testify to love

Indeed one of the best years in my life. I wasn't in school in the first half of the year, and I don't really remember why. But I ended up having so much free time to go sailing and traveling. To summarize 2008 for those who want to know:

January was interesting. First time i traveled with laser kids younger than me and we had a great time together in.. Melbourne, Laser nationals. And then joined manyi and vic for asia-pac. Fun, although.. I was extremely disappointed when i didn't get chosen for the worlds in new zealand. Like extremely. It wasn't the best way to start my year off plus i put studies on hold for the 2nd sem already.The place where we sailed was super duper nice though and the racing was fun. So it was worth it anyhow.

Chinese New Year was in February this year. Oh and I started training with the sch team for Top of the Gulf. Feb was also the month that Giba left Singapore for good. Which was sad. Giba was my first nat coach and he's so nice.
SL qualified Singapore for the Olympics in the Laser class.
I went to the zoo and night safari sometime in March. And went sailing on a Mumm30.

In April(April's a long one), I bought my first music album ever. The Walk by Hanson. 5stars for the album and I also went to Lake Garda and Hyeres. Lake Garda is a must-visit-before-you-die-if-not-you'll-regret-it place. You really should go. It was also the coldest place i've ever sailed in.Manyi and I taking a picture while waiting for the wind to come. It was below 10 degrees that day. 4 if i'm not wrong.
I've said it many times, but i'm gonna say it again: I will go back to Lake Garda again someday. Soon, hopefully. Hyeres was fun, first time sailing in France. Not forgetting the race committee sent the radials out in like 30 knots only to call us back because the wind was too strong. duh.. Oh which reminds me of my first encounter with the infamous Belgian coach who is really nothing but an a**. Also attended my first protest hearing ever in Hyeres, in front of a very fierce looking lady and some men.

Took a flight to Antwerp and stayed with Daddy. Drove to Luxemburg and then to Frankfurt where we met up with Ian for lunch, which is one of the highlights because it was the first time I met up with a non-sailing related friend overseas I believe.

May was all about Top of the Gulf in Pattaya, charity and Medemblik. First time traveling and racing with SMU Sail Team. And I helmed an all-girls boat which made it very fun, but tiring too, haha. Back in Singapore, we held a donation drive at NSC to help our sailing friends in Myanmar.

And hello Medemblik, Holland.Don't ask me why, but that's Manyi posing with some rubbish in our house. How much messier can it get.. 4 girls in one house. :)

A great place to sail and apparently this year, the wind was a lot lighter than usual. Yay for me, and for all the SG girls. The last race was funny though- I capsized so many times that Jo Aleh was 2 laps ahead of me and I DNFed. Bman was waving to me at the gate while I was uprighting my boat and I remember him asking me back on shore why I didn't wave back to him. Daddy picked me up from Holland and I spent a few weeks in Antwerp.Daddy and I fixing up a wardrobe in Antwerp.

I was back in SG in June and all I remember about June is I screwed up big time with my boat in Europe and managed to piss a million people off. And I don't even feel like talking about it now. But i'm glad it happened too.

Ok, July was fun fun fun. Visited Na and Tiff in Melbourne and learnt a great cookie recipe. And I went over to Sydney to stay with Liz and Tara for 2weeks and it was the best 2 weeks in 2008. Bringing Tara out(alone) to the Koala Park, Bobbin Head National Park, shopping malls etc. was the best experience ever. I toppled the pram more than once, and it didn't help when she insisted on bringing her shopping cart, dolly, football and crayons along to the Koala Park that day because there was already the pram, nappy bag, picnic bag, coats, hats and my handbag to carry! Haha.. it wasn't that hard actually. Just put it all onto the pram.Went snowboarding for the first time in my life! Steven brought me to Perisher Hills. Want to do it again sometime. August. My birthday was ok. I like it when it's ok. I got dunked into the turtle pond though, and that was also when I fell in love with turtles. Olympics happened and soon after, I started school. Met a few people, most of whom are nice.

I took up drumming- something that i've always wanted to do, but never had the time to actually go for it. And I count myself lucky that some high class drumming school never got back to me in 2007 about their vacancies because I found myself the best teacher ever. And since then, i've always looked forward to Thursdays, my TGITs.. I wish my house was big enough for an electronic drum set.

