section 1.2 of Murphy's Law

sometimes you can do everything right, and things can still go wrong. which kind of bites... but that's the way life is. every day, you read the papers and see stories about kids getting knocked down by drunk drivers, or innocent pedestrians getting beaten up by young punks. you don't have to be out looking for trouble to get into it... in fact, a lot of the time, trouble comes to find you.

as joel was driving me home last night, we witnessed a rather serious car accident. no one got killed. thank God for that, but it was still quite bad. joel and i were right behind one of the cars that was involved in the accident, and it was like watching a scene out of an action flick. car just making an amber somehow collides with a driver running a red light. both were travelling at about 60km/h, and the car in front of us spun 180 degrees before coming to a stop facing us. the other car, slowed down by the impact, continued rolling before it hit the traffic light. driver was unconscious.

the car that just managed to make the amber (and in my opinion did so without a shadow of a doubt), had 3 high school boys who had just come from a party to celebrate the end of their VCEs. driver was alright, if not bit shaken. the other two had minor injuries - a VERY bloody nose, and bruises from the seatbelts (seatbelts save lives people! wear them!). i felt kind of sorry for them because their parents would probably freak out. but the thing is they had done nothing wrong.

joel and i went forward as witnesses, because well... apparently we were the only ones who saw exactly what happened. so i guess God had a plan in putting us in the car right behind theirs. there were other people around, but they only noticed when they heard/saw the impact. it was scary, but it was a good thing that there weren't any serious injuries (again... seat belts SAVE LIVES... wear them). after a while, we were trying to make light of the matter by joking about how it would make a great story for their kids in the future... etc etc. the boys were taking photos. i guess its not often that you experience a car accident and manage to get out of it relatively unscathed. their car was practically totalled at the front and a bit of the side. thank goodness the passenger was ok, apart from the bloody nose. the poor driver only had the car for a little over a year. ouch. that must REALLY hurt.

if there's anything that i would prefer NOT to ever experience in this lifetime, is a car accident on that magnitude. i might just disintegrate with the stress and trauma. ok fine, i probably wouldn't.. but i probably won't be able to handle it as well as the dude who drove that car. kudos to him. and praise God for protecting them. i just pray that the two people in the other car are alright.

never again

never again can i say that i have never seen a miracle.

Father i thank You for Your love for me.

never again will i question Your ways.

Your ways are higher than mine.

never again will i ask 'why has thou forsaken me?'

for in my darkest hour, you carried me


... Every blessing You pour out, I'll turn back to praise.

today, i am perhaps in the deepest pit that i have been in for awhile... and one of my own digging, with none to blame but my own foolishness and stupidity. but i believe that my God is merciful and that He is powerful, and that He will not withold that which is good from this daughter.

Father, i plead Your mercy and compassion, give me another chance. i need Your peace and Your strength now more than ever.

"All our fears are wicked, and we fear because we will not nourish ourselves in our faith. How can any one who isidentified with Jesus Christ suffer from doubt or fear! It ought tobe an absolute pæan of perfectly irrepressible, triumphant belief."

-My Utmost For His Highest

whoopdeedoo lalala...

mint and chamomile tea. that's probably what has been sustaining me night after night for the past two weeks (other than several minor things like stress and panic :P). it really is a rather nice combination (thanks krys!). i love the smell of chamomile.. but the taste is rather insipid, so the mint gives it a bit of kick. beats uncontrolled snacking any day. ok.. unless it involves mini chocolate muffins or trampoline's pistachio gelati... :D

i have JUST finished my last essay. it was such bliss when i finally printed it out. i still have an exam tomorrow... but somehow i'm not too worried about that. i'm almost done with my bachelor degree!!! i need to jump and run around for a bit. it's just unbelievable.

praise GOD!! You've always been faithful, and i thank You because You alone are my strong tower.

bits and pieces

feeling guilty yesterday afternoon... this girl ran 4 klick and did laps in the uni pool for an hour. after which.. she proceeded to sofias for dinner, where upon encountering free food (sponsered by a certain eddie cheong.. thankeweddie!), she walloped down more than she could chew.

there goes the exercise.. *BURP*

on the upside... wen got baptized today at citylife hobsons. congrats wen!! may you run the race with perseverence, and end just as well (or ever better!) as you started :)

working on my last essay. progress is slow but steady. God give me strength. two more days.. one more exam to study for. i can do all things through Christwhostrengthensme!!

