when I first started volunteering in the girls' brigade in 2005, I thought it was so communist-ic.  groups of boys and girls wearing uniforms and marching around their "parade square" like little bands of nationalistic teens. for example:

BUT, don't laugh...this is me now in "full uniform".  That's right. I'm now an officer - Cadet Lieutenant!  haha...all this for my girls...but i still haven't learned how to march well.  but marching is kinda fun.

dad, you'll love this one...

yummy in my tummy...mangostein and dragonfruit.

i've had two months off, now i've been working for 2 weeks now at a local polytechnic (cross between end of high school and community college).  it has been so fun and i'm looking forward to my first week in the classroom next week.  the teaching style here is SO different....

anyway, things i've meant to share with mainly my family (and you are welcome to read too):

- fungus grows everywhere in the hot, humid weather. in my shoes, on my bags, on the walls, in the shower, and worst, on my head.  i think it's finally cleared after some serious medication...

- there are a lot of people who meet me now that can't detect i'm not a local.  I'm really proud of my ability to pick up the lingo and the accent!

- two months off was a great time of meeting up with friends, running errands, reading books (!), exercising, sewing projects, and spending time with my GB girls.  although friends tell me they get bored after 2 weeks off, i wasn't bored at all!  been thinking how serving in the GB ministry really does require full-time, not just my weekends.

- albert and i bought two foldable bikes. tiny wheels, amazing design, pretty fast and super portable. we can actually take them on the trains and buses. he's taken me to the old Selatar airport, all along Changi beach, park, boardwalk, around all of woodlands, much of sembawang, from jurong to holland v, holland v to khatib (over an 1 hr ride!). we've been exercising a lot more now.  stretching too, according to bel's advice.  albert gets almost boyish when he's biking, like it brings him back to his younger days in malaysia.  as for me, i'm scared to death of the fast cars and buses, so i'm not quite ready for road biking yet...maybe in a few more months. for now, i like the sidewalk or "pavement".

- if you know my wardrobe for the last....um...10 years, i have finally bought some new clothes for work. can you believe it? shoes too...it's so sad that tevas and flip flops aren't acceptable footwear in the office. but i still hate shopping.

i'll update again in 2 months. =)

is it really snowing in Maryland? 

last week our CF (christian fellowship) kids were over on saturday and helped us set up our christmas tree (thank the Shih family). in the To family, i was always the one to pull the tree out. i'm hardly a sentimental person, but i have to say, i really like christmas trees and christmas music. it's different celebrating christmas here cuz many people don't even celebrate! my office mate's parents will be working their hawker stall that day. this will be my 2nd christmas in singapore.

my husband, 2 friends and 3 teens were forced to celebrate thanksgiving with me.  well, first of all, the weather was marvellous yesterday. cloudy, kinda wet, felt a little like a rainy fall day, but probably 20 degrees warmer. never mind!  it was considerably cool. thank God for a fall-like day. then i was supposed to meet my two friends to plan out next year's GB program, so i sprung a thanksgiving dinner on them. hahaaa. actually no turkey...but we had chicken, mash potatoes, veg, and my favorite...stuffing and apple crisp...(gulp! stove top costs sgd$5.50!! that's usd$3.50+ with the deflating dollar. and we invited 3 of our neighbor teens over too...so yes, we celebrated thanksgiving this year!  but i had to explain to my victims what thanksgiving was first. poor things had to tolerate a tasteless (compared to their preferred chinese food) american meal. but i loved it. this sure beats the nothing that I did last year. i quite like this holiday.  today i will celebrate by...uh, going to work!