i borrowed Jingting's description and used the same words "they're very brave" to describe this new coupling I know.
I can only imagine the social expectations they have to go against, as well as a lot of explaining to do. the new grounds both of them will have to navigate through. may God be in the centre of their relationship :)

lol. just flatly told someone to stop messaging me.
i think facebook is awkward because people whom u dun even know well at all (like talk only once, introduce ONCE) can message u and keep messaging u.
really need to separate my friends from acquaintances too. feels uncomfortable.

JUDGMENT DAY (2013) TEASER #02 (zz, shunyi, myself (big pink bag) as passerbys at 0:19-0:21. LOL)

Serving in the Christmas drama has really touched my heart greatly. seeing everyone work together, seeing everyone serving together... and seeing how the many many small hands put together can produce something that God can use to touch the hearts of people, the insignificant words written, which did not seem much, were used by God to make people laugh, to make people think, to touch something within them.
when i receive the praises from the people, i get reminded of how there're so many more people who deserve the praises much more than me. the amount of time and effort they've put into the whole production. i saw unsung heroes who gave and did not ask for things in return. the actors who didn't have any lines, but had to put in as much time (or even more time than me) and much more effort in thinking up a plot for their actions, the directors who had to put in time for 3 rehearsals a week for at least 2 months, staying with us, encouraging us, directing us, making each detail better. the parents of the children who acted, who came, left, came, left, had to yield their schedules to the timing of the rehearsals as well. the lights people who were there for so many more hours than us, who had to be on duty for the entire stretch of time. the stage managers, production crew who did up the dance, the music, the multimedia.the image people who had to be there as early as us in the morning to ensure that we look presentable for stage.
i just get reminded that i'm merely a fingerprint contributing to the collage that forms a whole picture.

i think not going for my quarterly holiday is taking a toll on me. haha. maybe it's also cos I didn't get a proper break (like total mental break from any work. haha). i guess it's not a very good idea to be working during your holidays. haha.
i wonder what will happen in January, when both the school and prison work kicks in :) coupled with tuition. and japanese lessons. and ministry.
thank God there're no more rehearsals. haha. though i really enjoy the rehearsals. i guess having everything mashed up together is a very good idea ba :) haha. pretty interesting how God took away some commitments/delayed some commitments.
i feel quite sorry to my sensei cos I've been skipping her classes :\ like out of 6 lessons, i've only gone for 3! D: ahhhh.
and seriously, i really dislike pms. hahaa. everything just comes at one go. headache, muscle aches, fever, fatigue.... jialat.
praising God, listening to Beethoven and laughing at my cat while sitting in my air-coned bedroom seems to help with the symptoms though :) hahaa. now i just wish i don't have a case conference tmr morning :(
i really really need to set aside time to write the christmas cards :\ and to tidy my room. hahhaa.
yay to bangkok at the end of the year! thanks to Clara for suggesting the holiday! woohoo!

getting irked by the way things are done.
irked by people who becomes 'spiritual' all of a sudden.

talking to my inmates has been interesting :) i feel like i've been learning about the more vice-y aspect of life these few days. the security guard now recognizes me even though my pass is not ready as of yet.
i just can't help thinking that if they've been given the environments that we have, the chances that we've gotten, then it would be that things would probably be much different for them. if there's been someone who encouraged them, someone who disciplined them, someone who bothered to be with them, someone who would have wanted to fight for them, someone to accept them and allow them to express as they are, then things would have been very different?

stuck between two slightly ambiguous situations. one more than the other.
for the other, am observing.
for the one, i have a slightly greater desire to lay it on the table and talk about it. haha. but then again, it could just be hearsay.
i hope it's hearsay.
leaving the situations in His hands and waiting it out.

I don't like it when people try to insinuate that there's something going on when there isn't. irritated.

sleepy. and have to wake up early tmr cos of family sessions. haha. my travel lust has returned though, but i suspect it's more of a result to wander off somewhere without having plans, rather than wanting to escape from something. wanna explore places more thoroughly!

okay. i think i do feel a little hesitant on travelling to Japan in a group of 3 :\
i feel like my own retreat time is kinda taken away.

recently was talking to a brother, and because long time ago (at another wedding), I've asked for updates, he shared that he does have someone in mind now. haha. and that he's going to ask her in the coming week!
quite excited for the brother (and the sister). keeping them in prayer that if this is the person and the right timing, things would go on well :)
and i guess that's one of the blessings of being in Hope, that one really does feel like one has brothers even though i may not have any in the family :) like oh... can talk about this kind of thing. or can come up to me directly and remind me not to be perfectionistic in a brotherly way. haha. appreciate it:)

lol.
recently has been sensitive to the dynamics and behaviours of the people around me.
interesting to have my observations confirmed .. again and again and again and again. 

November is busy for me because:
a) my daily work is still on-going
b) my prison casework has started (means prison visits, home visits, case meetings)
c) drama rehearsals
d) 9 hours of Japanese lessons every week (normal pre-advanced lessons + preparation for N3 exams)
e) preparation for weddings of people

I'm actually quite alright with the load of things at this moment, but am looking forward to December when my daily work and preparation for N3 will finally cease and I can have more time to do preparations for all the other areas in a more detailed manner (e.g. preparing for hen party, cleaning up my room to a certain extend, doing the preparation for drama and homework for japanese class...).
and of course, not to say that i don't miss the days when I can have time to watch movies and read books and eat sushi in a leisurely manner. haha.

tonight's a good night to listen to classicals and read Kafka on the shore :)

Agatha Christie books I've read since the last time I've updated on this (I think):
1) Nemesis - very hard book to read cos it's full of political implications. i took like a whole month of mornings to struggle through it :\
2) One, Two, Buckle my shoe
3) Ordeal by Innocence
4) Passenger to Frankfurt
5) Peril at End House
6) Sad Cypress
7) Sleeping Murder
8) Sparkling Cyanide
9) Spider's web

Reading "Taken at the Flood" now. I have 29 books to go before finishing the whole collection. haha. so far 43 have been read (woohoo!) So she's written 73 books in all. wow. that's a lot! and it's quite refreshing to read through the collection cos the style is rather different in each book. haha.

I still have lots of books left unread T_T like christian literature, haruki murakami books, borrowed books... ah.

you know you're busy when you sporadically update your blog, and only remembers that you have a blog on a slow monday morning (which is turning into the afternoon).
but even when you want to update your blog, there might not be much to update if there hasn't been enough time given to think. lol.
November is too busy. i'm missing the days I can just sit somewhere and read my books.

sigh.
sometimes i don't like picking up cases who's in the same service as me because there's a lot of extra dynamics that'd come into play.

I'm looking forward to meeting my child next Monday! hahaha.

hahaa. a while ago I was wondering to myself what personality types my secondary best friends were, since they're the type of people whom I felt naturally inclined to work with and be with.
along the way, I've realized that one of them is probably an ENTJ, and the other is probably an ESTJ. hahaa. so i guess i appreciate extroverts who are quick in making decisions who are of the thinking type. perhaps cos the way of living life is similar ba, yet not too similar. i like motivated people who are clear on where they want to go and what they want to do. prob cos of upbringing? o_o