Whither the Weather

Some of you may have heard me complain ad libitum about the (imho) overly-warm and humid weather in S'pore and my penchant for cooler climes (which is one reason why i like to holiday in faraway atas places where possible, as well as partly why global climate change vexes me so much and hence why i'm quite environmentally conscious, but that's another story). Anyways last year around this time i was on the last leg of my time in the States - over the holidays after exams i went to places like Boston and St. Louis. And it so happened that in all these places they were experiencing above-average temperatures - fair enough. So i didn't get to experience snow and what not, hardly the end of the world.

Now that i've cable though, and hence watch CNN/Headline News in lieu of Channelnewsasia (cos imho, the latter sucks and i really could not care any less for mediacrap), i've been observing the weather patterns in North America quite a fair bit - and lo and behold, places which i'd visited last year in the Midwest and New England have already experienced crippling snowstorms, stuff strikingly absent when i was there. Not that i'd have liked to be there during such frigid conditions, but it still seems to reinforce the conclusion that i've arrived at, which is that the mercury always seems to head upwards whenever i'm in town. Apart from this prime example, i also recall last year when there was quite a bit of snow in Chicago just the week before i arrived there, which of course had all disappeared by the time i got there, and which reappeared just after i flew back to Chapel Hill. Even when i went back to the Philippines earlier this year, my cousin-in-law told me that there was hail the morning of the day i arrived (of course, i only arrived at night). And there are more examples where those came from... Sigh - how to ever do stuff like skiing like that (and i don't count snow city as a legitimate example)?

CORS bidding is just around the corner, and i'm as indecisive as ever. Experience obviously doesn't breed ease of action in this case... It doesn't help that i never got around to doing the pre-allocation this time round cos i was occupied with other stuff, and so it totally slipped my mind. I'm as fussy as ever when it comes to choosing classes, even though i've only three to choose in total, and i've already decided on one of them... Anyone else is shopping around for a good s/u-able (and hopefully non-examinable) breadth class?

Managed to go down to Esplanade to watch ACJC Choir caroling the other day - got to meet some of the people from my batch as well which was good... Miss those days quite a bit (well ok, maybe only parts of it) - i could still remember a good deal of my parts from the songs, especially since they've by and large remained the same even after seven years.

Yesterday's PRC camp, by God's grace went well - i think that was the only truly sunny day we've had in the whole of this month (and to that end i now have a painful reminder that i musn't forget to apply sunscreen on the back of my neck...), and thankfully no one got injured or anything like that. Once again, just like the prc camp i was at three years ago, i'm pretty sure that i spoke more Mandarin the whole of yesterday than i have in the rest of the year put together. And i was reminded why i'm so reticent about ever taking a holiday in China/HK/Taiwan etc - language frustrations would just drive me bonkers...

I totally concur with what mr brown posted about taxi drivers. Government affiliations aside, i think that it's just not right that basically no matter how bad the situation gets for the drivers, the cab companies basically are hardly the worse for wear, since regardless of how much (or how little) the drivers earn in a day, they still have to pay a fixed rental to the company. Talk about being out of touch. This latest fare increase basically affects the demand for taxi rides, at the expense of the drivers, whereas the companies themselves definitely feel less pain. It's situations like this that make me more sympathetic towards a proper labor movement in terms of unions and what not (and please NTUC so doesn't count). Of course, this has many messy drawbacks, but still nevertheless the drivers deserve to have it better than they do now (and yup, i'm speaking up for them even though they have caused me many an angry moment when i'm cycling).

Visit Philippines 2008

There's a histo paper due in just over a week's time which better judgement urges me to continue (though so far have just been doing some reading - no planning or writing) working on, but i've decided rather to ramble on a bit about other stuff and we'll see where this leads to...

Well i've been meaning to talk a bit about my recent trip back to the Philippines for like the longest time and then some right - well just the other day i heard about the bomb blast at Glorietta in Manila, and it troubled me quite a bit, cos especially ever since i came back from there i've been trying to push the Philippines (apart from Mindanao at least) as a safe and worthwile tourist destination, touting, among other things; the tight security at malls. Well, obviously that tight security still fell flat this time round.

Had taken a pic of the Atrium at Glorietta
(the mall complex where the blast happened) when i was there

In any case though, i'd still say that a great deal of the security and safety concerns that many people have about traveling to the Philippines are stretching it a bit. Media reports tend to give the impression that the entire country is a no-go zone cos it's unsafe, but that's really not the case. The south - Mindanao island and all that's below it - yes perhaps the security situation there may be more questionable, since that's where the hive of seperatist/terrorist activity is (although even within the island there are places that are still relatively safe). But much of the rest is really pretty safe.

Ok, maybe after the latest blast Manila may not be everyone's favorite place to go to (and it was not really one of mine even before the blasts) but it does have good shopping (eh and yup i know that's exactly where the bomb hit) - but seriously, the malls there are ginormous (if that word has been accepted into general parlance yet). And beyond Manila there's a lot worth seeing - i personally regretted spending so much time in the Metro Manila area (even though i was with relatives) and hence not seeing enough of the rice terraces to the north - and to that end a return trip in the near future is definitely a goal of mine.

Eh this picture really doesn't do the terraces justice, but it'll have to do for now

That actually was to me one of the main highlights of going back - the chance to go up to Ifugao Province and take in a bit of the scenery and all. My cousin put me in touch with a local pastor who is involved in work with many of the tribal people in the surrounding hills, and so he showed me around the terraces and put me up at his place for the night. What i was really blessed by though, was his sharing with me a bit about his ministry - stuff like Bible translation and hiking to various villages to screen the Jesus film, among other stuff. The stereotypical awareness of how much i'd taken things for granted in S'pore hit me - yup and to that end this song came to mind (taken from here btw - and since it's more than 100 years old i shall assume am not infringing on copyright restrictions by putting the lyrics here - is that the way it works?):

'Tis the gift to be simple, 'tis the gift to be free,

'Tis the gift to come down where we ought to be,

And when we find ourselves in the place just right,

'Twill be in the valley of love and delight.

When true simplicity is gain'd,

To bow and to bend we shan't be asham'd,

To turn, turn will be our delight,

Till by turning, turning we come round right.

The true simplicity of things there is in stark contrast to the wanton (not the mee) excesses that seem to constantly confront us here in S'pore and in many other parts of the world, and it has really brought me to a point when i wonder how essential is all the excess that we have (am talking within the sphere of the church here, though it extends to society in general).

So anyways, this aspect of ministry really got me thinking about stuff - and i'd like to think that this is something that i would be open to doing if the Lord ever calls me to it (although there'll be a great deal of language-learning to do first haha). Pastor Ardo did say that if things allow for it, maybe one day i could accompany him as he goes about one of his trips - that got me excited (though of course it really is as the Lord leads la - dun want to go just because it sounds cool).

