The Holiday

i think 'the holiday' is a great post-break up movie to watch. corny and sweet and touching... perfect excuse to cry. not that i need one. but you know... another random from denise ong. might come in handy someday.

but i like the movie a lot. not a great like notting hill but nevertheless... pretty good.


so, i guess i'm into sappy corny storylines now. and gossip girl.
have to make up for my not having much of a life at the moment right? exams are such a pain.

you know what would be good right now? a massage... and maybe a hot guy or two... ;)
oh and aceing all my papers.

oooh 1am already. time to go!

that dress

it was a really pretty dress. i mean, the skirt actually fluffs up at the waist... how can it help but be pretty. but too bad it was too tight for me (i bought it off trademe, you see) so i had to wear a bolero to cover the fact that i can't zip it all the way up.

ah can't find pictures that show it to it's best advantage.

so here's me dedicating a speech to the birthday girl. the candle makes me look like part of a cult ey? haha.




and with the birthday girl herself. i would like to take this moment to point out here that i look so deliciously fair in this picture (compare and contrast with my orangeness in the first picture). thank you lighting! you truly are a girl's best friend.



anyway, am thinking of selling it off (to a thinner person) as i won't be re-wearing it any time soon... and it really is a very pretty dress. would be a pity for it to just languish in my closet.



ahaha... why does this sound like an advert for my dress?

almost there... among other things

how time does fly... it's already the last week of the school term, also the last one for this year. and having a new flattie at this time of the year just brings back memories of how it was when i first got here. seems like so long ago, seems like just yesterday. i can still remember how alone and scared and bored i was, and yet how excited about seeing new things, and knowing new people. and now that the warmer spring days are here, bringing with it the smell of sunblock lotion and fresh air (i now leave my window opened)... reminds me of when i just came. funny how the weirdest things trigger your memory. some people remember sounds, or how things looked... but i remember how i felt at that time.

back to before i started rambling off, yes got another new flatmate. it's just too bad that we'll be leaving before we get to know him better.

i've been blessed with really good flatmates this year. one amazingly neat one who has made the flat a much cleaner and organized place since she came (even the fridge is labeled), and a not so neat or clean one (but i guess it's their culture to not really bother about making sure the soap suds are rinsed off before drying them), a bubbly and fun one, a very quiet one, and one that gets on my nerves sometimes but i think he meant well :D


ok random:
pak and save sells the best apples so far. they're crunchy and sweet too! i think even sara (the ultimate apple snob) won't turn up her wet black nose at them. hehe.


time to gear up for exams!!!!

oh bali...

the only time i have 5 guys racing to get me...














sighhhhhhh but at least i know i'm desirable to indonesian men. ahaha... jokes!


but bali was fun. somehow island holidays always have this relaxing vibe about them. so peaceful and serene.



one thing i really miss from bali... the bakso! omgosh it was soooo good. and you have to get it from the roadside seller, cos that's where the best ones are.

and the other picture is me doing the thing i love a lot (and apparently, i'm defined by it now... have no idea how my friends got that idea), and one you can see me doing often. haha.
and boy was that buffet good... i haven't gone for a buffet in roughly 9 months... man i need to be spoiled and pampered again la.



and this one, oh i just put it in for fun. yeah well, one can never have enough of one's own pics what... unless of course, you have a huge zit on your face or really bad hair when it was taken. upon looking back at my old photos... i realised that i have had phases of REALLY bad hair. sigh...

Meredith and Abbey

i got this in an email. being an animal-person, as well as a sucker for heart-warming stories, thought i'd share this simple one.



Meredith and Abbey


This is one of the kindest things you may ever see..

It is not known who replied, but there is a beautiful soul working in the dead letter office of the US postal service.




Our 14 year old dog, Abbey, died last month. The day after she died, my 4 year old daughter Meredith was crying and talking about how much she missed Abbey.. She asked if we could write a letter to God so that when Abbey got to heaven, God would recognize her. I told her that I thought we could so she dictated these words:

"Dear God,

Will you please take care of my dog? She died yesterday and is with you in heaven. I miss her very much. I am happy that you let me have her as my dog even though she got sick.
I hope you will play with her. She likes to play with balls and to swim. I am sending a picture of her so when you see her You will know that she is my dog. I really miss her.

