Work Trip

Junming’s away on a work trip for almost 2 weeks and will be back only end of next week. Although he was away only for this weekend, I was away last weekend. So that makes it two weekends in a row that we’ve not seen each other. However, the last time I saw him was on Monday, when he helped moved one of the painting given by the my client’s auction house to my sis’ place. Thereafter, it was KUL-SIN, SIN-HKG-CAN-HKG-SIN, arriving Singapore on 02 May at 2350hrs. Think it’s a good break from his usual work routine. Hope he gets to brush up some of his Cantonese over there.

Anyway, my work trip started out not too smooth-sailing. It’s over-the-weekend kinda trip, which means I worked literally 7 days a week and 12 days in a row. Upon arriving in Jakarta airport, we lost one of our client’s luggage (hohoho….) and we were sure it came with us on the flight because the ground staff were very efficient and the ground staff immediately came to pick up the bulky frame to be sent to the cargo hole right at our check-in counter. Somehow, the ground staff at Jakarta claimed they didn’t have it and after a few moments of “investigation”, we were told to call them again in the late arvo as the flight we took had departed. Well, was it because the off-loading of the cargo was not thorough, or did it go on another plane, or was it even loaded to our plane in the first place? It’s all a mystery, but I have full faith in our Changi Airport system.

Well, so much so for the start of my first time in Jakarta. My boss and I came out of the immigration and there were two people waiting for us, at different ends: boss’ friend and client’s driver. It was pretty cool because it was the first time I walked out of the airport and someone wrote my name on a paper for identification. We passed the remaining items to the driver and asked the driver to convey to our client that we will reach the hotel around noon time, after we’ve gone for brekky with my boss’ friend. So we were all excited for some real Indonesian food.

He drove us to this market place in the Chinese neighbourhood that he said served rather good local food. We tried their Kuay Teow, Nasi Padang and potato leaves at a place that looked like a typical coffee shop in Singapore, but the “star” of the day has to be pork satay. The look of it is convincing enough to give it a try, especially with two very hungry women. The taste of it is so good that one is not enough. After our breakfast at the coffee shop, we were brought to buy what we would call “goreng pisang” in Singapore, but they call it “Pisang Raja”. “Raja” is prince in Malay, isn’t it? So it’s a Banana Prince? Hahaha…. No idea man, but Goreng Raja has more batter and crispier as compared to Goreng Pisang (which the batter isn’t too much lesser either). The “raja” is much nicer in a way, but it’s CRIMINAL… If not more, it is as CRIMINAL…. Felt like going straight for a 10-km run right after shoving it into my mouth. After that, we went to a complex known as Manga Dua, which means “Two Mangoes”. Not 3, not 4, but “Two Mangoes”, where we shopped for some tidbits and fashion jewellery.

One thing amazed me: the parking system in the city. You can double-park or even triple park at a parking lot. How to get out? You gotta literally push the other cars out of the way in order to get your own car out of the lot. So people there don’t pull their hand brake after parking, except on a hill of course, to be “considerate”. Driving in Jakarta is also stressful, with motorbikes and side mirrors almost knocking each other and they aren’t too bothered even if they really knocked each other gently. The traffic jams in Jakarta is also horrendous. It’s apparently common to be stuck in a jam for an hour to an hour and a half.

We arrived at the hotel 3 plus in the afternoon. Not a very good way to impress our client. After we checked into our rooms, we quickly went down to meet them again for our business discussion. Fortunately the discussion went quite well, which made the trip worth it. Little did we know the trip back was another story…

AND SO IT CONTINUED…

While we tried the whole afternoon trying to contact the airport about the frame that didn’t arrive in Singapore, we were told to try again later, and later, and later. Finally, the client said that they will take over from that point and will follow-up with the airport officials. No call came until early morning at about 6.00am, a call from my boss’ friend came and told us that the frame had finally reached Jakarta. In fact, they had been calling him since 2.00am in the morning. Now, it’s sent to the wrong place and they will be sending it straight to the hotel. Just the morning wake-up call at a time I don’t need it. So tired, but I just couldn’t get to bed anymore, I decided to go for an early morning massage before heading for breakfast

I checked out the rate and it was a very good deal: about SGD$32 for a one hour Javanese massage. Where do you get that kinda rate in Singapore? Not to mentioned that it’s in a 5-star hotel. Since I’m in Java, might as well try their Javanese massage. It was indeed good and the masseuse, though a young lady, was a very strong lady. Had to tell her to be gentle with me. Getting old, I think. I went down to breakfast after that and everyone said I looked fresh. * Ding! * Must be the Javanese massage.

We stayed for the auction till mid afternoon before the client’s chauffer sent us to the airport. Our client gave us some paintings and souvenirs for us and for another of their contact whom they engaged for their Singapore auction. My boss asked the driver to make a detour so she could get some Pisang Raja, but the stall’s closed on Sunday, so we continued our way to the airport. When we reached the airport, another of their chauffer wheeled out the paintings and gosh! They are big! Ok, compared to some other paintings at the auction, they are not awfully big, but they are still considered bulky. Staring at the card boxes, I could almost picture my father saying: People give only you must take meh!

What to do? Just gotta check them in. As we looked at our time, we realized we were really late. The frantic search for the check-in counter began and we walked from one end to almost the other end before we finally found the counter and the check-in for our flight has closed! We pleaded, we begged, almost sobbed and went on our knees. My boss kept saying “tolong, tolong” (means “please, please”), but ground staff just wouldn’t check us in or let us onto the plane no matter what. Well, don’t expect them to practice GEMS (Go the Extra Mile Service) there too. You can picture two desolated women going to the customer service, who then advised us to pay up either USD$60 for a budget airline back to Singapore, which departs only after 10pm, or an earlier flight for USD$140, for Lufthansa, or USD$165, for SQ. We bought the Lufthansa ticket and walked around the airport’s duty-free to pass time. Even when we wanted to buy hard liquor (Bailey’s) back to Singapore, we were told that Lufthansa is the only airline that doesn’t allow duty-free hard liquor on board their aircraft. “Fly Garuda next time!” the lady smiled as she told us. I smiled back and thought to myself if I’d even return to Jakarta again. Ok, never say never, yeah? For I do not know the plans that God have for me.

Anyhow, I was so glad when the plane landed in Singapore. There’s nothing like home and so glad to be back. Called those who are still awake to let them know that I touched down in Singapore. Junming collected the painting from me so he can help me bring it to my sis’ place the next day. Was a tired trip, but it’s still fruitful. Had the pork satay, clinched a deal and most of all, had my Javanese massage!

Now, am just looking forward to Junming’s coming back.

Do you know your HYMNS?

