"Blessed are you who are poor,
for yours is the kingdom of God.
Blessed are you who hunger now,
for you will be satisfied.
Blessed are you who need now,
for you will laugh."
Luke 6: 20 - 21
T H A T S P E C K
Ruth
11 March 1990
Tao Nan School
Dunman High School
Victoria Junior College
Chinese Orchestra Dizi
ruthzhuo@gmail.com
I'm exceedingly proud of myself for waking up bright and early this morning to study with Amantha, Calvin and Sarah. Well, we just discussed a Grammar past-year paper, but that's good for me! The consultation with Dr. Ludwig was really cool. And is he amazing. He asked me for my name, to which I simply replied, "Ruth." "Oh, Ruth Zhuo?" He'd apparently seen my name on Facebook somehow, somewhere, but he assured us that he isn't a stalker. Haha. And his academic life's really amazing. From a student who had to repeat a year in Secondary school to being offered a place in Cambridge to pursue his Masters, eventually obtaining his PhD, that's just... Wow. :)
And I still can't get over that mental image of someone attempting to copy the entire dictionary into a 40-page or so learning log since we can't bring our dictionaries for the exams. HAHAHAHAHA!
Alright, this is a really random post. I'm just so bored waiting for the Amazing Race to start. Heheh.
|| The wave was tossed || 4:54 PM
My PBL journey…
Has officially come to an end! While I was waiting fervently for the arrival of this day, I can’t deny it was a bittersweet moment when we departed from the classroom. PBL was a torture in itself, all that generation of ideas, research, frustration, frequent sleepless nights, intense preparations for D-Day, not to mention the endless waiting, but it was PBL that brought five different people together! I will definitely miss the time spent together being crazy, being stressed, and being BOOMZ.
I thank God, really, for this entire experience. It’s the one project that I really soaked myself in. Knowing my character… I really thank God for my awesome group mates who pushed me to give my best and do stuff that I wouldn’t have taken the initiative to in the past. Wow, looks like I’ve learnt the art of motivation from the project! Haha. But yep, thank God for the fun and laughter, all the nonsensical stuff we said and did that would really brighten my days, the last two weeks of PBL where a few of us met up almost every day to rush our incomplete work like mad, the chilling and eating sessions, even for the trying, stressful and exasperating moments cos those were the times I got the most out of this! And how could I forget, THANK GOD FOR MY GROUP MATES!!!!!
As I’d mentioned, I felt a tinge of sadness when EdPsych class officially ended on Friday. It’s the course that I enjoyed the most, next to Grammar, and I’m really gonna miss my classmates, several of whom I might never see again if we don’t bother to keep in contact! Alright, that sounds exaggeratingly depressing but looking at how I refuse to spend an extra moment in school, it’s possible. On top of that, I’m gonna miss our random lunching and chit-chatting days at the Engineering block’s food court! Hee, that point when we said our goodbyes, I really felt rather gloomy.
The last of PBL and EdPsych. Awww.
My fabulous group!
With our fabulous tutor, Ms Lim, whom I'm gonna miss loads as well.
Since we didn't take a picture together, here's the other half of our lunching group. Their presentation slides were WOW!
BOOMZ-ERS!!!!!
Lastly, just a random picture
of negative externalities that were laughing away when the people around were trying to study. Heehee.
Thank God for the week that has passed, it's been exhausting, but it's all over. For now... Exams! And discussion of Grammar answers with the hilarious people tomorrow. So sweet of them to wait for me just cos I don't wanna go to school so early. Awww. :)
I thought I could handle it, but I can't. I need Your wisdom and guidance.
|| The wave was tossed || 12:57 AM
Wednesday, November 04, 2009
I could feel the coldness and nonchalance setting in. To an extent, I still felt a little hurt, a little angry. I didn’t think that the party deserved my time. I thought about it in the wee hours of the night, the steady rhythm of raindrops against my window, and it occurred to me. Hadn’t I just been doing 5 days of “I am set apart”? I prayed. I really have to stop taking the things and people around me for granted. I was all of a sudden so thankful for the friends God has blessed me with. Lord, grant me the patience, help me to love as You loved.
I’m extremely tired, having dragged myself out of bed this morning after an hour’s sleep to go for the Language lecture which I haven’t attended since the first week of the semester. Yeah, that was essentially my second time going for the lecture. I felt that it wasn’t worth my time, but I did resolve to go for all my lectures this week, seeing that it’s the last week of school. Well kinda. The good that came out of it was breakfast with the Boomz-ers, Angela and Amantha. All that nonsensical talk about flies and whatnots. And of course, PBL with the usual rad stuff. My group just refuses to take my suggestion on our group name being Leopard Preens. Heh.
