My lino-print: "The Smoke", made some time in March/April this year. Know more about linoleum print here

My first abstract sculpture ever, made from acrylic sheets+heat gun: "The Evolution of Civilizations"

the illustrations (mine is on the top row, the third one from the left)--made using Adobe Illustrator!

My sketch: Katy Perry!

THE COVER FOR MY WR! :'D

le beach, photo taken by my friend Ruth.

The Name Tag for Volunteers! :)

Island Creamery @HollandV! ;;).

go check them out!

IKEA Tampines: http://www.ikea.com/sg/en/store/tampines

Haven't had no time to write any post. I'm really sorry for that. Exams, assignments, and many other things I can't even remember have been bugging me constantly, that I even have problems to pause and breathe. No exaggeration. Even now, I'm being haunted by what is called THE Promotional Examination (aka Promos), which is coming next Monday. This week is actually end-of-term holiday, but as Promos are just right around the corner, it's no holiday for me. It's revising, mugging, memorising, studying time.



I'm now sitting at a couch in one of the public libraries, typing with freezing fingers and brains. I was summarizing and consolidating notes, but it seems like my brain refuses to work and demands a break. So blogging it is.



However, I'm not going to focus on the horrible things, I shall write about nice things that keep me sane  and bring smiles, if not happiness in the midst of my hectic life.

• Music. My iPod, that is, plus my earphone. Sometimes I feel so tired talking, and I feel like pulling myself away from the world, but I just don't know where to go. So I just sit down, plug my earphone, and blast music to my ears (if you're reading this, mum/dad, fret not, I'm not really "blasting" music to my ears. I just play them in a medium volume. I'm not interested in turning deaf anytime soon, don't worry.) Some of the music on my playlist would be 

• Jason Mraz's songs: I Won't Give Up, 93 Million Miles, Frank D Fixer, Everything is Sound, The Woman I love, Living in the Moment, Details in the Fabric, You and I Both, Be Honest, etc etc. His songs have this amrazing effect on me, they really calm me down, and remind me that "In life, it may seem dark, but the absence of the light is a necessary part... I'm not alone, I can always come back home"- 93 Million Miles.
• DEPAPEPE's songs (they're in japanese, I don't really remember their titles, but my friend has kindly helped me put tens of their nicest songs in my iPod, so yeah.)
• One Republic - Marchin' On
• Michael Buble - Lost
• Carissa Rae - Near or Far
• Julie Fowlis - Touch the Sky (ost Brave)
• Jack Johnson - Better Together
• Ed Sheeran - Lego House
• The Trees and The Wild's Songs: The Noble Savage, Kata, Our Roots, etc etc

• Going to St Mary's church. Although the church is so far away from my hostel, that it takes one and a half hour to go there, I just keep going there cus it gives me such peace I don't get from other churches. I think I can just stay there all day long if I have no work to do, or no exams coming, or any other things to do. The church has this atmosphere that gives me peace and calm, and reminds me that everything will be just fine, and I can just surrender everything to God, and He will take care of everything. I know it's true, but going to this church just reaffirms it. And I need such reaffirmation. So yeah.

• My beloved family. Short conversations with them simply make my day. They have such a big faith on me, that I feel that I am able. And they keep me going, cus I want to show them that I can make them proud, as they have believed in me.

• My awesome friends, both those back home and here in this island. They're just the best bunch of people ever. They support and motivate me, amuse and entertain and make me laugh, give me all those virtual hugs and encouraging smileys, listening to me ranting and venting my anger or my moodiness, telling me that I have them to rant on, and to lean on.

• Old messages and letters and post-its and photos. Looking at these photos, re-reading the letters, or even just skimming through them make me laugh to myself, reminding me that my life is not that bad, and I have these precious memories to cherish.

• Friends (The TV series, HA.), The Big Bang Theory, and Castle. Nuff said. They're great entertainment for me to de-stress.

• Indonesian Food. Be it snacks, pop mie, abon, ayam penyet, nasi uduk, jus alpukat, indomilk, etc. They just keep me sane.

• Thinking about the end of the year, when I'm going home. Thinking about the things I'm going to do during the holiday. Thinking about the end of next year, when it's all over and I'm finally out of this "wonderful contract." Thinking about doing things I want to do and I enjoy doing without any pressures.

