my cat ate my hamster

2008- the year that will never return

2009-01-05T03:05:00.016+10:30

As a picture speaks a thousand words, here are some of my highlights for the wonderful year 2008, looking through my digital picture's folder.

Birthdays

Everyone celebrated their special day with style

OCF

Friday nights were never the same with OCF, not to mention Easter Camp, Convention, and UniSA ALPHA dinners

Friends & events

Lab chocolate outings, Jack Johnson concert, Earth Hour candlelight, Toys R Us Star Wars midnight sale, movie nights, Royal Adelaide Show, bowling, parties, Wii/PS3/Xbox... Or just hanging out with pals

Trips and conferences

Visiting beautiful Paris & San Diego, and science conferences

Weddings and engagements

Congratulations to the newly weds as well as engaged couples!!

CatS

My dear Amber, and introducing Tiger, OJ, Tou Tou, Tiger 2, OJ 2

But the pictures that made my heart ache the most, were those of my family back in Malaysia and Singapore, whom I miss tremendously.

I love you all. Very much.

Thank you everyone, for being part of my life in 2008.

Delirious!?

2008-07-30T01:24:00.005+09:30

Over a series of wonderful things happening in my life the past few days, I was in such delirium and could not stop grinning! It felt like the sun has once again risen after a long, long dark night!!

On Saturday, Ruby and Samuel graciously bought a wonderful large blue sofa from a garage sale, replacing our old (cat tormented, burnt...) sofa!! Woohoo!! =D
Then on Monday it was frosting since midnight!!

Adelaide hit a record cold 0oC the next morning, and everywhere was frosting till even 9am! I was too excited playing with frost I didn't feel cold at all! =D

And when I went to lab, I was greeted by my new baby and 'lifeline'- introducing Elle TreeBee (serial no L3B8626), my new personal uni computer!! A dashing 2 GB RAM, 200 GB memory (including backup drives) brand new squeaking IBM PC!!! No more carrying laptop to uni!! =D

Ruby and Samuel have returned safely and have started a very exciting brand new chapter in life and church. The missions team Too Much Basil safely back in Adelaide. Timothy Chan's visit, Kok Hwa (Tan) and Mindy's return... Man! Adelaide suddenly is the MOST HAPPENING place for me, as EVERYBODY's BACK!!!!! =D
One happy event after another, one more blessing and one more sunshine. I was in complete delirium the past few days. Bring it on God!!! Thank You so much!!! =D

Speaking of being delirious, on a sadder note, UK gospel band Delirious? has formally announced that they will split the end of next year... :(

Enjoying the loneliness

2008-07-20T16:28:00.006+09:30

Crumpy (my new Crumpler bag dear Ah Lu gave me as my bday present) and I were able to travel to Melbourne for half a day. It was a lonely journey, and it was not the first journey of such for myself. But this time, prepared, I was able to enjoy the short trip fully, and change my opinion of Melbourne a lot.

I used to hate the trams in Melbourne. Yes, they are very convenient, but coming from Adelaide, I was not used to the stations in the middle of the road nor the coins-only ticketing machines. Thanks to the new tram in Adelaide, I was more confident in waiting in the middle of the road (still almost got hit by cars as did not check the roads once I got off a tram once...), and stashed up coins for the trip. When one is fully prepared, hey, trams are actually a very good way to go around!
It also feels so much like a 'city' in Melbourne. Tall buildings, people everywhere, and beautiful old buildings admist modern famous architectures.

The weather was, well, unpredictable. At first, I wonder why some people still held their umbrellas up even when there is no rain. I later found out the hard way- rain comes and stops so suddenly, and hence you must always have an umbrella ready at hand. Or after a while, you just hold your umbrella up regardless, knowing in a few minutes it will start pouring again. That is, if the wind do not turn you into Mary Poppins first, flying away in the breeze.

And what would a trip to Melbourne be without the famous Krispy Kreme?? Hmm... There are SO many stores now open around Melbourne. And with a discount coupon (found in the store), not too expansive a all- AUS$2.70 for coffee and a donut. And for all you sceptics, yes, there ARE Krispy Kreme stalls in the Melbourne airport at all terminals, though the stalls are much smaller than in the city and with less choices of donuts.

And it was bugging me, why are they called donuts?? Dough-nuts? Did they used to come with nuts? Why not dough-holes, ie "doles"??

Before I knew it, my 3 hours in Melbourne was at an end, and Crumpy and I embarked on our return journey back to quiet ol' Adelaide.
I realised, that it is not the place that you visit (though it helps) that makes a place wonderful, but your heart and attitute towards it. Every place/city/town WILL have something that you like and is memorable to you, whether it be the shopping, buildings, wildlife or the people. If one could look deep into the heart and soul of a place, they could find something they like. And all along the way, in rain or shine, I can feel God smiling down at this little girl finding her way around the busy streets.

And I'm beginning to love it, after so many trips alone.
The lonely traveller. Alone, but never really alone.

A wedding fit for a "match made in heaven"

2008-07-10T21:33:00.016+09:30

My dear cousin Lulu just got married to Kenneth Dendroff on 5th July 2008 in a fairy tale wedding worthy of many tales, but here let a picture say a thousand words.

I was deeply honoured to be part of the bridal entourage.

This was one of the most personal, well-thought, heart-warming, funny weddings I've ever attended! When the groom came to pick up the bride, the groom and groomsmen were made to dance the Macarena on the streets

Find then eat sweet (normal sweets), sour (sour plum), bitter (bittergourd), spicy (cili padi) food

Then lastly, yell out a series of promises stuck on the steps. Kenneth was also given Lulu's room key frozen in tamarind juice (very sour), and made to suck on it to get the key. (Kenneth later commented that the juice was "rusty key-flavoured")

Then, Lulu was led out of her room into the limosine

And back to Kenneth's apartment, where the traditional tea ceremony was held, and Lulu changed into a stunning baju kebaya.

Amidst the stares of many apartment residents, once again the newly-weds return to Lulu's (now in a marvelous golden cheong sam) house to perfrom the traditional tea ceremony.

Then it was off to breath-taking Shangri-La Hotel.There, Lulu walked down the aisle to a beaming Kenneth during the solemnisation event by their church, New Creation Church Spore's pastor.

After that, guests were treated with a beautiful 3 course meal at the grand ballroom, finishing with a dessert buffet. Lulu wore I think the best wedding dress I've seen ever! A stunning red dress fit for a glowing bride.

As for me, I got to wear a custom-made bridesmaid polo top

And a tailor-made bridesmaid dress for the evening

My family were involved in the preparation by baking cookies

And tidying the olive oils that were given as door gifts to the guests.

All in all, a very memorable, day of fun, joy, tears, blessings, and love.

Congratulations, Kenneth Dendroff and Lulu Tan Yunru!! May God bless both of you till OVERFLOWING, and may you fulfill His unique destiny for you in this NEW chapter as man and wife!

In loving memory

2008-06-25T13:07:00.003+09:30

In loving memory of OJ (Orange Juice), who left us on 24th June 2008 of (yet) unknown cause.

OJ is also known as the "Chinese/Oriental cat" as she have very sharp, pointy eyes. Amongst the second batch kittens Dou Dou and Tiger, she was the one who loves humans most, and would let you carry and hug and often fell asleep in your arms. She loves Ruby the most, and is often the attention seeker.

We would dearly miss her.

Happy bday James & Ken!

2008-06-21T17:36:00.005+09:30

Happy birthday James & Ken, who celebrated their birthday (although last minute) with a party to remember, themed "wierd cloth accesories".

And the birthday boys being forced to drink celery, bitter gourd blend. :S

Happy birthday again boys! Thank you so much for inviting us over!!

ACH2 meeting Barossa Valley

2008-06-09T17:31:00.008+09:30

I had the previlage of attending the annual Australian Centre for HIV and Hepatitis Research meeting which was held in Novotel, Barossa Valley this year. 10 people from my lab attending and presented at this conference, gathering all (if not most) of HIV, hepatitis B virus (HBV) and hepatitis C virus (HCV) researchers and students under one roof.

Novotel being a 4 star hotel was simply stunning! Beautiful rooms and heavenly scenery.

I also got a chance to stretch my muscles in the gym, after almost a years absence... :p
Food was also simply fantastic! Besides the buffet meals in the hotel, we had a special dinner amidst the wine barrels of delicious wood oven pizza and dancing to bush band music.

Conferences for me are like a special retreat, and I look forward to it dearly. Besides getting to meet researchers from all over Australia and learning about the latest research (which should be the main reason), what I love is the wonderful food we were fed (breakfast, morning tea, lunch, evening tea, dinner, supper...), as well as spending great time with my fellow lab mates.

I guess this is one of the things I'm enjoying as a PhD student in a scientific research laboratory. Despite the awful long hours and stressful work, research is international and we do not need special qualifications to work anywhere in the world. The people in a laboratory are also (generally) friendly, as there are no competitions to out-perform anyone. Everyone is there for the "love of science" and to hopefully help mankind with our work.

I thank God I had the chance to attend this beautiful conference. And looking forward to another conference in La Jolla, San Diego, USA!!

Happy 21st Jez!!

2008-05-09T02:24:00.012+09:30

Jezamine trully celebrated her 21st with style: dressup party with the theme "Fictional characters that Jez knows". In other words, can come dressed up as anyone (or anything) from cartoons to movies (Cheryl actually came as a character from a joke...).

And what a crazy, super fun night it was!

My pictures really do not do the night justice. The range of characters that turned up at the door was so diverse. From cartoons there was: Pooh Bear, Tinkerbell, Esmeralda, genie, snow queen, Wilma Flintsones, Captain Hook, Death Note Inspector L, Minnie mouse, Bob the Builder, Johnny Bravo, Inspector Gadget, "Black-ilocks". TV series: Great Teacher Onizuka, a doctor... Movies: Mary Poppins, Jack Sparrow, Alex from Flashdance, Zorro, Supergirl, MIB, Phantom of the Opera, Pocahontas, cat woman, Leon the Professional, Merlin, Darth Vader, Obi-Wan Kenobi, Spiderman... Other general characters include: witch, fairy, tree fairy, gangsta boys, cow-girls, lame guy, "guy who fell from first floor", Playboy bunny, Japanese... The list goes on and on and on...

Happy birthday Jez!! You really bring joy (and much much laughter) into this world!! I really thank God that our paths' crossed, as you've inspired me SO MUCH, and helped me be a better person. You are my hero man!

Super duper thanks to everyone who helped organise the dress-up party! Special thanks to Ruby and Sam who laboured around the house, setting it up and cleaning up after. THANK YOU SO MUCH!!!! And to Mandy for the super yummy food and all the help you gave, and to Erwin for the bday chocolate cupcakes. Thanks to Ming for putting together Jez's video, and EVERYONE who sent/ made a clip for her, especially Timothy Chan, the man of Jez's life. Thanks for sending the videos all the way from Msia! And lastely, for all the sporting people, putting ALL the effort dressing up (and riding the bus with it too...). Thanks for making Jez's bday a wonderful one!

OCF SA Easter Camp 2008

2008-05-08T01:26:00.007+09:30

Its time again for the annual OCF South Australia's Easter Camp- One Single Drop: perfectly crafted, uniquely made

Although Easter Camp was weeks ago, this post means a lot to me, as... haha, my first ever blog was about E-Camp 2007. Ironically, one of the first few things some OCFers told me was "Hey! I've read your blog..." I guess sometimes I feel naive to think that no one reads my blog except myself (and a sa po in Msia). But hey, this IS a public website, linked to many of my pals' blogs with high hits. Heck, I'm just so happy that there is a hit when I Google my name!

Ahhh... E-camp... Back at the beautiful and stunning Tatachilla camp site, memories just started to flood in. Its been a year, but everything remained the same. From the black centipedes terrorising everywhere (especially toilets and showers) to the wild kangaroos around the campsite; and from our comfortable (but dusty) bunk beds, to the beautiful cross overlooking the valley and the ocean.
This year's E-camp felt very different and unique. James actually wrote this camp's song "One Single Drop" (which was stuck in my head for at least a week after camp). And who can forget the night game? Oooo... It was by far the most fun game with the BEST message I've EVER played!

Briefly, in that night game, everyone gets a 'passport', which is either 'Christian' or 'Non-Christian', but you are not allowed to reveal which one you have. As a 'Non-Christian', you have the choice to go to Jesus (Jon Ling!! Gosh, you were SO HARD to find!!!) and change to a 'Christian' passport; while 'Christians' can lead others to Jesus, as only those who have gone to him would know his identity. Along the course of the game, the teams also have to work to earn money (rubberbands). You can earn it the 'legitamate' way by going to employers, who (so cruelly) make you do all sorts of things, from walking around chucking like a chicken, singing, doing sit-ups and pumpings..., at the end of which you will be paid a few rubberbands (5 at most). The other way is the 'illegal' way- smuggling, whereby you smuggle items (from milo tins to a pack of 6 toilet rolls) from the kitchen, and earn at least 30 rubberbands each transaction. To top it up, there are police patrolling the area. If you were caught smuggling, you will be sent to the 'torture chamber'. Police would also check your passport if you are acting suspiciously, and if you carry a 'Christian' passport, you will be sent to the 'torture chamber' as well. People could also act as police-informers if they know who has the 'Christian' passport, or where a smuggling transaction will take place.

I thank God that I was not caught to the 'torture chamber' (unlike poor poor Esther Goh... 3 times??!!??). Apparently it was a dark room, where 'tormentors' will blindfold you upon entry, and punish you by push-ups or doing half-squats with hands held out front with weights. All the while, 'tormentors' would be yelling at you and humiliating you. If you call it quits, your 'Christian' passport will be changed to 'Non-Christian' and you will be released.

