Public Prayer

I was reading part of the church manual when i came to this. I'll quote:

Public Prayer "Christ impressed upon His disciples the idea that their prayers should be short, expressing just what they wanted, and no more. . . .

Page 73

One or two minutes is long enough for any ordinary prayer." Testimonies, vol. 2, p. 581.

"When you pray, be brief, come right to the point. Do not preach the Lord a sermon in your long prayers." Testimonies, vol. 5, p. 201.

"Let those who pray and those who speak pronounce their words properly and speak in clear, distinct, even tones. Prayer, if properly offered, is a power for good. It is one of the means used by the Lord to communicate to the people the precious treasures of truth. But prayer is not what it should be, because of the defective voices of those who utter it. Satan rejoices when the prayers offered to God are almost inaudible. Let God's people learn how to speak and pray in a way that will properly represent the great truths they possess. Let the testimonies borne and the prayers offered be clear and distinct. Thus God will be glorified." Testimonies, vol. 6, p. 382.

I think of the prayers people give during the worship. Some of them can last for 5 minutes. Hmmm....perhaps the old adage of "short and sweet" applies.

There are indeed interesting things written in the church manual. I was reading the part about Sabbath School since i've a meeting tomorrow about that.

Rich Dad Poor Dad

I'm currently reading the book Rich Dad, Poor Dad. I've been curious as to why it's been a bestseller for the past few years but never got to reading it until i got into this retirement mood and was at MPH when i decided to buy it to give me some retirement ideas. I'm barely a quarter way through and already i'm hooked to this book. I liked the idea that he mentioned most of us work for money instead of letting money work for you. Even better is, almost the whole world have this concept from their parents: "Go to school, study hard, so you can get a good job and earn good money". My own parents said that to me too and so once i was out from university i had this career ladder in my mind that i would climb (slowly). We've all been brainwashed to go this path and never thought how else we can be rich. As i'm barely a quarter way through i haven't got the whole picture of what the author is putting forth but basically this book is about challenging societal's concepts of finance and how you can make yourself rich.

Josh Mcdowell

Tonight i attended Josh Mcdowell's seminar. He's a relationship guru and the 3 hour talk was extremely insightful. It broke down some of the beliefs about relationships and how to treat children especially. Well, he kept mentioning examples on how he treated his own 4 children. There are a couple of things i picked up. I'll be reading his books to further establish some of his findings.

- Don't say "Because the Bible says so". For example if a kid asks you, "Why can't i kill?" Don't just tell him "Because the Bible says so". Share also why it says so. If not, you become a legalist.
- The Father has an extremely important role to play in a child's development. The absence of the father results in a phenomenal incidence in negative behaviour and activity for the child when he's in his late teens.
- The best way to reduce the number of times you need to discipline a child is to have a lifestyle of catching them doing things right and expressing appreciation. To me it's like training a dolphin by giving it fish when it does something right. Pay attention to what they do right so they too will pay attention to what's right.
- Don't tell your kid "Can't you see i'm busy?" when he comes up to you in the middle of a conversation. It's obvious your kid can see it but you're telling him that you love him BUT that he's not important enough as other things come before him. Give the kid priority always.

Ok, these are just some of the things i picked up during the seminar. Will be going to the next one tomorrow night.

2005 Hennessey SRT-10 Viper Venom 1000.

NICE

This has got to be the best rear (for a car) i've ever seen.

monday

i'm in the office and i thought i'll blog abit. My company will be going to Batam this friday. They call it a team building session.It's a day activity and we'll be back in Singapore around 630pm. Good thing coz it's before Sabbath. I've no intention of staying out into the Sabbath hours instead of being at home resting or at church.
Yesterday i finally signed up for an insurance package. It's a medical insurance package. Actually it's 2 of them so it can cover almost 100% of my hospital bills if i ever go in there. These insurance agents have been pursuing me like paparazzi since June and i kept telling them i'll only have the mood to look into insurance at the end of the year so it wasn't procrastination. And the kinda frustrating thing is they seem so insecure such that they have to meet up with me almost every week. It's as if having a gf who is so insecure that she wants to meet you everytime instead of trusting you. Why do insurance agents behave like insecure partners??? Thankfully one of them isn't like that. She's my primary sch classmate and she respected my decision and only got back to me this month without bugging me too much. (No prizes on who i signed under.) I think what this world lacks is trust. Then again, there are alot of reasons why ppl don't trust. It's because the other party play them out. So to have a fully trusting society is difficult unless everyone works together.

Oh yes, and i'm in need of cash to get a notebook and a desktop. The main reason is because i need it for video editing of which my present computers are too old to support it. The other things on my wish list is a smart phone and later on an mp3 player. No wait, the smart phone will handle that. So it's just this:
-Notebook
-Desktop
-Smartphone

And realistically speaking, i'll be able to afford all these before my birthday on 23rd march. But i'm impatient!

Anticonformity

"I am a 16-year-old girl who loves God and who stands up for "anticonformity" says rock artist Krystal Meyers. "I've chosen to find my identity in God instead of society. There are too many people doing what they shouldn't, and I don't want to be like that. I don't want to bow down to those pressures so I'm not going to." Read more

I bought her CD at the Integrity Media Asia sale 2 weeks back and the first time i heard it, she reminded me of Avril Lavinge. Sounds abit like her. But the big difference is that she's very very mature spiritually. Her lyrics says it all. Look at most of the bands now. Most of them have lyrics associated with sex, violence, suicide, profanity and romance. And to think she's only 16 and going against the flow!!!

In Singapore i see many youths sucked into the whirlpool of the herd instinct. They can be as young as 10 to as "old" as 23 and you see them being rebellious to their parents, speaking like a profanity dispenser and dressing up like their bad-boy/girl idols just to look cool and hip. Why are they like that? Coz they are just following what their peers are doing. Some of them also embrace more adult(not the X-rated kind) topics and spew them out in conversations just to sound more knowledgable than their classmates or to be IN with people older than them not realising that they're so weird not acting their age. The main reason for all this is to be a part of their friends' lives. As a result, they conform to the behaviours and actions of their peers and the resulting conglomeration is people who don't bother to think what is right or wrong. The only thing that they care about is whether what they do is what would be accepted by their peers. Attention seeking is at the top of their list. They say lame jokes(some damaging and degrading) just to gain some connection with their friends and to score points with them rather than talking what's wholesome or at the very least, not at the expense of someone else. It's just so sad hearing all this crap from youth.

There's something better than being a part of the IN gang. It's to be different like Christ was different when He was here. And when we strive to be Christlike, it tells others that you're bold and strong enough to go against the flow. It tells others that you have your own brain and that you've chosen what is the right way to lead your own life. Rather than letting others mould and shape you, you let God's word do it. That to me is cool.


Edit: The herd instinct can be seen in ppl my age too who want to act up to date especially with regards with western behaviours.

I'll be going to Egypt and Israel in June 2006. Thomson church is organising the 12 day trip and when i heard from jeff about it, i wanted in. 3.5k is the sum. Seems like i gotta do some planning to cough out that amount by then. Would affect my retirement plans abit but, i gotta do it.

Got myself an 80GB, 5400rpm, 8mb cache Fujitsu hard disk at SITEX at $210 with casing. What a bargain. As usual, i went to all the stalls making sure that i looked through all available options before i decided which to get. I'm happy with my portable hard disk because it's very very slim and can even fit into some shirt pockets. I love it.

Next thing i need to get is a notebook AND a desktop. The notebook would be for church work while the desktop would be for playing games..kekeke. Ok, that means all in all it would be 4k. Hmm...maybe i'll be able to get them in January.

Memories

In our lives there are certain things we can't forget. not because we choose to remember them but because we can't dislodge it from our minds. These memories can be good or bad and usually the ones that leave an imprint in our minds are those that have impacted our lives greatly. And it is through such experiences that our character, behaviour and mindsets are molded and shaped upon. A bad accident you had in your life can leave you with a spiteful attitude or provide motivation to take control of your own life and change it for the better. There are some memories that i have that can't go away easily(not that i want to let them go) but it seems like i'm reminded of it in my daily living and i just think, if only it could have been better.

