Judah

Gmarket a tip a day series: Gift Certificates

2010-12-09T10:14:00.003+08:00

여러분 안녕! (Hello everyone!)

It's been quite a while since i blog about Gmarket tips and bear with me as it is 'a tip a day' and not 'a tip every day' - i will make sure i am posting something that is newly discovered by me as i use gmarket.

Today's post is about Gift certificates! Yes, the festive season is crawling nearer to us and people are busying shopping online/offline for gifts to bless their loved ones. Some of us we run out of ideas of what to buy for our friends/family and instead we prefer to let them choose what they want to buy by giving vouchers. Gmarket has the capability of providing others with the art of blessing another with Gmarket e-vouchers through gift certificate.

Gift certificates range from different valuation, from as little as 5,000 won to a few hundred thousand won. Only smaller amount (5,000 & 10,000 won) can be mailed as paper form while the other amounts can only be sent online.

However, here's the catch that you would never know unless you buy a gift certificate before and you tried to purchase items using it:

1. Foreign cards are not allow to purchase gift certificate. This is due to the Korean online commerce law that has been established to prevent online money laundering. The only way to buy gift certificate is through available cash balance (usually comes from over charged shipping cost) and bank transfer (transferring your funds into a korean base bank account). The latter method would cost you an additional remittance cost and the former method would require you to accumulate sufficient funds in order to purchase gift cert.

2. When paying via Gift Certificate, the entire payment must not exceed the amount available. Or else, you still can pay but the outstanding amount requires you to perform bank transfer to a local bank account and Gmarket does not offer foreign card payment service in such unique situation as yet. So as we can realize here, it is actually quite a hassle if you are a foreigner who's trying to use/buy gift certificate.

To sum up, Gift Certificate can be a fun online tool for users to surprise your friends who use Gmarket, but it is not suitable for usage unless you are in South Korea.

Gmarket a tip a day series: Types of payment methods

2010-10-11T13:21:00.004+08:00

Today's a tip a day is about payment on Gmarket. How and which type of payment is best suitable for a user and what are some of the tips when paying for your goods. Gmarket offers payment by cash balance, foreign credit card, paypal and money transfer.

Paypal is the safest way to transact if you are unsure of Gmarket's credit security systems that require you to enter your credit details on their website. Money transfer can be expensive if you have to pay for remittance fee for transferring to Gmarket korean account (unless they have a Singapore account or else buyers will be charged for overseas remittance). Buyers who pay through paypal would likely receive their cash virtually placed back in their paypal account - not the best thing for someone who needs the money because transferring money from paypal back into your original bank account would require a fee to do so.

Credit card usage deducts money directly from your credit or debit account and should any cancellation of purchase occur, this method is the most convenient and the best for a buyer who wish to have his/her cash back into their bank account if there happens to have a refund performed.

Money transfer is one option that is both a mystery and foreign to me because i have not use it personally. Maybe Gmarket would just return your money back into your cash balance instead of transferring back into your account because Gmarket would not want to pay for any remittance fee due to any cancellation by customers.

Cash balance can be used to pay provided they are sufficient. Insufficient amount would require buyers to top up the rest of the payment through credit card payment or any of the payment as mentioned earlier.

The best way to make payment on Gmarket in my opinion? Credit/Debit cards. Why? Any cancellation would result in getting your original sum of cash paid back in your account within a few working days. Thus, it spares us from having virtual money as much as possible - not a good idea if you do not know when is the next time you are going to buy online, the money in a buyer's paypal account or gmarket cash balance could be put to better use in a financial point of view. On the other hand, security loophole is an unknown threat but so far, all my transactions using credit card has been safely done. A trick to do purchase using credit card is that a buyer can use a secondary debit/credit card which has low credit limit to make purchase. This would help to manage and lower the risk faced when security loop holes happen.

*Disclaimer. This post regarding Gmarket's payment methods may not be fully accurate as they are based on my personal experience and Gmarket may have already change some of the ways in which they transact. For more info, you can search online for their payment policies & regulations.

Gmarket a tip a day series: How to use Mileage

2010-10-08T16:55:00.004+08:00

Today's post is about how to use the mileage accumulated from Gmarket. First of all, i am going to explain how do you obtain mileage first. Whenever you purchase from the Gmarket sellers, some of them provide you with not just G stamps but also mileage as sometimes, the goods are actually at other parts of South Korea, in places like Busan/Ulsan/Daegu etc. These are places far away from Seoul and Incheon where shipment takes place and it would take some time for the items to reach the collection point. Hence, to reward customers' precious time of waiting, sellers award them with mileage.

So, to check out the accumulated amount of mileage. A user can simply login and go to their Gaccount > click the first box on the page and they would see this:

On the right hand corner of the picture above would be the mileage accumulated in your Gmarket account. Once 10,000 miles or more are accumulated, it can be converted into G cash for the users to make payment for their shipping fee. It takes really a long time to accumulate your mileage. So whether this mileage function is worth fighting for it's really on an individual's comfort level. For me? I would say that G stamps are still the best giveaways on Gmarket.

Next a tip a day, i will cover on some modes of payment and their pros & cons on Gmarket.

Gmarket a tip a day series: How to use G Stamp

2010-10-08T11:39:00.007+08:00

Today, let's touch on the topic on how to use G stamp from Gmarket. It is a very useful tool for all customers on Gmarket. First of all, how do you receive G Stamp? There are several ways of receiving them. The first way is when you buy from merchants. Some merchants issue G stamps when you buy any of their products. you can see it from the right hand side of the search page. The seller will indicate issuance of G stamps. See picture below.

Another way to receive G stamp is through giving feedback once you receive your items from the merchants. There will be a red button under the column 'overseas status' for you to click and give ratings/satisfaction on the sellers' merchandise. Each successful completion of feedback gives one stamp. See picture below.

Well, now comes the part on how to use these stamps. From the seller's page there is a little orange box at the top of the page, 'coupon box'. This is where you could apply your G stamps in exchange/apply for discounts that are applicable to your items. See picture.

When you click this box, a smaller window will usually pop out and show you the available discounts that you can either use your G stamps to exchange or apply. See picture.

These two options vary as well. One is like a ballot while the other is a confirm discount issued by Gmarket. Hence, you will realise that doing an exchange usually cost more G stamps than applying for a discount. Well, the tip here is that most of the time if you go straight into applying for discount coupon, the chances of getting the discount coupon are quite high but the trick is to use this function only once - do not try to apply for more after you won the first one because it just wont work anymore ( i have learnt it the hard way and lost many of my stamps). When can you then use this function again? Maybe a few days later you can try again.

G Stamps can also be used in lucky draws and if you are a VIP customer, you are entitled to special exchange/apply discounts. My one last tip on G stamp is that, use it only when you need it. I'm not sure whether these discount coupons can expire but the tendency is to use it only when i need to find a discount for my purchase. Sometimes, there are some sellers that do not allow discount coupons, so it makes no point keeping any of these discount coupons in the account as well.

Next a tip a day, i would like to talk about how to use the Gmarket mileage accumulated.

Gmarket goods 도착했습니다

2010-10-07T22:37:00.004+08:00

After a week of waiting, Gmarket has finally mailed out all my items (9 of them) and i got it today all at one shot! Wow, online shopping havent been that exciting since i was back from Korea. Woohoo..

Gmarket a tip a day series: How to use G Cash

2010-10-06T13:06:00.002+08:00

Today's post is about how to use the G Cash that we may buy or exchange for on Gmarket korea.

G Cash is a feature that allows customer to use it to pay for your purchase on Gmarket. The catch to it? You can only use G Cash to pay for shipping and NOT for items that you buy on Gmarket. As i mentioned earlier that sometimes refund of exceeding shipping fee is deposited to your cash balance. More often than not, people convert it to G cash thinking that its like a virtual credit that allows them to use to pay for whatever they buy on Gmarket without having to use their credit card or paypal.

Hence do not be mistaken and know that G cash can only be used for payment of shipping cost. Then the other question would be, if i want my money cash back into my bank account from the cash balance, what do i do? Well, Gmarket has a pretty smart way of keeping money of customers with them. It would actually cost alot of money ($35) just to perform a withdrawal. Unless you withdraw more than a thousand dollars, this is the amount of charges that would be applicable to withdrawal. So, let's just face it. Use any of your refund for payment of shipping would be the best way to utilise your G Cash. In the next few series, i will move on to touch on the other G-component of Gmarket, G Stamp which is the main reason why it makes G market different from other similar commericial portals.

Gmarket a tip a day series: International Shipping

2010-10-05T11:13:00.004+08:00

Hi,

Today's tip is on international shipping. How long does it take for your goods to arrive and how much do you have to pay? These are the common questions of a typical buyer on Gmarket.

Gmarket offers 2 type of delivery to Singapore, DPD or EMS with the latter being more expensive than DPD because it is supposed to be faster and at the same time offers parcel tracking service for anyone who uses it. So which one to use? Some say go for the cheapest and naturally DPD is used and those who wants the goods fast would go for EMS. Well, at the end of the day its a matter of how much you want to ensure the safe arrival of your goods. EMS offers real time tracking parcel while i am not sure about DPD. Though EMS is supposed to be faster than DPD, there has been feedback that i see on the internet blogs that DPD is just as fast. 2-4 days is the normal period after sending while there are some that take just 2 working days to arrive. However, usually customers still have to wait upon the goods to be delivered domestically to Gmarket to collect and ship out for their international customers. So that itself depends on whether any seller delay the mailing or the stock runs out for one of items purchased together - this will delay the entire set of goods that are supposed to be mail out together.

When you buy less items, Gmarket charge really really high for shipping per item. But as you choose more products to buy and add them to cart, you will realise that Gmarket will charge lesser per item, even though everything has to do with weightage. Moral of the story? Buy more at one go, buying a few items would only make your shipping experience a horrifying one. Not forgetting about the price difference between DPD & EMS, the more you buy the lesser is the gap between these two methods of shipping. Also, whatever that you first paid for shipping is only an estimated sum. Gmarket holds the right to make customers pay for additional charges because sometimes the weight provided on the products are provided by the merchants and mistakes can happen. On the other hand, refund of estimated shipping fee can happen too. When that happens due to overcharge of shipping fee, Gmarket will NEVER inform you. Instead, if you take a look at your Cash account under > Gaccount, you will realise that there are money deposits in it. That's where Gmarket deposit your refund without actually telling you. I will touch more on how then, can we utilise the refund for in the next a tip a day series.

Gmarket a tip a day series: Language barrier is so yesterday

2010-10-04T18:11:00.008+08:00

I thought i would like to share more as a user of Gmarket.co.kr since i have been upgraded to a VIP customer and more less know how the portal functions. So, i am gonna share a tip a day as much as i could so that some of you who are interested to run your own Gmarket spree could do so with ease just by checking out this blog as often as you want to.

Tip of the day:

Many of us realised that Korean 한국어 is the main language used by the portal since its main customers are from the local market. Many koreans love to buy from Gmarket but the company has since realised it is gaining international popularity and thus, enter into several countries online market as well.

For those of you interested to discover the portal without much hassle, go to english.gmarket.co.kr, and this site is in english for most part of its website. Or from the main gmarket.co.kr, you can navigate from it to english using the small button at the right hand top corner of the page. See below.

As you browse, sometimes there are certain words that describe the product as well as its colour. All these are often written in korean once you click the drop down list to select, your headache starts to kick in. Using a little trick in google translate, that could easily solve your problem and to make sure you have purchase the right item with the right colour.

Simply go to translate.google.com, once you are there select, translate from english to korean. Then, type in the colour that you want to buy. Google translate will do a pretty good job by giving you the korean character that represent the colour and then what you could leverage on would be to match the options to the list of products from Gmarket. Problem solved!

Gmarket goods

2010-10-04T17:59:00.003+08:00

its been a week after i made my first purchase on Gmarket since i came back from South Korea. Waiting for the goods to come - the domestic delivery were delayed (as usual)! i hope the weight doesnt exceed whatever Gmarket has charged or rather i hope there could be refund for shipping fee for exceeding what is the actual weight. Sometimes it happens.

Week 16 @ Seoul - emoticon

2010-06-16T11:07:00.003+08:00

A blink of an eye and my exchange here is more or less over. It's such an incredible journey that i believe i could never experience in future unless i study or work abroad again - i don't see myself doing that unless its really something that interest me.

Am having my exams right now and never have i felt soo lazy in my revisions before, almost to the point of total hack care and just browsing through the notes without much understanding despite missing quite a number of lessons due to all my traveling with dear and mommy for the past 3 -4 weeks.

Can't believe Seoul is going to end by next week and its hello Osaka for 5 days and then Taiwan for a week! Time is evil, it passes by fast when you are enjoying and slow while you are suffering - thats my ultimate conclusion of time. Because i had a time of my life while i was here in Korea - making friends whom i may not see them again in person (thanks for facebook we still could connect). All the korean language classes, the electrical atmosphere in football matches, all the meat and bbq i had here and the awesome weather (which sadly, it's about to change drastically worst than SG). Not forgetting all the places i went to, especially to Jeju, Busan and even within Seoul with dear jiarong and friends. So thankful that everything went well and we did not really have any nasty encounters during the trips.

Thank God my english did not become worst than what i had expected with all the usage of korean day in day out when i first came here. But i really appreciate what HUFS has given to us as exchange students, the chance to learn a new language which could be quite useful though.

Looking forward to be back in Singapore to see my family, friends, good lads but at the same time i will miss this place. It has taught me alot of things that words cannot describe it but i understand them deep down in my heart. Kudos to the people of republic of South Korea for their side of story that came into my life and made me saw wonderful things that i can bring it back to Singapore to share with others.

Thank you Lord for keeping me safe during this whole journey...

Seoul at week 4

2010-02-08T21:42:00.004+08:00

Time flies, its already coming to week 4 of my stay here in Seoul, Korea..The weather is awesome and awfully cold but i love it here because i aint getting those flu that i am getting in Singapore..i serious wonder what's wrong with my body in the immense heat of Singapore. Too hot or too cold? God knows.

