I heard people marvelled at how numerous the stars were outside Singapore. Others boasted about seeing shooting stars the whole night. I have never seen any of those until last night. It is real. Totally speechless by the beauty of the sky that was sprinkled with stars all across, as far as your eyes can see. And I managed to catch 4 shooting stars. That’s life worth living for.
It was also my first time catching a proper sun rise. The view is spectacular. I am in awe of the Maker. ♥
Long last, my freedom. Breaking away from the dreadful routine of having to wake up in fear thinking about needs to be studied, what will come out in the exam that I’ve not covered, the possibility of failing the module, yada yada… It’s been a living nightmare for way too long which many failed to understand and thus sympathise.
Who study consistently for months? Where do you find such motivation and discipline when your heart says let’s take a break? How do you keep it going when all you wanna do is to give up? How do you overcome the aftermath of guilt each time after you had such a fun time out there and the exam turned out crap? How do you rationalise it within yourself when you have done your best and yet you felt that you could do more? The worst is yet to be.
This week is rather depressing. Though I yearn and gasp for the air of liberty, there is no joy within as the end drew near. It got so hard to get along at one point in time when people around me have not only finished their exam, but came back from the grad trip and some even started work. It is foolishness, I know, to compare and get upset over such things. Yet, how can a human not feel? It’s like telling the sun not to shine.
Yesterday was especially painful for me. Having been buried in my notes for hours, yet nothing diffuses in. It can be translated to being defeated before the break of dawn. When the end is near, so near in fact, the joy is no where to be found.
It’s irritating when a particular someone belittled such experience and said that students have it best. I can understand why you fail to sympathise yet to dismiss it without a hoot makes me kinda… distressed? nah.. pissed off? nooo.. hmm alright, i dunno what kinda feeling that is, but i just wanna walk away there and then.
So, I looked up. Right in front of my studying desk is a magnetic board which clips all kinda cool, bimbotic and some inspiring cards, what not. There is this card which made hope arises and tears fall.
Trust in HIS timing
Rely on HIS promises
Wait for HIS answers
Believe in HIS miracles
Rejoice in HIS goodness
Relax in HIS presense.
Come near to God and He will come near to you. James 4:8
Enough said. He is more than sufficient. His grace and love encompassing. His faithfulness, everlasting. Such is HIS FAITHFULNESS. ♥
I’ve picked out a few very meaningful and interesting excerpts from my most favorite online commentaries. Enjoy
One of my favourite scenes in Star Wars 6 (Return of the Jedi) is the one where Luke Skywalker finally bests his heavy breathing dad Darth Vader. Luke had tried to avoid fighting his dad but when Darth threatened to turn Luke’s sister to the dark side, Luke goes berserk and defeats his dad, cutting Darth’s right hand off in the process. The evil emperor, who has been observing this duel, makes the following offer:
“Good! Your hate has made you powerful. Now, fulfill your destiny and take your father’s place at my side!”
Every time I watch this scene, I am reminded that indeed, there is a certain strength that comes from hate and I fear afresh for many of my friends who have given themselves to be God’s servants, good people who try to do the right thing in a fallen world. How tempting it is to find strength in hatred especially when you feel your reasons are valid and your goals right.
Those who have been insulated from having to see evil and injustice upfront will find it difficult to understand this temptation. But those who have seen evil blatant, destroying lives, and apparently getting away with it again and again, will know the exhaustion of staying true to the side of the angels, and the temptation of finding strength from the dark side.
But if we claim that we are on the side of God we have to abide by God’s word and God’s word tells us:
[Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everyone. If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone. Do not take revenge, my dear friends, but leave room for God's wrath, for it is written: "It is mine to avenge; I will repay," says the Lord. On the contrary: "If your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink. In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head." Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good. (Romans 12:17-21 TNIV)]
Earlier, Paul says: [Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse. (Romans 12:14 TNIV)]
In “The Return of the Jedi” young Luke Skywalker refuses to choose the dark side, willing instead, to suffer and die for the privilege of remaining true to the light. Yet it is his very “weakness” that inspires his father to love once again and to turn back from the dark side. Love, apparently weak, conquers. Ok it is just a movie, and an old movie at that. But it is a great movie, and this is a scene that echoes something true, and it continues to teach us.
The beloved, bestselling international author of The Alchemist returns with another haunting novel—a thrilling journey into our constant fascination with the worlds of fame, fortune, and celebrity.
