Yet

I have so many things on my mind, don't really know how to start. But I'll just start and see where my thoughts carry me...

A few days ago, leo suddenly asked me: "Do you miss your youth?" I had to think for a while. Did he mean to ask if I missed my youth as in the way I missed my childhood? Or was he referring to the teenagers I work with?

I know I started my new job apprehensive, afraid of my inability to work with difficult youths. And it was pretty daunting at first. Youths were the last people I wanted to work with. I guess, once again, I stumbled into something unexpected. I'm always doing that. Crazily, after half a year, I'm enjoying the teens. They make me laugh, they make me cry when they remind me of personal issues, especially when they have got to do with those close to me.

I suddenly find that I do miss my youth, the days when I dreamt of becoming the lead singer of a cool funky band. The days when saying "stay kool and funky" came from the heart, when cheering your loudest for your school at track and field meets was pure patriotism on your part.

When I look at my youths now, I really feel like they are a great bunch. And at this point in time, I can only say I enjoy my work.

And then I wonder, is youth work really something I want to do in the long run. I have always harboured this secret wish (well, it's not so secret now!) to comfort the grief-stricken, those who suffered losses in any form. A big part of me wants to help those who are just like me. But somehow, I don't think I'm ready. Yet.

I want to let other people know that it's ok to cry. But I'm not ok with crying myself. Yet.

I guess that's the main thing.

So maybe this youth thing is a good thing for me now. Maybe, next time, I'll stumble into something unexpected again. Maybe, just maybe.

Boxing Day 2006

I don't know how many Boxing Days the girls (class of 4/6) have spent over the last decade. But here we are again at Wynne's house, the really pretty 3-room flat done up fantastically by the architect couple. If the party's over at Wynne's home, it's sure to be organised - check out our plastic cups that she so kindly labelled. :)

YH, together with her Japanese fiance, was also visting from London. It was great to see her again! Group photo taken by Takeshi himself...he goes: "Hai!!!" and we go "Chee sze!!!" (And YH goes: "pls lah...it's CHEESE! Not Chee sze!!!")

:)

He's a big boy now...

Ethan is a big boy now...gonna be 2 years old in about 2 months. :)

Rapunsale - A Fashion Bazaar

Ethan mummy, who runs the online boutique called epilogue (www.epiloguepages.com), is organising Rapunsale - A Fashion Bazaar. Names like Antipodean, Venue and Felt will be some of the people selling their stuff.

Details:
Date: 16 Dec (this Sat)
Where: Loof
Time: 4pm to 10pm

Check out this website for more details: http://www.epiloguepages.com/rapunsale.htm

(I'll be helping her sell her epilogue bags and stuff as well!)

It doesn't matter where you stand

My uncle is now staying at the same hospital as A, my hairstylist. A's condition is pretty bad, but he's keeping positive. Perhaps when I feel like it, I will talk more about A next time, cos after seeing him semi-immobilised, I feel really quite sad.

About my uncle the taxi driver. Here's how the accident happened:

At about 1am in the morning, he and his taxi driver friend B decided to stop their cars along the road somewhere in Bedok for a rest. B is sitting in the driver's seat, with the window wound down, while my uncle is standing next to that window talking to B. Along comes a volvo, helmed by a driver suspected of drink driving. Volvo crashes into B's stationary taxi, which on impact jerks forward to hit my uncle, who flies and hits the road facedown. I know I know, we all had questions about which angles the respective cars moved in, but my uncle can't remember a single thing cos he blacked out. He only knew he was talking to B, and the next thing was, he woke up in hospital.

When I saw him, I was very taken aback by his appearance, cos his face looked like it had been bashed up really bad by someone. Swollen face, blackened and puffy eyes (he can only open one eye now) and lots of abrasions. But thank God, internally, everything seems to be all right at this juncture. Doctors, however, want to keep him under observation.

Seriously, if not for B's car that cushioned the impact of the crazy Volvo, my uncle would not be alive today.

Mayday's ABC Stout True Friendship Concert 2006

As leo dua me and had to attend another event, I almost had to watch Mayday in action - alone. Thank goodness belle decided to forgo her extreme tiredness, she turned up later on. I got into the queue outside the Indoor Stadium (see pic above), sat down on the *ahem* floor and started reading my counselling book while chewing on my chicken mayo sandwich from the nearby 7-11. It drizzled a bit, but I had my umbrella. HAHA.

I made a new friend K before we entered the arena, and that was a really cute experience. She's this 30-ish mother, pretty hip looking, who tapped me on my shoulder and asked if I was watching the concert alone. And then, we invited each other to sit side by side to enjoy the concert together. She was complaining that she missed Mayday last year cos she had to look after her newborn baby!!! Hahahaha. And she very hiong! She asked the security people if she could drink some beer at her seat, cos you know, being an ABC STOUT sponsored concert, drinks were sold at well, designated areas. She told me "For more than 2 hours, must be high a bit lah." Unfortunately for her, the rules didn't allow her to do that.

For a free ticket and free-seating, I must say I was VERY VERY lucky to be able to nab a seat just THREE ROWS away from the corner of the stage!!! WOOHOO!!! K and I were sooooo excited we started sms-ing pple to declare just how close we were to the stage. And you know what? Ashin looked at me later during the concert. I swear he did. :) It was pretty obvious that the audiences were mostly Mayday fans, especially all standing in the mosh pit (see above pic)

Although the highlights of the night mostly belonged to Mayday (see above pic), especially since that day was Ashin's 31st birthday (Dec 6), I personally felt that one of the best items that night was performed by Bobby Chen. He sang the powerful One Night in Beijing. SOLID. I even recorded it down.


Just to show you how close I was to the stage, THE BIG HEAD that you see in the pic above is mine. :) Last but not least, I wanna thank belle for introducing me to Mayday, and always being at Mayday concerts with me, even though we don't always sit at the same seats. In the past she got media invites, but this time, I was the one who secured the FREE TICKET ok! Haha.

Happy.

Ethan the ace driver

It's been a while since my godson Ethan has appeared on my blog. Here he is again! Big boy now :) And go-kart ace driver!

He tagged along with us to Permas Jaya in Johor for some go-karting on a big race track. Heh heh. He sure knows how to handle the steering wheel!

At the stroke of midnight

Yesterday, at about 5 minutes to midnight, there was a guy waiting at the lobby gate for a resident of my block to flash that silly card to open the gate. Well, he was probably crossing his fingers for someone to come home so late at night. And that angel happened to be me.

He was holding a crumpled-looking yellow plastic bag containing what looked like a cake box. We stepped into the lift together and it turned out we were getting off at the same floor. Hmm...I thought to myself...I've really never seen this boyish-looking neighbour before. When we reached the corridor, he started searching for a unit, which happened to be next to mine. That unit is rented out, so the occupants are always different.

The next thing I knew, he sheepishly placed the plastic bag on the floor outside the unit's door, and took out the cake box. WAH....I think hor....it's a surprise for his girlfriend leh. And then, my grandfather's clock struck a resounding 12 times. And I realised, he was probably celebrating her birthday. Sho... shweeeet...

I was tempted to see the unfolding events (would the door open?), but I decided to be well, less kay-pee-oh, and closed my door. I really hope all turned out well :)