westayinfinite

Becoming a princess

2012-03-04T07:24:00.000-08:00

This is the pledge I am taking, which I have created, that I may live in righteousness, love and a life of empowering others. Feel free to take the pledge with me if you are saying: God, I want to live a transformed life, I know it will be difficult but I believe You have given us grace to empower others and I acknowledge that You have empowered me. I pray that You'll draw me closer to Your heart to know you more and to love You more so that I may love the people around me. I believe Your Holy Spirit is here to guide me and I accept whatever correction and discipline that God will do in my life. My life is in Your hands and I am ready for You to mould me. In Jesus name I pray, amen.

From today onwards, I hereby commit to being a woman of valor; full of love, wisdom and understanding. I will live my life only to please the One above & I recognise His death as a declaration of His love for me. I know that I am fearfully and wonderfully made, an amazing person in His eyes. I don't have to compare and compete with my peers but I am secure in who I am made to be in Christ Jesus. I will love people and accept the ministry of reconciliation and not of judgment. I accept the call of God to be a vessel and a voice to the broken, unwanted and needy. I will put on the full armor of God and fight the good fight, I will win the race and obtain the crown that He has prepared for me. I accept this call for purity in our world and will do what I can to protect the people I serve. I will remember His commandments, to love our God with our heart, soul, mind and strength and to love our neighbours as ourselves. I will demand nothing of others but all of me. I will learn to let God love on me and learn that there is nothing wrong in doing nothing. I accept the help of the Holy Spirit and His guidance in my life. With all these I believe that God will empower me to accomplish all these and become the woman that He has called me to be. For I have been crucified in Christ & it is He who lives in me, He has given me a new heart, I am a new creation.

I am free.

Random Rad Thursdays

2012-02-09T19:43:00.000-08:00

It's been a long time, my pretties, but I'm back. Went on a random thursday with Nad & Pet to a pizza place and got hair extensions on a whim. Pet got her second ear piercing and we danced in the middle of Fu Lu Shou complex. It was a good day. See ya'll soon,

xoxo

Where did the love go?

2011-10-21T02:41:00.000-07:00

-I'm being totally honest and transparent, if you think you will feel stumbled by this then please do not continue.-

Today started out as uneventful with my mood almost alike to that of the weather this early noon. I was feeling really crappy about myself for many reasons, with many doubts flooding my head. I was thinking of how I never get recognised no matter how much I do in school. When people come to my space, they walk right pass my artwork and go straight to my studio mates'. It really discouraged me, made me feel insignificant. It continued, this mood, all the way until about 3 o' clock when I started to sing christian songs, praises to God. During this entire episode, I was asking Him what were my hands for, why am I so talentless. He reminded me of how He gave me hands to love then to paint. It was only when I started to love my friends, love the people around me again, then my mood started picking up, then I felt better about myself, and then, I realised I was painting better. This entire half day also served as a note to remind me, everyone wants to be significant. They want to be useful, to be recognised, to be praised. They want to make their mark. They need to be affirmed and loved. I realised I need to be more than someone who says I'll be there for you. I realise, I really do need to be there for them. Like physically, meeting them up. Letting them know, see, feel that I am there and that I really do love them. It's more than just lip service with God, it's more than just lip service with people as well.

South-bound train

2011-10-13T23:49:00.000-07:00

Hello everyone, I am back.

There are many things and people I have to apologise to in my life; not blogging is not one of them. I would first of all like to say that I am sorry to the people I have turned down to meet for the past four months. I'm sorry to the people who have seen the ugly side of me. I'm sorry to those I have been insensitive to. I'm truly truly sorry.

God has really been teaching me about time management; I've been juggling work, school, cell group, friends and family. I think right now, I'm doing a good job with an exception that this whole new feat has honestly made me into a cold blooded uncaring creature. I am being brutally honest about myself here; not self pitying but rather, letting you know what exactly has been going on in my life.

I realised that my words really can cut, even if I said it in a one off, casual way. My tendency to complete sentences for people has left me in a state where they get irritated and, because of my brute honesty, are afraid to tell me. I have forgotten to love. To be patient. To be kind. All this because I am too organized with life, everything too set in stone.

I compartmentalize too much of my life, in fact almost all of my life, to a point where I become unfeeling and only open up when I need to. I've become a machine and it has been killing the relationships I have with people. I demand, I take, I am human. I'm learning and asking God to help me soften my heart again.

I am, once more, sorry.

Especially to these few precious souls in my life: Jing Wen, Yu Wen and Su Tieng.

I choose to name names, not to favour, I cannot be bothered with that; they just really mean so much to me, I don't know how to express. I need to constantly remind myself that I am first and foremost a believer and a friend of Jesus Christ then the daughter of my dad and finally a student of Lasalle. When people cut me open, they should see love flow out.

I need to learn to love even more. I need patience.

"Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I have become as sounding brass or a clanging cymbal. And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and though I have all faith, so that I could move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. And though i bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, but have not love, it profits me nothing." - 1 Corinthians 13:1-3

Beautiful revelation

2011-07-24T22:34:00.000-07:00

God is really good.

Even when I'm bad.

Oh yeah.

What I really meant was that even when I'm complaining to everyone about my art not being perfect enough and that I'm afraid of starting school because that would mean having to compete, He is still true to His promises.

A year ago, God promised to use my art to change people's lives, to give them a paradigm shift, to give them a revelation of who God is. A year later, now, my painting skills have only improved slightly and I felt insecure about how well I can do because everyone else's art seems to be much better. They have better ideas, better textures and skills. Basically, I felt like I didn't belong.

So here I was, complaining to a few friends about how terrible my art is ( yes I do realise the present-past tense thing but I'm too cool for that) when I decided to do my quiet time. I was playing the guitar, praying spiritual stuff like God to help me increase in love, joy and peace and cat food for my cat when suddenly I decided, why not complain to God? Yes, I was that depressed. Complaining to everyone.

I started off with reminding God ( and everyone knows we don't have to remind God) that He promised me He was going to use me to do prophetic art and that through my art, lives will change and people will get a revelation of who God is. Then, I complained about how nothing seems to be happening, my skills are still the same and everyone is better than me yada yada. Me being me, I started to announce that I won't let my insecurities eat me up and that if it's God's will for my skills to stink then so be it but my security will be placed in Christ Jesus and that I'm more than a conquerer in Christ. Then, all of a sudden, I quoted Paul: It is when I am weak, then I am strong.

