Our first recording + some photos

I've been really tired lately... December every year is like that. Yet when I look at what I've done and what the others have done, feel like I could do more... yet, I'm forever restricted by my lack of energy... wonder where all the energy goes to.... maybe just cuz I've got acquired ADHD makes my energy run dry daily...

Wished I could be more focused, as the Lord told me. In the process of re-moulding and sanctification. Really not by works man....

Anyway, here's a video of Kuzi and I doing our first recording ever in our lives. We've never rehearsed before... we were just randomly playing and singing it the night before and were drawn into doing this small little gig for everyone. Thank God so many of them went home after Bible discussion!

So... here's the clip! Enjoy~



Yes... everyone says my entries are long and naggy... but that's how I write ma... anyway... I don't have no energy to nag today... so, that's all for now friends..!

Maybe just to top it off, some photos of my life of late?

Mince pork veggie meat ball noodles I cooked one night.

The Conference at Canberra I went to 2 weekends ago

The comfortable chairs of the conference hall made it so hard and 'easy' for me....

Tending the booth

The Shine Dome - the conference venue from outside.

It's actually at ANU.

A cafe near to our hotel and conference venue.

Couldn't help but be reminded of Kwayti Yek Yek Venurs

And a BIBLE LANE!

Giraffe the Leslie with his new found friends from ABI and Invitrogen.

A short break we had during the conference was well spent at the Parliment House.

Minoru, Fenny, Mel, Me and Set Yen and the old Parliment House behind.

Behind us stands the new Parliment House.

The Senate... or was it House of Representatives? Haha.. forgot.

And I won in a lucky draw - Ipod Touch! Wahaha.. posing for that company... think I'm gonna be on their website... but I wore Singapore Polytechnic instead of ASCC... oops.

2 little girls in my Church.... so cute la... mei xiang dao she will qiang wen her....  Elise is gonna miss Janice when she's gone back to SG..

Alright.. that's all for now folks!~

Goodnight~~~

Journey of Rap to the Touch of Tears...

You know... I picked up my guitar, thinking of picking up one of my good old Christian rap songs.. maybe work out a couple of strums and plucks and nice hammering..... and pop by a youtube video from my bro. All he said was, "Jin".

Deep down in my heart, Jin means only one thing. No, not alcohol. So, it's not a thing. It's one person. That's Jin.

I clicked the video... and it was JIN. And the title was "From battle rapper to Christian Rapper?!"

I put my guitar aside... and decided, it's TIME TO BLOG!

You know... In the world, I'm just a little nobody. Yes, to different ones, I can be a precious daughter, a precious friend, a precious sister.. and the list goes on... But put my name up on the head lines, who cares?

But I just wanna share, God cares! And He listens...!

Many people asked, "When did you start rapping?"

Can I tell you....? I started rapping when Ifirst heard some Chinese song called "Geylang" in Singapore, by Chew Chor Meng. This man got me rapping... and it was so fun to have words bounce off the tip of my tongue. Then I moved on.... and somewhere down the road, rapped more and more...

Then I came across this dude in F4, whom I 'proclaimed' as my 'god-brother', yes... for y'all who know me, my Vanness Kor Kor. I got further into rap, bouncing off Chinese rap to traces and bits of English rap verses he'd pull of in his songs.

After being opened up to a new realm of English rap, my brother (not Vanness but my REAL brother) introduced me to an American BET program and I stumbled upon this young dude called 'Jin'. Guess what friends, that was the start of my English rap career.. lol, iight, not career.

This man, Jin, fascinated me with his rap flow and the way he freestyled just blew everyone off. He made it big and became known as the 'FIRST CHINESE RAPPER'. And I followed him all the way. No.. I didn't, but I think I had most of his songs.

With him as my inspiration, I started freestyling... I started writing. Along the way I met 'Vietboi - Dau Bu', my American-born Vietnamese web friend, who introduced me to another series and style of rap and freestyle! There was also "Twista" and his Christian rap song, "Hope".

All these people impacted me in a certain way.... and I started writing my FIRST song... which was sang on the 8th September 2007, on Eliza's early birthday celebration. And on the 9th September 2007, I gave my life to our Awesome Saviour and Lord Jesus Christ.

That day, God took my rap to another level, and deep down in my heart, I prayed. God, I can't rap as well as Jin. But only if I could....

"Can I still rap Jin's songs?"
"Can I still sing Vanness' songs?"
"Can I rap Vanness' raps..?"
"Jin's songs are so not godly... I shouldn't be rapping it.."
"But I miss the feel of rapping.. it's ok, I'll just rap Twista's Hope."
 "I really want to freestyle! Can I just start rapping Jin's song..?"

All that struggles within me... Somewhere deep in my heart... a silent prayer was made, "God, please touch these people. It will be so cool if they step out there, and sing and rap the LIGHT to the world!"
(of course that wasn't how I exactly placed the prayer... i forgot how I prayed already.)

I kept the prayer on the shelf.... and once in awhile, prayed for these artistes whenever I thought about them...

Then one day....

I saw Jin on a KTV board at Cybercity one day. I still remember I was with Robin, Cintia and some other HK friends.... and I was pointing at Jin, "Why is he rapping in Cantonese??? I'm sure that's Jin, I'm sure that's him! Isn't he in America???"

And everyone just looked at me as though I was some weirdo... cuz who would care for this 'newbie' who's not really famous in HK? But I kept it somewhere.... on the shelf again...

Some where down the road, a year later after I received Jesus, I got water baptised. And if you remember my Baptism entry (click here to see), I attached more pictures, of my Vanness kor kor's water baptism too. That day I was elated and words just wouldn't express how happy I was to see Vanness re-dedicating his life to God... and making that decision to be a BORN-AGAIN CHRISTIAN!

