Tuesday, January 30, 2007
my misty lamplit road
  i was takin a slow stroll back up cashew rd after YAM, just soaking in the misty street atmosphere and icy wind against my skin when it dawned on me how beautiful this place is. it really is, and so i strolled a lil slower and whipped out my cam to take a few pics to act as mementos in aussieland with me. it also dawned on me that i wouldn't be visiting this road anymore for a good 4 months at least, and so should really take some mental pictures as well.
the opportunity to be overseas studying, to grow up, to learn the meaning of independence, all comes at a price, and that price is being paid by the parents. i know there is no room for screwups this time, and i gotta make good. i've heard stories of how people changed course because it was a lil tough and a lil too technical for comfort, and i pray i'll be able to hang in there and take the bull by its horns, God-willing. judging by how things are going here now in sg, it looks like opposite poles clash when i finally live on my own, sooooooo, brace yourself chris! a lil sleep, a slil slumber, and poverty shalt come upon you. much is given, and thus much is expected.
will you do God proud today with your choices and stands?
paN!cker lost it at 1:39 am
Friday, January 26, 2007
colourless green ideas sleep furiously
apparently there's always meaning to anything, it's just how you interpret it. and so ............. it's been a bamboozling two weeks, and things are happening and happening and i'm just kinda lost, right. so many things done, and so much left to do. i owe my mum far too much man! paybax time in aussieland when she's not around.
we all said goodbye to pastor ian on 14th jan, their family prolly in laos for a good 5-6 years. SJSM practically flooded T1 to bid farewell, and hong an ended real upset and teary as well. at least it didn't turn emo, cos there were just too many people there. it's a real waste i didn't get to know p.ian betta and as well as i woulda liked but we'll meet again one day, someday ... and till then, email/blog/msn! haha.
i've been lazy and a relatively bad son otherwise. since my mum is so thorough and thinks of stuff i cannot see myself even vaguely covering in the course of preparing for australia, i've been slacking and leaving all the thinking to her. it's just so easy to let go and let someone else do the planning for you innit. that made her rather upset, and with good reason as well. i've been doing a bit more (a BIT ... slowly la) lately, setting up the webcam and getting the camera charged and testing the portable HDD, but there's tonnes more to be done and i'm nowhere near! however it is a good start and i've finally penned down a long but in no way exhaustive list of stuff to do.
till date, i have:-
1. gone for medical check-up for student visa, and promptly gotten approval.
2. achieved gold for my FIRST NSman IPPT!!! $400 in the kitty! by God's mighty and merciful grace i tell ya, i ran 9:44 for 2.4km, God provided just enough steam to carry me through. this shows that training on long d has minimal effect on short d.
3. bought whole host of stuff, like camera/webcams/portable HDD(Ovation, Seagate)/running shoes/tracksuit/dri-fit, climalite running vests/new sports glasses
i have to apply for disruption of NS liability tho, if i'm to leave without them thinking i'm running away.
i also had a stayover at my place 19th night till 21st when we went to church together. i initially thought camp comm. + new year's gang would suffice, as i didn't want my place overpopping like a coolie house, but quite a few couldn't make it so i shoulda invited more people. but oh well it's just one of those things, and having less people DID make it more cosy and less marketplacey, tho abigail tried to make it seem so, HAHA. she's just too hyper man, and might i add, whiny? oh and since i'm on a roll, yeah violent too. isabel's mum bought a REAAAALLLLYYYY super duper nice chocolate truffle(i think .. i'm a cake noob =[ ) cake that was simply sinful and like aweesome. i loved it. well then we watched some movies like
1. 8 below (not 8 UNDER ..)