That was when I got a revelation and started crying like crazy. He told me that it doesn't matter how my painting looks, if my skills are terrible or not, if I can even paint to begin with, He told me that He will still move through my art, He will still move because it is not the paintings, it is Him. He uses the weak to shame the strong, the foolish to the wise. God is really a good God, He really is. I don't know how many times have I repeated this but truly truly the God I serve is a good God. Even when I give up on myself, He doesn't give up on me. Even when I beat myself up, He holds me, stops me and wakes me from moroseness and gives me life.

He is the God who loves. He loves.

The friday I won't forget

2011-07-21T05:24:00.000-07:00

HAPPY BIRTHDAY LEE SHEEN!

Yes, it was last Sunday, but I only got around to posting it today. I was cooped up all day at home today; it's an unbecoming habit- sadly. I was so bored that I decided to make dinner; IKEA meatballs with my own improvised risotto. The rice was a little undercooked but it still tasted awesome. I honestly cannot wait for tomorrow to come, hopefully I get to go out tomorrow.

I really need to watch how I spend money. My entire allowance is all gone now and I don't know what did to it. I didn't buy any new clothes or accessories. It must mean I spent it all on food. This is not good. I need to get healthy!

Introverts

2011-07-20T20:27:00.001-07:00

TOP TEN MYTHS ABOUT INTROVERTS

Myth #1 – Introverts don’t like to talk.

This is not true. Introverts just don’t talk unless they have something to say. They hate small talk. Get an introvert talking about something they are interested in, and they won’t shut up for days.

Myth #2 – Introverts are shy.

Shyness has nothing to do with being an Introvert. Introverts are not necessarily afraid of people. What they need is a reason to interact. They don’t interact for the sake of interacting. If you want to talk to an Introvert, just start talking. Don’t worry about being polite.

Myth #3 – Introverts are rude.

Introverts often don’t see a reason for beating around the bush with social pleasantries. They want everyone to just be real and honest. Unfortunately, this is not acceptable in most settings, so Introverts can feel a lot of pressure to fit in, which they find exhausting.

Myth #4 – Introverts don’t like people.

On the contrary, Introverts intensely value the few friends they have. They can count their close friends on one hand. If you are lucky enough for an introvert to consider you a friend, you probably have a loyal ally for life. Once you have earned their respect as being a person of substance, you’re in.

Myth #5 – Introverts don’t like to go out in public.

Nonsense. Introverts just don’t like to go out in public FOR AS LONG. They also like to avoid the complications that are involved in public activities. They take in data and experiences very quickly, and as a result, don’t need to be there for long to “get it.” They’re ready to go home, recharge, and process it all. In fact, recharging is absolutely crucial for Introverts.

Myth #6 – Introverts always want to be alone.

Introverts are perfectly comfortable with their own thoughts. They think a lot. They daydream. They like to have problems to work on, puzzles to solve. But they can also get incredibly lonely if they don’t have anyone to share their discoveries with. They crave an authentic and sincere connection with ONE PERSON at a time.

Myth #7 – Introverts are weird.

Introverts are often individualists. They don’t follow the crowd. They’d prefer to be valued for their novel ways of living. They think for themselves and because of that, they often challenge the norm. They don’t make most decisions based on what is popular or trendy.

Myth #8 – Introverts are aloof nerds.

Introverts are people who primarily look inward, paying close attention to their thoughts and emotions. It’s not that they are incapable of paying attention to what is going on around them, it’s just that their inner world is much more stimulating and rewarding to them.

Myth #9 – Introverts don’t know how to relax and have fun.

Introverts typically relax at home or in nature, not in busy public places. Introverts are not thrill seekers and adrenaline junkies. If there is too much talking and noise going on, they shut down. Their brains are too sensitive to the neurotransmitter called Dopamine. Introverts and Extroverts have different dominant neuro-pathways. Just look it up.

Myth #10 – Introverts can fix themselves and become Extroverts.

Introverts cannot “fix themselves” and deserve respect for their natural temperament and contributions to the human race. In fact, one study (Silverman, 1986) showed that the percentage of Introverts increases with IQ.

A heart for the Nations

2011-07-19T21:36:00.000-07:00

St Pierre, Martinique.

A beautiful town on an island known as the Paris of the West Indies. It was an island made up completely by volcanic explosions and lava over the past thousand of years. In 1902, a huge volcanic explosion from Mt Pelee killed the entire town of St Pierre. I wondered and asked God why did He let that happen. They only had 3 minutes to escape before the shockwave and fumes hit the town, 3 minutes before over 30,000 lives ended. The only man who survived was a man who was thrown in their version of maximum security prison; 1 meter thick walls so that he won't be able to escape again. He survived with terrible burns and he was found on the brink of life and death.

Their lives were serene and laid-back by the sea. Although Mt Pelee erupted a few times in the past, they were small enough to ignore. The governor refused to evacuate the people although smoke and ash were filling the sky, lightning storms were occurring and the night sky looked like it was on fire. He refused to evacuate them in fear that it will affect the political voting that was about to happen in 5 days.

I got curious and checked out a few websites on St Pierre in recent times. Although catholicism is still their main religion, witchcraft has found its way into their island. Full of cults and voodoo practices, I'm not sure about what was it like before the eruption but I have a feeling it was something similar to it as they celebrated carnivals with something similar to mardi gras. Was it because of the abundance of sin that is why God had to destroy their city when the sin was at its fullness? The bible say that when sin is ripe, when sin is at its fullness, it leads to death. Is that why St Pierre was destroyed? I have no idea, however, my heart breaks and mourns for them. I want them to know the fullness of God. That He is a God who loves and saves and a God of second chances.

Lord, send me and I will go. Send me to these places, I want to go. I'm called right now to be sent into my workplaces and schools, but send me Lord, I want to go. Train me up in my school, in my workplace, in my home. Train me to be bold and courageous, to preach to anyone where ever I go. Let the truth and the gospel be on my lips, let me be marked by Your hand and love. Train me so that I will not fear because I know You are with me. I want to be where You are, I want to love You and do what is on Your heart. Lord, send me, I will go.

Sons and daughters of the living God

2011-07-18T20:56:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, I had a good time fellowshipping with Tieng. She said something that I really agreed with. What she said was that there are people who are preaches who preach, evangelists who evangelize, prophets who prophesy and healers who heal but a true son and daughter of God can do all of these things.

