=)
sam+ally

"Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails."

(1 Corinthians 13 : 4-8)

Of being grateful and gracious for whatever life brings

This is something worth sharing and to be contemplated on...

"When I pick up a person from the street, hungry, I give him a plate of rice, a piece of bread. But a person who is shut out,who feels unwanted, unloved, terrified, the person who has been thrown out of society -- that spiritual poverty is much harder to overcome. Those who are materially poor can be very wonderful people. One evening we went out and we picked up four people from the street. And one of them was in a most terrible condition. I told the Sisters: “You take care of the other three; I will take care of the one who looks worse.” So I did for her all that my love can do. I put her in bed,and there was such a beautiful smile on her face. She took hold of my hand,as she said one word only: “Thank you” -- and she died. I could not helpbut examine my conscience before her. And I asked: “What would I say if I were in her place?“ And my answer was very simple. I would have tried to draw a little attention to myself. I would have said: “I am hungry, I am dying, I am cold, I am in pain, or something. But she gave me much more -- she gave me her grateful love. And she died with a smile on her face. Then there was the man we picked up from the drain, half-eaten by worms and, after we had brought him to the home, he only said, “I have lived like an animal in the street, but I am going to die as an angel, loved and cared for.” Then, after we had removed all the worms from his body, all he said, with a big smile, was: “Sister, I am going home to God” -- and he died. It was so wonderful to see the greatness of that man who could speak like that without blaming anybody, without comparing anything. Like an angel -- this is the greatness of people who are spiritually rich even when they are materially poor."

by Mother Teresa

Life is an opportunity, benefit from it.

Life is beauty, admire it.

Life is a dream, realize it.

Life is a challenge, meet it.

Life is a duty, complete it.

Life is love, enjoy it.

Life is a promise, fulfill it.

Life is sorrowful, overcome it.

Life is a song, sing it.

This email really got me re-examining my approach to life. More often than not, we brush off forwarded emails such as these without giving it much thought because it's just one of those forwarded emails but when we stop to ponder, even just a little more, the depth of its message surfaces and hits us where it matters most.

When the waves and storms of life hit us, do we handle it with grace? Do we acknowledge that trials and temptations are necessary for our growth? Do we seek to glorify Him through our well-being and even at our worst moments? Do we stand strong in the faith? Or do we falter and seek to draw pity on ourselves, diverting all due attention to ourselves with the wrong intentions?

How do we live a selfless life in such a self-centered world?

How do we see the beauty in ugly?

It's no easy task but it is a challenge to be met.

Land of the Ascending Dragons

Darn, i can't recognise myself.

Hotness :)
Lol.

Mum&Dad with Voon look-a-like.
Man, carbon copy i tell you! ;p

Awesome shot #1 :)

The Choy's Angels trying to re-enact the plants behind us.

We got a kwai-lo stranger to take for us.

These turtle monuments were suppose to be a symbol of longevity and wisdom. Names of scholars were engraved onto the tombstone because they wanted to immortalize their achievement in some sense. Hence, the Vietnamese people believed that if one wanted to score academically, they are to touch the head of these turtles for blessings. Some even go to the extend of putting monetary offerings beside these turtles.
We only found out after the tour guide told us off nicely to NOT sit on them.
Our fault, cos we were too busy taking pictures without listening to him.
LOL.

* More to come in FB *

Numb

I sit here, staring at the wall. My eyes, skimming thru pictures on the wall, yet the mind is absent, just not quite there. There's a myriad of emotions just flying around, like the spirits or ghosts of the Hogwarts School. It's a feeling of numbness, towards everything and everyone. It's weird that I should feel this way, especially now. I thought i had put that feeling past me. The facade of life, again.

I need that time and space again.

T-M-N-T

Introducing..

T H E T M N T

(to the tune of Kung Fu Panda's KungFu Fighting soundtrack)

Woooooooohhh....Hah!

Everybody wants TMNT

We're like the coolest groupie

We are karate-junkies

And pizza is for hi-tea

Wanna improve your kung-fu?

WATER is for you!

waaaaaatttteeeeeerrrrr!

We're lame.

But we're awesome AND we rock! ;)

I miss camp!

Let's drink and be merry!

2 weeks ago, 2 buddies of mine decided we should chill out, ie. have some drinks. It was a rather impromptu plan but heck, impromptu plans are always the best ones! So after Siv picked me up from my place, we headed over to SK to meet up with Sam for some stomach-filling solids. After treating ourselves to a hearty meal and some lengthy conversation, we headed over to Siv's place for some drinks, well, Absolut Peach and Bacardi Apple to be exact, two very sweet tasting and smooth yet STRONG alcohol. Personally, I don't really have a good impression of Bacardi because the last time I drank it, I swelled up like an enormous tomato!

Anyway..
15/5/09 - This was to be my first drinking session with the guys. Excited? Yes. Worried? Also yes.

