last night was epic!

first ever company cruise where the bosses played along in seriously fun games with the employees, gave us a firework display (which ended up in a botched 'mamak' but hey, it's the thought that counts :P), brought us on a leisure cruise around the sydney harbour, the massive amount of employees that showed up, and the AMOUNT of photos (and photo bombing) that went down that night.

...oh man i'm dreading the fb tagging already (and it hasn't even started!)/// >


now to drag myself up and over on to work again!

ahhh~ think the only thing i'll be missing when i go over to Japan is the taste of homecooked meals...

tonight my aunt came into my room just before she was about to leave for prayer meeting tonight.

at times i was a little angry at her reminders, but i didn't protest. she was right in some ways. then again, i want this part-time work. even though on the surface it may seem to be that i'm putting it before my studies, and to be perfectly and brutally honest with myself, i know deep down that my lazy butt is making it so, because work is repetitive and mundane (for the most part) so i don't have to think much, but my uni work requires me to think. a lot.

makes you wonder how those superstudents do it, work, study, get good grades, great pay, and sometimes pursue a wonderful relationship on the side... gah.

and listening to super-sad songs now isn't helping the mood :( [[mika nakashima's yuki no hana/snow flower]]

another thing today that made me angry. was a certain person's reply. seriously, think before you speak? or at least stop having such a narrow world view. not everyone was born with a silver spoon in their mouths. sometimes people have to make ends meet with aid. so please keep your stupid masochist pride back in place.



... sorry for the negative ranting today. it just isn't going that well...

on the up side, the week's ended! now onto week 13, last week of uni! :D

met and caught up with jacqui and tina, bosco and george today for a lazy day in the city :) i have seriously been hiding under a rock... last time i recall catching up with those girls and guys was my 21st bday. one. freaking. long. year. since. can't believe i've been such a dog of a friend.

had lunch together at pancakes, then played pool and a round of bowling at darling harbour, before legging it for a movie that we didn't manage to catch in the end. spent the rest of the evening in norita's...

looking back it makes me wonder why i initially stopped the contact with my friends... was it the 'bad influence'?

i'm torn really, to bear a good Christian testimony, and yet still be able to maintain friendships... God help me please. being a youth leader, this is definitely most pressing to me, as the younger ones are looking up to me... then again, am i being too judgemental?

haven't been updating this in aaages.

hehe, i don't think i have anymore followers/readers. :P

i know it's a little late, but better now than later right? :)

semester 2's started... time for some new promises.

1. i promise to study harder, learn from my mistakes in the past semesters, and improve. I NEED TO GRADUATE IN 2011!!

2. i promise to be more organised, and actually read and do up notes for my subjects. this applies to also YF matters, and work/family/friends.

3. i promise to not compromise my study, to work.

4. i promise to not compromise my time with Him, to study.

5. i promise to lead and be a good example to the youths in YF and hopefully this year UF too.

6. i promise to be a good example and da jie to tammy and vicki.

7. i promise to keep my commitment to my quiet time each morning. to spend precious time with My Beloved.

8. i promise to get back precious friendships, and make new cherished ones for the future. may He grant me discernment to see through the facades and the pretenses.

9. i promise to be thankful! even in hardships. Lord grant me the dilligence to remember this and to go through with it.

10. i promise to take care of my body. eat more wisely, on time, and moderately!

in His name. :)

let's check back on these at the end of the year!

is it me, or is it harder to stay true to God in Sydney.

church mates are going to clubs and bars and all that... not that i'm a total prude and say no to it. like i would totally go, but i dunno... getting drunk and roaming the streets at night just isn't my scene. but it seems like this is the way the world is going towards... in terms of socialising, with friends and all.

if you don't go to parties/clubbing, you will lose out on friendships. is that true?

if sho was to play the part of a mouseketeer...


eventhough i spent this entire week going back to uni everyday save monday, what more starting at 9am and ending around 3-6pm, it was well spent in my opinion. :)

working like this in the lab for bacteria and diseases has made me more appreciative of the work microbiologists do. now i wanna work in some pathology lab! xD

anyhow, because of that, i have yet to do all my holiday assignments, especially japanese x| my self-introduction is still up in the air, plus i've yet to start on my workbook exercises + notes... ahhh shimatta...

