The first is to be kind.

And words go flying at the speed of sound

2011-01-23T09:25:00.000+08:00

How long before I get in?
Before it starts, before I begin
How long before you decide?
Before I know what it feels like

Where to? Where do I go?
If you've never tried then you'll never know
How long do I have to climb
Up on the side of this mountain of mine?

Look up, I look up at night
Planets are moving at the speed of light
Climb up, up in the trees
Every chance that you get is a chance you seize

How long am I gonna stand
With my head stuck under the sand?
I'll stop before I can stop
Or before I see things the right way up

All that noise and all that sound
All those places I got found

2010-10-21T22:53:00.001+08:00

A Jaded Angel's Plunge

by Shauna Keimig

I hang off the edge
of my cliff of morals.
As I dangle my feet,
brushing the air with my toes,
I know it was wrong to go this far.

But here I am, nonetheless,
about ready to plunge.
I never thought this would happen to me,
and I know it has
as I throw my arms open, falling.

When I hit bottom
it hurts so much it almost feels good.
The pain sets in and I go numb.
I cry out silently for a rope,
no one hears my screams it seems.

I climb back up
and there You are.
You told me not to jump,
I did it anyways.
I’m bruised and hurt,
tears have washed the dirt from my face.
I try and I try to hand myself over to You,
but I’m so scared.

2010-04-04T15:51:00.003+08:00

Of revelations that have come to pass

He usually sits by and does not ask.

Yet these things bother him so.

Why they do he does not know.

After all at the end of the day...

Ignorance is bliss they say?

Two things that protruded from the mountain.

2010-01-02T16:27:00.004+08:00

I've been neglecting this blog for a looong time. Busy yes. Perhaps the worst sem in all history. But it also came with God blessed results : ).

Also the blog interface seems finally repaired. Since there's so many things piled up im just gonna summarise. December in some pictures. I'll just be stealing them off facebook.

Chiang mai with the team. Well needed break away from..

But yes, amazing walls, company, weather, food and a wild ride on a crazy horse 8a+.

The breakfast of champions.

The multiple multi pitch of insufficient anchors and infinite greenery.

Peace.

My favourite route of all my entire high wall climbing life time. Ok except maybe hang ten.

Crux after crux after..crux.

Climbing day. I mean rest day.

And all good things come to an end..

Flash Flu.

2009-10-14T11:25:00.001+08:00

Was fine when I boarded the bus to school..wasn't fine when I got off. Blasted flu..really horrible. And of all weeks when project work is really getting hectic.

When your sick you feel like just throwing everything to the wind. Ah. if only i really could.

wake me up inside

2009-09-29T22:09:00.001+08:00

hello world..your not a very nice place at the moment.

"We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed."

The roller coaster and the clown.

2009-09-11T22:40:00.001+08:00

Bet you;ll never know. and not a damn thing needs to be said

before and yet again. but different.

2009-08-01T21:36:00.004+08:00

Somethings been prompting me to watch "facing the giants" again.But each time i had no time, or i thought i didnt.Today was a Saturday. Hot, messy, and down with the cough. I put the dvd in this time.Something said, ah its such a cliche storyline. The acting is crap.

But what then when I decided to look deeper past those things? Why do the scenes move me as they did.What is the situation I am facing now? Apathy. Bitterness. Jealousy.Resentment. Uncertainty.Gossip. Covetousness. lack of self respect.Fear.So I turn to God in the confusion. I say I don't understand this pandemonium.I don't understand my team. my family. I don't understand my church..I don't understand myself.

But he doesn't say a thing.

"These are the words of him who is holy and true, who holds the key of David. What he opens no one can shut, and what he shuts no one can open. I know your deeds. See, I have placed before you an open door that no one can shut. I know that you have little strength, yet you have kept my word and have not denied my name."

And I decide to trust. Because I shouldn't need a reply to do it.

The theme's are simple but they hold true.

2009-07-28T22:44:00.002+08:00

Super long (really really) Picture intensive post.I suppose most would have seen these pictures from facebook. But nonetheless, I decided to leech the ones I liked from the various albums. So well, here's to perhaps the best holiday I've had, and yet one that left me ambivalent.

My home away from home. Land of climbing solace. Place of Gods wonder.

"When I consider your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars which you have ordained, what is man that you are mindful of him?"

Went to Tonsai the very first thing with some of the guys. Decided we’d not follow the main group to Railay beach. While Railay has a good few decent routes, some of us were only willing to spend a day there at most.Tonsai was where our final destination would be, and that’s where we decided to start.

I’d say everyone was on holiday with no obligation, and most were new to the place.Some took it upon themselves to lead the group, some followed, and I took a step back. Not like me to move away from where the main lively group is. Branded as hardcore? Perhaps.

But this time I wanted to see what Krabi was like, away from certain things.

But yet I yield eventually, and know, that being with the team that I have grown so attached to brings me greater joy.

Climbing wise,I admit I got caught up on many occasions in the “must send” mentality.But it definitely wasn’t for bragging rights.Finishing a route isn’t all that important I guess.But on a personal level, I know where I stand if I can send certain things without hanging. It is deeply satisfying. Most of all, I enjoyed the moves. Really hard routes such as Asia’s Shadow Play have left me in awe.

You wonder how a random wall of limestone has just these tenuous holds you can use to ascend. That’s probably cos it wasn’t random ..

Things sent : Lars and lars 7A, Café Andaman 7B, Quarks 7B ,Baby gorilla 7C, Hang Ten 7C, Chicken head 6C+, Muay Thai 6B+, Beauty and the Beast 6C, Tidal Wave 7B+

Things tried : Asia’s Shadow Play 8A+ , Mai Mee Fahn 7A+, Tantrum 8A+, Riesenbaby 7A

One of my wishes was to see the juniors going onto harder routes. Being unafraid of the number “7”. Where you can’t scramble or “anyhow hold”. Where you have to plan. Where you realize it’s so beautiful even if you can’t do it. Im glad some did..

Baby Gorilla :

Mai Mee Fahn

Heng Hong attempts the majestic Asia’s Shadow Play

Routes with ropes aside, majority of us got to try out the deep water solo. Signed up at Wee’s climbing school and they brought us out in a longtail boat. Well Most didn’t expect it, but many fell victim to seasickness

Deep water solo is pretty scary. Not because its high, but because you keep having this weird feeling your gonna smash into the base rocks. Wouldn’t have that problem with overhang, but we didn’t get a chance to go to that site. Also, you cant wear spectacles and do this or they’re just gonna get ripped off your face and sink, rendering you blind for the rest of the trip. So much for spectacle hooks. Pieces of crap.

Though almost everyone got their chance at some form of solo drop into the water, choppy seas saw us retiring to Poda Island. Where everyone busied themselves re-enacting the Sentosa experience.

Something different from last years trip, this year some of us got the chance to really be immersed in the culture over there. Seperated from the mainland by sea, theres a unique way of life here. The whole atmosphere is one of relaxation. Amazing really. The thai people are hospitable and spend their time playing with things like slackline..smoking weed..bouldering..poi. After 2 weeks there, one should probably have tried them all.

No smoking weed for me, but I tried a piece of the “peace pancake” shared by everyone. Brian had several friends on Tonsai working at a restaurant. Their welcome really was something and made the trip that much more memorable.Beer was the common beverage of choice, being rather cheap, and with all the talking we did at night, we needed something to drink. Cocktails came in buckets, and though cheap were watered down a lot.

The slackline champion of tonsai.

Matthew sub-dividing the marijua*#cough I mean peace pancake. Yes. Peaceful

The slackline noob of tonsai.

Now the funnies. Whats a holiday without meaningless, random fun moments. Putting aside climbing for abit.

For all your caffeine needs. Its really quite good.

The dam of corals. To protect our belay spot from the tide. Toss a rock here for every time you didn’t send something.

Best bit of humour ever. Aussie guy digging out massive old log to give friend down the beach who owns a bar who wants to sculpt it into a gigantic something.

How many engineers…

Can sleep anywhere, everywhere :

Second lastly, food! Hm not too much to say. Ate countless eggs. Many pancakes. Not much mango sticky rice. The pictures here more or less sum up majority of what we had there. And the snacks in between.

Stuffed omelette padthai/friedrice with beef/chicken/seafood/shrimp.

Breakfast.

Snack.

When the main group left..the 6 of us were left, with not much baht. We had fun relaxing on deck chairs, climbing crazy things and just enjoying each others company. No regrets to extending my trip even for just abit.

Yet soon, we wave goodbye to the azure waters, late sunsets.. and the place which I yearn to return to as soon as I can.

Until Then!

html??!

2009-07-28T16:16:00.002+08:00

Stupid blogger has my posting input permanently stuck in html mode..

frivolous isnt it.

2009-06-16T19:07:00.002+08:00

Yes..some things are just frivolous.And some are plain stupid. Why waste time and effort trying to be a part of something that is.

As the eyes gaze one cant help but wonder.
How easily things have gone so bloody asunder.
The one who gingerly straddles the line
what makes you think that all is just fine?
The one for whom the blue globe spins around.
to you sometimes i cant help but frown.
The one who from all this mess pleads innocent?
Yes indeed you are..you are and your different.

2009-06-06T12:10:00.001+08:00

Don't believe everything happiness says
Nothing feels better than hiding these days
We bury our fears in the drinks, in these tears
For the days we believed we could fly

Call up your brothers and sisters and friends
We'll go back to the place where the night never ends
We'll remember the fires, the burning car tires
Boy how in the hell did we get here?

So why don't you meet me, down behind the old school
We'll waste away the weekend, with perfect regard for how
Cavalier we used to be, that beautiful insanity
The apathy's surrounding me
Don't close your eyes or we'll fade away

Over and over and over again
We sat down for a minute, grew up into men
Now we're putting out fires and changing car tires
Man how in hell did we get here?

So why don't you meet me, down behind the old school
We'll waste away the weekend, with perfect regard for how
Cavalier we used to be, that beautiful insanity
The apathy's surrounding me
Don't close your eyes or we'll fade away this time

And we'll never get back what we
Gave away, when we still have that fire in our eyes
Don't believe everything happiness says
Nothings as real as our old reckless ways
When we drink by the fires
The burning car tires
Bad girls and good liars
The dreams we'd conspire
The days we went crazy
The nights wild and hazy
Man how in the hell did we get here?

So why don't you meet me, down behind the old school
We'll waste away the weekend, with perfect regard for how
Cavalier we used to be, that beautiful insanity
The apathy's surrounding me
Don't close your eyes or we'll fade away

Why don't you meet me, down behind the old school
We'll waste away the weekend, with perfect regard for how
Cavalier we used to be, that beautiful insanity
The apathy's surrounding me
Don't close your eyes or we'll fade away

Got a light?

2009-06-02T20:09:00.001+08:00

Im like a candle burning at both ends..and i just lit the middle of it.

Ever tried making your own MTV of "bad day" in your mind with pieces of your life? Its pretty fun.

-

2009-05-28T00:04:00.002+08:00

2 Corinthians 4:8-18 =

We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed. We always carry around in our body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body. For we who are alive are always being given over to death for Jesus' sake, so that his life may be revealed in our mortal body. So then, death is at work in us, but life is at work in you.

Its all coming like a crushing waterfall. And im right at the very bottom of it all.

2009-05-24T13:45:00.000+08:00

i turned the tap on this morning..

and it was amazing.

no rest for the weary. just fun.

2009-05-13T23:42:00.011+08:00

Celebration is now in full swing after that gruelling month of studying. This sem is probably the worst by far. Almost every module had 2 midterms on top of finals.zz. Well at least its over.

Im actually quite indifferent to it all already. When the final paper ended, nothing seemed different.Was something supposed to be?

