Flat lookout

Bloody are those who surround their lives and cover their thick skins with neverending church politics. Pleeeeease put a FULL STOP to this old issue already, I beg of you.

Sigh!

Anyway. Dessert this evening was so yummy-looking I couldn't resist taking a picture of it.

Ice cream with choc syrup, choc mousse, smarties, & jelly!

This afternoon, Mr and Mrs Canai, Rebec, May, Janice and I went to have a look at potential flats to live in next year. The one we saw this afternoon was at Great King Street, which is about 10 min walking distance to uni, not bad. Pretty strategic too, considering Asian Groceries, KFC, McD's, and VideoEzy just a few blocks away. Price wasn't that bad either- $94 per week. Maybe I was being TOO fussy, but I was kinda disappointed that the landlord wouldn't let pets into the flats. I really wanted to get a Cavalier King Charles Spaniel. *frowns*

"The Loft"

The wardrobe is TOO tiny! Not enough to fit all my clothes =P

Not a bad view (& balcony); from one of the flats

More flat hunting business tomorrow. =)

We learn, albeit painfully

I guess the question isn't "How stupid was I?" or"What an idiot I am for believing him?", rather it should be this statement "God, please help him. Have mercy on his soul."

What he did was really bad and unforgivable. But it wouldn't make any difference even if I talk bad things behind him or curse him. The reality remains: He will never change. He will continue to lie, to use his charm to trick girls for his own pleasure. In some ways he reminds me so much of Ryan Phillipe's character in "Cruel Intentions", Sebastian, that it scares me. I was once that victim of his, eating from the palm of his hand, and trusting every single word he said. Even when the whole world was practically screaming at me "Go away! He's dangerous!"

Maybe all I wanted was to prove them wrong, to be able to say "See, what have I told you?" But I was so wrong. I turned out being the complete fool, disregarding my peers and parents, and even God. I was hoping to be winner out of this battle I could clearly see the devil was winning. I'm so sorry, Lord.

I wish I could unwind the past, forget about what had happened. Go back to that stage in my life where the only thing worth worrying about was studies and innocent crushes on cute guys. But no matter how hard I try, the harsh truth knocks on the door to my heart, reminding me of how I gave in so easily. Too easily. Yes, I am too gullible for my own sake, and I hope that the other girls will know his true colours. But who am I to tell them that this seemingly perfect guy promises them the world only to take what he wants away from them? I wish I could warn them to stay away before it's too late, before they regret ever listening to his sweet talks, before they cry late at night after finding out the truth, before they experience what I have experienced.

Though it's all out of my control, I'm glad that it's never out of God's control. Through all the heartache and betrayal I had felt for these past few months, I thank God everyday for giving me a reason to believe in His unfailing love and His grand plans He has for each for us. I will not take this as a punishment or a setback, but as a bitter lesson learnt, as another bump on the road of this journey I have embarked on.

For those women out there who've gone through a similar experience before, this song is for you. My heart goes out to you.

None but Jesus- Brooke Fraser/Hillsong United

In the quiet
In the stillness
I know that You are God
In the secret of Your presence
I know there I am restored

When You call I won’t refuse
Each new day again I’ll choose

There is no one else for me
None but Jesus
Crucified to set me free
Now I live
to bring Him praise

In the chaos
In confusion
I know You’re Sovereign still
In the moment of my weakness
You give me grace to do Your will

When You call I won’t delay
This my song through all my days

All my delight is in You Lord
All of my hope, all of my strength
All my delight is in You Lord forevermore

Merry mid winter Christmas!

Freezing cold Monday mornings. It's 9am, I just came back from MANV lecture, and I can't believe that it's minus 2 degrees out there. Brrrrr.

Playing the keyboard for church for the very first time here in NZ yesterday wasn't as scary as I thought. *grins* Thank God for that. Correction about what I wrote about J week the previous previous blog. J weeks begins THIS week!

