orangestory

Merry Christmas to ALL READERS.

This Christmas wasn't really bad, thanks to my cousins. I love you all man, you guys ROCKS!

On the 24th we went to my church service (Bethany Church), together with them. We had fun, and Celebration of Praise was AWESOME!!! They are super and extremely talented! I am proud to be an Indonesian!! Lol.

On the 25th I went to my cousins' church (the Cathedral) for their Christmas service. I was rather reluctant to attend the cathedral though because I am not a Catholic, unlike them. But I have a moral obligation to them since they attended my church's Christmas service. This is actually my first time attending a Catholic service. I have tried Presbyterian way before (my church follows Charismatic Denomination), and even though I felt funny and uneasy but I still think it's okay. But Catholic services are totally different, even compared to Presbyterian. I thot Catholic would be something like Presbyterian but I was wrong. Anyway I am not going to explain further on this. After church we went to Chinatown to by some souveniers for the loved ones back in Jakarta.


Then we went home and celebrate my dad and mum's 25th Anniversary (so cute!). We had dinner at Hua Yu Wee Seafood Restaurant until we were too full and decided to walk about 5 bus stops before finally taking our bus home.


The next day, we went to the East Coast Beach in the morning, then to the Esplanade, and had dinner at Lau Pa Sat.


At night, we went on a 3-days 2-nights cruise trip and that was the most happening part of my holiday. Something happened though (like my grandma forgot to bring her passport, my cousin was angry because we woke her up from her nap, etc) but everything ended well. Thank God. We spent our 3 days 2 nights on the cruise mostly eating (we had like 4 to 5 meals in a day, can you imagine??!), laughing, talking, playing board games, walking around the ship, playing basketball, swimming, jacuzzi-ing, and taking photographs and videos. Below are photographs taken ON THE SHIP except the first photograph.


I was not in a very well emotional state recently, and the cruise trip really helped me much in forgetting all the pains and problems I had back here in Singapore. With the presence of my lovely cousins, and the holiday away from Singapore, I am sure I'm gonna get adjusted soon enough. Eventhough I am not 100% emotionally recovered and back to my oldself yet, but everything that happens recently sure plays a part in the healing process and I am thankful for that.

Reached home, we (again) went to the East Coast Park to chill and visited my uncle's house. It's as if we were not sick of the sea yet after 3 days on the ship. There we saw the East Coast Park by Night. I was rather upset because I had to come back to the reality and go back to school. Sigh. Not that I don't like Temasek, it's just that I had to meet people I don't wanna meet. True enough, the next day, unfortunately, I had to come to school to finish up one of our projects, while the rest went to Jurong Bird Park in the day and Orchard Road in the evening.

The next day on Sunday, after going to church (yes, Bethany Church), we went to the Singapore Science Centre until it closes. It was fun but tiring day. We were exhausted but my cousins still wanna go to Suntec City after that. They sure have the energy!



On Monday, I went to school and they go back home to Jakarta safely. I miss them truly. You are the greatest!

Life goes on too fast sometimes I need to catch up faster. I don't really have so much time to procrastinate, to cry, or to do all the unnecessary. My friend Andy once said, "Life is a cruel teacher, it punishes you first before giving you the lesson."

Within this week itself, I have learnt so many things. Too many that me myself is taken aback by them:

1. God always takes promises seriously, unlike most men.
My friend once asked me to promise something to him which supposedly do him a favour, and I did. The very next day he told me to indirectly break the promise I just made, and when I told him I can't coz I have made a promise, he said its okay. This proves that men do not really take promises seriously, the way God does. Also when we promise someone to meet up, sometimes we don't really think that it's important enough to show up. When that person calls, we will think of so many excuses and worst of, still ask, "do you still need me to come?". We don't really think it's important we take our own sweet time having fun with other stuff. God always keeps His promises. When He said He will do something, He really does. When He said He will always be by my side, He never runs away. He never leaves me alone. That's what I meant by keeping promises.

2. Everything that happens in my life is good.
I was reminded on this through one of this week's worship songs in church. It basically says that ever since the beginning, He has already planned my life perfectly, and everything that happens in my life is good coz God plays a part in it, and He has made my life meaningful.
Sometimes sh*t happens and I feel that I am terribly down, I feel that I am the most stupidiotic person ever lived, and I forgot how it feels to be so carefree when I am with the Holy Spirit. Oh well, what the heck. After a thunderstorm, there will always be a rainbow.

3. God is our strength and He's the rock we should cling on to.
Sometimes I feel that I am strong. I think I can fight my own problems myself, and when I know I can't take it, I turn to my friends and not God. I completely forgot that my source of strength is not from men but from God itself. I am reminded that I am weak. I am not as strong as I thought I was. The reason why I can be strong is because my God is strong and I am walking with Him.

4. Depend on God, not on men.
Why? Because God never changes. He is still, and He's powerful, unlike men. Men do change. Men disappoint. No matter how close I am to someone, there is no guarantee that that person will not upset me. Therefore, I learnt that I shouldn't be too dependent on men, let God be the only person I look out for when in need (and when not in need).

