It's been three weeks since I last blogged. It's not that there hasn't been anything worth blogging about, it's just that I haven't managed to find the words to put down what's been going on. Anyway here's an update on what's been happening to me.

The day after my last post, my dad couldn't swallow anything. He went to NUH to see what was wrong, only to receive the news that he hoped he would never receive. The cancer has returned.

The doctor says he will probably not survive 2006. When my family heard the news, we were overcome with emotion. Now, from the first time he was diagnosed with this rare cancer (pharyngeal mucosal melanoma), I sort of knew that it was only a matter of time before the cancer would overcome him. It's just that it's a lot more real when you are given a concrete timetable of events. To some degree, I'm confident in God's plan. At the same time, I'm pretty disappointed that in this day and age, there isn't much doctors can do for him.

This news kind of ruined Chinese New Year for me. I didn't know who to tell as I didn't want to dampen anyone else's mood. I told some people anyway and I guess that did help me gain some perspective on what's going on.

Apart from that, Chinese New Year was alright. Went to Michelle's place for a lunch gathering on the first day. It was just like old times, though everyone's a lot older now. On the second day, I went to Jared's house for dinner. We played San Juan and Puerto Rico. I won at San Juan (it's luck-based) and jointly won at Puerto Rico. I was shocked that I was a joint winner but at the same time I was quite relieved. That was because I really didn't know what I was doing. Later that week, I went for a lunch that was held at a classmate's place. She got us (my class) to play Cranium, a game which tests all your mental faculties. Apparently I'm good at the yellow category. I actually have this game in my closet but I've never played it.

All too soon, the Chinese New Year break was over. Last Tuesday, I went to see a neurologist about my concussion. He said that I should be fine, but that symptoms could take months to go away. That really didn't encourage me so I asked to go for a CT scan. (I had it done today.) I just want to make sure there's nothing else wrong as it really sucks to forget simple things, have dizzy spells, and suffer from random pain in the head. The CT scan was quite freaky. To protect your eyes from radiation, you have to close your eyes throughout the scan. On top of that, you have to lie completely still. So there I was, my eyes closed, lying down, hearing the strange sounds of the CT scan machine. The results will be revealed to me on the 7th of March.

At least one happy thing happened to me. One day I came home to find a delivery notice in our letterbox. Apparently someone had sent me a package but nobody answered the door. I wondered who the sender was. Looking at the delivery notice, I saw that the delivery code on the notice terminated in "HK". Could that mean that the package was from Hong Kong? I briefly entertained the thought but put it aside as I didn't want to give myself any false hopes. I arranged for the package to be delivered the next day.

When it came, I found that it really was from someone in Hong Kong! Esther had sent me the package. Opening it, I found a polo shirt, a handkerchief, and a card. It was a nice surprise given all the bad things that have been going on.

Oh, I should say something about my new Sunday School class. I'm not too confident about things. I have some way to go before I can gain their trust. On top of that, there are two troublemakers. I could send them to another class but I don't want to give someone else a problem. I guess I'll have to commit this matter to God and see how it goes.

I guess in some ways I have it easier than some of my friends. Today I read a friend's blog and that made me realise that the problems I foresee with my two troublemakers are all too familiar to her. I hope we can all help to encourage her through her last few months of her present profession.

Singapore O Singapore, are you the Antioch of Southeast Asia or are you becoming like Babylon?