You don't like it when your patience is tested. You hate it when it's being tested again and again and again. I'm now losing my patience to the extent that I feel like crying.


But NO. I won't just give up.


I may not be strong, but I have the best buddy in the world I could've asked for. He's been staying with me through thick and thin, comforting and consoling me, convincing me that everything is going to be okay in the end, no matter how complicated or pressurizing things may be.

He's been so loving and caring, even though I often forget about Him or ignore Him. Yeah, He gives me the strength and courage I need to still go on, and stay calm and composed in  facing whatever problems that come my way.


You're the best, J. And You're the reason that I won't give up.


The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.

What's the first thing in your mind when you see this? You would probably laugh and think that the quote is wrong! It should have been

"The grass is always greener on the other side"

But I don't think the person who created this was wrong. In fact, this unique quote now has more meaning to me. Think about first impressions. Or perhaps, think about your first time of doing something, or going to some place.

When I meet someone new, I have the bad habit of being rather judgmental. Yeah I know, I could be horrible ._. But I just can't help observing someone new and prejudging their characters and personalities before I even know them. Some of the first impressions I got from them are indeed correct, but mostly are not.

When I first entered junior high school, I saw this guy who's really talkative and rather annoying. He was very loud and bold, and I disliked him at that very moment cus I was so irritated by him. However, as school started and I got into the same class as him, I found out that he was actually an outgoing and friendly person. He was loud, yes, but in a funny way. In the end of the year, we became friends. Now that I know him better, I can see that I was wrong. He is far from annoying! Gosh. When I think back about how silly I was, disliking him before we even talked to each other, I laughed at myself.



A similar case happened when I got the scholarship. In July that year, I didn't go to school anymore, cus school only starts in January next year. So I had about four months of lazing and slacking. But my mother signed me up into a prep course, in which I would be studying maths, physics and english with the other students who also got the same scholarship as me. She thought it would be good for me to prepare myself, as well as to bond with my "future friends."

I was far from excited. I've met some of my fellow scholars, and they seemed so... scholarly. I felt that I wouldn't be able to connect with them, as they were so different with the friends I had at my school. I started to imagine horrible things about how dorky they might be, how awkward it would be to talk to them, etc. I had this prejudice against scholars; that scholars are so geeky and dorky and not fun. I dreaded the thought of going to this prep course for the next three months.

However, it turned out that those people are currrraaaayyyzeeeehh. Well, some of them are quite scholarly, and all of them are such freakin smartypants, but all in all they are far from what I thought they were. They are so friendly and nice. In fact, they made the prep course enjoyable.

And after living together with them for two years, I feel so close to them, even closer than how I feel with my friends back at my junior high school, that we are like a family. Yeah, they are like my siblings now. Singapore would be so dull and unbearable without them. How stupid I was for having that prejudice, eh.


You really can't judge a book by its cover. The cover may deceive you, yet what's inside may entertain you. Similarly, the grass may look dull and boring when you look at it from far behind, but as you walk closer and really open your eyes, you will see that it is far greener on the inside :).

Well, I'm not proud with myself for having this super horrible habit, and now I'm trying very hard to change into a better person. This post would hopefully help to remind me if someday I start to prejudge someone I just met, and yeah, hopefully it would help you too ;).

1. Wee Nam Kee Chicken Rice
You can't say you've been to Singapore if you haven't tasted the local cuisine. And one of the palatable cuisines is Chicken Rice. Many places serve this dish, but this place offers you not only perfectly spiced Chicken rice, but also the "chinese" ambience. And the prices are not high, too! Order your chicken rice ;).

Wee Nam Kee, front view.

2. IKEA!
Well, I know what you guys are thinking about. IKEA is a furniture store, and I am crazy. But, no! IKEA has a food court, and they serve swedish food. They taste soooo nice that sometimes my friends and I went there just to have lunch, without actually buying any couches or desks or anything. One of the most popular dish is the Swedish Meatball. You can buy any other food, but this one is a must-try. They serve the meatballs with raspberry sauce on the edge of the plate, but if you prefer it without the raspberry sauce, it still tastes great. And they have a delicious dessert, too. My recommendation would be Daim Cake. It is a slice of chocolate cake with some crispies and caramel. Good gracious, only writing about it makes me drool :9.

Swedish Meatball, with baked potatoes! And that red thingy is the Raspberry Sauce!

