on World Aids day

Yeaps, it's World Aids Day. My friend in office sent out an e-mail yesteday to remind us to take some time to keep those who are suffering from Aids in prayer.

So please take some time and offer up a short prayer~


http://www.aidsportal.org/events.aspx?nex=1003

2 Days In Paris (2007)

Rating:	★★★★
Category:	Movies
Genre:	Romantic Comedy

BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAAH!!!!~

yeaps, it's that good. Brought back good old memories of Paris*. It's a riot of a movie. Go watch it at the Picturehouse before it goes away...


*Not that I have a French girlfriend. :P

Official Website:
http://www.2daysinparisthefilm.com/

IMDB Entry:
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0841044/

Movie posters:
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0841044/posters

Funny Animal Clip

haha, the old ones are still the best!~ :D

N.B. No animals were harmed in the making if this clip... I think.

Hero (2007)

Rating:	★★★
Category:	Movies
Genre:	Foreign

ahhaha, the same quirky cast from the original TV series. A bit slow-starting at first, but builds up right along, leading to the climatic court-room scene showdown.
Oh, for those of you waiting for the Korean big-name actor, he only was in the show for less than 10 mins. Just to let you know, so that you all dun get your hopes up too high~


Official Website:
http://www.hero-movie.net/index.html

Match Point (2005)

Rating:	★★★
Category:	Movies
Genre:	Drama

Quite a wordy film at the start, which sets up the story. Good use of opera in the soundtrack to put the mood in place. Not much "acting" - just tension from the dialogue. Ending is a twist~ a bit the "pui chao nua" (吐臭痰) kind. Really makes you wonder "天理何在？"


Wiki Entry:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Match_Point

Curse of the Golden Flower (2006)

Rating:	★★★
Category:	Movies
Genre:	Drama

Not a bad film. Imagery is fine, action sequence is fantastic. Plot is convoluted, a lot of twists and turns, as expected when you talk about royal intrigues. No wonder most men wanna be emperor in those days, the amount of manpower and resources at his beckon!


Official Website
http://www.sonyclassics.com/curseofthegoldenflower/

Wiki entry:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Curse_of_the_Golden_Flower

i do but i don't : why the way we marry matters (2006)

Rating:	★★★★
Category:	Books
Genre:	Biographies & Memoirs
Author:	Kamy Wicoff

hahahha, a hilarious read! It's "chick-lit" as my friends would tell me; but I really get to know so much more from a feminine perspective the joys and pains for women planning for their weddings. Ha, for those who ready plenty of women's magazine, you'll be intrigued by all the cross-referencing and annotations to them. I don't read them at all, thus found this to be a refreshing read.

Not a must read for all couples, but definitely would bring a chuckle or two for those in the midst of their wedding planning.

P.S. This book actually made me enjoy the movie "Enchanted" more - go figure. :p


---------------------------------------------------------------------------
AN EXCERPT FROM I DO BUT I DON'T
The Proposal: Part One


I was determined not to think about it. To think about it, to obsess about it, really, would have made me one of those women—the ones who insistently inquire about the love lives of people they have just met because they are keeping score, the ones who want a ring on their finger (the bigger the better) to communicate to the world that they are wanted, they are wife, that they are more powerful than the single women still looking—or so they smugly assume—for what they’ve got. You know who I’m talking about. The Bridezillas. The Others. The ones who want a wedding so they can be the center of attention for a year and a star for a day.

But that was not me! In 1999, the summer I turned twenty-seven, my boyfriend Andrew turned thirty, and our relationship turned three, I could say without hesitation that I had my priorities straight. I knew that the partnership we had built together, which had taken more determination and fortitude than I had ever understood it would, was what mattered. So I was not obsessing about when Andrew might officially propose marriage to me, because to fixate on when and where we dressed up in fancy clothes and made our love legal would have been to reduce my feelings to tawdry marriage-lust.

At least that was what I kept telling myself as Andrew and I approached the Napa Valley that June in our rental car, headed for a romantic, vineyard-adjacent B&B for a three-day, three-year-anniversary weekend that my man had planned all by himself. This was notable since Andrew is generally reluctant to plan things on a Thursday for a Friday, his usual excuse being that his investment banking job—definitely my stiffest competition for his time, since with work he appeared to have no commitment-issues—might require his last-minute attention. My mother had certainly noted this and was sure a proposal was in the works. She was maddeningly free of conflicted feelings or shame when it came to admitting that she wanted a ring and a wedding, and soon. While I spent hours defending Andrew and our mature, mutually understood intention to marry when the time was right, my mother said things like, “Didn’t you always tell me that you wouldn’t date someone for more than three years if you weren’t engaged yet?”

“Mother! I said I wouldn’t date someone for more than three years if I knew that I was never going to marry that person! And Andrew and I are going to get married!”

My mother, ignoring this, had then added with flinty high-noon panache befitting a Texas mother on the hunt for her eldest daughter’s wedding, “The three years are up.”

The three years are up?! This from the woman who—in suburban San Antonio, Texas, no less—tried to convince me not to start shaving my legs in the seventh grade because it would mean a lifetime of enslavement to a sexist convention?

Perhaps I should have reminded myself that my mother had always shaved her legs. And in the car on the way to Napa I had to admit that she had gotten to me. Something had. Because I had bet all my girlfriends fifty dollars at poker night two days before that he was going to do it that weekend. My friend Jessica, a co-worker of mine at the television news show I produced for and then my only married friend, had immediately jumped in with a concerned look and counseled caution. “Don’t go into it like that,” she’d said. If she were Andrew, she would wait until we were both settled in together in New York to propose. I’d tried to conceal my startled dismay. She was talking about an event more than seven months away. Andrew and I were both living in L.A. at the time, but I had recently been accepted to a graduate writing program in New York to begin that fall and in perhaps the biggest commitment-statement of our relationship Andrew had agreed to follow me there in January. He wasn’t going to propose until January? Was Jessica serious? I was not sure she understood my situation. Her husband had proposed to her after they’d only been together a year—and he was ten years older than she was, and had probably never said to her, as Andrew liked to say to me, What’s the rush? We have time, sweetie! We have all the time in the world!

