I come to the garden alone
While the dew is still on the roses
And the voice I hear, falling on my ear
The Son of God discloses
And He walks with me
And He talks with me
And He tells me I am His own
And the joy we share as we tarry there
None other has ever known
He speaks and the sound of His voice
Is so sweet the birds hush their singing
And the melody that He gave to me
Within my heart is ringing
And He walks with me
And He talks with me
And He tells me I am His own
And the joy we share as we tarry there
None other has ever known
I'd stay in the garden with Him
'Tho the night around me be falling
But He bids me go; through the voice of woe
His voice to me is calling
And He walks with me
And He talks with me
And He tells me I am His own
And the joy we share as we tarry there
None other has ever known
- Words and Music by Charles Austin Miles, 1913
I first rechanced (for lack of the proper word) upon this hymn after a long time, at the wake service for my ex-teacher's mother. This apparently was one of her favourite hymns, and Mr Ong sang it to the people at the wake in memory of her.
Well, this hymn has stuck in my mind for some reason, and today i finally managed to find the time to look up a little of the background behind this song, which may be read in full at this website.
It never occured to me that this hymn was inspired by Mary Magdelene's encounter with the resurrected Jesus outside the garden tomb... But anyway, i think it's good to sometimes look beyond the hymn, the nice melody and cheery 6/8 time signature and the happy words, and see what the inspiration was that led the songwriters to write that hymn... In any case, i more or less concur with the author's stand on the hymn...
I do think that having the opportunity to just walk and talk with our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, and later to do His bidding in spite of what it may mean for us, solely out of love for Him, is really something that i desire in my own spiritual life, to truly be intimate with God, and to be obedient to His call. 1 Samuel 15:22 says "to obey is better than sacrifice." I thank God for the challenge to obey.
Thursday, June 30, 2005
Wednesday, June 29, 2005
hugging the eastern coast
In the light of certain recent developments, which have compelled me to get off my butt and try to lead a healthy and active lifestyle, this afternoon i decided to take a little cycling trip, covering a loop of sorts around the beautiful (well as beautiful as it could get, at least) area of our sunny island known as the east.
More specifically, i decided to boldly try what i have never tried before, which is to more or less cycle through all three of the major coastal parks in the eastern area, namely Pasir Ris Park, Changi Coast Park, and of course the old favourite, East Coast Park. [inspired somewhat by the recent trip to the states, whereby the tour covered several beautiful national parks - far more beautiful than anything that could be conjured up here] So in other words, i cycled around the whole perimeter of the eastern part of the island (or at least as much as was possible - no way i could enter into Changi Naval Base, for example...)
Anyway, as always, it looked so much easier on the silly mighty minds street directory. Furthermore, i have cycled most of the route before, just that i have done it in sections, and never all at one go, so in other words, i was merely cycling past chartered and familiar territory.
The actual thing, of course turned out to be both very long and very tiring, [i'm horrible at estimation but i figured i must have cycled at least 21 km, cos i cycled for more than three hours, and as far as i can remember, i completed the army half marathon (twice, but eons ago, when i still was fit) in 2 hours 45 minutes - cycling would cover a greater distance than running] but thank God, i am still in one piece to report the whole event now (though i have a feeling that tomorrow i'll be waking with stiff and aching legs, and wincing at every step take down and up the stairs)
This of course, sadly only marks the beginning of the long and arduous quest to pass ippt before my birthday... I still have to get around to starting to (try to) run again, in preparation of the 2.4. Gosh, i feel winded just typing that down :(
If i may borrow a quote from Bette Davis' character in 'All About Eve', "Fasten your seatbelts, it's gonna be a bumpy ride..."
More specifically, i decided to boldly try what i have never tried before, which is to more or less cycle through all three of the major coastal parks in the eastern area, namely Pasir Ris Park, Changi Coast Park, and of course the old favourite, East Coast Park. [inspired somewhat by the recent trip to the states, whereby the tour covered several beautiful national parks - far more beautiful than anything that could be conjured up here] So in other words, i cycled around the whole perimeter of the eastern part of the island (or at least as much as was possible - no way i could enter into Changi Naval Base, for example...)
Anyway, as always, it looked so much easier on the silly mighty minds street directory. Furthermore, i have cycled most of the route before, just that i have done it in sections, and never all at one go, so in other words, i was merely cycling past chartered and familiar territory.
The actual thing, of course turned out to be both very long and very tiring, [i'm horrible at estimation but i figured i must have cycled at least 21 km, cos i cycled for more than three hours, and as far as i can remember, i completed the army half marathon (twice, but eons ago, when i still was fit) in 2 hours 45 minutes - cycling would cover a greater distance than running] but thank God, i am still in one piece to report the whole event now (though i have a feeling that tomorrow i'll be waking with stiff and aching legs, and wincing at every step take down and up the stairs)
This of course, sadly only marks the beginning of the long and arduous quest to pass ippt before my birthday... I still have to get around to starting to (try to) run again, in preparation of the 2.4. Gosh, i feel winded just typing that down :(
If i may borrow a quote from Bette Davis' character in 'All About Eve', "Fasten your seatbelts, it's gonna be a bumpy ride..."
Tuesday, June 28, 2005
saving bus money
Had to go over to Hannah's house in Sixth Avenue area just now for arts comm meeting, and after scrutinizing all the bus routes available from my house in the bus guide, i decided to save money by taking one direct bus instead of two, the trade-off being that i'd have to walk for fifteen or so minutes from my house to the bus stop that fell on the 'direct' bus route.
I actually even went to the stage of checking the number of fare stages each journey had to see which made the most monetary sense, and since it turns out that in the end i could take either one of two direct buses, i first made sure that even though one route was longer than the other, that the price i would have to pay through ez link would be the same for either, since a certain fare covers a certain range of fare stages. (If anyone reading this hasn't got a clue what i am talking about, well, i was feeling the same way earlier today, which was why i was preoccupied with the silly bus guide for the longest time...)
