What have I done in 2011?

Hello!! It's been a long time since I last posted!! Haha so..2011 has come to an end and I've been compiling a list of the things I've done over the year, things that I have never experienced before! (even before the year ended! Haha) Okay so here goesssss! =D

I have..

Worked at IRAS for more than 3 months! Good experience! =D

Worked as a photographer for a few hours and got paid $50 for covering the event!!

Ran at Yishun stadium for the most number of times in a year!! Haha

Played badminton at the open court near my house!

Went to Kbox with colleagues!

Went to a chalet for BBQ with colleagues!

Went to Teo Heng for karaoke (the cheapest outlet I've been to!)

Ran in the Nike 5K run!! =O

Ate at Wild Honey and didn't really like it =/

Ate at Hatched! Haha

Tried Quiznos and liked it!! =D

Ate terriyaki chicken McGrill and liked it!! =D

Bought a phone with my own pay! =D

Ran from sun plaza's toilet, past KFC to the entrance! =O

Tried stone bowl rice at Ishi Mura (the Japanese foodcourt at northpoint) and liked it! =D

Went to The Mind Cafe at Funan IT Mall! =D

Went to Soju Bang!! Love the chicken!! =D

Bought a whole lot of (junk) food from M&S using Robinsons vouchers cause I didn't know what clothes to buy!! Hahaha!

Experienced no signal for half a day in May!

Got a lot more involved in CDAC, went for the sessions almost every Sat! =D

Applied to NIE but didn't get in (but could be a blessing in disguise!! Hahaha)

Learnt more about God's intention for marriage and why I should wait for God's timing!

Applied for relief teaching!

Went to WLTPS, CPS, APS and SPS to put my name down in the list (those who wanna be relief teachers)

Bought my first dark-coloured dress! For work! Haha and work pants! And white flowy tops! =O

Went to the airport to send someone off!

Ordered 20 meatballs to eat at IKEA for the first time!! =D

Learnt more about purity and what being a radical Christian means!

Learnt more about spiritual warfare! "This is a spiritual fight so we have to fight spiritually not carnally, there is nothing you can do outside of praying."!

Learnt another way to pray for protection! =D

"I bind satan and his attacks, fruits, tentacles, plans, plots, and ploys that he has set up for their lives - I pray that every time he goes to touch them that his hand withers back in the mighty name of Jesus! I pray Lord that you continue to give them grace to operate and fulfill your will according to your perfect unmatched plan. I ask these things in Your mighty name, in Jesus’ name I pray, Amen."

From http://godsperfectwill.tumblr.com =D

Went to Malacca with family, ate at Makko restaurant!

Tried bai mi fen opposite SSC!

Went to the newly-opened H&M!

Ran 13 rounds!! =D 3,3,3,2,2! =D

Worked as a tuition teacher! =D taught English and Chinese! =O never taught I'll do it because I've always thought teaching languages isn't easy!

Started going to cell group again!

Worked as a relief teacher for two days!! =D

Worked in Fuji Xerox Towers at Tanjong Pagar as a telemarketer!

Went to Changi City Point! Ate at buffet town for free!! Birthday treat!! =D

Went to ECP and tried rollerblading in Jan/Feb!

Went to ECP for BBQ in December!

Went to Henderson waves! Learnt the proper way to bowl! =D (finally not a complete failure at bowling!! Hahhaa)

Sat in a cable car! To sentosa! (the last time I did this was when I was just a kid! Haha) Ate at Tastes of singapore! Watched Songs of the sea musical and laser show!! =D

Ate at a Thai restaurant at Chong pang! Good value for money! =D

Watched fireworks from the helix bridge on the last day of the year!! Counted down to 2012 there! =D

So what are my plans for the new year? Haha planning to go to those schools again when they reopen to let them know I'm available till August..PRAY PRAY PRAY I'LL GET INTO NIE THIS YEAR!! Really hoping that I'll get a long-term relief teaching job and someone in school will help me to write a recommendation letter!! Please help me pray about this if you're reading this! Thank you so much! Really appreciated!! =D

Last but not least, have a blessed 2012 people!! =D If you count your trials as your blessings, you'll most definitely have the best year yet! I believe that 2012 is gonna be better than 2011!! Woohoo!! Haha okay God bless, take care & byeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!! =D

W.O.W.