I’d attempted to keep up my I’m not one of those women front that night, but I had the disconcerting feeling that everybody found it difficult to believe. Did I believe it? I was trying to. But I had to admit that I’d been ready to get engaged for many months by then, while Andrew seemed incredibly happy with things just the way they were. After all, he was getting free milk. I, the proverbial cow, had moved into his house that March, and while it was only “temporary,” since I had docked my emergency-flotation-device (also known as the contents of my own apartment) in a storage locker in Culver City for safe-keeping until I moved to New York that fall on my own, in my mind this symbolic abandonment of my single, independent life meant that we were going to be together forever. I assumed that it meant the same thing to him. I realized, however, with some distress, that I hadn’t been able to have a very direct conversation with him about this. But it seemed to me that some things could be safely left unsaid, things that had been understood between us from the beginning.

We both knew, for example, that for us forever meant marriage. We’d begun our relationship knowing that at some point we would either marry or break up. We believed in marriage, and while it helped that our parents were still together after nearly thirty years, according to The National Marriage Project the vast majority of Americans our age still believe in marriage despite the fact that half grew up seeing it wrecked by divorce. Interestingly, a gay woman recently captured the essence of my feelings on the subject. “Why do I want to marry?” Donna Minkowitz wrote for The Nation. “For love. I believe that, in this world where all we have is our own mind, groping toward something good, two minds together—committed to each other’s happiness and passionate about wanting to continue their relation—add up to something holy…Why make it legal?...If I take the risk and marry, I need and want recognition by society that this person is part of my family, in fact the closest part.” Leave it to those excluded by marriage to make such a thoughtful case for it. Leave it to those entitled to marry to make a rule like this: two people who believe in marriage can’t get married until the one with the penis officially proposes to the one with the boobs.

I didn’t really want to think about why this was. But that was another thing that went without saying: Andrew wanted to ask me, and I wanted to be asked. In this I was not alone: I have polled legions of women on this question and have only rarely heard otherwise. “I believe a woman should be able to propose marriage,” Abbey, a thirty-year-old historian from Texas told me, “but something in me would find it very hard to go against such an established tradition.” Michelle, a twenty-eight-year-old writer from New York, put it this way: “I wanted a speech. I wanted one knee. I wanted to be surprised. Given the examples of TV, movies and books, this seemed what I ‘deserved,’ or what a great, sensitive guy was ‘supposed to do.’” My friend Gina simply said, “I wouldn’t need to propose if found the right person.” In a way I felt the same. If I proposed it would be because I “had” to. If I proposed it would be coercion, entrapment, desperation. If he proposed? Romance.

I would never have said, however, that the decision to marry was under Andrew’s control just because he was the man. It was simply that the timing was at his discretion. In my mind the proposal was strictly a formality—a moment we both anticipated and valued which would clearly be diminished if it came in response to pressure from me. I was determined not to be one of those nagging, passive-aggressive women, either! After all, when I realized he was The One and was visited by the full weight of that messianic term—which for me primarily consisted of the realization that Andrew might be the last man I was ever going to sleep with—I’d had a complete meltdown! Women aren’t supposed to have meltdowns about lifelong monogamy. Women are supposed to knock each other flat on dance floors trying to catch bridal bouquets, while men react with indifference to the garter-throwing portion of the evening, arms folded amusedly.

I knew, however, that I had not reached my girls-with-Barbies, happily-ever-after ending to the story by betraying the girl in me who had always ripped the heads off of Barbies. This comforted me. For awhile this had also made me feel kind of bad ass.

In the car on the way to Napa, however—as I found myself slipping into reveries about calling my family with the happy news and jerking myself out of them chidingly—it was clear: my bad ass was starting to go numb. And because I did not want to propose but to be proposed to, only Andrew had the power to wake it up again. And that wasn’t very bad ass at all.

Lately this “ritual,” this “formality,” this bit about his being the proposer and my being the proposee, had begun to seem like a lot more than a formality. It had begun to seem like real substantial power that had been placed squarely into Andrew’s manly hands. And lately it had begun to seem that for all my bluster and despite all my efforts, the gap between me and those women was closing in fast.


I remember, during that time in my life, feeling very alone. And very crazy. I alternated between denial (I don’t care about getting engaged!), frustration with Andrew (shouldn’t the man I want to marry want to marry me so much he’d ask before I had to feel this way?), exasperation with my mother (you’re the one who always told me that in this brave new world, marriage would not be the most important thing I did!), rescue-fantasies (Andrew will ask any minute, and then I will feel guilty for doubting him), and self-loathing (any woman with a shred of dignity, a fulfilling career and a love like mine would not be pining for a proposal like a dolled-up, scheming little Rules girl!). Every time I tried to talk about what I was feeling I would quickly stop myself short because each emotion, alone, felt untrue to the whole. Worse, each emotion felt like a betrayal—either of Andrew, of me, or of us.

Countless others of my friends have felt this way too, and on this subject even my closest confidants—women with whom I can usually talk about anything, the kind of women rarely at a loss for words—stumble, blurt, retract and withhold. My friend Caroline, a sharp-witted reporter who dated her boyfriend Chris for six years before he finally asked her to marry him, spent many hours exhausting herself as she attempted to justify, apologize for and express her desire to get married while at the same time trying to understand, criticize and defend her boyfriend’s continued stalling. It was hard. Eventually our conversations about the matter were few and far between, and having been in the same place myself, she didn’t have to tell me why.

Like me, Caroline felt split in two. Part of her cared so much about getting married she could easily have hailed from the 1950s. Part of her cared so much about resisting the tyrannical pressures put on women to marry she could easily have burned Brides. (Fuck the 1950s!) Neither side of herself told the whole story, but finding a comfortable place that was true to both sides proved practically impossible. Another friend of mine, a thirty-year-old screenwriter who has been dating her boyfriend, a thirty-one-year old PR executive, for four years, recently attempted to talk to me about how she was feeling and found herself caught in the same trap—and all over the map.

