Work and play

It has been such a tiring 2 weeks since the start of work, but ironically it's only the beginning. Because training (honeymoon period) just ended last Friday and work will start properly tomorrow. 

In the midst of the craziness, there's much to thank God for. 

1. Allowing me to find a group of friends. Haha one of my biggest concerns was that the people at work are going to be distant and different from me. It was awesome to find friends who are friendly and helpful at work. The best thing about them is their positivity. I am a natural worrier/planner but trying to change really badly. The people I met are really chill and positive, even coming out with quotes like "Don't have any expectations and you won't be disappointed", "Enjoy the beauty of life." Having a nice support group made easing into work much easier.

2. Catching up with the best friends at JB

Doing what we do best on a relaxing trip to JB-  Eating the steamboat from Arashi, followed by a weird comedy movie (Mastermind- the jokes were quite lame bahahaha. We'd look to each other during the movie speechless at the jokes lol. But it had a good ending so that's good! And $6 each only!), and then the finale was kbox with buffet. Love the buffet so much, spoilt for food choices.

We left quite early at 9pm but to our horror, there were hoards of people at the customs checkpoint. It took so long to clear!!! I was panicking about not being able to report for work the next day 😂 

The bus from msia checkpoint to woodlands checkpoint had a queue that'd probably take 15 buses to clear, so we decided to WALK all the way back to woodlands 😭😭😭 it took 40min for 4km, plus an exp cab ride from woodlands to home, but alas we reached home safely at midnight 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻

We made a mental note to be more kiasu and leave much earlier next time. 

Haha but it was still a very fun and rejuvenating day!! 💪🏻

3. Playing piano accompaniment for Church Jubilee Celebration

When I was asked to play the piano accompaniment for a duet song, my first reaction was fear that I won't have enough time to prepare since work takes up so much time and I only was given 2 weeks to prepare for it. But somehow I was also inclined to do it, and in my heart I reasoned it as me wanting to dedicate a song to God.

Still hesitant, I decided to pray for a sign. I prayed that if I can find the full piano sheet for the song I'd do it, but if I can't find the piano sheet (i.e. I'll need to improvise) then I'll decline. 

After a high and low Google search, I realized that I could only find a piano sheet that had the right hand part of the song @.@ so it was only half of what I was looking for (and normally the left hand is the more complex part and I don't really know how to improvise!)

But I was still quite persistent in wanting to play the song for the duet. I think I was thinking aloud to my parents when my dad quipped "I thought you asked God for a sign?"

Me "yea I did, I said I'll only play if I have the full score"

Dad "so why did you decide to do it when God didn't grant you success in finding the full score?"

I was taken aback. 

I didn't think I'd be one who would blatantly disobey God, but I did...

Dad explained that prayer has to be taken seriously, it is conversation with God! God knows the very depths of our heart.

After some soul searching, I came to the realization that I really wanted to play not because of God, but for my own purpose of gaining exposure in playing for a large crowd. It really made me so ashamed that I cheated myself that my motivations were right. 

So what happened next? Dad told me to ask God again for direction. I prayed that this time I'll follow what He tells me to do. So the "plan" was that I'll decline first, and if the song leaders say okay, it will end there, but if they insist that I play, I'll do it. 

Surprisingly they still wanted me to play! Maybe my motivations are correct now? :)

And so begins 2 grueling weeks of preparation, made extremely tough with work commitments and the temptation of relaxing after work ends. But thankfully I could slot in a 1 hour consultation 😂 with my piano teacher who COMPOSED super nice tunes for the intro and interlude @.@ That's just mind blowing lolol.

Yesterday was the day of the performance, and it went well!! 2 weeks of playing the same song over and over paid off. It was an amazing feeling to play the praise song for the duet! The song leaders are so incredibly talented in singing. And I realized that playing accompaniment is much less stressful because the attention is more on the vocals muahaha. 

Hahaha focused face. 

But finally it's done and I am relieved now!!!

I'm thankful for this episode because it taught me to me serious in prayer, and God changed my motivations to be focused on Him instead of myself.

Trusting in His strength for everything that is ahead.

Phillipians 4:13 I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.

Melbourne 2016

Our flight was at 1am midnight to 8.40am the next day and it was  meant for us to sleep through the night and wake up to start the day in Melbourne fresh. 