How should I start? Haha okay so I got the call this morning! Yes, the long-awaited and elusive call!! Hahaha was really excited!! Omtian so today has been really eventful! Good and not-so-good stuff happened but never mind I'll learn from today's experience! =D So what I wanna do here now is to list out all the nice things that happened today while I still can remember them..haha albeit my tired mind..hahaha okay so here goes! =D

- Thank God I woke up when I heard my hamster biting the cage!! Haha fed him afterwards then when he finished eating his fill, I went took my phone out from the charger and placed it beside my pillow! Was gonna go back to sleep but just then, my phone rang! Haha didn't know who it was calling early in the morning (6.52am!) and the call got cut off when I picked up! Lolll but!! It rang again!! Hahaha was so thrilled when I heard that it's from the school!! I thought they wouldn't call again because I missed their call the other time (because for some reason my phone was on silent mode! =X) but thank God they did!! =D

- Got ready to go to school and thank God it didn't take long for the contact lenses to get into my eyes hahaha =D

- When I got to the school's General Office, I was given my schedule for the day and thank God lessons didn't start immediately so the lady had time to brief me and I had some time to rest in the staff room! Haha =D

- Was kind of lost when I reached the staff room so thank God there was a teacher there walking then he guided me to the table I was supposed to go to haha =D

- Once I walked out of the staff room, I saw a familiar face looking at me! Hahaha it's one of the kids I see weekly at CDAC! =D So nice to have a sense of familiarity! =D

(OMGOSH SORRY BUT I SUDDENLY REALISED WHY EVERYONE WAS TELLING ME TO TRY APPLYING AT MY PRIMARY SCHOOL!! IT'S BECAUSE GOD KNEW THEY ARE THE ONES WHO WILL CALL ME!! HAHAHHA WOOHOO GOD IS GOOD!! AND THANK GOD THAT DESPITE MY INITIAL HESITATION TO GO TO MY PRIMARY SCHOOL, (BECAUSE IT WASN'T AS NEAR..YEA I WAS LAZY!! BUT THANK GOD HE KILLED THAT LAZINESS HAHAHA) I EVENTUALLY DID!!)

- Okay then I proceeded to find the class I was assigned to! Haha I reached early..they were having chinese lesson haha so I stood outside for a while! And the Chinese teacher smiled at me when she walked out! =D

- Thank God I wasn't nervous at all once I stepped into the classroom! Hahaha was feeling the butterflies when I was waiting outside! So thank God for His peace!! =D

- Thank God for my little helper! Hahaha she came up on her own to help me distribute the worksheets! =D

- I talked to the cleaner auntie who was cleaning the classroom when the kids went for recess! =D Haha

- Went downstairs afterwards and thank God the bookshop sells plasters!! =D Haha the new shoes were really hurting my feet haha

- Went to the canteen and sat at an empty table to put my plasters and just then a girl from the class came up to me and asked what I was doing! Haha then suddenly a group of girls came over to the table I was sitting at with their food and sat with me! Hahaha so nice right? Thank God for them! =D

- Talked to them during that time and got to understand them better! =D

- One of the girls said I look like some superstar who acted in a show a few years ago! Loool I remember the "except for the eye bags when you smile" hahaha she even asked why I don't put concealer!! LOLL before I could answer her question someone else talked to me..haha so I forgot about it after that!

- Saw another CDAC kid!! Haha so she knows some of the girls in the class cause they are from the same CCA! So cool haha =D

- Found out that my little helper and her friend who said I look like some superstar/actress are Christians! Haha cause they asked if I am then one girl said "See I told you" or something hahaha cooliooo =D

- One of them recited the fruit of the Spirit hahaha good reminder, good reminder..thank You God for letting me know that You're there with me! =D

- Some kids are really very cute!! Haha the innocence of a child =D

- Managed to get the class to complete all the tasks that the teacher instructed them to! =D

- After everything, went back to GO to sign out and one teacher put her hand on my shoulder and asked if things were okay for me hahaha so we talked a bit! =D

- Haha was asked if I'm free on a few days next month to do relief teaching again! Haha so yup I'll be going back for more experience! Haha and put what I've learnt today to good use hahaha =D

- One girl asked me after the class was dismissed if I'll be going on FB later hahaha she's one of those cute ones! Her best friend also very cute! And they told me they don't know why they are best friends because they think they are so different! Hahaha =D So yup anyway I talked and walked with her all the way till we reach the first level haha =D

- All in all, I think the class I took is like the CDAC kids I take every Saturday..but on a larger scale..amplified; multiplied..Hahaha but nonetheless, good experience! Thank God for today! =D

Okay! I think that's all! (That I can remember now) Haha gonna take a short nap now! And then prepare to go for Speedlight's Worship Night! =D Okay God bless, take care and byeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee! =D

The search for the perfect pair of shoes..

Haha in my previous entry I stated that I'm intending to get flats for work! So these few days I've been going out to hunt for it! Haha and here's what happened in chronological order!

On Monday, I went to AMK and walked into many shoe shops but didn't see any pair that I really like! Haha saw Cotton On there too! So I happily thought that it's fine if any of the shoes in the other shops don't catch my eye cause at least I'd be able to go to Cotton On to get that pair that, though expensive, is something that I'd wear for work. BUTTTTT to my dismay, after browsing through all the other shoe shops in the mall and stepping into Cotton On with that hope, the pair of shoes I wanted looked so different from how it used to look like!! When I saw it, it was dusty and looked rather dirty!! Omgoodness I have no idea what happened! And you know how they arrange the shoes in Cotton On? All the shoes of the same design go into one transparent plastic container underneath the clothes? ALL OF THEM WERE LIKE THAT! DIRTY! Aww so disappointing!