Sometime in September I got pretty stressed over school work and that wisdom tooth that was giving me a lot of trouble eating and sleeping. And everyone was caught in the F1 jam. But I remember I was happy.

October was pretty uneventful. Slipped while I was on trapeze one day, and whacked my knee so hard that I bruised the inside of my knee cap. Couldn't walk properly for a few days. Also discovered that I can't live without music.

I went for Beyond concert in November and went Beyond crazy for quite a while. School exams were either in November or December. Just a random picture I took of baby J in November.. He was having diarrhea that day, so he wasn't too happy:(:(
So finally, December came and it's about to leave in a few hours' time. So happy I extracted my wisdom tooth. I thank God for this year because I've learnt so much, experienced so much, met wonderful people, and met up with old friends, traveled to so many places, seen so many things and I have absolutely no regrets this year. Goodbye 2008.

Hello 2009.

christmas was different somehow this year. felt like chinese new year minus the family. 2 days to new year. can't wait.. happy new year.

oh Ip Man is a great movie. go watch. and i think mummy will like it. i think i need to actually go shopping and for once buy something for myself. I always end up buying things for other people instead. mmm.. 5 more days till school starts. i need to sleep more and recharge for the semester.

Merry Christmas to all. 

but the air this morning smells like it is Chinese New Year today. (actually so did yesterday's)

i can't stress this enough, but i'm so thankful for all the wonderful people in my life. and i also have so many wonderful things to look forward to!!

yes, i can't believe it either, i forgot about class today. but james messaged at 9.45 to remind me. it was fun fun fun as usual. but james had a stomachache thanks to some bad beehoon. get well soon..

nothing's really been happening.. just some christmas shopping and lots of walking around in the malls. so crowded everywhere. and parking is so expensive these days. what to do, too many cars in singapore. (thanks to spoilt brats like me.......)

christmas is just around the corner and i've got a pretty busy schedule the next few days, or relatively busy considering it's the holidays. which reminds me.. the holidays are coming to an end. this is so sad.

tmr: morning help toh prepare for her party, then gym in afternoon, movie with dawn and amanda
saturday: morning run, then help jov prepare for party, jov's lunch party, then toh's party
sunday: evening sending 420s off at airport
monday: gym(have to start early), meeting in school, then dinner with FAB
tuesday: i've forgotten what.. oh right, lesson in the morning instead of thursday cos thursday is christmas!

there are a few things to look forward to in the near future.
december: christmas=giving presents, love and care to people i love
jan: na and thibby back in sg for chinese new year, if i'm not wrong.
february; bike trip... can-not-wait

that's enough to get me through the next three months. not that it's hard to get through the days, but at least there's something to look forward to.

can't wait to wrap up the christmas gifts. haha. love wrapping presents and giving them out. and i'm excited to give my fav gardener her present cos i think i got something that's perfect for gardeners!!

i'm taking out my stitches tmr. i hope the pain goes away then.

1) quantum of solace reminds me of dan because he studies quantum physics for his phd.
2) the opening scene was at lake garda!!! and now i totally miss sailing there. the first scene was right at the tunnel where the 470s raced. the part where the wind will definitely shift. (and the james bond action totally killed the lovely scenery of lake garda.)

but anyway, it was not that bad. but you really have to watch casino royale to be able to catch the storyline.

i will make sure i go to garda again

once again, i'm stuck in between.
here comes the brooding and fretting.

i like the feeling of cycling along east coast and meeting people i know. like yesterday when i was cycling home, i cycled past toh's dad who was cycling as well.. then i saw mr yong and his girlfriend jogging. then i stopped to chat with vincent and vivien (vince was learning how to rollerblade!! haha) and then got off my bike and walked with flor, who was walking her dog, for a while. haha. it was a great way to "end" my day at east coast.

come to think of it.. i am on east coast almost everyday. u see, monday i cycle to school, tuesday i cycle to gym then school, wednesday i cycle to nsc and even if i don't cycle i'll be at nsc, thursday i cycle to gym, friday i cycle to school, saturday i cycle to nsc, sunday i cycle to nsc. and wherever i cycle to, i'll cycle by east coast.

i just figured out why my thighs feel tired most of the time.

