sunset

sunset as seen atop citadella, budapest

Let the sun set, why hold on to the passing of old? Come back home now, it's getting cold. And the sun will rise again... And His mercies are new every morning.

fruit fly invasion

Our beautiful Maiden Lane house has been invaded by tiny icky super fast fruit flies! So in case anyone's in this similar horrid predicament of having fruit flies flying in their face wherever they walk in their own home, here are some diy fruitfly traps I got off the net.

1. Put apple cider vinegar in a jar, cover in cling film, poke a few holes and hope the fruitflies fly in and drown.

2. Put a piece of banana in a jar, cover in cling flim, poke a few holes, and hope the fruitflies that fly in will stay in. (the person who wrote this claims they won't find their way back out through the holes)

3. Use hairspray (to kill rather than to trap)

4. Use sticky fly tape

5. Rub some Vicks vaporub on a lid and leave it out (more to chase them away then to trap)

There must be more, but for now, I shall make fruitfly trap number 1. heh.

i wanna go home

[mrt train speeds off into the sunset and towards my stop boon lay:
one evening after work, standing underneath the tracks at Lakeside mrt station]

reading week trip

Just got back from what was possibly the most amazing trip I've been on yet. Vienna and Budapest- beautiful places, buildings, sights; wonderful company whom I really love, Angela, Shujun, Alex, Bryan, Chin Siong- were really the best travelling companions anyone could ask for. Plus I don't think I'm just saying this out of post-trip euphoria, (there were definitely the low points like diarrhoea yucks) but I'm really truly sad that it had to end so soon. There was so much laughter and self-entertainment, plenty of interesting conversations of the 为什么 trivia variety... and "highly curious" debates about religion- which sometimes left me feeling quite drained, simply because it required so much energy and sustained concentration, so when I came back and found this on peiyong's blog, I thought I'd put it up. Pictures and stories and quotable quotes from this reading week trip shall come later, after I've actually done some reading. :)

When I say, "I am a Christian," I'm not shouting, "I've been saved!"
I'm whispering, "I get lost! That's why I chose this way"

When I say, "I am a Christian," I don't speak with human pride
I'm confessing that I stumble- needing God to be my guide

When I say, "I am a Christian," I'm not trying to be strong
I'm professing that I'm weak and pray for strength to carry on

When I say, "I am a Christian," I'm not bragging of success
I'm admitting that I've failed and cannot ever pay the debt

When I say, "I am a Christian," I don't think I know it all
I submit to my confusion asking humbly to be taught

When I say, "I am a Christian," I'm not claiming to be perfect
My flaws are far too visible but God believes I'm worth it

When I say, "I am a Christian," I still feel the sting of pain
I have my share of heartache which is why I seek His name

When I say, "I am a Christian," I do not wish to judge
I have no authority--I only know I'm loved

Copyright 1988 Carol Wimmer

For some inexplicable reason though, I've arrived back to a home (which really feels like a home away from home) missing my family and Singapore quite a bit more. Wish I could be with them, or that they could be here with me now.

they can only end well.

So the most dramatic traumatic relational episode I've ever witnessed has come to a sudden and fitting end. I feel like shouting a warning to every single girl out there, in relation to what I've recently watched her go through, but don't know how to, don't know what to say! So useless. At least I know better too now. Live and learn don't we....

I've been feeling busy and started to wonder why? It's only too easy to live life for the moment, you know, by the dates, events marked out on your calendar, planner, organiser; by the next class on your timetable; by the next birthday... far harder to live each moment for eternity. It's enjoyable, being busy... though I've been longing for ages now to just wrap myself up in bed one afternoon with a storybook (I've at least five crisp new novels on my bookshelf waiting to be read).

It's probably inevitable, that every person will wake up some mornings and no matter how fulfilling, exciting, happening their lives are at that point, let out a huge sigh at the utter vanity of it all. yes? no? I don't know. Well usually then I can only gain assurance from heart knowledge that yes 'all is vanity under the sun' but there are things beyond the sun. :)

Where am I going with this rambling? I'm getting on a plane in a few hours, but any excitement is dulled by the knowledge that I really should be spending reading week READING and getting work done. But there'll be great company, and beautiful scenery (I hope), so I'm off to pack! :)

when things get so bad...

The tumultuous journeys taken by those near and dear to me in the name of that thing called love are leaving me so exhausted! There's been too much weeping, too much agnonising, too much irrationality, yet I cannot bear to just mind my own business walk away, (how to turn in contempt?) because her pain is obvious, and I see how she aches, how she's torn apart within by all the "ifs", by love and loathing in turn, because unlike what I told her, I do empathise, even if only in fragile plys of tissues.

In any case, I found myself at a police station this evening, and if I do not type that down, I shall remain incredulous. As it is it feels fairly surreal still! The stories I heard there were sad but so real. I was not in trouble, don't worry. No I was there to provide a strange useless kind of support while she made a missing persons report. A missing persons report can you believe that? I cannot. It sounds like something from the movies, from the 7 o'clock, 9 o'clock shows on channel 8, and not something from college life in London.

googlism

Googlism is so ridiculous! Anyway, here are some of the results for: shining.
Unsurprisingly, alot of references to that horror movie.. so I took most of them out.

shining is academician of the chinese academy
shining is scary
shining is directly tied to duality
shining is influential in a great many ways
shining is more than fast talking and sharp one
shining is an unforgettable
shining is truly a masterpiece
shining is about jesus
shining is also certainly not deficient in other areas either
shining is ace
shining is very deliberate and slow
shining is great
shining is a work of genius
shining is a good example of this
shining is the one
shining is also known as the shining
shining is active
shining is like a fine book

well well. :)