Basically, she is saying that she doesn't want a professional label or a specific thing that she does in God's kingdom because as a daughter of God, we can do all of these things; not just one. I really want to come to the place of being a true daughter. Many times because of our own carnal egoistic nature, we tend to subconsciously convince ourselves that God needs our help when the truth of the matter is that God doesn't need our help, He even want our help. He wants a relationship with us. We do things not for the sake of helping God but it is because we love Him, we want to do what is on His heart.

Last night, Austin also explained to us about what does fruits really mean in the bible, he told us about what exactly a high call meant. When he talked about fruits, many of us think that it is the number of people we've brought to Christ, the number of sheep we had and how well they are doing; he explained that these are not fruits but in fact they are the result of the success of our ministry. What fruits really are is the fruits of the Spirit. Long suffering, patience, kindness etc. The high call of God also does not mean that there is a "normal" call but it is relative to height. Heaven is above and earth is below, so a high call usually means something to do with full-time ministry or the mission field; closer to heaven in respect to height. However, a secular calling like the market place is an earthly calling. It doesn't mean that the full-time is better than the market place, it just means that in terms of height, it is closer to heaven's calling. Austin explained that if a person called to drive a taxi and preaches to every customer is compared to a pastor, the taxi driver might have more riches in heaven instead of the pastor if he obeys everything that God has commanded him to do, whereas if the pastor might have missed some things and didn't obey God.

I really enjoy fellowshipping with Tieng and learning from the leaders. Sometimes, I only get to learn from them once in six months. Like a really sit down and just eat and talk about the kingdom. I value all these experiences and try to learn as much as I can whenever because the next one is probably three to four months away. I want to learn so much more about God's kingdom and the bible and I want to see the supernatural become natural in my life. I don't want to just talk but I want to walk the talk, I want to live like the apostles in Acts. I desire and long for the day to see Jesus and rejoice and love on Him and to just sit at His feet and gaze at Him.

I don't care if people call me flakey or fake or too into the spiritual things. It is our birthright, we are meant for so much more than what we are living now. This is my birthright: a daughter of the Most High.

It's been long

2011-07-17T19:29:00.000-07:00

Hi, it has been long.

What have you been up to? Chasing butterflies in the park? Dancing and wading into the moonlit streams?

I know what I have been doing.

I've been living.

I've been alive.

God spoke to me quite a bit throughout the week. He reminded me to trust in Him, to believe in Him. I was taught, I understood but I could never fully believe that anyone could protect me. It took a whole night of terror, not friday ( for those who know;D), a whole night of not being able to sleep for me to learn that valuable lesson.

Then, on Saturday, before I went to work, I decided to find a book to reread: Understanding Prophetic People. In the end, I couldn't find it. What I found was instead, a book by Bob Sorge. A book I bought but never completed. The Fire of God's Love. I was amazed at the content; you know sometimes we already know something but we never really thought about it until a book or a person brings it up and you realise "Hey, I knew that, I just never thought about it before!" and you start appreciating the goodness of God.

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Anyhoo, on to more light stuff, I've watch Voyage de la Vie and it was spectacular! The dudes were so handsome and the girls were all so slim and flexible. Makes me want to ask if they have a vacancy part time in USS so I might able to catch a glimpse of them again. I've got some photos but I'm too lazy to upload it; I really want to paint but my brother used up all my paper palettes and I'm too lazy to get some more. His birthday is coming up so I'll have to save up. Oh well, it's a pretty boring post. I promise something interesting soon!

Something borrowed

2011-07-11T22:19:00.000-07:00

Over a million years passed and now we've finally hung out together. Properly.

Something Borrowed was amazing. An above average chick flick in my opinion and I seldom like chick flicks. Yesterday made me realise what was missing between me and Dionne and a few other friends I have in mind.

Lesson of this month: Friendship or any type of relationship cannot be forced. It can only be nurtured through mutual understanding and love.

Transforming into the Prince of Persia

2011-07-08T20:02:00.000-07:00

Went to watch Transformers 3 with Sheng Yong and Sam. It was one of the best movies ever- apart from the fact that I almost cried twice and there were two extremely redundant scenes in it. Oh, and here's an official shout out to Ng Sheng Mr Good Life Yong who is on his way to London; I've appointed him the mission of tracking down Ash Stymest, Alex Day and Charlie Mcdonnell/Charlieissocoollike and getting their autographs.

Yes, I have been messing around with photoshop. I know, I know, I have too much time and should be looking for another job. I have approximately 5 hours to kill before my shift starts. Meanwhile, I shall laze around in this hazy day, dreaming of summer fields and perhaps wishing that it might rain tonight.

Stranger Tides

2011-07-06T18:54:00.000-07:00

I know, I know, I'm lagging behind because I've only just watched POTC: Stranger Tides on my mac. I downloaded it donkey years ago but only recently did it hit me that I have yet to check it out. Surprisingly, God spoke me to through the movie; not once but twice.

There was a scene where Captain Hector and his men were approaching mermaid waters- everyone starts panicking and a man ever jumps overboard just to avoid his terrible fate. In the midst of this, Hector calls for order and the well rehearsed lines that came out stunned me:

ARE WE NOT THE KING'S MEN?

And a few of them started to cheer.

"Gentlemen. I shall not ask any more than of any men than what that man can deliver, but I do ask this: are we not King's men?"
"...Aye."
"On the King's mission?"
"...Aye."
"I did not note any fear in the eyes of the Spanish as they passed us by. Are we not King's men?"
"Aye!"

And with each sentence of confidence that rolled across the deck, it empowered them and though they were acting; it was obvious that they knew who they were serving. It encompassed them in such a way that that was their very core identity. It emboldened them and gave them the strength to continue sailing the seas toward their imminent deaths.

The next scene that struck me was when Hector and Blackbeard fought against each other in the cavern of the Fountain of Youth. Jack stood up before they fought and asked why was everyone going to fight against each other for the sake of two men. One of the sailors agreed and kept his sword whilst the others stood there, as if mortified by the very thought of abandoning their captain. The captains proceeded to yell out the command to fight and bloodshed ensued. What I did not get was that me being me, I would have let the two men sweat it out, perhaps grab a lemonade or two whilst they fought, cheering from the sidelines.