DAIM CAKE! Yum yum.

3. Peperoni Pizzeria;
Love Italian food? Well, this is one unique place you should go. You may need to do some reservation, but it's quite worth it. This pizzeria serves not just any other pizzas, it serves GIANT pizzas.The largest pizzas they serve measure about 21 inches. And you can order up to four toppings for one 21-inch pizza. The size is so big, it's great to share with four to six of your family or your friends.

Tel: 6465 6556

That was my friends and me, with our 21 inch pizza, half cheese half mushroom topping!

4. ION FOOD HALL;
You can't decide what to eat? Or you would like to just have some snacks? You can go to ION food hall, then. There are a wide variety of food from japanese curry (Go, Go Curry!), korean street snacks (Dong Dae Mun), super tasty spicy wings (4FINGERS Bonchon Crispy Chicken; this is my favourite!), japanese snacks ranging from chickens to unagis on stick (TORI-Q), singapore's very own Old Chang Kee, tasty milkshake and ice cream (Once Upon A milkshake), yummy takoyaki and okonomiyaki (GINDACO), delicious eggtarts with many flavours (Fancy Delight), melting-in-your-mouth chocolate cake (AWFULLY chocolate) and the list goes on! All these, you can find in ION food hall, yumm.
(Orchard MRT)

GO, GO CURRY!

4Fingers Crispy Chicken!

Fancy Delight's eggtarts :9

Gindaco Takoyaki!

 5. Aston's Specialties
Well, this may not be the best place to have a luxurious steak dish, but this one is pocket friendly! And I would not really recommend the tenderloin steak, (cus I tried it and it was just okay) but I'd like to recommend the chicken steaks! They have various sauces, from Lemon Lime, Teriyaki to Black Pepper! Well, I personally like the Black Pepper Chicken Steak, but my friends say the others are good, too! Oh, and the Pork Chops is nice as well. If you're feeling more than just peckish, you can try the Double Up Chicken, which comprises of two chickens with two different sauces of your choice! And each meal goes with two side dish of your choice, too. Mashed potato, French fries, Coleslaw, Pasta salad, and many more! The Grillworks Chicken and the Pork Chops do not cost more than SGD 11.00! (Well, more if you order drinks, of course!) One warning though, be prepared to queue up! If you don't like standing in line, I'd advice you to come slightly before lunchtime or dinnertime, cus then people are starting to come! :).

Some of the locations:

other locations can be found at http://www.astons.com.sg/

Chicken Steak with Mashed Potato and Onion Ring!

6. Newton Food Centre @Newton Circus
No, you're not going to watch jugglers or clowns or lions with fire rings! This place is a hawker centre, with a vast variety of food! Singapore has a lot of hawker centre, but this one is special because of the ambiance. That's why, the best time to stop by is dinnertime. When you arrive, there might be some stallholders persuading you to buy their food. But you don't need to follow them. Just walk around and choose yourself! What I recommend is the Oyster Omelet and the barbequed Stingray with chilli sauce. Yum, yum. These dishes cost about SGD 10 per plate, so if you're budgeting, I suggest that you order some to share, as the portions are quite enough for about 4-5 persons. Just look at what my friends and I did from our photo below! :)

Me and My friends! look at our food ;;)

1) Newton Food Centre, overall view 2) The Sambal Stingray 3) The Oyster Omelet

7 & 8. Island Creamery and Udders.
Dessert time! No one could ever disagree that ice cream is the most classic and delicious dessert ever. Well, these two places: Island Creamery, and Udders, are the best place where you can get your homemade ice cream fresh and nice. They are different places with different owners, I tell you. But both are equally yum yum so I just can't miss any of the two.

You want chocolate ice cream? Island creamery has ReversO, one of their specialty. You're loving Mars Bars and Snickers and want some in your ice cream? Udders have Snickers Mars Honeycomb Vanilla! Both have just too many flavours ranging from Milo, classic vanilla, berries, Teh Tarik (Island Creamery), liqueur based flavours (Udders) to banana, it may take you quite a while to decide which one you want.

Let's talk about these two places separately, though. On your very first step entering the Island Creamery, you'll be amazed by the photos on the walls. Yes, they provide a photo-printing machine, and you can take a picture of you and your friends or family, print it right away and leave it to be put on the walls! Cool, huh!

