Gratitude

I'm grateful for a lot of things.

Among those are:

• Grateful that mum brought me for piano tuition classes since I was 6 or 7 years old
• Grateful that despite wanting so bad to quit learning piano when I was about 9, mum encouraged me to keep practising and trying out new piano teachers
• Grateful for my last and most memorable piano teacher, Mrs Chen :)
• Grateful for her patience, her dedication in teaching me how to LOVE playing and not just learn the pieces for exams, how she went to my 7th grade practical exam with me, and how she comforted me after I freaked out and cried after the exam (which I passed, hehe).

Because of all those, I have the opportunity and courage to play in front of 500-1000 people last night. Not just to perform, but to lead people in praise and worship and bridge that gap. I can't possibly describe what an amazing feeling that is: to work together in a band, playing our individual instruments but creating that perfect sound, adrenaline pumping while looking down at hundreds of people in the audience, spotlights shining down... you get the picture.

All the hours of practising when I was younger seems worth it now. The hours practising as a band before the event, 3 hours of soundchecking (the longest I'd ever been in), not having time to for proper dinner (coffee and a slice of cake), the nerves and ahem 'wanting-to-go-toilet-so-bad' feeling were all nothing compared to the outcome. For that, I am GRATEFUL.

So thank you, Jo, for asking me be part of the music team for the Resurrection event (Easter) organised by the combined churches of Dunedin. There's just no better way of knowing and playing with all the talented musicians in other churches in the city. And thank you, God, for overseeing all the decisions and events leading up to today that have allowed me to keep playing :)

running ahead

So here's the looking-back-at-2008 and what's-ahead-at-2009 post =)

Here's the list of 2008, in no particular order:

1. 2008 was the year of work experience.

I started off 2008 still working at a job I had since late 2006, as a motel cleaner at a motel along George Street. The boss and wife were such good employers, I felt bad leaving the job, and them. It was minimum pay ($12/hour), and I can assure you that it's never a nice feeling waking up early on a Saturday morning washing toilets and occassionaly smelling some pretty nasty things. I finally quit my first job in NZ around Feb 08.

My 2nd job was at Domino's Pizza. Ah, the memories there. I remember how you guys used to make fun about how that particular colleague of mine there who had a crush on me and always offered to drive me home. Hey, nothing wrong with getting free pizzas and garlic cheese bread once in a while! =P It was a fun job, though I got to see the ugly side of drunk students working there. I'm glad it was a short-lived job. Great manager(s), though.

I quit Domino's to join Accident Compensation Corporation (ACC) in their temporary workforce sometime in March. My first "real" job, I would say. An office job. One which I had my own swipecard, own workstation with dual-screen lcd monitors, getting to work whenever I want and how many hours I want to every week, getting paid above the minimum pay, and working alongside Michelle =) It was great; freedom in my work hours, no worries, rushing to and fro from lectures and labs to work, wearing formal wear etc. It got pretty stressful towards the end of the year, trying to juggle work (yes I was greedy) and studies at the same time. I'm grateful for those 6 months I got to working in that environment, not a perfect one but definitely a real eye-opener in so many ways. And yes, it contributed a lot towards my Europe travel fund =) Too bad work there is only during office hours; if not I'd continue working there this year.

Now, in SG, I'm thankful for this job/attachment at Genome Institute of Singapore (GIS). My first "job" that's actually related to my future degree. Though I complain quite a bit about how it's not entirely microbiology-based but more towards genetics, it's still a valuable experience. A chance for me to live in another country, albeit a short 3 months, to consider the possibility of working here after graduation. Getting to explore SG is a definite bonus, considering the last time I actually stepped out of Changi airport was more than 5 years ago.

2. 2008- the year we organised our very own SHINE '08 camp!

stolen from Greg's facebook photos. eh why some of you guys' faces hidden?

I'm sure every single one of you who went to SHINE '08 have sooo many stories to retell. From secretly giving gifts to "mortals" and trying to guess who our "guardian angels" were, to the hunt to see glow worms at night, and the shoe stealing competition... and also the hundreds of photos to capture those memories and friendships that were strengthened. SHINE '08 was easily, my favourite camp ever.

3. Ray and Mich's wedding 15.06.08


The 1st ever wedding of close friends that I'd been to. Truly an honour being one of the bridesmaids, and boy did we have fun during the pre-make up session, the hectic-ness trying to decorate Blue Sky restaurant, praying for good weather during the photoshoot... Now I have a rough idea of what it takes to organise a wedding- nothing but easy. So remember, couples, *wink wink you know who you are* give us extra notice ok! =P

4. All our birthdays. =)

It's tradition: to plan for a fake surprise at midnight only to say that we're too busy for lunch/dinner then have another surprise again. And the presents which are getting more and more expensive. Who knows, we might actually break the tradition this year. OR maybe even create a new tradition?

5. of unicol, unicol, and unicol

Nothing's better than having so many friends being Residential Assistants (RA) at a residential hall. I'll always remember the sleepovers at Sam's room, free lunches/dinners & trying to avoid getting caught, the night it snowed there, watching football matches, watching the live Beijing Olympics opening ceremony, playing Halo3 on xbox360 at the RA room, Lighthouse bbq at Greg's, etc. It feels sad not being able to just walk into Unicol this year =(

6. travels

2008 wasn't a big year of traveling for me. During early Feb when my parents came over to NZ, we toured around south island- went to Te Anau, Milford Sound, Queenstown. During June, I spent the mid year break at Auckland with the Pancakes, fun times. And now, it's safe to say I'm a visitor here at Singapore- taking time to explore this city.

