Amazing is the word

Its amazing how some people have unwavering faith in things
- how things are going to turn out,
- how people will stay the way they are,
- how a person will continue fulfilling their expectations.
This is not new, but after you believe in it, whatever happens you'll mould it towards that belief. Just like how people take to astrology.

But when things dont go at all according to your expectations and you cant seem to fit it in to any part of the puzzle, its time to believe in a higher Power, someone so Awesome and Almighty. Was reading 1 Kings yesterday and its amazing how God's Will for Elijah just worked out any way things went. Sometimes I see some of my really successful friends and just silently pray for them to one day know Who was behind it all. I still remember when Charissa and company bought Eric a bible and he was so interested to read more into it. aah:)

Anyway, the holidays for me so far have been great even though i have not stepped anywhere else besides school, parkway, ziyang's house and home. Even then, i have been caught in the rain like free but im not saying there wasnt any choice:) playing tennis in rain is refreshing plus we get to keep the courts for hours :) just as long we dont fall sick! I have been pumping up on Redoxen, hopefully it lasts me till the end of the trip. Dinner consecutively with a family of friends and ziyang's WHOLE family plus his lovely parrots and mum's great cooking have been so satisfying and rejuvenating. I mean how often do you spend your holiday dinner and nights this way? Since we always end up leaving pretty late, Charissa Daniel and I end up saying "See you in 10 hours!" ! it has been so repetitve its nearly scary! like in the show Scrooge or something haha.

Anyway, i cant believe im saying this so soon, this sounds like something that should come somewhat after our trip, but heck i shall just say it when i especially mean it:) I think vjband is probably one of the best things that happened to me and guess what, only He made it possible. those who know the history know what i mean:) other than that, decisions which i took it hard upon myself to make it work havent actually turned out so well...if they even materialised...

And xxx! Thanks for making my day you really did!

the free 9th

today was fun but so weird! i got a headache from that weird place! i dont like shody places with no shopname. haha but it was ok with charissa, daniel, bindi, umar and ziyang.! charissa is so pro with the cue i wonder when on earth she actually had the time to perfect her skills, gosh! she even beat the guys! char char po! haha.
tennis/ table tennis (if the former fails haha) on monday is going to tire me out but im looking forward to it! and i just realised my whole week is officially gone! today we confirmed our timetable for the hols plus other plans and i dont have free time again - to stay at home or sleep and slack. sigh!
i think while you are doing it its fine but after that you end up feeling so tired! i also need to do some shopping for NY stuff and confirm the pretty formal thing for Hudson River Cruise. hahaha if the GYLC people were right and we girls have to wear skirts and boys have to wear tuxedos, it will be really funny.
Time and health, will you be our next best friend this season?:)

because there's only THIS much humans can do

im so thankful, we all survived CTs! its supposed to be an "unimportant test" like what Vera said but I think for me it means alot more than just the grades i will get...
anyway i did it with alot of encouragement, fellow distressing with my best girls in school! (haha) and alot alot of Him! I think i especially felt so unable and just like an empty vessel before my history paper, which i was supposed to write on the Asian Financial Crisis/ S.E.A Economic Structure + Japanese Occupation + Japan's growth + Golden Age of Capitalism = DISASTER because I didnt really study history properly neither did I really absorb during those morning SEA lectures in the smelly and stuffy LT...I was on the edge of tears when i reached school but thank God for Phoebe because she saw me and read me like a book! [oh hwee, i forgot to tell you something! haha] she helped me with a long and reassuring prayer. Sometimes its easy to say "Trust Him!" and "He has a better plan, so dont worry!" to people but honestly, when you are down and out, are you really ready to put yourself in the shoes of a blind man, and just have faith?..are you ready to fall down so badly yet still be able to tell yourself that?...

