Beauty and the Geek.

I am the Geek and I'm proud of it!!! *pllbt*



I feel geeky. Can geekiness be considered as feeling? I've been chilling out with the books, the computer and the games. Going back to school after the exams ended, reading journals next. Looking up on universities and research stuff. The geek gravitates between school, home and church. So I think I'm a godly geek? Erm. I think I need more emphasis on the GODLY. I wished I could have gone for the camp. But, I couldn't. Not even one evening. I get bits and pieces that transpired there and God seemed to have been really busy there. Perhaps I haven't been actively seeking God. Ashamed to say that many times I feel that God is the One who reaches out to me, the wayward bespectacled sheep. Maybe God wants to be found, He is waiting for me to open my eyes, put on those glasses and see what He's been doing. He wants to cure me of my deafness to His voice, that the noise of this world has caused. So much to be done. So much to say. So much to rectify. Yet, I feel as though I've haven't got a voice.

Blogs.

Had a discussion with my friends about blogs today, we all love visiting people's blogs in our free time, entertaining ourselves with so and so's life, love life, etc.. Some people put up their life stories on their blogs and geez, their lives do seem like a soap opera. It's their blog, they're free to do what they want to do, but I wonder if they have any idea what kind of Internet traffic they are generating. I guess not. So, I came to the conclusion that whatever I post up here had better be neutral and non-gossip fodder. Haha. And. I've decided to blog only when I really have a point to make.
Considering that I've kinda disappeared, not really though, I still post little short snippets that don't really say much. I can only say that I have been really busy. On the other hand, I feel like I have not accomplished much. There wasn't a break after the exams, lessons started the very next day! This course has cured me of any desire to be an entrepreneur, at least for now. Living, breathing, eating, sleeping and talking entrepreneurship for the whole week! Educating this financial dummy here about stocks, shares and marketing. Frankly, it was TOO much. I'm totally brain dead now.
Aside the pain, there were some fringe benefits :D The best place to go on a holiday is Bandung. Fellow suffering BS ppl, should understand why. Hehe. It sells American brands like GAP, Banana Republic and more at goodness knows what fraction of a price! That's coz all the factories are there and apparently shrewd money-making factory owners have opened up factory outlets selling the excess and rejected goods at a fraction of the price! Hohohoho. Do I foresee a shopping spree soon?
I used to think that doing business was very risky, apparently not so. When the risk has been calculated correctly, it is actually not that bad. The difficulty lies in the many variable factors . I think it's crazy. I'm much happier being a researcher. Calculating risks seem worse than huddling in the lab. If I had to look at a spreadsheet all day, consider competitors tactics, Porter's 5 forces, etc... I rather go into a coma. I salute all business ppl out there. Hat's off!

Aside all that business about business (heh), here's 2 Aquafresh ads by the talented Wongfu ppl.

Exams, the best time to hibernate. Sleep. Eat. Study. *Yawn*

What's painful and occurs twice a year for most undergrads?



Ans: The exams are here again :)My last series of papers as an undergraduate. Life after this is a huge "?" . My final year project seems like a big mystery to me, although I already know what I'll be working with. It's going to be exciting. Before the fun stuff, the boring stuff happens first. Exams are a pain. *Groan* Despite telling myself to start early for revision every semester, I always find myself procrastinating and studying at the very last minute. What's the difference this time? I'm really unsure of what I know or what I have to read. I'm relying on God's grace again, as always. The amount of stuff that has to be memorized and vomited out feels inhuman.



These are the days that I'll be battling it out:

20th Nov - Cell Biology

23rd Nov - Muscle Biology

27th Nov - Immunology

28th Nov - Structural Biology

30th - Immunomics



Having a hard time convincing myself to do my best. I know I'll regret if I don't though. Mugmugmugmugmug. My eyes are closing despite how hard I will them to stay open. Nothing seems to be going into this empty head of mine. Still. I will trust God. That's all that really matters.

Switchfoot: Let That Be Enough

This song means alot to me. And the answer is God :) Everytime I fall down, I am a step closer to You. It hurts, but I know You'll be there to comfort me. You sent Your angels and I thank You for them. When I asked You to mould me 8 years ago, I certainly wasn't expecting this and I know there will be more to come. My sandcastles are falling apart, but Your love is enough.

Are YOU excited?

Someday, I would like to see the breath-taking Northern Lights dance across the Arctic Circle and take many beautiful pictures.
Any takers who wanna go in a couple of years too?

Some good things that have happened lately:

The bacteria have decided to be good and start overproducing purple protein! Yay. Nice dark purple protein :) Thanks to them I got a payrise. Hahaha. And I get to do more stuff in the lab.

Eliz taught me how to play something on the keyboard :) Germ got me a guitar, but I've yet to really play with it.

Hiphop dancing has provided a pretty good outlet for excess energy and a perk me up weekly event.

Other than that, I really have to buck up on my homework. Lagging faaaaaarr behind. No more slacking.

This song wormed into my head and refused to get out. Result: Walking home with a stupid grin. :)

Chocolate and Slavery

The sinister story behind chocolate
Steve Chalke
September 18, 2007

CHOCOLATE is regarded as a treat, a sweet luxury often given as a gift. But that is only part of its story. The rest is more sinister. Two hundred years after the British Empire abolished the slave trade, nearly half the world's chocolate is made from cocoa grown in Ivory Coast, West Africa, where tens of thousands of children are forced to work on plantations as slaves.