Well, this week was cultural class and we started the week making kites. We also learnt about korean lunar new year. Apparently its not really a big national celebration here..to my surprise too. Singapore is far more exciting during cny than here i guess.. Maybe not, i have not experience it and at the end of this week i think i will know how it is. Well, life here is eye opening and i really think koreans are really smart people in the way they handle certain things and run their business. In the sense, i think in a big city like Seoul, you see more people who are street smart rather than just people who are capable in their academics. This city is also quite safe. People can just carry their DSLR camera and walk around in the open. At first i was doubtful but slowly i saw many people doing it in the subways or even on the streets. Things like this make me feel that actually Seoul is still kinda safer than what i thought. Of course, i wont be off guard to the point of being ignorant of my belongings..

Attended cell this weekend and made a few new friends...Well, the same old church friendliness here but a different zeal here is what i see..i think Yoeido's system is about putting their members first. Little things like providing food for people during cell group meetings is really awesome..its a different culture here but Yoeido is winning lots of people every service..some how God is continuously blessing this church with alot of new sheeps and it really makes me wonder how they do it. They seem so easy about it and winning their friends and families. I think when God is with us, even when the worst sermon is being preached..people come to know the Lord (an example of what God can do, nothing against Yoeido's preachers)..

Some pictures from the week/weekend..

My cell group leader, working as a financial planner, i hope she spare me from insurance policies

My teacher with our kites...she has no idea how to make one...

Korea has kites like these...i made one myself (first time i see people put the sticks in front of the design, i consulted my teacher and she said it is that way)..

Departure and first day in 서울

2010-01-14T13:46:00.003+08:00

It's cold in Seoul and i am starting to feel the loneliness of being alone. No blankets, no pillow and i have to buy them myself? No one even told me i have to bring those things over! Anyways, Korean language has started even today i had to receive tutoring from a fellow student! My brain cannot even absorbed when i touched down man. Only thing good to tell you guys here? haha, phone call is free to anywhere from my dorm room. HUFS let students call home and overseas FOC!! thats great but their wireless is pathetic and i am using LAN wire to connect to the internet now.

I hope tmr and the weekend is going to be better! The start of a new chapter of my life begins at HUFS, the smallest local university in Seoul but still bigger than SMU. The students here come all the way from every other part of Korea to receive university education because they are proud of being in a Seoul university. Wow, thats really a great thing to hear. With that, good day for now as i try to settle down in this place that is colder than a fridge. Joke of the day (My room mate has a fridge in our room, i told him to put his food outside the window instead cos its doing far better than the fridge)

Ah Neong!

Jiarong's 24th birthday

2010-01-13T12:18:00.002+08:00

My first couple tee

2010-01-13T11:53:00.002+08:00

We love this design alot that we could not resist buying it

blog about God

2009-10-22T23:26:00.003+08:00

Today as i had my simple and short QT with the October issue of quiet time booklet, i learnt about having that gratitude towards God in all that we do, just like what Solomon in the book of 1 chronicles did - He was grateful that God place him King over all Israel, richer and wiser than any Kings before him and ever to be. Wow, i thought that's not the kind of wisdom that i interpreted in the book of 1 kings which also talk about how God bless Solomon with that level of wisdom that involves discernment. That was also the message which i wanted to share with my guys before their exams.

Well, at first i did not grasp the meaning of being grateful as i thought: "yeah,sure..christians, we should be grateful. period." Off i went for my run in the morning. It was hot as the sun was almost fully up by 9am and it was scorching as i made my way slowly to the esplanade area from my house. As usual, my run is always filled with questions i have for God during certain periods of it. Contrary to Russell Peters' joke about man thinking about nothing most of the time, i was like a woman - thinking and evaluating my thoughts, just that it wasnt all the time like what he claims.

Then came the part where God allowed me to experience two very similar yet contrasting scenarios. They are simple but contain so much meaning to what we as humans tend to feel on different set of occasions. First, i was just on the pavement passing by the Singapore flyer and you know sometimes, vehicles just zoom out of wherever they are from inside the flyer to enter the main road. So, there was this mini tour bus getting out and i saw the driver look at me and i was really near but he did not bother to stop and before i could cross the path, i had to stop and wait for the mini bus to leave. Not that i have anything against the driver for not stopping for me as a form a courtesy but runners really do not like to stop and wait for nothing when we are already panting like a dog. Stopping is equivalent to losing momentum and it requires extra energy to start the pace again. So, there i was after the bus had left, i said to God in my mind, "God, why can't people be more sensitive?", at the same time i was already feeling the heat from the earlier morning sun.

I moved on with it, bearing no grudges or what because this kind of things happen all the time! Agree? We can't read each other's minds so we simply cannot tell what the other person wants you to do man! But, anyway, here comes the interesting part of it all. Come another part of the path where vehicles could turn in and i was nearing the turn in path and there was this turning pickup that actually came to a slow halt for me. I was about to stop for it to pass first, but the driver started giving me the go ahead wave and i wave back to him, as a gesture of thanks for letting me pass first and helping me to keep my momentum (very important to any runners!). Cut the story short, the word gratitude came to my mind as i made the rest of the journey back to my home.

What am i trying to bring across here? I guess its really about being thankful for the little things that came into our lives. I could have chosen to ignore the driver and continue my run and thinking passively that this is a rare occasion that happened by coincidence. I think God reminded me that sometimes its all about appreciating and being sensitive to the people around us. Be quick to listen and slow to anger. And it's definitely a nice feeling for anybody who feels appreciated! Not forgetting, it is common that people can be ignorant and be insensitive, so as God's people, we should bear in mind that we are not to be affected by such things. So let's be grateful to the giver of our blessings and remember to give thanks all the time in all circumstances to the Him...

~ Gratitude yields Wisdom ~

A Wedding Overview

2009-10-18T00:49:00.004+08:00

Everytime I go for a wedding, new things are evaluated within my thoughts. Seeing the couple today, Josh and Biling, i think it is really wonderful seeing them finally tying the knot and having so many friends and family being there together to celebrate the occasion with them, that itself is such a blessing already. I too, am very glad that finally another brother in christ has sealed the deal and i'm very sure they will be a happily ever after (of course arguments and issues in life are unavoidable, but they will have eternity together!).

A christian wedding is always very challenging to any serious christian couples and i want to take this chance since i have the 'wedding planner' mood in my mind right now to give us an idea how everything actually works.

1. A couple decides that after being together for so loooooog, they wanna be married but they know they cant be married in church unless they go for church based MPC (marriage preparation course).

2. God knows what they do in the MPC until one really goes through it but from what i heard, its about teaching couples about marriage and prepare them mentally for it.

3. Guy has to take the initiative to propose to his wife to be in order to officially close this MPC and bring the process to the next level: THE BIG DAY PLANNING.

4. Couple now has to look for a house for the bible says a man shall leave his family and live with his wife to start a new family. HDB bidding for a combine salary of not more than $8,000 and landed property or resale flat for anything above that amount. Balloting is a process whereby couple spent the most time praying for because of the low probability that one can ballot for a good location for flat.

5. Church wedding and Banquet dinner are next up on the to be done list. Well, ideally, most people would want their church wedding to be on the same day as their wedding dinner so that they can have a nice build up to that - the honeymoon. It's hard to find the ideal date and couple usually spends lots of time going down to hotels for food tasting and getting the right location for church solemnization. Be prepared to take quite a few MCs or Vacational leave in order to get things done.

6. Next, wedding is only once in a lifetime, so one has to really look good in whatever they wear on the big day. They need to get makeover artist, right suit/gown purchase, professional photographer and a style to adopt on their big day. Not an easy one to pull through in my opinion for many people because budget can be really tight towards the housing and wedding locations already. Striking a balance is essential here. Eg, don't choose an 'attas' location when you realise that your gown/suit does not match up to it. Sometimes what you wear can affect your overall feel when you are forced to wear something out of budget due to shortage of credit. Renting is also another option for people who are pragmatic and do not want to waste their wardrobe space in the future.

7. Wedding invitation is next on the list. It is always advisable to send out all your invitations early and accurately. Suggestion for couples is that they can play a game that suggest who's gonna be invited to their wedding during their own free time before they are even going to get married. Can be really fun! Get RSVP from your guests so that couples can estimate the number of tables to have this will in turn affect the decision to book which hotel - different hotel caters to different number of tables (10pax each).

8.Honey moon is the next part. The part where most people are willing to burn their pockets for. Europe is a great romantic spot but also an expensive one. Asia has its own uniqueness for vacation too. Over here it is good to choose a location early and pre book so that everything is cheaper when booking is done earlier. Bag packing is seriously not advisable because you're on a honeymoon, so pls stay relax (no sweat!)

9. The next big headache which most couples settle latest and sometime not even settled after their wedding is furniture and getting the house very ready for living in. Alot of couples' house that i went to were not really furnish finished very close to the big day. This can be due to procrastinating interior designers, lack of time to go places like ikEa to get sofa, television, oven and cupboards etc. Sometimes, it is understandable that family always like to bless couples with things like fridge, washing machine, aircon, oven etc. So it sort of make people want to slowly settle their house knowing that their relatives and friends may just buy it for them. Well, this portion of a wedding planning is the hardest to settle unless one decides to get everything ready before they get married all by themselves!

10. Last last of all, the most important part of the big day is people, friends, helpers and any people who are willing to sacrifice their time just to make your wedding day a successful one. Friends, family and fools are the 3Fs in venture capitalism but for wedding, fools are not the one they need but couples need faithful brothers and sisters in christ who can be entrusted with the small things to the big things of the day. From coordinators to worship team to brothers and sister and ushers, these are important people who really make your wedding day run smoothly without you having to think about a single hair.

So, this is it for my ten points worth of juices from what i see, what i observe and what i feel as a boy who has a 'when is it my turn dream?'

-timeout-

Revamp-ed

2009-10-14T01:05:00.002+08:00

Finally found something i really like for a template. The woody woody kind of feeling is just awesome for me to use. Made some changes to it and thanks to www.deluxetemplate.net, i am beginning to feel like blogging again. =)

Time to dig into my capability to revamp this site

2009-06-18T23:13:00.001+08:00

Selling Stuff

2009-05-10T17:11:00.016+08:00

InternShite

2009-05-09T23:24:00.003+08:00

Okie, from my subject title you can tell how satisfied internships can be - pardon me for my crudeness. Friends have been sharing similar internship catastrophes with me since they started!

Been a long time since i have updated the blog but i thought this few months has allowed me to seen through quite a number of events and words would have been too difficult to explain my journey thus far.

In short, i guess right now my internship at J Baer will probably be the routine at least till august just before sch reopens again. Catch me for lunch at vivocity/harbourfront if you guys are dropping by the area - just ring me! Working life is tiring even though i am looking foward to it myself, not because i really really like it but its for many other reasons that i look forward to it...

The verdict is final, i will try to apply for an exchange place to some country for term 2 next year...its a decision that i thought through for a long time but i thought having the support from other people as i shared about my life was a little confirmation that i ought to give it a shot.

Anyway, been glad with how things been going in Livingstones! Awesome things are happening now and then. I loved to be part of it all... Thanks be to God, who always lead us in Triumphant!

