ohhh work. bummer.

i'm constantly reminded that i have been neglecting this space, and penning less thoughts here. i still have the kings of convenience concert to archive. tomorrow, i head to esplanade theater to catch 'the tempest', this year's bridge project installment. and that will, hopefully, be followed by a good review (much like last year's 'the winter's tale'). and again, that reminds me, i didn't review the 2nd play of the bridge project's double-bill - chekov's 'the cherry orchard' after i saw it in london.

HOKAY. so easter came and went. i promise, i promise i will pen my thoughts down (here or elsewhere). the easter musical, again, moved me so much with its narrative and songs. it's just so amazing how songs, lyrics and music can move people and stir emotions.

finally bought my air tickets to zurich, which is my connecting city to scandinavia. quite a good bargain i must say - $1.6k return on the singapore airlines A380. now it's about finding my other flights, trains and cruises, plus excursions to neighbouring towns and norwegian fjords.

going on this trip means forgoing a study trip to hokkaido with science teachers association of singapore, which is totally expensive, but totally interesting. but to console myself, scandinavia is a pretty good thing too, plus i get to go for my singapore arts fest concerts and dances (yay joshua bell).

i'm being super tied down by work and more admin sai gang. but the Lord graciously gives me strength that is renewed with each new day. :) more to come.

the travel itch.

A part of Lake Crescent
Olympic National Park
Washington, USA
Summer, 2007

itching to travel again, but too many things going on in december.

i miss road trips. i miss my crazy road trip days in US. where i can have a crazy idea, hop out and rent a car, plan the route, drive to safeway to buy food, pile into the car and just drive. and within hours, i'm surrounded by amazing views, a thousand and one things to see, do and explore.

when you live on an island of a small country, this is what you yearn for.

well anyway, thoughts this weekend:

#1 - new moon the movie was much better than i had anticipated. and the movie is 1000x better than the book, which i hated. so there it goes. sister and i were hoping we wouldn't run into our students in the theater. :)

#2 - just finished watching CNN heroes, the tribute. as always, anderson cooper is too cute in his head of silver-white hair. but more than that, the inspiring stories that showcase how amazing and how far a single person or a group of persons can go to reach out to those in need.

orphans in east timor, the homeless that go hungry in new york city, children in need of prosthetic limbs, iraqi children in need of wheelchairs, women and children in zimbabwe that are raped at 6 years old by 18 HIV-positive men, women without health insurance that need mammograms and SO MANY MORE.

this beats the nobel peace prize.

#3 - choices. and choosing wisely.

#4 - and recapping:

"I beseech you therefore, brethren,
by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice,
holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service."
- Romans 12:1

ray of sunshine.

rays of sunshine
view from the top of the spanish steps
rome, italy
summer'08

*Sometimes the sun shines on other people's houses and not mine
Somedays the clouds paint the sky all gray it takes away the summer time
and somehow the sun keeps shining upon you while i struggle to get mine
if there's a light in everybody, send out your ray of sunshine*

i want to walk the same roads as everyone else
through the trees and past the gates
getting high on heavenly breezes
and making new friends along the way
i won't ask much of nobody
i'm just here to sing along
and make my mistakes look gracious
and learn some lessons from my wrongs

Sometimes the sun shines on other people's houses and not mine
Somedays the clouds paint the sky all gray it takes away the summer time
while the sun keeps shining upon you while i'm kindly standing by
a little light never hurt nobody send out a ray of sunshine

Ohh if this little light of mine combined with yours today
how many watts could we 'luminate
how many villages could we save
well my umbrella is tried of the weather wearing me down
well look at me now, look at me now

you should look as good as your outlook
would you mind if i took some time
to soak up your light, your beautiful light,
you got a paradise inside
i get hungry for love and thirsty for life
but much too full on the pain
when i look to the sky to help me
and it often looks like rain

*

you're undeniably warm, cerulean
you're perfect in design
i hope you hang around

so the sun it can shine on me
and the clouds can all roll away
and the sky can become our possibility

'cause there's a light in everybody
send out your ray of sunshine
- jason mraz

that summer's moving on.

beach, facing the north sea
st. andrew's, scotland
summer'08

How the time passed away
All the trouble that we gave
And all those days we spent out by the lake
Has it all gone to waste?
All the promises we made
One by one they vanished just the same

Now it all seems so clear
There's nothing left to fear
So we made our way by finding what was real
Now the days are so long
That summer's moving on
We reach for something that's already gone

*All the things I still remember
Summer's never looked the same
Years go by and time just seems to fly
But the memories remain

In the middle of September
We'd still play out in the rain
Nothing to lose but everything to gain
Reflecting now on how things could've been
It was worth it in the end*

- September, Daughtry

longing for the carefree days of summer.
travelling and seeing the world.

time just seems to fly.
but the memories remain.