 

That day onwards, Vanness just proclaimed his faith to everyone boldly and so many ones were touched and stirred in their faith because of this! He even attended revival meetings with Ps Jaeson Ma, who was the very same pastor that shared the gospel with Edision Chen, who then accepted Christ too!

I was trailing along Vanness' blog every once in awhile, and I noted he had met up with Jin too! I was then praying harder deep within, "God, please use Jin to share your Love and Good News too!"

Once again, after praying, I kept that in the sack.... and ocassionally prayed for Jin.

This video that my brother showed me just brought me so much joy and happiness. I pray y'all see it for yourselves... those who don't know Jin, this is he. Those who know Jin, hope you'll be so touched by his testimony...

I used to think, out of the many ones who inspired me to rap... who did the greatest impact? Yes, Chew Chor Meng did the first step, but Jin was the one who took it to the next level!



Jin's Testimony


God is good!!! I just praised God seeing this. And when he said, "I just want to glorify God and His Greatness.." Oh, my heart just felt it... and I praised God immediately, "Hallelujah!"

It many not be a BIG thing to many of you... but personally, it is a big thing to me... especially when Vanness and Jin are people I've been praying for... seeing them come to know God and to re-encounter with God... and even dedicating their lives to God saying, "God I'm here, use me.", just totally warms my heart...

Go Jin!! Go Van Ness! GO4GOD!!! Yes! Go go go!!

And guess what... even Chew Chor Meng.... he also became a Christian and shared boldy about God's love! To see the video, click here. It's spoken in Singlish... so... mixture of Chinese and English... but... if you understand our accent, maybe you will be able to catch it!! :)


God is good... God is working... and working to this day!!!!

Let us continue to keep these artistes in prayer and pray that we will win the MEDIA back for God!

Yes.. may the artistes glorify God in their work. GO4GOD. And yes, I should stop using Van Ness's cliche now... lol.

The Sanctification Process within Grace

God has been working tremendously in my life the past few weeks... and I see myself rising to another level of faith and trust in Him.

I don't know how to place this entry, as coming to blog has come about pretty abruptly. I don't have a full story to tell, but I'm just going to testify of His work in my life. And maybe as I write the inspiration will just flow and bring about a full story - that usually happens. I don't really know what has happened until they get penned down.. and I'll be amazed at the journey God's taken me through!

Past and beyond the process of justification, He released me to the training grounds for sanctification. The Lord is a good God that has installed for me plans to prosper and not to harm me. As I endeavoured into things that took hold of me, took away my original focus and plans, I embarked on a journey that took me through dips and turns. The road and finishing line that was once marked out clearly seemed to fade away and questions that arose within - where is the finishing line? I can't see it.

That is the first step of diversion. Straying away from the perfect path, going through a trail and journey of dips and turns. Imagine with me this illustration.

You embark on a bushwalking hike up a mountain together with God. He had a perfect path, under the beautiful sunlight, marked out to reach the destination. Yet along the way, you see the little shaded mud trails that seem to promise some adventure beyond the forest and bushes. So out of curiousity, you stop by and think, "I might walk this trail and see where it'll lead me to? It seems to promise some fun!"

Yes, and you turn from your original sun lit path into the shaded mud trails. Yes, the shaded mud trails offer a tinge of excitment and the light from the original path still offered your vision a clear direction of where you are heading. As you continued, the light dimmed and the shades became darker and the path became muddier due to the lack of sunshine in the forest. But clinging on to the hope of excitment, you continue upon the path, not realising that the deeper in the forest you went, the darkness increased and the path no longer seemed to be very clear and straight.

Many a times, you reach a point in the mud trails that offered more than one direction that you could take. Maybe to the left, or to the right, or maybe across stones in a river, or climbing across a fallen tree trunk to another path. The forest was wide and there were so many choices you could make. Sometimes you would make a wrong decision, and injure yourself because of the path you took. You grow weary and tired and you question, "Why did I embark on this journey? What is the purpose of me in this mountain in the first place?"

In the midst of the struggles, you lose faith and direction. To a point where the cold, darkness, dangers and possibilites the forest offered no longer seemed enticing to you, but instead, weariness and purposeless emcompasses you. You thought the journey was going to be fun. But the journey took you into a series of ups and downs, dips and turns, many choices to make, unclear paths, slippery paths... too many options.

There you cry out in desperation, "I've had enough!! Take me back to the perfect path! Why did I sway from it? The path that was clear, warm and purposeful with the destination clearly marked out!" In the midst of your cry, the Lord heard you, and jumped right to where you were in the forest, and picked you RIGHT OUT of the dirt, darkness and cold, gave you a nice clean up, put new clothes and shoes on for you, and said, "My child, it's alright that you've walked away. I'm glad you called me, and we'll do this journey together again."

He didn't reprimand you. Neither did he forsake you. He went straight to us when you cried for Him. When you surrendered and knew you were weak and needed Him. You need the path He had planned for you, that you wouldn't get hurt in the muddy trails. He knew forehand that you wouldn't make those trails, that's why He never intended for you to be walking there. He knew far before, what was the best for you... and clearly marked out the direction and finishing line for you.

The perfect path in itself has its challenges that are meant for you... and they are some what adventurous and challenging enough, but you will have the light and the equipment He gives you for the journey.

If only you knew... you wouldn't have attempted the side trails... but ran hard towards the clearly marked finishing line with His equipping and light.

Now friends, now that we're done imagining...

