Twenty Heartbeats

2009-01-30T08:20:00.001-08:00

Because buffets are never enough...

http://izzyeatworld.blogspot.com

2009-01-28T05:52:00.000-08:00

izzy says:
hey lloyd is there another way of saying "female-centred"?
i'm saying miss julie and medea are very female-centred plays
lloydsho - __ said:
vagina centric
izzy says:
no that is not going into my world lit essay -.-
lloydsho - __ says:
antipenis
izzy says:
neither is that!

World Lit, thou art the bane of my life.

2009-01-27T07:30:00.000-08:00

E8 Reunion Dinner

I'm quite proud of the fact that the Sec2 clique still honours our CNY Reunion Dinner tradition (okay saniah ALJUNIED, no more Arabian jokes from me, HAHA). 4 years and counting! :) It'll be cool if we still continue to meet up in 10 years' time. By then, Saniah will be married to her Middle-Eastern oil tycoon HAHAHA.

Okay okay no more Arabian jokes. :P

It's always nice to hang out with them; We can always pick up from where we left off even though we don't get to meet very often. In some ways we've changed, but mostly, we're still the same. :) Same old, same old.

I'm still quite amazed at how Elishea's dining room looks like the private room of a Chinese restaurant!

This was quite tough because the only Chinese idiom we knew was "nian nian you yu" HAHA. And I kept trying to toss it higher (as high as 42points man!) but after the "Izzy stop it, it's splattering all over my arm!", I decided to lower my aspirations.

WE THE IB GERXZZ. (okay that was disgusting.) One's in UWC, one's in Shanghai and the other one seems to be suffering the most. D:

BUT IT'S OKAY. Next year when we meet again, I will be DONE WITH IT. :D

2009-01-26T18:09:00.000-08:00

Isabel needs her privacy.

And she wishes for the truth.
--------------------------------------------------------

2009-01-26T04:14:00.000-08:00

ISABEL HAS COMPLETED THE INTRODUCTION OF HER EXTENDED ESSAY, WOO-OOH WOO-OOH WOO-OOH!!!

Now to do the OUTLINE! :D

~~The people who have finished their second draft shall NOT COMMENT.~~

I had to change my EE topic. It'll take a miracle (God, I know you're listening! D:) for me to complete 4000 solid words for a topic which is so sensitive and which I am completely uncomfortable with.

The amazing three-letter word which rhymes with tax.

The silver lining is, I can always go to any of the guys (or Ping! HAHAHAHA.) when I need help. Their two-cents worth would definitely be more valuable than my entire allowance.

I spammed mandarin oranges today and consoled myself with the "Anything orange has vitamin C and hence is healthy" spiel. All the fibre proved too much for my large intestines. ><

'Nuff said.

2009-01-25T08:03:00.001-08:00

http://www.ferryhalim.com/orisinal/g3/bells.htm

BWAHAHHAHAHA

2009-01-25T06:25:00.000-08:00

NANA NOW YOU DONT NEED TO MAKE GUYS (AND ME) TO SING THE GUY PART! (Sorry too low for me hahah) :D

You'll be ALL SET to sing with Jason Mraz soon. :)

And this song's so melancholic, it makes me feel gloomy.

2009-01-24T04:06:00.000-08:00

She used to play with Barbie dolls.

She used to colour her fingernails with markers because she liked the idea of nailpolish.

She used to wear poufy long dresses and dance ballet.

Isabel used to be feminine.

Barring the incident in kindergarten when I dropped a tot while carrying him, I've always been pretty harmless.

I vaguely remember Fang, Crys and Ser trying to teach me how to be demure in P5.

It never worked.

With the amount of destruction I've caused this year, it's a wonder no one has taken a Personal Protection Order against me yet. From what I can remember...

1) I kicked this guy's shin instead of the ball while playing soccer because I'm just THAT bad. ~~He was limping afterward~~
2) I almost took out Lloyd's tooth when I smashed his head against the table when he was trying to eat cake. D:
3) I almost ruined Ziyang's spine when I pushed him ~~gently~~ on the ice-skating rink and he landed on his back (ONLY BECAUSE HE INSULTED ME FIRST)
4) I accidentally punched Beu's nose.
5) I whacked Jialong's arm, forgetting that it was injured. D: He punched the table and I thought he was going to snap my neck after that.

With each incident I promised myself to be gentler. It never worked. But the latest straw finally broke the camel's back.

Beu and I were playing with a small rubber ball (the same one I was bouncing against the wall), which weighed about 500g I think? We were throwing it around and playing tennis against the wall (which had disastrous consequences).

The ball I hit with the racquet bounced back and narrowly missed Ping's head by two inches.

Ziyang: Ey Izzy stop playing lah you're going to end up killing someone.

I should have paid heed to his words. It's what they call FORESHADOWING.

After throwing the ball around I decided that I needed to do something more interesting. The ball was on the floor.

I took 2 steps backwards...

Did my best Torres impersonation...

And gave it a mighty kick.

It whizzed across the classroom.

Someone was sitting at the other end, legs open like a Beng in a coffeeshop.

Of all the places the ball could've travelled, it decided to go right for a particular DANGER ZONE.

He bent over. The phone in his hands dropped.

"Ahh... ****."

"SHIT I'M SO SORRY!"

"****......"

His face was turning a nice shade of beet red.

"I'M SO SORRY ARE YOU OKAY ARE YOU OKAY?"

"Arghhhhhh.... ****...."

"HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA SORRY HAHAHAHAHA"

I couldn't take it anymore. I collapsed on the floor laughing.

"Izzy......... You're damn chor lor..."

"I'm SO sorry does it hurt?!!"

I thought his face couldn't get any redder. I was wrong. By this time there was the slightest hint of a vein protruding from the side of his forehead.

Beulah: HAHAHAH are you okay?! Can you stand up?!

Lloyd: "Stand up" in which sense?

I sincerely, genuinely, from-the-bottom-of-my-heartly, wish that I haven't deprived someone of Father's Day joy. AND, I'm going to stay far far away from spherical masses of danger from now on.

2009-01-21T05:31:00.000-08:00

Today was a trying day for me, in more ways than one.

Today I ended up taking the longer way home. 1 and a half hours on the bus. I passed by Clarke Quay, Little India, Chinatown and all sorts of cool architectural buildings. At night it was beautiful.

Today I just sat down, not really thinking, just sitting, staying put as the world spun madly on (All Hail The Weepies).

Today I felt like I could just continue sitting there for a long long time.

At home I sat down again (cos I'm just not the sort of person who would stand up, cos it takes up more energy haha). I sat on my bed, asking God to comfort me and tell me just how much He loves me.

And God spoke through one of my favourite songs.

I'm Your beloved
Your creation
And you love me as I am
You've called me chosen
For Your people
Unashamed to call me your own
I'm your beloved

Your Beloved - Shane & Shane

Thank You Daddy :)

2009-01-20T04:08:00.000-08:00

Home Alone: The Isabel Edition

Today I came home with a bounce in my step because getting released early from school was akin to being granted a week's supply of Cheetos. AND Cheez Whiz. My mum wasn't working but she was out with my helper Lorena to the car repair shop, so I had the house to myself!

Which meant calling all my friends over and bringing out the bongo drums so that we can all do the macarena around a bonfire.

Of course I kid.

WELL, you know how the friendly neighbourhood police always tell you to be vigilant especially when you're home alone? Danger lurks at every corner and a rapist can jump right out from under the bed.

