Guilty... Upset... Frustrated... Miserable...

Barely a month into my new job, i had to take half day MC today. I feel so bad especially when there was an important meeting for an exciting project coming my way this afternoon, and i had to give that up.

Reason? I got a Sebaceous Cyst on the back of my left ear.

I just did a quick search on google and found out what it was:

What is it?
A sebaceous cyst is a closed sac or cyst below the surface of the skin that has a lining that resembles the uppermost part of a hair follicle and fills with a fatty white, semi-solid material called sebum. Sebum is produced by sebaceous glands of the epidermis.

Causes
Blocked sebaceous glands, swollen hair follicles, excessive testosterone production, will cause such cysts.

Treatment
With surgery, a cyst can usually be excised in its entirety; poor surgical technique or previous infection leading to scarring and tethering of the cyst to the surrounding tissue may lead to rupture during excision and removal. A completely removed cyst will not recur, though if the patient has a predisposition to cyst formation further cysts may develop in the same general area.

It all started on Tuesday when I felt a growth at the back of my ear. I thought its a pimple or something. Was quite disturbed by it cos it felt painful. Asked a few friends and family members to help me take a look and all told me they don't know what it is, but it is definitely not a pimple.

The growth got bigger and more painful on Wed. I went to see the company doctor who told me it was due to my skin being sensitive that I got an infection. Told me to take antibiotics and apply cream. She added that if within 2-3 days the swell doesn't go down significantly, then perhaps I need to drain out the pus. Sounds disgusting and awful. I have no idea what I got and how I got it.

Today, i felt really miserable cos the swell not only hurt but it was occasionally itchy. The swell also did not subside after I took the antibiotics. I went to see the company doctor again who made a referral for me to go to SGH to remove the growth.

I went down to SGH and the specialist diagnosed it to be Sebaceous Cyst. He advised against removing it today cos it is infected. He gave me more antibiotics to curb the infection and asked me to go back next week for check-up. If the infection has settled, then he can remove the cyst for me.

I am frustrated that i need to take more MCs! Hopefully it can be removed by next week and leave NO scar! Pray that my boss and colleagues will be understanding!

The Greeters' Ministry

The Smiley Face - This is the icon for the Greeters' Ministry in my church. It is the new ministry in our church. I'm so proud of my parents for joining the ministry. Considering their age and busy schedules, they still made the effort to join the ministry. They have to report about an hour before the service and stand at the entrance of the hall to greet people attending the service and help them to get a seat. Difference between the Greeters' ministry and the usher ministry? Hmmm....I don't really know yet, but its something like helping people who have difficulty getting thru to ushers to get a seat or also to ensure people new to our church get a seat.


Whatever it is, i'm so happy and proud of my parents. At the same time, feeling like i am being put to shame. That i'm not in any ministry but they are. Seeing how their lives have changed since they received Christ has been the greatest miracle i've wittnessed. They are much more loving as a couple, more encouraging and understanding as parents, more youthful and energised in everything they do, more positive in their outlook, more joyful than before, greater financial blessings than before.....and the list goes on. Indeed, as Rom 8:28 says:

And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.

My parents' lives are such powerful testimonies of how wonderful God is. I'm reminded once again that I should never run away from God, but to run towards God.

Gavin's and Gareth's Birthday!

Time flies. Its the time of the year where we celebrate the 2 boys' birthdays. Their birthdays are about 2 weeks apart, so due to everyone's busy schedules, we celebrated their birthdays for them simultaneously the weekend before last.

The 2 boys, forever excited about the birthday cake:

It's amazing how fast the boys have grown! In fact, even baby Claire is now almost 1 years old! Its great to have have opportunities like this, where the whole family gets together =)

The Keys to Our New Place!

Yeah! Shian and I collected the keys to our new place on 12 Sept. So excited that we finally got our place. Now its all the excitement of getting the renovation work started =)

Indeed, it hasn't been easy getting this flat. It is indeed God's blessing upon us. We will surely treasure the place....it may not be the best flat in others' eyes, but it is good enough to make us happy and contented. :)

Inspired and Touched ...

This is Nick Vujicic, he is a 25 year old Australian who is born without limbs. He came to share about his life story at our church today. Despite his disabilities, he is really an amazing person. He can actually swim, dive, play football, play golf, go boating, horseriding, was a handball captain back in school, he has double degrees, he is very positive, always smiling....and the list goes on!

Just watching the 8min video on his life story made me touched to tears.

Really admire him for his courage, strength, perserverance and joy. Admire his parents for their strength as well. And all these, they attribute to the grace of God.

I'm really very touched by his message. He really made me realised that there can be victory over circumstance even when circumstance doesn't suit us - as long as we have God with us.

To read more about his life:
http://www.lifewithoutlimbs.org/

DearDear's Convocation - 4 Sep

Well, wanted to write this entry earlier but have been too busy.

I was so glad I could attend Dear's convocation on Tuesday. So glad he managed to get an extra ticket so I could join his parents at the hall wittnessing the entire ceremony as well.