Ok i just sounded like I survived the A levels! I actually havent... but the dear seniors have! today was the release of the A level results and im so so so proud of our class (for Chinese) and so many of my seniors who did really well and got what they really wanted. I think it means quite alot to me because especially for 2 of my seniors, they went through so much self-doubt and challenges last year. Thank God they shared those worries with me last year, because now i know what its like to feel extreme accomplishment (through them) and put myself into their shoes everytime i feel the same hope, gathering some hope as well! One of them brought me unknowingly closer to God as well, and today it was just remarkable when she thanked me for all the prayers throughout 2007 and during the exams. When we get the results we always forget the process but i dont think both of them ever will. :) I think i actually nearly cried when i told my senior her results after spotting her name on the board! :) Of course there is always disappointment (the toilets were scary!) but like what abc said, its just people's mindsets...and Mr. Harris also reminded us how we should always remember those left out and not just busy ourselves celebrating...lets all pray for them alright:)
okay on a lighter note, yesterday i had a great time chilling out with the girls! I havent had such hearty laughters in quite a while, really!

ambush at taka,

missing annaleow and jac! :/ spot the guy on the left though, ohmygosh hilarious!

mini-shopping at Kino! the cute stuff are really cute. haha, though i didnt buy any, it just makes you happy!

before plonking ourselves down in exhaustion. and there it all began...

really, we dont really camwhore,

abc and hwee, how's this effect, quite cool eh!ahha.

the next one is just random ones after cross country, before CTs.:) it was a fire drill but i think no one really knew so we ended up this way...

haha. oh well ok dont worry, i think we all know where to run in the case of real fire, (touchwood) - over the bridge into the waters of east coast! oh and i think my handphone camera is just remarkable. its secretly extremely capable of taking good photos. i think the above photo is actually comparable to the previous ones up there right?.wow!

:)and i feel like an angel now because i did 45 min of individuals today and helped my mum do housework! vacuumed the whole of upstairs and wiped the whole floor ok! took bus with timothy and he was so funny telling all the army stories. talked to faizah quite a bit also, and yes i promise to meet up with the people i promised to today, next week! for now, its back to rehearsals, because we all see the beautiful bright Manhattan lights at the end of the tunnel! haha koping the teachers' words but oh well.

New York, New Jersey, Manhattan in exactly 14 days! I think its going to be alot of Charissa time, with the funny turn of things! haha yay:)

ok i spent enough time, enough to even make up for the blog hiatus!
taa:)

heart to heart

I decided to transfer all the photos from my phone out so that i could reduce the lag time my phone is currently facing. happens to be quite a summary of february for me as well, february was a really good time. mostly because of CNY, Valentines', Xinlin's birthday, STJ at East coast -cum- section outing, Jingwen's coinage of our "Dress down day" *spot me the only blue girl amidst nice sailor moon uniforms and cool metal buttons:)

February was also a good time for me to sit down and reflect what I really want this year, time to think of how to get my head together again and actually make some strong resolutions I think i may actually be able to stick to. For one, I think ive really made up my mind about certain friendships. I think i have previously given more than I demanded, if you know what i mean and i think i should stop that, before anything's too late. Friendship is a two-way thing and if one thinks he/she can maintain the similar status in that friendship after a period of time with zero investment, i dont think so. Friendship demands time and effort and i personally feel no matter how driven you are towards your own goals, people are always there for a reason. They are God- given gifts we should treasure, something we didnt exactly have to work for, how precious that is! That probably sinks in quite strangely with you if you are one of those who know me because you would think i kind of make friends with people and i think everyone is nice (according to abc and ants, much to my surprise!) . . .
[Edited]

CTs are in 14 days time and for once, i really really feel the pressure to do reasonably well.
I shall be back after the 7th of March then!

Love, Meiyi

:)

popping by after my computer has finally been repaired :)
everything has been pretty eventful, but for some more action, see my dear sister's blog, she is currently in Germany and i tell you her life is seriously THE LIFE man, i really wish i could teleport myself there to just live there for an hour!
for once i suspect im studying for so many more people than myself! but anyway, today was the first time i entered the library and gosh, everyone looks so studious suddenly and serious, even playful hyper-active sugar high people were spotted. cant believe its two weeks to CTs again and i guess yesterday would really be the last fun fun fun day till after CTs. STJ yesterday was really good because my section is wonderful and funny, and the games were good, though not-very-nice in the beginning, im sorry year 1 guys if you thought i was the world's greatest ______, tell you, acting wasnt really that easy too, my heart was breaking la! :/ i must say the new chalets are actually quite nice!

after CTs i have NY to look forward to:) jessie and i were talking about our special plan today and we are two very excited people now!:)

happy CNY!

happy CNY everyone!

today was my first 'Lo hei' session and it was great fun lo-ing with 79 people! haha. we had 4 trays of genuine authentic home-made yu shen. Our teacher-in-charge who made it is just awesome and such a great role model. :o amongst all the random and usual well-wishes shouted or exclaimed amidst flying particles of sesame seeds, peanut grains, carrot or radish shreds, were A for PW!, A for Chinese!, 4As!, and Gold for New York!

