Thursday, April 30, 2009

21st march...

well... carol's 20th birthday is on the 23rd.. so there was a birthday celebration at shearn's place. a pool party.

so i was asked to bake a cake... okayyy.. can. haven't baked before but shouldn't be that hard... right? haha...
so on the sat morn, wake up and bake. i nearly made a big mistake... in the process, recipe said 2 ounces of sugar. so i took a jar and put 2 ounces of sugar. then 2 teaspoons of baking powder. then i took a jar and ... eh? didn't i take this jar just now? waitttt... i didddd... so if this is baking powder? what the? oh no... it is baking powder and its all mixed up with the flour already. oh crap.

okayy okayy... figure out a way to salvage. and i did. fortunately the baking powder was on one side so i scrape it all off including some flour so that i can restart again. refill the a bit of flour and this time 2 teaspoon. saved... phew.

my maid was wondering how come there's so little baking powder left. of course she laugh when i told her what happened.

the chocolate cake turn out well. and everyone loved it. but cannot order lah. i'm not a baker. i guess growing up always helping my mother bake cakes, biscuits and dunno what else, there's no fear of baking and also cause i've seen the process so many times. i was usually stirring cause its tough work... and licking the chocolate of the bowls.

unfortunately, many couldn't make it because it coincided with the Kids Band Camp. would be better if they could come. the party still went well. with the laminated birthday bookmarks in the pool for the birthday girl to collect and the good food and the few of us trying to make the human pyramid in the pool again.... oh... not to forget pushing the dry people into the pool.

Wednesday, April 29, 2009

17 march...

took a day today. father went to IJN and meeting up with some people yesterday. so just catch up a bit at night. but he spent most of it doing the tax form. fortunately i've filed everything accordingly (disclaimer: its a one off thing... check a few weeks or months back and it'll not be a pretty picture).

came home in the afternoon to pack. that's where the problem is. how to fit everything in the suitcase. i can pack well... but not as good as my mother. some way or another...we just managed.

its quite funny. my father comes home bringing stuff for me, friends or the home. and leaves for China with most of the stuff for my mother. haha... he was wondering how to fit his stuff. well, i figured it was little enough to fit in the laptop bag. yeah... that little.

Tuesday, April 28, 2009

the next weekend...

14 march
my father transitted in KL for a few days. he rested a few days before flying back to beijing... ok.. maybe not rest but doing the tax forms. also a visit to IJN for heart medication and checkup.

15 march
su rynn's one month anniversary of being away. this is usually the time where full reality sets in. i still remember... after all the hustle and bustle before leaving and the many admin stuff to do to settle in, there's no space for the mind to think or fully absord what is happening. after its all done, the 'emo'ing starts coming and frustration and the search for direction starts. sent an email.

did an icebreaker in sunday school that deals with unity. learnt it in a camp some years back. found it meaningful. though it's a shorter version this time round, i think the message may have gone through. one thing for sure was that it was NEW and abnormal. so keep the youths awake.

dinner with relatives after being organist in 6pm service. a little time to catch up with uncle and aunt. their son (my cousin) is working in melbourne.

Monday, April 27, 2009

choices...

1st week march.
one of the tough choices i had to make; people or music?
these 2 have always been in my heart. but when these 2 things clash, which comes first?

there was an outing with Senior Sunday Schoolers(SSS) (13-17) to bowl at midvalley. spending time with the youths and getting to know them better. plus providing transport.
and a call for emergency replacement to play during the church service.

well, i said no. but with so much begging (which i don't enjoy at all and not wanting to prolong torture on my friends) i had to do the tough bit. make the necessary calls and confirm and ensure there's enough transport. fortunately there's enough. pulling out after saying that i can help is a definite ultimate bad thing. = bad mood.
really praying to God that i lay all of it down at His feet.

2nd time again. i was attending a choir training and so they needed a keyboardist for practice. so okay, can but only for practice. then sooner or later, it was becoming that i play for the choir for the services (had to miss SSS again). then became all services (now miss bible study). i know people ask, why never say no?
i did. but again, the call of not enough pianists and the person who will replace me or be playing, did not even know the songs or attend any practices. how can i let that happen...

of course, bad mood again. pray again loh. apologized to the head teacher cause had to miss SSS.

a very grey area i'm struggling with.
if i don't play, am i at fault for not using the gifts God gave me? am i guilty of not helping those that are in need?
but if i play, am i guilty of neglecting the youths as they see their teacher always disappearing, as though not caring? am i also guilty of again, not using God's gifts?

Sunday, April 26, 2009

birthday & wedding...

18th Feb - Kah Ling's birthday
if i recall correctly, i think its at some Zen place at the gardens. hmmm... anyway, was glad to see them. the bubbliness of the UniSA people are surely addictive.
got to catch up with Eng Poh and others. more Eng Poh lah.
its just a bit weird that people that you don't see for so long and lost touch, and meet up again, can just put some trust back and talk quite personal stuff. of course don't so KPC lah.. but more of concern and care.

21th Feb - Jeff & Susan's wedding
from a real surprise at the bowling alley and now the wedding day.
definitely congratulations...
Jeff made a very touching speech at the dinner.
ah.. i remember... the curry during lunch gave me a little bit of stomach problem during the dinner.

Saturday, April 25, 2009

v-day, farewell, change...

a post typed long time ago. but never posted. so, as a continuation...
post-singapore & 14-15th feb

had another time of reflection at singapore, had kind of a little break... but was kind of more pre-occupied with something. thankfully it all went well.

on valentines day, it was nice to meet up with florence and hui chuan again. would have been a long time since we last met. couldn't remember. hui chuan wrote about it and found out that the last 'outing' was in july 2008. so, nearly half a year ago.

farewell was for su-rynn. a dear sister whom i got to know better. she's going to NZ ie. baa baa land for 2 years. that's her uni journey. definitely not a nice thing when someones leaving for some while. and who knows where we'll all end up 5 years down the road.

things are changing. especially in small group. its growing bigger and people are progressing forward in life. demographics are changing. we have to break out of the clique and allow people to come in and share the warmth and care. its hard. but then again, got to let go.