But anyway thank God it wasn't all that bad! Haha I managed to find the kind of pants I would wear to work! Nice cream colour, no garish gold buttons and it looks sleek and simple! =D Hahaha so yay thank God for that! =D Will buy it when I need it! Hahaha okay so in the end I went out of the mall and walked along the streets outside to continue the search for THE SHOES. Hahaha but sadly, those that were selling at very prices don't really suit my taste oh well haha then I had an idea..I could go to the Cotton On at SSC to see if the quality of the shoes are the same as those I saw at AMK! Haha and so I went! But when I got there, I saw that..it was already closed! Oh mesh haha so I went home empty-handed!

Then on Tuesday, I went to SSC's Cotton On again. Haha earlier this time! And sighhhh I saw the same thing I saw the day before - dusty and dirty flats!! Oh mesh I wonder why they are still selling it!! So I left the mall and went to NP, thinking..maybe the shoes in the outlet there would be better? Haha but oh my I was wrong! Oh Cotton On you've disappointed me time and again. Haha so I walked around the rest of the mall but none of the shoes are what I'm looking for sooo again, I went home empty-handed..

The next day, which is yesterday, I went to FEP..haha wanted to settle the shoe thing once and for all and FEP is probably the best place to do that cause it has a lot of variety and the prices are cheaper! Okay so actually, not one pair of shoes there resembled the Cotton On ones..the CLEAN ones haha when I first saw them..no cream-coloured, stretchy kind..many black and dark blue coloured ones that aren't stretchy though..haha retailing for less than 15 bucks! There was only one pair that looked slightly like what I wanted..it's camel-coloured, has a ribbon (which isn't as nice as the one on the CO pair) and isn't stretchable..tried it on the first time I saw it but I didn't really like it so I went on to look at the shoes from other shops..there was Mimosa, the brand of the wedges I bought..2 shops even! But..the flats that were retailing in them were, again, not what I was looking for..haha sighhh so after walking rounds and rounds in the mall, I finally went back to that shop where I saw that camel-coloured flats and asked the salesgirl for a bigger size and then she came out holding two designs of the same kind of flats, with almost the same colour! And the colour of the other pair looked nicer!! Lol weird right, why didn't they put the nicer one on display! So I tried on both flats and realised that they didn't look that different when you look at it in the mirror haha so the next step was to decide which was more comfortable haha actually both really felt the same to me..couldn't tell the difference! But the one that was on display, the one with the colour that's not as nice as the other pair, felt SLIGHTLY more comfortable..haha was really hesitant to buy it cause it doesn't look that nice but ahhh to accomplish my mission of the shopping trip and get the shoe issue done and over with, I bought it!! Hahhaa yup hopefully I'll grow to like it more in time to come!! Hahaha so I wouldn't regret buying it haha

Okay so that's the end of my search for the perfect pair of shoes..haha the one I bought isn't all that perfect but at least I finally bought a pair!! Hahaha yup okay actually this entry is really boring right haha it's just to update whoever read the previous post hahaha okay so maybe I'll talk about other stuff too! Hmm so this morning I got to know that the tutee's mum is celebrating her birthday this Sunday so I don't have to teach her child this week..thinking of doing a make-up session..probably on Saturday morning, before CDAC haha waiting for reply now! Yup and I haven't eaten lunch yet..think I'll eat the laksa instant noodles hahaha okay yup God bless, take care & byeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee! =D

Updatesss!

Haha helloooo! Okay so as of yesterday I have a new schedule! Haha started 2 things yesterday! One, cell group. (yup again! After so long! Haha) Two, giving tuition! Haha first time I'm getting paid for teaching tuition! Hahaha thank God for the new job!! =D Finally working after sooo long! Haha

Yup so yes it seems like I'm busier during the weekends than on the weekdays. Hahaha and yup that's true..for now! Hahaha currently STILL waiting for the call from any of the schools I applied to and I really hope I don't miss it if they do call! 4 more weeks of waiting (because after that the school holidays would start and they wouldn't need any relief teacher)..and then I'm gonna find a temp job! Yay! =D Hahaha can't wait!! Then I'll be earning income during both the weekdays and weekends! Hahaha =D

Okay so..waiting is actually a really tiring process..you don't know if you're gonna get the call..you have no idea when they are calling..sigh..they can call in the morning at 8plus, in the afternoon at 12plus or later at 4plus..which means you have to be on STANDBY at all times! And just to let you know..I've already missed 2 calls from 2 schools..SIGHHHHH so I'm guessing they won't call me again :( Oh well..I didn't miss the calls on purpose..ahhh okay shall not think about it! Just hoping for the best now! =D

