Battle Cry- last night

Tonight - my 3rd consecutive night playing the keys @ the Battle Cry.

Songs are basically the same, "King", "Point of Difference", "Saviour King" etc Hillsong songs. It seems so ironic that we're playing these songs when there's a speaker from Hillsong church here. hehe. There's almost a little pressure knowing that Ben Little has been hearing the songs been played so well by the band over at Sydney that he feels weird listening to us from humble Dunedin play.

Good thing is that playing songs over and over again builds up confidence, and gives us the ability to practice as a band, to know when and how to play (not just the basic chords), but filling in the gaps and making the sound just right. I've always dreaded the thought of playing during alter calls; one little mistake could throw the whole mood off. But as always, everything turned out GREAT.

I'm definitely grateful for Jo for putting me on the roster, and being able to play during this camp/conference. First time I've ever played so hard until my fingernails chipped and my lower arm muscles sore just from playing keyboard. ;P

Randomness: "tua tua" is actually a kind of shellfish. haha "old old"...

The decorated stage.

Self explanatory.

After being sprayed with dry ice, colourful spotlights.

Cream on pancakes!!! =)

Last but no least, the last picture is a picture of hard work. *hiak hiaks* Those hands belong to Rob and Amy, the cutest new couple in church. It's during times like these when I peak over and see their hands intertwined together that I believe true love is still out there, somewhere.

Awed

WOW.

Tonight's worship during Battle Cry was awesome beyond words.

It was one of those few times that every hand in the room was raised, every eye closed, every soul touched beyond explanation.

For me, it was one of those few times that I truly felt I wasn't playing the keyboard with my own knowledge, or what I've learnt.

It almost felt as if my fingers were guided by an invisible hand, gliding across notes, and doing chord progressions I never knew how to do before.

Even Jo came up after the service and told me "Wow, I've never seen you play like that before".

Before the whole things, I was nervous. Olivia decided to do 2 extra songs, one of which I had never played during an actual service yet (Saviour King). But once I started playing, all fear went away. =)

There's nothing I'd rather do, than to play for Him always.


Photos up by Sunday the latest. =P

Heroes Season 2

Yay for the premiere of Heroes Season 2!!!

Hooray for the new cute guy: West (Nicholas D'Agosto) aka Claire's future boyfriend (as I hope) and the new flying man besides Nathan Petrelli.

The guy for Claire?

Spoilers here, so skip this if you haven't watched chapter 1 yet.

Peter is NOT dead! *gasp* But alas, he has no idea who he is and is chained inside a shipping container but still has his powers. And and and, he has a new haircut, bye bye fringe. For a change, his hair looks better than Nathan's this season as opposed to last season. Which is a good thing.

No sign of Sylar YET. But there's a mention about the big bad monster which is supposedly identified with the kensei sign and have eyes like those of a cat. *miao?*

My favourite scene has got to be the part when Takeshi Kensei took off his mask- lo and behold standing in front of the awestruck Hiro was a ERM blond caucasian (speaking perfect Japanese). English to be specific. *laughed til my insides hurt*

***

The Battle Cry started tonight.

It's a "camp" for the teens and early twenty somethings at church, happening from tonight til Sunday. Ben Little from Hillsong is here specially for this- I have to admit, he has awesome story-telling skills (in a good way) and uses good analogies.

I wasn't supposed to play the keyboard until tomorrow and Saturday night, but somehow Jo asked me to fill in for Michelle. Last minute decisions always make me nervous, but thank goodness I knew all the songs by heart since they've been played countless times at Cityside before. Heh. We need to start singing those new songs we've been practising for so long!

Looking forward to the weekend, it's been a relatively relaxed week compared to the past few frantic weeks. The weather hasn't been that kind though, I had to wear my thickest jacket yesterday, and tonight it almost feels like its winter all over again. Spring oh spring, where are you?

Artists I adore

Less than 1 month to my second Brooke Fraser concert in 6 months!

Those that know me probably knows that I ADORE her singing/song-writing talent.

She inspires me.