So in the meantime ..

Team games 2009 at Emmanuel house. Cool climbing/evangelistic event. Went to help set routes on the mega roof.-- > Back ache. Day itself saw jc and poly novice climbers.

Responding to a random dare by Daryl, he said if anyone can do a certain route with only inserts, he will treat Tau Hway. Hence was born : Tau Huay Zuiii, 7A.Attempted by hh and me.Rather good route actually..crux right at the beginning, and another on top. Fell off just at the top though. Helmets = suck.

This was followed by the kenneths bday/kenneth loves alcohol, dinner. Went to timbre arts house, but we got a table inside. Pity.no live band..I miss those.

Erdinger and pizza!

A doris and erdinger and pizza with some shu hui.

Kenneth stage 1.

Shaoting's extremely alcholic 150 proof 75 % absinthe johnny walker.. mocktail.

Kenneth Final stage.

Kenneth is brought to a more scenic spot to lie in exactly the same position.

Gym climbing on monday. Met joy for breakfast in the morning then headed to borders to kill time. Picked up a dilbert book. Dilbert is an engineer..so..perhaps some insight into my future job prospects :

Then was off to school..where it started pouring. It really made my day. Had lunch with hh doris kai n leon at yih which i vowed not to touch for the next 3 months. Yih food = Exxon Valdez oilspill.

After some maniacal sloper and crimper routes, we got bored.Boredom is the mother of invention. We soon realised the potential that the gym mattresses had to build : Engineering Marvels : NUS GYM tunnel.

Tunnel was a feeble attempt at getting doris and shu hui to waste their shower.

Doris was sporting so she happily went in. Went off later to shop and catch a movie with some of them. Great evening, and with more to come.

Tuesday! Cleaned up the room. There was a gargantuan mess from all the stuff i brought back from hall.

But im not sure why, i love tidying stuff. A little ambitious, but im gonna clear up the entire house this holiday. Evening was dinner with Eunice. Shes so grateful for my loaning her my laptop for the month she decided to give me a dinner treat. How nice : ) Always great fun talking to her.

Waraku's new menu items. Pretty good i think. Heres the Unagi something something and the tomato ramen.

Theres this small podium in the background. And its FULL of couples making out. haha..

Ok im getting quite tired, but i might as well finish up the entry with wednesday evenings event. Outing to sunset grill with the climbers. This is some restaurant located deep in seletar camp. It is unbelievable how ulu it is. No car = no go.

This is the map :

Of The labyrinth of King Minos Of Crete.

This is the map of seletar camp.

At sunset grill, the highlight is the chicken wings. They range in chilli level from 1 - 30. We tried level 7, which was enough to make us sweat and gulp water. But it was an achievement. Level 30 is tongue dissolving certain death. Level 30 looks like they buttered it in lava.

Mains were pretty nice..bangers and mash.The others had stuff like ribs, pork chop. Regina had just one level 7 chicken wing.

Ended the night at jalan kayu talking about primary school. haha..yes which reminds me, il have to do a post on that.Concludes my longest post ever for now. More to come soon !

Intermittent

2009-05-10T10:57:00.003+08:00

As if i havent had enough of fluid mechanics..but ah its mesmirising indeed..

Fluid Sculpture from Charlie Bucket on Vimeo.

`

2009-04-09T16:10:00.003+08:00

Guess i should blog something before the exam week hits..reading week is already almost here. I can just see it..the countless hours in the library..the infinite tutorials..who cares when your with friends doing the same : )

The pictures should sum up whats been happening lately..

red pill..or blue?

the crazed motorcyclist..haha

The cat.

The obedient dog.

The big cat + small cat.

The fixed brain.

Smoke is rising in the shadows overhead
my glass is almost empty
I read again between the lines
upon each page

waha.ha.

2009-04-05T10:46:00.003+08:00

Rowan Atkinson as most havent seen..for the times of exam stress..and whatever.

Blackadder: Baldrick, what are you doing out there?

Baldrick: I’m carving something on this bullet sir.

Blackadder: What are you carving?

Baldrick: I’m carving “Baldrick”, sir.

Blackadder: Why?

Baldrick: It’s a cunning plan actually.

Blackadder: Of course it is.

Baldrick: You see, you know they say that somewhere there’s a bullet with your name on it?

Blackadder: Yes?

Baldrick: Well, I thought if I owned the bullet with my name on it, I’d never get hit by it, ‘cos I won’t ever shoot myself.

Blackadder: Oh, shame.

til the shine wears off

2009-03-01T20:36:00.004+08:00

"lost" by coldplay. Its pretty wonderful..so here i am blogging after a million years..as i watch minority report in another window. Recently got another handphone ..with 8 megapixels! And it wasnt one of those exorbitantly priced ones. Guess all the food pictures and others will be much clearer now..

Ok now for several things random that have been happening lately. More like i was trigger happy with the camera.

time for really really random.

A weird coloured bird on the garden swing. looks like a king fisher

A lacoste shoe !The rare rare rare times i would go shopping, and even more rare i would find a shoe i like. Pity..it was going for cheap at Queensway..but had no more sizes. I wouldnt pay for it elsewhere.

And then one strange night.at 5am.a huge crash woke me up. I thought yixiang might have pushed over his shoe rack or something. Going out to check, it seemed 3 dustbins on the ground floor were all toppled over. Imagine how freaky that was..Went up to Doris's room (where she was still studying at F.I.V.E am). Turns out i left my wallet there , and according to her..she heard some drunk people kicking over stuff. Phew.

Now on to..soft boiled egg in a bun! yes this is indeed random..For 1 dollar you get this interesting combination. Theres this specific sequence i follow whenever i eat this..1. Stir Coffee 2. Remove spoon 3. Add sauce n pepper to the weird cavity in the bread 4. Scoop it all up with the coffee spoon. Yumm. Though most would think its gross.

A bunch of orange bougainvillea flowers. And in my favorite shade too.

On a sadder note, my wrist has been kinda injured. Im pretty sure its a culmination of weird moves and excessive slopers that led to it. Its the annoying kind of pain that seems gone but appears when you climb. Its the kind that makes you rub your hand every morning when you get out of bed..only to find it still hurts. Ive been injured many times. 6 major ones in all..you could call it erm.."experience" but that doesnt make a new one feel any better.

I guess the best way to heal sometimes is to really stop. It sucks though when you have to withdraw from competitions, watch your friends climb fun stuff while you watch in the background. Then there are times you try to climb, and feel..hey i can do this this and this. But not that. But in the end, your injuries worst enemy is your ego.

Sometimes i feel that if i hadnt been so often injured, i couldve trained much more with the time, but i guess its all part and parcel of a sport that pushes your body this much. Boulderactive is in 2 weeks time, and im praying il be fully operational by then. Sounds like some spoilt machine..

and perhaps we'll just leave it be..

the balcony..

2009-01-10T00:36:00.002+08:00

Just decided to take a chair and a cup of tea to the balcony..its 1230 am but i just had to. Sat there for a good 20 minutes spending some quality time with God. Its been a long time since ive properly sat down to do Qt. Lots of questions have been piling up, as well as problems. It seems ive reached this point in life where everything seems stagnant..and theres nothing to look forward to.

I probably wont list them here..but id say theres a rather long list of issues. I pray about it..but im not sure where or when to expect a reply. How will it come? or has it come and ive missed it..

Ive decided to keep a journal of questions, and qt stuff..hopefully il be consistent in updating it. It looks to be a really really tough semester ahead..lots of expectations , worries.

well seems like im in quite a strange fix..
but then i recall jeremiah 29 and matthew six..

Exams? What exams?

2008-12-11T20:50:00.007+08:00

Finally, the dreaded finals are over. I think its been the toughest sem by far..Anyway enough about exams.least til a weeks time when the results are out. Hols have been really fun so far, and not a day hasnt been interesting. There's been climbing, night cycling, lots of food and so much tidying up to do. My room in okr is now the official storeroom for everyone thats staying over next sem..haha. Helped zhao xiu and fel move out stuff, of which they had a ton of. literally..haha

Stayed over myself for one night. Okr is pretty peaceful but a little lonely if theres no one around. But there was tons to do, and with msn friends are never really that far away.

Well its a boring thursday night, and so its the best time to put up all those photos ive been meaning to.

First up, outing with the TPJC climbers. Ah i miss the good old days. Now everyones gone overseas, or to different unis. Went to Amici at Holland V. Pretty pricey, but really really good food.

The menu had all sorts of interesting looking italian dishes, but i played it safe, and went for the vongole. Needless to say, its probably the best one ive had so far. 20 bucks for a decent amount of clams and excellent sauce. Olive oil, garlic and herbs. I literally cleaned the entire plate. Didnt really get a chance to take pics of what the others ordered, but they were also delicious.

As you can see, almost no food was left after 20 minutes.

Then there was dessert. Apparently this place is known for its Tiramisu, so we each ordered a slice. At 13 dollars a slice its quite pricey, ok actually very pricey. But its oh so good. Each bite you take is melt in your mouth and it oozes coffee liquor.

But of course no one was really that full after it..except for most of the girls. Guys being guys, we headed to the nearby food centre for beer and fries, and entertainment by jon and alfredo. That topped of the great outing. Will be awhile before we can get everyone together again.

Up next, dinner date with Eunice and Yishu. Wanted to see if we could find any nice ramen in central, but ended up in Waraku yet again. Cant really go wrong there..though i think im beginning to get a bit tired of it. After dinner exploration of Clarke Quay led us past this strange place.

Its this "medical" themed pub.

Like a scene from ER, everything here resembles a hospital. Downright weird? I certainly thought so.

Patrons sit around on hospital beds, and sip their drinks from tubes connected to drip bags complete with a stand . Shots of liquor come in syringes.

Golden wheelchairs and even the lighting uses those round lamps found in operating theatres. I cant imagine dining on a wheelchair.

The inner portion of the place seems to resemble a morgue, no prizes for guessing what those silver cupboards are for. Distasteful or just plain gimmicky, they certainly do draw crowds though. Not my cup of tea for certain.

Hearing what sounded like thunder, we proceeded to the river bank, and managed to catch sight of the finale for the fireworks festival. Pretty lucky since there wasnt a crowd here, and we could see most of the fireworks.

Well looks like il have to stop here for now, got an online game to get to..will update again after the climbing trip to malaysia i suppose..

2008-11-24T19:58:00.000+08:00

2008-10-28T15:00:00.002+08:00

Ah its been some time since ive come across such great songs..they make my day

hey what do u know..a poem..

2008-10-25T23:19:00.002+08:00

procrastination my good old friend,

your with me til the every end..

of months and months and countless days

no worries theres time later, thats all youve said.

and so finally i heed you not

here i go , il update u blogspot.

hmm..much has been going lately actually.. Its been the busiest semester of my uni life. Year 2 stuff is really complex, and even if you understand the concepts, you cant do the questions. Thats my greatest annoyance with uni. Since i love practical things, like seeing gears move while fluid sloshes around some great piece of machinery. Yea what do you get in lecture notes..all you see is h1, S, Q, MGt ..bla bla. Its quite annoying when you see people ace through all the numbers..but not know jack about what theyre for in the first place. Seems my most enjoyable module this sem has been genes and society. I do love bio actually..

Lots of hype going around lately about student exchange programs. Im not sure why, but not in the least bit interested to go. Could it be the money? the hassle involved mapping modules? Maybe i just see the concept of going to a foreign place to study too intimidating? My dad actually saved up money for me to go, but i just cant see myself willing to use that money, and not in times like this anyways.