A 2002 study estimated that at least 284,000 children were trapped in forced labour in the West African cocoa industry, the majority of these — some 200,000 — were to be found in Ivory Coast. Even the most conservative estimates, including those by the chocolate companies themselves, concede that the number of chocolate slaves is at least 12,000.

These children are forced to apply pesticides without protective clothing and to work for up to 12 hours a day on the plantations for little or no pay. Their toil helps the giant chocolate makers produce the chocolate we find on the shelves of our stores.

Parliamentarian and social justice crusader William Wilberforce, whose life-long crusade resulted in the abolition of the slave trade — which then formed a critical part of the economic foundations of the British Empire — would be horrified. A recent feature film, Amazing Grace, heralds Wilberforce's crusade to free the slaves, yet the tragedy is that more people are ensnared in slavery today than in the entire 400 years of the trans-Atlantic slave trade.

Human trafficking generates $A37 billion annually and enslaves at least 12 million around the globe. Some estimates even put the number of people enslaved as high as 27 million. And the epicentre of today's slave trade is in Australia's backyard — South-East Asia.

The tragic nature of this industry is evident when you realise that the average age of a girl locked in sexual slavery in South-East Asia is 12 or 13.

However complex this trade in people, it is inescapable that there is a strong and foundational link between poverty and modern-day slavery. People who are poor are more vulnerable. We can't fight slavery without fighting poverty.

Overseas aid is critical to developing better public justice systems but it is also important in providing livelihoods for emancipated slaves.

According to the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, people trafficking is the world's fastest-growing crime, already bigger than the international drug trade and second only to the illegal buying and selling of arms.

But action is being taken. Stop The Traffik, the organisation I founded three years ago, now has more than 600 member organisations in 60 countries around the globe determined to raise awareness of the problem and to demand action at all levels to bring it to an end. One of the most powerful tools we have at our disposal is as consumers. In 2000, the chief executives of the major chocolate makers were hauled before the US Senate and a bill was proposed that would require the chocolate industry to certify all their chocolate as "slave-free".

The cocoa industry successfully lobbied against this, arguing that the supply chain for cocoa was complex, with middlemen buying the beans and mixing them before selling them on to conglomerate buyers.

But such major companies control the market and they can determine under what conditions they buy their cocoa beans. Unless the industry can guarantee that our chocolate is not made from beans picked by trafficked children, then we will never make progress. Industry must be able to tell people which farms beans are from and must guarantee no trafficked labour.

Consumers for their part should buy chocolate only from those companies that give this guarantee. It is a practical way we can all contribute to today's crusade to end modern-day slavery.

Human trafficking is a global problem that requires a global response. At the end of his life William Wilberforce referred to the battle against slavery as "unfinished business". Today, working together, we can complete the task.

Steve Chalke is founder of the global Stop The Traffik campaign. Go to: http://www.stopthetraffik.org.au/

An extremely painful thought: If boycotting chocolate can end the slavery. Yea, I will. But, can it?

There was an old lady feeding squirrels in the park in Savannah and we snapped pics of the squirrels while they were in a frantic rush for bread crumbs.

How I miss the benches under the trees back in Tech. In Singapore, there are no squirrels scampering across the field from 1 tree to another. There are only cats. :s

Dearest, most esteemed parents have left for their 2nd honeymoon. Not even sure if my parents EVER had a honeymoon. They were really poor when they got married. I'm left at home with Ruffy. It's just the both of us. If I'm hungry I may just cook her. Heh. (Like real) It's really quiet at home :S I like noise. So I'm making noise at home. TV, radio, etc... If not it's pin-drop silence.

Anyway, I present : The Cross

Something tells me I don't want to be like Fido Dido here. Though many times I ask God the very same question.

I survived! 2 sleep deprived nights preparing powerpoint slides for 2 consecutive days of presentation. I'm getting used to talking on the stage. Not forgetting the graded Immunology tutorial that didn't make sense in the beginning. The worse is probably over for now, until the exams roll round the corner.

Time flew exceptionally quickly this year, and before I know it, I'll be out of NTU and into the Biopolis. Is there more to life than this? Feeling really restless, really unproductive, not just in terms of work, but in God's kingdom. How I long to go out there and proclaim the good news with no reservations.But, noooo.... One must always speak with properly peppered words. What wisdom is it to speak like a fool? I am fool because I talk like one.

I really admire Travis, for giving it all to God. I miss them lots. All the bible studies, crusade meetings, prayer meetings, the evangelizing, the parties, movie outings, roadtrips...


The crusaders.

Went to watch... 881. Anyway, the song played when the credits was rolling is really nice :)

Giving up doesn't always mean you are weak; sometimes it means that you are strong enough to let go.

Dear God,

Grant me strength. This is so suffocating, choking the life out of me. *puke*

"Fun game": tagged by eliz

Rules of the game: Each player of this game starts off with ten weird things or habits or little known facts about yourself. People who get tagged must write in a blog of their own ten weird things or habits or little known facts as well as state this rule clearly. At the end, you must choose six people to be tagged and list their names. No tagbacks.



1.Before putting on braces, my 2 front teeth were so obvious that people thought I was smiling when I wasn't. Sometimes, people will actually ask me what am I smiling about when I don't close my mouth completely. :D

2. I've contemplated getting a scooter license so that I can get my very own cream coloured vespa scooter. But, I think I shouldn't. I'm already dangerous enough on a bicycle :S

3. The last thing you can imagine is Dawn running around the jungle in camouflage being GI Jane. After my A's, I applied for the SAF women's scholarship which required me to do exactly that. I made it all the way to the interview, 12 army officers against lil' ole me. Talk about a "live" firing session. Guess they couldn't imagine me carrying a rifle either, that explains why I'm still here. Haha.

