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Two songs that have been stuck in my head since the party yesterday. Enjoy.

Wonderwall - Oasis

Today is gonna be the day that they're gonna throw it back to you
By now you shoulda somehow realized what you gotta do
I don't believe that anybody feels the way I do about you now

Back beat, the word is on the street that the fire in your heart is out
I'm sure you've heard it all before but you never really had a doubt
I don't believe that anybody feels the way I do about you now

And all the roads we have to walk are winding
And all the lights that lead us there are blinding
There are many things that I would like to say to you
But I don't know how

Because maybe
You're gonna be the one that saves me
And after all
You're my wonderwall

Today was gonna be the day but they'll never throw it back to you
By now you shoulda somehow realized what you're not to do
I don't believe that anybody feels the way I do about you now

And all the roads that lead you there were winding
And all the lights that light the way are blinding
There are many things that I would like to say to you
But I don't know how

I said maybe
You're gonna be the one that saves me
And after all
You're my wonderwall

I said maybe
You're gonna be the one that saves me
And after all
You're my wonderwall

I said maybe
You're gonna be the one that saves me
You're gonna be the one that saves me
You're gonna be the one that saves me

No Such Thing - John Mayer

"Welcome to the real world", she said to me
Condescendingly
Take a seat
Take your life
Plot it out in black and white

Well I never lived the dreams of the prom kings
And the drama queens
I'd like to think the best of me Is still hiding
Up my sleeve

They love to tell you
Stay inside the lines
But something's better
On the other side

I wanna run through the halls of my high school
I wanna scream at the
Top of my lungs
I just found out there's no such thing as the real world
Just a lie you've got to rise above

So the good boys and girls take the so called right track
Faded white hats
Grabbing credits
Maybe transfers

They read all the books but they can't find the answers
And all of our parents
They're getting older
I wonder if they've wished for anything better
While in their memories
Tiny tragedies

They love to tell you
Stay inside the lines
But something's better
On the other side

I wanna run through the halls of my high school
I wanna scream at the
Top of my lungs
I just found out there's no such thing as the real world
Just a lie you got to rise above

I am invincible(3x)
As long as I'm alive

I wanna run through the halls of my high school
I wanna scream at the
Top of my lungs
I just found out there's no such thing as the real world
Just a lie you've got to rise above
I just can't wait for my 10 year reunion
I'm gonna bust down the double doors
And when I stand on these tables before you
You will know what all this time was for

Time Flies...

Yup. It really does. 3 weeks since my last post here and a lot has happened. People have come and mostly gone. Mostly because 3 of them were really close friends. Work's been a series of highs and lows though I spent about a week and a half going on MC and medical appointments. So now I'm down to 5x9 days to orD-Day!!!

TCH has been rather ok. Though some people say it is not their cup of tea, I'll stick to it through and through. I believe that through hard work and determination, we can make that cup of tea just right. Ministry-planting is not an easy task as described by Eld Ho. I takes a lot of faith and perseverence by the leadership to make it into a successful ministry. Now, according to Rev Chris Chia, we are in Phase 1 where the foundations are laid and the starts to grow. It's growth will not be dependent on us a members but on the grace of God who will call the right people to join. To those who always say that the ministry will not succeed and that all will crumble to pieces, remember what I just mentioned and may He deal with you appropriately. The point is this, either you join us by supporting the ministry or just stay away and stop cursing the work of the Almighty. The ministry's success is dependent on the will of Him who is sovereign and not on you and what you say. Savvy?

Church on Sunday has been marginally more exciting as the few ex-YAF people have been dragged into being Sunday School helpers. This ensures that we do not stay at home on Sundays and slack around. Well, the kids have so far been quite pleasant to work with but it's just the beginning.

2 activities have been the highlight of this week. First was the TCH retreat held at the National Community Leadership Institute (NACLI) campus in Kent Ridge. It's main aim was to train the TCH members on the way to share the gospel through the 2 Ways to Live drawings. The secondary aim was to give the members a chance to have a say in the direction of the ministry and change the programme as such. It was a 1-night retreat and I only stayed till lunchtime on Saturday when I left and met Alvin Teo and Bench to buy my long-awaited bass guitar.

