The Knight Reigns

Temporary Troubles, Eternal Glory

2011-12-24T12:25:00.000+08:00

"For our present troubles are small and won’t last very long. Yet they produce for us a glory that vastly outweighs them and will last forever!
So we don’t look at the troubles we can see now; rather, we fix our gaze on things that cannot be seen. For the things we see now will soon be gone, but the things we cannot see will last forever."
2 Cor 4: 17-18 (NLT)

Memory Gallery

2011-12-20T18:34:00.002+08:00

DigiPen Semester 1 is over!

Work. Snack. Youtube.

Math homework left by dropouts.

Lectures were half as full towards the end of the semester.

Thor!
Amazing sculpture done by an artist from my school.

Another artist dude drew this.

Candlelight.

Our souls ignite, like constellations of light.

In the darkest night, the fires of hearts burn bright.

All specs!

Beautiful morning. Gotta love Punggol scenery.

Heart-shaped cloud.

It was only much later after taking the picture that I discovered the heart shape =)

Honeystars madness!

Josiah came home with these humongous sacks of starry sweetness.

What up now, cereal guy?

The Final Lap

2011-12-12T05:17:00.000+08:00

5 Exams and Mission 1 is over!
Mission 2 will start in 3 weeks time, but that's a different story.

I feel a great deal lighter after last Friday; all assignments and projects submitted!
The biggest of which is the Game Project: 2 months of hard work!
Bryan and I practically worked till 2am almost every day on it.
We would camp overnight at his place every Thursday.
And finally, it is finished.

Do me a favor, play my game!
Drop me a message or something, and I'll pass it to you :)

The game: Swarm

In Swarm, you play as a alien monster fish that controls a hive of tiny minions, known as Swarmlings.
Much like a queen bee with her colony of bees, except in the seas.

Order your Swarmlings to attack marine life, while dodging their assaults.

The game features 3 different kind of Swarmlings, each with unique abilities.

Some will charge towards your enemies and devour them like Piranhas.

Others shoot bolts of energy from a safe distance.

Customize your ideal army with a combination of the 3.

Battle 7 different sea creatures! And Epic Bosses!

Many people found the game addictive - students, teachers, and friends!

Hexing addicted to the game

All glory to God.

The journey was rough; there were days when I was losing it because of the physical tiredness, mental stress, and emotional weariness. I made plenty of mistakes - missed out on instructions, not submitting assignments properly, late for classes. Yet God helped me out. Friends will stop me from submitting wrongly and let me know what to submit. Lecturers would be gracious to let me submit later, or take a quiz that I missed.

It was God that helped me through my tests and papers - there were not a few papers when I got perfect/near perfect grade, which I knew I was not capable of. There was one paper which I was doing it wrongly. At the last few minutes of the test, someone asked my lecturer about the requirements of the paper, and I realized my mistake. Because of that, I rushed through to change my essay and wrote a ton of crap. I was shocked to get 98/100. God must have blinded his eyes.

There must have been a dozen of such instances.

It must be the grace of God.

Alright I gotta go sleep now, C Programming Exam coming up later!
God's grace is upon me to do well!

Wake up and smile :)

2011-11-13T04:46:00.001+08:00

There's this song from Owl City that speaks to me. Here's the last stanza:

This Is The Future by Owl City
And when you wake up on your own
Look around you 'cause you're not alone
Let your hopes go and they'll survive
'Cause this is the future and you are alive
You're headed home

Translation by Israel Chua
Wake up, wake up! Snap out of it!

People around you experience hardships too, some worse than yours.
Be loving, care for those around you. Don't be stuck in your own world of selfishness.

Let go, let God. Every seed that dies produces much fruit.
Thank God that you have a glorious future and destiny ahead!

Thank God that you are alive!

Scenic Sublime

2011-11-07T20:41:00.001+08:00

Yes, I've been listening to Owl City again.
There's one exceptionally beautiful phrase in the song Fuzzy Blue Lights that I absolutely love: Scenic Sublime.

Man, how does the guy come up with such illustrative lyrics?

And this morning's weather most aptly portrays that phrase!

Melody meets Picturesque - the epitome of beauty.

Level Up!

2011-10-19T02:50:00.002+08:00

Woohoo! Thank God for good grades :)
Math Quiz 5: 40/40!
C Programming Quiz 4: 15/16
English Test: 16/20!!

English Test was a pleasant surprise, because my friends around me were getting 12/20 and there were rumours that 90% of the cohort failed the test. Bryan, whose English is better than mine, also scored 12/20. I must have been one of the better few XD

My teacher commended me for writing in a coherent flow and using simple words. That really made my day!

Man I love my English teacher - she makes the art of critical reading and writing come alive (although the essays she asks us to read are largely unpleasant and grim).

And 1st time full marks for Math! Woohoo! Thank You Jesus.

---------------------------------------

The father of a friend of mine had recently been hospitalized; he had fallen from the 2nd storey of a building. As the architect, he was doing inspections in the darkness of the night when he walked through a window, expecting to lean on a glass barrier. The window pane had been removed for repairs or examination, but the supervisors did not inform him, nor did they place any warning signals. Thus, he unknowingly walked off the edge, to gain a broken leg and fractures on the spine.

However, there was no hint of bitterness or anger as he narrated the mishap. Instead, he thanked the Lord for showing how much He loved him. Disregarding the intention of suing the responsible (or irresponsible) parties, he shared of his gratefulness to God that He had protected him. Doctors had expected far worse fractures on his spine. He is still able to walk. He would recover in two months.

In his unfortunate state, and not to mention the sky-high medical bills, he had every reason to complain. The amazing thing was that he was happy. Genuinely.

That really inspired me: I can choose to be happy. I am no way in a worse condition than he is - not even close. There is every reason to rejoice.

And the key is gratefulness to God.

Thank You Jesus, for finding me 10 years ago, as a lonely primary 6 boy rejected by many. Thank You for guiding me through my education, from Sec to Poly and now at DigiPen. Thank You, Father, that You know me inside out, that You know what is best for me. I thank You for the lessons You have taught me, however painful they may have been.

All things will work out for good to those who love God :)

4 Weeks in DigiPen: Getting Better

2011-10-02T03:41:00.002+08:00

MAT 140: Linear Algebra and Geometry
Quiz 1: 14/40 =(
Quiz 2: 14/40 T.T
Quiz 3: 35/40! =D

Woot! Thank God that the 3rd quiz was much easier, and that He helped me avoid 3 careless mistakes!

The past week had 4 quizzes and 5 assignment deadlines! WooHooo!! (yeah I'm going bonkers)
Managed to finish all assignments, and generally performed well in all the quizzes!

We have one module, Project Introduction, that is about making a game.
This week, Bryan and I pitched our game idea. The presentation went well! I think we were one of the best few teams that presented! Thank God for helping me speak; public speaking scares the crap outta me. I was literally trembling when the presentation was over.

We're gonna make a simple game, where you play as a underwater creature that can spawn swarms of plankton-like minions to consume all aquatic life. We call the game "Swarm". When it's almost done, we hope to let as many people try out our game and give us feedback!

Thank God that this is a week of victory!

2 weeks later will be a crazy week. Mid-Terms! +Assignment Deadlines for at least 4 modules!
+1st Milestone Presentation for our game! This means that the game must be playable, without the art and sound, in 2 weeks!

----------------------------------------------------

This week's service was incredible! Haven't felt God's love and presence in such a tangible way for a long time! I realized that for this season, the number 1 person in my life had been Yours Truly. May His grace always help me make Him my first love!

"We love Him because He first loved us."

- 1 John 4:19 -

2 Weeks in Digipen: Prelude to Hell

2011-09-17T04:00:00.007+08:00

Overconfidence. Math has never been a big issue for me. A 20min quiz on Coordinate Systems seemed easy enough. I've done my homework - there was no need to study for a simple quiz. But when I came face to face with my underestimated foe, all I could do was to stare helplessly at it for 10 minutes.

Nervously I pulled out the formulas from my memory and proceeded to attack the enemy. But unlike the tests of our Singaporean education system, the question (yes, there was only 1 question with 5 sub-questions) could not be solved with memorized formulas; one needed a deep understanding of the topic. I completed 75% of the quiz, only to realize I got it all wrong from the start. I re-did the question, but again I realized it was still wrong. That can't be good.

But I wasn't the only screwed one. Like a reaper hovering over a field of ripe wheat, the quiz swung its deadly scythe, slicing off the heads of the great majority.

I have never failed math IN MY LIFE. Much less a Super Fail.

Super F!

After this massacre, the whole class became instantly motivated. Flocks will gather around the Math Teaching Assistants to hear them preach after class. For 4 hours. I myself will strive for at least an A-.

Life is becoming more hectic as the days pass, and the days pass exceptionally fast. My new-found friend, Gavin, and I stayed back in school until 11.15pm yesterday to complete our assignments. And its hardly the peak period yet.

But as my psychology professor puts it, "It's hell, but it's enjoyable hell."

I love my modules! From Composition to C Programming, I am passionate about them all. My favourite of all is Psychology. My psychology professor is so hilarious and interesting, and his lessons are very, VERY practical. He teaches us about interacting with people with different personalities, self-development and motivation, and simply being happy. It's just so awesome, I gotta share more about it in another post =)

I always feared that a lazy and irresponsible person such as myself can't survive in DigiPen. By God's grace (and His divine rotan), my flesh is put in check. I need more of His grace; I feel I have been relying too much on my own planning and intelligence.

And I need to play more games! One can't make fun games if he doesn't play them.

But for now, sleep is imperative. Snooze out.

DigiPen Begins

2011-09-04T03:55:00.001+08:00

My long awaited and dreaded moment has finally arrived.
I am a freshman of DigiPen.

Time really races rapidly. ORD is just 10 days away. Yeah, I'm not that excited about it =P

The highly acclaimed college for Games creating is prestigious, yes, but for a reason. The students are placed under high academic pressure, of which I have heard many horror stories. I am excited yet apprehensive...

70/100 = C- or 1.7 GPA
93/100 = A or 4.0 GPA

And there is no bell curve. If everyone does badly and fails, everyone DOES fail. But on the bright side, it means that everyone can get A's too. This sort of encourages cooperation between students, rather than selfish competition, so I'm quite happy for that =)

In any case, I am determined to do well, for the sake of my future, my family. I want to be more than financially capable of supporting my future family as well as my mother. I want to live out the dream of creating successful games. I want to glorify God.

My first lesson on monday will be Maths. Said to be the toughest module for Sem 1. Woot.

Anyway, I was at the orientation on Friday, and was surprised to see soooo many familiar faces. There were a huge lot of us from NYP lawls!

The Harrowing Winter

2011-08-29T01:22:00.003+08:00

While there are many reasons to rejoice, like we moving to Suntec, and the many blessings that are included into the "Memorial" page of my blog, this year has been a tough one. And perhaps the toughest one yet.

Last year, I went through a humiliatingly painful experience, through which God taught me faithfulness and discipline. God helped me to be more discipline (more is the keyword, I still lack discipline :X), I believe because He has a great destiny for my life, which requires me to be a disciplined man of God. Thank God that He chastises me, because He loves me.

"My son, do not despise the chastening of the Lord, Nor detest His correction;
For whom the Lord loves He corrects, Just as a father the son in whom he delights."
Pro 3:11-12

This year had 2 equally, if not more, painful experiences. But they were not about discipline, but about decisiveness and pride. Maybe I don't learn except by these experiences. Nonetheless, God is good :) I am His son, He loves me, therefore He chastises me. And He has blessed me abundantly, like being accepted into DigiPen, schools fees cut by 66% because of the 2 Year Degree Programme, my awesome new phone, different Job offers, privilege to play for WR Zone, different CGs, LiveJam, etc.

But all these material blessings and ministry opportunities mean nothing, and I mean NOTHING compared to relationships. I thank God for my dearest friends, who been with me during my tough times, and constantly bring joy and life. I thank God for my family, especially my mother; I thank Him that I've grown a little closer with my family.

Truly when you are have lost everything else, you realize that family and friends are all that matters. And without a shadow of doubt, God my Father matters most. I can afford to lose anything and anyone but Him. To hear His voice and to feel His presence, is more than enough.

So its been a bad year for me, but I'm not the only one. So many of my friends had their tough times, some much worse then I. You could be one of them. Let us stay united despite the troubles; let not the evil one take opportunity to divide us. No matter the differences and hurts, the love of Christ is more than enough. Always pray for one another (trust me, your own pain will feel better when your pray for others), and let the love of God be shared abroad in our hearts through the Holy Ghost.

Through the cold and harsh winter, let us become stronger, more mature, and more united.

Look out, for spring awaits! :)

"Now no chastening seems to be joyful for the present, but painful; nevertheless, afterward it yields the peaceable fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it." (Heb 12:11)

Moo.

2011-08-27T05:46:00.000+08:00

Jeremy Lee introduced this epi-tarded song :D

I am Cow!!!! by Arrogant Worms
I am Cow, hear me moo
I weigh twice as much as you
And I look good on the barbecue
Yogurt, curd, cream, cheese and butter's
Made from liquid from my udders
I am Cow, I am Cow, hear me moo

I am Cow, eating grass
Methane gas comes out my ass
And out my muzzle when I belch
O, the ozone layer is thinner
From the outcome of my dinner
I am Cow, I am Cow, I've got gas

I am Cow, here I stand
Far and wide upon this land
And I am living everywhere
From B.C. to Newfoundland
You can squeeze my teats by hand
I am Cow, I am Cow, I am Cow
I am Cow, I am Cow, I am Cow!

Joy

2011-08-15T04:11:00.001+08:00

"But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law."(Gal 5:22-23)

Are you feeling joyful?

The Holy Spirit brings JOY. If you are not happy, you are not in the will of God. Be happy!

2 causes of unhappiness:
1) Unfavorable Circumstances: "My life sucks!"
2) Pity Partying: "My life sucks. I choose to be unhappy and I'm telling the world on Facebook and Twitter so that you can pity me. So quick, start pitying! Me!"

Okay jokes aside...

