Saturday, December 05, 2009

Looking at photos and reminiscing about the past few months. Happiness!

***

Gosh I had a good day! Popped by at IHM for a little while for choir practice in preparation for the confirmation camp mass next sunday. It was good to see a few old faces.. Most of them got a little plumper, haha. Choir practice took off slow but once the band joined in I was really blown away. Omg Raymond is crazy.. but I was so very amazed at how his music just moved the singing to a totally different level. It made me sing with a huge smile on my face and with goosebumps all over, and I was even praying at the same time. It really was an awesome lead-up to mass.

I rushed over to CJC to help out for mass at Christ@Work and was greeted by familiar faces - Uncle Peter, Conny and Moli from SFA, Daniel, Aaron the distant cousin, Basil.. And some people from CSS whom I wasn't expecting to see. I reached in time to listen to the last session, which was a sharing by a couple about their work and family life. Some of the things they spoke about were really moving.. And I projected myself in 10 years time. The thought's exciting and yet unnerving. Mass went relatively smoothly save for a few technical hiccups and some fumbling on my part. It was great on the whole, and Father Ambrose was inspiring. What are we doing in preparation for the Lord's coming? Towards the end of mass I asked Jesus when He was coming again, and I really didn't like the feeling of unpreparedness that came over me.

I felt the burden of hectic December lift from my shoulders as I made my way home. Reading Emily's sweet thank-you card was great. Smsed her and Basil to chat a little, too. Suddenly I don't see carolling practices and preparing for ADVENTure masses and the biz recon night simply as tasks to get over and done with anymore.. I really want to do them with great love and joy, and bring love and joy to others as well. I still can't find worship leaders and a conductor, but that's okay. I'll probably conduct and maybe even lead. No complaints! I will start praying hard!

Christmas is coming, hurray! I've received extraordinary grace from an ordinary day once again. :))

@9.39pm


I had another dreadful dream again.. Dr Nair killed her mother and then killed herself. Omg. I was pretty devastated.

Paid for The Undercover Philosopher and The Man Who Was Thursday yesterday! Plans to rebond hair this morning went down the drain though. It's going to be a music-filled dayy.

@11.10am
Friday, December 04, 2009

I asked my reflection yesterday: What is it that you don't like about yourself? What else do you think you need to do about your life? And I felt very stupid after that, because of the subsequent question which had so automatically popped into my mind, and because I've already known for some time how blessed I am in so many aspects.. Yet I've never truly felt satisfied.

@2.38pm
Thursday, December 03, 2009

YAYY exams are officially over for me, awesomeness. I'm feeling a little uneasy at the amount I wrote (so much to do, so little time!) but oh well! It's over. And it'll all be marked within the span of 2 short days. Madnesss.

And with that I happily made my way to Expo hall 6B for the Penguin book sale.. The warehouse sale which I'd been looking forward to for almost a week! I was really really excited..!!! Having to wait in anticipation for something like that tends to have such an effect. But I was sorely disappointed the moment I stepped into the hall. The disorganisation and resemblence to a jumble-sale forced me to search effortfully for familiar titles and authors.. It was pure headache omg (HAHA mer). My neck was aching after an hour or so of stretching and turning. :(

In the end, I found none of the ten odd books that I'd gone in with the intention of buying... Worse, I was surrounded by books that exploited the human desire for predictability and security.. Books which promised to make one rich, which boasted of great investment ideas.. Books which emphasised worldly successes, basically. It left me feeling a bit disheartened. My consolation took the form of two chance finds - The Motion Paradox and The Physics of Superheroes.

Was really disappointed when I left the place so I decided to cheer myself up and headed to Kinokuniya to see whether I'd have better luck over there :D And indeed I did! Found more of the titles I was searching for and got another two books.. The Picture of Dorian Gray (plus 3 other short stories) by Oscar Wilde and another by Descartes.. Meditations and other metaphysical writings. I'm really glad Daryl took philo. Somehow, though we don't really talk about it very much, it gives me the motivation to actually make the effort to read up on all this.. After a whole year of procastination.

On reaching home, I ordered another two online after browsing for a couple of hours - The Man Who Was Called Thursday, a mystery-thriller by G. K. Chesterton, and The Undercover Philosopher! It really is a lot cheaper on Opentrolley. :D Making plans to visit Times tomorrow before Wala tomorrow for the Complete Father Brown Series and Impossibility!

I've been keeping in mind that broadening my perspectives can be especially helpful if I choose to do research in future.. But now a tinge of guilt's coming over me. This crazy binge on books may simply be symptomatic of a prideful lust for knowledge. Somehow I just feel a little bad, like there's some unknown hidden agenda behind all the fuss. I'll try to refrain from being arrogant and show-offy.

@12.57am
Tuesday, December 01, 2009

Morning humour

Greg: HUH? You're going to get a mail-order bride?
APY: Huh no. Female-order bride.
Jess: (bursts out in laughter for 10 seconds)

***

Jess: (Looks at APY's no longer homogeneous apple-carrot juice) Eee. Look at that.
APY: Oh no, it's foaming! Someone resuscitate it!!
Jess: ....

@11.14am
Monday, November 30, 2009

Chilling out at Wisma's Starbucks (oh how I longed for you for the past two years, Peppermint Mocha!) with Miss Scarlet plugged in, my headphones on, and John Mayer on itunes. I've been doing my readings for SW2105 and on conscious experience in a quiet little corner for the past couple of hours.. feeling really fantastic again. :D

I'm really trying to make the best of the last few days of free time before the hectic holiday schedule kicks in. I've more or less planned what to do/what I have to do for most part of December and I'm kinda dreading the prospect of going out practically every single day until the 22nd.. which is when the results will be released. The coincidence is unintended, though.

Thought a little bit about how I've changed from a year ago as I was walking along the connector between Lucky Plaza and Taka.. Just last year, I was studying at Starbucks pretty frequently too. And it was during that period that I met Aunty Jasmine at TTSH. I re-evaluated my reaction to her pleas for help and realised with a bit of surprise that present-day Jess Nicole Huang would be so much more hardhearted in her approach. Not in a dismissive, heck-care manner, but with a lot more caution and scepticism. No more tears, that's for sure. It's a little ironic how meeting her was a rather significant contributing factor to my decision to choose social work over economics.. Now I've learnt that my idea of help wasn't the most effective. Still a long way to go for me!

Thanks God ^^

@12.53pm
Sunday, November 29, 2009

Ahhhh it feels as though the exams are long gone! There's still one more to go, but.. :D

Watched Inuyasha and played Samurai Warriors with Mer yesterday after the SW3209 exam. Today was spent relaxing too.. Enjoyed a chapter or two from Pi in the Sky, helped Uncle Peter out, and sang for the Holy Hour in preparation for Advent. Dinner with the oldies was a nice refreshing change from going straight home after practices. It's been a good few days!

Waiting in anticipation for the Penguin Books warehouse sale, gosh. Hope it doesn't disappoint!

@12.48am