The best in you

These pictures are of Hurricane Katrina. They are very beautiful and when i see storms such as these, it reminds me of God's power.

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What we don't know and What we do know

What we don't know and What we do know
anonymous



What we don’t know for Certain?


1. We don't know for certain if non-living things gave rise to living material, i.e. spontaneous generation.

2. We don't know for certain how the a cell with all it's complexities could evolve.

3. We don't know with any certainty that any form of evolution has ever taken place outside of micro-evolution.

4. We don't know with any certainty that transitional forms (missing links) have been or will ever be found.

5. We don't know with any certainty exactly how the fossil column was formed. Did it take millions of years or is it a result of mass burial in catastrophic form?



What we do know for certain?

1. We do know for certain that by Pliny Younger (62-c.115), a Roman proconsul in Bithynia wrote a letter to The Roman Emperor, Trajan about AD 110 complaining of a new sect called Christians, who had been founded by "their leader Christ". The historical proof is found in letter 97 of book 10 of "Letters".


2. We do also know for certain that Tacitus (AD. 56– 117), a Roman Historian wrote Nero (AD 37– 68), of his contempt of Christians who he said got their name from a man know as "Christ Jesus." Tacitus went of to name exact names and events all found in the modern day bible. You can read about this your self in Tacitus' work Annual (book 15, chapter 44).

3. We do know for certain that in AD 180 Celsus wrote his famous work attacking Christians yet admitting their growth had become ramped all ready by this date.


4. We do know for certain the Talmud (ancient Jewish historical source) makes mentions of a Teacher or Rabi named Yeshu (Jesus) who died young on the cross.


Rev. I. B. Pranaitis revealed in The Talmud Unmasked that Jesus is also maligned as a false teacher:

"… He[Jesus] is referred to in the Talmud as Otho Isch- "That man," i.e. the one who is known to all. In the tract Abhodah Zarah, 6a, we read: "He is called a Christian who follows the false teachings of that man […] "The one who was hanged" (on the cross)…" 2.

5. We do know for certain there was a Historical Jesus. That he really lived, that he really walked the earth, and He really claimed to be the Son of God. We know this because of the abundance of unquenchable historical proof.


BUT... do we know if this Historical Jesus was the living Son of God?


That is harder to answer. However, Math offers scientific evidence that Jesus is the Living Son of GOD!

Jesus fulfilled over 60 old testament Messianic prophecies. However, Author Josh McDowell calculated the odds of Jesus fulfilling only eight of the Messianic prophecies as 1 out of 1017 (a one followed by 17 zeros). This is equivalent to covering the entire state of Texas with silver dollars two feet deep, marking one of them, mixing them all up and having a blind-folded person select the marked one at random the first time.


Conclusion:

Evolution maybe a highly recognized answer to the question of the origins of life and certainly much effort and thought has been put into it, however, there is still much left to be proved or disproved. That is not to say one day more evidence may not make it seem even more likely, it is just to say that in its current state it lacks much empirical evidence that still cannot be proved.

However, Jesus Christ did live and walk upon the earth for certain. This is not just the claims of believing Christians and their so called bible; this is in fact a Scholarly and Historically known certainty. If Jesus lived, and he full filled all the prophecies written for more then 4 thousand years before his birth about him, it is a mathematical and logical assumption that he is indeed The Living Son of God. If Jesus is the Living Son of God, and the creator of the entire Universe. Then evolution is just a nice bed time fable.


You decide, who holds the most researchable and provable evidence? Go a head check the facts yourself, become converted.

just got back from playing tennis and i am exhausted.....my head feels weird..perhaps it's the aircon in the taxi whilst coming back...think i'll sleep early tonight.

The Original Really Useful Gift Catalog 2006

Have you been giving to charity? If yes, where do you think your money goes to? What is it used for EXACTLY? Whenever i see students holding those tin boxes during flag day i just drop some money into it without thinking where it's going to. Now i've found something different.

ADRA (Adventist Development and Relief Agency) has come up with the 2006 gift catalog. It's called The Original Really Useful gift catalog because these gifts are for those who have very little and sometimes literally nothing at all but the clothes on their back. Gifts range from $0.25 to $500. Here's some of the gifts that are available.

- To Feed One Infant One Hot Meal a Day in Bangladesh ($0.25)
- Pay for One HIV Test for One Person in Burundi ($1.00)
- Save One Girl From Sexual Exploitation in Thailand ($100)
- Feed One Person Living With HIV or AIDS in Namibia for One Year ($200)
- Give One Single Mother in Ethiopia a Future ($200)
- Clean a Shallow Well for a Village of 40 Families in Somalia ($300)
- Provide 1,000 People With Medicines for Three Months! ($350)
- Provide One Portable Solar Barber Kit in Somalia ($375)
- Train and Equip One Traditional Birth Attendant in Zambia ($600)

For me, i'll be making sure i save one girl from sexual exploitation in Thailand in December. Then in January i'll probably buy one cow for a Vietnamese Family.

The website is so cool you gotta see it!

Ashes to ashes, dust to dust

I just replied to a mailing list from someone who asked what's all this about spirit/soul/body and blah blah. After that i realised my answer was very mathematical.


At the creation of man:

"And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul." Gen 2:7

From there we form the equation: Dust + Breath of life = Soul - (equation 1)

When man dies:

"Then shall the dust return to the earth as it was: and the spirit shall return unto God who gave it." Ecc 12:7

We see another equation: Soul - Spirit = Dust (dead body) - (equation 2)

To prove that equation 1 is the same as equation 2, we need to establish that spirit and breath are interchangeable.

"The spirit [ruach] of God has made me, and the breath [neshamah] of the Almighty gives me life." Job 33:4

"As long as my breath [neshamah] is in me, and the spirit [ruach] of God is in my nostrils; my lips will not speak falsehood" (Job 27:3).

"If he [God] should take back his spirit [ruach] to himself, and gather to himself his breath [neshamah], all flesh would perish together, and man would return to the dust" (Job 34:14-15).

From these texts, you'll gather that spirit = breath of God(or breath of life) - (equation 3)

Substituting equation 3 into 2 we get: Soul - breath of life = Dust - (equation 4)
Therefore, equation 1 = equation 4.


In words, we are living souls/dust. We live because we have the breath of life. If that breath is taken away, we become dust.

" By the sweat of your brow you will eat your food until you return to the ground,
since from it you were taken; for dust you are and to dust you will return." Gen 3:19

I decided to change my profile pic. This is the bright version.kekee

INTJ

I just did a personality test and i can't believe after about 5 years, i'm still an INTJ. *Hurray!!*

Your Type is
INTJ
Introverted
Intuitive
Thinking
Judging

Strength of the preferences %
78; 62; 12; 22;

You are:

* very expressed introvert
* distinctively expressed intuitive personality
* slightly expressed thinking personality
* slightly expressed judging personality

Tennis

Just got back from a tennis session. Boy it sure feels good after not playing tennis for sometime. What i need to do before my next session is to get a new pair of tennis shoes, get my racquet restrung and also change the overgrip. A new set of strings cost about 30 buckaroos! Can you believe it?? And i paid 50 for my racquet! I just think the strings are overpriced. Oh well, luckily i'm earning money so next month would be another time of "splurging" and another time of feeling rich again... WooHoo!!!

BTW, my mom brought home a set of DVDs by Professor Walter Veigh. The series is called Total Onslaught. A church friend from Aussie actually gave us those DVDs. Isn't that nice. And his lectures are so good! Think there are video samples on his website. Check it out!

Adventists featured on ABC News

I knew about this from Hannah.

=====


There was also an interview on Good Morning America based on the National Geographic study on longevity. The ABC News video clip can be found at:

http://abcnews.go.com/Video/playerIndex

This should take you to a video window. Find the heading “Health” and scroll down to find “The Three Places in the World People Live the Longest”. This is the link to the video.

