to be able to produce that results when i had only started studying 2 days before the chi o level papers is considered good enough already.

as for the other subjects, some i started studying just before the prelims, while some others just before the o level papers itself. therefore to boost my potential, i will make sure i start studying and start my nerd life the moment i get a chance to. even if it takes giving up my free time, part of my social life.. well, can't be all my social life, cause i still need my contacts.. but, God, do stay by my side and never leave me. guide me to plan my life well and be able to prioritise my activities.

of course, i will seize every possible opportunities which i meet or come across. i will excel, not solely because i can, but more of because I BELIEVE! thus, i'll make sure i'll do my best and really my best this time round. i will not waste anymore time and chances which are thrown to me repeatedly.

all this is because i still believe that there is an inner spark within me, waiting to be ignited! and also just because I BELIEVE!!

2008-12-30T17:25:00.004+08:00

naturally 7 is coming to SINGAPORE!!! woohoo!!! its on 22 mar 09!! I'M SO GOING FOR IT!! XDXDXD

2008-12-29T21:51:00.003+08:00

went over to cherie's house today... and her doggie, oreo, gave me a kiss! gosh... thats my second kiss can?! (first kiss also taken by a dog.. sniff sniff..)

my reply to you...

2008-12-28T10:15:00.006+08:00

i just cannot understand. we've already drifted apart, yet you've expected everything to remain the same? we're still friends, but it's just that we're not so close anymore. things have changed. you may have upset me in the past, but i've already forgiven you. isn't it already sufficient? the reason why we can't be close anymore, is because i treasure my closer friends now, and i don't want another person to have gone through the same stage as i did. i don't want another hurt person. she has made me happy, and we have never quarreled. she made me laugh and so did i. she sensed when i wasn't happy and cheered me up! that's what i do not understand. you've made me sad before and want me to totally return to your side is impossible. can you guarantee that history will not repeat itself? can you ensure me that i'll be happy? can you promise that we'll embrace through the storm together? i don't want to be hurt again. if you can endorse all these, then accept her and we can all be together. all 5 of us...

A song i want to share...

2008-12-26T22:38:00.005+08:00

this song is totally natural... yup! its beat boxing!!

Kuching Mission Trip

2008-12-18T08:00:00.004+08:00

i'm back from Kuching, Sarawak!! it's fun, i tell you, and i want to go back next year!! i went to Kuching for 7 days, that's right, from 11 Dec to 17 Dec. this trip was actually a mission trip along with the other church members.

Day 1

i had to wake up pretty early in the morning to get ready to go to the airport. my family had mac for breakfast, but i shared with my brother. i mean like there's food on the plane, so dun have to eat too much. plus, i can't take too much food in the morning, or i'll vomit it out. so, ya, soon, it was time for us to meet up for the group check in. jeremiah james and genn were late. jeremiah james was taking the mrt and lrt and bus! haha. smart of him to take bus to bugis then change to mrt after that. luckily we weren't too late to check in then. it was about 7.15, then my family had to go already. i hugged my brother the first. cause i'll miss him and i still do. he is going in camp on the second day while i'm away. sadly, i can't send him off. he's now away already, but he'll be back this wed!! yippie!! haha. so, anyway, we checked in and went through the customs, and jeremiah james and i waited for jane. (jane is in my group btw.) and she was taking a really long time. as in really long. so, jeremiah james and i were making fun of her that she was an illegal immigrant, and all that, then when we asked her, we over heard that something of her's expired. aunty agatha then went to accompany her to check out what actually happened, and we just got to know that her PR expired, and the best thing was that it actually expired for about 3 years! she was really an illegal immigrant for 3 year, and will have to go to jail for 3 months if she comes back, and may also lose her PR upon return. she was allowed to leave, but not allowed to return. so jane called her mother to settle the PR problem, while the blur jeremiah james and i were told to check in. my group members were like if she doesn't come, then we would have to do extra presentation, but i was more concerned about her then the presentation. serious!! i was really concerned about her ok?! fortunately, jane went along with us, while her mother went to call the immigration centre up to settle the PR issue. she still has to pay a fine though. finally, we arrived at Kuching airport, and we departed for St Ann's, where fathers from our church have moved over to help the people there. we had lunch there and stored our luggage in a room. i thought that the organisation was quite messy, as we did not know what to do and we were not told of what was going on. (that's why i want to go next year, and help organise this.) next was going up the mountain. everyone one including myself started spraying insect repellent. the mozzie bites were really giganormous. (started by celine) after some what seemed like 30 min to 1hr of journey, we reached the base of mount singai. mount singai consists of the stations of the cross along the steps up the mountain. all the stations were tiring and we when we reached the 11th station, we saw this really beautiful scenery. the sight is really unforgettable. finally, we were at the top of the mountain. we settled down and began with our ice breaking session. (one of them, i can't recall who, was asking, 'we've already took the same plane to kuching together, had lunch together, climbed the mountain together, THEN we had ice breaking game). as usual, we had games like wacko etc and this team building game, the logic one. it was where we had to stand on a chair while we had to get one group from one end to another. finally, celine and i managed to come up with a solution and we worked it out! we had tea, then it was bathing time! mountain life is really relaxing. we had a beautiful scenery to watch to reflect and to relax ourselves. even i, myself, managed to relaxed in mount singai. next was caroling!! it was fun! (this was mainly because i missed going for weekly choir for the 10.45am sunday mass.) so, yup! jeremiah james was the one who lead us through by being our conductor. out of the 16 people there, only 4 were church choir members. so jeremiah james couldn't lead us like choir members, but had to do the basics. jane (one of the 4 choir members - the rest of the choir members include sandra, jeremiah and of course myself!) and i were saying that jeremiah james was starting to sound like sean (current church conductor) - look at me when you sing, i'll guide you in etc. (one of which jeremiah james also mentioned about reaching a higher note by singing louder - i was telling jane that sean would have killed jeremiah james if he got to know that - sean told us that we must maintain at a constant volume). we had reflection after that and finally went to sleep. of course, being up in the mountains, insects were very much welcomed in the dormitory, so we armed ourselves by surrounding the dom with insect repellent and true enough, we didn't get attacked! (sadly, the other dom didn't do so and received all the love bites from those mozzies.

