27

It is now 11.52 pm, just 8 minutes away from being another year older. It's time for the annual post that looks back on the past year.

Wow 27 feels so old.

I just got a call from a friend who asked me to join her at Con D. I decided not to because I was too far away. Moreover, I had sunrise to catch tomorrow.

She asked me what my plans are for tomorrow.

"Don't tell me you are spending it alone again!"

I laughed. It surprised me this year how the people I didn't expect to remember did while those I thought might remember didn't. It doesn't really matter.

Ever since my 25th birthday, I have preferred to spend my birthday quietly and alone. Last year, I spent it painting. This year, I would go see sunrise, paint, think about my story then catch Harry Potter. Sounds ordinary? That's how I like to spend it these days. In fact, my birthdays felt less and less special as the years passed. I often don't remember it until near the date.

Everytime it comes to this day, I am filled with happiness and a little sadness. Well, a woman will always feel vain about getting older. My birthday was also the day I loved most and hated most in the year. Love for obvious reasons because I would give myself the day to do the things I like. Hate because it always reminded me of things that I don't think I will ever forget. For 364 days I will not remember, but for one day of the year, I will relive the scar that day wears. Thus, I chose to spend it alone ever since. It is that one day of the year I would feel happy and sad at the same time.

Looking back on this year....what a different year it has been.

Notable things include:

1) Love for all things Korean - language, food, Bi, DBSK blah blah
2) New friends like imp, my sotong clan and so on
3) En Motion team
4) Fiction writing

Thanks to writing and my readers, I have been feeling happier. Perhaps because of that, I have been more cheery and looking better as well. Who knows where this path might lead? Sometimes I do wish the people I thought were really important in my life could share a little more of this love but strangely again, it's the people whom I didn't expect who have showed me more support in my loves be it dance, singing or writing.

As I stand at yet another crossroad, I couldn't help but wonder, where now from here?

This year, I would just like to ask God to keep me in his blessings and show me the way.

A little happy birthday to me :)

A Surprise

I got a little surprise that warmed my heart tremendously the other day.

While I was returning home last night from dinner with the girls, my buddy commented that as we get older the gifts get lesser. Most of the time, it just ends with dinner.

In a way, she's right. That is why I was so surprised to get a gift through the mail.

I came home to find a postpac on my table. I wondered who could have possibly sent me a postpac. Upon opening it, I found a really pretty necklace inside.

That was surprise number 1.

I reached in and found a card inside. I realised it was from a newfound good friend. That was surprise number 2. I was surprised to get it from her because for a long time, we were what people might call acquaintances. It is by the twist of fate that we discovered we were more than what we thought about each other initially. Now, she's someone I turn to for advice and she never fails to give me good perspective and constant encouragement.

Thank you for constantly giving me doses of encouragement.

Thank you, I really like the necklace as much as I like our friendship :)

Loved

I know my writing is raw and has so much more room for improvement but these are some of the hundreds of reasons that has kept me going and kept my spirits up...

"Wow.. your writting is just so captivating! You were able to articulate exactly what you wanted the charcters to be PERFECTLY.The way you described the girls were the way i saw them as characters. Everything from their development as people and their small mannerisms that make them who they are... just wow!

btw, you're welcome about being recommended!(you really deserved it)"



"heh heh. i sat down earlier, and read through the whole story so far, beginning to now, barely stopping for dinner.it was delicious. (the story, that is)it's ridiculously beautiful. and fantastic. and rad. and i want to be your best friend forever. hahahhahahaanyways, thank you for giving me something to do while I hid in my room pretending to do some summer studying. T_T"



"OHMYGAW, I cried so much T_T..Jaejoong's confession is a confession only in my dreams!I wish someone could do that for me.. it's so sweet.AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!*CRIES LIKE CRAZY* TT^TT...T

HANK YOU SOOOO MUCH FOR YOUR HARD WORK!!!I can't wait to see the special chapters!I will tell my friends to read your fanfic (:And tell them it's one of the best ever~ XD!

YIPPIEYEAH, SARANGHAEYO~~~ "

And for some reason, this one really touched my heart...

"okay.. so first of all i'm gonna introduce myself. my name is vanessa peace and i'm a good friend of ana ari's. she let me use her account simply to read her story and i couldn't help but post some sort of a reply. i literally stayed up all night to start and finish this story. yes, i am not joking.. i believe it went from around 1 in the morning to around 8. but, i regret not one moment of it. i enjoyed reading your story A LOT. i love the story line and the the main actress's character. i don't know much about these korean hotties but i do know that the way they were used in the story was amazing. and the posters accompanying each chapter are amazing too. thank you so much for making available such a story to the public. you've got amazing talent, keep it up.

again, I ABSOLUTLY LOVED YOUR STORY.

thank you so much. it was worth the loss of sleep. "

How do you not love the readers? :)

Crossing Borders

Remember I said someone had offered to translate my fic into French?

The first page is finally up!

It was such a moment to see it all in french :)

It's comforting to know that something a Singaporean gal writes a story set in Korea will be liked by a French gal on the other side of the world. Talk about crossing international borders LOL

Colored Rhythms is known as Rhythmes Colorés in French and can be found at http://rhythmescolores.wordpress.com. It is linked back to the English version as well :)

A Wish

There were times I wondered if I could have one wish in the world, what would it be?

I thought maybe I would want to wish for immediate financial freedom so that I can do anything I want?

I thought maybe flawless skin and a body that will stay slim and healthy always?

Never-ending good luck?

Perhaps a look at my previous lives?

There were so many things I could wish for but I believe that everything in this world has cause and effect. A sudden wilful wish may well change the whole course of events that was meant to be and not always to best effect. Greed doesn't always lead to more.

I don't know why but somehow I always ended up with this answer:

I would like to meet God.

I have never been an extremely religious person but I am a God-believer...I am just not sure how much I believe of what people claim God to be. This is dangerous and sensitive territory so I will leave it at that.

But I would like to meet God. I would like to ask him what he had in mind when he created the world and Man. I would like to ask him what his hopes and dreams are. I would like to ask him the meaning of life.

Perhaps after the little chat with God, there will not be much change. I will still have to work and slog it out. I will still have age and have nasty skin. I will still need to diet. But somehow, I do believe that something will change inside which will make that universe of difference.

Yes, I think if I had one wish, I would like to have a conversation with God.

Your Birthdate: July 20

You may watch someone from afar before you finally decide to make your move. It takes a long time for you to develop an attraction to someone. Generally, you prefer to pick who you love. Anyone who tries to rush you is in for some heartache. Number of True Loves You'll Have: 4 Number of Times You'll Have Your Heart Broken: 4 You are most compatible with people born on the 2nd, 11th, 20th, and 29th of the month.

What Does Your Birth Date Mean For Your Love Life?

It's extremely disturbing that my number of true loves = my number of heartbreaks...does that mean no true love for me in the end? *bleh*

I am not sure if I have finished the four heartbreaks...What do they define as heartbreak anyway...a little ambiguous :)

Quotes

I saw some nice quotes today that set me thinking...

Dance like nobody's watching; Love like you've never been hurt; Sing like nobody's listening; Live like it's heaven on earth.
~Mark Twain~


The most rebellious thing anyone can do is to be themselves.