It came across my mind...

I am almost afraid to write this down here because... given how well I know my perseverance and passion goes, I will probably say and not do it.

But the guide says, you must not keep it a secret. You must tell your family and friends so they will support you.

Is it ok to share it on my blog?....

Hmm.. here goes....

I

want...

Ok make it hope to someday....

no no no..

Ok take 2.

マラソンを参加したい！！

I said it!! In japanese though.

Here's it in English to everyone who is reading it.

I want to join a marathon!!!!! 1okm to start with I guess.

Opps, did I say something I shouldn't?

3rd Anniversary

2 more days to Oct 1st.

What's so special about Oct 1st? Apart from it being Children's Day? ( is it Singapore only?) which brings back fond memories of receving small gifts like pencils or notebooks from my teachers?

It marks the day I first arrived in Japan 3 years ago.

It has been 3 years!!

But I still remember every single moment that led me up to my departure. The decision-making days of whether to come to Japan or not, what I really want to do, which part of Japan, which school etc...And of course, the endless farewells...

It has been 3 years ah... A very significant part of my life which saw me taking a stride out from my comfort zone to venture into uncharted waters. Meeting people from all walks of life, literally. To a certain extent, understand that the world is actually larger than just 700km square. Struggling to find the unique me, establishing my own identity...

In the end ( not quite the end though), it all goes back to God.

No wonder there is a saying that His plans are just like a cross-stitch art. The back is full of messy knots, which is what we as humans only see. But the real master piece is actually the front which God has in mind.

Everything comes from Him. My desire, my plans, my identity and my life ahead.

Praise God for His faithfulness so far and beyond.

And of course, Oct 1st happens to be the day Carol will arrive too! We have already planned for a sumptous welcome dinner for her. Will update photos if we are not too busy eating and salivating.

David's Heart..

“Why are you downcast, O my soul? Why so disturbed within me? Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise him, my Savior and my God… You are my God my stronghold… Send forth your light and your truth, let them guide me… Then will I go to the altar of God, to God, my joy and my delight. I will praise you with the harp, O God, my God” (42:11; 43:2-4).

I love David’s heart, don’t you? He takes himself to account and reminds himself of God’s truth. David understands his emotions, his feelings, are not the final word. He cries out to God in the midst of his despair. His confidence is in Almighty God, the only One who can lift him out of this terrible, debilitating darkness.

Desperate for a word from heaven? Tortured by emotions that sweep over you in waves? Are you drowning in discouragement?
Like David, cry out to God. Rather than allow your mind to dwell on negative feelings, pray for God’s light and truth to lead you:

“Lord in my dark night of the soul, help me to remember your love and faithfulness. Lead me out of darkness into light. Thank you that although weeping may last for a night, a shout of joy comes in the morning. (Psalm 30:5)

My colleague

My colleague… I don’t know if I like or dislike her… I don’t hate her or anything but she makes me feel really insecure in her presence at times. I have to be really careful, walk on my toes when she is in one of her moods.

She’s fun to talk to, because she is a very humorous and interesting character. Yet, when she is in a bad mood, she acts just like a kid, slamming drawers and tables, pouting, making “ahhh” and “oo” sounds… Everyday she comes to work with a very tired face (even after 4 days of break!) telling me how much she hates this job and how tired she is.

She talks a lot behind the backs of the other guys in the department as well. Though she hates them (or at least she says that in front of me), she behaves very friendly in front of them then complains how irritating they all. I mean, if you don’t want them to come and talk to you all the time, just stop behaving so friendly and make them think you love to talk to them! Not that I am some angel.. But I just don't feel uncomfortable joining her in the gossip sessions.

I don’t think it is wrong not to talk to the guys unnecessarily. I remain friendly and respectful but I think I draw a very clear line between work and personal so I never initiate casual chats nor entertainment them too far. So while the guys talk to me nicely and sometimes we do chat, they don’t bother me unnecessarily.

It's just so hard to deal with such people…

By the way she is in one of her moods again…

tired....

