First post in Melbourne

First post in Melbourne

G’day Mate! How are you going? [yup, that’s their normal salutation]

Wow… so it’s actually here. The surreal feeling is all over and it’s actually happening. It was surreal, the whole leaving bit and the landing and touching down onto Melbourne soil. But now that it’s all done and I’m mostly pretty much settled in here, it’s almost starting to feel…. Normal. :S haha.

Where do I even begin? Gosh. The send off at the airport was immensely more than I thot… I knew that there was going to be a big send off but I didn’t expect so many people… esp so many non Shalom people. It was just jumping from person to person and thanking them for coming. Thank God really coz in the end, everything worked out. Even though things were rushed because of something unforeseen, the Lord still provided me enough time to not miss out anyone. :) So thanks for everyone who came to see me off. It really touched me to know that u’d go thru so much trouble just to send me off. :) And once more, I’m so sorry if I didn’t get enough time with you coz I was being rushed off here and there. But know that I’ll be online loads and updating here and there… plus, I’m coming back in June so it’s jus a short first part of my overseas studies. :)

When we walked into the gate, I was ecstatic… it was finally happening. Loads of times, I watch friends leave and wonder to myself when it’ll be my turn. When will it be me who’s waving back and saying bye… and this time, it was. The feeling was quickly replaced with the enthrallment of what awaited me. I was going in with the two girls and I was telling them how excited I was and how I was SO looking forward to Melbourne… I think that helped them to say GoodBye to Singapore easier. Positive thinking see! :)
Did that last blog post before I went into the gates and after I sat in the plane, I sent a few more texts before I had to shut it off.

Plane was delayed for some engineering faults for about an hour and 15 minutes. In that time, phy and I were able to engage in a deep and informative [I hope] talk about why Christians dun have the ‘confession box’ practice and the gospel and the importance of who Jesus was came naturally to the conversation. I found myself repeating a lot of Leonard’s most recent sermons too… thank God that He brings words to our minds when we need them the most and God was surely answering phy thru me and not the other way around of course. Spent a short while talking to the dude on my right on the plane too. He’s going to new Zealand to work again and he worked in blackberry. So that was pretty cool la. And I liked his accent or the way he pronounced his words so clearly. Must learn all these things before I have to go and work. :)

Yup, plane ride was boring other than that. Not coz I had nothing to talk bout but after we stretched our legs [we met some new guy there too which I’ll explain shortly], we decided to watch movies but the inflight thing kept restarting… so it’s like watch a bit then *restart*… wth! Haha… so I gave up trying to watch movies [my original idea] and just tried to sleep. But I couldn’t really sleep properly. Phy on the other hand didn’t sleep at all. Everytime I looked over at her, she apparently was just closing her eyes. So she was quite tired at the end.

Anyways, met this dude on the way to the toilet and we had a short chat, the 4 of us at the back of the airplane. His name’s wei liang and he’s studying in rmit. :) anyway, after the chat, we met again at customs where we exchanged numbers and decided to meet up for a possible dinner. So then loisy left to go to her apartment while phy and I stayed back in the airport for the interview. They picked us during the pre-departure seminar a few weeks back and told us that the melb media would like to interview us. But in the end, the Lord Mayer came to take some photos with us and talk to us a bit. So once that was done, we were sent to our individual apartments promising to rendezvous at 1.30pm.

I reached my place and checked in. At first, I thot the place was smaller than I expected but I really couldn’t complain coz the place is huge compared to a lot of other places… and now the more I get accustomed to this place, I think it’s great [apart from the distance it is from the city]…. But it’s great… big enuf for the 2 of us and so comfortable… feels like a hotel room sumtimes. :) I did a video tour of it. So when I get internet properly setup, it’ll be uploaded to this blog and my facebook too. :)

Yeh so I reached here, did the video tour and just dumped all the luggage down. Grabbed my bag and left. Walked all the way down LaTrobe street [about 20 minutes walk] opening my eyes and ears to everything. It was so nice. The sun was shining on my skin making it hot but the breeze was cooling it straight away. So it was a very nice experience and the whole environment is so different from orchard road or geylang or any other place in spore. It really felt like I was overseas and in a foreign land but in a nice place. :) the roads were wide and the buildings were beautiful. Took pics so wait for those soon too. :)
After walking down to near loisy’s place, I took a turn to phy’s place coz I promised to pick her up first… so that was another 15minutes walk. After waiting for phy to come out of her place, we walked back to lois’ place.. so walk here walk there… wahhhh then we went shopping for necessities like handphone plan and toiletries… but turns out there are some complications with the handphone plans so we had to postpone it till tml… :S
Then we kinda had dinner [we all kinda threw half our meal away coz we all didn’t have appetite] Phy was feeling pretty sick… I guess it’s the whole notion of being away from family and all. But it was quite hard to watch her struggle thru the meal and some parts of the day. I hope she’s fine now as I type this. Hmmm I’ll find out soon la I guess, when we meet tml.

Yup, so after that, wei liang came to meet us and we shopped a bit more for pillows, toilet rolls, all that jazz and then we walked loisy and phy home… which meant another 30-40 minute walk home after that. Hahah wahhh today I walked so much lor. Seriously… but the weather was great and the place was still so new, so much to explore… so I really enjoyed walking. :)

Then I came back, cleaned a bit of the house and unpacked… then waited for matthew to come back and when he did, we got his stuff up here to our house and started unpacking some impt stuff, the rest tml then do. :)

Yup, so I’m going to go off now coz it’s late now and when I was skyping with family just now, I was jus too tired to have a proper nice conversation… jus slurring away and yeh.. sorry mum and dad. :( tml ok? When my router is setup and my webcam is on… sorry.

Yup, going now. Good night people. Melbourne is so diff. but I’m loving it… really. Soon soon oki? The pictures and videos. :)

God Bless You! And thanks for reading this.
Cheers Mate!

In the airport. bye singapore

ok no time to blog but jus wanted to say bye to spore. :) my last blog post from singapore. hahah. whee! i'm going yes yes yes. :)

take care one and all. i'll be updating u guys soon.

love loads and i'll miss all of you. :) so many peopel came for the send off! oh my gosh. hahaha bye

Flying off to Melbourne Tomorrow

Hi guys,

it's finally here. I'll be flying off to Melbourne Australia tomolo. Surreal but true, it's the events that all led up to this day that I'm really thankful to God for. I won't stop thanking Him and giving Him glory by testifying about how good He's been.

I will no longer be using my handphone as of 16th of February so please do not contact me there. As i'm overseas, i'll be contactable via my overseas number [which i will get when i reach there] in the meantime, u can contact me via MSN, Skype, Facebook, Email.... and if u want my overseas number then please ask personally, i'd gladly give it to you. :) I'm not sure if i'll use my spore number when I come back so for now, please don't contact me there as you won't get a response. :) And if u do, means i missed my flight. HAHA. eeps! :)

Yup, so i'll be going to Melbourne for the next 2 years to study a Bachelor in Information Systems in the University of Melbourne. I'll be staying near the uni with a very close Christian brother of mine, Matthew and by God's grace, i'll finish off my uni degree there and consider my future plans after. I'll be back to spore at the end of June for my sister's wedding but will only be here for a short while before i fly back and continue my studies. Might come back at the end of the year, but plans for that will be more concrete when the time comes so keep watching this blog. :)

I must say i'm pretty excited to go. Been hearing stories and seeing pictures.... it's just such an experience that I can't wait to experience la... Psyched myself up to go also that's why i'm jus itching to get there and walk around Melbourne City. Woohoo! :P

Thanks to everyone who's given me support and prayers, wishes and love, and more importantly have blessed me in many ways other than having a great friendship with me. I pray to God that He will watch over each and every one of you whether christian or not and you guys just do your part and take care of yourselves. :) Thanks and I'll see you guys soon! :) Dunch worry, when i get there and get internet, u can be sure i'll shoot out a blog post WITH pictures... haha.

Oki then, i guess this is the last post before I fly. Be safe, play hard and I'll see you guys all soon! Woo!

Prisoner Of Freedom, Signing Out!

GoogleMaps Kayaking?

Click it... trust me. it's hilarious. i was searching for how long it'll take me from the melbourne airport to my house in melbourne.. so i typed "Melbourne Airport" as destination 1 and my house as destination 2... and did the search. google came up with this.

For some funny reason, i start in florida and it'll take me 56days... hahaha... and the best part is the one i highlighted. it says Kayak Across the Pacific Ocean. AHHAHAH wth!!! i HAD to screenshot this. :P

Article for Weekly

Just realized that not everyone might have gotten a weekly last sunday esp for people overseas... (shout outs to juline, joela, aaron, joy, may ann and whoever reads this blog from off the shores of sunny singapore) so here it is. :)

---

In about a week, I will be leaving for Melbourne to further my studies. The events that led up to this has been initially trying but God’s fingerprint in every aspect is clearly seen as He fits the random jigsaw puzzle pieces together. When I was serving in the Army, I applied year after year for a local university but was not successful as my polytechnic education left me competing for too few available places in my study field of choice. Hope turned to desperation as I realized I didn’t have as many options as I previously imagined. So I waited upon the Lord.

