Church Updates and Pizza Thursday!

Sorry i've been quite slack on blogging. But you guys please, dun stop the comments or tags coming. My tagboard very boring liao. :(
Well it's not really coz i'm slack but more of the opposite. School has kicked in and the assessments have started getting more and more real... today i submitted a 600 word journal based on a case study that i'll have to do one every fortnight. So yeh, it's not that fun anymore. haha... no more time to go shopping or touring this and that. :)

But i'm still having a fun time, learning new things about people, places and things around me. Still juggling between a few christian organizations. There's CGF [City Gospel Fellowship] on tues nights. They hail from Ebenezer BP Church which was started by Rev. Timothy Tan from Life BP. They started a city fellowship for those who live in the city [students] and it's mostly asians here... singaporeans, malaysians, china, hong kong and one or two locals. Yup, they're a fun bunch, nice warm group of people. I'd say i'm prob the closest to them.
Then there's OCF [overseas christian fellowship] which is on fri night. Haven't had a proper BS with them [tml night would be the first] but so far fellowshippin with them, i've felt like they're a bit closed up. Like they welcome new comers and all but it's hard to break in. On sunday, i had lunch with them and basketball... and on monday night, went down for their jamming/training session... managed to drum quite a bit so that was fun but still feel like it's hard to get in the close circle.
And there's church on sunday. So far i've only gone to Lygon Street Christian Chapel which is where matt's from. They're also the home church of OCF so it's the OCF people again. Pastor's quite fun, nice and relatively young [30+]... he joins the OCFers for friday night stuff too. Had a Aussie speaker speaking these few weeks and he's pretty entertaining and insightful too. So that's quite good.
This sat, going to meliza's cell group for a pic nic thing for new comers and on sunday going to her church, Richmond Assembly of God... so yeh, going for a look see but dun think i'll settle down there. it's quite... noisy i'm sure.
And one more week, i'm going to go look see Cross Culture coz lots of people have spoken much bout it. so must at least go once. :)

Yup, that's the religious and studies points all done and cleared. :) Other than that, i've been cooking and sustaining self with whatever i can cook/buy. Pasta, Chicken Soup, Beef Steak, Instant Mee, Pizza, Sushi, Sandwiches... that's kinda like what i've been eating since i came to melbourne... yup... it's good i guess.. sorry haven't been posting much photos on the blog. they're in my facebook la. :) but yeh, i'll show ya some pics of tonite. it's thurs... which means it's PIZZA THURSDAY!!! coz pizza is half price here on thurs... so pizza dinner is a weekly affair for us. Enjoy! :)

Home Brand

I know this is a totally random post but hey, that's what blogs are for.

First of all, dance wasn't fun. imagine a studio [not that big] packed with i dunno, 70 plus people? it was a mad sardine thing going on. they say it's always like that for the first few lessons then people stop coming or get filtered into other classes. haha so i couldn't really dance properly... was surrounded by the opposite gender and flailing my arms might have been very detrimental for my personal character and reputation if i had made contact with any part of the body that i should not even be near. :S

and the dance steps had slides and spins. aiyoh. not very wise. :S haha.. but pretty basic so i'm jus gonna head to the routine classes and learn routines.

yup anyways, home brand... has anyone of you heard what homebrand it? well it's basically like the no-frills version of stuff in aussie. in melbourne, they have this thing called Safeway which is like our NTUC.. and within safeway, there's homebrand EVERYTHING... u name it, they have that product in homebrand... tissue, cereal, olive oil, biscuits, bread, beef... the list is tremendously long.. and the best part, home brand stuff are always dirt cheap compared to the normal products. :) to me, i dunno whether it's reall homebrand or whether they jus repack stuff and sell it as home brand to attract people to buy it instead of the normal one. that means cheaper items but more items sold. hmm dunno. they even have home brand coke and ice cream soda and juice and everything la. :) Every time i go safeway, i try to find sumthing new that homebrand has homebranded but i haven't found out yet. :) and right as i type this, i'm eating homebrand honey teddy biscuits. so nice. :)

home brand. gotta love it.

