Living Infinite Epiphanies

2009-04-11T19:36:00.002-05:00

I've been trying to plan my trip to Europe (with a lot of headaches!). What surprised me was that I subconsciously planned on being at Neuschwanstein on my birthday and just realized it!!! How awesome is that! =D

2009-03-30T23:14:00.002-05:00

I learned something profound from watching Dharma and Greg today. You wouldn't think, huh? In this episode, Dharma inadvertently kissed her tutor Charlie, and is torn with guilt. Kitty, being her perceptive self, realizes what has happened and warns Dharma not to tell Greg, even though she knows Dharma and Greg's relationship is based on the policy of honesty. To paraphase the conversation between Dharma and Kitty,

Dharma: So I'll have to live with this even though it's going to gnaw at my soul for the rest of my life?
Kitty: Yes. If you love Greg, you will.

I discussed this with Dan, and him being his wonderful self, helped me understand why through the analogy of two glasses of fine wine. One glass becomes tainted and turns a little sour. The other glass is, at the moment, still untainted and pure. While the first glass can never go back to its former state, it can however, strive to do so. This it can also do by not tainting the second glass. That way, at least one of the two glasses will always remain fine wine.

If a partner is truly sorry for his/ her actions and never wants to let it happen again, the best thing to do may not be to admit his/ her guilt to his/ her partner. Instead, by living with that mistake for the rest of his/ her life, it helps to achieve two things. 1) This guilt will serve as a constant reminder to never do something that could hurt his/ her partner again and 2) It will retain his/ her partner's perfect image of him/ her. While he/ she knows deep down that this is not so, at least he/ she will always strive to try and be a better person for his/ her partner.

Telling would only hurt both parties, and what is the point of "confessing your sins"? Your partner is your equal, not someone in a position of authority you have to bare all to.

I've never thought that things could be done this way, but now I can see how that is probably the best way. Baring all may instead ruin the relationship or marriage, turning both glasses of wine sour with that knowledge of trust displaced. However, as Dan reminds me, this can only work if the person is truly contrite about his/ her actions. Not telling stems from loving the person, being afraid of losing that person, and truly wanting another chance to make things right. Not telling is not a form of hiding in this instance. It hurts to even think about having gotten into that situation, but boy is this powerful stuff.

I am overwhelmed.

2009-03-26T21:05:00.000-05:00

Hrmm...toying with moving to a new space when I have the energy to!

2009-03-26T20:26:00.000-05:00

Journey into my creativity!

2009-03-12T18:40:00.002-05:00

There's still about 4+ months before I have to leave, 3+ if you count having to leave in July. This second leaving is worse than the first. I remember being frightfully upset when I had to leave Notts--leave my friends, leave my cozy wonderful dorm room, leave England. I suppose it wasn't too bad then. Most of the things I acquired were pieces of clothing, and I could ship them all back with me.

It's different this time round--I'm feeling much more sentimental. I consider this my first home with Dan. After all, it IS our first home, albeit rented and part of university housing. For the first time in my life, I'm in charge of cooking and cleaning and washing up. It's all so grown-up to me you know. I think what makes it harder for me is because I've spent the first major transition of my life here. And we even bought two cars! Dan and I have also spent 2 years here, and that's a pretty long time, actually, most of my married life.

Thinking of having to start selling my things soon and ship others back really upsets me. I'm leaving a huge part of me behind this time.

2009-02-26T09:26:00.002-06:00

I'm sure most of you have heard on Facebook, but for those of you who haven't, my paper has been accepted for the DWJ conference! Which means that I'll be off to the UK again (yes, finally!) in July! That is some truly awesome news for me, and I've been over-the-moon. I can tell you that waiting for the results has been an experience in itself. It left me unfocused and not in the mood for any work. This is much different from waiting for your 'O' Levels or 'A' Levels or even uni results. I suppose it's because this is something I'm truly truly interested in, and one that I've put in considerable effort for. Although honestly, the hard work probably starts now. I'm going to try and apply for grants so I don't have to pay through my nose to go to Bristol, and I definitely have to start on reworking my paper sometime later in the semester. Cut, cut, cut. A 20 minutes presentation= about 2200 words or so, and I am woefully over that amount! Perhaps not reading off the script might be better...something for me to think about.

Today is the earliest I've woken up in a while--7:10 am. Usually I don't plan anything before 9am, which leaves me some time to sleep in. I met with my lecturer today to discuss details of a student project I'm working on, and I'm very pleased to say that everything went well! This has been the other constant source of worry for me as I have no experience in systems analysis whatsoever, but K has been wonderful! I've got a busy 2 weeks ahead of me, with papers due and on-campus day coming up on a Sunday no less.

Goal of the day: to work on and finish the second part of a paper due for next Tuesday. That leaves me some time for editing, changing things around, that sort of thing. I suspect I'll get some work done if the dreadful weather keeps up for the morning (fog, rain, general dreariness). I want it to clear for the couple of hours I need to go back to school though. You hear me, weather? It's been a little too crazy for my liking--yesterday was gorgeous, with the temp of about 8 or so. I know, that still sounds cold, but when you've been living with sub zero temps for a long while, that is bliss. Apparentl we're going to go back to that this weekend, something I'm not looking forward to.

I've been responsible and done my updates this time round, I expect to keep it up!

2009-02-09T17:36:00.003-06:00

Happy Niu Year

Nope, this blog is not dead.

I know resolutions never work, but for this year at least, I am going to attempt to revive my blog.

I got a haircut today, first ever since coming to the States, and this is the shortest my hair has been in a long time. Not short short, mind you, but short enough that tying my hair is almost not possible! The hairstylist reminded me that it's yuan xiao jie today! I totally forgot. Well then, new year, new me!

School has been going great for me as usual, and I'm taking only 2 classes this semester since it's going to be job hunting season for me soon. I'm auditing 2 though, so that somewhat fills up my schedule. I've been doing a lot of thinking about jobs and career paths, and what I really want in this lifetime. I think it must be something to do with the approach of my quarterlife "crisis". There are still so many things to think about!

2008-10-23T23:13:00.002-05:00

Watch the World Go By

On rainy nights like this, all I want to do is cuddle up to my dearest and watch the world go by. I want to write a million poems, a gazillion songs for him, but alas, the creative side of me seems in perpetual hiatus. But when (and if) that day comes, it shall be splendid. Meanwhile, you shall all have to bear with me as I sporadically pen down half-formed thoughts of love, yada yada.

2008-10-20T22:25:00.001-05:00

I Want

I want a lomograph camera. Or two, or three. I haven't yet decided which one(s) though. And I've wanted one for the longest time.

2008-09-23T21:53:00.003-05:00

COCKROACH INFESTATION!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I am having goosebumps as I'm typing this. Just had to write about this. 5 cockroaches in the house today! And I'm TOTALLY grossed up by it.

This afternoon, as I was going to the bathroom, I saw one cockroach on the toilet paper holder. I squeaked, and thought I saw another one on the toilet bowl but ran out before confirming it. THANK GOD Daniel was home--I sent him off on a catching cockroaches mission. He did, and I thought that was the end of it. I mean, what're the chances of 2 fully-grown cockroaches in the bathroom AT THE SAME TIME?? I was glad they were dead, since Dan said one was a female with eggs and we totally destroyed their whole family. YAY! Anyhow, a while later, I was washing my hands and I practically jumped. Why? I saw ANOTHER FULL-GROWN COCKROACH hiding behind my CLINIQUE MAKEUP REMOVER BOTTLE!!!!! ARGH. Dan to the rescue again. I would've cried if he wasn't home!

Rest of the day--out. Relief. Home, dinner, washing dishes. Tried to drain the sink midway since the drainer wasn't tops. I removed it and FREAKED OUT. There were 2 cockroaches that were attempting to climb out of the sink, thankfully they looked dead from the water and detergent, and thankfully I was wearing GLOVES. I dropped the sink drainer back hard. Dan to the rescue for the third time and confirmed they were dead.

That makes 5 DAMN COCKROACHES in a day! It feels like a cockroach infestation and that is sick. I'm wondering if it's cockroach breeding season, or housing is fumigating, or whatever. Sent a mail out pronto to ask. Thankfully they're coming up from the water holes and not crawling in from outside. Bathroom door can definitely be closed to prevent any escapees, and sink drainer is working great to stop them from surfacing.

Needed to rant anyhow. The goosebumps won't subside.

2008-09-18T16:20:00.002-05:00

The Elusive Friend

Another air-my-grievances session! I disappear for a few months, and then I come back with many things to say on the same day. Actually some are issues I've been mulling about for some time, and then they decide to overflow one day and I find I need to speak about them you know?

Today's grievance is about the difficulty of finding someone with similar professional interests and personal interests. I say this with my experience of being in library school and surrounded by people who well, do share the same interests as me, at least broadly speaking. And they're always acquaintances in class, you speak to them, ask how their day was, smile and chat, and when class is over, you go your separate ways. Of course, one can make the effort to contact them after class is over, but I think I find this barrier preventing me from doing so.

First, you have to like the person. Second, I have to find I want the person as a friend. And those two are already a problem for me. And add on wanting to find someone with similar professional and personal interests, and I think you see my problem. I guess I'm picky that way.

Different friends move us in different ways, and which is why we don't just have one friend. We ask different people out to do different things, things you know the other person would like. And here, I find myself like a square peg trying to fit in a round hole when I attempt to look for someone who shares all my likes and dislikes, someone I can be comfortable with. Sometimes it seems just impossible.

I've discovered I have a problem with that my whole life. I mull over it, get upset, forget about it and move on. It comes and goes in a neverending cycle. This time will pass again soon I know, but it irks me right now. Then again, I attribute it to my too-varied interests. Ah well.

But I love all my friends, simply because they are who they are, and I couldn't imagine them any other way.

2008-09-18T10:10:00.005-05:00

Diana Wynne Jones Conference

AHHHHHH!!! There's a Diana Wynne Jones conference next year in England in July!!!!! And I might *probably* be able to make it!!!!!!! Maybe I should start saving up now!!! And then maybe I can make it there!!!!!!!!

2008-09-18T10:10:00.002-05:00

Woe and Behold

Ok, knowing about the 2008 Bath Children's Literature Festival has made me very very upset. Because I can't be there! And why am I here??? ARGH. Diana Wynne Jones will be making an appearance, people are going to talk about Harry Potter and Horrible Histories, Angie Sage will be there, and Cornelia Funke, and and and AND. I won't be there! *wrings hands in despair*

2008-07-09T19:41:00.002-05:00

I'm now halfway through summer school, taking 2 courses. While it's busy, it is at the same time satisfying, knowing that the skills I'm learning right now will become very useful for a career in librarianship in the near future.

I've also recently been thinking a lot about what else to do to improve myself, to become a little more knowledgeable before I apply to become a librarian. There are some things to do--read the local librarians' blogs (there are a couple, of which one stands out), keep updated about events from the library's website, look at new happenings/ conferences happening in and around Sg, and think about how I can contribute to librarianship. Thinking about all these leaves me somewhat breathless, because that is a lot to do. I have so much more to learn.