And of course, this aside, i'm really keen on going back real soon (maybe a grad trip? though i'd like to do this on top of another trip to another, more distant place) to hike around a bit of the rice terraces [the terraces i went to were the most accessible ones, and coincidentally (or not), also the least fascinating ones] - there's a far more ulu yet still nearby town called Batad with far nicer terraces along with other cool (literally) stuff like waterfalls and all which i'd like to hike to the next time. And maybe while i'm in the Philippines can see some other stuff like the Chocolate Hills (nope, sorry Debs, they're not made of real chocolate =p) and Yoda's close primate relative. And of course this whole post is so tourist brochure-y for a reason - am also advertising for any possible travel companions - do give it a thought ya =) I can settle most of the arrangements and also communicate with anyone who doesn't speak English with my (laughable) Tagalog (seriously, while i was there, everyone thought i was a local - and hence always talked to me in Tagalog - leaving me smile embarassingly and mutter whatever i could in reply - which usually amounted to "yes", "no" or "no more")... Anyways, if and when this happens, it'll be in May 2008 earliest so there's plenty of time to consider...

Let me know, salamat po ;)

ponderings from pgp

It's been a good three weeks now since i moved (booked?) in to pgp. So far it's not exactly worked out as how i'd expected - in the sense of how the time that would otherwise have been spent traveling to and from school from my house has now been put to use. Of course, what other way would i in theory intend to spend the two extra hours of free time than to do school stuff - i.e. readings, papers, tutorials etc? Instead, the reality so far has been largely one of spending more time sleeping and slacking in my pgp room (read: what i'm doing now) rather than doing exactly the same in my room in the house.

And the prevalent conditions actually favor me slacking off a bit, since my deadlines are relatively far away, and hence the panic syndrome that usually kicks in a couple of days before the papers are due has yet to appear. I'm really trying to reverse this apathy towards work though, so watch this space and hopefully the next time i appear (whenever that will be) at least the first paper will be close to done with.

One good thing that has come out of staying here though is that i've finally managed to find ample opportunities to run, something i maintain is absolutely lacking back at home. No more being confronted by traffic lights every what seems like thirty metres or so; or incessant noxious vehicle fumes; or intriguing bohemian types with remarkable hairstyles, creative body piercings, and eternally puffing on a ciggy.

So to that end since i've moved in i've run more times than i have over the entire holiday and the school term before moving in. Or around there, at least. This is not entirely in the interests of a healthy lifestyle though, as ippt is rearing its annoying ugly head again, and so i'm due for that in less than a month. This time i've really no lofty ambitions whatsoever. If i pass (sans $100), i'll already be happy, since i've been largely inactive for months on end prior to moving in. Hope to continue this after ippt too though. Supplemented by tennis at some point or other and maybe a swim (and on that note, the vegetarian stall lady in the arts canteen has for the past few weeks recognized me as the not-so-Chinese guy who cannot understand half the Mandarin she spouts out to me whenever i go to the stall, and hence will automatically switch to English whenever i appear; but this morning she went about the old routine of speaking to me in Mandarin again, and i was actually wondering if that was cos i've been out of the sun as of late and hence have been getting lighter and so am starting to look more Chinese again).

God's been speaking to me in various ways and more than usual this past week or two, glad for that - though there's quite a bit of stuff that requires some revamping though... However, my brain is incredibly slow when it comes to processing such thought, so hopefully things won't be so bad this time...

Make no mistake about it though - i'm at a loss - it's not an intentional delay, that's for sure.

plan b

So it's the beginning of the weekend and all, and i'd been meaning to finally try and recap my recent trip back to the motherland over here (not as much for others to read as for me to be able to have something concrete for me to actually recall what happened there in the distant future...)

Alas, circumstances have made it such that it is way past the time when my brain is normally capable of such deep recollective and reflective thought, so the aforementioned post will have to wait till another day for it to reach fruition. Instead i'll stick to random thoughts over the past couple of weeks.

The recently concluded summer break has in certain ways been anything but, owing to the amount of stuff that i had on my plate from both moving house and then settling in (which is, as always, a work in continual, and i fear eternal progress); as well as from cf stuff (which has thankfully been more enjoyable, but still time-consuming and tiring). Still, however, i'm glad it was, when all is said and done, a fulfilling one, not only due to the timely and sorely-needed quick escapes from S'pore to our friendly ASEAN neighbors; but i guess due to the stuff that contributed to busyness as well...

When i was recalling the year past and how i missed things that happened then, one thing that i forgot to mention was how last year's national day was my favorite one in a long time. Um, unfortunately, it was precisely because i was out of the country that it was my favorite one. Yeah (and i hope the people up there in charge of the national pottery don't take offense if they ever should read this) i'm sorry but i'm just not a fan of huge outward displays of patriotism. My personal take is that resources could be far better spent elsewhere, and particularly not spent on things like the commissioning of atas nat'l day songs that seem to be less your love for the country than a lesson in world geography cum a rubbing it in to the average S'porean who probably counts the occasional weekend trip up to Genting or even JB as a real treat that some of us (um and i readily admit i'm one of them) just have been blessed to have it much better or the choreographing equally atas mass display programs that seemed more a showcase either of unwilling or, worse yet, alarmingly enthu parade participants with drag queen outfitting and makeup (more befitting perhaps of The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert than of a country's birthday celebration - and yes, freaky red fish-man, i'm talking about you here...) than the retelling of the S'porean past.

It's not that i don't like this country (though once again i'll readily admit that many people love it more than i do), but rather exactly because i do that i shudder to see how it celebrates its birthday each tacky year after another. Well, if there's anything i am happy about from this year's festivities, is that the engineers played a key role in its execution, and that the guy in charge, the current CEO, is a real nice guy whom i respect from the time i was still serving. And if there's anything that i'm even happier about, it's that he was not tasked to do this five years ago, for if so i might be the one frustratingly burning weekends and then some for an event i don't really care much for...

And so now school has started... As i've probably mentioned somewhere before, i'm really thankful that my workload this year isn't that bad after all, owing to one times favorable exchange last year which cleared me of 37.5% of a typical honors year workload. That's freed up much deeply-treasured time for lots of other things.

It hasn't been all roses though. My classes (especially the honors ones), while hardly as bad as i thought they would be, are still nevertheless a challenge (for one of my classes, i nearly freaked out when i entered the room early and lo and behold the lecturer was talking to one grad student in Mandarin - i immediately put my bag down and went outside to check the room number, and it was correct - but it turns out that he was only talking to the student in Mandarin cos i guess more efficient communication could then be carried out - the proceeding lecture, save for the occasional, incomprehensible cheng yu here and there, was thankfully in English). The future of any possible thesis looks as grim as ever since yours truly is too indecisive thus far to narrow down a topic in any way (although the deadline is still weeks away, i know i'll procrastinate heaps) And the other day, i got so tired after four days of continuous activity, late nights and early mornings, that i think my energy level just fluctuated downwards drastically, so for the first time in my living memory i skipped cg to just go home and rest. I guess it's still early days yet though, so there's the unavoidable slow adjustments that have to be made...

Revisiting Khao Lak

I've been meaning for a long time to talk a bit about my time in Thailand earlier in the break, and finally now provides the perfect brief repose between loads of stuff to do in order to write a bit yup so here goes...