As my parents began looking at an overseas education, God opened eyes, ears and doors. Weekends attending talks enlightened us. Christian brothers who had studied in Australia gave me insights. No doubt, it was financially hard on my parents but God gave them peace and provision.

So here I am, on a precipice of a new frontier, uncertain and yet excited about my new experience. God has made known to me several who have been to Melbourne or are still currently studying there. He has provided windows in the areas of worship, a close spiritual brother overseas to keep me accountable, and all the practical information I need to get settled in. All in all, the Lord has not only prepared me for this short stint of 2 years overseas but also given me the resources and comfort to make my trip and stay there easier.

Finally, I would like to take this time to especially thank everyone of you who has supported me in so many different ways that are beyond words. God has shown me love and warmth in Shalom, patience and fellowship among this fellowship of believers. I sometimes ask myself what I did to ever deserve such a community and fellowship. The YF has grown in numbers and in spiritual maturity and I thank God for the many youths who have invested their lives and time in the work of God. It is my prayer that the work of the Lord will continue to flourish and be supported by the church in every way possible and that the youths will also continue to shine so brightly for God that nothing can put out their light.

I go not with a heavy heart for I know the Lord will keep and guide you and me, and watch over each and every individual whom I will miss. He gives me peace in knowing that He will uphold one and all dear to me in this community in His almighty hand as He continues moulding the youths, young adults and congregation of Shalom.

I thank my God upon every remembrance of you,

Always in every prayer of mine for you all making request with joy,

For your fellowship in the gospel from the first day until now;

Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ:

Philippians 1:3-6

Only let your conversation be as it becometh the gospel of Christ: that whether I come and see you, or else be absent, I may hear of your affairs, that ye stand fast in one spirit, with one mind striving together for the faith of the gospel;

Philippians 1:27

QF10

Terminal 1

15/02/09, 8.15pm

MidWeek Jokes

Wahhaa. thot these were quite funny. :)

Humour in the Office
Boss: "I've decided to use humor in the office.
Experts say humor eases tension, which is important in times when the work force is being trimmed.
"Knock knock."
Employee: "Who's there?"
Boss: "Not you anymore."

Marriage
A guy is dating three women and can't decide which one to marry.
He gives each $1,000 to see how well they can manage money.
The first one spends $800 and puts $200 in the bank.
The second one spends $200 and puts $800 in the bank.
The third one puts the whole $1,000 in the bank.
Which one does he end up marrying? The most beautiful one..

A Week till departure

I'm a week away from departing Singapore. This time, one week later, i'll be shopping around Melbourne city... going to get my bank account settled, going to buy stuff i'll need and snapping pictures all the way. :) seems real surreal but i'm SO looking forward to it i guess. Been looking at photos my fren has been uploading. She just wen to perth and by golly, it looks SO fun. Nothing exciting i guess but just that it's a foreign place, nice scenary and fresh new experiences. :) wowz.

Looking back upon all the jigsaw puzzle pieces that have led to my going to study in melbourne, i cannot say that God was not in every aspect. He made it such that such things could happen and although it's not the typical education pathway i'd have originally thot i'd go down, this is all in God's plan and i'm sure that He'll show me why. He's been so good to me that often times i dun even know how He blessed me so much till this point. And to know that he will continue to bless and love me as i travel is such a thrill and joy. Where can i hide from the Lord? If i make my ascend to the heavens, He is there and if i make my bed in Hell, He is there too. The Lord has been and will watch my going outs and my coming ins... amazing. :) Praise the Lord!

Met new frens and i guess God leads me to those He also wants to reach out to. One of my new frens is seeking the Lord and needs direction and stuff. Praise God that I can offer my hand of fellowship, love and guidance too. The Lord's work never stops and I pray that He'll use me mightily in whatever situation He puts me in. We learnt during NISS class this week that it's never about us and when we're in situtations that glorify God the most, that's all that matters. To an angel, their ultimate joy is in serving the Lord and obeying Him. So if God were to give 2 angels diff assignments, one a road sweeper and one a king, both would be indifferent about the task but would be ultimately joyful in their service to God. Amazing huh?

I thank God constantly for the members of Shalom as well who have supported me and blessed me in so many ways that i cannot mention. Not only have they shown me how far their love reaches but have also never stopped believing in me and the YF. And it's that support that drives a person to continue in fervour for the Lord. So i thank them for every word, every prayer and every gift or talent that they have blessed me and the church with. :)

A week to go. packing's starting. let's go!

Rapture Ruckus - I Believe

Just wanna share with you guys a song i found particularly cool. It's meaningful and pretty neat coz it's done in quick succession...
Dunno if we like.. approve Rap or not but give it a listen and the video attached to it is pretty cool. :)

Changes

It's funny how things can change overnight. You go online and in an interesting twist of events, you get to know someone for the first time. You end up talking... alot and it seems like suddenly, things look different to you. Your other friends get subconsciously replaced with your new friend or new topic at hand and other people seem to just kinda fade into the darkness and vague-ness as all your other friends were and still are. You've got a new clique now and your previously parly frens just dun fit in this equation. Maybe it might just be a 1+1 equation, sumtimes more. I don't know who to pity more... you or your old friends.... maybe, just maybe, the one who's should be pitied most, is your new unsuspecting friend who's just another replacement of the old.

Got to know some friends online last nite thru another friend. it's really complicated but to cut all the long stories and 'WOW THAT'S SO COOL's out... we're all flying on the same flight so instead of jeero and I flying together, now we've got 2 more friends flying with us. Thank God for interesting company coz when we were all talking together, it was just immensely exciting to hear that there are friendly faces... If only they shared the faith, that would be great. but I guess sumtimes, or most times, God puts people in your life so that His Word can be spread thru friendship evangelism rite? :)

So nonetheless, I thank God for new friends and for the fact that in His ways, He's always protecting and upholding me in His hands and His plans. It's surreal that I'm leaving and flying but to know that I'm not going alone [literally and spiritually] is a huge comfort. It's like a sense of security that God places in my heart to know that no matter where I go, what I do, He's there making sure I know He's there and He'll watch over me. :) Wonderful feeling to be a Christian. Heart warming. :)

So yeh, we arranged to physically meet up next week for lunch and to get to know more about each other and our plans... just so that the airport won't be the first time we all physically meet each other. :) So happening. hahaha Oh, i realized too that I've been bringing my camera around to snap here and snap there. It's like i always tell myself, this could be the last time i have a meal-session with this person... i'd like to remember it. SNAP! heh... But i'm trying to steer clear from normal boring posed shots or shots of people... i want my pictures to speak more of the surroundings, the little details we barely notice and a lot of other things.

A.Tsao was telling me that day that when u do 3D or modelling, you really pay attention to the detail of the world around u. there's a lot of things u take for granted, never noticing the intricate details of the things taht surround you. But when you have to make sumting out of nothing and to make it look real, then do you really go around looking at things on a diff plane. :) I totally get what he means and though i can't really appreciate it or fully understand what he means, i know his point and it was quite interesting to just think about it for a moment. like when u look at a pillar, it's not just a rectangle block. it's got texture, form, paint, dirt, insects, shadows, dimensions.... the list goes on forever. :) So cool.

Yup. so just updating my blog coz CNY's not that hectic this year thankfully.. it was actually real fun and relaxing. Thank God for moments like this. 17 more days to go. I dunno how much things will change when I go there.

I asked a fren whether she thinks we'll change when i go overseas... she said yes but failed to elaborate. I kind of have to agree with that... things will change but if it's only one hand clapping trying to keep a frenship going strong, then of course it'll change. What's the point when one has already given up on a frenship? So it reminds me to try my best to not stop clapping. Even if it hurts sumtimes, i dun think they mean to stop clapping, maybe they just find it easier clapping with someone else or things change. :S whatever it is, like the song goes... "They can never have yesterday" Peace Out people! 17 more days!

Death is peaceful, easy. Life is harder - Isabella Marie Swan

Malaysia for CNY

Hey,

I'll be in Malaysia till tuesday night. Don't contact me till then! :)

Happy Lunar New Year to All!
新年快乐!

edit:
Oops! turns out my trip got cancelled at the last minute coz mum couldn't find her passport and everyone decided that we'd rather have steamboat here in spore with her than there without her. :) now everyone in unison... awwwww. :) yup yayz. haha

Lives like Tents

Went to Matthew's Grandmother's wake last night and the preacher gave a exhortation for the late Mdm Yap... I liked the imagery that he used. He likened our earthly lives to a Tent... well not he, but Paul...

