Be joyful & peaceful always

Being thankful in the midst of disappointment

2010-02-22T16:13:00.006+08:00

I was all prepared to thank God, family and friends for the supporting during my ACCA journey. 22 Feb 2010, supposedly, it was to end. But...found out that I pass one paper and failed the other.

Of course, the disappointment feeling is greater than the being thankful feeling right now. Suddenly, all the cons of not making it this round is dominating my mind. E.g. having to study and go for exams during maternity leave, stuck in this job and have to postpone job switch plans, spend more money, what if i fail at the fourth attempt?

But a tiny voice reminds me to go back to my initial feelings of thankfulness. I did pass the paper I dreaded the most. What I have left is just a "small" hurdle. Not this time, the next time then.

First day of CNY

2010-02-14T19:47:00.002+08:00

It is not the same without him -- my Dad. Miss him. CNY is all about reunion, and it's quite difficult to face the reality that we are without him this year.

Don't know what's wrong with me lately. Can get quite emo easily. Maybe it's the crazy hormones.

Bittersweet endings

2010-02-12T16:51:00.003+08:00

My boss' last day today. I feel kinda bittersweet. Though for a really long time, I've avoided deep conversations and lunches with him. I must say, he has been a very kind boss to me. And in his closing speech, he's right, what really counts, is the relationships in the organisations. And I think he lived up to what he believed.

Other than he's work quirks and sometimes irritating comments, he has been more than a good boss on a personal basis, making it to my wedding, my dad's funeral, and genuinely showing concern for my well-being. Of course, he's also the one who gave me the opportunity to work where I am now, and has given me the opportunity to learn from him.

The sadness comes from knowing that one chapter of life has closed, and who knows what the next holds. New boss may have his/ her good and bad points. The happiness is from knowing that he is moving on to better and greater things with and for God. And that he's moving on joyfully, not with regrets or worries. It is something to rejoice about to be able to retire in this manner.

May God bless boss and his family each step of their way.

The countdown now reads 4 days plus

2009-12-10T16:16:00.002+08:00

Paper on Monday was okay. I don't have high hopes because, as I answered the questions, I know there was stuff I didn't really know, as well as stuff I know I answered wrongly. The consolation is that all parts were attempted, even though it seemed quite short of time towards the last hour. Well, just hope it's enough to pass. It's the third time I'm attempting the paper. The first time I didn't study; the second time I barely had enough time to study. This time, at least I tried to commit some stuff to memory, so even if I can't do the computation, I think can do some theory questions.

I'm really more worried about the next paper. Even as I read the questions, I have no idea how to do them. Also, seems to have more computation, and this time looks like I need to practice doing questions, rather than just look through them.

Nonetheless, a devotion I read just now reminded me that if there is anything worth committing to fully, it would be unto God.

"For the eyes of the LORD range throughout the earth to strengthen those whose hearts are fully committed to Him." - 2 Chronicles 16:9

So, as important the exams are right now, may I not forget my good God who strengthens me with all that I need.

Less than 9 more days to freedom

2009-12-06T22:21:00.002+08:00

I am looking forward to the days after 15th Dec.

Thomas Edison once said, "Many of life's failures are people who did not realise how close they were to success when they gave up."

Many times today I felt like giving up. Perhaps it's because I'm also distracted by something else. It's a little hard to regain the focus now. But I must not give up. A little more than 8 more days and I'll be free. Hopefully free from having to study for some time.

A nice summary to the book of Habbakuk

2009-08-05T15:15:00.001+08:00

Calvin's Prayer.

Grant, Almighty God, that as we cease not daily to provoke thy wrath against us, and as the hardness and obstinacy of our flesh is so great, that it is necessary for us to be in various ways afflicted, — O grant, that we may patiently bear thy chastisements, and under a deep feeling of sorrow flee to thy mercy; and may we in the meantime persevere in the hope of that mercy, which thou hast promised, and which has been once exhibited towards us in Christ, so that we may not depend on the earthly blessings of this perishable life, but relying on thy word may proceed in the course of our calling, until we shall at length be gathered into that blessed rest, which is laid up for us in heaven, through Christ one Lord. Amen.

Easter....it's not about the bunnies or eggs....it's about Jesus

2009-04-09T01:08:00.001+08:00

Soldiering on

2009-03-13T23:05:00.002+08:00

soldier on phrasal verb
to continue doing something although it is difficult:

My dad proves to me that he is an excellent soldier.

Crazy Times

2009-02-24T23:16:00.002+08:00

The past few days has been abit crazy. Lots of decisions, even more uncertainties. It's like solving a maths problem, with lots of unknowns, and I just don't know what to do.

It's pretty tough. Sleep is affected, mood is affected, mode is affected. I'm currently on a chamomile therapy to calm my nerves.

Revealed by Name

2009-02-16T16:36:00.002+08:00

You wrote Your glorious name across the heavens and it read Elohim - The Creator.

Your pronounced Your name to Your people and it was Yahweh - Lord of Relationship.

You posted Your powerful name at life's valleys and dead-ends and it was El Shaddai - All sufficient God.

You spoke Your lovely name into fears and conflicts and it was Jehovah Shalom - The Lord Our peace.

You whispered Your compassionate name into sorrow and brokenness and it was Jehovah Jireh - The Lord Provides.

You signed Your most beautiful name in blood upon our hearts and it was Jesus - Jehovah is Salvation.

- Susan Lenzkes, from Life is like Licking Honey Off a Thorn.

2 Workouts to try

2009-01-30T16:25:00.003+08:00

Interval Training: Super-Sprint
(This one blasts more fat in less time, supposedly gives more "afterburn")

I do this on the threadmill

0 - 5 min Warm up -- Speed 3.5 to 5 (add 2% incline)
5 - 5:30 min Sprint -- Speed 11 to 12
5:30 - 7:30 min Recover -- Speed 5.5
7:30 - 25 min Repeat mins 5 - 7.:30, seven times
25 - 30 min Cool down -- Speed 5 to 3.5

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Endurance: Cycling (Level 1)

0 - 10 min Warm up
11 - 50 min Maintain 90 RPM
51 - 60 min Cool down

I tried it yesterday, and it killed 400 calories!! Yay!
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Exercise is good. Keep fit, lose fat, anti- aging.

I got my handphone back!

2009-01-29T16:51:00.003+08:00

It's been 4 months since I lost it.

Thank God it was found within like a few hours from the time I lost it. If not, I would be worried sick. That's the problem with smartphones. So, don't put sensitive data in your phones, otherwise password protect the data.

The story goes like this. I was doing fieldwork one day and was running about from point to point. During lunch break, I left my phone at the eating place. I didn't realise that until the end of the work day. It was finally confirmed lost when the police called me. At first, I thought it was the "thief" trying to be funny and pretending to be the police. So I gave the policeman a hard time. But after awhile, I think it really was the police and begin to cooperate.

I was told that my phone was found on someone. They have passed the case on to the Inspector and some investigation was to be carried out. I called the police back one week later, but I still couldn't get back my phone as the investigation was still on the way. Then, I went for honeymoon, and the police couldn't find me.

I received a letter after I returned asking me to go down to the police station to make a statement. I thought I could get my phone back after that...but again, it was not so. Apparently, the statement is so that my phone would become "Exhibit A" in a court case. What happened was that the person who took my phone tried to sell it, and somehow was caught, and the police wanted to charge the person, hence a court case.

Anyway, then Thanksgiving came, Christmas came, 2009 came, and still no news of my phone. I was going to write it off as lost, and have been shopping for a replacement. Though I can't find anything, 'cuz I wasn't willing to spend alot of money, and wanted touchscreen, and Windows Mobile and WIFI...blah blah...the specs did not match the budget.

Then, surprise surprise, on CNY first day, the police called me and told me I could FINALLY collect back my phone, and the person was not charged but given a letter of warning. All well's that ends well.

Glad to have my phone back, and so, here ends the days of my phone being "Exhibit A".

How to be happy

2009-01-28T17:28:00.002+08:00

Was looking for some practical tips and wonder if this free e-book might help.

Sickly weekends SUCK!

2009-01-20T17:47:00.001+08:00

Been spending the last two weekends sick. It's not the greatest feeling in the world...all trapped at home, mostly in bed. Stuffy nose, sore throat, mouth ulcers, fever. I felt so bad that I was popping so much panadol...almost round the clock for three days.

Not very sure what's the cause. But, I think heatiness has got something to do with it. And maybe use of the gym equipment at my workplace. So, I'm gonna avoid deep fried food for the time being, and stay off the gym equipment for awhile.

And maybe try to sleep earlier at night.

Eating apples for a change

2009-01-12T17:59:00.002+08:00

I'm a new convert.

From PC to Mac.

The old notebook was conking out, and wala...my dad gifted me with a new Macbook. And for Christmas, I received an iPod Classic from HS.

I'm one happy Apple-gal now.

But, I'm not familiar with the Mac interface, and keep relying on knowledge from a different platform. It can be quite frustrating. So, currently, I don't really do much on my Mac except to access iTunes for Podcasts - which is keeping me entertained with Dilbert comics, snippets from Jamie Oliver cooking, Listening through the Bible, and Learning Italian phrases. I feel that my life is being enriched.

This week: I think I'm going to attend the Mac-tutorials online and see if I can use the machine more efficiently.

All I want for Christmas...

2008-12-24T12:43:00.003+08:00

(i) for my dad to get well
(ii) for some rest from the things that have kept me so busy
(iii) and an iPod?? and new phone??

It's been a picture of gloom in my life. I've never had a Christmas deadline, and it's kept me working working working the past two weeks. Today I see some light to its completion. But the long drawn marathon of work work work, meant my stamina is soon running out.

Also, good news from dad just really liften my spirits. I was all down and out, and fed up with the world yesterday. Close to throwing tantrums at whoever crossed my path, but I didn't (so proud of myself..haha).

God shines His light on us today, and we give thanks. We continue to pray for His sustenance and grace. Faith...it is important. Don't lose it.

Nonetheless, spirits may not be super high this Christmas, I did let the Grinch steal it away...but nothing changes the fact that Jesus was born to save the world. So, in good spirits or not, it is still a day to remember.

Blessed Christmas to all.

Hallmark Smilebox

2008-12-12T09:42:00.004+08:00

I found this really really cool application on the web. It's free.

You can now make personalized cards for your family and friends.

Check it out at SMILEBOX.

Boxing day present

2008-12-11T11:32:00.015+08:00

I have this Boxing Day present to deliver to a group of people who are not looking forward to receiving it.

It's proving to be very difficult to wrap up.

So much to do, so little time.

Some art from the facade of Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris. Yeah, I pretty much feel like the second guy from the right.

I feel so classy

2008-12-03T22:48:00.002+08:00

Changed my blog template. I think it's very classy looking. Heh...

I love the photo above. It's my absolute favourite photo from my honeymoon. It's taken in Florence, Italy. While, ascending the Clock Tower beside the gigantic Duomo in the city centre. One doesn't realise how big this Duomo dome is until you're out in the Tuscan landscape, and looking at Florence city miles and miles away...and the dome still looks gigantic.

Florence is absolutely beautiful. If you see old pictures of Florence and look at what it's like now, you'll be amazed at how much un-different it looks.

Musicians' Karaoke

2008-12-02T18:30:00.001+08:00

I've never really got on to the karaoke craze. Guess it's because I'm not into singing. However, I've recently found a musicians' version of karaoke in the form of a game -- Guitar Hero World Tour.

You can play as an entire band. There's option to play as Singer/ Drummer/ Electric Guitarist/ Bassist. That is, if you have the appropriate gears (controllers). We only have the guitar...so can only play as guitarist or bassist.

The songs are very nice...at least you would have heard of them before, unlike the previous GH series. It's super-fun. I feel like a rockstar, especially when I stand up and play and bop my head or mimic the player's movements on screen.

It gets a little boring on the Easy mode, but the Medium mode is too difficult for me. It gets quite irritating, if all you can do is listen to a small portion of the song and repeatedly too, 'cuz can't advance in the game. So, I've opted to play as a bassist. It's got less notes to play.

I recommend this game to all budding musicians and wannabes. Especially for drummers, i think it is the most realistic. If only I got the drum thingy.

I miss Europe

2008-11-21T17:26:00.003+08:00

I just saw this really nice photo of venice on a NatGeo webby. It's the gondolas...the place is just magical. It's very touristy, but it's magical. There's no where else like it in the world.

The photos for Venice and Milan...on display now.

Shoutout 191108

2008-11-19T17:20:00.004+08:00

I've finally lost the 4kg that i've put on since i started dating. I'm so happy, my appetite has returned, I feel a perpetual hunger pang, and am craving food glorious food round the clock.

Today's IN-tray:

Breakfast: 2 J-CO Donuts. They are the best! From Batam.

Lunch: Chicken Cutlet. The DEEP-fried type.

That's junk food for two meals. I feel so guilty now. The whole day, I've been resisting any snacks in between. Staring at my salty jap rice cracker and a packet of choc-covered strawberry and champagne cake....sorry, make that a box of 10 packets of choc-covered strawberry and champagne cakeS.

