Past Two Weeks

Another month has flown by since my last blog post! 

LOL 

So much for updating regularly. 

I've been busy with the same old usual things- work, friends, hobbies, etc... Poor blogging has totally been left in the backseat.

Anyways, here are a few highlights from the past week or so.

Dinner In Chinatown

Two weeks ago, I met up with Annie and Alex for dinner at this restaurant called 东北人家 (Dong Bei Ren Jia) in Chinatown. 

Annie wanted us to try it since Alex is from Harbin (a northeastern state in China), and all the food they sell is apparently very northeastern Chinese, and delicious.

The Harbin native recommended that we have this pickled vegetable mutton soup. It's a popular dish round his part of the woods.

It has a very heavy muttony taste to it. Not for the fainthearted for sure, but I really enjoyed it. Though, I'm not sure if other people would like my breath after eating that... 

Some cold dish with veggies and... meat? I think? It tastes as tangy as it looks.

The 面卷 (mian juan) were huge! 

A great replacement for rice, they went well with the other dishes.

Fried tofu in sweet sauce.

Fried chicken in sweet sauce and vinegar. 

Guess you could also call it sweet and sour chicken. 

Alex said that this is a dish that is as typical to Harbin as the hamburger is typical to America. 

Okay, he didn't exactly say that, but you catch the drift.

Breakfast At Killiney Kopitiam

This past Monday, I met Marie Nishi, a Japanese tourist in Singapore. She was waiting for her sister at the hospital. Apparently her sis got food poisoning after having dinner in Little India the night before. 

What a shame huh? 

I took them out for breakfast the next day at Killiney Kopitiam. Wanted to show them a more "Singaporean" side of Singapore!

Le typical breakfast.

IT Show 2013 @ Marina Bay Sands

On Friday, I headed to Marina Bay Sands for the IT Show with Shirley & Alverina. 

Don't think they enjoyed the noisy crowded IT show too much, so we spent more time walking around MBS instead.

Taking photos everywhere we go.

Went up to the fourth floor so we could take more pictures on the deck.

It was sooo hot up there, and windy too.

Told them to strike a "model pose" and this is what I got.

Crazy dancing pose.

Shirley taking a photo of her own reflection.

Just like that!

We finally found Steven at the IT Show after searching around. He told us that he was at the ASUS booth, next to Philips, under Harvey Norman. 

Problem was, almost all the booths in that gigantic place were under Harvey Norman, and there were like a dozen ASUS booths scattered all over the floor. It made spotting Steven even harder than looking for Waldo in a sea of red and white.

Big ups to Shirley for her killer GPS instincts. She pinpointed the exact ASUS booth like a bloodhound on a hunt.

Friday Night Urban

As usual, Friday nights are skating nights. This past Friday a bunch of us met at Bishan MRT.

Our starting point was really at Bishan Park.

Ham giving us a little sliding pose at the gas station.

Ended the night at Tanjong Pagar.

And that's all for now! 

My eyes are dying on me.... Goodnight :)

New Things

Busy busy busy... I've been busy, but in a fulfilling and even kind of way.

This has been a weekend of adventures and new discoveries for me. I love that there are still so many hidden treasures in Singapore left to discover! Some people complain that this island is too small, and that's true to some extent. But the beauty of it being small is that you can get from one place to another relatively quickly. 

Friday night, I went skating with a group of skating buddies as usual. Instead of going to Chinese Garden like we originally planned, we went to Clarke Quay & Marina Bay Sands instead. This time, Uncle Chuan brought us upstairs to a spot I'd never been to before. From the roof of The Shoppes at MBS, we were able to see a whole new perspective of the waterfront area and the hotel.

It was really fun looking down at the people strolling by the water and singing stupid songs like "对面的 女孩看过来“ ("The girl over there is looking at us"- it's a popular and stupid song from the mid 90s). 

Sadly, only the ah peks (old men) looked up at us. 

Saturday morning, I made my way all the way to the west side of the island- Jurong West. I went there to help Annie move in her apartment. 

Jurong West is a really ulu (backyard) part of the country. Hardly any people used to live here when I was little. I remember streets void of cars and people. There was no MRT line coming here back then and Jurong Point was half its current size. 

Today, Jurong is still less crowded than other parts of Singapore. However, it has turned into a PRC (People's Republic of China) town. I'd say out of 10 people walking on the street, 6 would be PRCs and 4 would be Singaporeans. It's like being in another country. 

I really love HDB estates that are quiet. 

That Saturday night, I finally did what I've been wanting to do for the longest time: skate from Punggol to East Coast Park. The whole trip of 16 miles (25.6km) took me slightly under 2 hours. I was skating with a lady I had met off of Gumtree.sg. She accompanied me for three-quarters of the journey before heading home near Kallang. 

That was my first time skating at the Punggol Waterway area. 

