Thursday, February 11, 2010

I'm feeling tired, but pretty lighthearted. Today's lectures were rather good, too.. Thought-provoking, and rewarding. The way my heart raced as I prepared myself to answer one of the lecturer's questions during the narrative lecture really shocked me. It was as if I'd just sprinted 100m or something.. No kidding. The rush that took over me was so very energising, but at the same time I fear that if this happens every time I get excited from now on, I'm going to die of a heart attack one day. In an NUS lecture theatre. Oh goodness.

In the evening, a bunch of us attended the Why so crazy about Mary? talk, and I'm glad I didn't miss it. The speaker was entertaining and engaging, and at times too lame for us to handle, but I knew that everytime his face softened, coupled with the lowering of his voice, he spoke with genuine love for the God that is Beauty and Truth. And he allowed this God to work through him and touch the hearts of those in the room.. Including mine. I couldn't help but tear a bit when he spoke of Jesus' perfect love, the love that moves Him to suffer through the consequences of sin with us. It made me want to fall completely in love with Him once more, and I ask for the courage to do so.

The stars looked particular beautiful today in the exceptionally clear sky tonight, and I noticed that much-missed spring in my step as I walked home. I thought about the awesome love I've been blessed with, and I couldn't help but feel the joy transform into a grateful smile. All I have to do is allow myself to ask, and to be loved. Thank Yyou for loving me so much, and for walking with me in the darkness of the night. Let's have a fantastic Lenten season together.

@1.07am


What an awesome day I've had!

To start the afternoon off, I had lunch at Biz with APY and Angela. So glad to be getting to know them better through the taking of a common module.. They're both so easy to talk to, and it always feels natural being around them.

After that, I had to rush off for a lecture.. Lazy me actually dreaded going for it initially, but I'd already confirmed my attendance with Dr Nair so I couldn't possibly skip it irresponsibly. The speaker turned out to be Dr Nair's own professor, who was brought in to NUS as a guest speaker. It was so very nice of Dr Nair to invite the SW2101 cohort from last sem to join in today's lecture :) Dr Becvar spoke about Family Systems' Theory - something we've heard about so many times from so many different modules - but what she presented really really intrigued me. The moment I heard her mention the Lockean and Kantian perspective I sat right up and my heart began to beat super fast for the rest of the 2 hours... It was so bad that I thought I was going hypoglycemic, but it turned out that I wasn't. Hahaa. It was just absolutely amazing to me, to be able to see so clearly just how philosophy undergirds even social work practice.. Questions about the relevance of the faith, Daryl's talk of postmodernism, and other implications ran so quickly through my mind, and I made a resolution to give CNY-outfit shopping a miss so I could go home and do a little research on my own to guide me in my decision-making process when I become a full-fledged social worker myself. There's just so much to consider, and I'm unbelievably excited about it!

With my heart still pounding from excitement, I left the seminar room and turned right towards the CAW booth for my befriender duties. I felt some apprehension, given the dismal experience last year (attributed without a doubt to my unwillingness to step out of my comfort zone). I suppose it didn't quite help that I was welcomed by a heated debate between this old man (who looked like a prof or something) and Laura, Dom, and Iris.. I tried listening in and offering my two cents' worth, but there were already too many people in that conversation.. So I snuck off and approached a girl who was reading off a board on the other end of the exhibition. Her first question momentarily stunned me: "What exactly are the differences between Protestants and Catholics?" I didn't quite know where to start; I had so many different answers to that! And with a tentative first step I began sharing what I had learnt in my faith journey. Slowly the momentum picked up and there were some moments in which I felt the Spirit's presence.. It was so moving! We spoke for a really long time and she seemed willing to attend the talk on Mary tomorrow evening. I'm looking forward to meeting her again there :) Such openness!

The other person I got the privilege to talk to was this really amiable Buddhist guy who came over to our exhibition from the Buddhist Society's. He asked many earnest questions (what's that Teddy bear in the uniform doing there? So Jesus dies and rises again every year during Easter? What's the difference between saints and angels? CUTE :D), and I just felt so much joy in being able to share with him what I know. He was so amazed, and enthusiastically pointed out some similarities between our religions. At the end of it, with a smile, he told me that he was filled with respect for the Catholic faith.. I was just so happy! I can't fully describe how I felt then. I'm just so thankful that I'm a part of this beautiful faith. I'm so proud to be a Catholic. As Pun put it, I'm so lucky to have been chosen.

The last bit of the day was just as awesome! In the end I decided to go shopping afterall, and invited dear bored Jelly (who was suffering from idiotic-EL1101E-tutorial syndrome) along :D Hahaha it was such a spur-of-the-moment decision for her to join me but she did anyway, and I'm so glad for that :DD We had so much fun right from the start and she so willingly listened to me gush about the awesome day that I was having thus far.. Hahahaaha it's been a while since I last went shopping with a girl-friend like this! Such admirable stamina. HAHA. We walked from Dhoby Ghaut (to collect my Peter Kreeft books! Whee and I'm going to share them with her) to 313@Somerset, and she bore with my indecisiveness as I walked in and out of many stores and tried on different outfits at Zara and Mango. In the end I almost got a dress from the latter, but hesitated cos of the price. And super-Jelly even agreed to my sheepish suggestion of going to Taka to check more shops out with such readiness HAHA you're awesome Jelly ;D So we took the train down and eventually ended up in Fashion Lab, trying on (cheap but GOOD) dress after dress and waiting for each other to come out of the fitting room.. Loads of fun lah :D There I found two really affordable dresses and purchased them. Mission accomplished! Thanks Jelly it was a fantastic evening spent :DDDD

Ahhh just feel really happy :) Goodnight!

@1.17am