I've recently discovered Loef, a lovely little blog shop.  Loef is an acronym for Lilies of e Field, inspired by the quote from the bible which says "Not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these" (Matthew 6: 28-29). Now, other than T-shirts, I've never bought clothes online before, as I don't expect them to fit my petite frame. One look at their collection and I was totally sold.  I had a hard time deciding what to buy and finally got 2 dresses, a pair of shorts, a pair of leggings and a top!  Tried on the dresses and they fit perfectly, even though they were free size!  The trick is in the smocked back.  I'm definitely planning on making more purchases as I totally love the collections, and Hui Ling who runs the site is amazingly efficient, friendly and helpful!  You deserve every success from the hard work you put into this site, and for really clothing your customers like Lilies of the Field!  Did I also mention that there's nothing that costs over $28 there too?  Every item is accompanied by a detailed description and very easy to understand measurements, so you know the exact size of the item.

Right now I'm eyeing the Grace Halter Dress in Pink + Dark Blue.  I love it cos it's so flattering on the back, shoulders and waist, and it's versatile enough to be worn to church or to a party or for a girls day/night out!

I haven't been able to get much training in during weekdays, so the past two weekends were spent getting in solid morning runs on my own.  Ran from home to Kent Ridge Park, Hort Park and Labrador Park.  Last week at Kent Ridge, I saw a big monitor lizard strolling across the park to get to the mangrove pond.  There was a father there with his little daughter who also saw the lizard and he said, "Wah so big!  Godzilla!"  This week at Labrador Park, a man approached me and asked me to look out for his runaway teenage daughter.  Wonder what other drama I'll come across next time...

Last week I caught 17 Again at Cathay with my CAS (Clay Aiken Singapore) forums friends. I don't hang out with them much these days but it's nice to be around them and be as unashamedly fangirly as I like. We initially knew about the movie when there was a small one-line mention of Clay in the trailer. That being said, I would have watched the movie anyway since I ♥ Zac Efron and Matthew Perry.  

17 Again has been compared to movies like 13 Going on 30, Big and Freaky Friday.  I'd go so far as to say it's all these and also throws in some Back to the Future into the mix.  Matthew Perry plays 34 year-old Mike O'Donnell who at the age of 17 threw away his chance at a college basketball scholarship to marry his girlfriend with whom he was expecting a baby.  Now at present, he wishes he could live his life over again, as his marriage is heading for divorce, his kids want nothing to do with him and he's out of a job.  Magically he's turned back into his 17 year-old self and the adventure begins.  Matthew Perry was well.. very Chandler-esque.  It's hard to see him in any other role when you've been watching him in the same role for 10 years in Friends.  Zac Efron plays Mike at age 17, so this is basically a reprisal of his role as Troy Bolton in the High School Musical series.  I like to think of this movie as HSM:  Redux.  The difference is there is no singing and dancing.

So 17-year-old Mike goes back to his high school with the help of his best friend and manages to help his kids through high school life and reconnect with his wife.  This movie called for a lot more acting chops from Zac and I was impressed at what he was capable of.  There were quite a few emotional scenes and they got me quite gutted.  You could really see heart of the 34 year old dad wanting to be there for his kids, while in a 17 year-old body.  An added bonus to the show was the side story of his best friend who's a comic book/ sci-fi geek!  I'm planning to watch this show again with the cell gals.

Watching this made me think of my own life at 17, exactly a decade ago *yikes*.  Those were definitely the glory days for me.  I was in ACJC, was in the ex-co of the Students'  Council, in a good class, had the GEPs to hang out with, had my Crescent friends, and most importantly -  I had two boyfriends that year.  Would I go back and live it all again?  Hell yeah.  But with better hair.  Come to think of it I'll be reminiscing on the good old days pretty soon.  Will be watching Wolverine with some of the JC gang, got Weiyu's wedding coming up and next year is our ACJC Class of 2000 Ten Year Reunion organised by my 24th Students' Council!