The Dentist's Hymn........ ......... ........Crown Him with Many Crowns

The Weatherman's Hymn........ There Shall Be Showers of Blessings

The Contractor's Hymn........ ......... The Church's One Foundation

The Tailor's Hymn........ ......... ........Holy, Holy, Holy

The Golfer's Hymn........ ......... .There is a Green Hill Far Away

The Politician's Hymn........ ......... ..Standing on the Promises

The Optometrist' s Hymn........ ......... Open My Eyes That I Might See

The IRS Agent's Hymn........ ......... .......... ...I Surrender All

The Gossip's Hymn........ ......... .......... ......... ..Pass It On

The Electrician' s Hymn........ .......... ......... ..Send The Light

The Shopper's Hymn........ .......... ......... ...Sweet Bye and Bye

The Realtor's Hymn. * I've Got a Mansion Just over the Hilltop

The Massage Therapists Hymn ............ ......... He Touched Me

The Doctor's Hymn........ ......... .The Great Physician


AND for those who speed on the highway - a few hymns:
45mph....... .......... ....God Will Take Care of You
65mph....... ......... ....Nearer My God To Thee
85mph....... ......... ....This World Is Not My Home
95mph....... ......... ....Lord, I'm Coming Home
100mph..... ............ ..Precious Memories

Hope it brings a smile on your face... :)

Where the Bee Sucks, There Suck I

Out of the blue two weeks ago, my twin sis messaged me to ask if I’ll be keen to meet up for a primary school. Wow… Primary school, though it’s been so long ago, but feels just like yesterday. Had actually wanted to ask her who’ll be there, but experience tell me that I probably will have second thoughts going if there are some people whom I’m not too “friendly” with who will be there, I probably won’t be. But hey, it was primary school, right? Our immature thinking then was accompanied with our immature actions and probably our uncalled for pettiness. Should there be anything at all, we should ask for each other’s forgiveness and just forgive. We have definitely put aside childish things and if we still bear a grudge, we’re really just poisoning our minds. So bad for our health!

So we met up yesterday and saw that it was the more “catholic” group that turned up. Among us were also 3 Christians and 1 or 2 freethinkers? We met at Shoduko, Raffles Place. Was surprised to know that only two of us were married and none of them had any children yet, at least for those who turned up. In any case, one more will be getting married end of this year (nope, it’s not me) and one is having a baby on the way (my twin just learnt that she’s 3 weeks pregnant). I joined them only much later due to my evening appointments, but soon, the conversation went on to someone’s getting married in Germany next week and yelp, to a German guy, someone else just got married last week in London, one of us just came back from London for a 2-3 weeks holiday before returning back to England, while another girl just came back to Singapore after residing in London for a good 5 years. Wow…. We were all so scattered. As our conversation progressed did I realize that this meeting was indeed a very rare and precious one.

We also talked about our encounters with various teachers in school, the prayer room whom some of the girls couldn’t find their shoes when the school bell rang because we were all wearing the “panda” shoes and of course, the very stern bookshop auntie, Auntie Teresa, whom many of us, including myself, couldn’t differentiate if she was male or female during our first few days in school. Someone even got scolded for calling her “uncle” – AUNTIE!!! What uncle!!!? Then I recalled many some 4 years back, at a rare visit to someone’s place CNY, this lady, quite some years my senior, showed me her photos in the past and her year book at Kellocks Convent, where she studied. As we chatted, we realized that both of us actually knew Auntie Teresa. Well, she’s “Auntie” to me, but she was in fact her teacher back at Kellocks Convent, before coming to our primary to be our bookshop “auntie” that is. So during dinner, we all wondered why she came over to tend our bookshop. Must be hard teaching a bunch of chatty, if not “Miss La-las”, who wouldn’t stop talking no matter what. Anyhow, she did leave us an interesting childhood memory.

Although we had Chinese, Malays, Indians and Eurasians in our class, our class was the only class in the whole level where the entire class took Chinese as our 2nd language, and still fared quite well in it. Some of us hated 聽寫 (spelling), 默寫 (dictation), 作文 (composition), …. you name it. Among which, during our 作文 (composition) and 造句 (constructing sentences), the most over-used name was 小明 and the most over-used phrase was along the line of “在一個風和日麗的早上…” (meaning’s similar to: On a bright and sunny morning…). So the typical start of our composition will be like “在一個風和日麗的早上, 小明…” or “有一天, 小明…”, etc… In fact, 小明 was so over-used that my Chinese teacher once scribbled in my sis’ composition book: 你可以不要再用小明了嗎? (Can you stop using the name “小明”?)

As we continued the evening, talking about the teachers we had, we just couldn’t miss talking about Sister Pat. Well, who could forget our P6 form teacher, Sister Patricia? I could sense dark clouds hovering over my head when I learnt that she was our form teacher on my first day of school. In that year, she taught us with military style training – orders, humiliation and punishment with fear and trembling. I got it quite bad as I was pretty slack, disobedient and rebellious. Not the demure convent girl you would imagine. She was also not the demure, mild-tempered nun you would picture. Her ultimate aim: to train us to be a group of demure, obedient and disciplined girls that all other form teachers envied. Quite a misfit for some of us.

P6 on the other hand, was also a year that was the most eventful and memorable time of most of us. There was a major choir competition among the various schools during the Youth Festival and our music teacher, Mrs Mary Lim, hand-picked some of us P6 girls to form a major choir for the competition. Those who were selected would undergo strict training of our vocals and due to the intensity of the training, we would be excused from lessons. I was most delighted as I would be able to skip classes with valid reasons. We were taught how to breathe, use our diaphragms and oral muscles and even how the words should be pronounced when we sing. The one-year training was tough, but it was an experience we all enjoyed and would not trade it given a chance. We could neither forget the training nor the song. It was a verse from William Shakespear’s The Tempest, “Where the bee sucks, there suck I”, and Oliver Twist’s “Where is Love?”. The lyrics are still stuck in our heads till this day.

We also learnt that one of the girls had passed on some time late last year. We were all rather shocked because we all knew her as this sweet, intelligent girl who excelled in her schoolwork and yet, doesn’t display snobbishness. My sis saw her quite some years back and thought she was pregnant. So, I thought that she had a child before she passed away. But one of us, whose family was very close to her’s, said that she’s not married and was never pregnant. She’d contracted a very rare disease way back when she was at studying at NUS, which caused her stomach to bloat over the years and her body weaker as well. As the disease was so rare, there were only very few cases of it in the world and hence, there was no cure for it at all. Her body grew thinner as the days go by while her stomach more bloated. She only quitted her job as editor for Torque magazine3 years back, when her condition was critical. For those who have been putting off classmates’ or old friends’ gathering, don’t put it off too long as you just may not see some of them. Logically, the longer you put if off, the older people gets and soon, old pain starts coming back and we may not be able to go anywhere even if we want to.

As we ended the night, we were all quite glad we met up and were already planning for another one soon for a May birthday celebration, since so many of us were born in May. Most importantly, before Marietta flies back to London on 11 May. I really treasured the meet up this time round and hope we can continue to nurture our old time friendship as we catch up again and hopefully, more often.

The Wait is Over...

Finally, halal pork!

Check it out in your friendly neighbourhood store.

Running into Peak

Some events are actually nice to have them, but an actual nightmare when it comes to actually running them. While some events, you think are a breeze to handle until the organizer from your nightmare came alive. One VIP event was one such event that came to past recently and was glad it did. The logistics arrangement was a sheer nightmare. Had to do all the security screening, as some high level officials were gracing the event. It was no doubt, “star/minister-studded”, if I could put it that way. Although it wasn’t a major event, but the background work was time-consuming and even blood sucking to a point, with some people refusing to cooperate and even sneered that I was being troublesome. I guess they just don’t understand that it wasn’t me, but a requirement from the legal departments of the state.

