I'm Foxglove!

You really want to be a good person, but you have this little mischievous streak that seems to get in the way. Deep down you mean well, but you are just so good at being just a little bit bad.

Hee, sounds like me. =P

Bread and butter #62 (Bowling fun!)

We had bowling fun during our rest time! The ones good at real bowling were lousy at virtual bowling, while the ones lousy at real bowling were good at virtual bowling!

Fun amidst work and stress. =)

Hahahahaha...

Bread and butter #61 (Christmas party for the children.)

Pretty amazed at the patience some of my volunteers have. I'm so lucky to have them around. I do hope that I'll see them being awarded 3 or 5 years long service awards, and the student volunteers be recognised for their dedication and patience. -prays hard-

Anyway, Mr SCS Santa wishes all of you a very early merry Christmas! =D

P/S: Rest well, Mr SCS Santa... I want to see you healthy healthy on 24th woh. Ho! Ho! Ho!

Bread and butter #60 (Welcome home, X3 team.)

This is probably going to be the last time that SM is wishing us good luck for IM as the in-charge! But I guess he'll still write poems from time to time, HOR? -pokes-

Met up with Joleen and Rachel, my fellow attachment friends at New York New York. I don't know why I took a super long time to finish my meal. It's either (a) I'm a slow eater OR (b) my friends are hungry.SM is angry with me for bullying him all the time. =(
Joleen wanted to have candy floss, but we were simply too paiseh to go for it... so we nominated the two pinkies to go take 5 candy floss in total, woops.
I was complaining that their poses were too boring...
But we weren't any better. =P
Anyway, the gathering was a little too short, as Rachel needed to rush off to somewhere else. I want a longer chat!SM managed to persuade me to welcome the Project X3 team at Changi Airport. I was originally concerned about the transport back home, but he offered to send me back! Yeah! And it was pretty heartwarming to receive the call. You should know what I mean. ;)Notice the red carpet? It is actually a red piece of cloth prepared by SM, for the Project X3 team to walk on when they come out!

Even though I reached home at about 1 am, and was very tired...

Welcome home, Chris and the dedicated Project X3 team!

Bread and butter #59 (Christmas shopping and office muses.)

Wee-hoo! I had a great time shopping at Concourse, all thanks to BT who drove me there. Bought some bells, tambourines, and castanets for the children to use during the caroling time, presents and wrappers, and crepe paper for streamers to decorate Harvest... it was so exciting to find so many hidden treasures within a mall. And the christmas decorations every where... absolutely beautiful! =D I was pretty happy to shop around, even though I don't celebrate Christmas.

I super love the big red ribbons on Raffles Hotel. Go take a look! =D

Looking forward to the Christmas decorations and party on 19th itself. It will be a great day! And most of the credit goes to my distant neighbour, hee.

***

Talking about the positive aura that certain workers have reminds us of SM. Was hilarious when BT, PY and me tried to picture SM in a robe, smiling or perhaps, chanting some words of wisdom. Wahahaha, crazy lunch time.

Anyway, I still believe that we can achieve that aura thingy too. I don't wish to discourage myself by saying that it'll take a longer time. I just want to keep pushing and telling myself, "你行的！你行的！加油！"

***

CQ will be back tomorrow! WELCOME! Welcome back!

Bread and butter #58 ("Living with the Animals" Zoo Camp.)

I can't say I totally love the whole experience, but I felt like I've grown quite a bit professionally- learned how to deal with things all by myself, learned how to handle "crisis situations", learned how to say the right things at the right time. I didn't do a superb job, but at least I tried my best. And I've worked very hard too- coordinating, planning, etc. It was a long process from July till now... so I must affirm myself a bit, right?

Here's some photos I took of the animals: Otters cuddling together! Chauvinistic baboons... and their wives and kids. Noisy and hyper flamingoes. Cute little I-forgot-his-or-her-name. And at night... Me and my volunteers- (from left) Me, Shumei, Weichuan, Germaine, Jing Yan, and Lin Xu.Thank you again, for your patience, helpfulness, thoughtfulness, strength (for moving my sleeping bags), and dedication. =) Artistic shots by WC. So dark, I can only see Shumei's tee.
And, I don't think I want to know why the photo below is taken...
Anyway, here's an effort of my baobei in capturing a group photo (without me) before he died.So natural... hee.

Back to the camp, as what one of my volunteers said, I think we learned a lot during the camp- a lot more knowledge about the animals. And must thank the cute camp mistresses for being such friendly and helpful hosts. Surprise surprise, one of my them is my primary school classmate, and the other is my secondary school classmate!

Had a short chat with them before I fell asleep. We've lost contact along the way, but we've found each other again! Pretty interesting, isn't it.

Me with Clarabelle and June.
Great self-shot skills, June!

Of course, I must really really thank dear CQ who guided me a lot in my planning for this camp, helped me make calls, taught me how to do this and that, advised me on points to take note of... without her, I think the camp will be a disaster.

