We've Got A Man Down!
Paintball was a blast! And the best part was it was free! As part of the new year celebrations in SAFTI, the Officers' Mess Committee organised a family carnival for all the SAFTI officers. There was paintball, fishing at the SDC lake, X-boxing for the kids, and other stuff.
We played paintball at the SDC playground. Good stuff man. Gary got shot in the neck, and now has some bruise that somewhat resembles a really huge lovebite. Hahaha. I got shot in the back (backstabber!) and the bruise was like some mutant mosquito bite. Well at least i managed to destroy the opposition's target.
Oh remember the SMU Jamboree held a few weeks back? They were giving out free Zouk passes for those that came, and I managed to win a pair! They just sent me an e-mail... Man, I hope I don't turn into some hardcore chiongster. Not very healthy. But hey, it's free...so why not!
Gary is a genius with Photoshop I tell you. My current hairdo (minus the moustache)
My proposed hairdo when uni starts. Thank you Gary, for helping me realise it. =)
Phuture Needs More Fire Exits
Man, the turnout at Zouk last night was massive. Guess you wouldn't expect anything less for the last Mambo Night of the year. Thanks for the drinks Evan, it's on me next time! The whole world was there man. Jem, Jerald, Wenz, Twohill, Alex, Shuying, Vanessa, Chun Kiat, Nydia, Elaine, Tim, Yik Lay, Justin, Shaun Yoon, Shaun T, Lionel Kong, Malcolm... you get the point. The whole world was there, and possibly even more.
Joined Sarah, Audrey, Danny, Mark, Li Chuan and Ellie for the regular KTV session before heading off to Zouk to meet the guys. Audrey made it clear that it was an ENGLISH ONLY KTV session. Haha. Was a good warm up for the night's pushing and shoving haha.
I wouldn't have enjoyed myself if it weren't for the company I went with, so thx guys.
I don't remember saying some of the stuff you guys said I did. Hope I didn't offend anyone. Crap. Was probably Mr. Jack Daniels talking.
That Better Not Leave A Stain
Word of advice from Keo:
Never eat onions before gyming. It creates a lot of gas and gives you the shits everytime you press weights. Nasty.
Prick
The world doesn't revolve around you. Just because you say so doesn't mean it's right. Who died and made you boss? You have issues man. I seriously hope you sort yourself out,.
Closure. Xiao Long Bao. Hustle.
We had the final debrief for this year's youth camp. Thank God. It definately was by God's grace that everything fell into place so perfectly. When it came down to nominating the committee for next year's camp, I declined. It's time to move on. I would love to come back and help. It isn't the priority now though. Who knows what 2005 will hold.
Had an awesome dinner with Tiff, Eric and Siang at Crystal Jade in the evening. Thanks for the "I LOVE NY" T-shirt Tiff! Will definately go there one day, so I can wear the shirt sincerely. =)
Made our way to Cine to catch Kung Fu Hustle. Stephen Chow is a comic genius. Take away the comedy from the film, and you actually realise there's a lot more to it. Awesome fight choreography (though outrageous, but hey, it's stephen chow), and the cinematography was surprisingly good. Ah heck. It's just a comedy. Just go watch it k.
Some 2000 Years Ago...
Jesus Christ was born... The Son of God, sent to Earth as a baby. Born to die, to save humanity from sin. It wasn't about Santa. It wasn't about presents. The only present being the ultimate gift of salvation from God.
I guess it saddens me, when I look around the shopping malls, and Christmas parties, to see that the significance of Jesus' birth has taken a back seat in the minds of many. Instead you see huge sculptures of Santa, and Christmas trees (since when did they have Christmas trees in Bethlehem?), advertisements urging parents to splurge on their kids, because if you don't buy a really expensive gift for someone, apparently, you don't really love them.
All these man-made traditions have distracted from the real meaning of Christmas. The mistletoe thing- where did THAT come from? I'm pretty sure Joseph and Mary didn't kiss under mistletoe in the manger.
Folks, lets remember why we celebrate Christmas. He really didn't have to come down and suffer for us, but Jesus did anyway, because God loved us so much. He came down. This day. Some 2000 years ago.
From Left (Clockwise): Baotian, Wes, Peiwen, Kailuo, Gabe
Dr. Wesley I presume!
