[Happy Birthday Far!]

Finally after a longgggggggg time we accomplished our mission to have a non just-eat-out meetup. And boy was it fun! Although our original plans were interrupted (bowling alley at CSC Bt Batok was full cos there was some tournament going on), it was good that we still dropped by the place - at least I got to check out my shortlisted wedding reception venue. Heh. I'm still wooed by the greenery...ah I love Bukit Batok. I should really give them a second chance and call them again for quotations heh.

We managed to force our bums to Chevrons to the bowling alley there instead..and Min was like..wow in one day we see both ur shortlisted venues. Haha. Talk about being efficient! ;) Mel was the outright champion of the day and although I picked up in the second round, I couldn't keep it up for the third. We were very much awed by Min's "zen" bowling style...even tried to emulate it tho it didn't always work lol. After some nachos with cheese and lots of laughter, we decided it was time go off - especially since the junior expert bowlers were making us feel pathetic. Picture 10-14 year olds who were so used to scoring strikes that they weren't even smiling whenever they did vs. us erm young ladies who clapped gleefully each time we managed to knock down some pins. Heh.

Japanese seemed the theme of the day since after Sakae Sushi, we had a "ramen" cake for the birthday gal. Must've been her lucky day cos she even got an ang pao from Mel's mum haha (thanks auntie *on far's behalf*). Had a lovely time with the HP gang as always. Here's some pics to prove it! (and gals..upload the rest soon ya?!) =)

far strutting her stuff!
ramen cake complete with chopsticks!
b'day gal intrigued with the cake
awww lovey pose
cut us some pieces!
the cake dissected

[Verses of love]

I don't usually watch Indonesian movies. In fact, can't remember the last time I watched one. But this was a really good movie. A few lame lines here and there, but the movie's really worth a watch for the concepts of life and love portrayed very well in the story. Not just love for another human being, but love for God, and pursuing life to get closer to Him. My favourite line: I now realise love and wanting to possess someone is not the same. Oh and not to forget, Rianti Cartwright is beautiful, even when it's just her (alluring) eyes with her face covered up. ;) It's so good I even feel like watching it again. Or maybe I just love the mushy parts. Heh.

Ayat Ayat Cinta is a beautifully portrayed Islamic love story – a tale of a virtuous Muslim protagonist who overcomes all obstacles of life maintaining pure ideals.

Fahri bin Abdillah is a poor, intelligent student who wins a scholarship to complete his graduate degree at Egypt's esteemed Al Azhar University. Very disciplined and dedicated by nature, Fahri embraces his life in Cairo, completing his studies and translation of religious books with full enthusiasm, exactly according to pre-determined targets.

Only one goal is left unattempted: the pursuit of marriage.

For Fahri is innocent and pure, and doesn't believe in the concept of relationships prior to marriage. He is inarticulate and shy around women. All his life, only two women have been close to him – his mother and grandmother.

Life changes drastically in Egypt for he suddenly finds himself surrounded by four beautiful, distinctly different women.

Maria Girgis, a shy, open-minded Coptic-Christian neighbor who is attracted to the teachings of the Holy Al Quran, finds herself falling in love with Fahri (a fact she only reveals to her diary).

Nurul, a student at Al Azhar like Fahri, is the Muslim daughter of a renowned Indonesian cleric. Fahri feels unworthy of her and thus ignores his feelings for her, leaving her confused and guessing.

Noura, an abused Egyptian neighbor, develops strong romantic feelings for Fahri, who in turn simply sympathizes with her situation. His romantic rejection destroys her and eventually leads to a false accusation of rape.

Aisha, a German Turkish student in Cairo haunts Fahri with her beautiful eyes. Following an incident on the metro where Fahri defends her against narrow minded bigoted Muslims, both immediately develop feelings for each other.

As the story unravels, the protagonist makes the audience face the daunting decisions he himself faces, and forces us to marvel at his undying loyalty to the true ideals of Islam as he ultimately makes the choice of a lifetime.

[Meaning of flowers]

Not sure which flowers say it best? Use this as a guide:

Sorry Seems To Be The Hardest Word (the best flowers to apologise):
Geraniums – stupidity, folly
Yellow Gerberas – I'll try harder to win your love
Orange Gerberas – You are the sunshine of my life

Don't Worry, Be Happy (the best flowers to brighten someone's day):
Freesias - thoughtfulness
Orange Roses – feelings of enthusiasm, fascination
Sunflowers – adoration, following the sun
Yellow Tulips – there's sunshine in your smile

Thank You For Being a Friend (the best flowers to say thank you):
Pink Roses – gratitude, admiration, appreciation, friendship, thankfulness
Peach Roses – gratitude, appreciation, admiration
Yellow Roses – joy, friendship

Be My Baby (the best flowers to express new love):
Red Tulips – declaration of love, believe me.
White Roses – spiritual love, happy love
Lavender Roses – love at first sight, enchantment

I Will Remember You (the best flowers to express sympathy/condolences):
Forget-Me-Nots – memories, remembrance
Crimson Roses – mourning
Pink Roses – sympathy
White Roses – reverence
Lily of the Valley – humility, new life
Chrysanthemums – passing of a life

An Apple A Day (the best flowers to express Get Well wishes):
Sunflowers – sunshine, following the sun
Orange Gerberas – you are the sunshine of my life
Freesias – thoughtfulness

Celebrate Good Times (the best flowers to say Congratulations):
Birds Of Paradise – magnificence
Lilies – magnificent beauty, wealth, pride, majestic
Sunflowers – adoration
Yellow & Red Roses - congratulations

I Will Always Love You (the best flowers to express true love):
Yellow & Orange Roses – passionate thoughts
Thornless Roses – love at first sight
Red Roses – love, passion, respect, courage, I love you
Orange Lilies – flame, I burn for you

while we're on the topic...

10 Reasons to Send Flowers to your Sweetheart
10. To remind her that you exist.
9. So she'll forget that you came 2 hours late for your last date.
8. To prevent her from dumping you for someone who will give her flowers.
7. Because you can't figure out what else to give her.
6. Sending flowers is easy – you can order them while you wait for the match to start.
5. She'll tell her girlfriends about it, and soon you'll gain a reputation for being a gentleman.
4. Because life is a bed of roses. Avoid being the thorn.
3. She'll expect them. Sooner or later.
2. It makes you happy to see her smile.
1. Because you love her.