That was almost somewhat the journey I have been through. A journey that led to total surrender, a journey of making a choice to walk His way, instead of mine.The initial struggles of not letting go of what I deemed I could do clogged my vision, like the shades of the trees that made me think there was something better beyond the beginnings of the muddy side trail.

The first step of disregarding the light I was in, thinking that I could still see and think clearly enabled me to step into the mud trail. But the moment I did that, I was no longer relying on His Spirit to guide me. I was relying on my strength and that took hold of me to find out what was good for me, instead of what God knew was good for me.

As I ventured further, the darkness clouded my vision, and I couldn't make wise and clear decisions and judgment. I easily slipped because I stepped on mud, or slippery algae on the rocks along wet puddles.

"...Walk while you have the light, before darkness overtakes you. The man who walks in the dark does not know where he is going."

- John 12:35b


And the trail that seemed to start with one way seemed to become wider and offered many paths and choices that I could choose to go. But behind each path, there seemed to be difficulties after difficulties, set backs after set backs.

"Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it."

- Matthew 7:13

And the amount of hurt and injuries and disappointments, led me to realise how far I have swayed from my original purpose. There was no longer the joy in doing many things I used to enjoy. And the was also the loss of purpose that was once intended. Why was I on this mountain?

Prophecies after prophecies directed me back to the laying of foundations, running and finding the finishing line. Yes! The finishing line that had once been so clearly marked out for me, where was it! Definitely not beyond and behind the trails of this forest. The forest was taking me so far from my original purpose!

You know what, and I thought... oh no, now comes the part to surrender. Surrender, what? What have I clunged on so tightly that I could not even surrender? What was it in my life that I needed to surrender? GOD, TELL ME!!

Day and night I cried out in desperation. God, tell me! Reveal to me yourself! If you're real, let me know!

Ok, friends. You may be puzzled. Oh, she's a Christian. How could she not know God is real in her life? That's why pastors, mentors and leaders keep telling us, "Do not backslide!" How many times can you find a backslided Christian who can testify of God's goodness in their life? Most of the time, you find them lamenting about life and how difficult it is. And when you tell them about God, they probably shun you and try not to listen. But it's not to say, it's impossible. It comes a lot of humility to say once again, "God, I've walked away. I want you back."

I'm sure you know the parable of the lost son. Do you know how much humility he had to clothe himself with to return home, and even with the thoughts of condemning himself to the likes of a hired servant.

"So he got up and went to his father. But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion for him; he ran to his son, threw his arms around him and kissed him. The son said to him, 'Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son.' But the father said to his servants, 'Quick! Bring the best robe and put it on him. Put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. Bring the fattened calf and kill it. Let's have a feast and celebrate. For this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.' So they began to celebrate."

- Luke 15:20-24

God's grace abounds so deeply, beyond that. He regards us as children. That we can call him Abba Father. Abba means Daddy. We call him, Daddy. He doesn't disqualify us for His Goodness. He doesn't, and He won't! No matter how much we fail Him.... He allows us to come back to Him.

Prior to my birthday, I prepared myself. What do I want this birthday?

What kind of present will mark my best 23rd birthday?

What kind of surprise should I receive?

What should I do to pamper myself?

Where can I go...?

What can I eat?

Have you realised... it's all about 'me'?

Yes... it was all about me.

But as the date drew closer... I realised, all these things weren't so important after all! I realised, deep down inside, there was something I really wanted. And that was God's direction and tangibility in my life. On the day, I finally made my wish as a prayer. God, please just come back close to me.

God, I just want you more in my life.

God had it all planned along. I now chuckled at the thought and look up and smile. My Abba Father's got something planned up His sleeve. And I knew He was the one chuckling and smiling when I made that wish or prayer.

A series of cleaning up happened. Oh, how I love and hate it when that happens. I love it, because God is cleaning me up! I hate it... cuz it hurts man... it hurts. But overall, I loved it.... not because of the pain... but because the pain is short, and the aftermath, is great.

Ye know, I surrendered so many things in life. And that really brought my focus back to God. All the meaningless distractions, things of the wrong timing and purposes of my own... placed into God's hand, being accountable to my shepherd, and just wanting to take the step to see things done and sealed. God set me free once again.


Giving Up Plastic Pearls... for the Promise of Real Pearls

I've stopped and given up writing the story which I had been writing for the past 3 years. It was so hard, because it was 3 years of my hard work, and it was almost done. I always looked forward to this story's publication... it would be my best product out of my 4 stories... But would it glorify God if I published it? Honestly, it would glorify myself more than it would glorify God. That'll reap pride and ambition in me... I didn't want that. I decided to give up what I believe was my best work... so that one day, God may do HIS BEST in me.

I'm giving this up, not because God is a joy blower... not, God is good.... it's just, this story isn't doing ME any good in this walk with Him... and it's in fact, drawing me AWAY if I keep writing, as it has to involve a lot of emotional involvement in an author to write a story... and I wouldn't say that all that emotional involvement is actually God glorifying! The Bible talks about FLEEING from temptation!

So as much as I hate to, I've given that up. I've not given up writing, and I believe in God's timing He'll take this gift and make use of it when He knows it's time for me, and that I'm ready to. If He doesn't? He's got a better plan!

Goodbye Story - When South Meets West

Am I sad? I was.... I mean like..who wouldn't be. 3 years of my hard work... I cry at the thought of it. I hestitated at the action to accomplish the decision. But God's promises are all YES and AMEN. And His promises won't let go of me. Three years will be nothing when I look down maybe some what more than 3 years... 5 or 10 years later, and looking back... that fruit, will be a much greater blessing. Not only to me... but to God, His people and even the people around the world.