1) cycle to school/nsc/katc gym(if raining, beg for a ride)
2) bathe in school/nsc/katc gym
3) eat last night's left overs for lunch(up to 2 days)
4) drink from school/nsc /katc gym water cooler
5) wear singaporesailing shirts(can wear forever)
6) wear games yonex shorts
7) eat office biscuits(but share with turtles)
8) eat shufen's muesli bars(haha, sorry..)
9) call people using skype
10) charge laptop/handphone/camera in school

please give me more tips on saving money.

I don't remember ever being really scared of lightning/rain storms. Strong wind storms and cold fronts i'm afraid but I was never too worried about the ones in Singapore. BUT NOW.. I scream at the sight of lightning and it surprises me. I used to always laugh at dawn when she screams at lightning cause she's not even on the wire! Now we just scream together.

It's almost the end of the year, so i'll allow myself to reminisce a bit about the past few years. Haha. Went to read my old blog and found so many funny things!! I've forgotten about my chem SPA exam in 2004 which I totally screwed it up and then I went behind the tblock and cried(Mr Tan told me that I got lowest in the cohort when he trying to convince me to retake it the following year).

Some funny conversations I had in the year 2007:

Me: Let's watch a movie
Dawn: Ok! Where should we go?
Me: Oh right.. Good point.
Dawn: Ok sure, where's that?

Tif: Baby! What surgery you want? I go home do 4 u for free
Me: Today, i sailed so hard that my thighs feel like they're burning..
Tif: I suggest you go for above knee leg amputation..

Some photos from the past few years:

2005. Dawn behind me and Manyi falling in too. Haha!! I was in the exact same attire today! Plus my faithful blue watch!! Fun times on Four Friends!!Daddy and I in hk.. I miss didi.........

I don't even remember being in this picture! Brandon and I kayaking at dusk.

i have a few things i want to say:

Actually, I kinda miss my old pair of sneakers which I threw away in Melbourne. And i'm beginning to regret throwing them away. My dear sneakers.. 

Oh, look what I found. A picture of my and my sneakers. Off the same jetty we ran to during morning PT during the winter training trip in 2005.
I miss Tara too. This was taken at Bobbin Head National Park while Liz was gardening at Mrs I-Forgot-Her-Name-Again-So-Let's-Call-Her-Mrs-Nice-Old-Lady's place. 

Ok, need to vent.

AMK is CRAP CRAP CRAP. AMK can DREAM DREAM DREAM. 

I realised I tend to get angrier when other people are being treated unfairly than when i'm being treated unfairly. It's so lame. Totally no justification. Lame reasons. No wonder so many people want to quit, or HAVE quit. It's because of people like AMK. Only fools like me hang on.

Ok, breathe in breathe out breathe in breathe out. 

On a happier note, dinner was great. Just love eating with Bman and Pete. Practically laughed from the moment we picked them up till we dropped them off. It's almost like Kath&Kim in real life. 

One of my fav photos of Bman and Tara.

Need a pic of Pete and Lily.

Mmm, Starry Night last Friday was pretty good (excluding the test, and the presentation plus report and the research paper and the homework all happening/due on the same day). I mostly only remember watching Shel on the drums. COOL!!! Good job Sheldon! The last girl vocals from the last band was great. 

I really need to sleep. I miss mummy. VO2 max test at 9am. Stretch my thighs.

Gone are the days when I would feel sea sick and puke out at sea.. NOT!!
Today was so terrible. You know the feeling where you know the vomit is going to come out and you want it to just come out but it won't. URGH. And then when you start to feel like ok maybe you're not gonna puke, the puke comes out. Not wise to drink milk then gatorade right. Stupid bun.

Anyway. Today is Wednesday so that makes me half a student and half an athlete today. For those who do not know..
Monday: I'm a full time student.
Tuesday: I'm a part time princess (because I have both Kelvin and Julian watching over me alone at gym) and part time student because I have one class after gym.
Wednesday: I'm half student half sailor.
Thursday: I'm a musician!
Friday: I'm a full time student again.
Saturday: I'm a part time athlete because morning I sleep in(but not for long...).
Sunday: I'm a full time sailor.

Lesson starts at 8.30am on Wednesdays and guess what time i woke up?! Ya!! How you know? I woke up at 8.25am! Nice. Reached school at 8.45am ;) Haha, how did I get there so fast? It's for me to know and for you to find out.