All this basically boils down to the fact that bus fares, which i had taken for granted last time thanks to the humble student transitlink card (yes, it was still those floppy plastic cards with a picture of an insect on one side and a pink background with rules and regulations on the other, complete with the small hole that was used during, ahem, my time) now weigh much more on my mind than ever before, thanks in no small part to the fact that, for the first time since i was no longer eligible for those 45 cent bus rides, i have to commute a significant distance on a regular basis between my house and somewhere... At least the bulk of my army life was spent in a camp that was thankfully near my house. But now, it's a daily long $1.43 ride from my house to NUS, and even now in the holidays, i find myself commuting long distances again for events such as the one today. And since it's the holidays, i don't want to buy the horribly-priced $52 bus pass, for fear of under-utilising it. Otherwise, i'd be taking the bus for even the smallest of journeys, like from forum bus stop to kent ridge terminal, just to make my money's worth... Haha...
I actually even went to the stage of checking the number of fare stages each journey had to see which made the most monetary sense, and since it turns out that in the end i could take either one of two direct buses, i first made sure that even though one route was longer than the other, that the price i would have to pay through ez link would be the same for either, since a certain fare covers a certain range of fare stages. (If anyone reading this hasn't got a clue what i am talking about, well, i was feeling the same way earlier today, which was why i was preoccupied with the silly bus guide for the longest time...)
All this basically boils down to the fact that bus fares, which i had taken for granted last time thanks to the humble student transitlink card (yes, it was still those floppy plastic cards with a picture of an insect on one side and a pink background with rules and regulations on the other, complete with the small hole that was used during, ahem, my time) now weigh much more on my mind than ever before, thanks in no small part to the fact that, for the first time since i was no longer eligible for those 45 cent bus rides, i have to commute a significant distance on a regular basis between my house and somewhere... At least the bulk of my army life was spent in a camp that was thankfully near my house. But now, it's a daily long $1.43 ride from my house to NUS, and even now in the holidays, i find myself commuting long distances again for events such as the one today. And since it's the holidays, i don't want to buy the horribly-priced $52 bus pass, for fear of under-utilising it. Otherwise, i'd be taking the bus for even the smallest of journeys, like from forum bus stop to kent ridge terminal, just to make my money's worth... Haha...
Monday, June 27, 2005
sightseeing in my own backyard
After church today i went to meet up with two old choir friends. There was Denise Fam, who just came back from U Nottingham (i know there's a forest and a sherriff there somewhere) on holiday, and whom i haven't seen in a year, and Victor who has been back from McGill, also on holiday, and whom i had not seen for at least two years, up until recently, when i saw him at NUS (twice) cos he's now attached to East Asia Institute, which is located on campus.
So we met up and went to eat at Simply Bread, which is owned by the Fambot's sister... Never eaten there before, but now i wish i had, cos the food there was really delicious. The grilled ham and cheese sandwich was, i think, the best i've ever tasted, and the bread was so well toasted that it even managed to burn the roof of my mouth (but since it was so good i kept on eating, letting my mouth burn some more)...
Then after that, we decided to walk down the Singapore River (we were originally at Robertson Quay) all the way to City Hall. On the way we passed by the Armenian Church of St. Gregory the Illuminator... Of course, with it being such an important tourist attraction, since it is the oldest church in Singapore, i still have to admit that i have never stepped foot in the place before... Quite an interesting and quaint place, actually...
Which now gets me thinking, isn't it the case so often that it's the things that are nearest you that you never get to experience? Just like how all those tourists visit attractions such as the zoo and birdpark etc, which many Singaproeans haven't seen in years (myself included). Or even when it comes to stuff like good food. I always cite the example of myself only eating the real Katong Laksa twice in my life, although it is all of two minutes from my house, once being when i first moved in, and the other being when VCF Arts Comm held a meeting at my house and wanted to eat something famous... Or when i was still in Seletar Camp, how i only ate the Jalan Kayu Prata, just at the camp's doorstep, once in all my one and three quarter years there.
But of course, this isn't a phenomenon limited to Singaporeans. When i was in San Francisco last month, there was i taking a ferry to Alcatraz with my parents (who had already been there once before), while just before that on the Greyhound up to San Francisco, my mother was talking to a sixtyish year old woman who lives just a couple of hours away (near by American standards) but has never been to Alcatraz in her life (of course, her lifetime also included the time when it still was a notorious prison, so maybe that isn't entirely a bad thing haha)
So we met up and went to eat at Simply Bread, which is owned by the Fambot's sister... Never eaten there before, but now i wish i had, cos the food there was really delicious. The grilled ham and cheese sandwich was, i think, the best i've ever tasted, and the bread was so well toasted that it even managed to burn the roof of my mouth (but since it was so good i kept on eating, letting my mouth burn some more)...
Then after that, we decided to walk down the Singapore River (we were originally at Robertson Quay) all the way to City Hall. On the way we passed by the Armenian Church of St. Gregory the Illuminator... Of course, with it being such an important tourist attraction, since it is the oldest church in Singapore, i still have to admit that i have never stepped foot in the place before... Quite an interesting and quaint place, actually...
Which now gets me thinking, isn't it the case so often that it's the things that are nearest you that you never get to experience? Just like how all those tourists visit attractions such as the zoo and birdpark etc, which many Singaproeans haven't seen in years (myself included). Or even when it comes to stuff like good food. I always cite the example of myself only eating the real Katong Laksa twice in my life, although it is all of two minutes from my house, once being when i first moved in, and the other being when VCF Arts Comm held a meeting at my house and wanted to eat something famous... Or when i was still in Seletar Camp, how i only ate the Jalan Kayu Prata, just at the camp's doorstep, once in all my one and three quarter years there.