Livin on a prayer - Bon Jovi

Once upon a time
Not so long ago

Tommy used to work on the docks
Union’s been on strike
He’s down on his luck...it’s tough, so tough
Gina works the diner all day
Working for her man, she brings home her pay
For love - for love

She says we’ve got to hold on to what we’ve got
’cause it doesn’t make a difference
If we make it or not
We’ve got each other and that’s a lot
For love - we’ll give it a shot

Chorus:
Whooah, we’re half way there
Livin’ on a prayer
Take my hand and we’ll make it - I swear
Livin’ on a prayer

Tommy’s got his six string in hock
Now he’s holding in what he used
To make it talk - so tough, it’s tough
Gina dreams of running away
When she cries in the night
Tommy whispers baby it’s okay, someday

We’ve got to hold on to what we’ve got
’cause it doesn’t make a difference
If we make it or not
We’ve got each other and that’s a lot
For love - we’ll give it a shot

Chorus

We’ve got to hold on ready or not
You live for the fight when it’s all that you’ve got

Chorus

Northern Highlander, Neo, Napolean

Posing with the Northern Highlander

These photos were taken 2 months back. Over here i'm dressed up as Napolean while John dressed up as Woody from Toy Story

Went to sweelee to get the church guitar adjusted. Now the action's lower and playing is more comfortable.
Shucks..many thoughts are running through my mind now..gotta sign off.

The Kids aren't alright.
By The Offspring

When we were young the future was so bright (whoa)
the whole neighborhood was so alive (whoa)
and every kid on the whole damn street (whoa)
was gonna make it big and not be beat.

now the neighborhood's cracked and torn (whoa)
the kids are grown up but their lives are worn (whoa)
how can one little street
spoil so many lives

Chorus:
Chances blown
nothing's free
longing for
what used to be
still it's hard
hard to see
fragile lives,
shattered dreams

Jennie had a chance, well she really did
Instead she dropped out and had a couple of kids
Mark still lives at home cause he's got no job
Just plays guitar and smokes a lot of pot

jay commited suicide
Brandon OD'd and died
What the hell is going on?
The cruellest dream, reality

Chorus(x2)

early retirement at 27?

ok this morning i finally got down to plan my retirement. All this talk about me going to retire in 2007 has to be justified. And what i found made me a little disappointed. I realised that retirement requires a HUGE sum of money. Say i retire at 27, i'll need money for the next 50 or 60 yrs. Let's say i draw out 40k a year. I need up to 2.4million for the next 60 yrs! And that's excluding money for the children, house, donations and other items. And furthermore, i'll be taking a huge risk if i retire so early since i aren't certain my income streams would last that long. So the conclusion of the matter is that i'll take one step at a time. I've had a number of insurance agents after me and wealth management agents too. Just last week i met up with one and it's difficult for her to help me come up with a wealth management plan coz my income streams may fluctuate vastly and secondly, retiring at that age is totally unheard of so she doesn't have a "template". Even this morning while searching for retirement calculators, i found all of them applicable to people in their 40s or 50s and not for the kind of situation that i'm in. For eg, they assume that when you retire you stop earning money which isn't the case for me. So i guess i'll be having to manage my own finances which i prefer actually. My dad told me a couple of times that he'll make me a millionaire in my early 30s. At that time, i thought it was impossible for me to be a millionaire at that age but now there is a slight possibility.

Adventists featured on NatGeo

Ok, Seventh-day Adventists were featured on one of National Geographic's multimedia presentation. I guess it's just a matter of time before "big" names like NatGeo took notice of us and our healthier lifestyles.

Just for interest sake, there were 2 studies done on Californian Adventists involving 24,000 and 34,000 people over the last 40 yrs. And the good news is that there's going to be a third study done involving 125,000 Adventists! What's the big deal about it? It will further answer or reinforce the link between health and diet and other issues too. And as said, if the study is done right, the results will not only be of national importance but of international significance.




i got the NatGeo news from faith's blog.

Hard to wait

There are a couple of things i want to get:

- CPU with high-end graphics card. I just saw the next need for speed series which is Need for Speed Most Wanted. The graphics are just SO REALISTIC! I want to see that on my monitor!

- Tennis shoes, Office shoes, Sports shoes

- DVD Player/Recorder

I hope to get them in the next 2 months. It's just so hard to wait for money to come in...

what you need to be spiritually mature

Yesterday afternoon we had a meeting and one of the things that i picked up was, to be a spiritually mature person, it's dependent on integrity, character and knowledge.

First, spiritual knowledge is necessary for a christian. You get to know who God is and what God would like you to do. ALOT of christians have a thing about the law. I think it's just a huge misunderstanding. Think of it this way. Since love is the fulfillment of the law, it goes like this.


Love
|
-----------------------
| |
towards God towards man
| |
1st 4 last 6 (ten commandments)


Love IS the fulfillment of the law because it emcompasses all that you do. That's what many christians agree. However, when you tell them in a "different" way that we should strive to obey the 10 commandments, their defenses go up. Why is this the case when from the chart that i've just drawn, it's merely a more specific representation of love? I guess they were taught by their pastors not to be a legalist. And so when they see this word "law" in any phrase, it becomes sensitive. In fact, in my own church, our pastor emphasizes that too. The question every christian should ask is, how do i demonstrate love? Not because you want to be a legalist and gain salvation as a result of it but because you want to follow God. If you love your wife, you would want to know what she wants you to do for her happiness and you would happily obey it. Same thing with us Christians. How we can demonstrate love is split into 2.
Love towards God and love towards man which is further split into the 10 commandments. One reason why Adventists like to emphasize the 10 commandments is because it not only tells us what sin is but also what love is. If you love your wife, you would want to know what she likes or dislikes. If you love that person, you wouldn't kill, steal or take his wife away. If you love God, you wouldn't worship other gods or create an idol or use his name in vain(btw, this will be another topic). ok i sidetracked abit there.

Secondly, with knowledge, you hopefully would develop character if you apply that knowledge. Your belief system, your values and your behaviour will be shaped by what you want to accept.

Thirdly, integrity is the steadfast adherence to character. You might believe in not stealing and accept it as so, but when you are the one that sees a million dollar cheque on the ground addressed to no one, what are you going to do?


Integrity and character can't be trained. Only knowledge can be imparted to a person. And that's what i see as a challenge.

i got back a while ago from roller blading at East Coast. First time i tried and it was not as difficult as expected but still i fell down a number of times. In fact, out of the 5 of us that roller bladed, 4 of us weren't familiar which is good in a sense. So i won't be the only one falling..lol. Elaine fell, Shuqin fell and for me i fell backwards almost all the time with my palms supporting me(thankfully the palm pads protected me). The good thing is i fell without being too dramatic but when i was returning home, my right arm started to hurt and is still hurting when i carry stuff with it.
Roller blading was a good experience. Should i go next sunday again? Or should i play tennis?...i'm getting tennis withdrawal symptoms....i need my tennis fix....

2 jokes

I got these 2 jokes from Jeremy's blog. I thought it was worth posting it here too.


About a century or two ago, the Pope decided that all the Chinese had to leave Italy.

Naturally there was a big uproar from the Chinese community. So the Pope made a deal.

He would have a religious debate with a member of the Chinese community. If the Chinese win, they could stay. If the Pope wins, the Chinese would leave.

The Chinese realized that they had no other choice. So they picked a middle-aged man named Ah Peh to represent them. Ah Peh asked for one condition to be added to the debate.

"To make it more interesting", he said, "neither side would be allowed to talk".

The Pope agreed.

The day of the great debate came.

Ah Peh and the Pope sat opposite each other for a full minute.

Then the Pope raised his hand and showed three fingers.

Ah Peh looked back at him and raised one finger.

The Pope waved his fingers in a circle around his head. Ah Peh pointed to the ground at where he sat.

The Pope pulled out a loaf and a glass of wine.

Ah Peh pull out an apple.

The Pope stood up and said: "I give up. This man is too good. The Chinese can stay."

An hour later, the cardinals were all around The Pope asking him what had happened?

The Pope said, "First I held up three fingers to represent the holy trinity.

He responded by holding up one finger to remind me that there was still one God common to both our religions.

Then I waved my finger around me to show him that God was all around us.

He responded by pointing to the ground and showing that God was also right here with us.

I pulled out the wine and loaf to show that God absolves all sin.