Worn out from work...
Eyes very tired...

I slept at 9pm yesterday, can you believe it??

I need to pack my room soon to make space... I don't think I want to live with spiders in an earthquake zone anymore...

Going Osaka...

I am off to Okazaki and Osaka this week!!!

3 days break again...

Going to meet dear Satoshi =) =)

Overwhelmed...

Overwhemled with blessings, overwhelmed with love and company... *blush*

I think I wrote this a few months back how lonely I was in Tokyo alone then. Then came the visitors every month...

Now comes the "permanent residents" list!

As I mentioned, I have Esther who stays 3 mins away from me. Then Carol will be coming next in 2 weeks time for 18 months.

Then So-kun, my Taiwanese classmate whom I got to know back in my Japanese school has found a job here and is also considering moving into my neighbourhood.

Last but not least, Shin my ex-roommate!

She has found a job in Tokyo as well and is coming!

4 friends given! And all are people who are on extremely good terms with me.

Time...

The theme of the recent Arashi concert I went to... and is going this Saturday also...

Time is a something I think about a lot in Japan. And along with it, my energy, my erm. youth? What is the something I can do for other people?

I fell down the stairs once at the station near my house. Thank God it was winter and because I am heavily layered, I escaped with minor injuries. But my heart went cold... because nobody bothered to help.

In fact, I came across so many incidents, a blind person trying to cross the road, a lady who sprained her ankle hobbing on the street, old folks standing unsteadily on the train without anyone willing to give up their seats.

Sometimes, I am just so shocked at how people can just walk past these people without pausing for a moment or lending a helping hand. But yet, when I do see people who actually bother to help, my heart is warmed immediately.

My prayer for myself is to be really sensitive to the needs of people around me. I think I lack that. My body always acts faster than I can think. Meaning, before I can think of helping, my legs has already carried me a distance away from the person in need. But I secretly want to be a person who makes a difference. I need not be a matyr but even just that one person is enough.

I remember a story which MOE used to advertise teaching as a career.

A boy was walking along the beach one day when he saw many star fish lying on the beach. He walked over to them and started to pick up one by one and throw them back into the sea. A man saw what he was doing and said to him

" Why do you bother? There are so many of them, it will not make a difference anyway."
The boy answered, "It will not make a big difference on the whole, but it makes a world of difference to each one of them."

(Ok, i rephrase everything according to what I remember...)

But yeah, with Carol's arrival, we are going to do something concrete! Besides our common love of hiking, we are going to do volunteer work, dance lessons, create havoc, binge and basically live life to fullest while bring good to the lives of others.

I am excited!!!!!!!

The world is indeed very small!

To echo what Carol mentioned in her blog, the world is indeed very small!!

I bumped into my secondary school ECA junior at the traffic light near my office today. In Tokyo, Akihabara!

And to add on to it, this is the second time actually. I bumped into another junior in Kyoto 3 years ago too...

Bumped into my Uni professor in Osaka 2 years ago....

It's a small world after all~~ It's a small small world ♪♪♪

チクチョ。。。智に会える日いつくるの。。。。

24 Hours T-shirt

A T-shirt designed by Oh-Chan for the 24 TV event 3 years ago! Talented talented Oh-chan =)




I was talking to my friend, cell member Meiling a few days ago and telling her all about Oh-chan. She said " wow! I think you got really good taste in guys!" haha... But sigh... only Meiling thinks so. My colleague cannot understand why I like Oh-chan. He is not the most handsome guy around but he is so talented and has a very attractive personality. But I am glad we all have different tastes in people we like. If not , either everyone has to be a clone of each other, or we will all be fighting for the same guy.

The colour for Autumn this year...

The magazine of the week...

The freebie that came with it.... An Anna sui Pouch!

And finally, the colour for Autumn!

A surprising black. But I can imagine how happy Carol will be with her very apt wardrobe. heee

Arashi's Summer Tour- Time T-shirt

At the request of my friend, here's the T-shirt...

Front...

Back

Simple with no frills.