16yr old boys and heineken should be kept as far away from each other as possible.
preferably at opposite ends of the solar system.

one down...

two plus one exam to go...

one tub of pistachio gelati and 13 mini chocolate muffins later...

this girl desperately needs to exercise

----

i've got the wonderfulloveofmyblessedredeemer rightdowninthedepthsofmyheart
where?
downinthedepthsofmyheart!
where?
downinthedepthsofmyheart
i've got the wonderfulloveofmyblessedredeemer rightdowninthedepthsofmyheart
rightdowninthedepthsofmyheart to stay!
(sung to the tune of... 'i've got the joy joy joy joy down in my heart...')

you know that you're procrastinating when...

1. the dishes suddenly need washing. even though you normally leave them to accumulate in the sink till the end of the day

2. you start chatting with people you wouldn usually never say hi to, in fact, when you see them come online you'd usually change your status to 'away'

3. you suddenly feel an urge to start baking

4. you convince yourself that sitting down for more than 15 mins at a stretch is bad for your back

5. you eat. a lot.

6. you stare into space a lot and somehow brainwash yourself into thinking that you're deep in thought about your essay.... when you're actually thinking of bak chor mee and sambal stingray

7. you start planning for your holidays, because you can never be too prepared!

8. emails you normally delete seem particularly interesting
e.g. NUS Entrepreneurship Centre Outreach Announcement

9. ooo... shiny

10. you start writing a list of things that prove you're a great porcrastinator

11. did i miss anything...? ... ...

CAUTION: people who should be studying should not try this at home. if wrongly administered will cause serious damage to essays and exam results.

many thanksyous

i am not being very productive. the past couple of days have been pretty bad. i'm constantly sleepy and unmotivated. i'm hoping that its just the weather... but i have a feeling that its something else. it can't be that time of the month again can it??

you know that you're procrastinating when you decide to bake chocolate muffins when you should be writing an essay. especially if its been awhile since you last baked...

thanks jy, dong and danson... for putting up with us and our noise. thank you mish and eddie for tolerating my frustration. i still have quite a bit more to go, but it helps when you have friends who'll stick by you on your crappy days.

today marks two years. two years my good friend. where did all that time go? thank you for understanding and always being there for me - to feed me when i'm down... and to feed me when i'm happy :) and of course all those words of encouragement, and your patience when i'm incoherent and leaking from my eye sockets. you truly are such a blessing, and i thank God for you each day.



i love you.

mmm... chicken..

Trying to write an essay without a question is tough work. Sure, it gives more room for interest and creativity… but if you can’t get your parameters clear, it’s just plain frustrating (So says the one who plans to write a 15 000 word honors thesis next year). Life is just so full of painful ironies.

On a lighter note, i had emperor chicken for dinner yesterday. Courtesy of dong. It’s nice to have someone cook dinner for you once in awhile, although it does mean that you’re obliged to wash the dishes… but hey, nothing is free. except maybe the love of Christ :) and i did the rice! we totally cleaned the chicken to the bone. it was deLIcious! yuM!

I was reminded just a few days ago about how out of touch I am with hymns and all the old praise choruses. I opened an old songbook, and realized that I haven’t heard some of these songs in ages. A lot of them are old favourites, and it was like catching up with a long-lost friend. I just sat there for over an hour just flipping through and strumming on my brother’s guitar (which is in need of new strings). I’ve always loved the lyrics of these songs because of their depth of meaning and their comforting melodies – these are the songs of my youth. Haha. that just makes me sound old, but maybe I’m just an oldie at heart.