He showed me an apple to remind us of the original sin.

He had an answer for everything. What could I do?"

Meanwhile, the Chinese community had crowded around Ah Peh. "What happened?" they asked.

"Well," said Ah Peh, "First he indicated to me that all Chinese had 3 days to get out of here. I replied to him not one of us was leaving.

Then he pointed that this whole city would be cleared of Chinese. I showed him that we are staying right here."

"Yes, and then???" asked the crowd.

"I don't know", said Ah Peh, "He took out his lunch, and I took out mine!!!"

===================================================================
I don't know whether this will ever be possible with all the privacy concerns. But it sure is cool.


Operator : "Thank you for calling Pizza Hut . May I have your..."

Customer: "Heloo, can I order.."

Operator : "Can I have your multi purpose card number first, Sir?"

Customer: "It's eh..., hold..........on......889861356102049998-45-
54610"

Operator : "OK... you're... Mr Singh and you're calling from 17 Jalan
Kayu. Your home number is 4094! 2366, your office 76452302 and your
mobile is 0142662566.

Customer: "How did you get all my phone numbers?

Operator : "We are connected to the system Sir"

Customer: "May I order your Seafood Pizza..."

Operator : "That's not a good idea Sir"

Customer: "How come?"

Operator : "According to your medical records, you have high blood
pressure and even higher cholesterol level Sir"

Customer: "What?... What do you recommend then?"

Operator : "Try our Low Fat Hokkien Mee Pizza. You'll like it"

Customer: "How do you know for sure?"

Operator : "You borrowed a book entitled "Popular Hokkien Dishes" from
the National Library last week Sir"

Customer: "OK I give up... Give me three family size ones then, how
much will that cost?"

Operator : "That should be enough for your family of 10, Sir. The
total is $49.99"

Customer: "Can I pay by! credit card?"

Operator : "I'm afraid you have to pay us cash, Sir.
Your credit card is over the limit and you owe your bank $3,720.55
since October last year.
That's not including the late payment charges on your housing loan,
Sir."

Customer: "I guess I have to run to the neighbourhood ATM and withdraw
some cash before your guy arrives"

Operator : "You can't Sir. Based on the records, you've reached your
daily limit on machine withdrawal today"

Customer: "Never mind just send the pizzas, I'll have the cash ready.
How long is it gonna take anyway?"

Operator : "About 45 minutes Sir, but if you can't wait you can always
come and collect it on your Scooter..."

Customer: " What!"

Operator : "According to the details in system ,you own a Scooter,
...registration number 1123..."

Customer: " ????"

Operator : "Is there anything else Sir?"

Customer: "Nothing... by the way... aren't you giving me that 3 free
bottles of cola as advertised?"

Operator : "We normally would Sir, but based on your records you're
also diabetic....... "

Customer: #$$^%&$@$%^

Operator "Better watch your language Sir. Remember on 15th July 1987
you were convicted of using abusive language on a policeman...?"

Customer: [Faints]

In the city

It's a fact! I haven't been blogging much lately. Don't even know what to write. And blogging just to appease my fans' incessant calls to update my blog. Ok ok so here i am again.

Have you ever wondered what it feels like to work near the city or in the city? I used to think about that before i started working. Smart, Professional and Diginified were the words that came to mind. We see photos and videos of how Manhattan or Tokyo looks like and you had people brisk walking to destination who-knows-where. Those people seem to have a purpose in life. However, add in the audio and you'll hear only the sound of vehicles and footsteps. Where are the voices of people?

You don't need to look so far to take in such an experience. The Singapore MRT is a good example. In the MRT, packed with people around the peak hours of 8-9, some are sitting. Imagine a row of people where some are reading the newspaper or reading a book. Some others are trying to catch some more minutes into their sleep while the rest are staring blankly, patiently waiting to arrive at their destination. Now that's just a row of people. Multiply that with the many rows of seats an MRT train has. As with the people standing, they're doing the same thing, just that they're standing and occasionally have to "move-in" to give more space. To me, it takes about 20 minutes to get to Tanjong Pagar and i feel it's a waste of time if you don't do anything useful. So sometimes if i'm alone, i grab out a book to read once i'm on the train but at other times, situations just make it impossible to hold a book in front of me. Another thing i could do is listen to audio mp3s but not music coz it's under the category of time-wasting-on-the-train. Besides, i can listen to music in the office the whole day. In fact, that's what i'm doing now. Ok back to the topic. Once you exit the train at Tanjong Pagar, you have hordes of people queuing to go up the escalator or stair case and you wonder where did all these people come from. Once up, it's another queuing session at the gantry and the loudest noise you hear are the sound of footsteps. Once you reach ground level, it's the same thing as Manhattan and Tokyo, just less people.

That's what's like to be in the city. You see and hear but don't really communicate.

In our old office. My place used to be at the corner near the bookshelf. It was near the door too. In the new office, i'm still nearest to the door and that means when someone comes in, they'll approach me first..grr..

Group shot.

This was taken about 2 months ago with my colleagues.

more space!!

What an amazing sunday. I love sundays because that's the time of the week where i really can do what i want at home. Yes i do stay at home on sundays so i can catch up on "my stuff". Usually others would go out with friends or with their mates but for me i guess i'm not with the norm. This is what i call pampering myself or having a date with myself. Now what do i do at home? Take today as an example, in the morning, i played need for speed underground 2. In the afternoon, i had a conference call with boon and jeff to discuss some business venture. I was made to do the research since i'm the most free among them. I then had a good afternoon nap. When i awoke, i spent almost 2.5 hours packing a part of my room. With a pail of water and a rag handy, i wiped, packed and threw away some stuff. Seeing my room in such a mess ever since i came back from my trip to Bangkok always makes me uneasy. I don't like cluttered areas but somehow i just tolerate them because of procrastination to clean it. And the best part of the spring cleaning was the throwing away of 'O' and 'A' level textbooks and ten year series! Not that i kept all of them until now, but they were the so called "good ones" that i thought i should keep but now i felt i wouldn't need it anymore. I think i could stack them up to the length of my arm. That meant i had more space! And it means i don't have my luggage bag on the floor anymore. So with some rearranging, i mananged to clear my floor of items that's not supposed to be there. Unfortunately the graduation gown is still on the floor coz i've no where to keep it. I think i need a bigger wardrobe.

Another thing is my dad got rid of the long sofa in the living room and that meant more space!!! And with that, i told him i didn't need the reclining chair in my room and so it's going to fill up the space of the discarded sofa. And again, that means more space in my room!!muahahahhhahaha!!

After the cleaning, i did some housework and exercised. After dinner had to do some work for YWC and now i'm blogging away after a long absence of not writing and merely posting pictures. Sometimes i just don't have much to write or i don't feel like writing. Oh well..the main reason is i haven't really got a hold of my life in those times.let's hope things will continue to improve..if you don't understand, then nevermind. :p

Ok. There are a couple of things my house needs. They are:
- DVD Recorder/Player
- Shoe Rack
- TV
- more space

Here are my wants which i hope to fulfill by the end of the year or early next year:
- New multimedia desktop
- Notebook computer
- Handphone


And yes the common relation in all these is money. Where am i going to get all that money?? I guess i'll have to wait a couple of months..:(

Lastly, my office timing got pushed forward a half hour so now i'll be working from 830am to 530pm. Good thing if you ask me coz i can get home with more time to "do my own thing"..lol. Well the main thing that is good is i can exercise half an hour earlier and have dinner after that. Also, on fridays before cell, i can go to the library to hang out...what a wonderful life. :)

The Keys to Your Heart

You are attracted to those who are unbridled, untrammeled, and free. In love, you feel the most alive when your partner is patient and never willing to give up on you. You'd like to your lover to think you are optimistic and happy. You would be forced to break up with someone who was emotional, moody, and difficult to please. Your ideal relationship is open. Both of you can talk about everything... no secrets. Your risk of cheating is zero. You care about society and morality. You would never break a commitment. You think of marriage something you've always wanted... though you haven't really thought about it. In this moment, you think of love as commitment. Love only works when both people are totally devoted.

What Are The Keys To Your Heart?