this would have been the worst time to get hooked onto a drama but...

too good to put down!! x|

ahh to live a relatively boring life...

i think i have some serious character problems (kyara-mondai, as they say it in japanese).

some observations:
1. i got peeved off when a certain mr s. snapped at me just because i quotation marked his "busy". (situation being that he was reasoning his absence from church activities for the past few weeks)

true i know it was bad form on my part for doing so, but i thought he and i were close enough to know i was just joshing with him. guess not. the following few minutes were awkward, with me just taking it from him, and my inability to react properly to it.

resulted in me going into my 'fall-back' mode; just smile lightly, nod and try to look into the distance. i think the third person in this convo also felt the sharp air between us and tried to laugh it off a bit and take it off the topic. i tried to ignore the thoughts of wanting to diss him/storm off/hit him. in any other case, i'm not eloquent enough to argue back to him, much less do i want to hear him speak.

i ended up disappearing into the crowd when i found a gap in the convo after a while.

2.i found myself unable to get into proper group conversations. today's lunch was such an example. the only time i felt safe was when i was near the kitchen, near my mom or my grandma.

i know i could have gone back to where tammy and vicki were, but i think, and likewise i suppose my sisters would think, that i need to get out of hanging out around them. i feel like a leecher. you know, someone who hangs around you and expects you to introduce them to your friends so they know your friends good enough to call them their own friends.

3.my sisters. i'm starting to feel like the dead weight in the family setup. it's like people definitely can see that vicki and tammy are sisters because they click, they like similar things, like doing the same things and react to things pretty similarly. me, i'm the odd one. they don't really like the stuff i do, they think i'm lame at times, they rarely listen to me, and pay me out a whole lot most of the time.

it's true, that maybe i haven't earned their respect in the family, which is why i do expect this, and i definitely don't mind it. but it just hurts you know. when it's not wanting to kill them at times, it's just wanting to run away and hide somewhere. wait till the whole situation goes away, wait till my stupid temper dies, wait..

i envy people with good sibling relationships.





i think the only solution to this is for me to go far away. be away from the family for a while. allow myself to be around people i don't know and create a new identity. and most definitely, i need Him. to guide me through this, to show me the correct way i should act...

LONGSUFFERING. i definitely need this.

EDIT also, mr. s also paid out a friend of mine and my friend's friends in one breath. should i feel repulsed? or the fact that this friend of mine could actually think that and verbally express it? i guess i do have thought like that once in a while, but to actually verbalise it and then tell me what i think about said friend, whether i know them well enough to diss them as he did. i was appalled.

i thank God from the bottom of my heart for giving me such a blessed day at uni.

eventhough it was kinda dreary, drizzling on and off most of the time of the day, and i ran out of the house forgetting about my umbrella, i thank Him for allowing the rain to happen most of the time when i was under shelter.

i started out the year praying that i would have more christian friends, so i could have the company of fellow brothers and sisters in Christ. i thank God that He allowed me to have the company of Klement, Mei, Kevin, Jun and many others during that long 4-hour break i had between lectures. it truly was an enjoyable time, even if it wasn't all totally on Christian matters. :)

other than new Christian friends, i thank God for allowing me to find a new acquaintence in Hana otherwise i would have been stranded in lower campus trying to find where they had relocated the japanese lecture to.

for all the new people i met, i pray dear Father that you'll enable me to be a good example of a Christian to them, and to those that believe, an encouragement, a fellow brother/sister-in-arms in the race of faith which You've already set out before us. i pray that you'll also enable me to study to the best of my ability so i can glorify Your name, and let me always remember that all promotion comes from You, not me.

may You grant my days ahead in uni to be a smooth one, and may i find comfort in You should You put trials and tribulations in my way (as You would once in a while to remind me of Your providence in my life, You will never suffer me to be tempted above that which i can handle, only You know my full threshold) may i be granted the understanding that You put them there to refine me, to put me back on the right track, and that because You love me so, that You are willing to even pay attention to me, worthless me.

thank You so much.

at myself.

a year after getting it and i'm still not able to do it even with a more experienced one at my side, what more doing it by myself in the future.

i'm disappointed in myself.





on another note, why do i always argue with my dad? is it a crime to ask him to do things by himself and not rely on me to do things for him just because he's half of my genetic makeup? doesn't he have a pair of working limbs? i totally know you worked your life half-away to get me here, but i would rather show my gratitude in another way. eventhough i know i shouldn't be so petty and do it. ARGH i hate the contradiction in myself




it's a full moon tonight.

wow, this blog has reached it's 7th year already. :D sorry i haven't been updating since last year before christmas. let's see what i've been up to since then...

