Sweet surprise! :D

A little crane told me there is something hanging off your door grille.
Hahaha. What?! Is it gold? I have my mask on now leh.. Hahaha.
Mask? Abish...

:)

Out!

28th August 2008- 我的头发坏掉 liao!

It's been two months since we last met up!

I'm thankful to have a group of Social Work girlfriends, for me to download Social Work woes to and share certain difficulties (and of course joy!) which many people probably won't understand as much. Thank you girls for creating such a comfortable and warm atmosphere whenever we are together. P/S: Special thanks to Corinne for your "recipe"! I really need it.

29th August 2008- Archipelago.

Not really sure why, I like the following two shots by Julia.

We had dinner followed by chill-out session at Archipelago. I personally quite like the place- the atmosphere and the music. But I guess, the company is important... and will make a difference.

30th August 2008- Boo boo at Little India.
I was so excited about this photography excursion, but the stupid rain had to spoil my day. :(

Small, yet big.

It's always the small actions that really touch me, and show me that I'm being noticed and being cared for. And I really appreciate it, when people care enough to ask. Simply asking- is that too much to ask for?

Quoting my dear EL again, the following lines written by her tugged, and are still tugging on my heartstrings:

During my moments of weakness, I saw who cared who did not… I remember who used to and who does not now...

But I must say, I'm grateful that I received a small token of kindness today. It just takes a little to show how much you really care.

I need more.

Hoodies.

These were taken a few months back...I look hilariously constipated.
Seems like these two youths are up to no good. Hahaha.I like the pink hoodie, but it's too expensive. :(
But not too bad lah, managed to take a photo with it. :P

Bread and butter #169 (Carnival & Heartstrings Walk.)

Dear Jean at our booth.Fellow coursemates! :D

We were trying to look for Sakae Sushi in Marina Square.... and got kind of confused because of the crowds there. The three of us thought that it is on the third floor, and so we spent loads of time looking for it (on the third floor)... then we finally managed to find it on the second floor. -_-

Anyway, dinner was great! The walking around most probably resulted in us feeling hungrier, haha... the company was great too! :)

加油! 加油! Fellow Social Workers!

Bread and butter #168 (Unbalanced.)

Just when my system was balanced for a while, I was rocked again.

But I thought it's a good rock.

Makes me think more about my practice... what I practice, how I practice, and how I am as a School-based Social Worker.

I am willing to learn, willing to be rocked...

Absorb like a star sponge! Yeah!

My beloved Mona Lisa.

Heard from my friend that there were tourists taking photos in Louvre Museum with flash!

What the hell! How can they do that?!

What the hell! What the hell! What the hell!

So, I left this comment for my friend:
oh no.... cannot use flash! the beautiful art pieces would be damaged!!! :(

And there's this guy who HAVE TO leave the following comment:
What value has the work of man, if it cannot be destroyed? We value such things because they, like us, are made, and beautiful, then they die - if there is no possibility that they could be ruined, we would value them not half as much. If works of man last too long, the makers eventually are revered as more than man, as gods of creation....so flash with free abandon, enjoy it while it lasts, and aid it in its demise - so that man remembers we are all just flowers - to live and then die.

The above comment just makes me want to roll my eyes at him.

有这个必要吗? Being all philosophical just because of a simple comment of mine, a simple wish of mine to preserve beautiful paintings for as long as possible. You want to take photos with flash, then take lah! Give so much philosophical crap for what! He is just trying too hard.

Manuals of Life.

Manual 1 : Care not of people who care no much 《不要在乎，不在乎你的人》

Basically, you just have to learn how not to care. You care too much, you make yourself miserable. Hell, be selfish and care for yourself. THEY dun care about you anyway. The trick is how to decide who does not care abt you and thus not care about them. Now, THAT determines your level.

Manual 2 : Take EVERYTHING in your stride 《一切从容面对》

I really mean everything. Things go bad, you take a deeeeeeeeeeeeeeeep breath, and smile. It gives you less wrinkles but beware, it may accumulate and explode in one whole shot if you are not careful. There is a difference between taking everything in your stride and tolerating everything that comes.

Manual 3 : Life is short, savour it 《人生苦短，何不逍遥渡过》

Take some time, be nice to yourself. Pamper yourself with spa, what you like. Look pretty (handsome for the guys), feel good about yourself. I mean hey, life is too short to look/feel sorry.

Manual 4 : Stand up for yourself 《不可被人欺》

Don’t be bullied la. Sometimes people ASK to be bullied you know what I mean? People can throw shit work at you, to bully you. You can either NOT do it because you hate it and wanna show.. or have a switch of mindset & do it because actually you really don’t mind it. Don’t do it and then complain. It points to Manual 3 that life is too short to torture yourself and be bitter about things.

Manual 5 : Relationship, Can do with or without 《儿女私情，可有可无》

Actually I wonder why human beings (myself included) are always by default falling into the trap of attraction. Not all but most. Why? Isn’t satisfaction in say family ties… or friendship going to be enough? I really think relationship brings out the worst ever in any individual. Like ever lo. Jealousy, scheming, anger, doubt. All that for one man/woman? What can he give you? Companionship which a close friend can give to you? Love which changes at any time? Happiness which is nothing compared to joy from God? If you can find someone who brings out the best in you, then commit. Else, steer clear, really. Trust me, I’ve failed umpteenth times. And still failing. And maybe will fail many times again.

