THANKSGIVING BREAK

WEEEEEEEEE!!!
Let me see, what did I do?

I went down to St. George with Shayla my roommate.
I helped her sister and brother-in-law pack and clean their apartment (they have officially moved to Lehi as of last Saturday).
I went to the St. George Temple (beautiful!).
I had Thanksgiving dinner with Shayla's brother-in-law's parents and grandmother.
I watched 2 Hallmark romantic movies while there as well.
I had In-And-Out Burger TWICE (so HA! to those who crazily queued up hours to get one here in Provo... it's like what one of my professors said, "It's good, but it's not that good").
Oh yes, and I GOT TO SLEEP IN.
Lovely...

And then on Saturday, with some divine intervention, I managed to get a ticket to go see the AWESOME (that's because I'm on the side of the victors of course) BYU vs U of U football game. Oh yeah! Oh yeah! It was SUCH a good game, that even though the Utes lost, there was honestly not too much shame in losing this one. Both teams played well, although we played just a teeny bit better. :)
It was sweet because it was my first time attending a football game, and it was cool that my 1st game was THE school rivalry game. BYU's victory was just the cherry on the icing.
Man, you should have been at the stadium when we went into extra-time. You could feel the tension of everyone there. Nail-biting, especially when BYU started playing their 4 downs and we kept getting pushed back.
But NO FEAR! Did we give up on them? NOOOOOOOOO!!!! That was an AWESOME run-in touchdown. It was pure ECSTACY!

I can only say though, that it stinks to be a football player and play on the opponent's homeground. I cheered whenever BYU played, and caused a rackus whenever the Utes played (because that's what the big screen told us to. I blame the big screen. Hee hee hee!) but even I felt bad for the Utes because it is demoralizing to hear nothing but chants of "oooooohhhh"s in your 3rd down, and cheers when you miss it.

But then again, that's exactly what they will do to us (and perhaps even worse), so I guess there's no love lost, and all's fair in love, war and college football.

I will post pictures next time because I need to get camera batteries.

All You Want to Know About Mormons...

I love this! And what a great way to use technology for a righteous cause.
Check it out!

Mormon Messages

Fun with Room-mates!!!

My room-mates (the very same ones I had blogged about a few weeks ago about Ward Prayer Spotlight) are (as Shayla loves to say) "A KICK IN THE PANTS!!!" And I love them to bits. We all get along really well.
When we have apartment prayer, we take turns saying it in different languages.
Su- Malay
Julie- Korean (she served a mission in Korea)
Shayla- English
Me- Chinese

Then, we also make caramel apples. This time, SUCCESS! (remember the 1st time when we kinda forgot to read the instructions and in the end the caramel had to be chiseled off the apples? Ha ha ha ha ha! It makes a GREAT date story). We made it from scratch this time. The end result was still a bit hard but heat it in the microwave for a few seconds and it softens and tastes fantastic!

Yeah, they look wonderful don't they?!
Let's see... just this past Wednesday afternoon we went up to the Salt Lake Huntsman Cancer Research Institute. Shayla was diagnosed with some form of cancer a few years ago, and she is completely cured now (hooray!). She still has to go for annual check-ups, and so we all took a mini-road trip up there. That's us in front of the center after her check-up.

Then we went over to Five Guys Burgers for some, well, burgers and fries.

What else have we done? Talk, watch romantic movies (Shayla and Julie are the ones who have got me hooked on them), laugh, share boy stories, visit IKEA all the way in Draper, write messages to each other on the mirror, write nice notes to each other, apartment group dates... I have so much fun with them.

Cross my fingers this lasts!

Who would have thought...

A microwave could be so handy? And it sounds safe too- no potential radioactive health hazards. Hmm... maybe I should forward this to my mother!



http://www.realsimple.com/food-recipes/tools-products/14-surprising-uses-for-your-microwave-10000001035388/index.html

Even I couldn't believe it

6

FREAKING

HOURS

That's how long my US History test took me on Friday to complete. my prof told us to give ourselves 3 hours- I thought that was ridiculous when i first heard it. But, no, this is ridiculous. Even JC exam papers were NOT this long.

You don't believe it. I can't believe it.
But it's true!
I don't even know how I did it. I could scarcely believe it myself when I read the clock afterwards.
2 essays- that's all! I have my theories as to why it took so long:
1) The time period and subjects- one essay required me to discuss the race issue in US History from 1945 to 1968. Hmmm... starting from the Civil Rights Movement under all 4 presidents to Martin Luther King Jr to Paul Robeson to Malcolm X to Little Rock 9 to the Greensboro sit-ins to the Cold War to the media to... Cram all that info. into an hour long essay? Uh-uh *shake head*

2) The other question asked me to pick the 2 MOST SIGNIFICANT a. Supreme Court decisions, b. TV shows, c. people and d. events from 1945-1968. HELLO? HOW TO PICK AND CHOOSE??? I mean, ok, I can pick a. and b. quite easily (one of the TV shows obviously had to be I LOVE LUCY because my prof. loves that show and showed it in class) but c. and d.? WAH SAY! Had to think hard! There were SO MANY significant people and events during that time period. Choosing the people and events took FOREVER! I kept changing people and switching events.

3) And not just pick and list it out and forget it- I also had to explain my choices and argue why I picked this over other choices. *fainz* By the time I got to part c. I was ready to throw up. My handwriting on the test got bigger and messier, and my brain was just on auto-mode. I was throwing every thought that came into my mind, and trying to frame it all into a convincing argument.

4) I just take a long time to process things and write them down. My outlines took forever to write down because I wrote down every single detail, afraid that I might forget them later. And then my arguments had to be reated on the spot and that was hard too. Writing the question on the race issue was massively harder to argue about because it wasn't a straight-forward argumentative essay. And in general I just take longer than average to complete ANY test for ANY subject because I want to be as careful as possible.

I better get an A. If I don't, I think I just might CRY. Really.

My room-mates asked me- "How did you even have 6 hours worth of stuff stored in your brain to write about?!" Well, when you're really scared of this class and study really hard and pray A LOT for divine help, you can. But dang! It has been a blessing hasn't it?!

I think my final for this test is timed. So just 2 words- NEVER AGAIN. But seriously, don't be so stupid like me.

By the way, in case you are wondering, my choices were
a. Brown vs. Board of Education & NY Times vs. Sulliven
b. I Love Lucy & Howdy Doody
c. Elvis Presley & Martin Luther King, Jr
d. The publication of Kennan's "X Article" & The Red Scare

Living vicariously through movies...

Ah romance romance... how I love a good ol' romance! And my room-mates are part of the problem because they LOVE Romantic movies (probably even mroe than me!) and have introduced quite a few to me.

I'm ADDICTED to this show. It is SO ROMANTIC. And what I really love about it is that it isn't just about romance, but is set within a revolutionary historical context- the Industrial Revolution in England. To see the complexities of the issues dealt with in that era played out was eye-opening: strikes, industrial pollution, poverty, upper vs. middle class, life in the mills, mill owners vs. mill workers.

It is a sweet Christmas movie- recommended. Who doesn't love a man in a uniform?!

I've been searching for this movie for the longest time, and was thrilled to discover that I had two room-mates with this movie. Oh this is just a lovely movie, which I've already watched 2x this semester.

Oh there are a few more, but I think I'll just put these 3 up first. *swoon*

Juat Haven't Met You Yet

Michael Buble - what a perfect song!

I'm not surprised
Not everything lasts
I've broken my heart so many times,
I stop keeping track.
Talk myself in
I talk myself out
I get all worked up
And then I let myself down.

I tried so very hard not to loose tt
I came up with a million excuses
I thought I thought of every possibility

And I know someday that it'll all turn out
You'll make me work so we can work to work it out
And I promise you kid that I'll give so much more than I get

I just haven't met you yet

Mmmmm ....

