Bandaged Soul...so I can open my heart to you again.

I recently have this fascination about rice paper wrap. It's fun to use and the texture when you chew on it gives a really nice '口感'. Here's a picture of what I made last night for dinner. Ok, it certainly doesn't look like how it should be, according to the picture next to my dish. I didn't have all the ingredients like veg, mint leaves etc...just meat bits. It would be more colourful and look more appealing otherwise. I quite like Thai and Vietnamese cuisine, mainly because they use fish sauce for their dish. I kinda grew up with fish sauce. There are some stuff where you gotta have that. Like fishball noodle...it's just not the same without it. If a fishball noodle stall uses soya sauce, well, I don't know, just doesn't seem as appealing. I think the only time I would willingly dip my food into soya sauce is when I'm going Jap. So I went to this clearance sale during lunchtime at Changi Airport. Bought some stuff I didn't think I would... ...

From Ashes To Beauty By The Vine Band VERSE: The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord Is on me now To love, to speak, to heal, to preach The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord Is on me now Giving life PRE-CHORUS: You turn ashes to beauty Mourning to dancing Anguish to songs of praise CHORUS: Pour Your Spirit over me Let Your love rain down Won't You take these hands of mine And use me Pour Your Spirit over me Let Your love rain down Would You take these feet of mine And lead me BRIDGE: You lead me to the poor That’s where You are You lead me to the weak That’s where You are You lead me to the lost That’s where You are Lord I want to be Where You are I need inspiration for a change in my life. For health reasons - physical, mental and spiritual - for the purpose of a greater consecration. Be a new wine skin for the new wine that God is pouring down and allow God to use me and to multiply the 'talents' he has entrusted me with. A change in lifestyle. I need responsible words of advice, en...

I'm now using this application on my iPod Touch to blog. Well, it's another quiet afternoon in the office. I was supposed to have lunch with my student, Nigel to talk about some stuff. Ended up not eating there, but packed some stirfry veg with sliced beef instead. Now I'm toying with the idea of home-cooking my lunch and maybe make sandwiches for breakfast. But a big too much, too soon. May backfire. See how...back to work! This application is a big lag. I think they need to fix some bugs in the editing function and landscape view. -- Post From My iPod Touch

Sorry for those who don't read Chinese... 所謂的曾經，就是幸福 中午，我站在學校大門口當交通導護，幫助一年級的小朋友放學。 卓新勇的母親，悄手悄腳提著一個便當在校門口。 被我一喊，她露出不好意思的表情。 「老師啊！．．．」 「哎呀！我不是跟妳講了嗎？學校不喜歡家長替孩子送便當。 如果每個媽媽都像妳這樣，學校大門就擠滿了人，那樣，我們怎麼放學呢？」 「我知道！我知道！」哼！知道了還送，簡直是明知故犯。 「妳不會讓他自己帶便當嗎！」 「我知道！我知道！」這些話，不曉得說了幾次。 每次一到中午，送便當的家長和放學的一年級小朋友，常常相撞在一起，造成相當的困擾。 卓新勇是一位沈默寡言，乖巧內向的孩子。 有次上課，他竟然打瞌睡，我很訝異，把他叫起來。 「怎麼了？」他一臉迷惘站起來，不回答。 第二天上課，也是這樣，我實在受不了，狠狠地把他叫過來。 「你到底怎麼了？」 我已經氣得半死，口氣已經控制不住。 突然，他垂頭淌下淚水。我暗自一驚。 「說呀！到底為什麼上課要打瞌睡呢？」 我媽媽住院了！昨天一直在醫院陪她。」 我一聽愣住了，頓時，心中的怒氣消失了，代之而起的是無限慚愧，「她為什麼住院呢？」 「是肺癌！」我一聽，心都涼到腳底。 心中想到身體贏弱的卓新勇。 如果，不幸那天來臨，他將如何繼續往後漫長的歲月呢？ 想到這兒，不禁鼻酸。吃飯時，妻子在餵兒子吃飯， 我不禁想起，以前卓新勇的母親偷偷摸摸替他送便當。 第二天下班後，我騎著機車到醫院探望他母親。 幾個禮拜沒見，卓新勇的母親瘦得不成人形，蒼白的臉，光禿的頭，簡直不敢相信就是她。 她看到我，顯得很驚訝，努力想站起來，但是，一咳嗽，整個人歪了一邊。 「不要站起來！不要站起來！」 「老師！謝﹍﹍謝謝你！」她吃力喊著，眼眶消出淚水。 在醫院的走廊，卓新勇的父親對我說：「只剩下兩個月了！嗚！我﹍真的不知要怎麼辦？」他老淚縱橫。 回到學校，報告校長。 「他爸爸已經六十多歲了，現在母親又將離開人間，是不是我們可以發動全校募款。不管多少，都可以幫助他。」校長爽快答應。 經過幾天募款活動，我們總算募到五萬二千一百二十元。 把錢送到醫院時，卓新勇的母親已經在昏迷中。 「我們準備今天送他回家！」卓新勇的父親，臉形憔悴得發白。我一聽，心頭抽搐一陣。 「老師！能不能幫個忙？」 「請說！我能夠做到的，我一定答...