-Bless you-

God will use the weak to shame the strong

2009-04-02T18:14:00.004+08:00

Now that we see, impossible is nothing is this world. We just have not seen the sun rising from the west. That's about it. If God wants it to be, it shall be done...Sometimes we have to go through humbling processes like this, it can be painful but i believe its gonna make us stronger and God will use us to shame the stronger ones among our midst for His glory. Believe it, proclaim it and receive it.

~~~~~Bolivia 6 - 1 Argentina~~~~~

A Lost Generation

2009-04-01T17:35:00.000+08:00

Telling off the Three Lions

2009-03-17T18:36:00.000+08:00

A mother's Song

2009-03-16T09:46:00.003+08:00

Lies and photoshop

2009-03-12T22:37:00.004+08:00

Click here for video

The question: Is it ethical for Magazines to alter pictures that becomes way different from what it is originally?

For us to think about: Doesn't it affect how people view of what beauty is? Doesn't it affect young people who see these pictures and believe in them? Isn't the media trying to condition our minds to see beauty only in their perspectives?

We are born to be free.
But, are we really given freedom of rights/thoughts?

Disclaimer: This is not to discount the capability of Adobe Photoshop software but an awareness to what's happening in our world today.

The video below is an award winning advertisement by Dove which i think says alot of the technology we have in this world which contain the ability to distort the truth and transform people's perspectives of another person.

When I was 10, I was told to mug my books...

2009-03-03T20:42:00.002+08:00

Fishing trip

2009-03-02T10:59:00.004+08:00

The long waited trip finally went ahead this time round with pastor Lawrence making a guest appearance to the SMU Recreational Fishing club. The catch that day was fine with a giant herring as the biggest catch of the day, however the rain was dampening the spirit we were having while on board. Look forward to organising the next trip again, the Sedili Malaysia Boat fishing and also the Kelong trip for the school. Well enjoy the photos!

Politicians go blank

2009-02-10T18:58:00.002+08:00

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Gaza bombings

2009-01-17T10:59:00.002+08:00

Lately, if we have read the articles on the news enough, the immediate concern of the world focus is not just on the economy gloom but also on the middle east, particularly on the attacks of the Israelis on Gaza in response to the the Hamas. Well, to be frank i know not too much of the history between the military group and Israel but i do know that both of them are at war. The reason why Israel is being attacked over the years, it is based on the belief that many middle east nations have, which is the belief that says Israel should not even exist on the continent in the first place.

Why do we even think that Israel has a need to bomb Gaza then? i believe it is the very basis of self defence that they are doing it. The hamas has sent missiles into the city of Israel too, killing many others. Now this number may not be as much as what the Gaza people are experiencing now because Israel has launched a more powerful attack on the land, in a bid to clear out the hamas and reclaim the Gaza authority. Now, the question that we all have is, is it ethical for Israel to do that? Thou shall not murder, thou shall not whatever does come to our mind and straight away we might already think all that was done is wrong. I think if we put ourselves to Israeli's shoes, meaning we understand the history behind and the culture of the people in the middle east, we could have a different view of it all. If someone attacks your nation, are you going to wait till the UN comes in, do a planning for peace and then have a final say in everything you do while you just sit there and listen? i doubt we will do that and i doubt any other middle east states will do just that because defence is the pride of any nation. If the government cannot protect the land of their country, the people will leave/abandon the land. For Israel, it has to do with the history of its dominance over the middle east states from the past. From the past Jordan river conflict to the Palestine war and today's bombings, i think nobody likes Israel as long as they are from the middle east states or having middle east origins. The power that Israel displays is simply too overwhelming that many disgusts it and want it to an end as soon as possible. Everything is thus a power struggle and a struggle for more power over the other.

People condemned Israel's act in the Gaza bombings but i have not even heard the slightest thing about anything to condemn against those who bombed Israel in the first place. Seriously, what kind of world are we really living in? Does the world measures the number of deaths as a key performance indicator to who will be the ultimate culprit of war? Maybe this is what the world is good at but not for me. I am definitely not an advocate for war or one having no compassion to those who died in the Gaza bombings. But, deontology says it all for me most of the time that whoever started something bad, you just got to pay the price for it. Having said that, life is like this; its never fair since the world started the thing about who is richer or who is poorer. For those who were innocent in the Gaza and have died because of the sins of others from their land, only God can judge and not us.

Start of a new semester

2009-01-13T17:22:00.002+08:00

Today marks the second week in school for me. Everything seems quite dead, the projects are not kicking in yet and the work are almost all done within the day. All i have to do was to read the required readings for class and sell my old books away. Fortunately i managed to sell most of them away so that i can save up on getting the current books that i need. Sometimes, i do ask myself why i so stupid, even thought of keeping them when obviously i wouldn't touch it or be near the books once the semester ends. So yeah, the best solution is to sell them once and for all.

I was so careless today that i left my handphone and wallet in the toilet without realising it. I only came to my senses when a malay aunty who was the school's cleaner came walking out of the toilet asking the guys around the area whether they belong to them. Till the moment she came to me, i got a shocked about it. Thank God it didn't end up in any greedy person's hands or else it definitely be gone because i had over a hundred dollars plus in my wallet man - my allowance for the week and earnings made from a book i sold earlier. Well, wonder what i was thinking man. Before i came out of the toilet, i told myself that i must not forget about my belongings because i placed them behind the toilet bowl. Maybe my mind slipped away to think about things and that was why i forgot about it totally. That was so unlike me because i am the kind of person who hates to lose things out of carelessness. Oh wells, Thank God everything is under control, nothing was lost.

Somehow, this incident made me recalled about the time when Clarence lost his shoes in the gym. That was one hilarious but yet agonising incident man. Its funny because why would someone 'kope' a pair of shoes for? Its agonising though because he had to get another pair even though the one he lost was just fine. I remembered that time, both of us made a comment about the cleaner who keeps the gym toilet clean as the one who is likely to steal the pair of shoes. Today's incident just brought me to the fact that we all like to judge a book based on its cover. The malay aunty really impresses upon my heart and i think its always better not to come to conclusion of anything based on what we see on the surfaces. A cleaner has integrity too so who are we to judge our own humanity?

Sunburned

2009-01-12T00:59:00.002+08:00

Am having a really bad burned on my back and neck after fishing on saturday with my friends. Guess what, i wore a singlet and the sun was still quite alright when we reached. Some how the strong wind made it as if everything was fine and i was feeling comfortable in my shades also. Little did i know the tanned was so bad till i got back home.

Some tips for anyone going for fishing on a good day (sunny and windy)
1. wear a cap
2. long sleeve would be good if you're not willing to get tanned.
3. wear shades
4. bring sun block (wash your hands before you apply in case you have fishy hands)
5. Ice cold drinks to keep yourself hydrated.

If you ask me, how would i want it to be. I think i will just bring a make-shift tent and set it up man. Haha, isn't it that this will solve almost all of the above?

Thankful for 2008, Excited for 2009

2008-12-29T22:41:00.005+08:00

Well, the new can never come lest the old opens up the way. The Chinese saying has always been part of me whenever it comes to a new year ahead. This coming 2009 is no different. So i started removing the old blog design and came up with this new one. As i ponder over the title that i want to give to this blog for this coming new year, i was prompted to put "The Way, the Truth and the Life", not just because God is all of that but also i want to use this place to testify of how real God is. I think this year God has taught me one thing that is really powerful and that is words are a form of powerful tool that can either destroys or transforms lives. And not to mention, God's word are even more powerful than a double edge sword that can change lives. Though at times i can be short for words to express myself but somehow i just do not want to discount God from using this place to reveal His Glory on the things that i can at least write about it here. My hope Singapore has also taught me alot. As i share with my beloved friends or even people that i do not exactly know them, i realised that people are sensitive to real life examples and not exactly to the things that are shared in church. Now, do not get me wrong and i always love God's word on sundays as they often refreshes my mind but i meant that people who are skeptical even on coming for service on sundays can hear our story and then know God from it. That's how i felt during these short period of harvest. I believe next year is going to be an exciting year. But first, let me give a highlight of this entire year of 2008.

This year is *ahem* the sixth year that i am together with my beloved Jiarong. Thank God for her, really. Without her support all these years, i think my life would have been so different, though God has also taught me alot through this relationship so that i can obtain the experiences and pass them on to those entering courtship in the future. Thank God for my G12 as well as my cell group members. God has showed me this year how important it is to live in a community of christians. It is not for the sake of doing it but i really see relationships being built up for the better good of the future. As the saying goes, when you're out who else can you depend upon other than the friendships that are established? Well, it is not just friendships but i believe God is moving all of us into the family level, it may be time consuming and along the way things can be disrupted, however, with God's love, we are able to be stand by each other in good and the bad. This year, i have also seen growth in my guys not just in numbers but also in faith. Lastly, Thank God for my family who has been with me since i was born. Though i am the youngest in my family, God has not made me someone who rely completely over them but provided over my needs too and i know God has also bless my family too in this year that His protection is always with my family. This year i had also seen my results improving although it is not a significant increase, i know God will help me as the years become tougher in the university. Apart from that, thank God for this year's station attachments that i had. The latest one will be ending as soon as tomorrow and i thank God for the colleagues that i have made over there and really pray that God will make my work in the later stages of my life a pleasing one for Him because as i listen to what is going on the ground from the full timers, things are not going that easy. Nevertheless, it is still an enjoyable experience there. Thank God for my friends that i have made over the years too! Whether they are from school or not, thank God for bringing them across my path.

With that, 2008 shall be over in a few days time. So what's in for 2009? Well, i have not really started thinking about my personal plans and goals for next year as i really want to sit down and ask God for divine directions. Next year, in fact i really really want to go for an overseas intership, not to prove anything or what but to just gain some overseas exposures. Some how i know the entire process will not be easy because of the things i have in Singapore and also to settle admin issues in the country that i hope to go (China) will not be an easy task also. I am also considering other options in mind but i am not totally decisive person sometimes. So right now i believe everything is on hold till i spend time to seek God for answers and i know He will reveal His plans for me next year. It just cannot be so plain - do my best for my studies and thats it. Another reason why i want to go out there is to see the world, so far my working experience has been just all about fighting fire and rescuing lives. I want to see more and gain more experiences from the private sector.

As i grew older, time flies faster. i remember one of my lessons last semester requires us to write on the change in the world and how we must cope with changes in the society. As clearly as it was stated, it goes " Change is the only constant" and as i reflected on it now and then, i think if i am given the chance to free flow this essay, i would have gone, " Change is not the only constant, God is as well." Well, no matter how our lives change over the years, how we plan to perfect it with our own ideas. We can never run away from the plans of God for it is already written in the book of life. As for myself, this is what i plan to do; plan to seek and plan to let go of my own thoughts. For i know God is the way, the truth and the life not just next year or the following year but all the years down the road for every man. He is the constant.

Charity Fishing @ Pasir ris pro pond

2008-12-26T23:39:00.003+08:00

Today, i had the chance to be at Pasir Ris Pro Pond to try out my first pond fishing experience with my fellow school mates from recreational fishing club. We sent out the above emailer to the school but seems like the response was really poor, not because of the design (i made this ok!) but rather i know its because of the festive season period where everyone seems to have their own events to run and also, we sent out this emailer rather late (1 or 2 weeks before). Hence, thats why today there were only the fishing club members plus our life guard who caught a 'kim ba lor' for us and some random guy from the fishing forum came down and donated one of his fishes to us.

The catch was kinda poor and we were there for only 3 hrs but we were given the expensive pond which means it has the most fishes and the size is much smaller than the bigger pond. I guess it was because the weather today was kinda weird (rain and shine alternately) and also i think the caretakers were not releasing their fishes! So, this is my review of pasir ris pond fishing - don't ever waste your money there! haha.. Seriously, i would rather save the cash for boat fishing if not for this charity event.

Fortunately, we had an agreement with the management to donate to us 20 fishes (mostly kim ba lor) to the home that we wanted to send the fishes to. We actually wanted to catch something desperately that we decided to try to put our baits into the net full of fishes but it does not seem to work either. When fishes are shocked in anyway, they tend not to feed on anything..

Well, after today, i felt that i miss fishing at the open sea (my favourite spot is at the helicopter landing near vjc) Its free and all you need to do is bear the scourging sun on days that are really sunny. The catch there is considered consistent and at times people do catch big fishes there. Will be back there one of these days...

Fire fall down, fire fall down...

2008-12-22T00:10:00.002+08:00

Even as i started my stint at Central FS (sounds like a football club huh), i know God has a purpose there for me; to save lives and prevent fire from consuming people's houses. Well, last week i had to respond to a really huge fire i would say for a unit in town area. It was burnt pretty bad and i guess it was mainly because we were not dispatched as early as we could by the public and also because the wind these days are pretty much so strong that it becomes a form of accelerant to the fire because wind brings oxygen and it causes the fire to spread faster and stronger. By the time we reached to put out the fire, i guess it had already consume almost the entire house, the rest of the area were heavily damaged by smoke as well. What were left in the house were burnt debris that still produced smoke after the place was water logged (we actually use up the entire wet riser tank in the building and alot of water from the hydrant, just to extinguish the fire and also damp down the heat in the house).

The place itself easily cost a few million dollars per unit, because of the matter of fact that it is on an expensive land and the place is a condo right smack in the city. It is really sad to see such things happening even as a fire fighter, although my job scope is mainly reducing fire damage to the rest of the building and then the rest is not part of my problem any more. But some how, as i looked at the owner's plight of losing a place called 'home' and having to do alot of explanations to not just the family but also the authorities, i think it is really something none of us here wish to be part of. I pray that their house is insured and at the very least the family would not blame the carelessness of one that cause the house to be destroyed by fire.

Friends, do not underestimate the power of a spark, heat of any kind or even your candles at home. A moment of folly can destroy what is precious to you, therefore never be careless when it comes to cooking, using electrical items or even using candles. Be vigilant so that you can never be a victim of fire.

My job is exciting but lest it is required of my assistance, i never in my heart wants any incident to happen that needs me to respond to. It is time to get back to work for another week before i end my time there and begin to think about my studies and a little bit of R&R before school starts. Hurray!

God's ministry to me

2008-12-07T21:18:00.003+08:00