4. I own a burgeoning wardrobe of clothes, in which I only wear maybe about 1/3 of the clothing in it. I always find some excuse to keep my clothes no matter how old, small they are.

5. Super bad memory for card games, game rules, jokes and music theory. I've been taught how to play the piano, the cello, the recorder (everyone has lor) and guitar. But, what do I STILL know how to play? I mastered the first 3 instruments, meaning I could play complete pieces on them. The guitar can't be considered because I've yet to play a complete piece on it. Ask me to play now and I can't play ANYTHING. I think I exasperated my piano teacher. You can tell me the same riddle 2 weeks later and I won't be able to remember the answer. Fun right?

6. Read me like an open book. I am lousy at hiding my emotions. Enuff said.

7. I jiggle, wiggle and pirouette in the privacy of my own home. I jiggle, wiggle and swing in dance classes. Yes, I dance. (Well, used to, no chance now.) Surprise, surprise. Though I'm not good at it, but at least it's better than my attempts at mastering an instrument.

8. Disclaimer: I've got sweaty palms and feet. Don't say I didn't warn you. Which makes my shoes smell at times, especially when I wear them for too long.

9. I've been told I snore. Loudly.

10. Listen to Alternative rock Franz Ferdinand, Indie Rock music, Mayday, though I hardly seem like the person to. More of a rock person than a pop person. If it makes sense to you. I also adore the polar opposite of rock music, jazz and easy listening tunes.

The 6 people I pick are: Lichang, Ereen, Geraldine, Christine, Marilyn and Evangeline.

Haha. Finally I answered the questions eh. Not as difficult as I thought.

A bird landed on my shoulder in an air-conditioned SBS bus.

?!?!?!?!?!!?

Don't ask me how the bird got into the bus and flew to the upper deck of the double-decker bus, but it did. The poor thing was trapped and flew smack into the windows in failed attempts to get out of the bus. It made a few girls scream and passengers vacate half the deck. It made me scream as it flew into me, but I could only sit in my seat as the stairway was clogged with students it had frightened. Finally, a brave soul, walked to the front of the bus, caught it and held tight onto the indignantly squawking bird. Thank God the pane right behind the bus could be opened slightly and the poor creature was let out where it belongs.

What can I say. 1 bird vs a deck (-1, the brave guy who caught the bird) of frightened passengers.

I've been insanely busy even before school started. Lagging behind in my emails and updating this blog. So, yes school started Again. It's the last of the familiar humdrum and strangely, I know I will miss it. Especially Candice and Jac. I would say things will be different this semester as my mind is occupied by different matters. What used to mean alot, mean less now. Otherwise, my thoughtlife is still pretty much tormented by doubts and inadequacy. Which makes me cling on tight to Philippians 4:8 " Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable - if anything is excellent or praiseworthy- think about such things." Been failing miserably at it though, unpleasant thoughts chase me into my sleep, spinning disturbing dreams.

I thought this was the end, maybe it's only the beginning. The beginning of freedom long overdue.

Mr Snowman in a fantasy world of his own.

When was the last time you ate durian from its shell?

Something that was as ordinary as meeting Faye for lunch today turned out to be the biggest highlight of the week.

A guy came up to us and asked for help in filling out a survey form and Faye started conversation with him, asking him why he was doing this survey. Somehow, later she asked him if anyone had shared the gospel with him and he said yes. However, he wasn't ready to accept the gospel and wanted to let nature take its course, if there was a God, He would send a sign for him to accept Him, no? But, Faye probed him further. By asking him questions about heaven and hell and where did he think he was going to go after that? As for letting nature take its course and signs, I think Faye talking to him out of the blue about Salvation is enough of a sign. Amazingly, the Holy Spirit must have been working on his heart for quite sometime because he accepted Christ readily. Here was this guy thinking that it would just be another ordinary day and walks up to 2 girls to complete surveys and he ends up walking away with eternal life. Ain't it an awesome deal?

It takes purpose to share the gospel. If Faye hadn't been direct by going to the point about the Gospel and be persistent enough to push through all the discomfort, I think the guy wouldn't have been saved. Tis a miracle! Imagine saving a soul everytime I eat lunch, but of course it is not up to me. It is all the Holy Spirit's doing for softening hearts. But, we have to do our part too. Many times, I find that I haven't been persistent enough when it comes to sharing the gospel.

We don't know when we are going to die, if I told you that Christ will save you and allow you to go to heaven despite your sins, would you take it? Because time is running out.

What the heck are you doing Dawn?

Ah haha.. Yes. Changed the skin again. Shalom pointed out to me that it's the same as Ereen's. Thought I should be more original. Hehe. So here's a more summer vacation theme. Since it's summer back home all year round, this should be a non-issue.

Oh yes, where was I? Saw Frances off at the airport because she was going to HK to work. A whole lot of us went to see her off, probably one of the largest farewell parties I've ever seen. I pray that God will watch over her and keep her. It's not easy being overseas, having to settle down all over again and getting used to the environment. Especially when there is a language barrier.