Besides, how often would I be able to attend any more of her concerts once I graduate? Or what if this will be the last time Brooke will be touring nationwide since Sydney is her new home now?



Now, if only Ben Folds would wake up one day and decide to tour in NZ!

and play/sing during my 21st birthday...


... or maybe at my wedding in the far far future? Pretty please....?

Virus virus go away

Please don't let me get sick again!

I started having pre-viral infection symptoms this mornings. The slight tingling in my throat and the fever a few hours which subsided after taking 2 panadol tablets. Sigh. I had just recovered from one 2 weeks ago!

Stay away from me, rhinoviruses!

A new garden in Dunedin

Dinner last night was meant for those who've been working at the motel for quite some time, a treat from the boss.

Then when I reached Blue Sky restaurant, the place was jam packed. It's probably the first time I'd seen so many people there, and the surprising thing is that about half of them were Chinese, half were Kiwi.

Later, I found out that it was a Mooncake Festival celebration organised by the NZ Chinese Association, mainly for the "cultural specialists" who came all the way from Shanghai for 6 months to assist with completing the Dunedin Chinese garden which is going to be somewhere near the Otago Settler's museum.

They seem to be putting much effort into building the garden, if I hadn't heard wrong about 90 huge containers were imported from Shanghai, all containing the materials needed to complete it. If all goes well, it'll be completed by February 2008.

The Mayor (obviously chairman of NZCA) gave a little speech and welcomed the guests who came. Honestly, I was surprised that probably 90% of the Chinese population there last night spoke fluent English with perfect Kiwi accents, and didn't know how to speak Mandarin. Also, almost everyone knew each other, demonstrates the fact that Dunedin is a small town: the boss knew almost everyone there, including the Mayor.

Find out more about the new Chinese garden here.

***

HMPHHHHH.

Bunny almost made me go bonkers trying to deny he sent me presents.

Sometimes people do get a little annoyed when all you reply is "bleh", ok?

I'm letting you off because of the presents, thanks again.

My new toy

I just came back from a dinner function, the Mayor was there too. Heh. More about that tomorrow if I feel like blogging.

Anyway, as you all know, I received a brand new Ipod Nano 3rd generation for my birthday. I think it's still not released officially in NZ yet, so had to be imported from overseas.

Finally on Thursday, it arrived!

4G memory; silver.

Mirror mirror on the wall, can you read the engraving at the back? :P

It's incredibly thin (6.5mm), I'm so afraid if I'll drop it.

The size when compared to my *new* phone.

Dad didn't know how to use some features, so he decided to send it to me. I'm planning to sell my current one, not sure how much yet.

Samsung phones have cool features (see above) and cute sounds when the keys are pressed. Disadvantages are short battery life, no 3G (which I don't use at all), and erm in case no one noticed yet: the external features are designed for guys. meh.

Gratitude

Some people receive prophecies from prophets, some hear audible voices from above, some dream dreams, some receive visions, some flip open the bible and out comes a passage that speaks to them directly.

And me?

I just KNOW that certain things are meant to be, that they are meant to happen regardless how absurd it might seem/sound at the first place. I'm not psychic or a fortune-teller, but certain things that have happened lately do surprise me.

Those that know me well enough would know that the flat hunt for next year went on for quite a while. It was the terms test period then, I was down with a cold, and the landlords/tenants gave us different answers each time we asked them for more information or whether the flats were taken or not. Then when we almost decided with a flat, there came the worry that we won't be able to find 2 more people and would need to end up paying for extra rents. Or worrying about the distance of the new flat or even how the stairs would be frosty and slippery during the winter.

Despite all the uncertainties that surrounded me, I just knew that I shouldn't worry, and that I didn't need to. He made those plans, He planned for Citicol to rent over The Lofts, He planned for the Pancakes to becomes RAs next year, He planned for that flat to be ours even before we decided to view it. And that's how I know we need not worry about not having 2 more flatmates, or even whether we'll fall down the stairs and break a leg or something terrible.

Also, I've been getting this word planted inside my head for a few days now.

Gratitude.

