the tsunami that hit so many countries is indeed a tragedy. am deeply saddened by people who have lost their loved ones over the holidays... but in light of this i am disgusted by some of the comments i heard over the news and read in the newspapers. yesterday. i read about this family of 5 who escaped the tsunami coz they managed to run to high ground in time. and when asked if they were disappointed that their holiday turned out to be a disaster (literally), they said that it wasn't a waste... at least they got to see a disaster first hand. on the news yesterday, this man was being interviewed as he was en route to thailand for a holiday. when asked if he was still going, he said that he cancelled the trip but would go if he wasn't married. and when asked why, he replied, "it's good to see a crisis. it's good to see crisis and rise above it." i wonder if he knows what he's talking about. i just hope that when he sees a crisis first hand that he'd live to tell his tale. and to the man who felt that his holiday wasn't wasted, i can't believe that he can feel excited that he saw a disaster first hand, with probably thousands of people losing their lives underneath his feet.

talk about compassion.

by far, i haven't read about any singaporean who survived and came back safely who say that they were saddened by what happened. i heard "patong is now ruined!", i heard "it's exciting to see a disaster first hand", i heard "we're lucky". sometimes i just feel that singaporeans are so cold. i can't believe that most people feel like they've just had a hollywood experience, starring themselves. i think these people don't really know what they're talking about.

sometimes i think singaporeans are really ugly, really selfish. we complain and complain and are never satisfied. we complain that there're too many charity shows, we complain that there're too many policies telling us what to do and what not to do. we complain and complain. but when given an avenue where we can act upon what we say, we just sit back and hope that things will take place by itself. it seems like everyone's waiting around for a free lunch. take away the charity shows... can we see ourselves as a society that is aware of the community of people who're in need? take away all the policies... can we be trusted to be trustworthy citizens, responsible and considerate for our actions? just look at the number of deaths caused by accidents on the road.

when i read in the papers our response to certain issues, like this and the casino, i am deeply saddened. an educated society? more like a literate society. educated? maybe not.

seeing all these things only challenges me to be different. to be that change, ok, maybe not be that change in the world, the very least, in my own world. that would include the people who're in my life right now and the people whom i bump into day in day out. to be a shining light, by the grace of God, to a world that seems so blind. to allow myself to be moulded and not hardened by difficult circumstance and situations.

there's more i can say but i think you get the picture. i remember a signature on my friend's email, "to change the world, be the change in the world".

{ Tuesday, December 28 }

My Saviour, Redeemer
Lifted me from the miry clay
Almighty, Forever
I will never be the same

'Cause You came near
From the everlasting
To the world we live
The Father's only Son

You lived, You died
You rose again on high
You've opened the way
For the world to live again
Hallelujah
For all You've done

(By HillSongs, For All You've Done album)

Yes, indeed we can rejoice this season for all you've done. Because you came down from the everlasting on this day two thousand years ago , you've opened up the way for many to live again. And on this day, i remember once again Your goodness in my life, i recount on all that You've done for me. Thank You Lord Jesus. You are the reason for the season.

{ Thursday, December 23 }

hey ya all!

it's update time before i have more updates and have no time to put it down. but i must say... i don't know why singaporeans always have no time to do things. is it coz we have too much to do? maybe... so should we be doing less? maybe... so what should we be doing less of? i don't know... maybe that's what it is like being a working adult? 9 hours at work and 4-5 hours before bedtime... really, i think that if we're doing too much things and there's no time to rest and reflect on the things that we are doing or have done, then we should slow down a little. well, of course i don't mean being lazy... but you know what i mean... i hope.

anyways, was supposed to tell you about my family camp with my network. we had this family camp/retreat over the hari raya weekend in november... that's 13th to 15th november. it was good... it was a good time of rest... especially for me. the program wasn't packed at all... this camp was held in holiday inn batam, indonesia. it was really relaxing.

there were about 200 of us. we were split into groups and we had to come up with a group cheer and a flag. that was for games the next day. the games were really fun. shan't go into details of the games but it was very family friendly. oh, would just like clarify, when i say family camp, it's my church network camp. we call it family coz we're from the same network and hence form the same family. and when i say family friendly games, it means games that're suited for little children aged 2-12. yup, there're kids too. it's fun seeing them run around so excitedly =) sometimes the children get so carried away playing that they forgot all the rules. hahaha. cute. =)

our network is part of the youth net. and we attend the youth service on saturdays at 5pm. it's great that we can get to know the people whom you see around in church but hadn't gotten the chance to say hi to.

during the camp, our pastors came to share about their dreams and plans for 2005. i find it really exciting. =) and it's even more exciting when i can see myself running together with their dreams and my peers.

yes... plans for 2005. i'm really excited for 2005. coz there're plans! was just sharing with one of my friends that i'm so excited that i've got plans for 2005. i don't remember doing any form of planning when i was in school... the plan was just to get thru that year without failing any exams. yup... that's the plan when i was schooling. and when i started to work... there's no end of year exams to prepare for... there's no school to graduate from after a fixed number of years... the end of work is when you retire, which is like when i'm 62... maybe even later considering that singapore might push back the retirement age due to our aging population... quite depressing right? in short, never really thought about life after age 22. hahaha. =) so yup. am very excited that i've got some direction to move towards, goals to achieve and people to run with. =)

ok, i'll share some of the plans i have for 2005... one is finish reading the bible, another is to train for a 10km marathon next year... think i shared that somewhere in my previous blogs. hehehe. at least these are quantifiable goals... when it comes to non-quantifiable goals such as character building, seen in some people when they make resolutions to be more patient, i'll leave that to God and where He leads me to serve Him. =) next year, i'll be leading a cell group... this year, i'm already leading an accountability group and i am pretty amazed by what God has revealed to me about myself. it's really a humbling experience to serve... coz i know that i am definitely inadequate... but i've seen how the Lord has provided. so through walking will there be more opportunities where i'd be refined. it's like i can't really learn and know what being patient is all about until i'm put in situations that actually push the limits... haha. make sense? well, at least to me.