Today, Ps Melyvn spoke about touching the supernatural powers of God. Certainly it spoke to me, i mean who in the world wants to do the ordinary? Even if we say want to be ordinary, haven't we dream to be the best athlete we wish to be? Haven't we have that little dream before about doing great things, impressing everyone and if possible the whole world? In fact, the world only remembers the greatest and never the mediocre. To be frank, i always dream to be the best cross country runner for my time if not ever to have. Its a dream that sometimes when i run on the treadmill or in the park, i would somehow naturally start to imagine or visualise the outcome - seeing myself completing the race winning the best prize. I'm sure you guys do have that kind of desires too right? If you have watched the latest episodes of Heroes Season 3, you would have realised that the characters lost their powers at a point of time and the moment they had it back, it was a great relief for many of them because the powers made them different from the humans and it allow them to do things that even other heroes character cannot do, everyone is simply unique and powerful to his/her own ability. Well, it just shows how much we all want powers, powers to change our society or powers to change other people's lives - they are just insatiable to us. It can never be enough.

God, however, will never give power to those He cannot trust. The only way to Him is through the word which will bring us into close intimacy with God. I think this way of becoming intimate with God is really about us being able to set aside time for God. Do not be busy with the things of life to the point that you are forsaking your time to worship God. Surely, work is worship but never a first place when it comes to pleasing God, it starts with us putting our attention and heart/soul to Him. Sometimes, i must admit that it is so easy for me to say that read the bible everyday to others but when it comes to myself, i think i rarely spend much time for God actually. I know its never too late than never that i start putting on the habit of reading God's word as far as i am concern. I think spiritually we all need to fall down and climb up again just like the little infants who would eventually start walking and then running after a period of falling down and picking themselves up. The matter of fact is, do we learn fast enough or do we actually give up along the way?

The next thing that the sermon brought up was about the waters mention in the bible that were actually referring to our hearts. When the waters are bad, the rest of the things are unproductive. The crops suck, and everything do not seem to function properly. The same goes for us who have bad "waters" in our hearts, we end up not doing the things we should be achieving and we are always falling sick either physically or spiritually. Well, that spoke too well into me. Indeed, all of us need to have that part of us cleanse by God, just like what God did to the people who had bad waters - adding the spiritual salts to cleanse the water so that it will be forever good again. Myself too, sometimes i wonder why am i always falling sick with flu and usual coughs. We all need to sought the Lord who will surely gives forth the answers to our lives, do not be afraid to let God deal with us for He disciplines those that He loves.

With that, this is how we tap onto God's supernatural power! Let him take charge and always be close to his words. No sooner, you will be able to see things happening around you. I know there are many questions to how can we know that God's hand will be behind all the works in our lives but i believe if we have the faith, He can make a difference to us. "Lest we forget thy love for me, bring me to gethsemane." Let this be a prayer of knowing God's love continuously so that we always know that His work in our lives is a great blessing to us all the time. Bless you!

the break that has been long awaited

2008-11-28T22:17:00.002+08:00

Goodness me, i barely took a breather the moment school started since August. I am blogging this in the midst of my exams, preparing for my last paper and i am running out of ideas on what else to read on, cos i think i haven't figure out what the paper would turn out to be. Anyway, this is it man. My december break that is as short as my last finger. The worst thing is, i decided to work, i do not have much of a choice actually. I'm getting broke man! Christmas is coming, my sister's birthday is coming as well, all in a bang.

But i'm gonna enjoy my precious one week before i jump right back into life-saving days. i really hope i can learn much much more than the last time in station. One important lesson i learnt this semester is definitely this value of "keep learning". Don't stop learning, that's what i have learnt in my software engineering course this semester, though the results are so disappointing to me, i think God taught some good lessons man. I really appreciate all of them, they cannot be learnt in the classroom for sure. Concerning my learning curve and my learning habits, i think God has some how changed my hack care attitude well over a certain extent. Well, some of you don't know about me is that, i have this hack care mentality towards work in me but some how this semester i just started telling myself to really put in over and above that effort to give my best. Sometimes, even doing the best can't get you all the successes that you want, but hey, at least i am able to know that i am not rewarded according to my success but to my attitude of excellence in everything i want to do. God knows my heart and will reward me in the future, i don't know how, i don't know when but i sure know God has his own calling and timing for me to see the fruits of my labor. Its a habit that i am and i hope we can all enter into, giving your best not because you want to prove yourself but simply because its in your trait and a habit that we have.

The exam fever is about to end though, its also time to think more about how i can spend more time with my love ones. People, we labour all so hard simply for what? So that we can give the best for our love ones but really, are we even giving them a listening ear? i hope we can all achieve spending quality time with them instead of looking at ourselves and our selfish ambitions all the time. Let's spare a thought for those around us, catch up with friends, families, people that you love and want to reconnect with. Go with it by all means!

-examination in progress-

The Hope that We've been waiting for

2008-11-20T22:34:00.003+08:00

All of us hope in many things. Some of us hope to be rich and wealthy in future. Others just hope to have a peaceful lifestyle and be sufficient at all times. With the unpredictability of life, can all these be assured? The answer is simply No. Let's face reality with this example; however smart you are, do you think you can land a job that you want despite the condition of our economy now? i seriously doubt so, or perhaps you still can get it with the fantastic grades that you have but the opportunity is definitely lesser than before. Life is all about opportunity as many have spoken of before. i myself agree with it, but does opportunities just come as they are and go as if humans created them accidentally for the better good of others? i do not think so i guess. In my opinion, God is the one who sent the opportunities. Without his blessings of opportunities to our lives, we are completely nullify in everything that we do. As i hope in the Lord all the days of my life, i consider it a pure joy to let you the knowledge of finding your hope in the Lord and not the things of this world. Its not about knowing the first hand information from the newspapers, The Economist, Forbes or even friends in the line that matters- no doubt these are infos that we can hear but not be depended upon. But I believe, we all need to listen to the most reliable source in this world - God and Him alone. God himself has given access to those who love Him that abundance of opportunities and open doors to those who place their hope in Him. How about you and the hope that you have all these years?

Living the privileged life?

2008-10-15T23:35:00.003+08:00

Have you ever ask yourself what is the definition of privileged life in your context and are you actually living it right now? Today, pastor Lawrence asked us about this question and i really felt indifferent for a moment and then as i pause and listen to other of my brothers and sisters shared, God also begin to show me in that short span of time what he has done in my life to make it a privileged one. I used to think that even as christians we need not live the privileged life - meaning even if we are poor, we happy people at least till we die. Then slowly, i got the understanding that God didn't intend for us to be living in poverty but to be at the very least, be sufficient in our needs. Then now, comes this privileged issue about our lives. Yes, we do not define our privileged life according the amount of wealth we have in our family or individually. But taking a part of these things and also the conditions of our families + close ones and last of all ourself, i think that's how most of us as christians would define our privileged lives. As for myself, i just want to thank God for his mighty hand did transform my life to a privilege one. From getting through my A's till i went into NS and then from NS getting into Uni, i just realised how amazing those journeys were in my life. Even with the kind of grades that i have, God just ensure that i might have the chance to lighten the load on parents for my university fees by blessing me with scholarship. Yes, i do feel that weight on myself now in uni and feeling the stress and all. The point is, we all go through these things and then it is how we realised that no matter how tough life is, God will be with us and there is nothing that can stop Him from changing His love for us. He wants us to bring Him glory for sure and that's why we have to be his privileged ones who will shine as brightly as we can for Him! Hence, today was the day that i am brought back to the fact that God is always wanting to bless us but He also wants us to go through the tough times with faith and confidence in Him. He is able and He is all-powerful, nothing can deter His will for his chosen ones unless we chose not to put our trust in Him but in the opinions of the world.

A heroic act of love

2008-09-23T23:20:00.005+08:00

Today, i am really proud to say that i have a really brave brother in christ. He is none other than Caleb. He is courageous because this is a man of love that i am talking about. He is passionate not just in music but also the lives of the close ones around him. Imagine, if today you have to give up one of your organs (without losing your own life) to save another person's life, would you do it?Some of you may ask, is that person close to your heart? And if i say to you yes, would your answer be a firm "yes, i'll do it" still? I actually put myself to that question too and often in the past i ever imagine such situations and i always tell myself i would do it but the truth is when the reality of life hit you hard, the decision to say yes can be really tough. I say all these because my friend has truly revealed to me what is the real form of courage that takes place in our lives. The truth is it cannot be shown when you are perfectly fine, and often its only in times of crisis that we realised the character of our faith in the Lord. Again, i am confident that this heroic man of Christ's character would pull it off to show the world how we should live - to fulfill the destiny that God has for us no matter how tough things turn out to be. Do keep my friend Caleb in prayers if you happened to read this post, as he would be heading for the surgery on next monday 29th sept.

The dream team

2008-09-17T23:18:00.002+08:00

Coming friday i will be racing in the SMU RunAbout. Its a relay of 1.2km per person and i am competing together with my friends(hp, clarence, rachel) in the open category. We have trained hard, gone through horrible intervals without much conditioning because of the shortage of time. But we manage to pull through as a team. Now, we are at the last stretch of everything, just need to make sure our body is fully conditioned and ready for race day. Just a recap of what we did to reach D-day:

Distance training of <5km> x 2
200m x 5 , 400m x 3
800m x 2, 1km x 1
1km x 2
warm down run ( i got chased by dogs while doing a 30min run)

I recalled the days when i did intervals and always felt like puking but end up seeing my friends puke instead. Guess i have not really push myself over the limit then. Anyway, that's just a myth that one has broken his/her limit when they start puking after intervals, its not exactly proven i supposed. We did not puke with the above 3 intervals done on 3 different occasions. However, i manage to observe that training consistently without an aim is really hard. I was really wondering what's next after this race which is going to end this friday. I have always live the season's over mood in my earlier days but it seems like i want to discontinue that habit to be an athlete in and out of season. Its not easy but i think i can give it a try. Of course, my heart has an aim for the future; to be in the dart team in the future. Dare to dream, something will happen.

Global positioning system

2008-09-08T21:45:00.006+08:00

Want to learn more about the technology of GPS instead of just taking it for granted? Go ahead and be enlightened by this wonderful human invention.

The Kingdom.

2008-09-08T20:56:00.004+08:00

Bring the church to the world, not the world to the church.

Sibu kelong (Aug 11th - 12th 2008)

2008-08-14T23:08:00.007+08:00

First time in my life, i was on a kelong fishing. It was a nice experience though at first i thought it was rather pricey - $100++ altogether. It was an eye opener for some one like me who never seen a real big fish. Haha, i thought even fishes that are big can be quite easy to lift them up!! i was wrong!! Just a mere 4 kg fish, i already find it heavy while trying to pull it up with the fishing line hooked to it. No wonder, fighting the line with a 20kg fish would definitely need 30mins or so to get it near the surface of the sea where it can be hooked up using a really big hook. I think you all can check out the pictures here that i have uploaded. I went along with 2 other friends of mine but end up knowing more friends at the kelong who were from smu as well. Fishing itself can be a fantastic time when you have it with friends who have the same desire to catch fish. Haha, lots of jiggling for fishes too for those of us who use the sabiki line - small hooks fishing line. Anyway, this is the best way to end the summer holidays with a big bang for this trip. Well well, enjoy the pictures folks!

Food, school and work

2008-08-07T21:12:00.003+08:00

I'm in mixed feelings. Strangely as it is, i do not want school to start but then again i don't want to do things aimlessly. Man, these four months are really a time of its own. When i was preparing for NS and i had such long time too, i did not really try not working almost completely. Even back then, i was feeling horrible with not doing anything. But now, i can say that i had sort of successfully completed this gruesome 4 months of mostly slacking around. Though i am involved in volunteering stuff most of the time, i felt that the time that i had really past down so fast that i cannot see myself starting school in 2 weeks time.

Well, even before school is about to start. I already received email from a professor who graduated from Harvard Law school to start preparing a few things for one module. I was like " What the...so eager, so ON!!". No wonder he is from harvard and i am from SMU! Everything at home is really fine and my family had already got over with me not working most of the time, Haha. Not to worry though, when school starts i should be working for a few days for the F1. If things go well i could even watch free races while working. Frankly, the F1 tickets are duly way over-price. No wonder, things like this are often said to be created for the pleasure of the rich. I am poor but i rejoice in things like this if i can get to watch something and get paid at the same time. Even if i have the means next time, i think would rather use it for my family vacation or something more worth it man.

Alright enough of F1,right now i am actually trying out with having my meals without much carbo contents - meaning food like rice, noodles etc. At the same time, i am putting more efforts in going to the gym, doing runs of any sort. Let's hope that things turn out fine and jiarong can stop talking about and pitching my little stomach. Cheers to all fat people who want to be fit again!! we can do it. One thing that i felt good about all these was that i know keeping fit should be and would always be my lifestyle, regardless of age and talent. Once again,let's do everything for the glory of God.

The glory of the past

2008-07-22T00:00:00.005+08:00

I chanced upon this piece of info as i browsed through the past results of the national schools' track & field - i realised i'm pretty old already ha. Those were the days man where sports was everything i had in my life. Often it causes me to relive those days when i day-dream. haha, silly as it sounds but i really sort of miss the training and competition days. If given a chance to do that all over again i would really put it every heart and spirit to win. As i browsed through other years, i realised there were quite alot of shocking results after i left for NS. i totally lost touch with school sports ever since i went into NS. People whom do not seem to be really elite in their earlier days became so much better. Wow, that really is a lesson to me that no matter who you are and if you believe in yourself and am willing to put in the hard work, you can excel no matter what. Not to worry folks, i am still a fan of sports, a fan of the track and field scene. Today's school sports has its privileges. People giving coverage on the latest news of local sports on site such as Redsports
i think its really cool to see what your peers have done proud for the school or even the nation.
Alright, nice reliving this sports thingy for a while. Though its gonna be hard to be living this lifestyle again, i believe some day it will come back to me.

Offshore fishing

2008-07-07T20:49:00.005+08:00

This is my first offshore fishing. We actually took a bumper boat to the borders of the Singapore waters from Changi village. $50 per pax for the rental, was worth the deal but sad to say i didn't manage to catch any fishes! The day started with going to the kelong to buy prawns and see some big fishes in the net. Wow, after i saw the size i was just wondering how on earth is my rod going to catch the kind of fish which i really want to bring home. Thereafter was the beginning of fishing, fishing and lots of waiting and moving to 'good' spots - apparently there's this fishing pro uncle who provided the boat for us and he knows the area well to know if there's fish. All in all, it was a great time out in the sea though i didn't have the best of times on board - ZERO catch for the day (Z). Well, let the photos that i took show you more about boat fishing!

The Search

2008-06-28T10:59:00.005+08:00

I'm lazing around.

Fishing at times.

Staring at my Facebook a few times.

Playing my Football Manager sometimes.

Can't wait for something good to happen.

Lord, bring me out of these!

At least make me become a relief teacher or something...

Finding it a challenge to exercise these days.

Can't believe one of my friend still ask me for running advice and i ended up giving him interval trainings.

