and so, I've officially turned 17.

As I must agree with joou, 17 isn't much different than 16. Other than the heartwarming fact that I received birthday wishes at the stroke of midnight, there was really little difference. Still, I'm quite glad to say that I'm 17 now, and another year older.

I'm really really thankful to everybody who wished me happy birthday/happy early birthday/happy belated birthday! (: Now, here goes my attempt to list everybody who wished in person/on Facebook/through sms/through cards, as I also did last year.

A HUGE THANK YOU GOES OUT TO:
cassandra, junyong, hansheng, kristian, jamesgoh, celestine, aaron, jianxiong, charlene, geraldsng, chrisanda, nelson, jarrell, francine, ryan, yenlin, claire, dingjie, jocelyne, justin, shoujian, nigelfong, jed, daniellim, jeremysia, nelson, jiajin, marcusng, jiakun, darius, leon, elden, gregory, elias, kaushik, marcuslee, abhi, zaki, nicchee, daron, amanda, renyan, ernest, samching, jeanhui, kernchoong, liangzi, gracia, matthew, chuanhong, fiona, danielyeo, jiehao, weirong, junlin, bengoh, max, evan, geoff, benwong, rohan, zeming, alastair, aloysius, irvin, joseph, joannestephen, titus, nitya, vincent, nicng, danieltan, jerman, joou, andre, joy-anne&aaron, hongfei, jerrel, kuanyue, peter, jesslyn, jodi, claudia, kimfong, jerroldquek, cherylchen, chngyan, wencen, joy, kirk, peggie, sharonchan, guowei, yuting, kangjie, zongyi, siewying, aarontiong, zhuoyang, mom, dad, aunty irene, 4K people and church people (omg too many I can't remember!) :D I'm sorry if I missed out anybody, please tell me!

nope, this isn't in order. but if you wished me at the stroke of midnight, thank youuuuu again (:

thanks for all the presents :D

thanks for all the cards, especially those long and heartfelt ones :D

thanks if you wished my more than one time :D

thanks if you were the person to wish me the most times :D

thanks if you were the first/last person to wish me :D

thanks for the birthday songs :D

thanks mom and dad for the cake :D

thanks for the cat and cake :D (pictures as promised!)


The cat is cute omg (:

finally, thanks for the promises :D

I think as I start to walk through this next year of my life, the lyrics of this amazing song really are starting to speak to me. It isn't in the same magnitude as the song speaks of (especially since Jeremy Camp wrote this song after his wife died of cancer), but it still maintains the weight of the same message which is speaking to me. The year of sweet 16 has been a really bittersweet one, as I have constantly mentioned in some of the previous posts. I want to make 17 one when I can truly say 'I Still Believe'.

I Still Believe - Jeremy Camp
Scattered words and empty thoughts
Seem to pour from my heart
I've never felt so torn before
Seems i don't know where to start
But it's now i feel your grace fall like rain
From every fingertip washing away my pain

I still believe in your faithfulness
I still believe in your truth
I still believe in your holy word
Even when I don't see I still believe

Though the questions still fog up my mind
With promises i still seem to bear
Even when answers slowly unwind
It's my heart I see you prepare
But it's now that I feel your grace fall like rain
From every fingertip washing away my pain

The only place I can go is into your arms
Where I throw to you my feeble prayers in brokeness
I can see that this is your will for me
Help me to know you are near

The flames danced atop the candles, sending hot wax spiraling down onto the brownish surface below. It had been a year since the last time I had the chance to do this, the difference this year being the addition of an extra candle. I closed my eyes, made that wish which I would hold close to my heart, and extinguished the dancing flames in a single breath. With this, I sealed my promise, once again.

Tag Replies
[matthew] haha personal opinion xD
[nellie] ehhh, OCD is sometimes a good thing! helps you stay organised heh!
[chris] YEAH! but then again, nobody would ever be, sadly D:
[kiimmy] haha it's okay yeah! hope you like it (:
[claudia] omgg haha yeah, that's exactly what my friend said!
[yenlin] yeahh >< but the book is still okay I think! sweet scenes yay (:
[francine] omgg, I haven't replied tags for THAT long? o.o a very delayed happy new year!
[kylim] you too! HAHA you can still afford to be higher, in all senses xD
[chris] haha that was very random xD but I think we're gonna get used to it soon!
[theotterestotter] HAHA it's a nice song omg (: and otter feeding? o.O
[claire.] I AGREE WITH YOU (: nice song!
[theotterestotter] heh, what should I say xD
[graciastef] hello! haha thanks, i'll link you!
[shanzhi] of course they're not, if not you'll have laughed and not got freaked out xD
[claire.] who said it was referring to the same thing? xD anw, saw you in school HAHA!
[yuting] thanks yuting (: & yeah, i'll relink you! keep your blog alive this time.