Studholme Hall College had its Mid Winter Christmas dinner last night. We were supposed to dress up semi-formally, but some Kiwis didn't put much effort, while some guys actually wore suits. hehe. Decorations were nice and simple, with golden stars and Christmas lights illuminating the dining hall, too bad the Christmas trees lack ornaments. Oh well, it isn't really a Christmas celebration mah. Miss Nichola served us turkey, ham, veges, some desserts and a funky tasting wine. I thought it was red wine, took a sip and went "Ewwwww... that's some weird tasting wine". Sarah later explained it was a spiced wine often taken during Christmas events. Who actually drinks cinnamon-added wine? Gross.

Arana vs Studholme dress up party fell on Saturday night. Too lazy to go check out other people's cool outfits, but Janice and May actually went there, took a few pictures and even got an *ahem ahem* confession from Mr Brown! Hmm if I remembered correctly, it went something like: a drunk/wasted Mr Brown saying to the camera "..the one with the red glasses is HOT!" MUAHAHAHA. Had the laugh of my life when I was shown the clip. Either he was so drunk he didn't know what he was talking about or the alcohol made him confess an inner secret. Anyway, congrats also to him and Miss TL for grabbing the naughtiest-boy-n-girl award last night; they received a jandal on a stick (!!!) from our own personal Santa Ziggy. Miss TL won the award for her very raunchy (half naked?) dance on the floor at Refuel. Must have been some special kind of dance. Moral of the story: Alcohol is hazardous. Stay away!

So drunk Sam and Sam the Sailor.

By the way, happy 18th Birthday to Rhi!

Enough ranting for today. I'm giving in to the temptation of crawling into my cozy, warm bed.

Tweet tweet

Just random thingies.

Music Related

• Most uplifting song: Always look on the bright side of life- Monty Python
• 2nd most uplifting song: Every Moment- Joy Williams
• Most depressing song: Til I get over you- Michelle Branch
• 2nd most depressing song: The Blower's Daughter- Damien Rice
• My current most played track: Take it all- Hillsong United
• My 2nd current most played track: None but Jesus- Brooke Fraser
• Most overplayed track: As lovers go- Dashboard Confessional
• 2nd most overplayed track: Other side of the world- KT Tunstall

Mood related

• Reading: Picture Perfect- Jodi Picoult
• Memorising: Biochemistry- Boring lecturers
• Lusting: Brand new surround sound speakers
• Craving: An Aussie trip (Gold coast and Hillsong conference 07)
• Stressing: MANV case study. 15 bloody % due early August
• Praying: That I won't eff up keyboards at church tomorrow
• Laughing about: Jennifer Hawkin's "wardrobe malfunction"
  

Tweety related

• Watched: Fun with Dick and Jane
• Refused to watch: Exorcism of Emily Rose
• Weight: Over the limit
• Infected with: (BLE) Boredness lame encephalopathy
• Tagline at the moment: "Yea wor..."
• Thinks: Pleeeease let winter be gone!

Shine brightly, overcome winter

It's now officially mid winter. Which translates into freaking cold, rainy, extremely windy, and dark mornings. Which also means it takes more effort to get up of bed at 6.30am on a Monday morning for an 8am lecture.

Sigh.

The lecturers say, "It's tough, but that's the real world out there. Take it as a training, discipine yourself."

I like to look at it as a bumpy ride along the journey, with spring just waiting behind the clouds. And when spring eventually comes, we can finally put all those cold winter days behind. =) And of course, be grateful for it as it taught us to endure those rough times and more importantly, to appreciate what we already have.

On a different note, I decided to pamper myself just a little by buying both "United we stand" album by Hillsong United and "Mighty to save" by Hillsong. God was so gracious that I got a $10 disount for the 2nd cd. =D My favourite song at the moment is "Take it all" written and led by the ever so cute Marty Sampson.


He's now on top of the who-I-want-to-meet list. So what if he always closes his eyes when he's singing? The cuteness remains.

These are the times when you feel like you can fly

Been busy. In a good way. =)

I have a hunch that this semester is going to be a memorable and incredible one. It's just that tingling feeling you get, like seeing the first green leaves starting to bud and knowing that spring is just a breath away. And the smile that follows comes straight from the heart, contagious to even the strangers passing by.

These past few days have been AWESOME. No, I did not hit the jackpot or get straight As or turned a frog into a prince, but little happenings had indeed opened up that part of my heart that had been enclosed in a small box for too long.