The song "Gratitude" by Nichole Nordeman was used as the opening song in the movie clip made for my birthday, and it wasn't by random chance it was chosen. Just watched a Korean movie minutes ago, and the words that stuck out the most the whole time despite it being a cheesy love story was "Deo Gratias" (latino, meaning giving thanks to God for grace received).

Send some rain, would You send some rain?
'Cause the earth is dry and needs to drink again
And the sun is high and we are sinking in the shade
Would You send a cloud, thunder long and loud?
Let the sky grow black and send some mercy down
Surely You can see that we are thirsty and afraid
But maybe not, not today
Maybe You'll provide in other ways
And if that's the case...

We'll give thanks to You with gratitude
For lessons learned in how to thirst for You
How to bless the very sun that warms our face
If You never send us rain

Daily bread, give us daily bread
Bless our bodies, keep our children fed
Fill our cups, then fill them up again tonight
Wrap us up and warm us through
Tucked away beneath our sturdy roofs
Let us slumber safe from danger's view this time
Or maybe not, not today
Maybe You'll provide in other ways
And if that's the case...

We'll give thanks to You with gratitude
A lesson learned to hunger after You
That a starry sky offers a better view
If no roof is overhead
And if we never taste that bread

Oh, the differences that often are between
Everything we want and what we really need

So grant us peace, Jesus, grant us peace
Move our hearts to hear a single beat
Between alibis and enemies tonight
Or maybe not, not today
Peace might be another world away
And if that's the case...

We'll give thanks to You with gratitude
For lessons learned in how to trust in You
That we are blessd beyond what we could ever dream
In abundance or in need
And if You never grant us peace...

But, Jesus, would You please...

So often we only give thanks for what we already have (and ask for what we don't). Who doesn't? Perhaps what I need to do right now is to show gratitude, even for things that hasn't come to pass yet, so that when it really happens in the future, how much more would it/someone be appreciated?

So here it is, a list in no particular order, my "gratitude list":

I'm giving thanks

• for being able to make melodies out of a set of 88 black & white keys.
• for having friends I couldn't bear the thought of not living without (you know who you are)
  
• for the past (sometimes bitter) experiences that made me who I am now.
• for the opportunity to study here.
• for good food =)
• for music and the ability to appreciate them.
• for the sun today.
• for the joyous feeling of handing in my assignment hours ago.
• for laughter in my life.
• for beautiful flowers during spring.
• for lighthouse to grow from around 6 people in Arana hall last year to a mini church now

• for love stories that make me go "awwwww..."
• for the excitement anticipation brings :P

All in all, for being given what I need and so much mre than I could over hope for.

Me, a caffeine addict

Mission: make a funny face. Verdict: fail!

I have a serious problem.

I don't know how to make ghost faces (鬼脸)!!!

Chyi Mei is a super expert is that area, her blog is practically a portfolio of herself (and friends) making funny faces and posing for the camera.

Sigh. Whenever I attempt to do that, it turns out very unnatural, and plain ugly.

I know this is a skill that cannot be taught, you either know how to pose or appear very awkward in pictures. I guess I'm born to be in the latter category, unless being trained by a professional super poser. Hmm, sounds odd.

Anyway, I haven't been sleeping enough. Had 2 heaped teaspoons of coffee at midnight attempting to forgo sleep to write my lab report, fell asleep at 5-ish. *panda eyes* Seems like I'm surviving on caffeine these few days, no caffeine means a sluggish, performing-below-average me. I'm becoming a caffeine addict, help!

Allure

Instead of having the usual music practice last Friday night, the Allure Conference was held.

Allure is specially for the ladies only, and I was very impressed how much preparation and little details those who were involved had put in to make it a success.

It was particularly fun to see the guys serving that night: especially when they served us with chocolate/cheese cakes, performing, and being extra polite that night. *hiak hiaks*

The setting was very classy: round table seating, dips and nibbles, beautiful tickets, white roses, silver twigs on every table, and most importantly it was because almost everyone dressed up for the event. ;P


The main highlights were Amy performing her very own song she wrote, Susannah in the hauntingly beautiful musical/drama, haka dance, and a choir performed by incredibly talented students from a local high school.

