It appears that the email account I use to do most of my communicating with has either been hit by a virus or a spambot. And it sends out spam mail to my contact list. So far, hopefully, those of you who have gotten such spam mails from me haven't been too affected by it, other than by having to delete said spam mails.
But it is leaving me in a particularly foul mood.
Stupid spam s***. #alliteration
Showing posts with label Grumbles. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Grumbles. Show all posts
Sunday, January 23, 2011
Saturday, November 13, 2010
Exercere
Was reading Psalm 72 this morning, and some of the verses only seemed to guide along my thoughts on something that I've been thinking about since coming back to Japan.
Now, you may or may not remember I put up a post a few months ago about foreign workers in Singapore, but every now and then, I am reminded about how much they have to struggle to eke out a living working in a foreign country. It certainly doesn't help when the people who employ them or bring them in don't really seem to understand their situation.
And now I would like to make a disclaimer, that I am not an economics major (much to my parents' disappointment, I believe haha). Neither did I specialize in any of the following fields: business management, sociology, social work, political science. I was a history student (and a rather poor one at that), so what I am about to say is a very simple perception of the whole situation in Singapore. If you know better and feel that I have made an error in my assumptions, please feel free to correct me.
So now, back to the issue at hand. Short summary:
And I mean, realistically speaking, if a foreign worker went up against a company CEO, who do you think has more clout? How many people would take the side of the worker? How many would speak up for the worker? How many would even care?
I believe as Singaporeans, we have an obligation to stand up for the neighbours in our midst. In primary school, doing the 好公民 series of moral ed. books, they show how 小明 was a good citizen because he helped his neighbour when the neighbour was in trouble. Aren't these foreign workers our neighbours too? They are building up Singapore around us, even if we choose not to notice them.
Now, people may start moaning about how this post by a 'pseudo-Singaporean' (at least I did my NS) shows his un-patriotism by writing for the needs of the foreign workers, while not caring in the least for the Singaporean poor. But I would like to point out that this post in particular is meant to focus on the foreign workers in Singapore, who you may have or have not seen working to build up the wonderful city we live in today.
Second, in case you have forgotten (history major ftw), most of us are the descendants of foreign workers from overseas. Whether they came from India, China, or even the surrounding Malay archipelago, a lot of these immigrants came as manual labourers. It was by their hard work that Singapore has developed into one of the best economies in the world, and I'm sure that we would be pretty upset if people had been taking advantage of them in the past.
See also, Psalm 72:4:
So this is just my two cents worth, a short rant, if you will, on an issue that Singaporeans (especially Christians) should sit up and take notice about.
Now, you may or may not remember I put up a post a few months ago about foreign workers in Singapore, but every now and then, I am reminded about how much they have to struggle to eke out a living working in a foreign country. It certainly doesn't help when the people who employ them or bring them in don't really seem to understand their situation.
And now I would like to make a disclaimer, that I am not an economics major (much to my parents' disappointment, I believe haha). Neither did I specialize in any of the following fields: business management, sociology, social work, political science. I was a history student (and a rather poor one at that), so what I am about to say is a very simple perception of the whole situation in Singapore. If you know better and feel that I have made an error in my assumptions, please feel free to correct me.
So now, back to the issue at hand. Short summary:
- Foreign workers (mostly from the Indian sub-continent) have to borrow lots of money in order to come to Singapore, where they have been promised employment.
- The middle-men who handle the arrangements are paid a processing fee for the work they do in bringing the workers over.
- Employers in Singapore are allowed a quota on the number of workers they are allowed to bring in, based on their manpower estimates for their projects.
- Sometimes, the quota exceeds the actual need for workers (not necessarily because of unscrupulous intentions)
- Sometimes, the unscrupulous ones will still use up all their quota, in exchange for a cut of the processing fee.
- And this leaves some workers here with no work, but with plenty of debt. And because they have no work, they have to leave.
- The workers would have a minimum wage rate to fall upon
- There would be less over-estimation of quotas, since the companies bringing people in would have to pay the minimum wage, even for people who don't have work to do.
- The government would be able to have a better picture of construction needs and how people are employed.
- Most importantly, there will be a decrease in the exploitation of workers.
And I mean, realistically speaking, if a foreign worker went up against a company CEO, who do you think has more clout? How many people would take the side of the worker? How many would speak up for the worker? How many would even care?
I believe as Singaporeans, we have an obligation to stand up for the neighbours in our midst. In primary school, doing the 好公民 series of moral ed. books, they show how 小明 was a good citizen because he helped his neighbour when the neighbour was in trouble. Aren't these foreign workers our neighbours too? They are building up Singapore around us, even if we choose not to notice them.
Now, people may start moaning about how this post by a 'pseudo-Singaporean' (at least I did my NS) shows his un-patriotism by writing for the needs of the foreign workers, while not caring in the least for the Singaporean poor. But I would like to point out that this post in particular is meant to focus on the foreign workers in Singapore, who you may have or have not seen working to build up the wonderful city we live in today.
Second, in case you have forgotten (history major ftw), most of us are the descendants of foreign workers from overseas. Whether they came from India, China, or even the surrounding Malay archipelago, a lot of these immigrants came as manual labourers. It was by their hard work that Singapore has developed into one of the best economies in the world, and I'm sure that we would be pretty upset if people had been taking advantage of them in the past.
See also, Psalm 72:4:
"He will defend the afflicted among the people and save the children of the needy;As Christians, we look on ourselves as being the afflicted and needy, but shouldn't we also be wary of becoming the 'oppressor'? Unless you take great pleasure in being crushed, then by all means, please go ahead.
He will crush the oppressor."
So this is just my two cents worth, a short rant, if you will, on an issue that Singaporeans (especially Christians) should sit up and take notice about.
Wednesday, September 08, 2010
Seriously?
So I'm reading in the news that some 'pastor' of a 'Christian church' somewhere in Florida has the intention of burning the Quran on the anniversary of the Sept 11 attacks. He wants to 'show' that America will not back down from terrorism, that by burning the books, he's doing the work of God, and that he is legally entitled to do so by the American Constitution.
What. The. $@(&.
Seriously. What. The. $@(&.
I don't even know what to say, as my mind is simply overwhelmed by the sheer absurdity of this venture. There have been times when I was serving in the army where I really wanted to curse, but this trumps it all. It's so freaking STUPID that even cursing with all the fluency of my platoon sergeant in English and Hokkien would not be able to convey just how repulsed I am by this idea.
How is this Christian? I'll like to ask. How is taking the holy book of another religion and burning it contributing to the work of God? As Christians, we are called first to "Love the Lord your God, with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind," but the next part is to "love your neighbour as yourself" (Luke 10:27).
How is burning the Quran, which is the most important book for Muslims around the world, gonna show love for your neighbours? Doesn't Jesus love them as much as he loves us Christians? Would the Lord of Love be proud of you for burning the Quran?
I'm totally disgusted by the fact that he considers his actions similar to the work done by so many other real Christian workers who are showing true Christianity.
What are you trying to do you moron? Start the Crusades again?
What. The. $@(&.
Seriously. What. The. $@(&.
I don't even know what to say, as my mind is simply overwhelmed by the sheer absurdity of this venture. There have been times when I was serving in the army where I really wanted to curse, but this trumps it all. It's so freaking STUPID that even cursing with all the fluency of my platoon sergeant in English and Hokkien would not be able to convey just how repulsed I am by this idea.
How is this Christian? I'll like to ask. How is taking the holy book of another religion and burning it contributing to the work of God? As Christians, we are called first to "Love the Lord your God, with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind," but the next part is to "love your neighbour as yourself" (Luke 10:27).
How is burning the Quran, which is the most important book for Muslims around the world, gonna show love for your neighbours? Doesn't Jesus love them as much as he loves us Christians? Would the Lord of Love be proud of you for burning the Quran?
I'm totally disgusted by the fact that he considers his actions similar to the work done by so many other real Christian workers who are showing true Christianity.
What are you trying to do you moron? Start the Crusades again?
Monday, May 24, 2010
Iustus
We paid a visit to a social service center in the west part of Singapore earlier this evening. While we were there, we met a man. His name is K, and he has a diploma in Electrical Engineering. He was a bit shy at first, but slowly opened up.
K really puts in a lot of effort for his work. On most weekdays, he starts work at 8 and leaves only after 7. When he has to do OT, he welcomes the opportunity to stay on and do more work. He has to work on Saturdays too, but he faces it with the same sentiment as whenever he's up for OT.
But K does all this only for $500 a month... because he's from Bangladesh. He lives with 13 other Bangladeshi workers in a cramped apartment somewhere in Jurong West. Every morning, for the past 5 years, K and his bunkmates wake up at 6.30, leave their home at 7.30, and work long hours for one of the many shipbuilding companies that makes millions of dollars for Singaporeans, but close to pittance for them.
We see these people everyday. They are the workers at the construction sites, the welders at the shipyards, the tired-looking men in dusty clothes packed into the back of Daihatsu pickup trucks along the CTE. They have been making Singapore the city that it is today. But we never notice them.
When we visited K today, he showed us to his apartment. The other 13 men inside were all unwinding after a long day of work, sitting around in the 'living' room, but the moment we stepped in, they quickly stood up and offered us the few chairs they had in their room. One of them wanted to get us drinks from their kitchen (which at $0.80 a can, would have been exorbitant for someone earning less than $600 a month), and it took all of our convincing to tell him that he didn't have to.
These men are poor. They paid a tremendous sum of money to go to a faraway land to work long hours for low pay. (I mean, honestly, can you imagine a Singaporean having to work under such conditions?) For all intents and purposes, they are getting exploited by people we call our countrymen. But when we step into their room, the first thing they want to do is to make us feel at home.
And these guys are the lucky ones, especially when you compare them with the ones in the video below.
There are the others in the documentary; the ones who have paid the agent's fee for coming to Singapore, and who after coming in, discover that there is no work for them. Companies who have extra quotas for workers use these quotas to generate money for themselves, without regard for the lives they are jerking around.
The Singapore government is trying it's best to prevent this. They have been taking steps to try and ensure that this does not happen, and I am glad that our government is alert to the problems that these workers face. But there is only so much they can do. And for all their efforts and policies they have implemented, there's nothing they can do about the workers who have already been cheated by Singaporean employers, and have had to return to their countries with nothing but a US$6000 debt.
Two semesters after I chose to retain my American citizenship, I sat for an American History class in NUS. And after that, I wished I hadn't chosen to remain American, as I discovered just how devious and twisted some of their foreign and domestic policies had been. I feel that same feeling now after hearing some of the stories about these workers. It pains me to know that there are Singaporeans who would take advantage of these foreign workers.