Free Handphone? WTH

Please stop reading now if u have this pristine image of your dear fren joel/rui and dun want that image to be spoilt... stop reading if u're not interested in hearing a 22 year old guy rant and curse the decision he made... stop reading. :)







So here it is... i came to melbourne and my handphone crashed on me. this is despite it 'crashing' on me in spore. I sent it to the care centre before i left and thot that would suffice and last me another few months to a year.... then i get here and a few days after i reach [within the week] it crashes on me big time... screen blanked out and i couldn't text at all. So i had to choose between a few options but i finally settled on getting a phone with a plan here in aussieland... which meant that everytime i flew back to spore, i'd still be paying monthly for it. then the decision on what phone to get.

After doing much researched, i made a very informed decision to get the E63... the reviews were smashing and it was everything i was looking for... the cheaper version of the e71, the e63 gave me all the functionalities of the e71 that i loved and even a 3.5mm audio jack which meant i could use my own earphone with this phone. Wifi for surfing and also a full fledged qwerty keypad for messaging fast and jotting down notes.

So i went and got it ont he 1st of march for $10 per month. that works out to $10 x 24months... total cost we're lookin at is $240... So i got my phone... real happy and pleased that all my problems were done... then i opened the box and realized they didn't have the data cable that is normally included in electronics... davin bought a printer at another time and the usb cable likewise wasn't included... looks like it's an aussie thing.. anyways...hunted around a lot for it and no one except NOKIA sells it... haiz.

So i bought it... for $50... like WHAT?!?! that means the phone has already set me back $290... and then i was happy and pleased coz i could sync and do all the things this great business phone could do... emailing, skyping [yup, it's got VoIP], msn, surfing the web, messaging fast and all that pajazz... yayz. happy person.

Then... then... then a few minutes ago i went onto the website of my mobile phone carrier [it's called "3"] and i got the shock of my week... they jus launched new mobiles with the Cap plans... now they offer my e63 FREE on the plan instead of $10 per month... oh oh oh.. that was enuf to send me soaring thru the roof in frustration.. but no... i scrolled down and they're selling the e71 on my plan for $10 a month.

what does this mean? well it meant that if i had signed my plan 4-5 days later than i did.. i'd have this phone for free.. yes, i'd still buy the cable for $50.. but that would be a total cost savings of $240... so yeh, u can imagine how pissed i was... i was literally cursing and banging tables... i know this isn't a very good image of me... shouldn't be cursing and all but i was THIS close to going ballistic at how shit i felt...

This is already a watered down version of the frustration i felt jus now. :) blog must still uphold a sense of civilized writing... SO... that's my summary of what a crap feeling i had jus now... and i'm still pissed off bout it... but i guess we can't always assume and think what ifs... we jus go with the best informed decision and the best option and dun regret...

but yeh, i'm still trying not to regret... i was telling my mum that if they changed their plans and offered my phone free like a month or two months after i got my plan... ok la. angry la... but no.. this one is 4-5days after i signed my plan. i'd have saved $240 if i had signed it later... haiz. :)

what's done is done. i guess spending money on a phone like this also helps me to treasure it more and treat it well [though i always treat my phones well.. until they screw up on me]...

yup. another rant is that universities are SUCKING students of cash. i'm looking at having no option but to spend $106 on a friggin textbook when i dun even think it's worth $106... haiz. we'll see what happens. them and their shit 'revised editions'.... lucky i didn't buy the older version THEN they said, "oh there's a new revised version which is 25% diff and all the tutorials are taken from the new edition"

haiz. this is how i feel now...



:) haiz... what to do, that's life. take it... shit happens. haha
on a brighter note [if there is one]... i made lunch again today. turned out well... i aimed to make chicken soup to eat with my rice... ended up getting really nice and tasty chicken soup with porridge. HAHAH.. dammit. i did the middle finger water mark thing!!! maybe my middle finger section is too long. :) shall do less water next time. heh. pics are on facebook. :)

new phone! E63

heh so yeh. If u haven't figured it out yet, i went to get a new phone. Signed the contract and stuff and now, I am the proud owner of a Nokia E63... It's a real business phone and i should stop blogging soon. I'm using the phone to shoot out a post. So that's pretty cool, heh.

