Back To One

How is/was your 2012?
Mine is/was one with breakthroughs and all about taking that first step.

It's the last day of the year, and we will begin a new year with one (again). ^^

Season's Song

Totally charmed by his voice, unintentionally.

9th

Receiving someone's love is a blessing; giving your love is a privilege. :)

台上一分鐘，台下十年功

Overwhelmed by emotions, I shed tears of joy after the performance. :')

It was a Winter Solstice concert organized and put up by students from foreign countries. We have HK-Macau; Malaysia; Myanmar Student Associations. For foreign students who are not from the aforementioned countries, they come together to form International Student Association (including myself).

Finally understood that kind of feeling when you have spent so much time and effort in order to put up the best performance on stage. For the few minutes on stage, we have spent a month - days and nights, to polish our acting and dancing skills. Nevertheless, the vital thing we have got from the concert on Friday night is none other than the importance of friendship.


Friendship.

하루

情歌

时光是琥珀 泪一滴滴被反锁
情书再不朽 也磨成沙漏
青春的上游 白云飞走苍狗与海鸥
闪过的念头 潺潺的溜走

命运好幽默 让爱的人都沉默
一整个宇宙 换一颗红豆
回忆如困兽 寂寞太久而渐渐温柔
放开了拳头 反而更自由

慢动作 缱绻胶卷 重播默片 定格一瞬间
我们在 告别的演唱会 说好不再见

你写给我 我的第一首歌
你和我 十指紧扣 默写前奏
可是那然后呢
还好我有 我这一首情歌
轻轻的 轻轻哼着 哭着笑着
我的 天长地久

命运好幽默 让爱的人都沉默
一整个宇宙 换一颗红豆
回忆如困兽 寂寞太久而渐渐温柔
放开了拳头 反而更自由

长镜头 越拉越远 越来越远 事隔好几年
我们在 怀念的演唱会 礼貌的吻别

你写给我 我的第一首歌
你和我 十指紧扣 默写前奏
可是那然后呢
还好我有 我这一首情歌
轻轻的 轻轻哼着 哭着笑着
我的 天长地久

陪我唱歌 清唱你的情歌
舍不得 短短副歌 心还热着
也该告一段落
还好我有 我下一首情歌
生命宛如 静静的 相拥的河
永远 天长地久

The sky tonight is, beautiful.

It has been a month since I came Taiwan. As I was walking back just now, I looked up at the night sky, I see stars. It may seem a little silly here, but gazing at the night sky in a different country does create a different kind of emotions.

思鄉情？Not really.

It is more of a renewed determination. Every time I witness a mountain, a valley, an ocean, the sky, children with their parents and grandparents, or just anything worth mentioning its warmth and beauty, 出動人心的人事物，我都會在心裏感動。對於使人感嘆的事情，我心裏卻會產生一種無奈。

いつも、一緒に ：）

I was invited to a family gathering-cum-BBQ on Saturday. The BBQ place turns out to be an office building! Offices on the second level, meeting venue on the third level, and sheltered BBQ area at the rooftop.

It is a very cozy office with a beautiful open-concept kitchen and sports area. I watched in excitement, the kids competing with their fathers over a game of table tennis. There is also a room for photo-shoot. Can you believe that these dolls were hand-made? 可愛いよ ～

中秋節讓我想到：
即使我們在世界不同角落，
我們仍然供賞同一個明月。

大家，
要學會幸福、
要懂得開心！
^^

中秋節快樂！

The teacher showed us this movie during Chinese lesson on Friday morning. It is indeed a beautiful movie that is worth watching. The title says it all - 含有美麗與叩人心選的對白。

旅行時，可以遇到許多人事物。
有最好的，也有最壞的一面。
導演通過感人和幽默的方式，
表達生活中的酸甜苦辣。

旅行的經歷是在練習生活。
有些事現在不做，
一輩子都不會做了。


Quote of the day:

What matters most is the heart.