Its Saturday now but does not seem any different to me now. I am living the "everyday is sunday" lifestyle at the moment...

Buzzzzzed....

Power of a praying person

2008-06-24T10:46:00.002+08:00

Last night, i felt that it was the worst night since i was in Basic officer course. During BOC, we had exercises at night and the feelings are quite horrible - carry heavy juggernuts, moving things from place to place doing 'fake' rescues. Those nights were way behind me but last night, they suddenly came back to haunt me for a moment. It was just a simple thing we wanted to do - moving jiarong's tuition center's printing machine back to her house because she's ending her lease there in june. I did not fully grasp the heaviness of the machine until i had a hard time trying to even lift it out of the elevator. Man, its like a dead mini elephant which had just eaten a full meal. After getting it out of the elevator, we still had many obstacles to pass. First was the stairs to the storey staircase, then the stairs we need to go from 5th to 4th floor - where jiarong's house was.

Thank God, Teck Bun came along to help and the entire NG family and the two men started to move the machine. But, we were struggling and until we were halfway at the stairs and then i realised we are in trouble because we couldn't take the weight anymore. We were getting tired and going out of strength. I could even felt Jiarong's anxiety when she began telling all of us to just dump that piece of metal at the stairs and move it some other time. I was like "WHAT?!". But thanks be to God, who always deliver us when we pray. Jiarong's neighbour came home and he is an experienced old goods collector. So he brought me to hire some banglahs from the neighbourhood. 4 of them came along, lift up the printer together again and this time even with 6 MEN - struggled like a dog too. Some how, while we were moving, jiarong told me later on that she was praying in her room really hard. Out there, we did not know how to move the thing. So, the banglahs ended up sliding that piece of heavy monster from the stairs and my heart drop for a moment because i was really suspecting whether we still can use the printer when we reach the house.

Finally,with some knocking here and there. We got it in. Konica offered jiarong $350 just to lift this thing into her house. We could understand why is it so expensive. But we paid the banglahs brothers $40 to bring this into the house. What a bargain! We power up the printer, to our delight - IT WORK!!! So we were rejoiced with that effort which didn't go down the drain and i was just amazed at how God work. When the banglahs slided the printer down the stairs, ink were dropping out, and part of the metal on the printer started bending. Later on, i checked the machine and i realised - hey! actually if we had slided on the wrong side, the paper would not be able to come out because high chance the area would have been damaged. Wow, the banglahs did a "anyhow" dragging but God was ensuring that we did not drag on the wrong side.

I wanna share this because my hands are still struggling to grab things after last night where i gave all my strength for that entire one and a half hr of situation. But it allow me to know that, its never too late to start praying for God to help if you want to,i was at wits end too and i knew only God can bring us through. Don't depend on yourself - it doesn't work most of the time.

- Ask and it shall be given -

Updated

2008-06-16T22:40:00.004+08:00

Fishing with my guys

Rainy East Coast......A day of patience

Trap in the heavy downpour.......

Update

2008-06-16T22:25:00.002+08:00

Wow, weeks had passed me by and i just want to thank God for keeping me strong & healthy. Even at times i know i am about to fall sick somehow God will bless the way through for me and make me immune to the coming sickness from overcoming me and instead i overcome them. Praise God. 3 weeks in the station was a breezed. I did managed to save one life - a maid who fell from the her master's house window. Thank God she was still alive when we reached and the team from central managed to bring her out of that situation and send her to the nearest hospital.

Last week, had our long waited cluster camp. Though, we had long planned for it. Some how when i started the camp i felt that the committee was not ready for the camp. I guess God taught me one thing: Only He is ever ready. Everything was in His hands when we started and ended. I especially wanna thank Him for my guys whom i thought had a great time not just enjoying themselves but i was pretty sure they had their personal time with God too. I pray that this camp would not just pass by them but somehow God would do a work that change the future of their lives. Even for myself, i knew God was dealing with my inner heart, He knows me to the very depth of it and He made known to me how much He loves me. " Dear Lord, this is kelvin who's just checking in today to let you know how much i miss You."

Making a stand

2008-05-17T00:29:00.002+08:00

Drugs, parties, alcohol and compromise - Are these really unavoidable things of our lives? I haven't blog for a while but now i felt the prompting in my heart to write this. I am not writing this because i am holy but i see the generation we have today turning into turmoil right before my very eyes. " you don't know what you are doing!" - that was my thoughts for the day when i see people changing, people picking up habits. These are not just a part and parcel of our lives! Sometimes i really wonder what on earth went through their mind when they do all these. A few words came in, " acceptance","curiosity"and many more. I believe all of them have their own story to tell but why do that? I was there and i received msg from people telling me to pray for China and here i am seeing another world on its own, oblivious to every other agenda just to solely please the mood set in. Wow, i tell you, i just want to get out of there if not for the least of the respect i have for nic's bday. I absolutely did not want to be a spoiler for the night but i couldnt help when you see people you know around you obviously screwing up their lives for the cheap things of this world. Yes, cheap. The next time, i am walking out on anyone for that.

O God have mercy, may the lives that are turned away be brought to You!

Favourite past times

2008-05-05T22:33:00.002+08:00

Well, today was a day i finally caught a fish out of the many fishing trips i made. Before that i bought some new fishing gears and HP was there to purchase his first rod and that was the last time he used that same rod - because i broke it. Interestingly, the weather was blessed by God. Every time when it seems that the rain is coming with dark clouds glooming over the sky, the wind would blow it away as we commit the weather to God's hand. We caught a small size fish - big enough to be steam cooked by my mum when i brought it home. Haha, at least that fish was edible as compared to the last few fishes i caught.

It was a fun time as we got together and fish - with HP and Samuel. I found it meaningful too to teach them how to fish right from tying the lines to throwing the line properly. We had our laughs when we made silly mistakes as we threw the line - including me! There was this time i threw the line and my bait line snap and fell into the sea but fortunately we were able to claim it back when the tide went down. As we come to the last hour of our wonderful fishing experience, my line got stuck in the sea. My efforts were in vain as i tried to pull out the line or even making the line break by pulling it. I just refused to hear my friends' advice by cutting the line. I suffered a heavy consequence for that. The rod that i used literary broke into 2 pieces as i used too much strength and the line was really strong. I also got a cut engrave onto my back which happened when the rod broke and it tore through my back. For a moment, i just recalled the days when i was whipped by my parents when i was young but the feeling of it was really horrible.

Apart from that, i felt fishing was really a moment i think we can all use to improve patience, have fellowship with friends and also time to be awed at God's creation of nature. We were at Changi chalet area and opposite us was the Malaysia land. It was really scenic there and i told myself this is the kind of place which i really like to fish at. However, the place is definitely inconvenient and we managed to get there because of hp's car. So next time, fish with someone with a car! It going to be really useful, seriously. I remembered the times when i had to bring all my stuff to go to just east coast itself and i already felt the hassle of it. Imagine bringing them to a really remote area in Changi! Finally, i guess i really thank God for my dad who taught me how to fish since young and of course, God's promise to us - to become fisher of men. Without all these i would not be able to enjoy these simple moments of my life. Praise God.

Celebrate the right things of this world

2008-04-20T00:28:00.002+08:00

Have you ever realised sometimes we do not appreciate the little things of this world that God has given to us? We may find our mothers nagging at us, giving us reminders of doing this and that without realising that if they were not there for us, we would have strayed away in our own doings. Or have you just wonder why we live in a world that always like to criticise on performance. The most common question we often hear is:" How can we improve on this, on that, on whatever the problem was." The fact that we as human, we ought to improve but sometimes, we get the hang of it so often that we become judgmental, perfectionist or even obsessed in getting things done the way we dreamt/visualised it as. Well, today God spoke really well into me even as i spend my time over at the chapel. That couple of hours were worthwhile, in fact every time i choose to spend with God, He never fails to impress upon my heart.

As i watch the documentary and reflect upon it, i felt that our world today lacks of that vision to really celebrate the goodness of things. In fact, in our newspapers, the highlight of the day is always about people doing nasty things, getting robbed/ raped and DEATH is specially the cup of tea that readers are into these days. Why haven't we as human, focus on the reality that life itself is vulnerable, subjected to pain and often full of twist and turn. We really should take time, not to think about all the bad things, the evil things of this world but we should start pondering about how can we make lives /shape lives into thanking each and everyday as a new beginning, a new start to a wonderful journey for this short 80 years or so that we have on this earth. The truth is, we all die. It is just the matter of how early we die. Well, i guess, we should really start living each life as though we only want the good out of it. I love the way the NG fellow said in the documentary:" Be the Best not of this world, but for the world." The 'for' signifies to me that there isn't a ranking system in mother nature that we live but rather we human had created this ranking system to make ourselves feel better in our intellectual, in our ability of doing things different. At the end of the day, we just want to feel great about ourselves. However, by living the best for the world really stir up that wisdom in me at least that i just need to do my best and know the right things best and whatever the result, the perspectives from different people, it does not really matter because first of all you have already done what is right. You know it and that's really the main thing.

Well, my exams are done. What's next? Many of my friends actually mention that they feel that sudden halt of their engines the moment their exams end. In a way i feel it too but i thank God that He didnt make me feel that exams are the most important thing of my life. I struggle with all the modules i had, frankly i do feel that i ain't that smart afterall. And i ask myself at times, am i disillusion with the fact that i am not doing well and that's why i am saying all these to comfort myself? Its not true, i really do not feel that doing well in my studies is the only thing that matter now. Well, in fact i really want to do well for God so that my life knows where am i heading to. So friends,let go and let God run free in your life so that you can experience God's goodness in you too. From the movie, the bucket list, one of the lines that goes " Faith is all about believing" So do not fret if you do not see the miracle of God yet but be humble to wait upon it and belief is all that you need to do...

Project "FLU"

2008-03-25T15:15:00.005+08:00

Hilarious commercial

2008-03-12T18:34:00.001+08:00

E*TRADE Trading Baby - The best bloopers are a click away

Beijing pictures

2008-03-06T13:36:00.030+08:00

Beijing 2008

2008-03-04T20:07:00.002+08:00

Ho ho ho...Finally came back from China last saturday. Well, it was a nice trip to go. Weather was cold and the lakes, rivers were all frozen. Took many pictures but one thing i didn't do was buy alot of stuffs. Some of the food can be found in singapore so, i can't be bothered to buy much also. Some of the famous food i manage to eat are "roast duck" and "dog don't bother bun". China, obviously has alot of chinese food but it was really salty and oily. Well, for those of you who don't know, Beijing is a city rich in history and culture both of the past and of the modern China. The people there travel mainly in bicycle still. Their roads have a special lane only for bicycle/ electric bikes/scooters. The people can drive skillfully. The driver seat is on the left and the roads are often filled with people hence,it is hard for the cars to drive smoothly. Just imagine with me, people crossing, cyclists crossing and the cars just bash their way through. I was really shock by the way they drive, especially due to the fact that the roads of china are rather narrow. Their pedestrians too are also very alert, their reflexes are kind of good, i would really give them the title of king of jay walkers. Regardless of how busy the road is, they can cross effortlessly. By the way, you must first understand the traffic system in Beijing. Its not that there isn't traffic light but the fact that traffic light is useless in Beijing. It is highly against pedestrians. On GREEN man, the cars will still get priority to cross a junction. If a person walks as though the road is his on a green man, he will be horned by the awaiting drivers. This is how bad it is towards pedestrians and i can imagine the old folks unable to cross the busy roads at all. Alright, when i have the time again i will post more insights and nice photos here again. Places that i went are Tian An Men Square, Forbidden City, Great wall, many gardens, Ancient gate door, shopping centres and many other places of food and interests.

Keep a look out!

Counting

2008-02-13T21:21:00.007+08:00

My mouse is dying. Its letting me down these days.
So sad....But
Valentine's Day is coming....keke
Well, to all of you out there, happy friendship day!
To my one and only, Ms Jiarong, Thanks for being such a lovely lady for the 6th consecutive year, May you be as happy as ever....
(To be frank, i am running out of ideas!) But.....this is for you!
I choose something like this because i think the 3 heart symbolises your heart, my heart and the heart for God. Together we are placed in a box that is covered by the red-lining (LOVE).
It is endless and it is simple-minded, i hope you like it!
Well, this is may sound crappy but it just caught my attention. Haha..

When you struggle, He is there.

2008-02-05T22:44:00.000+08:00

Even as i am reading Psalms, i wish to thank God for His faithfulness in keeping me rested and also energised in the spirit although i am totally tired out these days. His Word resounds in my head ever since the start of the year and i feel that i am experiencing a whole new different spirtual realm. God is surely a God who always lead in us triumphant. Even as i rest, i saw His hands in small things in my life that i knew it can only be Him. Recently, i was really struggling with Java coding (i know this is really not a good thing to share because my course is really about coding!). I felt some how or rather i am not going to do well in this any more but God some how kept me going. Have not fail any quiz so far and i thought i would because of my poor grasp of the java concept. Through this, i was also thinking about why didn't i find a course that i would not be struggling in. Something that most JC people would say or imply "SIS is more for poly people because they have the background". Well, i guess God brought me to the fact that, yes it is tough but He is with me and it shall be a molding period for me. How many of us would actually be willing to come out of your comfort zone and change circumstances? That is something that i sense the Spirit saying. He is saying to me that challenging moments like this is to shape my life into something that God has destined and after i receive this word i felt totally awe by the fact that i am facing a moment in my life right now that God is in the processing of shaping me - to be someone he wants me to be. Isn't He Awesome? My prayer is really to see God fill my life with His presence because it would cause me to think differently and cause me to be not dependent on my own will and strength. The same for you even as you read this. God is willing to bless when you are willing to give Him your heart and share it with Him.

My heart

2008-01-31T23:34:00.000+08:00

Worship is non-technical, non vocal and non theatrical. Its the heart of man to God.
Thanksgiving is a not a moment of sharing, not a time when needed but it is a lifestyle.

Thank God for the smu ministry that i am part of. God, i really pray that even as we continue to meet, our hearts can be aligned to yours and You can enter and widen the depth of our relationship with You. Then You will widen the arena that we are having. Let us trust in the Lord for He never fails. ~Selah

The Protector of my faith is He. Amen.

2008-01-31T09:54:00.000+08:00

Great is our God. The King of kings and the Lord of lords. I had G12 at Jason's place last night. The guys just got together and started to share their hearts and one of the issues that we came across was about whether God is more interested in what job we are or what He is to us. I know God is definitely interested in us. But like Alvin said, whatever we chose in this life (job,course,skill etc) is not going to affect God's plan as long as we do not go off the course. I like the way it was said. Men are like onboard a cruise going from Island A to B. On the cruise, men can go eat buffet, take a shower, go for a swim and do whatever he wants. So long as he does not do a "man overboard!", he will go from island A to B. I guess some of you must be wondering what is this cruise about. I think the cruise is a representation of God's destiny, God's plan for us and as long as we stay "onboard" with Him. Whatever we do, they are just small decisions that cannot change the big destiny of God

