Convention Ball and National Day

After 3 consecutive "emo" posts, it's time to walk out of the gloom and doom and into the sunlight. All thanks to God and His gift of forgiveness and a bunch of friends that God uses to speak volumes to me.

Thank you Mel for telling me what you did ... you don't know how much sense that made to me.

And so ... time to report on other stories.

It's Budget Diva time! ... Although I'm harbouring a growing passion for fashion and the like, I still try hard to find budget deals for the student wallet.

The Overseas Christian Fellowship (OCF) Convention Ball finally came round on Saturday where girls spent a bomb dressing up and the guys took 15 minutes to throw on the one suit they had in their wardrobes. For me, I had a dress already but it was dangerously dodgy "up there" so I ran out to get an alternative which didn't cost half as much as I thought it would. I can even mix and match for other occasions which is what the Budget Diva always looks for in a good buy! The shop tried to sell me a clutch and shoes for nearly 90 bucks but I just bought the necessities (top, skirt and necklace) and found the bag and heels separately for a much saner price.


While others went to hair salons to do their hair and make up, I had my wonderful housemate Amy dye my hair back to a sane brown, straighten it and even do my makeup!


With Sau ... the Not So Cool Chao Ah Beng


I hate the flash of cameras ... you can see exactly where I've put concealer ... gaaaah. Andrea looked like a million bucks in a dress found in St Kilda's for under $40. We're taking a photo with Joel whom we both like a lot for his fresh enthusiasm and creative ideas. You can't see in the pic, but the poor boy's busted his ankle and was on crutches the whole night.

Seeing everyone in their finery was amazing ... You never knew people could look so good if they just did their hair in a different way and got out of their jeans and t-shirt.

Then National Day rolled around ...

Pearline, Lydia and I invited a whole bunch of Singaporeans (9) and Malaysians (1) and Hongkies (1) over to have dinner and watch the parade. It was like reminiscing old times - I found Mamee at the local supermarket (albeit it being 3 times more ex than back home) and cooked Chicken Rendang curry. The rest brought varying Singaporean foods ... I really wanted to cook chaitowkuay (fried carrot cake) but alas! It was not meant to be when I couldn't find the pre-made radish cake in the 3 city Asian grocers.

But didn't matter lah, we had tons of food, tons of fun and we all enjoyed the night.

Watching the NDP parade on computer ... The images came out jerky and slow, but it was just nice to see and hear something familiar again.


My ex-housemate Cindy from HongKong. Haven't seen her since I came back to Melb so it was fantastic she could join us.


Food food and more food!

Nobody really took notice of 9 August here in Melbourne. Classes went on as usual, it just seemed like any other day. But one day after the "festivities" and I'm looking at the pictures of the National Day Parade, I feel a tinge of sadness like I'm missing something. This is the first National Day that I've not been in Singapore and it certainly feels weird not being able to spend it with my family and friends back home.

Living abroad is fun and you get your fair share of independence but somehow a part of my heart still remains in Singapore - where I belong.