New Experience

Typhoon hit Taiwan these two days. The wind was so strong that it "pushed/blow" me into the hostel lobby just now when I returned from school. Later at night when I was working on my assignment, I received a call from my classmate. She told me her hostel room on the 4th level was flooded! She thought Typhoon had hit her room.

Because it was a Friday night and Mid-Autumn Festival is approaching , most of the locals usually went back home to stay over the weekends. Hence the people we all know are not in their hostels, and I'm the only one she knows of whom did not go out. So I went down to help with the "disaster".

Based on my analytical mind (P.S. Thanks to watching many Hong Kong dramas with mum back at home :D), I found out that the source of the "man-made disaster" was from the hostel room next door. Thus, I called the administrator who was on patrol at night for assistance. When we unlocked the room next door, it turned out that the tap at the balcony was not turned off! The water overflowed from the balcony to the room, then into my classmate's hostel.

We started to gather manpower to mitigate the "disaster". From clearing the water to mopping the floor, by the time everything had settled down, it was already past midnight. I rushed back to my room to complete the assignment and online submission.

I have a crazy and fun-loving roommates from Malaysia, Hong Kong, and Macau. Usually when others are sleeping or already hit 2am, we begin to clean our hostel, learn to tie different hair knots, talk about our problems and share experiences, etc. This is called, 不到睡覺時就不想做事情。 Therefore, at 2.30am, we started to push out our luggage and unpack the winter clothes. ==
Oh look, it is almost 4am now!

GUESS WHAT!

To the Taiwanese, using scooter as their transportation tool is a norm. However, to the non-locals, it is a thrilling experience.

To divert my uneasiness, I asked my senior, who drove me back, some questions that I did not know why I even asked. My senior actually answered all the questions, but I was not paying full attention as I observed the road. When I got down from the scooter, I confessed that I was initially worried and nervous. Senior then mentioned that I grabbed the jacket quite tightly. LOL. 被揭穿了！

It's 斷水日 tomorrow!

邂逅

Haven't been updating my blog since the last post. I am already in Taiwan!

Without realising, my school has started for about a week. Classmates and seniors are helpful and friendly. They brought me around the school and neighbourhood in order to let me understand more of their culture. I have also received much help from seniors in International Students Association, a group of students from different countries and speaking different languages.

During my first week in Taiwan, the weather was really hot and humid. The heat actually penetrated into our skin, unlike Singapore. I had my holiday with my family, touring around various tourist attractions.

School started officially during my second week here. Just these few days, it started to drizzle and it gets cooling today. I'm currently adapting to a new living environment and the change in season.

Today's guidance: ".. Some have noted that despite what is commonly believed, our memory doesn't necessarily deteriorate as we get older .... our acceptance of people's assertions that memory function deteriorates as a fact, usually causes us to become more forgetful. In reality, however, our brain is made so that we can keep learning at any age."

This guidance sets me thinking and realised it's rather true. 活到老，學到老.


The workings of our mind are really subtle, isn't it?

Singapore, Our Homeland :)

Happy Birthday, Singapore!

Picture courtesy of Radio 1003 (Facebook)

Look at the Red Ocean, isn't it beautiful? :)
Shall continue to watch the NDP show now! Marching-out parade & fireworks <3

P.S. I'm a pretty patriotic person.

That Woman - Baek Ji Young

Nice K-drama, even my dad likes this song. :)

Never Would Have Thought..

Source: Junsu's Twitter

Two years ago, been there.

And now, will be staying there for the next four years..

Vitamin of The Day

They applauded and praised me for the efforts and hard work contributed to the company. :')

May

May had been a fruitful month, other than work and studies.

The preparation journey to nationwide SD retreat, although short, I have shown actual proof. During the presentation discussion with Zi Heng and Pang Yi, all of us being educators, we chatted about our students and their funny answers during assignments and examinations, and at the same time, reminisced our primary school days whereby we still have the OHP for lessons, pushing it from classroom to classroom.

