Looking back in 2014

2014 is finally coming to an end in just a few hours time. Looking back, there were definitely some down moments in life, but there were also awesome moments that is worth remembering!


Flo's significant events of 2014

January - Attended my very first Church wedding!
             - Met my cute niece for the first time!
February - Nothing special :/
March - Made my first Mille Crepe cake with Nutella fillings (not a successful one ;/ )
April - Being part of my colleague's project - Autism Awareness day!
May - Bought mummy a mother's day gift with my very own money! 
        - Attended the procession in KL, Wesak day!
June - Bake a homemade Mille Crepe for father's day, and it was a success!
July - Went to Cameron Highlands to celebrate papa's and his friends' 60th birthday! Funny it is, it was also my first time visiting Cameron Highlands!

August - Color run 2014            - My good friend, Balveen's, wedding!
            - My lil Boo left the centre :(
September - Attended cousin's registration of marriage!
October - Participated in the Standard Chartered KL Marathon, my very first 10km! Finish in 1 hour 7 minutes.

             - Being a Scarecrow for Halloween!
November - Baked my own birthday cake -  Lemon baked cheesecake!
                 - Had my first Skype interview, but didn't make it through :(
                 - Increment!!
December - Cousin's wedding day! Was a bridesmaid for the first time! :)
                 - Participated the 12km Twincity Cyberjaya run! 

Well that sums up what I did in 2014. While listing out these events, I noticed there were a lot "first time" in it! This means I've been opening up to many new things, which is great!

I hope 2015 will be a great one! Happy New Year people!

XD

My dad recently purchased a new tablet phone and got quite active in Whatsapp.
Yesterday night he approached me and asked which was the "funny" emoticon.
As I was selecting the emoticon that was close to funny, I accidentally clicked on the "angel" emoticon.
I wanted to click on the delete button and my dad suddenly shouted "EHHHHHH".
He was so worried that I would hit the send button instead of the delete button. HILARIOUS!
I replied him by saying I know what I'm doing, I've been using the app for a very long time!

I'm guessing there will be a lot of these moments.

Flo

To my dearest lil' boo

It has already been a week since you have left the centre. And I am missing you every single day. I miss your smile, your warm hugs, and also you trying so hard to get my attention by climbing all over me. I really hope that the people in your new centre will treat you well, and that they have plans to help you improve. I am really happy that I have been part of your life, and that you did improve under our care and guidance. I will definitely pray for you lil' boo, and will remember all the great memories we had together i.e. you managed to learn how to drink through a straw. 

Love,

Flo

Stress alert!

When you feel the painful sensation on your fingers is getting worst, you'll know that you're currently on stress mode! On a 10 point scale, you will be rated as 10 (Very very stressful).

Yes I've been feeling stressful for these past few weeks, but I am trying my very best to solve my current problem. And yes, I have a nail biting problem. Don't judge me.

Flo

The hunt for the perfect gift

Last last Thursday was Little D's birthday. I didn't realise it was his birthday until he came to school that day. His helper was holding a huge white box, and at that instant I was in shock mode. In my mind I was like "Uh Oh" as I was 100% sure that the box contains a birthday cake, which means it's Little D's birthday!! AND it really was his birthday!!! We celebrated his birthday by gathering all the kids in the centre; everybody sang him the birthday song, blew out the candles and that was it. It was kinda sad to see him going home without anything, no presents at all as no one knows it was his birthday. So that day I told myself no matter how lazy I felt, I MUST GO OUT AND GET HIM A PRESENT!

I dragged two of my good friends out to the toy store to look for the perfect gift. It was a difficult mission as there were like approximately 1000 kind of toys there; Luckily I had a rough idea what he might like. However, there were toys that I'm 100% sure he will like were really expensive, totally far from my budget. If I had the money I wouldn't mind buying an expensive toy for him. I ended up buying a toy car that had a reasonable price tag; it can move forward by pressing the arrow button and also produces sound as well as lights! Took me nearly 5 hours just to find it!

I was actually quite worried as to whether he likes the toy car. As being his therapist for nearly half a year, he is very choosy in terms of selecting a toy that he likes. For example, he likes playing with toy vehicles a lot but if I were to give him a box of them, he would only pick one or two to play with. And I just can't seemed to find the aspects/ elements of that particular vehicle that he likes. But last Monday when I showed him the present, his eyes glowed and he straightaway requested for it, "Flo, I want car!" At that moment, I was very sure that he likes the present very much, and knew that I got the right gift for him. The best part is to receive a note from his mom the very next day saying he played with it all day! :)

Flo

A dream I wish will come true one day.

