Comic Moments

A Come Back For 2009

2009-03-12T19:21:00.000-07:00

Woohhh.

I haven't blog in ages. Maybe because of the lack of material and the degradation of brain cells from bumming around too much. I think I literally forgot I had a blog. But, all things must come to an end and I will be a working class citizen soon, as opposed to a scum of the universe which I am now. Come to think of it, much of my holidays have been wasted. Which is part of the plan. Being unproductive is good fun at times.

Not So much like this................

More like that...........

Except I haven't gained any weight..............

On a lighter note, I did go some places............

On What'z Been happening.......

Went to Penang twice..............

......Singapore

Ipoh / Gua Tempurung

Stopped by in Kampar...........

And saw someone's dad who's into falconry..........damn man...........

On Malaysian Politics...............

Well.............entertaining as usual...............

I wish they had Chasers here, or Saturday Night Life.............the amount of material they have in one year could go through 10 seasons..........or more.

With sex photo scandals.............

Politicians hopping

Having a state assembly meeting under a tree...........

Karpal Singh getting mobbed in Parliament itself..........

On the World.............

Well.......... bad times are a coming............. at least I have a job..........

Obama becomes president
Gaza under attack
Sri Lankan cricketers attacked in Pakistan........

Slumdog Millionaire sweeps Oscars

Heath Ledger wins Oscar as the Joker

Rafael Nadal wins the Australia Open.....

John Sng is still John Sng.........

I completed Half Life 2..................damn I am slow..............

2009...........

2009-01-13T08:17:00.000-08:00

This is my first post of 2009. I haven't been faithful to this blog for a while now. Probably because I had better things to do. I guess things will start to settle down soon.

I'm back in Msia now from Adelaide. Graduated. Ready to work in 2 months time.

My Msia no. is 012-2911727 if you want to contact me. Happy New Year.

A few things I've noted.

I appreciate Stand Up Comedy. I think its great art.

Loads of people seem to be into photography now. With blogs and facebook, the need to personalize grows evermore.

Malaysia isn't such a bad country. In time hopefully things will change for the better.

Work makes holidays feel so much better.

I am feeling the need to record stuff. Gotta pick up my guitar and play.

Distances mean a lot. Even with the technology we have today. Keeping in contact with friends takes effort.

The pursue of temporary happiness is not a short detour, but its the basis of life right now in this age.

At gunpoint. anything is possible.

3 chords can make a good song.
3 words can change everything.
A triangle is strongest when all 3 points are holding as tightly as possible to each other.

A huge amount of life is relative.
But not all.

People judge your social life by how you spend New Years.

The apple doesn't fall far from the tree. But the monkeys that eat them take them far far away.

I don't really care if monkeys actually do eat apples.

and the Thank You parts.........

2008-12-16T07:11:00.000-08:00

I would like to personally thank Voon for bringing a projector and walkie-talkies to the convention when we truly needed a second projector. I commend his initiative and his heart to be a servant to us even though he is an interstate delegate. I guess that’s what convention is about. It brings the best out of people, which is always shown during dire situations. I apologize for losing a walkie-talkie. It was a terrible thing to do after all the help you have shown us. Thank you for showing me grace.

I would like to thank Exco for supporting us. They have truly been our big brothers during this camp. They were always there when we needed someone, without hesitation, without demand for compensation. And they served us truly with humbleness, both before and during and after, whilst providing support in prayers, insight, experience and love. I apologize for anytime that I took your service for granted and I would like to say it is appreciated.

I would like to thank those who have gone before us. Our brothers and sisters Tuck Yean, Joanne and Andrew Kiu, G and Delwin Keasberry and Auntie Merrilyn. They have truly paved the road for us while all we had to do was walk through it. It is because of their hard work in previous conventions that they are able to provide us with their experiences and also encourage us as fellow OCFers who have been through similar things before in their time. I would like to also thank them for being our safety nets where we know that they will catch us when they fall. It is good to know that we are not alone as a committee but we have the blessings of wise council when we needed them. Thank you for your hospitality and your friendship and your prayers which I will greatly appreciate and carry with me as I head back to Malaysia.

I would like to also thank our chairperson Handy Gohno and his partner Shelley Chee. I believe that you been a great leader to us as a committee and that you have always been there for us even though you had other commitments such as exams. Thank you for giving me this opportunity (Hopefully were all not regretting it now = P), I truly appreciate it. I have made many mistakes, for that I apologize. I understand that I have been one of the hard ones to deal with, but thank you for your patience and your grace and thank you for doing a huge portion of my task. I would say I had an awesome experience serving under you in the team. Shelley, thanks for sitting down with me and going through the program flow. And I would like to thank all the nagging, the reminders and the scolding which I was given to help me grow. I believe most of us did from it. Whether it was directly (me) or indirect (through Handy).

I would like to thank the rest of my convention team members. You guys have been an awesome team players as well as buddies. I thank you for all the help you have given me throughout our one and a half years together and also all the support and encouragement you have given me. I truly enjoyed my time serving with you guys and I will never forget the time we worked together.

Karen, I think you should be commended on your organizational skills and hard work in the kitchen during convention. I thought that everything went really smoothly and you did a really good job with the food and catering. It truly made our convention in SA a unique one. I personally would have gone crazy if I had to wake up at 6 am and cook everyday for 200 people!!!

Joseph, I love your creativity and the youthfulness you brought to the Convention team. At first, it would seem that you’re our young little brother, but you have done so well that I feel embarrassed as your senior for not seeing the things that you see. You’ve always given us a unique perspective towards things and I thank you for all your hard work in the publicity, the website, the fundraising and the shop. I hope you will grow more in OCF in the years to come.

Joannies, I loved your work with the logistics. Everything that we needed at camp was there when we needed it. And you brought so much extra stuff that we need not worry about not having what we might need. I thank you for your ability to plan ahead of time and your practicality and your organization. I think a lot of things would have been a mess without you. I could see you working really hard during camp and that you were so so tired but you pressed on.

Sher Ri !! I know, the treasurer job sucks cause you’re the only one still working when everyone is done. But hey, I think you did a great job as a treasurer. I think it’s a rewarding job since you get to directly see how God has blessed us monetarily. Thank you for always working behind the scenes where it really counts (no pun intended). I think you have a gift for preparing gifts too. I meant, the handmade cards looked like they were printed by a professional!! Bless your patience and your love for that.

Betty, thank you for doing the registrar. I think you had one of the craziest weeks in your life when everyone was coming in. But you truly did pull through with all the last minute requests and also with your exams just ending not long before that. I think that you have a tremendous gift for people and its awesome how you always seem to relate to different people. I’m really glad that I got to know you in the committee and I hope that you have a good time with your year off.

Ee May, you crazy girl. You have really added a the spice to our little group of convention crazies. I love your “dramaness” and the way you just speak your mind to all of us. It is truly a blessing to have you around. I still remember the time where you were screaming into the phone when I told you that I mixed up the day themes, it was classic. Thanks for being understanding and also thanks for doing all the BS and praise & worship stuff + the t-shirt. You’ve done a great job with everything gurl !!! We had a great time together………..haha especially with the Farewell party !!! See ya in Msia Ee May !!!!

Gerald!!! Our transport hero. Without you, I wouldn’t be able to go home. Well maybe not, but I think that organizing transport for 200+ people is not the easiest task in the world. You’ve done a great job with the limited amount of driver supply that we have and even though you were feeling not so well during the camp itself. Good job ! I hope that you will continue to grow in Alice Springs and that you will have a good time there. All the best.

I would like to thank the whole PA crew. Dennis, Kazu, Allan, Nesta and Wei Shyang. I love your work at the PA. Whenever I needed to talk, I could. Louder, still could. Thanks for being there for every session, uploading stuff, sitting with the p & w team and making sure everything works and also setting up and clearing out. Thanks so much. You guys love Coke yea? I’ll try to remember to get you some.

I would like to thank Mr. Jonathan Foo and his team of photographers. Thanks for making helping us remember convention so much better in colour and in smiles. I appreciate the time and effort taken to take the pictures and the main camp picture.

I would like to thank SA as a whole. Everyone of you guys. Whether helping set up the place, hosting people in your homes, being BS leaders or working in the kitchen, you guys have been so supportive towards us. All I had to do was ask, (and sometimes I don’t even have to) your were there to help out. I am truly proud to be SAin’. They say we are kampong………………… and we proved them right. Yes we really stick together and everyone knows everyone.

I would like to also thank all the delegates for making the effort to come. Truly, this convention would be nothing without you guys. I love it when I get to see so many people from different nations, states, denominations and cultures and backgrounds gather together under one banner and one name. It is encouraging to see your enthusiasm and your willingness to help out and be awesome participants in every little aspect and detail of convention. It was a pleasure to serve you gus.

This is a special spot for Daniel Lee & James. If not for you guys, I might have been kidnapped during the night. Thanks for being our security.

This is a special spot reserved for Ming Wei and Daniel. They helped me set up stations and they looked very man. Sorry about making your blow balloons out in the wind and the sun. Well done boys.

This is a special spot for the Victorian boys and Western Australia boys. Macho macho macho.

This is a special spot for Ian. It is intentionally left blank.

Thank you God. You have been awesome. Thanks for the time here in Adelaide and thanks for letting me end it like that. I look back with no regrets. I look forward with enthusiasm on what’s to come for me in Your plan. Thank you for being not part of Convention, but thank You for being Convention itself. The very essence of it. Goodnight.

Convention Report

2008-12-16T07:05:00.000-08:00

The 49th OCF Convention's Programs Coordinator Report

My journey to The OCF Convention in South Australia 2008 first started in the 2nd Semester of 2007. I was first approached by the chairperson Handy Gohno. Without much contemplation, which is a common approach that I take to most things, I agreed. Little did I know what I was in store for.

Having just come out of the Easter Camp 07 committee I was eager to challenge myself once again with a new task and a new portfolio at hand.

For the first six months, my workload for Convention 08 wasn't too much. What was mainly done was more on a corporate level, where decisions related to the theme, the catering and campsite were made.

My portfolio work began to unfold more in 2008. Two of the more important tasks I had at hand was to finish the program timetable and also to come up with a list of workshops for the convention itself. I would admit having gone to a previous convention in 2006 helped a lot in knowing what convention is all about and how the programs should be done in accordance with its purpose. I had a lot of help from committee members with both these tasks.

After that, my duties were to contact the workshop speaker suggestions to find out the availability and also to be the liase person with them. I had the help on my committee members doing this and for that I am thankful. This would continue on till convention itself, where I constantly update the speakers with information on the venue, time, lunch invitations and etc. One important thing is to always reconfirm, which I learned the hard way because I always took things for granted.

The program flow itself was pretty similar to previous conventions. Compared to 2007, we decided to have just one bible study a day compared to two and replace it with a time of ministry. Each day had a separate theme to itself that related to the overall theme of the Convention 08 which is "The King's Return". These mini themes were Worship, Discipleship, Prayer and Missions & Evangelism.

I had help from others, mainly Joanne Kiu and Shelley Chee to create a program flow chart for convention itself. I would highly recommend this. It is a table where it lists the program in a chronological order with the people in charge, logistical needs and tasks required. I found it helpful to always consider the programs ahead so we could always prepare for what is needed ahead of time.

I was also in charge of the games for the first day. I would like to thank my team of contributors who helped me brainstorm for ideas. I would like to also thank previous game organizers who came up with ideas that I borrowed or inspired me. Last but not least, my awesome game masters who had to sacrifice their game time to be in charge of stations.

The objective of the game itself was to bond team members and to also have fun. Each team has to collect the 9 fruits of the spirit and also the 6 pieces of the armor of God. These rewards are given out by 15 different stations that are situated around the camp sites. With the help of a map, each group has 1 and a half hours to acquire as many of the rewards as possible. Most stations could hold up to two teams, whilst some could take one and others up to three. So there was no issue with overcrowding. One of the major flaws for the games was that one station was a dangerous, as it was situated on a hilly area and the players had to run around that area. A few people got hurt because of that. Other than that, it was commended well. I would like to once again thank every single participant in it.

During convention itself, my main task would be to make sure all the programs flowed smoothly. Things were slow at times and fast at others. A major problem would be that praise & worship always started late after breakfast and dinner. For the morning sessions, it would leave bible study sessions shorter. For one of the days, we extended the bible study session because we had a half an hour break after lunch.

Overall, I would like to thank God for His work in convention. If not for Him, convention wouldn’t have an impact on the lives of people, which is the main goal I had for convention: To see lives changed. As many of the committee members would tell you, it was not well organized. Yet, things worked out for the better as convention began to unfold. I made plenty of mistakes, and I would like to sincerely apologize to everyone who was affected by them. Still, in my weakness and lack of faith, God was glorified. He was strong where I was not, and that was almost everything. We are truly encouraged to see the enthusiasm of every single delegate and how willing they were to help us out in whatever areas they needed. God moved, and He brought us along with Him. How did He weave every little part of convention to make it fit together nicely, even with our failings? Truly amazing.Thank you God.

(You can cut this part out, its my thank you speech)

A Brief Reflection

2008-12-11T06:00:00.000-08:00

Hello there again.

Sorry I started off badly. But as of this moment I am pretty sure I'm done with all I have to do already.

Which is a good thing.

What in the world happened during the month of November?

Firstly exams. I'm glad to say I have passed everything. And that I will be graduating on the 19th of Dec if all goes well.

Second convention. Convention made me discover a lot about myself. And my life here in Adelaide. So I shall take a short reflection.......

So a long time ago...........

High school.

This is how I looked back in high school. A bit different yes.

Back when I was about 16-17, I was a melancholic person. I pretty much hated the world, how it ran and how people were all automatons, just going along with the flow, getting a job and slowly working your way up and all that. I wanted to be different. I didn't want to be typical. I enjoyed being creative, being original, coming up with ideas, discussing different philosophies of life. I didn't want a 9-5 job, I remember having a dream of forming a band and touring the world. Yea kinda hippie. I was always listening to music, especially those with emo lyrics. But I got depressed frequently, lost with my life direction (I thought it was meaningless) and I was always questioning God and His ways and at many a times, I struggled with the fact that God was actually good. Or the fact that He actually existed.

With constant pressure from surroundings and parents to do well in school, I worked hard enough do get into college although I didn't believe in the system at all. I did had some good times, many of them I realized only after I had left. To be honest when I left, I was happy to go. I hated all the rules and regulations that came with the uniform.

In college, I began to lighten up more. I began to be a little more extroverted. I would admit I had an awesome bunch of friends to mix with which help a lot. But I still always had my quiet moments where I just feel like not talking at all.

I look a little more like I do now back in SAM.

I had great fun and I enjoyed the greater degree of freedom, especially with the car where I could just drive anywhere anytime. My parents are pretty liberal on where I go, which I am thankful for. I managed to expose myself more to the world, both the good and bad sides. I wouldn't say I know a lot, but I've been to the dark side. Yes yes all that corruption. This kinda continued on through to Uni days. Yes I got more worldly. From being a rebel of the world, I began to accept it and embrace it.

So I began a more happy go lucky life with zero responsibilities, just going with the flow and being blessed at the same time. A little more self indulgent and a little more self confidence. And of course more self love and pride.

I was sad to leave, and I actually wanted to go to Melbourne, but my parents wanted me to be in Adelaide. Partly because they don't exactly trust me to go to a foreign land alone, my sister wasn't around. Right now I am very thankful I came to Adelaide. Not because its great, but because of the experiences I had. I probably would have gotten corrupted even more in Melbourne........ you'll see me smoking pot and hanging out at strip joints. Seriously.

Then I came to Adelaide.

My first year in Adelaide was a really good experience. Again I got expose to different cultures and people, in Lincoln College and also in OCF. I made so many new friends, both young and old, from different professions and backgrounds. First year was the year to try out many different things.

This is a picture of O-week in 2006.

So the first time was always great. I remember joining so many events, participating and feeling welcomed. I was touched by the efforts of the seniors in making my stay here so much better. I decided to take up roles of responsibilities.

Of course this from a person that knows nothing about responsibilities. I am what Shelley Chee would call a "lulu". OR my tuition teacher would call a "ding dong". I'm disorganized, I have no sense of priority, occasionally in my own little world and I work for recognition. I wear mismatched socks, live in a messy room, would play DoTA on the night before exams, realize I studied for the wrong test because I mixed my timetable up (yes really happened), miss the bus and end up being late, drink my water straight from the kettle, eat food that drops on the floor, etc etc. And the worse thing was: I would laugh about all this things, cause I somehow find humour in it.

Somehow I get blessings out of nowhere. When I was late to the airport, I got upgraded to first class. When I realized I submitted my job application confirmation like 10 days after the due date, it was alright and they kindly asked if I would like to start 2 and a half months later so that I could have a holiday.

So back to the responsibilities. In 2nd year I took up the role of International Rep and also Easter Camp treasurer and BS coordinator. Wow. Felt a little more important. Thank God for the people around me. I was totally disorganized for International night, which is the biggest event the International Rep had to organize. But it didn't turn out as bad as I thought it would. I really enjoyed being part of the E-camp committee, I was blessed with awesome mates who really made the experience so much better.

Through that, I managed to experience what it was like to work in a committee and the level of commitment you need. I was blessed to work with the Aussies and also with Malaysians and also managed to differentiate a Christian committee and a circular one. I grew to be more confident and improved on many skills, notably public speaking, general organization and socializing.

In my 3rd and final year, I decided to take up more challenges although it would be my toughest year in Uni. I joined the Convention 08 committee and also the college club treasurer. The selection process is different. In college, you run for your positions and get voted into office. Kinda like a popularity contest. In OCF, you are kinda approached by the leaders. It was my first time running against someone else for a position. A unique experience I would say. When they announced my name as the next treasurer, I was like YESSSSS!!! You've probably noticed that I talk a lot about my roles in my posts, as I do have a lot of passion for them. Although I constantly regret saying yes during my time of working, I have never ever regretted doing stuff when it comes to the end.

I can proudly say I am glad to serve all this time. The blessing is in the serving itself.

