Bye 2008, Hello 2009

I can’t bear to let 2008 end, as that will mean school is going to start again! Too bad time cannot be frozen. Oh well. Reflecting on the year, it has been a wonderful year with many great things happening as I entered into another chapter of my life in university. However, there are some things which I wanted to do which I have not done, such as doing up a design for this blog! Haha.

Thank God for…

  • A smooth last four months in RSAF which ended with events such as Black Knights at the Singapore Aerospace and ORDing on 18 April 2008.
  • My 21st Birthday which was celebrated with a small party at my house
  • The Bangkok post-ORD Trip which I went with some of my batch mates and also Church Camp trip to Batam
  • The super interesting (underpaid) part-time job at Graceland
  • Admission into NUS SoC with Orientation Camp, nuSTUDIOs Film Camp and Orientation Week
  • Successful production of SUNDAY’S BEST Short Film with Jeremiah and others in church for Youth Sunday
  • Seeing me through the modules, projects, tests and exams in my first semester after 2 years of not studying
  • My new friends that I made in NUS (although not many), church, and keeping in contact with my friends from VS/VJ and my batchmates in RSAF.
  • My Baptism on 23 Nov 2008
  • Opportunities to share the gospel with my friends this Christmas season

Pressing on towards the goal…

Two more parties at my house

I hosted two parties/gatherings at my house recently.

04S64 BBQ Gathering

Last Saturday, my jc class came for a BBQ gathering at the pit downstairs my block. It was the first gathering successfully organised by jin lol. Although only less than half the class came (12 people), it was not too bad as we finally met again after so many months.

In the afternoon, jin, weeds and I met to buy some stuff at NTUC before going my house to start cooking. kx supposed to join us but as usual, he pang seh. however, jy joined us as he was free. jin taught us how to cook his very own fried rice “recipe”, while me and jy learnt and we actually tried our own pot separately. It was quite interesting and fun, especially when mine turned out slightly more salty (oops, cos I added too much soya sauce), while jy’s one turned out indescribable, as he added too many different spices (which was meant for spaghetti). He even added a tint of curry paste! lol. We decided to separate out his portion and let people try later. muhaha. Later, weeds cooked her aglio olio pasta, but there was not enough olive oil, so it was a bit dry and tasteless. But good enough lah. By the time we finished and cleaned up, we prepared to go downstairs to set up the pit.

Slightly after 5pm, we went down and jy started his skill of starting up the fire. Soon some others such as sara and jenny came. As usual, everyone else came later. JJ came and contributed his handmade sushi, which was not too bad. We started to cook the catered food such as satay, hotdogs, crabmeat, chicken wings etc. The girls also started to wrap the chocolate banana thingy which was jin’s idea. The funny thing was, kx ate the banana thinking that it was to be ate as it is! LOL. Typical kx. We made everyone try the different fried rice and they had different expressions. Some said that jy’s one, which looked like clumps of glutinous rice, was better tasting. haha.

Later more people came, and I brought down my laptop to showcase our class photos. Haha so funny, got so many photos and everyone was like overwhelmed by the things that we gone through and how some of us have changed and grown. pok was joking that I look more handsome now. lol. after eating, there was too much food leftovers and I had to keep the remaining chicken wings. The aglio olio like nobody eat so sad. At the end, I organised a simple game for everyone. It was to look at a old class photo, and to act out like the person indicated in the photo, and then also guess where/when the photo was taken. haha. it was qutie a stupid game and in the end everyone guessed very easily.

In the end, everyone helped to clean and and bring back the stuffs to my house. It was a good gathering, and I provided a lot of BBQ accessories such as charcoal and disposable utensils. kx and wx stayed back at my house to play chinese chess while the rest left.

26th NSF Gathering

On Monday, after postponing for so many days before Christmas, I finally managed to invite most of my batchmates to my house for a year-end gathering. We had a similar one last year, also at my house, so I decided to organise another one this year. It was good as 12 people out of 16 came. We watched Ghost In The Shell, a japanese anime similar to the matrix. it was actually quite boring in the middle part, and got sequel one. We had a sparkling juice toast with everyone before yip left. After that, we played munchkins fu. Even though the game was only for 6, the extension pack allowed us to play for 11. It is quite an interesting game, although its turn-based style make it quite draggy after a while. And we actually managed to play it for 3 hours until like 8.30pm when the pizza came! lol. the pizza took very long to come tho, like 1 hour after I ordered. And we tried very hard to end the game to eat the pizza, but nobody won so we kept playing until like 8.45pm when we finally managed to eat!

Somehow I still couldn’t estimate correctly the number of pizzas to order. This time, 2 pizzas was a bit little as some people can only eat one slice. Next time must note that each pizza has 8 slices and each person should be allowed to eat at least two slices.

After dinner and chit chat, I screened the STEPS short film which mh, zy and me did during our term time for our film art module. I also screened the My Hope Singapore video on Neville Tan and used the opportunity to share how I became a Christian. Everyone had a great time, it was 11pm and they have to leave before the last bus goes.

