Thursday, September 25, 2008
decided to blog before eoys...haha dunno why also...had whitespace today in hall...someone from tp toking abt engineering course...no interest...unless got sp one come tok abt business courses or rp one come tok abt sports management. if not i won't really be that attentive. then had pe. mr ong finally came...after being absent for 2 weeks. played soccer with 4g since they got pe today. then had maths test. was a breeze for me...quite easy. i rarely say this. haha!
recess-ed. then chi. no lesson. mdm chen nvr teach anything so we self-study. then eng. also the same. haha! then cf first period did character first stuff. then second period go hall for briefing on exams. was dozing off since i'm right under the aircon and then very boring. since ms jasmiyanti talks in a monotone style. then aft sch went to pass the log book to pei ling. then went to play basketball with palit they all...then homed. saw wei chong, david and darren chew at the traffic light. or was it the other way around? watever...haha! then we were toking till the mrt station then since they all going jurong east side so i went off since i going to amk.
reached home. slacked a bit. used the computer and starting eng revision. all the way till now(of course i ate dinner in between). then now still don't feel like sleeping. haha! think i will read the english stuff then pray hard tomorrow will be a good day! and i must enjoy the air-con...at least that's what gloria said...haha! but seriously think i'm going to freeze to death. haha! good luck for eoys ppl!
Escaped
{22:26}
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Friday, September 19, 2008
yeah. i noe i haven't blog for weeks. haha! didn't have the time. was busy with geog, then f&n and other subjects. these weeks been good and bad i suppose. i seriously can't think properly now. it's too preoccupied with my thoughts. think i will most likely blog some other day. cause there is nth much today other than learning belaying for adventure camp. sorry abt that.
Escaped
{23:03}
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i just can't do this.
easier said than done.
i admit it's all talk and no action.
i'm not gonna push the blame.
i know it's me.
i'm trying to fulfill what i need to.
i'm sorry.
sorry for all that i have caused.
i know a "sorry" wouldn't solve anything.
but that's the least i have to do.
i can't bring myself to do this.
i want to be the one.me. not anyone else.
call me possessive or anything.
but i don't care about what others think.
it's your opinion that matters.
there's so much i want to say.
but there's no opportunity for me to do so.
maybe it's me missing the opportunities.
trust me.
i will get this out soon.
Escaped
{23:03}
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Monday, September 8, 2008
day 1 of term 4. tiring.
been in school at 6.45am to drop off my home econs ingredients in the fridge and i realised that ms lim said she's opening the door at 7.05am, then i was like omg, must wait for 20 mins. so stood outside the room with chang hui and more ppl came, like cassandra, esaint, cheng yong and more. went in when ms ang opened the door for us.
then back to parade square. morning assembly. mr lim was funny. he say period 1 and 2 under ms ho yan. then we were like she your very good friend arh? then he repeated ms ho yan again. haha!
then went for chi. didn't do any holiday homework. then she ask that time i never hand in. so many other ppl as well, cause the whole holiday i was back in school!
then maths. went through homework and angle of elevation and depression. mrs lai very funny lah. go say harrison look at his gf got angle of elevation. then his gf look at him got angle of depression. haha! then under examples of angle of depression, mrs lai put harrison. haha! funny mrs lai!
had physics! computer lab 1. went through the topic on light. haha! did some interactive online quiz. rather fun. haha! then azli they all playing game. then ms lem wanted to close azli's game window, then later the screen show, andy_chan's turn. haha! then she told andy,"Andy Chan's turn. huh? andy what you doing arh?"
haha!
then recess. stayed outside home econs room.
then f&n. practical exam. did badly i suppose. didn't manage the time well. presented late cause me and palit both bake. then is like the oven take very long, long than estimated. so too bad lor.
then went to ahava, put up signs and brought the radio down from mr loo's table. then went to library to move books. all the way till 6.20pm.
and went home to do work and stuff...haha! and it's raining as i type. haha!