Well just to clarify, while i did go up to Thailand, i did not step a single foot into Bangkok, a place that despite my more than two months in total spent in Thailand i have yet to really visit apart from Don Muang, and which i'm really in no hurry to visit either cos i'm not really a shopping person (or at least not there) and i'm not a fan of crowds or traffic too. And since those are the three things i immediately associate with Bangkok, there's no real reason for me to go there is there...

I also did not go to Phuket - while my flight did land there, upon landing Clement and i immediately went up to Khao Lak in Phang Nga province, about a 90 minute ride north of Phuket. Now, Khao Lak is far less of a tourist trap than Phuket will (hopefully) ever be, especially so in July, which is smack dab in the middle of the tourist off-season in Khao Lak; this suiting me and my aversion to huge crowds just fine.

Well, as you can see from the above picture, Khao Lak now has some form of a Tsunami evacuation system in place, and for good reason too. It was one of the worst-affected areas of the Thai Andaman coast during the Boxing Day Tsunami of 2004, with tourists and locals alike numbering in the thousands being killed, and is still in the process of recovery from that devastation really. As i was strolling along the beautiful expanse of beach, i came across several simple memorials to those whose lives were lost that day. And there are still several places in the area which have obviously not even been touched since the Tsunami hit - and hence they lie abandoned and overgrown with creepers.


Observe those waves (which look far tamer than they actually were). Now imagine wave upon wave countless times more powerful than those you see relentlessly pounding the coastline and all in its path. Can you? Well i could barely imagine it myself. But basically in considering that, i was reminded of the awesomeness of nature, and yet in fact that our God is the Lord and Master over it all. My room was facing the beach on the third floor, and Jeremy tells me that in fact the waves actually swept through the second floor, which is a good (but my estimation is bad) twenty meters above the sea level as i observed it. That's just mind-blowing man...

Well up till now recovery work has been steadily going on, and it appears as though within a year or two things should be back to the way that they were before. The human side of this tragedy did present itself to me, albeit in a truncated manner, during church on Sunday, which Jeremy brought us to. The female pastor was thanking a visiting mission team from NJ for coming and then she broke into tears, clearly deeply thankful for all the help that has poured in from abroad to the devastated Phang Nga area in the wake of the tsunami. That, i thought was part of the essence of being a Christian - to help out those in need, sharing the love of Christ as He once did and still does, be the recipients believers or otherwise, and all to His eternal glory...

Hmm now on to less weighty matters - i remember first tasting Thai-style ice cream during MEET last year, and i was hungry for more... Well, the perfect opportunity afforded itself on the first afternoon there when the ice cream man came by in his motorcycle. The beauty about this is that it's so simple - just Thai coconut/pandan/chocolate ice cream topping glutinous rice, peanuts and jelly - yet oh so delicious... And all that for just 10 Baht =)

I was also somewhat pleased with myself that my less-than-rudimentary command of Thai, almost totally acquired during MEET, did come in quite useful, especially when it came to ordering food (mee nam prik mai?). I always try not to draw too much attention to myself whenever i'm abroad, and speaking even a bit of Thai sure helps along that vein. It helped even more that i look more Thai than i ever did before for obvious reasons (or maybe not so much Thai as Muslim - that's what the immigration officer asked me...) so i could blend in a fair bit...


My (almost) life-long trepidation towards being bitten a leech, which has manifested itself ever since i watched Stand By Me, and which i had somehow escaped through two years of basically being at least knee-deep in water during NS, finally reached a head when we went to explore a local waterfall, which was a fairly long trek in to. By the time we made it back to the car, i had found a total of four leeches on my feet, with one of them (the one above) biting me for good measure. Um but obviously i wasn't too alarmed since i took the time to take a picture of it before it was plucked off. Heh well at least i can cross off getting bitten by a leech from my to-do list =p


So i've barely scratched the surface of what actually went on during this trip, and hence i've barely done it justice... But anyways i'm thankful for this trip for so many reasons - the friends, the sights (that's James Bond Island from The Man with the Golden Gun behind us btw), the food (phet mak mak) etc... And one other thing is that this trip was not of the usual touristy variety, but i got to see the social aspect of things there, for lack of a better term. The post-tsunami setting of the place somehow provided for me the perfect backdrop for a fruitful time spent with God, and i really dunno how to say more about it than that =)...

Nandito na kame (and i sincerely think that's wrong somewhere...)

Yup so i'm finally here, ten years after my last visit, and lots have changed since then, hardly the least of which is my appearance, which now looks much more local (i.e. Filipino) than at any other point in my life (and come to think of it, since i've been now identified as a Malay, a Thai, a 'non-Chinese', and a Filipino in Malaysia, Thailand, S'pore, and the Philippines respectively, i've more or less concluded that i'm acquiring more of a native Southeast Asian identity, and this at the expense of a Chinese one). The downside of it is that people talk to me in Tagalog and expect me to respond fluently when all i can do is shake my head and utter little token phrases like "wala" and "hindi pa." I'm almost tempted to utter something in my significantly better (ok, maybe that's pushing it a fair bit) command of Thai and hold on to whatever hope that they might speak that instead...

Hmm anyways i realize that there's so much i want to say here that has taken place ever since the month started, stuff regarding VCFFOC, Thailand trip, CGL Training etc; which i dunno when i'll get a chance to recall and subsequently to write about...

But anyways,while i can remember what i can remember about the Philippines, i'd better note it down while i have the chance to.

Eh actually there hasn't been much so far. Today i explored but a fraction of the countless number of really giant malls there are in the Metro Manila area. You think that vivocity is big? Well, then you haven't seen any one of a large handful of giant malls that connect with one another like one giant air-conditioned Orchard Road. There's another mall near where i am in QC that stands alone (ok not really there's an equally big SM next door that i haven't even been into) but definitely is bigger than vivocity already... And i've yet to go to SM MegaMall, the largest mall in Asia when i last was here; and SM Mall of Asia, the new holder of the title of the largest mall in Asia...

Currently i'm trying to plan for a trip up to the mountains. The rice terraces, to be exact. Now if you know me you'd know that planning of any sort is hardly my cup of tea. And now to make things even less comfortable for me i'm planning a trip for me and me alone - no co-traveller to shift the blame to or to commiserate over should anything go wrong. Of course thankfully i've some prior info and what not but still this is a monumental achievement for me, and hence if i really am able to pull this off, methinks i'm gonna be quite pleased with myself... However, that's a big IF, so i dunno how things will turn out in the end... So all i can say is, stay tuned...

this and that

In the mood for randomness so do bear with me...

Firstly, here's a couple of pics:


This was taken at last week's rooftop cg. We had a time of reflection on the sem past and then sharing with one another on those reflections. This is coming in very delayed, but well it took that reflection time for me to realize what a great blessing the cg has been for me not only this past sem, but ever since year one. Especially since i came back though. I guess that the fact that my sorta unique church situation has translated into a lack of any real permanence and rootedness for me with regards to church min at least up till this point has meant that the community that i've in cf and especially so in thursday cg becomes all the more important for me. Yup and if i've ever needed such a community before, i sure needed (and still need) it when i came back cos i was (and still am) rather disorientated and disjointed from S'pore and all the stuff that came along with it, and the cg has given back in ways that i never had fully appreciated (and perhaps still don't)... God's faithfulness to me through the cg has just been so wonderful - it's so humbling and tear-inducing come to think of it...