And as much as I rail against this injustice in Singapore, I know there's not much I can do for them. I'm a history major. Not a lawyer, or a politician. But what we can do as the Church in Singapore, at least, is to pray for these people. Pray that they will receive the justice they need. Pray that Singaporean employers will have greater regard for the lives of these people than the thickness of their wallets. Pray that the people in Singapore will see the unseen people group living among them.
We need to pray for our land.
K really puts in a lot of effort for his work. On most weekdays, he starts work at 8 and leaves only after 7. When he has to do OT, he welcomes the opportunity to stay on and do more work. He has to work on Saturdays too, but he faces it with the same sentiment as whenever he's up for OT.
But K does all this only for $500 a month... because he's from Bangladesh. He lives with 13 other Bangladeshi workers in a cramped apartment somewhere in Jurong West. Every morning, for the past 5 years, K and his bunkmates wake up at 6.30, leave their home at 7.30, and work long hours for one of the many shipbuilding companies that makes millions of dollars for Singaporeans, but close to pittance for them.
We see these people everyday. They are the workers at the construction sites, the welders at the shipyards, the tired-looking men in dusty clothes packed into the back of Daihatsu pickup trucks along the CTE. They have been making Singapore the city that it is today. But we never notice them.
When we visited K today, he showed us to his apartment. The other 13 men inside were all unwinding after a long day of work, sitting around in the 'living' room, but the moment we stepped in, they quickly stood up and offered us the few chairs they had in their room. One of them wanted to get us drinks from their kitchen (which at $0.80 a can, would have been exorbitant for someone earning less than $600 a month), and it took all of our convincing to tell him that he didn't have to.
These men are poor. They paid a tremendous sum of money to go to a faraway land to work long hours for low pay. (I mean, honestly, can you imagine a Singaporean having to work under such conditions?) For all intents and purposes, they are getting exploited by people we call our countrymen. But when we step into their room, the first thing they want to do is to make us feel at home.
And these guys are the lucky ones, especially when you compare them with the ones in the video below.
There are the others in the documentary; the ones who have paid the agent's fee for coming to Singapore, and who after coming in, discover that there is no work for them. Companies who have extra quotas for workers use these quotas to generate money for themselves, without regard for the lives they are jerking around.
The Singapore government is trying it's best to prevent this. They have been taking steps to try and ensure that this does not happen, and I am glad that our government is alert to the problems that these workers face. But there is only so much they can do. And for all their efforts and policies they have implemented, there's nothing they can do about the workers who have already been cheated by Singaporean employers, and have had to return to their countries with nothing but a US$6000 debt.
Two semesters after I chose to retain my American citizenship, I sat for an American History class in NUS. And after that, I wished I hadn't chosen to remain American, as I discovered just how devious and twisted some of their foreign and domestic policies had been. I feel that same feeling now after hearing some of the stories about these workers. It pains me to know that there are Singaporeans who would take advantage of these foreign workers.
And as much as I rail against this injustice in Singapore, I know there's not much I can do for them. I'm a history major. Not a lawyer, or a politician. But what we can do as the Church in Singapore, at least, is to pray for these people. Pray that they will receive the justice they need. Pray that Singaporean employers will have greater regard for the lives of these people than the thickness of their wallets. Pray that the people in Singapore will see the unseen people group living among them.
We need to pray for our land.
Monday, November 16, 2009
Dear America,
I'm an American citizen, but I've grown up in Singapore. And I would like to mention something with regard to your foreign policy.
Please stop telling the rest of the world to do what you think is best.
Please stop telling us that we are undemocratic.
Please stop telling us to stop censorship.
I think censorship is necessary, as I think it is a lesser evil than rampant liberality.
I feel that having a strong, one-party government makes our country more stable and flexible than having a president who is handicapped by politicians whose interests lie almost as much in altruism as in selfish gain.
I do not want your style of society, where people criticize others in a chaotic, tabloid-style manner, and where you can sue a fast food company because you got fat eating their food.
We may not be perfect, and sometimes, we may have a lack of 'human rights' (both real and imagined) but let's face it, no one is, not even you. And we don't tell you what we think you should do to your country.
We appreciate the concern you are trying to show the rest of the world, by showing us how America got to how it is. But in case you have not noticed, we are not America.
We are different from you. We have our own cultures.
You are not us, so how would you know it'll be good for us?
So thank you very much, but please, stop telling us to become more like you.
Ref: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/obama
Please stop telling the rest of the world to do what you think is best.
Please stop telling us that we are undemocratic.
Please stop telling us to stop censorship.
I think censorship is necessary, as I think it is a lesser evil than rampant liberality.
I feel that having a strong, one-party government makes our country more stable and flexible than having a president who is handicapped by politicians whose interests lie almost as much in altruism as in selfish gain.
I do not want your style of society, where people criticize others in a chaotic, tabloid-style manner, and where you can sue a fast food company because you got fat eating their food.
We may not be perfect, and sometimes, we may have a lack of 'human rights' (both real and imagined) but let's face it, no one is, not even you. And we don't tell you what we think you should do to your country.
We appreciate the concern you are trying to show the rest of the world, by showing us how America got to how it is. But in case you have not noticed, we are not America.
We are different from you. We have our own cultures.
You are not us, so how would you know it'll be good for us?
So thank you very much, but please, stop telling us to become more like you.
Ref: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/obama
Thursday, September 17, 2009
English
I happened to see this video on youtube:
Seems funny, but I wonder, how would she feel if she saw this video?
Cheerio
Seems funny, but I wonder, how would she feel if she saw this video?
Cheerio
Friday, September 26, 2008
タクシー
Now, some of you may remember this incident where I came back from Japan and was sort of mildly irritated at the amount of money I had to pay for my cab fare. I considered it sort of like a moment of remembrance, since even now, more than 2 years on, I still remember it. Sometimes, it's hard to imagine time passing by so quickly... but it does.
So anyway, today was another taxi-time, a meter-moment, a cab-construed-chronological-circumstance.
You see, today, I went down with a colleague to cover some event at Timbre @ The Arts House. The trip there itself wasn't the issue, apart from the fact that some of the roads around the Marina area are blockaded for the F1 race this weekend. So we dropped off at the Fullerton Hotel, and then we went to the event.
While it started there, the event was really the launch of a river taxi (again! that confounded construction!) service that would ply between Fullerton and Clarke Quay, along the Singapore River. The ferries themselves were pretty neat, I thought. No photos, though. I was on duty, so it would have been rather un-professional to take photos.
But anyway, we ended up at Clarke Quay area. Now for those of you who know me, I rather like the Clarke Quay area, since 1) Central is there, and 2) Meidi-ya under Liang Court is there. And if I am in sudden dire need to purchase Japanese stuff, that is a good place for me to go. Another would be Bishan, or Taka, but that's another story.
So anyway, the whole event ended at Clarke Quay. My colleague and I then went to look for a cab since she had to rush back to office to file the story. We managed to get one at Liang Court, and then we zipped back up to the SPH media center at Braddell.
What I found appalling was... no, it wasn't that the driver drove the way my brother drives on Need for Speed. So like I was saying, what I found most disturbing... no, it wasn't that there was a massive jam along the CTE that makes the trains in Japan look spacious.
What really irked me this time was that the taxes I had to pay for my cab ride was higher than my cab fare. See, I shall give you a breakdown of what I paid for in my 20 minute ride.
Cab fare: $7.80
ERP: $3.50
City Area Surcharge: $3.00
Diesel Surcharge: $0.30
Peak Hour Tax (35%): $2.75
GST: $0.30
So what this adds up to is:
Base Cab Fare: $7.80
Taxes for Cab Fare: $9.85
Grand Total: $17.65
Bother inflation.
Cheerio
So anyway, today was another taxi-time, a meter-moment, a cab-construed-chronological-circumstance.
You see, today, I went down with a colleague to cover some event at Timbre @ The Arts House. The trip there itself wasn't the issue, apart from the fact that some of the roads around the Marina area are blockaded for the F1 race this weekend. So we dropped off at the Fullerton Hotel, and then we went to the event.
While it started there, the event was really the launch of a river taxi (again! that confounded construction!) service that would ply between Fullerton and Clarke Quay, along the Singapore River. The ferries themselves were pretty neat, I thought. No photos, though. I was on duty, so it would have been rather un-professional to take photos.
But anyway, we ended up at Clarke Quay area. Now for those of you who know me, I rather like the Clarke Quay area, since 1) Central is there, and 2) Meidi-ya under Liang Court is there. And if I am in sudden dire need to purchase Japanese stuff, that is a good place for me to go. Another would be Bishan, or Taka, but that's another story.
So anyway, the whole event ended at Clarke Quay. My colleague and I then went to look for a cab since she had to rush back to office to file the story. We managed to get one at Liang Court, and then we zipped back up to the SPH media center at Braddell.
What I found appalling was... no, it wasn't that the driver drove the way my brother drives on Need for Speed. So like I was saying, what I found most disturbing... no, it wasn't that there was a massive jam along the CTE that makes the trains in Japan look spacious.
What really irked me this time was that the taxes I had to pay for my cab ride was higher than my cab fare. See, I shall give you a breakdown of what I paid for in my 20 minute ride.
Cab fare: $7.80
ERP: $3.50
City Area Surcharge: $3.00
Diesel Surcharge: $0.30
Peak Hour Tax (35%): $2.75
GST: $0.30
So what this adds up to is:
Base Cab Fare: $7.80
Taxes for Cab Fare: $9.85
Grand Total: $17.65
Bother inflation.
Cheerio
Friday, March 14, 2008
Absum
I must say I'm a little upset that I missed typing out a post in February. I try to make it a point to have at least one post per month, but now I have ruined my record since Nov 2004, when I first started I think.
So anyway, just three things to post for the time being until I can get enough time to really write out all the happenings. There have been quite a bit, but these three are what I shall do first.
1) I know in the previous post, I promised to talk about what had irked me so, but due to the fact that it has been settled (sort of), and best be kept buried, I shall not say anything about it.
2) I got my iBook back today! Will tell the full story some other time, but suffice to say, this event has made my day! Though in all probability, after I get back my essays or something, I shall become depressed again.
3) This is really big, somewhat sad news. Just a week ago, Brett Favre announced his retirement from professional football. Quite possibly the greatest quarterback Green Bay has ever had, and who led the Pack up to the conference finals... Thanks for the memories, and all the touchdowns.