As fun as the game trully was (I was one of the smugglers working for Su Ling with Sherine till I became 'Christian'), it so sadly but realistically reflected how the world works today. We are forever slaves to employers/work to earn that meagre money; or bravely earn more but working illegally, risking capture. By having a 'Christian' label, we face persecution and humiliation (more severe in some contries), and have to walk around/ work in constant fear of being discovered (or sold out by friends you confided to).

Most of us rather remain 'Non-Christian' along the game to prevent capture, and then find Jesus shortly before the game ended. A brilliant strategy. But as Ming Wei later shared, he had a 'Non-Christian' passport and was aiming to change it before the game ended. However, he got caught smuggling, and was sent to the 'torture chamber'. By the time he was 'released', the game had ended, and he still remained 'Non-Christian'. Others were not caught, but failed to find Jesus on time, as Jon is of smaller built, wearing a grey jumper and constantly on the move. Really really hard to find.

This hit me so hard- we too often put off what we should be doing (like calling that someone, or even finding God), because we were too busy at work, procrastination, or simply do not want to be different and stand out. However, what if, we never got the chance to do it anymore? What if, our loved ones were to pass away before we get to tell them "I love you"? Or what if, you were to die today? Would you regret your life? Would you disappear before knowing who Jesus is?

What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes (James 4:14b)

Show me, O LORD, my life's end and the number of my days; let me know how fleeting is my life (Psalm 39:4)

I would really like to thank the E-camp comm members especially Suria, Betty, James, Jon Foo, Jon Ling, Genieve, David... Awesome job!! =D You guys ROCK man!! Also for my group leaders Sumi and Doreen, and angel Daniel (who gave me 2 chocolate Freddos I'm treasuring till today!) =D

Just a tree branch...

2008-04-09T01:23:00.005+09:30

Adelaide (ok ok, and Melbourne), faced some extreme weather last week, with wind as fast as 90 kph. Heck, this is faster than the road speed limit!

So there I was, rushing down Frome Road in the morning, still half asleep and very late for lab (again...). It was windy and drizzling, and I had my jacket hood up and hugging tightly to my laptop bag.

*smack*

Huh?
Oh... A maple tree branch fell and hit the laptop bag I was hugging close to my chest. So I brushed off the dirt across my bag and continued rushing to lab.
Wait a minute... Did a freaking tree branch really fell right before me?? And if I were 1/1000th step quicker, it would have hit me on the head??? I could have been seriously injured!!

Suddenly with adrenaline surging over me, I felt like I was given a second chance in life. I suddenly felt that God had spared me on this earth, hence I have a purpose, destiny, and mission waiting for me here. My job is not done, not yet. Its funny how this close encounter to "death" was what the shook me deeply, turning my recent depression, hopelessness, loss of enthusiasm (especially in studies)... into hope. Destiny. Purpose. Chosen. Saved.
Haha, I couldn't believe how stupid I was to only realise all these almost 5 minutes after the branch falling on me! I seriously am NOT a morning person!!

Oh, on another note, I came accross some AWESOME movie posters. =D Can't wait to see them all this year!!

Jack Johnson & Earth Hour

2008-03-31T23:37:00.008+10:30

Thanks to Sam Jusaitis, Del & G, as well as Mandy, I had the opportunity to attend my first real concert- Jack Johnson. He is currently on tour in Australia, spending one night only in Adelaide. If not for the free tickets (otherwise costing AUS$85), I would not have had this previlage.

Although the gate opened at 6pm, Jack wasn't scheduled to perform until 9pm. We deliberately arrived late and missed all the guest performances. Even then, hardcore fans were already squashed in front of the main stage, while others just hung around the stalls.
Then he came!! Performing for almost 2 hours straight with his band of 4 members, Jack really have a great voice and superb guitar skills. However, it did get a bit boring in the middle, as all his songs have similar rhythm and vocal range. And knowing only 2 (and a half) of his songs didn't help me at all. Heck, the backdrop projection of waves crashing the beach (tribute possibly to Jack's surfing passion) even almost put Jez to sleep. Haha!

Thank you so much Mandy, Jez, Sam Jusaitis, Del & G (and oh, Nova 91.9)!!

Besides the concert, I was also very looking forward to Earth Hour 2008, a worldwide campaign to turn off all the electricity in the house for 1 hour on the 28th of March. More information about the campaign can be found at their official website www.earthhour.org. Jez and I sort of crashed into Peter's all boys poker night, thanks to wrong information. Oh well, we had fun, haha!. At 8pm, Peter turned off all the lights, and we had an interesting poker game in the candlelight.
Despite putting on our best poker faces, we were completely beaten by Peter. Many of his wins were on the river, impossibly beautiful cards for his advantage. *sigh* just not my day I guess... Oh, but I did get a 4 of a kind!! Woohoo!!
"Broke" (Peter won around 2.4 million worth of chips :p), we progressed to torture his Nintendo Wii, playing Rayman Rabbid II. The game was completely hilarious and exciting. It was equally fun playing or just watching the player's silly actions.

Thanks Peter for an extrodinary night!! And Jez, for tagging along. =D

ps: unfortunately, only 58% of houses participated in Earth Hour in 2008. Hopefully for Earth Hour 2009, with more publicity and awareness for a "greener climate" by reducing electricity usage, Adelaide can like Sydney achieve majority population participants, so that for 60 minutes, we can see God's stars in its glory from the city.

The 'Experimental Cooking' party

2008-03-24T19:18:00.007+10:30

I was invited to Samuel's special birthday party cum housewarming, themed as 'Experimental Cooking', a potluck party which we have to bring a dish we have never cooked before. Sounds dangerous? Oh yeah. We were going through suggestions like curry chicken donuts, sour cream caramel sauce... Which thankfully did not occur. :p

I made a 'rojak' salad consisting of roasted almonds, grapes, potatoes, carrots, apples, raisins, mayonaise... things I have leftover in the fridge and pantry. It turned out ugly and a bit disgusting, but suprisingly alright! Haha!
Others' contribution included Duane's special dessert (*drool*)
Jez's special potato chip mash potato
And many many others like Ming's aloe vera 100 plus drink, Celestine and Amanda's wasabi soba salad (yum!), Tan's omelette...
All in all a very great enjoyable night! =D

Special thanks to Samuel for organising and inviting me, as well as James (Sam's housemate) and Ruby. Thanks guys!!

First row seats to the Fringe

2008-03-16T18:04:00.007+10:30

Adelaide Fringe is back!!!

Its crazy time in Adelaide, especially at the Garden of Unearthly Delights, where people almost expect you to dress wierdly there. :) Nonetheless, it is the largest gathering of art, music, comedy, drama... annually in Adelaide, and an event I look forward to greatly.
I was fortunate enough to go to (only) 3 shows this year.

1) The Magic of Nicholas Tweedy
A friend of bro Peter Lay's, a whole bunch of us went to see Nicholas perform his street magic. Flying cards (and oh, strings...). Burning name cards. Awesome mindreadings. Bending forks (and forks spooning :p)

click on picture to link to YouTube

Very entertaining and mind-challenging performance. :) Thanks Peter!!

2) One Man Star Wars by Charles Ross
Having missed it last year, I was looking forward to this performance the most. With no idea whatsoever it would be, I was shocked when he came out singing the 20th Century Fox opening theme.

But I was laughing so hard along the way, as he was very creative in editing 3 Star Wars Episodes 4-6 into a short 1 hour performance (in which he only breaked briefly between episodes), and his immitation of R2-D2 and Jabba the Hutt (oh, put in Nien Nubb too) were simply the best!

click on picture to link to YouTube

Very eye-opening and hilarious. However, if you do not know what garbage compactor 3263827 is, I probably won't recommend it. :p

3) Tripod
It would not have been the Fringe for me if I did not attend the classic performance by Tripod. I like them for they are not only very talented musicians and comedians, but they are also very down-to-earth. I saw them drinking with friends outside the theatre before their show (when I was lining up), as well as coming out greeting audiences after their performance.

click on picture to link to YouTube

Amongst the memorable songs they performed were Thursday, Fear of Shorts, Hey Ho the Open Sea, Dungeons and Dragons, King of Rock, Thank You the Wheel, and Hot Dog Man.

=) Looking forward to next year's Fringe already, and hoping that Umbilical Brothers could make it this time!

click on picture to link to YouTube

Gene of addiction

2008-03-03T23:45:00.002+10:30

"Do you know what time does the next bus come?"

Hence begins my advantures with yet another stranger. He was a bloke probably in his early fifties, ruggard with a slight reeking smell. Although we got onto an empty long double-section bus, he came and sat next to me, asking for directions initially. As we talked, I realised that the seats around us were left empty till no other seats were available. I also got some wierd stares from people, probably wondering what an Asian kid is doing with a weird "bushie". Honestly, I was wondering the same thing too. But I glad that I did listen to him.

After learning that I am studying biology, he began to tell me about the "addiction gene". It is a gene that is passed down from parents to children, skipping some, but expressed in other unlucky ones. He was the unlucky one as the gene of alcoholism was passed to him. His grandfather was an alcoholic, and his mother, and so was he. Even though he only started drinking at the age of 23, he could not stop until today. He was the unlucky one, unable to change his life, because he got this gene. And because of it, he has decided long ago, not to have any children, least the gene passes down to his children.

I was completely heart-broken when I heard this. I was staring at a man, full of regrets in his life, helpless, and worse, realises his situation full well but could not change it. He has lost hope for himself, but has hope for the future generations, as he began to express his desire to tell the young people of today of the future consequences of foolish actions then.

:-( Facing him, I so wished that instead of being a useless test-tube person staring at DNA for years, that I was a counselor, or a social worker, or better still a pastor. Or someone with greater courage and wisdom to help this man. I wanted to tell him, that there is no gene of addiction (although we were all born sinners), that he can get out of it and have a fresh start in life, that it is not too late. I wanted him to know, that there are people out there who love him, especially his Father, who would and has died to save him. He just has to accept this help... Just one confession... And a belief...

But I didn't do anything. I just said goodbye and got off the bus at my stop.

Beautiful Paris

2008-02-24T17:25:00.009+10:30

Bonjour! I was fortunate enough to follow my aunties on a trip to Paris for 9 days. Some highlights of the trip include:

1) Parlais vous anglais? Lost in translation
I made the horrible mistake of going to France not knowing a single word of French. Once the plane landed in Charles de Gaulle, I was greeted with a foreign language I do not understand at all! Even better, I was later stopped by customs, whose series of questions were answered by my blank stare. Welcome to Paris! As the days progressed, thank God, my French gradually grew better till near the end of the trip, I was able to converse in very very very basic French. Stupidly, it took a while for me to switch off the French, so much so that I automatically spoke French on the plane on the way home! :S

2) Museums, museums, museums...
Musee de Lourve, Musee Rodin, Musee d'Orangerie... I think I visited more than 10 museums in Paris city in a span of 2 days. Some are simply gorgeous with world-famous art pieces, while others I had to force myself to appreciate as not to waste my entrance fee. I felt that the famous Mona Lisa painting was overrated. It is tiny compared to the other art works, and hundreds of people gathers there just to stare at the lady and snap photos.
I rather fancied The Raft of Medusa by Théodore Géricault.
And the sculpture Psyche Revived by Cupid's Kiss by Antonio Canova
3) Place of rich history
As Paris is an old city, staring at the sometimes centuries-old buildings, I felt an overwhelming flow of the history of mankind reverberating around me. It was a feeling I have never felt before. Well, I guess its because I've never been to places that has centuries of history... Some wonderful monuments include the Arc de Triomphe
Napoleon's Tomb
4) Disneyland- where your dreams come true!
Oooo, DISNEYLAND!!! Although I went on a cold, wet day, I had tons of fun there!! The super dizzy rollarcoasters, family fun rides, my beloved X-Wing
PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN RIDE!!!
And not forgetting character appearances, including Remy from Ratatouille
5) Enjoyment and relaxation
Most of all, I had a great time touring with my aunties

And running around Paris city on my own

=D Au revoir!

I'm a slave for you

2008-02-11T19:57:00.000+10:30

Its official. I'm my computer's slave. Oh, throw in the internet as well.

I guess its the sad reality that everyone is facing in the world today. Our entire lives are basically controlled by a box full of circuits, and softwares costing thousands of dollars. One wrong click on my iTunes checking the wrong "sync box", and there goes ALL the songs on my iPod. All. And I realised it when I was away on my 10 days holiday. Or try accidentally hitting the restart button in the middle of work. Argh, my cat does that to me often.

Then comes the email. Oooo, its free, its fast, its convinient... BUT ITS TOO CONVINIENT!!! ~400 emails is what I got for not checking my email for 3 weeks back home. I got it down to 320 emails (hurrah!), and gave up for it was giving me a headache. I wonder (and am soooo tempted) what will happen if I just close down the email addresses... :p Then NOBODY can find me anymore!! muahahaha

sigh How sad it is that we are now slaves to that which we created??

KLIA

2008-01-25T01:28:00.000+10:30

A gush of hot, humid air (with a bit of funny smell to it) came rushing through the gaps of the corridor.

People running to catch the Sky Train that had just arrived at the station. I mean literally running, with luggages and all.

Multilingual announcements were broadcasted every few minutes. And all signboards contain at least 3 languages describing the same thing.

Squatting wet female toilets. And oh, add a tiny cockroach walking across the wall to it.

Ahhh, KLIA. Its been 1 year. =) I'm home!