I Might Have To Wait
I'll Never Give Up
I Guess It's Half Timing
And The Other Half's Luck
Wherever You Are
Whenever It's Right
You Come Out Of Nowhere And Into My Life

And I Know That We Can Be So Amazing
And Baby Your Love Is Gonna Change Me
And Now I Can See Every Possibility

Mmmmm ......

And Somehow I Know That It Will All Turn Out
And You'll Make Me Work So We Can Work To Work It Out
And I Promise You Kid I'll Give So Much More Than I Get
I Just Haven't Met You Yet

They Say All's Fair
And In Love And War
But I Won't Need To Fight It
We'll Get It Right
And We'll Be United

And I Know That We Can Be So Amazing
And Being In Your Life Is Gonna Change Me
And Now I Can See Every Single Possibility

Mmmm .....

And Someday I Know It'll All Turn Out
And I'll Work To Work It Out
Promise You Kid I'll Give More Than I Get
Than I Get Than I Get Than I Get

Oh You Know It'll All Turn Out
And You'll Make Me Work So We Can Work To Work It Out
And I Promise You Kid To Give So Much More Than I Get
Yeah I Just Haven't Met You Yet

I Just Haven't Met You Yet
Oh Promise You Kid
To Give So Much More Than I Get

I Said Love Love Love Love Love Love Love .....
I Just Haven't Met You Yet
Love Love Love .....
I Just Haven't Met You Yet

Don't Ask... Just Learn

TA: Do you have your notes?
Student: Nope, I do have the PowerPoint slides printed out though, and the text book.
TA: You need your notes though, because most of the test is going to come from the notes which you take down during class
Student: Umm...
TA: Do you go to class?

Student: No.
TA: What?! Where do you go then?
Student: (muttering something that I couldn't hear)
TA (looks at him): WHAT?! Don't you think class is more important?


Lesson 1: GO TO CLASS


TA: Okay, let's go through the Law of Demand

For non-AH lor Econ learners, law of demand = price higher, consumer demand lower; price lower, consumer demand higher. Logical right? That's why SHOPPING SALES work most times.

TA: Law of demand states that blah blah blah. Okay, let's say we are buying a pair of sunglasses, and this pair of sunglasses costs $1000. Would you buy it?
Student: Er, yes.
TA (and Me are stunned): WHAT?! You would buy a pair of $1000 sunglasses?
Student: Yeah... if it is a good pair.

Lesson 2: *pianz* nothing to say. sad to say, the cliche is true- a few rich kids really do have an attitude problem.

TA: Let's look at this problem. A school principal believes that if you teach students the school rules, they will automatically behave themselves. Which one of the following illustrates this example? A. Classical Republicanism; B. Autocracy; C. Liberalism; d. (not important, cannot remember)
Student: What is "autocracy"? (Boy, you really need to go for class. Even I know that's not the answer)
After a short discussion in which she gave the definition for each one, "classical republicanism" being about having been taught the law and governing ourselves..."
Student: Is it... C? Liberalism?

*Ouch* painful painful
Lesson 3: LOAD UP ON PATIENCE if you ever want to be a TA (or teacher)

Last night, our apartment had another apartment group date, and we had fun making caramel apples, except that we forgot to read the instructions and... when we went to eat our caramel apples, they were AS HARD AS A ROCK!!! HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA! It was super funny lah! The instructions said to add in 1 tablespoon of water to the melting caramel candy (probably to break the bonds or something), and... we didn't.
So basically all we had done was simply smear on melted caramel CANDY that would harden afterwards and become
well
this layer of caramel candy, non-modified, that was so hard it could be CHISELLED.

It sure makes a great future "date" story I must say.
Lesson 4: READ THE INSTRUCTIONS before making anything.
Lesson 5: Pick a good date- I invited my home teacher and he was THE NICEST guy I have met so far. And he's so cool- he went to Indonesia to build houses after the tsunami and visited Singapore and Malaysia as well. It felt so good to be able to have a guy actually understand where I was coming from.

Hmm, guess I'm getting an education more than I paid for :)

What happened at ward prayer today:

Our turn to be spotlighted today, because apparently someone in the men's apartment who picked our apartment has a crush in my room-mate, which freaks her out because he sacres her. Oh dear.
But anyway, we did it and... well, you judge for yourself. We picked four categories to talk about after the usual introductions.

1) A weird/ quirky fact about our room-room-mate

• Shayla on Julie: Julie talks in her sleep. Once she shrieked, "Tell me about it!" in her sleep and stuck out her hand for a "hi-5"
• Julie on Shayla: Shayla sleeps with her eyes 1/2-open, so I never know if she is looking at me in the morning...
• Me on Su: Su told me that the state of her room reflects the state of her life. So when her side is messy, I get the point...
• Su on me: Keshia wears this glow in the dark shirt every night (NOT TRUE- I alternate this and another nightgown but I wear this one more often cos it's so comfy!) and so when I come in after lights out, I use the light from her shirt to see my way around

2) A secret desire of ours

• Su: Build my own house and live in it
• Julie: To be a jazz singer-cum-spy
• Me: To be a profesisonal ball-room dancer (when I added, "which I'll never be" to it, they laughed)
• Shayla: A football coach (this is SO HER!)

3) What we absolutely love

• Me: Eating!
• Julie: Watching sports
• Shayla: Baking
• Su: Making out... -Of course she was kidding (or was she?) and it was hilarious because the Bishop attended tonight!

4) A dessert that represents us

• Shayla on Julie: CHOCOLATE COVERED STRAWBERRIES- because she is desried by all the men, she's sweet and red (Julie's a redhead) and divine!
• Julie on Shayla: FATTY FUN CAKE- Shayla is so fun and has this ball of energy that goes off sparodically and is so happy to be around
• Su on me: TRIAL MIX- She's little bit of everything. She has sweet parts in her, she has nutty parts in her, and she has "don't touch me" parts as well. I hate eating raisins, and so the "don't touch parts" are the raisins :)
• Me on Su: PEANUT M&Ms- Su is colorful and sweet and everything, and she's also nutty inside!

It was great.

Vending Machines WONDERFUL things

I know, the food that dispenses from such machinese aren't the best, but hey, it is

CHEAP (which is seriously the most important thing to me now)

AND

Last wednesday, I went to buy a cookie from the vending machine. I paid for it and as it was dispensing my cookie it

got

stuck.

Dang! Well, it happens right? So happen that there were people stocking the other vending machines at that time, and they told me to pay for another one, and I could reimburse the stuck one.
which was okay with me, except I didn't want TWO cookies and it wasn't WORTH IT to go through all the trouble to reimburse $1.00. But since I was very hungry, I just paid for another one, and this time, the machine dispensed the
stuck cookie
AND
TWO other cookies. WOO HOO!!!
3 cookies for the price of 2?
Yeah!
Funny fact of that day. It made me laugh

Okay is it just me or....

• Are there seriously more Asians now in BYU? It's like, some Asian Invasion or something... There used to only be 1 Asian out of 1000, and now it's 1 out of every 50. Weird. I'm not saying it's not good, I'm just saying I'm not used to suddenly seeing so many fellow "bananas" on campus! BANANAS OF THE WORLD... UNITE!
• Are classes suddenly way more harder than I thought? I think it's because I haven't been to school in a long long time, but they are hard! Plus this semester all my classes are 300 level- HELP! I've so much reading to do and so this post is going to be short because, sorry- gotta go do HW. Ha ha ha!
• Is it funny that it is STILL SUMMER and HOT in September? I remembered my first year here... I was freezing when school started around the same time and it was cold because Fall had already officially started. So Fall is starting a bit late this year... hmmm... but it's glorious glorious glorious late summer though, so hooray!
• Does everyone else also feel THRILLED when they see their fellow missionaries on campus?
• Has the Cougareat just turned into a Legal Mafia cartel or something? Gees, they prices they are charging... what do they think they are doing? Endorsing loan sharks or something?!

I'M HERE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Oh my word- I'm actually really here. I can't believe it!

Those were my thoughts the very first minute I stepped on American soil.

Weird.

