Great Weekend!

Last weekend was really great! It's the reason why I came back to Melbourne for Summer-to soak up all the life there is in it. Wai Ching called me up in the morning to go for a Laksa lunch in Doncaster, and we had a good swim in Arthur's place after that. Following which I went to Mark's place and indulged in this spectacular spread of marinated meats prepared by master chef Wilson. Mark has a really cool unit with a huge terrace perched on the 22nd floor overlooking the Crown Casino.

Just when I thought Sunday would be less eventful, we were out eating our vietnamese rolls along the banks of Maribyrnong river after church. That evening, I was at a funk performance at Fitzroy Gardens. The dance was fun and the girls can really dance! Ended the day with a new discovery of St. Patrick's Cathedral- one of the biggest neo-gothic church in Melbourne.

BBQ at Mark's Place

Personals

Hi, this is especially dedicated to my good friend Aud. She thought writing personals might be a better idea than slogging out in a hospital. I did her the honour by writing one on her first:

Name: Audrey
Age: Between 30-35
Spends her non-working hours: eating chocolate mudpie and hanging out with a bunch of youths
Dreams of: Opening her own hospital in Cambodia
Alternative dream: Find a man to marry
Looking for: A Christian man who can share her mudpie, drives her around, gets along well with young people and cooks. Foreigners must be covered by the appropriate visa before applying.

Interested? Email me and I'll let her know.

Meet My Trusty Cam

Meet my trusty cam- the Fujifilm S602z. Launched in 2002, this is not exactly your state-of-the-art camera but it was the best in class when it was first launched. Most of the pics you see on this blog are taken by this camera, which does well when there is good lighting, and produces excellent skin tones.

I'm getting to know more people who are interested in photography here, which makes it exciting. I'm still amatuer by standards, because I'm really bad at numbers... it takes me 3 secs to figure out my fractions.

My cell group leader Les is made about taking pics too, although he just lost his Canon recently. Now he's a Nikon convert. Check out his blog at http://chewinggum68.blogspot.com/

The Fujifilm S602z

Jumping on the Tsunami Bandwagon

Next week, I'm supposed to be attending a Trival Night held to raise funds for the Tsunami victims. Before I willingly eke out another dollar for this charitable event, I read this article in the New Yorker that made me think twice. Australians have already generously contributed over $10 million the the cause. I'm not saying there is ever a limit put out for something so altruistic, but unfortunately, charity has its own victims as well.

"Nearly 4 million men, women and children have died as a consequence of the Congo civil war. 70 thousand have perished in the genocide in the Darfur region of Sudan. In the year just ended, scores of thousands died in wars and massacres elsewhere in Africa, in Asia, in the archipelogoes of the Pacific, and, of course, in Iraq. Less dramatically, but just as lethally, 2 million people died of malaria around the world, and another million and a half of diarrhea. 5 million children died of hunger. 3 million died of AIDS, mostly in Africa...

The giant wave that radiated from western Sumatra on the day after Christmas destroyed the lives of at least a hundred and fifty thousand people and the livelihoods of millions more. A hundred and fifty thousand: fifty times the toll of 9/11, but "only" a few per cent of that of the year's slow, more diffuse horrors.

The routine disasters of war and pestilence do, of course, call forth a measure of relief from public and private agencies. But the great tsunami has struck a deeper chord of sympathy."

(Excerpt from The New Yorker, Jan 17 2005)

Guess the charity doesn't just end when the Tsunami does.

My Favourite Thing

This is a picture of my 17 year old cat that we picked up since I was a little girl. He's probably 98 years old in human terms, but he still lords over the household. He used to taunt my brother's dog who was three times his size until we have to call it quits (on the dog, that is : )))

My cat sleeping on my bed

Pita Bread

Yesterday I join the Pita Bread ministry at ACCF to distribute bread to the residents staying at the Racecourse Road commission flats. It was my first time there, and we had bags and bags of rolls donated by Bakers Delight. It sure brought delight to the old ladies who were already making it their weekly routine to collect their bread. We went in groups to distribute them to the various units. I was with Anne and Alex, two really experienced people who knew the people living in the blocks. It certainly took away the stereotypes I had of the people living there, and more importantly, I'm able to put a face and a smile on the community and that makes it easier to pray for them and love them. Thanks Derek for this wonderful opportunity and I'm truly impressed with what something so small as a 'poppy seed bread' can do to move mountains.



Bakers Delight rolls for the residents

My First Blog!

Hi, this is my foray into the Blog World. I should have started this 1 year ago, but have procrastinated till today. Thanks to my good friend Sharon (Ren Ren) for that touch of inspiration. I feel so young again! Go check out Sharon's site at http://chroniclesofrenren.blogspot.com/

Now, if only I can find how to upload some pics...

Patpong night market 

Journey to the Not-Too-Far-East

Went to Bangkok with a few ex-colleagues during my holidays in December. This is a picture of Patpong, which have ceased to be the raunchy red-light district of Bangkok. We ate and shopped, which I thought was rather typical of Singaporeans.

This blogging is getting quite fun.. think I'm getting the hang of this!

Girl dressed as a cat feeding the swans in the Royal Botanic Gardens