[Travel Diary] Across the Causeway

Finally went for the long awaited JB trip with my colleagues on Sat!

We were supposed to meet 9.30am at Kranji MRT stn to take CW1 into JB. By the time we reached, the queue for the bus was already snaking halfway across the front of the station.

Waited about 45 mins for the bus and we managed to get a seat :D It took extemely long to make the u-turn towards the checkpt and when we looked across the st, the queue was already beyong the train station.



Anyway it only cost $0.80 for the bus ride :D



Happy looking pops boarding the bus :)




The ride to Sg checkpt and clearing the immigration was a breeze, took barely half hr (including the huge u-turn that the bus had to make), but the ride to M'sia custom was @)$(*%#&@.

We were stuck for more than half hr on the bus and we're barely halfway there. So we got off and started walking.



Only to turn ard and see that almost everyone's doing that so it looked like a mass exodus of some sort :X

And all the buses ended up practically empty and the bus drivers even came down to talk to each other because the traffic was DEAD STILL.



We probably saved 3 hrs by walking that 15 minutes. And the walk was seriously an experience :p

Took another 45 mins to clear the immigration apprantly because of their new index fingers scanning system.

Officially in JB ard 1+ and headed str to Ya Wang Restaurant!





I took a BEFORE pic but accidenally deleted it -_-

Anw all these food for RM140 and it fed 7 pax to the brim! :)

Took a cab to KSL City for RM8 and our 1st stop was MANI-PEDI!



Jess and I did the new colour from OPI's Pirates Series and Debs did her (usual) gothic color :p



The service was ok lah, they did what they sld do for classic mani and pedi but I didnt really enjoy the entire experience because they has so many customers I felt that they were in a rush.

Still, it was a full set for RM60, nth much to complain abt :x

The guys wanted to watch X-Men there but the timing didnt match so they ended up at KBox Plus. A medium room for 7 pax (incl 1 jug of drink) costs RM90. And they had THREE mics in the room. And the rooms and toilets were super clean! Damn worth it :D

Dinner was at a seafood hawker center.



All food photos on FB. We had Baby squid, cereal prawns, salted egg fish slices, kang kong, xiao bai cai, sting ray, butter cray fish (abt 2 crayfish for each person), coconut juices, sugar cane juices, all for RM230.



Will try the crab nxt time :D

After the meal, we went for massage opposite the hawker centre





Had leg massage and upper back massage for RM54.

The experience was ok lah, preferred the one in Thailand :)

And we jostled back to Sg at 1120pm, in time for the last bus back and the last train from Kranji.

I'm looking forward to another trip !!

His Peace Will Grant You Strength

The week before was MAD.

That explains the amount of money we splurged on food. Comfort food.

As the day of the Charity Bazaar draws near, work will just get increasingly crazy.

I've been praying for strength this whole week and while He granted me the strength that I needed to make it through the week, God told me very clearly that He will renew me on Sunday.

And today, God shared His words with us:

"Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful." - Colossians 3:15

And Pastor gave a very apt analogy:

We all know that the very center of a cyclone, the eye, is always quiet and calm. Yet the amount of energy that it generates is tremendous.

Similarly, when we feel like we need a tremendous amount of energy and strength to deal with all the hectic madness around us, we must always remember to fill our heart and mind with God's peace. The very center of our being must remain quiet and calm.

When we had to deal with something seemingly impossible and difficult, it doesn't help if we jump straight into it. Instead, if we stop, remain still and pray for understanding, we often find that we come back to the problem with a whole new perspective.

This week, I'll have the picture of a cyclone in my mind to remind myself that I have to constantly ask for God's peace to be in me while I brace through the roaring madness all around me.

From dreams to visions

It started off as a dream.



When I was sitting there at Paddington Garden in Taiwan.




Sipping my mixed berries shake and immersing myself in the relaxing environment.



I can see myself there, doing just that.



The dream became an idea.

After sharing the idea, it became a vision.

I'm amazed by how much the idea has grown and how real the dream seems to be.

It's amazing how everything just comes together when u're focus and knows exactly what u're looking out for.

I can't wait, another 2910 days.

We have alot to do, but I can see it so clearly now, it just has to happen.

I thank God for His amazing plans, for speaking to me that day, at Paddington Garden :)



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Changes

Change change change.

I hope the change that many Singaporeans had been asking for is not merely for opposition to enter the parliament.

I hope everyone who voted for change has a clear idea what are the changes they want to see for Singapore in the future.

For Singaporeans and for Singapore as a country.

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My Easter Bunny

I was in a horrendously bad mood on Thursday morning.

Pops called me when I just managed to get on to the bus (really late) and I happened to just realise that I forgot to bring my thumb drive. Aft spending a whole night working on a paper -_-

I was complaining, whining, sulky, irritated.

Right after lunch, he appeared behind me with this:






It's difficult not to have my mood lifted up after the sweet surprise :)

It's always little things like these that makes a relationship sweet and memorable.

And it shows that the special someone is always on your mind (not only on special occasions).

Thank you poppy chops :)))))

Lesson #2 - Attaining your dreams

Come to think abt it, I believe many of us either do not have dreams or we only dare to 'dream' abt the attainable.

We have been taught to be practical and grounded.

Never set ur sight or expectations too high lest u fall and hurt urself big-time.

I guess it's abt time we learn how to make our dreams attainable and not just dream abt the attainable.


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Sit still and watch the world go by

Have a kit kat!!

Guess what?

Tomorrow I'm on VL :) Hello to Me-Time!


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Life, as it is.

Did a stay-home Sunday after lunch with mummy and pops.

Been busy rushing about the entire week - Staff B paper, Welfare handover, SWB handover, Networking Party, interviews... Almost couldn't fork out time to trim my fringe.

