live life

It’s 01 Nov 2010.
That time of the year for reflection again.
And for those more discipline, goals setting perhaps as well.

Decided to read my entries since Jan for a recap of this seemingly fast year that passed me by.

I’ve…
Travelled to HK, Europe, Phuket.
Attended a zillion weddings.
Made 2 major changes in my life.
Wrote a song.
Became an amateur baker.
Experienced the drama of my lifetime yet.
Started a travel business.
Saw my little sis being all grown up into an OL!
Moving house of grandparents.

Somewhere within me, I wanted to say this seem to be a year of losses more than gains. Yet as I looked back..there were also many things that I’ve gained too. So I must say it’s been a good year..and with 2 more months to go, I believe it’ll a great year : ).

Saw this on AR Bernard’s FB.
“Even though good people may be bothered by trouble seven times, they are never defeated.” – Proverbs 24:16
If you want to be happy, consistently happy, you must learn how to deal with failure.  Why?  Because all of us face setbacks from time to time – those occasional failures are simply the price we pay for being dues-paying members of the human race.
Mary Pickford said, “This thing we call ‘failure’ is not falling down, but staying down.”  She might well have added that every time we get back up, we build character.

At times in my wildest imagination, I’ll picture someone shouting into my ear: “GET UP!! GET UP!! GET UP!!”…Just like Sue Sylvester in Glee hahaha
But no..that’s not His style. He lets you sit, till both you & Him know you’re ready : ).

In a year where there’s a mix of losses & gains, it’s important to focus on the right things in life. What we need, is not to be happy..but to learn to be consistently happy.

Thank you, for living life with me : ).

defender

Today, I caught myself smiling while praising Him : ).
It’s been a while since I felt like that.
I had a flashback of the younger days..when I own only a set of formal clothes. I still remember, it’s a purple shirt & grey pants. Hahaha and I’ll wear it for choir almost every week..because we had to be in formal wear then. Despite the sillyness of it..there was so much joy & anticipation.

And then there was worship, a tug of my heart as we sang..
“…You are the strength for those in need,
You are defender of the weak,
You are everything we need,
You are our God..”
He seemed to be drawing me deeper & deeper..over these past few weeks, I felt that familiar pull of my heart back in the younger days.
He is the defender of the weak, my defender.
There are times in my life when I’ll think I know it all, head growing a little too big for myself. That’s when He’ll come with a few hard knocks to let me know how far from perfection and vulnerable I am. To remind again that He is my defender, not me.

I love what was said today. That He never forgets.
I have faith that He doesn’t : ).

Got a sweet surprise from a dear old friend today : )).
Sexy got me an album by ALM, and it was kinda hilarious how she told me she loved the songs in it because they sounded like songs by Westlife!! Hahhaah

With my bday just around the corner, though there’s lesser peeps celebrating my bday this year..yet i’m deeply touched by the effort they took just to spend time with me. Setting aside time from their busyness, or taking leave just for a bday. They seem to be more excited than me hahah..I’m blessed.
People say as you grow, friends get lesser but good friends stick through your lifetime. If so, I’m more than contended with the family & dear friends in my life : )

On a random note..my sis’ name is eniamrahc when spelled backwards. That’s what i call her nowadays, that is, when i do remember how to pronounce it. Like an Egyptian name or something, to match her chee chee hair (inside joke) hahhahhaha ; )

More joy, more love, more trust, everyday.

see Paris first

Suppose that what you fear
could be trapped
and held in Paris.
Then you would have
the courage to go
everywhere in the world.
All the directions of the compass
open to you,
except the degrees east or west
of true north
that lead to Paris.
Still, you wouldn’t dare
put your toes smack dab on the city limit line.
You’re not really willing to stand on a mountainside
miles away,
and watch the Paris lights
come up at night.
Just to be on the safe side,
you decide to stay completely out of France.
But then danger
seems too close
even to those boundaries,
and you feel the timid part of you
covering the whole globe again.
You need the kind of friend
who learns your secret and says,
“See Paris first.”

Fearing Paris
Marchsa Truman Cooper

Trust

Read this in a book recently..

 “..this cautionary fable about a great saint surrounded by his devotees. For hours a day, the saint & his followers would mediate on God. But the only problem was this annoying cat who would bother everyone during meditation. So the saint, tied the cat to a pole for a few hours daily, only during meditation, so as to not disturb anyone. This became a habit, but as years passed, the habit hardened into religious ritual. Nobody could meditate unless the cat was tied. Then one day the cat died. The followers were panic-stricken – how could they meditate now?”

The fable, whether true or false, does brings some sort of sense.