I also can say I grew a lot as a Christian. I would say my maturity level isn't exactly high. On a scale of 1 to 10 I would say 3 or 4. But through BS leading and serving in the OCF ministry I've managed to grow a lot. Means I was pretty low back when I first came.

Leading a group isn't exactly easy. I would say I would do a much better job now if I were to do it again. But that's what OCF is about. I was reached out to. I've been trained and built up. And now I am going back. But back to BS. Now you know I came as a happy go lucky not a care in the world slack person that only cared about himself. It wasn't easy to be some sort of a shepherd. I never saw myself as becoming that.

I remembered my first time. Huey Chi came up to me and asked if I would like to lead the next week. I kinda said yes. because Im a yes man, without regard of my capabilities. But I got better and much more exposed as I went along and began to see a bigger picture. This year was better in itself. I am greatly encouraged by my group, especially the new ones that just came in this year. Jolene and James joined the local committee, Fish, Laura and Daniel all became BS assistants and hopefully BS leaders. Tim joined the E-camp committee. So Ming Wei, if you are reading this, don't get left out yea. Hahaha. And all this has nothing to do with me. Cause I honestly am not good at leading. Made lots of mistakes. So what God has done is truly amazing. Its beautiful to see the legacy of OCF being passed on like that. I am so so so so proud of you guys.

A picture of me BS group.

2nd Semester was a little different with my group consisting of mostly oldies. Haha, I did feel a little more pressured. But I did learn a lot too. I thought Daniel Lee really did bring in a lot of new perspectives when he joined us for the BS Leaders premeeting which was really good.

Again OCF is really a blessing unto many. I came a corrupted worldly person. I didn't exactly grow up in a Christian background or family. I am still pretty worldly now, there are many things that bind me to this world, I constantly submit to peer pressure and I am very self-centred but I would like to say I have improved much since I first came. OCF also allowed me to explore the different areas of ministry. Whether it be teaching, praise & worship, missions, prayer, I would like to thank everyone for the opportunity to try things out and make mistakes, and expose myself to different areas and people of Christianity. I came from a brethren church background, (I was a Sunday goer, slept at sermons and I went cause I kinda had to) so the exposure was refreshing.

Fuffhh.....thats a lot of writing.

On to Convention which is at the end of the year. I am thankful to do the programs, again something really new to me. I am glad I managed to experience both the admin and behind the scenes side (treasurer) and the upfront creative side with the programs too. I managed to identify more strengths and weaknesses for myself. Convention was awesome. Tiring yes. But I am really glad to be part of the hosting state. Made me proud to be SA although we are quite "kampung". To see OCF united like that is amazing. I was totally happy to serve. Had a blast being MC too and meeting so many people. I wished I got to sit down and really talk to people, but I was really busy and when i was not i was just tired. Overall, I would say God has been gracious. Really. The committee would tell you that there were so many problems and disorganization and screw ups but overall things worked out. We were all going crazy during the week before but we pushed on and persevered to the end. I'm glad to end my time here in Adelaide with a bang.

I think the bottom line is that my time here in Adelaide was significant. It has shaped me a lot. I have grown much since I first came. I thank God for the experiences and the blessings. I have made the mistakes I needed to grow. I made the choices I needed to learn. It wasn't easy going from a zero responsibility carefree person to a guy that needed to balance his time between being a treasurer, convention programs coordinator, BS leader and final year University student. But I managed to get through, not with flying colours in each department, but I still managed and for that I am thankful to everyone who helped me along the way. And for that I learn that IF I were to put all my effort and concentration into one thing, I would perform so much better on it. I struggled a lot with clashes between my portfolios, but I have learned that focus is better.

And that is E-camp's theme next year. Arrrghghgh. I won't be there.

Anyways, I hoped I made a difference here during this time. Whether for bad or good. Hopefully for good. I'll miss you guys. Time has passed so fast. But I'm glad it felt like that. It means that you're enjoying yourself.

Dammit

2008-12-09T21:04:00.001-08:00

1st post back after a long time.
And its not that great. I am annoyed.

Everyone's on holiday. After conventions. And I'm all alone in my room tidying up accounts for the whole of 2008 so the auditor doesn't think that I am stealing money from the college.

I am on about on transaction no. 60 and I have possibly about 200 more to go and I have been at it for about 1 and a half hours already.....

I shall think twice about volunteering for a role that makes you work after the working period has ended.

Wakakakaka.........maybe i should steal some money............

zzzzzzzzz

A Time In Adelaide.............

2008-10-26T03:59:00.000-07:00

After VD on Saturday...........I kinda reflected on my time here in Adelaide. And how I will be leaving at the end of the year, back to my home country. Honestly, I had so many great memories. I'm gonna miss this place so much................

Yea I spend some time in Uni.............. not that much tho..........

Most of my time revolved around Lincoln College & OCF........... both are irreplaceable.
Just looking back at these pics with an awesome song in the background brings a sad but glad kinda feeling............

O-Week was great.............we were bunnies.............

We were running around North Adelaide tied to each other...................

Having a scavenger Hunt

And leading my own team of scavengers the next year........

And of course dressing up...........
As a school kids...............

As drag queens..............

And again.....

And again

And again.....

As midgets

As jedis

As one brow Mexicans

As Pirates

As Gangsterz..........

Supporting Lincoln Sports

Playing Soccer for Lincoln........

And winning the Cup

And going for and participating in events..............
Malaysia Night..............

Pub Nights

Royal Adelaide Showz..................

Playing bass for battle of the bands............

Playing for Music Night...........
Mooncake Festival......

OCF Convention Fundraising.........Mcin'

Easter Campz - 06

Being part of the organising committee in 2007

Easter Camp 08 - Leading me own group.........Ruby Rocks

Running 30 k marathons

International Night...........

And organising it a year later........... with the help of many of course

Impressions Ball

Paintballin'

And organizing it myself a year later as International Rep.......

Performing for Lincoln Life at the Chapel

Going for Concerts..........like John Mayer

Hens & Bucks Pub Crawl

Going to Melbourne and visiting the city before Convention 2006
And rocking with guitar and sleeping on the trampoline on the last night of convention

Lincoln Ball

OCF Welcome Nights

Or just Hanging out with friends............

Crabbing at Henley in the middle of the night under raging winds...........

Hanging out in my room after an awesome night out............... during my b-day

Chillin at the beach

Getting sabo-ed at meetings

Visiting our E-Camp Site and filming video...........
Getting them to carry you

Watching them Graduate.......

Greenhills Adventure Parkin'

Being Malaysian

I remember Easter 06, I made about 20 pictures of myself in different poses and stuck them at people's doors at 6am Easter morning............... with easter eggs and a message at the back of my photos..............

Ice Skating........

Performing excellent musical pieces...........

Driving all the way to Sydney from Adelaide....................
And it was decided a night before randomly..........

And visiting Ali later in Canberra

Posing..............

Sitting in a table that said Reserved for the Champs............... awesome

Eating potato chips using nothing but your face muscles.......

Visiting my sister at Sunshine Coast

Flying all the way to Sydney right after my final exams to celebrate a friend's 21st

Doing lame mimes......

Celebrating birthdays..........

Mine

Ian's

Jez's

Lynn Ju's

Being Part of Committees

Easter Camp 2007 Treasurer & BS Coordinator................ I've had an awesome time.........

Leading a BS Group in OCF UniSA in 2008

Lincoln College International Representative 2007
Lincoln College O-Week Committee

Lincoln College Club Treasurer 2008

OCF Convention Programs Coordinator 2008............. dang we need a picture together

Lincoln Dota Community 2006-2008

And VD...........

2006

2007

Graduation !!!! 2008

It has been an awesome 3 years.........
There were many more events, not recorded by my camera
or others but It was great
Love College
Love OCF
I've done many things
Made many friends
Had embarrassing moments
And some proud ones
But all have shaped me
And helped me grow
For better or for worse..............
I hoped I made a difference
Even if its a little one.

I just want to thank God and everyone that has been a part of my life and shaped my experiences here in Adelaide. Without you, things would have been so much more different.

Just about 2 more months left before I leave.......
Exams then Convention then Graduation.......
It felt like these 3 years have passed in just flash
But as I looked back, it was more than that. A milestone in my life.

Goodbye Adelaide........
I hope to continue an awesome streak in Msia.........
= )

To Stride Over Death..........

2008-10-24T22:01:00.000-07:00

I've been wondering why I've chosen the alias Strider............

I've been using it for almost seven years now.......... well, only in the gaming world ......... and occasionally other places that wouldn't be that embarrassing to introduce yourself as........

Googling Strider, I've come across various meanings.........

The Dictionary.com definition of stride

strid⋅ing, noun –verb (used without object)

1.	to walk with long steps, as with vigor, haste, impatience, or arrogance.

2.	to take a long step: to stride across a puddle.

3.	to straddle.

–verb (used with object)

4.	to walk with long steps along, on, through, over, etc.: to stride the deck.

5.	to pass over or across in one long step: to stride a ditch.

6.	to straddle.

–noun

7.	a striding manner or a striding gait.

8.	a long step in walking.

9.	(in animal locomotion) the act of progressive movement completed when all the feet are returned to the same relative position as at the beginning.

10.	the distance covered by such a movement: He was walking a stride or two ahead of the others.

11.	a regular or steady course, pace, etc.

12.	a step forward in development or progress: rapid strides in mastering algebra.

—Idioms

13.

hit one's stride,

a.	to achieve a regular or steady pace or course.

b.	to reach the point or level at which one functions most competently and consistently: The quarterback didn't hit his stride until the second half of the game.

14.	strides, (used with a plural verb) Australian Informal. trousers.

15.	take in stride, to deal with calmly; cope with successfully: She was able to take her sudden rise to fame in stride.

Firstly, Strider is also known as Aragorn from Lord of the Rings, lost King of Gondor..........

An American Company that specializes in well............. knives.

In Half-Life 2, the Strider is a feared mechanical walker...........

Or a video game character, Strider Hiryu............ a ninja in Japanese manga.....

Or the Water strider...............an awesome insect that can walk on water..............

Or a random Malaysian guy ...............

I guess I kinda liked the term..........

to stride

to take big paces

giant steps

covering long distances....... which should have been done much slower in general

to reach destinations faster

but again, a rolling stone gathers no moss, but it misses all the things that could happened if it just stood still. sometimes , the most beautiful things are seen when we are standing still......... not while we are rushing.

Who ya Gonna Khor???

2008-10-22T05:21:00.000-07:00

Hey there.

I haven't been blogging for a while. I've had a bad week of assignments.
Exams are coming up. Which probably means I won't be blogging for a long while more.

But there was event that brightened up my day.

Adrian Khor running for president. And his speech was legendary.

"Alright guys. I have 3 proposals here.

First, we know how hard it is to wake up and walk to Uni everyday. What I propose is.... to build a water slide from here to Uni. It'll help us make it to Uni on time. Yes it is especially useful for people like John Sng. You might get a little wet but that's alright.

My second proposal is....... listen up guys. We know how important security is at Lincoln College. That is why I proposal that we put a crocodile on the KMB lawns. Yes, with a guard crocodile there the safety of our college is ensured.

And my last proposal is....... a soft serve machine in the dining hall. We all know how everyone loves soft serve machines.

Thank you guys. Vote me for president."

After that, the college members get to ask questions.

How will you get the water slide to go uphill?
Well guys, it will be an engineering feat. But I'm sure by 2009, they would have come up with something.

What mistakes did Lam make this year as president?
Man, he didn't invite me to his room. Never went to his parties.

What makes you better than your opponent?
Well guys. I'm pretty serious.

How long can you cook 2 minute noodles?
I can cook 2 minute noodles in 1 minute!

Does your training in the Malaysian military help in this?
Yes it does, when I was there I had to live in the jungle with no food. All I had was rats.

Here are some of his posters.

Hahahhaha.

I hope you win come VD dude. Awesome stuff.

Wakakakaka

2008-10-12T05:14:00.000-07:00

Okay this is an extremely lame post that most people will not find funny..........
but I am taking a break from my assignment and need to amuse myself.

But i was just thinking about people's names.........and how some jokes came about.
These are situations you should all wait for and be ready.

Hey Joanne Kong
Got any brothers called King, Hong or Donkey?

Hey dude, who do you think I should call?
I dunno, but u should try Adrian, Lynn Ju or Madeline.

Who's the most disgusting guy?
EEEeeeeyerrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrn. What did I say? Ian.

When everyone is quiet........
So anyone want to say something?
Anything?
Nothing?
Not even Stephanie Ting?

When ur with a girl called Crystal.....and she or someone asks if you are clear......
You say :
Never gets old.

Hey the musical instruments are not working......... I think we need a new jack.
Who's Jack?
And mike's not working too.
Who's Mike?
Hmm, the Yamaha guitar is not right for the performance too. Should have gotten a Martin.
Who's Martin?
Will you shut up....... stop being a dick.
Who's Dick?
".................................."

Who's the most punctual person around ?
Oh, that guy....... he's always Just-In time......
"............." . Right......so if I need a case, I take it he's the one I'm looking for too.

That guy? He's just lame....... with out the e.

Hey who's the most scary guy around......
Oh its me, Patrick. Cause when people see me..... they get patrified.........

When you need someone to go somewhere and do something for you who do you call?
Esther........cause she will Goh........
But don't call Handy........cause he Goh- NO

Hey you know that guy called Vong?
What's Vong?
Erm nothing's wrong at the moment.........
Huh, I'm just asking what's Vong?
Nothing man nothing, didn't you hear me the first time?

I have a friend called Brian Geh
Enough said. Yes he is B.Geh.

Ok, this jokes a bit the inside.
But hahahaha.........
Ok back to assignments.........

Alright, Ready..... Set.....GO!!!

2008-10-09T05:42:00.001-07:00

Alright

The end of the year is coming. Lets goooooo!!!!

October 15th: Accounting Theory Assignment Due

October 17th: Auditing Assignment Due

October 18th: Tutor VS Exec Paintball, Music Night, College Photo

October 19th: College Club OGM ( Preparation and Presentation of College Club Accounts), College Club Athletics

October 25th : Valedictorian Night (Exec)

October 30th: International Marketing Assignment Due

October 26th to 30th: Exec Handover Week. Preparation of Budget 09.

	Sunday	Monday	Tuesday	Wednesday	Thursday
1800 - 1900	Handover Dinner	Formal Tea			Exec Mentoring Dinner
1900 - 1930	Opening Address				Exec Mentoring Dinner
1930 - 2000	14^th Exec 2008 Meeting	Budget Planning			Exec Mentoring Dinner
2000 - 2030	14^th Exec 2008 Meeting	“To Plan”	“To Bother”	“To Lead”	Drinks in Presidents Room
2030 - 2130	“To Know”	Planning Calendar 2009	Orientation Week Brainstorming	1^st Exec 2009 Meeting Roles on Committee 09	Drinks in Presidents Room
2130 -	Individual Handovers	5 Years Plan	Orientation Week Committee Meeting	1^st Exec 2009 Meeting Roles on Committee 09	Last Pub Night

Every Friday: Prepare For BS
Convention: Think think think of Games and Activities..............and of whatever is needed during that time. Pray pray pray.

Nov 8 : Auditing Final Exam
Nov 10: Accounting Theory Final Exam
Nov 19: International Marketing Final Exam

Nov 20th to Nov 30th: Preparation For Convention
Preparation For College Club Accounts Audit

1-5th Dec: OCF Convention 08 !! Woo Hoo !!!!

A brief outline of programs

	1-Dec	2-Dec	3-Dec	4-Dec	5-Dec
Time
6.00
6.30
7.00
7.30		Wake up call	Wake up call	Wake up call	Wake Up call
8.00		Breakfast	Breakfast	Breakfast	BreakFast
8.30
9.00		Morning Devotions	Morning Devotions	Morning Devotions	Morning Devotions
9.30		Praise & Worship 2	Praise & Worship 4	Praise & Worship 6	Praise & Worship 8
10.00		Sermon 2	Sermon 4	Sermon 6	Sermon 8
10.30
11.00					Sharing
11.30		Bible Study 1	Bible Study 2	Bible Study 3
12.00					Pack Up
12.30		Lunch	Lunch	Lunch
1.00
1.30
2.00	Opening Speech	Rest Time	Rest Time	Rest Time
2.30	Icebreakers
3.00	Team Games	Workshop	Workshop	Workshop
3.30
4.00				Group Photo
4.30	Siesta	Siesta	Siesta
5.00				Siesta
5.30
6.00	Dinner	Dinner	Dinner	Dinner
6.30
7.00
7.30	Praise & Worship 1	Praise & Worship 3	Praise & Worship 5	Praise & Worship 7
8.00	Sermon 1	Sermon 3	Sermon 5	Sermon 7
8.30
9.00	Activity 1	Activity 2	Activity 3	Activity 4
9.30
10.00	Supper/ Fellowship	Supper/ Fellowship		Supper/ Fellowship
10.30			Supper/ Fellowship
11.00	Lights Out	Lights Out
11.30			Lights Out	"Lights Out"
12.00

19th Dec : GRADUATION !!!!!!! I hope..........

Going back? Probably before Jan.............

3 years in Adelaide.

Awesome Stuff.

Lets go out with a Bang..........

Hit Me Baby One More Time

2008-10-08T07:45:00.000-07:00

This is a mime.

I think if u saw it life it'll be more hilarious.

Look out for the bee.

Haha. Something I will remember for a long time.

Of Ethics

2008-10-06T17:28:00.001-07:00

I found it interesting how people come up with normative theories about ethics. These theories are meant to tell us how we should behave.

They are mostly divided into two different groups: Teleological theories and deontological theories. In a simple sense, they are separated by the means and the cause.

Teleological Theories:
The word first came about from the Greek word "telos" which means 'end'.
Therefore, here we are concerned with the consequences of behavior.

There are several branches for this, one of which is ethical egoism.
This is the believe that people should act in a way that maximizes the benefits of the person making the decision. Decisions are based on self-interest, and other people are of little relevance.
An extreme example would be me walking down the street, seeing a injured man in my path, and walking pass because if I helped him, I would be late for my meeting with my boss. Although the consequences of the injured man seems to be "high", for he might just die, it brings me less benefits then me meeting my boss on time. Or so I should think.