Well, as we went on, we started to talk about ministries in schools,universities etc. Then i felt the Lord speaking through many of my brothers. In fact, i was thinking about the SMU ministry that i had. So far, i can see that pastor is meeting us almost every week to share and lead the group. The Lord made me wonder where exactly are we heading to and what happens when pastor official hand over to us from the ground?? I was not sure whether we should have a mission statement in this ministry but some how i thought if we do not have some of us may feel redundant to come since most of us already have our own cell groups back in church. Well, the Lord led me back to the fact that we want to believe in having our school saved. I thank God for the encouragement even from one of my bro who said that its about starting to share the good news in school wherever you have the opportunity and going to pray together for the school even when no one is going for the intended day. I felt convicted about it and i thought, have i been praying for the school on a regular basis? Have i forgotten what we have come together for? I guess the take home last night was more than a mountain. The Lord uses the Godly people around us to release words into our lives and last night i saw it coming once again....

2008-01-26T18:22:00.000+08:00

Today is saturday and yet i chose to wake up early. Some how i was not really tired because i know the Lord was there to sustain me. I had a call from my sister to pick up her luggage at around 7.45am and i was discussing our china trip all the way till 9plus when i had to make my way out of the house. Well, basically this trip is just full of uncertainty. The tickets are booked for my sis and my mum except for mine and my dad's. We are all looking forward to our first family trip in many years but some how my sis just cannot find the ideal package for us as yet. Never mind, leave it to God's hand because He can provide us with the best and most value for money trip to Beijing.

I had my first outdoor quiet time in the nearby park this morning as well. I really feel that it is a great thing to do and i should find more slots to put God as a priority in my life. As i reflect, i was just wondering about how the generation before us communicates. Before that, i actually encountered a quarrel between a motorbike uncle and a truck driver uncle. They were exchanging vulgarities and the other was denying about having the incident as his fault. There were a whole lot of people standing around them and watching them argue it out. I was not part of those crowding around but i happened to pass by and i thought, maybe it was meant for me to learnt something even before started my quiet time. One thing came to my mind because of that. Is it really hard for us to say " sorry" as we grow older, smarter and have more authority? Right now, as young people we are people who still are required to respect our elders and much of our lives now, we still have people who are visible to us as a form of authority. The question is, as we grow older and slowly we find ourself at the top of the age, top of our marketplace, at the top of our families, are we still as able to say "sorry" as we are now, for our mistakes. That's something that God put upon my heart as i reflect. I was thinking about why my parents can be so demanding at times and even in times that they were obviously wrong, they refused to bring it up and apologise. I guess this is something which i do not wish my generation will fall into, in future. It can really hurt relationships, especially to the children and those we love. The Lord reminds us that He wants us to be sensitive even to those under us. Well, i guess looking back at the 2 uncles - i can say that if the one at fault is willing to apologise, the matter would have been resolved much easier.

Anyway, moving on to my CSP! Today, we have a last ditch effort to finalise who is the winner for our CSP. Thanks be to God, we finally found a christian organisation that provides support to children whose parent(s) are imprisoned or divorced etc. I think they really have a need and uncle philip seems to be a nice guy for us to work with - according to my friends who didn't like the other social grp for being too stringent. Well, the engine is starting to roar now because i have many other modules' work to accomplish as well. Just as it starts, i really think weekend is really super short these days..... bah~

A day of Union

2008-01-20T00:52:00.000+08:00

I'm pretty tired as i blogged this entry because it is already 1am. Well,today is a special day - wedding of alan & wz. Cool, i finally got to see through a church wedding of whom some one i know as well as seeing how they were tormented during the wedding dinner with lots of wine and sabotage games. Today, i did a number of things:

1. Church wedding in the morning
2. Jiarong's dad birthday lunch in the late afternoon
3. Wedding banquet in the evening

The whole day was so packed that i was yawning all the way through from afternoon onwards. I wonder how am i going to handle my own big day next time. Anyway, something i learnt during the course of the entire day is that never let a team filled with married men to be your organising committee! The reason is they know what are the most nasty games and things to do to the groom. Haha,i was quite traumatised with the things done to the groom and bride for a while but i realised prevention is always better than cure. So next time, i guess i know what i am going to do. Let a group of Noobs-of-wedding be part of my organising team and they just need to know the basics of the wedding program(not the sabotage).

Overall, it was a great day of catching up with people and mingling around. Some thoughts also started to flow through me even as i watched/hear/see the entire wedding program. I think it is really easy to get a wedding/marriage prepared. You just need to save enough money and then after that you plan for the wedding day program and other needs like honey moon/banquet. Money can settle almost everything but it cannot settle for one thing: lasting partnership. Well, i guess that's something i took home tonight. Only God can fulfill a man's heart and hence a relationship with the other half is also God dependent. Right now, what i visualise is an image of building this relationship of mine with jiarong till the day when we say our vows to each other, we can mean it from the bottom of our hearts with no regrets, and with great joy and humility. Haha, okie i shall share till here, time to dream and be rested. anyway, last thing i want to do is recommend a good site for those of you who wish to find a photographer. CLICK HERE

In the quiet

2008-01-16T12:24:00.000+08:00

Today i learnt a lesson in the morning. Strange as it was, i was walking to school with my ipod turned on. In fact, i always on my ipod when i walked to school these days to keep me company for the "short" journey and at times i would enjoy the brisk walking and at times not so because of the humid weather of singapore. Today, on the way,suddenly i was trying very hard to listen to the song that was being played over the ipod but i could not hear properly because of the noise that i was surrounded by passing vehicles(cars, lorry, buses and motorcycles)all of a sudden. I did not want to adjust the volume as the music was at a nice level if not for the noises so as i was pushing all my focus into what song was i listening, i heard God says: " My voice is this soft, you have to listen very carefully." I was strickened by that, and i began to ponder over my life and how common it was for me to always be part of the voices and noises of this world - in fact many of us are! We have failed to take time to listen to God. Everyday, we worry about what we must do and must fulfill and we start to leave God's voice aside and decide for ourselves. Then, when things failed, some of us would start asking "God,where are You?". Well, this is the revelation that i felt prompted to share and interestingly, i was reminded of certain email that circulated to me recently and it is said that Satan kept us busy from spending time with our families and with God. Certainly, the same for these noises created by he who wants to destroy the channel of communication with God that we have. Yes, vehicles are transportation that aids our daily needs, then how can it be bad? Well, i guess this is the same if we look at money or any other things of this world that man created to help man. No matter how you look at it, the point here is: Let's spend some time quiet in our midst listening to God and He will share His plans with you and just for you. Hope you feel bless even as you have read this post.

Tough times are beginning

2008-01-14T17:39:00.000+08:00

What a tough week i am going to face. Leadership Team Building is going to sink into much of my time and also the other projects that are coming up. I really pray that i would not go bonkers this semester with 5 modules. I think last semester was quite heavy loaded even though i did only 4 modules. Man, i figure this semester i really have to do well so that my GPA can be improved from last sem poorly done one. Well, i guess let's commit all the agenda to go and go according to His plan and give thanks to Him for keeping us going all the time.

Start of a brand new term

2008-01-07T21:19:00.000+08:00

First day of school began with an early alarm but i was lazing around till eleven in the morning before i got out of my house to attend a noon lesson. LTB - leadership team building (the only course in singapore), thank God i did not fall asleep. How to learn leadership without doing it!? For sure, theory does not mean anything in this course, doing itself is! So we are tasked with a group of six other people and together we are to create a community service project for the less fortunate, the children, the disable and so on. I think this term is going to be crazy-fun-exhaustive. Other than that, i was able to meet with HP and had a really late lunch together, though it was tea time for me. Came across his friend, samuel, wow, so many things happened and i only got to know it during our conversation just now. Well, it takes courage to share too but i want to thank God for this man who shared, so whoever you are, take some time to even ponder for a moment such as this and just put yourself in his shoes to imagine the kind of situations he came across. click here For me, i was definitely praising God for this brother in christ of mine after reading his testimony even though i barely know him, thus i really would like to share with you guys and i know he wouldn't mind since the site name itself speaks forth the willingness to share.

crazy japanese video

2008-01-05T22:33:00.000+08:00

Year of Sabbath

2008-01-02T17:48:00.000+08:00

Time really flies, can't believe i'm in 2008 already! Well, from the beginning of the year when i finished my NS as a CD officer, i slowly find myself picking up a scholarship to be part of the regular officers and then i had a really big time at the station, seeing how to actually run a station together with my colleagues. Though i am new and all, i felt that i am certainly not one who can sit in an office for the rest of my life. Something to learn about myself from here. Then, school started almost immediately after i ended my attachment at the fire station. SMU - cool as it sounds. Wow, to start studying again is not easy - seriously speaking. I felt rusty in my work and was constantly trying to put my thoughts into words as well as looking from a programmer point of view. The course is tough man and 2007, i ended my first sem on a rather low medium note - especially after i got back my results. Well, i guess God plan it for me to spur me further for the rest of the semesters even though i know this sem is going to affect very much of my other semesters. The same way i believe God Himself crafted together all these events that happened in my life to make the best plan out of what is available in His hands. Thus, Thank God for the Year of Victory although it is now history but it shall live within my memories of what a great year it had been ( its currently the fastest year i ever had experienced)

Finally, i want to talk about the year of rest that God has planted in the heart of Pastor to set us into as a spiritual family. Seriously, when i first heard it, i was doubtful because of the credibility of that decision but on a second note, it became more right in the spirit as Pastor continue to share with us all where his decision came from and how it is going to affect us in the future. So, from there, this vision started to plant its seed into my heart too and right now, i just cannot wait to see 2008 as a year of fully God's provision and God's interception in every single thing for His people. From ministry to studies to finance to providence, i trust that God is going to not just let us to depend on Him with joy, but to also see how His signs and wonders are going to work among us. Really, this year there are many things coming up and i am certainly most excited to meet the first family overseas vacation in many years. The trip to China with my family is something that is ongoing with planning now and i am really excited to have a time of bonding with them, especially i have so many things to deal with for 2007 and had not really spend time with them. Then, in july this year, its QQS!! Well, as a student, i still have no idea where the money is going to come from to provide me with the way to go and serve the people of Mongolia but i am going to leave it for God to settle it. The next thing is my cell group, well i hope it will continue to grow in numbers and strength even as we have lesser events for harvesting. Yes, a year of seeing God's hand in everything. Trust him and live everyday like you are going to die tomorrow and learn like you are going to live forever. Amen.

New year resolution!

2007-12-21T15:43:00.000+08:00

Ladies and Gentlemen, my first shoes in many years ! haa, well this is the new year resolution: To be fit for God once again. That's why i was prompted to buy a proper pair of trainer to keep my shape man (belly coming out already). Bought it at peninsula plaza Price: $177. Consider it not bad already because other shops were selling it at $213 fix price. Hehe...cool! Thank God this is also a relatively mild flat trainer as i pronate when i wear high arc shoes. Nice??? Give me your comments...

Heroes Season 2 finale

2007-12-05T10:25:00.000+08:00

Last episode of Heroes Season 2.

2007-12-03T22:53:00.000+08:00

Are you a fan of Heroes? Don't miss this last episode!

Excruciating Pain

2007-12-03T13:57:00.000+08:00

WOw! I finished it! 42.195km is never an easy feat. It was pain all the way through. I rode to esplanade early in the morning @ 5am. Hear the sound of the crowd and saw the preparations done by the marshalling team, i knew its going to be really crowded and packed with passionate running fanatics. When i was there, i saw caps, visers, sunglasses, all sorts of tights and many more things that people are gearing themselves for the race. I was alone! can't believe right? Yes, i was because i wanted to meet my friends who were also competing but i felt that at the end when we start we would end up running at our own pace. I started the run with the " pacers ". Ha, there was a timing behind their backs - 3 hr 45 mins. In my mind, i was thinking " cool, why don't i follow them?" But in the end i went ahead of them and went on at a faster pace. By the time i finished 10km plus. I started to hurt in my feet once i came out of marina south area. I couldn't stop because everyone were running ( yeah, the ego was there la). I struggled all the way till we reach nicoll highway and from there everyone was practically overtaking me. It was so demoralising. Worst still, i have to pass by my house you see. So in my heart i was struggling really hard not to stop and go home. I thought i should go home and get my socks because i was starting to blister without socks. Man, i still have no idea how i manage to continue from there. It was only 15km i think? I felt that God was some how teaching me how to carry the cross. Something that i rarely encounter with. This was something worst than in the NS days ( at least can report sick) This race is against my mind and i was battling deep in myself. Its hard to describe the feeling back at nicoll highway, i felt like crying because all of a sudden i felt that i was choosing to give myself pain. I could have just stopped and get back into my comfort zone but i didn't manage to do it, i can't explain it either.

So there i went, carrying the pain. I went on and on. Once i reach fort Rd, i could already see the elite runners running back and chasing for the grant prize back in St Andrew Rd. Phew, they are really crazy runners. I practically saw all of them in pack flying together. As i went along, i stop, walk, stretched, applied deep heat and do all sorts of stretching to remove my cramps. My legs could not take the distance as well. Hah, without preparation i can't blame any other things for these things happening. The way back was even slower. I was like old man trying to run but the joints were beginning to hurt as well. I was starting to even think, what am i doing to myself this kind of thing. It was internal struggle. People around me hardly talk as they ran. I guess everyone was struggling deep in their hearts or maybe some were trying hard to overcome their own personal limits. I was just the dumb guy there who could have been better if i had put in the effort to train. Finally, i pass by my house a second time while on my way back to the finishing area. This time, i was much determine to finish the run and get my tee and ride back home!

After the race, i went home, felt so much better but i was having problem walking around. I went to church and had a great sermon from Nick. After church, i had the same fellowship dinner with my friends and came home to rest. And now, i am enjoying my holidays in the most pathetic way. Haha, resting at home and getting my legs the much needed rest. Isn't it better? can spend less money. Well, i hope jiarong is fine with her trip in HK right now, pray that she's alright. Also, i hope a short job stint can add to my income. Being a student can be quite poor sometimes. hehe, with that i just want to say a big well done & thank you to my Spirit that kept me going even though i desperately wanted to stop. I see a breakthrough. Don't Quit. Amen.

SunDae

2007-11-04T23:39:00.000+08:00

Today, i wanted to join SMUX Biking team for a morning ride. Guess what, i rode out of my house at 7.20am. Due to the lack of Air in my tires, i had to pump so air at the near by petrol kiosk. Sadly, my front tube failed the mission before i even reached the station. Man, i was so desperate to find a place to get my tyre fixed! Well, i guess this creepy Sunday wasn't meant to be for me to ride. But i thank God the tyre didn't fail me when i am like FAr Far Away from home!

Went to church today, my friends discovered the Fake Man Utd jersey with ease. NOOO!!! okie, i won't make such purchases online anyMORE. Dinner was at east coast hawker - been a long while since i last landed foot on east coast. The food are nice to eat but due to the massive long queue, most of us just want to satisfy our mouths and any how grab food. I chose to queue awhile for my beef kway teow. I thought it was quite nice, hehe although its a bit over pricey - $5.