In our walk with God, have we..because over time & habit, became religious. That when change comes, we fail to recognize it..or worse, rebuke it.
Have we become what some might say..the blind leading the blind?
Have we become so comfortable, we stopped thinking for ourselves?
Have we crossed over the fine line of relationship vs religion, without even realizing it?
Have we then, because of religion..become quick to judge & criticize, instead of showing love & understanding first?

So many people wished to be understood. But yet we need to understand 1st, before being understood.
Something which I’ve learnt recently.

There’ve been debates over the years on grace, mercy, law, etc.
When did something that seem so simple become so complicated?

Things that happened in the recent months, made me realized how important it is to stay true & close to the word of God.
In Him, I can & will trust.

Yet, trust is the essence of any relationship.
It is true when John C. Maxwell said…trust everyone, until they give you a reason not to.

school of life

How time flies. In a blink of an eye, a month has passed and I’m back in Singapore.

What more can I ask for, touring Europe for a month and experiencing life & culture in 5 different countries. This is something that money nor a photograph can ever capture.

I love London for its..
– livability. It’s almost like Singapore, so easy to converse and travel around.
– shopping!! Endless shops of Zara, Topshop, H&M, etc at cheaper rates than in S’pore..indeed best place to shop in Europe!
– doing our laundry for the 1st time! hahah
– foooood!

I love Paris for its…
– Disneyland..everybody loves disneyland!!
– “tuk tuk” ride up to Trocadero to view Eiffel Tower
– tasty delicious choc & banana crepes!
– the discovery of my Fanta drink : )
– Eiffel Tower & Louvre museum, simply stunning! 

I love Germany for its..
– curry sausages and authentic German food…niceee!
– roadtrip!! Driving was such an exciting adventure from Frankfurt to Munich!!
– Dachan concentration camp brought back memories from Israel
– coop supermarkets
– zoon von! (to your happiness)

I love Switzerland for its..
– Linmatquai (a Zurich river)
– far far away choc factory : )
– the words-cannot-describe scenery

I love Italy for its..
– the Last Supper painting
– Gondola ride on Venice Canal!!
– Sleeping in an “attic” hahahha
– art & culture atmosphere
– leaning tower of Pisa was, really leaning!
– beautiful night lights at Piazzale Michelangelo
– buying my 1st LV bag
– Vatican City and Sistine Chapel

It was a great trip all in all, and most imptly..it helped me to open my eyes to certain things.

We’re all attending the school of life, and I hope my grades will do my Father proud.

Que vous voyez dans un mois

THE day is finally here…WOOOHOOO!!!!

Be flying off tonight…and in 24hours time, I’ll be in a totally different environment & part of world all together. I love the excitement of experiencing & discovering something new!!

Time flies faster than I even know it. But hope in the 1 month that we’re there, time will come to a standstill! Hahaha

I feel so so so thankful, and indeed I’m a blessed child of God : ).

Que vous voyez dans un mois!

Counts, counted

Went for S3 this morning, and as we were worshipping..quieting down entering into the 2nd song, this is the part I love most. Where the whole church choir together the lyrics of the song, accompanied only by the notes of the piano.

I found peace and God in my heart at that moment.

The svc ended with this verse Ps 61:1-2, indeed..somethings happen for a reason, and when it’s beyond reason..I can only trust for Him to lead me to the rock higher than I.

After that, met up with Jonana for my 5th steamboat in 2 weeks!! Hahaha I think I’ve just broke my old record and..loving it!
With just about a week or so to Europe, I’m busy meeting up with diff peeps and baking pre-birthday cakes for July babies! Oh gosh..and there’s so many!!

Just realized that baking is like driving.
When you’re learning how to drive, you have your 4 poles to assist you. After getting your license, you become completely lost with the 4 poles in the real world.
Baking, is like that. When learning to bake, you have your faithful teachers around to guide you. After the course, you become completely lost!!
Oh well..I guess the way to learn is through making mistakes and errors anyway : ).

With only 1 week left in my “Sabbath” month, perhaps I’m having more thoughts in my mind now..believing that I’ll be ready to ROLL when back from Europe.

Not everything in life that counts can be counted.

Love hate relationship

It’s been almost half a month into my Sabbath month..and I got to say, I’m really enjoying it thus far : ).

It’s been a while since I last had so much time spend with Char, and it was great fun learning baking with her, hunting for equipment and ingredients, planning for our Wan Empire, watching her do her “chee chee” dance! etc. Hahah..i feel very blessed to have a sister like her in my life. And it makes me very sure that when I have my kids, I’ll definitely wanna have more than 1 child…it’s always nice to have siblings growing up together!