Finally celebrated Sheena's birthday at Tong Shui and Bakerzin. Realised that we're not really a photo-taking bunch. Hence, the lack of photos with them. Guess I'll remember to bring my camera the next time I go out with them. Burst out laughing when I realised that Teng bought the same bag for Sheena. But, Sheena definitely had the better bag, my bag's rubbery! Hers is leather. But at least, the birthday girl liked it. Had a really great time catching up with them on their lives and talking rubbish. Haha. I think Teng will not tell us anymore stuff because we kept teasing her :P

Yummy Dark Choc something. This is not even mine! Bleah

It' s another week of hustle and bustle, except I get to spend more time at home this week. Which is good! Really need to spend some time packing, unpacking and sorting out junk. Looking forward to meeting more people! Miss them lots.

Fickle, fickle

Change of skin. Again! I guess I got irritated with the phrase on the previous skin, " cause feelings mean nothing". I felt kinda disturbed everytime I look at it. So it's GONE. For good. Muahahaha.
Came back late again today. Went to catch Fantastic 4 with Candice, Corinne and Germ. As usual, I arrived late from work. The number of things to do increases everyday. *sweat* Need an extra pair of hands.

All I wanna do....

All I wanna do

is NOTHING.

Absolutely nothing. Just hang around at home and REST. Watch the clouds go by and ponder, seek God about what to do and how to deal in many aspects. Organize my scattered thoughts. My life is so disorganized now! Can't stand it. My room is a reflection of my life and currently it is filled with clutter. My mum has amazingly converted my room into a store room while I was away.

Here's what the week has been like. Work, work, work, work and Work.

Mon: Went to Takashimaya for my acne riddled face. Came out looking like a pinched tomato and boy did it hurt :(

Tues: Fiona's 21st birthday at the Vilage (Heeren)

Wed: Glady's farewell at Marche (Vivocity)

Thurs: Dinner with Yingz at JE

Fri: Shopping for birthday presents with Germ, Yingz and Faye came over to my place at 11plus pm.... Yingz stayed over and Faye came to collect her luggage. Really hope to meet up with her after she's back from her mission trip to Santiago.

Sat: Bathed my smeeeeellly dog. Headed down to church for leader's meeting, shopped around for more presents with Karen, OCX, Dan and then to Roanna's 21st birthday.

Sun: Churchie church. Dinner with Karen, OCX, Joel (x2), Shalom and Samuel. Germ and Joel dropped by and stayed around till 12, looking at my photos from the trip and videos on youtube. It's Germ's fault that I'm starting to like Crazy Frog because it looks hilarious. Esp when germ imitates it.

The coming week.. is equally bad. I wish I had time to jog, but I don't. Bumped into my friend (who was jogging) on my way home earlier and he said I should jog asap because... he could see my tummy!!!! No thanks to his honesty. Well, what he said was true. Strangely, I don't feel that affected. My tummy reminds me of happy days eating Reese Peanut Butter Cups. It's going away anyway, due to the starvation during work.

Here I promised photos.
http://ntu.facebook.com/album.php?aid=924&l=998c4&id=227800168
Guess I'm too unmotivated to blog about my trip in words. So this is my photo blog part 1 for the trip. While we were still in Atlanta.
I have so many things to blog about that I don't know where to start. Thanks for reading my blog though, the purpose of blogging is so that you (Yes you!) can read it.
Like Sheena said, blog about Teng and her coming to pick me up at the airport. I was really surprised by you both! Both of you cheered me up :) I'm sorry that I had to leave so soon though. I guess I should develop the habit of taking more photos, so that I have more to remember things by.
As expected, I've been out alot catching up with people that I have not seen for the past 5 mths. Hung out with Cherie for a couple of days, before she flew back to Vancouver. Did I tell you I looooveee my dearest cuzzies? They are my darlings.
Feel really blessed to have so many angels in disguise around me, for picking me up when I fall apart and standing by my side.
I'm still quite alive despite all the busy-ness. Started work a week ago and I'm glad to hide in the lab all day long. Can't fathom how I used to be able to stand the heat and humidity. My occupation is to grow bacteria and keep those lil' bags happy. When they are happy they will produce my favourite protein. If not, I think my prof will be more than unhappy. I have wonderful colleagues too :) However, it doesn't mean that I can't wait to get off work and get a life. It's probably my most enjoyable job so far, but I still prefer studying. At least, you get hols as a student, no?

Who is Oguri Shun??! (Cher and Me at HK Cafe) Credits: Lenggy.

I'll be back (soon)

I will miss Atlanta. it has already grown on me. Haha. Only few more hours to fly and I'm still awake, it's gonna be more than 24hrs of sleeping, eating, sitting, stoning and reflecting upon what I've been up to for the past 5 months. Somethings are best left here and some I'm going to bring home, for example, cooking! Hehe. I starting to type gibberish... So, I guess I'll make this short. I'm on my way back home. Home sweet home Singapore. (not Alabama) And I'll be posting pictures of my 1 mth long roadtrip round the States, once I get enough motivation. (Hint: Need motivation) Or you could refer to Caleb's blog for highlights of the trip. Hasta la vista :) I'll see you guys back in Singapore soon!

2am in Las Vegas

It's been 10days since I left Tech. Been to New York, Niagara Falls and Toronto. Talk about speed travelling. Really tired now, considering it's close to 6am in the morning to me, but only 2.45am in Las Vegas. I have only went back 3 hrs back in time. Arrrgh. Yep, but I'm well and alive in case you are wondering where I've disappeared to. Will be heading next to Los Angeles, San Diego and San Francisco. Then I'll be back on the 3rd of June!! In the meantime, I doubt I'll be able to blog at all. Because free wireless here is scarce. And I've got no time to blog either. I promise pictures when I'm back in Sg :)

Exams are finally over!