Recently, I've been unhappy, fearful and stressed about stuff in my life. But if the fruit of the Spirit is Joy and Peace, I should be confident about my situation, that everything's not just gonna be alright, but gonna be GREAT. Because God is on my side, and He has come to give life, and life more abundantly!

If you know that you can't do it, good! Because His strength is made perfect in your weakness. You are going to find yourself doing things that you were never good at. You will conquer the your greatest fears. It is because of who you are in Christ.

"Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us," (Eph 3:20, NIV)

"But by the grace of God I am what I am, and His grace toward me was not in vain; but I labored more abundantly than they all, yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me." (1 Cor 15:10)

By the grace/power of God, you can overcome all weakness, all trials, all temptations, all fears, all failures, all sickness, etc

But its not psycho-ing yourself to be happy. Talk to God. Tell Him about your frustrations. Ask Him for His grace to overcome. Then believe, even when you doubt. Just a small mustard seed of faith, even if mixed with fear, can cause you to walk on water in the midst of a storm, just like Peter.

All glory to God!

Final Day Reporting For NS!

2011-08-09T19:10:00.001+08:00

TODAY IS THE LAST DAY AT DESIGN PROGIDY! LAST DAY REPORTING FOR NS! :D

Talk about Happy National Day!!! ORD LOH!! (well almost... officially ORD on 14 Sept)

Spent the day monitoring NDP Website, uploading hundreds of NDP photos to Flickr, and playing L4D2 =X
Bryan and I treated to 2 younger members of the Website Team to lunch at a Dim Sum Restaurant :)
Sort of a tradition for the ORD personnel.

After today, a new and glorious phase of my life shall commence!

Just registered for all my modules for my 1st Semester at DigiPen, they look exciting :) Kinda stress about it though; hope that I can manage my time well in DigiPen. From now till the start of school, I'm gonna focus on the game project I'm working on. Gotta rush it finish, otherwise I won't have time when school starts!

Relying on the grace of God!

Phew!

2011-08-08T18:20:00.000+08:00

I'm a completionistic perfectionist with obsessive compulsive disorder! Spent hours and days organising my contacts! If a contact is from my secondary school, I would prefix the name with a 'OP', meaning Orchid Park. If a contact is from the cellgroup, I will prefix the name with a 'CG'. And I have 15 categories and almost 400 contacts, so there you have it.

But now I'm frustrated with my WhatsApp not showing my contacts and my Contacts showing too many contacts. And I'm searching for the best calendar app out there. It must work perfectly!!!

Sony Xperia PLAY!

2011-08-03T17:59:00.000+08:00

My Razer Abyssus mouse wheel suddenly stop working! There was a 'click' sound and it became loose :( I think I still have warranty though.

On the much brighter side of life, my mum came to me one day asked me if I wanted a new phone. She bought a Mio package for our new house broadband, and the Singtel guys threw in a Sony Xperia Play. It sort of rang a bell in my mind, but I didn't know what it was, or how good the phone was.

Later I found out that its reeaallly good Andriod phone! More than that, it's the Playstation Phone for crying out loud! =D

Music, Games, Social Media, Touch Screen and a Funky Gamepad? Whatchu know about Smartphones?

Check this video out:

Man that mechanism feels tight! LOL

I'm still configuring the phone and getting used to it. Have yet to transfer the 300 plus contacts over to the new number, so I'll be using my old phone for quite a while.

Thank God for this new awesome phone! I didn't even ask for it. All I wanted was an iPhone, Samsung Galaxy S or something similar. Well this is it, with a Playstation gamepad chucked into it underbelly. God is good!

Sony Xperia PLAY. Smart.

Aftermath

2011-07-24T01:17:00.002+08:00

I just want to start by saying it's amazing how God turned many of my friends' lives around.

Some grew up in dysfunctional families and abusive parents.
Some went through financial crises.
Some were hated by their very own parents.
Some have their parents divorced.
Some lost their parents prematurely, to illness, misfortune or suicide.
Some had a chronic illness like cancer.
Many lived a meaningless and purposeless life.
Many searched for acceptance and love in the wrong places.

They struggled with low self-esteem, depression, bitterness and emptiness.
But God came and changed their lives. They've become confident. They've forgiven those who hurt them deeply. They now have a new meaning and joy in their lives.

Lifted out of the ashes, we've found hope in the aftermath.

-----------------------------------

This lyrics of the song is full of meaning, and I'll like to share it's meaning with you guys.

The song is artistically composed of 3 progressive stages:
1) God came to the rescue
2) God is with me right now
3) I give Him my life for what He's done

Part 1: God Came To The Rescue
The author looks back at his own life, at how God rescued him from a mess, just like many of us. The author had a tough and messed up life - a nobody. And looking back, he is amazed that God, creator of all, would come down to earth as a Man, and die for someone like him. In the aftermath of Jesus' death, the author found comfort, love and hope for a new life.

The skies lay low where You are, on the earth You rest Your feet.

Jesus is exalted above the highest heavens, and the earth is His footstool.
"...Heaven is My throne, and earth is My footstool...." (Isa 66:1)

Yet He came down to earth for you and I.

Yet the hands that cradle the stars are the hands that bled for me.

The hands that hold the stars in place are the same hands that were nailed on the cross.

In that moment of glorious surrender

You were broken for all the world to see

Lifted out of the ashes, I am found in the aftermath

In that glorious moment on the Cross, He was broken for the broken.

Freedom found in Your scars, by Your grace my life redeemed

Yet You chose to take the sinner's crown, as You placed Your crown on me

The Beautiful Exchange: All our pain and shame (the sinner's crown of thorns) for all of His comfort and glory (His own crown)

In that moment of glorious surrender

Was the moment You broke the chains in me

Lifted out of the ashes, I am found in the aftermath

Because of His death, all sin, bad habits, sickness, poverty and rejection has been broken.
We are free.

And in that moment You opened up the heavens

To the broken, the beggar and the thief

Lifted out of the wreckage, I found hope in the aftermath

The heavens is not only opened to the broken, the beggar and the suffering, but also to the thief, the criminal and the sinner. Amazing grace.

Part 2: God is with me right now

And I know You're with me

Yes I know You're with me here

And I know Your love will light the way

Even in my most difficult times, when it feels like I'm facing it alone, I KNOW that Jesus is with me, and His love will make a way.

Part 3: I give Him my life for what He's done

Now all I have I count it all as lost

But to know You and to carry the cross

Knowing I'm found in the light of the aftermath

Because You gave your all for me, I now give my all for You.
All I want is to know You and to follow You.

Yet indeed I also count all things loss for the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them as rubbish, that I may gain Christ...that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death... - Phil 3:8, 10

Retarded T-Shirts!

2011-07-19T10:48:00.002+08:00

I was browsing the virtual retail stores on the interwebs, and stumbled upon these hilarious and witty T-shirt designs at bustedtees.com! I literally Laughed Out Loud!

Enjoy this tumblr-wannabe post! :D

"Ludwig van Beethoven died in 1827 of liver disease. True."

MY FAVORITE! HAHAHA

"Depression, as currently defined by the American Psychological Association Journal, can be traced back to this specific situation."

"We were going to sell a Taylor Swift shirt, but he cut us off."

"In brightest day, in blackest night, always obey traffic lantern’s light."

LMAO indeed!!

Jayesslee - Angelic

2011-07-13T13:01:00.002+08:00

If I were to describe Janice and Sonia in one word, it would be Angelic.

Their voices are so anointed! As they sung and shared their testimony, I was soaked in the love and presence of God, even hours after the service. I felt peace and comfort for the worries I have for my life, knowing that God is holding my life in His hands.

I was reminded of how He first reached out to me 10 years ago in Primary 6, and carried me through my troubled years in Sec 1 & 2.

You can watch them here:

and on Sunday:

Their testimony also reminded me that life is short, that some things that are very attractive in this life are temporal. Things like popularity, recognition, good looks. But relationships, love, character and good works last forever. Sometimes we've gotta step out and do things that matter for the long term, and for eternity, even if we are afraid.

Sonia rocks! Pretty + anointed + great singing + plays guitar + really loves God = Awesome!
Janice is awesome too, but Sonia is cuter haha.

But to be honest, I don't have a crush on either of them.

Anyway...

Been busy lately, cause NDP is coming soon, so there's more things to do in the office. Also spent quite a bit of time with Live Jam videos and stuff. Glad I'm done with the videos! Gotta spend more time on my freelance job this week; I have been neglecting it due to the hectic schedule. Need to rest in the grace of God!

Take Heart

2011-06-30T15:31:00.002+08:00

You're gonna make it. It's gonna be okay. It's gonna be better than ever. Take heart!

"I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world."
- John 16:33

Peak Season! + Muse on Indecisiveness

2011-06-14T13:48:00.002+08:00

Super super super busy! So many things to do, not sure what to do first! I think I spend too much time worrying and deciding what to do haha.

Indecisiveness. Something that many struggle with, including myself. I've been thinking recently, what is the root of indecisiveness? I'm not talking about making hard and important decisions, cos those need to be well-thought out. I'm talking about day-to-day choices like "Where should we eat?", "Should I meet my friends or do projects at home?" and "Which shirt should I buy?"

After much introspection, this what I found out:

Perfectionism -> Indecisiveness

The consuming need to be always right. The need to be perfect. The inner voice that says "I cannot and must not make mistakes." Kiasu-ism. When presented with choices, the perfectionist is compelled to analyse every option with great thought in order to get the best deal. He is always concerned about "what if I miss out? what if this really better?"

Many times, he is in inner conflict between 2 ideals, e.g. choosing between "best quality" and "saving money" or between pleasing a friend or a parent.

But more than making the right choice, the perfectionist want to be right before others. Which lead us to...

Fear of Failure -> Perfectionism

Somewhere in the deep recesses of his heart, the indecisive perfectionist hears a subtle voice telling him that he is a failure. A voice he constantly denies. As a defense mechanism against the thought of being a failure, he is resolved never to make wrong choices, no matter how trivial they are. Which takes us deeper...

Low Self-Esteem -> Fear of Failure

Due a poor image of himself, the indecisive perfectionist fears to be labelled a failure. He takes criticism very harshly, and repeatedly blames himself for mistakes. Thus, in the core decision-making center of his heart, he must make perfect decisions to protect himself from criticism. Which brings us to...

Lack of Affirmation -> Low Self-Esteem

The indecisive perfectionist who fears failure and has a poor self-image, or the "poor guy" to be concise, has a unsatisfied need for approval. According to Maslow's hierarchy of needs, every human has a need to feel accepted and belonged. A lack of affirmation from others, especially from parents, can cause one to spiral down to low self-esteem. Some would swing to the other extreme of overconfidence and arrogance, but that's a different topic.

So there we have it:

Lack of Affirmation -> Low Self-Esteem -> Fear of Failure -> Perfectionism -> Indecisiveness

The root of indecisiveness is the lack of affirmation.

So we know the root problem, now what?
I am NOT insisting that we should start praising and encouraging indecisive people all the time. Of course affirming them when they make right choices would definitely help. But ultimately overcoming indecisiveness is an individual decision (paradoxical..).

But how? It is possible with human effort. Believe in yourself! Start saying "I am a decisive person" and believe in that! Share your problems with understanding and affirming people, and don't be too hard for yourself when you make mistakes - laugh it off.

But there's an even better way,

Look to God, our Father.
It is only natural that we have a need for approval and affirmation. But if we focus on searching for affirmation in others, we'll be disappointed. And sometimes, our parents disappoint us. However, God will never disappoint us.

God accepts you just the way you are.
God approves of you.
God always affirms you.
God believe that you can do it!
God understands you.
God is proud of the good things you've done for Him.
God loves you.

I hope this helped you, or at least helped you to be understanding towards indecisive people!

lol I meant to do this blog post to talk about my busy life, but woooahhh.. what the hell?
Sorry for the anti-climax :P

Jayesslee!

2011-06-02T01:31:00.003+08:00

I've just heard a wonderful piece of news!!!!
But before I let you know what it is...

I take back what I said about playing with more variation and flow.
~~Sonia plays better than I do~~! (I think I can play as well as she does :P)
Check this out:

Ah!!! Feel like learning this song to prove that I can play it as well :X

But yeah, I gotta admit... she's better. And she can do all that funky plucking while singing with an awesome voice.

More than just amazing voices, Janice and Sonia have a heart for God. From what I observe, their hearts/intentions are pure. And man, they play music and sing with anointing. Not to mention pretty.

That's why I'm excited to say that...
Jayesslee are coming to our church this year! :D

Weiren tells me that their testimony of how Jesus changed their lives is wonderful.

IT'S GONNA BE SO PHENOMENAL.

lol this is so awesomely timely! I heard Jayesslee 2 years ago, but I started to really listen to them only like 2 days back, and now they're coming! Pretty soon! May many lives be impacted, and may Jesus alone be glorified!

You Are My Strength by JS

2011-05-31T12:19:00.000+08:00

When I first heard Janice and Sonia sing this song, I almost teared.

Anointed.

On a side note, Sonia's playing style is very similar to mine :D

Except that I throw in plucking and more variation; more flow. #pride

But she makes less mistakes than I do haha.

Actually there's loads of people who play the same style - the "cheating" open chords style for the key of E (Sonia is playing it in this video). Easy to play, and sounds like wow. That makes E one of my favourite keys :)

That's all I have to say now, may be doing a post about the song Aftermath soon.
See you! Love Jayesslee!

LIGHTS + NDP11 Website Launch

2011-05-12T09:38:00.000+08:00

Just yesterday, I got an MSN msg from a NS friend that said "Hey Owl City fan, check this song out: "

A song about the frustrations of a misunderstood person,

who wishes that she could express herself better

Oh by the way, my friend was sitting like 4 metres away from me.

Wow, LIGHTS = Owl City - dreamy lyrics + gamer fantasy! I like Owl City's dreamy lyrics, but her lyrics are pretty good too. They speak to the heart.

Here's another 2 of her awesome songs:

1) Saviour (in my playlist)
2) My Boots <-- Awesome song with cool typography video!