A theory that relates to this would hedonism. It comes from the greek word "delight". The idea is to pursue pleasure, and minimize pain. We should always take immediate pleasure, or else it will be lost forever, considering how fragile our lives are. However, there is an argument within that some pleasures should be forgone, as they have longer-term undesirable consequences.

Utilitarianism argues that the overall consequences of the action should benefit/ or bring happiness to the highest amount of people possible, this benefiting the "utility". The greatest good for the greatest number. Now, measuring the greatest good is subjective, how one views happiness comes into play. Killing a competitor might bring happiness in the sense that now you have a greater share of what you were fighting over, but the guilt and shame you get, or even how society views you might be overall a greater pain for yourself.

In economics, Adam Smith argues that the pursuit of maximum self-interest will eventually help society as he or she is guided by an invisible hand to ensure that there is compatibility between the interest of the individual and of society. Of course, constraints would have to be placed to avoid fraud, deception or violation of accepted behavior within that society in order for everyone to gain.

Another branch of teleology is ethical elitism, where behavior should maximise the "higher levels" of society. In the past, the soldiers should always die for the king. Right now, empires are build on multi-billion dollar companies. The boss should never take the fall.

Ethical parochialism argues that behavior should always protect the in-group. So this could relate to small groups such as your school click or immediate family, or larger groups such as religion, race or country.

Lastly, ethical universalism suggests that we should be concerned with the well-being of all human kind. We should not pursue interest at the expense of others. So called the greater good. Related to utilitarianism. Still, morally right? A country, say England demands the death of the citizen of another country, France, due to evil deeds. However, this citizen was framed and France knows this. However, in order to avoid war, which would cause the lives of millions, France decides to hang this one guy for the sake of the whole nation. For the greater good of the people.

An interesting theory is altruism. This is to give and help others without thinking about the rewards or benefits from helping. This means that they are motivated to help, with or without a reward. I find it interesting because one can be altruistic to people that they haven't met before. An inner human desire to do good perhaps? Because it does feel good to help. An even more interesting point of view comes when rationalism comes in. For example, a businessman helps out in the old folks home on Saturdays. However, if he were working as a businessman, he would be able to get much more money to help the old folks with even more things. Rational? Yes. One would say that seems to be insincere. But giving up all your hard earned money that you worked for seems harder, as now it has a monetary value to it. Services in the old folks home doesn't. The question is would the business man be more willing to give up his money he earned on Saturdays as oppose to helping out in the old folks home, given that the amount of time is the same?

Deontological theories on the other hand look at the motives and behaviors, regardless of the consequences. It is derived from the word "duty". Duty has to be performed regardless of the consequences.

Immanuel Kant suggested that were to act as if your act would be a universal law. This means that if you hit someone, it is alright for everyone to do so to. A classic line of this would be " Do unto others as you would have them do unto you." This would be the theory of rationalism.

Social contract theory observes that there is a social contract between the individual and others that would give both certain rights, but both must perform certain duties to acquire this. For example, if we were driving on the road, we observe traffic rules and we assume others will so that we will have a safe journey to our destinations. If one person breaks it, then the safetiness would be compromised.

To give up certain rights in exchange for benefits. In Malaysia, some sort of social contract exists. Or so it seems. In exchange for citizenship, the Bumiputras get special benefits while the other races don't. Because Malaysia is their land. And we are foreigners. We give up our rights to be equal . For having a place in this land. Yet we have contributed so much to its development. We give up our rights for the sake of peace and stability. Apparently if we were to get equal rights, the whole country would be in turmoil where riots and killings would happen. Just to be equal, not better, but equal. Some social contract this is.

Yet is this ethical? John Rawls argues that the theory should consist of two priciples. I quote him:
1) each person has an equal right to the most extensive scheme of basic liberties compatible with a similar scheme of liberties for all;
2) social and economic inequalities should satisfy two conditions. They must be to the greatest benefit of the least advantaged and attached to offices and positions open to all under conditions of fair opportunity.
Judge for yourself.

And of course theological ethics. Not to be confused with teleological. The idea that rules must be followed by religious literature. Such as the Bible and the Koran.

Looking back at those theories, people in general would find themselves in a mix of everything. This means that we are at most times, adapting to circumstances of the situation. Normally, we would help people. But this time, we have an exam that we have to take or a year of studying would go down the drain. Again it depends on how badly that person needs to be helped. Dying? We probably would if it is right in our faces and the only person that could do it is us. Who that person is? Your family? Highly likely. Someone you don't know? And he's across the street? Or there are others around? Screw it, I'm going for my exam. God help him.

I remember a theory that every act you do is actually for yourself. Helping others while sacrificing your time? Makes you feel good. So it is for yourself. Donating to charity? Makes you look good in the eyes of society. Donating to charity subtlely? Makes you feel good because you did it humbly. And of course there are people that donate "subtlely" but did it in such a way to tell others but also look like he didn't want to publicize it.

Of course, we always try to be consistent. Consistency breeds respect. Shows you are stable. Composed. And predictable. Shows you have integrity regardless of the circumstances.Would you vote for this people if they were not consistent?
Yep, US presidential race is on. Who cares? Lots of people.

Most of the time I would say we are not consistent. We are not sitcom characters that act in that always predictable way. But we would like to be. To be human is to be inconsistent.

In Christianity, Jesus said, (Matthew 22:37-39), to love God and to love your neighbours as yourself. A popular motto would be "What would Jesus do?" Your motivation to do something counts. Probably much more than the consequences. To do evil for a good outcome is never good. To help others without regard for rewards or personal gain. If the greater good requires compromisation of duty, then it is not a greater good.

But when the lines between good and evil are so thin............ you probably don't even notice it when you've crossed. And when you keep crossing, the line starts to move from the foreground to the back.

At many a times, it is hard to be consistent . It is hard to not compromise. Hard to not bargain. Hard to not adapt to the situation. It is so easy to just be natural. To conform to others. To listen to inner desires. To submit to temptations.

People ask, "Why bother? Why bother fighting yourself, and your selfish needs? Aren't you lying to yourself then? Aren't you contradicting yourself living this fake life when you truly want to just be egoistic and do things that bring the most benefits to you? Why constantly punish yourself with guilt when you do something that seems wrong? Why feel bad when you're only thinking of something wrong, not even doing it?"

What do I say? Because at the end of the day, I am just happy to do so. Temporary pleasure is as its name suggests. Temporary. Never ever fulfilling. Sometimes in between, there are complains and fatigue, inconsistencies and denial, compromising and bargaining, but at the end of the day, it is when I am happiest, because I am secure. I cannot be consistent, because I am human. Why bother trying then you ask? Because I have a relationship with Someone that has done a wonderful thing for me. I do not live in guilt, as you would like to think. I live in freedom. You call it jail, but we have different pursuits in life. We all have that disequilibrium of where we want to be and where we currently are. Mine and yours are different. But perhaps one day you would understand.

A Little Self Discovery

2008-10-01T07:07:00.000-07:00

Sometimes I just sit down and wonder why do I do the things I do? What I'm I trying to prove?

I am quite an attention seeker. I crave it and love it. But I try to make it not so obvious so the attention that I get is of a better "quality". More of a good kind of attention.

Looking back at 2007 and 2008, both years I have held various portfolios and organized various stuff. I was in the Easter Camp committee and I was in the Lincoln College Club as International Rep. This year I am the Lincoln College Club treasurer, Convention Programs Coordinator, and also a BS leader in OCF. I question myself: "Are you dumb?"

Why bother doing so many things with so little rewards for yourself? All you get is less time for yourself. And all this commitments will slowly eat you away. Didn't you learn that last year Mr. Patrick Sim?

Do you really lack that much attention?

I guess I just wanted to proof certain things. That one can be active in both Christian Living and also in the Circular World. I didn't want to be someone that would be active in church but a ghost in my college ( where I lived ). I wanted to give back to the community for what they have done for me. I was served both in Lincoln and OCF in my first year, and now would be the time to step up and serve back. No rewards. Besides, I also wanted to experience everything, working in Christian committees and circular ones. Yes there is a big difference in both I would admit. And yes, there will be times when things clash.

It will always clash. That's the way it is. Sunday is sports for college, Sunday is church for me. Many events are held on Friday night, but its OCF night for me. Saturday sometimes play host to OCF workshops but there are events too. I cannot possibly go to everything or else I'll just flunk Uni.

So the problem comes when I cannot commit to both and I seem to be half here half there. I was never the college club member nor the best OCFer. And I could never be. I always clashed. I believe if I just chose one path, I would have done well. Focus makes things so much better.

Its just something that I learned. At many times, I do wish I had not put my hand up. Actually all the time. But at the very end, I think that I couldn't be what I am today if not for my pro-active choices. People always seem to ask, why are you doing all this? Why don't you concentrate on Uni and just be free to make your own choices.

But that is just someone I can never be. I can't be someone that doesn't count. It kills me. I need to make it count. Uni is just another phase in my life. Then I will continue to work. But making it count? To be part of something is much more important to me. It really doesn't matter if people know or not, as long as I know I am making a difference, that is enough. To be that person that will cause a void in society when you disappear. Spectators come and go, but the show cannot continue without its actors. Are you just going to be a taker? How far will your selfishness go?

I think I am addicted to making a difference. It is something I will continue doing until I pass from this world. It does bring great memories. Knowing is good enough. I don't need a picture to remind me. Don't need a picture.

One more month to exams.

Last Week

2008-10-01T06:31:00.000-07:00

I haven't been blogging for a while.

I was sick. Badly.

Last week was pretty much hell for me. And seeing as to how hell is so much worse, I definitely don't want to end up there.

Being sick is not cool.

Firstly, all your plans go down the drain. Whatever you had in mind, you can't do anymore. Because you're lying half dead in bed. Which would be a cool thing, way back in primary school. But not now. Now you gotta catch up with whatever you left behind. Uni work, responsibilities, commitment. Next year I'll be working, so being sick isn't that great because you'll have double the work the next day. Sad life huh.

Being sick but still having responsibilities is even more sucky. Alright, I'm going to sound like I'm announcing all my sufferings to the whole world just to make myself look like this righteous sufferer dude, but I'm really not. This is not my style of getting attention. I mime Britney Spears to get attention.

But Friday being convention fundraising night, and me being in charge of certain things and being part of certain presentations & performances, left me with little time to take a breather and rest and get better. On Weds night I was literally a walking zombie, freezing and hungry but I had no option but to practice with Ming's band. And also preparing for my MC role on Fri.

And most of the week I was in this vicious cycle of sickness. I was puking. Which meant I didn't have enough food to help me recover. I felt bloated at most times, which meant I couldn't eat. And I had to puke to feel not so bloated, due to gas and stomoch acids, so that I could eat. When I did eat, it hurt like hell, it was like eating glass cause my throat was so bad. So I didn't eat much. Couldn't sleep at night, cause my nose was blocked and when i breathed through my mouth, I always started to cough which worsen my sleep. And when I wanted to eat, I was busy and I had responsibilities to attend to. That continued on for a few days till I finally got my cycle worked out.

Which let me to know that: Life goes on. The show has to go on, regardless of you being unwell. So you have to suck it up, be part of it and go through the night. Which I did. And I was strangely proud of myself that night. I haven't been proud of working hard for a long time. Barely ate that night due to my sickness, and if you thought I looked alright, I was faking it. I was feeling like crap that night. Sorry Jez, got you sick too. But still I can say that I felt good after the night. Which was a good thing. I felt shit after International Night 07 btw.........I felt that I didn't do a good enough job. But this is the feeling I hope to get after convention 08. Looking forward.

What have I learned?

1) Your body is important. Take care of it.
Yea can you tell us something not so obvious. But still, we always regret things when its too late. When were okay, we couldn't give a damn. We take it for granted. You only want to stop smoking when you have cancer? Or stop drinking when your liver is failing? Or start exercising when you're fat? Your body is a temple of God. Take good care of it. I promise I'll try harder.

2) That when you're alone hurting in the room, I am blessed to know that someone is right beside me. Friends are awesome, but this one is there for you no matter the circumstances. God really carried me through last week. With all the stuff I had to do, and being so so so sick and tired and at the verge of giving up, He carried me above the waves before I drowned. Not that I was not suffereing physically at all, but I knew He was there. All the way.

3) Friends are awesome too. Yea I would just like to thank everyone who was there for me during that torrid time. Lam for going all the way to buy porridge for me, Lynn, for all the medicine, advice, companionship and just being there when I needed someone. Stephanie, Lesley, Edward, Alfred, Joanne and all the rest that helped me buy stuff, make drinks for me, get food, and everything, thank you so much. Ming and the band, for being understanding and caring during our practices, thanks for the porridge too. The Convy team for also helping me out during the fundraising night and before that too. Looking forward to convention yea. Jez, for being an awesome co-MC. And of course everyone else who helped me get better. I deeply appreciate all your help.

4) I sat down and did a bit more self-discovery. Which was good.

Root of All Evil

2008-09-18T17:40:00.000-07:00

When it comes to money, it can divide friends, family, countries and people. Wars. Oil. Cocaine. Diamonds.You know what its all about.

It is objective. There is a universal measurement towards it. Therefore, easy to give value, unlike other more subjective things like love, labour, or life. Sometimes, we tend to measure things like labour and love with money. But to be honest, it is still vague, as people have relative values to this, thus resulting in different sums of money.

Being the LC Club treasurer, I happen to be entrusted with a lot of money. Dangerous life huh? I once had 7k ++ on me once, which could lead to many people in the world today willing to kill me just for that. Seriously. Loads of people will kill for that kind of money. But don't worry, I'm probably not ever going to have that insane amount of money on me anymore. Banked it in. Too late. If you're planning to rob me that is.
But there is another kind of robbing that is not so obvious. Corruption. Imagine if the treasurer were corrupted. He could steal money subtlely and make it look somewhat legitimate. Alright maybe not very hard to imagine picturing me. Put someone else's face in your head. Like Gandhi. Not Barisan Nasional. Alright much better.

The thing about corruption is that the less people care, the easier it gets. People in Lincoln College pay about $155 dollars a year. That makes it about 155X220 = $34100. Plus other random revenues it goes to about $38000. Thats quite a bit of money. Do people really care what's going on with their money? Not really. It does take effort to give a damn. No one would really know if I went out to eat sushi and charged it under the college. International expenditure. Right? For international students. Its sushi mannn!!!

Most of the time, people don't have much knowledge about whats happening in college, cept the exec and the tutors but even they don't know everything. If given that explanation, which would mean that they would actually have to come accross that receipt which I highly doubt so. I present my accounts in a simplified version when it comes to AGM. No one really has the time to read all the little details. So they will just see "International Budget". Thats it. Some degrees of control have been put in place, cheques need to be signed by two people. But I still do have the petty cash. Muahahaha.

Who am I accountable to? The president. And he is the only one that really gives a damn. But still, he is my friend. Conflict of interest arises. Do I get paid? No, which makes it even worse, as my motivation for doing a good job has no rewards. Event organizers do get praised and recognized. No one knows that the hell I do. What do I get? A cookie? Not that I'm complaining, I'm perfectly fine with it as I kinda enjoy this seeing that it has a lot to do with my profession but low pay is one the main factors of corruption. Look at the police in Malaysia.

This year the college administration got smart and decided that if they were to collect fees for us, we would need to get audited. Part of the contract. Bad for me, good for everyone. So now I will be audited, and I will be spending my damn holidays preparing accounts. Dammit. Maybe it would be somewhat of a good control, but I will comment on its effectivesness after I get audited.

Still the message of this is that people should take an active interest. Trusting is way too easy. And lazy. $155 is ok. But 20 - 40% of your salary a year? That is a lot of money. So take an active interest in what your government is doing because if you don't they'll just pocket it. In Malaysia they do it straight in your face, so imagine what they do behind close doors.

Haha.......in March I'll be an auditor...................interesting.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

BTW, I think I'm done with the picture blogging and all that "what I've done last weekend" stuff. Waste of my brain cells. I personally think its just stupid, not offending people who think its cool. I realize I don't really care what you did last weekend or who your friends are. Or where you went to or what you ate. Nothing personal here. I would rather read intelligent opinions or current issues or reviews on things ,whether it be food, gaming, entertainment, music or politics, economics, sociology, psychology, philosophy, or something that will help me gain knowledge. NOt that my blog is awesome, but by blogging thoughts it helps me remember them, and think about stuff. Which I will more constantly now. Understandably, it willl take more time, but it'll probably be worth it. Rather then put loads of pictures and say "this is me and ***".

Not that I lost my social life, but you can always look at facebook. Pictures paint a thousand words. Hey, I have an awesome social life.............!!! at least that's what i think..........

And September 16 came and passed...........

2008-09-17T05:16:00.000-07:00

Looking through my last few posts, it has been mostly about Malaysian politics.

Well, these past few months have been interesting to say the least, with all the controversy and problems coming up. Can't really blame me for paying attention.

September 16 has come and passed. The People's Front has not taken over the government. Mr. Anuar though says he has at least 31 MPs who wish to defect, and many hints towards our East Malaysians who are doing the defecting.

Well, there is some signs of it. Though not enough. The latest news shows SAPP pulling out of BN. Yep they've had enough of their crap. They have listed a good amount of reasonable reasons for their pull-out and yes I would admit it makes sense.

http://www.sapp.org.my/default.asp?page=sapp080917

To be honest, I think that he is not exactly doing something very useful. If he does want to take over the government, he should when the next elections come. Going to Putrajaya out of a sudden will cause a lot of tension within the country, seeing that the country is pretty much divided at a borderline rate with the support of these two parties. I won't be surprise if riots and fights and rebellions and protests take place. Don't expect a smooth transitions. The power hungry will try their best to hold on. Their supporters will go crazy and cause havoc. The current government servants will have a significant proportion that supports BN. If BN is out, imagine how they would react? 10 years to get a passport man. Lots of people have a stake in this. Contracts, deals, businesses, and all that. No one's letting go that easily.

Furthermore, the opposition has no experience of whatsoever in ruling the country. He should do his job as the opposition leader and continue to question the current government on its failings. Wait for next election. Things are just building up now. Take it slow. I don't doubt that he will do well, but now is not the time. We already have 5 states, take time to learn. Its not like they're doing a excellent and perfect job with it, mistakes have been made, but its important to admit to them and move on. Jumping to the country is too soon.