Luckily I've been attending all my Wednesday classes for the past 12 weeks and have been ACTIVELY participating in this class (cos you just have to talk erm. crap.. acad writing)(damn, reminds me of FFH), so the teacher was not upset with me at all. Heh! Yay..

when you live in a cookie cutter world, being different you can't win. so you don't stand out, and you don't fit in.

tuna taka we we. haha.. oh man. here we go round again! last week before study break. go bun. i suspect i'll be beyond crazy for the next week or so.. as in not beyond crazy but crazy about beyond. hahaa. or maybe both.

bk: what concert did you go to?
me: you don't wanna know
bk: what concert?
me: beyond. canto rock band
bk: ok don't talk to me
hahaha! they are cool ok. maybe i should really listen to shufen and keep it a secret.
ok, ssshhhhhh, i secretly love beyond.

training was. i don't even know what it was. but it involved me singing twinkle twinkle little star while dawn sang ABC and us doing roundround around the buoy and rence's powerboat. (that's when i realized i didn't know how to sing that song) and then dawn was told to close her eyes and i navigate her round the boat. then i had to tie the tow rope to the mast while doing roundround and dawn had to sing majulah singapura and i had to say the pledge. (and here i realized i have forgotten the pledge) then i had to close my eyes while doing the roundround. and then we had to sail upwind to keta buoy and do 10 tacks, with our eyes closed. then do gybes downwind with our eyes closed. what an interesting day.

laughed our asses off.

baby j is down with stomach flu and he looks like he lost lots of weight. :( not good.

paul wong gun zhong. beyond.

Today was a very fulfilling day. As in, it felt fulfilling. But in terms of work done. . . he.. he.. he.. Training was great. Beyond concert was great. Paul Wong was great. Tmr lots of work to do.

Just one more week of hard work. I can do it. Time to set some goals for myself.

Do not ask me anything about Airbus and Boeing.

this is the first time i'm hearing the song "closing time" played over the system in the school library. 23.35

i spend way too much energy trying to make people happy and i end up sad.
and then i spend too much energy being sad.
why do i bother

1 presentation down. 2 to go. i can't wait for this 2 weeks to be over. haha.. i'm sure it'll fly by! and when i finally have the time to spare, i'll go pluck out my wisdom tooth. (maybe. hehe)

oh man, i can faint from smelling my own shirt. i need to bathe. i think there's a test tmr..

every song brings me to a different place, gives me a different feeling and i like it.
when i'm cycling, vivaldi makes me look up at the trees.
georgia by hanson reminds me of my room in hyeres.
never be the same again by mel c brings me back to my desk in my old bedroom with air con switched on.
mmmbop just lifts me up.
vanessa mae makes me feel energetic. but right now i feel very not energetic. tired from gym.
slipping away by moby make me feel very inspired and reminds me of all the people i love.
every little thing by dishwalla brings me to my bed in the morning with the alarm clock ringing..(cos it was my alarm ring tone for quite a while).
breathe in now by george brings me back to daddy's car in belgium.
stop me by mark ronson makes me feel like i'm anywhere but singapore.
for some reason, cycling to school is always chinese song mood.
thank you by dido brings me back to sec 4.

i don't think i can live without music.
super hungry. after dinner need to complete my MS homework, due tmr. the past few days have been relatively productive, fun and fulfilling. can't wait for next 2 weeks to be over!!! faster faster faster please please please. but not so fast, if not i got no time to do homework.

Woke at 9 but did not get to eat anything till 1.30 today! I was so hungry. Anyway, gym this morning was good although it really hit me that I'm damn weak. However, weak means more room for improvement. Yay.

New found meaning in life. Mmm.. more like a new lost and found meaning in life.
I just remembered:
1) I love to and can just listen to a friend talk.
2) I love east coast park at night.
I also realised that there's just no need to fret over school. At all. It'll pass. (Haha!!! easy to say only.. just because some of the major deadlines are over!)

fang hai thinks i should shave my head bald because i have the nun look.
thanks.

today is a happy day. james is such a fantastic teacher. it's just great. you know that kind of feeling, when you feel so lucky to get a great teacher? i'm feeling that feeling. his passion for music is infectious.

gym was surprisingly good too. victoria and elizabeth were there too, on the aerobics program today. so fun to watch vic, she's comical. i think the new program made gym more lively than usual. something new(sort of). and i think i should learn to appreciate my gym sessions with julian. he's encouraging and nice.

i'm so lucky. am i not?