I've done all I can but it isn't enough.  So I'll just have to do more.

make wise decisions.
form good habits.
travel light.

Got to watch Twilight with the gals (plus one) and quite enjoyed it.  Of course they did leave out certain important things in the books and modified a lot of key scenes, but it was still just fun to see the book brought to life.  I was grinning like an idiot the whole time.  I loved the vampire baseball scene the most.  Sigh now we all want glittery vampire boyfriends like Edward.

New Year's Eve was simple.  Had an unplanned lunch with some great peeps from work and then managed a short run around Labrador Park.  Had a home cooked dinner and was in bed by 11.30pm.  Decided not to go to Watchnight Service or any countdown.  I've already seen everyone I wanted to see in the past week and all I wanted was to spend a productive first day of the year rather than waste the whole morning sleeping after coming back home after 1am.  You know what?  I'm darn happy I did that.  Managed to get a good night's sleep and woke up to kaya toast and soft boiled eggs for breakfast and had a run from home to Kent Ridge Park and Hort Park and the surrounding estate.  Best start to the New Year ever.

New layout for a new year. Brighter and simpler, reflecting my hopes for the year ahead. 2008 has been one of the toughest years I've ever faced and I'll be glad when it's over. Spent Christmas and the days before and after with most of the people that matter. Had fun with my cell group at our open cell, which turned out to be more of a Christmas party. Thanks Jess for organising all the fun =) Got some really great presents: A lovely organiser from Jess and Mel's Dad's newly published book, which I loved and read in one sitting. Brought me to tears. At this time of year I get particulary reflective. Recently discovered Listography. Been enjoying making lists of anything and everything. Check out my lists here.

Many of you know up till 3 days before the big race, I had major doubts about going for it as I hadn't trained at all.  But after having a major panic attack when I thought my brother wouldn't be able to get my race pack, I realised the race meant too much to me to give up.  So I went but with an EZ-Link card and some money in my pouch in case I couldn't make it to the finish.

Woke up at about 3.30am to get ready and we made it there just in time to get a nice parking lot, walk over, go to the loo, warm up and adjust everything before the gun went.  I told myself to keep to an 8 min/km pace, which is seriously slow but would get me to the finish in a reasonable time.  Reasonable time meaning not finishing more than 2 hours behind my brother.  

Saw the lead Kenyan runners when I reached Fort Road at ECP, where they were already heading back.  Was doing ok till the halfway point when the lactic acid started to build up in the legs.  Was feeling hungry around 2 hours and the stomach was feeling a little gastric-y so I had a gel which made me feel much better.  Running at ECP is nice cos it's familiar ground and you know exactly where you are progressing on the route.  Saw Nick Tay just behind me at the final U-turn at the end of ECP.  Started struggling with the pain at 26km and by 28km was alternating between running and walking.  Reached 30km at 4hours.  Reached 35km at 5 hours.  38km is the milestone where you know you can probably finish the race.  The last 7.195km took me 1hour and 15min.  Final time:  6hrs 15min.  Amazingly my lower back didn't give me any trouble at all, compared to Sundown when I felt my back was about to snap.  I was having trouble with my left knee ligaments as usual and my right foot, which I sprained back in 2001, started acting up.  I'm glad I made it and didn't chicken out.  I almost burst into tears in the last 200m as I was so overwhelmed with emotion from finishing this race on my own.  But sadly there was no one waiting at the finish line for me.  I hope this won't be the case next year.  Post race was still incredibly painful.  Couldn't walk, move or get in and out of the car without crazy pain in my left knee, but overall the suffering was a lot better than Sundown.  So now the last race of the year is done, it's time to start looking at next year's race schedule!  Will definitely have to be more selective about which races to go for.  Was really race fatigued this year.  Right now the post race euphoria is telling me I can do anything! Rrwwar!

