A highly peculiar scene unfolded on Saturday night as 10 people gathered round a brown coffin, simultaneously in laughter and in tears.

I'll never forget that moment, when it truly struck me how different Christian attitude towards death is. Had we been in a traditional Chinese setting, all of us would have been disowned and chased out of the funeral hall for being disrespectful, but because it was David, who laughed the loudest when he was alive, others understood our strange grieving process.

Our chuckles and tears blurred into one wet circle, as bittersweet partings are when we mourn the loss, but rejoice in his salvation. We held hands and recounted all our silly, irreverent stories about David, the little things that lift the corners of our lips when we think of our mighty mouse. The rocker in him, singing "My Sacrifice"; the amazing vocalist, who took on both the male and female singing roles in "One Night in Beijing" (full operatic splendor!); David going on and on during the devo the both of us led together, and how I was annoyed at him the previous night for forgetting to buy Kaya for the rest; our brother was always a talker, often running into overtime during his sharings; David with his earnest smile, I told him if I ever earned enough money, I'd pass it to him to manage it for me; David, with his epistles chock full of insights stemming from a maturity miles beyond his 21 years; David, with his small physique (I first noticed when we were on the MRT and I hovered a bit above him), and how his school mates would tease him about THAT tight SMU T-shirt - bro, you'd look good in that tight T-shirt in heaven now; David, dancing and karaok-ing with all the other great men of God named David;David, touring the hallowed halls and preparing a room for his family, his brothers and sisters.

David is loved for all the major ways he has impacted us, the warrior who fought hard and strong, but we find and have come to love him in the minute details of our shared lives as well.

I miss you bro, but I know you'll be waiting at the other side of the river.



In Loving Memory of our beloved brother,
David Liao Xiang Ping
20 Nov 1985 - 27th Oct 2007

OMG, I have to post this:

"Another study involving 17,600 men and women in 28 countries found that married men report doing even less housework than men who are live-in boyfriends.

Apparently, when couples just cohabit, they see themselves in more of a 'you do your part and I'll do mine' roommate relationship.

But once the institution of marriage kicks in, the division of labour changes. Even for couples with an egalitarian view on gender - seeing men and women as equal - husbands still report doing less housework than their wives.

Centuries-old standards of what a wife's 'duty' is just aren't so easy to change.

Thankfully, it's not a problem I have to deal with as a single.

What I do worry about, though, is what I'll do for dinner when my mother passes on.

Much as I like takeaways, there's only so much outside food one can stomach. But I can't cook, don't cook and won't cook.

My solution? Start compiling all her recipes. And then get a domestic helper who can not only do all the chores - but who is also a really, really good cook. " - Sumiko Tan, Straits Times Life Editor

This woman is hilariously callous. She's worried about her mother dying only because she won't get to eat her food any more?!?! And her solution? To find a maid to replace her mother. I think if I were the woman that gave birth to her, I mightjust keel over earlier from heartbreak.

Here's another paragraph that irks me: "I feel so lucky living in an era when women don't have to stay home but can go out to the workforce and kick ass, just like the men do. And when you're so busy in the corporate world, who has time to indulge in the culinary arts our mothers excelled in? Who wants to be like our mothers?

And isn't it even rather charming to be a damsel in distress in the kitchen? Isn't it kind of cute when a confident, competent woman becomes a little ditzy when she's in the kitchen? I think so, anyway. "

Seriously??!?! This is a woman who is highly accomplished in her career and she thinks acting cute in the kitchen is going to melt some hearts?!?! I'm imagining the scene - this 50 year old woman has got her index finger on a pouting lower lip, her hair is on fire and she looks bewildered at some man in the kitchen who'll save her from the torch on her head. -_-''

Incidentally, have been biased against her ever since her two-faced rampage against Catharine Lim in 1994. But yes, that does not detract from how woefully trapped she is in her bubble of spinsterhood.