In other news, I told another story recently with Dan Keding, my Storytelling lecturer, at Vineyard Church. It was for a fundraising event to help victims affected by the Szechuan earthquake. I was very honored that Dan asked me to co-tell the story with him!

I've also been toying with the idea of writing a book...again, inspired and encouraged by Dan. He's told me about the possibilities, and the more I think, the more interested I am. But, there are always a few concerns, the main one being that I need to hone my writing skills to write in an engaging manner. For that, I'm thinking about doing the NaNoWriMo thing (National Novel Writing Month). For those of you interested in learning more about it, go to http://www.nanowrimo.org/ to find out more! That's going to take A LOT from me...especially since I'm taking 5 classes in Fall..so still thinking on that. I first heard about this from Yijun, and we were supposed to do this together, but it never happened right! Ahh...we should still try this time round.

Next thing of course, is the research involved. It will be a massive amount. Though there are some stuff already written on the subject I'm interested in, I still want to improve on it and make it come to life. Bringing my ideas out here forces me to think more seriously about it. I'm not sure I have the time and resources now though, so I'll definitely be KIV-ing this. But it's always on my mind.

In other news, I'll be heading to NY for the weekend! I've been there before, but I'm still excited about it because I'll be going with my darling! And also, it'll be the first holiday I'm having all summer. A good short break away from school, although...I'll probably be bringing some reading along.

Now that's quite a lot to chew on for one night. And now I've got to return to my readings and my work!

2008-05-09T00:48:00.002-05:00

Anniversary

We celebrated one year of marriage on Tuesday. It was all we thought it would be--perfect. Togetherness time, just the two of us.

How I love him, how much we've grown in love, and strength. He's everything good, and he makes me whole. He holds my heart, just as I hold his.

It's true you know, loving someone more and more each day. Some days I think I'm bursting with love I couldn't possibly love even more, but then I surprise myself at my capacity to love him. I love him from the depths of my soul. My one and only, the music of my soul.

2008-04-17T21:57:00.002-05:00

My Story

As those of you reading my blog know by now, I participated in the 2008 Storytelling Festival. We recorded the audio, and now it's available online (yes!) for your listening pleasure. Find the link at http://www.lis.uiuc.edu/news/lectures.html and look for my name and my story. For those of you who are going to listen to it, I hope you have as much fun listening as I had telling it. A pity though, that you can't see the actions accompanying it. Anytime we meet, and you want a story from me, I'll be happy to share one. Meanwhile though, I've WAYS to go. For a great story, listen to the audio by Dan Keding, my Storytelling lecturer. He is awesome. Enjoy!

2008-04-15T22:39:00.002-05:00

The Science of Fairytales

Click here!

2008-04-12T02:20:00.002-05:00

Storytelling Festival '08

I'll be telling my first story in front of an audience tomorrow. I'm really excited, but also nervous at the same time. It has been awesome, trying to rehearse for it, getting the tones of different characters right, getting just the right amount of actions, and most importantly, my pace. Dan always says I speak way too fast for a story. He's right you know, I speak waay too fast for my own good sometimes, I simply ramble on.

I'm taking a Storytelling class this semester, and it has been very wonderful thus far. Very happy that my lecturer, Dan (yup, another Dan!), recommended that I participate in this year's Storytelling Festival! And I'm so delighted to work with one of my favourite people in G*SL*IS in preparing for this story.

So far, I've done one story in front of my class, and another for children at Storytime at our public library, and the second one was particularly satisfying. This will be my third, and you'd think I'd be really comfortable by now, but a little worry still remains, all that what-ifs, plus it's in front of a bigger audience of maybe about 70-ish, and mostly adults! But I know darling says I worry way too much. I should just go out and have fun tomorrow!

There's going to be 10 storytellers in all, including the professor I worked with and Dan, my lecturer. I've only heard about half the stories being told, and ALL of them are wonderful! It's going to be an awesome journey tomorrow, through laughter and sadness, horror and madness? Ahh...I thank God everyday that I've been given the opportunity to pursue my Master's here. Life couldn't be better. Although, that might just about change as end-of-term madness descends upon me and the papers I need to write pile up ;)

2008-04-01T22:42:00.002-05:00

Library Quirk!

Studying to be a librarian is a whole lot of fun! But we are a weird bunch too. Honestly, haven't seen that great a bunch of people thrown together in a long time. Anyway. Just today, I learnt that UIUC has a collection of 16,000 volumes on the OCCULT. How cool is that! We are weird indeed =D And there are also occult journals, including...Ancient Skies, Cerealogist, Flying Saucer Review, Exceptional Human Experience, Journal of Near-Death Studies, Theta: A Bulletin for Research on the Problem of Survival After Bodily Death (now I thought death proper was a given?) and so on and so forth...make what you will out of it.

2008-03-04T15:21:00.002-06:00

Snowflakes on my Eyelashes

I seem to want to talk about the weather all the time now. I can't help it--volatile changes somehow just need to be expressed. Sunday was perfect weather. 18 degrees out, the sun was shining, everything was right with the world. But I think Spring made its appearance a little too soon, because the next day saw us back to gloomy and cold and rainy. And today, it's snowing yet again, and the temperature's probably about -2 degrees out, not forgetting wind chill to bring the total to about -9 degrees.

Dan loved the snow today. He was happy, and carefree, and loving every minute of the cold. I can understand. 6 degrees, and he's already feeling hot. Me, on the other hand, didn't like it so much. I suppose that had to do with the journey back from lunch and a sojourn to Walgreen's. The wind was so strong, it was whipping snow off the ground, and directing falling snowflakes/ mini sleet things right into my face. It was lovely at first. Despite my short eyelashes and glasses protecting my eyes, snowflakes landed on my eyelashes. I wish I could've taken a snapshot of that moment, although I believe it wouldn't have been very glam anyhow. After all, I looked like a wrapped up dumpling. Although, I am allowed to imagine myself in a pretty coat (Burberry's would've been good, courtesy of my friend who happily did her online shopping and bought a Burberry trench coat! But that's just a dream at the moment), scarf, and twirling about happily in the snow, with Dan smiling and pulling me close for a kiss. What a lovely thought...

But reality is a little different. It's the same as spring rain, because while it sounds poetic, the reality is muddy, and rainy, and drenchy. Or autumn breeze..that can be nice, if it's not too cold. Yet breeze somehow doesn't belong with autumn.

I'm about a third through my first semester here, and it's been the most wonderful experience. I've got great lecturers, and wonderful friends, and most of all, I really find myself learning material that I can and will apply in my future career. Everyday is a new learning experience, a step towards becoming an excellent librarian, to which I aspire to be. And there is a sense of satisfaction, knowing I can help Dan with finding material for his research if need be, although I don't necessarily have a grasp of what he's studying.

Also, Spring Break is coming up. I'd really like to take off somewhere with Dan, and just savour that short respite from studies and research, and simply enjoy some together time.

Where to, my love?

2008-02-17T00:27:00.002-06:00

Curtain Call

Today, I had a rocket for my shower companion. As my arms brushed past it occasionally and water rained on it, the rocket slowly dissolved into nothingness.

I'm always surprised whenever showertime comes, since I never know what I'm gonna meet that day. Sometimes I see a girl, sometimes diamonds, and other times a beautiful web of complex patterns. Some days I don't encounter anything at all, but that very seldom happens. The interplay of shadow and light, moisture and colour bear responsibility for their creations, and I am able to interact with their temporal form.

And when the curtain is drawn, they disappear once again, waiting for tomorrow, waiting to be born into being. And I, I look forward to meeting each fleeting creation, my companion and obsession for that short span of their existence.

2008-01-29T18:54:00.000-06:00

The Most Fickle-Minded of Them All

The past few weeks have been odd, to say the least. Sunny, cloudless blue skies trick you into wanting to walk out in nothing more than a sweater and jeans. One step out, and you come running back in for leggings, and your thickest coat yet. That's the weather here for you. Dan coaxed me into taking a STROLL with him on one of those days. He really loves the cold, and wants to experience Russian winter. I think I may really have to wear a thousand layers and make sure I look like a dumpling before I'm ready to take one step out of the hotel. As our friend Meredith says, "It's ok to look un-sexy when the weather's cold".

So anyway, Dan and I had just finished dinner at our favourite Chinese joint here which serves fabtabulous Szechuan cuisine, and we patronize it so often the lady boss and the chef come to talk to us all the time. I'd ordered a Thai ice tea (and you'd be surprised to know that they serve the BEST Thai ice tea in this area, hundred-fold more authentic than in the Thai places here), and so we walked out, me with my tea in glove. 15 minutes out, and I looked at Dan and burst out laughing. He's kept a moustache and tinnybeard for the winter, and the cold was so crazy, little icicles had formed off the tip of his moustache from his breath. My ice tea was well, soon turning into ice in 15 minutes. It was that cold. I can never be thankful enough for our Columbia Whirlibird parkas Dan and I bought! It keeps me crazy warm, all I need is a long-sleeved t-shirt even in that weather. Of course, don't go without leggings. And boots. I slipped on ice the other day, no fun, came back for boots.

And then it got really warm and wonderful, I saw geese literally walking on thin ice. They don't appear unless it's warm. And the squirrels too! My pet Squirly appeared today. Ah yes, about today. It was wonderful in the day, about 13 degrees out, although with bits of rain and sunshine. And now it's night, oh, it's about -13 degrees and getting colder. I saw puddles outside my door turn to ice. And as I write, it's snowing, and the gusts of wind are so strong, blowing powder snow off the ground, visibility is hitting an all time low.

And men say women are fickle creatures.

2008-01-04T22:17:00.000-06:00

Melatonin--BAH!

I'm back in the States again after a short sojourn back to Singapore. It wasn't really a leisure trip, but a very rushed visa-making trip. After I got accepted, I've had a ton of things to do, and one of the things I had to spend money on was a trip back to Singapore. Well, at least Christmas was spent back home! Although I really would've liked to spend a white Christmas here...

Home wasn't as hot as I'd expected, seeing that it was monsoon season. Blessed cool afternoons drifted into breezy evenings, just the way I like it. Dan and I went back for the food, and much food we ate, except they were not at all healthy. Think Peking duck, roasted pork belly, pork knuckles, and lots and lots of beer! We had Christmas brunch at Paulaner's, THE place to be for Christmas with the gang, and I'm really glad everyone with the exception of Ken made it back! I even managed to squeeze in a "swim" at Kris's, which turned out to be more nuah than anything. And I did something naughty. Well, not anything xiaomei didn't already do a couple of days back. I went to do my sauna in the guy's bathroom! Yup!

I also managed to meet up with Cheryl, Sarah, Joyce, Shus and Duan. That was a whole load of fun, I miss you all already!