First, the girls and Janice's pharmacy friends organised a surprise birthday party for her at Tokyo Garden. Just a few friends, a superb atmosphere, and movies had made it a memorable night for not only Janice, but for all of us who cares about her. Happy 20th, Janice!

Chocolate-topped cheese ice-cream cake. Yummy!

Some of the girls.

Warner and Ange, the cutest couple that night. Janice wants to be in the pic too =)

A Filipino chef entertaining diners with cool tricks.

The Homer Simpson birthday card.

I'm so grateful to be part of the Nations Cityside music team. Practice last Friday was incredible and so fulfilling. Jo, the worship leader, is encouraging and super friendly as always, making her my most lovable Kiwi. hehe! Also, I found out that my name is finally on the duty roster, which means I get to play officially for church this coming Sunday! eeeks. I've been playing in SFEC Kuching for years now, yet playing here is a totally new experience. Looking forward to that.

Made a promise to myself to be part of a connect group starting this semester. Meanwhile, it's Jesus Week this coming week! The Combined Christian Group on campus organised the event, and throughout the week, all Christians in Otago Uni will be busy organising campaigns, exhibitions, prayer caravans etc. Mr and Mrs Canai, May, and I have signed up for an hour's shift of manning the 24/7 prayer caravan activity this Tuesday. It'll be interesting, I reckon.

Spent time decorating my room this weekend. Bought a 1945 black-and-white poster of a sailor kissing a girl- "A Sailor's Kiss". So retro and sweet! Love it lots. Also bought a cute cd rack to keep all my cds in place. Ahhhh I love my room.

I was (still am) in such a good mood that I went around the city taking random pictures today. Here are just some pictures of the beautiful and often misunderstood (it's not THAT cold and dull!) city of Dunedin.

The famous clocktower of Otago uni.

@ the Octagon.

OUSA building.

A Superman inflatable suit! Teehee.

Pictorial

All talk and no pictures makes joss a dull tweety. Here are some random pics.

Blue skies; on my way to Singapore.

Window seats rule!

Sunrise; on my way back to Auckland.

Spectacular sunrise on the horizon.

Ahh! My eyes!

It's a sunshiny day...

Frost on the windows.

All set.

Pork chops @ Happy Corner, Chch.

Moooooooooon; Dunedin.

For some odd reason, I haven't got any pictures of PEOPLE in my camera. Pictures taken in Kch are still with my friends, so I'll post them up "soon".

Back in uni

Semester 2 of uni seems more interesting already.

I'm taking 4 papers this sem: Biochem 111, Biology 115, MANV (management and innovation 101) and Music 110 (musicianship skills).

First ever lecture was MANV101. The commerce paper that all applied science students are forced to take to get into second year. The paper that according to my sources, many had either failed or quit half way through coz it was just too hard. Sheesh, what an encouragement. The paper that only less than 40 students turned out this morning, partly due to the fact that it is 8am on a Monday morning, and coz it was the worldcup final.

Yeah yeah, congrats Italy. Germany still rules. Bleh.

Anyway, had a pretty interesting MUSI 110 lecture. Not really a lecture too coz only about 100 students are enrolled for that paper. No long written exams, all practical and dictations only! woohoo! haha. Finally I get to do a paper I really want to do, not for the sake of my degree, but to really improve my musicianship (or lack of) skills. First thing I realised when more students started coming into the lecture hall was that most of them were dressed like typical rockers, i.e. long unkempt hair, really unique/weird dress sense, black fingernails etc. Haha, I think me being normal made me the odd one out. The lecturer with a funny American accent taught us about intervals. Heh. Quite fun in that we get to relate the intervals to beginning of famous songs, eg minor 6th can be found in the beginning of "The Entertainer". Looking forward to more music lectures!

Biochem was boring, even more so than I had expected. Same boring biochem lecturer again. Sigh. He still looks like the Superman played by Christopher Reeve cross with an extra performer in a Charlie Chaplin show to me. OOh, and "Phillip Tien" is back! Eveready with his red vest and exceptional note taking and questioning skills. Poor guy, getting bullied by other under-achieving Health Science students.

