Hold The Door

Today we attended a BEAUTIFUL couple's wedding...

Everything about the ceremony and reception was beautiful...


Congrats again Mr and Mrs Mike Larion :)


and it hit me TODAY...

That in EXACTLY ONE MONTH...



We'll be Mr and Mrs Darrel Yap :)

You Found Me

Britney's new album is out -> of which I have to admit that it is quite a big comeback! I personally NEVER thought she'd be able to it...

The album itself is not that impressive though... Quite similar style throughout... but oh well! I applaud her for trying :p

Favourite from the album is 'out from under' - and yet... :S *ugh*

THE FRAY's new single is out too :) :) :) Can't wait for their album!

Anyways, I went for another caesarean the other night!!! :D

Well, honestly when Darrel who was supposed to be back at 8pm called me at 12am to ask if I'd like to follow him for a caesar... I was a bit reluctant cuz I was thinking which FAT dog who have been whelping for at least 4 hours now need a ceasar again after?!!?

I mean - I have seen dogs in Malaysia who give birth like CRAZY beside the road... U name it -> they've done it without a problem before...

and now this 'princess' needs THAT much help!

Anyways, since it was late I thought I'd follow along - maybe to drive Darrel back when he's done...

Well... the couple - they were VERY emotional (the wife at least) - I seriously got first hand experience how MUCH people LOVE their animals here...


So this is the pup that I helped revive!! :D
That poor thing was stuck in there for nearly 24 HOURS!!

I've only watched the way people revive pups on the Disney Cartoon -> 101 Dalmatians! :p
But doing it in person IS REALLY QUITE EXCITING!!! *hehe*

Sadly, some of them didn't make it :( but at least 7 out of 12 did :D
Here are some pics of the pups (and yar... I guess the most fun part in the whole 3 hour surgery is playing with the pups)


And here's the Doctor at work :p


*sigh* The trip there was really worth it :)
But seriously - dogs here ought to learn how to give birth on their own!

Oooo... Did I mention - We got ourselves a new toy???
*hehe* and NOPE Crumble's NOT it...

Broken Strings

I have ALWAYS LOVED James Morrison and have ALWAYS LOVED Nelly Furtado!!!

Put them together?

And as expected... They sound AMAZING!! :D

Oh-SOooo-EMO... BUT still amazing :)

It's Over

Just an update - I have miraculously moved ALL my things to Melbourne yesterday... and just to describe how tiring that was -> I SLEPT the ENTIRE 11 hours drive!!! as in I got up ONLY for meals and toilet breaks and then continued sleeping... *haha*

SO TERRIBLE - I KNOW!

Anyways, I miss Sydney already - the weather especially!

see, when I left Sydney, it was a good 27 degrees I think... and NOW?

well, when we arrived last night at 10pm (note: I was sleeping right?)
So when I got up to help unload the car, just when I opened the car door -> I started SHIVERING!

What the HECK! It was only 9 degrees here!!!

the worst part was I couldn't find any of my winter clothing cuz I've packed them up LONG LONG time ago!!!! :(

Thankfully, Darrel and I went on this crazy shopping spree before we left to buy MATCHING Sydney Uni Jumpers!! *haha* Well, last night I was SO HAPPY I bought them before I left - cuz SERIOUSLY I have NO idea where in the world did I pack all my warm clothing dy...

and TODAY? the weather is SO BAD - it's like HAILING!
Seriously! It has been hailing NON STOP - as in it'll be warm for a bit, then COLD mostly then out of the blue it would start hailing! :S

So strange huh? Out of my 3 years in Sydney - I only remember it hailing ONCE!!!

But anyways,
I have already started feeling at home (despite the weather :p)
Well, it is REALLY nice to sleep in here :D and the food's great too...

To all the people that I didn't get to say a proper goodbye to, I am REALLY REALLY sorry!!! It is mainly due to my VERY VERY bad time management! :( as in I literally was packing till 5am on Friday morning and we were suppose to start driving before 8am -> it didn't happen though (mostly thanks to me *haha*) and yar, we only left around 11am I think :p

BUT - I had CAMPOS before I left!!!! :D :D :D

Anyways, I should be busy getting things done for the BIG day soon :(
and... hopefully my time management skills would miraculously improve within this ONE MONTH!