:)

the case for the single 20-something girl.

on top of Calton Hill
edinburgh, scotland
may'08

countdown to europe'09: 4 days

i'm dreaming of the sprawling views of lake district in britain now, and shutting out pre-trip jitters, troubles, unhappiness.

at the risk of sounding like a spoiled brat, note to self: do not offer to plan back-to-back trips with the family, free-and-easy. it's a thankless job that should be done once in 2 years (at least).

***

at the 2nd risk of sounding like a materialistic girl - i recently discovered something. i'm sure this stemmed from my 2nd sister, but being single in your 20s is a great thing.

meeting up with old friends, some of the conversations have shifted course. we're now in the territory of weddings, HDB flats, engagement parties, diamonds and such. at first i was kinda taken aback at this shift, because i was still thinking that we should be talking about jobs and money and repaying our tuition loan and promotions and stuff. but the whole picture of marriage has secretly crept in.

as i listen to my friends forking out $10,000 and above for HDB downpayments, scrimping and saving for their wedding dinners, looking at renovation costs, wedding dresses etc., i can't help but smile at my own freedom from all that.

well, no doubt, i can't deny the comfort of having someone you love to provide emotional support in these turbulent times of transition and change in our 20s.

but i saw the better side of singlehood. the freedom of my days to spend with family and friends instead of running off to meet the BF. to cultivate good relationships with friends and colleagues and inevitably - network - with people that may come "useful" in future.

and the ability to enjoy the finer comforts of life. after struggling as a poor student for so many years, now it's time to spend those hard-earn cash at pampering oneself with nicer things. you work hard, and play hard right?

i've been able to wine and dine at nicer restaurants with nice food, buy clothes/bags/shoes that are slightly more expensive and a little more often than usual, bake more often and let my friends reap the joys of home-made desserts, go for awesome concerts, gigs, plays, movies (monsters vs aliens and terminator salvation back-to-back), buy CDs/DVDs, zai zai lens for the DSLR, give a little more back to God and His Work, and most of all, travel and see the world.

of course, material things should not replace love. and i'm not advocating that.

my point is: i've seen many strong women in their 20s and 30s who are single and loving it. not in the i'm-pretending-to-love-it-so-i-won't-look-pathetic way. but for real. and i know that they are as confident and complete as any woman who is happily attached or married. these women have great relationships with friends and family and are happy with their lives. and more often than not, they are walking rightly with the Lord.

well, as and when my white knight comes along to sweep me off my feet, i will patiently wait and think about saving money for my wedding (hopefully i'd earn more money then, so the burden's not so great, heh). and meanwhile, i can pamper myself and do more things with the little money i have and the little time i have for myself, that is my own. without worries, for now.

missing japan.

colorful japanese trinkets on sale
asakusa, tokyo
december'08

yesterday i watched a youtube interview of jason mraz. he (and toca) was asked of all the cities and countries that he has visited, which one was his favorite? (p.s. toca's favorite was sydney, australia which i think is a boring response. heh. but i still like toca)

my immediate response was japan, though a tiny part of me hoped he'd say singapore (but that's quite impossible). and after some thinking, he said JAPAN! :) :) it's amazing how japan captivates. caucasians and asians alike. not china, not korea, not taiwan, not hongkong.

i am looking forward to going back to japan and exploring hokkaido, nagoya and the small towns. maybe i'll drag a friend-fluent-in-japanese and backpack all over. i don't care if it's expensive. :)

today i went into tampines 1 for the 1st time (yes i know i'm falling behind on trends), and went into uniqlo! it's quite big but not much variety. don't really like the layout. messy. but the quality of clothes still typical japanese. love the carpeted changing rooms and the take-off-your-footwear in the changing rooms concept. very very japanese. service staff sorely lacking in japanese hospitality though. i still love the uniqlos in tokyo. :)

i miss japan now. gotta go look at my japan pictures.

london's-a-calling.

the coast of eastern UK, dotted with sheep
somewhere between london and edinburgh
may 2008

i'm counting down to the day i leave for london. 14 days. after much research and many changes, finally decided on a side trip to lake district, which apparently has been called england's answer to the swiss alps.

it seems so long ago that i was on my grad trip around western europe. a trip that i've learnt so much and saw so much. i want to do trips like that every year. :)

today i played the guitar again, after many years of not touching it. and my wrist and fingers hurt. heh. :) but good to play and sing to songs.

