July 2005 Archives

just had a shower after a time of team-bonding today and I must say I had a great time .. and group 9 was THE integral factor in making it so! *hip hip hurray for group 9!*

introducing group 9! (just got the group photos from yong hui, so thought i would put them in here!)

and here we are before the water-bomb war started, all eager =p and three cheers for our most adorable icon/mascot too! :)

despite being from different walks of life, different backgrounds, different age groups, we somehow managed to gel together ... each one contributing his or her best, enabling the team to work together just fine :) *three cheers*

everyone was just so "together", it was wonderful! we were very fast, efficient, definitely creative and innovative, yet everyone, i'm sure, had fun at the same time! no one was left out =p I'm certainly looking forward to working with everyone in the GESL in the year ahead!

quote of the day from alvin, our facilitator, which i thought summed up quite well why our group (Dynamic) worked so well together: "everyone knew when to talk and when to keep quiet", something that is undoubtedly important in teamwork, because we can't all be leaders all the time =p

and as edwina shared with us, in this one year of "service learning", some will learn how to serve others in this experience, and others will learn more about themselves while serving ... i thought this was especially meaningful :)

indeed, as we give off a bit of ourselves, and keep ourselves open to the world around us, we learn a lot more than we'll ever expect to learn =p that's the beauty of serving, and being a good servant, totally in line with what God wants us to do! Cos to be great in the kingdom of heaven, one must first be a servant (of God) :)

at a crossroads in life, some decisions have to be made.

i was "forced" due to certain deadlines to make some decisions to decide my future (so to speak) just last week, within a span of a few days ...

so here is the final decision made:

1. I won't be going overseas to pursue my Masters in Economics even though I've gotten places in University College London (UCL) in the UK, Uni of Nottingham in the UK and University of British Columbia (UBC) in Canada, because family finances are tight.

2. I was, however, offered the NUS Masters Research Graduate Scholarship, which offers to pay for my tuition fees and gives me a monthly allowance, on the account that I teach/do research for a minimum of 6 hours a week, over and above my own studying. However, I have turned it down, and so I will not be doing my Masters locally either.

3. Hence, I have decided to go to NIE (and to begin serving the first year of my undergrad scholarship bond), and am currently typing this blog entry on the first day of NIE in fact. I'm currently in Hall 12 in NTU and due to the new environment, I woke up rather early, especially since my NIE team-bonding activities only begin at 2pm later.

Many people have asked me why I didn't decide to pursue a local Masters, especially since I've was offered the local scholarship. Many factors were in fact considered, too many to discuss here. So in a nutshell, after much thought and discussion with family and those who know me best, plus in the hope of making a choice that would be pleasing in the Lord's eyes (i.e. what He wants me to do) I've made the decision to decline the NUS offer and go to NIE instead.

Did I make the right decision? Well, ask me some time down the road, it's only my first day here! *laughs* Though I'm still a little unsure, and a little worried/concerned whether I should have done my masters before NIE, I am VERY VERY excited about the NIE course, so I think it'll be good :) Whatever the case, I'm leaving everything to the Lord's good hands ...

Your view on yourself:
You are down-to-earth and people like you because you are so straightforward. You are an efficient problem solver because you will listen to both sides of an argument before making a decision that usually appeals to both parties.

The type of girlfriend/boyfriend you are looking for:
You are a true romantic. When you are in love, you will do anything and everything to keep your love true.

Your readiness to commit to a relationship:
You are ready to commit as soon as you meet the right person. And you believe you will pretty much know as soon as you might that person.

The seriousness of your love:
You are very serious about relationships and aren't interested in wasting time with people you don't really like. If you meet the right person, you will fall deeply and beautifully in love.

Your views on education
Education is very important in life. You want to study hard and learn as much as you can.

The right job for you:
You're a practical person and will choose a secure job with a steady income. Knowing what you like to do is important. Find a regular job doing just that and you'll be set for life.

How do you view success:
You are afraid of failure and scared to have a go at the career you would like to have in case you don't succeed. Don't give up when you haven't yet even started! Be courageous.