But it's been okay so far. I'm so thankful I'm returning back because the transition has been much smoother than I anticipated. Also, thanks to Abish, I have a cell-phone and one that got activated the very next day. That has been a big convenience, to be contactable.

I'm excited but nervous at the same time? What is school going to be like? My job? My ward? How will this semester turn out? What about my room-mates?
So many questions...
Time will tell!

It's great to see many Singaporeans here though. I love it!

Packing, packing, packing...

I feel like throwing everything away, and just bring the bare bare bare necessities with me.

Sigh... but of course, reality sinks in and

Things just don't work that way.

I can't believe I'm flying in 3 days time! Saying goodbye to people today was hard but... not really, because it DOESN'T feel like it. It hasn't sunk into me yet that this time, next week, I'll be in a completely NEW COUNTRY. Unbelievable.

On a more positive note, the YW presentation today was AWESOME! And the potatoe salad I cooked for the after-"party" was delicious too. :) Actually, all the food there provided by Charlene and Lay Hoon was amazing. Yeah for YW!!!

Less than a week left...

I can't believe how fast time has flown by. I've been off my mission for almost 6 months now, and I'm returning back to school already.
WOAH.
I'm excited but sad and nervous at the same time. URGH- I HATE SAYING GOODBYES.

In Loving Memory of

LAURIE CLARK

Adopted aunt, friend, angel

Laughter, optimism, courage

We will miss you. May you now rest in peace and health as you care for your family from the close proximity of heaven. We have hope in the future joyous reunion. May we continue to feel your angelic guidance and protection, and even more now.

I love you.

I've been OUT

Woah, it's been a while since I've posted anything.
Not for the lack of trying though! I've been trying to write something, but unfortunately, I've turned into a... stale blogger.
C
R
A
P
.
One of the worse things to hit me because I really do enjoy blogging- helps me vent out all my feelings. Either my muse-that-I-didn't-know-I-had-and-under-appreciated ran away, or my life has been sooooo boring that nothing seems worth writing about.

I think it's the latter. My life is very monotonous. Very very very. Sigh... but is it worth the pay?
OH YEAH. So I'm sorry, if there hasn't been anything funky posted lately, but you know, really, NOT sorry. ;)

For those feeling discouraged and down and almost bitter

Like me, when I sometimes feel about as much worth as a wallflower and discouraged about everything in my life. This is more of a gentle reminder to myself to never give up, and to keep giving life a chance.

I Hope You Dance by Lee Ann Womack

I hope you never lose your sense of wonder
You get your fill to eat, but always keep that hunger
May you never take one single breath for granted
God forbid love ever leave you empty handed

I hope you still feel small when you stand beside the ocean
Whenever one door closes I hope one more opens
Promise me that you'll give faith a fighting chance
And when you get the choice to sit it out or dance,

I hope you dance, I hope you dance

I hope you never fear those mountains in the distance
Never settle for the path of least resistance
Livin’ might mean takin’ chances, but they're worth takin’
Lovin’ might be a mistake but it's worth makin’

Don't let some hell bent heart leave you bitter
When you come close to selling out, reconsider
Give the heavens above more than just a passing glance
And when you get the choice to sit it out or dance,

I hope you dance.. (time is a wheel in constant motion always)
I hope you dance... (rolling us along)
I hope you dance...(tell me who wants to look back on their youth and wonder)
I hope you dance.... (where those years have gone)

I hope you still feel small when you stand beside the ocean,
Whenever one door closes I hope one more opens,
Promise me that you'll give faith a fighting chance,
And when you get the choice to sit it out or dance...

Dance (dance)

I hope you dance (dance),

I hope you dance... (dance) (time is wheel in constant motion always)
I hope you dance...(rolling us along)
I hope you dance (dance) (tell me who wants to look back on their youth and wonder)
I hope you dance.. (dance)(where those years have gone)
(tell me(dance) who wants to look back on their youth and wonder)
(where(dance) those years have gone)

Hey it's the weekend- cheer up!

Oh...

Unraveling how children become bilingual so easily

By LAURAN NEERGAARD, AP Medical Writer Lauran Neergaard, Ap Medical Writer
Tue Jul 21, 3:08 am ET

Since the article is so long, click here for the full thing. The most important excerpt is

"While new language learning is easiest by age 7, the ability markedly declines after puberty."

So this perfectly explains why my Chinese was pretty good in like, the first 2 years of Primary school, then once I reached Primary 3 it (very strangely) started declining down

down

down...

Perfect. Science is so amazing as an excuse. :)

Still, I think the advice they gave is good-

But she'd rather see parents follow biology and expose youngsters early. If you speak a second language, speak it at home. Or find a play group or caregiver where your child can hear another language regularly. "You'll be surprised," Kuhl says. "They do seem to pick it up like sponges." (Dr. Patricia Kuhl of the University of Washington is part of the international team now trying to turn those lessons into more teachable technology.)

I think kids are so smart- their brains just absorb things up like a sponge. Plus they are getting smarter and smarter at a younger and younger age! I remember Myra learning her ABCs around 3-4 years old from watching Sesame Street alone- no kidding. If possible, I would love to let my children start some form of education and art appreciation at a young age in music or drawing or SOMETHING (provided of course we are financially able). Trains their minds and makes them more refined and appreciative of the beauties of this world. I think that's why it's so important for more mothers (especially privileged moms-to-be like me who has had a good education) to stay at home and take care of their children, for who better to teach them these things than a stay-at-home mother who has the love, time and education qualifications to do so? You won't have the time or the energy to monitor these things if you are a full-time working mom!

And teach them English and Chinese simultaneously of course.

Isn't the Law of Chastity so cool?!

Prenuptial Cohabiting Can Spoil Marriage

Jeanna Bryner, senior writer for Livescience.com
Tue Jul 14, 1:16 pm ET

Couples who shack up before tying the knot are more likely to get divorced than their counterparts who don't move in together until marriage, a new study suggests.

Upwards of 70 percent of U.S. couples are cohabiting these days before marrying, the researchers estimate. The study, published in the February issue of the Journal of Family Psychology, indicates that such move-ins might not be wise.

And it's not because you start to get on one another's nerves. Rather, the researchers figure the shared abode could lead to marriage for all the wrong reasons.

"We think that some couples who move in together without a clear commitment to marriage may wind up sliding into marriage partly because they are already cohabiting," said lead researcher Galena Rhoades of the University of Denver.

Couples might also be nudged into nuptials because of a joint lease or shared ownership of Fido - along with other practicalities.

Relationship dynamics
Rhoades and her colleagues did telephone surveys with more than 1,000 married men and women between the ages of 18 and 34, who had been married 10 years or fewer. Survey questions included measures of relationship satisfaction, dedication to one another, level of negative communication and sexual satisfaction. To measure the potential of a couple to divorce, participants were asked "Have you or your spouse ever seriously suggested the idea of divorce?"
Overall, about 40 percent of participants reported they didn't live together before marriage, 43 percent did so before engagement, and about 16 percent cohabited only after getting engaged.
Those who moved in with a mate before engagement or marriage reported significantly lower quality marriages and a greater potential for split-ups than other couples. For instance, about 19 percent of those who cohabited before getting engaged had ever suggested divorce compared with just 12 percent of those who only moved in together after getting engaged and 10 percent of participants who did not cohabit prior to the wedding bells.

"We think there might be a subset of people who live together before they got engaged who might have decided to get married really based on other things in their relationship," Rhoades told LiveScience, "because they were already living together and less because they really wanted and had decided they wanted a future together."

So a joint lease or shared ownership of pets could nudge the nuptials for these folks, more than a life-long commitment to one another.

Why move in?
While this research suggests cohabitation in itself can result in lousier marriages, the initial reasons for moving in together could impact the relationship quality.

