Seraphical Dreams.

Sunday, July 29, 2007

Listening to: 103.2 FM Heart of Sydney
Mood: Ok
Weather@Sydney: 11 deg, chilly

.:. [ [ Back into the arms of cold frost ] ] .:.

Time flies. It's been almost a week & a half since I jetted back to Sydney, with my heart almost torn into half the day I left Singapore. I still recall how heavy my heart was on the 17th July as I headed towards the airport with my parents in dad's car & how I almost didn't want to to board the plane as dear & I embraced tearfully at the airport departure gate.

Many times I questioned myself if coming to Sydney to study had been the right thing to do. There have been many who expressed their disapproval of me leaving a seemingly meaningful & stable teaching professional to start in a completely new field - some had the audacity & ignorance to say I'm being "unstable"(?!). I also wonder if giving such a huge space between dear & I in our relationship was a wise decision. Nevertheless, though I've doubted myself momentarily at times & despite the seemingly insummountable and daunting academic demands and occasional social isolations, I am still glad I came. It's a choice I made for my personal growth & advancement - be it as a person - intellectually or socially, I believe it will be worth it in the end. It has also taught me to embrace even more tightly the things I've always had - friendships with those I consider very dear in Singapore, kinship ties with my granny, parents & niece, bond with those were once my students but now I consider my younger siblings & friends, availability of awsome toiletries & beauty services in Singapore (heh..), availibility of education resources & career opportunities in Singapore or Australia.

The feeling of being back in Sydney this time is definitely different from a semester back. This time, I'm back with greater confidence with a better understanding of culturally acceptable & favorable interaction, realistic expectations for academic performance and having built a growing & stable social support network here in Sydney.

School began this week & if I thought last semester was a killer.. this semester is going to only be even harder!! Modules for this semester is more specific in terms of application & deals a lot more with anatomy. Although these are essential skills for my profession, but it's hard! Like knowing how to help patients with hemiplegia to regain walking skills by first understanding normal movement sequences and balance reactions. Then part of the assessments this semester includes "viva" - practical assessments of how we will move or help patients. Tons of group work & notes to plough through every week too.

Class pretty much the same. Good news is the yucky gay lecturer is leaving (good riddance!). Coursemates still the same .. horrid ones still exist, nice ones still exist. Nevertheless it feels a little strange with Man Shan not around. Guess it's just Yang & Nancy & me now!

Fieldwork began this week as well. I'm at DADHC - Department of Ageing, Disability & Home Care. It's a community service and deals with clients with a wide range of disabilities in varied settings. I will be dealing mainly with sensory integration dysfunction this time & my coursemate who was posted there with me & I were frantically trying to gather info on this subject because we were responsible for creating & implementing an intervention on our clients within the next 6 weeks. Its exciting coz we get to actually try out our own intervention but scary coz it's a live patient we are talking about here! Not textbook or just following around the supervisor!!

I got to attend the annual Aromatic Festival @ the Rocks last weekend. It's when all the various reputable coffee & chocolate companies set up tents & sell their products. I initially arranged to meet Melizza to browse through only, but later found out my good friend, Mike, was taking part in a BArista competition there too. So I was real motivated to go check it out! Well, it was too crowded to make any meaningly purchases but I was happy to meet Mike & watch him at the competition which I thought he was awsome! I think he is going to rise up to be a really good barista in Australia in due time. Even though he was the last competitor, it was evident the audience & judges were completely intrigued & entralled by his art & skills! Go Mike!

I had my first tour of the Norther beaches in Sydney with Steve. We took a drive up all the way to Palm beach passing all the other glorious gorgeous coasts (Dee Why, Narabeen, Warriewood, Mona Vale, Newport, Bilgola, Avalon, Whale Beach and Palm Beach.) ... I've never seen this beautiful sight of Sydney. Steve was right in saying the experience will change my perspective of Sydney, after being stuck in the dingy inner west areas. Really enjoy the ride & the company. We also got to enjoy yummy fish & chips by the beach, as well as a live jazz performance. Sigh .. what more can u ask for? :) We are planning to tour the Central Coast the next round!

Ah ... this reminds me .. Yang, Nancy & I are in the prelimnary stages of planning a trip to NZ end of the year. Well .. fingers crossed & see how things go! :)

9:43 AM

Friday, July 27, 2007

Read my VisualDNA™ Get your own VisualDNA™

2:34 PM

Saturday, July 21, 2007

Listening to: "Down" by JJ Lin
Mood: Contented
Weather@Singapore: Hot hot hot

+ :: Adventures in Singapore :: +

.:. Significant People I've Met & Spent Time With .:.
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1) Dear Dear

The face I saw when I arrived & the last face my eyes lingered on when I departed. The one who spent the most time (& the most $$! :)) on me during this holiday. Savouring good food, enjoying quiet moments, strutting around Singapore ... the one person who almost caused me not to board my plane! He's been simply ... the best. Every food eaten tastes more than doubly more delicious & every place visited ever more enjoyable & special because you were there to share it with me. Miss & love you so much dear!