Then, it dawned upon me. The crew found their sense of identity in their captain. Their hope, their dreams and ambitions are all placed solely on this one man. They would give up everything for him, they were almost as loyal to him as the roman soldiers of Alexander the Great. Without this man, there was no reason to live unless they found another captain. All they wanted was someone to lead them; they would be more than willing to go over to the other captain's side as soon as their own captain died.

I remember this one time, Austin spoke to us about security. He said that we should be secure in God and secure in ourselves. He said that we should be secure in ourselves more than in God because perhaps if one day God ( captain) were to disappear ( which is virtually impossible but this is just an analogy so stay with me), and if our security were in God, we would have nothing and be insecure. If we were secure in ourselves and, again, if God (captain) disappears ( impossible), we would still continue living and still know who we are. Yet, even as we are living and God is still here, are we fully depending on Him and giving Him our dreams and ambitions, is our hope in Him?

Also, if you are going through a difficult time, if you feel like disappearing from church, if you feel that you will never make it out of whatever darkness surrounds you, let me ask you this:

ARE WE NOT THE KING'S MEN?

ARE WE NOT THE KING'S MEN ON THE KING'S MISSION?

Therefore, will not the grace and empowerment of God be upon us to succeed and claim the victory that rightfully belongs to us?

Over the years

2011-07-04T00:16:00.000-07:00

Met Dong Ying and Jing Wen for ice cream at Island Creamery. They have the most wonderful cakes and ice cream flavours ever! Met Su Tieng and Cheng for dinner at 85 to celebrate her 18th. Found a job and started work on Saturday. Meeting a few lovely girls later on for Pepper Lunch.

God has been dealing with being a shepherd and I believe a transformation is taking place. Oreo is sitting in front of me and meowing rather creepily. I shall entertain his advances before he decides to wreck havoc in my room for ignoring him.

The Eagle, Owl & the Quiet Dove

2011-07-01T08:09:00.000-07:00

This was the tiny project I was working on. A birthday present for Tieng((: I was actually quite pleased with the end result; I was expecting something worse. Also, I got bored on blogging about the China trip, I know, I know, you can throw your rotten tomatoes at me later. I shall blog about recent happenings soon, I promise! I also found a job at Wild Rocket. I'm starting tomorrow- too fast but oh well. I'll explain everything soon!

Love ya'll

xoxo

DAY 3 MEIXIAN

2011-06-27T06:06:00.000-07:00

After a long hiatus from youngandinfinite; I was busy recharging and ministering- I'm back!

The start of the third day was immensely draggy. We had a really good breakfast at the dimsum restaurant in the hotel before heading off to MeiXian. It was a good 5 hour journey, I slept, read my book, slept, looked the scenery, spent time with God on the bus and slept. We did have stops in between, yes, I'm a pig and binged on chewing gum. If you are wondering what's up with the first photo, it was on the cigarette carton that my grandma bought for the bus driver.

On the way there, we passed many rural villages. Some of the houses were vacant, run down and it looked like a great place for a horror movie. There were these red tapestry like cloths that ran down each side of every door with huge chinese calligraphy on them. It freaked me out a little and made me wonder if they were trying to keep some spiritual monster out- in the end, I found out they were meant to bring good luck, not exactly to keep anything away.

When we reached, our long distance- when I say long distance, I honestly mean people who are not exactly related to us but bear the same surname as my grandfather and his children and my cousins- relatives picked us up and brought us to this restaurant to have our late lunch. They ordered dog meat for us, not knowing that we don't take to it. Our faces cringed when we took a tour of the restaurant later on and saw two of the cutest dogs in the world tied to two different doors waiting their fate. They claimed that they don't kill pet dogs, instead they purposely breed mutts; just like how we would breed cattle, for consumption.

Afterwards, they brought us to a temple where supposedly is known as the temple of death owing to the fact that there is a live tree and a dead tree at the same height next to each other, also a pond full of fish which is alive on one side and cooked on the other, yet they continue living. It was a weird experience. Had grass jelly and walked on the air for a bit before heading back to the hotel.

WE HAD KFC FOR DINNER and also the expected nightly foot massage.

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Met up Dong Ying and Miho today at Cine to shop and spend time with Miho before she flies off to Japan tomorrow. It was super fun although I didn't buy a lot. Everything ended up to be from forever21 except for my bracelet. I shall wear the new clothes out tomorrow to show them to you when I blog! Also, I've been up to a mini project. Can't wait to show you guys when I'm done! Actually, it's one mini project and a huge scale one for the other.

Alright, I'll continue my China trip again tomorrow morning, in the meantime, check this video out:

DAY 1 AND 1/4, DAY 2 OF CHINA AND TODAY.

2011-06-23T05:29:00.000-07:00

Before I write about the second day, I forgot to mention that for 3/4 of the trip, we lived like nomads. Moving from place to place, never staying in a hotel for more than 1 night, except the last two nights of course.

I was tempted to convince my family to watch Cirque du Soleil, however, we had so little time in Macau that I didn't get to watch it. I have resolved in my heart that whoever marries me must bring me back there just to watch the circus. I know that they say they torture circus animals and things like that, however, I really hope that this particular circus doesn't use animals at all. I would much rather watch acrobats flying in the air, gracefully, rather than a roaring lion that is being tamed with a chair.

DAY 2

We visited a historical site early that morning. A church that was burnt to the ground with all that remains was the huge door. Surprisingly, there was a dove on the head of the virgin Mary, I would love to say that it was sent from heaven but no, it was merely coincidence.

The entire architecture of the front doors is a mix of east and west; christianity and the demons, dragons of the east. I studied it for a good while before making my way down with the rest of the family to get drinks and head back to Hotel Venetian to get our bags.

We were on our way to Guang Zhou. Surprisingly, the 3 hour bus ride didn't kill me. It was tolerable with my books and music, of course, sleep was an option for me as well. Upon arriving and checking into our hotel, we had dinner at some restaurant that sold pigeon meat as one of its delicacies. It was only until after dinner was I then informed that it was really not pigeon, more like quail. I'm still thankful I didn't eat it though, not something that I'm willing to try.

Afterwards, we went for a little shopping spree. The sandals I wore were falling apart and the extra pair of shoes I brought along could compete with a skunk. My mother agreed to buy me a pair of converses. We went for an extremely good foot massage and headed back to the hotel in Guang Zhou. I don't remember dreaming, I was too tired.

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Spent my wednesday with DongYing and ShengYong & Tom. See the difference? And and &. K, nevsmind. It's good to spend time with best friends.