But alas..it makes you feel kinda left out when everyones going or trying to at some point. I guess though..that i should be contented where i am too. Il just stick with my post graduation idea of going overseas with great friends , a bible and a rack of climbing gear.

On another note though, lots of cool stuff has happened lately. We won the rube goldberg machine contest at ntu. Id always wanted to take part in one. Was a fantastic experience, and though the machine didnt run fully, just watching parts of ones creation come to life is good enough. Il put up videos of that sometime..and in the distance future..id build one double the size.

Climbing has been great. Apart from another popped finger i got a week ago, id say krabi made me a fair bit stronger. ah i miss that place already..well the new batch is in, and theyre a really happening bunch. Theres so much potential and everyones so strong. Sometimes i guess i feel intimidated at the prospect of juniors surpassing me. But thats normal and one thought il shake off. i think we;ve got a formidable team this year.

Climbing camp brought about so many new friendships, especially the angel mortal game segment : ) Though i didnt take part in most of the games, running around with the organising, it was great fun. Those 2 round plates and letters will be treasured indeed.

About leading cell group and all, its gotten better...But to be honest, sometimes im not sure if im cut out for it. There come those times when its a friday..and you know the next day is this great fun comp held in sch. Most times cell comes first..but then there come those times when hey..one person turns up for cell that day. and i start thinking..hmm why did i even bother to have it in the first place. Its worse when i try to further justify the fact by saying .."oh i dont really know these ppl well..i guess i never will.should i carry on? "

Yet i know serving God wasnt going to be easy..I thank lala for that bit of encouragement sometime back..and im glad i can share it with someone who has the same sentiments. Weve prayed for greater conviction in this area..i think we do need it. I think ive reached a time in my walk where i realise theres so much more to figure out , and its like starting over from the beginning with many things..but i know He;ll always be there for sure.

Well thats it for now..ive no pictures on this house com..so til i get back to hall or something i guess..

Theres stuff more sensitive not to be said
so in poetry it will reside instead.
so much has changed, the things of old.
of recent times, the new unfolds.
people change, they simply do.
of things inside you never knew.

there he walks, the lonesome wanderer
from time to time, he finds his shelter,
of things that fade in the passing wind
he hangs on to them..his hands they cling

Through the pairs of glass he watches
of goings-on and random splotches.
alas it moves him from time to time
those things he he knows..its so sublime.

How these affect him so....
how these affect him so..

totally food.

2008-06-22T23:05:00.009+08:00

Wow..a whole 2 months of disappearing from this blog. First exams, then competition season, then work..the hols seem even busier than school term. Ive a hundred photos that havent seen the light of day in this blog.

To make up for the long long no-blogging period, this entry will contain food, food, and more food..As you can see, a good part of my life includes wonderful food that God has allowed me to enjoy, and with good company to enjoy it with. Its been some time since i put down a poem here though..mayb in the next entry where there;ll be other non-f00d stuff. So anyway ...

The School Food Lineup :

More good eats from the nus canteens..

The teriyaki chicken hotplate from the engin canteen;s western food store. The usual mushroom sauce drowned spaghetti, with a small piece of teriyaki chicken chop. Taste pretty good, and with an egg added, my only gripe is that the portion is too small. I always double the spaghetti.

Mixed veg and rice from the indian stall in engine. I always pick this combination of a fried drumstick, potatoes, squid, and salad. This stall is underrated i feel, the food is rather good, and its cheap. That meal cost about 3 bucks.

Oreo cheesecake from Olive cove. For when the mid lecture hunger pangs get you. Taste somewhat like the hersheys sunday pie from bk..but a cheesecake version.its about $3.50 a slice..

My first time at Mega bites, after pc1432 session with Pamela. I really like the place, good portions and reasonable prices. Their sandwiches give subway a run for its money. I ate something straight out of the deep fryer. Chicken cutlet. It was huge. Being a gravy fan, i loved it when the potato gravy, free flow mayo drowned the chicken. Be warned though..in all its crispy glory.this is extremely artery clogging.

Next in the myocardial infarction department is the pig trotters claypot from science canteen. High in fat, but oh so good with the rice and egg that comes with all the claypot dishes. Il be back for this soon. And thats it for school food for now..

From the world of unhealthy/junk/fast food :

J.CO donuts! Hm ive been trying various brands to see how they match up, must say J.CO is > than donut factory. Best ive had here. Inferior only to Krispy Kreme. This half dozen box was my treat to the poor bunch of us mugging in the music library.

Straight from the golden arches, this new fangled creation was our answer to breakfast woes during mugging days in the central library. The mac griddle. Its basically a pancake syrup coated sausage mac muffin. Weird sounding, but nice. One is the max though, the taste gets overwhelming after awhile. Best eaten with chilli and washed down with black coffee.

From those late night suppers :

Heres after training one day. Gotta love those indian supper stalls. They serve almost everything one would want to eat at this hour. Zhao xiu looks like she discovered something in the food. Jun Xian looks half dead.

Recommend by kenneth, the extremely sinful and unhealthy prata planta. This is prata that is erm, infused with very generous amounts of butter. So much so that it oozes out when you press it with a spoon. Eaten with with sugar though..few can resist.

At Simpang Bedok with sya and jansen, another haven for late night supper. This time we had cheese roti john. How roti john has evolved from what it used to be previously. I like this one way better.

Tea is always important to wash away all that oil, and for that added bit of caffeine needed at 2am.

And finally, restaurant food.

Tracy brought me to this dim sum place somewhere in Chinatown. I forgot the name now, but its way better than Yum Cha or most places ive tried. Pity its ala-carte. Just that bit you see there plus a few other things was about $25. You do pay for the quality.

The Soup Spoon. In search of something new to try amidst the food paradise of the Bugis basement, Doris suggested here. The soup here comes in many varieties, and its so rich you;ll probably find one small bown filling enough. They should probably provide more bread though..that small bun is hardly enough.

Been reading about this place from several blogs. Located at Frankel avenue, and actually a 5 min walk from my church, this is Swiss Baeckerei.

Its a rather small establishment, with limited seating. But they serve good food here, though slightly on the pricy side. Expect sandwiches and teas, nothing very filling.

One of the highlights of this place is the cheese croque. Basically its like a toasted sandwich with cheese melted all over. But whats interesting is the filling. This one had mushrooms with some bechamel sauce. Put together, this simple dish is pretty fantastic. at $11.90, you can pick any drink from the menu to go with it. Avoid the cappucino though, its too dilute.

Prime rib eye steak from Astons. My second time blogging about this. This is my all time favourite at the place. To think you just have to go to PGP. Next years staying on campus is gonna bring me back here more often if finances permit. Pasta salad, mashed potatoes, i think these are 2 of the best sides the have. The steak didnt have much marbling this time round so i was abit dissapointed. But at $11.90, this is a really good deal.

Chocolate Truffle cake from cedele, which is conveniently near the bakery too. Keith introed me to this slice of bliss. $5 gets you a tiny slice of this. One of the nicest chocolate cakes ive ever tried. Next in line from them will have to to be the chocolate banana espresso cake.

East coast road sure has all the good food. Outside Michelle;s house theres this beach road prawn mee place, clumped together with bak chor mee and a hong kong cafe. Lucky her.Though im allergic to prawns, i popped a antihistamine and went for this one. Ah no regrets here, the prawn mee is wonderful and the prawns are very fresh.Think the dry version will be good as well, and i usually prefer dry stuff.

And i end this post with dessert from haagen daaz. I had a nice bunch of vouchers from my aunt. Together with joan and jonathan, we made short work of it. Haagen Daaz prices are now insanely high, and what you see there cost us $20. I dont think il be patronising them any time soon again.

ah someones coming back..

time time time..

2008-04-06T18:29:00.002+08:00

Wish i had more
all but 24 hours a day
what am i using it for?

busy prepping for exams. Its not the workload this sem that kills. Its what the workload comprises. The complexity of some of the stuff just gets to you sometimes. How is quantum physics and a cat in a box in space relevant to my future? i wonder.

Ctw was a debacle. I guess we just picked the wrong topic to begin with. It all went downhill from there despite our best efforts. A 2 month project done in 2 days.Its no one's fault really..but the feeling really sucks.And after that all that it still isnt over..another problem crops up.Just hope we dont get slaughtered from the oral defence coming up.

Finger's still pretty messed up from bouderactive. I keep praying itll recover in time for the next competition. Should probably start training other areas in the meantime.

Cell group has been pretty good, everyone;s warming up to each other.

When oh the things of life brim over
When would everyone just take it slower.

To rest in God, whos peace endures,
my worries fade, my life's secure.

updates hopefully soon..

The CNY update

2008-02-08T18:08:00.000+08:00

Ah not really to do with cny, but since its a long break ive finally got a chance to update. cheers elim..theres lots of food in this one :P

To start of , heres a clip of my favourite song to drum to. Mighty to save. Wish i could play like this guy with lots lots more practise.

On a slightly more sour note, family had a bad spat with the downstairs neighbour's son. He's unreasonable beyond words. I played the electronic drums mind you at 5pm in the evening. (not even plugged in)People are allowed to play music instruments 10am-pm. And he storms upstairs to demand i stop because he was sleeping. His room is below mine.I didnt say anything but my mom was fuming. What a proud guy. Had to annouce hes' from RI last time and well educated about laws.. Threatened to call the police on us even. Its so hard to be gracious to people sometimes. I admit while i didnt say anything and was friendly to him, i wanted to inflict newtons 2nd law on him.sigh..Matthew 5:43 comes to mind.

Another clip i found on youtube. Gordon Ramsay making scrambled eggs. Ah this guy is my favourite cook. Though he loves swearing and all. Been addicted to his shows the whole month.
Im gonna try and make this tomorrow.

ok first few food items are from various places in NUS.

Now what does one do in boring lectures with no time for dinner. Potato salad and ice mocha from cafe oliv in engin fac. Good stuff i must say.

Roti Prata from the engin canteen. I honestly think this is one of the best prata;s that ive eaten. Its crispy and thin.Especially the cheese one. And its cheapppp.40 cents a plain one. I frequent this stall pretty often. I just wish they would improve their curry a bit.

And heres dear friend Elim who came to visit and tried the indonesian food : ) Visit more! youve only been here once..ok i admit engin is boring though.heh

Now for where i went during my birthday. The og ppl decided to patronize manhattan fishmarket. Good chance to compare it to fish and co.

Ah first impressions were good. The food presentation is fantastic and they flame the stuff in front of you.

Overall, the fish and chips were excellent, save the dory fish which didnt pass off as anything special. Prawns we'rent too fresh but since it was smothered in a very nice cream sauce ..Another plus point would be the butter rice.

Enjoyable evening made complete by getting my face smashed into the cake. Ok just a piece of it..it wasnt cheap. Heres a video of the og ppl.Tracy;s expressions are always priceless.

Ok next up is yong tau foo. More specifically fried. This place is nearby siglap centre, its called fu lin yong tau foo. Unhealthy, but really great. Everything gets deep fried and is drowning in a nice black sauce. Noodles with beef bits come with it..Frequent this place often after church.

And for somemore home cooking, i made myself cold soba. My sis got me a packet for christmas.Fry up some chicken pieces and we have a nice lunch. I still prefer sakae sushis cold soba for some reason.

Pastamania! Hm i know their standards seem to be going down these days. But i find it the most convenient place to get my pasta fix. This time i didnt take my favourite alfunghi pasta, and went for the spicy bacon aglio. Whole thing is smothered in olive oil, but with bacon aftertaste. Rather nice. This was at the parkway branch. Il be back for this again soon.

Gathering at zhong zhen;s place. We bbq'ed stuff on an electric grill due to rain. The satay was very nice though. Ive to find out where its from. I love bbqing stuff.