Melbourne Museum and OCF

Today was a good day... relatively. tiring but good. It started out with going to sch to do this survey for a PhD student. We sat there for bout half an hour or an hour [i lost count] and we did this questionnaire... then we got paid $10 for our time. After that we went to the lawn to get more free BBQ stuff... the patties are so nice and juicy... :) ANYWAY... after that, we went to settle some timetable stuff and then headed down to Melbourne Museum. The walk was quite jialat coz of the heat... today was supposed to go up to 38degrees.. crazy. anyways...

Melbourne Museum Album

Yup. then after that, went to OCF Carlton for their welcome BBQ. :) that was just GREAT coz i got to meet a lot of new comers and just extend my frenship to many strangers... I know it's kinda wrong but i'm really taking a lot of these things to be a social networking thing... really getting to know more people and trying to expand my social circle here. Get to know others, network and share with them about who u are... that's the only way you'll get to know people, if u extend your hand out first. :) that's what i think la. If my frens think i'm deserting them for these strangers then i think my frens should really think again. it bugged me to think that the jokes were getting a bit over the line but i refused to let it spoil my day. :) After all, I'm not only here to Glorify God, study and live but also to make frens.

Yup. that's bout it. then we came back home and now i'm real tired. Tomolo's a whole day of shopping. woohoo! haha

Clubs and Society Day + Dinner @ Malini's

Today we went to school to go for the clubs and societies day thing. :) it was quite alrite... managed to see the groups that i was interested in and some that were not really in my radar. Went to the FLARE booth. Flare is melbourne uni's dance group and they basically take in anyone who wants to join. Considering how they were taking in people who never danced before, i was a bit concerned about what their focus was... techniques or routines. so i managed to speak to their president and a dancer at different times and they both assured me that the first part of the year/sem will be more technique which would then focus on routine... so yeh, not bad. i surely will join i guess... or at least try try to see if what they dance is what i like.

Also visited the Singapore Society booth. haha made a fren there who showed me directions to a handphone selling shop in chinatown. After walking around summore and getting free BBQ meat, we sat at a grassy patch and jus chilled out. Lo and Behold, an orientation group was walking by and their group leader had this huge inflated balloon ummm 'male anatomy'... it was quite hilarious coz it was SO visible from so far away and it was a girl carrying it. haha. Then they were like walking thru south lawn jus showcasing what a huge 'male anatomy' they had. haha yeh, they did some stuff with it that i can't post it up here la. but if u want, i have a picture of it. snapped it when they walked past us. HAHA... weird fun people. lolz.

Then after, we crashed at lois' house before heading to malini's place for her mum's homecooked food. it was nice to eat such good food at the hands of her mum and we managed to chill out and have a good chat with them too. :) Trammed home and now i'm here online, trying to find cheap good handphones. sigh. what a headache. :)

oh. i decorated my room walls today. so happy... with cards from loved ones and two boards to post stuff when school starts.. like post it notes and all that jazz. :) it'll be great. ahhah




Tml's gonna be fun. we'll be going to the museum... so i promise to snap pictures... if they allow. :)

p.s. see... for the reader who complains my entries are too long, here's a short one for you to speed read thru. :)

Orientation Week + Suzuki Night Market

Today was fun fun. We went to sch for more orientation talks today and there were free lunches [well hotdogs]... so we took the opportunity and had some hotdogs... niceeee. :)

Some random Aussie chick asked if she could join in.

Then we went to the Night market at Queen Vic market. Apparently, every wed night of summer, they'll have a night market where there's loads of stuff to buy like clothes, knick knacks and food. Pasar Malam, Aussie style. :) Anyways, we went and had quite a bit of fun walking thru. :) I bought churrios to eat [so good] and also this thing called Window Wonders. They're gel like 'stickers' that u can stick to glass, window... stuff like that. i've been dying to make my room more personal so i bought some... $15 worth, not cheap but i had to la. they were cute. haha


Ants... 5 ants for $10. :) hahaha... shuddup, my mum likes them. :)


And a cute owl to make it all look different. :)

Orientation HOST Day!

PICTURES UPLOADED AT THE BOTTOM OF THIS ENTRY!!!

