the big TWO-ONE (and more)!

ok it's been more than TWO weeks since I last posted a rather...down post. but so many things have happened in the past few (or more) days! I shall let the pictures (and my long-winded narration) do the talking! =)

so on 10th Dec I met a couple of my Dunedin friends at Kuishinbo at Suntec City for dinner and a catch up. it was good seeing all of them again, it's been a while since I was at Dunedin!

little did I know they sorta planned something...haha. when we'd all eaten our fill of the yummy Japanese buffet, our dearest Co managed to grab a plateful of desserts and when she brought it back, they all sang a birthday song for me! =) tee hee. I was touched! THANKS GUYS for the surprise! x)

it was a good time of fellowship with old mates. =) chilling. heh. (Kev and Trina were actually on a separate date! haha...) after that we went over to Clarke Quay for a drink since the night was still young...=)

we took a few more photos than this but yeah, too many to upload heh. but yeah, headed over to...can't remember the name of the place. I think it was ladies' night or something, the girls all had a free lychee mojito...which I didn't really like. haha. me+alcohol=not friends. haha. =) but it was a good night nonetheless! great view of Clarke Quay and the city from that place!

after that exciting night, the night of 11th Dec was reserved for Jess and Anne!

we went to Out of the Pan at Raffles City for dinner...yummy crepes! and surprisingly quite filling too! heh. after which we proceeded towards the Esplanade for jalan-jalan to digest our food haha. stopped by to see a few free performances, some saxophone band, and another "band" band. (the lead singer had a LOT of different facial expressions...)

we continued walking to the Merlion, and took some nice photos as well. haha. this one was my suggestion, didn't expect it to turn out so...accurate! haha. we had quite a lot of fun! 3 of us from the 3 different schools, Jess in Dunners, Anne in Welly, me in Chch. it seems not so long ago that we were all green medical students just starting to mug in years 2 and 3...

we sat at Starbucks for a while, drinking our coffee/non-caffeinated drinks and sharing a cheesecake. we were pondering when would we next meet up, and realised it would be at graduation...!!! this is our last hols, and our TI elective quarters are all different so...=S graduation...so soon! won't think about it. *lalala* enjoyed myself then! THANKS girls for that night! =)

within that week also had Evangelistic Explosion, our discipleship bible study with Pst Chee Kiang. was good, and it's really up to us to make a difference!

on Sat 13th Dec, met 2 of my JC friends for lunch at Shokodu (I think) at City Hall. had a good catch up with Jian Sheng and Wee Kim, and they paid for my lunch as a birthday treat! quite weird cos Wee Kim's birthday was on Sunday...haha. but yeah, reliving the short time I had when I was in TJ and yeah, just...chilling. haha. THANKS guys for lunch! =)

after that headed to Expo for prayer meeting. only William was there so was praying with him for our cell group, CK zone, services, Pst Kong, Sun, everyone involved in the drama and this Christmas. realised it's been a really long time since I attended a prayer meeting...and time seemed to fly, before I knew it, it was over!

my mum came to pick me up and brought me to Ikea to look-see and I bought some of my stuff for my house next year.

LITTLE DID I KNOW THAT IT WAS A CONSPIRACY.........

seriously. so sneaky. my mum. my sister. my dad. my friends...

SNEAKY SNEAKY SNEAKY.

cos when I got home...I saw...

many maNY MANY pple!!! my sister had planned a surprise 21st party for me!!!

my sister had managed to get my friends' contact numbers from my phone without me knowing, and sent messages to them asking them to come for my party. (super sneaky man she, borrowed my phone with the excuse of playing bubble breaker, but somehow got those phone numbers...) but a SURPRISE it was indeed! =)

I was in a state of shock and disbelief that I didn't really know what to say when I first stepped into the house. it was all decorated with balloons and shiny stuff...all just done in the afternoon I was away. WOW. my sister is really good at planning and hiding surprises! hahaha. the food was good, presents great, company awesome! haha! =D and when I was making the speech I was like...I dunno what to say, I really am not one who likes speeches, and vaguely generally thanked everyone. gosh! haha. but THANK YOU everyone who was part of it! =)

these pple were representative of friends from my PL days...=) 5 years ago was when we were last in the same class together, how time flies! unfortunately, I didn't own a camera in those days, so many memories have been forgotten. BUT those were the good days when I was carefree and only had to worry about studies and school-related stuff and nothing else. =) when I started "growing up", things changed. but anyways! THANKS for coming girls! love yas! =)

and these pple represented my cell group from City Harvest. =) I thank God for this bunch of pple who have made coming back to Singapore for hols so fun! haha. although W115 has evolved from when I first joined, it's kinda good that I get to meet so many new pple everytime I am back heh. THANKS guys for coming! =)

and this was sorta a "random" group of pple, not "random" random, but random. yeah. =) my TJ friend, my neighbour, my old friend from sec sch days. sorry guys that I'm not really much of a host but really appreciate your presence! THANKS for coming! =) (and a shoutout to Mr Photographer for taking all the amazing photos! thanks!)