Back then, I had a fierce battle with fever and cold; Zi Heng and Pang Yi were busy with their commitments. Hence meeting up and designing the script were a great challenge for us. Fortunately, with the help of Ping Shun and Jie Ying, we were able to get things done. The actual presentation was a success. ;)

Next was the discussion meeting. Still upholding the "Stand Alone" spirit. :)

Then came TPJC-DHS campus dialogue for the month of May. My counterpart, Si Hui, and I decided to facilitate the discussion based on the theme - kosen-rufu. The dialogue was held at Ming Leon's place. That night, we had a wonderful discussion on great topics that set our minds for some critical thinking sessions. Those tedious meet-ups and planning had been paid off, seeing all of us actively engaging in the dialogue and encouraging one another with our own experiences.

Let's fight on!

RзPLAY

Recently, these are two songs that are on replay in my playlist.




Show's vocal has improved, and I like the music of this song, in particular, the drums beat in the background during the chorus.

I uploaded the second song because I'm moved by the lyrics and melody. It was one of the background songs in Taiwan's drama 「犀利人妻」.

When Superheroes Come Alive

It has been long since I last watched a midnight movie.

It feels great when all our favourite superheroes are able to join forces to fight the war.
「Marvel's The Avengers」 is an awesome show! There are humorous scenes during critical moment, and nerve-wracking scenes during witty segments.

We might have watched movies for umpteen times but just how many of them were able to cause the entire theatre to applaud and roar in laughter? I call that a truly great show. And this movie has the ability to do that. It is definitely a must-watch movie. Many thumbs-up for it.

Been down with throat inflammation and running nose recently.

I got to admit that the moment when everything in sight turned blurry and dark, and both of the ears are off balance, I was afraid. The fear of not able to see and hear.

Fortunately, I still have the energy and consciousness to walk out from the bathroom that day and informed my dad. When he came to hold me, I did not have much energy. This sudden situation worries my dad and brother who were at home, as my lips and face turned really pale. I was put to rest on the couch. Slowly, my hearing returned and when I opened my eyes, everything in sight returned back to normal.

I reckon this incident occurred most probably because of hunger and allergy to the medication. Just how many packets/boxes of tissues have I used up?

That incident also allows me to ponder - at the most critical moment, what would I do? Would I regret for not doing enough? It is no wonder we are always taught to live in the present moment, and never begrudging our life.

Given their superpowers, even the superheroes have to unite and win over all internal &/or external devilish functions in order to defend the people with their own efforts, moreover us, the commoner.

Singapore's Pride :')

學不會 - 林俊杰

你的痛苦我都心疼 想為你解決
擋開流言 緊握你手 想飛奔往前
我相信愛 能證明一切 夠真心 會超越時間
多付出 也多了喜悅 讓幸福蔓延

總是學不會 再聰明一點
記得自我保護 必要時候講些 善意謊言
總是學不會 真愛也有現實面
不是誰情願 就能夠解決

一次爭吵 一個心結 累積著改變
內心疏遠 足夠秒殺 外表多濃烈
才發現愛 不代表一切 再真心 也會被阻絕
這世界 天天有詭雷 隨時會爆裂

還是學不會 少浪漫一點
拼命著想的事 未必帶來感動 或被感謝
還是學不會 解釋我最傷 最 累
痛死都不願 怪誰

把每段癡情苦戀 在此刻排列面前
也感覺不埋怨 只懷~念
總是學不會 再聰明一點
記得自我保護 必要時候講些 善意謊言
不是學不會 只是覺得 愛太美
值得去沉醉 流淚

Life..

I thought I had gotten over it ... but no, not yet.


5 years have passed since the fatal accident that night. I lost a friend.
It happened just a week before O's. I broke down in tears as I confided in my teacher. My close friends knew something wasn't right. During lunch after the graduation ceremony, I stood up and took my leave. I needed a quiet place to hold my tears.