In another study led by Rhoades published in the February issue of the Journal of Family Issues, cohabiting couples ranked a list of reasons for cohabitation. More than 60 percent of participants ranked spending more time together as the number-one reason for moving in, followed by nearly 19 percent who put "it made most sense financially" at the top of their list, and 14 percent ranking "I wanted to test out our relationship before marriage" highest.
Those who listed "testing" as the primary move-in reason were more likely than others to score high on measures of negative communication, such as, "My partner criticizes or belittles my opinions, feelings, or desires." Such testers also had lower confidence in the quality and stability of their relationships.

Overall, those who want to test the commitment might want to think again, according to the February study.
"Cohabiting to test a relationship turns out to be associated with the most problems in relationships," Rhoades said. "Perhaps if a person is feeling a need to test the relationship, he or she already knows some important information about how a relationship may go over time."

Click here for the report on Yahoo!

All about boys...

And I think the situation gets more complex the older we get. Sadly.

What am I rambling about?

BOYS of course.
THE subject that is so irritating and ye inevitable.
What I mean is, everyone has been asking me, "Hey, so... how about Charles? Or John? Or... Andrew?" And my sister just told me that people ARE talking especially about me and C, since, you know, we served the same mission...
Just great.
Alright, I'm totally fine with people attempting to match-make us. I mean, no use getting upset right? For what? Just laugh along with them! It is however getting to the point where it's over done and I'm getting sick of it.
"Go to BYU and things can progress there between the both of you"- trying to push me to whichever boy will be willing to help us become the "both" referred here.
Just get off my back please! My future boyfriend is not some, oh-I-can't-have-him-so-let's-try-it-with-another-one. Yeah, dating sure is something like that, but not marriage.
And things don't just happen because we are in BYU. If things are suppose to happen, it will. Now. It doesn't need to move to another country to start the ball rolling.

Look, I do want to get married. I do want to date, and be courted and have a boyfriend and be romanced and whatever exciting things are associated along with it. Which female at my age doesn't? Especially one who is a return missionary, and knows that the next step is not even education- it's marriage. And who will be going back to BYU where the average age of girls marrying there is um, oops sorry! I'm 4 years too old above the average age. Talk about PRESSURE & FEELING OLD.
Also, since coming home, my perspective on relationships has also matured and changed, and I sort-of have a firmer idea of what I want in my man and what I want from life.
And it's not all found in C, J or A. Or so far, anyone else I've met.
The plain honest truth is-

(Unfortunately or not) I'm simply not attracted to them.

Are they good looking? YES. Are they nice people? YES. Are they cool friends to have? YES.
Are they good husband material? YES.
Does that make them good husband potentials for me? YES.
Will I go on dates if they ask me to? YES.
Am I attracted to them? No- only like, 5%. At least with Rendy whom I can comfortably have a conversation with hence I'm attracted to him like, 15% (yes yes I know he's taken, don't worry). Can you imagine with the other guys whom I'm not even like, super comfortable talking to?

I'm not saying that me with any one these good guys is impossible. If Michael Jackson can even think about doing a come-back concert, then anything is possible. Even me eventually falling in love and marrying one of them. I'm not going to be so closed minded that I won't even consider going out on dates with them.
But it's going to take a lot more than what I've come to see in them now to get me to eventually fall in love with them. And I'm sure they are thinking the same thing about me as well.

And just in case you couldn't follow that train of thought- it's okay. You'll get it.
Eventually.

What's in my/ your closet?

Don't ask me why I've been obsessed with appropriate office attire lately- probably because I'm one of those who open my cupboard every morning and think, "Hmm... what do I wear today? I have nothing to wear!" Or "Oh dear... I don't want to wear that again."

Still, the fact that I do have clothes to wear is something I should be grateful for.

Here's an interesting article I read just now and I think it's true. It doesn't just focus on office wear, but everyday attire as well. And it applies to everyone, whether you are working or not. The link: http://www.womenco.com/news/articles/2234-10-essentials-every-woman-should-have-in-her-closet?page=1

10 Essentials Every Woman Should Have in Her Closet
1. Black Suit- As in jacket + skirt/ dress pants combination. I have a confesion to make- I like wearing suits. Not ALL the time, but the times I wore a suit jacket on my mission, I really felt empowered. Plus, it makes one look very professional and well-groomed. So I'm all for it, even if I will be future house-wife. you never know when you will need a formal suit. Hey, even the prophets' and apostles'wives wear suits for General Conference!

2. White Dress Shirt- White, like black can go with ANYTHING.

3. Plain Black Pumps- Self-explanatory.

4. A Pair of Great Fitting Jeans- At least one of course. More is definitely welcomed. I think the challenge is the "great fitting"part. reminds me of Taiwan- it's fantastic there because I can find jeans there for S$20, and they alter for FREE (yipee!) AND they do it under 2 minutes. Not kidding you. The lady was even having a conversation with someone else while altering my jeans for me. Unbelievable.

5. Black Dress- The LBD. Again, self-explanatory.

6. Three Spandex T-shirts- Umm... I'm not exactly sure what "spandex T-shirts" mean, because if it's really "spandex", I'm not so sure about this. BUT if we are talking about 3 basic cotton tees, I'm on for it. Dress it up, dress it down. These tees are so versatile. The hard part, is finding a comfortable one.
(Btw, I just went to John Little the other day -yah yah laugh at me for being so "auntie" and shopping there- but I bought 2 basic v-neck tees for $7 each. And they were very comfortable!)

7. Tote Bag- I recommend the first one to be the colour black. Then the other totes/ hand bags can be other colours. And I agree with it being a "tote" bag because always carrying a hand-carrying bag can be very troublesome after a while.

8. Sneakers- Or sport-shoes. True true.

9. Trench Coat/All-Weather Coat- Not sure about this in Singapore, but if you are in any place other than tropical countries, I think this is essentail. Invest in a nice, warm, neutral colour (beige, grey, black) trench coat, and you can wear it ANYWHERE.

10. Khakis/Chinos/Brown Pants- Grey pants work well too. A nice alternative to jeans. And if you don't feel like dressing so formal to work one day, this can be a nice choice too, provided they aren't too grubby. of course.

I knoww this list doesn't include accessories or others, but I think it is a comprehensive list of 10 BASIC stuff to be in a closet. Then anyone can add on- the black skirt, the earrings, etc.
Me? I still have a few items missing. Perfect excuse to go do more shopping. Ha ha ha!

Me totally agree

Look what I read!
This is good. Very very good.

Miniskirts, cleavage upset male SKoreans: survey
AFP - Tuesday, July 7

SEOUL (AFP) - - Almost three-quarters of South Korean male office workers feel uncomfortable when female colleagues show too much leg or cleavage in the workplace, a survey has revealed.
A poll of 1,254 employees by the job portal site CareerNet found that 74 percent of men felt upset with the attire of their female co-workers.
Some 56 percent of them cited micro-miniskirts as their chief complaint, while 51 percent objected to excessive cleavage.
Low-rise trousers that reveal women's underwear, "killer heels" and flashy outfits in general were also cause for complaint.
Women meanwhile complained mostly of stains on the shirts and ties of their male colleagues.
Both sexes disapproved of colourful underwear under a white top, slippers or sandals and sleeveless clothes.
South Koreans in general still dress conservatively in the workplace, with an emphasis on suits and ties among men.

I totally agree. To much cleavage is not only immodest, it also demeans the professionalism of one's job.
Woo hoo for modest professional office clothing!
This is the link: http://sg.news.yahoo.com/afp/20090707/tts-lifestyle-skorea-miniskirts-offbeat-34aa993.html

Turning Old? Sweet!

Alright, there are conditions to turning old though.

Like, still being single and working.

Not that being married and jobless when turning my age is any less sweet.

But still, it's great to be single and working and ME at this age. I love being in my early twennies, because there's so much more freedom and independence, but you've lived sort-of long enough to not do too dumb things like you do ass a teenager. And when you can work, there is an independent source of income coming in, and it really empowers you/ me, and it is a great feeling. I think I've written this down before, like when I was 22. Or 21. Hahahaha! Some things just don't change. Perhaps if I get married by my next birthday...