Bought a formal dress for work and a pair of wedges but I think it won't really match the dress..plus I have no idea why I keep having this funny feeling when I think about what the other teachers in school will think of me if I turn up in that dress and wedges on my very first day! Lol so I'm intending to get flats! Probably that pair from Cotton On! Sigh but it's $29.95..if I buy it, there goes more than half of my pay from yesterday's tuition..oh well..but never mind! It'll be worth it right!! At least I won't have that funny feeling which makes me feel really worried after that!! Haha but I'll be so happy if I can find another pair of flats that I like and can wear for work which is much cheaper..hahaha okay God will make a way! =D

Hmm okay I guess that's all for now! God bless, take care & byeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee! =D

Cooked spaghetti today! =D

Bought the pasta from Marks and Spencers! Haha thank God I took it out yesterday and saw that the expiry date is 13 October so I decided to cook today! =D bought the pasta sauce and parmesan cheese from cold storage! =D

God bless, take care & byeeeeeeeeeee! =D

P.S.: first time using the blogger app to post an entry! Haha speaking about that, I'm excited for the launch of IOS 5!! Maybe at 12am yay!! =D

What I've been doing for the past one month or so in pictures..

Hello! So I haven't updated this space for more than a month and as I was uploading the photos from my phone to the computer I thought of doing something I haven't done in a long time - let the pictures do (most of) the talking! Haha so here goes! =D

I went to Malacca with my family in early September cause JW and Shirleen were having their school holidays then!

This was taken in our very comfy hotel room!! =D Haha the hotel is seriously, in my opinion, one of the best parts of the trip!! =D

And I've been reading devo (as mentioned in my previous post! =D)

Yay praise God!! =D For dealing with the lazyworm in me hahaha!

Haha I also cleaned my room woohoo!! Hahaha mummy kept nagging at me before that and I finally did it so yayyyyy was so happyyy hahaha she finally can't complain that the floor of the room looks so dirty! Hehehe =D I really brushed the corners of the room repeatedly till there were no more brown dust!! Hahaha and yea I brushed not sweep!! And I cleaned the fan as well! =D

Hmm yup and I went to CPS to put my name down in the list last Thursday! Really hoping they would call me soon and I got a feeling they would! At the end of this month! So I'm looking forward to that!! =D

Went for a run (finally! Haha omgosh just checked! The last time I ran was on 10th Aug!!) with JY yesterday after some shopping! =D Really really amazed that God gave me enough strength to break my record and achieve my long-time target of running 13 rounds!! My goodness haha I didn't run continuously! Ran in sets of 3 at first! So it was 3, 3, 3, 2, 2! And I still had the energy to sprint at the end of the last few sets!! Crazy right I think so too!! Lol having muscle aches all over today like mummy predicted haha but it's okay! Today is rest day! Haha =D

Reminds me of the double helix! Hahaha taken outside the stadium! =D

Then we went to a nearby coffeeshop to eat our dinner and talk! =D

I had wanton mee..for only $2.50!! Haha really value for money! =D

And I've been taking care of my hamster..

Hahaha and I've been going to CDAC on Saturdays! =D and to church on Sundays as usual! =D really hope the P6 kids in CDAC do well for their upcoming PSLE!! Haha

This was taken on the 30th of July! =D These are the kids I see almost every Saturday..haha the ones who make me run up and down just to catch them and make them do work, the ones who make me feel so tired after every CDAC session, the ones who make me laugh because of their funny antics, the ones I can talk to like friends and feel comfortable with! Hahaha I wouldn't have it any other way..except maybe if they are more obedient?? Hahaha but it's okay still love all of them! =D

Oh yea it may be hard but it's so fulfilling! When you see them improving not just in their results but as a person! =D Haha I received my very first teacher's day present from one of them! =D And just today one of them told me over FB chat "thank you for helping me (in) my english and maths" haha aww so nice right haha I saved a screenshot of that convo for remembrance sake! =D

Hahaha I realise that I ramble on and on when I talk about the kids! Haha so much for letting pictures do the talking! Hahaha anyway I just wanna say I wish I could help more of them! Cause during last Saturday's session, due to the lack of mentors, I was the only mentor in the group! Out of the 6 mentees who came, I only managed to teach 4 of them! And because I taught 4 of them, the quantity of test papers each of them did was only 1 or 2! I like to go for both quantity and quality when I teach haha so yea wished I could have done more! But thank God that this Saturday's session will be better cause at least one more mentor will be present! =D

Haha yup guess that's all I wanna say! Oh and it's kind of tiring to upload photos to Blogger cause they appear at the top of the post every time I upload a new photo and I have to shift them down one by one haha okay God bless, take care & byeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee! =D

I used to..

want to read all the books that Nicholas Sparks wrote..it was part of my to-do list after the A levels:

"Dear John, The Notebook, Message in a Bottle..and another books by Nicholas Sparks =D"

but today, I'm gonna remove that part! =D Because I realised after reading Leslie Ludy's devotional Hollywood Lies that it actually "portrays a patently false and dangerous message"!! And I definitely don't want to read that book and allow the devil to subconciously mess up my mind with the notion that sin seems "so right, so good and so noble"! I've made up my mind to follow Jesus! And during this period, God has been showing me so much! =D