National Day Parade 2011 Official Website is launching in a moment's time!
Woot, stayed overnight with mah peeps in the office to ensure the website can smoothly transit from the countdown to the actual website :)

Can't wait to get home and wash up! Didn't bathe/brush teeth for a day! Woke up on the office floor with my face oilier than the fried kuay tiao I ate last night :/

Do check out the website!

Blog Elections

2011-05-09T16:32:00.004+08:00

Got some extra time today, so I've decided to some maintenance ;-)

In conjunction with the recent General Elections, I have elected a new list of blog links on the "Fellow Knights" sidebar!

If your blog link is missing, it's not because I don't love you anymore!
I still love you, just that your blog is either dead or I don't have permission to access it :(

So if you're reviving your blog, or suddenly decide to give me permission to read your blog (because I'm such an awesomely nice guy), do let me know! I'll gladly give you a seat in this Parliament.

New candidates are welcomed too!

I've finally completed the "The Knight" page, so you might want to take a look if you're bored and stuff.

I went through all the blog links to find out which candidates were worthy of election, and I found this picture on Katy's blog:

The most awesome line in The Saltwater Room,

Owl City's finest song!

Tumblr is pretty cool with the image sharing and stuff! I am always delighted to see those funny, cute and interesting images, esp from Wanyi's blog. I considered shifting to tumblr before, but unless there's an easy way to migrate all my posts, images and crap, I think I'm staying put.

Oh, and it's so awesomely cool to have a Thorian government: 6 mjolnirs and 81 lightning bolts! PAP in power + a sizable opposition to be the people's voice = a progressive Singapore. It's just sad that George Yeo have to go!!! T.T

Okay, I'm getting out of point, so I'll just end here. Till then!

3 Truths

2011-05-03T15:00:00.001+08:00

It's one thing to know a truth. It's another to have experienced it yourself.

Recently, I've experienced 3 truths:

1) "You don't really know what you've got 'til it's gone."

Mike Shinoda got this right when he rapped the song Where'd You Go (Fort Minor).

What can't you afford to lose if you lost everything else?
What can you afford to give away to retain those that really matter?

2) Pain gives birth to maturity.

It increases our pain threshold, our capacity to handle things.

3) God always has a beautiful ending.

This thought came to me yesterday,

"If you could see the Lord's intended outcome, you would rejoice."

Just like how He blessed Job after his crisis, He will do so for us.

We have every reason to rejoice.

"Indeed we count them blessed who endure. You have heard of the perseverance of Job and seen the end intended by the Lord--that the Lord is very compassionate and merciful." (James 5:11)

A New Year, A New Day

2011-04-11T00:59:00.001+08:00

128 emails from Facebook on the 10th of April! Astronomical! Almost like the 1,900,000 dislikes on the Friday MV!

Thanks everyone for all your well wishes, on Facebook or otherwise! Appreciate every single thoughtful word! :)

It was really nice of the whole CG to sing me a birthday song at JTown Cafe, albeit embarrassing and spontaneous. I didn't expect so many people to make my day! I simply wanted to claim a free cake to share with Jeremy Goh haha.

To W406: I really love the presents, thanks so much!!!! Thanks Enyun, Zoe, Adeline and Hexing for picking out such nice clothes (I don't have much fashion sense)!

I really thank God for all of you for celebrating my birthday, and for His goodness towards me. He gave me the chance to work on another game project, after the previous one ceased a couple of weeks back. Praise God! I thank God for such a generous, honest, helpful and genuine friend like Bryan Dismas Yeo! He introduced me to the job, and was willing the cut down on his salary for my sake. Like wow.

Also I thank God for the work He is doing within me. I will be a better person by the end of this year! :)

A wish I made was for God to continually revive my heart, the hearts of W406, WR, and CHC. May His will be done. Revival is here!

Thanks for an awesome 22nd birthday!

Anyway, the beautiful song currently on my playlist is a new remix of an old hymn by Owl City! There are very few songs in the world which lyrics express my thoughts in every single line. This song is one of them:

How deep the Father's love for us,
How vast beyond all measure
That He should give His only Son
And make a wretch His treasure

How great the pain of searing loss,
The Father turns His face away
As wounds which mar the chosen One,
Bring many sons to glory

Behold the Man upon a cross,
My sin upon His shoulders
Ashamed I hear my mocking voice,
Call out among the scoffers

It was my sin that held Him there
Until it was accomplished
His dying breath has brought me life
I know that it is finished

I will not boast in anything
No gifts, no power, no wisdom
But I will boast in Jesus Christ
His death and resurrection

Why should I gain from His reward?
I cannot give an answer
But this I know with all my heart
His wounds have paid my ransom

Ciao!

2011: Promotion and Multiplication!

2011-03-13T22:41:00.002+08:00

Some months back, Dr. Niko prophesied that 2011 will be a year of Promotion and Multiplication for our church. Thanks be to Weiren for reminding us about that!

Not going to let the evil one steal the word this year.
Not sure if I shared this before but I'll just share it anyway. Last year in October, I felt God showing me that City Harvest Church will grow and expand so rapidly that we will be amazed. He said "Be ready in season and out of season! You and your companions will contain the growth if you will prepare yourselves!"

In other words, some of us, including myself, will rise up to be shepherds, because of the growth. I didn't think of correlating this word with Dr. Niko's prophesy until this week. But of course the promise is conditional; I gotta prepare myself. I wondered, in what way can I prepare myself? Just like what Weiren preached today, one way is to study the Word!

It's such an amazing revelation that the Logos is Jesus Christ! We've heard that Jesus is the living Word, but somehow, this is like some new revelation. It must be realizing that Logos is not just the written word, but God Himself. Cool.

Anyways, one reason why I blog is to keep a written record about the events of my life, my thoughts, feelings and funny crap. Those archives proved to be darn useful. Especially when you apply for scholarships (which I currently am doing so).

It's hard to remember all the dates of events, like exactly which day did I start/end my work as a Game Programmer at Envisage? When did I do my SAT test?

For those of us who joined W406 early, how about this: when did Weiren become our Cellgroup Leader? Was it 2007? Which month was that?

Well? Can't remember can you? :P

Actually I can't either XD

I checked my email accounts; the first email I ever got from Weiren was Thu, Aug 16, 2007 at 12:10 AM. Hmm...

At any case, it was 2007, and how quickly 3-4 years has passed. Or slowly. Feels like we've known each other forever.

Okay I shall stop this retrospection, before I submerge myself in nostalgia. The point is, I blog to keep track of memories. I like to keep track of stuff. I'm an archivist, a scribe, whatever. Looking at data makes me feel powerful. In a couple of years time, we'll look back and see that 2011 would be indeed a year Promotion and Multiplication!

Like a Tidal Wave

2011-03-07T23:11:00.003+08:00

TIDAL WAVE! Another Owl City song that is close to my heart!

Man, I'm might actually become a fan. I haven't been a fan of any one for a long time. Yeap, I sort of outgrown that phase for some time. Now I'm not a fan of Jay Chou, By2, Linkin Park, Snow Patrol, B.o.B. or whoever. Now I just like their songs.

Nah I can't imagine myself jumping up and down in Adam Young's concerts, running to the front to grab his hand and autograph. What a thought.

Anywho...

The chorus and the end of this song speaks of how I feel right now.. the tight struggle between courage and insecurity, joy and depression.

But playing this song through my mind makes me feel... brave.

Tidal Wave by Owl City
Chorus:
I forget the last time I felt brave
I just recall insecurity
'Cause it came down like a tidal wave
And sorrow swept over me

Then I was given grace and love
I was blind but now I can see
'Cause I found a new hope from above
And courage swept over me

End:
It hurts just to wake up
Whenever you're wearing thin
Alone on the outside
So tired of looking in

The end is uncertain
And I've never been so afraid
But I don't need a telescope
To see that there's hope
And that makes me feel brave

Meteor Shower

2011-03-04T23:18:00.001+08:00

Meteor Shower by Owl City.
Adam expresses his feelings towards Jesus in this uber short song, but full of intense emotions.

This song echoes the cry of my heart.

I can finally see
That You're right there beside me

I am not my own
For I have been made new
Please don't let me go
I desperately need You

On The Ground!

2011-02-28T18:09:00.002+08:00

LOL YOU MUST WATCH THIS VIDEO! Super funny song!
** Caution: Has some PG stuff**

Here be the lyrics!

I was walkin’ through the city streets
and a man walks up to me and hands me the latest energy drink
Run faster. Jump Higher.
Man, I’m not gonna let you poison me.

I threw it on the ground!

You must think I’m a joke!
I ain’t gonna be part of this system!
Man, pump that garbage in another man’s veins!

I go to my favorite hot dog stand
and the dude says, “you come here all the time! Here’s one for free.”
I said, “Man, what I look like, a charity case?”

I took it, and threw it on the ground!

I don’t need your handouts!
I’m an adult!
Please, you can’t buy me hot dog man!

At the farmer’s market with my so-called “girlfriend”
She hands me her cellphone, says it’s my dad.
Man, this ain’t my dad. This is a cellphone! <-- THE FUNNIEST LINE!

I threw it on the ground!

What you think I’m stupid?
I’m not a part of this system!
My dad’s not a phone! Duh!

Some poser hands me a cake at a birthday party
What you want me to do with this, eat it?

Happy birthday to the ground!
I threw the rest of the cake too!
Welcome to the real world, jackass!

So many things to throw on the ground
Like this, and this, and that. And even this.
I’m an adult!

Two Hollywood phonys trying to give me their autograph.
Ground! Nobody wants your autograph! Phonys!

Then the two phonys got up. Turns out they had a taser.
And they tased me in the butt hole.
I fell to the ground.

The phonys didn’t let up.
Tasing on my butt hole, over and over.
I was screaming and squirming
My butt hole was on fire!

The moral of this story is: you can’t trust the system!

Man!

Minecrafting with Josiah

2011-02-06T04:56:00.000+08:00

Minecraft is super addictive!

Despite the pixelated (or some would say 'crappy') graphics, the gameplay is awesome.

This game is without form but full of substance.

Been playing with Josiah during this Chinese New Year :)

We started out with nothing, struggling to survive monsters attacks, and collecting the basic materials (wood, coal, stone). But after playing for many hours, we formed out our home nicely, planted crops, collected lots of resources, and built a long railway, etc

So here's how our abode looks like:

Outside our house.

That huge green mass is what we call the "World Tree".
To the right you can say a line of grey stuff, which is our railway track.

Inside our house
Fireplace in the center!

Our house is carved into a stony cliff lawl.

another view of our house

Railway in our house!

You can't imagine how much effort I put into building this railway.
It leads all the way to this huge cave, teeming with resources and monsters. The reason I built it was because it was quite a long walk from our house. The whole project consumed ALOT of iron, like about 60-70 Iron Ingots, all of which were legitimately mined (yes, you can cheat in the game).

But riding the cart is much fun! It's like a roller coaster ride :)

Riding the railway system on a minecart

Riding pass the landscape

That's the World Tree in the background, a little to the left of the center.

This is our wheat farm.

Because of our wheat farm, we have tonnes of bread! Bread restores health, so it's awesome to have an inexhaustible supply of healing.

This is an ordinary tree. It's kinda dark; hope you can make it out.

Compare it with this:

The massive world tree :D

The trunk of the world tree is 9x9 tiles large, unlike the ordinary 1x1 trees.
Atop our house, is a vast expanse of sand. Here we made a cactus farm.

Cactus farm on top of our house.

It you're wondering whats that burning structure with green stuff surrounding it, it's the way down to our house. We surrounded it cactus and fire to guard ourselves against monsters that appear in the night.

Yeap, Minecraft rocks. And it's too addictive!
It's totally worth my $27.

Well that's it, hope you guys had a wonderful Chinese New Year :)

Minecraft, Music and Madness

2011-02-01T02:28:00.002+08:00

Woot I just bought Minecraft yesterday!

Over the past few days. I have been playing Minecraft with Bryan, but I've been shamelessly using his girlfriend's account. Then, a surge of manhood sprung up within me, and I decided to do the right thing. I typed those 16 digits in, and within an instant, $26.96 departed from me. I silently (and embarrassingly) recount that this is the 1st time I spent money on a game in about 11 years.

So what in Arthas' Flowing White Mane is Minecraft???
A Blizzard game about mining???

Not at all, my speculative friend! What do you do in Minecraft? You

Haha nah it's more than that.

Minecraft is an adventure game, where you forge your own world, literally.

Don't let the shoddy, pixelated graphics fool you - there's real substance underneath that form.

To explain in layman terms, it's like creating a world with Lego, except that you are a person roaming in and building that world. Unfortunately, you'll most likely be lost at what to do without a friend to teach you the basics :P

Bryan and I had many adventures, such as building a cosy wooden cottage with a tall lookout tower, which had a waterfall flowing down from the top of the tower. We dug a nice pond, and we grew crops. Sadly, Bryan burned down the house in a failed attempt to create a fireplace. I went into the house to observe the carnage. Needless to say, both of us were incinerated alive XD

But thank God for the word "respawn".

The burning remnants of our house.

That's our waterfall, which kinda flooded the house after it burnt down.

We dug out elaborate mining shafts, battled the undead, crafted armor and equipment, built a glass tower that was founded upon a lake and reached to the clouds (later, we jumped off from the top into the lake). Oh yes, Bryan planted a tree on top of a tree on top of a tree on top of a tree on top of a tree on top of... uh you get the idea. Well maybe you don't.

The glass tower and a tree on a tree.

Bryan later extended both the tower and the "world tree" to the heavens.

You can build really cool stuff, like this beautiful hall I found online:

It's a great game, if you enjoy building worlds and playing games like Island Troll Tribes.

---

After some introspection, I realize that the main reason I wanna get a bass guitar is to compose songs - adding the bass parts to songs. But that would mean I'll need music software and recording equipment. And I'm not very into composing songs yet, it's just something I want to do as another hobby someday. Thus, I declare that getting a Bass Guitar will be of lower priority.

And that adds to the list of stuff I wanna do as hobbies:

- Music Composing

- Learn Bass Guitar

- Learn Piano

- Story Writing

I wouldn't consider playing games as a hobby I guess. More like a jumbled up combo of play and work.