1> For we know that if the tent that is our earthly home is destroyed, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens.
2> For in this tent we groan, longing to put on our heavenly dwelling,
3> if indeed by putting it on we may not be found naked.
4> For while we are still in this tent, we groan, being burdened—not that we would be unclothed, but that we would be further clothed, so that what is mortal may be swallowed up by life.
5> He who has prepared us for this very thing is God, who has given us the Spirit as a guarantee
6> So we are always of good courage. We know that while we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord,
7> for we walk by faith, not by sight.
8> Yes, we are of good courage, and we would rather be away from the body and at home with the Lord.
9> So whether we are at home or away, we make it our aim to please him.
10> For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may receive what is due for what he has done in the body, whether good or evil.
2 Corinthians 5:1-10

And i thot that the points he raised here were quite good... The image of a tent, the ones we see at East Coast, are temporal. We pitch up a tent only to stay a few nights. The dwelling isn't very comfortable, it's a make do thing while we await to return home. We set up tent to brave the winds and the rain, the trials of life that beat upon the flimsy frail body of our tent. It gives us a place to withstand these things but we know that once they are over, one day, we will take down our tent and go home.
It's not only temporal but it's not perfect. The material a tent is made of is fragile and can be broken. Each day of our lives, we waste away toward that day when we will go home. To a home built with bricks and stone, structure and form. Perfect nonetheless as compared to whatever tentage we have now. When we pack up this tent, we will go home to a body that is perfect and holy, unbreakable and true.

While we are here, we groan... we groan coz we want to go home, we groan coz it's not comfortable, there are mosquitoes, flies, sand, wind, rain.... but in our home, we will be safe, comforted, protected and we will be rejoicing for there are no longer any needs to groan. We will not be sick, we will not be hurt, we will not be sad for no sorrow and no pain is in the heavenly realm of God.

God has given us the Holy Spirit as a gaurantee... it's like placing a deposit on a big expensive item. we place a deposit to show we're serious about this purchase. To show that we will one day finish the payment and bring this piece of furniture home. God has yet to complete our payment and bring us home. He paid the deposit of Christ' death and the Holy Spirit to promise us that He is serious about this purchase and that He will one day finish the payment and call us home.

Yup. jus some points that i recall from his short exhortation. It really does sound true and comforting to know that we may move houses 10 times in our lifetime, maybe even more, but there is one permanent move that we will make which will finish all the previous moves. And that is to move to be with God in Heaven.

Brethren, take comfort to know that the Lord of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob is the same God of you. He is the same, yesterday, today and forever and there is nothing in this world that can take His love from you. Although we await our home going to be with Him in glory, let's make the best of our time here on earth. To serve Him, preach His Word and help other people have a home to go to when they unpitch their tents. Let's not be selfish campers just waiting for the camping trip to be over. Let's be people on the way home and willing to stop by and show others the way back home too.

May God bless you as you read this and may the Lord cause you to meditate upon His whispers in your life.

Slush sloosh

I always manage to find some way of screwing things up.

Worried....

It's scary when things can worry u so much that u start imagining things... and recently, i was quite worried for someone and some stuff that was going on... it got me worried coz i thot it might have been becoz of something i said, or didn't say... or sumthing i did or didn't do... u know... yeh that's when i started imagining things and all that jazz...

but then today i found out that it was not anything to do with me. i still worry coz this fren of mine is going thru a real tough time... and i guess it sucks coz i can't really help... it's beyond me... but all i can do is pray.. that everything works out and that my fren can rely on God during this time.

ToMyFren:
You and they are in my prayers. Only God knows how much u're struggling with right now and i'm sure He will work out whatever is the best solution for u now. Know that He will never leave you nor forsake u and that all things work together for good to them that love Him. So love Him and seek His will for your life and what happens now. Wish i could help u more but u know my restrictions and the reasons why i can't. I've been worried sick so knowing that everything's ok is such a relief but i still do hope that everything turns out proper and ok. Control yourself, love them and seek God first and formost. You know how to find me. Breathe deep, Be Safe and remember that God is with u.



And to my other fren who just lost someone close... i'm really sorry bout your loss.. you are a strong christian and i know that God will keep you and your family in His loving and gracious arms... rest upon Him and know that u can always pop me when u need. Glad that you saw her the afternoon that she passed and glad that u were able to speak to her before she left us but i guess God gave u that chance and i'm glad u didn't decide not to go... I'm sorry that things are like this but i hope that you and your family can lean upon God and draw peace from Him during this time of bereavement.

FujiFilm FinePix F100fd

Mwhehe. Guess who's the proud owner of a Fuji F100fd DigiCam?!?!? :) I got some recommendations from friends and went to research online for digicam reviews[click and read if u have time]... turns out that this camera seems to be quite top of the notch [click and read if u have time] yet pretty affordable... it only bust my budget by a bit... [self consoling fact] and it seems to have very little [if not negligible] bad points... such as the weight is a bit heavier than some compacts and the flash is at a location that some people might block with their fat fingers...

So here it is... the Fuji F1oofd



I hearts it quite a bit in the sense that it's my first ever digicam... my family has never owned a digicam before [other than one that was given free when we pumped petrol a long long time ago]... but that doesn't count la... then we've been surviving on a camera we stole borrowed from my aunt... but that has been giving problems with the battery. :S so yeh, buying a digicam was quite a big step for me and us... but it was highly justified by the fact that my handphone camera is 3.2mp and i'm going overseas... thus the need to SPAM everyone with nice overseas shots...

So that's besides the point... the reviews all spoke of how this camera was supposedly top notch and an ISO above the rest... u see, this cam can go up to a whopping 12,800 ISO rate... normal cams go up to about 3,200... or maybe 6,400.... so yeh, this was scary... great great great for taking night shots coz they really let in light while still compensating for the dark detail. :) niceeee.... and also i was originally looking for a 8.1mp camera... this turned out to be 12.0... lolz... ok so yeh, apart from that, it's got wideangle lens [very few compacts offer this] and a 5x zoom... woo! guess i dun need to look like an idiot ramming my cam into your face...

Yup.. a whole slew of other funky stuff like intelligent face recog v2.0 and 12 different kinds of shoot mode including sports mode, portrait mode, portrait enhancer [which makes your face look blemish free... but not my face coz it's too jialat] and other stuff like this that make this camera a chock-a-block value for money. Enuf bout the features... i went to harvey norman that day with M.Ho and ZQ.Yeo and grabbed a feel of how it felt like. the weight wasn't as bad as i imagined, i didn't even think it was heavy... although when my dad picked it up today when we were buying it, he said.. mmm heavier.... :S hahaha.. but yeh, played around with it a bit and then i asked the price... told me islandwide fuji promo is $549... showed me a flyer and showed me all the freebies they're throwing in... so i was like.. oh ok la... not bad.. but i'll KIV... obviously... i had to go thru my parents. and Q-man was being an idiot telling me how i should have jus bought it there and then since i knew i wanted it... and of course thru the night he kept reminding me how i could have been snapping away... coz we went to places like esplanade and fullerton and all that scenic places... idiot. anyways... yeh. went home and basically got a NO from the parents coz it was over the budget... i was ready to fund it myself but of course i'd let myself have some time to convince myself i didn't need such an ex camera...

Then the next day, parents said we'll go simlim tomolo [today] to have a look see... and since this blog entry is SOOO long.. i shall stop soon.
Went there today after researching which place is the best and ended up getting the camera [with all of harvey norman's dumb freebies] at a super super good price. parents didn't even think twice... they just said, "ok... black looks nicer.. i dunno all bout the features so na, u play around with it".... but i already did so it was quite a good buy... we got an extra batt too jus in case... :) and dad bargained down the price of the batt too.. so overall, it was a really 'thank God i didn't buy at harvey norman' moment. :)

So yeh.. i've said enuf. i'm real happy at the buy and i'm so glad that now i can have free reign to go snap away. i promise to upload and update... this will be an exciting time and i want whoever is interested to journey with me thru pics and videos. :) 30 days!!!! :P

---

Edit... here's a pic i snapped with the fuji... it's all charged! :)

Too Much Giving

Thots popped in my head this morning... How much do you give to still protect yourself?

you know, chien chong was speaking to us at yf a few weeks ago about how a leader shouldn't take and take but should give... and give... and i agreed with him about that.. but in my mind, the nagging doubt of how much is too much kept springing up... like what do u do when u give and give and give till u have nothing left for yourself or nothing left.. but yet u still give...

I know myself... and i have seen myself in situations where i've given to the point that it jus leaves me so empty and open to attacks... well not attacks but situations where i realize i've got nothing to hold on to in case sumthing goes wrong... and yet i still dun really learn my lesson? in a r/s with someone or in service... there has to be a point u should stop and stand your ground and stop giving... there has to be a limit where u say, enuf giving, if i give anymore, i'd lose myself and my 'security' with it... right?