Except for the fact that the lack of leg space made my legs so numb that I couldn't sleep after all 😂

Came out of the plane and suddenly realized that I haven't brushed my teeth the previous night nor this morning HAHAHA.

The first thing on the agenda was for me to get my prepaid data SIM card. Was so overjoyed when I finally could get connected and my aunts couldn't understand my excitement  bahahah 

Checked into our service apartment at Aura which was super comfy and had the prettiest view. So happy that the weather was sunny and cold at the same time!! 

Walking became so enjoyable :)

And necessary to burn all the calories from eating and eating and eating.

But unfortunately there was no time to lose and we quickly headed out to travel! 

We were located at the CBD of Melbourne so it was really accessible to many tourist attractions. 

Visited Flinders Street Station

St Paul's Cathedral (super grand and beautiful stained glass)

And last but not least, rode on a horse carriage for the first time!! So fun!!

Check out the beautiful Sophie and Dollie! Me and my aunts were super awkward because people were trying to take photos of the horses as we rode along, but we ended up photo bombing all the shots lol. 

Day 2: Great Ocean Road Tour

We hopped on the coach at 8am to start our journey!

Visited many attractions on the way like the 12 Apostles, Loch Ard Gorge, Ship Wreck Walk, the Arch, and Bay of Matyrs. Having a coach is really stress free because we only need to follow instructions of what to do and when to come back 😂

Walking down all the trails was a very good exercise, got a leg cramp in the middle of the night LOL

At this point I'm regretting only bringing 1 outer wear. All the photos look the same 😅

Our very awesome and humourous driver was our guide for 12 hours!! Can't imagine how he drove a bus for that long. We were lucky to see a kangaroo in the middle of the road of the way back. Everyone was sleeping and the guide said "wallaby!" and all of us literally sprung up hahha. Too bad it immediately hopped away so I didn't snap a photo.

Day 3: Melbourne City Tram & Philip Island (Penguin Parade)

We found a very budget conscious way to travel the whole city of Melbourne, that is, to take the free city tram!!

The best part is that the tram makes a complete loop in 48 mins, so we can get a glimpse of the city of Melbourne and come back to our apartment's tram stop! Convenient to live in the CBD.

We then went for a lunch mass (Catholic Church service) at St Patrick's Cathedral.  It was so amazing to hear the organ echoing throughout the whole cathedral, somehow my church doesn't have the same effect! 😂 It was just so grand and soothing at the same time. No wonder JW says it's an amazing feeling for her choir to sing at cathedrals overseas.

Next was a half day tour at Phillip Island to see the Penguins coming back from their day of hunting into their burrows on the shore, when the sun sets and they can hide from their predators! Was looking forward to it so much!!

We reached early and after getting down the bus, we faced a huge sea breeze.

Check out my mop fringe hahah

We then moved to the grand stand right in front of the shore.

Fringe doesn't like the wind 😂

Unfortunately photography is prohibited when the sun sets to prevent the Penguins from getting blinded by flash. TT Though it was really too dark to get good shots haha

Thank God for providing good weather. We had to wait for the Penguins for around 1 hour in the freezing cold. Can't imagine how miserable we would be if it rained!

When the Penguins did come up, they were sooo cute!! They were tiny and waddled around so cutely!!! Definitely a nice and memorable moment.

We could go on the board walk which are boards right above the Penguins' burrows and see them from real close!!! The waddling made everyone squeal!

Haha but this 1 hour experience took 4 hours of traveling time 😅😅 I guess it can remain as a once in a lifetime experience.

Day 4: Queen Victoria's Street

Breakfast at Kettle Black.

Look at the amazing HOTCAKE! So well decorated haha. It was 2cm thick and very dense. Best breakfast of the trip!

Took the free tram to Queen Vic's!

This market was huge and was selling meats, seafood, vegetables, cheeses, nuts, honey and souvenirs. It felt like a grocery shopping trip.😅😅 At least I settled some souvenir shopping!

Day 5: Puffing Billy Railway & Yarra Valley's Wineries

Puffing Billy is a century old steam train and my first time taking one!! It was really cool because we could hang our legs off the railings and get super close to nature. Some of the brave tourists precariously held out their iPhones to take selfies.

Finally reached Yarra Valley for the winery! First off, we got to experience bird feeding! It was quite scary because the cockatoos has really sharp claws and scratched quite a bit! But very interactive and fun!!!

Me cringing and thinking, please please please don't bite my fingers.