Um, ok so this is on a totally different subject - was just walking along engin bridge (btw engin bridge seems to be some kind of biodiverse hotspot by nus standards since on top of these cats i also found the giant spider - which is still there btw - over there) the other day when i came across this cat and its three kittens - and it was so cool cos although these are probably just common stray/feral cats it at that moment felt as though i was on some Serengeti expedition and before me was some rare species of small wild feline. So of course out came my camera and voila... Reminded me a bit of my UNC days when the mere sight of a squirrel would coax my camera out before i could say, erm well, "squirrel!". That of course was until i realized that there were squirrels everywhere over in the US, compared to S'pore when i spot one like once a year or so high up some tree... Not enough nuts in S'pore maybe...

As each day goes by, i've become more and more keen on staying on campus next year. It's a combination methinks of being spoilt last sem at UNC when both classes and downtown were a two-minute walk away from my room; honours year coming up which promises to be really busy, and tv mobile getting increasingly on my nerves by the second. Things should work out eventually i hope - nearly screwed up my application cos i keyed in an invalid email address - maybe it's a freudian slip that i attached my nus userid to the usual UNC email. Thankfully the relevant people got back to me so was able to rectify that...

I don't recall having started on revision proper more than a week before my first paper ever before. Somehow i ended up choosing classes that have their deadlines rather early, so actually had nothing else school-related to do but revise from as early as Wed (which i did, and am doing, but very slowly - but hey it's a start right...) That being said, as i've expressed to some random people, i'm prepared to see my grades drop somewhat this sem owing to various complicated reasons, but i know that whatever happens the Lord has been ever-faithful - and i'm thankful no matter what lah (Job 1:21 - "Blessed be Your Name" - comes to mind but i'd hardly think that in Job's situation i'd be as unflinching - was already sad when i lost my old nalgene...)

Will it stop raining here everyday already?

It seems that facebook is starting to catch on here eh - seems really different though from the good old days, so to speak, when i was still over there. And it makes me more sentimental for how things were like last time in a way - for me the primary reason why i have fb (and aim too, for that matter) when i eschew just about everything else is that it helps me to keep in touch with friends outside of S'pore, especially those back at Carolina... But, still i suppose that at the end of the day; plus ça change, c’est la même chose, n'est ce pas?

Some FAQs and then some...

FAQ #1: So did you really write in Chinese or use a translation program for your chinese post?

A: Well i won't lie - i used a translation program - haha you think my hua yu so good one ah? =p Anyways i dun even have any chinese writing software... That was just mid-project me being boliao. Anyways, just for fun, i retranslated what i posted back to English using the same program, and look what it turned up (the following is strictly cut-n-pasted from the program, didn't change it in any way...):

Heritage last week, I spent a lot of time to thinking of a lot of things. Part of the reason is many of the past week, I was not around. Many of these things anyway I went to what I thought, very disgusted with almost all things Chinese. I figured that Although I have a very bad words all this, I hate this way, when I started to learn from. This really should not do nothing to say. Therefore, I am determined to learn the language. The new part of the plan, Mine will be involved in this blog. From now on, every term of this blog will be written in Chinese. it is not easy, it is in the affirmative, But I think this is what I am doing. So I am sorry for all those who are unable to read. I do not like you were reading the blog. Well, if you have not realized this, however, This blog after the inspection date. Yes, today is April 1. happy fool's day! (by the way, I believe a lot of what is written on the no meaning here, For all-what it is to spend a whole week of work you have done tons) Goodbye, the pro -

So - my chinese name means 'the pro'? Seriously? Haha as you can see, the program isn't exactly state-of-the-art - which explains the confusing chinese post i ended up with that day (although in my defense, i did change it as best i could to make it more correct...)

FAQ #2: Why you wear so nice (on ft day)?

A: Cos ft was at lt29 and Ade Fam told us to wear warm clothes cos it would be freezing. No seriously, i had a group debate for hist tutorial. So there.

Anyways apologies to anyone who may have seen me last week and i like totally dao-ed them - wasn't in the best of moods - kind of an amalgamation of i-feel-like-being-alone, i've-lots-of-work-to-do, i-need-sleep-badly and i-need-to-spend-time-alone-with-God moods all rolled up into one - which made for a matt as friendly to people as Hugo Chavez would be to George W. Bush.

How sweet (literally too) of the graduating batch =)

But look what i had to do to prevent ants from finding and attacking my card...
Varnish junkies...

Along the same lines of nonsensical signs...

Huge spider i came across at engin bridge...
(Like the size of my palm huge - though i didn't dare bring it too close to compare =p)

Thank you FASS for inspiring such confidence in your 'humanitites' department...

On the way to school...

Heh Dan the similarity between your shots and mine is strictly coincidental =p
Anyways this is me waiting for debate group to arrive...

文物

过去一周,我花了很多时间思考很多事. 部分原因是我不在身边的许多过去一周.

反正 其中的许多事情是我是怎样思考我往,几乎都非常反感 跟中国的东西. 我计算过,我虽然有了一个很坏的言语 这一切,我讨厌这种方式,我是从什么时候开始学, 这真是不应该这样无话可说.

因此,我有决心学好华语. 这项新计划的一部分,将涉及本博客矿井. 从现在起,每一任本博客将写中文. 实在不容易,这是肯定的,但我觉得这是我做的. 所以对不起所有那些无法阅读, 仿佛你不会让我的博客被阅读了.

那好,如果你没有意识到这可是,这博客后检查日期.

不错,今天是四月一日. 快乐愚人节!

(由程,我相信有很多这里写了什么没有意义, 如有可言 - 这是什么花了整整一周的工作是否给你做吨)

再见, 亲光

cinderella man

Nice clouds that greeted me as i was leaving school on bus 10...

No i've not got a penchant for dancing at fancy balls while looking for my Prince Charming while wearing glass slippers, nor am i even remotely interested in boxing (what kind of a wimpy nickname for a boxer is "Cinderella Man" anyways?).

What i'm alluding to rather is my sleep patterns over the past week. After week upon week of struggling to get up by 6-ish on Mon and Tue so as to make it in time for a bit of prep before morning class, only to have the lack of sleep be redeemed over the rest of the week when i end up getting up around 8-ish or later (and subsequently only reach school between 10-12)cos i can't get myself to get up any earlier; i decided to revamp my sleep sched and see how things would go.

So to that end i spontaneously decided to sleep by midnight before every school day this past week (and "spontaneously" because it just so happened that i was so tired last Sunday night anyways so slept early to begin with...). The flipside of this though is that i had to wake up at 6am each morning so as to get a ride from my father halfway and eventually reach school by 7:45 latest. But in any case, an ensured 6 hours of sleep every single night for even five days in a row has been a rare occurrence as of late so i can't complain really... Furthermore, forcing myself to sleep by midnight means that i don't waste unnecessary time online each night till 2am or later, which is what i'd previously been doing a lot of, and the early mornings at school have meant more chance to quieten down in prep for the day ahead, not to mention to get to go for morning prayer again, which is something i've not been able to do (cos either have classes or am not in school yet) since week 4 methinks... Yup so hopefully i can continue at least somewhat along those lines for the rest of the sem to come...