Ok. I shall post another one soon, and just so that I remember, it will include stories of V-Day event: No Sugar Added, the woes of the Milwaukee Bucks, the story of the fallen iBook, the tale of how Tea and Marmalade came to be together, and some interesting photos.
Cheerio!
So anyway, just three things to post for the time being until I can get enough time to really write out all the happenings. There have been quite a bit, but these three are what I shall do first.
1) I know in the previous post, I promised to talk about what had irked me so, but due to the fact that it has been settled (sort of), and best be kept buried, I shall not say anything about it.
2) I got my iBook back today! Will tell the full story some other time, but suffice to say, this event has made my day! Though in all probability, after I get back my essays or something, I shall become depressed again.
3) This is really big, somewhat sad news. Just a week ago, Brett Favre announced his retirement from professional football. Quite possibly the greatest quarterback Green Bay has ever had, and who led the Pack up to the conference finals... Thanks for the memories, and all the touchdowns.
Ok. I shall post another one soon, and just so that I remember, it will include stories of V-Day event: No Sugar Added, the woes of the Milwaukee Bucks, the story of the fallen iBook, the tale of how Tea and Marmalade came to be together, and some interesting photos.
Cheerio!
Wednesday, January 02, 2008
Irae
There is something that I want to blog about. But I can't do it yet. But it's extremely upsetting. So upsetting that I had to mouth off to F about it. He understands my sentiments.
What makes it worst is that it had to be the first thing I'll be blogging about in 2008. *$%^%*#^%)(*!!!!
I shall blog about it when I receive permission.
What makes it worst is that it had to be the first thing I'll be blogging about in 2008. *$%^%*#^%)(*!!!!
I shall blog about it when I receive permission.
Sunday, September 16, 2007
Aegis
I believe I have this remarkable ability to be able to cover my emotions to a certain degree. It is like, I can keep my face neutral, or smirk, or smile as if nothing happened. Basically, I can prevent myself from showing extreme emotions.
Naturally, this can be a very useful skill, since it prevents people from knowing what I'm really thinking all the time. So you won't know if I'm excited, or upset, or whatever. Of course, it can also be bad sometimes, since it prevents people from knowing what I'm really thinking all the time. So you won't know if I'm excited, or upset, or whatever.
The point I'm bringing up here is that even though I may show only 3 emotions on a regular basis (laughing, stoning, or neutral), I can safely assure you that I do experience the same range of emotion that other more expressive people feel.
And while we're on this subject, I must say that I most certainly do not appreciate doors being slammed/closed/pushed shut in my face. In fact, in case you didn't know, I find it somewhat rude. Especially if my face happens to be about an inch away from the door. I mean, it's one thing if I was being a exceedingly irritating for the past half an hour or so. In such a case, I would think that would be justified. It's a totally different matter, however, if I had spent 15 minutes of my study time trying to help you solve a technical problem you encountered, and I was going back to give you a piece of information that you might have needed to know. I mean, yeah, your talk/program/whatever may be more important than me, but the least you could do is be polite right? Right?
Ok, on to other things. So anyway, today Kairos went down to Merchant Court for a spot of food, thanks to the generosity of Uncle P who very kindly treated us to it. Food was great, but I somehow didn't feel quite so hungry, so I didn't eat a lot. Heh. It helps when you're trying to lose weight, to not eat too much. It was nice to have some time of chilling out with your peers, and being able to relax. Yup.
3 tests (or is it 4?) coming up next week... help...
Cheerio
Naturally, this can be a very useful skill, since it prevents people from knowing what I'm really thinking all the time. So you won't know if I'm excited, or upset, or whatever. Of course, it can also be bad sometimes, since it prevents people from knowing what I'm really thinking all the time. So you won't know if I'm excited, or upset, or whatever.
The point I'm bringing up here is that even though I may show only 3 emotions on a regular basis (laughing, stoning, or neutral), I can safely assure you that I do experience the same range of emotion that other more expressive people feel.
And while we're on this subject, I must say that I most certainly do not appreciate doors being slammed/closed/pushed shut in my face. In fact, in case you didn't know, I find it somewhat rude. Especially if my face happens to be about an inch away from the door. I mean, it's one thing if I was being a exceedingly irritating for the past half an hour or so. In such a case, I would think that would be justified. It's a totally different matter, however, if I had spent 15 minutes of my study time trying to help you solve a technical problem you encountered, and I was going back to give you a piece of information that you might have needed to know. I mean, yeah, your talk/program/whatever may be more important than me, but the least you could do is be polite right? Right?
Ok, on to other things. So anyway, today Kairos went down to Merchant Court for a spot of food, thanks to the generosity of Uncle P who very kindly treated us to it. Food was great, but I somehow didn't feel quite so hungry, so I didn't eat a lot. Heh. It helps when you're trying to lose weight, to not eat too much. It was nice to have some time of chilling out with your peers, and being able to relax. Yup.
3 tests (or is it 4?) coming up next week... help...
Cheerio
Friday, August 17, 2007
Aequatio
So life goes on as per normal these past few weeks. Have kinda transited back into school life, just that I'll need to get use to the waking up early again, and try to psyche myself to try to work instead of coming home and playing the 'Box all day long.
Well, first up is the thanksgiving: that I managed to get all my modules, and that both ISO and Welcome Tea went through mostly without hitches. God has really been
watching out for us and providing for us in that we have enough of whatever we need, and then some. Like food. And space. And people. And also for the guys in my CG (in church) who are being very regular in attendance, though I must admit sometimes, their maturity leaves much to be desired...
So anyway, this post will be all about balance. Yes. It's a bit like the Yin-Yang thing, or to mangle Newton's 3rd Law, 'For every thing, there's an equal and opposite thing.' Let me give you the examples.
First up would be some anime I bought last month. I was in Suntec City (I can't remember for what), and while going through, I stopped at Blue Max to take a peek at some anime. They, however, didn't have any that I really wanted, so I toddled off to Discs Station, which was nearby, and sells more Chinese-y stuff. And I found out that they were having a sale! As in, usually I can't be bothered to go 'sale-chasing' like most Singaporeans do (OK, so I'm not Singaporean, but that's beside the point), but this sale was really good. So anyway, I managed to get 2 sets of VCDs at SGD14.95, and 1 box set of DVDs at SGD30.00, which needless to say, is pretty darn cheap. Then I happily ran home. Or went to whatever it was that I was looking for in the first place.
So when I got back, I quickly took out my VCDs first to watch, cos it was a basketball one, called Dear Boys. Well, the animation wasn't fantastic, in fact, I would say that it's worse than the Slamdunk anime, but I could have lived with that if it hadn't been the fact that THE SUBTITLES WERE IN CHINESE!!! And if that wasn't enough, THE CHINESE WAS THE FAN TI ZHI VARIANT!!! (Meaning I couldn't really read it lah [not that I could read jian ti zhi very well, but I probably would have an easier time]). Bummer.
But but but but, the DVD box set I got? Now this is the fun bit. It's a collection of Studio Ghibli films. There are like 14 films on 5 DVDs. And they are absolutely fantastic. If I had to recommend anime films, I would recommend these. (Especially since I own them and that would make me feel much better heh). Here's a picture:
Yes. I have only watched about half my shows there, but so far, they are quite good, whether its the storyline, or the characters, or just the land in which the stories took place.
OK, now on to number two. I am sure that if you were in Singapore, you would have watched the National Day Parade, either at Marina Bay, or on the telly, or something. Well, the great thing about that was that the marching contingents were really good. The commandos were good, the navy SEALs were good, and even the Air Force contingent made less mistakes than they normally did. Additionally, this time the Navy got to show off a bit more of their hardware, since previously, they only had those military ducktour boats, which are more army than navy anyway, and the rigid-hull inflatables.
The bad thing, was that we were 'treated' to a really ridiculous, arty-farty performance with some kind of neo-pagan deity dressed in red and running about on rollerblades who was like the the personification of some kind of spirit while his minions worshiped golden calves. I mean come on, surely they could have done something better than show us that. Like some history stuff, or a performance that everyone could enjoy, not just those who splash paint randomly on canvas and see art in their expressionistic departure from artistic norms. Bah. I certainly didn't like that bit. I fell asleep.
Now the 3rd thing that happened was today. Haha. I'm really happy. Like 本当に幸せになるの。You see, I went to Central at Clarke Quay to go check out Yamakawa Super, since that was like supposed to be a sort of Japanese minimart there. And well, it was ok, if a bit sad, but I didn't manage to get what I was looking for. Then my friend D smsed why don't I go over to Liang Court and check out Meidiya over there. So off I went, and there I found like so much fun stuff! Like this:
僕の大好きな飲み物:三ツ矢サイダー！！
And I also found this:
僕も大好きな飴：三ツ矢サイダー飴！！ 本当にうれしいね！！
But, tonight, when I got home, I turned on the telly to Channel 8 to watch the 7pm drama. I mean, usually I don't, but I had started to watch because the evil people in the show were really evil, and I wanted to see them get like their just rewards and all, and to see how all the good guys triumph. But nooooooo.. those morons at Mediacorp just had to reveal today that instead of a single 30-serial, they had a double 30-serial, with the next one coming who knows when, probably in a pathetic bid to raise their viewership ratings. I mean give me a break! I'm wasting my time watching that miserable, exaggerated excuse of a show, and you tell me now that you actually have a part 2?! I was trying my best not to unleash some choice army words at those cretins at Mediacorp.
All I can say is that it better not be trilogy of 30-parters. Bah.
Cheerio
Well, first up is the thanksgiving: that I managed to get all my modules, and that both ISO and Welcome Tea went through mostly without hitches. God has really been
watching out for us and providing for us in that we have enough of whatever we need, and then some. Like food. And space. And people. And also for the guys in my CG (in church) who are being very regular in attendance, though I must admit sometimes, their maturity leaves much to be desired...
So anyway, this post will be all about balance. Yes. It's a bit like the Yin-Yang thing, or to mangle Newton's 3rd Law, 'For every thing, there's an equal and opposite thing.' Let me give you the examples.
First up would be some anime I bought last month. I was in Suntec City (I can't remember for what), and while going through, I stopped at Blue Max to take a peek at some anime. They, however, didn't have any that I really wanted, so I toddled off to Discs Station, which was nearby, and sells more Chinese-y stuff. And I found out that they were having a sale! As in, usually I can't be bothered to go 'sale-chasing' like most Singaporeans do (OK, so I'm not Singaporean, but that's beside the point), but this sale was really good. So anyway, I managed to get 2 sets of VCDs at SGD14.95, and 1 box set of DVDs at SGD30.00, which needless to say, is pretty darn cheap. Then I happily ran home. Or went to whatever it was that I was looking for in the first place.