Mr. Right

Other thing... was also learning to trust God for some other 'things'... Hee hee.. Mr Right. Yes, I'm not ashamed to share this, but in this, may I be able to encourage other young ladies like me through what the Lord has placed in my heart.

God, in His sovereignity, had used my wrong intentions to do good to me. And.... all I just wanna say, and I'll never forget how God drastically convicted me and changed my life.... His goodness prevails forever... and forever!! I won't say too much.... but the 2 stories I will share are, the story of Joseph and the story of David.

Now Joseph had been taken down to Egypt. Potiphar, an Egyptian who was one of Pharaoh's officials, the captain of the guard, bought him from the Ishmaelites who had taken him there. The LORD was with Joseph and he prospered, and he lived in the house of his Egyptian master. When his master saw that the LORD was with him and that the LORD gave him success in everything he did, Joseph found favor in his eyes and became his attendant. Potiphar put him in charge of his household, and he entrusted to his care everything he owned. 

From the time he put him in charge of his household and of all that he owned, the LORD blessed the household of the Egyptian because of Joseph. The blessing of the LORD was on everything Potiphar had, both in the house and in the field. So he left in Joseph's care everything he had; with Joseph in charge, he did not concern himself with anything except the food he ate. 

Now Joseph was well-built and handsome, and after a while his master's wife took notice of Joseph and said, "Come to bed with me!" But he refused. "With me in charge," he told her, "my master does not concern himself with anything in the house; everything he owns he has entrusted to my care. No one is greater in this house than I am. My master has withheld nothing from me except you, because you are his wife. How then could I do such a wicked thing and sin against God?" And though she spoke to Joseph day after day, he refused to go to bed with her or even be with her. 

One day he went into the house to attend to his duties, and none of the household servants was inside. She caught him by his cloak and said, "Come to bed with me!" But he left his cloak in her hand and ran out of the house.

- Genesis 39:1-12

Joseph was a man who knew God's heart, and held on closely to His promises. And Joseph knew, the kind of calling God had upon His life. In circumstances as such, Joseph, being a handsome and well-built man, could easily give in to temptations. But the thing that kept him from doing so, is because He knew God had a better plan for him.

The same circumstances given to another man of God, King David, yet led to another outcome.

In the spring, at the time when kings go off to war, David sent Joab out with the king's men and the whole Israelite army. They destroyed the Ammonites and besieged Rabbah. But David remained in Jerusalem. 

One evening David got up from his bed and walked around on the roof of the palace. From the roof he saw a woman bathing. The woman was very beautiful, and David sent someone to find out about her. The man said, "Isn't this Bathsheba, the daughter of Eliam and the wife of Uriah the Hittite?" Then David sent messengers to get her. She came to him, and he slept with her. (She had purified herself from her uncleanness.) Then she went back home. The woman conceived and sent word to David, saying, "I am pregnant."

- 2 Samuel 11:1-5

What was the difference between the two man? Both were God loving and both had a high calling. But Joseph had something that David missed out. Joseph knew that whatever God had for him was GOOD. And Joseph knew that whatever God had for him was meant for at a GOOD TIME that God will prosper and bless him.

Joseph knew, that there wasn't a need to TAKE SOMETHING into his own hand. Because at the appointed and right time, God will bless him. And what happens if we take something that doesn't belong to us?

Imagine with me.

A father bought the latest Wii game for his son and intended to give it to him on Christmas. Yes, let's just use this festive season since it's around the corner.

So, his son has been asking him for this present for awhile now, so being the loving father, he decides to get his son this Wii game for Christmas! But before Christmas, his son could not resist the temptation of having one of those games. So....


Couple of things could have happened here:

Scenario One.
He knew daddy bought one... so he went to daddy's cupboard and stole the game into his own hands, and played with it.
Before he knew it, he felt utterly disappointed with himself, and wished he hadn't done that. He felt condemn and afraid to face his father.

Scenario Two.
He resented daddy for not buying him one of those games when he asked for it. So he went to the shops and stole one. He got caught by authorities and got himself into trouble.

Scenario Three.
A combination and mixmatch of the above two scenarios..

See, a lot of things can happen when we decide to jump ahead of God's timing.When we jump ahead of God's timing and try to take hold of what does not yet belong to us, it is like taking hold of something to fulfil our desires, instead of awaiting the goodness and fullness God has intended for us!

There will be a right man. Not just any man. In a sermon I listened to, this words touched my heart. "...and only until we begin to see that, will we stop treating a man or woman like any object that we need to satisfy our emotional desires. But instead, will we regard the man or woman that God has intended to make us whole a person that God loves."

King David made the step of jumping ahead of God's timing, thus resulting a lot of negative outcomes that he wished never happened. On the other hand, Joseph held on firmly to God's timing, and trusted God for the good things in his life. And he was greatly blessed after that...

I want to be like Joseph you know... and I'm sure many of us would like to be too. But it's only by God's Grace that we can pick ourselves up, time after time... knowing we're sinful, yet abiding in His grace and love, to carry on this journey.


Like I mentioned earlier in my first illustration:

There you cry out in desperation, "I've had enough!! Take me back to the perfect path! Why did I sway from it? The path that was clear,warm and purposeful with the destination clearly marked out!" In the midst of your cry, the Lord heard you, and jumped right to where you were in the forest, and picked you RIGHT OUT of the dirt, darkness and cold, gave you a nice clean up, put new clothes and shoes on for you, and said, "My child, it's alright that you've walked away. I'm glad you called me, and we'll do this journey together again."

That's right. God will pick us RIGHT UP and OUT of the miry clay, and clean us with his waterfall of Grace. Under His waterfall of Grace and Love, that's where we can come to Him, just as we are, humble and bowing in simple adoration of what Jesus had done on the cross for us.