A profound meditation on personal power and innocent dreams that are manipulated or undone by success, The Winner Stands Alone is set in the exciting worlds of fashion and cinema. Taking place over the course of twenty-four hours during the Cannes Film Festival, it is the story of Igor, a successful, driven Russian entrepreneur who will go to the darkest lengths to reclaim a lost love—his ex-wife, Ewa. Believing that his life with Ewa was divinely ordained, Igor once told her that he would destroy whole worlds to get her back. The conflict between an individual evil force and society emerges, and as the novel unfolds, morality is derailed.
Meet the players and poseurs behind the scenes at Cannes—the “Superclass” of producers, actors, designers, and supermodels, as well as the aspiring starlets, has-been stars, and jaded hangers-on. Adroitly interweaving the characters’ stories, Paulo Coelho uses his twelfth novel to paint an engrossing picture of a world overrun by glamour and excess, and shows us the possibly dire consequences of our obsession with fame.
The plot captivates me the moment I set my eyes on it. Having read The Alchemist which is both thought provoking and mind boggling, I am sure this book will not disappoint with his poetic, realistic and philosophical style, and the symbolic language that does not speak to our minds, but to our hearts. ♥
This post shall be nothing but my ranting. Cos this is my space!
This is the second time which I felt so panicky after realising the scope and depth of my last paper. In a tad moment, I’m gonna suffer from a heartburn. After studying yesterday, I was utterly demoralised and mentally exhausted. Thank God for friend like Boying who accompanied me all the way to IKEA just for meatballs. In the end, we didn’t have meatballs. But we got ourselves all the FAT food (like, fried carrot cake, fried oyster omelette, DEEP fried wu xiang xia bing, damn fattening bo bo cha cha..) I was just too tired to think about what I am eating, so we basically gobbled down whatever that lied in front of us. But now that I am sober, gosh, how am I gonna lose all those calories??!!
If studying is not already bad enough, friend so kindly offered me to go to Barcelona for FREE! Yeah, everything paid for. The catch is just hafta be at the product launch showcase and review about the product. Easy peezie japanizeee! That’s all I hafta do to earn myself a free trip, not anywhere but BARCELONA. As we all know, bad news no matter what don’t happen at good timing. The trip is effectively from today till next Monday! While it is just nice for me to hop on to my Australia trip, I won’t be able to sit for my exam! I have every reason to whine now! I WANNA GO TO BARCELONA, BARCELONA, BARCELONAAAAAA!!!!
Just look at all those pictures, tell me how not to whine about it??!!!
Fine, moving along, some rare wonders of our natural phenomenon.
1) Sailing Stones
The mysterious moving stones of the packed-mud desert of Death Valley have been a center of scientific controversy for decades. Rocks weighing up to hundreds of pounds have been known to move up to hundreds of yards at a time. Some scientists have proposed that a combination of strong winds and surface ice account for these movements. However, this theory does not explain evidence of different rocks starting side by side and moving at different rates and in disparate directions. Moreover, the physics calculations do not fully support this theory as wind speeds of hundreds of miles per hour would be needed to move some of the stones.
2) Columnar Basalt
When a thick lava flow cools it contracts vertically but cracks perpendicular to its directional flow with remarkable geometric regularity – in most cases forming a regular grid of remarkable hexagonal extrusions that almost appear to be made by man. One of the most famous such examples is the Giant’s Causeway on the coast of Ireland (shown above) though the largest and most widely recognized would be Devil’s Tower in Wyoming. Basalt also forms different but equally fascinating ways when eruptions are exposed to air or water.
3) Blue Holes
Blue holes are giant and sudden drops in underwater elevation that get their name from the dark and foreboding blue tone they exhibit when viewed from above in relationship to surrounding waters. They can be hundreds of feet deep and while divers are able to explore some of them they are largely devoid of oxygen that would support sea life due to poor water circulation – leaving them eerily empty. Some blue holes, however, contain ancient fossil remains that have been discovered, preserved in their depths.
4) Red Tides
Red tides are also known as algal blooms – sudden influxes of massive amounts of colored single-cell algae that can convert entire areas of an ocean or beach into a blood red color. While some of these can be relatively harmless, others can be harbingers of deadly toxins that cause the deaths of fish, birds and marine mammals. In some cases, even humans have been harmed by red tides though no human exposure are known to have been fatal. While they can be fatal, the constituent phytoplankton in ride tides are not harmful in small numbers.