Fingers intact but some scratches sustained 👍🏻

Next up, the wineries!

My aim for the day was to get an appreciation of wines since work is starting soon!

Before we set off to the wineries, lunch was served and there was already red wine provided! And from the lunch wine I was already feeling light headed 😰 *fail*

The variety we tried were mainly (from my non-sober mind) Pinot Gris, Caberet Sauvignon, Merlot and Cider made out of different formulations from 3 different wineries (Rochford Wines, Dominique Portet, Yering Station)

Super flushed from the alcohol, but hopefully my alcohol tolerance has leveled up.

We also enjoyed the beautiful sights at the vineyards. Wonder how it's like living in the countryside as a gardener hahaha. Such a far cry from city life!

@joce and Hc, here is a nice doggie who reciprocates affection haha

Day 6: National Victoria Gallery & Warren Glen Nursery 

Immersed in a free arts experience at the NGV! Lots of paintings and exhibitions to look at!

Then we met up with the aunts' previous priest Father Bob who drove us to Warren Glen Nursery! The carefully and artistically cultivated flowers were so gorgeous! Also the weather was so awesome! 

Nice to have a chill day of free and easy when we had guided tours the previous days!

---

And before we know it, 6 days of holiday is over!! So thankful for the aunts for bringing me on a long awaited grad trip before work starts.... In a week.

Dog cafe experience!

Joce has always joked abt how it would be simpler to deal with dogs than humans. (Despite her very infrequent exposure to dogs @.@) To test that theory out, Joce and Hc and I made our way to the dog cafe at Bugis. 

On arrival at the dog cafe, we were immediately in love with the cute doggies! Imagine 9 small furballs tottering round in a small enclosure. 😍

The 3 of us, being introverts, sat at a corner hoping for some of the dogs to show us affection. Unfortunately, when they tottered over, they sniffed our hands for treats and since we had nothing, the doggies would saunter off. TT Who said dogs were easier to hang out with ah? It's like a role reversal where we desperately wanted the dog's love and attention hahah.

After playing hard to get for 30 mins, we gave in and bought the treats haha. We shall win the doggies' love through food! Unlike the pro dog handlers who were able to train the dog to come into their lap (and even lie there for awhile), the super energetic dogs forced themselves onto us and skillfully snatched the treat... before abandoning us!! 

Joce showed favoritism to the dog she considers the 帅哥 of the bunch. Fed him the most treats. Although me and Hc were like, "Most handsome? His fur is unkempt." HAHA.

.... LOL I just remembered the staff telling us that all of the doggies are females.

This Buibui was so violent that we got scratched a little. Check out Buibui's walking away sassily after eating it's treat Hmph XD

It is so cute though 😍

With our treats steadily running out, the 3 of us came to the conclusion that dogs and food are best friends XD haha I guess they probably get so much pats and tummy scratches so the only thing they want is food. 

Photo spam coming up!

Lol we look so spastically happy. Haha see how the dog were fixated on the treats.

When the dog cafe was closing, the lady boss returned and all the dogs were visibly excited and clamoring for her attention. (Note: she didn't have to offer them treats) 

Epic Joce said "这样才像狗" LOL. They do love their owner!

Faith in doggies restored :) 

Convocation 2016

Weehee yesterday's the day I finally convocate officially and it marks the end of 17 years of education!!

We started off with singing the national anthem. I realized this was the last time I was going to sing the national anthem as a student so I sang out loud to immerse in the experience lol.

So nervous walking down the stage! I was smiling with my mouth quivering LOL

Joce researched and found out that we were supposed to wear the motar board's tassel on the front right before graduation and flip it to front LEFT after receiving the diploma! 

Met the BFF right after the ceremony and we haven't flipped the tassel yet lol.

Received so much flowers from the supportive family and friends! I used to think that flowers were impractical but still basked in their glory for a bit yesterday :)

So grateful for family and friends that came down on a nice weekday morning to pulau ntu to support us! Thanks Ah Bong, Vivian and Jingqi! Bong kun even took leave to come see us TTTT so gandong 

I have a wonderful flower display at home now lol

Met up with the Taiwan roomies after that to snap photos! So difficult to gather as a group of 8 lol. Check out our nifty photo formation that we can form automatically after much training from exchange.

Time to reminisce the 17 long years of education! 

