of festivals, JB and inner musings

right it's been rather long since the last update
so first things first...

HAPPY CHINESE NEW YEAR to everyone who celebrates it (which is nearly everyone i know =p)

even though the wish's tad belated,... still matters that i remembered to wish y'all right???

as the last post said - i was sick. for about 1 week. thank God i'm fine now =)

anyhow... i'm back in JB. came down a couple of days ago with Mau Ren and his family.

JB has changed a bit. there's some road development thingy going on in front of Samudera along the coastal route. so lots of earth everywhere. and quite a few trees either poisoned or chopped off around.. even the ones in the royal cemetery ( although why they do that beats me.. i mean it's not like one's going to build roads THERE?!)
fogging also going on regularly outside the hospital - last year they used to do it monthly or bimonthly around the hostels... now they're doing it on a weekly basis in all the housing estates. shows how serious they're about tackling the Dengue and Chikungunya spike. of course if they had done it earlier, the spike wouldn't be there. but one can never say cuz if they'd fog more often, then maybe the mosquitos would have become resistant??! but yeah... prevention better than cure.. and of course better late than never.

Oh yes! Wind's become unusually strong- and by strong i mean strong. I think last year you'd probably hear the howling and screeching of the wind once in a blue moon, porbably increasing towards the end of year. but now- everyday, the wind roars and howls as it blows ferociously around. leaving the windows and doors open, means you hear it every hour. Stronger winds also means that it's colder. But on the other side, stronger winds means better ventilation, faster drying of laundry and there's no need to on the fans to air the place, thus reducing electricity bill. better ventilation also helps with spring cleaning, specifically reducing dust for which my nose is very thankful for. Plus i do get sit out on the balcony more often (like i'm doing now) which means i get more fresh air, which is what the doctor recommended (literally!)

About the CIQ complex and stuff.... i haven't checked it out yet so i wound't know. but traffic along Jalan Wong Ah Fook has improved quite a bit. it's more smooth and less of a bottleneck pace.

At home, tis very quiet...been busy cleaning my room and the kitchen. unpacking clothes and books. doing laundry, washing bedsheets and ironing clothes (goodness i sound like a proper lil housewife now *bleuek*) interrupted with interludes of watching tv. in a way, i'm kinda glad that i have this opportunity to just be alone - calm, relaxing and meditating.

the whole hustle and bustle of year 4 will start in 2.5 days. and i don't know what to expect. interestingly i don't have a new year resolution- never had one actually. well back to the topic. i don't know what to expect but i do know to expect something.
something is happening. what it is i don't know. where, when and how it's going to happen i dont' know. in fact i don't know anything about it. but something is definitely happening. and i'm waiting cuz i can somehow feel the slightest hint of a breeze on my face. could be a friendly wind that blows my way and lead the sun in. or it could be the first sign of a storm.

something happened.
something is happening.
something is going to happen.

waiting
and
"arise"


p.s. don't bother trying to understand what i just wrote. especially the last part. cuz i don't think i understand either. just thoughts all over the place.

s.i.c.k.

=(

i detest being sick!
four days already, 2 days of medication
and still nothing

first it was a sore throat, then lethargy with a blocked nose and headache, followed by all the hard sticky stuff i.e. mucus becoming less sticky and more fluidy and now i'm coughing fit to vomit blood
voice has gone deeper- me thinks i've permanantly lost my higher range and gone alto *wait- what higher range? oh yes, i'd forgotten about the higher range because i lost it due to the dentist!!!!!*
forgive me but that's what a sleepless night and coughing like mad does to yours truly - CRANKY

don't help that i followed Jo March's footsteps and got myself a nice curly crop which is still thick :(

really, i'm a lousy patient, and a "....lousy medico who really can't take care of herself" said ppl

me hates being sick, period.

BLAHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!

of conversations, boredom and moments

su wen asked me a very good question just now...
how do u feel about year 4?
my answer was.... dunno la...
i feel *blergh* about year 4 and i feel *blergh* about the holidays as well
don't get me wrong,
things HAVE changed for the better in certain ways...
but i'm tired of watching movies and HOUSE,
tired of running around doing errands
tired of playing DOTA
tired of reading storybooks
however, i'm still can never get tired of walking around the block, with all the trees and the flowers at every nook and corner, the voices of children and familiar faces audible, and the clear crisp wind blowing in your face at every step...
i can also never get tired of strolling around Parade... the smells still vividly remind me of Waverly Gardens and Glen Waverly; nor do i resent the joy i have when i don't have to decide what to eat, cuz food is all prepared and laid out on the table for me =)

wish that i could have spent some time teaching this year, but classes start early and so i can't spare the time to do so - a month's work is the minimum period required for a sub
my hopes of taking dancing classes this year also were dashed due to financial restrictions

twas nice when i went out for the day with Shern Ai and Wai Ying, haven't had as much fun in a long time as i had that day... a fact which i puzzled over, until i realised that it's cuz we were so close "kindred spirits" that any gesture, nuance, look and word could crack us up. our frequnecies were very similiar....plus the spiritual and emotional bond that us three girls had is something that i don't have at the moment. of course there isn't any denying that the friends i've made in med school are one of a kind and are close to me too- Su Wen, Vivian, Syaima, Min Chiee, Sisca, Chris, Gary, Ben, Ji Keon, Mau Ren, DOTA gang and everyone else in my class- i suppose i just wish that i had a similiar person to have that mutually encouraging and uplifting spiritual bond with.. dun even know how to express myself in this..