Well, you can’t change the mindset of people, but you can change the attitudes within you. Just have to be thick skin and bite the bullet to get the tasks done. At the end of the day, it was the words of appreciation from the people whom I liaised with that made it felt all so worth it. Some may say words are cheap, actions count. However, it’s the heart-felt words of appreciation that really gave a great deal of satisfaction in my role as a hotel liaison.

The event finally ended and it was by no means, impressive to see so many VIPs lurking in the hotel. All of us were excited, fascinated and wish for more of such events. Nonetheless, I think that one such event in a year is quite enough, considering all the preparation that I’ve to go through.

As if one such event in a week was not quite enough, I had a wedding event where the liaison has been pleasant until the wedding planner from my nightmare (yelp!) came about. One of the first greetings that came from her was: “If I had been their planner from the beginning, I wouldn’t have recommended them to hold it at your hotel!”

So can’t believe these words came blabbing from her mouth. As I quieten down, I started to recall that I had in fact recommended her to my couple. Oh no, what have I done to myself? She continued: “I guess my words probably came as a shock to you. As a wedding planner, I… blah blah blah….”.

Double disbelieve! While trying hard to prevent my jaws from falling, I was literally shouting in my head: “What is going on here?”.

By the power of the Holy Spirit, I managed to force a smile and replied: “Oh no, it’s ok. I’ve worked with wedding planners before. I know.”.

Suddenly, as if realizing I was not being intimidated or stressed out by her demands, she changes her tune and said that I’ve probably worked with number of wedding planners before and have probably done a hundred weddings already. A-hem! Ha…! :) I just kept quiet, smiled and just let her continue talking who she think I am. What followed was a series of arm-twisting and her commenting at how inflexible the hotel was. When the couple arrived, she continued the same demands to put pressure on me in their presence. It must be God doing His work as I managed to remain clam, composed and still personable to my couple. I oversaw the event personally on Sunday, rushing between church and hotel to prevent the planner from doing any tricks up her sleeves. I was glad the event went smoothly. I was literally over the moon when my couple personally thanked me this morning upon their check-out, for all the arrangement I made for them when they were not in Singapore. The warm feeling I felt was something that money can’t buy. They had checked out to return to Japan.

Up and coming would be the series of training programme from a reputable airline (hmmm….. :) ) from overseas whose billing issues are yet to be resolved (alas!). Need the mighty hands of God to move things and perform a miracle. Well… I so love November…. I so love December too….. Need to do more self-talk and prayers to get me through this period. Think I also need to retreat to the beach to read a book or do QT. Just me and God. Ok, this Saturday is it!

Starting Over

It may not always pay to be kind, but we should always do unto others what we would want other do unto us. After the incident when I experienced a backlash despite my niceness, I’ve knowingly and unknowingly drawn a clear line between work and personal matters with my people who work closest with me. Like how one guy in my office always say “don’t be a hero”, I could feel my conviction to make an impact on the people around me dwindling down.

Of course, God always has a way of bring us back to His purpose for us. Just this week, I received a phone call from a client who was very emotionally affected as he just broke-up last Monday. I invited him down for a quick lunch as I also had another lunch appointment after that (yes, 2 lunches a day will do so much benefit to my figure right?). While queuing up at the buffet line, he told me that he and his partner were together for 4 years. He looked at me for a brief moment and then, avoiding eye contact, said very softly: “Actually, I’m... I’m gay…”

I must say I appreciate his frankness. It must have taken a lot of courage from him to tell someone of his (probably open) secret who’s just a business associate. I actually thought of saying: “Don’t worry. I knew it all along.”

Instead, I said: “Gay or not, you’re a nice person.”

As I thought back, I thank God for those words that came out from me because he must have been quite conscious of his gender preference. Although I may not be able to impart Christian values to him at that point of time, I managed to shift our focus on his gender preference to him as a person. Nonetheless, I pray that one day, he’ll come to know God as his personal Lord and Saviour and follow the precepts of God.

Over lunch, he talked about certain terminologies that gays use and was quite candid about his relationship. Although it was not my practice to discuss sexuality over the dining table, I let him talk, as I knew he was still feeling hurt about his break-up. I told him something what a person once said, which I’ve also come to learn it hard myself. I said he must remember that his life does not revolve around one person only. What if something happens to this person? Then his whole world will crumble if his life is only around one person. Instead, his life also involves many others around him, like his family, his friends and some other people who may also need his care, concern and attention. This is the closest to biblical truth that I can advise him at that point of time.

As we parted, I wondered if the lunch and the talking helped him get better and over with his trauma, but I pray that even if he forgets everything we talked that afternoon, he’ll remember not to focus all his energy incumbent, but to shift his attention other things around him that are equally important. Everyone needs to move forward, even when the moving gets tough. Some people may have moved on one step ahead of us, we will eventually need to move on as well, even when it means starting over again, on 1st gear.

Getting back on the feet is never easy, but I think everyone always anticipate seeing the come-back kid. Isn’t it? Or at least I feel so… :)

When the Time's Up, What Have We Accomplished?

Yesterday was the last day of the 7th month in the lunar calendar. Not that I believed any of the practices that entails the spiritual connotation of that month, though I might once have believed in, but it’s always during this period of time that talks of spooks and death is either more popular or a hush-hush topic. Some refrain from such topics for fear that some spooks might follow them home. Well, one word of advise… Don’t imagine too much.

Was listening to one Chinese radio station in a car last evening and was drawn to the topic the DJs were discussing: life after death. I recognized one of the voices to be that of Moses Lim, along with some female voices, they were talking about why some people feared death. Someone suggested that it could be due to the unknown of what actually happens after death that people were terrified of. I think one of them put it very well when she said that we should all live our lives as if we are all tasked to accomplish something in our lifetime. Similar to that of an examination, when the time is up and we have to hand in our papers, have we accomplished what we were meant to do when we set off or have we handed in a piece of blank paper? Hmmm… have never thought about life from that perspective.

Indeed, we do need to see things from a different perspective to sometimes change our point of view. Remembered one part in the animation, Ratatouille, that Antoine Ego wanted to order some “perspectives”, which in the end, did change his perspective about Gusteau’s motto: Everyone can cook. Absolutely enjoyed the movie, besides it being hilarious and frenchy, the story line was also expected and unexpected, as what I’d call it. It’s so clear in my mind that I still felt as if I’ve just watched it yesterday. As a matter of fact, I did watch it not too long ago, like some 5 days ago? Me think Remy certainly beat Mickey hands-down!