To the guy(s) reading this..hint hint ;)

from floweradvisor.com

[unguided sense of humour]

talk about humour

[double celebrations!]

Firstly, my exams are over! Woohoo. And they're over for good! At least until I decided to torture myself with another degree, which I doubt will happen anytime soon. Haha. Although it was a right decision to do my Masters as soon as I graduated, it's been kinda exhausting working and studying at the same time. And this even after I've had it pretty easy, with my boss cutting some slack (or so I think heh). I guess this was sort of an "optional" degree so I didn't see it as a die-die-must-get kinda thing...lacked the motivation in that sense. Plus after 4 years of undergrad, u really do need a break from studying. It gets too much sometimes. But of course, my choice in taking it immediately to keep up the study momentum had its payoffs. One of the most important factors was that at least I wasn't scared of not having sat for exams for a long while, which many of the older graduate students feared. And then of course course material were (relatively) fresh in mind - which meant I did not have to rely on extremely [note: extremely] heavy mugging to remember what went on during Bio 1101. Heh. I also have a lot of friends who have gone on to have children - who had the mentality "I'll do my Masters later." But the later never came. Ha. And with 3 children I don't think it will ever come. So yeah, carpe diem. Do it while you can! Oh and another advantage, I don't have to worry about looking after my kid and mugging at the same time; I really admire the mums who managed that! Kudos to you!

Ok so much rambling, but there's still my thesis to go. Ah...wonder when I'll get down to that. For now, I'll just be high on the fact that my modules are overrrrrr and that biostats was actually a breeze. I actually got worried that I finished one "round" in an hour. Kept checking and rechecking the paper to look for errors...and still had plenty of time left after that. Not that I was sure of all my answers lah...but at least all the blanks were filled up lol. I was so relieved that I even had time to look up and smile back at the lecturer haha. And the review questions she gave were a pretty good (and terribly obvious) hint to what was coming out..so yay to that too heh.

Went to Vivo with Sakura to celebrate; and if she hadn't stopped me, I'd have, in my euphoria, spent $25 x 2 on Gold Class tix to watch The Other Boleyn Girl. Heh. So as a comfort she promised to give me Gold Class service for a movie on my birthday. I'm writing it down here girl, so I'm not gonna forget! Haha. Don't forget to serve me good food and chilled drinks and check on me every few minutes whether I'm enjoying the movie. Lol. We settled for Definitely, Maybe only because it was at a suitable time and the only other movie we knew. The movie was like...god..really lame and super cheesy. It's like cheesy from beginning to end so yeah, unless you have absolutely no other movie to watch or are in a really lame mood, or you're in the mood for cheese (oh no I'm getting influenced by the movie) please DO NOT watch it.

Another good news I had this morning was that I published my first ever paper with me as the first author...yay! That's definitely motivation to start working on my thesis. Woohoo!

[confidence]

You know he really cares when he digs up (yucky) stats notes and studies it for an hour while u're asleep just so that he can explain to you what confidence intervals are.

=)

[woes]

Seems like this isn't gonna get any easier. First there was the need to balance both of them being happy. She being hostile with him, he being hostile with her. Each not focusing on the occasion at hand, but rather their own childish bickering leading to animosity.

Just when things calm down, new situations arise. Personal aims become more important than being part of a larger entity. Selfish goals lead to abandonment of responsiblity. Apparently a trip like this isn't as important as setting up an education system for a bunch of strangers. Don't ask why I don't understand you. Because I simply do not. Makes me think that I should have stuck to my original plan.

Although the first matter got resolved, albeit in an unpleasant way, something else crops up. I can't believe you invited him - him of all people. Do you not understand the struggle I went through, do you not realise the pain he has caused me? Even if you don't understand that, were you not there everytime he ruined an occasion, were you blind whenever he caused a nuisance at our gatherings? Do you think things change overnight and he'll be an angel now? Again, I am speechless. I have only one thing to say - if you still insist on it, you will be solely responsible for ruining my special day.

I can only pray, that things go smoothly.

personal time

How Should You Indulge Your Senses?

My Result: Little Personal Time

For someone who's as on-the-go as you, the greatest indulgence of all is a hearty dose of rest and relaxation. Charming and fun, you love spending time with family and friends, but there's also a mellow and quiet side of you that relishes time alone with your thoughts.


Whether you like to take long walks, catch an afternoon blockbuster, or check out a hip new art exhibit, you like exploring the world on your own terms and learning more about yourself in the process. Not one to harp on the past or obsess about the future, you have a confident and graceful way of savoring each experience as it comes.

What are you?
http://web.tickle.com/jumpto?test=indulgesensesogt&c=50652

[9 days]

9 days passed by so quickly. It started with the anticipation of picking you up at the airport. Did I look alright, would you be excited to see me, would you enjoy the trip? Where are you...did customs hold you back, did the visa not work...cos so many are out already? Tick tock, tick tock, I grew more nervous. And then finally you appeared. Finally I see you again. Yes, dreams do come true.

It was fun showing you around town, as bad a guide as I was. Hey I know Sthlm better, next time I'll show u around there haha. I started feeling a bit like your PA, telling you who you'd be meeting, when and where tonight. I'm glad meet-the-dad session went superbly; then again, I think all the meet-my-family/friends sessions went great. Wee :)

I enjoyed our moment on the beach. If I had known how terrific it felt to just sit beside you all day gazing into the horizon, I'd have spent the whole day there. But then again, we needed to get the ring, so first things first. Haha.

Thank you for putting up with a 10-year-old brat, thank you for putting up with a terrible guide and a driver with a terrible sense of direction. Thank you for making me talk, thank you for opening my heart up. Thank you for coming.

Till we meet again...