What are you most afraid of:
You are concerned about your image and the way others see you. This means that you try very hard to be accepted by other people. It's time for you to believe in who you are, not what you wear.

Who is your true self:
You are mature, reasonable, honest and give good advice. People ask for your comments on all sorts of different issues. Sometimes you might find yourself in a dilemma when trapped with a problem, which your heart rather than your head needs to solve.

To take this quiz, go to:
http://quizbox.com/personality/test82.aspx

a huge relief, i finally made it! *smiles widely*
by God's grace primarily [definitely couldn't have done it without Him!], lotsa hard work and blind determination, love and support from family and friends ...

daddy and mummy!

my sis and I
definitely couldn't have made it through without her, my dearest darling sister! she never fails to make me laugh, something that is of ultimate importance in times of stress ... plus i know i can always count on her as my best friend, confidante and ardent supporter, no matter who i am or what i become! thankew nana! i love you!!! thank you for loving me even though i try too hard *grin*

the family together!

my graduation bear and I :)
don't we look alike, just as adorable right? *grin*

and again, can you tell i love my bear A LOT? :)

me and the BIG pink bear

having fun tossing the graduation hat

acting cute =p

a very special guest: som was here too! :)
Thanks for coming and helping me with some of my barang-barang! Paiseh about making you wait so long while photos were being taken! It was fantastic seeing you again, and i'm sorry that we only just managed to meet up and chat a few days before you're flying back to the States again =p but no fear, we'll meet up the next time you're back =)

cheep and i (and an absolutely beautiful bouquet of red roses!!!)
last, and most certainly not least, it was ab-fab to have cheep there =) without your support, help and encouragement, my nus life would most certainly have been a lot harder and a lot less fun, plus i most definitely would not be where i am today without you... thanks so much for everything! :) most importantly, thank you for loving me for who i am! love you lots! *hugs*

cheep and i again (with graduation bear that cheep got for me and which is robed like me...) i love my grad bear! =p

The friends whose friendship I hope to keep for a lifetime, the friends who stood by me, knowing who I am, where I've been and where I want to go. A HUGE thank you and many hugs go out to all of you! My uni life would have been a lot more dreary without you lot :)

*gor* and i
year 4 sem 1 was particularly special cos of you *gor* :) thanks for the memories and i hope that our friendship will continue to grow in the Lord over time!

lao-ma and i
without you, sep wouldn't be half as fun as it was, plus it was great having an econs kaki and a great friend to bond and study with during the final two years of nus life, thanks a million! and may our friendship continue to grow =)

yoyo and i
altho we only knew each other in the last semester of nus, yes, i have no idea how that could have happened with both usp and econs classes that we both do =p, i guess it's definitely God's grace that has brought us together, what with 2 classes together in the final sem of our nus career ... and the lateness of getting to know each other made this friendship all the more special! remember all the micro tutorial get-togethers with hui luan? *grin*

ryan and i
heya econs kaki, the many project groups and tutorials we were working together throughout the 4 years, will definitely be memories i take with me from nus =p some 30,40 years down the road, when i show my graduation photos to my kids, i will point out the photo i took with you and tell my kids, "ah there, look here, this uncle here ah, was super zai in econs, you all must learn from his passion and hard work yah?" :) my sincere best wishes go out to you, jia you! and thank you for being my friend!

shi'an and i
hey gal, it was great to see you after so long, it's been almost a year since you graduated and i still remember the times when we took health, macro and even econometrics (way back in year 2!) together ... and the times we spent with huipei and kian hsing in your final sem at nus =p thanks for the memories!

and all you other people who made nus such a wonderful experience, but i didn't get to take photos with cos you guys disappeared so fast after convocation, a big thank you for the friendship and the memories! hope to be able to meet up with you guys and take photos soon =)

a very yummy quiz! :) ben and jerry's!!! yummie!!! still remember the times when i was in the US on SEP and the lot of us tried almost ALL the flavours of Ben and Jerry's ice-cream, over 4 months of course! *grin*