Then yet the more i think about it, the more i feel that if u dun make yourself vulnerable to someone, the more they won't make themselves vulnerable to u... but i guess that's what makes it a risky business... if emotions and feelings and trust aren't involved in a r/s btwn 2 of more people, then the r/s is only surface level. But the problem too is that if u leave yourself vulnerable, u only EXPECT them to also do the same. and when that expectation is not met, that's when u feel like u've invested time for naught.

So here i am again at a crossroad... how much do u want to give Rui.... dun lose yourself, but more imptly, dun lose God.

Japanese Marshmallow eating game

Oh my sky. this is SO hilarious. i was laughing so hard... tearing away lor. ahahhaha check it out.

Handmade Flowers

Hey guys, my fren makes handmade flowers and i think she's real good at them. i'm a poor little single boy so i dun have AS MUCH use for it as most attached people.

Feb 14th is coming. maybe u guys wanna take some time to jus look thru the website. it's one page, very simple and straight forward..

Claire's handmade flowers

do me and my fren a favour la. jus click it and let me know if u're interested. i'll pass ur order to her. or u can email her direct. :)
thanks!!!

BAYFGM 09

Today was quite good... we had our BAYFGM. We really were lookin forward to this event coz the exco had planned up a short little skit that would take us through the previous 6 months. :) It was cute and fun to act along and so we were hoping that not only would the YFers walk with us thru the last 6 months but also be highly entertained by what we presented. I personally was looking forward to how many parents would come and this year didn't disappoint either. we had roughly about 8-10 parents there today... a huge encouragement to me since most of them were not the normal ones we see all the time at AGMs or Elections. :)

Yup, i must say that M.Chan was really nervous about the whole AGM, and even yesterday during the dry run, she was still not sure of what to say and how to say it. but today, wow. i must say, she was highly impressive and it was really something that i was shocked by. When she presented her parts of the AGM, it was like she had no problems whatsoever. :) was really proud of her for that and I hope that the Lord will give her more opportunities to share and conduct public speaking. :) Good on you girl! knew u could do it.

Yarh, then after that, we had exco meeting and it was pretty hard to get our brains back on track coz we were all quite tired. :) but we managed to finish that and now i'm back home on a lazy saturday afternoon blogging and camming. :) Just had a bowl of Pulot Hitam Island Creamery ice cream... mmmm heaven in a bowl.. or close to it. haha

And now, i've got nothing planned up for today. yayz. hahah kinda tired but obviously i'll stay online to chat and stuff. :) haiz. tomolo might pop by army camp... see how. :)

Tired Fingers, thick hair

You know your hair is getting long and thick when your fingers start aching from the volume while shampoo-ing your hair.

tired fingers... but ah, i love the smell of my conditioner... mmm herbal essence orange flavour... mmmmm niceeeee.

it's in a bad stage now though. not short, not long.... faster grow faster!!! and this time, i'm not going to let some hair dresser ruin it again. :)

p.s. visa's confirmed. nothing stands in the way between me and my future studies. :) yayz.
37 days to go.

TOTALLY RANDOM POST

Ok so this post is going to be totally random... like the things that pop into my head would be translated to words. dun worry, i'll try not to let this be too long.

fish in the supermarket today weren't fresh. my balcony's kinda dirty coz everytime i step out to open the door, i take as little steps as possible. sky's pretty cloudy today, hope it doesn't rain. oh i'm going dancing today, 3 hours worth; hope i dun die. Hmmm maybe i should change my sms ringtone, getting stale. Bought bread today that was fluffy and nice. my floor fan's kinda cute, it moves when the wind blows but it's not on. ugly bobble head dolls on my table scare me. staring is a hobby, so sue me i like it. why do i have a torchlight on my desk when it doesn't work.

visa's taking too long to process, getting worried. signed up for unlimited dance classes today! woo! applied for overseas trip notifcation with the SAF, still need to call my unit to confirm it. i'm taking too long to read eclipse, keep getting distracted. sms just came thru, let me read. i love driving, and i'm going to miss it.

talking bout miss, i'll miss people, surely. But time and distance won't separate us i guess. effort, it's all about initiative and effort. hearing a person's voice is so much better than reading text. random blog posts are SO nonsensical but fun to do from time to time.

-fin-

40 Days

So i had dinner today with M.Seah, M.Ho and L.Kwan... the Melb people... wow. it was fun coz finally everyone could meet everyone and things would slowly feel like it's actually happening... i guess when i went to do the visas and the medical check ups and the applications, it still didn't really sink in yet... and i guess it still hasn't sunk in titanic style yet.. but i guess my departure, as quickly as it approaches, is heralding its date by feelings of excitement.

Today during dinner, just talkin bout the food we'll be eating there, the places we'll be going to, the stuff we'll be studying... it was jus so cool. We brought the baked rice to the poolside and there was a nice breeze there... jus the 4 of us... the 2 Uni of Melb guys and the 2 RMIT girls... and i was thinking, it's going to be like this over there... sittin there having a meal... all of us.. jus chilling and enjoying each other's company. :)

Guess there are lots of things that could change and people to meet... i had a fren who was scaring me today by saying stupid stuff like how i'll go there and meet new people or get too busy with my life that i'll find some other fren to talk to and some other person to spend time with... and that my fren now would be replaced... haiz. stupid fren. u know who u are i'm sure...
I dun deny that things will be different and yes i'll be busy... we might not chat or talk as much as we do now coz of the change in environment and all. but my frens are always frens and if u were special to me once, u'll always be special to me.... stupid worries i guess. but i pray that God will allow me to keep in touch with people coz i'd hate to drift from people... it's natural i suppose, out of sight, out of mind.

yup... so as the date draws nearer, i pray God will prepare me and remind me that i'm not going alone.. but with Him, and He's more than enough for me. :)

To Bella

Inspired by Twilight. Dun read coz it prob contains spoilers.

To Bella...

And so Edward said to Bella, 4 hours sounds like a very long time to wait for you. But Edward knew in his head that that 4 hours would be as long to him as it was going to be to her.
He sniffed and strained to smell the air. Alas, it's still as stale as it is. Knowing he hadn't much time, especially tonite, to continue on his conversations with Bella, he tried to redeem whatever time he had left with her.

He said, Bella, I may not always know how to react to you and sometimes i can't. But know that you are my life now and my world is slowly but surely revolving around you. I find you very fascinating and interesting. I could watch you all day and still not know what goes on in your head. I wish i could read your thots and feel your heart. Bella, i'll stay with you till u sleep and make sure that nothing ever harms you. When you're with me, my world feels that much more complete and even though i'm so much older than you, when we talk, i feel like the age isn't an issue at all. If i had my way, i'd spend eternity looking at you.

And so the lion fell in love with the lamb.
What a stupid lamb
What a sick, masochistic lion

Lord I offer my life to You

Today during service, this song really spoke to me and made me rethink on alot of things in my life. Recently J.Lim came up to me and reminded me [thanks ah chao ah lian] that it not only is my 6th year serving in the YF Exco.... but she was asking me whether i ever get tired of serving and stuff... but i told her that every year is different and every year has different people too so it's not like 6 years but 6 different years of different service. That in itself is enuf to motivate me to another year of service but Regardless of all said and done, only God has brought us all thru... the YF has really grown and changed over these years and I thank God only for that. :)

However, today during the service, this song spoke to me about how we should be serving God with our lives. what do we have that is not already His... that reminded me never to horde whatever we have because ultimately, what are we grasping onto so tightly? It belonged to the Lord and we should use it for His glory. :)
Also, I pray that as we serve God, we avail ourselves to serve God.

Oh no, michelle is scolding me for blogging now. hahaha ok so here, hope u're edified by the song.

Lord, I Offer My Life to You
Verse 1:
All that I am, all that I have
I lay them down before You O Lord
All my regrets, all my acclaim
The joy and the pain, I'm making them Yours

CHORUS:
Lord I offer my life to You
Everything I've been through
Use it for Your glory
Lord I offer my days to You
Lifting my praise to You
As a pleasing sacrifice
Lord I offer You my life

Verse 2:
Things in the past, things yet unseen
Wishes and dreams that are yet to come true
All of my hopes, all of my plans
My heart and my hands are lifted to You

Happy New Year!

Yo yo... it's 2009!!! 4.34am of the first day of this new year. wow. 2009. the last time we can write 1 digit as the year! soon it'll be 2010 and things would have been so different.

As i think back on 2008, the things that brought me joy and pain, laughter and tears... i remember that God was with me all the way and thru it all, He's never given up on me. I think it's during times like this where i sit back and wonder to myself how God, the creator of the world and my heavenly father, can bother with someone like me. I've sinned much and lost sight of Him so many times... and yet He still forgives and loves me for all my flaws.