tomorrow i'm going to attempt to bake successfully the new york cheesecake, after my first attempt of lemon cheesecake.

days like these just don't come anymore.

a parisian dream.

pont des arts
paris, france
june 2008

i'm pining for paris. again.

the slow strains of a lone accordion.
the melancholy sounds of a violin.
the artwork on the walls of the train station.
the stories of the french revolution, wars, tour de france, napoleon.
the french's obsession with 'genderizing' every inanimate object.
the girl in black, knee-high boots and black eyeliner.
cracking the caramelised top of my crème brûlée.
sipping a glass of red wine with some marvelous duck confit and onion soup.
donning my beret, in an effort to be french-chic. :)
the massive hallways of the louvre.
the looming grandeur of the eiffel tower by day, the sparkling diamonds by night.

one more month to britain/france'09. :)

the awesomeness of march.

why march was such an unforgettable month.

• caught jason mraz live. amazing.
• caught many good movies with good friends (benjamin button, he's just not that into you, slumdog millionaire, marley&me).
• had a great time at MH's. chilling to nice pizzas from serangoon gardens and a night of guitar hero world tour and good company.
• had many catchup sessions with various friends from NIE, bethany, and all over, over good meals. always enjoying good fellowship and the fruits of our labor.
• work was both satisfying and frustrating at the same time. which made for many laugh-out-loud moments at my silly students (and other teachers' silly students).
• work-life balance quite easily obtained at my workplace (for now). the ability to work hard and play hard is something i hope to achieve when i start work for real.
• the march holidays.
• the many rehearsals and practices for the upcoming easter musical. and witnessing the tremendous progress made in just a few weeks, all credit goes to the ones leading the choirs, costumes, stage, props, AV, music, and the Lord's blessings and grace.
• caught coldplay live, for the 2nd time. amazing x2.
• bought my tickets to london for june. i'll get to see zeh, watch musicals and hopefully plays, and travel in UK and europe again! :)
  
• caught the winter's tale. my first shakespeare play live on stage. seeing ethan hawke (and the rest of the pristine cast) on stage. hearing him sing and strum the guitar. hokay. the entire play was kind of amazing in a shakespeare way. more to come in another post.
• caught sight of EH and several other cast members heading out the B1 stage door when i was turning out of the esplanade carpark. and for a split second i contemplated stopping the car and winding down the window to say hi. of course i didn't, and totally regretted it. till now.

all these joys and blessings come to me and i'm ever so thankful and grateful. :) i wouldn't expect any more months to be so filled and enriched, with songs and music, with art and soul, with praise and worship. but hopefully, with the Lord's grace, it can be, and will be.

the end of madness!

the ground of the WWII memorial
berlin, germany

my semester is over! well short of one final comm skills lesson tmr, and 3 assignments to complete over the holidays, but still! i'm in the midst of the OC season 2 dvd marathon. boy, do i miss it. and i just finished studio 60 on the sunset strip on dvds. and the subtitles help with the rapid-fire dialogue, so i'm quite glad to bask in aaron sorkin's genius writing since the west wing ended.

well this holidays i'm looking forward to the sister being back from all her travels and finnish work and tell me all her stories. plus christmas! i love the songs for this year's concert, as always. and learning choreo for big dance numbers are always tiring but i shall press on and find my youthful energy again! there's also a batam trip, a japan trip, and a pending bangkok and hongkong trip. yay. with trips-planning comes thinking about past trips.

germany photos are akan datang!

history lessons.

i realize that one of my i'm-too-busy-and-stressed coping mechanisms, among many others, is to write about my travels and look at my photos. plus i'm really looking forward to japan in december and wearing winter clothes again. (:

here are my snaps of berlin, germany. to help me cope with the 5-6 deadlines-a-week NIE life.

the very majestic brandenburg gate.
site of many historic moments of germany.
constructed in 1700s, it survived 2 world wars and is still standing tall in relatively good conditions. it was site of the armies allied forces marching to meet the nazis, part of the berlin wall separating east berlin from west berlin.

there's a fascinating story regarding the brandenburg gate, the french embassy in berlin and the french. the square surrounding the gate is called pariser platz, which means paris square.
the statue at the top of the gate is victoria, the goddess of victory, which replaced the goddess of peace after germany defeated france in the prussian war in 1800s. and victoria is fixing her gaze on the building on pariser platz that is the...

french embassy.
plus a similar statue rests on an arc in paris,
just a stone's throw away from the louvre.
the arc du tromphe du carroussel.

i love the greek columns.

a silky terrier (?) on our walking tour.
this little guy sits down and rests when our tour guide, rachel was telling us stories and historical facts. he got a little tired after awhile.