Yep. That's all I have the energy to type to for now. I'm glad that the exams are over, a huge load off my mind. Been spending more time with friends whom I'm not going meet sometime soon in the future, no thanks to the distance that separates 2 continents. Lots of stuff left to be done.
In case you are wondering, Caleb is safe and sound with me and has settled in quite comfortably.

A time to rejoice, a time to weep.

The killings on Monday at VT has shocked the entire US. School is no longer a safe place. I can't help but wonder what goes on in the mind of Cho Seung-Hui the guy who meticulously thought out the whole killing spree and how alike I was to his victims. It's easy for me to picture the scene in my eye. A guy who suddenly walks into the classroom and showers it with bullets and the next moment your friends and probably yourself are dead. This reminds me of what life is about and what is worth living for. Definitely not grades, why would grades matter when you are dead? I couldn't remain apathetic to the killings that are happening right under my nose, maybe I would be less affected in Singapore as I cannot really identify with the scene. But, now that I am studying in US, it's easy to see how such a tragedy can happen and how traumatic it is.

Spent the week in reflection and prayer for the community in Virginia Tech and for God's mercy on the killer's soul. How misguided he was. I pray that God' glory and love will be evident in VT. What Man meant for evil, God will turn it for good. He will turn winter into spring, He will make something good out of all this suffering.


Other than that, I have been studying and working on my homework. 1 more week to the finals :S I need God's strength to pull me through all of this. I don't see how I'm going to survive without His help. Seriously.

Easter with the Shekarabis

Spent Easter over at Andrea's home. I learnt how to cook some authentic American food and got to know her family and friends. Her parents are really cool people and her Mum is really humourous. I love the Shekarabis!! Thanks for adopting me.

Pool sharks
I missed home too, reminds me of how Mum will buy hot cross buns for Gd Friday and Easter. Next year we'll bake them, won't we Mum? I wish we cooked more at home.
Missed the steak and cake today, but went for prayer meeting today. Steven, our ever gracious host, fed us with cheese dip with nacho chips and wheat choc chip cookies. I was stuffed to the brim. No wonder I'm growing horizontally. I'm starting to enjoy praying corporately :)

A big misunderstanding and ugly accusations

It is disappointing that my parents think so little of me. No thanks to dad for all the accusations and no, I won't be like Juliana because it's not like that at all. Things are not what you assume it to be. I can't force people to adhere to my travel plans. We're all splitting up into smaller groups anyway. If what I've said initially caused you both to worry, I'm really sorry.

No longer bound by law.

Something about a recent Bible study hit me really hard. We are free from the Law, as mentioned in Galatians 5. So are we free to do whatsoever we wish if we accept Christ? Not really. Why? Because I am compelled to obey the Law because I love God. Perhaps the best way to illustrate this would be me cleaning the house because my mum threatens to take away my allowance if I don't VS me cleaning the house because I love my mum. Same end result, but when I obey my mum because I love her, it'll make me feel happy and free, not bound, not forced to do something I don't want to. I am really overjoyed and relieved having this freedom, because it's no longer a chore to follow what God says. If I tried to follow God's rules, eg: Love your brother as yourself, on my own, without accepting help from the Holy Spirit, without love for God, I will feel that I'm being coerced into doing it. Perhaps, that's what I felt before. If we love God and His commands, we will not feel that we're forced to obey and be fearful of punishments if we don't do it. Instead, we will follow it joyfully and experience relief. Haven't we ever felt really disturbed, frustrated at doing something that we are forced to do? The relief I'm speaking of is being free of feeling this way.

The thought that I am free in Christ, turns any rotten day into a good one :)

No words can express my gratitude for Your love

The testimony shared by a fellow student at today's tea session in Tech struck a chord with me. How often have I tried to fill the emptiness within me with people's affections, approval and so forth? I once was obsessesed with trying to earn someone's love and it only left me broken. Now, I try to earn approval from my parents or lecturers. The amusing thing is gaining all these things won't be enough anyway. I didn't know I had put idols before God. Like Leah, I tried to earn another person's love by doing all that I thought could get me his love. I realise how wrong I have went and how unhappy it made me. In the end, I was willing to settle for something less and I did. But, I thank God that He didn't allow me to settle for less. Things didn't last and fell apart. Things wouldn't have went wrong if my eyes were on God, fell into the trap of idolising someone. Thank You for setting me free God. It's easy to fall into the trap and not realise it. Which is why I need to come back to God so frequently. It's just a fine line away from falling.

Off to the hospital.

They are gonna drain my eye :( The gd ole doc thinks its neccessary. Should've seen my face fall when she said that. I would have laughed if I weren't the one whose eye is gonna get poked.

Back to the land of cluelessness.

Yaaaarggh. I can't seem to get the program up and running. Dawn and computers don't mix. Please don't even ask me why I'm taking so many programming modules this sem. I don't really have much choice. Praying hard that God will give me the wisdom to get things up and running, if not be humble enough to seek HELP!!!! I'm giving myself till tonight. Guess if I get stuck then I'll have to look for the TA. Oh and guess what? I have an exam coming Thurs on equations that I do not recognize at all. Save me God.
Things are out of my control, but I'm not feeling panicky at all. I pray that God will see my family through this and change my Dad's perspective on working. Thank God that it won't affect me immediately and that I have some means to look after myself now. Graduating in 1 yr's time. Really hope to go into grad sch. Although the allowance is only sufficient for me to support the family a little and not enough for saving or an extravagant lifestyle, I guess I'll live with it for now. I'm biding my time for the long haul ahead. While my friends are probably gonna go for jobs that earn big bucks, I am waiting for God to open doors for me.
Feel that I am learning to get over my fear of asking people for help. I don't like to trouble people and this has something to do with my pride. But, I've been asking and getting alot of help from lotsa people lately. Especially Germ. She's been a blessing to me. She hangs around even when I'm not fit for company, went through bad patches and she's always been around to give me support, even now. I LOVE you so much germy!!!! God bless your dear heart.