And that's sumthing that rang true to me in 2008. When i left the army, i thot it'd be tough to get back to reality and stuff but i guess God provided and gave me what i needed to pull thru to 2009. And as i sit here in the chapel, with youths all around sleeping coz it's the new year's stay over, i thank God for giving me frens around who remind me of His love and grace. The service reminded me never to think of my struggles and issues as too big for God and to always look for chances that i can encourage people or help them thru a struggle in their lives. :) At times i wonder to myself how much i'll miss this warm community of believers and how much of this will be taken from me in a few months time. :) but i guess that's why God puts them here in your life, so u'll treasure them and cherish the time u have on this earth. :)

Yup. so a blessed 2009 to everyone and may God be merciful, gracious and blessed on all you. :)

poopoohead sucks

u suck for not answering my qn properly
u suck for saying maybe
and most imptly u suck coz u're such a poopoohead.
ewww that stinks.

Post Christmas Updates

So sorry i haven't been updating. Been a bit busy and my lappy died. Blogging wasn't really one of the things that were on my top priority. :) But i JUST got it fixed. the dude who came to fix it, left my house not too long ago. Thank God that it 'spoilt' before i went to Aust... otherwise that might have been a bit distressing. :)

Today i went shopping with some of the youths... it was quite a fun time jus going out and not really having much of an agenda for the rest of the day. [other than coming home by 3 to wait for Dell's technician]... but yeh. i had a really good experience that day. After all the normal meetings and lunch on sunday, i plonked my little butt down at whitesands Mac Cafe with my Zen and "New Moon"... that's the 2nd series of the Twilight Series. wow can. it was SO shiok. i just sat there with my book, zen and a tall Caramel Frapp... it was like heaven. Ended up reading like 1/3 of the book in the 2 and a half hours sitting there... once more, it was jus WONDERFUL sitting there reading and reading and not having to worry bout rushing off to sumwhere. i need more time alone like that. Chien Chong reminded me during YF on saturday that u can be alone and not be lonely. That's what we should strive for, at least for me, to not be lonely when i'm alone. Coz some people can be [like the Buble 'home' song says] surrounded by a million people, and still feel so lonely. :S Chien Chong shared with us about some church person who committed suicide even though she was serving and coming to church regularly. So scary to think who might be like that. who's suffering silently and just not taking their life yet... who? what about me? am i watching my spiritual and mental health too? neglect oneself and u'll end up worse off. :S

Christmas this year wasn't the best thing that happened to me in Dec. I dun wanna go into detail but i guess it reminded me that i can't keep wasting my life away on people or things that shouldn't be such a high priority in my life. I was talking to Ju and i was telling her that when u give and give until u've got nothing left to give and then u dun get anything in return or whatever, it gets very hard... but actually, u still give coz u dun give to get, u give so that the Lord gets. Tough man. really... esp when u give and u give and not only does it not get returned to you, but it's spat in your face or given to someone else. that's when it hurts. but why should my individual mortal hurt be compared to what pain God feels when we reject or neglect Him. So yeh... just a thot in my mind this Christmas too. If your reason for the season [or your life] is other people then when it doesn't turn out the way u planned, u crumble. But if ur reason is God... then even if it goes totally against what u planned, u'll be safely securely grounded in God.

Another thing Leonard said during sermon on sunday struck me. Religion doesn't get us to Heaven, Faith in Jesus Christ does.

As u can see i'm throwing out a lot of Random stuff that keeps popping in my head. But i'm glad to have a little time to myself today to just think and pour out some stuff in this blog. :)

Oh about that, my flight has been settled and cofnirmed. And I'm flying on the same flight as L.Kwan. Wonderful coz it was fully booked out and it looked like i was going to fly later... but God opened the window and i literally jumped thru it. Thank God for giving me so many things. He's really preparing me and paving my way to Melb. :)

I thank God for blessing me with friends and family during this christmas period coz i thot it was going to be a lonely one... remember, i said lonely, not a christmas spent alone... but i guess apart from some bad stuff that happened [which i'm putting past me] Christ has reminded me that He provides His love to me thru frens. And some of the most unlikely sources... from a certain young fren who keeps me happy all the time. MSN is really amazing i tell u. it bridges distance and makes u feel like u're just next to someone when u chat with them. I thank God for friends like poopoohead who keeps me happy and smiley even thruout the day. Yes, we may not be very similar in tons of ways.. but i think it's when u look past those things and jus chill and spend time cultivating a relationship with someone that u find joy and i really do enjoy the times we share on msn. it's like last nite... we chatted till 3am! hahah and then i woke at 7 to send R.yeo off at the airport. haha. :) Yup. so thanks for being special... u totally know u are... as am i. mwahhaa. :)

Blessed Christmas Every One! New Year's coming soon!

Youth Camp 2008

It's been a long time that I've blogged. goodness. But i guess it's also coz these 2 weeks have been mad for me. Youth Camp and Leader's Retreat have been taking up my time. Even now, i'm in leader's retreat. Taking some time off my sleep to jus update this coz there's been quite a lot of things that have happened that i don't wanna forget about.

I really do treasure the times i just go through my blog or my journals and all and see the past. what i wrote and how i felt at that point in time. it does remind me of what God was teaching me during that point in my life. :) so that's why i dun wanna forget to blog about youth camp and lr so far. :)

Youth Camp came and went and it felt like the longest camps in church that i've had in a long time. i guess i've been super looking forward to this one too coz it's prob my last and it's been a while since i've been able to attend youth camp proper. There was 3 years of poly and 2 years of army that really got in the way of youth camps. :) so this year was not only a time that I was in the camp comm but also a full time camper. What i realized half way thru the camp though was that I was the oldest camper there. so scary. but so blessed too. You know how they say that u should return to the next generation what u got from the generation above you? Well it's really true and it's honestly really blessed to see the younger generation stepping up to serve and lead. It's 100%-ly encouraging to see them just take over and take charge. I thank God that His work in Shalom is still going strong and i pray that He will never give up on them and likewise, they will seek Him first in all their ways, church or not.

Camp comm was something that i was glad to be in this year. Each one really did shine for Him not only in this camp but in every meeting. Nick, Debbie, Qiang, Julia, Joella, Arthur, Sherwin, Shannon. People who work together and pray together will ultimately see God work in the midst of them and be we are so thankful for so many instances where God showed us His fingerprints in our plans and in our execution. Thank God also for WONDERFUL weather that He blessed us with. So many times, we take for granted such a simple aspect of God's goodness...
My group was SO fun. :) we really made ourselves a little crazy for each other la. A lot of it was initiative and shamelessness. :) 22 years old but i felt that if i didn't do a lot of things first, the younger ones wouldn't. :) so my strategy to make CHARITY the most enthu group and most crazy fun group was to be the first to be crazy and fun. if no one's willing to be that, then the group would never have fun. :)

We had a great monitoress too la. chelsea was quite a roit and she truly kept the group alive with the "C is for..." song. :) yayz. ahhah. And i must commend her on her taking charge of the group too. :) i know it's not too easy to take leadership like that when there's not much preperation and things to do. but chelsea really did a fantabulous job at it. :) so i'm also quite proud of her. :) YAY! C IS FOR CHELSEA!!!!

Angel Mortal board was FUN FUN FUN. I was really glad that we did the board this year. It was real fun to encourage people and get to know more and more people thru the board. My angel rawked too. Gave me stuff like nice little 'mysterious' notes and MEI JI CRACKERS!!! haha. yayz. :) but yeh, it wasn't too hard to guess who my angel was la. as much as the handwriting was SUPPOSED to be changed, i guess i know the person and the way she writes to be fooled la. mwhehe. :) yeh. so thanks for everyone who wrote notes and all :) it was really something that i'll keep with me for a long time. A day before camp, i actually took out some of the old notes that i have kept. And i found quite a few angel mortal letters from like 2 years ago... camps that have come and gone. :) so surely, i'll look back on these notes i just got and smile even in years to come. :)

Yup, so i learnt much about how to be an example in this camp.Elder's talks were good and the workshops were also very interesting. :) I pray that the youth will learn that God is not only their God but also their friend and saviour. :)

1 Timothy 4:12
Let no man despise thy youth; but be thou an example of the believers, in word, in conversation, in charity, in spirit, in faith, in purity.
Be An Example. YF Camp 2008

Starbucks day!

I'm TOTALLY there... totally.

A peek at 25th Nov

So J.Chen gave me this idea last time about leaving the blogger [for my case, email box] open the whole day and from time to time, jus come here and blog. so let's give it a shot. You are about the view a simple working day in my life.