Manual 6 : Find time to look within yourself 《自我反省》

Always take time out for yourself. To sort out your thoughts, your relationship with others, how you manage issues in life. It can make you a better person, more focused internally.

P/S: Hope you don't mind me copying your blog post. I really like this entry of yours. :)

Pulau Ubin with Ping and Sab! :D

11th August 2008, Monday

A lovely Monday... and we spent it at Pulau Ubin!

We started our day with Big Breakfast and the hunt of three items - biscuits (which was our lunch), a pair of slippers which was redundant, and a bottle of highly-utilised but not very effective insect repellant. My fellow Social Work friends... and yes, they are Social Workers. :)
On our trip there, we met friendly uncles who don't mind us taking photos of them. So nice of them!
Me demanding much-overdue photos from Weiping in a violent and rude manner. But violence doesn't seem to work well with her. I shall use my teh skills the next time I meet her.
Pulau Ubin gave all three of us a very nice feeling- away from the noise and crowd from the city... a pretty laid-back feeling. :)And here's what occupied us for most of our time there- photography!I love this shot by Sabrina.And after walking for not-sure-how-long, we finally reached Chek Jawa!Lovely view along the boardwalk.
A place that doesn't really look like Singapore.

Would be nice if I can just sit there and enjoy the breeze for the whole day. For people who need to get away from the city, Pulau Ubin will be a great choice. :)

Some random shots.

Over the past few months, I took some random shots...

Here's one taken when I was on my way to work. Notice the contrast between the green trees and the blue sky. I love it!
The stairs to my home. Looks freaky in the photo, but no longer freaky to me because I've lived here for at least a few years already.
This poor Winnie the Pooh caught my attention. I wonder who is the morbid one who stuck his feet into the socket. Gross. Doesn't this look super familiar?! Yes! You're right! It's the logo of our Chinese textbook when we were still in our primary schools! Found this at a thrift shop during my after-lunch-stroll in town when I was there for my course.
And of course, my cute nephew who is super adorable only when he's in a good mood.
Crashed a BBQ session, and realised that certain ties are hard to be broken. But you know what? I don't mind. :)
Took this while I was waiting for someone's sms reply. Looking at this photo brings me back to my emotional state of mind there and then... when I only took this photo for pure fun. Photos are really powerful, aren't they?
I was packing my stuffs in office on Friday night... and I found a super old notebook. It's my notebook with all my essential Economics notes!
A lot of things have changed in my life, but there's definitely one thing that has never changed for the past few years. I dislike Economics. Hee.
My goodness, Economics notebook with mathematical concept. But this reminds me of my tagline in JC days - 坚持到底! :D

Bread and butter #167 (A lovely Saturday.)

Today was great... and I am happy! :D

Things to be happy about:

1) A child misbehaved, and I pulled him aside. From his body language, I could tell that he thought that I had the intention of scolding him. I told him with a calm tone that what he did was not so good, and it will be good that he doesn't do that anymore. I ended with an affirmation, which I thought will be helpful for him. And he beamed after my affirmation. :)

2) Have I mentioned that on Friday afternoon, I did up the noticeboard in Sunshine Hall? I love it! Yeah!!!

3) Reading Stars today was great, despite the burnt cookies, haha.

FYI, the above cookies are baked by me on Thursday afternoon, not by my children this morning.

4) Had lunch with RS volunteers and stayed back to watch Yujie teach the youths some magic tricks. It was a hilarious process- from all of us in awe to all of us in orh. All thanks to my volunteers who brought so much joy to me not only today but also in my Social Work journey. It's been a long while since I laughed so much...

Weichuan had a bad hair day. :P

5) SM happened to have A LOT of time all of a sudden, and started to explore his Facebook account.

SM: Hey! I have 160 photos when I did not upload any photos before!
Me: That's because I uploaded them for you? Wahahahaha.

Also, he was so amused with my cryptic blog entries that he kept asking me loads and loads of questions. So kaypo- but I'm really glad that he asked. :)

Lovely Saturday I had. :) :) :)

Bread and butter #166 (Blindspots are inevitable.)

No matter how observant we are,

or how observant we are supposed to be,

there will definitely be blindspots somehow.

Bread and butter #165 (My cute boys.)

Boy A and Boy B were trying to fight with one another.

Social Worker to Boy A: So what did you do?
Boy A: I ... (could be pushing or kicking, I can't remember.)
Social Worker to Boy B: And what did you do?
Boy B: I ...
Social Worker to Boy A: Do you think what you did is correct?
Boy A: No.
Social Worker to Boy B: Do you think what you did is correct?
Boy B: No.
Social Worker to Boy A: So, is there anything you want to tell B?
Boy A: Sorry, B.
Social Worker to Boy B: Is there anything you want to tell A?
Boy B: Sorry, A.
Social Worker: Okay, so... shall the two of you shake hands and be friends again?
Boy A and Boy B shook hands.

Hahahahaha, the process of negotiating is so cute.

Bread and butter #164 (Worried.)

I'm becoming slightly paranoid when I see certain things. What do they stand for, and what can I do in response to what I see?

I remember what SM taught me.. try to tease things out by asking, but what if I get no response?

Especially worried after what I experienced a few days back. The dark side of things are usually undetectable...

8th August 2008 - Weiping's Birthday.

It was 4th August 2008. I flew to Bukit Batok after work to purchase that pair of earrings, and then to City Hall to meet Sabrina to settle the birthday girl's present.

A great rush, but I think the surprise was great! ;)

Happy belated birthday, Weiping!