usually i forget why i take a photograph if it was something ordinary. but i never forgot this, 'cos it was where Hitler's bunker used to be. the very same bunker where he and his wife committed suicide by ingesting cynanide the day allied forces bombed berlin.

now, there are no remaining monuments or historical artifacts that are related to hitler existing. the bunker was destroyed along with everything he owned. to prevent neo-nazis from building a shrine or place of "worship". what was scary was that on his death anniversary last year, somebody threw rose petals all over this sidewalk.

peeking into the former air force headquarters of the nazi forces.
now the building is a government office, i think the ministry of tax.

standing in the former death strip,
a strip of land between the 2 walls of the berlin wall.
snipers and soldiers guard this strip 24/7 and shot anybody who tries to cross it.
of course, there were a few success escapes.
the stories we heard from our walking tour guide immensely interesting.
i really couldn't type them all out here.
i remember one involving a guy who traded a west berlin girl (he picked up and romanced) to free his girlfriend trapped in east berlin, only to be thrown into jail (both of them) 'cos the traded girl was the daughter of a high-ranking government official.
another involved driving a very short convertible under the barrier gates of checkpoint charlie (photo below).

of course, the events that led to the fall of the berlin wall were also SO fascinating, even though XH fell asleep. (: one guy's PR mistake led to the reunification of germany - is a story that should be made known to everyone.

checkpoint charlie.
a border crossing used by americans, allied forces and foreigners.
and no charlie is not the name of the guy that founded the checkpoint.
it's just the military alphabet thingy.
alpha, beta, charlie, delta.
this is the 3rd of 8 border crossings.

a monument for the mothers of soldiers who perished in the world wars.
with an open roof, the mother looks as if she's crying when it rains.

the berlin cathedral,
located on an island within berlin,
called museum island.
it's greenish tinge exterior reminds me of the statue of liberty.
well it was bombed by the allied forces during WWII, but is now restored.

the traffic light man!
a national campaign to get their children to observe traffic light rules,
they redesigned their traffic light man to this cute guy.
and then very smartly, launched all kinds of memorbilia and an official store.

the tv-tower of berlin.
my travel mates strike a pose.
don't know what the C sisters are doing. (:

this is AK, chilling out on a chair on the sidewalk,
while the girls check out a vintage store.
but it seems that they are leaving without us. hmmm.

gloomy and quirky.

the next city to host the olympics. today's ST has an opinion written by neil humphreys which was hilarious. i love his writings. he takes a dig at the 8-min strange "quirky" presentation team GB did at the closing ceremony, david beckham (moving to LA, still promoting britain, and kicking the soccer ball really lamely into the field of volunteers), the dismal city infrastructure and congestion and human-traffic. oh well, china pulled it off against all odds and criticism. so i'm sure they can pull it off.

and meanwhile, in the midst of the 10000 deadlines i have in school, 10000 readings and assignments and having to travel to siberia everyday in the week, i dream about travelling again. (:

along river thames, on london bridge. (:

taking a break.
guess what we used to play indian poker - train tickets.
you gotta applaud our improvisation.

now that's NOT london bridge.
london bridge looks really ordinary (like our esplanade bridge).
this nice-looking one is tower bridge.

at big ben, and you see our conquests from absolute vintage.

from the fences of the parliament house. we stayed around to hear the big ben chime 7 times. (:

westminster abbey. we didn't go in though, a service was going on.

buckingham palace on a really gloomy wet day.
and they cancelled the changing of the guard ceremony. :(

so to entertain ourselves, we tried 1000 to fit all of us, a camera under an umbrella.
this was one of the only successful attempts. (:

the little red book.

i'm finally saying farewell to my passport which has served me well over the last 9.5 years. i can still remember heading to the old ICA building at geylang when i was in sec 2, needing my own passport to go on the band trip to perth, australia. my first time travelling without my parents, was exciting yet scary. it's a long story and i can still remember the details of my trip. performing, feeding camels, exploring the UWA campus, buying rubbish, feeding the swans, shopping on hay street, making friends with other band peeps from the 3/4 other schools we were travelling with.

well the travelling bug caught up with me as i grew older, obviously, having more spending power and being more aware of the world. my hole-puncher-punchered passport now has:-

22 malaysia chops (11 trips)
2 thailand chops (1 trip)
6 australia chops (3 trips)
1 australia visa
10 china chops (5 trips)
1 china visa
4 hongkong chops (2 trips)
the japan landing permission sticker and narita chop
2 korea chops (1 trip)
1 US student visa and department of homeland security exit chop
1 canada chop (which served for 2 trips into and out of canada)
1 london heathrow chop
1 berlin airport chop
2 paris chops
many invisible chops in the EU countries.