Actually there's another thing I would like to do. Make awesomely cool and stupid T-shirt prints. For fun.

Oh yes, I was walking about Nex with Yufen and Joanne, looking for an ATM, when I suddenly stepped on something squishy. I was like crap... it's bound to be chewing gum or something.

Well it turned out to be something totally unexpected:

Wait... is that Sushi?!

Inconceivable!

Anyway, I won't be updating my blog as often as before. Gotta focus on more important things. So yeah, so sad. T.T cry me a river.

Peace out.

1st Post in 2011, and...

2011-01-03T02:09:00.002+08:00

Argh! Spent the day editing and perfecting a music video for my blog music playlist, but YouTube disabled embedding due to some stupid copyright thingy! Oh well, gotta settle with second best.

The song is Black Sheep sung by Brie Larson, the actress for Envy Adams in Scott Pilgrim vs The World. It such a totally awesome song! Anyway here's the link to the video I uploaded:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6kwhsJ-y_kI

You can't view it on my blog but it still rocks! \_/

Or you could listen to the mp3 on my playlist.

Scott Pilgrim is just so friggin awesome. It leaves up to its title:

An Epic of Epic Epicness.

Stats:
+8 Humour
+10 Randomness
+9 Action
+7 Romance
+7 Character & Story
+8 Rockin' Music
+10 Epicness

Final Score: 8/10

YOU MUST WATCH IT. The script is superb! The jokes are genuinely hilarious! +5 for Wallace gayness! At the right moment with the right words, laughter hits you hard in the gut! Not like those other lame comedies that have to depend on pain and misfortune to incite laughter (bam, the main char takes a blow on his crotch -_-").

Funny Scene!

Even in every fight scene, randomness and comedy is prevalent.

It's totally random. It's like the real world blended into a video game, with battling bands and love thrown into a wonderful and well-designed chaos. For awhile I've been wanting a bass guitar. This movie adds another reason.

Awesome Bass Battle

But... it's not showing in Singapore =(
I had to get the movie from Bryan.

Anyway...
it feels like... 2010. (o.0)

I don't quite have that new year feel yet. Perhaps a smashing celebration is missing - like a 3 day chalet. It could be the fact that I'm outta school for quite awhile. Or beer is lacking. Whatever it is, its time to put the past behind and move on. Manasseh and Ephraim: Forgetting past failures, moving towards to Fruitfulness.

Thanks everyone for what you've done for me in 2010! Thanks for all the cards, chocolates, sweets and gifts, Yufen, Fiona, Wanyi, Joanne, Caspia and whoever else involved! Thanks Leroy for the Humble Bundle! (Revenge of the Titans is cool, Cortex Command is unplayable) Appreciate it! Have an awesome 2011 ahead!

Bed Intruder: Hide your kids, hide your wife!

2010-12-17T23:29:00.001+08:00

Bryan showed one of the most awesomest YouTube videos of all times:

Bed Intruder Song

It's about this dude named Antoine Dodson who saved his sister from a rapist. He gave a passionate and flamboyant speech during the interview, which the Gregory Brothers turned into a song =3

Usher Ministry

2010-12-07T00:09:00.000+08:00

Group 11 (the new one) is the best group I've ever served with! The ushers in general have a willing heart in serving, and are fun people to talk to. Thank God for Huierl, for her leadership, for entrusting me to serve as various ICs, for her inspiring attitude in serving God! Her introducing of worship before service was really impactful - not only for me but also for rest of the ushers I believe.

Thank God for all the friendships and those who impacted my life :)

Group 11

Now to the next phase of God's plan for my life :)

More about Modern Warfare 2

2010-12-01T18:10:00.002+08:00

This video is one reason why I love the Modern Warfare series so much.

*Spoiler Alert*

This scene moved many players to tears. Not me though =P
But it was heart-wrenching nonetheless.

After this mission, you get thrown into the next mission,
pumped up with adrenaline (and perhaps vengeance):

Awesome.

Psalms 91

2010-11-28T22:29:00.001+08:00

I was browsing through a Christian bookstore the other day, and I happened to notice a book about Psalm 91.

The guys and I were worshiping God at my house when Isaiah gave a word of encouragement from Psalm 91.

I was playing guitar for W539 and Yufen too encouraged us from Psalm 91.

All this in a span of 4 days. Interesting. I think I'll meditate on the Psalm. I really like the last part of the Psalm:

“Because he has set his love upon Me, therefore I will deliver him;
I will set him on high, because he has known My name.
He shall call upon Me, and I will answer him;
I will be with him in trouble;
I will deliver him and honor him.
With long life I will satisfy him,
And show him My salvation.”
(Psalm 91:14-16)

Munney!

2010-11-26T16:11:00.002+08:00

Right now I'm looking to give tuition or guitar lessons for $20-25/hr.
Or make websites.
I believe that God will provide as I take a step of faith :)

NS Allowance is too little. And I spend too much on transport (Argh!)
But God's will is that I'll be financially free. It must happen in Jesus' name!

"And God is able to make ALL grace abound toward you, that you, always having ALL sufficiency in ALL things, may have an abundance for EVERY good work."
2 Cor 9:8

Unmerited Favour

2010-11-25T16:18:00.006+08:00

I was called upon by my former RSM to assist him in the website he was in charge of. He spoke with my lieutenant, and I found myself within the confines of Sungei Gedong Camp this morning. Finishing what I was instructed to do before lunch, I had the rest of the day off. Praise the Lord.

As I walked out of the gates of Armour Headquarters, I saw a statue of a tank in the middle of the road, its cannon staring proudly into in the sky. Beneath its tracked feet glimmered four silver words, chiseled out of polished metal. They were:

ONCE ARMOUR

ALWAYS ARMOUR

The glorious declaration implied that those who joined the ranks of the Armour regiments would proudly be part of the Armour family forever.

Not me.

Not that I'm not proud of being in Armour, of course. To be politically correct, I had some good experiences there. But for me, it was Once Armour, Now Engineer. And I love the welfare culture of the Singapore Combat Engineers!

Nevertheless, today's experience triggered this blog post. (I felt like doing a blog post *winks*)

Recently I remembered that prior to my enlistment, I prayed hard that I would NOT be posted to Sungei Gedong, after hearing Yaozhong's dismaying experiences there. I prayed instead of being posted to Nee Soon Camp (rumored to be like 'heaven'), Seletar Camp or Khatib Camp, due to their close proximity to my home.

Well, you know the story. I received my enlistment letter, and the words 'Armour HQ' flashed mockingly at me.

But God has a way of answering prayers. 1 year after my enlistment, I crossed the gates of the famed Nee Soon Camp. Turns out that the rumors are true. Lucky you, Qiming. One and a half months after that, I was posted to Seletar Camp. God is good.

He has been good throughout my army life. I went through a few hardships, including the toughest moment of my life, but God was gracious. Those difficult moments were valued lessons, the 'rotan' of a loving father. It seems that His favour follows me, no matter which camp I am in, so much so that some around me become jealous, and even dislike me.

Still, I thank Him for His unmerited favour.

I believe that right now is a season of decisions. God wants to build self-control in me - Responsibility over Comfort. May His grace be sufficient for me.

"And those who are Christ’s
have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires."
Gal 5:24

Seek First

2010-11-17T23:57:00.002+08:00

"But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness,

and all these things shall be added to you."

Freaky Fred

2010-11-04T19:16:00.004+08:00

My bro Isaac was recently watching an episode of Courage the Cowardly Dog titled Freaky Fred.

As I child, I always felt that it was bizarre and macabre, but now I love it!
I totally love the poem - the guy who wrote has great command of the English Language and has a real knack of crafting poems.
The voice actor of Fred is a genius.

The most hilarious part was when Fred shaved the pancakes into Courage's mouth LOL!

Okay enough ado, here's the video:

Courage the Cowardly Dog - Freaky Fred

Here's the lyrics of the poem. Some parts are hard to understand, I had to think hard or search definition for words. I added "*" and "^" for unfamiliar words or phrases which I interpreted :)

Hello new friend. My name is Fred.

The words you hear are in my head.

I say I said my name is Fred.

And I've been...

Very naughty.

The story I'm about to tell

I tell you I will tell it well

Is of my dear aunt Muriel

And just how I've been...

Naughty.

Voila, the farm. My aunt lives here.

With precious pup and husband dear.

My heart beat fast as I drew near.

I felt so nice...

and Naughty.

I thought just how excited they

Must be that I would come today.

They'd shout, "Come Fred! Huzzah! Hoo-ray!

Dear boy, you look so...

Naughty."

That's when my tired eyes beheld

A doggy dog! Like dog he smelled.

D-O-G is what he spelled.

And that's how I spell...

Naughty.

Alone was I, with tender Courage.

And all his fur, his furry furrage*.

Which, I say, did encourage

Me, to be quite...

Naughty.

It was a day I'll not forget;

The day I first met my pet.

Oh, what a lovely gift to get.

I'd never felt so...

Naughty.

My fuzzy friend is what he was.

This darling little ball of fuzz.

And, oh, such fuzz, such fuzz, it does

Demand that I be...

Naughty.

He looked at me, his fetching eyes,

And fetching fur did hypnotize,

I filled with joy, I filled with sighs;

And that was when I got...

Naughty.

His dripping hair, this droopy curl,

Unfurls sweet memories of a girl.

With tresses oh, they twist and twirl.

And tempt me to be...

Naughty.

Barbara, my love was named;

And her fair hair, a mane untamed;

Until one evening, I'm ashamed,

I got a little...

Naughty.

The look upon my young love's face

Was sweet as lace**!

But in this case, I realized she

Needed space***.

I never more was naughty.

Well... maybe not never.

Dear cur, your fur and fleece remind

Of nothing found in humankind.

But for one fellow, who did find

Me, to be in a certain mood.

Into my shop he walked one day,

With bush above, and beard bouquet.

"That's no toupee****," I prayed, "No way."

I could help but be...you know...

I'd never seen such hair before!

His bangs*****, they sang! His neck, it beckoned!

Eyebrows, armpits, all were reckoned!

Soon, I figured, what the heck!

And that's how I was...

Naughty.

But then my landlords^ did presume

To free me from that porcelain tomb^^,

And ferry to a private room^^^,

Your hero, ever doughty^^^^.

Goodbye, dear aunt. I'll miss your farm.

And Eustace's ebullient^^^^^ charm.

And farewell Courage; what's the harm,

If I was slightly...

Naughty.

With Love, Fred.

*furrage is not a real word, but it is a play on the word fur to mean something full of fur.
**lace is a delicate decorative fabric made from cotton, silk, etc., woven in an open web of different symmetrical patterns and figures
***needed space is a phrase to imply a break-up of a relationship
****toupee a small hairpiece to cover partial baldness
*****bangs means fringe (in the United States, Canada and the Philippines)
^landlords in this case refers to the staff of the "Home for Freaky Barbers"
^^porcelain tomb refers to the toilet
^^^private room refers to solitary confinement
^^^^doughty means brave
^^^^^ebullient means cheerful, full of energy

The Writer's Feel

2010-11-01T23:42:00.002+08:00

One of the things about creative writing that really irks me is the constant need for inspiration, or what I would like to refer to "the feel". In fact, the feel is needed for almost everything creative: composing music... writing lyrics... designing games... doing a blog post about feels...

The second thing about creative writing that really irks me is that once you have inspiration, it disappears! At one moment, I feel that this makes good writing, at the next I don't feel like writing it. In camp, I had a sudden feel to do a post about an old song "Through It All" by Hillsong, and about how I watched Calvin singing it in his suave no. 1 uniform on his wedding day, and how I felt impacted by watching it even though I couldn't hear a thing, but I don't feel like doing it now. Oh wait, I think I just did.

I suppose that if I actually forced myself to do it, I may get the feel back. Or I may not.
And that's not very inspiring.

You might wonder, why in the world is this dude talking about feels and writing. (sounds kinda carnal talking about making decisions based on feeling)

The short answer is that this dude felt like it.

The longer explanation consists of 2 reasons, and the first of which would be that I've been reading The Salmon Of Doubt by Douglas Adams, and his comic writing style got to me. Yup, I stol- I mean employed some of his essence into this post, with a tinge of my own of course. I love most of the book, except the parts where he debates about God being an artificial entity of man's inclination and imagination. Oh well, I guess it's good to understand the atheist mindset. I would want to read his hit title The Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy.

The Salmon Of Doubt

A humorous book that looks at life and things around us from an interesting perspective.

The Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy

I wanna read this!

The second reason (hold on, I just recalled my inspiration to write about 2010 being a year of change. Anyway...) is that I'm thinking of writing a story. I've always liked fantasy worlds, epic adventures, mighty champions and colossal battles. Add interactive entertainment in and you have a Game. Strange thought, that I'm into writing and the arts in recent years, as I always thought I was more of Maths and Science student - my grades bear witness of that. I'm a hybrid perhaps?

My first passion is still games though. It's just that I have had so many story ideas over the years that I never really penned down (or rather, typed out). Actually I did try to start to type out a few, but lacked the resolve to complete them. I now realize that discipline is more important than inspiration. Then, one might ask, why now?

I felt like it.

Owls :)

2010-10-31T21:53:00.001+08:00

Just watched Legend Of The Guardians: The Owls of Ga'Hoole with Weiren, Hexing, Jeremy, Joanne, Adeline and Qiming! Thanks to Hexing for treating me haha.

It's an enjoyable movie! Well it's good, not great. 3.5 Stars.

I really love the fluid graphics, beautiful landscapes, brilliant lighting, fantastic animation and rigging of the characters, etc.

Sleek graphics.

It's really awesome to see the owls in medieval-fantasy style helmets wielding shiny iron blades and talons as weapons. I also think it's really cool that the bats were equipped with blades on their wings, which they swing to slice their enemies.

Shiny Helmets and Talons.

Owl of Darkness.

Baddest looking Owl. Wicked.
Kinda reminds me of Arthas' helm.

The movie has nice fight scenes with slow-motion effects reminiscent of the 300, except that there is no blood and gore. Not enough fighting and action though.