I dragged the guitar home and changed before leaving the house once again. This time I went to the Substation to attend Candice's 18th birthday celebration at Timbre Cafe and Bistro just behinf the Substation. The music by the RJC singer and the band was awesome. Anyway, happy birthday Candice!

I'll post the photos from the last 2 events when I have the time. For now, I'll be going to sleep. I'm catching AA2006 tomorrow. Leave a mark!

Some shots of the campsite (NACLI). The last one isn't a shot of the campsite. It's the view from it.

One of Those Times...

My posting frequency has been in the doldrums recently. Partially because I've been lazy and partially because I've had not time to post.

CNY was a blast in terms of cash collected. So now I'm way closer to that new phone I've always wanted. Just another $80 or so. I realised that people are starting to stinge. Enough about that. I don't really want to complain. I'm satisfied though I could have been more satisfied.

I don't understand some people. First they give you indications that they want something done in a certain way. And then when you do it, they say that it's all wrong and not meant to be. It's just so confusing. I wonder if that's better than people who leave clues and expect others to pick up the pieces and figure out what the person is feeling.

Anyway, here I am again feeling like crap. Fridays just don't seem to cut it. If it's not beacuse of some TCH thing, it's because I see certain people who don't belong to it. The former is easy to deal with. It's the latter that's bothering me. I've always believed that no chance means no chance. Forcing won't get you anywhere. But here I am, still trying over and over again. It's so easy to tell others to "forget it and move on". But when it happens to you, it's hard to swallow your own advice. I'm sure that some who are going through this know exactly what I'm driving at. But what the heck. It was nothing to begin with.

Is it that hard to find happiness?

The Help Which I Need Comes Not From Here... But From He...

The past 2 weeks at work have been really bad. There has been a growing amount of friction between certain parties in LTB which was caused be some new restrictions imposed on us. I don't really want to delve into the topic. In any case, it has caused me to feel very depressed.

Letting emotions run our lives. I'm sure that most people are guilty of that from time to time. I'm no exception. As mentioned earlier, the events of the past 2 weeks have caused me to become a person who gets frustrated very easily and tired most of the time. I did not take comments about myself very seriously and sometimes even argued back at the criticisms. On the outside I might have looked like I was listening and willing to change as I was advised. But that was not the case.

Week after week, Alex would always come to me and disciple/mentor/lecture me on my conduct and how I, as the worship coordinator of Campus Hub, should carry myself. Not as an easily adgitated person who refuses to believe that my strength alone is not enough but a God-trusting person who relies on God's wisdom and power to do things according to His good and perfect will. This prayer goes out to Him.

My Father in heaven, hallowed be Thy name.
Your kingdom come, Your will be done on Earth as it is in Heaven.
Give me this day my daily bread
And forgive my trespasses as I forgive those who trespassed against me.
And lead me not into temptation but deliver me from the evil one.
For Thine is the kingdom, the power and the glory forever and ever.
Amen.

To all who were involved in yesterday's worship, I apologise for not providing a guitarist and for me not being able to stand in on Thursday. Please accept my sincere apologies.

My Random Thoughts for Today

1. There's too much red tape around.

2. Come on, give it up. It's time to move on.

3. Why did I even try?

4. CAmpus Hub rocks my socks!

Good night.

2006

Happy New Year to one and all. May all your New Year resoultions come into being.

A Christmas Post

First and foremost, I would like to wish one and all a Merry Christmas.

Today, we celebrated Christmas. And this was how I went about celebrating.