Oh yea I discovered her devotionals yesterday and I love them! I can feel that God is using them to speak to me! =D So thank God for that!! =D

And after reading The Significance of Physical Purity, I gained a new perspective! =D Part of that devotional reads: Instead of asking the question “how far is too far?” God challenged us to start asking a new question – “how far can we possibly go, to honor Him in this area of our lives?” So I wanna challenge myself..how far can I go to honour God? =D

And yes for those who read my previous post, I've started reading my devos daily again!! YAY!! Praise God! =D Please pray for me if you're reading this that God will continue to grant me His divine strength and self-discipline and patience to do all that I have to do! Thank you! =D

God bless, take care & byeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee! =D

But one day, as I was sitting on the bus, I looked over this person a few seats down and thought “God knows everything about them - all of their faults, strengths, personality quirks, deepest thoughts - and loves them so much.”

Got the above from a blog which I visited before. I had randomly pressed some letter on my keyboard and the URL of the blog appeared as the first result so I went, even though I saw that it had already been taken down the last time I visited it. But surprise surprise, it's still alive! Haha so yup and I happened to read this post. And I just wanna say..it's so cool..the same happened to me! Except that I wasn't sitting on a bus, I was standing in a train. Haha yup God is so cool. Even when I'm so horrible. Like now. But I know He'll do something about me and make this feeling of procrastination go away. Yup!

So bottomline is, God loves you - everything about you. =D oh yea and I had this thought earlier on - so many girls put all their hopes in their relationship. And end up feeling insecure and confused..even though they keep trying to tell themselves that it'll all work out, and even though they do have happy moments with their boyfriends, I seriously think that such times are just temporal..I've seen so many of such examples..and I never ever wanna be like them! I wanna put all of hope in God and God alone! =D Cause God's the only one who will never ever fail you. That's why it's so important to have a close relationship with God! =D

God bless, take care & byeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee! =D

Hmm

Was thinking if I should I delete the links I have on this blog since I don't visit them anymore.

So I started to click to find out if there's anything there that show that they are worth reading and my, what different lives everyone's leading now. People I came across during a particular period in my life..everyone's on their own journey haha and then there was the sudden realisation..oh, how they've changed. And oh, how I've changed.

As you can see, I've decided to keep the links there. Not because I need them, but because they serve as a reminder for me :)

And who knows, maybe one day, someone would be bored enough to want to see who's linking their blog. And then they would visit this little blog of mine. And hopefully they would see that God is real through my blog. =D

Haha okay God bless, take care & byeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee! =D

I'm feeling happy! =D

Just wanna write this to remember this moment! Haha thank You God for this happiness! =D

"Happy 812!" =D You just have to feel like it's that day again! Relive the momentttttt =D

God bless, take care & byeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!! =D

I wanna live a life without regrets!

And thank God I still have time to! Don't wanna leave earth tomorrow without doing what I want to do!! Go Sandra!! Go do whatever you've planned to do!! God I pray You'll keep this feeling in me!! Don't wanna waste my time already! Okay time to sleep goodnight!! =D

Finally! =D

Background info: NIE didn't contact me after so long (for both the diploma and the degree) so I guess I didn't get in..which is why I thought of appealing! :)

Was thinking of what to write for my reason for appeal and the following are what I came up with! Haha the first and second paragraphs are part of my thinking process..which eventually led to the third paragraph, what I wrote in the appeal form =D

In achievement-obsessed Singapore, there are many students who are afraid of failure due to the social stigma it carries and I want to change that. I want to be a teacher who will help her students to achieve good grades but more than that, I want to let them know that results are not everything and what matters is that one has tried his or her very best. I want to be a part of their journey as they discover this very simple truth which will enable them to succeed in their future endeavours. =D

It stems from a simple desire - I want to make people happy. People say clowns and comedians do that job but I think teachers do that too. When I have taught my students well, they will be happy and so will their parents. Let’s say I have a class of 40. When all my 40 students do well, not only 40 people will be happy. It will be at least 40 + 80 = 120 people! And when I achieve my aim, I would be happy too so make that number 121. That’s the minimum. And that’s how impactful a teacher is. =D

I think teaching is the best way to make a positive difference. A teacher can help many to reach their maximum potential, not only academically but as individuals as well. To me, that is one of the greatest joys in life and I want to be part of their journeys. =D

Haha yup so yayyyy! Thank God for the inspiration haha my appeal is finally done! =D If I want to be a teacher, I shouldn't be afraid of failure. If I get in, thank God! If I don’t, I’ll thank God too! Cause I know He has better plans for me. =D

Hi again!

I just read this!!

http://www.nie.edu.sg/files/fpo/itpp/BABSCHandbook2010-2011.pdf

Curriculum structure for the 4 years can be found on pages 60 to 63! =D

Haha all the important things I can expect if I get admitted successfully to the course I wanna go to..BSc (Education) (General) (Primary) I'm going to teach primary school students woohoo!! Pray I'll get into the course!! And that I'd do well for the interview if I do get in!! :D Thank you! =D

God bless, take care & byeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee! =D

Hmm..