Day 2

we woke up to a bright morning, with the sun shinning in already. we went to wash up and had breakfast. but we just found out that it was raining the night before and our shoes were all wet! so we decided to sun our shoes in the balcony. while there, a few of us had forgotten our geog (sorry mr ong!) and were wondering which side the sun rises from, so as to determine the direction we should place our shoes. i then told them that we might as well place our shoes in the middle of the balcony, as so matter what, the sun would reach directly above out heads and our shoes could be dried then. after which, our very first official objective of the day was to start work! we brought our gloves along and we started the carrying of the sand bags. that's right! right from the bottom of the mountain! we formed a human chain and the group of girls were given from the 11th station to the last, which was the 14th station. you might think that it is so short and less steep right? but you are wrong! that's far from true! we girls have to sustain the 4 stations!! its tiring! then while delivering the sand, keenan told me that the guys at the bottom of the mountain were dehydrated and wanted a drink. i quickly raced my way to the top to bring the bottles of water down. fortunately, justin came to my rescue. knowing that we were already out of breath and our hands already trembling, he personally carried the box of water down for the others. thinking that it was already near evening or mid evening, we took our break. sadly we realised that it was only about 11am! we had our break and the few of us got excited to paint the benches already. jeremiah james and i got so engrossed in painting that we refused to rest. but of course, we finally stopped and took our break. all of us then resumed with painting after lunch. all 22 of us started painting. initially, i was just grouped with joan. then came along jeremiah jude and ian. jess decided to paint from downwards up while justin and jerrick painted the floor. (apparently it was because they hated girl guides and they were just so against guides for cheating their money on the cookies. but i explained that our organisation was our own and not government funded so we needed our own funds. nothing seemed to get into their heads and they started a 'i hate guides campaign kind of thing, teasing me of how much they hated guides and all.) at the same time, i had jeremiah jude stuck with wet paint around him. (god knows how he got out in to end XD) then they always say that everyone would get the retribution they deserve right? that's right. justin, jerrick and jess got me stock as well, with no lee way to jump out! and of course, joan had already decided to abandon me when she could while i was stuck to paint the benches! you think i let them off easily after that? no! i splashed everyone with paint and justin was telling his mother that he need not dye his hair already. (i feel guilty, but what else could i have done? i had paint all over my sole and in between by toes alright! until now, the paint as yet to be removed!) soon it stared raining and we had to stop painting. (messy communication, we did not know what to do, neither was wet weather programme done up - that's why i say i want to go back next year, to plan and organise!) we went to bathe and guess what? it just wasn't my day. we were out of water. as in really no water. i was more fortunate though. in the toilet, there were 3 cubicals and mine was the first, so i had water, but jess and genn had none. water was not even flowing out! to make matters worst, there came this 'guy' who chased us out saying that dinner was ready, and everyone were waiting for us already. we were bathing half way and had no water and this person just had to chase us out! however, when we got out, grace rushed into the cubical and was like 'thank you! now i can go and bathe!' i tell you, genn jess and i were super angry can?! we tried to lock her in from outside but apparently, hers had no lock outside! how frustrating! haha. so genn resumed her washing of hair outside, at the balcony, while i tried to scrub off the paint. (yes, all thanks to justin and jerrick - but i had fun and bonded with them though.) i scrubbed till dusk. as in it was really dark by then. celine was there to accompany me and we talked about JCs and all that. i was asking her if CJ was good - she's from CJ - and i'm now still uncertain of which JC to go to. then came this insect and celine was commenting of how cute the stick insect was. i gave a closer look and viola! i think i saw its stingy tail, as in like the ones which look like those of a scorpion. then i was like 'i don't think its a stick insect, i think it's more of a scorpion!' i quickly finish my business and we got ourselves out from there. just nice, keenan popped by and asked us if we were ready and we related the scorpion story to him and he sort of just laughed it off. we had dinner after that, and we went to a souvenir shop to see what wwe wanted to purchase, and i thought i saw a shirt which i liked! sadly, it was out of stock!, and that keenan actually managed to buy the last one! after which, we resumed with a more serious caroling practice before reflection and sleep. and for the first time, jess started loving guides already. XD (guides actually meant more of me - don't know, don't ask. haha.)