Most beautiful day of 2007

2008-01-20T01:58:00.000+10:30

22nd December has to be the most beautiful day in 2007. :)

It was an early start at 6am, when all the beautiful ladies gathered for the big day.
By 9am, braving the cold, galiant family and friends helping in various ways including ushers, musicians, sound crew, chairs, drivers... were putting final touches to Meiji Garden, South Terrace, Adelaide.
Tension and eagerness spread across the lovely garden, and everyone can do nothing, but wait. The music begun. Gorgeous ladies clad in wonderful bishop purple walked in, under veils of light showers and sunlight. Then, the moment everyone was waiting for arrived.

It was a breathtaking moment, when an extremely beautiful Mandy, beaming brighter than the sun, walked in like an angel, securely supported by her proud dad.With songs of praise to the Lord, the exchange of vows and rings, powerful prayers, and signatures just for legalistic purposes...
The world is thus blessed with loveliest couple yet, Mr. and Mrs. Duane Jusaitis.
Congratulations Mandy and Duane!!! =D Thank you SO MUCH for inviting me to be part of this awesome day!! Big thanks also to everyone else who helped me during the preparations, especially all 3 bridsmaids, Sam, Debra, Jane (I'd be an iceman if not for your jacket!!!!), Esther, Ken, James, Ming...

=D It was a day I'd never ever forget.

Philadelphia top 10

2007-11-18T14:54:00.000+10:30

Isn't it amazing that this is my last post from Phiadelphia, USA? 5 weeks, and it just seems like yesterday that I arrived! But it's true. I'm leaving, tomorrow.

Here is my very own Philadelphia top 10:
1) Wildlife
Squirrels everywhere! I really like seeing their curious faces poking out behind trees, and bushy tails running everywhere. I've seen chipmunks, deer, colourful birds, hawks, as well as the usual pigeons, which regardless of where they are, behaved the same.

2) Food
Hmmm.. Goober grape... Not forgetting the famous Philly cheesesteak (which I think is not too special and really expansive)
And my favourite shop- DUNKIN DONUTS!

3) The other side of the road
Trying not to be run down by cars driving on the other side of the road, using Farrenheits, pennies/dimes/quarters, blocks, on Market and 11th Street... Doing it the American way.

4) Fall
Its late autumn here. I really thank God that the weather is not too cold! Usually it will be snowing by now, but is nicely maintained at 5-15oC. I now like 5oC or 40oF weather, haha! And to see the leaves turnning from bright yellow to fire red, and falling down in the wind, has been awesome.

5) Fox Chase Cancer Center lab
Working at Fox Chase Cancer Center has been a very different experience compared to working in uni. Besides the collection of brains and Nobel prize winners, the corporate feeling here sometimes does not feel like science, but a business/ administration.

Dr. Barry Blumberg- 'discoverer' of Hepatitis B virus

6) Home away from home
I really thank my host family for providing me with a great room, central heating (maintaining around 15-20oC), and my super nice warm bed.
I also have been sleeping over at friends' over the weekends, all in all 3 different couches around Philly!

7) People
I met SO many people during my short visit here its mind boggling. From super duper friendly (till its really scary and I literally run away when I hear them), lab collegues, fellow sisters, leng chai tour guide, to a random guy on the street.
Sadly, only seen 4 leng chais here. One works at an eatery, another I just saw on the train, the geeky historian tour guide, and the charming music conductor in church (who has a gleaming gold ring in one hand, and a daughther in another...) Oh well, I'll go with leng chai Rocky!

8) Cam-whoring
I never taken SO many photos in my lifetime! Current count for photos taken in this trip is 1388! On top of snapping at almost anything, I also had to take photos of myself, which doesn't always turn out alright. Thank you mom/dad for getting me a digital camera!! Also had some fun doing stupid things cam-whoring...

9) Lonely tourist
I also had to learn to be the lonely tourist, to do adequete research online, to read road maps clearly, and plan out my trip on the weekends. Walked SO much my feet is sore. But all in all I had a great time visiting most parts of Philly, and seeing some of their famous landmarks.

10) Love
Last by not least, the BEST thing that happened to me here, was the love I experienced. From great friends back in Adelaide wishing me well, my loving and supporting family in Malaysia, my caring host parents, newly-met people here... And most of all, God who planned it all. So many times I was lost, or worried, or really scared and do not know what to do next. But somehow, I made it, and I know it was not by my smartness or my strength. Everywhere I go, I felt SO blessed, with joy flowing out of me unexplainably. This trip has been trully a spiritual one for me as well, as I was touched by God personally, and have grown a lot in Him.
Well, that's it from me from the United States of America!
I'm going to pack my bags now, and ready to head back- Down Under!

ABCs

2007-11-05T12:34:00.000+10:30

One of the advantages of staying with a host family is the local connections. I had the previlage to join the small group every Friday evening of one of the technicians working for my host dad. I was to meet her at the train station, with only the descriptions "She is Korean, black jacket, red bag. She looks Korean, somewhat your size." And so, there I stood at the station, super anxious, staring at all the Asian girls there. That was how I meet Jessica Lee, and then her small group members. And had my first ABC culture shock.

Most of the girls in the women's young adult group are 'Koreans', but they are in fact, Americans. ABCs, American Born Chinese. Some are born locally, while others have lived here for a long time. Most of their families are now living in the USA. The only Korean bits left in them, are probably their names.

Sitting there amongst them was a wierd experience indeed. They look like just another OCF gathering, but everyone speaks with strong American accent, cook American, behave American... and are just... totally Americans. "Oh, I'm from Ohio, but my family now is in California."

But oddly enough, I felt at home. It feels like I've known them forever, and for my part, just fitted in nicely. The fact that they do not treat me any differently than the others also helped heaps. I even slept over at the leader's house at my next small group meeting, and have been to their flag football competition. Its just like Touch, but instead of touching the opponent, they pull at the flag hung at their waists to stop the run.
Its amazing how halfway around the globe, one can feel completely at home amongst other sisters in Christ, despite all the cultural differences. Everyone prays the same, have the same passion, face similar issues in life, have same desires, loving the same Father. And ya, its true, ABC or MBC (Msian Born Chinese) we ARE sisters.

Day 14 - Philadelphia Museum of Art

2007-10-30T12:01:00.000+10:30

Let me rephrase my own words- I THOUGHT that I knew how to take public transport in Philly. :p Got so lost and confused taking the bus and subway I almost gave up and went back home.

Well, I'm sure glad I didn't, as I got to go visit the renown Philadelphia Museum of Art. One of its entrances has what is called the "Rocky steps", which is where, if you have watched the movie, the classic scene where Rocky jogged up to the top and did boxing moves.
It has only 72 steps, but overlooks the beautiful Benjamin Franklin Parkway leading straight to the heart of the city. There were true joggers running up and down the steps like Rocky, to people racing up, or doing boxing movements at the top. Haha! It was entertaining enough just to see what people are doing along these steps!
The musuem is very well displayed and organised. I was really impressed. There are European art ranging from 1100-1900.
Asian art
American art
Arms and armor (ahhh, my knight in shining armour...)
To modern/ contemporary art.
My favourite was European art 1800-1850, reminds me of Jane Austin-ish period.
And the most interesting was contemporary. See this picture? Head of a Woman by Picasso (took my own head in the picture just as comparison...)
And for those of you who read Calvin and Hobbes, this is Nude Descending a Staircase (No.1) by Marcel Duchamp.
=D The sheer amount of artwork and masterpieces were mind boggling. Just to walk past these art and architecture (the director of the museum likes architecture, so there are rooms just purely rooms or buildings, like an entire Japanese Tea House), it felt like a walk through history of mankind. To see how in Europe art evolved from religious to mytical characters, to potraits and story telling, then to landscape, impressionism, and contemporary... was just wow!
Art, simply is just... art :P

View in Perspective of a Perfect Sunset
by Eugene Berman

Walking in the rain

2007-10-26T10:46:00.000+09:30

It has begun to rain now, and the hot sunny weather turned almost overnight into cold, gloomy and wet. Autumn is finally here!

I did not like the weather AT ALL when I was walking to work in the rain. My shoes were all soaked right into my socks (had to walk around in soggy socks the rest of the day...), and my new jeans were dirty with soil. I wished for the warm sunny days again, but know that it is not possible. Unless I'm in Australia though, haha! Of which, I have recieved complaints from friends that it is now too warm there! =)

Some of the things I pondered when walking in the rain, is that...

One man's curse, could actually be another's blessing. I hated the rain, but, many had prayed for months for it, to wet the soil and cool the weather.

To appreciate the weather I'm in, or rather, the season I'm in. Summer must turn into autumn, and autumn into winter. As long as God lives, there will be day time and night, time of sowing and reaping.

But I know, that the sun WILL shine again after the rain. There may or may not be a rainbow, but it is not the main focus. Somehow, the sun will seem brighter and warmer after a storm.

I will persevere through the rain, because I know, the sun will come out once again. I will try not to be upset and depressed in the dark of the night anymore, as daybreak is just around the corner. It is also not always completely dark and lonely as I thought. I always forget that the light of the moon and stars are always there for me.

Oh well, more walks in the rain could yet make a philosopher out of me. =) But now after a nice warm shower... Ahhh... Back to Facebooking...

Day 7 - University of Pennsylvania

2007-10-22T10:26:00.001+09:30

I cannot believe that it has only been a week since I got here! :) Felt like forever...

Anyway, today I followed my host dad Steve down to University of Pennsylvania where his proteomics lab is located. University of Pennsylvania (or Uni Penn) is a really huge campus. Almost as large as University Malaya.
So, having 2 hours to wander around, I equipped myself with a Starbucks orange mocha frappucino and headed out.
Yeah, it is the orange mocha frappucino as mentioned in the movie Zoolander. You must say it with attitute: O-range MO-cha FRAP-pu-CI-NO. Woohoo!

Uni Penn is mainly old brown brick buildings. The newer ones are mostly student dormatories. Although it was a Sunday evening, there were plenty of students around campus, majority of them studying. The campus have plenty of trees around.
And a square, similar to Barr Smith Lawns.
However, it is much more shadier, and is a place where squirrels, pigeons, and other birds co-exist. Yes, anyone with squirrel phobia cannot study here. They are literally jumping everywhere.
Nice walkways with trees on both sides.
Highly recommend for anyone thinking of doing postgraduate/ work here! Haha! :)
After 2 full days of walking as a tourist and snapping photographs at almost everything, I'm super duper exhausted! Enough walking for the rest of the year for me! WEEeeeee! Was so drained to the point, even took a photo in the toilet of Uni Penn bookstore. Which by the way, is an AWESOME HUGE bookstore I really love!!

Day 6 - Old City Philly

2007-10-21T13:44:00.000+09:30

Had a Saturday off, so I decided to take the train to downtown Philadelphia by myself. Thank God that it was a lovely day!

Was 'cheated' by the train conductor when buying my train ticket. I had no idea how much it cost, so I gave him $5, and he took it. Realised much later on when buying the return ticket that it was only $3.50... :S sigh... one of my many 'water fish' moments...

Got a map and started walking (literally with the map stuck under my nose) around what is called 'Old City' Philadelphia. Philadelphia was the first capital of USA. It was here that the Declaration of Independence was signed, as well as the Constitution Act, the first congress, the first election... You name it, before Washington was the new capital. Hence, all the things in Old City are historic places regarding the brith of America.

Knowing little or nothing about American history, I wondered along 'constitution walk', and visited many many (many) places.
Including the famous Liberty Bell
(the only reason I heard of this is from the movie National Treasure)
Independence Hall
Tomb of the Unknown Soldier/ Washington Square Park
(loved the park a lot)
National Constitution Center
Besty Ross House
An so on. Was snapping photos as much as I can (or dare). And all the time, I was telling myself (to psych myself from the stares of locals) "OK, I'm a freaking tourist alright? Let me snap photos!" I must look wierd snapping photos of almost everything, from smoking floor vents, to my lunch. Also keep taking photos of myself with the scenery behind me. A lot of 'syok-sendiri' moments.

Must have looked too wierd to others... But who cares? "I'm a freaking tourist!!" Haha!

All in all, had a good time walking around all by myself, feeling the loneliness, but also partly having all the freedom to do whatever I want to do, and to walk wherever I feel like it.

Wish you guys were here with me!!

Photo taken using camera timer, on the field next to Indepedence Visitor Center, between National Constitution Center and Independence Hall/ Liberty Bell.
ps: grass was moist, so had a wet bum for a good 15 min!

Day 4 - animal paradise

2007-10-19T11:27:00.000+09:30

There are just so many interesting animals here in Philadelphia suburb. As some of you may be aware that seeing a cat or a crown pigeon will make my day... (I'm sad right), so I've been trying to find as much wildlife as I can.

A grey cat, mostly from the neighbours, greeted me in the walkway to my host house here on my first day. :) Usually I come home before my host parents, and so will be alone at home for about an hour at night.

There are plenty of squirrels here! So adorable! They are literally EVERYWHERE on almost every tree. So wonderful to see their bushy tails moving all around! I really do like them!!!
But sadly, the rabies infection percentage is rather high amongst mammals here. So it is advisable to avoid 'friendly' ones, as it means their brain may be infected. There goes my squirrel feeding dream. *sigh* Oh, and the way they bite on to acorns and run, is really cute.
I also saw my first deer, apparently a 'resident' in the jungle near my host family's backyard. Imagine waking up, eating toast, and looking out of to the backyard with at least 3 bushy tails running around, and... A DEER!!! Woah! Apparently they very common here. So, I was not so special after all! Haha! Feels like I'm in the jungles of Malaysia. Waiting to see my first predator...

