I can't believe it. What on earth are our professors doing teaching classes like ours?? They should be out there in the field and being valued more than now! Okay fine, I mean I'm sure they are all recognised and valued by specialists in the same field, but still!

See the thing is, I just chanced upon the website on how people actually get their MA(Master in Arts) and their PhD(Doctor in Philosphy), and it's just really over-whelming.

here's the snippet:

Period of Candidature


Full-time candidates: minimum 2 years and maximum 5 years;
Part-time candidates: minimum 2 years and maximum 7 years.


Entry Requirements-


A good Master's degree in either English Literature or a relevant field from a recognised university;

Demonstrated ability to pursue research in the candidate's proposed field of advanced study. Candidates should include with their application a research proposal in which they outline what they intend to study and why they intend to do so, together with a sustained justification of their chosen methodology. Length: 2,500-3,000 words.

A PhD candidate is required to complete six courses approved by his/her supervisor, to attend all designated events, to pass a confirmation exercise (at a stage between 1 and 2 years of beginning research), to submit a dissertation of between 75-85,000 words and to take part in an oral defence.

http://www.ntu.edu.sg/HSS/english/courses/graduateprograms/Pages/DoctorofPhilosophy.aspx (I hope I won't be sued, haha)

did you all see that?

the insane amount of work people have to put in to get a PhD, and apparently all professors need to get at least a PhD right?

and honestly, when I think of how prof. wagner got hers at Cambridge, I just want to go up to her and say, "it's been really hard on you".

I guess they prob. love what they are doing so much that they want to pursue it to the end. such endurance really.

anyway, some good news, I know, the news these days have been quite serious and shocking, but we shall just move away and think about the lighter stuff for now. Teachers can receive an immediate pay of at least $5000 after training! haha, money's not that impt. but it's good that MOE and the society are valuing teachers more!=)

that's about it. I just wanted to blog about the PhD part. haha.

cheers!~

我的天啊!

I have only TWO more days to complete my 2008's resolutions. haha

How am I going to dance in the rain and lie down on a nice patch of green grass in time before the year runs out?

and metaphorically just doesn't work. and I just realised, I have yet to try the dark cherry mocha frap. that yiwen says is really good. my my. what on earth have I been doing? haha, I have missed out so much! nah, I'm just rambling. I'm sure I'll be able to figure out how to achieve my resolutions.

though I have much to give thanks for this year, I'm not sure if I'm going to post my reflections this year. maybe a belated one, but for the next two days, I don't think it's going to happen. but I'm quite sure next year's going to be awesome=)

my dears，是时间穿上我们的跳舞鞋子了!:)

for the valleys and the mountains, though we can't dance our way through all stages of our life, but let us try to keep the joy of dancing as our attitude for the year ahead=)

thanks for the love in 2008,and remember to bring it forward to 2009 kay? haha, I'll try to increase my capacity to love come january 2009!;)

Christmas at home - 2008~

"Healer" Lyrics
by Hillsong | from the album This Is Our God


You hold my every moment
You calm my raging seas
You walk with me through fire
And heal all my disease

I trust in you
I trust in you

I believe
You're my healer
I believe
You are all i need
I believe
You're my portion
I believe
You're more than enough for me
Jesus, you're all i need

Nothing is impossible for you
Nothing is impossible
Nothing is impossible for you
You hold my world in your hands

Here's my pox-inspired post.=)

So after a thrilling week in HK(more details later) I felt a little feverish on the flight back. and cause of turbulence, I wasn't even able to get some water to take my fever pills. but really, that night I experienced again what it means when we say worship has healing properties. I was just sitting there in my small seat next to the window, and I just started praying, and worship songs just started to play in my mind, and I just sat there and sang the snippets of songs I could remember. I remember very clearly I started off with Jesus, Lover of my soul, and when I moved on to Healer(the song above), I just felt something stir within me, and I had this joy and peace in my heart that I know He was healing me there and then already. And as I sang the words, "I believe You're my Healer, I believe that You are all I need", I truly believed, and the next moment, as I leaned my head against the window, I saw many many stars blanketing the dark space outside, and for that while, I was just in awe. I really didn't know what to say, at first I was shocked cause I didn't think we would be able to see stars on board a plane, but really, the stars were beautiful. and I just knew that God, the creator of Heaven and earth, the One who knows each star by name was holding me at that time, and He will never let me go.

the past week has been quite something:)just as grace said, instead of a white christmas, I got a red merry chrismas instead. at first I was really shocked that I had to spend my next two weeks at home, and I faced some anxiety over the many many spots over my face and body. haha, I tell you, when you get chicken pox, there's a higher chance of you passing out from starvation rather than the pox itself. cause there's SO MANY things you can't eat. things like chicken, seafood, things with black sauce, peanuts, eggs, garlic, beans...and lots more.

haha. crazy right? at first I was like okay, I shall keep to the list, then gradually as the week progressed, I was like okay, I'm past the stage of caring. so just eat some prohibited food. Chocolate! I'm not allowed to eat chocolate too! haha, that's the worst, I snuck some chocolate into my diet before my mum reminded me again that apparently chocolate causes the spots of the face to remain black. darn. so I am sad to say, even my chocolates are confiscated. nah, I just can't touch them. sigh. haha.

but really thank God, cause the people around me have really been very supportive and I'm very glad for you guys!haha, thanks dears for cheering me up through calls and messages=)

and even though I didn't get to spend christmas in church, I am glad I can always celebrate Christmas, cause I will always have Christ:)and it's quite a miracle really, cause on hindsight, I've already done all that I normally would do on Christmas. I went to check out the lights at orchard, took photos at the annual christmas tree gathering at taka, had an early christmas at hongkong's Disneyland(white christmas!), managed to drink toffeenut latte, and I was able to spend time with most of my family members and friends..honestly, I've been very very blessed:)

overall, it's been an unexpected holiday fraught with unexpected events and happenings, but a really good one indeed. oh, and one last thing, all glory to God for my As and Bs for last semester!haha, especially for my 207 module which I've blogged tons about=) indeed, Your faithfulness never ends. I'll continue to try my best for You Lord, and I'm glad that I can share of Your goodness to us all this past 2008. You've been an awesome God through it all!Love You:)

The photo we took on Tuesday - Lao Beijing, P.S, 2008.


