A Good Trip Back...

I just got back from Singapore today.. the past three and a half weeks spent in my homeland has just been fantastic! I enjoyed EVERY single day i was there.. thanks to the people who sacrificed their precious time just to hang around a boring person such as i.. I'm wondering how i should go about describing my thrilling experiences in Singapore.. numerous flashbacks are constantly pouring through my mind, but i'm afraid that i would miss out a few people if i made an attempt to give an accurate account of my entire trip. So i'll just type what comes to mind! =)

Well, the highlight of my trip wouldn't be an event, but a person.. that's my best friend Jocelyn of course! I just got back a few hours ago, but i miss her dearly all ready. I don't think i spent a day in Singapore without seeing her once. haha! Come to think about it.. Yea, our friendship grew by HEAPS and BOUNDS. We chatted into the wee hours of the night, just about anything.. sometimes we would just be all quiet, but it WOULDN'T matter because... i dunno.. let's just say silence is never awkward when we're together. And i feel comfortable talking to her about anything in the world! Oh, i miss the nights when we'd talk in her room till 1am at night... when i played the guitar for her - songs like Confidence & When you say nothing at all. I challenged her to master the song "When you say nothing at all" on the guitar before i left for Australia. She practiced everyday, and she played it for me at 3 am last night just before i left.. it wasn't perfect..but it sounded just right to me, Joce. =)

It was rather ironic because she got angry at me a whole lot through this trip.. but true and solid friendships are shaped by conflict and resolution. =) I will always remember the times when we went to Ikea and Queensway, and we avoided the heavy rain by taking cover from the massive trees, when we spent 3 hours having dinner at the coffee shop and then Mosburger, when we sat along the breakwater at Paris Ris beach, when we chatted for ages just in front of the fountain. Thanks for lending me an ear, for being there for me when i needed it most. Remember to Hope! You know, when i was reading your letter, God impressed upon me that our friendship will stand until He decides for it to be over. Thanks for all the effort you put into our frienship.. i'll remember it for life!

I got to know my cousin Tab a whole lot more too! I got to see the loving, caring side of her that willing lends a listening ear to me whenever i needed it. We talked about everything from jobs, girls, guys, food, clothes, granddads and even lizards. haha! We stayed awake on Christmas eve from 11pm to 5am just to prepare Joce's and Lyd's presents. We chatted about a whole lot that night and we even attempted to burn a lizard alive! haha! Thanks for organising that trip to the beach for Sha and i! I really REALLY appreciate it! Oh, Tab made me go into all sorts of places to inquire of job vacancies.. from a mega fitness centre (where i was rejected, and made to look like a underaged fool), 77th Street at PS and the TCC near Selegie. Thanks for hearing my problems when i needed you most and for listening to me talk although i'm an extremely boring person =D

I guess i should mention Lydia now =P Nah, i would've mentioned you anyway.. i got to know her a lot more this trip. There used to be this sense of awkwardness whenever we spoke to each other because of certain events in the past, but we've tried to put it all behind us and try to get to know each other more. She's a completely different person from the girl i knew 5 years back.. she's SOO much more mature now. She's more sensible, she LOVES and FEARS God so much more now, and she genuinely loves her friends (esp. Tab and Sha). haha! Oh, there ARE times when she goes into lapses of immaturity *coughs* black shadow!!! haha! Keep it up, Lyd!

I miss the Saltshaker dudes too: Howard (the funniest dude on the planet who tries to be funny and fails, but succeeds because he's naturally funny), Gavin (My fellow die-hard Liverpool fan) and Ian (The lovebird who has taken his first fall in learning how to fly). i really miss all you guys.. i got to know each of you soo much more.. Gav and i got to talk about some serious stuff when we stayed up late several times either at a local coffee shop or at Joce's house to catch the late-night Liverpool matches. haha! Thanks for putting so much effort into our friendship mate! For organising those lanning sessions! haha! Your Warlock OWNS! =P Oh, i'll never forget Ian's 8-hour love affair with Rachel and Howard's hilarious baptism when he refused to be submerged in the water for a while. haha! Howard, there's not need to try sooo hard to conjure up a joke, you're naturally funny mate! =) Cheers guys!

There is a uncanny and irritating tedency for it to rain incessantly on the most inconvenient of days! I got to meet up with the old Maris Stella dudes and my childhood buddies: Justin, Daryl, Troy, Hao Bin, John, Twib, Kevin and several others. We played a few good soccer matches, but most of them were interrupted due to rain. Sigh... i got to organise a street soccer tournament, which turned out to be a flop because there were a lot of outsiders that wanted to play too.. but i just wanna thank all my friends for the concessions they made for my sake. Oh, Jia Xuan and Jeremy Goh came for the comp too. It was a pity i didn't get to meet up with Jeremy Lim, Samuel and Shawn. Sigh.. Sorry and thanks guys! =)

Bryan, thanks for being such a great friend to me.. for showing me the true meaning of being humble and down-to-earth.. for inspiring me with your awesome guitar-playing skills! Roy, for showing me what true slackiness is and warning me not to become anything like you =P! Auggie, for giving me an introduction on Army life and for your tremendous humour! You make my entire body shake in laughter with your lame, but incredibly funny jokes! =)

I remember the nights when Joce, Lyd, Tab, Sha and i would go lanning. We woul play Command & Conquer and DOTA just for fun. I would feel rather awkward OWNING the girls, but the conversations after the lanning sessions would be HILARIOUS. haha! Particle cannons and all =P

Oh, i'll never forget the time when i led the Saltshakers in a session on Worship. I led worship too, with Tab playing on the guitar. I cried so much in that worship session... Jerusha and Joce gave some good feedback, but i dunno what the rest thought. i mean, as a worship leader, i shouldn't be crying my guts out on stage.. but i will always remember crying to the tunes of "Blessed be the Name of the Lord", "From the inside out" and "Jesus, Lover of my soul".

I felt really nostalgic as i got home today. I'm in the middle of two worlds now. Sigh... i don't wanna think about it too much, but one thing is for certain... God has put me here in Australia for a reason, and i'm gonna honour that. I've decided to pack my room up and make it look more homely. I dug out all my old letters and some new cards and all, and i'm gonna stick a whole lot of them on my walls just to remind me of all the wonderful friends that God has given me, and for all the lovely memories that i'm so previlledged to have =)

Joce, Lyd, Tab. The three of you have made this trip worthwhile for me. Thank you.

Thank you God for these treasures that you've given me.. my heart warms up and melts whenever i look at a sentimental picture with heart-breaking music in the background. My heart longs to be where i feel most at home, but God.. may you be my strength and my portion forever.. preserve my friends and those dear to me, and be faithful to them just as you have been to me. Thank you for giving me... a good trip back =)