Gonna be a long week ahead, with church anniversary celebration and wedding show all over the weekend. Am glad I applied for my off-in-lieu for next Monday. At least can spend a good whole day resting and being at home on my dad’s birthday. Am thinking of asking Mum to make some meat dumplings, “wanton”. Loved eating them and certainly don’t mind helping! :)

Back to the Scene

Yo! It’s been a while since I last blogged. Esther commented after Thursday’s District Meeting, while shaking her head in despair, that my blog has been left on its own for the longest time ever. I replied that Junming’s worse cos he’s still “Part of the Kallang Roar”, in a failing attempt to redeem myself on my lapse in blogging. Poor Junming…. It was only few moments before we passed the “Pi Pa Kao” drink to him cos it tasted really gross. As much as I tried to force the drink down my throat in an attempt to acquire a taste for it, I couldn’t continue doing it knowing that I might eventually throw up my supper shortly after. So, Junming have to take the rap of my “adventure” in tasting. Actually, he’s quite a nice brother…. (hee…. emmm…. : P)

Just before I forget, Happy Teachers’ Day! (belated) Hehe…. There were heaps of Teachers’ Day dinners at the hotel last Friday. Almost felt like “Back to the Future – School Days Chapter”. I was taking care of one and my colleague was taking care of four. All the function rooms on Friday were full and were all taken up by Teachers’ Day functions. Heard that Manjusri held their celebration at one hotel and all 300 had vegetarian! Well, they must be kind to the animals. It was nice to see teachers’ from different schools enjoying themselves and having a good time. After all, it is a tough job for them, made tougher with “helicopter parents” hovering over their children, and this day is set to commemorate their efforts. I've also asked my English Teacher, Ms Agnes Chee, from secondary school for lunch on Saturday, 1 September. It’s amazing we still kept in touch after all these years. I can still vividly remember that she passed me a sweater on the day I was to fly to Brisbane to start my university studies. She said: “I got this from Melbourne and thought it would be good for you cos the lecture halls would be cold…”. Can’t wait to see her… When I spoke to her last Friday to ask her out for lunch, she said: “You still look the same right?” I replied, with a bit of awkwardness: “Yeah, I think so. But after all, I’m already thirty, you know!”. Haha! A pity I didn’t manage to get a picture of her as I forgot my camera when I left home.

These 3 months have been eventful. We had our Malacca Church Camp, where we were dressed up as, well, maids… It’s not such a bad thing cos we can travel light, with only one apron to pack. Fortunately our hotel was so much nearer to the city area this year. We finally had the chance to visit round Malacca during our lull times. The Chendol was indeed worth a try, but I also find it a tat bit too sweet for me. Unlike last year, I didn’t go up on a trip to anywhere in Malaysia after that as my work schedule doesn’t permit.

Of course, much happened after the church camp. There were nice surprises like having that significant other to go out with. No wonder Junming was exceptionally concerned if I’ve been shepherded every week for the longest time I can remember. It was definitely awkward for me as I’ve never imagined going into a relationship could be so structured. When I told my sis about it, she exclaimed: “What? Official? Must go official one ar?! Must sign paper or not? Since it’s official right?!”.

Relax lah! Someone told me that going official in this sense is like a baby dedication in church. It’s just so we have covering in our relationship from the church and the leaders. Think of it as a relationship dedicated to God.

So, no need to sign papers, print thumb prints or do any sort of swearing in. Just …. official. Hahaha! Easy to understand right, sis? If you still don’t understand, you are too complicated! :D

How do you spell your name again?

Colleague got a phone call from a chamber of commerce, which was named after this ethnic group in Singapore, had a caller with a very thick accent trying to leave a message for me.

When asked about how to spell his name, his reply had my colleague enquiring again and again before she finally got it. Now, without scrolling down to see, would you be able to figure out?

WEE-AI-ANN-AY-VAI
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.


His name is Vinay. I must say she's pretty talented in this because I wouldn't have the slightest idea what his name is spelt as. Hmmm... will it help if it's spelt in terms of countries and cities? I wonder...

Misunderstanding or Problem

Will keep this blog short since it’s kind of heavy, which is next to my very first blog when I wrote about my father’s illness. Anyway, here goes…

Friction happens as long as people interacts, even if it’s just 2 people. Hence, communication between people is really important, not only to gain a better understanding but also to iron out differences, if there is any. A long time friend used to tell me that the essence of all relationship is communication. *Hey, I still remember that, Bernard!* That is so true.

Something’s just not going right with good friend and me. Tried my best to want to find an opportunity to talk about it, but good friend seems to be always busy or tired. Oh well, I sure understand how you feel, friend. Waking up at 5am and heading home at 12am for a whole week is enough to make me contend with my bed every morning. *A holier term is called self-denial, right?* I sure stand a chance to wallow in some self-pity and if not careful, depression. Well, in case some people think that people with a gifting in encouragement also have self-encouragement ability, that is baloney (yes, you got it. Baloney, not abalone). I must say I sure need some encouragement, care and concern too. Indeed, time is a precious commodity and what you trade it for will speak volumes of the value of that item. Yet, it’s also not how much time you spend on something that makes it valuable, but also the quality of the time spent.

Well, did good friend and me argue? Well, not quite. Did we have differences? You bet! Big differences, I think. Not communicating is just making that those differences seem even starker. Almost like there are unresolved issues between us. You know, like satay without the peanut sauce, or French fries without first frenching the potatoes. Okay, do I make sense here? Not quite. :S

Anyway, strangely enough, all these happen not too long ago. Now, I’m just like as clueless as Alicia Silverstone. Couldn’t figure it out. Crossing my big 3 soon and…. with the roller-coastal anxiety… I’m just not feeling right. Thank God brother H sent me Phil 4:6 over the week, which I still saved it in my message inbox. It’s a good reminder to cast all my cares to God for He cares for me. With all that stress that’s mounting up, gosh…. It’s so bad for my brain. How do I resolve this? Only by prayer….

What ever that happens, I’ll still sing: God is good, all the time.

Last Unit Event Before Restructure

OK, been quite a while since I last updated my blog. Yes, more than a month and so long that H criticized that my blog is still stuck at Hairy Affair… Oh-kay! … Shall lift my lazy fingers to walk through those keyboards.

New Year come and go, including Chinese New Year. Today, 24 Feb, our unit celebrated the 7th day of the CNY, which is also known as everybody’s birthday. We did the traditional thing of a Lo-Hei get together. It’s probably gonna be the last time we do an event as a unit because come 01 March 2007, our CG will be transferred to another unit, which will not be under the leadership of Cindy anymore. Well, hope we’ll still have good fun together again, even though we are not in the same unit.

Since the end of last year and the start of this year, we had some good fun together, like doing a countdown and seeing fireworks at Sherry’s place, going on a trip to Bintan, seeing fireworks (again) together during eve of CNY at the River Hong Bao, of which we actually did the fireworks at River Hong Bao for the 2nd year. Am already looking forward to next year’s River Hong Bao!
Despite the fact that it would be our last gathering together before the restructuring, not everyone was able to turn up… *sad*. Anyway, I had the honour to cook for the unit’s lo-hei dinner. Although it was a Saturday, I had been up since 6am, worked more than half a day, rushed to a colleague’s CNY gathering, then hurried back to Toa Payoh to do the marketing for the Lo-Hei dinner (pant, pant!) and by the time I reached my sis’ place to cook, it was about 5.30pm to 5.40pm. Am glad I had some clueless-about-cooking but very supportive helpers who assisted me with cutting, soaking, washing, shallow-frying and eventually became the guinea pigs of my cooking. Some of them say good whor… and with such sincerity. I emm… really wonder if they are just being polite. :S I mean, I saw and tasted my own medicine and it is kinda… well... Eventually, we played a game so that the loser get to finish up some of the food. After the game, we were all glad that wastage was minimized.

After today, I’ll certainly miss the time we had as a unit. On the other hand, I do look forward to a time of growth in the new structure that is to happen. Yes, there is a season for everything, as King Solomon puts it in Ecclesiastes, but the Lord has also promised in 1 Cor 2:9 that "No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love him". With such great promises from God, I’m definitely looking forward to planting my feet on higher ground.