AND last but not least, on the photographer's insistence, we took a family photo. words cannot express the...yah. it's my wallpaper cos yeah, it's a really nice photo. =) THANK YOU papa, mama and meimei for that day and for seeing me through all these years, THANK YOU. =)

after that day, it felt like I was already 21 (5 days early!?!). heh. I had fun, it was a great surprise which I did not suspect ANYTHING at all. it definitely was a memorable 21st birthday even if I didn't mean to celebrate it in the first place...=)

ok so then the next few days going about my own business. decided to learn some Foochow from my grandparents but progress is going slow......I learn a bit, I forget a lot! haha. but I think it's good to learn a bit of my dialect, though youngsters nowadays seldom speak dialect except to scold pple anyway (in Hokkien)...=S haha.

so along with learning how to speak, I learnt how to cook the traditional "xi" for "dong zhi", winter solstice (spelling?!?). yeah...there's a secret ingredient to make the fuzhou "xi" different from example the "tang yuan" eaten. =) it was fun but hard work! I just stood around watching for most part, my grandma did the cooking heh.

then one night my grandma decided to cook "sha guo yu tou", translation is fish head hot pot?!? or something like that lah. HAHA. man my mandarin is bad! but the food was yummy!!! =) how I miss my grandma's cooking when I'm in NZ. my cooking is nothing compared to my grandma's!

then my dad went on a holiday with some of his friends, and we sent him off at the airport. =) the airport was decorated in a Christmas-y mood, with nice trees, bright lights and disney characters leading to the entrance by the road heh. quite cool!

and it finally arrived, my actual 21st birthday! 18th Dec 2008!

it felt like any other day really haha. but spent with great company. met Kev, Trina and Andrew for badminton in the morning, was fun! it's been a long time since I last played! =) hee. then after that I got treated to Cafe Cartel for lunch. yummy!!! THANKS guys for spending time to celebrate my birthday with me! +)

the night was spent with a good friend. =) dressed up a little to go to a nice place to have dinner (no I don't think it counts as a "date" as such) and chatted the evening away...

dude, really appreciate the dinner treat and taking time off to spend with me! =) don't think you read my blog but I do know you're a busy person! and for putting up with all my nonsense, THANKS! haha. =P

yup and so the day went by just like that. simple, but I prefer it that way. =)

19th Dec, went to help out with the Children's Church Christmas Celebration (ooh...CCCC! HAHA.) at Jurong West with Ailin. it was fun cos I was allocated to help in the B4 auditorium! was the door guard, and it was FUN seeing all the kids! that day was mostly childcare centres so most kids were younger in age and easier to hype up! "hello! Merry Christmas! enjoy the show!" all the while smiling and waving...I really enjoyed myself! =)

after that hung around the westside cos we had a cell group BBQ that night!

introducing our fire-starters, Zhen Xian and Barnet! actually, don't judge a picture by what it seems to be. HAHA. someone was doing more work that what this portrays...HEH.

and here's our beloved San San and Han Ning! dunno what was the joke, somehow San San seems to be gesturing something that Han Ning found very funny?!? hahaha...=P

then more pple came and we started our BBQ...Charis and Chen Guo doing some cooking, while Zi Qian and Barnet prepares more food...

Charis, Barnet, Zhen Xian, Sebas, Wei Hao, Pei Jing. all of them standing around the BBQ pit. I wonder who's actually doing the cooking and who's just there for show? =D

who can forget the group photo? =) W115/W458 and friends. we had so much food and fun that night, agree? heh.

okay some random group picture...William, San San, Han Ning, Wei Hao. say cheese! =)

these pple wanted a photo all for themselves, the Poly/ITE students. these guys are cool man! only some person on the extreme left of the photo doesn't actually belong in it...=P

we were playing some Ugly Doll game, have to flip and match 3 of the same cards then say "ugly" while snatching as many cards as you can from the floor. gosh, the true colours of pple show when we play games like these! =S hahaha...