I totally can’t wait for Friday to come and declare that PBL is over. Meanwhile, it’s PBL, essay, Math quiz….. Oh well, I’ll make my long break tomorrow a productive one. PBL, followed by studying with cool people! :D
What Faith Can Do - Kutless
Everybody falls sometimes
Gotta find the strength to rise
From the ashes and make a new beginning
Anyone can feel the ache
You think it's more than you can take
But you're stronger, stronger than you know
Don't you give up now
The sun will soon be shining
You gotta face the clouds
To find the silver lining
I've seen dreams that move the mountains
Hope that doesn't ever end
Even when the sky is falling
And I've seen miracles just happen
Silent prayers get answered
Broken hearts become brand new
That's what faith can do
It doesn't matter what you've heard
Impossible is not a word
It's just a reason for someone not to try
Everybody's scared to death
When they decide to take that step out on the water
It'll be alright
Life is so much more
Than what your eyes are seeing
You will find your way
If you keep believing
I've seen dreams that move the mountains
Hope that doesn't ever end
Even when the sky is falling
And I've seen miracles just happen
Silent prayers get answered
Broken hearts become brand new
That's what faith can do
Overcome the odds
You do have a chance
(That's what faith can do)
When the world says you can't
It'll tell you that you can
I've seen dreams that move the mountains
Hope that doesn't ever end
Even when the sky is falling
And I've seen miracles just happen
Silent prayers get answered
Broken hearts become brand new
That's what faith can do
That's what faith can do
Even if you fall sometimes
You will have the strength to rise
It's time to concuss.
I can never afford to get complacent.
|| The wave was tossed || 4:07 PM
I just love it when it's raining at an unearthly hour. :)
|| The wave was tossed || 3:49 AM
Saturday, October 31, 2009
I’m just so thankful for the week gone by, I can’t even begin to thank God for having seen me through. The past few days were essentially spent on PBL, PBL, and more PBL. I do have loads to say about that, but I’ll leave that till next week, when we’ll officially be done with the whole thing. PBL’s a chore, really. But thank God for blessing me with wonderful group mates. The time we spent together almost everyday for the past few days (for Sarah, everyday) was to me, really enjoyable. How we suffered sleepless nights together, went crazy together, said the most random and stupid things… Yeah, it was totally BOOMZ. (Sarah, I’m so not the prognosticator of BOOMZ. Who’s the one who randomly BOOMZs man. Still, your Facebook post was really sweet. Thank you too, and keep smiling! :D) And yes, the SSC has since become our favourite haunt.
Thank God for the message yesterday, guess it was a really relevant topic for most of us. I’m often so distracted by a hundred things, my focus won’t stop shifting, and then it’s down to the dumps for me. Focus, focus, focus! And thank God for the little sharings last night, including the reminder that we are very weak people and it’ll be exhausting, if not impossible, to do everything in our own strength. Thank God that we can always depend on Him.
Thank God once again for the week! For PBL, for my group mates (especially my fellow BOOMZ-ers), for sustaining me, for great friends, for my Language assignment, for my Calculus test (I failed), for Thursday, for Grammar lessons, for my dad, for every word of encouragement… Yes, thank God, THANK GOD for this week! :) :) :)
Just something lame that came up during a PBL presentation yesterday.
“We, as teachers, should always put ourselves in the shoes of our students. I know that our students’ shoes might be too small for us to go into them, but we should still try.”
Gosh, that was totally lame. Nevertheless, I was laughing throughout.
To my BOOMZ group, let’s PRESS ON for our presentation and BOOMZ it cos PBL is BOOMZ and we are BOOMZ!!!!!!!!!
Did I mention that PBL drives people crazy?
|| The wave was tossed || 12:39 PM
Monday, October 26, 2009
Part of me wanted the bus ride to go on forever, so that my troubles could be flung off the bus at each stop and somehow disappear. Of course, it didn’t happen. The accumulation of emotions over the week eventually condensed into a stream of tears and I broke down on the bus. I felt bad. Being tired wasn’t an excuse. Beyond which thoughts just kept flowing in and out, and I became all pensive again.
I dazed in bed when I got home, with the ceiling for company, until I finally got round to picking up the phone for help. (No, that’s an exaggeration.) But I can’t thank God enough, that I can talk about Monday to Sunday and Sunday back to Monday without being coherent, without having to link anything and without identifying what’s frustrating me so much, and I can still be understood. It’s kinda… Amazing. But hey, thank you so much, what you said was a timely reminder for me. And I’m truly encouraged by how God has been working in you. Let’s press on together, once again! :)
Well, the whirlpool of emotions has finally died down. I realise, I’ve got so much to thank God for and I haven’t bothered to do so. Even the simplest of acts can really cheer one up. Let’s focus on the good of this week now. Thank God for the study-attempt-that-failed and shopping with Yuqian, thank God for LAAAR (my AAE101 assignment group, it should be LAAA now haha) for being so responsible and accepting, thank God for my PBL groupmates for their understanding and entertainment, thank God for Jesslyn for being so nice and steady about my last-minute ways, thank God for every single one who helped out for Vibe yesterday, thank God for every single message, every single sharing today, and thank God for all of you!