anyway, this is becoming a very long blog. till we meet again! any plans for 2005 anyone? =)

{ Tuesday, December 21 }

A university professor challenged his students with this question,

"Did God create everything that exists?"

A student bravely replied, "Yes, he did!"

"God created everything?," the professor asked.

"Yes, sir," the student replied.

The professor answered, "If God created everything, then God created evil since evil exists, and according to the principal that our works define who we are then God is evil."

The student became quiet before such an answer.

The professor was quite pleased with himself and boasted to the students that he had proven once more that the Christian faith was a myth.

Another student raised his hand and said, "Can I ask you a question professor?"

"Of course," replied the professor.

The student stood up and asked, "Professor, does cold exist?"

"What kind of question is this? Of course it exists. Have you never been cold?"

The students snickered at the young man's question.

The young man replied, "In fact sir, cold does not exist. According to the laws of physics, what we consider cold is in reality the absence of heat. Everybody or object is susceptible to study when it has or transmits energy, and heat is what makes a body or matter have or transmit energy.

"Absolute zero (-460 degrees F) is the total absence of heat; all matter becomes inert and incapable of reaction at that temperature. Cold does not exist. We have created this word to describe how we feel if we have no heat."

The student continued. "Professor, does darkness exist?"

The professor responded, "Of course it does."

The student replied, "Once again you are wrong, sir, darkness does not exist either. Darkness is in reality the absence of light. Light we can study, but not darkness. In fact we can use Newton's prism to break white light into many colors and study the various wavelengths of each color. You cannot measure darkness. A simple ray of light can break into a world of darkness and illuminate it. How can you know how dark a certain space is? You measure the amount of light present. Isn't this correct? Darkness is a term used by man to describe when there is no light present."

Finally the young man asked the professor, "Sir, does evil exist?"

Now uncertain, the professor responded, "Of course as I have already said. We see it every day. It is in the daily example of man's inhumanity to man. It is in the multitude of crime and violence everywhere in the world. These manifestations are nothing else but evil."

To this the student replied, "Evil does not exist sir, or at least it does not exist unto itself. Evil is simply the absence of God. It is just like darkness and cold, a word that man has created to describe the absence of God. God did not create evil. Evil is not like faith, or love that exist just as does light and heat. Evil is the result of what happens when man does not have God's love present in his heart. It's like the cold that comes when there is no heat or the darkness that comes when there is no light."

The professor sat down.

The young man's name --- Albert Einstein.

{ Friday, December 10 }

i have to say... i've forgotten all about my blog! i wonder if anyone still reads this... hahaha

it's been more than a month since i've updated this journal of mine and november has been a really relaxing month for me. =) coz... firstly there was the long weekend break (11th nov - deepavali and 15th nov - hari raya). plus i took 3 days off so that i got one whole week off at a go... that one week was very good... just bummed... haven't bummed for a long long time... though this one week can't be compared to the 3-4 months summer hols that i got when i was in uni, it was good enough =P

over the long weekend, had my church network camp at batam holiday inn resort. we got a really good deal there... it was like S$195 for 3 days including our meals and the ferry ride there. will update more on the camp in my next blog.

then the following week i took another 3 days off. attended this course with my church called "the school of modern levites" where they teach you skills for worship. for example, they teach you how to sing, pick up an instrument... they have different levels too. i went for the vocal track 1. learnt plenary stuff like how to read all the musical notes, count rhythm and all the basic theories... then the 2nd part of the day we'd learn how to sing. well, i still can't sing very well... hahahha. and i also realised one more thing during the practical. you can't pitch very well when you sing through the microphone. i needed to take a while before i could pitch correctly.

and then it was back to work again... *yawn*

anyways, there was a marathon organized by standard chartered a few days ago... 5th dec. and a few of my friends ran in the half-marathon (21.1km). hahaha. that was really brave of them. in my current state (and if you've read my previous blog on my "exercise routine") you'll understand why i call them brave... haha =) anyway, i was there as a "runspirator". met them there at the 14km mark. while i was waiting for my friends to turn up, saw quite a few runners who were pretty "well-dressed"... saw a few people with santa's hat (i think you call that a hat) with a bell attached to it... saw this guy with red hair dressed in a simple clown suit and another guy running in a pink tutu... hahahaha =)

well, since my last blog till now i've still not gone running yet... i might try for the 10km marathon next year and see how that goes. =P i pray that i'll be disciplined enough to start jogging...

that's been my month so far... i'll try not to forget about this blog... well, i still haven't gotten the time to figure out how to beautify my blog page yet. there's more i'd like to add... i'll need to recall somemore things before i pen them down. definitely can't pen down some of my thoughts at work... hehehe... that's when i usually update my blog page.

how has your month been? =)

{ Wednesday, December 8 }