For you have delivered me from death and my feet from stumbling, that I may walk before God in the light of life.

- Psalm 56:13

I never saw Grace the way I needed to. But Jesus showed me what grace really is... and God taught me that through my very own experience, that I can testify and call it Mine.

And in the Grace, to move on with His Spirit, to do GOOD WORKS that He has called us to...

God has taken me through a journey... and the prayer said on my birthday, was answered the moment I was ready for it.

Yes... my 23rd birthday wish - a daring wish and prayer.

No wonder Pastors always says, "You got to be careful when you make those kind of prayers!"

Yes... because God will answer them..! I love God.. He answered them... did a bit of cleaning in my life... but after that, it feels SO GOOD!

Though the prophetic presbytery is now over, and I wasn't one of the few being pointed out, I managed to walk out of the hole of resentment, but instead, to be joyful and thankful for all God has done... and in the midst of fasting and praying over the past week and a half, God had clearly revealed to me my heart condition... His Grace... and also the clear direction once again...

And just right after I woke up from my long afternoon nap today... I heard once again, His still, soft and gentle, loving voice, telling my... 'That's right my child. Rest, get some rest. From now, be focused and don't be easily distracted. Continue to discover your gifts and talents as you work in the field for me."

That's right... God can speak to me in many ways, not only through the prophets. And God has chosen His way. It's going to be really exciting as God told me... that He will lead me in this journey of discovering my passion and calling...

God loves and cares for me!!! And so does He for you!

And without intention... but really with intention.... lol... I'm just going to do something funny now.... from the words of Vanness: GO4GOD!! Yes, let's Go for God!!!

Will you keep me in your prayers..? Because I really need them... Thank you...! :)

New Zealand Trip 2009

Hi all, I'm back from nice New Zealand. Hee... it was a great trip, and a great time for me to chill and perk my mind back to 'normal'. And here's a bit of the one week journey I had there... ooh.... I wrote all these while I was there! So I'm just copying and pasting from my word document!!

Sorry.. the formatting may look a little off... because I copied from Microsoft word... which is not good for blogger.. but due to my incompetency in html and programming.. lol... will just have to make do with what I got! At least the pictures are there and showing stuff! Enjoy!!

Alps seen from the plane

25 Oct 2009 - Sunday


Yee ha! We touched down in Christchurch at 2pm (11am at Brisbane). The flight was a placid and peaceful one, and I was reading ‘Destined to Reign’ by Joseph Prince. It spoke to me so deeply in my heart and I felt set free while reading it. As much as there are many controversies regarding Joseph Prince. But it is very right we are saved because of Jesus and we are in this new covenant with Jesus…. Shan’t go into it too much yeah! Here to talk about my trip!! Hee.. I’m halfway through the book, and maybe will finish it when the trip finishes.

So, back to Christchurch… We touched down… It wasn’t as cold as we expected…
We headed through the customs, they were pretty organised as they got us through the customs relatively quickly. Nice… since the worst thing through the customs is long queues..!
We got our car from Ace Car Rentals that were located about 7 minutes from the airport. Wee! It was a Mazda Famila~ nice car!

It was pretty nice to drive in Christchurch… we checked in at Comfort Hotel Carlton Mill, which didn’t look very comfortable… but then again, we got it from the budget website… and to be honest, the bed was pretty comfortable! Wahaha.. 


We had a quick snack at Burger King! Look at Set Yen’s excitement when she saw Burger King! Naw, I made her pose for it.. I was the excited one… after not seeing BK for almost a year now… I was craving my ‘mushroom swiss double’.

Walked into BK…Guess what?!

THERE’S NO MUSHROOM SWISS DOUBLE!!! HOW CAN THAT BE! WHAT BK IS THIS?!?!?!

So… what a flop. But to satiate the hungry stomach, I got myself a double cheeseburger… See what it says?

We then drove around the city… to the arts centre which was closed, then to the cathedral where there seemed to be some choir singing… they finished when we walked in… we went in and looked through the engraving on the walls and decided we shouldn’t take any photos (although there were people taking), I personally didn’t feel the peace ye know? But I shan’t elaborate on that… or go into apologetics in this entry!

Oh well, we walked around the Cathedral Square and were wondering, just where is everybody?!?! So we stumbled upon a Korean goods dealer and he told us that today is a public holiday! Oh no! and everything was closed! Then we remembered, our hotel reception said it was a public holiday weekend… tomorrow (Monday) is labour day! Oh man… did we choose the wrong time to come?

Well anyway, we took some photos…. And then headed back to the motel for a short rest and shower, then went out for dinner again… a buffet seafood dinner sounded great… but it was ULTIMATELY DISAPPOINTING! We walked in and first thing we saw were 90% Asians… and the food, the only seafood there was – mussels, boiled prawns, salad calamari and a Chinese style fish. The variety was horrible, and lesser than Buffet Garden!

It must have been catered for budget tour groups.. so we found what we ate totally not valued for our money. The only thing that tasted right and nice was the mussels, precisely what we should be expecting from the NEW ZEALAND mussels! So I ate plenty… and realised I should stop, else my cholesterol skyrocket again! LOL~ thank God I ran my 3 kms the day before at UQ Sport… wee hee hee..

Anyway, since we were so full, and Set Yen decided she wanted some practice with driving, we went for a drive without a place we wanted to go. It was also great in itself that it was a public holiday so there weren’t very many cars on the road… I think I had a shock of my life and almost wished there was a dual control set of brake pads + accelerator on my side of the car! Phew.. but thank God for MANY CLOSE SHAWS… And we managed to come back to the hotel safely…


I’m back here now, in the ‘not so comfortable’ comfort hotel… writing but there’s no internet connection.