Many thanks to BY too, who had to run up and down the office to help me settle the programme stuffs for the last few weeks. And when I cancelled one of my events, she has to deal with all the cancellation and refunding crap. So I'm really sorry... =(

And also, thanks to BT, who sent me a jiayou sms when I was fighting the war all alone in the zoo. It's my first time lor, so of course I will feel uptight and stressed. And thanks for offering your help so readily for the small hiccup I had a few weeks back. Always say thanks to you, like very sian hor? I promise to treat you better! =D

Ahhh, I'm already half-way through my holiday programme. Wish myself all the best!

Old old friend.

Though I might not totally understand what you're studying... and you might not totally understand what I'm doing, we both know that we'll stand by each other no matter what, right?

Thank you for meeting up. =)

Bread and butter #57 (Been Busy.)

Had my first Children Holiday Programme activity last Friday. Then, I went for GP Family Day as well. Took up the whole of my Sunday, but I was so happy to be involved. I have been wanting to sit in some of the GP sessions too, but my workload and schedule didn't allow me to do so. =(

So, I've been busy clearing my off-time and preparing for events in December. I just hope all the activities will be over soon, so that I can start to document the recipes for Reading Stars and prepare for the coming semester. There are also a couple of books that I want to read or at least browse through during the quiet period in office.

Somehow, I feel that I need another break... soon.



(ROARRR...没有用的东西! 打起精神来!)

Bread and butter #56 (Parents and Teens Groupwork Finale.)

I seriously don't know why, Parents and Teens Groupwork has always been one of my top favourites. I just enjoy the whole process so much, that I usually don't notice how fast time passes by.

I made a choice to drop in the last session of Parents and Teens Groupwork, as I really really wanted to see how the parents and the teens affirm each other. It's always at this point of time, that tears fall, ganjiong-ness arises... it's a platform for both parties to express their love and appreciation for each other.
A thank you card for us specially prepared by a parent, and signed by the kids and their guardians.SM provided us with positive feedback, and so I recalled what I did with one of my kids. I didn't know it had such an impact. Just want to pray that everything will go well from now on. As long as everything goes well, whatever I do is definitely worth it.

Still, I felt like I could have done more. I'm sure I have another wish to be fulfilled, but vielleicht it can only be fulfilled in a few years time, at least. -prays hard-

Bread and butter #55 (The Chai Sum Dee journey.)

Dr Timothy Sim used to advise us to always chai sum dee (loosely translated as "go deeper") when we do counselling, but how often do we do that? Sometimes I'm just so distracted by the content on the surface, that I just finish whatever I aim to do, and move on quickly to the next topic.

Recently, a case of mine taught me a good lesson. The first impression I had of this case totally changed after I had my first session, and my so-called sense of the case keeps changing and changing over time as issues started popping out. So yes, never judge a book by its cover... never assume when we don't know a case well... must always remember that there might be something down there for us to dig find out.

Chai sum dee...

Answer all questions with the first letter of your name!

Your name: Cindy

Four words: California, Candy, Cat, Colour

State/country: China

Boy Name: Calvin

Girl Name: Christina

Occupation: Cook

Something you can wear: Cap

Something found in a kitchen: Cup

Something you shout: Crap!

Something you do at school: Caligraphy, I'm kidding. Camping! (During primary school!)

Name of an animal: Cow

Name of a Drink: Coffee

Name a Holiday: Christmas!

Name a body part: Calf

Yeah! I was stuck at the animal, drink and holiday for quite a while. Somehow I feel that the answers reflect what kind of a person I am... Got this from Elayne's blog. =)

Back from Vietnam.

Aye, some people don't even know that I went to Vietnam. It's either they score badly for SW2105 or they're simply not around when I'm around, hehe. :P

Anyway, I'm finally back from highly polluted Vietnam today. Will set up a travel blog and put up the link soon, so watch out for it under my destinations.

Ever since I started a blog on my trip to Muenster, I just wanted to record down every trip I made overseas. I don't know why I just want to record down in details where I've went and what I've did. It's sort of like recording travelling milestones for myself. And yes, I would love to travel around the whole world.

Can't wait for my next trip. It's probably Japan with my mum. Contemplating to pay the trip for her, since she's always complaining that I don't pay anything for her (which is not totally the truth lor) I might as well just appease her, haha. But it will be super expensive. And yes, I've not paid my loans completely. Not even half-way through.

I cannot really get back to reality yet. Felt weird to go back to work, think about what I'm going to do for counselling sessions, and staring at my organiser again. Ahh, now I understand why a break is important. Furthermore, I reflected and thought about various things during the trip, so my brain didn't manage to rest well, haa.

I just want to have SOME MORE fun... before I get down to business again.

Repeat repeat repeat.

Repeat the same jokes, thinking that they're funny.

Repeat insensible criticism, without knowing that they're insensible.

Repeat questions, when people don't want to answer.

When can people stop repeating themselves. Must I be so assertive, that I tell them what exactly I want straight in their faces?

Waraku and Azabu Sabo.

