2 Decades On

Eventually, it had to happen. Like San San said, I'm no longer a teenager. A bit too old for that. Haha...

The day started well enough. I mean, I knew it was my birthday today, but it really kicked off when I went into the toilet in the morning, and saw a MAD book with "TO: DANIEL" written on a scrap of toilet paper... Only my brother would do something like that to me that early in the morning...

Before we left home, my parents gave me another present. So good right, can get presents like that...

Then go church, also quite happening... You actually won't believe the number of people who accepted that my birthday was on 31st November... haha.. really sorry guys... Some like Edmund noticed straight away that there was as much a 31st of November as there was a 30th February. Others like Cheryl, felt something was wrong, but just couldn't put their finger on it. And yet others... heh heh... let's not go around naming them, shall we?

Grace made me some jelly!! I was so touched... *sobs*

So anyway, had a time of sharing with Joshua, Brian and Linus. made me realize I'm actually very much of a loner... no like really close friends to hang out with regularly (see Vera and Joanne) heh...

Anyway, went up for service, then Yongling surprised me with her card as well as some stuff from Skye, whom I know from Sam's that concert a while back... So touched again... *sobs*

Worship was pretty good, then got to practice with Farand and Shaun and Caleb and Joy and Winnie and Jessica for Youth... Was fun, then the Youth Worship also quite happening... Then sign up for Kong Kong.... above 18 yrs liao, don't need parental consent... hahaha.... Now have agreed to meet Mindy and Cheryl on 021204 at around 0630 hrs to go up...

Went down for CG after that, and as they did during Sulwyn's birthday last month, they tried to surprise me by amking me sit in G3 and wait. Unfortunately for them, they turned off the fan too early, and I turned on the fan, then decided to go borrow the air-con controller from the office, and as I happily walked out, I bumped into the whole group of conspirators(Aggie, Jan, Sulwyn and Zoey) thus springing their ambush too early... haha... also cos Edmund and Reina didn't do a very good job of keeping me occupied...

Anyway, they forced me back into the room, and told me to act surprised, which I think I did pretty well... then after that they gave me a book and prayed for me... So touched... *sobs*

After which I really was surprised, cos Sam and Vera and Yongling and a whole other bunch of them came into the room with another piece of cake and sang happy birthday to me again... Even more touched *sobs*.. sam told me to "Make a fish" before I blew out the candle, and I think I made a pretty good fish out of a scrap of paper... haha...

So anyway, I am really grateful to God that despite the fact that I am still by nature, very much a loner, there are still that many people that actually bothered to remember my birthday... *Crying uncontrollably*.. It is a blessing to know you guys. Thanks for making my day... haha...

Cheerio

Averages

There's the good news, and then, there's the bad news. Let's just start off on the whole thing.

Bad news: My passport will have to be manufactured in the US of A, as compared to last time when the US embassy could make one in a couple of hours. So, if I did go and get my passport changed on account of my signature, it would take 10 days to 2 weeks for the thing to come back, meaning that it wouldn't arrive in time for Kong Kong. They can issue a temp. passport for immediate travel, but I can't put stamps on that, and I need a re-entry stamp to return to Singapore after that.

Good news: I can sign back my old signature! haha... Must be cos the way I sign was imprinted, so that even though I hardly use the style of signature anymore, it wasn't as hard as I imagined it to be.

Good news: I changed my ATM card. As some of you know, my old ATM card had a massive crack next to the magnetic strip that extended almost halfway down. And while that did not knock the card out of commision, I certainly did not want to encounter a situation where I needed it to work, and the crack failed me...

Good news: Went to church to help out in the Bible Sports Programme... It was nice to be able to meet up with all the guys and gals of Youth Min who were helping out. (I also got dragooned in cos Mum was helping out) So it was nice to be able to just chill out around there.

Bad news: Some of the kids were rowdy. And I mean traumatizingly rowdy... And despite the fact that I am usually a nice guy (it's true ok! Don't give me that look!), I had to help them manage the kids. And I probably earned a rep as a "fierce uncle", thanks to the fact that I had to threaten and scold them, and also to Yongling, who told the to "Listen to Uncle Daniel".. But the kids were traumatizing... I'm scared of having to help out like that again... For the whole story, you can talk to me, or Raymund Mok, or Amanda, or anyone who was there...

Good news: Not all the kids were rowdy. Some were downright nice. Like during lunch, there was this child(Ann) who was sitting with us (Rachel, Huimin, Sulwyn, Jess and me) and she was just quietly eating fries, but she offered fries to us... haha.. I must be getting old, feeling all sentimental like that...

Good news: I got a new backpack. From the army market near Golden Mile Complex. And I didn't have to spend a bomb, as I had considered, cos I didn't buy anything from Sheares Tech. I mean they sell really good stuff, real quality, but a small pouch costs $50!! And anyway, most of the stuff looks good if you're in army fatigues, but you would look downright ridiculous if you were wearing civvies and carrying something like that..