Anyway, http://www.peachgarden.com.sg/index2.html. Oh yeah!

And http://www.wildsingapore.com/ubin/index.html

And

This basically sums up my birthday, and it was SWEET.

Yeah, about the S$4.50 Sara Lee pound cake... well, as a missionary you have to forego some luxuries, even cheaper luxuries. Like nice Sara Lee pound cake. And when I was BYU, I couldn't afford it either, so I had to forego it for a few years. Hence, I had developed a craving for it and this brithday, since I had spent sp much on dinner, I opted for a cheaper cake and ta da! My Sara Lee pound cake which I found so so so satisfactory. I think I ate like, half of it in 2 days. Oh dear... :)

I'm such a feminine queen!

Terrible, terrible... but I do love to dress up! Ha ha ha!

Blame it on Charlotte Chen's birthday party. She set the theme as "Blair Waldorf style"

Yeah, if you were like me, you would have gone, "Who?"

So I did a little research (not hard since it was all on her Facebook invite) and discovered that Miss Blair W is a character from Gossip Girl, which I'll never watch, and has all the money to buy all her high-class ritz dresses, which I'll never have.

Fortunately though, I love her style. Well, "style" as in dresses and more dresses and more girly things in between. Like hairbands. Lots and lots of hairbands. And chignons-like Ash did that night. Very nice.

I think we did pretty well, didn't we? Photo courtesy of Jerms. Gave me the perfect opportunity to wear that dress I bought 2 months ago, but never found the right occasion to wear for.

And I had to post this up. This was the cool empty shell of the birthday cake. Oh you could cut it and eat it, but the cake was such a disappointment. There was too much cream, the cake itself was not-very-good butter cake and the icing on it was hard. Too bad. It's still a cool shell though. I read about it but I never thought that I would ever have a chance to eat one.

So here's to being invited to 21st birthday parties, held at nice places (like Cinei's level 6 preview lounge) that serves fruit punch in mock wine glasses, and dressing up like it's a high class party. *cheers*

Ooh the fun of "acting" rich!

Yes, life is just so funny

"Funny" not as in "ha-ha-hilarious funny", but as in "what the... (eyes wide open shocked) funny".
I just heard the news:

MICHAEL JACKSON

is

DEAD.

Just last week we were reading in the papers about another scandal that had hit poor Jacko again regarding his upcoming concerts. But at least he was alive and breathing.
And today, he is dead.

It just goes to show you that life is to fickle to miss a day. Live like it's your last day.

Anyway, although I'm not a big fan of him, I still feel sad because he was undeniably the King of Pop, and he had so much influence in the areas of music and dance- he changed our concept of them. He may have been eccentric (to the max) but he was a legend and we still mourn his passing.

Some random thoughts about the weekend...

ABISH IS BACK!!! Oh I'm excited! It's just not fair how come she gets to be so pretty and skinnier, while on the other hand had to come back much rounder (ok fine, blame it on my weakness for pasta and cream sauce...) and not any prettier. Her accent isn't thick, although like Myra says, it comes and goes.

She is staying at home for the next few days though because she wants to rest, so don't ask her to go out just yet.

Last Saturday before Abish returned, Myra and I went to my Aunt's house for dinner for family gathering. And guess what was delivered to us after the dinner? DURIAN!!! Oh dear beloved lovely durian durian durian, la la la la la... ah ha ha ha! This was good grade top quality durian from somewhere in Balastier area. They also bought some mangosteen to go with it, and we had a lovely fruit feast. Oooh! :)

On Sunday, I had a combined lesson with the Mia Maids and while I couldn't get done with my lesson (not for the lack of trying- I really wanted to share this particularly touching story with them but they just wouldn't let me continue on after the first 5 mins), I ended up having to teach a lesson or two (or attempt to get it into their heads) about gossiping.
1. What goes around comes back around
2. If you want to gossip, please at least make sure it is true. Don't go around spreading the wrong things, or... see point 1.
*Sigh* those girls ah... I love them though.
And it is quite interesting what things they tell you when you get close to them.

YOUTH CONFERENCE 2009!!!

Yes yes, I'm remiss in my posts now, but I have been very busy with my work. However in case anyone is wondering how did YC go (for me), here are my personal thoughts.

The GOOD:

- Being able to spend time with my YW, and get to know them a whole lot more better. Just as I wrote on my Facebook "wall": I fell even more in love with my calling and the YW in my ward.
- Service projects- my group had to build a soccer goal post using PVC pipes and thick strings (for the net) for the indigenous Malay aborigines. This has got to be one of the most meaningful and enjoyable service projects I've participated in (instead of the usual visit old folks home...). Kudos to whoever thought of that idea!
-Getting to know the Malaysian saints. It was quite an experience. There was so much miscommunication initially that everyone (on both sides) were a bit "angsty" in the beginning, but we made up and (on the part of the leaders at least) and had a good time.
-The Dance. Oh yeah! I haven't participated in a dance for a long time, and while I had to chaperon for most of it, I was given the green light to dance with them for the last 2 songs and it was fun!
-The hike. While it was a slight disappointment that we didn't get to do the waterfall hike, it was still quite enjoyable just doing an easy 2 hour long hike. Did you know that Fraser's hill was named after the poor English man Fraser who lived on this hill a long time ago, went explorin one day and never came back? The joke of course, was that if any of the youth got lost there, well, we'll always remember him...
-Dunkin donuts, the smell of durian... even neighbouring countires have some tastes and smells that Singapore (currently) doesn't have. Mmm....

THE BAD:

-The food. It wasn't that bad, but as the camp progressed, my portions became smaller and smaller
-The journey there- blah! It wasn't as bad as I thought, but being cooped up anywhere for 7 hours is no joke.

And... the U-G-L-Y

-The drama. When you put more than 50 teenage girls together, duh...
-The toilets along the way there and back. 'Nuff said
-Some of hte the toilets at the resort itself (yes, I'm VERY picky about my sanitary conditions)
- The last hour on the ride there up the winding winding winding hill (which I timed by the way, and the winding thing was for about an hour no kidding!). Let's just say they should consider renaming the place "Fraser's Mountain" instead of "hill".

I still think it's great to be on the other side of the games line cheering people on, instead of being the one participating and being tortured. :)

Overall though, I REALLY HAD A GOOD TIME AND IT WAS A NICE HOLIDAY

I'm such a weird person aren't I?

You know, when the Lord wants to give you something, everything just falls into place!... I landed this job like... PLOP! I found out about the job on Wed, sent in my resume on Thurs, had my interview on Fri, and officially started work on Mon. So I've been working for the International Airlines Transportation Association (IATA) this past week.

And I love my job. Unbelievable.

Even though I'm about to go blind soon.

C'mon, where do you get a job where...
- You get your own private laptop? I'm only a temp ok, and I get a private laptop and my own screen. It's one of those dual- laptop-computer screen sytems, where you can look at both screens and do work on both... SO COOL!

- There's free cookies and juice in the fridge. Plus free fruits every Fri. The perks are sweet.

- The office layout is really cool. The managers here don't have a private room. It's the new age "open concept"you know...

- The pay... oh yes, the pay. It'so nice to be able to sit in a nice air-conditioned office the whole day (and yes, of course the air-con is set to sub-zero temps when outside is like, burning hot), and still be paid to be comfortable- more than $8/hr. WOO HOO! And even though I'm only working 7 hrs/ day (9am-5pm), it's nice because it still gives me sufficient enough income.

- The other day my colleagues and I went to the Tiong Bahru market to eat fish head curry. Ooh la la! SHIOK!

- I'm kept busy the whole day. Yes, this is the real part where I'm down right weird- I love the BUSY-NESS! It's so fun. We deal with very important documents and everything, nad everything hass to be accurate and filed away and so we are kept on our toes, and I love it! I rather this than be BORED OUT OF MY MIND.

- It's at sommerset, so there's a direct train for me. I simply hop onto the train for a 30min commute, then walk 3mins (sheltered walkway furthermore) to my workplace. Can't ask for anything more conveniant.