And in Udders, you and your friends can book for an Ice Cream Workshop! You can learn how to make those tasty ice cream yourself, and the course includes ice cream buffet! All-you-can-eat! For more details, refer to http://www.udders.com.sg/ice_cream_workshop

Some of the locations:

1) Udders, front view (Look at those articles! Udders is pretty famous, huh!); 2) Ice cream with waffles!

1) Island Creamery, front view (Can you see the photos on the wall?) 2) A slice of Mud Pie

 
9. Everything With Fries
Another dessert worth trying can be found in this place. Are you familiar with Nutella, the bread spread? If you are a fan of Nutella, this dessert is definitely for you. In this place, they sell NUTELLA TART and NUTELLA MILKSHAKE! Well, this may sound irrelevant to the name of the place, but they do sell dishes with French Fries, but what I truly recommend is their desserts. Other than the awesome nutella based dessert, they also have the Hot Banana Butterscotch Pudding which tastes sooo good.
Some of the locations:

THE nutella tart!

Hot Banana Butterscotch Pudding ;)

10. KOI Bubble Tea
Being near the equator, Singapore can be extremely humid at times. What would be the better way to refresh yourself than having a bubble tea! ;) There are many other stalls selling this popular drink, but KOI is one of the best. What I would recommend is the Vanilla Milk Tea (which my friends and I crave. YES, the appropriate term is 'crave', not 'like'.) or Green Tea Macchiato for those who don't really like the pearls, or maybe Ovaltine for the huge fans of chocolate! The prices are about SGD 2 to 5, depending on your choice of drinks and the size. Warning: The queue may be long during weekends (especially on the days when temperatures are high, of course).

Some of the locations:


more locations: http://koicafegroup.com.sg/contact-us/

1) one of KOI stalls, 2) YEP that's THE bubble tea!

Well, that is all for now. Oh, and these places are in no specific order, just for listing purposes, no rankings. I hope that my post is useful for those who would like to visit Singapore and have some fun with the local food! Cheers :).

To begin with, I'd like to state a fact: human beings are social creature, they cannot survive on their own. As a human myself, I, too, cannot survive on my own. Especially in 2011, which is undoubtedly the toughest year of my seventeen years of life. This year has been so tough. Tears were shed, and at some points, I was so close to giving up.



Nonetheless, I am not going to talk about the hardship I went through, I'd like to focus on the people who help me go through the year.


Firstly, of course, my best friend forever, Jesus. He's been so loyal, patient, loving and awesome. Throughout everything, He always stands by my side. I am eternally grateful, J. I love you :).


The next in line is my family. However irritating they sometimes may be, they always believe in me. They are the ones who convinced me that giving up is not a solution; moving forward is. They consoled me and motivated me: my parents, my two sisters, my grandparents, my cousins and all my relatives. With you guys, I always feel at home :).


These past two years, I haven't been journeying without travelling companions. In fact, I have 47 awesome people that walk with me. I never thought that I would be having 16 sisters and 31 brothers when I was coming to Singapore. Living under the same roof, we shared laughters, tears, hugs, complaints, textbooks and notes, inside jokes, outings, birthdays, secrets and gossips, everything. They are the reason I am standing here at this very moment unhurt and perfectly happy. Here's to another two years! I know we can do this, although we'll be separated, we are all in this together, and yes, we shall never walk alone :').


9B. Need I say much? No. I am forever thankful that I had the best senior class ever in penabur gs. It's been three years, but we still get to meet each other, and even spend Christmases. You guys are awesome, and just so you know, I love you guys. You're one of the reasons I look forward to going home so much :).


Hostel committees! Working with you guys was absolutely amazing.  The moments we spent together are priceless: the way we try to focus during meetings but somehow always digress in the middle of our discussion, the inside jokes we shared (bertram attack, kobel, kuda-kudaan, THE HOTLINE, the tourist pose, etc!) the tears we shed, the late hours of meetings at the night before the event, the hugs, the dry run we had for amazing race which turned out as our first unofficial outing, the other outings, and of course, the kool hoodie! When I say that you are the most awesome bunch of people ever, I mean it :).