Gerakan, maybe you should learn something here. Start making a stand for what your party believes in.

The question comes to where do I stand?

Pakatan Rakyat does have PAS. I am definitely not interested in an Islamic State. In my opinion, religion and politics should never go side by side. The government should always be secular. Religion should be practiced by free choice, never enforced, especially based on your race. How do you promote freedom and tolerance of your religion when you enforce it on people? Shouldn't people be given a choice?

BN has obviously lost my vote with race-based politics, racism, corruption, stupidity, a terrible leader, greed, lousy budget, petrol prices, accepted racism, ISAs and all that. But again, opposition has not won before, and they just might end up like that with the little experience they have. I'm sure as hell BN won't help them get settled in.

I foresee problems. But if everyone were to work maturely together for the better of the country, then we do have hope. But with all the in-fighting, its a long journey still. The problem with people losing is that they can't take it like man.

ISA - Internal Suppression Act

2008-09-15T07:01:00.000-07:00

My gosh. One week has passed since the Bukit Bendera whirlwind in Malaysian politics.

I must admit I've been pretty caught up with all the hoo hah here and there. Well done. If this is a plan to distract us from important things that are going on at hand........... good job.

Anyways, Kenny Sia did a funny post about this. Check out his blog to find out.

And just when you think its all over, that it couldn't get any worse, it did.

The government once again showed its colors by using the ISA on three people who were deemed to have caused a serious threat in national security. Seriously ? These people were a threat to us? Were they terrorist threatening to blow up some building?

And the irony is the person that reported it gets arrested? Not the one who made the racist remarks? Oh I forgot, he was already punished. Suspension for 3 years. No need ISA.

And the reason for her arrest? To protect her? My gosh !!!!! Using ISA for protection? You guys must be so caring.

BN please stop digging the hole deeper for yourselves...................
The nation is not happy. Look everywhere? Every friggin blog is talking about this. Everyone knows. Were not dumb. Were not in some kind of war torn country that needs this kinds of things. Please start to mature.

Jail without trial? For people who barely caused harm? Are we that immature that we want to start fights everytime we see something that we perceive to be an insult? Just can't wait to get into the ring?

Stop acting in your own personal interests................. and start doing something you were elected to do. Even one of your own ministers resigned because he's protesting about it.
http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2008/9/15/nation/20080915142546&sec=nation

Maybe that's why I'm going back to Malaysia. To do something about all this crap. To make a stand for my country. To make the change. Not about money. Not about the good life. But about making a change. For the better.

I believe in Malaysia. The winds of change are coming. This is the turning point. Let us stand and be counted and be at the thick of it. = )

Well Done BN

2008-09-09T08:20:00.000-07:00

Well, Malaysian political bloggers must be having a field day.

My gosh. Mr Ahmad Ismail, well done.

If you don't already know, this guy has been responsible for the soap opera happenings within Barisan Nasional.

Here's how it all started. In a brief summary.

Mr Ahmad Ismail: Comments on the Chinese being "squatters" in our country during a Permatang Pauh ceramah. Well they lost the sit anyway. Congrats DSAI.

Well that didn't sit so well with Gerakan and MCA leaders. Considering well, they consist of Chinese people. So they complained, lodged police reports and make a big fuss out of it.

Then he was no where to be found for some time.

Then Najib says sorry for him. And so does our dear Prime Minister hear him out.

Later on he came back and said: Hell no. I'm not apologising. Instead you should apologise to me !! How dare you make problems like that. Its just a cover for your own shortcomings in the 2008 elections.

Of course Gerakan and MCA even more not happy la..........

And he really did it when he said that Gerakan can get out of Barisan. We don't need you. You all misquoted me. The reporter was talking rubbish. The ceramah was meant for Malays only. And they tore Dr. Koh Tsu Koon's picture. Yep, it was in a nice photo frame too. Gerakan's president's picture got torn. In front of everyone.

http://www.jeffooi.com/ - To see pictures.

And then MCA and Gerakan severe ties with Penang UMNO as they all backed this guy up.

Wonder what Lim Guan Eng is thinking.......

Anyways everyone is waiting impatiently just to see what happens to this Ahmad guy. Hey its Malaysian politics. How entertaining much more entertaining can it get?

The ball is in Gerakan's court now.
So ............... really, they tear up your leader's portrait.Asked you to get out of Barisan. Treat you like crap. Maybe you should really leave. But you won't right? Too much to lose if you leave BN. I mean are you really doing it for the people or for yourself? Greedy politicians. They clearly won't leave.

But some will. Penang Barisan Youth Chief Huan Cheng Guan has quit. At least someone has the sense to. BN, you better buck up............

Race-based politics is a thing of the past. We are bangsa Malaysia.

To be A Player

2008-09-07T06:06:00.000-07:00

Everyone is busy. Times are hard.
We struggle with commitments. In between all the craziness, and thunderstorms and whirlwinds, we still find grace in moments like this.

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

Anyway, on a lighter note......... being kinda of a gaming freak........there are things to look forward to............. for 2009 and beyond. With a new awesome computer which i will purchase......

As we look behind curtain number 1........

DAWN OF WAR 2

Welcome back the Space Marines, Orks, Eldar and Necrons as they battle it out in a futuristic world of Warhammer 40,000
And guess what? Tyranids will be introduced this time round..............
With Awesome New Graphics..................

Next up: Diablo 3

Yep the game you've wasted countless hours of your life with hacking your way through dungeons, punishing your mouse with a 10 click per second rate.........

This time with improved graphics, a new random dungeon generator, more monsters, more skills, bigger lands to explore, probably an awesome storyline...........

And the barbarian will be back !!!

3. Fallout 3

Futuristic, new, fresh. Everybody has been waiting for years for the third installment.

Welcome to a post-nuclear war world............ can you survive

Spore............... think the SIMs was awesome? Think again............ with spore you really start from scratch, that is a single cell to evolve to an organism to more organism to create a small village which will move to a town to a city to a planet and then to an intergalactic empire.

And yea its cute stuff.........too

Yea what the poster said

Welcome them back. The protoss, terran and everyone's favourite and hated Zergs to battle it out. You probably have seen the previews. Yes. They were awesome. Soon to hit the shelves.

And Blizzard has done it again........

The game that has killed people in some countries due to a addiction..........

The game that has a real world economy and inflation going on in it.............
Where people mine and sell gold as a real life job.................

Is back to take over the lives of the unsuspecting..............
10 million players worldwide.......... and counting

Yep back with a new team of developers now.............

and it looks awesome

Forget about your linear shooters.............its all about making a choice now............

And lastly, everyone's favourite RTS
the one which brought you crazy over the edge units and a world of commies and red neck american generals.............

This time a new faction is introduced, from the lands where they say "Arigato", the Empire of the Rising Sun.............

Yep welcome back the time machines, teleporation devices and mind controlling freaks....... and the FMV sequences with Jenny McCarthy as Tanya..................

Red Alert 3 !!!

Woo hoo.

Damn you people.........for keeping me single..........

Well, people have their sitcoms, their gossip girls and entourage............

I have my games.

The awesome thing about games is that they are like movies, they tell a story, but you have total control of what is going on. Games are shifting more towards the non-linear approach where choices really affect the outline of the game. And it gives us the opportunity to explore them, since there is always a load button. Or we could just start over. I am the main character. I tell the story how I want it to be told. I live this awesome character's life. Because mine is dull, boring, repetitive, uneventful and possibly just stupid. How you wish you had the adventures of this character you are using............exploring different worlds, meeting different humanoids, and having fun killing along the way, but knowing that no one really got hurt................

Wish life were like that huh ?

A day in Malaysia - Tuesday Sept 2

2008-09-02T07:29:00.000-07:00

As I glance through some recent news, these are some of the headlines I got.........

Datuk Ahmad Ismail comments on Chinese during his ceramah.
Ahmad had allegedly called the Chinese pendatang (immigrants) and was also reported to have said that “as the Chinese were only immigrants it was impossible to achieve equal rights amongst races” during a ceramah in Permatang Pauh on Aug 25.

Well done. Using racial remarks for political purposes once again. Shakes head at UMNO.

At least he got shot at by MCA, Gerakan and other political parties within.

How in the world are we going to achieve a peaceful prosperous nation of "Malaysians" if you keep stirring up shit like this.

65 Malaysians among 100 hostages in Somalia

ARMED with automatic weapons and rocket-propelled grenades, dangerous Somalian pirates are holding over 100 seamen hostage including 65 Malaysians and eight vessels.

65 people, all with families worried sick about them.

Robbers’ 7-hour siege

Eight masked parang-wielding robbers spent seven hours robbing a workshop of more than RM400,000 including a trailer and lorry tyres.

Once again, showing you that working hard sometimes doesn't justify things. We live in a crappy world.

Woman shot in back after meal

PETALING JAYA: A woman was shot in her back by an unknown assailant as she was about to get into her car after dinner.

During the 7.30pm incident, the 45-year-old woman, who is a housewife, had just finished having her dinner alone at a fast food restaurant in Bandar Sri Damansara.

OMGosh........... she's a housewife for goodness sakes..............45 year old woman.............

Man fleeing group dies in fall

KUALA LUMPUR: A man fleeing a group of attackers failed to cling on to a metal bar of a window and fell to his death from the eighth floor of an apartment block in Pandan Jaya here on Sunday night.

You could imagine how scared he was to do that.

Two cops under probe for sex crimes

JOHOR BARU: Two policemen have been arrested in separate sex-related offences in Johor.

In the first case, a police station chief allegedly molested a female personnel under his charge.

The second case involved a 41-year-old policeman who allegedly raped his 14-year-old stepdaughter. The student recently gave birth to a baby girl.

M-cyclist and pillion rider die after ramming lorry

SHAH ALAM: Two youths who did not use the motorcycle lane along the Federal Highway were killed when their machine rammed into the back of a lorry.

Teen dies after falling into drain

KOTA KINABALU: A mentally challenged teenager died after falling into a drain in Taman Jaya Diri here.

Businessman stabbed near pub dies

JOHOR BARU: A 32-year-old businessman died after he was attacked with sharp objects by four men in front of a pub in Johor Jaya here.

Lai Kok Fong, who was stabbed in the abdomen, died at 4pm on Sunday, about 15 hours after the incident.

Money Politics I: Umno man charged with graft

A 47-year-old businessman who is also the Umno deputy division chief in Seremban has been charged with graft at the sessions court here, earning him the dubious reputation for being the first party member to be incriminated for engaging in money politics.

Cops shoot dead four Mamak Gang members

SHAH ALAM: Police shot dead four men believed to be members of the notorious Mamak Gang after the robbers opened fire at them near a petrol station along the Federal Highway here.

Interesting huh?

You what's a bitch. It all happened in one day. This is one day's news in Malaysia. Or maybe over the course of 2 days.

Lots of dead people.

And so Bono sings, "What's going on?"

I don't know. I really don't know. How did we come to this?

Changes have to be made. Big changes.

Prayers to go out to you poor folk who are caught as hostages in Somalia. All 100 of you guys. Hold on. Just hold on. Things are being done to get out of there. My gosh. I can barely imagine the fear and pain.

Life's like that right. All of a sudden, things you've worked so hard for can just disappear. A man would sell all his fortunes for a glass of water when he is dying of thirst in the desert. Maybe what we all need is a near death experience. To understand that life should not be taken for granted or so lightly. When you're trapped down there, you're not thinking so much of your money, your house..........but instead your love ones, family, friends.

But when you're desperate, for food, for money, you'll do crazy things. Like kidnap a whole crew of people. Somehow, other's peoples problems mean nothing to you. Its a dog eat dog world. Survival of the fittest. Its either me or them.......... and it sure as hell won't be me suffering.

Something needs to be done...............
for this world full of suffering.............

ANd we Say MerDeKa

2008-08-31T07:16:00.000-07:00

Its Merdeka day today.

1.Strangely, it feels like any other day. Maybe its because I'm in a foreign land, the mood is lost with all the other things.

2.Getting my daily dosage of Scrubs, the evil Dr Bob Kelso said some words of wisdom: "Nothing in this world that's worth having comes easy. "

3.Are we afraid to try because this time, there is nothing else to blame besides ourselves. The fear of being inadequate. We would rather fail not trying then try and fail knowing you're just not good enough.

4.I spoke to my good friend John Sng awhile ago. It seems that he is going to Manipal after all to start his medicine course again. After 8 months of deciding and revolving around his choices, to a point where he filed a letter to pull out, he finally decided. I hope you are at peace with your decision dear Sng. Godspeed. I'll see you when I see you. And you know, we'll hit it off like we just met yesterday.

5. Sometimes I do wish I was him. Strangely enough. To have that freedom and time. But we always take the good without looking at the bad at many times.

6. As the semester slowly draws to a close, I realize that my life as a student is slowly fading away. I'm I ready to work? To slave away 8 hours a day just to earn money, build a career and gain experience? Maybe, maybe not.

7. I'm not the biggest fan of life. Somehow I feel like the system has screwed me over. And I became part of it. A long time ago, I told myself that I would not conform to it. That I will be beyond this stupid system that society believes we should be in. That I only had one shot at life. And I was going to go for it. But I'll be damn, I'm here now.

8. But as an essential part of your life starts drawing to a close, the fading lights of student life and the shadows of memories past flicker through your head constantly, like a ray of light going through a fan. Can't be ignorant anymore. Is this your life? Is this who you want to be?

9. I need to break away. Break away from the conventional. From the safety nets. From the obvious. From the whispers. There is no standard. "Life is not a boring pop song for people to sing along to it."

10. Never ever chase money. Never. It will never satisfy, but it gives temporary happiness. Take it in large constant doses and you'll be numb to the better things in life. Nor aim to be the face of TIME magazine's man of the year. But be there because you were aiming for something better. Life is random. You could just lose it all tomorrow.

11.I think I need to repair my life. One thing at a time. I've got a bit of time. Left.

12. The daily grind slowly kills you. Eats your soul. Makes you mechanic. Where you break away with sitcoms, computer games,music, smoking and dancing like its the last 5 minutes of the night. Just to keep us sane. Just to pretend that everything's alright and push on to the next morning. Just to live a fantasy that you always wanted to for just a few minutes. Just to be comforted that there are others feeling like you do.

13. If you can read this you are luckier than many people on this Earth. But life is relative right. And terribly unfair. How do you justify it? Everyone has different experiences. Everyone has different perspectives. We can't really compare. But I do know we all start the same. And we'll end the same. In time. Everything else is irrelevant?

14. But we still need to constantly reassure ourselves. That we are better than others. That at least were not as bad as that other person. That were cooler, smarter, richer, faster, more talented. Special. And we have better friends. Like taking pictures with everyone to tell the world you are popular. To fuel our insecurities. To try to be different just for the sake of being different. To laugh so loudly at jokes we barely think is funny. But isn't all irrelevant?

15. Leave it up to God. Try. Pray. And leave it up to Him. Take no glory. Its not about the task. Its not about a successful service. Its not about the 10 hours you worked non-stop to get the church ready for e-night. Its not about displaying your awesome creativity in your dance moves or your guitar leads. Its not about being inadequate. Just your relationship with Him. Your willingness to give up selfish ambition. To accept zero credit for hard work done. Forgiveness. Love. Patience.

Do you fear the dark because you cannot see what is around you or because you blend so well into it?

Every Beginning Comes From Some Other Beginning's End

2008-08-23T07:53:00.000-07:00

Omgosh

Its starting to hit me.

Its my last semester here in Adelaide.

Ever.

Life.

We always take things for granted till they're gone.

Savor the moments. Take every breath like it was your first. Breathe out like its your last. Go crazy.

I'm always amazed, puzzled, astounded, intrigued by life itself.

During the daily grind, everything seems so normal, blend, or boring, but when you look back at things, you tend to cluster everything together and they become good memories.

Brave it. Live life at its fullest.
Stop wasting time to think about what others think.
But be proud to be all you can be. Do what you like. Do it well.
Stop trying to impress others. Stop being a poser. Stop pretending to be someone you're not. Stop bragging. Stop looking down at people.
Live your faith. Have priorities. Challenge the comfort zone.
Be invigorated by emotion. Be enlightened by intellectuality.

I have 4 months left in Adelaide.
And its counting down.

Of Chuck Norris and friends

2008-08-12T06:03:00.000-07:00

Way back in the day

These guys were pretty awesome

Here are some Chuck Norris Facts plucked out from http://www.chucknorrisfacts.com/
These are my favourite

Chuck Norris can win a game of Connect Four in only three moves.

Chuck Norris can kill two stones with one bird.

Chuck Norris can sneeze with his eyes open.

When Chuck Norris is doing push-ups, he's pushing the Earth down.

Chuck Norris is so fast he can run around the world and punch himself in the back of the head.

Chuck Norris can slam a revolving door.

There is no theory of evolution, just a list of creatures Chuck Norris allows to live.

If you spell Chuck Norris in Scrabble, you win. Forever.

Chuck Norris once shot down a German fighter plane with his finger, by yelling, "Bang!"

When Chuck Norris goes to donate blood, he declines the syringe, and instead requests a hand gun and a bucket.

Chuck Norris’ house has no doors, only walls that he walks through.

If tapped, a Chuck Norris roundhouse kick could power the country of Australia for 44 minutes.

Chuck Norris ordered a Big Mac at Burger King, and got one.

It takes Chuck Norris 20 minutes to watch 60 Minutes.

Chuck Norris once ate an entire bottle of sleeping pills. They made him blink.

Chuck Norris played Russian Roulette with a fully loaded gun and won.

Some people wear Superman pajamas. Superman wears Chuck Norris pajamas.

Chuck Norris can set ants on fire with a magnifying glass. At night.

In a fight between Batman and Darth Vader, the winner would be Chuck Norris.

Chuck Norris once round-house kicked a salesman. Over the phone.

The Classic Batman

His punches are so hard the sounds are expressed by words in capital letters.

MacGuyver

He once made a plane out tree branches and flew it away. Gotta love the theme song.