5. Pray out loud, say it out.
My advice: When you are low, pick up your guitar and sing. Cry. Shout Jesus' name. Blurt it out loud, treat Jesus as your very good friend. Yes, talk to Him in your most comfortable language. Talk to Him the way you are talking to your bestest friend. Believe me, it helps. Don't think before you say, because when you process it logically with your brain, you won't eventually say it because you will feel embarrased whatsoever. And if you can, do speak in tongue, because when you speak in tongue, it's not you who talks to the Father, but the Spirit in you. And we all know that the Spirit in us knows us better than us ourselves.

6. God is always waiting for us to come back, no matter how sinful we are.
Whatever things I have done that do not please God, they don't matter anymore once I ask for His forgiveness. He loves me so much He can't take it but to forgive. Just ask for His forgiveness and ask Him to cleanse our hearts, and everything will be alright. I was too busy over something I even positioned Him after other stuff. He was no longer my first priority and that's terribly wrong. I am again (for a million times) reminded on this priority issue. I was too embarrased to admit, but hey, I have done it and I felt as if I'm the luckiest person to have known Him as my personal Saviour.

7. Give thanks.
People who give thanks will receive blessings. There are too many reasons for us to be thankful for. For example, when things come to an end, do not grumble that it's over. Instead, be thankful that it happened. And again, thousand things happen in our lives. It's our choice to make those thousands really dreadful, or really meaningful.

Enjoy life ! ^^

She walked along the quiet pavement quickly,
Scared that reality would strike her anytime
and softly whisper to her ear,
the memory she's shared with him.

The lively swimming pool has died in agony.
Two vending machines were standing abreast,
quiet as they studied the picture,

The cheerful playground has turned silent,
Knowing every single secret of her.
Tears slided on those yellow cheekslides,
Slowly outside, but wildly inside.

The swing remained tough and strong
as it witnessed two passionate souls
who neither surrender nor fight.
Their arms locked and their tongues met.

It was a bitter, venomous battle.
The swing was bleeding.

He waved goodbye,
and she knew that's the end.
I'm gonna be strong, says she.

The brightness of the night has gloomed,
and the jovial smile has loosened its signature curve.

All she needs to do,
is to be brave enough to say
goodbye....

Term test is finally over, thank God.
I spent my entire week studying, yes, literally. I did not go online, I was not at home, I was outside studying with Su Ling and Justin.

Okay, maybe we spent two days of the week having a HEAVY 2-hour break like watching movies. But apart from that, if we are not having our daily meals, we are studying.

And tests were really not very easy to be honest, and i am kinda disappointed myself. just that i cant really change the way it was, can i?

Anyway, on Friday after PracTech test, I met steven and joice to jog. it was 730 pm i know but still we ran in Tampines Stadium. Was kinda energizing after the test.

After that, we ate SUSHI!!!! (and sprite float)

Hahahaha.... so cool laaaaaa.......... It has been forever since the last time I had sushi...

YUMMY!

=D

Today is such a long day I spent 12 hours in school. I arrived at 9am, doing PracTech projection financial reports till 1pm, then had my lunch, went to PracTech revision lecture, attended another PracTech meeting, watched Kung-Fu Hustle (ok, I need a break. Everyone does, rite?), studied ERM, and finally travelled home.

During PracTech lecture, Justin seriously had nothing better to do he drew on my hand using his black thick pen. And let me tell you the saddest story. All the things he drew were nothing but nonsense. He even drew Bing Go!! I didn't know he loves Bing Go. Lol.

Anyway, today I studied ERM to prepare for my Mid-Semester Test. And guess what? It's all about SAP BP-ERP!! As what Mr. Jackson says, SAP does not stand for Systems Applications and Products, but Slow And Painful. Lol. Anyway, seeing Justin studied was scary. He built mindmaps for every chapter and his paper was full of blue-inks. He said ERM is not hard coz it only needs logic and common sense and all you need to do is just write down all the things you have in mind, with some seasonings of related technical key words you have learnt. I kinda agree but that applies only when you understand completely how ERP works, and how this connects to all business processes.

But anyway, I am not gonna copy his way of studying, coz I am not a mind map kinda person. I am not the type of person who can remember everything just by seeing key words, colours, and images. I need something more than that. I need to link all points together, see how one connects to the other, and how the topic I am learning interlinks with the one I revised previously. I need the complete story. When I study, I need to understand the macro picture, and this requires more than just key words.

Too bad I was not really prepared with my own notes just now, coz if I do, I will surely write so many stuff on it. Just now I was using Shana's notes and Justin's textbook, so I couldn't scribble on it. And when I study, I need lots of highlighters and coloured pens, coz this what makes things more attractive and fun.

And I studied in the school library until it closed, until I was being chased out by the staff. Lol. And damn Justin he kept on reminding me that he needs only 15 minutes to reach home, unlike me who took an extra 20 minutes, excluding walking from the bus stop to my block, waiting for the lift, search for house keys, opening the door, and finally get in the house.

But anyway. Im glad that today I finally did study. I was so worried but I think I wud manage to score in my term test. Wish me all the best.