Crossing

It was dark along the river, quiet, with mist rolling in among the rustling reeds.

There was a boat, bumping gently against the pier it was tied to, with a ferryman sitting in its stern, who looked up as he saw a man walking along the river's shore.

The man was quite old, with wispy white hair surrounding a bald pate, a belly that showed he appreciated good food, and laugh lines around his eyes that showed a life characterised by joy.

Those eyes though, were now idly looking at the fireflies flitting among the reeds, their lights leaving little glowing trails through the misty air.

The ferryman did not want to disturb the man's reverie, but as the latter drew closer to the pier, he felt it would be impolite to not announce his presence, so he cleared his throat.

"You're early," the ferryman said.

The old man stopped, looked up, then smiled. "Ah! Hello!"

"I've been sent to pick you up," the ferryman continued, "but there's still some time, so there's no need to rush. I'll let you know when we need to leave."

"Thank you," the gentleman replied, as he moved towards the bench at the end of the pier. "That's very kind of you."

He settled down on the seat, then pulled out a small plastic bag which he hung from the corner of the bench.

They sat in silence for awhile, with the old man occasionally taking out some tissue paper to sneeze into, before dropping them in the bag.

Finally, the old man asked, "Where are you taking me?"

The ferryman indicated across the river with his hand. Then noticing the old man frowning as he tried to see what the ferryman was pointing at, he added, "You won't be able to see until it's time to go."

At that moment, there was a sudden patter of feet, and a crowd of people appeared beyond a low fence that blocked them from the river and the pier. The old man looked up, beamed, then got up from the bench and went over to greet them.

"It's the people I know," he explained to the ferryman, as he reached out to touch them and hold their hands.

They ranged in age from those in their teens all the way up to some who were older than him. Some came from far away; others he had not seen in a long time. But as he stopped to talk or touch any of them, scenes of the old man's life showing his time with them flickered into life in the air nearby. There was the childhood in the kampung, the holidays in Malaysia, the visits to his clansmen in Hainan, the dinners and golf trips and church outings... And the memories continued popping into existence.

Eventually though, only a small group of people, his family, were left. The old man reached out across to hold the hand of a slight, dark-haired woman, then turned and proudly proclaimed, "My wife!"

The ferryman nodded, smiled back, then tapped his wrist, as if pointing to a watch. The old man noticed the gesture, then shook his head. "Wait, someone's not here yet."

The mood was starting to get sombre, as all those around started to realise there was not much time left. Where it had previously been like a meeting between old friends, it was getting more and more melancholic.

It was then that there was the sound of someone's footsteps, and a well-built young man ran up to the fence.

When the old man saw him, his face lit up, and he reached out to grasp his arm. "Thank you for coming back again so fast," he said, of his favourite grandson.

Abruptly, the sky behind the old man started to brighten. The old man started, glanced furtively across the river, then tightly embraced his wife. The ferryman moved over to the old couple, who now had tears streaming down their faces.

"It's time to go," the ferryman said, but the old man did not move.

"It's time to go," he repeated, and still there was no response.

"Stop pretending you can't hear me. Your hearing here does not depend on hearing aids, so that excuse won't work."

At that, the old man straightened up and slowly, reluctantly released his wife, who was now crying openly. But even as he stepped back from the fence, with the sky getting brighter, the years seemed to fall away from the old man, so that he was no longer an old man. He felt strength return to his limbs, his hair grew back and darkened and his body started slimming down. And beyond the physical changes, he noticed that he no longer felt like he wanted to stay; the places he had gone to and where he had spent all his life did not hold any attraction to him and the only attachment he felt was to the few who were dear to him.

He now looked out across the river, and where once it was dark and misty, it was now clear. Another shore was now visible across the river, with what looked like a great, gleaming made of gold, with gates of pearl. And the sky, which was now almost as bright as mid-morning, drew its light not from the sun, but from a source, someone, the man realised, who was on the shore. And he suddenly sensed a great yearning to be on the other side, to bow before his lord and worship in His presence.

He stepped towards the boat, but a distraught sob checked him. He looked back, at the woman who had caught his eye as a young man, whom people thought was a poor match for someone of his status but who had turned out to be perfect for him; who had nagged him and scolded him, but had loved him and supported him...

He walked towards her, reached out to embrace again. Unlike before, she didn't seem to notice his touch, and he realised he was already leaving this world.

Leaning towards her, he gave her a kiss on her forehead, smelt her hair one last time, then whispered to her, "I'll be waiting for you."

Then he strode back to the boat and the ferryman, now with his eyes firmly fixed on the other shore, on the figure standing on the water's edge with open arms. He was going home.

*****

Goodbye Grandpa. Thank you for everything. We'll see you again on the other side.

Iunctura

"Well, you certainly took your time coming here."

Her eyelids fluttered upon hearing the voice. She had been sleeping quite comfortably, for the first time in quite a long while, but she had been woken out of her slumber. It wasn't that the voice was loud, or particularly harsh, but there was something about it that she knew was not quite right, yet sounded strangely familiar...