You are attracted to those who are unbridled, untrammeled, and free.

er...not quite true though.

Today my office moved to a new location - Bangkok Bank Building. It's just about 200m away from my old office and the good thing is, it's a bigger and cosier environment. Not only that, we're closer to the MRT and closer to the city center too. There'll be new places to scout for food during lunch time.hehe..

Friday is just tomorrow and i can't wait...firstly sabbath is nearer and secondly it's the end of the month. That means....i get my pay!!! woohoo!!! Imagine working over there for 4 months already. Time really flies when you're not noticing. I remember it was in May 20 when i first joined yellowcube. And what have i gained from these 4 months? Greater experience in website building. techniques. I believe God put me there for this reason. So that i can use the experience i've gained to implement it into our church websites. Well, i think i gotta start drafting out a plan of what to do until the end of the year.

Oh yes, tonight i receieved a package from the mail man. Finally my items arrived after 2 months of waiting. So that means there'll be new items for the church library!

Walking above the clouds. I don't know where this is, but it sure gives the setting for chinese martial arts filming.lol

An obvious improvement is the interface. It looks more professional.

This is the interface of the next generation of Windows, called Windows Vista. It's currently in Beta stage and would be out in 2006.

This is what i call Determination!

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Group picture of the newly weds(in korean dressing) and current and ex yellowcubers.

Our 2nd boss had a wedding dinner last thursday and this is one of the pictures we took. Beng is the guy in white and was our shifu as he has left the company. The other 2 were too drunk to pose properly..lol

my new shirt

just tot i'll post some pictures tonight. Boy i just love my name..lol

what you can find on the net.

The internet has brought information right into our rooms. We don't even need to go all the way to the nearest library to dig out stuff that may not even be there. We just have to sit in the comfort of our own room and click away. AND we can find almost practically anything on the web. What makes it easier is thru the use of search engines like google. If you want to know how to make bombs, just type "how to make bombs" and you'll get a list of sites telling you how to make bombs from battery, how to make a pipe bomb, and even how to make a bomb in a blender! Oh not only that, there's a link where it goes "I need to make a bomb! Help pls!!"..i mean...why in the world do you want to make a bomb???? What do you want to bomb anyway??

The other weirder thing you can find online is how to make an atomic bomb. Oh no that's not weird enough. Amazon even sells a book on how to build a nuclear bomb and other weapons of mass destruction. I shall not post any links here coz i don't want anyone to be a terrorist...lol.

Ok enough of the blabbering..

Your temperament is Rational

I did a personality test here. I always find personality tests beneficial to myself as it tells me why i do things a certain way.

Rationals, are the problem solving temperament, particularly if the problem has to do with the many complex systems that make up the world around us. Rationals might tackle problems in organic systems such as plants and animals, or in mechanical systems such as railroads and computers, or in social systems such as families and companies and governments. But whatever systems fire their curiosity, Rationals will analyze them to understand how they work, so they can figure out how to make them work better.

In working with problems, Rationals try to find solutions that have application in the real world, but they are even more interested in the abstract concepts involved, the fundamental principles or natural laws that underlie the particular case. And they are completely pragmatic about their ways and means of achieving their ends. Rationals don't care about being politically correct. They are interested in the most efficient solutions possible, and will listen to anyone who has something useful to teach them, while disregarding any authority or customary procedure that wastes time and resources.

Rationals have an insatiable hunger to accomplish their goals and will work tirelessly on any project they have set their mind to. They are rigorously logical and fiercely independent in their thinking--are indeed skeptical of all ideas, even their own--and they believe they can overcome any obstacle with their will power. Often they are seen as cold and distant, but this is really the absorbed concentration they give to whatever problem they're working on. Whether designing a skyscraper or an experiment, developing a theory or a prototype technology, building an aircraft, a corporation, or a strategic alliance, Rationals value intelligence, in themselves and others, and they pride themselves on the ingenuity they bring to their problem solving.

Rationals are very scarce, comprising as little as 5 to 10 percent of the population. But because of their drive to unlock the secrets of nature, and to develop new technologies, they have done much to shape our world.

The Four types of Rationals are:

Architects (INTP) | Masterminds (INTJ) | Inventors (ENTP) | Field Marshals (ENTJ)

Amen. Describes me almost perfectly. I did the MBTI about 5 yrs ago and i was an INTJ. I can't believe i'm a mastermind! But this test just further reinforces the idea that my personality might not have changed much throughout the years. The next thing i'm looking for is a good MBTI test online - and free too.
And it's good to know i'm different from 90-95% of the population...hehe

ferrari maranello nascar style...keeewwwwwwwll

and the war continues..

lying

I got a call at 930am while i was in the office.

A: Hello sir, i'm calling from blah blah blah, do you still remember some time ago you filled in those lucky draw coupons at shopping centres?

(This wasn't the first time i got such calls and i'm angry for 2 reasons. Firstly, someone had sold my personal details and secondly, these people are lying to me.)

Me: No.

A: You didn't fill up those coupons or you forgot you filled them up before?

(This lady still continued with her game. I decided to drop a bomb on her)

Me: Oh yeah, i filled them up before but it was many years ago. (I wasn't lying to her on that)

A: Oh ok, bye.


This proves 2 things. It's dangerous to lie because the deeper you get in your lie, the harder you fall if you're found out. And be careful when giving out any personal details. If you do so, check for any privacy statement at least.

freedom

It's essential to live life according to your passion. This greatly applies to work. I realise that being a developer/webmaster isn't really what i want to do my whole life. My real passion lies in church work because i'll be able to make a difference in people. Maybe being an active layperson is better than being employed by church as i'll have more flexibility with what i want to do. So my plan is i'll probably retire next yr or so to pursue my passion. A secondary passion is blues guitar playing. Everytime i listen to music the likes of jonny lang, kenny wayne or srv, i feel an itch to play but i just don't have the time to do so. Once i finish work and get home i'll be occupied with church stuff and of course small times of relaxation. So i thought, wouldn't it be good to retire and be able to accomplish what i really want to do?
I haven't decided when i'll retire but it should be end 2006. Cheers to freedom!

roll keyboard

ok i just got back from funan center. Couldn't get the stuff that i wanted but i got some accessories. The most interesting item i got was a roll keyboard. I got it along with 2 DVD RWs and a mic. Was carrying my sling bag and the big plastic bag. Then a thought hit me. I realised i could fit all my items in my bag. The biggest item - the keyboard could fold. So i took it out and without much thinking, folded it in half and shuffed it in my bag. I was suprised how rubbery it was. Basically the whole thing is like a thin piece of rubber. It cost me $34.90 and i think it was worth the price since i've had enough of not being able to press the g and h key on my notebook. I'm still getting used to typing on rubber but it's still better than typing on a qwerty keyboard with 2 keys inoperable.

This is our group photo for the Global Internet Evangelism Network Forum. (2 people were included using photoshop. Can you tell??)

more pics coming!

As you can see, i just uploaded some pics. I will post more pictures of my trip to bangkok once i get the cds from faith.

My new suit. I just love the cutting. Fits me so well.

This is probably my favourite funny picture during the trip. After just one day of shopping, 4 of us squeezed into a cab to transfer hotel. I was sitting in front and nat, jeff and faith had to squeeze behind. Take note that our 2 luggages were big so the boot couldnt close fully.

This is me in the front. Was carrying faith's backpack and a big water bottle for all of us. It was worse than economy class.

Faith almost suffocated in the backseat.

At the forum, we met Mark Finley.(one of the 9 vice-presidents of the SDA Church) Didn't realise before that he is tall. Makes jeffrey look out of place..kekeke

Ahh..there we go.

