the obligatory birthday post

hmm, in 29mins, or 5h 31mins ago in singapore, i turned 20! :) a huge heartfelt thanks from the bottom of my heart (i can't emphasize this enough) to the people who sent their birthday wishes - especially to those who contributed to the birthday box i received yesterday! books, cookies, hats, keyboard-wrist-supports, and cards with loving thoughts were very much appreciated.. also thanks to those in the UK who offered sexy photos (ahem) and those in sgp who also sent a photo :) you know who you are!

felt much loved on this side of the globe also thanks to well wishes from my friends & tchrs here.. a book i'd enjoy muchly, a dinner-movie-plus-20roses!-outing, düsseldorf tomorrow!, greetings coming thru email tmr cos its unlucky to wish before the birthday (first time i'm hearing this, but all germans say it!).. yeah, thanks to you all too though you dont read this.. :)

so, in a short span of a week (it was a week since i last post i think) i've crossed the biggest hurdle of this one year..! or so i hope. will find out the results of my german test in 6 weeks, but the feeling was neutral bordering on positive, and anyway i'm not the type who'd worry la huh :) also enjoyed 3 great days of lessons with a great tchr & interesting classmates. always nice to meet new pple, learn new things. trivia of the day - pple in senegal speak over 40 languages! but french is the official language. interesting huh!

what else. random things now. some dreams i had these few days include one with ningqi ryan & yijin, with yijin being mean & not lending me sth i asked fr him.. and the other two being nice (as usual & as expected :P) hahaa. another one had me meeting sueanne ma'am & suefaye (my redcross senior & junior respectively) and they hugging one another like they haven't met in a million years.. (dont ask me why/how, i dont know..) and the latest one had me being shot, but thats more like a nightmare but i didnt feel pain. very, very bizarre.

many many things to blog abt actually, i dont know where to start. some news for starters. recent talk in germany is about an attack by 2 (drunken) guys on an ethiopian-german, who's still in a coma in hospital.. alleged to be racially motivated, sparking much talk abt whether racism has resurfaced (or has always been present) in germany. sth else tt caught my eye was the tragic one involving man raping his daughters. led me to find out abit abt the marriage laws for muslims in singapore.. anyone interested can search for registry of muslim marriages, singapore, online & find out abit more..

oh yes, easter came & went a week ago. spent sun & mon with my host family, sipping coffee & savouring cakes, breads & soups. 4-5 solid hrs of family bonding per day, made me feel very lucky indeed to have such an inclusive & generous host family. they invited their sister/ niece/ kids/ in-laws, and everyone sat ard & chatted. also took walks & admired their garden. the strolling reminded me tt i shd be putting on my jogging shoes more often now, since the weather's turned much kinder recently.. and so i went to jog one day, 25mins of slow jogging, but i felt real gd (apart from unfit, of course..) cos i only saw beautiful green fields, woods in the distance, streams, and happy kids playing at the playground during my jog. :)

what else happened this week? not so much i guess. oh yes, i started reading a new book.. "the bonesetter's daughter" by amy tan, a birthday present fr j1/j2 which i jus picked up after getting my parents to send it to me.. i find its such a gd read not just cos its a story tt draws u into it, but also becos i can identify with so many habits & behaviour of the characters. highly recommended. :)

okayyy, blogging is a tiring affair, and sadly i have no pictures to post! have been lazy with the cam, and nth much has happened anyway, so till.. norway, i guess, for more pics. :) am extremely excited abt it, prob cos i havent travelled for a long time! :P alright now, shall end off & go read abit of my book.. everyone back home & abroad, do take care! my birthday wish is for every one of you to stay healthy & fit! nth shd be more impt than ur health!!