And finally, a foodcourt meal at whitesands. This is the 2nd occasion where ive come across a large piece of unagi in a meal that costs about 6 plus. Quite value for money. The engin canteen ones are not bad but a bit overcooked.

Ok that should be most of the blogging for this month save a few misc entries here and there. And til i build up on my collection of food photos again..

From grey skies to blue

2008-01-11T10:18:00.000+08:00

Something wonderful happened the other day. Might seem like a small thing, but it showed how great God is. I was on the way to do my ippt for the second time, the first getting canceled because of heavy rain. My window for the test was closing, and thankfully today had clear skies all day through. Or so I thought. As the bus reached the interchange, it poured. The sky was grey as ash. I had been praying for good weather and ive to admit the first feeling that struck me was a bit of anger. Just when i was about to do the test.. But as I sat there staring at the sky, I prayed again. Would you praise God when the going is good? Or when it doesnt go the way you wanted it to. For some reason this verse came to mind, i suppose since it was most relevant to me at the time

Elijah was: "…a man subject to like passions as we are, and he prayed earnestly that it might not rain: and it rained not on the earth by the space of three years and six months."

Now Im no where near who Elijah was, but God hears all the same. By the time my friend arrived to join me, the rain had stopped. From torrents to a clear sky within 10 minutes.Right before my eyes. What's impossible for God?

I managed to finish my ippt that day..

Continuing we have..

This advert at my bus stop says " They will soar on wings like eagles - Isaiah " Interesting. I've rarely seen any reference to the bible in stuff like this. Wonder if the designer is a christian.

Now for things always make me happy.

Fish And Chips at Botak Jones. They opened an outlet at bedok now. Hurray. For six dollars I think this is very value for money. Not to mention its filling. Fish is crispy, sauce that goes with it is delicious. Only thing was that the fish had a little of a muddy taste that day. And the coleslaw is just..coleslaw.

Now due to the luncheon meat import restriction, ive turned to other alternatives. Spam! Ah albeit much saltier and expensive. Now they come with cheese and less salt versions. Sigh. Nasi Lemak will never be the same without luncheon meat.

And presenting, the simple but great tasting , Mee Goreng. This ones from the carrot cake stall at Banquet, parkway. Recommended by a friend, it comes in generous portions, and has a very nice taste. Warning though, its a bit salty.

To celebrate my aunty's birthday, heres at Parkway Thai Restaurant. We had the dinner buffet. While the food is not stellar, there were many gems among the dishes offered. Crab Vermicelli , Chicken satay and Basil Chicken just to name a few.Those were great. I loved the mango salad too.

My habit is always to take a bit of each, and go back for whatever passes the taste test.

I didnt take picture of the dessert section for some reason. The usual jellies, cakes, ice cream. With the addition of some thai stuff. Pretty decent.

Finally , yet another buffet. Dim sum at Dragon Gate Restaurant, harbour front centre. Here you enjoy as much dim sum as you want for about 18 bucks. The dim sum is way above average.
Now usually i come here with my army friends, and with the objective of making the establishment incur losses. We literally ordered the whole menu twice over with more in between, getting black looks from the waitress.

That pile of golden brown fried things are my favourite. Its chestnut jelly fried into a crispy puff. Think we ordered a bit too many this time though.

Ok on a more serious note.Certain things have happened, and ive to learn not to gossip so much. Its become a bad habit, and sometimes things dont need to be announced to the world.

And on a lighter one, I got my module : )! Praise God.

CORS

2008-01-07T14:53:00.000+08:00

Cors..the bane of many a nus student. Im going to see how many names i can come up with to represent it.

Culmination Of Redundant Systems.
Cursed Online Registration System
Condemned Obviously Retarded System
Cause Of Repeated Screwups
Can Of Rotten Sewage
Cant Obtain Required Subjects
Cause Of Repeated Stress
Cause of Receding Sanity
Can Offer Random Success
Cause Of Routine Sadness
Cors Often Runs Slowly
Creator Of Ridiculous Situations

For some silly reasons i didnt get my module in the first round. Now im stuck nowhere waiting for friday where i hope the module gets available as a breadth. Ah well..I can only pray about it now. Meantime il start searching for backup modules.

facing the giants

2008-01-05T18:18:00.000+08:00

Went to trumpet praise a few days back to get the film " facing the giants". Like most other sports movies, the storyline is cliche. But what's different here is that its a christian themed.The team acknowledges God.They pray.Its a pretty moving film and while most would feel its a litte far fetched, I think it brought its point across remarkably. Well worth the 26 bucks dvd.

*SPOILER* warning. But if it doesnt bother you just go ahead.

Up next we have what could be this blogs weirdest and most random picture. Its a dustbin! But look, it has a window in its side. Its a l337 dustbin. All it needs is a nice blue neon light.

Ok enough of that. Now we have "Hong Shao Niu Rou" from a stall by that name. Its found in liang seah street. Went with tracy and shimei after studying and we just randomly picked this stall. The beef noodles turned out to be rather good. For about 10 bucks, its a little pricey but it makes up for that in taste.

What could be better than home cooked food! Ah not too healthy either though.But I take great pride in my sunny side eggs. :p

Now for one of the nicest lor mee's ive had in a long time. Heres at the beach road food centre, the one below the army market.

In this bowl you;ll find quite a generous service of ingredients. Not sure what they are but they taste nice and thats all i bother about.

Now for some japanese at my Izakaya, ministry of food in marine square. Came here after the christmas service with anna and wenhui.First impression was that this place was a rip off of waraku. The items on the menu all bore some resemblance. But here they serve the food much faster. After anna ordered it came within 2 minutes. No joke.

Good service, nice presentation.cold soba came on a bed of ice and all.But alas the quality of the food wasnt there. The sauce for the tempura was bland and the tempura batter quite the same.For a slightly higher price than Waraku's, i was quite disappointed. At least the dessert partly redeemed them.

This was soft serve ice cream with green tea sauce and fried yam/potato pieces. They taste like the taro turnover from burger king but nicer.

The mango version of it.

Man the holidays are almost over. Im already thinking about the next long 3 month one. Think il do one special sem module then. 6 modules is just too insane, having to balance climbing and cell group leading too. And now ive this idea of building more impossi-bottles and tape wallets, and selling them in that glass case shop in parkway.Wonder if people would pay for those..Ok thats it for now..

Merry Christmas

2007-12-31T15:14:00.000+08:00

Ah christmas..So many forget the significance. The birth of our saviour Jesus Christ, his coming into this world so save us.Its not about christmas trees, presents, turkey or any of that sort. We tend to celebrate it involving those things, but let us not forget its meaning.

Ive just come back from China not too long ago, and it was a beautiful trip. God's shown me so much more than i could have dreamed of. There were some expectations that were not fulfilled, but so many more that were. Theres a ton of photos for that, but for this entry il blog about other stuff. Of course food as always, and a miscellaneous thing or two.

Firstly, a christmas outing at vivo. Only 2 og mates were able to make it, but small outings are fun too. Heres with eunice and jack.

The tree at the sky garden is pretty nice..

And when you've a camera and nothing to do, you cam whore. Well ok im not one who likes taking photos so here are the few that did come out. And all in the name of fun

Now ive had lots and lots of food coming my way this holiday. But heres some i havent blogged about from school time.

Astons at PGP,NUS :

This ones a branch from the one at Katong, and I must say its pretty good too.

Its the first time i had a steak in my life, and so i chose the prime rib for 11.70. Quite reasonable i think, and well lets say i would eat another one soon. The side dishes are something to talk about too.

Only 2 food places for this post, but more to come next time.

Paradise on earth steamboat, tanjong katong road. Little pricey at about $20, but theres a very decent spread available for this buffet. And the satay soup is quite addictive..

Well thats the end for this post, but il add one more thing. To my dear friend Elim heres a verse for u. Its from revelations, after reading it this morning , i watched a film that used the very same verse today. It was facing the giants. So here it is :

"What he opens no one can shut, and what he shuts no one can open. I know your deeds. See, I have placed before you an open door that no one can shut. I know that you have little strength, yet you have kept my word and not denied my name. "

a fork?

2007-12-25T00:07:00.000+08:00

And at last its come..
A time where i have to choose.
The two things i want to do,
yet one i may have to lose.

What of this daunting task ahead?
I face my greatest reservation.
Ah thats the term for it,
its called comfort zone preservation.

The odds are stacked high.
My fears well up from within.
I picture the scenario ahead
Of this ive never dreamed.

So much says step back, withdraw.
Im tempted to oblige.
Yet that other voice says..

remember who its for.

of waterspouts and exams.

2007-12-03T23:59:00.000+08:00

mug and mug, learning formula after formula, where does it get you? Il leave the answer to when the results come out. Right now it just feels this way..But never mind, lets leave that to God to decide. I dont want to have to see modules like Eg1109 appear in my cors again.

Well exams are over for now, and though i have a residual sense of dread when i recall the countless blanks and lost marks, I shall try not to bother and focus on this blog post.Imagestation is closing down so most of my past pictures might disappear soon : ( But nvm if i have time il transfer them somewhere else.

Its become sort of a ritual to talk about food most times i post, and this one will make up for the long long period of absence. Some one off random pics first..

Studying at vivo. Glad thats over..but ah therell be more to come. As recommeneded by tracy.Pacific coffee is a great place to study on weekdays.I condemn the outlet at the airport though.Here they have cusioned swings and a breezy balcony with a good view of sentosa.

Some extra reading on the bus. I love bus rides. I gave up mrt concessions for a bus one. Grey sky plus ipod plus window seat. Bliss..Minus the programming notes.

Onto the food..

First up, aunty's treat at plaza parkroyal. Buffet with japanese and local mix. Main attraction was the free flow sashimi, tuna,cold soba ,swordfish and oysters. I love raw cold stuff..

Soft shell crab too. And various kinda of roti prata. Now who eats that at a buffet when youve so much other nice stuff..But i couldnt resist.

Wonderful spreads of jelly and assorted cakes.

The usual salad and stuff..

As is always a must have at such buffets, a glorious spread of desserts. One must always learn to keep 1/4 of stomach space for them.Who can resist chocolate fountains? not me for one...

Then came another buffet. Of several that month...I thank my metabolic rate once again.

This one was brunch at Paulaner Brahaus with the climbing team. I love german food for the sausages, mash potatoes and sauerkraut, however you spell that.

Assorted sausage. Strangely they had salmon sashimi as well. Surprisingly i got full very fast at this buffet. Probably due to the amount of whipped potato i took..

Food was pretty good with the exception of the dry pork knuckle and the unrefilled tiramisu dessert. There was free flow beer for the price but well since i had to study after this ( which i didnt) so that was that..mustve been good beer though.

And now the place ive always talked about going and finally did. Lim Seng Lee famous teo chew boneless duck. Its buried somewhere on south buona vista road, pretty near school. 10 or 200 will bring you there. Apparently its been here for ages. Shared a cab with xx and denis cos we got lost finding the place.

What can i say? The duck was really nice, and so were the 2 other dishes we had. All in all with drinks and extra rice the price was a little steep at $29, but there a satisfying amount of duck that comes drenched in a sweet gooey oh so good sauce.

Sambal kang kong, and tofu..Il be back here again soon for sure. One thing though the soup was kinda disappointing by in comparison to the other stuff we had.

Lastly, something more common. Fish N Co. Was xin xians bday so we celebrated here. My all time favourite swordfish collar never fails to dissapoint. Mango sauce, mayonnaise with garlic.joy. The soup of the day this time round was excellent too.

Side note, dont eat this too often its drenched in lots of oil. And fish and co vegetables are quite terrible. Like theyve been boiled too long.

