Ushering in the New Year

"You gain some, you lose some."

And I'm a staunch believer of that, because this year has been exactly like that, like every year was. But I think I've been a fairly good girl for the past few years, because 2008 has been the year metamorphosis took place in my life to the greatest extent. And everyone was involved, which was a good thing.

1. I found the love of my life. It's been a whirlwind ride for us as individuals looking for that someone perfect for us, getting heartbroken and totaled in the process. But here I am, with my hand in yours, and it'll stay that way for as long as we keep it this way. For someone who compromises but never too much, for someone who's childlike enough with his lame jokes and yet mature enough to knock some sense into me whenever I'm out of line, this year's to you.

2. Turning 20. I'm just shamelessly defiant when it comes to turning two decades old. It makes me sound like a mountain tortoise. But might as well.

3. Scoring my first A and C+. Yay to the former, yucks to the latter. And I'm only going to get better and better at this, with MY OWN EFFORT, nevertheless. You know how much i hate leveragers. Their A's and whatnot are SO not justified, and I lose all respect for them.

4. My Gurlies. No PR strategy, just to acknowledge my Gurlies for their tolerance, especially after 2 out of 4 of us got attached. Of course, amidst mad work and study schedules, we still managed to sieve out time to meet and be crazy for those few hours, but it's all worth it. The incoherent midnight MSN-ing and emotional support they gave was priceless, especially when I had no one to turn to. Kudos to them.

5. Geyao. Joining Geyao has been an eye-opener for me ever since my first semester here, because I get to experience things I don't usually get to outside of it. Rehearsals, jamming, studio recording, getting my hands on writing lyrics and melodies (though many are half-done and lacking in substance), fooling around in KTV with a bunch of skilled vocalists, building invaluable stage experience, making friends, etc. Most importantly, I found Jack there! No no, not the 3.5mm earphone jack. Someone to share my love for music, and be my love. And we're only one of the many many (and still growing) couples there!

6. Primary School mates. This made it in time for the closure of 2008. So it seems like I've been missing out on all my Primary school gatherings since Sec. 2, because NONE of them recognised me at first sight. Seriously, did I change that much? They made it seem as though I went for plastic surgery (which I didn't). But it's good to know that some things never change.


I know I'll probably regret it if I post it here, because I'll have hoards of people hunting me down if I don't fulfill them.

New Year Resolutions:

1. Pull up my C.A.P. And I mean it.
2. Stop conflicting with my parents. Or my mum, to be specific.
3. Exercise! Okay, I've been constantly losing weight, but for the wrong reasons. I dropped by 3kg, then 8 kg, then 3 kg, all without exercise. So I'm all flabby. Yuck. Arghhhh~
4. Save money. Alot.
5. Strengthen all my relationships, be it with Jack, or with my Gurlies, or with cT and co, or with any of my friends.
6. Write more lyrics. I've got 3 half songs, and only 1 full song which I have no intention of publishing.

Muffins and children

My sis will kill me if she hears me say this, but Joanne (Jack’s sis) makes lovely cupcakes! Haha no currying of favour intended here, just honest confessions. I’m such a foodie, my size explains it all. Jack just crumbled up the cupcake, shoved it into his mouth, and made a face. Haha.



Tuition was taxing (as it always has been). To handle 10 primary school kids who like to speak simultaneously and make weird noises, it’s like babysitting 10 times over. And the next worse thing? Marking their assignments. And I felt bad about not attending the Christmas party, because the kids were pestering me as to why I didn’t turn up, and Violet actually prepared gifts for us. Omg I feel super bad now, because I just unwrapped the present to find a purple Parker pen with my name engraved on it. Damn.

Subtle happiness

I realised the progress of time only allowed me to learn even more from things around me, including myself. And the past few days have etched a deep impression in me.



Sometimes, when you try really hard to be someone everyone likes, it turns out really horridly. And that was what happened. I'm just glad that I've found the ONE PERSON who has the ability to knock some sense into me whenever I utter something really insane, even when it means crazy phonecalls at unearthly hours. The remorse hit in the late morning, coupled with sore and puffy eyes and a congested throat. I paid the price, learnt the lesson. I promise, I'll never say those hurtful things again. It's only when you reflect upon what you've just said that you realise that you haven't been kind with your words. And I learnt it the hard way.