But of course, this isn't a phenomenon limited to Singaporeans. When i was in San Francisco last month, there was i taking a ferry to Alcatraz with my parents (who had already been there once before), while just before that on the Greyhound up to San Francisco, my mother was talking to a sixtyish year old woman who lives just a couple of hours away (near by American standards) but has never been to Alcatraz in her life (of course, her lifetime also included the time when it still was a notorious prison, so maybe that isn't entirely a bad thing haha)
Saturday, June 25, 2005
Six months to Christmas!
And this date also marks Nana's birthday! So just now made the short walk up from my house/church with some other church people to Sheena a.k.a. Nana's 20th birthday party at her house along Dunman/Haig Road. Such a nice (my vocabulary is failing me) place, literally steps away from the swimming pool, which even comes complete with a jacuzzi! Oh, i can just imagine in the heat of the day how tempting seeing the cool blue waters of the pool just inches away from you on the other side of the door would be... I'd be inside before i knew it...
But i digress, anyway, it was really great to catch up with some of the St. Hilda's people after a somewhat prolonged period of merely making guest appearances at church events, which started somewhat about a month ago when i flew off for holiday, and has continued up till now, and perhaps even after school starts again, due to other commitments that i have made, primarily with VCF activities, which has meant being able to miss church events like the recent Soul Revolutions youth conference, the Power of the Witness seminar, and last night's havoc overnight movie marathon (which was quite hmm for me to miss, considering that i was practically sleeping next door...) due to timetable clashes, as well as just plain tiredness.
Of course i do realise that VCF activities should in no way be seen as replacing church activities, on the contrary the church ought to be the primary source of spiritual feeding, in my opinion. At the same time, however, i do believe that the Lord has led me to VCF and involvement in all these various activities (FOC,Matric,CGL...) for a reason, and i thank God for the affirmation that he has given me to counter any lingering doubts that i may have had, through being able to experience the joy of service. Additionally, the windows that He has opened for service have largely been on the VCF, rather than on the church side of things, and i believe that the Lord has wanted me to take them in faith.
So, here i stand at a point where i realise that i may be spending less time with church activities. But what is more important is that He be glorified in whatever i do. I pray that that may be so, Lord. Amen.
But i digress, anyway, it was really great to catch up with some of the St. Hilda's people after a somewhat prolonged period of merely making guest appearances at church events, which started somewhat about a month ago when i flew off for holiday, and has continued up till now, and perhaps even after school starts again, due to other commitments that i have made, primarily with VCF activities, which has meant being able to miss church events like the recent Soul Revolutions youth conference, the Power of the Witness seminar, and last night's havoc overnight movie marathon (which was quite hmm for me to miss, considering that i was practically sleeping next door...) due to timetable clashes, as well as just plain tiredness.
Of course i do realise that VCF activities should in no way be seen as replacing church activities, on the contrary the church ought to be the primary source of spiritual feeding, in my opinion. At the same time, however, i do believe that the Lord has led me to VCF and involvement in all these various activities (FOC,Matric,CGL...) for a reason, and i thank God for the affirmation that he has given me to counter any lingering doubts that i may have had, through being able to experience the joy of service. Additionally, the windows that He has opened for service have largely been on the VCF, rather than on the church side of things, and i believe that the Lord has wanted me to take them in faith.
So, here i stand at a point where i realise that i may be spending less time with church activities. But what is more important is that He be glorified in whatever i do. I pray that that may be so, Lord. Amen.
The peril of predictive text messaging
was rather amusingly pointed out to me yesterday just before the cg dinner that we had last night... As has already been established, it was meant to be a pot sharing event, where most of us were obliged to bring something [As usual, despite it appearing that we did not have enough food, we ended up with loads of leftovers, as all of these type of dinners normally do, but that's another story].
So, sometime earlier in the day, Meisi (don't kill me if you are reading this...) messaged me with this - "Hey i asked Adrian to bring utensils and slaves". I looked at the message and immediately knew that it must be the workings of predictive text messaging and the failure to check before sending... Now, if for a VCF dinner, we were to bring our own slaves along, that would certainly make for a very interesting event...
In any case, as you can probably gather by now (as i did after carefully examining my keypad for the grouped-together letters, Meisi did actually mean plates, and not slaves...
And this is not the first time this has happened. I remember a couple of years ago when my brother was arriving late for a dinner at some Cantonese noodle place, so he messaged me and asked me to order for him smart dual noodles. Then, of course, i was less initiated, and did not know what in the world he wanted to order. Brain food? Do smart people require a double portion? It was only after he arrived and asked where his food was that i realised he had meant roast duck noodles.
And in short, this is why, unlike most people, i always use the other form of smsing (the press 1,2,3 times depending on the letter kind - is there a proper term for that?) It can be torture on the thumbs, but is more reliable for me... No need to check the screen for any embarassing typos too...
So, sometime earlier in the day, Meisi (don't kill me if you are reading this...) messaged me with this - "Hey i asked Adrian to bring utensils and slaves". I looked at the message and immediately knew that it must be the workings of predictive text messaging and the failure to check before sending... Now, if for a VCF dinner, we were to bring our own slaves along, that would certainly make for a very interesting event...
In any case, as you can probably gather by now (as i did after carefully examining my keypad for the grouped-together letters, Meisi did actually mean plates, and not slaves...
And this is not the first time this has happened. I remember a couple of years ago when my brother was arriving late for a dinner at some Cantonese noodle place, so he messaged me and asked me to order for him smart dual noodles. Then, of course, i was less initiated, and did not know what in the world he wanted to order. Brain food? Do smart people require a double portion? It was only after he arrived and asked where his food was that i realised he had meant roast duck noodles.