anyway, life still goes on, and God is still there for me so yeah.


random question but i have to ask it :-

WHAT DO NORMAL PEOPLE DO WHEN THEY HAVE VACATIONS??????


apparently i'm not normal so i can't answer this....
and cus i can't answer it, i hereby tag everyone who reads this to post a reply on their blog or MSN *hehehehehehe*

CompassionArt

Mission: try and do something about the plight of the poorest of humanity
through songs
Dream: gather some of the best-known writers in the gospel/Christian music
scene and spend the week writing songs that could impact these issues on a
long-term basis.
Who's involved: (songwriters) Michael W. Smith, Darlene Zschech, Chris Tomlin, Matt Redman, Tim Hughes, Paul Baloche, Israel Houghton, Graham Kendrick, Steven Curtis-Chapman, Andy Park, Stu Garrard, Martin Smith (7 guest vocalists)- Kirk Franklin, Amy Grant, Joel Houston, Leeland Mooring, Christy Nockels, tobyMac, CeCe Winans
What happened: From January 7th to 11th 2008, in Scotland, 13 people
gave something of themselves for a big cause. CompassionArt was born,
a charity dedicated to seeing works of art generate income for the poorest of
the poor. So the songs that were written in Scotland will be owned by the
charity meaning that every penny will come to it and the trust will own these
copyrights forever. The publishers, the managers, the agents and the writers
have waived all their rights to see something historic happen, the music
business coming together for something great, something that is about something
greater than any individual could achieve.

Martin & Anne Smith (the couple who came up with this plan)

I WANT TO GET THIS ALBUM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Update

2008 has come and gone ... behold it's 2009 already

but though i'm not in the blogging mood at the moment, so many things have happened that i must chronicle them before it's too late.

1. Weddings

ABC*** and XYZ***, my dearest friends from Melbourne got engaged early 2008 and got married end of November in Koh Samui, surrounded by dear ones and close friends. Though i was asked to play at the weddding, my final paper kinda screwed things up. BUT at least i have the wedding invititation (in a form of passport! *how creative is tat*) and the Facebook photos :)

Eugene's sister, Jaclyn-my senior- also got engaged last year. Wedding's to be in KL during the summer hols. Guess i won't have time to catch up with Gene and the rest of the gang when they're busy with wedding plans and all

I got a huge shock when i opened my facebook after the December trip. One of my classmates whom i know personally but haven't seen in a year, is getting married this Saturday in KL. mixed feelings actually...

shock - cuz this is totally unexpected news from her.

happiness- cuz this is something beautiful. God's blessed her with an amazing God-fearing guy who is totally in love with her. and maybe this could somehow solve the unfortunate mix of circumstances that she's currently in?

Esther's biology tutor, a recently graduated doctor, Ben Shern is also getting married this month to a non-med person.

With all the silver bells ringing in the air, i wish every couple my heartiest felicitations and pray that God's love and prescence will be there and guide them through this new phase of their life.

2. Celebrity next door ?!
Nicolette Ng, my immediate neighbour was crowned the winner of season 2 Nivea's Ultimate Prom night King/Queen. She charmed judges with an amaing combination of confidence, beauty and brains. Congratulations Nicole!!!!! (She's the girl on the far right)

3. Ailments

Unfortunately, ABC (yes the very same person stated above whose name has been declassified to protect confidentiality) got a health scare soon after the wedding. There had been some purplish bruises and upon going for a blood test, she was rushed to the hospital due to a very low platelet count (her's was 5,000- normal is 150,000-400,000). After monitoring and careful observation, she was given yet another crippling diagnosis- antiphopholipid syndrome, with the doctors labelling the attack that had put her into hospital as ITP (idiopathic thrombocytic purpura). However, the amazing thing about this turn of events was that despite her platelets being so dangerously low, God took care of her and protected her until she got into hospital (other than the bruises-she was assymptomatic). And yes, people wonder how can so many bad things happen to her ( ABC has hemolytic anaemia too). BUT through out this whole mess, i;m so glad that she's been holding onto God more than ever. The church and the neighbourhood is continuining to keep her and her family in prayer. And thank God, the healing process has slowly but surely started- her platelets have started to increase :) So yes, thank God for his wonderful mercies each and every day. and do keep her in prayer(even if you don't know who she is, God knows)

4. post Dec trip

i'm back home, lazing around if i'm not running around doing family errands. catching up on reading, piano, and watching TV/VCDs. The trip overall was *interesting*. I came back jet lagged, tanner, 4-7kg heavier, had lotsa mosquito bitemarks and a bad flare up of acne. there was good times (like playing with my niece and nephew or shopping), there were bad times and there were times when i felt that i was on a mission trip -got a few more nicknames and experineced some weird things. One thing's for sure - God definitely protected us throughout the trip, with all the flights (bumpy landings and heightened security amid fears of terrorist attacks) and even on the roads... there was this one road trip where the driver was soooooo sleepy, you could see the car slowly moving to the left from time to time. his reflexes was very delayed and his judgement was seriously impaired, he actually pulled the car aside 3 times, twice to wash his face and once to nap for 10 minutes. it didn't help that the roads were extremely bad cuz we were going through rural areas . It was a miracle we reached our destination alive!!! Dad and i sat trhough the whole trip praying for dear life cuz we were so scared that we were going to die. but thank God we didn't. Definitely glad to be back home.

i guess that's it for now then.