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2) Dad & Mom & Grandma

Dad was the second familiar face I gazed on upon my return and mom, the third. This trip away has improved our relationship for sure, & gosh how much I miss them! Really relished our tim sum & fish head curry meals together. My family has a perculiar non-communication way of communicating where affection & care is subtly detected through that one fleeting look of concern, that barely there smile & occational chiding. Neverthless, love them to bits. They've always been my sercurity net & the ones who make every dream I have come true. Enjoyed a lengthly conversation I had with grandma. Never thought time spent with grandma could be so fun .. will make an effort to do so more the next time round.

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3) Megan

The one who dashed across the house in a frenzy to embrace me when she heard I was back. The one whose face lights up unreservedly whenever she sees me. The one who sticks to me for fear I might disappear. I love this girl to bits. I feel so honored & flattered by her affection & appreciation of my presence in her life. The one whose mother frustrated & irritated me because she would scold Megan for liking me & wanting to spend time with me; who would tell tales to Megan about me in the absence of my brother. Childish, manipulative & small hearted woman she is! I pray Megan will grow up to be much more of person than her own mother is!

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4) 2E2 Mushroom Family & other students

These special guys & gals make me feel my existence as a teacher & a person is worth more than I thought ... being able to share quality & quantity moments with them - be it munching on food or catching movies or listen to a few fooling around senselessly, it never fails to crack me up. Really enjoyed my one day visit back in Henderson .. it was almost a surreal celebrity experience with throngs with students following me around ... & eh .. attending that funnt chinese class with some of them. Suffering lei! :) It was nice to see the GB gals again although it was rather disturbing to see the company not in very optimum state. Neverthless I believe God's grace will be sufficient for 61st & He will fulfill His plans through it.

Charrier, Eliza, Carine, Grace, Ziyao, Daylan, Larry, Heng Tat, Shang Yi, Shawn, Zheng Kai - You guys ROCK. Xueli & Wenxin - You gals ... are swell! :)

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5) Gladys & Kris

Am extremely humbled & joyful through the constant correspondance with my ex-colleague & being able to catch up. God has a funny way of allowing us to make close aquaintances with the least likely & I've always felt our friendship is a real special & precious one. These two women are really unique & friends worth keeping for life.

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6) Pock Hoe

My long time buddy of almost a decade! The one who has been there with me - seeing me through & supporting me through most of life's ups & downs. Definitely one of the most underrated persons in my life. He took half day leave to keep me company & we enjoyed a good afternoon together walking Orchard Road & eating dim sums & desserts together. He's my Ah Pek & very affectionately so. He's one shining evidence that close platonic friendship does exist!

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7) Buddy Nic

My buddy totally surprised me one morning by turning up at my home unannounced just to see me!! He wasn't able to contact me via mobile after several attempts & hence decided the best way was to look for me in my house! I was really pleasantly surprised & moved! :) Its amazing how when we first met he had yet entered Medical school & now he's graduated & working as a doctor! He's another platonic friend whose constant effort to sustain our friendship never fails to touch & humble me. He was supposed to come over to enjoy a short hols in Sydney but wasn't able to in the end so we're hoping it'll come to pass at the end of the year. :) Fingers Crossed.

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8) Elaine
We had a long phone chat late into the night & gosh .. it really felt like we were in secondary school again! Being time pressed overworked young adults we have not had the luxury of late night phone chats for so long! It really made me bring a smile into my sleep that night! :)
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9) Steve, the Qantas Air Steward

How Steve & I got aquainted was really quite a fairytale in itself! It happened on board the flight back home from Sydney. I first noticed this handsome air steward who refilled my nalgene water bottle with iced water by mistake when I had requested for warm water from another air stewardess. But I didn't tell him the error as he was so sweet to even tell me he had specially added ice for me. After that, we got acquainted when he chatted with me while I was waiting to pick up my baggage & he requested for my contact. Subsequently, he emailed me every other day & I was pleasantly surprised! Even when I got back to Sydney, he would message me every day. It was only of late that he confessed he was observing me throughout the flight back - how I was dressed in pink, looked beautiful, was trying to read my book but the man next to me kept talking to me incessantly & I pleasantly obliged by participating in the conversations. I was really shocked to know someone was watching me throughout the flight!! Haha ... well the very least, I've gained another friend in this foreign land! :)

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.:: 020707 Monday ::.

enjoyed my first facial in 6 months. poor beautician who had to tackle half a year's worth of gunk on my face! but i must have forgotten how excrutiating the extraction can be coz I teared like mad.

met the hunks & mushroom babes from henderson for sakae sushi & a movie - Transformers. being with them make me realise how much i miss being a teacher - being THEIR teacher at least. although i'm officially not one now but I consider it such a priviledge to be able to continue keeping in touch with them, & thoroughly enjoy their company - hearing their stories of the sufferings of homework & "ridiculous" teachers - & their confusing bickering abt who owe who $$ .. heh. :) I was most impressed with how well dressed the guys were ... :) & the gals definitely do not pale in comparison! well, will be great to see them again before I jet off again! :) when i was still in aussie, I would tell my course mates how much I'm looking forward to seeing my students again & they always responded with, "why would u want to meet them again when you r not their teachers anymore?" hmm... well, when you have such wonderful kids, wouldn't u want to?

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12:21 PM