In other random news i had the misfortune of sitting one of those 'new-generation' sbs buses when i took bus 30 back the other day. I sat myself upstairs and was enjoying the peace of a tv mobile-free cabin (btw the new ones all seem to not have tv mobile - could this be an acknowledgement from sbs transit that it fundementally sucks so they're not installing it on any more buses?) when suddenly i heard what i thought was some toot that was sampling every single ringtone that his/her cellphone had to often. I distinctly remember hearing at least two national anthems (God Save the Queen and Das Lied der Deutschland), not to mention, bizarrely enough, Silent Night, among other tunes that are best left forgotten. After a while, however, i realized that the timbre of the 'ringtone' matched that of the stop bell, then i put two and two together and figured out that annoying music would play whenever the rear passenger door was open. Can't figure out why they'd want to do such a stupid thing, but anyway all the more reason to use earplugs from now on i guess...

We had some kind of reunion thingy for
the S'pore people who were at NUS last sem...

Corny sia...
And the freaky thing is that i was actually the
first one to spot this sign and laugh at it...

말씀하시면

주님 말씀하시면 내가 나아가리다

주님 뜻이 아니면 내가 멈춰서리다

나의 가고 서는 것 주님 뜻에 있으니

오 주님 나를 이끄소서

주님 뜻하신 그곳에 나 있기 원합니다

이끄시는대로 순종하며 살리니

연약한 내 영혼 통하여 일하소서

주님 나라와 그 뜻을 위하여

오 주님 나를 이끄소서

ok, apart from the cheap thrill of posting in a foreign language with a foreign script, the lyrics of this song are really meaningful and relevant to me at this point in time - quick summary in English: "Lord, may i follow You in whatever i do"

Slipping off the Hill

Wow, i just had my first paper two days ago and today i'm already more or less done with them, save for the email-submission take-home paper that i'm still in the process of researching on. But knowing me, my desires to be done with this paper by say, tomorrow night, while very possible to be realized, will in all probability not come to pass, and i'll probably end up scrambling to finish the paper just before the deadline on Thursday, while at the same time frantically packing my bags before leaving for the airport.

Well anyways, i'd have to be honest and admit that i did not prepare for my papers as much as i'd ought to have. Thankfully things turned out for large part in my favor. For my Intro to American Government paper the prof had given us in advance four questions to prepare for of which he'd randomly choose two to field in the actual paper, and the two which did come out were those that i'd been better prepared for; while for my American Urbanization paper, one of the compulsory IDs that i had to do was one that the class had been discussing about just minutes before the start of the paper, so i was able to gather more about it than i otherwise might have had. And also enough IDs that i was more familiar with came out so this time i wasn't left grasping for straws like i was the last time... Yah actually come to think of it quite heng ah... Think God's telling me to be more on the ball next time...

Obviously Pilot G-2 ink doesn't sit well with exam writing paper...

And i know i've mentioned this before but i'll say it again, i've been inexplicably calm regarding the exam period. Yes of course the whole pass/fail + non-cumulative + low weightage power combo has in large part contributed to that, but still i can't believe how unworried i've been. Went to the High Point game on Saturday (just after my first paper) and judging from the poor attendance (like just more than half-full only!) it appears that the majority of UNC students do not share my calm demeanor... (Although, come to think of it, had we been playing a team like Ohio State instead on that date, rather than, pardon my saying this, a no-brainer game like High Point, think the Dean Dome would've been packed...) Well, at least i can tell the grandchildren that i was there for Roy William's 500th Division I win, and that the two whole seconds that i was distracted from the game just also happened to be the two whole seconds in which Tyler Hansbrough chose to score only his third three-pointer in his career - dang...

The final goodbyes have been coming in very rapidly as of late - just now had a dinner where i said goodbye to a whole host of people - sad lah - it's times like these that i wish that i'd open my inbox and receive an email from the relevant authorities approving me staying here for another sem (and pass/fail for yet another sem would be but an added bonus), but still at the end of the day i know the Lord has other plans for me back home, and his plans for me while i'm here are still ongoing too - and what's gone on so far has just been awesome. Ah, but guess it's hard to grasp the reality that in around 60 hours i'll leave the Hill almost for good (i mean, there's still the handful of days when i'm here in the new year, but doubt much can be done then...

As of late, i've come to the realization that (especially since i've been covering this in my linguistics course here) i've been un/subconsciously engaging in a great deal of code-switching while i've been here. When i talk to Americans it inevitably has a sort of American accent attached to it (a complete fake-o one, but an accent nevertheless), peppered with the usual Americanisms like "have a good one", "neat", "sweet" and "later". And of course things change once i speak to S'poreans again. I now do this automatically, such as how whenever i talk on the phone to an American, my accent automatically changes and anyone within earshot can guess i'm talking to an ang moh. In fact, rather alarmingly, when i've had to read something aloud, which has been the case several times during Bible study, i've tended to sound more American too - freaky - so my dear cg peeps, next sem if when i read a passage and sound somewhat suspect i give you the authority to offer me a stern rebuke haha... Ah and in any case, think my warped speech patterns when i return will make for an interesting linguistics research project - any takers =p?

And you know i'm one for remembering random dates - today's the five-year anniversary of my enlistment - eek.

Breaking the fourth...

Gosh these i-haven't-blogged-for-so-long-so-don't-mind-me-while-i-recall-all-that's-gone-on-since-goodness-knows-when entries seem to be becoming the norm with me...

Well the reason behind this is of course work. This past weekend has been just absolutely packed with readings and written responses to them. And furthermore, unlike how things tend to go back home (where i wholly deserve my plight of desperately seeking to complete my work on Sunday night because i would ignore it all the way up till that point), i actually was, by God's grace, granted the discipline to spread out my workload such that i was already started on today's work last Tuesday, which gave me almost a week's headstart. The sheer volume of the work meant however that i still ended up slaving away till the wee hours of Monday morning (i.e. this morning) finishing up my work. In fact, let me take that back, i even was slaving away on a piece of written work mere minutes before the class where i was supposed to hand it in started - such was the extent of the work that i had... I've never had the whites of my eyes continually bloodshot for so many days in succession before - kinda looked as if i was using... Yup so in case anyone was wondering why i've been relatively quiet as of late - it's cos of work... So if you've not received an email reply or anything like that, rest assured you'll hear from me shortly...

It's gotten a little frustrating cos i've really been trying to observe the Sabbath as much as possible while i'm here, but inevitably although i try hard to get everything done by Saturday the workload is always too great. This past Sunday because i'd woken up extra early (3am) to do work, i was really drained during service, and when i got back, i was confronted with even more work to do...

Anyways, this week's work is by and large behind me, as the whole chunk of it was due today. As a result, i'm already in a bit of a relaxed mood, cos this weekend i'm flying off on a pretty much last-minute trip to the D.C. area to visit my relatives and do whatever sightseeing that i can get done. At least i've been there before so i won't be like in a rush to see everything... And in the process i'll be - *gasp* - skipping classes for the first time ever since i've entered university. But anyways, we're all allowed a quota of 2-3 unused absences (isn't that just like the most wonderful thing? =p), and i've not made use of a single one of them as of yet so i'm not about to feel guilty about it...

