December updates (1)

Right, now where was I..

Oh yeah, some updates.
I now find blogging a chore, it's rather tiring. Unless I feel I have something that I can't contain, and I decide to blog it here rather than in lj. Haha.

Yet another long post. Means fewer people will read (:

National Chinese Music Competition 2008

I went to support Jake and Brian on their pipa for the pipa youth category, with Lukas and Irvin. Peiyan was there with her other friends. She seems to know everyone in the Chinese music community O_O I remember heading to Marina Square's food court with Lukas and Pei Yan after that, spending a lot of time talking till the place was half empty.

Well basically all the participants sounded good to me. Haha. Apart from a few which really could have been better. There were different arrangements of that dragon boat piece they had to play... and I prefer Brian and Jake's, may be because I've heard it so many times before, other arrangements did not sound as good. Ahhh whatever.

Really thought Brian could have gotten into the finals, but he didn't. He spent a week going into depression because of that -.- Jake did get into the finals though. He didn't get top 3. Still, both worked very hard, and they're winners. To me, that is. awww.

I also went for the ensemble finals. This time with the rest of the CO. The only person I knew who was in one of the ensembles was Chun Yang. I recognise another guy as well, but will not say who. The finals for this fell on a Saturday afternoon, and Pei Yan managed to convince Ms Too to cancel sectionals so we can go watch the ensembles, said it's a good learning experience.

It definitely was!

They were so good, I kept drifting off to sleep every now and then. I look at their xianyues, and then ACCO's, and I shudder. There's still time, there's still time. We can have a prayer meeting for the Christians in ACCO... pray for the recruitment, SYF, people, ... there's so much! Good idea, but whether it will be carried out or not, I have no idea. Lol.

I was more awake when the 3 percussion ensembles played. It was more entertaining, all their rhythmic stuff. I thought Chun Yang's group did fabulous but I was wrong. They got 3rd :(

Handbell Gathering for the Class of 2007

I went there after the percussion finals. Was VERY early, went to meet Ling Ying and Man Ling first. I don't like walking around Orchard Road alone okay, I'm afraid of losing my way. I did lose my way that day, I couldn't find Cineleisure -.- call me noob. Go ahead.

Basically everyone was there, all but Preethi :( She couldn't make it at the last minute!! We went to Pasta Mania for dinner, where LY and Hui Ling were constantly looking out for 'cute guys' or something like that. Oh my goodness. Ling Ying was messing up her food and being unglam. NO change after all these years, TSK TSK. Ethel went to Plaza Sing instead of Cine, and we were all laughing at her when she arrived LOL.

The plan was to catch a movie after dinner. I wanted to catch Twilight real badly!! It was sneak previews then. And all the seats were sold out. We were debating whether to watch a movie or go play pool. Since time was not on our side, went for pool... had to borrow Ethel's Elmo sweater cos I was in school attire. College skirt and collegiete with ACJC printed across my uh, chest. Christabel had to go first, she had to leave Sg early for Malaysia (hey, me too, man!).

I didn't play, I just watched the rest play. Theodora was watching with me. The 3 Lings and Ethel took so long to clear one game. tsk. I went on observing them and people from other tables.
Then Theodora left too :( but I stayed though I knew my luggage was not even half-packed. hahah, cos' I don't get to see them very often, so just stay longer lor. We started cam-whoring after that -.-

(Finally, some pictures, not paragraph after paragraph of text. Be glad.)Don't know exactly what time I got home, all I remember is that my dad was nagging at me to pack my luggage and get to bed.

Penang trip

For this trip, my family went with Uncle David Chan's family. That meant Jia Yan too! I was pretty excited for the food and shopping, but shopping was a disappointment. I mean, their clothes aren't something you'd want to wear. It's just me, maybe. I'm particularly choosy when it comes to clothes and Singapore still wins hands-down when it comes to style! All I bought was white jacket which I like(d) very much though it was a little more expensive.

Day 1.

The journey there was like, >.< . We set off while the sky was still dark. Dropped by KL because my dad had to pass some stuff to his staff in the KL office. So since we were there, my dad suggested we go for the "best bak kut teh" in Malaysia. Yeah, it was really good. The soup was tasty. I'm not very concerned about all that meat. HAHA. I just eat what I can and enjoy the soup (: Caleb (Jiayan's youngest bro) spilled his drink at my family's table -.- Hyperactive, I'd say. Lawl. Group photo below. (M'sia photos from facebook)
Then we kidnda got lost in KL and my dad had to get another one of his staff to come and guide us out -___- Wasted a lot of time! We reached Penang in the evening. Uncle David got lost.. somehow the walkie talkies didn't work properly and he made a wrong turn. Took him a long time to finally drive to the hotel, Krystal Suites.