I guess i haven't been blogging in a while. Sorry bout that. Been really bummed out recently coz my handphone crashed on me. everytime i slide the phone up, the screen blanks out. it still works and all just that i can't see anything on the screen. which is a major bummer. sigh. so yeh, i've been going thru a lot of possible solutions here...
1. buying a plan here and getting a free phone [but being stuck to a plan for the next 2 years including the months i fly back to spore]
2. buy a phone here without contract [pricey]
3. ship my phone back to spore, get it fixed and ship it back [postage not fun and still can screw up on me after it comes back]
4. buy a 2nd hand phone in spore and ship it up here [postage and price of phone]

Sigh. yeh so i've been real muddled up with all the options and i've jus been weighing and weighing the pros and cons of each and trying to make sure i make the decision that saves the most money. :S

Anyhoo... whatever it is, that's just one problem on my hands. :) i got my timetable recently and have been trying to add/drop subjects so that i can take an arts elective this semester. it's kinda hard coz they keep shifting u from this department to that department and all. :S but shifting within timetable is ok.. like shift my lecture to this timeslot instead of that timeslot... that's pretty idiot proof. :) jus need to co-ordinate as much as possible with Davin.

Yup, so far life has been great here. the weather has been as challenging as most people have warned me about. The mornings and evenings are naturally and usually chilly while the day fluctuates... Yesterday, it was blazing... like i actually broke perspiration... first time in melbourne... and then today was real cold.. so it's real weird. haha and within the day too, it can jus shift from COLD to HOT to COLD... :) but it's kinda nice i guess... having the super duper chill when the wind blows hard... :) sumthing i gotta get used to soon before winter comes. :) then i'd die.

Yup, today was orientation and it was HOST group where we just meet those in our same faculty... it was quite cool coz it was the first proper time where i was forced to interact with Caucasians and it was quite fun to jus have a talk with them. the best part of the orientation today [i felt] was the 'speed dating' game where we lined up in 2 lines facing each other and were given like a minute or two to jus intro yourself and create conversation with the person opposite. Once that was done, one line would move and you'd get a new partner.. so i cleared half of my whole group and got to know some interesting facts about everyone. :) Seems like they're mostly all 17 or 18... which is scary coz i'm 23 and they're like... bigger than me... :S hahah.. but it's fun la. and caucasian girls are SO pretty.. like their features are so sharp, defined and attractive.. it really sucks. hahah but it's nice to know la.. not like i'm going to go chase one, jus... generally most of them are appealing if not attractive. :)

Yeh.. oh oh, church on sunday was good. went to matt's church [Lygon Street Christian Chapel]... the worship and message was pretty safe and good... quite similar to Shalom... save for the fact that they have drums and guitar and piano.. but the drums were really not distracting at all. the beat he was playing was jus normal beats with small riffs to join verses.. so that was quite good... made me think of the possibility of getting an electronic drum set and learning here then if i join this church, maybe go under tutilage of the drummer there and learn how to play for service. :) see how la. :) yup, met a fellow singaporean at church too... met him in suntec last time... and yeh, it was all in all pretty good. Very asian congregation and yeh, quite a small quaint church. :)

In a short while [yes i might be late if i dun finish this soon] i'm going down to City Gospel Fellowship of Ebenezer BP church.. it's a BP church started by a pastor from New Life BP back in spore. they have a city fellowship [like yaf] that happens in the city on tues nights 7pm. :) so i promised to join them coz it's like bible study and all. which is also what i'm looking for... wanna be grounded in the Word while i'm here. :) See how it goes la. I was able to meet william from there that night. he stays at my place so i popped him a buzz and we met in the lobby for a short chat. :) Also today during orientation, this group of asians came up to me and i was like, oh.. u guys are the ebenezer people? and they were so shocked coz i told them i'm coming tonite. and they were like!!! how did u know? then one girl was like... oh you're the one that stays at Lygon rite! william told me a joel was coming tonite [yeh, i was wearing a nametag] hahaha... so yeh, i managed to meet quite a few of them before i actually go down tonite which is kinda fun. okok i'm late. gtg! :)

Take care peeps. thanks for all the prayers.. keep yourselves in prayer too k! :) God Bless.

City Gospel Fellowship [CGF] Thursday Bible Studies

Information Systems student proud he's from this Uni.

Food board. This was a post it note board divided into International and Aussie students. We each recommend food. So aussies would stick stuff that are good to eat around melbourne while international students would share what's good from their country.

We stuck 'Katong Laksa' 'Loy Kee Chicken Rice' and 'Bedok Block 85 Bak Chor Mee' :)

Happy Davin with my free Coke Zero. Look at how packed Orientation was!