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Land of smiles

i just got back home from a 5 day trip to thailand. IOW, i'm back to the reality of slogging hard and no more enjoyment...sigh...thailand was very memorable and special because of the people. Whenever i go there, what gets me is because of the smiley faces. Well, most of the smiley people are girls and i dont meet many guys who smile except those working at the hotel or the restaurant. Somehow the shopping stores, restaurants and hotel workers are filled mostly by girls. I don't know where the rest of the guys are. Perhaps they are the tuk tuk and cab drivers which i don't really trust. Thailand is a land of smiles as it is called and yes it is. Face it, when someone smiles at you, especially someone who is beautiful/handsome, you will feel really good. However, what we don't know is what's behind that smile. Is it pain, hopelessness and hurt? Is it because it's part of their culture to smile that they are mechanically doing it? We don't know the person behind the smiley face, but what we do know is that it makes the receiver feel good. I visited many of the shops there and the common thread in all of them is their smile and the fact that they don't rush you. When i shop in singapore, maybe half of them don't bother to smile and some even talk so fast you wonder what's up with them. If i shop, it means i'll buy something but that doesn't mean i don't want a good shopping experience. It's nice to shop in Thailand, not just to buy cheap things, but also to be the recipient of smiles. And yes, i do miss Thailand and I'm sure i'll be back again.

3rd day in Bangkok

This is the 2nd day of the conference and my 3rd day in Bangkok. First day i bought a whole bunch of clothes including a medium sized luggage bag to put all of it in. I also bought a nice suit that i hope i'll wear during big events. It definitely felt good purchasing all those stuff and i think the next thing i'm going to splurge on would be the technology area. Of course i'm still in Bangkok so i'll still have abit more time to do more shopping, this time not for myself but for others. Hope i don't run out of money...
BTW, i took a picture with mark finley. Just listened to one of this workshop and it was utterly inspiring!

Driving

Even if you travel by car, it still takes a long time. That's the surprise conclusion i found out. Yesterday i had to return those costumes and i could only leave work at 7 and the costume shop closed at 8. I rushed back in a cab to get the car(i live at clementi) and that amounted to half an hour. I then sped all the way to church(jurong) to pick up the costumes and on the way to lavender, i passed my house(8pm). It took me another half an hour to reach lavender..and when i got home it was 9pm already! Can you imagine? 1 and a half hours just to do such a simple thing? (Go to church then lavender then home.) And that is when i was speeding all the way(my dad would kill me if he finds out i pushed his car so hard) after twice being on the wrong lane to turn right where i had to cross my fingers hoping the other drivers will be compassionate to allow me to enter their lane and after narrowly missing a bumper kiss which i avoided by swerving to the left. I know the angels were with me all the way.lol...but in the midst of all the driving, i told myself to not just look at the destination, but the journey. Considering that i was going to be half an hour late, it was tough but i tried. I reached the store with the doors closed and had to beg the lady for me to return it. Well, she wasn't the friendliest lady in the store so when she opened the door i was like "ok, this is going to be tough". But she allowed me in after me blabbering a few excuses(which were true). Met the counter lady which was the friendliest in the store and everything was smooth sailing from there. Now, i had to rush back for dinner as my stomach was growling. Got in the car and sped all the way to nicoll highway. Realised i was driving towards Kallang and i made a U-turn. When i did, i saw the city skyline, it was totally breathtaking. How could i have missed the city skyline when i was driving in the wrong direction? Maybe i didn't even look in my rear view mirror. Sped along towards AYE and shucks, got in the wrong lane again and had to make a left turn to harbor front. It's ok, i went along and found a relatively new expressway towards pasir panjang. It's those expressways that is above ground level and boy it was the best car ride i ever had in my life! It makes me feel like i'm in need for speed. Firstly, there were no other cars on the road and secondly the street lights just set the stage! It was all so surreal! I was driving at about 110kmh on the 3 lane expressway with minor bends here and there and it REALLY felt good! But i slowed down abit just to have more time to absorb the moments.hehe...that's my favourite expresswayat at night.

The great shopping trip

"The VCR is spoilt"...my dad said that to me 2 weeks ago. Urgh...and before that my mom and myself agreed to get a replacement tv AND a DVD recorder. Now that the VCR is spoilt, it's just one more to the list. Why are items spoiling when i've started work recently? I just hope to make it big one day(June 06) so that $$$ won't be a problem anymore. Well, it's not a problem now, just that i have to wait for next month or the following month to buy those electrical equipment. But seriously, what i care more right now is to pamper myself first before i pamper others. Already i'm planning to spend 1k on my shopping trip to bangkok this wed till sunday. Ok, it's not a shopping trip, there's an internet evangelism conference there but i turned it into a shoppping trip lah.lol. And the baggage limit is 15kg. And how am i going to bring back 1k of items!!?!?!? I'm doing a wardrobe overhaul and the wardrobe alone weighs 15kg!! ahhhhhhhh..i'm going paranoid. I need retail theraphy. Ok i better brainstorm my list for my trip.

Long sleeve office shirts: 5
Short sleeve shirts: 5
Dri-fit polo shirts: 5
Other polo shirts: 5
Long sleeve t-shirt: 3
Long pants: 4
Bermudas: 4
Jeans: 3
Polo Raulph Lauren Jacket: 1
Nike Sports shoe: 1
Casual shoe: 1
Teva sandals: 1
Sandals: 1
Slippers: 1
Slip-on shoe for office: 1 (my boss is implementing a no-outside-shoe-to-be-worn in the new office. This is because we want to keep the carpet clean when we move in october. So rather than being barefoot, i'll need some footwear)
Sling bag: 1
Luggage bag: 1

Just a rough list i came up with within 5 mins. The shoes are going to take up some space and the clothing is going to be heavy. Good thing i have faith,jeff and pastor kan going along with me so i can use some of their 15kg allotment..kekkee.

German Engineering, Arab technology

oh my this is just so funny.

costume party cum bday party

Ok just got back from a costume party. Was the first ever costume party ive been to and it was really a blast! About 30 of us turned up along with our costumes. Some rented the whole set(like me), some rented part of it, some bought and mix and matched. Well, i cant describe well so i will wait for the pictures to come then i will post it up here.

the week

ok havent been updatin for a long time. Ok let me try to do a summary.

Tuesday: Found a real nice online game called Rose online. Been playing it almost every night now and im at level 12!! Boon says the game is good on recommendation by faith and christon. Monsters are real funny. My favourite monster is the choropys..lol.

Wed: Went to a costume shop with jeff and jasmine. Initially we were half hearted about it but after trying out the costumes they had, we became hooked! It was so fun laughing at how ridiculous jeff looked in his costume. Yeah, im not revealing what we got since there will be some people reading my blog going to her party. My colleague suggested in the morning to get a jajabinks(is that how you spell it?) costume. That would be so cute but i guess i want my face to be seen and not hidden inside breathing stuffy air. The alternative was to get a 7 foot alien costume which i saw online but the shop did not have it

Thursday: besides work, at night went to orchard area to look for long white stockings for our costume. had a hard time finding them. I never knew shopping for socks could be so hard..lol..Combed far east and shaw house and finally found it at Taka. It was one of those shops selling japanese knee high socks. IOW, it was perfect!

dont worry im not coming dressed up as a jap girl.

Ok next thing i need to do is come up with a list of wat to get for my trip to bangkok next week.

packed!

Well my schedule is packed from now until i leave to Bangkok next wednesday. Urgh....it almost seems like i'll be gone from this world and therefore so many things are vying for my attention before i leave..haha. Today is monday and the day went well with some ups and downs. Ups because i had a nice lunch with an insurance agent. Yeah she had a voucher to this cafe and i had a free lunch. :)..later on, the worship team of youth alive 2005 had this wonderful dinner at Nooch and Hagaan Daz. Downs because i think i was kinda insensitive to some people, my colleague, my church friend and my outside friend..oh man..gotta watch that tongue of mine.

notebook

i got a notebook from junjie. Yup, the notebook computer, not the writing pad. No idea why he gave that to me. I was quite happy though since my current one is almost going to konk out. 2 of its letter keys are out and the speed isn't really to my liking. I opened the notebook case and when i took it out, it was really thick..oh my, i don't like notebooks which are thick. i prefer them sleek in design. It was thick and fat but the width was small. Anyway, i turned it on and i found out it wasn't using windows operating system. Oh man, no wonder i didn't find it familiar. Oh btw the notebook brand is called Jabb. I know you haven't heard of it before and neither have I. I think it's some brand from China or one of those developing countries. Well, it only has 512mb ram and 40GB harddisk. Not much better than my current one..urgh...it's not that much of a gift anyway. And then i woke up.