But you know I still love and treasure you all the same.

Lunch steaming with love from Jack's kitchen

Catching up done with the double G's - I got thrashed. Real bad.

Primary school gathering made me laugh. ALOT. As much as I hated my schooling days before JC, taking a peek back at the silly moments in Primary School was fun. We had so much sharing and catching up done over the 9 hours we had (with boardgames at Settlers' and dinner at The Coffee Club), and we've even set the tentative date for the next gathering.



Juliet, one of my best friends in Primary School. We were snail-mailing each other up to Sec. 4.



Two of the three guys who attended.
From left: Jeremy and Hao Yi. I remembered having a crush on Jeremy. Haha. And we were talking about how Jeremy and Haoyi not having much change (lookswise) from Primary school days. And while Jeremy was furiously pushing HaoYi to Charmaine (in hope of rekindling their Primary school 'romance'), the rest of us were shoving Matthew to her as well. I swear she got really pissed.



Lay Yoong. One of the many many prefects on our class. And while I was always bumping into her in NUS, she never did once recognise me. Lol. She's in Mec. Engine! We promised to keep in touch.



Games at Settlers'. We initially wanted to meet at Cineleisure, but some stalker of Juliet's found out, and we decided to change the venue. Haha. And we were saying that Charmaine was the PI (since she knew what was happening with the other people from our class) and Hao Yi was the stalker (since he knew much more about SOME people). Perfect match. And They're still the two brainy ones, no doubt about it.

Thanks to all who attended yesterday's gathering - Juliet, Lay Yoong, Charmaine, Lishi, Karryn, Hao Yi, Jeremy, Hua Xiong.

More photos coming up, after Lishi uploads them on FB.

Kayven + Christmas

Haha. Kayven is NOT my new fling.
*ROFL*
He's Derrick's little newborn! Congratulations on your lovely Christmas boy! The family's proud of you! We got so excited, we rushed down to the hospital in the afternoon. They couldn't let the baby out of the nursery within 6 hours of birth, but the nurse was kind enough to push Kayven to the side of the nursery window so that we could take a look at my baby nephew. And he's gorgeous, I'd tell you. He's going to be a tall and suave boy when he grows up. And to watch the little bundles of joy fidgeting in their warmers from the nursery window lights a comforting warmth within me. To watch Kayven pry open his own eyes sleepily and yawn big, comforting yawns made me smile. It's the vulnerability of life which makes me treasure every single person in my life, however frequently they appear in my life.


Woke up with a horrid horrid hangover-ish headache and nausea. I swear, I won't touch more than half a cup of that wine again. It effectively killed my Christmas appetite, and for the entire day I felt like emptying my innards to accommodate that bloat in my gut. *sigh*

It's more of missing the hubby.

And I don't like the idea of going out.

Back to where we were

I can only smile to myself and count my lucky stars.
Merry Christmas Eve to everyone.

Cam-whoring. Please clear up after vomitting.


Killing time...


I'm never ordering this again, because they took out my favourite shitake!


The hubby's favourite - Rainbow Roll


Hubby's ... not very cooperative. Haha.


Yayaya... we're always here.


And what else but to have your hand to bring me right to my doorstep.

(Photos from my Nokia 6220. Simple editing done.)

Was wine-shopping with the hubby, since we both need something nice to go with Christmas dinner. Had my first experience with Moscato, because I've always been sticking to Merlot and Shiraz for family dinners. It's a fresh change, because it's not as fruity as Wild Vines, and lower in alcohol content than Choya. Plus it's got a very light, sweet aftertaste. Yum.

Dad force-fed me his pan-fried salmon. *Gag* Threw down some white wine to get rid of the lingering stench of the fish (I'm still at it). If there's one guilty pleasure this festive season, it's got to be alcohol. I've not been drinking much owing to the exams and late night project-rushing, plus I hate the fact that the alcohol hits my blood vessels and drives my blood into my head at lightning speed. So I wasn't blushing if you saw me all red-faced just now; Hubby and I had some Japanese rice wine during dinner.

And just one year ago, I had the exact same meal (dinner) at the same place (Vivo) with the same person (Jack). One year later, history repeats itself, except the differing fact that I have my hand in his this time round.