5) Ice Circles
While many see these apparently perfect ice circles as worthy of conspiracy theorizing, scientists generally accept that they are formed by eddies in the water that spin a sizable piece of ice in a circular motion. As a result of this rotation, other pieces of ice and flotsam wear relatively evenly at the edges of the ice until it slowly forms into an essentially ideal circle. Ice circles have been seen with diameters of over 500 feet and can also at times be found in clusters and groups at different sizes as shown above.
6) Mammatus Clouds
True to their ominous appearance, mammatus clouds are often harbingers of a coming storm or other extreme weather system. Typically composed primarily of ice, they can extend for hundreds of miles in each direction and individual formations can remain visibly static for ten to fifteen minutes at a time. While they may appear foreboding they are merely the messengers – appearing around, before or even after severe weather.
Sometimes, I wonder along with my friends whether changing church is a wise decision. No doubt nothing seems certain at that point in time and even after the move has been implemented, I still questioned myself at times. So I came to the conclusion that I missed the people there more than anything else. After all, that’s where I spent my formative years and also building many important friendships. As I attend my current church week after week, something became clearer all the time. The message always speaks to me with regards to whatever issue I am facing at that point in time. That was my crystal-clear affirmation. Now as I look back, it really feels like a step of faith to venture out to wherever He may lead.
Rev K. K. delivered such an impactful message today which I felt almost obliged to share. Still studying on the Book of Numbers, he made the Old Testament comes alive! I like this joke in particular,
“How do you recognise Moses when you see him in Heaven?”
“By his flat nose!”
Cos he not only fell once but thrice face down in Numbers 16 alone. Verse 4, 22,45 tell us so. There were more incidents of him falling face down in the Book of Numbers while trying to intercede for the rebellious people of Israel.
Coming back to the point, one key lesson I learnt today was that there is no greater work than the work of intercession. When the people of Israel rebelled (time and again) against their appointed leader (and more so God) , God wanna punish them by destroying them all. Immediately, Moses and Aaron fell prostrate to the ground and interceded on their behalf. That saved their lives! In Numbers 16:15, we saw that Moses was furious with the rebellious crowd. But note his response, instead of dealing with the rebellious mob, he spoke to God. In his anger he did not sin and neither does that gave him the right to do wrong. What was worth noticing is that in all his humanity, he proved that there is still a way to vent it out righteously. That is once again something that I needed to hear so bad for this week. Praise God!
In closing,
All of you, clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, because, “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.”[a]6Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time. 7Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you. 1 Peter 5:5b-7
The only way to go up, in God’s eyes, is down on our knees.
Something completely off tangent, still, I find this so cool! One fine day, I pay it a visit!
Everland (Paris): a single room roof top mobile luxury hotel
Everland is a hotel with only one room, including a bathroom, a king-size bed and a lounge. What makes it so different is that -because it is also an art installation- this hotel travels! The Everland has been ‘parked’ in the most unsual places, like the roof-deck of the Museum of Contemporary Art in Leipzig, Germany, or the roof of Palais de Tokyo (with a spectacular view on the Eiffel Tower) in Paris.
Considering how unique a night in this hotel is, the price is not so crazy: you can get the only room and the unique view for 333 Euros during the week, 444 Euros during the weekends.
“The clock is running. Make the most of today. Time waits for no man. Yesterday is history. Tomorrow is a mystery. Today is a gift. That’s why it is called the present.”
“Sun Dials and Roses of Yesterday: Garden Delights…” by Alice Morse Earle, 1902
I don’t believe in luck. Totally not. I dislike how some lecturers and school mates like to wish us good luck for your exam. If luck is all it takes, then why bother attending lectures or studying? Perhaps it is meant as a consolation; a way to motivate us, or some kinda self fulfilling prophesy. In any case, nah, no thanks, I don’t believe in luck.
*Can’t believe how far I have drifted away from the initial inspiration for writing. * Though I don’t believe in luck, pardon me for using this idiom, I have been soooo down on luck today… One mishap after another.. oh boy, gimme a break…
The day started out bright and promising. Not till I received a decree from Her Highness to buy lunch for the both of us. When I left home, the lift was in perfect working condition. Right after I grabbed lunch, it broke down!! Darned, climbing stairs all the way up is no joke okay!
Oh wells, moving on… the weather is toooo tempting for a swim. So I went along jubilantly. To my utter horror, and how can I forget, it’s school holidays!!! The pool is packed with rowdy kids. Bummer. So my swim became going through obstacle course.