It's hard for me to say the things
I want to say sometimes
There's no one here but you and me
And that broken old street light
Lock the doors
We'll leave the world outside
All I've got to give to you
Are these five words tonight

Thank you for loving me
For being my eyes
When I couldn't see
For parting my lips
When I couldn't breathe
Thank you for loving me
Thank you for loving me
I never knew I had a dream
Until that dream was you
When I look into your eyes
The sky's a different blue
Cross my heart I wear no disguise
If I tried, you'd make believe
That you believed my lies

Thank you for loving me
For being my eyes
When I couldn't see
For parting my lips
When I couldn't breathe
Thank you for loving me

You pick me up when I fall down
You ring the bell before they count me out
If I was drowning you would part the sea
And risk your own life to rescue me

Lock the doors
We'll leave the world outside
All I've got to give to you
Are these five words tonight

Thank you for loving me
For being my eyes
When I couldn't see
You parted my lips
When I couldn't breathe
Thank you for loving me
When I couldn't fly
Oh, you gave me wings
You parted my lips
When I couldn't breathe
Thank you for loving me


Thank You For Loving Me - Bon Jovi

[intuition?]

Have you ever experienced a situation where u're thinking of something...and then awhile later it happens?

E.g.

1. Hmm I haven't called her for a long while. Maybe I should today. And then suddenly she calls you to catch up or she (finally) comes online and you have a great long chat.
2. Why hasn't he updated me about that? It's been a couple of weeks now. Then the next day you somehow receive an email about the updates.
3. Oh yeah, I forgot to find out what's the outcome of this. Hope they call me soon, or maybe I'll call them tomorrow. And in the next couple of days, you receive a letter or something regarding the matter.

Coincidences or intuition? Seems like it's happened on many occasions for me. Hmmm. Or maybe in some telephathic way my "wondering about something" got transmitted to the other party and it was time they took action. Haha.

[frisbee fun at Sentosa!]

frisbee gang ----------------------------- this is fun!

"CAP" gang ------------------------------- ok i'm ur height now haha (note flying frisbee)

weee ------------------------------------ frisbee 30 madness

frisbee 30 "grauduate" ------------------------- frisbee shi-fu

frisbee gang complete

Rest of the pics here:
by Suqing_Joycy

[blue monday]

received news early in the morning that our fave prof was gonna transfer out of our dept. apparently cos of the NUH + Med faculty merging, they're restructuring the depts and family health physicians will no longer have a place here. GK seemed distraught when he told us the news, finger (ahem) pointing to one of our dear stat boards, who like every other govt org annouces decisions at the last min and expects everyone to conform without protest. it was a joke that GL thought this only happened in her country. GK was like..my dear..this happens here ALL the time. could see the frustration he had - imagine having to sacrifice ur research to do something u don't wanna focus on, and being pushed into it at that.

on a personal note, he's impacted my stay in the dept for a long time. since i first joined, i was inspired by the way he always has a smile on his face. always the cheery prof who is genuinely interested in his work. even when he was doing field work on our factory visits, u could see his passion - he's not one of those docs who simply says "ok, height, weight, are u healthy",etc. even on our corridoor chit chats he exudes enthusiasm about public health, almost giving me a lecture once about how "the system needs to be changed" (haven't we all heard that one before? yeah, but not all of us actually do something about it, unlike him). when i was having my down periods i looked to him as an example. i remember V (embarrassingly asking on my behalf once) asking him why he was always smiling and laughing, and his response was "What's there not to be grateful for? There's so many good things in life." and he started to list the simplest things like going home to a happy family, being healthy enough to have a great job, etc. Wow. I held those words and constantly reminded myself that yeah, when you're down, look at the littlest things to be happy about.

It was also b'cos of my fondness for him that I joined the Health & Wellness committee. Don't think the previous chairpersons could've matched his standard ;). He likes to do things differently, has a chop-chop way of work which minimises our workload, and our meetings are never full of laughter, and most importantly he shows how grateful he is for our help (knowing how many ppl wanna join this "glam" comm unlike the other more popular safety comm). He even asked DK to treat the comm "for their hard work" (Straits Kitchen next week..yay!) I also sang at the dept gathering partly cos he was in it. Oh and he has one of the better voices I might add!

When he told us at the meeting abt his leaving, everyone became glum, especially AW and me. AW also has a special bond with him...due to some other circumstances. GK's role in their research group is one of the reasons AW is motivated to stay at his (low-paying and stressful-due-to-a-certain-superior..tsk tsk) job.

To GK: thanks for all the encouragement and motivation you've given us. You'll be sadly missed. Hope you manage to drop by next door even when you leave, and as u quoted DK, you're always one of us! Keep in touch and continue to inspire everyone around u!

Didn't realise I was so affected by the news till I realised I was glum the rest of the day. It didn't help that my experiments were not working again. Sigh. As if that wasn't enough, one of my friends was pouting and not wanting to talk to me. By the end of the day my headache cos of lack of sleep on Sun nite turned into a migraine, and I had to resort to taking some meds for it (I'm anti meds even tho I'm a scientist...maybe cos I know how toxic they can be for my dear organs ha). Stayed in darkness the whole night, chatting with MB under the night light and a dimmed screen...even went to the loo with the lights off lol. Thank God it finally disappeared with the powerful new med I got. Yay.

Hopefully things are better to day. At least my head is. :)

[different species of students]

My friend and I noticed this about our grad class:

Local students/students who did undergrad here:

• "Yesterday's lecture was so boring. Don't think I'm attending today's."
• "Is this practical compulsory? If it's not, I'm not going. Waste time lah."
• Zzzzzzz...during lecture.
• Running out of class the moment we're dismissed.

vs

Foreign students/students who are not from this uni:

• "What time is today's lecture? The topic is about XXX right?"
• "The practical must be interesting. Yes I'm going for it."
• Furiously taking down notes every step of the way.
• Running up to the lecturer at every opportunity to clarify doubts.

Million dollar question: Did N.U.S. make us like this? haha.

[When you love her]

I don't usually repost these things, but this is sweet. Got it from my funwall.