It wasn’t a so perfect day afterall, but it’s alright I’m happy and contented and really thankful for this holiday from God! And I’m sure the trip will get better!!

Imma retire for the night now! NZ TV is better than Aussie TV though…. There was Rush Hour 3 just now, and then now there’s How to Lose a Guy in 10 days.. Hm… naw naw naw… me ain’t wonna do that iight!


Ciao~!!


26 Oct 2009 - Monday
Ya hoo!~

Here I am sitting in settlers motel, the only 5 star motel in Hanmer Springs! Really a great deal cuz we’re paying only about $150 each yet we get a Pamper Package that includes 2 thermal pool entries, ½ hour massage, ½ sauna and ½ hour private thermal spa pool, and a night at any 4 star motel in Hanmer Springs, but we got to stay at the only 5 star motel here! How cool is that?


Set Yen and I drove up from Christchurch this morning. Woo, it was a nice drive, we stopped by at Amberly for brunch at a nice café, there was a 15% surcharge as it was a public holiday. Oh, well… It was pretty cold, but once I put that hot mocha in my mouth, it was slowly soothing the cold away… and the nice breakfast was pleasing to taste! Yeah!

So after an hour of recharging and eating, we headed up north and stopped by Waipara for some wine tasting, Pinot Noir was nice! Wanted to get some but it was so expensive! And the person said they do import to Brisbane, so yeah, might get some back home!
 

So excited to be in a vineyard... my FIRST time!

The drive along the way was awesome. Heaps of sheep and lamb, many cows, and horses! You just gotta look across the plains, and the mountains, and you wonder what those white spots across the greens are. Then you go nearer, ooo, they’re sheep! Sometimes I wonder how the shepherds take care of them, and how they rally in the sheep.

“My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me.” – John 10:27.

I guess that’s how the shepherd takes care of the flock of sheep! I don’t know! But I see how sheep looks and how they react, they can’t be alone, or else they’ll be lost sheep!

Well… there are really so many sheep in NZ, that’s why people like to mention, “There are more sheep in NZ than humans in Singapore!”

Anwyay… we reached Hanmer Springs around 1pm, walked about… got myself a little sling bag so I can stop ‘bringing my big bag around’….! Stopped by and had some tiptop cookies and cream ice cream, reminded on myself in NZ when I was only thirteen… There was this guy in my tour group who looked like Jin Cheng Wu… wahaha, shan’t go into that now! Wahaha!

Anyway, we soaked in the thermal pools… ooo… sulphur… lol!

We ended the night with dinner at ‘Peppers’, I had an awesome FISH!!
 

And I heard it’s going to snow tonight! Wonder what’s in for tomorrow! Well, gonna sleep now! Goodnight!


27 Oct 2009 - Tuesday


So we woke up this morning. No, there wasn’t any snow. But it was freezing and the mountains we saw yesterday became snow capped mountains. Yes, there was snow, but in the outskirts of town and up the mountains! It, however, rained the whole night though… and even in the morning, freezing!

We couldn’t do water rafting nor jet boat skiing due to the weather, so we had our thermal pool spa brought forward, and since Set Yen wanted to walk around the shops, I reluctantly followed… really don’t like shopping, ya know? But… what to do…?

We had lunch at Powerhouse Café. We were looking around for coffee and didn’t know which shop to go to! There wasn’t very many choices, but we couldn’t find a nice café, so we popped in one of the shops that Set Yen wanted to look at stuff, and the lady said ‘Powerhouse’ is the best in town.

So we went and found Powerhouse. The ambience was great and the place itself looked cosy and comfy. The food, nice design yeah? I guess, it’s not too bad! Having been blessed with so much good breakfast in my life, I wouldn’t classify this café as extraordinary… but it was definitely one I might recommend to people!

We then drove up to Maruia Springs, the place was about 70km from Hanmer Springs, but the journey was a little hard to go, since there were heaps of hills and windy roads, we reached there in about half an hour. It was very unlike what we expected. It wasn’t even a town. It was just a small ‘thermal resort-like’ place along the mountain roads. There was no fuel-station nearby, no shopping centre, basically, just a retreat area… pretty good place to unwind and relax, broken off from the world. The next nearest town is like 20km away… there are no televisions… yes, there’s internet but it costs $5 per hour… so that’s why I didn’t purchase it. Only 1 café in the resort, and 1 restaurant (charged like mad!) but didn’t have a choice cuz we didn’t bring food!


I had my massage first while Set Yen endeavoured the hot springs. We then swapped while she had her massage while I went to the rock pool hot springs, followed by the Japanese bathhouse! Think I spent too long in the springs, or went in too long, I felt dizzy and almost fainted. Quickly made myself lie on the ground flat to let myself remain consciousness! There was no one else in the bathhouse too, which was good in a way… cuz it was a ‘Japanese bathhouse’! Wahaha… if you know what I meant!

When I found my strength, I slowly got up, got dressed.. and made by way back to the hotel and drank lots of water, and laid on the bed for awhile before heading the to restaurant to meet Set Yen. My legs were like jelly and I couldn’t walk properly.. didn’t know if it was the same reason that I felt faint and weak or was it that I was starving and the hot springs just sped up the rate I needed FOOD!

We ordered a Japanese Nabe pot (hotpot), which was pretty tasty… pricy for the place, but we made our calculations and everything else we ate would be equally expensive had we multiplied it by two!

Our nice Nabe Hotpot dinner that I so needed after almost fainting from hot springs...