“I can’t see clearly,” April started by saying. “I don’t know how I feel. But I do know that it’s embarrassing! I’m embarrassed by wanting to be married. I don’t want to be the nag!” At the same time, she quickly pointed out, it was very difficult to accept that her boyfriend could see the situation so differently than she did, and refuse to propose while also insisting he loved her. “I never thought men and women were that different before,” she said. “But they are. But then it isn’t like Jon is some big selfish jerk! He so amazing, and sweet. I hate even having this conversation with you because I feel like I’m betraying him, but on the other hand I want him to be courageous for me, to do a brave thing. He gets the cow and the milk and I don’t even get a little cheese. Isn’t that a disgusting expression! The cow and the milk! My parents say that!”

“Wasn't he DYING to marry me?” my friend Michelle remembers thinking. “We would talk about it a little, but it was frustrating. I hated bringing it up—or the fact that it was always me who brought it up. I couldn't believe that he'd turned me into “that girl”—that girl who's pressuring her guy to marry her; that pathetic, desperate girl. I felt frustrated and powerless, and I hated it. I hated that in order for my life—and our relationship—to take the next step, he had to make the move. I was playing this passive role in my own life! I think it may be the only time in my life that that was the case. If I wanted something done, I could do it myself; if I wanted a change, I could change it. But when it came to marriage, suddenly this enormous life decision was out of my hands.”

No wonder April, Caroline, Michelle and I, and so many women like us, felt so crazy. The daughters of baby-boomers, we had come of age in a crazy in-between time, the feminism-saved-us/feminists-are-lesbians 1980s. We were members of what my friend Sharon has dubbed “the true sandwich generation:” the generation of women sandwiched between the feminist revolutions of the sixties and seventies (which had largely subsided from view by the time I reached adolescence in the 1980s), movements which had given us a sense of freedom, entitlement and power we mostly took for granted, and the reality that women—particularly when it comes to marriage and relationships—still find their freedom, entitlement, and power curtailed considerably.

The modern rules of engagement are a veritable thicket of the contradictions “sandwiched” women are expected to juggle. Women who have learned to demonstrate their strength by taking responsibility for major life decisions are told that when it comes to this major life decision, they can best demonstrate their strength by not “forcing the issue” themselves. (A Glamour article from 1999, the year of my engagement-discontent, addressed this contradiction cheerfully by saying, “Welcome to the passenger seat, ladies!” and cautioning Ms. Can-Do to accept the fact that “Strength, assertiveness and independence won’t win this race.”) Women who have been taught that they don’t need marriage any more than men do find that the men they’re involved with are mind-bogglingly, maddeningly free of anything but the vaguest desire to marry “someday,” which makes it difficult to believe that men and women begin from remotely equal positions when it comes to getting wed. (Does anyone doubt that the teary, hysterical female hopefuls on The Bachelor feel far more desperation about marriage than the cocky, mostly-dry-eyed male contestants of The Bachelorette?) Women who were taught that romantic, traditional proposals are harmless in a post-feminist world find that in fact the proposal still has powerful, significant meaning as part of a system where men have remained the choosers, while women have remained the chosen—roles that undermine a couple’s equality and give men a power that women simply don’t have.

I was straining under the weight of these contradictions. But I really didn’t want to think about them. Because more than anything I wanted to believe I could have it both ways: that I could have my romantic, traditional proposal—which I knew I needed and didn’t want to know why, especially if answering that question might threaten the gratification of my need—and my dignity, equality, and strength. I felt it was my right to have both, in fact, and this feeling was also characteristic of a woman of my generation. Ally McBeal-style, I wanted to stamp my foot and say, “I want it all and don’t you dare tell me I can’t have it!” I wanted to use feminist rhetoric, in other words, as a way to demand my right to pre-feminist pleasures—and to justify my need for them.

And what about Andrew? Did he have any idea what I was going through? Did he feel like a sandwiched man, too? He had certainly proved capable of doing the same thing I was doing: using feminist rhetoric when it suited him, and falling back on tradition when it suited him, too. Whenever I screwed up my righteous, this only-the-man-can-ask-thing-is-totally-unfair anger and made a comment to him along those lines, Andrew would quickly appeal to the very source of my outburst: my sense of post-feminist, independent-woman pride. “Sweetie!” he would cry, his dimpled cheeks feigning amused shock, “What’s happening to you? Are you really so worried about what everybody else thinks? Aren’t you confident enough in us (code: in yourself) to let things happen at our (code: my?) pace?” It was hard to argue with this. Hadn’t I learned that a truly strong woman was strong enough to let her man be a man? And his genuine, ardent belief in my self-confidence and strength meant a lot to me. Never mind that Andrew had no intention whatsoever of parting with his male privilege as proposer; to be perfectly traditional in that way suited him very well.

Both of us, then, were guilty of using feminism and traditionalism for our own purposes in a mix that was often inconsistent. But I couldn’t help feeling that I was bearing a disproportionate burden for the contradictions between old and new, and that he had conserved a disproportionate amount of the power. We both wanted our romantic proposal and our equality too, but we had failed to consider that as the party the tradition was traditionally intended to disempower, it would fall mostly to me to make our participation in it graceful for both of us. It did not contradict Andrew’s sense of himself to propose marriage, but it contradicted my sense of myself to wait around for his proposal….but then again it fit in perfectly with my sense of myself…but then again it was insulting…and oh there I was, sandwiched again.

As the sociologist Arlie Russell Hochschild has argued, modern American marriage unites people who’ve changed less (men), with people who’ve changed more (women), and as such it is not always a haven from the pressures of the larger world but instead “a major shock absorber” for the tensions of the society, which bear unevenly on men and women—and, in my humble opinion, make women more crazy.