Chance of a lifetime

It's been a meaningful Spring Break. Well, at least the time spent in Fort Lauderdale, Miami. I'm finally back "home". Felt a little wistful when all my friends were saying how much they looked forward to going home to their friends and family, I'm not too bad myself either I would say.

The first thing I did when I got back was to turn on my lappie and call Mom.

I got to know the lovely people in crusade better :) Roomed with Laura, Katie and Andrea. They are such darlings and so are the rest. I must admit there were times when I felt odd, but it was wonderful to be accepted even when you are different.

All dressed up @ South Beach. Clothes courtesy of Laura, Katie and Andrea :)

I would like to say that this trip has kinda changed my perspective on evangelising. I am not as fearful of sharing the gospel with people anymore. Because I am simply stating a fact. And why should I water down the fact that Jesus died on the cross for our sins so that we can have a relationship with God? Please don't be angry with me, I am not discounting other religions. But consider why I am stating this as a fact, I cannot fathom why Jesus will die for me, because I simply don't deserve it, but he did. There will be no one else who will love me and the rest of mankind as much as Jesus does and so I can't hide this fact. It'll be selfish of me to keep this a secret.

Evangelising to the students of University of Miami does that to you. Sandhya and I shared the gospel with a hippie. This is the first time I've ever been up-close-and-personal with someone who believes in Universal Love and all that New Age stuff... Talking to her was interesting. And she was a really nice person, but abit strange though. Even gave me numbers to contact her friends over here in Atlanta. Which I doubt I will contact. It was Sandhya's first time doing street-E and well I wasn't really that experienced either. I had my doubts at first, but after listening to Micheal share his experiences and prayin' on the way UM, I guess we felt better and more prepared.

To sum it up, I guess people here are more willing to listen compared to the people in Sg. Or maybe I was less bold in Sg?

Partners in Evangelising! I wish had Sandhya's spunk. The girl's a chilli padi.
More pics click here: One, Two

Irate Dawn.

Glad I've survived this week :) Going for my exam in about 1 plus hrs time and I'll be free! Free to enjoy my Spring Break until Thurs. Lotsa stuff to clear after I'm back, can't bum around watching movies until the break ends. Will be heading to Miami, Fort Lauderdale tomorrow! Whee! It's gonna be a 13 hr drive from here to there. Woah. And I'm still not sure who I'm riding with. Hmmm... I'll get my ride eventually.

I was pretty irate with my friends. It's the whole thing about being nice and how people oughta know their limits. And not to do everything that they're told to do without thinking.

Murphy's Law

Feel as though everything that can go wrong has went wrong on me. In case you don't know, I lost 800 USD thanks to the robbing ATM. It'll take 45 days for the money to be returned to my account? Comforted by friends who showed concern though. Be it prayers, offers to lend me money ...
I don't know why eversince then, my mood has been spiraling downwards. Starting to miss home. I haven't talked to my parents for days because I haven't been able to call them when they're awake. I must talk to my parents soon and sleep more.

A sty in my eye.

I hate getting sty in my eye. Woke up on Sun morning with one, the night b4 I slept my eye already felt prickly. Now it feels painful, swollen and itchy. Visited the Doctor and its weird that he only gave me oral medication, nothing to clean my eyes with. So tempted to buy eye wash lotion.. But I'm too lazy to walk to the supermarket so far away... Stys are a pain.
Having D gps tonight and I steamed some baos for the girls to try. My tau sar bao tastes so different from the one in Sg lah. For a start the tau sar seems different. And the baos are flat. Oh well. I miss good baos especially the one from the pau shop in Northpoint.
The medication makes me very sleepy... Feel asleep in both lectures I attended today :( Had a pop quiz after one of the lectures and well.. I hope I do well. Sigh.
Cannot-scratch-my-eye no matter how itchy it is.. Arrrrgggh.

College Tour.

Hmm I don't have pics to post this weekend. Haha. Please don't kill me. I just felt weird taking out my cam this weekend. Because I didn't exactly go sight-seeing. Left for Athens and went to Athens, the college town of University of Georgia, Athens. Whereby more than half of the inhabitants of the town are college kids and clubs and pubs fill 4 Streets of Downtown. Reminds me of the club that Buffy the Vampire Slayer goes to. lol.
Got invited to an interesting event held at UGA which is not meant for GT students. But, there were no hiccups though, fitted perfectly into the college crowd without suspicion. This event has free food, free movies and free custom-made souvenirs :) I got some souvenirs which was really cool :) Anne was so sweet to give me her wristband so that I could get the goodies too.
Stayed over at their place after that and the 5 of us played cards till wee hrs in the morning. Learnt how to play Vietnamese version of Dai Dee. Hehe. Anyone wanna learn? Actually slept at 5 this morning!! And woke up at 9 plus. Just reached back at about 7pm-ish. Coz after lunch we headed to Emory another university in Atlanta to watch Wen Eu's friend perform in a Christian drama thingy. Although there were technical errors and stuff, they performed really well. I can never not be amazed by what Jesus has done for us. He came down to die in our place. I so don't deserve Him dying for me. I want to love Him more.
Without love I will only be a resounding gong. Hollow and empty, no substance at all. I pray that He will teach me how to love others unconditionally. Coz deeds without love mean nothing. Zilch.