So when I got back, I quickly took out my VCDs first to watch, cos it was a basketball one, called Dear Boys. Well, the animation wasn't fantastic, in fact, I would say that it's worse than the Slamdunk anime, but I could have lived with that if it hadn't been the fact that THE SUBTITLES WERE IN CHINESE!!! And if that wasn't enough, THE CHINESE WAS THE FAN TI ZHI VARIANT!!! (Meaning I couldn't really read it lah [not that I could read jian ti zhi very well, but I probably would have an easier time]). Bummer.
But but but but, the DVD box set I got? Now this is the fun bit. It's a collection of Studio Ghibli films. There are like 14 films on 5 DVDs. And they are absolutely fantastic. If I had to recommend anime films, I would recommend these. (Especially since I own them and that would make me feel much better heh). Here's a picture:
Yes. I have only watched about half my shows there, but so far, they are quite good, whether its the storyline, or the characters, or just the land in which the stories took place.
OK, now on to number two. I am sure that if you were in Singapore, you would have watched the National Day Parade, either at Marina Bay, or on the telly, or something. Well, the great thing about that was that the marching contingents were really good. The commandos were good, the navy SEALs were good, and even the Air Force contingent made less mistakes than they normally did. Additionally, this time the Navy got to show off a bit more of their hardware, since previously, they only had those military ducktour boats, which are more army than navy anyway, and the rigid-hull inflatables.
The bad thing, was that we were 'treated' to a really ridiculous, arty-farty performance with some kind of neo-pagan deity dressed in red and running about on rollerblades who was like the the personification of some kind of spirit while his minions worshiped golden calves. I mean come on, surely they could have done something better than show us that. Like some history stuff, or a performance that everyone could enjoy, not just those who splash paint randomly on canvas and see art in their expressionistic departure from artistic norms. Bah. I certainly didn't like that bit. I fell asleep.
Now the 3rd thing that happened was today. Haha. I'm really happy. Like 本当に幸せになるの。You see, I went to Central at Clarke Quay to go check out Yamakawa Super, since that was like supposed to be a sort of Japanese minimart there. And well, it was ok, if a bit sad, but I didn't manage to get what I was looking for. Then my friend D smsed why don't I go over to Liang Court and check out Meidiya over there. So off I went, and there I found like so much fun stuff! Like this:
僕の大好きな飲み物:三ツ矢サイダー！！
And I also found this:
僕も大好きな飴：三ツ矢サイダー飴！！ 本当にうれしいね！！
But, tonight, when I got home, I turned on the telly to Channel 8 to watch the 7pm drama. I mean, usually I don't, but I had started to watch because the evil people in the show were really evil, and I wanted to see them get like their just rewards and all, and to see how all the good guys triumph. But nooooooo.. those morons at Mediacorp just had to reveal today that instead of a single 30-serial, they had a double 30-serial, with the next one coming who knows when, probably in a pathetic bid to raise their viewership ratings. I mean give me a break! I'm wasting my time watching that miserable, exaggerated excuse of a show, and you tell me now that you actually have a part 2?! I was trying my best not to unleash some choice army words at those cretins at Mediacorp.
All I can say is that it better not be trilogy of 30-parters. Bah.
Cheerio
Friday, June 15, 2007
Recessus
Have finally managed to cast off the shackles of laziness, apathy, and too much work, and now am able to add another post, which has some pictures, and promises to be a tad long.
So anyway, I was embroiled in the church retreat planning committee for quite a while prior to June. It wasn't overly difficult. Or at least, it wasn't quite as bad as what I thought it would be like. Then again, maybe it's because PS and A did a heck of a lot of work on it. (Though admittedly, sometimes PS does too much work on it, esp cos me and F have already done a sufficiently acceptable job). A few last minute changes nearly sent PS through the roof, but he didn't get a stroke or anything, so that's ok.
Handled the transport side, which wasn't too hard, except that it's a whole lot harder to control church people than like army guys. Had to be a little flexible, esp with regard to the buses on the return trip.
6th-9th June: Church Retreat. The retreat itself wasn't too bad. The place was ok lah, here's a photo of the place:
Here's a picture of the place from the room on the other side:
Of course, some of the peeps thought that the food wasn't that great. I mean, it was edible, but nothing really fantastic. Rev G was pretty good, both at the pulpit and on the guitar. Almost every thign went by without a hitch, kudos to the hotel staff, F and PS who was almost permanently on the verge of a stroke. Maybe only the final night event was not quite as interesting as we hoped it would've been. But thank God that it went well, and that most people had a good time, got to relax, and found a bit of time to connect with Him again. Without Him, it would've probably collapsed a long time ago.
Sub-point to note: I managed to crack my phone cover a second time. So now it has almost symmetrical markings on the face.
As mentioned before, the return trip to church was a bit of a hassle, cos we returned a bit late, and I had to scrap the nice arrangements I had made wrt bus seating and just stuff as many people as I could onto the buses as they came. It worked out, in that no one got left behind; additionally, the last bus was half empty cos I think I stuffed too many people up the first few... haha...
Service on Sunday was ok. Had more or less recovered by then, and it was good to be able to just attend service and know that I did not have to do anything after it. Supposed to have CG outing to Queenstown, but had to stay back to help the floorball comp, since I had already agreed to it before that. After that, I had to quickly rush down to City Hall to pick up T's birthday present, since she was gonna be leaving the next morning for Thailand. Was a little zoned after that, but well.
Monday was a fun day. I met lots of people. Started with me going out early in the morning to see J's Thai team off. J actually got caught in a traffic jam, so good thing he planned ahead. After that, lefft with JH westwards, though JH got off at Eunos to repair his graphics card (found out later that he couldn't), and then proceeded on to Gombak. Paid a short visit to Su cos she was sick from the retreat or something, then wanted to update my account at BBDC, since I had changed my citizenship, but forgot to bring my passport and student pass card. Bummer. Followed that by finding Su and C and E around Gombak for lunch, then left with C bound towards Bishan.
Bought some stuff at Bishan, and tried to burn a bit more time, but couldn't really do it very well, then headed over to AMK hub to explore a little. Ended up sitting in the basement stoning, as is my wont when I've got nothing to do, and saw P walk past. Later, after I linked up with Sh, we ran into her again, and said hi. Finished off that trip with ice cream, and then gave Sh her birthday present, then went off to find Mum and Dad.
Oh, and got me new phone. The afore-mentioned phone which I cracked was getting wonky again, and my parents told me might as well pick up a new one. So I went down to Compass Point, and ran into my good friend KW from army at the M1 shop there. Anyway, this is my new phone:
It's got like almost as many functions as a computer. And it's pretty chim. Pretty big intelligence requirement jump from my previous phone. But the great thing about it is that I can use it in Japan! haha woot.
So next day, I went down to the airport again, cos this time, Ji's family was going to Thailand. After saying bye and all, went with JH (who came again), Jo and V for lunch in T2. It wasn't very great, and suffice to say that on that particular day, this slogan:
Was not very true. Especially the second half. うまいじゃないよ。。ちょっとまずいと思う。
Wednesday was when I did this:
No, 'tis not an egg tart. 'Tis me first attempt at cheesecake. And so far, no one has gotten any stomachaches yet, so methinks it's ok.
Yeah, that about summed up my week. Went down to the airport (yet again!) this time to send Ad's team off. Kinda zoned now cos not 'nuff sleep, maybe I'll go rectify that problem...
Cheerio
So anyway, I was embroiled in the church retreat planning committee for quite a while prior to June. It wasn't overly difficult. Or at least, it wasn't quite as bad as what I thought it would be like. Then again, maybe it's because PS and A did a heck of a lot of work on it. (Though admittedly, sometimes PS does too much work on it, esp cos me and F have already done a sufficiently acceptable job). A few last minute changes nearly sent PS through the roof, but he didn't get a stroke or anything, so that's ok.
Handled the transport side, which wasn't too hard, except that it's a whole lot harder to control church people than like army guys. Had to be a little flexible, esp with regard to the buses on the return trip.
6th-9th June: Church Retreat. The retreat itself wasn't too bad. The place was ok lah, here's a photo of the place:
Here's a picture of the place from the room on the other side:
Of course, some of the peeps thought that the food wasn't that great. I mean, it was edible, but nothing really fantastic. Rev G was pretty good, both at the pulpit and on the guitar. Almost every thign went by without a hitch, kudos to the hotel staff, F and PS who was almost permanently on the verge of a stroke. Maybe only the final night event was not quite as interesting as we hoped it would've been. But thank God that it went well, and that most people had a good time, got to relax, and found a bit of time to connect with Him again. Without Him, it would've probably collapsed a long time ago.
Sub-point to note: I managed to crack my phone cover a second time. So now it has almost symmetrical markings on the face.
As mentioned before, the return trip to church was a bit of a hassle, cos we returned a bit late, and I had to scrap the nice arrangements I had made wrt bus seating and just stuff as many people as I could onto the buses as they came. It worked out, in that no one got left behind; additionally, the last bus was half empty cos I think I stuffed too many people up the first few... haha...
Service on Sunday was ok. Had more or less recovered by then, and it was good to be able to just attend service and know that I did not have to do anything after it. Supposed to have CG outing to Queenstown, but had to stay back to help the floorball comp, since I had already agreed to it before that. After that, I had to quickly rush down to City Hall to pick up T's birthday present, since she was gonna be leaving the next morning for Thailand. Was a little zoned after that, but well.
Monday was a fun day. I met lots of people. Started with me going out early in the morning to see J's Thai team off. J actually got caught in a traffic jam, so good thing he planned ahead. After that, lefft with JH westwards, though JH got off at Eunos to repair his graphics card (found out later that he couldn't), and then proceeded on to Gombak. Paid a short visit to Su cos she was sick from the retreat or something, then wanted to update my account at BBDC, since I had changed my citizenship, but forgot to bring my passport and student pass card. Bummer. Followed that by finding Su and C and E around Gombak for lunch, then left with C bound towards Bishan.
Bought some stuff at Bishan, and tried to burn a bit more time, but couldn't really do it very well, then headed over to AMK hub to explore a little. Ended up sitting in the basement stoning, as is my wont when I've got nothing to do, and saw P walk past. Later, after I linked up with Sh, we ran into her again, and said hi. Finished off that trip with ice cream, and then gave Sh her birthday present, then went off to find Mum and Dad.