Okay honestly all I could do was stare in disbelief when I saw the results slip at first..and haha just so you know, it wasn't because I did well..but well, things happen right? Haha I'd be lying if I said I've completely taken it in my stride..not entirely but I'm sure I'll get there :D

Haha when my teacher asked me what went wrong I couldn't even answer her..what do I say? It's not supposed to be like that..this must be a mistake..? How can this be? Lol I could only utter "No-nothing.."

Then the mind war started..the logical side VS the unable-to-accept-reality side..logical side said "Well it could have been worse..you know you should thank God no matter what happens" and the other said "Is this some kind of a joke?? Living nightmare??" Haha but thank God logical side won over for the day..though sometimes the unable-to-accept-reality side kicks in..though the extent of how negative the thoughts are has decreased over time..now it's more like "God why did you allow this to happen? I know there's a reason for everything..I know You have a plan for me..is it because I didn't pray enough? Is this punishment for my sins? Are You angry or upset with me? God, why?" And then after all that I'd get back up and tell myself I'm not going to let the devil feel like I've been defeated..because no I haven't! I'm still going to thank God, I'm still going to go to church, I'm still going to pray and God is going to carry me through this and I still want to be close to God! =D So forget it, no matter how you try to get me down, you won't succeed because God's not going to allow that and I thank God cause that's more important than the results..so what if I didn't do well? So what if I thought God would say yes to my prayer? So what if I thought God told me I'd get 88.75? So what if that's the reason I kept holding on to that belief? So what? You and I know that His ways are higher than anyone else's and His thoughts are higher than anyone else's as well! =D

So this is just a trial I know :D And God definitely has blessings prepared for me in the days ahead..I just need to follow Him and get there! =D I'm gonna believe that there's gonna be a brighter tomorrow! :D Haha God has carried me through so many things..and this time He's gonna do the same, for sure! Though this time my results aren't fantastic, I can use my attitude to glorify God :D Because it's not what happens that matters, it's how you react to what happens that matters. Something I told JS before and something that resounded in my head after I got my results..yup there are many ways to give glory to God and getting good results isn't the only way..I wanna use my entire life to glorify God! =D Sure it isn't perfect but that's how God has planned for it to be and I want to live it well because life is one of God's gifts to me! :D And I hope God's gonna use my story to inspire many others in the future! =D

Hahaha yayyy thank God I've finally come to the end of my entry..haha thank God I'm a writer at heart so writing things down makes me feel better :D Thank You God! Okay God bless, take care & byeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee! =D

[Edit]

I wanna live out Romans 5:3-5! =D

³ Not only so, but we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance;⁴ perseverance, character; and character, hope. ⁵ And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us.

Serendipity

..is one word that I find strangely appealing haha! Checked for its meaning more than once but for some reason I don't remember so I have to keep going back to look for the definition when I chance upon it..haha and now I think I realise why..=D

"Serendipity is the effect by which one accidentally stumbles upon something fortunate, especially while looking for something entirely unrelated. The word has been voted as one of the ten English words that were hardest to translate in June 2004 by a British translation company."

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Serendipity

"An unsought, unintended, and/or unexpected discovery and/or learning experience that happens by accident and sagacity"

en.wiktionary.org/wiki/serendipity

I think it'd be cool if it's used like.."Serendipity: when I found you" HAHAHA okay random thought! God bless, take care & byeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee =D

HIII

LONG TIME NO SEE HAHA! Okay hiiii the purpose of this post is actually to keep those blogwalkers (aka virus-carriers, please don't click on their names!) off my blog haha and it's a good ocassion to do up an entry now! Sooo here goessss.. =D

First of all, xin nian kuai le to whoever is reading this!! Hahaha I realised that phrase is applicable whatever time of the year you're reading this which is good! Haha :D

Just came home not long ago from a movie outing with my family..watched 笑着回家 (Homecoming) at 10pm!! Haha my first time watching a movie at a theatre that late! :D Really good movie in my opinion! Made me laugh like maddddd hahaha and I got to eat Nachos with cheese during the movie! Haha after so long..my nachoss..hahaha thank you mummy! :D To be frank, the cheese wasn't really really nice but still, it was good to have some sort of comfort food! Haha :D

Hmmm..so what have I been up to during this period..well work started a week earlier than I expected so yes I started on the 18th! Haha it's been a good learning experience so far..I think my favourite part is saying the standard greetings at the start and the end of the call! Standard greetings but..i mean it from the bottom of my heart! Hahaha so it was kind of a pity when one person said she couldn't hear me clearly after i said the greetings enthusiastically! But never mind! :D