When she walks away from you mad
[ Follow her ]

When she stares at your mouth
[ Kiss her ]

When she pushes you or hits you
[ Grab her and dont let go ]

When she starts cussing at you
[ Kiss her and tell her you love her ]

When she's quiet
[ Ask her whats wrong ]

When she ignores you
[ Give her your attention ]

When she pulls away
[ Pull her back ]

When you see her at her worst
[ Tell her she's beautiful ]

When you see her start crying
[ Just hold her and dont say a word ]

When you see her walking
[ Sneak up and hug her waist from behind ]

When she's scared
[ Protect her ]

When she lays her head on your shoulder
[ Tilt her head up and kiss her ]

When she steals your favorite hat
[ Let her keep it and sleep with it for a night]

When she teases you
[ Tease her back and make her laugh ]

When she doesn't answer for a long time
[ reassure her that everything is okay ]

When she looks at you with doubt
[ Back yourself up ]

When she says that she likes you
[ she really does more than you could understand ]

When she grabs at your hands
[ Hold hers and play with her fingers ]

When she bumps into you
[ bump into her back and make her laugh ]

When she tells you a secret
[ keep it safe and untold ]

When she looks at you in your eyes
[ don't look away until she does ]

When she misses you
[ she's hurting inside ]

When you break her heart
[ the pain never really goes away ]

When she says its over
[ she still wants you to be hers ]

When she reposts this bulletin
[ she wants you to read it ]

- Stay on the phone with her even if she's not saying anything.
- When she's mad hug her tight and don't let go
- When she says she's ok dont believe it, talk with her
- because 10 yrs later she'll remember you
- Call her at 12:00am on her birthday to tell her you love her
- Call her before you sleep and after you wake up
- Treat her like she's all that matters to you.
- Tease her and let her tease you back.
- Stay up all night with her when she's sick.
- Watch her favorite movie with her or her favorite show even if you think its stupid.
- Give her the world.
- Let her wear your clothes.
- When she's bored and sad, hang out with her.
- Let her know she's important.
- Kiss her in the pouring rain.
- When she runs up to you crying, the first thing you say is;"Who's ass am I kicking babe?"

[Sometimes you have to live life one letter at a time]

"A young widow discovers that her late husband has left her 10 messages intended to help ease her pain and start a new life."

Yes it sounded like a romantic movie. It was I guess, but somewhere along the movie I couldn't make up my mind whether it was romantic or just heartbreaking and I was crying through almost the whole movie. If I lost my husband 50 years too early, or even when I'm old and shrivelled with 10 grandchildren and ready to say goodbye to the world, the pain would be so great; I don't know if I'd want constant reminders of him through letters he left behind.

I loved the portrayal of the intimate bond the couple shared. One which was so great that even after their arguments they patched up immediately. Reminds me of what my aunt said, never go to sleep without patching up a quarrel first...a useful reminder. The first 10 mins resonated with me because it was similar to a conversation I had with MB. Worrying about our future, whether we'd reach a stagnation in our r'ship with years to come. In fact, he was the one who encouraged me to watch the movie because of the first 20 mins he watched. I'm glad I did, cos now I know I'm not the only one who worries about such issues lol.

It must've been difficult doing what Gerry did - planning out Holly's "recovery" process at the right time with the right support around her. What I loved best was his loving words and his letters that were crafted so perfectly to depict how intimately he knew her. Oh lovely. Those scenes were the good tear jerkers. The not so good tear jerkers were when Gerry planned things that got Holly reminded of their past together and the moments when she was so lonely she'd "feel" Gerry around in her apartment, only (for the audience) to realise he wasn't really there. The former reaffirms my believe that break-ups should be clean - no more contact so that there's no more remnant feelings or at least no temptation to fall back into a relationship that wasn't working out well in the first place. Easier said than done I suppose, especially when you think of the wonderful moments you spent with that special someone.

MB has promised me he won't leave me 50 years too soon. I'll be keeping ur word to it. I wouldn't be able to bear it.

And an important reminder from the movie, tell the one you love how much you feel for him/her before it's too late, literally.

P.S. I Love You

[we hope you dance]

I never thought I'd have the gut to do this. But today is a historical day because I gathered up the courage to sing (or at least attend the rehearsal) for our department's MPH Nite (some celebration for the Masters of Public Health students for completing their coursework..how privileged...haha). I got "volunteered" (yeah, sabo-ed more like) by my dear AW who told GK that I sang well during our karaoke night pre-new year. So I was like..ok..I'll attend the rehearsal and see how it goes. And suddenly we received an email saying GK's wife who's a choral conductor will be "auditioning" us to see which parts of the song suited our voices better. Yikes! I thought it was gonna be a simple affair.

I almost backed out after getting that email...using classes as an excuse (yeah, like I'd choose lessons over having fun..lol). But I went ahead anyway, and it turned out great. Thank goodness Sz didn't make us sing individually..we "auditioned" as a group. Ha. It was a bumpy start getting used to the guitar and keyboard accompaniment which was so different from the original song I was practicing on. By the end of the day, we were even singing in different melodies. Woohoo. I even got my own few solo lines lol. I think I was doing fine...till prof came along. As if his presence wasn't nerve wrecking enough, he was going "Wow Saf you're singing huh? Not bad. Must hear you sing. Good good." with GK lauding along. No pressure at all.

Wasn't surprised I goofed up the first round after prof came by. It'll get better...I hope. We'll have 2 more practices....extremely few for the novices that we are. But now I'm actually looking forward to MPH Nite. Heh ;)

P.S. Department head DK just walked by my cubicle and commented that "Wow Saf you can sing very well. You have a beautiful voice." I was too stunned to say something intelligent...I think I went like err...thanks... Lol. Ok, shall stop blowing my own horn already. Haha.

Get inspired ya'll

I HOPE YOU DANCE
By: Lee Ann Womack

I hope you never lose your sense of wonder
You get your fill to eat but always keep that hunger
May you never take one single breath for granted
God forbid love ever leave you empty handed
I hope you still feel small when you stand beside the ocean
Whenever one door closes I hope one more opens
Promise me that you'll give fate the fighting chance
And when you get the choice to sit it out or dance

I hope you dance
I hope you dance

I hope you never fear those mountains in the distance
Never settle for the path of least resistance
Living might mean taking chances but they're worth taking
Lovin' might be a mistake but it's worth making
Don't let some hell bent heart leave you bitter
When you come close to selling out reconsider
Give the heavens above more than just a passing glance
And when you get the choice to sit it out or dance

I hope you dance
(Time is a wheel in constant motion always)
I hope you dance
(Rolling us along)
I hope you dance
(Tell me who wants to look back on their years and wonder)
I hope you dance
(Where those years have gone)

I hope you still feel small when you stand by the ocean
Whenever one door closes I hope one more opens
Promise me that you'll give faith the fighting chance
And when you get the choice to sit it out or dance

Dance
I hope you dance
I hope you dance
(Time is a wheel in constant motion always)
I hope you dance
(Rolling us along)
I hope you dance
(Tell me who wants to look back on their years and wonder)
I hope you dance
(Where those years have gone)
(Tell me who wants to look back on their years and wonder)
I hope you dance
(Where those years have gone)

