Being Still Allover The Place

Sooo.... after writing the last post about Being Still, I received this email yesterday morning. 

And guess which verse was attached in that email? 

LOL!!! 

Seriously, I'm not making this up! 

My mouth kinda fell open when I saw that verse because... well because it was exactly, exactly, exactly what I needed to hear!

You know that phrase that goes like "God works in mysterious ways"? Well... He never fails to surprise me, and I love it!

..................................................................

So I've been seeing a lot of this girl lately. 

We keep eating at the same place too- Green View in Far East Plaza. She ordered the same exact thing as she did last time.

This time I went for the Indonesian Laksa. The only difference from regular laksa was that there weren't any cockles in it. 

Lift shenanigans...

 We were too lazy to take the stairs down to the basement, so we went into the cargo lift (on my insistence).

Had to walk in and out of the lift twice when we went to either the wrong level, or when the lift just didn't open to the shopping centre on that level. 

Still had to take one flight of stairs in the end. Fail!

Then this afternoon, I went to Temasek Polytechnic again to drop something off for work. 

This has got to be one of my favourite school campuses in Singapore!

Even though it's kind of ugly architecturally speaking, this place still gives me a very open, relaxing vibe. 

But I guess I'm glad I didn't study here, because I'd be spending WAY too much time relaxing instead of studying!  

Sigh...

Would it really be that nice to be a student again?

Eating Food

Ran out of cash for lunch today and had to wing it with a sandwich from 7eleven. Tasted like I was eating cardboard paper really. Should've gone with instant noodles instead!

Gosh, in Singapore, we are so spoiled for choice when it comes to food. I could literally think about having Greek, Brazilian or Korean cuisine for dinner tonight and be able to fulfil that thought without fuss. Sometimes though, I would like to go for days just eating plain porridge or flavourless noodles. Guess sometimes you just tire of all the variety. 

In a way, the past few months have felt like that to me, spiritually-speaking. I've been out and about, running, working, doing... never really pausing. 

I'm not sure when I felt started feeling tired. My brain just doesn't seem to recognise that word, until my body does. After falling sick last weekend and being forced to LIE STILL, I realised what a whirlwind I've made my life to be. 

I guess my greatest challenge this year is for me to actually be still. 

Let's just say that I am not naturally inclined, to recline. 

I'm the kind of person who shakes my leg when I'm talking to someone. My idea of a relaxing day comprises of going to the beach somewhere and jumping in and out of the water for a few hours. Most people just want to lie in bed. In theory, I will say that I want to lie in bed too, but I know that in real life, that won't last for long. My legs will start itching within half an hour and then I'll be grabbing my skates or running off somewhere. 

I just don't know how to stop!

Unfortunately, my body and spirit runs just like a car. After my body ran out of fuel last week, I started to feel my soul run out of fuel too. I haven't felt this way in a really long time- somewhat depressed, empty, strange, just... off. The last time I felt this way was right before I started attending church again. 

As I crawled into bed last night, I felt God whisper to me that the origin of this "off" feeling lies in my not being still and spending more time with him.

See, as we grow and mature as Christians, our dependence on Christ grows as well. Before, I used to be able to live off small morsels of God's Word daily, but now, I realised that I need more. Kinda like how a teenager eats more food than a baby. So essentially, the amount of spiritual food that I used to eat is no longer sufficient for me. And to top it off, I've not been eating quite as much as I used to. 

I'll be trying to spend more time with God now, because I know I can't live my life without His voice speaking into it. If I ever walk far from His side, there is nothing for me out there but darkness. I've been in that darkness and I know I never want to return to that sad place again. 

Food Weekend

HOHOHO!

This weekend has been all about food, and.... *drumroll*..... I DID NOT SKATE AT ALL.

HOHOHO!

*Self pat on back*

Speaking of hohohos... I randomly called Ms. Amanda Ho this past Saturday to go gaigai (walkaround) with me in Orchard. We wound up chillin in the new Korean cafe, Paris Baguette in Wisma Atria.

It's usually not too crowded here during the weekdays, but since we were there on a Saturday afternoon, almost all the tables were filled. 

The first time I'd heard about Paris Baguette was on Feecha when someone asked if the branch in Wisma Atria was open already. I noticed then that the old Din Tai Fung was gone and they were replacing it with this cafe. Curious, I went online to read about it and it turned out to be some famous Korean bakery. That explained the hype over its coming to Singapore. 