I remember we remarked on how we looked like we were having a family reunion lunch. It felt really nice to just sit down there and eat with one another, to exchange snippets of our lives. Not deep, life-changing stuff; just simple lunch conversations. We ended up talking in chinese(or attempting to..) for the rest of the time spent together. Family:)

Like stars~

Grace and I both agreed that we're in a world of our own. or perhaps it's just me. haha. holidays are meant for shopping and slacking around, but I end up being more interested in browsing around in bookstores and accumulating books to read. currently, I have 3 books and one manga to read. and I've started on all four texts. brilliant aye? haha. and seriously, the semester has just ended but we are immediately thrown into the need to make decisions about our next semester's courses. and so we end up planning again our schedule and reading up on the content of courses and thinking of what modules are suitable. and honestly, 226-approaches to drama looks really tough. but, there's Stoppard! ;)

anyway, it's really weird to read blogs of other people whom you used to be friends with, but now are completely estranged. I just decided to check out one such blog as she had the address written out on her msn nick. to tell you the truth, after reading some snippets of the blog, I felt like I had no idea who she is, it felt like I was reading a stranger's blog. and after glancing at her pictures, I know that even if I pass her on the streets, I will probably not register it's her at all. well, I guess it's what my dad says, "C'est la vie" .

ooh. and this past week has been really awesome! haha, went out with sharon on monday, had a dim sum lunch with the cell group girls on tuesday(it's great to have lea and georgie back with us!), the snow white musical on tues with the school buds, and hitting town with grace yesterday. the lights are kinda pretty after a while=D and we ended up really engrossed in the manga section of kinokuniya, and checking out the different additions to the ones we read, watched this really random movie starring drew barrymore and andy garcia, which turned out to be not too bad at all. haha. at the start of the movie, we were both seriously regretting the choice of movie cause it was quite ridiculous, and it's really something we will never watch willingly. haha. but not bad, quite funny and I like the german shepherd in the movie:)

will post the pictures of the past days when I have them. haha, will message jen and grace later. oh, grace, if you see this, SEND THE NICE PICTURES you took with your Olympus!

and not surprisingly, I had this really bad headache this morning at like 5 am. I guess it's the busy days and late nights. seriously, the accumulation from one school semester really hits me after the exams. haha, but all's well now!

going over soon to my ahma's place. there's going to be or-mee! absolutely like it;)

alright. jumbled post. but a rough sketch of what I've been doing since the holidays started.

Father, pick me up, and help me stand where I've fallen. You know my weaknesses, but Lord, I know how Your strength is made perfect in my weaknesses. And indeed, Your grace will always be sufficient for us. I commit my holidays and my next semester into Your hands Lord. Help us to shine for You!=)

Stone; not Sand~

One last thing, I just chanced upon sammie's blog, and this sentence really "cracked" me up:"if the world were to be thrown into chaos one day (actually, it kind of looks like it's heading towards that)". I totally agree with how at the end of it all, As don't quite matter. but rather, it's what we do with our lives now. and yes, I'd much rather be studying the bible too;)

but the reason why I just had to quote sammie is because one of the lit texts we did last semester talked about the chaos. Chaos theory in Arcadia by Tom Stoppard. it just made me realise that indeed the world is spiralling towards chaos, and we are really just getting "disorder out of disorder into disorder". and that is when I realise, that secular texts actually have openings for us to link it to His word. precisely because literature texts(probably psychology, science, math...texts too)reflect or attempt to help us to understand certain truths in our lives, we are able to read them and understand how the issues look like under the light of our faith. and honestly, there is chaos all around, but we are still more than able to dance; to dance on this mountaintop, to see His kingdom come. because afterall, it is pretty calm in the eye of the storm no? the chaos is all around us, and it may shake us up a bit, but let our foundations be strong and right, so that when the winds blow, when the waters rise, this house of God will not fall.

Father, You are our refuge, our strong tower, our very present help in times of need. Let us hide in Your shelter; take comfort in Your resting place.

P.S- it's extremely interesting to see how sammie said the exact same thing Stoppard tries to say in his play. perhaps sammie, you have read Arcadia before?;)

It's weird. It's like we are here, and we are the ones who haven't changed much. sometimes I wonder if time and space really affect people that much. I guess we won't really know unless we experience it ourselves. it's honestly kinda strange, cause it's like people have gone through so much on their own, and yet some of us only have deceptively simple differences to show for what has happened over the past months.

and more and more, I see how we speak the things we don't want to, and the words which we want to mean are lost in expression.

we focus on our minute lives because that's the only thing we can do. and that is the only thing we are called to do. to pick up our own crosses, and leave the rest to Him. and even though it may seem that we can't do much, I believe our prayers make a difference.

anyway, today was nice=D just what I needed. a spicy thai lunch,some light shopping, stocking up of school supplies, games, and coversations over desserts. thanks sharonny!(is this yiwen's name for you?haha).

sometimes, just sometimes, I realise the need for the music in life. and I learn to appreciate it a little more each time.