Tuesday, January 31, 2006
LOVERS, forget your love,
And list to the love of these,
She a window flower,
And he a winter breeze.
When the frosty window veil
Was melted down at noon,
And the cagèd yellow bird
Hung over her in tune,
He marked her through the pane,
He could not help but mark,
And only passed her by,
To come again at dark.
He was a winter wind,
Concerned with ice and snow,
Dead weeds and unmated birds,
And little of love could know.
But he sighed upon the sill,
He gave the sash a shake,
As witness all within
Who lay that night awake.
Perchance he half prevailed
To win her for the flight
From the firelit looking-glass
And warm stove-window light.
But the flower leaned aside
And thought of naught to say,
And morning found the breeze
A hundred miles away.
robert frost
Sunday, January 29, 2006
炮竹一响除旧年
满地红红接新年
春夏秋冬一整年
好运连连连一年
心想事成在新年
如意吉祥平安年
发财发财是这年
祝你过个好新年！
and you were loving me before i knew you
Someone said, "The greatest thing you'll ever learn is just to love and be loved in return." - Christian, Moulin Rouge
I say, "The greatest thing, i ever knew, is to love..and be loved by You."
AH DE TONG XUE
okok im back... =)
happy chinese new year!!!!!!!!! eat more... sighs.. i want to eat pineapple tarts..
im still a nomad in my own house..and kinda jetlagged..but..my aunties from the uk and canada are here..and so is my grandma from singapore..amazing.......
stephen couldn't fall back asleep..
me: HAPPY NEW YEAR!! (a jetlagged stella at 5am)
stephen: SHUT UP
me: what..how can u say that first thing on chinese new year??!
stephen: (i think he said shut up again..then he tried to go back to sleep)
10-15 minutes later,
a grumpy stephen gets out of bed..shuffle shuffle..
me: GONG XI FA CAI!
stephen: *mutter mutter* hong bao na lai...*mumble mumble*
and off he goes to the toilet..
haiyo!!!
"your friends are still the same.."
so i tried to give my friends a taste of what food was like in south america..
my attempt to make ham and cheeese sandwiches (abi, now u know what i ate..haha)
and!!! i brought chopsticks, a box of high class wafer pate biscuits and a can of sardines..cos..
that was like the most exquisite dish i had...
erica and i were in a train when i got really hungry
so i thought..sigh..ok..i'll eat these biscuits my mom made me bring..maybe the sardines too..
AND...my goodness..wORra siGHT!
erica pulled out her very fine pair of CHOPSTICKS...
and these travellers from europe were so tickled (almost amazed) at the sight of me..
(mostly cos i can use chopsticks?)
one hand holding a can of sardines,
one hand using chopsticks to fish it out,
and with my beloved erica holding my crackers out for me..
SO EXQUISITE RIGHT..wooo.
yes..all on the train to machu picchu....
so.. yesterday morning..this inconsiderate being woke up her whole household (including the two KATS who are hafing an identity crisis.. stephen's is called jasper and david's is hovering between sandy jamie and meow?!?) and jamie and ling earn and ended up at this dUck park..trying to have breakfast..
with ants.. and.. flies..haha.. aiyo..it was really surreal.. all of a sudden this big shEEp wintery dog huGe gigantic fACe appeared next to ling earn's face..wow..what a moment. i felt like i was in the antartic or something..gosh..
she said my friends are still the same..and that really kept playing in my head the wholleee daaay..and this morning.. and.. yeah.. my friends are still the same... mm...I HOPE TO COME BACK IN LATE JUNE.. ROAR.. my friends are still the same????? does that mean u still love me???
YES LUKE AND JOSHUA..i wanna come back for world cup season..esp since auzzZIe are in for the first time in XX years..wOOOOO!!!! AAAHHH!!!!!!! and!! guus hiddink! roar!!!! hahaha and lukeee!! u haf to watch this movie.. it's called GOAL i think!! i dunno when it's coming out..but i tried to watch it on the plane.. OH MY GOSH..im sure u know about it!! the guy is this robbie williams lookalike..SANTIAGO...he's from mexico, illegal immigrant to usa..then got spotted by an ex talent scout and..
GOES TO NEWCASTLE FOR TRY OUTS!! oOH MY GOSH!!
u know..i almost cRieddd.. a few times during the movie..like..when he was making his debut against liverpool..wow..all the emotions as he stepped out on the grand pitch!!!!! WAH..and when he was playing..wow.. all the emotions...