I should stop thinking of food. I'm going home to study tax.

PS: Just two days ago, I had hokkien mee and char kway tiao. I really can't take another bowl of fish soup/ fishball noodle...that sort of thing.

Change of environment

2008-11-12T18:04:00.002+08:00

As Sheryl Crow puts it, "A change would do you good". Tomorrow, I shift office. Still at the same building, but a few floors lower.

It hasn't been much of a work week with the office moving. About half the time, I'm just packing and sorting and shredding stuff. Not really working. Which, I suppose, it's good timing, 'cuz I'm not really in the frame to work hard these days.

I remember when I first came, and decorated my workstation as if it's my home. I'm not gonna do the same this time. It's no good to "nest" at your workplace. I'm going to try to be minamalistic at the new environment. I am, however, thinking of bringing the digital photo-frame to work. Not sure if my boss would scould me for using office electricity though.

Another 4 digit number

2008-11-05T17:03:00.003+08:00

We got another 4 digit queue number from HDB. They are not giving us a chance to buy their flats. Maybe they are trying to give us some money via Singapore Pools...but we're not taking it. We prefer a flat.

It's pretty frustrating, waiting for a new flat from HDB. It's our 4th time balloting, and we're still getting these incredibly out of range numbers. 10,000 applicants, 600-over available flats, and we got a 3-thousand over number.

Well, some say, I very fussy. Probably true. I just refuse to pay exhorbitant sums for a HDB flat.

On the bright side, news of a upcoming wage freeze might actually have its positive aspect. It means, i've got a few more chances to go with the balloting system.

Bleah....

I believe that God meets us in His Word

2008-10-31T11:07:00.007+08:00

Not following any devotional material lately, I decided to pick up Psalms to read. Psalms because my soul feels weary and parched dry, and I don't know where to draw nourishment from. Not knowing where to start either, I decided to pick up the psalm that has the same number as the date of the day. I think I started around the 20-something, and the precise contents of the Psalms addresses the concerns of the moment. It was wonderful.

Yesterday was one of those particularly not so good days. I read Psalm 30.

"weeping may remain for the night, but rejoicing comes in the morning."

Times are bad, but weeping shall not remain for long, rejoice and praise the Lord at all times.

"Hear, LORD, and be merciful to me; LORD, be my help." I continue to plead with our God.

Paris is Beautiful

2008-10-30T17:50:00.004+08:00

We did a crash course of Paris. Spent half a day in the city, and another day at Euro-Disney, and that was it.

I've always had this affinity for the city of Paris. I had a simple course of french taught to me when I attended school in the States when I was 12. I'm so glad, I could put what I learnt (or remembered) to practice. Going into Paris, I was actually not as fearful about communication. But, it did turn out to be quite difficult. I think where the people spoke English, they actually did so quite well. Problem is, they very naturally speak in the French, and stuck with it.

I didn't like Paris because I couldn't get any good food there. We survived on cold food. Sandwiches and pastries, meal after meal. Just two days there was enough for me to say I have had it with bread. In fact, by the end of our first night there, the thought of eating another pastry nearly made me puke. Croissants were very delicious there though.

The buildings and monuments in the city are really huge and grand. Quite a few buildings with gold guilds. If London was charming, then Paris is the prettiest city. It is a very beautiful place. And cliche as it is, the Eiffel Tower is a very romantic place. We nearly didn't go up the Tower, because by the time we arrived, it was 10 p.m. We were quite tired, and not sure if wanted to pay money to go up to a Tower that is so cliche. I'm glad we did go up. The view was very nice. See lights only, but very nice. It was also freezing cold. We can't imagine what level 3 would be like.

EuroDisney wasn't very big. Which surprised me. We did a crash course of all the roller coaster rides. It was great fun! Though, by the time we finished Space Mountain 2, I was very shaken and in one of those low blood sugar, wanna puke mode. Plus the fact that my diet in the past two days had barely any protein in it, I really was feeling quite weak. Our fave ride was the Thunder Mountain. Go for it. I would have gone for it a second time, if not for wanting to squeeze one Outlet Shopping into our itinerary.

We visited the La Vallee Outlet Shopping Mall. It is stratigically located just one metro stop away from Disneyland. It is a huge place. We didn't get to explore in detail. But we did managed to buy some stuff there...like new Timberland shoes at unbelievable prices.

Btw, wine and champagne is ridiculously cheap in France. In their supermarkets you can find pretty good stuff at low prices (not more than 10 euros). We are so sad that we have a 2 litre restriction, if not would definitely stock up more.

I recommending visiting La Basilique du Sacre Coeur...it's a beautiful church. And other Paris must-sees like....Arc de Triomphe; Notre Dame Cathedral. I also would have liked to watch a cabaret show at Moulin Rouge, and visit the Louvre.

We had arrived in Paris around 1 or 2 pm, and had a little trouble at the train station. We were cheated by someone and paid 40 euros for two one way tickets. The fella brought us to a self-ticketing machine, pressed some buttons in french, and then said that for two one-day passes, we had to pay 33 euros. I was still computing in my head if the price was reasonable, and he went ahead to pay with his credit card, and then before we knew it, we had paid him and took over the tickets. Not convinced that two passes could cost so much, we checked with the official ticketing booth, and realised we had been cheated. Thus, trust no one, and as much as possible, buy things from the official people, not strangers.

Charming London

2008-10-29T22:29:00.008+08:00

I think I've fallen in love with London. It really is a pretty nice place to stay in. The biggest draw -- the crisp, cool air. Really one of the nicest things to wake up to. Okay, it is really pretty cold, but that's what the fanciful winter clothes are for right.

London as a city, does not have as many grand monuments as Paris or Rome, but you can still feel the regal, cultured air about it. At the same time, it's an advanced city with all the comforts and convenience that modernisation brings.

The main attraction of the trip was Italy, but I think London left the deepest impression in me, and I would love to return to the city, just to stay there. I guess not having much of a language barrier helps. The sterling pounds exchange rate doesn't help though. How expensive are the things? Think local prices, keep the number, just change it to sterling pounds....that's how much things cost there.

Here are the pictures.

(1) We went to Greenwich and experienced the DLR (Dockland Light Rails). We made a quick visit to the (Free) National Maritime Museum and nearly left after that. It was only later at a cafe, where we sat to rest and read brochures did we realise that there's the Royal Observatory and Greenwich line behind the National Maritime Museum. We scrambled there and managed to take some photos with the Greenwich Meridien line.

(2) The next 4 photos are taken at Cambridge. Yup, the place where they set our "O" levels, "A" levels exam. We visited, or rather, stood outside, Kings College and Trinity College. It was the weekend before school starts, so the Colleges were not opened to public. We also went punting...which was a very difficult experience. I was so scared we might not back it back to shore. But thanks to the hard work of hubby and sis-in-law, we made it!

(3) Pub food is the definitive English food to try. There's also the Traditional English Breakfast, and Sunday Roast. I missed the tea and scones thing though. And also Brickland's Indian Curry. Sad...I must return.

(4) We visited Holy Trinity Brompton one Sunday. Btw, that's the same church that Tim Hughes from. I decided I wanted to visit because our hosts told us they have a worship band that plays like a rockband. And I am a sucker for rockbands. What they told us was true. The music was great. I also liked that they used drama to tell Bible stories. The drama replaced a sermon. Children were very involved because of the drama and action songs sung. But what I didn't appreciate was that not a word of Scripture was read. References were made, but the Bible wasn't read.

(5) We also visited the Science Museum. It was a quickie. We wrongly queued in front of the Natural History Museum...which was a very grand building (grandest I've seen in London..i.m.o.).

(6) We visited Harrods. Which is an institution by itself. It's abit too high-end a place to shop. Though I think the Food Hall is an interesting place to explore.

(7) Picadilly Circus. Nothing special. Just to say there is this good sporting goods store there - Lilywhites. Other shopping areas are Bond Street and Oxford Street.

(8) London Eye. Didn't go up. Still it was one of those places a tourist must visit. I mean, how to report that I've been to London without at least one shot of this icon.

(9) Big Ben Tower. It could rival that Natural History Musuem building. The gold on this grand tower makes it look so attractive.

(10) Westminister Abbey. That's where the royal family people get married.

(11) Chelsea Football Stadium at Stanford Bridge. I was a fan...when Jose was there. Now, still quite like them la, but won't call myself a fan, 'cuz Shevy also not there already. We went on a match day, close to 6 pm. It was a sea of BLUE from the tube station to the football club. People were cheering and smiley, so we figured they won. Too bad the megastore wasn't open anymore. But, we took pictures with the players...I mean posters of the players.

(12) London Tube. It's the most complicated train map I've ever seen. But it is wonderfully connected, and together with the bus system, we could go anywhere. The essential web-reference - Transport For London.

(13) Buckingham Palace. Change of guards. I always thought we could walk up to the guards with their funny hats, and disturb them. But, actually we can only watch from behind the fence, which is a distant, and there is a huge crowd. I loved the band though. It was very cool to see them break out into the tune of "That's the way (I like it)". Can you imagine, serious looking soldiers breaking out into a funky groove like that. Changed my impression of the boring, stiff, English people totally.

Back from the land of expressos

2008-10-24T17:43:00.003+08:00

I'm back from my honeymoon. It was quite an adventure, 7 cities in 17 days.

Lemme talk about the not so great stuff first.

2 Regrets:

(1) I didn't buy the branded stuff. I would have liked to have at least invested in a nice pair of sunnies, a few bags, a few wallets, a few good pair of leather shoes. They are cheaper over there! Ask me where to go buy them, I'll have recommendations. But it's kinda not a regret anymore, now that the economy is bad, and there are even rumours that we won't be getting increments next year, and who knows what other bad news.

(2) We didn't get to go the nature places in Italy. Like Lake Como, Dolomites, Cinque Terre, Sorrento/ Amalfi Coast/ Capri. Boo... Hoo... As we were in cities most of the time, it wasn't very romantic. But, it's also not really a regret anymore, 'cuz squeezing these into our itinerary meant we would have to spend more money on transport, and it would have tired us out doing all the commuting and packing schedules.

Hence, no regrets afterall.

Some disappointment:

I wanted to go to Italy because some of my fave foods are pasta, coffee, seafood, steak, risottos, cheeses...and Italy is definitely the to-go place for pasta and coffee.

Surprise, surprise, the good tasting pasta are only found in the higher-end ristorantes and trattorias. Otherwise, some of them probably taste so-so only, or even worse than what an average person can prepare. So, that was pretty disappointing. Nonetheless, almost every day I'm still craving for pasta and more pasta.

Coffee was widely available. It was only during the second part of our trip that we discovered the Italian culture of drinking expresso in the day. They would order expressos at the bar, dump two packs of sugar into the expresso without thinking, and drink it down in one or two gulps. We decided to add that in to our daily rountine during the trip..and it was fun. Expressos are cheap, around 0.90 Euros per cup.

Overall, I would say I can find good tasting Italian food quite easily in Singapore too. So, the food aspect didn't quite meet my expectations.

The good stuff in later blogs...ciao!

Late Night Snacks to Cure Every Distress

2008-09-26T19:47:00.003+08:00

Taken from Yahoo! Beauty Eats.

If we weren't meant to eat late at night, why is there a light inside the refrigerator? Besides, there are times when you just gotta have something. The trick is to be prepared. Because the main problem with nighttime nibbles has less to do with when you're eating than with what you tend to eat after hours. Instead of reaching for a pint of mint chocolate chip or a slice of day-old pizza, stock up on the following -- there's something here for every midnight muncher.

If you're stressed to the max
Rich, sugary comfort foods actually do short-circuit stress, but they also contribute to belly fat. So try to resist the chocolate chip cookies and grab a handful of unsalted almonds instead. The satisfying crunch will help you work off your anxiety, while the B vitamins and magnesium help your brain make relaxing serotonin. And at only 160 calories for about 22 almonds, you won't add weight worries to your woes.

If you're just tossing and turning
Starchy carbs may help you nod off. Why? Foods that quickly raise your blood sugar also raise blood levels of the amino acid tryptophan, which the brain converts to mind-soothing serotonin. So unless you're a diabetic, microwave a potato, warm up some instant rice, pop an English muffin in the toaster, and wait for the Zs to happen.

If you're burning the midnight oil
You could mainline coffee to get your Powerpoint project done overnight, but that'll just leave you with a world-class case of jitters the next morning when it's time to run it by the boss. A better bet, believe it or not: a salad of dark greens and chopped veggies. Not only will the complex carbs in the veggies give you energy, they're full of folic acid, which new research suggests helps your brain work faster.

If you're on a diet or just plain hungry
Give that rumbling tummy a little bit of protein, like a low-fat cheese stick, some lean turkey, or even an egg-white omelet. Eating about a third of your daily calories in lean protein keeps you feeling full, and a there's new evidence that it may also help you burn a few extra calories while you sleep.

If you're pregnant
Forget the pickles, but have the ice cream. Extra calcium is excellent when you're eating for two.

