Closing Memories of the Year ~

As I have not received the photos I am waiting for, I will do a quick update on what has been happening since I arrived back in Singapore early on Christmas eve. No, I have not been on the treadmill since I went to Japan, and No, I have not been spending as much time going out with my friends as I had hoped to do. But it's okay! Because the time was spent with family and planning when to meet up with my friends:)

So Christmas eve was spent having breakfast at my old home, Potong Pasir. Good beehoon and not so sweet tea. My grandma forbid me from buying soya bean milk cause she thinks it won't go well with the teh-si she shared with me. haha;)

Christmas day was spent in church! the joy of being able to sing the christmas carols with everyone is awesome:D And we celebrated Christmas as a family together at my godma's house. We had the steamed crab legs bought from Hokkaido, huge pork knuckles, Hilton's cheesecake...and lots more:) Oh, I had a few glasses of ice wine:) Sweet Riesling, but it was nice just looking at the golden colour. Random note to myself, I must have a glass or two of bubbly before the end of next year. Can you believe it? I have not tried champagne in my life. ever. :(

Anyway, we watched a short evangelical movie called "The Deal" in chinese, and it was really good. It was about a real-life testimony from Calvin Soh the musician and his wife. Powerful message about the trap of materialism and the need to believe in the power of deliverance from our God:)

Boxing day was spent on the ship Duolos. it was the last day in port as they were going to scrap it, so my parents and I went to pick up some books on board. everything was really affordable, as they gave really good discounts:) We celebrated Gek Theng's 21st brithday as a cell at Fort Canning Centre, White Studio, at night. It's the place where we go for our plays:) Cell performed two christmas carols for the rest of Gek's guests! So I did go caroling in the end!;)

I had a short while to talk to you, and I'm glad I did. I think I am convinced of where I stand now.

So where am I? Right, the day after boxing day. It was spent in church! And we went back home after a meal at Dome in marine parade, where I tried the squid-ink linguine. the sauce was good, but as for the black pasta? in the words of my dad, "not so interesting..." after the lunch, we went back home and I persevered in sleeping from 6pm that evening all the way to 8 am the next morning. I think I broke my personal record. haha

Two days after boxing day. Monday was spent in school with sharon and yiwen! met at bishan for a quick lunch at Mos, and we headed straight to school for the collection of our acceptance packages from Pusan National University. And all the package consists of is a letter and a map. Oh well, at least I got to meet up with the school buds!:D

After which, I headed to dinner with my cousins and family. It was a gathering for the seven of us who kinda bonded during the trip to Hokkaido. My cousins and I sort of made the connection with the rest during the last two days of the trip. so yeah. But dinner was great! the beehoon soup was sweet as usual. and though I didn't really enjoy the crabs as much as I would with my family(I think my dad made it fun to eat more,and cause he enjoys eating crabs, we were led into enjoying the crabs as well;)), the time spent together was quite amazing in itself.

it started off a little awkward as usual, and then all of a sudden we were onto the topic of me going to Korea. the older ones, who are all experts in drinking started to give me tonnes of advice on how to hold my liquor in korea. apparently the girls there can drink two bottles of soju a day. well..I will prob. drink rice wine there...but two bottles of soju??

and then they started to talk of how the guys there in korea are not as good-looking as the ones we see on tv, so it was quite funny. the most entertaining part was when everyone at the table started to "order" food they want me to learn how to cook, so I can prepare it for them when I return from Korea. So sharon and yiwen, you will both have to help me learn how to make seafood pancakes, some black pork dish, cold noodles (this I think I can learn fast!), and of course kimchi:D

we ended off the night with candy canes and a confirmation of a BBQ on jan 16th. haha, these people are super efficient.

It's interesting how you will always call out to me for one last conversation. Being able to stand side by side with you is enough for me. Even if nothing happens, I know I have found more sisters and brothers in Christ that I want to treasure.

Yes, I realized all of them are believers:)

A teacher, a regional supervisor, a doctor, a student going on to become an investment banker, another student going on to become a teacher, and two more students going on to discover what life has in store for us all. Quite interesting no?

I didn't see the sign I was waiting for. But I thought I heard a voice telling me to wait. To wait for a while more. And so, the next two weeks might erase any of the remaining feelings, but I know I won't regret waiting.

haha. I think I sound a little like a lovesick fool. Cliches, and more cliches...but, in the light of things, I think I can be a little lenient on myself;)

Our Trip to Japan (Part One) ~

If I have to describe our trip to Japan in one word, it will be: Sugoi. haha, it means Amazing:D

Technically, we didn't really do much over there, but it was more of the experience that really mattered. I love how we learnt so much more about each other in the family, and how we had so many opportunities to bond together:)

The trip started out slow, and many of my personal expectations were not met(like how I thought the salmon sashimi there would be the melt-in-your-mouth kind, but alas, the japanese use the best parts of the fish as grilled salmon...), but ultimately, when I looked back at what we have done, I feel very blessed at being able to take part in all the wonderful experiences in Hokkaido and Tokyo.