LONG LONG DAY TMR. 8am start class, project ends 9pm. better go get ready for sch.

tonight, a grasshopper flew into the house, and a bat!!!! flew into the house. flew pass me just inches away. so damn scary.

i'm ready for the coming week. ROAR.... just a few more weeks before holidays!!!

when i'm busy, i'd rather not be busy. when i'm not busy, i'd rather be busy. i will MAKE SURE i do something i like to do, when i can. i really really wanna do the bike trip with brett, but the dates might be changed to january!!!!!!!! how how how how how. pon sch.

meeting at 9am tmr morning. then class. then meeting at 7pm tmr night. when do the meetings end. huh huh huh huh huh. never.

1little2little3littleindians, 4little5little6littleindians, 7little8little9littleindians, 10 little indian boys. it's amazing how i can summarize a song into 6 words: There are 10 little indian boys.
point being. just get straight to the point.

JOEL PANG is a superstar now! thanks to the singapore sports fan. deserve 10 presents from me. claim at nsc 470 boat park. hahahaha. he probably won't collect it from me. free presents up for grabs everyone.

looks like it's gonna be a super busy week for me. mm.. more like.. busy 3 weeks. super busy. i don't even want to think about it. i think i'll be in sch more than time spent at home.

something interesting happened yesterday or today, can't remember. but i remember that i wanted to write about it on my blog. but i've forgotten. but other than that, there have been happy moments the past few weeks although i've been so packed with deadlines and things to do.

oh, i remember now. i was introduced to the phrase "super wholesome depression" just now. cheer up dude. 'cest la vie.

uncle edwin just bit me

like an angel. 

today i received the best present (that a person with super bad time-management skills can) ever (have)! a handmade diary with monthly and weekly schedules for October to December!! thanks dawn!

i'm happy. things always turn out right in the end.

my knee looks like it has an extra knee cap inside. totally swollen. :( :( :(

he heard me. i was just thinking about how long i haven't spoken to na and tif. then they called. 

You know once in a while, you'll feel like you don't really know where you're heading and kinda just going with the flow. I'm feeling that.

been looking through my photos of tara again. 

i don't even want to talk about yesterday. 

1)woke up with a heart in my gums. 

troubled no more.

i love turtles. if i could, i would become a turtle.

bumped into flor along ecp near fort road when i was cycling home from school!! i miss her! sigh.. my girl friends are all in their final year of uni. and i'm in my first. i miss flor.. she's such a dear..

hungry.

This is one of those times when I wish I'd wake up to Tara running around the house. Then we'll sit down and watch Dora the Explorer together, and singing "We Did It!" with Dora and her monkey, Boots. Then we'll go to the park down the road and play on the swing together. Go to Westfield up the hill during late morning.. eat pies for lunch.. .. I miss Tara.

me: i'm watching old men play hockey

kills

all the more i don't believe in religion.

RLRRLRLL.

It's back to reality part 2. I hope the next 14-15 weeks will be fulfilling.

You know, i'm glad things turned out this way. Sometimes we have to go our separate ways, just for a while, to find out something we did not know about ourselves. When we come back together, we will become stronger as one unit.

From now on, Thursdays will be my Thank God It's Thursday day. I'M EXCITED.

Tmr there's class at 12. After class, project meeting till around 7pm? Bobby's coming home tomorrow! :D I did confess that I can't start the bike, nor the car. So i'm safe. Heads won't roll. (The batteries are flat!! I can't do anything about it..)

For once in my life I've set some.. definitely achievable goals. So I hope I can achieve those goals. Hint: It has to do with my low or no tone-ness.

Tomorrow shall be the start of an exciting journey that includes sailing, school.. and TGITs. Oh god, I must be the most boring person on earth.

was looking through my OYC diary. there is one thing i really want to do. visit galkhuu in mongolia. 

first day of school wasn't too bad.

it just gets better! Sio-Ban, Shuay Wun, Sio-B-Han, Anthony!?.. now i'm Mr Snobhan.

when your primary school class photo gets uploaded onto facebook:


"NO YOU DIDN'T!!! SHIT!!!! hahahahhahahahahahhaha"

"No I didn't. LOL. Syahman uploaded this pic. Haha. So embarrassing. My does your hair look different now LuLu. :p"

"MUAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!Evil Me... I shud hav photoshopped myself out..."