They did a fair job for character building for the main characters, but not much depth. Initially it's kinda hard to tell who is who, they being owls and all, but it gets better as the movie goes along. I felt that they should have focussed more on Soren (main char.), his mentor, Gylfie (the little owl), Soren's brother, and perhaps the love interest of the main character. The owl's names are hard to remember.
Or I have STM.

Soren, main character.

Kludd, the evil brother.

Gylfie

Actually, there wasn't any romance. But there was this one female owl that kinda seem that she would be the main character's love interest, but the relationship didn't take flight (no pun intended). So it was like bleh. Was slightly disappointed, I mean.

But the point is that there were too many characters, and their personalities, backgrounds, feelings, relationships, whatever, were not very well built. However, it would not be fair to say that they did a bad job - it was still good, just not as good as it could be.

The movie storyline is rather standard:
- a young owl-dude dreams of being a hero
- he gets thrown into a difficulty
- he is rescued at the cost of someone's life
- he undergoes training
- trouble brews
- an epic clash of good and evil
- good guys encounter a crisis
- young owl-dude saves the day and becomes a hero
BUT the owl-dude didn't undergo any significant defeat/failure/struggle, nor gets any girl.. so bleh.
Moving on...

A bit of humour was also thrown into the story. I like the 2 owls who try to be imposing and use cool phrases like "look upon the Glorious Moon" and umm... I can't remember. And of course we have Twilight, our bard, who sings out comical lyrics. One of the owls told him "Just because it is sung, it doesn't mean that it is a song."
Lol, he's soo Hexing.

Twilight, the warrior poet.

One of the most awesomest thing about the movie is the THEME SONG!!!
It's so totally apt that the song about an Owl Movie is composed by Owl City!
It's called "To The Sky", and it's on my playlist woot!

Love Owl City!

If you're contemplating to watch this movie, I'd say its worth your $8 or $10.
Don't expect a Lord Of The Rings epic though.

Alright enough of my movie review-rant. Peace out.

Modern Warfare 2

2010-10-10T02:47:00.006+08:00

Modern Warfare 2 ROCKS!

Played it on friday night and finished the whole campaign in abt 4-5hrs!

Its a really well tweaked game, with spectacular cinematics, thrilling gameplay, captivating storyline and packs one heck of a punch! I thoroughly enjoyed the campaign, except that it was kinda short, and I had to play the game at the lowest of lowest graphical settings T.T

Gotta love Captain "Soap" MacTavish and Captain Price.
The story has some tragic parts too...

But I shall not spoil the story...

Modern Warfare 1 & 2 can be summarized into 2 words: Interactive Movie.

Yep. It feels like you're watching and playing through a movie. Epicness.

I guess its a guy's game - fast-paced action, heroic endeavours, cool technology, epic stunts and cinematics, war and politics, etc. but without romance and with little relational/friendship scenes.

My rating: 9.0/10.0

Here's a video trailer of the game, but the actual game is so much cooler :)

Unmindful Mistake

2010-10-06T02:55:00.000+08:00

Forgot to withdraw cash, and ordered a cup of cold Soya Bean Milk at Mr. Bean.

So embarrassing!

In Chinese:

"Can I use NETS?"

"Sorry we only accept cash."

"Sorry I don't have cash right now..."

"Nevermind you can have it, pay us back next time."

"But I may not come back."

"Oh then nvm just take it."

"Really?"

"Yes take it."

Oh man what a "blur" mistake!

Thank God for a free drink, but I'd rather be more mindful of the state of things.

Ye Olde Photos.

2010-09-23T22:53:00.002+08:00

"Beneath be a gallery of random images,

of which most were taken in times long past,

but time was lacking to post them."

Food.

Mega Food.

Deal Breaker on mah head.

It had a profound psychological effect - nobody dared to form a full set.

Huge Lolli.

Moar Food.

Deal.

Food and Deal.

Glowing heart.

Woot.

Actually, the tiny words "我不是" are inscribed on the shirt.

NDP Clerks of 2011.

The sponsored trip atop the Marina Sands Resort.

Guitar Lesson :)

lol didn't know this pic was taken. Wanyi be the perpetrator.

Ryan's photographic skills displayed.

Trip to Switzerland.

Nah just went to Marche.

Love the photo. Love Ryan's Cam.

Satisfied soul!

2010-09-23T10:39:00.000+08:00

A healthy soul life leads to a healthy spiritual life.

Proven in my life.

After certain events in my life, I felt that I can't be successful game designer in the future.
Feeling discouraged and down, my spiritual life couldn't progress much.

But after hearing the word of God from Weiren, things changed for the better.
God came to give life and life more abundantly. (John 10:10)

God wants me to prosper and pursue my dreams! :)

Weiren also said that all men and women greatly used by God experience immense pain and hurt in various points of their lives.

This set me free, knowing that the pain I experienced is not just a failure, but it's ultimately to change me to a mature person, to increase my capacity, and to sympathize with other experiencing the same things.

After my soul life is satisfied, my spiritual life also improved. When I read God's word, I could understand it more clearly with revelations from God.

Thank God for His word!

3 days at Nee Soon Camp

2010-09-05T02:28:00.003+08:00

Day 1.
Had a weird acute back pain that day. Well, it was my butt actually. It'll hurt if I bent forward, even if I leaned over just a bit. Thus, it was really painful to change clothes. Got out bed late again :X Snoozed too many times.

Aloysius called to inform me of the plan to cab down to camp. It's an act of convenience (or sloth perhaps?); it was our first day after all. Seeing that I'll be late, they decided to direct the cab to wait under my house.

About 7.10am, I stepped into the waiting taxi while my lower abdomen screaming in pain. 3 of my fellow NDP Clerks were already inside. They were:
- Bryan, a mad computing genius who was with me from the beginning (like since Poly Year 1).
- Aloysius, a ki- I mean dude who looked and behaved like a 15-year-old teenager.
- Amos, musical guy and fervent brother from another church.

Randy decided to make his way there by himself, only to meet us outside the camp.

And as destiny would have it, the 5 of us entered the not-so-glorious gates of Nee Soon Camp (NSC), marching together towards our calling.

Well, not really. We were kinda lost and directionless, not knowing where HQ SCE (Headquarters Singapore Combat Engineers) is. After much wandering, we asked directions and finally found the place. Not without much sweat though.

HQ SCE INT Branch.
A place of big shots and high ranks. But they were pretty nice people. Our superiors introduced themselves, and got to know us better. More importantly, they revealed the paths that lie before us.

Thus they spoketh:

"3 of the fellowship shall depart to Selarang Camp next week, that they may assist in Multimedia.

2 shall remain here for 2 months, before departing to Seletar Camp, for the purposes of Website Design."

These aren't their exact words, but you get the gist =3

Selarang is way far, near Changi Village. Thank the Lord that I am part of the Website team - Seletar is soooo much nearer.

After that, we got a short tour around camp, visiting the highly important venues: the canteen, the cookhouse, another canteen, etc.

NSC is much more prettier than Sungei Gedong. Instead of dull & old buildings complete with dull & old trees, we have garden-like walkways surrounded with bunks that resemble condominiums. A swimming pool would make the scene complete. The dining tables were brightly colored, and they actually serve soya bean milk for lunch.

There you have it; NSC is nicer, nearer and more privileged.

Having nothing to do, we found ourselves dozing off at about 3-4pm, when our Head superior (a Lieutenant Colonel) spotted us. He said "Why are you all sleeping here? Go home!"

That's the best command I heard in my life. At his word, we left camp at about 4 plus, rejoicing for being posted here. NSC - Best. Camp. Evar.

Day 2.
We were told NOT to bring our uniforms, but to wear civilian clothing instead. Everyone in the office was in shirt and jeans. After half a day of chatting/using internet/slacking, we were off to Marina Sands. Woot.

The whole of HQ SCE organized a "National Education" trip at SkyPark! That's free $20 tickets for each of us :D

The last time I had such an event was in secondary school lol.

We took the elevator up to the 57th floor. When we emerged out into the SkyPark, I was totally mesmerized. The view from up there is simply breathtaking.

You could see the far corners of Singapore from where I stood. People were tiny specks and cars were like Tamiya toys. From the Northern side, you could view the City Hall, Padang, Swissotel, Chinatown, Clarke Quay, Padang, The Singapore Flyer, etc. I spotted Singapore Indoor Stadium, Marine Parade, East Coast Park eastward. There was Marina Barrage at the south, and a wide span of water speckled with ships further beyond. Islands outlined the southern horizon. Wish you were there!

Too bad none of us could bring cameras into camp. I would have taken tonnes of photos. But surprise of surprises - I bumped into my previous Usher Team Leader, Juliana, at the premises. And she had a camera. Thus I took a shot together with my buddies :)
Photos are not up yet though :(

After taking a group photo with the whole of HQ SCE, we were dismissed at like around 1.50pm! :D

Day 3.
Its down to Bryan and I. The rest were given off today, and they would be posted out the Selarang Camp next week.

After a rather free morning, we spent the rest of the afternoon photocopying stuff. Arrows from above hit our fellow colleague, and caused collateral damage to us. Being wounded with many arrows, our friend decided to pluck some out of his chest and fire them at us haha.

But we had nothing to do anyway, so we were okay with it. It's better than doing nothing.

We took shifts; one of us would photocopy a set of like 25 while the other spent the time drawing hahas. Then we would swap.

Sometimes I wonder, is this God's will for me to work together with Bryan?

It was by chance that I knew Bryan.

It was by chance that we worked together in our 1st project.

It was by chance that we were posted to the same camp.

It was by chance that we were both selected to do NDP Website.

And here we are both in NSC.

But was it really by chance, or the work of God?

Whatever it is, let God's will be done.

September - New Season

2010-08-31T02:14:00.001+08:00

Finally Out Of Sungei Gedong!
Feels like ORD! Actually, being there was pretty slack, and the food is not so bad. People are (generally) friendly. My only issue is the *&%$^ travel distance!

Long travel distance = wake up very early = less sleep = sianz!

Neways, it's Nee Soon Camp for me on the 1st of September, which is TMR! Well I ain't that excited really... today's my last off day (Z.Z)

---

Went to Hexing's house yesterday.
Had a great time worshipping + praying + fellowship! Plus lotsa singing after that!

The awkward part was starting praise & worship. Usually there'll be Weiren or someone to kick start it. It was rather spontaneous and informal (I ain't got my chordbook) but we got it started with a "Through you I can do anything..."

We didn't plan the songs or anything beforehand but we just wanted more of God. Thank God for His presence! All glory to Him!

---

Recently, I have been thinking
"Why am I anointed?"
There are times when I hardly feel the presence of God when ministering, or I feel like I didn't play very well. But people would come up to me in say "Israel, when you play the guitar, the presence of God was very strong!" I would answer with a surprised "Really?" (Which also shows that talent does not equal to anointing)

Looking back at all these years, I don't think I had this anointing when I first became a CG guitarist. So how did it come about?

One reason (there are others) I realized is because of the prayers of W406! Every week you would pray for the CG worship in your sync prayers! I sincerely appreciate every single prayer! Thanks guys! Wanna thank Weiren especially for always praying for the anointing upon me all these years!

Most of all, I thank God, for every good and perfect gift comes from the Father of lights. I don't exactly know how it happens and I know I can't do it on my own. It must be God.

---

September - New Season
Not sure what's in store, but things are gonna change.
I'm changing camp.
The News will be out.
I'll be exactly 1 year in army (and 1 year from ORD).
And I believe that my spiritual life + maturity will grow.

There might be persecutions, there might be victories.
There might be an exodus, there might be a revival.
There might be tears, there might be laughter.
But no matter what, my source of strength, my source of hope is Christ alone.

Anecdotes and Musings

2010-08-15T23:34:00.010+08:00

Loads has happened since I last posted. I couldn't find time to frequently post cos I'm back in camp, so I'll try to summarize the series of events...

Met another CHC guy in camp again.

Was waiting for the shuttle bus one day again, and this dude, a little plump, wearing specs, and donning no.3 (Clerk uniform, same as mine) walked towards me, STARING intently at me, as though I'm some fascinating specimen of human lifeform. It was really awkward, as he was staring at me with a "hey didn't I see you somewhere before?" look - for like 10 seconds. When he finally reached me he said:

"I've seen you before."

"Do I know you?"

"You're an usher right? In church"

"Where did I meet you?"

"In church la!" (yea, I realized I asked the obvious :X)

So I found out that his name is Joel, also from service 1, and he's in choir. Hmm. I guess people notice you even when you think you're not being noticed. They're everywhere...watching your every step... Okay spooky talk aside... :P

-------

Shortest. Leader's Meeting. Evar.

We had games, praise, worship, prayer, admin all in 1 hour! Amazing! Must be a work of God! Weiren said something about more time for Monopoly Deal- I mean godly fellowship.

Tan Jin + Chimpy!

Jin shaved to support some cancer movement, but he says that his head will feel cold in school. Thus, he brought Chimpy to warm his head. Chimpy is his pet soft toy, like how Polar is mine hahas :P

Chui has many fans! (no pun intended)

This awesome contraption has 3 fans that can blow at different directions!

Reminds me of airplane engines.

Table of fellowship.

Samuel :O

Sam and Brandon.

People.

Me.

Jin really looks like a chimp here XD

Chimp on a bigger chimp.

Brandon poked Chimpy's nose.

Raymond and Jeremy (Kuang)

Cheesy Fries.

Most awesome Bar Chor Mee!

无与伦比.

Actually I'm not sure if I can use the 词语 that way, but what the heck.

Jay Chou is incomparable nonetheless.

-------

One word from the Father,

and my life is never the same.

Was going through a season of darkness and discouragement, largely due to self-disappointment and failure. But thank God that He spoke to me, while I was in camp! Was alone at a desk, feeling terrible and thinking about these bad events, when suddenly I felt God say "It's okay, I love you and I want you to try again."

IMMEDIATELY, my bitter feelings of sorrow turned into joy, and all the heaviness was lifted.

I'd like to believe that physical discipline was partly the reason why God spoke to me; I hadn't gone on a run for a week, but firmly decided to run 8km that day. Encouraged myself during the run with the song "Free" by Planetshakers playing in my head.