And in short, this is why, unlike most people, i always use the other form of smsing (the press 1,2,3 times depending on the letter kind - is there a proper term for that?) It can be torture on the thumbs, but is more reliable for me... No need to check the screen for any embarassing typos too...
Friday, June 24, 2005
aches and pains and potato refrains
So after my last post i decided to do some form of token exercise so that i could, at the least tell myself that i have made some form of effort, hence i decided to do at least thirty push-ups every day...
Well, at least, that was my plan. I had intended to revive this old exercise regimen that i last did around the start of the year for some strange reason that now evades me. Anyway, with much difficulty (and rest in between), i was able to do thirty on wednesday. I thought to myself, ok, still can manage lah, hopefully i can continue this till ippt so that at least i will be able to pass pull-ups...
Then i woke up yesterday morning only to be greeted by muscle/bone (i can't tell the difference) aches and pains in my shoulders... Was it because i forgot how to do push-ups properly? Was it because i am not taking enough calcium? Nope, i figure that most probably, it's because i've been slacking off for the longest time... Bleah... So in short, yesterday i only did TEN before giving up for the day... Aiyah, like that how can?
Oh gosh, anyway, this exercise thingy had better be something i maintain if i want to clear ippt, so in other words i have to bear with the pain... I definitely don't want to unneedingly sacrifice precious time to undergo rt. I did enough of that sort of thing at PTP (and hence enlisted less than a week after prom - sobs)... I know this sounds quite masochistic, but actually when i was in ptp bmt, it wasn't that bad in the sense that there was someone to tekan you to get fit, so you had no choice... Even with my entire upper (and lower) body in searing pain i would still have to be subject to various torturous training regiemes... Not that i would welcome any potential PS or PTI from hell with open arms, but maybe i would be more motivated...
In totally unrelated news, today had my VCF cg's appreciation dinner for the dinos and outgoing cgls... Note to self: next time you coordinate a pot-sharing event, make sure that you regulate the amount of each food type brought. I mean, i love potatoes (as can be seen from this url) but four different dishes of it at one dinner? Wah... Plus my mother's spaghetti, bee hoon, and Ryan's (yummy) salmon bruschetta, not to mention cakes and other starchy desserts. Severe carb overload... I need to confess to Dr. Atkins... No more potato eating in the near future...
Well, at least, that was my plan. I had intended to revive this old exercise regimen that i last did around the start of the year for some strange reason that now evades me. Anyway, with much difficulty (and rest in between), i was able to do thirty on wednesday. I thought to myself, ok, still can manage lah, hopefully i can continue this till ippt so that at least i will be able to pass pull-ups...
Then i woke up yesterday morning only to be greeted by muscle/bone (i can't tell the difference) aches and pains in my shoulders... Was it because i forgot how to do push-ups properly? Was it because i am not taking enough calcium? Nope, i figure that most probably, it's because i've been slacking off for the longest time... Bleah... So in short, yesterday i only did TEN before giving up for the day... Aiyah, like that how can?
Oh gosh, anyway, this exercise thingy had better be something i maintain if i want to clear ippt, so in other words i have to bear with the pain... I definitely don't want to unneedingly sacrifice precious time to undergo rt. I did enough of that sort of thing at PTP (and hence enlisted less than a week after prom - sobs)... I know this sounds quite masochistic, but actually when i was in ptp bmt, it wasn't that bad in the sense that there was someone to tekan you to get fit, so you had no choice... Even with my entire upper (and lower) body in searing pain i would still have to be subject to various torturous training regiemes... Not that i would welcome any potential PS or PTI from hell with open arms, but maybe i would be more motivated...
In totally unrelated news, today had my VCF cg's appreciation dinner for the dinos and outgoing cgls... Note to self: next time you coordinate a pot-sharing event, make sure that you regulate the amount of each food type brought. I mean, i love potatoes (as can be seen from this url) but four different dishes of it at one dinner? Wah... Plus my mother's spaghetti, bee hoon, and Ryan's (yummy) salmon bruschetta, not to mention cakes and other starchy desserts. Severe carb overload... I need to confess to Dr. Atkins... No more potato eating in the near future...
Monday, June 20, 2005
time for exercise
This morning i got the fateful sms reminding me to book my ippt before my birthday... Sigh, i suppose i have been living in denial over the course of most of the past year, conveniently forgetting that ippt looms in the distant horizon... Well, obviously i can't do that anymore...
So in other words, that means that i have to start exercising again... Gosh the only exercise i have been doing over the past year since ORDing, apart from my failed attempts at trying other sports, has been sporadic cycling and swimming, the latter of which often degenerates into more of a sun tanning session... And i haven't run even 100m, let alone 2.4 km, since, well, i can't even remember. Well thankfully the rest of the ippt should be less taxing to train for, but then again i haven't done a chin-up in ages either...
Another thing i have to ponder about is when to book the date for, cos my birthday happens to conveniently fall right in the heat of the next exam period... Ideally, i want to book two tests, one right before my birthday, and the second right after, so that i can get this over and done with till i turn 23... Aiyah, but i know i will complain with no end over having to 'study' for ippt while studying for the nus exams at the same time...
But then again, i am thankful for the sms reminder, or i would still be in denial mode until it's too late, then i would fail the ippt and be forced to go for rt, which i certainly do not ever want to kena... So, in short, it's time to exercise...
So in other words, that means that i have to start exercising again... Gosh the only exercise i have been doing over the past year since ORDing, apart from my failed attempts at trying other sports, has been sporadic cycling and swimming, the latter of which often degenerates into more of a sun tanning session... And i haven't run even 100m, let alone 2.4 km, since, well, i can't even remember. Well thankfully the rest of the ippt should be less taxing to train for, but then again i haven't done a chin-up in ages either...