GOING TO THE HOUSE OF GOD in less than 2 hours! first time in a month!!! WOOO.
here's something i think i'll think about:
William Blake - Auguries of Innocence
To see a world in a grain of sand,
And a heaven in a wild flower,
Hold infinity in the palm of your hand,
And eternity in an hour.
A robin redbreast in a cage
Puts all heaven in a rage.
A dove-house fill'd with doves and pigeons
Shudders hell thro' all its regions.
A dog starv'd at his master's gate
Predicts the ruin of the state.
A horse misused upon the road
Calls to heaven for human blood.
Each outcry of the hunted hare
A fibre from the brain does tear.
A skylark wounded in the wing,
A cherubim does cease to sing.
The game-cock clipt and arm'd for fight
Does the rising sun affright.
Every wolf's and lion's howl
Raises from hell a human soul.
The wild deer, wand'ring here and there,
Keeps the human soul from care.
The lamb misus'd breeds public strife,
And yet forgives the butcher's knife.
The bat that flits at close of eve
Has left the brain that won't believe.
The owl that calls upon the night
Speaks the unbeliever's fright.
He who shall hurt the little wren
Shall never be belov'd by men.
He who the ox to wrath has mov'd
Shall never be by woman lov'd.
The wanton boy that kills the fly
Shall feel the spider's enmity.
He who torments the chafer's sprite
Weaves a bower in endless night.
The caterpillar on the leaf
Repeats to thee thy mother's grief.
Kill not the moth nor butterfly,
For the last judgement draweth nigh.
He who shall train the horse to war
Shall never pass the polar bar.
The beggar's dog and widow's cat,
Feed them and thou wilt grow fat.
The gnat that sings his summer's song
Poison gets from slander's tongue.
The poison of the snake and newt
Is the sweat of envy's foot.
The poison of the honey bee
Is the artist's jealousy.
The prince's robes and beggar's rags
Are toadstools on the miser's bags.
A truth that's told with bad intent
Beats all the lies you can invent.
It is right it should be so;
Man was made for joy and woe;
And when this we rightly know,
Thro' the world we safely go.
Joy and woe are woven fine,
A clothing for the soul divine.
Under every grief and pine
Runs a joy with silken twine.
The babe is more than swaddling bands;
Every farmer understands.
Every tear from every eye
Becomes a babe in eternity;
This is caught by females bright,
And return'd to its own delight.
The bleat, the bark, bellow, and roar,
Are waves that beat on heaven's shore.
The babe that weeps the rod beneath
Writes revenge in realms of death.
The beggar's rags, fluttering in air,
Does to rags the heavens tear.
The soldier, arm'd with sword and gun,
Palsied strikes the summer's sun.
The poor man's farthing is worth more
Than all the gold on Afric's shore.
One mite wrung from the lab'rer's hands
Shall buy and sell the miser's lands;
Or, if protected from on high,
Does that whole nation sell and buy.
He who mocks the infant's faith
Shall be mock'd in age and death.
He who shall teach the child to doubt
The rotting grave shall ne'er get out.
He who respects the infant's faith
Triumphs over hell and death.
The child's toys and the old man's reasons
Are the fruits of the two seasons.
The questioner, who sits so sly,
Shall never know how to reply.
He who replies to words of doubt
Doth put the light of knowledge out.
The strongest poison ever known
Came from Caesar's laurel crown.
Nought can deform the human race
Like to the armour's iron brace.
When gold and gems adorn the plow,
To peaceful arts shall envy bow.
A riddle, or the cricket's cry,
Is to doubt a fit reply.
The emmet's inch and eagle's mile
Make lame philosophy to smile.
He who doubts from what he sees
Will ne'er believe, do what you please.
If the sun and moon should doubt,
They'd immediately go out.
To be in a passion you good may do,
But no good if a passion is in you.
The whore and gambler, by the state
Licensed, build that nation's fate.
The harlot's cry from street to street
Shall weave old England's winding-sheet.
The winner's shout, the loser's curse,
Dance before dead England's hearse.
Every night and every morn
Some to misery are born,
Every morn and every night
Some are born to sweet delight.
Some are born to sweet delight,
Some are born to endless night.