Now,on my way to meet Yongling. My ten thousand years of vengeance with buses still stand. I thought to prevent myself from taking the wrong bus I should ask someone. That is exactly what I did and it was a bus driver that I approached. Yet, I still ended up at the Woodlands checkpoint when I was supposed to meet Yongling at Sembawang! LORD, have mercy on me!!!
After supper with some khakis, we decided we should walk to the station. ARGGHHHH… *SCREAMS & FREAK OUT* We saw a snake, okay, it’s a small one. But still, its DARNED DISGUSTING!!!! Those of you who know me, knows that I have ophidiophobia, or simply snake phobia. Cross my fingers, just don’t let me see any of them in Aust, plsssss.
The way back home was tiring and challenging. Shan’t go too much into details, cos I still feel the frustration why does it always rain on me.To sum it all up, it will be something like…
Missed it when it past me by…
Waiting for something in vain, sometimes effort is not proportionate to payoff…
Chasing for something that just won’t stop for ya…
Looking for something at all the wrong places…
I still have no luckwith bus. I HATEtaking bus so so so so so much!!!
My final ordeal, maybe that’s all the strength I could still muster for the night, to fight a dead cockroach that greeted me right at the lift door. Splendid… Uncannily, the song Why Does It Always Rain On Me started ringing in my head when I was going up the lift. Funny and apt, I thought. Maybe the best thing that happened today was meeting Yongling, catching up with her and supper fellowship. The rest of them, we shall bury them deep deep 6 feet under and never bring to mind…
Cool, I like this one! Have been trying to shed off the weight I put on during this extended exam period, but my mouth just won’t stop munching on those chips and CHOCOLATESSS!!!
More photos on GDOP
Aggie, my lovely mentor, always. ♥
Hannah Montana! Everytime I think of you, the song Forever will keep spinning in my head and and, what happened @ Pasir Ris Park last year will always be part of my fondest memory. ♥
Elle and Clairah, my ever so beautiful princesses. ♥
Awesome!! Finally my shades has arrived! Will be sooo glad to collect it tomorrow! Wooohoooooo! Instead of fire iridium lens, it’s gonna be ruby iridium along with some other customisation. I can proudly say this is my one of a kind shades!! Just as I thought it was lost in the mail (cos it took them more than 3 months to ship here) and I’ll hafta make do with my bling bling shades for Aussie (which is so not suitable so outdoor), ta-dah!! Yeah, good things happened to those who wait (and wait long enough)!
This is a season to get artsy fartsy. Anybody wanna join me in this tomorrow? Text me k
Colleague L once said that she likes to change her number once every 2-3 years. So I said jokingly, “The next time I can’t get you on your phone means that you no longer wanna keep in contact with me la! Hmm from now on, I must make sure I dial you often to stay in your contact list! LOL “
Yeah, nutty things I like to crap about in that fun office. But on second thoughts, I might well be in the same shoes as her now. Recently, I took joy in cleaning up my friends list on Facebook. I am sure many of you have also added friends whom you said ‘hi’ once and never talk again or perhaps know each other merely by name. Can such people be even called friends? It dawned on me that Facebook is revealing way too much information about oneself and it is starting to make me feel uncomfortable. It is like being stalked cyber-ly, if you get what I mean. Yeah, so am happily doing my clean up.
Next up, msn. Too many redundant names just occupying the space for no reason. Some I have just added, spoke a few words of formalities and that’s it. So right click- delete contact- ok. While for some other contacts, I can’t bear to delete you but I either don’t wanna speak to you or you must have done something to pisssssss me off so much, therefore, to this category, we block them.
So pleased with myself at this stage, and I am still contemplating changing my mobile number. Can be a little troublesome, but definitely rewarding to get rid of some people who text me for evil reasons. So the next time you find me disappearing from your friend list or gone for too long, it’s not that I have disappeared, it is you who disappeared outta my sight.
PS: Having said all those nasty stuff all night, by no means am I trying to say that I don’t need friends. Don’t be mistaken. I am just building up my wall of defense against ill-intended intruders. Stay cool.
“[The Word Became Flesh] In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.”
As I attend my current church week after week, something became clearer all the time. The message always speaks to me with regards to whatever issue I am facing at that point in time. That was my crystal-clear affirmation. Now as I look back, it really feels like a step of faith to venture out to wherever He may lead.
Just as I thought it was lost in the mail (cos it took them more than 3 months to ship here) and I’ll hafta make do with my bling bling shades for Aussie (which is so not suitable so outdoor), ta-dah!! Yeah, good things happened to those who wait (and wait long enough)! 
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