9.47am.
Well it's not like i just walked in... but it's when i decided to try out this blog by time kinda thing... i'm here cutting post it notes coz i found like 7 boxes of uncut ones and i end work this friday so it's getting a bit stressful. ahha Z says jus try your best, not like it's that impt anyways... so good good. Xiu smsed this morn saying she won't be lunching and Cal's also not joining coz she's got an interview. So i think it looks like it's jus Phil and me. Looking forward to thurs when the whole gang [hopefully] would be lunching again. Yup. Kinda quiet in the office now. Z went for breakfast and i'm jus cutting post its.
Thoughts are flying to last nite and the chat i had with a fren. it's nice to know that things are all well and fine. Guess it gives me motivation to get online esp recently when there's not much to go online for. mmm. back to post its...
note to self, rhyme more... you need the practice. :)

11.08am.
Deciding where to go for lunch. today seems to be jus phil and i. so we're thinking of either cine or singtel. :) benefits for both i guess. hahaha. Just called up my IDP agent to clarify some course fees issue before i sign on the dotted line and apply for visa. :) it's actually happening. so cool. i'm looking forward to going really i am. but shhh k? haha... Currently i'm quite smitten with Taylor Swift's songs... they're real nice and the words are quite cool too. it's for the drop dead romantic la. so if you're not the sweet kind, u might not like it. I love "Our Song" "teardrops on my guitar" and "picture to burn" :) yuppers... work's pretty ok today. jus cutting post its. :)
just a glimpse into my emotional/mental state now. i'm kinda torn as to what to do. I have the part of me that says stuff should be resolved and i shouldn't be acting the way i am. But then i dun think it'll make a difference and it might make things worse... so it's either burn bridges or jus suffer in silence. mmm not sure. :)

1.27pm
lunch was good. bad coz i wanted chicken drumstick rice and there wasn't drumstick so it was jus normal chicken. but hey, who really cares bout the food la. :) Phil's great company. u can jus have lunch and he'll jus talk and entertain the whole way. :) all i need to do is laugh along and listen. haha. Guess i did stone for a bit coz he thot i was a bit stoic today. maybe i am, or maybe i'm jus stoning. not sure but i have a relaxed mind today. not willing to push it further than it needs to be to function. Or maybe i'm jus deep in stoning thot. Z jus messaged to say she won't be in the office till 3 coz she's at lunch. And i'm going to Taka later at 3 coz i need to go collect some stuff at the dry cleaners. So that means i have till 3 to slack/cut post its. Then at 3, i'll go to taka till bout 3.40? Come back and cut more... 4pm. Then it's jus another 2 hours till i'm off today. This week is DRAGGY. i thot today was wednesday lor. was making lunch plans for tomolo then i realized it's only tues. gahhhh. :) Anyhoo, i've thot about what it'll be like when i'm no longer in spore. So diff... no more chicken rice, hokkien mee, nasi lemak and prata easily accessible. The horror!!! but Phil says i'll get used to it. how true. Sigh. i guess i'll have to get used to not having a lot of things i have now. food, friends... mmm i'll make do. i've got my killiney ice coffee with me. Hope i dun feel sleepy today. This blog by timing is coming along quite cool. :) Super long entry i'm forseeing.

2.41pm
I'm pretty happy with the way my hair is falling today. Changed parting last nite so was expecting it to take a few days to get used to it... and the way it's falling now is much better than i expected it to. so i'm quite pleased. no huge change but it's a small change to make sure that when it gets longer [gawsh it's taking FOREVER] it'll fall the way i want it to. :) whee. random thot. thanks xiu.

3.40pm
Joel wonders to himself how he messed up so greatly. And he wishes he could go back to where we were a few years ago. He knows he's messed up too much to even have that. And thus he's sad. boo hoo. totally. haha

5.39pm
Just came back from Taka. Went to go collect some stuff that were pretty overdue. HAHA. :) who cares la. they keep it, i'll go collect it. I came back in a super good mood. dunno why. maybe it's jus getting out of the office for a short while that changes everything. Or maybe it's the fact that i'm meeting A.Yeo for dinner and catching up. Really treasure this BROTHER coz he's always been someone i've kept closer than a brother. And i'm glad that we're still really good coz i'd hate to lose a frenship/brother like him. Anyhoo, after that i plan on getting donuts and popping by to church to surprise the counsellors with nice yummy sweet treats. yayz! totally happy. hahaha. oki. back to cutting post its. work's ending soon. another reason to be happy. S.Soon came to my desk jus now and she was like JOELLLLL u've got 3 more days left!!! ahhh!!!! And i was like wah, you're counting down for me ah? ahah :)

5.54pm
Time to wrap it up. this has been an immensely interesting and fun way to blog. sorry it's so long but i must say that random thots the pop into my head pop out so quickly unless u blog it down. Today has been a good day. Frens talking over MSN and Emails... going to Taka and having long breaks in the office where it's jus me, the post it notes and my laptop [Taylor Swift serenading] :) and yet, the day is but half done. i'm so glad hahah whee! what a good day so far.

Till tomolo! [Might do this again since this is immensely fun] Ciaoz people and God Bless. remember, He will never leave you nor forsake you and He's holding your hand.

Regards,
Joel Tan
Brand Experience

Last week @ SingTel

So this is the last week that i'll be working at singtel and prob working at all before i continue studying. It's kinda weird to think that it's ending. I've only been at SingTel for bout 4+ months... But i've seen so many people come and go.

Inez, Sophia, Jason, Guansin, Sarah, Nathania, Aaron, Calista....

I've got so many farewell cards from each of them that I feel like a perm staff here. Haha. But i guess it's good too coz i've experienced F1 through and through. From the planning, to the actual event and now the post evaluation. :) it's been useful to say the least. Being in a department that I've never worked in before or have any experience in... It's been much more than an eye opener. :) My bosses and superiors have all been nice people. Save for a few occassions that have gotten me down by their demands or whatever, it's all good coz it's part and parcel of life or of work... It's also a learning lesson to manage and deal with your boss...

I'm glad for the people God has placed me with in this working life too. I've always been one who dreaded eating alone when i work. I was a temp staff at some insurance agency before doing paper work data entry... And i lunched alone every day there for about 4 months too. It was a horrible feeling coz it's like lunches jus mean putting food into my body and listening to my Zen... It wasn't even in a convenient place so there was little variety too... Gosh i remember those days... Not fun. :) But in SingTel, i've NEVER eaten alone. Can u believe that? :) It's either with other interns, bosses, colleagues or with frens from other companies... My lunch company these few recent months have been the highlight of my work days sometimes. It's a bunch of peers that are from everywhere around the somerset region. Cal and Xiu are from Dhoby Gaut and Phil's from Clarke Quay... But we meet for lunch every day without fail and I have to say that many times, they're also the reason why i come to work everyday not dreading it. :) Emails from them also help to make the work day SO much better. :) I'm just thankful for the friends that God places in my life, however unexpectedly. :)

Yup, so as i close this week, i pack my things with bittersweet feelings. To know that i made a difference here and to the people whom i've interacted with this 4 months, i hope i made a positive impact. It's interesting to know how each phase of your life ends and another begins... This is literal for me now. And whee! Can't wait for december... :)

SingTel, always bringing you the best.

Regards,
Joel Tan
Brand Experience

Cooler Heads Devotional

November 18, 2008

Cooler Heads

A man of understanding is of a calm spirit. —Proverbs 17:27

A Christian I know was angry with someone at his workplace over a perceived injustice. A colleague listened to his grievance and sensed that his temper still ran high. He gave him this wise advice to consider before confronting those involved: “Cooler heads prevail.”

As we interact with others, disagreements are inevitable. The discerning believer understands his own heart and takes steps to deal with conflict diplomatically.

Proverbs 17:27 tells us: “He who has knowledge spares his words.” This means keeping in check a multitude of opinions that could ignite further anger in others. Someone who displays wisdom will think before speaking, and then will share only insights likely to be helpful.

The Proverbs also give us wise counsel on the emotional side of controlling our frustrations. “A man of understanding is of a calm spirit.” A mature person exhibits understanding by keeping cool in conflict. Problem-solving is enhanced by an even-tempered approach.

The next time you become angry, stop and prayerfully reflect for a moment. Ask God for a calm spirit and the right words to say.

Remember, cooler heads prevail. —Dennis Fisher

The best time to stop an argument is before it starts.

Mummy's better

Yay, Praise God... Mum's back home and resting [kinda. Still running around although we tell her not to] Really thank God that the operation was good and now is the recovery stage. It was good that the infection wasn't serious and rectify-able... Coz it could have been MUCH worse.. And as always, i won't go into gory gross details about how the eye can be infected. Let's jus say it's an impt asset we all don't wanna lose. We so often take for granted such things like sight, hearing, voice... Those sorta thing... But thank God that He reminds us with stuff like this. We must always ask ourselves how God can get glory out of this and what can we learn about Him thru all situations.

Whether it be the fear of losing your sight or someone u love or to the simple every day issues of bitterness and the struggle of people relations... God always has a plan and a purpose for everything. It's just whether we want to go around walllowing in self pity/bitterness/blame-game or do we want to be mature spiritual people and seek God in it.