I woke up at around 7 and rushed to church in a cab. It was pouring and I was trying not to get the presents that I bought wet. I managed to reach before 7.30 and started by shifting the drums and other sound equipment to the ground floor. Then there was some practice and before long, the 9am service started. We played 4 songs before the sermon but could not stay for it as the sanctuary was filled to the brim. So I ended up talking to Eld Ho in the fellowship hall and discussed about the Campus Ministry. The feedback I got from some mentors suggested that it would be unwise to recruit some of the PLH band members to play for the CM's meetings on Fridays. Hence I suggested that we recruit them for about a month just to get things started and then rope in the ARPC people once we identify those who can play instruments or worship lead. This idea had some positive reception from Eld Ho and Uncle Justin. So I guess that will be the new plan.

Anyway, back to today. Service ended at 10.45 but we still had to stay to play for the 11am service. It was the same procedure as before and we ended at around 12.30. Then it was time for the gift and card exchanges. Mostly received sweets and chocolates and some cards. Once again, thanks for all who gave. Then I had a short lunch-thing with Julian, David, Julia, Lydia and Andrew. Subway it was. I left for home at around 2.30. I caught up on sleep soon after. Next up was the party@onglye. Uncle Justin picked me up and we went down to Candice's house together. The spread was awesome and the company even better. Played Dai-dee (regular and asshole) and Texas Hold 'em. We were almost down to playing Truth or Dare ver 2.0 when I had to leave 'cause my transport was leaving. It was a great party and one that I look forward to every year.

Now to plan my schedule for Boxing Day. Guess I'll do it in my dreams. Nitez~!

Operation Campus Ministry

Now I'm irritated. Today I told Eld Ho Yew Kee about my plan to recuit PLH band members to play for the Campus Ministry (known as CM from here). And his reaction was a simple "No". Why? He says that we do not need a full band initially as there won't be many people attending the meetings initially. This is completely different from my plan to rope in the younger ones so that a full band can be formed and play on Fridays, creating an atmosphere only felt at GIGS and Worship Sundays.

Now, I'm confused. I was tasked to find people to create such an atmosphere and now I've just been told that a simple piano and guitar ensemble will be enough. I don't know if the older folk know this but kids/teens/youth are attracted to music in one way or another. Why do you think City Harvest Church has a youth congregation that can probably over-fill the indoor stadium and we at PSPC, a "backward" and "traditional" church, has a youth congregation that can barely fill the 200-seater multi-purpose hall?

As I sit here typing this blog entry, Planet Shakers is blasting in the background and I recall the reason why PLH seemed so "cool" and "exclusive" when I was in Sunday School. It was all about the music and the instruments they used. Drums, synthesizers, electric guitars and electric basses. Now, that was for the "cool" crowd. No more "music-less", a-capella songs of Sunday School. That was the time to rock. Even a young mind at 12 can feel that a full band makes a difference. What more a mature 20 year-old?

But before I kao peh some more, I must remember to put my fullest of trust in the "core" committee and in God. We will see this ministry take off and take flight

Impact

Yesterday evening after work, I was on my way home when I remembered that the Impact campers were putting up a performance in church. Since I was already in Dhoby Ghaut, I decided to attend and met up with Jason and John at Raffles City where they were shopping for stuff.

We managed to reach church just after 7. Luckily the concert had not started. After a short time of worship, the concert began and the 4 teams of the camp put up 4 seperate skits with the common theme of the end of the world. Apparently the scriptwriters had to stay up the whole night before to get the script out on time. Anyway, the skits were well done and quite entertaining. Kudos to the scriptwriters who did such a good job in such a short time during a period of unholy hours. The actors/actresses were superb as well. Luke Ching was my personal favourite, playing the role of a certain Chris Antti in a skit titled The Chronicles of Prinsep-ville.

After the presentation of the skits, there was a period of intermission and refreshments . This was followed by the awards presentation. I was done rather professionally with performances in between the awards. I enjoyed especially the tambourine dance. Good to hear that they were so good that it may get selected as an item for the 125th Presbyterian Anniversary celebrations next year. But the best was saved for last. The hand mime was by far the highlight of the evening.