Baby-and-Me Smoothie
½ cup fat-free vanilla ice cream (or 8 oz nonfat vanilla yogurt)
1 banana1 cup frozen, unsweetened strawberries
1 Tbs. frozen orange juice concentrate.

Puree everything in a blender until creamy. Then put your feet up and enjoy every sip, knowing that you're getting about 340 mg of bone-building calcium -- more than 20% of your recommended daily value -- plus a bunch of vitamins and minerals, so the 373 calories are anything but empty. Even better: The milk protein and banana contain a bit of sleep-inducing tryptophan.

The day i feel like coughing blood on someone

2008-09-18T17:21:00.004+08:00

Last couple of weeks were pretty bad. Last week was the worst. I work until I literally feel my lungs feeling the exhaustion. You know, you can feel your lungs 'chuan'?? I can kinda understand why last time those pple who got TB are those hard job labourers - those who worked very hard.

Another not so great thing is how common i get headaches now. It's getting abit too frequent, almost every week.

Today, I contemplate skipping class. But, I know I'll be missing alot of lessons soon, and it's not good to add on. I feel so frustrated. We have choices, and we don't have choices.

I hate so-and-so! Let's call the character Xylitol. Xylitol is not very clever. Xylitol likes to think of creative things. Xylitol also loves archery, and practices in its spare time. I can't wait for Xylitol to make a mistake and crash like the Lehman Brothers. I hate you!!

How's your lovely weekend?

2008-09-08T02:47:00.003+08:00

It's almost 3 a.m. I'm wide awake, thanks to some very good kopi xiudai. Good being defined as doing its job of keeping me awake. I'm so awake, I could do jumping jacks. Well, jumping jacks and sommersaults (in my head).

Actually, I kinda wish I'm sleepy now. 'Cuz who knows what tomorrow would be like, and how awake I would need to be to answer questions about my work.

I'm trying to close off a project. It's abit difficult, because I feel like I'm writing a non-fiction piece of material, without having all the facts.

The weekend wasn't as great as it should be. Another weekend down with headache. This headache thing is really bothering me. I think I can rule out the coffee drinking thing, cuz I've been quite successful in keeping to my daily quota. I'm currently suspecting it's got something to do with my vision, and the pair of specs that I wear on weekends.

I really hope next weekend won't be the same...the headache part I mean. Well, looking forward to having abit of nature....going to the Southern Ridges.

New rules

2008-08-26T18:59:00.003+08:00

Got a bad headache last weekend. Throbbing headache. Crippling headache. Can't do much. Can't even sleep in peace.

It was so bad, I actually could feel my body's fatigue from the headache...dunno accumulated or aggravated by the headache. Well, I did stop exercise for about a month, but in the past two weeks that's sort of picked up, so in terms of fitness level, I should be okay. Or maybe I'm just consoling myself.

I think more likely the culprit is that I've been keeping late nights, around 1 am each night. Not very good. That translates to me being perpetually late for work. Also not a good testimony.

Hence, decided to set two new rules.

(1) Drink only one cup of coffee a day. [Concession - can drink up to two cups on class days]

(2) New bedtime: 12 mn.

(1) is suppose to address the problem of headaches and bad pms. (2) is suppose to address the root problem of not sleeping earlier, hence needing to drink coffee, thus leading to bad headaches. I don't forsee problems with (1), but (2)....difficult.

True Comfort Foods

2008-08-21T12:08:00.003+08:00

7 Foods That Fight Anxiety
- Taken from beauty eats by RealAge

Bills arriving in heaps? Gas prices sky-rocketing? Summer love turned sour? Regardless of the cause, there's a counter-intuitiveness to the goodies we turn to for comfort. Take the classic-curling up with a pint of ice cream. It's a total backfire. Why? Sweets are insidious: After the initial rush, the body's insulin response kicks in, causing a sudden blood sugar drop that triggers the release of stress hormones. Soon you're feeling more jangled than you were before you inhaled that whole container of Chunky Monkey. And alcohol, of course, is a wolfish stimulant in calm sheep's clothing.

But true comfort foods do exist.

1. Berries, any berries
Eat them one by one instead of M&Ms when the pressure's on. For those tough times when tension tightens your jaw, try rolling a frozen berry around in your mouth. And then another, and another. Since the carbs in berries turn to sugar very slowly, you won't have a blood sugar crash. The bonus: They're a good source of vitamin C, which helps fight a jump in the stress hormone cortisol.

2. Guacamole
If you're craving something creamy, look no further. Avocados are loaded with B vitamins, which stress quickly depletes and which your body needs to maintain nerves and brain cells. Plus their creaminess comes from healthy fat. Scoop up the stuff with whole-grain baked chips-crunching keeps you from gritting your teeth.

3. Mixed nuts
Just an ounce will help replace those stress-depleted Bs (walnuts), give you a whopping amount of zinc (Brazil nuts)-it's also drained by high anxiety-and boost your E (almonds), which helps fight cellular damage linked to chronic stress. Buy nuts in the shell and think of it as multi-tasking: With every squeeze of the nutcracker, you're releasing a little bit of tension.

4. Oranges
People who take a 1,000 mg of C before giving a speech have lower levels of cortisol and lower blood pressure than those who don't. So lean back, take a deep breath, and concentrate on peeling a large orange. The 5-minute mindfulness break will ease your mind and you'll get a bunch of C as well.

5. Asparagus
Each tender stalk is a source of folic acid, a natural mood-lightener. Dip the spears in fat-free yogurt or sour cream for a hit of calcium with each bite.

6. Chai tea
A warm drink is a super soother, and curling up with a cup of aromatic decaf chai tea (Tazo makes ready-to-brew bags) can make the whole evil day go away.

7. Dark chocolate
Okay, there's nothing in it that relieves stress, but when only chocolate will do, reach for the dark, sultry kind that's at least 70% cocoa. You figure if the antioxidant flavonoids in it are potent enough to fight cancer and heart disease, they've got to be able to temper tension's effects.

Begin with the end in mind

2008-08-21T10:59:00.002+08:00

Was feeling quite lazy, and wanted to skip the workout part yesterday.

But, knowing that this would just perpetuate, and I'll just grow into a fat roll, I decided to just go for it. A little bit of exercise is better than none.

I've observed that I often begin with the end in mind - one of Stephen Covey's habits for effective pple. I began with the thought of what food to eat at the end of my workout. I was thinking of the frog legs, and raw fish near Montfort, and then remembered that there's this western stall that I would like to try, and decided to end with a STEAK DINNER.

But, i've read that red meats is not really good. And already, I take pork rather indiscriminately, I've since tried to not take beef as and when I like. Suppose to eat something like only 1 red meat per week. How impossible is that?! That would mean eating chicken and fish for all meals for 6.5 days. That's so difficult. So, I told myself, how hard I workout would determine what dinner I have.

In the end, I had grilled fish, with mash and garden salad.

I guess, that says how hard I worked huh?

How to close off items?

2008-08-19T15:42:00.002+08:00

Gosh. This week is terrible. I have so many things on my plate, I feel like vomiting.

leading word at cg
musician on sunday
tax test coming, so i better start revising
starting consol next week, so i better start revising
chase pple for replies so i can close off one project (and forget about it)
move current project to next stage
and upcoming moving of office - i have to start packing before everyone else, 'cuz i going on long leave
and 2 more projects to complete before year end, need to start checklists and fieldwork soon
all these plus the standard 2 exercise per week, clean up living area (which is quite tiny - thank God) twice a week, plus eat with families (also x2)

Did I mention I HATE Deferred Tax. What on earth is it about????!

Rom 5: 1 to 11

2008-08-14T14:31:00.003+08:00

Romans 5 TNIV (Today's New International Version)

Peace and Hope

1 Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, 2 through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we boast in the hope of the glory of God. 3 Not only so, but we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; 4 perseverance, character; and character, hope. 5 And hope does not put us to shame, because God's love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us.

6 You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. 7 Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous person, though for a good person someone might possibly dare to die. 8 But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

9 Since we have now been justified by his blood, how much more shall we be saved from God's wrath through him! 10 For if, while we were God's enemies, we were reconciled to him through the death of his Son, how much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved through his life! 11 Not only is this so, but we also boast in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation.

================================

Life sometimes can get too comfortable that we forget that virtue of Perseverance. I, for one, seem to have gotten less disciplined as the years pass. Maybe is the fact that I earn my own keep, am an adult, can make my own decisions, know the ways of the world, what needs to be done, what doesn't...that it becomes not as important to be disciplined and to find ways out of our miseries asap.

I read a superb write-up during my devotions using the Every Day With Jesus booklet. Which I will extract below:

Today we ask ourselves: What is the point of diligence? Why keep persevering with a task? I'll tell you why. It is because it is the arena of perseverance that true character is forged, shaped, tempered and polished. It is in the daily grind -- in the hard and often tedious duties of life -- that the character of Jesus is given the maximum opportunity to be reproduced in us, replacing what Charles Swindoll calls that 'thin, fragile internal theology with a tough reliable set of convictions that enable us to handle life rather than escape from it'.

Listen to what the apostle Paul says about this in Romans 5:3-4: 'We also rejoice in our sufferings, [why?] because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope'. Because life is a task, we need strength to face it, not speed to escape from it. When the foundations shake beneath our feet, when Christian friends or even leaders allow themselves to fall into immortality, when the anchor points of civilisation disappear, when the bottom of our world seems to drop out and brutal blows push us up against the ropes and pound the very life out of us, we need what diligence and perseverance offer us - willingness to face whatever comes, determination to stand firm, knowing that Jesus is not just with us but in us, insight to see Christ's hand in everything, and character enough to continue.

Without diligence, we will stumble and fall. With it, we can survive and overcome. The astute of this world are wise enough to recognise that no advances can be made in life without diligence. How much more ought we, who name the name of Christ and have Him living within us, recognise this also?

Shoutout 130808

2008-08-13T17:48:00.002+08:00

Not feeling so great today.

Think it's because nothing fun to look forward to; work is piling and needs me to put in extra hours, & i know I don't have much extra hours to spare; not sure if bosses would approve my long leave (which clashes with a deadline - which i forgot totally); and knowing that there are things I should do, that needs to be done, yet kinda not feeling very strong to carry them out. Believe it or not, I miss the more innocent days of before.

Maybe it's because I've been reading too many emo blog entries, that I get "inspired" to write one too.

Just a reminder that life ain't perfect, but we should still make the best of it. Really like my motto to be joyful and peaceful always. Or at least try to be huh? Life sucks in such a way that it's just too easy to be less than happy, be anxious or pessimistic rather than to focus on what is true, noble, right, pure, lovely, admirable, excellent, & praiseworthy.

National Day 2008

2008-08-12T14:12:00.007+08:00

It's HS' birthday. Don't ask which number, but it's a monumental one.

It's quite hard to throw a surprise for him, as he has become my 24 hrs accountability partner. So very difficult. In the end, I had to sneak out after he fell asleep on Fri nite to make him the non-bake Oreo Cheesecake.

I was up making the cake till about 3 am. It was alot of fun. Here's the recipe I referenced. It was from my colleague for passionfruit cheesecake, but I substituted the passionfruit with oreo cookies instead. The funny thing was, I wasn't so well equipped, and it was a make one time, MUST succeed first time kind of thing. I only had enough ingredients for one try and limited equipment. So, it was quite fun to encounter different "situations" and had to just make the best out of what I had. And at the same time, very scared that HS would wake up and find me in the kitchen, and then end of surprise. Glad that it all turned out okay.

PASSIONFRUIT CHILLED CHEESECAKE

Base

130 g butter

200g digestive biscuits (finely crushed) --> Used digestives with milk choc

2 tbsp brown sugar (firmly packed) --> skipped

50g cornflakes (finely crushed) --> Used kellogs frosties instead

Filling

500 g Phillidelphia cream cheese

100 g castor sugar

1 tbsp lemon juice (strained)

2 no passion fruit --> Used 3 pkts of oreo cookies self-serve, chopped finely

2 tbsp gelatine (dissolve in 100 ml water for 5-10 minutes then double boil until melted) --> Used 1 pkt agar powder

300 ml whipping cream --> Used 200ml whipping cream

Topping

1 passion fruit (optional) --> Used 30g Oreo cookies, chopped roughly

Method

Base

1. Melt butter in a pan over low heat. Stir in the rest of base ingredients, mix well and off the fire.

2. Pressed into a greased 23 cm springform or false-bottomed cake pan with the back of a metal spoon or with your hand.

3. Cover cake pan and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.

Filling

1. Beat cream cheeese, sugar and lemon juice until smooth. Stir in passion fruit. Pour in gelatine(warm) and mix until combined. Blend in whipping cream.

2. Pour filling on biscuit base. Cover cake pan. Refrigerate for at least 6 hours.

3. Top with passion fruit and serve.

Two challenges:

(1) It was SO DIFFICULT to "finely chop" the digestive biscuits, and oreo cookies. My own "artificial intelligence", thought that a chocolate coated digestive biscuit would taste better for the base of the cake. But, it turned out so messy to prepare. I didn't have a food processor, bowls were not deep enough, and had to manually (i.e. use hand) break and crumble the cookies. That took like the longest time.