Dong Ying is my left side twin, because that's the part of my hair which looks like hers. Sheng Yong is my right side twin, because my hair looks like his. Which he cut. In honor of me. He is forever copying my hairstyle. Because I'm cool and he wants to be cool.

Yup.

Dong Ying applied for Marble Slab with me then I went to meet Sheng Yong to find Tom at Haji Lane. We shopped a little bit then raided Tom's house. & all of a sudden, I'm learning the accordion from the both of them. & all of a sudden, we were at the play ground. & all of a sudden, I was fellowshipping with Sheng Yong on the bus. Then, I got home. Oh how interesting my day was.

You must be pretty bored to have read to the end.

Unless, you're Jing Wen #1stalkerforeverandever

Macau

2011-06-21T18:32:00.000-07:00

Hello you! I'm glad you're still around, it's been a million years! How have you been?

If you have been living under a rock; and that's pretty cool because you rock creatures have access to internet whilst the poor ones living under the sea have none, I just came back from the land of China!

Hotel Venetion; beautiful, amazing.

I walked in, enthralled by the beauty of the place. Gold coated fountains, "paintings" on the ceilings. Nothing like I've ever seen. Yet, a bugging thought crept back in my head: This is a casino hotel; this secular world looks so beautiful with all it's glamour and exclusiveness. If this is the secular world; what not heaven?

The scene from Percy Jackson kept coming back; the part where Percy gets stuck in a casino just like the one I was staying in. He lost track of time and kept partying and partying. The lotus flower he ate confused him, made him lose track of time and forget about why he was in the casino in the first place. If there isn't any biblical truth in that then I don't know what does.

I know the sky looks real but trust me, it really isn't.

Went around the other casino hotels to visit and take a look at their interior decorations.

End of day one.

Forever 21 lace tank top, bracelet given by Rona, shoes and sandals from Cotton On,

bag and shorts from obscure bugis street shops, necklace given by my mom.

Moooonooopoly

2011-06-15T10:11:00.000-07:00

Chilled at Lesley's place in the afternoon whilst waiting for my beloved Tieng and Jing Wen to break out of school and join me for dinner. I've been praying that I won't catch Tricia's Hand Foot Mouth disease! I want to enjoy my holiday! Did I mention that I'm flying off to China tomorrow? I have only packed half my bag, I cannot seem to fathom what else have I misplaced and not packed in. Oh, that's right! My toothbrush!

And I just felt the need to mentioned that Sam pwned Lesley and I in Monopoly.

Got treated to a mad awesome restaurant called Raindrops Cafe. Inside, all hell broke loose because of the concoction of Su Tieng and Jing Wen placed beside each other. It's like mixing lithium with water. We fellowshipped, encouraged each other, talk about nonsense and headed to Cineleisure to watch Super 8.

I honestly thought it was a natural disaster movie, something like 2012 or at least along those lines. It's not. It's not even close. It's about some alien and it's not cool when you expected a flying house in a tornado and it gives you something out of Alien VS Predator; the worst parts were the loud music and sudden movements. It was a thriller and oh my gosh, I wanted to hide my face and die. Well, it was a good movie, really good. The actors and actresses were amazing, intense emotions and well, they were all young. I would have to say though that if it weren't for the shock factor, it would have been a pretty "meh" movie for me.

Afterwards, we headed to Macs to try and get some internet connection going on for Tieng owing to the fact that she has to complete her RJ. God obviously wanted us to have a good time so He somehow managed not to get us connected to the internet no matter how many times we tried. I kid.

My bag is still not packed yet and I'm not looking forward to the amount of email that I will have to clear and the texts that I will not be able to reply. Did I mention how much I hate long flights? I dislike the fact that the aisle of the plane is tiny, the seat is tiny and the space in front of the seat is tiny and the toilets are miniature. I don't know how I will survive a 5 hour flight, armed with only my knitting tools and a book. I will probably die and rot and cry. Not necessarily in that order.

I will let you know if I survived. Until then, see you!

I am surrounded by idiots

2011-06-14T08:00:00.000-07:00

Just Acia @ Dhoby Ghaut with The Kids. Bishi Bashi-ed, monopoly dealed and left for Habitudes. Meeting Sam and Lesley tomorrow again to slack before going to find Su Tieng & Jing Wen for dinner. I'm wearing a top from some obscure place that my mom shops at, I honestly have no clue where she does her shopping. She buys a few pieces and there are the constant misses but this bat wing chiffon top is definitely a hit. I've been wearing it for some time now and I'm absolutely in love with the material.

I've learnt that merging 5 photos together is almost impossible, there is always 2 that will definitely be unseen underneath and thus I had to adjust the opacity so much for each photo to almost similar ranges in order for the previous photo to be able to be seen through. The outcome is almost a work of art, surrealism and a slight feel of reality. 4 worlds colliding into one on a fateful day. Shankar was being sick again, that little spoil sport. Just kidding, I hope you recover soon, Shang! Miss you so much! We've planned to hit USS around the first week of July. Hopefully, Lesley will be so high that she'll forget her fear of things that go up and down and all around and ride the Battlestar with us!

Sunshine, won't you be mine.

2011-06-13T09:11:00.000-07:00

This is the most awesome birthday cake I've ever had and I'm intending to eat it forever and ever until I get sick and puke. It's the Marble Slab Cookie Dough Ice Cream Cake. Soooo goood, I had it at my cousin's house; courtesy of my mom who bought it for me!

This is Hong Pin. He didn't recognise me with my new hairstyle. It was pretty epic really, he was also very nice to tell me that I look good in it, sucha sweet heart :,)

I realised that I kind of look a little like Justin Bibier(sp?) whilst editing the photo. I am scarred for life.

Ate with them at some Jap restaurant that Hong Pin works at because Sakura was closed. He had 50% off so it was totally worth it! Most of them couldn't come, the Sunshines and it was really quiet. I don't know if it was a good or bad thing, at least Lyn was around, hehe.

And if you haven't realised it yet, I'm absolutely in love with the asymmetrical skirt. I want to wear it everywhere! So pretty and flowy!

Attended habitudes class at night and I really learnt a lot in that short 3 hours. David is a really good speaker, very intentional with his words and the funny stories he told us always had a relation to what he was teaching us. I enjoyed myself so much that I'm actually looking forward to tomorrow's class.