*note* all above pictures are taken from the internet

Birdlife is amazing here. Besides the normal pigeons and brown tiny sparrows, there are plenty of birds, though their colours are not as radiant as those in Australia. Mainly black or blue, but they look really pretty and distinct. Suspect I saw a mocking bird. Been hearing so much about them (humming the song Mockingbird...)
And oh, hugged my first woodchuck/groundhog today!!
We study hepatitis B virus progression in these adorable animals here in US. I know this woodchuck looks a bit sickly. It was just anaesthesised, so its groggy/ sleeping, hence it was safe to hug it. If not, they are rather vicious animals and cannot even be touched. This poor thing had operation recently, hence the lower part of the body was shaved. The fur is rather coarse. And they smell a little. Oh, sharp teeth too.
But aww... look! Soooo cute!

Day 3 - work work work

2007-10-18T11:44:00.000+09:30

=) Its been officially 3 days that I've been here in Philadelphia. Feels like I've been here forever. I'm amazed how well I've adapted and settled in, and I feel like I'm still in Australia. Thank God for that!

Spent the last 3 whole days (9am-6.30pm) in the hepatitis B laboratory in the Fox Chase Cancer Center, under my co-supervisor Dr. William S. Mason. It is a huge research facility, almost 4 buildings in total, and linked to a hospital. Interestingly, the centre is located at a relatively lower class suburb. So, to see such a magnificent research facility suddenly in the middle of almost ghetto-like houses, still amazes me.

This is my new lab space.
And the MAC I'm allowed to use. Luckily I had a few gos with Ming's MAC, if not I would totally be at a lost. Yeah, almost 80% of computers I see in the centre are MACs.
View of the cafeteria from my outdoor seating area, where I have been having my lunches. Very nice weather now, I reckon about 20oC, but windy. The trees are very very green, I guess I never really knew how yellow the trees are in Adelaide until I see these sub-tropical green Malaysian-like trees. Also spotted a squirrel today. Really love the squirrels here, bushy tails everywhere.
Oh oh oh, have to mention! I managed to buy... Goober!!!! Woohooo!! My absolute FAVOURITE spread in Malaysia, and so missed it as Australia does not have it. Promised myself this will be the first thing I buy here. Yay! I don care that I have to finish this whole tub in a month by myself... Maybe just spread it extra thick every morning. *drools* Goober...
=) still have to really thank everyone for your well wishes. being able to chat with some of you guys online makes me feel like just another day in the lab in Adelaide!!

And oh, no, I don't think I'll be doing much sightseeing or shopping. But if you guys know any places I should visit, or any Apple product orders, do pop me an email and I'll do my best! :) I'm in a suburb almost 40min train away from the city, and the research centre is even secluded.

Day 1 - the arrival

2007-10-16T12:59:00.000+09:30

I made it!!! After around 3+16+6 hours of flying and 4 airports, I made it!

Left Adelaide with 2 bags (only 23.5kg), bag pack and mua laptop.
Survived Sydney airport. No idea what the frog statue in there was all about.
Flew to Sans Francisco International airport. Made it through US customs (who did not even look at the virus DNA I was bringing with me. Yes, I brought in infectious viral DNA from Australia. No, it will not kill humans. They are duck hepatitis B virus DNA), and had a US visa for as long as I want. Woohoo! I can stay for a year apparently!!
My first meal in US- Burger King whopper!!
Then that was it. Philadelphia USA.
As I arrived near midnight, I got to stay at the airport Marriott hotel for a night.
Not bad at all eh? I'm not complaining...
Well, fairlytale over, went to work immediately the next day, at Fox Chase Cancer Center. Sadly I do not have any pictures to show now, but will take some soon. Thankfully I'm not too jetlag. Adjusted pretty well. Its 12 hours difference from Malaysia, so basically night is day, day is night.

Comfortably now in my 'home away from home', as my host mom puts it. Thank God that I have really goot host parents, who opened their house warmly and even gave me internet access!
Really thank everyone for your prayers, well wishes, sms, calls, emails, Facebook gifts and pokes ... =) Oddly enough, I don't feel like I'm in USA. Feels like Australia, as everyone is white and speak English. I know I know, its a different accent. But I cannot tell, or am just ignorant. Only the Africa-Americans here keep me in reality check. But there are hardly any working as scientists, as I can tell. The lady who made my sandwich lunch today said "Take your time darlin', 'coz I 'ave all the time" in total "yo" way was like "WOW!! THEY ACTUALLY REALLY TALK LIKE THIS!!" for me. Pardon my ignorance. :p

Leavin on a jet plane

2007-10-14T06:50:00.000+09:30

All my bags are packed (or so I think they are)
I'm ready to go (actually, not at all)
I'm standin here outside your door
I hate to wake you up to say goodbye
But the dawn is breakin
Its early morn (9am plane)
The taxis waitin (Ming's waiting)
He's blowin his horn
Already I'm so lonesome I could die

So kiss me and smile for me
Tell me that you'll wait for me
Hold me like you'll never let me go
Cause I'm leavin on a jet plane
Dont know when I'll be back again
Oh babe, I (really really really) hate to go

This is it! In an hour, I'll be leaving for the USA via Sydney. I'm a rojak (mixed) bag of emotions now, ranging from excitement to fear, to panic. I don't know what is awaiting me there, but I know, this is the start of something great in my life. A bridge (thanks Li Chang), to what, I don't know.

I really have to thank Peter and Jonathan for stocking up my anime and manga collections, my entertainment to keep me, well, "sane" over there. Also to Samuel for cooking me breakfast this week, and genuinely taking care of me. Last but not least poor Ming, who stayed up late helping me pack, clean my room, and taking me to the airport at the wee hours on Sunday.

To everyone else, who helped me so much by giving me a hug (or more :p), prayers, smiles, handshakes, well wishes (even the ones via Facebook!)... I really thank you guys so much. Thank you so very much for making me feel loved and not alone on this lonely scary road ahead of me! :) Being far from the support of my family back in Malaysia, you guys really are my family here in Adelaide.

If you guys need anything from the USA, do not hesitate to pop me an email ASAP, and I'll do my best.

Till my next post, hopefully from the USA, God bless, missing you all, and once again, thank you.

Peek-a-boo

2007-10-14T05:23:00.000+09:30

Ruby's kittens are doing great! Getting really fat and almost doubling in size soon. Their eyes partially opened at 11 days old, and now at 2 weeks old, are (finally) fully opened. Their walking is still unsteady, but at least they can lift themselves off the ground now!

Here are some pics courtesy of Samuel. =)

Christ IS in my vessel

2007-10-06T19:14:00.000+09:30

With Christ in the vessel I can smile at the storm...

There is also a Chinese saying that 船到桥头自然直 (The boat will straighten itself when it reaches the harbour), to say that no matter how bad something may be, it will be alright in the end.

I should have had more faith as I went through all the drama, in my application to go to the USA.

Last month, I was invited by our collaborating lab in Philadelphia, USA, for a short 4 weeks visit. I didn't want to go for various reasons, especially the wierd timing of October-November. That was when the drama of my life began.

I delayed my answer to the invitation, till the supervisor in the USA got angry and sent a not-so pleasent email to my supervisor, stating that I seem to be not interested, hence he will withdraw the invitation. Following harsh remarks by my supervisor, and a long apology letter to the USA, I got ready my complicated papers for application to go to the USA.

I had to travel to the USA consulate in Melbourne for half a day for an interview to get my visa. I don't know where to even start with the drama I had to go through there. Though, I felt so cool walking onto a plane with just a tiny handbag and a folder of documents, all dressed up, taking taxies, breakfast in Adelaide, lunch in Melbourne, then dinner in Adelaide.

Photos taken by my new handphone. Woooo...

More drama. More delays. More paperwork. More frustrations. Almost-lost passport, cancelled air ticket, rejected approval for leave, visa for too short a period...

All is well now.
I am really going to the USA.
I am really going to live halfway around the globe for 1 month.

I am really leaving, next Sunday, 14th October.

All glory and thanks to God, who held my plans and my future in His palms. He who has been in my boat all this while, hugging me during the storms, whispering to me that it will be alright. Because He know, in the end, all will be well.
I was the one whose faith was wavering like the storms.

So, if you guys want anything from the States, do let me know earlier! =)

A new season

2007-10-03T09:13:00.000+09:30

Spring is here! the weather is warming up, sunlight is getting longer, flowers blossoming...

And all new season of Heroes, House, Prison Break, Grey's Anatomy to name a few, is finally here.
Man, they are really transforming my weeks to be: Wednesday is Heroes day, Thursday is Bleach and So You Think You Can Dance, Friday is House and Naruto...
Yes, I have (finally) watched Naruto- one of the most popular Japanese animation series. This ongoing series started in Japan in 2002, and had reached a total of 260 episodes as of last week. Many thanks to Peter, who passed me all the episodes :S, I have survived the marathon of 135 Naruto + 40 Naruto Shippuden. Woohoo!!
I even made some Konoha logo out of my tip boxes in the lab.
Yes I know, I have no life. Scientists have no life, science is our life, the lab is our home, and lab members are our family. :p

Seriously fell in love with Uchiha Sasuke, and was completely devastated when he turned evil.
And I know I will get a lot of protests because of me liking Sasuke and strongly supporting Sakura and Sasuke should get together...

Bundle of joy

2007-10-02T22:32:00.000+09:30

My household welcomed our 3 new additions on 30th September. They just the cutest, tiny, noisy little things huddling and 'skating' around. Its really interesting as the kittens took after their grandma's orange coat and granddad's stripes. I suspect the dad is the white cat with black spots opposite the road.

Alfalfa is a terrific mom. Must have been taught well by Ruby. :p And so that leaves another absolutely jealous Amber, who has been acting up and throwing tantrums. Well, I cannot blame her, as it is because of me, she can now only look on in admiration at her twin sister, imagining the joys and pain of motherhood.
Well, now to the naming of the kittens. Hmm.... I was thinking of

Arwen from Lord of the Rings with her 2 elder twin brothers Elladan and ElrohirOr, Luke, Leia, Han from Star Wars, how cool would that be?Oh, how about Naruto?!? Team 7 members Sasuke, Naruto, Sakura?

Or the legendary Sannin- Jiraiya, Tsunade, Orochimaru??

Well, thankfully its Ruby the 'grandmother' deciding the names. So, they are thinking of Garlic, Ginger, Olive. Hey, after all, their mom is also a vegetable- Alfalfa! So, the happy vege family!! Though Samuel has been insisting on Bacon, Lettuce, Tomato...Sleeping silently under my bed now, good mom Alfalfa feeding the kittens, and just found out Garlic or Ginger has a bloody scratch on its left eye... =D The joys of having kittens!

ps: anybody interested in adopting do contact Ruby ya??

Show time!

2007-09-14T00:46:00.001+09:30

Finally its here!! The one thing to look forward to in Adelaide every year! (drum rolls...) ROYAL ADELAIDE SHOW!!!

I had such a great time there this year despite the pouring rain in the evening.

Highlights of the day include:
1) A free apple as the farmer was shocked I bought 5 apples at once.
2) Yee Ming won Rocker Piglet, and I spent all my money to no avail. again.
3) Farmers Union Ice Coffee, Golden North Giant Twins icecream, Dagwood Dog, donuts... ahhhhh...
4) The BEST Yamaha Motorcycle Freestyle Team performance EVER!! (photo brilliantly caught by Jonathan)
=) Guess its another year's wait till the glamour and excitement of the show next year!!

:~(

2007-09-12T04:25:00.000+09:30

I cried yesterday. Have not cried like this in a long, long time.

The more I think of it, the more I cannot find the reason for me breaking down like this. Haha! I was too emotional and took something a bit too seriously, and made a fool out of myself.

But I was happy that I can cry out all my anger, frustrations, stress, worry... I have been pressured by many sides, especially by my supervisor, for quite a while now. Things in my life now are basically like a standstill transition period, and it just confuses me sometimes.

But I really thank God for letting me break down. It made me realise some issues in my life that was not resolved, like a splinter I have been putting up with, but now He pulled it to the surface and made me aware of it. Yes, it really hurt. But now, I know, that the tiny stupid thing is there. And now, I have stay still and let Him pull it out of me.

Some things are really stupid. Like listening to Shannon Noll's songs- I get angry. Hahah! Wierd right? It was because he was second place in Australian Idol, and Guy Sebastian was first. But he is now more popular and sells more records than Guy. I will go like, "but he cannot sing" (at first. but now I think he took some lessons), and I voted for Guy, and Guy keeps getting joked by the media like "Why does God like Shannon more? (relating to the sales of records and popularity). So I get defensive and protective even of Guy to the point of being agitated when I listen to Shannon's songs on radio. Which by the way are not bad songs at all. See? Stupid stuff like that made me hold a grudge on a person I do not know, on an issue completely not my business. Yet, it was there! And I had to face and deal with it.

Really sorry for all who had to witness this completely stupid and embarassing event!!! Sorry Jezamine and Mindy, and thank you SO MUCH for your comfort. Also to Arthur and the rest of the people present. I am trully ashamed and felt like an idiot over what happened.

But I know I really needed it.
Ahh~ I feel so good now. =) Nothing like a good cry eh?
Its my wierd life.

Happy birthday, Msia

2007-08-31T14:20:00.001+09:30

I came across an article in The Australian newspaper Thursday, August 30 2007, entitled "Malaysia, aged 50, turns back morals clock" by Nick Meo reporting in Khota Bharu.

