5 days since I've been back in Singapore. It's been great so far, in that I can see my family again. I've missed them so much, being away from home for so long sucks. So it was nice to be able to hug my parents, and my brother and sister. I went back to Melaka over the weekend for a combined birthday celebration for my mom's side of the family. Haha, I'm country-hopping yeah! ^.^V The jet lag wasn't as bad as I expected it to be, though, I managed to survive throughout the day. But I stayed up all Sunday night, I just couldn't sleep, and I figured that maybe I'll just stay up and hopefully be able to regulate my sleep cycle the next day. I spent the whole night writing to Babyboy, I haven't replied our main letter yet. I thought that maybe he'd have received my mail that I sent last week already, but the WAP forum's saying that mail has been slowing down, so :( I really hope he gets it soon- I really hope he GETS IT, I don't want any of our mail to each other to get lost, in the case of mail, it's really "better late than never". His letters are all here with me in SG :) I bubblewrap-ed and hand-carried them back lol, I didn't want to put them in my check-in luggage because I was afraid that my luggage would get lost (I really am paranoid about his letters!) LOL!

My father's not well, his cancer came back again, and he's going for an operation on 22nd June. I really pray that this time, everything will be fine, and that his cancer won't relapse :/ One of his eyes have to be operated out as well, as the tumor is growing too close to it. I can sit here and say this calmly, because our family (especially my father) has struggled and have finally come to terms with the fact that one of his eyes will have to go. My father took the news very, very hard initially; this whole ordeal has been very hard on our family. But it's either the eye or his life, and he's finally come to accept that maybe his physical appearance will never be the same again, that he'll never be able to function as well as before. But he'll still be alive, and in many more ways he'll still be able to function and carry on with life as normal. So we count our blessings.

Everything happens for a reason- that's what I strongly believe in, and it's one of the core beliefs that Jr. and I share. That's why I know that all this was for a reason, to teach us about a lesson in life. And it has, it's taught my father- the materialistic, high-achieving, hot-tempered, tight-fisted workhorse that he is- to let loose, relax, appreciate and enjoy the simpler things in life, to spend more time with our family, to stop chasing material goods and wealth, to LIVE. All my life, my father's been a workhorse, he works REALLY hard for the family. And he's been more than successful; we have a house, 2 cars, an office lot, sufficient money to be able to go on holidays regularly, plus mine and my siblings' education expenses are all covered (especially my overseas medical education, for which I can never repay my father enough in this lifetime). My mother has never had to work to support the family, because my father earns enough to feed us comfortably. He's done A LOT for our family. And he would have continue working as hard as before if not for this illness. It's slowed him down, mellowed him, and made him realise a lot about life. And it's not just him growing, our whole family's grown along with him as well. And we're closer than ever before.

Life has a funny way of teaching us lessons, but as long as we don't stop learning, we will always continue living.

Labels: life

I've grown up a lot over the past 5 months. It's amazing, and yet scary at the same time. I'm not the same person as I was last December. So it's like, from the time I saw my family in person last December till this May when I saw them in person again, I've grown up and changed in a lot of ways. I attribute most of my personal growth to my relationship with Jr-  he's opened up my eyes a lot, helped me see a lot of things in a different light, and taught me to accept myself and my imperfections. I know I've helped him grow up a lot as well, so really it's a 2-way thing, but that's a good thing in a relationship, right? Helping each other grow, and be better people.

I've found a lot of comfort in my faith during the initial stages of my relationship to Jr, when things were very trying for both of us. Our relationship is still very trying, because of our circumstances, but I trust and put my faith all in God. I trust that God knows what He's doing, and I know that He's brought Jr and I together for a reason. I place our relationship in His hands, and I know that He'll bless it and bring us together one day soon, forever. Jr does the same too, and our common faith is one of the common key points of our relationship. I'm glad that Jr is a Christian as well, it's VERY comforting to be able to talk about God with him. We are not Bible thumpers (as Jr calls it lol), but we have our faith and trust in God and know that He's real, and we leave it at that, we don't try to shove it down people's throats. Our relationship is by no means conventional, and we'll have to face a lot of obstacles in the coming future, but with God on our side, and being there for each other always, we know that we can get through this.

My father's illness also taught me a lot. Because of him, I finally see the fragility of life. I realise the importance of my loved ones, I learn to appreciate them more, and treasure the time spent with them. I stop chasing materialistic dreams and lofty ambitions. I learn to live life day to day, enjoying each one as it comes and goes. I've always been the kind to plan my life out neatly and nicely- I used to have a nice, perfect picture of how I wanted my life to pan out. But ever since Jr arrived in my life, and now with my father's illness, I've learned that while it's good to plan out ahead sometimes, you must always be prepared for Plan B, or C, because it always screws you up when things don't go according to Perfect Plan A, and life always has that way of springing us with unexpected surprises. You just have to take each day as it comes, do your best living each day, and hope that tomorrow will be a better one.

How much 5 months can change your life. When I look back on the past semester, I marvel over just how much I've grown up. But I like the new me, the old me would never have been able to take the shit that's been thrown my way this past semester. And it would never have been able to handle my relationship to Jr.

Life's taught me a lot in such a short period of time, but I'm thankful for each lesson, however painful it may have been to learn it.

Labels: growing up pains

Labels: gelatos from florence, gelatos from pisa, gelatos from rome

Annndddddddd I'm back! :D:D:D My exams have officially ended!!! Haha, I'm just so relieved that they are over, it's been a long 2 weeks. And I'm so happy right now, I've got Italy to look forward to, and going back to Singapore! Summerrrr ♥

I just counted the number of mails that I haven't replied to since my exams started, and I counted out TEN. Yes, TEN. I've got ten letters to reply, omg. And I gotta do it tonight, because tomorrow night I'll be leaving for Italy. I'm gonna go to Rome, Florence and Pisa with the gang. GELATO TIME! :D:D:D

Hello, I'm Mylene.

I love God, my family, my close friends, chocolate, Nutella, Nugatti, yam paste, Nonya kueh, baking, desserts, crunchy peanut butter, trying out new food places, books, travelling, airplane food, snail mail, vintage anything, medicine, wearing blood-red clothes, The Desiderata, stickers, hearts, making cards and origami, watching comedies, reading mystery/detective novels, playing mystery/detective games, mocha, yoghurt with fruits and muesli, dogs, quirky bags, soft & fluffy towels, pretty lingerie, Christmas, heels I cannot walk in, polka dots, smiles.

I try not to hate on anyone or anything because it's a waste of my time and energy. If I don't like it, I'll either try to change it or just ignore it.

I'm trying to live my life to the fullest, and be the best person that I can be.