I'm a full 20 minutes late for my church pastor's farewell dinner and here I am, sitting at home after just having awoken from an almost-5-hour sleep. Sleeping in the afternoon and waking up after it's gotten dark makes you feel like you're an alzheimer's patient experiencing a rare moment of lucidity.

I'm thinking that in about 4 hours, the year will be officially over, and 2008 will begin. I kind of hate how you aren't given any free minutes between the end and start of a year - a few moments where time stops and everything hangs in limbo for you to catch your breath after the passing of an entire year and anticipate the arrival of a new one. Without these free minutes it just feels as though we're all torn from our poor tired lethargic souls and too soon thrust into rejuvenation.

I'm listening to the cj 2007 orientation 1 mass dance song; i think that these are one of those songs that you will immediately associate with cj even long after you've left it, like a song you 'had' with an ex-lover. Never in my life have I actually looked forward to going to school, or thought of my class as a reason to drag my nocturnal existence out of bed as I did this year and probably will, too, next year, when we will all be mugging hard for our 'A' levels even though it was just yesterday that we were doing the same for our 'O's.

Every single new year's eve before this one I thought of a coming new year as a chance to start afresh, to wipe clean the slate on which your errors have been recorded. But this year I think different: a new year's just another measured stretch of our journeys, a mercy opportunity for more experiences, laughter and tears. I haven't been the nicest person this year and I might not be either next year but I think that that's okay because life is a journey, not a destination, and you get points for trying. So here goes.

You are anger, running for me, running me over.
You are criticism - I do it good, but never better.
You are nonchalance, the wall that keeps us away from each other.
You are arrogance, self-thought perfection expressed at the expense of another.
You are fear, afraid to realize you might be inferior.
You are ignorance - you'd tell your fear apart from your anger.
You are mother - you were my best friend but I'll love you forever.

"Aim for success, not perfection. Never give up your right to be wrong, because then you will lose the ability to learn new things and move forward with your life. Remember that fear always lurks behind perfectionism. Confronting your fears and allowing yourself the right to be human can, paradoxically, make yourself a happier and more productive person." -Dr. David M. Burns

As promised, a picturebook of my thailand overseas cum mission trip! Photos are in chronological order.

The Chao Phraya River in Bangkok:
The bus ride from Bangkok to Kanchanaburi:My guesthouse room on the river:The view from my room:From the spot beside the guesthouse reception:Kanchanaburi town:Kinda miss how it starts getting dark just after five.A Fat Bird:I love overhead cables. Reminds me of the US.I have a huge thing for war cemeteries. "Greater love hath no man, that he give up his life".WWII allied prisoners-of-war lived in these:A little like Jesus coming down on the clouds no?My knight in hairy coat rescuing his damsel in distress:A mountain that the WWII allied POWs cut through building the Thai-Burma Railway:The Chong Kai War Cemetery, "lest we forget".God paints the sunsets and they're just about the most beautiful thing in the world.The train on the rails built by the WWII allied POWs!Sai Yok Noi Waterfall, a total disappointment. Nice photo though. Ahaha. :)Hellfire Pass:After the trek through the forest path to and from Hellfire Pass!Refreshments - hello my love.

Those were from my Bangkok/Kanchanaburi trip. Pictures from my mission trip in Korat later! :)

Sin has never felt as easy, nor as pleasurable, as when you're trying to avoid it.

RACHEL IS HOME!!! She doesn't like short haul plane flights because she can't finish watching her flight movies. Stories and pictures coming soon.