I feel effective for God. Hahah I suppose there’s much more to go, but at this point, I’m happy that what I did is of positive eternal consequences.
Class today was interesting – we got to jot down our part-time jobs and volunteer work experiences and shared them with each other. And then we helped each other point out the skills we would have developed in those areas. Then we got briefed about getting placements and stuff. Yeah, I think.. no winter break in Singapore this year. Anyway, I’ve got a reply from a prospective work placement and I’m excited.
I want to churn out many many entries. I wish I didn’t mind as much as before about who reads it or anything, but it’s only being responsible, not to blog about it before running it through in my mind over and over again. I wish I have more substantial stuff I can talk about, but I suppose I stop myself – a lot.
Have I ever told you about the trade-off? For me to write.. reflective, poetic stuff, I need to be immersed in emo songs. Hahha, but it makes me sad and melancholic. So yes, I’ve traded my writing skills for being generally happier most of the time.
It is a good trade-off.
I want to meet up with Jess, and hang and talk.
I want to meet up with Mike and have dimsum.
I want to meet up with the backpacker girls, because they are leaving one by one!
I want to hang out with Ens more at home, talking about everything and nothing.
I want to hang out with the guys and see them do the SF4 arcade stick rotation game. (Haha)
I want to hang out with the Enrich girls! They really enrich my life!
I want to hang out with you, to sit and enjoy non-awkward silences, and epic conversations.
I want to bask in your presence, and stay there and enjoy your love.
But what do I need trade for these? Do I even need to do a trade off to do some of these? Some of these can’t be compromised, but school’s on – and I need to pay my sleep debt.
After three years, I still do not understand how you can determine that today will be fall when it does not even feel like it.
School has started. I am excited! It’s going to be crazy this semester – I’ve signed up for numerous stuff, and committing into them (not that much of a choice with the work placement stuff) and other priorities will be interesting. Hahah, also not knowing what the future entails adds on the to the bandwagon for this year.
Thank God there is awesome family and friends, and good hang out times.
I find how the drastic differences can occur in the course of one day.. scary.
Yesterday I was in Singapore, eating lunch around the table with the family. Mum was feeding me baby porridge and herbal drinks because I was falling sick.
Today I was in Perth and freaking out because the new phone did not receive messages, and was subsequently 8 minutes late for a library refresher course.
No transition, I’m back to Aussie life, and saying goodness how did it happen so fast, and so easily. There’s tons that need to be done in school, admin stuff, bank stuff, and there’s O-week activities that I actually have to go for. (YEAH. I have orientation. Sigh.)
Amidst all that, I miss my family and friends, and I miss Singapore.
I’m not sure when I’ll be able to write a decent update – my rather sleep-deprived state handicaps me from thinking enough to process a blog post. (And for that case, I retyped that last sentence three times before coming up with something that makes sense.)
Anyhow, the trip’s been awesome. Seriously seriously. Message me or catch me in person to know more. (:
I’ve been having dreams about missing my flight back to Singapore and not packing on time, several times already. It is technically void because I’ve made my flight back and I did pack on time. It’s kinda like my cousin telling me when he was well into National Service that he still had nightmares about having an A level paper to do the next day.
I’m not sure what to do with them.. (probably dismiss them and live life) but what I got out of the whole dream experience thing is how time was not in my hands, or in my control. Oh in last night’s dream my flight got rescheduled/postponed, so technically I didn’t miss the flight. But I didn’t finish the dream cos Dad woke me up to go gym.
Anyway yeah, the dreams distressed me, but I needed the sleep badly.
Can’t wait till CNY comes and I can eat pineapple tarts and bak gua. (:
The past few days have been amazing – thank you to all of you whom I’ve met in this past week. It’s been awesome fellowship and chill outs. (:
Australia day was good. But indeed, matching the Aussie laidback lifestyle really, it was a little disconnecting when no one got excited about the fireworks. Hahah. You know how Singapore makes this HUGE fanfare with National Day every year, and we will get all the patriotism in us built up, with the flags everywhere, and the celebrations and the songs?
Nope. Here you fire up the barbie(-que), drink cheap Aussie beer at home, and then make your way to South Perth/Perth foreshores or King’s Park to watch fireworks.
The biggest debacle we had, and how I’ve made this Australia day totally memorable, is posting up tweets saying that the Qantas ad song the kids were singing is the national anthem, WHICH IS NOT TRUE. With all the confusion (EVEN THE AUSSIES WERE CONFUSED OKAY) and commotion on FB and people LOL-ing at us, I have gone on youtube, and figured out what song is what.