So what's up with the melatonin thing? Well, it was supposed to help dissipate the effects of jetlag and "promote restful sleep", or so it claimed. Plus, it came in a cherry flavoured tablet. How bad could it get? Very, very nasty. After arriving back here, I took it first, went to sleep, and ended up feeling feverish and shivering for the most part of the night. Dan took it in the middle of the night when he awoke, and shortly after suffered the same symptoms as me. Initially, I'd thought I came down with fever, but after seeing my dear suffer in the morning, we put two and two together and realized the culprit was melatonin! So much for "restful sleep"--BAH! We've since thrown the whole bottle out with the garbage.

Today, we bought two types of ibuproffen (basically paracetamol). One's the normal kind, and the other's a PM ibuproffen, and again, supposed to promote restful sleep. I figure it shouldn't have the same effects, since it is in essence panadol. I hope. I hope I don't have to take it tonight.

I've also been offered a graduate assistantship (hurrah!), which will subsidize a part of my school fees, in addition to getting paid. I reported to work today and the team's wonderful, so I'm really happy!

School's starting the following week--I'm actually feeling some anxiety and really wanting to do well this time since it's what I hope to pursuing as a career. Choosing courses next week, and they all sound very fun! Things have definitely been looking good for me, and I hope this year will be as wonderful as the last!

As usual, I'm lagging in the photos area, but I will put them up once I get a hold of them, either here or on facebook, so keep checking back!

2007-11-29T11:22:00.000-06:00

Latest (and Happiest) Update!!!

Hello all!!!! I've just received news that I've been accepted to do my Master of Science at my program of choice, and will start Spring 2008! How cool is that! I alternated between laughing and crying while sputtering out the news to Dan, and fanned myself to calm myself down. Dan didn't know whether to be amused or sad for me =P And I called home to tell them, only to have to repeat myself cos Dan said I was stumbling over my words. My parents were so happy for me! So folks, off to studying for me again! And this, I've never wanted more than anything, and I know my prayers have been answered by a most faithful God. Thank you God, for guiding me as to the path I should take, and thank you God, for hearing me out.

So come Spring Sem, I'll be embarking on a most amazing journey into the world of librarians, where I'll share and learn, and provide my services back to the community! U*IU*C, G*S*L*I*S, here I come! (And now, onto the mundane stuff like admin before registration!)

2007-11-08T13:04:00.000-06:00

Whether the Weather

So now it's 100% Autumn. When I was younger, I always thought that seasons were neatly divided up into months of 3. 4 seasons, 3 months each, right? Nope, seasons don't really come like that. I remember the year I was in Nottingham, I looked forward to Autumn, where I could see the leaves change from lush green to crisp yellow or warm luscious red, before turning to a caramel golden brown, and it gets blown off trees in a mesmerizing dance of leaves when the wind blows. Alas, none of that happened for me. It was more of a turn brown, drop off, no symphony of colours in between. And of course, the dreary weather.

Here, in Urbana, where I complain there's nothing much to do around (which is true), I've found one thing to fall in love with. Autumn. There's nothing like seeing the subtle change of leaves and season around you. The weather is unseasonably warm here for this time of year, and plenty of sunshine with the leaves catching on to the rays of light make for a very pretty picture. As I know it now, Autumn is the shortest season, yet the one I love best next to Spring. That, coupled with the fact that Autumn is simply the best time of year to do many things as the weather slowly winds down from the humid, stifly summer heat to a cool, inviting breeze, and my getting warm and cozy under a sweater. Even in Urbana, where I declare it the most boring place I've been stuck in (other than knowing the exciting fact that the best library school resides here) nature-wise, Autumn has given me that short respite from complaining to declaring my love for nature round here. There's apple-picking, fresh apple cider (apple cider here = apple juice, no alcohol like we know it...) hay rides, and getting ready for Halloween by going to the pumpkin patch to choose pumpkins for carving. Not to mention the delicious smells wafting from country kitchens, where you can choose from apple pie, pumpkin pie, and the thought of enjoying roast turkey with stuffing at Thanksgiving is enough to make my mouth water. And the most fun thing to do? Crunching crisp dry leaves under my shoes, making that satisfying rustly sound. Oh how I love Autumn!

(Alas I need to leave for volunteering now, wish I could continue! Soon soon maybe, if I get into the writing mood again. What an anticlimax, I know.)

2007-10-30T20:27:00.000-05:00

Booties I love

Hello y'all! I've gotten myself 2 pairs of lovely boots, and together, they don't even add up to be as expensive as a pair of Uggs *beams*

Boots 1 is a pair of Merrell's, darling's most favourite brand of shoes in the world. It's Spirit Tibet High in sage, totally oh so pretty. You can click here to see it!

Boots 2 is a total steal, from Target, for the beautiful price of 16.99! It looks like a pair of classic Uggs, and is pretty well made too, so I'm really happy I got that although not in the first choice of colour. Click here to view!

2007-10-26T11:08:00.000-05:00

My Life in Colour

This lazy girl has finally gotten down to posting some pictures of her life in the States. Enjoy!

2007-10-26T10:31:00.000-05:00

The campus Quad

On the opposite side of the Quad

Altgeld Hall

This is ridiculous! You'd think they did this on purpose hmm. Part 1 of 3

Part 2 of 3

Part 3 of 3

Moo Goo Gai Pan (it's totally Americanized Chinese food)

One of my first few attempts at cooking, not too bad eh! (I've progressed beyond that already ;))

At Merry Ann's Diner, so Archie like okay!

My first time cutting a WHOLE SLAB of ribs (I notice I haven't quite repeated that, maybe I should try again soon...)

Nice artistic shot by dear

At the Urbana Free Library

Looking at some art pieces at the Union

Ohlala guess who I met here? Cyn came down from Canada! And Jerilyn is here whee~

I love wabbits ;)

The rabbit and Squirly (that's currently my semi-pet of sorts)

Dan happily preparing for Oktoberfest

We've been ready this whole month, were you?

At Weird Al Yankovic's concert! Oh yeah he came to UIUC =D

At Curtis Orchard

Pretty pumpkins

Plenty of apples on the tree

Dan picks one

I reach for one too!

Wagons and pumpkins

Pumpkins aplenty

Spot the impostor pumpkins

Space age fight with...gourds

I honestly don't know what we were doing

Another funny shot

2007-10-17T13:54:00.000-05:00

Wants of the season!

OMGGG there are 2, ok maybe 3 things I really really want for this season. Oh how I love fall/ winter!

1. A pair of Uggs or anything that's remotely as beautiful and walkable on ice/ snow, yet versatile enough for non-snow weather. Which means snow-shoes are kinda not being considered yet. Ugg's Sundance, Nightfall, Upside can all be considered. Price of want: $203.95

2. Another pair of boots, less umm ugg-ish, more city chic. Actually there is a pair of Uggs that's just like that! Ugg Liberty! OMG DROOL. Price of want: $278

3. And the most IT thing I have been looking at is a pair of oxford lace-up booties. They are the most yummilicious things in the world! Totally hot and sexy, they rock my world! Wear them with dresses, or shorts and tights, or skinny jeans, they are super versatile. They include a) Circa Joan & David sage oxford pump, b) Nine West Naso, c) Ash Travis lace up pump, and d) Corso Como Fionna pumps. Price of wants: a) 128.95 b) 109 c) 185 d) 155.

Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh unlimited wants, limited money! But I really want one of 1 and 3. I suppose I could forgo 2 for now...since comfort's probably more important. Oh me oh my.

2007-09-25T13:18:00.000-05:00

One Month in the States

I've been here about 5 weeks already! Time really just zooms past. My life has been enriching though, so that's wonderful. Three days a week I volunteer at the Cent*er for Child*ren's Bo*oks and that's really wonderful. Apart from normal shelving and stuff, I get to prepare my own display and select books, and currently I'm on cataloguing. It's awesome! Plus the 2 GAs there are really friendly, so that adds to my happiness.

A couple of weeks ago, I was cooking dinner when a squirrel hopped onto the table outside my apartment. I think it must've sniffed sesame oil in my cooking. Before I knew it, it hopped right onto my windowsill! While the window was open, there was a mesh so it couldn't come in. It balanced for a bit on the windowsill before hopping onto the table again. That was simply AMAZING. I've had lotsa run-ins with squirrels. That little squirrel, I named it Squaredy in honour of my lovely Scaredy. I miss her loads. I feed the squirrels once a while when I see them, and yesterday must've been squirrel and rabbit day! 2 squirrels and 2 rabbits right outside my place. And the squirrels kept coming to me for more nuts! One of them actually lay on on the bench I was on, but at a distance. Absolutely loveable.

I will update again later because it's about time to go off for volunteering again! I should probably edit this post as well, write in more flowery and beautiful language =)

2007-08-29T16:52:00.000-05:00

Cooking is a Messy Business

Here I am, sitting and waiting for the pork ribs to defrost, and I thought I'd post about cooking. Why? Because my current mood is frustrated. Let me explain.

UC (Urbana-Champaign) is the land of the corn. Indeed, sweetcorn festival was just over a couple of days ago, I think I mentioned that in my previous post. And corns go for like 50 cents per corn! Anyway, here's the point really. Today, I'm making corn soup with pork ribs and the remaining one carrot I have left in the fridge. Today is the first time in my life I am peeling the husks and silk from fresh ears of corn. Omg the amount of silk! And, firstly, I discovered a little caterpillar. Well I shouldn't really be surprised, seeing as this is fresh corn from the fields, and I assume the caterpillar would be dead, since the corn has been sitting in the fridge since Saturday, making it a total of 3 days to today. I prodded the caterpillar a little and it kinda spasmed! I tried it a couple more times and same reaction. Conclusion: the little fella isn't dead, so I threw it out my door to the grass patch to let it defrost. Imagine. 3 days in the fridge and not dead? This guy deserves to live! I'll go check on it in a moment. If it doesn't survive, tough luck, cos I tried.

Actually, here's the main part of my post. I tried cutting the corn into small pieces. It wouldn't budge. It simply won't! I tried it with the biggest knife I have, and only managed one small piece off the head of the corn, with corn juice (hmmm I wonder how corn juice will taste...) squirting all around! Not to mention the silk. AND I JUST MOPPED THE FLOOR TODAY! ARGH. So I give up. And then I look at the pork ribs and I give a deep sigh. Oh yes SIGH. Because I'm gonna struggle as much with the pork ribs as I did with the corn. That's what happened the last time I made bak kut teh. I've never seen such huge ribs ever, and never bought them whole, and having to separate them piece by piece plus removing the fat off them is totally draining I tell you. AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH. Yes that's my rant for today.

I've got a rant for yesterday too, which deals with LAUNDRY. Never trust the school's laundry machines! They gave mine and Dan's clothes spots on them. Spots that look like water, but I suspect they're OIL. OMG I was hopping mad yesterday. I'm gonna use soap and toothbrush to try and get them off. IF I can. Otherwise my darling will have to get a lot more new shirts. AND I have a whole basket of them to do.

YES. So that sums up my post for now. I'm gonna go back to struggling with the pork ribs. Wish me luck, all of you. I miss pre-cut ribs (not that I've cooked ribs in Singapore but still.)...