Finally, her eyes opened and managed to focus on the sky high above her. That was another thing that was odd. She had fallen asleep in her bedroom, and she did not think she had been sleeping long enough for the sun to have started setting anyway. She reached out to her side for her glasses, then stopped in surprise. Her vision was completely fine, and she was able to see everything clearly, down to the finest detail, as the sun's rays gave an orange hue to everything.

She breathed deep, and the air, Such pure air, she thought, filled her with joy. It carried within it, the strong smell of the grass and the fields, and just a touch of fragrance from the wildflowers growing in the lee of some rocks behind her. She turned her head, and lifted her hands to touch a blade of grass, and felt its smooth surface, its fine edge, the way it connected to the stalk, and realized that she actually knew it.

She sat up straight, and her body responded easily like how it was like when she was still young and not weighed down by age or concerns. She marvelled at her arms; the skin was no longer wrinkled and sagging, but was as tight and smooth as when she was a schoolgirl, before the Occupation. She felt the strength in her limbs, the warmth on her face, and wanted to jump up and run about...

"It's also been too long since I've seen you with black hair," the voice said again from her other side.

She gave a short jump and twisted around. Lying on the ground next to her was a young man, arms behind his head, legs crossed, glancing at her from the corner of his eye. He cocked an eyebrow when he saw that she was finally acknowledging him, then grinned. She stared at him. He definitely looked and sounded familiar, and the way he looked at her, those dark eyes... and in a burst of alacrity, she knew why she was no longer an old woman bed-ridden by pain, but someone much younger, much..better...

The man looked back up at the sky, which was filled with brilliant streaks of pink and orange and the white wisps of clouds, and said, "You should have been here earlier to set up the place, and arrange the meals and do the washing..."

She gaped at him incredulously as he closed his eyes to relax. She suddenly knew who he was, and her heart almost burst with joy at seeing him again, but she also wanted to reach out and smack him for his impudence and wipe that smug look of his face.

Her mouth opened and closed a couple of times as she tried to think of ways to riposte, then finally said, "Well, if you were here so much earlier, why couldn't you have done it yourself?"

"It's a woman's job to do that," he replied without opening his eyes, but the growing smile on his face told her he was not being serious.

She rolled her eyes and groaned. "What did I do to have to endure this from you? I finally get here to be with you and that's the first thing you say to me. All you do is complain and demand things from me and waste our money on food that is too expensive and make me do all the housework..."

She stopped when he reached out for her hand. It had been too long since she felt him, and she fell silent as she soaked in the moment, and feeling happy and complete once again.

They sat in silence for a while, then a thought that had been nagging her at the back of her mind finally came to the forefront.

"How about the others? Will I be able to go back down to see them for a bit?"

He sat up and shrugged. "That's not up to me to decide. When I came up, they were willing to let me go down one last time to see the rest, but I don't have that sort of authority."

"Who does then?"

The man jerked his head at the rocks with the wildflowers. "He does."

She turned around, and realized for the first time, that the two of them were not alone.

"Hello grandmother," the boy started, then added, "Though I do not think you look very much like a grandmother anymore."

She looked closely at the boy. Like the man, she sensed she knew the boy, but in a different way. She peered into this clear, black eyes, and saw ancient wisdom and youthful enthusiasm, eternity and impermanence, past, present and future, and she instantly knew Him.

She bowed her head, and respectfully said, "Lord."

The boy giggled, his laugh a clear and pleasant sound, and he spoke again. "Welcome! It's been a long journey for you, always working and thinking of the needs of those around you, but now you can finally rest. No more worries or cares, just peace and joy with us."

She smiled at that. It was something her children, and her grandchildren had been saying to her. The though of them reminded her of her request, and she raised it up.

"Will I be allowed to go back down to see them again, Lord?"

The boy looked thoughtful for a minute, then looked at her with more sadness than she thought anyone that youthful-looking should be allowed to bear.

"They love you, you know. And naturally, they asked.  And I know how they are feeling too, much more than they could ever know themselves. But while I could do it for him last time, I cannot do it for you this time."

She looked downcast for a moment, but then knew that the decision had been made with thorough consideration, and she bowed to the infinite wisdom of the choice.

She looked around a bit, then heard a bell tolling in the distance. The boy jumped off the rocks, and reached out for her hand, then pulled both her and the man to their feet.

"Time for us to go back," he said, then started walking, hand still in hers.

She looked back wistfully for a minute, remembering all those she was leaving behind. But the boy continued to pull her along, and the man smiled at her reassuringly, and she knew that it was time to leave it all behind.

"Let's go," the boy urged again, and this time, she did not hesitate, as they walked towards the eternal city.

*   *   *

Good bye, grandma.

Rest in peace.

1926 - 17/08/2012

Green Egg

It's a little hard to see, but the egg was actually a pale green-ish in colour. Perhaps I should have taken a photo of a normal egg as a control picture.

You should not eat green eggs and ham,
You should not eat them, not a gram
You should not eat them if you can
You shouldn't touch them with your hands.