And there really is so much stuff to do here, and not enough time to do it. For example this upcoming weekend since i'll be in D.C. i'll have to give the North Carolina State Fair a miss - and with it a chance to see Chris Tomlin live in concert for free, and be reminded of Ade Fam when he sings How Great is our God... And my places-to-visit-while-i'm-still-here list is getting bigger and bigger, rather than having me check off some places week by week...

Heard that the haze has gotten really bad over there... Well, over here, we had some hazardous chemicals plant explode around twenty miles or so due east from here in Apex, which released chlorine gas into the atmosphere and caused almost the entire town of 20000 or so people to be evacuated. It had no effect on us over here though...

A funny thing happened in class today - i was doing a class presentation for some readings when i struggled to find a word to describe a certain lack of organization. To my horror, the only word i could come up with was "luan(4)". So i think i gave the impression that English actually is my second language cos i was like, "hmm i don't know how to say the word in English... oh nevermind..." But then i said "luan(4)" just for good measure and apparently that was funny enough to warrant some laughter from the rest of the class - don't tell me that my Chinese pronunciation sounds funny even to them...

Ade, unfortunately this is the closest you'll get to having a pie sent back from here...

That ain't me...

Well just now when i was walking back to the room from the library along the road - it was past midnight mind you - this guy in a white pickup suddenly pulled up beside me and loudly cursed "f*** you, n*****!". Then he immediately sped off and that was the end of it - never even got a real look at the guy.

Of course initially i was a little shocked - then i prayed a blessing upon him (seriously) and laughed to myself, wondering if a) it was so dark that the guy didn't manage to take a good look at me before choosing his cuss words, b) the second cuss word has a broader meaning than what i had always thought it meant, c) the North Carolina sun has burnt me so much that i appear dark enough to have other people perceive that i'm of some other ethnicity...

Ah but more seriously - i wasn't like offended or anything (especially since the words don't appear to apply to me) - but still this has been my first overt encounter of anything of this sort since i've arrived here - i've experienced it before, yes, but never (albeit misdirected) verbal abuse - something to ponder over i guess...

Earlier today i had my xiong gender welfare class - which btw i almost never open my mouth at, mainly because my thought processes are so delayed that whatever i want to say gets mentioned before i can say it. Amusingly enough, my prof, this nice German lady asked why i wasn't talking more, especially when (and you have no idea how happy i was when i heard this) my written work was well-written. Then she remarked something to the effect of "but i suppose zat it is more difficult for you because of ze language barrier ya?" (ok she didn't say ya - i just added it in because it's like ten percent of the German that i know...) I immediately responded that no, English is my first language - though now methinks that maybe i should just have kept my mouth shut in order to use that as an excuse to keep quiet...

Shall be booking my tickets to Chicago shortly =)

Bojangles breakfast and beach bumming

Well, i've certainly been settling in fairly nicely so far, contagious diseases aside =p. The first three days have gone by fairly uneventfully, with the most significant stuff being that by God's grace i was able to get all my courses in the end. Of course that also means that i have quite a demanding semester ahead studies wise, cos my core courses especially (but the other two also) require quite a bit of reading and other stuff that is rather leceh by my standards (though for me practically any work is very leceh to begin with - it is really only by the grace of God that i get through each sem ( with this one definitely not being any exception).

To make matters more complicated, there also is involvement outside academic matters per se to bear in mind - involvement in IV or other Christian stuff, non-academic school-related stuff [on a whim (and a prayer) i auditioned for and ended up in a choir here - which i am quite excited about, though not about the added hours though], just plain slacking =p, and travel, which i really want to do a lot of, though with the limited time at hand i dunno what's possible (methinks i shall have to be more buay pai seh with respect to tompang other people's cars to wherever they may want to go...).

But anyhoos, yesterday and today involved getting involved in various activities organized by various Christian groups catering to new/international students. The whole way that things are done here is definitely something that i can take away lots from, with regards to the organization and the heart behind it. Of course there's still a long way to go (contagious diseases aside) so basically think that even apart from academics there's still a lot to learn...

Yesterday's activities consisted of an international students' welcome dinner by IV international, followed by bowling at the student union (yes, there's a fairly large bowling alley in school - which is really cool save for the fact that this is the first alley i've been to where you still have to write down the score on a piece of paper yourself) and dessert at Cold Stone Creamery (more ice cream, more good stuff). Now that's a lot of stuff for one evening alone - and i'll say it again, to have the tables turned, so to speak, where i'm now in the position of a blur new student who is quite unaware of what's really going on, and threfore in need of lots of guidance in part provided by helpful folk such as these, is a very humbling learning experience.

Today was really exciting - through the first (of many) ice cream social that i went for we (most of the NUS folk) signed up for a day trip to the beach - specifically Wrightsville Beach, just outside of Wilmington, NC (where they film Dawson's Creek and One Tree Hill - not that this matters anything at all to me - just a random fact) - a good three hours' drive away from Chapel Hill. Although it basically took up our whole saturday, it was definitely worth it.

After never having ever eaten it, and on the positive recommendations of several of the local UNC people here, i ate food from Bojangles twice today, as there's one at practically every I-40 pit stop between Chapel Hill and Wilmington, and therefore it's a logical choice for food - be it for breakfast on the way to the beach, or for dinner coming back from the beach. It definitely lived up to the positive reviews that i've heard, and i guess i'm glad that there isn't one too nearby where i stay, or i may be too frequent a customer there to the extent that i may put on too many pounds (cos whatever the food is, one thing that it certainly ain't is healthy).

And what blog post of mine would be complete without a matt-and-his-hopeless-mandarin story? This time what happened was that i was seated shotgun in the not-so-mini-van thingy that we sat to the beach and back, and one of the organizers, who also happened to be the driver; Chad, happened to be able to speak Mandarin (and he's a white American). So he was asking me some questions about Singapore in Mandarin, and i didn't know how to reply in the same language so i had to drop out and answer him in English instead - soooo paiseh i tell you...

Just experiencing the beach - which by far is the best beach i've ever been to (though i can only ever recall going to beaches in Singapore and a random few in Malaysia so that isn't much really - oh maybe Waikiki was better, but much more crowded and commercialized) was great in itself. God blessed us with perfect weather for a day out on the beach - sunny but not oppressive. There was more than enough space to just spread out a groundsheet and lie down and bake in the sun. The water was really salty, but was blue in colour (unlike much of the coastal water we get in S'pore - and as a former boat spec, think you cantake my word for it) and just the right temperature. Also, unlike the dirty sea water in S'pore, the water here did not dry leaving a sticky feeling all over, which makes me wonder (but not want to know) what extra additives (or more specifically, pollutants) are located inside S'porean sea water hmm... The waves were strong enough for us to ride them for quite a distance, yet not overpowering to the extent that we were dragged out. And of course, the people met and conversations had throughout the course of today (as well as whatever other events that i've attended) are just sweet. Aiyah, so basically it was great lah - i just hope that i'm not too burnt after today.

