My room looks like a tornado just struck. Stuff on the floor.. quite messy. Symptoms of assignment peak time.. muahaha

I got past the most critical part in the assignment. Now tinggal tambah references and editing. I think i need a short break.

I'm quite happy. Yay! One almost down, one more to go. Then... MERDEKA! =D

The good things that happened today: I had a nice lunch with nice people. We all crowded into Cinta restaurant. Two tables.. muahaha. I made a lot of progress with my assignment. 85% complete. Gotta finish up the remaining 15% in the next few hours, then go sleep. Yay! No class tomorrow. No class for a month. Yay!

Designing a lesson is actually quite fun. Now I'm looking forward to becoming a teacher. I know, the teachers out there will say it's not ideal... but let me stay in my nice little fluffy bubble for awhile.. =)

Been searching for a church for the past 2 months. Erk.. or has it been 3 months already? When I first came to NZ, I didn't really search. I just went wherever friends went. I went to Lifepoint today. It's an AOG church. In my search, I realise that I really do miss GTPJ. I miss Dan Liew, Flora, Adrian, Sue, Karen, PJK. It's my second year in NZ and I still take comfort in listening to PJK's sermons. Glad that it's downloadable from the website. I must say I really like PJK's sermons. I like her style of talking. She speaks with such passion. Gosh, I shouldn't glorify a preacher. The message matters more. But I guess, what I'm really saying is, I miss GTPJ.

I've been going to Arise ever since I came to NZ, and I only stopped going 3 months ago. I think I was too quick to settle on a particular church. Perhaps I should have given myself more time to explore last year. But then again, it is quite daunting to explore churches when you are in a totally new place and have to adapt to so many things. Exploring now, doesn't really disturb my sense of security so much because I already have a fixed social network here. The best part is, when I go to The Street or Elim or Lifepoint, there are friends there. Why? Thanks to the lovely TSCF-ICF-CU network.

I've never really believed in the acquaintance-friend distinction. But lately, it dawned on me that it might be true. You might be quick to get close to people in a short time, but the relationships may not be deep enough to foster mutual trust - the deep kind of trust where you feel perfectly secure, that you know you will be accepted no matter what. The kind of trust and love that really drives out all fear. And that realisation makes me realise that I need to appreciate some people more. I miss you, and sometimes I wish you were here.

I miss AA, I miss SGD. Friendship that stands the test of time, friendship that endures even when we're oceans apart... priceless. Friendship that is still there even though I change and you change, but it's a process of growth..

People who know me before and after. That's what's priceless now..

Money is not everything. Money cannot buy relationships.

No wonder the song goes Jesus lover of my soul, I will never let You go..

Just a random thought. If I were ever to get married, I'd want to marry a guy with whom I share a deep friendship. One that has stood the test of time. One that is proven to be true through the years. If you cannot love and accept each other unconditionally as friends, forget about becoming soulmates. All that stuff about feelings, in my opinion, may just be temporary, fleeting things. Just my personal opinion. And I'm not saying it applies to everyone. I'd substitute the term falling in love with building relationships. It's just like building a house. You've got to lay the foundations and build it, brick by brick. If someone whom I think doesn't know me well ever claims to like me, or fall in love with me, my response would be 'You don't even know me well, how can you claim to like me or fall in love with me?' If you know me, you know my strengths and my weaknesses, and you've seen me at my strongest and weakest points, then that claim would be more valid.

After the last assignment is done, I'd like to go sit on a rock again. And ponder.. ponder.. ponder.. =) The duck pond awaits me. The peace flame awaits me. The roses are just waiting for me to smell them (Wait.. I hope they are still there..)

Duck pond, peace flame, roses... I'm coming! =)