Baotian!
Nights Ooooout!
Baotian, Wes, Kailuo, Peiwen. Thanks for the awesome company. I'm glad we met up! And Liqin and SiewFeng, haha...pleasant surprise to see you gals...Sorry Auntie Tan i didn't call ya out! will do the next time.
Chun Kiat, thanks for being my O.O. Haha. Maybe Phuture will be less packed next time, but Mambo was really enjoyable! I still don't think that girl who was getting her boobs cupped by her trannie friend was a man. Then again, it could be the lighting. =/
Fish Farms And Freaky Christmas Celebrations
Once every few months, OCS HQ will have some cohesion thing, so this time, they guys from Delta organised an outing for the whole HQ to go to the Qian Hu Fish Farm somewhere in the Yishun area. Quite interesting. Guess how much one Luohan can fetch up to? 70000 frickkin' dollars! No i didn't add an extra zero. IT'S SEVENTY THOUSAND BUCKS!!! Apparently, you can buy insurance for it, and there's some microchip in it, so you can make sure it's yours. Psycho.
We spent most of the afternoon at the farm's cafe, where there was a pool table. While we were encouraged to roam, I was very content to stay with pool. =) Took some photos with Syamsul, Iylia and Encik Razali... The bus took us back to OCS at about 5, where there was to be a Christmas celebration with the whole school. Eileen Wee was the MC, and Abigail Chay was there for the entertinment. I managed to catch her backstage...
Gabe: Hi Ms Abigail, can I take a photo of you for the OCS Website?
Abigail: Oh ok! Wait ah, lemme adjust myself (arranges hair) How do I look?
Gabe: You look great!
I edited the pic and put it as the desktop picture on Andrew's computer. Wonder how he'll react when he boots up the computer tmr. HAHAHA...oh. See picture below.
Eileen Wee hosting the OCS Christmas celebration
Mistuh Iylia "da man" Dhamiri (Left) and the coolest Encik in the house, Warrant Razali (right)!
Syamsul- Prospective toothpaste ad model.
Oh Andrew! We gotta Christmas present for yooooo!
B*tch
I was on the MRT the other day, when I saw this kid, no more than 10 years old, wearing a blue t-shirt that said "BITCH" in bold yellow fonts. Yes, his mom was with him. Well...I've seen worse...
Kids these days...
Far Out!
Wow this weekend was a blast. Christmas party with the PUNJers on Saturday @ Ruth's, followed by a nice carolling service on Sunday, and water polo @ S'pore Sports School with some of the PUNJers and the post-PUNJers, and had a nice dinner with Wenz at his place on Sunday night.
The party at Ruth's was pretty enjoyable. Kudos the guys that organised it. I couldn't recognise half the pple there cos a lot of them were newcomers! It was quite fun meeting the new pple. Lotsa food, good company, a nice little Christmas message by Lincoln, and gift exchange at the end.
Wld you believe I drove all the way to SAFTI from home on Sunday morning at 7 am, just so I could get my swimming trunks? Left them in office but I really didn't wanna miss out on water polo in the afternoon. Had to rush down to True Way after that to meet Chris for bible study. I really hope he's learning from it. Darryl overslept though! Dóh. Haha...will have to do a make up session with him.
Went for the 11am service, and there wasn't really a message. It was more of reading of scripture, a re-enactment of Joseph and Mary's journey, singing of Christmas carols, and even a little puppet show! The puppet show was put up by Hannah, Rachel, Vera and a few of the other youths. It was good to see the Sec sch guys getting in on the act as well. Miktham, BJ, Lance, were all playing shephard boys. Very funny. But more importantly, very encouraging.
After a very filling meal with Terence @ IKEA...
- 2 plates of Swedish Meatballs
- 1 Steak
- 6 pieces of chicken wings
Made my way down to Woodlands. The sports school is huge man. And the pool was covered by this huge hanger like ceiling, so can play during rain or shine. The water was really freezing though. Initially, we were swimming up and down chasing the ball, but after a while, everyone sorta tired out and just remained in their zones. Ha.