(2) I didn't know how the agar powder was suppose to work. Almost failed project because of that. In the end, just added a little more water, and dumped it into the mix for further mixing.

Other than those two things, I enjoyed the blending with the electronic mixer the most. I had so much fun, I think I over-blended everything. I went to bed smelling like one giant cookie, but HS had no clue.

Taste-test:

I think it was okay overall. Not sure if it is suppose to be harder, 'cuz I'm quite sure something went wrong with the adding gelatin process. Wasted quite abit of the gelatin. The base turned out okay, even though initially I thought the butter proportion was too high, and that my base mix was too soggy. But it turned out hard and quite crunchy on the bite, although the discerning taster would be able to tell my layering is not even. The oreo mix was nice, but a little on the bland side. I blame that on cutting down of sugar on my part. I didn't have weighing machine and proper equipment to make a good estimate on actual amount of sugar I added. I did a very rough estimation, and just consoled myself saying that less sugar is more healthy. Also, I used low fat philly cream cheese, and wonder if that has got anything to do with the cake tasting bland. I probably could have thrown in more Oreo cookies, if my fingers were not so tired from breaking all the digestive cookies manually. I took a wift of the cake two days later, and think it smells more cheesy now. I have heard that cheesecakes tastes better the longer you keep them. Shall try some again tonight to see.

Surprise no. 2

I've always dreamt and plotted to catch the national day fireworks from this hotel. Never did materialise until this year. So, it may seem like a present for HS, it is very much for myself too...haha.

So, we lived like kings and queen the last weekend, ate sumptious delicious hotel breakfast at the ballroom. Used their gym and pool. And felt very much like tourists. We're getting too used to this living in posh places thing.

Phuket - July 08

2008-08-12T11:24:00.009+08:00

This is honeymoon part 1. Of the 4 weeks that I've been married, 3 weekends we were out somewhere else and not at home. So basically, I've had like my honeymoon in three mini-parts already. Very nice, although I'm getting sick of the packing, and especially, unpacking part about these small trips away.

Air & Land Transport
We flew by AirAsia, which was fairly comfortable. Plus, we get to depart from T1, instead of the Budget Terminal. What's the plus point? I guess it's that the duty-free shop & the departure lounge is more interesting at T1.

We arrived in the afternoon at Phuket INTERNATIONAL Airport, and first thing was to look for transport to the hotel. We had planned to take taxi throughout, or if not, maybe rent a scooter. We had no idea how big Phuket was, and thought that it was another Krabi.

The taxi guy somehow tried to recommend us to take up car rental. Btw, cab fare to hotel was about THB800 per trip. Not very cheap. Another THB 300 to 400 to get to Patong Beach. And it was likely that we would make at least one trip to either Patong Beach or Phuket Town each day. At first we were very resistant towards renting a car, but after thinking about the likely costs incurred from cab fares, we think, it might be worth it to rent a car instead.

So, we got a brand new Toyota Vios (Odometer: 500 km travelled) for THB 3200 for 4 days. I thought it was a good deal, except, just a few minutes into our travel we had wiped out about 80% of our cash on hand for this trip. On retrospect, that was abit scary. We didn't carry much SGP dollars, only about SGD200 in total that we could exchange.

It is fairly easy to drive around in Phuket. The road signs are quite clear, and there are english words, if not numbers to indicate the highways. The roads are well paved, yet not very complex. The place is quite huge though, so driving to get around from place to place is recommended.

Accomodation
We stayed at Twinpalms resort on Surin Beach. We had shortlisted three resorts to stay in. (1) SALA - my personal favourite ('cuz it's very posh & exclusive), but HS threw it out as it was too far from the main attraction of Patong Beach. It was probably a good decision. (2) The Access - It had a very interesting room service feature, and we would be able to get a private pool villa for roughly the same cost as a Deluxe room at the other two shortlisted hotel. (3) Twinpalms - middle of the two in terms of posh-ness, and did not seem to far away from main attractions. Poshness was a criterion, as I didn't want to suffer for our honeymoon. I mean, in case, for some reason we're not able to go to Italy, at least I won't regret having spent some posh-living days in Thailand. So, we went with Twinpalms.

We got a very nice honeymoon reception in our room. Long stemmed red roses, fine chocolates arranged in the shape of Twinpalms logo, Half-drawn bath strewn with frangipani and red rose petals, and a bottle of champagne.

We had the hotel free breakfast for the next few mornings. Overall it was satisfactory. Good/ Excellent points: (1) The bread/ cereal/ salad section was fabulous. They served French Butter! Free bottles of honey were available, and basically pretty premium stuff like smoked salmon, expensive cheeses of various types. Only not so great thing was the cheeses were melting in the heat..not very sightly. (2) We were allowed to order latte, cappucino, other than the standard coffee/tea being served, at no extra costs. (3) Sparkling white wine (not sure if champagne) was available throughout for us to drink on its own or mixed with juices. Very classy. Not so great stuff: (1) Not much variation in the food served from day to day. (2) Egg station did not provide the yummy Maggie soya sauce for eggs.

We also borrowed a DVD (Babel) to watch on Day 1, but didn't manage to watch it, 'cuz we were too busy shopping. DVDs and books were available for loan at their in-house Library. The IT room with two computer terminals were also free for us to surf and use at anytime (24hrs). We also managed to squeeze in some exercise at their gym on one of the days, 'cuz felt so guilty that we just kept eating and eating. Only pity is that we didn't manage to use their pool.

Another great thing about Twinpalms is their spa. We were given a complimentary 15 min head/ neck/ shoudler massage called the Jet Lag massage. We also tried their Surin massage and Foot massage. It's not really cheap ... but we were given a 35% discount. The massages lasted about 50 to 55 mins. I tried the Ultimate Foot Care Massage as it promised to do something about bloating, and insomnia. It was okay. I think I prefer those chinese-style foot reflexology, where you feel that there is more effect. Although my calves were very well-massaged that day, it was abit of a waste, 'cuz we spent the next 3 hours or so in the evening shopping at Patong Beach...that is alot of walking, and the effect of the massage all gone.

Activities

Original plan was to try the following at Phuket. (1) Lots of massages. (2) Eat one lobster meal. (3) Go whitewater rafting. (4) Take on the ATV adventure.

In the end, we fulfilled items (1) and (2). Chicken out on (3), and didn't have money/ time for (4). We did manage to throw in one 10-min Go Kart adventure, and explored someparts of Phuket, and did alot of shopping.

Other stuff

I kanna fined! We were fined THB300 for driving without a license. Specifically, it was I who got fined. HS had the sense to bring his license. From now on, I'll travel with my license.

We spent down to our very last cent and had no money to pay the THB30 for carpark out of Jung Ceylon. A little bit lack of sense on our part. But the carpark cashier was very kind to let us pass without paying a cent.

We realised the Twinpalms logo looks very much like our surnames inverted. Cool huh?! Discovered while staring at the breakfast plates.

Look what I found on YouTube?!

2008-08-08T17:04:00.002+08:00

This YouTube thingy still blows my mind! (Trying to talk like the Americans ala Louie Giglio style).

Anyway, I attended this really cool concert by the RGSSB. Three takeaways. (1) I want my daughter to go to RGS! (Assumption A: I have a daughter. Assumption B: She's smart enough to get in). (2) Band is cool!! It's like the coolest CCA in schools right now. Like so many youths in my church are in Band. I so regret not having joined band in my school days. But then again, there were no bands in the school I went. Got a Rondalla band...but I think it's different. (3) I want to buy a set of Timpanis. I don't know why. I just think they produce nice sounds. Timpanis and cowbells.

I waited like 2 years to attend this concert, and it was worth it. "Sashimi, you rock!!" You'll be the best drummer, mathematician, or anything you wanna be.

One more thing about/ from the Passion Conference

2008-08-05T15:53:00.003+08:00

We are really glad we went for the Conference. I think venturing out, sometimes broaden our minds and perspectives. I learnt and hope to see BES improve in so many areas about our worship. For one, multimedia is powerful, and I don't quite know how at this point, but this is certainly one area I hope to see and hopefully can in some way contribute to improve at BES.

The other thing was the reminder that there are so many good new songs out there. At one point, it almost seems like we reject all contemporary songs, simply because they have shallow music and inappropriate music. But, besides the not so great reason of using modern songs to capture the attention or interests of youths, I think there is always movement in our understanding of God, our expression of worship unto God, and this movement is sometimes expressed through these newer, contemporary songs, that we shouldn't simply neglect totally. It's been kinda boring singing the same ol' songs all the time.

I learnt a new song at the conference. It's a song by Hillsongs (not traditionally one of my faves). It's one of the key/ anchor songs, as Ashley mentioned it in her journal and tied in really well with the message of grace, salvation, hope. I too want to print the lyrics here. You can be sure, I'll be looking to buy an album with this song.

Mighty to Save

Everyone needs compassion
A love that's never failing
Let mercy fall on me
Everyone needs forgiveness
A kindness of a Savior
The hope of nations

My Saviour
He can move the mountains
My God is Mighty to Save
He is Mighty to Save
Forever
Author of Salvation
He rose and conquered the grave
Jesus conquered the grave

So take me as You find me
All my fears and failures
Fill my life again
I give my life to follow
Everything I believe in
Now I surrender

Shine Your light and let the whole world see
We're singing for the glory of the risen King

Passion World Tour - Kuala Lumpur (Day 2 of 2)

2008-08-05T11:37:00.002+08:00

Day 2 began with the hotel breakfast. Nothing to scream about. They didn't have much meat, and had relatively little variety and not so fine food. But it's ok, we still filled our stomachs and got ready to find our way to Sunway.

I did my research before hand, and know that we can get to Sunway relatively easily using the LRT, followed by a public bus. But, just for comparison, we decided to check with the Hotel Reception to find out if there was an alternative way to get there. There seem to be no shortcuts, except by Teksi, and the journey was estimated at 1hour, and cost of RM50.

We decided to go by public transport. First we took the Monorail from Bukit Bintang Station to KL Sentral Station. The Monorail and LRT stations are not together in one complex like in Singapore, but it's not too difficult to find the stations. KL Sentral turns out to be a la Grand Central New York. It was a huge complex of interchanges - Bus, Train (KTM), LRT, etc.

From KL Sentral we proceeded to travel to Kelana Jaya LRT Station. Kelana Jaya is like the furthest station on the Kelana Jaya line. Upon arrival, the bus interchange was just below the LRT station and made transiting to public bus very easy. We quickly spotted the bus to Sunway - U623. And for RM1 per person, it brought us to Sunway Shopping Mall in 20 mins. All in all, the two of us spent under RM10 to get from Bukit Bintang to Sunway, and I think slightly under 1 hour journey time.

I like Sunway. It's a very self-contained placed. You want shopping, you got shopping. You want accomodation, you got good accomodation (though quite pricey). You want entertainment, you got ice skating, cinemas, theme park. You want food, there's loads here. You want foot reflex, you also got it (no need to go BB liao). Basically, it's like visiting KLCC and Bukit Bintang, all in one. We should have stayed here the whole time. The only deterrant was the rather expensive hotel rooms (at around SGD200 per night).

No. 1 on my mind was to get the Passion tickets. And once I got the wrist bands that guarantees our entrance to the conference, I guarded it with my life. We were told that the queue would begin at 4 pm, and the doors would only open at 5 pm. The Conference was scheduled to start at 6 p.m.

We went to recce at around 4 pm, and found that there didn't seem to be any queue. So, we took our time and went to eat New Zealand Natural Ice Cream, buy Dunkin' Donuts to snack. We joined the queue at 5 pm. There was already a mass of people queuing outside the three entrances. We decided to stand at the center block and did not regret that choice, as that led us to seats right in the middle block. Though we were at the 2nd or 3rd last row from the back, we were facing the main screen and main stage. It was great!

The KL people are a lively bunch. It was great to worship with them. The Conference began with powerful multimedia presentation, and really solid live music (I thought they were playing from CD). It was truely a world-class event, very professional. Their camera crew is so professional. They even brought in this huge crane with a videocamera mounted on it to capture shots of stage and the front rows. There is no way I could tell you the atmosphere that night, unless you were there to experience it for yourself. But it was a treat for the senses.

Chris Tomlin and his band kicked off the night with worship songs. Songs were mainly from the God of this City album. The band was energetic and that energised the crowd too. The beats were so strong, my heartbeat kinda beat along with the bass notes. I don't typically worship with hand raising, jumping or anything too expressive, but I think once in (long) while, I like to do so, just to express in a different form my worship unto God.

Charlie Hall and his band took over at some point, and the worship changed. From the popular congregation friendly songs, we transitioned to more alternative sounding songs. The lyrics of these less familiar songs were actually quite rich in theology, but the music....rather "advance". Nonetheless, I've always liked Charlie Hall and his band's music, they are very creative.