[one word: adorable]

[on the hot air balloon]

[yummy yummy belly]

[egyptian dance]

[egyptian music]

[reflections]

1. When you're down, you can't expect everyone to understand you. And you can't expect anyone to understand you completely. Only you understand yourself best.
2. Be your own parent, especially when you have invisible parents.
3. There's no time like the present, so forget about the past. Yes your past made you who you are today, but if it isn't doing you much good, discard your past.
4. Focus on the people who are there for you, doesn't matter if they aren't family. Whatever it is, they care and they show they care. That's what's important.
5. When you learn to trust yourself, you start to trust others more.
6. Love yourself. You're the most important person in your life.
7. Do things to pamper yourself. Reward yourself, even when there's no special occasion. Reward yourself just for being yourself.
8. Stay away from people who bring you down, people who make you feel miserable and people who bring you down. It's ok to deviate - to those around you who make you feel good.
9. Look on the positive side of things. Be positive, think positive.
10. Have faith that He puts you through tests for a reason. The reason may not be clear when you feel that you're in the deepest of shit, but there is always something good to be learnt out of life's lessons.

[back from Egypt]

Yes, I've finally been to the land of the pyramids! Land of culture and ancient wonders. Another red dot on my map, and on the African continent..so that only leaves me South America to visit..haha. Actually, I'm still undecided...Egypt is more like a middle eastern country on the wrong continent...so maybe I still need to make that trip to South Africa..lol.

We accomplished a lot, starting from Cairo and sailing down south and making our way up from Aswan to Luxor and back to Cairo. I've been waiting to settle down for a few days before writing, so that my getting sick on the trip wouldn't make me write bad remarks about it. But then again, I don't think there was much to complain about, even my dad (and that's huge, coming from him), said it was well planned and we chose the right agency. Wee! One of the main things that made it so enjoyable was that we had a really great guide. Despite our initial worries about him being too young (haha..think total opposite of old post-retirement ah peks who give tours in SEA), he did a great job at every point along the trip. Drowned us with lots of info and entertained us too while we were bored..heh.

The pyramids were somehow not as enthralling as I imagined them to be. Yes they were majestic, something gigantic created with such early technology, mostly manpower. But to me, they were not more than that - structures towering into the sky. I think the Taj impressed me more. Perhaps I'm into natural wonders more. The camel ride in the desert with the pyramids in the background were worth the experience though, I'm glad I did it even though I had reservations about whether the camel would be able to take my weight lol. Our skillfull camel boy even took brilliant photos of us at a stop - no wonder he's in the business ;).

Our cruise was fantastic - true to what Ahmed said. First class cabins with first class food and service. The only complain was that on the third day we were purely sailing so there wasn't much to do - we were literally eating and sleeping. I finished my Dan Brown book in a day and was looking for something else to do. Luckily they had belly dancing to occupy us that night, something I didn't wanna miss for sure ;). The temple ruins and the wonderful scenery along the Nile were more captivating than the pyramids. My faves were Karnak and Philae Temple. Karnak because it was huge and had diverse architecture and Philae because it was on an offshore island where the terrain was lovely, the boatride there itself was a charm. There was a heavenly moment I spent with Sakura when we watched the sun set from the sundeck of the ship. The scenery was just WOW, and with the sunlight reflecting off the rocky moutains, Mashallah, it was just a sight to revel in. Who can deny God's creation when you're surrounded by such beauty. Wow.

I got sick after inhaling too much cigarrete smoke on the ship unfortunately (another reason why I love the ban in smoking in public places here...yay). It didn't help that certain people (ahem) insisted on turning on the aircon at night..so my last couple of days in Cairo were a little miserable. It started with a horrible sore throat, puking on the train back to Cairo, and a full blown asthma attack after that. I couldn't go on the last day of sightseeing in Cairo...which meant that I couldn't do shopping. Sobs. Sakura didn't have a very good experience at the bazaar either..too bad. The half day we had left before flying off..we went to visit Muhammad Ali mosque, refreshing after the half dozen ancient temples we visited.

Next destination: Greece for honeymoon. hahaha.

Egypt pics here.

[on resolutions and such]

Another sore topic for me cos I never keep the resolutions I make (who really does anyway, heh). But I'm resolved to keeping a couple of resolutions this year:

1. Eat (healthy), drink (healthy) and be merry (healthily).
2. Savvvveeeeee.
3. Love myself.

So if any of u catch me
1) eating unhealthy stuff
2) spending countless $$ on things I don't really need
3) hating myself

STOP ME PLEASE! Lol. :P

[2008 beckons]

I'm not big about the new year - neither about reflecting on what's been done nor celebrating the countdown. But after reading a few friends' entries, I began reflecting on my own year...and I must say 2007 was filled with lots of trials and difficult periods, but of course, it had its fair share of wonderful moments which I cherish. Thanks to my family for their support, close friends who were there for me when I needed a shoulder to cry on most, and everyone who made my year meaningful. I grew a lot as a person this last year and I'd like to think this is a new and improved me. There's probably a long way to go, but I'm glad I'm closer to getting there! =)

Here's wishing everyone a very happy 2008 and may your year be filled with excitement and adventures.

I'm looking forward to 2009 already. Haha. ;)

[I'm addictive ;)]

Addictive content in my personality is 74%

Beware!!! people easily get addicted to me

Lets101 Quizzes - Quizzes for Fun

[Ajab Si/Strange]

My fave song at the moment...from Om Shanti Om (sharukh khan..drool...)