Weekends are so precious...

Another weekend rolling round again :D Oh well. Tests and homework aside, I've been applying for more internships. The early bird catches the worm you see? And I really want to practice what I have learnt and get paid for it at the same time.
This weekend I'll be heading for Athens, a college town an hr away from Atlanta. While the rest, except for one other friend, will be heading for Smoky Mountains. I am too broke to go to Smoky Mountains. Must save money for end of sem break. Sheesh. According to my guidebook, it seems worth visiting, since I'm a mere hr away. It's really nice of Wen Eu to bring me there and we'll be putting up at his friend's place. Which makes me feel kinda bad to trouble 2 people. Oh well... Must start thinking of ways I can say thanks to Wen Eu and his friend. What should I do? Hmmm... ... ....

About Spring Break, my friends' reactions were rather neutral. No worries then.

I kinda enjoy this solitude. I don't mind being alone, not that I mind company either. But, I'm fine alone. Helps to me to hear God better. School has been hectic, I just thank God for being here with me. There are so many occasions that He has saved me from hiccups. Well, I believe He brought me here for a purpose and I don't want to disappoint Him. Giving it my best shot be it school, being an encouragement, a testimony... blah blah blah.

Last weekend's pics of Dim Sum @ Chinatown and Georgia Aquarium
http://ntu.facebook.com/album.php?aid=596&l=f90fe&id=227800168

This is going to be exciting!

I've just made a decision that will shock my Sg friends. I have paid in full 175USD for my Spring Break trip to Miami with the crusaders. It wasn't a decision made on impulse. I prayed about it. I simply don't feel the draw towards Disneyland as much as I use to. Although I've wanted to visit it since I was 3, when Dad bought me Mickey Mouse from Cali. Disneyland, themeparks, meaningless sightseeing VS serving God in a different capacity, albeit not much sightseeing. Which would you choose? My rationale is that God will bless me so much more than I can ever anticipate. I can do the sightseeing after the semester ends. And somehow doing something for God sounds much more exciting than going to fantasyland. I like my fellow exchange buddies, but I feel like breaking away from them sometimes. I know my role among them and I feel I need to recharge. I can't keep being salty when I feel like I'm running out of flavour sometimes. It's not easy to encourage people to go to church and continuously live life the way Jesus would be pleased with. It's bloody difficult.
I'm breaking away. I'm spending one week with a bunch of people who are almost strangers. And I abandon my Spring Break in Your hands. Pray that God will use me and the rest of the crusaders greatly.

Valentine's Day and Chinese New Year

They do not have holidays for Chinese New Year over here. How sad. They don't know what they're missing out on. And thanks to them I've got no hols either. Anyway school will not close down even if there's a snowstorm. Because it will cost them millions to close down for just one day. That's GT for you.

Guess what are the beads for?

These beads are from Mardi Gras, my friends brought them back for me when they went for their weekend trip to New Orleans. These beads are thrown from the floats to the crowd below and according to my friends they threw em real hard! Ow. What are the beads for? Erm.. Alright. If you want someone to show u some any part of their body, you gotta tell them the part you wanna see and if the person flashes you have to throw em the beads. Sleazy eh?

Spent Chinese New Year cooking most of the time and eating. Lol. My greatest achievement is making Yu Sheng from the scratch. Plum sauce and all. With the help of my friends of course. Sad to say, I didn't take any photos during the process.

Vday was just busy. Stayed in school till 7.30pm that day working on a project. But at 4pm my friends came over pass me a flower. Awww. So sweeet.

More photos click here :)

Another roadtrip, another hole in my pocket.

Went to Savannah over the weekend and I luuurve the place!!!! Wish I could make it my permanent residence, weeeell kind of. Lots of rustic charm.
http://ntu.facebook.com/album.php?aid=547&l=0d981&id=227800168



Dear Jesus, this Valentine's Day, my heart belongs to You. And I want it to be so every Vday! Yay

A typical day...

Overslept for the 3rd time this week. Overslept everyday except for MOnday... Arrgh what's wrong with me? Actually, I know what's wrong. Can't do anything about it, so can only force myself to get out of bed. Headed to school for the HRM exam... It'll be fine. I think. I wrote as much as I could. Hands ached after that.
Followed by lunch and studying for the quiz for the next day. I swear I have quizzes like everyday!!! Gdness. God save me. Let it snow or ice the tutors in or something, I need a break already. Haha.
Headed back home after school and started on my fried snickers bars immediately. I didn't take any photos, coz they simply looked ugly. I don't know why the batter refuses to stay on the chocolate! Why? I don't get it either. Is it the fat-free milk, or is it the flour? Arrrgh I don't know. I'll just have to finish frying all the bars with the remaining batter. Yep, took my ugly snicker bars over to Wen Eu's place for dinner and my B&J ice cream. Weeell, at least the bars tasted good. They could have tasted better.. I sooo miss Fried MArs Bars.. We had curry bee hoon. Haha. Abit bland because the curry was frozen, but it was alright, since I wasn't feeling all that well anyway. Sick food. Haha.
Went to watch the short movies produced by GT students in school after dinner, it was fun watching the short clips. Except that I couldn't get some of them. The winning film Fanya Kaplan was really piang piang ( superb!), about the attempted assasination of Lenin. They spoke Russian! Impressed and their filming skills really good. The funniest film went to lecture crashers. 2 students who crash lectures and do outrageous stuff like ordering pizza in the middle of lecture?! And other crazier stuff. Nuff said.
I'm back in my room mugging for my quiz tomorrow. *yawn*

Snowboarding, exams and being in my own world.