There was a segment of prayer, and we learnt how to pray in cords of three. There was also a word session where Louie Giglio spoke a little about Isiah 26:8...just the "Yes Lord" part, and from 2 Corinthians 5: 11 to 21.

It was a evening where we sung songs and heard messages of grace and hope. Grace that God bestows abundantly, and Hope to help us through our darkest nights. I was reminded that God is in control, and how He wants the very best for us. How His will will be done, how our lives will only count if we do His will. How amazing His grace is, that we can have access to salvation so easily (on our part). And because God is so great and so good, there is Hope for all of us, no matter how dark our current situation may be.

We sang some more songs of worship - led by Chris Tomlin after the sermon. Indescribable, Amazing Grace (My Chains are Gone), How great is our God, etc.

Louie also shared the moving story of Ashley's conversion. Ashley is a 22 yr old undergraduate at University of Florida (just ranked as USA's no. 1 party school). To cut the story short, she was a non-believer, party gal, who after a break up with a cheating boyfriend, found a new roommate (affectionately known as Fruitcake). New roomie is a Christian who in her gentle ways managed to introduce Jesus to Ashley. In 14 days, Ashley was converted and lived a new live as a believer of God. She was changed, but met with a car accident about 3 months after her conversion. Her life may have been short, her post-conversion life even shorter, but God used her life, her story, her journal to tell us that there is no life too short in God, no life too meaningless if He is in it, and that He can give hope and salvation to all who believe in Him.

I am no longer a University student, kinda past that stage. But, I think the Passion movement is doing such great work all over the world. They have got superstars in their team. Chris Tomlin, Charlie Hall, David Crowder Band, Matt Redman, and the super charismatic Louie. They could have easily gone on their own to do their own thing, but here they are coming together to influence, to inspire Collegiate students all over the world to make their lives count for God. That's really something.

We didn't bring a camera for this trip, which was kinda dumb. 'Cuz we saw Charlie Hall and Chris Tomlin (whom hubby FORCED me to shake hands with when we saw him checking out of the hotel same time as us, i was too shy, kept saying "let's go...") at our hotel lobby during this trip. Which meant excellent photo opportunity. We didn't even bring any phone cameras. So for photos of the conference and beautiful KL...see the 268 blog.

Passion World Tour - Kuala Lumpur (Day 1 of 2)

2008-08-05T01:02:00.008+08:00

I cannot remember when I was converted into a Passion fan. But, it did start with their Hymns Ancient and Modern album. Since, then I probably have bought every single album from their annual conferences.

About two years back, I even contemplated flying to Atlanta, Georgia to attend their conference. But, it's very expensive, and I can't imagine going to the States on my own.

So, can you imagine the excitment I felt when I learnt that Passion is doing a World Tour?! I was elated. I couldn't believe that my dream of attending their conference live could ever come true.

I looked out for details of their World Tour. Firstly, quite sad that Singapore didn't make it as one of their stops. But, I was very very very happy to know that they are coming to the nearby city of Kuala Lumpur. That's not too far or impossible for me to attend. Thus, the moment the tickets for the conference were available for sale online, I went to buy them. And the dates were locked for August the 3rd, 2008. I'm going to KL.

Hubby and I booked a coach on Aeroline for Friday, 1 Aug, 11.30 p.m. We wanted, sorry, it should be, I, wanted to maximise our time in KL for shopping, and decided not to waste the Saturday morning and afternoon travelling. The super efficient Aeroline coach brought us to Corus Hotel, KL, around 3.55 a.m. We had no where to go till the next morning, and took shelter at the Hotel Lobby. We were the last couple on our bus to leave the hotel the next morning at around 7 a.m.

Btw, the coach was quite comfortable. It was a non-stop "flight", with in flight meal of McChicken + Apple Pie, cabin crew (of 1 lady), and pretty comfy seats. I didn't use the toilet on board, but we were told that it was for "light use" only.

At 7 a.m., Sat, we crossed the road from Corus Hotel to a 24-hour coffeeshop for breakfast. It felt abit odd, as almost everyone was staring at us, as if they have never seen tourists there before. We had Roti Canai (which we called Roti Prata) and teh tarik & coffee. Teh Tarik was nice, coffee wasn't, and the prata was so-so. We forced ourselves to sit there till close to 8 a.m. before we proceeded to the Petronas Twin Towers to queue for the tickets to the Skybridge.

We were told that tickets were only available for collection at 8.30 a.m., and based on my previous experience, I didn't remember much of a queue. I didn't realise that it was a Saturday. When we found the place, we were shocked to see that a very long queue had already formed. If we had known, we could have started the queue at 4 am, since we had nothing else to do, and no where to hideout.

We spent almost 2 hours there and were so glad that we managed to get the tickets for the 11 a.m. visit. By right, the counter was already distributing the tickets for the 1.45 p.m. tickets. And our plan was to head for Bukit Bintang around 1 p.m. Then we spent the rest of the morning roaming about at Suria KLCC.

In the afternoon, we headed to Bukit Bintang using KL's efficient LRT/ Monorail system. It was really easy & cheap to get around. We headed straight for our hotel, as we didn't get much quality sleep the night before. Royale Bintang is somewhere opposite Berjaya Times Square, it's at one end of Bukit Bintang, but relatively near to where the interesting stuff are. The hotel is a little old, but quite clean. I wouldn't recommend staying there if you had an option, only because I think there are loads of hotels to choose from, and probably can get somewhere else nicer. But, it's not so bad that I wouldn't go back there ever again.

We spent the evening exploring the streets of Bukit Bintang, and even attempted to look for this Prawn Mee Stall near the Overseas Restaurant at Jalan Imbi. We couldn't find it, and ended up eating at Madam Kwan's at Pavillion. It was a good choice to try some Malaysian cuisine. We had their signature Nasi Lemak and also Fried Noodles. Both were quite delicious. I especially love the lemak in the chicken curry.

Walking the streets of Bukit Bintang was pretty fun. That's one thing I like about walking tours. It's quite tiring and exhausting on the feet, but we really get to see alot of the local scenes. And it was actually quite save to walk around, even at night, just stay to main streets, and avoid the narrow lanes. We headed back to our hotel, feeling very full. Seems that we've been going to sleep with very full stomachs lately.

Entering a new covenant

2008-07-31T11:33:00.003+08:00

People's been asking me how's married life. I usually give one of two answers. (1) It's too short to assess or comment. (2) Not much difference.

No. (2) is the lazy answer, 'cuz actually there is a difference. There's a "permanence" to our new status to each other as husband and wife. During the courtship days, I can still entertain the thought that we may not end up marrying one another, and so there is sometimes reservation and withholding of affections and giving of self. But, after the vows are said, it's different. And so, I begin to appreciate the safety that a covenantal relationship like a christian marriage offers. And within this safe boundary, we're free to love and honor one another. So contrary to popular belief, marriage is not the graveyard (to romance), but a place of freedom. Of course, subject to undying commitment and faithfulness to work through this marriage before God.

Another difference is the state of peace we seem to enter. It seems that previously we have to strive and work hard in the courtship period - for each other's respect, affection and commitment. But, once we enter the marriage, the striving stops. It's no longer about what we do or say to impress or win the other person over. The person has been won over regardless of what we now do or say. I don't mean that we stop doing anything to put deposits in our Love Bank. It's pretty much like God's covenantal relationship with us. Before we enter that covenant, we strive and work hard to try to "save" ourselves (to no avail). But, once we enter, it's not so much about the striving and working hard for our salvation, but to just BE, because God has unilaterally provided a way to protect, love and safe us in this covenantal relationship. And our christian marriage is to demonstrate and show the world what this covenantal relationship is like.

So, these are my few thoughts, as I enter the days of being a Mrs. As much as that is the license to another stage of adulthood, yet I feel very young and inexperienced at the same time. It's a whole new thing, and I have so much to learn and practice.

Free Advertisement - The Chedi

2008-05-30T17:03:00.002+08:00

Been looking at tour packages....such a huge headache....everything expensive. Dunno how to squeeze value for money.

Anyway, I discovered this chain of luxury resorts that are really really posh looking. I think beat Banyan Tree.

Go to the url and click on a resort of your choice and just be wowed by the stunning photos of the scenary. The Bali one is my favourite.

What I am learning from Hebrews

2008-05-29T17:44:00.002+08:00

Yesterday I read John 6:60 to 71 for devotions.

Many Disciples Desert Jesus
On hearing it, many of his disciples said, "This is a hard teaching. Who can accept it?"
Aware that his disciples were grumbling about this, Jesus said to them, "Does this offend you? Then what if you see the Son of Man ascend to where he was before! The Spirit gives life; the flesh counts for nothing. The words I have spoken to you—they are full of the Spirit [e] and life. Yet there are some of you who do not believe." For Jesus had known from the beginning which of them did not believe and who would betray him. He went on to say, "This is why I told you that no one can come to me unless the Father has enabled them."
From this time many of his disciples turned back and no longer followed him.
"You do not want to leave too, do you?" Jesus asked the Twelve.
Simon Peter answered him, "Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. We have come to believe and to know that you are the Holy One of God."
Then Jesus replied, "Have I not chosen you, the Twelve? Yet one of you is a devil!" (He meant Judas, the son of Simon Iscariot, who, though one of the Twelve, was later to betray him.)

It kinda reminded me of our studies of Hebrews. We just finished the pulpit series on Hebrews. I didn't like the book very much at first. It's written in a way that makes it very difficult to read and understand. In fact, even after I had read the New Living Translation of the book at least twice, I still don't quite get it.

But, through the weekly sermons, the cell group word study, and also personal devotional readings, I have found that it's a rich book with much of God's wisdom for us to embrace and apply in our christian living.

One particular message that is particularly useful for this period, is the call to persevere in our faith. But why persevere?

I thought the answer was that there is no better option. But, maybe that sounds passive and fatalistic. But, is there any better choice other than to believe in the God who saves, and will be faithful to the end. To know and to hope in that there will come a day when the sufferings and misery will end, and that good does triumph.

Azumanga Daioh

2008-05-21T17:46:00.007+08:00

One thursday night, I was not yet ready to sleep and decided to turn on the tv to watch. While channel surfing, I came across a cute Japanese Cartoon on Arts Central. The scene was depicting how a teacher was jealous of another teacher who received a birthday gift, but she didn't. The jealous teacher was acting so crazy, screaming loudy, and behaving so unprofessionally, that it made me watch on. Afterall, alot of times, comedy is about inappropriateness - inappropriate words, inappropriate actions. Inappropriate = Unexpected = Funny Ha-ha.

The cartoon is called Azumanga Daioh. Wikipedia does a good job describing and giving an overview of the comic. Some of the characters are really cute, and they each have their personality and add a different story to the show. My favourite is Osaka. She's a super daydreamer, and it's her daydreaming that is really hilarious. Second favourite would be Tomo, who proved to be such an irritant in the second episode I caught on Arts Central the following week. She was repeating one word description or name of thing, non-stop. E.g. Okinawa, Okinawa, Okinawa, Okinawa, Okinawa....and so on.

Catch it on Arts Central, Thursday Nites, 11 pm.

Review: God of this city (Passion Band)

2008-05-21T10:01:00.004+08:00

Review by Christian Music Today.

I wonder how many undergrads, Christian undergrads in Singapore listen to Passion. And how many of them are aware about the Passion Conference movement that is moving the collegiate group in the US to live their lives for God.

Have to say a little something about the group and what they are about. The album was great. I loved 8 out of 14 tracks in there - (#2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 10, 12, 14). Would love to somehow bring some of them back to BES, but well, no more Evince, no more Anew, can't really think of another avenue, unless I manage to influence some worship leaders to like Passion's music too.

Two of my faves are #2 You are God, and #12 Shine. Musically and lyrically I think they are excellent. These are the songs you can sing on and on. Beginning to think #7 Beautiful Jesus has great potential to be sung corporately. Much better than Planetshakers one.

#4 is a one of my favourite hymns - O for a thousand tongues, and it's just redone in such a rockin' way, you're sure the new generation would love it too. #10 God of our Yesterdays reminds me of Blessed be Your Name, almost like it's a counter-song, also by Matt Redman. I think it's brilliant.

Chris Tomlin is super, and I like #3 and #14. God of this city is a simple song, with a very singable, repeatable chorus. Sing it as a prayer for your country, and it's super. The new Amazing Grace though not half as rich as the original Amazing Grace, has got a new chorus that is quite meaningful nonetheless, and a much more soothing sound to it.

Studies is bad for health

2008-05-08T09:37:00.007+08:00

I've taken a break from my part-time studies this year, and was thinking how nice it is and how to justify continuing this state.

Then, inspiration hit me, and I decided to build up a case using my mc rate the past few years, and see if it yields any useful results.

And it does! May I refer you to the diagram below.

It charts my mc rate over the past few years. The onward trend significantly shot up from Yr 4 onwards. That's the year I started acca. And it hit a record high in Yr 7, when I took three level 3 papers (and failed one). Of the 8 days mc i took last year, 3 were concentrated in Nov.

And now that I've stopped studying, my mc rate is zero. So, do I have a case or what?!

Sad lor...