I started stalking this cat when it was still bright...it sauntered by and I followed it lah. =) this is the only nice photo I got of it heh.

but this photo wasn't taken by me. I think Zi Qian took it? so nice right? man...I wish I got a shot like this! hahaha. the same cat came back at night and the guys stalked it then. =P

yup it was a great night, food, Wacko with a "zip-zap" twist, more food, more games, even more food, presents...an early Christmas! =) thanks guys for so much fun!

the next day, 20th Dec, went to Expo to help out with CCCC again, this time with sis, Tay Xi and Raymond. and I got to help out with the main hall again as well, just that it was MUCH bigger and there wasn't any lifts to control heh. was in charge of a section instead of being a door guard: giving out light sticks, making sure no adults sat in the first 5 rows, etc. was fun, I do enjoy helping out though some kids were quite demanding wanting MORE light sticks when they already had some and there were still other kids who didn't have any at all! gosh! hahaha.

went to Jurong from Expo after serving, went to see how the other Children's Church was run. I'm not sure if I'm ready to take on the role of a "teacher"...maybe I prefer doing more "behind-the-scenes" stuff which might not be behind the scenes but help to make things work. hmm. anyway.

21st Dec was candlelight service, really moving seeing all the lights in the hall...=) then at night was my grandpa's birthday dinner!

I was trying to serve my grandparents tea...haha. it takes skill to pour the tea into the teacup without spilling too much of it! =P

after the yummy meal with my family, I was trying to take a shot of my grandparents sitting in Chinatown. haha. the valet guy made some comment saying I'm like a reporter taking photos, then you'll see the photos published in the newspaper/Lianhe Zaobao the next day. hahaha...=)

on 23rd Dec I went over to my neighbour's place to have steamboat. =)

thinking back to the days when I was still young and used to cycle around, having little or no cares in the world...what a little girl I was. haha. now I'm all grown up (in some ways), I feel so...old when I hang out with my neighbours who are maybe 2-3 years younger than me. haha. especially cos I'm a uni student already. but anyways! =) good times catching up!

following which, another big day, 25th Dec, Christmas day!

this is my current cell group!!! =) nice right? I really like taking photos but seems like the older I get, the less photos I take...or not. like the younger generation don't mind taking candid shots of themselves, etc, but like since my CG members are mostly uni students or working adults, we don't take that many photos...BUT I shall do my part to stock up on what I can. HEE.

after fellowship with my CG, I went back to church to meet 2 other pple and we hung out for the evening. the 2 of them each had a part to play in my life once, but maybe now we have to go our separate ways. I won't say anything more, cos it's now the past. I pray that you'll just remember the happy thoughts, erase the sad ones. =)

Fri 26th Dec I did a random 3hr cycling stint. cycled from my house: Upp Paya Lebar-Potong Pasir-Toa Payoh-Ang Mo Kio and back. mostly using the Park Connectors so yeah, quite safe. haha. had to return library books and buy something from Shop n Save for my grandma so yeah, that took a while! haha. tiring but fun! =)

and when I got home I was treated to a sumptious dinner cooked by my grandma!!! yi mian, so yummy...and cooked with the scallops I painstakingly bought. HAHA. so hard to find the place can!!! haha...

27th Dec was a Saturday, and I went to help out with Children's Church once more. I think I really want to work with kids and learn how to interact and respond to some of the more misbehaved ones. was in the main auditorium, however I think it wasn't as good as the service I helped out before. this time around I took on less of a role of a leader in some ways and more of one in other ways. don't think that worked very well at times but I learn. maybe I want to help out every week till before I leave...plus I like to work with the I/C too heh. *wishful thinking...he's way beyond my reach! =P besides he probably already has a special friend...haha.* it was fun times nonetheless.

headed home for a short rest before heading to Raffles City to meet my PL friends!

we went to Raffles City to have dinner at Shokudo, a Japanese buffet place. quite a nice place to eat, I only had my chawanmushi (YUMMY!) and tried a drink called Calpis Soda (anybody knows what that is?) cos I wasn't hungry. was good catching up with my sec sch friends, some of whom are studying overseas. we were at the place next door to Shokudo called Matcha (?) for dessert/coffee before heading off. good to see you girls that night! =)

then I didn't feel like going home yet so decided to linger around and take some photos:

this was some fountain thing, the water droplets are falling separately but when you look from afar, it looks like a stream of water.

ONE successful shot (among quite a few unsuccessful ones) of moving cars taken with slow shutter speed WITHOUT a tripod. man the usefulness of a tripod in such situations...!

trying to capture moving vehicles without your hand moving...takes practice! but I like. =)

well. these have been my adventures with my Nikon D40 up till today. it has been fitted with a new lens so I'm having fun playing with it! =) and it's been a pretty hectic but exciting time since I came back!

it's the new year soon, time to do some reflection as well. if you've stayed till the end reading this extremely LONG post which took 5 days to complete (I started writing this on the 23rd, and added more AND finished it today), hope you enjoyed the photos! will try to update again before the year 2008 ends!

make the most of your last few days of twenty-oh-eight! =)