23 Days to Wedding....

The New Year Ahead

The year ahead spells new challenges, new frontiers, new things in life to experience.  I'm telling myself to stay positive as each day unfolds. 

The year ahead will bring changes in my life and at work.  I'll be getting married in June.  We'll be getting our keys at the end of the month, in less than 15 days.  =)  Exciting changes.  

I've taken on a new role at work, in itself, it contains several new challenges.  It's kind of a new sort of managerial role at work.  I've not had to manage people till this year, only managing responsibilities.  This year it's managing people, physical assets, both expendable and non-expendable, programmes, systems, etc.  Interesting. I'm starting out with cataloguing of non-expendable physical assets.  Which already is quite a challenge.

December was a good time of reflection.  God in His kindness, reminded me once again of His mercy, and that He loved me.  I resolved to make the following resolutions of which I am having difficulty following:

1.  Daily Quiet Time with God - which is so important, I've seen the results of not having one for such a long time - dryness, cynicism, seeking for other things to fill up that God-shaped hole in my life. 

2.  Exercise daily - I need to exercise, my cholesterol level's 224 (moderately high range).  I also need to tone up my arms, so I look good in my gown. Haha.

3.  Make time to spend with family and friends - the older we get, the less time we seem to have to spend time with friends.  That's really sad...how does this natural evolution happen?

With the New Year ahead, my body is already strongly opposing the strain I'm putting on it.  I've been home for 6 days already.  Went to the A&E on Sunday night and Monday night, coz of bad gastric pains.  Turns out that I have gastritis, which is probably made worse by stress and skipping of meals.  I have a referral to see a specialist at the end of February.  So, hopefully I'll be able to take things easy so that my stomach doesn't act up.  With work and house and wedding to take care of, that in itself will be a challenge. =) 

With all that said and done, what does the year ahead look like for you?  Full of excitement?  Full of challenges?  Full of bleakness?  Full of bleahness?  Remember that you are in God's hands.  He's already been ahead of you.   Why not trust Him to take are of leading you ahead, as He's already been there and knows which way to guide you. 

WASSUP!!!

It's been almost a month into the holidays.  It's been nice nua-ing on some days.  Somehow time has zipped by.  What have I been up to anyway?

1.  Bintan (Liz, Su and Me)

The three of us decided to take time off and zip off to Bintan for 2 days of nua-ing.  It was really nice being at Nirwana Gardens again.  It was my second time there and I still feel that it was worth spending money to get there.  Liz has a wonderful account on her blog with pictures and all.  The hospitality of the people at the resort was wonderful.  We were actually there from Friday to Saturday, so we kinda missed the weekend crowd by hours.  I was surprised that the resort management arranged to place a plate of yummy cake with a welcome back note in our room, while we were out for dinner.  Talk about making your stay absolutely =).  

--- Interlude ---- Hockey (Mon), Hockey(Wed), Hockey(Thu)

2.  Bangkok (Su, Junmin, CX and Me)

A week after Bintan, the four of us flew off to Bangkok.  I was really excited as this would have been my first trip out of the airport at Bangkok.  It was a shopping-packed weekend.  I even made two pairs of pants at the tailors.  =)  I also learnt that I'm not quite cut out for bargaining at Chak Tu Chat...man, they quote you 250 baht and I just cut it down to 200 baht (only).  Not much of a bargainer huh.  I remember that t-shirts once went for 100 baht in Thailand.  Now, the least most people sell for is 150 baht.  =(

I'm thankful that we went with Changxian and Junmin.  If not, both Su and I would have been really lost.  Changxian's been there like 10 times or more in the past few years, so he really knows his way around to some of the major places.  He took really good care of us.  He was the one negotiating with the taxi drivers about the fare.  He told the 3 of us that this was his first time in Bangkok where the taxi drivers don't take out pamplets or leaflets to try to take him to some place "special"!  Haha! 