I should have paid heed to all the warnings.

I walked into my room, unsuspecting. Something caught my eye. I immediately retreated.

THERE WAS A MOTH ON MY AIR-CONDITIONER.

Now moths definitely don't repulse me as much as cockroaches do. I just got quite scared of them after one landed on me when I was young and made me itch the whole night. In fact, I reared mealworms last time, but that's a completely different ~~and very embarrassing~~ story. ~~Especially when they escaped.~~

I tried chasing it away by knocking on the air conditioner but it just refused to budge! I was going to do QT and I didn't want the FLYING WORM (yes cos that's what moths are. WORMS WITH WINGS.) to suddenly come swooping down upon me. So I decided on a rather ~~cruel~~ unconventional approach.

Recycled graph paper from Sec 3 (coordinate geometry ftw), double-sided tape, and alot of balance as I climbed on the window ledge so that the air con was within reach.

Now before the moth-lovers start hurling cockroaches at me, may I alert you to the PROTRUDING part of hte paper. That's where the butterfly was! I didn't want to hurt it! I even made sure it had breathing holes!

When Mummy and Lorena came home I got Lorena to remove the graph paper ~~cos I was scared of the Moth.~~

But I had underestimated the adhesive properties of the double-sided tape.

It was practically taking the entire cover of the air-con along with it. Finally, after much tearing, the moth was set free!

And no, I didn't get a tan. Those are Lorena's hands HAHAH.

I hope it doesn't appear in my dreams to choke me with its feelers for subjecting it to some time of captivity. D: On the bright side, maybe it shielded it from the cold of the air-con? Maybe I saved its life!

One can only guess.

2009-01-17T05:08:00.000-08:00

Everybody loves weddings. :) ~~But I'm thinking Osama doesn't give a crap~~

Today with all the love in the air, I was reminded of what a certain awesomefriend promised God. And how I subsequently realized how much sense it made, and how God wanted it for me as well because of my heart's desires. I'll only be able to love someone the way Christ does (if but a dull reflection) once I learn to love God first. So that's my promise to God.

I'm determined not to let things of the heart have any more importance than it should. This year it really really sucked seeing so many of my friends crumble because of the whole BGR thing.

I took a spiritual gifts test. I don't have the gift of celibacy. THANK YOU LORD HAHAHAHAHAHA.

Eh I was really quite worried okay. D:

I was in a hurry to leave home so I wouldn't be late, and I just slipped on the nice feminine (HAHA) slippers that Syl and Cel gave me for my birthday in Sec 3. It's given way before but I mended it cos I really liked it (I bet Cel's damn happy now). Only in church did I realize that the trap was literally hanging by a thread and I just kept praying that it'll last.

As luck would have it, I dropped by J8 to walk around after the wedding and THE STRAP CAME OFF. I was walking from the MRT station so there were all these people coming from all sorts of directions and I was just looking at the slipper in disbelief. The strap was totally detached from the base so I had two options:

(a) Go barefeet
(b) Walk with only the base of the slipper until I find a shoe shop

I knew that (b) would subject me to weird looks all around but (a) might actually grant me a one-way ticket to a certain institution in WoodBridge so I went with the lesser of the two evils. It was BAD. I had to drag the slipper with my feet the whole way and it made this horrible noise as it dragged across the floor. People were looking cos I was walking with a limp HAHA and I only found slippers 20minutes later.

Death by MRT

On Thursday I was going home and had to change trains at Raffles Place Interchange. As the train was stopping, I saw that the train I was supposed to change to had arrived. So I poised myself to like RUN (it's something I don't usually do, but it's 5metres, just whack lah). As the door opened, I psyched myself up with thoughts of how I'd have to wait another 6 minutes just staring into space if I didn't manage to catch that train. The moment the door opened wide enough for me to fit through (and yes, that would be when it's fully opened), I just forgoed all my dignity and CHARGED forward, hoping to make it before the door of the train closed. When I just had one more stride to go, the door CLOSED but because of the dumb laws of Physics (INERTIA I HATE YOU), I couldn't stop in time, so I just collided with the closed train door. ~~And I was so embarrassed I contemplated jumping on the tracks to just end it all.~~ But I think the train driver felt the tremors and decided to open the doors in case I try to attempt a bodyslam against the train and cause it to derail.

So I made it home, with 6 minutes to spare. Yay. :)

2009-01-15T03:25:00.000-08:00

Other than being a total and utter fruitcake today, I was doing fine and well (albeit very sleepy) until the examinations talk we had in the last period. It was very... Sobering, to say the least.

No joke.

It'll just be one deadline after another. And all these assignments aren't the "chiong-the-night-before" kind of tasks. They require extensive research, time in the library, intellectual ability, hard work, reworking, rewriting...

And I could lose the whole diploma over a small unintentional mistake which infringes the IBO guidelines. It's the kind of careless mistake that I make ALL the time. In fact, I usually mess up in greater proportions.

I got gripped by fear. I've felt stress before- I feel it a week before the exams when I find that I am going into a battle wearing T-shirt and shorts when everyone's all geared up in their armour. But I've never felt it MONTHS before. Even when I only started revising for Physics prelims the night before, I didn't feel this kind of fear. I got asked three times by different people if I was okay, and "Why do you look so sad?" Argh, I'm just transparent like that, haha. D:

I got home heavy-hearted and all I wanted to do was sleep away all my sadness, but I remembered that I had to guard my time with God, and continue devoting an hour or more of my day to him. Trust me, in my state, I really didn't think I could muster the strength to do it. It was ironic, because we're supposed to turn to God especially when we're burdened. No matter, I dragged my feet, sat down on my bed with my guitar and started worshipping with "God is the Strength of My Heart."

As usual, I didn't worship with a set of songs in mind. I just start with a random first song, then worship as the Spirit leads, cos somehow I end up having songs come to mind/placed in my heart. After finishing the song, the words "I will worship, I will worship you..." came to mind, including the tune of it. I recognized it as the bridge of a song, but didn't know which song it was. As I approached the end of the bridge, it became clear to me.

Into Your hands
I commit again
With all I am
For You Lord

You hold my world
In the palm of your hand
And I am yours
Forever

I'll walk with you
Wherever you go
Through tears and joy
I’ll trust in you

I realized the significance of the song and the immense comfort and reassurance that God was promising me. And really, being comforted by God is one of the best feelings in the world. All He needed from me was that bit of commitment and faith of a mustard seed- Faith and trust that He is with me and He will bring me through. And ultimately, everything will be okay. It was as if that touch from God opened the gates for more and more to come, until I was able to say "God, it's all in Your hands."

As I quietened my heart and asked God to give me comfort and reveal Himself to me, two verses came to mind in fragments.

"But He said to me, 'My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.' Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weakness, so that Christ's power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ's sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong." [2 Corinthians 12:9-10]

"Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus." [Philippians 4:6-7]

Reading these verses in their entirety, I realized that they were truly God-sent! One of my main areas of weakness- and I won't hide it- is the difficulty I find in trusting. It takes alot for me to trust people, and so many times, I don't trust God. My self-preservation instincts kick in so strongly that I become guarded, afraid of getting hurt, so I rely on myself for strength. Cos I wouldn't have to experience the hurt of people failing me- of God failing me. Then at least I can just blame myself instead of having to blame others. I felt that from the first verse, God was telling me that He would make His power perfect in my untrusting faith. And with the second verse, I felt that God wanted me to lift all my anxiety to Him, so that He could give me the peace which transcends all understanding.