We are led to believe a lie
When we see not thro' the eye,
Which was born in a night to perish in a night,
When the soul slept in beams of light.
God appears, and God is light,
To those poor souls who dwell in night;
But does a human form display
To those who dwell in realms of day.
random thoughts...yup..school will start in.. a few weeks.. im hoping i can buckle myself down to reading all those books i borrowed for the research paper that is due on 20 feb.. i duno how im gonna make it..but im still gonna try to read those books on customer service.. my parents are really excited about me staying in dorm..but it's really super late to apply.. but will prob make my way down tomorrow to enrol in uni and to hand in the form...
may you experience the overflow of love in your life and help SELL MORE FUNORAMA TICKETS...
Thursday, January 26, 2006
283 days, to be precise
faster than u can recite the saf 7 core values, the 1st month of 2006 has come to an end (ok, maybe not). time passes quite fast when u have things to do in camp, and even faster when u deploy outfield. while most other organizations are trapped in a lull period between christmas and cny, jan remains a rather busy month for saf units, since they have to consolidate various annual records before the end of the workyear (31 mar). i have, over the past 4 wks, been through:
i. 1 x adpt mockup exercise
ii. 1 x adpt actual exercise
iii. 1 x adpt recall
iv. 1 x guard duty
v. 3 x tekong site duties
vi. 1 x co parade
and now having cleared all these without incident, i'm really looking forward to cny! (and i'm very grateful that they have decided my military presence is not required during this festive period - unless, of course, we go to war...)
i've been in 165 sqn for 5 months now, roughly the same amt of time i've spent on tekong - but seemingly much shorter, i wonder why. life as it is is pretty gd, i couldn't really ask for much more than what i've already been given, ns or otherwise. after all, soldiering does function as a particular rites of passage and i believe i've gained from the entire experience. hmm this is starting to sound like an ord speech but anyway, it was about a year ago that i made the great transition from civilian to combatant and as things stand, it will be just over 9 more months before i book my return ticket.
to those currently in the service of the nation, take heart in ephesians 6:5-9:
slaves, obey your earthly masters with respect and fear, and with sincerity of heart, just as you would obey Christ. obey them not only to win their favour when their eye is on you, but like slaves of Christ, doing the will of God from your heart. serve wholeheartedly, as if you were serving the Lord, not men, because you know that the Lord will reward everyone for whatever good he does, whether he is slave or free. and masters, treat your slaves in the same way. do not threaten them, since you know that he who is both their Master and yours is in heaven, and there is no favouritism with him.
to those waiting to re-enlist, u have the opportunity to pursue your own dreams for now. i hope u use it wisely and remember that it is a privilege, not an entitlement. perhaps when u return, there will be more thinking soldiers around.
to those who decided to pursue your own dreams without soberly recognizing the critical need of ns and only returning for a short while because your own family - and not the state - compels u to, i say: your loss.
oh for goodness sake..
who thinks that
stephen curtis chapman, richard gere, sting and bon jovi are hot??????
HOT WHITE MeN
Monday, January 23, 2006
a (long) weekend of surprises
surprise no. 1 - blackburn rovers defeat newcastle united at st. james' park on saturday, norwegian international winger morten gamst pedersen scoring the only goal of the game in controversial circumstances. manager graeme souness vows to stay on and fight for his job.
surprise no. 2 - yesterday the youth from my church organized a surprise farewell party for this guy who's leaving for high school in australia this wednesday. despite several near-giveaways, i don't think he really expected 30 something ppl to be crammed into his apartment when he stepped in. it was pretty fun, hanging out with virtually the entire youth group, but also somewhat nostalgic at the same time.
surprise no. 3 - i bumped into ashley at holland v today! even though we didn't get to meet up during her break, wow from her excitement i can only imagine how much she must've missed everyone... i can't believe i'll probably be leaving myself in a matter of months, it's not gonna be easy man...
