What If

I am really enjoying my French classes. Somehow I get the chance to be in touched with a part of me that has been buried since coming to uni. It is difficult to explain but it makes me feel like a kid once more in a class, learning things from scratch.

When we got back after the hols, we were asked to make our new year's resolution in French. I wanted to say 'I shall swear less this year.' But I couldn't figure it out in French so I decided to construct an easier sentence ' En 2006, je ne vais pas etre triste.' ( 2006, I will not be sad.)

Then yesterday, we learnt future tenses. We have to complete sentences like 'Si j'etais riche...' ( If I were rich... ) So many things I would do if I were rich. I would fly home for the weekend just to see my parents. I would go to see Japan and the Himalayan Mountains. I would bring my parents travelling in China. I would get my bro a video camera so he can take funny videos to make me laugh. I would want to donate some money to charities. I woule love to visit Mauritius and drink coconut juice with Stella on the beach every winter. I would also want to go to France to learn French. I would also want to go to different countries, learn to cook their food, learn to speak their language. I would want to do a course in Art or Design. I would want to start my own business. I would want to learn a new instrument. And the list goes on and on...

The next sentence that we have to complete is ' Si j'etais homme/femme... ' ( If I were a man/woman...)I was suprised that I find it hard to complete the sentence. I always complain that it is easier to be a man than a woman. But it strucked me yesterday that I don't really want to be a man. And I won't know what to do if I were a a man. I guess, if I were a man, I would want to go backpacking alone. Seems like the only thing I can think of. Hmmm... what would you guys do if you guys were a man ( if you are a woman) and if you are a woman ( if you are a man.). Let me know so that I can practise my French future and conditional tenses.

Got to get back to my book. Doubt I will finish it by my presentation on Friday. Sigh..

Snapshot

Cosy CNY eve at Egham. Words cannot express how touched I am to spend CNY with family.

I still can't quite figure out how to use the photo thingy to put more photos on blogspot. Have been trying and trying to put all the photos that my cousin Geong Sen e-mailed me but somehow only this one appears. Really miss user friendly Warwick Blogs in terms of loading pictures.

Was going to do some work after my 4 hours of classes but ended up reading blogs. It is a small world after all when I stumbled upon blogs of friend's friends some of whom I know. How cool is that. I really hate Mondays, I could do nothing after the 4 hours of classes. The spirit is willing but the flesh is weak. 

Joy

Joyful mood is a meritorious deed that cheers up people around you like the showering of the cool spring breeze.

It has been an awesome 4th week of term. After 3 weeks of working on essays and datelines, I finally got a break. (not really but at least I have no datelines this week!) Thank you everyone for making this week a fun filled week!

Grace came on Wednesday. It was so nice to catch up. Have not seen her since summer. She has been working really hard at Leicester and I missed her so much. We never ran out of stuffs to talk whether it is reminiscing about our jail time at college, analysing the present or even sharing our hopes and dreams of the future. ( >> Grace dear, I am really touched by your blog entry. It is so beautifully written. Continue to have faith in God's plans for you!! MSN hates me and would not let me comment on your blog.)

We had a steamboat party on Thursday. We ate from 9pm to midnite. So much food ! Check out the pics. Gonna be lazy and link it to who else but Stella's and Fel's blogs http://www.valentinacrimbonutter.blogspot.com/

http://kitchenidiotfel.blogspot.com/

After saying goodbye to Grace on Friday, I did some baking and steaming. I made Radish Cake, Cornflakes Cookies, and Tiramisu. The tiramisu did not turn out as nice as Jin's because I realised that gelatin has beef in it, so I had to take that out from her recipe. But as a whole there was no major disasters.

I spend the weekend at my dearests cousin's place at Egham. My first Chinese New Year with family in 3 years! I was so excited the night before that I couldn't sleep. So they had to greet a panda eyed PJ. It was a very memorable reunion diner. There was loads of food once more, courtesy of my cousins and their lovely friends. I ate so much that I couldn't sleep again that night. Had to drag myself out of bed to go to church this morning. It was freezing and I had to jog to warm myself on the way there. After mass, Ferny jie made porridge breakfast, a tradition in my family. It was so good! Best breakfast I had for ages! Then we headed for Leicester Square. It took us 2 hours to get there because of the rail works. I am a bit traumatised by the huge crowd at Leicester Square. People were pushing each other to get through the crowd and some people were really rude. But it was nice to feel the mood of CNY there as there were Lion Dance, and also traditional Chinese dances. By the time I got into the bus I was knackered. But it was nice to have Stella for company.

I am blest once more to have diner prepared by my friends when I got back. Check out the food on Stella's blog! Good stuff! But it was a quiet diner. Most of us were not feeling well. I reckon is the hangover of too much good food over the past few days. I pray everyone will recover soon.Watched part 2 of The Virgin Queen on BBC 1 during diner. I wished I could watch all 4 parts in one go. I am still doubtful that Queen E 1 is a virgin. I love these historical dramas. Love the costumes. Love the language. Just love it so much.