2. runaway vacation
3. garfield 2
4. john tucker must die (chick flick)
5. zoolander (evergreen classic)
6. monty python and the holy grail (roflmao brit humour)
7. plenty who's line episodes
all that topped off with plenty of running at the sunset way canal. in fact, i ran almost 17km yesterday in total (~7km[my house to sunset] + 4.6km[one complete round] + 5km) which resulting in me really feeling my legs today la, as in the 24th, erm not 25th. but i love this kinda pain, quite shiok, and no i'm not sadist or anything.
i actually attended a SERVE session today! the speaker was this barry leong i think, and boy is he humourous. topic was godly choices and he really made it a lively session. i'm glad i went, got down some notes on choices regarding $$, relationships, personal issues, beliefs. after that, we had lunch opposite the school, before adjourning to a house somewhere in tampines/simei to play balderdash. hahah it's really a funny funny game. you can either try to go for points, or just come up with the most ridiculous answers ever and get everyone roflmao'ing along with you. when they went swimming i decided to leave with one of their group members since she was leaving too. and so i am dead tired, and tomorrow calls for more. till later, laters!
paN!cker lost it at 1:42 am
Wednesday, January 24, 2007
light up!
I'll sing it one last time for you
Then we really have to go
You've been the only thing that's right
In all I've done
And I can barely look at you
But every single time I do
I know we'll make it anywhere
Away from here
Light up, light up
As if you have a choice
Even if you cannot hear my voice
I'll be right beside you dear
Louder louder
And we'll run for our lives
I can hardly speak I understand
Why you can't raise your voice to say
To think I might not see those eyes
Makes it so hard not to cry
And as we say our long goodbye
I nearly do
Light up, light up
As if you have a choice
Even if you cannot hear my voice
I'll be right beside you dear
Louder louder
And we'll run for our lives
I can hardly speak I understand
Why you can't raise your voice to say
Slower slower
We don't have time for that
All I want is to find an easier way
To get out of our little heads
Have heart my dear
We're bound to be afraid
Even if it's just for a few days
Making up for all this mess
.........................
Light up, light up
As if you have a choice
Even if you cannot hear my voice
I'll be right beside you dear
snow patrol - run
paN!cker lost it at 3:36 am
Friday, January 12, 2007
flip the page
it's a new chapter! colour my world.
paN!cker lost it at 3:42 pm
paranoid android
if people with visual impairment can complete triathlons and PhDs through painstaking toil and commitment, then what more for my case? God's blessed me with all working faculties, and they work more than fine. i've got a good head on me shoulders, and the Holy Spirit my guide! dammit i'll be fine! stop the worrying, it'll work out. it'll be tough oh yes, but it'll work out. won't it? hmmm. quell the fears within me O Lord. Remind me to look at the One who's conquered death. Is anything too tough that the strength of the Lord cannot overcome? only good plans, only good plans for those who trust and obey.
paN!cker lost it at 1:20 am
Thursday, January 11, 2007
the penultimate day at work
these few months of working draw quickly to a close, and suddenly tomorrow is my last day. remind me never to go for 9-6 jobs that practically make you sit still(very still), staring at a screen the whole day long. soooooooo sleeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeepy it's unbelievable, no matter what time you sleep the night before, 9pm, 10pm, you'll still feel sleepy at some point, like -now-. well ok i slept at 2am, thanks to the terms of business conditions that i had to compile into an excelsheet.
wei liang had his nights out last night, and while his friends played dota at bt timah, he called me to ask if he could come over! and so he did, bringing much cheer to me(and himself i guess). we had some char siew bao from crystal jade, and -plenty- of durian to go down with it. well so we just chatted and caught up and dissed people on msn, like abi, bahahahaha ehhemmm right.
i think the consistency from the 06 camp has really lasted the longest, of all the camps i've been to, and the feeling's great. it's not exactly over-the-moon kinda great, like ohh i feel God everywhere at home in the office in the bathroom, but i've been consistent in spending time with Him and talking to him, even if my prayers may not be very in depth or coherent at 0630 in the morning. if i find i wake up too late to do QT, then i'll just pore through some material on the bus to work and pray some, er and sleep some. it kinda feels like life has just begun, how late. tsk, betta late than never.