"omg, can you photoshop me??? this is way too embarrassing.... THIS IS TOO EMBARRASSING!!!!!!!!!! PLEASE REMOVE"

"Oh my god...i look weird!!! And my tie is crooked!!! =X"

"oh my god i look like an alien."

"holy shit!!!! this picture should be burned! LOL"

":eh! who tagged me?! ahaha. damn the hair!"

"hahahahah......... damn everyone's hair man"



CRACKS ME UP.

Today, I conquered Bukit Timah Hill. 163m.
Well done ah.

this is it.

that would be me, saying hi to the turtle who requested for the pond to be cleaned.

to conquer the southern ridges!!! and i have. dawn and i have. haha.

1) did not wake up in time to watch the sunrise. went to NSC and
2) got "blindfolded" and led down a flight of stairs.. to
3) receive a plate of whipped cream in my face. there was also a beautiful
4) chocolate cake. and then my
5) handphone got confiscated.. "why you take my phone?"
6) "why? you say leh??".. then
7) i went for a swim with the turtle in the pond.


the best present i received so far is a gift voucher that consists of:
+ one dinner at a restaurant of my choice
+ one copy of the book, Breaking Dawn
+ one serving from any hawker centre stall of sugercane
+ one ice-skating outing at Kallang Leisure Park
+ a treat of ice cream, brand of my choice
+ unlimited hugs to last the year out(except in the event that the hug-er's arms are indisposed)

that's one whole package of goodies!! where to find?
thanks dawn!!

I'm home. And this time for a long while.

I miss Sydney, miss Tara, miss Liz, miss the warm blanket in the cold weather, miss watching the tour with Liz, drinking hot tea and eating fruit cake, miss bringing Tara out to feed the ducks, to picnics, to the park.. ..

Singapore is so hot. And i'm gonna miss Sydney.. until December!!! Can't wait till December. Right now, I have to get ready for school.

Photos will be up next!!

Today was such a fine day. Sunny, cooling, snow.

My first attempt at snowboarding was aye-okay! I think it is easier than skiing. Terrifies me everytime I see people's leg go so far apart and look like they're gonna fall. Both my feet stay on the same board, so I don't have to worry about them splitting apart and breaking some bones. It helped that the snow was fluffy, not the hard type.. so my bum didn't hurt so much when I fell. The speed is just so intense that there was no way I was gonna go straight down. I zig-zagged down that steep slope. There are so many kids around the age of 5-7 who are so good at skiing. Fearless, low cg, super high speeds with damn good control. They don't even use those ski sticks. I applaud them. They are just... there's no other word, so i'll re-use intense.

Managed to hop on the ski-lift 3 times before it was time to come here to the lodge. It was an experience and it helped that it wasn't windy today and the weather was fantastic. When we first started, I could not even put my jacket on.. only a t-shirt. So warm. After learning the basics with Aline, the ski instructor from the ski-school, I joined Steven and hit the slopes.

The people working here are really nice people too. Ok dinner time. And dinner is in like a kitchen with long tables where everyone sits together. :)

Brett's parents came over for a couple of hours today and it was great to meet them. Liz and I prepared a simple but scrumptious lunch for everyone. I can eat avocado with chicken/salmon and cheese sandwich forever. Haha, maybe not. Anyway, it's amazing how I feel so at home. It's wonderful.

this morning, we drove to the airport to pick brett up. it was so nice to see him. in fact, i dreamt about him last night! i forgot the details, but there was the fatherly feeling to it. haha, makes him sound old.

I was so engrossed in the story, i didn't even know Tara fell asleep! I asked her, "do you wanna close your eyes and try to sleep?" She said,"no." So i continued reading. and she was asleep within 30 seconds after she said no. sleeping like an angel now.

i think the only story that i remember from a really young age is the story about the hare and the tortoise. i wonder how many stories tara will remember when she grows up.

that one gives,

i can almost remember the whole of The Wiggles music cd.