Did I mention I saw Sam at Cine today? I miss her and the others so much, can't wait for tomorrow's lunch with them!

Cotton On Crop Top

Korean spree Asymmetrical Skirt

Charles & Keith Booties

Bag from Bugis

18 19 20 21

2011-06-12T19:31:00.000-07:00

Here was what went down & it starts on Tuesday:

I was planning to celebrate my birthday with some cell B girls at Marble Slab, hoping that this would bond us and bring us closer together; I'm sucha scheming little kid. Okay, not so little anymore, back to the story;

I was out with Sheng Yong and Tom on Thursday when Austin texted me to help me tell the cell that there will be a friday core meeting at 730pm. Immediately, I could feel a sense of loss bubbling up inside, I was feeling claustrophobic without the physical walls and my entire mood was just a downer. Sheng Yong kept telling me to tell Austin about my plan to celebrate it with the girls but I told him that ministry comes first; my birthday comes every year. Reluctantly, I texted the cell core about the meetings. For the entire day, I was feeling a little tinge of being upset and thought to myself: Maybe God is showing me an area in my life that I need to deal with, man up, Zoie!

My mood lifted though, when I spotted a Cort Baby Blue guitar and when I actually found the perfect guitar for myself with the help of the marvelous Sheng Yong and Tom Tom Tom. I went to bed that night feeling pretty alright & was like that for the next two days.

Friday came and I asked Austin where would he like to meet the cell & he told me Cineleisure. I was wondering of all places, why that? He usually held his meetings in the east, I thought perhaps he was trying to make it more convenient for Dong Ying, thus, I didn't think much about it. It did, however, make me a little suspicious and curious about what the meeting was about; maybe he wants to meet us to catch a movie together, or dinner, or maybe it's really a core meeting.

I headed to ION a little bit earlier just to chill, there was nothing much to do at home anyway.

That was when I was already leaving for Cine. I decided to walk slowly and the thought that it couldn't really be a core meeting kept popping into my head. Maybe they were going to surprise me but that couldn't be, not after what Su Tieng told me in the afternoon..

Because of that conversation, I pushed every thought that it was going to be fun out of my head.

Ignore the message at 11pm.

I went down to the basement and looked for Dong Ying but I still couldn't see anyone there. I was looking for a shortish looking girl- standing/sitting alone- in a corner of the shop when suddenly, deep inside the salad bar, this huge group of people stood up. I wasn't wearing my contacts and because I was looking for this emo girl, I ignored them. 5 seconds later, I realised they weren't standing up to walk out of the shop after a meal, they seem to be waiting for someone. Suddenly, they all started clapping and cheering, that was when I spotted Su Tieng, Austin, Rauf and the like. I'm sorry, Dong Ying, I really couldn't see you at first, haha.

I was rooted to the spot outside the shop, this was the conversation that went on in my head:

Holy shite, they're clapping..for me.HOLY CRAP, IS THAT SUTIENG?!OH MY GOSH, WHAT ARE THEY ALL DOING HERE?!Wait, should I go in or let them clap and I go hide my head in the toilet?Kay, man up, Zoie, GO INSIDE.

So I went in, my hands over my mouth, me trying not to cry. It was epic, it was shocking, it was one of the best surprises I've had. I was totally caught off-guard, unprepared and worst of all, I thought that some of them would have forgotten my birthday. The whole core was there, and I was thinking:

You cunning cunning bunch.I texted you guys and none of you let it slip it was a surprise!

After dinner, they made me walk around with a sign around myself. Shaking hands with people and taking pictures with them. It was all good fun except that I got rejected a few times because they thought we were trying to sell something. The Singaporeans were the sporting few and the tourists thought we were making fun of them. Or something of the like. I enjoyed myself thoroughly and am elated that Miho was there too!

Thanks guys! I love you all and feel extremely, wonderfully blessed and thankful to God for placing each of you in my life!

Now, today, my actual birthday seems small and minor compared to Friday. I'm meeting the Sunshines later, tomorrow I'm meeting The Kids and on Wednesday, hehe, that is something else altogether;D

2011-06-09T10:43:00.000-07:00

Met up with the June boys on Tuesday for lunch at before heading down to Peninsular to find a certain beautiful object. Did I say object? I meant to say something..one..thing. Whatevs.

I wonder if Tom reads my blog.. Don't you think the light hits really nicely on his cheek? I think it looks nice. Do you think it looks nice?

If I could say one thing about Food For Thought, I would like to tell everyone that their pancakes and risotto are the best I've ever had. Alright, fine, I've only ever eaten risotto once but it is still really yummy in my opinion.

Thanks to Merri, I've started knitting again. I'm about halfway done with my scarf now. It looks fantabulous and I cannot wait to wrap it around my neck.. or bag. Whatevs, I'm sure my scarf will look pretty.

And on the same day I started knitting, I forgot to tell you that we've jumped to Wednesday already, doesn't time fly? So I went with Mark to get the really beautiful thing. It's so pretty I can cry when I look at it. It makes a really lovely sound as well. Not like my cat, my cat screeches and meows and coos. This baby produces music as though the heavens opened and the angels sang with it.

It's a Maestro ED1. Soooo preetty.

Oh hi, welcome to Thursday! I dropped by the Hangout to touch up on the murals then headed to Cold Stone to celebrate my birthday early with Elmo Tan. She's lovely, even if she made me wait. Yes, I'm going to have to mention that because I have a right to, it's my birthday celebration day. Just kidding, I still love you, Elly.

Her shoes are on the left, they're authentic Jeremy Campbell's. It's reeeaaally pretty. And the wood looks so thick, like a block. It reminds me a little bit of Janga. Janga is a pretty brainless game, Joanne loves brainless games. I know I'm rambling. Hi.

See my skirt? It came in the mail on Tuesday. It made me very happy because it's so pretty and asymmetrical. I felt like a bit of a dumbo for wearing socks but I kind of appreciated that they kept my toes nice and cozy. I bet your feet perspired after like 20 minutes in the hot sun, mine still smell fresh and nice. Okay, you got me, I'll admit I showered before blogging this so I never really got to smell my feet until like 5 seconds ago.

Okay, I shall go nurse my throat now. It feels like a desert!

Don't break child, don't break.

