I've had a nice day

What a nice day! Except for the fact that it started out bad, but as chai says, "when the day starts out bad, smile, cause it's only gonna get better!"

It started out bad because of IPPT. Due to the rain, we had the static stations indoor and for the first time I jumped a distance of >225cm in like at least half a year! (I hit 230cm :O), everything else went great, until the 2.4km run.
I started off well with a good speed, maintaining the 3rd/4th position. So there was this loop where I was supposed to run around 3x before heading off to the ending point for the run. At 9mins30s when I finished the loop (my 3rd which I thought was my 2nd only!) I continued to make another loop, by this time I suddenly lost sight of the 3 dudes in front of me and I began to lap the last few runners, felt weird but I continued anyway. The few dudes taking note of the number tags of those running by also did not sound out anything to me, except for the safety officer saying jiayou, was really nice of him and I thanked him for that :) When I was finishing my last loop, I saw that many were heading towards the end point which should NOT be the case, that was when I knew I was in trouble...sprinted to the end point and clocked a timing of 13mins10s and I knew what had happened, I ran an extra round D: D: D: which meant I ran ~3.2km. ahhhhhhhh it was so lame and dumb of me...Anyway I'll chiong for my next IPPT in August -.-

After IPPT, I went home to enjoy my pm off. Its a good thing that ayer rajah camp's really near my house :) xmls jio-ed my granpa and myself to eat at holland v, I secretly thought that we were going to crystal jade (the xlb heaven) and when we cabbed there, it was indeed the intended location! haha but after some consideration, we decided to head to the branch which sells dim sum instead as it suits the appetite of the elderly more. The place really felt like Guangzhou to me cause they could all converse in cantonese and their service standards were excellent. There was this nice lady sitting beside our table who started talking to us about food then when she saw us praying also mentioned that she was from a presbyterian church. She even donated 2/3 of her plate of roasted pork (which is IMBA btw) to us because she did not want to waste the leftovers, apparently she is some kind of tai tai of the sorts.

xmls ordered a spread! There was chicken feet (which she told me was phoenix claws in mandarin & confused me utterly), siew mai, prawn dumplings, char siew buns, pork porridge and IMBA noodles! She had a good chat with my grandpa and I found out a lot more as well, she really has a way of engaging the elderly and is really caring. I thank God for such a caring teacher like her who often showers my family with care and love! It is through people like that that Christ's love is demonstrated in everyday life and reminds me to also love my brothers and sisters & family in the same way because we are in Christ :)

After the really nice meal, we sent grandpa home. I realised that when age really catches up with a person, a failing memory and ability to focus or even carry on with a conversation is quite a sad fact of life. Because xmls tried really hard but it was age, at the end of the day which obstructed us from having further and deeper fellowship in spirit.. Was glad that my grandpa had a good time though, he was all smiles :D

On our way to church to discuss the plans for the book store, xmls told me something which was really thought provoking. She mentioned that whhenever she saw the flowers, especially those which grew out of the cracks of walls or drains where there is no soil, she learns not to worry. Cause she was asking abt my family and whether I'm stressed as the eldest son, I said, more or less a bit.. but whatever God places in my life, it is my lesson to learn, depend on Him and overcome. It was indeed a beautiful reminder to see God's power in His creation, in nature and more so when I recall to mind His faithfulness, abundant grace and unfailing lovingkindness. Praise be to God!