This was the first time I had tried food from the pastries side of the cafe. On the other side of the cafe, they sell sandwiches and cooked food, which was what I had tried before. And then on the third corner, I think they sell cakes. 

The pastries were nice but I still prefer Delifrance's fruit tarts. The round brown bread thing is something Amanda ordered and it turned out to be just a piece of bread without any kind of filling in it. The bread itself was nice though, kinda nutty, light, vanilla-y tasting. 

My favourite was definitely the sausage tart. Mmmm!!! Wish I had gotten two instead of one!

Yes, I look like just rolled out of bed.

But seriously, Paris Baguette is not cheap. For what you see in this picture, I paid about $20. Still cheaper than Starbucks upstairs though. 

The impromptu meetup with Manda on Saturday was followed by yet another impromptu meetup with Rache. 

We had dinner at the cheap cheap restaurant JustAcia, then went to watch the movie TED.

WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY did I not watch previews about it first before agreeing to watch it? I thought TED was probably about T.E.D., you know, as in the conference "Technology, Entertainment and Design" (TED)! And even as the movie began and I saw a teddy bear, I did not know the movie was rated M18 until Rache told me.

Sigh.

I think my face felt a bit sore from grimacing and frowning throughout the whole entire movie. The whole thing was plain awkward and I just don't get most of that type of humour. Though, I must admit, that last screen about Taylor Lautner was purrrty funny.

Spent all day in church and House of Bread on Sunday before meeting Rhoda for dinner at Peperoni Pizzeria in Binjai Park.

Rhoda went to college with me in the US and it's really nice to have someone from all the way there here in Singapore as well! 

Check out our giant pizza. It covered almost 80% of our table. 

And no, we didn't manage to finish all of it. 

Note to self: must eat here with more than one person next time!

.......................................................

So my mom's birthday is coming up this week and I have no idea what to give her as a present. She never seems to like or use anything that I get her. 

And I'd say things are sort of normal with my mom right now. We're not arguing or in a fight or anything, but it's not like we're really talking to each other either. Guess it's just back to normal. I've never really interacted much with my mom since I was little anyway. 

When I am home and we do talk, it's more or less just small talk. If I try to tell her a bit more about my life, she just listens quietly (most times I can't tell that she's even listening). She doesn't say much about what's going on in her life either. But really, what's there to say anyway right? She's busy with household matters, blah blah blah, what's new?

For a mother, she feels about as distant to me as one of my random acquaintances on Facebook. 

Guess not everyone is meant to have that kind of close mother-daughter relationships!

I've decided not to expect too much from her or from my dad anymore. But I do know that if I ever become a parent, I wouldn't want my family to be like that. 

I know some of you can relate!

Major Insomnia

It's now past five am on a Sunday morning and I am still awake. 

Somehow, I keep thinking about this dream that I had years and years ago... A dream about a beautiful underwater world that I made up one night. I remember feeling really sad when I woke up from that dream, and now I wish I could reenter it.

Dream... reality... dream... reality...

I just want to sleep!!! 

Xiao Long Baos & Blading Woes

Woohoo! 

Blogging streak is ON!

Man, yesterday felt like a really long day at work.

But once the clock struck 19:00, off I went to ION to meet up with none other than...

MY AH KIM

We waited for a full half hour before there were seats available in Paradise Dynasty. 

Al fresco.

Sidenote: did you know "al fresco" in Italian literally means "in jail"? I read about that in Bill Bryson's book Mother Tongue. On an even further sidenote, I probably should've read that book before I started writing my senior thesis back in 2011. Such a timing fail.

Anyway, we shared a bowl of noodles with pork and Sichuan veggies. It was aight.

The must-have at Paradise Dynasty. Rainbow xiao long baos.

Tried the cold tofu and century egg appetiser for the first time and ended up really enjoying it!

Hmm... 

It seems like all I did this week was eat and shop. I haven't even rollerbladed a single night! Guess that's an achievement of sorts. But tonight, ahhh yess tonight.... Tonight I will be out blading while the rest of trendy Singapore flocks to the Marina Bay area to watch the Formula One race. Honestly, I just can't wait for all that racing stuff to be over so they'll remove the road barriers and I can start blading there again.

Think that's about the deepest thought I'll have for the rest of today. 

Gardens & Food

This past Saturday I finally met up with Huey. We'd actually planned to go camping but ended up eating dinner at Thaipan in Mandarin Garden instead. 

Huey's favourite butter prawns. 

