To all who wrote in the scrapbook...

Just a short one to really thank all those who wrote in the scrapbook for my birthday. I really appreciate the thought that went into each word and all the encouragement... sorry it's so late. I just received it on Thursday but I really really am grateful to have such wonderful friends. Thank you thank you thank you!

A short one...

So, I apologise for the lack of updates. Have been quite busy packing and moving all the odds and ends from Halls to Rusden, where I'm currently staying with Yu Wan, Wan Jie, Fawn and the various friends visiting Melbourne. Caught a cold, complete with sore throat, cough and headache but have recovered completely. =) Thank God! Collecting CBP assignments and having Grace over tomorrow. Yu Wan's friend, Elizabeth, and her brother, Edmund are currently the visitors to Melbourne. And Elizabeth and I bonded over anime, lol. Wan Jie and I have also been helping Yu Wan clean her kitchen because we feel quite bad about cluttering the living room with our accummulated belongings. Played capture the flag on Saturday, but it was called off early because of the rain.

Just a short update this time. LOL. Cheers!

What a hectic Sunday...

Today was an extremely busy day. Church in the morning, DFO in the afternoon and Sam and Calvin's place at night. Managed to get a dress thanks to Fawn. Though I cannot leave out Wan Jie, Zepeng, Lester and Yus who provided some major input as well. Will post pictures of it when I've actually taken a photo of it, lol. That took up the majority of the time in DFO Moorabin. Then back to Halls to cook the Portuguese chicken I bought from Coles and then off to Sam and Calvin's place to celebrate Celine, Jean Marc and Steven's birthdays, which unfortunately fell during the exam period. As such, the belated birthday celebrations were held. It was a very long day today. But at least it was productive. =)

Tomorrow is Joel's farewell picnic lunch. And probably laundry and packing. The joys of moving around. And to hunt for a bed and breakfast for when Mummy and Papa come next year. Signing off now, cheers!

Captured moments part deux - presents! =)

THANK YOU AGAIN, FOR THE WONDERFUL TIME AND FOR THE THOUGHTFUL GIFTS!!

The decorations used for the surprise =), now in a memory bag. Lol.

Ivy and Ian's birthday present, anterior view.

Ivy and Ian's present, posterior view.

The tank top that was one third of Ivy and Ian's present. =) The white one is same in all aspects except colour. =)

The card all the way from Scotland, courtesy of Fi. ♥

The content of the card. Can you differentiate her handwriting from what was originally on the card itself? =)

Glass pendant all the way from Italy, also from Fi. ♥

From Adilah, Grace, Li Ping, Ivie, Ravind.

What was in the package. Cool, eh?

From Shea Chuen and Justina.

The mug that they gave me. =)

From Ezra.

The coffee maker/percolator, the coffee and the card that was in the bag.

From Chean Ying, Nooi Hoay, Jessica.

The 165 piece jigsaw puzzle of an optical illusion. =)

From Yu Wan and Fawn.

The leather bound daily devotional journal. =)

From Zepeng.

The chocolates in the wrappings. Looks too good to eat, actually. LOL.

From Daniel and Yeu Sheng.

The plaque/certificate that was inside, with the origins of my name and characteristics as well. =)

All the presents. =)

All the presents, again. =)

Yet another one. What can I say? I like the pictures. =)

Captured moments...

From the lunch at JG Dumpling:

After cutting the cake in half and then, realising they haven't sung the song yet. LOL.

With Fawn and the triple chocolate gateau...

With Jocelyn and Fawn and the triple chocolate gateau...

Back, from left: Sam, Joab, Jocelyn, Chun Hoong, Lester.
Front, from left: Yu Wan, Zhi Lin, Clara, Fawn.

At the surprise dinner in the common room:
With Ivy. =)

With Ian.

With Lester.

With Joel.

With Yeu Sheng.

With Daniel, who celebrated his birthday on the 7th of November. =)

Back, from left: Grace, Li Ping.

Front, from left: Ezra, Adilah, Ravind.

With Celine, her boyfriend and Jia Chee. =)

With Vanessa.

With Shea Chuen, Justina & Ye Chia.

With Yun Ying.

From left: The organiser Wan Jie (thanks so much dear!),Shea Chuen, Nooi Hoay, Joab, Ryan, Yun Ying, Chean Ying, Justina and Ye Chia. =)

With Celine and Jia Chee.

Random pic with the decorations.

Group photo:

Back from left: Sam Tan, Jason, Michael, Steven, Celine, Sam Chan, Ye Chia, Justina, Shea Chuen, Joab, Lionel, Ian Lim, Celine, Ravind, Grace, Joel, Li Ping, Ryan, Lester, Ezra.

Centre from left: Sophie, Rachel Ngoo, Zepeng, Jessica, Wan Jie, Chean Ying, Nooi Hoay, Adilah, Jia Chee.

