Facts between me and my lupus:

1. I like to get things done asap. In the fury of getting things done, lupus tends to get in the way. Although it is wiser to take things easy to prevent unnecessary fatigue and K.O, I'd still like to "chiong" my work.

2. Despite the fact that luppie here is NOT active and mostly under the control of medication, certain organisations would not take the risk in allowing me to participate in certain activities, especially those involving heavy physical activities. Shucks.

3. If right now I'm getting better and better and taking less and less medications now, why is my bill still heading towards the glass ceiling?

4. There was one time I have my doubts whether this 'lupus' was real so I decided to find it out myself and stood under the sun. Skin feels like it's boiling. Not a very nice experience. Lupus confirmed.

5. Vampirism is the new lifestyle for me, avoid sun at all times (although sometimes I do catch a peek at the matahari once in a while. Sorry, I don't have glitter powder on me when sunlight touches my body. That will be the sickly looking Pattinson you're looking for. (I'm so sorry, Jacob looks better in my opinion. O.o)

6. Lupus affects a lot of my decisions so sometimes I sound a little self-centred. (sorry guys, health comes first for me, safety first for you because I'm still one heck of a daredevil :P)

7. Getting a flu means more tissue for you; Getting a flu means another knockout punch for me.

Getting a fever means MC for you; Getting a flu means A&E for me.

Getting a high fever that last for days means few nights stay at Tan Tock Seng Hospital; GEtting a high fever that last for days means RIP for me. (Immune system is lowered significantly to lower down the immune system's hyperactivity).

8. Lupus can be an advantage. (Oh, I'm sorry boss, I couldn't complete this assignment that you've given me 2 years ago and you wanted to hand it to you 2 weeks after you gave me this project? Yeah, I erm....I erm lupus you see...and uhh...I tend to get tired and lose focus easily? uhh....yeahh.....I'm sorry...I can't focus right now...I think a flare is coming up.....ooo.....)(have yet to try that yet, but actual flare ups have so far prevented me from calling lupus as an 'advantage')

9. Life can still be good with lupus. The way I do things are pretty much different from before, but I can still deliver results (so far), and sometimes better than before.

10. Lupus is a long battle, but it doesn't mean that lupus can never be your friend. I have learned to understand my own lupus more and continue to learn more about it every day. Work with lupus and it is possible to achieve a normal life.

Yeap, please take note that the facts above are not based on books or texts, but on my experiences in dealing with lupus (I am a lupus patient in case you haven't know yet). So please do not quote this into your WRs, PIs, University assignments and etc etc etc.. However, please be aware that lupus is not an uncommon disease and there are many children and women who have lupus in Singapore. Help them pave a way to lead a normal life in Singapore :)

Laugh all you can

Why am I doing this? (A dedication to my tutors of NYJC)

Why am I doing this?

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Why my tutor is being heartless and loads our bags with extra revision materials and tutorials?

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Why am I pushing myself really hard for As when the subjects we're taking isn't exactly relevant or nowhere near to the university courses we're aiming for?

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I'm pretty sure these are the questions that popped inside my head quite often throughout my 2 years of A Levels. Nonetheless, I and another few thousands of A Levels students heed our tutor's 'orders' to 'do well'.

Today, I was curious about the exemptions for certain courses provided by universities of Singapore, so I Googled it to find out more. Found this link provided by SMU:

http://www.smu.edu.sg/matriculation/2009/aca_exemption.asp#2

This page explains the courses (although mainly foundation courses and GE courses) that freshman can be exempted from depending on their A Levels results, though the list is not restricted to just A Level grads but it includes Poly and IB grads seeking matriculation too.

Appalled by the fact that I am allowed to be exempted to up to 6 subjects, it struck my mind that if it weren't for my tutors' endless rattle, my Uni life would have been harder (perhaps, or least I won't be learning the actual stuff until I've completed the foundation courses.)

Putting uni courses aside, I guess tutors really play a huge role in helping us students obtaining admission into our desired universities. And over here, I would like to take this opportunity to thank the tutors that shared the same path as I walked during 08-09:

To Mr. Wong, for his encouragements to my class when our Maths results were not showing our true potential and his workings and answers scribbled on the whiteboard.

To Mr. Low, for his patience in explaning Physics concepts despite the fact that we were too busy doing Maths and Chemistry during his tutorials.

To Mrs. Chong, for her evergreen personality and her unique approach to Econs, spurring my interest in it and eventually my choice of course in SMU.

To Mr. Tan, for provoking our thoughts in GP and bringing out the best of us in project management skills for PW.

To Mrs. Tan, for further enlightening us that there's more to GP than essays and comprehensions.

To Mrs. Lim, for being such a wonderful PAE Civics Tutor and her concern for my health for the 2 years.

To Mrs. Lee, Ms. Sum, Mr. Ng, and Mrs. Wang, for their undying support for NYJChoir, spending hours with us, being there for us in every sectionals and performances.

To another Mr. Lim, for understanding my health concerns and allowing me to be with my classmates during PE despite my photosensitivity.

To Mr. Teo, for being such a great teacher mentor ensuring that the welfare of my batchmates is in the right hands.