-AND the fact that I'm just so thankful to have a job in this economic situation.

People inevitably ask me, " So now that you are taking a break for a while, what are you doing to keep yourself occupied?"

Plenty, thank you.

Other than the usual SLEEPING (lovely!...) and GOING ONLINE and CLEANING THE HOUSE FOR MY MOM, I have actually been pretty occupied with quite a lot.

For example:

Ooh la la! For those of you who faithfully read my blog, you will know that I've been helping Sis Ann with the Cemetery Project, and after all the hard work the entire team put together, we got treated by Uncle Danny Chin to the Swissotel Merchant Court Hotel's Ellenborough Market Cafe for a dinner buffet. Yummy! The food wasn't fantastic, but it was still really delicious.

And of course, what is "yummy" without it's signature durian pengat? DOUBLE yummy! I think my dad's one is still the best, but this one is not bad.
And for the record, Malaysia's durian is still better than Thai durian (China, HK and Taiwan imports from the latter place). HK-er Pek Ching told us that she doesn't like the durian found in HK, I didn't like the durian in TW, and we both like the durian found here, at home.

For example:

Scouting out the museums of Singapore. Just yesterday, Jermaine and I went to the Singapore National Museum- OH MY WORD. It has changed so much and is SO COOL to go there now!

Granted, it was a bit pricey, even with the special package deal- all galleries for only $18. However, we spent 3 hours there and yet there was hardly enough time to even cover half the exhibits. It was kinda funny because we were practically "jogging" through the 2 special exhibits on display that I had specially come for- the Christian Lacroix theatre costume exhibit, and the Verner Panton furniture disply.

The Christian Lacroix exhibit was a bit small but it was fashion love-art right there. He is one heck of a designer! You know how some haute couture designs are just like... "Who in the right mind would wear that? Can you even wear that?" But Lacroix's creations are dizzy and complicated, yet still stunning, elegant and has that Midas touch there. I still can't get out of my head this one long sky-blue train of Carmen's dress.

His sketches were definite highlights.

As for the Verner Panton one... see the picture on the right? You could go in there and play and sit and enjoy the art. It was the highlight alright, but there was so many other cool furniture art pieces. Unbelievable. Simply super.
Check Facebook for more pictures.

Jerm's comment on Facebook pretty much sums it up- "Wish we had more time :("

Young Women General Conference Video Broadcast

The perks of being in the YW.
A few highlights from the inspiring talks given.

Sis Mary N. Cook, 1st Counselor in the YW General Presidency

• Just as the Salt Lake Temple took 40 years to build, stone by stone, you are building a virtuous life, step by step. You have made covenants to be obedient. You have made some good choices. The patterns of virtue you develop now will help you to continually hold fast to the iron rod. You will never be alone on your journey because the Savior will always be with you, and you can repent.

Sis Elaine S. Dalton, President of the YW General Presidency

• One of the most frequent questions I am asked is, “How does a mother of five sons and only one daughter qualify to be the Young Women general president?” My reply is always the same: “It’s because I have one perfect daughter, and I know all the boy secrets!” Tonight my sons have given me permission to reveal one of those secrets to you. It is this: virtuous young men are attracted to virtuous young women... A virtuous returned missionary is attracted to a virtuous young woman—one who has a testimony of Jesus Christ and is committed to a life of purity.
• What does it mean to return to virtue? We are calling for a return to moral purity and chastity. Virtue is purity. Virtue is chastity. The word virtue has also been defined as “integrity and moral excellence, power and strength” (Guide to the Scriptures, “Virtue,” at scriptures.lds.org; see also Luke 8:46). The core of a virtuous life is sexual purity, and yet this definition has almost been erased by the world. The prophet Mormon taught that chastity and virtue are “most dear and precious above all things” (Moroni 9:9). They go together. You cannot have one without the other, and “we believe in being . . . virtuous” (Articles of Faith 1:13).

Lastly, from our beloved prophet, Pres. Thomas S. Monson

• In the world’s view today there is little thought that young men and young women will remain morally clean and pure before marriage. Does this make immoral behavior acceptable? Absolutely not!
  The commandments of our Heavenly Father are not negotiable!
• Powerful is this quote from news commentator Ted Koppel, host of ABC’s Nightline program for many years. Said he:
  “We have actually convinced ourselves that slogans will save us. ‘Shoot up if you must; but use a clean needle.’ ‘Enjoy sex whenever with whomever you wish; but [protect yourself].’
  “No. The answer is no. Not no because it isn’t cool or smart or because you might end up in jail or dying in an AIDS ward—but no, because it’s wrong. . . (Ted Koppel, Duke University commencement address, 1987.)

I LOVE that "virtue" is added to the list of YW values. What revelation! We need more virtue in our lives and the world now.

And may I mention just how spoilt the YW are? For :light refreshments", guess how many dishes there were? At least 1 main course and about 6 different delicious lip-licking desserts. 6!!! *fainz* All the sugar made me feel so sick afterwards.

The perks of being in the YW indeed!

Fantasy Couple/ Couple or Trouble

Oh my oh my oh my! KUDOS AGAIN to dear Jerm. She is to be blamed for this. I'm so hooked on this!

This Korean show is FANTASTIC! It has got to be one of the best Korean shows in a long time. It has drama, romance, a very likable cast... and most importantly, it has COMEDY. This show is tops for some of the funniest scenes ever in Korean drama history.
I don't know how to tell the storyline. In short, Anna is a really pompous selfish brat (she really is- it's kind of hard to actually meet someone that selfish in this world), who through a series of unfortunate misunderstandings, crosses with Jang Chul Soo and both of them turn arch enemies, swearing never to cross paths again. Or really? In a boating accident, Anna loses her memory (yes, this "amnesia" issue is way overused in Korean shows. but it magically works here) and in a twist, her husband Billy conveniently believes her to be dead, while Jang Chul Soo finds her and in revenge, takes her back to his home and makes her his convenient maid and babysitter to his three nephews, while teaching her a lesson about being more humble and kinder. But of course, how long can this farce keep on, especially when she starts recollecting back pieces of memories? Or more importantly, how long can it last with both leads slowly falling in love with each other?

Some highlights:

• The romantic parts of course! So sweet! The chemistry between the two leads is quite believable. It was SOOOOO FUNNY when Anna told Chul Soo that she could recall how much she loved him before she lost her memory... the look of hooror on his face- CLASSIC.
• Han Ye Seul (who plays Anna) is unbelievably gorgeous! Her complexion and skin... "luminous". The only other actress I would describe using this verb is Nicole Kidman, but Han Ye Seul holds her own here.
• The way Anna continues to throw her tantrum even after the boating accident. Her "prima donna" attitude is so disgusting but sure makes the show even more fun to watch, and it slowly grows on you.
• The supporting cast has, surprisingly, pretty good story lines. Some supporting stories are so lame and unnecessary. Here, the story lines are somehow woven quite cleverly into the main plot.
• The supporting story of useless (but quite pitiful) husband's, Billy, decision of bringing back Anna (or not) is very hilarious, very creatively written.
• The mandatory "ex-girlfriend" of Jang Chul Soo (sigh... one extremely predictable thing about Korean drama is you know that there has got to be an ex-girlfriend somewhere) is a weak plot, thank goodness, because her character isn't well written and so, the less time she's onscreen, the better.

It's no wonder that this show has won numerous accolades. And you know what- it deserves to!





And of course, what is a Korean drama without a DROP DEAD GORGEOUS HUNK in it?!

That's Oh Ji Ho- OMW! Eye candy for the show ok!

Well, after watching this, now you know what I've been doing these past few weeks. Ah ha ha!

Just to tell you how good it was: (Get ready) MY DAD who hardly watches any tv, was stealing a few glances at the show whenever possible, because it was so funny! *gasp* Yup, that's how good it was. And I just found a website to watch it. HOORAY! Then I can still watch it even in the States- SWEEEEEEEET!!!