It's scary to think that we don't have control over so many things.. But i guess that's the beauty of it all no? That God's in control and when we think we steer our life, God rebukes us by takin over and showing us how helpless we all can be. :) You may think you have your life planned out, u know where you'll be in the next 2 years, 5 years maybe even 10 years.. Then everything can change overnight coz of sumthing that happens... Reminds me of like ants running along a long line towards the nest... Then on comes this human who puts an obstacle in the middle of the chain of ants... Routine, structure, organization is suddenly thrown in mass hysteria. But only for a while. Then the ants find another way and the chain just goes around the obstacle. Circumventing a problem... Ants. Just like us... But the difference is that the person who puts this 'so-called-obstacle' has our good in mind... And how often we think we know better. :)

I end work here at singtel in 2 weeks. My 4 month stint is coming to an end. Bittersweet feelings as always to leave. Don't know what's lying ahead of me and yet still happy to get some break from the drudgery of coming to work everyday. But i shall have to commit myself to certain self-improvement things when i'm free-er. Skills and training i guess...

Yup... Thank God for many things in my life too that are well, helping me to see God in the daily.

Regards,
Joel Tan
Brand Experience

Eye Operation

Mummy jus got wheeled into the Eye Operation... praying hard that nothing will go wrong, everything will be done painlessly and that she's get back her sight proper. :) Scared but God is in control.

I;m sitting here in the hospital ward waiting for her to come back. I've no "eye-deer" what time she's coming back and all and i must say it's scary. but i guess there's no way u can truly learn dependency on God if you've never really felt helpless. which is exactly what i feel now. :S

pray for her oki?

Shalom YF Camp 2008 Publicity

Dinner and Dempsey IceCream

So two nights ago, i managed to have the priviledge of taking a good fren out for dinner. It's been a while since we've been able to talk proper and catch up over a meal so it was surely the highlight of my week... And it didn't disappoint at all. As it always doesn't, the whole day was filled with happiness and surprises. Managed to get off work on the dot [like the past few days thankfully] and chionged home for the car. I'm glad i did coz there's no way i'd have gone to dempsey without a car. Trust me...

Girls, if u have a bf who can't drive, you're TOTALLY missing out on dempsey. And guys if u can drive, GO TO DEMPSEY at least once... It's a nice place... Jus dun go alone with a girl lest she get the wrong idea... Hahaha

Yeh so we had a simple not-so-cheap-but-i-thot-it-would-be dinner at a hawker centre. Which was great coz i realized that when i meet frens out for dinner, it's hardly ever hawker food... It's like a mental image i have to break... Why can't people still catch up over hawker food? Why must it be pasta mania or cafe cartel or fish n co... U get my drift... So yeh, the food was so-so but that's not impt rite? :) glad that i managed to get an update from my fren who was kind enuf to keep making sure that i wouldn't stray too far away from each other to stay accountable. :) And likewise, i updated my side of things [not much coz i live a boring life]... It's good to hear how people struggle thru things coz it shows their vulnerable side and when u see that, u know they trust u enuf to tell u certain things. It also helps u open up to share. And that's what a brother/sister in Christ is all about rite? Sharing in the body of Christ and working thru problems with the help of each other and God. God speaks thru individuals too and affirmations or rebuke can also come from these close frens u have. :) That's why it's always better to hear another's opinion rather than yourself.

Sharing pain is akin to sharing joys too and i'm glad that we were able to rejoice over a certain issue that my fren's facing... It's a good thing and we're just glad that God is opening up doors and yet still helping things remain in control and progressing ever so slightly. :) Just pray that we'll all keep close to God and that it'll all work together for good.

After dinner [which i felt was rushed coz of parking and also coz we had destination2 to go to], we drove by to pick up my fren's mother and sister and drove down to dempsey for ice cream... Ben and jerry's... What a way to enjoy life no? :) so it was a good time to fellowship over ice cream... And live band! What a double treat! Glad that we were all able to talk and enjoy each other's company. I will really seriously miss this kind of close fellowship when i leave... It's why i'm initiating such now... Coz i'm jus afraid that i'll have no time for it later and then when i fly, i'm gonna so regret. :) My fren's close to my heart and so is my fren's mother... It's something i dun wanna lose when i fly... So i'm glad that it was all possible. :)

But of course it's not so much about where we all went and what we ate that makes me want to record this post down. It's the fact that when i'm overseas and looking back, i'm gonna smile remembering that in spore, there are people i care bout and i want to remember never to stop being accountable even miles away... Coz it's when you're miles away that u need it the most.

Praise the Lord for friends and family.

Regards,
Joel Tan
Brand Experience

RollerCoasters

I guess i'm going through a state of mind now that's not very healthy. Things are pulling me up and down and up and down. It really feels like sometimes, i'm just riding a roller coaster and i never know when it's gonna shoot up to the heavens in an estatic state of joy or gladness or dip down low in states of personal disappointment or fear of what's to come. I wonder to myself sometimes whether this is all part of life. I wish to myself sometimes that emotions, feelings, moods and thoughts would jus be plain, simple and routine. Then I think how boring life would be without all these things.

But that's not impt coz we are all on the ride of life and it's whether we choose to enjoy it or not... Aint it? :)
Glad that a lot of decisions in my life has been settled in the past few days. Gives me a sense of comfort as to what's going to happen to me in a few days/weeks/months time... And i am really looking forward to the future now i guess. :) so different, so new, so exciting.

It sucks to see friends fight... Esp when they're all Christian. Like some movie character said... Why can't we all just .... get along?

People change, feelings change [that's a song btw] and i believe it to be very true. When i look back on myself a few years ago [yes, i was thrown into this state becoz i recently dug out some real old photos of me... You'll see them on facebook soon. Lolz, let me upload them]... I am amazed at some decisions i made and some friends i had. Not bad in influence. But more of where they are now. Lots of my sec sch frens are all living their own lives and i barely keep in touch with them. Thankfully there are still a few people who i regularly contact and have helped me along the way... Thanks matt. :)  And some friends i made then, those i was close to.. I look at them now... And i barely even know them. The choices they make, the people they keep, the lives they live. And i wonder to myself... If they can change so much, if what they said last time do not linger true now... Have i changed that much too? It pains my heart sometimes to see these friends becoz more often than not, i choose not to try to get to know them anymore. It's like there's no point banging on a closed door... So i just pray that God would watch over them and keep them in the Way [and no NISS class, i'm not talkin bout the jewish way. Lolz]

But then i look at the present and the future and i see so many potential people coming up and into my life that it's jus excitingly fresh. I saw potential in someone on Sunday that really made me think to myself whether my life should be about me and my plans. Or shouldn't it be to devote myself into people who can be guided towards spiritual maturity? Scary thot but i was likening it to how I was moulded by someone whom i respect so much... And i wonder whether or not it'll be even able to be someone like him, to someone else.... It's wonderful to think. :) mentorship is lacking in my church but what am i doing about it? Sitting and complaining? :)

Yeh, so that's just my thoughts at the start of Tuesday. Mid week [k fine, not really but let me lie to myself ok!!! Lolz]... I'm glad i have an outlet. Not a completely good way coz it's still a public outlet. But at least sumthing i can air my thoughts on. Have a blessed week.

By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another. John 13:35

Regards,
Joel Tan
Brand Experience

Doubting His presence

When things start opening up and the light shines through the windows, then do you really get comforted by the fact that yes, God still cares and that He wants to let you know that He's there.

So why can't we remember Him in times of trying and times of uncertainty? Hasn't He proven Himself to us over and over again that there shouldn't be a doubt as to whether God's there? Yet, I find myself struggling over and over again to ask whether this is in line with His will, whether it's what He wants for my life and whether He'll be there to see me through it. :S

I dunch know what it is but i guess that's just my thoughts for now... And it saddens me sumtimes to think that we, as humans, are always doubting the fact that we are humans and not gods. And we're always thinking God's not god but merely someone we turn to when we need.

Mmm ok i'm getting random but i hope i made some sense. Sigh. :)

Regards,
Joel Tan
Brand Experience

Patience

I sometimes wonder to myself whether patience is worth it. Even Jesus got angry when righteously it was ok to be angry about a certain issue. Of course i'm not saying I'm Jesus but there are many times I feel my patience is just tried coz I just suck it in and let it out in a long sigh or a breath...

Consoling myself that it's just a short while till I don't need to worry bout these things.

But why does it seem like it's not worth it? I know snapping back isn't going to solve anything and thus I seldom... But it's not easy taking it and taking it. I'm scared one day, i won't be able to control myself and patience would be a thing of the past. Please God, cause me never to.