So it's the school holidays! And being Little Miss Introvert, I enjoy spending my days just being at home, lying around and doing my own business.

The weather has been really bad this week; the temperature was hanging around 35 - 37 degrees, another words, freaking hot! I feel so sweaty all the time! Sigh, it makes me appreciate winter even more! Well, in this kind of weather, I am very likely to take afternoon naps. This afternoon, I had a wonderful dream. A dream I wish will come true one day.

I dreamt about this little girl who I am currently guiding at the centre. I'll call her "Boo" for the purpose of this blog. She's 5 this year, and could only make random sounds to request for things, help, and etc. In my dream, I was dreaming about my session with Boo. I don't know for what reason I decided to try out verbal imitation program with her.

"Boo, copy xxx (xxx is my team-mate's name, and also Boo's other therapist)" 
"xxx"  

I was shocked that she said it accurately, too shocked that I woke up from that dream. *Note: I was still dreaming at that time as I was dreaming in my dream*. And the dream brought me back to the centre. I couldn't remember what I was doing then but I saw Boo walking towards my direction. She pulled my blouse to seek my attention, and she blurted out "I want water"in a shaky tone. I remember feeling so happy, so happy that she was able to use her language to communicate what she wants. I quickly gave her the bottle and fed her. That was the end of the dream.

The dream was so vivid and seemed very real. So real that I was confused whether it was really happening at the moment or it was just a dream. But I really hope some day she could at least speak a few words to express what she wants. For the past few months, my team mate and I have been focusing on her making the sound 'O' for open. So whenever she wants us to open the door, she will need to make that particular sound in order for us to open it. At the initial stages, we accepted sounds that are close to 'O'. Then, we increase our expectation. Just last week, as I was sending her out to her grandparents, she made a very clear 'O'! I was like OMG! I even turn to my team mate to confirm whether she heard the same! So proud of her!

Can't wait to go back next week to see my kids! Hopefully after the break they'll come back in a good mood as next week is consultation week! Yiks!

Till then!
Flo

Run like there's no tomorrow

Running may be perceived by many as merely a sport, however, to me, I perceived it to be something more than that; Running is my life, it is part of my identity.

When I was younger, my dad would take me and my younger sister for jogs every weekends. He would challenge us by taking long and hilly routes; though every run was really tiring, it was worth it as I got better in it. I remember there was one time we were jogging in this secluded area; my dad and sister were running ahead of me, I stopped as something caught my attention. I looked up to this "cliff" and I saw many wild dogs lying there, including little puppies. They were just too cute! I remember gaining their attention by calling out to them, hoping the cute puppies will come down and say hello. Well, GUESS WHAT HAPPENED NEXT? Two fierce ones came down instead and chased after me! At that point in time, I was scared and shocked, didn't know what to do, but my body was like "RUN FLO RUN!!!" and so I did. I managed to run to my dad in time, and he took a long stick and shoo them away. I did not develop any fear/ phobia of dogs that day but I was very proud of my running, the every weekend run paid off. Running actually save my life!

During my secondary years, I was quite active in sports. I participated in sports like Javelin throw, shot put, high jump and long jump. Racing was still something I love doing, and something I was good at. I took part in various races, such as 100m, 200m, 400m, 4x100m, 4x400m, 800m, 1500m, and 3000m. I love it when the crowd cheered my name and encouraging me to keep going! Besides, it was something to look forward to despite having to face those bullies every single day.

I stopped running when I started college as I had loads of stuff to do. Same goes to uni life. However, I started running again during my fourth year, as I find it therapeutic; it helps relieve the stress I faced. Moreover, I had a group of awesome friends I get to jog with. I really miss our weekly jogs people!!

This year, I took the courage to sign up for Standard Chartered KL Marathon - women's 10 km run. To be frank, I am quite worried for this challenge as I have never attempted 10km before and this will be my very first time! But I have been training "intensively", so hopeful I am able to get through this! 123 days to go!

Thank you papa for helping me to build interests in running! I really appreciate it loads! I will not stop running! :)

Flo