Escaped
{21:34}
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Sunday, September 7, 2008
last day of holiday...sad...this holiday is so not like a holiday...i gave a new definition to the word holiday.
holiday - a period of time where you go back to school for long hours than during the school terms
haha! lame i noe. but it's relevant to me. been going back like from morning to evening. tiring.
slept till 11am today. since it's sunday. then woke up and realised i need to prepare f&n practical exam ingredients. then i was trying to recall what to buy. then went down at 2pm to buy the ingredients then came back home and went for training. haha! i love sundays! cause i have training!
went for training. today was funny. the coach ask my teammate to take training today. since he just went for the coaching course by fas i suppose. then the coach became a player today. haha!
then did drills and stuff...then the coach took over...haha! then played a game then he assigned players their position. then he ask me play left wing when i usually play forward. haha!
then i was completely exhausted after one half. since i have to keep running up and down the pitch to cross balls or try to recover the ball from the opposition. then during the break the coach told me i play you there cause you can anticipate play well and know where to be at what time and also agile enough. then i was saying probably, but i know i'm exhausted, haha!
second half started, i was switched back to forward. since i have no energy to continue running down the wings. managed to score one goal. haha! i love my goal. i curled the ball from outside the box into the bottom corner of the goal. this kind of goal comes rare from me. haha! then the game ended then the coach gave a debrief. haha! he was so funny lah!
he was saying 1 + 1 = 2. the first 1 is the one who passes the ball to the scorer. then second 1 is the scorer. then if there's a goal then equal 2. then everyone was like huh? haha, imagine even my 35 years old teammate getting confused by that. it surely must be confusing. then the coach was like oh ok... i rephrase for you.
then he said, 1 + 2 = 3. the 1 is the one who passes the ball to the scorer. then 2 is the scorer. so if score a goal then equal 3. then he was like you all understand? then we were like ya, we know what you mean. then we ask what if the 1 is also the 2. means he take the ball himself then he shoot and scores without anyone passing the ball to him in the first place. then he was like aiyah, you all roughly know what i mean lah. haha! funny chap.
then went home and prepare my f&n ingredients for tomorrow. tiring. haha!
Escaped
{22:23}
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Saturday, September 6, 2008
adhoc selection for adventure camp was postponed cause there was no consent form issued and no teachers to supervise. great! haha! cause i can finally make my ic at the ICA building. went there around 11am. then finished the application in less than 15 minutes. good!
then went to eat lunch. ate laksa which was a rather small bowl and popiah since i was still hungry cause i didn't eat breakfast. then realised it was stupid for me and my dad to eat lunch before going to suntec city for food fair. haha! went there for the second week in a row. last week for comex, this week for food fair. saw lots of nice food but the stalls this year very little. then also quite little people since we reach there 30 mins after it opened. then walked around and bought lots of stuff. always do that during the food fair. haha! i dunno why though.
went to the giordano warehouse sale. nothing nice there. so left the place.
then went to the apartment at redhill to paint the door. cause someone splashed red paint on it. took a very small brush. i mean very small. then painted the whole door green, which was the original colour. then the green like cannot cover the red at all. cause red too bright. in the end two layers then can liao. haha! so tiring. considering the fact the door is so big and the brush so small.
then something funny happened. cause my dad friend passed him 4 crabs for their gathering tonight. then my dad brought in to the redhill apartment cause he scared later the crabs turn red in the car which means cooked. then halfway through painting my dad went to check on the crabs. then he only found 3 inside the bag. then he ask where it went. then i say i dunno. then end up he ask me open the closet at the side of the door. then the crab was inside. haha! cause got a hole at the side that leads to the closet. so funny lah! then my dad was telling the crabs,
"i hang the bag on the railings. you climb out then you will fall to the ground." haha! funny!
then went to sweet talk to buy bubble tea then went to mr bean to buy tuna muffins or whatever it's called.
then went home. at least for once this week i no need go school! haha!
Escaped
{20:33}
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i understand how you feel now.
it's okay to me,
when you do these things.
cause i know what you been through.
so trust me,
go ahead and do the things you want.
as long as you're happy.
nothing is worth more than that.
and bear in mind,
don't face your troubles alone.
let there be no barriers between us.
cause i'll always be there for you.