I Celebrate The Day – Relient K

And with this Christmas wish is missed
The point I could convey
If only I could find the words to say to let You know how much You’ve touched my life
Because here is where You’re finding me, in the exact same place as New Year’s eve
And from a lack of my persistency
We’re less than half as close as I want to be

And the first time
That You opened Your eyes did You realize that You would be my Savior
And the first breath that left Your lips
Did You know that it would change this world forever

And so this Christmas I’ll compare the things I felt in prior years
To what this midnight made so clear
That You have come to meet me here

To look back and think that
This baby would one day save me
In the hope that what You did
That you were born so I might live
To look back and think that
This baby would one day save me

And I, I celebrate the day
That You were born to die
So I could one day pray for You to save my life

Christmas Parties

#1: Young Adults @ Kristen’s House

On Saturday, I went out shopping with Louis and Weiyi to Chinatown and Bugis Junction. Then they dragged me to the party at Kristen’s house in Pasir Ris. Her house is very nice, and the attic has a nice view of Ubin and the sea. It was quite fun actually, played some ice-breaker games such as charades, happy family cards, had great food as usual. Then came the My Hope session, which was quite interesting. Louis, Youde and I shared the gospel and chat with Weiyi’s friend’s boyfriend. We had passing-the-puzzle gift exchange too.

#2: Teenedge

Sunday Morning went to take photos for the Sunday School Chronicles of Hope. Everywhere was filled with cotton wool and styrofoam snow until they were stuck to our shoes and jeans lol. After the event, the snow spilled out to the corridor and church office! At Teenedge, there were quite a few new-comers for My Hope and it was very lively sharing. Eugene and Joelle shared their testimonies after which we split into groups. After that, there was lotsa good food as everyone brought in great stuff for the potluck!

#3: Family Gathering

After church went to my aunt’s house for family gathering. My aunt organised some simple games, such as guessing who’s in which photo for the kids, bingo and there was food (of course!), carolling logcake. woo. We also had gift exchange for one another. I think I ate the most today…

#4 Jordanites at The Rivervale

Monday morning went out early to meet Jere, Bryan and Lynnette. We ate lunch and then went to Elisha’s condo function room to setup and prepare. I invited Vic, mf, kx and jr and I was very glad that they came. We played some icebreakers – bingo, charades and smell/touch the food/object blindfolded, such as peanuts, seaweed, handphone and water. Haha. After that was the My Hope video screening (the 4th time I’ve watched it!) and the testimonies of Elisha, Lynnette and Xiang Yu. After that, we split into groups for sharing. After dinner, I led the caroling, it was quite good as most people sang. Very cool. The gift exchange led by Bryan was quite fun as it was slightly different than usual passing around. We passed the puzzle around like so many times as we tried different styles. After everything, we had some free and easy time when we watched Mind Your Language. So funny.

#5 Zhen Yang and Eva’s Party

On Christmas Eve, went shopping with Weiyi again! lol. Went to queensway and wheelock. Orchard was so crowded. It was raining, and I had to travel to Eva’s house in some ulu place in Telok Kurau. ZY had a chocolate fondue machine and it was very fun (and sinful). There were mash mallows, strawberries, bananas, bread and cheesecake to dip! I loved the cheesecake. They also made many finger food such as mini pizzas, otah, fishballs, tuna etc. We watched Enchanted, played some games like Uno cards and Big 2, exchanged presents and counted down to Christmas. Drank sparkling juice and some light vodka orange. The gift exchange / lucky draw was quite lame and funny as there were some “lousy” presents like a packet of milk tea, free water bottle from NUS and other funny stuff. Haha. I received some NUS Soc CD Rack. -.- I think this party was the most interesting one with the best food. haha.

Christmas Day

Church was normal, was doing MM. Gave Jere a box of tea leaves and gave 4 Purpose Driven Life books to 4 boys. I didn’t receive many big presents 🙁 The rest of the day was pretty boring, went to town with some church friends, chilled out at Olio Dome and walked around. Outside Plaza Sing was a nice manger scene with all the statues and storyboards which were very cool. Orchard Road was closed and it was fun to walk on the road and check out the various floats on display. In the night, we tried to catch a glimpse of the Celebrate Christmas In Singapore concert organized by the National Council of Churches, but it seemed to be quite boring. During one of the dance performances, there was an old man who started dancing along the road. Then an African joined in and then soon many Singaporeans gathered around to watch. lol. so funny, like people crowd around, then more people will crowd around effect. haha. After 9pm, we went home.

7 Years On…HeartCore Camp & Xiuhui’s Wedding

Today marks 6…oops I counted wrongly 7 years of my salvation. Time flies. Pressing on towards the goal.

I’m still trying to understand what Ps Watchman told me during HeartCore camp, he mentioned that I will see things in the 4th dimension and will grasp hold of this vision that God will be giving me…hmm. HeartCore Camp was great, it was only 2 days and no stayover, but had fun with the teens. The primary 6 kids are really irritating and naughty, and they kept asking questions. For example, when I was eating breakfast with them, they asked my age, why I kept drinking the tea using a teaspoon instead of from the cup, did I went to army already etc. I wonder if I was like that last time. They are also very fidgety and cannot stand still, and will not answer questions when you ask them. Other than that, the worship sessions was great with Matt leading, and the younger ones learnt new things. I learnt that it is important to remove distraction.