You shouldn't stick them on your fork
Or try to boil 'em in a pot.
Green eggs will make you feel unclean,
Green ham is probably Soylent Green

So don't tell me it is nice to eat
Don't tell me it will make me fit
Don't lie to me, Sam-I-Am.
I will not eat green eggs and ham!

But really, if your egg is green, it's probably rotten. So please don't eat it.

Ice Cream [Hilarious Haiku update]

So today on the train while going to Ochanomizu to attend a church service with the short-term team, the conversation somehow ended up being about the X-Men.

Vernon: Wah.. so this Magneto (he pronounced it Mag-NEH-to) quite powerful ahh... what?
Hui: *Laughing* It's pronounced Mag-nee-to.. who's Magnehto? Sounds like some ice cream!
Me: Yeah! Magnehto, the combination of a Magnum and a Cornetto... Magnehto!
Hui: I can almost imagine someone trying to sell it...
Me: Like Ian McKellen! "YOU SHALL NOT PASS....this opportunity to get two ice creams in one!"
Vernon:....

Worship at New Hope Church in Ochanomizu was quite enjoyable, rather different from what we're kinda used to at housechurch.

Also, I made a haiku in the shower:

しかがしか
かえるはかえる
なしはなし

=

There are only deer
The frogs have all returned home
There are no more pears

Props to Shion at Shinagawa Kai for leaving the seed of this in my mind for over a year. And no, it's not supposed to make any sense. hahahaha

[UPDATE!]
My brother put the haiku into his Mac translator, and the random thing it generated was too good to leave aside:

Only only you can apply
You can apply
It is not releasing

Haha wut?

Yeah 26 years old! (Thanks Miyako for the cake!)

Breakfast

This morning I wanted to make cinnamon toast
But the taste wasn't strong enough, it wasn't even close
Or maybe it's because I had a blocked nose
Cinnamon.

Yesterday I tried to make coffee with spice
But the cinnamon didn't dissolve, it looked just like lice
Oh why are you being so not very nice
Cinnamon?

I really do like a cinnamon taste
But perhaps it's time that we parted ways
I do believe I've found a brand new craze
Nutmeg.

Conatum

A sudden hush had descended over the throne room when the powerfully built warrior had strode proudly in, and now that he had finished giving an account of his task, there was utter silence. The task given to him had seemed both impossible and humiliating to do, but against all odds, the warrior had returned in triumph.

Several of the youths in the room, young men who would one day be mighty fighters in their own rights, looked up at him in hero worship. The maids, hiding behind the pillars and under the doorways, admired his physique and rugged good looks. But for every person in the room who looked in awe, there were three who stared with hatred, and among them was the king.

There was no mistaking the loathing in King Eurystheus' eyes as he glared at the man standing in front of him. He slowly took a deep breath, and tried to calm the roiling anger that was threatening to boil over.

How can it be, he thought to himself, that no matter what I make this fool do, he comes back victorious? Why is it that this man is always successful? Surely there must be something he cannot do!

He had already taken down that vicious lion with the impenetrable skin, by managing to find a way to strangle it.

Then he had gone to Lerna, and had killed the seven-headed beast that resided there and was terrorizing the nearby villages. Nine-headed, he reminded himself, since the cretin had charged in and cut off two of the creatures heads, not knowing that each stump would sprout two new heads... in fact, if it had not been for that other idiot Iolaus who helped him burn the stumps...

Acquiring the golden-antlered hind of the goddess also hadn't proved a problem. How he managed to bargain with the deity he did not know, but the huntress maiden had agreed to lend him the last of her swift-footed does instead of killing him the way she had all others who had attempted to even touch one of her favoured deer.

And when he had brought that man-eating boar into this very room! The king still remembered how he had recoiled in horror when the evil creature, with it's blood-stained tusks, had been led in by the warrior, and how the warrior had pretended to let it loose on the king... oh the horror of it all.

And now this. King Eurystheus silently cursed the heavens. He had sent the warrior to the great stables of Augeas, who had sailed with the legendary ship Argo. Since returning from that voyage, Augeas had been dealing in cattle, and he had huge herds of cattle that had been blessed by the gods themselves. But the blessing had been a double-edged sword, for they produced a great deal of waste, and after 30 years, no one had been able to go within 2 miles of the stables due to the stench that emanated.

The warrior had been told to clean up the place in a day, a humiliating assignment for any warrior, much less the son of the chief god of the Olympians. And yet, he had managed to do it, and even the son of Augeas was giving an eyewitness account of the feat.

"It's true my lord. He diverted the rivers Alpheus and Peneus through the stalls and in less than half a day the place was as clean as the temple of Zeus!" claimed the youth.

The king felt his self-control losing it's grip on his anger. Oh how he wanted to beat his hands against the wall, to scream out the fury that had been building up inside of him, to smash something, but most of all, to wipe that smirk off the face of the warrior standing easily in front of him! Surely there had to be something he could not do, something that no matter how muscle-bound or cunning or intelligent he was, he would never be able to accomplish... something...