My ONE job so far...

I can't complain.
It paid well- $8.50/hr!
Yeah, it was pretty good. But of course, there were trade-offs.

Edlina called me up and asked if I would like to help her company-school (SMa) for a few evening papers.
"$8.50/ hr" she said.
Bingo!
Of course I signed up for it, even if it was so very far... I went to her school last Tues to Fri evening and did tests invigilation. Each paper was on average, about 3 hours long (so typical of Singapore exams right?) 7 ~ 10pm. Add in prep and post-exam time, and I clocked in average 4 hours/ night. Not bad huh?! Except Edlina (and the other experienced invigilators as well) told me that the person in charge of the payroll wasn't quite efficient, so I shouldn't expect my pay anytime earlier than 1 MONTH later. *fainz* Good thing I'm not that desperate for cash.

For the record, it was a good part-time temp job. I could get out of the house and be able to earn some money. I picked up a new skill, made new "acquaintences", travelled round Singapore literally (more about that later) and managed to squeeze in some good reading time (see my last post on "The Last Lecture") while waiting for the bus.

Here are some of my observations:

• It feels MUCH better to be on the side of invigilating the test than on the other side of taking it. I know- I'm sooooooo evil. Bwa ha ha ha ha! But don't worry, they'll get their revenge.
• And it's very very very boring. The worse is when you are "locked up" in a small classroom and can't do much walking around. You aren't allowed to read books, and you can't talk much with the other invigilators. No wonder they pay so well.
• If you don't think too hard, it's really kind of funny that I took 1 & 1/2 hours to travel from my home to the campus in Bukit Merah (Redhill), when, ummm, one can travel across the entire length of Singpaore in less than 1 hour. Now I know what you are thinking- there are bus stops and blah blah blah. Told you to not think too hard :p
• Bus 167 is AMAZING!!! Here's the entire route: Sembawang -> Yishun -> Thomson Road (the entire stretch, passing the Woo's house and Prata House to Clarissa's home to Thomason Plaza) -. Mt Alvernia Hospital and Far East Flora -> Novena then Newton MRT -> TOWN/ Orchard -> P.S. -> Raffles Place -> City Hall -> The Supreme Court and Cricket Club -> Shenton Way area -> Clementi -> Bt. Merah Interchange. I sat from the first stop to the very last- no wonder it took 1& 1/2 hours to get there! But I truly enjoyed the entire ride. It was nice to take a mini-tour round Singapore, and marvel at the changes and new sights of this beautiful city.

Lastly,

• Do you know just HOW MUCH people DO look at you and your clothes? I know it's because I've been to BYU and never seen people wear spheg-strap-tops & short-skirts to school before. If they want to wear like that, that's their choice. BUT THEY NEED TO SEE WHAT PEOPLE SEE FROM THE ANGLE OF UP LOOKING DOWN. You see a lot more than you want to see. They was one girl who's top was so... flashy, I was like, "Woah girl! You need to cover up. You're here to take a test, not go clubbing." And then I realized if I was distracted, can you imagine the other guy invigilating with me? Ewww... Honestly, there is a reason why we are told to dress modestly.

Book of the Season

If there is a book to read out there now, this has got to be it:

I will forever be indebted to Jermaine for introducing me to this book and even lending it to me. You will ABSOLUTELY FALL IN LOVE WITH IT. Despite Jerm's ravings about it, when I first read the synopsis, I wasn't too impressed. It seemed like one of those gazillion self-help "you-can-do-it!" therapy manuals already out there.

What a delightful surprise it was when it turned out completely the opposite of what I expected! It is a simple, easy-to-read, witty, humorous semi-autobiography of a professor about to lose his life to pancreatic cancer. If you read it in one setting, it shouldn't take you more than 2 hours. And the best thing is, it won't take you more than 2 pages (not exaggerating here!) before you smile and start falling in love with it.

I was crying inside when I read the remaining few chapters, especially when he started talking about his family. But yet, you feel "recharged" because it is an inspirational read loaded with such optimism. He definitely bags the award for the "optimism-vs-reality" struggle that so many of us have.
And the "Thank-you-for-making-geeky-stuff-sound-interesting" Award (he's a Carnegie Mellon computer science professor- completely NOT in my league at all.)
And the "Family Man" award- I want to be a parent just like he was... only the female version of course.
Oh yes, and definitely the "Dying-Species-of-Romantic-Males" Award. Oh my word- read the chapter about him courting his wife. I am so jealous of his wife! And the way he talks about his wife throughout the book... if I could find a man who loves God and his wife as clearly as Randy Pausch does, I'm set for life!
The other thing I've gained from this book is, well frankly, you can call me a LDS-missionary-nerd/ geek/ freak, but I just couldn't help thinking at the end, "This family needs the gospel so much, and the hope that the Plan of Salvation can bring." I've even prayed that they will hear from the missionaries and listen to them, even if it's a few years down the road. Yeah, what a geek I am huh?! But I'm not ashame. I am so thankful for the restored gospel and the knowledge it brings, of forever families in this life or in the eternities, and how truly "No success can compensate for failure in the home".

My favourite quote:
Brick walls are there to stop the people who don't want it badly enough. They're there to stop the other people... Brick walls are there for a reason. They give us a chance to show how badly we want something."

And he was talking about courting his wife when he said this. *Swoon* Told you this guy is a (pardon my unintentional pun)"Dying Breed". But I totally agree that this fits into almost any kind of situation and what an analogy it is. You got to want it badly enough!
A MUST READ! HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!

The Lord Moves in Mysterious Ways

Can you see it?
How about this? NOW can you see it?

If all you can see are the words "WIN $100... The best caption wins a $100 CapitaLand shopping voucher" that's okay, because that's the whole point! Wah ha ha ha ha! I entered in to this "caption naming" contest for fun (they have this every week in the Straits Times SundayLife! section), and oh my word! Who would have thought that I'd won last week's contest?!

I've yet to find a steady temp job althoughs things haven't been too bad. I haven't been exactly STARVED financially since I'm super cheap-o now! Most weekdays I stay at home and try to "work" from there (meaning clean the house for my mom and try to apply for jobs), and I only go out with friends if there are very cheap deals (like to the Asian Civilization Musuem which gives a discount on Friday nights, and I got in for free due to Jerms- thanks!) or unless necessary (e.g. not enough food for the Stake YSA Talent Night so no choice, had to go out and eat dinner or would have starved!). Sadly, even at BYU, I don't think I am going to be able to be a TA/ RA because my old professors are either 1) not teaching the courses I took under them or 2) not even teaching at BYU anymore! One of them transferred to BYU-H. I've asked but so far, nothing looks good.

But the Lord has been very kind to me. My paternal 5th Aunt gave me some "tidbits" money when I just got back (and if you know my aunt, you know she is very rich and very generous with her family). My maternal 4th uncle gave my sisters and I some money (yes Abish, you have a share too) recently during the Tomb Sweeping Festival/ "Qing Ming Jie", which came as a relief because I was able to pay for Val's wedding dinner. Edlina recently asked if I was interested in helping her school invigilate for a few hours at night this week (so sorry friends- my weeknights this week are BOOKED!) and now this!

Sweeeeeeeeeeet!

The Lord truly does take care of those who are trying.

Meanwhile, anyone else has any recommendations? Quite willing to try almost anything. Can request for my resume. :)

What a Great Easter Wekend!

What luck- this Easter Weekend was packed, with Valerie's wedding, a sleepover, a classmate mini-reunion and General Conference viewing.

Valerie's wedding:

More pictures up on Facebook from both mine and Jerm's camera. Just a few ones I loved:

That's us doing our job! Although Bro Leonard (the father of the bride) said we were having too much fun posing for pictures- ha ha ha! Well, what do you expect with me, Clarissa, Jerms and Edlina being such "cam-whores"?