Haha hmm what did I do today..or rather yesterday..haha I went out at 5 plus! :D Tried the food at Souperlicious..mhmm yum yum it was not bad! :D Ordered chicken and corn soup and I actually ate the corn!! Haha I don't even remember when I last ate it! But I found that it tasted blandless in the soup so I figured the sweetness from the corn already diffused into the soup..which is why the soup contained a tinge of sweetness! Not bad at all :D Haha gonna try another kind of soup if I go there again! Hahaha they really put a lot of corn! And I ate the chicken and mushroom pasta! Haha the mushrooms are not button mushrooms but I ate them too! Hahaha I was surprised myself..I ate two kinds of food I would usually not choose to eat!! Hahaha not bad huh step out of my comfort zone :D So yup it was a really filling dinner for me! And I didn't even finish the ice lemon tea! Hahaha :D

Okay I think I have a lot of things to look forward to! Including watching the rest of the episodes of the 10pm show! :D Hmm going to church later yay! :D Okay I'll end with this photo of the giant comfy teddy and I! =D Have a good day, whoever you are! =D

Okay God bless, take care and byeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!! =D

The paradox of self-deceit

Have always been rather intrigued by Gary Hayden's columns in Mind Your Body =D

Here's an except of today's column:

How does the battered wife convince herself that her husband is, at heart, a decent guy? How does the tone-deaf talent-show contestant convince himself that he is the next Elvis?

These are puzzling questions and there are no definitive answers yet.

But Neil Van Leeuwen, a philosopher of Johannesburg, has an interesting theory which he illustrates using the metaphor of “the teaspoon and the mountain”.

On one hand, you have a mountain of evidence that your husband is an abuser or that your singing is bad.

On the other hand, you have a teaspoon of evidence that your husband is a good guy or that you have musical talent.

“What happens in self-deception is that because of the desires within you, you focus all your attention on the teaspoon of evidence and you ignore the mountain,” says Leeuwen.

You have all the evidence that a rational person could need in order to make a correct judgement.

Indeed, if you were using the same evidence to evaluate someone else’s partner or singing, you would come to a sensible conclusion.

But you refuse to attend to evidence that conflicts with your desires.

If Leeuwen’s theory is right, then the severe self-deceiver employs essentially the same strategy as the mild self-deceiver: selective scrunity of the evidence.

An important difference, though, is that at some level, sever self-deceivers know precisely what they are doing.

There is a tension within them because they are uncomfortably aware of the evidence they work so hard to suppress.

- Gary Hayden

Interesting huh? =D And I found his blog!! =D =D Hahaha go take a look! http://garyhaydenspopularphilosophyblog.blogspot.com =D

On a sidenote, I realised I haven't said happy new year here yet!! Hahaha so here it is! HAPPY 2011!! =D =D Had a really, really superb start to this year! Haha the insane first few hours of 2011..seriouslyyyy hahaha thank God for the lovely and awesome people around me! =D And thank God I'm not working until the 25th so I have time to rest and recharge! =D And do all the stuff I planned to do at home! Haha pray for me! =D

Okay that's all! God bless, take care & byeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee! =D =D

No I'm not afraid..and I won't get jealous..cause if I find out that you're not the one for me, then I know there will be someone better out there :D

Hello I've been busy! =D

Sandra's Schedule!

December 2010
2nd - Post A’s celebration cum double birthday celebration with JC people! =D
4th - Lunch & Daiso @ SSC! =D Xin Wang Cafe @ Airport for dinner! =D
5th - Go library borrow books after church! =D (Borrowed 6! Haha have completed reading only 1 so far! Amazing how you can squeeze time to read! =D)
6th - Dinner at Marche @ 313! =D
8th - Birthday celebration =D Kite-flying @ Marina Barrage, Dinner @ Just Acia, double helix!! =D
9th - CSI exhibition @ Science Centre, Lunch @ Macs, Arcade @ West Mall =D
11th – Dinner with SOAP (Y) =D
12th - Buy small cage and sand for hamster at PLC @ SSC after church! =D YCK swimming complex! =D
14th – Universal Studios!! =D Dinner at ThaiExpress! =D
16th – Watch sunrise, morning run, Rapunzel!! =D =D
19th - Watch ice skating performance @ Marina Bay Sands after church! =D Watch LOVE 50% on Channel U @ 9pm! =D

21st - Wild Wild Wet!! =D

22nd - Escape Theme Park!! =D

23rd - Karaoke! =D (Didn't go in the end cause all the rooms were full..went window shopping @ Nex instead! =D)
24th - (IT’S CHRISTMAS EVE!! =D) Watch “Letters to God”! =D ICE SKATING! =D Airport to visit JY! =D

25th – Christmas Service =D (remember to buy gift for gift exchange tomorrow! :D) Lunch with cousins, dinner @ grandparents' house =D

26th - To the library! =D

29th - Packpackpack! =D

30th - 31st - Sleepover with SOAP!! =D

31st - Watchnight service! =D

January 2011
1st - CDAC outing! =D

1st, 8th, 15th, 22nd, 29th - Miracle Service! =D

2nd - Visit baby after church! =D Watch countdown show! =D Frisbee!! =D

3rd - Frisbee! (again! Hahaha thank God the muscle aches are gone!) =D

4th - Packed the clothes on my messy bed! =D

5th - Clean baby's cage! =D

On other days - Read library book(s)! =D Clear overdue QT! =D Do CNY shopping! =D