And with a start, the king set up. In the quiet and stillness of the room, that movement seemed as loud as the shouts of the phalanxes as they charged into battle. And a disconcerting change came over the king. His eyes, which had been wide with rage, had suddenly narrowed into cold, cold slits, and a cruel smile slowly spread its way across his narrow face. And even the warrior, who had up till then been standing tall and proud, suddenly felt a chill wash over him as the king addressed him:

"Heracles, I have now decided what your six task is." King Eurystheus allowed the deadly silence to hang in the air for a moment.

"Heracles, I want you to lick your elbow."

* * *

I had been watching a history channel program on the 12 Labours of Hercules (Heracles is his actual Greek name. Hercules is the Latin pronunciation) with brother the other day, and this is what he would have made Hercules do if he had been king. For me, I would have loved to see Hercules' reaction if the king had ever given him such an assignment.

Anyway, just a short update on what's been going on, I've finished my 2-week course at TTC (it was really good, learnt a lot of stuff and met new friends there) and have gone for YA retreat (kinda short but it was nice, though I wish they provided golf buggys/buggies for us) and church retreat, which was really awesome, since the Holiday Inn Melaka is really nice, and the bar was showing the world cup matches. Plus it was fun getting to play with the kids, and to get to know the German friend.

I am still aiming to return to Japan as soon as possible, and it seems that most things are falling in place. Most of my medical and psychological tests are clear (which simply means they haven't discovered my mental imbalances yet heh), as are the admin issues. I still don't like taking jabs though, and it didn't help that I've had to get more in the past month than in the past 5 years combined. I've got one tomorrow in fact gah.

I also have an interview with the home council on the 5th of July, so if I do get to leave, it'll definitely have to be after that.

Alright, have fun everyone. Looks like England's gonna be out, but at least for now, Japan's still in. 日本頑張れ！

Cheerio

Ode to my coat

This morning I took a look outside
And thought "I think it'll be alright,
I'll really rather travel light"
And did not bring my coat.

The morning train was quite a squeeze
But 'cos of that I did not freeze
I really did feel quite at ease
That I didn't bring my coat.

I traveled somewhat further north,
And boldly, outside, ventured forth
And really did not think much of
The absence of my coat.

But then the skies began to frown
And lo, the rain began to pound
The temperature dropped way, way down
I wish I'd brought my coat.

So now I huddle in the train
And though protected from the rain
The thought of cold still brings me pain
I should have brought my coat.

So I went up to Tsuchiura last Thursday, and I'm not kidding, I was wearing only my Puma jacket, which is useful for springtime and church services, but not really for late autumn-early winter times. So even though most of the stuff happened indoors/traveling in car with heater, I still could feel the chill, especially when it started to rain around midday.

The temperature has really dropped, and as I have observed to my friends, growing up in Singapore prepares you for the summers here, but not for the winters at all. Fortunately, I have a kotatsu (from Shu and Ten), an electric blanket (inherited from Louis and Chris), an aircon with a heater (in the house) and an ofuro (which is really useful).

Oh and speaking of Louis and Chris, this happened on a skype conversation, when they were trying to get me to use the electric blanket.

Louis: *random stuff*
Me: *random stuff*
Auntie Chris: (in background) Has Daniel found the electric blanket yet?
L: Eh, Daniel, have you found the electric blanket yet?
Me: Yeah I found it, but I'm leaving it in the living room for Justin (Louis' son, coming to visit soon)
L: Eh you should use it lah, don't you feel cold?
Me: Yeah, a bit, but I use the heater in my room.
L: Eh, you shouldn't do that you know. Heater is expensive ok...
Me: Ohhhh... I see...
C: (in background) Don't tell him that! Later he won't use the heater and then he'll freeze to death.

????

So anyway, the team from WEFC came up already, and they've already done one kids' event last Saturday. Thank God that

1. Quite a few kids came, even though it was raining
2. Two dads came, since usually only moms turn up
3. The event was stretched for an extra hour, but the team still had stuff up their sleeves to keep with it
4. The afore-mentioned rain only started after the team had reached the building, since we had to walk from the station (quite far) while carrying all the barang (quite a lot)
5. One of the dads, Kenji, drove us to the station after the event was over.

I think most of us had a good time then, playing with the kids and getting to know them. Do continue to pray for the team as they will be doing lots of things this whole week, and will have to meet the kids again on Friday.

Ok, so that's about it for now.

Cheerio!

Valeas

The slanting rays of the setting sun felt good on his face. The orange glow covered him in its warmth as the cool evening breeze rustled through the grass, bringing with it a freshness, a certain fragrance that he had not experienced in a long time.

He breathed in deeply, then exhaled, delighting in the ease at which he accomplished so simple a task. It was so different from what he could recall, but the anachronism did not bother him, as he sat on a rock, leaning back on straightened arms.

He looked up to the sky and caught sight of the riot of colours filling it. The hues seemed so much brighter, so much more vibrant, so... alive. And even though he was alone in the wide grassy expanse, he felt so at ease. And so he closed his eyes and sat, just a tired old man admiring the beauty of his surroundings...

"Hello, grandfather."

The pleasant voice gently brought the old man out of his reverie, and the old man cracked open one of his eyes to find the source of the words.