Registered and paid for trip to Queenstown during September term break! Didn't sign up for ski lessons though, coz there isn't enough time to learn how to ski, especially since I really suck in ice skating already. Really want to try either sky-diving or bungee-jumping though. =)

No labs this week! =D

Gone going

After 2 whole weeks of acting like a spoilt princess NOT totally slacking around in Kuching, it's finally time to get back to reality. The harsh reality: featuring more studies, horrid results, and extra fat to put on during the rest of winter. I can hardly wait.

I can't believe Dad still asks me to stay behind, quit my studies and help out in his business even after 1 year I've been studying. Was he only joking or was he seriously thinking I'd even consider that option? Mehhh.

Didn't get to hang out much this time I'm back. Shhhheriously. Aunty Mag, Aunty Eleanor and Uncle Chris invited me, bunny, and Marina for a farewell dinner thingy. Quite a weird way to spend my last night here in Kuching this time. hehe. But in a way, the little gathering made me realise again how fast we "little ones" are growing up, each of us going on to study in different places, learning new things and gathering new experiences, then sooner or later coming back to where we started off, then the whole cycle repeats itself again. Heh.

Watched Superman last night, and gosh did we cause quite a commotion in the cineplex. Apparently, the girl working that day messed up our seats and ended up giving the exact same seating to two different people. Sheesh. After a bit of confusion, we could finally sit down and enjoy the movie. All 2 3/4 hours of the movie. The plot isn't exactly interesting coz everyone knows that the hero always win and the bad guy always loses, however it did seem funny to me that in spite of all those fights and drama Superman went through, his hair somehow managed to stay the way it is all the time- neatly combed with extra strong-hold gel and a curly fringe that really caught my attention throughout the whole movie. Deb must be real sick of me saying to her "Did you see his curly bit of fringe?" all the time. But seriously, I find it quite amusing and cute in a way. Dunno lah.

Late late. Need beauty sleep before enduring a 10 hour sleepless flight tomorrow. Tata to those in Kuching, hope to see you all again soon!

Inevitable changes

Apart from the hot and humid weather, all's good in Kuching. =)

I finally got to play keyboard in church again, not even complaining that I spent more than 5 hours practising and playing during the weekend. Sunday worship led by bunny was better than the practice earlier in the morning, but everyone knew we could still perform better as a team. Anyway, I was really glad to be part of a familiar music team once again. And the feeling and syokness you get while jamming to a good song or even an unknown melody- indescribable.

Been helping out at mum's stationery shop quite a bit lately, but not full time though. At the same time, also trying to catch up with lost times and old friends you can always rely on. What's weird this time was the feeling I got when hanging out with old primary and secondary friends. Everyone's basically still the same, except for new hairdos, new relationships, new cars. And then I realised what had changed: ME. I no longer enjoy having those conversations where people gossip and mock others using sarcastic tones anymore. Here's an example. We were having a gathering one day when a friend of mind was on the phone trying to convince another friend to come along.

"Come lah XXX... why dun wan ler? Aiyo mai ane lah... How can u do that to us? Everyone is waiting for u wor.. aiyoyo... it wouldn't be the same without u mar.. yealoe..haiyo quick come liao.. if you dun come in 5 mins then u know ar... hmm... quick!!!" etc etc etc.

Get what I mean? And that useless conversation went on for another 10 minutes. I tried telling her to stop coaxing the other friend since she made it really clear she wouldn't be able to make it. So all I'm saying is: What's the point?! And then I thought again: Was that me? Had I been like that before? Pushy, selfish, and inconsiderate? No offense to that good friend, but sadly I can say that I no longer knew her like I used to. And even when my other friend and I invited her for a yumcha session in the afternoon, her response was: "Dun wan lah. Too hot." After that, I just coudn't be bothered meeting up with my group of secondary school friends anymore. Why can't they be more sporting and enthusiastic like the youths in SFEC? *sad sad*

I found out my chemistry final exam result. Not good at all. Too embarrassing to post it up here. Gah. Not even trying to imagine what my biology and psychology results might be. Even my mum went HAR?! SURE ONOT? when I told her my chem result. Lesson learnt: study earlier and harder next time, like they always say.

5 days again before I leave for KL-Auckland-Christchurch-Dunedin. It's weird saying this, but I MISS THE COLD WEATHER.