Public Holiday 27 Nov 09

Sighz! Yesterday was SUCH a wonderful day!! Really enjoyed it, thank You Lord!!

Slept in for the first time in God knows how long haha, and managed to replenish all the lost sleep from getting up early to work!!

Then it was lunch with cell group members at Tian Fu steamboat buffet restaurant at Tanjong Katong. Not bad actually, the food was fresh, price reasonable, lotsa variety - and we youngsters just kept ordering hotdogs, fishballs, sotong balls, meatballs, crabsticks and beef for me hahahahhaa. Too much processed meat XD

It was a time of good fellowship! And I even got to hold/carry baby Lemuel for quite awhile and he didn't cry!! hahaha practice makes perfect. He started crying in Melody's arms though LOL! Then everyone suddenly wanted to eat durians!! So we car pooled and drove to Geylang for durian bingeing!! DELICIOUS - thank You Lord for creating durians hahahahaha

Had a good rest at home in the afternoon and watched the first episode of Jotei (Empress), another Japanese drama that I started to watch :) Later at night, went for dinner with Ling, XQ n her BF, for beef ball kuay teow noodles ... followed by desserts!! Namely honeydew sago (YUMZ!!), mango pomelo durian dessert (which i thought was quite gross) and some white fungus thingy (which i didn't like haha).

Then we headed up to Ling's house, where Ling, XQ, JS and I just totally made a fool of ourselves >_< LOL!! I can't say what it was because its supposed to be a surprise!! Basically we were doing a video and we can actually qualify to be comedians because our bloopers were so dang hilarious!! XDDDD hahaha Left Ling's house after midnight because of video editing, but shared a cab with XQ n JS to save midnight charges *thumbs up*

Thank You Lord for these two wonderful groups of people that bring so much joy to my life!! Luv Jesus and all of ya!! *muackz!*

Kevin and Anne Durant at Lighthouse Evangelism

Lurved the service today!! I attended the 3:15pm service with father, and ah jia di played the piano!! XDDDD Found the worship to be really REALLY good. I was bawling non-stop from the first note of the last song, "Still", till Jof told us to take a seat hahahahaha. Thank You Lord for that touch from You!!

Helped me alot, because I didn't realise that I was so troubled and stressed over my training. Found it so hard to absorb all the knowledge, and the bosses made it worse by testing us everyday with questions that made us all so stressed. Kept it all to myself and tried to fight the battle alone. I didn't even realise it myself!! Until the song "Still", then the Lord revealed it to me. Sobz sobz! Yes Lord, I will be still and know that YOU are MY GOD!!

The Durants' gave an excellent musical performance too! Really enjoyed it :) Although I found the trumpet mike was turned on too loud, felt like my ears were bursting haha. But Sister Anne Durant gave an excellent sermon about "A New Kind of Love". Felt very personally ministered by it.

Learnt that I should not be a wavering person (I am quite often), but to be ROOTED and GROUNDED in God's love!! And also not to TRY to love people as I love myself, because I really treat myself not very well haha. BUT to love others just as Christ has loved me!! And THAT'S saying ALOT hahahaha.

Most importantly, to forgive others INCLUDING yourself, 70 x 7 times EVERYDAY!! I find that I forgive others easily and readily, but I always beat myself up over every little thing! Dunno why, but I always feel like I am very selfish, so I always beat myself up over that. BUT! People always tell me that I am very giving, so what's my problem seriously? Most of my quiet time I tend to pray for others, but what's wrong with praying for blessings or binding the bad stuff for yourself? I just need to forgive myself for being so selfish last time and that the Lord will continue to give me a selfless spirit :)

Also, Sister Anne Durant said that we should approach our Lord Jesus BOLDLY!! Do you see yourself as a worthless person and why should God help/listen to you? She said "What determines that something is valuable? The price that someone is willing to pay, right? Jesus has paid the ultimate price by shedding His blood for you, and He feels it was SOOOOoooo worth it." So everyone stop seeing yourself to be worthless, because you are VERY valuable in God's sight!!

JCS exams over, on to JLPT!

Yay! JCS exams are officially over today!! Really thank the Lord for helping me through all the different parts of the exam. Namely composition, grammar, listening, dictation, kanji and oral exam - spread out over a period of about 2 weeks.

It was quite tough and tiring because this week was my first week at work. And its not officially work yet, but training actually ... which is even tougher because you have to absorb knowledge for eight whole hours (minus lunch time haha). But the Lord has been faithful and merciful in answering my prayers for strength from Him! :)

Because not by my own might or power, but by the spirit of God!! Throughout this whole week I was claiming the verse "The joy of the Lord is my strength" from the book of Nehemiah too. So that really helped ^_^

Anyway, need to start revising for JLPT on Dec 6th! Apparently there are some stuff that JCS has not taught that is in the JLPT syllabus. I'll do my best!!