Your Call

Last Sunday was my LAST Sunday helping out at Cubby House @ Hillsong Church where for two hours every Sunday afternoon from 11am to 1pm, those beautiful kids ages 1 - 3 would never fail to brighten up my week ahead.

So when I stepped in those familiar doors on Sunday - I couldn't help but feel this REALLY heavy sense of dread - I guess mostly due to the fact that I know most probably I would NEVER get see kids again...

I still remember the first kid who stole my heart :) *haha*

His name was Joshua... I can't remember much of him - nor did I ever see him again after that week... It was almost as if he came that day for that one purpose and that is to get me hooked on Cubby House...

I remember him as this TINY Fragile boy... I've helped out at children church in FGA KL before - but they were always much OLDER - in primary school mostly... and so that was my FIRST time ever caring for such a young kid - I mean I grew up in a large family and have always grew up with kids but this is different - this was this amazingly ADORABLE BEAUTIFUL blonde 1 year old boy who was the SWEESTEST!!!

I remember vividly playing with him through out that 2 hour service and when his parent's came, right before they left - he turned around and gave a hug and the MOST sloppy kiss on the check and his mom made him say 'TA' (which is an aussie way of saying thankyou) where by at that time - I had absolutely NO IDEA what the heck TA was! *haha*

The following week I went to check out an older age group - from 3 - 5 years but the kids SO HYPER!!! and through out the service I was so LOST - I kept thinking about Joshua and how angelic he was and I MISSED HIM - so half way tru... I LEFT 'The Ark' and NEVER LEFT Cubby House since :)

Well, sadly as I told you, I never saw Joshua again... but that week I made new friend - JEREMY! He's was platinum blonde Hyper kid - Not like SWEET ANGELIC Joshua... He was running around everywhere... but he was OH SO CUTE!!! I guess I remember Jeremy cuz he was the FIRST kid that almost got me in trouble... He was running around so much and at that time there used to be this plastic toy house... Jeremy being the boy he is - climbed everywhere and as expected - he fell and cut himself (really close to his eye)...

Surprisingly he was pretty strong cuz after a while he stopped crying and I thought all was good :) but I WAS SO WRONG!

cuz when his mom came to pick him up after church - the first thing she asked was who was taking care of Jeremy and what happened to his eye!!! I was TERRIFIED!!! I have never got grilled like that from a mother before - but I guess it opened my eyes to the western culture :) and I learned the hard way on what I should have done when accidents happen!

Later on, I found out that his parents were going through a divorce and I remember feeling bad for Jeremy - he was the only child and he was such a beautiful child! He was literally like those DOLLS u pick up from the toy shelf... and although he was all over the place - he found his way to this special place in my heart too :) and my heart broke knowing what was going on in his world and I remember praying he would grow up to be that beautiful amazing man he was called to be...

His mom took him to another service soon after (out of fear that his dad would secretly pick him up from Cubby House when his mom was at service) and I never got to see him after that... Not until last year I think, or maybe this year... when I got to see that familiar platinum blonde hair and bright blue eyes... He is still beautiful and I remember the first thought that went through my head was - 'my gosh! He TALKS NOW!' *haha*

*sigh* kids do grow up too quickly...

Along the way there were many other kids... Sebastian - this spanish kid with curly black locks, Josiah was the class sweetheart... and Ezra was another... then there are the newer kids - Ethan and Jared, oooo... and who could forget Bryn :)

YEP, I do somehow have a soft spot for boys *haha* I guess I have to blame it on only having ONE brother :)

So Sunday, I was trying to soak everything up - trying my best to take a mental picture of Cubby House so that maybe, somehow I'd be able to remember and preserve my emotions, my thoughts - basically the MOMENT...

but 1 o'clock came by way too fast... :'(

and soon I found myself packing up the toys while waiting for parents to pick their children up. Suddenly, I was distracted by 2 boys asking for my help cuz they wanted to get into this cushion tube thing...