Afterwhich, went down to Wenzheng's at Bishan, after I found out that he was all alone (aww....) Ha! Alex had just gone to Hong Kong, and his folks and younger siblings were in Switzerland till the end of the month. Was good to see him la. His maid cooks up one wicked spaghetti, and i spent the evening watching Shrek with Wenz and his older sis.
All in all, a very fruitful weekend. Finally going out with Kailuo, Baotian and Wes this Wed. Can't wait man!
electrico
Corrinne May...
Support Local Talent
Not for the sake of! These guys are good! Bought 2 CDs at HMV just now. Electrico's "So Much More Inside" and Corrinne May's "Fly Away". Popped them into the car straight away. Corrinne May makes for a good listen while driving at night...just dun fall asleep at the wheel...can get too soothing.
Check it...
www.electricomusic.com
www.corrinnemay.com
Ocean's Eleven @ Ellie's
Stayed over yesterday at Elliot's along with Mark. Was supposed to finish watching Ocean's 11, but Mark and Elliot were out cold 30 minutes into disc 1. Think I was the only one who managed to stay awake throughout the whole show. I really loved O's11 when I saw it in the cinemas, but kinda forgot the story. So glad I saw it again, just in time for the sequel.
Fried chicken, Hoegarden, nice movie. Simple entertainment for the night. Had riding before that. Saw this petite Malay girl take a fall while she was coming to a stop on the bike. Felt quite scared for her. At least she fell while in the circuit. If it happened on the road, it could have been worse.
Welcome Home Ellie
Elliot's back from NZ, though his folks are still there. Result of not having enough leave to clear. Heh. Weiliang and I drove down to the airport to pick him up for dinner.
Waited at the taxi stand for about 20 mins, cos' Elliot wanted to do some duty free shopping. Got told by the carpark attendent I was allowed to park there... Oh well, so made one loop. I got a feeling the P-plate is sorta an invitation for pple to pick on you. I saw other cars parked there but no one told them to move! Driver's don't usually give way either when you wanna change lane on the expressway...never mind... few more months to go.
So we went to Changi Village for a super unhealthy (but delicious nonetheless) supper. Elliot and I agreed that we've become a lot more health conscious ever since entering the army. I cringe when I see oil dripping down chicken fats, and Coke really tastes too damn sweet. All those water parades have inculcated in me the belief that water really still is the best beverage.
Took the scenic route home, via ECP. I was relating how it's nice to drive by the S'pore skyline everytime you come home from Changi... I remembered I was almost moved to tears when I saw our skyline, right after I came back from Brunei. Ha! The simple things we take for granted.
Probably gotta meet up later cos Elliot left his booze in the car! D'oh!
Jay Chou Sing-a-long
I have never sung so many Mandarin songs in my life! So Kelly, Siang, Yuting, Yihan and I were doing KTV at Cuppage last night. Thank God we got a room! We got there at 1030pm only to be told there were no rooms but they would tell us as soon as one opened up... and one finally did at about 11! There was no way we could go home at the time, cos the rain was just pounding the ground. Those in town on Friday night would know...
Yuting, Kelly...i must say both of you sing so very well! Thank you for putting up with my screeching...haha. Improved my Mandarin somewhat by singing lots of Jay Chou songs...well...sort of singing...I didn't know a lot of the "fan ti zi" Chinese words. So the words I didn't know were replaced either by incoherent muttering or "something-something"
But on the whole, a good night out. Thanks for coming guys...I will try to ask you guys in advance next time...and not give you 2 hour's notice. =)
More photos from Sentosa: Vanessa and me... I have no idea what we're doing to that pillar.
Suye!
YZ Camp: Ping trying her luck.
The Only Thing For Sure Is Change
My room's in this huge mess right now. We just repainted the whole house and did some refurnishing. Got a new coat of paint in my room. Mom's been nagging at me forever to clean up the stuff that I don't need. So I've been rummaging through huge boxes of my stuff. Some of the stuff I found:
- Pencil box used in Primary 1
- English Compos written back in AC
- Diary...no let's be more manly, ahem, JOURNAL kept in OCS
- Stacks of Christmas/ Birthday cards dating back to 2001 (Yes so rest assured if you send me anything, it'll be well kept after)
- Angel-Mortal notes from NJ days
- Long lost photos
- Soccer trading cards (World Cup 1994 anyone?)