The A Team

MR T

I PITY THE FOOL

I just love how they exaggerated stuff back in the old days...............

And its August...........

2008-08-04T08:03:00.000-07:00

A busy week once again.
I am feeling old. The age is catching up to me. Adulthood.
Sometimes I just wonder why I do the things I do. Why did I put my hands up for all those things? Why do I do work for others instead of myself? Why do I do all those things without getting paid a single cent? Have I lost passion? Because it is one of the worse things to lose especially at this critical moment.

To serve the community? A place which I am so tired of. To gain a name and place? I think I'm past that phase. Truth is sometimes I feel like I can't just wait to go back. Can't wait to start a new phase in my life. I still have about 3 quarters left of my life left to live. So many more unique experiences to feel, understand, perceive and appreciate. The world is out there. But where I'm I really suppose to go?

I've envisioned myself to be many different things. They changed from time to time, from different periods of my life. They've ranged from being a rock star, a conqueror, an entrepreneur, a jedi that travels with a flying skateboard, a humanitarian, a computer game creator, a macho playboy, an talented actor and yada yada yada. I guess I can't really be any of those anytime soon eh. Life is just weird complicated, predictable yet unexpected.

On a lighter note it was kinda of a good day. = )
Thanks for saying yes.
So now what? Well........kinda have to work my way from there. Hope that I impress. At least a little. I promise I'll try.
Goodnightz.

Support The Localz

2008-07-31T18:40:00.001-07:00

Patrick Sim supports Made in Malaysia Music.

You know what, I think we have a preconception that made in Malaysia products are of a lower quality compared to the rest of the world. But seriously, our Malaysian bands are not that bad.

Recently, I managed to obtain the EP of a rising band called Scene at the Movies. They're a bunch of awesome Malaysian lads from Melbourne that write and record their own music. Awesome stuff man. I would highly recommend them. Just listening to them just made my day, partly because they're awesome and partly because they're Malaysian. Yea I guess I have this fondness for Malaysian bands that try hard to make it in our country, with all the piracy and the hard work it takes to get recognised locally and overseas. But keep up the good work.

Just like to thank awesome bands like Pop Shuvit, One Buck Short, Frequency Cannon, Jason Lo, Tragicomedy and all those rockers that work hard to produce good Malaysian music.

Yea I still think Malaysia rocks. I'm in Australia now, but I still couln't really be bothered with Australian News. I'm always looking back to see whats happening in my home country.

Negative complains and running away won't bring you no where.
Yea low pay. Corrupt politicians. High crime rate. Dirty cities.Crazy drivers. But I believe if we all work together as the rakyat-la. We can solve it. I believe there is hope.

Motto of the day: BE PART OF THE SOLUTION.

It's Been Awhile

2008-07-26T06:43:00.000-07:00

Its been awhile since I last blogged.

Blame it on the holidays.

Which were not exactly good.

Bad news is I had to do supps. For my elective. Bummer. Stupid.

You know the feeling you get when you see your results on the screen. And you look at it again. And again. And again. Just to make sure you're seeing it right.

Then you wake up the next day and check it again. Just to make sure it was not just a bad dream. I you just feel stoned for the next few days. Wondering why all this happens. Going to a period where you just don't accept what has happen. Where you are in denial. Where everything comes crashing down. Where all your plans and hopes are screwed. Your holidays are gone. The little time where you had some hope is down the drain. And there's nothing you can do. And you just keep looking back and think about how things could have been different. And you blame everything and everyone in mind, especially yourself.

Hey Sng, I kinda know how you feel. Not to that extend of yours. But hey, sorry bout it. Must be so shit. Its awesome how you carry on with the hope of renewal. Best of luck in India. I'll be there when you come home.

But life has to go on.

Good news is that I got through the assessment and interview stages for PricewaterHouse Coopers. Will be an employee there next year. Things started to turn up from then onwards. Life is a bummer.

That's all about me. Back to normal life again. Back to Adelaide again. Where I have time to blog. Or bother to.

I should write a song.

I am getting tired. Old. But still so young.

This is an awesome song by Dashboard Confessional. Love the lyrics and melody.

End of an Anchor

I was away for a while
But I'm hoping someday you'll forgive me
Though I don't deserve it
I'll cherish it well if you give me one of your new starts

Just one more last chance
I swear that I'll earn it
If you front me for now
I'm good for it I swear
I'm better now I swear

In earlier days, they'd persecute people
They'd carry them off, and hobble their legs
For lesser offenses, than how I have harmed you
And still you allow me to walk free of pain

Though I punish myself
I will never settle
The debts I've incurred for scorning the face
Of absolute beauty, and measureless grace
And though I once mocked you
I'm dying to pay for it now
I'm dying to pay for it now

So hand me the rocks to help weigh me down
And tether my legs with a cord tightly bound
To the end of an anchor thrown into the sound
And test me to see if I will rise against the worst that it can get

I wasn't well for a while
I savored the things that I knew were sure to destroy me
And that seemed to hold me
That seemed to carry me where I couldn't go
On the strength of my own
Well, I should've known
That gets me nowhere
I've learned that now I swear

In earlier days, they'd persecute people
They'd carry them off, and hobble their legs
For lesser offenses, than how I have harmed you
And still you allow me to walk free of pain

Though I punish myself
I will never settle
The debts I've incurred for scorning the face
Of absolute beauty, and measureless grace
And though I once mocked you
I'm dying to pay for it now
I'm dying to pay for it now, now, now

So hand me the rocks to help weigh me down
And tether my legs with a cord tightly bound
To then end of an anchor thrown into the sound
And test me to see if I will rise against the worst that it can get

Well, I wasn't sure that I could
Well, I wasn't sure that I could
Well, I wasn't sure that I could
But, I can

There and Back Again

2008-07-07T11:00:00.000-07:00

Back home again.

Here in my home. Once again.

The grass is always greener on the other side. But what if you're standing on the fence?
Familiar line?

To fight a war you must be prepared to die.

Never say things are not going to get any worse, because it will.

Choices Part 2

2008-06-29T08:01:00.000-07:00

The Butterfly Effect

Yes the butterfly effect.

Ever wonder how something small change in something can cause a much larger change in the future?

Like the flapping of the wings of a butterfly can cause a tornado in the near future?

IF you've watched the movie, or that cool episode of scrubs, then you'll kinda get what I'm trying to say.

In the movie, Ashton Kutcher's character was trying to change his future by amending certain events in the past that he thought would be a very significant factor in the turn of events in the future. Somehow, everytime he used his "ability" to go back, he kinda screwed things up still.

In Scrubs, the not so significant event of where a butterfly landed somehow caused a tremendous change throughout the whole day in the hospital.

Its amazing how the choices we make would effect so much of the future or so little of it. Take for instance, a soccer game. The striker decides to kick the ball left. The keeper manages to block it. The defender manages to get to the loose ball and clear it. And it goes to the other side of the pitch and its picked up by the opponent and the game goes on.

If the striker had decided to kick the ball to the right, he would have scored. Then they would have to restart the game with a middle ball. One event like that has changed the course of the game so much. Both games are two very different games at this point due to the turn of events. While they are waiting for the referee to blow the whistle, the other players in the other reality are kicking the ball around.

In real life, it get so much more complicated then that. A single choice leads out to a few more branches of choices. And the next one leads to even more branches, and so on leading it to an almost infinite number of other possibilities branching out from the first choice. Seen the part in the Matrix where Neo meets the Architect?

Haha. I get epiphanies from movies.

With all these complications we tend to wonder what things would have been like if we had made a different choice. But the thing is, we will never know. Never ever know. We are who we are today because of the choices that we made, whether actively, or willingly, from yesterday. Would a small change really make a big difference in what the outcome would be? In Scrubs, even with two very different turns of events, the same outcome still happened.

So what now? When all these things coincide and happen together in this world, when things just happen, is it due to fate? The stars aligned with each other? Some supernatural force acting? Karma perhaps?

We have almost no control over the events that happen around us. Of course, with science and the nature of probability, we can choose to steer our lives within the course we want to go to. But not everytime its smooth sails, even with all the careful planning, because there is still a probability of things screwing up even though its low, but hey, eventually its going to happen.

If "Someone" out there could actually control these outside factors, other than the choices that we make, that would be amazing right? Imagine the complications of how all the different choices of all the people all around the world affect each other, considering also other factors that affect it such the conditions of the earth such as the weather, the creatures, the physical condition of things and etc etc.

Again with the timing, we always tend to look at things in the short term. But a small event eventually leads up to a bigger chain of events. You wonder why sometimes you can be so lucky. Crap I'm stuck in deep woods now and I need to get back to the city. And behold, there is a taxi there. You get in, laugh to yourself and go home.

But what you didn't know was the taxi driver was actually just done sending this guy who was doing some sort of research with nature in the forest. This guy who was in the forest wanted to study medicine but had decided to dedicate his life to saving the environment when he was inspired to do so when he saw what the effects of global warming could do when he was in a school trip to the science center during his high school years. At that time, he couldn't afford to go so his kind uncle had paid for it for him. His kind uncle gave favor to the forest guy because he had no children of his own. His wife was barren.He met his wife when he crashed into her when riding his bike in the night market.

Big story huh. That quarter you found on the road when you needed to make a phone call had an awesome story to it. Just ask it. How it got there. Loads of people had to be involved.

A death of someone might have been seen to be a tragedy at that time. But His death could inspire nations and nations of people to step up to the cause He was fighting for. The world today has changed so much just because of that one event.

How did you get here today?

Wow...........

Choices Part 1

2008-06-26T19:31:00.000-07:00

I haven't been faithfully blogging these past weeks. With exams and assignments and stuff.
Its amazing how these things can just take over your life. Somehow they become priority number one. Not that they are exactly some sort of long-term investment, but because we are required to just work hard for this somewhat short period which we hope to get over as soon as possible. Perhaps the knowledge that it will be over soon is enough justification to motivate ourselves to work as hard as possible during this time and neglect all other things that we place importance on when exams were not so close.

The thing is it never ends. Preparation for the future. There will always be another exam, another presentation, another assignment. When we work its the same thing. A due date.

Ah life.

Its amazing how we ended up where were. I was reading Brian Geh's post about how we actually make choices randomly. Actually he was quoting someone anonymous. Hope its not copyrighted. Im stealing it anyway.

As with most of my dilemmas in choosing one of two paths, I’ve devised the perfect solution: a coin toss.

Why? Because it lets me know that many of my decisions are simply random, and that the person looking at me in the mirror today is simply a collection of random choices everytime I reach another fork in the road, another dilemma. It’s just that we try to rationalise it, furnish it with reasons, and conveniently forget the reasons that made the other choice so appealing to us. And that’s how we continue living with ourselves.

Perhaps it’s inherent in the human condition that we feel the need to be able to justify ourselves, not to everyone else, but even to our ownselves. But it is a belief, that most decisions taken in dilemmas are almost always irrational, that is, contrary to the rational path we’d like to think we’re taking, this irrational behaviour is almost consistent with being random.

- Anonymous

Interesting. It does make sense. Irrational behavior is almost consistent with being random. How I got here today is because of random choices. Which is true in a sense. At many a times, we make choices without much thought, especially choices that don't weigh much, or should I say choices we think have little consequences on our lives. Choices we make using emotion instead of rationalism. Spontaneous choices. Choices that would position you in a place where you are at a disadvantage. Random.

What motivates us to choose a choice? What is it we want in life?

Should I work on my assignment now or go watch a movie?

At many times, long term future benefits seem very vague and cloudy to us when making choices. Considering your assignment would be due 3 weeks later, many of us would opt to go watch a movie, hang out with your friends, do something "fun". Short term goals however are much more likely to be prioritized first when making choices. But if you were to rationalize it well, if I were to work on my assignment and do well for this subject, eg get a High-Distinction, I would be able to get better job opportunities, which would give me a better career in the future. Right. But its vague right. That future. So far away. So hard to tell. Is my effort really going to pay off? Yes there is a correlation between getting high marks and getting a better job, but is it really worth the effort and time spend? There has to be a plausible reward for the effort right? Its something a little hard to calculate. And harder to choose. Especially when doing it is a pain in the butt.

Yada. So we opt to go to the movies instead. Short term happiness. Screw the assignment. I got time. Interesting how we always like that time safety cushion. For some us its irrelevant. 3 weeks. 1 month. 6 months. Were still going to do it on the last week. Or for me the last night.

So we go to the movies and regret it later.

Again rationalization and what we want in life.
When asked about what you remember most about Uni life, most often then not, we will not say, "That awesome time studying for exams." Most of us would probably talk about the good times you had with your friends, organizing events, getting drunk, going on road trips, etc etc.
If our priority was to create great memories for ourselves, then we would choose to go to the movies, have fun. So what do we really want?

We do what we hate so we can do what we like.

Hahaha, story of half the people on Earth's life.
We can justify we like it. But it isn't the thing we want to do most.
Its okay. Interesting sometimes.
I kinda like it. There are cute girls around.
It pays well.
But that's how we justify it right? The benefits and downsides. The strengths and the weaknesses. We pick the benefits. Not the thing.

I like being a finance manager because it pays well, we get to meet people, its a good stepping stone for my career, many employee benefits, other people will think highly of me, I get to boast to my friends, etc etc
But I hate managing finance. But but but............the justification is there. Right. Look at the benefits. I mean its a giant pile. You can't not look at it. Besides I still get to do things I like during my free time. Right right?

For many other people, its not even a choice like that.
Its more like I need a job, I need money. I have kids.
Many don't have the luxury to even choose. They take whatever comes along.
No resources to expand choices.

Life is interesting huh.
Or should I say random.

I will get to Part 2.

Dot dot dot

2008-06-22T02:39:00.000-07:00

Well my first
exam is on this coming Tuesday, 24th, morning.
Accounting.
Dang.
Then on 2nd and 3rd.
Wish me luck.

Good times. Hahaha. Man, I miss those years. Me= -S+RiD3R-
I suck at DoTA now........

Ok gtg studyyyyy.............

Ma BS Group

2008-06-17T08:07:00.000-07:00

Hey.

I remember Jezamine first asking me, "Eh pat. Wanna be a BS leader?"

I was like, "Yea sure." Without thinking much.

But that was still cool.

First day. Found out Uncle Vincent was in my group. Hahaha. Awesome. And I got to meet everyone for the first time. It was pretty intimidating for me. But as we progressed along, things started to get more comfortable and I got to know them a little better.

Then we had a good ice skating outing. Some people learned to skate for the first time. = )

And then the final presentation.
Alright. We'll be doing a sketch.

And this was it.

Timothy is the main character. He will be a new Christian in OCF. So he will be learning much.

Jolene will be the Angel and Ming Wei will be the Devil.

The idea of this sketch is that we will have choices in life. Should we use heavenly or earthly wisdom when we deal with them?

I will be the narrator.

Scene 1: Timothy will be walking to OCF. On the way he meets Daniel. ( Daniel will be a salesman that is selling lottery tickets)

So Daniel will be trying his best to sell lottery tickets. Timothy will be considering.

Somewhere there will be a pause where Daniel steps out a bit and I will say Timothy has to make a choice.

Choice: Should I buy lottery tickets or not?
Lesson: How should we be good stewards of our money.

Now here is the part where there will be a 3 way conversation. Where Jolene will be trying to convince Timothy not to buy while Ming Wei will be trying to convince Tim to buy and Tim will be thinking about the choices la.

In the end Tim will buy and move on to the next scene.

Scene 2: Tim will be in OCF. Then he will meet Fish ( the rich, famous girl ) and Doreen the normal girl. They are newcomers to OCF. We will be talking and then Tim will have to make another choice. Now Tim is a calculative guy.

So Fish you have to be boastful, like ur some famous gurl. Doreen will be more down to earth. Humble.

Choice: Should I talk to Fish or Doreen or both.
Lesson: Do we show favoritism?

Now at this part, the devil will be trying to convince Tim to talk to Fish and Fish only. The angel will be trying to convince Tim to make both feel welcome.

Tim will then only talk to Fish and ignore Doreen.

Scene 3: Tim will be walking back from OCF when he meets this poor girl. She will be Tian Tian. Tian Tian will be sitting on the ground begging for food and also saying she's very cold. Tim will talk to her for a while. Then the choice.

Choice: Should I help her?
Lesson: God told us to help those in need. True religion.

Now the angel and devil will be talking again. Devil will be saying think for urself, dun waste time. Angel will try to say be good. etc etc

Tim will be convinced by the angel reluctantly this time but realizes he has no money because he bought lottery. Then very very reluctantly he gives her his jacket for the cold.

Scene 4: Tim will be at a prayer meet where he meets Uncle Vincent. Tim will start praying.

Choice: What should I pray for?
Lesson: We should not pray with wrong motives.

Devil and angel at work again. Angel will tell him to pray for God's will to be fulfilled. Pray for others. Devil will try to trick Tim to pray for the following list. (himself)

He would be praying for winning the lottery, getting the cute new gurl at OCF and also hoping that his jacket is taken care off and he will get a new good one for helping the poor girl (like karma).

Uncle Vincent will then talk to Tim about prayer and give the lessons learned from his 3 earlier scenes. Haha. Go Uncle Vincent.

And Tim will say oh..... thanks for teaching me Uncle Vincent.

And the end.

I thought you guys did an awesome job with the acting and presentation considering it was last minute. Sorry guys. Sent the sketch out a night before.

And now the semester has ended. We had a good journey through the book of James, where we learned a lot. How fast time has passed. I had fun. = )

Firstly I would like to thank ma fellow BS leaders: Jezamine, Leticia, Daniel, and the wise Uncle Boon Pin. Was always encouraged by you guys and you guys have taught me loads. Every weds at 5.30 at Boon Pin's house was always productive, full of fellowship, learning and laughter. And thanks for the B-day surprise too. I was having a bad day and you guys just totally turned it around. Coolz.

And also thanks to Mr. President Wei Jin, who always tried to make the time for us. We appreciate you man !! And also Erwin for the treats !!! Sorry for messing up your house sometimes.

And of course. ma BS group!!!

Really had a good time with you guys. You guys were awesome !!! Thanks for making my experience all the more better.