Cute little angels.

Super talented Amy.

Speaking of which, congratulations to Amy and Rob for being the latest couple at Nations. :)

Turning 20 #2

OH WOW.

Thanks so much again for the present. I never would have thought I'd get to own an Ipod Nano.

The note inside the "empty box" was so funny. XD It went something like "unfortunately, the same courier man that delivered Raymond's present got his wife pregnant this time...he decided to take a week's leave so the shipping will be delayed for a while..."

*flat 777 inside joke*

This is probably my most expensive present given by friends, ever. =) Thank you sooooo much!

It was the perfect timing too as I had just changed phones from the current Sony Ericsson k750i to my dad's phone (dad: "I didn't know how to use that new phone la..."), a Samsung slider. Not too sure of the exact model, though I suspect it to be an E900.

Samsung phones require a microSD memory card, which I don't have at the moment since SE phones use memory stick duo cards. And oh-so-forgetful dad forgot to send me the handsfree cable, so I can't listen to any songs on the phone now UNLESS I decide to buy a new microSD card which costs around $40 for 2Gb memory. Actually, I almost bought one yesterday. ;P

Thanks also to dear Louise for your present. Sparkly, I like. hehe.

Dinner last night was great, then we went to St Claire beach for a while after dinner (to gaze at the stars?) There were hardly any clouds last night, which made the stars particularly bright. Canai claimed he saw a wishing star, no one else saw it. *hmmmmm*

Anyway, here are some very overdue pictures from Michelle's birthday preparation on the 1st of September. Her birthday actually falls on Merdeka day, so cool eh.

We decided to draw a cartoon of ourselves on balloons.

Rebec wasn't here, so Sally drew her a pretty one.

Reproducing the photoshopped picture of the Gu family we did last year. *hiak hiaks*

Poodle & doggy (blue unidentified animal being the light bulb)

Cake with a smiley face on it.

And finally, a quick sketch of Raymond and Michelle. *ahem* Wishing the both of you endless lovey-dovey days ahead. ;P

Turning 20

So here's the part where I say a big THANK YOU so much to all of you, YoU, and YOU for the birthday wishes, but mostly for just being here to celebrate this day with me.

*awwww*

Specially for the flat 777 people:

Yeap, you guys surprised me with the awesome video clip. =)

I knew there was something going on (saw the k-a-k-a-k sign in Janice's room once and then the happy birthday drawings in Sing Sii's room muahahaha), but I never ever expected you guys would take the initiative into spending hours designing and putting together such a cool movie just for me.

Then last night (or early this morning) when I absent mindedly discovered the pink cd with pink ribbons on my bed AFTER being told that there is actually a pink cd right in front of me. hehe.
Shows just how blur I can be sometimes.

Anyway, the movie was super extraordinarily AWESOME. =D The music, photos, and singing were cute, funny, and touching altogether. Thanks for the little details: using Nichole Nordeman's song knowing that I lurve her songs, and Rebec for getting back at me using my own words! haha =)

It was impossible NOT to cry.

Thank goodness I had tissue paper ready.

*so paiseh to cry in front of all of you*

So I'd like to appreciate these cool people for making this day a memorable one for me, I'll definitely still remember this 50 years from now. =) Hugs and lots of love to Chiu May May, the Gu family, Mr n Mrs Pancakes, Sing Jing the coolest graphics designer ever, Mr n Mrs Ramon, Sarah-who-taught-me-how-to-play "more than words" on the guitar, and all those who made this day so special.

***

Those who read this blog on the regular basis might notice that I haven't been blogging quite so regularly.

So many things to blog about, yet so little time to actually upload pictures, sit down and type.

So I'll try to get back to blogging this week (after I hand in 2 assignments due sooooon), and post up pictures from the Allure conference, the evangelistic meeting this coming Tuesday, bbq this afternoon, and just pictures of how happy I am to have met all of you. =)

***

So longer teenage years, I am officially 20 today.

I survived!

Terms test no more! =D

This week has been pretty predictable: studying, studying, and more studying for tests.