Escaped
{20:18}
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Friday, September 5, 2008
everything is back to how it was before.
i love life like this.
can life just remain this way?
i simply love it.
but i won't live in the past.
but move on.
and remember the wonderful life i once experienced.
someday,
maybe i will find this kind of life again.
maybe i will.
maybe.
Escaped
{19:24}
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Escaped
{19:23}
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went to school again. had chemistry lesson at 8am. but reached school at 7.30am since my dad wanted to give me a ride. so fine. waited for 30 mins. only saw darren lee and andy. then went to mr toh's room and waited. ka ming came 5 mins later. then played cards while waiting since ka ming had one in his bag which he forgotten to take out long ago.
waited and waited. then sarah, paulyn and qian ning came. so 7 of us kept waiting and waiting. end up darren call mr toh at 8.20am. then mr toh say he stuck in traffic jam. then we were like what the...come so early. then we were saying most likely he overslept lah. so he say traffic jam. haha!
mr toh came at 8.35am...then he did a little teaching and told us what to study for end of year. finished on time at 9am. at least he didn't extend the lesson. then was walking down the corridor then mr toh was saying i need rush for meeting. then we were like no wonder lah. never extend lesson. haha!
then ka ming and andy dunno where to go so came to library to help me pack books. then packed for an hour or so. haha! then the rest of the exco came and we finished the rest. then went for lunch and came back to move the books down to the new library! it's so nice! but small. =(
was carrying boxes after boxes till my arms hurts. haha! then now my left elbow hurts cause of me put the boxes down with my left elbow supporting the boxes. now still hurting. haha! then packed the books and stuff. then was looking around. i love the step seating! it's so nice lah! haha! got a little bored and decided to take some pictures which i will upload soon on this blog! haha!
and didn't make my ic today since i had no time. think i really need to make a new appointment liao. haix. never mind.
Escaped
{18:55}
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Thursday, September 4, 2008
not feeling too well today. think i won't blog today. so just make do with that fact for now. will post twice tomorrow for today's as well. sorry about that.
Escaped
{17:39}
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my life's in a mess.
i don't get a choice.
i'm fading into the background.
as i can only watch on.
seeing you tired and sad.
it just hurts.
it really hurts.
just let time heal the wounds.
i'm sure one day,
things will return to their original state.
but for now,
i'm going to watch after you.
cause i can't bear to see you.
feeling hurt and tired.
Escaped
{17:29}
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Wednesday, September 3, 2008
another day back in school. during the holidays.
went back for ahava meeting with miss chee.
had the meeting then spend an hour or so in ahava pasting price tags and recap how to use the cash register. since we're opening for business on monday when school reopens!
then went home. raining heavily again. i had a feeling that it will rain so i wore my jersey. and it did! so i didn't get too wet. haha!
think it's gonna rain tomorrow so i will wear my other jersey. and friday i will wear the one i wore today. after washing it of course.
and i realised i haven't do any holiday homework yet! oh no! think i better start finding time to do it. =)
Escaped
{17:35}
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it hurts me.
to see you in that state.
it hurts me.
to see you stressed up.
it hurts me.
when you suffer.
you deserve to be treated better.
i feel so useless.
i can only watch you suffer.
and can do nothing to help you.
please,
promise me.
that you will treat yourself better.
Escaped
{17:24}
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Tuesday, September 2, 2008
i'm not happy with how things are going.
i can't stand it anymore.
i'm gonna reverse my decision.
and give it my all.
after all,
you don't deserve all these.
and so why is it happening to you?
i will be there for you.just like how it always been.