Looking back to the past, it was really sad that the "Exodus" of mentors had taken place but I guess that it was all part of God's wonderful and perfect plan. It was probably in all His wisdom that He made the previous batch of mentors step down and let Alex and Nick take the helm. Though the way that they left was unglam and totally unprofessional not to mention that it was done in the full intent of seeing PLH collapse, it had to be done such that people who were unfit to guide and lead the teens at PLH move away and a new batch of more qualified, dignified and responsible mentors take over and ensure the survival of the youth movement in PSPC. Now, with Doc John at the helm, PLH has never looked more 'on fire'. He has ressurected the spirit of PLH that used to flow when Daniel and his team were still aroud. The evidence was all there last night during the concert.

I was flipping through the photos taken of PLH years past. A glimpse at the group shots during camps revealed the shocking. Of the roughly 30 people in the photo, only a handful of them still remain at PSPC. Some have gone overseas while others have moved on with their families to other churches. But a majority of them left with the mentors during the "Exodus". Though it's been 3-4 years already, I still am angry and disappointed with Daniel and his bunch of irresponsible, immature, incompetent and no-backbone-to-stand-up-for-themselves people who called themselves mentors. If Ridge Orr was around at that time, I'm sure that he would have slapped each one of them left, right, centre. They knew that leaving all of a sudden was not the way to go worse still, they left en masse, leaving only Alex and Nick behind. To make matters worse, they did not inform them of their plans as Alex and Nick would surely have stopped them. The entire committee of 2001 was informed of the move except me as I, the whistle blower, am the nephew of Auntie Yueh Tarn. Letting her know would have been an even bigger mistake for them. They would not have an option to be leave. They would have been paraded around church like a bunch of traitors while people stoned them.

Out of fire a strong sword is forged. And how true it is. PLH is now stronger than ever. So to Daniel Chiam and his bunch of baffoons I say this: Your plan to see PLH falter and collapse has failed miserably. I really hope that the memory of you at PLH is erased permanently and your name is never to be heard of again in PSPC. What you did was despicable and you are unworthy to be mentors in PLH and anywhere else. You exiled yourselves from PSPC and I hope it stays that way. You guys make me sick.

The Wedding

Today was the day I witnessed holy matrimonythe exchanging of rings and the true love between Tommy and Jophia.

The wedding service was supposed to start at 2 so I estimated that I would take 45 mins to drive from my place to Covenant Evangelical Free Church in Bukit Panjang. Not wanting to be late and not get a lot, I left home at 1 and took the TPE/SLE/BKE to BP. A mere 20 mins later, I pulled up and parked in Greenridge Shopping Centre next to the church. 20 mins only. And no, I did not speed. It was just a under-estimation of the speed limits along the express-ways.

I waited outside the church for Jason, Bench and Claire before going in. The sanctuary was more like and auditorium unlike that of PSPC which is traditional with pews and a high ceiling. We took or seats and waited for the proceedings to begin. Shortly after a quarter past 2, the bride walked down the isle with her father. Though, they must have rehearsed it dozens of times over, I could still see the nervousness on the faces of Tommy and Jophia. When she reached the front of the sanctuary, the service began with a short time of praise followed by the sermon by Rev Ridge.

With that concluded, the solemnisation began. Note that what you see on TV is more or less the same as that of a real wedding so I won't go into details. With the usual "I do"s and exchanging of vows and rings, Tommy and Jophia were pronounced husband and wife by Rev Peter Chan. Surprisingly, no one cried as the movies portray.

Then came the speeches and special items. But the highlight was the special singing performance that Tommy put up. Going solo with only a guitar played by one of his friends, he sang a specially written song to his newly wedded wife. I really remember the lyrics but it sure brought tears to the eyes of some people. And rightfully so.

The group photo-shoots were next and the time that everyone was waiting for came... The reception with food. Most of us did not have lunch so it really was a time we all were waiting for. The bunch of us (Jason, Shelby, Ben Smith, Jane and Daniel) sat together and spent most of the time catching up with each other over the food.