Oh, and got me new phone. The afore-mentioned phone which I cracked was getting wonky again, and my parents told me might as well pick up a new one. So I went down to Compass Point, and ran into my good friend KW from army at the M1 shop there. Anyway, this is my new phone:
It's got like almost as many functions as a computer. And it's pretty chim. Pretty big intelligence requirement jump from my previous phone. But the great thing about it is that I can use it in Japan! haha woot.
So next day, I went down to the airport again, cos this time, Ji's family was going to Thailand. After saying bye and all, went with JH (who came again), Jo and V for lunch in T2. It wasn't very great, and suffice to say that on that particular day, this slogan:
Was not very true. Especially the second half. うまいじゃないよ。。ちょっとまずいと思う。
Wednesday was when I did this:
No, 'tis not an egg tart. 'Tis me first attempt at cheesecake. And so far, no one has gotten any stomachaches yet, so methinks it's ok.
Yeah, that about summed up my week. Went down to the airport (yet again!) this time to send Ad's team off. Kinda zoned now cos not 'nuff sleep, maybe I'll go rectify that problem...
Cheerio
Monday, May 14, 2007
Fictum
Today I was kinda happy, because I managed to find a very nice dvd at HMV and got it at $30. Think it's a classic show, first saw it in Japan with Uncle L and family, and I believe that it had a great deal of influence on many of later movies. If I'm not wrong, it was made in '80s. I even bothered to take a picture of it, so as to show you all this wonderful masterpiece:
Haha. So anyway, I went down to town today because I was supposed to be having a meeting with C and HS and Y and a lady from Nav called J. Which was ok. Went to Soup Spoon for lunch, then almost fell asleep during the meeting... Good thing C was there to provide relevant input. Well, after the meeting, we went shopping. OK, more accurately, C and HS went shopping. C said she deserved it because she got deprived for a whole semester.
So after she got her track pants, and got a dress or something from M)Phosis (or is it M(phosis)? I'm not sure which side bracket it is), we went to this place to get ice cream. And it was here, that I got cheated. See, when I went to Japan, and went to the Karaoke places and stuff, there is this drink called melon soda, which is a nice green color and has a maraschino cherry on top. Really nice stuff, even though most of my team-mates think it's way too sweet. Anyway, it's a little hard to find it in Singapore. (I guess the closest is F&N Fruitade, but even that's hard to find now).
So I was pleasantly surprised when the menu in that Japanese restaurant had a picture of a melon soda with ice cream. Naturally, I ordered that. This is what it looked like:
When it came, I offered it to HS first, and then after she had a sip, I passed it to C. Then HS asked me, "Are you sure it's melon soda?"
I certainly thought so, but C also remarked that it tasted more like some syrupy thing, but definitely not melon. Not beliving them, I took a sip myself. To my horror, they were right! It didn't taste like melon soda at all, even though it looked like it. It tasted more like... blueberry!
I'm like WTH?! It's a fake-o melon soda! I was cheated!
Bummer.
Ice cream was nice though.
Cheerio
Haha. So anyway, I went down to town today because I was supposed to be having a meeting with C and HS and Y and a lady from Nav called J. Which was ok. Went to Soup Spoon for lunch, then almost fell asleep during the meeting... Good thing C was there to provide relevant input. Well, after the meeting, we went shopping. OK, more accurately, C and HS went shopping. C said she deserved it because she got deprived for a whole semester.
So after she got her track pants, and got a dress or something from M)Phosis (or is it M(phosis)? I'm not sure which side bracket it is), we went to this place to get ice cream. And it was here, that I got cheated. See, when I went to Japan, and went to the Karaoke places and stuff, there is this drink called melon soda, which is a nice green color and has a maraschino cherry on top. Really nice stuff, even though most of my team-mates think it's way too sweet. Anyway, it's a little hard to find it in Singapore. (I guess the closest is F&N Fruitade, but even that's hard to find now).
So I was pleasantly surprised when the menu in that Japanese restaurant had a picture of a melon soda with ice cream. Naturally, I ordered that. This is what it looked like:
When it came, I offered it to HS first, and then after she had a sip, I passed it to C. Then HS asked me, "Are you sure it's melon soda?"
I certainly thought so, but C also remarked that it tasted more like some syrupy thing, but definitely not melon. Not beliving them, I took a sip myself. To my horror, they were right! It didn't taste like melon soda at all, even though it looked like it. It tasted more like... blueberry!
I'm like WTH?! It's a fake-o melon soda! I was cheated!
Bummer.
Ice cream was nice though.
Cheerio
Saturday, August 19, 2006
Abnocto
I've wanted to post about some stuff for a long while now, but I really was too lazy to log in and type out the whole thing.
First things first, have you seen the new rifle drill with our nice new weapon the SAR 21? You may have noticed it on National Day. Now don't get me wrong. I love that rifle. The scope makes it a lot easier to aim than the M16's iron sights. And the mostly fibreglass construction makes it easy to clean. And even though it's heavier, the fact that the handgrip is in the centre makes it easier for us Asians to fire the rifle one-handed, if the need ever arises. Plus, the fact that it is new = fresh from the manufacturing plant = anti-rust protection still there = less cleaning necessary.
But, the rifle is shorter. Which while making it excellent for the urban warfare we are expecting to have to handle, considering Singapore's cityscape, makes it also, a whole lot less elegant than the longer M16. And thus, for rifle drill and stuff, I still very much prefer the old rifle drill with the M16/AR15 rifles. It just looks a lot cooler. And the fact that the holding of the SAR 21 rifle in the 'at ease' position also looks pretty weird.
Anyway, enough about the new rifle drill. I'm just glad I didn't have to march with the SAR 21 on ceremonial.
I also got all my modules. I've got 3 History mods, and 1 Physics mod which I was supposed to do with R, but due to a mistake in calculation (that marks us FASS students), he couldn't get into the class. And also Japanese 3, which promises to be a whole lot harder than 2. (Duh...) Balloting is still pretty icky, even though I can't really say that Science's first-come-first-served style is any better, since I'm not exactly like the average Singaporean.
Oh and have you noticed that the phrase 'first-come-first-serve' is actually grammatically incorrect? It should at the very least be 'served', since it's a past participle something or other (Elang majors, a little help here?).
Then school started. Monday's are packed, while at the moment, the rest of the week is rather free. Though right now, the green tables are rather empty, with M and D overseas, and A starting work, so yeah... very lonely. Anyway, it was nice to meet all the VCF people again, since I haven't seen quite a lot of them since FOC, and several more since school ended, but well.
Oh and IFG welcome tea the Friday before went really well, but if you really want to know about Jesus feeding the 120++, please click here.
Yup. VCF welcome tea on Wednesday was pretty cool too. Got to meet a few new freshies, and really say hi to a few of the afore-mentioned senior VCF-ers. Oh and I crashed 2 lectures this week already, SE1101E with LJ, and PS 3 something something something with H and E. Which brings the number of lectures I crashed to a grand total of...
2.
So anyway, on Friday (like yesterday), I went down to school early cos I didn't want to take the bus out myself, then I crashed the 8am PS lecture, and then I bummed around a bit, then went to meet P and JS who were bringing some Japanese students out for lunch. It was really nice to get to meet them, cos they were really nice people. But S1 had to go and settle his tuition fees, so I went with him when he went to pay. Then we had to rush down to City Hall, since it was already like 1.45 and yeah. Paid $10.70, which was a damn sight better than that stupid $8 fare I had to pay in this previous post. And the fellowship was great, even though the meal cost me another $17... bah... I really can't afford more of this.
Then, I went home. I had actually considered going back to school to crash the CSI class, but NUS is a little too far from my place, and at any rate, I was supposed to have to go over to Serangoon Gardens for CG retreat. So I just stayed at home and played a spot of Xbox with brother who had booked out earlier. Then dad nicely sent me out and I took bus 70, on which I met cousin I, who was going to meet her special friend for dinner (my potential cousin-in-law. he's a nice guy).
So anyway, I met the rest when I got on board 317, and we went in. Whereupon C and me put our arsonic tendencies to good use by starting the bbq. Just fyi, MZ likes his marshmallows like carbonized. We found out. Then after the short bbq session, we headed over to the nearby park to play captain's ball and frisbee, where the CSI people joined us.
Now let me tell you, playing captain's ball in poor visual conditions is not very healthy, considering I almost had my right eye put out by the ball. And very often, we were like scrabbling around for the ball on the ground, or like throwing it too hard at each other, or missing the frisbee etc.
So anyway, after we got all sweaty and icky, A said he had to leave soon, and Ch and S also had to go, so we took a break, and then KFC, Mark us had the CG sharing/visioning. And after a short time of prayer, we went over to Chomp Chomp for supper at about 0030.
So anyway, I had decided to go home, since K wasn't staying (we live quite near to each other) and R was willing to give us a lift to Yio Chu Kang road. And I was feeling really icky anyway, so yeah. After supper, R dropped me off along Yio Chu Kang road at around 0145.
Now I was happily thinking happy thoughts of how I would be able to shower and change out of my icky clothes and then maybe I'll check my mail before sleeping. And along the way, I was just like sort of like praying/conversing with God about stuff in my life, which not only made me feel even happier, but helped to make the walk in go faster.
So I happily reached the lift, and happily took it up to my apartment, and happily took out the keys from my bag, thanking God that I had a set of house keys (there are only like 3 sets), and as I happily walked out of the lift, and happily put the key into the front gate at 2 am, that I suddenly remembered my dad latches the door before he goes to sleep.
Sure enough, I could unlock the door, but thanks to the latch, there was no way I could get in.
The great thing was, that I didn't start to become depressed, or start to rail at God or anything, which I might have done. In fact, I almost started laughing at my predicament. I think God had given me the peace and calmness of heart sorta and so I was pretty ok. So I ended up sleeping outside my house, after sms-ing C to tell him of my predicament. I bet the whole bunch of them had a good laugh, and C was really nice, cos he like called back at like 0230 and said he was heading to his place in Hougang in a cab to grab some stuff, and would I like to meet him so that I would have a proper place to sleep. But I said it was ok, and pretty mafan anyway, so I just went to sleep on the floor. Which is actually pretty funny, when you come to think of it, since the two newspaper guys who came at like 0515 would have like thought I was some sort of illegal immigrant or something haha...
So yeah, at 6, I figured I could safely wake my father without him biting my head of, so I rang the doorbell, and he came to the frontdoor to find his firstborn son standing there barefoot, looking rather disheveled.
So anyway, that was my last couple of weeks.