I was extremely emotional that day because a car took my friend's live just exactly on his graduation night.. One moment he was receiving awards on stage for his contributions to the school, another moment his mission ended.

After the operation, he was pronounced brain death. Six days of a courageous battle in a coma, despite how heartbroken his parents were, they made the decision to discard his live saving machines. It was already hard for friends to accept his passing, not even to mention his parents. Back then, I knew I'd to get back on my feet to complete my O's victoriously, besides anything else, for my friend.

After all these years, I thought I'd actually overcame it. However, the fear seems to emerge recently. Images of my friend that night flashed through my mind when I got to know how a person was determined brain-dead by the surgeon in the operating theatre. I turned teary and it really hurts. Maybe I had actually gotten over it, or maybe not.. I can't differentiate.

I'd a hard time trying to pull myself back and accepting my friend's passing. 1 year, 2 years had passed.. In the 3rd year, I lost another friend. A healthy individual who was training for NAPFA Test, returned home for a shower, and that night, he never walked out from the bathroom... In the same year again, another friend left. It became a social topic in the news for quite some time.

I was trying to seek for this topic on life and death. Coincidentally, I'm appointed the study facilitator for the upcoming meeting and we will be studying exactly on this topic. It requires courage and strong life force for this sharing.

To those who may worry that I'm in an emotional state because of this blog entry, I would like to assure all of you that I'm alright. No doubt I may feel sad at times, nevertheless I'm bravely seeking out for the ultimate question of life and death, hoping to encourage even more people with my sharing.

1 Year

Unknowingly, it has been a year since I first joined the company - on April Fool's Day. LOL.

For this one year, I have shown many actual proofs. At the same time, I have seen people with different attitude coming and leaving their position. I came in as a temporary staff without any knowledge of the working world, to a personal assistant who really hope for the welfare of the company. Through mistakes I made, lessons I've learnt, and people I've met, I have grown in many different aspects that I find it difficult to type out in words.

Initially, I planned a long entry for this particular post but I think I shall just leave it as it is.

Intangible

All of us have friends and people whom we want to spend most of our time together. We just wish time could stop at that moment.

"Sharing makes you bigger than you are. The more you pour out,
the more life will be able to pour in." - Jim Rohn

White Day

The ultimate question of life & death..

Changmin's grandmother had passed on on the 11th of this month..

Earlier this afternoon, received the news of Yoochun's father's passing. It was really sudden. And this news hadn't reach Yoochun until late afternoon as he was flying back from the States. Being the eldest son, it's definitely a blow to him. We later got to know that Yoochun's father passed away due to chronic illness. Tears filled the funeral parlour. It's really heartbreaking.

"There are things that we never want to let go of, people we never want to leave behind... But keep in mind that letting go isn't the end of the world, it's the beginning of a new life."

Well said, Changmin.

Please stay strong.


Seeking.. seeking..

ライオンハート

「Lion Heart」 - a song that is well-liked by many when the Japanese drama, Food Fight, was a big hit back then. I remember clearly that because of the show, my brother and I grew to like this song sang by Smap. Tohoshinki did a Live cover and I think it was wonderful. Watch it for yourself. :)

永遠に

"Music should strike fire from the heart of man, and bring tears from the eyes of woman.” – Ludwig van Beethoven

When two acapella groups got together, they put up a beautiful performance. :)

The Original Things in Life

Had a short getaway to West Java recently. This short trip was really awesome as I got to experience things that I will not get to see/touch/eat/feel (and etc) here.

The first picture was taken just as the plane reached Indonesia.

On the first day, we went up the mountains to have a delicious lunch there. The scenery and atmosphere were bagus! :)


The next picture I'mma share here makes me exclaimed in awe.
Being passionate over natural scenery, probably none would know how excited I felt at that moment when I got to stand this close to a volcano! The feeling was indescribable.