And I still have 4 more boxes to go through.
I'm a really sentimental person, I just can't bring myself to throw away some of these things, even though they serve no purpose to me at all, except to bring back the feeling of nostalgia.
What surprised me was how much I've changed over the years. From my journal entries I've seen some of my views change, about relationships, people, God, and plans for the future. I actually wrote a mission for myself back in 1998, saying that i had to help all the poor people in the world. The plan was to rent a truck in Bombay and throw bread into the crowds to feed the poor (serious!). Dunno if i can bring myself to do that now. Things just get so complicated as you get older. Sometimes ignorance really is bliss. I really crave the child-like innocence that Jesus says we all should have. Unfortunately, innocence is something that can't be restored once it's lost.
Another thing which I find sad is how human relationships seem so temporal. Looking through the many notes I've exchanged with friends, I probably only keep in contact with a small handful of them now. Worse, how notes written by some people are so warm and loving, but looking at these people now, I just feel nothing but hurt. It's scary how fast human dynamics can just change in an instant.
Been through some really shitty situations in the past 4 years. Before then, I was really sheltered thinking that everyone's living in a happy world. I guess you can only come out stronger and wiser from all these trials, and for me, I'm sure there's plenty more to come.
The only constant all these years really has been God watching over me. I really feel like such a hypocrite sometimes, only going to God in times of need. Dammit. I'm just so unworthy. And yet time and time and again, He never fails to get me out of the pits.
Back to packing. Call the search party if I'm not back in 3 days.
O-Ren Ishii. Half Chinese, Half Japanesey
仕事の遅い午後。そうこの日本の訳者を見つけ、それと遊ぶことにした。これが意味するすべてものおそらく得ない。日本の単語は涼しくしかし見る。私に Kill Bill Vol.1 のコピーを見つけてあげる為のありがとうのヨガ。認められる多く。
Riding Lesson #1
Riding moto is HOW fun! Damn shiok man! Had my first practical today at BBDC with Jeremy. Jem was held up in camp so he came late. The instructor was obviously annoyed when I told him he'd be late, cos' they do the practical lessons in small groups of about 5 pple. He was quite buay song towards the 2 of us initially, but things got better as the lesson progressed.
We only went round in a loop at abt 20km/h, but the thrill of hearing the engine when you rev it is really something man. But it is dangerous la. The bike is a lot heavier than I thought it would be! Jeremy dropped it twice while attempting to put it on its side stand.Haha... It just stopped rainning when we started lessons, so the road was quite slippery also.
Really can't wait for the next lesson. Vrrrrrrrooom!
God Will Not Ask Me
A nice little poem I came across...
God is not going to ask me how much I made.
He will ask me much I gave.
God will not ask me about the size of my house.
He will ask me did I invite Him in.
God will not ask me about the elegance of my neighbourhood.
He will ask me how I treated my neighbour.
God will not ask me what kind of car I drove.
He will ask me did I give those with no car a ride.
God will not ask me about the beauty of my wife.
He will ask me did I treat her with love.
God will not ask me about the style of my clothes.
He will ask me did I help clothe others.
God will not ask me the size of my bank account.
He will ask me how much is in my heavenly account.
God will not ask me how many children I fathered.
He will ask me if I was a good father to my children
God will not ask me did I achieve fame.
He will ask me about my reputation.
God will not ask me if I traveled the world.
He will ask me did I improve the world.
God will not ask me about the troubles that I had.
He will ask me if I helped comfort the troubled.
God will not ask me if I did miracles in the name of his Son.
He will ask me if i really knew Him.
-A Mountain Wings Original-
Pastor Glenn giving the message
Swoosh! (See below for the landing)
Look ma. No feet!
Simply Amazing
Can you believe it?! While we were in Sentosa the whole 4 days, it didn't rain at all! Well only in the night, but that's ok cos we were all under shelter and it didn't affect our programmes. THANK YOU GOD!
So many things could have gone wrong during the camp, like the weather, no space on the beach for programmes, injuries, etc. God really provided for us, and we really had to have faith that everything would proceed smoothly. It did. =)Attendance was worrying at first cos on Monday, we only got back 30 application forms, but on the day itself, the turnout came to more than 60,
Was in charge of the games for the camp, and I'm really glad that everything turned out so perfect. We had this beach relay that took place on Friday morning. We needed a lot of space for it so I was worried that the beach goers would get in the way. But on Friday morning, Palawan Beach was almost COMPLETELY deserted, and even more amazing was that the minute we ended our programme, the crowds started coming in. Talk about perfect timing!