BROWNIE BATTER! You scored 81% SWEET, 59% CHUNKY, and 70% UNIQUE!

brownie batter ice cream with a rich brownie batter swirl Mmmm....you are a very sweet mix indeed! You are warm, loving, and caring to all those around you, but you're not boring in the least! You have a wild streak and a creative, unique streak, too. You are a great friend, an interesting person, and you know how to have fun without ending up crouching over a toilet bowl. Nice!

the next yummy quiz :) COFFEE, very true since i'm not a coffee drinker at all =p I only drink the cold bottled Starbucks coffee, once in a blue moon, cos it's so expensive!!!

You Are a Frappacino

At your best, you are: fun loving, sweet, and modern At your worst, you are: childish and over indulgent You drink coffee when: you're craving something sweet Your caffeine addiction level: low

did my sis a little favour today, and was feeling rather creative, so this is what i spent most of my night time doing =p

most of you may not understand the significance of it, but that's okay, as long as my sis does, and she rates it 9.5/10, i'm happy cos she's happy :)

plus, i had a lot of fun and laughter whilst at it too =p it was definitely well worth the time spent!

Met up with my Sec.4/10 classmates at Heeren Marches last night for my first Sec. 4 gathering since I graduated from RGS =p [hey, hey, not my fault kay, i wasn't on the 410 mailing list and so i didn't hear about the past few gatherings in the previous years :( ]

Nonetheless, was excellent meeting everyone again, though quite a pity that more couldn't make it last night =p But great that with the 12 or 13 of us there, we just about had links/knew about how everyone else in the rest of 410 was doing ...

from the looks of it, 410's really quite a multifacted and diversified bunch: fully equipped with 9 or so doctors-to-be, some lawyers, teachers, bankers, accountants, engineers, civil servants, businesswomen, sales, postgraduate studies ... and the list goes on and on! Viva 410!!! :)

Catching up and sharing news and gossip about one another was fun =) Think I'll just furnish the rest of this post with photos from the night itself =p almost everyone brought cameras, and we gathered as a huge group, as well as in pairs and took turns to take photos with everyone else, twas was great great fun indeed! :)

~A whole bunch of us ~

~ Jinnie and I ~

~ Gerry and I ~

~ Hongxian and I ~

~ Xiaojia and I ~

~ Mavis and I ~

~ Chin Kit and I ~

~ Ying Jie and I ~

~ Jesslyn and I ~

~ Edel and I ~

~ Liting and I ~

~ Kristin and I ~

~ Ade and I ~

well, i am very thankful because for some reason, my mouth has stopped hurting. it's still a lil' achey and it still doesn't feel very normal but praise the Lord, no more pain! *hurray*

i visited my neighbourhood dentist today and he filed off the pointed edges of my innermost molar (note: the second tooth that gave me trouble in a row, the first upper left wisdom tooth caused me severe gum infection) on the bottom left side of my mouth - the tooth that cause a huge ulcer under my tongue because it is mis-positioned inwards towards my tongue. I am praying that this is enough to prevent future severe mouth ulcers and jaw aches for the rest of my life, if not the next two measures will be more expensive and uncomfortable (namely, braces or extraction of the poor tooth that i need to chew my food with).

praise the Lord also that the filing (note: not filling) of the tooth was not painful at all! the first thing i told the dentist before he did anything was, "i'm scared, will it hurt?". He promised that it wouldn't (like all dentists do) but thankfully for me, he was an honest dentist :) Never have I felt so helpless in a long time than when I was lying down on the dentist chair, with that bright orange beam shining down on my eyes, and this masked-face person of whom I could only see his eyes, bearing metal instruments in his hands and prodding (gently) at my teeth =p

a combination of fear of the unknown, fear of pain and dentist phobia!

yes, i have dentist phobia, something that started because of the primary school fierce dental nurses we had to pay regular visits to, those who brusquely handled your teeth, who reprimanded you for not regularly brushing your teeth and who yanked out loose milk teeth from your mouth ... ah the memories!