after helping them and playing with them a bit only did I realise that one of the boys was actually SEBASTIAN!! He is all grown up now! His locks are ALL gone!!! *sigh* but fortunately, those big brown eyes of his are still the same...

then, there was this tap on my leg... I turned and saw the BIGGEST grin I have ever seen...
I couldn't remember who that familar face was for the longest time... and only after a while did I manage to say 'OH my goodness EZRA! What happened to your hair??' and I really didn't mean it in the bad way - it's just that he used to have the coolest softest curls :) and they were all gone - he only had a tail left... with this really cool spider web thing shaved on the side of his head - of which he told me it was his dad who did it for him :)

Ezra has to be the HAPPIEST kid I have ever taken care of! He is always smiling and always happy and sweet and obedient! He is the BEST ever! and sadly he grew up WAY too fast... I would give anything to keep him in Cubby House :)

I remember being really sad knowing that he'd be leaving Cubby house after his 3rd birthday... but ya it was such a pleasant surprise seeing him again after such a long time...

See I have NEVER expected kids that age to remember who I am... I mean how much can a 3 year old remember right? Well that's what I thought... I thought I'd go there and bless the kids as much as I can - Cuz it was Jeremy who made me realise that some of these LITTLE Kid's worlds are falling apart as well (even at such a young age)... So if all I could do is to show them a lil bit of what LOVE means - then I'd do it the best that I can... so maybe when they grow up they'd learn to believe in LOVE too...

But on Sunday, Ezra showed me something so different...

See I turned and saw this cheeky kid with the biggest grin - and out of the corner of his smile... he mumbled 'Do you remember me?'

Which means -> He REMEMBERED ME!!! This 4 year old kid REMEMBERED ME!!!! :) I was SO touched!

So we played a bit before I left... and he's still so sweet despite being all grown up now...

When I told him that I had to go - he looked up (we were playing this pasta-cereal-sand-box thingy) and said:

'Will you come back and see me later?'

and at that moment, my heart MELTED! I WISH I could say yes! I wished it wasn't my last week... and yet I couldn't let him know nor lie...

'We'll See :)' was the only thing I could say in return...

Through Ezra - I learned something new on Sunday...
See I LOVE serving kids cuz I always feel they have that 'something' that grown ups loose every single day when they grow up - whether it is the stress - the demanding necessity to not only just make it in this world but to SUCCEED, or plainly just GREED!

but these children... They are contented! All they want in that couple of hours is to PLAY - to EAT and want their mummies and daddies to pick them up and take them to lunch after that :)

We on the other hand, we always strive for more... we are NEVER truly thankful for what we have as there is always this other person who has got it better and we want that too... Hence, we end up carrying the weight of the world while trying so hard to make it...

I LOVE watching these children play - without a care in the world... they play, they dance, they laugh, they LOVE... and for that couple of hours I get to be that too...

They have taught me so much and they have blessed me so much indeed... See I miss that sometimes - Miss being young and having that child-like FAITH - Their world is SO simple - it is protected, it is NOT tainted or stained... People in their world are black and white - you are either good or evil (not in between)... They sincerely believe there IS such a thing as living happily ever after, and there IS such a thing as meeting your Prince Charming... They do not judge people nor discriminate - their world is not complicated... They befriend others so easily and forgive in a second when others are in the wrong. They don't know bitterness nor jealousy. They look at the world with such curiosity and find beauty in the simplest of things... They have no regrets and have SO much to look forward to... Their life is FULL of purpose, endless possibilities, JOY, HOPE and PEACE... And They have BIG DREAMS to be someone GREAT someday...

Why do we loose all that when we grow up?

So to EZRA NEAL,
Thank you for reminding me that IT MATTERS - for reminding me that I don't get to see the big picture most of the time but it IS still a seed sown... Thank you for showing me such sincere gratitude... and for being such a blessing to me the last 3 years...

I pray that you will grow up to be the amazing man you are called to be. I pray you'll walk close with the LORD and NEVER stop loving and laughing with that amazingly God given smile of yours and brighten up this dark world of ours.

I pray that on the day we DO meet again - be it heaven or earth... I want to hear all the amazing stories of how great your life has been and all the great things you have done... I pray you WILL live life to the fullest and will LIVE according to your calling and REACH millions + change lives...