The first paragraph goes as below:

"Over a drink of green coconut juice at what used to be called the Passionate Love Beach until his Islamist party came to power and scrapped the name, Takiyuddin Hassan outlines the victories in its war on sin.

In the capital, Kuala Lumpur, celebrations are starting for Malaysia's 50th year as an independent state. Its proud achievements are modern universities, a bouyant economy, and a respected place in the world as a moderate Islamic nation."

I thought to myself, "Great, this is just perfect. An article on our merdeka, and they interview a PAS leader. Just what we need to further taint our reputation as Malaysians"

And after a lenghty interview with Mr. Hassan, part of the conclusion of the article reads:

"Some non-Muslim Chiinese and Indians feel increasingly treated like second-class citizens. They complain, usually privately, that Islamic religious schools are much better funded than theirs and that a system of affirmative action favours Malays when it comes to university places.

Some fear assertive Islam treatens to upset the delicate balance between the 60 per cent Malay-Muslim majority and he non-Muslim ethnic Chinese and Indian minotiries, which have managed to co-exist, sometimes uneasily, since Malaysia's troubled birth in 1957 at a time of civil war and ethnic tension."

The article completely spoilt my mood yesterday. If I have the time, and if anyone is interested, I may type it all out and link the article. The emotions running through me were like, how can anyone report things like this? Do they even stop to think the implications of their reporting? Or would they go to all lengths to get a good sensational story? How true it is when people say sometimes, we distort the truth by only telling others what bits of the whole picture we want them to know.

Well, sigh, for all it counts...
Merdeka!
Happy 50th birthday, Malaysia! :)

Total lunar eclipse

2007-08-29T14:15:00.000+09:30

I was previlaged to witness the total lunar eclipse occuring throughout Australia yesterday.

The moon completely turned blood-red with some clouds, it was an eery sight if not for the knowledge that a total eclipse was happening. Sadly I could not take any photos, as the moon was pretty small (compared to other days), and I do not have the equipments to do so.
Then it was amazing when the eclipse was lifting, with parts of the moon becoming bright white, while the other parts still blood-red. In a couple of hours, the moon went back to it original brightness.

What an awesome and beautiful sight to behold!! :)

All photos from http://www.abc.net.au/science/features/lunaeclipse2007/default.htm

I got jabbed in the arm

2007-08-22T11:02:00.001+09:30

I got jabbed in the arm yesterday

It wasn't fun

It was paid for and arranged by my lab

And it still hurt now

Many thanks to a RNA-and-protein particle

Humans named as Influenza A

Those tiny little floating thingys

Have been causing havoc all around Australia

Death tolls were suprisingly high

Danger bells rang wild

Henceforth the 'highly recommended' emails

For medical scientists to all be vaccinated

I didn't want it

Though it is free (for me)

I do not fear the needle (not too much...)

Only felt it useless

Come on! Its a vaccine for flu!

I had no choice

Was herded like sheep to the clinic

With my entire lab beside me

Just like those school excursions to the museum

A swab of alcohol

A prick of needle

A sting of vaccine injecting in

A little round handiplast

Just like that, it was over

Before I could even say "Ouch"

Now that wasn't too bad, was it?

Though I had to act macho all the time

I got jabbed in the arm yesterday
It wasn't fun
It was paid for and arranged by my lab
And it still hurt now
:(
It really does

Graduation

2007-08-19T01:57:00.000+09:30

It was a rainy, gloomy Friday. I prayed for sunshine, even just a bit when the ceremony is over, so that my friends can take pictures under the beautiful sunlight.

Could not have asked for more!

I love graduations. To see the graduates just SHINE with joy, at finally finishing and obtaining their degrees, after so many years of hard work and sacrifise. Not forgetting the joy of being united with family members, who were also beaming with pride at their achievements.

There was a mixed bag of emotions for us attendees. Some like me, who had graduated (twice...), just sat back and enjoyed the moment. Some looked in envy and longing, wondering how their graduation will be, what they will wear... Others are wondering whether they can graduate at all.

For the graduates, emotions were also all over the place. Some could not care less, as they will continue their studies and will graduate again; while some treasured that piece of parchment with all their hearts, having sacrificed so much to finally graduate. But some were happy, sad and fearful at the same time, knowing that their time has come to find a job and join the corporate world, and the dilemma to stay back and work, further studies, or go back for good... If so, their time in Australia is coming to an end, and this day might be the last day they can see some of their friends, for the rest of their lives.

Congratulations to Qian and Esther! You guys deserved it man!!

Also to Jeannie and ViVien :) Will miss you all a lot!

And oh, not forgetting, the River Torrens swan

Who just had to pose for me

2 churches, 2 purposes

2007-08-16T01:57:00.001+09:30

Had a unique experience last weekend. On 2 consecutive days, I found myself dancing in 2 'churches'

Each lasted around 1 1/2 hours
Both were packed with people and loud music
Not to mention the flashing lights
And I didn't pay a cent to get in both

But, both dancing were for different purposes
1 was at the Adelaide famous club Church; the other was during worship night in Paradise Community Church

Wierd eh? And needless to say which one I enjoyed myself more. =)

Why I liked the latter, was not only the better environment with less smoke and wierd people, but the REASON for it. At the club, everyone was dancing for different reasons: either to show off, attract attention, or to let go and have fun... You name it. I was so self conscious, trying not to hit the sexy lady dancing in a different world next to me, and trying to protect my handbag on the filthy floor. And the fact that I cannot dance AT ALL didn't make it better.

But in church (the real one), no one cares how you danced (the old guy behind my row was dancing more crazily than me). Rather, everyone's focus is on above. Everyone was there, dancing and singing, for a purpose, for the same reason- to drown in the joy of worshipping God.

I found out, that when I do something, when there is a REASON for it, it makes the experience of doing it... somehow better. When I know why I am doing it, I complain less. It is when doing something without knowing why, it will become a routine that slowly kills me from inside out.

That explains a lot why I often find myself waking up to the dreaded routine of life every morning, doing the same things over and over again, without knowing the reason why. I hope one day to wake up REFRESHED, full of DESTINY and PURPOSE in today, knowing what I have and can achieve, confidently reaching closer to my final goal.

To have my own purpose in life. To have my definate goal and target.
I've had enough of living for others' expectations, especially society's.

Harry Potter and I

2007-08-07T15:23:00.000+09:30

Boon Pin: Huey Chi

Me: Yes? (turned around) ARRRRRGGGGGH!!!!!!
(continued squealing and jumping up and down the next few minutes)

That was the beginning of my humble journey with Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, a week after its worldwide sensationalised release.
The book is the 7th and last book in the Harry Potter series by J. K. Rowling, that took the world by storm, and had released 5 major motion pictures, including the latest Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. I only started reading the series when the 5th book Order of the Phoenix was released, and had re-read them when 6th book Half Blood Prince was released. Simply because I had completely forgotten everything by that time. I even started a name list to keep track of whos who, as well as a mini family tree. Sad eh? sigh
Well, I held on to the last book, just, simply amazed... Pondering what is all the fuss about its ending, THE ending. How do you feel when you know, this is it? The end. That once its over, its over? I threw down the book a couple of times at the last few chapters, just afraid to read on. =) I know its silly, but its true. I didn't want it to end.
It was like re-living my emotional rollarcoaster reading The Lord of the Rings by J. R. R. Tolkien, one of the BEST books ever. It is such a thick book, and along the way I was begging it to finish. But yet, at the last few pages, I was clinging on to each word, "No.. no.. Don't end! You cannot end like this! NOOOO" But it did, with those words that haunted me since "Well, I'm back."

And brilliantly, Rowling gave me those similar emotional journeys across all 7 books. Honestly, I didn't liked most books, especially books 4-6. But Deathly Hallows is a good book, and though I will not recommend anyone the Order of the Phoenix, I will highly recommend reading this one. After closing the book, I just sat there staring into space, my mind living in a world far far away...

The end. 2007 seems to be the end of many things. Harry Potter book 7, Pirates 3, Spiderman 3 (though more seems to be on the way). Many other things had ended as well. Star Wars movies, The Matrix, the Lord of the Rings. Nothing to look forward to anymore. At the end of all things.

Really reminds me about how swift the things of the world would "whither and die away". Movies will be forgotten, books turned into classics and left to gather dust, singers and actors age and fade away.

The only thing I am waiting eagerly is the third book of the Inheritence series by Christopher Paolini. He is another amazing writer, only 25 years old, who had his bestseller book Eragon at the age of 19.
Besides that- emptiness. Well, I AM glad that Harry Potter's finished. I HAVE A LIFE AGAIN! WOOHOO! Guess every worldly beginning has and end. 虽知天下无不散的宴席，仍恨世间总有伤感的别离。

The end. Nux.

By 'popular' demand...

2007-08-03T00:13:00.000+09:30

By "popular" demand, here are some more highlights of Peter's anime dress up party.

Itachi Uchiha from Naruto

Kakashi Hatake from Naruto

Sasuke Uchiha from NarutoSadako from The Ring

-_-"'

Anime experience

2007-07-22T13:10:00.000+09:30

One of the things I really really wanted since I was a kid, was to attend a costume party. And many thanks to Peter, my dreams finally came through.

For his birthday, he held a very unique party- Anime theme dress up!!

Just look at the variety of people who were brave enough to dress up and turn up at the event!
There were the Western cartoon characters- Mickey, Minnie, Power Puff Girls, Cinderella (before the ball), Batman, the Pirates household, a Scream ghost, Alice in Wonderland cards guards... As well as the classic Japanese characters, including Sailormoons (there were 2), Kyo Sohma from Fruit Basket, the ghost from the Ring that climbs out of TV sets, the Naruto Clan...
There are simply TOO MANY good characters and photos... I wonder how to upload them all. But here are some of the highlights of the night:

Luffy from One Piece

Tenten from Naruto

Tohsaka Rin from Fate/ Stay Night

Nicholas D. Wolfwood aka Chapel

Ryu from Street Fighter

As for me, I went as Kuchiki Rukia, one of my favourite shinigami from the anime Bleach. Though I look NOTHING like her, and I gave up on trying to copy her hairstyle (it simply looks ridiculous in real life).
My sword was my proudest accessory. $3 for 2 from Chinatown. Woohoo! Beat that man! Introducing, my very own...

Sode no shirayuki

No, I'm not into cosplay as some of you may be thinking now. I just really liked costume parties, as it is a lifelong desire to dress up as a character I really like. I've always asked myself: who will I go as? Jedi? I will go as Aayla Secura, very hot alien Jedi (with blue skin). I would also like to be an elf from LOTR, or a Hogwarts Gryffindor student, or Saber from Fate/ Stay Night...

Why do people dress up? Especially little children who like to dress up as their superheroes: Spiderman, Superman... When one dresses up as someone else, someone we admire or long to be like, it sorts of feels like, hey, you are or can be that person. Like a kid who walks around as Superman would pretend to fly around and 'catch bad guys'. Its the same now. Part of who we are are sometimes defined, by what we dress as.

I wonder... How would it be like if I dress as a princess, as the daughter of the King of Kings? Would I feel and act like one? I guess so. For once I'll behave like a woman. =) How about the robes of a slave with heavy chains? Will I act and feel like one too?

Sometimes, we have to completely strip off our old 'costumes'- the failed loser, the abused, the low confident, the abandoned... And to put on new clothings- the RESCUED, the LOVED, the CONFIDENT, the CHILD OF A KING...

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation;
the old has gone, the new has come!
2 Corinthians 5:17

How can we expect to be someone better, if we cling on to the old?

Hope

2007-07-20T18:02:00.001+09:30

This morning, I lay in bed for one full hour, drifting in and out of sleep. Yes I know... I am one of those who snoozes for more than one hour until 10 minutes before the bus comes. Just ask poor Ruby whose room is RIGHT next to mine. Haha! Thank God for handphones that snoozes INDEFINiTELY!

But it was not the normal lazy snooze I experienced this morning. I lay in bed, refusing to wake up.
Because I found that I have no reason to.
Because I KNOW the routine I have to go through, even the ones before I leave the house.
Because I hate to go through another day.
Same bus. Same route. Same routine.
More pressure, more expectations, more stress.

Scarily, I found that- I had no hope.
For a better day, for something exciting to happen, for my assignments to MIRACULOUSLY finish by itself, for getting some results in the lab...

Somehow, it seems like the evil spirit of Depression decended on Adelaide, as many of my bro and sis in OCF also experienced it.

And not by coincidence, OCF's Christmas in July drama was rightly entitiled: THE HOPE. About how there is hope, and the only hope is in Jesus Christ. I should know, as hey, I was one of the scriptwriters!

The story was about a girl Jamie, your everyday normal international student. Although she often sacrifised going out with friends to focus on her studies, she did badly in examinations and was scolded terribly by her mother. Her friends were also not understanding, and her boyfriend left her. The world collasping down on her with no more reason to live, she took her own life.
When she woke up in hospital, she found herself staring at her own dying body. With the help of an angel, she was transported back in time to meet with Hope (Jesus). She followed Him around, witnessing the miracles He performed, and experiencing first hand His ultimate love for her.

The experience taught her that there is no hope relying on worldly things (job, money, status, relationsihp, friends, familiy...), as they come and go and will one day whither away. BUT, the ONLY hope we can get, is in someone ETERNAL, someone who is the same yesterday, today and forever.

I eventually dragged my sorry ass out of bed and went abouts my daily routine. Had a really good day actually, with chocolate cake and great company.