Aankho mein teri ajab si ajab si adayein hain
In your eyes there is a strange beauty
Aankho mein teri ajab si ajab si adayein hain
Dil ko banade jo patange saansein yeh teri woh hawaien hai
Makes my heart fly like a kite, these are your breaths, your wind
Aankho mein teri ajab si ajab si adayein hain
Aankho mein teri ajab si ajab si adayein hain
Dil ko banade jo patange saansein yeh teri who hawaien hai

Aaee aisi raat hai jo bohot khushnaseeb hai
A very lucky night has come for me
Chaahe jise door se duniya woh mere kareeb hai
Even if she’s far from the world she’s close to me
Kitna kuch kehna hai phir bhi hai dil mein hai sawaal kaheen
So much to say yet the heart has so many questions
Sapno mein jo roz kahaa hai woh phir se kahoon ya naheen
What I said everyday in my dreams, should I say it again or not
Aankho mein teri ajab si ajab si adayein hain
Aankho mein teri ajab si ajab si adayein hain
Dil ko banade jo patange saansein yeh teri who hawaien hai

Tere saath saath aisa koi noor aaya hai
With you comes this amazing light
Chand teri roshni ka halka sa ik saaya hai
The moon is just a small part of your light
Teri nazron ne dil ka kiya jo hashar asar yeh huwa
Your look made such a mess of me
Ab in mein hi doob ke ho jaoon paar yehi hai dua
Now my prayer is that I want to drown and come to shore in your eyes
Aankho mein teri ajab si ajab si adayein hain
Aankho mein teri ajab si ajab si adayein hain
Dil ko banade jo patange saansein yeh teri who hawaien hai

[back from the land of the free]

My poster and closing dinner at the Government House

Reclining Buddha, Floating Market, Thai bamboo dance


Ayuthaya ruins, Flo and the chedi, our exploded luggage.

Yay, my Bangkok photos are finally ready! Took me almost a week to seive through them, then upload and caption them. Phew..a lot of work..and a lot of photos, for just a week there, and only 3 days of sightseeing. Well, can't expect no less from the photo princess and her sidekick who has a new cam. Haha.

This trip was much better than the last one (in 2005?) for several reasons:
1. I got to fly on SQ..god bless NUS lol.
2. The conference was actually good. Didn't doze off like I expected I would.
3. There was much less shopping, much more sightseeing, which is what I like on a trip.
4. Got to know my prof (and his wife) better...even went shopping with him, where he taught/motivated me how to bargain. I term it "life skills" haha.
5. Shopping was fun! Saw the shopping side of Flo like never before...till we had to buy 2 extra bags for out loot :P
6. I didn't get bronchitis at the end of the trip. Big relieve! Except for a lil tummy upset and chapped lips, I was fine..yay.

And some things I learnt from this trip:
1) Latest way of note taking is snapping photos of the powerpoint slides on the big screen...was getting annoyed with some ppl doing that (very distracting..duh)..then I realised my own prof does that. Gah.

2) The Thais bow a lot - it's not just a Jap thing. Ha. Everytime the Princess entered the room, everyone had to stand, and everytime someone wanted to leave (even if they were sitting behind the princess), they'd bow before making their way out.

3) Princesses can do what they want - she left before a speaker was finished, making everyone stand and disrupt the speaker in mid-sentence. I think he looked pissed..haha.

4) Many young Muslims (more visibly the hijab clad ladies) doing research - very refreshing compared to the news we always hear about how violent Southern Thai Muslims are. =)

5) The Thais have a lucky colour for everyday of the week! It first started of when we noticed a LOT of people wearing red on Sun at the airport, then yellow on Mon. We were trying to take note of all the days..but ended up not being able to follow through. So according to our tour guide, the scheme is:

• Monday - Yellow (also the King's colour since he was born on a Mon - you're more likely to see the yellow "uniform" more prominently than other colours)
• Tuesday - Pink
• Wednesday - Green
• Thursday - Orange
• Friday - Blue
• Saturday - Purple
• Sunday - Red

I want Saturday to be my day! Haha.

[Learning to Trust]

Learning To Trust

Go softly here, let me lead the way,
so shadows can not hide behind this door,
for skepticism is my greatest foe,
yet hope forever, forces me to stay.

Be gentle now so I can learn to trust;
betrayal comes in colors of the night.
My soul desires a warm and loving touch;
please do not say you love me if it's lust.

With just a touch, my secret is revealed;
a traitor's body, defies my decree.
Before this night my spirit was concealed.
Malice enslaved, now passion sets me free.

Suspicion is the only truth I know;
Please close the door behind you when you go.

~ Susan Maree ~

[happy birthday blueberry!]

yummy dessert

the happy b'day girl


min n me

this is really late...but happy birthday mel! hee =)

[good Deepavali for me]

I just remembered I forgot to wish my Indian friends Happy Deepavali..so here u go..Happy Deepavali. Heh..better late than never right? :P

Anyway, I finally had my lazy day. Yay. On Wed nite I had tuition with a new student, at a really ulu place in Jurong West. Didn't know student hostels existed there (they're actually HDB flats I think)...there was Sheng Siong there, and even life, for such a seemingly deserted part of Singapore. I didn't even have an address, just directions to get there. Was relieved I managed to find the place even though I was 20 mins late heh. After tuition, I wanted to call a cab but I didn't even know where exactly I was so that was impossible. I was pretty infuriated, cos after waiting so long for a vacant cab, some bunch of !*&#@! cut queue and took my cab...grrr. Luckily Flo was sleeping over and since she was on the way to Clementi in a cab, she got her cab driver to rescue me. Wee, what would I do without her. =)

We watched Good Luck Chuck...first time seeing Jessica Alba in a romantic comedy role. The movie was alright, kinda predictable but sweet, though I don't think the role suited her...she should stick to hot adventurous roles like Dark Angel or Invisible Woman. HAWT. Then saw a couple of really weird movies which flo had..gosh..they made me have weird dreams that night. Lol. Woke up late yest which was really really good. Felt very rested. Flo helped me cook nasi lemak..for my first try, I must say it was pretty good ;). We watched Final Destination 3 after that (finally completed the trilogy) and more weird movies...but I fell asleep halfway. I think it was cos I was too comfy lying on Flo. Haha. So yeah, I got lots of rest.

In the evening, when I finally decided to open my eyes, we went for a drive to my student's area so that I could familiarise with it. After having some satay there, we headed home..and suddenly i was dreading going back to work. ZZZ. I wanna be a tai-tai. Send me a rich husband please. Heh.

[here's to 3 years and more]

Happy birthday to you.
Happy birthday to you.
Happy birthday to Florence,
Happy birthday to you!