The stuff that amused me.
"Hey, our safe assignment score is 9%." "Okay, but I think "had been fooled" should be changed to "have been fooled". "Ooh I've changed it, and our score is now 11%."
And what made me laugh until I cried during Ed Psych. My SMS to Yasmin: Hello! How's your day! Her reply: Very good. What about yours? So what are you doing now? Having lessons?
We were sitting beside each other at that point of time.
The outcome of having unlimited SMS-es, you know? But it wasn't me who started this whole thing. Hahahaha. And this just proves that PBL either causes people to fall ill, or it drives people into extreme lame-ness and madness. :D
Speaking of which, here's a shoutout to my fellow fighters to press on over the next 2 weeks! I'm not planning to eat PBL, drink PBL and breathe PBL, but I'll DO PBL!!!
Take control...
|| The wave was tossed || 12:51 AM
Wednesday, October 21, 2009
And I keep reminding myself, over and over again. But reminders don't work until they've really sunk in. Apparently it hasn't. Because I'm overwhelmed with my own questions, instead of taking time to pause and listen to the answer. Because I'm only looking at what I cannot do, instead of what He can do. The reminders go on, I'm ostensibly convinced, but I continue questioning. And questioning, and questioning...
So, I ran out of patience. I didn't do anything, didn't say anything, but I felt everything hitting the boiling point. I think, it was exasperation verging on desperation. Currently, I'm confused. And once again, the questions come in. This time, I'm looking back.
I don't even know what I'm talking about now. All I do know, is that I'm super tired! Well more of physically this time. I haven't been waking up before sunrise on Wednesdays for 2 months (yeah you may infer for yourself what that means) and it was no easy battle between school and sleep, with the former, very thankfully, reigning this time. (Who can I blame but myself for rushing all my stuff last night.) I was soooooo sleepy I thought it possible for me to have been sleep-walking for a moment until I nearly fell into the drain beside me. Hahaha but that's not the point. The point is... School is a stressed-up land right now! I was just looking at my groupmates, looking around me, looking and listening... I decided, that having had 4 hours of sleep last night was good. Oh, to have someone prod me with a sense of urgency will be great.
Now isn't the time to think. Now isn't the time to watch. Now isn't the time to fear. Now isn't the time to cry. Now is the time, to depend and to DO.
People are never meant to fill an empty heart. He is.
|| The wave was tossed || 7:21 PM
Saturday, October 17, 2009
You've gotta watch this, it's HILARIOUS! Especially if you're a J2 Math student preparing for your A's. Hahaha.
|| The wave was tossed || 2:14 AM
Much as I'm always looking forward to the weekends, I kinda can't wait for this week to be over. There seems to be sooooo much to do by Sunday and I'm procrastinating as usual. Thank God for the week gone by though, especially the later part. Yesterday must have been the first time I actually felt thankful to be able to go to school, thank God for my dad giving me a lift all the way there! I must have had at least 3 people greeting me with, "Hi Ruth, haven't seen you in a long time!" I'm just thin and hidden. Thank God for Grammar mid-term results, but I'm already prepared to fail both Math papers. And thank God for funny people hahahaha.
THE TRAUMA OF AED105 IS FINALLY OVER!!!!!!! Not that I was suffering for a long time since I only started last night (yes, enter the "ARE YOU SERIOUS?!?!?!") but I almost had a mental breakdown. Thank God for the strength and focus to complete it. I'd lasted 28 hours without sleep by the time I concussed! Haha. Moral of the story, never do a 2000-word essay one night before the deadline. Hunting for evasive information from websites, books and journals just so that the citations can be done up is more than enough to kill. But let's see if I end up doing the same thing again for Ed Psych. Now for the next big thing - PBL, amidst other "smaller" assignments. Go go go!
Hmm. I guess we're getting affected one way or the other, and we're tired. At least, I'm quite tired, but I know that I shouldn't be. I should be on fire, but once again, it's a touch-and-go thing. How...?
The world is smaaaaaaaall. :)
|| The wave was tossed || 1:06 AM
Monday, October 12, 2009
"I started studying at 10pm." "Wow, that's an improvement!"
That made me laugh.
Beyond my exasperation at some other stuff.
I'm gonna hit my limits.
Literally, and maybe not so literally.
Once again, I come to You, asking for Your love in and through me.
|| The wave was tossed || 11:43 PM
Thank God for the first boat-fishing experience, fine weather, food, fun, fellowship, fish, and false alarms. Lol.
A little schedule of the week to shock me into motivation.
Tues: Calculus Mid-term paper Tues: PBL e-portfolio Thurs: Algebra Mid-term paper Fri: AED105 essay due Fri: Ed Psych e-learning tasks due Sun: Math online quiz due Progress: ...
Woohoo! It's gonna be an exciting week ahead. I guess it has successfully overwhelmed me, but I'm... None the more motivated. I'M GOING TO SLEEP.