The Hairy Affair

Do you solemnly vow to do a new hairdo? Yes, I do.

Yes, that sparked me off to my first visit to the hair salon in the year. The stylist, Gary Lee, whom I go to, has moved from Cineleisure to Novena Square, which is better off for me. So close to home. Applying the theory of ‘Minimalism’, the shorter travel distance and time will mean I get to speed home straight from the salon with the least possible chance of meeting a familiar face, especially if the hair-do turned out to be a disaster.

I made the appointment on Saturday morning and scheduled for an appointment the same day afternoon. The appointment was at 5pm, but I reached Novena at about 3pm. So I shopped and hopped around until it was 4pm. By then, my legs were getting tired and I was getting thirsty again, but was afraid to drink too much water in case it turned out to be a 7-hour “flight time” where the only toilet I get to visit is outside the salon. No way do I want to wear a towel on my head or with curlers attached to it while visiting the loo. That will certainly make me the headline in the Newpaper.

Well, I was glad I arrived there on time cos’ I actually took longer time than Gary had expected he needed to do my hair. They had to do over-time partly because of me. Anyway, before I got started, I told Gary about my weak scalp and don’t know whether to keep it long, keep it short, dye it or perm it. He suggested that I keep it long since I chopped it off last year. His rational: You must have long hair once in a while and short hair once in a while. Otherwise, all your pictures will have you in the same hairstyle! Alright, sounds reasonable enough. I don’t think I want to look that CONSISTENT in my dressing.

The assistant passed me some hair magazines to choose from, but there were so many hairstyles which I really can’t decide. Beside, they all look pretty similar, with all that Jap style. Then Gary pointed to one of those posters and asked me if I am game enough to try it. I turned and (O-mi-gosh!) there was this 2.5m poster of a Caucasian girl with a hair that’s curly, mossy and BIG! I haven’t the slightest idea why he’d think that'll suit me. Maybe that’s what they mean by “envisioning” and “far-sighted”. Well, suppose I really take it on, who knows? I might just carry it off well. But what if I didn’t? It’d be a missile scoring a direct hit on its target. Spot-on!

Sensing that I wasn’t too game to take on the challenge, Gary then described to me a style that was not found in the magazines. He said he’ll have to do heavy layering on my hair, then use two types of curlers for different sections of my hair. Then, with a dainty pose of his fingers, he said in a Malaysian twang: 你一定喜歡的! (Means: You’ll definitely like it) Ok, Gary… since you said it with such confidence, I’ll take it!

When he started layering my hair, my heart dropped bit by bit as he snipped off lengths of hair off my head. The time taken to grow them was just snipped off in a matter of minutes. I also worried if the end result will be “aunty-looking”, as if my youthfulness had any links with those curls. After he was done with the cutting, he applied the ammonia solution to my hair to condition the hair for perming. The supposedly 25 mins took a full 45 mins as Gary said that my hair was “very stubborn”. It was just not responding to the solution. Finally, even after the full 45 mins, Gary had to wash it off as he said that the solution has fully oxidized and leaving it on further will not have any effect on the hair. However, he wouldn’t apply it again as it will surely damage my hair.

Sitting back on the chair with wet hair, the salon assistant asked if I need to go to the toilet as she’s going to attach the curlers to my head and once attached, I can’t move for 45 minutes. With my hair so wet, naahh…. After the curlers were set to my hair, Gary tsaid: “Bring out the monster!”. I thought: Oh no! What’s the monster?

The “monster” was actually the equipment for digital perm. So many terminology for perms nowadays: digital perm, ceramic perm, spa perm… etc. Anyway, the equipment does look monstrous, with cables dangling from all around it. Plus, it even have hooks to lift the curlers up while it perms, so as to achieve the desired effects. One by one, they attached the hooks and the cables to the curlers on my head and left it for about 25 mins and a little longer. Gary said that he had set it at 120 degrees so that it will not be too hot. Sounds to me that it’s little difference from baking pastries.

After the “baking” process, Gary took one curler off and checked. With a smile of relief, he commented: “Your hair finally curled!” Then he started with the spiel again that my hair was “very stubborn”, doesn’t respond to the chemicals and so on. I would say he did a good job and I do kinda like my curls, though I’ve not seen any of it in the magazines.

I was actually quite excited to show case my new hairdo on Sunday but suddenly became rather self-conscious the moment I stepped out of my place. I whipped out my mobile and started calling Qianfang to my rescue. Her role: to accompany me from Centrepoint to church. Qianfang sighed at the fact that I was being so missy. Along the way, met Meihui, who gave good comments on the hair. Phew! No mention of it being “aunty-looking”. The only other person who seemed to notice my hair was Esther. The others just looked at me as if nothing had happened to me, though my hair was very much “messier” than before. I was starting to feel a little disappointed. Final comment of the day was from Cindy. She asked: “Why your curls turn out this way har?”.

Arghh!!! Somebody, quick! Give me a paper bag…!

How do you know you had double happiness without being in a matrimonial occasion?

When you have 2x2 bottles of nail polish, complete with nail stickers, two pots of eye shadows, 2 hand creams, 2 bottles of shower gels, 2 tissue masks, 2 pocket tissue holders, 2 boxes of chocolates, 2 organiser diaries, 2 table calendars and 2 books for Christmas. What is it with the number 2 and me this Christmas? Well, beats me why I’ve got just twice of everything I received over Christmas this year, but I like to think that I had double portion of blessings and twice the supply for my needs. There’s something I don’t need though, putting on 2 additional kgs! A bit hard when I’ve been eating twice the meals everyday, i.e. 2x brekky, 2x lunch, 2x dinner, with 2x snacks in between. Coupled with twice over the amount of rain over the season makes exercising outdoors doubly hard. Need that lazy bone to move on down to the gym before all is too late.

Although it’s been so rainy for the past two weeks, but it was one of the best December I’ve enjoyed. With the Stan Chart run, job change, 2 weddings, birthday celebration, ethnic costume shopping, keeping in touch with my long lost secondary school teacher, pre-Christmas service dinner and the HSBC treetop walk on Christmas eve, it was quite a busy but enjoyable month for me. Of course, there are Christmas dinners and lunches nearing Christmas and the busiest evening for me has to be the Bollywood Christmas, being the only and thus, most sabotaged girl at the table. What ever possessed me to change seats to another table? Becos’ my friend was there? I know, must be the Holy Ghost, cos He has a divine purpose for me there. To be the most “outstanding” girl for the evening? OK, good try, but… nahhh….!

Well, many moons ago, some wise man said that one shall not dwell in past regrets and hurts, but shall move on as life continues. Alright, I forgive all who’s been involved, in one way or another, in my night long sabotage (sniff, sniff, sob sob… God, help me heal!). Jokes aside, it has been a very memorable evening for me. Then, one of the other day that has “feels like eternity” was the HSBC treetop walk. It was a walk that began at 9.30am and ended at about 2.30pm. Oh yeah…. Have not walked non-stop for 4 and ½ hour before…. at least not that I can recall. Meihui’s legs almost couldn’t go on any further while I was getting hungrier each step I take. All the effort’s worth it though, when we reached the bridge for the treetop walk. It’s not often that people get the top of a tree, more so, the tree of a rain forest.