Saturday, Shuan's bday - i hope she had a great time running the show man.. Obviously, she was having fun receiving presents and making fun of others - as usual but without much convictions because its her day! haa. well, i manage to shoot a pic of the day using my cell phone man. The cake is really too cute to be eaten - Mr Patrick!!

race to win

2007-10-25T20:33:00.000+08:00

Well, a break through has happened for jiarong, she managed to run finished a race last Sunday! My God, all these years i have found it so hard to get her to exercise and on Sunday she didn't stop till the end of the finishing line. What a great thing to hear. Well, as for myself i must say that competition in sports had stopped for quite a while ever since my A levels. Its hard to pick it up but this Dec i look forward to the challenge: Marathon!! Although, i dont think i have much time to train for this event, i believe the toughness of the mind has to be present in order to do it as well. As i always believe, 90% mind, 10% body. Its time to race my virgin marathon... muhahah.

This week: School is as busy as ever. i dont think it ever gonna change. sometimes i wonder what i really want through studying: more $ in future? more knowledge? Save the world... Nvm, i guess i can never figure it out now.. let freedom run and let's do our best.

ps: blogging is rare for me now, i'll still try my best.

Studying is a unavoidable thing.

2007-10-04T01:24:00.000+08:00

Well, coming to mid term in school already and things are really piling up and right now its already 1.30am in the wee morning and i had just came home from a rather tiring project finalisation. Felt that i was doing art work all of that while and just suddenly feel that we are back in those sec sch days of crappy art work with ideas that were running wild in our minds. My grp did a under water world project and the props we used were to realise how it was like through models to live in a City of underwater estates. Wow, that took us practically the whole night till the security guard had to chase us out of the seminar room. Things are complicated too for me both in sch and my life right now. I feel that i am not juggling well still. Is it because there isn't any much support from anyone or is it just me being over reacting to it? i really don't know and i hope God answers it for me. I wish to finish my stuff and get to mid week with a Big bang. Half way is coming, really need that motivation from God and everyone of you out there. If i had neglected you, i'm sorry and lets find time to meet up and catch up. Alright, alarm's going off at 6.30am. Gotta catch my sleep. God bless my projects and grandma...

Living out Life

2007-09-24T22:53:00.000+08:00

Well, the weekend was busy and the weekdays are as equally busy these days. But as i went through project smile, service learning and mad+stan's wedding on saturday itself, i discover that life is not just about fulfilling datelines but also enjoying as much as you can! Project smile was really fun even though sometimes it is just so tired to get all the way there to learn. The tricks are simple and yet fascinating as it really takes practice to perfect them - though right now i have not really practice other than showing it once to my sister. Service learning on saturday itself was fun too. All of us who attended got to play interesting games - i was surprised that Shuan was there as well. Basically, i learnt the importance of facilitating learnings of others so that people can think out of the box and out of their own self centered lives.

Saturday was full of programmes. After my service learning i had to go for stan and mad's wedding dinner at orchard parade hotel. Never been there before my entire life and somehow i felt the waiters were quite clumsy because during the dinner i kept hearing the dropping of plates or other porcelain items and one of them actually drop a plate full of prawn shells on my pants! Therefore, i confirm that the wedding itself was a great night for us all and the couple but the service from the hotel was not exactly that fabulous. The day ended with me going back with the 3 kallang ladies who were definitely thrilled by their own fashion parade for the whole day.

A little recap of my army days came upon me when jilun send me this really nice picture of us fishing together a night ago. Well, i remember oliver was there too with his x and jiarong was there with me as well.
Time really FLIES man. The last time i remember my self in this state of hair was when i just completed BMT. 2 years already had gone by, tremendous experience.

Beliefs and thoughts.

2007-09-13T20:20:00.000+08:00

Let's talk about school. Almost a month into university, i sat down and as i was listening to what lecturers were talking about i just fell into a world of my own. Everything they said were not important to me, not even much for my assignments. Sometimes, i wonder what am i doing here and listening to this person using 3 hours of my time giving me work out of no where and talking to me about irrelevant stuff or stuff which i might as well read from the textbooks which they force us to buy and clearly, the books did a better justification of what the whole agenda was about than sitting in the seminar room wasting electricity on lights, laptops, projectors and stoning away at those who decided to speak up on things that they have no control over even after they had a tremendous debate over it in class.

Maybe i was wrong, those lessons were useful. In a way they were because i manage to catch something out of all these - not educationally related at all. I thought university is a place to learn how to speak and impress others with your ideas. At the same time you would be thrown with tons of work and it made you realise that you have to work your butt off through the night talking about the world, talking about the policies, talking about things which you have no idea what they were about because you haven't step out to work and experience the real thing yourself.

Well, i want to thank this teacher Kirpal Singh because his lessons were the best. Probably not just because there is not much work to do as compare to the rest of the modules but because he is truly a professor of life. As he shares his thoughts to the class, he made me wondered out of the education arena and unknowingly into the social,political and other concerns. One thing which i agree the most is in our country, even though we are considered a "good" nation, one thing which we dislike to touch on are the ugly stats of this nation. A nation filled with delinquents, abortions, high belief in the academic systems and the self righteous attitudes which many of us in the society have.

Why are we like this then? Is it because of the government who are controlling our thoughts or are we timids Singaporeans who really thinks that it is ridiculous to stand against these things which we cannot do anything about? I guess the latter says it all. In our society, i believe we are so used to this effective system that sometimes we feel that we just let those who are in authority to change when things become not as good as what people expected of. We are so used to fix rules that we go according to it and as long as it does not affect us, we think its great and we would not be bothered about those who are affected by them. Sometimes, i admit that i am one of those culprit who couldn't be much bothered because i know it does not affect me. Many other times, i wonder are we amoral if we are like that towards the society? I don't know , to me it is definitely a conviction of the heart and a sin to deal with.

What about the education of the country? Are we taught the correct things or are we just here in the various institutions taught to conform to the same thoughts, ideas, knowing the taboos etc? I think sometimes we are, many of us are afraid to lose our professions/jobs than to stand against the right things which the society should know/entitled to. An example of mine would be the increasing trend of students cmplaining about the teachers using corporal punishment on them and thus causing the teachers to receive warnings/guidelines on new "procedures" when dealing with punishable students. What on earth is happening to the once glorious profession as a teacher where one could exercise so much authority over the kids? I remembered in my primary school days, my teacher used to give us tight slaps on the face if we did any mistakes and NOBODY would dare to report on her because we know the fact that she is our teacher and even after graduation we would still return occasionally to visit her because we know she was the one who install deep values upon our lives with regards to respect. The young in our society needs to learn how to respect teachers especially. Why would a teacher be forced to use physical punishment apart from because he is perverse in his thoughts towards the children who haven't done any wrong? It must have been because of the disrespectfulness portrayed by the kids which the teacher must do something about it. Gone are those days today. Today our teachers fear for their jobs everyday and i believe many of them could have lost their passion of teaching the young because of the attitudes many of these students portray. They surely do know that they have an edge over their teachers which they didn't have it in the past.

Well, i think i have said enough about my learning and thoughts.I shall leave you folks a time of your own to think about your thoughts. Surely, university is a place to do more than just learning what we are required to and i think its about knowing what can be changed and what should be changed because afterall we are going to work in the society and 90% of work your work would have nothing to do with what you have learn in school.

Logging out!

Introducing to you, the SMU Jump.

2007-08-31T20:14:00.000+08:00

This is taken during the SMUX camp 2007, Changi Beach area. We call it the SMU Jump...its done wherever and whenever.

Gateway Cities Youth Convention 2007

2007-08-27T19:25:00.000+08:00

Finally, all good things have come to an end. Though i spent a mere 2days plus hosting my fellow brothers and sisters from Sri Lanka, i feel so close to several of them after talking and hanging out with them. Well, this is definitely an experience that i would not be forgetting. And again, the Lord has showed us the importance of serving others.

<<<---- On this side, this is the picture as a result of several nights of not being able to sleep early due to presentations and talking non stop through the night with your friend. Veman didn't sleep the whole night on the last day of GCYC. He ended up falling asleep on the couch in the canteen. I took this because his posture of sleeping is really funny.

Then, a cute little boy name Titus was part of this wonderful conference too. Ha, he's a cheeky fellow man. I still remember i bought sugar cane to drink on saturday lunch time and little Titus was too shy to ask me to drink, so i offer my drink to him, he drank it and then he said "hmm, its not very nice" and after a while he asked me to let him help me finish the not very nice drink, i thought that was really cheeky ha..

Not forgetting, the message of this whole conference. I just want to give my own summary to this whole thing. I think it really does not matter what country you're from, what problems your country is facing - it seems that every country has their own problems ( sometimes similar to other nations because we live a world that is never fair), the important thing is to pray and have the love towards others whom may have a different culture, different ethnics etc. Well, the world is getting more and more compact due to the effects of technology but more to that, it is giving us the edge over knowing your neighbours better and more opportunities to treat them with the love that God loves us with. With that, i just want to close that praying as a nation is something But praying together as NATIONS will move HEAVENS. May God continues to flourish your presence among us, your chosen peoples, so that whatever we do, Lord we give you all glory and honor. Thank You Jesus! Amen.

SMU freshie

2007-08-19T00:52:00.000+08:00

Gosh, its been so long since i last blogged. School is finally starting proper in like a few days time? Timetable was out few days ago and i have free day on mondays. so Yay! anyway,let's hope for the best. Many photos from my camps and events are not ready, once they are i will post them for viewing. Well well,the orientation camps were really tiring but fruitful i must say because i get to know more people and most importantly know my choices, especially in choosing the activities i want to do. SMU really has many activities but i guess one must learn to prioritize and know what you can afford to do and not to do. 4 years to go folks. So let the journey begin. One thing i learnt today at the Convocation from this south china coy Ltd CEO was that one must be humble at all times even when you are really successful. Yes, the Bible always say that it is easier for a camel to enter the hole of a needle than a rich man to enter the kingdom of Heaven. Now, i know how people on the top 1 % wealth of this earth are feeling (the more you have the harder you feel obligated to give out to those in need). The first step to give is always hard but once you've done it somehow you feel that it is really nice to bless others who needs what you have given and put them to good use. Oh well, i'm not successful yet but i know one day i will, so let's pray that we can be good givers all the time. May God bless this journey and bring back the academics wisdom that i have certainly lost. Amen.

New Style

2007-08-02T23:34:00.000+08:00

I dyed my hair.

My last day at work.

2007-07-30T00:29:00.000+08:00

In Him we trust.

2007-07-17T10:04:00.000+08:00

My days in station are numbered. I think i'm gonna miss the times in sengkang, i felt that i had gone through some processes that i think it will come to good use in future. Its hard to share, difficult to describe in words but when it happens again in future perhaps i can say to myself, " thank God i've seen this before." I have very little time in between. 3 days after i officially end my stint at station, i would be going for smu camps. Wow, they sure know how to force people to go their events, not just making it compulsory but threatening with some consequences if fail to turn up. I didn't know that smu is the only one out of the 3 that requires fulfilling 80hrs or 2 wks of community service. I thought it was a standardised kind of thing for all trios. Marn! i was like......speechless when i was told of the truth. Anyway, i have decided to let God deal with it so i chose TCS as my comms service organisation. Sounds good right? To have your church supporting your compulsory comms service, i think i will really not do it just for the hours but for the sake of giving and reaching out to the lost.
Talking about that, the 100k campaign seems to go asystole for time being, my station machiam ran out of people to bless - my friend and i went around snatching anyone we see haha! Dont worry, i am not anxious to fill up the numbers but i am more of concern about the culture/lifestyle that i want to set in my heart. Always a blessing to others. The marketplace is never easy, especially when we deal with people and create unhappiness in the process. Its hard to have them willing to accept our blessings. Well, its a struggle but truly in Him we trust, we can deal with all troubles of the heart because the faith to do the things we deem impossible would in the end change how people look at us. Be strong and do not be ashame of your faith.

Pictures from Johor adventure. Folks, Enjoy.

2007-07-05T17:51:00.000+08:00

Johor Adventure.

2007-07-02T22:39:00.000+08:00

Great day of travelling and eating in Johor. For once, i thought johor is actually a place full of nice and cheap food besides the fact that the high crime rate still lurks around the region. The pictures i had hardly could describe the day i had in johor because they only show the earlier part of the day till my handphone battery ran flat once again, slim phones really do have their disadvantage in the area of battery life. Anyway, moving on, the four of us: Caleb, wanping, jiarong and i move around Johor in Wp's car that was once a favourite model of the ex- prime minister of Malaysia. I can't believe the technology of '97 was so good back then. Our first stop was a much needed lunch at a bah kut teh stall. It was quite nice ( i always like malaysia bah kut teh because they always like to throw everything in and cook in a claypot). Then we proceeded to some wu lu shopping center to look around. People there were trying to sell us pirated DVDs like as though it was legal and they even quoted that they do delivery to your address. One difference i see between our local shops and singapore shops were that, malaysia's sales people are more daring to approach customers for business, they are really much more aggressive than us!
Before we left the place, Caleb and i went for a massage. We wanted to have foot reflexology, but end up getting a half body massage instead - we thought it was for lower body and hence we agree. HOWEVER, things were not to be after we paid and followed the massagers in. We ended up being walloped upside down on our upper body - I felt the massager was trying to murder me, she was so strong that when she pressed on my neck, i could not breath. Well, lesson learnt is not to do such massage anymore.
Off we move right after that to JUSCO shopping center, it was big and had many retail outlets as well. We had our tea ( it was a rather heavy meal) and proceed to have our GO - KART at pemas jaya. WOW, i was thrilled by the game man. Though it was a mere 10mins ride, i was stunned by a few things. First, i think racing car is really crazy and dangerous after i experience this mini racing. Second, i didnt know Wp can drive faster than i do! It was the first time i get to experience the feeling of spinning when i turn at high speed. Well, it was dangerous but thank God the car is stable.
We then had our seafood dinner which was avg price but not bad to eat. The last thing we ate were durians and i am surprise that durians in malaysia can be so expensive too! i called 3 so-called good quality durians and they cost us 84 RM. Its like 1 for 10++ SGD man. The man did not even say its D24.
Finally, we went back to City Square to get Jiarong's Patrick and then proceed home to end the day with our rest. What a great time i had but i am looking forward to the road trip that we have been talking about and have yet to plan it. One advice to those of you going Johor is to go with a car and be streetsmart! Its good to have a map with you but it won't work out much due to the fact that they dont have a good road system. Watch out for more pics!

YOUTH Euphoria

2007-07-01T10:00:00.000+08:00

On saturday, I had a fun time playing this mini adventure race with a group of teens(Mallori,Rachel and Kang wei). It was organised by Touch Young Arrows. Basically, the game is about solving the clues that were given and to solve them we actually had to travel around the places of interest and of entertainment in the local streets. Well, my role was to keep the integrity of my team from falling apart and ensure that they too had a fun time trying to solve these clues through brainstorming and learning to be streetsmart.