For beach and other pics, as usual click on "US PICS" over there =======>

School's in

Gosh things have been moving so fast over the past week, and suddenly classes are finally starting - so this is it - pass or fail time hehe =p

But seriously, i'm pretty much still motivated to put in at least a respectable amount of effort into this sem, especially since i'm doing rather high-level stuff for my history courses (apparently "module" is not a word very familiar to people over here, along with "toilet", "queue" and "lift" - the American translations are "washroom", "line" and "elevator" respectively) and if i don't put in effort i may seriously catch no ball (translation: "have no clue whatsoever") with regards to the course.

I initially had problems with my courses cos due to some miscommunication our modules (oops!) were registered wrongly and so we've been in the process of trying to fix things... Thankfully, i'm left with only one more course to add. My current schedule without that course added is free on Tuesdays and Thursdays, though that means a really busy Monday and Wednesday especially (thankfully Friday's still relatively ok - free after two pm - if there's a chance to sneak off to travel over the weekend that would be great...)

I'd like to think that i've gradually become more accustomed to life over here - i now automatically look left first, rather than right, before crossing the road and therefore run less of a risk of being the front page news on the following day's Daily Tar Heel; and i no longer point excitedly and go "Hey look - squirrel!" like the typical urban Singaporean (whatever the opposite of suaku is, that's the word to use) would do whenever i see one, since i see about three a day now...

Hooray for God's provision: i was wondering what to do for dinner cos i didn't buy the meal plan here cos it is excrutiatingly expensive - then at just the right moment two Campus Crusade guys knocked on my door and offered me some pizza - that was pretty neat...

Yup this post is uncharacteristically short for me - but oh well, must sleep early for school =)

nitey.

empty tank

Well frankly it's been a rather tiring couple of days, and once again i can't really recall a lot of what has happened, but allow me to try and recap some things that methinks are worth mentioning.

Am pretty tired now cos it was a long day - beginning more than eighteen hours ago when i woke up to be fetched to the airport to send my mother off back to S'pore and then head off to church with Brian and Lani, after which i'd head back to the room before heading off for another international student event, this time an ice cream social organized by a campus Christian ministry group (one of at least a dozen) here, then back to the room for a while to relax for a bit before a short meeting for all the guys on my floor, followed by more time in the room before heading out for Fall Fest '06. Yup so many things - and before classes proper have even started i'm like sapped of energy...

So after two-and-a-half weeks, my mother flew back this morning. I've been reflecting a lot upon how i've been really blessed to have my parents around here for a while, in spite of my whinings about wanting to travel alone. Yup, they've indeed been an invaluable help to me in helping me to settle in. Additionally, the Lord has placed so many connections in my path to help make things easier for me during my time here - such as family friends staying in convenient locations that facilitate easier travel and shopping while on the West Coast, and Brian, Lani and the Tans here in Chapel Hill too - i guess that my tendency is always to take all of these, in particular my parents for granted, but think that the realization that i won't be having them around for more than four times longer than the next longest period of time that i have not had them around really struck me - yup the love shown to me that ultimately comes from God is just so wonderful and humbling at the same time. Meanwhile, i'm crossing my fingers that United won't make it a hat trick and make another blunder with her baggage while they're being moved from plane to plane.

My third church service in the US in three weeks took place at New Hope Church, which is Brian and Lani's church. It was in its own way both similar yet different from the other two churches - for example, the songs were all familiar to me, but one of them happened to be familiar to me as a pop song - Drift Away - which was reworded into a Christian song, while another one was a pop song - Born to be Wild - so that was interesting to say the least... The message itself was good. I'd definitely say that all the three churches i've visited so far won't have anything too similar back in S'pore. Hope that in the very near future, as i prayerfully see how at least one or two other churches are like i'll be able to settle on a church to attend regularly for the next few months - i want to see what a few more are like first before coming to a decision...

The ice cream social was interesting too - reminded me a bit of IFG activities in its purpose - yup was a refreshing experience to be involved in a role reversal of sorts from last time during prc stuff. And what many people say is true - though it's still way in the beginning of my time here i understand a bit more where the general international student is coming from in terms of a certain blurness with what is going on and how any help offered to them is greatly appreciated =) (yes yes i know that the last statement will bring a smile to the faces of IFG members...)

Fall Fest basically serves the same purpose that matric fair does in nus, but the similarity ends there. Honestly, having been involved in matric fair planning before, nus could learn heaps and heaps and heaps from how they do things here. They closed down a whole street on campus for the fest, served up loads of yummy free food (now i regret not eating more...), had funky official hours of 9pm to 2am and had many interesting entertainment options like a marching band and a live band. The whole atmosphere was great - matric fair bites the dust in comparison - though because of my claustrocrowdophobia i didn't last too long there cos there seriously were too many people there for me so i headed back to my room after just more than an hour. But managed to get a better impression of what's going on here, particularly with the two areas of interest for me - singing groups (though i think that after six years my sight-singing seriously cannot make it, nor can time that i can commit) and of course campus ministries (of which as i mentioned there were just soooo many - including, to my surprise, a Christian fraternity and sorority - hmm).

I took quite a few not-so-good pictures, but as i seriously am tired here - do just look at them once i upload them there =======> at the "US PICS" link. Thanks.

Random thingy of the day: today i met two French speakers during my interactions with people - unfortunately i could not get up my confidence level in the language to say more than "je parle un petit peu le Français" - i only speak a bit of French.

Random thingy of the day #2: it was pretty funny just now during the ice cream social to see how one of the volunteers from the campus ministry (an English major, no less) was so intrigued by our (some of the Singaporeans) impromptu conversation in Singlish at her request - she could not understand what we were saying at all - haha...

Back to front

Well thankfully after less than four hours (as compared to the four days it took for my baggage to return to me when i was in Portland) we managed to get all four pieces of baggage back safely and without anything missing (i suspect that a twelve-pack of alkaline batteries for my camera that i had stored in my lost baggage was taken by someone - unless i am a total toot and the batteries are sitting pretty somewhere in my room at home now - and that is a very distinct possibility). But in order to get the bags we had to drive back to RDU (Raleigh-Durham Airport) from the house we are staying in mere hours after arriving there from the airport in the first place - but the alternative would have been to wait for four more hours (after one am even) to get the bags delivered to our doorstep. Whatever it is, i'm thankful that the bags are back, and that our hosts here are so hospitable and accomodating to bring us here and there.

So tomorrow's when i'm supposed to move into my dorm - quite blur as to how the whole process will turn out - and since the past two days have been so topsy-turvy and there are so many things to recount, i shall attempt to do so from the most recent events back - memento style, for the sake of better recollection.

Well, firstly, now that i'm here, just to let you all note that the time difference now is a very convenient twelve hours- which means whatever time it's here in pm, it's there in am and vice versa - a very simple formula, at least until daylight saving time comes into effect...