Ah to end, something pretty amazing, and the closest one gets here to a tornado. A waterspout, this one was huge, and theyre getting more common these days.Ok my hands are aching already. Update again soon. Pardon the weird layout..

2007-11-18T23:59:00.000+08:00

Ah yes its been ages..this wont be long..il hv to go on a posting spree once exams are done. lots of food..lots of stories..So this is a post devoid of pictures.

Exams are really a killer. I never realised how tough uni can possibly get. Its only the first sem.Already my room has enough paper to burn and produce 1000000MW of power = workdone/time = force x distance / time = erm..nvm. All this studying is getting to me.

Seems like if you lose track of your work just for awhile, you;ll have one heck of a time catching up. And catching up is just the beginning. Actually doing questions is whole other story.

My CS1101C was a disaster. The practical exam sucked. The lecturers are so downright sarcastic when giving feedback on forums. I guess my mind simpy cant compute strange algorithms in a short timeframe. All the practice programs done throughout the sem culminating in nothing, and then still...having to overhear ppl saying "Oh the program was superBLY easy. I only solved in 45 minutes.darn.il bet i could hv done 40".

Ah well..
The marks are in God's hands now as is everything else.

Til then..its back to work..

2007-09-20T23:23:00.000+08:00

Here i am, finally deciding to blog. Its almost impossible with the time i have on my hands these days. ive been inundated with non stop activities, and when i do have time, im resting. But nonetheless, I think its good to pen down stuff once in awhile.

Lets see some of the stuff i have to do/ am currently doing

1.Mission trip stuff, somehow got made the team leader. I wonder what im in for.

2.Climbing training, which sadly at the moment isnt really that fun..

3.School, even less fun, but made better by good friends around.I cant imagine not having company to go to lectures or have lunch with.Or get suaned by..haha.

Ive so much more to write about, like o week, climb on, and uni stuff in general. But since at the moment ive only food pictures in my comp, il just blog about that first. Is it me or this is becoming a very food orientated blog.

NUS food is actually pretty great, and for the price, one really cant ask for much more.

The highlights from engin canteen :

Western, theres quite a number of combinations of stuff you can pick. I love this stall cos i like my food drowning in gravy and sauce. Which they put alot of if you pick the right set.

I usually have some kind of spaghetti with either fish or chicken chop/cutlet. And its just 2.80.

Japanese, Hm only thing note worthy is the curry katsu. I was quite disappointed with the unagi don. It had weird tasting condiments in it..and it cost $4.Which in arts canteen jap stall can get you much better. Hope i find better stuff from here to try..

Indo food. ah, probably one of the best things in NUS canteens as a whole. Its quite famous, and very comparable to the indo place in plaza sing i talked about awhile back. Only gripe is that they provide too little of the nice sauce the chicken is covered in.

Arts canteen. Ok ive only been here several times so ive just patronised the claypot and jap stall. Il talk about the jap stall since it was the highlight. So far ive had the unagi/chicken set which was rather good. The chicken comes in this tasty egg sauce. next il try xin xians recommendation of tempura soba.

Does fruit juice count? Its not bad too..dragonfruit juice,.

And now to end with some outside food.

Donuts from munchy donuts. I was skeptical at first, but they could quite possibly give donut factory a run for their money.

Favourite beef noodles at marine parade central

Picture doesnt do it justice, but they use a special sauce different from most beef noodles. This one's a bit sweet.

And duck rice at east coast food centre, when i go there to stare at the sea. Didnt take pics of the duck rice itself though..Looks just like duck rice so you guys can imagine. Just know its good duck rice.

And one of the best japanese foodcourt stalls, terminal 2 staff canteen. Their curry katsu set is commendable. So is some other stuff which alvin had but i forgot to take picture of

And to end off with some completely random pictures..

My good friend anna. Many thanks for giving me a lift to school in her your car. Pity your leaving nus soon..haha.kidding. Have yet to try your food recommendation at business canteen.

The wacky and oh so wonderful climbing friends i have..Now how ever in the world did i get them to pose for a picture like this..haha..

The never ending aztec stairway to heaven. Seriously i think i can join the vertical marathon after my stint in nus.

Ok thats it for now..I really hope il have the time and patience to get my other entries up soon..
This long post should make up a little for it..heh.

so tell me..whats a little rain?

2007-09-20T23:17:00.000+08:00

"Bring The Rain"
Mercy Me

I can count a million times
People asking me how I
Can praise You
with all that I've gone through

The question just amazes me
Can circumstances possibly
Change who I forever am in You
Maybe since my life was changed

Long before these rainy days
It's never really ever crossed my mind
To turn my back on you, oh Lord
My only shelter from the storm
But instead I draw closer through these times

So I pray
Bring me joy, bring me peace
Bring the chance to be free
Bring me anything that brings You glory
And I know there'll be days
When this life brings me pain
But if that's what it takes to praise You
Jesus, bring the rain

I am Yours regardless of
The dark clouds that may loom above
Because You are much greater than my pain
You who made a way for me
By suffering Your destiny
So tell me what's a little rain

So I prayHoly, holy, holy
Is the Lord God Almighty

2007-08-27T08:55:00.000+08:00

Here i am blogging while listening to my econ lecturer blab and blab..Uni life is kinda hard to adjust to after such a long hiatus from the study world. Ive so much to blog on..more food..o week etc..Posts keep piling up and theres no time to compile them. Im inundated with tutorials, cca, and soon to be with mission trip training.

Ah well..Il update again once i get my work done. I should probably get back to listening to econs but im lost anyway. Never been someone to absorb stuff in lectures. I so much prefer sitting at home with a textbook.NUS lecturers are really overated..

...

2007-08-13T13:59:00.000+08:00

World oh world..
So much there is to dream.
Amidst the myriad of distraction
To whom do we really lean?

Sometimes there seems a point
Where i just cant comprehend.
Where hearts are simply torn in two
How will they ever mend.

On and on we simply forge.
Amidst the system set in place.
We cant deviate, no we dont want to,
For fear we;ll lose this race.

Tell me then you confident people,
Of where you see yourselves.
The future you fervently seek
its made secure by wealth.

How tempting it is to follow suit,
To step across the line.
Of simply pursuing material desire
Its appeal's are so sublime.

The love of money
clothes food and fashion.
Yes we crave it,
oh sadly with too much passion.

Wake up you blind people,
Myself much included.
Step out of this illusion.
We've been so deluded.

Oh beware beware,
this wordly love so strong.
It draws us away from Him
To whom we really belong.

This is not our world to keep.
Its not our's to share.
By all means know and see,
It belongs to one who cares.

Beatiful He has made it.
Perfect in every way.
That we have eyes to comprehend it,
the blue skies to the grey.

Sustinence and happenings.

2007-08-12T13:33:00.000+08:00

Ah hasnt God blessed us with so much food upon this earth..

Dinner at botak jones, clementi.

Heres the botak burger, and some sausage thing. The sausage was pretty good for the price of 8 dollars. And i could just barely finish it. According to xin xian though, his burger was quite dry and too well done. Been hearing bad stuff about that burger lately from online reviews. Strange to think that its one of their flagship items.

Now onto sinful snack food. Donuts to be exact. My cousin brought back some from the UK. And they were none other than the legendary Krispy Kreme! Ah they really were as good as talked about, though so sweet that several of them could probably give you diabetes. Then there was donut factory, courtesy of our OGls. While paling in comparison to KK's, donut factory can still stand its ground of course in comparison to what one can get in the local donut scene.

Here are the round rings of gastromic and sweetened glory :

Up next we have, food from the riverside indonesian restaurant. The branch at PS that is. Queues are perpetually long at this stall. Try it and you;ll see why. Their signature item would be the grilled chicken. There are other items like sotong, fish etc. Most come with a sweet black sauce that is what makes this stall such a hit.

And finally, what could be better than home cooked food. National day at my grandmother's house. My aunt and grandma are excellent cooks. There's always nothing short of a feast every time the family gathers there. So here we have spaghetti, gyoza, salad and mee goreng.

Ok enough of food for a bit. Here are some lousy pics of the Festival of Praise last sunday. I have to get a better handphone camera soon. Im becoming quite the photo whore. FOP 2007 was the first one ive attended. Unfortunately my favourite bands were not the one's performing. Ie Hillsong, Casting crowns. But anyway we had Delirious, and Don Moen perform.Delirious is quite rock orientated, and I guess that particular night i wasnt feeling particularly in the mood for loud worship, possibly due to anxiety of having orientation the next day. Nonetheless, God's presence was throughout, and it was a great experience seeing a stadium full of believer's exalting the Most high through the music.

And on a more random note, heres the Worlds Scariest Roller Coaster! Ive always been fascinated by these mechanial contraptions that instill fear in its rider. They're works of art and provider's of thrill all rolled into one. Genting's corkscrew can bite the dust.

Thats it for today. Next one will be on orientation. Looks like im gonna have some trouble finishing that list i wrote some posts back.

O week was amazing..

2007-08-12T11:54:00.000+08:00

I went in with such a closed mindset, that i wasnt going in to enjoy myself. I went merely heeding the advice of people that if i didnt go to at least one camp, id have no friends. That said, O week was one of the best times of my life. After such a dry spell in the social area during and after army, this camp was fantastic. Il put pics up as soon as I get over my post o week withdrawal symptoms.

a gallery of creations.

2007-07-29T23:39:00.000+08:00

These 9 months have given me plenty of time to practise what i like doing most. Building stuff. Its my passion and my hobby. God has blessed me with 2 hands to do these things, and I want to glorify Him for everything that i come out with.

Some of the smaller stuff i make as gifts :

The first being a wallet made of duct tape. It has a coin pouch, various card slots, a transparent ID card holder, and the usual place for notes

The above wallet was given away to a someone I did not mind spending the effort to do it for. I do hope it lasts..

Ok next come the impossible bottles. After i read about them from the Newpaper, i decided to try my hand at some. Originally created by Harry Eng, impossible bottles are simply ordinary bottles with things in them. Why is it impossible? As you will see the objects inside are always too big to have gone into the bottle without some form of ingenious manupilation. As such they portray a rather mind boggling feat that seemingly defies physics. Decks of cards still wrapped, tennis balls, rubik's cubes, shoes..etc..There is a great deal of skill underlying the creation of one of these art pieces.

These 2 are my favourites. One by Harry Eng, the other by Jeff Scanlan, one of only about a dozen people who carry on the tradition of impossible bottle making.

And some of my own, albeit less impressive versions. They do make good gifts though and i hope to improve them even more. The point of these is to make people scratch their heads trying to figure out how it was done. So here goes :

Tennis ball and rubik's cube

Tennis ball in a jar.

A deck of cards in a snapple bottle.Will update this one when i can make it nicer. box looks a bit crumpled here.

And finally, the project that consumed a good 6 months of my time, with the planning stages done throughout army.

Project Halcyon in Black.

Basically its a pc that doesnt look like one. All components that one would usually find in a cpu have been covered up. Everything is made to look industrial and "purposefully complicated". There are various meters to measure hardisk activity and temperature. Various knobs and switches allow control of the cooling systems and lighting effects.

By far the most ambitious modding project ive tried to undertake, it was greatly fulfilling when completed. Despite repeated disastrous setbacks.

The project in full detail can be featured on these sites and forums. Some people were very gracious and posted this mod on their sites.

1. http://forums.bit-tech.net/showthread.php?t=123143

2.http://www.hardforum.com/showthread.php?t=1120463&highlight=halcyon
.

3.http://biohazart.ru/content/view/51/1/

4.http://pariahs-guild.blogspot.com/2007/06/mods-halcyon.html#links

5.http://www.pcformat.co.za/modules.php?name=Forums&file=viewtopic&t=23769

6.http://forums.hardwarezone.com/showthread.php?t=1598745

And now onto some pictures :

The sketchbook drawings done while lazing in bunk.