Front from left: Jean Marc, Rachel Chua, Calvin, Yeu Sheng, Daniel. me, Yun Ying, Fawn, Vanessa, Yu Wan.

With the balloons used to decorate the common room.

With the decorations that Adilah, Grace, Li Ping, Ravind put up. Thank you very very much, you guys!

And another pic with the decorations! =) =)

THANK YOU VERY VERY MUCH!!!!

Thank you all! =)

I am happy today! =) Extremely so, in fact. *grins like an idiot* Anyway, today started with a plate of IndoMie at midnight, courtesy of Chau Wang. And then Chun Hoong also wished me around that time. And then Mummy, Papa and Sheldon called, Che-che sent me an SMS, and Fiona called me (all the way from Scotland!) at about 3am. =) Thanks for the phone calls! ♥ This morning started with a wonderful conversation with Kohila. =) Our conversation veered towards all the Korean gameshows/ variety shows we watch. And her bias towards Junsu and mine towards Junsu and Yunho from DBSK. And how Exploration of the Human Body is just wonderful entertainment because all the members of Super Junior are full of fail! LOL. And then we wondered how we ended up talking about that. ROFL. But I enjoyed the randomness of the conversation. Her papers ended yesterday. And she'll be going back soon! And we may go to Genting this holidays, if all goes well. =) Again, I digress. Thank you dear! ♥ I really missed hearing your voice. Hehe. And fangirling together was so much fun. =)

And then, it was off to Glen for lunch with my caregroup members. We went to JG Dumpling, where I had dan dan noodles with spicy pork sauce, fried taro pancake, pan fried chicken and prawn dumplings and pan fried pork dumplings. Unfortunately, as always, I forgot to take pictures of the food. In fact, I forgot to bring my camera entirely! ROFL. I FAILZ! Anyway, the lunch was attended by Fawn, Yu Wan, Sam, Joab, Zhi Lin, Clara, Lester, Ian Song, Ivy, Chun Hoong and Jocelyn. Thanks for the treat! =) Chun Hoong bit his tongue, and Yu Wan was sad for my behalf on how the cake was presented (there were no candles, lol). And the fact that I cut the cake a bit too early. As in, like before they sang the birthday song. *grins* But the triple chocolate gateau was just too tempting. Hehe. Anyway, they then sang the birthday song, I made a wish and blew out the imaginary candles. Teehee! And the cake tasted fantastic! =) Thanks you guys! It was great hanging out with you guys! And all of you are incredible actors!

Anyway, came back from lunch, surfed the Net a bit, read people's blogs, etc. And then went to Ivy's house for a meeting with Calvin, Yu Wan, Lionel, Jean Marc and Ivy, and for shepherding. Hehe. Again, I have to applaud everyone for their acting skills. And Andrew and mom called me to wish me Happy Birthday and just catch up with one another. =) After which, Ivy asked me to wait while she packed stuff to bring back to Singapore (she's flying tonight for her father's birthday tomorrow, which is actually really only 10 minutes away. ) And then Kam came over and left shortly after. And then Ivy shepherded me. And after that, drove me back to Halls with Rachel and she picked Ian as well. I thought Jia Chee, Yi Xin, Sharon, Stan, Celine and her boyfriend were coming over for dinner with Wan Jie and me. So there I was in my room, when Wan Jie knocked on my door and asked me if I was ready to go to their place, LOL. That should have rung bells in my head, but I thought that the plan just changed. Heh. And then when we went down to her car, she asked if i minded if she checked her mail first. As I didn't mind, I followed her to the common room. And just as we entered, we saw Jason and Lester carrying bottles of soft drinks. And still I didn't suspect anything. Blur like sotong, right? Heh. So, I asked what the drinks were for. And just as I asked that and entered the common room, everyone burst out with "Happy Birthday!" And a cake that Fawn baked. Yummy! And everyone cooked and contributed to the pot luck! Lolz. I was so surprised! Hehe. My face must have been a sight! Lol. And then there was the speech by Grace and the video by Wan Jie which really touched my heart. And yet another speech by Ivy. I am thankful to have been blessed by all who made my day so wonderful. Especially Yu Wan and Wan Jie who organised, planned and acted flawlessly such that I did not suspect anything at all. =) And to all my friends who attended and acted their roles very well, including coursemates: Grace, Adilah, Li Ping, Ravind, Li Ping, Ezra, Chean Ying, Nooi Hoay, Jessica, Daniel, Yeu Sheng, Justina, Shea Chuen, Ryan and Yun Ying and Ye Chia; caregroup mates and church friends: Ivy, Fawn, Lester, Zepeng, Joab, Sophie, Joel, Sam, Ians Song and Lim, Jason, Rachels Chua and Ngoo, Calvin, Lionel, Jean Marc, Vanessa, Michael, Steven, Celine and Sam Chan; as well as ex floor mates: Jia Chee, Celine and her boyfriend. Heh. Yi Xin and Sharon were sick and could not make it for the dinner. And in case I missed out anyone, I apologise. Thank you, everyone for cooking, and for making my day even more wonderful! =) I appreciate it very much and am touched by all the effort that has gone into the planning of the event. =) ♥

Anyway, dinner was a very fun affair, with pictures taken, lots and lots of hugs, presents given and received and a lot of eating. =) And after dinner and everyone had left, I watched the last half hour of House with Grace, Adilah and Li Ping at Deakin Hall. And I spazzed out with Li Ping and Grace as we hung out in my room and drank Coke while we waited for her parents to come and drive both Li Ping and her home.