Full and satiated now, still weak, so I didn’t join Set Yen in the Japanese Bathhouse. Just lying on my bed and blogging, now gonna read my Bible and just sleep well tonight… think I’m pretty exhausted after all that driving and with the ‘near faint’ scenario. Feels like the female lead in a Japanese drama… you know, the girl sits in the hot spring, over spent time in there because she’s over bothered with things, fainted in there… and the male lead comes in and saves her…
Only problem is… there is no male lead neh!

LOL!! Alright, quit my day dreaming and better immerse myself in the WORD OF GOD!! Here I come my beloved Bible!


28 Oct 2009 - Wednesday


So we overslept this morning, cuz my phone ran outta battery.. Thank God we still made it in time for 1 more bath in the Japanese Bathhouse in the nice nice hot spring water… wee hee, this morning’s water was hotter than yesterday! Wee… I had ‘self control’ this time, didn’t over soak.. prevent myself from fainting!

We then checked out and had some tuna sushi and Sakura tea for breakfast. Check out them photos!

We then drove back to Christchurch and the journey was awesome. Stopped by along the way to take some photos of the rivers, it was icy cold! That’s ice water from the mountain melting down into the river.. how fresh and crisp!

We then stopped by a Winery where me got a bottle of Pinot Noir for home. Hee…! Headed back a long journey and hit Amberly once again, young Shannon was feeling hungry again. Well, it was 2pm already! We stopped by another café in Amberly, called ‘Underground – Spoon Café!’

And then went by Christchurch and got us some donuts and bread for breakfast the next morning, as we heard Akaroa was pretty deserted a place!

The road to Akaroa was extremely windy… I think I drift a few times, felt like Initial D! Wahaha… thank God for the protection! We managed to get to Akaroa safely around 5pm. Oh man, can you believe almost 90% of the shops and places were closed? Ya… that’s true, that’s like Brisbane too!

Well, we had a studio cottage in Akaroa Cottages. We saw it online but we got it at a last minute website, so we didn’t think it’ll be as great as the pictures online. But walking into the place, it was like AWESOME! Oh man… there was a little living room, a nice view of the mountains and sea, a fireplace, a kitchen suite and pretty bathroom. To top that off, a queen size bed and also a little porch for the car and tables outside for us to enjoy tea and the scenery. But man, it started drizzling.. and then broke into a rain… and then into a storm and it hasn’t stopped storming but seems to be getting bigger and the windy seems to wanna blow off this cottage! So we couldn’t do anything, but since the shops were also closed, and there didn’t seem to be much activity around town, we stayed in our cottage and had a simple cosy dinner and relaxing time watching the provided DVD, Indiana Jones – Crystal Skull. At least they had a dvd player and TV here!

The storm is huge man…. Our fireplace is so cool! Anyway... Imma be sleeping soon and waking up early for our dolphin swimming tomorrow! I pray for great weather tomorrow for us to get some dolphin swimming! Don’t wanna be freezing in the waters!

Hope to bring y’all some great photos with the dolphins!



29 Oct 2009 - Thursday


So… the storm lasted through the whole night. Awe man, I kept waking up. Had a funny dream too… Dreamt that a friend asked around if we want to watch a movie, so I said I wanted to. And since no one else wanted to watch, he only bought my ticket! Then I ended up feeling so sad, like, why everyone dowan to watch u still buy my ticket and make me watch ALONE?!’
Then I started crying and crying, feeling so lonely and hurt, then the guy felt so sorry he helped me sell the ticket out but no one wanted to buy. Then I remembered I said something,  that I can’t remember what I said. But the words came out as ‘real words’ and Set Yen thought I was speaking to her. So I quickly said, ‘What’s the time now?’ so she won’t be shocked at my sleep talking again.. muwahaha… yes.. I like to sleep talk, but it won’t sound clear!!

Anway, I had another dream… it was weird too. Wahaha… I keep dreaming these nights in NZ! And the dreams are just too funny yo!

So… we woke up but the storm didn’t stop. Was wondering if there was even going to be our dolphin swimming in such weather, so I drove Set Yen to the reception to use their phone and while I was waiting in the car for her, I saw from far away the storm clouds approaching. It was a pretty scary sight. It’s like the streaks in the sky just approaching me at 100km/h! I was sitting in the car thinking, “What if it was going to blow my whole car away?” Or… what if there was a tsunami…?!?!

A couple of droplets hit the windscreen.

Then another….

Then a click hit the windscreen, a loud click. And then more.. and more and more and there was HAILSTORM.

The ice that was falling from the sky were little tiny ice droplets, even smaller than the size of my pinky finger. But it was hitting on the car, while I was in there, and it was SCARY! I was thinking, “How is Set Yen going to get back in here?”

Somehow she did brave the ice storm and got back in the car. Oooh, it was an awesome sight. The hail lasted about 5 minutes and we headed back up to our cottage. There were nice drops of ice all around the place, a pretty sight. Sadly, the dolphin swimming and cruise was cancelled as the sea was too rough and dangerous for us to head out. The hail came again a second round… and we decided to stay in. We made ourselves coffee and tea and continued with breakfast… and the hail came a third time. I can’t remember how many rounds of hail there was, but each time, cuz we were indoor, we just wanted more! The hail was… pretty, pretty! We even caught a nice picture of a rainbow in between the hail! How blessed!

Cold and stepping on ice on the wharf... was careful not to slip and fall into the sea...!

See the hail and the rainbow after the storm.. beautiful....

So we went around Akaroa for a drive… Went around the shops since Set Yen just craves shopping! Ah man… I’m a female but I don’t feel shopping as much as she does! But turns out, I got my bro a nice nice T-shirt. Hee hee…

We had lunch at a café called Bully Harvy? Nice food, but Set Yen was disappointed with hers cuz she didn’t know it was in a broth form. But I personally think it was awesome!