Winter, the mellow season... :S

ASM 2007 conference- Adelaide

2007-07-13T01:41:00.000+09:30

Had the privilege to attend another conference this year- Australian Society for Microbiology (ASM) conference, held in Adelaide at the Convention Centre this year. It is a huge conference, with attendees from all over Australia, as well as around the world.

Besides the wonderful venue and the great food (hmmm.... ain't that the REAL reason we attend conferences?), I really enjoyed the WIDE range of talks I attended. Some of the most outstanding include an FBI agent from USA doing forensic microbiology. He is one of the people responsible for detecting where the anthrax after 9-11 came from. There was also another talk by Dr. Dennis Mok from Queensland, who single-handedly set up a diagnostic lab in war-torn East Timor. His chilling picture presentation of the unrest in that nation, as well as the hospital facilities there... Words cannot describe how I felt for that nation, as well as for his bravery and sacrifise. Many other talks like garlic selectively kills cancer cells, to new virus discoveries were MIND-BLOWING. Never enjoyed microbiology so much in my life!

I also had my first poster presentation there. Nothing special, just standing next to my badly done poster smiling for 1 hour. No one approached me... :( Oh well. Had lots of yummy biscuits, fruits and coffee.
There are also HEAPS of goodies from pharmaceutical sponsors, and amongst the bagful of chocolate, squashy stress ball in the shape of the globe and a step counter I got, I got these cute virus soft toys made by Giant Microbes. The black one is HIV, and yellow one is hepatitis C virus. Cool eh? Only bored, deprived, sad scientists like me would go "Ohh!! Its a Hep C!!! Argh!! So cute!!!"
And did I mention the food?? Dinner included oysters, BBQ, and even CHOCOLATE FONDUE FOUNTAIN!! Top that up with Jazz music by a bunch of school kids.

Ah... conferences...

Looking forward to my next one already! =p

Stimulating visit

2007-07-10T18:56:00.000+09:30

I was deeply honoured to have my great high school friend Ying Ying dropping by Adelaide for a ~2 week visit. Well, to be honest, I was also stressed. Well, Ying Ying was to bunk with me during her visit. And, ya, my room... probably is as bad as being hit by the hurricane. A few times. And my fridge... empty except for rotting/ going to rot food. Hahaha! Never seen my room so clean since I moved in on the morning before Ying Ying arrived! =D

Ying Ying really blessed me a lot during her stay. Not to mention the intellectual stimulations, the 'enlightenments', opening up of eyes especially to see how ignorant I am on issues happening around me. I have NEVER seen anyone so hardworking, so self-improving, so fired up to 'save the world', and believe that one person CAN make a difference. She is so focused on her goal and 'calling' in life, that other things are merely distractions, or money and time consuming, and that money/ time could be used for a greater cause.
And with all that, she is not even a follower of Christ. :S Seriously put me to shame... What am I doing man? Me, the so-called disciple of Christ??

I have been (constantly) challenged to live a life of PURPOSE and MISSION. No, my life's mission is not to memorise/ study Star Wars, or to watch every movie out in the cinema (though I would really like it...). Darn. I HAVE to find my calling, and my mission field God prepared for me. And when I do, to hang on to it with ALL I have, and not divide my energy to other less-vital events.
Well, besides spiritual activities, I also got to visit for my first time, Ceder House in Harndorf (home of the famous artist Hans Heyson), Toy Factory, Melbas Chocolate Factory, Hot Chocolate shop, Adelaide Arcade gallery... amongst MANY other places I would just not go or notice if not for Ying Ying. Her love for history and heritage really rubbed on me.

All the best in your pursue to make a difference in the world Ying Ying! Thanks for a WONDERFUL time in Adelaide, hope you had fun and were not bored to near death (or die from the filth in my room....) =) Miss you and hope to see you soon!
Special thanks to Yu Sheng, Jenny, Wai Yeong, Alwin, Jezamine... and everyone else who helped show Ying Ying around and make her feel at home. Special thanks to Ruby and Liz for accomodating her in our house. And for poor Ming aka driver and tour guide. Thanks heaps guys!

Bake it, shake it

2007-07-06T16:09:00.000+09:30

Truly had some 'Mindy Mania' last week when I was invited to Mindy's birthday party, as well as a 'sleepover' party for combined Mindy-Esther birthday celebration. Thanks for inviting me along guys! :) One special thing I learned is that a lot of my friends can really bake well. Some can even shake it really well... Haha. Snuggled comfortably in the sofa amongst wonderful friends, with endless stream of great food... It is so easy to take these blessings for granted. As I often do. To be surrounded with TRUE friends you can TRUST to watch your back with absolute confidence, and know that they will do anything for you if the need be. THAT is really SOMETHING.

How many people sit at home at night, all alone, their only companion their computer? Staring at four walls, filling up time with MSN, blogging, gaming...

You can tell yourself that you like coming home to an empty room. That you PREFER it. Social life is for youngsters, and you have outgrown it. Besides, there are SO many things to do, you simply cannot afford to go out and spend money and meet people.

But when you are lonely, depressed, or have a good news to share and celebrate about, you suddenly realised that, although you have many 'friends', you do not have any friends.

One thing I learnt, is that to have a meaningful friendship, you have to spend time on it.
Also, we should not be content in our little friendship circle. But rather we need to open our arms and invite others to join our joy. To shower them with our love that comes from above.

By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.
~John 13:35

Chili-powdered chocolate cake

2007-06-25T14:46:00.000+09:30

What type of cake would you get someone who loves to eat chocolate, peanut butter, and spicy stuff?

Erwin, the Iron Chef OCF, had baked this cake specially by the request of mastermind James.
Looks like any other ordinary, innocent, mouth-watering chocolate cake right?
But wait a minute... Hidden under the smart disguise...

CHILI POWDER CHOCOLATE CAKE WITH PEANUT BUTTER CREAM!!!!

And it does not taste all that bad! Quoting some:

"The chili brings out the taste of chocolate".

What a special touch to a great suprise birthday!
:) Happy happy (belated) birthday to the extrodinary, the inspiring, the one and only- Esther!
Thanks to James for organising everything! Also to Su Ling (I still cannot believe you managed to steal her keys...), Ming, Laza, Gillian who drove, Mindy who sneakily let us in, and everyone else who helped 'torture' our poor queen!

No. 1

2007-06-20T10:56:00.000+09:30

The number 1
What does it mean to you?

Its the 1st number children will learn about. 1 as in 1, 2, 3...

It also reminds people of their birthdays, either they are born on the 1st of the month, or in January.

There is also something special about the 1st time we do anything. It is the most exciting, also the most memorable.
1st crush, 1st love, 1st date, 1st time holding hands, 1st kiss... The hardest to forget, and brings back bitter sweet memories.

My favourite number during primary school was 1. I wanted the number 1 in everything- 100 marks for exams, getting no. 1 in the class/ form, finishing the race no. 1... The number 1 ruled my life.

But so often, when you achieved your no. 1, when you are at the top, at the very highest pinnacle of your performance, when you hold your 1st 1 million tightly in your grasp, and achieved all you have been slaving for for so many sleepless busy nights... There will also be a new 1 in your life.

You are alone.

You know, 1 is the loneliest number

Fox Mulder, X Files: Fight the Future

I also realised that for God, 1 is not always 1. There is only 1 God (Romans 3:20). But God is also 3 in 1: the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit (Matthew 28:19). For God, 1 day is like 1 thousand years, and 1 thousand years are like 1 day (2 Peter 3:8). On top of that, many who are 1st will be last, and many who are last will be 1st (Matthew 19:30). Too wierd.

1. What DOES it mean to you?

Birthday jealousy

2007-06-18T11:52:00.000+09:30

An extrodinary chocolate mousse cake from David Jones, a yummy Vietnamese dinner with 11 people, burning candles and many camera snaps... yet another friend of mine is 1 year older.

But this was not a usual birthday party. For me anyway. Usually I am very excited about birthday parties, and often rack my brains days before thinking of how to "kena gao gao" the unsuspecting birthday boy/gal, as well as the best birthday gift, to try and make each and every birthdays unique, special, and memorable. After all, we wait eagerly for 364 days for this one day, when for once, the world does evolves around us, don't you agree?

Yet this was one birthday party I did not want to attend. Well, maybe the fact that I only know 3 of the 11 people invited contributed to it. Maybe it was the knowledge that I have to walk ~20 minutes in the cold, dark night alone, carrying all my heavy uni stuff with me. And knowing that the people invited have HUGE appetites, leaving me often scavaging for scraps.

The birthday boy is one very blessed fella, and I suspect he may not even be aware of it. Its like, he gets things that I really want, and I just see God's blessing raining down on him (who does not even know God), and there I was left standing in the drought. A great big in-your-face, and if I may say, almost to the point of feeling God taunting me "So, what are you going to do now, eh?"

Jealousy. Yes, jealousy, will drive you MAD!
El Tango de Roxanne, OST Moulin Rouge

Another slap on the face, another lesson to learn, another bad attitude to change. Henceforth begins the excruciating slow process of me learning to be content with all that I have, to know that I AM BLESSED!!, and that in fact all blessings come from the grace of God- I do not deserve ANY of it.

Jealousy is just not worth it- its energy draining, emotionally killing, and heck, you will only harm yourself while the other guy lives on happily. Once I begin to love myself and be content with what I have, and the revelation that all things belong to Him anyway, I find the real joy and peace, which is in Him alone. I also found out (the hard way), that only divine LOVE can heal me. Only God's love can keep me sane, and grant me victory in my internal battle. Only love can stop me from hating that innocent friend of mine, but feel happy for all his happiness. Only love can set me truly free.

And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.
1 Corinthians 13:13

Frosty Friday morning

2007-06-15T12:32:00.000+09:30

Woke up this morning ~9am only to behold an amazing sight I would never have imagined I would encounter in Adelaide.

Frost! FROST!!! woohoo!!

It is on cars as well as grass patches in the neighbourhood, but only where there is no sun. Once the sun shines on them, the frost just melts away. Very cool to touch, and my hands had mild cold frost, ie no feeling in the hands for like an hour after that.

And even Amber enjoyed the crunchy grass, I think...

Woohoo!! But playing with the frost in the neighbourhood has its price. I missed 2 buses to go to uni this morning. :S

Cake and cookie craziness

2007-06-09T18:18:00.000+09:30

Huey(chi)'s cooking adventure: chocolate mud cake, apple raisin muffins & pecan tollhouse cookies!

Jane and I made the chocolate cake on a very short notice for James' suprise birthday on 6th June. The 6 of us sort of barged into his house (with the help of the mastermind- sneaky bro Ming) at midnight to suprise the poor, sleepy, stressed out James. Haha! To see him suprised and completely at a lost: absolutely priceless!

Although James is the youngest amongst us east siders, birthdays still mean you become one year older! So, happy 19th bday James! Getting old now, so do enjoy your last year as a teenager ya? =)

Well, all in all, the cake turned out ot be too hard and lost its moisture as a mudcake, thanks to me who left it in the oven for 30 minutes more than it should have. It was also not as delicious as Erwin's or even Woolworth's cakes. :S sigh More work to be done here, eh? I completely wrecked Jane's cake.

Special thanks to Esther and Su Ling for driving down, Jezamine, Jonathan for the camera, and Ming for organising it. Thanks to Jane who cooked for me and helped me bake the cake! Would not have realised I made so many mistakes if not for you... :p

On the other hand, the cookies and muffins went to my lab meeting in uni. Michael, the honours student in my lab, challenged me to a bake-out, to see who makes the best pecan tollhouse cookies. Yeah, the crazy bored scientists in my lab wanted an Iron Chef challenge in baking for a long time now. The recipe he gave me was his mom's secret recipe, which ended up was available online with a simple Google search. -_-" Anyways... being not so secret anymore, I put my hands on the first cookies I have ever baked. Just in case it turned out to be a total disaster, I also made the muffins, of which I had plenty of practice with, having baked in bulk for Amanda & Duane's engagement party few months ago.
I wasn't sure about the recipe instructions: 'cream the butter and sugar till it is light and fluffy'. According to Michael, you just fold the butter and sugar with a wooden spoon till creamy, and the butter just has to be at room temperature, ie do not need to melt it first. I ended up stirring hard clumps of butter and sugar which were more like stuck to the wooden spoon and being moved around for more than half and hour, till I sore and gave up although my dough was more like 'hard and clumpy' instead of 'light and fluffy'. Because of that, the remaining steps were a nightmare, with super clumpy uneven dough and muscle-building mixing that would have made Arnold proud. I lost my cool and ended up just chucking the lots of them into the oven.
Praise God it actually turned out alright, with good feedbacks, and it was even more popular than my muffins! Woohoo!!! My first batch of failed cookies! Yay! Call me: Iron Chef Baking!! Haha!

Though Michael makes better cookies than me (who cares?) , I am still basking in the 'cookie glory' that I even tried baking my second cookies: double chocolate chip cookies. With even more hiccups, frustrations, and mainly plain stupidity on my part, it once again turned out almost alright! Though Qian's cookies would put these to shame anytime. This sorta failed batch will go to my fellow post-graduate IDL classmates in uni, for the mini celebration of the last tutorial we will be having.
=) Ahhh, the wonders flour, butter, sugar and chocolate can become in the oven!

Star Wars Celebration IV

2007-06-03T00:15:00.000+09:30

To celebrate the 30th anniversary of the release of Star Wars: A New Hope in 1977, fans around the world gathered at the Los Angelas Convention Center from May 24-28 for a once in a lifetime Star Wars Celebration IV. FYI, celebrations I, II, III were in conjunction with the release of Star Wars Episodes I, II, III respectively.

