Heaven ~ A Tribute ~ 8th May 2007

I was in heaven yesterday. And I was in heaven because I was with Jesus and Jesus was shining forth in all of you.

Yesterday was the happiest day of my life; I’ve never experienced such joy as I did yesterday. It’s the kind that you feel your heart is swelling so much it’s gonna burst. You feel giddy and light headed. You can’t stop smiling from ear to ear; beaming in fact. You just feel like jumping up and down and doing cartwheels. (if only I could). That would be how I would describe the happiness I felt.

It was not just yesterday, although yesterday was the happiest. All the events leading up to yesterday was just wonderful.

Spending time with you guys, such as the film festival, musicals, McDonalds, Changi Airport, manicures, praise & worship, etc, being blessed with new a new manager and new colleagues who are so supportive, funny and REAL was just what I’ve been hoping for, for a very, very long time.

Thank you Elaine and Alvin. (my dearest colleagues) You really made my day with the sweet purple card, with the painstakingly handmade clay flowers and decorations. And the gift, which I saw yesterday only. Of the purple handphone pouch with the purple doggie keychain and the purple coloured Body Shop White Musk gift set. I’ve never been surprised and touched like this before. Especially since I knew you guys for like, barely 2 months, and barely 3 days, you’ve did it for me. You’ve noticed I love purple, I wanted a handphone pouch just like you all, I love handmade stuff, and you guys did it for me. Most of all, you bring laughter, fun and support to me in the workplace, and I can finally be myself for once at work and that’s more than I can ask for.

Thank you Karen for suggesting Café Del Mar to celebrate my birthday. You know what I like gurl! You made my day by suggesting that. Thanks for driving me there and back! And for treating me to the manicure, drinks and pic. I felt so pampered! I can’t wait till our trip to Udon Thani/Vientianne. And looking forward to more shopping, gurly stuff, backpacking/travelling in the future!

Thank you Sharon for coming. I love your company! Thank you for suggesting Truth or Dare. THANK YOU for the Swensons ice cream cake!!! I was dying to have that and I got it fulfilled! Thank you for your birthday card. I love cards! Thank you Wendy for coming. Wouldn’t be the same without you. Thank you for the flowers! I love flowers! I felt so girly and happy coz of that. Thank you! Thank you Nat for the ticket to Midsummers Night Dream. It meant a lot to me. Sometimes I don’t show my emotions really well. But I was so happy. It means I can join you gals and have fun! It means that you gals want me to join you. And that itself means a lot to me.

Thank you Francis for coming, especially when you don’t really club or go to these kind of places. It meant a lot that you came. Thank you for your words of encouragement in my diary. You wanna hear the song again? It’d be my pleasure! Lol.. and I will definitely make use of the talents He’s blessed me with to bring glory to Him. And sorry that because you came, you had to spend a lot! I know everyone spent a lot that night, because of me, and thank you so much just for doing so. And bearing with me and my insistence on photo taking. And my highness. Please accept my sincere apologies if I’ve offended anyone.

And for all the pressies. The company meant so much to me, and you guys came, had to spend money on the expensive drinks and entrance to Sentosa, and yet bought me gifts. I was very surprised, touched and happy.

Thank you Jock and Kemmy for coming. Especially immediately after your work, I know how tiring it can be. Thank you for your lovely company! Thank you for the vouchers. Wow. *sigh of happiness* And yes, I had a lovely 18th birthday and will look forward to many more 18ths to come LOL

Thank you Dennis for coming. You may very well have said no, coz your movie finished so late, and yet you came. You made my night by coming, coz I thought you wouldn’t and didn’t want to. Thank you for the Phantom mug. Thank you for buying me the 2 drinks. Thank you for sharing with the vouchers. Gosh, you’ve spent so much. Thank you for writing Happy Birthday in backwards. Thank you for your encouragement to me for my guitar playing. I really needed it. Thank you for being there.

Thank you mummy for staying up and waiting for me until I came back, just to wish me Happy Birthday with a birthday kiss and giving me my birthday present! Thank you for the lovely angel handphone keychain. Thank you for giving me back the bracelet and I’m so sorry for all the hurt I’ve caused you. Thank you for loving me unconditionally and bearing with me all these years. Ivan, its so true about what you said, about us having the love of our family that’s why we turn out alright. Mummy, if not for your love and support and PRAYERS for me, and being there for me during the worst points in my life, I would have probably become a delinquent and landed up in Hell, literally and metaphorically right now instead of seeing through my 25th. I LOVE YOU MUMMY

Thank you Sebastian for being in cahoots with Karen to surprise me at my house yesterday. Haha. Though it didn’t come through, thanks for your company on my birthday. If I didn’t meet you, it would just feel weird. Thank you for the cute little tea cup! I LOVE IT! This year is such a girly girl girl birthday for me. And you guys know me so well. I love girly stuff! How many more years do I have to be a girly girl anyway! LOL

And Seb, for agreeing to take pictures with me. In the end it was so much fun right!!!! Lol. I love picture taking. Thank you all my friends and mummy for entertaining me and making funny faces and impromptu spontaneous pics. Let’s take more pics in future! Lol. Cheers!