I prayed exactly that.

When I was done worshipping, I put my guitar back on its stand, near to where the whiteboard was. And something small and blue caught my eye. It was a keychain, one of those kiddy things that lie around the house, and I don't even know where I got it from or how old I was when I got it. I remember it being there for a few months already, yet it was one of those things I never paid attention to. It never caught my eye. Yet today, my attention was drawn to it.

I picked it up.

I don't know what to say to express the emotions I felt when I saw that sign from God, so I'm just going to sum it up with a :)))))))))))))))))))))))))

I knew this year was going to be hard, but I didn't think it'd be THAT hard. But no matter, I am well-rested and assured that everything is really going to be okay because God is my refuge. :)

2009-01-14T07:17:00.000-08:00

VICKY♥ says:
aye what time do you end on fri?
izzy says:
i end at 1
but if any teacher decides to be a fruitcake
then i'll end at um
240
VICKY♥ says:
ohhh
izzy says:
vai?
VICKY♥ says:
hahah oh cause i end at like 2 and i have a meeting at 4!
so i dunno what to do in between cause my classmates have chinese
hahaha
izzy says:
HAHA
let us go HAPPYTIME
HEEHEEHEE
VICKY♥ says:
HAHAHAH WTH!

Brace yourself, folks.

The lady in red usually comes and goes discreetly, without a fuss, but this time she's decided to make a big entrance, with clashing cymbals and firecrackers and whatnot, waking the whole neighbourhood.

Thank your lucky stars if you didn't understand what I meant. And trust me, don't try to.

2009-01-13T04:48:00.000-08:00

Note to Isabel
1. Start EE
2. Stop throwing balls against the wall and catching them when they bounce back. Quote Daryl: "I hate playing ball. What a mindless activity."
3. Stay awake
4. Start EE!!
5. Stop getting annoyed over how long it takes for my hair to dry

Today I got progressively nuttier as the day went on (Beu can attest to this). I was saying all sorts of random nonsensical things, behaving like Stitch, and causing more destruction than usual.

Me: BEU why did you suddenly tie your hair in a FRENCH PLAIT ahhhh, NEW LOOK right, who're you trying to attract huh! Huh!
Beu: FRENCH MEN! *shoots me an I-just-made-a-witty-joke-so-you-should-start-laughing-now look.
Me: What?
Beu: FRENCH PLAIT. FRENCH MEN. OMG.

Omg indeed.

I got stuck in Bus 74 for an hour because of some jam which stretched all the way to Bukit Timah Plaza. By the time I changed buses and everything, I had just vegetated for 1 and a half hours, trying not to get a headache.

And I wonder why anyone would bother knowing about the traffic situation I had to deal with today. But oh well, TOO LATE! Bwahahaha.

2009-01-12T07:42:00.001-08:00

I just read through my whole Hotmail/Gmail saga and realized how much of a retard I am.

2009-01-11T06:00:00.001-08:00

You know how it's like in a break-up, when the other party is so embittered that they do everything they can to elevate your misery? The "Last Stomp On The Foot", if you may. That's when they'll scratch your car. Inform the whole population of your supposed halitosis. Squash your ego and masculinity by telling everyone that you have a third nipple, not unlike Chandler Bing.

And I have no idea why I'm speaking like a guy who's been involved in alot of nasty breakups.

Crabsticks. Why am I speaking from a guy's shoes? D:

Anyway. It's only been a day since our breakup, but Hotmail has- very efficiently- exacted "The Last Revenge" on me. I open my inbox after a night, only to realize that I have been inundated with 373 new unread messages. I don't know if the numbers 373 have special cursed properties but it is definitely NOT normal to receive 373 emails in less than a day. I don't even think Jessica Alba gets that many. And the number just keeps on increasing!

It might even be Tahitian voodoo.

So what do I do? Hide under the table until the release of the IB 2009 results? Move to some remote island right smack in the middle of the South China sea? Throw garlic at the desktop?

Well, I WILL NOT YIELD, because I AM ISABEL, HEAR ME ROARRRR! (HAHAHA THAT IS SO STUPID SORRY). I am going to FIGHT BACK and declare in Hotmail's face that:

ISABEL CHIA HAS MOVED TO the Hotter-Than-Hotmail isabelchia91@gmail.com, where ALL HER EMAILS WILL BE ENTERTAINED. (And Merry Christmas, you guys)

Up your butt, Hotmail! ~~Neh neh ni poo poo!~~

2009-01-09T21:34:00.000-08:00

Why people would feel that way is seriously beyond me.

And by the way, Hotmail isn't working again. I think I've just got dumped. D:

------------------------------

2009-01-09T07:55:00.001-08:00

This is it.

It's been 8 years. Through it all I've remained faithful. Everyone was switching camps but I remained faithful. I stuck by you. You obviously had your flaws but I believed that you would still serve me well. I think you're fine just the way you are, and I don't see why you have to keep changing yourself, when at the end of the day it just makes things worse. I really preferred the old you. The new you is confusing me to death and you just aren't functioning the way you should. This is the last straw man, I hope your feelings don't get hurt but I really have to get this out:

HOTMAIL, WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOUUUUUU!!!!

I cannot open messages or delete messages! This has been happening for two days! Which is immensely frustrating since my EE supervisor has emailed me my EE topic (which I forgot) so that I can finally get started.

I'm breaking up with Hotmail. I've invested time and feelings over the past 8 years but really, I think it's time to let go. Honestly, even though it hasn't ended well, I think I've come out of this journey a stronger person and yeah, I'd go through it all over again. ~~Just as well, no one discovered gmail till lately.~~ Thanks for the times, Hotmail. It's really been a great journey. All the best to you, let's not have any hard feelings kay? Best of luck in finding your ever-elusive user-friendliness.

No hard feelings! At all!

May you finally work out the "Windows Live Hotmail just got better!" May it one day actually come to pass.

Okay I was lying when I said "No hard feelings."

-------------------------------------

It is 40 minutes later. I just tried again. Hotmail works now.

Time to go kiss and make up.

2009-01-08T06:49:00.000-08:00

I could see very disturbing parallels.

The whole cohort was watching the Year 7s get back their IB results and at first we were just like "Hee hee hah hah oh HOW EXCITING," especially since we weren't the ones getting them back. But as a few of us saw the distribution of Grade 7s (that's the best score) across the board for the different subjects, we realized that people didn't fare very well in all the subjects we took. And for the English paper, only 4 out of 90plus got their 7s.

And I saw how about 60% of the cohort got 40points and above (A perfect score being 45). The 41-pointers and above got their names called and they went up on stage. Slowly the stage started getting more crowded, and the number of students on the seats just started dwindling, till it looked like more than half the Year 7 cohort was up on stage. A horrific sense of deja-vu struck me. It seemed exactly like in 2007 when the cohort as a whole did fantastic for the Os and so many people were being called on stage for their 11A1s, 10A1s, 9A1s etc. 9/12 of my clique was up there and only 1/3 of my class was left at the seats. We few left behind looked at each other and went, "Oh, shit."

And as I watched more and more people go up stage, I could imagine the same kind of thing happening next year as we collect results. All my laziness and unproductivity will kick me in the butt, I'm sure (I haven't read Lu Xun, East West, God of Small Things, Medea, Miss Julie and Hedda Gabler. Keep in mind that those were last year's texts!)