However, the height that we were at made me and Meihui think twice about walking on it, but we haven’t got much of a choice as there were signage everywhere that says “no turning back”. Why did those words remind me so much of a Christian song? So with wobbly legs, we walked on the bridge, holding on to the handles for our dear lives. For Junming? This is nothing to him, man! Why? Probably because he’s army-trained? Anyway, he used to climb mountains and was into extreme sports, so the height and the swinging bridge is chicken feet to him. Hmmm… what can I do if I fear nothing? A potential terrorist, if without God? But with God, probably I’ll be in mid-wifery? Hears my spirit man sniggering: Haha… hee… ho….. nice try… bleah!

Fortunately, it only started to rain and drizzle when it was almost the end of our hike. Christmas eve ended with some knee and ankle ache, but good fun nonetheless.

Early in the morning 5.30am, I got up on Christmas day and wonder why am I up so early this day. It must be my biological clock at work. In any case, I didn’t quite mind it cos’ like an excited child, I started to unwrap my presents. Yelp! On Christmas day, not on boxing day as it has been my practice since I can’t remember. It was a morning filled with joy and excitement as I unwrap each present I received. For many of the gifts, I really appreciate the giver who put so much though into selecting the right gift for me. Some even took the effort in wrapping and even details like doing up their own cards. I really take my hat off some people really do have an eye for beauty and exuberate creative juices in the things they do.

All that unwrapping must have woke Dad up as he got off bed earlier than usual to prepare for his morning exercises. As I woke up way too early and couldn’t go back to bed anymore, and wouldn’t go back to bed in case I overslept for my friend’s wedding solemnization in the late morning, I decided to tidy up a very dusty part of my room. I long to do some spring cleaning in that area as I know it’s been left neglected for an extremely long time. Before long, I was bringing on the vacuum cleaner which the noise woke my sister up. Sorry sis! Not my intention to wake up the whole house early Christmas morning. But, since I am so “free”, I might as well do some spring cleaning and before my shower for the day.

One principle must be applied spring cleaning: in order to clean up the room, you’ve got to be cruel! Yes, things that we really do not need should be fit for the bin and not just keep them for some sentimental values. Items like the Belgian’s university prospectus from the last millennium (when I was still sourcing for the right university to study), some hand puppet which I got from the aircraft during my flying days, some face toner which I’ve left untouched for ages, an unfinished cross-stitch when she was still a maiden, and heaps of dust is also uncovered during the cleaning up. Can’t believe I lived with them for so long.

After I was done with the spring cleaning, I quickly took a shower as I spent longer time than I thought I would at cleaning up and was running a little late for my friend’s slomenization. Fortunately, the ceremony also started late, so I didn’t miss any bit of it. Jamie (the bride) looked a little stressed because the JP emphasized that the ceremony has to start on time as he had to run off to another venue, but there’re friends of the couple that had still not arrived. Oops… guess I was one of the guilty ones who made her delay the ceremony. She said the JP was kinda stern to her and that probably thrown her of a happy mood. When it was over, I told her that the event went well and the JP had made the whole atmosphere quite light-hearted. Eventually, she got over the episode and was enjoying herself during the reception. She’s got a cute grandmother too, whom Jamie actually quitted her job to take care of for a few months. So noble! Where to find a wife like that? Don’t you agree, Mrs Tan? :)

Finally, Singapore's "winter" season has arrived. It's rained and rained and rained non-stop since Sunday and it doesn't show sign of stopping. It's been a long time since I've last seen so much rain in my life. In fact, it rained so much that on Tuesday, the rain fall was the highest in record for the past 75 years. Thomson road on Tuesday itself was also flooded and the flood level was actually up to the shoulders. Although I wasn't there to experience it, but the images on the evening news made me wonder for a moment if I was really in Singapore. Don't think I recall experiencing a flood in Singapore when growing up. The only time I had that experience was when I was still working in Sentosa. Our staff cafeteria was so so flooded with muddy water that we almost couldn't have lunch. In the end, we packed the lunch and we returned to the office with feet so wet, we could rear a gold fish in there.

Although it’s been a grim, grey and wet Tuesday, and, as a matter of fact, the entire week, there was not a day that I felt hungry. All thanks to the great Christmas feasting, which happened for me since the Bollywood Christmas on Saturday, 16 December. Then on Tuesday, I brought my parents to Wan Hao at the Marriot for dinner and on Wednesday, I went for our department’s once a month and compulsory dinner gathering. This coming Friday, we’ll have a Sales & Marketing Christmas gathering at one of the function rooms booked for the event. Goodness…. so much food, I can literally eat with my eyes closed.

All that feasting actually had some sort of a reverse effect on me. I kinda lost my appetite as a result of it. As a matter of fact, I lost my appetite the day after our Bollywood Christmas night. I didn’t feel like taking breakfast and even lunch on Sunday. Even my shepherd noticed that I took the longest time to eat my bowl of slice fish soup noodle. I literally chewed for about 40 minutes and still couldn’t finish my lunch. After that, I basically slept through till Monday without dinner, which was just fine for me. My mother even commented this morning that I seemed to have lost weight. Whoa… I didn’t know that just a few days of losing appetite could have such an instantaneous effect on my appearance. Should I rejoice over it? Think I make use of this time to train up and get toned. In any case, I want to look good and feel good, not just shrivel up like some dried vegetables.

Well, Bollywood Christmas was really fun. With games, prizes, food and dancing throughout the night, all of us enjoyed ourselves that night, visitors and regulars alike. However, I couldn’t really say that the programme outline flowed with the theme. Even though, we were dressed as “chindians” (that’s Chinese attempting to dress up like Indians. Invented, but not recognized in the English vocabulary) and the beginning performance was some Indian dance that sort of began the event, the highlight for the night was actually Latin dance. Hence, it’s in fact more Latino than Bollywood, but nobody really cares cos’ what’s important was, everybody enjoyed themselves and I think that objective was met. The location at The Pines (formerly known as the Pinetree Club) was a good choice and the activities lined up was quite suitable for people our demographics. Hope some of the visitors can also join us for the Christmas service on Saturday, 23 December.

During Christmas, I always get this magical feeling in the air, as if something magical could happen to me too. I really thank God for the past year or so. It was quite a year of breakthroughs for me as I did a few things which I never thought I’d dared. I’ve also accomplished some goals which I’ve set out to do as well as goals that were left unfinished for the past few years. There are still many more breakthroughs which are yet to come and I’m certainly looking forward to it coming to past. So excited!

Meanwhile, gotta finish wrapping the presents before Saturday comes, which is not much time left! *Yikes!*

*Sings* "It's been, one week since I start my work..."

After a month of anticipation and apprehension, I finally began my phase in an international hotel chain. Of course, it's not the first time I'm in an international hotel chain. The Oriental Singapore was a good one actually, but it was a short stint. Then, it was a small luxury hotel on our one and only island resort, which will soon have a casino built on the island. Next move was the woods up the hill (yes, enjoy wood while it's good). Finally, I'm back to an international hotel chain. I'm not all that relieve to be back to such a chain cos' I know that there're certain standard operating procedures (SOP) that must be followed along with the franchise, but I'm just glad to see some system in place. At long last! Somehow, when local owners are too involved, THEY are the system, the law and the rule.... And it change according to the moods of the owners. Gotta see where the wind blows!