Me in jap costume

One of my favourite shots

the high life

It was a tiring day for me. Last night i had symptoms of a sore throat. True enough in the middle of the night i felt it. I was asking oh God why must i be sick now since i'll be meeting Andrew later on and it'll be the last meeting before his baptism. Thankfully i felt better when i woke up in the morning. It was a busy morning at work trying to tie up all the loose ends so that i can leave office at noon. Went to that studio and turned out that it wasn't the kind of makeover i was expecting. The main thing was just the photoshoot..shucks. I was expecting them to redo my hair, dye it and give me some suggestions on what clothes suit me and blah blah but none of this..urgh..but then again it was a good photoshoot and i'll post some of the pictures that were taken.
Anyway, at the end of the month would be a time to experience the high life. Yup, i'll be at Bangkok buying like crazy. My budget would be around 1k because my goal is to have a wardrobe makeover. Will get shoes, slippers, shirts, trousers, bags..i just hope i can figure out a way to bring all that stuff back..lol..anyway gotta start memorizing those lyrics AND chords for tomorrow's youth alive.

thursday makeover and photoshoot

In case you people haven't noticed, i've not been updating this blog regularly as i usually do. This is mainly due to my notebook where the h and g key are spoilt. Right now i'm using my trusty desktop while my notebook is beside playing MP3s. Currently i'm listening to Joe Satriani's Time Machine "CD". Well, i don't know what song is it on now since the whole CD is crammed into one MP3.

Anyway, i think there's going to be one change i'm going to do with this blog. I'm going to be share more about my friends and the inner workings of my mind. "The inner workings of your mind?" you say. In other words i'll be more direct and open in what i'm thinking. And with regards to stuff about friends, i tended to take the conservative stance in sharing about them coz i didn't want my friends to read and after whack me up because i spoilt their reputation. BUT, even after these changes, this blog will still uphold its initial purpose and that is to share "about life from a christian young adult". So i'll be talking more about my friends in my daily life and hopefully they won't mind. Of course i'll try not to spoil their reputation or what not. IOW, i'll be getting bitchier but not the negative kind. I like bitchiness but not the kind where you keep complaining about other people. To me, that makes the one who says that so low. Anyway, if you happen to see your name here and wish to remain anonymous or want to copyright your name, please tell me.

Last week i got an sms message from my mom asking me wanted a makeover. I was like "where did that idea come from?" She then said that she has a free pass to have a makeover and photoshoot at Naughty By Nature. And they even allowed her to bring her famiiy along. And this thursday i'll be going down with her to do my makeover and photoshoot. One thing i do regret is my current complexion and how it's still as bad as ever. Last week my face was awful but thank God the pimples went away in record time. Maybe they knew beforehand i was going for a photoshoot? So, my mom suggested to me to take half day leave on thursday so we could go down for that supposedly 2 hour session. Ok, i had to ask my boss and i asked him today:

Me: Boss, can i take half day leave on thursday?
Boss: This thursday?
Me: Yeah, thursday afternoon.
Boss: (his mind going through his schedule and mumbles something)Shouldn't be a problem. For what reason?
Me: Oh i'll be going for a makeover and photoshoot in the afternoon. It's worth $550 and they're offering it to me and my mom for free. My mom met them on the street while they were promoting.
Boss: Sounds too good to be true. What's the name of the company?
Me: Naughty By Nature
Boss: (laughs) That sounds so *says a word of which i couldn't hear but i knew it was negative*
Me: (shares in the laughter) Yeah i know. I guess it's a new company that's why they're offering it for free.

Later in the day i smsed Andrew whether he could meet up before his baptism.

Me: Hey Andrew you free to meet up on wednesday?
Andrew: Should be. I end at 2.
Andrew: O sorry it's 4 not 2pm.
Me: Oh that's too early for me as i'm still at work. How about thursday late afternoon since i'm taking half day leave?
Andrew: Yarp, what time?5?6?530?615?453?
Me: (i was sensing him getting into his cranky mood. I thought for a while and replied) ok let's meet at 547pm.
Andrew: haha sure, i'll study there first.

Ok so i set up an appointment with him. It will be the last time i'll be meeting up with him before his baptism. I thought i should since we haven't met for weeks! And perhaps, give him the idea that i am still his shifu...*ahem*.

The 10 commandments DID exist before Moses

(This is a response to this post)
I've heard many times people saying that the 10 comamndments did not exist before Moses. Nothing can be further from the truth. So i compiled some sort of model answer to this specific statement. Feel free to cut and paste.

The Decalogue commands men not to make idols, not to take God's name in vain, not to kill, not to stael, or commit adultery. Could we possibly bring ourselves to believe that such a code of laws was not in force before Moses? There are some things too incredible to warrant belief, and this is one of them. Nor do any of the leading denominations thus believe (see below).

Paul mentions that "Where there is no law, there is no transgression, ...for by the law is the knowledge of sin"(Rom 4:15,3:20). We are left in no posible doubt as to what law is intended for Paul adds later, "I had not known sin, but by the law: for i had no known lust, except the law had said, Thou shalt not covet." Rom 7:7. And what law says, "Thou shalt not covet"? The 10 commandment law.

When James spoke of those who "you sin and are convicted by the law as lawbreakers." he also left no doubt as to which law he meant. It is the law that says, "Do not commit adultery," and, "Do not kill." James 2:9-11.

There are those who say that sin is a disregard for some law, but not necessarily the 10 commandments. But that is not what Paul and James say. Furthermore, if you examine carefully, you'll notice that all sinful deeds of devils and ancient men can be judged and condemned in terms of the 10 commandments.

Having the 10 commandments codified and formally proclaimed does not mean that it wasn't in force before that. To take a page from history, England, for long centuries, has had what is known as "the common law".

common law
n. the traditional unwritten law of England, based on custom and usage, which began to develop over a thousand years before the founding of the United States. The best of the pre-Saxon compendiums of the common law was reportedly written by a woman, Queen Martia, wife of a king of a small English kingdom. Together with a book on the "law of the monarchy" by a Duke of Cornwall, Queen Martia's work was translated into the emerging English language by King Alfred (849-899 A.D.). When William the Conqueror invaded England in 1066, he combined the best of this Anglo-Saxon law with Norman law, which resulted in the English common law, much of which was by custom and precedent rather than by written code. By the 14th century legal decisions and commentaries on the common law began providing precedents for the courts and lawyers to follow. It did not include the so-called law of equity (chancery), which came from the royal power to order or prohibit specific acts. The common law became the basic law of most states due to the Commentaries on the Laws of England, completed by Sir William Blackstone in 1769, which became every American lawyer's bible. Today almost all common law has been enacted into statutes with modern variations by all the states except Louisiana, which is still influenced by the Napoleonic Code. In some states the principles of Common Law are so basic they are applied without reference to statute.

History tells us that a law need not be formally proclaimed or written in a book in order to be in force.
Even so with the moral laws of God and man. When Adam and Eve were created they were perfect and served God with a whole heart. Hence we properly conclude that they had the law of God written in their hearts. God also talked to them. For a lifetime of nearly a thousand years, they were permitted to pass on the divine instruction they had received.

The next question then would be why were the 10 commandments codified finally? Because by the time of Moses and the children of Israel, the knowledge of God and His laws had become so blurred in men's minds that it became necessary that a written revelation be given to the world. Coming directly out of Egyptian darkness, the Israelites were in special need of clear-cut declarations on the great moral precepts. For this reason God with His own finger carved in the everlasting stone the 10 commandments. No one need then be in doubt. The changing moral conceptions of those Israelites could ever be corrected by the unchanging words graven in the stone.