Proud moment for Shian's parents the moment he put on the graduation gown and the mortar board at the changing room admist the crowd:

Incidentally, I think we both received our degrees from the same Chancellor on stage - Prof Cham Tao Soon. When i received my degree at NTU, he was the President of NTU then. Today, he is the Chairman of SIM i think.

Dear on stage, receiving the degree from Prof Cham:

I used to think that it is very common and expected to go thru the routine of Pri, Sec, JC and then either local or overseas Uni. It was only after I came out to work that I realised there are many who could be bounded by lack of finances, lack of adequate scores to enter uni or simply decide to shelve their studies till later. Thus, to be able to complete the uni education, is somthing that is worth being proud of.

As a late bloomer, Dear never gave up. Despite going a longer route than the norm, spending more years and finances, he persevered to get his Uni degree. Juggling between work and study requires immense self discipline and I'm just so proud of him, for having completed his degree!

Dear standing proudly on stage:

The people supprting Dear all the way:

I really love this shot:

Dear in his magic moment:

Due to the nature of Dear's job, he seldom wears formal attire. So I really treasure this shot (though I wished it was a taken top down LOL):

Dear Dear - I'm so proud of you for the perserverance you have and the constant desire you have to work hard to upgrade yourself. I will always be supporting you =)

Congrats on your Convo and Cheers to greater success in everything you do =)

Another relaxed day...

I had to go to the CBD this morning to settle some administrative matters. Met Dear for lunch. We had Pizza Hut! I haven't had it in a while and was kind of craving for the pizzas.

Here's my favourite Chicken Supreme Pizza:


Dear doesn't quite like Pizzas so he had pasta. Think he had some seafood pasta in creme sauce:



It was a nice cosy lunch admist the heavy downpour outside.

Thereafter, I went to Vivocity to complete my half done shopping since the weekend. It's really very satisfying shopping alone for about 3 hours on a weekday, knowing the whole world is working - hahhaha. No rush - except i had to get back to pass my sis the car *could have shopped longer =p* Nothing beats shopping on your own sometimes. Cos its very hard to find a friend or even boyfriend who will patiently go with you from shop to shop and see you try different outfits and give comments. I guess most people would also want to shop around for their own things. I made quite a few happy purchases......until I came home and realised i had burnt a hole in my pocket :( Guess there should be no more shopping for the rest of this mth.....

Rest and Relax Therapy

Well well, as i take a break before i start on my new job, I also want to make sure I keep my time occupied, so I don't look back and regret not having done anything.

On Thursday, I went to the gym! Finally! Some of you might know, I joined the Planet Fitness gym since January but due to busy work schedules and err laziness, I hardly go to the gym and in fact, I haven't gone for like 3 mths? Yeah...so finally I went and hopefully I can continue to go on a regular basis. Want to keep fit, get toned and lose some weight. Anyone is a member of planet fitness? Wanna go together?

Thereafter, I went for my spa therapy! I signed up the package for some time but also hardly went. I had hyrobath with jaccuzzi followed by seaweed wrap and aromatherapy massage. It was really heavenly!

Then it was cg time! Well, I haven't had the totally relaxed feeling attending cg for a long time cos i'm always rushing from work or worrying about going home late and having to wake up early the next day for work. This time, i didn't have to rush and could stay and really made an effort to fellowship and it felt good.

On Friday, so happy that Dear also took leave to spend time with me. We had light shopping at Vivocity, followed by dinner. Then it was off to Cafe Del Mar with Dear and frens. Hmm... our second time there, but felt that the place is not that fun on a Friday night. Music was very trance and then the weather was hot and humid. Also, it was quite dark so not much of nice scenary. Nonetheless, we had a good time catching up with the guys and also playing some games. =)

On Saturday, we went Swimming in the morning! First time we went to Geylang East Swimming Complex - quite clean and not very crowded. Pretty relaxing. We then went to Upp Thomson for our favourite Prata! Its tough to go there on normal work weeks cos of the distance. So somehow, everytime we are not working, we will go there and so that place is really quite a retreat for us. I also took the chance to pop by Shunfu market for the famous muffins! My family really love those muffins!

At night was late night shopping at Orchard. I had quite a few good buys and was pretty happy with my purchases. However, I think the late night shopping experience could have been better improved. Many of the outlets in participating shopping centres were closed. Even those that were opened were starting to close from 10:30pm when the late night shopping was supposed to be till 11pm or 12am? The staff looked exhausted and grouchy and were not helpful with getting the right sizes. In fact they looked like they can't wait to chase us away!

Today, Sunday was reserved for God. Service was longer than usual cos of the graduation service of bible school students. Janice from my cg graduated. Congrats Janice! Wayne, the young chap I got to know during Israel Study Tour 2005 got awarded the best overall student of the cohort. Way to go, man!

Also caught a new Korean drama serial - The Snow Queen on SCV and I think i got instantly hooked. I only started with episode 5 and 6 today. Anyone got the VCD so i can watch the entire series and not wait for one episode a week? heheehe

Overall, am glad i had a fufiling last few days not working. I'm glad i had some self-pampering, exercising, meeting up with frens, spending time with Dear and had some rest etc. Time flies and I am starting work pretty soon. Need to start clearing up my room and getting ready for the new challenges already =)