Oh, and the FASS canteen is going to be renovated. AUGH! No more green tables! ARGH! Meet there for a few more times before the place gets demolished....
Cheerio
First things first, have you seen the new rifle drill with our nice new weapon the SAR 21? You may have noticed it on National Day. Now don't get me wrong. I love that rifle. The scope makes it a lot easier to aim than the M16's iron sights. And the mostly fibreglass construction makes it easy to clean. And even though it's heavier, the fact that the handgrip is in the centre makes it easier for us Asians to fire the rifle one-handed, if the need ever arises. Plus, the fact that it is new = fresh from the manufacturing plant = anti-rust protection still there = less cleaning necessary.
But, the rifle is shorter. Which while making it excellent for the urban warfare we are expecting to have to handle, considering Singapore's cityscape, makes it also, a whole lot less elegant than the longer M16. And thus, for rifle drill and stuff, I still very much prefer the old rifle drill with the M16/AR15 rifles. It just looks a lot cooler. And the fact that the holding of the SAR 21 rifle in the 'at ease' position also looks pretty weird.
Anyway, enough about the new rifle drill. I'm just glad I didn't have to march with the SAR 21 on ceremonial.
I also got all my modules. I've got 3 History mods, and 1 Physics mod which I was supposed to do with R, but due to a mistake in calculation (that marks us FASS students), he couldn't get into the class. And also Japanese 3, which promises to be a whole lot harder than 2. (Duh...) Balloting is still pretty icky, even though I can't really say that Science's first-come-first-served style is any better, since I'm not exactly like the average Singaporean.
Oh and have you noticed that the phrase 'first-come-first-serve' is actually grammatically incorrect? It should at the very least be 'served', since it's a past participle something or other (Elang majors, a little help here?).
Then school started. Monday's are packed, while at the moment, the rest of the week is rather free. Though right now, the green tables are rather empty, with M and D overseas, and A starting work, so yeah... very lonely. Anyway, it was nice to meet all the VCF people again, since I haven't seen quite a lot of them since FOC, and several more since school ended, but well.
Oh and IFG welcome tea the Friday before went really well, but if you really want to know about Jesus feeding the 120++, please click here.
Yup. VCF welcome tea on Wednesday was pretty cool too. Got to meet a few new freshies, and really say hi to a few of the afore-mentioned senior VCF-ers. Oh and I crashed 2 lectures this week already, SE1101E with LJ, and PS 3 something something something with H and E. Which brings the number of lectures I crashed to a grand total of...
2.
So anyway, on Friday (like yesterday), I went down to school early cos I didn't want to take the bus out myself, then I crashed the 8am PS lecture, and then I bummed around a bit, then went to meet P and JS who were bringing some Japanese students out for lunch. It was really nice to get to meet them, cos they were really nice people. But S1 had to go and settle his tuition fees, so I went with him when he went to pay. Then we had to rush down to City Hall, since it was already like 1.45 and yeah. Paid $10.70, which was a damn sight better than that stupid $8 fare I had to pay in this previous post. And the fellowship was great, even though the meal cost me another $17... bah... I really can't afford more of this.
Then, I went home. I had actually considered going back to school to crash the CSI class, but NUS is a little too far from my place, and at any rate, I was supposed to have to go over to Serangoon Gardens for CG retreat. So I just stayed at home and played a spot of Xbox with brother who had booked out earlier. Then dad nicely sent me out and I took bus 70, on which I met cousin I, who was going to meet her special friend for dinner (my potential cousin-in-law. he's a nice guy).
So anyway, I met the rest when I got on board 317, and we went in. Whereupon C and me put our arsonic tendencies to good use by starting the bbq. Just fyi, MZ likes his marshmallows like carbonized. We found out. Then after the short bbq session, we headed over to the nearby park to play captain's ball and frisbee, where the CSI people joined us.
Now let me tell you, playing captain's ball in poor visual conditions is not very healthy, considering I almost had my right eye put out by the ball. And very often, we were like scrabbling around for the ball on the ground, or like throwing it too hard at each other, or missing the frisbee etc.
So anyway, after we got all sweaty and icky, A said he had to leave soon, and Ch and S also had to go, so we took a break, and then KFC, Mark us had the CG sharing/visioning. And after a short time of prayer, we went over to Chomp Chomp for supper at about 0030.
So anyway, I had decided to go home, since K wasn't staying (we live quite near to each other) and R was willing to give us a lift to Yio Chu Kang road. And I was feeling really icky anyway, so yeah. After supper, R dropped me off along Yio Chu Kang road at around 0145.
Now I was happily thinking happy thoughts of how I would be able to shower and change out of my icky clothes and then maybe I'll check my mail before sleeping. And along the way, I was just like sort of like praying/conversing with God about stuff in my life, which not only made me feel even happier, but helped to make the walk in go faster.
So I happily reached the lift, and happily took it up to my apartment, and happily took out the keys from my bag, thanking God that I had a set of house keys (there are only like 3 sets), and as I happily walked out of the lift, and happily put the key into the front gate at 2 am, that I suddenly remembered my dad latches the door before he goes to sleep.
Sure enough, I could unlock the door, but thanks to the latch, there was no way I could get in.
The great thing was, that I didn't start to become depressed, or start to rail at God or anything, which I might have done. In fact, I almost started laughing at my predicament. I think God had given me the peace and calmness of heart sorta and so I was pretty ok. So I ended up sleeping outside my house, after sms-ing C to tell him of my predicament. I bet the whole bunch of them had a good laugh, and C was really nice, cos he like called back at like 0230 and said he was heading to his place in Hougang in a cab to grab some stuff, and would I like to meet him so that I would have a proper place to sleep. But I said it was ok, and pretty mafan anyway, so I just went to sleep on the floor. Which is actually pretty funny, when you come to think of it, since the two newspaper guys who came at like 0515 would have like thought I was some sort of illegal immigrant or something haha...
So yeah, at 6, I figured I could safely wake my father without him biting my head of, so I rang the doorbell, and he came to the frontdoor to find his firstborn son standing there barefoot, looking rather disheveled.
So anyway, that was my last couple of weeks.
Oh, and the FASS canteen is going to be renovated. AUGH! No more green tables! ARGH! Meet there for a few more times before the place gets demolished....
Cheerio
Friday, June 02, 2006
Exolesco
I'M WEAK!!!!!!
Today, I went to church to play floorball, and I couldn't play properly. It just felt wrong, and I couldn't handle the stick or the ball properly, and I couldn't pass properly, and I couldn't drive to the goal properly, and I couldn't receive passes properly and I couldn't goal tend properly, and... well, you get the idea.
And I scored only once! Bah. Not that I score very often, since I prefer playing defensively, but still...
Bleah. I need to play more. Maybe it's cos I haven't played floorball for over a month.
Or maybe it's cos I'm just getting old...
Cheerio
Today, I went to church to play floorball, and I couldn't play properly. It just felt wrong, and I couldn't handle the stick or the ball properly, and I couldn't pass properly, and I couldn't drive to the goal properly, and I couldn't receive passes properly and I couldn't goal tend properly, and... well, you get the idea.
And I scored only once! Bah. Not that I score very often, since I prefer playing defensively, but still...
Bleah. I need to play more. Maybe it's cos I haven't played floorball for over a month.
Or maybe it's cos I'm just getting old...
Cheerio
Monday, May 29, 2006
Aegreo
I feel irritated.
This is primarily due to the fact that I've got come down with some sort of bug that gives me stomach spasms and gastronomical gases. Which is very irritating, since I'm actually in my most comfortable position when I am in a sort of half-bow. It's not fun to try to keep yourself upright so as not to look like a sot.
Plus, the afore-mentioned gastronomical gases have actually given me something that resembles a small beer gut. Which is irritating, since I actually have abstained from alcohol since September 2003. Didn't really take alot to convince me of course. I'm not exactly fond of beer. And I don't know how people can sip wine and say it's good when sparkling grape juice tastes so much better. But that's besides the point. At any rate, I can be thankful that most of the time, the gastronomical gases (this is so hard to keep on typing. I think I shall just call in GG.) have usually manifested themselves in the form of burps, which while highly impolite, is still a damn sight better than if it came out from my bottom. (Alright... damn smell better, though not by much.)
What is also irritating is that on the bus from Tampines to church earlier on, I also felt like puking. Cos I was trying to alleviate my suffering by trying to force myself to burp (I was discreet and polite, so no one was offended. I think.). Anyway, that started to make me feel like I wanted to release my lunch all over the floor. And every bump the bus went over made it worse, since the bus doesn't exactly have excellent suspension systems. Thankfully, I had just purchased Cowboy Bebop and so I hurriedly grabbed the plastic bag and put it in my pocket, after asking God to help me hold in the lunch till I at least managed to get to church, which He did.
What is more irritating is that the GG and SS (stomach spasms, not social studies, or SchutzStaffel or Segregated Socialists or whatever else you can come up with) turned me into an almost total wimp, as the peeps in church can testify to. The last time I was this sick was when I went to Starlight in 2003. And for the 3 hours that I was in church, essentially all I did was to sort of loll around, usually with my head on the blue circular table outside the kitchen where S and L were doing work.
Here I must mention that I'm really grateful for all the people in church who tried to make me feel better, like F and S who were talking to me, and Y who tried to comfort me, and J who thought I might have gastric and told me to drink milk, and Su, JN, V and L who screamed at me not to drink the milk, but almost gave me a heart attack in the process, and R, D and A who just asked if I was feeling better. Really grateful. But I guess I seemed like an ingrate earlier on, since I was in a sort of stupor most of the time. haha.
But, the most irritating thing, is that I'M NOW AT HOME TYPING OUT THIS ENTRY AFTER HAVING SEEN THE DOCTOR, WHEN I COULD HAVE BEEN WATCHING X-MEN 3!!! Bleah. Plus, the doc told me that I shouldn't eat oily or fried food. Where's the fun in that?
On a side note that is totally unrelated, look what I managed to get in Woodlands yesterday evening.
Cool, yes? We were going to Yew Tee to eat dinner and celebrate Y's birthday.
Cheerio
This is primarily due to the fact that I've got come down with some sort of bug that gives me stomach spasms and gastronomical gases. Which is very irritating, since I'm actually in my most comfortable position when I am in a sort of half-bow. It's not fun to try to keep yourself upright so as not to look like a sot.