The only randomness I can remember happened yesterday evening when I was rushing home from biochemistry lab thinking "test in 2 hours and I'm still here! arghhhhh...".

It was somewhere in St Davids when a Star Wars clone trooper and a supposedly green elf stopped in front of me and asked if I had 2 minutes to be in a video they're making.

"O-kayyyy, but I have a test-"

"Don't worry, it'll only take 2 minutes"

*dragged into St Davids lecture theatre*

Green elf pours beer down through a tube, trooper drinks beer.

That's about what happened in the movie, or at least part of the movie I can be seen in acting as an extra. Nope, I didn't get paid at all. Yeap, it was definitely more than 2 minutes.

1 down, 2 to go

Genetics terms test was pretty much as expected: a few questions from the past year exam, yet I still found it hard to do the lab calculations with confidence. Meh. And I made a rash decision in changing to do another question in the last freaking 15 minutes, and ended up with very badly drawn diagrams. Oh well.

***

Biochemistry terms test is on Wednesday night, and that's the big worry. With countless pathways and impossible-to-memorise protein structures, reading more doesn't seem to help me remember more. It's almost like I'm afraid if the new stuff going into my brain will push out some information. Overflow- yeap that's the term. Will our brains ever overflow and one day just say "I want out! No more thinking!"?

***

I'm not even worrying about accounting terms test for MANV202 right now. BLAHHHHH. No revision yet whatsoever. Thursday is looooooong time away, right?

***

Not sure if anyone noticed how desperate I am/was this week trying to get people to tell me when they're going back to Kuching and when they're leaving. And I won't stop asking until I can finally decide whether or not to come back here during mid or end of January. February is a no-no as I need to unpack stuff into the new flat, celebrating CNY next year isn't that appealing right now. Though I might miss going visiting with the SFEC youths. And walking into the wrong house. *teehee*

***

Cell group is going to have a Passover meal thingy tomorrow night. And an evangelistic meeting next week. And my "surprise" bbq thingy on my birthday ("What kind of birthday cake would you like? -____-") bla bla. So many things happening all at once again.

***

I've reached the very addicted stage of facebook. Darn Rebec for asking me to join. ;P I'm logging in up to 5 times a day just to check on new updates/invitations.

***

I'm also lazy to write a single decent blog post. Instead, my lazy genes are making me write blurpies like this post, it's almost like my brain cannot connect all the information together. Partitioning it is, then.

Downloading movies

Due to the increasing number of people asking this question "Where did you download your movies from?", this post will hopefully help you out a bit.

The keyword to take away is SEARCH. Don't expect all the movies to line up for you at certain sites, just waiting to be downloaded. Treat it as a treasure hunt.

Sites to search for movies:

• Veoh. This is my personal favourite. Just download the veoh player free, then search for movies you'd like to download. It's not easy searching for movies here, as new movies get deleted by the administrators, so the best way is to keep an eye on movie forums (see below). If a video clip is over 45 minutes, you'll only get a 5 minute preview of the video/movie, so downloading is necessary to view a whole movie. Plus, most of the movies here have excellent quality. Also, remember to move finished downloads from the veoh folder to some other folder on your computer, or else risk it being deleted.
• Stage 6/DivX. Another increasingly popular video hosting site. Searching for movies here is VERY hard, links from movie forums highly recommended. It's popular for good quality videos, and no download player is needed to download. I normally use Internet Download Manager to download movies from divx, depending on your internet connection, a 200Mb video takes about 30 minutes to download.
• Guba. Similar to divx, able to choose to either just watch a movie or to download it.
  
• Movie Forums. 2 forums I visit occasionally: Quicksilver and Easy-TV. It's not that hard to find forums, just type in movie forums in google and you're bound to get many hits. If you're just interested in watching a movie without downloading it, links to other video hosting sites like Tudou, Ou Ou, DailyMotion, or even YouTube are easy to find. To download movies, look out for links to veoh and divx. One thing about movies forums: old links are more likely to get deleted, so check regularly for new working links to movies.
• Direct downloading from Rapidshare, Megaupload etc. A major disadvantage downloading this way is that you're not able to get a preview beforehand, and might end up downloading the wrong movie or just plain junk. I wouldn't recommend this, but searching for uploaded movies can be quite useful sometimes. I'm also not keen on downloading many parts for a single movie.