She’s gonna graduate soon next Tuesday, am so very proud of her. In fact, she was the only one who went to JC, entered the local U..and has made her family very proud : ). There is much substance inside this little black sister of mine! Hahahha
Wahsei..she’ll beam with joy on her face if she reads this lor! Hahahha…yes i know you will sistaar!
Congrats to Char, Chubbs and Cindy Moy!

On a more serious note, been busy planning for my own business. I have to say, it’s really not easy..at times, it seems almost daunting. Yet, every step is a learning curve..a new experience. Success or failure, I’ve not lost : ).

The current fever is of course, World Cup..and a little octopus named Paul, which I think is hilarious by the way! Paul, the oracle octopus! Hahah..It amazes me how a simple sport can drive such intense passion and synergy around the world.

Someone said to embrace the beauty that lies in every stage of change. I have such a love hate relationship with change. I love change, as it brings me higher and better. Yet, I hate or rather miss the things which I feel was good. Oh well, time heals..that’s what they say.

Finally gonna get my mixer soon, and will be rolling up my sleeves to try out some recipes!! Hopefully will be able to make some delicious tasting stuff for my loved ones to try soon : )).

Au revoir first half, bonjour to an awesome second half of 2010!!
Watch out..here Wanzai comes!!

Counting my blessings

Something happened today that made me realized life is so much bigger than alot of things. I’m learning to count my blessings.

Which also reminded me, I’ve not really thank some people whom have helped me through my journey in Citi, so here goes..

Thanks to my boss Dennis..who has his moments, but was still a very good boss. Bringing out potential within me and helping me to be a more confident and successful person.
Thanks to Cindy who referred me into Citi. Without her help, I won’t even have this job.
Thanks to Xie Linying! My guardian angel..without her being in the same branch as me..I don’t think I would’ve survived!! Never failing to guide and helping me with all the systems, technical details and paperwork.
Thanks to Sue, whose constant encouragement stirred me on and not to give up. Reminding me that God blesses the hands of the diligent.
Thanks to Chubbs, for all that she’s done and more..only God & myself know.
Thanks to Char & my beloved family, for always being so understanding and accepting. 
And of course, my Daddy God : ).

I was watching The Curious Case of Benjamin Buttons this morning, and it says..”If you’re not proud of the life you’re living..I pray you’ll find strength within you to start all over again.”
It got me thinking, because it reminded me of something I recently heard. One of the greatest problem in life, is when people do not know what is truly important to them.

Do you know what is truly important to you?
I’m learning to count my blessings, all over again : ).

Priceless

And so my almost 1 month baking course came to a conclude.
It was a great and amazing experience, something I believe I will not ever regret doing!

We had to pass a theory and practical exams before graduating from the class. For the practical exams, had to bake 2 cakes, 1 kind of bread and 1 kind of pastry..all in 6hrs!
Whoa..I’ve done 6hrs of shopping, 6hrs of prayer meeting, 6hrs of sleeping..but my 1st time baking 6hrs straight!! Was so tired after that..our muscles actually ached!

Tada…presenting my exam pieces! Looks good?! 

It was a nice & great bunch of peeps I’ve met at the course. I’m glad we exchanged emails and hope to stay in touch. Coming from all sorts of places..we have a policeman, to a teacher, to an IT engineer, etc. Love my teachers..esp mad chef haifzh!! hahah slamming doughs, smelling ammonia and “concealment” sessions!! He made lessons sooo fun : ).

Oh..and how can I forget about Char’s “your friend”! The funnily weird classmate of ours..it’ll be just too long to list down the weird things he did in class, driving everybody and the teachers crazyyyyy!!!!

What did I take home from the course?
– Learn in baking & in life, honesty is the best policy. If you miss 1 ingredient, stay true in re-doing the whole cake; then to serve someone a half done cake. So as the same in life ya.
– Practice does make perfect at times. The more you practice, the better you’ll get. True in everything we do!
– Amazed how different tiny ingredients, when mixed together, becomes something magical!! Never despise small beginnings : ).
– Loved the intensity of the course, makes me feel like I’m back working in Citi..but doing what I like! Haahah

Some asked why do I enjoy baking..hmm..simply enjoy seeing the smile on my family/friends’ faces, lighting up when they eat something I’ve made from scratch personally. Priceless. Satisfaction.

What’s next? Time to start planning for my next step, have some practice esp since I seem to be owe quite a few people some orders!! Hahhaha gonna finally taste my fav loklok again..then of course..Europe!!! Wooooohoooo!!!!!!!!

Happiness essentially is a state of going somewhere, wholeheartedly, one directionally, without regret and reservation : ).