Jo was in the same boat. When everyone went off someplace to celebrate, we backed out and stuffed ourselves at Ben and Jerry's instead. We didn't want to be with the happy people (HAHA). And we swore that we'd pull up our socks, let it be a lesson, and really mug our arses off for the As/IB. We promised each other that the next time we eat at Ben and Jerry's, it'd be to celebrate our fantastic comeback, and not a "I'm-going-to-stuff-my-face-and-put-on-2kg-as-a-statement-of-my-unhappiness" kind of thing.

And the thing is, we didn't do badly. By MG standards, we did fairly okay. By class standards, we did shittily. It was actually quite alright. (Even though someone commented last year, "Huh, why so lousy!" :P) The general sentiment we shared was that there were so many possibilities of what the outcome could've been. If only, if only. And we blamed ourselves for all the "If only"s, because ultimately, it boiled down to our laziness. Even as exams loomed we were still taking everything so lightly. We were disappointed in ourselves, in our heavy asses which just seemed to MELD so perfectly with the couch, in our lack of motivation (while others were so determined and single-purposed), and just sheer lack of effort.

That must change this year.

Then again, that's what I say every year.

This year, though, I'm going to run the race with the right kind of motivation- A Christ-centred one. And I know that despite all the uncertainty and anxiety and sheer heck-caredness, I KNOW that God's got my back. I'm going to let God walk me through this, and pray that I'll rely on Him instead of being the self-sufficient girl that I always try to be/end up being. And I'm going to make sure that if I really do get to get on that stage (HAHA BIG DREAMS MAN), I'll be standing there not for personal glory/edification, but as testament to how God can work in this lazy-bum-EE-wordcount-zero (yes I'm serious. And some people have finished). And if I don't get to stand on that stage, I won't feel disappointed (since it never occured to me that I can get above 40points, and I've never dared to dream that big). Moreso, I know that God is the master scriptwriter, and he's got a happy ending written out for me. :) And I'll be able to quote Philippians 2:13 with absolutely certainty. "For it is God who works in you to will and to act according to His good purpose."

Congrats if you've managed to get this far! This was by no means meant to be an interesting post. In fact, I think it's crabsticks boring HAHAH. Just wanted to kind of get it off my chest! Just as well, I very seldom blog about serious stuff anyways. :)

2009-01-04T01:15:00.000-08:00

子阳 says:
haha.. wah lao lar.. you all migrate to the other side of class
sian.. haha..
now my side damm boring lar
izzy says:
HAHAHAHAHA
SAY I AM INTERESTING
SAY IT

-----------------------------------------------

izzy says:
HAHA I LOVE YOU
You are my freedom. says:
hahaha love you too
eh but really
DO BLOG ABOUT THE CAMP/SLEEPOVER WHEN YOU HAVE THE TIME
i miss you blogging about us

And that was just about one of the sweetest things I've heard in year 2009 haha. :) ~~Yes I know it's only been a few days.~~ I realized I really haven't blogged about my favourite girls in awhile too. So here goes. :)

Two sleepovers in a week! Awesome stuff haha. We slept at 6am on both occasions just talking about EVERYTHING, from pads to theology ('nuff said). And on New Year's, when we finally switched off the lights and snuggled into bed, we ended up getting the biggest scare of 2009.

See, beside Rachel's big bed is a huge white cupboard. I remembered a vast expanse of white. But when the lights were off, there was a huge black mass covering a quarter of the cupboard. I felt the pizza in my tummy churn a little funnily.

Me: *gulps* What's that black thing?

Gen and Joyce VERY instinctively freaked out and clutched the comforter like how people in a crashing car would hold onto the steering wheel for dear life.

Gen: DON'T ANYHOW SAY!!!

And there was a sudden flap of the comforter as she hid underneath.

Me: No. Seriously. What is that black thing.

I said it with as much confidence as I could muster, just in case it was a demon. You need to face demons with FEARLESSNESS if you want to chase them away in Jesus' name. (Yes seriously I thought THAT far.)

Joyce: IZZY IZZY it's the BOLSTER it's the bolster.

Her voice was still of the same pitch (I could feel mine rising an octave higher) but I could hear the fear in her voice. Seriously, we are wusses. (There's another very compelling reason to prove this point but I won't delve into it) She thrust the bolster she was holding in front of me, and for a split-second I was comforted briefly, thinking it really was the bolster and I was freaking out over nothing. Then I realized something which got my heart racing, and not in the "I-see-my-true-love-and-the-sun-is-shining-the-birds-are-chirping" way.

Me: It's NOT the bolster.

She snuck a peek. She immediately turned back. And I know her complexion is naturally very fair but she was WHITE.

Joyce: Shit. It's not the bolster.

By this time I was recalling Psalm 23 because I memorized it if ever the need for ghost-busting arised. Seriously. When I was 10 I had a horrible nightmare which scared me so badly that I memorized Psalm 23 right after I managed to stop crying.

"And even though I walk in the valley of the shadow of death
I will fear no evil
For You are with me
Your rod and Your staff
They comfort me"

And I was all ready to start casting out evil spirits in the name of the Lord (If I could find my voice, that is), but Joyce came up with a more sensible plan.

Joyce: GEN GO AND ON THE LIGHTS!
Gen: *muffled voice cos she was under the sheets* Nooooooooooooo!!!!!
Me: YOU ARE THE NEAREST TO THE LIGHTS!
Gen: Nooooooooooooo!!!!!
Rach: Guys stop freaking out, it's nothing!
Me: AHHHHHHHH!
Joyce: AHHHHHHHH!
Gen: *still muffled* AHHHHHHHH!
Joyce, Gen and I: AHHHHHHHH! (This is the power of THREE, ladies and gentlemen)

Rach: Okayokay seriously man! I'll go on the lights!

And before I managed to say, "Don't get possessed!", she was already halfway across the room. She flicked the switch. Light flooded the room.

Rach: It's the STANDING FAN lah!

We peeked out from under the comforter.

Joyce, Gen and I: HAHAHAHAHAHA
Gen: IZZY!
Joyce: ISABEL CHIA IT'S ALL YOUR FAULT, WHAT 'BLACK THING'! YOU FREAKED ME OUT.
Me: HAHAHAHA IT WAS BLACK WHAT, SHIT I'M SO SORRY

And half an hour later I was still laughing to myself over the sheer absurdity of the situation. I mean, if a black standing fan can instil so much fear and panic in 3 girls' hearts, I really hate to think what'd happen when we encounter an air-conditioner.

2009-01-01T23:58:00.000-08:00

This morning at 6.40a.m, Chloe and I managed to see each other again- the first time we've seen each other since school ended.

You'd think that after 2 months of not being able to catch up because of commitments and clashing schedules, we'd beam till our cheeks hurt, bounce over to each other and hug like old lovers who've been separated by World War II.

Instead we just stood there ten feet from each other, our faces wearing the classic "Someone-took-away-my-last-Krispy-Kreme" look.

I blinked.

She opened her mouth to speak.

"This is damn disgusting."

"You said it," I concurred, as we made our way to the car to go to school.

School. SCHOOL.

"But", you say, "It's the start of 2009, school opens for everyone!"

Not everyone, my friend! In fact, everyone but the JC students! But we, o afflicted few of the ACSI International Baccalaureate program (and I have no idea if I spelt that right), have to go to school 10 days earlier than the rest of our junior college counterparts!

Indeed, we have been set apart.

Doom!

Gloom!

