I know it's not Your actual birthday today but still, we set aside this day to celebrate Your miraculous birth. I hope You enjoyed the singing and the concerts put up just for You. And all the food and wine that You brought to Your parties was just awesome. I wonder if You got many presents today. But I know that the best present You could get is just to hear us tell You that we love You. And You know what? You're our best present ever too!

So before the day ends, I'd just like to say Happy Birthday again and thanks for letting us be a part of it. Looking forward to a deeper relationship with You in the year ahead.

With much love from all of us.

Merry Christmas Eve, all you gorgeous people!!!

I'm so excited! Christmas is finally round the corner! I love how we always get that nostalgic-fireplace-snow-outside type of feeling during Christmas and how suddenly your enemies don't seem as antagonistic and your friends and family are extra special :) And the thing is, it's not even about the turkey or the presents (well, maybe the turkey...). I just love Christmas cos it makes me feel, well, loved :) By God and family and friends (who tend to send their love via forwarded sms greetings with assorted designs).

But in a day, it'll all be over and we'll be back to the normality of life and the mundane drone of the worker bees. But while it's still here, I'll be making the most of it :)

Happy Christmas everyone!

Bro, Dad and I were watching soccer over dinner this evening and I was making all sorts of comments. And then it struck me how you can so tell when a girl is watching soccer and when a guy is watching soccer. Guys say stuff pertaining to the game - like "Lousy pass man!" or "he's getting fat 'cos he's been warming the bench too long". I, on the other hand, was making comments like, "Wah, since when did Man U get a Korean player??? (who's quite hot too... in a soccerish sort of way)", Whoa, is that an acne problem???" and "Kieran's quite a nice name ah". I think I'm not very soccerish.

Anyway, here's an update that's probably either gonna make you spew your guts out or go all warm and tingly. And I'm not sure how to say it without sounding cheesy. Ok anyway, here goes:

I met someone.

There. I said it. Well, I didn't meet him in the "Hey, I met Bob the other day" kinda way. I met him in the "Hey, how you doin?" kinda way. And it's nice :) Because I think I found someone who operates on the same wavelength, who laughs with me and looks at the world through the same eyes. At times, we're like two little kids who do the silliest things, and then at other times, we have the most serious conversations. It's funny how things work together to culminate in such an extraordinarily unique relationship.

I'll say that I'm awfully blessed to be a part of this. Especially after hanging around for 2 years before we started talking proper. I still can't believe it's finally happening and I think I'm gonna be feeling this way for a long time. And I'm glad because I know that despite the bad experiences I've had, there's a little girl in me who still believes in love and her knight in shining armour.

*warm fuzzies*

:)

Yes, I've been absent from the cyberworld for a while. Apologies for that.

Life in my real world has completely taken me by surprise. But it's been the most amazing month or so thus far. I'm loving life and all that it's giving me at the moment. And I feel that at this point in my life, I'm settling into sort of a proper rhythm in my relationship with God. Not that it's reaching a point of stagnation but rather that He's become a greater part of my life and factored in so much more in the different aspects of it. And I think I'm starting to understand what joy is - that inner sense of peace and contentment that comes with knowing your position in Christ, which leads you to a combination of wonder, awe and sheer ecstasy.

All that said, Christmas couldn't be any closer. I'm trying to keep a level head to remember what the reason for the season really is. It's hard but it just means so much more when we realise that it isn't about Santa Claus or presents or mistletoe. It's not even about family and friends and warm fuzzies. It's very simply about the tremendous love that God the Father has for us.

And it's simply that.

I remember a time when life's greatest pleasures were waking up to watch Smurfs on Sunday mornings, going to feed the swans at the Botanic Gardens, running around in the playground and getting sand in every part of your clothing, biting off a Glico Pocky Stick, discovering that fancy plastic toy in your packet of Chickadees and opening Christmas presents around the tree you badgered Mummy to put up months ahead.

Life doesn't consist of those things anymore (except for maybe the occasional Pocky). I think our benchmark for pleasures increases with every year. Pleasures now come in the form of a new car, spa treatments, getting a raise and definitely travelling around the world with your platinum card.

But I'd like to think that some things never change. Like the rush of pure indulgence with every spoonful of wickedly sinful chocolate ice cream. Or an evening stroll in the park with just someone else. Or lounging over breakfast with your best friends.

Or maybe a Glico Pocky Stick.

I'm not too sure why but I was feeling a little crabby towards the end of the day and got rather irritable. I think driving also brings out the monster in me. Admit it, when we drive, we think everyone else on the road is a complete idiot - they don't signal, drive like lunatics or crawl like premature snails. More often that not, we're guilty of that too but when we're behind the wheel, we tend to get a bit deluded. And that is my honest opinion.

That aside, I got a call this evening from a girl who said she was from XYZ company and that I had been selected to participate in some young executives preview. She couldn't have called me at a worse time cos I was majorly irritable and I get annoyed when people call me, mumble and sound most dodgy. And I'm ashamed to say, the b*tch in me surfaced.

Girl: Hi, I'm Jane Doe from XYZ company... blah blah blah... we'd like you to come for blah blah blah... on Friday at blah blah blah...

Me: Ok, can you send me an email on that?

Girl: I'm afraid we don't do emailing.

Me: I'm afraid I won't be able to attend then.

Girl: ..... er okthanksbye.

I didn't mean to be that b*tchy... it was just a long day and I was not in a good mood and she just called at the wrong-est time!!

And then there was this other thing that annoyed the daylights out of me. I reached the lift lobby at my block and waited for the lift door to open. And when it did, there was a couple inside and they were WRESTLING. Ok, so maybe not full on WWF wrestling but they had their hands locked and were pushing against each other and were laughing! I thought that when they saw me, they'd be embarrassed and scurry out of the lift. But NOOOOO, they STAYED IN THE LIFT for at least another 5 seconds and continued to WRESTLE!!! I mean, HELLO?!?! I'm waiting to take the lift upstairs and you make me wait for one of you to KO??? What's up with that??? And when I said couple, I meant one female and one male. And it looked to me like a mother and son. MOST Oedipus-complex. Most dodgy. The guy looked like he was in his early teens and the "mum" just looked like she was enjoying it. Most disturbing. My neighbours are a freak show indeed.

But anyhow, there's a little light in every dark day isn't there? As I was coming home today, I saw something that made me smile. As I was at the traffic lights, I saw this elderly Caucasian couple at the traffic lights on the other side of the road. They were both hunched and smallish and white-haired but the man was holding on to his wife's hand so tightly as they waited to cross the road. It was such a protective gesture, the way he held her hand and stood next to her, as if saying that he'll go the distance with her and he'll shield her from anything and he'll always be her sweetheart. It was most endearing. The kind of scene that makes you go awww...... And for a moment, just for a moment, my heart melted.

I really must stop being such a mean person. Sometimes, I'm too witty for my own good.. haha.. but you know, wit used wrongly turns into caustic sarcasm which can really hurt. I must really keep that in mind...

It's about time I uploaded some more pix so here are some from Eunice's birthday dinner:


Minnie Mouse - the birthday girl


And here we are at Clarke Quay, posing like a bunch of tourists!

That's about it for today. Starting to get really busy again after a short reprieve. Hope to write more soon!