Loved the rooms! Apart from the small bathroom and the bedsheets which didn't smell very nice.
Dinner that night was at a hawker centre where they sold super cheap + good food. The fried kuay teow, the oyster ommelette, ...!!!!

Of course that came with a price. I had a slight stomachache the next day and had to make frequent trips to the restroom while shopping. I kept farting too. I ate less than half my dinner that evening. Totally no appetite! Had to swallow 1.5 tubes of po chai pills too to ease the discomfort.

Thankfully, the pain didn't disturb me too much while we watched Bolt at the cinema after dinner. That movie's SO cute!! The best thing was that tickets were cheap cheap cheaper than Singapore's. Their cinema seemed very normal too, so I'd say it's more worth your money to watch movies in Malaysia than here in Sg.

Day 2's breakfast was at a prata shop near the hotel, which my dad claimed had the "best prata in Penang". Lunch was at that mall (can't remember the name), Pizza Hut! Again, food's cheaper there, slightly over RM100 for ELEVEN people. It's considered cheap okay!


Day 3.

Checked into some beach resort.

I'm sleepy, I wanna sleep soon, after QT. Outrageous, check out the time. I'm turning into a second Sophia! Sorry will reply all your tags in the next post (:

Dear God,
thank You for loving me. I know that I'm created to be somebody, not a nobody.
Thank You for putting so many people in my life - friends, family, teachers, leaders - without them, without YOU Lord, I would not be where I am today.
Thank You for sending Jesus to die for my sins so that I may have eternal life, not death.
Did I mention.. thank You for loving me? Cos' that's the whole point of this post.

My Hope Sg

I missed the My Hope party with BFC. Never mind, cos' there's one being held at home right now. My family's playing host, everyone's in the living room and I'm here blogging in the dining room.

Some BFC peeps came over for awhile just now..

Honestly, I was a little nervous for my dad when he started sharing about his life, his own testimony. I thought it was a little awkward for him to share in front of his ex-classmates and their wives cos' they were all looking at him with "why are you doing this" written across their faces. But he managed to do it anyway and...I must say I'm proud of my daddy for mustering that courage to share.

Of course, my mum shared too. Then this other uncle and auntie who're Christians shared their own testimonies. Then the adults started talking and discussing about Christianity, about people and why they wanna become Christians, why they don't, about temples and how guanyin was actually an Indian man and then somehow he became a she, etc. It was really quite interesting.

I never knew this part of my parents' story whereby my mum wanted to go to the medium/temple to pray but my dad refused, and she was upset when her grandmother died and my dad refused to even hold the joss sticks.

Cool.

I don't even know what my story is. I only remember singing a song in church camp during the childrens' programme when I was in P2 or P3, it goes like,

Into my heart
Into my heart
Come into my heart, Lord Jesus
Come in today, come in to stay
Come into my heart, Lord Jesus

Then I just started crying and I didn't even know why I was crying. Nobody else knew about it, no one but myself. Cool huh. God touches the little children too.

Ok, I have to blog about my Penang trip and the handbell outing and the NAC competition thingy. Lol.

Yesterday, Beetsma, Amelia, Sheena, Claire and myself went to Fish & Co. for lunch. Sort of like Amelia and Beetsy's birthday lunch. But we didn't tell the waitress about the birthday thing! What a waste!! I so wanted to see how it's like when they stand on the chair and all that. Tsk.

The town area as covered in a blanked of cool air from the rain.. which clearly has its advantages and disadvantages. Haha! We took a 2-stop train ride to Orchard from Dhoby Ghaut and walked around Far East, then had dinner there. $$$$$$

Nothing beats a girls' day out (:

I was so preoccupied with being with my girlfriends that I forgot D's birthday even though I made it a point to remember it. Ouch >.<


I want the green/grey dress from This Fashion! :(

It all happened so fast. A day barely passed and arrangements were already being made for a gig which got me involved O_O Pressure, pressure.

Lets Go Academy

This year's youth camp was held from 6-8 Dec.

I could only go after the CO combined practice.. even so, I left the school later than intended because of some score matters... which explained why I only arrived in church at 4 plus, in the midst of worship. That was session 2.

I didn't have to wait till Holy Spirit Night to see God move mightily among the youths.
I stepped into the L4 auditorium and I could feel God's presence, almost immediately. I was just singing and the tears were making their way out of my eyes... It was very different from any other service. I knew at once that this camp was gonna be unique.

It was.