There, standing in front of him was a youth, a young man who looked no older than twenty. Yet, as the old man peered closer, the boy seemed so much older than his years, so much wiser, as if he had gone through more than the old man ever had.

He looks so familiar, thought the old man. But he definitely was not one of his grandchildren, despite the boy's greeting. In fact, he did not even think he had seen the boy before.

The old man's confusion must have shown on his face, for the boy smiled disarmingly back at him.

"You may not remember me, but you accepted me, and I remember that. I told you back then that I would never forget you."

And as the old man looked into the youth's clear eyes, the old man suddenly knew who he was. And instinctively, he knew why the boy was there with him.

"Is it time to go already?" asked the old man. He did not really want to leave his seat on the rock. It felt comfortable, and so much more known that wherever it was he was supposed to go with the boy.

The youth smiled again, a wide smile that reassured the old man.

"I'll be bringing you somewhere better, but no, we're not leaving yet. I've got a request asking to let you remain awhile more."

The old man sighed in relief. The thought of going somewhere better sounded good, but he also felt that something was not quite ready, that he could not leave, that there was something in him that was holding him there.

"Take a seat," invited the old man.

As the boy sat down, so many questions rose in the old man's heart, so many answers that he wanted to hear from the boy. But when he looked at the young man sitting on the grass besides him, smelling a flower, a lily, he realized, the old man realized his questions were not important, and that he would have plenty of time to ask them later on.

So the two of them sat there, watching the golden fields around them, silently contemplating the wonder of their world.

Abruptly, the boy stood up. The old man looked up in surprise, as the youth took his hand.

"Hold on, grandfather. You'll have to go back for a short while."

The world went dark. The old man suddenly smelt the sterile smell of the hospital, felt the unwelcome feeling of tubes, tasted the odd plastic flavour of air that comes through a breathing mask. And he realized it was difficult to breathe again, almost panting as his body tried to draw in life-giving oxygen to lungs that were not working efficiently.

He started to panic. He couldn't see, couldn't move, couldn't even breathe properly... then he felt the warmth of the boy's hand in his, and as he gripped tighter, his fear subsided. Then, he noticed the presence of others around his bed.

One of the presences leaned over, and gently shook his shoulder.

"Grandfather? We're all here, don't worry."

He recognized the voice, and the old man wanted so much to open his eyes. To take a look at the face of his granddaughter, and see her dimpled smile one more time. To look one more time at her two brothers, who, he could sense, were standing stocially to one side trying not to cry. He wanted to see his youngest grandson, who was sitting in the chair, sleepily trying to stay awake for his grandfather.

He wanted to see the maid, who had taken care of him so well the past few months, and to thank her. He wanted to see his son and daughter, and their spouses, who he could sense were maintaining quiet vigil by his bed.

And he wanted so much to see his wife, who he knew would be worried. He wanted to hold her one last time, and tell here everything was ok, but though she was calling his name, his body just would not respond.

He felt so frustrated. He could feel them, but he was unable to respond to them, and he was so upset he wanted to cry. But the strong grip of the boy's hand in his quickly drained all the despair out of him, and he relaxed again.

He sensed his daughter-in-law bending over him.

"Don't worry about us dad. The kids are all grown up, and we can take care of ourselves. Rest easy," she whispered into his ear. Her voice cracked on the last few words, and he knew she was crying.

And even through his laboured breathing, he also heard his two older grandsons praying over him, asking God to take his hand, and give him peace. He smiled to himself at that, for he knew he already had.

The youth's hand tightened around his, and he could see again, back in the golden field, breathing freely, bathed in the amber glow of the evening sun.

He was standing up too, on good, strong, healthy legs that he had not had for years.

In the distance, a bell tolled, as if signaling an end to the day.

"Is it time to go now, my Lord?" asked the old man again.

This time, the boy nodded.

"Where are we going?" The old man looked around, then saw a city in the distance. It glittered as it caught the rays of the setting sun, and the fading notes of the bell appeared to come from within its walls. "Are we going there?" pointed the old man.

The boy nodded again, then cocked his head as if listening to something. He turned to the old man.

"Your grandson asked me to tell you that he'll be meeting you there someday soon."

Happiness flooded the old man's heart, even as tears welled up in his eyes, as he knew he was being apart from his loved ones temporarily. The youth continued to hold his hand, leading him to the city.

"Come on, grandfather. You've finished your journey, and I've prepared a place for you, to welcome you to my Father's place. You're finally going home."

At this, the old man smiled. And he walked off with the boy, hand in hand, to the eternal city.

* * *

Good bye, grandfather.
Rest in peace.
4/11/1927 - 4/12/2008

Tenebrarum

A gentle rain fell upon the streets of paving stones. Under the overcast sky, the light seemed grayish, almost as if it was dead, and a cold wind swept through the narrow alleyways under the low hanging clouds. At the same time, the air was strangely silent, despite the sound of the happenings in the street, and one could hear the soft tinkle of the bells in the shrines as clearly as the voice of the merchant promoting his wares.