i look at the calendar, and it's really only a month till i leave for the very very distant far away land of..... brisbane australia, to conquer sport science at UQ. i think i chose UQ almost purely based on the support i'd find from church and poly friends already studying there; in terms of research done on the uni i think i did the least on UQ, but in the end chose it. not really the way it's supposed to work is it. i hope i made the right decision. even if it's the wrong decision, i'm sure God has his ways and means of making it right. apparently UWA is really reputable for sport science, so maybe i'll do my masters there haha! anw i'll really miss everyone and everything and my home here, i wonder how long i'll be homesick man. i've decided to get a portable HDD so i can transfer everything from my com and bring it with me, so even without the gaming capabilities of my com, i still have my media and pictures and chords and whatnot. that will go a long way in quelling the homesickness. and so i kinda feel like
excited!/scared/sad/happy/excited!/jittery/homesick(already?!?!)
haha, anw next week i can finally go get stuff and plan my getaway properly, and hopefully finalise accomodation so i have a roof over my head when i get there! apart from that, i'll be intent on catching up all i can with you peeps and taking like a gazimibillion photos to add to the collection lol. maybe plan on how to play it cool on the day i leave also, man that's gonna be hard.
chris: so yea you mofos keep it cool and down on tha low now brothas and sistahs, peace from me to ya'll ya be diggin' me?!
everyone: bye chris.
*breaks down and cries*
that is one helluva situation to avoid. or maybe i'll be spending so much time saying goodbye and hugging everyone that i miss the flight entirely, even through all the last calls. that will most certainly invoke emotions of a different kind, but hey probably no tears involved!
paN!cker lost it at 12:27 pm
Tuesday, January 09, 2007
as suffering also, is a gift
for in suffering, we grow, and learn, and appreciate God and what he has done and continues to do in our lives. therefore, be wary when you pray for "good things", you might just get your wish, muahahaha. Think this is rather applicable, for anyone who comes in contact with .... people, to keep in mind.
Let your conduct be worthy of the gospel of Christ, . . . stand fast in one spirit, with one mind striving together for the faith of the gospel. - Philippians 1:27
wherever you are, wotever yor doing, let it be something that Jesus would be happy to see you doing.
---------------------------------------------------
on another totally unrelated note, God thank you, you made it work. sigh, there was the nativity story, i think mine is the naivety story. i didn't have any backup plan should my booking of acjc field fail, and so it was that it failed and we didn't get the field. i actually called to book on the friday before the new year's weekend, so of course no coaches were around. lai na couldn't confirm the field for me, and she said she'd have to wait for weds when everyone was back. i think i was too much into the "God is in control" bit, and forgot that normal sensible common sense things like looking quickly for alternative fields should be arranged. i think i knew acjc was a really good place to hold it, and i didn't want to book like bukit timah field or something where there was no place for the supporters to sit, except on the sidelines, which as i type this doesn't seem like sucha bad idea urghx500. so i just let it slip and slide and i called on weds and she couldnt give a reply, same with thursday. i was pretty sure the field would be ours, since it's orientation week and who has hardcore training on the first weekend of school start!?! and indeed nobody, not the soccer coach, not the rugby coach(like lai na claimed), had use for the field from 1500 - 1700. it took a reason akin to "we need to let our land fallow" to stop them from renting the field out to us. lei yao mo gao chor ahhhhhh! i was devastated when she told me they needed to let the field rest. somewhere in the recesses of my mind i was going "ehh this one pastor ian's testimonial leh God why like that one! what happened to God is in control!?"
but, God was in control, thereby proving puny morbo-loving human wrong again. i booked the court for 1400 - 1800, with no hitches at all, and surprisingly, on a saturday, nobody even came down to the court during those hours we were there. amazing. dinner was great as well, i ate and ate so many cereal prawns, mmMmmm, and the fried fish was good too. the turnout was awesome, and the fellowship was awesome. wheww ......
sunday was quite an emotional time as well as hilarious, what with jimmy hosting the pastor ian farewell show, haha. it's amazing the kind of stuff people think up, beautiful. the testimonies were heartfelt and sincere, and only because pastor ian and family have been nothing short of that as well. we'll miss you guys loads man, but blog on brudda, and the kontact will still be there la.
