It was my cousin sister's wedding lunch reception yesterday.
I've never tasted such delicious vegetarian food!
The entire 9-course meal (we're Chinese, that's why)was very satisfactory to the entire table of relatives - all 11 of us, which has never happened before.

Everyone was in good mood and chatted cheerfully - which again, has never happened before either.
Even my brother made the effort to hold a conversation with cousin brother L(someone we meet annually).
I was very surprised that my brother was willing to share his troubles with L.

L gave suggestions to my brother.
"At your own pace, try surprising yourself each day/week/month. Your emotions and mental state will slowly find its original positive state."
"For example, why don't you try serving the dishes to each separate plates to everyone?" (an act which all the other cousins had taken turn to do)

My brother did.
Much to everyone's surprise.

very important reminder

I was inspired by a friend to play dress up. (we were all very eager trying to find ways NOT to feel depressed )
I went to the fitting room, trying out the XL outfits that were on sale.
They were very pretty and reasonably priced.

"Ha ha, for the first time, there's an advantage for being BIG!"
She shared my humor too. I absolutely love this cutting

This color is nice but doesn't show here due to the yellow lights in the fitting room. I was too shy to step out.

Felt good about myself but I didn't buy any.

Baby steps... baby steps..

This brought me back to my old post http://teasips.blogspot.com/2007/07/its-my-first-time-venturing-job.html#links

I have been pushing myself to go out and do things.

Yesterday, after a two-hour Facial (bought online at discounted price) , I went to O'Brien's to have their famous Tripledecker sandwich which was on 50% discount.

I was very tired when I got home but I don't regret going out.

Need to do more things.

I desperately need to 'live'...

This pretty bookmark was given by co-worker. She bought it on her Cameron Highlands vacation. She brought delicious strawberry chocolates to the office too.

A friend bought a book for the group to read.
Something about managing anxiety and panic attacks.
I thought it was very sweet of her to have us in her thoughts while shopping for herself in a book fair.

Another friend brought chocolates for us, each individually packed with variants.
It's hard not to be impressed and touched by the thought and time put into the gifts.

My dear friends,

Thank You.

I was browsing the support group's attendance book.
I noticed the handwriting of a member who has stopped coming for a long time.

"He has very nice handwriting!"
The person next to me agreed.
His penmanship was really uncommonly stylish.
I began to recall his demeanour during sharing time.
He reminded me of my primary school Headmaster.
He couldn't really express himself, but you'd know that he is burdened with a heavy heart.

I continued staring at his handwriting, while silently wishing him well.

LOOK at the camels first and then read the message below. This is a picture taken from directly above these camels in the desert at sunset. It is considered to be one of the best pictures of the year. When you look closely, you can see that the camels are the little white lines in the picture. The black images you see are just the shadows! Sometimes, our "problems" seem to be as big as the shadows...but they are little.

My co-worker confided in me about her 9-year-old nephew who is currently having problems with stress.
We were sharing coping skills that have been tried and tested, and how devastating mismanagement of unstable emotions can be.
I was very eager to share with her a real case study, a friend who was severed by mental illness but finally found his way to overcome it.
At the height of my eagerness to prove the authenticity of this story, I revealed to her that I was hospitalised in the ward before.

I don't know if I was being too trusting or simply careless.
But I do trust her.

““This was her life. Not the life she had once dreamed of, not a life her younger self would ever have imagined or desired, but the life she was living, with all its complexities. This was her life, built with care and attention, and it was good.””

- The Memory Keeper’s Daughter, Kim Edwards

"Don’t try to make life a mathematics problem with yourself in the center and everything coming out equal. When you’re good, bad things can still happen. And if you’re bad, you can still be lucky. "
The Poisonwood Bible, Barbara Kingsolver

Taken from word-collector

I really like this article from TheStar Newspaper as there were many quotes that resonates within me. 

“I didn’t like classical music when I was young, but now I find it the most beautiful kind of music because it harmonises one’s emotions,” he says,

 “Life is never a straight path. But even when you are down, you must not give up. You must struggle to overcome. I believe there is always a way and I also believe that any man can be a useful person,” he says. The tricky bit is finding out what you are good in and trying to develop it. 

“Of course, people are born with different levels of intelligence, but I think everybody is given a few opportunities in his life. And when an opportunity comes along, you must recognise it as one and grab it.”

There were 11 of us having dinner.
The newcomer lady sitting in front asked,
"Erm, are all the people here... er... are they...?"
I presumptiously answered, "We don't look like it, right?"

The other person on my right was more attentive.
"You want to know if all of us are from the Depression Support Group, right? The answer is Yes"