Unique, because the first night's accommodation was not in church. All the campers were split into groups then further split by gender into homes of various church members in Hougang. Others stayed at what they call the church's 'satellite centres'. The 17- and 18-year-old girls slept at the centre with the gym and cafe (forgot which block) which was, according to our youth pastor, one of the best and most comfortable. (: Sophia and I were the last to sleep.

Unique, because the next day we did not go for main service or have another session with a pastor/young adult leader standing in front of us with a mic, but we watched a video with Pastor Daniel telling us the story of how we acquired the different void deck spaces and shophouses. Here's a summary: each time a door closes, another one is opened for us. Each time something impossible bothers us, God changes that to make it possible. I'm sure we all remember the MCYS part. Haha, it's like He sends the grant to us through them.

Unique, because the groupings this time was not like putting random people of all age groups together. My group was my cell group (: and we had Doreen and Joe as leaders. They're awesme(:

Unique, because this camp focused on community penetration (CP). Each group came out with a project of their own and was given $50 to aid the carrying out of the project.
To do CP we need a soft heart, one full of compassion for the lost souls out there. (Which brings me to something that bothered me a little. I wouldn't refer to the residents as 'poor' because I live within the CP area as well and a lot of families here definitely do not fall into the 'poor' category. So that word stirred up some form of uneasiness.)

Unique, because how often do you see community work being incorporated into a camp?



In view of that decision, that promise to try to be nicer to some friends, I had to ask God to take away the pride and prejudice (lol Austen) I had in me. Start small, though in this case small is challenging. So imagine my surprise at how during the week I actually found myself defending the name of someone who wasn't around physically, someone people preferred to shun. It wasn't that difficult. I can do this. I can sit out of gossips too. I can I can I can.

I will accept people the way they are, and remind myself that everyone has a place in God's kingdom. They don't deserve hostility from us no matter what kind of impression they may leave on us, no matter what kind of explosive reactions they may trigger.

I'm going to display the right level of enthusiasm for the new J1 recruitment next year. Suddenly it feels as if I'm made to contact all those who're interested and ra-ra them into joining CO. Instead of becoming weary, I shall turn it around.. I'm not doing this simply because it's a duty, I'm doing this out of love. I'm helping whoever I can, even the new girl who's about to join my section.. suddenly I feel like a senior all over again, giving advice and sharing my experiences. Oh wait I will be one in less than a month.


I thank Joe and one other female leader for praying for me.. it's always nice to have someone pray for you, something I can't really describe...

BFC was very very very united in all aspects (spiritual included), which made it so touching I wanted to cry. We have to be on our guards now, because the stronger we are, the more likely it is for the evil one to make us a target.

Messed up world

The world is in chaos.

I'm getting dizzy from all the reports in the papers.
(need more Twilight news! hahaha)

The End is drawing nearer? Perhaps.

Jia Yan's birthday; Standard Chartered; Hilary's choir concert; Xi Ying's concert

My parents made plans to go to Penang, Malaysia, 2 weeks from now. Uncle David's family will be going with us too! That measns Jia Yan too, yay!! I'll have a shopping partner for the trip (: And maybe we'll catch Twilight there too!

I bet a small portion of the total revenue earned from Twilight (the movie) tickets in Malaysia actually come from Singaporeans who simply cannot wait till 18 December. Just wonder if this will affect Singapore's (weekend) box office?

I got the soundtrack today(: am pleased with myself!

Now for last week's activities - ugh no, I haven't been studying. The guilt is starting to settle.

Tuesday night, 25 Nov, Jia Yan's birthday BBQ

Haha, it was that girl's turn to hit 17. Fellow OLM/BLG friend (:
BLG was at her house for a barbecue, so were her ex-classmates Alynn LinYi Lizzie Joanne, her ahem ahem Shawn, her cell mate Derrick, and her current school friends whose names I don't know. It was a little weird to have the different groups of people together at the same time because we weren't very sociable or approchable.

Ok, we PL lites did talk a bit among ourselves. The guys talked among themselves too. Derrick felt a little out of place but was at ease with the guys and OLM I guess. I think the birthday girl enjoyed herself (: But it was a pity that nobody stayed over at her house.. she had intended it to be a sleepover. I would have if I could!

There was a lot of cam-whoring. Typical PLite.

Wednesday/Thursday 26/27 Nov, Standard Chartered Singapore Marathon Race Kit Packing

That was my first time doing such a thing, and boy, it was tiring!

Claire and I went to expo hall 7 to do this with other youths and a few aunties and one old uncle. The first day was HOT as in WARM and well, like madness. We took about 5 hours to pack 300 packs each. Absurd. Then for the next 150 sets we were rushing them through like mad, like it was some kinda competition. After that it was labour work, transferring stuff into the drawers, carrying them to be slotted into the drawer frames and then recording the number of the first and last bibs on the drawer. I perspired. Yucks. That was a long day, but we got $20.

