Finally, I finished my last assignment for Trimester 1 2009. I am officially free now! =)

I'm kinda tired of assignments. I think I need a break. I should give myself a good break during this hols. I have one month of holidays but there will be other things occupying some of that time, which is good. I really should schedule my holiday time - some time for time off, some for conference and all that kind of stuff, catching up, etc. Ooh.. finally, I can now start scheduling what to do during this hols. Too sleepy to think now though.

5 months left. I feel like I'm half here and half not here. There's this sense that I'm going home soon, really soon, and looking forward to it. There's also this sense of 'Oh no, all that fun is going to come to an end soon..'

My ex-roomie is here for a visit. Really so happy to see her again. Seeing her again makes it feel like this is IPBA all over again, in a nice way =) Makes it feel like the good old IPBA days with the good old gang.. Gives me a sense of familiarity once again, which is comforting =)

I've tried my best to enjoy every moment here, to make the most of it. I think I now know more people than I've ever known in my entire 22 years of life. I feel comfortable with people here, hang out with them, etc. I'm happy, and I'm enjoying it. But sometimes, I miss that sense of familiarity. I miss that sense of things old and familiar, nice and comforting. I haven't missed that for quite awhile, but it's starting to come back again now that I realise there's only 5 months left and I'm not going to be here for very long.

Today, I sat next to 2 Chinese-ed people at church. Talking to them in Mandarin, and the uncle inviting me to the Chinese lifegroup brought back memories of my childhood in Galilee. I think in some ways, I miss that. That is a part of my childhood that I still treasure. Imagine spending 8 years of your life in that one church. It was really good, and I treasure those memories. I thought of Ps Sharon. I recalled the songs we sang. I recalled the clapping and joyful worship, and singing our hearts out. On my way home, I tried to recall what the books of the Bible were, in Mandarin. I still remember quite a lot of them =) Come to think of it, only God could have known His purpose for placing me wherever He did place me. I'm planning to check out the Chinese lifegroup just for old times sake, out of a sense of curiosity as well.

Nothing remains the same. Everything changes, except God. Good things in the past remain as memories. There are things that we really enjoy in life, but when those things are over, all you have left are memories. All you hang onto are memories. The peer group I grew up with in Galilee are now all over the world. Keat is in US, Ben just went back to Muar, Eric is still in Muar, Yap Long is studying somewhere, Tiffany is studying somewhere.

Memories.. is that all we have left?

It's time for a retreat. It's time to smell the roses, to sit by the pond, to just be still once more.. =) Best part is, I have the time to do it! =)