Appearing from out of the misty opaqueness stepped a young man. He peered ahead through the rain and through the hair that the wind blew across his face, at the torii and beyond, into the ground of the shrine. As like with most other shrines, he felt that it was a place of peace, and yet, there was something about shrines that was vaguely unsettling to him. He turned to the one who was leading them, and cocked an eyebrow at her, as if to ask, "Here?"

She nodded in reply, and then beckoned to the other two members to move forward. She had been to the place before, and she knew her way around, yet she too felt uneasy about the place she was leading them to. It wasn't as if she could place a finger on what exactly was bothering her. It was something in the place that made her hesitant to just stroll in, and which made her pause for a moment outside as the other two caught up with her.

The other two girls looked on with some apprehension. At 19, they were both younger than the other two, and whatever had given the other two reason to pause was now starting to affect them as well. And though the interior of the shrine was as quiet as before, there was a certain heaviness that hung about the place. And for the taller girl, it was even worse, as she was Sensitive, a Cleric, so she had the ability to feel supernatural forces and shifts in power. And the corner of her eyes were beginning to tingle, a sure implication that there was something unholy residing in the area. She silently whispered a prayer for protection, to her God, that He would protect them all from the malevolence of the place.

The tall Guide snapped her helmet on securely, raised her spear, and turned to the other three. "You all ready?"

The youngest, an Archer gave her a tremulous nod, and notched an arrow to her bowstring. It was not her first time, but she did not enjoy having to go right into a stronghold of the enemy, and the tension of her closest friend in the band wasn't helping assuage her nervousness. The Cleric barely noticed, but the intense look of concentration and her continuous prayers answered the Guide's query.

The Guide turned back to the man, and motioned for him to continue. The Elemental raised his shield, and a small ball of fire popped into existence in his right hand. Satisfied that all was prepared, the Guide stepped forward, guided by the light of the fireball, and covered in the prayers of the Cleric.

High above the fluted columns and sweeping roofs, the clouds gathered, the darkness gathered, forming a mass that dwarfed the four warriors.

* * *

Ok, so my foray into fantasy writing isn't very good, but essentially, that was what we did in Kawagoe on the 12th. We went on a prayer walk through the area, and we split up into two groups at the start, and so I went with JL, and J and WT. We started with the relatively frivolous stuff first lah, so we went to this place called Candy Street, which was called Candy Street mainly because all the candy makers gathered there after a great fire 115 years ago, and the street received its name after all the candy makers had settled there.

Didn't buy much, but ate a Taiyaki, which is essentially, a fish shaped Jollibean pancake. Except mine had custard in it. Pretty good.

The next part was a bit different. We had been doing prayer walk, of course, even though we were looking at all the candy and stuff, but after clearing candy street, the tone really started to change. It started when we walked past this museum, which had several masks and miniature mikoshi. Which were somewhat disturbing. After that, we went to several shrines, and the first one we went to, WT told us later, really made her feel uncomfortable. She has the unique ability to sense supernatural forces to a certain degree, and this particular shrine, out of the three we visited, had her senses tingling.

Much later on, we found out that that particular shrine was one of the oldest in Kawagoe, and was pretty deeply entrenched. And when WT shared all this with us, it totally freaked out most of us, and we spent the night praying, which I must admit, was a really good and refreshing experience, despite the rather dark reasons for it's beginning. Coincidentally, that was at the same time the church was having JPM, and it was comforting knowing that the church was also praying for us.

So we went to another shrine and a temple, before heading back. We tried making dinner that night, and I decided to try making curry, since if anything, at least we would know how bad the stuff would taste. Fortunately, it came out ok, and no one got any stomachaches.

Friday we went to Hanakoganei, where we helped to run a kids' club with D&J and SW. The team helped with the program, and then played with some of the kids after that, which I can assure you, is more tiring that it sounds. Especially when you have to continuously run around with a kid on your back for an hour and a half. But it was fun. Only thing was that Jo couldn't join in the fun because she was still on medication, and the agreement I had with her was that she could only join in when she was fully recovered. Still, I must say she showed a great deal of maturity by not kicking up a fuss, even though she was the one who did all the planning for the kids' program. And I admired her even more when she spent the entire two and a half hours praying for the rest of us.

After that, we came back home, where we had the talk (mentioned above, same time as JPM), and slept a bit late.

Saturday we went back up to Kawagoe to do some Street E. After all the praying we did the night before, we didn't feel quite so down as like the last time we went up there. Also, we weren't quite working in the same area. I'm not terribly fond of Street E, and I still felt uncomfortable, but AA was really helpful and all, so we managed to do some stuff. Toddled over to HJ's place after that for debrief, then went back to go and prep food for the combined housechurch celebration.

Sunday we went to Ichikawa, where the OMF building was. Met some old friends, most notably S, whom I met on previous trips, and who is the person I was closest to from Japan last time. Yeah. He led worship, then we witnessed a baptism of a Chinese exchange student, and heard from a guy who sings Gospel music to do outreach.

So that was the first week. I'm like so hopelessly behind that I'll probably only finish typing out the trip way after I get back to Singapore, but oh well.