Love,

Meredith"

We put the letter in an envelope with a picture of Abbey and Meredith and addressed it to God/Heaven.. We put our return address on it. Then Meredith pasted several stamps on the front of the envelope because she said it would take lots of stamps to get the letter all the way to heaven. That afternoon she dropped it into the letter box at the post office. A few days later, she asked if God had gotten the letter yet. I told her that I thought He had.

Yesterday, there was a package wrapped in gold paper on our front porch addressed, 'To Meredith' in an unfamiliar hand. Meredith opened it. Inside was a book by Mr. Rogers called, 'When a Pet Dies..' Taped to the inside front cover was the letter we had written to God in its opened envelope. On the opposite page was the picture of Abbey & Meredith and this note:


"Dear Meredith,

Abbey arrived safely in heaven.

Having the picture was a big help. I recognized Abbey right away.

Abbey isn't sick anymore. Her spirit is here with me just like it stays in your heart. Abbey loved being your dog.. Since we don't need our bodies in heaven, I don't have any pockets to keep your picture in, so I am sending it back to you in this little book for you to keep and have something to remember Abbey by...

Thank you for the beautiful letter and thank your mother for helping you write it and sending it to me. What a wonderful mother you have. I picked her especially for you.. I send my blessings every day and remember that I love you very much.

By the way, I'm easy to find, I am wherever there is love.

Love,

God"


reading this made me think of my fluffball, sara *loves*. she's still healthy and prancing around, but then again, she's 8 this year and that's "getting-on" in dog years. sigh... not that much time left with her unless she lives to a VERY ripe old age like Abbey. she may be more than we bargained for when we first brought back this wee little black pup which grew up and started destroying everything we owned, and acts like the real master of the house while at it. but a dog somehow completes a family. can't imagine living without one.

anyway... heheh...

the thing i wanted to say before i got sidetracked, is that, love works in the smallest actions and gestures. you may not see it, but who knows... you just made someone a little happier. love is my mom skyping with me every week without fail, or my sister letting me bring over some of her clothes, even the ones that she likes.


and to end this on a 'not-so-soppy' note, the annual tea party is today. great. more drunk people roaming the streets in broad daylight. like they need to have more reason to get totaled. and i have the misfortune to have class *grumblegrumble*

i think it's time.

to get me some real boots. ahhhh have been wanting them since a long time ago but as i am very very choosy when it comes to shoes, have yet to find the right pair. it's tough cos cheap and comfortable and stylish don't seem to be friends apparently.

but i WILL find that perfect pair. eventually.

i will love people

if you've been following my blog or know me quite well personally, you would have known/noticed that the past few weeks haven't been the easiest on me. yeah well, this thing happened and threw me off balance, and let's just put it this way, i did not deal with it well. it probably was a long time coming, just that i didn't want to look at it that way cos i don't like to give up on things easily.

anyway, throughout that whole time, i didn't really know how to deal with it except by shutting everyone out... haha yes, and just putting this happy show on. i thought i could deal with it myself but, as they say... grief shared is grief halved.

and there were people who encouraged me and just spent time talking to me about stuff. and i'm really blessed and encouraged by these people who've helped in their own little ways. just today i received this email from a friend asking me not to be emo anymore. very touched :)

so the point of this post...
i feel so selfish just thinking about me me me all the time, and you know what? the time for grieving is over. i know i have a calling over my life, and though i have no idea what that is yet, i know what i want to do meanwhile. i want to bring people together, and in some way, be a blessing in their lives.

which will mean, some work in certain areas:
i will take the time to get to know people
i will not get easily irritated with difficult people or shun them
i will ask 'how are you?' and really mean it
i will take every opportunity i can to encourage and bring people up
i will love people

i know i'm not the most accommodating and friendly person, but one step and one person at a time.