I remember the good old years of primary and secondary school to be a breeze, with helpful teachers making sure that everyone in class is doing okay. I remember physics class' Master Suria who has a knack for making physics really fun, math class' Mr Happy-go-Lucky Liu, Chem class' Mr Imran , Bio Class' Mrs Lim (I still rmb that particular class on human reproduction was sooo hilarious with 13 year olds asking the weirdest questions), GP Class' Jaryl who was a GP lifesaver, among many others who put in so much effort walking around the class to explain each person's queries. They made learning sooo incredibly enjoyable. 

That gradually changed in university where we are expected to be independent and quick learners. We are expected to be ready for each class by completing a tutorial on a completely new chapter, sometimes twice a week! And also for each module, to do a presentation on that particular topic (where all the answers are expected to be almost perfect) This was so stressful for me that I unfortunately had to give up my dance CCA in year 2. (Managerial accounting module, I'm looking at you, lol). 

Despite that, there were professors who managed to reach out to me and make learning less intimidating in uni. Especially OB Class' Prof Don and Accounting Class' Mrs Chan and Prof Tan. Sometimes it just takes a "good job" on one of the test scripts to charge me up to try harder next time! Also, I had awesome study buddies like Joce, Nic and Khoong who I could blast all my questions at when I was unsure. I really don't think that I could've gone through uni without your help and support!

Enactus was a tough but rewarding journey as I had the opportunity to co-lead my project •Brand with Love• with Jingwen. I got to have a close glimpse of how a social business works, and to see the challenges that revolve a business like marketing, creative design, client communications etc. I remember the sleepless nights thinking of which direction the business should be going and the joy when some clients placed orders with the social business. It must be really scary yet exhilarating to have your own business and I'm so lucky to have experienced being a small part of that. More important are the unforgettable friendships forged with amazing big-hearted people!

It was also through enactus that case budz was born!

Those scribbles at the bottom are our signatures LOL

Speaking of cases, I did enter a few of those with my case budz, and although we didn't win, it formed many unforgettable memories of persevering through the night to work on a common goal (though often distracted by fun stuff lol) 

I also had the chance to take part in Soul Funky for around a year and eventually perform in the Joint Dance Concert 2014! Never imagined I'll have the chance to perform a locking dance piece on stage! The memory of the non-stop audience cheering as we laid down in slow-mo (super ab workout) is still vivid in my mind :)

Despite how tough uni is, there were wonderful memories made and it definitely made me more prepared for the working world. It helped me learn to be more quick thinking and independent and to persevere through adversity. 

Though I really pray for providence of good colleagues and bosses who will help me through this journey!

Importance of fun and friends :)

After an intense 1 hour kpopx fitness session with Joce, we were thoroughly exhausted but wanted to master the song "I see the light" from tangled. The song has an intriguing harmony that we had always failed during kbox sessions thus far lol.

(Oh ya I must say the fitness class is really improving our stamina. In the first class we almost passed out but now can actually breathe while doing!! 1 hour of cardio is no joke though)

As part of our endeavor, we had to find a quiet corner to practice the harmonies... And we ended up stuck to a lone wall at Clementi bus interchange while listening to the song and practicing lol too unglam!!

After a few weird passerby stares, we made our way to the "creepy bridge", as named by Joce, but it really is the Rail mall haha. While swatting away mosquitoes, Joce practiced the male voice and I practiced the female voice for a whole hour!!

Reminded me of the good old times during A levels when we when to the most secluded part of school to sing (or rather, screech) and de-stress. It was our only outlet of fun in those days!

Anyways at railway mall, we left even though we haven't succeeded because workaholic Joce needs to go to teach tuition! 

In a mad rush back to joce's house for her to change, we decided to switch our singing parts, and viola, immediate success LOL. It was such a eureka and energizing moment!

Which brings me to the point of this entry, the importance of doing fun things with friends once in awhile. It definitely helps to have a non-judgmental and equally goofy BFF to have fun with. I can't imagine having so much self-entertainment fun with anyone else :) Work will soon be a huge part of our lives, and we will strive to work hard and of course, play hard! :)

Speaking of friends, it seems increasingly hard to get close to people. Does growing up means becoming more and more self-conscious? Reference to Joce's latest post, I guess it's really because we are afraid to put ourselves out there and risk being hurt when the person responds unfavourably. Lol, imagine how little self-consciousness I had when I was 13 to ask Joce "Can I be your friend?" when I first met her. 

To think about it in another way, putting myself out there had little to lose but a lot to gain :)

Now, to brainstorm how to put "Can I be your friend?" in a more socially acceptable manner for a 21 year old context... (╯°□°）╯︵ ┻━┻

The power of words

Some time ago me and Joce met with some friends to hang out and play mahjong haha. My tiles were really bad and for a few times, I even accidentally gave the winning tile away, and my depleting chips started showing that I was in deficit OTL

In the middle of the game where we were chatting randomly, Joce's punctuality issue was brought up 😂 As the BFF, I've seen the brunt of it over these past 9 years. Every time I need to meet Joce in the morning, I have to pray really hard that she does not oversleep or get too engrossed in whatever she was doing to notice the time. (She finds that looking at her phone is a burden! :0) I remember in our high school days, we were supposed to go when the library opens to chope seats, but Joce overslept a few times and was uncontactable, rushing to meet me in the nick of time for lunch, much to my distress. 

Anyway, my bad luck in the past few rounds of the game proved enough to leave me in a foul mood :(

When Joce said that I, too, always go late for the fitness class we signed up for recently, I retorted meanly "the class can still go on without me what! If you are late, that means 20 minutes of waiting time at the mrt for me!"

Thinking that I would have let off some steam, I thought that I would feel vindication or relief, but instead, immediately, a wave of guilt swept over me. I felt that I was being uncannily mean.

The matter was left there and we suddenly just moved on like that. :0 The guilt was hard to bear but it would be so awkward to suddenly bring it up again and apologize there and then...

Throughout the rest of the hang out, I felt really distracted by the need to make amends as soon as possible yet was unable to... I was rather miserable but had to hide it or distract myself in case it showed. 

It reminded me of a time years ago when i was younger and said something rude to my mum, and it took me a whole day before I mustered up the courage to apologize. Somehow putting down my pride to say sorry is not an easy thing for me. 

Reflecting on this on the way home, I came to the conclusion that words have such an impact to hurt others and I really don't want myself to be a perpetrator of hurtful words. The regrets and guilt is just not worth it. There are many better ways to solve problems than to hurl reckless words. 

The bible also reminds in Proverbs 12:18, "The words of the reckless pierce like swords, but the tongue of the wise brings healing". 

Every time I feel the urge to say something I will likely regret, I hope this memory comes back in time to stop me.

So what happened to me and Joce? :)

....

When I finally apologized to her via whatsapp, it turned out that she didn't even take offense at my rantings in the first place LOL. Thank God for a friend that doesn't bear grudges! :)

No drama, "no hard feelings" :)

At least I can finally go to bed now with a peace of mind :)

Post graduation musings + case bud outing!

Graduation musings!

Haha I expected my myself to write a long sentimental post for post finals thoughts, but I really just feel relieved of the day-in-day-out mugging. 

The stress of exams, especially consol, was taking a toll on me, because I had to be disciplined to study non stop and couldn't meet my friends SOB. And I met Jocelyn to study for only 2 days, and a combination of llaollao, chocolate cake and tomyam fish soup made me so sick that I had to study myself for the rest of the exam period :000 admire joce's immunity to heaty food.

Learning is really fun to me but taking exams is sooo stressful. Anyway, just thankful to be able to complete my degree and finally graduate!! On to happy holidays and then a new phase of life. :)

Case buds!!

After so many days of relaxation at home, finally the case buddies met up today! Did our favourite low cost activities - playing mahjong at Jocelyn's house! :) Today was also joce's treat for being the first of us to enter into the workforce and she generously budgeted a $100 budget for all of us!!! We love you Joce <3

The epic mahjong game

The first few games of mahjong were rather chill with very small "tai" being won. I felt contented with my small and risk free wins as always LOL.

After a few games I was starting to get abit bored when suddenly, I drew the most beautifully messy cards I ever seen in my life.

(!!!) 

At first I was like, okay, just how many rounds do I need to get rid of all these messy tiles =.=

Kc then announced that his cards were so bad and that he was going to try a 13 yao. Me being the usual gaming noob, just casually asked what a 13 Yao is and he said to get "1" and "9" of every suit and north, south, east, west, baiban, facai and hongzhong. And I had so many of them already!!! -perk up with excitement-

So this started my quest on trying to get 13 yao and bankrupt the rest HAHAH. (Just kidding, we use chips to see who wins but never play with real money). 

It was so weird, as the game progressed, my cards just started to get better and better! Y'all know the shioknessss right?! Rather than a game where you get nonsense cards every turn lol.

There came a point where I needed a 9 wan. I was almost about to give up hope when hc threw out the third 9wan... how would it be possible for me to pick the last 9wan with my own hands??

Super dramatically, the "flower picking" pile of cards was accidentally knocked over, and falling in slow motion to reveal itself to all of us, was the coveted 9wan. 

(!!!)

We were like, okay, time to give up, what are the chances of getting a flower, that will give me access to the flower picking pile, to get 9wan?

Another dramatic turn. I picked up the next card and slowly slid it access the table, while we all expected me to just get something useless and throw it out. But lo and behold, I actually got a flower. 

(!!!)

Literally the tables turned and I was in the running for 13yao again! Woohoo!

At this point of time I was started to feel undefeatable (LOL) because all I needed was to dispose of my extra hongzhong and 9tong and get facai! 

I must say, playing for the big win (even without money) made the game so much more fun for me and I started eagle-eyeing all the cards that came out keenly.

Aiyah! 

At the critical moment, I disposed of my 9tong first.... And Jocelyn took the win! :( 

Hc quickly looked through the tiles to see if my facai was coming out, and we realized that I would be winning next round had I disposed of hongzhong first!!!

-let's take a moment to give a long deep sigh-

I spent the next few moments reeling in shock at my own wrong playing. No kidding, I literally felt really depressed for awhile LOLOL. 

Haih no point crying over splilt milk. Oh well, there's always a next time XD

Jocelyn said I should blog this incident but I'm like "no! My blog should only have happy things!"

But I guess this makes for a funny story so here it is :)

(What an anti-climatic end to the story, heehee)

Korea with case buddies!

Whew! Exchange ended and 10 days of traveling in Korea also flew past, and school is tmr (!!) Hurry blogggg!!

Day 1: Meeting them at Seoul to watch MBC countdown on TV.

I traveled from kaohsiung all alone to meet my buddies. I was only wearing 2 layers but the 0 degree weather didn't faze me because I was carrying my 23kg monster luggage. Even sweated quite a bit on the way there LOL. 

The initial plan was to actually go to a countdown concert but we were all not lucky enough to get the tickets through lucky draw. So we bought chicken and Coke and spent New Years Eve watching the MBC kpop countdown. 

Day 2: SM Exhibition, Lotte World

It was New Year's Day so we started the day with a huge meal! Check out our stew!!

Except that there was quite alot of weird ingredients like intestines and fish lungs (?). Check out Joce's disgusted face LOL, and a gleeful yeye laughing at her hahaha. We played zhong1 ji2 mi4 ma3 to choose the losers who had to eat the disgusting parts.

SM exhibition was quite interesting with many wall photos, figurines and standees. Lots of Exo merchandise but we would have loved more of SHINee's <3. Ended up going to the candy section and bought a small bag of candies for $13. NOT WORTH IT. Lol.

Travelled to Lotte World and started out with the chill rides first like shooting games, bumper cars, 4D simulations.... Before we gathered enough courage to step into the outdoors part to try the Gyro drop, which is basically a free fall machine :OOOOO Was so scared that I couldn't take any pictures LOL. Under Joce's endless persuasion, all of us joined the Gyro Drop. Every single time the machine flies down, there would be this huge gust of wind because of the high impact. I could already feel my legs trembling... Suddenly, the passengers before us were asked to evacuate the Gyro drop because the pulling machine couldn't latch on properly @.@ Sooooooo scared..... After a trial run, the staff decided that the machine was still working properly...

Yikes... Unfortunately, we decided that we shouldn't back out since we are next in the queue.

Strangely, I seemed to have reached the peak of my fear and was numb when I was being strapped on lol. The ride out was pretty serene as we twirled around and got a bird's eye view of the whole park. The ride stopped at the top and we all took a big breath to prepare ourselves. Finally the moment came. Screeeeeeeeeeeeeeeaaammmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm!!!

Hahaha. After the harrowing experience, we all somehow decided that we had lots of fun on the ride and started to hold hands in a circle and jump round and round =.= -total embarrassment in public hahaha- Haochen the yeye said he had crazy thoughts about the machine failing on us and flinging us out on the way down hahaha.

Took the french revolution after that and it was awesome! Fast and thrilling! Left Lotte World just in time for our last train :) Lotte world was awesome and I wished we had more time to try everything!

Day 3: Sejong King, Ttuekseom Resort, LINE shop

We were supposed to go to Gangcheon for fishing and ice activities but missed our bus there! OTL
In our usual impromptu fashion, we saw that there was King Sejong's statue in the vicinity and decided to do some sightseeing instead.

Realized that there are snow activities to do in Tteukseom resort and it was reachable by mrt so off we went!! Reached Tteukseom resort and realized that it looked like SG's snow city. Channeled our inner kids and still managed to have lots of fun on the snow slide. :)

Went a little crazy at the LINE shop taking photos with the cute figurines hehe. Love brown!! He makes such a good bed

Day 4: Kpop Street, JYP, SM, Cube, Dongdaemun







Today was finally the time for some star spotting so we made our way to where all the entertainment companies were gathered. Reached JYP first and saw many fangirls waiting at the door so we knew something was up. After a few false alarms of managers walking in and out to raise our hopes......... We finally saw Junsu from 2PM. So exciting to be a one-day paparazzi team and snapping photos of kpop stars haha.

We also saw Jokwon but he swiftly jumped into his car so it was no more than 3 seconds TTTT

After that there was not much activity so we made our way to the other entertainment companies but unfortunately did not have much luck there. My evil case buddies pushed me out and screamed "Sooyoung" to irritate the other fans =.= KC's fault!

We walked back to JYP to try our luck again. Got bored after awhile and started to play cards LOLOL. Poker cards were a staple on our trip. Every single wait for meals/things to happen was made entertaining with games of Taitee.

Halfway through playing, a car showed up and everyone turned around expectantly. Suddenly a guy with silver hair came out and immediately everyone went "OOHHH!" and grabbed their cameras. Confirm must be an idol because the hair was such a giveaway LOL. He was so nice to wish everyone "Happy New Year" and also accepted his fan gifts!! I was so amazed and raved about him, and my friends judged me for liking someone I don't even know HAHAH.

Day 5: Samtong Chicken, Hongdae, Lotte Mart

Went out looking for the best chicken, KyoChon Chicken, but the one in the area was closed. Went for Samtong Chicken instead and it was not bad! We had so much fried chicken during this trip! If I'm not wrong we had it for 6 meals!!

Went to Hongdae for cafe hopping and we decided to try Caface, where we can put our photo onto coffee! It was so cute but only lasted for a few minutes as we hastily stirred the coffee and destroyed the photo LOL.

Dinner was awesome Ddakkalbi. The cheese in the middle was so yummy but unfortunately HC has cheese trauma and could only eat the chicken and ramen at the side. :(

Ended the day by shopping at Lotte Mart for groceries. Jocelyn raved about the Market-O brownies that ended up being not too popular among us HAHA.

Day 6: Myeongdong, Strawberry Farm

Finally reached the beauty streets of Korea! 

We happily bought cheap masks to be used every night, to fulfill our plans to become stars. More on that later :)

Took a mrt to Madu and cabbed to the Strawberry farm. Excited for picking! The moment we picked and ate our first strawberries, we were astounded. The strawberries were so sweet and juicy!!!! Not a single sour berry if we picked the red ones. We brought home 2 boxes of strawberries for 18,000won each and the strawberry farm auntie called a cab for us to go back and travel to Jeju!

Day 7: Abalone Porridge, Cheonjiyeon Waterfalls, Orange Picking, Miniature Park, Neulbom Black Pork

We had our breakfast at the porridge place just beside Cheonjiyeon waterfalls. Jocelyn said this is a must try. Unfortunately the porridge was extremely bland and we had to add soya sauce LOL.

Climbed a short period of time to reach the waterfall and snapped loads of photos!! Nature~~~~

Saw tangerine trees at the roadside and picked some to eat. Awesomely sweet!!!







Miniature Park was the last stop but we didn't make it because places close too early at Jeju! It was only 5.30pm!! We just stood at the entrance and snapped photos, and convinced ourselves that it wouldn't be worth going from the looks of it HAHAHA.