2007-08-25T19:12:00.000-05:00

Hello from UIUC

Where to start? Dan and I are now happily settled in our cosy-albeit-scarce apartment at UIUC. For the folks not in the know, it's the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. The weather here's hot, quite like Singapore, and I can't wait till it gets cooler somehow. Surprisingly, or perhaps not surprisingly for me, no culture shock, no feelings like I'd entered a completely different place unlike when I was in England. Here, as Dan says, is a completely down-to-earth town, with nothing out of the ordinary, such that our seeing a limousine today was already considered something. What am I doing in UIUC? Doing the wifely thing being with my beloved husband, cooking for him, welcoming him back with a smile and a cooked meal on the table. Oh yes, I'm cookin' baby! The dishes on my menu included supposed beef stew (twice, although once it came out more like soup and the other time it was more like "vegetable stew" with beef pieces in it), great bak kut teh, normal bak choy dishes, beef dishes, and Dan's current favourite being stir-fried pork with celery. Yum to that! I love that too. So here I am, by my darling's side and perfectly content with life.

We spent a lovely Saturday out. It all started with a visit to the weekly Farmer's Market to stock up on groceries. Having gone a little late, we didn't get our share of blueberries, but raspberries will have to suffice for now. Our grocery stash included peaches, corn (which is so totally the local produce!), and some jalepeno peppers, which I have never prepared nor cooked in my entire life, but which I will start doing so now! Think melted cheese oozing out, or perhaps breaded. There was also the Sweetcorn Festival (!) going on, but we didn't get to stay long since there was meat we needed to get home and freeze. We may pop by again later though, just to see what's happening. Then there was the Urbana Free Library book sale, which we HAD to go to, and ended up buying 10 books for $8! What a steal =) So I'll have more stuff to occupy myself with while Dan is out at work.

A couple of days back, I met Cynthia by chance at Busey Bank! That was amazing, seeing as she's supposed to be in Vancouver studying. We're meeting up later for dinner, with Kaipei and Jerilyn, whom I haven't seen in AGES! So I'm quite looking forward to that. As for now, I'm gonna enjoy a couple of moments of peace and quiet with Dan =)

2007-07-24T00:48:00.000-05:00

Last Week of Work

Ahh..been missing for a while, and there are stuff worth talking about! ;)

Firstly, I've officially graduated! Yup, the cohort of 2007, on the 6th July with the USP people. I'm glad I went for that commencement (I have two, the other one's the Lit one, but we don't get presented!), since I got to take pics with dear dear Shules. Oh 4 years have passed way too fast! I remember when Shules and I were just starting out...Monday Psych lectures and Thursday English lectures (or was it the other way round?) and we were all doodling on each other's papers, laughing and yes, me spending lots of time in the toilet! Well then, we've done great, done our honours, and officially no longer students...although, I'm loathe to relinquish the perks that come with our student cards ;) Pics will be up soon enough, sorry for the delay! Oh Shules, can you send me the ones you have too? Thanx my dearest family for being there, and of course, my unfailing darling. We were all sick actually, my sis being the most unwell, but I really really really appreciated it that she actually went down!

We also had an RJC Oteam gathering on the 20th at My Secret Garden. This must be the first one I've attended since leaving JC, and I must say I'm glad I went, despite my initial misgivings, seeing as I've not really kept in contact with most of the people. But it turned out great! And Charlotte, now I know that you read my blog, no excuse not to tag ok! And we must totally keep in contact =)

21st was...my birthday!!!!! I woke up to hear the bedroom door closing, and wondered where Dan went to. So I lazed a while more, and washed up and went in search of him, only to find he had gone out! Well then, since I figured he'd be getting the final Harry Potter instalment (my birthday present!), I went back to lazing in bed and reading a book while waiting for him to be back. I had a flurry of birthday messages, thank you everyone who remembered! Shules, Val, Cheryl, Siam, Yijun, John, Dage, Dasao, Xiaomei, Kris..aww thankew for the msgs! Dan came back with book and muffins, and we proceeded to spend a lovely lazy day at home. Yup, work does drain quite a bit! My family and darling celebrated my birthday with me with a wonderful dinner at Szechuan Court. I really enjoyed myself (and the myriad of pics too) and loved spending time with you all! It was followed with a Nottingham Forest birthday cake and a celebration with my in-laws, and I feel the love from all of them and I love them all! And thanx, my lovely pretty gorgeous sister, for the Aldo vouchers! ;)

That's generally the month in a nutshell, I'll expand on it when pics are uploaded and such! Love =)

2007-07-02T00:41:00.000-05:00

At Work!

Hellooo all you peeps! It's lunchtime break now at work! Oh yes yes yes I'm working (well not really, more like a voluntary attachment heh) at the National *University *of *Singapore's Central *Library! It's only my first day today and I'm quite excited because I've already learnt quite a few things in the first few hours! And being a librarian does really seem fun! Ok I know you peeps don't really associate librarians with being cool or fun people, but hey, they do all the important stuff like cataloguing (something I'm reading up on now and practising actually) so us library users can find stuff easily! So kudos to them! =)

I had lunch today with two lovely colleagues of mine and we talked quite a bit, so it was fun. I've been introduced to the whole technical* services* department and they are a lovely lot of people! So exciting ok!

On another note (also indirectly related to lib stuff), I went shopping with Cheryl and Siam the other day and it was fun fun fun. Zara and Mng were having sales of up to 50%. The 70% ones should be coming up soon! I got like 4 amazing items that I can bring to the States so oh boy am I excited about it =) Cheryl was wondering how I decided on librarianship as it seemed sudden to her so I told her about it heh.

Anyway, I read Mary's blog and oh my goodness I totally miss her to bits! Yes dear girl I hope you survive the year with 3 blokes in the same place!!!! AHHHH! And Charlene hasn't even been updating at all has she! Tsk. I haven't yet met Yijun but am looking forward to meeting her sometime this week =)

Okok I think that's about it for now! A big shoutout to my darling to tell him that I miss him terribly (although we see each other everyday) and that I can't wait to see him later! Kisses sweetie~

2007-06-27T22:28:00.000-05:00

Plans for the Next 2 Months

Where have I been?? Ahh slacking quite a bit, on top of preparing for quite probably (ok most definitely) the biggest trip of my life, correction, our lives!

So, here's to orientate those who aren't in the know and all. It's confirmed that Dan and I are flying off to the States sometime early August for 2 years. Yup you heard that right. He's gonna be furthering his studies there, and me, I'm going to be the dutiful wifey that tags along to make sure that my darling's got everything he needs and basically to be with together with him =) Any further updates on this field (as to what I'm actually gonna be doing when I'm there) I'll let the relevant people know! And updates as and when things are confirmed and all =)

As you can see, this is a rather huge step I'm/ we're taking together. It's gonna be proper married life over in Illinois--that's where Dan's going--and just the two of us! We're currently apartment hunting, so as to fit rental costs into our budget. Also, we're trying to calculate how much we're gonna spend on furnishing the house (if it's unfurnished) and other costs like food and transportation, if we're going to get a car or not...it's quite fun, truth be told, but also rather exhausting.

On to other news, I got a month-long internship, thanks be to God for overflowing grace! I've been considering a career in librarianship, and I went to interview a librarian in school as part of my application process. She was so lovely, so warm, so dedicated and on-the-ball! It's truly amazing and God willing, I'm going to pursue this as a lifelong career. We talked about quite a lot of other things apart from what being a librarian requires (and for those silly-billies who think that it's about shelving books, by Toutatis you are rather ill-informed!), to how life overseas will be like and what sort of car to get! At the end of it all, I asked if they required any volunteers at the library, since I'd only be around for about a month-ish plus or so, and the lovely lovely lady said she'd get back to me. Next day, I got an email from her informing me that I'd be offered a month-long internship, and another colleague will be contacting me shortly with regards to the plan to be drawn up. The following day (which is yesterday), her colleague contacted me with a month-long comprehensive training plan! OMG i'm absolutely delighted and LOVE their professionalism and efficiency to bits! So I'm starting work on Monday yippee!! Wish me luck y'all!

I also realized that with a month-plus left, I've not only got lotsa things to do but lotsa friends to catch up with. So for those reading this, do contact me ok! I can only meet up that many times a week with that many different people heh, but I want to meet all of you before I leave!

Ahh now, to enjoy the remaining few days of slacker-mode...and watch Scrubs =P

2007-06-16T00:10:00.001-05:00

"Somewhere Over the Rainbow"

2007-05-15T23:03:00.000-05:00

Teatime with Tyger!

I had a most wonderful tea out with Limin yesterday and really enjoyed time spent with her! The last time we went out was like what, last year? So I'm really really glad we got to meet up and have an amazing talk (although I don't even think we were half done seeing as we could go on and on!). Tea was at this amazing Viennese coffeehouse (or kaffeehaus as they would probably say) very near Outram Park mrt, you all should go there! I had chocolate cake and honey affogato, both at very affordable prices. The cake was definitely a huge change from SR and so much fresher! Not too sweet, and 70% dark chocolate yum! The coffee was good too, with a heap of vanilla ice-cream plomped in for good measure! Limin had a Viennese pastry that was sweet and yummy, and a melange. I should definitely go try the melange sometime!

We had an amazing talk, and as always, topics were always wide-ranging. We started with some goosip (I always like gossip!) before winding our way to boyfriends, husband, careers and religion. I love talking to her, because we're pretty much on the same wavelength, and I know that I've found a great friend in her! Limz is at once both down-to-earth and romantically inclined, and thats amazing. I hope she finds her true love soon!

All in all, I had an awesome tea and I can't wait for Kai Lynn to return from Down Under so we can do some catching up again!

2007-05-14T22:56:00.000-05:00

Happiness, Love and Pain, and Baptism

Helloooo you peeps again! Thanks for all the well-wishes and congratulations I've received over the past couple of weeks! Dan and I are doing great and enjoying our marital bliss really! The only thing short is a honeymoon, but well, either way we'll get to go for a pre-honeymoon ;) Updates updates updates now!

First and foremost, thanx SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO MUCH to the darlings over in notts who sent me the card! I'm sosososososo touched I nearly cried upon reading the messages! Thank you all for not forgetting me despite the distance. I'm really really touched and I love you all and hope to see you all before long!!! To Mary: yep Dan is definitely the most handsome guy around! ;) And yes I really hope to see you before long! Dan and I might set up a "Help us visit our friends in the UK fund" and hope that people donate to our cause, then we could get to visit you earlier! To Yijun darling: don't pout! You'll get to attend the big one and you'd better come or else! And I will definitely tell you lots about married life! (oh and Mary, anything you wanna find out? ha!!!) And to Charlene: awww thanx you're such a sweetie! Yes I really hope to visit with Dan in tow and then we'll celebrate and all! When's yours and Mike's turn? =P Help me thank Mike for his well-wishes too ok! And to Steph: hey thanx soo much! I'll definitely tell you more about it! And come to the big one k!