Junmin brought us to Khao San, which is a backpacker's haven, on our first night at Bangkok.  The hostels are mostly occupied by backpackers.  BUT...the stalls there sell things cheaper than many places!  When you ask them how much a t-shirt costs, they quote you about 180 baht, but if you buy more than one, the price easily slips down to 150 baht. =) You can get a pretty decent room at a hostel for about S$25 a night.  (If you're on a tight budget.) 

It was Changxian's first time there too.  He bought a fake retro Liverpool/Addidas t-shirt, which has the words "Candy" printed across the front of the t-shirt.  To the three of us girls, we were like..."HUH?"  Why would a guy want to wear a t-shirt with the words "Candy" emblazoned in front?  Haha!  Yes, only soccer fans would know that Candy was the sponsor for Liverpool in the past.  Who'd know anyway?  *shrug*

The four of us returned to Khao San on the third (last) night of our stay at Bangkok.  We really liked it.  Here's a pic of CX and I at Khao San.

I wanna eat Phad Thai and beef ball noodles!!!!!!!!  Roadside stalls are the best! 

When we got to the airport on the last day, our flight was once again delayed by an hour.  Sigh... Our flight to BKK was delayed too.  I suspect it's the same plane.  Oh well...yi fen qian, yi fen huo. 

3.  Wedding Photoshoot preparation and Photoshoot

We got back to Singapore last Monday, from Bangkok.  I spent the whole of Tuesday getting ready for my photoshoot.  Facial, eyebrow trimming and manicure.  The manicure was courtesy of Eileen.  Thank you very much!  Met up with Eileen after my facial in town for my late, late lunch.  She very, very generously offered her manicure package for me to use.  It was really good!  She accompanied me throughout my eyebrow trimming at Shu Uemura and manicure at her manicure place.  Will miss having her around...

Well, the photoshoot went well, I thought.  We managed to complete the outdoor shoot seconds before it started to really rain.  What did I look like?  Well...like a PRINCESS!!! Haha!  I felt like a doll, having make-up caked onto my face, my hair twisted and crimped and twirled into shape.  My designer gave me a surprise after I completed taking photos with the first gown.  (There were 5 outfits in total) She told me that she made me a brand new gown to wear for my wedding, to replace the other gown that she had already made for me.  When she took it out, I was completely wowed by the gown.  It's really really pretty with LOTS of detail. 

So what did I look like?  It's a surprise!  Come for my wedding, then you'll know. Haha!

So what's next?

So I'm staying at my current school. 

Thank God for favour from my principal.  There seem to be plans ahead and more work ahead for me.  But with God as my strength, I should be able to pull through next year. 

I went to try my evening gown two Saturdays ago.  It was really nice.  Eileen came along with my mum.  Jesline my designer was really good.  I mean, our appointment lasted about 30mins.  She helped me to pick out my gowns for the photoshootm, which will be in the middle of next month. 

Eileen and my mum accompanied me to choose a pair of shoes to match my gowns.  I can only afford one pair.  You see, I need a pair of shoes which are 4 inches high!  It's not easy to find a pair that high that is silver.  So I have to get them made.  It'll be really nice. 

Shoe fitting will be on Friday. 

The holidays are coming...I can smell it.   It's been so long since I've gone on a trip to relax.  Can't wait for it.  Our tickets are all booked..... =)

Challenges

I tried applying to transfer to work with the Saints.  However, things seem to have gone wrong somewhere along the line.  I've experienced highs and lows this week.  A real emotional roller-coaster.   Some things I must thank God for:

1.  No school for the kids on Wednesday and Thursday.  So I didn't have to deal with them and my emotions.

2.  Supportive friends.

3.  Prayers of friends and family.

4.  Sound advice from people who know.

5.  Time to relax and do my stuff.

6.  Ultimately, that God is in control of everything.  So whatever the outcome, I will accept it.   I sent an email this morning after finally being able to reach the person I've been trying to reach for the past 3 days, actually she called me.  I withdrew my application to transfer on the basis that if they can't post me to where I want to, then I would prefer to stay at my current school.

"For we know that in all things, God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to His purpose."