-December 2009
20-21 - Christmas Carolling
24 - Christmas Eve Service
25 - Christmas at the Ngan's
27-31 - Youth Fellowship Retreat 2009 (EPIC.)
31 - Watchnight Service

-January 2010
1 - Naomi arrives!
2 - YF Outing Lasertag (and running in the torrential rain)
4~10 - Went around various places during the week Naomi was here.
14- 23 - Family Road Trip to Melbourne! (no more driving for a while now)
26 - Aussie Day :)

december was a time of really slowing down and catching my breath. reflection was on the top of my list for that month. I think some of my friends also thought i became a hermit during that month too, ahah! sorry if i neglected you guys. but i think i would really need the help of my Lord when i start getting back into the whole race of uni/work, discernment, wisdom, dilligence, and strength (ultimately) "whom have i in heaven but thee? and there is none upon earth that i desire beside thee! my flesh and my heart faileth: but GOD is the strength of my heart, and my portion for ever" psalm 73:25-26

YF Retreat 2009, by the grace of God, was a success! God surely did increase our numbers, by allowing us to gain good friends from Evangel. when they left on wednesday, one day earlier than the official end day, it really felt like there was a hole in my chest. i'm pretty sure everyone from SBPC YF (that attended YF Retreat) felt it too. but what's the 21st century without modern technology? :D thank God for FB and MSN, for the better part of it. :))) to end off the wonderful retreat was a time of reflection, the watchnight service. to reflect on the happenings of 2009, to thank God for the many times He had seen us and our loved ones through various incidents, and for the dedication of our year ahead to His ultimate will.

New year came around. the YF had their annual first outing of the year, to Lasertag like we did beginning 2009. but this time i skipped out cos i didn't have enough money to pay for the games. instead, i went in a bit later and had my needed hair cut. i managed to dodge the torrential rain that most of the lasertaggers had to experience after their session at darling harbour, but i ended up buying an umbrella.

Melbourne, was a gem. it was great! but i think some things needed to be revised. tbh, i didn't like one aspect of the trip. if only... but things i loved about melb:
- the organisation!
you can't get lost in melb cbd! xD loved the simple layout of the city, with all the quaint little shops jammed into every single corner.

- smith st op shops
found so many one-offs! after bagging myself a nice corduroy green skirt and a pair of gingham button earrings i was a happy chappy. i need to know how to work the corduroy though, love the length but the body of the skirt itself puffs out so it makes me look kindy chubby... hmmm...

- brunetti's on lygon st, carlton http://brunetti.com.au
CHOCOLATE. and the cakes!! if one of their cakes end up on my birthday table, i'd be overjoyed. not only does it look aesthetically pleasing to the eye, they all taste AMAZING. and omg. italian hot chocolate. a life-saver in melbourne's 4-seasons-a-day wintry night. but so much decadence!! one must starve just to get there. and also, esp if you're asian, to channel your asian-ness in 'chopping' seats, esp on fri, sat and sun nights.

- wabi sabi salon on smith st, collingwood http://www.wabisabi.net.au/
i lovelovelove this place!! even daddy liked it. :DD small little eatery with all these various japanese display pieces everywhere. apparently they change their deco once in a while. when i was there last week, the main theme appeared to be old samurai-jack style movies, with old movie posters hanging on the wall. pumpkin corokke!! yummm~ my dad fell in love with the table. xD

- sunny ridge strawberries
the strawberry jam is loveee~ brought back to sydney a jar of that berry goodness. mmmm~

- unintentional chasing around the AAT Kings Tour bus around the Great Ocean Drive
- Philip Island fairy penguins! (cold but worth the wait)
- trams (i love the sight of it! but the noise is not worth it.)