Well then, Dan had to put his vows to good use soon after solemnization, the "in sickness or in health part". I'd gone out with Cheryl to Secret Recipe for tea, and I had a chocolate fudge cake. Soon after, while we were shopping, I developed a splitting headache and had to get Dan to come to drive the car back. It was later at night that it got worse (I didn't get much dinner down) and I puked! *sigh* It was rather a lot (ok I shan't gross you peeps out anymore!) but suffice to say that the chocolate cake did that! So no more Secret Recipe for me again! Another one's Gloria Jeans, where the food gave me food poisoning bleah. But thanx to my darling who stood through all of that and made me feel better, and to mummy who was around and whose soothing words never failed to comfort me! So that was the pain part of this post =)

In other news, I got baptized on Sunday! It was lovely, and Mummy and chou de went down to watch me get baptized and all. Thanx for your support despite differences in religion, I really do appreciate that! But thanx darling, for letting me get to know God better. I feel a lot calmer these days, and whenever hard times hit, I know that He's always there for me, and as long as I do things first and foremost according to His will, I know that everything will fall into place. It's been a journey of discovery and lots and lots of questioning for me, and I'm glad to have the most niggling doubts put out of the way now. Although there's still a lot to learn, and I still have a long way to grow in my faith, I know that with Dan by me, we'll be able to grow in the grace of God. Pics will come up sometime soon I hope! =P

Okok I'll not turn my blog into Christian ramblings, especially knowing how some of my dearest friends feel about it! And also, it should be more of an individual journey now =) On another note, I'm playing Sims 2 now and it's highly addictive! =P Go play all of you!

2007-05-08T05:09:00.000-05:00

The Big Day

Ahhhh hellooooo everybody! I know I've been MIA for a really long time, but I had to do my exams, and after it ended I was swamped with stuff! Let's do a little update~

Well, as some of you probably already know (I know the Lit peeps most definitely know!), Dan and I were planning to get solemnized for some months already, because we may be going overseas, and it's the best to go together! As you can already tell, we're practically inseparable!

So, we decided to get solemnized after my exams, and the reason for it being such a rush (exams ended on 2nd, we got solemnized 6th) was because that was the only good day for months! So I had to do shopping--gown, shoes, makeup, hair stuff) in the short span of 3 days, and i did it! Whee! Dan was even better! We got all his stuff in one place, and he turned out absolutely gorgeous =) So basically, to officially announce it, we're married! *beams happily*

For those of you worrying that we're taking it too quick and all that stuff, please don't worry. Dan and I are truly, very very happily married, and I guess we knew from the start that we were made for each other (as Mary and Yijun and Shules and all those peeps I've been talking to will attest to, and Mary's already getting goosebumps from the sweetness since like a year ago!).

And if you're wondering why you all didn't get invited, don't panic! This was meant to be a family affair (with the exception of dage and shules, who were best man and bridesmaid--ringbearers for the day), and it's just a solemnization. The actual holy matrimony won't be till a couple of years later, and that's when invitations will fly.

My most heartfelt appreciation to those who messaged me before the event to wish me every happiness--Shules, Siew Wei, Cheryl, and those after--Charlene, Duan, Val, David, and to those who knew and already wished me earlier on. Also, thanx to Shules for the photo album and the pewter faery...it's LOVELY! And to Dage and Dasao for the tiffany necklaces, and to Cheryl, Sarah and Siam for the chocolate fondue set! We'll make sure we make them for you when you pop by!

So here are the pics below from my sis's cam, there are still some floating about with the various people. But, enjoy meanwhile =)

With much love, Dan and I

2007-05-08T04:13:00.000-05:00

Our very special day~

Rings and flower petals--i think they look lovely here

Dan's mom and sis did up the pretty table settings (and music) and dasao, the flowers! Mesmerizing

Mr Ong and Miss Fong (for the last time)

Happily awaiting what dan's dad (solemnizer for the occasion!) has to say

"Darling I'm excited and nervous" "Don't be nervous sweetie! In a few moments you shall be mine and I, yours. Legally, that is!"

Reading the vows (in Chinese no less!)

"And now I take thee as my wife"

"As I take thee as my husband"

Dan's dad gives us his blessings

My signature required

The marriage certificate is signed!

A kiss to seal our love forevermore

Absolute bliss

New family 1!

New family 2!

Us with the best man (dage) and best lady (shules). Thanx, you two!!!

Bound in love and happiness, twin rings of gold

We love the shosies too!

My sis is a magnificent photographer!

I absolutely love this pic..elegant and beautiful

Tiffany and Co. necklaces from dage and dasao! *squeals in happiness!!*

Thanx babe, for being there! I'm so very very very happy! *hugs* (and thanx for the pressies with the tags on too! ;))

Pic of the night!

Family pic 1!

Family pic 2!

Thanks mom, for EVERYTHING. You're the best *hugs*

"Me me!" "Nah, me!" Nehhhhhhh (first quarrel! Fighting with ermm..lobster forks)

The babes have to take pics in the toilet as well!

Ooh come hither honey~

Datuk and Datin Ong

Both dads looking bored while we happily go shutter-crazy!

I love this photo

Darling: "Don't you think I'm cool?" Me: "Oh most definitely!"

And I love you too darling~

Let's do the couple dance~

"Good evening milord" "And a very good evening to you too milady"

Nono this is not the way it's done over here darling!

Group pic! Thanx Shules for taking it and sacrificing being in the pic!

Happily in love and very content =) (not to mention exhausted!)

At home...Now this is literally hua chi (flower eat)!

Err..posing with the flowers?

Closing pic for the night~

2007-04-19T03:07:00.000-05:00

Scaredy

I forgot to talk about Scaredy! Well, Scaredy is a stray that's living around my house, and Dan and I have been feeding her for a while. She has a white base with brown patches all over, very stray-ish like, and a tail that's probably been bitten off in a fight. Initially, she was a very shy little thing, hence the name. I've never seen any cats this shy, or I think scaredy would be a more appropriate word. When cars pass by, she freaks out and takes flight. When Dan coughs or clears his throat, she practically jumps. When I throw the food can away, she gets a shock. And, she has an insatiable appetite. Everytime we have dinner at my granny's (a few houses away from where I stay), Scaredy meows for food, and we feed her. After we're done and want to head home, she meows for more again. She used to meow in satisfaction whenever she got the first bite, and our hearts simply melted. But she never let us pet her!

Dan says he wouldn't have had the patience to keep being nice to her had I not continued. And perseverance pays off! Scaredy now warms up to us, and she sometimes brushes past our legs. She does let us pet her, although she's still wary at times. Most times, she relaxes, and she even flipped belly up on a few occasions!

Now, she's just had two kittens and they're simply adorable. Her kittens look nothing like her, even though they've taken after her in her scaredy ways. One of them is black with white patches, and the other is grey with black stripes. They are truly the sweetest things! They haven't let us get near them yet, but we believe they will eventually! Just last night we saw them playing with each other. You know how the male cats are usually never around? Well, last night was model cat family night. The father simply lay down looking unconcerned with the world, Scaredy was busily eating like she always does, and the two kittens were frolicking about. It was such a lovely sight! I'd like to take pictures someday.

Anyway, we haven't named the kittens yet, neither have we the father (and no desire to, although his nickname is Garfield, since he really does look like one!). Soon enough we shall the kittens!

On a sidenote, I've seen Scaredy's doppelganger around. She's got a long tail, that's the only difference. And I always only see her when I drive back home, and she's usually sitting on the wall. When I enter the house, she scoots. Interesting.

2007-04-19T02:32:00.000-05:00

A Time for Reminiscing

I think a great many things have happened the past week, and I really should get some of them down before they all disappear and I forget about them years down the road.

As most of you probably already know, the last two weeks was rather a hellhole for me. Apart from the 3 ISMs of about 17000 words I completed, I also squeezed in 2 other essays of 3000 words each, so my total wordcount for the past two weeks must've been something like 23,000 words! I must say though, that there is a tremendous sense of achievement in doing all that and keeping to a proper rigid schedule with motivation from my darling. Waking up at 7am every morning is really the last thing I'd want to do, but the creative juices do get flowing in the morning somehow, so that's what I did. Basically the schedule was such that I worked till about lunch, punching out words like there's no tomorrow, taking the necessary lunch break, heading back to work till about 4 and wanting to collapse from neckache, finger-ache and all other kinds of aches you get from sitting too long at the computer, then heading on for a much-needed nap to rest my body, getting up at 5 to work till 7ish when Dan comes for dinner. Then it's dinner, and feeding Scaredy (our stray who really has started to warm up to us, I'll get to that soon enough!), and relaxing while talking to my darling. Really really really, what would I do without him? Then type type type till 10ish, before I'm done for the day. So basically the whole week was like that. Following the handing in of the ISMs on Monday, I had deadlines for Tuesday (Crit Theory presentation), Friday (Metafictions essay) and the following Tuesday (which is the Tuesday just past, for my Crit Theory essay).

Jun and I were really working on our presentation while our two other group members went MIA. I can't say I blame one of them, who had a good enough excuse and turned up something on the day of the presentation itself. The other person was just...irresponsible, shall we say. So poor Jun and I were left finishing it up. Oh I didn't mention Wednesday night, where I didn't get much sleep, thanks to editing for a project report that kept me and my other group member up for the better part of the night. That, I don't really want to go into. Suffice to say I'm glad it's done with! Then it was a mad rush for Friday morning deadline. Typing non-stop again! And I managed to get a breather for Tuesday!

Now for what happened between Thursday and Tuesday! On Thursday I attended the last class of my undergraduate life! Well, it'd be the last proper class ever if I don't continue with Masters. It's strange but I don't know what I feel about it. I should feel a little sad, which I do, but not majorly. I suppose it's because I still have the exams to study for, which doesn't give me quite a lot of time to think in-between.

Friday night and Saturday morning saw Dan and I headed to the same chillout place. The same, you might ask? Well well, that's because...get ready for a nice tale. Friday night, I decided to take some time off for myself and Dan, since I'd practically left him alone the whole time I was rushing my stuff. Sure, we met everyday, but I was so totally turning into this boring nerd! So I really needed to eat some nosh and chillout. We headed for Riverwalk Tandoori, which serves Indian food buffet-style at an amazing price! $15/person for Friday nights! How awesome is that! And the food was GREAT! The mutton was simply heavenly! And I think Mary will laugh when she reads this, but anyway, I DRANK CUSTARD! Yes yes, so much for the "how can you drink custard eww!" thing, and I ended up doing just that. They served it there what! But, I just drank a really small bowl =P So did Dan! So we were basically in food heaven after that and decided to take a walk around Clarke Quay. It was lovely =) AND WE DISCOVERED A GEM! Highlanders--a scottish pub and restaurant! I practically squealed when I saw that! I could finally have haggis outside of Scotland! And they had all the whiskies, and the lager and ale! Since we couldn't eat anymore, we just went in for drinks. Oohlala the lager was heavenly, and it really did have this malty aftertaste. I got myself some sloeberry and honey drink on the rocks. Absolutely lovely--I enjoyed the honey aftertaste!