Doreen: Thanks for the photos. Thanks for giving me the support when I needed it. You have truly grown since the start of the first time you came to OCF. Continue rocking on.

James: We've been doing a book named after you so thanks for just being James. I admire your passion and your endurance. Doing E-Camp and then now Missions. Keep it up and don't burn out.

Uncle Vincent: Whenever I don't know something, I just turn to you. You are like the safety net that makes me feel secure every time. Your words of wisdom are truly appreciated.

Fish: Sorry for always pronouncing your name wrongly. = P . I see you are a very active girl. A hard catch around here. Thanks for showing us Singapore also can. Hahaha.........

Cheryl: Heyz. Didn't really get to know you much. You seem pretty busy. Hope to catch you next semester.

Timothy: Haha, what would our group be without Tim. Thanks for leading the group during one of the sessions. I did you did well. The cool guy with the smallest bible. I should get one too. I see you like playing the guitar. Continue rocking on.

Mabel: Heyz, thanks for you encouragement throughout the semester. Really appreciate it. Continue growing and craving for more.

Daniel: The tallest guy in OCF. Yet everytime he speaks, words of wisdom come out. I'm amazed at your spiritual maturity. Maybe should consider *hint *hint leading? Hahaha. But yea I'm always encouraged to see you.

Yvonne: You're a little quiet but I can see that you do think about what we are saying. Didn't see you much, and yea you said you were very busy. Hope to see you next sem. !!

Tian Tian: We were so sad that you couldn't make it for a few weeks due to your knee injury. So unfortunate. But I'm sure Dan has been taking good care of you. Thanks so much for your contributions also in the group. Always good to see you around.

Laura: Thanks so much for leading that time. I hope you are encouraged by that experience. I can see you are knowledgeable and you have a passion. Make the best out of your time in Adelaide ya!

Zhen Ann: Hehe. Sorry for disturbing you to answer at times. But you give good answers. For choosing Paradise over OCF sometimes, I forgive you. Hahaha. J/k. Its cool. I guess you should go where ever you feel you are called to. = ) Thanks for your contributions too.

Jolene: Hhehehe. My convy rep. You have been doing a good job. Really. I'm very impressed for someone that just came here this year. Thanks for leading BS too. And also all the encouragement and support. You guys rock. Sorry I'm a bit the naughty sometimes. Actually all the time. Hahaha......

Melanie: So sad you had to go off to some rural place halfway through. I hope you are having fun there. You have really supported me well in the group when you were here. Thanks so much. I'm always encouraged by you. Really missed you in the group. Sorry you had to experience a bad first time of ice skating......

Ming Wei: Hehe. Purposely left you for last. Mr Ming Wei. Still remember the time I called you out during our easter camp sharing. And all those times you said those one liners that made the whole group laugh. And all your challenging questions. Haha continue rocking on and playing DoTA. Plus, you acted too well on Friday. I think you need counseling.

Hope I didn't miss anyone out.

Yea thanks everyone. I know at times I didn't do a good job. BUt I have learned much. Hopefully I'll do better next time.

See ya around. = )

Study Week

2008-06-14T07:32:00.000-07:00

Its the study vacation.

I got an interview with PriceWaterhouseCoopers Mas. Coolz. In July.

Hope I get through it successfully.

I can see some of the doors opening now.

Still waiting and watching.

I will feel so weird to leave Adelaide.

After 3 years. All the friends. All the experiences. I will miss them so much.

Enter into the corporate world. Where responsibilities are not a suggestion. Where datelines become deadlines. Where your life revolves around your work. Wake up early come back late. Sleep. And the cycle continues.Where your colleagues are your competitors. Where people are fake and false and they do everything for a certain reason.Where your career and future really start to kick in. Where real adulthood comes. Where you have to fend for yourself and not rely on your parents anymore.

Are you ready?
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For Convention 2008 ?
haha bet you didnt see that coming.
so lame so lame......................

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Top 10 ways to procrastinate studying. ( NOt in any particular order)

1) Eat longer than usual, slowly seep your coffee, read some newspapers. Chat to a friend.
2) Convince yourself that you are going to take a 5 minute nap to increase concentration later on and end up sleeping for 2 hours.
3) Surf the internet looking for past year exam answers and end up at Facebook.
4) Play computer games to relax but end up wasting loads of time because you just forgot to stop.
5) Go to all the way to Uni to study but realize you forgot to bring something minor but then convince yourself that thing is major and walk all the way back to study at home.
6) Visit your friend to say hi but end up staying and chatting for a long long time.
7) Doodle. Draw. Suddenly actually care about the cleanliness of your room and start packing it, suddenly care about bathing very thoroughly and more often than normal, suddenly decide to stock up on things that you already stock up on.
8) Play the guitar. And continue playing it. Then stop. Listen to some music while studying. When it hits a song you like, which happens frequently, take the guitar up and start playing again.
9) Convince yourself now that your playing, you will study much harder 2morrow. Then you say that to yourself again the next day.
10) Type a blog post about 10 ways to procrastinate studying.

A Tale of Two Cities

2008-06-11T08:14:00.000-07:00

A choice.
A life changing one.

KL , I love the food.
Hate the pay.

Adelaide, love the worker's rights.
Bored at night.

KL, love the night life.
Hate the value of currency.

Adelaide, love the exchange rate.
50 kilometers per hour in the city.

KL, love the driving.
Hate the corruption. What is my tax money being used for.

Adelaide, love the government.
Miss the parents.

KL, love the parents.
Hate the accepted racism.

Adelaide, love the opportunity.
But is a small city. Bored.
This will never end.
Go to Melbourne. Sydney. Start new. Spend more money. Don't have that much money.

Study more? I guess it would be a waste of money.

I should make my own country right.

Australia, love God.
Malaysia, love God.
At least they have something in common.

Choices.

Money is tempting. Very tempting. Too tempting. Everything is about money right? No money, no happy.
Ai. We shall watch the doors. Watch them for openings.

Short Takes

2008-06-08T06:54:00.000-07:00

Take 1

Yay its SWOT VAC. Awesome. Now all i need to concentrate on is Exams. Weird right. But I kinda like SWOT VAC in general, especially the 1st Semester ones.

Done with all assignments, presentations and tests for the semester. Then exams. And Im done. Wow, so fast, feels like O week not too long ago.

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Take 2

Speaking of how fast time passes. One more sem after this and I'm done. Adelaide . Should I stay or go. That is the question. Which will be bugging me for a long time more. Show me a way, O' Mighty One. Show me a way. Cause I can't seem to find it on my own. May it be for the best.

For now, I will study. SWOT VAC is for a reason.

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Take 3

Speaking of SWOT VAC, Well, at least I can record a new song now. SWOT VAC relaxation moments. Can't study all the time right. I do have a bit of time before my first exam.
25th is the day I start.
2nd is the next.
3rd is the day I end.

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Take 4

Speaking of the 3rd. I end at 12.30. My exams that is.

I have a flight at 2.55 going to Sydney.

I will arrive at about 5. Friend will pick me up.

At 8 its my friends 21st. Velriki. ( Ok, we r so nerdy we call each other by our Gaming Nicknames) or Say Kwang will make sure we all have a good time. We even have 2 friends from Malaysia flying all the way there for his 21st. Crazy right. Hopefully he gets our T-Shirt. PJP rocks.

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Take 5

Speaking of crazy, I kinda did the same thing last year.

We went to Sydney. By car. All the way no stopping.

Well, first we decided to go to Sydney the night before. Packed the night. Then we went. Drove from Monday afternoon. Arrived at Tuesday morning. Blue mountains. Dim Sum. Bondi Beach. Shopping. Then slept at a motel facing Bondi Beach.

Next morning, someone left the keys in the car boot. Wasnt me but it was hilarious. Then drove to Wollongong. Then to Canberra. Met a friend. Drove round. Drove all the way back to Adelaide. Arrived about 11 morning. Packed. Then flew to Msia at 3 pm. Awesome. Crazy. Spontaneous.

Alright. As u can see, this is one of those lazy posts. No pics. Just talking random stuff. Next post will not be a lazy one. Ok. Good night.

Not A Boy, Not Yet a Man

2008-06-01T23:17:00.000-07:00

For the past year, I was in between being a man and a boy. Now unfortunately I'm considered to be an adult and I can ..........well, vote. I can visit the casino in Genting. I can get driving insurance when I rent a car. And various other things people now trust me just because 21 years have past since I was born. Apparently I just inherited some sort of wisdom that would make me a more responsible and reliable person that they can trust.

Somewhere out there, somebody is going.......... "oh no.............."

Its kinda strange to be considered as an adult. I mean, when I was a kid, I was adults as people that don't have much problems, and if they did, they could easily fix it. That's why I took mom and dad for granted, they didn't need my help in anything, they were capable and independent by themselves. Which brings me back to myself. Am I really an adult?

Anyways, I just wanna thank everyone that was involved in some way or another during my first few hours of being 21. Thanks to the bunch of crazy people at Lincoln, I was a little out of my mind at the stroke of midnight. You would think that we'd be more responsible. I did a lot of things I usually wouldn't do. But the great thing was I got to catch up with a few of my buddies via phone. We called Moscow, we called Malaysia, we called Sydney, we called Cairns, we called North Adelaide. Had a good sleep and woke up for church the next day. Thanks/sorry (If I bothered u guys) everyone, especially Koala, Cousin, Johnny, Joanna, Justin, Lam, Eligh, Nat, Wendy, Weeks, Keks, Gan, John Sng, Say Kwang. I hope I got everyone I bothered.

Fortunately I don't have any pictures.

Woke up at like 8.15. Amazing stuff. Then went off to church. Good sermon. To be a Samuel to someone else? Most be in line with growing up. I should take note.

And had an interesting lunch with the bunch of OCFers I could call my family away from home. Somehow, I got interrogated by everyone, and everyone seemed to be more honest than they normally were. But yea it was a good lunch. Thanks everyone that came. I hope I get this one right. Justin, Ee May, Joseph, Kah Wai, Handy, Arthur, Danny, Andrew, Joanne, Su Ling, Joanne Kong, Kazu, Steph, Lydia, Brian, Ian, Tze Ling, Mabel, Jezamine and Cheryl. I think that should be in order. Thanks for your comments. Most of them are probably true. Also Boon Pin, Daniel, Laza, Wei Jin, Erwin and Doreen. Thanks for being there.

Thank you guys for the presents. Thanks for the lunch. Thanks for the fellowship. Loved everything.

And next to my Convy team. Haha thanks so much for just being you guys. My hair smells so much better now. Handy, Ee May, Betty, Karen, Joannies, Dennis and Joseph. Thanks so much for the cake, for the company, and all the effort put in. I'm really blessed to have u guys.

And lastly, thanks for all the gifts, birthday wishes, SMSes, cards, facebook messages and everything else. I'll try to learn how to be an adult. Now that I'm inevitably one.

He needs some MedSng

2008-05-30T19:20:00.000-07:00

Hahahaha.........John Sng, you're an idiooooottttt. So this is what you've been doing in Malaysia.
I think most people won't find it that funny...........that you are a moron............... but at least some people think its awesome.

It might take a while for some others to get............. but i sooo got the message the first time.

You're still an idiot btw.

Battle of the Bands

2008-05-30T18:20:00.000-07:00

Lately I've been posting a little much less than usual. Whatever that means. Been a bit bogged down lately. I will be busy too next week, two assignments and a presentation due on Thursday and Friday. Darn. So don't expect much posted here anytime soon.

Anyways, this is kinda a week overdue. But its so cool it deserves a post-la.

Battle of the Bands

4 weeks ago we had our first meeting for battle of the bands. It was pretty cool, since every single member of the group was from a different social clique in Lincoln College. Each brought a certain individuality and specialness to the group as a whole.

We had Rajes on vocals, Matt on vocals and keyboard, Ben the amazing guitarist on well, guitar, Mark on guitar, Alex the American on drums and me on bass. Awesome stuff.

Ben - He killed the crowd with his leads............
Matt, Rajes and Mark Keen, with Cameron introducing us.Alex the Drummer..........experienced and technical And me on bass...........I don't usually play bass...........till recently.

After two weeks of practicing, we finally went up and rocked Lincoln College. I think what made a great difference for us was the crowd, consisting of all our different cliques of friends who came up to support us. They were awesome. Even the other people from different colleges were cheering on for us. When you hear everyone just singing along to the band, jumping up and down and cheering, you kinda know that you're doing a good job on stage.

When I was younger, in my teenage years, I always had the dream to be a rockstar. So cool right. Kinda felt a tinge of it that night. Its a special and unique feeling that I will always cherish, all thanks to the support we got. I kinda got into a different zone on stage. I've never been so tired from playing before. My fingers hurt like mad from playing the bass. When you put so much power and emotion and physical activity (like jumping) into it, its exhausting but there's a drive inside you to just keep playing on. Technically, I did much better at practice than on stage. I remembered playing a lot of wrong stuff that night, but didn't really care. Had a few drinks, took up my bass, and let loose. It was great. Rockstar for a night. Then back to normal life.

We played Learn to Fly by Foo Fighters, The Middle by Jimmy Eat World, Torn by Natalie Imbruglia, and finally the best song, Sweet Child O' Mine by Guns and Roses. Ben played for that song man !!!! That crazy lead. I was like so tired by The Middle but we pressed on.

We came in 2nd. Yea well Flinders were good too. But being a bitter soreloser I thought we deserve it. But 2nd out of 5 bands is pretty good. I guess it was a night to remember, something I can be proud of. Thank you all those who made the event possible. Thanks to all who had to endure the loud practice noises from us. Thanks to all those who worked hard during that night. Thank you to the band, you guys were awesome. And a very very BIG thank you to all those who came out to support us during the night. You guys were the best supporters of all. I'm truly grateful.
Woo hoo. Even a non-collegian came. Thanks so much for the support !! Hope u had an awesome night. And thanks for the photos.

And our biggest supporter......... who was always at our practice sessions to encourage us and go crazy........

Overall, it was a good night of partying. The other bands were awesome too. At least some. Man............ so emo. Rock on.

A Brief Run of Updates

2008-05-26T06:35:00.000-07:00

Alright its been some time since I last blogged.
Been a bit busy. And nothing much to talk about.

Was doing some rocking. Will do another post about it once i get the photos.

What has been happening lately? Good things happen in threes right?

International Night

06 - My Fresher Year

07 - When I was International Rep and "Chairperson" of the night

08 - An old man wearing the same clothes again

E- Camp

06 - Fresh and excited

07- E- Camp Committee

08 - Led a BS Group with Ee May .......... and took some pictures with Ian

All 3 Uniquely Different Experiences...........

Now I just realized I don't have enough pictures for much 3s. So I had to dig up some old stuff.

Family Annual Holidays.
End of 05 - Sisters Grad in Adelaide
End of 06 - Holiday in Turkey
End of 07 - Holiday in India. Thats the Taj Mahal at the back.
Hens & Bucks 08
PaintballJohn Mayer , Linkin Park, New Found Glory concerts
Being part of the Lincoln College Exec 07

Sydney
VD - This was suppose to be an awesome picture
Music NightBasking @ Rundle .......... although i just watched

Welcome Night
OCF Greenhills Adventure ParkOCF Melbourne Convention

Ehhhh Im missing 07 E-Night's pictures......... sad. Actually I realized I don't have much photos of loads of stuff. Not really the photo taking person. But I shall cherish the memories inside my head.

3 years. In Adelaide. My goodness, times have past so fast. Looking back, there were so many great memories I've had here. Its been an awesome, eye opening, growing and learning opportunity. Thanks God. You're awesome.

OK to be honest I didn't have much to talk about. That's y put pictures up. One of the lazy ways out. Haha. ANyways goodnightz.

A Random Checklist

2008-05-21T09:41:00.000-07:00

Check list

Alright. Wristband. Checked.

Bass guitar. Checked.
Miniature rock model of myself. Checked. Btws thanks Jovi. I really really love it. Most awesome gift I've ever gotten in a while.
Rocker face.
Alright.......... failure. Guess I need to work on that.
Wahahaha. I'm excited.
Battle of the Bands 08.
Good night.

Alvin & Chewy Go to Blue and White

2008-05-19T18:14:00.000-07:00

International Night 08

Another awesome night. This was the highlight of the night. One of the funniest videos I've ever seen, probably because I'm a Lincolnite. Good job guys.

The Real Desperate

2008-05-18T07:43:00.000-07:00

I was eating lunch with Ee May, Justin, Lydia and Wei Jin today. And i was talking about someone being desperate. And Ee May suggested I blog it. And I thought that would be a good idea.

So here we are. Its about January 08, I'm just sitting around in my room minding my own business when suddenly: I received an SMS.

10:55 PM From: Unknown Person

Message: Who are u? India melayu atau cina. Can u help me, Pls cancel u fon number because b i want buy this number got my boyfriend birth date, month,year and my birth date. PLEASE

Alright. What the heck. I kinda ignored it for a while because I was busy.

11.01 PM From: Unknown Person

Message: U, Girl or boy,

Alright you're starting to creep me out a little. So I replied: Hey, I'm not interested in canceling my number. Please don't disturb me.

11.09 PM From Unknown Person

Message: Hai, friend I no disturb u, u tell me. who are u men or women. Pls help me.

Tell you if I'm a guy or gurl? What has that got to do with anything???? Goshhh.......so naturally I ignored.

11.18 PM From: Unknown Person

Message: U no good person, u are supit

Yes that's how he or she tried to spell stupid. All words are exactly match the SMS received.

11.24 PM From: Unknown Person

Message: U, bukan manusia, u adalah bintang. Hati tak baik, Hati busuk kerana tak sampai hati tolong pada orang. Tuhan tak tolong u klu u susah.

Alright. Now I'm a bad guy for not wanting to cancel my number. Excellent. Showing your multilingual abilities too. I'm impressed.

11.31 PM From: Unknown Person

Message: U, SYAITAN, BABI, GILA

Well, to be honest, you could do better than that. Seriously.

11.36 PM From: Unknown Person

Message: KALAU, U LAHIR UTK SEORANG BAPA SHJ. U CALL NOMBOR INI.

Now you're just not really making sense.

