and as of today, i apparently am going to Vietnam in JUne! woopiee! haha
i think i really need to start a travel fund. any contributers?? heh
my thesis is due tmr!! haha but thankfully i'm about say 95% done. doing my final read thru to trim the fat, tighten it up, and put my finishing touches to it. it seems like a miracle that it's almost over really...but you know what? i couldn't have gotten through it without many of you. so...here's the very first page (or rather first 2 coz i couldn't squeeze it all in one! haha) of my thesis for you guys. i've cut and pasted it as it is : )
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
“I thank my God every time I remember you.” Philippians 1:3
Dr Ngiam – Thank you for your infinite patience, your words of wisdom, your kind and gentle smile, your fatherly demeanor and reassurance that calms me even in my most worried and anxious state, and for always putting aside your heap of work and making time whenever I come a-knocking, almost always without first making an appointment! You’ve inspired me to go further, strive harder, and to integrate all that I’ve learnt and am passionate about in this thesis. I couldn’t have picked or asked for a better supervisor! Thank you so, so much!
Mom & Dad – Your unconditional love and continual sacrifice, every little thing you do for me just so I’ll have more time to rest and be in top form, your bearing with my grumpiness, your prayers and encouragement, your belief and pride in me, and your challenging me to hold fast to Truth alongside reality, have enabled me to be the best I can be! Thank you both for bringing me up to love God and people, to walk humbly before Him, and to be the person that I am. This short paragraph obviously doesn’t do justice to all you’ve done! I love you both.
Kor – Thanks for reminding me that I can’t save the world but there’s One who can! And for always making me laugh and usually giving in to my whining! Haha love you!
Mils & Cheryl – oh what would I do without you both? Mils, thanks for being my thesis partner! I’m so that I’ve had you to walk this journey with. Cheryl dear, you truly are a blessing in countless ways. Thank you both for the amazing friendship, your encouragement and support, constantly reminding me that God’s in control of this and everything else that weighs heavy on my heart, and for walking with and by me through what’s probably been the hardest bit of NUS. Haha oh and of course for showing me that the library’s not such an awful place after all, as long as I’ve got great company!
Lav & Giblert (a.k.a Dhoby) – Lav! There’s too much to say! As Dhoby says, we really are “solemates!” Thank you for being there (mid-wk movies, shopping, Subway, the longest conversations about everything…), for always making me laugh, and for challenging me to think and see things I wouldn’t otherwise have seen or thought about in a new light. There’s no one else I’d wanna do India AND my grad trip with too!
Dhoby! Thanks for making it a point to ask how it’s going, for the crucial and timely reminders that God’s holding onto me, and perhaps you don’t know this, but for challenging me to pursue righteousness and holiness and to hunger to know more each day the wonders of His Person.
My favorite Ngohs – Farand! I know your Creative is your lifesource, yet u lent it to me whenever and however long I needed it for to get my recordings done. And like you’ve said, our talks are always engaging and insightful! Thanks for always being there, regardless the time of the day and what it’s about. Maybe I’ll buy you a fishing net to thank you for all you’ve done. *grin*
Small Ngoh, thanks for helping me transcribe and for going to the gym/track/breakfast with me whenever I needed a break and some company!
My CG – You guys are the best! You bring me such joy and I have so much fun with you guys that leading a CG hardly seems like much work at all! Haha oh but that’s because I have Toille and Nat too. Thank you both for helping me lead CG. Couldn’t have done it alone. You guys are gems and you really do polish and sharpen me!
Church peeps – Angela, Li Yee, Vera, Jo, Ade, people in my Kairos CG & several others – thanks for praying and cheering me on towards the finishing line! You guys have often come alongside me just when I needed it. My dear mentor, thanks for taking time to read my thesis despite having a lovely bundle of joy to attend to. Thank you too, for walking through much of my university life with me, making time to meet up and see how I’m doing, providing me with much encouragement, and covering me in prayer.
Friends – Adrian, Hui & Beryl, thanks for linking me up with my interviewees! Adrian, thanks also for being there and saving me/getting me out of tight situations, and for being my wise, like-minded friend. Hui, thank you for being such a great friend as well. I’m humbled and inspired by the way you put others above yourself and give nothing but your best and more. It’s been such fun having you in our Welfare Econs group! Kel, thanks for being the one who usually initiates meeting up even and especially when I’m stressed with work. Jamie, Mich, Amu, and everyone else who’ve been there at some or many points along this long and often challenging journey, THANK YOU!
Social Work department & Honors Class of 06/07 – Dr Ng G.T., Dr I. Ng, Dr. Lee, Dr. Nair…thanks for being so approachable and for playing an integral role in exciting and challenging me about SW and equipping me with what I need to enter the field. Mdm Suraya, thanks for being such a wonderful go-between Dr Ngiam and I! Kenny & Gerard, I have no idea how we ended up in the same group but I know it wouldn’t have been the same without you two! To the Honors Class, thanks for making this last year in NUS the best I’ve had.
Research participants – Thank you for making time, for your honesty and forthrightness, and for helping me grow through this process. I’m humbled and challenged by your strengths and resilience.
Participating agencies – Thank you for taking the time and effort despite your busy schedules to help link me up with my research participants. Nick, I really want to thank you for going the extra mile to help me with my ISM and thesis. I really would have been stuck without your help!
My Heavenly Father – Thank You, God, for grace and strength, for wisdom and insight, for growing and stretching me, for teaching me to trust and depend entirely on You, for never failing me or letting me go, for showing me that Social Work is exactly where You’ll have me, and for the wonderful people You placed around me to see me through. Thank You for opening me eyes to see things the way You do.