Ploom! (That's the sound of a certain deflating Isabel)

"I haven't stepped into school at all during the holidays but the building still looks so familiar to me..." (Trust me, I didn't say this with longing or reminiscence)

"Izzy."

"Yah?"

"That's ACJC."

I blinked.

"OH YAH, HAHAHAHAHAHA"

Okay in all honesty, it's not THAT bad. It was nice seeing everyone again and having the same kind of jokes thrown at me (okay wait NOT NICE NOT NICE :P) I'm still a little lost and finding my bearings, but I feel myself slowly settling into that same "I-need-coffee" or the "I'm-going-to-pon-SL2-to-catch-up-on-sleep" hum-drum. And it was weird having to say "Happy first day of school!" instead of "Happy new year!" I have alot to face this year and my laziness last year will definitely come back to poke me in the butt, but no matter! School does have it's funny nonsensical what-the-heck-just-happened moments! ~~Like a certain vice-chair nomination.~~ I'm going to HAVE FUN and pray that I will find joy in what I do! If I enter this school year with dread and gloom, then dread and gloom is what I'm gonna get. So let me be the first to publicly declare that

SCHOOL'S COOL,

and I'm gonna have a blast of a time! :D :D :D :D *multiple smileys to convey extreme blastiness*

The holidays are like Cheetos and school's like a bag of lau-hong Twisties, but there are the little moments which I will treasure.

Like the affectionate nicknaming of a certain Biology teacher, Mr Mark-Ritchie Tan. (I hope I don't get into trouble for this HAHA)

Henceforth he shall be referred to as a certain reservoir. :D

2008-12-25T23:55:00.001-08:00

ISABEL CHIA SLAP YOURSELF NOW.

------------------------------

2008-12-25T07:46:00.000-08:00

To every living and breathing organism in the world (yes, even the cockroaches)...

Izzy wishes you a MERRY MERRY CHRISTMAS!!! :D

~~And a happy new year.~~

I baked for Christmas! Blueberry and coconut muffin, banana and cinammon muffin, choco-mint cookies with peppermint frosting, honey and cream cookies with dusted cocoa. I started from 11am and worked all the way till 1030pm, which wasn't the best time to leave home seeing that watchnight service starts at exactly that time. I ended up being very late and I just sat outside until the lighting of candles. :( Whatever it is, THANKYOU for the cards, well-wishes, messages, and presents! The Christmas Cards are my favourite part haha. :)

HAHA this was a hoot. In the Philippines I saw this brand of pads called "Sisters." So I bought them in bulk (I still remember the shock on Amanda's face when I came back with my arms full of pads. "Why so many?!?!?!") and I gave them to the GIRLS saying, "We are SISTERS in Christ! :D" HAHA it was great, they started laughing and laughing, and it even came to good use for a couple of them. D: But I shall not go into that, for obvious reasons.

2008-12-22T07:28:00.000-08:00

I am BACK, safe and sound and in an even bigger piece! The philippinos LOVE carbs and SUGAR and all things which have the magical ability to triple stomach circumference in a week. Anyway in this 7 days I have experienced a kind of spiritual growth which I never dared to dream possible, especially with my kind of shaky, questioning, demanding kind of faith. Initially I decided not to blog about this experience because I really didn't think words would do God justice, especially with my kind of only-good-for-crapping writing. But I changed my mind cos I DO want to proclaim His goodness, despite the limitations I have.

Multiplication
John 6:1-15 talks about the Feeding of the Five Thousand with the five loaves and two fishes. I never thought I'd see that in a modern context! The budget we allocated for the slum feeding programme was meant for the feeding of about only 1000 people. The ingredients were also sufficient only for 1000 people. This time, we even added more rice into the plastic bags. And I know that I think about food all the time and as much as I wish I could have two whole pizzas instead of just one, I don't actually think it'd happen. We weren't (at least, I wasn't) even praying that God would multiply the food because it's just so incredulous you know?

In the end, we didn't just feed 1000.

A hundred more mouths would be incredible, but no, it wasn't 1100.

An additional two hundred full stomachs that night would have been a great blessing, but it wasn't 1200 either.

Three hundred more smiles and my lower jaw would've hung like a ball from a Christmas tree, but 1300 wasn't the magic number.

We fed 1560 people.

For awhile I was just in a "are you serious?!" state of disbelief, especially since there was alot of rice wasted because it was stuck at the bottom of the pot and thus, burnt. There were 12 baskets of leftovers there at the far shore of the sea of Galilee many many years ago. This time, there were leftovers in the form of the wasted rice (it could've easily fed 40 more people), and the leftover money from the feeding budget because not all the money was used up in the buying of ingredients. Instead of feeding just 1000, we managed to feed 560 more people. This miracle was 1.5x more than what human effort would've achieved, but God's provision is always so abundant, yeah! :D

The Little Kenneth Miracle
It was really quite shocking to see how homosexuality is so rampant and even encouraged in the slums. Like even at a young age, some innocent kids are made fun of, labelled "gay", and just teased and cast aside. I don't think they even know what's going on, and I don't think the kids that make fun of them realize the gravity of what they're saying. But it's in this kind of environment where they are misled into believing that they're gay, and that really broke our hearts. Tim and I were just playing with the kids when little Kenneth came. He was just about 2-4, he doesn't know how to talk yet, but because his uncle is gay, the other kids call him gay and the boys don't play with him. He was just standing there, wide-eyed, curious, completely unaware of something which he would be acutely aware of in years to come. I kept telling the kids that he was a BOY and they were naughty in calling him gay and girl-guy, but they just thought it was funny and kept going at it. I was so shaken and I didn't know what to do and Tim instinctively carried him away from all the taunting, but then he realized that there was nowhere else to put him. Everywhere he went he would face it. I carried Kenneth away and tried telling him but it just all felt so futile because 1)He doesn't understand English, 2)He was so young, I don't even think he understands anything. I scanned the crowd for someone that could help me translate and my eyes fell on this girl who was slightly older than me, instead of the more logical choice of one of the YWAM Dagupan base workers. I have no idea why my eyes fell on her but God led me to approach her to help me out and it turned out that she was Kenneth's cousin. Out of the 200 people or so, I picked out the one who would constantly be able to be with him and teach him. And it turns out, she knows English! It wasn't very common in Arellano slum because alot of them aren't schooled.

Later, we had to go help out with the feeding which was just chaotic (arms flailing everywhere, everyone being shoved and pushed around, mini-stampedes and whatnot), so I had to let go of Kenneth. Later, Tim and I were trying to find him again to pray over him but most of the kids were gone, it was getting dark and we had to leave soon. It was becoming difficult to see because of the darkness and I even grabbed a wrong boy (he must've gotten the shock of his life when I hugged him and went "KENNETH!!!!") I was just running around trying to find him and I was so desperate I felt like crying. I prayed, "God please give me a miracle, please help me find Kenneth, please lead me to him and let me see him." Then I was told we had to leave already and I just followed Tim and Amanda with disappointment, thinking we were walking out of the slum and that my prayer went unanswered. I was so muddled I didn't realize I was being led to a house, and RIGHT to Kenneth's doorstep! We found him, and were able to pray for him after all. :) And I know there are so many things that are working against him but I know that God can change all that.