Escaped
{23:04}
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went to school for maths today. did chap 8 - bearings.
was doing the practice qns then mrs lai went out of the classroom at around 9.15am.
then ka ming, harrison and azli brought a chair to the front of the class. then we were asking what they want to do. then ka ming went to the door to keep a lookout for mrs lai then harrison stand on the chair and took the clock down and set it to 15 minutes faster. so become 9.30am.
then our lesson was suppose to end at 10am. and mrs lai got wear watch but she don't refer to it one. so in the end we were dismissed at "10am" which was actually 9.45am. haha! then mrs lai, being herself, said this when we said it's finally over," i am also glad that the lesson has ended. can get rid of you people." haha! mrs lai as usual.
then walked around and play boomtown with harrison and ka ming in the library. was fun. haha. beat them by a lot. haha! i won by 110 points or so. they got around 100. not bad for them being first-timers. haha!
then walked around and after sitting in the library for 1 hour staring into blank space, i finally went to miss chionh's homeroom after the room was not in use. left the stuff in her room and went for lunch. brought takeaway back into school since i didn't have much time left.
ate lunch then went to set up all the games. haha! then rotted in the room for around 30 minutes staring out of the window.
then pei ling, zhu li, li huan, hui shan and xiao feng arrived. then the members arrived after that. had a voting session then had a meeting then taught the members how to play the board game. was fun teaching them. haha!
then packed up and played two rounds of no merci which i won! haha! since i'm the one who knows the game best. =) went home around 6 plus. then reached home around 7. after being soaked completely, thanks to the heavy rain.
haix. tomorrow still need go school and i still haven't got time to make my ic!!! argh!!!
Escaped
{22:50}
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Monday, September 1, 2008
sorry for the long post. haha! was an article on zimbabwe's currency inflation from newsweek.com
took the whole article off. haha!
Escaped
{22:51}
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Poor BillionairesIn a nation with rampant hyperinflation, bread is a bargain at just $10 million. Inside Zimbabwe's collapsing economy.Zimbabwe's new 10 million dollar bill is red. One side has the official stamps of the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe and some meaningless serial numbers. The other is a pastiche of a fish jumping out of a lake and a giant dam in the background. The bill, released for the first time last month, is actually not a proper currency note at all but rather a "bearer check." Zimbabwe stopped printing real money long ago, when its inflation rate was still at a manageable level. Today these bearer checks are the only currency remaining. Last week in Zimbabwe 10 million dollars could buy exactly two rolls of toilet paper. By now it probably won't get quite that much.
Such is the state of the world's most bankrupt and fiscally untenable economy. Zimbabwe's 100,000 percent inflation rate is the world's highest—a runaway train with no driver, no brakes and no limits to the train's top speed. Perhaps it's not surprising, then, that Zimbabweans have learned to cope by developing one of the world's most sophisticated black markets. If the local merchants didn't keep this economy afloat with fuel, oil, corn and the cash to fund it all, the already unstable southern African nation could slip into civil war.
Nor is the country's March 29 presidential election likely to bring any relief from the scourge of hyperinflation. Robert Mugabe, the autocratic president whose 28-year rule is blamed for Zimbabwe's economic mess, blames the problem on the legacy of sanctions and British imperialism. None of his rivals has offered up concrete proposals to fix the problem. His main challenger, Simba Makoni, says that simply removing Mugabe will do wonders for the economy by restoring a modicum of confidence in the markets. But the fact is that no one really knows where to start. "We just don't have people here who have dealt with this kind of hyperinflation," says David Coltart, an opposition parliamentarian.
Officially, one U.S dollar is worth about 30,000 Zimbabwean dollars. As of last week the real price on the black market was about 35 million dollars, or 1,166 times the official rate. The bill for a simple meal I shared with five other people at an unassuming cafe in Zimbabwe last week came to 581 million Zimbabwean dollars. The black market value: US$21. If I had paid according to the bank's rate? US$19,366.