Day 3

as usual, all of us woke up and washed up at the balcony. it's much more convenient you know?! we went to eat breakfast, and oh yes, jane is still comparing which coffee is better. (she drank like 2-3 cup on the plane, but still found herself tired, and went to sleep! even on mount singai, she drinks coffee before sleeping!) after breakfast, all of us went to clean up the logging area. my group was in charge of cleaning the toilets. and there was me, holding on to a scrub, and i was scrubbing and drying the floor with it, while some had the same job as mine, others were the ones who were pouring the water instead. i was like running from one end of the toilet to the other, attempting to push the water out to the balcony. when i reached the end of the balcony, i just realised that there was no water collected on the way. to my surprise, when i looked up, i say keenan taking a picture of me! that was so embarrassing! (there were many guys around there as well, and they just laughed at me! humph!) as soon as we were done cleaning, all of us started the descend down the mountain. it was raining the night before (yes, again), so the steps were kinda slippery. we reached the base of the mountain and the bus uncle was already waiting for us! i resumed my emo sit and stared out of the window. as i glance at the passing scenery, flashes of my family's images came to my mind (friends as well!!). i always tend to like to emo in the bus by staring out to view the calming scenery. trying to sustain myself and preventing myself from falling asleep, or else i may end up not being able to sleep at night. meanwhile, i noticed keenan trying to take an emo pic of me. (btw, i always try to avoid the camera. i don't know why, but you can sort of label me as *camera shy*). so i just kept staring outside, hoping that he won't force me to look at him and then he takes an 'unglam shot'. (as what the girls have been saying.. 'keenan! you've just taken an unglam shot of me! delete that!' - Joan(mostly her)). whereas, jane is the contrary of me. whenever she sees the camera, she goes like 'hi keenan/jerrick/ian/justin/camera!' (these are the 4 main photographers of the group.) initially, they would still respond to her by taking a pic, but subsequently, they just turn away from her or just make some comments - i think my camera lenses are cracking/ my camera lens cracked! anyway, soon we reached St Ann's, where we proceeded with the decorations for the children's Christmas party at which it was held. of course, me being me, i got very engrossed with the decorations and refused to eat until i was done with the decorations. but, its more of my personality, that when i'm engrossed with something, i would refuse to eat or do anything else. and again, they (everyone) started teasing me that girl guides is so hardworking etc. finally, when i was done and ready to eat, everyone was done eating and was still teasing me of eating late. party was a little messy but fun! we played games like head, shoulders knees and toes, musical chairs as well as the squirrel game. the party came to an end and we gave out presents and sculptured balloons. we made flowers, swords, dogs etc. seeing the smiles on the children faces, it also brought smiles to my face too! we then left to eat the sarawak kolo mee further down the streets. after which, i went to walk around the streets with ian, justin, aunty agatha, uncle williams and not forgetting, uncle santoso. we walked around but i did not bring any money along, neither did i find myself anything to buy. after that, we attended mass and had our first caroling session! even though we were soft initially, but we became louder (and we sung better then the kuching choir! XD shhh... - i mean like even the choir themselves also knew that they couldn't sing well. - they were laughing at themselves!) after caroling, we went back to St Luke's for the night. we had movie screening! (strange eh? i thought it was more of a mission trip.) of course it was accompanied by reflection and back to bunk time! grace was screaming all the time because of the ants attacking her. she claims that she kept spraying insect repellent, but more still came. joan went to check it out, and realised that grace's insect repellent was strawberry scented! of course the ants continued to pester her! ended up, the rest of our night was spent laughing at grace.