it's time to give out the stuff that i've been taking in. sounds dodgy (haha) but, you do get what i mean right??

the rain in spring

life is one assignment after another now.
but it's ok cos there're only 6 more weeks to go. i can handle that.

i can. i must!













meanwhile


it's ok if i don't have everything under control.
it's ok if i don't know what's going to happen next.
it's ok if i don't have it all together.


cos God is always in control.
and i am just going to let Him lead me every step of the way.
i won't know the answers for everything.
but i trust on His wisdom.
things probably won't go the way i want them to go,
but it's ok... i will have to learn to let go of controlling them.

it's all good :) and it's ok.


i was talking to my friend about the beautiful warm-ish weather of spring and how i wished it'd always be like that with no rain. and she said that without rain, the plants would all die cos there would be a drought. ahh so true. which got me thinking, we all need a little rain in our lives. rain is a PAIN (especially if you can't use an umbrella cos the wind is so strong) BUT rain nourishes, rain restores, and rain prepares you for the sunny times to come. life just can't be one happy sunny day all year round cos then we wouldn't be able to survive for long. just a little thought.

"even if you fall sometimes, you will have the strength to rise" - kutless

ok it's time for a non-emo post. i'm tired of being "emo"



besides, i've finally got to a point where i'm getting over being angry and bitter. cos what's the point anyway? being bitter won't get me anywhere. besides, there's nothing worse than a bitter girl... oh except for a bitter old woman. so i don't wanna be any of those of course.
i think i'm at a point where i've accepted what has happened and am more or less comfortable with putting it behind me and moving on. life is good and i've woken up to smell the roses cos

the TULIPS ARE HERE!!!

i love tulips so.... it would seem like i love every other flower, but then... they're so pretty what, how can you not love them? i have to be fair to all of them. plus, eunice "gave" me a flower paradise at life group (we all have to think of stuff we would give each other if money was not an issue), because she said i reminded her of flowers. awww... i like that!

haha can you tell i'm rambling again?
once again, don't expect a literary masterpiece cos the only times i actually find the urge to write is when i've throughly exhausted my brain doing work of some sort. so he are the bare uncovered facts (sorta like m&m's without the so much food colouring on it shell) laid down to you in the simplest form of language possible for me.

ok let's see, what's new with the world according to denise ong?


ehhhh...



life is a blur of assignments and studying and going to uni and things i do besides that. such as gossip girl season 3. yes i succumbed because i really need something to tide me over through the wilderness weeks (aka now). i have to literally drag myself to open my books day after day and consciously refrain from going on facebook when i'm doing my assignment. strenous, and i can't say i succeed all the time, but at least i'm still getting things done.


guess what?
what?
knew you'd ask :)
ok lames i know. haha


only 1 month and 2 weeks before i can breathe in the salty air of penang once again.
penang here i come in awhile! be patient for it WILL be soon.


so, september and (parts of) october has been rather happening. i've worn all of my party dresses now, which also signifies the end of the events. boo. but at least i've got one more to look forward to. every nation's 'night of stars'. positively the last of the lot for me, this year at least.
which is i guess, good news for my bank account cos i'm almost broke now *cry*
no more shopping :(

and, somehow so many people have to be born in october.


ok, the computer screen is making me see circles...


you know you love me,
XOXO


chuck and blair are so sweet together!
but honestly i'm just watching for the clothes. really!

anyone happens to have a dose of joy with them?

some people make too big a fuss over things which frankly, don't deserve thaaaaat much attention.
or maybe i'm just being sour and cynical.
which seems to be a pattern these days with me. i'm meaner and colder. hmm not how i want to be like, or see myself heading.
oh well... when circumstances forces you to be strong, you get strong, but perhaps along with that came a hard coating designed to keep the world out as well.

so yes, i would say that i'm more world-weary now. and harder.
that girl who was all smiles, laughters and sunshine... oh she's probably on a ship to alaska now.

but then again... did that girl even exist in the first place?





you know how when you turn into a wrong road, the gps recalculates your route?


well i'm still recalculating.

tired. so tired.