Unfortunately, I was starting to get really sick on Saturday and didn't get to fully enjoy what I was eating. By the time I'd gotten home, my throat was completely swollen and I started to get a terrible headache too. And as midnight swung around, I was lying in bed with a fever. Thankfully, my mom had some fever pills in the cabinet. 

To be honest, prayer had a lot to do with me getting well. I really didn't think I'd be able to get up in the morning and go to church, but I prayed that I would be able to.  

Sunday morning, I woke up feeling kinda woozy, but at least the fever was gone. 

I made it to church kinda early, so I went to the garden in the back to rest for a bit. 

This place holds so many memories for me... 

It was actually really nice to just sit there and be quiet for a while. I haven't been able to sit still like that for so long. Probably almost a year now; and the only reason I was able to sit still that morning without moving around, making noise or playing with my phone was because I was feeling sick. 

I sat so still that the garden's resident chameleon decided it was safe to come out and play.

I couldn't help but think that this was probably the descendant of the same chameleon I had picked up in this very same garden 12 years ago. 

By Monday, my fever was completely gone but the sore throat remained. 

I'd actually planned a fun dinner meetup at Morton's, but we switched the venue to House of Rice Rolls & Porridge instead since I was sick (awww!!!) 

My abalone and chicken porridge was pretty good! Though I really prefer my abalone cold and undisturbed by other foods. 

Tuesday evening Shirley and I went to Green View in Far East Plaza for dinner. 

I had Indonesian prawn noodles, which really tastes a lot like Singaporean prawn noodles. The difference I guess lies in the amount of vegetables, as well as the addition of lime juice. 

Shirley had stir fried cut noodles. 

Hiding from the camera as usual!!

We went on a two hour hunt for shoes I could wear to a few weddings coming up. Thanks Shirley for being so patient! I always feel bad when someone else has to shop with me for my stuff... But I seriously needed help in deciding what was nice! It's been SO LONG since I've gone shopping for this kind of stuff that I completely completely forgot and lost touch with what's "fashionable" and what's not. 

Everything I seem to pick out now is just old-looking, but very comfortable. 

You know the kind, like stuff your mom would wear basically. 

How ever did I become like that? 

LOL!

A Week Or So

Hoho! So much for updating! 

This is what I've been up to... 

Saturday morning breakfast with family at this newly discovered place called Nassim Hill Bakery. 

Almond toast there is yum!

Cass just had a baby! This is Alexander, barely 24 hours old =)

Went rollerblading with the boys at Road Safety Park.

Went to the "countryside" of Singapore with family.

Yet another family gathering. 

Pork knuckle from Austwine was really delicious, especially the side of wedges!

Got to prawn with Nat & Aly, mes cousines. 

麻辣－ the start of my sore throat on Monday...

Met Shirley & Alverina for chee cheong fun and porridge during the week. 

And the usual Friday night urban skate. Last Friday we went on a southern route to Henderson Park, Telok Blangah Hill, Hort Park and Labrador Park.

Another really epic night for us!

God Speaks

Today I have had a great many revelations. I know that God is waking me up, telling me not to slumber nor be lazy in my faith. 

Yes. I've been getting lazy.

I've been putting God second and my life first. 

But today God reminded me that I have and am nothing- apart from His grace. 

See I've been spending a whole lot of time thinking and worrying about my future. Some of you whom I've talked to will remember my many foolish talks about a career plan, marriage, etc. 

Well none of that matters anymore. 

I have only one mission in this life and that is to serve Jesus Christ. Whatever else I do in this life, whether working, playing, befriending people or travelling, I do it all for Christ. Not only because I want to, but because He is my everything. There is nothing else in this life that can give me true value other than Jesus. 

What I have now can be gone tomorrow, in an instant. 

Vaporised. 

Life is so temporary, it's easy to forget that sometimes...... 

What am I supposed to do with all the achievements, money, clothes and favour that I've gained in this world? What have I gained that was not given to me? 

Useless Activities

I love it when everyone is out to lunch and I'm the only one left in the office. 

Just being alone in this space is enough to whip me back into a state of focus and concentration.

...

Last night I don't know what came over me, but I decided to iron all my bedsheets and pillow cases. I usually don't iron them, but after spending a good hour painstakingly ironing them on a tiny ironing board, I felt this incredible sense of accomplishment. 

Who knew ironing could be so addictive?

As if I wasn't sleepy enough already, I ventured to paint my nails and didn't get to sleep until about 2 in the morning.

Is it any wonder I always have such a hard time waking up early?