I'VE RECOVERED! WOOHOO! but then now i have ugly rashes and i don't know why. probably because of yesterday's trip to chek jawa.

seagrass monitoring was definitely more interesting that i had expected. though i'm still kinda scared that i might give the wrong data. we got to see interesting organisms too, like ball sea cucumber! haha. i think that is seriously cute. what's more our transect leader was sijie so it's great since he has so much knowledge and experience.

melissa also lightened the day with her "horror movie" story. [sorry mel for laughing at you. :x please drink more water!]

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i've posted the stuff to UNACAS on friday! (: they'll probably receive it in a week or two. never in my life have i written so many letters continuously or developed so many photographs but it was definitely worth it. also made keychains with the photos taken for bell, channa, srey phear, coca, sarah and narong. :D they look great. i wish i had one to keep for myself too!

i was watching the old videos again which makes me miss them even more.

i'm not having any withdrawal symptoms, more of a dull aching in my heart. but i can survive that (:

dearest sarah, bell and srey pich on the last night.

guolian had a theory that happy people don't get sick. i was happy two nights ago because i actually talked to bell on facebook. so seriously how did i get sick? urgh

CHEW JIA HUI! RECOVER SOON!

lunch with dearest yiwen and zhiying! had yummy korean food at bukit timah plaza. food was good and relatively cheap. but the company was even better! (: more meet ups soon i hope!

yiwen and zhiying! (:

yiwen and me! (:

finished developing the photos taken in cambodia. shall get the gifts and letters ready and they'll finally be on their way to UNACAS. i'm lost on how to post and how much it'll cost but it will probably cost a bomb. ever since i've been back, my money has been seriously depleting. i seriously feel the pinch. ouch. really time to look for a job. hopefully can start in April and work till near the end of June (if i'm going for Project Orion) or till the end of July.

talked to vita, channa, srey phear and narong on sunday. it was really funny. vita was shouting excitedly. channa was also laughing away. i was so touched when channa said she kept looking at the skies waiting for my plane to take off and be in the air. :') srey phear was really sweet. she kept saying she missed and loved me and wanted me to come back soon. she even said good night in chinese. :D "i miss miss miss you and love love love you" my heart seriously melted.

talked to coca yesterday. we just kept laughing at nothing at all. haha. he said he was really surprised when he saw me at UNACAS the other day. he saw Mr Sela's car and heard someone calling my name but he was thinking cannot be. so when he saw me, he was really surprised. glad that my surprise worked :D i'm waiting for him to come to Singapore though it'll probably be many years down the road!

i miss channa's hugs!

my sweet & precious little girl, srey phear (: [photo courtesy of pei xian!]

To my favorite teacher

Who told me never give up

To my 5th grade crush

Who I thought I really loved

To the guys I missed

And the girls we kissed

Where are you now?

To my ex-best friends

Don´t know how we grew apart

To my favorite band

And sing-alongs in my car

To the face I see

In my memories

Where are you now?

Where are you now?

Cause I´m thinking of you

You showed me how

How to live like I do

If it wasn´t for you

I would never be who I am

To my first girlfriend

I thought for sure was the one

To my last girlfriend

Sorry that I screwed it up

To the ones I loved

But didn't show it enough

Where are you now?

Where are you now?

Cause I'm thinking of you

You showed me how,

how to live like I do

If it wasnt for you

I would never be who I am.

And I'll never see those days again

And things will never be that way again

But thats just how it goes,

People change,

But I know

I wont forget you

- guitar solo -

To the ones who cared

And who were there from the start

To the love that left

and took a piece of my heart

To the few who´d swear

I´d never go anywhere

Where are you now?

Where are you now?

Cause I´m thinking of you

You showed me how

How to live like I do

If it wasn´t for you

I would never be who I am

If it wasn´t for you

I would never be who I am

If it wasn´t for you

I´d be nothing

Where are you now?

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i'm totally into this song. the lyrics are really meaningful. thank you bell for introducing such a great song to me! (: i'm totally addicted to it.

for those who i love and care for, i hope that there will never be a day where i'm wondering "where are you now?"

it's been three days since i've been back. life still goes on as it was before i left singapore. but there are spaces in time when i feel lost and kind of empty. like i don't know what i'm supposed to be doing. i've also been obsessively checking my e-mail again.

maybe it's time i learn that life continues as per normal. it doesn't stop for me or for them just because we're not longer together.

it's always so damn hard to say goodbye especially when you don't know when you'll ever meet again. my third time saying goodbye to them and it's even more painful than the last. it really breaks your heart each time you say goodbye and it never really heals. but miss ng said it is better to feel something than nothing at all.

just talked to Bell on the phone to share with him my results as promised. (: i'm glad that because of advanced technology, the distance between countries don't seem that far anymore. whenever, i miss them badly, i can just pick up the phone and give them a call. what's more with budget card it's so much cheaper.

i have faith that we'll meet again someday. not just faith, but i'll also do my best to turn that wish into reality. (:

with dearest channa and sarah! (:

once again, i'm back in singapore. i'm still suffering from UNACAS withdrawal symptoms and i feel rather empty inside. my biological clock is still tuned to cambodia. i'm waking up at 6.30am which is 5.30 in Cambodia, the time i usually wake up there.

these ten days were awesome. words won't be adequate to describe how i really feel. this is my third time to UNACAS. i met new people and made new friends! i also got to know the ones i knew previously much better! (: i'm really blessed to have met such angels who touched my heart in more ways than one.

when we first arrived at UNACAS, the whole scenario felt really unreal. i couldn't believe that i was back in Cambodia, back at UNACAS together with the children and youths there. they still remember me. when they called my name, i felt so touched that i felt like crying right there and then. it's been more than a year close to two years since i've been back and i've not been forgotten. (: i feel so blessed.

i did so many things while in cambodia, most of them new

1) rode on the motorbike (thank you bell, vita, vitok, DY, channa, naomi)

2) visited 2 mountains (thank you bell, vita and ravorn for bringing us there! thank you bell for the ride and the conversation along the way. i've really learnt quite a lot from you)

3) held a scorpion in my hands and got pinched by it

4) had a lizard thrown on my shirt

5) ate fried porridge balls (thank you vita for the treat)

6) tried palm fruit and palm sugar

7) a coca-cola treat from coca

8) bought new slippers at Bek Chan Market

9) visited the high school there

10) attended my first church service ever

but all these cannot be compared to knowing the children and youths there! (:

i felt my heart breaking when it was time to leave. because with this departure, i don't know when i'll be back again. i'll miss these angels and i hope that in the future, i'll have the ability to do more for them.

with my precious little sister, srey phear (: