2010:

1. seen@dempsey, exactly one year of photographing amazingly expensive handcrafted glasses and feeling their superior hinges. One year of walking up the Dempsey Hill and hearing the hysterical parrots squawk, popping into Hubers for fries and malt soda, and living behind this glass door.

One year of attending shop events, each event with more supercars than the last one. And eating exceptional morsels at these events. And being with my colleagues who feed me well and look at me wistfully as I head out the door at 5 pm, 6 hours ahead of them... 

 2. Hammock Day: This was the year we graduated from picnic mats to hammocks and chairs.

Our garden city lifestyle will flourish in 2011. Hammock Day 2 was cancelled because k's grandma was critically ill, and the whole family was gathered by her side. But there are bright days aplenty, and we promise Hammock Day 2 again very very soon.

3. Lunches with Parents.

Because of my curious work schedule, we've managed to have brunch together at 10 am most weekdays. And that, I think, is the key to a happier, slightly more insane family this year.

4. Kids Camp

This has been The Year of the Kids Camps. Portland, Oregon in June for director's training, and crazy months of camp planning all the way to December. Every time I open my mouth it has only been one story that comes out. My poor friends! Next year I will have other stories, or similar kids' camp stories. But I'm glad that I could have been at the heart of this precious ministry this year. Once the opportunity window passes, it passes.

So happy birthday to me. I always feel that God makes the sky extra blue on my birthday.

Christmas at Uncle Earnest's is always something to look forward to.This year's dinner was a crispy sizzling roast pork belly with peanut mustard, antipasto with homemade Yorkshire pudding, and this trifle with ruby port drizzled on top.

And the earl grey latte that changed my mind about earl grey forever.

Opening presents--

and being absorbed by presents.

My mother got a travel kit to go to Bintan with--everything but the ferry ticket.

Homemade vanilla sugar.

Playmobil nativity scene.

And lastly, badges that I made for sss camp. Didn't realise it but my birds look like Motorola logos. :/

It's getting colder, all the better for counting down the last few days of the year with.



The first Saturday of the year spent at home.

Not quite at home, actually. I went shopping alone and encountered older ladies asking my opinion on things twice. I bought myself an easel and slippers and contemplated buying secondhand copies of the Enid Blyton books I remembered best.

My heel hurts as if there was a nail driven through it.



Also, we bought a christmas tree, just like my childhood days. We've long thrown away the old decorations. My favourites when I was young were the glittery red apples. I would pretend they were the forbidden fruit and pluck them off the tree. Obviously I didn't understand the application of Eve's story.

Shopping for the Christmas tree was fun. We met fibre optic trees that had built-in baubles or stars, and when I tried pulling the stars off they went, "Me-rry Christmas! Ho ho ho!" Because of that we had to settle for a non-fibre optic tree that is a cute five feet, and looks like a baby tree standing all alone in our living room.

Pagan practice or not, a Christmas tree is a fun thing to have when you want to have Christmas parties and need to get into the mood of a party. Nothing to do with Jesus's birth, everything to do with my childhood.

Hello, today is my birthday and I haven't been able to sleep for the last few hours because I can hear my father snoring. I'm doing this to wait for him to wake up so that I can go back to sleep. I don't know what I will do today, but I'm in hongkong, where I was born.

This is also the last day of the year. This year has been as long as two years. I suppose that means I've made good use of my time. I don't dread this particular birthday because I think it comes at the right time; that today should be the day I sit back a bit and let time hurry up its end.

This was the year I stopped illustrating fashion and started drawing in miniscule for people who like stories. It was also the year I stopped liking fashion, and preferred to stay home and be as boring as I really want to be. Career and self goes together, as it should be.

This was the year I crawled out of myself and went to mongolia to carry lambs and goats, and joined e com. It was the year I could talk honestly to friends and strangers about what was truly important. I don't care for rowdy parties and I don't care for fitting in this exciting world, but let's talk about you.

This was the year my growing burden for balloon children became the project of my life. My third year in rfkc and I feel the same way about them, and I hope I will never become more Experienced or Prepared for the way they make me love them.

This was a happy year because I learnt more about myself. I learnt that I'm happiest as a child, buying toys and being outdoors and making stickers and drawing. They're the same things I did when I was five, just that at 22 I finally see that these are the best things one can do in life.

I just hope that at 22 I will make wise decisions; that the first thing I do in the new year will not be my biggest regret.