2011-06-06T19:38:00.000-07:00

All this huffle and buffle of the Hangout Project, the template I have to do up and just over thinking if I should still celebrate my birthday is getting to me right after camp. It gets taxing for awhile but even with all the mess around me, I decided to share with you, yes you, about how I felt about camp and exactly what I learnt.

Pastor Ted and his wife were incessantly preaching about the sex life of Christian husbands and wives which got a little too RA and non-applicable to most of the youths who went. I thank God for Pastor Nicky who preached on the last night.

For a very long time now, I thought I was doing okay; filled with the Spirit, actively going to church and serving in my ministry, take care of a few girls in my cell, helping plan outings and settle conflicts. It sounds and looked like I was doing well. No one said anything about me not doing okay, I went to church with a smile on my face and came home contented I did my part. You see, I failed to realised what I was becoming. I was turning into a professional Christian.

A professional Christian doesn't mean they don't love God and only serve for the sake of serving. I still love God and I still want to serve His people; however, there is this one thing that professional Christians tend to lack and they never notice until something happens: they lacked the love of God. They are still able to function as Christians, but they are crippled to the point where they find loving people a chore. They are led to believe that they are still loving God and they love Him by serving. However, God doesn't want us to turn into slaves and laborers. In fact, that is the last thing He wants and He doesn't need that. He just wants us to stop, wait on Him let us let Him love on us. Do you get it? Have you been turning into a professional Christian?

On the last night of camp, Pastor Nicky gave an altar call about wanting a more intimate relationship with the Holy Spirit. I was hesitant about responding at first but I responded anyway. A lady prayed for me and she prayed something like finding my identity in Christ and for God to reveal Himself to me in a more complete way. In my head, I was thinking: Hold up, wait what? I know I am a daughter of God and I'm secure of that, I know nothing will ever change that. Are you sure you're hearing from the Holy Spirit?

After she prayed and me agreeing to it; which I have no idea why I even uttered amen and yes Jesus when my entire head is filled with the conflict that I already knew who I am in Christ, I went and prayed for a fellow zone member whom I felt God ask me to pray for. He/she was all the way at the other end from where I was so I had to cross over bodies on the floor, tears and snot on the expensive carpet. After praying for her/him, I was about to go back to my seat when I felt led to just stand beside her and worship God. Suddenly, Newson came over and laid hands on me and prayed exactly the same thing as the first lady! He was spot on when he said that I've been feeling dry and I haven't spoken more than two words to him in my life! He then prayed for God's love to overflow and me seek God and He will reveal Himself to me. I was dumbfounded for a good three minutes as he kept praying, it was almost exactly the same as the first! I stood there crying and crying and after he went on to pray for some one beside me, immediately Pastor Nicky came and prayed just two sentences for me: More of Your love, let Your love pour out on her. It was all about the love of God!

After sometime, I was just standing there, almost bended over, crying and crying and crying. I never realised how much I have missed God, all this serving and serving has drained me dry and I've been living in a lie which told me I love God and thus I serve Him to the point of breaking. Then, a lady with a slight english accent came and prayed for me, exactly the same thing. I wailed and half yelled; I don't know if it was "deliverance" but it sure felt like it. I couldn't control my crying and wailing, I felt like I was being squeezed into God's love, it was overbearing, too much, yet bittersweet all in all.

I came home from camp knowing these things: You are never too "mature" to let God love on you and that I will never want to be a professional Christian but a lover of God. Don't let serving to the point of breaking deceive you that you have enough of God's love. We can never have enough.

WHO ARE YOU?

2011-06-05T23:22:00.000-07:00

In case you were wondering where I went, I just came back from Melaka! Specifically, church camp! The bus ride was predictable with everyone whipping out guitars, ipods and jackets. Choruses of songs filled the air as some people jammed earphones into their ears to drown out the noise just to get some well deserved shut eye.

We reached the beautiful Hotel Equatorial after like 3 hours, with a stop in between for lunch. Rachel & I were so turned off by the toilet and numerous flies swarming the place that she didn't even eat and I only had a cup of sweet corn. All the breakfasts, lunches and dinners were buffets though most of us agreed last year's buffets were much tastier.

Had A&W the last day and I bought a pair of high-waisted shorts. Dong ying, Sandra, Rachel & I were bummed out to the max when we heard that there were other malls with other shops that sold better stuff. AND THEY HAD STARBUCKS. No one told me they had Starbucks and I couldn't find it so I was depressed but everything was fine after we came back to Singapore!

I know the remaining pictures aren't in order. My fingers are too lazy to sort them out. Also, I fell down and pulled my ankle muscle on the first day and I have a graze on my knee which proved to be much more painful than it looks. The Jacuzzi in the hotel was soooo good, we couldn't swim in the pool because the guys were hogging it and most of us only brought our two pieces.. Heh. I shall end with this video I made:

A hairy experience

2011-05-27T19:46:00.000-07:00

I've been busy of late. Really busy. Busier than the bee. What have I been so busy with?

I think you know. Do you know?

THE HANGOUT PROJECT

I'm in charge of the design and painting for the whole project. I really hate leading alone because I need many many many eyes to see so I pulled Sheng Yong in. He has four eyes. Together, we'll have six! Six is good, if only we could hit seven, then it will be perfection. Six six six.

On Thursday night, I finally caught up with some old school friends. I don't mean decades old, I mean age old. Oh, don't worry, they're all young at heart. Like me, oh yes, mmhmm. I really miss them a lot, I really do. My June schedule is too packed to celebrate a proper birthday with them. I hope I get to though, it'll be fun. They're always fun, oh yes, mmhmm.

By the way, we went to Island Creamery. Near Ngee Ann Poly. It is very far. Very very. Shang and I almost got lost. I said almost because we were stunned for about 5 seconds on how to cross the expressway. I foresee a joke ahead. Especially since we were born in the year of the Chicken.

"Why did Shang and Zoie cross the road?"

"To get to the other side, duh!"

We did cross the road, not the expressway. Or we'd be dead by now. Or in jail. Either way, none of the options were pretty. We walked a bit and finally saw a traffic light. Then we crossed to an epic Macdonalds. Oh yes, mmhmm.

By the other way, I said I've got something to show you in the previous post.

I cut my hair. The guy dyed it black though. I'm going to dye me some brown next week. Did I mention I'll be away form the 1-4 June? To camp. In a hotel. In Malacca. With buffets. And friends. Oh yes.

Now to help you get over your shock about my hair, I'll post some photos of my pweeedy cat.

I love my cat.