ok i shan't complain. i'm blessed with opportunities to travel and see the world. to learn and love people, culture, differences and history.

hopefully my new little red book will be filled with many other chops. and i'm super excited about my first chop to japan yay! (:(:

postcards from london.

london didn't live up to my lofty expectations. but thinking back, i think it was still quite enjoyable, save for the rain that fell lightly and continuously for 2 whole days. i'll always remember london for its vintage finds, prince william, the british accent, way too expensive tube tickets, musicals at west end and jamie bamber. (:

early morning rush hour at a king's cross platform.

blue skies and white fluffy clouds.

the grand and old atrium of the museum of natural history.

a cool afternoon for a stroll at hyde park/kensington gardens.

beach chairs dotting the greenery around the lake.

swans-a-gather at hyde park.

smile for Piccadilly circus! those yellow lots on the monopoly board.

somewhere around leicester square. home of west end.

saturday morning at portobello market. my kind of saturday. (:

home-made quiche, anyone?

tulips, my favorite flower. other than daisies.

the colors of portobello.

am currently in the middle of a battlestar galactica marathon. another smart and witty series, because i'm a geek, this is sci-fi and i love it. the show reached cult status, much like star trek (which i cannot appreciate) and lost (which i find so intriguing). within 2 weeks, i'm at the home stretch of its 4th and final season, with the 2nd half of the season airing next year. there's much to think about the issues raised by the show - politics, war, existentialism, religion, race, genocide, sexuality, violence and morality.

scotland's highlands.

edinburgh, with snaps of the scottish highlands.

on calton hill. a lonely tree stands.
calton hill was a great place for my melancholy shots.

here, nelson's monument again.

and the national monument.

everyone, meet hamish, the highland cattle.
actually, hamish is a generic scottish name.
much like tom, dick, and harry for americans.

hamish here is absolutely hilarious and adorable. (:
and highland cattle are native to the scottish highlands.

a hybrid tulip growing in a farm where hamish lives, near perth.

for the entire day's drive, this is what we see.
just mountains, green pastures, rivers, lakes and the occasional castle.

as much as i wanted to, i can't remember the names of these places.
they offer sweeping views of valleys and mountains.
and the vastness of it all just reminds me of the vastness of God's love.

"For I am so persuaded that neither death nor life,
nor angels nor principalities nor powers,
nor things present nor things to come,
nor height nor depth,
nor any other created thing,
shall be able to separate us from the love of God
which is in Christ Jesus our Lord."
- Romans 8:38-39

anyway, i can tell you that we headed north out of edinburgh,
to Dunkeld, a small town in a region called perth.
passing by the Forth Bridge, filming locations of the famous BBC tv drama,
"monarch of the glen".
we passed many lochs (say laww-kks with your throat),
including loch laggan.
lochs are lakes, in gaelic,
the ancient language of scotland and ireland.
we also passed fort augustus, a small town by a huge loch.
very charming and pretty and quiet.

love the nature. (:

the commando monument.
built to remember the soldiers of the elite force
who trained in this part of the highlands during the 2nd world war.
they were established by sir winston churchill
when britain was at the losing end of the war.

the mysterious and famous loch ness.
on board our cruise was sonar and don't-know-what-other-fancy-gadgets
to try and scan the depths of the lake for the mysterious monster.
i really don't know where to stand.
to believe or not to believe.
much like bigfoot in america.

anyway the equipment allowed us to see the depths of the lake,
was pretty cool to see that the lake plunges several meters
deeper in the center than its 2 sides.
did i mention i love physical geography? (:

other than the monster, which last reported sighting was a few months ago,
the lake was so beautiful and quiet and vast.
it's unthinkable that a beast would lurk in these waters.

alright, we also went pass fort william, a bigger town, but still very pretty.
and ben navis, the highland's highest mountain.
and glencoe, the town where a huge massacre took place in the 1600s.
which was also a filming hotspot for many movies,
including harry potter and the prisoner of azkaban.

speaking of which, the famous bridge where harry almost fell out of the flying car trying to catch up with the train to hogwarts in harry potter and the chamber of secrets.
the bridge is in the scottish highlands.
but too far away for my tour to go to. :(

alright, we also passed the rob roy country and the stirling castle,
a very important castle of the kings of scotland in the past.

and then we headed back to edinburgh.
tired but a lot smarter on the history of scotland. (:

p.s. i still find the scottish accent hard to understand when they talk really fast.
which happens a lot.