In the meantime, praying that all my family and friends will receive salvation and abundant blessings on each and everyone!! Let us all run the race together, till we see His face!! :)

Started Work

Alas! I have officially entered the working world with the rest of the working peeps ... No turning back! No more school! Haha so drama..

But kinda reminds me of the same principle as
"I have decided to follow Jesus (x3)
No turning back
No turning back!

Though none go with me
Still I will follow (x3)
No turning back
No turning back!

The cross before me
The world behind me (x3)
No turning back
No turning back!"

Lord, please give me your strength, for when I am weak, YOU are strong!!
The joy of the Lord is my strength!!!

I pray that everyone has a good week ahead filled with love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness, faithfulness and self control. May the Holy spirit guide your steps and provide you with confidence and wisdom in Christ! Amen :)

Job and Medical Checkup

Praise the Lord!!! I have a job now!! YAY!! Have been praying fervently and my prayer was answered in four months!! Good to keep track of when you started praying, then you know how long you waited for it and you can tick in the checkbox when your prayer is answered haha :)

And to top it all off, this job is the best that I have found so far. Good location, good job scope, good pay, good bosses and I claim good colleagues!! HA HA HA! For my own safety purposes, I shall not post where I am working LOL just need to know that it is a post related to customer service hehe

So after signing the contract, I had to go for a medical checkup. I think this is compulsory in most Singapore companies for permanent positions. Anyway, I took the train down to Tanjong Pagar for the medical checkup. Its basically the same as any other medical checkup that I have done for my Canadian student visa and entry in to MDIS.

Shoving aside the disgusting urine test that you have to do yourself, chest x-ray, height/weight, eyesight, colour blindness tests ... Its the horrid haemoglobin test!!! AHHHHHHH if some of you still dun get it, its the DRAWING OF BLOOD... *shivers* ahh gross. I can't bring myself to look at the needle nor the syringe filling with my blood.

The worst thing is that the doctor said cheerfully "ok! done!" and I happily looked back in relief ... And the stupid needle was still there!!!! Together with a whole tube of my dark red blood!! Then she slowly drew it out right in front of my eyes o.O

I apologise for any forms of morbidity in this post *すみません*

Thank You Jesus for taking such good care of me!! 今からも、よろしくお願いいたします！！

翼を下さい

Yaho! I realise i have been faithfully updating my blog recently haha. Feel uneasy if i dun update haha.

Anyway, i really like this song "翼を下さい" sung by Hirahara Ayaka, the soundtrack from the drama Orthros no Inu (woohoo!!). It is a cover of an old Japanese song that my sis and her band sung at one of their concerts when she was in secondary school.

I still remember going for that concert and some of the sec 4s (including my sis) even stood on the ledge of the pipe organ at the Victoria Concert Hall while singing!! Probably because my band had always played at VCH too, but we never got a chance to even go NEAR the pipe organ LOL so that concert really remained etched in my mind :)

Here are the lyrics to the song! First in kanji, then romaji for those who want to learn how to sing and then lastly in english for those who don't understand!

今　私の願いごとが
叶うならば　翼がほしい
この背中に　鳥のように
白い翼つけて下さい

この大空に　翼を広げ
飛んで行きたいよ
悲しみのない　自由な空へ
翼はためかせ　行きたい

子供の時　夢見たこと
今も同じ　夢に見ている

この大空に　翼を広げ
飛んで行きたいよ
悲しみのない　自由な空へ
翼はためかせ
この大空に　翼を広げ
飛んで行きたいよ
悲しみのない　自由な空へ
翼はためかせ　行きたい

Ima watashi no negaigoto ga kanau naraba
Tsubasa ga hoshii
Kono senaka ni tori no you ni
Shiroi tsubasa tsukete kudasai

Kono oozora ni tsubasa wo hiroge
Tonde ikitai yo
Kanashimi no nai jiyuu na sora he
Tsubasa hatamekase yukitai

Kodomo no toki yumemita koto
Ima mo onaji yume ni mite iru

Kono oozora ni tsubasa wo hiroge
Tonde yukitai yo
Kanashimi no nai jiyuu na sora he
Tsubasa hatamekase
Kono oozora ni tsubasa wo hiroge
Ton de ikitai yo
Kanashimi no nai jiyuu na sora he
Tsubasa hatamekase yukitai

If I can get one wish
To come true right now, I want a pair of wings
Please grant me white wings
On my back like a bird

In this huge sky
I wanna spread my wings and fly
Towards the free sky with no sadness
I wanna flap my wings and soar

I have no need for wealth or fame
All I want now is a set of wings
I still dream of those things
That I've dreamed about when I was little

In this huge sky
I wanna spread my wings and fly
Towards the free sky with no sadness
I wanna flap my wings and soar

Graduation Photoshoot

I went for my graduation photoshoot today and returned my gown at the same time. And I met Melissa's dad there! I was like "Hello Uncle :)!!" for a few times before he realized who I was and went "Oh! what good timing!" HAHAHA XD

Then the makeup artist took me to this pink glittery mirror-filled place with a whole array of makeup stuff that made my eyes cross LOL never seen so many makeup tools at once in my entire life haha. After she made me look real pretty, I headed to the super posh high class changing room, before another lady came to help me put on the gown and motarboard.