Went for the famed Neulbom Pork that PM Lee had been to! (This was actually an accident: we wanted to go to another black pork store but the GPS brought us to the other end of Jeju HAHAHAHAA. Traveling luck worked again!). Anyways, the pork was too awesome, though on the pricey end. Still a must-try :)

Day 8: Seongsan Sunrise Peak,  Maze Land, Manjanggul Cave, Black Pork Street

The hike up to Seongsan was horrible for us sedentary people, as you can tell from us resting on the benches haha. Still, we managed to scale the mountain in 30min, and the view made it worth it! On one side we could see the buildings and shophouses in miniature form (TAKE THAT, MINIATURE PARK), and on the other side, there were these ray of sunlight that lit up the sea so nicely! (Bottom left photo doesn't do it justice at all!) Made the hike up worth it! And we were kept warm from exercising in the cold Jeju air too :)

Maze land was so awesome!!! For one, running man filmed there before. Also, the overcast skies cleared up and it got warmer. We played games to decide who could choose the turn at each junction. Got out of the circular maze easily, but as for the tougher brick maze, we got distracted halfway by our internal high-pitch singing competition (impromptu, as usual) and walked back to the entrance of the maze and got out from there HAHAHA. 

Manjanggul cave had many interesting formations from the larva flow patterns!

It was quite dark in the cave and we stumbled around on the uneven surfaces!

Settled dinner at the first black pork street that we wanted to go since it was near Gimpo airport (where we needed to take the flight back to seoul). And we decided that the first black pork that we tasted in Jeju was much better haha.

Day 9: SM Audition, Myeongdong, Samgyetang, Live Squid

Haha, to continue the story of becoming stars, yes, we started off the day by marching fearlessly to SM for their global auditions, thinking that we'll just go in for the experienced... Until the minute we saw rows of well dressed, (and most probably well rehearsed Koreans) in line before us, we started freaking out.

Still, I took the registration form and entered into the waiting room and shortly after, HC came in too. We waited for 5 minutes and realized that the rest of the group had pangsehed us LOL. We went out to find them and after some persuasion (which included coin flipping and wagering if the staff would let us audition together... and lots of other random discussion), all 5 of us went into the waiting hall. 

Unfortunately, fear stuck us and we ended up fleeing from the waiting room within 15 minutes LOLOL. -failed-

Trying to shake off the trauma, we decided to go back to Myeongdong for some mask shopping. And we realized that we had been travelling the wrong direction on the train only after 3 stops. The nervousness and shock traumatized us so badly HAHA.

Decided to try more of korea's famed food so we went on another food hunt. 

Samgyetang was quite bitter at first, but HC the master chef made it delicious by adding salt and pepper LOL

Live squid was scary but very delicious!! We kinda got judged for ordering only 1 plate for all 5 of us HAHA.

Left Myeongdong around 10 to catch me and HC's flight at 1am.

Day 10: Disaster Strikes

We were aiming to take the last airport train at 11.43pm and there was supposed to be ample time......... If not for the thousand staircases leading to the airport train. I was dragging my monster luggage and it was impossible to go up and down the stairways quickly. Alas.... missed the airport train by 5 seconds.......

We rushed to take a cab to the airport and ended up spending our last cents on the cab fare :( ran and ran to the check in counter, but we were 20 minutes late.... AHHHHHHHHHHHHH!

Incheon airport was completely empty and there was no one to help us. I asked my dad to call scoot for me but unfortunately they had a strict policy that no check ins can be done already :( it was so horrible.

We started to research on new flights that we can take so that we won't need to find accommodation to stay in korea. After 3 excruciating hours of finding flights on our phones, we finally settled on one that would let us leave at 9am and reach SG the same day at 6pm. Phew. It was so exhausting. We wanted to pass out from tiredness (physical strain from lifting lugagges and mental strain from the shock of missing the flight + trauma from SM) but had to hold on or else flights would be gone :(

After booking, there was still time before the flight so we wanted to get some food. We then realized. We spent all our money on the cab fare :(((((

Thankfully HC got the realization that we still have balance in our T money cards (EZ link). Overjoyed with the extra few dollars that we had, we went to the nearest convenience stall to buy some cup noodles. -so miserable I cant even-

Once we sat down in the place we K.O.-ed and didnt know when the place took off and landed. Just woke up to exit the plane HAHA.

Transferred flights at HongKong. There was supposed to be a 2 hour gap but it was crazy once again because HK airport is so huge and we needed to take coaches to travel from one place to another. There were also crazily long queues.... Ended up running much more than expected :(

To cut the long story short, I was so glad to reach SG on the same day! Although we spent a bomb sob sob. What a huge price to pay to learn the importance of puntuality.