There's freedom in the name of Jesus,

Freedom from all shame.

There's freedom in the name of Jesus,

Freedom from all pain.

There's freedom in the name of Jesus,

Freedom from all sin.

There's freedom in the name of Jesus,

Freedom in the name of Jesus.

Weiren invited me to play for his Bible Study class - thank God for this privilege. Thank God that I could hear the word about Hearing the voice of the Holy Spirit. Thank God for a great DG, and an awesome sermon on the Fatherhood of God by pastor Kong!

Deeply touched by that sermon. In fact, it's my favourite lesson in Christian Lifestyle!

Gotta go now, hope I'll have more time to post in the future!

Sungei Gedong Experiences

2010-07-22T23:15:00.004+08:00

The 1st shuttle bus out of camp on Wednesday was jammed packed, so I couldn't get on it. I have to wait 30mins for the next one. A group of guys from my battalion also missed the bus as well, but instead of waiting, they started walking out of camp, towards the bus 975 stop. Thus I decided to follow suit.

Out of the 6 guys, I only had spoken with 2, but they all knew me by face, so it was kinda awkward walking behind them. Nevertheless 1 of them noticed me walking behind and initiated a conversation. I had a good chat with all of them, and even joked around with them. It was really strange that I interacted with them so much; I'm not exactly the extrovert type. Thank God that a made a couple of new acquaintances since my return to the dreaded Sungei Gedong Camp.

One of them, Zhiyang, suddenly asked me, "I heard that you are also from City Harvest."

"How did you know?"

"I heard from some people."

"You said 'also'... are you also from City Harvest?"

"Yes, which service do you attend? Jurong West or Expo?"

"Jurong West."
"Oh, which zone are you in?"

"I'm in a new zone, Wei Ren Zone."

(looks surprised) "I'm also in Wei Ren's zone!"

(tio stunned) "Huh really?!"

Shockingly, this dude that I've been seeing around camp, but never spoke to, is from the same zone as us! Its quite common to meet fellow City Harvesters, but from the same zone? What are the odds? By the way, he's in Bryna's cellgroup :)

---

Now I've been assigned (or "arrowed") the undesirable task of fixing up an internal website by my beloved RSM (Regiment Sergeant Major). This task has been tossed around, landing in the laps of about 4 others (including Bryan) before landing into mine. How it ended up with me was due to a series of unfortunate events; the first guy ORD-ed, Bryan (together with me) was posted to Chinatown, another guy was posted to Padang, the last guy does not have the knowledge to do it. I am somewhat convinced that the "wayang" element is involved.

Well, a dude who worked on NDP Website suddenly pops up in camp, and my RSM jumped on the opportunity.

Sarcasm aside, I enjoy doing the website. In the dreadfully dreary and dull environment of being in a Unit, I am thankful there's something to occupy the mind with. And when the website works as you wanted it to, there arises a sense of satisfaction. It might also be the fact that it reminded me of my days at Chinatown, working on the NDP Website with my buddies.

In any case, its good to be occupied with something - idleness leads to sin.

One perk is that I have the whole of RSM's room to myself. Looks like I'm the RSM when he isn't around :P
I will risk arrest by Military Police should I continue, so I shall end my comments here.

Old Spice Retarded Commercial!

2010-07-18T04:19:00.002+08:00

I've seen this retarded video a month or two ago, and I've been trying to find it again but I didn't know what it was called. I tried searching for "Funny Deodorant Commercial" and stuff like that, but with no luck.

Only when my elder brother chuckled at a video did I discover the name of the hilarious commercial.

So here it is; prepare to laugh your lungs out ^^

Be Strong and of Good Courage

2010-07-15T23:47:00.004+08:00

"Have I not commanded you?

Be strong and of good courage;

Do not be afraid, nor be dismayed,

for the LORD your God is with you wherever you go."

(Joshua 1:9)

1) "Have I not commanded you?..."
God commands us to be strong and of good courage! Its not a suggestion!
And its because He knows that you can be strong and bold, and He made you to be that way.

2) "...Be strong..."
Stand up strong in every circumstance. Be persevering, dependable, faithful.
Be strong!

Whatever born of God overcomes the world. Strength also speaks of capacity. You are a problem solver, full of God's wisdom and perseverance.

3) "... and of good courage..."
You are courageous and confident, unafraid of anyone. You are not afraid of what others think of you, and are unashamed of the gospel of Christ.

4) "... Do not be afraid, nor be dismayed..."
Let the peace of God guard your heart against fear and discouragement. "strengthen the hands that hang down" (Heb 12:12); stir yourself up! Why? Because:

5) "... for the LORD your God is with you wherever you go."
In difficult times, God has not abandoned you. He is always, always with you. When you realize that God lives inside of you, you won't be afraid of anything or anyone.

When you speak with a superior, you will be confident, because God is in you. Every reply is made with boldness and wisdom, as though God is saying it.

Let your conduct be without covetousness; be content with such things as you have. For He Himself has said, "I will never leave you nor forsake you."

So we may boldly say:

"The LORD is my helper;

I will not fear.

What can man do to me?"

(Heb 13:5-6)

Just want to enter the presence of God more, for in Your presence I am safe.

A Servant's Heart

2010-07-06T10:46:00.000+08:00

This is the Chinese Version of Hati Hamba (仆人的心)

Love this song! It really expresses the heart of worship and servanthood.

Like me, she plays open chords haha!

Open chords = easier to play than "barre" chords, and sounds nicer. imba.

She plays also triplets, which I don't because I can't do it well haha. Oh well, gotta practice.

Anyway, I'm posted back to Sungei Gedong, and I have to go back tmr...

It's a very sian piece of news, but I believe all things work together for good to those who love God. I believe God is working in me to change me into a more discipline and confident person. His will be done!

An Epic of Epic Epicness

2010-06-22T20:37:00.003+08:00

This movie looks friggin awesome.

Scott Pilgrim vs. the World

Synopsis:

Everything is totally sweet.

Scott Pilgrim's life is so awesome. He's 23 years old, in a rock band, "between jobs," and dating a cute high school girl. Everything's fantastic until a seriously mind-blowing, dangerously fashionable, roller blading delivery girl named Ramona Flowers starts cruising through his dreams and sailing by him at parties. But the path to Ms. Flowers isn't covered in rose petals. Ramona's seven evil exes stand between Scott and true happiness. Can Scott beat the bad guys and get the girl without turning his precious little life upside-down?

Coming to Singapore in October! Woot! :D

1st Zone Meeting after Asia Conference! (Part 2)

2010-06-17T11:55:00.001+08:00

Moar pictures of the Zone Meeting! Took- I mean stolen- I mean despicably retrieved them from Chui's Facebook :P

Awesome!

Happy Fellowship!

Next generation leaders - Mad people!

Weiren and Cindy.

Raymond. All smiles :)

Sweet Temptation

Birthday babies Xue Jun and Jasper!

"And they ate their food with gladness and simplicity of heart..."

nV(>_<)

Jeremy! Special thanks to him for serving us the coke!

Weiren plays his harp!

Choir performance by Bahu Boys. Man were they hyper.

Enjoying the show.

Desmond and Jasper!

干杯!

Thanks to the CGLs for the Pizza, Coke, Garlic Bread, Cake and Bahuuuuu! :D

1st Zone Meeting after Asia Conference!

2010-06-16T19:36:00.000+08:00

We had an really exciting Zone Meeting last night! A wacky and hyper game + good worship + powerful prayer + funky fellowship = woot!

We also celebrated Jasper's and Xue Jun's birthdays!

Man, I know 4 people whose birthdays fall on the 15th June. Leroy's one of them :)

CGLs ordered pizza!

Took a photo of Eugene taking a photo of us.

Samuel and Tan Jin

Waiyin

Erm...

Weiren with cake.

Jasper, Eugene, Brandon

Pioneer Pizza Partakers - Jasper and Xue Jun.

I has eated teh cake ^^

The Bahu Boys (BHB in short),

eating the Bahu Pizza.

Someone named them the Bahu Boys after they kept calling "Bahuuu......" in earnest expectation of the pizza.

Jin playing with blu-tack

Samuel rockin' on.

Cool dude with Blu-tack shades

Combined Zone Meeting is going to be awesome! Every single time our Zone meets up, its always full of joy and fun, as well as having strong presence of God, ministry and powerful word! Woot can't wait!

A special shout out to Leroy: Happy 21st Birthday!

New Razer Mouse!

2010-06-11T16:26:00.001+08:00

Just bought a new Razer mouse - Abyssus (Mirror Special Edition)!

My old mouse was faulty, as it has connection problems. Yep, I screwed up the wire.

Thus the spontaneous decision to get a new Razer mouse. Upon hearing advice from Bryan and Nigel, I got this mouse. It is considered a low-to-medium-end Razer mouse, so its not that expensive :)

Its pretty smooth thus far, and not to mention SHINY :D

Sleek and shiny!

The hypnotizing logo.

Woot!

Holy Supper

2010-06-10T18:09:00.001+08:00

Last night, I met Amos to pass him something, and we went for supper. Thank God for a great fellowship!

Amos is an army friend of mine, and he is a fervent Christian from another church. When you're in the army, it's comforting to have someone whom you can share about spiritual things, especially someone who is like-minded and mature. It seems that every time we have a private fellowship, we always talk about spiritual things.

So we talked about stuff that I normally wouldn't with many people around. Some of the stuff we shared about were civilian-army life, marriage, the kind of girl that attracts us, money, studies, our future, serving God, church, maturity, our weaknesses etc.

Thank God for a brother like him, I feel a lot more joyful and free (like a load of my chest) after supper with him. Even though he's not into the charismatic, and we don't agree on some doctrines, its completely okay, cause we both don't mind our differences. And although he's not into some of our church doctrines, he has a teachable and humble spirit, and does not mind me talking about it :)

Recently we (W406 and CHC) seem to be in a season of building relationships. May we continue to be a united family, that we may be ready when the crisis has fully arrived :D

P.S. I know, the title of the post is very flaky :P

Words from Asia Conference

2010-06-03T12:33:00.004+08:00

"But the path of the just is like the shining sun,

that shines every brighter unto the perfect day."

(Prov 4:18)

1) As a righteous child of God, our life should go from glory to glory. If not, we're backsliding.

2) Reaching out to the youths by building RELATIONSHIPS
- Be Present: I will be there for them in their down moments, be a listening ear
- Be Patient: youths fluctuate, struggle with BGR and a host of other stuff. I gotta be patient with them :)

3) “Being Christians, life without miracles is no life at all. When you live by the Fourth Dimension, you can do the work of 100 men, and you will witness miracles.” - Dr. Yonggi Cho

"Do not remember the former things, nor consider the things of old.

Behold, I will do a new thing, now it shall spring forth; shall you not know it? I will even make a road in the wilderness and rivers in the desert." (Isa 43:18-19, quoted and prophesied by Phil Pringle)

4) God will be using City Harvest to do greater works - we should leave our past achievements behind and press on towards the new things that God has installed.

5) God deals with our low self-esteem by introducing to us a new self-concept
Our TRUE SELF = Image of God
- not afraid of rejection
- says what can be done, no what cannot be done
- nothing is impossible to him
- thinks positively
- self-determination: does not take "no" for an answer

Imago Dei

2010-06-03T00:58:00.001+08:00

My, my, my... wow! Asia Conference was wonderful!

Due to much busyness and work, I was unable to update my Blog for a while. It carried on to Asia Conference, which was tiring! It was like.. report at 7am for usher ministry, serve until lunch break, do my work until evening, go back and serve for night session, reach home at 12am-1am, sleep for 3hrs, wake up at 5.30am, report at 6.40am for usher.... and it goes on.

Thank God that I made the prudent decision of serving only 3 days, and spending the last 2 days with my beloved W406! Longevity for the win! In either case, it was really fun serving God as an usher, together with Enyun, Ernest, Min Yee, Jing Yuan, Sunthari + group 11 and 12!

Thank God I was granted leave just a few days before Asia Conference.
Thank God for catered food! :D
Thank God for Tan Jin, who accompanied me to do my work on the first day, who helped me find a power socket (we went all the way to Foyer 1).
Thank God for Enyun, who gave morning calls. (Oh yah, I think I still owe her money for cab fare)
Thank God I could attend all sessions, except the "Cai Qin" one which we decided to skip to queue up earlier for Grand Finale ^^
Thank God for strength during the stressful and down moments.
Thank God for awesome preaching of the Word in every session!
Thank God for wisdom and anointing to serve as an Usher.
Thank God for turning things around, when things couldn't get worse.
Thank God for Pastor Kong's word about reaching the Youth and the spirit of love + unity after the preaching.
Thank God for getting into Hall 8 for the last 2 days, when I'm not serving.
Thank God I recovered my lost Bible and notebook.
Thank God for an awesome Asia Conference experience!

On the second day, I was posted to guard the back door of Hall 10 during the session with Dr. Bernard. I stood between the extreme cold of the air-conditioned auditorium and the scorching heat of the sun. Was a weird feeling, like a balance between Yin & Yang.

Guess who I met?

The C3 Band!

That's Joe Pringle on the right of me, and Ryan Smith besides him.

The lady singer joined in :)

Yay! Joe Pringle shook hands with me, and even asked my name haha. He was then complaining about walking to hall 8 under the sun. He said something like "But you guys are Singaporean! It's too hot for me!" lawls.

However I was getting agitated as Dr Bernard started preaching, and I was still guarding the door! I wanted to hear him preach! Nevertheless, I kept speaking to myself, to serve with a right attitude, as unto the Lord. It was hard to keep out those negative thoughts.

Finally when I was told to stand down from guarding the door, all the negativity sudden disappeared. :)

Thank God that I could get into Hall 8 for the last 2 days.
On the 4th day, my brothers and I arrived at 3.40pm while the rest of the CG met at 10am to queue. We may not be able to get into queue, much less to Hall 8. We tried to walk into the queue in Hall 10, by an Usher stopped us, and directed us to the front seats of Hall 10. However, we managed to get pass the Ushers, and walked all the way into the end of the queue.