Then we went to walk around hall 4 with the John Little sale, took a really long time exploring that place. And to the airport for dinner.

The second day was pretty much the same, just that we did things a lot faster and got more packs packed. Again, we went to to hall 4, then to Bedok's macs for dinner. Yay. Another $20.

That's two full days with Claire. OME. (oh my Edward ;)

Friday, 28 Nov, TJC/SAJC/SASS Choir Concert

Xi Ying and I went to support Hilary by turning up at TJC. Fiona was supposed to come, but she didn't go in the end!

I think the concert was like, okayyyyyyyy, nothing much. Sorry! Maybe it would have brought out a different kind of effect and feeling if it was held in another location, like a proper concert hall. It's like how we refused to have Spirito in LT4. I think I was too busy observing the choir members than paying attention to the pieces they were singing! I didn't understand what they were singing--apart from Amen, Yesus, and the christmas carols.

Hilary was being SO Hil. So not feminine enough.

I saw Marcus there! My classmate, who looked like he had makeup on with his black shirt-and-berms ensemble.

We went to the Bedok hawker centre for dinner/supper.. I'm determined to go back there again, the food is so good!!

Saturday, 29 Nov, CO Practice and Xi Ying's Concert

The attendance that day was pathetic to the max, really, I wanted to go up to Ms Too and beg her to cancel the practice. Tanbo - 2; Xianyue - 4; Percussion/Yangqin - 3; Guanyue - 5; Cello/Bass - 0. So there you go, 14 ppl for combined prac. Fantastic.

It was more of a chit-chat session with the conductor, then he ranted about how awful Scenic Jiangnan is, we laughed a lot at Ken, and.. surprisingly, we could play luanyunfei with a CO that small.

Serene, Janet and I stayed behind till 5.30, sort of doing stock check for scores. We took out the 3 drawers full of scores, but couldn't put them back -.- Thankfully, the guys Lukas Irvin and Michael were there (finally BEING guys), so Luke and Mike were at the forefront of the Battle of the Drawers.

Then I made my way down to City Hall MRT to meet Alexia and Joyce Lee, where we proceeded to VCH and met Fiona and CS there. Helped Xi Ying with her makeup (:

That concert is an annual one put up by Edvox Musix School.
Unlike normal concerts, this one does admit children below 6 so it didn't feel like concert because the kids' short attention span leading to the whining they made which pretty much interrupted the concert. The kids on stage were really cute, prancing and fidgeting about..

Of course, Xi Ying was great! Her first piano solo! So proud of her (: The rest of us who were sitting in the audience were too. Haha, Joyce (Lee) got so excited she tried to take pictures when it wasn't allowed.

The concert ended on a high note with their orchestra (purely strings + a bit of percussion), which was interesting. I personally liked the cello's Minuet in G (if i remember correctly) and, gaah, basically all the classical pieces that night.

It was dinner/supper again, this time at Macs!
Got home at 11 plus. Yawns.

Sunday, 30 Nov, Expo with XY and Jace

Yeah, we 'shopped' at the John Little sale.. Spent the most time lingering at the lingerie section, followed by the women's clothing. Wooooh. They really SHOULD have fitting rooms!
All of us bought something in the end, queuing at the killer queues at the cashier.

Dinner/supper was at Subway. I'm craving for it now. Mmmm.

Leadership Opportunities in ACJC

I've thought about this a few times before, but never actually got down to blogging it.

I've been really busy ever since I entered ACJC, I guess that's good and bad. Back in PL, I was never a leader. I was a peer lite in sec 2 (useless, really) and then in sec 3 where we'd conduct PC lessons for the sec 1s for a term. I've never been in the class committee, neither did I hold any significant position in my CCA. Just subject representative in secondary school, nothing else.

Then I came into AC. They weren't kidding when they talked about all-roundedness.
For the leadership part, which was something new to me since I never exactly got the chance before. This year, I was subject rep (for math.. i got sabo-ed), in the class comm (treasurer - chased for sports complex fees), in the CO comm (score librarian). Being in this CCA was like an express promotion in terms of CCA post/position.
(like, level rep in sec 4 (who really had NOTHING to do, that title was just there to make it sound like SOMETHING - come on start rolling your eyes), to part of the committee in JC (they even made me do much more than manage people's scores, no kidding).)

I guess this is sort of like a blessing in disguise.. leadership's never my thing, but God provided the opportunities here in my current school. I didn't have to volunteer for anything like I had to for the peer lite thing, they just came looking for me.

Just need a heart of gold, and guidance from above as I continue to serve now...