How can I say thanks
For the things you have done for me
Things so undeserved
Yet You gave to prove your love for me
The voices of a million angels
Could not express my gratitude
All that I am and ever hope to be
I owe it all to thee

To God be the glory, to God be the glory
To God be the glory,For the things
He has doneWith His blood
He has saved meWith
His power He has raised me
To God be the glory,
For the things He has done

coffee and alarm clocks

it's a rather lazy day. i'm supposed to be going for a run in uni... but a certain someone who's supposed to come with me has KOed on my couch, and he looks too comfortable to wake up. we both had a late night... so i guess i can't really blame him.

five of us drove up to monash uni, clayton campus yesterday evening to help out at their inaugral coffee ministry session. it went pretty well i must say, praise God! it was a lot more well received than it was in melbourne uni when we first started, and i must say that they're really BLESSED. they actually managed to get sponsered coffee by a fair trade coffee company. the coffee was GOOD. none of that instant stuff. and they got loaned an urn from the uni itself. it's just amazing how God provides :)

in other news.. i got woken up at about 4am when my phone urgently beeped telling me that i'd gotten an sms from roger. very few people can wake me up at that time without making me just a tad irritated (especially since i went to sleep at about 3:30am). you should be glad that you're one of the few. haha. it's nice to know that you're remembered by friends overseas. even if it is at ungodly hours in the morning. time difference is 3 hrs dude! daylight savings has started!

daylight savings. i never really understood that when i first came. why bother with moving the clock back and forth by an hour?? how much time can you really save in the summeR? especially since the sun rises at 5 plus anyway... and sets at about 9. ah well... i guess setting at 9 is better than setting at 10.

ok. need to wake mr. lazybum up :D

LDR

i always feel sad whenever close friends go through rough patches. especially if they're not near enough for me to give them a hug. because hugs can convey so much more than half an hour on the phone.. or extended msn conversations.

i used to be a compulsive hugger. not very hard to imagine when you consider the fact that i'm from an all-girls secondary/high school. you hugged everyone and anyone for everything and anything - people you loved, people you disliked... to cheer up, to backstab, or for no reason whatsoever. if you were wondering... i was mostly on the receiving end of the backstabbing. but let's not go there. i'm a happy little camper now :)

i used to have an entire philosophy about hugs. i only remember bits and pieces now though. of course... like every other teenager.. i thought that i was 'different' and that everyone else was silly and childish in one way or another. (yeah i know... i'm a self-proclaimed elitist... i don't intend to be, but somehow it comes across that way ) i liked giving people hugs because it (looked like it) made them smile. but then again.. you never know with these high school girls. they're pretty good at acting. i know i was.

i think i must come across pretty screwed up. haha.

i don't give away hugs as easily these days. perhaps i've come to think that giving them too often sort of dilutes the intensity of what they're meant to convey. or maybe it just starts to get a bit more inappropriate as you get older. i don't know.


what i do know.. is that i wish i could be there to give you a hug, share a six pack, talk about stuff and show you that things are going to be alright. and they will be.

know that you are in my prayers.

walking backwards

coffee minstry last night was awesome. it's been awhile since i've helped out, and last night just reminded me what i love about it - the appreciative smiles, expressions of amazement, light chatter, enthusiastic thankyous, getting to know new people... and feeling the LOVE! haha. it's the one thing about the exam period that i probably look forward to. blessing people one cup, one smile and one life at a time *grin* God is cool.



been in a particularly nostalgic mood in the past few days. looking at old photos and reading old letters.. and striking up conversations with people that i haven't spoken to in awhile. it's a nice feeling to know that people remember you. haha. and that you're not just another random face from the past. i must admit that i'm terrible at keeping touch with people (probably has something to do with my discipline problem...), and i'll probably pay for it later in life when i realize that i have no more friends.... so i'm going to TRY working on it. forgive me if i lag on the emails - i'm trying :P