sheepers

I will be back properly. I want to post what little pictures I have of the summer and write little ditties for each one of them and I will. Unfortunately, right now, that isn’t an option. All the same, I’m sort of back from summer and full of promised anecdotes.

One of the things I prayed about when I first got back to Sydney was that I wanted to be somebody filled with grace. I guess that really is an odd thing to want to embody because for me grace is akin to being spineless. I don’t really remember specifically why I wanted to be full of grace, but that was what I prayed for.

But I also told myself, “I ain’t gonna be walked all over.“

Little did I know, God had something stewing.

Summer school was both awful and fun. Lessons were many and assignments and tests overflowed my little red leather diary.

I also became a boarder at Aunty and Uncle’s place. I wasn’t very sure how that would turn out, but I don’t think I had any other option.

At Aunty and Uncle’s place, I usually wake up too late to have breakfast with them, so I have it by myself with the sound of Aunty already preparing lunch humming in the background. Then I’m off to uni till late but not after sundown. Dinner is always ready, waiting and a decadent spread of some kind of stew, fried veggies and perfectly prepared rice. Followed by Uncle’s freshly bought stone fruit. Surprisingly, Aunty and Uncle sleep pretty late, sometimes almost they sleep at same time as I do. Aunty would either read or watch telly with Uncle who is usually lying on the beanbag soaking it in. I normally monopolise the computer and watch heaps and heaps of big bang theory and a very embarrassing ‘reality’ show that shall not be named.

Throughout my one month stay, I was reminded each day of how though some people may let you down and disappoint you, some people lift you up and show you the other side of things. Many a time I sit back, moan and groan about how horrible everything was, how unfair and undeserved it was. Though that much is true, I realise now that it is because of the unfavourable events that I learnt how good God really is and how good his people are. The immense love that showered me was so great. I was never short of a listening ear, a helping hand, solid advice or a prayer. Moreover, I have a bigger, better and prettier apartment to call home. Maybe it takes a push and a shove before I realise how truly blessed I am and how brilliant my Aba father is.

I think the next step from here is to remember this summer, to negate the wonderful acts and magnify the horribles would be a unacceptable. I think I have done that quite a bit I am ashamed to say, but I will learn and will remember.

Alas, the summer is gone. Let’s hope summer school wasn’t the only source of my education.

i think i need a sunrise

i’ve been so busy with the mountains of odd things that find their way to the top of my to-do list that i haven’t really had the chance to sit down and complete my thoughts. and when my mind is blank food creeps in..

i saw this entry on simply recipes which reminded me of nanna and her version of sloppy joes which is made with a sandwich maker and with normal bread instead of the buns the recipe uses. also the recipe itself is quite different from the one on simply recipes. nanna put a hint of curry powder in her beef mince which gave them nice kick and probably didn’t use as many ingredients as they do. i don’t remember nanna putting tomato sauce in or red wine vinegar or celery. actually on hindsight, i doubt the recipe even vaguely resembles nanna’s recipe. oh well.

back to nanna and her recipe (and my tummy). i used to slip in some cheese just before nanna closed the lid to let it toast which would always get her cross because the cheese had a tendency of oozing out of the bread and getting messy. but the result was always fantastic with gooey melty cheese on top of a brilliant beef mince in a perfect sandwich triangle. it made getting nanna cross very worth it.

how wonderful it is that sometimes though a recipe differs so much from how we know it to be, they still bring back memories and a good chuckle.

hmm, now i feel like going out and getting one myself.. along with a cake mixer..

okay, i m done! have a good weekend!! (for the lucky few with three day weeks or who just don’t feel like going to uni)

my bags are not packed.

my bags are not packed.
i am not ready to go.
and there is no taxi waiting outside my door.

i have not blogged in the longest time. i will use play the exams-and-other-unpleasant-events excuse card. not that i actually need one.

the exams have ended. two semesters worth of campos visits; debits and credits; demand and supply; tea drinking; pie eating; late-night sleeping; youtubing; assignments; tutorials; lectures; workshops; laughing at the back of class; ocf fridays; crazily msning/ calling friends asking them for help for the latest quiz/assignment/exam/test; kebab guzzling; and racing to uni have come to a abrupt but welcomed halt. thank God my course calls for only three years of my youth life.

i find it liberating not having to worry about waking up early for school hence blogging at 217 in the morning. i like how i sat in my pajamas for the better part of the day, they are very comfortable.

i like the holidays. it directly and indirectly makes me comfortable.

today i got a wee bit too excited and bought some toilet cleaning gear. tomorrow we shall have a clean toilet.

actually i planned on also going for a jog and a swim, getting my nails done and having a nice dress up dinner. i wonder whether my little self will actually do all that. since 2 to 3 p.m. is already blocked out for ready steady cook.

yay! i have a nice busy busy day ahead of me. i also have a really interesting few weeks ahead of me, japan tripping mostly. i want to overdose on sake and sashimi and ramen. i want to go see the zen monks (did you know they beat their fellow meditating pals when their pals don’t concentrate? they use a rod and whack whack) and i want to freeze my bum off and i want to go for my onsen. yes i want to. i want to see those monkeys that pop into my onsen water with me, i want to poke them and make them my little minions.

i also want to rest. i want to run home to singapore and be with my family and go do what sims do. i want to see my friends and tell them how much i’ve missed them.

i want to pick up where i’ve left time.

drool-filled kisses and furry hugs.

Dog, dog.

Cashyboo, I remember the day Daddy brought you home. It was after school, and I was at Nai-Nai’s house when daddy called to say he had a surprise for me at home. When I came home, there you were this shy, drooling monster! You were so quiet, we all thought you were a serious pup! Boy, how wrong were we?

I remember playing football with you, I remember hating picking up the ball after your turn because you would always drool all over it!

I remember trying to teach you how to walk on your hind legs, I think you were very relieved when this silly girl came to a gloomy realisation that dogs weren’t physically capable of walking on two feet!

I like how you would pretend to be brave and bark at the stranger at the gate; I like how you would run to the back of the house when we let the stranger in.

I especially love how you would run to the fence to fight with the neighbour’s dog everytime we called for you, as if your name was more of a battle cry.

Thank you for being my dog, dog.

I love and miss you Cashyboo.

eat my little heart out.

I had a terrific cup of hot chocolate with marshmellows inside today at urban bites; and i’m especially happy because i love marshmellows in my hot chocolate. for some reason the coffee culture in Sydney has no place for marshmellows in hot chocolates. and because of this, i miss Perth. well not Perth exactly, but the really yummy coffee shop, Lemon, in Claremont in Perth. i remember soon after we realised that it made the best cups of coffee and hot chocolate, it was good-bye Barista and hello Lemon!

apparently, it wasn’t a well-kept secret as we thought it was. i always kept on bumping into familiar faces there, which made me wonder why the familiar faces didn’t tell me about Lemon?

so anyway you can imagine me squealing with excitement when the coffee lady carefully dropped them into my disposable cup of delight, for an extra 20 cents. now, thats a lot of money for 2 plain medium-sized white marshmellows, but can one put a price on euphoria?