When traveling, I prefer to take pictures of the scenery than having people in the shot. Haha I think it has become more of a habit and at times, my mum could not stand this habit of mine. She would take the camera away from my hand and push me into the snapshot. LOL.

Then we visited a farming family who stay in the mountains. They own these fields in-front of their house, and grow vegetables, strawberries and many others. Wonderful right?


We also encountered many other situations that cannot be found here. One-way traffic, overhead bridge without railings, locals taking up the role as 'traffic controller' anytime and anywhere, congestion that lasted for hours, walking in the rain, citizens selling all kinds of stuff and providing various services at the middle of both lanes.....

All in all, the people do not rush for time, they are happy and satisfied as who and where they are, even if the school kids got rainwater splashed by a passing vehicle, they are still able to laugh it off. I see the most original and pureness of life in them, something I will not see in the city dwellers. :')

A Short Getaway

It's almost 3am. Settled down from luggage-packing.
Gotta catch a flight later in the morning.

Never Succumb To Own Weaknesses!

The song we sang at T-I-M meeting is beautiful! It is now on replay in my iTunes. :]

Last night, when I returned home from the meeting, I was delighted to find a letter nicely placed on my study desk. The sender was the Japanese school. I knew the white envelope contained my result for the Japanese-Language Proficiency Test that I took last December.

The instructions and score report were computed in Japan. JLPT is similar to Cambridge Examinations, the marking of answer booklets was carried out in Japan. Thereby after, they will compute the results and then send them back here.

I carefully flipped through the three slips of paper for the instructions and JLPT result. With my heart beating fast, I glanced through the score for each sections, and there - at one corner, reflects the overall grade for the test: Passed.

Elated and grateful. (Y)


It's time to tear down my wall of weaknesses & advance.
Gotta overcome and breakthrough, no matter what.
'cause if not now, then when?

21. It's Official.

A birthday marks the first day of another 365-day journey around the sun.

A BIG THANK YOU to everyone and especially to the following groups of people who had contributed to the great success of the celebration on Saturday. :)

MUM:
Without her initiating this celebration, I don't think I would celebrate my 21st with so many people at one go. Would most probably just head out for a simple dinner with my family. All this while, she had been under quite a lot of pressure in order to make this event a successful one. From finding a suitable venue to the selection of gifts. Am really apologetic for not helping much. She seemed even more nervous than I did.

DAD:
Although he did not seem much involved during the preparation, he was indeed, as nervous as I did for the event. Haha, Dad. He would thought of the attire to wear on the actual day. And guess what? Did anyone of you notice the "21" decoration on the reception table? Yes, my dad made it. It is a "2" that resembles a swan, and a "1" that is shaped like a key. Awwwww~

BROTHER:
Accompanied with his buddy, YUAN SHENG, they captured meaningful scenes of the celebration on the camera and ENG HUA's camcorder. My younger brother also made the first video that was played before the event commenced, of which lasted for 11 minutes.

ENG HUA & WIFE:
They gave me a big surprise some hours before the celebration. Although not able to attend, Eng Hua's wife self-made a Barbie Doll agar-agar for the event. Coupled with the one-and-only birthday cake, they attracted the guests' attention with their beautiful combination. :)

ELMO:
Emcee of the event. He was also the one in-charged of the stage decorations and coming up with the event agenda. Overwhelmed with creative ideas, he ruled the stage with his jokes and came out with the impromptu prank on the birthday girl. LOL.

NICHOLAS:
Official photographer of the event. Without him, we would not have so many awesome pictures, capturing so many happy faces who turned up for the celebration. Nicholas was also the editor for the second video (the one with friends' wishes). Gotta agree that it was a job well done.