I know you'll be great someday and can't wait for the day I FINALLY get to see you again... and Till then - I will be missing that sweet smile of yours :)

Ps. you too have found your way in that special place in my heart :)

Lots of LOVE,

Nydia

Finally, I have to apologise for this long post and the chipmunk version of Secondhand Serenade - it just felt appropriate cuz it is the cutest! :)

Halo

This REALLY funny thing happen the other night :p haha... seriously these things can only be possible with Nydia -> so I'm gonna bring you on this short trip to what went on in my head on THURDAY night...

...


zzZZZZzzzzZZZZZzzz...


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...


...


...


(for some strange reason - I got up and stared at this clock of mine on the wall)


'7 o'clock'

...

...


'ugh... Really don't feel like waking up now lar...'


(so I turned over and thought I'd wake up when my alarm rings at 7:30...)


...


...


'WAIT!!!! It's 7???'


'Like 7am???'



...


...


...



'NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOooooooooooooooo!!!!!!!!!!!!!!'


'How in the world????'


'WHAT the heck????'


'Oh my goodness!!!!'


'@$%$%@@!# I have an exam in like 2 hours and I haven't studied ANYTHING yet!'


'How COULD I POSSIBLY sleep past my THREE alarms??'


'HUH? Is it possible to oversleep for 12 hours and not even realise it??'


'WOW I must be REALLY tired!'


'WAIT!!! DARREL!!! how could he ALSO forget to wake me up???'


'Huh?? unless I slept PAST that too??'


'NO WAY!!!!!!'


'I'm so dead!!! I'll have to REPEAT this next year for SURE!!'


'GOD!!! How could u forget that I still have one more paper??'


'ADUHAI!!! This has to be the worst EVER!!!'


'!@#@!$#%$#%#... HOW?? HOW?? HOW??'


...


...


...


...


'Wait!!! Maybe I should check what time it REALLY is...'


'YAR... maybe that FAT clock died...'


(stumbled blindly to my computer - being really BLIND I could only make it out to be REALLY 7 o'clock)


...


(STONNING)


...


...


'CRAP lar!!! HOW NOW??? This time I'm gonna FAIL for sure!!!'


'Even IF I was like SOME super genius - I OSO can't study EVERYTHING in ONE FAT HOUR!!!!'


'and Huilyn is coming at 8.15!!!'


'CRAP!!!!!!'


...


...


...


(AFTER what seem like a REALLY REALLY long time)


...


'Wait... Ok!!! Calm down... What date is it today? Maybe I am dreaming...'


'Ok... My exam is on the - 14th... and... Currently it is...'


(still squinting trying to see the small date on my computer screen)


...


...


'YESS!!!!! It is the 13th!!!! I am STILL ALIVE!!!!!'


'Oh my goodnesS!!'


'WHAT the HECK!!!'


'How in the world???'


...


...


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'Walao - that was so SCARY weih!!!'


...


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'Maybe I should lie down...'


(BAD IDEA)


'*ish* Why in the WORLD I didn't check the time on my phone just now?'


...


...


...


'BODOH!'

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ZzzzZZZZZzzzzz


...


(Btw, I only got up at 8pm that evening - miraculously had enough time to study as much as I could - HOPEFULLY, I really won't have to see myself back here again next year...)

So ya!!! Lesson of the year -> Being BLIND and BLUR (who ALSO sleeps ALOT and VERY soundly = cannot be a good thing)

*haha*


Don't you HATE it how 7am and 7pm looks EXACTLY the same indoors - when the blinds are down?


Cis!!!


What an experience!

Long Time Coming

Last night I called my parents - I usually talk to them at least once a week... It's always nice to hear that familiar voice... I guess I have always found comfort knowing that someone is praying for me - well in my case... this time, they got everyone they know to pray for me and my finals... and *smiles* I LOVE THEM for that!

So during that short half an hour conversation (usually it can go up to an hour... maybe more), somehow I found myself telling my dad this miraculous story about my week - about this assignment of mine... and He told me something that I thought was so interesting...