Plus, the afore-mentioned gastronomical gases have actually given me something that resembles a small beer gut. Which is irritating, since I actually have abstained from alcohol since September 2003. Didn't really take alot to convince me of course. I'm not exactly fond of beer. And I don't know how people can sip wine and say it's good when sparkling grape juice tastes so much better. But that's besides the point. At any rate, I can be thankful that most of the time, the gastronomical gases (this is so hard to keep on typing. I think I shall just call in GG.) have usually manifested themselves in the form of burps, which while highly impolite, is still a damn sight better than if it came out from my bottom. (Alright... damn smell better, though not by much.)
What is also irritating is that on the bus from Tampines to church earlier on, I also felt like puking. Cos I was trying to alleviate my suffering by trying to force myself to burp (I was discreet and polite, so no one was offended. I think.). Anyway, that started to make me feel like I wanted to release my lunch all over the floor. And every bump the bus went over made it worse, since the bus doesn't exactly have excellent suspension systems. Thankfully, I had just purchased Cowboy Bebop and so I hurriedly grabbed the plastic bag and put it in my pocket, after asking God to help me hold in the lunch till I at least managed to get to church, which He did.
What is more irritating is that the GG and SS (stomach spasms, not social studies, or SchutzStaffel or Segregated Socialists or whatever else you can come up with) turned me into an almost total wimp, as the peeps in church can testify to. The last time I was this sick was when I went to Starlight in 2003. And for the 3 hours that I was in church, essentially all I did was to sort of loll around, usually with my head on the blue circular table outside the kitchen where S and L were doing work.
Here I must mention that I'm really grateful for all the people in church who tried to make me feel better, like F and S who were talking to me, and Y who tried to comfort me, and J who thought I might have gastric and told me to drink milk, and Su, JN, V and L who screamed at me not to drink the milk, but almost gave me a heart attack in the process, and R, D and A who just asked if I was feeling better. Really grateful. But I guess I seemed like an ingrate earlier on, since I was in a sort of stupor most of the time. haha.
But, the most irritating thing, is that I'M NOW AT HOME TYPING OUT THIS ENTRY AFTER HAVING SEEN THE DOCTOR, WHEN I COULD HAVE BEEN WATCHING X-MEN 3!!! Bleah. Plus, the doc told me that I shouldn't eat oily or fried food. Where's the fun in that?
On a side note that is totally unrelated, look what I managed to get in Woodlands yesterday evening.
Cool, yes? We were going to Yew Tee to eat dinner and celebrate Y's birthday.
Cheerio
Thursday, May 25, 2006
Adlegatio
I guess I have been rather slow in talking about going to Japan.
Well, to start of, it was early. Like I didn't sleep the night before we left, cos I hadn't packed my bag, and by the time I was done, it was late enough that I didn't see any value in sleeping anymore. Got to the airport, and then had a spot of a problem. First, was that our check in luggage was too heavy. (Not me, because I actually carried a fullpack onto the plane itself, but what with all the extra stuff we needed to bring...) And then, J realized that there might be a problem, as she was Malaysian, and she didn't know she needed a visa to go to Japan.
So we cleared Singapore, and we got onto the Northwest flight. I had gotten some pretty bad reviews about NWA from my friends, like how they said that there was only a single tv screen per cabin, and it didn't work, and how the food made army food taste good... but surprise surprise, it was actually very much like SIA. Maybe cos this was their Airbus A30 or something, maybe new plane? I dunno. So here's a couple of pictures.
This here is the tv.
And this is my breakfast. Looks very SIA-ish, doesn't it?
So anyway, me, J and M touched down at Narita, and then the real problem started. Me and M ended up waiting a couple of hours for J to clear the Japanese immigration, but by the grace of God, they gave her a 90-day visa after Uncle L spoke with the officials. Then we took the train to Nippori, transferred to the JT Yamanote Line, took to Ikebukuro, and then transferred onto the Seibu-Ikebukuro line to reach Tokorozawa. Got there in time for the youth church that is held on Friday nights.
Anyway, can't really remember a lot of details. And when I do, it wouldn't quite be feasible to put it up, cos there's way too much, so I'll just talk of a few instances.
God was really very gracious throughout the trip. He always provided for us, whether through the study of His word, or the people who were there. The people at the youth church were a great help, since I am argubly the most fluent in Japanese in the team (I'm not being arrogant. It's a fact. Haha.), and I cannot even hold a simple question and answer dialogue with anyone. Oh, and just in case you do know rudimentary Japanese, and think that's enough, you can forget about it. You talk to them in that little bit of Japanese that you know, and they automatically think that you are really a fluent speaker, so they blurb back everything to you in normal speed Japanese, which is really rather fast, and you probably won't understand.
But anyway, God showed His mercy, when Uncle L left his laptop bag outside the house, and we went to Saitama, at Urawa station. It took us 1 1/2 hours to get there, and then he realized he left it outside the house. S said he would go back and help him take it, so he drove back while we went to another karaoke place. And then about 2 hours later, he messaged back that he found the bag with laptop.
Oh and the karaoke place just mentioned, they've got this drinks station.
What's so cool about it? Well, there's hot drinks, and cold drinks, and ice cream, and soup. And it's free flow.
Yup. We got to meet new people, mainly through the Saitama International Fair thing, but also through the English classes at Waseda Uni, and also through the youth church.
Finally, I shall show the only sunset shot I managed to acquire. It was at the bridge near Uncle L's place.
Tada. Pretty nice huh.
Yeah. The night before we left, we went to onsen, which is really great, and then while outside Tokorozawa Station, the people from the youth church and the team stood in a circle and prayed. And it was really great.
Then we left, and I waited 3 hours till A and Al left for the Philippines with their MEET team, and I had to take a cab over from Terminal 1 to the Budget Terminal and it cost me close to 8 bucks, which coincidentally, is actually more expensive per km than my flight from Narita. I calculated wrongly last round at M's blog, but now I realize that the cab fare (@!&^$#) was going at $2.63 per km, but my flight cost only $0.07 per km!! Rip-off!
Ah well.
Cheerio
Well, to start of, it was early. Like I didn't sleep the night before we left, cos I hadn't packed my bag, and by the time I was done, it was late enough that I didn't see any value in sleeping anymore. Got to the airport, and then had a spot of a problem. First, was that our check in luggage was too heavy. (Not me, because I actually carried a fullpack onto the plane itself, but what with all the extra stuff we needed to bring...) And then, J realized that there might be a problem, as she was Malaysian, and she didn't know she needed a visa to go to Japan.
So we cleared Singapore, and we got onto the Northwest flight. I had gotten some pretty bad reviews about NWA from my friends, like how they said that there was only a single tv screen per cabin, and it didn't work, and how the food made army food taste good... but surprise surprise, it was actually very much like SIA. Maybe cos this was their Airbus A30 or something, maybe new plane? I dunno. So here's a couple of pictures.
This here is the tv.
And this is my breakfast. Looks very SIA-ish, doesn't it?
So anyway, me, J and M touched down at Narita, and then the real problem started. Me and M ended up waiting a couple of hours for J to clear the Japanese immigration, but by the grace of God, they gave her a 90-day visa after Uncle L spoke with the officials. Then we took the train to Nippori, transferred to the JT Yamanote Line, took to Ikebukuro, and then transferred onto the Seibu-Ikebukuro line to reach Tokorozawa. Got there in time for the youth church that is held on Friday nights.
Anyway, can't really remember a lot of details. And when I do, it wouldn't quite be feasible to put it up, cos there's way too much, so I'll just talk of a few instances.
God was really very gracious throughout the trip. He always provided for us, whether through the study of His word, or the people who were there. The people at the youth church were a great help, since I am argubly the most fluent in Japanese in the team (I'm not being arrogant. It's a fact. Haha.), and I cannot even hold a simple question and answer dialogue with anyone. Oh, and just in case you do know rudimentary Japanese, and think that's enough, you can forget about it. You talk to them in that little bit of Japanese that you know, and they automatically think that you are really a fluent speaker, so they blurb back everything to you in normal speed Japanese, which is really rather fast, and you probably won't understand.
But anyway, God showed His mercy, when Uncle L left his laptop bag outside the house, and we went to Saitama, at Urawa station. It took us 1 1/2 hours to get there, and then he realized he left it outside the house. S said he would go back and help him take it, so he drove back while we went to another karaoke place. And then about 2 hours later, he messaged back that he found the bag with laptop.
Oh and the karaoke place just mentioned, they've got this drinks station.
What's so cool about it? Well, there's hot drinks, and cold drinks, and ice cream, and soup. And it's free flow.
Yup. We got to meet new people, mainly through the Saitama International Fair thing, but also through the English classes at Waseda Uni, and also through the youth church.
Finally, I shall show the only sunset shot I managed to acquire. It was at the bridge near Uncle L's place.
Tada. Pretty nice huh.
Yeah. The night before we left, we went to onsen, which is really great, and then while outside Tokorozawa Station, the people from the youth church and the team stood in a circle and prayed. And it was really great.
Then we left, and I waited 3 hours till A and Al left for the Philippines with their MEET team, and I had to take a cab over from Terminal 1 to the Budget Terminal and it cost me close to 8 bucks, which coincidentally, is actually more expensive per km than my flight from Narita. I calculated wrongly last round at M's blog, but now I realize that the cab fare (@!&^$#) was going at $2.63 per km, but my flight cost only $0.07 per km!! Rip-off!
Ah well.
Cheerio
Monday, March 13, 2006
Praedicare
It's been awhile. I guess. Been a little caught up in stuff, most notably an essay at which I have spent more time stoning at then doing, and a BB camp just last weekend.
Brother went to army last Thursday. He went to Taurus company in BMT, but apparently, the place has mellowed a lot since my time, the lucky sot... heh... he seems to be coping well at any rate.
And the BB camp was a little tough. Cos I've been waking up early and sleeping late for the past few days, and so I really wanted to sleep in late in the weekend, but needed to go and help S out. So once again, I woke up early, and headed down, and there, I spent the time helping out set up obstacles. And there, I discovered two things: 1) I can still do the low rope. At least my technique's still there. And 2) I really should warm up before I do such strenuous activities, because as of now, I have sore hands, sore arms, and strained stomach muscles, so that everytime I cough, or sneeze, or try to sit up while lying down, I feel a little uncomfortable, to put it mildly. And then there was the night hike, but that wasn't quite so bad.
Anyway, I've gotten back two of my mid-term stuff. And my grades are definitely throught the grace of God. My English mod I got 67%, which is really quite good, since C told me apparently the highest is only just over 70%. I certainly didn't expect that, as my technical abilities in English certainly aren't there. And my History essay received an A-. Which is really only because God gave it to me. I mean, how else can an essay with no references and bibliography get an A-? (Honestly, I didn't refer to any books, but it's always good to have had done so).