Holidays so far been playing computer games and doing mostly church stuff. Today is Xiuhui’s and Ben’s wedding. Congrats to them! I helped them do MM, edited some video last minute last night, play the videos and the slides for worship. Ben, being a pilot, wore RSAF No.1 uniform and there was a sword party lined up along the aisle as they walk through, which was really cool. It was quite touching and moving to see them go through the ceremony and thank their parents, family and friends at the end. When Ben was thanking his mum, I was thinking, my mum would never physically witness my wedding in future…

my mum’s birthday is two days later.

SMS Etiquette

Sometimes I don’t understand why people have a habit of not replying SMSes. Not replying emails can understand, since some people don’t check their email everyday and hence they take some time to reply. Although it will be better if they can check their email everyday.

However, SMS is instant, and if you are not attending an important class or meeting, shouldn’t you reply sooner or later? If there is a lag time of a few hours due to your important meeting, then it is still okay. Or if you are overseas then of course cannot reply or too expensive to do so. But I have friends who take one whole day or more to reply a simple question (such as, will you be coming tomorrow?) Otherwise, the worse case is that they don’t reply at all, leaving me to wonder if they received my message and then I have to message them to ask again. Some give the excuse that they are thinking of what to reply. Well, if you are undecided, then reply and say you can’t decide! At least I know what you are up to and you are still alive, safe and sound.

Of course, this is assuming that my original SMS to them is a question and not a statement. If the SMS is not meant to be a question, then perhaps there is no need to reply. But more often than not, the above described scenarios are in the cases of questions.

Well, calling is still a better mode of communication of course. I can only blame myself as sometimes I feel lazy to call for unimportant things. But at least I try to practice good SMS etiquette on my part, and you should too.

Chuck Things Aside

Finally the semester has ended! My exams finished on tuesday, although I was already quite slack on monday after marketing paper as the next day was film art which is open book. cs1231 was bad bad bad, merging functions, relations, sets and recursion all together! marketing I was stunned at the first question, other than that it was not too bad. The other papers were do-able.

And now I can chunk things aside and enjoy myself for the next 5 weeks =) I managed to pack my table today, which was piling up with lotsa papers and notes and stuff. The good thing about the modular system of study is that I can “throw away” most of the things after each semester, safely put them aside, archive the files (both digital and hard copy) and not to touch the (dreadful) subjects again.

Red Alert 3 is a bit dumb, very cartoonish. Quite disappointing after the nice cinematics. Other than packing my table and my cupboard, today was an uneventful day.

Went Escape Theme Park on Wednesday with my brother. realised that it wasn’t changed much since the last time I went there. It’s quite disappointing, as most of the rides were more for family and children, no kick one. the indoor roller coaster was closed. only the go-kart was fun. luckily it was free tickets otherwise would be quite waste of money. would never go back there anymore…looking forward to Resorts World at Sentosa!

Yesterday was Vic’s birthday. We bought a cake for him and had a mini-celebration at yt’s house. haha.

The Day Crabs Invaded My Room

Disclaimer: This post contains graphic description of some harm to animals. Proceed only if you do not mind reading.

It was about 1.30am, I was at my computer as usual doing some stuff, and I wanted to go to the toilet. Just then, I saw this huge grey thing at my door. And I thought, what the heck is that? Is it a mouse? Eh wait, no. It’s crawling sideways. OH MY GOODNESS. It’s a bloody CRAB! ALIVE IN MY ROOM! I quickly typed “WTH THERE’S A BLOODY CRAB IN MY ROOM” to the people I’m talking to MSN. I was darn stunned cos I didn’t know my dad bought live crabs home, as I didn’t see them in the kitchen when I came home. My dad put them in a pot on the floor and didn’t cover them. Then I thought, what should I do to it now? Smack it with a book? Eh no, that’s for a cockroach. lol.

So I went to the kitchen and grabbed a pair of tongs. I tried to provoke it, it looked at me with curious eyes as if spying at me and tried to defend itself. I hit it hard on its shell until it [cracked and it] was less aggressive. (Sorry for my cruelty…) Then I “kiap” it and returned it to the pot in the kitchen which it originally crawled out from. There was another of his friend inside.

Just when I thought all was over and I had to clean up the floor of my room, I spotted another one my living room! AH! I shouted out loud. Oh darn. What on earth! I had to do the same thing with the tongs again. But this time I accidentally overturned it on its back and all the grey fluid from it came out. Gross. Yucks. I attacked it again, one of its claw got detached by itself. [not my fault ah.] Picked it up and return it and then I’ve to clean up the mess and mop the floor.

That’s the scariest thing that has ever happened in my room. Oh my. I can’t imagine what would have happened if I was asleep, my door was open, it crawled in, and went on my bed. Ew. Before I slept, I went to check on them and made sure the pot was covered and the crabs were not moving. [as if checking on my pets like that. lol.]

This is so funny. I could have taken a video of it, would be so funny. Imagine crabs invading and taking over the earth a la matrix style. lol. would make a good film. Maybe I should make one in future. lol.