Disney World in Florida is also having Star Wars Weekends the whole month of June, and released a series of really awesome merchandises.

*sigh* wish I could be there...

Many of you may think I am crazy to still like Star Wars. "Didn't the movie ended ages ago?". Yes the movies did finish. But note that I am hardly a fan of the movies at all, but rather a fan of the ever expanding universe of Star Wars. The universe of Star Wars created by George Lucas was allowed to be expanded by the fans in forms of comics, novels, animations, art, games, magazine, action figures, Lego, costume making (501th legion), props replicas... and even fan films. The winners of fan films, either live action, CG, or stop animation, stand a chance to be given awards by George Lucas himself.

The next series of Star Wars would not be Episodes VII, VIII, IX (many of you would say *phew!*), but an animation featuring the Clone Wars. Games to watch out for is Star Wars Force Unleased for X-Box and PS3 which looks totally AWESOME.

So if any of you are still wondering why I still like Star Wars, hope this clears it all out for you! =) And for those of you who hoped that Star Wars had died with Episoide III, your worst fears are comfirmed! The universe of Star Wars and its army of geeks live on! =)

BBQ at Wally and Ailyn's

2007-06-02T23:37:00.000+09:30

Before I forget, I would really like to thank EVERYONE who attended/ helped out/ contributed food for last Saturday's BBQ dinner at Wally and Ailyn's. This includes: Laza, Jane, Duane, Mandy, Christina, Shirley, Tim, Esther, Mindy, Jezamine, Lizzie, Ruby, Samuel, Tan/ Kok Hwa, Jonathan, James, Ming... did I miss someone out? If so I'm so sorry!

Last but not least, special thanks to the Hanin family Wally and Ailyn for opening up their house, feeding us, caring for us big kids, and for all the great advise imparted to us. For me, it is one of the more 'holy' meetings we had in their house, hahah :p, but it was definately great to be able to sing praises and pray to our Father as one big familiy. I definately would want more prayer meetings like this in the future. Perhaps during the winter breaks! =)

wierd toy put together by us

7.15 am

2007-06-01T11:13:00.000+09:30

7.15 am. For the past 3 days I have been waking up no later than 7.15 am. Why? It is the time the kitties wake up.

Amber's surgery went smoothly without complications, leaving 3 tiny scars and a weak tired cat.
As post-anaesthatic surgery care, she has to be kept indoors where it is warm and dry. And as Adelaide weather has been wet and cold everyday lately, she was basically imprisoned in the house during the day and in my room at night.

Amber is a great cat to sleep with. She just curls up at the foot of the bed (or maybe I kicked her there...) sleeping soundly throughout the whole night. Then when the sun gets up ~7 am, and when my snooze alarm starts to ring, she gets up and 'massages' me (those who have seen them use their front paws to push knows what I mean). Alfalfa... well... tends to get up earlier and terrorise the stuff around my room. The second day I woke up cause she pushed my glass of water to the floor along with other stuff, and I found my stuffed dog who lives on my shelf near their food bowl. :S

So there you go! My very own personal fail-safe alarm clock. A massaging Amber.

Woman no more

2007-05-29T11:08:00.000+09:30

Name: Amber aka Amber the sphynx of seven lives
DOB: 11 November 2006
Hobbies: Scratching the chair and human's legs, chasing Alfalfa around the house, eating/ scavaging for food, exploring things unknown, jealous of Alfalfa
Status: As of today, woman no more!

This rainy morning, I brought Amber to the vet for a day-long operation to desex her. Yes, desex. Spay, neuter, castrate... anything you want to call it. Basically, she would be a 'woman' no more. No I'm not being cruel. No I am not a mean maniac that goes around castrating animals. I have decided to desex Amber as we really cannot afford to have her go around the neighbourhood getting heaps of kittens. Also, it helps her be less 'attractive' to males, thus would prevent fights/ rapes/ getting Feline HIV. Yes, cats have HIV too, and have similar characteristics with human HIV.

My heart melted when she meowed so loudly in the vet this morning, scratching the cage. When I hugged her, I felt so sorry for her, yet know that this has to be done.

So by 4pm 29th May 2007, Amber would be desexed and have a tattoo as a sign on one ear, given 2 vaccinations, nails clipped, baby tooth pulled out, and microchipped and a tattoo on the other ear as a sign. Yes, microchip, which some of you may associate with the end times microchip. It would contain basically my details, in case of lost pet, or if she gets into an accident, or was caught by the council. An identification chip so to speak. Nanochip. No, not GPS yet. But it would be WAY cool!

So behold! Amber the sphynx of seven lives who is woman no more.

Heroes

2007-05-24T15:30:00.000+09:30

Heroes season 1 has ended this week in America with its last episode 23 - How to stop an exploding man. Heroes season 2 would only return around September. To fill your 'hollowness' and appetite for Heroes for the next 5 months, do visit the Heroes NBC official website for interviews, behind the scenes, cool photo galleries, even a Heroes graphic novel!

Buses and me

2007-05-23T20:27:00.000+09:30

Last week, I waited at the bus stop in the city for the 102 bus, in the dark and in the cold, for an hour. In that excruciating 1 hour, saw 3 106 and 2 104/105 buses pass by. Today, I waited at the same spot for the 105 bus, and saw 2 106 and 2 102 buses pass me by. :S

Although I have taken the Adelaide Metro bus for over 4 years now, I have the tendency of missing them lately. I do not mind waiting for an hour to get home, but I get very frustrated sitting at the bus stop opposite my house for 30-45 minutes to get to uni. This always results in me being late, giving a very bad impression, and not getting a lot of work done.

takes in deep breath, exhales with oooo saaaaa.......

Once, the bus was 10 minutes late. When I got on angrily, I met my friend Dennis, who was then a young Christian, who told me that he was late and had prayed for God to let him catch the bus. Behold! The usually punctual bus WAS late, and as a result he could get on and get home in time for Hosanna dinner.

This teaches me not to complain when buses are late. I sometimes miss the bus, only to get on to the next one to meet my friends. God;s ways are just the wierdest! Haha! I like my bus times as it is the only time I'm truly 'free', with no obligations to do, and which I am really alone. Wierd as it may be, but it is one of the best time for me to speak with God.

Conclusion... the BEST sight for me is the 105 coming towards me! Oh well, I'll just try to be punctual next time.

ACHV conference

2007-05-22T11:41:00.000+09:30

Day 1, 14 May 2007

Woke up on the wrong side of the bed… :S What a way to s tart a 3 day Australi an Centre for Hepatitis Virology (ACHV) conference in the Burnet institute, Melbourne!

I was privileged to be allowed to join the ACHV conference with other members of my hepatitis B research lab. Our accommodation at Quest Service Apartments was simply LOVELY! Its a fully furnished apartment, equipped with microwave, washing machine, dryer… wow, wanna live here forever!

Well, it all went downhill from there as I slept for 9/10 of the talks today! Haha! Everyone was laughing at how I slept, but I was seriously EXHAUSTED. Accumulated from having not enough sleep for the past week or so. The food as usual, was GREAT as expected in a conference. The Burnet Institute was so BEAUTIFUL it puts my lab to shame. And got to briefly meet people from other labs around

Australia

, and my old dear classmate Yanni (and just-found-out sister in Christ) who is now working in Melbourne.

I don’t know what to expect from conference. It is my second time now. I treat it as a holiday as well as a great time to get to know other people and share information. But I want more. I want to know what God has in store for me to fellowship with my lab colleagues. Today is also the first day of Paradise Community Church’s Daniel fast, of which I’ll be fasting from soft drinks and coffee here, and dessert when I go back. Man! Drank orange juice the whole day… :S (crankiness), but it was all good. Got to talk to Arend from

Germany

about me going to church and standing up for God. It was great. I am now exhausted but need to prepare for my 10 min presentation tomorrow. Oh well, tomorrow is going to be a better day!

Thank you all for your prayers, especially Laza and Jane!! I truly felt blessed and being guarded by angels along the trip. Also thank you Ming for fetching me so early in the morning… We were both so cranky this morning. =)

Day 2, 15 May 2007

I’m going to die. Oh my gosh. I’m SO dead. *mentally going through my slides again*
Oh my gosh, I’m going to make a fool of myself and make my supervisor hate me.
I wanna puke. I’m so dead… GOOOODDD!! HELP ME!!!! GGGGOOOODDDD!!!

Then I went up to present a ~9 min presentation. Fumbled a lot with the words, and was not confident with some of the newer slides, even forgot to mention certain important points. But some in the audience were smiling, including the organiser and a leng chai from UNSW lab I met yesterday. Haha!

With 1 question I was off. Almost fainted in my chair. *phew* My presentation this time was not as stimulating and discussion-causing as my previous talk, or even the talk of my junior in the lab doing part of my project. I didn’t have much results or controversies to present anyway. Nothing I felt could bring glory to God or to be proud of. But oh well, its over. Time to sleep in others' seminars...

Had a great dinner that night in a Greek restaurant, and got to chat with my leng chai from UNSW the whole time! Haha! His passion for research and his strive for excellence and self-improvement just puts me to shame, and making me re-think this path I took. We then went to a bar called Lucky Coq, which is all red with great music. Didn't drink, but enjoyed the atmosphere. Also wondering what Aunty Merrilyn or others would think of me being here, or of the pub in general... She mentioned before that she can see evil spirits lurking at every corner of a club she went to. But I was looking around hard, and only saw walls. Shows how spiritually attuned I really am... Or I might be just ignorant.

Day 3, 16 May 2007

Drop dead exhausted! Last leg of seminars were good, with Georget winning the ACHV Travel Award for hepatitis B, totaling $5000 to allow her to attend an international conference in Rome. How awesome!

At the Melbourne airport, my supervisor treated us all with a round of drinks, of which I had gin and tonic. Needless to say, I was a read as a lobster in less than 30 minutes! Haha! Trip home was fine, and we were blessed to sit the new Virgin Blue planes with individual TV screens! It was awesome but you have to pay $6 to watch any of the 30 channels available. :S Oh well, sleep...

All in all a great experience, met a lot of new people, and got to know my lab collegues a lot better. Most of us were left with bad headaches and exhaustion from the trip, but it was a WONDERFUL time. =)

I feel like I'm being watched...

2007-05-18T10:58:00.000+09:30

For the past 2 days I have been working with my co-supervisor (who keeps reminding me that he flew 30 hours half way across the globe to ‘help’ me with my lab work), who was basically watching my each and every move. It was like first year lab all over again, with him screaming "STOP!!" "Wait!" "What are you doing??" and literally pulling pipettes or tubes out of my hand on the first day. :S

How would we all behave when we know someone (especially someone our senior) is watching how we perform our 'normal' duties? Would we work with our backs straight and chest high, trying to impress him? Or would we be nervous and basically screw up even the simplest things? Would we be someone different, either to be who they want us to be, or just simply to improve our performance to what it SHOULD be (ie have been slacking down).

It got me thinking. I may not feel like it, but God IS watching my every move now. Everything I say, do, even think, in public or in my little dark mind, is omniscence to Him. Heck, they are ALL written down in His book, and to be brought out one by one during my Judgement before the Lamb!

Wow... I must really improve how I live my life everyday, every second, like God is just next to me, watching me. Like Jesus is carrying the cross, walking with me, every single breath. It would be tough to live up to God's standards, but I know He does not require that perfectness, as I AM imperfect.

Something to pray for during my 21 days of Daniel Fasting. =)

A birthday and an open house

2007-05-14T01:20:00.000+09:30

Huey(chi)'s cooking advanture: sticky date pudding!

Hahaha! Looks bad but it does not taste THAT bad! =)

I experimented the cake twice in the last 2 days.

The first was for Amanda's 20th birthday party. HAPPY BIRTHDAY AMANDA!! We had a great time there watching Eurovision Song Contest 2007 (which the 'lesbian' band from Serbia I liked won!! hahaha!!), as well as a collection of BEST food I've tasted in a long time! Those include: Tan's shephard pie, Amanda's sushi rolls and AWESOME brownie cupcakes, and Celestine's hand made pizza from scratch! Super duper yummy! Besides catching up with some Hosanna pals, I also got to meet with some of Amanda's classmates. All in all a great enjoyable night.

The second was for Celine and Yu Ting's (first) open house. Haha. First as they are having multiple open houses to cater for more people. Its hard being so popular eh? There, we had MORE great food! Including Carol's famous tapioca cake, Erwin's curry chicken, Li Chang's nasi briyani, Kirsten's 'bread', Yu Choi's jelly, Jade's vege. Shelly's banana cake... and many many more. Woah! Spent the whole time eating only! Haha! Also got to know some Lincoln College people, and meet up with 'older' previous generation OCFers. And they played a cards mathematic game... -_-" I personally was a bit too stoned and brain dead to think. Also too stupid compared to others like Lam and Celine... All in all yet another great night out.

:S Ate too much, now suffering the consequence of tummy discomfort. Haha. And most definately some more kilograms of fat around my tummy!

The duck killing happy family

2007-05-11T17:05:00.000+09:30

I am so stressed and busy in the lab now it is SO not funny!! :)

My co-supervisor William Mason is here for a visit from Philadelphia, USA. We have been conversing via email or MSN webchat for a year or so. Yeah, I have not used MSN webchat before talking with him, heck, I didn't even MSN then! :S That aside, I was pressured and intimidated by his visit. He is like, THE MAN of hepatitis B research. Things we learn in textbooks... he's the guy who discovered them! Furthermore, I have been trying to replicate his results for a year and a half without success, and he has treatened to fly over personally to 'teach' me, or I'll fly over.