2008-05-06T18:02:00.003+08:00

Boo hoo....Hillsong United tickets are sold out. Why can't they put it up on sale on the internet?!

Neber mind, I did manage to secure the tickets for Passion Conference KL. Wahaha...that made my day!

Interesting Sights

2008-04-29T22:47:00.001+08:00

Photos of the new toys

2008-04-29T22:43:00.001+08:00

The new-old TV in my room. And the cool new guitar I got! Wahahaha!

Can't believe it

2008-04-24T16:30:00.003+08:00

It's all gonna happen this year!!!

I have this dream, i.e. to attend the live concerts of Planetshakers, Hillsong United, and Passion Band. It's not really an impossible dream, but alot of logistics has to be planned and made if it is to happen, considering they are based in Australia and United States.

But, I'm so glad the world is now so connected, these bands actually have World Tours. And guess what, 2008, all three bands will come to Singapore, or at least in the case for Passion, they are coming quite close (to KL).

I already marked my calendar for Aug 3, where I am planning to go KL for the weekend, and attend the Passion Conference.

I just got to know from PY that Hillsong United will be here on May 24. This is rockin!! I am so going to be there....if can get hold of the tickets.

Already managed to attend the Planetshakers one. It was cool, though I'm slightly disappointed that the team leading worship is different. Not that the WL didn't do a good job. It's abit like you went to a football game wanting to watch the 1st team of Man U play, but instead got to watch some the 2nd team players, with some of the 1st team members inside. The result is not quite the same. But, most disappointing was that Mike Webber wasn't there. His "disciple" plays alot like him, with somewhat the same constipated looks, but I don't think it's him lah...not as handsome...haha.

Anyway, can't quite believe it's gonna happen. It's just one of those items in my "To Do at least once in my lifetime and I'll die a happy person" List.

Moping Monday

2008-04-21T17:15:00.002+08:00

mope about/around (somewhere) phrasal verb
to move about without any particular purpose or energy because you are unhappy or disappointed:
He was driving me mad, moping about the house all day.

The Thesaurus in MS Word provides these synonyms for the word "mope":

sulk
hang about
brood
languish
pine
pout

Yup, these pretty much describe my Monday. Barely got anything important done, and don't feel like doing anything in particular. Just feel like I'm surrounded and radiating this air of negativity.

AAAARGH!!

Exams over!

2008-04-15T12:42:00.005+08:00

Not really...no exams this sem. But the feeling is like exams are over.

Just finished the photoshoot yesterday. I felt such a sense of relief that I went home to play Guitar Hero III and also surprisingly had the energy to last past 1 am. Wanted to go online and blog, but was eventually too tired.

Anyway, I'm gonna eat anything this week, and not be bothered by bedtime curfew. Wahahaha. Not gonna care about waistline or dark circles.

However, back at work today, and realise, sigh...there's much to face. Which kinda dampen the good spirits. Why so much to do?! Why so difficult to solve?!

Photoshoot went well. Posing wasn't as difficult, since the photographer gave instructions most of the time. MUA was also very good and helpful. Otherwise, I'm quite helpless...alot of things don't know how to do.

For outdoor shoots, we had a few options, which all sounded very good to me. In the end, we went to 4 locations. Botanic Gardens, Alexandra area for the colonial house, Shenton way for roadside shots, and Sentosa for the sand, sea and bridge. My favourite location was the white house at Alexandra area. I like my photographer, she kept going for the artistic shots, playing with natural light and silouettes, and she never scold me for being stiff.

Some specific thanksgivings:

For strangers we managed to work well with.

For photographer to receive new lens today, and probably why she more motivated to do different things.

For the weather to hold. Its been pouring almost everyday. And like the other days, yesterday also threatened to pour. But the most damage we suffered was drizzling at one location, otherwise, it was all clear, and not too sunny.

We had fun and enjoyed the process...even though there was much preparation and hard work before that.

Praise God from whom all blessings flow.

Shoutout 110408

2008-04-11T16:28:00.001+08:00

RRRRRROOOOOOAAAAARRRRR

Thinking of junk food

2008-04-10T17:00:00.002+08:00

It's a pretty packed week, both at work and off-work. But, just cleared one major deadline, so can afford to slow things down a little.

Yesterday was Fitting & Trial Make-up Day. It had to coincide with an important deadline at work. Half hour before the appointment with the bridal studio, I was still in office. On my way to the studio I was actually in a pretty bad mood, had the urge to release the bad mood on poor HS, but decided to pray and release my anger and frustration to God. Well, by God's grace, I arrived at the bridal studio on time, and all the bad mood just kinda disappeared. In retrospect, God still delivered me, 'cuz the work deadline was cleared within a short, intensive timeframe, and with much help from other colleagues. Anyway, it's over, so it's two down, three more to go for this year.

The trial make-up was quite short and sweet. Going for the more natural look, though the MUA spent alot of time on my eyes. Layers and layers of eye make-up. But, it's not bad lah. Never did much eye make-up on my own. Now contemplating eyelash perming....kekeke.

The fitting also went quite well. I fit into all the gowns except the EG. I fit into that as well, only, i can't really move, for fear that one bigger step would tear the gown. But, one thing for sure, (tight) fitting gowns look much better on a person. Otherwise, I'm quite glad the 2-3x/ week gym sessions proved beneficial....only....can't control where u lose the inches from :(

HS also picked out his suits. Overall, I think he got pretty good selections. Btw, he's also gotten some khaki-brown highlights on his hair, which I think looks good on him. I tried to persuade him to colour his whole hair brown the next round, but he politely said no.

Anyway, this run-up to the photoshoot has been quite tiring. There is alot of shopping to do, alot of grooming to do, alot of disciplines to keep. I'm so sick of being watchful of my diet. I want to eat bangers and mash after the photoshoot!! I want to keep late nights!! I want to forget about the 3-step face regime before bedtime!! I want to shop for things I want to buy, rather than I have to buy!!

Okay, enough complaining. It's actually a good chance to pamper and take care of myself, which I otherwise would probably not do. I should be glad. I am glad.

Now counting the hours and minutes to the Worship Celebration with Planetshakers and Tim Hughes. I've brought my flats along, so that I can jump jump. How to jump with heels...that I don't know.

Made my day!

2008-04-07T17:21:00.004+08:00

Last Thursday, I attempted to travel down to Alpha Singapore at Thomson Road, Goldhill Centre, to pick up the Planetshakers tickets. I finished work early that day, and was out-of-office by 5pm. Alpha office closes at 6pm.

Bad news. I was caught in a very heavy downpour. There were floods in many areas at the Thomson/ Novena area. I had to drive through three points where there was flooding. I couldn't assess how high was the water, but I think water levels were around half way mark or more on the tires. Good news. The car didn't die and survived the treacherous waters. Not-so-good news. The car is currently shivering whenever it's on idle mode at traffic junctions. A real annoyance, and I'm quite sure gotta spend some money to get it repaired.

The best part was, after negotiating through those flooded areas, I couldn't get to Alpha in time. I also realised I didn't have their contact nos. and so couldn't confirm if there were any more Planetshakers tickets available for collection. In the end, I didn't go there afterall. I focused on getting to my eventual destination unharmed instead.

I comforted myself by saying that I'll just try the Free Admission Queue come Thur/ Fri. Afterall, they are just a band, why should I get so hung up about definitely making it there. If I make it in, well and good; if I don't, that's fine too.

THEN....

Strangely, on Friday morning, I received a call from Alpha. Someone actually called to ask me if I was going to pick up the tickets I had reserved. I was like, you mean, I still have tickets?! Good news. Their office hours was extended to 8pm that day, and would be open for 2 hours on Sat. Which means, I can collect my tickets!

The timing couldn't be more perfect. I was on half day leave to attend my bro's graduation. And so was able to pick up the tickets, before going for my dental appt. Hee hee...I didn't even need to make a special trip down on Sat.

When I got there, three teenagers were in front of me. One girl was desperately trying to find the name she registered under. For a moment, I thought, hmm...I look abit overaged for this event. Shortly after, another guy appeared after me, he looks kinda overaged too. Haha...so I'm not too old for this.

Anyway, I went 'cuz I was told I could still pick up tickets for the Thursday event. Yet, when I arrived, I realised, there were tickets still available for Friday's event. Which means, I collected 10 + 10 tickets. Whee! I wanted to jump when I collected the tickets. But, I thought that would be kinda act-cute, and just decided to tell the lady who handed me the tickets that, "You made my day!". I think she was amused. She didn't know how much trouble I had gone through to get these tickets.

Worship Central Celebration.

Shoutout 310308

2008-03-31T15:35:00.002+08:00

Mar/ Apr is quite an exciting month. Particularly, April. My bridal photoshoot is scheduled some time in the middle of April. But, for some reason, that's not the no. 1 thing I'm looking forward to.

I'm really looking forward to attend the Planetshakers Worship Event on 10 and 11 April. In preparation, I shall be re-listening to their albums in a reverse chronological order, i.e. most recent to the most far back. This is so that I can familiarise myself with their songs, and be able to sing and worship more easily.

Been doing quite abit of shopping for the photoshoot. The shoes, the accessories, the clothing, etc. It's also been quite stressful as more things are being loaded into my room, of which includes a 32'' plasma tv that has been relegated by a huge-a** 46'' LCD tv in the living room. Now, even the blind can see.

So, the weekends have been extremely tiring. I guess, that's why despite the regular exercise, I'm still kinda down with some throat and nose discomfort today. Quite frustrating. Think I'm gonna start taking some extra vit Cs.

Anyway, last week was a pretty triumphant week. I thought it would be alot harder, but by God's grace, and His enablement, I managed to close off a project that is very overrun. Now, only left with two more deadlines to catch up by end April.

I told you it's gonna be an exciting month. May God help me.

Days of having too many toys

2008-03-18T16:31:00.011+08:00

escapism
noun [U]
when someone avoids an unpleasant or boring life, especially by thinking, reading, etc. about more exciting but impossible activities:
These adventure films are pure escapism.
For many people going on holiday is a form of escapism.

This should explain the recent fascination with St James, MOS (still no outfit to go clubbing), timbre (no more wala wala), Monopoly Here & Now, Risk II, Guitar Hero III, and HTC Touch.

Top 10 Webbies u've nvr heard of (fr msn)

2008-03-11T17:39:00.002+08:00

Recently, I've been thinking the INTERNET is the greatest invention of this century.

And here are more websites to prove my point.

Beautiful Saviour - Planetshakers

2008-03-07T18:56:00.000+08:00

How do we pray?

2008-01-16T12:38:00.000+08:00

I recently caught an episode of Brothers & Sisters. It's a family drama. Such a rare treat these days to be able to sit down and watch a show.

Anyway, one of the stories in that episode was about a son (Justin) being enlisted to join back in the war in Iraq. He is a combat medic.

As he prepares to go back to war, he decides to "say good-bye" to his family members by spending individual time with them doing the things they love. E.g. Joining his gay brother in a musical, even though he hated muscials, offering to go with his mom to a museum to catch a particular exhibit.

However, one day in the kitchen, Justin gets into an argument with his mom about his gestures of saying good-bye. The mom insists that when he says good-bye, he is referring that he may not ever come back. And because of that, she refuses to go with him to the museum, and in that sense, she refuses to let him say good-bye to her.

She wants her son to believe that he is going to come back, just like she strong believes he is going to come back from the war. But, he is unable to do so, because he knows the danger and risks involved, and knows there is a possibility he may not return.

This made me think about the attitudes we carry when we pray. Some pray like this mother. They strongly believe, and they are going to pray that one way. That the son will return. They will entertain no other thoughts or possibilities. Others pray like the son, knowing the dangers and uncertainties, cannot believe that he will certainly return.

I wonder how exactly does God intend for us to pray. Do I pray with great faith and believe for what I hope will happen? Or do I pray also knowing the real possibilities of things going a few different ways? I don't think I have the answers, but think a hybrid model should suffice for now.

I will search (TY YouTube)

2008-01-05T13:19:00.000+08:00

Eastern Coastal Park Connector

2008-01-05T12:57:00.000+08:00

I was on my way home one lazy saturday morning, when I heard a very nice song on the latest album I'm listening to -- Live A Deeper Level by Isreal & Newbreed. The song is "I will search".

I spontaneously decided to go for a drive so that I can listen to the song more. And it was a great drive. I drove by the Loyang and Changi resorts, then to my favourite Changi Beach, and Nicholl Drive stretch. I still think the Changi Beach is nicer than all the other beaches in Singapore.

Anyway, I'm very curious about this Eastern Coastal Park Connector Network. Think I'm gonna start with the Pasir Ris Park Connector which links all the way to Changi Beach Park. After that, I'll venture to the Coastal Park Connector. How exciting!!

What is Worship & Why do we worship?

2008-01-04T14:53:00.001+08:00

The fiance and I are taking a night class at TTC. It's a course called, "What every Christian should know about worship."

It basically serves to educate Christians to be able to think critically about our sunday worship, and seek to enable Christians to participate in meaningful discussions about sunday worship.