useful updates btw, i fly on 13th Feb 2110hrs, so i gotta be at airport by 1900hrs. i stop work end of this week woohooo, a little sad to be leaving magenta, a little relieved because i have 100% time back to start prepping for the lil roadtrip to aussieland, as well as hang with you awesome people who totally rawk ma socks. there can never be enough catching up can there? i don't know what the future holds man, so uncertain! but i know it's gonna be good things, remember "good" things. many lessons will be learnt man, and i'll be loving it, i think. i have rachel, lemuel, kelvin, patrick, and i'm sure some other friends who are in UQ as well whom i don't know are in UQ atm. i'll miss everyone loads dardarndarn. take deep breaths, step at a time. =)
paN!cker lost it at 11:17 am
Thursday, January 04, 2007
secret happenings at my table
that's right. i've been rather busy at my desk tryna rally people together the whole day. after probably blowing the phone bill last december(last december?! sounds far away), i'm goin it again this jan. i shoulda brought my hp charger to work, first time my 30-40% drained so fast! or maybe it's only cus abi indirectly FLUNG my phone onto the floor, thereby bringing to an end all the good that my phone had in it. =)
so don't be fooled. while i type furiously(sending mails out and typing this blog entry), make phone calls(confirm timing and venue), and jot down notes(confirmed players, confirmed diners), all this comes to nought for my company. haha but lest you think i'm an uber slacker, i really have not much to do, since it's the start of the month and bills that were meant to be paid have been paid, and all the end of month stuff was done before genevieve(the ex-administrator) left. also, i took over her duties like ..... after 2 days of a sum total of maybe 2 hours understudying, so not much comes to my mind that i gotta get done.
and just in case this saves me some extra $, i'm gonna broadcast this.
Pastor Ian's Testimonial Match
Date: 06 JAN 2007
Time: 1400 hrs
Venue: ACJC Soccer Field
Pastor Ian's Post-Match Dinner
Date: 06 JAN 2007
Time: 1900 hrs
Venue: Singapore Poly Staff Restaurant (near Gate 3)
if yor reading this from like, finland, or netherlands, or cyprus or something, and feel like coming down, by all means do. JUST DROP ME AN SMS @ 91451456 that yor coming for dinner please, before friday if possible. It's free cos the soccer boys will share the cost; we just need to cater accurately.
arhhm, back to my Ops Report. ta!
paN!cker lost it at 3:46 pm
Wednesday, January 03, 2007
pure joy
gave my S1 branch a call today. turns out since i ord'ed in october, i'm considered a "newly-posted" nsman, which means i am not liable for this saturday's call up!! God be praised indeed, i can be there! woo hoooo, i can't even describe how happy i am.
anyway i'm settling into my new temporary stop-gap measure role of company administrator/secretary and i'm like a blind bat knocking into stuff everywhere. but at least the good news has lifted me spirits and i can approach this thing better.... goodgood. can't be all that hard can it? ops specs are never fazed by anything! except maybe admin/secretarial roles ... :/
paN!cker lost it at 10:55 am
Monday, January 01, 2007
relient
no other way is there.. sigh. the proposer and chief culprit of pastor ian's soccer testimonial match may not even be there! turns out my mob manning (2-9 jan) is gonna activate on 6 jan. so i'll like miss everything. more and more i realise i can't really take care of these testing situations that pop up, except through the intervention of God, and maybe he allows such things to be so that we will realise that.
my gameplan is to settle my studies and get confirmation, fax over the documentation to my manpower branch and request to skip the mob, since i'm disrupting my NS liability anyway. i mean like my friend jonathan who disrupted his liability to study in SMU, didn't even get the mob manning notification! gahhhhhhh. everything is in God's hands. God is in control.
Isaiah wrote, "You will keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on You, because he trusts in You" (Isa. 26:3).
and so, all that's left is for me to do just that, stay my mind on the person of Christ.
paN!cker lost it at 10:36 pm
|