One tip is NEVER to lo hei opposite a person who is extremely high, of which some of the reasons i can think of is because... he CAN finally go to New York!. ah, pinrui! he doesnt lo hei, he throws hei! seriously, he flings the food at you! my gosh, and because we had 4 trays, we used two canteen tables where everyone was gathered around, and he wanted to throw it all the way to the other table, it got flung onto the back of a J1's uniform and she was so shocked! thank goodness his house comm shirt redeemed his irrational behaviour. and at the end of everything, there was stuff on my hair and as i told eng hwee that i could feel the lo hei in my shoes (but only to get back in response "dont be paranoid!!")i was picking from pr's plate of 'treasure-hunted' salmon! so its ok la, at least i got some form of payment.

didnt join them for dinner though partly because i was so full and because i really wanted to rush home, took the bus with charissa and someone else. well it was technically just charissa, since charissa and I decided to be anti-social and sit downstairs and not sit with him upstairs. see we are taking full responsibility for being anti- social ok! haha so you cant fault us. ok i shall stop it. anyway, had a really interesting conversation with her and i couldnt stop squealing with laughter! seriously i swear sometimes she is mad under her very 'gu niang' appearance! *clears throat* but i guess thats only after tae club makes her high!! haha i know the plan for the 16th of feb and i shant destroy anything, but just say that im VERY excited. VERY is the key word by the way. oh im excited for this saturday morning too, i need to go dig first though. haha!

it would help if my nose stops running/ blocking like a tap/enghwee respectively, since the latter is always so cold. ok, im turning eng hwee-ish, and should stop very soon.

my dear sister is leaving tomorrow late night! 6 months without a room companion, and the only times when i really praise/complain or talk about life is late at night to her. she is the best because she only knows the people who i talk about through MY eyes. it feels good, because she will believe what i tell her and tell me what to do from then on. my sister is so full of wisdom and although she is NOTHING like me, (seriously!) in almost every way, she is my dearest dearest sister and i will miss her badly.

=(

!!

omgosh i just read this and im kind of freaked out now.

Programme for NY Carnegie Hall 26 MARCH 1pm.

Program Details

North Torrance Youth Symphony Orchestra
Oxford Academy -Symphonic Orchestra
San Clemente High School Chamber Orchestra
Collegedale Academy Chamber Orchestra
Aliso Niguel High School Wind Band
Victoria Junior College Symphonic Band

Is it just me or the do rest of our competitors sound really really foreign but pro. ok ok, take a breather.

because His grace is indeed sufficient

Have you ever had the feeling you just want to cry because you are SO AWFULLY thankful for everything that has happened? the last time i had it was after getting back promos results last year, and now its happening to me again. i really want to cry! haha.

im so thankful im going to NYork soon enough, im so glad things are going fine and school's enjoyable:)and im so thankful my sister is enjoying herself and doing what she wants to before she leaves for Switzerland for 6 months:/im even so thankful my mum cooks such delicious food every night i feel like such a blessed child before i go to bed everyday.:)

2008 has been good so far, some of the pictures in the above collage above - 90 % taken in school at the treehouse, random shots, before Sea Regatta, and JTS. (if you still dont know, its juniors-treat-seniors!). We had dinner at JTS on Saturday night at BIlly Bombers and i can so make a bet with whoever's reading this (besides classmates of course) that we are the FIRST class to have JTS, right!!:)) Some other photos im still missing are band people at Suntec Mass Dance, dancing in the rain!, us packing cookies on Saturday till we were all woozy and drained, Countdown at Tanjong Rhu!, and other random ones i really cant remember now!

Coming up, we are having this funny CNY showdown thing, band S-T-J at an uluated part of East Coast *clears throat* and urban hike!