Much of the international focus on Zimbabwe has been on the land disputes between white farmers and the black pro-Mugabe "war veterans" who have occupied their properties in recent years. But a closer look at the skewed price scales offers a different insight into why the country is in such profound crisis. The average wage for a farm worker is 30 million dollars per month. A domestic worker makes about five times that amount, and a laborer in one of Zimbabwe's decrepit factories can expect to earn as much as 300 million per month. It sounds good until you consider how much things cost. Four Coca-Colas cost about 20 million. A one-way bus ticket around town will set you back one of those 10 million dollar notes (and that price may go up even as you're on the bus). Ten kilograms (22 pounds) of corn meal, which might last a family of four two or three days, goes for 45 million. It's 7 million for less than a quarter pound of low-grade beef. A loaf of bread is 10 million. If you're a government worker you'll earn a monthly pension of 60,000 (yes, thousand) a month. But an empty potato sack alone costs 2 million, or 33 times your monthly pension.
It's no wonder the black market is thriving. At the center of it is fuel. The price of fuel can change every hour, throughout the course of a day. Last week a liter of fuel (about a quarter of a gallon) was selling for 32.5 million, the week before it was 25 million, and by next week it's estimated to be up to more than 40 million. "As fuel prices rise, everything else rises," one black marketer explained to me recently. We were sitting at his living room table, which was piled high with bundles of 10 million dollar notes, billions and billions of dollars scattered about the table like piles of napkins. On a nearby shelf more bundles were stacked. This black marketer, who wouldn't give his real name because of the nature of his work) sells up to 1,000 liters (about 250 gallons) of fuel a day. "Fuel is not static at all; it's changing on an hourly basis," he explained. "A load of transport costs 10 dollars, and fuel is eight. Say you've bought a side of beef that costs 20 million, and transport was a million, now you sell the beef for 22 million. Then the price of fuel rises, but you've already sold your beef, so it'll cost you 24 million in the end. So the price of fuel controls everything that gets sold around here." The government does import fuel, but no one would have access to it if it weren't for the black market. The bureaucracy is too complicated. "By the time you're done applying for fuel three days have gone by and you get to the garage and they haven't got it," explains the black marketer.
Even the traders sometimes get confused. One day recently this marketer picked up his cell phone at the house that also serves as his office. "At the moment that'll be 120 million—I mean billion, billion. Let's get it straight, eh?" he said, and chuckled. Afterward he noted the transaction and grimaced. "I have to write it down, one B and 200 M's." The worst part, he says, is that now when he leaves the country he always has the feeling that his pockets are never full of enough cash. "You go to get groceries and you've only got two notes in your pocket and you get this horrible feeling: 'Am I going to have enough money?' You're used to carrying this briefcase around."
When Godfrey, another black marketer, heard about the introduction of the 10 million dollar note last month, his first reaction was "Why only a 10 million?" The value of the 10 million note lasted only a couple of weeks. Soon enough, Zimbabweans were back to carrying wads of them, briefcases full of them, plastic bags of money. It was only two months ago that people started trading in billions, but now, says the first black marketer, "we're just about out of the billions, we're almost into the trillions."
The result is a mafialike system whereby officialdom and the ordinary citizenry have become complicit in the same illegal trade. Around the 26th of each month, one black marketer told me, government officials from the finance ministry appear in the southern town of Bulawayo and rent rooms at the Holiday Inn. Like all governments, Zimbabwe has monthly bills to pay: electricity and fuel bills are owed to South Africa; military weaponry bills are owed to Mozambique. Because the Zimbabwean dollar isn't worth anything, the government has to pay in U.S. dollars. So the government sends "buyers" down to Bulawayo to buy foreign currency on the black market. "These guys will come down, rent a room at the Holiday Inn, and they'll have big suitcases just full of cash. It happens every month when the bills are due," another black marketer told NEWSWEEK. "The dealers come and they sell billions of dollars so the government can pay its bills on time. The black market is very clever. It's like the mafia; it's creative." (Needless to say, the government is not in the habit of commenting on these reports.)
It can also be obscene, says Godfrey. "The other day some people phoned us up and told us to collect these boxes jam-packed with money. They wanted us to convert them into fuel. They had everything: boxes and plastic bags and envelopes stuffed with dollars, about five or six boxes, plus bags filled with 10 million dollar notes, all the way down to 100,000 dollar notes, and all of it was for fuel." Zimbabwe abounds with stories of cunning operators making huge profits off the discrepancy between the official and black market exchange rates. There are stories of people leaving airports with suitcases that never go through security. And there are tales of government officials changing huge amounts of Zimbabwean dollars into U.S. currency at the official rate, ensuring them a profit margin of, literally, millions in real money.