Of course there was a way—which I could see very clearly—for Andrew to make our participation in the proposal-tradition graceful and smooth. He could ASK before I lost my mind. Couldn’t he see, I wondered as I struggled to keep my head above water in a sea of contradictions, that all he had to do was step up, put on his romantic-hero suit, and throw me the diamond life-ring that would get both of us out of this mess?

I didn’t know. But I hoped so. I was getting tired of swimming.
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http://www.kamywicoff.com/index.html

ＨＥＲＯ

http://www.hero-movie.net/index.html
Not to be confused with "Heros" - the American TV series on superheros.

For all the Phoneix Wright fans! :D

Parachute Band - Roadmaps and Revelations

http://www.integritydirect.com/parachuteband/
new songs, new sound, same heart

A new line-up, with their first album (methinks). Goto here for a preview~

on my first Christian hip-hop concert

haha, went for my first Christian hip-hop concert on Tuesday night with my two friends. Must say it's a very different yet refreshing experience. Still, it's about the worship of God that matters; even though the lyrics may be too fast and the music may be too loud at times, it's all about glorifying God through the lives of the band and the worshippers at the concert.

Parachute Band Rockz! *do obscure handsign*



Website of the band
http://websites.parachutemusic.com/parachuteband/

http://www.integritydirect.com/parachuteband/

Pictures of the concert
http://marvinlee.multiply.com/photos/album/96/Parachute_Band

P.S. Okay, correction, the warm-up act was Chritain hip-hop act by Rapture Ruckus. Parachute band is more of Christian rock~

Enchanted (2007)

Rating:	★★★
Category:	Movies
Genre:	Romantic Comedy

A straightforward fairy-tale meets modern-day-reality show. Laughed my head off at all the references to previous Disney pictures. Good combination of live-action with animation. Really brought back good memories of the good old Disney pictures. Dun think it justifies the $8 sneak-preview-priced ticket, because the dramatic ending scene is just too ... weird. Other than that, it's a great show. Must watch for couples.


Official site:
http://disney.go.com/disneypictures/enchanted/

IMDB Entry:
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0461770/

Wiki entry:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Enchanted_(2007_film)

Office Birthday Celebration for Nov -Dec babies

heh heh, time flies! And we have lotsa eyar-end babies this time round... :D

The Shepherd of My Soul - Edward Waters

The Shepherd of My Soul

A Song by Edward Waters
(Copyright © September 2001)

Sorry, your browser doesn't support the embedding of multimedia.

You are the Shepherd of my soul.[1]  You are my all-sufficient Lord:
You give me rest;[2] You give me strength; in You my spirit is restored.[3]
You are my Father[4] and my Friend,[5] the greatest comfort in my grief,[6]
The Love that heals my fear and shame,[7] within whose arms I find relief.[8]

Some men may say my faith is blind, but I see You are who You are:[9]
No god but God, no way but Truth.  Whatever comes, You're never far.[10]
When You put gladness in my heart, all shadows hasten to withdraw.[11]
You are gracious; You are God:[12]  You have my love; You have my awe![13]

You are the Shepherd of my soul.  O let me follow where You lead!
Yours is the Word by which I live, the only Voice I choose to heed.[14]
It is a lamp unto my feet.  It is a light unto my way.
My lips have sworn, my life shall prove, that I will hold to what You say.[15]

And should men ask what god I serve, I'll answer, 'He is who He is:[16]
No god but God, no way but Truth.  I'll live no life but one that's His.[17]
He is the Kindler of the Stars,[18] Master of All,[19] Ancient of Days;[20]
And no pretender to His throne shall stand one moment in His gaze!'[21]

There is a life that cannot start until what's dead has been entombed.[22]
There is a fire that ever burns, and yet its host is not consumed;
And he that turns to see this sight is nevermore the same.
I stand unshod on holy ground and hear a Voice within the Flame:[23]

'Though men will ask what god you serve, I Am Who I Am:[24]
No god but God, no way but Truth.  I hold all things in My hand.[25]
If you will trust now in My word, I'll teach you what to say[26] and do;[27]
Reach out in faith and see My power,[28] and know that I will be with you.'[29]

Lord, I have sworn, my life shall prove, that I will hold to what You say.
You are the Shepherd of my soul.

 

[1] I Peter 2.25	[9] Matthew 8.5-13	[17] Matthew 10.37-39	[24] Exodus 3.13-14
[2] Matthew 11.28	[10] Psalm 145.18	[18] Genesis 1.16	[25] Psalm 95.3-5;
[3] Psalm 23.1-3	[11] Psalm 4.6-7	[19] Philippians 2.9-11	Isaiah 48.12-13
[4] Luke 11.13	[12] Nehemiah 9.31	[20] Daniel 7.9ff	[26] Exodus 4.12
[5] Proverbs 17.17a	[13] Hebrews 12.28-29	[21] Revelation 6.15-17;	[27] Exodus 4.15
[6] Matthew 5.4	[14] John 10.27-28	Isaiah 2.8-11; Psalm 2	[28] Exodus 4.4-5;
[7] Psalm 34.17-18	[15] Psalm 119.105-106	[22] Romans 6.3-11	14.13-16,21
[8] Luke 15.20; John 16.22	[16] John 10.29-30	[23] Exodus 3.2-6	[29] Exodus 3.12;
			Matthew 28.20

(Taken from http://backporch.org/edwardwaters/pages/the-shepherd-of-my-soul.php)



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King James Version (KJV)

Psalm 23

The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want.

He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters.

He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name's sake.

Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.

Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over.

Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the LORD for ever.

(Taken from http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Psalm%2023;&version=9;)

Edward Waters - The Shepherd of My Soul

http://backporch.org/edwardwaters/pages/the-shepherd-of-my-soul.php
Was researching on the Net on what songs to lead for CG. Came across this delightful pastoral song. May you be blessed!

the cult of the amateur: how today's internet is killing our culture (2007)

Rating:	★★★★
Category:	Books
Genre:	Computers & Internet
Author:	Andrew Keen

Wonderful book which throws insight into how Web 2.0 is affecting our lives and culture. At first, it may seems like a "Stone Web 2.0!" read, but as you delve deeper and deeper, one does realise the author has made certain valid points about how UGC (user generated content) has impacted society.