I prayed with my bros for the service, and asked God that we can get into Hall 8, to experience and receive from Him in a more tangible way, and not so that we could get "better entertainment". I felt a sense of peace that we will get into Hall 8, without the need of cutting the queue.

So when Josiah said "Why the queue stopped moving? What if we can't get into Hall 8?",
I replied "We will get into Hall 8, don't worry."

In the end, not only did we managed to get in, but we could join W406!

On the last day, my bros, Chong Hui and I took the shuttle bus that my brother Isaac hired, and we reached Expo at around 8am. There was no Hall 10 for overflow, so we may not be able to attend the session at all. Thank God that Pastor Stephen let us in through the back door!

However the Ushers had a second line of defense - we needed to show our tag, and I believe they were looking out for the "Guest" tag. None of us had a "Guest" tag, we only had the normal ones. And I forgot to bring my tag. By God's grace, I pushed through with the crowd, past the frantic Ushers who were shouting "please show your tag!", and all of us made it to Hall 8! :D

Pastor Bernard's message in the Grand Finale was awesome! It really renewed my mind, about how I viewed myself. We were originally made in the image of God, and Christ restored us to that image when we received Him as our Saviour.

"Now if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new." (2 Cor 5:17)

Our new man is really the Imago Dei - the Image of God. And the Image of God has the attributes of God - holy determination, undaunted confidence, creative, full of wisdom and capacity, etc.

That Word really inspired faith in me - I can be a relentlessly determined person, because I am created in God's image!

5 days of John Avanzini = much sowing of seeds.
非常期待 the harvest!

Praise the Lord!

跨时代 The Next Phase

2010-05-13T12:42:00.003+08:00

Hey people. Sup. NDP 2010 Website is officially launched!

My pals and I were working on it the night before the launch, and we stayed until 2.15am...

Missed Zone Meeting because of that! :(

Captain Allan, Aaron his secretary, and Marc the boss of Design Prodigy were with us also. It was tiring but fun experience, but I'd rather go for ZM to worship God and hear Weiren preach.

Anyway, I was hungry so I bought supper...

Mc D's!

Me outside Design Prodigy.

Bryan wanted his Double Cheeseburger to be without pickles or ketchup, but I forgot about it. Felt a little bad about it. Oh well... was tired anyway.

It was nice of Captain Allan to drive all of us home :)

I slept for like 2 hours and woke up at 6am to get ready for the Official Launch Event.

It was held at City Hall building (nope, not the MRT). I would have reached there on time, but I couldn't find the place, and was wandering around town area for like 30mins. I checked the map before going, and I knew it was near Padang and the Supreme Court, but I couldn't find the words "City Hall" on any building. I asked 3 different people, and they didn't know what is City Hall building. I went as far as Fullerton Hotel. Nice hotel. lol.

I called Bryan and he checked the online maps. Lo and behold, it was the building beside the Supreme Court, behind Adelphi. I had passed it by, because I thought it was the Supreme Court.

Bryan and I helped to set up the laptops, install different browsers and stuff like that. He did most of the work cause I came late haha. Clarence Nai from CHC-NYP-DET was there too. He was part of the organizing team.

That day, I saw a different side of NS, much to my surprise. When it came to big events, they were people of excellence. The power cables/adapters of the laptop made taut, with the wires being duct-taped to the floor to ensure that no one would trip over it. They were given to details. Cool.

NDP 2010!

Using Century Gothic font, as designed by Torrance. Yea I've been working a lot on the website to know stuff like this.

Breakfast was catered by Old Chang Kee :D

Thus, the event commenced, and our Chief of Armour, Col. Benedict Lim, gave a good speech. (Not trying so suck up here; I really felt it was good)

Torrance later took the pulpit- I mean stage to explain on the NDP 2010 logo design.

Just for those of you that don't know (which means everyone I guess), while working on the website, we were either at Design Prodigy in Chinatown, or FARM in Waterloo Street. We worked under Torrance concerning the look and feel of the website.

The crowd.

Torrance from FARM.

Torrance posing for the camera.

We ended at around 12noon, had catered lunch, and we were dismissed at 1pm :D
I went to church office to deliver Qiming's baptism form, and went shopping at Suntec!

Guess what I bought?

Pre-ordered the Special Edition of Jay Chou's New Album!

The album, 跨时代 or The Era, is Jay Chou's 10th album, marking a step into the next decade (as the chinese name of the album suggests). The released date is pushed back to the 18th. This is the first Jay Chou album that I have bought XD

Now that most of the work for NDP Website is done, I'm moving on to work on the Game Project under Robin. Thank God for seeing me through the release of the website, and praying that the game will be a resounding success!

I know this was like 2 weeks ago but...

I'm officially accepted into the 2-Year Degree Programme!

Praise the LORD!

Busy!

2010-05-11T00:25:00.000+08:00

Busyness in my life is like a roller coaster, or like the seasons. It's very slack for a period of time, and (suddenly) my plate is covered with tight deadlines. After days of battling the storm and Murphy's Law, everything will (suddenly) become very slack again.

And it so happens that I'm in that busy season now. Tight deadlines from Robin, and tighter ones from my NS Supervisors. Praying that I can go for Zone Meeting tomorrow, 'cause my supervisor needs us to finish some stuff by tomorrow, even if it means staying back late into the night.

Perhaps God is enlarging my capacity. Like how I was rather randomly selected to be assistant IC for Internal Traffic last week. Please pray for me, for God's strength and wisdom to handle all these! :)

Well all I can say is:

To serve is Christ, to slack is gain.

Of Food and Friends

2010-05-04T14:30:00.000+08:00

The NS Laptop that I use in the office does not have a proper Graphic Card (it uses the crappy Intel Chipset). The project I was working on uses Shader Model 3.0, and surprise of surprises (sarcasm), it can't support SM3.

Thus I brought my laptop to work.

Using 2 Laptops!

Justin posted a link to Vurger on Facebook, and it looked pretty good. Thus, we went to Vurger for lunch :)

The Vurger Stall!

Lights were too bright.

My Cheese Vurger. Or what's left of it.

Yeah, I forgot to capture the pre-devoured photo of the Vurger.

My Cheese Vurger was pretty average. So was Bryan's Jumbo Vurger. Glenn and Nigel seemed to enjoy their Oregano and Fish Vurgers though.

Justin later told me "oh yah, I forgot to tell you, their beef Vurgers aren't nice, you should try their chicken and fish; especially the fish, its damn nice la!". Or something along that line. Anyway the Vurger was still good for its low price. Hope to go there again with other people - imma looking forward to try the Fish Vurger :)

The Verdict.

We were stuck at the place for a long while due the sudden heavy downpour.

Nigel and Bryan talking about iPhone and Nexus One.

Glenn.

I photographed my drink.

Was bored. Nah, I just felt like it.

Wetness.

但偏偏，雨渐渐，大到我看你不见...

Glenn and I decided to explore the area rather than rot away on our seats. After passing by a grocery store, a barber, a clinic and a Bubble Tea shop, we found this stall:

Specialile in House Hoip Ang Stationert Products?

English Fail.

After a long wait, we decided to cab back.

Nua-zation.

On CTE.

Tunnel.

Self-shot.

Chinatown!

We got back super late, like at 4pm? Hahas.

Fabian's Wedding was on Labour Day! So happy for him! :D

I feel privileged to be invited for both the matrimony and the dinner!

Faith and Fabian!

Pastor Zhuang was the wedding minister, Bernard (from Drama) was the emcee, and his best man was Nathan, an ang mo from UK. Nathan surprisingly was Bernard's chinese interpretor! His Chinese is very fluent! Both of them were very funny together hahas.

Isaiah and I had lunch there before leaving for service. Food was pretty good :)

I think this was their wedding car.

Me trying out Hexing's waiter thing.

Suits the shirt eh? I think its called a vest or something...

Photo edit!

Argh the original photo is too low quality.

Service was great! The presence of God was exceptional strong! :D

After service, I went back to Holiday Inn Atrium for the dinner. Thank God that Ernest Ng (not Wong) and Jenny were at the same table; I hardly knew anyone else. I was the youngest dude on the table. Had a great time chatting with Ernest; it's been a while since we last saw each other. He was our CGL before our CG changed to W406 and Wendy Goh took over.

We chatted about his teaching job, my NS vocation, his cellgroup (co-leading with Jenny), our CG, my brothers, his house at Woodlands, and lots of random stuff.

Wine :D

The wedding food was good! Loved the steamed fish, the abalone with veggies, the noodles, etc. :D

Thank God for such an loving brother as Fabian! He's someone who goes the extra mile, and he's carries a peaceful and comforting presence wherever he goes. May God add to him much joy and prosperity to his marriage!

I can't find the other photos of the wedding, will upload another time.

Till then, ciao!

First Days, First Ways

2010-04-22T10:46:00.020+08:00

Woot did a little bit of Photoshop magic:

Before

After!

DNA Downloaded!

After this week's Zone Meeting, Jasper, Enyun, Joanne and I were talking about City Harvest Church when we only about 10,000 members. That was in 2003, 7 years ago, when I first came to this church. Surprisingly, Jasper came at the exact same year too! :D

1st Day at City Harvest Church!

Yea, I still keep the bulletin! :D

We talked about the songs we used to sing, Emerge, Church atmosphere, etc.

I remember everyone (I mean like the whole JW auditorium) will jump and dance before God during praise, and the presence of God was always so strong during worship. I'm believing that we will experience that again in our generation, and even greater!

Jasper pointed out that during the time we first came to CHC, PK and Sun wasn't around, and guest speakers were ministering every week. I was like "oh ya!".

Yea I remember that I didn't hear Pastor Kong preach until many weeks (maybe months) later. And I will always remember his 1st message - the presence of God.

Something else also happened recently, and it got me thinking about my relationship with Jesus and 3 of my desires.

I have 3 short-term desires over the next 2 years or so:

1) Career/Education - Study at DigiPen, B. Sc. Game Design, 2 Year Programme

2) Ministry - Cellgroup Leadership while in NS

3) Relationships - Get attached

God has answered the 1st one, and if God willing, He will bring the other 2 to pass. But suddenly something struck me. I began to see myself 2 years from now, having all these 3 things. I started to feel that all these are meaningless, if I don't have an intimate relationship with Jesus.

Living in my destiny would be meaningless.

Fulfilling God's calling would be wearisome.

Having a girlfriend would not satisfy that longing.

It means nothing, if I'm not close enough to God to hear Him, to know that I'm in His will. But if I am close to Him, my destiny, my calling, my relationships will all fall right into place, and everything will be beautiful with Jesus as the center of my life.

More than anything else, I want to be close to Jesus, to hear His voice always, to obey and please Him in everything I do.

成人礼 Adulthood II

2010-04-20T10:06:00.022+08:00

Here's part 2 of the birthday post!

I wanna thank W406 for making my birthday a joyous one! During that period, I was under a lot of stress due to NS and work, but every SMS and well-wish brightened my day! Thanks guys!

(Special thanks to Jeremy Same Goh for sending the first SMS at midnight)

Min Yee and I.

Me and sistas.

MY and WY.

Me with Weiren :)

We went to NYNY! Thanks to Weiren for the dinner treat =)

Weiren's Watch.

Yea, I have a fetish for taking random photos of inanimate objects.

Yufen and Joanne.

Candid Shot.

Okay fail shot.

Lol the rest turned away :P

Woot! 2 shuai ge's

Fried Food. Woot.

A more mouth-watering close-up.

Cotton Candy.

Fluffy! I like this shot :D

Zi Pai.

Thanks W406 (esp En Yun and Wan Yi) for the shirt!

Initially I wasn't very excited about the shirt, seeing that I got a $250 CA tee :X

However, I totally love it after wearing it for a day!

It fits perfectly and it looks really smart :)

Next, I would like to appreciate my NYP-CHC friends for sacrificing their time to celebrate my birthday! We went to JustAcia at Dhoby Exchange XD

Mark and Kwok Leong.

I really appreciate Kwok Leong for coming; he's not from NYP, and we met only a few times, yet he came to celebrate my birthday o.O

KL, Oliver, Vincent, Evangeline, Moi.

Valerie, Carrisa.

Awesome People!

The customary shot of my food.

Rice + Fried Chicken + Salmon + Kimchi + Miso Soup + Ice Cream + Drink

lol they placed the candle and lit it in front of me.

Make a wish...

Anticipation.

Evangeline is dangerous haha.

Nice camera angle.

Big boss.

Godfather.

Yay Brothers!

love them so much!

Me with S.H.E.

Gay Pic #1

Gay Pic #2

Unwrapping...

Wow super nice watch!

Thanks Mark for helping me put it on.

Awesome Dude.

Celebrity advertising for watch =)

Kwok Leong :)

God has been so good! Here are the blessings I received:

- $250 Christian Audigier Shirt

- White T-shirt

- Slick Formal Shirt

- Suave Watch

and last but not least...

- A place at the 2-Year Degree Programme at DigiPen!

I also want to thank God that Ernest was shortlisted for an interview for his desired course - Medicine at NUS! Praise the Lord!

Do not be deceived, God is not mocked;
for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap.
(Gal 6:7)

I've been giving to many building funds apart from tithes and offerings. God has blessed me a little here and there, but that hasn't been any major financial blessings until now, and I believe that this is only the beginning. I just want to encourage everyone to continue sowing, even when you don't see the results right away. It may take years (like in my case) before the reaping overtakes the sowing.

Don't let anyone and anything deceive you - God will not allow His name to be tarnished! He will ensure that you'll be blessed after you have sown!

Thank you Father!

成人礼 Adulthood

2010-04-16T23:00:00.001+08:00

Thanks to all my dearest family and friends who celebrated my 21st birthday!

I really appreciate it from the bottom of my heart!

I haven't been posting recently as I was (and still is) occupied with many things.

We've got too many pictures, so I'll split the post into 2 parts.

First of all, I wanna thank my OPSS (Orchid Park Secondary School) friends for an awesome birthday outing!

Chee Pong on the phone.

Me and Liang

Taifang and I

At Christian Audigier!

Pastor Kong's shop! :D

Artistic shot.

Well it didn't turn out that well haha

Desmond (N346) works here!