Lastly, to the Chem version of Mr. Low, my Civics Tutor, for the enjoyable moments I had during his classes, not forgetting his street-wise philosophies that I shall always treasure.

My SMU Testimony

I've always knew that God opens and closes doors of opportunities for us, but never did I experience such a divine intervention until this happened:

On the day I received a letter from NUS, I was overjoyed that No. 1 university had offered me the ASEAN Undergraduate Scholarship (AUS) to me to pursue a double degree in Economics and Business Admin (Accountancy). I shared the news with parents and friends and it seems that I would be heading to the Kent Ridge campus.

But since then, I had a feeling that I would not be walking in and out the lecture halls of NUS despite that Dad and I had made arrangements that he, mom and sis will fly over to help out with the signing of the scholarship agreement. Thus, I went around asking friends on Facebook and Oldham Hall on which university should I go to. Most suggested NUS since I am offered a scholarship to study there and there is no reply from SMU regarding any scholarship offers.

Sighing, Candice reminded me how happy I was after the interview I attended at SMU School of Economics. Then, it struck me that I loved the environment SMU provides as well as all the habitants (lol?) that resides in the middle of the Bras Basah campus.

One day, I called the Office of Undergraduate Admissions but nobody picked up the phone. So at that time I thought that perhaps God wanted me to go to NUS all along. Despite that, I still felt I should try my best contacting someone in SMU about my desire to study there. So, I typed an email to the director of the Office, hoping that they would reply me whether they could provide me the outcome of my scholarship application to study in SMU earlier.

After that, I prayed to God, I said "God, if You want me to study in SMU, let my phone ring the very next day. If not, I will faithfully go to NUS." (YES I KNOW IT'S A WEIRD PRAYER BUT NVM LOL!)

Next day, someone called from SMU congratulating me for being offered AUS to study in SMU! And yes, I agreed to accept the scholarship rightaway and began submitting the signed scholarship agreement as well as the GIRO form to allow the Uni to transfer my living allowance.

Until now, I am still shocked that God had answered my prayer and gave me that scholarship to study in SMU. Let this testimony be proof that our God is a listening God and to glorify Him and His works in our lives. I encourage everyone to trust God to control the reins of our lives as how my life is held tightly by Him.

Whoa!

Yup...I can say that again in case you couldn't hear me...Whoa!!

In case there are friends and other Internet Wanderers who still read this blog whose blogger updates very rarely now, it's been a marathon of events for me for the past few months. My last post was like, in Jan or Feb? Anyway, it's a great feeling having the time to blog about something again :)

Currently working in a child care centre, it's an enriching experience for me to be close with primary school children again, after not going back to the temple at Tawau to help out at Sunday classes for such a long time. Most children at the Christian based centre belong to single parent families due to death of a parent or divorce.

I emphatise with the children at the centre, understanding how bad life could get having a single parent. At the same time however, I do feel blessed that my brother and I could emerge out of that matter and we are now challenging our limits doing the things that we like. Kids back at the centre kept thinking that they were stupid and useless.

Encouraging them prove to be a daunting task indeed, as sometimes us teachers may feel like giving up on them. However, by the Grace of God, it never stopped us from motivating them and helping them with their schoolwork, in hopes that they too, can experience God's Grace.

There were times I almost lost my patience persuading them to finish up their homework before they can play. But those were the times where I remembered that despite my parents have high expectations on me, I still have my freedom to play till my heart's content. I guess there's a need to teach P1 to P6 kids about the balance of work and play (could we shift more in favour with work for the time being? :P)

So that's from my work life :)

Gave a jacket to an uncle earlier just now...He's always sleeping outside my flat because he usually gathers recyclable materials at night and then just take a snooze on top of some cardboard boxes...

I guess life struggles is really a harsh thing to live with it, especially if we are unable to find a roof above our heads...

I'm happy with my home, both Tawau and Singapore.. :)

For those who are following up with the story I shared about the Indian male the other day...I have good news....He's found a stable job and I'm really really happy to see that he is able to secure a job despite the troubling times he's been through... :)

Anyway...here's another thing I wanna share... :)

Yes...it's a dot on a piece of paper....some of you might have heard this before...but....this one might be different...

Quoting from Naruto.... It is easier for us to focus on one dot on that piece of paper instead of asking one to focus on the entire piece of paper since we may stray away from side to side, corner to corner...

So...what does this mean to me? In life, we may try as hard as we could to extend our reach to as many things as possible because of fear of losing them within our sight... here's my personal account..

I'm pretty sure that most of the JC students or JC graduates would have a PCME combi....quite a common one I might say...hahas....Some of us might choose to take this combi because it seems (duhh...think again...) to be the easiest combi...Or it provides us a wider range of universities courses and subsequently.....a wider myriad of jobs available at our fingertips...

In this sense, this could be a false sense of security of our very own future because if we come across an actual crossroad....we still need to perk our ears and listen to God for the path that He has chosen for us...

Here's something to take back today...If you already know that God has already given you that dot, has spoken into your lives and you heard His calling and walking towards that direction...I pray that you will continue to walk that path and will always have more than enough potential to overcome impeding challenges...

For those who have yet to find their own dot on your paper, I pray that God will show you your dot and start lighting up the steps for you to walk on.. :)