You can read an excerpt here at
http://ajkeen.com/e.htm

Merde: Excursions in Scientific, Cultural, and Socio-Historical Coprology (1999)

Rating:	★★★
Category:	Books
Genre:	Science
Author:	Ralph A. Lewin

It's a mouthful of a title, but basically, this book talks about shit.

A delightful read, especially when you're sitting on the porcelain throne... :D

http://www.amazon.com/Merde-Excursions-Scientific-Socio-Historical-Coprology/dp/0375501983

on starting off the week with a hilarious joke....

hahahahahahahahahahah!!! :D

on another narcissistic diary entry... :p

ahhahaa, read one of my friend's "emo" rant, about how people can bother to write about their day, and expecting people to read through them. Well, I'm just writing for the fun of it, so as to let my friends know about the wonderful ways to spend my leave-days. Of course, also with the intention of rubbing it into their faces... so without further ado, on with the show! :D

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

Was into the 2nd week of my evil "4-day work week" schedule, and had leave on last Thursday. Woke up past 8am, but the weather was kinda sunny. Decided to turn on the laptop, and chatted to my friends on MSN. Bad idea, as it sucked out valuable time from my swimming. It was fun spreading my joy to the rest of my working friends :P but i guess everything also have cause and effects.

No matter, the sun was just too good to let my swimming session pass up. So I went for a quick dip in the pool. Only managed around 12 laps in the space of 25 minutes - in terms of value of money, that sucks for my $1 dollar entrance. Still, am blessed that I had a almost-empty pool - which translated to more space and less dirt in the waters for me. had to rush to catch my bus to Vivo City, caused arranged to have lunch with an ex-colleague.

The original intention was to return to my friend a gaming CD which i borrowed from her almost 4 years ago. However, I seems to have misplace it geographically in my pigsty of a room*. Nonetheless, I couldn't well turn down the appointment, since I was the one who asked her out. So had to thicken my skin and go ahead to meet her. Thank God when she heard that I didn't have the disk, she din throw up a fuss.** Instead we pass the time having a good meal and exchanging gossip and news about people from our ex-workplace.  

After that, I went over to the new Terminal 3 of Changi Airport. Man, that place is humongous! My friend, who just joined CAAS, offered to guide me around the place. But didn't trouble him, since it'll not be nice to get him out of his normal schedule. Anyway, a lot of the place inside the DFS and the departure area is still not finished yet; yet i see people willing to pay $3 to get a guided tour around the place. As my friends puts it, this is the epitome of "Silly-poreans" :P For me, I enjoyed the spaciousness as well as the lack of people there. The space of 63 football fields, air-conditioned! :D Had a good time exploring the place au pied.

All in all, a good day of leave spent again! Maybe will go there again on my next leav day to finish reading my books... :P

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

* it's not lost; it's just in my room..somewhere... :P To complicate matter, the CD is a gift from her boyfriend to her, so it holds special value to them... GULP!

** Erm, actually, I din leave her with a choice. Cos I only told her after we sat down for lunch... :P Devious Jacko 1 - 0 Poor friend

TWR :: Radios for the World

http://www.radiosfortheworld.com/
Nuff said! :D

My organisation's venture onto the blogosphere

http://www.godtube.com/TWR
hey hey, check this site out, dudes~

on work and character development

Christians often have a warped way of looking at work. Unless someone is working “in the ministry”, they sees his work as secular. However, this view of work distorts the biblical picture. All of us – not only full-time ministers – have gifts and talents that we contribute to humanity. We all have a vocation, a “calling” into service. Wherever we work, whatever we do, we are to do “unto the Lord” (Col. 3:23).

 
            Jesus used parables about work to teach us how to grow spiritually. These parables deal with money, with completing tasks, with faithful stewardship of a job, and with honest emotional dealings in work. They all teach character development in the context of relating to God and others. They teach a work ethic based on love under God.

 
            Work is a spiritual activity. In our work, we are made in the image of God, who is himself a worker, a manager, a creator, a developer, a steward and a healer. To be a Christian is to be a co-laborer with God in the community of humanity. By giving to others we find true fulfillment.

 
            The New Testament teaches that jobs offer more than temporal fulfillment and rewards on earth. Work is the place to develop our character in preparation for the work that we will do forever. With that in mind, let’s look at how setting boundaries in the workplace can help us to grow spiritually.

- from Chapter 11, “Boundaries and Work” of Boundaries, Cloud and Townsend, Zondervan Publishing House, 1992.

on "Sign of a Guilty Jack"

ha, that's the title of an e-mail that my friend in office sent out, after seeing my sumptuous breakfast. Here be the contents:

Pic taken this morning in XXX Dept at 0930 hrs.
Sign of a man guilty of his oily 'breakfast'.... Pic attached.

Chai Tow Kway n Celery!!!

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

My reply:

"Eh good combi ok. Hot hot Chai Tow Kway n cold cold Celery~ Oiissshhhiii-dez!!!

 

Blessings,

Jack"

Hmm, maybe should have come up with something niftier~ like

"I am not guilty! For 

The LORD has dealt with me according to my righteousness;
       according to the cleanness of my hands he has rewarded me.

For I have kept the ways of the LORD;
       I have not done evil by turning from my God.

All his laws are before me;
       I have not turned away from his decrees.

I have been blameless before him
       and have kept myself from sin.

The LORD has rewarded me according to my righteousness,
       according to my cleanness in his sight.

- 2 Sam 22: 21-25 (NIV)."