For a time the government tried to crack down on the hyperinflation by imposing price controls on shops across the country. It became illegal to sell anything at any price other than the one mandated by the government. It also became illegal to close shop, which meant that hundreds of store owners were cleaned out within hours once the price controls took effect. "It was total chaos," says the black marketer. "There was nothing left in the shops. The government had people, a task force, that would raid shops and clean them out." For a couple of weeks the whole country was one big blue-light special. Shops were forced to stay open. If they closed, owners risked forfeiting their businesses. Everything had a price tag on it—an official price tag that was worth nothing. Refrigerators were going for 10 million dollars, or around one U.S. cent at today's black market rate. "If these raiders walked in your store and there was no price tag on something, you got locked up," he recalls. "It was only the people with money that benefited. People went in behind the task force and pointed out what they wanted and had it loaded onto trucks. It was organized theft."
These days there's a price on everything. One afternoon a woman comes into the currency trader's office complaining about obtaining a passport for a friend. Zimbabweans are constantly struggling to make sure their identities are intact, their passports valid, their ID documents in order. It's another sign of the failing bureaucracy. But she's done the math and knows how much she has to pay. "It's 24.7 billion dollars to get the paperwork to be legal here," she says. "That's how much it costs to become a person. I used to say I would never pay bribes, or backhand payments, but you have to just to get anything, the smallest thing, done. You have to." That's a problem that's unlikely to be solved by Saturday's vote.
Escaped
{22:49}
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looks like i made a right choice.
things do turn out better this way.
i gonna watch and see what happens.
after all, when was it my choice?
go for what you want.
even if you return full of misery and pain.
you know you tried, right?
i just need to pick myself up.
and get on with life.
and also whatever that comes my way.
so trust me.
i'm fine.
Escaped
{22:14}
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To Make You Feel My Love - Garth BrooksWhen the rain's blowing in your face
And the whole world is on your case
I would offer you a warm embrace
To make you feel my love
When the evening shadows and the stars appear
And there is no one to dry your tears
I could hold you for a million years
To make you feel my love
I know you haven't made your mind up yet
But I would never do you wrong
I've known it from the moment that we met
So no doubt in my mind where you belong
I'll go hungry,I'll go blue and black
I'll go crawling down the avenue
There ain't nothing that I wouldn't do
To make you feel my love
The storms are raging on a rolling sea
And down the highway of regret
The winds of change are blowing wind and free
But you ain't seen nothing like me yet
There ain't nothing that I wouldn't do
Go to the ends of the earth for you
Make you happy, make your dreams come true
To make you feel my love
Escaped
{17:06}
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went back to school for adventure camp training. then reached school around 9.30am. then was learning how to play giza from xiao feng. rather interesting game. got addicted fast enough. haha! then went for the training. was sitting there listening. got a little bored but enjoyable though.
went out for lunch at amk's macdonalds with janice,xiao feng, bang lian,lysander,pei ling and tian min. ate mcflurry since i wasn't hungry. then went to cathay at amk hub to see got wat movie. since we wanted to watch movie after the training.
went back for training 30 mins late. then finished the rest of the training.
in the end didn't go watch movie cause no one wanted to go in the end. so never mind. just went home. and my shoulder's been aching all day. i dunno why. so trying to relax and see what happens. haha!
Escaped
{16:27}
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life's so good when i let things go.
i'm so happy the moment i let things go.
but there's just something that's missing.
i don't know what that may be.
but i know that i'll be there watching you.
and it just means so much to me.
when you smile so wholeheartedly.
i'll just take a break.
and see what can happen after that.
after all, things are out of my control.
no matter what the outcome may be.
i'll live with it feeling happy.
Escaped
{16:19}
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