And for sister, yeah I miss the whole family. Sometimes. Haha..

Cheerio

Ventulus

Today was the culmination of almost two years of learning at the driving center. Well, ok, not exactly two years. More like two months with 1 year 10 in between.

See I wanted to get my driver's license in 2005 before I went to uni, since I had a bit of free time. But driving everyday for two weeks makes driving lessons incredibly boring, and I was rather upset when I realized that to take the advanced theory test, I had to go for lessons and take a mock test before I was allowed to sit for the test.

So I just stopped taking 'em, and procrastinated until recently, when I cleared my advanced theory in June or July this year.

Went for lessons yesterday, and stalled twice. Nothing much to worry about.

And today was the test.

Blue sky overhead
Seeing the roads of my joy
Complements the breeze

D, 'tis a reference

Cheerio

Anaticulae

So S was complaining to me earlier on today. See, he had gone for his reservist ICT, and he had just gone through the combat shoot at the range, where he missed out on getting his $200 bonus by a single shot.

"One bullet!" he was saying. "That stupid duck!"

Yes, it is a little known fact that the SAF uses ducks for target practice. I mean, the pop-up targets are useful for practice and all, but for the real training, we need to use ducks to simulate the random movements that would usually happen during actual combat.

So what happens during the test is that there will be some guys down at the butt end of the range who will release like 6 ducks at a go, and each of the troopers have to pop one duck each. This is why Singapore still maintains a couple of duck farms in the LCK area. It's government funded for shooting practice. After the whole range is over, they'll go and collect the ducks that are still in large enough pieces, and eat them for dinner. The rest of the remains are left at the range to attract other small scavenger birds. This is to allow the NCOs, officers, and people who want to improve their shooting to engage smaller targets that are harder to hit.

So quite naturally, a common misconception during inter-national army training is when a Singaporean soldier screams "DUCK!!" at his section mates. He isn't telling them to hit the dirt and watch out for incoming fire; rather, he's telling them that he's spotted a live target and telling them to shoot it, as well as warning them of the possibility of more enemies in the immediate vicinity.

So anyway, S was complaining, because he's not eligible for the IPPT, so the only way, as he puts it, to get back his taxpayer's money, is to score in the range. But he missed it by a single shot. Poor S.



Went through VCF's FOC a couple of weeks back. Made some new friends, even though my group was kinda depleted cos there were seniors who were working, and there were freshmen who needed to do admin stuff. But generally, the camp was really well done, and I certainly did not feel there were any major hiccups, except maybe SP's rope during the tug-of-war that broke just about every time we played and which ended up a third shorter due to the number of knots that had to be used to conect it back. The other great thing is that once again, the committee felt that group cheers were unnecessary, which is definitely a major plus in my book. Co-leader D was really quite fun to be with. He gave us like Church History 101 in 45 mins.

The speaker was pretty good too. The theme of the camp was of our Foundation of Christ, and he also reminded us of our Unity in Christ, and encouraged us to be Foolish for Christ. I can't really remember everything, but think these 3 points are really easy to remember, and useful for application.

Other than that, nothing much else happened. Helped in some matric stuff, as well as IFG things, had ISO, and passed my advanced theory test. Oh and I managed to get my 3 history pre-allocated modules, so that's one less worry.

Yup, that's about it. Maybe update again soon, if I get inspiration.

Cheerio!

P.S. If you really believed that whole thing about the ducks, I've really got nothing to say.

Sanctus

Well, after another really long break, I've finally decided to come back. Especially since I've now got something to post about.

First, in relation to the title, is that I have found the lyrics to one of my all time favourite songs. It's in Latin, and it's actually used more by the RC church, but even though I'm Protestant, I must admit some of those Latin RC songs are really powerful, which is not terribly surprising, since we both worship the same God. It is called the Sanctus, by the way, but the song of the same name I listen to is by Eden's Bridge, a Celtic worship band:

Sanctus Sanctus Sanctus
Sanctus Sanctus Sanctus
Dominus dominus Deus Sabaoth
Pleni sunt coeli et terra gloria tua

Hosanna Hosanna Hosanna Hosanna
Hosanna Hosanna in excelsis.

Ok, so when you read it, it doesn't sound as powerful as the music. But trust me, if you have the chance to listen to it, it really is a moving piece.



Q: Do you think this picture was taken before the students came in the morning, or after they've left in the evening? (Don't think about the angle of the sunlight. NUS students have an unfair advantage when it comes to that)

A: It's actually in the morning. Thought it looked like the calm before the (exam) storm. Then again, it could also be the quietness after everyone's left. Oh well.

I like this picture. I took it in the morning in the SMC when I was there early in the morning. I'm supposed to be there for QT, but only recently did it pick up again. I neglected that bit of my life a bit too much. Thank God at least, that I've started to move back to doing it regularly.