Another thing i have to ponder about is when to book the date for, cos my birthday happens to conveniently fall right in the heat of the next exam period... Ideally, i want to book two tests, one right before my birthday, and the second right after, so that i can get this over and done with till i turn 23... Aiyah, but i know i will complain with no end over having to 'study' for ippt while studying for the nus exams at the same time...
But then again, i am thankful for the sms reminder, or i would still be in denial mode until it's too late, then i would fail the ippt and be forced to go for rt, which i certainly do not ever want to kena... So, in short, it's time to exercise...
The Go Forth Conference
I believe it was definitely by God's own divine appointment that i was able to attend much of the recent Go Forth Conference... Originally, though hearing much about it, and from time to time considering signing up, in the end i didn't, due to a variety of reasons, the least not being a failure to plan my schedule properly...
But anyway, the short of it is that i was more or less entirely free for the last two days of the conference. I had decided to go for the night rally the previous night, just to look see look see since i was free. That night, Mr James Hudson Taylor IV (i think i got his name right...) spoke in very good Mandarin (putting my meagre command of the language to shame) during the night rally and, in short really got me thirsty for more...
So that night, as i was on my way home Mark Szto messaged me and asked if i would like to use his pass which he would be unable to use for the next day. I thank God for that open door, cos the next day was yet another wonderful time whereby the Lord really spoke to my heart concerning missions. Of course, that day i had to go around as Mark Szto and attend his chosen workshops, but even those workshops spoke to my heart. And that day, another door opened when the organisers announced that the last day's plenaries would be open to freeloaders such as myself...
Oh well, in short, Saturday's conference once again spoke to me, and the short of it is that i feel the Lord has, through the channel of this conference, given me a fresh heart for missions. Of course, i realise that this is no instantaneous thing, and that His plans for me regarding missions are largely still not known to me, but just to say that His plans for each of us really are so wonderful, and perfect in their time... Now is the time for prayer.
But anyway, the short of it is that i was more or less entirely free for the last two days of the conference. I had decided to go for the night rally the previous night, just to look see look see since i was free. That night, Mr James Hudson Taylor IV (i think i got his name right...) spoke in very good Mandarin (putting my meagre command of the language to shame) during the night rally and, in short really got me thirsty for more...
So that night, as i was on my way home Mark Szto messaged me and asked if i would like to use his pass which he would be unable to use for the next day. I thank God for that open door, cos the next day was yet another wonderful time whereby the Lord really spoke to my heart concerning missions. Of course, that day i had to go around as Mark Szto and attend his chosen workshops, but even those workshops spoke to my heart. And that day, another door opened when the organisers announced that the last day's plenaries would be open to freeloaders such as myself...
Oh well, in short, Saturday's conference once again spoke to me, and the short of it is that i feel the Lord has, through the channel of this conference, given me a fresh heart for missions. Of course, i realise that this is no instantaneous thing, and that His plans for me regarding missions are largely still not known to me, but just to say that His plans for each of us really are so wonderful, and perfect in their time... Now is the time for prayer.
Friday, June 17, 2005
In Memory of Kang Fei...
Yesterday i attended the funeral service of someone i have known since Barker days. Granted, over the six years we spent in the same schools (Barker, then ACJC) i barely even talked to him, for we were never in the same class, and hardly claim to know him well. It was, still however, very sad to hear that he had been diagnosed with leukaemia in Feb, and of his going to be with the Lord on Saturday. The whole thing was just so sudden...
Anyway, after hearing the many testimonies of those near and dear to him, i feel that his life really was one well lived, with his heart set with God in focus. To hear how, through different stories, he displayed his great love and obedience to the Lord was a real inspiration and challenge to me. Like how, despite being reticent about army life, he saw it as a new mission field and a chance to share the love of Christ with a whole new set of people. Even in his illness, he still remained strong, and was accepting of whatever the Lord's plan for him may have been. All in all, i think i may safely say that his life truly has been a blessing to all those around him and that the Lord has said these words, "well done, good and faithful servant" with gladness to him.
In meditating over the words of this song, which i hear was his favourite, i see a different meaning from how we usually interpret it.
We're together again,
Just praising the Lord.
We're together again,
In one accord.
Something good is going to happen,
Something good is in store.
We're together again,
Just praising the Lord.
I think that it was Kang Fei's prayer that this song would one day be sung when everyone has come to know the saving grace of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, when we all have entered into His rest, and are all together in communion with Him, just praising His holy name. We all, as Kang Fei has done, have to do our part, as commanded by Jesus in the Great Commission (Matthew 28:19) in making this vision a reality. I pray that in my heart, that this will truly be my prayer and desire as well.
Thank you, Kang Fei, for the blessing your life has been to those around you, including mine.
Anyway, after hearing the many testimonies of those near and dear to him, i feel that his life really was one well lived, with his heart set with God in focus. To hear how, through different stories, he displayed his great love and obedience to the Lord was a real inspiration and challenge to me. Like how, despite being reticent about army life, he saw it as a new mission field and a chance to share the love of Christ with a whole new set of people. Even in his illness, he still remained strong, and was accepting of whatever the Lord's plan for him may have been. All in all, i think i may safely say that his life truly has been a blessing to all those around him and that the Lord has said these words, "well done, good and faithful servant" with gladness to him.
In meditating over the words of this song, which i hear was his favourite, i see a different meaning from how we usually interpret it.
We're together again,
Just praising the Lord.
We're together again,
In one accord.
Something good is going to happen,
Something good is in store.
We're together again,
Just praising the Lord.
I think that it was Kang Fei's prayer that this song would one day be sung when everyone has come to know the saving grace of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, when we all have entered into His rest, and are all together in communion with Him, just praising His holy name. We all, as Kang Fei has done, have to do our part, as commanded by Jesus in the Great Commission (Matthew 28:19) in making this vision a reality. I pray that in my heart, that this will truly be my prayer and desire as well.
Thank you, Kang Fei, for the blessing your life has been to those around you, including mine.