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Protestantism in general believes three important facts concerning the law
1) That the Decalogue is God's moral standard for Christians.
2) That there is a clear distinction between the Decalogue and the ceremonial and other laws of ancient Israel.
3) That obedience to the Decalogue is not to be construed as being contrary in any way to grace - that law and gospel belong otgether in the Christian life.
(see next post on The Foundation of Christendom)

THE FOUNDATION OF CHRISTENDOM

THE FOUNDATION OF CHRISTENDOM

The foundation of every Christian religion is the Ten Commandments. This is shown in the writings and doctrinal statements of the churches and their founders. No denomination would dare deny the authority of this moral law. Anarchy and crime would reign if they did so. Here are but a few of many statements which could be cited:

Southern Baptist-"We cannot conceive of an age when the moral government of the universe shall be changed, because we cannot conceive of God becoming different morally from what He is now and ever has been. . This Law of God is holy as He Himself is holy. . It is a universal law . . The Law of God is just and cannot be unjust-its justice is universal. . It is more than just; it is gracious. . It results in welfare, in happiness, in blessedness. . The Law of God is full of the love of God."-O. C. S. Wallace, What Baptists Believe, Southern Baptist Sunday School Workers' Training Course, pp. 80-83, 1934, Southern Baptists Convention.

Methodist-"The moral law, contained in the Ten Commandments, and enforced by the Prophets, He [Christ] did not take away. It was not the design of His coming to revoke any part of this. . Every part of this law must remain in force upon all mankind, and in all ages; as not depending either on time or place, or any other circumstances liable to change, but on the nature of God, and the nature of man, and their unchangeable relation to each other. "--John Wesley , founder of the Methodist Church, "Upon Our Lord's Sermon on the Mount," Discourse 5, in Works of John Wesley, Vol. 5, pp. 311-312.

Lutheran-"God threatens to punish all who transgress these commandments. We should, therefore, fear His anger, and do nothing against such commandments. But He promises grace and every blessing to all who keep them. We should, therefore, love and trust in Him, and gladly obey His commandments. "-Martin Luther, Founder of the Lutheran Church, Luther's Small Catechism, in Phillip Schaff, Creeds of Christendom, Vol. 3, p. 77.

Reformed-"We must not imagine that the coming of Christ has freed us from the authority of the law: for it is the eternal rule of a devout and holy life, and must, therefore, be as unchangeable, as the justice of God, which it embraced, is constant and uniform."--John Calvin, founder of the Reformed Church, Commentary on a Harmony of the Evangelists, 1949 ed., Vol. 1, p. 277, comment on Matthew 5: 17, Eerdmans, Grand Rapids, Michigan.

Congregationist - "Through the atonement of Christ more honor is done to the law, and consequently the law is more established, than if the law had been literally executed, and all mankind had been condemned."--Jonathan Edwards (Congregationalist), Works [writings] of Jonathan Edwards, 1842 ed., Vol. 3, p. 369.

Presbyterian-'The moral law doth forever bind all, as well justified persons as others, to the obedience thereof; and that not only in regard of the matter contained in it, but also in respect of the authority of God the Creator who gave it. Neither doth Christ in the gospel in any way dissolve, but much strengthen, this obligation. "-Westminster Confession of Faith, chap. 21, "Of the Law of God, " sees. 5,6.

Episcopalian-"We must understand that the Ten Commandments are just as binding upon Christian people as they were upon the Children of Israel. The moral law is a part of the natural law of the universe. . Just as a natural law broken in the material world brings it inevitable consequences, so the moral law broken brings its inevitable consequences in the spiritual and mental worlds.

"The Lord Jesus knew this. He knew it much better than anyone else who ever lived. Therefore He built His Gospel upon a firm foundation of moral law, knowing that such a foundation can never be upset. .

"Christ's teaching goes beyond the Ten Commandments, but does not thereby make the commandments of non-effect. Quite the contrary! Christianity strengthens the authority of the commandments."- The Episcopal Church Sunday School Magazine, June-July, 1943, Vol. 105, No.6, pp. 183-184.

Moody Bible Institute -"We have already seen that, unlike the ceremonial and civil codes which were given to Israel as the chosen people and holy nation, the moral law is intended for all mankind, and it has never been abrogated nor repealed."-William C. Procter, Moody Bible Institute Monthly, December, 1933.

Interdenominational -"The basic laws of morality, and particularly the Ten Commandments, remain until the end of time as the moral and spiritual foundation upon which the New Testament religion is built."-The Snowden-Douglass Sunday School Lessons for 1946, p. 279.

"These laws are what we might call universal. . These Ten Commandments are the codification of what governs man's moral nature; and they are right, and true, and abiding in every age for every race." Peloubet's Select Notes, for the International Sunday School Lesson for January 20, 1946, p. 35.

"While God remains God, His moral law will be binding upon all who would have any part in His life. God's moral law is eternal; it is an expression of His very being. As such it can no more be abrogated than can God Himself. "-Editorial, 'are Christians to Keep the Law?" The Sunday School Times.

"The law shows me what God demands of me, but what I cannot do by myself. It shows me what I am and that I am lost. It points me to Christ in order that by grace I can be what I cannot be under law." Alan Redpath, "Law and Gospel, " The New Century Leader, July 1958.

power

ok i thank God for helping me finish my project on time. I used ASP.NET for this project and learnt alot through these few days. It's a very powerful programming framework and i hope next time i'll be able to use it in ministry too. I still have the library application that is yet to be done. Maybe i'll implement barcode technology to minimise human error. I just realise how much power i have. I can buy books online for the library and knowing the power i have, i really can make the library a successful ministry in church...muahahhhaaa

I am 15% evil.




I try to stay away from evil deeds but succumb to temptation every once in a while. I'm not quite on my way to hell but I certainly have some explaining to do.


Are you evil? find out at Hilowitz.com


hmm i think this test is not really accurate..i feel im more evil..lol

freeze and melt

It's been ages since i've updated this blog. Ok, i just got back from Andy's birthday party at Hillview Green. He invited about 50 people from church, JC and SMU. One thing i notice about myself regaring the past few birthdays was that i didn't spend much time picking the gifts. No different for Andy's case too. In fact, i was wondering what to get for him and had to ask nic and cara for suggestions. Nic suggested a CD while Cara came up with the most interesting gift - samsui chicken. No doubt Andy loves it, as she says, but i suppose giving that as a gift wouldn't be that appropriate. So in the end after much thought i decided to get him something from the internet.Yeah , i guess i'm just tired at wrecking my brains about what to get for people because what i want to get must be special or innnovative or different or not commonly found. And since the internet not only provides a greater variety of gifts but a rich shopping experience,(yeah i'm a shopping fanatic) i guess i'll be settling on that in the future.
I was one of the few early birds there at 6pm. Dinner started almost immediately with his mom and his cousin serving us food. I was expecting food to be served only when everyone was here but then again, the bbq chicken was ready so they just gave us some. After that a whole bunch of them came at 645pm. And dinner commenced. The fun part for me was not the chatting in the function room but what happened after that. I was outside the room with andrew chatting and benedict, anlin, Nic and elaine came. Then Nic suggested to go to the playground. We did and that was when the fun started. I was reliving my childhood experience when we played blind mice. It's a game where the blind mice has to be blind and catch us. The thing is, the people being pursued cannot touch the ground. It was such a fun game and it was a test of our dexterity and climbing skills...lol. After 45mins into the game, Andy's cousins came and Cara and Zoe. His cousins are about 9 and they wanted to play freeze and melt. The game requires the catcher to freeze everyone by chasing after and touching each person. And of course, the others can melt those that are freezed. Too bad tonight i wore long pants so i was kinda impeded in my movements. I had played this game before when i was of primary school age but it was exhausting running so much. But still, it was a flashback into the past where once upon a time, little sean was running around and jumping around.
It was really fun.

i don't know what's been happening to me these few months. I find that i'm becoming more and more forgetful..from small things like not remembering people's names to things my colleagues tell me..arghhh...seems like i gotta do something about it. Perhaps if i were to go slow and not have too many things inside my head then i can focus. In any case, i gotta ask God for help. I hope this is not the first signs of alzheimer's.

Just read sometin cool..

When engaged in our daily labor, we may breathe out our heart's desire,
inaudible to any human ear; but that word cannot die away into silence,
nor can it be lost. Nothing can drown the soul's desire. It rises above
the din of the street, above the noise of machinery. It is God to whom
we are speaking, and our prayer is heard.

Prayer, p. 7.

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Airless Tyre by Michelin