The simplest way yet is just to get movies from friends! :P

Growth

A Millionaire's First Love is such a tearjerker.

Yeap, I still enjoy watching these sad movies and end up with wet tissues when I should be studying.

The soundtrack for the movie is awfully sweet, too bad I can't read or understand Korean to appreciate it more. Love the instrumentals, as always.

Is it only me or does Hyun Bin look unlike himself in that movie?

***

Walking past the registry building today and seeing the flowers blossom is such a beautiful and calming sight. =)

Spring, to me, is the season of hope & change.

Reminds me of this beautiful song:

And everything that’s new has bravely surfaced
Teaching us to breathe
What was frozen through is newly purposed
Turning all things green
So it is with You
And how You make me new
With every season’s change
And so it will be
As You are re-creating me
Summer, autumn, winter, spring

~Every season by Nichole Nordeman

***

Things WILL be better from now onwards.

It is already showing: the seeds planted, the prayers said, the effort put in, the passion felt by everyone. All that's needed now is a whole lot of faith.

For the first time in many months, I feel and see growth happening. =)

Believing

It has been said, "A little knowledge can be a dangerous thing." No one proved this statement to be true better than Jesus' own brothers. They were born of the same mother, raised by the same father, yet blind to the truth in front of them. Honestly though, it's hard to say that I could blame them for being skeptical about their half-brother's claims to be the Christ. After all, they were first introduced to the prophecies concerning a coming Messiah at the same time. They grew up together, ate dinner together, and most likely shared the same bedroom. Now Jesus, their older brother, was claiming to be this Christ.

Unfortunately, not much has changed today. Many times, those that have the most difficult time accepting Christ as their Savior are the same individuals that have grown up closest to the Church. They have godly mentors, are active in Sunday School, have become versed in the Bible and doctrine, yet remain miles away from truly understanding the person of Jesus. The difference between those who simply know about the Lord and those who believe in Him can often times be found in their fruit.

The fruit that is produced from a tree is dictated not by its surrounding environment, but from its inner makings. An orange tree in the center of an apple orchard will still produce oranges. In the same manner, individuals who grow up in the church and are taught the stories of Jesus, yet fail to truly believe, will never be able to produce the fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5). It is with this knowledge that I challenge you to evaluate your own fruit. Does the outcome of your day-to-day living support your claims to know Christ? Or does your fruit more closely resemble that of Christ's own brothers... so close, yet miles away.

My prayer is that everyone who reads this will find his or her name written in the Lamb's book of life. I want to remind you, however, that just because you know a great deal about who Jesus was, that does not place you in His book of life. Only a personal belief in Jesus as the Christ will save you from your sins. The book of Acts records that James, the brother of Jesus, eventually came to the conclusion that Jesus was the Christ. His conversion was not on account of growing up so close to Jesus, but rather, because of His personal decision to believe that his brother was who He said He was. Do you believe?

I pray that you have not grown up so close to Jesus that you fail to understand who He really is.

~from Daily Devotions

Spaces meant to be filled

Sayings:

God made spaces between our fingers so someone else's fingers could fill the gap.

To all the girls out there: Find a guy who calls you beautiful instead of hot. Who calls you back when you hang up on him. Who will stay awake just to watch you sleep. Wait for the guy who kisses your forehead. Who wants to show you off to the world when you are in your sweats. Who holds your hand in front of his friends. Wait for the one who is constantly reminding you of how much he cares about you and how lucky he is to have you. Wait for the one who turns to his friends, and says, 'Thats Her.' "

Ever fallen for someone u can only be just friends with?

Never frown, even when you are sad, because you never know who is falling in love with your smile.

Tears are words that people can't say.

I only smile all the time because it is expected of me. I'm sure people would be shocked if they really knew what was going on in my head and what I really felt.


~All anonymous sayings taken from Facebook's Socialmoth application.