Will be making my way to Mumbai, India the coming summer for an internship with Tata Group. Am extremely excited about it. But a bit worried too, because of the severely limited amount of time I have between the internship and NOC. I hope I have time to at least pack! Plans for my mother and sister to visit me in Philly are, at the moment to be reconsidered because of the timing, but you know, God will work something out :)

Prayed hard for this Tata thing, and for God to let me go if He thinks I'll grow from it. Heard lots about the place from Don, who went there this past summer, and he's had many good things to say about it. Apparently, his boss is Christian, and they spent every Sunday going to church and fellowshipping after that. I saw him give a bear hug to his boss when they saw each other in Singapore. Must say that's pretty rare.

Anyway, the selection round for the internship was pretty grueling. Spent almost the entire Friday (2 pm to 11 pm - NINE HOURS!!!) stuck in school for the selection. Definitely a good experience, cos I think future interviews might be conducted in a similar format.

Here's a recount:

First we had a presentation by one of the senior management from the group. Gave us an introduction to Tata and some snapshots of the IIP (International Internship Programme) from this summer (May 07). Snazzy movie clip about Tata's companies. Catchy soundtrack with Bollywood music.

Then we had the first round called the Chairman's discussion, where we were divided into groups and each individual took turns to lead the group discussion on a scenario presented to us by Tata. My scenario was about some competitor poaching the entire research team for one of the projects. I think if that happened in real life, I'd laugh and then decide if I want to jump ship as well. (Relax! I'm kidding :p Have more integrity than that la)

Then from there, a first cut was made and those who got through proceeded for a 2:1 interview, meaning one candidate with two senior executives. Thank goodness, no technical questions were asked, because I know nuts about engineering and what not. The lady told us it would be an informal chat for the panel to "get to know us better".

Ha.

Sample of the questions:
"What is Singapore's national bird?"

I actually giggled (!!!!:() and told them sorry, I have no clue, to which the kind gentleman give me a sympathetic smile.

"Who wrote the national anthem and under what circumstances?"
Thank goodness I <3 LKY and could tell them about our early nationalistic tendencies, heh.

"Give me your honest opinion about working in a limestone quarry where English is not spoken. And electricity has not been introduced."

I have to confess, I lied a bit about liking being in the sun. For those who know me, I detest getting burnt and I think UV rays are evil.

"Compare yourself to an animal"
My favourite, simply because this was so HUH?!?!

"Give me ten reasons why wearing a tie is unnecessary" (posed to Mili, who also got in - say Holla to a summer of crazy jokes: This guy is half Buddhist, half Catholic, depending on meal time inclinations to consume beef :p)

Star response: It is not part of my culture but I am forced to wear it as a reflection of western imperialism. (Woot! Love it!)

"Sing me a Singhalese lullaby" (posed to this girl called Sakina)
Response: "I don't know any, but I can sing you a Hindi lullaby if you want."

To which Mili, after being told of this question went "Man, that would have been an excellent question for me. I would still have been singing for them with percussion and everything" (Haha, I guess you'd have to be there for this one)

Anyway, 2008 is looking to be an exciting year with lots of traveling for me :)
Manitoba, Canada in Jan
Mumbai, India in May
Philadelphia, USA in July

Must spend remaining year in Singapore very wisely with family, disciples and friends. And will drag Qing along with me to Philly :)

Socrates says that "The unexamined life is not worth living." But then why is it always so painful to carve yourself up during reflection, gouging out all the critical judgments about you as a being, and treating yourself as a disparate entity to be prodded at. I wonder if reflection ever elicits a glow of satisfaction, that stems from the realization that I have indeed run the good race. We all fall short, but to continually feel melancholic about our mediocrity is to indulge in worldly sorrow.

Nevertheless.

This morning I spent time cleaning up my table and thinking about whether I was a good person and a good Christian, although those two are not necessarily interchangeable. And I realised that I'm still very selfish and unwilling to change that. Alot of things are still important to me.

Still.