I was pleasantly surprised to see Desmond at the shop! Thanks to him, we got a 20% discount!

I also requested for a golden bag rather than the standard black one, and he gave it to me, even though he was not supposed to :D

Random candid shot.

Waiting for seats at Fish & Co. (I think)

Pong and I

Yay Thomas and I!

Thank God that Thomas celebrated my birthday! We were once enemies, now friends :)

Beef patty Spaghetti

at Pasta de Waraku

Tantalizing Twirling Threads!

Hey sup. Imma eating.

Escalator shot.

Wut?

Upwards shot.

Group shot!

Imma carryin' me present :)

The Lamocrats at its full strength!

Random ION dudes.

I iz on teh MRT,

peeking at ur newspaperz.

Okay that's overboard haha.

NOTE: The following photos are rated NC16 - NOT FOR THE YOUNG.

Time for a leak!

Okay we got the camera angle a lil' off.

Woohoo!

Lawl.

Erm...right.

Me and the Kool dude.

"Prod. Prod."

I was extremely surprised and touched when they said they'll take me shopping for a gift. They were even willing to buy a iPod Touch worth $308! But I decided to get the $250 shirt instead :)

WOOT!!! It's in the golden bag!

And here it is!

1st CHC uniform!

Thanks so much guys, for an awesome birthday celebration! Honestly, I wasn't expecting that expensive a gift!

On a side note, the title of this post is taken from By2's newest and 3rd album. Nope, I haven't been following them; a Youtube channel told me about their new album, which was released a day before my birthday o.O

I went to hear all the songs and I felt that there was nothing that nice. However, after listening to 'em a couple of times, some of the songs are actually not bad :)

<这叫爱> is pretty cool - it's my favorite genre: Alternative/Soul/Punk rock :D

(actually, it may be just Pop. Ah wells, Electric + Bass + Drum + Keyboard rocks)

Anyway, thanks to everyone who made my birthday memorable! Your little text message brightened my day! Will post the other photos on another day. God bless you all!

Joys and Harrows

2010-04-08T15:34:00.007+08:00

Hey wassup people!

After months of not seeing each other, we (Bryan, Nigel, Glenn and I) finally met with the Amos and Yee Howe, who are still stuck in Sungei Gedong. We had dinner at NYNY! And I'm really overspending! :X

Yours Truly, Bryan, Yee Howe, Glenn, Nigel, Amos

I love Amos! He's a really passionate brother from another church, I enjoy talking to him about spiritual things :) He intends to share his testimony on his 21st birthday next month!

A small gift from NYNY

Viola! A really huge cup.. er... bowl... thing!

And I'm so grateful to Weiren for helping me write a Letter of Recommendation for the 2 Year course I talked about in the previous post. The letter is very encouraging!!! XD

Click here if you wish to see the letter.

However, yesterday was a harrowing night. I had a lot of stuff on my hands, and had a hard time multi-tasking. There was a presentation today for some big shot, and my boss needed some stuff to be done. I thought I could do it quick as my part was pretty much done, and I just gotta add a couple of stuff. Nevertheless, there were technical issues (compile and linker errors), and I spent hours trying to debug. Was up until about 3-4am, and I fell asleep while waiting for the project to rebuild.

Since it wasn't done, I was up at about 7-8am and continued working on it with my boss on MSN until around 9.30am. After which I took a cab to work and carried on the debugging. My office computer gave different kinds of errors, and I couldn't debug the problems. Finally, I gave up debugging and just sent my uncompiled/untested code to Robin, hoping that it would work.

Thank God that it worked! Man I never want to go through that again - working late into the night and early in the morning, forgoing Quiet Time, Sleep, and Hygiene (yea I didn't bathe the whole night, and slept in my jeans)

Thank God for sustaining me! Just want to be back home praying and hitting the hay!

"You will keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on You, because he trusts in You." (Isa 26:3)

To God Be The Glory

2010-04-07T11:31:00.009+08:00

Thank God for an awesome Easter Celebration, all the friends that came, the precious salvations, and the excellent drama!

Went to Changi Airport to fellowship after Sunday Easter Service!

Photograph Fail.

Cardiac Arrest.

Isaiah preparing to unleash the final blow

Power Suction!

Epic crash. Left a dent in the wall :X

Jed slipped as both trolleys went apart. Lol.

I can do teh splitz.

Yea! Had lotsa fun with everyone! :D

Totally love the "Hi Larry" game we played! Was so funny! General Bak Kwa! And Oswin's fake cough was very well placed :X

Feeling a little tired right now after Easter. Maybe its because I slept at 4.30am last night. Or morning. :X

So please forgive me I'm suddenly spouting a lot nonsense haha.

Out of randomness, I made a mandarin version of Down

Baby 你放心
你是我唯一
决不离开你
就算天倒下的那日期

就是我唯一
不用再担心
Baby are you down down down down down

Yea, I know, the 4th line kinda weird.

Anyway, I wanna thank God for a couple of things:

1) Anointing to be a guitarist

During yesterday's Zone Meeting, I felt that I didn't play very well; I played wrong chords quite a number of times. Also, I wasn't very sharp to notice Weiren's signals at times, and I feel that I didn't flow very well.

So when Daniel came up to me and said:

"You played very well! Got presence of God when you play!"
"What? Really?"
"Yes, can teach how you play guitar?"

In my mind I was thinking, "But you know more about guitar than me."

Thank God for using me to be His channel. If not for His anointing, I won't be who I am. To Him be all the glory!

Of course, the presence of God came also because of the hunger level of the people, not only because of the music. Let's always be hungry for God's presence in every meeting! :)

2) Answering my desire and opening a door

I thank God that I got a place at my dream course:

B. Sc. in Game Design (BSGD),

DigiPen Institute of Technology.

However, it is 4 years long and will amount to about $80k in tuition fees.

I was more concerned about the length of the study as I believe that God will somehow supply the money, as He has done so many times in the past.

I had wished that there would be some way to cut the length of the study, but I didn't really ask God about it. I prayed more for the $80k :X

Praise the Lord; God opened a door for me! A few days back, Bryan informed me of this 2-Year Degree Programme for polytechnic students - the result of a joint effort between Singapore Institute of Technology(SIT) and DigiPen. This means that I can finish my dream course in 2 Years! And it's subsidized by the government - about $27k for the 2 years! Thank you Jesus! God indeed knows our secret desires!

Now I'm praying that I'll be selected for this programme, and for provision to cover the tuition fees :)

To God be the glory!

Love and Unity

2010-04-01T11:06:00.005+08:00

I wanted to do a April Fool but nvm...

Anyway, we went out with Weiren, Yufen and the CGCs on monday!

We had dinner at Plaza Singapura, and went to play the new Bishi Bashi!

That game is button-mashingly fun!

However, the power tripped and the game machine restarted, so we left the arcade.

We had dessert at Secret Recipe!!

Artistic shot XD

Cute little burgers.

After much feasting, we headed to Istana Park for more fellowship and planning for Easter^^

Last night, we had conference call with Weiren, and he spoke about Love and Unity. After some thought, I realized that I recently have been selfish in certain areas of my life.

Back in my sec sch days, there was one Boy's Brigade session when the officers organized a game for all the boys. We had to converse 5 sentences with each other without saying the words "I, me, myself, 我, etc". Those who spoke those taboo words had to "pasang"(do a forfeit).

It made me realize one thing: if I used these words more than words like "How are you?" and "What about you?", I'm being self-centered during conversations. And the opposite of self-centeredness is love.

The bible says in Heb 10:24,

"And let us consider one another in order to stir up love and good works"

I've got to be considerate, thoughtful about my fellow brothers and sisters so that love will be stirred up. My great wish is that everyone in W406 will love one another, and stay connected in the spirit by prayer.

This can't happen unless the Holy Spirit cause us to be Loving and United.

It can only happen if we pray and spend time in God's presence.

Prayer moves the Holy Spirit.

God's love is poured out when we are in His presence.

"Now hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us." (Rom 5:5)

I want to be more loving as a son of God!

I love these group photos that we took in March! XD

N346+W406!

W406 pioneers!

Vincent's 21st birthday: NYP friends!

May W406 be more united than ever before!

Stretched

2010-03-26T11:40:00.004+08:00

Went to Macs at Bugis with Glenn and Bryan!

Photomaniac strikes!

Mac was packed. Had to wait for seats.

Was Raining. Stuck in Bugis for awhile.

Bought 6 sets of guitar strings!
Comes with a free cup!

Took a random shot after CGM

Thank God for an awesome CG meeting yesterday!

I was feeling rather stretch cos of the many things I'm handling for the meeting, as well as work, but thank God for His presence during ministry...

Gotta make time for God during this busy period, to know Him and to see Him!

I will have my Penuel experience!!!

By the way, Jed is back! Here's a photo of him:

Freaky....

Freakier. LAWLS

100th Post: God is good

2010-03-23T12:47:00.004+08:00

This is my 100th post, and I wanna thank God for his goodness in my life!

Thanks Weiren for giving me your guitar!!! Can't believe you're really giving it to me! XD

I went to Weiren's place to retrieve the guitar last night. It was a very interesting experience.

I hopped on bus 196 at Buona Vista to get there. I was worried that I might miss the stop, so I called Weiren when I passed by New Town Sec and SP. He said I'm supposed to get off after the turn after passing by New Town. Thus, I alighted.

Apparently it was the wrong stop, and we spent many minutes on the phone trying to figure where I was and where I should go lawls. In the end, Weiren realized that I alighted one stop early, so he told me to take the next 196 bus.

He said, "You can't miss me, I'm wearing a pink shirt. Can't let the other members see me like this, or they'll stumble." XD

After a rather long wait, I got on the bus and called Weiren. He decided that he'll handover the guitar through the bus door and I don't have to alight. As the bus drew closer to the stop, I saw Weiren in his glory - pink T-shirt, shorts and slippers. The maneuver was successful and the bus went on to Clementi MRT.

Here are pictures of the guitar, taken with my crappy HP camera of course:

Pretty good casing - it cushions the guitar and protects it, and its lighter than hard cases.

I played it this morning and I love the sound! I was rather surprised that the guitar is still in tune!

It is louder than Isaiah's guitar and sounds nicer :) Hope it sounds as good or better when it is plugged in. The strings are getting a lil' rusty though. Gotta change 'em soon.

God is good, and Weiren is so generous!

If you have seen my "Desires" list, you'll probably would have seen this:

➝ Acoustic Guitar with plug in, guitar strap, guitar stand, hard case, pretty good sound, about $500-$800

Now God through Weiren has blessed me with an Acoustic guitar with plug in, guitar strap, soft-cushion case, pretty good sound, which is worth $500+.

Imma get the guitar stand soon :) My elder bro was telling me that hard case are heavy and bulky, so I was re-considering my desire for one. So I was thinking, I want a soft case which would protect the guitar. Lo and behold, Weiren's guitar came with some special, professional cushion bag!

God answers specific prayers!!!

Just want to thank God for hearing my every prayer. In this season, I feel as though God always hears me, even the smallest prayers I make, and He answers them. I'm also starting to hear more from Him! Gotta watch what I say, cos God remembers the little promises and "Yes, Lord"s that I say :X

Sometimes, I feel like "why do You give me so much of Your attention? I don't deserve it." My Father is so awesome!

The Council of 5

2010-03-17T10:33:00.011+08:00

Finally, at long last, the gang and I met up for a fun time! We've been wanting to meet up for a long while, but it was hard to fit everyone's timing. Thank God that Taifang, Leroy and I had OFF yesterday!

The council:
- Leroy
- Taifang
- Chee Pong
- Weiliang
- Israel

We walked all about town - from Suntec to Funan, to Peninsula Shopping Center, to Bras Basah, to Fortune Center, to Iluma, to Bugis!

We had lunch at Aston's first (influenced by me of course :P)

Pong and I.

Liang caught by the paparazzi.

Roy. At Aston's.

Me and Pong.

Chee Pong acting cute.

Liang ordering food.

The Fang.

Backstreet Boys.

We headed to Funan as Leroy wanted to check out if they were selling God of War III Collector's Edition and Heavy Rain. They didn't have 'em, but they had this cool poster.

DOW 2 Expansion!

Pong wanted to see jersey, so we went next door to Peninsula Shopping Center:

You're Hired!

Random Magic Shop.
Magicman(Weiliang) was drawn by its mystical aura. The shop was closed though.

After that, we went to Bras Basah. I got meself a couple of guitar picks, and Weiliang bought 1. They didn't have stock for guitar stands though. Gotta get one soon as Weiren will be passing me his guitar (WOOT! So honoured!)

Crossing road lawls.

Sick of the paparazzi :P

We then headed to this elderly mall called Fortune Center. Apparently Cheepong knows a friend who set up a games shop there. I was like "What?" I mean that place sells idols, has messaging services and all sorts of elderly stuff. It also reeks of a weird smell. Why would anyone set up shop there?

But to our surprise, they did.

Lol. A game shop in such an ''ulu' place.

Next stop, Iluma!

Watch out for road kill.

Magnificent Iluma with longest escalator in Singapore.

Too bad they don't have much stuff. (No substance :P)

Kool dudes.

I like this one. Thanks to Roy for the shot =)

Weiliang acting cool.

Spongebobs. Are you ready kids?

This huge arcade is actually owned by Atomic Gaming Innovations,

Bryan's old company :O

Woot Lift Shot.

Hey, no pictures!

The mad rampage of the Photomaniac is ended.

Thank God for a good time with the peeps!

Jed also went off to Rome last night. Yay he better make us proud :P

Toodles.

The Knight Reigns

2010-03-11T19:00:00.006+08:00

Behold, the glorious transformation of this blog!

Marvel and tremble, mortals!!! Muahahahaha! XD

I've shifted a great deal of my sidebars to the 2 new pages,

The Knight and Memorial.

Do check 'em out!

Arthas is my favourite video game character, so I put him up there on the title splash. As for the blog title, I chose "The Knight Reigns" as I believe that through the cross of Christ, I will have victory in every circumstance, and I will rule and reign with Christ.

A special thanks go out to Glenn for helping me with the title splash.

All glory to God!