Regards,
Joel Tan
Brand Experience

Dance like no one's watching

I watched this episode of Cold Case a few weeks ago about this dude who was killed and only found a few years later. Story behind it was that this dude was an aspiring dancer and his father was very against the idea [bcoz his wife was a dancer and she died so he was all bitter and stuff]... But it really stuck with me because it also touched on the subject of dancing being the-end-of-the-line kinda 'profession' and ultimately not for guys.... But like all good shows, the father did approve at the end bcoz, ironically, he saw his wife in his son and didn't want that to disappear.... So sad that his son ended up dying. But yeh... Besides the point.

Dancing has always been viewed as a lesser form of the arts for males and is normally and commonly associated with the female species. Many have tried to break out of that mould and proved to the world that yes, dancing IS also a guy's art... But my point i'm bringing in today is that with so many MORE types of dance other than ballet... Maybe it's even becoming more and more accepted, socially and mentally, as a uni-sex hobby. Of course, you do get the occassional effeminate guy who prances around the stage in tights and a leotard... But i think it's more than that. Dancing is an expression and an outflow of feelings of a song or a dancer. Some dancers who REALLY put in everything and dance like they do, really portray the feelings of a song and do it wonderfully.

Then of course there are stuff like hiphop, street jazz, ballroom, salsa, breakdancing, j/k pop.... The list goes on. I think that dancing is great and dancing helps you be who you aren't in that little few hours... To feel the song and to, as cliche as this sounds, dance as if no one's watching... That's really something i enjoy and guard jealously. Like the instructor says.... For this hour or so, feel the music and want to be some celebrity or dancer you see on stage. Leave who you are outside the door and don't feel paiseh to dance. Coz if you hold back, you're gonna spoil it all. And i believe that is so true. Thankfully i go dancing alone so it's MUCH easier to leave who i am outside the door and jus go in ready.

Hmmmm. Jus spewing thots coz it's pretty lax at the office today.... And also coz i'm going dancing later. Mwhahha :)
I'm sad to think that this might all end in Nov and i might not be dancing for a while. Maybe I'll try to dance when i've left work. Grinz. So yeh, for those who are interested in joining dance, i recommend StudioWu... They're slow in pace and helpful... Jitterbugs is out of the way [for east siders] and Oschool is just a league on it's own... Too tough for beginners. :)

Dance Like there's no one watching... Coz honestly, no one watches.

Regards,
Joel Tan
Brand Experience

Pic of Desk Updated

Hey, just snapped 2 panoramic shots of my desk at work. It's 2 separate pics that's why u can see where they join.. But the desk is too big to take a nice panoramic shot of the whole table. If i zoom out, then u can't see the details like the pictures and all. Haha

<<desk.jpg>>

Whee! Can u see? There are SO many pics everywhere... My little memories of SingTel and the people i work with i guess. :)

Regards,
Joel Tan
Brand Experience

A Good Friend's Birthday

Thursday's my good friend's birthday. I only knew him thru the army and yet when i saw the facebook reminder, it tore at my heart. Both at how i'm glad it's his birthday and yet how i haven't seen him in such a long time. He was my little project in the army, my commitment to God and my accountability partner in my unit. Glad to know him as a friend and there are so much i wish i could remind him of and laugh about it. Thank God that He brought him back to the faith.

Met up with Lam, [an army fren] today for lunch and when i came back to the office and saw the facebook reminder of my other fren's birthday, i wished that i had met him up for lunch and laughed about the times in the army. How our superior would scold him for asking stupid questions or not knowing how to do simple maintanence tasking. How I would stand up for him and be the middle man between him and the bosses; the role of a sergeant i guess.

I remember how last year when we were still very close, i smsed him on his birthday; This time a year ago. He was stuck having an exercise outfield and i popped him a birthday sms. It was really fun to just poke fun at how he's sharing his birthday with mosquitos and wild boars. Now, a year later and i wish i could drop him an sms telling him how his uni life must be so damn boring or how he must be really sad coz we haven't gone out in a while...

It's good to have friends in life. They remind you of the good times and pull u thru the bad. It aches my heart to know I'll never be able to tell my fren to have a happy birthday. To remember that he passed away from a bike accident in feb. That that last birthday outfield WAS his last birthday. But his memory lives on and his face, we will never forget. Cherish those around you for u never know when we might have our last birthdays either.

Happy Birthday Alvin. I pray you're smiling down from heaven. Share this slice of cake with me and laugh over the times we had. In 2 days, we celebrate your birth, but more so, we celebrate your life. I miss your stupid voice Alvin.

Regards,
Joel Tan
Brand Experience

Part Time Work in Nov

Hi guys,

If anyone of you reading this has a job lobang for November period. Let me know ok. I'm looking for a part time job in Nov that pays $6or more per hour... But i can only commit to Nov.

So if you know of any, let me know. Thanks.
Other than that, it's jus another day at the office. There was a nice breeze when i was walking to work. Quite shiok. Reminded me that Mondays don't always have to be sian-i-fied. :)

Weekend was good. Thank God for a good message by Leonard. Thought i brought home was this:

Being Vs Doing.
If you BE what God wants you to BE, you'll naturally DO what He wants you to DO.
But if you DO what God wants you to DO, that doesn't always mean you're BEING who God wants you to BE.

Like always, it's a heart issue compared to an action issue.

Regards,
Joel Tan
Brand Experience

Webcam's fun

I must say that webcamming with frens jus make the conversation so much "fun-ner" heh.

MSN can't aptly portray the emotions and expression as video can. ahhaha. :) fun fun.
Weekend has been good so far. YF and christmas song practice. :) glad that it's going good i suppose coz i was looking forward to this weekend to break the work week.

totally gonna get it for posting this pic. :) but hey, where's the fun in life if u dun dare to live once in a while.

Blinker Blondes

OH MY GOODNESS. read this. super funny.
Two blondes were driving down the road.

The blonde driving looks at her friend in the passenger seat and asks her to see if her blinker is working. So the blonde looks out the window and says, ''Yes. No. Yes. No.''

Regards,
Joel Tan
Brand Experience

Nakama

I've been reading to catch up on my bleach manga and it's interesting coz there's this underlying theme that keeps coming up here and there in battles and lull periods of the manga... This word called "nakama". It's meant to refer to a fren who's as close as a brother or sister. Someone you fight to protect, defend to save and are willing to die for.

I personally think it's a powerful expression about how strong bonds are formed amongst people. To think of your life and to think who are your nakama you'd fight to protect. Those people you'd give up your life just to ensure that they have theirs. To fight and go through whatever is necessary for them. Scary to think of what you'd do just so that you know they're safe.

It also made me think of what God did for us. Sent Jesus for us. so much more than what we can ever do to each other as mortals.

It struck me today too that it's been quite a while since i've actually physically done things to show people i care about them. Maybe it could be coz i dun think i believe in 'nakama' being used flippantly nowadays. Maybe it's coz it's just a period of my life that i've mentally chosen to have very few close frens, thus less 'nakama'. But a bit of me tends to prefer this. But i dun wanna go too much into detail coz it'll just defeat the whole idealogy of having close frens. But doing something for someone recently just brought back that joy that i used to have a long time ago. There are lines that you shouldn't cross, but it's a pity when you limit yourself so much [for fear of what people might say or think] that you stop showing you care. Sometimes i think i'd much rather show care to my frens than to listen to what people might gossip or say. Words are cheap, attack someone else.

To those who mean the world to me, my nakama, you'd know who you are and i believe the lord has put you people in my life to give it more purpose than it already has. And i thank God for the blessings he gives me in the forms of angels in my life. Friends are everywhere but i believe that that's where they stop. Nakama aren't found around you, they're found in your heart. And your heart is interestingly not within you, it's found between you and your nakama. It's created and watered everytime you spend time with these close friends of yours and as it grows, it'll only get stronger.

To friends, to my 'nakama's, thanks for seeing me thru frustration, joy, pain... i treasure you and i pray that God would help me to be humble about all of this and to be a nakama to you too.

P.s. Happy Birthday to JiaMin and Debbie.

Regards,
Joel Tan

Holiday Backlot

Holy smoke. I get to work and i receive like a dozen emails with text that go sumthing like

"Joel: Please.... Blahblah"

And i'm like WTH. You go holiday and then throw everything back to me?!?! And it's like quite a lot of emails la.

Sigh. Jus spoils my mood la. Then both of them away. There's a rule where you're not all supposed to disappear at one time lor. Ah heck. Anything wrong i'll jus quit lor. :)

Regards,
Joel Tan
Brand Experience

Baby Reuel

Managed to take an hour off work just now to chiong down to Mount E to visit Kenneth and Yun. They both look well and good despite the little amount of sleep each had and the amount of entertaining they have to keep doing whenever someone visits.

Here's a picture of the cute little thing

He's like really literally wrapped up in swadling clothings and lying in a mang... Eh, no hospital push cart thing. Haha... :) he's real cute and it always makes me wonder how on earth we, sinful creatures, have been given the ability to pro-create. Wonderful gift from the Father that shows His love towards us. :)

Awww. So cute.

Regards,
Joel Tan
Brand Experience