The MMIS Competition is taking up waaay too much of my time. But there's Manitoba the fishing and whaling village to look forward to at the end of all this :)
(Is whaling even legal anymore?!?)

Anyway, been feeling bouts of blueness this last couple of days - a feeling I haven't had in a longlong time. But you know, one can't always be bursting at the seams with joy. Such is life, deal with it constructively and move on.

In happier news, have been fantasizing about the Philly holiday us three girls are going to embark on next year. My mom and sister are coming along with me for 2 weeks before term starts to help me "settle down". Whee! Which means Mummy gets to go on a long-deserved holiday!!! The woman needs to take a break and go off to see the world. I'm going to stuff her in walking shoes and we're gonna roam New York City - the Bronx, Flushing (American style Hainanese Chicken Rice! Mummy says smart people in America sell chicken rice), Brooklyn, Greenwich (Gay art! Haha, will get S to compare with her fav Victorian style:p). (I also suggested to stuff the both of them in YMCA to save on hotel fees so we can splurge on food, but we'll see about that) Note to self: Must plan itinerary such that sister will not have spare time to shop, since we all know how uncontrollable she gets upon catching a whiff of whatever silly brand she's into. Personally, I much prefer to spend moolah on good food rather than some bag which will go out of season the moment the temperature changes.

In slightly related news, I discovered that I will be spending a very lonely 21st birthday in Philly, away from everyone at home :( 21 is a lonely number indeed. This time round, will make sure I successfully contact the Philly church before I go so that I won't be so lost when I'm eventually there. :S

The work is really starting to flood in, and this week is the craziest yet, if my organizer provides any reliable forecast of my week's activities, my day will officially end at 9 pm on 2 days, and 11 pm on 3 days. :(

Ok, time to get back to those essays!

Now in the Sheares Library studying, but can't really concentrate cos can't stop thinking about David, which really makes me heavy-hearted. I think about Angela and his parents, how they must be dealing with his condition, I think about how it's like in the hospice. Is he the youngest there? What kind of uniforms do the medical staff wear? What's the pattern of the wallpaper? Is there fish and chips available? Bar Chor Mee? What does David want to eat? Does he have any appetite?

All these unanswerable, trivial questions, and of course, the biggest, baddest of them all, "Will he recover and get out, return to normalcy after all the metastasis is miraculously eliminated?"

Was doing my QT today and reflecting on how we may never understand God's ways, but are still called to obey his will.

Really made me reflect and decide not to take what I've been blessed with for granted. I can do so much more to love my family, friends. I can put so much more effort into whatever I'm doing, not out of obligation, but because I really love doing it, and also to present it to God.

Am very scared about visiting him tomorrow, but I hope he'll feel encouraged somehow.
Indeed, it's time to be prepared.

"Be prepared". That's what the doctors told us. How now?
"It's good to wait for his salvation silently."
Who's going to help us deal with it?
So many questions, but still need to obey.

Just received the confirmation that I'll be spending my third year in Wharton - so that's going to be exciting. But as of now, it seems something very far away. More immediate are the mid terms and various term paper deadlines. Anyway, one of the first things I did after receiving the news was to google for the Philadelphia Church of Christ, but I was seriously traumatized when the first 5 sites returned were all sites labeling the church as a banned cult. Was obviously uncomfortable with that, but as of now, I think I'll leave that for later thinking.

In other news, Prof Lau has assigned me to the Manitoba team, so it turns out that I'll be going away to Winnipeg, Canada in January. I actually wanted to be on the Washington team, but owell, there's still Philly to look forward to. Will also be potentially facing the prospect of spending New Year's Eve alone in Manitoba. :( Ok, must make use of interim time to get to know the other 3 team members(All guys - why do I always get myself into situations where I'm the lone female?!?!)so my New Year's Eve won't be so pathetic.

Ok, back to the books! Sheares Library is kinda comfortable :)

WOW, what I wouldn't give to hear that live :)
Yeah, keep me in the light.