What a fruitful day today's been. A meeting early in the morning with A*STAR for Fun Bin, and the good news that followed was encouraging that not everything was hard to scale. God certainly shows the way when we don't see possibilities. I had a good chat with XW afterward for about an hour, but as with fruitful and enjoyable times, it becomes fleeting. Nonetheless many great topics were discussed, and I am very glad to have made another friend and brother in Christ, one that God has placed in my life to help me and strengthen me. XW feels like an elder brother to me, although sometimes he is really just there as a buddy and a friend. He mentioned his goals in 2015, to grow ever closer and stronger in the Lord, and I could really see that in the thoughtfulness of his prayer. His encouragement and support was genuine and sincere, and I do know he extends this only to friends whom he considers special. For that I am honoured, and doubly blessed that God has placed someone like that in my life to help me and strengthen me. I was also surprised he has told me I am a good listener, this has been the second time in two weeks I've heard this, with Popporn being the other person telling me this. I've never considered myself a good listener, and I do think I get distracted very easily and forget important details many times. I also get very enthusiastic to say something rather than listen, and there is really plenty for me to learn, so these comments about me being a good listener come as a pleasant surprise that I have become a better listener to my friends. There's still plenty to improve and I should not rest on my laurels of course.

I also went over to my aunt's place after purchasing some cakes at Holland V at lunch time. It's her 68th birthday, and time and age has really caught up to her, as it has with my parents. No longer are they the youthful people they were twenty-odd years ago, when I was a kid. Looking at my childhood photos makes it even more accentuated. She had been having some headache due to high blood pressure, and I got a little worried inside, wondering how long more would I get to spend my time with her in this mortal realm. As my cousin puts it, every year I get to spend time with her is a blessing and a gift from God. The kids were as usual being monkeys, and pretending to be shy whenever I visit, and I really want to find out the real reason why they get shy around me only. Little Asker was really afraid to be around me for the first hour or so, but warmed up after his siblings and cousins came back from school and started turning the house upside down. Towards the end I was assaulted by his dives onto me to show me a toy, or a part of something which he had dismantled, or asking me to open up the tupperwares because he wanted the biscuits and keropoks inside. But it was an afternoon well spent with my aunt, cousin, and the kids. Needless to say I was being stuffed with food almost all the time I was there. I really hope to be able to enjoy many, many more of these visits to Blk 3 Ghim Moh Road, a place where I grew up with all the memories, especially of my aunt, uncle, and cousins. And not forgetting, to never take my own parents for granted just because I get to see them every day. || posted by Kuan Hui