Moving on, today, I met Smurf online. His nick was like [SheEp] - Clouds are breaking, heaven's come to earth... and we had a sort of conversation, and then there was this bit we talked about some poetry. (after we talked about Fuzz). Anyway, it went something like this:

Me: Hey you know, your nickname reminds me of another line somewhere.
S: Oh really? Which one?
Me: God's in His heaven, all's right with the world.
S: Oh. ok. Mine's actually a line from a song.
Me: Oh. Mine's from a poem.
S: Who's? ....yours?
Me: No. My poetry generally tends to be more crappy.

After which I provided him with an example of my literary skills, coming up with a poem in 2 minutes:

A can be rather reserved
He's been blessed by the One above
Though not really blue,
So I don't have a clue
How he got his nickname of smurf.

Following which he threatened me with death by strangulation, as is his wont.

Final point in this entry is a spot of humor, which I came across when reading the afore-mentioned Fuzz's site. Please click here. And I'm not referring to the Worms half of the article.

Yeah well, that's about it. I think I was supposed to write about some more stuff, but it's kinda late, and I kinda lost track of what it was I wanted to write.

God Bless, all

Cheerio

Stellantis

So once again, my crazy literary persona took over during the last day of the Telunas camp, when we were supposed to be writing our reflections, and so, instead of that half page report I was supposed to give PJ, I ended up with this, which for one, does not do justice to the situation that night (since it is really a combination of both nights), and which ended up with me having to rush that half page report on the trip back to Singapore. Oh well.



They gathered there that night to pray,
To praise and thank Him for the days
Just gone past, of rest and play
Upon the quiet sea.

So their voices gently rose,
Flowing out, across the cove
In gratitude for His mercies shown
Upon the quiet sea.

In the distance lightning flashed,
Lighting the clouds up to the west
Yet the sound of thunder did not crash
Upon the quiet sea.

Still the songs rose from the deck
Thanking the Lord for needs not lacked
And suddenly the clouds rolled back,
Revealing a sight to see.

So they looked up, to their delight
They saw the stars, burning in the night
A field of black with points of white
Above the quiet sea.

And their praises rose to God above
As once again they felt His love
Coming down, they did observe,
Upon the quiet sea.

For the marvellous sight, and fresh cold air
Reminded them of the One who cares
Who listens to, and answers prayers
Upon the quiet sea.



Yup yup. So as we go about this Christmas, please let us all remember that it's not about Santa, or snow, or presents, or even giving, or being with friends, or finding romance under the mistletoe. We must remember that it is all about God sending Jesus to us to redeem us from our sins.

Cheerio.

"We thank you Lord for sending Your Son,
God of love, sending Heaven's Bright Sun
To save us from sin, He did come,
To pay at Calvary."

Taedium

You know you're really bored when you can be sitting in the media viewing room, and supposed to be studying for exams, and you are taking photos of the world outside, and thinking how much the scene looks like something out of Australia or USA.



But the weather's been really good all this while, and it's pretty regular, like clear blues skies in the morning, till early afternoon, and then the storm clouds form, and then it rains...

Another sign you're really bored is when you can come up with something like this:



Dawn
It breaks
Peeking up
Over the tops
Of trees and houses
Casting its amber glow
Upon the diamond dewdrops
Lighting the mist with slanted rays
Feeling the changes upon my skin
From the cool of night to the warmth of day
Hearing birds sing out their morning song
Lifting their voices to their Lord
And as the early breeze comes
Carrying with it hints
Of the day to be
I've found what I
Want to find
I've found
God

Cheerio.

Poetica

Amber diffuses,
Slanted rays, casts fields of grey;
Evening beckons.

How's that? I must admit that in my Lit course in school, I find Haiku the most fascinating and appealing of poetic forms so far. Well, apart from Limericks, that is. The interesting thing is, both forms are considered 'low' or 'commoner' type of poems. Wonder what that means...

Chaos is my name.
Disorder within order,
Universal rules.

A real pity we don't get to do Limericks. They're generally funny ones. Though I have also heard that they are also usually vulgar. Maybe that's why we aren't doing them. Haha.. I have tried coming up with some, but right now, I think only E and M have been the subjects of that. And the band has probably seen the one on M.

Bright Son of Heaven
Struck down, they lifted You high,
Salvation is here.

Cheerio

Orange

Have you ever experienced an orange time?

Perhaps you are unsure as to what that is. It's that time of the day, when the room is filled with the amber beams of the setting sun; when no matter how much noise there is being made, it still just seems so quiet; where everything seems to slow down, as if the honey coloured light that diffuses through the windows imbues the air with the viscosity of it's descriptive namesake...

It's that time when a sort of sleepy calmness fills the air, sleepy, yet not lethargic, as if there is a call to ignore the rigours of a fast-paced working life, to just sit aside, watch the gently falling dust glinting in the slanted rays of radiance, to marvel at the beauty of the world, to realize that there must be a God who can create all this, and to listen to Him speak... A time to pray... A time to reflect.... To hear that small tiny voice that we so often ignore, preferring to try to do things our way...

Just for you whenever you experience the orange time. Just sit back, unwind a spot, and hear the voice of the Lord calling you back to Him...

I really must be getting old, getting all sentimental like that...

Cheerio