a semi-charmed life

Friday, June 30, 2006

" Man has places in his heart which do not yet exist, and into them enters suffering in order that they may have existence"

-Leon Bloy

the best quote i've read from any book thus far and it was quoted by graham greene himself; master of tightly defined plots and expressing raw, uncliched emotions.

4:47 PM

Thursday, June 29, 2006

wo hui lai le!

i cant help missing hk and the new friends i made there. plus the food, like the crazily concocted desserts, oreo ice-cream, sweet milk tea and lemon water. oh yes and the 10 course dinners. i ate 3 bowls of rice for every lunch and dinner in the university canteen.

the next day after i returned, i couldnt really eat spicy food. i only finished half of my mee rebus for lunch..imagine! spicy palate gone in just a matter of 6 days! got so accustomed to hk's culture.

will post more+photos next time. meanwhile, my take on the worldcup q-finalists.

germany v argentina-- germs because i like the team. so if i dont answer calls or reply msgs on saturday, u non-footie fans will know i'm mourning.

england v portugal-- england to win cos they're heng. sorry adel, reality's cruel. if u need your dose of c.ronaldo, just go to soccernet.com. they'll have what u need :p

italy v ukraine-- hello, like no-brainer. shev-did i forget to put on my scoring boots-chenko missed the penalty agst the swiss. good for ukraine that the entire swiss team were equally inept in penalty taking. so italy to win this, albeit with some diving and crying and general italian emotion-making.

brazil v france-- ooh tough one this. they are both peaking so i guess it'll become a battle of players. viera v gilberto(old arsenal teammates!) henry v roberto carlos and good ol' jolly ronaldo v thuram.

and finally, why i dont support england.

4:47 PM

Tuesday, June 20, 2006

grumble. i dont like packing.

for the uninitiated i'm going off the hk for a methodist youth conference tmr morning! first time in a long while i've to wake up at 6 plus. i guess i'll be cranky but it'll subside. another thing the conference is conducted in chinese. so i'm praying that it wont be a barrier for me and that God will work despite such silly nitty gritties(but truly, such small little stuff are the things that always hamper dont they?) pray for me too please. it's not that my chinese sucks but it's not a language i'm immediately comfortable in.

my eyes almost popped out when i saw the schedule and packing instructions. fan ti zi leh. so u can see my apprehension..but no, as lumpy said ge you qian qui and that i shld just press on and focus on what i aim for in this trip, which is to learn from other youth leaders and to see what God has planned for me in this ministry.

the first night i cant sleep too..we're having this hiking trip to the rural outskirts of hk. pls dont think hk is the size of our island and that's it's all bright lights and city life. nono...she's made up of two islands hk island and kowloon(where the drama serials we watched are filmed at). anw the hiking trip is machiam outfield camp..some of the older guys were being crappy and saying that they want to bring camo and their tents. okay. i'm pretty bad when i dont get enough sleep. but no must endure!

oh yes i have a secret. shhh..i'm bringing my soccer ball. the small man U one. she looked at me ystd and our conversation went like that.

me juggling ball: do i bring u? u look shiny and new still..
manU ball whom chris christianed(hahah) mustard: bring me la. u will want my company on those long lonesome nights.
me: what long lonesome nights. i think i'll be pretty busy.
mustard: go read your schedule again. do u see a shi jie bei on it? u know what it means right?
me: shi jie bei?? oh world cup...yah heard them said that there might be some kickabout.
mustard: *grins slyly* yes go on...
me: *clockworks clink in my brain* means i need to practice in the dorms. and how can i practice without a ball?!
mustard: attagirl! i knew u'll understand.

there..i'm bringing her. cannot let my parents know too or they'll think i'm mad and threaten to hide my ball. mustard will go into the shoe bag together with my running shoes and flipflops. and we're done. au revoir everyone!

4:06 AM

Thursday, June 15, 2006

the world cup has generally been quite good..didnt watch all cos last sunday i woke up at 3am to catch the argentina vs. cote d'ivorie(ivory coast, stupid!) and i couldnt wake up for jrs and spent this whole week tryna catch up on that lost sleep since i've been sleeping late everyday too.

but in my most most humble opinion, spain's the team to watch. torres! villa! and the excellente puyol in defence..very impressive. i'm happy that germany performed well too..absolutely attacking all the way :) yay that's the football me and my dad like to watch. i've a gut feeling(arent they nice feelings?) that this will be the tournament of attacking, one-touch football. goals and more goals. yay!

on monday, i played some 1 v 1 v 1 soccer hahah. it was fun and could hear my neighbours screaming with the australian comeback agst japan. couldnt be bothered to watch that match cos it's 2 ayam teams. but oh joy! i can feint better now. isnt that great news? and i was so encouraged to hear that i'm an aggressive player despite my size. yay! there's a football match in the hk trip i'm going for. i'm still contemplating if i shld bring the street soccer shoes..the cui ones, i'm afraid the soles will break(they are already so fragile!) and then i'll cry.

and then the past few days have been a blur of soccer and some attempted shopping and one movie with the mojo. i have to gripe abt shopping in s'pore. it sucks. i see the same thing everywhere. oh well, hk here i come! :D and i do miss mojo who's in retreat right now. the room's not the same without u..boohooo.

10:57 PM

Friday, June 09, 2006

WORLD CUP IS STARTING IN ANOTHER 2 HOUR AND 45 MINUTES!

SQUEALLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL

i've waited for this for 4 years. oh!oh!oh! first match germany vs costarica. i love ballack but he's not playing cos of his calf injury :( nvm i still have many more chances to watch his delectable play, provided they progress to the KO rounds. they're my sentimental favourites cos of 2002. my worst kept secret cos i'm scared people will laugh at me. but of cos viva la brasil. want them to win again for playing the best football in the world.

i cant wait. i feel like a kid at candy empire.

i read this verse ystd and it's awesome what the bible affirms :)

"if ye know these things, happy are ye that do them."
-john13:17

6:23 AM