Anyway, I believe that was part of the learning curve that the Lord has put me through. Thank you, Jesus! My immediate boss has been nice to me, so far. Well, it's only been but one week since I started. So, maybe her true colours haven't shine through yet. She's a very pretty ADOC, I would say. Apparently, she's my 師姐 (shi1 jie3, meaning senior (female)) from SQ, but have never seen her during my days there. My boss' boss already expecting me to establish my contacts and could almost envision that she'd expect me to close some deals next week. Need to pray for God's blessings and the Holy Spirits guiding to manage the 2 ladies' expectation. Oh yes, and mercy too!

Last Sunday has been an eye-opener for me. It was my first time to Little India! And my friends said that of all days, I gotta choose a Sunday to go. Haha! But I think it was cool as I really get a chance to experience the "fullness" of their culture. Crowded, of course, but kinda fun. I suppose it's not so bad when I've got friends around and they are also game to explore such places. After we celebrated Meihui's birthday at the Japanese restaurant, Waruku, Esther and I shopped around HMV to wait for Junming to finish his duties. It was a 2-hour wait, as we finished lunch at 1pm, but Junming will only be available from 3pm. But it wasn't that difficult to pass time too as there're many albums to listen to at HMV. Found a CD which I think was perfect for the gift exchange in the office. I was just cracking my head about what to get for the Asst. Dir of Marcom as she the person I picked when we draw lots for the gift exchange. Got "The Gift" by Corrine May, which I thought the songs were great, coupled with her voice. I sure hope she likes it.

Finally, Junming finished his duties. We headed off to Little India in his Chevy and you know it's Little India when you see people walking not on the walkway but occupying one lane on the road, not to mention people driving dangerously close at a speed that far exceeded the limit set for the lane. We behaved like tourists that afternoon, amazed at how the stalls were set, at the arrangements of the items and of course, not forgetting the air we breath, which contributed to part of the experience.

We came by this shop house which has the friendliest shop attendant I haven't seen in days. I can't remember since when I received such impeccable service. Not only are they good with their words, they were quite swift to pick up, at least, my likes and preferences and made recommendations to me. They were so friendly that I felt I should buy from them. Although I know for a fact that I probably still look like a big carrot to them, despite the fact that they gave me a "big fat discount", their friendliness was just too hard to resist.

The rest of the arvo was spent sight-seeing, photo-taking and going for "beauty treatment" (Esther had a go for the "hanna" on her hand) and accessory shopping. Oh yes, chinky-chunky accessories are important part of the Indian dressing. It's the fun part of the ethnic dressing, minus the hair oil of course!

Went for Mustafa Centre for the first time in my life. Was so amazed at how the merchandise can be so jam-packed in a departmental store. OK, call me country-pumpkin if you like, but it's an undeniable fact that it is indeed my first time in Little India. Dinner was settled at one of this, I would say, very clean, open concept restaurant in the vicinity. It is very clean, much more than a coffee shop. Again, the friendliness was a draw for us. Went for a "dosai" (pronounced as doh-say) for the very first time, I think. Drank the Lassi with the meal, which was a better experience than when I first tried it in Dubai.

When we stepped out of the restaurant after dinner, we were surrounded with people from all around. Well, what d'ya expect when you're in Little India on a Sunday evening? Esther wanted to try some Indian dessert, which we had warned her that it's very sweet. Nonetheless, we bought a few to try. Our green tea and Ribena tastes as good as plain water after the sweets. After dessert, we decided to call it a day and head for home. The bus stop which I thought my bus was supposed to be at was further than I thought. I had to walk to I can't remember where, to catch my beloved 56 home. My heels broke along the way. Just great... Nonetheless, I really enjoyed myself that evening. Sunday well-spent!

OK, I admit. I've been lazy have been rather busy too, with handovers and training for the Standard Chartered Run. I certainly did not want to just blog once a month. Nonetheless, I'm glad to be back here again. Now that the Stan Chart Run is over, I feel more human now. I can relax on the training, treadmills and any up slope and down slope terrains. BUT!!! My 24hr fat-burning programme shall continue....

Anyway, it was the first time I participated in any "world class" race. For those who know me, I may look like an athelete (Oops... I see some out there having violent objection), or so some says, I am no one close to embracing sports. I can't aim, can't shoot and can't run without panting like a puppy. And yelp! So why on earth have I gotten myself into, signing for the Stan Chart Race? It's actually a challenge I pitch myself against. If the fat lady next door runs a 42km marathon, why can't I do it too? It'll all in the mind, I suppose.

Oh no.... I didn't participate in the full marathon. I think I will really need the ambulance after one quarter of the race. Nope, not even half of it, but AN AWESOME 10KM!!! *ta-da!* :D I was taught at some point of my life, never bite off more than you can chew (though at some point, you probably should, provided it has been God-consulted). Anyway, I have only ran the most, a 12km distance on the treadmill, which was only once, so a 10km run was at least manageable for me.

While waiting for race to start, I looked at the other half marathon, men's 10km and women's 10km runners who were preparing for their long run ahead and they all looked like they could run faster than me. I just told God to sustain me for the distance as I have no intention to contend for position. Nope, nada, not at all. At 6.30am, the half marathoners sped off for their race and at about 6.40am - 6.45am, the first few marathoners had made their u-turn back from Marina South and were back to the Esplanade Bridge for their de-tour to East Coast. Holy molly! The distance they had to cover! They started off at 6.00am and now, in less than an hour, they are already back. Their U-turn point is even further than the 10km runners. That's like 10 km in less than an hour. So amazing! Should call it the amazing race, or amazin' grace... haha!

When the DJ announced the first female entering the bridge back from Marina South and wanted us to give her the loudest cheer, I had a strange feeling that made me almost want to cry. Nope, I'm not a feminist by heart, but maybe it's just that females are often deem as the weaker of the 2 genders and now, the first female after 16 males came back from Marina South, the moment was kinda touching. We cheered as she entered and ran passed us. She was expressionless, maybe concentrating, but she's still amazing.

At about 6.50am, I crossed over to the Women's 10km holding area to get ready for my run, which will start at 7.30am. It was actually better cos the marathoners were closer to us. I saw this guy who was so cool cos when he ran back to the bridge and making his detour, he stopped, pulled out a digital camera, snapped a picture of us cheering before he continued his run. Cool, eh? One lady beside me, after quite a long while, started chatting with me. She asked if those were the full marathoners and I replied yes. Then she said that her husband had also participated in the full marathon, but she still hasn't seen him yet. I told her that I've also friends who participated in the full marathon and I've not seen hide nor hair of them. I also saw one lady running with such a smile on her face. 4 possibilities might have happened: endorphines are working because of the exertion from all that running, elated because we cheered her on, had always ran with a smile on her face or all what's been mentioned. In any case, she looked like a seasoned runner, so not that hard to put a smile on her face as she run. Would be pretty tough for me to move even a muscle on my face after all that exhaustion.