Gonna get a good night's sleep now and tommorow will be the start of another busy week. Need to see my tutor on my essay title, need to do a 15 min presentation on this book When Corporations Rule The World by David Korten. Can't wait to get it all over and done with.

Happy CNY everyone!! Thanks for all the lovely sms's. My phone battery was flat just now when I was in London and I shall try my best to reply to them all soon.

May this year of the woof woof dog bring everyone loads of luck and peace!

Will Be Missed

Au Revoir!
Till our path cross once more.
May all your dreams come true Joanne. 

Raindrops

Parting is always so painful.
I always try to act cheerful on these occasions.
Like at the airport. Mum will start crying and I will crack a stupid joke. Then on the plane I will let my tears flow freely like raindrops.

Tommorow I have to say goodbye to a very dear friend. I know I will miss Joanne terribly when she goes back home. We tried to suprise her with a farewell party on Friday. It was really fun party. Loads of good food. Stella made brownies, Shu made karipap, Daffy made ice cream and yellow rice, Fel made her special vegie dish, Dais made Japanese cheesecake, Jin made curry, John made white chocolate cake, Andrew made pizza, Vickie made fried chicken, Eva made chicken too and moi.. I made mee hoon. ( vermiceli)

Check out the pics here: http://www.valentinacrimbonutter.blogspot.com/

We had diner together just now. Me, Shu, Ef and Joanne. Our last supper together here in Warwick. I had to keep myself cheerful to prevent myself from crying. Gonna watch a sad movie together later and will let those pent up tears flow freely like raindrops.

Lost

Feeling a bit lost at the moment.
Just handed in my last essay from last term's modules yesterday.
Just when I want to wave a sigh of relief to relax.

Now I look at all the work for the new term. It is just as mad!
13 hours of classes a week. 3 days which classes start at 9am. I already missed one because I overslept and it is only 2 weeks.

Presentations, in class tests, more essays with more words ....

I realised I really want to get a first class. I am so motivated to work towards that aim, that it is scaring me a little sometimes. Over -motivation is no good, everything should be in moderation.

I remember someone once asked me 'Why does it mean so much to you to get a first class?' I answered him from the bottom of my heart : ' It means a lot to me. It is my way of life to give my best in all that I do. The best and nothing less. There are no second chances in life, life is not a dress rehearsal, we should give our Best shot in everything we do.'

Other than the madness of work, life is good. Stella made quiche from scratch yesterday for me and Daffy! Gonna put up some pics but feeling a bit lazy. Check out the same links from the old post for pics of the awesome quiche she made. It was good diner with comfy company. I got Over-Comfy that I forgot my table manners. Sorry gals, will try not to do it again. It is just that you gals are like family to me and I got over-comfy that I forget and take things for granted. My bad but hey it is a compliment, I am quite picky who I chose to be comfy with you know!

Memoirs

The leaves of hope shed one after the other until there was none.

Just got back from watching Memoirs of a Geisha. I have been looking forward to watch this movie. Read the book years ago,when I was in college and love it.
Perhaps I expected too much. The more you expect the higher the disappointment.
I am disappointed.
Having the movie in English with a Japanese setting just feels so wrong.
They should have had it in Japanese with English subtitles.
As always movies could never do justice to books. The movie failed to bring out all the emotions that I felt when I read the book. The cast were great but somehow there is still much lacking in terms of bringing out the emotions in me. Gong Li seem to have lost weight and she looks like Zhang Zhi Yi in the movie. It is a bit disturbing that an older man were to fancy a little girl. Is it the culture at that time?

But I am still as fascinated as ever by the very unique culture of Japan. I really hope to go there one day to see the cherry blossoms, make a wish at the shrines and eat lots of ramen.

Even though I am disappointed, it was a fun night out with the rest of the gang.

Now it is back to work. I am very interested in the topic that I am writing and wish I had more time to do more reading but alas it is due on Monday. Got to go be a nerd now ...

Report of Operation S

Boss: Mama Daffy
Mafia 1 : F E L I C I A R O C K S
Mafia 2 : PJ
Target : Stella
Skills Required : Art of Lies.
Status : Success

Check out the links for the full story!!
http://www.valentinacrimbonutter.blogspot.com/
http://kitchencrazydaffy.blogspot.com/
http://kitchenidiotfel.blogspot.com/

Shopping Is Like...

...finding The One. For those of you who have not heard of The One theory...it is just my crazy thinking that there is One special someone for everyone.

Shopping is really like looking for The One. It is so difficult to find something that you really like with a reasonable price and would look good on you at the same time. And the most unfortunate thing ever is to find something which feels like Love at First Sight and it is on sale but... there is something wrong with it - for instance you can't find your size or there is some defect in it or the colour just aint right.