Flat hunt 98% over

SIGH.

Not of frustration, but of relief.

For the past few weeks we've been flat hunting, searching for the perfect flat in Dunedin.

At first we looked for a 5 or 6 bedroom flat, thinking we'll all be together for another year. Leith Street looked promising, until we saw the crappy shower area. There were a few other; one at Dundas Street, Harrow Terrace etc. None that stood out, really.

Then came the news; we had to find a 3 bedroom instead. Finding a good one is quite a challenge/adventure. Then we had a recommendation to view the Queen Street flat.

Personally, I liked it quite a lot. Though it is pricier, up on a hill, and without a heatpump. Something like love at first sight, I guess. ;P

Then we found another 2 flats at Dundas and Forth streets. Tenants from the latter flat told us it had already been taken for next year, so we decided on the Dundas one. Kitchen was extremely tiny, but good overall. We went to the Forth St one again as the landlord confirmed it has NOT being taken yet *raises eyebrow* despite the girl saying it is. So we went to have a look, definitely not a pretty sight. It's probably one of the worst flats I've seen yet.

On the way back, I was already thinking to sign the lease for the Dundas St flat, but still something keep telling me we're meant to take the Queen St flat. More like a 6th sense feeling. Sure enough, we found out later that the Dundas St flat is already taken. I had the urge to tell everyone "I told you so!".

It looks 98% sure that we're taking Queen Street. Will go get application forms to sign lease tomorrow. Somehow right from the beginning I knew we'll stay at that flat next year. *shrugs*

***

The Forth St landlord (another one crossed out earlier as tenants say it's being taken already) just called and said it's still available. -_____-

Another contradiction. ARRRGHHHH. To view or not to view?

Flat hunting-induced headache

Finding a flat for 2008 is still causing headaches for me. Argh. Hopefully (and prayfully) we'll either (a) find a GOOD 3-bedroom flat tomorrow or (b) decide on signing the lease for the 5-bedroom flat at Queen Street if the first option fails. Should I come up with a back up plan if both doesn't work?

***

I've set a date and booked tickets back home end of this year. :)

Not sure why, but there's a certain bubbly feeling inside about going back this time. Anyway, it's set on the third of December using Malaysia Airlines. The same old MH130; same old 19 hours traveling across continents in a zombie-like state; same old yucky selection of inflight lunch/dinner sets.

Oh well. I'm just looking forward to using Singapore Airlines coming back here.

***

Facebook is getting more and more addictive. *uh-oh*

On the other hand, I'm spending less time updating those other connect groups, eg friendster, bebo, etc. No more of those invites, PLEASE. Any new invites will simply be dumped into the digital trash can.

No more CS too this week! *feeling proud of myself*

I've been busy discovering new artists. Through LastFM, mostly. It's fun: typing in my favourite artiste and click "play similar artists" and listen to free and good music, at the same finding out about talented musicians out there. That probably explains my growing collection of music. My ultimate aim is to have 50Gb of GOOD songs (not rubbish ones I'll never listen to) stored on my computer before graduation.

A belated birthday to Michelle again. You SO deserve the presents, surprises, and joy. It was fun decorating and creating the animal balloons, albeit a very last minute preparation.

Speaking of which, yes I am aware that my birthday is coming up in the next 2 weeks. You guys are probably tired of organizing birthday surprises, and I'll probably anticipate that you guys will try to make the surprise as surprising as possible. Very -___- I know. Definitely not looking forward to celebrating the big 20 at all.

Till then, I'll be burrowing my head into a pile of lecture notes preparing for the 3 terms tests coming up next week.

Less Words

To Rebec: I've joined Facebook, but I still don't see what the fuss is all about.

***

Less words, more pictures is the way to go today.

Cool-as "learning" sign & car plate number! Spotted along Ricc Rd.

We are beings fascinated by sunsets, even though it happens every day.

Excuse the blurry effect; I <3 sunsets.

All sunset pics taken on the way back from Chch yesterday.

Showcasing my new haircut & Starbunny; his ears are now almost as long as my hair! *gasp*