GUEST PERFORMERS:
Really appreciate the time and effort put in by JING YUAN, ZHI YIN, MING YUAN, and 敏儿. Their performances that night were really inspiring.
Jing Yuan and Zhi Yin met up to practice the dance despite their hectic work and studies. Jing Yuan even put up a meaningful song, Christine Fan's 「一個像夏天 一個像秋天」, accompanied with touching pictures-slides. One of the guests told me she almost cried looking at the pictures that features our secondary school moments. :')
Mingyuan also spent time cracking his brain to settle on songs for the event. He finally decided to play Jay Chou's 「Dandelion's Promise」 and David Cook's 「Always Be My Baby」, which are two beautiful guitar pieces. Coincidentally, these are two of my favourite songs when they were first released in the music industry. In addition, his speech even motivated me to update my blog as and when I'm free.
敏儿, the queen of singing. With a strong vocal and background in singing, she chose the song to perform only when she reached the event venue. Thumbs-up for her. Some guests, even my mum, requested an encore from her!

LYSS COMRADES:
It has been long since we last met up. Am really glad they turned up for my 21st. The time we had spent together in secondary school was an important chapter in my life. Despite challenges and obstacles one after another, we held on and grew even closer. They were also the ones who stood by me when I first encountered the astonishing news of a friend's death one week before 'O' levels. That was indeed a turning point in my life.

TPJC COMRADES:
My clique and juniors, they came that night despite rushing from their last appointment. Really appreciate it. Reminiscing our college days when we had playful, stressful, and joyful times together. And REGINIA, we recalled those crazy times when our CCA practices ended late at 9pm, and how we overcame those tough rehearsals for many school/public performances and national competition through our funny thoughts that we could imagine ourselves to be. During the casual photo-taking session after the celebration, I asked her jokingly, "Why are you wearing heels? Thought I can be taller than you on this special day.... But you are still taller!! Tsk!" Her reply? "SINCE WHEN I'M NOT??"
Totally LOL-ed by her random yet truthful comment.

LI YUN, HIROMI SENSEI & RYOUKO SENSEI （ひろみ先生　と　涼子先生）:
I came to know LI YUN when we first attended the Japanese class together with WAN CHIN. Coincidentally, she is also Wan Chin's secondary school friend whom they were not close back then. We have become close friend since the first Japanese class last year. We had dinner together before class, revised together for Japanese examinations, took JLPT together, and even joked together with Wan Chin during our train journey back home after class. They usually eliminate my tiredness after class with their funny comments and jokes, yet make me feel lethargic after the laughter. ^^ And I'm really grateful that both my Japanese teachers were able to turn up for the event. HIROMI SENSEI used to be our teacher for the Beginner and Intermediate classes last year, and RYOUKO SENSEI is our current teacher for the Advanced First Year classes. I really benefit from their lessons and they make me feel even closer to my dream and mentor-in-life. These two teachers turn out to be best friends. :)

I had, indeed, a wonderful and memorable 21st birthday celebration that I will always remember in my heart. Because I have such great comrades who made it happened! ;)

Beautiful Melody

往往最简单的东西是最难让人明了的。 越看似平凡的东西越是有含义。

A simple song, but the singer sings it beautifully. The lyrics, though simple, it's meaningful. And it is my-kind-of-Chinese-phrases that I will usually pen down in my Chinese essays.



依然爱你 - 王力宏

一閃一閃亮晶晶
留下 歲月的痕跡
我的世界的中心
依然還是你

一年一年又一年
飛逝僅在一轉眼
唯一永遠不改變
是不停地改變

我不像從前的自己
你也有點不像你
但在我眼中你的笑
一樣的美麗

日子只能往前走
一個方向順時鐘
不知道還有多久
所以要讓你懂

我依然愛你 就是 唯一的退路
我依然珍惜 時時刻刻的幸福
你每個呼吸 每一個動作 每個表情
到最後 一定會
依然愛你

我依然愛你 或許是 命中注定
多年之後 任何人都無法代替
那些時光是我這一輩子最美好的
那些回憶 教我如何忘記
The following song was created by local singer, Tanya Chua. And indeed, it's the right decision to let Jam Hsiao perform the song. He has a great vocal.