When we got there, we started playing some cards while listening to some gay music on Youtube and as usual, the guys were pouring packs of alcohol mixed with Sprite. The first pack tasted mild. And then, as time passed, we had more packs. 3? Or was it 4? Anyway, it must have been at my third one that Sam said "Hey Ally, you look pink!". In my heart, I knew it. Turning pink, definitely not a good sign for me. It's normal but my body has its way of telling me "Hey,you're about to get into the next phase. Watch out." So being the super self-conscious me, I was so ashamed that I got them to switch the lights off! I really didn't want to turn into a Pink Hulk, no way, at least not in front of the guys. But they won't listen! And so I had to hid my beautiful (soon to turn ugly) face behind the nearest pillow I could find. Everything started to feel heavy then. My head was heavy, my body refused to sit upright, and my eyes were heavy. Okay, this is a pretty awesome discovery I discovered about myself. When I reach my alcohol threshold, instead of getting high, I get sleepy. Weird but totally cool. Haha. So I started feeling sleepy, and the guys kept telling me to stay awake cos that's how it is and that I've got to fight it, but haha, when I'm sleepy, nothing comes in the way of my sleep..and so, apparently I fell asleep! And I have no recollection at all of how it happened and when exactly.

The next I remember...

I awoke to the sound of an unfamiliar voice, not of Sam's or Siv's.. I pulled the pillow away from my face and lo-behold, I see an unfamiliar face, a stranger, whom I later got acquainted with and now has a name - Karthik. I can't believe I was out / asleep for 1 whole hour! Honestly, I could recall nothing of that one hour "time-out" which I thought was only as short as 15 minutes?

I felt flustered. There's a stranger in the room and I was asleep, like a pig! and I was so oblivious of the things going around me too. It was really really embarrassing. I gathered my face into my clasped hands. There was a dull pain in my head and my stomach felt funny. I know this feeling. It was the same feeling I felt when I was out clubbing in NZ with the Mosaic bunch; just after the horrible tasting shot and some mixtures, and before puking.

Stumbling onto my feet, I got up and headed straight to the toilet. Everything came out. Ewww. Thankfully it was only 1 pass at the washroom.

So I came back in, and the guys were high instead! Siv was dancing non-stop, Sam was listening to more gay music, and Karthik was just looking at me with such suspicious eyes. We had some camwhore session and a good time of laughing together over everything. Too bad the guys weren't high enough to be talking about life cos apparently, when they're really high, they'll talk about life and that's the interesting part! Maybe they were feeling shy that a girl was there too..just maybe..lol.

Good chill out session nonetheless. Apparently I need more drinking training. Haha, we shall see about that!

End of story.

I just wanted to blog about this because it's definitely a memory worth keeping. My memory will soon fail me, and this is the only way, coupled with the pictures we took, for me to remember this by.

Sorry if it was boring.

Sorry if you wasted your time reading it too.

Sorry if the ending wasn't as gempaq as you thought it should have been.

I'm so friggin' apologetic. LOL.

Anyway, drinking reminds me of the Mosaic bunch of friends so much.

I miss Mer's dirty dancing;

I miss Tom's silly faces and cute dancing;

I miss Emma being all sisterly and her cautious ways because she's always the designated driver when everyone else is either too drunk to drive or insanely tipsy to drive;

I miss Charlene's wacky antics of taking videos of people puking or being tipsy; and

I miss Jas's sporting attempts to drink and dance and let loose.

I want to go back. I really do..

Don't know if you guys will ever read this, but I miss you guys!


Friends - are God's way of taking care of us; angels sent to guide and walk with us while we embark on life's journey.
Treasure them, cos sometimes, you do not know what you have till you've lost them.



Cheers!
missy allyot. :)

The good news

I don't know where to begin
to tell you of the thoughts
that have been playing in my mind

For the past 3 weeks, God felt so real.
I prayed for an answer
but i also struggled and had my fair share of doubts if He would ever answer

I spoke to a church elder about it
funny enough, i didn't even realize God's work at hand at that very moment
through that conversation we had

Sometimes, when we seek God for something
the answers aren't always clear.
He has His way of placing certain people in our lives
at certain points of our lives
to reveal certain things to us

And a week after that conversation
my prayer was answered
in a circumstance that had been depicted by that church elder

The feeling of having a prayer answered was just overwhelming
like a moment of success amidst many failed attempts


HE PROVIDED...
Thank you, GOD.

I finally got it.

(",)

Currently feeling...

There's distance in the air and I cannot make it leave
I wave my arms' round about me and blow with all my might
I cannot sense you close, though I know you're always here
But the comfort of you near is what i long for

When I can't feel you, I have learned to reach out just the same
When I can't hear you, I know you still hear every word I pray
And I want you more than i want to live another day
And as I wait for you, maybe I'm made more faithful

All the folly of the past, though I know it is undone
I still feel the guilty one, still trying to make it right
So i whisper soft your name, let it roll around my tongue
Knowing you're the only one who knows me
You know me

Show me how I should live this
Show me where I should walk
I count this world as lost to me
You are all I want
You are all I want

When I can't feel you, I have learned to reach out just the same
When I can't hear you, I know you still hear every word I pray
And I want you more than i want to live another day
And as I wait for you, maybe I'm made more faithful...

Faithful by Brooke Fraser

RW's

"Life is a series of problems. Either you are in one now, or you're just coming out of one, or you're getting ready to get into another one.

The reason for this is that God is more interested in your character, than your comfort. God is more interested in making your life holy, than He is in making your life happy.

We need to ask ourselves:
Am I going to live for possessions? Popularity?
Am I going to be driven by pressures? Guilt? Bitterness? Materialism?
Or am I going to be driven by God's purposes (for my life)?

When I get up in the morning, I sit on the side of my bed and say, God, if I don't get anything else done today, I want to know You more and love You better. God didn't put me on earth just to fulfill a to-do list. He's more interested in what I am than what I do."

by Rick Warren