And the birthday girl turns 26 on 3rd Nov 2007. Oops, am I not supposed to reveal her age? Ok, she's 21. Haha. As the tradition goes, celebration almost always equals to eating, so on Friday night we went to Royal Plaza to have a buffet dinner at Carousel. Been wanting to try the food there since they had their makeover, and I must say, I wasn't disappointed. The ambience of the place was much cooler than before, very trendy. The food was good as well - variety was huge (International cuisine)...and the highlight, for me at least, was DESSERT. Yum yum. The pastries were good and the chocolate fondue was mmmmm. Too bad we were stuffed pretty fast, didn't gulp down that much food..but ok lah, I think we ate to meet the cost of the buffet..haha. The only thing that was ridiculous was the $11 fruit juice which I'm never gonna order again. I snapped loads of pics of the b'day girl..shall put them up when they're ready.

Next day was mostly lazing in at the b'day girl's place...waking up late and spending the day doing brainless things like watching movie after movie. Caught two sequels of Final Destination...was surprised I actually remembered the plot. Still remember watching it with my JC friends..the twins, Ina, and the Mr-Koh-crazy girl. Haha. Yep, my Angklung gang..hmm..nostalgic.

In the evening we headed down to the Esplanade to catch Chitty Chitty Bang Bang. We were a lil early, so I annoyed Flo a lil more with more pics. haha. Wanna make use of my cam as much as possible. The musical was exciting! The plot was..well..meant for kids I guess...and the songs weren't particularly catchy. But the special effects, dancing and costumes were great. I loved it when the car floated..and even flew! Weee!!! We were expecting it to "fly" (slightly) above the audience, but too bad it didn't (Peter Pan still wins big time on that point!). The car with its wings n all against the starry backdrop looked cool anyway...made me wanna get up on the car with them heh. Me want a flying car....or a magical one just like Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang...

Still energised after the show (and full from dinner), we watched Don Juan Demarco back at flo's. Johnny Depp was ultimate droolable material. Ahh..I wish I were one of his conquests. I'd have to be just one of the thousands of gals he's mesmerised, but at least I'd get to be kissed by him. Lol. We slept in again on Sun morn, then went to Sim Lim to buy the b'day girl a prezzie. Being the very efficient shopper she is, we settled on the first within-price-range camera we found - a Canon Powershot A550. For the price we paid, I think it was a fantastic deal...even a discounted 2GB SD card and a rechargeable batteries kit were thrown in. Oh and not forgetting the free screen protector. I love discounts. Haha. We had lunch at Banana Leaf Apollo restaurant...food was spicily good as usual. Ahh..can never have enough of those masala prawns... After getting a good deal at M1 on a prepaid card - which came with a free gift (I chose a toaster) and a spin-the-wheel gift (I won an electric toothbrush..was eyeing it even as I was queueing hee), we came to my place to chill.

At about dinner time, uncle dolah called to ask us if we wanted to go out for dinner...he missed flo and wanted to give her a bday kiss lol. We had a great time, glad sakura peeled away from her A-level mugging to join us. After a sumptuous dinner at our usual haunt, we went over to Swenson's for ice cream. We had lots n lots of ice cream; even an ice cream cake for the b'day girl. She looked happy. Heh =) Glad she felt loved; she was especially touched that people who are not her family were so eager to celebrate her special day with her. We love u Flo! :)

Phew, and that about sums it up. Hope the b'day girl had a fantastic time. **Muaks**

[freakin' annoying taxi driver]

Had about the worst experience with a cab driver so far yesterday. Way worse than being cheated my money for taking weird longer routes. This guy appeared nice at first - asking sweetly which preferred route I have. Ever had one of those cabbies with the sign: "Dear Passenger, please let me know your preferred route and please alert me beforehand if you want to turn or alight at a certain place."? Good I thought; at least no misunderstandings over why he took a longer route, etc. I've even seen a cabby with a footnote "please do not give a $50 dollar note as I may not have change" - fair enough, at least there was a warning.

Throughout the drive, this fella was ramming the engine and cursing at drivers who were either slow, blocking his way, or one thing or another. Well, typical aggressive driver I thought. Then came the horrible part. I reached my destination and took out a $50 note to pay. He turned around immediately and said I just started my shift so I don't have change. Like I was born yesterday - if you've just started your shift all the more you should bring change in case of a big note...ever heard of preparedness?? So I told him nicely that I didn't have change. Then he suddenly gruntled on and on about "I don't care you have to give me small change or else I'll drive you somewhere else to get change". I'm like "hey, I really don't have change", while digging in my bag looking for enough small notes which I didn't have. So he suggested I pay by credit card or NETS but I said I didn't want to cos there's an extra charge. That's when things got worse - he said he'd drive me off to the nearest petrol station, get his money and not bring me back to my destination. Like wtf. He should've told me at pick up that he didn't have change, I would've gladly taken another cab. When I told him that, I got another nagging about how passengers should do the asking, don't take the cab drivers for granted etc etc.

By that time there was a queue forming at the pickup point and the cars behind started honking. He thought by opening his window and flashing the $50 note ppl would understand...I'm glad they continued honking at him. Even the security guard was asking him to move off but he threatened me (with the meter still on) that he'd drive off some other place and leave me there after taking his fare. I called Flo so that she could come pay for me. But in the end I just wanted my money back and to get out of the cab (plus not anger the other vehicles), so I paid by NETS anyway. Idiotic cabbie said "don't worry, I'm not so hardup about the surcharge - afterall it goes to the company not me...u shouldn't be so stingy.." blah blah. So the moment he swiped my card, I got out of the cab adding, "Well, ur aggression is not gonna get u anywhere!" and slammed the door and walked off. He actually said "Thank you". Grrr. When I got out it was so embarrassing cos ppl at the lobby were staring at my cab. I turned around to look at the number plate, muttered the F word under my breathe, got a sympathetic nod from the security guard and stormed into the building. Oh yeah, that reminds me - I should write in to Comfort. And if you happen to flag down SHC 1503 Z, either avoid the idiot, or make sure u have plenty of small notes to pay for ur ride. Gah.

When I was done with my errand and was walking out of the building, the security guard said "bye" with a wide smile. I said bye but was a bit confused why he was so friendly. Maybe he was one of them who saw the incident. Haha. Well, can't remember, was too flustered. Luckily I had Flo to comfort me. Thanks sweetie :P

[exciting weekend]

I don't feel rested, but I'm not complaining. Had loads of fun this weekend. Started out with Fri night at East Coast Park with Flo. Finally saw what the cable ski park thingy was about. Looked like really exciting - was almost tempted to try it there n then. Too bad wasn't in the right gear...must go soon! We sat at the beach, drawed in the aroma of some noisy kids' bbq, and enjoyed the sounds of the waves crashing in on the beach at high tide (I sound like I'm writing a travel review lol). It was soothing to just sit there and stare into nothingness (not exactly: my complain abt east coast..and many sg beaches..is that there's always ships destroying the horizon!), talking out things that were causing knots in our lives.