We then had another intial D drive back to Christchurch. Wee.. check out a pose for initial D. I love driving in the countryside! It’s so fun- of course... safely..!!

We went by the French Farm Winery and Set Yen got some wine, while I got a nice postcard to send home!

Then drove all the way back to Christchurch and checked in this hotel – Towers of the Park. It was a 4 star hotel, more than what I expected, since we had a horrible hotel on the first day. Well, this hotel’s got free internet! That’s why y’all saw me online and in facebook. It was amazing I got a work email too regarding autoclave bags.

After we checked in, we got ourselves into Westfield shopping centre and wondered why we entered this when there are so many in Brisbane! And Set Yen even got herself a cup of bubble tea that tasted so horrible. Hm…

Then we headed to the city to do some shopping… oh, I really thought it would be quick shopping… I was done in about 45 min… but I can’t believe Set Yen took about 3 hours…. Argh!!! Why women gotta shop like that? I really don’t know understand women!! And I make myself sound like I’m not one. I am! But, I don’t understand the shopping aspect!

Well… y’all must be thinking ‘that’s why Shannon is like that…’ I just think there’s no point going to 5 shops over a period of 3 hours, looking at every single object in the shop, to end up deciding on 1 item that is about 2-5 bucks cheaper than the rest. Because 3 hours of your time… is worth more than that 2 – 5 bucks iight!

Gotta educate my sisters what shopping is all about man! Lol… although I’m sure they wanna educate ME on what shopping is all about…LOL!

Anyway, we finally settled for a Japanese/Korean restaurant for dinner… it was alright… felt a bit cheated but am too tired to bother now.

There’s also limited wireless internet here.. like a 500MB download quota in this hotel. So gotta scrimp and save oh.. hehe…

Well well.. I’mma go sleep now. Hope tomorrow will be a better day.

I believe God is really pruning me!!! Ah! Ouch! So I better learn.. and learn it fast!



30 Oct 2009 - Friday

I had a great sleep last night. Woke up thrice to hydrate myself with lots of water. The weather turned dry… and it was raining again at night. We had no agenda today, so we just slept till 10 or 11am. It was quite good yeah, we came to relax, and since we didn’t have to check out of the hotel, we just had a lie in!

It was refreshing. I think I was dead exhausted from all that driving. Next time we plan a road trip holiday – better have more than 1 drivers… not just drivers, but drivers who can drive! Wahaha…

Thank God for the dried mangos that kept me awake and alert while driving.. and the amazing initial D roads that I just love them so much! The city roads were all flat and plain.. boring.

We finished our donuts, ate some NZ green kiwis and fruits, and watched a Taiwanese drama – momo love. Wahaha, halfway through we went out and drove to Sumner where there was a nice beach with a pretty natural rock!

We had our brunch in a café called ‘The Rock’ and the logo of it reminded me of Simon Peter, the Rock. Turns out when I asked the waitress why they named their café the Rock, she said, ‘Because there is a rock outside’. Then I asked, what about the cross? She said, ‘There’s a cross on the top of the rock!’

That's how the Cafe sign looked!

Actually I was quite disappointed. I thought the café logo would have gone so well a Bible verse printed below it

And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it.
- Matthew 16:18

I'm in the back of the rock!

Just hittin' the "CHILL" button on the rock.

Took a photo once I climbed up the ROCK!

Worshipping God on the Rock?


Well… we then left Sumner, and headed to New Brighton Beach, but turns out there was nothing there! Disappointing… we got ourselves some random ice cream, ate them in the car while admiring the sea (cuz it was too cold outside). We then drove back to the hotel, rested for awhile until 4.30pm and drove to Willow Bank Wildlife Reserve for the Maori Kotane Kiwi Experience. Was my birthday gift from Set Yen.. Thank you SET YEN!!!

We saw some pretty wild life, saw Kiwis! They were so cute, but too hard to capture photos of… we also had a ‘kiwi’ dinner that was pretty disappointing, but the fish was good! And then we also had the Maori tour around the ‘village’ and it was pretty awesome too! We got to go up and play with one of the toys the Maoris play with to help them be more alert and train them up for warfare.

The Kiwi Dinner - fish + NZ Green Mussels... disappointing again, cuz I thought Kiwi Dinner was something more like.. what the Maori people eat?

Anyway, it was a pretty good experience, I’ll give it a 8 upon 10. After that I dropped Set Yen at the city again since she forgot to buy some stuff. Told her maximum 10 mins, she spent like 20 min… haha… thank God I found a park lot just in front of the shop so I went in to help her make better decisions! Wahaha!!

Well, we’re back in the hotel, packing and resting. Gotta return the car at 11am tomorrow, and fly back to Brissy!

Well, I’ll rate this trip a 7 out of 10 and it would have been much better if the weather was good. New Zealand is also more like a ‘meant for couple/honeymoon’ country… so it would be much better if it was my honeymoon la… wahahhaa~~~
 
I keep having dreams every night… funny ones, weird ones…. Well, hope I get enough rest every night and go back to Brisbane, ready for WORK and LABOUR again!
Hee… can’t wait for Singapore now… but next stop, Canberra for work first!
See y’all tomorrow!! Tata!

All that above was written in New Zealand. So, it's not my up to date 'feelings' and opinions! You can see more pictures on my Facebook! :)

But, it's a great time I had and now I'm back to real work and things to do here. And God has been working in my life so much.. that I'll have another long entry to write... soon. :)

Thanks for reading... may you have a great day ahead!! :)

Luv,
Shannon