now wait, one of the above is not actually a surprise. guess what? i doubt anyone sees blackburn beating newcastle - even at "fortress" st james' park - as a suprise nowadays, and i don't either. blackburn, our manager's former club, has clearly overtaken us in terms of league standing as well as quality of play, while we continue to languish under the excuse of having half or more of our first xi out injured. we've regressed to the point of mediocrity, where losing to supposedly inferior (or at least definitely not superior) opposition hardly registers as a shock anymore. it's a joke that the fans at anfield can applaud titus bramble being substituted onto the pitch, and that he inevitably proceeds to feed their schadenfreude. it's a joke that we replace aaron hughes with craig moore, and that craig moore has been out injured ever since (and even before) he signed for us. it's a joke that players who return from injury play ten minutes then get stretchered off because their half-treated wounds flare up once again. read: owen, luque, dyer, taylor, carr, etc. has souness lost the plot? i'd like to think that he can get us into the champions league, but on what evidence i've seen so far i'm hardpressed to even peer into the top half of the table. i've always been impressed by much, much smaller clubs who display genuine determination and pride and would be ranked much higher, if not for their much, much smaller budgets and consequently much, much smaller talent pool. here is a multi-million dollar "pride of the northeast" which flatters to deceive and appears content simply to finish ahead of our regional rivals sunderland. which, by the way, doesn't say much. in fact, it doesn't say anything at all. assuming you get through this wk, mr manager, you have 90 minutes to rally your troops in a convincing manner against a decidedly unintimidating cheltenham town. a 4th round fa cup tie telecast live around the world. and yes, i will be watching very closely. anything less, and it's na na na na, na na na na, hey hey hey, goodbye. confirm chop plus guarantee plus two year warranty.
Text by William Blake (1757-1827)
"Memory, hither come
And tune your merry notes;
And while upon the wind
Your music floats,
I'll pore upon the stream,
Where sighing lovers dream,
And fish for fancies as they pass
Within the watery glass.
I'll drink of the clear stream,
And hear the linnet's song,
And there I'll lie and dream
The day along;
And when night comes I'll go
To places fit for woe,
Walking along the darkened valley,
With silent melancholy."
path of least resistance.
get your mind out of the gutter.
i want my longbao!.
auntie, liang kuai zi fan duo pi- hai you jia fan jia cai.
ancien regime.
reality has a form and can be drawn.
slavishly subscribe to an argument of generalisation.
getting smashed.
tellad3tostopjumpingupanddownandturningoffthelights.
this is either going to make or break us.
guacamole.
all i know is, your teachings andphilosophy have not saved me, save me by some other means!.
liberte equalite fraternite.
ww rostow takeoff theory.
good morning college.
let's go play pool/supper at bukit timah market!
are you ready to worship god?.
jon, shut up.
slow down you crazy child, vienna waits for you.
lord of the beasts.
never again.
happybirthday___.
sweet secrets again.
justin, wake up!
mrp confirm come out this year.
can i print your notes?
cutting glass.
tin foiling.
i don't really believe in any of this pccg crap, so we're going to play bridge.
you 'orrible creatures.
in days of yore from western shores.
our nationa lanthem: "marikita".
rain splash effect. is that really a theory?.
AH de tong xue zhai na li?.
bu guan shi hei mao hai shi bai mao, neng zua dao lao shu jiu shi hao mao!.
your lethargy, your apathy....and your bad attitude! RIIIIPPPP.
quote of the day? get changed and ready for a run.
where's howard?.
supper tonight- essential brews!.
in the mall, in the mall, in the mall with jesus.
happy AH day.
Thursday, January 12, 2006
given the light of things, my mom sent my brother and i this article:
Mission Before Mate
Those of us of a certain vintage will remember that in our college years, we were told that in the matter of choosing a life partner, we must follow this rule: mission before mate.
In other words we had to be first clear as to what God wanted us to do with our lives. Then, we had some handle in choosing a life partner because the right life partner would be one who would be committed to a similar vocation and thereby able to assist us in pursuing that mission.
In those days, if you were a guy you assumed that the lady would be taking care of the house and raising the kids, to free you to do your thing. And then you discovered that not all the ladies interpreted the life partner rule quite in the same way.
In any case, mission before mate was a tough rule to follow because few of us at 19 knew what our life mission was.
We had no clue as to what God wanted us to do with our lives. Meanwhile our hormones were raging. And then there were those hunks/babes?
Well, with the hindsight of age fifty, more marital adventures than I had ever counted on, and a fresh reading of Genesis 1 and 2, I have to say, what do you know, those speakers at our College fellowships were right. It is mission before mate.