The baggage incident was quite annoying, both because ALL of our baggage did not turn up at the baggage claim (unlike the first time when only my most unimportant baggage went missing), and there were many other passengers on the flight who were in the same boat as us (and considering that the plane in total sat less than a hundred people, the baggage handlers at Dulles missed out a sizeable portion of the baggage... Well at least it's found =l

The whole plane journey from San Francisco to RDU via Washington Dulles was rather uneventful (until the end when the missing baggage more than made up for the uneventful journey) The ride from Dulles to RDU was especially strange since we spent more time waiting in the stationary plane and taxiing around the runway than we did in the air itself - you would have thought that with so much extra time to kill they could have double-checked the baggage to make sure that all the passengers' bags were on board...

The time in the transit area was pretty uneventful - have been to the San Francisco United domestic transit terminal so many times that there's nothing new to see - i paid another visit to the familiar face from See's Candies - yup she still was there - it seems that no matter what time i go past the store over the past three years she's there

She's the one on the left, btw

Security wasn't that big of a deal as i thought that it would be - yes they were repeating ad nauseaum about the no liquids and gels thingy, but the screening process itself was pretty much the same as it was before - the security guy was a friendly chap who said that he stayed in S'pore for a few years and is doing the security job as a summer break from his day job as a lecturer at UC Berkeley - cool stuff...

We got to the airport at around 2am - and the flight was only at 7:54 - so there was basically a lot of waiting around - really dull stuff - the highlight perhaps was the midnite to four am two footlong subs at $9.99 offer - but the subs weren't that good - think that the sandwich artist was as sleepy as i was...

Took a bus from the greyhound station to the airport - thankfully we met this kind lady who was very helpful in giving us directions. My mother also asked the many Filipinos around for help - it's marvellous what using the right language can do for you - much more than what milo could ever do...

The greyhound ride was better than the previous one i took - still lots of opportunity to observe the people around and reflect upon how blessed i've been (and therefore how much is expected from me), but it was four, as opposed to eighteen hours long, so more tahan-able i guess... One funny thing that happened was that two Mandarin-speakers were asking the people across the aisle from them whether they had reached their stop yet - but since they could not speak English and the other people obviously could not speak Mandarin, there was no success there. In stepped me with six words that would go a long way to make things easier for us all - "hai2 mei2 dao4, xia4 yi4 zhan4" - the Chinese man responded with grateful thanks, and i wished that my p5 Chinese teacher who kept on scolding me wang2 ba1 dan4 last time was there for me to gloat at him =p

The whole time in Fresno was a good time of relaxation for me, since most of the time we stayed in. Although i normally am not one for going to the same place only a year after visiting it previously, thought that it was a time well-spent nevertheless.

Of all the shows to chance upon while channel surfing in Fresno...

Nope, can't think of a title again...

Today saw a little less slacking on my part, since it was Sunday, so we went to church - the church some of the extended family (who stay almost next door, in typical Asian fashion) of our host go to. It's called People's Church, and though the name of the church may sound a little left-leaning, rest assured there were no tyrannical goofy-looking Pastors that hold absolute control over the church nor a congregation that were goose-stepping while waving flags and pictures of their dear leader around. In fact, there was a very convivial atmosphere there, and i would have felt right at home, if not for the fact that i didn't really think about a dress code save for wearing long pants, only to arrive there and find almost every single member of the male gender there (except for a token child or adolescent, oh and me too) wearing a collared shirt of some kind, even if they were wearing berms. So i spent a good portion of the service scanning around the sanctuary looking for other dress code offenders - hmmm...

The service itself was contemporary but definitely not even bordering the more charismatic jumpy style. The worship itself was done on a very big scale - the team consisted of ten to fifteen people standing in a row across the whole stage à la the "Seasons of Love" scene in Rent, supported by a full choir, all the usual musicians, plus a full orchestra, all except the ten to fifteen people being visible somewhat in the picture below (the ten to fifteen people are not there cos i took this photo after worship - in fact this photo is so badly taken cos i quickly sneaked my camera out, took a snap, and immediately stuffed my camera back in my bag again - the last thing i wanted to do was to draw further attention to the collarless shirt guy...)

In any case, i had a blessed time at the service - though the duration (which like last week's church, was all of one hour and ten minutes) was something that i'm still not used to. The worship and the message were both very evangelical - none of that superficial fluff which sadly does come up now and then in other places... Yup more pictures and details of the church can be found there =======> cos they take forever to upload here, and i also don't want to say the same things twice...

After the service, we went to the mall for the afternoon - i spent much of my time there walking up and down, browsing through the various stores, wondering whether to buy this or that but in the end only buying a couple of small items. Walking along the boys' department at the various department stores, i observed that by implication my size in the US is still that of a boy - since a good portion of the clothes there can fit me (and in fact i have bought such clothes recently, but i refrained this time)

Walking through the mall has all but confirmed in me the fact that i'm starting to sound more and more American. For example when i hold the door for someone and they say "thank you" i no longer respond with "you're welcome" but now with "yerrr wellcum" or something to that effect. And when i accidentally brush against someone it's no longer "sorry" that i utter but rather "sahrry"... And i no longer "queue up" or take the "lift" - now i "join the line" and take the "elevator". Basically, i consciously can take note of whenever i subconsciously speak American. I suppose that it's inevitable in a sense because if i do not converge with the predominant accent, i may not be understood - you can talk about asserting your S'porean identity all you want, but if the folks around you don't understand you, how will you get by? So i have a feeling that by the end of these few months i may sound more and more American and hence become one of those fake-os whom i always frowned upon last time because of their atrociously affected accents...

I had forgotten to mention that the day before yesterday, we got lost driving around downtown Fresno trying to locate the Greyhound station to buy tickets to San Francisco. And it was at night too. I tell you during the more than half an hour driving around, i saw so many 'colourful' sights it disturbed me. (FYI, according to the ever-dependable wikipedia Fresno is the city with the most concentrated level of poverty in the US - so you get the idea of what i saw) That has further got me thinking on these issues and how to react to them as a Christian, specifically in the near future while i am still here (and i hear that some of the neighbourhoods relatively near UNC are of the same pattern as what we have in Fresno)

My host's daughter, who's also my friend from my previous church, is now in Mexico for exchange too - and guess what - her baggage got lost by United Airlines as well - and it hasn't been recovered yet - so that's in total the fourth story i've heard of UA doing so already... Hmm so in the future, should i still fly the friendly skies?

Since much of my time here has been spent slacking and eating, i've been putting on weight - and i haven't even started school yet! This i suppose is part of the reason behind weird thing about me #6... But anyways, looks like i'll really have to find some form of exercise once i get to school...

Tomorrow i take the Greyhound again - this time a much more manageable close-to-five-hour ride to San Francisco, where the flight to school *typing of post interrupted by farny skype call from Daniel n Mei Si plagued by background noise and a poor connection* will be from. Now with those new anti-terror guidelines i can't bring any liquids on board the passenger cabin, which is of little significance to me except that i'll be pestering the flight attendant for water very often. I wonder if people will now look back at that old Clairol Herbal Essences ad with the lady making "Yes, yes!" noises while shampooing her hair in the plane lavatory with nostalgia...

Heard the Matt Redman song again on the radio today - think it's on it's way to becoming one of my favourites - hooray for biblical lyrics =)