havent posted pictures for a long time..so here's pics from KL trip with the family.

this is love - the Lee way. =)

-lu

..watched curse of the golden flower today. love Zhang Yimou's works..always very artistic and visually appealing. plus jay was quite cool with his golden army..even though he can't act for nuts..=/

and then nat and lise made me watch flyboys..which honestly was a waste of time because it looked like a remake of bits and pieces of hollywood films..-yawn- but i guess the night was summed up rather well with prata at upper bukit timah with the two lovely girls.

-lu

..so as the year draws to a close, and we all take a little time to reflect on it and what we have been up to or achieved, one thing is common - no matter what, we all learn-ed and took something from 2006. Be it in relationships, personal issues or just plain life lessons (then again, what is plain in life?), we all emerge stronger and wiser than when we started off.

For me, i started off wanting to move as far away from swimming as i could: made new (and good) friends along the way, got into law fac, strengthen my bond with the family, and got wiser as the year went past. And for all of that, i'm thankful. But before this becomes another cheesy Christmas post, i shall stop and say a big thank you to every one i've actually met this year. I wish i could have done more, or achieve more; but u know what? At the end of the year. its not so much what we didn't do, but rather what we take from what we have or had not done. And i guess as we all sit down to reflect and ponder (or for some just sit down without reflect/ponder), what matters most, above all other things,

is that we know that we are loved.

Merry Christmas to all from KL. =)

-lu

"...and i think we both know if we don't work out...we will end up seriously apart."

"...the one moment that changed my life till now was meeting you."

-lu

Damn it. Why can't friendships just stay the same? Why can't it not become 'i like you'? If i wanted a relationship, i'd have said it. Okay, rambling here..

Day 1 of work was...woohoo. Totally revisited my chronic backache again (yea, the one that helped me get downgraded haha). But the staff was (mostly) friendly, the work was cool, the place was nice, and most of all, i had fun. =) $28 and counting..haha.

p.s. - i miss...my baby.
-lu

.Christmas.

hehe..now we are all iPod buddies. Thank you!
wow..yesterday's shopping for the parents with ann was the coolest ever. Never have i dared to venture so far into the credit territory..bought Kate Spade bag + Nokia 8800 for the mumsy, and dad got a Zegna sweater (classified price), tie + iPod video too; courtesy of bern. gosh, my parents get like the best presents. bern and i are jealous.

-lu

dream

=)
the sweetest number to sum up the year.
thank God.

-lu

.hrmz.

i know this is so cliche, and trust me i never ever blog about celebs (unless they have small hips, nice butts or are really pretty), but was reading andre's blog and saw this quote. Not that i think thorpe and i are on equal grounds (coz we aren't, at least not in terms of swimming), but it summed up my thoughts about why i left swimming.

"I started to look at myself, not just as a swimmer but as a person

You can swim lap after lap, staring at a black line, and all of a sudden, you look up and see what's around.

That's what it feels like to me. Ask more questions, ask what the relevance of swimming is in my life now.

Swimming has provided a safety blanket for me, a security net. When i'm not certain about developing other sides of my life, I just fall back into swimming."

hmm.

-lu

.Humdrum.

..went with jason for Street Life yesterday..there's really something very satisfying and humbling about giving Christmas presents to poor people and talking to them. Brings one back down to reality, especially after staying in the city for almost a year..hrmm..oh well, den after that, came back and met jee and we went to watch....movie was good. Just that i don't like how the new Bond seems so vulnerable. Like susceptible to emotions, love, anger, ego, hurt, and plus he actually died for a few seconds (oops! did i just reveal too much?). But Craig's a good actor lah..i'll give him that. -shrugs-

..and as another friend goes home, everything just seems a little harder to overcome..

-lu

.breast.

miss you much

.Click.

"So the flight on the 5th you are giving up ah?"

..That's what the SIA lady asked me on the phone. And when i said yes, i heard her click something with her mouse and then there seemed a twinge of finality suddenly. just couldn't believe that i waited in anticipation for the exam timetable to come out just so that i could make sure it wouldn't clash with my last paper and now, i'm giving it away.

Waitlisted on the 20th now.

Ulynn went home on Friday.

Pronolo's going home tonight.

Steph Wednesday.

Zara Thursday.

Molly friday.

Jason next monday.

Oh well, at least i've got Harry, Jee and Pepper to accompany me.

1 more paper tomorrow. Last one and i'll be done.

Funny. It's not even happiness that's coming over me.

-lu

.Doha 2006.

..haha heard from my mom a few days ago that rumours are flying around that i'm gonna go home and teach swimming at Uncle Peng Wee's swim school..and funny how it is that the only people i've told so far are back here in Melbourne. Singapore's swimming circle is really that low on gossip, eh? still gossiping about swimmers who have left for more than a year already..oh well. glad i could be of help.

on a more serious note,

woohoo!! 100m Butterfly for women (Doha 2006) saw China 1-2-3...so cool!

oh oops..i meant, China 1-2, and Singapore 3.

-lu

.wow.

..i dun normally do posts about myself (ok at least not myself only haha)..

..but it was one year and 1 day ago..

..there's nothing else to say.

-lu

http://lionellee.blogspot.com

...i really didn't want to think about it, didn't want to talk about it. but it just gets so hard sometimes i really really don't know what to feel. it was supposed to be another 4 more days before i'd be flying home, and now i really don't know when it'll be.

and the worst thing about it, you both don't care.

It's not so much the fact that i can't go home;

It's the fact that i have to pretend it's all fine.

It's the fact that what's important to you both is not me.

It's the fact that i have to change everything i was looking forward to because someone didn't feel like doing it.

but most of all,

it's the fact that sometimes all i want is abit of your time(s) and understanding,

but everything i do doesn't seem to get it.

how come it always has to be the one thing that i really want / need that has to screw up?

i don't know. i don't know anything anymore.

-lu