But out of point la. :p Too long-winded anyway

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

Here another angle of my breakfast. if this doesn't make you hungry, I don't know what will :p

on a great poem I read this morning

was preparing tonight's CG session this morning, and came across this nifty little poem. Wanted to sms it out to my kakis', but it's 5-sms length long. Ah well, here's sharing it with you all as well:

I once was a stranger to grace and to God,
    I knew not my danger , and felt not my load;
Though friends spoke in rapture of Christ on the tree
   Jehovah-tsidkenu was nothing to me

When free grace awoke me, by light from on high,
    Then legal fears shook me, I trembled to die:
No refuge, no safety, in self could I see;
    Jehovah-tsidkenu my Saviour must be.

My terrors all vanished before the sweet name;
    My guilty fears banished, with boldness I came
To drink at the fountain, life-giving and free:
    Jehovah-tsidkenu is all things to me.

 - Whitelaw, Thomas, Jehovah-Jesus (1913). 

YouTube - 沒有一天停止愛你

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oK8xHZ3wfF0
WooT!~ Nice Chinese Song~

Stardust (2007)

Rating:	★★★★
Category:	Movies
Genre:	Science Fiction & Fantasy

haha, went to catch this last night. Mixed up the timing - thought there was an earlier show; but ended up watching th 9.40pm show. Still, am glad I didn't switch to another film. Found the "bit"-players to be just as interesting, if not, even better than the 2 main leads (Charlie Cox and Claire Danes). Loved De Niro's "whoopsie" performance and his rag-tag crew of pirates. Pfeiffer is wicked as the bad-ass witch. And the brothers who killed each other provided dark comic humor, as do the aged but sprightly wall keeper. A wonderful fairy-tale (predictable, as my friend puts it).

Official website:
http://www.stardustmovie.com/

DEAR AH BENG: Gay People Keep Wanting to Hantam Me. How? (M18)

http://www.talkingcock.com/html/article.php?sid=2402
ahahahah, long time no hear from Dear Ah Beng...

on a fun sat soiree and nearly missing church because of that...

Went out to meet a bunch of friends at Chjimes last Saturday's evening for dinner. Went to Sun - not a bad place. The ambiance is nice and cozy. The price is slightly more expensive than Waraku's . My friends were trying out the ramen. Decided I wanted to try the unagi-thingie. Turns out to be something like claypot rice, with unagi and vege.

Timer to time your 1 minute of steaming...

My dinner

(Pictures taken from http://sparklette.net/?p=383)

Coupled with the miso soup, with the nice kelp and mushroom - stupendous! The portion was just nice - enough for one person. My friends ordered desserts for us to try - the tofu cheesecake is interesting; light fluffy texture, and yet still have the cheese taste. I didn't try the hot red-bean-paste mochi thingie, cos was feeling a little bloated then.

After that, took a slow walk over to my friend's car parked at Shaw centre. Drove down to Dempsey Hill to chill out. We went to this House thingie to hang out - pretty hard to describe the place, save it's a spa, restaurant and novelty shop all rolled into one. The atmosphere is akins to PS cafe, except it's more "open" with more space. We chose an outside seat, as it was very cooling with the breeze wafting in.

While the drinks are ok, the cakes are just fabulous! Must try is the Mochaccino Bread Pudding and the apple-cider butter-scotch cake. Both are served pipping warm: the bread pudding is delicious with the warm mochaccinno sauce poured over it; the apple-cider cake is simply heavenly, just the right tinge of sourness and cinnamon sweetness that goes very well with my glass of white wine.

The service wasn't that great though, as they had a couple of new waiters who weren't so sure about the menu or the promotions. I told the girls to be gracious, even though our patience was quite tried by the number of times we had to keep asking them to get us stuff. I think we must have been voted the Most Troublesome Table to Wait Upon by those guys there :p

Save the earth, dun use electricity

 

 

Interesting drinks menu on a cube

The Logo

 

(For more info, goto

http://www.visitsingapore.com/publish/stbportal/en/home/about_singapore/ezine_home/Sept07/60_seconds/house.html)

Stayed up past 1 am to "talk-cock-sing-song". Again, good questions were posed to me so that I get to rack my brains a bit to explain concepts such as "calling", "the will of God" and "confirmation" before my pre-believing friends. Well, burnt a big hole going home via cab. The next morning, woke up at 9.15am - panic! In the end, bit the bullet and took a cab to church, so that would not be late for the 10am service. Argh! Must resist! Cannot become cab king! :P

on something I learnt in the past 2 days...

A question well-asked is sometimes better than an answer well-given.

on a restful Deepavali and the start of my "evil" plan...

heh heh, slept past 8am yesterday morning~ Shiok-est! :D First time I slept through the rainy morning, playing extra rounds of chess with 周公, instead of battling against that teeny-weeny voice to tell me to do ungodly stuff (take urgent leave for no other justified reason than to sleep in late). Well, had my first cuppa and cranked up the laptop, and checked my e-mail as well as go onto Facebook.

After that, left house around 9-ish and made my way downtown to Carlton Hotel. There was an exhibition on ancient Bible artifacts. Actually, my friend and I wanted to go on Wednesday evening; but the event organisers said the exhibition would be closed at 4.30pm.
It was a very interesting exhibition, as we were able to look at a fragment of the Dead Sea Scrolls, feel and touch a 19th century Torah, and several copies of various bibles dated from 1500s till 1800s.

It was well-worth the $10 ticket* - the guided talk given by Dr John Lampe was certainly very informative and candid. It certainly refreshes my memories of church history, and reminds me how precious is the Bible that we have in our hands. For those of you who thought that the Bible came to us in its unadulterated English form from the Almighty Himself, you need to go and read up on bible history again. :P

We took a lunch break at noon, and went over to Purvis Street for lunch. We wanted to eat the famous beef noodles - but it was not open. So we adjourned instead for that Phad thai and Som Tham Thai. It was absolutely heavenly, with the fresh prawns in the phad thai, and the fantastic fish sauce in the papaya salad. My friend recommended the Thai tangerine drink - it was not bad at all, a tinge of sourness along with enough sweetness and fragrance.