Today the ACJC ragging incident was all over the papers.  I find it absolutely ridiculous that the public can make such a big deal out of something that is just a part of growing up and so totally a part of ACJC culture.  I've been ragged myself in my time there (as part of a group, not as an individual) and to be honest, it was fun and my experience in JC wouldn't have been complete without it.  Heck, my very first real friendships there were started from a shared ragging experience [right Jon Ee? =) ] If this incident had happened in my time, the Lim Han Soon era, the students involved would probably have been in serious trouble with the school.  I'm proud of the current principal, Mrs Kelvyna Chan for trusting and understanding her students enough to know that there was no malice involved in this incident and that it was JUST IN GOOD FUN.  I applaud you, Mrs Chan.  You handled the situation well.  I'm shocked, outraged and disgusted at the comments the readers on Stomp left.  I'm also equally shocked at their horrid standard of English.  Go learn some grammar and spelling before posting your narrow minded, old fashioned comments on my beloved alma mater, it's Principal and my juniors.  Yes we may be wild and obnoxious at times, but we are never malicious.  Although I do wonder who's the idiot who leaked the video to the public in the first place.

The thing about ragging is this:  it bonds us together, and gives us shared memories we will still be laughing and reminiscing about for decades to come.  It's never done in malice and never meant to hurt anyone.  It's part of our culture and tradition that's been passed down from generations of ACSians.  WE ARE PROUD OF IT.  Taken in the right spirit, it has tremendous power to form bonds that will never be forgotten.  The "victim" is perfectly alright and is probably enjoying the attention.  The public perception that someone gets ragged because people dislike them is totally wrong.  People get ragged because they are POPULAR and LIKED.  It takes a lot of effort to rag someone and involves risk too, as you could get in trouble.  If people can actually be bothered to go out of their way to spend the effort and energy (and CAKE!)  and risk getting in trouble to do that on your birthday, it means you are damn friggin' popular.

I hope the school does not cave to any pressure from the public and allow this molehill to be made into a mountain.  It was just unfortunate timing that this thing came out just after the SCDF incident.  ACS forever!

Feng,

It's funny that just on Tuesday I was looking at your Facebook profile.  It's hard to believe you're gone so suddenly and unexpectedly.  Although we may not have been close, I'll still miss you very much.  I remember working with you on the Teachers' Day committee in AC, and at the time I had been truly impressed by how organised you were and how insanely neat your handwriting was.  Actually I probably still have all our notes and minutes from that time!  I really enjoyed working with you then.  Your blog from way back was also one of the first blogs I every really got hooked on and it inspired me to start blogging too.  Last year, I remember seeing you eating with your friends at Pasir Panjang while I was out running with my colleague.  When I ran past, I called out to you and waved and you waved back.  That's the last memory I have of you.. I believe I also bumped into you somewhere else this year, but I cannot now remember when or where.

At your wake, it was amazing to see the crowds that came for you.  The council had been planning to meet up in Oct, but certainly not under such circumstances.  At your funeral, it was really heartbreaking to see how torn your family and closest friends were.  Truly you are deeply loved and will be sorely missed.  Minghui and I had a very interesting and unsual half hour walk around the Mandai columbarium/ crematorium while waiting for them to bring you over.  You'll be glad to know that Minghui led Meng and I in a prayer for you in Meng's car before we left the crematorium.  Your Facebook wall is now a memorial to you, and reading all the messages written by everyone, it's so clear that you mean so much to so many people.  It looks like you've started a new technological trend =)  "Special" seems to be the word most often used to describe you, and indeed that's the first word that comes to mind when I think about you too, cos that's what you are.

Your orbituary said that you lived life to the fullest, and I know it's absolutely true.  I can only hope that when it's my turn, the same can be said about me.  Your life is an inspiration, and you've given us a valuable lesson to treasure every moment we have and to never take things for granted.  You'll always be remembered for the smart, witty, cool, beautiful and creative girl you were.  Bye babe....

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