Sharing My Testimony
It was the first day of children's ministry at Pantal slum and before we left, the team leaders asked, "Okay, so who'll share their testimony/sermon?" Their question was met with silence and I was REALLY sure that I wouldn't kena but SOMEHOW OR ANOTHER, I was picked. Even though they didn't know the contents of our testimony/sermon, only the titles. I was going to be the first out of all of them to share and to a bunch of rowdy kids at that! I LOVE kids but to me, giving them a sermon and expecting them to listen and be impacted by it is like asking me to give up CHEESECAKE, you know. I was getting abit discouraged because some were distracted, some were playing and some were talking. I just asked that God would help me stick through it. But God empowered me as he empowered Delci, exagerrated hand actions, superman references and all. I abandoned my script halfway because I needed to engage the 80+ kids and I wasn't intending to give an altar call at all but I just did.

I was thinking, "Okay God I'll be crushed if no one stands up. Okay I just need ONE."

"Okay that poor child will be so lonely and awkward he'll just immediately sit back down. TWO then!"

Taking a deep breath, I said, "If you want to trust this God and give your life to him, stand up and shout "YEAH!"

Under the hot afternoon sun, about 3/4 of the kids got up to their feet and shouted "YEAH!!" with exuberance. And I do acknowledge that most of them might not actually realize the impact of the decision they made that day, but I know that in His time and in His plan, God's gonna do something. :)

Lessons in Love

This time I was able to deepen friendships and discover new ones. I got to know little Judy-Ann this time, when I smiled at her and motioned for her to sit on my lap, she just ran to me with so much joy! I combed her hair, tied plaits for her and taught her how to say "Jesus Loves Me." Having her pinch my nose, kiss my cheek, pull my ears, wrap her arms tight around me and bury her face in my neck just made me feel so... motherly and loved. HAHAHA. I especially LOVED teaching the kids to call Tim "pangit" (which means ugly in Tagalog) HEEHEEHEE.

The one on the right's called Jordan. He loved holding my hand and he kept WINKING at me everytime he walked past, setting my heart a-flutter. HAHAHAHA oh God now I pray you multiply his age so that I won't be such a pedophile. D:

I was very blessed by Riza also. Her quiet spirit and heart for God. When it was time to leave she gave me her bracelet which she has been wearing for 2 years. I kept refusing but she insisted and I felt so touched but yet so bad because all I had with me was my hairtie, the 10-for-$1.50 kind. :( Anyhow I've made a promise to them that I'll come back next year so I'm gonna hold myself to that.

Packing old clothes for the youth and children.

They love it! :)

Bible Please
As of now, I am happy and very bible-less. I was talking to kuya Mario, this wheelchair-bound man who is physically constrained but boundless with joy and faith in the Lord. He rather timidly asked if I could give him a Bible and I only had mine, snuggled comfortably in my backpack. I was so happy to bless him with my Bible but felt really bad because it was old and written on, but he was so happy to receive it! :)

The Great Lotion Masquerade
Delci and I were just hanging out in the room and I realized the skin on my legs were cracking, so I took her Johnson's bottle on the table, wanting to apply lotion. She thought I was just playing with the bottle and smelling it so she didn't stop me. I opened it and squeezed a small amount on my hands. Below details my train of thoughts.

"Nice, transparent and blue."
"Isn't lotion supposed to be opaque and white?" (At this point my smile disappeared)
"This isn't lotion!!!!!" (All the colour drained from my face)
"DAMN YOU JOHNSON'S BABY BATH!!!!"

And the two of us just collapsed laughing for a full ten minutes, so loudly that the whole house heard it and wondered what was going on. One of life's greatest unsolvable mysteries is why Johnson's makes their BabyBath and BodyLotion bottles look SO SIMILAR. Mistakes can be made. LIVES CAN BE LOST.

The Joy of High BP
We took the blood pressure of the people at the slums and Tim and I became the resident BP-takers (despite finding it a great challenge to even find the person's PULSE). We actually suck at doing it because it's not easy and your eyes and ears have to be very sharp; at first we kept getting contrasting figures. Basically, once your BP is 140 and over, you have high blood pressure. We took for this man and found that his BP was 140. (That's for systolic bp, I can't rmb the diastolic one) The man demanded us to redo the test because the last time he took his BP it was a very normal 100. We took it a second time, found that it was 140 again, and asked the nurse to check it out. When she confirmed that it was indeed 140, Tim and I let out a very instinctive "HENG AHHH!!!!" coupled with sighs and smiles of joy and relief that we didn't mess up. Half a second later he nudged me and said, "Okay that wasn't a very appropriate reaction" and the realization of what I'd done hit me with a force that triggers tsunamis and earthquakes. A guy had just been confirmed to have a life-threatening condition and both of us were like "HENG AHHHH" and while I don't think the pinoys understand that, our smiles and high fives would've spoken pretty clearly, I believe. D:

And yeah, last year I was the only one in the team who didn't see a shooting star.

This time I didn't see any either.

But NEVERMIND I will have FAITH that I will see it in time to come HEEHEE. :D

2008-12-13T00:35:00.000-08:00

BECKY says:
your order (threadless t-shirts) has been shipped
BECKY says:
it should arrive in 1-3 weeks
izzy says:
HAHA okay
izzy says:
you know at first i read
izzy says:
"your order has been SNIPPED"
izzy says:
i was like, WHO WENT TO CUT MY CLOTHES
BECKY says:
-.-
BECKY says:
you are such a blond

In exactly twenty-four hours:

I'm leaving on a jet plane...
(Budget airplane, more like. Will be a smuggler and sneak food in. Mwahahaha. I hope I don't get chased by police dogs.)
~~I don't know when I'll be back again...~~
(CHOY CHOY CHOY. I will be back in ONE PIECE *a very very big piece, to be exact.* But if God tells me to STAY in Philippines then it's a different story! GOODBYE, EE! GOODBYE, TOK!)
~~Oh babe, I hate to go...~~
(This is UNTRUE too! I'm starting to rethink my choice of going-away-song! The first line says "All my bags are packed, I'm ready to go" but er the packing isn't in a very good shape, and I'll probably be nagged to finish my packing soon. AHWELL.)

Anyway today I was very very accident-prone. Usually I do stupid stuff like trip and bump into pillars and bushes but today I actually almost got my bucket kicked a couple of times. Imagine- A world without Izzy. TRAGEDY. D:

I cycled out to buy flour (yes, I know, shuddup. D:) and instead of just cycling to J8 I decided to cycle to Hougang because it's further, so my thighs can become less thundery. I won't bore you with the details but I almost got knocked down by a car THRICE (I have a phobia of car horns now), and I'll blog about the scariest one.

I was cycling across a zebra crossing and though the traffic was busy, I made sure that the way was clear before I crossed. I was cycling kinda slowly because it was uphill ~~and I am just THAT slow hehe.~~ Then out of nowhere I heard this loud horn and a motorcyclist just SPED past, just inches away from me, so close that I could feel the wind as he whizzed by, and I almost fell off my bike. I was THAT close to becoming road kill. Eh I was at a ZEBRA CROSSING and I'm not exactly a pedestrian but for me, motion is only possible through an oily CHAIN, not a motor. It makes sense for people to give way for me right! It's always been this way and I always ALWAYS give a thankyou handsignal!

1) Why was he speeding?
2) Shouldn't he at least have tried to STOP before I got knocked down?
3) Shouldn't he give way to me, a helmetless cyclist whose only form of protection is her fats (while present in abundance, it is definitely not enough to protect me from getting squashed like an apple in a juicer)

It was so scary and sudden that I froze right in the middle of the zebra crossing for a moment. I tried calling out "Nutcase!" to the motorcyclist but I just ended up squeaking, HAHA.