Waiting for the bus is also like waiting for The One. When you have a return ticket for a Pink bus, you almost always see loads of Blue buses going pass you and you have to wait for the bloody pink bus even though you are ready to get on any Bus. It is the same thing if you have a return ticket for a Blue bus. People from Warwick Uni will understand that I am refering to the buses going to Leamington. Finally the pink bus arrives. Hooray! But in a milisecond, you realised that there is another pink bus behind the one that you just got on. So, they come in groups and you actually get to choose but most of us will just get on the first one, without thinking that hey maybe the second pink bus has got softer seats.

Life's like that isn't it.


After I handed in my essay yesterday all I did was sleep and sleep and sleep. Got up way pass dinner time. Missed Rev time. The rest of the night was spent chatting and trying to do some reading. Not much progress for my next essay, so decided to take a day out to Leamington today. It cheered me up loads. A Big Thank You to Stella for the company! Now it is back to work. Feeling a bit tired, maybe I should take a nap first.

Platonic Friendships

Just friends and nothing more. Hmmm...

Have been having conversations about Platonic Friendships (PF). First with Shu then with John. Feels like de ja vu talking to both but the difference is one agrees with me and the other don't.

Firstly let me define PF, ( sounding very academic, reason is that I have been writing loads of essays for the past few weeks.). PF is when a guy and gal are close friends and each knows that they only want to be friends and nothing more. Then there is the question of defining close friends. To me close friends is someone you trust loads and share loads with. But that is up to you to decide. You get what I mean anyway.

I think PF is not feasible in the long run because of the following possibilities:
1. Many many cases, one or the other will start developing special feelings and desire to be more than friends. It is happy ending if it is mutual and if it is not then one person will get very very hurt.
2. Once one or the other have a partner, things change. There will tend to be rivalry or jealousy. It is natural that you would be suspicious if your partner is so buddy buddy with someone of the opposite gender.
3. Refering back to no 2. Not only will there be rivalry, it is just natural that less time will be spent with each other because there will be preference and priority for the partner. Once no 2 happens everything just changes and it will feel like you lost a friend to someone else. ( This may even hold for good friends of the same gender.)
4. Another point for no 2 is less sharing because you know the trust could easily be broken. Most people cannot keep secrets from their partners.

However I am sure in this Big wide world, there must be a few very special PF. I really admire these rare special cases because I am sure it takes a lot more to make it work than normal relationships. I guess relationships and friendships is an ever changing thing. To make it work is by adapting to the changes and move on to a new chapter. Perhaps it is all these uncertainties and change that makes life more exciting.

Faith

For our life is a matter of faith, not of sight. (2 Corr 5:7)

I Believe

Listening to this Korean song I Believe. Don't even know what it means. But it gives a very calming effect on me. Random things that I believe in..

I believe people are good at heart but circumstances that they are in changes them. Sometimes it is so difficult to stay true to oneself. It is so easy to fall into temptations around us. Sometimes we just never realise how we have been transformed and changed by our environment - the people, the culture, the media ... It is just so easy to be sucked in. I have seen how friends change over the years. Subtle changes that makes them different from the one that I first got to know. Perhaps change is inevitable. Good or bad hard to say. The world change, people change, relationships change... Everything is temporary and nothing is certain except...

The only certain thing in life is Death and Taxes. - Benjamin Franklin.

Very true words by Benjamin Franklin. But he should add a 3 rd thing that is certain in life - God's constant Love for us all. He will always Love us and it is such a comfort to know that when living in such a scary, volatile world.

ok folks, thats all for today's reflection.

Have to get back to work before it kills me. An assignment due every other week. Madness!!

Bring On 2oo6

First post in a new blog in a new year. How awesome! I have been feeling the need to blog for the past few days even though I was down with fever and had tons of work to do. I think I definitely am a blog-addict. Leaving my first blog love, Warwick Blogs was a difficult decision but things happen for a reason and it is time to move on.

2005 has been a super awesome year where I made many amazing new friends who are such an inspiration! I also get to know some uni friends better. I also feel greatly blessed with old friends who I still feel a deep connection with even though I hardly get to see them. The difficult times of early 2005 made me a stronger person. I would say that 2005 was a time of self discovery. Learning to understand and love myself more.

There was never a dull moment getting to know Miss Pei Jie of Muar. She is blest with wonderful parents who are supportive of everything she does. She has a wonderful brother whom she hates to admit that is her most trusted, the keeper of most of her secrets. (not that many actually) To top it up she has trusted good buddies and friends at home and all over the world! She is the most indecisive person ever. She is a bit anti social at times and loves to bury herself in her bed with a good book. She is very quiet in a group of strangers but talks too much when in her comfort zone of friends.She can't eat meat because it makes her feel sick. She hates berries and anything that rhymes with it. She likes to describe herself as weird and she really is a weird one.

God's presence is deeply felt in 2005. I was never alone in times of darkness and despair. He was always there. How can I ever thank Him for His wondrous blessings onto me and my loved ones. He made things happen. Things that I always thought impossible. He sent so many kind people into my life, to guide me, to inspire me. All I can say is Thank You Jesus for Your grace so freely showered onto me with every breath I take.