So we decided to return there on Sat for LUNCH with my sister! I ordered haggis for starters, and I had SCAMPI for the main course, Dan had game pie and my sis had err...bacon and cheese? And, we had TRIFLE for dessert!! The food was simply yummilicious, I suggest everyone should go there to eat! And the haggis was proper haggis like I had in Scotland, although minus some crunch, but still! While the trifle was good, we did feel the custard was a little too thick. Thankfully we ordered to share, since it was HUGE. And the best compliment paid to me by Dan and my sis was that the trifle I made was better! *beams* I also have my sister to thank since she made it with me =) I should get some pics up sometime soon.

So that was that! For now, it's back to studying *sigh* But I'm glad all the essays are done with. I don't have to write one till exams, or make that 8 essays. Yikes. But we'll think of that when we get there. And after exams..........................*beams*

Wow. This is a really long post.

2007-04-02T09:07:00.000-05:00

Thought of the Day (contributed by my darling!)

(Background info: My sister was seen sipping carrot juice from a teacup with a straw just now! Which is just wrong. But, it can be excused because she was operated on and a tooth pulled out)

So here's what my darling said =P

Him: What would be wrong in a teacup? Hmm..guava juice. Guava juice would be wrong.
Me: Coke would be wrong too!
Him: Hmm...you're right! But you know what would be wrong in a teacup? Coffee! Why? Because it belongs in a kopi-cup!
Me: OMG I can't believe you! *rofl*

2007-04-01T08:42:00.000-05:00

I need a break desperately. The workload is killing me!!!!!!!!!!!!

2007-03-29T10:19:00.000-05:00

While I was studying...
(I need a break I really really really do!)

Read my VisualDNA™ Get your own VisualDNA™

2007-03-25T06:29:00.000-05:00

SICK

It sucks to be sick! =\ And with so much work to do I feel like I'm drowning! And Hannah's count for me of 23,000 more words before the end of semester scares me (notwithstanding words to be written for exams)...

Ok. Things I aim to accomplish in the following week (with a cold and my feeling heaty and all that):

1. SingLit 2000 words essay (by Friday)
2. Dr Ang's ISM (ok to finish it might be a bit too much for me. Say another 1500 words?)
3. Prof Turner's ISM (that one I'd better try to write more. Ok I'll give myself 1500 words as well.)

So total word count: 5000 by end of week. Ahhh!

2007-03-05T00:05:00.000-06:00

Fun Fact of the Day

Did you know that broccoli is actually a mix between pea seeds and cauliflower? How interesting!

(And to think I quite like broccoli and I don't like peas! Actually, I grew to like peas when I was in England! Only English peas are edible I think, and oooh mushy peas!!!)

2007-02-21T22:21:00.000-06:00

The February Files

At the rate I'm updating, I might as well be updating once per month! But I promise to try harder (if I can find the time)!

So what's been happening in my life? It's currently the mid-sem break, and what a lousy break it is! Firstly, Sunday to Tuesday were taken up by Chinese New Year, leaving very little time to actually study, if you see my point. And I needed a rest yesterday because I was so tired out! And I have a whole load of things to do by next week *sigh* Life is tough this semester but as Yijun will tell me, ganbatte!

We didn't do much for Valentine's Day since everyday with my darling is Valentine's Day, and eating out that day means a super-expensive day--no point! But to pseudo celebrate the occasion anyway, I cooked my darling a wonderful meal (if I may say so *grin*)! Photos are at the bottom.

I met up with the girls on Friday too for steamboat, which we took like 2 1/2 hours to eat! Woohoo but it was fun catching up! And Cheryl, send me the pics!!!

And I think Mary, Yijun, Charlene and Steph will be happy to note that, I've finally sent out those letters, presents attached! Just in case the labels come off, the cube one's for Mary, the rectangular one for Yijun, the square-ish one's for Charlene and the little purple box's for Steph =) I hope they don't get crushed too badly and you can probably expect them sometime next week!

Meanwhile, I'm off to read Eco's The Name of the Rose as much as I can manage for school. Alright then folks, catch up again soon!

2007-02-21T21:41:00.000-06:00

Photos from Random Days, Valentine's Day and CNY

We bought this scythe from Daiso to try and cut grass. Darling succeeds admirably!

I try it out too but am not too successful at doing it...

The Grim Reaper looking very grim indeed since his scythe has been cut short

Valentine's Day menu for my sweet--Tomato and Olive Bruschetta for starters, Wild Mushroom spaghetti (and an English sausage!) for main course, and chocolate pudding (not featured here) for dessert. Yum!

Darling can't wait to tuck into his spaghetti! Prego prego!

Happy happy CNY pic with my sweet. Our outfits look colour-coordinated and we didn't even plan that!

Jo and I posing with the CNY decorations

My Darling is trying to plot with Mandarin Oranges...hmmm.

Quan Jia Fu (family photo!)

The guys at Brewerkz on CNY night

Starters were awesome--Chilli Fries and Chilli Beef Bowl, oh mama

Happy together anywhere =)

I'm left alone with the food, beer and my Reuben sandwich while the guys head off to the washroom IN A GROUP!

Tired out after all the drinking and laughing

Xiaomei and I!

And finally, the highlight of the evening--desserts! Clockwise from top, Stout choc fudge sundae, coconut creme brulee and beer bread pudding =)

2007-01-27T09:53:00.000-06:00

The -gamy Discussion

Darling and I had a riveting discussion over dinner today about monogamy and polygamy. What do all of you think about the two states? Is one a result of the other, or did they evolve with certain objectives in mind? Is our state of -gamy influenced by the society we live in?

2007-01-13T22:11:00.000-06:00

Photos from Everywhere!

Darling and I craved for Bongo Burgers some time back, driving all the way to the Bird Park to have them! But not before sillyly driving to the zoo first, thinking it was there!

Monkeying around at Haw Par Villa

Darling looks so shuai can!

Us at Bollywood Veggies after a most lovely lunch on a relaxing weekend~

Joyce is finally back from the UK for a while!

Me and Josephine at church after her performance on Christmas Eve

Darling's mum and I!

Me and Darling looking very happy on Christmas Eve

Feeding Darling Baskin Robbins in Genting

Bliss in your arms

AhA! The LOUSY 4D simulator ride

Say bye to Genting and us happy to go back!

Darling trying to act cute with Ken at his pad

"Er..hi. What am I doing in the kitchen?"

Haha! Kris and Dage with washing implements. Xiaomei and I made the guys wash up after we cooked them a full meal of..only mushrooms for dinner!

It looks so funny with all the guys crowded round one sink and Dage trying to escape!

Darling looks quite happy doing the washing up, and so cute too!

2007-01-13T21:23:00.000-06:00

Tagged!

So since Shules has tagged everyone on her links list for top five hotties, I thought, ok, I'll put mine in too!

Standing at number five is...Johnny Depp, who well...the combination of bad guy and oodles of charm makes it to my list!

Number four would have to be Richard Gere! There's nothing more than having sparkly eyes and silver-white hair and looks that get better and better as he grows older to qualify one for the list! His charm is proven even more through being able to buy all the birds in a Jodhpur market in that accepts Visa just for him!

The number three hottie's Hugh Jackman, whose role in Kate & Leopold cemented his charm, being ever the tall, dark and handsome gentleman riding a stallion. Ooh la la! Further confirmed by his role in X-Men, but Kate & Leopold still wins hands down!

Number two's spot is taken by the ever charming Colin Firth! Those who know me probably already know that he'd have made it to my top five list. This guy is a sure-stay, and c'mon! His role as a stuffy Mr Darcy with all his British charm surely blows me away! I mean, you can't get any better than him honestly! I even swooned over him in Nanny McPhee! Cravat, coattails, hat...oh goodness gracious, absolutely yummylicious! Now then you may wonder why he's not tops on my list and who's taken that!

Number ONE on my list....*drumroll please*....is the incomparable, unsurpassable, altogether charming, gorgeous, so so so hot DARLING DANIEL OF MINE! Well well now, did that come as any surprise? ;) And since he is the best, the gap between him and even the super-charming Colin Firth is unbridgeable. And best of all, he's mine! What more can I ask for, having the hottest guy to love and to hold, and our love for each other unwavering? He's so good to me, he's the best I can ever ask for and he'll always remain tops on my list!

Trying to make darling look Superman-ish on the day we left Genting!

2007-01-10T06:41:00.000-06:00

A Whole Month's Worth of Updates

Hello all! I know I've been missing from this space for a really long time and I do apologize. I'm still alive and kicking! What happened was all this:

1) I really was under a lot of stress, trying to get my 3 ISMs (independent study modules) together and planning possible topics for them, which took up a whole load of time. Up till now, there's still some stuff left unconfirmed and this week will be an absolutely hectic week for me which I can't wait for to end.

2) As of now, I'm going to have to do 7 modules this semester, which is absolutely crazy, seeing as this is my final semester. I screwed up some stuff, and the better part of the holidays has seen emails flying all over and trying to get people to map one of my USP modules to a major module, which I have been getting poor response from. Let's say I was really down-in-the-dumps. But thank goodness for Daniel, cos he told me to continue trying. The admin side said no, so I went straight to my prof, who had no problems with my mapping and supported the change and wrote a long email for me, which I was really touched about. I emailed a lit prof next but as of now, I have not gotten any reply from her so I'm getting worried. I've bugged her again just only so hopefully she'll reply with good news. Please pray for me!

3) The other part of December was spent in Genting, Malaysia, with Dan and his family. The place was dead boring, please don't ever ever ever go there, but the company was absolutely lovely. We took lotsa pics and Dan's sister was official photographer! When I'm freer (end of this week or next), I'll put up some very long overdue pics!

4) And then it was results (not too good, but well I've made my peace with it) and bidding for modules. Time flew past really fast and now school's started, it's Day 3 and already I'm stressed. Sigh.

5) THIS IS THE MOST IMPORTANT POINT OF MY POST! Mary and Charlene and Yijun, no I haven't forgotten about you, I know I owe you guys letters, I promise to get them sent out by Wednesday next week together with belated Christmas presents! And I miss you guys loads and haven't talked to you all in a million years!!!!!!!!!!!

So that's it for now, I'm going back to my books and lots of studying. It's only the first week term I know, but I feel like I've no time on my hands!

2006-12-03T23:45:00.000-06:00

Study Break

The wind that blows the leaves over in mesmerising drunkenness has carried a whiff of you to me. My heart smiles.

2006-12-03T01:02:00.000-06:00

Birthday cake, a mega big matchstick and the happiest guy on earth! =)

2006-12-03T01:00:00.000-06:00

Me with my darling the birthday boy~

2006-12-03T00:58:00.000-06:00

The family with the birthday boy!

2006-12-03T00:56:00.000-06:00

Cake is good!

2006-12-03T00:55:00.000-06:00

The colour of desire

2006-12-03T00:52:00.000-06:00

Attacking the mountain of ice-cream!