In the Genesis Chapter 2 account of the creation of man for example, we see that three things define Adam's life:
1. Vocation --- He is to work the garden and care for it. (V.15)
2. Provision --- God generously provides for all Adam's needs. He can eat from all the trees of the garden except one. (V.16)
3. Prohibition --- God gives Adam a clear warning. There is one tree from which Adam must not eat. (V.17)
It is in this context of Vocation, Provision and Prohibition that God announces that it is not good for man to be alone. (V.18)
You may ask why does God wait until this point to point out that Adam needs a Eve. Why didn't He just make them man and woman from the word go. I like Bruce Waltke's explanation. He believes that Adam must discover for himself his incompleteness:
"Adam must realize that it is not good to be alone. Rather than squandering his most precious gift on one who is unappreciative, God waits until Adam is prepared to appreciate the gift of the woman." (GENESIS, 89)
However it is also clear that the woman is to be an equal partner that enters into the man's experience of vocation, provision, and prohibition. Together, the man-woman partnership is to carry out God's task of caring for creation, enjoying God's generosity, and resisting sin.
"? the 'helper' is an indispensable 'partner' (REB) required to achieve the divine commission." (Kenneth A. Matthews, GENESIS 1 - 11:26, 214)
I have heard many sermons on marriage from Genesis Chapters 1 and 2. Most focus on the companionship dimension of marriage, on the 'wow" of Chapter 2 v.23. I believe that the book of The Song of Songs shows that God endorses romantic and sexual love.
But still, the "wow" has a context, the context of vocation, provision, and prohibition.
Therefore when one is considering a potential life partner, it would make sense to ask:
1. Is this person committed to God and His purposes? Can I forge a partnership with him/her to do God's work, however that is defined for us?
2. Does this person understand the faithful provision of God? Can we go through life in faith and trust, pointing out to each other the generous care of God? Can we go through life with hearts of gratitude?
3. Is this person committed to a life of holiness? Can we be used by God to help one another resist the assaults of Satan, the world and the flesh?
Of course the prior thing to do is to check if we ourselves are people like that. Am I committed to God and His purposes? Am I aware of God's faithful care and have a grateful heart? Am I actively resisting sin in my life?
You may say, boy it is tough enough to find a potential life partner. If you throw in all these qualifications, I'll never find a warm body to share my life!
What to do?
This is God's Word.
Do you trust Him enough to supply a life partner if it is His will?
Besides what are the alternatives? The many unhappy marriages you see around you? The ever-increasing number of broken marriages? I often wonder how many of those marriages could have been saved if there had been greater sensitivity to the issues of vocation, provision and prohibition.
Some of us are married already and like many, entered into marriage with little spiritual education. Nobody told us the biblical teaching on marriage. What should we do now?
Start building the marriage according to God's purposes! Start structuring your marriage around vocation, provision, and prohibition. You may discover a real revival in your marriage and even a return of the "wow"!
What about those who are single?
We must believe that God loves us more than we love ourselves and that if it is in His will for us to be married He will bring the right person at the right time.
In the meantime, we can continue to build our lives around the themes of vocation, provision, and prohibition. We do need significant others in our lives. We seek out good friends, soul mates, brothers and sisters who are also committed to walking the path of vocation, gratitude, and holiness.
We live in a fallen world. Even marriages entered into with the best of intentions, may fall apart. When such tragedies happen we need to come alongside people to help them rebuild their lives.
But we should also seek out ways to help people experience marriage as it was meant to be. And I do believe the manufacturer's instructions talks about marriage as a partnership for doing God's work, enjoying God's blessings, and obeying God's Word.
So yes, boys and girls, it is mission before mate.
Saturday, January 07, 2006
we all love acjc.
Monday, January 02, 2006
here's my contribution! which isn't alot sorry. hmm really enjoyed the sleepover we had, as well as supper the other day. caleb joy susu, glad you're back. sulynn, worry not about tommorrow. things will get better. ashley tay. soon we shall meet. stella! have fun travelling all around the world. send us postcards or sth.
and... especially... YINA CHNG. really hope you are well. blog more often and tell us about how you're doing. you're loved and very much missed.
hey liz caleb.. alvin? or anyone free. shall we crash ac orientation?? i can only go for 12-130 but nvm! how??
hallo hallooo
post photos of class stuff!
runnin out of time
hope everyone had a happy new year
mucho love goin around i hopee
jus wanted to say i landed safe in buenos aires
erica says hola...
we all love acjc. 