Attended Project IDentity 2008 on Sunday and found out that the little boy, Malcom, which was under us for quite some time is recently diagnosed with mascular dystrophy. Malcom lost his parents when he was very young and his grandma has been taking over the responsibility of taking care of him since then. Not only does he have learning disabilities, he is now diagnosed with an illness which has yet to find any cure for it with current medical sciences. It pains me to know that such an adorable boy like him will have to endure this cruel pain of losing all his muscle abilities over time. He can no longer run around like a normal child, jump with happiness like he always does.... Some time, I wonder if he does know what is happening but I hope that in this instance, he doesn't know. Ignorance is bliss. Little Malcom is currently the face of Community Chest and Welfare Services Club. Let's all pray that everything will go well for him and may his grandma remain strong.

It's been a tiring journey for these part 2 years. I cannot recall the number of times I have broken down from exhaustion and frustration. I do feel very lonely in this battle that I am battling now and I am really struggling to hang in there. I look around, no one is there.

It does feel good after pouring out all the bottled up feelings in me. There were times that I really just wanted to drop and leave. It's the feeling of, "Who am I working so hard for? No one appreciates anyway, so why bother?"

My friends, thanks for those words of encouragements and support. I shall cast away all those negativities and work for what I think is right. At least I know I have given my best and that is the most important. That's the power of the mind. When we seem to allow negativities to settle in, you just simply feel that the whole world is dark and gloomy. And when u decide to look from things from a more positive perspective, everything seems bright and cheery. Each time, after I feel depress and snaps out of it, I feel the rejuvenation of energy in me to continue where I left off.

In fact, according to some studies, women are in fact stronger than men. My mum was sharing with me about something she learnt during her counseling class. Women are happier single while men are happier when they are married. Reason: Cause when a man gets married, he throws all his family burden to his wife. And so his poor wife got to handle everything. Women got to work, take care of her/his family, do housework... Woohoo... See! Women are resilient!

Kudos to all women on this earth! Clap clap! Avy is also a strong woman. She can conquer everything!

I think I can really be a difficult customer if I want to be. I guess I just do not like to be dictated on what I should eat... KJ and I went to this really weird cafe today to have our dinner and they had nothing left in the menu except bake rice (which I didnt really feel like eating). So since we took some pain in getting there, we decided to just give it a shot. Then, we were asked to choose our cake and so I did. And as I was halfway through my bake rice, the waitress came up to me and said that the flavour I had chosen had already been given away to the other customers and that she had forgotten to inform me when I ordered. And she tried to hard sell her strawberry flavoured cake! Well, I do not like anything that is strawberry flavoured. According to KJ, I gave her such a murderous stare that she had no choice but to go to the kitchen to find if the baker can squeeze out the cake that I want even though I had agreed to try another flavour. And true enough, she did manage to find one for me... Hahaha... Poor waitress.

There is really so much that I can do. I have pushed my body to the maximum and now I am sick. It's a horrible feeling. No matter how much effort you put, people do not appreciate. So let it be... Avy misses CurL days when I had a team working with me towards the same goal!

Finally! My first trip away with my friends. Everything of the trip was great with them around! Can't wait for another getaway like this.

Finally, I have some time to blog about my Korea Cultural Exchange trip! Yes.. It is long overdue but I shall still blog about it. I am so grateful for the opportunity.

One word. The trip was fantastic! I got to meet a lot of student leaders from all over South East Asia countries such as Vietnam, the Philippines, Indonesia, Malaysia and Taiwan. Though we all arrived at Korea not knowing each other, we became friends at the end of the trip. Throughout the trip, we played and had so much fun with each other that we simply forgot how those 10 tiring days passed us by. Met some lovely people whom I will never forget.

I have also taken away with me a bagful of knowledge and learning about Korea and other SEA countries. We had several cultural exchange sessions which we shared about our culture which helped to deepen my understanding of the different SEA countries. Unlike those that we read from books, learning from the participants was definitely more real and interesting.

I have to say that the Singaporean gang, 2 from NUS and 1 from SMU, were really fun people. I cannot recall how many jump shots I did in that 10 days! Oh, we are in hangbok, Korean's traditional costume in the photograph below... I look funny.

It was my first trip out on my own but I really enjoyed it. Many first experiences too. Went drinking till 2am and shopping till 4am in the morning... :P

This could possibly be my first and last exchange program before I graduate from university. I am holding on to all that I have learnt and the memories of the wonderful people I have met.