Together with Mingyi (vj junior), we tried to make them realise the values of independence whereby they learnt to ask around on the streets if they do not know their directions and all. Along the way, of course we could see each and everyone of them participating and trying to find solutions instead of waiting for answers. Personally, our group's cohesiveness was nice because of this boy in my group made the difference. Mallori - he's loud and strangely amusing and along the way we saw some of his brave and silly efforts to get things done - we just need some one like that to gel up the team and get all to find it worthwhile to work together!

Eventually, though we did not complete all the stations, we manage to finish top among other groups and it was all the more a sweet ending to this game. I guess i learnt something myself even from this and it was that people engage more in activities than just sitting down talking serious stuffs. Haha, i think we should all find time for more of this sort of adventures!

The photos were from my cell phone - not bad right?

Angels rejoice!

2007-06-22T23:54:00.000+08:00

22 June 2007. The day to be remembered for my dear bro, spiritual son - jiaquan. A day where the angels in heaven were rejoicing. I sensed a spiritual victory for him. Though i didn't have the chance to be up there in the pool with him, i was really glad that it is God's will to complete his life with Baptism. Of course, more is to come from the Lord and really,this is a day of completion even in his own family. The Lord is good.

I feel excited for myself, because i believe the greatest thing i can do for God is to see my sons and myself transforming in a way that only God can do it. Even as i know there issues with each and every one of their lives, i know God wants me to run this race with them. All the way - this is the spirit that i must have in me. God spoke, I received it with a heart of thankfulness that He's willing to choose me for this important task.

Recently, I've been occupied with some issues at work. Though it seems unresolved, i know God has a way. Ps Joe Kum simply made my day when he told us during the baptism service that God can make our problems into good things if we hand it over to Him. It was just a simple message but yet it really refreshes me so much. Praise God who has His own timing and His surprise element is better than anything else. Haha, got to see Arun too! He's still single! I mean no offence, haha, sometimes i feel that my christian brothers are so faithful towards their target(s). The patience is really there which is really fantastic. Alright, i think i should really cut the crap here before i get myself stoned by the singles out there.

One more month before i start my uni life. A new chapter for me, i really like to start with a bang. What do i mean by that? I hope to do well in my first year though alot of people have been telling me it's really tough in there. I'm not giving myself pressure, if i can do it, why not ?Well, still i wish to put His ministry above all, that's the biggest challenge. Recently, i received a few similar questions about whether i would be attracted to girls in SMU when sch begins. Haha, guess you know who is it? Well, seriously i think at this age, i'm more clear in my thoughts and i know what i am doing. So not a hassle for me, since i'm already attached. Hehe, anyway this is something from my heart - its not base on a politically correct answer.

Its been very long since i last went for Fishing.

Time of your life

2007-06-06T20:46:00.000+08:00

Had not been blogging for quite a while now. Due to work, due to events that had happened in my life these past few wks. In fact, on friday i would have to proceed to salvation army for the 2007 livingstones tribe camp, Camp Gilgal. I trust the Lord that it's gonna be a great time of fellowship and fun! Anyway, Just manage to send Jiarong off to Muar at youth office this afernoon before i was called back station to have a really not necessary meeting with the bosses. Well, speaking about what i was really busy about. Actually, i just finished an olympic distance triathlon over at Bintan. Woo, it was such an experience for me, Ezra and Sam. I believe the first time is always the most memorable one. What a kick start to an experience of triathlon. There's more to come, that is the more exciting part man. In the end i realised, one triathlon allows so many lessons learnt in the process. I felt God speaking to me as i raced, and even after i raced, i looked back through my memories and God just spoke through all these. I must say it was not an easily taken race, i took a total of 2 hrs 56 mins to complete it. Never had i work out for so long before hahaa. Then i came back feeling tired and began to fall sicked before i prepare my stuffs, getting ready to travel again for the 288 retreat over at Malaysia Pulai Desaru. Woah, i went there with a heart that wants to rest but God just showed me what Family is all about. I knew many others church brothers that i never knew back in expo as well as knowing my G12 brothers better. My room mates were Josh and Ezra, they were sensitive and sensible brothers - very discipline as well because they train so hard over there while i was slacking with beach soccer and water polos. Anyway, i knew this retreat was more than just coming together as a church family but also to prepare us for the 5000 challenge. I believe not all of us were willing on the first time to be part of the 5000 - due to work, commitments etc. But God spoke through pastor and eventually its all about making room in our hearts to go and Just Do It. Well, it is never easy to do it after you say because things won't go just as what you have verbally said. Hence, i thought it is only right for myself to keep check on the conditions of my heart each day so that i would not be having second doubts and continue to be firm on the Lord. Thank God too even for situations that occurred in my work where i am responsible to do an almost impossible recovery in some lost items that happened a few weeks back. The Lord just gave me a friend who was there to help me solve all these issues, now they are finally settled and i just know that if i trust the Lord, He will be there to deliver me from all fear and problems. Praise the Lord for that. Yeah, catch some of the triathlon pictures over here : http://picasaweb.google.com/gleniselwm/BintanTri

Spiderman III

2007-05-03T22:16:00.000+08:00

The show Spiderman III catches us in an unexpected story plot. I feel that it didn't turn out to be Spiderman Vs some other mutant right from the beginning to the end where we all know that Peter Parker would emerge victorious. Rather, it was more of a show that displays friendship and understanding. The Sand man created in the show was really funny to me, being a mutant seems to be accidental all the time - He landed himself in an electrical experiment dealing with lots of sand. Then Parker begins to struggle with a new BLACK suit that was unknowingly created for him by an unknown species - i didn't quite understand where these crap came from. In the end, Harry the new Goblin came to Spiderman's rescue once he realised that Parker actually was not the one who killed his Dad - His Dad's old assistance explained the whole story to Harry after so many things happened, which was quite senseless to me. Nevertheless, it was a nice show that's worth watching, just that the ending is quite obvious that there should be Spiderman 4 - If not it really has a bad ending to its spiderman series. Somehow, i just like all the marvel superhero shows, especially those who can help in situations that even the police and fire fighters can't do much about it.
A new one is coming up though : The Fantastic Four ( Rise of the silver surfer) - this cartoon is something i watched as a kid. Meanwhile, let's wait out because there are many nice shows coming out and be prepared to have a big hole in your pockets!!

Labour Day break.

2007-04-30T19:22:00.000+08:00

Thank God for this coming public holiday man. Though it is only one day, i just felt that i really needed a break from work. This morning, things just didn't start right. I overslept and i could not find my Oakley glasses all of a sudden. Ha, in the end i had to waste 10 bucks getting myself onto a cab in order not to be late for work. In the end, i came home from work and found my specky on the bed. ( laughs - i thought i had thrown it away in my sleep )
Did my quiet time in the late morning before i continue my own read up on Economics. Having not learn any econs before during JC days, i decided to do some personal read up so that when SMU starts in August, i would not become totally clueless about econs - If i happen to take as my module. Speaking about modules, i recalled rong telling me that in NTU every module is subjected to availability and space. As for SMU, i remembered they have this online bidding using eTokens from results - i'm not 100% certain, to bid for a spot in the module you want. Well, I'm also surprised that recently SMU sent an email telling me that i'm required to attend an externally taught english workshop - it costs $200 for a mere 5 days! It was totally a smack in my face, seriously speaking because i thought my GP (B4) should allow me to avoid any english course requirement. Then i realised my SAT verbal was the culprit that dragged me into this. I could not really remembered how badly i scored but i guess now its no point crying over spilled milk. No way i am going to retake another SAT test which is totally different now from what it were few years back then. The good thing was at least several of my friends are also required to attend - Haha, all on the same boat brothers! However, due to this course that's going to commence early May, i do not think that i can attend. Thus, i'll be waiting for the next round. My station life would only stop end of July, so right now there's nothing much i can do other than gaining more experiences in my career. If the weather is fine, i would be riding with Argon Mercury Sam tomorrow morning, anyone care to join us on a fresh labour day morning? Cheers.

Coastal road adventure

2007-04-15T11:20:00.000+08:00

Just came back from a fantastic ride this morning together with Sam, Sebas, yong howe and hui mei. I felt different during training because i suddenly force myself to go faster than i usually would go. Haha, strange as it seems i was still having quite bad muscle aches when i rode to mandarin gardens to meet the group. Once we started at east coast area, the pace immediately hit to an avg of 35km/h. It was constant all the way even on the coastal rd where the head wind is really strong. I must say that Sebas is really good because he took against the wind at 35km/h while i drafted behind him and yong howe at the same speed as well. We went along the route as pre-plan accordingly,went to the loop in loyang and passed by Singapore Prisons. They have quite a big boundary i must say, isnt it easier for people to escape (nah just kidding)? Anyway, i started to feel wobbly on the route back, probably i couldnt take up so many slopes in loyang. Quite steep eh! After that the rest was history, Sebas disappeared from my range and yong howe was caught up by traffic light and i was all alone, no one to draft behind. Still, i could go on at a good pace 33-35km/h only to be caught up by yong howe at east coast just before we reached our end point. Phew, nice to train with our brothers in christ. One lesson i learnt today is, every second counts and consistency is very essential when cycling. Today i tried not to shift too much on my bike so that i can focus all my strength on cadence but didnt manage to do so because my back side feel so numb after going down on my average aero bar for quite some time. I look forward to the next training together, the new Youthnet Triathlon team. Time for service on a nice and sunny sunday afternoon. God bless!

LIVINGSTONES YONETZ NIGHT CYCLING

2007-04-09T22:58:00.000+08:00

The highly anticipated night cycling finally ended on Good Friday. Surely it was real tired for some of us, because i fell into deep sleep the moment i reached home that day. Slept from 9am - 5pm but still i felt lacked of sleep for the next 2/3 days. But it was fun though, to see so many of us who came down that night and willing to endure the night at some of the hotspots in Singapore. The attendance was 70 people altogether.

The night started with Jiarong coming to my place to get ready, hah. Great pic isn't it? Never seen her in a helmet before and she actually rode with me to Touch Centre with the helmet on.

Jiarong complained that I never have brought her onto this nice bridge before even though i knew of this place years ago, so here we are this time round together with the rest.

We took this when the ride started and we're actually on the bridge resting. The bridge was really nice at night as the lights were up and it blends beautifully with the waters below it. Sadly, Pauleon didn't come and join us in this pic - He's probably enjoying his time in Europe.

Do Not be deceived by the Serpent! Hey, what a surprise along the way when we actually rode past this 'already- dead ' snake on the road to Sentosa. This creature caused the screams and yells of many ladies who went past, especially those who were following behind me - i didn't know it was a snake.

Cycling kaki ! Check this out, nice z00t tights Sam and I have. We took this at the backyard of Vivocity - a place full of wavy structures. This is also the turning point of our route, heading back to city area and i started to feel the sleep monster over here.

My McDonald breakfast at 0500hrs. By then, food was not what i really need - sleep was what i needed. Nevertheless, i gobbled this down and tried to stay awake as much as possible.

This is cool. Captured this when we were back at the jetty for a time of worship. Truly, the Sun cannot compare with the Glory of Your love. That is my theme for this picture. The Lord Himself gave His Son for us so that we can live in eternity.

Friends out there, would you rather believe that there's a God who loves you and to find out that there's none OR would you rather not believe there's a God who loves you and die to know there actually is? You have nothing to lose if you place your bets in God. As for me, I just want to thank God for all that He has done for me on Calvary and to trust Him as my Lord and Savior because i know He who died on the Cross is Alive!

My new posting.

2007-03-25T21:55:00.000+08:00

Sengkang is a pleasant place, Singapore's newly established housing area. Monday, i will be reporting as the newly added RC in Sengkang Fire Station. I look forward to the exciting journey i would have till end of July. Start of new shift, new life style and knowing my friends there. May God bless.

Bean's Horrific Holiday

2007-03-25T11:05:00.000+08:00

Yes, finally got to watch this Comedy. It did not turn out to be as nice as i thought it would be. Mr Bean did not talk alot and during the show the film was constantly on REC mode of a Sony Handycam. The show started with Bean winning a ticket to France and in the process caused many trouble for others. As usual, Bean has a heart for those he caused an agony to and in the end he paid a price for helping a boy to get back to his father. I just cannot find certain parts of the show amusing because it was silly instead of funny. There was one scene which i find it funny though was when Bean was driving in france and it was late a night. So he was constantly falling asleep and he knows he has to make himself awake, that was where he did all the beatings and burning to make himself awake. In the end, Bean still got to his beach in Cannes after going through so many trials. The show ends with a french song, i did not know it until Jiarong told me it was singing about the BEACH. What a show it certainly was, with all the WIE ( yes in french ) and silly moves. I would give it a 2-star rating and for those who wanna watch this, be sure u just want to laugh and not going for any serious story plots.

Day of His Grace.

2007-03-23T14:33:00.000+08:00

Praise the Lord! My long waited license finally came through this morning. I woke up at 6.30 am feeling extremely stressed and tired as well. But i still had to have my lesson at 7.30am to finalise some of the faults which i still had over the week. After my lesson, to be frank i was still not confident. I had problems going up slope! Apparently, the car which i was learning was a vintage honda civic. So i guess you could understand how she struggled up the slope. Then came my test, the same problem occurred again! In my heart, i was screaming at myself like mad and i thought i was gonna spoilt everything else already because it happened at the very beginning of the test,surely it was not a good start at all. Till my 3rd try up that tiny slope, i was telling myself if i do not make it for this one i am a gonner. Thanks be to God, the engine roared and i finally overcame that stupid slope that almost cause me the test. As i finished the rest of the stations, everything was great, i just sensed God's calmness setting upon my mind and i managed to finish the circuit in no time. Route No3. was the one i got balloted into. It was considered few of the better ones. Once i hit the road, everything was familiar again, it was my playground. Nevertheless, i put my license to test again when there were a few points where i committed some silly mistakes. First, i change to the wrong gear but still the silly car started to move ( showing how crappy it was ). I only realised when the engine started to give out weird noises and slowly the tester started to turn his head to stare at me. Haha, without hesitation i immediately change the gear to 2 and pretend nothing was happening, but in my heart i knew that would be taken down already. Secondly, i felt quite stupid about this one. I guess i was pretty cautious that i decided to stop at a zebra crossing when there was no one there at all. In the end, i was horned by the vehicle at the back. At that instant, i just felt " oh man, deduct point again.". The car finally came back to the driving centre and there i was following the old man to get my results. We sat down and he began speaking to me about my faults as he was writing. Then the magical moment came when he wrote 12 demerit points on the assessment list and before he congratulate me, i was bursting with joy within already haha. Woohoo! It was a relief for me because i knew i really did not want to repeat the test again and pay more. Guess what? I actually keep a record of my finances spent on Driving and it turn out to be only $970 dollars man. Do not ask me how i manage to pass the test on the first try because if you look at the price i paid, it really shows i did not have sufficient lessons to deserve this license. But anyhow, thank God for this blessing. I have a Class 3 now.

My new shout out.

2007-03-21T11:52:00.000+08:00

Hi this is my new ground, i will be having my updates here from now onwards.