The unit in its "off state"

When the lights come on :

And thats it for this terribly long post. I hate putting photos onto blogger cos ive to drag them down one at a time..But nvm. Thats it for now. More updates on the impossible bottles in the near future.

of food and roses..

2007-07-28T19:56:00.000+08:00

First up, lunch with zz and linus at the jalan besar area. Supposedly the yong tau foo is good here, at this place called Meizhou.

The aforementioned YTF with soya bean milk. And this is zz promoting it. I dont usually eat ytf so im not sure how it was. Guessing its probably good though from the awards featured. Looks a bit too healthy for me though..haha..

I ordered muichai pork rib noodle.albeit much oilier.But it was quite ordinary and was better only with chilli.

Now on to slightly more expensive fare at Waraku Japanese restaurant. So far I usually go with the army guys. This time was after tennis at my place..

Here we have "Rindo". One of my favourites, cold soba, udon, and tonkatsu egg rice.

The one i ordered was a set lunch. A huge mountain of cha soba, and unagi with rice. 2 of my most loved japanese foodstuff.

This one was ordered by aloysius. Think it was sukiyaki or something. The highlight is the sauce the beef is cooked in. Probably a miso base. Excellent stuff..

Thats it for the food..

The midnight rose expedition.

Last last week was my cousin Dorothea's wedding, and after it there remained plenty of white roses. So my other cousin Sharon, the really fun person that she is, decided to collect them. To do what? With a few cousin's help, we were all going to deliver them to her office. Shes leaving for holiday and wanted to bring some cheer to the dull, industrial work environment her office seems to be.

All of us loaded into her car, laps brimming with roses. Since there was so much excess, we decided to be crazy and give roses to passing cars. After waving roses to several cars, only one person on a motorbike took one. I wonder what he must be thinking. It kinda reminded me of the "free hugs" drive on kishan's blog. I think singapore could use more of such cheer bringing.

The very dull, dimly lit and deserted carpark of an industrial park in yishun. Actually the place is quite windy and in some strange sense romantic. Theres a very nice view from up there.

Now because no one in their right mind comes to such a place at this unearthly hour, we snuck in by the fire escape along the edge of the building.

And heres sharon wrapping roses with wet tissue.

A white rose for every desk
Il bet it lets everyone feel so blessed.

At times a kind gesture we could all use After the long days of work abuse.

What a cousin I do know. The wonderful ways her care she shows.

a list..

2007-07-28T09:22:00.000+08:00

of stuff i want to blog about. As things pile and i get lazy i should probably put a list so i wont forget.

In no particular order

1.food
2.pulau ubin
3.genting trip
4.church camp
5.jss camp
6.project halcyon
7.impossible bottles
8.East coast weather
9.job at suntec.
10.a book review.
11.the stained glass masquerade.
12.the midnight rose expedition.
13.O week

I think i shall do a few of those today..wonder what else ive forgotten.

2007-07-07T23:14:00.000+08:00

The bridge is long and narrow,
in some places it is wide.
My life it represents,
As across its length I stride.

A wind it howls and pushes,
it strikes me in the face.
As step after step I walk,
this seemingly endless race.

Confident and onward I seem to press,
But the wind gets strong.
Then I find myself pushed to places,
where I shouldnt at all belong.

At times I regain my footing,
at times the winds die off.
Hah! il beat it for sure I say
I turn my head and scoff.

Yet there again it comes to me,
Stronger than before.
My balance wavers and I stumble.
blame the wind again I'l grumble.

And something lurks within me,
telling me to stop.
to simply give in to the wind,
its rampant in my thoughts.

But alas I turn my face into the wind,
I force myself to try.
Against this force i must prevail,
though it stings my eyes.

I hold with me a promise,
I try hard not to frown.
Because at the very end of this long bridge
there awaits for me a crown.

food glorious food...

2007-06-29T22:50:00.000+08:00

Heres a consolidated food thread from my recent escapades..

First up we have :

Rowell rd wanton me. This small shop is located on rowell road, parallel to desker road. Following the review on it by the ieatishootipost blog, I went with Edmund to explore. Ok that area is not really pleasant, and more so at night. But in the name of good food.

12 Rowell road, the shop is quite near the end if your coming from jalan besar side.

Various celebrities have been here, and the shop is adorned with awards.The place looks ancient though, and it reminds me of the shop houses in Ipoh. It seems alot of good food tends to lurk behind derelict exteriors. So not judging the book by its cover, we ordered.

Mine had chilli, and note to those who try, theres a big difference in the taste compared to the non-chilli version.

So how was it? It lives up to the awards on the shopfront. The chilli version has what appears to be a hint of curry powder in it. This taste i cant describe, but its rather good. Nothing much about the soup, that one was ordinary. Those who can be bothered to brave the foul, car exhaust ridden environment of jalan besar should give it a go. Il be going back sometime.

Next up, we move on to more western cuisine at a place called Jacob's cafe. Its located in changi village, along the row of pubs. My aunt heard about it from somewhere, and the whole family went. The menu is very similar to Werner's oven, lots of german food.

I ordered the mixed sausage platter. Its $18.90, no service charge. And to go with it, a bottle of hoegaarden. Really nice beer but its double price than if you get it at cold storage.

The platter is very filling, and the sausages are gigantic. Sauerkraut wasnt as good as Werners though. All in all a very satisfying meal. The other stuff family ordered was pretty nice as well. Their house specialty is pork knuckle, but none of us tried it. Maybe the next time i visit..

And lastly, Geylang's dou jiang you tiao. My friends brought me there after the Global Day of Prayer at the national stadium. What is the affinity between good food and red light districts i wonder.The place is as they say though..its teeming with unpleasantries.

Well this is perhaps one of the most sinful things you can partake here apart from "er hem".(I in no way endorse it) The you tiao is oil soaked, and yet super crispy. Strangely this was the first time i was trying this, you tiao really goes well with cold soya milk.

Parking in Geylang is an extreme pain though. Seems the drivers there are all retarded. In a sense i was glad im sitting in another persons car. The irony is i cant wait to drive around myself. hope i pass driving.

ok thats it for this post.. nxt up, jss camp and church camp

A random poem.

2007-06-22T23:25:00.000+08:00

Look around Look around.
How is the world today?
Anger and anguish all abound,
Thats all the news does say.

Disease ,terrorism, floods and pain
And simply all things bad.
Here we are, its us to blame.
Its really pretty sad.

But take heart oh world,
The saviour cometh soon.
The light from high its oh so bright,
it blots out all the gloom.

of climbing and camps..

2007-06-22T22:16:00.000+08:00

Been very very busy lately, thus the nearly 2 month gap in blog time.
First there was pumpfest, a rock climbing competition, junior sunday school camp..and church camp.

Pumpfest.

The first climbing com after i would say 3 years. Since its the last one for the year, no harm trying. The result? 15/61 plus a snapped tendon in my index finger. On the plus side the t shirt they gave was pretty good. Now for some explanation as to how a comp like that goes..

First you have a bunch of walls, 4 in this case, built somewhere the public can view. This time was the amphitheatre at vivo city.The crowd plays a pretty important role, somehow you can climb better when people are shouting for you.

This type of short wall climbing is called bouldering.You dont need ropes and your protection is from mattresses.Your objective is to use the given hand holds and footholds (some which are impossibly small) to get up the wall. Your judged on how many attempts you make to get to the top. If you can do it at the first try, its called a flash. Various categories cater for your level of skill. Novice, intermediate, and open. The latter being for the pros.

Anyway the first route was where I grabbed one of the tiles, and heard a sharp crack .Even the spotter heard it and made a face.haha..What a way to start, well thankfully for my good friend adrenaline, the pain and swelling didnt come till much later.

The 2nd route was interesting, and it involved a cross hand to a sloper (weird, hard to hold tile) This was where I realised that though you dont feel pain, your injured finger doesnt want to grip stuff. So well, the sloper was the furthest i got.

3rd route was technical, meaning it involves alot of technique and balance. Held the tile the wrong way round so that was the furthest i got.

and the last, 4th route was the most fun. I was quite worried cos of the left hand finger pocket, (left finger was the one sprained) but heck i grabbed it anyway.From there its a dyno (sort of jump), some heel hooking (using your heel to grip stuff), and a bit of balance, and its done. The only flash in the whole comp

And that was it, the red cross people couldnt do more than give me ice for my finger, which is still sprained as i type. I hate injuries like this.

Will be on to camps in the next few posts..together with more food entries.

Til then.

the random post.

2007-05-05T13:38:00.000+08:00

Its good to have a camera phone at times. Though mine is considerably pathetic at 1.3mp compared to the 3.2's and up they have these days. Still, it fulfil's its purpose.

After a day of fishing, playing FEAR, i went with alvin to orchard to get stuff from borders. Its so hard to find good writing these days. I didnt get anything in the end, and we decided to walk to river valley road. A few weeks back while on a bus back i came across a nice looking house there, so what better time.

I havent seen a house with blue lighting before. I cant describe the atmosphere it produces. Its surreal in some sense, and together with the orange street lamps and house lights, its beautiful.That and the cobbled stone walls, the long balcony and palm trees.I'd certainly want to try living there once.

Now on to..food.Thats why this is called the random post.

One day i was buying lunch at sim lim squares food court, and came across this jap stall.It had a unagi set for $6.30. Its way cheaper compared to some other places.Most are bordering $8. I thought, hm the piece theyre gonna give is gonna be miniscule. But heck, I wanted to eat unagi. Turns out, after opening the boring styrofoam box, its a pretty decent piece of eel.And it tasted good too. Had a nice lunch that day.

Then while on the way to work, i boarded bus 54. And the interior was like this :

At first i was thinking "oh crap what bus did i just board". Turns out its the new nokia music mobile thing. Think pimp my bus. They have music playing and all, and the walls are covered in something resembling velvet. Lucky the bus fare is still the same.

Then its on to my "job" that i have been doing here and there since army ended. I scan photos. What could be simpler. I sit in front a computer all day long and scan. its 12000 photos and counting. Thing is im doing this for my mom's friend and im not sure how much i will get paid.Doesnt matter i guess since ive all the freedom i want.

the first food post..

2007-05-05T13:04:00.000+08:00

Since i havent blogged in a long while, im using this boring windy afternoon to do it.

Buffet at M hotel, cafe 2000. Was mom's birthday so we went there to celebrate.Its my 2nd time there.I quite recommend this place, at 35++ its not really that affordable to us students, but guess once in a long long while. The food makes it all worth it.

The buffet is called a semi buffet, so theres a main course, and the buffet part consists of various appetisers,finger food and dessert. Frankly, you can get full just eating the latter. Which of course i did.

The menu :

Ive gone to this place once before so Ive tried the salmon fillet and beef tenderloin. This was the first steak ive eaten, and it was quite funny when the waiter asked and i said medium rare.Till my sister said that comes with blood in it. Found the two mains quite ok, im not a big fan of either, but they were the more interesting items on the menu

While grilled salmon i dont really appreciate, i love it raw. This was one of the sections i patronised the most. The seafood. Oysters, salmon and tuna sashimi, snow crabs, mussels.

I ate like 8 oysters since they were so fresh. I think alot of people would not like it,eating slimy stuff from a shell but its an acquired taste.

Apart from the raw stuff, there's bread, and a whole bunch of very nice looking appetisers.

Bread with various kinds of spreads. Pretty nice.

And my favourite, cold soba..

Pity the sauce wasn't that great. I even thought Sakae's might have been better. Nonetheless, i had 3 wooden containers of it.