We left at around 4. Jason and Shelby hitched a ride with me and we went to Mel's ice-cream place in Sunset wayfor a scoop or 2. The good thing was that Mel was there but there wasn't durian ice-cream, much to the disappointment of the 2 people who just returned from the land of the koalas. We stayed till about 6.30 and i fetched Jason to his place in Holland V and Shelby to her place in Joo Seng. From there it was a short trip back to mine.

Reflecting on the wedding, I realised that true love is a must in a husband-wife relationship in order for it to work. A marriage is to last all the way till death do the parties part. Only a true love can ensure that happens. With the rising trend of couples divorcing, is it an indication that true love is hard to find nowadays? I don't think I'm qualified to discuss this issue.

Now for something more light-hearted. Pink is NOT the colour for a handphone. Handphones can take on any colour excpet pink. It's just downright ugly and defies the laws of phony nature.

It seems that when certain people show up, some others just drop off the radar.

The Campus Hub

What is in a name? Frankly, a lot. A name is like the title and introduction of an organisation or a person. Think Tan Ah Kow vs Andronicus Edward Zimmer. A few posts ago, I mentioned that the YAF combined with the PUNJ from ARPC would be setting up a new university outreach group. And here is its name: The Campus Hub.

The idea came from Prof Ho who said that people who will be using it in the future don't need to say, "Let's go to for Uni Fellowship." But rather, "Let's go to the Hub." At first it sounded quite ordinary but after a while it seemed the best of the other names that it might have had.

The whole plan will be unveiled to the church in less than 3 weeks time and I'm personally quite excited to see what's in store for us, the "pioneers" and for the uni members. I excited to see if it all works out just like it was supposed to. Just imagine...

Friday night and class had just ended. I gathered my best mates and we walked across the street to Plaza Singapure for dinner at Yosi. I really love their beef bowl. After having our dill, we headed over to the Hub. After last week, I was really looking forward to worship. The band was really cool and the music was awesome. All Christian rock songs that you would normally hear in a Charismatic church or on a Planetshakers album. To tell you the truth, I really didn't expect to hear these songs there 'cause I had this idea that Presbyterians were those ultra-conservative types which will only sing hymns and stuff. Guess I was wrong. Oops, it's almost 7:30. Hubbing is starting soon. Gotta d/c from the church's wireless network now. I'll blog later when I get home. Till then, may the Hub be with you.

... Yeah. Just imagine the infiite possibilities. Ok. It's my turn to d/c. Night!

A big-city California lawyer went duck hunting in rural Mississippi.
He shot and dropped a bird, but it fell into a farmer's field on the other side of a fence. As the lawyer climbed over the fence, an elderly farmer drove up on his tractor and asked him what he was doing.
The attorney responded, "I shot a duck and it fell in this field, and now I'm going into retrieve it."
The old farmer replied, "This is my property, and you are not coming over here." The indignant lawyer said, "I am one of the best trial attorneys in the US and, if you don't let me get that duck, I'll sue you and take everything you own."
The old farmer smiled and said, "Apparently, you don't know how we do things in Mississippi. We settle small disagreements like this with the Mississippi Three-Kick Rule."
The lawyer asked, "What is this three-kick Rule?"
The farmer replied, "Well, first I kick you three times and then you kick me three times, and so on, back and forth, until someone gives up."
The attorney quickly thought about the proposed contest and decided that he could easily take the old codger. He agreed to abide by the local custom.
The old farmer slowly climbed down from the tractor and walked up to the city feller. His first kick planted the toe of his heavy work boot into the lawyer's groin and dropped him to his knees. His second kick nearly wiped the man's nose off hisface. The barrister was flat on his belly when the farmer's third kick to a kidney nearly caused him to give up.
The lawyer summoned every bit of his will and managed to get to his feet and said, "Okay, you old coot, now it's my turn."
The old farmer smiled and said, "Naw, I give up. You can have the duck"