Day 4

TIME TO DEPART FOR KAMPONG JENAN!! its a long journey there though. about a couple of hours? longer? i tried to sustain myself throughout the journey there, but my eyes gave way. i fell asleep already. this is the first time my eyes gave way! suddenly, the bus stopped and everyone were chased off the bus! okaayyy, now we see before our eyes was a church! its st theresa's church, i was told. we suddenly felt out of place. everyone there were dressed conservatively, but we were there in tees, shorts, and slippers! they told us to get on the bus again. all of us started cursing and swearing, as we were all sleeping very soundly before they woke us up! surprisingly, they told us to go down the bus again. *complains again*. i stood with celine and related to her how my eyes finally gave up. meanwhile, i noticed at a corner of my eye, another camera - jerrick this time. i turned my head again. of course, like i said, i'm camera shy. XD and from another angle, i noticed more cameras. i had to practically turn my entire body, so as to dodge from the cameras. celine and i saw then got to know of a shop which sold some crosses and all that. we went in to take peep, and i was quite disappointed as all my friends are non-christians or non-catholics. so i just went for another window shopping thing. out from the shop and i find myself face to face with keenan's camera. i turned around again, avoiding the camera. celine got a little shocked from my sudden reaction as she did not notice keenan. then of course, keenan was persuading me to take a photo of me, and i gave in and had my photo taken with celine and someone else (sorry, but i can't recall who else i took with). we went up the bus and poof! we were on our way to KAMPONG JENAN!! whee~ i was so excited i could not sleep. upon arrival, i was shocked ! not because of cultural shock, but more of why was the kampong so well developed?! i had half expected more padi fields and less technology! there were speakers, lots of guitars, and even a drum set! anyway, we had our introductions with our foster parents - as they've called it - i thought it was kinda weird, but nonetheless we went to settle down in our parents home. on our way home, thoughts raced through my mind. if it was a run down house, how should i react to this? start whining, or should i take it as a new experience and just enjoy myself? how then, if it was some quite developed house? jump with glee and thank and praise god for i don't have to suffer for the next 3 days? i think i would rather prefer the second senerio. its more like me don't you agree? i mean the experiencing something new and all. sad to say, my house was a very developed place with their walls painted and everything. (i also got to know that my 'daddy' was some president of something there. pretty big guy. post i meant. perhaps that's why our house is considered well developed.) we were served coffee, and i enjoyed it! it was really the best coffee. it was sweet and awakening. after which we watched a little tv and we asked if we could go walk around. (they wanted us to sleep though - i mean like how are we suppose to sleep at 2?!) so we departed for the waterfall nearby. its beautiful i tell you. (we fetched people on our way there - our people ) after some nice 30 min to 1hr slashing of water at each other plus a lot of fun, screams and laughter, we finally got out of the water and headed back home to wash up. to tell you the truth, i think its like some miracle water or some sort. all my mozzie bites were gone! as in really gone! (though my friends claimed that they had more) btw, the insects in the kampong are gigamormous. even larger then the ones you see in singapore. (their food servings and number of meals per day is so giganormous.) so anyway, in the night time, at about 7pm, we went back to the community hall to do up a mini presentation to the kampong people about singapore. (my group members and i have been struggling with this presentation and the result was not really as good as i had hoped - they didn't quite understand us.) so anyway, i thought grace's group's presentation was funny. it was on the different types of food ate by the different ethnic groups. she intro-ed chicken rice as nasi ayam (still acceptable), fish and chips as ikan and kentang. (still ok and understandable), but nasi lemak as nasi and lemak (which also means its rice with fats!!) and guess what, the kampong people actually believed that and thought that we eat rice with fats! so ya, after that, we had praise and worship. it really freaked me out a little, because these people take praise and worship really seriously. at the same time, it also helped me to reflect that i may have been taking god for granted. after that, we went home and saw another few more domestic insects while jane started screaming away. (as usual... XD) we turned in for the night after eating very sweet servings of papaya.