My lunch partner just got 'abducted' for some official matter, leaving me with a bit of extra time before the full hour break is up to do some blogging. I like this time of the day because the office is usually quiet. Yesterday was rather eventful. Went for a workshop in the morning on 'Enhancing Your Facilitation Skills'. The content in the 2-hour session was mainly on effective listening and questioning. Nothing new to me, but it was a good refresher course. Sometimes we need to get back to the basics. A chinese character ' 聽 ' (traditional stroke for the English equivalent of 'listen) was used to describe how one should listen. This character is made up of a few individual chinese character - '耳', '王', '十', '目', '一' and, '心' (ear, king, ten, sight, one, and heart). I remember my sister, Mui Hong, once told me that the compound character describes listening as: to be a good king, one needs to listen, not just...

So I don't need to go all the way to the beach to scream after all. Thanks to Kenneth, who suggested I scream IN the reservoir just at the 'backyard' of my workplace -.-" Well, I didn't go diving this afternoon. But I did get myself high on McD's somewhat new Cadbury Black Forest McFlurry when I drove opposite to collect my dry cleaning. And since I was already there, I decided to get my all time favourite burger, the good old double cheese (w/o onion and ketchup). Again, I parked myself at my favourite spot - the coach parking area opposite the Sports Complex, and cool myself down under the shades with the palatables. With a little quietness from within, a short phone call, I resolved the issue and see no need to drown anybody in the reservoir tonight... ahaha! But the initial thought of the beach came back. The sun (with the clouds, please), sand, and sea are beckoning. Last Saturday, my eldest sis, Peck Hong, invited me to join the twins at East Coast Park. ...

"Can I say something, and you don't be angry?" "Eh, I tell you something, can? But promise me you won't be upset hor? You cannot be upset, k?" CANNOT. What would be your respond to this kind of questions/requests? What kind of a disclaimer is this? You mean you're not going to be responsible for what you say? And you expect me to say, "Okay"!?? If you think it's going to upset me or make me angry, then don't ask. And if you think I would be upset with the information, why are you saying it in front of other people? And, plus you're not allowing me my rights to my feelings? That's not very nice, is it? So what's your point? What are you going to do about the information you just downloaded on me? If it's a problem you think I have, are you willing to take time with me to help me solve it? If it's that important to me, don't say it like a passing remark and just walk away. Or is it just YOUR point you're trying...

Why is it that when I try to say something to someone that means a lot to me about, the message just doesn't seem to come out right. It's like I want everything to be perfect, but then, some words would come out and spoil the whole thing. And on hindsight, I start thinking about the should have's and what not. Yet I find it even harder to rectify now. Insecurities... self-doubts... thinking too much. Much to my own detriment. Ok, the above were some random thoughts. Just less than 6 hours ago, I finished magic-cleaning my floor! First dry, then wet. The feeling after a release of free-flow perspiration brought much shiok-ness physically. A sense of satisfaction, no doubt, that I really got into the dreadful chores. It's an achievement! Haha... I love gliding the back of my hand on my face after a gentle facial scrub, followed by an application of clay mask. So clean and smooth. Still feels it now - the morning after. Shiok-a-dom!!! Anyway, had a good time at Ivan's ...