funny, how a good few of the things i like about melb are food places. xD such a glutton.

i wish i had more time and freedom to do some other stuff, but i guess budget and time and family, for some parts pulled me back from doing so.

now, i'm back planning for Sem 1, getting books off 2nd hand online, preparing myself for the workload, and hopefully, getting myself more organised than last sem. although i must say, i did improve on my previous years. :P and hopefully, i can get a better mark than last year's! more HD/Ds for my arts components, and hopefully a C/D for my science components! gotta work hard this year, especially since this sem, i have harder more time consuming subjects that require my constant attention. can't give half-assed attempts like i used to.

and God-willing, i will go to JP in 2011.

man christmas is so near! and there are no sleighbells ringing. just my ears.

starting off summer with a boring note. i don't know whether to think of it as a good thing or not, this whole issue of not having a job. gives me more time at home, but then i'm like sitting on my butt not doing anything...

my inner housewife kicked in for a few hours the other day, and i'm proud to say that i had taken the initiative to scrub the bathroom shower stall. :D and mopped the kitchen, and wiped down the grime and stuff from the kitchen cupboards and backwall of stove area. *beams* not done within one day of course. ;P more like a few days in between... and i think i might vacuum tmr. and the vacuum cleaner hose is stuffed. so i dunno...

planning for yf retreat at the moment. watch this space for more info!! :D

and i'm off to play my ds :P becoming a games addict.... show you my current love!


かっこいいな～？へへ。。。

so i was craving cornflakes... crunchy nut to be more exact

and this here is my dinner. sitting pretty on top of my Letters from Iwo Jima reviews.

cornflakes for dinner. おかしな? :P

oh well, at least i'm being fed.

looking around for a new phone. and a new contract/pre-paid plan once i'm done with this one i'm using at the moment because my LG viewty decided to throw frequent tantrums on me at the moment, i've resorted to the backup phone in the family, a white sony ericsson k618i.

apple red happiness popcorn cheerfulness cinnamon singing inside peppermint energy gumdrop holidays when you give Christ your life.

*hums* does anyone out there happen to have this song's score? i'm itching to play it on the piano to cheer me up during those downdays.

vicki decided to start playing the guitar again.

2 days till my first exam paper.

i miss listening (and singing along) to impromptu guitar singspiration. especially during YC. unplugged, our way.

oh man nostalgia's taking over me again.

i suddenly feel like writing letters to a whole lotta people.

good night.

なんか、今、この片想い気持ちがいる。。。doushite?

saw this cute vid and decided to post up a translation since i need a break from my genetics work. :) feel free to use them but please credit them back to me!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QT8SYoeMutk&feature=rec-HM-r2

Shimura: (Izumi-chan) doesn't have a seat!
Izumi: Ah!
Aiba: Ah! A seat! I'll go get it right away!
Guy in Studio: What?!! Aren't you a guy that doesn't really lift a finger...!
(Aiba saying "a seat a seat" as he runs around trying to get it)
Aiba: I'm really sorry, ne. Especially for such a guest like you.
Izumi: Ah, it's alright...
Aiba: Ano, is it alright if you could make a space?
Guy in Studio: What is this!?
(Aiba wipes seat with hankerchief)
Guy in Studio: Old-fashioned! What he just did was so old-fashioned!
(Izumi sits and Aiba moves closer to Izumi)
Guy in Studio: Too close! Too close! Too close!
Aoki: Too close!
Shimura: What kind of misunderstanding are you trying to get at?
Aiba: Well somehow... Ah! What a great two-shot this is eh... Somehow this feels like a celebrity couple (i might be wrong on this celeb couple-thing)
Shimura: Eh what is Aoki-chan doing? She cuts in!
Aiba: Aoki, you're blocking us! (Aiba pushes Aoki out)
Izumi: She's a little bit scary...
Aiba: A little bit scary... ahaha...
Guy in Studio: What is this?
Girl in Studio: Let's be friends ok? Friends?
(Aoki hits the dog trophy)
Shimura: What are you doing? You hit the trophy?!
Aoki: Ah I'm sorry, this is Enchou (refering to Shimura-san, Enchou=boss)