Last but not least, was the desserts. This was perhaps one of best parts of the buffet. I wanted to try everything. But after all the aforementioned, and the fact that after army my appetite has decreased slightly i could only try a few. (which i made up for the 2nd time i went)

Chocolate fountain.Enough said.

The whole assortment of dessert cups. There were cheescakes, brownies, durian sago, fruit tarts, and my favourite was chocolate cake. Which I took the liberty of dousing in more chocolate from the fountain.Ouch..my heart.

Thats it for this food post. now im hungry..

2007-04-21T11:47:00.000+08:00

I Timothy 6:6-10 "But godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of it. But if we have food and clothing, we will be content with that. People who want to get rich fall into temptation and a trap and into many foolish and harmful desires that plunge men into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs."

In regard to a post made by another friend, and of my own personal experience while attending another church. There its sometimes preached, that by faith in God, one can expect to reap financial wealth. As in the verse above, it is obviously not true. There then comes the danger, of believing God simply because we expect a reward from it. Yes, there is a reward, but its certainly nothing monetary, and certainly far greater. That is what we know we have, and what we should look forward to.

We all work to earn a living.We want to buy cars, material possesions, food and the like. Wanting to earn more in a sense isnt really wrong especially since many of us do so to pay just for necessities like school fees. But when start to equate money as a means to living the good life. thats when we start to serve the other master. And no one can serve two.

On another note..several things have happened over the past days, im just feeling lazy to blog about them all. Photos lying in the memory card waiting to be uploaded, things stuck in my head i want to put down. The irony of it..right now I have all the time in the world.

Kl day 4

2007-04-04T23:15:00.000+08:00

Now for the final day in KL.Think it was the most eventful of all the days actually..

We decided to try the Nyamuk wall, which literally means mosquito. Like the name says, theres plenty of them, and more so since the place is kinda in a jungle.

You have to walk a short distance through a small settlement, great view of the whole wall from here. We were headed to the base through a path between 2 houses.

Theres plenty of routes here, and if not for the mosquitoes and the short hike up, would be comparable to damai. Lucky my cous brought a tube of saf repellant (one of the more useful items from there) and i used tissue paper to make a mosquito coil. I must say that thing is really strong, and only doesnt work in lim chu kang. The mosquitoes there are like in "god mode"

So off began climbing in proper. Most of the photos I took were from the wall itself, quite cool but had to be careful not to drop the camera, while holding on to the wall. The day was pretty relaxed, as most of us were tired from the 2 previous days climbing. At one point 2 of us even walked out to buy milo from the shops. Carrying the packets back through the jungle trail.

And the view from up there

And down below

And look at the puny thing that holds your life to the wall

Well till i get more pics from the others, this is it for now..

We all made our way back to the road to catch a cab back to the hostel. And what has to happen? As im approaching a cab in the middle of the road, on a red light, a motorbike that squeezed in between cars rammed right into me. Im not sure how fast it was going, but the wind got knocked out. And in a instant, the bike was in front, and i on the floor. Interestingly , I got up immediately, headed to the driver, and was trying to babble sorry are you ok or something. He was quite pissed that his mirror was dented, but got up and drove away. Later in the cab back, I realised only my ankle was sprained. Praise the Lord. Not a SINGLE other scratch.truly amazing..

Went back washed up, and ate a quick dinner. We said our goodbyes to Erin, who was staying on to fly to bali the next day. The rest of us were all headed to sg.
The bus journey back was one of reflection..God's protection throughout the trip, the evenings incident in particular. All the climbing..What started out as a trip i didnt forsee as enjoyable, was one of the best ive had.

Equator Hostel , KL, Feb 2007.

Kl - Day 3

2007-04-04T11:44:00.000+08:00

KL Part 3
Finally, lets get to this long overdue post. Might as well use this time at work, while the photos scan. Hm day 3, we decided to go to the Comic and Roadshow wall.And after being swindled
by taxi;s yet again, we found ourself by the road, looking for the stupid place. The only think in front of us was a limestone wall with rubbish piled below. Little did we know we were looking at those walls we intended to climb. They were so overgrown and decrepit, we scrapped
the plan altogether, and headed back to damai wall again. So much for what the "climb malaysia" guidebook said.

Here we are back at damai, which wasnt really a bad thing, theres so many more routes to do. Plus damai is actually
one of the most well kept climbing areas. Thanks to some locals..

Erin belaying me i think..

some of the more doable routes

What one would look like after climbing a route

My cous and brent trying a multi pitch route (where the route is so long you do it in 2 parts and both people end up at the top)
Try and spot them. Theyre above the cave, which from the previous pics, lets you know how high that is.

This is what everyone looks like at the end of the day.

Dinner was nothing fantastic, as usual we all randomly walked into a place. This time it was
a chinese coffeeshop, which already ran out of food. So whats the first thing one does? order beer.
Stupid me, i thought they were ordering cans.It came a bottle each. Ah what the heck. One bottle does
wonders to your brain on a empty stomach, which after i tried to fill with the wanton soup the shop cooked impromptu.
We visited the Time square mall later, hoping to sit on the roller coaster indoors, but it was closed.

Such a pity its closed, look at that thing..

Thats it for day 3, day 4 when i get home tonight..got to upload more pics

acceptance..

2007-04-03T23:58:00.000+08:00

Well from that song in the previous entry..I guess one can already infer. No regrets, ive done what i should have done.Maybe a little late, but I have an answer. Sad no doubt, the kind of sadness that eats deep into you.The kind that comes to you as night falls.Yet things can only get better from here..As long as each new day dawns, God intends it for something. Its his gift, and im guessing drowning myself in self pity isn't the best way to accept it.

Jer 29:11 (NIV) "For I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.

and my prayer this evening :

God grant me the serenity
to accept the things I cannot change;
courage to change the things I can;
and wisdom to know the difference.

Living one day at a time;
enjoying one moment at a time;
accepting hardships as the pathway to peace;
taking, as He did, this sinful world as it is,
not as I would have it;
trusting that He will make all things right
if I surrender to His Will;
that I may be reasonably happy in this life
and supremely happy with Him
forever in the next. Amen.

Reinhold Niebuhr (1892-1971)

its time to let go perhaps..time to let go..

congratulations

2007-04-03T23:44:00.000+08:00

BLUE OCTOBER LYRICS"Congratulations

Is that seat taken
Congratulations
Would you like to take a walk with me
My mind it kind of goes fast
I try to slow it down for you
I think I'd love to take a drive
I want to give you something
I've been wanting to give to you for years

My heart My heart, my pain won't cover up
You left me..
My heart won't take this cover up
You left me..

I came to see the light in my best friend
You seemed as happy as you'd ever been
My chance of being open was broken
And now you're Mrs. him.

My words they don't come out right
But I'll try to say I'm happy for you
I think I'm going to take that drive
I want to give you something
I've been wanting to give to you for years

My hearts My heart, my pain won't cover up
You left me..
My heart My heart won't take this cover up
You left me..

And I can't change this
I can never take it back
But now I can't change your mind
And I can't change this
I can never take this back
But now I can't change your mind
can't change your mind
Can't change you mind

Go away Make it go away Please.

so many things..

2007-04-02T14:43:00.000+08:00

Ah..sometimes i keep wondering why people have this big gap in the dates that they blog. Now i know why..sometimes you just get so lazy to add to blog.And the things pile and pile..I better get to it soon before i forget..

But theres just so many steps to get the photos from camera -- com --image host site-- blogspot.bleh. Posts without pictures just get boring sometimes..

1/1000 000

2007-03-13T22:31:00.000+08:00

One in a million, maybe more.
The chance that just this very evening,
My very worst fear i saw.

In that place so tucked away,
Yet into it they readily strayed.
They meaning two,
In that moment, what could i do.

A heart to feel, and eyes to stare
In that moment, just a glimpse was
all i dared.

Can pain be sweet?
No longer was my meal.
For my mood this evening,
Someone did steal.

Of frenzied beats and tearing eyes,
I could then have asked to die.
I punch the wall, I scream inside,
In whom could I then confide?

The one who could feel, the very same way
The same one, who makes each day.
In all His grandeur and embrace,
I look towards His loving face.

Plans to prosper not to harm,
He calls for me to take His arm.
Not a shattered heart that he cant mend.
No form of sadness can He not transcend.

May this night be ended in peace,
And the morning come, the crying cease.
My heart I give, to one alone,
Till one day soon, I will see His throne.

Kl-day 2

2007-03-11T22:33:00.000+08:00

Ok, ive finally got my blogging drive back.Weird..not that I had much to begin with..but then why did i start blogging? Ah whatever..Here goes..

Breakfast is in a hostel is kinda nice..You have all the stuff one would eat at home.Bread jam etc..So everyones still sleepy from a 6am wake up, we eat toast bread and peanut butter. Free flow coffee too..And whoever finishes first is always gracious and offers to wash up for the others who are done too.

Then off we went for our first days climb at Damai wall, Batu caves. First a short walk to catch a taxi.

The taxi drivers in KL are 2 extremes.Some are really nice, and some plain out to get your money. They dont use meters, and just anyhow quote.Unfortunately for the most part we met more of the latter. Its a 20 minute drive down to the caves. Nice driver : $12 ringgit. Un-nice driver : $20.

Finally, Damai wall in all its glory. Its pretty beautiful, just one big chunk of limestone hill. And all to ourselves when we arrived. Ah God's creations. Here we are about to climb on one of them.Amazing really..Look at that rock face just itching to be climbed..

Now the rope doesnt just magically go up. Someone has to put it there, by a process known as leading. You carry a whole bunch of karabiners and clip them in as you go up. Scary thing is, refer to the lousy diagram below, that for every few metres you climb above the last place you clipped, if you fall before the next one, youll fall double the distance. And the rock is pretty sharp. But occupational hazard i guess.

So usually the one who leads has to have some experience, and climb considerably well.Its not easy, the karabiner things are heavy, you hang on one hand while trying to clip with the other. My cousin, Brent and me set up the routes for the others. Once you lead to the top, you can anchor the rope and others wont have to lead like you did. Like so

And more climbing..

Lunch was picnic style..cheese bread mustard tuna japanese mayonaisse.What a combination. Everyone enjoyed it though..Good thing no one was picky.

I dunno why but I kept laughing when I saw the tomatoes placed like that..

After lunch more climbers came to the wall, but the grey clouds that had been looming gave way to rain. So everyone got stuck in this little shelter thing which I somehow still refer to as a training shed.Bleh..

Lucky for us, one of the people there had the keys to a gate that led the way to a huge cave on the limestone wall. Amazing, when I came years ago I was wondering how to get in there. Better yet, we could actually climb inside the cave. Stairs leading up...

Shelter from the rain, yet still being able to climb "outdoors".Haha..Great view from the mouth too..I just sat and stared out for a bit.

One of the pro malay climbers who came..

Climbing in the cave was fantastic..the routes were more challenging. But inside was quite dangerous because of loose rocks. My cousin accidentally grabbed one, and this BIG chunk of stone came tumbling down, miraculously missing every single person there (about 10 people) and landing right next to the feet of one of the belayers. Thank God.

We ended by evening, everyone exhausted. Thanks to this nice british couple who showed us how to get back by bus. Dinner was like a random pick from a row of eateries near the hostel. Indian restaurant that serves great fried rice western style.Haha..

Well thats it for this entry..Think in all id probably end by part 3 or 4.

KL day 1..

2007-03-03T23:03:00.000+08:00

My cousin kinda planned it with a friend from oregon, all while she was backpacking around the place. We went to meet her in KL to go climbing, along with a few other people, one whom we just met at the bus station. The bus ride was really good, with great seats. interesting..there wasnt any customs at mlysias side.I think they already assume we from S'pore probably wouldnt be carrying guns/drugs/illegal paraphenalia.

