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alavdabastide
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Name: Rachael
Gender: Female
Interests: astronomy, Elvis Presley, photography, scrabble, ballet, debates, Michael Jackson, books and sushi :D
Expertise: eating
Message: message me
Member Since:
10/7/2007
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| “Why do you want to dance?”
“Why do you want to live?” -- “Time rushes by, love rushes by, life rushes by, but the red shoes dance on.” ...more | | |
| This isn't a teenage sop story. I attended a wedding of a family friend from church a few weeks back. The bride and groom were both in their fifties. For her, it was her first marriage but for him, it was his second. Their wedding was a simple affair, without the usual fanfare; still, it was lovely in its own right. As tradition would have it, the bride's father walked her down the aisle to deliver her into her husband's hands. In his eighties, he could hardly walk. Instead of him guiding her, she was supporting his aged frame. There were a lot of hugs and tears at the end of it. He had lived to see her married and she had finally found herself a good man to spend the rest of her life with. She'd been single for a long time and her hopes of finding a husband had diminished over the years. Nevertheless, she'd prayed fervently and finally, God had answered her prayers. There was not a dry eye to be seen amongst her group of close friends. A quote springs to mind, Real love is always fated. It has been arranged before time. It is the most meticulously prepared of coincidences. And fate, of course, is simply a secular term for the will of God, and coincidence for His grace. Anyway, they played this song - Answered Prayer - at her wedding. It's incredibly sweet, listen to it. I was touched by her story. I wish I could transcribe the entirety of it here. Suffice to say, theirs isn't a story of fiery passion, but quiet companionship and a testimony to God's goodness.  | | |
| I'm re-discovering God in the most unexpected ways. Although the year hasn't even ended, I've been worrying a lot about the future: which university I'll go to, whether I'll wind up living abroad, what will become of my relationships with the people back home, and a slew of other things. My grandparents have recently taken to inquiring about my prospects and making their recommendations about this and that. Knowing that I've always wanted to pursue an education abroad, my parents have also chipped in excitedly with their two cents' worth. Truth is, I don't even know what I want. Amidst my general state of confusion, I chanced upon the following verse which brought me tremendous comfort: Philippians 4:6-7 Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. That verse is so applicable, in every way. I need to trust God; not because it's a must but because it's a can't-do-without. I believe God will make all things beautiful in His time. As if to affirm my newfound faith, the following verses surfaced: Proverbs 16:9 In his heart a man plans his course, but the Lord determines his steps. Proverbs 19:21 Many are the plans in a man's heart, but it is the Lord's purpose that prevails. The best I can do really, is to entrust everything to Him. It's not easy, given my megalomaniac tendencies. But faith, faith. Despite my grand plans, maybe there are some things that I'm either not ready for or that aren't right for me. Since when has God let me down? Never ever. Even now, mulling on it, the lyrics of the Christian song start chorusing in my head, "You are the peace that guards my heart, my help in times of need / You are the hope that leads me on and brings me to my knees / For there I find you waiting and there I find release / So with all my heart, I worship and unto You, I sing". I don't have a nice conclusion to this post because I'm still watching and waiting and hoping and praying. But I know He'll reveal his plans to me in due course and so, it's befitting to end on that note. | | |
| I want to watch Sherlock Holmes! The trailer looks exciting, even though it might not be true to Doyle's original creation. With Robert Downey Jr., Jude Law and Rachel McAdams, who cares? In other news, (pic spam!) | | |
| I'm exhausted (and dispirited) from the late nights. Things could be - and have been - worse, so this is okay. At least the past few nights have been enjoyable, with ballet and hiphop concerts, suppers and late-night bus rides. I like the Esplanade area. If only I didn't have to go to school in the mornings, I'd spend my night roving. I used to have more stamina, averaging four hours of rest, but sleep is now my sole preoccupation. I'm not sure I even comprehend half of what my tutors are saying.
My arms are throbbing from today's IHC volleyball, with ugly bruises and flecks beginning to appear. The sport is far harder than it looks! I'm pretty hopeless with ball games. Adieu to my school team dreams~ No matter, I can do without the injuries.
Talking to RJ reminded me of my pre-admission histrionics early in the year. (I was afraid of not having any friends in Raffles.) I spent an eternity raving about my lackadaisical social skills, the few friendly people and everything hysterical under the sun. I was silly, silly, silly. I'm glad I've met some incredible people whom I can count as friends. I'm secretly very grateful for every one of you
Lindy hop on Tuesday was fun! It's the sort of dance that you cannot help but laugh while doing. The steps look ridiculous. But the high energy sequences compensate for some of the absurdity. Since there's a gender imbalance in dance, some of us (including me) have to double up as boys. We're expected to do lifts and all that nonsense. There's even a segment when our partners are supposed to leap onto us and be swung out, lindy hop-style. Being the wimp that I am, I promptly fell backwards despite my valiant attempts to remain upright. It's understandable that my partner has close to zero faith in me. Still, lindy hop is fun!...in a bizarre kinda way.
There's Dance of the Hours tomorrow, Paquita the day after and non-syllabus + Grade 8 class on Saturday. Whoo! I can do this, with or without shut-eye.
On a parting note, I'm quite taken with Elvis Presley's Always on My Mind (although Michael Buble does it better here). It's the perfect song to be serenaded (to sleep) with. How apt that I'm so deliciously drowsy.
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