8th - Miracle Service! =D

25th - Start work at IRAS! =D

Saturdays - CDAC! =D

Things to do:

• Read the whole Bible! =D
• Finish reading the library books! Haha there are others I wanna read!: When I Don't Desire God - John Piper
  Desiring God - John Piper
  The Pursuit of God - A. W. Tozer
  Faith Beyond Reason - A. W. Tozer
  Weight of Glory - C.S. Lewis
  My Utmost For His Highest - Oswald Chambers
• Learn how to cycle! =D

God bless, take care & byeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee! =D

Hello I'm back :D

Haha waaaaaa 1.5 months since the last entry..so yes the A's have ended WOOHOOOOOOOOOO! =D =D =D =D =D Just transferred photos from the camera to the com! :D Was thinking it's really kind of boring now (maybe cause I was out for so long yesterday..so it feels funny now? Haha) but then I thought..thank God..today's a day for rest :D QT last night taught me you can be busy but never in a hurry. God rested on the 7th day :D Busy but never in a hurry. I like :D

Hmmm so many things I can talk about!! Haha a multitude of activities planned out..so excited OMGOSH hahaha I wrote a list the other time..haha it's beside the com now! Waaaa these 8 months are gonna be awesome..today I'm gonna let that after A's feeling sink in :D Thank You Daddy..for being with me and running the A levels race with me throughout this period.. :D:D:D Through all the times I doubted..all the times you reassured me..all the times I was so stressed up I couldn't think straight..but You never let me go..thank You :D:D I LOVE YOU!! Hahaha I'm holding on to Your promise..since You said it will be done, I don't want to think about it anymore! Woohoo haha :D

Haha got to plan a day to visit the library and then devour all the books I've been wanting to read for so long!! I think this post is going to sound incoherent (and it's gonna be long!! Haha kudos to whoever actually reads this to the end!) cause the next thing I'm gonna say is..I'm listening to songs now :D And this feels so relaxing :D:D Hmm looking back..so many things have happened..Never-say-die November came and went :D Seriously, 2010 has been such an amazing year..thank God :D I think I learnt a lot..CHAMPION! =D Yesterday was really a celebration of all sorts..hahaha sang at Kbox again after..3 years?? Hahaha yea I think I'm mad cause I don't have a good voice but I love to sing hahaha crazy people are the best people in the world yay :D I think i sang my heart out yesterday lol madness never thought I'll sing like that when so many people are listening..but it goes to show I was comfortable hahaha thank God for all the fun I had :D and thank God my friends tolerated my madness HAHAHA CT even join me.."if you can't beat them, join them" HAHAHA cannot beat my insanity! Hmm yes I enjoyed yesterday :D Super tired but happy! :D

Oh yea thank God it's Friday!! :D It's raining now..yay cooling :D yay I'm home :D yay I'm alive :D lol yay I'm PMSing but it's gonna be over soon :D yay I think my friends are so cool..I have awesome friends V(^.^)V yay I have the awesomest Daddy God who loves me unconditionally and at all times :D yay I'm lovin' it :D I have the life!! Hhahaha blessed..really. Makes me wanna share what I have with those who need it..Those kids in Cambodia, India, Afghanistan, Somalia..really wanna do something for them..Haha God will I get the chance to? :) I keep the newspaper pull out beside my com..Somalia somalia somalia..I still remember how I felt when I read about the plight of the kids..so infuriated..I'm going to quote what I read..

"Child soldiers (in Somalia) are often used in frontline combat, as human mine detectors, and in suicide missions. They also act as spies, messengers and sex slaves. The use of child soldiers is rising in Somalia, where schools are used as recruitment centres." LIKE WHAT?? And in Afghanistan, child labour is a MAJOR MAJOR MAJOR problem..I sometimes use the fact that the children there are busy carrying heavy loads, are being exposed to excessive heat, cold and noise to slap myself awake when I feel lazy..haha why? Because there's no time to feel that way!! In other countries..THEY HAVE NO CHOICE!! They have no time to feel dysania (new word I just learnt today from tumblr..it means "the state of finding it hard to get out of bed in the morning")!! Doesn't the reality slap you hard in the face sometimes? Haha "there they are working their guts off and some don't even get paid for it and here you are thinking about all these rubbish and wasting your time??" Haha random but..it's amazing how God coordinates everything in this world..best organiser ever, no doubt :D He takes care of the hardworker, He takes care of the slacker..He takes care of everyone..with all their differing feelings and thoughts and personalities..haha okay what a lot of thoughts in this entry! :D

Guess I'll be going now..till next time! :D God bless, take care & byeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!! =D =D

Note to self: Next time Kbox must sing way back into love, beautiful soul, sunny day, 忘了时间的钟!! :D:D:D