Really high class, i felt like princess ... Ok a bit far-fetched. More like a celebrity!! Then I chose my photo size, 14R, before heading into the dimly lit photo taking room...

Then *BAM!!* the cameraman and his assistant turned on the lights for the photoshoot and I was almost blinded haha. This was followed by a series of shots with different backgrounds, different poses and different props. The props were like a globe, a scroll, books, chair etc.

The funniest thing that happened was when my body was at an angle and not facing the camera and the cameraman said "Ok, look here." So i turned my head quickly to the camera and the cameraman went "No no no. Please look at the camera slowly ..." And that set me off laughing in my head because of the Domoto Kyodai "yukkuri kamera wo mite kudasai" (Please look at the camera slowly) joke - Please refer to earlier post.

I mentally went "Yuk-!?!?" and wanted to laugh out loud, but hello taking pictures here. So I curbed my laughter and started grinning like an idiot. Then the cameraman said "No no dun smile so big, not at the side of your mouth got holes, not nice for photo."

Then I was like ok deep breaths Dawn stop thinking of Domoto Kyodai haha. So I smiled sweetly and the cameraman was like good good and snapping away etc. But if you could see my spirit, I was rolling on the floor with laughter hahaha! I think the Lord must have been laughing too LOL. I told Rachel about it and she couldn't stop laughing and asked me if i did what Massu did LOL

All Koichi's, Tsuyoshi's, Tegoshi's and Massu's fault!! XDDDDD

Japanese Exams

Now that i've got my blog back, i've decided to take it seriously haha. Cause i've totally stopped writing in my real hardcopy diary, so basically this blog will record my life's story ... even though its a softcopy and floating somewhere in cyberspace LOL! Does anyone even read this?!? Then it shall just be my own "private" diary haha

Anyway, today was my last day of classes as an intermediate student learning Japanese at JCS!! Wow time really flies ... It seems just last week that I stepped into my beginner's Japanese class and first got exposed to Hiragana and "watashi wa's" hahaha!

And now TWO whole years have flown by!! Really hits you on how much you should make good use of your time and treasure every moment by living a purposeful life for God! But I really thank God for the opportunity to learn another language :) Although my Canadian friends/British relatives would think i'm crazy for learning a third language, when they can't even speak a second language!! XD

But that's how it is here in Singapore. Constant learning in a rat race society. But I really love learning Japanese! And the Japanese culture, Japanese dramas, Japanese actors, Japanese singers, Japanese songs, Origami, Japanese tea ceremony etc etc etc.

So pray for my final exams starting next week! Shall tie the band around my head and do some serious studying!! The final exam is broken up into Composition, Listening, Dictation, Kanji test, Grammar and Oral ... GAH!! i think the worst is the Oral exam!! I tend to stutter or get real nervous or jumble up my words/thoughts. But Philippians 4:13 - I CAN DO ALL THINGS THROUGH CHRIST WHO STRENGTHENS ME!!!

Hear . Believe . Receive . Say . Act . The 5 Miracle Steps by Pastor Rony!

Hashed Beef Rice

Ahhhh finally the TegoMass on Domoto Kyodai saga is over ... So I have my blog back!!!

HAHAHAHA lol i actually kinda missed it. Anyway what has been going on in my life recently?

I have officially graduated with a degree!! YAY!!! my convocation was just last saturday at the Hilton Hotel. It was great really, after the ceremony i felt so touched because of my family and friends. And also it really hit me on how much the Lord has been with me through my life and how much He has helped and seen me through :)

So cheers to the past of education and cheers to my adulthood and future job/partner!

Anyway, i have finally non-stop forwarded my way through the Korean drama "Take Care of the Young Lady". Its one of best few in recent Korean dramas cause its funny with a good plot. But honestly, i got so used to the fast moving pace of Japanese dramas, where every second counts ... that i got so bored watching the serial and just started forwarding through to see what happens at the end LOL!!

So ... why is the title "Hashed Beef Rice"??? Haha cause i have just embarked on "Ryusei no Kizuna" with Nishikido Ryo yay!! turns out to be a REALLY funny show and ryo is SOOooooo totally not himself XD!!! Although the main plot of the story is really sad, cause their parents died when they were young *sniff*

The feature dish in this show is Japan's Hashed Beef Rice!! Or Hayashi Rice ハヤシライス. Its basically really thin & tender beef with onions and button mushrooms in a demi-glace sauce drizzled with fresh cream, then served with Japanese rice! *DROOLS* It looks so good that I went online to find the recipe haha. sounds quite easy to cook! And knowing me, i love to cut corners and not stick to the troublesome recipes haha. So i'll try to cook it soon hehehe ^_^

Oh and before i forget, Happy Birthday Ryou-chan!!