11:38 PM From: Unknown Person

Message: KALAU, U LAHIR UTK SEORANG BAPA SHJ. U CANCEL NOMBOR INI.

Exactly the same message, just the cancel part changed. Now that just makes all the more sense to the sentence.

The Next Day
9.53 AM From: Punitha, now we know

Message: I'm Punitha, Very sorry because I angry for u. U fon number is my dream, I want buy this number. I want friend help, u cancel this number is my life, 29 is my boyfriend birth date, 11 is month, 72 is year. Pls help me. Give me your answer now.

Ok, all the sudden change in mood. I still ignored la. No point wasting money. I mean, change my number for that? Do I have that much free time?

10.09 AM From: Punitha

Message: Kawan, kok wei tolong jgn main ni adalah life saya. Sekarang saya sudah nangis. Tolonglah beri jawapan yg menggembirakan saya. Saya merayu pd u.

Ok. Now she's getting way too weird.

2:49 PM From: Punitha

Message: Pls help me, cancel your number because I want buy this number 29,11,72 is my boy friend birthday. Friend please help me, Your number is my dream number. This is my life. Pls give me your answer.

That was the last one. Before she finally gave up.

Seriously, love can be so blinding sometimes. She actually had an expectation that someone will actually cancel his or her number so that she can get it for her boyfriend. Her life, her dream number. Naive? Maybe. Young? Possibly. Boyfriend is like 30 something tho. But I guess its interesting what people will do and go through for love.

Call her crazy. But I know Someone that went through hell for me.
And it was because of love.
Not a blinded infatuated one...........
But a purposeful, stable and everlasting one.

Good night.

Still

2008-05-17T02:05:00.000-07:00

Still

A long time ago there lived a king
Who walked in the midst of his people
He threw his crown for a chain that would bind
Him to me

With the weight of the world weighing down on your shoulders
You still did not waver not even a bit
You stood up and took it all
Just for a wretche like me

But still I turn my back on you
I still want to go my way
I refuse to hear Your pleas
I still turn my back on you

He took each step knowing the next would be more painful
Still he kept on going because I was on His mind

With the weight of the world weighing down on your shoulders
You still did not waver not even a bit
You stood up and took it all
Just for a wretche like me

But still I turn my back on you
I still want to go my way
I refuse to hear Your pleas
I still turn my back on you

But still, you still call out to me
Not once did you give up on me
But still, you still watched over me
You still reached for my heart

And still (and still)

This time I reached back and touched your hand
And felt a peace I've been longing for ages
A calmness in my heart A joy that lasts forever
All this time you were my greatest need

You stood in front me at the end of the race
Though you waited so long there's still a smile on your face
You reached out your arms and embraced me within
I've never felt more secure as I cried on your shoulders
And I said I'm so sorry I don't deserve Your grace
You said its okay Son, your sins are forgiven
Heaven rejoices and the angels are singing your name
Don't you hear your name
As it echoes upon the lips of the saviour
As it echoes upon the lips of the saviour

And still, I can't understand this love
A love so great beyond measure
And still, its beyond my comprehension
That You would die just for me
And still (and still)

Desperate

2008-05-12T16:57:00.000-07:00

I guess its been some time since I last posted up a song.
May is a really busy month for me. So I will probably take some time to record my next song.

This is one of my old school songs. Back when I recorded using an mp3 player and i did it all in one go. Haha, those were the days.

The timing is out, the quality is not as good, so I think you need to turn up your volume.
And looking back, man, the lyrics are like so emo. Haha, makes me want to cry.

"Desperate"

Im sitting here alone
Thinking bout all the things you said
Its the only thing right now
that is going round and round my head
Im going all out
My life's on the line
That phone never looked so daunting
Though I may have my doubts
Im running out of time
Its the last chance that I'm taking

Cause Im desperate desperate desperate for you

I'm so sorry for all I've done
Didn't mean to scar beauty's sight
Cause when your light shines It will shine
Brighter than the stars in the darkest night
I'm holding my breath
Waiting for your voice
It was always so soothing in good times
I'm scared to death
By the words of your choice
Please consider my heart, soul and mind

Cause Im desperate desperate desperate for you

I can't be the tough guy tonight
I can't be your cassanova
I'm down on my knees
See the tears in my eyes
I've never looked more pathetic
Would you hear my plea
For I might die
Guess the cliche grew alive in me

Cause I'm desperate desperate desperate for you

at this moment
I'll do anything Give up everything
For you
My heart is filled with sorrow
If only you knew how much I feel
For you

Life Checkpoint

2008-05-11T06:27:00.000-07:00

Well I've been thinking again.

About life in general.
What is our purpose in it? I've kinda generalized us humans into this sub-categories. Yes, its a very stereotypical analysis in a humorous way. Please don't be insulted by this in any way.

The Managing Director
Yes, these are the people that are driven to achieve an awesome career for themselves, working hard to climb the corporate ladder and eventually reach great heights. They are respected as the hardworking, focus and no nonsense group that end up being CEOs of big companies. They are entrepreneurs that have a dream to be big. You'll find them talking about politics, stocks, future propects and how hard they worked to be where they are at. They have the ego and believe in themselves a lot. They make kids that are in the in-babe category. Example: Donald Trump

The Innovator
These people are passionate about things that they love. They enjoy doing research, creating and applying whatever new knowledge that they have acquired into our lives for the greater good. Some are scientific, some are artistic, but all aim to create something new, different and innovative. Their work and play are the same thing. Money is not such an important factor as long as they enjoy what they are doing. The Managing Directors constantly use them to make more money for themselves. Example: Albert Einstein

The Happy Go Lucky Dude
They happily go on with life and do their best with the opportunities they are given, and slowly take life each step of the way. They do not look too far ahead, but mostly focus at whatever is happening at the moment. Live for the moment, don't postpone pleasure are some of their favorite quotes. They tell good jokes and are mostly found at the pub watching a soccer game. Example: Forest Gump

The Achiever
They strive to be the best. They have a passion for what they are striving for. They constantly work hard to beat the competition in their field, whatever it may be, sports, financial management, dancing, food eating competitions, drinking, mud wrestling, space invaders high scores etc. Some are talented, some are not. Many fail but those that work hard enough normally achieve. Example: Roger Federer

The Family Guy
They are contented with living a normal life with less commitments, and more focused on family values. They love decorating their houses, taking their kids to the beach and talking to their friends and neighbours about the going ons. In other words, they enjoy the simple things in life. They also love gossip, good bargains and are occasionally neat freaks that have a affinity for being organized. Example: Marge Simpson

The In-Babe
They so in they can't get out. These are the people you see at the love socializing. Always with the in crowd outside, looking good is a number one priority. They love clubs, drinks, other good looking people and they own blogs that have more pictures than words. They love hanging with celebrities and are some celebrities themselves. Being well known and impressing others like themselves is an important thing to them. They have about 600- 1000 friends on facebook. Example: Paris Hilton

The Humanitarian
No, they don't eat people. These are the people that have decided that they won't live for themselves so much. They find purpose in helping others that are less fortunate. They constantly make the effort, time and money to make others smile. You'll find them hanging in Africa, old folks homes and being vegetarian. Example: Mother Theresa

The Freedom Fighter
These are the people that are fighting for a cause in this world. They are willing to quit their jobs, families and lives for the purpose they believe in, which varies. Some are environmentalist, some are fighting for religion, fighting for human rights in their country. All of them believe that they can make our history books thicker through the decisions that they make. You can say that they are extremist in some way. Whether they are running down the streets screaming Jihad or ramming Japanese whaling boats, they all have a firm believe in their cause. Some are successful like Example: Nelson Mandela, but some are not.

The Survivor
Unfortunately, some people don't have the resources and skills to dream big. They live everyday like their last, working hard to acquire simple needs such as clothes, water, food and etc. They fight against diseases and have very low income and low education opportunities. Most of them have dreams for their children and work hard so that their kids would not have to go through their current sufferings. Example: The CJ7 Dad

The Depressed
These people don't have a shortage of resources. Instead they are convinced that life is stupid and a waste of time and no matter what we still end up dead. They can be suicidal, but mostly they hate the system they're in, but don't do much to change it. They believe things are relative and even more things are irrelevant and that the world is shallow. They still become part of the system in order to survive but live everyday just being depressed, pessimistic and angry at the world and the stupid people in it. Example: Agent Smith

The Godly Man
He lives for the purpose of a greater being. He believes that he is not an accident, and the very essence of his place of birth and people he interacts with and environment is planned beforehand. He believes that earth is not the last pit stop for him and that his time here should be well spent. He believes he is uniquely made the way he is for a reason. He believes that his gifts are there for a purpose, and that he should use them wisely to serve his Creator. He lives with joy, secureness and passion serving his Creator, knowing that one day they will meet.

Very stereotypical right. I guess most of us are a mix of everything. But this is not the point of this post. I guess what I wanted to achieve is to get people thinking about their lives. Where are we at? Where are we going? Do we have the opportunity? Do we have the resources? What do we think is important? What are we passionate about? What are we doing with what we have? Why do we do things we do? To justify ourselves to others/to ourselves? To live up to peers? To live up to expectations? Motivated by love for others? To sacrifice for the good of others? To make a name for ourselves in this fading world? Or is all this just irrelevant?

If we dig deep enough, beyond the deep surface, maybe we might find an answer. Sit down, take a piece of paper, think about your life, write down what you think for yourself and be as honest to yourself as you can be, because you are the only reader. Keep going about your purpose and what you want to achieve. You might encounter some barriers but don't stop. Keep going. Until you finally reach a place where you can finally be contented to stop without looking back to think about it again. Then wake up tomorrow with a smile. = )

Hmm out of time. I think i might follow up on this post soon. Good nightz.

Battle of the Bandz - The Real Guitar Heroes

2008-05-10T09:28:00.000-07:00

I did it again.

Patrick Sim has agreed to play for Battle of the Bands.
Will be representing Lincoln College in a competition that would involve all the other colleges.
Will be playing bass. Interesting.
Another bunch of commitments.
But I'm superbly excited. My first time in this sort of environment.
Good luck. And rock on.
Hope to see lots of people there.
Good night.

Game Me

2008-05-08T00:41:00.000-07:00

PC Gaming.
Something that I have been doing since I was 8. Or 9. Probably wasted countless hours just playing and playing and playing. More than any other thing that I have done during this lifetime I'm pretty sure.

My first game console was the MicroGenius way back when I was 7 years old. I think my uncle gave me one of those. And I was hooked.

Slowly, I moved on towards the PC. And I'm still there now. Though I don't play as much as I used to.

From Mario to Call of Duty 4. PC Gaming has tremendously improved in features, technicality, storyline, and realism. But why do we play?

I guess I could come up with a few reasons.

Releasing stress.
Yes, sometimes when you just had a bad day of work, nothing's better than switching on the comp and killing a few dozen orcs or destroying an entire base with an insane amount of nukes. Sure is fun.

A challenge that we put ourselves up to beat.
And yes, there a sense of accomplishment and satisfaction after you have finish. Or as you progress within the game. Or beat your other friend in it. People actually practice/train in games. Take World of Warcraft for example. I see a couple of people shaking their heads. The reason these MMORPG games are so successful because it hooks people on. There is a very obvious sign of progression during the game. You level up. You learn new things. Explore new lands. There is always something to look forward to. Just that in this case the something forward to look to is really big. And hey, there's a whole bunch of people around to play with you. Its like real life. Except on the computer. There you are in a sense living the life of this character you created, interacting with people, doing the housekeeping stuff like shopping, working your profession and making some money off it, and exploring and going out and getting rewarded as you go along.

For some people, this life is better than the real one. In a way it is.
Gaming is a way to escape from the real world. Real world sucks bad. Date lines. Bad bosses. Girlfriend problem. Mean people.
Suddenly, when you enter this new world, entirely created, it seems not so bad. You become this character, powerful, full of potential and you have this awesome world that you can travel about in. Ever wished you lived in a science fiction movie? So many worlds to visit. Awesome starships that travel at hyperspeed. Compared to reality where you are bogged down by rules, finances, social status, physical looks and all that.
Look at the SIMS. In a sense play God/King. Be that entrepreneur or pharaoh or pilot or king or jedi or wizard you wanted to be. Be a simulation of your fantasies. See and hear what they see and hear.

To explore, gain knowledge and appreciate gaming art, technicalities and possibilities.
Sometimes, if a game is visually stimulating, you can just sit there and watch. Its like looking at the wonders of nature, just on a screen. This works very well for first or third person shooters. Wonder around, learn about the people and cultures of the game, understand the underlying mechanics. Games are like movies and books. Except, the storyline is continually being developed in real time and you are in control of that. In the sense you are more free to create the storyline you desire. Game developers are making choice a much more prominent aspect in games. They design the setting, give you the tools, and you at your discretion can do what you want to accomplish the task. In a movie, your just watching what Tom Cruise does. In a game, you are Tom Cruise.

And of course entertainment. Yes games have to entertain. Good jokes. Colorful characters. Awesome soundtrack. Super cool graphics and cut scenes. Yadayadayada.

Once a gamer always a gamer.
Though there a certain cons to this as well. Such as:

Health issues. Sitting down in front of the screen for hours will definitely not help you live longer. Strained eyes, fingers, hands, lack of exercise etc.

Social issues. More play less time to hang with friends. ANd seeing that the game world is so much better, we would rather hang in there more. Some people get disillusioned. Where for them the real world is in the game. Not exactly common.

Addiction. Now this is pretty bad. Addiction is pretty common once the game hooks you on. People have died from playing way too much. Once you are hooked, there's always a craving for the game all the time. You're thinking about it, talking about it to your friends, and rushing to it after you have finish other important commitments. Or screwing your commitments to play. Bad bad bad.

Violence? Personally, I don't think people that play games tend to be more violent. It might be if you are young and immature, but most of the time, I don't think games actually do influence us to be more violent. It happens there and it ends there.

Now any reasons for me posting this up? I dunno. Self justification for my countless hours of wastage? Haha. Maybe. Call me a geek/nerd. Just that Games are something i do appreciate and would like to acknowledge. Though many may not share the same view, hopefully one day we can all play warcraft together. I think I've just lowered my eligibility to negative amounts. But that's okay. = )

See ya.

A question of Morality

2008-05-04T06:23:00.000-07:00

Alright, told you my next post will not be about me.

Last Saturday, during one of our "Introductory to Christianity" sessions, there was an issue raised. I thought it was pretty interesting, as I have given it thought in the past before, but never really delved deeper into it.

Before I start, I would say I haven't done much research. So cut me some slack if you find some inconsistencies within this post. But do point it out. I would very much love to learn. Most of what I am about to say are from the top of my head, so not much quoting would be done.

Morality: Objective/ Absolute or Subjective/ Relative

Right. This came up in the discussion.

Firstly we will attempt to define morality.
From Wikipedia: Morality (from the Latin moralitas "manner, character, proper behavior") is the learning process of distinguishing between virtues and vices.
Generally speaking, morals are basic guidelines for behavior intended to reduce suffering in living populations.

Fair enough definition. We will define virtues and vices in a general way.

Essentially, there are two pools. Which are the two at the top.

But firstly, how did we get morality.

As a Christian, I would point out the tree of knowledge of good and evil. When Adam first ate from the forbidden fruit, he acquired the ability to discern wrong from right. Virtues and vices.

But how about us?
Point 1 We learned it. As we grow from an infant to an adult, these morals are taught to us by our parents, peers, society and all that. When we are young, we are naturally more selfish. As we grow older, we learn that there are other people like us around, and certain acts are not right as it will hurt others and maybe yourself. In a sense, morality.

A thought So, if a baby were to be taught that stealing is alright as he grew up, he would not develop a guilty conscience against stealing as he would not think that it is wrong.

I guess there are certain values that most cultures and societies in the world apply as of this moment. Stealing, raping, killing, fraud, physical abuse, etc are generally unacceptable. Morality, has to apply for all. If killing was okay, then people could kill you too. Now that's not so cool.

But twist it a little, like: Killing your enemies is ok, but your friends, they bring you benefit. Logical yes. If someone else is a treat, it would be natural to think about yourself and destroy them. Humans in general need to ensure the continuation of their species. Tribes band together to ensure the continuation of their kind, but destroy the other tribe because of reasons such as competition to acquire food, land, maybe women.

This is seems to be some sort of a selective morality.

But in essence, morality is relative to your upbringing, culture, society, personality. Etc.

Point 2 Well, maybe all humans have that natural conscience of what is right and wrong. It is naturally imbued into us. By a higher being? Or not?

Now, if you read Romans, you will see some explanations. For example, verse 1: 20, it says

"20 For since the creation of the world God's invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse. 21 For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened."

Verse 1: 29-32 "29 They have become filled with every kind of wickedness, evil, greed and depravity. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit and malice. They are gossips, 30 slanderers, God-haters, insolent, arrogant and boastful; they invent ways of doing evil; they disobey their parents; 31 they are senseless, faithless, heartless, ruthless. 32Although they know God's righteous decree that those who do such things deserve death, they not only continue to do these very things but also approve of those who practice them."

Verse 2: 14-15 "14 (Indeed, when Gentiles, who do not have the law, do by nature things required by the law, they are a law for themselves, even though they do not have the law, 15 since they show that the requirements of the law are written on their hearts, their consciences also bearing witness, and their thoughts now accusing, now even defending them.)"

Now, essentially the bottom line of those verses are that God has placed a conscience within mankind. But mankind knowing it, still rejected God's ways. I encourage you to read the whole of the two chapters of Romans to have a clearer understanding. Actually, read the whole book. What is the morality that God gave us? I would say His commandments He gave us in the bible. Which many societies are founded on today. For example, 10 commandments. Don't steal. Don't kill. Don't lie. Honor your parents. Don't cheat. Obviously circular nations would avoid the God part of the commandments. Interesting most religions have the essential part of "doing good" and avoiding evil. Is it because most of us are imbued with this conscience? Well not all, There are different groups around that headhunt and do all sorts of things that are generally unacceptable today and in the past. But it is interesting.

Alright, the two different positions have been stated. We will assume point 2 is from a higher being, God, for these circumstances.

I guess I would say both sides do not have enough "proof" to say who's right.