On to the recap!



While waiting to board the plane at Changi Airport



Our first photo at the Narita Airport in Japan. We're off to Hokkaido!:D

The moment we touched down at Hokkaido, we were met with really cold weather that dropped to -10 near our last few days in Hokkaido. It was freezing, but the cold weather was a good change from the humid and hot weather in Singapore.




The thick and burdensome winter clothes that we had to wear.

White, unblemished snow was everywhere, and I just wanted to dance on the snow-covered walkways:)



Our first Yakiniku meal in Hokkaido.



Tatami-style. I really like the pretty bed covers, but the pillows that were made with beans and straws were a little too hard. We got used to them though.



The view outside our hotel.

When I was in Hokkaido, I experienced a lot of my firsts - First time celebrating a white christmas, first time going to a hot spring without wearing any clothes, first time wearing a yukata...and many many more.



I was so happy to finally be able to wear a flowery japanese yukata:D



Family photo! My mum and I went on the trip with my uncle david, aunty jacqueline and my two cousins, yi jun and yi ling:) My uncle is the main photographer during the trip, and hence he is hardly in the photos, except a few.

At this point in time, I am putting out a disclaimer, I will probably not go through every single detail about the trip, and I am just going to highlight the more memorable parts of the trip;)



Japan's Panasonic Tower and the snowy playground with the breath-taking fairy lights.

A magical moment happened when we were about to exit the place, and that was when I looked up to see that the lights on the trees were out, and all of a sudden, I heard someone counting down in japanese. Three, two, one...and the fairy lights came on again. I was stunned by the picturesque moment, as it was really beautiful:)



The tour group leader told the whole group to dress up in our yukatas for dinner:)



Japanese Hotpot, or what they call "Nabe".



Edo Wonderland! It snowed crazily while we were there, and we watched two period theatre plays that were really entertaining even though the performers spoke in japanese most of the time.



My Kawaii Mum;)



One of the two performances where the local performers requested for an impromptu actor from the audience. So one of the guys from our tour group went up to take the role of the general:) It was funny how the local performers made self-reflexive jokes and posed for pictures during the performance:D



The skyline(?) of Hokkaido at night.



Our short trip to the fish market where we bought fresh scallops and huge crab legs, we tried the fresh sashimi there too.



Some historical place. I have no idea what is the history behind the place, all I remember of that particular day was the snowball fight we had. We were running all over the place trying to hit each other with the snow. haha, childish, but extremely fun;) And it was really nice lying and sitting on top of the snow:D Oh, and it was our first proper attempt at making a snowman!

We ended our group journey with a trip to a japanese shrine and garden. the walk was nice, and we just took the time to talk to each other about the most random of things.

For me now, Japan is more than just the country of MUJI, Uniqlo, Hello Kitty, Manga...to me, there is a certain charm about this particular nation that makes me want to travel back there to discover more sights, and to experience more moments. I miss the cold weather, the onsen, the snow...

Some random photos:

Sharon, this photo is for you:)



One of my personal fave photos-



Pager-alarm system in the food courts (we will receive pagers that will beep when our food is ready for collection;)) -



Imagine my surprise when I saw the movie posters for one of the jap dramas that I watch (Nodame Cantabile) ! I was so happy when I found out I could watch a few japanese tv dramas live in the hotel rooms:D -



Alright. this is it for Part One. Part Two will just be a few more photos and a few notes here and there:)

Tadaima:)

It's been quite an amazing trip, and praise God for His awesome provision and goodness!

haha, my mum is really my mum. okay, that sentence sounds really random, but in the light of things, it makes sense. She just asked me a very personal question, and I was kind of expecting her to do so. Well...sharon, since you're my only reader, if you're interested, you can ask me more about it. I think I am able to share more now:)

I have really mixed feelings right now, but again, I choose to trust Him.

Is it silly to hope? I don't think so. Even if everything falls through, I think we will still be okay. It's weird being in this situation because all my cell group members are already discussing plans about our exchange trips, and they are so excited for it. but the school buds are being practical and more of looking forward to studying lit here in NTU for the next sem. And as for me? I'm stuck in between. At times I wish I can have the enthusiasm my school buds have for a next sem in NTU, and at times I wish I can be more excited about going abroad with my cell group members. Sometimes, I feel like I'm the one who is forcing my school buds to go to Korea when actually they prefer staying in Singapore.

I don't know how to be convinced or to convince them anymore. But for me, until that day when PNU or Instep tells me that I will have to stay in NTU for the next sem, I will keep believing my acceptance package will come:)

before the trip

Cell groups sold breakfast in church today! and I loved how I was able to brew coffee and tea, and tasting the drinks to see if they are good enough. The tea was awesome:) Probably cause it was Liption. haha, how can you go wrong with tea bags right?