Had Waraku with Julia, Weishang and Sharon! Wee, can still remember the process of how I was attracted to it. (Right after visiting the toilet with SW girls, we were woah-ing at the look-so-real displays of the food at Waraku, yums.)Eggplant gratin, corn soup, salad and Waraku-style pasta. Yum yum.
Shany and her long-awaited pasta. They stir fry her pasta for a longer time, hee.
Look at the display!!!
And so, Julia can't wait for her next visit to Waraku... She die die also must try her Waraku pizza.While Weishang still wants more stir-frying of pasta.Me want desserts! Which explains why we headed Azabu Sabo after a little window shopping.
Nice and quiet ambience.The warm sweet potato with vanilla ice-cream dessert was SUPER yummy, I think I said "很好吃" or "very nice!!!" for about 20 times. =)

Bread and butter #54 (Problem-solving- Laugh & Reframe!)

I may be laughing a lot, too much, or at weird moments. But the laughters helped a lot. They do help release some kind of happy feeling within me. At least, for today, I'm not having any headaches.

Feel rather bek chek about certain people and happenings, but ridiculous self-reframing of the situation helped a lot too.

And of course, people who create rainbows in my life (literally and figuratively) from time to time helped a lot too. ;)

Lesson learned:
-Don't trust others too much.
-Don't try to be funny when you don't really know a person well.
-Don't repeat the same joke again and again. It's not funny when it's said n times.
-If I can't solve any problems, just laugh. At least, it'll make me feel better for the time being.

CM says, consulting others is part of problem-solving. Yeah, jiayou.

Yummy sashimi. =D-

Finally met and caught up with Weiping finally after a few months, as we couldn't find a similar free timeslot. As I was sms-ing her, I was reminded of the undergraduate times when I had to struggle to decide which number I want to send the sms to. (She has two numbers and she uses them at different times. So, I must sort of be able to read her mind in order to successfully send the sms to her.)

Both of us managed to have some retail therapy as well. YEAH!
So happy that I chose Japanese food. Ate some special sushi which I have not eaten before! Salmon and avocado handroll... yums. Salmon with cheese sushi... yums. Peach sorbet... yums.

Blogthings!

Your Seduction Style: Au Natural

You rank up there with your seduction skills, though you might not know it. That's because you're a natural at seduction. You don't realize your power! The root of your natural seduction power: your innocence and optimism. You're the type of person who happily plays around and creates a unique little world. Little do you know that your personal paradise is so appealing that it sucks people in. You find joy in everything - so is it any surprise that people find joy in you? You bring back the inner child in everyone you meet with your sincere and spontaneous ways. Your childlike (but not childish) behavior also inspires others to care for you. As a result, those who you befriend and date tend to be incredibly loyal to you.

What Kind of Seducer Are You?

Merci.

Heard this song, Merci by Matt Houston, a French R'n'B singer from Xinli's blog. Kind of like it. Great for chilling out with a cup of ice-blended mocha. Yums.

Bread and butter #53 (Shining Stars Concert 2007.)

Decided to be kpo and drop by Shining Stars Concert in the evening even though I had no official duty, because I know of two youths who were performing. I went backstage and was almost immediately greeted by one of them. "Why you so late then come?" Grins, this goes to show that he's waiting for me to come? Hehehe.

Anyway, I sat down to talk a little with his band members. They're a cute bunch of people, very playful and charismatic. And there's this handsome young man who kept rolling on the floor and laughed dramatically. My youth seems a little different from the last time I interacted with him. It's been a year, and boy I must say that he grew (matured, i mean) a bit liao woh.

Another team was super super cute too. It was the first time I met them today and they opened up so quickly to me. They were making fun of me, and saying all sorts of lame things, but they're really a cute bunch! And they love to say things like "you drop something!", and when I huh-ed, they say "you dropped my jaw!" Hahaha. Another cool chap kept saying "you rock my socks!" Wahahaha...

It's so fun to hang out with these cute young men! ;)

Anyway, after giving our support and encouragement to these young men, SM and me went to collect our tickets for the performance. The first performance was really not bad, and the performers had loads of supporters. I was touched by the whistling, more touched by the shoutings and screamings of family members of the youths. I'm glad for these lucky kids who have strong familial support.

Seeing the youths perform allowed us to see them in a different light as well... nice and interesting...

I enjoyed myself by cheering for the ginnas and giving them high-fives at the backstage. They've done a great job, rehearsing all these days and getting ready for the performance. To my dearest gentlemen, YOU ALL ROCK MY HEELS!

Secret Recipe with SW girls.

It's the sort of monthly meet-up with my Social Work girlfriends again, and boy did I enjoy it! =)Thank you all for taking the time to meet up, especially so for Ying Yan whose examinations are coming real soon. Feels great to chat with you girls, guessing secondary schools (when we already announced... my god, we're so blur! haha...), CCAs and favourite fruits, and laughing at each others' laughter...

Anyway, well done, Ming En and Sabrina for making one correct guess! Next time, we shall guess the favourite fruits of the other girls! Laugh and wind down is what I need to do. As what SM always say, self-care is very important. I want to have a long journey and dream big, so I got to take good care of myself.