Crowds at Orientation

Phyllis grocery shopping at Queen Victoria Market while Davin watches on!

Self check out. This is at the supermarket where we actually scan the items and ourselves and pay. It's fully automated! super cool. Spore should have this.

Davin, Joel and Jacque enjoying Milk Tea.

Modules and Ikea

Today i viewed my timetable and basically just checked out what my next semester would be like. not easy. i'm looking at 16 hours a week of studying.. that's maxing out the full load... and i suppose it's gonna be like this for the next 4 semesters till i'm done. sigh... stress la...



i've got a relatively packed schedule and i'm praying hard that I'll have enough time and energy to study and do well. sad to know that i might not be able to be in the same timeslots as Davin... but i'm trying to shift stuff around and get my subject changed so that maybe can have the same timeslots as him as best i can la. :)



We went for more ikea shopping today and i'm quite happy coz i've mostly got the map of melbourne city area quite familiar in my head. i know where the roads are and how to get to some areas... i guess it's coz i've forced myself to walk down the roads and look around to visually and mentally take snapshots so i'm quite versed in the transport system too. Just now, i was able to direct and show my frens how to get home from my place. and i mentally did it without a map. so that's really an achievement. :) yayz rui! :)

Yup, anyways, matthew's laid the bomb on me today... seems like i'm gonna have to start cooking soon. helped out for tonite's dinner so that was kinda fun. peeled potatoes while the girls mashed them. davin washed up after and matthew did steak... which i tried to watch and learn. i must try to cook steak for jus him and me soon... jus to see if i got it remembered. :S scary too coz it DOES splatter oil.. sigh.

Yup... oh yeh, i've noticed i've been saying 'right' and 'yup' alot recently... but it's so natural here coz it's like what they say all the time too... and although i'm taking a while to be comfortable with calling people 'mate'... i think i'm pretty ok with the whole culture here. most drivers are real nice, u wave a thanks and they smile and wave back... on the streets, people mostly get out of your way and not try to ram themselves into your collarbone by trudging straight on... like orchard. And the service staff are all very good. they great u with so much more than a "huh? this one ah? $1.50 la. the sign there so big also cannot see ah?" noooo here they're like "G'day mate, how you going?" and it's so natural to spark off a conversation with them. just quick ones like "hows work treating ya? surviving? aww that's great to hear at least it's doing ya well yeh? Thanks anyways, take care of yourself and have a good day yeh mate?" that's mostly what i'd say when i transact with people here... it's very friendly [mostly] and it's interactive which is what i love. :)

Other than that, i'm jus real glad to have frens here who are willing to chill out, hang out and explore the place together... it makes a lot of things MUCH better and fun to do. :) today we went ikea and dinner.. gosh, i haven't laughed so hard about a lot of things since today... today was a holler... with Phy and her S-hooks, Davin with his 'What talking you' and Lois and her 'cork-board'... guess we're all getting used to each other and really having a load of fun. :) matthew's been a real blessing honestly. thank God for him... i'd die if i were thrown into the deep end without his help.

Yup, so we're going to visit matthew's church tml [davin was gonna come too but his parents wanted him to go somewhere] so it's jus phy, lois, matt and i.. then we're meeting up with davin [hopefully] to go down to st.Kilga's art market.. promises [by matt] to be a sight and experience u'd die for... so yayz! i'm gonna bring some cash and my camera. :) eheh expect photos... trust me, facebook is THE SHIZZ. :) i love it. and skype too la. haha.

phone's been giving me some problems. i need a replacement 3G phone coz mine keeps having a blank screen when u slide up or down... so that's messed up... still can live with not sliding it up or sliding and waiting for the screen to come back on [1 minute]... but it's irritating me to no end. :S sigh. haha almost bought a new phone today. but i'm gonna weigh the options out and see which is the best deal and best thing to do. sigh. :)

Oki. time to shower. take care peeps. i miss u guys here.. esp since today was YF and tomolo's church. sigh. nvm... must think happy thots of orientation next week and school soon. :) take care and God bless!!! :) hugz.

My Room in Melbourne

So i finally was able to upload the video. :) Enjoy a virtual tour of my room. Push up the volume so u can hear the running commentary. :)

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. :)

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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

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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.