只能想念你 - 萧敬腾

愛　逝去的愛　討不回來
我還有話想對你說
捨不得說　來不及說
離別的話最難說出口
你會找到新的生活
我會收起我的難過
相信一切都是值得

就放心去吧
祝你幸福和快樂　自由的飛
有天使在你身旁
就放心走吧
除了記得你燦爛笑容聲音以外
只能想念你

Love Catching-up Session(s)

Met up with Hui Jen on Friday night after work. That was the first meet-up with just the two of us since the day she left the company. Hahaha we still love to bicker with each other and we actually enjoy doing it AND we will continue to do just that. LOL.

The interesting thing was that I left the office late and hence was late for the meet-up. While on my way to meet HJ, we discussed over WhatsApp as to where to meet and what to eat for dinner since we were really hungry. Right after I alighted, I rushed to the meeting point without even realizing that I actually walked passed HJ. She couldn't recognize me as well due to my new hairdo. So how did we finally meet? HJ called me, only to realize that she was walking next to me.

Thereby after, we continued strolling in search of a place for dinner. Somehow, we two blur ladies got lost in the building - but we still managed to find a simple place for a simple dinner. We then talked about our past experiences and current happenings over a coffee-and-milo session at a nearby cafeteria. We sat there for quite some time until the cafeteria personnel chased us out as it was time for them to leave work. Guess what, we did not even take a picture together and we both headed home (!) -.-

Side-track & joke of the day: Was out with family just now. I was walking next to my brother. Suddenly, a wedding planner approached my brother. Thinking we are couple, he actually handed him a wedding brochure to Taiwan! That was not enough, mum was just walking right behind us and witnessed the entire process. I think the wedding planner was embarrassed by his mistake when he realized we are siblings. My parents and us just laughed out loud. Oh well, this is how close my brother and I are! ^^

First Day of School

New school bag. New workbook. New file.

Today is the first day of school (tuition) for Saturday kids. Parents and grandparents accompanied their princes and princesses to the language centre today. Loud cries could be heard mainly from the nursery and kindergarten children. A (little) change in the environment leads to their fear of insecurity. Some parents had no choice but to stay throughout the two hours plus lesson.

Later at night, headed to goong to celebrate Park's 21st birthday. The last time we met up like tonight was one year ago. And we were celebrating her 20th birthday outside. Time passes. Each of us embark on our different journey, yet nothing changes since graduation from college. It was more of a catching up session tonight. We talked about our current situation and plans for the future. We enjoyed the company and laughed to our heart's content. :-)

信，行，学

Was browsing through the courses offered at Soka University of Japan once again. Then Misako Hirade
（平出美佐子）, also known as "Lah" among her SUJ friends, initiated a chat on Facebook! Elated to hear from her since we only communicate through emails all the while and not via Facebook.

Lah will be completing her studies in Shanghai University and will return back to Japan on 25th January. She's picking up English and Chinese, while I'm strengthening my Japanese. Hence we do not have much language barrier while conversing with each other. We have just exchanged our mailing address(es), most probably gonna stay connected through postcards and letters too! I'm sure Sensei will be happy to know that his youthful disciples forge strong bonds despite coming from different country!

Honestly, after hearing from Lah, she has really encouraged me to follow the path I have chosen. And I feel even more motivated to strengthen my Japanese. Have been practicing my writing by sending letters in Japanese to a WD leader who is also a Japanese and married to Singapore. Although not very professional, I'm learning each time! :) Now I have got to work on the victory report to Sensei for my district and myself, as well as doing the Chinese-Japanese translation for my mum's district report.

Passed the Intermediate Japanese final examinations. Will be starting the Advanced Japanese First Year course next Monday. The result for the JLPT N5 exam will be out this March. 2012 - it will be another year of greater improvement and advancement in terms of personal growth, family, district, work and studies.

Everyone, fighting!

Water Dragon - 2012

"A NEW YEAR."