2006-12-03T00:23:00.000-06:00

Birthday Love

I hope you had a wonderful birthday, my love
Heart of my Heart, Light of my life.
The day spent with you was Special
Like everday we spend together is

Except, it is more Special than you know
More delightful, more celebrated, more joyous
It commemorates the day you were born
To love to happiness and to endless laughter

The heavens had conspired to bring to you
A whirlwind of activities, one after the other
Chock full of fun and love for my darling dearest
And me to accompany you till the close of day

A smile, a touch, a lingering kiss
After it all, it's still you my sweet, I miss.

2006-11-25T21:00:00.000-06:00

My Secret Garden

I love my back garden. It's a veritable treasure trove of surprising finds. Back when I hadn't met Daniel yet, I used to write to him about my garden and its secrets, and how I would look out of my study room window and be captivated by what I saw. That kinda confirmed for Dan that I must've been some faerie or sprite right out of some arcane, magical land. I'd like to think I'm that still. His very own sprite =)

Now this garden of mine is a very wonderful garden. In some ways, it's a miniature ecosystem. But first let me talk a little about my front garden. It's more open and thus not as kept away from the world as my back garden is, and its changes seemed to fluctuate with what's been happening to our Singapore ecosystem as a whole. I remember when I was younger, I used to go butterfly catching there. To me it was for fun, to look at the butterflies at a closer range, but never to get them pinned up. My dad did that, and after a while I stopped catching butterflies because they inevitably ended up on my dad's pinning board. But these butterflies, they were wonderful. I'd see all sorts of colours, whole colours of purple, white (these two were very small), yellow, orange (these were medium sized), and dual-colours of black and orange, and black and yellow (these were the big ones). As the years passed by, the butterflies I saw got lesser and lesser, until eventually, they completely disappeared. Not a single butterfly in sight. How I mourned, and secretly I thought they must've been scared away by what my dad and I did to them. I missed walking amongst those beautiful colours of flying wings. It's like what is happening to our local ecosystem now. Parks and wide open spaces are disappearing, and together with them all that we hold dear. They are replaced by cold, tall, even weirdly shaped buildings (if Kerzner wins the IR bid, we'll be having messy and oddly-shaped white sails sticking out everywhere, and if Eighth Wonder wins, we'll have a monstrosity of a volcano, whereas Genting's just...bland) that are just income generating possibilities. Now at least, I'm glad to say I'm starting to see those little purple butterflies back in my garden! I noticed them about a month or two ago, and I couldn't be happier.

To digress a little more, I wonder if anyone remembers the duck ponds at Marina South? You could see them if you peered out from the PIE as your car zoomed past those thick plots of trees. Sadly, they are gone now, together with those beautiful trees I was always in awe of. The Nature Society of Singapore tried getting the government to conserve them, saying they were a stopping place for migratory birds and ducks, but no, that didn't come through because apparently, Sungei Buloh Nature Reserve was enough. Enough! When do you get enough of nature? I never got enough of England's wide open spaces. Those duck ponds were the first time I laid my eyes on ducks, and I'll never forget them. It happened one of those days when I was still little and attending kindergarten. On the way back from school, I happened to look out the window where I got wide-eyed upon seeing real live ducks!!! Ever since that day, every day to school and back (yes because of the curve of the PIE you could see the ducks even on the way to school) became an adventure for me. On the really hot months where rain didn't happen for a few days, I'd not see many ducks, and I fancied myself seeing the ponds dry up. But those were the good ol' days and now they're gone.

Back to my back garden. I have visitation from birds, including the Yellow-Vented Bulbul, the Olive-backed sunbird, the Common Kingfisher and occasionally the White-throated Kingfisher. The sunbird has built its nest on one of my plants before, and the bulbul has become a daily visitor. During the mating months, I'd see two of them flying about together, but otherwise it's usually only one. It likes the little berries on one of my plants (I don't even know what plant it is!) and comes daily for food, sometimes more than once a day. Yesterday alone, it visited thrice! Or maybe there were three in the vicinity. The kingfisher visits for fish that my dad rears, and sometimes he gets really angry at the kingfisher. He's since placed nets over most of his tanks so the kingfisher is a less common sight now. There's also the chameleon skittering across the garden wall, although I hardly see him around nowadays. Maybe its died...but that one was the sweetest. I'd see it run across the wall daily, stopping ever so often, it's little head bouncing up and down, before disappearing in a flash. It'd have its daily suntan session, followed by a stroll back in the evening on the same wall. It must've been a really smart chameleon to escape from those birds around. Then one time there was also a beehive in my garden! Now that was amazing. It was really small, and after some time the bees mysteriously disappeared, leaving a honeycomb behind, but that was so cute! I got to see the daily building of part of the hive, and even saw it grow in size. All these wonders, coupled with two silly terrapins, plenty of kois, fighting fish and discuses (is that how its spelt?) my dad keeps, I hope these wonders never go away. It's my very own secret back garden, and now it's open for my darling to share all its wonders with me.

Wonders never cease to amaze me, and my darling is the biggest wonder of them all.

2006-11-21T21:10:00.000-06:00

I Still Have a Gender Paper to Write.

Well well I'm gonna try for weekly updates as far as possible, although once again, I'm lagging behind in posting up photos! But well, it's ok. They'll get up soon enough! So here's what's been happening in my life!

Darling and I went for the Penguin books sale at the Expo over the weekend, and we came back with like almost 60 books! Yup you heard that right. And that was after painful sorting into piles of nos, maybes and wants, with the wants further separated into musts and can-forgoes. And as we were really trying to not spend so much, that's how much we managed to reduce to. The books were going at great prices! $5, $8 and $10, it was really a sale, and we managed to get some pretty good books. Of particular notice is the Ramayana Series by Ashok K. Banker, which we managed to find all 6 books!!! I didn't realise I had found book 2, and so we went around hunting for it, to no avail. Only when Darling and I were sorting out the books did he fish out a nicely wrapped Book 2, much to his amusement and my embarrassment. Strangely, for a Penguin books sale, there were other publishers too, so it wasn't exactly all penguin! We joked on the way to the fair that it might turn out to be a sale on books about penguins! =P And technically, it wouldn't have been wrong either =)

Met up with Chand and Shules for lunch at Munchie Monkeys on Monday, and it was a happy happy lunch, where I got to meet oh dear....what's her name? I forgot! Anyway, Shules ratty hamster for the first time. She's so shy! But adorable really. And then I went to class 40 mins late. Actually I was already late, but the stupid buses really played me out! Andd twice in a day. Well you know, the new bus D service, I thought it'd stop at YIH, but NO. It went past, stopped at the SRC stop, and I had to climb up many stairs to get to Chand and Shules. That wasn't the worst. On the way back to Arts, Chand and I were on the BTC bus. I wondered if it'd stop outside AS5, to which Chand said yes and she'd taken it before, so I took her word for it and pressed the bell close to it. But as luck would have it, it didn't stop! And went ALL THE WAY to Business. So it was climbing up a million flights of stairs before I finally got to class. What a workout after lunch and my milkshake eh! But never mind! Chand promised me to scold the bus driver next time she boards a BTC bus! =)

Right now though....more WORK. Term paper's due Friday noon, I haven't started, haven't researched. And there's thanksgiving dinner tomorrow!!! I should get started. I can't believe there's so much work to be done! And exams are like next week, which I completely haven't prepared for. =\ Thanks to Dear, I'm still managing to stay on the sane side. You are the best!

2006-11-03T23:42:00.000-06:00

(Proper) Updates

Cheryl saw me that day and screamed for proper updates, by which I think she meant photos! So, to satisfy her, myself and everyone else, here are a few meagre photos I scrouged around for since I haven't been photo-happy for quite some time!

My work's been killing me, and I've just earned myself a wee little breather after handing up 2 2000-word essays and a research proposal yesterday. Believe me, I nearly went crazy! And next week's my freer week, although I should really start on all my projects and finish my readings this weekend.

So, the long overdue pics are for my sister's birthday which was on 19th Oct, but well well she's really grown into a lady! =)

And, Dan's been in the army for the past week which really left me very blue because I didn't get to see him! But happily, he's out now (finally!) and we can resume our daily perk-me-ups!

2006-11-03T23:41:00.000-06:00

The whole family =)

2006-11-03T23:38:00.000-06:00

Sisters! Now my chouchou is all grownup and legal to drink and drive! But she must learn to drive first (although I can't quite see her doing that, what with her bimbo self an' all! =P)

2006-11-03T23:36:00.000-06:00

Us with the birthday girl, and Darling sporting a new haircut for his re-service (for the uninitiated, it's when Dan gets called up to go back to serve in the army for 2 weeks! *shudders)

2006-11-03T23:32:00.000-06:00

Mustafa on Zineng's bike, picture courtesy of Charmaine while in my car! We were on the way to Adam Road Food Centre and we just couldn't resist, esp with the two funny guys and Mustafa on a bike for the first time holding on to OMG Zineng's huge funky "suitcases" on either side of his bike. No wonder he maximises road tax by staying on the lane!

2006-10-22T21:39:00.000-05:00

Just Because

Now now don't say I didn't exclaim!

I MISS MARY AND CHARLENE AND YIJUN!!!! Just because I do! I miss their company, I miss Ouran Kokou "Kiss kiss fall in love!" sessions...I miss dancing madly, I even miss dinners in hall! I miss running down Charlene's smelly hallway and visiting Mary's perpetually messy room with dodgy floormates! =P And I miss climbing up 3 flights of stairs to go bug Yijun and eat rice with Japanese topping! =(

2006-10-22T00:27:00.000-05:00

Withdrawal symptoms...yet again

I miss England all over again. Not so much for the big cities, because I don't fancy them all that much anyway, but for the lovely countryside, the big open spaces, rolling green hills, sheep and cows grazing, cloud shadows over the fields. I want to go back again.

2006-10-19T01:29:00.000-05:00

Tagboard News

Hello all! I got fed-up with my previous tagboard because it kinda went wonky, so I've just done up a new flooble chatterbox for all of you to tag me! Tag me! =)

2006-10-04T06:10:00.000-05:00

I Miss Skating

I skated round my neighbourhood today. It's been a long long time since I last skated. More than a year really. I realised I miss skating. A lot. I miss the breeze in my hair, the lovely stretches of uninterrupted, solitary thinking. I miss the speed, I miss trying out new things. I miss urban skating. I miss skating through Orchard at midnight. I miss ECP at midnight, 1am, 2am, 3am, 4am. I miss skating from Fort Road to beyond Bedok Jetty 2 and back. I miss suppertime. I miss some of the people I skated with. I really do miss skating.

2006-09-26T22:04:00.000-05:00

At Hay Dairies Goat Farm feeding some goats Alfafa hay

2006-09-26T22:03:00.000-05:00

Darling looking ever so gorgeous and feeding some baby goats!

2006-09-26T22:00:00.000-05:00

Darling with cold and lovely goat's milk, in original and chocolate flavours!