Glad to have a lovely lovely break for the whole of Saturday :) It's indulgence in every way ;)

But I was still so tired and unwell today that I missed church :(

I need to organize my life and instill some control and discipline in the different aspects of my life.

The past 23 years had been easy (albeit maybe not so enjoyable at times) because things have been planned for. We're just living by the schedule, following the timetable, going with the crowd, from one class to another, one term after another.

Working life can be the same - from one weekday to the next, one paycheck after another. And we can just let life pass us by without really achieving anything that we value as significant in our life. We can OT till the cow comes home or we can knock off on time to while the evenings away with pointless activities.

Couple of weeks ago, I was out for lunch w the usual gang and we popped by Starbucks to grab a cuppa b4 returning to the office. Saw a lady casually dressed in tee, shorts and slippers, enjoying the lazy afternoon sun with a book in her hand, music in her ears and occasional sips of iced cold frappe. How I wish I can do that on a Tuesday afternoon, how enjoyable is that!

Well, I CAN actually do that. If I want to. I can always take a day leave and do the same thing, go on a relaxing date with myself. It's so easy, I don't even have to plan! But time has become such a scarcity in life that I'm not sure I can convince myself to something so seemingly "useless".

I guess what's really important now is to regain my sense of control and discipline in life and organize the different aspects of it back into shape.

I need to get closer to God, learn to enjoy every moment with my loved ones, control my expenses, clear my (physical, mental and virtual) clutter regularly, experience new things, gain new knowledge and have a goal in life.

I need to find a balance in experiencing the individual moments in life through the smaller things and knowing in a larger scale, what exactly am I working towards in life. There are so many things I can engage in but I want to know what are the things that can lead me to become the person that I want to be. What may seem important or enjoyable at this very moment may just be something that is a complete waste of time or worse, something that is holding me back from arriving at my ultimate goal.

I once came across a story abt a rich business man who went to a little island to take a break from all the stress that he had been facing at work. Out on the beach during his vacation, he wanted to get a drink and after a long walk, he saw this man resting on a daybed with a cooler box filled with canned drinks next to him and a simple sign that says Drinks for $2. The rich business man bought a can of drink and sat down nxt to the drink seller. They started talking and the drink seller asked the business man why did he look so unhappy. The business man told him that he is thinking about his work and he is very tired with all the stress that he is facing.

"Why are u working so hard then? What are u trying to achieve?" the drink seller asked.

"Money. I want to be rich, really really rich."

"And what happens when u are really really rich? What are u going to do with all the money?"

"I'll sell away my business, buy a house on a little island near the beach, set up a little stall there and enjoy the sea breeze, the sun and the waters at my feet everyday."

"Well, that's exactly what I'm doing everyday!"

I guess what the business man wanted was not the money, but the experience of bliss in its simplicity. If he had realised exactly what is it that he wanted in life, he might have been able to enjoy such a lifestyle for a much longer time.

But life is never as simple as a story. And it doesn't help that human are simply complex (pardon the oxymoron). A short break probably won't help us feel recharged or change our perspective of life. It's the realisation that we get through spending more time with ourselves and understanding ourselves or the eureka moments that hit on us when we slow down to observe and experience life.

I'm glad to know that my life has been perfectly planned by God, and that all I need to do is really to listen to Him and find out where He wants me to go and what He wants me to do. Nothing is chance, everything that we encounter has it's purpose, be it good or bad, enjoyable or heart-wrenching. Through joy we learn to be thankful, through tears we learn to be faithful.

May the Lord grant me wisdom to see His plans and obedience to act in His will.

2 of a Dozen

I rmb the last time it was Rabbit year, I was young, carefree, listening to Britney Spears' 1st album and the biggest thing in life was preparing for PSLE.

12 years on, another rabbit year and so many things have changed.

Now I'm more mature (I hope), more grounded, and I can see that there is so much more to life than just PSLE. More expectations, more responsibilities and more decisions to make are some of the things that comes along with age, but I've also found more people who are here to share my ups and downs, learnt so many lessons in life that helped to make me a more wholesome person and found a faith that has brought peace and guidance to my life.

Long past the age of major birthday celebrations (ok, not THAT long, I just had my 21st couple of yrs ago :X), I'm just really glad to have spent my birthday this year having simple gatherings with my loved ones :)

CHAOS

As usual, it's Chaos' tradition to plan surprise birthdays for each other :) This year (finally!), the surprise for my bday is no longer at my hs!









Poppy Love

Pops gave me a belated bday celebration because he had his exams on 1 March, the day aft my bday.

So we celebrated on the saturday aft my bday instead :)



And he brought me for a Spa at The Retreat :D Just what I need after a crazy mth of career fairs, late nights and writing of papers :))



I loved the whole experience! The service was awesome, they even took our blood pressure b4 the spa and told me that I have slight low blood pressure so if I feel giddy at the steam room, I sld go out and soak in the bath to cool down b4 gng back in again :)




The ambience and decor of the suite was so lovely I feel relaxed the moment I stepped in... And it made me forgot I was in Sg.















I was enjoying myself every single minute during that 3 hours worth of spa, bath and Swedish massage, I told pops that we have to do this at least twice a year :p





:) Feels so so so pampered :)

Aft the uber relaxing retreat, pops brought me to Dinner at a plc I've long been wanting to go :)












It reminds us of those Italian courtyards :)







<3

And I thank God for all the blessings that He had showered upon me and the amazing people that He had placed around me. I thank Him for drawing close to me when I drift away, for not giving up on me, for not witholding his love from an imperfect person like me. I thank Him for watching over me, for guiding me, for listening to my tears when I cry and no words can express how I feel, for granting me peace that surpasses all understanding.

I thank God that He found me.

I hope that when He finds you, you will open up your heart to receive His amazing gift too :)