Evidence provided by the reaction to hurricane Katrina has prompted a major research institution to recently announce the discovery of the heaviest element yet known to science. The new element has been named "Governmentium". Governmentium (Gv) has one neutron, 25 assistant neutrons, 88 deputy neutrons, and 198 assistant deputy neutrons, giving it an atomic mass of 312. These 312 particles are held together by forces called morons, which are surrounded by vast quantities of lepton-like particles called peons. Since Governmentium has no electrons, it is inert. However, it can be detected, because it impedes every reaction with which it comes into contact. A minute amount of Governmentium causes one reaction to take over four days to complete, when it would normally take less than a second. Governmentium has a normal half-life of 4 years; it does not decay, but instead undergoes a reorganization in which a portion of the assistant neutrons and deputy neutrons exchange places. In fact, Governmentium's mass will actually increase over time, since each reorganization will cause more morons to become neutrons, forming isodopes. This characteristic of moron promotion leads some scientists to believe that Governmentium is formed whenever morons reach a certain quantity in concentration. This hypothetical quantity is referred to as Critical Morass. When catalyzed with money, Governmentium becomes Administratium - an element which radiates just as much energy as Governmentium since it has half asmany peons but twice as many morons.

Framed...

framed... that was 3 LTB personnel were on thursday... all because an RP couldnt keep his cool and booked them for nothing... now these guys are facing DB as a possibility... a future runied for 3 young people...

is this world unfair? or is it just more fair to some than others?

finally some time to blog...

today started with something different... instead of going back to camp, i went to the chevrons in jurong... it was the nmtb helathy lifestyle day and we had bowling at the cathay bowl there... 2 games on nmtb... 102 on the 1st and 133 on the 2nd... really bad compared to the times in jc when we bowled about once a week... the event ended at 1 and i went to play LAN with a couple of the other guys... in all, a day well spent...

now it's time to discuss some serious stuff...

last sunday, eld ho unveiled the plans for yaf for 2006... the friday fellowship will commence in jan from next year and will involve people from both pspc and arpc... pspc will provide the infra-structure ie the church building and arpc will provide most of the manpower... every friday night will be a time of worship and bible study for the students of the unis around the area... and through that, the church wants to form what it calls a university congregation... ambitious? yeah... hope it all works out...

another week has passed and another will be starting again... starting from tomorrow, i will have 191 days of my ns liability to serve... that's approximately 6.3 months or 27 weeks away... considering all the time i wasted in there plus all the shit i've received, i deserve to get out... just counting down now...

today i was invited by one of my colleagues to attend a worship concert at the chapel of the ressurection which is located in sajc... it was a long time since i went there and so i gladly agreed...

the thing started at 730 but i only reached at 8 due to traffic... as i walked in, the band was just wrapping up the last bits of one way... and after that it was all the slow songs to get ppl into the altar-call mood... the songs chosen were really good and the band was great... i kinda went back into the worshippy mood again... it's just... sheesh... dont know how to describe it... but it was great...

we havent had that in prinsep in quite a while... actually, we never had something like that ever... a worship concert in which the member s invite their non-christian friends for a time of great music and simply worship... hmm... i wonder if prinsep (PLH, YAF, Believers etc) can pull it off.. it think it'll be great for everyone...i think doc john might be just the person who can make it all work out...

bleah... tired... need sleep... nitez~!

What best describes NSFs

We are the UNFORTUNATE
and UNDERPAID
led by the UNQULIFIED
to do the UNNECESSARY
for the UNGRATEFUL...

Yup... that pretty much sums it all up...

Messing up...

I've so totally messed up my life... I messed up school-life... I messed up church-life... I messed up my work-life... How I wish I could just push the 'reset' button and make it all go away... I wouldn't mind starting it all over again... I wish I could start all over again...

Thanks to all those who sent their birthday wishes... They're really treasured and cherished...

it's thursday... the week's gonna be over... and the musical is coming... just cant wait for it... been hooked to this new game called navy field...