And He keeps giving....

A greater work opportunity, answered prayers, a new chapter in life ....

Thank you, God - for being real to me, for blessing me with so much more than I deserve.

18122016 - confirmation day!

Would you take that leap of faith?

Questions I ask myself every time I get to "crossroad" moments in life - "What is my purpose? What are His plans for me?" I find myself asking these questions again today, being at a crossroad; undecided on the path that I should take next; for two roads diverged in a yellow wood, and sorry I could not travel both, knowing how way leads on to way, being a traveller, long I stood and looked down one as far as I could, to where it bent in the undergrowth. O the wise and timeless words of Robert Frost.

There's been an internal opening for the position Asset Commercial Lead. I was asked today if I was keen in applying for the role or to be included in the list of candidates as they are in the midst of shortlisting potential candidates for the role and apparently a few people have brought up my name in the conversations as a good candidate and that the role could possibly be of interest to me.

Commercial exposure/experience would definitely be a means of meeting the long-term goal. But it's a stiff competition. There are other potential candidates being considered and I have zero commercial experience or knowledge. Plus, there's just a tonne of things to do in aviation safety next year and how could I give up my cosy doorless corner office? It was only wise to consult the Boss with my dilemma. "I may not be selected at the end, but should I just give it a try? Would you encourage and support me to try/test my luck?" Yes he said, along with a dose of encouragement and optimism, that I stand a very good chance at it.

Would you take that leap of faith? of thrusting yourself into the unknown, letting adrenaline to solely be the driver? Why must the thrill of soaring begin with the fear of falling?

But fear, I shall not.

Beginner's luck

3rd December 2016; 5pm - a first to remember. My first dart game in 30 years of my life and winning! And hitting the inner bullseye! Victory never tasted so sweet. A major miracle (or beginner's luck) considering how bad my aim was/is. 

Proof I ain't lying!

  #competition-mode-on

love and devotion

As life goes on, days rolling into nights, it will become clear that you never really stop missing someone special who's gone; you just learn to live around the gaping hole of their absence. When you lose someone you can't imagine living without, your heart breaks wide open, and the bad news is you never completely get over the loss. You will never forget them. However, in a backwards way, this is also the good news. They live on in the warmth of your broken heart that doesn't fully heal back up, and you will continue to grow and experience life, even with your wound. It's like badly breaking an ankle that never heals perfectly, that still hurts when you dance, but you dance anyway with a slight limp, and this limp just adds to the depth of your performance and the authenticity of your character. The people you lose will always remain a part of you, for better or for worse.

3-in-1 goodness

I wasn't too confident about my paper proposal making it through the review ratings but turns out it wasn't too bad after all. Scored 3.75 and made it to the >3.5 ratings shortlist. It then got shortlisted as one of the 5 papers for presentation in the Technical Session - which will be my first technical presentation in a regional SPE conference! To top it up, turns out that a technical presentation in an SPE conference automatically allows me to publish my paper in SPE's technical paper database, OnePetro; which is the perfect stepping stone to getting published in SPE publications in the future.

6 months to go....to overcome this daunting thought, to gather my nerves, to prepare myself mentally to do this and to do it well. May the force be with me.  

#celebrating-in-solitude

#panicking-in-solitude

The One

Tell me, tell me that you want me
And I'll be yours completely, for better or for worse

I know we'll have our disagreements, be fighting for no reason
I wouldn't change it for the world

Cause I knew, the first day that I met you
I was never going to let you slip away

And I still remember feeling nervous
Trying to find the right words to say to you

You make my heart feel like it's summer, when the rain is pouring down
You make my whole world feel so right when it's wrong
That's how I know you are the one
That's why I know you are the one

Life is hard but with you I am prepared for what is yet to come
Cause our two hearts will make it easy
Joining up the pieces together making one

The melody and lyrics describe so perfectly just how I feel for you. 

Do you remember what happened a year ago, on this date? I wish you'd call.

Memory lane

2-year anniversary to the journey of a lifetime + life's greatest experience. Missing every bit of it.

The scenic route

Sisterly surprise

This is too sweet, silly and funny to be forgotten - hence the blog post. :)

So, Becky is back home for a couple of days for a medical course. She wanted to surprise mom, dad and I so she didn't tell any of us that she was coming home. She schemed a surprise plan with Ruth. I don't really know how the surprise for mom and dad went, but this is how MY surprise went. *can't stop smiling just thinking about it*

***

Scene: I was home alone, watching a Korean drama on my laptop. I saw a car stopped in front of the house so I got suspicious and rushed to the door to see who it might be. Everything looked like normal? My car was parked outside and so was Mom's. I disregarded my suspicion and returned to watching the Korean drama on my laptop, on the couch.

A few minutes later, the gate opens and someone runs to the door. I of course assumed it was going to be Ruth. A very high pitched voice calls out, "May Yi!!!" - a very very familiar voice. I turned and there she was, standing at the door. I was fazed, for like 3 seconds, before it hit me - BECKY IS HOME???!!!  I rushed to open the door for her and we hugged and laughed like silly girls. 

The conversation that followed....

Me: Hahahaha, how come you're here? I thought you were Ji Yi (Ruth). How did you come? Denise sent you home? Is Denise on leave and back here too?

Becky: Hahahaha, I wanted to surprise you.... I've actually been back for a few days. Had a course to attend. 

Me: Ahhh, is that why Ji Yi wanted to organize the family dinner for tonight? Was that the original surprise plan? 

Becky: Ya sort of but not really lah. I had dinner plans already. Mom nearly blew the surprise when she replied in the family group chat that we can't do the dinner on Friday night cos I was supposed to have dinner plans with the Korean doctors. I was actually home with her at that time and I screamed from upstairs "MOM!!! MAY YI IS NOT SUPPOSED TO KNOW THAT I'M HOME. IT'S SUPPOSED TO BE A SURPRISE!!!"

Becky then repeated her conversation with mom that day....

Becky: MOM!!! MAY YI IS NOT SUPPOSED TO KNOW THAT I'M HOME. IT'S SUPPOSED TO BE A SURPRISE!!!

Mom: Oh yaaaa!! Sorry sorry I forgot....but nevermind, don't worry - May Yi is quite dumb. She won't realize.
(I should be offended that my mom thinks i'm dumb but i don't know why I find it more hilarious than offensive)

Becky: Hahahaha, yeah yeah she's quite dumb. Nevermind, I can fix this. I'll cover up by saying something else. (So both Becky and Mom pretended it was a mix up of dates in the family group chat.)

***

I suppose I can be quite blonde, or dumb at times; maybe most times but who cares? Blonde moments always make a good story for a good laugh. :) 

Sweet surprises never fail to make me happy. Thanks for making me happy today, my dear sister. x

Favourite Japanese indie band

I'm so glad we were strolling through the Osaka Castle Park at the time they were having their concert. It was.....meant to be....

Lead singer plays the flute! Too sexy....