Because well, the people could have developed conscience of good and bad through learning. After years and years of trial and error, we have finally come to the stage we are at now. We have learned that killing has a bad effect on ourselves because logically, it halts the population growth, makes you have less friends, and makes friends of the deceased dislike you. So= killing is not good.

What about rape? Scientifically, it would increase population. But you notice people generally tend to hang out less with you if you're a rapist. So rape is bad. The human need for other human contact and belongingness overrides the need to make love.

Then we go to some other not so obvious stuff. Homosexuality. Abortion. Euthanasia. How do our morals come in when it comes to this. Notice the relativity of these morals we give ourselves now. It changes over times and periods. It is ever changing. Back in the day, homosexuality wasn't as accepted as it is nowadays. Can we say that it is possible, in the future, that our morals will also change. Certain things accepted today will not be accepted tomorrow? And vice versa.

On a Christian point of view, our morality is objective. No changes. What we stand for we stand for.

Ok, I noticed that was badly structured. Anyways, what i'm actually trying to say is this.
For example, an Aztec tribe does baby sacrifices. So obviously, they are ungodly in the Christian sense. Some say: Well, morality is relative. In their culture, it is a norm to sacrifice babies. Someone else says: God has given us a conscience. They have chosen to reject what it has to say and therefore act against His will. There will be no end to this argument. Who's to say who's right? Thats why i said both sides have not enough proof. Its still quite hazy here and there this topic.

But I have my beliefs. = )

Question/ Thought: Which would be better for us?
Question / Thought: Could both actually be working at the same time? God trying to influence you with His conscience that he gave you and the world trying to influence that conscience with factors such as society, upbringing etc ?

I think there are lot of essential things I haven't covered in this topic. Probably lots. Comments would be helpful. Do tell me what you think, if you agree or not. Ultimately I do wish to learn. I might continue on with what i have left out in the next post. Gotta sleep now.

With Speed Comes Inaccuracy

2008-05-03T08:28:00.000-07:00

Its 1 am.

Looking back at just today, I realized I've just been like running too much. I thought of blogging less on my personal life and more on interesting ideas and theories and thoughts. But somehow, I find the time is lacking. I'm tired. And this post requires less thinking. My phone is screwed up.

Wake up.
Go iceskating with my BS group. It was awesome by the way. Leg hurts now. Sore. Boon Pin, ur the man. Haha.

Come back. Band practice for international night. Great.

Dinner. Then attended the ISM ministry in Lincoln. It was really interesting to hear the opinions of atheists on the Bible and God. Discussions always build. I thought tonight's session was good, better than the previous one.

After that run straight to a movie up O'Connell I agreed to watch. Iron Man. It was alright i guess. Above average. Not the best though. Nick Fury isn't a white guy ? Not that I'm racist. But he was a white dude in the comics. Supper = AB.

Come back from the movies to finish up my treasurer report for tomorrow's Lincoln Club OGM.

And now writing all this on my blog before I sleep to get ready for church tomorrow.

Then Conventions Committee meeting.
Hopefully some studies later on.
Then Lincoln College OGM.

I think I need some time organization. Some things could have been avoided if done earlier. Like the treasurer report. Like maybe not go to the movies, so I could do something that would avoid future rushes. Organize organize. Which is something I'm really bad at. I think i get distracted to easily.

Things to think about and hope for:
1. Get a list of College Club's assets and get the accounts nicely done. You are going to get audited remember.
2. Constantly contact your convy reps you are responsible for. I need to make more effort.
3. Keep in mind and prayer - BS members
4. Should I go for the bassist for Battle of the Bands ? I know it'll be cool to. But should I pile more stuff on myself.
5. International Night coming up. Practice for performances.
6. Programs programs programs. Be CREATIVE.
7. Some band thingy with Ming and gang.
8. Clean my darn room.
9. Lead a healthier life.
10. Continue recording.
11. Say Kwang's Birthday. To go or not to go ?
12. Start my assignments which will be due soon............
13. Read a book. My gosh. I haven't just sat down and read anything in ages.
14. Study more.

Get rid of the time thieves. Need to.
Martha and Mary ? Sounds familiar. Sit down and watch the mist form. Watch the flames dance. Watch the water drip. And get a revelation.

Alright, my next post will definitely NOT be about me.
Good night world.

Some Random Notes

2008-05-01T08:22:00.000-07:00

Ok, I actually don't have much to post.

I do have some ideas of things to talk about, but its late now and that would be somewhat time consuming.

So here are a few things that are kinda affecting me at the moment. A reminder of things to done and things to come.

DOT 1 - Me as a Liverpool Fan
Liverpool lost. Living in a college full of MU fans.......... and a church full of MU fans. Not so cool. As I have said over the last 10 years, well get u next year. Nothing to look forward to now but 4th place. Again. I hope we do win the league during this lifetime of mine. Man, I will cry on the spot. Always will support Liverpool.

DOT 2 - Me as the Lincoln College Club Treasurer
We finally have our money. Somehow this year everything seemed to have gone wrong with our college club finances. Partly my fault anyway. But in order to get your club fees, which the college has been collecting on behalf of you, you need an audit. Oh we do, but were not required by law to do it. Its in your constitution, so you have to do it. Ok, found auditor, now can we have our money. No, your accounts need to be audited first. What ? But thats at the end of the year. How are we going to fund our club events/activities. We don't know. But somehow they came to their senses and yataa, we have a check for $25,000. This is just a reminder that I have to go to the bank anyway. A long one.

Besides that looking forward to Battle of the Bands, International Night and Hens and Bucks

DOT 3 - Me As Convention Programs Guy
Get excited people. OCF Convention is in SA this year. So what are you waiting for ? Sign up. Anyways, we recently filmed our video. So it will be out soon. Awesome. Looking forward to see my acting skills. Food at convention? Will be awesome too. Trust me on that. So where ever you are in Aussieland, do come !!!! Its @ Woodhouse from the 1st to the 5th December. So remember to book your flights home later. Btws I did promote convention a bit during my Jez Me Up song. Sorry Jez, sometimes, marketing requires u to be a bit "cheap". So come to Convention.

DOT 4 - Me as a Songwriter.
Im working on something right now. Recording process.Hopefully it will be out by next week. Haven't quit yet. Probably never will.

DOT 5 - Me as a Uni Student
Well, I'm just done with two tests, so yea relatively happy. But now assignments looming ahead. Oh well. It will never end I guess. Push on push on. Nothing cool to write about. I mean its Uni. No one wants to read about accounting.

DOT 6 - Me in OCF
Iceskating for my awesome BS Group coming up this Saturday. Thanks to Boon Pin. Yes, u are a good man for helping me arrange everything. BS this Friday Night. James 2:1 - 26. Which reminds me, I should be sleeping. Will see u guys there. I like my group. No mercy this Friday. Muahahahhaha. I don't really know what I'm talking about.

DOT 7 - Me as A Human Being
So far so good. No signs of devolving. Yet. Ever have the fear one day you wake up and see something else besides yourself ? Like a monkey? Or an ewok? Or a wookie? Yea Star Wars is cool. How cool would it be to wake up as a Jedi. Don't need to walk to the bathroom. Just brush in your bed. Telekinesis. Which would be bad considering you'll be sleeping there the next day. But then u can jedi mind trick your friend to clean it for u. Hah. Bet you didn't see that coming.

DOT 8 - I should be sleeping. DOT 7 was rubbish
Speaking of sleep. DOn't you hate it when u dream that you're falling down ??? ANd then you kick, and you kick something hard and you hurt your feet. Scary.

Ok so much for this crappy post. I'm going to sleep. Nightz people. Hopefully my next post will be much more intelligent. I noticed it started to deteriorate from no mercy this Friday. My goodness, the title of my post isn't a bit smart at all. Some random notes ?? No punt? If a movie had that title it would go straight down the drain. Or song. Or book. Oh wellz.

God bless
Patrick Sim

John can Sng

2008-04-29T01:15:00.000-07:00

Since I was talking about singing........

Should have taken the advice from my buddy John Sng...........

Remember to smile........... says it all. Wasn't smiling when i was recording earlier..........
Remember to smile
Remember to smile

John Sng you are awesome.......

We miss you here in Adelaide Sng............

An Ode To Penguins

2008-04-27T08:13:00.000-07:00

Some random thoughts about Penguins.

They swim instead of fly. Water birds.

They are uniquely open to human kind. They tend to approach groups of explorers. Inquisitive in nature.

Ever seen a penguin moonwalk ?

They are overused in popular culture. Too many penguin movies.

They are team players.

Petaling Jaya Penguins - I'm in a clan or clique back home that named ourselves after penguins.
Bunch of awesome guys. Our activities mostly consist of soccer, dota, yamcha and boardgames.

But why penguins ? I really don't know. I guess they inspired me. I saw them running up the beach of Phillip Island some time ago. I knew I had to write a song about them.

Its the beauty of it right ? See a penguin, write a song.

Enjoy. Though you might not see the connection. I played this for Music Night 07 @ Lincoln College if any of you remembered.

Consider Us Penguins

Consider us penguins running free
Against the waves up the beach
My feet are so cold but my hands are so warm
Cause they're holding unto yours
So tight I won't let go Cause I'm afraid
The wind is strong but my grip will stay

And I will stand here and I will not move
And I will wait here Until the waves bring you in again

I'm running ahead but I'm looking back
Just to Make sure you're staying on track
You stumbled and fell unto the ground
I ran back and carried you
With all my strength back to our home
Know that I will never leave you alone

And you've not come back for many nights
Beyond the sea so vast and so wide
And as I sit here under the pale moonlight
I wonder if I'll ever be alright

But I will stand here and I will not move
And I will wait here Until the waves bring you in again

After listening to myself over and over and over and over again for an insane amount of times during my recording process........... i think i need to work on my voice. Singing lessons anyone ?

If anyone wants the mp3 files of my songs just give me a message. Will be free no worries.
If anyone was shaking his or her head thinking " Who in the world would want these crappy songs? ", please ask me for the songs too. Cheers. = )

Feedback and suggestions would be great. I'm relatively new to this. Thanks.

Jez Me Up

2008-04-26T22:36:00.001-07:00

A very happy birthday to a very special person.

Jez is Tinkerbell btw. Yes, the one that has wings.

Special person needs special song. You can listen to it through my imeem playlist.

Jez Me Up

Hey I know this one gurl
Her name be Jez
She's a little zest
And man can she sing
WIth a voice so keng
Chill out and listen
And eat chicken wings

And when she picks up the bass
And plays a riff with subtle grace
Just embrace with your thats cool face
And dance to the beat and match the pace

And sometimes
When I'm looking for her
All I have to do is close my eyes
And in time
If you listen close enough
Through the whispers of the wind you'll hear her laugh

Cause u jez up my life
With crazy lame lines
You put the mine in amphetamine
And u fight till the end
YOur heart beats determined
to see life in what you believe
And you have made the difference in our lives

Now you think that she's small
She likes Spongebob
and she's not that tall
But u are wrong
She is very strong
Cause she got Jesus
She's big like hippotatamus

She is a Cheras gurl
Longest pasar malam in the world
So get to know her and her lot
Log on to prettyjezzy @ blogspot

And sometimes
When I'm looking for her
All I have to do is close my eyes
And in time
If you listen close enough
Through the whispers of the wind you'll hear her laugh

Cause u jez up my life
With crazy lame lines
You put the mine in amphetamine
And u fight till the end
YOur heart beats determined
to see life in what you believe
And you have made the difference in our lives

Amphetamine - a racemic drug, C₉H₁₃N, that stimulates the central nervous system: used chiefly to lift the mood in depressive states and to control the appetite in cases of obesity.

Don't mind the rapping bit. My first time. So bare with me.

A fact known by few, Jedi's are tasked to rid the universe of Chinapeks.

If only he knew about the force. If only I knew about reality.

Happy Birthday Jezamine. It was an awesome party. Thanks so much for everything and to everyone who planned it. Stop ageing at 21. = )

Tales From a Trampoline

2008-04-25T06:18:00.000-07:00

But I like composing songs.
This is one of them.
You can play it through my Imeem link on the right side of my blog. Go ahead. Push play. Thats right. Or click below. Whichever works.

Trampoline

I'm sleeping on a trampoline
Watching the night sky
As shooting stars
Pass by over our heads
And I'm wondering what is going through yours
And my heart is jumping up and down
Though I am lying so still
Lying next to you
Lying so still
Lying next to you

And all our lives they intertwine
Before you know it I'm seeing you again

I'm sleeping on a trampoline
Waiting for the dawn to break right down
As a little glimpse of sun rays hit your face
Try to capture a frame before it fades
And I know and you know it
We say it in closed lips
And I am looking at the sky
But im seeing your eyes
Looking at the sky
But im seeing your eyes

And all our lives they intertwine
Before you know it I'm seeing you again

Im sleeping on a trampoline
I think its time to wake up
I stare across the horizon
and i see you in the foreground

This song was inspired by me sleeping on a trampoline during the OCF Convention 06 where i slept on a trampoline during the final night. Good times. A big thanks to everyone who was there. I actually got the tune during that time when we were randomly singing from random chords.

Enjoy. I prefer to not explain the lyrics of my songs. Its much more exciting to see the perception of others on it. So go ahead, decipher it as you may. Or skip to the next post.

A Brief Foundation

2008-04-25T05:49:00.000-07:00

Who is Patrick Sim ?

Who would Federer be without tennis ? Who would Tiger Woods be without golf ? Who would Pavarotti be without his voice? Who would Prince William be if he were not a prince?

Labels. Effective but not substantive.

Who is Roger Federer ? Well he plays tennis. And he is freakin good at it.
Anything else besides tennis ? Erm, i don't really know. He's Swiss ?

Being people, chances are we are going to be remembered by one main thing. That's what the labels are there for. Its easy. Fast. Less thinking right. If I were to list who Roger Federer really is, what he likes, what he's scared of or who he looks up too, it'll take too much time if I actually cared to know. Its sad yes, but if I were to be labeled what label would I get ?

Tall, skinny, slacker, joker, guitarist, computer gamer, Liverpool, funny t-shirts ............ are some I can think of. Maybe u might disagree. They're like tags. Like in you-tube. Or whatever search engine related things you might find on the internet.

Characteristics ? How do we judge? Based on observation? I believe we are all different somewhat. Maybe there are some central characteristics but as human beings we tend to change to the different circumstances, because we tend to adapt. Or we don't.

John is in a tutorial. He doesn't speak much. He has done this 3 weeks in a row. So in conclusion John is probably quiet. Is he really? What if in week one, he just had a tongue surgery, so it would be painful to talk, in week 2 he didn't prepare for the answers because his textbook was stolen and in week 3 he just found out his mother passed away before class. An extreme hypothetical situation, but possible nonetheless. John normally does talk a lot. But his classmates for 3 weeks see him as quiet.

In order words, we base our judgment on this observation, but we do not delve deeper into the underlying circumstances. We could always be wrong.

I believe different people and circumstances bring out different sides of us. The crazy dictator can be a humble servant boy beside his wife. So how do we label him? A common example is the relative openness of somebody with the different people in his or her life. How do we label them?

So I will choose not the describe myself. I have different characteristics that would contradict each other given the circumstances. Moods, people, environment all play major factors in it.
Give people the benefit of the doubt sometimes. = ) The boy that cried wolf needs that.

"Pilot"

2008-04-24T22:56:00.000-07:00

Hi

I guess a good first post would be a brief introduction to myself. After all it is my blog.

But first, why blog?
Why do people bother writing about their lives, passions, experiences on online web pages.

To update their friends on how their lives are?
Yes, fair enough. We live in a world where we are constantly on the move, where we meet people from all over the world and one of the best ways for us to keep in touch with each other is through blogging.

But why bother?
Are we more interested in them knowing about us or us knowing about them?

I have blogged before. Then I got lazy, tired and bored. Too much effort. Right?

Why else blog?
A way to express ourselves?
The underlying human need to be understood. People don't want to listen to us? Or us being too afraid to speak up in public? Or just wanting a wider audience for all our views on a certain subject?

Need an outlet to just let loose where all those tiny little things that have been jumping up down sideways in our head just need to come out. Can't find someone to talk to and willingly listen ? Need to complain about something thats just bugging you? Let it go on the blog.

Why else blog?
The need to identify ourselves? To have a personality, to be different to be special ? With us being in control, we can naturally shape it on our blog site. To show you are more intellectual than what your life testifies, that you are a thinker, someone not shallow. People tend to write better than they speak at most times. More time to think right? Or who you are, where your passions lie, maybe we can find someone similar. To show off where you have been to, who you know in life, how good looking you were that night and all those awesome things you have done. Hopefully someone will be impressed.

Any other reasons?
Publicity for yourself ? If you are a politician, artist, musician, blogging is indeed a good media for getting yourself out there.

Those would probably be some of the reasons we blog. Some do blog just to reflect on ourselves and what we have done so far. Typing it out makes us actually think about it cognitively and emotionally. Nostalgia is a nice feeling at many times.

Well, people who blog generally have the internet. So we are kinda all lucky in the sense that we are not fighting our lives for the everyday needs we take for granted. Something to catch there. The starving kid in Africa doesn't blog.

Most of us are of generation X and Y and further on, so we were raise in some sort of a similar circumstance, of course with cultures varying across and within countries and social circles and yada yada. If all your friends blog you probably WILL blog.

What about me ? I couldn't be bothered laying ground rules for a blog.
I probably won't complain much. Not in my nature. Don't you love those blogs where they just complain about everything? Entertaining yes, if you are good at it. Irritating if you are bad.

One thing for sure is a blog is not a diary. People being honest in their blogs ? Yes, probably. Concealment of information is not lying in this circumstances. But not everything is on the blog. You know people are going to read it. Its going through the back of your head all the time. So no, I don't believe people are completely honest on blogs, or that they reveal everything, especially the bad stuff. What for right ? So don't expect me to be totally honest. At least I'm honest there.

So why do I blog ?
I would say a mix of all the reasons above. Congrats. Of course. I gave them right? Ok. Good first post.

You probably would not find a bad picture of me here. Probably.

Lets get moving to something else.