Okay here goes:
National anthem: Advance Australia Fair
Song people think is the national anthem: Waltzing Matilda
Song the kids were singing in the Qantas TV ad: I’ll still call Australia home
THERE YOU GO.
And it’s nearly impossible to forget Majulah Singapura is the Singapore national anthem, maybe because Chan Mali Chan is too folksy, and Di Tajong Katong is.. about Tanjong Katong, as with Geylang Sipaku Geyland is about.. Geylang. SEE: Majulah Singapura is about Singapore!
It helps that Majulah Singapura is totally epic drama win kind of song.
I felt compelled to blog today, as it being the last Sunday before flying back to Singers. The next few days have been planned out, it includes coffees and catchups, dimsum and dinner, some pampering with the girls, and my first Australia day celebrations.
BTW, Happy Birthday E! Thank you for being one of my bestest friends here, and always loving me with the small things and the big things. I <3 you very much!
Yeah my years have many starts and ends, due to the travelling to and fro the homeland (though at this point homeland is very subjective). It’s always been a very mixed reaction if you ever ask me if I’m excited to leave Perth/go back to SG – perhaps only Jon understands. At this point, I’m leaning towards wanting to stay in Perth because the city is so beautiful and the people are absolutely amazing.
You know you are settled in a place when you can see the goods and the bads of where you are at. Indeed no city is perfect, as with people. Good and bad experiences in the place accumulates as you stay longer. But I think the community of FGA is vastly different from anywhere else I’ve been to in this life so far – in the sense where there is so much nourishment and support. People are so full of love, and not wrapped in their own world. People are hungry for God, and they live lives evident of the love and grace of God. It is always moving forward, always desiring more of God. In a sense I wish this can be said the same of every church in the world – it should be, but sadly we know it’s not. Thus I thank God because He brought me to an excellent training ground to prepare me for what is ahead.
That’s why I’m slightly dreading leaving this environment. And the quiet and empty apartment where solitude is enjoyed tremendously. And the days of summer where meetups are spontaneous, and where hanging with friends are peaceful and lazy.
And now I’m leaving this place in 4 days for 3+ weeks of non-stop action, festivities, shopping, major catching-ups and eating-outs. Hello, bustling Singapore.
Blogging here has been terribly sporadic. I’m sorry. You see, inspirations and ideas hit me in the day, but I’ve not had the little pocket moleskine that should contain these little gems. Maybe I should note them down, because they make excellent brain exercise and blog topics. Hmm.
I feel like I’ve let my intellect go a lot. Not that I have become more stupid, and no you cannot put being FOB on the same measuring scale. But yes, I’ve drastically reduced using the brain to rationalise, to justify, to put my point across. The days of writing SFTW was really a mental workout, and spoke to me very clearly that I cannot be a journalist that lives under deadlines – there will be nothing I can churn out.
Then again I’m glad. I have found using my intellect as a source of pride for me. Well, and on hindsight, there hasn’t been much to be proud of either. I read my open letter, which kind of launched SFTW into the near 200 posts we have written, and I cringed. My letter felt like a Christianized version of a Facebook group that talks about “102 things guys should know about girls” – guard our hearts brothers, please guard our hearts.
The girls cooked up dinner and had a North&South half-marathon that day (skipped the boring-ish bits and delved into the juicy bits with Margaret Hale and Mr. Thorton), and watching it again, Jas and I picked up how Margaret seemed to have led Mr. Lennox on very subtly, and ultimately left him heartbroken while she and Mr. Thorton had their happily ever after. That wasn’t fair to Mr. Lennox.
So here, I’m telling you, sisters, guard your brothers’ hearts. And respect them, and stop expecting them to do everything for you. In fact, not just your brothers, but any male friends you have. Because I know it’s different with guys in church and outside. Still, they need to be treated to be respect. Yes, educate them and help them develop to be the men God intended them to be, but they do not have to do your bidding in everything. And don’t look as their well-meaning service and say that they should do just because they are guys – they do it because they love you enough to do so. And I have no doubt that the brothers I have in my life right now will protect and defend me if the need ever arises. (Thanks guys by the way. You all are awesome, and you pretty much know who you are.)
So don’t lead them on in any way sisters if you do not desire to reach an understanding (to borrow a very Austen term), because these guys are good men who deserves the best ladies God have planned for them, and it would be dishonour to God to not guard their hearts till then.
Okay done with the very sober and rather non-emotional rant. Here’s the song that has been stuck in my head for the last week, for your enjoyment.