We went back to the exhibit to catch up on the part of the guided talk which we've missed earlier. Am glad we went back for the missing portion, as it gives us more insight. After that, we went separate ways and I made my way down to Changi Airport. The original intention was to try to go to the new Terminal 3 (T3) for a sneak tour. Unfortunately it is still closed to the public. The open-house will only take place next week. I wanted to hang around at the airport, and try to find a quiet spot to finish reading some of my books. But there were just too many people! :p

In the end, went back to Causeway point and had a nice little Long John Silver's dinner. Thank God I could still get a table to myself. Usually the joint would be swamped with people. I managed to get a corner seat and enjoyed my 2 fried chicken (with extra crumbs) and a small cuppa clam chowder soup. All in all, not a bad day... Niak niak niak, this week marks the start of my 4-day workweek "evil plan" till the end of the year. Hopefully can finish up on my readings.


* Pastors can get in for free - but I didn't think it was a good idea to impersonate one, just to get in free... .:p

The Forbidden Book: The History Of The English Bible (2004)

Rating:	★★★★
Category:	Movies
Genre:	Education

Got this at the Bible exhibition yesterday at a great prize. Good refresher course on church history, as well as be reminded of the preciousness of translating the Bible.

Other online entries:
http://www.greatsite.com/featured-items-and-events/forbidden-book.html
http://www.christianmovies.com/store/product_info.php?products_id=247&osCsid=921bcd3f0b3

Bible Exhibition - 08 Nov 2007

Exhibition of Dead Sea Scroll fragment, the Torah and Rare Biblical Antiquities and Manuscripts

Spectacles and Sunglasses (2005)

Rating:	★★★★
Category:	Books
Genre:	Other
Author:	Pepin Press Design Books

A delightful picture collection of spectacles and sunglasses through the ages.

http://www.pepinpress.com/catalogue/view/112

Head-Turning Visual Works (2007)

Rating:	★★★
Category:	Books
Genre:	Professional & Technical
Author:	PageOne

Can't really appreciate the niceties of this book. But it's sure gives a lot of new interesting designs of the recent years.

Global Frequency: Planet Ablaze (2004)

Rating:	★★★★
Category:	Books
Genre:	Comics & Graphic Novels
Author:	Warren Ellis

Great story, with fluid narration. The pictures flow in together with the writing, making it an exciting read.

Wiki Entry:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Global_Frequency

on a wonderful Sunday...

Had to wake up really early on the Sunday that's just past. My mom got my siblings and myself to go with her for the brisk walk program at Chong Pang Community Centre. It's all part of some community celebration day for the residents in that area. I'm not really sure how my mom got wind of the event, but she has asked us to accompany her. She said that there was a "lucky draw of $6000 in prizes"*; so we must go - more people means more tickets for lucky draw = higher chance of winning. Can't argue with logic like that; Moreover, it has been a long time since our family did something together. So I skipped church**, my brother skipped his morning soccer routine and my sis sacrificed her morning sleep all for my mom^... :p

haha, got reminded of the reasons of why we've not done a "family thingie" together for so long, even as we went for the walk. You see, my family, we all have weird streaks in our characters. And we tend to be fiercely individualistic and opinionated. Oh we don't squabble and fight outright - but we are definitely not your American sitcom family. So we made fun and "suan" ( 酸 ) one another. Thank God no blood was spilled. In the end, we didn't get anything, save the T-shirts that we paid for. My mom keep on saying I should have gotten the "XL"; but i figure after a few wash, my "L" sized tee should become an "XL" :p

Left earlier with my sister, as we needed to run some errands. We went back to Woodlands Civic centre, and did our stuff. Afterwards, treated my sis to kopi, toast and "kway neng". She said it was one of the rare few times she ate the eggs so raw. I asked her where has her childhood went to... :P yeaps, that's how we ribbed one another.

Went home and took a short nap. Raced my virtual Mazda-RX 8 on the Facebook Petrohead and won some easy cash. "Bo pian", my friends dun really play that application much, so their cars are the "lau pok" kind - no fight against my Mazda. After a refreshing nap, went to church for the leaders' meeting. haha, they gave us a multi-purpose clock^^ this year. Can set alarm, do stopwatch, and even measure temperature some more! Well, our senior pastor has related his heartbeat, and where the Lord has placed upon his heart for the future of our church. We also reviewed the year and prayed, giving thanks to Him who has showered us with such abundant blessings. oh, and there was a nice tea-break, where we gathered around and  talked and caught up with old friends and new.

 

 

 

 

---------------------------------------------
* at the walk itself, it was announced to be $4000 worth. So we wondered did my mom hear wrongly, or did the money go down the drain? :p

** no matter how i look at it, cannot make it sound nicer; so might as well call a spade a spade. :D

^ Dad had to work morning shift, if not it'll be really one big happy family thingie... :D

^^ My friend said the church "送钟" to its leaders. had a good laugh over that one... :P

Dennis Jernigan :: Shepherd's Heart Music

http://www.dennisjernigan.com/index.htm
After my friend send me the song " A Shoulder To Cry On", decided to go and research on the guy who sang wrote this song. It's a powerful testimony of God's abundance grace and all-mighty redemption in this man's life. may you be encouraged and blessed~

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dennis_Jernigan


“[Instructions on Worship] I urge, then, first of all, that requests, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for everyone— for kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness.”- 1 Timothy 2:1-2

on going into the desert...

A lot of things have been happening in my life lately - some good, some not so good. Haven't really had the time to be by myself and reflect upon them; thus I put up as my Skype nick "Season in the Desert" with this as my display pic:


I think at times we need to retreat to a secluded spot for an extended period, and think about what has been going on in our lives. God does not just allow "accidents" or "incidents due to random anomalies in the fabric of reality" in our lives; everything happens, and is allowed by God, for His will and purpose.

As followers of Christ, we shouldn't be fretting and reacting against all that comes our way (I'm quite guilty of that); nor should we be stoical and bear it with a grim countenance (the so called "macho" or "manly" stance). Rather, seek and you shall find the answer. Sometimes the answer may be something we really don't expect or understand; but we got to remind ourselves His will is the best for us.