Well, he is here! Though I really wouldn't mind having a little trip up north...

Things have been going quite well so far. He has problems understanding my English (or rather Manglish), and does not get most of my jokes... But he is a nice kind supervisor, who is also intimidating and demanding and straightforward... =) Its a good chance for God to train me to survive by FAITH and GRACE alone to get me through 3 days with him in Melbourne! Haha!

Oh yeah, introducing some of my lab members, the 'duck killing' happy family. Recent photo taken in my lab (barely visible at the background).

God loves movies??

2007-05-10T00:23:00.000+09:30

When I first heard "God loves movies", I was like "you gotta be kidding". But part of me secretly yearned it to be the case, as hey, I love movies too!

Matthew Crouch and his wife Laurie, who runs Gener8xion Entertainment Inc., are movie makers in Hollywood. They were called by God to enter into a world and realm that most Christians avoid or even 'condamned', to be His light and through movies, reach into a generation/ society of people who would not enter a church in their lifetime. Their latest project One Night with the King based on Esther from the Bible, is one such movie, to tell people that as a minority, orphaned girl, you have a destiny and can make a difference in your world, although sometimes it may cost you even your life.

My dream is also to one day produce movies like Matt and Laurie, and through it include the Message. You don't need a Christian movie to share the gospel. God's Word could also be scattered around/ hinted in modern day blockbuster hits. Don't believe me?

Like in Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest, Pintel and Ragetti's dialogue after escaping from prison include:

P: Since when did you care (about stealing)?

R: Since we are immortal no more. We got to take care of our immortal souls (points to Bible held upside down)

Haha! Wanted to shout "Amen brother!" in the cinema!

Also movies like Spiderman quotes some Bible verses, like Uncle Ben in Spiderman 1: God said let there be light, and there was light. Some gospel was also scattered around Spiderman 3 (due to spoilers, highlight if you want to read on) like Peter Parker saying "You want forgiveness? Find a religion". Spiderman only got Venom off in a church, and Harry has to die for his friends so that they may live (John 15:13), and that Peter and MJ are not living together though they are a couple. An interview with Kirsten Dunst by Hoyts also quotes her saying "This movie is about good and evil. Also religion plays a big part in comics to me and Spiderman, including our visuals, like James [Franco] laying, with the sun rising at the end like a sacrificed lamb or Toby in the second one being over the people in the tram like he’s Jesus,” (spoiler finish) But to date I have yet to find any evidence of Kirsten, Stan Lee (creator of Spiderman), or Sam Raimi (director) being Christian.

It hit me again in the cinema watching Spiderman 3 at this scene, "Wow God, You do may love movies after all!" =) Now I can watch movies with less guilt... Hopefully...

Wierd encounters

2007-05-08T00:42:00.000+09:30

I think I really do have a 'TALK TO ME!!!' sign on my face...

Today 3 strangers, all local 'ang mo', approached me.

The first was a lost lady, well dressed, asking me for directions in uni. It was easy to guide her to the hall she wanted to go to as it was next to my lab.

The second was a guy 20-30 years old who spoke mandarin to me. "你好" (g'day). James and I bumped into him on our way to the bus stop after BSF. Initially he was enquiring about a bar's opening time, of which James and I have no idea. But then he turned and walked with us towards Rundle Mall, and kept conversing with me with his limited mandarin. So I entertained him, correcting him sometimes. Freaked me a little when he said "你很漂亮" (you are pretty).

After a long pause, he said "我不好" (I'm not doing well). After some pushing, he said that he does not have enough money for a bus ride back to Modbury. So I offered and gave him the 2 dollars he said he needed. "谢谢。晚安" (thank you. good night) and he left.

*phew* and I started complaining to James. We arrived at our bus stop by then.

Not 30 seconds later, ANOTHER 'ang mo' guy, 30-40 years old, approached James. Dunno what he said at first, all I caught was "Don't be scared. I just want to know what time the next bus is." Then begins another lengthy conversation. Behold! Nicholas the farmer, single, son of a millionaire, whose dad is an investor with 4 properties in Kensington. Pondering on his life's next move, looking for a life partner, wondering whether to start uni ("Its too late now..."), or to sell his farm...

Very nice guy. Did not 'stalk' me like the previous one. Ha. Very cheerful but also very lonely. We stopped talking after our bus arrived.

As freaked out as I was, Ming just laughed at me... -_-" If James were not there and I was alone... things might be a little different. I was a bit 'relaxed' and willing to talk as I knew (or hoped hard) that James could at least protect me if the need arises... Right? *crossing my fingers all the time* Eh, it was 9pm ok?

It got me thinking why God would let these people cross my path. "Why me??" And I had a really bad day today. But I was left with the hollow sinking feeling that I could have done better. If only I were Aunty Merrilyn, they would be converted already. I did not mention about God, and I do regret it a bit. I should have done more. But do what? I don't know.

Guess God is trying to get my attention to something I have not thought about. Random strangers who cross our path everyday. Maybe I should start carrying tracts around with me, and in all my future creepy conversations (if there would be any) just don't stop talking about God. I don't know. =) It was freeky though. And yeah, I know, everyone is different. Not everyone is Aunty Merrilyn. I just have to continue being myself. Thanks.

Be always ready and prepared for God to use you to impact others' life. Anytime, anywhere, anyone. ;)

Yet another shocking farewell

2007-05-06T02:42:00.000+09:30

Yet another good friend of mine has left Adelaide for good.

Christina was a second generation (people who moved in at 2003) Hosanna Heights resident like myself. We have been living in Hosanna Heights for almost 4 years. Together, we have been through and seen all sorts of stuff, from the craziest, wildest, fun-nest, best-test... you name it all! But she has now left us... The only thing remaining behind besides her memories, is Snakey.

Introducing my new stuffed toy, Snakey. The second stuffed toy I kidnapped from friends leaving Adelaide for good (the first was Dragone the dragon. Yes, I know I have good creativity in naming my stuffed toys).

Many people leave Adelaide/ Australia after studying here for years for various reasons. Work, family, girl/boy friend, do not like it here... Some left because God didn't say anything to them about staying back. I am one of those who can never hear from God.

"God, should I go home or should I stay back here in Aust after I graduate?"

*silence*

"No serious, I have to decide soon. What do You want me to do?"

*silence*

Ahh... the greatest returnee dilemma. But I do know that, do not worry. Do not try to plan our lives with our humanly brains. James 4:13-15 says that Now listen, you who say, "Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business and make money." Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes. Instead, you ought to say, "If it is the Lord's will, we will live and do this or that.". Sometimes God's plans have no logic. Sometimes it is hard to accept as it is against what we hope for. But the joy of living parallel to God's will and ultimate plan for us... is unbeatable.

Try it. Try giving up on worrying about your future, but giving it all to God, quieting yourself to hear from Him, and even if you don't, to not lose heart but hang on to Him. Ask other to intercede for you, seek comfirmation from elders. I believe that God WILL answer you, when you are ready.

Hungry kittens

2007-05-04T15:38:00.000+09:30

My kitties were so hungry one of them (I think it might be Amber) took at bite at Ruby's decorative shell on the dining table.

Before you start calling RSPCA for mis-treatment of pets... It was because they are currently on a diet. I brought them for their vet checkup few weeks ago, and found that they are bordering on overweight. Apparently, we have been feeding the kitties 2-3 times the recommended amount! Knowing that, I immediately cut down their diet of 3 1/2 cups of food a day to 1 cup a day. This leaves 2 very hungry kittens roaming the house.

They have been known to eat: carbonara sause, muffins, bread (they love it), coke, tapioca cake, chocolate chip cookies, cooked vegetables... And who knows what else they picked up along the way? My sister calls them 'birds' (as they like bread), but I call them 'ang mo' cats. My little sis Ann back home (the cat on the banner) would rather starve than eat bread. She is too spoilt...

Oh well. Its a cat's life after all.

Wonders of OCF Tshirt!

2007-05-02T21:53:00.000+09:30

Today I wore my red OCF Easter camp 2007 Tshirt to uni. Partly because it was the first shirt I saw in my wardrobe, partly because I have nothing else to wear as I haven't been doing my laundry, thanks to the weeks of rain.

Unexpectently, I bumped into an 'ang mo'/ non Asian with dreadlocks and looks new age-ish wearing the yellow shirt Ecamp shirt in uni!!! We looked at each other and were like 'wow'. Instant connection. I asked him which OCF he attends, and he said Adelaide Uni. Well, he may have been referring to him studying in Adelaide Uni, or he does attend OCF AU, if so I have never seen him in combined meetings. He might even be from Market Place church. I did tell him I was from OCF UniSA though.

Haha! Such a wierd and unexpected accquintance! Sad I didn't ask for his name... I was left with the awe of how God uses the most minute thing you can never think of to do His purpose. Well, I always figured that if He could make a donkey talk... He could do ANYTHING. =)

Happy bday Jez!

2007-05-01T22:36:00.000+09:30

The only thing going through my head for the past few days was "How can I celebrate Jez's bday? How do I sabo her gao gao"? =)

Well, I guess in the end Jez got to sabo us a bit as well! It was worth all the thinking just to see her screaming reaction when she got Gabrielle, or was it Michaelle? Or how do you spell it?? Haha!

Happy happy bday Jez! 20 aldy! Man you are so young. -_-" Or it is me getting old...

For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother's womb.
I praise you because I am wonderfully made; your works are wonderful;

I know that full well.
Psalm 139:13-14

Special thanks to EVERYONE who had helped out in the planning/ buying present/ 'execution' of Jez's bday! Especially Qian for driving to the city in manual car (woohoo!) and Esther, Mindy, James, YM (with Qian) for bracing the rain and hunting for her present! Also to all OCFers to helped chipped in Michaelle for making it happen!

Sad farewell

2007-04-25T01:36:00.000+09:30

A dear friend and sister had left us and Adelaide, to return to Singapore, and begin the hectic life of a nutritionist in a hospital.

Jeannie was the last of the girls from Easter Camp committee 2005 to leave us, leaving only the boys behind. It was really sad to see all my dear sisters return to their home countries one by one, but I know it is inevitable. OCF is meant to Reach Out, Build Up, and Send Back/ Out, not Reach Out, Pair Up, and Stay Back. =)

Although I only got to know Jeannie for a few years, I really do miss her unique smile, her 'jumpy' personality, and also her love for her dog! Haha! She is truly an example of not to judge a book by the cover. Rather, read on! And you would discover this beautiful, stunning princess of God hidden behind a gentle smile and 'shyness'.

All the best in your future endeavours Jeannie! We miss you heaps back here in cold wet Adelaide! Do come back to do PhD with me ya?? :) May God bless you and protect you all the days of your life.

Visit by an old friend

2007-04-23T03:10:00.000+09:30

I was honoured by the visit of my ol' high school buddy Chern Jie (CJ) the last few days. Although he was only in Australia for a short period of time, he made Adelaide on of his stops to visit myself and other high school classmates around.

He will agree with me that I was really having a hard time deciding where and what to show him in his 4 days in Adelaide. Adelaide... has plenty of things to see/ do and yet nothing, if you get what I mean. Don't get me wrong, I love Adelaide. It is small yet big, boring yet interesting... and has been my home for the past 4 years. Well, in the end, he got to see some parts of Adelaide though my viewpoint, and visited some of the landmarks, like the pigs in Rundle Mall.

Hanging out with him again really makes me miss the good old times, and makes me realise how I have lost touch with SO many other good pals from my high school days. As a traveller, he also opened my eyes to glimpse the life of backpackers/ travellers, happy-go-lucky and adventurous people whose passion are to travel around the world, sometimes alone, and to get to know each culture well.

Special thanks to Yu Sheng and Jenny for being such warm hosts, for showing CJ around Adelaide, and really helping me a lot. Oh, not to mention the DELICIOUS cookies! =) Also to YM for opening his house for CJ to stay in, as well as being hosts and our driver. Last but not least to the man himself, for choosing to visit humble Adelaide! We look forward to your next visit!

OCF SA Easter Camp 2007

2007-04-21T16:54:00.000+09:30

Beyond...
One of my greatest feelings about OCF SA Easter Camp 2007 was REGRET. Regret that I had to leave camp halfway through. For all that I was there, camp was simply AWESOME!! I went to Dzintari with full expectations, as I was there for Easter Camp 2005, and fell in love with the beautiful campsite there. I had a very wild time back in uni this year, and was really looking forward for a great rest. I was not disappointed.

Minus the aerobics dancing at 7am.... -_-"

For me, I met so many new people in camp, as well as catching up with so many ol' pals I have not seen in a while! Everywhere I go was like "Hey hi!", "How are you?" *hugs*. Love was really in the air. God's love was everywhere. As I had the previlage to help out the Ecamp committee, I also got to know the camp parents (opps, brother and sister) on a deeper level, and really enjoyed their company in addition to learning so much from them.

From camp, one of the things I learnt is that it is not about me. It is not about how good I am in helping out, how friendly I am, or how "holy" I am. We are but servants of God, and we work for Him because we love Him and want to please Him. Often I wanted to work for God to claim all the glory to myself. Like "Wow! Look at me! I brought someone to Christ! I did it!". And everytime God will smack me in the head (His unique way in dealing with me), and make me realise my pride and selfishness. :) Lesson learnt!

Special thanks to the Ecamp comm members for organising such a wonderful camp! Know that ALL your hardwork is not in vain! ;) Also to us 'fossils' Alan, Myra, Gillian, Del, Ray, Kenneth, Zac, Lai Ping, Yu Ting and others for helping out in the games section. Its been an honour to live by your side. :D