7. New friendships & strengthening of old ones ;)


The addition of the new (not necessarily young =P) ones to the family: Hsiu Ping, Valerie, Bernard, Sharon T., Glenn, Amy, Mae Ann, etc. Oh and of course, the new couples hehehe Bernard & Val, Mae Ann & Ben. Getting to flat with new flatties: Sharon and Yan. Can't wait for another year of flatting with a group of awesome girls =) Letting go of the "oldies" who have to leave after their graduation/postings with a heavy heart.

2009 would (hopefully) be the year I:

1. Graduate with good results
2. Secure a job before graduation
3. Know where I'm heading to after goal #1
4. Organise a fabulous graduation trip (US/Aus/North Asia?)
5. Aim to organise my finances aka actually record down my income/expenditure

and of course, all those be-a-better-person-or-friend blahs. Don't be surprised that I'm not wishing for a relationship- 2009 will not be the year. There's still so much to accomplish, so little time. Agree, Chyi? =P The right person and the right time will come some day, so I can't be bothered chasing after that right now. Questions answered, I hope?

The exam factor

So often we complain about how busy we are. We list down the things that are yet to be completed, stress the fact that whatever we're studying/working/doing is MORE stressful than others. We think, or want others to think, that nothing else can compare/understand what we're going through.

"You have NO IDEA what I'm going through".

Oh how I hate that phrase.

If you find that familiar, maybe it's time you stop wanting people trying to understand what you're going through. Stop complaining and know that there are people out there who are going through more difficult times than you, but are NOT complaining. Those are the ones I admire. The ones that I look up to. Without them, won't the world be filled of whiny, self-absorbed people? Every single day, I thank God for placing them in my lives and reminding that life isn't about ME ME and MEEEE.

Anyway, some photos from Lighthouse Fellowship's possible last BBQ of the year last Monday at the Gn's place.

Rachel & Rebekah. The mental hospital escapees aka psychology students gone mad =P

Sharon showing her injured fingernail. *OWH poor thing.*
Consulting a future doctor, pharmacist, & psychologist...
May mentioned that it looks like Sharon's trying to "pluck" her hair heheh!

Music practice

The lighting wasn't perfect, but I personally like how this pic turned out :)

BBQ-ing. Foooooooooood!

Last but not least, my fav photo of the night.
Jaq & Janice being silly.

Whheeee I'm happy for those who are joining the blogging revolution :P

I'm having 2nd thoughts about buying a macbook pro. Too pricey for the specs it's offering. But sigh I still love its aluminium finish and sleek design. Another laptop has caught my eye: the HP Pavilion dv7-1000 Entertainment Notebook PC. GOSH so pretty; about same price as the 17" macbook pro but more powerful in so many ways. It boasts a 4Gb ram memory, Intel® Core™2 Duo Processor T9400, 500Gb storage, NVIDIA GeForce 9600M GT (ahhhh games!), super cool built-in Altec Lansing speakers, etc etc. Price is NZ$3199. *wipes drool off my chin* My current comp is pretty good too, but lately the thought of having a portable laptop is just too tempting. We'll see.

Quit being a bore

This is something I still struggle until right now.

And it's also one of my resolutions to achieve this year (and beyond).

Not to discourage (and bore) others by complaining.

how to be boring?

So when I logged into Facebook and saw THAT, I began thinking:

I can understand the feeling of being bored. But seriously, friends, the OLYMPICS is on, for goodness' sake. Michael Phelps has just won his 7th gold medal by 1 hundredth of a second (that's 0.01 secs) in the 100m butterfly, with Covic Cavic (corrected by Sam) at second place.

Well maybe you're not into either sports or Phelps. Totally understandable. There's a million other things a person can do to NOT feel bored. I can try listing some, but I do have important things to do/plan/write/read. So PLEASE, UN-BORE yourself: challenge yourself by doing something that scares you every single day.

As for myself, I can't say that I'm a good example for that, but I try to start a friendly conversation with people of other races every day- my coursemates, lab partners, colleagues- it's not that much of a daunting task, but if I were to do that voluntarily 3 years ago, no way I'll agree to that. I DREAD being in the centre of attention, or worse singing in front of a group of people- so when I was asked to be one of the worship leaders at Lighthouse Fellowship, I very reluctantly said yes. It's still scary at times; leading worship and trying to sing in-tune in front of 30-0dd people every week, and I'll have to take over the worship team next year as canai is leaving for Hawke's bay =(

It's not so much about shying away from scary stuff or saying no to a task that might just make you stronger as a person, but for me I hate the idea that my inability to tackle a difficulty might discourage others and make the rest of their days moody. You can argue on this: showing how crap you feel by yakking all day to people coming your way to pull them down too just because you think people should be true to their feelings, OR being a positive influence by staying cheerful despite (eg the bad weather/you simple hate that Phelps is winning all the gold medals) things not going your way. Trust me: when others start smiling and feeling good, you will too.

If you're still finding it hard to break free from boredom/unpositiveness, the late Randy Pausch will make you want to live every single day of your life to the fullest. If you've never heard of him, he gave the famous "last lecture" last year after finding out he had only few months to live as a result of cancer. On youtube, the lecture has been viewed sooo many times. I love this quote of his:

The brick walls are there for a reason. The brick walls are not there to keep us out; the brick walls are there to give us a chance to show how badly we want something. The brick walls are there to stop the people who don't want it badly enough.

So if you're one of those uninspired souls, find that spark; and if you find that hard, find someone who can and stick with them. If you're having a bad time coping, help someone cope with their hard times- you'll find it surprisingly refreshing. If you feel like the world has turned against you, it's because you're not facing the world the right way. Life sucks. Yeah, don't we all know it. But if you're always dwelling on it, you're only digging deeper into that pit of sorrow. Then don't go complaining that no one cares about how you feel when you're not helping yourself either.

Reality's harsh. So play it smart, and enjoy the laughter it brings.