'Write it down! Pen those stories down... cuz if not in time u'll forget how gracious God has been to you these 3 years...'

I think we've all established the fact that NOPE - I have NEVER been a good writer... YES I talk A LOT but NO I don't write very well... But I think I wanna challenge myself this time around... That I will NOT keep all these miraculous testimonies to myself... In that little pink diary of mine... :)

I have always LOVED telling stories... and I have ALWAYS believed in the power of stories... LOVED hearing them, loved reading them... so maybe writing stories and telling them to people are actually very similar!

So I will try (can't promise it'll happen) but I'll try to pen down how good God has been to me :) Personally... I RESPECT people having different faiths (I REALLY DO and I could NEVER dream of forcing what I believe in down someone's throat)

But I think I've tried fitting in this world for too long now... See, today I watch this OLD movie 'What a girl wants' and this quote HIT ME!

'Why are you trying so hard to fit in when u were born to stand out?'

So I have decided... I don't really care if people started arguing on the existence of God and religion - which one is the right one and which isn't...

These are MY STORIES and what I believe... :)
I believe in Life! in Living LIFE to the fullest... and for me to do that -> I NEED to believe that miracles ARE REAL... and there is HOPE and LOVE and HAPPINESS still left for people in this world to believe in :)

So ya! I've always thought Albert Einstein was a wise man...

'There are only two ways to live your life
One is as though nothing is a miracle
The other is as though EVERYTHING is a miracle'

And I think... I'd want to LIVE like the latter... :D

The Show

I can't seem to get this song out of my head - it is REALLY the cutest :)

So yar... cuz of my exams ~ I have started listening to random songs like these...

I have also started my Christmas countdown!!! I am so excited! This would be the first time in what feels like a long long time that my family is spending Christmas all together :)
so yeS! 'Joy to the world' has somehow found its way into my music playlist...

Ps. U know your computer is DYING when it is not compatible with internet explorer any more :(

'I'm just a little girl lost in the moment
I'm so scared but I don't show it
I can't figure it out
It's bringing me down I know
I've got to let it go
And just enjoy the show'

These are the days

These are the days...
I will ALWAYS treasure...

Pic from our engagement shoot on Monday...
I absolutely ADORE Jenny's work...



Is it terrible that I still have that occasional 'thing' for the good-ol'-boy-band-POP songs?

Ps. btw, in case u are wondering - most of the songs I post are absolutely random - I am currently NEITHER lonely, emo nor have I recently broken up with someone!

*haha*
Sometimes... I dont even know why I listen to them... But,

This time - I guess I get to blame it on the academia blues *keke*

:)

Mad

I'll miss...

1. The most amazing church I call home these last 3 years - Hillsong Church
2. The beautiful kids that brighten up my week EVERY Sunday morning - without fail!
3. The most selfless people I have met serving at Hillsong Campus
4. The ugliest building in Sydney Uni where I have 80% of my classes in - Mereweather
   
5. The most worn-down-going-to-fall-apart house I've ever stayed in
   
6. The craziest-friendliest people I've met in commerce who have made my 3 years so much more fun
7. The most beautiful city in Australia - with the beautiful view of Darlene Harbour :) and the Opera House
8. The oh-so-beautiful WEATHER here *sigh*
   
9. The crazy ambulance and police sirens we hear so often during weekends
   
10. The last minute rushing of assignments with group mates who make the painful assignments so so much better
11. The most amazing Powerbreak members that have blessed me so much this year
    
12. The BEST coffee EVER - at Campos!
13. The weekly Grocery shopping :) and discount hunting
14. The very random SUSHI nights!!!
    
15. The purple flower tree in my backyard - that has been my only view these last 3 years
16. The amazing lives I have been so blessed to cross paths with
17. The crazy bird who sings everyday at 5am - to let me know that maybe it's time to sleep
18. The stupid oven that burns EVERYTHING + the very sensitive fire alarm
19. The most considerate house mates I have had the last 3 years
    
20. Lastly, I know someday - maybe not now -> I will miss these LATE nights studying for my finals *haha*
    

*sigh*

I can't believe this phase is coming to an end so soon...