The next group of people is my dearest Juniors and seniorssss! Dearest seniors; Thanks for being so awesome, so gahoel, so inspiring, super friendly and nice. Thanks for the goodluck texts, the tutoring, everything. I feel truly blessed to have you guys :). And dearest juniors. Sorry for having some prejudices when you guys first came. I wasn't so welcoming, and I am sorry. You guys are awesome, though. Thanks for being so nice, funny, cute, generous and inspiring, too. I know for sure that you guys can ace the o'levels next year! And be nice to your juniors ;).


The next would be Tante Chen Chen and Om Ady; my only Singaporean 'parents'. Thanks for allowing me to stay in your house, cooking me Indonesian meals, helping me with packing and storing things, the barbeques, and the ipod touch! I wish you two nothing but the very best, cus om dan tante are like my family :).


My classmates and my teachers in Singapore, regardless of your nationality. Thanks for all the help and support <3. I am really grateful to have known all of you. Thanks for being so nice, helpful, kind and funny. All of you are probably the most talented, intelligent and hardworking bunch of people I've ever met. Ohh, Classes were bearable, thanks to you :)


Last but NOT the least, My best best friends. I need not mention you guys, cus I believe that you know who you are. Heee thanks for the skype calls, the long motivational-entertaining-touching text messages, the schweet tweets, the support, everything. Thanks for making the 500ish miles nothing :).



So yeah, all of you have made my 2011 such an unforgettable, wonderful and awesome year. I know that words cannot really describe how greatly thankful I am. Oh, and I am very sorry if I had said or done anything that hurt any of you guys in one way or another :/.


Wish you guys a happy new year! Here's to another awesome year of 2012! Cheeeeeers! :D

THAT sweet feeling when you just got through the toughest week of your life.

The week when you had to constantly study for this super major exams.
Your future's hanging onto it. You had such a huge pressure put on your shoulders to perform very well. You really need to prove to everyone that you are capable and able. You want to make your parents proud. You do not want to regret anything. You want to do your best. Everyone wants you to do your best.

You couldn't bear wasting just a minute to daydream. You rushed everywhere. Right after your meals, you walked briskly to your room to continue revising. You slept at midnight, cus you still needed to study, but you had to be fresh during your exams. You felt guilty when you wanted to take a nap, so you had a twenty-minute power nap everyday. That was the only amount of time you could afford. You kept away your laptop. You ignore the temptations to watch the episodes of the series you always like to watch. You turned your phone vibrating mode off. You did not touch your novels, even though they were pleading you to read them. At times, you felt frustrated cus all the facts and topics were mixed together, and you just could not distinguish them and keep them separated from each other. You were scared that you would forget them. You watched where you walked, afraid of stumbling and thus losing all your memories. You knew that it sounded so silly, as you were fully aware that you would not get such an acute brain injury just because you stumbled, but you would not take risk. You thought you would not be able to make it. You thought that you would just give up. You felt that life was unfair, as you had more paper to take compared with some of your friends, who had less subjects than you. You were stressed. Your hair was falling. You bit your nails, and they were in such a terrible state. You had minor headaches, and your sleeps were restless. You prayed harder than ever.

BUT GUESS WHAT.


YOU SURVIVED THROUGH THAT WEEK. The paper you had weren't all easy, but at least you were not panicking, and you've gotten through them with no regrets. You knew that you still have five more days. Your fight is not done yet. But you got more optimistic, cus you've been through the worst. You had never thought you would be so scared and frustrated and pressurised about this exams, but you had never thought either, that you would have such a wonderful, amazing, unbelievably remarkable feeling in your heart after you got through that week. Your prayers were answered. God walked with you through that week, and He stayed with you in every day, hour, minute and second of that week. Your parents helped you too. They texted you with motivational advice and prayers, they called you and asked you whether you were doing fine. They convinced you that you're gonna be fine. And you are! Your batch mates walked with you through it all. They were your loyal companions during that week. They faced the very same challenges. They were with you in the studies and revisions, the prayers, the walks to the exam hall, the hours of doing the paper. They kept you going. You knew that you would not be able to survive on your own. You have these people. They pushed you, and walked with you. You are blessed to have them.


When you move on with your life, just keep in your mind that you have been through such a tough time. Just remember that you can survive anything with God. Rely on Him, and He'll help you through anything. Really anything.



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GOSH I FEEL SO GOOOOOOOOD. I know I still have six paper next week, but good gracious I feel so AWESOME.