Have you marked down a date with our Heavenly Father?

11th German Film Festival in Singapore

http://www.goethe.de/ins/sg/prj/f07/enindex.htm
Eh, not highly publicised, and it's only 11 days only, from 01 Nov to 11 Nov. 5 days left, go catch it fast!

To buy the tickets online:
http://www.cathay.com.sg/gff07/

Die Aufschneider/ Cutting Edge (2007)

Rating:	★★★★
Category:	Movies
Genre:	Comedy

hahahah, weird premise again~ but good comedic acting. All doctors should watch this and have a good laugh. :D

Part of the 11th German Festival; only 1 screening. Am glad that my friend told me and we watched it together. For those who can get their hand on the DVD, do!

Official website (German):
http://www.dieaufschneider-derfilm.de/

IMDB entry:
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0449080/

Campus Crusade For Christ Supporters Appreciation Sale 2007

http://www.ccalmm.com/SASmain.html
Nuff' said, follow the Link

on a bittersweet morning...

Woke up to the gentle ringing tune of my new handphone. Again the same old situation, rain before in the wee hours -> warm snuggily bed and cool sleeper's climate versus call to wake up to go work -> battle of the wills within -> compromise of sleeping in another 30 minutes more. ;p
As usual the insidious little voice inside me was saying "Take leave la, dun go work la..." Thank God I managed to slap that one aside.
 
-------------------------------------------------------------

Came to office a bit later than originally intended. But still have time to check my work e-mail before staff devotions. Had a good laugh over my colleague/friend's stories of his hotel stay - he's on work trip in our Taiwanese office right now. Am glad he's enjoying himself so much.

Then read a distressing news about a fellow co-worker's family tragedy in Sri Lanka. His daughter was called home to be with the Lord after a fatal motorcycle accident within the space of a few hours yesterday. Even though I met with this co-worker only once, I still remembered with fondness his big heart, joyfulness and the love which he describes his children.

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

We had a solemn time this start of the week during the devotions. My friend led in a time of worship, and even though our hearts were heavy-laden with sadness, we worshipped the Lord with our songs and prayers. We asked for the Lord to come and watch over this family with Himself, and let his peace and love reigns in this.

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

I guess right now the question that's running in my head now, "Lord, how can, Lord?".  But i must keep remembering that the Lord gives and takes away; even when I don't fully understand the fullness of His plans, His will is still sovereign in our lives.

on a great saturday today...

wanted to wake up at 7 plus plus a.m to go swimming, but somehow the bed was too warm and the air was too cold :p Went back to snuggle in bed till 8am. Then saw the morning brightening up~ woot! Took my bike and went to the Woodlands swimming pool for a dip. Steady! Loved the changes they did to the pool - think the kids would loved the new wading pool,with a small slide and the falling-water structure. Din exactly fancy the shade they put over half of the adult deep pool; made that half od the pool very much colder... brrr!

Din do a lot of laps, as there were simply too many children classes going on - didn't even worked up to 60% of my max. heart rate. Just paddled around a while, and looked at faraway scenery objects. Then zipped over to Civics Center to update bank passbook, buy newspaper and zipped back home on my faithful Jamis-maru. Bro was already outta house, on his 闭关修炼 for his upcoming quizzes. Sis was still snoring away. Chatted with mom a while, before hitting the newspaper. Saw the M1 $0 offer for the Sony Ericsson K530i phone and decided to head town early to get it. Am quite impressed, didn't have to wait that long at the Paragon service centre, and the service was efficient. Could be also because I went there during lunch time (around 12-ish) and there wasn't that many people in town as yet bah.

After that, walked over to Wheellock place for lunch appointment at 1pm. Initially wanted to have lunch ta Fish and Co., but my friend last minute sent sms said she had fish and chips last night, can change to either Sakae Sushi or Big-O? Between the two, I chose Sakae and went there early to get a seat. Business is good, i was there around 12.50-ish, and the place was already crowded! had to wait 10 minutes before getting a booth seat by the glass window. Then my friend sms me at 1pm to tell me she was held up and will be slightly late. (grrrr!) so had to sit down there and endure all the stares from those standing in the queue, looking enviously at me drinking my green tea in the spacious 4-seater booth by the conveyor belt.

Finally my friend arrived and we quickly ordered our lunch. Had a good time catching up with one another as I haven't seen her for a while lately. Another common friend later joined us as she need his help to help her choose a digicam. We parted from there around 3-ish, and while they made their way to Sim Lim via MRT, I was legging my way over to SKS at Tan Boon Liat building au pied. Bumped into my friend who was having lunch with his colleagues opposite Great World City, at the famous nasi padang kopitiam. His eyes just popped out when he heard I was walking from Orchard to my destination.

Reached SKS bookshop and had a good time walking around the store, browsing through the books. Kept myself from buying any more new books, except the one I was getting for a friend to use for CG session. After that, decided to walk from there to Serene center for ice cream at Island Creamery. Walked a big detour, as I went Grange road to Chatsworth road, Tanglin Raod, cut through botanical gardens that side to Bukit Tiamh road, before finally reaching Serene center before 6pm. Thank God He held back the rain, as it was getting real cloudy by then. Enjoyed my "pulot hitam" and Kahlua latte double scoop. It's a pity they didn't have the Tiger beer sorbet, if not I would have ordered it in place of the "pulot hitam".

came home for a nice home-made dinner, and realx in front of the TV watching "Japan Hour". Life is good~ Yatta! :D

Lars and the Real girl (2007)

Rating:	★★★★★
Category:	Movies
Genre:	Independent

Great show, despite the weird plot. Great dramatic acting and tension. Some may call it a sappy "milk you emotions and tears" show. Me? I'm just glad I went to watch it.

Official Web:
http://www.larsandtherealgirl-themovie.com/

IMDB entry:
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0805564/

Wiki Entry:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lars_and_the_Real_Girl