Why wait?

2011-05-23T19:55:00.001-07:00

I don't remember what age was that. I only know that the girl beside me is my best friend, Elea-poofball elmo-nor. We technically lost contact for about 4 years of our lives and somehow by some twist of fate, we became best friends again. The second photo is of us and our brothers. I think we were imitating Power Rangers. I think. Oh, and we were at Sunway Lagoon. Again, I think.

I have a surprise for you all. It's coming soon. Stay a little longer, but then again, why wait? What I'm about to do has been lingering at the peripherals of my mind for quite some time, lying dormant at the back of my head; only to be stirred up by a conversation. Oh, don't worry, it is nothing new. I've had it before, at most, I'll wear a scarf and pretend I'm a hippie. Stay a little longer, you'll find out soon enough!

Just Asia

2011-05-23T05:18:00.000-07:00

Topshop dress which I cut up into a crop. Black tube from some obscure place that I cannot remember. Cotton On shorts, SIX aviators and a pair of my mother's boots from Korea.

I look like I'm dressed for the beach.

Except for the boots. Which I changed into a pair of blue sandals from a shop at The Central.

Where am I headed to? Well, I was meeting someone.

At Pasir Ris...

You silly goose, I was meeting Yu Wen.

And we somehow bumped into a few old, well young but we knew them from about 2 years ago, friends. They still remembered me, I had a hard time recalling their names; much to my embarrassment. Yu Wen guessed Vanessa's name right. We found out because I dared her to shout Vanessa.

It was awkward.

I know you had enough of me.

Why not have a cup of Milo?

Not this Milo.

You'd have to wrestle me for her. Everyone knows I always win. With my eyes closed. I promise.

Tomorrow will be another busy day. I have to be down at Church to meet the big boss to confirm The Hangout's budget before we can buy or do anything. Honestly, it doesn't scare me.

It doesn't scare me at all that I'm asking for a big sum of money to renovate a place from someone whom I have never spoken to face to face in my life. Oh, and whom I saw shout FIRE OF THE HOLY GHOST and someone got slain.

I promise you I'm not frightened at all. Maybe just a little.

Marks On Skin

2011-05-19T21:36:00.000-07:00

I have often thought about tattoos and if it is a sin to get one. Personally, I feel it is more of a personal conviction rather than a "sin" due to the fact that there are some prominent Christian artistes with tattoos that proclaim their faith of Jesus Christ and also because the Bible only seemed to talk about it once in the Old Testament (correct me if I am wrong).

I am touching upon this subject because I want to know if it is a sin or is it a conviction. I have honestly thought of getting tattoos before, mostly words instead of drawings or pictures. I even contemplated on getting one on the day of my wedding; the inside of my ring finger that either says my husband's name or just the word 'married'. Of course, I know that all tattoos fade in the end so I did think about getting a white tattoo after seeing one for myself; however due to the standards that I have I wanted to check what the bible says about getting tattoos.

In Leviticus 19:28 , it says that we are not supposed to cut our bodies for the dead or any marks on ourselves. Yet, it says that in the New Testament, there is only two laws to obey. So technically, do we still have to follow through with Leviticus 19:28 or is it a self-conviction? In a sense, lying is a sin, however now we do not lie because we are afraid God will send lightning down to destroy us but instead we don't lie owing to the fact that we love Him and we don't want to grieve Holy Spirit. It was never clearly stated if getting a tattoo is sin or not, but we do know that God doesn't like it.

Thus, because my Father doesn't like it, I won't get it. Now, we come to the place where some people might argue that they are getting one not in remembrance of the dead but one to seal their faith into flesh, that they may be reminded of it wherever they go. In 1 Corinthians 6:19-20, it tells us that our bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit and we all know that Jesus died on the cross to redeem us. The word 'redeem' means to

1. Buy back
2. Repurchase
3. To recover ownership of by paying a specified sum
4. To set free, rescue
5. To restore honor, worth or reputation of

If you look at the definitions, out of 5, 3 acknowledge that it is an act of buying something and another even specified the word "ownership". So when Jesus redeemed us, He bought us. When He bought us, we ultimately belong to Him. Thus, whatever we do to our bodies, whatever actions we have, will have to result in His approval of it; what we eat, drink, speak if I may elaborate.

In this essence, the bible is not telling us that we cannot get tattoos but lets us know that our actions have to glorify our maker and our bodies and souls do not belong to us but to the One who has paid the price. With all the research I have done and the conviction in my heart, I turned in my bed and resolved in my heart that no matter how tempted I am to get a tattoo, even if it is to work as a reminder of my faith etched into my skin, I will never get one. It is, however, your own choice to get one and if you're still keen reading this, I have said all there is to say and look forward to how your ink turns out to be like.

I'm Not Copping Out

2011-05-19T10:28:00.000-07:00

First and foremost, I would like to dedicate this post to Aglin Chiang (Okaylahbye) Yue Lin!

Thank you for being such a ray of sunshine and being such a strong person even when everything is falling. You are beautiful. I love you(:

I went out last Saturday to Timbre to celebrate the birthday girl's birthday. It was quite terrible in the beginning due to certain people being nearly two hours late, haha; however, the night got more enjoyable when everyone came and our molecules exploded. I didn't order any drinks and I thank God I didn't have enough cash to order any in the first place. The music was blasting, people were toasting, cameras snapping. What a night to remember. For a moment, it felt like the night was never going to end and we would all just live for the moment. No wonder people flock to Clarke Quay, you actually feel like time stops just for you, what a horrible illusion.

We ended the glorious night with Aglin running around the place being a total maniac and somehow, by a blessing from God, saved herself from embarrassment when she actually knew the people she was shouting at. There was tons of kissing; not on the lips and mostly statues or the birthday girl herself. Then, there was me panicking about not having a Night Rider to hop onto and calling Sheng Yong for help but in the end he did not have to save me because it turns out 196 was still on the road. Oh yes, it was pure chance that the bus came and my mother was in a relatively good mood.

I shall end off here and come back soon when I have snapped more snazzy photos; or just grab them off Facebook. My insomnia is back and nothing is helping me sleep, I shall await the return of the cursed eye bags.

***Update
I also want to thank Sheng Yong for being such a wonderful friend! He bought me this book:

which I have been wanting to get for eons. I am so blessed! I've read about 1/4 of it now and I must say that it is definitely not a let down. So thrilled to have it in my hands!!