The whole theme of the camp was "Surviving With The Saviour" and we got Pastor Glenn to be the speaker. He was from True Way a few years back and used to lead the youth group here. He's since moved to Melbourne to be based in a church there. It was nice to see him back, remember seeing him in church when I was back in pri school.
His messages were really good for the teens cos they were peppered with a lot of anecdotes and stories to keep them interested. It was a good refresher for me, but it's a pity I couldn't sit through all the messages, cos' I had to prepare for the programmes beforehand.
The last night we had this massive waterbomb fight. The whole thing lasted less than 5 minutes, although we took like an hour to prepare 500 water bombs. Haha. It was mayhem. They didn't even wait for me to state all the rules. I was unwittingly caught in the crossfire, and eventually got dunked in the sea by Druce and gang. Mmm...salty.
Just as the campers thought the day was over, we took them to the jungle trail for them to do a solo walk. It was quite dark and some of the campers were nervous at the thought of walking through the dark jungle trail alone. They all made it through, even though some were quite intimidated. Thank God no one got injured. The route was quite rocky at certain parts.
John, Yee Lin, Shiwei, Ben, Theva, Kien Seng, Yilin, Serene, Weiliang, Suye, a big thank you for helping out with the organisation.
All glory back to God for watching over us and just providing EVERYTHING.THANK YOU!!!
Take Care Pooja!
I'm really encouraged by what I've been seeing in PUNJ the past couple of months. We went to Carilyn's place to have a farewell party for Pooja. She's from India and she's been studying in ACJC for the past 2 years. With the A's over, she'll be going back to her hometown till the results are released in March, and possibly won't be studying in S'pore anymore unless she gets NUS Med Fac.
She shared her testimony to all of us and to me, it was really moving. She had only become a Christian this year, and her testimony about how April and other Christian friends around her were so overwhelming in showing her care and concern, that it got her interested in Christianity. Eventually, she saw God's love for her through these friends.
It'll be tough for her when she goes back, cos' she's the only Christian in her family, and she says she doesn't know any Christians back home. We'll be keeping her in our prayers, and hope that God will work through her. For someone who's 17, Pooja's really mature. Respeckt girl!
Youth Camp tomorrow. Can't wait man...
Please The One That Matters
I don’t know why, but I get very bothered when people get a bad impression of me. I really don’t know how some people can just shrug it off and not care less about what you think of them. For some reason, I just can’t.
Usually I’ll do my best to change that person’s perception, if they see me in some negative light. Like there was this guy back in ACS that treated me quite coldly for no apparent reason. Maybe he just thought I look quite "sia lan". Ha. Anyway, it really bugged me man, and I did make an effort to be nice to the guy. In the end, his attitude towards me changed and we became relatively good friends.
But you know, as much as we try to go out of our way to please someone, as humans, we always forget and take it for granted. My Mom always makes me a nice breakfast before work, and sometimes in my haste I’ll say "I’m not hungry mom" and walk out the door. Occasionally my Dad will wake up damn early in the morning just so I can get to work on time. Sometimes I’ll complain about how stupid it is to start work at 730am, with no regard whatsoever for my Dad, who doesn’t even have to be up that early. There are a lot of other examples I can find. Sorry Mom, Dad. I really have to be more tactful in future.
It’s frustrating when you go out of your way for people, only to be unappreciated in the end. I’m sure we’ve all had that feeling. While I’m not discouraging us from going out of our way to help others, I’m saying that there’s someone that never forgets when you’ve tried to please Him. And that’s our Heavenly Father. Not that he needs us to please him, but he remembers everything we do, and is pleased when we are righteous.
So when you get into a situation where you have to choose between pleasing your friends and pleasing God, don’t forget that God remembers everything, friends probably won’t. It’s something I struggle with sometimes, and I’m still trying to be pleasing in God’s eyes, but I just fail miserably. You really can’t please everyone, so please The One who matters most.