I think it's a bit of an (get this) "EPIC FAILURE" of my hair... I learnt this new teenage terminology from my sister and Kandace: "Epic Failure". It means... well, just that- to fail epic-ly. Anyway, I say that because Wong Feng came over to curl my hair and my hair just REFUSED to curl. Isn't that the strangest thing?! Everyone has a problem (especially with humidity) trying to straighten their hair, while I have a problem trying to curl my hair! Wong Feng would curl it and then 2 minutes later (I'm not exaggerating!) it would straighten right back out. My hair was sprayed with tons of hairspray. I guess it's a blessing though so I'm not complaining!

Me and Ashley... awww... I'm so glad to see her.

I'm so sorry that I didn't take one with the bride, but oh well, you can find it on Facebook.

SLEEPOVER!!!

Jerms & Clarissa: I have to hand it to both of you... 7AM!!! By 5.30am I was so groggy I fell asleep. Put us 3 "cam whores" and very good khakis together, and you can imagine how it went- we talked about everyone and everything under the sun. It was very fun, especially since I haven't gone for a sleepover since...Young Women's!

St. Nick's Classmate Reunion

Friday night was spent with my very good friends from my Sec 1 & 2 days. I can't believe that we have already known each other for close to 10 years! Wah say... I think it's so funny because the clothes we wore really do reflect our individual personalities. Walked down the entire Orchard Road all the way to Dhoby Ghout's Fish & Co. for dinner. It was nice to get a 10% discount on the bill because it was YL's and Koko's birthday. They serve yummy "chips"/ fries by the way.

And to sweetly end off the weekend...
General Conference
What another great Conference viewing! We are very blessed to be able to listen to the General Authorities speak to us. And the music- everytime I listen to the Mormon Taberbacle Choir, I just listen in awe.

Really, it was such a great weekend. Soooooooooo tiring but sooooooooo much fun!!!

Oh I'm definitely from the city!

2 days ago, I was having a conversation with my sister and my mom, and we were talking about pigs, and I was telling them how Taiwanese people love to cook and eat every single part of A PIG. *oink* Myra got a bit disgusted, which reminded me the time I went to visit a Jiang Jie Mei while serving in Bade (my last area) and how she lives on a farm, which on top of growing their own vegetables, also rears their own PIGS.

Laugh all you want, but that was the first time I can recall that I had seen pigs that were alive. Okay, that is an exaggeration, but like I said, that was the first time that I can recall seeing live pigs.

And these pigs aren't those cutesy little "Oh-so-cute-Winnie-the-Pooh-and-friends-Piglet" pigs. These were HUMONGOUS BLACK TOUGH MEAN (alright I'm not sure about the last 2, but you get the point) PIGS. They were humongous- definitely bigger size than me. They were surprisingly not too stinky though, because the pigs and their sty are frequently washed. It was so fun and cool to see these pigs, although if you think about it, it's kind of "disturbing" to think that we ate their poor brother or sister that very day for lunch (and may I add it was a delicious lunch too). Hmmm...

Which prompted my Mom to quip "Oh you are both such cities girls!" I didn't mind actually because it's true and I'm proud of it! It was just a casual observation.

And then my Mom went on to tell us how she used to live in a kampong her younger days and her neighbours reared those gigantic black pigs too, but at that time, the pigs were allowed to ROAM FREE. Now that was a bit more "disturbing" to me because imagine yourself one day walking down the road and a pig suddenly cuts in front of you, or walks beside you... like a dog or something. What do you do?

"Shoo pig! Go back to the farm"?

Or like, "Here piggy piggy... fetch!" and then run away?

Then, yesterday, I went to help out the Cemetery Project for the last time (if you have no idea what I'm talking about, refer to one of my earlier posts).

And talking about being "sua-gu" guess what I stumbled upon?

And you have no idea how excited I was! It was probably because I love history so much, that it's so cool to me to see something as "historical" as this. But tell me, how many of you have seen an authentic well, other than in a museum or as a picture in a story-book? Doesn't mean I want to draw water from a well for my living- gracious no! I'm so thankful for the excellent Singapore water system that we have and water heaters (another one of the world's greatest inventions).

However, you got to admit that seeing a REAL well is quite cool, or at least agree it's not a common sight you see now. I think this is the first time I've seen a "true-blue" well in its "natural habitat". Can you believe it, those wells were once used by the people going to visit and worship their ancestors? It's so exciting!

Which just reinforces the fact how much I'm a city-person.

Yeah yeah- whatever. I love being from a city.

But I do think I think I can live in smaller cities in the future. I served about 6 months in the heart of Taipei City itself and loved it! Then in my last 7 months, I got transferred to a much much smaller, slower-paced, more rural area called Ba De. We also covered part of the Tao Yuan City.
AND I LOVED BADE. ABSOLUTELY LOVED IT. I loved the marathon cycling trips we took there, cycling past fields and farmlands, and once (unintentionally stupidly) into the mountains. I loved the people there- just so more friendly and "qing qie". Plus not to mention the clothes and food there is slightly cheaper as well. In fact, every time I went into the Tao Yuan city, I could feel the change in the atmosphere and the air and the "feel", you know? I loved Tao Yuan too, but I absolutely ADORED Bade.

So, maybe, just maybe, I'm a little-bit-country, and a little-bit-rock-n'-city!

I sit here....

And stare.



And everything just seems to fade away.

It's so surreal.

Nothing seems real anymore.

Life is too transient.



What am I typing?

Just my subconscious mind



I'm so sick of it

Of the frivolity

The money spending

The extravagance

The wastage

The shopping

Even that- the shopping



I want to vomit

You know you are growing old(er) when...

• You don't mind bumming around at home chilling out, unless you have a very valid reason to go out, like catching up with friends


• You can't stand reaching home later than 11pm if you have to go out (so a big sorry to all my friends... at least now you know I've truly become changed... hee hee hee! I love to go out still, but I would also like to leave a place by 10pm)
• You get a calling as a Young Women Leader, instead of being counted as one.


• You start having conversations that go like this:

Me: So Myra, what time does the youth dance end this Fri?

Youth dance... I can't remember what time it ended when I was a youth, but I (innocently) thought about 9 or 9.30pm... sounds reasonable for a teenager to go home at that time, right?

Myra: About... 10.15pm, and then we will help clean up/ dilly-dally till about 10.45pm then we go home (Remember: home is about a 45 min journey home).

Me: WHAAAAAAAAAAATTTTTTTTTT???????!!!!!!!!!

Mom: Yah, and the youth think that it is too early.

Me: ................ - I'd been stunned into silence

• You actually arrive at the youth dance, and even just looking at them dance makes you feel so tired for them.


• You sit there listening to the music being played, and you 1) think how annoyingly loud the music is and 2) look at other YSA leaders and know they are thinking the exact same thing as you- "Just who the heck is this singer?! Not my generation anymore...*sigh*"


• and the worse is yet to come- you realize just how much you have aged when you recall that you used to be one of them, crazy-dancing-queen and everything...


• You turn on your TAEBO Workout DVD exercise and you just can't keep up with Billy Banks anymore (ok maybe this one doesn't count since Billy Banks is pretty old himself and it's probably just my loss of stamina, but still...)
• You actually start enjoying being in Relief Society and their slower-pace activities


• You send someone off on her mission and memories come rushing back of when you were the one being sent off on your mission


• You get home and discover that half of you friends on Facebook are either married or engaged to be married.


• and you know you are really really getting older when half of your friends from Singapore are also married. Now that is a real indicator.

But still, for all the horrors that I'm really aging- I LOVE BEING A YOUNG SINGLE ADULT! I LOVE MY EARLY 20S! I tell my Young Women (who have a phobia of Relief Society... some things never change ;p) that I used to dread having to move on to Young Women in Primary, and then when I got to Young Women, I used to dread having to grow up and go on to "Old Women's Club" Relief Society. However it's been fun to move on! Like, I would NOT want to stay a teenager forever and have to go through all the teenage drama and stupid mistakes made over and over again. Just take it one step at a time. Meanwhile, I'm still surfing YouTube for music during "my generation"...