Tuesday, June 14, 2005
how time flies...
I was cycling just now along the Kallang area to the Esplanade and back, and was at the same time remembering last year when i was first introduced to the route by Kok Peng from Boat Coy, when the two of us, together with my buddy, Teng, went on a little cycling expedition.
Then, i suddenly realised, that, hey, it actually has already been a year since i ORD loh... In fact it's been a year and four days to be exact... So funny, normally i am pretty good with remembering anniversaries (in fact not just in years, but even in months, weeks, and days) to all these sort of mundane details, such as eight days since arriving back home, or three weeks since An Evening With Friends, or other things like that, but a (relatively) big thing like ORD date i forgot...
But anyway, this makes me reflect as to how gracious God has been to me in seeing me through what i initially thought would be two-and-a-half years of pure hell (Yes, i was the last batch to ever serve two-and-a-half years of ns * how blessed i was* - i do remember that that announcement came out on June 15 last year - the day of the cycling expedition) (i also was one of the last batches to not benefit from the five-day-work-week, which was announced at the national day rally just after i ORDed) in such a wonderful way that today, looking back, i do treasure many aspects of my army life... [of course i will never treasure the tekaning - (which could sometimes get quite bad, especially for a complete blur sotong like me), will always look back with laughter at my failed attempts at trying to be fierce to my men (me attempting to be fierce is like George W. Bush attempting to look less goofy), and will never look forward to reservist, whenever that is...]
Then, i suddenly realised, that, hey, it actually has already been a year since i ORD loh... In fact it's been a year and four days to be exact... So funny, normally i am pretty good with remembering anniversaries (in fact not just in years, but even in months, weeks, and days) to all these sort of mundane details, such as eight days since arriving back home, or three weeks since An Evening With Friends, or other things like that, but a (relatively) big thing like ORD date i forgot...
But anyway, this makes me reflect as to how gracious God has been to me in seeing me through what i initially thought would be two-and-a-half years of pure hell (Yes, i was the last batch to ever serve two-and-a-half years of ns * how blessed i was* - i do remember that that announcement came out on June 15 last year - the day of the cycling expedition) (i also was one of the last batches to not benefit from the five-day-work-week, which was announced at the national day rally just after i ORDed) in such a wonderful way that today, looking back, i do treasure many aspects of my army life... [of course i will never treasure the tekaning - (which could sometimes get quite bad, especially for a complete blur sotong like me), will always look back with laughter at my failed attempts at trying to be fierce to my men (me attempting to be fierce is like George W. Bush attempting to look less goofy), and will never look forward to reservist, whenever that is...]
Saturday, June 11, 2005
of sleepless nights and Chinese songs...
Just came back from vcffoc [SIGN UP HERE!!!] comm overnight retreat at Minzhi's church in Siglap. Feel that it really was a very refreshing time, both physically and spiritually. Got to see some of my fellow comm members who i haven't seen for quite some time, and there really were great times of planning, prayer, meetings, and (as Shawna Chew would attest to) fellowship. To begin the retreat proper we had a good Spirit-filled time of worship, which actually was the first worship session that i have been to for almost three weeks, since i did not get to attend church while i was away. Thank God for the spiritual refreshing that He gave me at that time! Especially since the holiday was, despite all its goodness, regrettably also a time where i drifted somewhat away from the Lord due to not even keeping up with good and effective quiet times for various reasons. But that's really another story altogether...
Well, as stated above, this was an overnight retreat. Of course, it is often understood that at these sort of things one would tend not to sleep due to getting caught up in fellowship and all that. But i never expected in the course of all this to remain solidly awake over the whole night. Granted i did have my nodding off moments, but once the threshold of sleepiness was passed, at around 5am or so, became wide awake and not sleepy in the slightest... [This is a bit of a silly reassurance for me as in many recent stay up all night events, i have fought valiantly against the evil wiles of the z monster to no avail, or at least emerged victorious but badly wounded, and have put this all down to getting older... At least now i may be reassured that after being wide-eyed and awake all the way from seven yesterday morning to around two this afternoon, that a certain jeunesse has not departed me yet...]
Anyway, the early morning hours were mainly spent in the company of good music, featuring Ian on pretty much every musical instrument available in the church, Minzhi, Alicia, Claris and Shawn, with varying degrees of expertise, on the guitar, bass and drums, and yours truly with some token one-hand-and-one-finger--at-a-time keyboarding. Part of the morning (just after crossing the threshold) was even spent recalling some Chinese songs (people who know me often are rather surprised that i actually listen to Chinese songs - well i do, some of them are really quite nice, but the problem is i don't understand them and have no idea what most of their titles even are). I particularly like guo huo (i believe that means 'pass the fire') by Jeff Chang, who is one of my favourites actually where Chinese music is concerned (i even know by heart more of the lyrics - or at least i think i do, don't really know if they are correct) - how he reaches some of those notes that are i am more familiar with in an alto's high register is really beyond me... And there were various other favourite Chinese songs too, most of which, as i have said, i appreciate solely for the way they sound since i have not the faintest clue what they are talking about.
In any case, i realise that my database of Chinese songs can roughly be divided into two categories - those old ones that i somehow heard in my childhood either somehow over the radio (though i never listen to Chinese radio) or through being theme songs of old channel eight shows, as well as those newer ones that i picked up during ns years when i was typically the only chiak kentang one around and hence largely at the mercy of my fellow army mates' song choices...
Well, in any case, at least that's one area of the entire sinosphere that i find myself not totally abhorrent to or allergic of... jiang hua yu...