I'm in much earlier than my usual morning at work. So early that I needed to use the key to open the back door cuz the counter's not open yet. See, I'm so early I even have 5 mins (do bear in mind that that's after like 10 mins of start up on my ancient desktop) to blog while I happily partake of the mega sausage macmuffin with egg, the hash brown, and the sweeeeeet oj. I would have eaten the set in Matrix if not for fear that any residue left in the car might lead to uninvited pests. The air is so stale in the office after the no-work weekend that even the effect of my air-con supplement (a.k.a. lil' fan) is still not really kicking in yet. I suddenly remembered the red ants incident after parking under a tree over a rainy night. Ewwweeee...still gives me the creeps! My ideal MacD breakfast, really, would be a eat-in. Next time, perhaps, if you're game for it... Back to work...*yawn*

A colleague gave me this bun that he bought from Taiwan. So cute, right? :D Ok, it's not edible...but it looks so real I feel like biting into it.

It probably sounds kinda lame that my idea of anniversary at this age is actually about my wheels. But, yes, it's been almost a year since I've adopted Matrix, and this, by far, is probably like my biggest 'purchase' ever. Ok, the overseas degree was parents' scholarship. The exact date was 2 Feb 08. So if I refer to the lunar year, it's been more than a year because 2 Feb was 4 days before CNY, then. But according to the universal calendar, I'm still 4 days away. So what's been happening? Alright since we're on the topic of Matrix... Well, it's been acting up a little with instances of 'fever' over the weekend till day two of CNY. The batt even went flat on the eve, but thanks to my hero brother-in-law, Raymond, who came to help me jump start after his Church Service. Needless to say, I had to take a cab so I could report at 6.30am at Raffles City (Fairmont Hotel). We had a combined service and conducting the Choir with a mix of singers ...

Looking through the call list and repeating the same message to the callees can be a very tiring and eye-straining task, epecially when the font size is Have you ever suppressed your emotion about something in fear that you would be disappointed cuz what if things don't turn out the way you expect? Would it be detrimental to one's spirit if this becomes a survival instinct (involuntary)? It's like a defense mechanism. As time goes by, would you find yourself left with apathy and indifference? defense mechanism noun (psychiatry) an unconscious process that tries to reduce the anxiety associated with instinctive desires Alright...back to work!

I finally set myelf to buy the iPod FM Transmitter for my car. I got tired of waiting... Well, I don't know what I was waiting for, actually. (For the cow to come home?) So, just now, I met my sister when I went to visit mom at TTSH, and decided to tag along to Wheelock Place. She needed to send her daughter's nano for repair at epiCentre. It seems that it's not difficult to find a wifi hotspot nowadays. I'm at Burger King below Esprit happily drinking my super large coke while waiting for my sister and 2 daughters shopping upstairs. I'm so tired due to an early work assignment this morning at the Supreme Court building so the rest is much appreciated now. It was a frustrating morning dealing with totally senseless and irresponsible people whose group I've threatened to bring to temporary closure. Well, that's all for now! Laterz...

Wow... So there's wifi in Marina Square's Xin Wang Hong Kong Cafe. Was parked near the usual spot below the food court to watch Cinderella at Esplanade Theatre. Quite enjoyable and it was free, thanks to Chin Sin complimentary tickets. We got really good seats, too. Right in front of the console. The singing was fantastic. Abuden... Lea Salonga leh! The rest of the cast were good, too. Same old story, but this version was like a romance comedy - just the way I like it... (uh huh uh huh... ahaha!) Affter the show, I was walking to Matrix when I find myself strangely drawn to the outdoor stage facing the river, again. So I indulged in my nostalgia for awhile, taking a few pictures of the night scenery before heading to Marina Square. I was getting a slight craving for iced ying yong. When I got to the car park, it was so empty that it was easy to cut through the lots to he other entrance near the cafe. So here I am. "Do I love you because you are beautiful? Or are you beauti...