Went snowboarding in the moutains last weekend and was it thrilling fun! Though I ended up on my butt half the time, I'm happy to say that I have kinda gotten the hang of it. Chance of lifetime. Why doesn't singapore SNOW??! People in the tropics are seriously missing out alot of fun.

Scary ski lift behind Bev and me.
http://ntu.facebook.com/album.php?aid=485&l=6899d&id=227800168
http://ntu.facebook.com/album.php?aid=486&l=791bd&id=227800168

Agnes went snowball-throwing-happy and ended up the target of all the people she threw snowballs at. Lol. It was good, clean, wet fun. Haha.
Wanted to go to New Orleans this coming weekend, but I thought I should just give it a miss due to my tight budget. Annnd.. I'm wondering if it's good for me to go there at all. I'm not going there to paartie, but to check out the voodoo hoodoo cemetries and haunted houses. Yea, sounds wrong right? Yep, guess I shouldn't test God. Didn't feel any peace about going, although I really wanted to go. But, not anymore I guess.

Going to watch Swan Lake this coming Friday at the Fox theatre and the tics are cheap, only 10 bucks :) But, I think I'll probably spend on food again. Sigh. HAte the exchange rate it's not working to my advantage.

2 tests this week! No more updates until I've got more time.

I'm back!

Heh. Disappeared for a week. Oh well as promised I am posting more pics of our pancake session and whatever else was snapped. The pancakes tasted interesting. Yes. I can only describe it as interesting, the batter was off. Yea. :s

Click below for photos:
http://ntu.facebook.com/album.php?aid=468&l=322b6&id=227800168

I am tired. tired tired tired. Hate the rumours going around. Annoying.

School is insane...

Weekends are for playing and weekdays are for mugging. NOT partying. Feel that I've been having too many dinner parties. Didn't get much work done. Actually just returned from 1 dinner party... What constitutes a dinner party? Homecooked food and 10 other people. Yup. I swear I am growing fat!!

I have 3 quizzes next week and 2 assignments remaining and it seems like I'm going to be out for the whole weekend. Stress. Life in GT doesn't allow you to slack like in NTU. Last minute cramming in NTU is the norm, but GT and the frequent quizzes won't allow you to do so. SO much for the AMerican system, they're aren't such slackers after all. Sad. I wanna play...
I am stressed on an exchange programme?! WHat's this man...

Making pancakes from the mix or from the scratch on Sat morning for breakfast. Will take some pictures of the whole chaotic process I guess. Haha.

Wild Weekend.

I drove this weekend. It's an achievement that I could drive a car around an empty parking lot without crashing into anything and not scaring the passengers in the car. I'll never forget Dylan screaming while driving car... Hahahaha. Super scary. Yay. At least I know the basics.


Went to stone mountain and premier shopping outlets for cheap stuff and good shopping over the weekend. No more playing. Got lots to do. So here are my photos. Enjoy!


Tim and his daughters.

What's that?

Click below for more photos!

http://ntu.facebook.com/album.php?aid=432&l=eb423&id=227800168



http://ntu.facebook.com/album.php?aid=440&l=5fdac&id=227800168

1st week as GT student.

Everything is falling to apart. The sink in my apartment was choked, the flush is funny and the fridge broke down and that's just at "home". Went to print stuff in school to discover that my account is not properly connected yesterday and today there was a network error. In total, I have wasted many hours trying to solve these glitches. I used to getting glitches, but frankly I am very ANNOYED.

*breath*

My apartmentmates are fine. 3 Singaporeans and 1 american. The Singaporeans dominate! And... A bunch of us always head down to my place for dinner. Feel quite bad for our American apartment mate actually. But, we're nice people, I always make sure that the kitchen stays clean. Heard horror stories from the guys though... About living-in girlfriends. Americans live up to their ideals about liberalism. They are really liberal.Sharing the same bathroom? Too liberal. Eew. Alright I am here for immersion, so culture shock is expected.

Anyway, more photos.

http://ntu.facebook.com/album.php?aid=430&l=ba654&id=227800168

Settling down

I've disappeared for close to a week eversince I boarded the plane headed for Atlanta. Finally, I got internet access in my room. For the first few days the apartment wasn't ready and we had to stay in the youth hostel. 10 people shared 1 room. It is an experience that I hope I won't get to try again. Visited a few interesting places here for the past few days, school starts next week.

Coca Cola and Krispy Kreme. Getting fat.

http://ntu.facebook.com/album.php?aid=409&l=ec762&id=227800168

http://ntu.facebook.com/album.php?aid=410&l=498ac&id=227800168

In case you wonder who I'm with, I'm with 24 other people from NTU and 2 from NUS. Number of people attending the same lectures varies from module to module. That's not important though. Thank God that I have a some people to cook with and hang out with aside from lessons. However, they are all Singaporeans for now. Hope to know some locals here.

Eversince I stepped out of the house, I haven't had enough rest. I really hope to get some sleep now and go to church on Sunday. Miss spending more time with God, it's even more difficult to spend time with Him now as there are so many things to do, but I pray that God will give me the time and energy to enter into His presence. I need Him so much.