Good news: I got to meet Auntie Eng and Uncle Bill! Old friends of parents, they came back from America to do something, and we went for dinner. It was nice to talk to them again, even though their son, Paul, whom we as kids usually play with, didn't come as he was still at NorthWestern...

Bad news: I think brother cannot go to Kong Kong. Cos parents not letting him. bother...

So overall, after averaging it out, that should have made this a good day, right?

Y

It really is a bummer.... It all started way back in Primary school... My parents when they have the forms to sign, they actually signed it, whereas us kids had to go and use thumbprints... Of course, being the kids that we were, we always wanted to be able to do the things that adults could do (like stay up late, and eat ice-cream more than twice a week etc etc), so of course, to prove that we were more grown up, we all started coming up with our own signatures...

My signature was originally a cursive form of my Christian name. And I thought it looked pretty good. All was well till Secondary school. (That's course up till then, we were forced to use thumbprints, irregardless of whether we had signatures or not, much to our displeasure). Anyway, finally came the day that I had to make a new passport. So me and parents toddled down to the American Embassy (I am American, in case you don't know or don't believe) to make the new passport.

Anyway, there, the customer service officer told me that I had the option of signing the document, or using my thumbprint. And of course, being the geh kiang little idiot that I was, I decided to use my signature. Many thanks to the officer there; he did tell me that it should be how my signature would look for a long time coming, since the passport would expire in 10+ years...

Anyway, back to present day. Youth Min going up to Kong Kong on 1st December. I can only go on 2nd December cos my unit has an out-pro on 1st December. But I digress... Anyway, I took out my passport to ensure that it was still valid (OK, so actually Mum took it out), and there, horror of horrors, I realized that my signature was actually a horrible little squiggle that with great imagination, could be construed to have been my name... I mean, in army, since I have to sign documents regularly, I've gotten a newer signature, based somewhat on the old one, but newer, more streamlined, more stylized, looks a lot less like a squiggle...

NOW I'M IN TROUBLE COS I CAN'T FLUIDLY SIGN BACK MY OLD SIGNATURE!!!!!

Bummer... hence I will be going down to the American Embassy to see if there is anything that can be done. Hopefully they will be able to help me, but security is a whole lot tighter now, and the passport situation may not be so easy to resolve, no thanks to that idiot Osama and his minions...

Bother...

Cheerio

Illiteracy

I must admit, that in this age of techie living, I'm rather wet-behind-the-ears, a greenhorn, a newbie (i.e. I CMI when it comes to computers and javascript and html and all that stuff). So to modify my present online webby diary thingy, I have to use HTML, which means I DON'T KNOW HOW!!!!. Cos about the only thing I can do on the computers is to play games, use the InstallShield Wizard, Word, PowerPoint etc etc. Such a bummer...

Anyway, thank goodness for brother and Joanne, who are willing to help me to go and add on all the add-ons, and tie up all the loose ends that can be tied up and etc etc. Which of course, still doesn't mean this thingy is fully complete. After all, I am rather illiterate in the area of computers, and this is only the second day of its existance....

Anyway, my expertise in the area of Microsoft Word has enabled me to utilize the posting abilities of the website!! (i.e. I have no problems with basic typing per se) hahahaha.... I feel so secure....

So ya. It's gonna take awhile more to make this thingy a whole lot more presentable. Hopefully it will be before I've lost the novelty of the whole keeping a diary thing. If you want, you can go take a look at my brother's or friends' blogs.... if I could just figure out how to use the html to link them....

Cheerio

Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their work. If one falls down, his friend can help him up. But pity the man who falls and has no one to help him up! - Ecc 4:9,10

What the...?!

Yeah, honestly, I don't know why I'm starting one of these. I mean, I'm not exactly the kind of person who goes around telling every other person how I feel. And I don't even keep a normal manual diary. (OCS tried to change that, but the discipline died out somewhere around September '03) Maybe it was the peer pressure. Maybe I finally decided to start keeping a sort of thingy like this.

Anyway, point to note is this. Always do your warm-up and cool down. CAUSE NOW I'VE GOT MUSCLE ACHES FROM THE RUN FOR FUND!!! It's not that bad really, what with my finely tuned muscles and excellent physical prowess... (Yeah I know. Gimme a break. This is my online thingy, I get entitled to my own delusions, don't I?)

Anyway, the run for fund was kinda fun. Pacing Jessica (She makes me sound so noble, when actually is also cos I'm bad at running...) was fun. Get to talk to her. long time haven't had to oppurtunity to talk to old friends. And on the way back also got the company of my shortcake... haha... she had a good time lor... never run, but eat alot while we all are running...

That's about all i'm gonna say. No, i'm not going to start wrinting about my personal fears and my love life on this thing. I have an image to uphold. So go bother someone else, someone less conservative or something.

Cheerio