I went because I thought it's been a long time since I learnt some new things or insights into worship. Plus, it's quite boring nowadays, since I don't need to attend acca lessons.

My main takeaways/ food for thought from yesterday's class:

How can we inject more mystery in our sunday worship?
How can we include and consider the community in worship?
Worship is coming to God's presence & responding to Him.
How can we better cultivate a spirit of reverence in our worship?
Focus more on hospitable worship, rather than intimacy.

The answers to the two questions in the title:

What is worship? -- To me, to put very simply, worship is about coming to God's presence & responding to Him (in praise, thanksgiving, confession, etc.)

Why do we worship? -- To meet our needs. People have two needs, one is the need for mystery (of God), and the other is the need for community.

We will explore more next week on the Bible & worship.

Introducing my current fave webby

2008-01-03T16:59:00.000+08:00

I've been using this webby - International Bible Society (IBS) - for the past few days. My favourite feature is its passage search engine, and its ability to display up to three different Bible translations at one go. That means, besides the NIV, I can also look at Amplified, New Living Translation, The Message, and New American Standard versions. There are other features too, but I've yet to explore them. Check out also the RSS feeds, and Daily Manner, etc.

Notes from Watchnight Service - 311207

2008-01-02T10:31:00.000+08:00

Extracted from sermon by Rev Dr David Wong.

Passage: Ephesians 5: 15 - 20

Title: Redeeming the Time

How have we used our time?

Time as an opportunity.

Give our time to God.

Make the most = Give it the highest value.

Wisdom is knowing the will of God.

Think about God's love/ Revel in His grace/ Catch God's heartbeat/ Know His will/ Seize the opportunity.

Rainbows remind us of God's covenant

2007-12-29T12:25:00.000+08:00

"I have set my rainbow in the clouds, and it will be the sign of the covenant between me and the earth. Whenever I bring clouds over the earth and the rainbow appears in the clouds, I will remember my covenant between me and you and all living creatures of every kind. Never again will the waters become a flood to destroy all life. Whenever the rainbow appears in the clouds, I will see it and remember the everlasting covenant between God and all living creatures of every kind on the earth." -- Genesis 9: 12-16

Chasing Rainbows

2007-12-29T12:07:00.001+08:00

Corridor on Fire

2007-12-29T11:51:00.001+08:00

I was away from office for almost 2 weeks. And upon return, I was surprised to see the corridor on fire.

Chomp chomp

2007-11-21T00:52:00.000+08:00

Not the famous eating place at Serangoon Central.

Just some snacks I've been munching on. Favourite at the moment is Cheetos. It tastes just like the Cheese Balls that I used to enjoy buying....can't seem to find those nowadays. Big plus is that Cheetos are Trans Fat-Free.

Saviour of the world (Planetshakers)

2007-11-15T22:27:00.000+08:00

Another recommendation, if you're looking for CDs to buy -- Saviour of the world.

This CD is live recording from the 2007 Planetshakers Conference. The music is very them...you'll know what I mean, if you know the Planetshakers. But, what I think is new, or improved, is their stage design, and the art and video work.

One MUST check out the DVD. It's no longer just straightforward recordings of their singing on stage, it's now packed with videos and what nots.

Many songs I like, but my favourite is Lead me on. The one I can't quite stand is Boom. That one, mmm, sounds like a rock...as in hard rock or heavy metal type of rock music. But, on some days, I do think one can worship with it.

Our God Saves (Paul Baloche)

2007-11-15T22:16:00.000+08:00

My best friend gave me this CD a couple of weeks back. I've been listening to it on an on/ off basis. 'Cuz oso listening to Planetshakers' Saviour of the world.

Anyway, it's a pretty good album. But, I'm not gonna give a review here, 'cuz me not much time. Gotta get back to juggling work and studies.

Check out Paul Baloche's MySpace, and listen to his rendition of How Great Thou Art. Especially listen to the drum, you'll hear the drum pattern move....it's so exciting.

Any drummer out there who knows how the cymbals are being played, please let me know. I can't quite figure it out.

Bumper to Bumper

2007-10-11T01:08:00.000+08:00

Oct 9 was not a particularly good day.

It started and ended with car bumpers. Strange...*scratch head*

Incident 1: Neighbour knocked into my car when reversing.
Damage was very minor, scratched paint on bumper, and maybe some scratch/ crack on lens cover.

Incident 2: Dad warded himself to hospital. Now, we know it's 'cuz of a gall bladder infection. Surgery required. Question is whether it'll be immediate (not so good), or later (better). The doctor told me that he currently has no fever, because the body is fighting off the infection with its own natural mechanisms. This is amazing, and immediately made me marvel at how God had pre-programmed our bodies with these "natural body mechanisms" to provide first-aid to some of our medical conditions. HE is so wise and loving to do so.

We're praying that his symptoms will subside, so he can come home in a few days' time, and have the op when the body is better.

Incident 3: Dad's car bumper dropped off. We're not very sure how it happened....but it certainly is a novel way to cap off the eventful day.

Regardless of the days' events, we're thankful we're still somewhat safe and sound. See the good...

Happy Children's Day

2007-10-01T18:34:00.000+08:00

Today is Children's Day. Yesterday, I "volunteered" to help out with a special project for the sunday school children, i.e. to assist the children as they decorate cupcakes with icing. Actually it was my best friend who got the lobang for this job and called me to involve me. I thought, hmm...since i have Jamie Oliver wannabe dreams, and there are a few kids there that are really cute and fun to play with, I decided to do it...oh, plus can skip sermon...not that that's really something I like to do...but i wasn't feeling very attentive last weekend.

Anyway, it was fun! Two of the mommies baked the cupcake themselves. They were delicious! I'll tell you how I know later. The icing was I think made from butter, and then colouring was added. Yellow is the natural colour. But, there was also orange, pink, blue and green. Very nice.

The kids were suppose to decorate their own cupcake, then put it in a plastic box with two other small cookies, seal it up, have a happy children's day message written on top, and then bring the self-made present home.

Easy enough job??

First "customer" I got was one of my favourite boys. He is my potential paige boy, so naturally, i treated him very well....hahaha. Anyway, the children were told to think first, what they wanted to draw. So, I told Reuben to think hard what he wanted to draw. After awhile, he was clueless, I offered some suggestions. And of the few, he picked CAR. He wanted to draw a car on the cupcake.

Great?! I have no idea how to draw a car using

icing pencils?! Seriously, it was difficult for a former art failure student. Okay, I'll start with one long straight line to draw the car bottom. That didn't go too smoothly, 'cuz for some reason, the icing pencil we got had a very tiny opening, and made the icing very very difficult to flow out. After some struggling, and eventually, cutting the hole to make it slightly bigger, we carried on with the drawing.

To cut the long struggling story short, I couldn't draw a car. In the end, I drew one big box, with two wheels below. Reuben being the nice boy, kindly said, it's okay, car difficult to draw, let's draw a bus. Boring bus it was...haha...then i told him to draw in windows for the driver, and he subsequently added windows for the passengers as well.

And here's one in collaboration with my best friend. I started it off. It looked like a baseball with buttons. But, she made it look a whole lot prettier. Man.....i really have zero art-sense.

Shoutout 2709

2007-09-27T18:25:00.000+08:00

I'm sick of looking at my black page. Guess it is kinda depressing. Sorry Earth, guess I can't continue to do this little bit to safe energy and protect you.

I've moved on to a muted grey colour template. Boring...yes. But I think that's kinda how I feel at the moment. Without the splashes of colour.

Work has been action-packed. Had a tiny breather today, and I was pretty switch off at work today. But, tomorrow...big meeting...*gulp*...and then it's to close off all projects, and then look forward to a peaceful Christmas.

Look ahead, look far ahead to the distant month of December.

Caption Contest

2007-09-08T21:12:00.000+08:00

Go for:

(a) Talk to the hand :s

(b) Yo! Gimme a 5 ;p

(c) Fellas...I'm engaged.

(d) No comments...

A picture may say a thousand words. But it's subject to so many interpretations.

Latest Nalgene bottle

2007-08-31T17:18:00.000+08:00

Check out these Nalgene bottles that come with "supplements".

Available in:

Auto
Dog
Emergency/ Survival
First Aid
Heat Stress
Kids

Social Utilities

2007-08-31T11:40:00.000+08:00

Recently been invited to join Facebook. Actually didn't want to sign up for another Friendster/ Multiply sort of thing. Too many, very difficult to maintain. For e.g., I hardly use Friendster nowadays except maybe to occasionally find old school friends, and keep in touch on birthdays. Multiply is mainly use by church friends to share some photos, videos, blogs.

Thought that Facebook would be another white elephant in my online world, and I was thinking probably my friends are not on it...so why bother.

Yet another surprise. Facebook turns out to be quite Fun. Day 1 and I'm swarmped with the number of applications that are available in Facebook. No wonder alot of web-savvy people are into Facebook. Yay! I'm in the club.

So, have your field day at Facebook...join the club.

Relatives came and gone

2007-08-29T11:03:00.000+08:00

My mom's youngest sis and her daughter, aka my auntie and my cousin, came last week for a holiday. Of course, the main objective is to visit my mom. I've come to respect ladies who have to move away from their homes to stay in a foreign land without the support of their families. It's tough. I don't think I can fully understand or even empathise with my mom, but she must have gone through some tough days. My aunt has been very thoughtful and has made the effort to come visit her every now and then. I suppose in alot of ways blood is still thicker than water.

On the home front, things have not been too rosy...

Sometimes when faced with the realities of life and adulthood, it does get a little overwelming, and a small feeling of helplessness overcomes. To all the teenagers dying to quickly grow-up, I tell you, take your time. It's not so great to grow up and face increasing responsibilities.

This week's devotion encourages us to read and meditate on the words in Matthew 6: 25-33.

v 25 was my encouragement yesterday, and today v 33..

"Therefore I (Jesus) tell you, do no worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes? But seek first His Kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well."

Is there any use in crying over spilled milk?

2007-08-20T16:02:00.000+08:00

Wow...this by any standard is a day with some not so good news. At least for two things that are of relative importance in my life now - the answers have been..."Mmm...no good...more work needs to be done."

Results out today. It's an all time low. I'm too ashamed to mention it here. *giant red face*. Although, I expected it, that's why checking the results wasn't on my mind today until Hap(py) reminded me. Of course, the question was how badly will I do. Pass or fail...btw, it's a fail..and a very very very bad one. Less than half of 50....can you imagine that?! Anyway, is there any use in crying over spilled milk??

Another set of "results" came out today. The HDB application...sigh...another 4 digit no. And there's only 300 over flats available for this bi-monthly exercise.

Well, the good news is that my report is out....hee!

Didn't the Bible say to rejoice at all times. Therefore, I shall rejoice.

Mahjulah Singapura

2007-08-12T22:30:00.000+08:00

National Day will never be the same again ;p

Picasa

2007-08-10T11:37:00.000+08:00

I've an urge to be home right now....'cuz I wanna play with Picasa.

It's a new photo organiser software I'm trying out. So far, of the few I've previously used, this one is the most friendly and useful.

First, it manages the photos directly from the folders already in place in my computer...thus, no need to upload again.

Second, you can do alot of photo editing (at least enough for me) with simple touch of a button. And best part is you can undo and redo easily, even if multiple effects have been applied. This is different from other softwares, where usually can only undo the previous one.

Third, can make collages and photo grids easily....though the collage abit difficult, 'cuz can't get it to display all photos....if only can arrange the photos on the collage.

Forth, can easily email it out using Gmail. Apparently, it even downsize the picture for easier emailing. So friendly!!

Fifth, makes organisation very convenient. E.g. creating albums from the existing photos...no duplicate of photos; marking photos as favourites with a star. Although the album organisation is still tricky...'cuz any changes to photo in album will affect the photo at source. If only can delink the two.

Going to try out the web albums and sharing feature to see how friendly it is.

Have I convinced you to try Picasa? Don't think you'll regret it...it's free ok.

Also can't wait to upload the 7 July, Krabi and National Day photos....wheee....

Random silly things i learnt yesterday

2007-08-03T16:11:00.001+08:00

Tanglin Mall Food Court serves good yummy beef noodles.

Everlasting Gobstoppers really lasts only about 5 mins.

Eating too many Gobstoppers (e.g. half a pack in 3 hours) can cause stomachache.

It is important to walk the grounds.

Blackle - The New Search Page

2007-07-30T21:26:00.000+08:00

Sashimi just taught me something cool, and I thought I'ld blog about it.

Use Blackle instead of Google.

Apparently it's the same Google search engine, except the page is in black, so that it saves more electricity.

Hmm...does this mean, my blog page should turn black too.

Anyway, think the mood is also turning black at the same time...stormy dayz ahead...lalala.

High on drugs or Down with drugs

2007-07-26T00:27:00.000+08:00

Back from my Krabi holiday...and it's not pronounced as crabby...

Down with a flu...

Got caught in the rain one day and caught a chill.

Given lots of drowsy medicine for the runny nose and cough...

Result:

Went to class with the wrong set of notes. Not just the wrong notes, but a set that is from a completely different module.