Thank you all who bought the cookies from me today! yay i managed to sell all 25 packets in like less than 3 hours! plus i was still having lessons ok!:) Woots! special thanks go to those people who were sick but still bought to support. thank you, i will remember you even when im over there!:) if you want some more especially if you really enjoyed eating them, you can ask me and ill help other people sell, if not please get from me during the second batch! which should be next week:) drink more water though! its quite drying :/ today during lit lecture was so funny! havent chatted with warran in years and its quite amazing how we could still crack really lame jokes after not proper talking since like last june! his kind of humour is seriously the roflmao kind! and then he and mark kept asking me what i was copying throughout the lecture. like every 10 min he would ask how the elizabethans vs jacobeans thing was linked to duchess of malfi. i mean true la, after awhile i was also wondering, haha but i mean you cant expect me to admit im obsessed with not missing anything out during lectures right, at least on paper! annabelle was so amused also so we just kept laughing. oh and today i super suan-ed andre kua alot ! it just seems so natural when im talking to him. sigh!

anyway, was chatting to chia wen just now and we are going to start the vj support group after JAE. we will be praying for it and hope everything goes successfully! looking forward!

last year,

just got back from band dinner. :) my first BIG GROUP one this year.:)) so many we have to split into 3 buses and occupy a few tables at the hawker. these kind of outings are something ill never ever forget after i graduate from vj. although its only a meal, it is so much a part of all us, when we come together after a long hard day of school then toil in cca, and come together for dinner.:) we talk about our day, funny things that happen, gross news and play many fun games we learn from others:) its also amazing how there are nearly no cliques, like you come together in one whole big group (this year its gonna be 80 plus), and you're enjoying the company of ANY other 5 people you happen to sit with at the table. not one dinner either at katong nasi lemak, simpang, thaipan, marine parade hawker, bedok, airport or parkway is ever the same, because you are always with someone different in the group. its also amazing how i find myself having PROPER : one- to -one not-small-talk nice enjoyable conversations with more than 10 people everytime we go out. :) interestingly, today it was only year 2s though. we always have year 1 s with us but today they disappeared, maybe they went out on their own. but its nice having all the dear year 2s again, im missing the times when it was just our batch, but im so excited for our juniors as well:)

ive got a new perfect pitch junior and it rocks because he doesnt even need a tuner for the timpani. ive got 2 arts fac juniors in my section too (woohoo!) sidney this is for you!: arts fac is slowly starting to dominate ok! remember how my previous section always forced me to count money to pay the bill to practise math. =/

the year 1s come in with such a fresh slate, they have no idea of the history behind every senior and friendships they witness, im just so grateful all of us have a memory because all these, if not going down in books, should be engraved in our hearts forever. go vjcsb, and machu picchu!
New York here we come in about 8 weeks :))

love, me.
P.S: thankyou group of lovely angels who adopted me!

five loaves and 2 fishes

this morning i recieved a BIG yellow construction paper from my Angel (s). the source is SO dubious - so many different handwritings (of which some i can so recognise who it belongs to!) and why do i even have so many angels! its supposed to be 1 right. argh, stop tricking me! haha. thanks for the nice sketch of me though. :)

was chatting with hwee and nathaniel yesterday and gosh doesnt it seem coincidental that everyone seemed to be on the topic of leadership and stuff like leading people etc. I guess only after quite a number of years have i finally confirmed what kind of leader I am or what i want to be. You can only have it one way, to me, its really just being yourself but bearing in mind other altruistic purposes. He asked me to be honest, and so i was, the reality hurts sometimes and trust me, so many more than just me will really respect those who accept it with understanding and grace. so there. Im so sorry if you dont understand what im talking about, but rest assured i havent gone bonkers yet because i know if any of these particular 10 odd people came across this post, they will know what i mean, and it goes out to them. :)

i also have a checklist i look back sometimes to make sure im on track, since im a man with so many flaws! This is what the checklist says:

Intrapersonal Qualities:

1. Self-motivation?

2. Self-regard?

(Self-confident and self-accepting, based on an accurate understanding of one's own strengths and weaknesses)

3. Integrity?

4. Emotional Resilience?

Interpersonal Qualities:

1. Communication?

2. Establishing Relationships?

3. Teamwork?

4. Leadership?

easy as it sounds, its not easy to have it all, esp, intrapersonally and in all areas in your life. big shoes to fill, but i guess thats what life is for isnt it! we are young and able, and we have Him, push on friends!

N.B especially to those have problems seeking self motivation (during this gearing up season) , to motivate and inspire others.

love.

All the best for season and competitions, babes and hunks!