I really really wish I'd taken pictures or something. The place is gorgeous and I think the government did quite a good job upgrading the paths and canals there. One thing is for sure- that won't be my last time skating there! Next time I'll bring my camera though... 

This Sunday's HOB was the first Sunday without the Hanes around. They've gone back to the US for the summer to visit friends and family. The whole house felt so quiet and empty without them. I never realised how much Kim's laughter usually filled the house until she's gone!

This week we watched a video sermon on the Israelite's forty years sojourn in the desert. We talked about what "being in the wilderness" means to us Christians as a place of testing. 

Three ideas that spoke right to me this Sunday:

"Unshakeable faith is faith that has been shaken."

"Tests are not simply for failing or passing, but rather a mark of where we are and where we need to go from there."

"As long as we learn from each test, whether we fail or pass."

I guess these ideas resound with me right now because I've been feeling like I keep failing the tests God gives me. It's so reassuring to know that God brings us to the wilderness to mould us, not to have us fail. Even if we fall, He will lift us up as long as we keep leaning on Him and Him alone for strength, direction and renewal!

The difficult thing is really going to the feet of Christ each time we fail. That's when I feel the most inadequate. But no matter how inadequate and low I feel, I cannot stop returning to God's throne of grace and mercy. The moment I stop asking for forgiveness, I stop struggling with sin. The moment I stop struggling, I start becoming numb. With time, this numbness turns into hardening of my heart. 

I never want that to happen.

Anyway, moving on... 

After House of Bread, Annie and I went to Jurong Point where she introduced me to one of the best places I've ever eaten at since I've come back to Singapore. 

The above foods are from a food court stall called 西北人家 and you can tell from the long line of PRCs that their authentic flavours are gold. 

The best part? I can't believe I'm only paying $5 for a bowl of noodles that's bigger and way better than the $15 dishes at Crystal Jade. 

I'm already planning to go back there for dinner sometime this week. 

Simply amazing!

Rollerblading, Dinner & Talents

The reason I'm still up at this time of the night is because I just came home from rollerblading.... from Orchard Road to Marina Bay Sands and back! It was soooo awesome, my heart is still pounding from the adrenaline of blading on the street. I don't know what it is, but I just feel so free when I'm blading down the pedestrian path. Rollerblading is such a great way to tour Singapore! I really regret not bringing my camera. I decided not to at the last moment because it felt a little bulky in my fanny pack, but I most definitely will next time. The riverfront area looks really beautiful at night especially without the crowds of people.

Anyway, below are a few pictures that I did take during the past week.

I had dinner with XiaoTong on Tuesday. She hasn't changed much since our TK days, except that she's skinnier now. But she's still just as bubbly, smiley and chirpy!

We ate at... *drumroll*.... Sun With Moon at Wheelock Place again! Because I still had coupons left over, haha!

Finally decided to try the Agedashi Tofu, but it wasn't that great. I like when the tofu is real smooth on the inside but crispy on the outside. I can tell from the ridges on the side of this tofu though, that it's been bought from some supermarket. Kind of killed my impression of it. 

Salmon roll was whatever. Didn't taste particularly fresh.

As usual, the tonkatsu ramen hit the spot. I'm still not sick of ramen! Though from my last three posts, it seems like that's all I've been eating... 

Yesterday Val came for dinner. Audrey left early because she was really tired and wanted to sleep a certain number of hours for work the next day. I really admire her discipline in going home to sleep no matter what! I definitely do not have that kind of self-control when it comes to sleeping or eating according to a set schedule. Just check me out now blogging at 03:25 in the morning.

So this morning I tuned in to CLIMB via Skype for a very brief moment, but it was enough for me to hear what God wanted me to. 

The three men who were given talents in the Bible. That was the chapter Jay was talking about. Coincidentally (according to God's plan), it was the very thing I was reading about the night before. I knew that it was something I needed to pay attention to, but honestly I'm not sure what now. 

All I know is, God landed me in this job, at this particular office, with these very people for a very specific reason. 

A while ago, my boss started saying that he'd like to start attending church again. Once in a while, we'd have these conversations about Christianity and church, but there just seems to be something that's either missing or holding him back. 

Then tonight as I was out rollerblading with another coworker, he began asking me about what made me change so drastically and I told him that it was Jesus Christ. God changed me. I could never change myself even if I wanted to. 

I know God has given me different gifts and talents, but one day He is going to ask me what I did with them. Am I going to bury them in the field somewhere, or am I going to risk what I've been given in order to produce a harvest of righteousness later? 

I thank you Lord Jesus, for every single opportunity you've given me to witness to other people. Help me to be a shining example of Christ living in me at all times. I pray that I will always be humble at Your feet, giving You all the glory and praise. I pray that my life story will become a story written by You, for You. In Jesus' name, Amen. 

Amen, and have a blessed night everybody! 

:)