Then, as we moved up a little further to the starting point, I saw my first familar face from among the marathoners. KC Cheang! I shouted his name and gave him a cheer before he continued his race. I started looking out for more familar faces cos' I also know that my ex-GM was running, but I didn't see him, even after I left for home after the event. Just before we speed off, I saw another familar face. An ex-churchmate from the first church I attended. I would never have imagine him running a full marathon too, apart from my ex-GM, that is. Well, size and stature can be deceiving indeed.... I didn't yell out to him as I wasn't sure if he still recognise me and also, we weren't that familar. I also saw some half marathoners, who started at 6.330am, making their way back to Esplanade Bridge for their detour to Nicoll Highway.

*You guys need to take a break from all that reading? Anyway, the saga continues...*

The Women's 10km finally began at 7.30am. I jogged, panted, jogged, panted more and as the music and cheering faded behind us, it was only the pace of the runners that I could hear. Shortly after the race began, we saw some of the half marathoners making their way back to Esplanade Bridge for their detourSome runners started to stop while others continued. I asked God to keep me running and told myself not to give me any reason to stop. As we entered Marina Bay, more people stopped. I admist that it was tough. I was already panting quite heavily, but I still thank God that He sustained me. Along the way, I saw Michael, my CG brother, making his turn from Marina South. The U-turn point feels like eternity to reach, but when I reached it, I knew I was half way through.

As we jogged through Shenton Way, I suddenly had a worry that I might have taken a wrong route and joined some other runners on the other race because around me were the half marathoners. I started to look out for the runners bib and to my relief, I finally found women wearing the same bib colour as me. I also noticed along the way that some people pinned their reasons for running, which include: I run so I can eat more cookies, If I can do it, so can you, Last :), It runs in the Family... Among which I saw one lady, dragging along with a tyre tied round her waist with drink cans tied to the tyre, making quite a bit of noise. As I ran closer, I realised the statement she was making: to ask drivers to slow down their speed. I cheered her on and continued my run, but I wonder what made her want to make that statement. Perhaps someone she knew had been involved in an accident? Whatever it is, I give credit for her determination and courage for making the statement. I also saw one lady who had full make-up running the race.

When I neared the finishing line, the cheering and music was becoming audible again and I was really glad that it was going to be over soon. I started to pick up my speed and when I saw the finishing line, I just gave all I had left and made a dash at the finishing point. Feels really great to make it for the race. "And we see a winner! At position.... ", I don't know yet. But that's not important. What's important is, I completed it! Yay! My first 10km race in my life. I even got a medal for completing the race.

While looking for my "runspirator", Qianfang, I met Junming along the way. He was limping along the way. He took part in the half marathon and his knee just gave in after 10km and had to walk for the rest of the race. He was kinda disappointed that he couldn't run the entire race. Nonetheless, he's still a "winner"! Cos' he crossed the finishing line.

I'd never thought it would be so fun. I even met an old classmate from primary school. It was her first time running in the Stan Chart Race too. It was like an old friend's reunion at the Stan Chart Race. She said she'll take part next year too. So cool! Looks like I'll have to train for next year's race again soon. Shall I be more ambitious and go for the half marathon? Anyway, shall see how my training goes.....

I'm glad a couple of my friends actually read my blog and find it still readable. However, when I gave them my blog name, or the web address of my blog, first comment was: Why such a long name? "Why har? Why leh?" (Sigh... why the sky so high?)

Now time for the explanation. When I started the blog, "benedicte" was taken, "bene" was taken, "benie" was taken and I believe "bunny" was also taken (though I wasn't thinking of using that name). Anyway, point is that all the string of nicknames related to my own name, along with those that people used to call me, were already taken. So, what to do? What to doo...?

Then I remembered this song called "The Name Game" that goes something like: Shirley, Shirley bo Birley Bonana fanna fo Firle, Fee fy mo Mirley, Shirley!

And then, I also recalled that someone used to sing my name using this song and I thought, why not? So, there you go.... "Bene (Benie) Bene bom Bene, bonana fanna fo fanie, fee fy mo manie, Benie!" Cool eh? Sometimes, I surprise even myself...!*giggles, laugh, laugh...*

Anyway, I believe that after this blog, after some time it's been published, when it's been archived, 某年某月的某一天, someone will still ask me some day: why such a blog name? (sings: one fine day...~)

Hmm... must put this explanation somewhere conspicuous so I can save on repeating it. Meanwhile, gotta consult some IT gurus or some Internet savy smarties to improve my blog page.

Anyway, just made one discovery today. Out of boredom, I did a search on my own name and lo & behold! I saw my testimony online! The best part was, it was the first on the list of search results! AM SO PLEASANTLY SURPRISED... :D Saw on the pdf file that it was dated 25 July 2005. However, I knew I gave that testimony in church like some 3 years back? Anyway, didn't expect to see it online. Sooo... happy! It reminded me once again of the importance and purpose of tithing. Mustn't rob God of His tithe.

http://www.hopesingapore.org.sg/breakthrough/documents/
Trusting%20God%20In%20A%20Tight%20Spot_27July.pdf#search=

Well, what a lovely way to end my day! :)

Woo... wee.... my 1st blog. OK, always a 1st time for everything. Frankly, not sure if it's gonna be exciting, not even sure if I'm actually going to let the whole world read what I'm writing.

Anyway, why did I want to start blogging? Well, I must say I have this strong urge to want to praise God, shout out to the whole wide world about how grateful I am to Him when He healed my dad recently. Dad has always been healthy. No major illnesses, exercised every morning, watched his favourite 早安您好 every morning. It was one Sunday that we realise he was suffering from internal bleeding. I must say I was really scared that I would become an "orphan" (aw-right, not an appropriate use at this ripe old age). I was afraid I won't get to see him again and worst of all, don't get the chance to tell him the things I want to tell him.

Anyway, am so so so... glad dad's well again and he's beginning with his morning exercises, amidst the haze, fog, pollution, etc...

Well, the other thing that really prompted me to write a blog is from my mission trip from Hope Sibu. I met some really nice bunch of people in Hope Sibu. I must say they have such a pure heart, uncomplicated, but not simple-minded.

The brothers and sisters there were kind enough to let us stay in their place and even availed themselves to drive us around. The sisters stayed at Lingna's place while the brothers stayed at Charles' place. Lingna's was really good to us. She boiled some herbal drink for us and even prepared breakfast for us. Hope Sibu's brothers and sisters accompanied us for the few days we were around. Felt more like a holiday than a mission trip. Almost dread going back to Singapore.

Journey back was another story. We managed to catch what we thought was the last coach from KL back to Singapore, but when we were in JB's coah terminal, the driver actually came up with some excuse saying that his workmate didn't turn up and hence couldn't bring us back to Singapore. He returned us $20.00 ringgit and asked us to take No. 170 back to Singapore. I was filled with disbelief, but what can we do? Just gotta do as what deemed fit. Lotsa walking, chasing after the bus, squeezing to get on the bus. Plus, I think I might have shrank cos my trousers seemed longer than it was two years ago. So I kept stepping on it on my way back to Singapore. My goodness... I shrank! Or did I? I hope it's not a sign of aging? Or was it osteoporosis? Gotta do more stretching exercises and take more calcium supplements.

Can't wait for the rest to send me the photos from the trip. Err... I didn't bring my camera, so just gotta wait. So guys, please hurry.... :S