The bus station in KL is one of the crappiest places on earth, and looks perpetually in chaos. You get this feeling that your gonna be robbed at any second. Theres even army personnel randomly stopping people for ID. We ate and got out of there quick. Lucky one of us had a map so we walked to the hostel.Ok first ive never stayed in a hostel, so was a pretty interesting experience.

We met up with my cousins friend erin there. Now I realised i was the only "singapore" speaking guy there. My cousin included, every else spoke in accent. 2 american, 1 canadian , one german. Oh oh. Suddenly this little tinge of regret hit me.Im going to feel so awkward.. Ah well, il just wait for the climbing part. So everyone decided we would walk around and see sights first.Interesting thing about foreigners..they make friends in an instant. ie. less than a minute.

(room shared with the others..pretty decent.)

We visited the menara KL, that tall tower thing that sits on a hill. Was very funny how we just randomly walked around and around the base of the hill and found this steep jungle path that led to it when theres actually a proper nice road up.Reminded me of taiwan.I stayed downstairs with my cousin though cos we didnt wanna pay a crazy 25 ringgit to go up to the top. Bet the view would be great though.

Well we had our dinner at KLCC after that, bought some interesting groceries and planned the next days climbing..which il write about in the next post. Havent been too much in the mood for blogging lately..Somethings affecting my mood a fair bit.ah whats new..

2007-03-01T00:18:00.000+08:00

Just got back from KL not too long ago from a climbing trip..was one of the best trips ive had aside from the one with school.lots i learned.lots im thankful for.will have another entry on it soon with pictures..til then

2007-02-19T23:22:00.000+08:00

What a Friend we have in Jesus, all our sins and griefs to bear!What a privilege to carry everything to God in prayer!O what peace we often forfeit, O what needless pain we bear,All because we do not carry everything to God in prayer.
Have we trials and temptations? Is there trouble anywhere?We should never be discouraged; take it to the Lord in prayer.Can we find a friend so faithful who will all our sorrows share?Jesus knows our every weakness; take it to the Lord in prayer.
Are we weak and heavy laden, cumbered with a load of care?Precious Savior, still our refuge, take it to the Lord in prayer.Do your friends despise, forsake you? Take it to the Lord in prayer!In His arms He’ll take and shield you; you will find a solace there.
Blessed Savior, Thou hast promised Thou wilt all our burdens bearMay we ever, Lord, be bringing all to Thee in earnest prayer.Soon in glory bright unclouded there will be no need for prayerRapture, praise and endless worship will be our sweet portion there.

4 months already?

2007-02-14T22:22:00.000+08:00

4months its been since ive left the army.time flies quicker than anything.unless you;ve been rotting at home.what have i been doing.lets see..

1.Walking closer with God.(everyday)
2.Baptism (24.dec)
3.Scanning photos (job which I am very thankful for)
4.Soldering (hm sometimes)
5.Giving Tuition (the girl is so very quiet..)
6.Driving (oh no test is coming)
7.Learning the drums. (electronic drums are fun)
8.Attending 21st Bday parties (many more to go)
9.Building a computer (whyd it have to spoil just at the end? )
10.Running at ECP with army friends (new food every week..)
11.Giving up something (2 months and counting)
12.Finding courage for that 3rd outing (the hardest thing of all)
13.There could be more i havent remembered.

That many things and its only been 4 months? Come to think of it, now i feel a little bit of dread for uni..I wonder why..too used to this life? Il cross that bridge when it comes.til then..

where few men wish to tread..

2007-02-08T13:25:00.000+08:00

Just a few months before ord..we had to go for training in Brunei. Needless to say we expected nothing but jungle, jungle, and more jungle. Well we werent wrong, but we missed out one place, the swamp. Now for most people a swamp is the place you find in pasir ris park, where you enter on boardwalks, and see cute mudskippers dance on the mud. Not so in Brunei. The excercise was simple..go into the swamp, find the end point (500metres away) and get out. It should take no more than half a day. So in everyone went, in high hopes of making it out quickly and going back to camp to enjoy the canteen.

We were dropped by boat to the edge of the swamp. Several teams of about 8 people. Now the first thing one would be thinking as you step in is "WHAT THE $%^^" Had i not vowed to not swear, I would have filled in those symbols. Sharp edged stems protruding from putrid, sulphurous smelling black mud, thorn studded plants blocking your every movement. Just 500 metres of this..thats what i told myself. Grabbing a parang, we hacked through the tangled mess. My friend sank into the mud at one point, requiring 2 of us to pull him out. I was remarkably in high spirits, and we had a feeling we were almost through. Till someone started feeling nausea from the smell, and could hardly continue. What did my officer do? He thought it best to send some of us further up while the rest waited. They discovered a huge water body, which my officer felt we could not cross with my friend in that condition. And so begin our troubles. After communicating back and forth with the seriously incompetent conducting staff, we were told to find a another way out, by heading west.

Heeding this wonderful advice, and in our own state of wanting to get out, we did.And we got lost. Totally lost.A map is useless when you dont know where you are. We could only head further and further on, following the sounds of what we thought to be boats from our camp.The day wore on, it poured.The sun came out.So did the sandflies.Literally in clouds.And bit by bit that strength i had in the morning drained away.The vegetation got thicker, and parangs couldnt cut much.We simply threw our bodies down onto the plants. Or crawled on all fours.At some point my officer asked me to climb a tree.Wonderful, though risking falling and getting impaled, at least i could possibly see a path. But there was none, everything in my view, all around, was more thorny plants.

By now it was getting dark, some of the team started shouting at one another. I kept my mind by listening to my signal set, following some other drama going on with another team.Then i prayed, that we would get out before the sun set. There was no way we could spend a night inside this hell. And get out we did, we made it to a river. Just as the sun set on the horizon. Beautiful, id never seen a nicer sunset. Then it dawned on us as we waited for the extraction boat. What if they made us stay the night inside? We were told before that if we didnt finish we would have to. But surely not in this case? We were trying to get someone sick out.We had, in actuality walked 5km out of the area of operation, 10 times the original distance, through virgin swamp. Surely..
But we were wrong. The conducting major had sent word that we were to be put back at our start point..To spend the night, and to continue again in the morning.And something about not enough mileage. I could already hear talk from my team about live rounds, (which we were given to shoot crocs), malingering, and all sorts of things a desperate person can think of. 3 people "abandoned the team" on medical reasons. Even i wanted to, saying i had a headache. I prayed again,that we would not be made to go back in. But we did. On that dreary saturday night, as my other friends watched soccer and ate at the canteen, the remaining 5 of us, were seated in the boat again.Heading back to the beginning. Crestfallen, with faces looking like we;d just fought a war, we sat in silence, as the hum of the motor echoed about the river.If at anytime I had doubts with God, it was then.

But God knows what a person can go through. He heard my prayer alright, but in His grace he answered it in his own way. The boat seeemed to be taking a long time.Should it? The start point wasnt that far off..When it finally stopped, another boat came alongside, and in it, my S2. My officer talked with him, pointing out where we made it to until our friend fell sick.Who knew, the S2 had allowed us to be brought to another place to spend the night.A survival site used by the JCC people. Muddy yes, but it wasnt infested with thorns. I wasnt really feeling much better then, yet how foolish was I to doubt that God wouldnt see us through the night. My officer had for some reason brought a groundsheet. Now we could lie down. The people who left our team gave us their remaining food, and we found we had more biscuits than we could eat.Even better, 4 pieces of solid fuel. None of us had intended to bring much food, we expected to have been out by afternoon. But there we were, with more than enough. Some managed to sleep despite the sand flies, I sat awake with my friend, burning little pieces of the fuel, the warmth of the flame providing some solace from the dampness and cold.

The night passed surprisingly quick.As God had brought us light in those little pieces of fuel, so too did He by the coming of daylight. I could feel renewed strength as the day broke. We made it back in a few hours, euphoric, exhausted,covered in hundreds of sandfly bites, and im not sure about the others, grateful.

God is always with us, to the deepest depths of the ocean, there is not anywhere you can go where he is not with you.

"Don't be afraid, for I am with you. Do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you. I will help you. I will uphold you with my victorious right hand." (Isaiah 41:10)

the place where they say you;ll become a man

2007-02-08T13:13:00.000+08:00

the army..where else. Il be frank here. I do not care about the army, I do not care much for rank, basically the entire system. Despite my hatred for the colour green and what it stands for, screwed up as it was, I shall just post some of the experiences Ive had.

I dont blame God for ending up where i was, for what i had to do, more so i thank him.Maybe one day by His grace i will be able to put aside my extreme disdain.

I have come to see army not as a learning experience, but more as a time where God revealed to me my true character, and how even in the midst of such ungrace and sheer unhappiness i could see his marvelous works.

So for the next few posts..here goes.

percussion?

2007-02-04T15:43:00.000+08:00

Hm..a sudden urge to play the drums it seems. Lets see if my mom will pay for half of an electronic drumset.Dad wont be able to stand the noise of a proper one..neither will the neightbours for that matter..I wanna play for church if i can..So guess its a good cause. Something to take my mind off someone anyway..

sometimes...

2007-02-03T21:57:00.002+08:00

Well this is pretty much the view i get when i stare from my balcony at night..You get a good glimpse of the sea and stuff. Its beautiful yet i tend to take it for granted.All that openess, its hard to take it all in.You just feel so small compared to the world at times.And thats just by looking at what my 2 eyes can see from one of many balconies in the east.
Sometimes I just wish that someone was here to share it with me..As the sea breeze blows, and the headlights of cars trail behind them.the lights from the ships dotting the horizon..so much beauty,and so much beauty..

proximity.

2007-02-02T22:16:00.000+08:00

Proximity proximity, how cruel you are.
So very near, and yet so very far.

To tell you to tell you, how ive really felt.
"I like you" is that how its spelt?

That name that name, its all I can see.
Yet around you, my mind just says flee.

Courage Courage, where have you gone?
Drag this thing I have..all but too long.

But what But what..Can a guy like me do.
When he stands transfixed, oh by the likes of you.

Proximity Proximity, how good you were.
For without , would I even know her?

all creation testifies...

2007-01-30T12:31:00.000+08:00

Someone asked me why I believe in God. Well I think my answer would be quite simply this : look around you. If one cares to see past all the turmoil, the haste that swirls around us each and everyday, and focus on one very thing, creation.

Big bang ? Elements mysteriously combining to give rise to what we are today ? I think not. Sure, science explains plenty. To some it explains everything even. But I feel it does nothing more than to reveal the very splendour of our being. Can you really imagine that stuff like carbon moved around by itself and gave rise to something as complex as us humans? What made carbon then ?

The mountains..the seas. The very land we stand on. Earth. Is it not made so perfectly for us to live in? Out of all the other planets out there? How then can we simply call this creation random? We cannot even fathom how it happened. It is beyond our minds reach. Simply, we were made, and by a Being so great, so immensely beyond our ability to comprehend. Down to the very cells that comprise us, He made all of it. All creation testifies to the work of God.

God didnt just make us for the fun of it. He made us to love us and vice versa. Theres no reason to question our existence. What right do we have? For we all live to fulfil God;s purpose. And when God works in your life, you will be all the more convinced, that He is there always. Watching everything He has so beautifully made.

The virgin post

2007-01-30T12:18:00.000+08:00

The first is to be kind. The second is to be kind. And the third is to be kind." ~Henry James

Kindness..I think everyone could use a little more of it these days..

Blog;s about life, food and simply everything else. Thanks be to God always, for without which there would be none of those.