Later when I was cycling back, I decided to dash for the flashing green man but halfway across the road I dropped my slipper HAHAH. For a split-second I had to make the LIFE AND DEATH decision of cycling forward, saving my life and sacrificing the slipper. OR, I could be the target of more honks to rescue my slipper from being mowed down like a pancake. For some reason I chose to save my tattered $5 slipper. I got off the bike, ran to get it, clumsily put it on, jumped on my bike and tried to get out alive. And I did! The moment I reached the pavement, the green man turned red.

See, I'm like a period stain on a white skirt (not that I have any experience). I'm impossible to get rid of! :D

2008-12-09T09:35:00.000-08:00

Anong Pangalan Mo? [What is your name?]

Ang Pangalan Ko Ay Isabel! [My name is Isabel!]

MWAHAHAHA I'm brushing up on my TAGALOG for missions. Only 4 days more, I very excite. I always love getting out of the country (Just as well, my life story according to iTunes below is "Let's Get Out Of This Country" -.- ), and I can't wait to see the kids again!

And this time I'm actually trying to learn more TAGALOG so my vocab has expanded beyond "I'M HUNGRY" (Gutom!).

I'm worried about the dancing though. This time there's no one to hide behind (Just as well, I don't think anyone'll be able to hide me HAHA) and it's a PROPER dance, not a "Jesus is my Superhero" kind of dance. You know how in the movies they always show the clumsy female protagonist stepping on toes when she dances?

With me it actually happens.

Today I baked Frosted Banana Oaties but being my usual brilliant self, I didn't read the labels on my flour properly. So I used self-raising flour instead of plain flour.

My cookies became cakes.

'Nuff said. :(

2008-12-06T08:27:00.000-08:00

SO COOL RIGHT!!!

I remember when I was in Primary school, I'd go over to my godbrother's house to play basketball, and sometimes there'd be these teenage stunt bikers at the court. They'd do their wheelies and their tricks and I'd think "WOH SO COOL, I wanna learn how to do that one day!", but I never got around to doing it haha. Just as well, I think I'd end up in a cast after my first attempt.

TOK is going badly. I still have no idea what I'm doing. I didn't want to do something common that everyone else was doing but I think I overdid it.

yozuki says:
WHY YOU CHOOSE THIS QUESTION OUT OF THE WHOLE FREAKING LIST

If that isn't a vote of confidence, I don't know what is.

izzy says:
REALLY AH
DIE AH
yozuki says:
hahahaha
k err i'm just.. joking :P

But of course. D:

2008-12-05T22:06:00.000-08:00

TOK-essay-writing is going quite passably, save for the tiny fact that I have completed 1063 words so far without really understanding what the hell I'm writing about.

And so I have a list of questions, and my iTunes on shuffle.

How does the world see you?
Crazy (Natalie Gauci)
THANKS AH.

Will I have a happy life?
Who Am I To Say (Hope)
This actually makes sense, UNLIKE the question above!

What do my friends really think of me?
I Like Giants (Kimya Dawson)
NAHHHH, I like small people *coughMARIcough* perfectly well too. :P

What do people secretly think of me?
You Love To Sing (Copeland)
HAHA it's okay this isn't that bad, I actually have a song called "Buddha's Delight."

How can I be happy?
Let The Bad Times Roll (Paul Westerberg)

What should I do with my life?
Anything (Third Eye Blind)
That's helpful, thanks a bunch.

Will I ever have children?
Save Me (Corrine May)
HAHAH if this doesn't say "NO" I don't know what does.

What is some good advice for me?
Try (The Magic Numbers)

How will I be remembered?
My Humps (The Black Eyed Peas)
HAHAHAHAHAHA nooo way.

What is my signature dancing song?
Boom Boom Boom (Rare Blend)
This has a good beat, it'd actually be a good dancing song if I actually DID dance. Stupid two left feet. D:

What does everyone else think my current theme song is?
Invincible (OK Go)
I like this! :D It's important to be strong!

What song will play at my funeral?
I'll Be Okay (Amanda Marshall)
Well if it was playing at my funeral then I am evidently NOT okay, hahaha.

What type of men/women do you like?
Everything (Lifehouse)
Wait, so I'll be bisexual? D:

What does next year have in store for you?
Tragedy (Brandi Carlile)
D: I HAVE TO STUDY. NOW.

What does your love life look like next year?
Heartbeats (Jose Gouzalez)
It doesn't make sense but it's alright. Keep in mind that I have A New Found Glory's "All Downhill From Here" in my iTunes.

What do you say when life gets hard?
A Good Man Is Easy To Kill (Beulah)
I sound like a villain.

What do you think when you get up in the morning?
Shir Ahava Indiani (Alma Zohar)
Great. As if that's not random enough, now I have to get an Israeli to translate that for me HAHA.

Song that reminds you of your first kiss?
Does He Love You? (Rilo Kiley)
Then again, what will I be doing kissing someone who might not love me?

Your Favourite Saying?
A Good Idea At The Time (OK Go)
No wonder my grand schemes always fail.

Most Missed Memory?
Promise Ring (Tremelo)

What song describes your best friend?
Bother (Corey Taylor)
HAHAHAHA SORRY BEU.

What song describes your ex?
You're Still The One (Shania Twain)
This would be worrying if I actually HAD an ex, so hurray! :D

What song describes yourself?
Counting The Stars (Waking Ashland)
1) I have nothing better to do.
2) I like wasting time.
3) I am pensive.
I'd like (3) but something tells me (1) and (2) make more sense. D:

Where will you be in 10 years?
The Man Who Can't Be Moved (The Script)
Oh awesome. I'm a "man" now, and in a decade I'm still a couch potato who hates exercise.

Your love life right now?
The Art Of Losing (American Hi-Fi)
HAHA crap, alot of things dont seem to be going my way man. I'M GOING TO DIE A SPINSTER WITH 9 HAMSTERS.

What is your state of mind at the moment?
Just A Ride (Jem)

What is your life’s purpose?
I Believe In A Thing Called Love (The Darkness)
iTunes is freaking me out.

What do your parents think of you?
Island (The Starting Line)
I am an island. Independent! Good. :)

What do you think about often?
The Mariner's Revenge Song (The Decemberists)

What is your life story?
Let's Get Out Of This Country (Camera Obscura)
I DONT WANT TO BE A FUGITIVE!!!

What will you dance to at your wedding?
Wrapped In Your Arms (Fireflight)

What is your biggest fear?
Small Stakes (Spoon)
1) Don't let me play poker.
2) Don't let me near a motorbike.
3) Don't let me lose my life!

What is your biggest secret?
Bruised (Jack's Mannequin)
:/

What is the theme of your life?
Life Goes On (LeAnn Rimes)
Ahhh yes it does. :)

-------------------------------

2008-12-05T08:24:00.000-08:00

Something I dug up from one of my 2006 blogposts:

Becky: I can't believe it, izzy's so violent.
Me: SELF-DEFENCE WHAT!
Adele: The best self defence for you... Just put your face there, everyone will run away! HAHAHA!
Raina: HAHAHA! GOOD ONE!!!

Yeah I do believe I have THE best friends in the WORLD. D:

Day One of my LACTO-OVO VEGETARIANISM has gone extremely well! :D I didn't touch meat at all today! At first I didn't include seafood in my plan but now I think I'll abstain from seafood as well. ALL meat!

I was at the box office buying tickets for Beverly Hills Chihuahua and I actually held up the queue because I completely blanked out when it was my turn.

