phew...

the connect team came to my house for a time of thanksgiving and fun fellowship food tonight.

the whole day was a mad flurry of getting ready and buying ingredients and other party stuff. in the midst of it, there was my nephew's 1-month birthday lunch bash and mel getting called back to camp =( but God saw us through a very packed day, and i really enjoyed myself the whole night. =)

more pics and menu list to come... heh... but meanwhile, i simply must say: Thank you darling mel, for mopping the whole house for me!

Night out with the Boys

"The Boys" being hubby and Jason Mandryk. (He's from Operation World, I met him at Lausanne conference in Malaysia last year, and he was invited to be a speaker in the Connect Conference over the weekend.) When we were on honeymoon in London, he brought us to the oldest pub in England! (cool...) so we were very eager to bring him out to look-see too.

Went to Geylang Serai for the first time. I know, I live in Singapore, but I've never gotten out of the car there, only driven by and ooh-ed and aah-ed at the lights in the past. it was very festive and noisy and full of smells (good and bad). not a bad experience lah.



frog porridge at lorong 9, geylang. another first for me! and for jason, of course. it was quite yummy =D



the boys

Below: the sights at Geylang Serai







We bought funky bathroom mats!

back to blogging

i'm back!

left off blogging for a while cos i wanted to deal with some personal issues in the privacy of my mind, and also because work has been seriously hectic for the past 2 weeks.

thankfully, my issues have been somewhat 'resolved', or at least i find myself more aware of how i think, why i react to certain things, and how to deal with my heart. =) the 'resolution' was brought about by much (sometimes frantic) journaling during staff summit, honest conversations with selected friends, encouragement and hugs from the hubby, and lots of tears and prayers.

work wise, i was busy with coordinating the worship team for Connect Conference, a youth conference that was held over last weekend. i love love LOVE the team! really feel so blessed by each one of them, and encouraged by their heart to serve and sacrifice time and energy for the many nights of practice. through the conference, i also learnt a precious lesson in standing up for what you believe, and in trusting God.

* * *

today was a nice relaxing day. i had the day off (!!!) in lieu of the busy weekend. didn't wake up late, cos i wanted to make french toast for my darling hubby before he left for work. it was kind of weird seeing him go and knowing i had the house to myself ALL DAY.

after breakfast, i spent a happy hour wrapping presents for Christmas =) Haha... yup i have my first few Christmas presents already. i'm like that lah, I always buy them way in advance, if i see something that i think someone will like. muahaha... this year its different cos we are sharing for some people, so we have to choose the gifts together. i'm going with a gold-white-black theme. classy eh? =)

with a stack of beautifully wrapped presents stashed away, i began my frenzy of ironing. i had two laundry baskets to clear, on account of having no time to do any sort of housework last week. ironing is sweaty business, especially when it comes to men's shirts. bleah.

lunch time! i walked across to compass point and had a nice mos shrimp cutlet burger meal lunch all to myself. heh. surprisingly no noisy school groups around to disturb the peace.

after lunch i went grocery shopping! i love grocery shopping =D

went home and did a batch of laundry, then hung them up to dry. watched the afternoon shows - my parents house (a redecorating show), tyra banks (it was really touching. i always cry at her shows)... then it was time to begin dinner.

today, feeling adventurous, i had bought ingredients for chicken curry. =) so i set about to prepare all the ingredients. it took rather long to chop everything up... in fact, i took almost an hour to just chop things! so poor mel had to wait till almost 8pm for his dinner. =b Hee...

Also tried out the red cooking wine that i had bought on a whim, since it was on sale. i stir fried mushrooms in olive oil, red wine, garlic, salt and pepper.

Mel said both dishes are great (YAY!!!) although the curry could be a little hotter. i guess i will add more chilli next time.

constant growth

last night i had the privilege of catching a friend in her debut lead role in a musical drama.

if there are seasons.

interesting point to note: It was my first time ever watching a Chinese drama!!! Haha! But got subtitles =b

i must say - dong was by FAR the star of the show! i was seriously impressed with her acting and singing - especially as her songs were so difficult and crazy-range-ish! Haha... i was seated with the rest of Ngam, and when it was the finale curtain time, we SCREAMEDDDDDD... muahaha... shocked quite a lot of nearby audiences. heh. felt a bit ashamed of myself after that - i mean, i'm not a jc students anymore. should be more sophisticated mah... haha, but nvm lah. =)

on a side note, the lead actor/singer, George Chan, really impressed me with his singing! (He's the judge of local Dance Floor competition?) His voice was really rich and emotive, and his duets with Dong and the other gal were really good!

anyhow, last night taught me a v important lesson. or rather 'showed' me. in the midst of my admiration of dong's performance, i was struck by the realisation of how far she has come, as a person, as a performer. i remember watching her as puck the fairy in A Midsummer's Night Dream, her TSD final project in VJ.

i've seen her in her early days singing in VJ choir, and then in chorale. I've watched her choose the less-trodden path of free-lancing, instead of signing up with an agency. i've shared her journey through the first Singapore Idol. i've been enchanted by her dancing (indy) and jazz notes (Mezza9).

it's funny - i work in a place where music is part of our blood. and i have many friends who are either interested in or working in the entertainment/media industry. but dong is someone i really respect for the discipline, diligence and perseverance she has invested to get where she is.

she reminds me of the PASSION we share for music. sadly, i am also aware how much that intensity has stagnated, while her's continues to grow.

she reminds me that achievements are not everything; but there must always be a DREAM.

she reminds me that it's not easy to cling on to passion in a world that just longs to dampen it. she demonstrates the perseverance and tenacity that is needed to GO THE DISTANCE.

she shows me that hard work does pay. that so much can happen in a year, if we crave growth, if we seek to improve.



watching that performance, and thinking about her journey to get there, i feel recharged somewhat, and a renewed sense of hope for the future. also an excitement about the kinds of ways i can begin to grow.

God also used this to affirm my decision to use the next few months to prepare myself for missions in Japan. No, i am not going there yet. but i was reminded that, in the same sense that we should prepare ourselves to be the 'right' person for our future other half, i need to prepare myself to be ready to answer His call, if it should come.

it's stewardship of time and passion. it will take hard work and less sleep at nights. but i know i will emerge with a stronger understanding of the people i love, and a firmer conviction about whether God is leading Mel and i to this land.

I'm thankful that Mel is coming for the missions classes with me! As for the language, i'm also planning to start japanese lessons in october... Yay!