Slept in on Sat morn and that was gooooooooood lol. Been wanting to do that since..hmm...last Wed (mid week blues?) Woke up, cooked, spent a couple of hours online then went off to meet cordelia, ruth n gil for dinner. They met a lil earlier but I wanted to laze a little at home first :P. We waited senselessly long at Swenson's, only to be disappointed with the food. It's not the first time that outlet got me disgruntled...they should really do something about it. After dinner we had a longgggggg chat at Coffee Club, where I was suddenly inspired to reveal deep dark secrets about myself. Thanks gals for being supportive. Ur loving words give me encouragement to heal more =)

On Sunday, got up early and tai-tai Flo picked me up to go to the Esplanade. Walked around a dead Esplanade and Marina Sq, but it was good cos I hate crowds. Bought myself a blouse from Dorothy Perkins..yay. Later on we had lunch (a week early) with her family to celebrate her b'day at Mirchi Restaurant. The decor was fantastic (except that the ac cld've been cooler), and the variety was excellent. I enjoyed the small feast too - but it was no big deal for a 5-star restaurant...can get the same at Apolo Banana Leaf at Little India for half the price..haha. After lunch we did a lil shopping, where Flo frightened her bro and me with the prices of things she wanted to buy lol. She couldn't find the Gucci wallet she wanted, so we just headed home, esp since her bro needed his baby nap..haha. Cute.

We went to Auntie's house so that I could give them the gifts from Bahrain...dresses for the ladies and perfume for uncle. We watched transformers and it was awesome! I wasn't interested when it came out in the cinemas, but now I think I've been converted. The special effects were fantastic..and I love it when they transform. My fave is Bumblebee...am still wishing my dad will buy me a car that will convert into a cool chevvy. Keep dreaming, girl. I was still stuffed from lunch..but the rest were hungry so we went to Teck Whye for dinner. Had another round of sinful and simple yet delicious food. They dropped me off at my place..but when I went up, I got a call saying they wanted to come up as well, since it's been ages since they visited us. The "twins" did their usual long-lost-brothers catching up while the girls huddled together in my humble abode and I later declared it my unofficial room-warming party. Yay! Lol. Too bad my room wasn't as need as it should've been...tsk tsk. :P

So after that busy weekend, maybe I should catch up on sleep tonight. Uhuh..good idea...

[back from bahrain]

A week that zoomed by so fast. Enjoyed every minute of it. Meeting was sweet, parting was tough. Till we meet again...

More Bahrain photos

Seems that ppl don't know where Bahrain is, other than that it's in the Middle East. Well here's a map and more info haha (on the East of Saudi Arabia):

[huggies]

12 hugs in 2 days...yay!

[Innocent Like Drew]

What's Your Celebrity Smile Style?

My Result: Innocent Like Drew

While we'd never believe she's Never Been Kissed, Drew is sweet and innocent smile is what makes so many women want to be her, and so many men want to be with her. Like Drew, you have a sparkling personality that can light up a room (or a movie set) the moment you walk into it. Accompanied by an easy-going manner, your charming nature tells people that you are trustworthy and ready for a good time.


You love to laugh about anything — jokes, pranks, yourself — and you prefer to maintain a childlike sense of wonder and amusement about the world. Even when things don't go your way, your positive attitude always helps you find the bright side of things. Keep on smiling!

Take this test >

[me want hugs]

Need I say more? Check out the bottom of my chat column. =)


psst. i wasn't hugging myself. those 5 were just a test run. :P
got the link from a random gay boy's blog i stumbled upon heh. cute.

[bored]

i was bored at work today, so i did this.

while I'm at it...there's an egghead on my desk....

3 more hours to go. tick tick tick.

[Thee passes by in a flash again]

Ramadhan's coming to an end. 9 more days. As always, the beginning is slow, and then before you know it, it's the last 10 most precious days. Inshallah my Muslim friends will receive blessings of the Night of Power (Lailatul Qadr).

[Lo! We revealed it on the Night of Power.

Ah, what will convey unto thee what the Night of Power is?

The Night of Power is better than a thousand months.

The angels and the Spirit descend therein, by the permission of their Lord, with all decrees.

(That night is) Peace until the rising of the dawn.]

~Al-Qadr 97:1–5~

This Ramadhan was much better for me compared to last. As a family, dad was less grumpy about us spending time with mum (not that we spent much time with her, unfortunately). And he's not going on about how we're gonna abandon him on Hari Raya - well, at least not yet. I guess if I cook good food then he'll be happy lol. Sis improved as well...no more needing to drag her out of bed (literally!). Maybe it's the stress of her studying making her a lighter sleeper, maybe she decided to cooperate this year. Whatever the reason, we're happy haha. On a personal level, I've been paying more attention to prayers; keeping time and not rushing through them. I actually miss the days that mum would drag us out of bed and force us to pray the special prayers with her to get most out of this blessed month. I used to hate it, but now I'm longing for it again. Funny, you miss the things that are not there even though you took them for granted before. I've also been trying to spend more time at home during break fast, as I told my sis...I wanted to be "more domesticated". And they've been putting up being my guinea pigs for my cooking, so all's well. Heh.

May Allah grant us forgiveness and remove all our past sins, for He is the Most Gracious, Most Merciful. Amin.

P.S. Looking forward to Eid cos that's also when I'll be leaving for my trip. hehe. ;)

[a thousand views]

Hurray to a thousand (and some) views. Hope I'll catch the number 2000 next time heh.

[eXpReSSiVe]

Saf, your personality is shaped by your Expressive nature.

Your expressiveness makes it easy for you to explore life's possibilities without feeling too hemmed in by obligations. You probably enjoy sudden bursts of spontaneity and tend to live in the moment. Extremely structured environments, situations, or people are likely to make you feel uncomfortable because you generally gravitate toward flexibility and openness.

What Shapes Your Personality

Hmmm...me expressive?