"Hi can I have two tickets to uh, uh uh uh uh what's that show, um um um um um the 2 o clock one, uh uh uh shit um um um um... *takes a look at screen showing movie timings* AH BEVERLY HILLS CHIHUAHUA. THANKYOU. *turns to people behind her* Sorry sorry I'm really sorry!

Beverly Hills Chihuahua, whilst looking like an immense joke, is actually QUITE GOOD. The chihuahua was really annoying sometimes but the German Shepherd makes up for it by being so COOL and MACHO HAHAHA. And we were all "Oh I hope they end up together I hope they make it through!!!", then I realized we were talking about DOGS. D:

I think I've been updating too often. WORK, PLEASE DO YOURSELF.

2008-12-04T07:36:00.000-08:00

Disclaimer: MUSH AHEAD.

I have a love-hate relationship with the 9 o' clock show. Time passes really quickly when I watch it and I look forward to catching an episode every day. Some parts are really beautiful but some parts are BLOODY SAD, today it made me cry in a way only news of a food shortage can.

The Jap guy died! :((((((( I kept switching channels because I didn't think I could tahan seeing him getting shot and all. And when Yueniang was begging Juxiang (her mummy) not to die, I realized the wonderful absorbent properties of Kleenex. It really screwed with my emotions though, and I know this isn't a happy show. People who are in love end up marrying other people, girls get raped and beaten up, there's scheming, deception, murder... I watch tv as escapism and end up getting hit left right and centre with misery.

There was one scene where he gave Jeanette Aw a bouquet of freshly plucked flowers from a big dandelion field. The sun was shining from behind them and as he passed it to her, she smiled, and only the silhouettes of their side profile could be seen. It was SO beautiful. And in their whole lives they only loved each other, that's really rare nowadays.

My belief in true love has been RESTORED haha and whenever I say this, everyone just goes "IZZYYYYY........" but I really do believe that it IS possible for some people to love only one person in their whole lifetime. And I might be living in this idealistic, unrealistic bubble filled with only me, my dreams, my drama serials and my novels, but I really do believe that I might just end up becoming that kind of person. The kind of person that only falls in love with one person. That would be a real blessing, actually. :)

For now my heart will remain empty and untouched because I'm gonna need as much heart as I can get in order to love someone when I actually DO meet the 1 in 6.7billion.

And he better not get a terminal illness or end up being my long-lost half-brother.

2008-12-03T08:58:00.000-08:00

Sent to Izzy: 4.39p.m

"I ate the muffin. :) It's not bad but I found a dead insect in the container haha hope it din get poisoned by the muffin."

MY BLUEBERRY COCONUT MUFFIN HAS CLAIMED A LIFE. D:

Ohh, the guilt of murder. :(

2008-12-02T04:25:00.000-08:00

Alot of what I'm feeling lately can't be rationalized or explained. (No this isn't about infatuation haha.)

But safe to say

If there was one thing that I find really important

It would be humility.

Maybe that explains it.

-----------------------------

2008-12-02T00:04:00.001-08:00

Being the great master planner that I am, I decided on playing to my heart's content all the way till December and not touching a single piece of work. When December comes, I'll have one whole month to do everything, which is awesome considering that in sec sch, I usually leave 4 days at most to complete all my holiday homework.

Being the great master planner that I am, I've fulfilled the playing part very admirably. I dumped all my school stuff into the cupboard and I've spent the past few weeks doing nothing but wasting time.

Now I realize that with my mission trip, christmas and everything, I only have 2 weeks to chiong what people have been doing at a leisurely pace in two months! I refused to choose question 7 for TOK cos the whole world's doing it, but now I'm getting very confused by the question I picked. I forgot my EE topic so I have to email my supervisor to get it, and I just KNOW I'll sound incredibly intelligent in the process ("Hi sir, incidentally, what's the EE topic that I came up with?").

And now all I can think about is how to decorate my CAKE.

This is why I'm never asked to plan stuff.

OH incidentally! I have decided to become a lacto-ovo vegetarian on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. If I manage to stick it out I think I'll become a weekday vegetarian. I've done complete lacto-ovo vegetarianism for 6 months before so I think I'll be able to make it. I'll start the day after tomorrow.

- Annually, an acre of land can produce 40,000 pounds of potatoes, 50,000 pounds of tomatoes, or a paltry 250 pounds of beef. If Americans would reduce meat consumption by just 10%, enough grain would be saved to feed the 60,000,000 people who die of hunger each year.

- The world's cattle alone (not including other livestock) consume food enough for 8.7 billion people. Over a hundred million of tons of grain go to animals while only 5 million tons of grain could adequately feed the 15 million children throughout the world who starve to death every year. By feeding grain to livestock, we lose 90% of the protein, 96% of the calories, 99% of its carbohydrates, and 100% of the fiber.

- Male cattle in the beef industry are castrated to make them more docile and to promotes a fattier (more profitable) animal. Anesthetics are seldom used.

- Cattle are responsible for 12% of the methane emissions. Methane contributes to global warming by trapping 25 times more solar heat than carbon dioxide.

- Pigs in today's factory farms are often stacked two and three decks high in space just big enough to fit in. They stand on metal or concrete slats which painfully cripple the legs of half of them before slaughter. Their entire lives are lived this way. Pigs have a similarly high intelligence and sensitivity as the family pet dog.

- To crank up pork production, piglets may be taken away from their mother soon after birth. They are then provided with a mechanical teat, without which they would die from the emotional loss. The forced weaning allows the sow to end her lactating period, so she can become pregnant again.

2008-11-30T09:01:00.001-08:00

HELLO WORLD!!!

The Advent and Decline of Isabel's Blognames: A Brief History
/groovy-spice was just lame. (I was in primary school, my friends)
/smokeandmirrors- was abandoned in a hasty escape plan.
/odalisque- meant "a female slave or concubine in a harem", and I only found out AFTER I set up the account.
/brownies-do-aerobics was my favourite blogname and enjoyed its run as a regular, you know, BLOG, until it turned into a porn launchpad, and subsequently ended its run by morphing into a fully-blown porn site. (I don't find trouble. Trouble stalks me, hides behind trees and jumps out at me when I'm eating my hotdog innocently.)
/muddyskies was thought up in 20seconds. It sounds emo, doesn't make sense (but granted, that IS a common trend in my blognames) and is quite un-izzy.

SO, I present to you........

THE-ELEMENTARY-BANANA!!!!

Okay I think I have reached new heights in inane blogname choices. It probably makes as much sense as The Matrix does. But hey I like it! I just hope it doesn't turn into a pornsite. If something as innocuous as brownies-do-aerobics could become a victim, then the porno-makers would have a greater proclivity towards bastardizing the-elementary-banana, for reasons as obvious as acne on a 13-year-old's forehead.

marissa; less than forget/ but more than begun says:
The average human eats 8 spiders in their lifetime at night.

izzy says:
you need to hold your breath before peeing in order for the muscle to open the opening

marissa; less than forget/ but more than begun says:
A duck's quack doesn't echo. No one knows why.

izzy says:
most elephants weigh less than the tongue of a blue whale!
izzy says:
the guys are really quite kind when they call me a pig

marissa; less than forget/ but more than begun says:
spouting out random facts at 2:46AM in the morning
marissa; less than forget/ but more than begun says:
YEAH YEAH YEAH
marissa; less than forget/ but more than begun says:
this is THE life

I always knew I was set apart for great things.