Well, as stated above, this was an overnight retreat. Of course, it is often understood that at these sort of things one would tend not to sleep due to getting caught up in fellowship and all that. But i never expected in the course of all this to remain solidly awake over the whole night. Granted i did have my nodding off moments, but once the threshold of sleepiness was passed, at around 5am or so, became wide awake and not sleepy in the slightest... [This is a bit of a silly reassurance for me as in many recent stay up all night events, i have fought valiantly against the evil wiles of the z monster to no avail, or at least emerged victorious but badly wounded, and have put this all down to getting older... At least now i may be reassured that after being wide-eyed and awake all the way from seven yesterday morning to around two this afternoon, that a certain jeunesse has not departed me yet...]
Anyway, the early morning hours were mainly spent in the company of good music, featuring Ian on pretty much every musical instrument available in the church, Minzhi, Alicia, Claris and Shawn, with varying degrees of expertise, on the guitar, bass and drums, and yours truly with some token one-hand-and-one-finger--at-a-time keyboarding. Part of the morning (just after crossing the threshold) was even spent recalling some Chinese songs (people who know me often are rather surprised that i actually listen to Chinese songs - well i do, some of them are really quite nice, but the problem is i don't understand them and have no idea what most of their titles even are). I particularly like guo huo (i believe that means 'pass the fire') by Jeff Chang, who is one of my favourites actually where Chinese music is concerned (i even know by heart more of the lyrics - or at least i think i do, don't really know if they are correct) - how he reaches some of those notes that are i am more familiar with in an alto's high register is really beyond me... And there were various other favourite Chinese songs too, most of which, as i have said, i appreciate solely for the way they sound since i have not the faintest clue what they are talking about.
In any case, i realise that my database of Chinese songs can roughly be divided into two categories - those old ones that i somehow heard in my childhood either somehow over the radio (though i never listen to Chinese radio) or through being theme songs of old channel eight shows, as well as those newer ones that i picked up during ns years when i was typically the only chiak kentang one around and hence largely at the mercy of my fellow army mates' song choices...
Well, in any case, at least that's one area of the entire sinosphere that i find myself not totally abhorrent to or allergic of... jiang hua yu...
Thursday, June 09, 2005
Chilipino blues
Chilipino n Someone whose father is Chinese and whose mother is Filipino (the opposite would, rather less pleasing to the ear, be known as a Finese...) [Thanks to Daniel Vai for coining the term - while discussing Chindians and the like we realised that 'Chilipino' is possible too...]
In any case, whenever yours truly happens to come into prolonged contact with Filipinos a sudden regret suddenly blossoms over the 'Mother Tongue' policy. I certainly recognise its benefits, but still will always grouse over the fact that it denied me of a chance to learn my actual mother tongue... [In fact no close relative of mine - let alone my mother or father, speaks mandarin to a sufficient degree to be deemed even vaguely fluent (we are, after all, mostly from the AC family of schools...), so the term 'mother tongue' really is not an apt term to use in our whole family's case - but that's another story...]
To cut a long story short, due to the fear that i would muddle up the language with Mandarin, which he knew i would eventually have to learn, my father asked my mother from birth not to teach me (and my elder brother too) Tagalog. So, i never learnt it - and proceeded to instead not get even a pinky's grip on Mandarin. Subsequently that grip came loose, and i switched my 'Mother Tongue' yet again, to French. In the end, i am today sorely lacking any skills in Tagalog, Mandarin, and French, and am quite monolingual as a result...
Sometimes, i can't help but be annoyed by this, especially in certain occasions such as recently when i was in the States, and we spent two days staying with a Filipino family friend. She introduced us to a large portion of her extended family, and of course, everyone conversed in Tagalog. I probably only vaguely understood 5% of all that they were saying... Which was needless to say, quite frustrating. And then they'd ask why don't i speak the language - especially when our family friend's children are Indipino (Indian dad, Filipino mum), yet still can speak and understand the language, whereas i can't... I get so frustrated that i can't communicate... And at my age, it becomes even harder to pick up a new language, especially when i have failed at two others when i was younger...
It gets even worse whenever i visit the Philippines, in fact, i won't even begin... Sigh... [I would write a sigh expression in Tagalog, save for the fact that i don't know how to transcribe it...]
In any case, whenever yours truly happens to come into prolonged contact with Filipinos a sudden regret suddenly blossoms over the 'Mother Tongue' policy. I certainly recognise its benefits, but still will always grouse over the fact that it denied me of a chance to learn my actual mother tongue... [In fact no close relative of mine - let alone my mother or father, speaks mandarin to a sufficient degree to be deemed even vaguely fluent (we are, after all, mostly from the AC family of schools...), so the term 'mother tongue' really is not an apt term to use in our whole family's case - but that's another story...]
To cut a long story short, due to the fear that i would muddle up the language with Mandarin, which he knew i would eventually have to learn, my father asked my mother from birth not to teach me (and my elder brother too) Tagalog. So, i never learnt it - and proceeded to instead not get even a pinky's grip on Mandarin. Subsequently that grip came loose, and i switched my 'Mother Tongue' yet again, to French. In the end, i am today sorely lacking any skills in Tagalog, Mandarin, and French, and am quite monolingual as a result...
Sometimes, i can't help but be annoyed by this, especially in certain occasions such as recently when i was in the States, and we spent two days staying with a Filipino family friend. She introduced us to a large portion of her extended family, and of course, everyone conversed in Tagalog. I probably only vaguely understood 5% of all that they were saying... Which was needless to say, quite frustrating. And then they'd ask why don't i speak the language - especially when our family friend's children are Indipino (Indian dad, Filipino mum), yet still can speak and understand the language, whereas i can't... I get so frustrated that i can't communicate... And at my age, it becomes even harder to pick up a new language, especially when i have failed at two others when i was younger...
It gets even worse whenever i visit the Philippines, in fact, i won't even begin... Sigh... [I would write a sigh expression in Tagalog, save for the fact that i don't know how to transcribe it...]