Today was slightly more relaxed as compared to the last time. We had more time to sit around at the start and just talk among ourselves. I think it was probably because we arrived at church really early at 8. haha, there was hardly anyone around, and we were just having our own breakfast while waiting for the rest to turn up. I'll be leaving in two days, and a lot of us will be traveling as well. Judith's already in Wuhan, and she'll only be back on the 26th. in fact, I think many of us will only be back during the last week of december. Somehow, this december holiday is passing us by and we are simply caught up in the activities. as usual, it feels different.

chill out session tmr!

I like spending the day listening to music, watching dramas, and reading books. I like how I can just type here at my blog while drinking tea. No worries, no deadlines to meet. It seems unproductive, but I'm happy the way things are right now. This break is really what I need from the busy period of the past few months. December is usually the months of activities, but I am trying to take some time off, and to just live life on a slower pace. I guess I might miss out on some significant events I could have participated in, but for now, I treasure the feeling of not having to commit myself to anything.

I know the next few weeks are probably going to pass by in a blur. and before we know it, Christmas will be here:)

For now, there isn't anything in particular that I want to do. Except this longing to want to spend more time with You.

it does mean something

"Departures" is really an amazing Jap movie. I just finished watching it, and I already feel like watching it again. The film showcases the beautiful scenery of Japan, as well as the fascinating ceremony of Japanese casketing. It may sound morbid, but it's not. The ceremony is done with such calmness and precision, that it was quite captivating. Somehow, it seems like a way of saying a proper farewell. There is almost a kind of respect for the people who help to restore the beauty of those who have passed on. And it's not just the outward appearance, but more of the help they give in allowing us to come to terms with the loss.

on a side note, the lead character plays the cello really well. and as the music played on in the background, I was reminded of how I have this longing to play a string instrument. I am not an expert on music, and I don't I ever will be, but I can understand a little when people say that music has a kind of magical quality to it. Sometimes, I just want to be able to play an instrument so well that I get lost in the music. I guess at this point in time I won't know if I ever will have the chance to learn how to play the cello, but it's nice to be able to hear the music. For now.

We really need to learn how to treasure the people around us more. It sure is difficult, but I guess death has this power to want to make us try.

a glimpse of what could have been

I had my shopping fix today at marina square:)

Cell group mates and I went shopping for birthday presents, and we were tremendously efficient:D It was tiring, but very fulfilling. And I really enjoyed the time when we were sitting at Gloria Jean's cafe, where Judith treated us to coffee, and we were just drinking and talking about the ideas for the presents. I felt so happy sitting there with them:)

the surprise for the day was when we were shopping at Raffles' City's Paper Market. Sharon just strolled into the shop, and before my brain could even register it was her for real, I called out her name. haha, truly, my mouth works faster than my brain. Also, we have resolved never to drink matcha and azuki again. First and last.

I'm so glad we managed to meet up! haha, I hope we will never get tired of seeing each other;)

And because I met her, I was reminded of this theory I have in mind, that we might have had many chance encounters in our lives, but we will never know for sure. I guess the time wasn't right.

When our worlds collide, will I still be the same to you?

His ways and thoughts are Higher

My mum just asked me about my essays, and I shared with her about what I feel about them and what I hope for in the future:) she's glad that I'm not too upset over the grades, and I was telling her that of course I am disappointed, but when I think of the Lord's goodness and faithfulness to me over the years, I know for sure He will see me through. And as I was saying those words, I teared slightly. I am really thankful for how He is always here with me, and I believe above all, He is the one who wants the very best for me, and for all of us:)

also, there are so many more things and people who are important in life. I think today's trip out with sharon and grace helped to re-assure me of this truth. I was tired, but I just love spending time with them and talking to them. I'm really looking forward to our Christmas feast:D haha, I want to bake and cook so many things! until then, I shall source out the appropriate recipes:)

to live a little like Dean

I like the feeling of not being bound by time.

Today was my first free day after the exams, and I didn't wake up to the sound of the alarm clock:) And for the rest of the day, I just watched my videos in peace, read some manga, prayed, and lived a life of a semi sloth. haha, it's a privilege to be able to laze around.

I liked the fact that today was slightly special cause my sis didn't go to work as she didn't feel well, and we spent the day together. It was nice to just eat lunch together, and just being at home together.

sharon and I will be collecting our american lit essays tmr before meeting grace for xiao long baos at chinatown! And I'm glad today's devotional materials all talked about the need to have faith in God's power, and to believe in the gifts of God:D

in any case, I am really looking forward to our trip to chinatown tmr:)

I just realised that my nails look purplish under the light. I like;)