2006-09-26T21:58:00.000-05:00

Us at the dragonfruit farm =)

2006-09-26T21:56:00.000-05:00

Darling, a chocolate ice-cream, and lots and lots of veggies!

2006-09-26T21:55:00.000-05:00

Rural, idyllistic, and a charming Daniel!

2006-09-26T21:53:00.000-05:00

Trying for an artistic shot. I like!

2006-09-26T21:51:00.000-05:00

Dear looks mesmerising in this photo, somewhat lost, somewhat broody, somewhat dreamy..

2006-09-26T21:49:00.000-05:00

I absolutly adore this dreamy dreamy photo! Darling is a great photographer! Strangely, it somehow reminds me of England...i think the carefree part

2006-09-25T10:13:00.000-05:00

Mid-Term Break

My oh my school has been such a mad rush I've not had the time to update at all! With presentations to do and mid-terms, I've been trying my best to stay afloat! And hopefully, I'll be able to make use of this break (although I've already wasted a whole day!).

Our Lovely Countryside

On the weekend, Daniel and I took a lovely drive down to the countryside. Betcha didn't know Singapore had a countryside! Well, we do! In Kranji! We had the loveliest time there, visiting the goat farm, the bullfrog farm, the dragonfruit farm and Bollywood Veggies for lunch! Here are some lovely photos from our jaunt!

2006-09-05T23:42:00.000-05:00

Are There Such Things as Coincidences?

Darling and I find more coincidences each day to my delight. The latest in a series of coincidences would be that of our parents' wedding anniversaries! Not on the same day, but just one day apart! What're the chances of that?! And Auntie was really cute in saying, "Why couldn't we have gotten married a day later or your parents a day earlier?" *grin* That was just cute! So Dan and I had good food 2 days in a row! Not like we don't have good food everyday, but those two days were just yummy! The other coincidence we had already established was the driving incident and first time we met incident. Darling passed his test on the same day as I did minus a couple of years, and we met for the first time on the same date of the year as well! Sometimes I just can't believe it, and it makes me believe in fate even more! I think we were meant to be together =)

2006-08-31T06:22:00.000-05:00

Muggertoad Phase 1: Complete

Hello folks! I've been terrible and haven't been updating my blog in ages! But I suppose I have an excuse! Paktor (that's dating in Singlish/ Hokkien for the benefit of Mary and Charlene!), lah. And studying too!

My muggertoad phase 1 is complete! I've been right on top of stuff, and this is now week 3 of school! I'm really proud of myself! But school has honestly been rather stressful, and the readings for each module are aplenty! Though I've been doing readings, and looking at background information before every lecture, I still sometimes feel that I haven't done quite enough yet. I think this is a good feeling. Although I may sometimes feel slightly lost, it's lost in a good sense because I can figure out what I don't know, rather than not knowing anything at all and expecting the lecture to be the first time I come into contact with the subject. I think it's a first for me.

For all the keeping up to date, I really have to thank my darling. Amazingly, spending time with him everyday is good. Because I know that before we meet, I need to get some studying done, and even after we meet, I do try to read some stuff before bedtime if my energy level is still high enough. And how can I thank him enough for taking an interest in my work, the readings I have to do, and even reading some of them so he can discuss the topics with me? And also, for helping on the most recent presentation on James Thomson, even though he didn't know a thing about this 18th-C poet. The presentation turned out fine and I think Dr Gwee should be alright with it! I'm really happy for everything he's done for me. He's the motivating factor behind everything I do now, and I know that I will give everything my best shot. For us, for our future. And he manages to keep me happy and relaxed despite being stressed, so that is always a good thing! Thanks darling, you're the best for me =)

In other news, I've finally written my long overdue letters to Mary and Charlene, and will be sending them soon! *feels well-pleased with myself*

Okie then, time for dinner, hopefully I'll update soon! I think this space is in dire need of some good pics, but I haven't been taking any!

2006-08-10T05:21:00.000-05:00

National Day Special

I realised it didn't rain on National Day this year. Very weird, that. We all know it is rather an unspoken thing that the people-in-charge make it rain in the late morning, having it end by early afternoon so it'd be just in time for the parade in the evening. None of it happened this year though, even with the skies threatening rain most of the morning and afternoon. I suppose it's a good thing!

Had lunch with Yijun and Lisa at Pepper Lunch, and I was fully expecting Orchard to be super-crowded and thought I must be suicidal to want to go there, but surprise surprise! It was relatively empty and I could actually see where I was going. If I think about it, traffic flow was slow. Much less people than on a normal weekday. Perhaps Singaporeans are really wising up, staying outta the way of normally crowded areas. That was good for us 3 girls as we could enjoy lunch (but the guy at Pepper Lunch irritated me to no end. I still boil a little thinking about it), and we had ice-cream, chilled out and all felt sleepy! I was sneezing really badly the whole day and my nose was runny, so that wasn't very pleasant. But it was really nice catching up with the girls! We should do that again soon! =)

I met Darling after, at Aljunied, before we headed home together. As it was going to be our first national day spent together, we thought it'd be nice to just have food at home and chill while watching the parade on tv. So that's exactly what we did! Darling was wonderful to head out to Carl's Jr. in the afternoon to get us some mega-sized burgers, followed by Suntec to get 4-cheese pizza YUM! And thanx for the Rum chocs from Royce, I absolutely fell in love with them! This was our second box due to an accident the day before which we had many theories about =P So we got the pizza baked, heated up the burgers and pigged out in front of the tele with my sis, and had red wine! It was the loveliest day spent, and Darling never fails to bring sunshine wherever he is! And did I mention he wore the shirt I bought him? Oooh la la....in one word, he SIZZLED! *wink*

Well then, that's all folks!

2006-08-08T21:54:00.000-05:00

5 Happy Months/ Eve of National Day

First, the news in chronological order. I met up with my 2 juniors from bowling, Daryl and Desmond, for lunch yesterday at The Soup Spoon and we had a great time catching up and all. I haven't seen them in a LONG time, except for Des, whom I bumped into at the A*STAR scholarship thingy. Well, them two are off to the States for their studies, and I'm sure it's gonna be fun for them! I'm glad we're in contact again!

Now onto news of the day! Darling and I celebrated our 5th month together! He half-pounced on me at Citilink Mall (luckily I saw him before that! =P) and I was absolutely delighted to see dear! For our 5th month, I got him a shirt from Raoul and I really liked it! Darling, on the other hand, got me a whole load of things, all of which we had seen together while browsing at MS the other day. They included a cutesy pig radio cum speakers, a decorative tealight candle, a lighter in the form of a mega-huge matchstick and a super-cool clock which would change its function everytime it shifts on its sides. So funky!

We walked around for a bit, and decided on dinner at Turkish Cuisine at Suntec. That was really hilarious, because it meant we had to not let the proprietor of Swiss Culture see darling, since he knows Dan well enough and seeing him at Turkish Cuisine would be....bad! *grin* So darling spent most of the time trying to avoid Mr. Proprietor's gaze, which was all in all hilarious really! We had a great meal though, consisting of Doner Kebab, King's Kebab, and the most heavenly dessert in the world, KANAFE! Oh my goodness gracious....everyone has got to try that! I mean seriously! Excellent! Hmm...maybe I should turn my blog into a food blog. That'd be fun for certain, except I've not much money to go around trying everything!

All in all, we had the loveliest 5th month together! Everyday spent with darling is a step closer to heaven =)

2006-07-28T12:19:00.000-05:00

I Love Kampongs!

Err ok...that might be stretching it a wee bit. But seriously, I had the most excellent dinner today, courtesy of darling! We had fantastic 纸包鸡 (paper-wrapped chicken), complete with the free-roaming kampong chicken stringy texture and natural sweetness! And quail! I'm in absolute heaven! And darling sure knows how to keep me up there, with food and more food!

Just 2 nights ago, we had taiwan porridge for supper, and oohlala! We tasted the BEST pig's intestines in the WORLD, and the BEST kung pao chicken! I get a high just thinking about it.

But ok, surely I need some exercise after all that? Well, that seems to be well taken care of, what with the circuit training(s) (i hope!) and ermm...jogging (I HOPE EVEN MORE), and other stuff too! Good good good. This is life at its most excellent, complete with love bursting from dear *beams*

I seriously need to bring a camera along to capture all these minute wonderful moments, so that when we're old and greying, we'll be able to look back on them together with laughter and fond memories, and a heart full of love =)

2006-07-27T04:36:00.000-05:00

Lovely Lovely Month of July

I love July, not least because it's my birthday month! But this July has been more unforgettable than all the other Julys put together because I have Daniel to spend it with. It has been a most wonderful idyllic month, and I will hold on to whatever lazy days without any worries that we have left with both hands, because when work starts for him and school for me, we'll be seeing a lot less of each other, and that's when the real challenge begins. I'm thankful for this grace period of complete togetherness we've had the fortune to enjoy, and I look forward to what each new day brings.

How can words adequately describe how I feel about us? That magical feeling of falling in love over and over again, day after day, month after month, deeper and deeper into each other...I cherish every single moment. Laughter, smiles, tears, pouts, grumpiness and the whole lot; I've finally come home.

I caught up with Kai babe, sent Xiaomei and Kris off, watched The Marriage of Figaro with Darling, did a little bit of catching up with Limin (that was awesome!), and met the girls for my birthday celebration, endured 3 hours of talk on my birthday to see Darling get his award, had a wonderful dinner with auntie, had another wonderful celebration at home, got a surprise visit, went to the zoo, watched a dance performance with the bimbos..it's been one heck of a wonderful month!

I had a marvellous birthday, and thanx Charlene booboo for the super thoughtful birthday card, Steph and Mei for your lovely emails, Shules for trying to make me a present (I’m still waiting! =P), Serene and Ting for giving me *ahem* the most unforgettable presents, my sis for the gorgeous Agnes B. necklace, and Darling for the two most treasured, first-edition and very rare books to complete my gnomes collection!!! Also the various smses I got on my birthday and after! Thanx! =)

And here are the pics! =)

2006-07-27T04:34:00.000-05:00

Shipping the cargo off to Aussieland again! Come back soon! (My favourite cargo...T__T)

2006-07-27T04:33:00.000-05:00

Do we look like we're going jetsetting? =)

2006-07-27T04:32:00.000-05:00

Dear, Kris's guitar and the cargo...

2006-07-27T04:31:00.000-05:00

Dear, wondering if the cargo's overweight...

2006-07-27T04:30:00.000-05:00

I'm very attached to my cargo...

2006-07-27T04:29:00.000-05:00

Dear wondering if he should pack Nalgene with the cargo:)

2006-07-27T04:27:00.000-05:00

Happy dage and dasao!

2006-07-27T04:26:00.000-05:00

Me and Lims!!

2006-07-27T04:25:00.000-05:00

Women in black! And it wasn't even planned! How cool! I love you babes~

2006-07-27T04:23:00.000-05:00

Satisfied! *nods*

2006-07-27T04:21:00.000-05:00

Darling and a very proud mother! =)

2006-07-27T04:17:00.000-05:00

I'm so proud of you too darling!