Thank you Ivan, Shawn and Diana. The happiest times of my life are spent with you guys. Coz I can truly be myself. Not childish, but just being young at heart and carefree. Ivan, I love it that we can just meet up for supper just like that. I love the spontaneous and the fact that we can just agree on stuff suggested and just do it on the spot, like the Changi Airport thingy. I love the fun and the sharing. Shawn, I love that we can go for all the church stuff together. Like Amplify for example. Diana, I simply love you!!! Thank you for your BEAUTIFUL flower/rose chocolate!!! I can’t bear to eat it!!! And for all your love!!! You exude love!!!

Guys, thank you so much. I knew we were meeting up but didn’t know where we were going. Shawn, thank you for joining me for mass. It’s here that I must testify. Before mass at the adoration room and during mass I was just telling Jesus that I wanted to spend most of the day with him in the adoration room but did not, and felt that the time I spend with Him was too rushed and felt really bad. Amazing thing was, after mass, Shawn suggested going to the adoration room while waiting for Ivan to come. Imagine my surprise and joy. And later I found out, that Shawn suggested going to adoration room so that Ivan could prepare the cake! WOWWEE God works in wonderful ways man!!!!

Thank you so much for the cake!!! It wouldn’t be the same without blowing candles on my birthday!!! Thank you so much for whetting my curiosity about where we were going for dinner, I was having so much fun although by then I was seriously dying of curiosity!!! Hahaha.. you guys were like making me go up and down the escalator and stairs, we queued at some sushi place, we went to the Brazilian restaurant, you blindfolded me with tissue paper, and almost led me to take a bath in the pond… LOL… until finally bringing me to Marche, and once again, I felt so pampered and treated like a princess… coz you ordered my food for me (and it was delicious!!! CHEESEE and ham!!! Yayyy) and for getting me the balloon and getting the bill too. It must be hard on your pockets coz you guys are just students. Haha, it was like I was on a date with two of my bestest friends. Thank you!!! And flying the plane at E-Zone later was so fun too!!!

I’ve never had a birthday like this before, where I experience so much LOVE, and JOY and HAPPINESS and SURPRISES. I love you all, seriously, with all my heart.

Especially since my 25th birthday is significant one for me, because I feel that I’ve come so far. It’s like a milestone. I’m sure you guys will agree that I’m really a different person than I was before.
From 3 years ago, when I celebrated my 22nd birthday. I almost screwed up my life a couple of months before it. I could have dropped out of school and stuff. It was God’s hand and love that saved me. Which I will testify in my book. Anyway, I’ve always had an interest in STYG since young, but I’ve always been off and on since I joined when I was 15. Reason being, I’ve never felt like I belonged. Even when I joined the core when I was 22, it was because I felt I had to and wanted to serve. It was really difficult for me, when I see everyone having close friends to talk to or share with. I’ve always felt like an outsider.

Even my guitar playing. I’m sure some of you remember that I was so afraid of playing loudly and always kept to myself. I remember when we gathered to pray for the confirmation camp 2005 outside the auditorium at the annex, and we were asked to bring up our desires to God. Mine was to be able to play praise and worship on the guitar. There were so many songs I really wanted to be able to play back then. Like Days of Elijah, Agnus Dei. And now I can!!! I really can’t thank and praise the Lord enough.

And I’ve always had the fear of leading praise. I remember I sorta got over it the night Ivan, Shawn and I had praise in the adoration room by ourselves (since Children’s Camp 2005 was on), and it was then that I finally played praise with my guitar on my own, it was then that God blessed me with the friendship of Ivan and Shawn, two people from STYG from then on that I can finally say that I’m close with, two people that I can really share with, that I feel like I belong with. It was also that night that I wrote a love song for God, “God you are so amazing” :)

I’m also more rounder than I was three years ago. HA HA HA. But I’ve learnt to love my curves. I’ve learn to love my teeth. So no need to call me beaver. Ha ha. I’ve learnt to love my features and my skin colour. I finally believe that I’m pretty. I know I keep on bugging you with that question all the time Mummy. I will stop now! Ha ha. I’ve learnt to eat veggies and fruits to build my immunity to be a healthy person so that I can truly love Him with good health. Why would I wanna fall sick, it sucks being sick, He wouldn’t want us to suffer anyway. But I’ve yet to exercise. Ha ha.

Everything and everyone, including you guys, that have come my way, is an experience, something that I will treasure, learn from, grow from, become a better person. And it’s all because of Jesus. Even the bad stuff, I pick myself up and I learn from it. I still have a bad temper. I still am pretty insensitive at times. I still make unfunny jokes. And I hope that you will pardon me here. It is for this very fact that I was afraid of opening up myself as I don’t want to make mistakes or say things that are regrettable. Which I’ve done before. So please forgive me if I’ve done so, and please do let me know if I don’t seem to realise it. I truly believe that miscommunication is the root of all evil. Or, one of the roots.

Anyway, I’m 25!!! I don’t know what the future holds for me, and what His plans for me are. But
I do know that I will testify of His love, and the time is now.
I do know that I will always love the youth, and especially STYG.
I do know that I cannot stand to see the poor and suffering.
I do know that I will have to go around the world, and be spontaneous in the stuff that I do.

So as I set forth on this new beginning, new era, new journey, I thank you for touching my life.