I should be sleeping now. I'm getting darkER eye rings cuz I've been working till late almost every night last week. Then this week, it's JPSAE again. The time of the year where we run a week of 'road show' in conjunction with JAE to scout for performing arts talents - an effort to give these students a better chance in a polytechnic education as a way to reward their outstanding contribution in CCA for past 4-5 years. Next up would be auditions. A very short time frame to work with to determine and fight for our choice candidates. All I can say is, sometimes I wonder if the work done was worth it especially when what they are as a person, cannot hold up to what they have to offer. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ So I finally got down to part with $49.90 to get my second bluetooth handphone earpiece. I lost my less-than-a-year-old unit at this month's staff association dinner and dance at Changi Village Hotel. Speaking of which, the food was quite good and we only had to p...

Woah...has it really been that long? Half a month since my last entries. Well, there had been a couple of attempts to write something for Christmas and the new year, but they were... attempts. I remember sleeping a lot during on Christmas Eve cos the night before I wrapped presents till 5 in the morning... Well, I started late. Found it to be quite therapeutic to wrap presents. Maybe cos you get to really focus on something else other than what you normally do. And it's like you think of the person you want to give those nice things to while you wrap and visualize their reaction. It makes me happy just thinking about it :P I stayed overnight at Mui's after singing carols at her Church friend's house. They are also neighbours within the same condo. Like I said, I slept a lot which I did when I was at her place after the office Christmas potluck. When I woke up, it was time for dinner at her neighbour-friends'. They are not strangers to me since I knew them when I used to...

While I wait to go for lunch... Well, so I went to the St Pat's Alumni Band Concert at VCH last night. At least 14 of our band members were there to support. We cancelled band practice today cos from what we know, a big bulk of the members would not be present - either supporting in attendance or playing for the concert. Is that supportive or is that supportive? Haha... And apparently, name-calling during band concerts extends beyond secondary school students. Sigh... The one for Rauf was super funny...inside joke. Looking at the players' list from the programme, I realised that at least 10% of the alumni band members are current TP students. Of course not all of them are in TP Band lah, but that's besides the point. A couple of them were from Music Vox. Anyway it was good to see them all. Louis was surprised to see me. He's forever reminding me that I rejected him at JPSAE. Tsk... I really give it to the committee who is managing the alumni band (any alumni band for th...

I looked at the clock in my car when I drove into the carpark. 6.50pm. But I was prepared for the light-less void deck, but it wasn't as dark as my previous encounter. Would have got home earlier. But I had dinner with the band kids just now. Well, that kinda forced me to log off and drive to DES carpark. Ready to head off after dinner. Oh I went to catch the movie - The Days - at Sinema Old School. I booked the ticket for yesterday's re-run at 8.30pm and was glad that it was with the 'Talk-Back' session. Ivan was there with most of the actors, including the Director, Boi Kwang, whose life story is portrayed in this movie. Ivan was apparently surprised to see me there. Told him I had wanted to support him when it was first screened at the cinemas. When he introduced me to the Director, he thought I was Ivan's classmate!!??? I was like...??? Anyway, after the 'Talk-Back', I was delighted when I was given the super big poster and since the cast was there, I as...

I'm still not used to getting out of school on the dot. Just to illustrate my point. One evening I got to my flat and I observe that the void deck was in darkness. I was thinking, what happened to the evening lights? I thought there was a blackout or something. Was contemplating if I should call the town council when I met a neighbour from my block. So I just commented..."Wah, very dark hor? Blackout ar?" Only to realised that, it's not even 7pm, so the lights not supposed to be up for another 5 mins! Zzz... Yesterday evening, I felt at a loss of what to do because I could get off on time and there was no cell meeting I drove out to TM around 6.30pm (Fridays supposed to go off at 5.30pm) cos I wanted to watch "Bolt". And what did I end up doing? Had a movie marathon. I bought tickets for "Twilight" and "Bolt". Had a voucher so one movie's free. The other's prepaid so the show's only $7.50 even on a Friday night. Then when I go...