Went to class without a pencil box today. Not even a single pen in my bag.

Collected a textbook, but left the class without it. Only realised when I arrived at home's carpark.

Conclusion: Don't go to school, if one is not feeling well ;p

P.S.: If the scenary from the picture looks familiar, it's because it's taken from Maya Bay, where the film The Beach was filmed. It's the location where Leonardo's character and the rest of his gang likes to hang out.

first name Kate, last name Spade

2007-07-12T14:48:00.000+08:00

I've been looking to buy a new wallet to replace my Braun Buffel. I still remember the day I saw a tear in the internal of the wallet, and I was telling myself, "Yeh! Spoil already. It's time for a Gucci or LV".

Been taking walks around the wallet counters at various deparmental stores, but can't seem to find anything that catches my eye or my fancy.

At the same time, been flipping through the pages of 8 Days magazine...there's this page that has a Kate Spade wallet in the middle, then the writer recommends what people could buy for that week or something like that. Everytime I see that page, I'll admire the wallet and think to self - that's quite a nice looking wallet.

Anyway, this week, I noticed the wallet tear is getting rather big, and that gave me some impetus to try a little harder to look for a replacement.

Decided to look at Kate Spade's other wallet designs. Ultimately decided I think the Pasadena Taryn model is still one of the nicest. Though, I would say, Patented Leather can be quite difficult to design/ make/ use. Lousy design using patented leather, can make the thing look really tacky. Well, on photo, it looks great, though not sure if in reality it is so. The Hot Pink version looks great too, albeit more ah-lian. But then again, ah-lians have always been known to be stylish....haha!

I'm also currently looking for cabin-size luggage. I keep thinking I'm gonna fly off at my whim and fancy, and that having a cabin-size luggage would facilitate this fantasy. And I found this....

The Lisbon Carry-on with wheels.

Don't you just love the red lining?

A word i miss

2007-07-06T12:01:00.000+08:00

Definition

gallivant Show phonetics

verb [I usually + adverb or preposition] HUMOROUS

to visit or go to a lot of different places, enjoying yourself and having few worries or responsibilities:

Well you won't be able to go off gallivanting around like this when there's a baby to be taken care of.

(from Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary)

=========================================

This week...school started and work piled on with loads of road blocks...though in between the gloom and the doom is the silver lining of an upcoming holiday. It's been two years since I last took a plane-ride. This time...going to a place where Crabs abound....or maybe it's just sea urchins.

Back to school

2007-07-03T10:24:00.000+08:00

I feel a little wierd today....I think the weight of having to attend classes, study on weekends, and sit for exams is sinking in...

Pop goes my heart....

2007-07-02T17:46:00.000+08:00

Watched Music & Lyrics on DVD last weekend with a couple of friends. Man...the MTV from the 80s is so super-cheesy.

I think by now, most people would know what the movie is about. It's about a 80s Pop band has-been (Alex Fletcher) now reduced to doing reunion dinner shows, farm shows and what other not so glamourous or lucrative business trying to land a deal with one of the hottest young star (Cora Corman).

Alex at times reminds me of Simon Cowell, when he dons a grey T-shirt. And I can't decide if Cora is more Britney Spears or Paris Hilton.

Alex is the music guy. In his previous Pop band, he writes the music, whilst his other bandmate writes the lyrics. So, on his own, he really can't write lyrics. Until, he met his Temp Plant Lady (Sophie Fischer), whom he thinks is a born lyrist and someone who can help him out in this desperate attempt to earn some big money.

Anyway, the movie goes on, to show them developing the song - Way back into love, and how their relationship and adventure blossoms. Then, there's the typical fall-out before they show how Alex manages to reunite and win back Sophie's love.

I think anyone who likes a nice rom-com (romantic comedy) would like this easy-going movie. Anyone interested in music and the music industry would also like this movie and how it pokes fun at some of the industry's quirks & trends.

I recommend the soundtrack.

Summer Holiday

2007-06-27T18:16:00.001+08:00

It's considered my term break - i.e. no need to think about studies at all. And it's great!

Two things on my must-do list this "Summer Holiday" are:

(1) Catch the Great Singapore Sale.

(2) Watch Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer.

Managed to complete both before EOD.

Anyway, GSS was disappointing. My BFF and I decided to go shopping at VivoCity. Many times I've been there, I always thought, must come one of these days with the BFF to shop...so many shops. And we felt the excitement when we first arrived, wah..like so many discounts. But, after spending the whole night there....i went home with....a Ben & Jerry's Ice Cream. She did better - at least bought a pair of shoes. Wonder what's wrong with us?! Such poort shoppers?!

Rise of the Silver Surfer was great! I confirm it the best movie I've seen this year. It's kinda odd because I vaguely remember the Fantastic Four cartoons, and that they were never really very interesting. It was either because the drawings were not so great, or that their powers were not attractive to me, or that working in a team of four just doesn't seem very exciting or powerful of the superheros.

But, I think the Fantastic Four movie franchise is by far the best of all the comics adapted to movie efforts. Not sure if the Superman/ Batman/ Spiderman fans would be offended. Think about it, the movie turned a boring comic/ cartoon into a Summer Blockbuster with really good looking characters, loads of actions and explosions, and the must have end of the world scenario.

The must-do items are completed. Now, kinda just waiting for the new torturous term to begin again....

Well, in the words of the Human Torch...."Flame On!".

Guess how I'm feeling now?

2007-06-27T12:06:00.000+08:00

Definition

exasperate verb [T]
to make someone very annoyed, usually when they can do nothing to solve a problem

exasperated adjective
annoyed: He's becoming increasingly exasperated with the situation.

exasperatedly adverb

exasperating adjective
extremely annoying: It's so exasperating when he won't listen to a word that I say.

exasperatingly adverb

exasperation noun [U]
annoyance: There is growing exasperation within the government at the failure of these policies to reduce unemployment.After ten hours of fruitless negotiations, he stormed out of the meeting in exasperation.

(from Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary)

All of the above (Hillsong United) Postlude

2007-06-17T23:26:00.000+08:00

This is the most recent CD purchase. As usual (I think), the first one or two listen throughs left me thinking it it ain't so great an album. This album, like one reviewer mentioned is alot more mellowed. Gone are the jumpy, happy, youthy songs. Hillsong United seem to have either mellowed or matured...or maybe some sort of mixture of both. Still the power rock is there....

However, after a few more rounds...I found some favourites that are on my repeat list.

Top three songs from the album in order of preference:
(1) Hosanna
(2) Lead me to the Cross
(3) Desperate people

Post Exam

2007-06-15T16:12:00.000+08:00

Anyway, the exams went terribly. Quite sure I'm gonna get 33.333%. You could say, I attempted about 50 to 60% of the questions, but each question, I'm only confident for about 30% of the material I wrote. So, hence, the magic figure of 33.3333%.

Sat in the exam hall regretting my behaviour and actions as a student the past five months. Also, this is the first time, I had so much time to look at other examinees, wondering how come they are writing non-stop, but I'm pausing so much. 1.5 hours later, I essentially had nothing else to write. So, imagine, me suffering the agony of not having anything else to write even though I have another 1.5 more hours to go.

One takeaway I had during the "reflection time" (i.e. the remainder 1.5 hrs) --> treat the exam and the qualification with respect. If I decide to go for it, then the right amount of attitude, time, and disciplined studying should be put in. Otherwise, I'm really just kidding myself, and wasting my time and money.

CMI

2007-05-30T17:34:00.000+08:00

Cannot make it...

Been keeping late nites, and it's making me rather heaty...ulcers are developing, and complexion is bad, and dark circles are growing...it's bad...i hate this having to study at night thing...aargh.

Tomorrow onwards, I'm gonna be a full-time student for 6 days. Initially, I was looking forward to the time away from work. I even had hopes of taking afternoon swims. But...looking at my progress...or should I say non-progress....I can forget about leisurely afternoon swims.

My plan was to cover the material by reading through all the lecture handouts. That's 25 of them in various thickness and importance. I'm down to the final 4. Then, I should be progressing to do the Revision Questions. Then, it's to pick up the important topics to commit to memory the golden dates and rules and formats. Lastly, if there's time, then I'll also look through things like tutorial questions and read up on unclear areas.

That's my plan for the next 6 days. It's alot to accomplish....

Only 6 days left?!

Talk abt distractions

2007-05-29T10:57:00.000+08:00

I got real sleepy last nite, as I looked through my tax notes. So boring...dunno what the Tax Act is talking about....

Took a small cup of coffee...and surprisingly managed to get a kick to last me till 2-something.

That's very good....except...I think I squandered about one hour plus meddling with a new toy.

Kekeke...I've just inherited another hand-me-down from my dad. My bro and I are like garang guni man...waiting to pick up hand-me-downs from my dad or each other. This time, it's a Compaq notebook. Dunno what model, but it's widescreen version....suppose to be good for watching movie?! Whee.....

Anyway, i spent awhile, cleaning up the desktop and getting rid of unwanted programs. It was so sloooooowwwww initially. The slowness was the reason my bro didn't want it. But, never mind, I get to keep it instead. Then I spend another chunk of time customising the thing. However, I was disciplined...I didn't start transfering all my old files, just some mp3's I'm currently listening to, some photos, and the camp worship schedule.

Anyway, that took me to 1 something am...then I proceeded to read about Estate Duty. Which is a kind of tax on the "income/ assets" of the dead. Yes....you can tell...it's boring...and again...dunno what is it talking about. I just eyeballed the write-ups and call it a day. Dun even know if anything went in my head.....*snorez*

My best friend so cute....guess what she sms me last nite???

"...Anyway, how's ur studyg? Muz b disciplined huh!"

I HATE INSECTS - The ant edition

2007-05-25T00:59:00.000+08:00

I hate insects!!! Top of the list is probably Flying Cockroaches. But, lately, small little ants are bugging me quite abit.

Not very sure why, but we've been finding small little ants roaming around our table tops. The dining table, and my study table. It's quite disturbing, especially when I see them in my room. I can't figure out why they are in my room, especially when I have a policy of "NO FOOD IN ROOM". Bugging me....

My current anti-ant strategies are:

Kill ALL in sight.
If possible, if I know (where), I'll break their trail of food and water.
Continue to ponder what the source of the problem is and try to eradicate it.

TOWARDS ZERO TOLERANCE FOR PESKY IRRITATING ANTS.

Some of my favourite stuff..

2007-05-24T14:54:00.000+08:00

Recently read a review of Hillsong United's upcoming album -- All of the Above. So, I'm kinda looking forward to see what they've got to offer this time.

Read also about The I Heart Revolution.

The other thingy to highlight is the upcoming Planetshakers Youth Concert. Very sad to report that I think tickets are sold out. Might not be able to see Mike Webber afterall =( Boo Hoo...

PS: WAHAHAHAHAHA...guess what I found out from Google..the friendly search engine!!

I'm going for ULTRAVIOLET instead!!! But why is it only for FCBC members =(

That day at the Bus 93 bus-stop

2007-05-15T01:19:00.000+08:00

Some time, some 10 over years ago, I once stood at a bus-stop, missed many buses I was suppose to board for home, and just listened to this worship cassette tape over and over again, praising God and singing for Him.

Perhaps that's nothing unusual. Except I was singing out loud and probably hand-gesturing and bobbing to the music alot. Of course, it's a pretty secluded bus-stop with very low traffic, so obvious movements only when no one else was around. Think I was there for a few hours...or at least it felt like a few hours...I know I missed a few buses..and 93 frequency isn't exactly high.

Anyway, the title of the worship album was "We are One". I really enjoyed the varied African beats and musical arrangements, even with a Boys choir singing/ leading some songs. Many songs in that album I liked, but I think the one on repeat the most was "We lift our eyes", still remember how I enjoyed joining the chorus at "Father we declare..."

Why am I mentioning this? Because I'm currently reviewing a VCD of this album!!! Imagine the thrill of revisiting the excitement of probably the first time I so freely and truely enjoyed worshiping God with songs and music.

It's funny. 'Cuz just yesterday, I was in the doldrums for being involved in the worship ministry. I was lamenting and dreading why I had to wake up early on Sunday mornings for duty (& sometimes non-duty days), why I have to attend a meeting none of my peers would have attended, why I got so many to-do items when all I want to do is revise for exam.

Then, God's Word gave me some relief in 1 Sam 30: 6, "David was greatly distressed because the men were talking of stoning him; each one was bitter in spirit because of his sons and daughters. But David found strength in the LORD his God." (Read whole chapter for context)

And now, God helps me recall and experience renewed the joy and passion I have whenever I serve Him in this area. Time check: 1.24 am. So, even though I have to put in extra hours in the day, so that I can squeeze in time to prepare and plan for the church camp worship, I am enjoying it.

Sidetrack -- though on a related issue, nowadays, live worship albums are so different from the live worship albums of before. The live worship albums Integrity used to produce are really gems. I find the new ones more "manufactured"-sounding. The "oldies" were very well connected...song to song...with the worship leaders prayers and the congregations live praises.