And on Thurs morning (I think), A showed me his book that said something like, "Have you noticed how so many songs talk about praising God, but they don't actually praise God?" And I found that quite thought-provoking. Cos it's quite true, isn't it?
Anyway, today, I ended school at around 6, and then quickly ran up to Woodlands to pass my hockey gear to L, cos she hadn't bought her stuff yet. So just as I reached the bus interchange, the 912 bus that goes to her place pulled into the bay, so I thought: " Thanks God, for setting it up so nicely." Then I went over to her place and left the stuff outside, and then went back to catch a 912 back to the interchange. Well, as anyone who's ever been to that place before, you'll realize that when you need the 912 to come, it won't come. So anyway, the bus came like after I was waiting there for like 15 mins. Oh, and did I forget to mention that out of the goodness of their hearts, my parents were at that moment waiting at YCK station to give me a lift home. So when the bus finally came, and I was on my way back, my parents said they were going home first. I mean, by that time, it was 7.45, and they had postponed their dinner for one and a half hours already, and they had ice-cream in the boot.
That was when I lost my cool. I mean, outwardly, I was still quite composed, but inside, I was seething. Not at my parents, not at the bus system, not at me, but at that very moment, all I really wanted to do was to go and scream out some curses. Which is really quite strange, as I didn't even feel this kind of urge while in army, which is a decidedly more vulgar place than anywhere else in Singapore.
And it took a while to cool down, during which I realized I would probably have to go for the BB enrolment service, and that I would have to go and do my essay, which just upped my upset factor by a degree of about 2.5. So I told Ag about it, cos I was supposed to do BS this week, and she told me to arrange with Jie, but I thought she didn't understand my question. Must've been the heat of the moment lah, so if you felt that I was snapping at you, you wouldn't be far wrong, but I'm sorry I did it.
And that brought me back to Ag's BS on Sunday. In my thoughts, was I building up my spiritual account with God? I don't think so.
Anyway, I'm back to normal (about as normal as I can get) and just trying hard to stay awake, cos of this entry, and I will really need to continue that afore-mentioned 1000 word essay of which I have only about 200, and of which I will probably revise and change. Bleah.
Cheerio
Brother went to army last Thursday. He went to Taurus company in BMT, but apparently, the place has mellowed a lot since my time, the lucky sot... heh... he seems to be coping well at any rate.
And the BB camp was a little tough. Cos I've been waking up early and sleeping late for the past few days, and so I really wanted to sleep in late in the weekend, but needed to go and help S out. So once again, I woke up early, and headed down, and there, I spent the time helping out set up obstacles. And there, I discovered two things: 1) I can still do the low rope. At least my technique's still there. And 2) I really should warm up before I do such strenuous activities, because as of now, I have sore hands, sore arms, and strained stomach muscles, so that everytime I cough, or sneeze, or try to sit up while lying down, I feel a little uncomfortable, to put it mildly. And then there was the night hike, but that wasn't quite so bad.
Anyway, I've gotten back two of my mid-term stuff. And my grades are definitely throught the grace of God. My English mod I got 67%, which is really quite good, since C told me apparently the highest is only just over 70%. I certainly didn't expect that, as my technical abilities in English certainly aren't there. And my History essay received an A-. Which is really only because God gave it to me. I mean, how else can an essay with no references and bibliography get an A-? (Honestly, I didn't refer to any books, but it's always good to have had done so).
And on Thurs morning (I think), A showed me his book that said something like, "Have you noticed how so many songs talk about praising God, but they don't actually praise God?" And I found that quite thought-provoking. Cos it's quite true, isn't it?
Anyway, today, I ended school at around 6, and then quickly ran up to Woodlands to pass my hockey gear to L, cos she hadn't bought her stuff yet. So just as I reached the bus interchange, the 912 bus that goes to her place pulled into the bay, so I thought: " Thanks God, for setting it up so nicely." Then I went over to her place and left the stuff outside, and then went back to catch a 912 back to the interchange. Well, as anyone who's ever been to that place before, you'll realize that when you need the 912 to come, it won't come. So anyway, the bus came like after I was waiting there for like 15 mins. Oh, and did I forget to mention that out of the goodness of their hearts, my parents were at that moment waiting at YCK station to give me a lift home. So when the bus finally came, and I was on my way back, my parents said they were going home first. I mean, by that time, it was 7.45, and they had postponed their dinner for one and a half hours already, and they had ice-cream in the boot.
That was when I lost my cool. I mean, outwardly, I was still quite composed, but inside, I was seething. Not at my parents, not at the bus system, not at me, but at that very moment, all I really wanted to do was to go and scream out some curses. Which is really quite strange, as I didn't even feel this kind of urge while in army, which is a decidedly more vulgar place than anywhere else in Singapore.
And it took a while to cool down, during which I realized I would probably have to go for the BB enrolment service, and that I would have to go and do my essay, which just upped my upset factor by a degree of about 2.5. So I told Ag about it, cos I was supposed to do BS this week, and she told me to arrange with Jie, but I thought she didn't understand my question. Must've been the heat of the moment lah, so if you felt that I was snapping at you, you wouldn't be far wrong, but I'm sorry I did it.
And that brought me back to Ag's BS on Sunday. In my thoughts, was I building up my spiritual account with God? I don't think so.
Anyway, I'm back to normal (about as normal as I can get) and just trying hard to stay awake, cos of this entry, and I will really need to continue that afore-mentioned 1000 word essay of which I have only about 200, and of which I will probably revise and change. Bleah.
Cheerio
Thursday, February 23, 2006
Solitarius
Sometimes, I just feel so lonely. Not in the 'abandoned by God' sense, as I know He's always there. But more like isolated. And it becomes so much worse when you are with company, but not WITH company...
Why do I feel lonely?
Sigh...
Why do I feel lonely?
Sigh...
Wednesday, February 15, 2006
Adamanteus
After Kairos, had a spot of talk with S. Discussed some CG issues, most of which I'll need to iron out with A soon. First thing he said that made me think a bit, was that I was hard to read. Which I found a little strange, since I always thought that I wasn't exactly proficient in hiding my thoughts. Well, apparently I've been doing a good job of that. Must mean I could be good at playing poker, if I played poker. Perhaps because I once prayed to have a heart of steel so that no one could hurt me. If that was true, all I managed to achieve was to make sure people didn't see they had hurt me. Which I guess, would be about 50% accomplished, if you were happy with that sort of objective.
Anyway, he said he sensed some tension-ish vibes between the me and A, and for quite a while too. While I'll admit that recently, I've gone into a rather melancholic mood, meaning that I have gotten somewhat depressed, which in turn makes me a little bad-tempered, which may have been why maybe today I was a little curt with A, but I thought we had cleared up that little mess last year. S didn't quite feel the same way though. And he has got a point. Not about clearing up the mess. More about how well I knew A. Which is why I may have to go and have another talk with A.
One other thing he pointed out was that we may have been focusing on what we lost, and not what he have. Kinda like that half-empty/half-full cup thingy? And he did have a point there.
On another side, there's this thing going on about how NUS students should wear black on 15th Feb to protest the increase in school fees. Which I found rather amusing. Don't get me wrong, I too dislike the fact that they've raised the school fees. By $180 for me. It's just that wearing black thing. It's like, a really lame excuse of a protest man. I mean seriously, if we wanted to protest, we should form a strike and have placards and that sort of thing. I mean, what kind of a protest works by wearing black?! Not to mention, as E told me just now, on any given day, half the school populace would ALREADY be in black. I really find it rather amusing.
And on another totally unrelated note, I had a spammer who posted on my previous post. The one below. Yeah. I mean, having a spammer is bad enough. You might have noticed a couple of adverts that appeared in some of my other posts. But this one really got on my nerves. Because of what the advert was on.
So you stupid moron, if you ever come back to this site, I've got this to say to you:
"BUT IF ANYONE CAUSES ONE OF THESE LITTLE ONES WHO BELIEVE IN ME TO SIN, IT WOULD BE BETTER FOR HIM TO HAVE A LARGE MILLSTONE HUNG AROUND HIS NECK AND TO BE DROWNED IN THE DEPTHS OF THE SEA. WOE TO THE WORLD BECAUSE OF THE THINGS THAT CAUSE PEOPLE TO SIN! SUCH THINGS MUST COME, BUT WOE TO THE MAN THROUGH WHOM THEY COME!" -Matthew 18:6, 7
Yeah. You better damn well repent, or face the wrath of God come eternity.
Anyway, he said he sensed some tension-ish vibes between the me and A, and for quite a while too. While I'll admit that recently, I've gone into a rather melancholic mood, meaning that I have gotten somewhat depressed, which in turn makes me a little bad-tempered, which may have been why maybe today I was a little curt with A, but I thought we had cleared up that little mess last year. S didn't quite feel the same way though. And he has got a point. Not about clearing up the mess. More about how well I knew A. Which is why I may have to go and have another talk with A.
One other thing he pointed out was that we may have been focusing on what we lost, and not what he have. Kinda like that half-empty/half-full cup thingy? And he did have a point there.
On another side, there's this thing going on about how NUS students should wear black on 15th Feb to protest the increase in school fees. Which I found rather amusing. Don't get me wrong, I too dislike the fact that they've raised the school fees. By $180 for me. It's just that wearing black thing. It's like, a really lame excuse of a protest man. I mean seriously, if we wanted to protest, we should form a strike and have placards and that sort of thing. I mean, what kind of a protest works by wearing black?! Not to mention, as E told me just now, on any given day, half the school populace would ALREADY be in black. I really find it rather amusing.
And on another totally unrelated note, I had a spammer who posted on my previous post. The one below. Yeah. I mean, having a spammer is bad enough. You might have noticed a couple of adverts that appeared in some of my other posts. But this one really got on my nerves. Because of what the advert was on.
So you stupid moron, if you ever come back to this site, I've got this to say to you:
"BUT IF ANYONE CAUSES ONE OF THESE LITTLE ONES WHO BELIEVE IN ME TO SIN, IT WOULD BE BETTER FOR HIM TO HAVE A LARGE MILLSTONE HUNG AROUND HIS NECK AND TO BE DROWNED IN THE DEPTHS OF THE SEA. WOE TO THE WORLD BECAUSE OF THE THINGS THAT CAUSE PEOPLE TO SIN! SUCH THINGS MUST COME, BUT WOE TO THE MAN THROUGH WHOM THEY COME!" -Matthew 18:6, 7
Yeah. You better damn well repent, or face the wrath of God come eternity.
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