Day 5

jane and i woke up with a startle. it then dawned upon us that it was someone knocking on the door. i quickly opened it and i saw uncle williams at the door telling us how late it was and how late we've slept in. we were suppose to wake up at 7, but we actually woke up at like 7.25? very late right? we had to be at the church by 8! fortunately with our swift and agile movements, we were at the church by 8am, sharp and the rest still at home! however, i had to wear my 'mummy's' slippers as their dog bit my broken! sad and happy at the same time. XD (sad because it was broken, but happy because i can get to buy a new pair of slippers! XD - simple one though - uncle williams bought it for me!) after morning prayer, we started our community work! i was one of the few to do gardening. yes! i was to help pull out the weeds and trim the flowers! its my first time doing this, as you know, in singapore, we all hire a gardener to do so, or else we are one of the many who do not own gardens. the pulling of weeds was fast, but guess what? the kampong people are like so much faster! the cutting of flowers as well. i thought i could try trimming the flowers to gain experience for a change. so i took over from jess who was also trimming them. but as i cut, ian, justin and keenan were there to tease me again. they said that my cutting was curvy, and asked if i actually managed to get my gardening badge! so evil to have teased me right?! but its true, i do not have a gardening badge. surprisingly, i managed to get myself seven mozzie bites on one leg and 4 on the other. keenan was evil enough to have taken a pic of it! after the long scratching, i went on to help with the next job, painting of the grills. shawn got a large plot of paint on my limited edition council tee! - my batch of exco, only about 5 of us have it as it was the previous batch's tee! so anyway, we finished painting and went back home for lunch before going back to the church for bible sharing and went to play in the river in another kampong! while in the river, i managed to relax myself and even though i was talking about geography initially. when it was time to go, i was reluctant, cecelia (emcee for our stay there) told everyone that i did not want to go, and splashed me with water! so evil right? but in the end we still had to go. the feeling i had in the river would definitely not be forgotten. it was really calm and relaxing. we finally left for home, washed up and prepared for door to door caroling! we were all off-tune as jeremiah james had some personal things and had to leave for home. so having the conductor gone, of course everything screwed up! at the last house - the chief's house - beer was served and many got drunk. this also included jane who was staying with me. justin and jerrick were congratulating me and all, wishing me luck sleeping next to her that night. luckily she didn't do anything to me, if not i would really not let her off!

Day 6

we had to wake up early in the morning to leave Kampong Jenan. sadly.. this time, i told uncle williams to wake us in case we would not wake up. this time, he started waking us up 5 min before 7! we had a last round of caroling, but our voices were all hoarse already. there was a song which only i could reach that note, but having a hoarse voice i really stood out from the crowd, sounding like a very loud toad. soon it was really time to leave and my 'mummy' cried while bidding us goodbye. (btw, i also got to know that mya - my 'sis' - owns a laptop!) after which, we went to eat more kolo mee for lunch and we made a visit to the sarawak cultural village. there was this blowpipe station which jess started teasing me again. this was because i blew it very near the bull's eye - must be girl guides then can aim so well one. then came this performance, where they told us an overview of the different cultures of the sarawak dialects and races. the blowpipe guy lowered his blowpipe at me - i don't know if it was linked to the blowpipe staion. anyway, at the SCV, i've learnt a lot about their different cultures and and got to understand them better. then, it was a long journey back to st luke's. it was really very long. all of us fell asleep. suddenly, it started raining, but i ignored it. didn't really mind the rain coming in. (jess helped me to close the windows though) after that, i woke up to some quarrels in the bus. i then got to know that the bus driver refused to drop us off at st luke's in the heavy weather, but want us to walk in the rain, across the road. when we refused and requested that he do a u-turn, he just refuses and drove to somewhere further down and told us to get off. all of us got angry and the argument became quite heated. finally, after half an hour of arguement, the bus driver finally did a u-turn but only dropped us outside st luke's, at the gate. all of us were still very angry but father moses (or was it father phillip) told us that we must learn to forgive those whom we are angry with. which i also thought was a meaningful lesson. the dinner that night was the best! their fried rice was nicer then the ones in singapore. so were their vege. (sadly justin doesn't eat vege, so it was kinda a waste for him not to have tried it.) we then had reflection and a feedback session. of course finding that this trip was very lax, i wrote all that i was unsatisfied of, on the piece of paper given. after that, we went to turn in for the night.

Day 7

finally, it was our shopping day and i bought myself a cute tee! hope i can go there again next year. this time, i'll bring more money for myself to spend! towards the end of the shopping, jerrick fell a little sick and was shivering when we met him. apparently, he was wearing sandra's scgs jacket and i did not noticed it until jerrick asked if my windbreaker was warm enough. i wasn't that cold, so i lend it to him. on our way to the airport, he passed the jacket back to me and as the airport was kind of cold, i wore it. and for the rest of my journey home, it was my turn to become sick. felt giddy, smomach feeling a little wierd, feeling cold - guessed i had fever. got home and i quickly too a bath. bath was long though, as i was falling asleep while bathing.