Monday, June 06, 2005
back in the lair of the merlion
Finally arrived at the airport around four or five hours or so behind schedule this morning, after the long voyage that was San Francisco to Hong Kong and the extended sojourn at the United lounge, the flight back from HK was really no kick, i didn't even know HK to S'pore was merely 3 hours... Then when i was leaving the baggage claim saw Sida with his anntic shirt standing at one side, he was fetching his parents... And just when i was lamenting how i didn't get to meet anyone i knew while on holiday... haha Then when i got back home Bingo was more subdued than usual... Just barked a few times and wagged his tail. He used to run crazily around the garden and bark non-stop whenever we came back after a long while away. He must be getting old...
Anyway, so now it's back to the real world, no more comfy hotel rooms with dozens of tv channels (which mostly air trash, but that's besides the point), no more crisp morning air and cooling breezes, no more chances to really appreciate the wonders of God's creation (ok, less chances lah, still can see the occasional tree or bird here)... Hope can get used to this and all the stuff that i have to do soon.
Aiyah so hot now... Guess the thing i'll miss the most is the weather...
Anyway, so now it's back to the real world, no more comfy hotel rooms with dozens of tv channels (which mostly air trash, but that's besides the point), no more crisp morning air and cooling breezes, no more chances to really appreciate the wonders of God's creation (ok, less chances lah, still can see the occasional tree or bird here)... Hope can get used to this and all the stuff that i have to do soon.
Aiyah so hot now... Guess the thing i'll miss the most is the weather...
Sunday, June 05, 2005
the angry Singaporeans
They announced just over an hour ago that the flight departure is delayed to one am, and predictably, perhaps, a crowd of angry Singaporeans has formed outside the gate, complaining to the poor United ground staff... Not that i don't sympathise with them, i mean, the flight has been delayed for 5 hours already, which is certainly unacceptable, but it's just that Singaporeans when angry are really a hard bunch to deal with , if you know what i mean... Guess it won't be a good idea to let them know that while they are all crowded bythe departure gate my parents and i are comfortably sitting here in the United lounge... But anyway the lounge can't fit them all, (a lounge full of angry Singaporeans doesn't sound like a good idea, in any case) and i guess since we are on a layover we get priority...
Anyway, something tells me that there will hardly be a convivial atmosphere on the plane later...
Anyway, something tells me that there will hardly be a convivial atmosphere on the plane later...
from Hong Kong
Is where i am now, just flew in from San Francisco, and the connecting flight to Singapore has been delayed by 5 or so hours, so to compensate United is letting us use their lounge... Which in any case is nothing fancy, but better than the common area i guess...
Home in 8 hours... Dreading the weather, especially after frigid bliss in San Francisco... Oh well...
Home in 8 hours... Dreading the weather, especially after frigid bliss in San Francisco... Oh well...
Thursday, June 02, 2005
results are out
And, as expected, have done worse than i did last sem... But am not complaining, after all, in any case, the Lord blessed me with quite good results last sem, and topping that would not be easy...
Similar to last sem's results, grades for each module did not correspond to expectations for the subject... For example, my supposed trump card, science of music, yielded only a b, although my hated subject of soci 1101 did deliver badly, as was expected... [i will never do another soci module in my life] In any case, am glad that cap hasn't gone down by too much, and my primary goal has been met.
Of course, this really is a wake up call, i definitely need to put in much more effort for the upcoming sems if i want to sustain at least a 4ish cap, and things are even more complicated given that my cap for history subjects is even lower than my general cap... headache...
But at the same time, i also pray that the Lord will not make me squarely focused on my results at His expense, especially with many commitments coming my way next sem, i really do need His direction and guidance, especially not to lose sight of Him in the face of all this...
In any case, was quite an interesting experience to find out my results while i am overseas... The only other time it happened was for PSLE, when my father called us in Vancouver to deliver the much-celebrated news that i passed my Chinese [ a C - we didn't even care for the rest]
Off to San Francisco tomorrow. for 2 more days, than i am back...
Similar to last sem's results, grades for each module did not correspond to expectations for the subject... For example, my supposed trump card, science of music, yielded only a b, although my hated subject of soci 1101 did deliver badly, as was expected... [i will never do another soci module in my life] In any case, am glad that cap hasn't gone down by too much, and my primary goal has been met.
Of course, this really is a wake up call, i definitely need to put in much more effort for the upcoming sems if i want to sustain at least a 4ish cap, and things are even more complicated given that my cap for history subjects is even lower than my general cap... headache...
But at the same time, i also pray that the Lord will not make me squarely focused on my results at His expense, especially with many commitments coming my way next sem, i really do need His direction and guidance, especially not to lose sight of Him in the face of all this...
In any case, was quite an interesting experience to find out my results while i am overseas... The only other time it happened was for PSLE, when my father called us in Vancouver to deliver the much-celebrated news that i passed my Chinese [ a C - we didn't even care for the rest]
Off to San Francisco tomorrow. for 2 more days, than i am back...
Wednesday, June 01, 2005
finally
After being more or less deprived of internet access for more than a week am here in Fresno CA at a family friend's house online.
But since have been hogging the com for quite some time now checking email and all that, as well as taking into consideration that i need to sleep for tomorrow's Yosemite excursion, this shall be all for now...
Anyway who'd have thought that a technophobe such as i would be eagerly anticipating going online...
Hehe so cool, my first overseas blog post...
Will definitely try to blog about my travels when i have more time, if i can remember what went on, that is [ah, the importance of keeping a travel journal...]
But since have been hogging the com for quite some time now checking email and all that, as well as taking into consideration that i need to sleep for tomorrow's Yosemite excursion, this shall be all for now...
Anyway who'd have thought that a technophobe such as i would be eagerly anticipating going online...
Hehe so cool, my first overseas blog post...
Will definitely try to blog about my travels when i have more time, if i can remember what went on, that is [ah, the importance of keeping a travel journal...]
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