I am so BLESSED. THANK YOU EVERYONE!!! =) ♥ I am officially 21 years old. And it's now 12.16 am according to the clock on my laptop. (I started writing this at around 11.45 pm) But yeah, it's random. =) THANK YOU AGAIN!! ♥ Lol, I think I may have overused the hearts a bit. =P

Quotes...

Just a few of my favourite quotes. =)

There is a sacredness in tears. They are not the mark of weakness, but of power. They speak more eloquently than ten thousand tongues. They are the messengers of overwhelming grief... and unspeakable love.

-Washington Irving-
American poet, essayist and author.

What you leave behind is not what is engraved in stone monuments, but what is woven in the lives of others.

-Pericles-

Athenian statesman, orator and general

Those who make peaceful revolution impossible will make violent revolution inevitable.

-John F. Kennedy-

What other words, we may almost ask, are memorable and worthy to be repeated than those which love inspired? It is wonderful that they were ever uttered. They are few and rare indeed.

-Henry David Thoreau-

In "A Week on the Concord and Meirimack Rivers"

Other things may change us, but we start and end with family.

- Anthony Brandt-

Author

The bitterest tears are shed over graves are of words left unsaid and deeds left undone.

-Harriet Beecher Stowe-

American author and abolitionist

Return from the hiatus... =)

Time to return to blogging from my hiatus. Exams are over!!! What a relief! Though actually, they've been over since Friday, lol. Anyway, just to update everyone on what's been happening in my life for the past 2-3? (or 3-4) weeks prior to the exams, that time was spent mugging and mugging and yet more mugging. Truth be told, I was just extremely stressed out, especially when I was preparing for the OSCEs and VIA, which happened to fall on the same week, just one week apart. Yet, it was the times when I was feeling like I was at the end of my tether, worried and almost like crying, that I realised how much support and love I receive from my family. The call was at the most opportune moment, at the point in time when I needed it the most, the words of comfort, calm and reassurance were what I needed to hear. Thanks, Fi, Mummy and Papa! You all have no idea how much it meant to me to hear your voices amidst all the frenzy and panic of OSCE practice and cram sessions for VIA. I am grateful, and blessed that you are my family. =)

Called Fi on her birthday, though I interrupted a phone call in the process. Sorry! And hope that your birthday was the best one yet... although I was not there, lolz. Joking, joking. Though I really wish that you will have an even better 2009 and that your birthdays will only become better and better as time goes by.

So what have I been up to post exams? Destressing a little, watching Korean game shows (Kohila, you've made me addicted to EHB! And I've think I'm on my way to being a DBSK fangirl! I listened to the Doushite What the Heck Darou a cappella and I've morphed into a fangirl! It's on loop together with Love in the Ice Korean version! Help! How?), laughing my head off at all the random and dorky antics of the guests, and helping the first years with OSCE prep. As it is, Fawn, Yu Wan, Wan Jie, Zepeng, Joel, Lester and I were helping Chun Hoong, Zhi Lin, Sarah and Liz until late Sunday night/early Monday morning, lol. But it's good revision of Year 1 material. Also celebrated Daniel's birthday with a potluck in which the only dish I could prepare on time was hard boiled eggs with chilli oil on top.

Called home too, and listened to Mummy, Papa, Sheldon and Che-Che's voices. And dear old big bro' called me on my handphone and commented that I sound different, so much so that he cannot recognise my voice. Heh. But it's great to just listen to their voices after an absence. =) *grins widely*

I'll probably help Ainul and Chun Hoong with their OSCE practice again tomorrow morning, after which is the VIA debrief and then grocery shopping in Clayton. Wan Jie and I decided to get 'China' bags (the white-red-blue striped plastic bags) to store what we have accummulated this year and hopefully make moving less of a chore. It's astounding, as always, to note the amount of junk we collect over the year. Heh. Maybe Grace will come over as well. =) I'll see. Nothing has been set in concrete as of yet. And then, it'll probably be more practice for Chun Hoong and, if they want it, Liz and Zhi Lin as well. =)

Life is looking up at the moment. Heh. I'll pray that I'll be able to say the same thing after tomorrow's debrief. Lol. =) Signing off now, cheers!